Morning chicks -

Hey Mel - you stole, um I mean "borrowed" my kitty :rofl: Enjoy your time with Jen and Richie. And happy cooking you Julia Child you! :lol: DH chose a pool company, went and gave them half down (a consider sum of money) and now they will ignore us for 4 to 6 weeks. :rolleyes: Good chance no pool this season, except maybe to dip your feet in.

So Shad - what color did you decide on with the backsplash? Neutral again or some jazzy red like the hot tomato you are? :rofl:

Good luck with WW Ceejay. Many people say the price of the weekly meetings is worth the accountability of the weigh in.

Ellen, Annie have fun on your trips.

Isn't it near time for Summerfest Michelle?

Sorry to be so abrupt, just need to be in a hurry today. It's Friday :yay: Next week we get a long weekend :dance: Debating about using a precious vacation day to turn that from 3 days into a 4 day weekend. I guess DH and I have to figure out if we're going anywhere. I would love to head down to Alabamba (yes that's what we call it, not a typo) and head over to Gulf Shores and get a place on the beach for 3 days and just sit on the sand and listen to the surf and watch the stars at night. Guess it would probably be better for me if we went when all the little noisy kids were off the beach and back at school. Not that I mind noisy kids but when you're looking for a quiet get away, Disneyland is not the place to be. :lol:

Gotta run. Love to the chicks - sorry I didn't get to everyone :hug:

Good Morning Ladies and Happy Friday....

Busy day at work today. When it rains it pours. The jewelry party went marvelous. I will get $400. worth of FREE jewelry. Very exciting.

Not doing much this weekend, it is supposed to rain all weekend off and on. Bleck. I am tired of rain.

Have a great day today everyone.

Love and Hugs

HELLO HAPPY...YES I STOLE...I MEAN BORROWED THE CAT! ROFLMAO I THOUGHT YOU COULD USE A GOOD LAUGH THIS MORNING. YOUR IDEA FOR THE HOLIDAY WEEKEND SOUNDS GREAT!! LOT OF PLACES ARE COMPLAINING THEY AREN'T BOOKED UP LIKE THEY USUALLY ARE...GAS PRICES. HAPPY WEEKEND TO YA :beach:

ANNIE...CONGRATS ON THE PARTY WINNINGS!! WOW!! NICE HAUL! ENJOY THE NEW JEWELS!! YOU BLING CRAZY GAL!! BEEN RAINY HERE TOO...AND WEEKEND NOT LOOKING GOOD EITHER :rain:

HERE'S DR. BISHOP'S RECIPE FOR THE WEEK:
http://www.fotosearch.com/bthumb/BLD.../jg0222151.jpg
Whole-Wheat Pasta with Green Beans, Ricotta and Lemon

This delicious summer pasta is the perfect balance with creamy ricotta, crunchy green beans and juicy cherry tomatoes.

Ingredients
2 cups cooked whole-wheat pasta (recommended: linguine)

½ cup part-skim ricotta

3 tablespoons olive oil

½ pound green beans, trimmed and halved lengthwise (recommended: French)

1 clove garlic, chopped

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 cup halved cherry tomatoes

1 lemon, zested
Cooking Instructions:
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta reserving 1 cup of the cooking water. Transfer the hot pasta to a large bowl and add the ricotta cheese. Toss to combine.
Meanwhile, in a large, heavy skillet, warm the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the green beans, garlic, salt, and pepper and sauté for 4 minutes. Add 1 cup of the pasta cooking liquid and continue until tender, about 4 more minutes. Add the pasta with ricotta to the pan with the green beans and toss to combine. Add the tomatoes and gently toss. Transfer to a serving plate and top with lemon zest. Serve.
Makes 4 servings
Adapted from a recipe by Giada De Laurentiis from the Everyday Italian on the Food Network

MEL...and yet another yummy recipe. Might make this over the weekend since it will be all rainy and nasty. Will have to play inside.

mel...I think I will try this recipe when I get back...sounds yummy and so easy

Worldly Chickies...where we going in JULY???

Happy Friday ladies --

Just a very quick check in....It's been a crazy busy day today. Luckily just a couple hours 'till the weekend.

I went to the gym last night and did 1/2 hour of cardio dance and over an hour of strength training. I sure did work up a sweat, but it felt great -- just a little sore last night and today.

I'm not sure what we're doing tonight and this weekend. It'll probably depend on the weather.

I don't have a suggestion for where to go in July....but I do think it would be fun to Jazz it Up whereever we go? Or get Jiggy with it? :rofl:

Happy - I am using a precious vacation day to turn next weekend into a 4 day weekend. Actually, my company is giving us Thursday afternoon off, so I only have to use a 1/2 vacation day to get a whole day off - which made it a very easy decision. It is Summerfest time, but I'm not sure if DH and I will get there this year. We're feeling very spontaneous lately...especially since the weather has been unpredictable. That's a bummer that you might not have your pool at all. :(

Ceejay - Good luck with WW. I really like doing the flexible points plan.

Shad - I can't wait to see pics of the backsplash when it's in.

Annie - Wow! $400 of free Silpada! Good for you!! I too am tired of rain. :(

Mel - The pasta recipe sounds WONDERFUL! I'm definitely going to have to try that!.

Gotta get back to my projects.

Love and hugs,

Quickie - Shad's post in South Beach poked my conscience.

This has been one heck of a busy month and I'm heading into Fair prep this weekend aith a whirlwind of stuff happening in the next week.

My niece Anne announced TODAY that she wants to marry her Australian sheep farmer next frassing Saturday. My sister is freaking but Anne says "Just call Aunt Ruth. She'll pull it together, Mum!" I did get them a minister and it's going to be on the lawn at Joan's farm with only a dozen guests so.....Aunt Ruth can pull this together with garden flowers, lots of wine and a catered meal. Anne and Stuart were to get married last Sept. but decided they didn't know each other well enough. Since then they've had a baby so I guess they know each other well enough now!

My new dog, Disney, is working out really well. She is a sweetheart and, aside from some terrier barking, has excellent manners. We've been going to Obedience training on Sundays - unfortunately it reminds her of playtime at the shelter and she can't figure out why nobody plays. Her "boyfriend" is Manny, an Irish wolfhound! I must get pictures.

So this month has been busy - not much gardening because we've had rain every darned day! I did get two quilts finished and a couple of other projects started. My darned car gave me grief - new alternator and $525 to get it fixed.

Once again I'm apologizing for not being in here regularly. A problem person on the Beach and a tidal wave of newbies have kept me hopping.

I'll search you out in July and try to keep up better.

Morning all,
Well it is nearly afternoon really and I have been busy at the gym - another 7k and 530calories done. Not that it seems to be doing any good on the weight loss front and I am sad to say I am back to 79.6Kg AGAIN. I will really have to get serious or move on with this thing.

DS2 has gone to a wedding out the back of beyond. It will take him around 3 hours to get there so he has borrowed a camper trailer and will spend the night out under the stars and come home some time tomorrow.

The tiles I bought were:
White ripple 200x200mm (8x8" more or less) and some glass tile sheets in both smooth and ripple in a colour called Mocha. Now if you look into it carefully it is a sort of brownish shade. The surface has some sort of pearlised effect because with black it looks black, with white it appears silver and with the charcoal grey benchtop it looks greyish. It should tie the floor, cupboards and benchtops together hopefully. I'll take some photos as I go. Might get some of it done today.

Mel is back into the recipes again. I thought she was giving us wine at first seeing the grapes hanging on the vine. Pity she wasn't. Ruth and I would have been there immediately if not sooner. Recipes look good. Might try the pasta out one of these days. Although I really must stop eating and eating and eating.

ceejay - Weight watchers is a good program. Hope you have lots of success there.

Happy - Have fun if you go down to Alabama, Sounds like a good weekend. All I get for my next long weekend is Jakarta. Sounds like fun. What a pain about the pool.

Annie - good stuff on the jewellery party. You'll have to let us know what you get. Who knows where we will end up in July - how about Jonestown??

Michelle - Hope all those projects are now at the finale stage. It is time for you to wind down for a while from work. We could do with the rain you lot are getting. Just send it on over will you please?

Ruth - didn't mean to make you feel guilty, just had to read that joke and make a comment. Who was the bloke you were with????? :rofl:
Wedding is on again is it? I guess the folks won't be coming down to Aus this year either??? Not to worry, I am not in Perth anymore and it is just as far to Tasmania - well almost. Lovely place but.

Okay - I'm outa here and up a ladder to the hedge. Well past time I chopped that down. See ya.

Hi Ruth
Ouch on the car repairs.

Happy
Your trip to the gulf sounds good. I told myself that I wanted to go to the gulf and to both the pacific and atlantic ocean's before I'm 60.

Annie
Wow, that was a good jewelry party!

Mel
Would you believe that I've never eaten a cornish hen.

Michelle, Shad and Ellen :wave: Have a good week end.

Next week end is my 4 day week end. My aunt called me today to tell me that my uncle is getting his two brothers together for week end. My cousin is supposed to be here that week end also. I'll need to go for a visit.

Had my hair high lighted today. There's more high lights than I wanted but hey it works to hide the gray. Also had my hair cut. It was needing it.
Mowed the lawn for about 30 minutes this afternoon and also did some weed eating. I have never let my yard go this long with out mowing. Tomorrow I'll be mowing the back yard. I'm ready for the shower.

cee
hope you have a nice visit with your family. This rain. I can't keep up with the grass lol.

Oh the fleas are bad this year. We had the house done by orcan because the groomer said it must be loaded. Haven't even see one but on the dog but I had it done anyway. Put this stuff all over the lawn to kill fleas. Poor little Bella. No matter what I do she is covered with them. Even the revolution doesn't seem to take care of them. I am at my wits end about the fleas. They are driving her nuts.

Shad
Please, let us see pics when you are done. I love to see remodel jobs.

Ruth
Sounds like you have have had a lot going on.

Di
Hi


Annie
You all can come along lol. In July I am going to watch fireworks lol. Nice going on your party.

Happy
Hi

Have a couple more days around here and I will be all done with the house, laundry and the yard ( if it stops raining long enough ). Hubby is home and I told the kids the only thing they were allowed to do for the next two days was breath unless I told them differently lol.

:wave: RUTH...I WAS JUST THINKING OF YOU THE NIGHT BEFORE YOU POSTED. I SAW THE BEACH DISTURBANCE. WEIGHT LOSS CAN BE A TOUCHY THING. :rofl: GLAD DISNEY IS WORKING OUT. HAVE A WONDERFUL SUMMER :hug:

NICHELLE...SEEMS LIKE EVERYONE HERE WANTS THE SAME 4 DAY WEEKEND TOO :encore: BUT SOMEONE HAS TO MAN OUR OFFICE AND IT CAN'T BE ME...I CAN'T ANSWER ALL THE PHONE INQUIRIES SO I AM SAFE!!!. :rofl: HOPE YOUR 4 DAYS NEXT WEEK PROVE RESTFUL. :beach:

SHAD...THE COLOR COMBO SOUNDS VERY NICE AND I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO PIC WHEN YOU'RE DONE. HAPPY TILING!! IT WILL GIVE YOU SOMETHING OTHER THAN WORK TO DO WHILE THE WINTRY WINDS BLOW AND THE SNOW MOUNTS UP OUTSIDE YOUR HOME :brr: :rofl:
AS FAR AS BODY WEIGHT...I AM ABOUT BURNT OUT ON DIET PLANS, GOALS, YADA, YADA, YADA.....:faint: :cry:

CEEJAY...THEY ARE THE SAME AS CHICKENS TO ME BUT WITH MUCH LESS MEAT! JEN SAID I SHOULD JUST MAKE IT WITH A CHICKEN AND HAVE MORE! :rofl:
SO YOU GOT YOUR HAIR AND YARD MOWED AT THE SAME TIME...AND HIGHLIGHTED TO BOOT! GOOD FOR YOU! THE NEXT WEEKEND SOUNDS LIKE IT IS GOING TO BE FESTIVE WITH ALL THE UNCLES AND COUSIN!:cheers:

RENNIE...HOPE BY THE END OF THE WEEKEND THE KIDS ARE STILL BREATHING!! :rofl: :rofl: HOPE TOO YOU FIND A CURE FOR THE FLEAS. WHEN I LIEVED IN THE NCOUNTRY, WE HAD TO PUT FLEA POWDER AND SPRAY UNDER ALL OUR RUGS, BEDS AND FURNITURE. EVEN UNDER THE CUSHIONS. THE NOT ONLY ATE THE CATS BUT JEN AND I AS WELL :yikes: :cry: GOOD LUCK!

:wave: TO ELLEN...HOPE YOU ARE FEELING ALRIGHT KIDDO! :hug:

:cofdate: AS FOR ME.....NO ONE IS PLANNED TO BE HERE NOW. ALL BETS ARE OFF AND THE OFFICES ARE LOCKED. I THINK THE STEAMY WEATHER IS HELPING PEOPLE TO CANCEL! :rofl: THAT IS FINE WITH ME. THE KIDS ARE SAFELY AT THE NEW ABODE AND LOVING IT. THE "YDD" ASKED FOR MY IM LAST WEEK AND IM'S ME EVERY NIGHT AND MORNING WITH HER NEW LAPTOP :faint: IT'S CUTE BUT I NEEDED ONE MORE PERSON ADDED TO MY MORNINGS AND NIGHTS LIKE A HOLE IN THE HEAD. I THINK SHE IS MISSING HER "ABUELA"...GRANDMOTHER. THIS IS HER FIRST VISIT UP HERE SINCE THE FUNERAL.
I TOLD JEN TO TAKE EXTRA SPECIAL CARE WITH THEM THIS YEAR. I CAN SEE THE SADNESS IN THE CHILD'S EYES. I AM SURE WHEN THE YDS ARRIVES MONDAY HE WILL BE THE SAME WAY. SIGH.
I FIND IT IRONIC THAT THE :queen: QUEEN OF DRAMA, WHO IS 61 YRS OLD NOW AND IS IN SEARCH OF THE QUIET LIFE, IS CONSTANTLY BEING BOMBARDED WITH EVEN MORE DRAMA! THIS MUST BE PAYBACK FOR ALL THE DRAMA I DUMPED ON OTHER PEOPLE DURING THE COURSE OF MY LIFE :lol3: :lol3: :lol3: OH WELL.
I AM DOING A FLYLADY THING AND SHE IS FINISHING UP IN THE BEDROOM. IT WILL TAKE ME ALL WEEKEND TO SORT IT OUT!!!:tantrum: BUT THEN IT IS WAY TOO MUGGY FOR RIDING :scooter:
HAPPY SATURDAY/SUNDAY :sunny:

have to get moving ladies...so I will just say " have a great weekend" Will find the July thread when I get back from camping!

I THINK WE SHOULD ALL KEEP OUR JOYOUS FRIEND SHAD COMAPaNY IN JAKARTA AND GET JAZZED UP OVER THERE! :belly:

Mel
I need to be jazzed and joyous for awhile and meeting up with Shad in Jakarta sounds fun. Count me in.
Wish I could say that I could lock up the plant up and stay home tomorrow. I sure can't answer all the question's. I just refer them to the main office on Monday.

Reenie
Poor Bella. Does she wear a flea collar? Send the rain that you don't want down to Arkansas we need it.

I'm baking southern fried chicken this week end from the WW cook book.

This place seems desserted this morning. Must be due to the rain. I've got a couple of window's open. I love the smell after the rain.