A very happy 2008 to everyone! Katie, I agree with the others..drag the dog along, oh wait you meant your husband. See, Joe has the same idea! Linda, are you on the same coast as me? ItÂs been quite blustery for the last few days And yesterday later in the day it started raining and didnÂt stop til about an hour ago..now the sun is out but the wind is still whippin. The candles are always ready here, the only thing I do once we get a few flickers is fill up some pitchers of water..I can cook and heat the house (gas)..so the only thing we suffer from is toilet flushing. LOL Sharon, The Last Supper..now that is cheeky. LOL And what is it with the dishwasher duty? IÂve been trying to convince the boys itÂs funÂbut apparently since IÂm the only one that does it..they arenÂt buying it! Annie, well that "contract" is bindingÂbetter keep up on those 6 mo checks! And I agree with Maggie..a girl AmandaÂs age shouldnÂt be settlin..she should be playin the field and experiencing as much as possible. Happy Birthday Elery! Gina, can you "see" someone else on the side? ~snort~ and if Ms Gabor can pull it off so Can you! Nancy, as much as I love to have tan skin..but know how bad it is..IÂm really thinking about a quick jaunt to the local electric beach! Just to feel warm all over! So I do know how you feelÂ.A tiny bit! Crafty, do you have a box that holds all those stragglers until you find them all? Sue, your brunch sounds like a good idea to me..nothing wrong with chocolate that time of day! MaggieÂI hope you get everyoneÂs cough undercontrol..ItÂs not fun at all..to do it, hear it and watch your kidlets suffer with it! When you are all done with your closet..I have a few that could use someone elses "eye" to clean them! Plus that would get you out of the house. LOL A walk on the beach today, would be cold..but beautiful here. Tonight at our house will be homemade pizza and Rush Hour 3. Tomorrow will be a morning of basketball for the boys and Daddy. He coaches the middle sons team and the oldest son coaches the youngest ones team..I just get to watch. J Over course this week, they are playing at the same time. So IÂm with the 2 boys. Then I have a little bit of time to spend collecting registration forms and giving out information for Little League. Other than that..we donÂt have much planned for the rest of the weekend. IÂve got a cup of Green Tea ChaiÂso clinkÂclinkÂ

Hi Ya! I kicked that ol' tire right outta the yard into kingdom come (I actually had two beers - pointed them into my diary and still kept my day value) on Friday night and a strong sedative....boy...sleep I did and still somewhat groggy today got off my keister, did some light kitchen cleaning, ran some laundry, puttered with my darling baby plants (repotted some and gave my fern a massive heart attack by sawing the root ball down and repotted it) and just made some cinnamon rolls. Yep, cinnamon rolls. I cut them into small sizes and pointed them at 3.5 per roll (probably less). I used splenda and sugar with the cinnamon, drizzled honey to goo things up a little and low fat margarine in the mix. I also use LIGHT carnation evaporated milk - really gives it a lovely texture and taste. I still have 6 points left today and later this evening I am going to have a nice cuppa tea and a cin. roll - finish up my points for the day, freeze some of them for another day and take some over tomorrow when out visiting folk (I love to bake, I still do a lot but I give it away ASAP and freeze a few bites for later). Friday night the family has decided I will be going out for chinese dinner this week coming for my b'day...they never asked what I wanted (I don't really want this, especially on a Friday night - I am usually totally wiped by end week, but I will go with my best foot forward. Just means that Thurs/Friday I will PLAN AHEAD and save a few extra points for that meal. I appreciate their thought and Dave's parents are here for another week before going back home. I should not complain, it has been hard on them even more. Probably be in bed early again tonight but first, gotta read my gardening mag. and my National Enquirer (weekly international edition). I know, I know the NE is pretty much fiction but I enjoy it. Small pleasures. Hope you are enjoying your weekend. Tomorrow we start another week and we carry on! Cheers, McPeg

I see Jessy beat me to the 'puter this morning, obviously neither of us were getting much sleep! I'm finally feeling much better, the sinus infections just hung on until the doc mixed my antibiotic with prednisone. I can finally breathe normally, but it shot my sleep pattern to he!! Work is crazy right now, ramping up to a big fundraiser. I have lots of talented parents right now, but I still need to be everywhere and oversee everyone! Invitations hit the mail yesterday, so that chore is over, but the auction catalogue, prizes, tribute journal, honoree speeches, decor etc are looming. Plus the boss is taking off for almost 3 weeks before! She's incredibly helpful,so that isn't great timing! DSIL is off to Chicago yesterday for what looks like a longish job. That means DD and DGS's will follow soon. At least this time the film is in this country! DGS Mason was one yesterday! i missed being with him due to work and the late demands of the job. Sunday DD is going ahead with the plans for a little afternoon party for the family and a couple of close friends. That shoudl be fine. Both boys have had sinus infections too...gee wonder who gave it to me? LOL Dinner tonight? I have no idea! Last night was steak, grilled asparagus and some other assorted veggies. I munched all day with our volunteer parents so I really shouldn't have eaten at all, but I think DH would disagree! Anyway, at this hour I'll just clink with my synthroid pill and water. Not very exciting, eh? Good weekend to all!

Riesling Poached Pear Frangipane Pie Directions: Crust 1 9-inch Hannaford pie crust Poached Pears 4 cups water 1 Tbsp. lemon juice 6 pears, ripe but not soft 2 1/2 cups late Riesling wine 1 1/2 cups Hannaford sugar 1 lemon slice Frangipane Filling 1 cup blanched almonds 1/2 cup Hannaford sugar, divided 1/4 cup Hannaford flour 6 Tbsp. Hannaford unsalted butter, softened 2 large Hannaford eggs 1 tsp. Hannaford vanilla extract 1/2 tsp. Hannaford imitation almond extract 1 Tbsp. reduced poaching syrup 1. Bake pie crust according to package instructions for pre-baking an empty crust. Cool. 2. Prepare poached pears. In a large bowl, combine water and lemon juice. Peel, core, and halve pears, and place halves in lemon water. Set aside. 3. Combine wine, sugar, and lemon slice in a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Once this syrup mixture boils, reduce heat and keep it simmering. 4. Drain pears and discard lemon water. Add pears to syrup. Poach for 5 minutes, turn pears over, and continue poaching for an additional 5 minutes, or until pears are tender when pierced with a knife. Remove pears from syrup and place on paper towels to drain. Continue simmering syrup until reduced to 1 cup, about 20 minutes. 5. While syrup simmers, prepare frangipane. Combine almonds with 1/4 cup of the sugar in a food processor and process until finely ground. Add flour and pulse until combined. 6. In a large bowl, use an electric mixer on medium high to beat butter and remaining 1/4 cup of the sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating until well incorporated after each one. Beat in vanilla and almond extracts and poaching syrup. Reduce speed to low, add ground nut mixture, and mix until just combined. 7. Preheat oven to 350°F. Spread frangipane in pre-baked pie shell. 8. Slice 1 pear half into slices 3/8 to 1/4 inch wide without separating slices. Slide a spatula under pears to transfer without separating. Fan pear half by pressing on stem end. Slide fanned pear half on to frangipane slowly so you can place it correctly. Repeat with additional pear halves until frangipane has pear fans evenly spaced over it, with space in between. Place pie on a baking sheet and bake at 350°F for 45 to 50 minutes, until frangipane is puffed, golden, and solid to the touch. If crust edges start to brown too much, cover them with foil. Cool on a wire rack. 9. To serve, slice remaining pear halves in half. Place a quarter pear on a plate, drizzle with poaching syrup, and place a slice of pie beside pear. Extra poached pears may be refrigerated in an airtight container for three to four days, covered with any remaining poaching syrup. APPROXIMATE NUTRITIONAL VALUES PER SERVING: 450 CALORIES, 62G CARBOHYDRATES, 6G PROTEIN, 19G FAT (7G SATURATED), 60MG CHOLESTEROL, 100MG SODIUM, 6G FIBER