I didnt lose weight (because I over-compensated with fat!) but I have been basically sugar free for well over 18 months and I find my health is generally better, and my energy levels are much more stable..and I just dont get sugar cravings any more. I do sometimes crave something sweet, but I dont need a chocolate bar to satisfy it- in fact, a normal chocolate bar would probably make me feel ill nowadays and i have no attraction to it- a date or a piece of fruit or some home made dark raw chocolate would satisfy. I think low GI diet is great for mood swings- it is very stabilising- good for hormones too. I am not strict about it any more and I do ocasionally have sugar now too...but i am not addicted, and can have a small amount of sugar nowadays without it triggering an addictive pattern. It took many months to get to that place, though. Once you have been away from sugar for a while, the feel of sugar in your body actually isnt so nice (my experience, anyway). Its like a rush. I did learn to eat breakfast and eat regular meals- when I get hungry, I will eat anything, so I dont let myself get hungry- as in, let my blood sugar drop too far. Its well worth it.

Yes, I still eat healthy with WW rather than eat low point processed foods....but the free fruit really makes a difference. So do the 49 extra splurge points- it kind of takes the pressure off, somehow. The new program feels much easier to follow- and maintain- as a lifestyle, rather than a "diet".

Yes. By the time I was in my teens my mother had become a creative and good cook and excellent hostess. (I do remember very traditional sausages and chops and icecream for dessert type meals from my earlier childhood, but she changed). She learned international recipes- tacos, stirfry, chinese, Indian, even pizza which wasnt a common meal in my earlier childhood- and now she is an amazing, very healthy cook, and they eat lots of vegetables and salads, very healthy bread etc. So yes...I am like her in many ways, in that I am creative and love to try new recipes, international cuisine, and I enjoy entertaining. And...I try and cook healthy meals. I distinctly remember when I was about 13 or 14, mum changing over to wholemeal bread from the white stuff we had grown up on. I think part of teh change for her was that it was about the same time as she and my dad separated- she was growing, learning new things, growing...he just wanted the same old same old and once they were separated, she just went for it.

Yes, that seems to be the aim and it is working for people- they are reaching for fruit rather than other things. And reading the WWboards here, it seems that most people- even those who ate all their extra weekly points and extra fruit- lost weight, even though they felt they ate more than before. It really does make a difference to be able to eat fruit for "free". I think the new system will be much better for the motivation factor and the ability to adopt a healthy diet for life- long term- rather than yo yo diet. But I have yet to see if I will lose weight on it, as I was on holidays the first week it was introduced.

I am often surprised when I am the only one to bring something home made- usually simple, healthy- to a pot luck or evening at someone's place. I do notice not a lot of people enjoy hostessing or enjoy cooking as a creative activity, the way I do. However, I dont come across so many who dont cook at all because in my circles most poeple are interested in health, and its hard to eat out all the time if you want to eat healthy. So they seem to be able to get by and make their lentil soups and salads. My kids are just not so interested in cooking and I am a little disappointed about it. They can do a great breakfast (eggs, mushrooms etc) for 5 or 6 people (lots of practice) but they dont bake much at all (but then, neither do I) or look up cookbooks for fun. They can make themselves a pasta meal or microwave nachos. When I have tried to include cooking in school, they only have mild enthusiasm and it doesn't seem to carry over past the event. My mum was/is a good cook and I love to cook (although making meals for my family is not so rewarding, it hasn't actually killed my love of cooking)- I used to drive my mum crazy by making such a mess making cakes and experiments in the kitchen. But my kids...nope. So, I presume they will get by on what they do know and are familiar with (we eat pretty healthy) and learn the skills when they need to, I guess when there is some motivation. DH doesnt/won't cook. That doesn't help. An enthusiastic dad in the kitchen must help sons see its ok for males to cook. ETA: my kids, as well as dh and I, snack on a lot of fruit. We eat a lot of salad except in the really cold weather. Not all food preparation involves actual cooking and its quite possible to make a decent lunch (avocado, salad, crackers or bread)- or breakfast (cereal, smoothies, fruit, yoghurt)- without cooking at all. We eat a lot of avocados. Getting into the raw food movement helped me realise that fancy food preparation is really not so necessary, if you simplify your tastes and are happy with fruit and vegetables, and a few condiments (we love Braggs on everything). The rest is gravy. So, I guess when I think about it, my kids wouldnt starve- they would eat fruit, cereal, smoothies if they had a blender, raw vegetables, toast, eggs, pasta, stirfried meat. They might not make a curry or a soup but they would eat reasonably well until they got curious enough to learn to make a soup or curry.

Have you in the U.S. changed over to the new ProPoints system? I came back from holidays to find they had a new system of points counting here in Australia, and I now have 29 points instead of 18 (but they are measured differently). All fruit is no points and there are weekly points as well for treats. Of course change is a bit of an adjustment and a learning curve...and I havent weighed myself yet....but I feel I am eating more, and hungry less, especially when I can grab some fruit between meals for no points. Has it changed over over there?

My kids have been using sharp knives from a young age (3) because I read something back then that suggested that kids could learn from very young to use knives. I am glad I did..I trusted them, they learned very quickly what a sharp knife can do, and their natural instinct for self preservation prevented them hurting themselves. So that's never been an issue. They have not had a lot of interest in cooking, however, and have really only started cooking meals- basic meals- after about age 11 or so (again, the self preservation instinct kicked in- either make yourself a meal, some days, or have cereal).

You are a lovely hostess, Jean!

Havent read the other replies but we often fork out only part of the money towards an expensive present for our kids. They both have incomes and if it isomthing they really want, they are generally happy to pay part. If not...well, they didnt want it so bad after all.

I don't deep fry, ever, or fry in anything but a smear of oil. There are lots of meat dishes I have never made because we are predominantly vegetarian. I havent ever made meatloaf.

Crowds. Traffic. The materialistic focus that is somehow supposed to be good for the economy, yet how on earth can something that is good for the economy be so darned tedious and shallow and obligatory. The buying of crap just for the sake of buying something. The shallowness of it all. We enjoy the day especially for the kids but for dh and I it is not a big deal at all. I try and minimise the build up for them because really, we don't make such a big deal of the day. We spend it with dh's family who are really not close at all, although it is friendly enough.

I am on someone's joke list and I get a lot of very funny stuff (not that I always share their sense of humour) that I forward . It is well filtered mostly, but anything that sneaks through that in any way threatens me or asks me to forward to any number of people- no matter hwow sweetly...I delete on principal. I forward jokes to people I think may find them funny, but never those ones.

I have spent a lot of time over the years educating my husband about what it takes to homeschool. He also would think he could come in at any time and take me out for a meal, or just chat. I had to (more than once) communicate that this was my job and even if I was sitting here at the computer and it didn't look like I was doing much...I was. I think it took a long time but I think he did learn and come to respect the time it takes to homeschool. He has expressed much gratitude over the years, that I would take the time to do this (since I could be "out there" earning money or whatever like most women). He knew our son needed it.

Distraction...and doing something that brings me some sort of joy- even if its just drinking my favourite tea or checking my email or making myself something nice (and healthy) to eat. If I am triggered and really upset, I might go for a brisk walk, or have a bath or shower, or share with a friend. I have foudn homeschooling itself to be a good distraction many a time....having to be there for my kids helps me not dwell on my own problems.

Yes...I am wondering about that too, Laura, as my homeschooling days are coming to an end. I dont really need a job but I am looking at what I can do- project, study, part time work, creative endeavours- otherwise it would be too easy to just spend the days on the computer even if the kids aren't acutally needing me and arent even home. I am sure something will turn up.

I have a friend who considers herself transgender however that is not my understanding of her use of the word. She sees the term more as....neither specifically male or female- both and neither...inclusive. Not wanting to be catagorised as one or the other. She is such a beautiful person and her self expression is touching to everyone who knows her. Everyone needs acceptance...no judgement here. I do not believe the feelings entailed are a choice...no one would actually choose such a difficult, socially isolating path. But it is real, and the person is trying to be authentic to their own reality. You don't have to agree with their reality to accept them for their reality. If Jesus could love prostitutes and lepers, I am sure he could handle a bit of non -traditional sexuality.

I would personally not rely on orthodox medical treatments alone. I would encourage a wholistic outlook and check out alternate treatments including diet etc, to support the chemo etc. There are often experimental programs you can join too...my sweet uncle, in his 50s, had advanced kidney cancer when it was diagnosed..he was given 3 months to live. He was a Buddhist and decided to try an alternative treatment involving a soy derivative, through the hospital, partly as a way of helping others (as well as his meditation and vegetarian diet etc) and he lived 3 more years- and a good quality of life, too. :grouphug:

Always. However, although for many years I learned alongside the kids and sometimes jumped ahead in Latin or Grammar or History because I felt inspired to....I do not "self educate" in the classical or neo classical sense any more. I just learn what I am interested in...often reading health or spiritual or psychology type books. Always something. For academics, mostly I learned alongside my kids and that worked perfectly well for us up till now. I can still handle their maths- I outsourced science and some writing. I also spent a LOT of time researching homeschooling and curricula etc (probably way too much). Now....its not that I couldnt work out a way to do the academics with them...I could...but its more than its jsut time for them to be taught by other teachers. I dont want to be everything to them anymore. Both are moving out of the nest- dd16 to college, dd15 to highschool. I might enrol in something for myself now.

No secret here that mum is addicted to the internet. However, it is far more in balance than it used to be and I am not so worried about it. I also dont miss it if I dont have access, such as on holidays. Although...I did take my ipad to Bali with me last week, and there was WiFi most places including the place we were staying...but really, probabyl a maximum of half an hour a day, including dh checking his emails. FOr me...my kids work in our loungeroom and I am in here too. If I try and do too much, go out, do housework etc...they easiyl get distracted. Ds far more than dd. So...it really works best if I am sitting in the room with them, even though they dont need me so much any more. SO..I have my desk in here, I pay the bills, and, come here, and od Facebook etc. And...it's all of us here, too. Since its all of us, its not such a big deal...and we honestly do have "lives" other than on the computer, so I am not too worried. I don't think the computer itself is so much of a problem as much as...what is not being done- as in, a healthy social life, physical activity, creative activities, reading books, and getting the basics housework and cooking done. Not to mention time for hanging out and conversations, time for relationships to build and flourish. But its certainly an issue we look at regularly and I am as bad an offender as the kids.

Easy. Harrison Ford.

Thermomix. Sorry, probably way more expensive than you had in mind but it blends, processes, whips, steams, has a timer, weighs, grinds grain to flour, and it cooks too. You can make whole meals in it, and leave them to cook while you do other things. It makes a cake in literally a few minutes, and you can weigh everything in it. Bread too. It is virtually a whole kitchen in one unit. Worth its cost...if you can actually afford it (It is around $2000 Australian). Also, it is not officially available in the U.S....but you can get it from overseas. thermomix.com.au

I do have a rice cooker but often make 2 types of rice at one meal (I like brown, they like white) so often cook in a pot as well. I use teh absoption method- one cup of white rice to 2 cups of wat/ 1 cup of brown rice to 2.5 cups of water. I bring to the boil- and let it boil for a few minutes- as long as I can while I am in the kitchen. I have the lid on, and I keep the lid on and just turn the heat off. It will cook the rice even with the heat off, as long as there is a lid fairly well sealed. My new cast iron pots are excellent for this as the lids are heavy and the heat stays in there very effectively. I know poeple who use the other method for boiling rice, though- they use abundant water and drain the rice when its cooked. I imagine it would mean it would be less likely to burn (for most people- not necessarily me, as I can burn pretty much anything).

We have 2 female dogs, and dh, the cat hater, brought home a 2 year old male cat a few weeks ago. This cat has our two dogs terrorised. He is neutered and was well loved, it seemed, before we got him (although he was technicalyl abandoned). He does not pee anywhere except in his tray. Now that he can go outside, he is also toileting outside. So far, so good.

Stop getting distracted and focus on your work. Stop talking to me and focus on your work. Stop talking to your sister, and focus on your work. You don't need to be in here- I am talking to your sister, not you- go back to your desk and focus on your own work. You havent finished your maths yet, but you are in the kitchen? Go back to your desk and focus on your work. Get off my lap, go and do your work. I think there is a theme here :)

I think it helps to recognise that is IS normal behaviour and it isn't personal. They dont deliberately try to annoy us most of the time (I know sometimes they do but often it just isnt like that)- they are just being themselves, and it is perfectly age appropriate behaviour. We tend, as adults, to project our own understanding of life onto our kids. They don't see things like we do, they havent had the life experience...and what seems like a small job to us, and sensible to get it over and done with quickly...can seem huge to them, and they live so much in the present. They need lots of patience. At that age, I was doing the Flylady thing and going into their rooms with them and putting music on and a timer, or giving them one small job at a time...but keeping it light and fun as possible. The timer worked really well to help them to feel a task was doable and wasnt going to go on forever- a kid's sense of time is very different from an adult's. When I am yelling I know I have lost perspective and balance in my own life....and I try to deal with that, rather than think it is the kids job to change to make me feel better. Much easier said than done, but important to recognise. If i am in a grounded, light hearted, stress free space, teh same behaviour from the kid just rolls off me and I deal with it in a matter of fact way. WHen I am stressed, it gets to me and I might yell. I have certainly done my share of yelling, but I do recognise nowadays that it is a sign that I need to take some better care of myself.