I'll catch up on the threads later. I just wanted to say that I posted in the safe section because of all that's going on.

Diana.... I am so sorry this has happened, i have been watching out for your update, it is really sad, i hope Dae Lynn is ok, she will get through this, she has good strong family beside her.

Take care, sorry i dont understand what safe section means??????

Today we have a 2-hour school delay. I would rather have the whole day only because the delays kind of screw everything up. The wind here is deafening. We did get some snow, but from what I can see out the window, I can still see the grass, so I don't think we got much at all. I'm glad....I really don't care for snow at all....only in pictures!

I'll be on vacation after today and don't have to go back until January 8th. Yay!!! I hope to get some things done, but I'm not going to hold my breath....lol. I tend to get real lazy on vacations.

Janet, we had that horrible wind for 2 days here too. It was just awful! It broke off a limb from my redbud tree.

Well, this is my last day of work too. I have off till the 7th. I'm pretty much ready for Christmas, but as soon as I say that, there will be something I forgot! I have a Christmas party to go to tomorrow afternoon, then I have to pick up a honey baked ham, then pack to go to Houston. Mom and I are leaving Sunday morning.

Another STRESSFUL day here. I had a blood test yesterday for my thyroid. It has not been right for a while. So every 3 months i have a blood test. Dr office called me today and said dr wants me tohave an MRI ASAP. My levels were way off...
SO go on the 26th for that. He wants to check out my brain......Checking Pit GLand. Have dr appt on the 28th. I am on vacation. So not looking forward tothis...I am claustophobic really bad......So i get to take valium before the MRI.
Hubby is on vacation too so he will be taking me. Merry Christmas everyone.

Sorry you're so worried, I know it's hard not to be. Keep your faith focused where it should be and it will help. Glad Gary will be there to help you. As always, you're in my prayers.

Oh Linda, so sorry this is going on right now, but it's best to get it checked out quickly. Thyroid is so wonky, it can really get out of whack for, what seems like, no reason. Then viola, it's within normal limits again. It's really hard to get a handle on. Do you take any thyroid medicine like synthroid? Keep us posted!

I am baking some today and knitting. There is a Christmas party I could be going to right now, but I just don't feel like talking to a bunch of people I don't know. The host is a good friend of mine, but she will have a house full of people that I don't know, so I don't thnk I'm going to go. I'm just uncomfortable with people I don't know and I'm just not feeling very festive right now anyway. So, I'm just going to stay home and cook and knit.

Why is it that so many bread recipes are just not quite right. I have a bread recipe that turns out perfect every time. But everytime I follow someone else's bread recipe, it's not right! :mad: I'm making cinnamon bread and I could tell that the recipe didn't call for as much flour as the bread recipe I usually use, but I thought, oh well, this is the Pioneer Woman's recipe (great cook, I might add), so it must be right. Nope. The dough was a gooey mess even after I added the extra flour she said I might have to add. So I added more, kneaded more (in my Kitchenade mixer) and it STILL was a gooey mess. So I kept adding flour till it was bread dough consistency. I hope it turns out!!! This happened with a recipe for Amish bread I tried a few days ago. I had to add WAY more flour than the recipe called for. Why does that happen to me???

I don't know about what goes wrong with your recipe. I have just a couple of bread recipes that I use for the same reason!! I can make bread but it's not my speciality!!

I can understand about not going to the party. Some times I don't mind talking with strangers and other times I really don't feel like it. It is an effort to talk to people and keep conversing with them especially when they don't try to carry their side of the conversation. I understand completely!!

We've had sooooo much going on that I don't even remember what's gone on the week. We didn't have our kids' church program last week because several of our main characters and Amy were all sick so we did it this morning. The practices were so awful that I really didn't think that they'd pull it off but they did!! I was so proud of the kids!! There were a couple of places in the play that weren't suppose to happen......like a little bench got tipped over and had to be sat back up......so Karlie informed everyone that "That was not part of the program!" so everyone had a laugh out of that!! Then since she was an angel she got to climb a ladder to be above the nativity.......well.....she climbed clear to the top......touching the ceiling and was waving to everyone!! I had to motion her to go back down a couple of steps!! Again laughter!!

After church Dae Lynn and the kids....and Glen and I went to my Mom and Art's for leftovers. They had Christmas with Art's family yesterday and had a lot of food left. I think that Mom also wanted to hear for herself what all had happened to Dae Lynn.

Glen and I did make it to Wichita on Friday. I got to go to my favorite antique mall while he went and shopped for some stuff. Later I went to Hobby Lobby and got some things to hang on the walls in Jaci's room. I got the curtains up and with the stuff on the walls it's looking really cute!! I have a few more things to do before I'm done. I found a cubby shelf at the antique mall that I really wanted but it ended up that it wasn't for sale. I was not happy!! Oh well.....that means that I can still look.

I've watched the kids a lot with everything that's gone on with Dae Lynn and Damon so it's been hard to feel like I'm ready for Christmas. We're just giving money to the kids and grandkids so I don't have any wrapping to do. Glen and I decided that our cruise is good enough to consider it our gift. I haven't been anywhere to buy him anything and we're both pretty good about buying what we need for ourselves so we're not trading gifts.

I had Kera come over this afternoon to do some cleaning. It will help keep the stress off a little better. I still need to pick up but at least it's dusted, swept, and the bathrooms have been cleaned.

I can't remember if I mentioned that we went to Feyn's church last Sunday and watched his kids in their Christmas program. All 4 of them were in it......Baby Jed was Baby Jesus!! He played his part well!!! It doesn't usually work out that we can go because our programs usually fall at the same time so we were tickled to get to see them this year! They have so many people that we know in their church that it's almost like we have two churches!!

Tomorrow I'm going to pick things up and start cooking. The kids are all coming over here for lunch on Christmas and I think that most of them can stay all day!! Glen's trying to come up with some games and stuff to play so it should be a good day!! Mom and Art will be here too!!

In case I don't make it back on here tomorrow......I love all of you and I hope you have a Merry Christmas!!!

Today, I started my spring cleaning, my bedroom is completely done now. I can tell I'm getting way to old to move furniture around even with those easy glide coaster things. Tomorrow morning will be the real test I guess....if I can move...lolol. I sure hope I can because I have a hair appointment at 9:00 in the morning.

I'm not spring cleaning the guys rooms....they can do it. I've tried getting them to help once I get started...basically all they have to do is go through things and either keep it or throw it away and they never finish the job. So...I'll just keep their doors shut. :)

Sorry I haven't been here much, nothing really has been going on and you all know me after all these years that the seasonal depression thing sucks. It will get better, always does one way or another.

Janet, you have so much energy. I need to move all the furniture in my house and clean under it! I'm going to do some cleaning over my break, but I prolly won't move my furniture!

I'm so sorry you are feeling down, I wish we lived closer so we could visit!

Up early this morning, well.......not really THAT early. LOL! I'm not going to make my trip to Oklahoma to see Gary's family. The weather up there is just too iffy. There is a forecast for some freezing rain today and then a big chance of snow on Monday. So, I've just decided to stay home. There is no sense in me getting out on the busy roads this weekend if the weather is going to be bad. I'll miss seeing Gary's sisters, but his oldest sister who lives in Kansas City is not coming down either. So, we'll just have to get together when the weather is better.

It's OK, I have a lot of things I need to do around here and out in the yard. i need to have a little bit of landscaping done but I've been so hesitant to do it because of the lack of rain the past 2 years. But I think I'm ready to maybe get started, even if I don't plant all the plants I might want. I just don't want to get into a situation where I have to spend a lot of money on water. I know I'll be planting things that are low water usage, so I just want to be careful. I've found someone who I think can help me figure out a design and what to plant, and also put in the beds and drip irrigation. So, maybe I can spend some time this week thinking about that.

I also need to find some new jeans for my mom. She's gained some weight and her jeans are looking pretty bad. So, I'm going on a shopping run today to see if I can find her some jeans. Shopping, YAY!

Christmas just didn't feel Christmas-y to me this year. I didn't think it would be SO different from my family, but it is. My family is pretty celebratory all the time, but especially at Christmas. There are always friends stopping by, drinks and cheers all around, and ALWAYS Christmas movies on in the background! With Scott's family, it was just like any old time we get together. We just sat around the house. They watched tv and movies (regular ones, not Christmas - except for one night I asked if we could watch one Christmas movie so we did, but they weren't at all interested). On Christmas eve I asked Scott if we could go drive around to look at lights. His parents weren't interested so the two of us went. But otherwise, it just didn't feel like anything special.

Oh and even when we went to his sister's house to open gifts, I couldn't believe how nonchalant it all was. We made both of our sets of parents a photo book of our wedding. We spent hours online, going through our hundreds of professional photos and making it perfect before ordering. His dad opened it, looked through it, handed it to his mom (we were sitting beside her) and she glanced through it and said "Hmm. So did you get this done by the photographer?" Scott said "No we did it ourselves online" and she said "Oh. Hm." and put it in her bag of stuff and continued watching everyone else. No "thank-you" or "it's great, I love it" or anything. Just "Hm" My parents tried calling me a few times throughout the day and I was able to talk to them once when we went back to Scott's parents' house to let the dogs out. I talked to everyone who was there (my brother, my parents, my grandma) and they all gushed about how they loved the gifts and thanked us so much and wished us all Merry Christmas!

I guess there is always next year. We'll be with my family then and it will feel more normal to me.

We got home on the 26th and didn't even think to go upstairs until bedtime. Scott went up first and then ran downstairs, back up, and downstairs again... finally I found out our furnace wasn't working and it was freezing upstairs (we have two furnaces - one heats the basement and main floor, the second heats the upper floors). He couldn't get the pilot light to go back on. We called the 24 hour line for the energy company and a guy showed up at around 12:30 am. He couldn't figure out why it wasn't working, but at least there were no issues with the gas (Scott turned it off but wanted it checked). He said best bet would be calling a furnace guy in the morning. So we froze overnight, and in the morning Scott called a few people. When one guy finally showed up, it turned out to just be some debris in some hose that was blocking airflow. He blew it out and it worked perfectly. Thank goodness! He didn't even charge us for it.

Yesterday we picked up construction materials because Scott is starting on our laundry room build today. I also bought tons of groceries so I can make some use of my days off - I am making 5 hashbrown casseroles, two pots of spaghetti sauce, a pot of chili, as much as possible of hamburger soup, a roaster full of cabbage rolls, and sweet and sour beef (we eat it over rice) in the next TWO days :eek: Either I'm in over my head, or I'm housewife of the year :D I want to portion everything out and freeze it so we can have good homemade meals on days when we are short on time after work!

Lindsey, it's always hard when you marry and spend some holidays with your in-laws. Their traditions are never just like yours. It's always a lot more fun with your own family. But you make the best of it and like you did by requesting a Christmas movie, you try to show them how to have a little fun on Christmas. When you have children, maybe you will decide to have Christmas at your house, so that "Santa" comes to your house. Then you can have some celebrations before or after Christmas with your families. Or maybe your families will decide to come to your house for Christmas. At some point, you may want to have Christmas with Scott and you children in YOUR home. Gary and I went to my daughter's house for Christmas ever since her daughters were old enough to look for Santa to come. We loved it and I still love watching the girls get up and rush to see what Santa brought them (the 16 year old still has to pretend for the 6 year old. LOL!).

Janet!!! You inspired me!!! I got up this morning thinking that I really needed to work out but I really didn't want to but I really needed some exercise. So Janet, I thought of you and all the cleaning you did this week - so I did it too - instead of exercising, well I DID get my exercise moving furniture, vacuuming, and cleaning and polishing the hardwood floors. I only did the living room but it took quite a while and I got a clean living room and a good workout!

Thanks Janet, you're my inspiration! :p

LOLOL....anytime Gayle. I have been spending a lot more time in my room....it looks so clean!!! Next I will tackle the living room and dining room. I really should paint the hallway, but not sure I want to tackle that. Honestly....after moving all that stuff around in my room, painting the hall should be a breeze. :)

Glad you were able to get so much done.

Gayle, I overheard Scott talking with his mom before Christmas about future Christmases, and she suggested that we do a 3 year rotation - one year at their house, one year at my parents' house, and host one at our own house. Afterwards I told him that I don't want to schedule our Christmases for the next 20 years! I thought that after we have a family of our own it would be nice to just have our own family Christmas, without having to travel every year. We will do next year with my family for sure (we won't have our own by then!) and after that, we'll just see what happens. Scott said his family traveled every year for Christmas - they'd normally drive all the way out to the coast to visit family in BC, or just around the province to visit family closer by, but never had a Christmas at home. When I grew up, most Christmases were just my parents, my brother, and myself. Sometimes grandparents would visit, and sometimes it would just be us alone. Maybe 3 times in my 18 years living at home, we may have gone somewhere else for Christmas. I guess we just see Christmas differently!

You guys are making me jealous with your clean houses :( Mine is in a bad state for now lol. The breakfast nook has become a dumping ground while we do renovations to the future laundry room. We've also made it the dog "home base" because they used to be where the construction zone now is! So it's a big mess... and we're having company tonight! :eek:

Scott didn't know I was taking a picture :D

Attachment 7183

Lindsey, I think you are wise to just wait to have your family and then work to create your own Christmas at your house. I think it should be where the kiddos are located and then the grandparents can visit if they want. That's not to say that you can't travel once in a while, but take it from someone who moved away and had to travel for lots of holidays the past 30 years, it's no picnic - you really want to just stay home!!! You'll work it out, I know you will.

And I want you to know that you inspired me too, Lindsey. I've cooked all day! I like to cook a lot all at once, and then freeze it, just like you. So, after I read about all your cooking, I decided to do that too. I made homemade spaghetti sauce from my homegrown tomatoes. I ripened them wrapped in newspaper and when I got back from Christmas in Houston, they were ready to use. I ate some for dinner tonight and kept some in the fridge for tomorrow, then I froze the rest. I have a vegetable soup in the crockpot and I have enchalidas in the oven. That's it for today, but I might cook something else tomorrow.

That sounds so good Gayle!! I have never used homegrown tomatoes in sauce, I always just use them from a can lol. I managed to get the casseroles, spaghetti sauce, and sweet'n'sour beef done yesterday. I have hamburger soup and chili cooking now. I planned to make cabbage rolls today but the cabbage wasn't ready. I normally freeze it and thaw it before using the leaves. I don't think I froze it long enough (1 day) because when I thawed it, the whole head of cabbage still looked and felt fresh :rolleyes: I didn't want to take the time to boil it while trying to make two more meals today, so I just put it back in the freezer for another day!

I use dough to make my cabbage rolls, I'm thinking you use the leaves to make the rolls. That sounds like a lot of work!!! LOL!

My enchalidas were really good!!! I'm going to post the recipe in the recipe thread. They are low fat enchiladas and they are GOOD!

Lol yes, I roll them in the cabbage leaves! I've never seen them made with dough! That sounds interesting!

The recipe using dough is in the 4WT recipe thread, 12 threads down, called Easy Cabbage Rolls.

All this cooking! It ll sounds delicious! I used to cook on Sundays and freeze it when I was working and Jessie was a teenager.

I'm on weight watchers right now, and I'm not cooking. I bought some lean cuisine dinners and have been popping them into the microwave. I'm running out, so I will have to start cooking dinner again soon. There is too much snow to go out shopping today! I lost about 5 pounds, so it is working well. I like weight watchers.

I'm really bored! The snow is beautiful, but I won't go anywhere. My friends are here, so maybe I'll go visit one of them today. We're having a New Year's party tomorrow night. I am excited! We're having lobster! Yummmmmm! Everyone is making a dish, but I have decided not to worry about it anymore. They all know I don't cook, so nobody expects me to bring anything, but I always felt bad that I didn't have a dish to bring. I would bring wine. If I can get out tomorrow, I will buy a bottle of champagne. If not, oh well!

I didn't get the kids over this vacationist because of the snow. It has been a nice, quiet week.

I will try to walk the dogs in the snow later. They enjoy it, and with the three if them, I have to get them out or they have too much energy. I enjoy it too, and it is exercise.

Good for you Judy! I wish I could lose 5 lbs! I like WW too, it always seems to work well.

I've just had a quiet day, didn't feel very well this morning, no appetite and just felt off. So, I ran a couple of errands and then just watched TV and laid around the rest of the day. I feel like a sloth! LOL! I feel fiine now, so I don't know what was up with me this morning. I'll just be watching football and basketball for the next couple of days. I'll really be a sloth by the time Wednesday rolls around!

I groomed and bathed the dogs, they needed it so bad. Then mopped the kitchen, cleaned the bathroom where I bathed them and then had to clean my room again because that's where I groom them. I'm so tired, but not able to fall asleep as yet. Tomorrow they guys have to work....yay....I get the house to myself again, at least for the day.

I need to run to town tomorrow and run a few errands. Roads are not the best, but have driven on worse. Just need to take my time. We are suppose to get another 1-3 inches of snow tomorrow afternoon.

Lindsey, would you share your recipe for hamburger soup?

Gayle, I will! I'll put it in the recipes section right away :)

I have been so lazy! Yesterday I slept in, and Scott worked on the laundry room. We have framed walls up now! Last night we went out for a fancy meal and tried going to a movie. Well, it was sold out when we got there and the next one wasn't on until 10:50. We thought we'd wait a few hours.

So we went to visit our friend for a while, who was Scott's best man at our wedding. I mentioned before in the prayers needed section about him. He has gone through multiple rounds of chemo in the last months. It was very weird to see him without any hair. I haven't actually seen him since the wedding because the other times Scott visited him, I was sick and wanted to keep my germs away. Anyways, he is doing well and will be heading to Seattle in the coming months for a stem cell transplant. He is excited to get it over with and be done with cancer once and for all!

We finally got to the movie and I ate a ton of popcorn :) We drove home at 1:30 am in heavy heavy fog :( Luckily we made it home safely.

Today we are working on the laundry room some more. I am going to make deviled eggs shortly to take over to our friends' house tonight for a little New Years get-together. One more day off tomorrow and then back to work Wednesday! :(

Hey Lindsey, I found it in the soup thread of the recipe forum!

Happy New Years everyone!
Yes Lindsey, please share your recipe.. sounds good!
Gayle your enchalidas sound wonderful! I will be making them... I just finished a crockpot full of Cheesy Chicken Pasta bake... my own recipe. Will be taking it to my brothers to celebrate the New Years for my dish.
Judy you ever think of cheese and crackers for your dish? Or lil' smokies in barbeque sauce? Simple, yet always enjoyed.... best thing is no cooking! Lots of little things to do without actually cooking, and no guilt for you!

Yummmmm... I love my recipe. I was into Sam's Club years ago and they were giving out samples of a dish like this.. I thought I could make it and here is what I came up with. Now it is my signature dish that I am always asked to bring to gatherings. Here it is:

Cheesy Chicken Pasta Bake
1 1/2 lbs. - Penne Pasta cooked and drained
1 - 13oz. can Chicken Breast drained
1 - 10oz. can Creme of Chicken soup
1 - 4oz. can diced Jalapeno Peppers undrained
3/4 large block of Velvetta Cheese
Milk (enough to make creamy)
Combine all ingedients and heat until cheese is melted and creamy.
Makes approx. 4-5 qts.

I make mine in a Crockpot.
The jalapeno peppers can give a little hot heat to this. If you don't like the hot, you can use 1 - 4 oz. can of green chiles which adds flavor without the heat.

If you try it, I hope you enjoy it!

Happy New Year!!!
May the coming year bring us all continued health, happiness, acceptance, and above all peace and contentment in our hearts.

Lindsey, the hamburger soup is on the stove simmering!

Shada, you cheesy chicken pasta bake sounds YUMMY!

Last night was our New Year's Eve party. It was a wonderful night, being with friends. We had lobster!!! YUMMMM!

Today, I am doing nothing! Mabe I will read or watch a movie.

SHADA.......It's so good to see you back on here!! You've been missed!!!

Actually, I haven't been on much either. Sorry!!

We had a good Christmas. Glen and I decided not to buy gifts for each other because there just wasn't anything that we needed so we're considering the cruise our Christmas present to each other. The kids gave us a few presents and that was enough. We gave each of our family money this year. It seemed really odd not to shop for them. It did help relieve the stress that I get plus I didn't have to wrap the gifts either. The only gifts I bought was for Mom and Art and they were just little gifts. It was a good day with the family and they all got to stay ALL day. Their in-laws all had their Christmas's early or were doing them the next day.

We've had a couple of parties at Glen's brother's house.....a Christmas get-together and New Year's. Glen's sister, Brenda, is here and we always get together more when she's here.

We've had so many get-togethers from church and family that we're ready to stay home. I'm tired of making "finger foods" as well!!! LOL

This morning Glen and Logan left to go to Beaver Lake for their annual scuba dive on New Year's day!! I have a feeling that this will become a tradition. Any way I have the house to myself, which is nice!! We have a little snow on the ground.....not enough for me......but still it's nice!!

Reuger got a hair cut yesterday and Jazzi's going to get trimmed up soon. It will be nice having them look nice again. I'm afraid that I let them get too scruffy looking before I get them groomed.

Diana, when is your cruise? You are cruising to the Caribbean, right?

I know what you mean about too many get-togethers. I have had those sort of Holiday seasons and by the end, I just wanted to stay home and never eat anywhere but home again. Of course, that usually only lasts a week or so. :D

I took down my Christmas things which didn't take too long. I love my little decorations, they made me feel better, so it was kinda sad to take them down. But I'm glad to have everything put away so I don't have to think about doing it! LOL! My outdoor decorations are little lighted snowmen. There are 8 of them and they stand up on stakes in the ground. We had a little rain yesterday and today so when I pulled the stakes up they were a bit muddy. So, I just left them laying on the ground and will put them away tomorrow after the mud dries and I can wipe it off. Actually I took a paper towel and wiped off most of the mud so that all that is left should dry quickly and easily brush off. The little snowmen come off the stakes and I have boxes for them. I'll put the away tomorrow and then get them up in the attic.

I organized the tax stuff for mom and me. I didn't get anything ready for the accountant, just got everything organized into folders so that when the time comes, I can find everything. I also made folders for 2013 to keep things organized for next year. Everything is so much simpler without mountains of medical papers for Gary. I just put all that into a big bag and will put it in the attic. You never know when I might get a bill for Gary a year later. I just got a bill last month for a procedure he had in August of 2011. I have no clue why it took so long for me to get the bill. I haven't received a bill for anything at all related to his last hospitalization, and it has been 7 months since he passed away. You'd think everything would be settled by now, but who knows.

I'm going to work for a little while tomorrow. I need to do a little work on a project. I don't plan to strain myself though :D a couple of hours should be about right! School doesn't actually start till the 15th, but we have meetings and the like next week. So I thought I should get a few things done this week before the craziness arrives.

I hope everyone has a Happy New Year! Did you eat your black-eyed peas? I fixed some but I don't really like them, no matter what I do to disguise the taste. But I ate some, goodness knows I need some good luck in 2013!

WHEW! good to see 4WT open instead of Maltese.com! :D

OK girls, I've been complaining about it being HOT for the past few months, and it HAS BEEN. But now it's too cold (for Austin). Really I don't mind the cold but I don't have warm enough clothes! I had to dig into my deer hunting clothes to find some WOOL SOCKS -MY FEET ARE FREEZING! I know, I know, I'm a wimpy southern girl. And I know it will warm up in a day or so but dang! I went to Ross (a discount clothing store) and found a pair of corduroy pants. They sure do feel good! :D

I went to work today for a few hours. It was good to be back, but now I'm tired!:eek: I'm gonna have to get my stamina back, I've been a sloth for too long.

I worked out with the personal trainer this morning. We are just working on stretching and flexibility, so nothing too tough. I need to increase my cardio workout, and I will, but I have to take it easy or I just ache all over. We focused on my hamstrings today because they give me fits! They hurt so bad, even when I just go for a walk. They feel good today so I am making progress.

I brought all my work home and I think I'll work from home tomorrow and maybe Friday too. The students don't come back till the 15th, so there isn't any reason I can't work from home. My only problem is staying focused and getting some work done. Oh well, I don't have any deadlines looming, so if I goof off some, it won't matter. :D But I'll regret it later when those deadlines ARE looming!

I'm glad too Gayle. Looks like they have everything switched, so I hope there are no problems.

We've been going through a cold spell here and it's been in the single digits. That's way too cold for me. By the time you go somewhere, do whatever, the car is cold again..lol. I don't like shivering and driving...I know...I'm nuts.

I'm ready to get back to driving the bus, I'm bored staying home. I did get my bedroom all cleaned very thoroughly, but have run out of steam for cleaning right now. I have sent out more resumes and received a few replies that they received them, so I hope they will call for an interview. The are both for office work in a hospital in Lafayette. I'm keeping my fingers crossed although it is very scary to think about changing jobs in this economy. I'm just trying to start taking bigger steps toward what is best for me.

I would love to have a personal trainer...how fortunate you are! I was thinking of joining the "Y" or a 24/7 exercise place in Rossville (real close to me), but I'm trying to save money. I have been exercising and dancing here at home and started watching my diet again. Hoping I can stick with it.

Looking forward to a bit warmer temps within the next week...weatherman is saying near 50 again...yay!!! So wanting to be warm again and to be able to see green grass instead of this white stuff that's on the ground.

We go back to school on Tuesday so it won't be much longer. I think it's been too long of a break, would rather have a longer spring break instead of being stuck inside so much.

Well, I've been busy all day getting tax info gathered so that is all done, now just have to wait for all the information they send through the mail.

I have a roast and potatoes and carrots in the new crockpot Ricky got me for Christmas and I've just heard my dryer buzzer. Time to fold some clothes and hop in the bath before the guys get home.

We are having a cold spell too, Janet. I heard it was -6 in a nearby town this morning! It is sunny though, so I am happy. Doesn't your car heater warm you up? Mine keeps me toasty. I also have seat warmers. They are really good to warm you up, but after a while, you feel like you have a cooked tush! Maybe you can put a heavy lap blanket on while you are driving, or even a thick towel.



Keep warm everyone! I put up my thermal curtains yesterday, and will do the kitchen later. The towels are by the patio door to keep the drafts out, and it helps. My heating bill is so high though!

We're cold here too. We got a little bit of snow the beginning of the week and a lot of it's still here. It's just been too cold for it to melf off and I think that what has disappeared is just freeze dried away. Of course I'm not out in the cold much.

I have a lunch date today with a friend, Rita. We both have family problems so every once in a while we get together and have lunch. I have a lot to tell her this time!! She knows that things are bad and that Damon is in jail but she doesn't know much more.

I heard yesterday that my DIL, Tammy, has been talking to people about what's going on with Dae Lynn. That means that rumors will be going around town that's not correct. Tammy has a way of twisting the truth when it comes to things like this so I'm already upset with her without even hearing what she's said. Unfortunately this is a common problem with her.......and then she wonders why we don't always believe what she says. Oh well...........

Dean is his ornery little self!! But oh so cute!!! I can't believe that he's about to be three in March!!

I have both of the dogs groomed so my next project is to take down my Christmas tree. It's such a big tree and there are so many ornaments on it that it takes awhle to get down. Thank goodness I didn't get many other things out so once the tree is down I'm pretty much done.

My kids called yesterday about 3:00 and said, "We're coming to Austin!". They arrived about 8:00 and it has been non-stop chaos ever since. I'm so glad they are here though. It has been a few days since I'd done anything fun. the weather is really yukky though, cold and rainy, but that's OK!

I finally dug out some wool socks, my warm Ugg
boots and a couple of sweat shirts. I'm feeling a little warmer now. Janet, I was going to mention the driving things that Judy mentioned, putting a blanket over your lap when you get into the car. I find that really helps. I have heated seats in my new Prius. Best. Invention. Ever. for cold weather. Mine get so toasty though, I have to turn them off after a while. Since I can now keep my car in the garage, which i have NEVER been able to do, I find that it's not so bad getting into it when it's cold, or hot for that matter. When I had my car outside I would go out and start it first to get it warm, but with the price of gas these days, that's not very cost effective.

Well the kids are starting to rustle around. We'll be going out to their favorite Mexican restaurant for breakfast soon. Better get myself ready.

Gayle, enjoy your family!!! What a fun time!!

Our heater in our Tahoe has problems with staying warm. It's warm sometimes but not always.......same with the airconditioner......it's not always cold but sometimes runs as hot as the heater in the summer. It's been a huge fustration to us. We've had it in the shop and have it scheduled to go in again for that and some other problems. Personally I think that it's time to trade it in. I'm tired of dealing with it. However......I will say that my seat warmers do work!!! Thank goodness!!

How wonderful that the kids are here, Gayle!!! Enjoy every second!

Diana, I remember that Tammy does gossip. I guess you cannot change her, but maybe you could talk to her? This involves the children, and gossip follows people. Actually, she needs to be slapped! I'm sorry! Of course you would never do that, but shame on her! The girl needs a good whipping!

I have been finding deer foot prints in the morning around my house. There has been fresh snow every morning, and this has been going on for about 3 days. Somebody told me to put out apples. I cut one up, and the deer prints are right up to a half eaten apple on my steps!

If only I could take a picture! I was driving yesterday and saw 2 deer on my hill, and then about 9 or 10 deer, all together, crossing the road down on the highway. It was beautiful. I have never seen that many together - usually there are 3 together. These are the deer who survived hunting season, and I was so happy for them.

I probably should not feed this deer, but I am going to!! It will eat my trees come Spring. So worth it! (I might be complaining in the warm weather though!)