Apples2

OK, Great...start in the middle of the crossword first to see if you can get at least 2 of the words and work off of them to spread out to the others.

You're talking to the QUEEN of crosswords! Hear's another "forgot to add". When I odered for the wedding last year, I got a lot of the candies at Amazon.com. I just typed in the color of the candy I was looking for and gobs of it popped up. I would do one color at a time. Got some really good deals from Amazon also.

Great...you can always go to the Jelly Belly website and order the colors you want. I helped with a wedding for a friend's daughter about a year ago. The three websites we got candies from (in selected colors) were: Spanglercandy.com, candywarehouse.com and groovycandies.com

I have yet to buy a pair but plan to in the near future. I have a friend that has a couple pair of their thongs and she wore them all summer and until the snow hit.

Truly an amazing accomplishment. Congrats!

Add on...you could even do a gift card shower from Target, her fav dept store, Home Depot, etc.

Great..it would be really tough to do a shower with everyone coming in on the day b/4 the wedding. Depending on the time of the wedding, hair appts., etc., it would be tough to fit in. How about a book shower with Pampered Chef or Tuppperware?

OOOOO...pretty dress, Great. You will look nice in that style. Hope they still have your size on hand. DH and I have it all figured out IF our DS's ever get married. 3 easy steps...shut up, get the checkbook out and smile. Let the girl have her dream wedding and mother of the bride be there by her daughter's side and just stand back and offer our opinion only if asked. Bet that sounds good to you about now?????

BBK...gotta tell you, Girl....you were one of the front runners that I looked to at the beginning of this race. That straight forward, the good the bad and the ugly was very helpful and I thank you for that.

Great...I wore ill-fitting bras for years until I found the right one. I have the rib cage of a football player so I am difficult to fit. The one I found a year ago does not ride up and it is absolutely the most comfortable I have ever had. A bra that does not fit can ruin the day! I know I have mentioned b/4 on this thread the brand name. If anyone is getting to goal and looking for a good bra they are called Le Mysterey Rouge. Found out after I got them that it's the only kind Oprah will wear. My bewbs feel famous! They are a jaw dropping price of $79/each but after a year, they still fit as good as ever and look new. I bought 4 of them and thinking they will last me awhile. Made it to town and back. Had a couple hour visit with my friend. Didn't even go to supermarket...just headed right home. Was a terrible drive. The wind hit when we were visiting and took me forever to get home. Thank God for my 4x4. Visibility is about 1/4 mile right now but is expected to get worse. I will have to snap some photos later. DH is out working in this crap. Hired trucks today to haul corn to town. FINALLY getting Christmas decorations packed away and the 3 trees undecorated and to the basement storage rooms. Our house was built with 3 fairly large storage rooms which I am very thankful for. Should have everything back to normal by this evening. Supposed to travel to Minneapolis on Friday but doubt that will happen with the weather we are expecting. And, yes Deb, it can be like Little House sometimes in the middle of a blizzard. We do not have a barn or livestock (thank you, God) so DH does not need to go out in a blizzard. We have his shop which is no more than 50 feet out the front door and there are times in a blizzard that we cannot even see the front of the building or our yard light which it lit in front of it. The worst of this is worry. Ppl do not always heed to the warnings and get caught out in this. I always travel with a snow emergency kit and try to never start out in something I do not want to get caught in.

Laura...honestly...did not send that cold weather down to you. I love you and wouldn't do that. I am pretty sure it was either Julie or Great. Have date this morning with friend in town for coffee. We were supposed to get hit with blizzard around 3pm...well..it's been snowing for 2 hours but the wind has not hit. Roads are covered with snow. Figure I have about a 3 hour window to get to town, visit and head back home. They are talking a few days of this. Looks like we will pretty much be housebound again. Later.

Janet...will have to try your soup. I love anything with Beans in it. My GM made the best bean soup in the world. I, also, had the homemade stock on hand for my liquid stage. I cannot stand the "wet feather" smell of fake chicken broth. Thanks for the beans soup recipe. You should put that in the food and Nutrition section also. I think that's the biggest struggle for new banders...not enough ideas to make their different stages interesting and not getting bored. So, Jessica, if you are worried about what to eat at what stage, I am sure we all have plenty of ideas to keep you fed.

Tanker...it fits since he is built like a tank:biggrin:

I am going to add one more band-friendly recipe since I have the time before heading to bed. This is something I have made for years but revamped it to this "skinny" version. Just thought I would share...cuz I don't share recipes with just anyone and you guys are SPECIAL. In a sprayed baking dish: 1 large onion...cut in quarters and sliced 8 oz sliced fresh mushrooms (canned are OK but not as good) 4-5 Roma tomatoes, sliced 1 1/2 lbs raw, sliced sirloin 2 med sized potatoes diced small 1 cup chunky salsa 1 tsp pepper Layer all in dish and top with 1 pint fat free sour cream. Bake at 350 for 1.5 hours (covered) And, be sure to put the meat on the bottom. Stir entire dish b/4 serving. This is not a "pretty" dish but so good. Sleep tight...Have a book calling my name

Janet...that dish I made can be served over rice. I don't tolerate it but made brown rice for DH and DS. Since you are a rice eater... Good catch on throwing in that added comment about Phyll not being one of those bad drivers.

Awww..children's books. I saved every one of my boys books. Favorites: Lowly the Snake, The Please and Thank You Book, all the Golden Books...we were readers. Little footie Carters jammies with an toe headed boy on either side of me.

I think I omit something every time I post a recipe... I also added 2 cups of frozen peas. You need to let sit out of oven for about 10 min so it absorbs the liquid a little. It was so good and I had to stop myself as to not do the pouch packing thing.

Great...I hear ya on the car riding thing. I am looking forward to spending time in the truck with DH and puppa but I am not a good rider. I am the one that usually drives so maybe I can just tell DH that he will ride shotgun and be the navigator. Ummmmmmmmmm...maybe not. We'll let "Edna" do that (GPS). NY&Co was pretty good to me last year in that I was able to find quite a few pairs of slacks in longs for a very little price. They are great, look nice and wash up and still look like new. Youngest DS (26) who lives in GA called a bit ago. Just got out of ER and has a kidney stone again. Feel bad that I passed this on to both of my sons. They know the routine and look at it like I do...life interupted for a bit and then back at it. Have a chicken teriaki bake in the oven. A band-friendly recipe... 4 cups diced chicken (you can use raw or pre-cooked) 1 small can sliced water chestnuts 1 cup sliced carrots 3 cups raw broccoli 1 sliced or diced red sweet pepper Put all in a sprayed cake pan sized pan 1/8 cup lite soysauce 2 TBLS cider vinegar 2 TBLS sesame oil 1 Tsp dried garlic powder (or minced) 1 Tsp dried onion powder (or minced) 2 cups warm water Mix all of the above and pour over meat mixture. Cover. Bake at 350 for at least one hour. And, yes, you mushy veggie eaters....1 hour 15 minutes for you!

A few other foods that I keep on hand while on the road are beef jerky, soynuts, dried edamame, Aitkins protein bars (20gr protein) and a lot of fiber, snack size bags of Kashi Go Lean cereal.

A dip I always have made up and ready to go: 1 cup Fat Free sour cream 1 Tsp dill weed 1 Tsp lemon juice 1 Tsp minced garlic (optional) 1 Tsp minced onion (optional) Great for dipping

Us MN ppl consider today to be a mild day. No wind and 11 degrees. Just got back in from chopping ice off the driveway. Actually had to peel a layer of clothing off. It all boils down to what you are used to. Youngest DH has spent the last 7 yrs in CA, FL and GA and does not like coming home in the winter. He even thinks our summer evenings are cold. Congrats on baby-to-be #10. None in the new future for us...not even with the dog. (Fixed).

Back home sooner than we thought. Good little trip with honey, even though it was business. If there would have been a seat belt in the middle of DH's truck seat, I would have sat there and pretended to be 23 again and on a date, or just married, or something, etc. Linda...you joint replacement ppl (also Great and Phyll) are an inigma. I've known many ppl who have had replacements and I swear they have not done as well as you guys. Must have felt good to get "released" from the hands of the medical ppl. I know you will watch and be mindful of the exercises you do. I am just amazed by all of you. I think you are correct on the pets as family issue. I think most of us have them as family members. Our empty nest dog is one of the kids. He's my sounding board, my baby, my walking partner (except for treadmill...he flew off the back), my day brightner. So if you are reading this JB, we know what you are going through in this difficult time. I just want to give you a hug but a cyber hug is being sent instead. I have to learn how to handle all this year end stuff better and not let it stress me. It's mostly wrapped up now and can breath. I am such a perfectionist (as is DH) and it actually serves no purpose. So, adding to my resolution list....CHILL. Laura...hope Nels did not come home from school and see the dead train. My boys would have been sensitive to something like that also. This sounds cruel but when the boys were younger we lied to them about what happened to a dog of ours. Now, you know we are dog lovers. But, we were "gifted" a dog from DH's sister when she moved off of her farm to town. Crazy, brain wormed dog. And, that statement was true with this dog. You cannot teach an old dog new tricks. Think it was because previous family never paid attention to it. Anyway, we live on a very busy paved road. Lots of grain hauling semis, young teens driving to school, etc. This dog would lay on the side of the ditch incline where he could not be seen and jump out at vehicles and they would swerve. We were so worried about causing an accident. We had to make the decision on what to do and not an easy one. Had him put to sleep. To this day I feel bad about that but no shelters at the time and no one of our neighbors would take that crazy dog. Long story...sorry. We told our boys when they came home from school that day that the dog got hit by a semi. Only time we lied to them. Told them later. Man, that story was long but your gonna have to read it now cuz not going to erase.

Oh no, JB...I'm so sorry for what you are going through with your baby. They ARE family and I truly understand what you would go through in a situation like that. Take care and let us know how things are going. Sending hugs.

Hey Gang...just letting you know won't be around much the next couple of days. (Farm stuff). Might have a few moments to read posts. Just to let you know....been caught doing the AWOL in the past and just don't want to get in trouble. I just really love you guys....talk to you in a couple of days!

Jessica...so nice to hear from you so soon and you sound so upbeat. Take care of yourself, follow your doc's instructions to a tee and be good to your band. Welcome to Band Land:biggrin: