I'm idling through the Ides this morning. It seems like spring out there although the temp is only 20º F. Having the deck clear and dry makes the difference. I strolled out there with my coffee and watched the sun rise.

My house smells of chicken stock this morning and The Girls are looking very hopeful. I cleaned out the last of the freezer antiques and let my huge stock pot simmer all night. The chicken will be tasteless and be pitched but the stock looks wonderful!

I'm off to town for a haircut this morning. After lunch the Hyper Pypers will come for a March break visit. We'll be off to the Long Horn for wings and then, when they leave, I have Church and a Parish Council meeting!

I'd better get out of "idle".

What's happening on your section of The Beach?

Good Morning Ruth, sounds like you have a full day ahead of you, enjoy!

The sun is shining brightly this morn, and it feels so good. If it warms up some maybe the kids and I can go to the park this afternoon. I got up early and stripped the bed and now the sheets are in the dryer. I wish I could have the peace of mind to let the dryer run while I was at Curves, but I worry too much that some disaster will happen while I'm away. Better safe than sorry, right? I've got to get on the ball about sticking to this WOE. Sunday I had cake at the christening, then yesterday the little one I babysit for had saved a piece of her birthday cake for me, so I HAD to eat that. How can you say no to a little one who is so excited to share her birthday cake with you? In between I've been staying OP, and I've been working out every day, but I'm avoiding the scale for a few days!

Kissyjoy ~ RE the Deep Dish Pizza, I never had a problem with a runny center. Maybe you are adding too much sauce or getting too much water from the veggies? Try sauteeing the veggies first, that may help. Make sure you mix an egg or two into the ricotta mixture,too. And let it sit for about 10 minutes after you take it from the oven. I hope this solves your problem.

Wow where is everyone?

Ruth - I'll bet those girls were very excited. My Major used to be my best helper when I was cooking. I miss him lots. It's been almost a year since I had to put him down. It makes me smile to hear your dog stories.

Cottage - Get on task girlfriend. The last time I went haywire I gained 5 pounds. I weigh in tomorrow am to see how I did on my two weeks phase I re-do. You can do this!

I'm having my new helper come in this am to fill out paperwork. Maybe just maybe I'll start having a life again. I've spent the last two years in this business being very "reactive" to things that occur and I'm very tired of that - I've always been "proactive" in business and I'm looking forward to getting there again. I got to have some of my white chicken chili last night since my phase I re-do is over. I'm hoping for a good weigh in tomorrow but TOM is due the 19th so I'm not sure what will happen.

Good morning everyone!!! I just starting a pot of coffee! The good news is I weighed myself today (I know we shouldn't weight ourselves everyday - but it was the end of TOM, so I thought maybe...)I weighed 2lbs lighter!!! HURRAY! So I'm happy about that. Yesterday was my day off & I scrapbooked, so I have a mess on the kitchen table I have to clean up, workout, and then to work!
Ruth: Sounds like a big day ahead of you - enjoy it! Hope the hair looks fab afterwards!
Cottage - I'm the same way with my dryer/toaster/anything! My dad is an electrican so he always walks thru the house before we leave turning things off & unplugging things. Then he walks thru & doubles check - I picked up on this habit too, drives my DBF crazy!!! I agree w/ you better safe than sorry!!
Anchor - hope the first day with the helper goes well!! I am excited to hear how much weight is gone after the do over!!
Everyone else enjoy your day! Spring is right around the corner!!!!

Morning, Ruth. I love the smell of homemade chicken stock. It seems like it should be Spring but it is 43 degrees out there and the temp is supposed to drop all day. I can't believe we were 85 on Saturday. It's also rainy so at least that will help the plants.

cottage - Try to stick the three bite rule. It is hard to resist it when little kids want to share but you could choose to eat three bites and then tell her you aren't hungry any more. At least with my son he is older so I don't have a problem with him tempting me. In fact, he will ask me if something is on plan!

anchor - I know what you mean about being reactive. My job is like that and it really makes things crazy. But it is the nature of production software support so I just live with it. I hope your life can get less crazy.

Me - Well, afterschool care thinks Brian may have ringworm on his face so we spent last night at Primacare. The doc doesn't think it is but we have to put the Lamisil on it just in case. Apparently ringworm is going around the day care. At least we got lots of time to study spelling words while waiting for the doctor. I think it is a mosquito bite that he scratched.

WOW...where is everyone this morning??? Only 5 posts and I know more of you are up WAY before me!

Not too much to say this morning. I had a bridal appointment last night at Starbuck's and, for the first time, completely avoided a frappuccino!!! I love those things! I drank water instead. This will be an interesting wedding. The groom is from Norway so I had a little trouble saying his name but they were really nice. Only 25-30 guests at their wedding which makes it a TON easier on me! I have another one like that coming up and, consequently, it's in the same location. Only 38 people coming to that one and the groom is from Poland.

I made President's Chicken last night and loved it. I made a side of zucchini and put some of the sauce on it. It was SOOOOO yummy! I'll definitely be making that again!

The cabinet guy came last night and gave us our cash price which was $800 less. We have an install date!!!!! April 25th is the day! I'm not too happy that I have to deal with my kitchen the way it is until then but I guess I could live with it. The designs look great! I can't wait until it's all done!

Cottage - I think maybe putting some egg in would definitely help! It wasn't in the recipe (only in the "crust"). I'll give it another try! Thanks!

That's it for me for now! I hope everyone has a great OP day!!!

Only four messages in the daily at 11 a.m.??? Where is everyone?

Ruth, I bet that cut looks fantastic! Have a blast with the Hyper Pypers! I love that you went out on your deck...but I know what you mean. There's still snow and ice on ours.

Cottage, don't stress too hard about that cake. You might want to Phase 1 it for a bit to get it out of your system, though.

Amy, so glad you're getting extra help! Did the Phase 1 re-do help?

Soon, congrats on the 2 lbs!!! I didn't lose any after my TOM, though I had hoped... My grandfather ran an insurance business and he put the fear of God into my mom about fire hazards. I'm the same way, though sometimes I leave the dishwasher going when we leave...

OMG, Ringworm??? Poor Brian! I've never heard of that going around. Sorry you've got rain, Barb...hope things brighten up soon!

Kissy, good for you on avoiding the frappaccino!!! I love those things so much that my DH called me "Laurieccino" for a while! Have you ever had the mocha freezy things at Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf...those are even better than Frappaccinos! BTW, I was meaning to ask you if you went to the racetrack near the county fairgrounds in Ventura the other night or if it was elsewhere. My parents used to take us to Ventura on vacation and we'd stay at the Holiday Inn. You could hear the cars from there.

Me:
Okay, I bet 20 chicks have pecked in since I started this reply! It's been a heck of a morning!

I'm still chugging away on my paper. I got to reference 20 last night in my notes. At this rate, I should be done by Friday and can get to writing. I might get more done tomorrow night since I just have choir practice.

Tonight instead of class we are posting online and then going to see a special showing of "Spellbound". It's a documentary about kids preparing for the nat'l spelling bee. Have any of you seen it? I'm excited to go...free popcorn (a planned cheat for me) and a free movie in an old-time movie theatre. Should be fun! Afterwards I'm going to check out a new Mexican restaurant in town for dinner with a couple of classmates. That will be fun too.

Have a great day, chickies!

Good morning all! Hmm... Not much to say except "Beware the Ides of March..." Does anyone have plans for St. Patty's Day?

Laurie-

Nope, never had those mocha freezy things from Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf but I have had their pure vanillas! OMG...they are the best tasting vanilla shake-type things you've ever had! I always have to walk by REALLY quickly at the mall so I don't get one. The bad thing is that there are 2 locations in the mall (even though it's really not that big).

Yes, that was the racetrack I was at. The Holiday Inn is almost next to the racetrack/fairgrounds. The owner of the track is one of my good friends so he's hooked me up a couple times with rides in the 2 seat sprint car. The first time I went was during the fair so there was a huge crowd watching me almost pee my pants! I then went up and was interviewed about it. It was the best roller coaster ride times 10! My mom went to sprint car driving school last year and loved it so I'm thinking about doing it myself! If you go to the bottom of the page here: http://www.kruseman.com/school.html you can see a pic of the 2-seater.

I'm just back from getting a great haircut from my friend Danny. When I went into the salon, I told him people had said they liked my hair longer. Danny gave me a big hug and told me it made me look older! Aaaarrrrgggghhh! So I told him to fix me and it truly is an "awsome" cut. Damned guy was right! Talk about queer eye for the straight gal!

Margo and her two kids (of the Hyper Pypers) will be here shortly. The kids are 11 and 13 and full of energy so I'm putting together a "help GrannyB job list for them". Maybe I can get them to shovel all the snow off the back veggie garden so I can plant! Just kidding! It's over 32 right now and the lads have started getting organized for tree tapping over in my maple bush!

SPRING is springing!

Hi Gals! Got lots going on the weather is nuts here... I did hit starbuck's this morning. got my tall skinny sugar free vanilla latte.. hmmmm oops hit the send button. Anyway, have a great OP day today, chicks!

Hi Ladies

I'm not feeling well today,and thought I come to post to let you know that I'm thinking about you all. Hope that anyone who weighed-in today had a great loss and the others, like me HERES TO NEXT WEEK. Hugs and take care BB

Hi ladies, just checking in.

YES, ringworm is contagious!! I couldn't resist sharing a ringworm story!! When I was in college my roommate rescued a stray kitten that had been born under a house and brought it home to live with us. It was really small and cute and our many visitors wanted to play with it. We had had it about one or two weeks when my roomie and I noticed we had ringworm. Soon our friends mentioned it too. When it was all said and done, a dozen people had contracted it and one guy even freaked out and went to the doctor and tried to get us to pay for it. In the end we named the cat "Ringo."

The maple tapping sounds YUM! Will there be any photos?

A quick cruise by for me. I just got back from takin mom for her test. No results til later of course. Been up and goin since 6 and now I am fixin to drive home. I wish I had time to take a nap first! lol Y'all chicks have a great afternoon. I've missed not havin time to read all the posts and keep up with the chick chat! lol

Did y'all know that ringworm is actually a fungal infection? Apparently it is very contagious in daycare centers (probably since kids are always touching each other). According to the research I did, only about 10% of infections come from animals but those are the most severe. I'm hoping our cats don't have it. They don't seem to be scratching.