Hi Stephanie, Oops, this turned into a novel, sorry. I think I forgot that I was not talking on the phone to one of my friends! I hope you like to read :-). Well, I had typed quite a bit back in response when I suddenly lost the forum, boooo! I'm a slow typer so I hate when that happens. I will start again! It is so funny to read your post, we have very similar hobbies! I also used to babysit, but no longer. I now volunteer at a school and the public library, between 4 and 30 hours a week depending on the time of year. I also enjoy gardening (except weeding :-)!) and I have always loved to cook, especially to bake! I do not bake much anymore, when I do I try to use less white flour and butter, and more whole grains and fruit. I also apply this to my cooking. Most recipes taste the same with much less fat, even in baked goods you can generally leave out half of the fat without effecting the recipe. Sometimes you need to add fruit puree to replace some of the fat, most of the time that is not needed. For cooking, I serve more vegetables and smaller portions of meat. For individual meals I usually serve about 4 ounces of meat. Then they can eat what they want of the sides. Vegetables, brown rice, mashed pot. with buttermilk and butter buds, baked potatoes with low fat sour cream, stuffing made with whole wheat bread... you get the idea. I also put out fresh fruit that is ready to eat, washed berries or grapes, and other fruit that is cut up. No, we don't eat as healthy as we should every night, but every little bit counts. Last night was tacos made with 96% lean ground beef, beans, lettuce, black olives, tomatoes (from the garden :-) ), low fat cheese, and low fat sour cream, with salsa and a bit of salsa queso on the side. Not a typical diet dinner, but much better for you than taco bell! I always use 93% lean or better ground beef, I do not deep fry, and I rarely pan fry. Does this sound preachy? I don't mean it too, I am not an over the top health nut, just trying to keep my family healthy and happy at the same time. My husband says he would be happier if I would make breaded pork tenderloin with fried breaded zucchini twice a month! He would also be 10 lbs heavier! I try to exercise some each day. Not always a video, sometimes a walk or walk/run outside, sometimes a bike ride, sometimes my Gazelle (it's fun and I can watch a TV show I want to see at the same time), sometimes I spend about ten minutes running up and down my stairs. I usually try to do some toning when I exercise, I alternate upper and lower body. I also have other videos when I want something completely different. I also like Kathy Smiths Step Workout, Time-saver Lift Weights to Lose Weight, and New Yoga video (I only do the standing portion - it is so relaxing! but I cannot do the floor portion - it's killer!). I also enjoy the Extreme Makeover Fitness video. I try to exercise for thirty minutes about five days a week, sometimes I don't manage that, sometimes I do more! But I find that as long as I do something and don't sit on the couch eating chips (like when I'm PMSing - this week, EEK!) that I like what I see in the mirror. If I slack off too much (don't do anything for days or weeks on end, it happens) then my bottoms start to get a little tight and when I look in the mirror I look like a slob. My husband says I look the same all the time! That is probably true, I dare say it is just guilt when I know I have been really bad that makes my think I don't look good. It could be the weekly Saturday trip to Dairy Queen, but you have to live! And I love ice cream! Oh yes, very important, I make sure I eat a good breakfast every day. Sometimes just a quick bowl of cereal, sometimes oatmeal with fruit, or whole grain toast with fruit. But something with fiber so it sticks with me for a while. Make sure you get your fiber. I was reading a study that said that most adults get less than half the fiber they need. It said if you started eating the recommended amount of fiber, you could lose 10 lbs in one year without changing anything else. Eating that much fiber would be a challenge, I try to eat more than I use to. Hmm, this got really long! I'm going to stop and go have some breakfast now that my son is up! If I missed a question let me know. Do you have any other hobbies? I also read, crochet, sew, do machine embroidery, quilt, paint, do puzzles, and help my husband and son with their hobby - collecting sports cards and memorabilia. Believe it or not, playing with sport cards is fun! Oh yes, I always sit on my yoga ball when I sort cards, I figure it should be good for my abs!

I went to lesliesansome.com and just bought the waist/arm belt a la carte. I believe you can buy single tapes, prices seemed fair to me and I didn't have to leave my house!

Been a crazy and hectic week....managed to lose 2 of the lbs that I regained in the last several weeks. I am going to the grocery store today to prepare for tomorrow....I am restarting Phase 1 of the South Beach Diet. I need to lose 5.8 lbs just to get back to my lowest point (which was a loss of 16.4 lbs) when I was doing SBD responsibly. I am not looking forward to the first few days as I felt terrible the last time I went through Phase 1....but I NEED to do it. But the good thing was after I made it through the first few days, I felt so much better...high energy level, slept really good and my GERD stopped acting up. I also was reading an article about how your body stops responding when you keep doing the same workout over and over again because it becomes very efficient at doing it. So I am making a schedule of a variety of things to alternate during the week. My son is doing well....he's become very accustomed to functioning with the cast so that will allow me to have some of my evening time back to focus on working out. It comes off 2 weeks from this Monday...yeah!

Hi Mary Ann! As far as stocking stuffers, I pick up things all year long, sometimes at yard sales even. I use things like perfume samples that I get at department stores, the little viles. The small hand lotions for your purse, shopping lists pads, lip balm, their favorite candy. The guys are harder to buy . For dh, I got a cheap watch for work, ( he's in construction), A yearly calendar notebook, he likes to keep track of each day, his hours, etc. Pens, this year I got the lighted quasar pens at dollar general for $2. Body gel and scrubbies, deodorant, small colognes, gag gifts, (sometimes I get these at craft fairs). My son in law likes butter popcorn, I always put the micro paks in his stocking. The kids are really easy to buy for.... just lots of dollar store stuff. Granddaughter (10) loves pens, notepads, lip gloss, lotions, etc. This year, I got these neat lil radios with headphones for a dollar for the kids. Now if they only work, lol! My family loves their stockings more than the gifs. I was going to stop doing stockings and they cried, lol! I wrap each lil stuffer. For the adults you can also put in lottery tickets, everyone has fun scratching these off together. Have a great Christmas, and lets all get back here after the holidays, ok? Wanda Be sure and hang your stocking for others to put something in, sometimes I have to stuff my own, though! lol