Dear Diary

Dear Diary,
I have my first nose dripping cold of the season. My handkerchief is cool moist all the time....aaaaaaah. Watching the grandson is great fun...how can one think about killing others and still play with a grandson...I am enjoying the mix of people on Dear Diary...sometimes I get the feeling I'm watching a film and some of you lead a much faster life than I.

Dear Diary,
I have my first nose dripping cold of the season. My handkerchief is cool moist all the time....aaaaaaah. Watching the grandson is great fun...how can one think about killing others and still play with a grandson...I am enjoying the mix of people on Dear Diary...sometimes I get the feeling I'm watching a film and some of you lead a much faster life than I.

DD,

Haven't got a clue as to what's with this thread, but it does have a pagination problem in that posts sometimes show up before the pages do. Very odd, but it all catches up in a day or so. Have to ask Craven about that.

Made Chinese soup last night. Went well but the shrimp were a little past their prime. Next time, I'll nix the shrimp. Maybe crab will work out better?

Of course when I thought the cards were done, another one arrived! This one had a good pic of our friends' daughter. Her father is a professional artistic photographer so it was a very artistic shot, black and white and all.

Still planning Mom's birthday party. Gonna order plane tickets today. Eek, we haven't flown since 2000, maybe early 2001. I'm not afraid, just wondering how intrusive/time-consuming the security is going to be. I know it's for our protection and all and that's fine, I just don't want to be taking my shoes off or taking off layers of clothes as someone with a wand figures out that a zipper is making the machine ring. Grumble grumble. :-D

Dear Diary,
My cold is in its full glory. I'm pretty well stuck in the house drinking liquids, blowing my nose, sleeping and wondering how long it will last.

Dear Diary,

Somebody oughta tell Mapleleaf there are three ways of handling a nasty yuletide cold ....

1. Get some medicine from the doctor and be well in a week. (A bit late now.)

2. Do nothing but lay around drinking water, prune juice or Gatorade and be over the cold in seven days. (Could try it, though it ain't my style.)

3. Drink spiked eggnog around the clock for two whole days and forget about the ruddy cold. (My style, except for the eggnog I'd substitute Alka-Seltzer Cold Remedy dissolved in Wild Turkey, eight ounces every 2 - 3 hours, not to exceed two quarts in any 24-hour period.)

(But, Diary, if I was Mapleleaf and did like eggnog, I'd choose No. 3, simply to be in good form for my Wild Turkey dinner and Christmas pud.)

Dear Diary,
First I'd like to let everyone on this site to know how happy I am that Phoenix invited me here!
I also want to say HI to everyone here who remembers me from that other dreadful site. :wink:
I'm sorry to hear that Mapleleaf has a holiday cold. Remember to drink a lot of fluids. My daughter is also in the middle end of her cold. I wonder if the rest of us will get it
I don't see how we won't, since that same daughter blew out her 18 birthday candles last night, and we ate the cake.
Two December birthdays are now gone, with just that one Christmas celebration left.
The diet has been put on the back burner until Jan. 1st. Anyone else in that same boat?
I want to wish everyone a happy, healthy, safe holiday season!

Prevention is the key! I drink about two glasses of oj every day, and I've not had a cold in - I don't remember how many years. c.i.

DD,

Finally got the home improvement shopping done yesterday. Going to Home Depot in the pouring rain the Saturday before Xmas actually turned into the best time ever to go there. Salespeople were everywhere and the store was mainly empty. we dropped some bucks but we are ready to paint! We also picked up a $50 gift certificate card and that will be my brother's belated Chanukah present.

Got food and calendars today, plus a nice photo album for my mother. We are giving her a memory book, plus a party and a portrait photograph, all for her 70th birthday next month. Spoke with my brother today and we now have a restaurant. So, aside from getting a cake and him sending out invitations, we're well on our way to the party. I even ordered our plane tickets so we're in a good position. I'm glad it's finally coming together.

Dlk33, welcome to a2k!! Boy can I identify with making Jan. 1 the starting date of a diet. This time I'm going for Dec. 26, since we don't have any plans for New Years.

Jes, you amaze me with so much going on. Happy birthday to your mom.

c.i., I've been wondering if you have had to live underwater with all the rain in California. I think the rest of us should watch his posts very carefully. If he starts posting with a gurgle, someone needs to go to the rescue.

DD, both our sons are home now and all's well with the world. We will go up to my mother-in-laws house for Christmas Eve, where we will have appetizers and a small dinner. She is 92, and never fails to surprise with her spirit and interest in life. She even got a speeding ticket on her way home from church a few months ago!!

On Christmas Day, my husband's family will come to our house for dinner. I still haven't decided whether to have a rack of lamb or a standing rib roast. One of my sons is a vegan, so lots of veggies are always on hand, which actually helps with maintaining a modicum of sanity regarding my diet.

Up until last year, my mil always baked a couple of pies for Christmas dessert. Now she buys prebaked pies. I would love to just bake them myself, but feel that she likes to take part, so we will have Mrs. Smith's for dessert and be thankful that she can still take part. I always have other goodies anyway, so no one will go away without plenty of sweets.

Like Jes in Mass., we in Connecticut have been experiencing lots of rain, though not to the degree of that in Cal. Still, shopping has been fun.

All of us love books, which makes shopping a breeze. Today I bought four good ones: 1. The Dream of Scipio, by Iain Pears, who also wrote An Instance of the Fingerpost; 2. The Emperor of Ocean Park, by Stephen L. Carter (with fabulous reviews); 3. The Cave, by Jose Saramago (winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature); 4. Baudolino, by Umberto Eco. Numbers 1 and 2 will go to my husband, 3 will go to the aristic son and 4 will go to the son who likes medieval history.

Now for a guilty admission: I will eventually get to read all of them. Hee, hee. OK, OK, so I admit my spirit of Christmas isn't entirely altruistic.

Hope all of you diarists are well or at least getting over the drippiest part of your colds.

I am happy for Jes...with her lively postings, sometimesI feel like a distant relative.

DD

I feel a little odd today as I got to bed very late (in my post-moving house phase, anyway!) after a get together with a group of old friends last night. We meet each Christmas. About the only time we see each other these days, all our lives are so busy. Sad, really ..
Anyway, I am not at all accustommed to getting up so late & still feel strange having missed the start of today. My favourite time, when I sit outside, drink many cups of tea while my cats & I watch the new day unfold. Very peaceful.

I am fast becoming used to calling this new place "home". The cats seem to have gotten used to it, too. In fact it's amazing how my old life seems to be falling away, disappearing ... Yes, a new start is good! Out with the old, the painful things that can't be changed, the things that I must let go of ...

Dupre, you mentioned me starting a new life a while back in this thread, along with what others are doing. As if, compared with how you're feeling right now, what I'm doing (& others are doing) this was a brave, adventurous thing ... No, no, not at all! This virtually had to be forced onto me! It was clear my old life was finished. It was clear that my previous, much-loved home (of something like 20 years) had to be sold & the & the poceeds divided between me & my former partner. If I'd had my druthers I would have chosen to stay on there, minus the ex-partner. That's the longest I've lived anywhere in my life & it was "home" to me. So you see, I didn't embrace the idea at all, for quite a while ... Sometimes change is forced onto us (like maybe for you at the moment?) & we have no choice in the matter.
But, now that it's done, I'm GLAD! This is good for me! I did all my grieving while I was preparing for the move & it feels RIGHT now, that all of that has gone.
What I'm trying to say, dupre, is that sometimes we can surprise ourselves. We think we can't bear things, but we can. We think we can't change, but we can & do ... We are more resilient than we think!

On that note, I'll stop ... Enough already. I hope my ramblings have been of some help to you, dupre. If things feel hopeless to you right now (if you haven't already) consider getting the necessary support to help you sort out what you want/need/have to do. (& I hope you don't think I'm being presumptuous in offering this advice ... not at all my intention.)

Hi all, We had narry a sprinkle today, and mostly good ole sunshine. But the forcasters are telling us rain is on the way for the next several days. You'll hear me 'gurgle, gurgle, gurgle......

HELP! c.i.

Dear Diary,
Good Morning! You now have 27 members using you. I bet Husker will be proud.

Thanks for the invite. I should have joined before, when I first heard of this, but kept hanging onto to another site, where I kept hoping the good guys could bury the bad.

Here, in the great northeast of New Jersey - today at son and family (oldest grandson got accepted to Penn State), and the rest of the week at assorted family members. I'm really looking forward to it, since we all get along.

Happy Holidays to everyone, and I'm glad to be here. At least, I will be when I figure out how this thing works.

Welcome mamajuana
I've recently been hatched myself, and couldn't be happier here so far.
I hung on to that other site too, as long as I could, but have given up and given notice that I'm leaving on the 31st. (my New Year's Resolution)
I think you'll find much more comfort here
I've only been here a few days, and am getting the hang of it, you will too.

msolga,
I don't know you or your situation other then what you have posted, but keep thinking positive, and realize that God doesn't put us in any situation that he doesn't think we can handle.
Time helps heal all our wounds. "What doesn't kill us only makes us stronger"

Diane,
I almost forgot to send a reply to you.
My jeans are starting to feel a bit tight, how about yours
It makes so much sense that there is brownie sitting here in front of me waiting to be eaten, doesn't it?
What's another 500 calories? Where has my motivation gone?
Once the "bad" food is out of the house, that's it
Let me know if you're successful with your start date once the New Year begins :wink:
Thanks for the welcome!

Dear Diary,
As usual it's Sunday and the hubby is watching football. I'm mainly just interest in the final scores. I wonder if I'll win our bets again for the fifth week?
We pigged out for our daughters 18th birthday last night at Tony Roma's.
Today, we will be baking gingerboy and girl cookies. I'm waiting for the butter to get soft.
The girls are home now to drive me nuts until Christmas vacation is over!
I'm already looking foward to the christmas sales the day after Christmas.
Christmas day will be spent quietly here at home, just the four of us, like it usually is. I wonder how many people are envious?
I'm sure there are plenty who actually enjoy the family gatherings.
I better go check that butter now.

mamjuana (and everyone else) - need help? Check out the Forum Help forum and, if you like, post a question there. Lots of people will be more than happy to help you. :-D

DD,

Mr. Jespah was kind enough to bring the painting materials up to the third floor. Now, I guess we're going to actually do some painting. I don't mind (heck, I want to do this), but it always starts off as feeling somewhat daunting. But I know it'll be great when it's done. The big room (the one with the mural) will be white, as will the trim. We won't paint over the mural. The little room will be peach with white trim.

mamajuana, WELCOME to A2K. You'll love it here, and it's not that difficult to get accustomed to how this place works. Bedsides, we have Craven to help with the technical stuff, and he's more available than the Abuzz Staff. c.i.

Welcome, mamajuana!

DD, how I enjoy everyone's posts. Msolga, your was especally beautiful--beautifully written with very good advice.

Dlk33, I've had such a bad sinus infection that I haven't been eating. Now if I can control my sweet tooth, I should be well ahead of the game. Problem is, that the sweet tooth is very near being adictive. Commercials can trigger a craving or just walking by the candy in the store takes willpower.

In self defense, I stopped baking cookies for Christmas because it was so easy to eat a dozen when I was baking 14 dozen. Now I bake small cakes for gifts--so far, I have been able to force myself not to take a bite out of one. It would be so obvious!!!

C.i., better go out and buy scuba gear!

Diane,
You are making me feel very guilty about the extra empty calories and fat I've been taking in.
We're in the process of making gingerbread boy and girl cookies. and I plan on making a few loaves of cinnamon bread in a couple of days. (one of which is going to our next door neighbor)
I don't bake anything special any other time during the year though.
I try not to keep junk food in the house, but this time of year I find myself giving in, and even wanting to eat it. I will probably regret it in about a week or so though.
I just have to convince myself to get on the treadmill everyday to help out with the extra calories.
I know what you mean about the cookies. My favorite are the Pillsbury chocolate chip slice and bake cookies. I love to eat them hot out of the oven. Once I start, it's hard to stop!
When I'm being really good, which I have been for a long time(recently lost 35lbs.) I eat a balance gold bar for a meal, it makes me feel like I'm cheating.
The small cakes are a good idea for gifts, but don't you end up making one for yourself?