My thoughts and prayers have already started.

I want one!!! I but it in favorites and might be putting on the top of my Christmas list. It look really great, especially because I have to avoid the wind. Thank you for posting it. I tried to rep you but it says I have to rep some other people first. I will try again.

I have lost about 21/2 pounds a weeks. I have been walking/running 5-8 miles a day. I have also started biking a bit. I have been tending a nice size garden. Also doing a bit of work with weights. My eating has just been healthy. I could out sweets, am eating lean proteins, and eating whole grains. Also hardly ever going out to eat.

I looked at our post times and they were exactly the same. I guess great minds think alike:001_smile: The weather here today is beautiful. Very blue sky which means like lower humidity. I opened up the house this morning too. We had the AC on for a little less than 2 days(we are really trying to use the AC a lot less this summer) It was a bit windy here which is one reason why my walk was a bit shorter than usual. I put as much gel in my eyes as I could before I went out. I had to slow down about 10 times to put drops in my eyes. (I have a auto-immune disease called Sjogrens and one of the symtoms is that my eyes make very little tears.) As we have started school so I will be splitting my workout up more I hope to do 3.2 miles in the morning and another 3.2 in the evening. I was 165 pounds on Mother's Day of this year. This morning I weighed 140. I hope to get to 135. I am so thrilled with my progress.

Hello I hope know one else has started the thread today. I did search for one. I did 3.2 miles walking outside

Oh how I laugh at that one!

The date are somewhat approximated but should be very close, I have also list who each book is about The Beggar's Bible about John Wycliffe 1350 136 pages. 0-8361-1732-8 The Bible Smuggler about William Tyndale 1520 144 pages. 0-8361-1557-0 Doctor in Rags about Paracelsus 1530 146 pages. 0-8361-1698-4 A Heart Strangely Warmed about JOhn Wesley 1730 126 pages. 0-8361-1769-7 Ink on His Fingers about Guttenberg and his printing press 1450 128 pages. 0-8361-1673-9 Key to the Prison about George Fox (Quakers) 1650 144 pages. 0-8361-1813-8 The King's Book about the King James Bible 1611 128 pages. 0-8361-1933-9 The Man Who Laid the Egg about Erasmus 1500's 118 pages. 0-8361-1828-6 Night Preacher about Menno Simons 1530 134 pages. 0-8361-1774-3 Peter and the Pilgrims 1620 128 pages. 0-8361-9226-5 The Secret Church about the Anabaptist 1540 128 pages. 0-8361-1783-2 Thunderstorm in Church about Martin Luther 1510 136 pages. 0-8361-1740-9

Let me know what ones you have and I will post the order to read them in. We are studying history chronologically(as most Story of the World user do) so we have read her books when they take place in the period we are studying. Ds is also happy when I give him one of her books to read. They are a huge favorite with him.

My dh and I used to make the calendars, now our ds makes them himself. He prints a page for each month and has a photo from that month in the previous year for each month. The grandparents love it. The software we use is old and is called create a card. I am sure their are probably better programs available now. This is always a highly anticipated gift on the grandparent part. Our ds has a blast making them.

This link should take you directly to the Home and Garden portion of her blog http://thepioneerwoman.com/homeandgarden/

In the Home and Garden section of her blog today Ree talks about why she likes Story of the World. Here is a link to the blog http://thepioneerwoman.com/ I have to say I agree with her completely. We love Story of the World!

Due to the hazy hot and humid weather I decided to do the treadmill today. I also wanted to see how long 5.3 miles(my usually outside distance) would take. It took me 78 minutes at 4.3 mph . This is better than my outside time even though I run a bit outside. So I am not keeping up my speed while walking outside which is no huge surprise. I also walked at a 3% grade and increased to at a level of 1% per lap(1/4) of a mile to a top grade of 7%. This really made for a great workout. We are starting some school today so I have to run......

Here a great and easy recipe for SPLIT PEA SOUP 2 c. dried split peas 2 qt. water 1 ham hock 1/2 c. celery, chopped 1/2 c. carrots, chopped 1 tsp. onion, minced 1 can cream of potato soup Season to taste Place ingredients in large pot. Boil gently 2 hours. Remove ham hock. Chop meat from bone and return to soup. Season to taste. Add water to taste. Add can of cream of potato.

This recipe is very close to how I make it AWARD WINNING MARYLAND CRAB SOUP 1 qt. diced celery 1 qt. diced potatoes 3 c. mixed vegetables (a combinations of corn, peas, green beans, carrots, and lima beans) (I use a bag of frozen vegies) 2 qt. water 1/4 c. minced onion 1 tbsp. beef bouillon (granules) 1 tsp. salt 1 tsp. paprika 1 tsp. seafood seasoning(I use Old Bay) 1/2 tsp. pepper 1 tsp. parsley 2 (12 oz.) cans crushed tomatoes 1 lb. special or claw crab meat In a large, heavy bottomed kettle, combine celery, potatoes, vegetables and 1 quart water; bring to a boil. Lower heat and cook approximately 30 minutes, until vegetables are tender. Add remaining ingredients, bring to a boil and cook for 10 minutes at a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour. Leftover soup should be kept in refrigerator not more than five days. Makes about 1 gallon.

although you probably don't want to make those at the moment. I find a good vegetable beef soup and serve it with crusty bread and happiness abounds at our house. Maryland crab soup is also a favorite at our house. I like the fix it and forget cookbook. The slow cooker get a lot of use around here in the colder months. This time of year we grill out a lot and I often think we are not eating very well balanced meals. My guys would live on meat, meat and more meat. I do grow a garden and they like whatever is fresh from it at the moment. This is mainly tomatoes. We did and oven stuffer roaster(on grill), corn on the cob(also grilled) and fresh sliced tomatoes for dinner last night.

Somehow my dh and ds have talked me into going camping. I am not a great camper. I walked home from a Girl Scout camp out once because I didn't like it(luckily it was only 1/4 of a mile from my house) The only way I am going to survive this is by taking a few good books. I figure I have room for 3 books. Please help me decide what to take. First choice must be a Jane Austen. Jane Austen is my happy reading place :001_smile: Choices 2 and 3 can be made from the following list, I have not read any of these Bel Canto by Ann Patchet Atonement by Ian McEwan In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick The Reading Group by Elizabeth Noble Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen The Historian Their Eyes Were Watching God by Hurston Miss Read Summer at Fairacre Walden by Thoreau (somehow this just seems to go with camping) A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by MArk Twain The No 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander Smith John Adams by McCullough 1776 by McCullough *Note that last two would help me prepare for the school year. Any other suggestions not on the list would be great, these just happen to be book I already own.

I did the 5.3 mile walk run in 79 minutes I didn't check the time for the bike ride. Eveyone is doing such a great jobe exercising. I wish we could walk to more of our destinations as some of you do.

Here is a link for information http://www.history.org/history/teaching/groupTours/images/HomeEducators.pdf If you call the 800 number at the bottom they will send you a packet of information. We have gone for several year and it is a blast. I biggest decision is always were to stay. Has anyone ever stayed at the Woodlands? We have never tried it and have wondered how it is.

I didn't think I would like the book, but I am really enjoying it. If you select rad a little about the author before you read the book. My son is also reading it and we are having some great discussion about the book.

It takes about 70-75 minutes. Sometimes I run a bit so I get it done a little faster. Today I stopped to talk to a neighbor who is undergoing cancer treatment so I didn't get to note my time. Mainly I have to remind myself to keep up the pace when I am walking outside(this is not a problem on the treadmill) Also where we live is very flat so I have no hills to climb. We live at sea level so breathing here is also easier. If I tried to walk in Denver or something it would probably be impossible.

After two days off from brisk walking I did 5.3 miles this morning. It felt great, and my rib didn't hurt. I am hoping my two days of rest helped it to reposition itself. I have learned that push ups are probably causing the rib to pop. I consider this a great reason not to do push ups:001_smile: I also worked in the garden for an hour. I took out all the plants that have finished producing and did some weeding. I also tied up some tomatoes so the fruit is not resting on the ground. I didn't have breakfast until 10:30. It is an absolutely beautiful day here today. I am hoping to get to the community swimming pool later.

Well it looks like I have dislocated my rib again. I also did this about 5 years ago. It hurts when I breathe, which makes exercising a bit tricky. Although once I get moving the pain does ease up. Funny thing is I have no idea how I did it. I know I have to go get it popped back in or it will want to stay like this. Thing is I HATE going to the doctors. Also I have to see a DO to pop it back in and the one I saw last time has left the area. So I have to find a new doctor. That said I did walk 2 miles last night with my dh.

I was thinking about this because it is a special ability a character has in a book I recently read. If you could hear the thoughts of one other person for just one day whose thoughts would you want to hear. Of course they would have no idea you have this power. OK dh or ds hmmmm this is difficult OK dh thought are probably pretty boring, mostly work stuff. I want to know what my 14 yo is really thinking.

Ingredients Tomatoes olive oil onion garlic sweet peppers (opt) hot peppers (opt) seasoning( your favorite I use one from Sam's club) salt lime line a 2 cookie sheets with foil Clean peppers and slice in half drizzle with olive oil and put under broiler until blackened (be careful with hot peppers I wear gloves when I work with them) Remove from the oven Slice tomatoes into quarters and drizzle with olive oil and put on cookie sheet Sprinkle tomatoes with salt(I use Kosher) place about 3 inches under broiler , out broiler on low and let broil for 25 minutes or so (until somewhat blackened) Remove from oven Saute onion and garlic in a pan with some olive oil when the tomatoes are cooking Also while tomatoes are cooking put the peppers in a small food process and give them a spin or two. You don't want this to be mash. Mix everthing together and put a few squeezes on lime juice on the mix. Season to taste. Note I often just do the tomatoes and serve it over pasta for dinner. It is a huge hit at our house.

Oh my do we have tons of tomatoes. I make something with them everyday and dh always says that the quanity on the counter is not decreasing. Yesterday I made Fire-Roasted Tomato salso and today I plan to make regular salsa. We have also had lots and lots of cucumbers. I made pickles and was very surprised at how good they turned out. They had to be eaten within 2 weeks so I gave lots away to neighbors. My neighbors have been bringing me the most delightful things in return so they must have really enjoyed the pickles. If anyone wants the recipe I will post it later. We also have a very interesting vegie, an apple gourd. They should look great on the steps for Fall decorations. The mini stuffing pepper have also done well. Ds is having fun weighing the tomatoes. His current record holder is a 24.6 ounce German Green. I hope everyone elses gardens are doing well too.