Yes bierocks, that's what it made me think of. I love those things but never make them any more ..so carby but so good! They are very addicting. I first bought them at a bakery as a teenager.

Well I was a bit disappointed in the acceptance of my food tonight. Son was sick so didn't eat much of anything and the others didn't eat much either. Only my dil, dh and myself ate small servings of the casserole. This family is very picky! I even left off the green onions and tomato as I knew they wouldn't touch it with that on it, but it didn't really matter. So I'm left with a lot left to freeze, but not sure we'll ever eat it. I gave the kids their ornaments to take home and hang on their tree. I hope tomorrow's meal will be better received.

At least they sat with us at the Christmas Eve service. I enjoyed singing the Christmas carols. First time this year as we missed the Christmas musical.

Hope you are all having a good Christmas!

Good morning GG's,

Merry Christmas to each of you.

It has been pretty warm lately ~ up to 80* something. People have been having to run their AC.

I wrapped things yesterday. I'm Sara's wrapper. It is one thing I can do to help her when she is feeling overwhelmed with all the rest there is to do. I enjoy wrapping. Listened to Christmas music and watched part of the movie ~ White Christmas while doing it.

Later on, DH helped me straighten up/get rid of some of the clutter in the family room where we will gather today with Sara and the kids in the afternoon. I just have to vacuum it, clean the kitchen floor and bathroom before they come over.

Jason is spending Christmas with his girlfriend's family. I'm hoping to catch up with him on the weekend.

I am feeling thankful ~ I had been not feeling so good. I think I picked up Sara's cold/sore throat. But today, my throat seems ok and I don't feel weak and wiped out like I did.

Hope each of you is having a nice day with your family.

Have a few minutes while my roast is cooking and too early to start the veggie. Things so far are going pretty well...the kids aren't here yet as we don't eat until 6...they will likely be here in 30 min or so. I hope my roast is done then.:^: Don't think I'm going to make this big a dinner next year, too tiring and too tedium trying to get it all done and keep it warm. I'm too old for this.
Of course I say that every year.

Hope you're all having a good day...Gayle glad you will be with your dd and gc. You sure got up early today!

My fam will all be here tonight except our oldest dd who rarely gets back for the holidays. Tried to call her but she didn't pick up. She sometimes travels over the holidays...checked her FB page but nothing the last couple days.

Wishing you all a very merry Christmas ...maybe your Christmas celebrations are already over.

Good evening GG's,

Hope everyone is/had a nice Christmas day.

I wrapped stuff yesterday for Sara. In the evening, Steve helped me straighten up (discard some stuff) in the family room where we gather when the kids/people come over. It had gotten quite cluttered and I needed to vacuum. Was too tired to vacuum last night though.

I woke up at 2:30 am and my head was twinging ~ trying to ache. Sometimes it seems, that it has nothing to do with something I ate. A lot of the time, I get stuffed up and that seems to be part of it. I got up and took some med, looked at stuff on the computer for a bit, then went back to bed and hoped that the little headache wouldn't get worse and would be gone. Slept a couple hours more. I think maybe it was (this time anyway) sinus related. When I am laying down, it seems like stuff can't drain out of my head and it gets stuffed up and begins to ache. So, sitting up for a while, it seems like it starts to clear. I almost hated to lay back down, but was tired and needed to sleep some more. Thankfully, the headache did go away. I was glad, because I had some cleaning I wanted to do before Sara and her crew came.

It probably would have been ok, if I didn't get it done ~ they have seen our place/been here ~ when it is not at its best, but I feel better that I got it done. I had neglected the stuff for a while and it really needed to be done. Sometimes, it just seems so frustrating ~ because with Maddie here ~ nothing stays neat for long, so I let it go but I shouldn't.

So, I got the family room and part of the living room vacuumed, two bathrooms cleaned, the front entry hall mopped, then the kitchen, hall, laundry room and back (mud room) mopped. Whew.

Got a shower and dressed and was thankfully done before they got here.

We had a nice time. Sara brought some left overs (turkey and stuffing) she had cooked yesterday. She made a green bean dish, mashed potatoes and some asparagus. She had Corbin helping her cook those things. I just had to set the table. It was such a treat to have someone else preparing the meal. Then Steve helped me clean up the dishes after.

Then we opened presents. That was fun. Maddie had checked out the presents and had them organized into a little pile for each person.

She brought her present from Santa for us to see. She got a guinea pig. Some kids have great big lists ~ she wanted only one thing ~ a pet of her own. Mama fixed up a contract (from Santa) regarding it's care (keeping it's pen and her room cleaned, feeding it every day, spending time with it and helping with some chores to earn money for it's food and supplies) that she had to agree to in order to keep it.
It was cute ~ we enjoyed playing with it and watching her play with it. She is still trying to decide what its name will be.

DS Jason spent Christmas with his girlfriend's family. They are nice to him and include him at their family celebrations. He will stop by tomorrow and visit. I am glad they are so kind to him so that he isn't alone on the holidays. He and DD Sara had a falling out last year so neither of them wants to be together at a family gathering ~ so I just keep praying that God will help them get along again. It is hard to understand and wait on “Gods time” sometimes.

So, it was a pretty nice day. After Sara and the kids went back home, we just relaxed. I watched some old Andy Griffith shows and Christmas movies.

Hope you all had a nice day.

Our Christmas was nice. I got a little upset because I had the food all done and no one was here yet. I like to have the Christmas meal around 2-3PM then we can pick at things through the evening, but they don't like to eat that early so they don't come until later, like 3:30-4. I am just going to have to get used to that and plan things for later in the day. I got hungry before they got here and cut a leg off the turkey and ate it. Later, my DIL and DD were carving the turkey and wondering where the other leg went. LOL I told them I got it cheap because it only had one leg. It was either eat that turkey leg or fill up on snacks, which I didn't want to do. They told me I made too much food, and I will have to remember that in the future, as they all bring things. My DIL made this corn souffle that was really good. I try to think of something that each of them likes and I end up with too much.

So everyone was gone by 8 PM and DH and I started to clean up. I had been cleaning up as I went along so there wasn't a lot, but the pipe burst under the sink and we had a mess. Water all over the bottom of the cabinet and the floor. We used every towel we have to clean it all up. I couldn't wash the rest of the dishes, and had to go to bed and leave it like that. I didn't sleep well, but must have fell asleep around 5. I didn't get up until 11. DH had the clog cleared and was putting the pipe back together. Now I get to wash all the dishes. It's not really dishes because I used disposables, but all the containers that held all the food, etc.

After we cleaned up last night DH threw all the towels in the washer and dryer, so at least I'm starting out with all my towels washed. LOL Try to look on the good side of the matter, plus the fact that it waited until my company had left to happen.

Also, we had a Christmas miracle! Rusty, who usually barks continuous when we have visitors, settled down after a few minutes and just stuck near me the whole evening. I thought we were going to have to lock him in the game room, but he did fine and even let my BIL pet him. Maybe now he will be used to people.

And the other BIL who always complains that the others don't invite him to anything wouldn't come. Now I won't worry about him not getting invited because he was invited to our house and was a no show. He sat home alone. My step-daughter took a plate of food over to him on her way home. I think he just likes to whine and make us feel sorry for him that he doesn't get invited. He's strange.

Gayle, I'm glad your headache went away. It seems when it's sinus related, regular headache meds don't help. At least that's the way it is with me.

Guess I'll go get my kitchen cleaned up.

Well Christmas is over and the New Year will soon be here. We had a lovely Christmas ...besides all our kids (except the one in CA) and their spouses/GF here and our adult grandson dropped in. He had to drive about three hours I think to get here and only stayed and hour or two and drove back. He ate some of what was left of our dinner quite a lot cause I cooked a lot..and he took some goodies to share with his sister.

I was pretty pleased with myself as that's the biggest meal I've cooked in a long time and kinda tricky with three things to cook in often all different temps and times, working out the timing etc. I was already running about a half an hour later by 3 pm but it all worked out pretty well. That roast made wonderful gravy and it whipped up so fast and easy! I over bought on brussel sprouts...dh told me I did and he was right...I bought four small net bags and cooked three. Last year my oldest son ate a large amount of them but this year not so much. They were good but not sure I'll we'll eat the leftovers so wasteful if we don't. I sent the turkey roast home with the son I served it for, but kept the roast beef. There is probably 3 serv left at least. Everyone got wonderful gifts...the children were so happy. I had fun watching the kids...after every gift they were so happy and excited I think they were satisfied with what they got but there was more to come with so many giving to them. The adult kids played a "white elephant" game and that was fun. This was our biggest Christmas as a family and I think the biggest meal I've ever cooked. I wish we'd taken pictures. Dh and I always forget that. Usually one of the kids does but I don't think anyone did last night. I was SO tired by the time everyone was leaving...my legs and back hurt and I could hardly walk. Tues our new granddaughter will be born (C-section). She has grown a great deal since Thanksgiving, so they are taking her early. Her mother has gestational diabetes, so praying she will be ok. So far they think she is fine though. Can't wait to meet her. Her name is Vivian Eileen (Eileen is my middle name). I'm not sure whether Vivian has one v or two.

Carol Sue - I know how you feel when people don't show up when you tell them. I hate my food to be cold and work hard on the timing to try and prevent it, and I feel it's rude. If they agree to your invite and time then they should be there. I'm the same way about making (and buying!) too much. I have SO much candy in the house now, even chips...and a few cookies. I wish they'd taken it all. we will have the gc on New Year's Eve so I'm sure they will eat some of the candy then, so am keeping that in mind to hopefully restrain me.;) Of course it's all stuff I like.:^: I was surprised after all the sweets I ate yesterday to find my bs not nearly as high as it is often in the morning. Again, I do not understand this diabetes thing sometimes!

Gayle and Sandy - Hope your Christmas was good.

Mary, sounds like your Christmas dinner was great! I'm sure you're relieved that it's over. DH told me yesterday that he's glad it's over. LOL I was thinking that he wasn't the one doing all the work, but I kept my mouth shut. He says we're getting too old for this, but when someone else wants to host the holidays he doesn't want to go.

My step-daughter came over yesterday and took the rest of the leftovers. I had half a ham left. DH and I don't like to eat a lot of ham because of our blood pressure. I was surprised that the whole turkey was gone, and that's what I would have liked to have had leftover. I also had leftover potato salad and pasta salad, some dips, bread and buns, and lots of cookies. Her husband is a big eater so they will finish all that off. I hate to throw it away. I kept some cookies that DH likes. I kept the vegetable tray which I will snack on.

Tomorrow is DH's birthday. He will be 73. I think we are going to Texas Roadhouse for his birthday. We have a coupon for a free appetizer. We don't usually order an appetizer unless we have a coupon. When my step-son goes to his in-laws for Christmas, I have them over for DH's birthday and then everyone else ends up coming again, too, but since they were all here for Christmas I told them I'm not doing it again tomorrow. LOL If they want to stop over to wish their dad a happy birthday they can, but I told them "Don't come expecting dinner." LOL We don't make a big deal about our birthdays anymore.

I had my blood work done last week so I have to make an appointment with the PCP to go over it. I know it's not going to be good so I'm not looking forward to it. He will probably increase my meds. I want to get back to my exercising and better eating, but that's what I always say.

Yes I'm glad the holiday is over but I did enjoy it. Yours sounds like it went well too. We had leftovers yesterday and it still tasted good. I finished off the apple pie this morning for breakfast. At least no ice cream, just pie;)

Your dh and I are the same age...he is a little older as I won't be 73 until Feb. We don't do anything special for our birthdays either unless the kids do it. One year our oldest son and youngest dd fixed a dinner here at our house. I didn't know about and wondered why dh kept me out shopping so long. I kept saying I was tired and wanted to go home. :D On dh's 80th the local kids came over and our dd brought a cake for him...I don't remember what else we had. I think I fixed dinner. But usually we just go out to eat. This will be the first year we have more children around.

I hope your blood work won't be as bad as you expect. I'm on so many med now...I don't trust their safety but yet I don't feel scared, it's just something I have to do right now at least. Where it will all lead I don't know. I expect that at some time I will have to go on insulin. Might be easier actually.

I'm still tired and achy but making myself go to church. I'll be glad I did afterwards and I can rest this afternoon.

You all have a good Sunday.

Good evening GG's,

It has been a sort of nice weekend. Jason came by yesterday ~ he invited me to ride along with him for his grocery shopping trip. It was a nice chance to visit with him. Today, I listened to the Christmas music that is playing on the radio station. Got to talk to my sister and another friend for a few minutes. Looked at stuff on the computer. Watched some Christmas movies that are still playing on the Hallmark channel. Sara came over and we watched a couple old movies and I gave her “hairapy”. That is a term Corbin came up with for having someone comb/play with/braid your hair for you. Sara finds it relaxing ~ I guess it is for the hairapist (LOL) too, as I was yawning after I had been combing her hair for a while.

I haven't been so good with my eating. Doing the wrong things more and more often. Weight is creeping up. I wish the summer fruits were back in season again. I had a regular routine then. I think when I could not get (because prices were higher for the out of season stuff) the things I liked, is when I began struggling. DH has tried to get me to use alternative things ~ such as frozen strawberries and blue berries instead of fresh. They are ok for some things, but in others like the oatmeal the way I had been fixing it, and a spinach salad, it just is not as tasty or appealing with the the frozen mushy, shriveled fruits. He looks at me like I am crazy because I don't like it that way. I can't help it ~ if he can eat it that way, goody for him, but I am not going to eat it if I can't fix it how I like it. There in the trouble lies ~ I have been having trouble finding things to replace the things I had been used to having/liking. Many of the foods were good in the hot summer weather, but salads and cold things aren't as appealing to me when it is cold weather. I don't feel like I am making excuses. I need to work harder I guess at trying to find replacements for the dishes I liked, that will appeal to me in cold weather.

So, tomorrow, I need to buckle down and get back on track.

Mary ~ I'm glad you enjoyed the holiday and the time with your family. Sorry that you got tired from all the preperations though. Glad you got to go to church this morning ~ I know that will help you feel better. Hope you got to rest this afternoon like you hoped.

Carol Sue ~ I'm glad for you too that the holiday is over. A lot of work for you too with the cooking and all. Happy Birthday to your husband tomorrow. Hope your blood work wasn't too far off and cause too many changes in your meds and all.

Sandy and Karrine ~ hope you both had a nice Christmas with your families.

I missed that we don't get to enjoy being with Sara and the kids on Christmas morning and seeing the excitement of the kids when they are opening their gifts. But maybe it all works out ok anyway. It is a lot less work like it was this year. Sara and the kids came over in the afternoon. Sara brought left overs and cooked some stuff here and we had a meal. There was only some turkey left over ~ I kept a little for a couple sandwiches, gave the rest to Jason. Didn't make any dessert. It is different, but things always change, so we just have to get used to “different”.

Hope you all have a nice evening and a good rest.

Good morning everyone,
Well, I didn't have a Christmas this year. When I got up north on the 23rd my daughter was very sick so she was in bed the rest of the 23rd. On the 24th we were all to go to my son-in-law's family in Trenton (3 hrs. away) but my daughter was still too sick and in bed all day. She started feeling better on Christmas day but still not herself and had no appetite so we cancelled going to Trenton. I ended up coming home on Christmas Day and just had a hamburger casserole that I had frozen and thawed it for dinner. So my gifts will have to be delivered the next time my daughter & SIL goes to Trenton.

2015 sure has not been a very good year for me health wise and now Christmas. Oh well, I'm looking forward to a better 2016.

In reading everyone's posts, it looks like you all had a very nice Christmas with lots of cooking and leftovers and of course the big clean up. Sorry for those who ran into some problems. I'm happy that you all got to see family and friends.

I ordered a new winter jacket and a new comforter set for my bed online with the boxing day sales. I sure did get a bargin on both.

Have a wonderful day everyone,
Karrine

My Nook cover came today. I guess they said January 19th just to make sure they gave themselves enough time to get it here. It came from China! I didn't realize that when I ordered it. It was only $6.XX with free shipping. I don't know how they made any money on it. It is 100% nicer than the ones they had in 5 Below. The Nook fits in it really tight and secure and it has openings for the charger, power button and navigation. I am really pleased with it. Actually, half the things they sell here in USA are made in China. This one just came directly to my home!

Mary, I will be 70 in January and I would like DH to have something special for me, even if it's just the kids coming over for a little luncheon or something, just because it's a milestone birthday, but he won't think of that. He hates to have a fuss over his birthday and assumes that I feel the same. My step-son will be 50 in January. I'm a little disappointed because his wife is planning a little surprise get-together for him at her parent's house in the mountains. Her parents go to AZ for the winter and the kids go to the mountains for a little get-away while they're gone. She asked us to watch John for the weekend, so that means we will not get to see Dave for his birthday. I guess she thinks we wouldn't care, but I'm disappointed that she's not having something here that we could attend. I'm sure he'd rather be with his wife in some out-of-the way place than with his parents. LOL Maybe I could tell DH to invite them to our house and celebrate our birthdays together as they are just 10 days apart.

Gayle, I'm thinking that maybe this eating plan isn't for you. It may be healthy and just what Steve needs/wants, but not everyone is the same. There are other ways to eat healthy. Maybe you should just be adapting it for yourself, following it where you can, but adding a few other healthy things that you like. I think you could make that work. Steve might not be happy about that, but well................

I sorry to hear that you didn't get to spend your Christmas the way you usually do with Sara and her family. Things change, and sometimes we have to change with them.

Karrine, I'm sorry to hear that you didn't have Christmas like you were expecting. I hope your daughter is feeling better. I do hope that 2016 holds better things for you!!

As soon as I saw the doctor's phone number on caller ID I knew it was bad news, but I expected it. My A1c was 8.5 and he doubled my Amaryl from 1mg twice a day to 2mg twice a day. I still hope to make changes in diet and exercise and get it back down so I can go back to 1mg twice a day, or less. Mary, I remember you gained weight on this dose and I'm determined to avoid that if possible. I'm not happy with what my weight is now and I don't want it to increase. Hopefully this will be a wake-up call for me.

CarolSueThank God for medicine that can help you, even if it is scary to have to increase it. I'll join you in challenge to get more movement and less food that is not helpful for the next 5 weeks. February we both could be doing better. OK???

ALSO: Please follow thru so you AND your son can have birthday together even if it isn't on the birthday of either of you. Even if you plan your own party, or perhaps plan with your son what each of you would truly like and simply do it! Both those dates are big ones!!!

Karrine Illness that you have or you are taking care of can really throw a monkey wrench into Holliday plans.

Mary No wonder you were so exhausted with all the preparations you did for Christmas. Food wise and all the cleaning up and cleaning before. Take care of yourself!!!

Gayle: Isn't it a blessing to watch Hallmark movies? DD, DH and I enjoy them as a welcome break from violence and confusion so many TV shows have. Time with Jason sounds good. Sara can have the "hair day" stuff. I had to fight our kids to get them to comb their hair, and it wasn't even the curly kind that tangles. Kept it short till they could take care of it themselves.

Sure is different from Christmas when the kids or even the grandkids were young and lived in neighborhood. I saw some of our grandkids and their children on Facebook at least. In some ways I miss them, but the peace and quiet is also nice as I'm getting older and energy is limited.

We had our two younger daughters and the boyfriend of one here for Christmas Dinner after most of us going to Christmas Mass together. Rain before and during travel, let up to let us get into Church, then during service the rain came down so hard that it was a full inch fell in one hour. Roads were running over as ditches flowed over. I was driving very slowly and we got home safe.

Pat had fixed pretty plate of deviled eggs that we put out immediately upon getting back to house. She had table set and they sat to have snack as I began preparing the REAL Christmas Diner. With DH preparing so much of the veggies before hand I was able to have the diner on table a bit after 2:00 PM. Very pretty with all the colors of the food. The Broccoli with peanut sauce was a huge hit!.

No deserts in house and none needed. Thank goodness.

We sat around afterward just telling stories, laughing at some, sympathizing with some (Her boyfriend lost his mom just a little over a year ago after he nursed her for 2 years.)

DH is such a great story teller, we were all bent over in laughter. A calm, fun Christmas and not a single gift was given except our presence to each other and fun time. I really liked that. All 5 of us are on very limited income so the relief of no gifts necessary was a gift in itself.

Back to cleaning up TV room and bedroom. Good to take a rest.

Our 11th biological grandchild was born this morning! She is Vivian Eileen Agloro and is 7#2 oz and 20 in long. I haven't seen her in person yet but she looks really healthy. We plan to meet her this afternoon, however dh isn't feeling well so may have to put it off til later. He had high BP most of yesterday with some dizziness and abd pain, however we realized eventually that the pain was gastro and it is now gone. After his med this morning his BP is fine however his pulse remains high and he is still a little woozy. It's possible the elevated BP and pulse was related to the pain and anxiety although he does not appear to be anxious and he said the pain was fairly mild. So not sure whats going on with him. If his BP goes up again or his pulse does not come down (it is not yet tachycardia), I will call the doctor of course. We lay in this morning, not really sleeping but resting until the call about the baby so I haven't gotten much done yet around here just waiting on him to decide about whether we go to the hospital. He is resting/sleeping on his recliner right now.

Trying to get back on track with my eating plan. Did ok this morning. Last night I watched several episodes of Broadchurch...have you ever watched that? It's a good mystery story...addicting. Hard to stop. I think it's a British TV program.

No time for personals this morning but might be back later.

Just realized I've never added a pic to my posts. Hope this works.