mdrai

Yes! Surprise us, Haydee! :tongue2: Is it Weds already... zip zip... the weeks fly by! Work work work today... Down another lb... yay! Amazing what following the rules will do, huh? Everyone make it a great day!

Poor Ayla... poor Mommy! ~~ Seasonal funny:

Cyber Monday's over, yet I'm still shopping! :smile: I figure if they're going to ship stuff to me for free, it saves my time & hassle running all over town... I've purchased a bedside table for dd, a "gamer" chair for ds, shoes, cool lunchboxes, a stadium seat (for my sis for when she comes to ds's soccer games... those metal bleachers are hard!), and the biggest ticket item was an entire pre-lit (white AND multicolor) 7'5" Christmas tree (I got 32% off + free shipping)! Other gifts will be tennis lessons for ds, continued horse leasing for dd, a bike trainer for dh (so he can ride inside during the winter), and maybe one of those outside fire pit thingies + fire wood for dh... The January trip to Mexico is supposed to be our "big" gift... I keep reminding the kids that this isn't going to be a "laptop/i-touch/cell phone" Christmas like last year!

Oh dear, Haydee... I hope that renting the Bubbleator for us wasn't the budget-buster! :smile: Here are some ideas: DJ: Judy can sing Linens: we can all bring a tablecloth & we promise we won't spill so no need for napkins Liquor: Janie can make big bowls of margi's! Doesn't Laura still have enough liquor at her house to drown a crowd? Catering: Food! How about one of those crock pot pepper roasts & a few sopapilla cheesecakes? Voila! :tongue:

Fabulous pics, Pam... sparkly santa hats w/palm trees & all! You're taunting me w/the palm trees... and your smiling faces! You two look great! I got the kids off to school then conked out on the couch for 2 hours! :smile: Bad mommy! I've got to clean & zip out to the grocery store before Fed Ex gets here... once my work package arrives, I have to work, work, work like the wind! Yesterday was a great food day for me -- finally! I can't believe how much I've gained. I found my highest & lowest weights and I'm somewhere in between... I really do want to be done w/this... now if I could only remember that when faced with food! Maybe I should get a fill? Remember I had that emergency un-fill before I went to Cali? I don't want it to be too tight again... but I barely know it's there as it is... decisions, decisions... Make it a great day everyone! December is here! I can't believe it!!

Anyone else "Cyber Monday" shopping w/me?? Cha-ching!

Sounds heavenly, Pam! (The mountain and your day yesterday!) Chapters are done & returned. Phew!

I'd recognize that eye anywhere! Hi Tracy! Sounds like you're in the game... kutgw! Snoring? Moi? (oh yeah, you roomed w/me... he he he...) It's Monday! Back to work! Bleh. The rush is really on now... can you believe that I'm just finishing up some chapters that they're trying to have published by the end of the year? Wowza! & tomorrow I'm getting final proofs that I need to try to turn around in 1 day! Let the fun begin! I'm try try trying to eat properly & move a bit today, too. Just today. Cross your fingers! Smooches!

Do you think she means Sopapilla Cheesecake? :confused: :tt2:

Good Sunday Morn, Vi's~~ Slowly getting the house back together... key word is "slowly"... time enough to rush coming up in the month ahead! Speaking of which... I dared to peek ahead to our Dec calendar... :confused: Lots to do and & just 3.5 weeks to do it in! And so it goes... Somehow I GAINED 5 lbs in Nov... well, I know HOW... ugh. Sigh. "If at first you don't succeed..." or second... or third... or fourth... "Hope springs eternal!" My mottos.

I've always known that Sus was a Vi @ heart! Purple computers... :Yawn:

Good Morning, Vi's~~ ((Judy))... I'm with you in spirit today. ~~ Stayed in bed 'til 9am this morning! :sad: That almost never happens! Still in pj's. All our guests have left to try to beat traffic... it's quiet here! Lots of cleaning up to do... but no rush, which is nice. I'm moving so slowly... a week of cramming everything in has taken its toll on me! I feel like one of the Macy's Parade balloons! :Yawn: Must. climb. back. onto. wagon. Enjoy your days!

Happy Leftovers Day! Whew! Still have a house full... did the full-on huge lox/bagels/cream cheese & all the fixins breakfast and by the time that was cleaned up it was time for lunch -- open-faced hot turkey sandwiches w/all the fixins... I've got the crocker full of veggie beef soup but no one's hungry yet... finally!! It's been a nice time w/dh's family. Everyone leaves tomorrow and then I'll re-clean the house & start thinking Christmas. Oh, and getting back on the wagon. Oh my. Hope everyone is enjoying the long weekend... I keep thinking that today is Saturday! Smooches!

First moment I've had to sit down all day! Happy Thanksgiving, Violets! I am thankful for the true friendship and caring that we share. Peace be with each of you and your families today. Pam, enjoy the meds & take it easy...

Good eve, Violettas... Ok, 2 vodka fuzes and I'm typing tipsy, I admit it! I baked a batch of molasses cookies, 4 pies, 6 pumpkin breads, 24 pumpkin cheesecake muffins, sweetpotato casserole, egg/sausage casserole & monkey bread. Phew. No wonder I'm fat! I love Thanksgiving! Good night. Sweet dreams.

Ahhhhh Pam... you sound so relaxed & laid back... I'll be thinking of you during your lipo!... mmm mmm margies!!! I've got the Fr apple pie in the oven so will sit & work while it bakes... then it's off to the horse show... Dinner out after... then back home for more baking... altho I think I'll enjoy some wine or vodka fuze while I bake this eve!! And so it goes...

Your day sounds like mine, Laura... I woke up & started baking! IToday I need to make: molasses sugar cookies, French apple pie, pumpkin roll, caramel pecan, coconut cream pie, 6 pumpkin breads & 2 dozen pumpkin/cream cheese muffins (for the horse show today, oh yeah, I have time to go to a horse show... :ohmy:). Tomorrow I'll do the green bean cassarole, sweet potato casserole, cranberry sauce, stuffing, mashed pots, gravy and oh yeah, the turkey! I've already done the muffins & 3 pump breads... I *thought* the cookies, too, but they're a mess because I put in twice as much butter as I was supposed to & caught the mistake too late (when the cookie sheet came out of the oven w/1 big cookie all oozed together on the pan). But it tastes great -- I crumbled it up & put it all in a zip bag to use as crumbles on top of ice cream! When life hands you molasses sugar cookie goo, make topping! I'm taking a break now... I need to SLOW down when I re-enter the kitchen!! My editor sent me 2 "urgent" chapters, as well this morning! WTF? Hope you're all doing well in your kitchens!!

Phew! Just got back from a 3-hr start-to-finish grocery shopping expidition!! :redface: I *saved* more than $120, if that gives you a hint of what it cost me to end up w/2 carts rolling out to my car at the end of it!! Then I got to pile it into the car, lug it into the house, & put it all away (not to mention COOK it all over the next few days!)!! Then ds came home from school, saw all the yummies in the pantry & 'frig, and said, "But what is there that I can eat NOW?" :ohmy: The answer, of course, was "Nothing!" :confused:

Good Morn, Vi's~~ Another day of cleaning AND for even more added fun I'm going to go do the big Turkey Day grocery shopping! I know, I know... such the glamorous life! Make it a great day, every one!

Great pic, Laura! What funny Santa stories!! What a day! I've been cleaning like a fiend (& dh has actually helped as well... must be a Thanksgiving miracle, lol!)... but we'll be all set for decorating over the weekend, that's for sure! I opened the hall closet just now and it was exactly like Fred Flintstone's closet... stuff came tumbling out all over... so I just tore it all apart, threw out a ton of stuff, "found" a bunch of items I forgot we even had!, and organized the rest. Huge dust bunnies were floating in the air... it was so bad that it was funny! I finished the Kthy Griffin book... it was ok... after awhile the stories started sounding a bit repetitive, but the boys were watching both football AND the MLS finals last night, so I was relegated to my room so I just finished it. She's wacky, that's for sure! Ok... off to chillax and then bed... more cleaning AND TG grocery shopping tomorrow -- oh joy! Peace, girlies!

A friend just sent me this... :biggrin: THE GOOD NAPKINS The joys of having girls. My mother taught me to read when I was four years old (her first mistake). One day, I was in the bathroom and noticed one of the cabinet doors was ajar. I read the box in the cabinet. I then asked my mother why she was keeping "napkins" in the bathroom. Didn't they belong in the kitchen? Not wanting to burden me with unnecessary facts, she told me that those were for 'special occasions' (her second mistake). Now fast forward a few months....It's Thanksgiving Day, and my folks are leaving to pick up my uncle and his wife for dinner. Mom had assignments for all of us while they were gone. Mine was to set the table. When they returned, my uncle came in first and immediately burst into laughter. Next came his wife who gasped, then began giggling. Next came my father, who roared with laughter. Then came Mom, who almost died of embarrassment when she saw each place setting on the table with a 'special occasion' Kotex napkin at each plate, with the fork carefully arranged on top. I had even tucked the little tail in so they didn't hang off the edge!! My mother asked me why I used these and, of course, my response sent the other adults into further fits of laughter.. 'But, Mom, you said they were for special occasions!!!' Pass this on to your girlfriends who need a good laugh or anyone who has a daughter! Life is too short for drama & petty things, so kiss slowly, laugh insanely, love truly and forgive quickly....and for heavens sake, use the good napkins whenever you can!

Good Monday morn, Vi's~~ It's Turkey week! Today (& every day) will be spent getting ready for my guests, hosting my guests, and then cleaning up from my guests... lots of cleaning and cooking and baking this week! Let the holiday season officially begin! & I finally got a swine flu app't for dd, so I take her @ 10am. Other than all that... :biggrin:... nothing on the agenda! Make it a good day... you're all in my heart!

Oh, Judy, I'm so sorry for you! How sad. That is why it's so important to enjoy life as much as possible every day and let the people in your life know that you love them... I love you, Violets!!! Don't delay joy! Prioritize people, not things! It's the moments we share and the memories we make and the love we give that counts... not where we live or what we drive or if the house is dusty...

"The bobster and I enjoyed the hot tub last night" :bored: Carpet cleaners have come & gone... yay! Am trying to take my food as it comes... make good choices moment by moment... v. my usual approach of "if I eat something BAD, then the rest of the day is a free for all" or the ever-present "well, it's Thanksgiving next week, so why bother to eat properly now?"... I am such a mental case when it comes to food, really! So I'm trying to just make a series of small good decisions, and hope they add up to weight loss. Bleh. B'fast: yogurt/strawberry protein smoothie coffee Lunch: sautee w/ 4 oz. soy strip chicken w/onions, shrooms, rotel toms, , & broc Off to stir the sautee!

((Pamela)) There are no words... I just send you my love, dear friend. TRACYinKS!!~~ or now, simply Tracy, our #1 truly wonderful Violet Tracy... welcome home, darling! We've been waiting... knowing that you would return to the true Vi's when you were ready & able... you've never left our hearts... I too feel the peace in your posts and get the sense that you've been through so much but are on the better side of it all... more balance, peace, time. You're an amazing woman!! Judy... long sent + only 1 comma... good one! LOL @ the turkey pic! Laura, I heard that pumpkin shortage report, too! Oh no! I've got about 6 cans in the pantry, but will need about 20 or so more to get through the holiday season (my "official" holiday pumpkin bread baking season begins tomorrow, as the first 3 will be given to the poms coaches @ the banquet on Sunday). Good morning, Janie & Heather! Am sitting here @ the kitch table on the laptop waiting for the carpet cleaners to arrive... all the furniture from the family room is crammed into the kitchen w/me as well... + the office contents are in the foyer... the living room contents are in the dining room... get the picture? So my weekend activities should be obvious... deep clean each room and reload them... step 1 for getting ready for our guests next week! Make it a great day, everyone!!