This is terrible! No, Happy Holidays, Everyone! What's terrible is the Weather Service is actually predicting a chance of rain this afternoon! This after a month of only 4/100 of an inch of, what was that, hoar frost? The thermometer hasn't been above 32F for weeks now and there has been a string of nights lately in the teens - including last night. A high of 33F predicted for this afternoon and, it's gonna to rain!! Weeelll, there's a better than 50% chance of snow everyday beginning Tuesday so I think we may be finally getting out of this dry spell. I just hope that we don't have too many people dipping too deep into the punch bowl over the next few days - the roads are gonna be like glass!! Here is a Holiday quiz to occupy your odd holiday moment: Which of the following holidays DOES NOT occur in December? Boxing Day Kwanzaa St. Nicholas Day Candlemas >>>>>>>>>>>>>If you guessed Boxing Day . . . you are incorrect. Boxing Day is the first or second weekday after Christmas Day in many British Commonwealth nations. That odd name has nothing to do with fisticuffs but rather with "boxing" up offerings for the church. If you guessed Kwanzaa, maybe because it wasn't around when you were a kid . . . you are incorrect. It is actually a week long celebration that begins December 26th. It was "invented" in 1966. If you guessed St. Nicholas Day perhaps because you were being very clever and thought this might be a trick question . . . you may be very clever but you are incorrect. St. Nicholas Day is usually celebrated on December 6th or December 19th (in most Christian Orthodox countries). And yes, St. Nicholas = Santa Claus. And that only leaves Candlemas! This is the correct answer because Candlemas comes on February 2nd. There are several traditions associated with Candlemas Day: Ceremony upon Candlemas Eve Down with the rosemary, and so Down with the bays and mistletoe; Down with the holly, ivy, all, Wherewith ye dress'd the Christmas Hall Also, yes it is! It is Groundhog's Day! Celebrated on February 2nd in the United States and Canada. The groundhog tradition comes from the weather lore of western Europe associated with Candlemas. Me? I've got my stash of food & goodies and if'n the ground is gonna be covered with ice and snow - I'm done with my winter walks. Maybe, I can poke my head up again by February 2nd! Steve

YAHOO!!! TK good for you!! You are doing great!!! Yup skinny leg jeans are back in style wouldn't ya know it right when I finally got my flared ones I promised myself if I lost my weight!! Ruthie it is nice to see you~~~I agree I like eating healthy too~~I have been off track and almost lost my way. But I have doned good the last few days. I had my WI tonight and~YAHOOO~~I am right at my goal weight!! I was holding my breath!!! My leader told me I have to come back to the meetings they miss me:) Her receptionist said so too:) I told her I will be there starting next week, my DH is going on his Mon/Tues days off so it will be easier. I even helped a couple of gals while I was there. One was beating herself up over a 2 pound weight gain and another was new:) My leader had talked to me about being a receptionist at the meetings now I may think about it. I like helping people. I wish they just had a greeter job:) I speak out alot at meetings where as most gals keep quiet so it makes it harder for the leaders~~~I love to talk so no problem there:) Have a great weekend I will be helping DD move into her 'upstairs' apt. That will be my exercise for the weekend.

Here are my last tips for this first week of November. The tips y'all have shared are just great. Thanks for contributing. This tip for storing berries is wonderful. When get home from the grocery store, immediately rinse blueberries, strawberries and raspberries in hot water, drain and put in a glass jar when dry. Instead of a 24 hour life they can go almost a week with their flavor, texture and appearance intact. They'll keep as long as a week; it's amazing, but they last. Harold McGee To keep grapes juicy, plump, and tasty for at least twice as long do the following: As soon as you get them home from the store remove them all from the stems, wash thoroughly, and seal in a plastic container. The grapes will last for several weeks without any loss of taste or texture. Silpat Cooking Mat -use it for forming dough on, instead of a floured counter or a bread board. As long as you handle the dough with oiled hands, no bench flour is necessary and clean-up is q & e. -pour that holiday peanut brittle on it and it doesn't stick. Great for making small rounds of peanut brittle. -line a jelly roll pan with a Silpat and bake meatballs or sausage balls on it. The grease wipes off and the meatballs don't stick. Take an ear of corn and stick it into the hole of a Bundt pan, then slice the corn off into the pan. Never put tomatoes in the same drawer with your other produce. It gives off a gas that makes produce ripen too fast. If you use non-stick frying pans, never use Pam type sprays on them. The propellent eats into the coatings and ruins them. Instead, add a drop of oil and use a brush to spread it around. Microwave sliced fresh mushrooms on paper towels just until they give up their water then squeeze them just a little. Then fry them in butter and they brown nicely and quickly without that moisture you always get in the frying pan. Whenever you need oat flour, you can make your own by blending oatmeal into a fine powder in your blender or food processor. It takes approximately 1-1/2 c. of oatmeal to make about 1-cup oat flour. After buttering the bread for grilled cheese sandwiches, press the buttered side into some grated parmigiano or pecorino before grilling. It totally adds to the texture and flavor. Crispy cheesy salty bread. If you want the yolks of your deviled eggs to be perfectly centered, stir the pot a few times in the first moments they are beginning to simmer. Purchase a whole bone-in rib roast when it goes on sale the day after Thanksgiving for an obscenely cheap price. Then it can be butchered into a Christmas rib roast, several steaks, have bones for beef stock, and scraps for grinding meat. Greens - The grit problem was brilliantly solved by the Mississippi Delta Chinese families. Put greens of any kind into a net bag like stockings are washed in and put it in the washing machine for a quick rinse in cold water and a spin. Works great.

Great tips, Legomom -- especially taking a closer look at your food diary! I have zero questions about why I am "stuck"... and while I have done better this week, I am still not back on track. I seem to have this stubborn thing going that is allowing me to take kind of belligerent license. I don't think it is self-sabotage .. maybe it is a reaction to having my dental work pretty much done? I don't know... but I need to stop it RIGHT NOW. Like I said, I have been doing better but still not where I need to be to continue my weight loss. I will say this, when I am focused on healthy eating, IF and general healthy practices, I need only two meals.. one of which is often a glorified snack. I feel satisfied/not hungry and I can stay around +/- 1000 calories. Once I open the door to snacking, I open the door to mindless eating and sneaking up into higher calories. I know that I don't need the snacks.. and worse, they start to become something I think I deserve. I really try to keep any kind of self-rewards separate from my eating .. that is a dangerous slope for me because I think I deserve A LOT! LOL My latest thing to obsess over are my growing jowls. I don't have to look very far to see where they came from-- my mother, my grandmother and my great grandmother all had them and they look/ed just like mine. I think the weight loss is making them more apparent (also my visibly swollend thyroid which I refuse to call by its name). Not sure if I can do anything about them but hoping they become less obvious if/when my skin tightens up. I just want to take a knife and carve them off!