I'm here to help...

[JeweI 2]

She is just this way with her kids. She can really freak out sometimes over decisions all her kids make. She has a hard time excepting her children are adults now. There is nothing we can really do to change her. We will just have to deal with it when she decides to tell us her opinion. I do think I get alot of her negativity because I live with her and am an easy target. Just the everday stressors of living with people can have its toll on a relationship.

[IndioGirl55 32]

Good Morning Gang

Jewel - Hugs on the MIL - how much longer do you all have to live w/them - Have you ever had a good relationship w/her.

Deb - Your experience in the asharm sounds interesting :0)

My doc makes you go back to post op diet for a week each phase - Just take it slow - you know your body..

Julie - OMG I LOVE hearing that you got a good nites rest !!

Apples - OMG you are sheltered !!!! You don't know tamales and polenta - I guess you never watch the food channels - very unusual for a fat chick - it's our fav channel ;0) lol...

Tamales are a mexican food - masa (corn meal like substains mixed with lard) spread on a corn husk - you can fill them with chicken - beef - pork cooked in a red sauce made from chilie - or you can stuff them with cheese & jalepeno (my fav) then you wrap them up and steam them - It's traditional in a mex family to make these on Xmas eve.. They take some work as you have to mix the masa & lard so that it floats in a glass of Water - they take a bit of work but once you have the system down it's not bad - I have made them all by myself - but its usually a family get together to make them.. Here's a link to show you the diff kind of tamales - they even have sweet - dessert ones

tamales - Google Images

Come to my house and I will show you how to make them :0) - I am a pretty darn good cook - I cook mexican - italian - american - soul/southern -

Poleneta - is itailian corn meal mush - I think Deb explained earlier - you make corn meal mushie - chill it - then cut it and fry it - bake it - bbq it - sorta like a dense biscut - I don't no how to explain it - here's a link that shows the diff uses for it

polenta - Google Images

Ann Taylor Loft has a little lesser expensive clothes a little younger a little more casual/classice - Ann Taylor is very Classic

Great maybe able to explain it better - I like the loft better then the reg ann taylor store..

Ok I gotta get this posted and to work :0)

[Apples2 19]

Egad, Apples, do you have an industrial kitchen with one of those giant-size Kitchen-Aid mixers? And just how many ovens do you have?? :thumbup:

Two ovens and, yep, I have a professional Kitchen Aid mixer....Good guess!

[Apples2 19]

Janet...Ok...now I feel I belong and fit in. Now that I know what palenta and tamales are. Thanks for the links. And, have NEVER whatched any food shows. Don't ask me why...just never have. Thanks for the explanations.

I am sure you are a good cook if you have the patience to make those tamales. I think I would like polenta and might just try it soon. Can you put hotdish on it? (wink)

Edited December 15, 2009 by Apples2

[IndioGirl55 32]

Janet...Ok...now I feel I belong and fit in. Now that I know what palenta and tamales are. Thanks for the links. And, have NEVER whatched any food shows. Don't ask me why...just never have. Thanks for the explanations.

I am sure you are a good cook if you have the patience to make those tamales. I think I would like polenta and might just try it soon. Can you put hotdish on it? (wink)

Apples - I can eat a couple tamales - my fav is the masa part - but after 2 or 3 - I'm done - plus I wouldn't even guess at the calories :0)..

When the Food Channel first came out about 20 yrs ago now I think I watched it all the time - and gained weight.. I don't watch it as much now a days - but love Alton Brown - and American Iron Cheft

Edited December 15, 2009 by IndioGirl55

[JoannMarie 0]

Surprise, surprise! It's Joann - not forgotten I hope, just been gone a long time... It's been a busy few months, visited with MN friends (Duluth) in September, quilt show in DesMoines in October - 2 week visit from our DD, SIL, and both little boys from Seoul for Thanksgiving, which included SIL's parents for the first week. It was a crazy time. The baby was baptized on Nov 29th and we had a reception for them that afternoon. Lots of friends and relatives invited and we had a so much fun. They left on Dec 3rd and we MISS them. It was not enough time.

I'm continuing to do well - losing about 4-5 pounds a month as I have from the beginning. I have to say there is a benefit to losing a little more slowly, I guess. At least when I buy clothes I know they will fit for 6-8 weeks before they are beginning to fall off my body. My friend took me to her favorite resale shop last week and I vowed to go back to that one and find more of them around town. Good prices for some very nice clothes.

My first year bandiversary was Dec 4th. I feel like a new person. I've learned so much about myself and how my body reacts to everything I feed it. I've learned to be patient with myself and kind to myself. I've made mistakes along this way, but nothing that can't be fixed by following the basic rules and staying the course. My DIL asked me what would happen when I started to eat normally again. (I'm sure she was wondering how long it would be before I gained it all back...) I had to laugh. Honey - this is eating normally! and I LOVE IT!

I have not taken the time to go back page after page to see what has been happening with all my friends. I did see that the news about Laura's father has not been good. Laura, I am so sorry to hear this. My heart goes out to you in this difficult time. Please know your family is in my prayers.

[Apples2 19]

Surprise, surprise! It's Joann - not forgotten I hope, just been gone a long time... It's been a busy few months, visited with MN friends (Duluth) in September, quilt show in DesMoines in October - 2 week visit from our DD, SIL, and both little boys from Seoul for Thanksgiving, which included SIL's parents for the first week. It was a crazy time. The baby was baptized on Nov 29th and we had a reception for them that afternoon. Lots of friends and relatives invited and we had a so much fun. They left on Dec 3rd and we MISS them. It was not enough time.

I'm continuing to do well - losing about 4-5 pounds a month as I have from the beginning. I have to say there is a benefit to losing a little more slowly, I guess. At least when I buy clothes I know they will fit for 6-8 weeks before they are beginning to fall off my body. My friend took me to her favorite resale shop last week and I vowed to go back to that one and find more of them around town. Good prices for some very nice clothes.

My first year bandiversary was Dec 4th. I feel like a new person. I've learned so much about myself and how my body reacts to everything I feed it. I've learned to be patient with myself and kind to myself. I've made mistakes along this way, but nothing that can't be fixed by following the basic rules and staying the course. My DIL asked me what would happen when I started to eat normally again. (I'm sure she was wondering how long it would be before I gained it all back...) I had to laugh. Honey - this is eating normally! and I LOVE IT!

I have not taken the time to go back page after page to see what has been happening with all my friends. I did see that the news about Laura's father has not been good. Laura, I am so sorry to hear this. My heart goes out to you in this difficult time. Please know your family is in my prayers.

OMG, JoAnne...ironic that you posted today. I was thinking of how I miss you just a couple of hours ago and wondering how you were doing. You must of somehow read my mind. So happy to see you posting and that you are still on track with the LB.

Merry Christmas to us! JoAnne is here!

[LittleOleMeinFL 1]

Hey girls~

Welcome back Joann and thanks for the thoughts. <hug>

DH will arrive at 4:56pm... so will get Nels from school... hose him down (give him a warm bubble bath to remove all the playground residue)... and go wait in baggage claim so we can see which one of us can run to DH first! It's strange that these 2 nights of him gone felt like a week or more! And weird that it's that way b/c he is frequently gone for 2 nights when he has a weekend of call. Perhaps just b/c it was so stressful/news of dad/emotional time for us all.

Spoke to my mom this morning. She said dad doesn't feel good. Tired from the long trip (they didn't get in until 10pm) and pissed/sad from the news. She told me the reason he was so "mad" at me is b/c he doesn't want everyone knowing his news. He said "can't I die with peace and dignity?" I wished I could crawl through the phone and just hug my mom. She was crying so hard. The last few days have been especially hard on her. She sounds so spent.

Spent the morning waiting on people for the house... exterminator... electrician... sprinkler guy.. cleaning girls. It takes me hours to get ready for the cleaning girls, get all the laundry done, ironed, folded and put away... toys straightened up and in their spot (otherwise they just put things in random bins), going through paperwork and STUFF, washing all the rugs. She said that she only has a handful of clients like me that wash their bathroom rugs every week. She laughed and said that my rugs were cleaner than her towels! geez..LOL.

I will cbl. Hope everyone is having a good day.

peasout..Laura

[Great2BThin 5]

Forgot my 3rd question....what is the diff between Ann Taylor and Ann Taylor Loft?

I recently asked that same question at the Loft store, she said basically what Janet did though not the cheaper part and she said put another way the Loft is more 'west coast' and the regular Ann Taylor is more east coast. Both sell jeans and both sell dresses but Ann Taylor is a little dressier or professional. Last year though I liked Ann Taylor better this year I didn't like anything in there and she said they got a new designer this year and had a lot of complaints (silly me thought Ann Taylor was the designer?? that part still didn't make sense) this year I am much more of a Loft gal. Good idea about going but I didn't today. I worked and stayed off the ladders, I stood firm as a lot of what was left was high up windows and all the mirrors around the weight room. I did the low parts. Then it was hair day and then met DS for lunch. Now I am going to TRY and ake a nap. My poor dog got sick last night about 1am and was in and out times from 1am til I got up at 4am. And she's made quite the mess a few times in her kennel. She acts fine otherwise so not sure if she needs to go to a vet or not. DH called and he got an earlier flight home and should be home in a few hours too. WHEW!! I was worried he'd get stuck in Atlanta and not get home tonight.

I have lived out west most of my life, it's only been the last year or so I've heard of the Chrismas eve tamale tradition, I love Mexican food but not tamales, don't like mush I guess. I didn't like grits out east, scrapple in Philladelphia or polenta. Maybe it's a texture thing for me.

And being a 'reformed fat chick' I have never watched the Food channel. But then again I've never been fond of cooking much.

Jewel, good luck wiht your MIL.

JoAnn, so glad you came back, I hope it's to stay!

[Apples2 19]

Great...thanks for the Ann Taylor "lesson". I have about 10 Ann Taylor items in my closet and maybe 15 Loft. Anyway, yes, Loft is a little trendier whereas Ann Taylor is actually more "tailored".

Just as Liz Claiborne pieces are made by different designers...so are the Ann Taylor.

Good going on watching on what to do at work. I was worried you would screw up that new knee.

How nice of your DS to take you to lunch to get your mind off things. I'd probably choke on my coffee if my DS that lives around here would suggest lunch. He's considerate of his momma but has never done anything like that. He's good to me in so many ways so not a complaint when it comes to him.

Well....I screwed up my sugar Cookies and got so ticked. Took the 1/2 cooked batter, threw in a cake pan and made a crust. Topped with a soft boiled toffee and topped with Heath bits. Actually turned out pretty good for being such a mess b/4. Now working on the gingerbread men. We'll see how that goes.

Laura...I'm sorry you are going through so much. There are probably going to be many things with your dad the next few months that you will have to be careful with. Making the calls and letting family know about his situation is only natural. Something I am sure I would have done also. Try to be patient and don't beat yourself up. Take care of yourself.

[Charlene K 1]

Hi Joann, we missed you! Glad you are back. Down here Tamales can be found every few blocks in town. I am an enchilada person. Polenta......never ate it, but if it is anything like cornbread I would love it.

Apples, going out tomorrow to get ingredients for your recipes........well.....at least for the Cookies and fudge. Then I am going to make Trash(chex mix). My kids will be depressed if they don't get it for Christmas. It is just a tradition I can't stop.

Lori, I will be praying for you tomorrow. You will do good.

[ljv52 2]

Hi everyone. Laura, hugs on the bad news and Dad issues -- I'm sure he isn't really mad at you -- but he shouldn't be hiding his condition from your siblings anyway and I'm sure he knows that deep down. Under normal circumstances he'd probably be grateful that you told them so he doesn't have to. It's hard enough dealing with his illness much less dealing with it long distance and at this time of the year. My thoughts and prayers will continue to be for you and your family. So sorry. Nelson is such a cutie - loved the GBH - he did such a fabulous job with it - he's so neat -- my ds was never that neat when he was a boy -- maybe that's why I never made one with him. I think another year maybe Aylah will be ready to make one with me. I hope so, I've always wanted to make one and never did.

My DGM died when I was 25 and I took over the family Christmas baking at that point. And when I say Christmas baking, I mean I made over 30 different candies/cookies/bars -- many of them very difficult family recipes. I would start baking Thanksgiving weekend and finish up by first week of December. Then I'd give out goody boxes to everyone -- co-workers, bosses, kids' teacher, hair dresser, mailman, newspaper delivery boy, etc., etc. Plus always having huge trays of Cookies at the house for the family dinners. I gave it up a few years ago -- I decided with me and DH too fat and two juvenile diabetics (although I did use Splenda with great results for many years) we didn't need it. I miss it and everyone else misses it too -- will wait a few years (when Aylah is older) and she and I will start a new tradition and bake - I feel it's important for grandkids to have those tradiitons and memories from their DGMs. But I hope when I do get back to making them, I'll make LESS. LOL. FYI I used to clean out my entire freezer and freeze each cookie immediately after baking -- and they were always fresh and fabulous that way. The fudge and candies I kept in the extra fridge. People used to just be amazed at my baking. When I see cookie trays at the local store or see them in catalogues and see the prices I always think about how much money I could have made if I'd sold them -- but oh, the work -- I could never have kept up with orders. I thought about it over the years, but never did.

Anyway, Lori, good luck tomorrow -- will be thinking of you and and hope your recovery from knee #2 will be even easier than the first. Glad DH is getting home early so you won't be worrying about that.

Jewell, I don't understand your MIL reactiion - as someone said, I hope your DH stands up to her -- he needs to by the sounds of it -- it's truly none of her business. I'm a MIL and I would never even dream of treating my DIL the way you have described your MIL treating you. It's a terrible shame. I had wonderful MILs and both were just terrific women who I still miss (they died many years ago). Plus it's not good for your son to see your MIL treat you in that way. I will keep positive thoughts for you.

Apples, LOL on the tamales and polanta -- when I was a kid my DM made "fried mush" -- OMG -- just the most delicious Breakfast in the world -- cook corn meal and put in a loaf pan and slice it the next morning and dip in a little flour and fry in butter and serve with more butter and maple Syrup. Yum Yum. It is so yummy.

JoAnn, Merry Christmas and so glad to hear you are still doing great -- you've been missed around here.

Janet, I'm a food network junkie too - OMG, Paula Deen is absolutely one of my favorites too - I used to cook just like her -- in fact I could be her in many ways. LOL.

My DM was a wonderful cook and after she died, I took all her recipes and compiled them into a cookbook that I self published on Familycookbooks.com -- it was very easy to do -- they have a wonderful program -- it ended up being a little pricey, but I went ahead and spent the $$ and gave one to each family member -- all her grandkids, neices, nephews, closest friends, etc. etc. I also included all of my favorite recipes (mom and I cooked very much alike anyway and I figured if I'm paying for it, I might as well add all my favorities there too). It was very well received and I've had requests for more which I could do as there were some recipes I forgot or just missed in my rush to get it published. Maybe some day.

I'm doing great. PT was here late yesterday afternoon -- she couldn't believe how good I'm doing either. I really give credit to all the exercise I did all year -- I have great mobility in my leg and can do all the exercises very easily -- I even made lasagne last night for dinner. I had some homemade sauce in the freezer and DH cooked the noodles, so it wasn't that big of a deal. Truly, I'm feeling so good that I have to be careful not to OVER DO. I had a little swelling in my leg (from doing too much) so have been trying to sit down more today. Seriously, truthfully I had a harder time getting in and out of bed after lapband surgery in January than I had after my hip replacement -- if that doesn't prove how much healthier we are after losing weight nothing will. I go in on Monday to get staples out -- incision is healing nicely -- everything is great.

Meredith, looks like Santa will be giving you a house for Christmas -- keeping my fingers crossed for you.

Julie, yes, GF, I understand exactly what you mean about pain during sleep time. And I am enjoying better sleep this week than I've had in several years. I'm keeping you in my prayers.

DSS is back in hospital -- not taking care of his diabetes again - I just get so frustrated with it all. So he's missing work and probably will lose his job. So frustrating -- and it's so inexcusable and ridiculous.

Found out my brother just got out of hospital -- he's had heart problems for many years and had another scary episode -- thought he had congestive heart failure, but they never did figure out what it was. He already has a pacemaker/defribulator implanted -- he said he had a lot of Fluid in his lungs and now they can't even tell him why. Oh well, glad he is better and back home.

Hope you all have a great evening. Love to you all. Linda

[Mrs. Bubba 0]

Laura, it's so hard to hear your mother is in such bad shape... All you can do is listen and love her. She is going through the most horrible time and so are you and your siblings.. However, each one is a bit different depending on what type of relationship each had with your dad.... Try to be kind to each other and pull together, not apart..... Hugs, my dear..... Oh, and don't come inspect my rugs... They don't get washed every week!!!!

Linda , glad you are taking it easy.. When you feel good it's easy to overdo things... I love your stories about baking.. I've been like that only to a lesser degree.. I love to bake, too, like Apples... But since I don't have a thrashing crew to cook for everyday I have really scaled things down around here... I think the idea of a family cook book was great.... I'm sure your family was grateful.. I, too, love Paula Deen.... she's a hoot and I like her down home type recipes..

Arlene, what is your "trash" like?? I saw it on the "Unwrapped" show on food network and it was made with almond bark white chocolate with all sorts of ingredients.. Will you share your recipe???

Joann, go glad you are back and have been having such a great time with family...

Great, hope your surgery goes very well tomorrow. I'll be thinking of you....

Apples, do you do like quadrupal batches of your recipes then to get that many loaves?? Are these regular loaves or mini..... I have a professional size Kitchen Aid, too, but it's still in the box... My regular one is still so good that I hate to give it up... Got the big one as a gift from DH's work a couple years ago..

I got a pan of sour cream raisin bars (ick!) and a batch of iced anise Cookies done today.. Poor Mimi has a cold so she moped around most of the day... Watching Caillou and Little Bear was what she wanted.... that and her milk... Wouldn't eat anything.. Suppose her throat was sore and her nose was definitly runny...

Well, supper is about ready and tonight is my favorite TV shows... NCIS and the rest on CBS.... I do have a load of clothes to fold while I sit..... Goodnight all... Julie

[ifyourstomachoffendsyou 1]

Joanne, so glad you're back.

Great-Lori, glad you took care of yourself today. God bless you with your surgery.

Laura, thinking about you.

Jewel, don't expect your husband to stand up to his mother. That's your job to do for yourself. Having expectations just sets you up for disappointment and men and their mothers are something you learn to keep out of.

Don't expect your MIL to change, either. It's up to you to be the change in your own life. Ignoring them and doing your own thing no matter what will do more to build your self-esteem than expecting people to change. You don't have to defend yourself. Your weight loss and improved health will provide all the proof and defense you need. Your son will respect you and learn what kind of woman he wants someday by watching you respect yourself.

People, I can't stand any of the polenta, corn mush, cold or hot cereals you talk about. I'm not even that fond of bread unless its slathered with butter or drenched in olive oil and parmesan.

I am a carnivore. I can easily live without mashed potatoes or rice, but if I have them I want them slathered with gravy and sauce, so I just avoid them.

I love meat. I've always pulled half the breading off fried meats. chicken fried steak I will never understand.

I don't much like most raw vegetables, only cooked. I hate carrots and celery and raw onion. I'll eat some salad but only with good dressings, otherwise, why bother.

I think for me its a texture thing with a lot of this stuff. I also don't like to be able to taste lard or many oils. So often they take on other flavors.

I know I'm wierd. Talk about meats and chocolate and your talking about the two main food groups. Cookies and cake without a lot of chocolate don't interest me either. I eat cake for the frosting, and often thrown out most of the cake.

Cheri

[Apples2 19]

Arlene...never heard of the "trash" with Chex but we have the plain old Chex mix around here on holidays made with peanuts and pretzels. Also puppy chow made with Chex. (Choc covered Chex coated with powdered sugar).

Linda....sounds like you used to bake for the holidays like I do. I truly enjoy it. It's a good way to let ppl know you appreciate them also.

Julie...I used the regular loaf pan size for the two different breads. I just tripled the recipes x 2.

I just gotta ask this question. Why, Oh why are men whiney when they think they don't feel well or don't feel well? I've got this big strong farmer who works himself silly every day. Well, he had to start drinking the gallon of crap about 3pm today for his colonoscopy at 7am tomorrow. (love the guy...just don't do well with whining).

Us women are so different when we don't feel well. Heck, I think I was scrubbing the floor on my way out the door and dialated to 8. I just don't get it.

Phyll......are guys whiney when they are in the hospital too????? Or, maybe you were never a floor nurse.

I'm just waiting for him to slip and call me Mommy.

Edited December 16, 2009 by Apples2