Happy SUNDAY! We have about 4 inches of a lovely mixture of sleet/ice outside. We were supposed to meet our fellow Snow Village clubmembers at Boscobel up in NY State near West Point. Well, that has been cancelled formally, even though DH did not want to make the trip this weekend. Looks like it's wrapping gifts for me now because I forgot to take out my cookie dough from the freezer last night! After wrapping, I will make a batch of almond shortbread and raspberry/hazelnut shortbread bars, so it should be productive. Oh, between that, I will punish myself by watching the JETS/Patriots game. Ohhhhhh, the humanity!!!!!!! LOL Patti/Dave, hope you are enjoying yourselves. I told DH yesterday that if you two are anywhere within a 3-hour range, we are all meeting up, even for a cup of coffee!! Marci, you are a tower of strength with those sweets, girlfriend. Sometimes when I'm tempted I think about how easy it seems for you to avoid the junk. I don't always win, but you have been so successful, that I have a 50/50 chance of victory! [[[[[[[[Suzanne]]]]]]]]], I know how you feel with that "DUH" moment. It happened to me a few times with my keys and the car. As the door slammed shut, I would see those shiny keys sneering at me from the front seat! Glad you are safely back in. Suzanne, DH is trying to think of a way to help you unfreeze that hydrant, but he tells me you will crack it if you pour warm water over it (my suggestion!). He said whatever you do, it has to be a slow process, but I told him "it's too cold for her out there!" Sorry I'm no help, but I've got broad shoulders. Good luck! BJ, we are all waiting to hear from you this week. Hope all is well out there. Jen, I'll bet you are tied up in the season and that the girls are so excited. Check in to say hello! Hello and best wishes to Gretchen, Joanne, Zig, Besh, Amy, John, Maddie (where are the pictures Maddie?). Please check in when you get the chance; you are missed! Gotta run and get dressed; it's 10:27am and I'm still in my nightgown. TAKE CARE, EAT HEALTHFULLY, AND NEVER NEVER GIVE UP! DeeMarie

Holidays from HGTV.....decorating ideas, party planning, crafts and more. Here is a link that might be useful: Holidays

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Jess: Really like the links you gave on making baby-powder recipe. THANK YOU. I have Calendula flowers in my garden (it's a perennial): "1/2 cup arrowroot powder & 1 tsp chamomile or calendula flowers, powdered in the blender or food processor or a few drops of chamomile essential oil." Chronic sinus can also be from allergies to cat-dander. When I first met my husband, he had 4 cats, I constantly sneezed from the cat's hair. He gave away 3, and kept only one cat. I washed his cat weekly, to decrease the dander, so I won't sneeze so much. Now we have zero cat, bad-allergy. However, probiotics like L. Rhamnosus GG (in Culturelle and Solgar Advanced Multi-billion Dophilus) ... that strain of bacteria is proven to slash pneumonia in half, so it helps with membrane in sinus & lung. I gave my 13-year-old daughter Culturelle, Hyperbotics, Solgar, plus Kefir for that past 5 days. I meant to decrease her oily secretions so she has less facial pimples .. and that ended up lessened underarm odor. She's allergic to chemical deodorant, so she uses Milk-of-Magnesia ... magnesium hydroxide has a drying effect, but doesn't last long. Last night I sniffed her shirt before putting in laundry... Wow !! Barely noticable odor, same with my clothes, I can easily wear the same clothes & undies twice, since the probiotics suppress the bad-odor-causing bacteria. That's the logic for daily consumption of Kefir and pickled veggies: less body odor. There's studies that show babies born through C-section has more allergies than babies born through birth-canal. Below excerpt is written by a microbiologist: "For example, during pregnancy, the composition of bacteria in a woman’s vagina changes so that there is a higher concentration of Lactobacillus, a kind of bacteria that aids in the digestion of milk. While he or she might eventually get colonized, a baby born by cesarean section will miss out on immediately acquiring these beneficial bacteria. Dutch researchers recently published a study in the journal Pediatrics showing that infants with colic have more bacteria that are known to produce gas, whereas anti-inflammatory bacteria that live in the vaginal canal are more common in colic-free infants. Health problems that are more common in children born by C-section, such as obesity, asthma, allergies, type 1 diabetes, food allergies, eczema, and celiac disease. While there is still much we don’t know, alterations to the gut microbiome might connect these conditions to what some have dubbed the "cesarean epidemic" in our country and around the globe." http://www.thedailybeast.com/witw/articles/2013/06/02/babies-born-by-cesarean-section-may-not-gain-benefits-of-vaginal-microbiome.html