TECH: I think the cookies are great... its the thought that counts, right? I really don't want to get anything for some of my family...which ones will be unnamed here. I started sending a 'family' present to my family groups years ago...eventually, they followed suit. I see no reason to try and purchase individual gifts for kids I have not seen from one end of the year to the next. I am thinking about how to handle my SIL's twins...she has never encouraged them to have any kind of relationship with us, so why bother spending tons of money on them? I would love to send them a family gift too. They are like your relatives...rich as Croesus, and yet my SIL whines about money all the time! The other SIL has just gotten married, and she and her husband are both in VERY good jobs...its unfortunate that the gift giving part of Christmas becomes unpleasant! A time of year that ought to be joyful and full of love and laughter becomes tedious and worrisome...all because of this guilt we feel to give gifts to some people we would rather not!

FILLISE: You did not want to come to Atlanta for that game???? Who are they playing? Tom K wants to know if those iron art works are up? We may have to drive over to see them if they are.

BOB: You crack me up.... We found the PERFECT tree...its ten feet tall, and is a red cedar. Best of all? We paid $12 for it at a cut your own place!!!

tech: ((((hugs)))) when kids dont care about the presents you buy just buy them all $10 walmart gift cards hehe or even savings bonds in small amounts (u only pay half of the face value of the bond) ..... my parents ignor me all year as well...i think this is the FIRST year that they even THOUGHT about coming to visit me...they travel all the time and are always out in GA, TX, or LA visiting my sisters and other family...i mean come on...from MD, TN is along the way to ANY of those states they just dont get it...the only kids i have to buy for (besides mine) are my neice, my goddaughter, and my girlfriends 2 kids...they are all getting the $10 walmart gift cards..but everyone understands that i just dont have the money to buy the gifts i want to for them....heck this is the first year ive been able to send anything with the xmas card for them im just glad that my kids are young enough to still love the dollar store toys..they get those from me and the walmart toys from santa also they are lucky because kevin's family is pretty well off as are most of my family so they get really good toys from them

well i had some WW pancakes w/SF syrup for breakfast, some ramon noodles for lunch and ill probably have some leftover chicken with brown rice for dinner...havent really had too much water today but ill drink at least 16 ozs before bedtime

weighed myself today and still holding steady at 175

well im off to get the kids in the bath (the worst time of the night...devon refuses to bathe himself so at 8 years old i must fight with him and then inevitably end up going in there and scrubbing him down myself *sigh* i cant wait for this phase to end)

night ladies

Hello all,
I'm back from visiting my DH's aunt and uncle. They have been begging us to come, so we left Friday afternoon, and came home late this afternoon. What a time. The food was totally off the charts re. SB. Definitely not SB legal, and not much I could do about it.

For dinner Friday the aunt fixed spaghetti, and instead of spaghetti noodles, she used ramen noodles. Not only are they white flour, but full of fat!!! And it didn't even taste good. The sauce was good. I took a plate with the least noodles and put a lot of sauce on it. There was a salad. She put it on salad plates, and there was no more left for seconds. She served a dessert: key lime pie. I asked for a SLIVER, to be polite, but her definition of sliver is bigger than mine.
Breakfast was Great Grains cereal, OJ and stewed apples. I suspect that there was sugar in the apples. We went to a community Christmas celebration and I had some cookies and hot wassail. The cookies were good! For lunch, BBQ ribs and some cake. You can see the progression here, can't you. Slowly things kept getting worse.

Tomorrow is a new day and I'm back home where I can be sane and fix my own legal food. Actually, I feel better physically when I eat right.

I was reading something called "10 suggestions for a spiritually satisfying andd joyous Christmas." Here's suggestion #7:
Watch what you eat. Don't reward yourself with food; you'll regret it later. Proper intake of fresh fruits and vegetables will give you healthy energy. Sugar is a depressant, it can wear you out and greatly alter your emotiions. Walk by the Spirit's fruit of self-control.

Misha--Why are you moving to Ga? And are you moving to Atlanta or elsewhere?

Evening! We went to our fav Mexican restaurant for dinner...I got the chicken soup, and a taco. Not totally legal, but not TOO bad... I am craving sugar after the graham cracker gingerbread house project....so I may just go to bed in a few to avoid going in search of something sweet...I got it bad.

BOB: Oh, dear me...I guess Auburn is playing UT. How silly of me not to realize it. No wonder you are pulling for Auburn...tee hee. At least I know you read my posts...

GATOR: I will answer for Mishi. She moved here back in May. She needs to change her profile! She lives north of Atlanta, about 30 minutes from me. Not too bad for Atlanta! Your weekend doesn't sound TOO horrible. I am glad you could go visit your hubby's aunt...I bet she really enjoyed having you all there. I like that Suggestion #7. I really needed to read that tonight, with the siren call of sugar tempting me!

SEBRAY: You have family in Georgia? Where? I know how you feel...my parents never came to visit me...though they did not travel much. My mother went to see my sister in California a lot, but then that sister has plenty of $$ and sent her tickets. We couldn't afford to pay for her ticket down here very often, but the times I offered, she turned me down. She came twice...once for a conference I went to with her, and another time to visit right after my father died. I have a weird family though, so I try not to let it bother me... She died almost ten years ago, but the last good week before she died, I stayed with her in the hospital and I will never forget how great it was to have her all to myself that last good week of her life. Ok, I am getting morbid here...its Christmas..time of joy and all that...fa la la la la, la la la la!

monet: um my step sister and her husband and 3 kids live in a suburb somewhere outside atlanta i think...i cant stand her lol ...she has two children (boy and girl) that are her husband's from a previous marriage and a baby with him....i never knew any of the kids and barely knew her husband...all i know is that when they were living in MD with my parents she was a total witch and she and her husband MADE my parents pay for their wedding at a time when my parents could barely afford to pay their house note...she is very spoiled and her mother (my step mom) still spoils her and the kids....my stepmom is a wicked woman and an all around nasty person...but she is a great granny so i still keep in contact with her because of the boys...i can deal with her but i never tell her any of my personal stuff that goes on cause she will gossip about it and twist it to anyone who will listen my dad and i have a pretty good relationship now that im an adult...i worry about my mother constantly, she is an alcoholic and is living in a bad situation atm in VA...if i had the money i would go get her and drag her by her ears to live with me....she was a crappy mother too but she is a wonderful person (i hope that makes sense lol) my sister laura (that lives in LA with her husband and daughter) and i are best friends...she is the only one in my family that i really get along with now...and we're even closer now that she finally has a baby (5 miscarrages and finally had to be put on hormones in order to carry a baby to full term) ... my bother and i are too far apart in ages and we were never close and then i have another step sister who is married to a man that tells her all the time he's only staying with her because of their two kids....im waiting for her to get pregnant again to keep him around longer

well im rambling on about my family and im sure im the only one who cares so ill go throw another load in the washer and sit by the fire and smoke a cigerette before i go to bed

night

Good morning everyone and happy Sunday! Had some more snow here in Maine. REally makes things festive for the holiday. Just finished up ordering a couple of things on-line so I'm nearly done Christmas shopping! Have to go get a tree today so that should be fun. Found a beautiful artificial one at Target for $179 but I know my husband would disown me if I didn't have a real tree...but, he's not the one to have to clean up all of the needles for weeks after the tree is out of the house!

Couple of of SB questions..what about modified corn starch? Found this on several canned soups and wasn't sure if it was legal...didn't buy them because I didn't think it would be. Did find Ezekial hot dog buns at my grocery store but no hamburger rolls. Not a big deal since I really don't need all of those carb portion but do really like the Ezekial bread.

Both SB books (shopping one too) says that cheese needs to be low-fat with only 1-2 fat grams per serving. Impossible to find unless it's fat free (sliced junk and ff monzarella shredded). The lowest I could find was 4.5 for reduced or part-skim. What kind of cheese does everyone eat or do you not eat cheese?

Hope everyone has a great day! Thanks!

Good Morning!

Its a nice day here in Georgia...Tom is bugging me to go for a walk. Not sure I want to. I slept ok...about four hours before I started waking up every hour...that is better than the usual 2 hour stretch. Makes me wonder though...I ate a piece of pizza right before bed. I have heard that low blood sugar can cause insomnia....great! If I could ditch the glucophage it would please me NO end. I hate taking that stuff, but the doctor is adamant that its necessary. It has not helped my insulin levels much.

I just finished making sausage biscuits with James. He is getting close to the point where I can let him do it all by himself. He is the only one of my kids who can't cook. Hopefully, we will get to the point where he can cook some so he doesn't starve when he is back on his own.

LIVING: I would avoid cornstarch as much as possible. That said, I am going to admit that I occasionally use cream soups in cooking, but I figure the amount is not as bad as if I were eating the soup straight. I avoid any modified corn product...I try to use only organic corn if I absolutely HAVE to. Corn is a no no...too high GI. As for cheese, I use the low fat, and I don't worry about the fat grams per serving. I hate the fat free stuff. I don't eat a lot of cheese, so if I am going to have any, I try and balance the fats in other ways, and get the lf stuff, with some taste. I never enjoy eating wax or cardboard. Does anyone? I usually get the Cracker Barrel brand... Not sure what brands you have up there in the sticks, but I can often find Sara Lee ww buns, or Nature's Own. Its not consistent. And if Thomas stops making the ww English Muffins, I am going Postal on someone....

SEBRAY: Sounds like your family is a challenge. I can't believe your step sister made them pay for her wedding...I sure hope it was not ostentatious... My sister in law had a huge fancy wedding...and had saved a total of $400 for it. My in laws were farmers...and poor. They ended up helping pay for it. My MIL never would say how much they gave them, but it was a lot more than they gave us. They did not even attend our wedding...said my FIL couldn't travel. They got out of traveling expenses, hotel expenses, and rehearsal dinner expenses. When she claimed that you were supposed to give your daughters more, my hubby pointed out that sons were supposed to inherit the whole estate too... Families can be a challenge, can't they? I am glad you have your sister. Sometimes, I am not sure of even that. At least I have my little family here, and that helps.

This post has taken me much longer than I intended! Some one IMed me in the middle of it! I need to get going here.... later all!

FILLISE: I see Auburn beat UT. I imagine you are in a good mood. I imagine BOB is not. At least it was not a rout...or it did not look like one from the score. Congrats...though it hurts my red and black soul to say that.....

well this is going to be quick because the kids are fighting over the remote control and the little one is using his so high that almost only dogs can hear scream and the cats are fighting and trying to kill each other

Sticks: i use any cheese...i dont eat alot but like monet i dont want to eat cardboard so i just grab kraft when i get regular cheese...i do try to get the lower fat mozzerella when i get shredded though...

Monet: yes my family is very difficult lol but over the years i have learned how to deal with each of them...most of the time i just ignor them...my stepsisters and their families i do ignor, i never really knew them as i was living with my mother at the time my father met and married my step mother, and my brother has been in and out of jail for various felonies since he was 15 (he's almost 21 now) so again, i didnt really know him all that well...my sister is the best adjusted of us, my brother is the worse...i fall in the middle somewhere (although now that im creaping closer to 30 i am getting more adjusted...much to the relief of my parents ) and no my stepsisters wedding wasnt really big...think it only cost around $1000 or maybe $1500....but they didnt pay for anyof it, my parents paid for it all...which normally wouldnt be a big deal, my father makes very good money working as a supervisor for hazardous material clean up and removal for the gov't but at the time of the wedding my parents were paying my fathers medical bills (he had lung and skin cancer as well as some heart problems)...*sigh* i need to stop lol i get aggrivated just thinking about people's stupidity.

well i need to run and help devon with his homework..have a great day ya'll

oh and am i the only one on the planet who thinks xmas music should be banned until 2 weeks before xmas!?!?! i swear im going to get a brain tumor listening to all the xmas music in november

Greetings, everyone! Stringing popcorn is awfully time consuming! I may end up going to the store and buying some cheap garlands! I told James he had to string the cranberries. Fat chance of that happening!

I am feeling rather fatigued so I may take a nap. I would rather do that than fall asleep during church.

BOB: The link did not work..says its outdated. Do you have Real Arcade? Is it ok? I live Insaniquarium, and Text Twist...

Hey, guys. Well, where do I start? I WAS doing good again...until yesterday. My weight was actually back to around 160-161(slightly up). But that hasn't lasted long. I've been binge eating since yesterday, hasn't stopped. Don't think I've ever binged for such a period of time. I need help. I'm going to skim my SB book tomorrow and recommit myself to this WOE. I wonder if anyone else has binged ate before? I'm not talking about cheating or eating off plan. I'm talking about mass quanities of food that are terrible for you and you consume them until you're sick and sometimes still don't stop. What the heck is my problem?! Here I am the closest I've been to goal and I'm having the worse problem ever with self-control. I'm actually ashamed at myself. To the outside, everyone thinks I look great and am doing great. If they only knew the tortue I was dealing with lately(my own personal eating demon!). I know I can do this, need to pray for the strength to get back on track and gain my self-control back. To the newbies, I'm normally not like this. SB is really great. I KNOW how to eat and what to eat and all that, am actually a pro at it because I've been doing it so long. BUT I've temporarily lost all my senses. Hopefully, I will come to my senses tomorrow and in 3-4 days my blood sugar levels should be back to normal and I'll be more level-headed. BTW, when you eat off plan for more than one incidence, it takes 3-4 days for the levels to straighten back out. I should remind myself of this more often. CTS- Toddlers. Well, Boogie is 4 1/2, normally a pretty good little boy, but he has his moments. BUT the one that makes me want to pull my hair out is my girl who is 8. Go figure. I'm finally thru with the Christmas shopping for my kids. Now I have to complete the rest. I got dh a Playstation 2 today for his present, he couldn't wait so he's busy playing it now. Got it for $99(refurbished). As for the house, they are suppossed to go Tuesday and appraise it. Then they will submit the paperwork and see if the funds are available right now. If they are, then everything should go pretty quickly. We plan on getting central heat and air added in with the loan(over $4,000). I need to get it resurveryed but it will only cost my $120 since it was just done last year and that's all the guy's gonna charge me to make sure the pins are still in place,etc..then I need the 1st year's house insurance(around $500) and I think that's all the money I need up front..the rest they should be able to work into the loan. So it's slowly coming along, the main thing will be the funding whether or not the money is available right now or not. As for me not decorating the house and putting the tree up, the kids are okay with it. They were more worried about their presents. Now that they see them wrapped and in the LR, the lack of tree and decor don't bother them,lol.