Hi all! DeeMarie, hang in there!! Do you weigh in front of everyone? I think I would DIE!! : ) Pam, Wildchild... where are you? Hope that you both are feeling better. BarnMom!!! "weigh" to go!! we are so proud of you, you skinny thing. What are you going to do with your "big" clothes? Kathy, you had me ROFL!! Here is our favorite recipe for Tortilla Soup...( I took the tortillas out of mine...) 12 med. tomotillos 1 large onion 5 cloves garlic, 2 tomatoes, chopped 1/2 c. cilantro, chopped 2 tsp. chile powder 8 Ortega canned chiles OR 7 fresh anaheim chiles OR (my favorite), 5-6 chile pasillas roasted and peeled. 4c. chicken broth 1 c. shredded chicken breast 3 small flour tortillas cut into 1/4" strips Vegetable oil or (preferably) cooking spray. 1/4 c. cheddar or jack. ( enough to sprinle on top of soup) salt and pepper to taste. Place tortilla strips on an ungreased baking pan and spray with cooking oil spray (lightly). Bake @ 350 degrees till light brown and crisp. Combine broth, tomotillos, garlic, onion, chili powder and chiles in a lg. pot and simer till veggies are tender (about 20 minutes) strain and puree veggies . return to pot with broth and add tomatoes, cilantro and chicken. Cook x 15 min. more then... ladle soup into bowls, top with tortilla strips and sprinkle with cheese. Low cal, "good carb" and very tasty! If tomotillos are out of season they can be bitter. Adding a pinch of sugar / splenda will fix it. I had mine with a green salad w/lite dresing. My kid ate his with 2 quesadillas, 1 cup of beans, 1 cup of rice and a huge salad smothered with bleu cheese. (I REALLY resent that beanpole!! 6' and 123 lbs!!) Tikanas

Well Wodka, I weighed this morning. It appears I'm on a plateau - neiher up nor down. That's a lot beter though than an increase. I did go yeserday. Had quite a time. I don't drive all that much anymore and because of all the consruction I went a different way - one that I'm not that familiar with. When I came to one town there was a detour because of construction - a lengthy one. Anyway got around that all right. Got to the next town and made a wrong turn and didn't realize it until I saw the name on a nursing home and realized I wasn't supposed to be anywhere near it. Turned around and found my way. When I got to the nursing home, my friend had a bad cold and they strongly advised ,for my own sake, that I not go in to see her. I was sorry about that but didn't want to get sick myself and bring the flu home to others. I asked them not to tell her that I had been here. I came home a different way than I went. Still not that familiar with part of it but all worked out fine. The weather was nice and I did run a few other errands so I don't consider it was time wasted. The fact I didn't see my friend gives me an excuse to go again in a couple of weeks. Bet I don't go the same route!!! I don't intend to do too much to-day. This old girl gets exhausted easily. Anyway I had a good sleep last night and a good walk with the dog this morning. Have a good one everybody.

I get milk in heavy plastic bags that hold a bit over a quart. Three in a larger bag, held by plastic closure like on bread bags, but heavier as the load is greater. I wash them and use them to freeze veggies, ham, etc. Heavier than most freezer bags, they're less vulnerable to being holed during the banging in the freezer, so less freezer burn results. Close the bag by twisting the top and sliding one of those plastic closures from bread bags (or here, the heavier closure from the outside milk bag, which I prefer) over the twisted area. Sometimes I use the outside milk bag to hold several bags of each variety of veggie - and use that closure to close them, avoiding spillage. I spoke earlier of using regular business-sized envelopes, cut along the top, with part of the front turned down inside (making it easier to see some of the stuff inside) and with description of the item written at the top of what was the inside back of the envelope, as a handy way to file small items. Larger envelopes, often of kraft paper, about 9" x 12", that have come in holding regular sized typewriter paper flat can be used in similar fashion as no-cost file folders if cut in similar fashion. I often use them for rather obsolete stuff that I don't look at often, for they are more floppy, of course, than regular file folders so aren't fully compatible - usually not quite the same height, either. If you want to file outsized large paper, you can get large envelopes to cut in similar fashion to use as file folders, but I haven't seen regular file-folders in larger than usual size. I have some 19" x 24" paper that I fold over to become 19" x 12" and it's hard to find holders to file them. When I make the cut across the top, sometimes I make the cut about 1" - 3" below the fold on the front side, letting there be a double portion down 1 - 3", which makes the top part a bit stiffer. If back too floppy due to larger size, glue a piece of corn flakes box down the end and I can glue some white paper along the top to make the printing of the title easier to read. I can choose to cut the two ends all the way to the bottom, to make it like a regular file folder, or cut only half way or so, so that the thing will not flop open, spilling the contents. Pick up a carton at the grocery store just long enough to hold them. Use a long piece of flat, fairly heavy plastic sheeting cut as wide as the length of the box and long enough to come from under the files up the back of the box and folding down over the tops of the file folders with some overhang at the front to keep the dust out, if sides too low to let top flaps fold down eAsily. HTH. ole joyful

I KNOW this doesn't sound terribly good, I was unsure til the first time I made it. Its wonderful!!! I always halve the recipe. VEGETABLE CASSEROLE 2 (10 oz.) pkgs. frozen mixed vegetables Cook vegetables according to package directions. 1/2 c. chopped onions 1 c. chopped celery 1 c. grated cheese (low fat Mozzarella) 1 c. mayonnaise (no cholesterol) 1/2 c. butter (no cholesterol), melted 1 c. crushed wheat (no cholesterol) crackers Mix first 5 ingredients and pour into a Pam-sprayed dish, topped with crushed crackers mixed with butter. Cook at 375 degrees for 25 minutes. Serves 6-8.