Gotta Love Maxine!

Tips for Holiday Eating

You can't pick up a magazine without finding a list of holiday eating
do's and don'ts. Eliminate second helpings, high-calorie sauces and
cookies made with butter, they say. Fill up on vegetable sticks, they say.
Good grief. Is your favorite childhood memory of Christmas a carrot stick?
I didn't think so. Isn't mine, either. A carrot was something you left for
Rudolph.

I have my own list of tips for holiday eating. I assure you, if you
follow them, you'll be fat and happy. So what if you don't make it to New
Year's? Your pants won't fit anymore, anyway.

1. About those carrot sticks. Avoid them. Anyone who puts carrots on a
holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Christmas spirit. In fact, if
you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they're serving
rum balls.

2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. Like fine single-malt
scotch, it's rare. In fact, it's even rarer than single-malt scotch. You
can't find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that
it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It's not as if you're going to turn
into an egg- nogaholic or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it. Have one for
me. Have two. It's later than you think. It's Christmas!

3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of
gravy. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it
with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat.

4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk or
whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sports car
with an automatic transmission .

5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control
your eating. The whole point of going to a Christmas party is to eat other
people's food for free. Lots of it. Hello? Remember college?

6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year's.
You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the
time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet table
while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.

7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like
frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position
yourself near them and don't budge. Have as many as you can before
becoming the center of attention. They're like a beautiful pair of shoes.
You can't leave them behind. You're not going to see them again.

8. Same for pies. Apple. Pumpkin. Mincemeat. Have a slice of each. Or, if
you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have
three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor Day?

9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with the mandatory
celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean, have some
standards, mate.

10. And one final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the
party or get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention. Reread
tips. Start over. But hurry! Cookieless January is just around the corner.

I'm monopolizing this page...
Oh well...wanted to show you all this picture...just got Sami back from the groomer and had to get her pic. before she got dirty again! HA She's so cute...has on a little red scarf but you can't see it good.

I finally got all my decorating done...what a job. Had friends over for dinner tonight...no kids! Was nice. We had fun! I'm about starved for adult conversation!!!

This is my tree. It is 8 ft. tall with the angel on top. I don't even know how many angels there are on it now...lost count last year!

Nice pictures Meme and you look so young!!!!!!!!!:) Your tree is beautiful too:D

We had my sons BD meal here and I did well with the meal but had a tiny piece of cake and then when I was putting it away I ate more! Used all my banked pts I guess...what a waste. I'm pooped from cooking and decorating..had to redo some of the lights outside that the wind broke.........

Hmmm...thanks but I don't FEEL young!!! I'm getting too old (or too sick...or both!) to do all this decorating and baking and cooking and shopping and wrapping...not to mention child care...have all four tomorrow night! Beginnning to feel my 55 years (+ 45!).

Hey There
 

Meme- Oh to be in my 50's again! I am going to try and put up my tree this weekend. I am off to the beauty shop to get my hair trimed and then to do some shopping. I sent out all my cards and then found there was a couple more to send. Although we gave our G/son his christmas last month we want to send a card to him on his ship. He is on the Harry S.Truman that went out the first of the month. I sure hope that things over there calm down,otherwise,his ship will be in a primary spot. I got a kick out of your poem yesterday.
Candice. I bet that little bit of cake didn't hurt you at all. I wish I had your control.
Hello everybody...Got to get busy...Joanne

Hello
 

Meme - loved the joke and the pictures. See, it's no wonder everyone thinks we're healthy! You look healthy. Hope your darn headache is gone. My back started giving me problems last night and the pain was so bad I felt like screaming. Hubby had to literally pull me out of the chair and then I couldn't straighten out. Anyway, went to the chiro today and I am feeling MUCH, MUCH better. The Facet Joint was locked - that is what I figured it was, but I have not had pain like that for 4 years.

Joanne - I got my cards send out this morning, got the house decorated this afternoon and now I am tired. I will put the tree up next week.

Candice - I don't think a few points over now and then will make a difference to your weight.

>READ THIS VERY SLOWLY...... IT'LL MAKE YOU THINK!!....in a good way!
>
>Too many people put off something that brings them joy just because they
>haven't thought about it, don't have it on their schedule, didn't know it
>was coming or are too rigid to depart from their routine.
>
>
>I got to thinking one day about all those women on the Titanic who passed up
>dessert at dinner that fateful night in an effort to cut back. From then on,
>I've tried to be a little more flexible.
>
>
>How many women out there will eat at home because their husband didn't
>suggest going out to dinner until after something had been thawed? Does the
>word refrigeration" mean nothing to you?
>
>
>How often have your kids dropped in to talk and sat in silence while you
>watched 'Jeopardy' on television?
>
>I cannot count the times I called my sister and said, "How about going to
>lunch in a half hour?" She would gasp and stammer, "I can't. I have clothes
>on the line. My hair is dirty. I wish I had known yesterday, I had a late
>breakfast, It looks like rain." And my personal favorite: "It's Monday."
>...She died a few years ago. We never did have lunch together.
>
>
>Because we cram so much into our lives, we tend to schedule our headaches.
>We live on a sparse diet of promises we make to ourselves when all the
>conditions are perfect!
>
>
>We'll go back and visit the grandparents when we get Stevie toilet-trained.
>We'll entertain when we replace the living-room carpet. We'll go on a second
>honeymoon when we get two more kids out of college.
>
>Life has a way of accelerating as we get older. The days get shorter, and
>the list of promises to ourselves gets longer. One morning, we awaken, and
>all we have to show for our lives is a litany of "I'm going to," "I plan
>on," and "Someday, when things are settled down a bit."
>
>
>When anyone calls my 'seize the moment' friend, she is open to adventure and
>available for trips. She keeps an open mind on new ideas. Her enthusiasm for
>life is contagious. You talk with her for five minutes, and you're ready to
>trade your bad feet for a pair of Rollerblades and skip an elevator for a
>bungee cord.
>
>My lips have not touched ice cream in 10 years. I love ice cream. It's just
>that I might as well apply it directly to my stomach with a spatula and
>eliminate the digestive process.
>
>
>The other day, I stopped the car and bought a triple-Decker. If my car had
>hit an iceberg on the way home, I would have died happy.
>
>
>Now...go on and have a nice day. Do something you WANT to......not something
>on your SHOULD DO list. If you were going to die soon and had only one phone
>call you could make, who would you call and what would you say? And why are
>you waiting? Make sure you read this to the end; you will understand why I
>sent this to you.
>
>Have you ever watched kids playing on a merry go round or listened to the
>rain lapping on the ground?
>
>Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight or gazed at the sun into the
>fading night?
>
>Do you run through each day on the fly?
>
>When you ask "How are you?" Do you hear the reply?
>
>When the day is done, do you lie in your bed
>with the next hundred chores running through your head?
>
>Ever told your child, "We'll do it tomorrow."
>And in your haste, not see his sorrow?
>
>Ever lost touch? Let a good friendship die?
>
>Just call to say "Hi"?
>
>When you worry and hurry through your day, it is like an unopened
>gift....Thrown away... Life is not a race. Take it slower. Hear the music
>before the song is over.

All that hits home except for the part about your kids coming over to talk. No TV show ever made that would stop my kids from talking when they wanted to!!!

I know I know and I think we all do that hind site is better than foresight! When I was young single and teaching in a strange town and the only one I knew was my Aunt who was very materialistic and self centered (she had 3 husbands and 2 face lifts and ate like a mouse and slapped her daughters hand every time dessert came around))!!!!!!!!!!:eek: anyway Ic alled formt he hospital to pcik me up after a week of tests and she told me she had jsut painted her nails and they were wet and to call someone else so I called another teacher I worked with...never for got that and when I was little I wanted to be just like her!......


I'm baking so gotta run and put somemore int he oven!:) Yummmmmmmmmmm!

I'm back-glad I don't have to work for a while-I hated being away because we already had been gone 2 weeks . Had a ball at the Christmas party-we had a Yankee swap and Brad ended up with a reindeer hat that lights up and I got a Delft tile-you steal each others gifts is what that is-Carpenter is coming this morning and all I'm going to do is straighten up and call my friends. Gotta stay out of his way but the kitchen will progress a bit more. Going to a nice Christmas show tomorrow. Bye for now-is hubby stilll getting better anagram-what an ordeal you have had!!!!Funny, funny, Meme-and beautiful tree-can't wait to get mine up but it's only 4 ft/-gotta put it on a table-had it in the condo. Bye for now. Mima

Candice...my mom was a lot like your aunt! Can you imagine growing up with a MOTHER like that???

Slow down Mima...didn't you read all that stuff Anne posted above? You need to stay home and relax by the fire for awhile! (Look who's talking!) We have a Christmas party tonight...at a restaurant...about 30 people. We are going to do that Yankee swap game...they put me in charge of it so I think I will just KEEP the #30 paper for myself...that way I'll be sure to get the last pick! HA

Sure hope all the sick are better...

Hello All.....Big snow storm today in NY. Both kids are home playing Playstation with a friend. They collapsed my son's old bunk bed. But they are havin fun.
Anagram...how is hubby? Terrible time of the year to be in the hospital or to have someone in the hosp. I am thinking of you.
Meme....I LOVED your Christmas list, and I happen to live by most of those principles or I did til Fibro. This year I am just staying away from cookies and sweets, but I will definitely standby the dips and chips and fried shrimp on any buffet.
Happy....your post reminds me of the Red Hat society...those women who just let it all hang out and do as they please.
Mima...so how is your first year of marriage???
Joanne.....When I saw the Bush's on 20/20 last nite and Mrs B said that all the people in the service understand that they may have to make a scarifice for their country...I thought...NO WAY. Wish no one had to make a sacrifice and don't believe these kids want to do that either. I pray for your grandson's safety.
Candice....whatcha baking?
I am about to deep fry all the stuff in my freezer. Can't go anywhere...might as well clean out the fries and onion rings for the boys....:devil:

Hey
 

I got my tree and trimmings of the house taken care of today. I feel like I made a little headway. I plan to finish my shopping this coming week. I don't know why I always wait till this time of the year to get things done..every year !!
Ally -Thank You for your prayers.. All our boys need all that we can send their way now.. Another worry now is the smallpox vacs. I had them when I was a child..They never took. I nursed a young girl in college many years ago that had taken a smallpox along with several others . She had severe reactions. Sadly to say she died. So naturally I worry that my G/son will be given them,in light of the fact of where he is going.
Anagram - How is your hubby doing?
Candice- Forget the bad stuff.. I think we all have been in some very hurtful periods in our life. I could write a book. I just don't know if I could survive the writing and remembering..One thing is for sure. We never get over the hurt. I just try to shove it back to forgetfulness.
Meme.. I bet your house looks like a picture of Christmas. You are a very pretty young lady. What kind of dog is that..
Mima..Hope your kitchen is done for Christmas.
Hello All..Joanne

Hi, all. Popped in for a quick lurk early this a.m. and saw so many kind inquiries felt I had to take a moment to respond. then lost a fairly long post and quit.

Hope to bring DH home tomorrow. He's very weak, on oxygen and will need dialysis three times a week. Wants to come home rather than a rehab and I'm game. Crossing my fingers RA does not flare. Not sure he
ll be coming tomorrow but looking fairly good. Not much possibility of today, I don't think. No real diagnosis/prognosis yet beyond the aneurysms rupturing (and he has more). Nobody
has yet told us the dialysis will be permanent but it's looking that way to me.

Son has been here about six days of this process (split up). Has helped me set up the family room for recuperation. Think he must go back tonight. Daughter coming today - tomorrow is her 40th birthday and I plan a hospital room cake.

Christmas sure will be low key but that's ok. The year he had his aortic valve replaced on Dec. 11 was one of the best Christmases I remember and I'm sure glad he
's still here to light up my life this Christmas.

So many things I want to respond to but I must be off to hospital. Have not gained any weight so far despite a couple of evenings where I overindulged in "comfort" food. Lots of other days, it's been healthy choices though.

I'm going to wish you all an early Merry Christmas just in case I don't get a chance to post again for a good while. I expect to be even busier than I've been.