OK, that is hilarious! The group of crows thing had totally slipped my mind. Thank you!

:iagree: Someone explain it to me!

South Beach worked brilliantly for me in the short-term. Long term, I started to feel like I was starving again (after about 3 months, after I added "good" carbs back in.) So watch out for that. Also, I now think South Beach was too low-fat for me to maintain long term. So think about that if it starts being too hard to stay on the program.

As a formerly obese woman, I would suggest looking into the physiology of obesity rather than the psychology of obesity. I have finally gained control of myself, by changing what I eat. All these years, I was trying to eat low fat, whole grain, blah blah blah. I would exercise extensively and feel like I was constantly starving, and just barely keep my weight under control... until I couldn't handle it any more. The "authorities" say that obese people are just lazy and have no self-control. That is not good for one's self-esteem. Especially when NO ONE could have the self control to feel like they were starving, as I did. I watched the movie "Fat Head" on Netflix about 9 months ago, at a recommendation from someone on this board. This movie inspired me to do more research, and completely change the way I think about food. Now I eat virtually no carbs, and I eat a LOT of fat. (My blood tests show much better cholesterol levels now than 9 months ago, btw.) Now I feel like a normal person. Not because I'm a more normal weight, but because I am not starving all the time. When I'm hungry, I feel hunger like a normal person must feel, not the overwhelming NEED to eat like I have felt for the last 10 years. It's obvious to me that I've had a change in physiology, not a change in psychology. I'm not sure how you could help your friend. When you are obese, it really gets annoying to have people look at you like you have no self control, and to have people suggest "miracle" diets. I think the movie Fathead worked for me because it starts out as a counter-argument to Super Size Me, and it's amusing.

Thanks for the link. I watched the entire thing- learned a lot of specifics I was not aware of. Very interesting!

I'm in Boulder County, Colorado, and it's not even snowing yet! I am up for a big snow, as long as they can get it cleared by Saturday morning. I have to be 90 miles away!

I voted "other", because eggplant is one of the few veggies I can't abide by. Other veggies, I would have cut into the veggie about an inch away from the mold to see what the inside looked like. I would discard isolated mold, but I would throw it out if the inside looked bad. Also, if I started to have breathing difficulties as soon as I opened the plastic I would throw it away (I have a slight mold allergy.)

My dd is a gymnast. Her coaches recently brought Dr. Alison Arnold to the gym to run a seminar, she has a lot of info on her website. The coaches had been using a lot of her ideas already, but I really enjoyed her talk for parents. She works with USA Gymnastics and USA Figure Skating. You can also search her on Youtube.

I am interested in where this statistic came from. It seems extremely high to me. I don't think I'm that naive... I had one friend in college who had an abortion (that I know of.) She was Christian then, she had the procedure done because she didn't want her parents to be ashamed of her. She was also talked into it by an adult who was WAY out of line IMO. She ended up marrying the young man after college, and they are still married. I know she grieves for that child still, every day. As you know, I am an atheist- but I am against abortion. I do think they should be legal, because illegal abortions are a nightmare. But girls need to know the alternatives are all better for everyone, and help is out there.

Judge not lest you be judged. Where is your compassion? My dh & I actually discussed this type of scenario. We both would have wanted the other to be in a completely fulfilling relationship. It is what it is, this woman has been through hell. I can't even imagine. And now she's being harshly judged for finally having a life for herself and her daughters. This thread reminds me of people who tell widows and widowers they shouldn't date "too soon" after their spouse dies. It's not "respectful". It's always people whose spouses are still alive who say this. (Or young people who are not even married.) You really can't know what's respectful enough until you've been there. (FWIW- I was widowed 6.5 years ago, and I am still not dating. It's not out of respect for dh- he wanted me married again ASAP. It's just what's right for me.)

Yeah, I don't think I would go see that guy for free. He's too slow moving, and he talks down to his audience. I do like a good motivational speaker, though. It's like seeing a secular version of a great preacher.

I have a cousin in Fairbanks. She said they only cancel her soccer league if it's -30 or below. (So no soccer today!)

My kids loved visiting the Serpent Mound in Southern Ohio. Other mounds were cool also, but that's the only name I remember off hand.

United Healthcare has a lot of different plans, so co-pays and such depend on what plan the employer chooses. I find United Healthcare to be an easy company to work with. They also pay 100% of lab work, which is nice.

I agree. Good to visit for alone time, but not to live there. (And for some reason the phrase "adult playhouse" is making me giggle...)

:iagree: My dd won't eat school lunches, ever. If her school required a doctor's note to bring a lunch, I would find a doctor to write her a note. That's just ridiculous. If they made school lunch free for everyone, I would still pack her a lunch rather than feed her crap or food she despised.

We went to the Kenai Peninsula in June 2011! It was great fun. We stopped at a place between Anchorage and Homer, and did a "panning for gold" place. It was a nice way to break up the drive, and the kids had fun (my kids and cousins.) A highlight of our trip was going Halibut fishing. We went on a small boat- only 6 passengers max. On the other hand, part of our party went on a different day and go horribly sea sick. We also went sea kayaking, we did not need any special gear. We saw whales in the bay though! Plus lots of birds, otters, and other sea life. You'll have a blast!

I've been high-fat, low-carb for 6 months now. I started as a way to control my blood sugar. My HbA1c went from borderline diabetic (doctor wanted to medicate me,) to well within the normal range. I also lost 30 lbs. I don't think everyone should eat like me, but I do think people who are insulin resistant should. I think normal people should eat real food, paleo/primal style.

No, it's not about the money. Hospice is the care you get when you stop treatments like chemo, that are designed to stop the cancer. When you enter Hospice, that means you have stopped trying to recover from the cancer. All you get is pain medication and emotional care. Don't get me wrong, Hospice is wonderful... but it's end of life care. You are wonderful people to care for her like that. What is her prognosis? Is she suffering from the chemo, or is she near the end? That's what you need to know before signing her up for Hospice. Yes, I have. Many types of chemo are extremely toxic. Her dd could lose her baby by being around someone undergoing certain types of chemo. Chemo kills cancer cells, but it kill a lot of other cells as well, thus all the horrible side effects. (And I'm not talking about your hair falling out. There are truly horrid side effects to many chemos.)

This is interesting to me, because I'm pretty sure our daughters have the same name, based on your descriptions through the thread. When we gave dd the name, I had a nickname picked out (I think it's not realistic to expect a child to always be called by a 3-syllable name,) but we never used it. So she goes by her whole 3-syllable name, and I don't like the first syllable for her, which is a different name. I have never corrected anyone who uses a nickname for dd. Sometimes it drives me nuts, but that's just life. Most people self-correct over time. I cannot imagine correcting a mom for her daughter's incorrect use of my child's name the first time I met the mom. (Or ever, honestly.) If someone did that to me, I would respond politely enough, but I would have put them on my list of people to avoid due to their weird hang-up. Now, I said "would have" on purpose... I have always enjoyed your posts, so you are making me think narrowing the field of potential friends due to one quirk that seems strange to me is unnecessarily limiting. Learn something every day! Oh, and I'm sorry this woman was rude to you!

This is the crux of the problem. It's not "parenting" any more. If you were still parenting your adult (and they were letting you,) I think it would be easier. Of course, it would also be wrong. So you know you're doing something right! I'm sending my oldest off into the world in about 6 months, I'm not looking forward to entering your world.

My house is generally a mess, but I keep the toilet bowl and bathtub clean. That just grosses me out. I used a bathroom at a friend's house once that was filthy. I haven't gone to her house since.

I don't have a recipe per se, but I make chicken soup out of the carcass every time I make chicken. Here's what I do: Put all left over chicken bones, skin, drippings, and assorted parts in a pot with water, and simmer for a long time. Cool enough to handle and strain out the bones and parts. Pick all the meet off the bones, and discard the bones and skin. Add onions, carrots, celery, any left over chicken bits, mushrooms, and any other veggies you have on hand. Simmer until veggies are tender. Add noodles whenever you want. (I don't do wheat, so no noodles for me! But sometimes I put home made noodles in part of the soup for the kids.

I'm not a christian, and I despise Focus on the Family. Still, I was not put off by the commercial. It was well done, and the kids are cute- good little budding actors. I did think the SNL Tebow skit was hilarious though. If you think Tebow's over the top, you might appreciate this.

Um. No. I am an unbeliever, and I would hope my christian friends would come and talk about what I want to talk about. They can pray for me on their own time. A "friend" asked to come visit my dh when he was home on hospice. This friend had never been to our house before, so I asked him what he wanted to talk to dh about. When he said he wanted to read the bible with him, I told him we would need to pass on that opportunity. (Dh had already expressed a few rules for visitors, and no "god talk" was near the top of the list.) There really are proverbial atheists in foxholes. Most atheists I know are not interested in hedging their bets.