Can you just do your best - take care of yourself- and cut yourself some slack for not liking the situation? Take the best care of yourself that you can under the circumstances- eat well, take space for yourself, all those things. You can not like the situation, and still find some acceptance that it is what it is for now. Acceptance of the situation means you accept- you may or may not be happy with the circumstances but inside you are not fighting them. You just wait till your circumstance changes, which it inevitably will. :grouphug: (your situation would be hard for me!).

YOu must be very short and fine boned, because I am 5'2" and just under 60kgs and I don't think I am fat at all- I am a healthy weight and not at the top end of my healthy weight range. In my late teens and twenties I was about 53kgs- I am 44 and feel ok weighing more than I did back then. I definitely don't look pregnant. SOunds like you need to do something to feel better about yourself- some exercise, some new clothes- but also, go easy on yourself.

Low carb made me very grumpy to the point of being depressed and miserable, which I am not normally. Carbs make you happy- thats why they are addictive, why sugar is addictive. I need a certain amount or life doesn't feel worth living, and I am not normally depressive.

Lupus being auto-immune, have you tried going gluten free? Gluten can trigger auto immune conditions, inflammation, even if you don't have digestive issues. Many of us have found going GF gets rid of aches and pains we didnt even realise we had, and clears brain fog, and just overall makes us feel a lot better. If you haven't tried it, I recommend it.

Stay/ get in touch with old friends, new friends, relatives. I dont remember what it is like to get bored- I LOVE having huge chunks- weeks- of time with nothing I HAVE to do. This year is the first I havent homeschooled since the kids were young- and I am only working 2 half days. I am having a great time.

Corn chips for me. Since noticing my dd17 was putting on weight, and chowing into the cornchips, I decided it was better for both of us to just not have them in the house. I used to have them as a standby for nachos but its too easy for us to just snack on them.

Since we have outgrown McDonalds and especially Happy Meals, I am fine with it :) But overall...I think whatever directions they want to make in the direction of healthier is a good thing...but I am thinking future generations- I am not having to go through the change myself (not that I would care much if I was). I think its about time unhealthy fast food was phased out over a generation or two anyway. We don't need it. We are addicted to it. I would like to be able to stop with my screaming (grand)kids and pick up healthy foods that taste good, as easily as I can pick up junk- and for that to be normal rather than strange.

I used any colours other than red- sometimes red but rarely. Often I used pink- it seemed close enough to red, but without the associated trauma :) My kids probably didn't care a hoot.

Yeah, the Big W is a department story- cheap one. To "chill out" is to relax so chilledest must be a variation of that. The s word is used pretty freely in plenty of places here and it doesn't surprise me it would be used on a show like that. To "fluke" something, to get it by fluke, is to get it by chance- to be lucky to get it. So it might be that to 'fluke a ticket' is to be lucky to get one.

Just call her bluff, help her pack, tell her you hope she finds work, whatever comes to you in the moment- and welcome her home again. My ds15 actually did "run away" last week- different from an 8yo I know. He was mad with his dad who had disciplined him rather strongly, and he packed his bag and went to friends'. I stayed in contact by texting and actually eventually his dad apologised for the way he handled the situation- it was needed in this case. And ds came home. It was heart wrenching but I realised...it probably wasn't going to be the last time.

It's a common issue- "stuff" can really trigger deep emotions for people and usually one partner is the hoarder and the other the one who likes the clear spaces. The way i deal with it is that I declutter all my things as much as I can- anything I consider "mine", even though we have been together for 20 years, is also mine to declutter. Then, I declutter what are my areas...since i do most of the cooking, I have a right to have an uncluttered kitchen to cook in. So, I have a storage area for things i know that dh values, such as a certain pot or his valuable but never used art deco plates....and I keep in the main cupboards only things we regularly use in the kitchen. THen I will declutter communal areas to some extent- and put dh's things in one place. I once decluttered a bookshelf that had a lot of ornaments I was so tired of....that was a big mistake as he considered that "his" shelf...so, I then put them all back and added anything else form around the house- he now feels secure that he has his things in that place- but I have other areas clear of "stuff". 2 people sharing a space need to find a compromise- I can no longer bear too much clutter...so some spaces in our home are clutter free, but others are not. As for my tips- 1. Clear surfaces make a home feel less cluttered, so I try to keep the dining room table, floors, the kitchen benches etc clear of clutter and just a plain space- maybe with a vase of flowers, but mostly surfaces are just bare. Considering we have a lot of pictures on the walls and ornaments, it is some compensation. 2. I do a bit here and there. I learned how little time it really takes to, for example, unpack the dishwasher (2 minutes while the kettle is boiling for tea in the morning), sweep the floor, swish and swipe the bathroom, put on a load of washing. Baby steps. I used to be intimidated by how much there always was to do and it would freeze me into doing nothing. Now I know that just doing something, no matter what, is a lot better than ignoring it and hoping it will go away. By the same token, putting aside 15 minutes for housework can be very productive- I especially like to do that just for picking up and tidying around the place. 3. As others have said, regularly declutter. Its addictive once you get started and learn to enjoy the empty spaces in the home and how much easier it is to keep clean and tidy.

I had a great memory until I turned around 40. Great eyesight too. Then something happened :glare: My older husband definitely had the last laugh on that one, after all my years of teasing him and getting annoyed at him. I do still have a bizarre memory for our cc number, the phone number of my childhood home that we left when I was 12, and people's star signs even though I barely met them. But no, no OCD tendencies either. I like being organised but I trained myself to be organised- it didn't come naturally and its not extreme by any means. My coat hangers all face the same way, but they are not all the same style or colour :) That connection does make sense though- as if the brain likes to neatly compartmentalise things- externally, and within its own memory, which is really just an inner filing system :)

I just don't have enough experience of other kids, other families, other styles of homeschooling to be able to say it isn't enough. If its enough, its enough. If they just tihnk its enough, and the kid ends up with not enough education to get into college or whatever...then they were wrong. But what i think doesn't matter- if they are not asking for my opinion, its not really my place to give it.

I have no problem with nudity, but neither am I going to go and "be nude" on purpose with others. I have been skinny dipping plenty of times. I grew up skinny dipping on our country property- the whole family did. No big deal- we just didn't wear bathers. People who visited often stripped off too. As an adult there have been plenty of times when we went nude swimming spontaneously for the fun of it- it is fun! Once I found myself with a group of friends at the local beach at night time- that was really fun! I have swum at a nudist beach once- but I didn't like it because it just attracts people who are actually there to perve. And perving is different from just enjoying being nude. Being nude is never the focus for me- that would feel uncomfortable.

A while after my kids started homeschooling and were feeling comfortable with it, they confided in me that it was really uncool to love your parents, at school. They were ages 7 and 9. So, that is the school culture- normal to hate your parents. I was sooo happy we started homeschooling when we did and didnt' leave it any later. It was hard enough to convert ddthen9 over to homeschooling as it was.

:lol::lol:

We are not in debt either- we get holidays when we save for them, and that's not often. But save we do. We haven't got retirement savings...we have a couple of investments instead. Sometimes I go into a small amount of credit card debt for something, but mostly, I just save for things. I wouldn't undervalue travelling within your own country, inexpensively, either. I was taken overseas as a child, and it was memorable to some extent although I was a little young for some of it to remember much, but so were the family bushwalking holidays, the trips out to the outback, the beach holidays at my aunt's beach house. So, no, i don't think I would go into debt to travel overseas unless I knew I could pay it off in a short time. But then, there are some things that are so important to me that would go into some debt for them- and overseas travel generlaly isn't one of them- but I can understand that for some people, overseas travel for their kids might be one of those things. It just wouldnt be for me. Dh promised dd a trip to Paris for her 16th birthday. At the time, money was flowing well and it seemed a reasonable thing to do. Soon after, it wasn't- money became much tighter. It took a year to get the money together- and only the 2 of them went- but they did go, and without debt. DH actually regretted the promise because it did put a lot of stress on us financially but he followed through since it was a promise.

Yes- I have been mostly gluten free for several months- my aches have gone and the exhaustion has largely gone although my iron is still low so its not completely better. I am pretty sure I would get the same yucky feeling and tiredness if I binged on gluten now. I am surprised myself- I wasn't expecting it.

:grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:

I have a Keeper cup and it works well but to be honest I really just prefer my cloth pads. I rarely have a very heavy flow and if I do I just change more often- I did have a "flooding" a couple of months back which was interesting- but I was at home so no big deal. I have a preference for "outflow" rather than somehow holding it in there, if that makes sense. I only use the Keeper at night time if its really important I don't leak (such as when sleeping somewhere other than at home). I have used sponges and I think they are cool too, but am comfortable with my cloth pads and have a bucket with a lid I toss them in to soak- I have a routine around it and I enjoy it. I am surprised how easily they wash up and I enjoy the ritual of it all.

I use a hemp oil deep conditioner that works miracles on my hair. But I have always used heaps and heaps of good quality conditioner, and just a small bit of shampoo (when I am not going no 'poo as you are doing. I use baking soda for the shampoo and lemon juice in water for the rinse- works well too.) I like my hair- it gets a bit wild but I tend to just comb it during and after a shower, with a very wide toothed comb, let it air dry, and scrunch it a few times as it dries. Its very important that I use a lots of conditioner and I leave a little in. I have an oily scalp and dry ends. I have some layering but its pretty straight on top. Every now and then I leave conditioner in overnight. If you have scalp problems, won't a "product" likely make them worse too? I learned a lot from curly girl- my dds has ringlets and she uses masses of conditioner and rarely washes her hair. I had to learn just the right amount of conditioner and I can't get away without washing, but I use the tiniest amount of shampoo that I can get away with.

Well, if Chinese chocolate is anything like Indian chocolate, I can understand it wouldn'y have quite same impact :) I havent had a TIm Tam in years, and am not likely to because they have gluten, but I do remember them fondly. They have just the right balance of crunchy, crumbly, very slightly chewy moistness, and chocolate is always good.

I thought you ladies (and men) might enjoy this. An obituary published in "The London Times". Interesting and, sadly, rather true. Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as: - Knowing when to come in out of the rain; - Why the early bird gets the worm; - Life isn't always fair; - and Maybe it was my fault. Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge). His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition. Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children. It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an aspirin to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion. Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims. Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault. Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement. Common Sense was preceded in death, by his parents, Truth and Trust, by his wife, Discretion, by his daughter, Responsibility, and by his son, Reason. He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers; I Know My Rights I Want It Now Someone Else Is To Blame I'm A Victim Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone. If you still remember him, pass this on.

I was studying Naturopathy before I had even heard of homeschooling, so it was that way around for me.

Well, I have finished homeschooling and I keep trying to find excuses to buy stationary. I want to go to the stationary supermarket badly. But I have got plenty and cant think of anything I specifically need. :(