This is the day!

I really like that children's song based on Psalm 118:24.  This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.  That's what I'm going to do doing today.

I got up early (for a Saturday) to let in the guy who's installing the last of our energy efficient windows.  The rest of the job was finished in early December, but they ordered one window the wrong size, so it's going in right now.  We're expecting unseasonably warm weather today, but let me tell you, at 7:30  this morning it was too cold to stay toasty-warm in the house with a large window-sized hole in the wall.  Thank goodness for the snugly wool socks my Laura gave me for Christmas!

Guess what DH and I are going to do today!  Here's a hint:   You got it.  We're going to take advantage of the great weather (near 60 is the predicted high) and go for a bike ride.  And I'm going to ride my "Pearlie."  DH gave me a road bike for Xmas last year, but with the winter weather and then my surgery in March,  I've only ridden it three times.  I mostly rode my hybrid bike this year because the road bike has the rider lean over the handle bars more and I was leery of stressing my neck where I had the surgery.  Now, though, I'm ready to ride Pearlie again.

I'm feeling good on the WW front.  I bought three 24 oz BPA-free water bottles at Costco yesterday.  I'm drinking 60+ oz of water a day and tracking my eating on the WW site.  Morning weight augers a happy face at my Wednesday WI.

Laura made applesauce during our Christmas vacation.  Amazingly easy, fast, delicious, AND fills the house with a wonderful aroma.  Here's the recipe:

Core and slice 10 Fuji Apples (Laura uses a mixture of several varieties) (one of those apple corer thingamajigs works well.  No need to peel the apple.
Fill a large pan with 1 inch of water. Bring water to a boil. Put apples in pan, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
Blend apples until desired consistency.  (I use my new immersion blender!--Cuisinart Smart Stick SB 77)
Add cinnamon (optional).
Serve warm or cold.
Oh, and ZERO WW points!

I'm making pork tenderloin tonight and Laura's applesauce is definitely on the menu.

See you soon, I'm going to get moving and continue rejoicing and being glad in this day!
(Tish is my nickname.  I love knowing that Tish, Tisha, and Ticia (as I spell it) mean "glad." I think my parents did well in naming me.)

Monday, Monday

Good Morning!  Well, the snow and sleet we saw over the weekend have given way to a sunny, crisp fall day.  I've delivered the children to pre-school and came home to enjoy a quiet morning and get some things done.  Instead, we have several men making a racket on the roof (beginning the roof replacement).  It's incredible how loud it is, all over the house--no quiet corners here.  I'm also awaiting a call from the plumber who is going to fix a drain problem at our rental house.

I'm very tempted to make a batch of cranberry bars and fill the house with wonderful aromas of sugary treats, but I'm thinking that it's probably more a reaction to stress than to any actual need to have delicious, calorific treats on a cooling rack in the kitchen.  If I can hold out for about 10 more minutes, I won't have enough time to finish before I have to go pick up the children from school.

Have you discovered SweeTango apples yet?  I found them at Wegman's after a friend told me about them.  They are a successor to the popular Honey Crisp apple, but have an even more delicious juicy/sweet/tart flavor.  They also have a very nice texture.  I took some sliced very thin and served with meunster cheese to our evening Bible study the other night.  People always bring "treats" to this study and I'm always trying to counter the sugary dessert type offerings with something healthy and diet friendly.  This was a hit.  Someone else had brought apples too, but theirs were incorporated in a deep dish apple pie.  I'm not saying that the apple pie went begging for attention, but every slice of apple and every morsel of cheese was gone from my plate and more than half the pie went home with it's maker.  Just saying.  Look for them.  You'll like  love 'em!

Okay, I think I'm safely over the urge to make cranberry bars--not enough time before I have to go.  :-)

My choir does a yearly community Messiah sing every year.  It's not a show up and sing along, but rather come to 6  one hour rehearsals and sing with the orchestra for a packed house.  Mostly it's the same people who come every year, but our choir swells from 25 to 70 and it a very fun thing to be a part of.  The first rehearsal is tomorrow!

I've got to figure out a way to get in a walk today, but between the roofers, the plumber, and the kids, I'm thinking it will be a moonlit walk rather than a sunny stroll through the leaves.

Happy Halloween!   (I haven't yet bought our giveaways--maybe on the way to pick up the kiddos.)