Drama-free December

[SnoopyC]

Good morning...

Had a nice Saturday, babysat for a little girl, we had fun. Then I made a great dinner and chilled out. Today, shopping is in order, and this is why I find Christmas so unsatisfying. Pressure, pressure, pressure. Oh, well, I will finish up next weekend and then wrapping will begin.

Lav, I have to buy a humidifier today, my sinuses are suffering too. A live tree sounds fun for a change. I love my decorations, they are keeping me in a good mood, so pretty. To me, feminism is having equal rights, being considered intelligent and useful, and most of all, having choices. Oh, and being paid the same for the same work. Women in the early days did everything, they were so important. I love this book.

Dill, how fun! I remember meeting my Mom with my kids in tow, for a winter/holiday celebration in her small town. Christmas carols, nativity scene, Santa, hot cocoa, cookies, and lots of festive feeling as people came together to celebrate in the cold and snow. (We lived farther north). Creating great memories.

Pauly, the eating thing can get kind of discouraging. I finally have money to go out to eat and can't because my stomach always or almost always, gets upset. So, finding recipes and cooking with fresh ingredients is my life now. I made one pot jambalaya last night, it is spicy, but because I use non antibiotic chicken, etc., I feel fine. Hope you feel better soon.

Shout out to Cyn, bet you are busy.

Have a good Sunday.

[Lavande]

Good Sunday morning friends.

Sunny & frosty here in these parts
Yesterday was busy, busy but fun. My daughter & granddaughter helped get the tree decorated, looks great!
It was fairly mild yesterday afternoon so I took the girls up to the farmer's market in town. They have expanded recently & now have a pretty decent meat (aka refrigerated & healthy looking) meat counter. We bought 2 pounds of their ground turkey & a package of their handmade wheat rolls & grilled up some delicious burgers for dinner.
Eating out has become so difficult for me but I don't want to spend every afternoon in the kitchen either. We also put a couple of my homemade pizzas on the grill, made one with regular pizza cheese & one with the almond milk mozzarella that I like - yum! I also made a big salad from locally grown veggies so we were all well fed.

Star, I seem to be 'allergic' to winter. The minute the heating system goes on I start suffering, ridiculous. The room sized humidifier in addition to the whole house humidifier is what I need. I take a decongestant when needed but have to watch my B/P. Ugh, getting old is not for sissies! Glad you had a nice day yesterday!

Dill, I hope you get to see some sun today, it's nice

Cyn, I know you are busy packing & moving the Mr back home this weekend. I hope it all went well!

Pauly, how's your weekend going?

I have some work to do today then just may start on some holiday baking.
I have promised to donate 10 dozen cookies for a Relay for Life bake sale thru my Curves club, oh boy.

Have a great AF day everyone!

Lav

[treegirl]

Hello all -

Late check-in for me today; I'm back home from the mini-trip and packing up. Mr Tree will come later today - we put stuff in both cars, and drove separately to get it all home. Now he's done with that away-from-home chapter for awhile. Hopefully we'll remember how to live in the same house, and we'll have peaceful holidays!

Lav - 10 dozen cookies? Seriously? I can't even imagine what that would look like! (PS - I wish there was a way for you to purchase the Curves - it could be a great business, if you found someone else to run it...)

Dill - your holiday story was fabulous. As Star said, you are really creating great memories. I loved the last line in your post - it really is about peace inside ourselves and out...

Pauly - every body is different. Lots of people are fine without taking supplements, but what I've learned is that if our 'guts' are working properly, we don't get the good stuff out of the food that we eat - vitamins, the ability to create hormones or regulate them, etc. I agree with Lav that changing the food we eat is a crucial first step - not easy, but worth it! I also have had a tricky time finding the right probiotic - different kinds have different strains. You may have to try a few different one - the best ones for you might be the ones that are refrigerated. Good luck!

Star - I love all the books that you are reading. Have you ever heard of the books 'Book Lust' and 'More Book Lust'? They are books about books, written by a fantastic library-science person. She is incredibly well-read, and reading her descriptions is like having a best friend that knows just what book to recommend for your next read. She has them in categories that are really unusual - you'd have to see the chapter headings to get a sense of it. I love just reading about the books that she describes! Maybe Santa should bring one to you for the holidays...

Wishing all a great AF Sunday night ---

[dill]

Hello AF friends, just a quick check in to say hello and wish everyone a peaceful Sunday night. My day was busy again as we had little granddaughter leave only to be met with more company in the afternoon. So I am just now relaxing. I'll try to do a better job of posting tomorrow!

[SnoopyC]

Good morning...

Lav, sounds like a wonderful time. How nice to have help with the tree.

Cyn, I am going to look for that book or website. I get bookbub and a website called Mrs. Darcy that gives me the lowdown on some books. Sometimes I just pick a topic and see what the library has. It is fun. How great Mr. Cyn will be home with you. Enjoy.

Dill, you are very busy with visitors. We got a little shopping done but I felt, "bah humbug." There were too many people out, it was a great day weatherwise though.

Pauly, hope you had a good Sunday.

[paulywogg]

Hello friends, just a quick check in to say hello,everytime I'm on woman stuff,I just don't feel good,mentally or physically, I'm a sore,bloated grouch haha,hope everyone has a nice Monday

[Lavande]

Good afternoon friends,

I was up & out early this morning & have been running around like crazy with errands, odd & ends.
Beautiful weather now after watching the sunrise thru a patchy fog.
I just secured YB an early appointment with our eye doc. He somehow or another managed to drop his iPhone directly on his rye this weekend. He's seeing black spots & floaters, may have damaged his retina. He didn't want to go to the ER so he just went to work, duh! WTH, it's only an eye, right?

Finishing up todays work then on to more online shopping. I finally got some gift ideas, yay.
I hope everyone is OK & has a good AF day - especially you Pauly :hug:

Lav

[treegirl]

Hi all -

Not much to report here. So glad you like the idea of 'Book Lust', Star! Here's a link to the original book at Barnes and Noble: Book Lust: Recommended Reading for Every Mood, Moment and Reason by Nancy Pearl | 9781570613814 | Paperback | Barnes & Noble. She's got more books out now - travel books, etc. Her writing is very entertaining....if you google the author, Nancy Pearl, you'll see NPR stories, Youtube videos, all sorts of stuff.

I did it! I mailed my packages! After being very grouchy that I did not get them mailed off last Saturday to my nephew and niece, I managed it today, plus a birthday present for a grand-niece. My brother's birthday is December 24th, poor guy, and I'd like to get him something special -- not sure what that will be... But I found a candy-pooping snowman to add to the collection that I've been giving SD for a few years now. She takes the lot of them to work, and people have a hoot. It's good to be a little silly around the holidays - things can get so serious!

Lav - good to hear that you got YB an appointment - men! Are you working on the cookies? I seriously have to find a good GF low sugar option - I am having big xmas cookie pangs. Dill - hope you can get some rest after so much company. Pauly - hope you feel better. Star - good luck with the shopping - take big breaths!

Wishing all a nice AF night --

[dill]

Another kind of different day for me today. Took ex DIL to the ER for a problem with her leg related to her surgery resulting from infection from sepsis which I am pretty sure I mentioned earlier here. Her Mom and Grandmother couldn't do it for various reasons. That took a big chunk of my day. The earlier part of the day was helping a friend get her car to a service facility. I am sorry to say that I haven't even had time to read today's posts yet! I just wanted to check in and will then catch up.

I do want to mention that I watched a really interesting movie last night called "Love and Mercy". It was about the lead singer of the Beach Boys and it was a true story. I loved the Beach Boys as a teen and young adult. The movie kind of surprised me. It had a good ending which is the only reason I am brining it up here. The whole time I was watching it I was nervous about it ending very badly. I can't take any movies with bad endings at the moment.

Have a good and peaceful night.

[paulywogg]

A candy pooping snowman sounds cute CynDill,I've heard of that movie,glad it was good,hope ex-DIL is ok

[SnoopyC]

Good morning ladies...

Lav, sounds like something my husband would do. We are going to a doctor appointment on Friday for a recurrence of a health issue, because I INSISTED. Some things you have to do to the doctor for right away. Good luck today. I got a few ideas for gifts too, went shopping after work and was able to find what I wanted thank goodness. I still have more to go.

Dill, how sweet of you to help your DIL who has had such a hard time. It is so scary that she is so sick and let go of so much. You are sweet as always and doing the right thing. Love and Mercy sounds like a great movie, I will look for it. Thanks.

Pauly, hope you feel better and have time to get ready with all the tasks for the holidays.

Cyn, I will look that book up right away, thanks. I have to get stuff mailed off tonight or really soon, online, or it will never get there on the right date. You have alot of people to buy for it sounds like. Me, not so much. Any idea for my Secret Santa at work who I do not know very well? A gift certificate is always nice but I wish I knew something better. The stress of gift buying.

I am super busy at work today, barely time to eat lunch. Have a good one.

[Lavande]

Good morning friends, happy Tuesday to all!

Sunny & freezing at exactly 32 degrees ~ appropriate I guess
A weird warmup is on the way I hear, heading up to 65 by the end of the week.

Dill, I sure hope your DIL does OK & gets well. Has she been receiving any psych care thru all of this turmoil? She could very well be depressed which would hinder her progress. Wonderful that you are there for her.

Cyn, a pooping snowman is quite a statement, ha ha!!!!!
I sent you a link on Facebook for Amy Myers, MD - hope you saw it. Her autoimmune diet is gluten free so you can find lots of food & cookie ideas. In case anyone else is interested: Amy Myers MD

Hi there Pauly & Star!
Star, I used to buy things like a nice pair of women's gloves for gift exchanges

My former neighbor & long time 83 year old friend is having a brain tumor removed today. Poor guy was fine one week ago then suddenly experienced symptoms. I am directing positive energy & prayers for him & his wife today. This will not be an easy recovery for them.

Have a great AF day all. I am off to Curves (while I can still go) then home for some work.
Wishing everyone a terrific AF day!

Lav

[treegirl]

Hi all - quick morning check-in. Dill - you are seriously getting 'stars in your crown' for all your time helping others. I'm sending healing light to your DIL - hope someday she can be there for her kids. Lav - I'll check out that site, I remember it now from before. I made some eggless pumpkin custard last night, but hmmm, not so good. Are you on the gelatin bandwagon? Any experience with that? I think I'm slowly getting the hang of Pinterest...thanks for pointing me in the right direction. Star - good luck with the office gift. Lav's idea sounds good. Or you could also do a food basket from harry and david's or something like that, people seem to need fun popcorn or something to set out for company. Pauly - hope you are feeling better today.

Off to research a different health insurance plan. Hoping to bring down my costs - SO expensive to be self-employed and a single insured person, dang.

Good luck to all - let's lean toward the light!

[paulywogg]

Morning friends,Cyn,a bag or two of gourmet popcorn sounds good!we go to a place called Popcorn girl and I get the ranch and pizza combo,too addictive I have to tell hubs to get it away from me Lav,please explain the cell phone hit in the eye? I keep trying to picture different scenerios,can't come up with one,I read an article that says if you eat jello before bed it'll help you sleep longer,sounds weird but am ready to try just about anything ATM,hello Star and Dill,I hope this is an easy Tuesday for us all

[paulywogg]

Maybe I have a yeast problem according to the link,seems I have 90% of those symptoms