lumabean

Regarding the modem, it may be worthwhile to check with your internet service provider -- we never knew that ours provides a modem if you ask. We have ours through the phone company.

I read that if we cut back too much, our bodies will go in to starvation mode esp. if there's a lot of exercise added. I don't know if that's true or not but it's what I read when I googled to see why I was not losing (and even gaining) after cutting back a lot and increasing exercise a bunch.

My husband and son are not fans of couscous. When I make it, I'm the only one who eats it, so I fit it to my liking --- I use mango or pineapple juice for half of the amount of water called for (more if I want it a bit sweeter -- depends on mood), and some dice jalapenos, onion, chopped mango (or pineapple), and if I have them a couple other vegetables. Sometimes, I'll add reheated leftover chicken to the cooked couscous. I've also used chicken stock in place of the water, added minced garlic, onions, tomatoes, and green peppers. When done, I added some grated parmesan cheese. It was okay, but I like the juice/jalapeno combo better

they are so pretty

Happy Birthday! :balloons: :balloons:

That is so neat. This past summer we went to one of those living museum type places in Pa and they showed the type of outdoor oven and talked about the once a week baking, but glossed over how they kneaded all that dough -- this explains it! If we go there again (it was really interesting, so we may) I am going to try to remember to ask about the trough and see if they by chance have one there.

Congratulations!!!

I saw the picture before reading, and was thinking wow, that is a big butterfly, then I read dove, and it made a lot more sense than my butterfly Do they fly in to things a lot?

I am so sorry that you have so many stressful things going on at once like this, one or two alone would be bad enough, all of them - too much.

What a relief to be done, and now be able to settle in. Wishing you and your husband many new happy memories in the new home as you've had in the previous

Rundgrenfan -- those village houses sound great - and also a cherished memory, I bet your family was really happy to get them. Gofish -- that's the guy's tutorials I've been watching to learn to crochet -- I love his videos, I've tried some others, but his are the ones I have the most success with. I am not sure what I'm doing for gifts yet this year. Still thinking, thinking, thinking......

Mean people. Yuck. Name calling, putting other down, bragging -- I don't see the appeal. Can't stand it, can't stand being around it.

That is insane. If that does come about for foreign items, I'd think USA items would be next in line. Not sure what would happen with everything we have and no longer need, would it mean landfills burst at the seems even more. Wonder if we'd be able to donate or give away the items or if that would be a no-no too. It's bizarre the way things are going these days, things I would have never even imagined.

Hopefully those who saw your posts prior to her deleting your username were given food for thought and will choose to rethink going along with her advice and will choose to be safe.

I put some more frozen vegetables in last night -- more carrots, peas, corn, and broccoli My husband is off today, so I am going to see if there are any places that have apples inexpensive today -- I thought our local orchard would have good prices, but they seem pretty steep this season so I am holding off.

The fuel truck was outside earlier in the week, so i think that's an indication that the landlord was getting things ready to go with the heat (heat, cold water, and septic are included in our rent - a big savings in the winter esp.). I haven't tried to use it yet though because we've been fortunate with temps not dropping low enough to need it yet. We bought a carbon monoxide detector too - our first floor apartment is over the basement where all of the tanks and pipes, etc are. The furnace is gas, something else down there uses a different sort of fuel, and well, odors waft up here all the time (smoke, when someone uses too much bleach in the wash, things like that) so I am thinking dangerous carbon monoxide would just as easily.

It had to be scary (and heartbreaking) having to face that regularly for work, MtRider. I agree, that does define evil. There sure are some scary, heartless people out there

I bought that book too. I was just looking through the recipe section again the other day and remembered seeing the thread on canned bread here so popped over to read. You know, before I visited Mrs S. that would have been something I'd have been trying ... scary though, huh?! As I've been reading online and in print, alarms keep going off because folks are making suggestions about all sorts of things that don't jibe with the safety cautions given here -- and I keep thinking 'how many people are going to get sick, or heaven forbid DIE from these recipes/ideas' and I am all the more thankful that I stumbled across this site to learn what's safe.

4 trays of onions and two of celery finished drying this morning. Those onions sure spread quite the aroma throughout the apartment -- sort of a french onion soup scented candle I am going to remember the cinnamon idea for the next time I do the apple peels

Thanks for listening and understanding

Okay, I may just be too emotional and thin-skinned but I saw a clip online today that left me in tears - not just a tear or two, but deep sobbing. Just when I think I can find a balance between the beauty of the world to counter all of the negative, something like this throws me for a loop and I wonder how people can truly be the way they are at times. Again, I know it's wrong to pass judgement and I am not trying to play morality police, just stating how it makes me feel. There's a little 10 year old girl with cerebral palsy in Ohio, who is being harassed and mocked by her neighbor and the boy's FATHER. The grandma finally got video proof of them mocking how she walks, dragging one leg behind, and my word, I just broke down, it was horrible! I have a nephew with CP and he walks a similar way (will be having surgery soon to try to help correct that to a degree) and his arm is also an issue. Kids his age have already made fun of him, but kids will be kids and usually their parents say something to them to help them understand, and then things are okay. But to see a FATHER leading his son in the torment, it just makes me lose hope. truly, it does. What in the world is wrong with people? I don't get it, what benefit does anyone get from belittling or mocking another for anything, no less a disability that the person has no control over. It's heartbreaking. Didn't mean to get on a soapbox or anything, I was just really quite struck by the clip, and it sort of set off my emotions. I've been slowly having my doubts about society with some of the stuff I've been seeing both online and 'in real life' locally and on the news (my word, the news leaves me reeling at times!) -- and this was the tipping point. Edited to add: Also adding Arby's situation in to this -- we're in 2012 for goodness sake, yet the medical field cannot manage to help her, this is just wrong. Where is the compassion, the care for fellow man/woman. It's also quite scary that someone can have severe, obvious symptoms indicating that SOMETHING is wrong, yet ... nothing is done. I keep thinking, we have a rover on Mars ... MARS. Yet, poor Arby cannot get the medical treatment she needs (and deserves) ... I cannot make the connection there. We're making huge strides as a society in some areas, and major, major steps backward in others (and to me, the one's we're going backward on are the ones that really matter). Eh, okay, I will be quiet now

Counting calories is difficult - esp. for foods that don't have packages (looking it all up is a chore and it gets (for me) confusing. A tool that I found very helpful is a free recipe calculator online, it doesn't just give calories, it also gives a nutritional breakdown of recipes/foods. I thought I'd pass it along in case it may be of help: http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-calculator.asp It's completely free and you don't have to register to use it or anything - just enter the foods and voila.

Thanks I was browsing there the other day, I am glad I held off on placing an order -- it will be a good savings

I love reading the paper ... in paper form. It's not the same as reading it online - I know the info is the same, but I like holding the paper and turning pages. Sadly a lot of them are cutting back on printing days.