Hey there ladies,

If the calendar is correct - a new page has turned and we are in the homestretch for the year.

Can't believe how things are racing by - if only the scale moved that quickly! Let's summon up the strength to move a little faster and flip our nose up at all the temptations that await us this month.

And... it's December so that means (throwing down the checkered flag...) that's ok to post all the Christmas avatars, stickers, counters and tags that your little hearts desire...


Here's a link back to the old November Thread - Worldly Chicks in November

Happy - Thanks so much for starting the new thread!! You're right, I wish the scale moved as quickly as the calendar....but unfortunately when it does it's in the WRONG direction!

Okay....I just posted in November....but since it is December, I'll re-post. Sorry for the repeat.

Hi everyone -

Work was CRAZY busy yesterday. I work for a retail corporation, and as such, the weekend (and subsequent week) following Thanksgiving is the busiest time of year for us. In fact, it may very well be insanely busy right through Christmas. (At least that's what I'm hoping. Busy is very good at this time of year, when retailers make the bulk of their money.).

So I didn't get to the gym on Sunday due to a migraine and didn't get there yesterday due to exhaustion. In fact, food was pretty lousy yesterday too.

But, it's December 1, and I'm on the 21-Day Challenge thread, so if I jump back on the wagon and stick to my challenges, I can get an entire round of challenges complete before Christmas, and a second round complete by mid-January...which should see me through the holidays with a loss. BTW, speaking of weight, I am not expecting a good weigh in on Thursday. I'll probably be up by at least a pound or two, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed for less.

I've missed out on all the Worldly happenings for the end of November. Time to get caught up.

Happy - I hope your foot surgery went well and that you're not in too much pain. You're doing so well with meal planning and staying within points. Sorry you missed seeing the Space Station. Unfortunately, we missed it too. If you're express shipping chicken noodle soup and homemade bread, send some my way please! Yummy! As for Chicago, we are really looking forward to it. I really enjoyed the Museum of Science and Industry when we went there a couple years ago (not at Christmastime). Don't know if we'll get there this trip....but we'll see. Thanks for the great suggestions.

Mel - We'll be purchasing our tree this week and putting it up this coming weekend. And I'm getting into the Christmas spirit, at least more than I thought I would be. We're not big on tinsel...just because of the doggies get to it and eat it....well, let's just say it can knot them up pretty bad internally. As for snowfall, it's been so lovely here and relatively warm for this time of year (upper 40s), I wouldn't mind having a green Christmas. I haven't had one of those since we moved here from CA 8 years ago. Good that you're picking up extra hours in the office...but DON'T WORK TOO HARD young lady!! And steer clear of the dusty spaces, okay? You should definitely get goggles or something for when you're cleaning and decluttering. I often wear a mask over my mouth and nose when I clean, especially if my asthma starts flaring up.

Shad - Yikes, those hail and wind storms you had were fierce! You are so right that herding penguins is hard work. I can just imagine dogs trying to herd penguins! That's way too funny! DH and I just have to get to Australia and NZ to see the penguins there "in the wild". I hope you find a good woman to be your wife since you're so busy with all the renovation work! Congrats on getting the job!

Laura - So sorry to hear about your mom's fall. I hope she's doing better. Could you please PM me the recipe for the peanut butter dog biscuits? My doggies love peanut butter biscuits. Wow, with your high praise and recommendation of the Museum's Christmas display, we just might have to add that to our list of things to do. We're definitely going to the Christkindlmarket. Thanks for the link!!

Ceejay - I'll try and get a photo of our front yard lit up, since you like Christmas lights. Good for you for doing the Sansome DVD! Pizza might not have been the best way to "reward" your efforts, but I'm sure it was delish!! I LOVE me a good pizza, as opposed to the faux WW or Lean Cuisine pizzas.

Annie - Sorry to hear that the CVS shoppers were so mean and rude. Where's your holiday spirit, people? Sheesh! I hope your mom continues to get better. Sending love and and to you and to her.

Patty - I hope you and Blackie and your family had a great Thanksgiving!

Well, time to get back to the insanity! I'll try and check in later.

Love and big hugs,

THANK YOU MISS HAPPY~ YOU HAVE NOW OPENED THE FLOODGATES FOR ALL THE HOLIDAY GIFS AND JPEGS!!! I COULDN'T BE HAPPIER. I CAME BACK TO BEGIN A NEW THREAD AND YOU ALREADY HAVE!! GREAT WORK. HOW IS THE FOOTSIE??

ANNIE~ DON'T BE SPANKING ME...I JUST MIGHT LIKE IT HOPE YOU HAVE LESS MEANIES DURING THE HOLIDAY SHOPPING NOW. ALL THE CRAZIES ARE OUT FOR SURE. HUGS FOR YOU AND MOM


MICHELLE~ GOOD LUCK WITH THE 21 DAY CHALLENGE HOPE YOU MAKE IT RIGHT THRU THE MONTH!! BEING BUSY IN RETAIL IS A GOOD THING I AGREE!! LOL SO LET'S ALL GO OUT THERE AND SHOP TILL WE DROP!!

Mel - I LOVE that picture you just posted. I'm going to steal... um make a copy and borrow it

Feeling festive...

Anesthetic wore off sometime during the restless night I had. Foot is uncomfortable but not horridly so. Biggest hassle is having to sit with it elevated. That makes me want to doze off which messes up the sleep habits at night.

Still at home - will go back to work tomorrow. Shuffle, shuffle... Trying to get a few things done on the work front - sit a bit, elevate a bit. Got to get on a conference call in a few minutes - will catch up with you and personals in a bit.

May I sneak back? It's been a crazy summer and fall and I've been around but not in here.

All is well and I'm refusing to get my knickers knotted about Christmas. I'll be home this year instead of out in British Columbia - much better than listening to them all gripe about snow. We had a sprinkle overnight but now it's just a drizzle.

I hope to get in here more often and catch up on all the worldly doings. I've sure missed a lot!

Welcome back, Ruth!! We missed you!!! Love your avatar...what a beautiful Mill.

Hello everyone and Happy December 1st! Hard to be back at work, but it's a short week, so I'll survive. Our really busy time has passed, so things are calmer, but there's still plenty to do. Haven't reached my mother "live" to ask how her doctor's appt yesterday re her hip went.

Happy - Thanks for starting our new thread. I have to say one of us (that would be me) might briefly stop to pick up a dessert, sort of like the marathoners grab water...

Annie - Glad to hear your mother is holding her own and that she's in a better rehab facility. Sorry you had to deal w/ such rude shoppers! I'm getting tired of the rude drivers and pedestrians - everyone's busy talking and texting on their cell phones that no one's paying attention, and I don't think they much care if they're cutting you off or not keeping to the right. I shouldn't have gotten started!

Ceejay - Great job doing those dvd workouts! I did a BE workout yesterday morning (from my homemade dvd), and took doggy for a nice walk by the creek. I can well understand the pizza indulgence. When I'm being mindful about it, we'll order half veggie. And always thin crust, unless we go to our favorite place (every couple months) and get deep dish. Okay, no more food porn!

Michelle - Good luck on your challenges! I'm trying to end the year at or below the weight I started it at, which was 182. The scale showed up a pound this morning, boo. But it's TOM week too, so that could also be a factor. More likely is just eating too many calories. Here's the link for the PB biscuit recipe, provided it displays and works:

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/birthday-bones/detail.aspx

I usually halve it, but last Christmas I made the whole batch and gifted some to bf's sister's doggy. With multiple dogs, I'm sure you'd make the full recipe, especially if they love PB as much as my dog! The only unsalted PB I've found in our local stores is the Krema brand.

Shad - Back to work with you!! Ha, what you've been doing is a job, if not a paying one! Every time I read your posts I feel like such a sloth! Hope the new job is close to home.

Okay, I keep getting interrupted, so I'm going to get this posted! Have a great day everyone!

It took me so long to post I missed Mel and Ruthie's posts!

Mel - Keep those holiday graphics and icons coming - I love them!

Ruth - Howdy!!! Good to have you here!!

Posting this for all our flower lovers....

This is the world's smallest species of orchid. It's 2.1 millimetres wide and its transparent petals are just one cell thick.

It was found hidden in the roots of a larger plant in the Cerro Candelaria nature reserve in the eastern Andes in Ecuador by botanist Lou Jost.

It belongs to the genus Platystele which contains 95 species of orchid, most of which are miniature.

Jost has a knack for finding orchids: in the past decade, he has discovered 60 that were unknown to science, reports British newspaper The Independent.

One orchid discovered by Jost in Ecuador was so small that, "it looked like a piece of dirt at first", he says. According to Dr Calaway H. Dodson, more than 3,700 orchid species reside in Ecuador.

(Image: Lou Jost)

Hi Laura - I will definitely end the year below the weight I started it, which was around 240. But I'd really like to end it below the weight I was at the beginning of November, which was 220.6. Thanks for the PB biscuit recipe! That's wonderful! I'm sure my doggies will love them!! I may wait until Doppler can handle more crunchy food.

HAPPY~ I FOUND THE PICS I USE BY TYPING SOMETHING LIKE MERRY CHRISTMAS GIFS OR WHATEVER I WANT BUT ALWAYS WITH GIFS ON THE END. LOL SO COPY AWAY MY SOUTHERN BELLE!! HOPE THE FOOT IS OK AT WORK TOMORROW. DON'T LET ANYONE TRIP OVER IT!!!

RUTH...YOUR AVATAR IA MY DESKTOP PICTURE!! I HAVE LOVED THIS PIC FOR A LONG TIME. GOOD TO SEE YOU HERE. STAY WARM AND TOASTY UP THERE IN THE FROZEN NORTH HNOW'S TRICKS???

LAURA~ HOPE EVERYTHING WENT WELL WITH MOM. THEY CAN BE SOOO STUBBORN AT TIMES. KEEPING FINGERS CROSSED TILL YOU REACH HER. GLAD IT'S SLOWED DOWN SOME AT WORK. SHORT WEEKS ARE GOOD THING I WANT TO END THE YEAR LIGHTER TOO...I'M DOWN A HALF POUND THIS MORNING

MICHELLE~ THAT ORCHID IS ADORABLE. WE HAD A FRIEND WHO USED TO GROW THEM. HE AND HIS MOM MADE A "HOTHOUSE" OUT OF A BAY WINDOW-ROOM WHERE THEY WERE LIVING AT THE TIME. VERY CUTE.
THANKS FOR SHARING...I FEEL WARMER ALREADY!!

WE GOT A DELIVER FROM DRUGSTORE,COM AND JEN HELPED ME SORT OUT A CABINET IN THE BATHROOM SO I CAN REACH THE "DAILY" STUFF MORE EASILY. PRETTY SOON EVERYTHING WILL JUST HAVE TO BE LYING ALL OVER THE FLOOR!!! SHE LEFT AND I AM BORED WATCHING TV. EYEDROPS ARE WORKING SO I AM BROWSING THE PC FOR A FEW SHORT MOMENTS.

Happy December!

Happy
Thanks for starting the new thread. I like the title also. Keep that foot elevated as much as possible. Was the cyst on the top or bottom of your foot? Do you have a walking boot?

Annie
People shouldn't be so rude. Tell them Santa will not be coming to their house. I had a rude customer last night also. I told her that she could pay the amount plus the reconnect fee to get her utilities back on. She was going into her long speech defending herself but I politely told her that she would have to dispute her problem after 8 in the morning. She slammed her phone down.
Arkansas has passed a law that no one can drive while texting.
Keeping you and your mom in my thoughts.

Michelle
I hadn't thought about ordering the veggie pizza. I do get the thin crust.

Mel
Sounds like you are in the holiday spirit. Keep those avatars/graphics coming.

Laura
I do get quiet a few steps in at work but I don't feel like this is enough. I'm hoping this extra 20 to 30 minutes will help. Hope your mom is doing better also.

Ruth
We have missed you. You are most welcome any time.

Shad
You are a working woman. You make me tired just reading your posts.

There is not much going on reight now. Rain is in the forcast tomorrow and the late Wednesday and Thursday a possible mxiture of snow and rain.

Mel - Great Christmas tree!! So cool that your friend made a "hothouse" out of a Bay Window. I never had much luck with orchids. I prefer geraniums...they are easy to grow. Good for you for getting all your daily stuff where you can get to it easily! Don't stay too long on the computer. Rest those eyes, Mel!

Ceejay - Veggie pizzas are good, but I prefer EVERYTHING (hold the anchovies). I didn't know you got snow down there in Arkansas.

I am tired this afternoon. It's been a long day. But I NEED to go to the gym tonight, and keep going most nights, if I'm going to lose weight this month. So I guess I will be dragging myself to the gym, no matter how much my body says it wants to just veg out in front of the TV. Depending on how warm it feels outside (supposedly in the mid 40s), I might take a long walk instead and go my crunches and resistance exercises at home. It's supposed to drop to the low to mid 30s for the rest of the week, and probably get colder still after that.

Morning all,
Thanks for starting up the new thread Happy. I came back to do it yesterday but got sidetracked. Life's like that round here.

I don't actually have the job officially yet. Just the dates for the Christmas Holidays. I was supposed to hear yesterday, but nothing. I shall have to point out a few things to them today if they wish me to start asap. It takes five days from the receival of contract to the time I can start. That doesn't usually include weekends. Nobady seems to understand that bit. The job will be in country Victoria - about 1 hour out of Melbourne and on the edge of the Yarra Valley (wine trail) and where those disasterous fires were earlier this year. I'm still looking at accommodation.

Michelle - when you come downunder, I will take you to see the Hohoi (yellow-eye) penguins at the bottom of the South Island. There is a big penguin colony of all different sorts down there as well as the nesting spot for the Giant Albatross - magnificent bird.
Loved the orchids

Mel - go away and rest those eyes instead of filling us with Christmas stuff. There is enough junk everywhere I go in the malls. Jingle tills, jingle tills, jingle to the bank. etc etc. Glad the eyes are better. The spelling has improved too!!

Happy - glad to hear the surgery went well and you are not too incapacitated. Lucky you can work from home if you want to.



Mel - aaaah the Mill. Yep I remember that place. It's as pretty as it looks in the picture. How I envy you the village life.

Laura - those PB biscuits sound almost good enough to eat. The TV vet here had a recipe and a bone shaped cutter to make his cookies. They looked good too. Had herbs in them.

Ceejay - rain is in the forecast for here too. Just can't seem to get it right as to when. It's a bit dark looking out there now but I can't smell the rain yet.

Time to go take another lot of boxes to the house shed. It's good to get them out of my place again. I'm only keeping the family history stuff, stamp collections and paintings here. Hopefully, that will keep them safe.

Right - well off to get the last boxes round to the house. Then a bit of sanding and washing and back here for the housework I didn't get done yesterday.

See you later.

Gez have you chickies been busy posting. Forgive me if I am not in the Christmas spirit.

Chelle...I love, love, love your avitar. It is so pretty, even if it is Christmasy. Get your bunz to the gym, my sista, someone from this group has to make us look good, and it sure is not me.

Happy...my thread startin' sista, a great big thanks for that, my dear. Hope the foot is feelin much better and you got some good drugs for the occasion. Better living through chemicals.

Shad...you need to go back to work to rest. You are one hard workin' woman. If only the work joints you contract through would follow "Shad's Rules" things would run smoothly.

Ceejay...Needless to say I feel that lady's pain of reconnect fees. It is hard making ends meet then have to pay the extra fee. Altho deserved, it is so hard these days. It is also hard to be on the receiving end of rudeness. May the force be with you.

MELLIE MELLIE...Finally, it is your time of year. Have at it sista. Somehow I just knew you would like the spanking..lol. You little stinker you.

Ruthie...welcome back. We missed you and your cleverness, I have been keeping up with you on facebook tho.

Laura...thanks for the biscuit recipe. I am sure the Hella pup will love them if I can get my sh*t together and make them.

Update on my DS...he was 8 lbs over and has to wait 30 days to try again for the Army. I felt badly for him but silently felt happy inside. Oh holy crap, I think I already told you all this. I must be in early stages of alltimers disease.

Mom did do as well today in therapy, I think she was tired. She gets transferred to the "nicer" rehab tomorrow. I hope they take better care of her. If she suffers any more setbacks, I am unsure she will survive.

I will say I have no more tears for anything at this time. I am dried up. Just kind of numb to life right now. Actually look forward to working both jobs to keep my mind occupied.

Have any of you heard the song by country artist Luke something, "Do I". Yikes, gets me right in the heart.

Guess I have babbled enough. Gonna finish my margarita and hit the hay.

Thanks you sweet worldlies for being here for me. You are the best and it is great to know you have my back.

Much Love and Many hugs,