AMDG I wish I could like my treadmill. I don't think I use it rightly, though. Remember this treadmill workout? That is what I should be doing.

AMDG Did I ever thank you for hosting this thread? NO? SHAME! Thank, Negin!

AMDG like wasn't enough . . . <3!

AMDG A number of years ago my daughter went to something for which I dropped her off and left for the first time, ever. I had been suffering a bit of burn out and when I dropped her off I couldn't wait to get to the coffee shop and just sit there and read and have a lovely time alone, with no obligations for the moment. While I sat there I was near some moms who were talking about what they were going to be doing this week. All their kids were in school and they were stay at home moms and I confess that I was beyond jealous. I could just imagine all the things I would do if I actually stayed at home and didn't work and didn't homeschool and didn't have my kiddo at home. I spent two days like that. I didn't go back to the coffee shop the next day but I did on Wednesday and sat, again, near a group of women. This group, however, were meeting there b/c they were discussing what they were going to do about the bullying in their school. As it turns out it was a small, private, elementary school but I know that doesn't matter. Some were moms of bullied students, some were moms of kids who had witnessed bullying, and one brave mom was the mom of a kid accused of bullying. THere were 8 or 9 of them. As I sat and listened to their stories, and there were so many tears, I couldn't believe some of the stories they were sharing. Both episodes were unpleasant for me but I found myself being grateful that I had experienced listening in on both sets of moms. I do think it is the norm . . . which is different from feeling that it's normal.

AMDG I know, Jean! I have read about your crosses and know you truly suffer. I hate that for you. I hope you do NOT think I think lightly of your trials. I really don't know anything about fibromyalgia. What I did to try to figure out what was going on with me was to google things I know or have heard come with a pain component. Fibro came up on that list and when I look at the symptoms some things seem very similar . . . pain and fatigue mostly for me. However, the description of pain is completely different. In my own case, painful as it can be, there isn't any increased pain with touch and it isn't muscle or joint pain. So, really, as I said, it doesn't seem to me that Dr. Google is diagnosing fibromyalgia. I had begun to think that it was b/c of how I was feeling. When I googled symptoms, it seemed very different. That's all . . . I was just saying that it was a jumping off point for trying to figure things out.

AMDG I've been thinking about this . . . Why, when we do so well and feel so well do we then go back of a sudden and start the whole thing over? I think there must be a strong mental component as well a physical one but, why do we do it???? Good wishes to you getting back on the wagon!

AMDG I believe it! It IS hard! Thanks! ; )

AMDG That is kind of where we were. I am a very healthy cook and we have a super healthy diet at home . . . PLUS A TON OF SUGAR. Even though we were eating very healthy meals at home, we'd also have ice cream several times per week after supper; a scone or muffin several times per week when we'd school out or run out for errands; a sample of some yummy sugarness at the grocery store . . . on and on and on! Also, we eat out a lot and I now know how full of sugar even non-sweet items can be. So, right . . . it wasn't my at-home meal time that needed changing. It was all that added sugar almost every.single.day!

AMDG Yes, we have noticed that! Sometimes we'd say, "Oh, I'll just have one." Now, we feel the small amounts. Callus . . . that's a good description.

AMDG I just wanted to say to those who are considering ditching sugar . . . sugar is everywhere. Go to mass and there are doughnuts afterward. Go to drama class and someone is offering Skittles. Go to Bible study and someone brought cookies. Go to the grocery and someone is offering a cake sample. Go to a friends for the afternoon and . . . seriously, e.v.e.r.y.w.h.e.r.e! Then, when you don't have the obvious sugar, you still have sugar (et al.) hidden in h.u.g.e amounts in everything else that isn't obviously a sweet. For example, boughten bread without any sugar is very hard to get outside of a health food store. Even our vitamins had a large amount of hidden sugar! We cleaned out the pantry and revisited our own cooking and baking but just about every time we walk out the door, sugar is there. I do advise getting a few recipes so when you do really crave sweets, and you will, you can have some. We love the frozen banana ice cream. Made without milk it really is like ice cream. I like added cocoa, walnuts, and vanilla. My daughter likes plain or added walnuts and vanilla. My husband likes it all ways. I haven't tried it yet but I plan to try it with frozen cherries, almonds, and a bit of almond extract. With milk it's more like frozen yogurt. For cereal, my family LOVES a mix of chopped dates, almonds, and coconut. I was going to make some cookies with it but my daughter tried it b/f I got them shaped and said she wanted to try it in a bowl with milk. She loved it and now that is a favorite here. We just toss into the food processor and chop to desired sized bits. In the beginning we tried making cookies with modified sweetners . . . with banana and dates instead of sugar or with a fraction of the honey instead of sugar. That didn't go over well at all. It was a sad wannabe. Now, though, that our taste for sugar seems to have tamed a bit, we find them quite good. I can't say it enough, sugar is every where and if you try to give it up, you'll find yourself shocked at how many people offer it to you and how often.

AMDG I had forgotten to mention the sleeping. Yes, through the night! My symptoms were pain, a deep pervasive hurt. I really can't describe it well. In fact, I found it so hard to describe that I just googled things I knew had a pain component and looked at those symptoms to see if they matched. Still, this is a best go . . . . It's two concurrent kinds of pain. One is a general achiness that is a lot like the flu. My skin would be sensitive and a bit painful and generalized body aches that seemed mostly muscular were pervasive. Worse, though, was the other pain and the one that is so hard to explain. Well, for one, it is usually in one or two places at a time. It seems a very deep pain and not at all on the surface like my skin or even muscle. Then again, it didn't seem to be bone or joint, exactly, either. It always seemed near a joint, though, just off the joint but not on it. It is deep and really painful. The first place I noted was my feet. Later it had localized in my arm: just off my elbow and just off my wrist. Later still it had moved to my back and then to my neck. It seems to hover somewhere in my back and neck most often. When it's in my neck, my jaw often hurts too BUT when it is tied to my neck pain, the jaw pain seems different . . . not the same kind of pain at all and I wonder if it's what I do when my neck hurts that makes my jaw hurt. The pain in my neck is always somewhere b/t my spine and the side of my neck, near the base of my skull. The pain in my back seems to tuck in right next to my spine in the middle of my back somewhere. It's deep. Not skin, not muscle. I don't know . . . ? It moves but where ever it is, it feels the same. My neck pain feels exactly like my back or arm pain. I know . . . that really doesn't get very specific. It really is just so hard to describe.

AMDG I'm posting this because I very often see a new (or revisited old/vintage/ancient/whatever) idea. The person telling me about it is so excited! She has never felt/looked better! The (insert new thing) has been life changing is so many ways! and she has been a devote for a whole three days! There are certainly some out there who really stick with a thing for a much longer while and give a more comprehensive review of the thing but those are considerably less frequent. So, I thought I'd give the low down on my experience with little- to no-sugar. My daughter and I have both been very healthy people for a very long time. It seems that out of no where my daughter started having bad headaches all.the.time. I had also begun to feel what I had begun to guess was something like fibromialgia but . . . not exactly (looking at the symptom lists online). We had gone from very, very, healthy people to pretty doggone puny. Fast forward through a number of tests andexperiments on my daughter for those headaches. I just tried to butch up and get on with stuff. After doing some reading, my daughter and I decided to stop sugar to see if it had an impact on her headaches. We went through August, September, and most of October eating no white sugar, added sugars, et c. The only sugars we ate were in fruits and the hidden sugars when we ate out. My daughter's headache improved so markedly we were both astonished! It didn't, and still hasn't, gone away entirely but is greatly reduced. My own symptoms disappeared. wow. seriously. So, then the end of October came with it's Halloween, Halloween party, All Saints party, Thanksgiving, cast party, and end-of-semester parties . . . somehow we just let the sugar thing go. Just before Christmas my daughter came to me in tears and said she just couldn't go on with the sugar, her head was killing her. My own symptoms had returned. So, by the end of December we were back at no sugar. Now it's just over the middle of January. My own symptoms are gone; I feel great. My daughter's headaches are heading back down and are better than they have been but aren't back to where they were by the end of October. So, for what it's worth, there it is. Over the course of almost 6 months, this is our experience. We do have sweets that are homemade and sweetened with fruits, mostly banana, dates, apples, et c. We found that in the beginning, these really weren't that satisfying but now, are quite satisfying.

AMDG I liked participating last week! DONE! means that I walked and stretched and I'll be specific about bonus activities (and, not that I'll have any this week, failures). Sunday -- DONE! Monday -- DONE! Tuesday -- DONE! + walked stairs while waiting for someone. Wednesday -- DONE! + Walk for Life! Thursday -- Friday -- Saturday --

AMDGI don't know . . . It's kind of interesting to know that there is someone at the WTM board who has nothin' in her noggin. Kinda. ; )

AMDG My driver's license expired two months ago. I went to the tag agency today but . . . Why do tag agencies close at noon on Saturday??? Do they all do that all the time or is this a conspiracy against ME? I was thinking about starting a thread asking when ppl shower . . . Morning, afternoon, night? Yours is probably more interesting than that, right?

AMDG My husband's boss' wife works for an attorney. She has something to do with determining if a client has a justifiable case. I really don't know any details. There is also teaching. I used to teach at a boarding school and our clinic was staffed by nurses. The dr came a couple of times per week.

AMDG For 100% cotton I mist the garment with water and iron with a very hot iron. I'll even just iron the damp garment bypassing the need to mist. I have read that you should "set" it with a cold pressing immediately after applying the heat but I never do that.

AMDG I think a lot about this. I desire good and beautiful and quality. I desire to be a good steward. I want the best price for what I get but I also want to support local/mom and pop industry when I can. I also strongly value excellent service and personal relationships. So . . . As everyone else said, it's case by case. We pay more for gas b/c we buy it from the mom and pop independent guy. It's not about the gas; the gas is all the same. It's about the local guy, the entrepreneur, that lives in my town trying to make and pay a living wage. He comes out to the (older) pump when it gives my husband fits and they jaw about the weather. A young man washes my windows and cks my oil when I use the full service. He smiles at me and I ask about his grades and he's keeping them up this semester. Ditto for anything I can get at my local Catholic book shop. I will pay more for a paperback book just to have it from him . . . Whose name I know, whith whom I sometimes worship in the very same pew (though we attend different parishes). On the other hand, if it is a book that I can get that is an older hard back with a history, I'll get that one online, estate sale, et c. Sports equipment we almost always buy used. Unless there were a safety concern, I would trot right down to Play it Again or the other one or look at CL and buy there. I would be supporting the local guy and saving money while I'm at it. If, as a previous poster said is the case with ski boots, safety is a reak concern, I'd go new for that item and build around those as I could, locally first, used online second, new local, new online. Another factor in new vs used is whether this is an entre into the sport or if it has proven to be a long term interest. You just never know with us; it really is case by case. We eat beans or lentils 4x/wk and buy most of our clothing in second hand shops. At the same time, we have season tickets for the ballet. I combine trips and try to save on gas but spend more on gas at the pump.

AMDG On a Wednesday after adoration, my precious daughter, 13 at that time, told me that she had prayed that we would die at the same time so that neither of us would have to live without the other. On Thursday, the very next day, she told me that she could not bear to live under the same roof with me for one more second and would be moving to an orphanage in Chicago to take care of the children there b/c she knew what it was like not to have a real mother. For the record, I gave birth to her. Yesterday, she was planning how I'd live with her and help rear and homeschool her children. Today I'm trying to ruin her life. sigh . . . I love her. She loves me. We love each other. As mad as she was with me 2 hours ago, she is asleep in my bed right now with a little preciousy saliva drooly drops in the corner of her mouth and a cat on her head. sigh . . . Mary is the Mother of God and has 7 Sorrows. I'm the mother of a merely human girl. I suppose my sorrows will be innumerable. But I think my joys will be innumerable + infinity. 14 is so small compared to innumerable + infinity. Love wins. hang in there. :grouphug:

AMDG 1. Do you really think those people would "love" to receive letters from us? An order? Yes, probably so. A letter? really? And Harry? 2. Are you going to (FINALLY) commit to a fountain pen? 3. Have you started your list? 4. Are you strangely excited to begin and are you secretly thinking of cheating the start date? 5. Have you already been shopping for pretty stationery? and has it made you positively giddy? Me? 1. No, I don't really think those people would like to receive a letter from me. I would like to believe it, though. 2. I think so. I've been considering it for such a long time but always don't. I think I will now, though . . . we'll see. 3. Mentally. I've begun to think about my list but haven't committed anything to paper. 4. YES! I love to write notes to people and really enjoy it so much but I never thought such a thing as this could make me so excited! 5. YES! YES!

AMDG I LOVE writing to people and do it on a note card from time to time -- fairly often, really. I haven't written a letter, though, since my grandmother's cousin passed away. She was the last of the old ones. Alas. I would love to play but couldn't think of a single person to write. I would really love to . . . Well . . . Yes, I actually can think of a few recipients . . . I AM IN LIKE FLYNN!

AMDG I actually wear skirts *almost* exclusively but I have a pair of jeans b/c I have an occasional client that requires jeans and boots for working there. So, I have that. I also have a pair of black pants that is a relic from martial arts. I continue to keep them on hand just in case of something . . . I'm not sure what but I feel that a pair of black pants is something worth hanging onto. I have one pair of wkout pants. I generally wear a knit skirt and leggings or if walking or riding my bike, whatever I'm wearing. That's it.

AMDG :grouphug:

AMDG I updated my original post, YAY!, and I have biking down for my added activity. I got a bike trailer for Christmas and today is grocery shopping day . . . Sounds like a win for me . . . If I do it. I will do it. I will do it. I will do it. I WILL DO IT!

AMDG We OFTEN have school in a small independent coffee house or Panera. You have to try them out too find a good fit, though. One Panera with a fireplace is just too . . . Tense and uncomfortable and crowded no matter what time we go. A diffeent Panera is much calmer, less busy, and plays better music. Ditto for the coffee shops. Some are comfy and conducive to study, some not. The library is good. When my kiddo was young she liked the Y but now not so much. At the Y we could alternate swimming/playing and subjects or mental math practice for a step up the pool ladder for each right answer, et c. High school work doesn't really suit now, though. One we do from time to time is the grocery store. Every one of our regular stores has a community or cafe area. My daughter can get in a subject while I get the shopping done.