1. Avoid carrot sticks.. 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. It's rare. 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
eggnog-alcoholic 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.
Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed
potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat step #3.
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!
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.
If you leave them behind, you're never 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.
10. 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, January is just around the corner. Remember this
motto to live by:
Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO HOO what a ride"!
Good Evening, Flowers! We ran some errands this evening, stopped to see MIL, and had a nap in front of the TV. Now I'm waiting for the bed to preheat so I can go to bed! Tomorrow is my morning to work in the gift shop and tomorrow night we are working at Santa's Castle. We had 6 teachers go home sick today and kids were probably beating them 3 to 1! I was to the point I didn't want to even be out in the halls with everyone else.
"Gma" -- I think I would continuously (especially on garbage day) call the neighbor about her daughter's car until she got sick of hearing from you! I know how frustrating neighbors can be! Shopping for a new car will be a "fun" challenge! Do you and Jack agree on what you want? Good luck in getting him to wait.
Susan -- Every once in awhile we will get a racoon on the deck looking for the car food. They will stand up on their hind legs and look at us as if to say, "what are you staring at?" I know they can be mean! I like to read cookbooks too, and especially the ones with the pictures. Somehow, my creations never look like the pictures! Thank you for the Christmas Guidelines! I have made a copy to share with others.
Maggie -- How cold will it get during the winter months? We've had some windy days so it feels colder than what the temperature actually is. You do have an assortment of exercise tools! I would like to try the elastic bands, but I know that they would probably end up collecting dust somewhere. Walking is still the mode that I seem to stick with the best.
Well, the bed should be warm by now and I'm off to dreamland. Have a great weekend!
Good morning to you fine ladies! I have one more cleaning job than I am done for a couple days at least. I have to clean the nasty linoleum. Sometimes I wonder why I bother. It is old and a mess, but I still put in the time. I told Jack if we don't come up with the $$$ to put in new floors before he retires, we will take his sold back vacation and sick time and use it. I guess I can hold out a few more years. Anyway, I want to get in all the vacationing I can before we retire and either can't afford it or physically can't do it anymore.
Susan: That was really cute! I went and bought a pair of Crocs to see if wearing them when I walk makes a difference. I have heard rave things about them and I just really think I need to get my body in line to feel better. I am not a chiropractor sort of gal, but I know that losing weight will help for one thing and I want to get back to walking. Though it isn't easy for me, it is really a rewarding feeling when I finish. I am determined to make a difference in my life before it becomes too late to do so. I sat for a couple hours yesterday and went through every WW recipe recipezaar had and picked out those I would like to use for lunches and then those I thought Jack would eat. That is the tough part. The man refuses to eat a lot of things and if I "trick" him, if he finds out he gets mad and either refuses to finish, even if he is enjoying it or won't eat it if I ever fix it again. I could just slap his mother for doing that to him. She did him no favors not teaching him to like healthy things like fruits and veggies and meats besides beef and pork. What is so amazing to me is he likes salmon and that is one of the strongest fish tastes there is, but except for Long John Silver's he won't eat any other fish, period. I have tried to tell him that ljs uses white fish and that you can get all sorts that are very mild, but he is one stubborn fellow. He likes chicken ok, but not as much as I do. I do fix it without the skin, like I will take cornish hen and strip off the skin and bake it with rotisserie seasonings and he will eat that or chicken cooked that way. He does like my chicken and rice casserole though he refuses to eat brown rice. Ahh, well, I do the best I can with him and he does do well when he is on WW because he has the strongest will I have ever seen.
Jean: I don't think he was too keen on waiting, but I did explain what we could and could not do and what I wanted. The stupid thing is that the employee pricing we can use anytime as long as my brother doesn't lose his job and the only way he would do that was for them to close his plant completely because of his seniority level. So, as long as Ford is still in business in South Chicago by next summer we can get the same deal that is going on right now at the dealerships. Besides, if the government doesn't bale out Ford, and they are forced to close plants and dealerships (which they are saying they are going to close 600 dealerships though none around here I guess) then those dealerships are going to want to make deals to get rid of their inventory and not get stuck holding the bag. All in all, I convinced him we should wait until July like we had planned unless something catastrophic happens to the grand marquis. Oh and yes, we agree on cars. We are looking at three, the lincoln MKX, the Ford Edge (same car with just a couple differences) and the Mercury Mariner, which at the moment is the front runner. Part of our problem is that Jack grew up in a permissive household where if there was money they bought the kids whatever they wanted. I grew up where there was never money, we never got anything extra only birthday and Christmas and I had to earn my spending money for the most part. So it is like oil and water with us and spending. He isn't a total spend thrift, but I have to rein him in a lot! lol Thank goodness I pay the bills!
Maggie: Don't freeze! We are having a real cold snap here and it has been awfully windy, which makes it even colder. I fixed boneless pork chops and baked potato just last night for dinner! I like to use the boneless chops and make bbq chops and chop them up and make fried rice with them too. The boneless ones are more expensive but much leaner I have found. Only problem is they can be dry sometimes.
Well gals, time to get started on morning chores! TTFN
Faye
I had to do grocery shopping this morning. Glad that is out of the way. I finished with the quilting yesterday and will put the binding on this afternoon so I can do the hand finishing while I watch TV.
Maggie, I enjoy your emails a lot. Stay warm! You'd probably think my cold day was balmy in your area. I wanted to mention the WW cookbook is $19.64 on Amazon and the regular price is $29.95 so you might pay a lot more if you get it at the meeting. I always buy $25 so there is no shipping.
Jean, hopefully you now have an immunity to whatever is making everyone so sick at school since you were sick earlier. I warm up the bed before I get in, too. It feels so good.
Faye, if the auto makers go belly up or close a lot of dealerships, there is going to be problems getting warranty service. You are probably better off waiting. I love my Crocks and have a pair of the lined ones for winter. They sure are confortable. I have that bunion and the Crocks don't hurt it. Stan was like Jack - healthy? "I don't like it." And then when he had to go on the dialysis diet, it actually forbides the good, healthy foods. So that let him rationalize he had always ate healthy. I share what I learn at the meeting with you.
Oh Susan
I know how frustrating neighbors can be! Shopping for a new car will be a "fun" challenge! Do you and Jack agree on what you want? Good luck in getting him to wait. 
Thank you for the Christmas Guidelines! I have made a copy to share with others. 
I would like to try the elastic bands, but I know that they would probably end up collecting dust somewhere. Walking is still the mode that I seem to stick with the best. 
from Iowa!
