BJean

Mark are we talking about peat or pete?

Jasmine you make an excellent point - don't blame people for wanting to come here and for coming here illegally since our government and we have encouraged it for decades by not enforcing the laws and for refusing to do some of the menial jobs that they are willing to do. This should be a major campaign issue in the 2008 election. Unless a candidate has a good, acceptable, solid plan to fix this problem, we should refuse to vote for him/her.

lisa, you're cool.

For anyone who could possibly care, let's set the record straight: Clinton is NOT my "golden boy." I can't imagine anyone saying that to me. The reason I say what I do is because when anyone brings up something that Pres Bush does that is atrocious, at least one or more people toss out something that Clinton did so as to make Bush pale in comparison. It is so RUSH LIMBAUGH - I'm sure it's in the Rush Limbaugh Handbook of Ways to Redirect An Uncomfortable Discussion About a Right Wing Politician. Or is it in Anne Coulter's Handbook of Ways To Inflame and Misdirect? Both I guess.

Jachut: I didn't mean to sound preachy - I wasn't being critical of you. I'm just still trying to figure all this stuff out. Purely making observations and relating in my own way. I certainly have been guilty of being discriminatory and judgmental - it is a human failing of mine as I too said earlier. (Doesn't it just make you want to stick out your foot sometimes when your BIL walks by?) :heh: green I'm practical too. But a little gun shy when it comes to plastic surgery. I have needed a face lift for a couple of years. I've seen one performed on TV and it's positively creepy to watch. But I would love to have one - and if I get the nerve, one day I probably will. I'm a bit jealous of your seemingly easy "practical" approach to these little problems.

Eva, your post was obviously heartfelt. Except that I do wonder if you really think it is all as funny as you seemed to be saying that it is. The situation is really pretty much as you said, but that doesn't make it right. No one can blame anyone from other countries from wanting to come here for a better life. But it is unfair that some people sneak into the country and other people have to jump through hoops to get here. The ones who are sneaking in are breaking our laws and the other people have to go strictly by the book in everything they do. It isn't fair to those who are willing to follow the letter of the law for our government to allow some people to sneak in and allow them to stay, but bar others from moving here. We should either have open borders for everybody or we go by the rules. The way it is now is causing major probems. Unfortunately things could wind up being very ugly unless our laws are strictly enforced or they change them. If Americans resort to violence over this issue, it would not be a laughing matter for any of us.

Uh I never really knew that the taste of peat was a good thing...:paranoid

green: You did a good job of describing my relationship with my MIL. She doesn't actually say anything in a straight forward way. It's always in the form of a supposedly sweet question. But there's an under current of disapproval that I've always felt. Not just because of my weight (I haven't always been fat) but also because I am pretty high maintenance. She isn't. In fact, she's managed to sock away many, many thousands of dollars over the years just pinching pennies out of her household budget. In fact recently she loaned one of my DH's siblings $50,000 out of her petty cash. But I digress... I am better educated and smarter and more well traveled than she, and she does respect my intellect. One flattering aspect of our relationship is that she always calls to get my opinion on any tough decisions that are troubling to her. She's an introvert, I'm outgoing. We are completely different women on the surface, but I think we both are good inside and never knowingly set out to hurt others. Your relationship with your MIL is complicated by things that ours is not, but I think almost all of the in-law relationships are more complicated than with one's own parents.

Thanks karey for the link. I was using fitday.com but found that it was too easy just to forget it after I started working again. Going to work everyday after not having a set schedule for so many years is pretty stressful. I've decided just to keep a small notebook in my purse and jot it down as I eat it. Good luck to all of you who are getting close to Lap Band Day. I'm excited for you!

Jon I hope you realize that outlawing abortion will not prevent abortions. You are concerned with the health and well-being of the pregnant woman, aren't you? How can we keep an illegal, unsafe abortion from being done on an extremely overwrought, desperate woman? Unfortunately adoption comes with no guarantees. Sometimes it turns out well for the child, sometimes it does not. We shouldn't pretend that adoption is always the perfect answer to an unwanted, unplanned pregnancy just because we wish it to be so. I am definitely a proponent of less expensive adoptions too! How do you propose that we go about making that happen?

You really think you made an honest comparison? Oh my goodness! Why do we ever try to discuss anything? We are definitely on different wave lengths. Obviously you do not think that Clinton is ever right - he's always left, right? And you think Bush is always right, right? And pointing out anything bad that you think Clinton did always makes Bush more right, right? It certainly absolves Bush of any wrongdoing, right? Otherwise why bother with the comparison? Can't Bush's activities be discussed on their own merit or lack thereof? Why is it always a contest? Why never a real, down and dirty discussion of the immoral crap that Bush has pulled? Clinton has been discussed ad nauseum relating to his antics. They have little bearing on anything Bush is doing today. Unless of course it is a contest of some sort. And in a contest there is no way we can compare apples to apples when discussing Clinton and Bush. Bush threatens our way of life, our freedom, our government, our soldiers, our environment, our economy, our life and liberty - but wait, not our pursuit of wealth! In fact, if you stop and think about it, there isn't a president in recent history with whom you can compare Bush's activities in office. The closest comparison would be with his father and the Iran Contra Affair. But then that won't do, will it? You only like to talk down and dirty politics if we're talking about Clinton or other Democrats, right? That's ok, that's your perrogative, that's what R & R is all about. Go for it - I find it fascinating and a whole lotta fun.

Jacqui the thing is that some thin women aren't thin because of anything they have or haven't done. Some women just have great genes. Just because they have better genetic make up doesn't make them deserving of our admiration, I don't think. Of course it shouldn't make us jealous or discriminatory either. Unfortunately, many of them wind up being addictive to plastic surgery and often are the ones who wind up with a grimace for a smile and eyelids that won't close. And many of them are the ones who have no compassion for people who are overweight and sometimes are the ones who are the most cruel. As for those women who have a lot of pride in their appearance and health and work hard to maintain it, I do have an incredible amount of respect for them. I have even more respect for someone who battles the bulge who is genetically (and emotionally) predisposed to being overweight and depressed - not necessarily in that order - and who manages to stay relatively healthy and happy and who doesn't go around with a chip on her shoulder because of the fact that she's been treated badly. My sister has been very overweight all of her life and she has had to deal with a lot of really hurtful comments and actions as long as I can remember. It has made her aggressive, snappish, scarastic, hateful and unhappy. She continues to turn to food for comfort. In my family we all do that. I have only been overweight later in my life though. Before that, I absolutely did not understand what she was having to endure. Now I know and now I understand why she's the sometimes impossible person that she is. I may understand it, but I still don't like to be around her.

Thanks Devana. Sorry the flippin' birds are so inconsiderate! Hope you got caught up on your shut-eye. Looks like Green has taken up the cause of not wasting a drop on barbeque sauce! :heh: You go Green!! Glad one of us had a happy, painless birthday! I am saving myself for this weekend. I'm gonna put some of that good stuff in some barbeque sauce, ice down a nice bottle of champagne, buy a pack of cigarettes, smoke one or two with my glass of bubbly, and pretend that I don't have to answer to anybody! :eyebrows:

Ahhhh the rib thing. I keep thinking I will be able to eat some if I really chew. No dice. Ribs will make me PB and be in unbearable pain! I can eat some pizza though. I used to eat about 4 or 5 slices, easy. Now I try to eat only one or maybe 2. Fortunately it satisfies. I'm still shocked at not being able to eat more pizza. Yes, thank heavens for the Band!!!!

Lord do I feel guilty! I was grumbling yesterday because it wouldn't stop raining so we could take my darling granddaughter out for a boat ride. Bitter, I can't imagine having a bunch of wet dogs hanging out in my garage and running in the house. You are an angel! Thank goodness for Sentinel although those doggie meds are way too expensive, even when you buy them online! I hope you all dry out soon and none of them gets heartworms from the mosquitoes or ticks or wherever heartworms come from. My BIL lost a beautiful Springer Spaniel from them and we kind of live in fear of those little buggers. Carlene what can anyone say. You sure have your hands full. I know it breaks your heart that your DD is involved with someone who is abusive. My DH's little sister married a horribly abusive guy when she was young. He wound up getting busted for dealing drugs and getting an incredibly heavy sentence. Fortunately she managed to divorce him and get their kids out of that situation. But then what do you know, she up and marries another jerk who is physically and mentally abusive. Summer before last he was killed in a car crash. That was awful, but the shocker for me was when the Priest at his funeral said something like, I know many of you out there are glad that this wicked man is no longer with us, but let's all hope he has a pathway into heaven in spite of his actions here on earth. Can you imagine? I've never heard anything like that before! The good news is that a wonderful man in their little town has been in love with her from afar for 20 years. He comforted her during her grief, he helped with her children who think he's a saint, and he finally won her over. They just got married and are as happy as two 16 year olds in love for the first time. He's very well off financially and she is learning how great it is to have a good man to love and be loved by, who she can trust and who is kind to her children and who takes really good care of them all. We figured her life was destined to always be full of pain and depression, but she's now a new woman. I hope that something good will come of your DD's separation from that guy! We'll be thinking of you and wishing you success in helping her turn her life around.

Frankly I found it extremely amusing that someone posted a list of Clinton's pardons to distract from the current events of the day. That always seems to be the response when Dubya does something blatantly gross. Yeah, that's right, blame it on Clinton... it's all his fault. Hilarious! Fact is, all past presidents have given numerous pardons. If anyone took the time to read all of the information about the cases of those pardons, they might think again about whether they were proper or not. Scanning the Clinton pardon list only showed that the majority of them were probably not primarily as political as some that were given by previous presidents. There is a reason that the President of the U.S. has the ability to pardon convicted people. Just as someone said, mistakes are made and need to be rectified. Too bad many conservatives do not understand that fact when they press for the death penalty so hard. Often the blatantly political/cronyism pardons are left to be done until the president is about to leave office. It was surprising to a lot of people that this president just doesn't care what anyone thinks. Although I can't imagine why it would be surprising... he has proven time and time again that he's the "decider" and the rest of us be damned.

lindata: Why are you thinking in those terms? Are you considering having it removed for a particular reason? Or are you just wondering about what would happen?

Gee FarmerE, that's rough!! Sometimes people who think they're your best friend believe that your friendship comes with a license to be brutally honest. No thanks. I'd rather we just be supportive of one another. Who needs friends for reality checks when you got enemies to do it! :faint: One of my very best friends for years decided that she needed to tell me that I should just "get over" my sister's and mom's deaths. After all, everyone experiences the death of a loved one. We all just have to get over it. Hmmm. Nice. Thanks for your compassion and understanding, pal. :huytsao

Lucy I'm completely unfamiliar with Laphoraig Scotch (or any Scotch, for that matter.) But I am making plans to put it together for this weekend. I trust you - I'm going to have about 15 people over! What is the most favorite thing that you use it on?

I've done so poorly this go 'round, I probably shouldn't get a vote. But if I get a vote, I'd be up for another challenge! :help:

karey: I told her about my last couple of weeks of being unable to eat much in the way of protein or other healthy food. She said I definitely should wait another week before considering a fill - or "adjustment" as they refer to them. Her only real suggestion to get myself on track again was to write down everything I eat. She said I probably am forgetting some of the things I'm eating and will probably be surprised to learn that I am eating more than I think I am. It's a good idea and I am going to do it. My GP told me last week that I should get on the South Beach diet. He said I do not need any refined carbs at all and should only be eating protein, veggies and fruits. Period. I can probably do that. I've done Adkins several times in the past though and after about 4 or 5 weeks on a high protein diet, I fall off the wagon and go completely carb crazy. I would also like to just cut down on quantity and lose weight that way - with no deprivation of certain foods. But I may just be fooling myself and the real answers are to keep track of what I eat, and focus on protein, veggies and fruit. If you are eating the good stuff, you won't have the time or the space for the bad stuff. Nice little pep talk... I hope my subconscious is listening! :cool:

What you sarcastic, gadget? Naaaah! No way. Oops. Was that a sarcastic remark I just made?? :tired

You know it's funny, I think that I may subconsciously discriminate against slender, physically fit women. For some reason I find myself being ticked off at them. I just can't understand how they are able to pull it off. It looks so easy when I see them, but I know that it is definitely not easy. At least for me. Realizing how I feel about physically fit women makes me understand a little better why people discriminate against me and judge me for being overweight. I hate it and it is not fair, but I guess it is understandable.

Just a few more hours at your current age, green. Sad. I know. I had a b-day on June 20. Still can't actually say the number aloud. Shocking how I still feel like a thirty year old in my mind, but my body betrays me. This aging thing is very strange indeed. I would love to age gracefully but I don't think it is in me. Happy Birthday a few hours early. I hope you have a wonderful day and all of your friends and DH make you feel very special - because you definitely are!!! :whoo:

Eva- Thanks for your post. Your feelings are just as valid as anyone elses. I personally hope that you don't feel so upset by the discussions on this thread and others at Rants and Raves that you don't participate. I too am sick to death of some of the stuff that is posted, but I refuse to allow them to believe that they have the upper hand just because we sit back and let them spew their venom. I feel it is my duty to continue to state my case and in many threads, have the opposing view. If you are only here for Lap Band support then you probably should steer clear of Rs & Rs. But frankly, we could use more people like you stating their opinions!