Whew! What a hectic week it's been for us all! I am just delighted to not have my "guys" coming to work for two whole days. I can just schlepp around in my robe and slippers and have a leisurely breakfast and maybe two coffees!

There is absolutely no way I can comment to everyone's yesterday posts! What a lot of clucking we do! I don't know what the record is for number of posts in our daily but we must have been darn close! I'm exhausted from just reading them.

This morning I plan a soak in the tub once the house warms up and will be going out to lunch with my friend Claire. It'll be a ME day.

What's happening around your beach towel?

WHOOOHOOOOO it's the Weekend!

Ruth: Happppiest of Birthdays to ya darlin Schlep all you want in yer robe today! I am in my loverly Pink robe and leetle Pink slippers sippin my Cawfee
Heard from DH last night.. They extended him a "tentative " offer!!! DH just needs to have his background checked -which should be no problem! He's happy but was a little disappointed with the initial salary offering..so I guess they will be negotiating on that point... But there are soooo many positives associated with this job and company that well, we'll just suck it up!
OK n.e.e.d. m.o.r.e. c.a.w.f.e.e.

Homework is happening on my beach towel!

I've got a quiz to take today, a short paper to write on the mineral barite, some readings to finish, and a discussion thread post to write by Monday am for social psych. Oh, and another one to start on that's due Wednesday night on volcanoes for geology.

I've decided to bump up my goal weight. I was playing around with a BMI calculator, and decided to go with the top of the "normal" range as a goal, since I have a large frame. I can always lose more if I'm not happy there, but it's not too much lower than my lowest adult weight (ahh - if only I'd've stayed there!), and I was reasonably comfy there. A few more pounds would've been nice back then, but that would have been right around where my new goal weight will be, so that works well.

Ruth - enjoy your "you" day! You deserve it!!

All you other chickies - konnichi wa!

Birthday?! Happy Birthday Ruth! Have an extra-special "you" day today!

Schatzi - congrats about your DH! That's great news!

Hello ladies! I got in here early
today!! Well the weather is crappy today - which is fine by me. I have to go to work, so maybe it will be slow. I love my new boss, but she keeps giving me "projects"..no one else has "projects." Of course my theory is that they are idiots & that's way they are project free. Whatever...as long as I get promoted.
Ruthie--HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! Take it easy today...read a book for me!
Schatzi - great news about dh!!
H-ko -don't work too hard on that homework!
Well I'm off to join the land of retail!!

Happy Birthday Ruth!
Instead of saying good morning I am saying good night! LOL! I stayed up all night scrapbooking! LOL! It's a costly and time consuming hobby! Off to bed! (but just for a nap) Have a great weekend chicks!

Happy Birthday Ruth! Hope you have a great day!
Schatzi - Great news about DH's job offer!
H-ko - Good luck on your quiz and the paper!
Jennie - Get some sleep, girl!

As for me, I'm sipping on some java, java, java and having an omelet with lots of veggies for breakfast. It's a relatively un-busy weekend for me, which I'm very thankful for. Besides cleaning and finally clearing away the last of the Christmas decorating carnage, I'm getting my hair permed.

You ladies have a great day!

I am heading out to the gym for weigh in and work out. I am trying a new class. I will post when I come back...hopefully with good news!

Morning Chicks!


HAPPY BIRTHDAY RUTH!!!!!! You deserve the best chick day ever! You must be a Capricorn like me? I'm actually a cusp Saggitarius and Capricorn. That means I'm a flaky control freak. I'll bet you are a cusp for Aquarius and Capricorn. Have a great day.

Jenny - you are a die hard. I haven't been able to scrap book for awhile. I'm jealous!

Schatzi - Good for DH! I need coffee too!

H-Ko - Good luck with the work today!

Soon - It's crappy on this side of Michigan too! The temperature dropped 10 degrees in the hour I was driving home from the farm last night. It was 43 when I pulled into the farm and 33 when I pulled into my driveway.

I have the annual chili cook off today. Plus I have to work on my fundraiser for the soup kitchen and I have my third appointment today too! Which by the way I'm glad I'm doing! It will be busy today. This is the annual chili party that I partied all night last year so this year I'm just breezing in to say hi to everyone and pretend eat a little chili and pick up DF and get out of there!!!! I don't want to ruin my diet. I'm one pound away from meeting my Jan weight loss goal.

Have a good day chicks!

Good morning chicks!

Ruth Happy Birthday! Hope that your day is marvelous!!

Morning Schatzi, H-Ko, Soon, Chili, Jana, and Jennie- Have a super day!!

Schatzi- I feel your pain with the salary. DH took a job back in April that was at a slightly lower salary, but with an excellent company. There is so much room for advancement and good benefits. It has just been tough tightening up the already tight purse strings. Somehow we all manage though, right?? Builds character, right??? Shhot- I am so freaking tired of building character.......

My sister is in town from LA this weekend, so we will have lots of family time. We are going to go bum around at IKEA for a few hours this morning and then my older daughter has a birthday party to attend this afternoon.

My eating hasn't been too stellar these past 2 days, so already I will be refocusing my efforts. Geez.... why can't I just get myself together??? I know there is a hot mama buried under here somewhere.

Morning Amy!! DF- is that fiance??????

Is Ellis okay? I haven't posted much in months, but haven't notices posts from her in the last week or so.

Lovely tubby! Now I am nearly ready to face the day. Sure would be nice if someone would go get me the newspaper!

Kiko, ellis is now MOD on the Chicks In Control Forum but still pops in here to snoop. Enjoy your time with your sis - sisters are a gift!

Chili, good for you on the exercising. You set such a good example. Reminds self of treadmill session needed.

Schatzi, I hope your DH can negotiate a better salary deal. Where will the new job be located?

H-Ko, brainwork is supposed to burn calories, right? Good decision on bumping your goal weight. You can always change it later depending on how you feel.

Soon, what type of retail are you in? It's not so hard to work Sarurday if the weather is crappy.

Jennie, you stayed up ALL NIGHT doing scrapbooking!! Is it that fascinating?

Janna, I had a veggie omelet too this morning! Mine had a tiny bit of ham in it so could be called Western, I guess. It was crying for a toast accompaniment but I resisted!

Anchor, we are still pretty mild at 39ºF but a freeze is on the way - unless you'd like to keep it over there? I hope to get my lane sanded before it turns back into a rink.

Time to light the stove in the back room and take off the chill and damp for The Girls and me. Back later.

Well... I've been having second, third, and fourth thoughts about my educational goals. I had decided on teaching secondary school as a career goal, but then I started worrying that it was not the right choice. I felt like I had chosen it for the wrong reasons. That is to say, I didn't choose it because I love to teach or want to work with kids or anything so noble as that. I chose it because I thought I could do it, because it seemed like a stable and secure choice, and because the hours involved would still allow me to be home for DS after school and roughly on the same schedule of breaks that he would be on (ie, winter, spring, summer, holidays).

On the other hand, I LOVE drafting. For a long time I mistook it for a love of architecture, but I had an epiphany one day not too long ago: I don't really care that much about buildings and how to design them per se. It's the designwork itself that I love. Basically, any kind of engineering or architectural career would satisfy me (at least in that regard). However, the education would be more difficult to manage as I wouldn't be able to get the degree via distance learning - I'd have to attend classes on-campus. That limits my choices for universities as well as requiring additional daycare for DS (read: still more expenses). Right now, we are smack in the middle class. DH makes too much to qualify for financial aid or anything helpful like that, but at the same time, it's just barely enough to meet our day-to-day expenses. As it is, we have to dip into savings for any additional expense. Plus, we don't have health or dental insurance, so anything in the way of medical expenses comes out of pocket. So money is definitely a concern.

At any rate (sorry for the rambling!), I've been in a constant state of flux, trying to decide what to do. I've prayed often for guidance, but I still wasn't sure what I should do.

Then while looking up my geology teacher's college webpage, I bumped into a link for the text of a speech she gave to the 2005 graduating class. I decided to read it on a whim, and right smack in the middle of my screen, in huge blue letters, were these words: "DO WHAT YOU LOVE". It's not exactly a burning bush, but still - it seems like too much to be purely coincidental (given that the whole chain of events was purely whimsy on my part). So I think I will be changing my major and my goals, and working towards some engineering-related field, perhaps urban planning or environmental engineering. I haven't really gotten that far yet. I don't know yet how we'll do it, but I'm just going to trust that God will provide. I'm a proponent of the doctrine of stewardship, so I do find the idea of working in the field of environmental science or environmental engineering appealing.

Anyway, I thought I'd share that with all of you (since you're practically family!).

Hi Ladies
I had along post this more and my stupid computer cut it off I was up to KiKo.

Now if I can remember what I wrote.

Happy Birthday-Ruth- and have many many healthy ones.

Well I wanted to let you know that that Ilost 1.5 lbs staying OP on my Phase 1.5[adding 1 grain carb back]

Schatzi-You sound so cute in your PRETTY IN PINKout fit. Hope very thing works out for you DH and the job.

h-ko-Good Luck on your quiz. I had the some problem deciding my goal as I have a heavy frame so the doctor suggested to to stop at 140 which would give me a healthy BWI of 24.

soon-Your boss trusts you with the projects,and I see a promotion coming your way.

Jenne-Have a good nap and we'll see you later.

Jana-Have fun taking down the decorations. Hate That job[puting all the lights back in the boxes one by one] Putting them up is a different story.

Chilichik-Wishing you a good W-I

Anchor-Chili competition,I love chili. Maybe you can share your recipe for us.

kiko-Have a great time with your family.Sending good:vibes for your eating habits.

Have a great morning Will post later Hugs BB