BJ - I hope you got a good nights sleep - sounds like you may need it today. The leather skirt isn't all that, it is just a very plain A-line that hits just below the knee, I never had one before and couldn't pass up a good buy. I wouldn't mind the $5,000 for clothes, but the stores they shop at - it just doesn't go very far.

I just wanted to check in and post a quick hi and bye! I am leaving in 20 minutes for NYC and will be back late Saturday. I'm going to the Barney's sale - so hopefully I won't be nominated for What Not To Wear after this weekend LOL.

Everyone, have a wonderful weekend. AND don't forget to let us know if you are planning on meeting up with us in 2005!

I have to work this weekend 8-(
But on the plus side I am going to curves tomorrow with my galpal Julie.
If I like it I will join.

Julie swears by it and when I look at her I can see why. She is trim to begin with but now she is much more toned.
Plus she says she feels 10 years younger!!

I feel like I have fell off the wagon just a bit but the good news is that the Lenten season starts this week and so I plan to purge the house of all temptation.

One thing that I have had unbelievable cravings for is beer. Good beer, icy cold in a frosted mug!~
Now normally I don't care for beer. I'll have one if thats what offered but I don't buy it for myself and I don't order it at restaurants.

Maybe I should just go get a six pack??

Could it be the diet??
Has anyone ever craved something unusual while dieting??

Well I am off to get some laundry done before I go to work.
Have a great day!!

Cheers!
Susie

DEE MARIE - HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY!!! I'm sorry I missed the party yesterday! I'm sure you had a great one!

Raeanne have a fun trip. Hello to everyone else!

Love, Besh

Hello all,

Raeanne, you are long gone but have a fun, safe trip.

I crave strange things when I am dieting and it's usually a form of what I am restricting from the diet. In the case of the beer craving, perhaps it is a carbohydrate craving. I don't drink beer only rarely. Sometimes on a morning when I wake up and my mouth is dry and fuzzy the first thing I think of is an ice cold beer! That's strange too!
I mostly crave salty things.

Tomorrow is the last day to let us know if you are planning on meeting with us in 2005! Next week we will be trying to decide where.
That will be exciting!! So let's hear from you MIA'S SOON

Where are all of our missing people anyway? KY Susie, have you compltetely dropped off the face of the earth?, Patti, check in, Joanne, I know I am missing more but memory is full right now! LOL

I have been totally unfocused today and really am wasting time that i can't afford to waste. Don't know what it is but I need to get busy here. Don't ask what I have been doing because I don't really know. LOL

Had a wonderful dinner last night and got some more lovely presents! I was so grateful that this year has started out much more healthy for me.

Suzanne, I am the same way over here! I have totally wasted the last 2 hours surfing the 'net instead of working. I have no motivation and no energy, yet I've got lots of projects! Maybe I need some of Marci's chocolate to get me going...waddaya think?!! LOL

I'm hoping we get lots of MIAs to let us know soon whether they can come along. If not, we can decide on a place and go for it, and if others feel they can join later, that'll be GREAT! This should be so much fun.

I'd like to try to make our get-together similar to how the ladies did it over at The Kitchen Table---lots and lots of stories and photos that they shared with those who could not make it. I know that I had fun reading about their exploits, and I didn't really know any of them!

Gotta run and get something done this afternoon!
Dee

BJ!!!! Can you help me? My girlfriend and I are both looking for an inexpensive ladies scarf that looks like the Italian flag (red, white, green). If we can't get those stripes on one scarf, we are willing to buy 3 scarves each (red, white, green) and come up with a way to wear them together. I've tried the internet all afternoon. I found 2 ties for our DHs that have Italian flags all over them, but I've yet to find the scarves. I'm about to go and buy material and make the scarves myself!!! Please, internet queen, help me! LOL

DeeMarie,

What about going to an store in your Italian section and get flags to wear as scarves? That was the first thing that came to mind.
I am sure there will be plenty of documentation and stories from our union!! How soon do you need the scarves? If anyone can come up with a clever idea it's BJ!!

Could only find a few Italian flags---don't think you want to wear the flag!--may be offensive to some....

but here are area fabric stores in NY.

Idea: Call around for best selection and then buy a yard of fabric, fold diagonally and cut in half or leave doubled. Trim edges and use Fray Check on them.

Here is a link that might be useful: Fabric Stores in NY

Didn't mean any harm about the wearing of the flag remark; it's just that people in America get SO wigged out when someone wears a flag. :) (Peace)

Here's a place that sells Italian flags in case you want to go that route....!

Here is a link that might be useful: Display and Costume

This recipe sounds good and the news story is funny....

FROM ABCNEWS.COM:

A Bird in Hand

Glamour Chicken Recipe May Move Readers From Kitchen to Wedding Chapel Fast

Feb. 11 The staff at Glamour magazine is helping readers elicit wedding proposals from their boyfriends  one chicken at a time.

It all started when one of the editors at Glamour gave the recipe to her assistant, who made the chicken for her boyfriend. A month later, he popped the question, and soon the recipe for what was subsequently dubbed "Engagement Chicken" spread like wildfire through the office.

Glamour decided to publish the recipe in their January issue, and has already received four letters from readers who tried the recipe, and met with success.

"Beware the power of this recipe," wrote LaDawn Crawford, of Garden Grove, Calif. "I made Engagement Chicken for my boyfriend the Sunday before New Year's. When it was done roasting, I took it out of the oven, and promptly dropped the whole bird. My boyfriend laughed, I cried, and he proposed to me on Jan. 3 (six days later)! He didn't even EAT it and it worked! We're getting married on Nov. 12 of this year."

Another woman in New Jersey also met with success.

"We decided to have a quiet New Year's this year and I made the Engagement Chicken for dinner  with the roasted potatoes and asparagus, as you suggested," said Claire Lipnicki, of New Jersey. "Well, it's now two weeks later and we are engaged! He ended up finding the recipe, so it's now a big joke between us."

To try the recipe for yourself, go to Glamour.com.

Good Morning,

It's FRIDAY!!! I am ready for a weekend.

BJ, I heard about the Engagement Chicken on the Howard Stearn show. His SO made it for him and he loved it but he wasn't biting!! It was funny to listen to.

I hope we hear from everyone today!

Good morning!

Hmmm... I wonder what would happen to one of us ol' married birds if we served that? LOL! (note to self--try this, and then drop hints about diamond earrings...)

Well-it was 64 here yesterday, and today is supposed to be 61. Flurries tomorrow, though.

Bee back--

Hugs,

Maddie

Good morning!

Thanks for the link, BJ. They have 4" x 6" flags for only $.50, so I may buy a bunch and sew them together. Tomorrow I'm going to another fabric store to see what's available, after my car maintenance appointment (fun, fun, fun!)

Suzanne, that was so funny when Howard was talking about the Engagement Chicken! I could not believe that Beth would have a motive, but ya never know! He swears she's not in it for marriage. :-)

I think the fact that some women would cook at ALL for their boyfriends lulls the guys into a false sense that the food will be that good forever! Haaaaaa!!!!

Well, I've got a bunch of meetings today, and I need to prepare.

Check in later, aligators!

Take care, eat healthy, and NEVER NEVER GIVE UP!!!!!!
DeeMarie
(who was counting 1 oz of Alpine Lace Swiss as 1 point and discovered this morning that it's 3! LOL)

Good early Saturday morning!

It's 6:15 am, and I'm at work w/ Rog--we're heading down to Nashville, and needed to stop in--

Well, Fat Tuesday is almost upon us, and some of us peons at work are doing a Kings Cake/Mardi Gras thingy--beads, coins, etc... I'm looking forward to it--the morale hasn't been the best lately (understatement, here). The boss busted us prior last year b/c he said it wasn't "fair" to all of the dieters (like they're not adults and can't resist?), so we kept it very quiet and low key, and just between the 4/5 of us, and then we got b!tched at for not """inviting""" the very same folks that were complaining. So, I don't know what we'll do this year--I don't want to exclude *anyone*, but at the same time, I think that if some of us want to do this, and we do not disturb others, then we should. How can there be this much politicing going on in an office of 13???? It doesn't seem possible.

Well...things on the WOE front are going good. I'm at a standstill, but I'm down about 10 pounds in a bit over a month. Having Rog doing this with me is helped matters alot, and he's lost about 20. I need to get my butt up in the morning and go to the gym, but dang--it's hard to get out of a nice warm bed and into a cold car at 5:15am. The gym just got 3 new treadmills (YEAH!), so I've been giving them a good go 'round. I really like the little place that I go to--it's small, has what I need, and it's $20/month. I'm thinking about supplementing with either Pilates class or Yoga class. I've tried them both before, and I was horribly embarrassed at how uncoordinated I am--that and just stiff! I did see some loosing in the Pilates classes; I just wish they weren't so expensive!!!

A preliminary vote about the upcoming get together--I think it would be fun to go to Chicago or NYC and spend a day or two at a spa--I've never been to one, and that would be such a fantasy. Does anyone rememeber Designing Women? I remember the episode where they went to a spa, and then got in to a mud-throwing/laughing fit in the mud bath--somehow or another, I can see us doing that!!! LOLOL!!!

Gotta go--I hope everyone has a good weekend!

Hugs,

Maddie

Good SATURDAY morning!

...or Maddie, we could do the KY thing so that it would be closer for you, Susie, Marci, and Jen. Just a thought...as the spas might be just a tad less expensive cheaper than in NYC! LOL

OK, I'm in the middle of a bundle of things, so I gotta go.

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND....Treat your body nicely...that's right, put the chocolate down!!!

Laters....
D

I'm BACK. My feet are killing me from walking the streets of NYC - spending money NOT making it!!!

I agree with D - it would be a lot cheaper to go to a spa in KY than NYC or even Chicago.

I just wanted to check in before I collapsed for the evening - missed all of you.

NH Suzanne - I wished I had heard that episode of Howard. I rarely get to listen to him lately.

We had a great time, shopping and eating. We went to the Barney's Warehouse sale this morning - WOW what a sale that is. I wore boots yesterday and lugged around an overnight bag all day, today my entire body is aching.

I will check in tomorrow. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Re the get-together. Can anyone swing a videocamera? I'll go in for renting a camera if no one has one, and I'll buy a tape.

BJ - thanks for the recipe link, and extra thanks for the perfect man! I had a good laugh and now he is sitting on my TV. Thanks for the sugar free drinks, too. You're the best!

Raeanne - I was going to send your package off today, but remembered the P.O. won't take it on Saturday unless it's already stamped, so it will have to go Monday. It should still get there OK priority mail.

I'm finding more and more that this man who got me interested is very unhappy. It wouldn't be worth it to me to go into someone's hell at this point when I've worked so hard to get out of my own and my family members'. I know that I'm transferring unresolved feelings. So many times I've wanted to put my hand over someone's heart and heal their pain, but it didn't work well at all. I just ended up getting hurt. But now I have my perfect man that BJ sent, who is already healed and has a rose in his hand, so it should be better now. :)

Did I tell you I downloaded a "Far Cry" demo? The graphics are great - on a tropical island, but it's all violence and getting "them" before they get me. I didn't even finish the demo.

Did John get back to us after his last hi when he said he had nothing happy to share? I had a very hard 10 days after UruLive closed. It's hard to explain why, but I'm picking up now. As I said on one of the Uru forums, I uncovered feelings I didn't even know I had.

I'm still working on the art - one step at a time. It looks like I didn't win anything in the contest. I'm a little down about that, it's nice to be recognized, but it's not a big deal.

Back later. Hope everyone is having a good weekend.

Amy

DeeMarie~I'm sorry that I missed your birthday. I'm glad that it was a good one. It is always nice to have Marci sending the gifts, huh? :)

BJ~I saw the story about the "Engagement Chicken" on GMA. LOL I like Maddie's idea about seeing what it can get us "married birds"! Diamonds sound pretty nice...

Raeanne~Glad that you had such a good time. The shopping sounds nice. We plan to go up the east coast when we get the VA claim settled & hopefully, we can see a bunch of SSers then.

Maddie~I missed or forgot what WOE you are using. Congratulations on losing the 10 pounds.

Amy~I must say that you are using good judgment here, IMHO. It is difficult at best to overcome one's own problems without taking on someone else's. You deserve only the BEST & I mean that with all of my heart.

Besh~It was good to see you post.

Susie Q~Glad that you posted too.

NH Suzanne~I thought you were teasing about not knowing whose birthday it was as well. LOL You got all of us good.

Marci~I love the gif. It reminds me of DMIL. She loves Calvin & Hobbes. Even though we don't speak to her, I still think about her.

I go to the dr. on Thursday to find out what is wrong with my liver.

We have a friend who complained with the American Legion about the way they represented us. The one in St. Petersburg called earlier this week & asked us to sign something so that they could send it to DC. In the meantime, I need to set up a meeting with someone closer to us to get the appeal ready & sent off. I still only have until March 23rd. Also, I have 3 more things that I plan to add to Dave's claim. We never filed on his heart attack & he is getting hearing loss & tinnitus in one ear but it affects both. Also, we didn't know before that we could add "hearing accuity". Dave has to repeat what he thinks that I said b/c he often hears something totally different than what I said. LOL

Jen~When is a good time to give you a call?

I haven't heard from Joanne. I'm hoping that she checks in soon. Hi to all that I've missed. Patti :)

PS. Have any of you ever listened to "Maroon 5"? They are a group that I like & they are going to be on SNL tonight. I'm eager to see them. Patti :)

Good Morning:

Patti, I saw Maroon 5 on SNL last night. I had never heard their name before, but I knew the song. They were good. I thought Christina Aguilara was great. I loved the skit about the last episode of Sex in the City.

Amy, I am glad that you are wise and not get into a relationship that will bring you down. Who needs that. What does your perfect man look like? I can only imagine what BJ found for you!

Today is the last day of vacation. Back to school tomorrow. My sister, mom and neice went to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston this week. I had never been. Amy I was thinking of you the whole time. It is unbelievable how someone can transform an image onto canvas. Some of the paintings looked like photographs. We went to see the Vermeer they had on display until the end of this week. He is the same artist that painted "The Girl with the pearl earing". This painting was entitled "Young woman with water pitcher". It really was beautiful.

Friday DS #2 and I played tourist and went to the Peabody Essex Museum and the Salem Witch Museum. It is nice because alot of the museums in Salem are free to Salem residents. It was nice to spend the day with him!

Maddie, congrats on the weight loss. DeeMarie, sounds like WW is working well for you. I just signed up for a new online program that is very similar to WW. I plan on getting started on it tomorrow. I will post the link if anyone is curious.

Hope everyone is doing well!

Love, Besh

Here is the link to "a personal dietician"

Besh

Besh - I love the Museum of Fine Arts - I went when they were having a huge Monet exhibit - it was breathtaking.

Patti - I am like Besh, didn't know the name of the group, but was familiar with their music. I will keep you in my thoughts and hope that all works out well with your Dr. appt on Thursday.

Amy - just take your time with sending the package - I am in no hurry to rush my birthday LOL.

BJ - thanks for posting the recipe, that actually sounds very good.

DeeMarie - DARN, I was just in Little Italy, I'm sure I could've picked something up for you there!

I have a house to vacuum and some laundry to do (BJ probably is done by now). I will check in later.

Ive just be reading a bit on the Diet Chat and looks like a meeting is in the works, id love to consider joining you all too- if youll still have me.

Ive been busy working on my business and working along side of my mother in law- the former monster in law. She is a housecleaner and has several families she has grown to love over the years- I started helping her before Christmas and then she was diagnosed with lung cancer- they have caught it early, her surgery to remove 40% of her left upper lobe is this Thrusday.

Her birthday is wed. and my sons birthday is today! So is Papaws- so we had a big family to do all day yesterday- Dh fried 2 turkey breasts. Yum!

Dh has lost 20 lbs on Atkins since Jan 1- I have lost 7- he is so very strict with himselfand well imp not at all- could be why he is so successful versus mine.

We attended a V-day dance- it was ok- the whole crowd we know drinks till they have memory loss- just not the scene for Dh and Me anymore- never was really.

In Jan- we sent to see country music favorites Rascal Flatts in concert- LOVED IT!

I hope you all are doing well- sorry I dont drop by anymore- always busy.

The troops are incoming right now from after school so Id better run.

Take Care all- KYsusie

I left off some of KY Susie's message: (Jen if you don't have KY Susie's #, let me know and I will forward it to you).

From KY Susie:

Jen - call me from the number on my website-
Happy B day Dee!

Good Sunday Morning~~~weeeelllllllll, it's STILL morning in my part of the world!

I had a really fun small dinner party last night with some friends---YES, I do have some friends-lol. They brought over the most delicious Greek tomato soup: ingreds included tomatoes (duh!), sweet potato, onion, chicken broth, and a buncha other yum stuff. I'm getting the recipe, but man, oh, man, it was SO good! They also brought Greek salad--she's from Greece, can you tell? Anyway, my contribution was marinated lamb shish-ka-Billy-Bobs (my own style!) with olive oil, pressed garlic, Emeril's meat seasoning, Zahatar (a spice from Israel I use frequently---VERY good!), then threaded cherry tomato, sweet malasian onion, and red sweet pepper chunks and then ovenized them at 350 for about 12-15 minutes. I served it with homeade tzatziki sauce. It turned out really nicely! For dessert, I had strained vanilla yogurt with Oregon bing cherries with Baklava my teens and I made. The guests ate the Baklava and sneaked into the kitchen and ate some more! Anyway, I just love when people appreciate food---it makes it so much more fun! We had a little champagne and a Chianti or so. We hadn't seen them in so long--about a month and a half!; it was a real celebration! I didn't do too much damage, as I kept my portions small and ate very slowly.

Amy- I HAVE A DIGITAL VIDEO CAMERA and I will tape EVERYTHING! (Veiled threat to all attending.) I'm glad you are enjoying the Perfect Man. For those who haven't seen him, he is a GQ-looking guy with a WHITE smile, carrying a rose, who says stuff like, "Thinking of you is the best part of my WHOLE day!", "You're perfect just the way you are; I wouldn't change one thing.", " Darling, take just as long as you want to get ready. I don't mind waiting one bit.", "I don't need sports to make me feel complete; just you by my side to love.", "This evening, let's just lie in bed and talk all night.", plus some other nuggets! The voice sounds like Casey Kasem. He's a cutie! Too bad about "Far Cry"--sounds bad. I've got one for you---Virtual Emeril----you run a restaurant, have to install a dishwasher, hire kitchen staff, figure budgets, deal with customers; I AM NOT MAKING THIS UP!!!!! I am sending the article on it to JOHN!

DeeMarie: I'm dying to know what the Italian occasion was----SPILL! How many points did it cost ya? Did you use all your your flex points?

Maddie!!!!!!! 10 pounds!!! OMG, girl! That's terrific! Are you doing a jazzy little jig about that? I would be! I won't recognize you in May if you keep on at that rate! Pilates tapes are at Target for 19.99, if you want to learn the moves before class....How did jury duty go???? Good luck on your office party---maybe invite everyone and put a funny legal disclaimer on the invite! How was the comedy show the other night? BTW, I just TOLD my DH about the stories about the engagement chicken and he started talking about a 10th year aniversary diamond, so WHOA! Does it work? Do bears like berries?????!!!!!!! What would happen if I actually COOKED it for him? LOL!!!!!

NHSuzanne~ I'd go anywhere to meet you guys, but the state of Kentucky is a barrel of fun for girl parties! And throw in a horse farm tour!

Raeanne: It hurt my feet to read your post! But it sounds like you had a great time. Now, GO SOAK! I have a lot of laundry to finish today. All my ironing is done though! I love to iron; so relaxing. My mom used to let me iron, beginning at age 5, and I remember I would starch the hell-k out of my dad's shorts and handkerchiefs! My mom must have had a beef with him when she let me do that. I'd use about a whole can of spray starch on his laundry!

Patti! So glad to hear a ray of sunshine in the image of American Legion has come your way---it's about flippin' time you caught a beak. I'm am concentrating on a positive outcome here----three cheers are coming your way! (((((HUGS)))))) And good luck on your liver tests; stay calm and balanced. Has Dave been tested for auditory dyslexia? My friend's kid had it--he misinterpreted what everyone said to him. We thought he was doing it on purpose, but he wasn't.

Besh: The tourist-in-your-own-town game is so much fun. I'm always amazed at what an area has to offer when I start looking! I wish I always had more time to enjoy the arts, nature parks, and other good stuff! I'm going to check out your link tonight.

Hi Jen! Good to see you checking in----do you still love your new house? Hope your babies are getting better!

Hi to all lurker and MIAS! I'm taking Marci's advice and chillin' today...after I mow my lawn and move a wood pile!

Cheers!

KYSusie: We posted at the same time, so I wanted to say a special hello to you. We really miss you here, but can understand how busy you are! The lung surgeries are so much more advanced now. My DH had half his lung removed a few years ago; it collapsed while he was running. He has a huge scar and it was very intense, but now, you just have a little pokey hole and viola!---it's done. I'll be thinking of you and your MIL-best wishes!

Hi! Thanks for the well wishes. The things that Dave gets compensated from the VA such as hypertension, hearing loss, tinnitus are all from the explosion that they are now saying never happened.

BJ~Dave said that he thinks that it is just b/c he just cannot hear. Thanks though. The "Perfect Man" sounds great!

We are having spinach squares tonight. It has been pretty warm here. We are having nights in the upper 60s or low 70s & days in the low to mid 70s. So, there isn't much change right now. Well, I just wanted to check in. I have everything copied to send off on Dave's case. I need to make the corrections in the transcript--(they made MANY mistakes!) But, basically all I'll have to do is get things together to take to someone else to help me finish. Yeah! I might actually get to talk with everyone here about something they are talking about!! Patti :)

Have a GREAT week!

Oops--so I didn't know what I was talking about. LOL It isn't the first time & probably won't be the last. We had spaghetti squash with alfredo sauce & clams. Yummy! I kissed the cook!! Patti :)