Lpink, May 2012 would be a LOT better. Talk to her, will you? OK, the beer can cake. Bake 4 eight inch layers, more if you want taller. Mine was supposed to be a mug, but I couldn't figure out the handle, so it became a glass. Buy a dowel at the hardware, mine was 98 cents, then make a batch of rock candy. It doesn't need to be flavored or colored, it will be that amber color when cooked. When it's cooked, spoon it over the dowel so it runs down, you'll have a long piece of the dowel to hold onto as you only want the candy over about a foot of the end of the dowel. As it cools for a couple of minutes it'll get a LOT thicker and stick to the dowel, you'll have to turn it and tilt it to keep the candy looking like a "stream". Scrape about an inch off the top so you can stick the can on, then cut off the bottom of the dowel with a serrated knife so that you can stick the dowel down into the middle of the cake and it will go all the way to the bottom, with the candy just at the top of the cake. Frost the cake beer colored and the "foam" is just white buttercream squeezed in blobs from a wide plain tip. Stick the dowel into the cake, stick the can on top and voila!! A suspended beer stream, pouring into the cake. (grin) Annie

I hear ya loud and clear barefoot babe - been there last 3 years and I am just S L O W L Y getting past my stall point where I always quit. Get MAD at yourself for quitting last time and stick with it. It's mathematics if ya talked to a dietician - eventually the weight will shift. Its true - keep the faith. I have been bouncing - since late Feb from 145 - 143. BAck and forth, back and forth. Do you notice while you are stalling/plateauing that your body is changing - clothes are a little more loose? Shape changing - even slightly? I found my weight sticking but body changing - a lot. Just peeked at the scales this morning for damage control and see if this week has been as bad and looks like my weight is snailing its way down again - like half a pound. My weigh day is Monday, I have a weekend away with LOTS of already paid for meals. I promise to enjoy myself but also pay attention to what I eat - I promise myself. My body changes has settled down again but my weight is trying to move. Its been a very, very slow process for me. I figure if I give up now I will be kicking myself by summer that I let myself down. Hang in there - I am walking beside you on this one. I am grabbing your arm and pulling you along with me! Let's stick with this. Don't give up. Even if ya have a bad day - let it go and get back on track. One bad day compared to a good, healthy week of taking care of yourself should not topple your goals. I will pull you along and you can pull me along. We are here for each other! Have a fabby day today. Get out and TREAT yourself with something else to take your mind off things. My treats have been fun earrings - you should see the collection I have since starting my diet! Get something new for yourself. You need a treat. Cheers, McPeg

We are starting nine days of vacation today. Yippee! In doing my maternal genealogy DH & I have located about a dozen graves of my ancestors from the 17th, 18th & 19th centuries throughout New England. Many served in various military capacities. For the past 15+ years we have used Memorial Day as a time to visit the graves & do maintenance. Many are in very rural areas but located on private property. Others are in rural cemeteries that have virtually been lost to time. We cut back encroaching forest growth, straighten the stones, & plant a daylily. The oldest military grave dates to 1687. It took us 5 years to find the site. The headstone was buried halfway...we knew it HAD to be the right grave so DH started digging. We were able to get a tracing of the stone's engraving for verification. It's quite a hike off the road to reach the grave site. We notified the historical society of the location back in the early 90's so Samuel's grave now has a permanent Veteran's placque & flag. Buried near Samuel we located the graves of his second wife & 2 of their children who died in infancy. Other graves are in more prominent cemeteries & we visit just to pay our respects & leave one rose. We'll start our trip before dawn on Monday & won't be home until well after dark. All we can reach in one day are those graves in MA & NH. The rest we visit periodically to keep them maintained. Today & tomorrow we'll do some garden work & BBQ. Next week, we'll take the ferry to Orient Point & spend the day garden center hopping. Then, we'll toss a suitcase in the car & take off for a few days...location unknown as of yet. Have a safe & great long weekend, everybody! /tricia

When my dad died, my mother and dad had been married 46 years. Jody and I were married 46 years last January. Katlan, I have a good friend who was 13 when she got married. I asked her, "How old was your husband?" She said he was "Twelve years old...." I said "WHAT???!!! He was 12 years old?!!!" She said "No, he was 12 years older than me....he was 25." Oh, boy. He would have gone to jail....if he lived past my daddy beating him to a bloody pulp. By the time she was 19, she had 3 kids and a hysterectomy. I can't even imagine that. wow.