Good Afternoon

and

!
I'm taking a moment to enjoy the fruits of my labor -- I finally made those oatmeal choc chip cookies! I was all set to do it when I got home last night, and we were out of eggs! Dennis purged the fridge, not realizing I was counting on at least one egg when I got home

Oh well, it freed up time to do a quick straightening in all my Flylady zones, so it was all good. So, I had two cookies and a cup of hot tea, pretty good for someone who has only had 100 cal Nesquick and clif bloks today
Kathy -- Forgive my "geek speak", BBT is Big Bang Theory. We decided this summer it was ok for Ben to watch, and he is hooked, and so am I

Can I just say you have a totally precious Christmas card?! Love it

Um, that's on my list of things to do today, addressing our cards. Shall we take bets whether Dennis gets Ben's picture taken? To be fair, they are out shopping for my Christmas presents, so it would be pretty churlish of me to complain. Dennis had to curtail his usual Christmas Eve shopping. He has to run that morning, the Pats play that afternoon, and he knows it would not be pretty if he announced he was going to be out that night
Lindsay -- I would have been annoyed, too. It is pretty thoughtless when parents don't get all the information. I hope that is the most annoying thing you have to deal with this weekend
Lisah -- I know you are out doing that 14M! I am so proud of you, you are going to

the Tink!
Rose -- I read your Rocky Raccoon story on the BL thread, and you gave me my laugh for the day. I know it wasn't funny when it happened, but I just pictured Tom sitting there and the raccoon poking it's head through the ceiling
Nancy -- Is Santa all ready to come to your house? Does Thomas understand yet? Ben was almost three when Christmas rolled around, and he sort of got it -- sort of because his Christmas list consisted of bananas and "twizwahs". He didn't quite get the concept Santa would bring a sleigh load of toys...had I had some restraint that year, he might not think Christmas = Mom and Dad Clearly Must Be an ATM...
Lisa -- I hope your run today is all you are hoping for. Three snowstorms in one week would do me in

You are a hearty soul!
Pamela -- I can't seem to make it over to the other thread. A bedroom calendar is just that, a calendar for my bedroom, so I can record my weight and workouts with some privacy, rather than in the kitchen for the world to see. Dennis tries to be cute, but I've asked to him to get me something I actually want to look at this year. 2010 was cow abductions, 2011 was goats in trees. No, I am not kidding...
So back to me -- after grocery shopping last night I was exhausted and starving. Why would I be starving? Partly my own fault for not making sure I ate more when I got home -- because the office party food was barely happening! When you walked into the restaurant you got two tickets, one for the veggie buffet, and one for the carving station. When we walked through the veggie buffet, there was barely anything on it. I took a spoon of the pasta, a spoon of the roasted veggie mix (skipping the mashed potatoes!), a good sized tongful of salad, and two small crostini. We got our table and my friend went up to the carving station. By the time she got through, I decided it wasn't worth the wait. She had skipped the turkey because it was too pink, and the roast beef had barely stopped mooing

. They only had water or soda to drink and since I just don't drink soda, I had water. The dessert selection was cookies, and some anemic looking lemon and pecan bars. I passed. All in all, I consider it a success since I did not go crazy eating just because I felt out of place!
Anyway, I got home and did the straightening, and then we headed out to grocery shop. It was after 8:30 when we got home, and my stomach was not happy. I should mention that isn't all I ate, I did have almonds, a Babybel, and a handful of Stacy's pita chips before we left. Anyway, Dennis went to the Mexican place and got me two cheese enchiladas with rice and beans. I had a Dove peppermint bark square and called it a night after watching Person of Interest and Brad Meltzer's Decoded.
I was up at 7:30 this morning, and started getting ready for my run. I had been meaning to download a couple of songs, so I did that first -- and I have my new favorite! I

the Glee remix of "I Will Survive/I'm a Survivor"! Really peppy, and what woman doesn't love to mentally sing along with the Gloria Gaynor standard?! So anyway, my 10M went great! I'm a little more sore than I would like, but at least I don't have to go anywhere today.
I got cleaned up and started the laundry, then baked the cookies. The rest of my day is more fluid. I should start those Christmas cards, do some wrapping, and I have enough Tivo to last me through the New Year

I also have a pile of books I really want to read, so life is good
I have my ornament packaged and ready to mail, Dennis is going to take care of that for me Monday. Once I go through my holiday control journal and make notes, I will figure out what to do next.
I hope you are all off having a wonderful Saturday! One more thing -- I am sitting here thinking how grateful I am to have all of you in my life!
Maria
