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elfgivas

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Everything posted by elfgivas

  1. yes, the mashed cauliflower is good.... if you add garlic, it tastes a lot like garlic mashed potatoes. i also use chicken broth to mash with, and that adds another layer of flavour. (don't use the water you cooked the cauliflower in or it will taste like cauliflower! ;). i would put a bowl of mashed potatoes and a bowl of mashed garlic cauliflower on the table, in different bowls ;). tons of sugar in booze. simply tons. and if you are to cut out or drastically reduce sugar, i think that gives you a tiny bit of wiggle room. not enough for sweet desserts, but certainly enough for a dish like this one: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/oven-roasted-sweet-potatoes-onions-10000000522357/ i think if you add something to the meal, then folks will feel less deprived. eg. add a soup course at the beginning. my dsil makes a killer chestnut soup to start holiday dinners. or, if you add a pumpkin soup served in little pumpkins, that would be a spectacular start to a meal (and a clue that things will be a little different ;). you could add a cheese plate to the desserts for you and anyone else to have, too. it has always helped me to focus on adding rather than what i can't have! if its glycemic index you are worried about, then different kinds of potatoes are different. and if they are eaten with protein, it gets better. i do a russet potato/turnip mash with chicken broth and garlic that no one notices is NOT mashed potatoes only. when i eat holiday dinners, i make them and then skip them.... i like the stuffing better, and people react very differently to me saying "its so i can have double stuffing" than they do to the medical explanations ;). and cornbread stuffing is very, very good! i add chestnuts, celery and onions to it. hope that all helps! ann
  2. lamaze has worked for four children for me.... and for kidney stones and appendix pain and and and.... that said, i really only use a focal point and focus on my breathing..... but ta-ta-ta, te-te-te just isn't happening ..... for #3 and #4, we took a cd player into the hospital room with some of our favourite music. that helped a lot, as these were the two i had in the usa, and they were much more into lying in bed with monitors than i had experienced with our german and canadian births. (where i walked until i couldn't, and had ice chips and nurses coming to check in and see if i wanted/needed anything). completely different experiences.... just like the children themselves ;) fwiw, ann
  3. Madam Secretary is my new fave! then there is covert affairs..... ann
  4. 1. leapfrog dvds: http://www.amazon.com/LeapFrog-Letter-Factory-Ginny-Westcott/dp/B001TKUXUC 2. teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons http://www.amazon.com/Teach-Lessons-Fireside-Edition-0671631985/dp/B00FDX1YCW/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1412185818&sr=8-4&keywords=teach+your+child+to+read both girls tanked at about lesson 67, so this was followed by 3. Reading Made Easy http://www.amazon.com/Reading-Made-Easy-Valerie-Bendt/dp/188251470X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1412185758&sr=8-1&keywords=reading+made+easy which they finished beautifully. it said they were now reading at a mid-grade 2 level. so i pulled a canadian curriculum that i had and they tested at the beginning of grade 1. so then we did this series for 8 years: 4. Teach your children to read well http://www.amazon.com/Teach-Your-Children-Read-Well/dp/1894595017/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1412185985&sr=8-1&keywords=teach+your+children+to+read+well i can't say enough good stuff about it. it was simply fabulous. it works on fluency and comprehension and speed. :) hth, ann
  5. my super power is putting things back in the fridge. i live with wonderful people who can cook amazing meals..... but are somehow unable to put the things they used back where they belong. my other super power is putting empty bottles, cans, etc in the recycle box.... and garbage in the garbage can. sigh.... reminds me of the crash test dummies song "superman".... "changing clothes in dirty old phonebooths".... ann
  6. fwiw - things i have done/do now to find time for myself: a) get up at 5:30 am b) have a "coffee break" from 10-10.30 each morning. c) enroll kids in the same activity.... i take them, drop them off, and have an hour to myself. of course, that then leads to more activities, more practices, more commitments, more time.... but somewhere in there, i get to be by myself. and i play mozart, lots and lots of mozart. and bach. and vivaldi. fwiw, ann ps. i still have meltdowns, this weekend for example, but mostly its okay and it goes well.
  7. :grouphug: fwiw, we survive NPD by dh and i being on the same page. it took YEARS for me to help him learn to never, ever, ever talk to his mom without saying "that's an idea. let's get ann in here and see what is possible." it was her strategy to get one of us to commit to something in a moment of weakness. and it worked until we both had this skill and remembered to use it. if your dh can get to the point where he realizes that it is the cooking and preparing a thanksgiving dinner that he loves, (and he's part way there realizing that he doesn't actually visit with his family because he is in the kitchen), then you can change out the people who are coming. another thing that helped my dh was when i said, "do you want our children to come home from college for thanksgiving?" he said, "yes of course" to which i replied, "then we need to make sure they have a few happy thanksgivings before they leave". in the end, we have discovered that we can't spend ANY traditional holiday with her, because she has expectations AND a desire for us to not be successful in meeting them. now, we visit when there is NOTHING special happening. its better. fwiw, ann
  8. do you have a real estate agent? when we were military, we found that a good agent knew what folks "expected" during the counter offering period, and as long as we were within our budget, we went with their guidance. there were agents who worked almost exclusively with military, so they knew our constraints, too. good luck! i made several mistakes the first time out, but none were disastrous.... and i love, love, love NOT living in military housing! hth, ann
  9. about twenty years ago, i decided i would never buy something that required ironing. one of the best decisions EVER. i do use an iron when sewing, to get seams flat, but that is a hobby, not a chore. fwiw, ann
  10. probiotics + psyllium is the magic thing for me. (i have ulcerative colitis and it is what they recommended many, many years ago) flax is too rough for me. fwiw, ann
  11. things are going well here. i am pleasantly surprised at how our freshman is taking to it all. dd#3's AP Lang teacher gives them a weekly check list which we are finding helpful. i am thinking of asking the kids to make one of their own for each class. fwiw, ann
  12. 1. that's a per year price. but the textbook is for all three years. 2. that i do not know. i do know that i pay for each of my kids, but they are in different years, so ?? 3. we are on the west coast, so the times are earlier for us. its only two days a week, so if they have a mon/wed free, or a tues/thurs free, it might still work? hth, ann
  13. "Studies indicate that pit bull-type dogs were involved in approximately a third of human DBRF (i.e., dog bite related fatalities) reported during the 12-year period from 1981 through1992, and Rottweilers were responsible for about half of human DBRF reported during the 4 years from 1993 through 1996....[T]he data indicate that Rottweilers and pit bull-type dogs accounted for 67% of human DBRF in the United States between 1997 and 1998. It is extremely unlikely that they accounted for anywhere near 60% of dogs in the United States during that same period and, thus, there appears to be a breed-specific problem with fatalities." (Sacks JJ, Sinclair L, Gilchrist J, Golab GC, Lockwood R. Breeds of dogs involved in fatal human attacks in the United States between 1979 and 1998. JAVMA 2000;217:836-840.) if you go to this link there is a chart on the second page of incidents causing death by breed. http://dogbitelaw.com/images/pdf/breeds-causing-DBRFs.pdf hth, ann
  14. hugs. your poor poodle. i would be devastated if this happened to our standard. i think its not about whether or not he can pay, its about making sure the incident has some repercussions for him. its easy for him to shrug it off or be proud of it up until it comes back on him. so if its money or if its a police report where a police officer will interview him doesn't matter so much as long as he has some consequence for his dog's actions. otherwise, nothing will change. and its for the next person it happens to. hugs, ann
  15. i am immune compromised. we get it every single year, and it makes a huge difference. when dd got the swine flu a few years back, i didn't get it!!! (and she didn't get it as badly as some of her friends. it was still Very Scary) so if you can't do it for yourself, maybe you can do it for me and people like me. the old saying "the life you save may be your own" is true.... but its more likely that the life you save may be someone like me. the less foothold the flu can gain, the safer we are. fwiw, ann
  16. auditions were today here. much excitement, and some dread. there is some possibility that dd#3 might get sugarplum, and dd#4 might get clara. we had a discussion afterwards about how its more likely one of them will and one of them won't, due as much to managing a ballet company and keeping parents happy as to anything else. as dd#3 was cinderella for last year's production, i have quietly crossed my fingers for dd#4 to have a chance at the spotlight. (dd#3 said the same to me, so there's a blessing) time will tell.... eta: we still love nutcracker, 14 years into it..... except snow. for some reason i can no longer abide the music for snow. who knows why?
  17. lots of phone numbers are posted on that link; i'd start calling. one question to ask is how much they are limiting access. another is to see if any of the geology profs are taking students out into restricted areas and if you could piggyback with them. when we went out to where the lava was actually flowing, about 10 years ago, that area was completely off limits, and we only got there by going with a professor who had access. and while we were there, we could see why. the lava took a turn that even the geologists hadn't predicted. fortunately, this volcano is a "slow flow", so all we got were melted shoes and hot feet, but it made the reason for restricted access abundantly clear. you might consider targeting the middle of the window with a fully refundable ticket, or if you can swing it, booking three sets of fully refundable tickets and then using the one that you need. but its worth the journey even if you only get a little close. (and there are always helicopter rentals/tours ;) ann
  18. they are doing really great things with air flow and quarantine these days. i was in a room where the room was pressurized slightly above the hallway, etc, so air would flow out when the door opened, not in. it prevented me from catching things. i am sure the reverse is done, too, where rooms are at a lower pressure so that air flows in to the room, not out. ann
  19. this reminds me of the camping thread. i don't do it the way others do. each morning, i wander thru the house and pick things up and put them in the washing machine. so one day i wander thru and pick up sheets and towels. then its jeans. those are the only things i sort. everything else goes in together. this way, things are in the rooms or in the washing machine or on the line. so every day i do laundry, and its just simpler. hth, ann
  20. hornblower, this sounds a lot like what we do. we can go camping on less than an hour's notice because stuff is stored in bins/duffles, and is easy to "grab and go".
  21. i was going to say we camp all the time, but what we do sounds way simpler than what folks are posting. we have two tents, two footprints/ground tarp. we have one foamy per person + extras if wanted (especially good for water play ;) one sleeping bag per person. one water bottle per person. two pocket rockets, two pots, one plate, one cup and one bowl per person (or if backpacking just one cup per person). cutlery. one large water jug if car camping; one water pump if backpacking. biodegradable soap for dishes, a dishes brush, two tea towels, one small plastic bin for washing dishes in if car camping. sun screen, hats, bathing suits. clothes, fleece, gloves (if at altitude), down. long johns. cards, books, drawing stuff, camera, musical instruments, sudoku, aerobies. info books (trees, flowers, birds, geology of area, etc) topo maps. one camp chair per person. one axe, one awl, + one fire starting kit (flint and steel) per person one large flashlight per tent + one small flashlight per tent toilet paper in a large ziplock baggy (because i get grumpy if my tp gets wet ;) a medicines bag. we cook from scratch, so take lots of fresh veggies, eggs, etc. we don't do coolers, but do use trader joe's insulated bags. that means we buy any meat we might eat on site, or take it canned. only for special occasions do i do food prep beforehand. (eg. for thanksgiving, i make the pie dough and filling at home, and then bake it in the fire there). its supposed to be fun, so whatever works best for you is likely the way to go. hth, ann
  22. fingerprinting is par for the course these days whenever an adult has anything to do with children in an official capacity. its true for girl scouts, many volunteer positions, etc, etc. i would have been surprised if they HADN'T required it. that said, it sounds as if it felt bad in part because of the way they were with you, and in part because you equated it with this: "Since when does having a child at a school = not be a creepy molester?" it feels awful, but really its all about them covering themselves, and nothing about you. off to proctor ap chemistry test. ann
  23. anything by Farley Mowatt (esp. the dog who wouldn't be) anything by Lucy Maud Montgomery (esp. the anne of green gable series) anything by Don Harron/Walter Farquharson (0ne is the person, the other is his alter ego, a bit like stephen colbert) anything by Pierre Burton (esp. his kids war of 1812 series, but i loved the klondike, too) then there is this book that answers that question in way more detail: http://www.amazon.ca/Canadian-Fiction-Guide-Reading-Interests/dp/1591581664/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1410725175&sr=8-6&keywords=top+canadian+authors that's a start.... there are lots more ;) i am trying to remember the name of the diplomat who wrote an amazing book or two from his diaries.... but here's another one i found while looking The Quiet Canadian http://www.amazon.ca/Quiet-Canadian-Service-William-Stephenson/dp/0094687803/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1410725382&sr=8-1&keywords=The+quiet+canadian (also "A Man called Intrepid" and "Intrepid's last case") if i find the other one i am looking for, i'll post again, ann
  24. fwiw, sometimes its the way a doctor hears something that makes the difference. eg. i had had extremely awful visits from aunt flo for more than a year. i talked about how much, yada, yada, yada and primary care doctor took the Wait and see approach. then one time i said "i lie there at night wondering if i should go into urgent care for hemorrhaging. he sat up, said "what did you just say?" and i repeated it, and had an ob/gyn appointment 48 hours later. so maybe today you could call and say, "i really wanted to follow doctor's advice about waiting, but yesterday i couldn't take the lid off a tote, and last night i almost fell when i got up because my knee was so bad. i don't think i can wait another three weeks. i need help now." and then at least you will know he heard the impact, not just the "i'm in pain". good luck! ann
  25. you're a lucky woman catwoman, that you are having trouble figuring this out. i get lost without trying. at age 55. its been that way, oh, forever.... i can get lost with a gps and an iphone map, too. its something to do with spacial reasoning, which apparently i don't have. you know those little boxes on IQ tests that they open up, flatten and then ask you what shape they would be folded up? i have never, ever in all of time been able to understand how someone could do that. i have cut the things out, folded and unfolded them, and then when faced with a picture of the self same shape have gone into complete panic mode. oldest dd learned to follow a map at age 4. we joke that it was in self defense, but it really was because she didn't like being lost, and we frequently were. second dd learned to follow a map at age 6. same reason. third and fourth dds learned to say "i think we turn here mummy" by about age 2. driving in our car is a group sport. so if we go back to when i was 17 and driving alone for the first time, way way back before the beginning of time or cell phones, my mom would hug me goodbye and tell me she hoped she'd get to see me again. we'd both laugh. but it wasn't really that funny. eventually, we figured out that directions based on experiential memory worked almost every time. so she would give me directions like "do you remember where we parked for the santa claus parade when you were little?" i would say "yes". she would say "good. when you get there, drive towards the maple tree on the corner". i could go almost anywhere like that. one dear aunt wrote directions to her cottage that spanned two pages of shared memories. now i can do it with less shared memory and more landmarks (eg. turn left at the "keep off the grass" sign). i have only met one other person like that, but it was lovely to know i wasn't alone. she gave us directions to her home in florida including the line "turn left at the fancy dress shop". dh had kittens; we had flown for hours, driven for hours, and he couldn't imagine we'd find it. then of course we were driving down the street and i said "oh look, there's the fancy dress shop. turn left." and of course, it was, we did, and we found her house. neither she nor i found it odd that she hadn't given me street names or a house number. all of which to say is that we need to figure out how to work with who we are, and to make progress towards who we want to be. there may well be other issues at play, but maybe this is just the way she comes. hugs to all, ann
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