I ran 4.25 miles this morning while my sweet dh made breakfast. :001_smile: He never lets me help when he's making breakfast anyway, so I might as well be out running.

Good idea. Everybody in my family got something from the thrift store from me this year. They loved the items.

We all need to start using this so it'll catch on here in the states. :)

I could have written this post. :) We use our Cuisinart every day for toasting bagels, reheating food, making mini pizzas, etc. No need for a separate toaster. If you take out the pan and just use the rack, both sides of bread get toasted.

Thanks for your prayers. Yes, I'm a bit worried. My dh just got a job offer a week ago - he'd been out of work for 3 months. It has been a hard time, and I thought our worries were temporarily over!

That's so rude. Beyond rude. No matter how close we were to that family, my family would have to decline to attend this dinner. (my dh would not attend!) What she should have done was suggest adding some healthier options to the dinner. Steamed green beans instead of casserole, for example. Mashed butternut squash which doesn't need all the brown sugar that gets added to sweet potatoes. But let anybody who still wants ham, and Kings Hawaiian rolls with butter, have it! I'm glad you worked out the compromise of bringing chicken, potatoes, and dessert. :thumbup1:

I wonder if my doctor called because she might be out of the office after Christmas, and didn't want the first call to be from her staff trying to schedule the follow-up. Thank you for the well wishes. I'm glad yours didn't turn out to be cancer after all. I've already been self-diagnosing on the internet, and apparently a thyroid cyst has a low likelihood of being cancerous.

About the insurance - any spending we do in January won't count toward our 2014 deductible, because dh starts a new job on Jan 1. So he doesn't have insurance through them until Feb 1. We still have COBRA insurance until then. Thanks for the good advice about asking the doctor or her staff what she thinks about waiting until Feb. If I hadn't been so shocked when she called, I'd have thought of that!

I had a routine test done on Friday. (I get lots of doctor visits and routine tests - "routine" for me, anyway - because I beat melanoma 10 years ago and breast cancer 2 years ago). So my oncologist called a little while ago. I knew it wasn't a Merry Christmas wish, because she doesn't call if everything's normal. She wanted to let me know that I have a nodule or cyst on my thyroid, so her office will be calling after Christmas to set up a CAT scan for more info. I'm just feeling...I don't know what. I wish she hadn't called on Christmas Eve (especially because it was just to tell me to expect another call after Christmas). I'm kinda worried, even though she didn't sound concerned, but I think that's her bedside manner not to sound concerned. Here's why I bring it to the hive: We are changing insurance on Feb 1. If it turns out to be nothing - then I'm OK waiting until Feb 1 for any follow-up. If it turns out to be something - then I really need this expensive test to go against our deductible which starts Feb 1. I'm conflicted. Please help me reason through this rationally.

Do you have a Verizon store nearby that you can go into? As ILiveinFlipFlops said, it might be something as simple as an update needed. They might be able to help you at the store.

Cool. Just for fun I looked up my vintage Crock Watcher - it most recently sold on eBay for >$50. (I'd never sell it) But in my search I also came up with an online discussion about lead in crock pots. I'm sure mine pre-dates the whole lead-free-glaze rules. Something else to worry about, sigh.

I don't think I've ever worn nylon before, except in stockings. But I really think it's objectively scratchy.

No...I promise I didn't wear it to a special occasion last night, unless you call book club a special occasion. :)

Oh, I totally agree with this idea! I frequently see crockpots at thrift stores. If I lived near you, I'd help you scope one out. (you're not in SoCal, are you? :) )

I ordered some items as Christmas gifts, and included a sale sweater for myself. :001_cool: Last night I wore it for about 3 hours and was itching and miserable by the end of the evening - the sweater is horribly scratchy! It's cotton with 30% NYLON - what were they thinking? I've occasionally returned "used" items that didn't meet expectations, especially when they're from a store like Costco or Nordstrom with a liberal return policy. But I feel guilty doing so. Not sure why - it's an unwearable sweater! Would you return?

Our nearby studio also offers $8 classes on Sunday evening. (their regular class price is $15-$20, depending on what type of class pack you buy). It's not cheating to go only to that class. They call it the "community" class because they want those who otherwise might not come, to come!

I use oxyclean in loads with my workout clothes, when I remember to. Just put a scoop in the barrel either before or after you out the clothes in.

Ugh, I forgot about the pet hair -agreeing with you on that. About the longer load cycles. The 2 front loaders I've used have rather long periods of silence. (Soaking time? Not sure). So I don't think they are using much electricity throughout the cycle, whereas a top loader seems to be "going" most of the time.

I think top loaders clean better. I never bothered to pre-treat anything when I had a top loader. Now I have to pay attention when something is going in extra soiled. Our workout clothes also don't come out smelling fresh all the time, and l have to send a shirt through the next load sometimes. The benefits to the front loader are the water/energy savings, and they are gentler on your clothes. But they don't clean better.

Congrats! I use mine frequently, for hummus, soups, & smoothies. The only time the pre-programmed cycles don't work just right are when I don't add enough liquid to my smoothies. Then it's easy to press the down button to stop it, add more liquid, & restart.

Me, too. I carefully sort my laundry, and wash t-shirts only with other soft items (no zippers, hooks, etc.). The holes always appear right at the waistline in front, so some other environmental factor is at play. :(

Congratulations! ;)

:grouphug: I could have written your post. My 17yo graduated a few months ago, and I am still drifting, purpose-less, through my days. I toyed with the idea of going back to work but I can't get my professional license back in this state. Even if I could, I wondered, "Who would want me after 14 years?" I feel old and stale.

Oh, was that part actually in the Hobbit? Oops. I will have to read it again next week so my criticisms will be perfectly accurate. :)

I saw it earlier today. I didn't like it. I don't think I'm giving away any spoilers to say: 1. way too many ridiculous unbelievable special effects (someone above mentioned ninja elves, yep) 2. way too many things that are different from the book. REALLY different. 3. way too much of an attempt to tie in to the LOTR trilogy - adding multiple characters from LOTR, having Gandalf running about the countryside, a scene in the Prancing Pony, etc. I'm glad I only paid $5 because it was before noon.