Well, I need to lose 15 lbs., but have no idea what strategy. I've done low-carb in the past and it has worked fairly well, it it is just not practical for my family and lifestyle. Starting December 1 I attempted to do just straight calorie counting. I got an ap for the iPad and thought I did a pretty good job not perfect, but I measured and weighed, sometimes I was over calories by 15-20 cal. a day. But not every day. I thought it was a reasonable diet. The program calculated I needed about 1580 cal/day, which is not extreme, but I should have at least lost something. By the end of 3 weeks I had gained half a pound. I haven't done any exercising beyond my morning walk, so don't say I gained muscle or anything. I'm just extremely discouraged. I don't know what to do.

Well, we're back. Kids are watching The Brady Bunch. I'm tired. And ate too much! But it was a good day!

I heat mine up in the microwave. Unless my three year old gets to it first. She loves coffee.

Good morning and Merry Christmas my tackling friends! It's 8:00am Pacific Standard Time. The presents have been opened and the kids are watching season 2 of Emergency. Love that show. Dh is working on adjusting roller skates and my 3 year old is painting. I just finished my coffee. We'll be spending the day at my parents' house, doing nothing, which will be wonderful! Have a wonderful and blessed day, everyone!

We had our Children's Christmas program on the Third Sunday of Advent during the morning worship service. I would say "pageant" is a little too strong a word for what we did. We only have 13 kids, and of those 5 are really old enough to do something. Our "pageant" consisted of 4 songs and Scripture reading for the older kids. The little ones in the nursery (ages 3 and under) "sang" Away in a Manger and "quoted" an excerpt from "in Bleak Midwinter" by Christina Rossetti. It all went very well for the amount of kids we have in our church.

Got my cookies done and then assembled my cookie plates. I must say, they look lovely. A nice variety of cookies. This is big for me because I'm not of an artistic bent. If things turn out pretty then it's more accidental than intentional. But, those are done. Now, it's on to make a cheese ball. I've been in to cheese balls lately, so I'm making one to take to my mom's house tomorrow.

No, we have Christmas with DH's family on Friday. Then it's over and I am taking it easy!

Well, my list for today..... ** put finishing touches on cookies ** put together Christmas cookie plates for my family Christmas Eve tonight ** wrap presents ** get kids to wrap the little gifts they made for grandparents

Jean, you weren't listening. I told you yesterday to get a restful night's sleep.;). I'm so sorry, you poor dear. I hope you are able to get some good rest sometime today.

A lot of times I'll get a Tablespoon or two of jam and thin it out with water and put that over it. Makes kind of a nice glaze.

Oh dear, Jean. I hope you get restful sleep tonight.

Hi Everyone! Well, I'm tackling the day! I love vacation! ** second to the last batch of cookies chilling ** went to grocery store ** packed 16 bags of cookies for kids to deliver to the neighbors this afternoon ** made banana chocolate chip bread Need to do! ** make last batch of cookies to chill ** make soup for dinner (Italian sausage and pasta, yummy) ** wrap some presents ** get my allergy shots ** continue working on laundry! Jen - that is such a bummer. I hope you can get it taken care of quickly with no problems. Jean - get some rest!

That's hilarious.I, too read that and wondered what part of the body would be considered the donut and why would it be placed bare on a countertop. Oh, and to answer the original question.... yes, gross! But what is also gross is walking around naked in front of strangers.

Good article. I did my teacher training in the height of the WholeLanguage movement here, and I know it did terrible damage to my philosophy of education and I even taught that way my first several years of teaching. I was indoctrinated. I'm embarrassed now, when I think about it. Now, I teach my kids in completely the opposite way I was taught in my t-ed classes.

I guess it depends. Regarding moral, political or religious things.... No. Although I think I have softened in my view towards certain actions people have taken after knowing the back story. I have no examples right now, unfortunately.

I'd consider it part of the gift.

Well, I'm back from Walmart. What a nightmare. Oh, and listen to this. I've only got my baby with me this time, and she's potty training, but she is in a pull-up. So, we're half way through the store and she has to pee and starts to panic and won't go in her pull up. I pick her up, race to the restrooms, burst in the door and there's a man in there. I'm standing there gaping, looking at the urinals and finally decide I'm in the men's room. You know, I just feel like I'm losing my mind.

Good Morning, all! It's the Saturday before Christmas and I'm ready to tackle it! ** gotta get up from my coffee and iPad and make breakfast. On Saturdays I ""make breakfast" as opposed to just setting it out. Today it's breakfast burritos. ** finish making Christmas goodies for the neighbors ** brave Walmart for a few last minute stocking stuffers Got the bulk of my "not on-line" Christmas shopping done yesterday. I forgot how much I absolutely despise Christmas shopping. Nothing like wandering aimlessly up and down the same aisles in Target, almost bumping into the same people who are also wandering aimlessly, looking for some sort of inspiration. This one poor young man I almost ran into several times. Finally I grabbed the last two roller skates on the shelf for my little girls and called it good. The best part of the day was a strong cocktail at Dai Bai Dang (I could smell the rum from a couple feet away) and my bestie and I making the waiter nervous.

Oh, I love shows like that. Same reason I love reading People Magazine at the doctor's office. I never watch them at home, but at a doctor's office... I think they're great. Well, in a sort of "gawking your head looking at an accident by the side of the road" great. I have this morbid fascination with American pop culture.

TGIF! Today is going to be the best day! When I was teaching the last day of school before Christmas vacation was the best day in the whole world. It's just the anticipation of have a full 2 weeks off that was just delicious. Well, today, the kids have a spelling test, a verse quiz and a few odds and ends and then we're done for the holidays and then I'm dropping them off at My mom's and I am.... Having lunch at Dai Bai Dang in the Big City with my BFF of 30 years (we were besties in high school, each other's maid/matron of honor in our weddings) and then I will spend a leisurely afternoon finishing Christmas shopping by myself. And I am sitting here right now drinking coffee and just savoring that wonderful feeling of anticipation of a whole afternoon by myself.

I didn't get a lot of reading for pleasure done this year, but one book I read that made an impression was "The Lost Life of Eva Braun." by Angela Lambert. I've always been curious as to what kind of woman she was, and when I found this book amidst the junk in the biography section of our library (I mean, really, who wants to read the bio of Chloris Leachman?) I grabbed it. And honestly, she was really a rather unremarkable person. It was an interesting read.

I'm checkin' in today! School (what we did of it) is done. Started a cute little ornament sewing project with the kids for presents for the grandparents. Oh, what a nightmare. I have deepest sympathies for home ec teachers. Working on Christmas cookies. Gotta get the usual laundry and clean up done.

Well, I don't know a lot, but our boys are getting into skateboards, too. I ordered theirs from Amazon and the only thing DH told me was, "make sure it's got metal axels". We bought Positiv brand, and I don't know much, but on some comparative website, this was listed as one of the good brands for beginners. That's all I know about that!

We adopted our kids through foster care, so until we finalized, we fostered them. I would like to do straight foster care after our kids are grown up, but we'll see. I don't think you're crazy, but it does take a lot of consideration. The system itself is crazy and maddening. There are so many rules and regulations (at least here) and the paperwork is enough to drive you nuts. Some social workers are wonderful, some are horrible and you are at their mercy. And some kids will be wonderful, some are terribly hurt and will take it out on you. And your disciplinary options are limited. I would encourage you, there is a great need for foster parents who are in there for the love of the kids and not for $$, but I would also say to look at it carefully.

A Beka has some nice cards for the preschool set that I use. It has a picture on the front and the verse on the back. They're pretty short. I just go over them a couple times a week with my preschooler and she picks them up. I do think the reference is important. Maybe not for them at that age per se, but it's a good habit to get into. That way you can differentiate between actual Scripture verses (they come with a reference) and a pithy saying that many people attribute to Scripture (The Lord helps them that helps themselves).