Among Friends

[just bee]

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@Oshare-girl wrote:

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@just bee Hehe, you got me with the bee pendant. It just arrived today and is real cute. DD loves it! I even got an email with a picture of our adopted queen bee "Cindy". I certainly don't need these but it was a fun gift for DD. Oops, the book is "The Secret Life of Bees". It's a short, easy read, which I have read a couple times. DD has too.

Isn't that the truth about how sweet soda is? We rarely drink it anymore, even the kiddos. My dad is a very non-compliant type I diabetic and has a whole stash of soda which he tries to give the kids. They bring it home and I try a sip every so often. Ouch, soooo sweet! Even when we do get fast food, I get the unsweetened iced tea so soda is such a shock to the tastebuds now.

New Years is very food-heavy for us. Lots of carbs too. Soba noodles, rice, mochi. If you love fried bread, you would like andagi. It's an Okinawan fried donut. In that wellbeing of happiness class, the prof mentioned a study on reference points. One example was the correlation between having a box of cereal on the counter and healthy eating. HEP actually decreased when the box of cereal was visible on the counter. So you're right, no one needs breakfast cereal chock full of refined carbs. I loved that class! I saw there were snippets of it on YT and will probably go back and watch them. This was created by a Yale prof who noticed that there was so much depression in the students. It has become the most popular class at Yale. I was fortunate to take the online version through a city-sponsored Coursera. One good thing that has come out of the pandemic is that there are more of these resources to increase our skills while we have the time.

DD has submitted all but 2 applications, UH and UBC. They aren't due yet. I find it funny that she's down to her first and last choices. She's so ready to go and I feel like I am too..but I'm sure I'll be a mess that first week she's gone. Athough relatively speaking, DH will be a basket case so I'll be looking like the one that's got it all together next to him. Talk about preparation. There's still half a year of high school to go and here we are trying to keep ourselves together. Everything is a memory to savor.

During our family zoom party, some of my aunties looked a bit horrified that me and my mom had gone the natural route. But then the other half applauded us. That would be so cool if you end up with a strong white streak! You know the young kids pay big bucks for our hair and we get it for free!

I'm quite optimistic for what's to come in 2021. Hope you all are too. We need to hold tight to hope!

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@Oshare-girl 

I swore I'd never buy another piece of jewelry because I still have to figure out what I'm going to do with the jewelry I already have.  I have necklaces and bracelets I never wear because I don't wear necklaces and bracelets.  I wear one ring on each hand and that's usually just on work days.  I used to enjoy wearing jewelry and now I just reach for the same old favorites.  I think if I have any kind of resolution this year it's to wear more of a variety so I can refamiliarize myself with the collection and start thinking about the pieces that I'll need to part with.

But, yes, that bee is cute.  As it is, I never wear my Joan Rivers bee pins so I don't need more bees.

When we first started stocking food (no, not hoarding -- just creating a real pantry), we couldn't find pasta in the stores and when there was pasta it was limited to two pounds per customer.  Especially scarce was linguine.

Since then we have stocked plenty of pasta and BH mentioned it the other day.  Something like, "We still have a lot of pasta."  And this is a problem?  It was never an issue for Sophia Loren, so why would it be a problem for us?  If I do have a problem with food, it's carbs.  Never met a carb I didn't like.

Still like the idea of going natural with the color we're suposed to have.  I just think it would simplify our lives.  Wear your new hair with pride!

Hope DH gets to go exactly where she wants to go and it turns out to be the best choice for her.  Just tell her that her professors and classmates are going to say a lot of things that aren't quite factual.  Tell her to question authority and research everything so she gets both sides of the issue.

I'm not too hopeful about 2021 and intend to spend more time in the yard.  Hoping that the new plants succeed and attract critters.  Looking forward to spring. 

[just bee]

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@Oshare-girl wrote:

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Reading labels is sobering. And absolutely, the "healthy" stuff is actually not too nourishing. We just need to do the best we can. Eat real food as much as we can. Get the body moving at least 4 days (majority) of the week. Laugh and love on our families, friends and furry critters. BTW, you would think we have tons of fresh product but the majority of our produce is shipped in. There was a big push when the pandemic hit for farm to car sales. The farmers were being affected because all the hotels and restaurants were closed. I did purchase from them a handful of times but Costco is just so convenient and cost-effective for us. It is nice to have fresh avocados from my uncle's tree. And I wish mango season lasted longer. I discovered a variety of persimmon called "maru" that is grown on Maui. I ordered a box and it was the best persimmon! Crunchy and sweet and I didn't have to peel the skin. So that was my buy-local experience.

I need to think and come up with my if-then plan of attack for HEP and shopping for the 2nd half of the year. I'm usually motivated enough in the first quarter of the year but by the summer, I feel my self-control waning. And then the 4th quarter is a mess. Self-control is so unreliable.

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@Oshare-girl 

Good advice!  Especially the part about reading labels and moving the body.

I'm sick with jealousy!  Avocados, mangoes and persimmons!  Love persimmons but can't even remember the last time I had one.

[just bee]

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@Oshare-girl wrote:

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@just bee wrote:

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@geezerette wrote:

@just bee 

Oh, and I hear ya about the dog wanting to play when you're on the floor.

The other day I was laying on my back on the floor and you-know-who comes over, towers over me, sits down, and drops her solid rubber (heavy!) ball right on  my face.

🤬

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@geezerette 

That's why I avoid them.

I actually don't think WGD would think I'm on the floor to play.  He'd probably assume it's an emergency and I've fallen and can't get up.

Then he'd call 911.

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@just bee @geezerette LOL our dog does that to DH every time he lies on the floor. He goes right up to his face. We always joke that he's checking to see if he's breathing, but I think it's really what he's doing. On the other hand I have to check that the dog's still breathing. He has started to sleep with his eyes slightly open and his tongue hanging out. It's hard to get old...

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@Oshare-girl 

WGD will be our last dog and I dread the day he leaves us.  Reminds me that we need to check on our friend again.  He's been going from room to room, looking for his dog who isn't there anymore.

Why do we do this to ourselves, again?

[just bee]

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@rnmom wrote:

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I think I counted 13 bottles of lotion in my basement, plus all the ones upstairs. So I think that's more than 30. I am definitely set for a while. 

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@rnmom 

Yes, but at least you use them!  They fall into the category of necessity.

[just bee]

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@rnmom wrote:

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@just bee wrote:

I do have a positive thing to contribute.

That Alba Botanica shower gel and lotion I bought last week -- as annoying as that purchase was -- has made a noticeable difference in my molting skin.

I'm impressed!

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@just bee - Oh good, I'm so glad to hear that! I was wondering if you had noticed a difference or not. I can't imagine not using lotion every day, I'd be a wreck. 

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@rnmom 

I purposely took a shower last night so I could take my time and use my new Alba Botanica body wash and lotion.  Really like the scent of the body wash.  Very light.

So I get out of the shower and what do I do?  Get into comfortable clothes and watch a bad movie.

Totally forgot to use the lotion.  Mentioned it to BH and he said, "Why don't you just put some on now?"

I just looked at him and said that wasn't how it worked.  I have to use it when I'm first out of the shower.  He looked at me like I was an idiot.

I woke up at 3:00 this morning and went into the bathroom and used the lotion.

I expected it to just sit on top of my skin like a layer of Crisco, but it didn't.  Skin absorbed it, I wasn't sticky or greasy, and I was able to put my clothes back on and get on with my life.

I now have two new products in my routine.  Thanks for mentioning Alba Botanica.

Now all I have to do is find a dependable source and a sale.

[just bee]

[just bee]

[just bee]

[just bee]

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@geezerette wrote:

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@just bee 

I've watched it from time to time.  I think it's on at 5 or 5:30 am.  I'm normally awake by then, but I just don't get out of bed that early anymore.  My days are already too long to start that early.  And to think that I used to have all my exercises done by that time!

Anyway, it looks like something I could do and I like that it's on tv.  I'm done with websites and I don't have a DVD player anymore.  And I can tape some episodes.  I'll have to give it a try.

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@geezerette 

It's on at 5:30 AM here.  Usually after a yoga program.  Right now, they're airing Season 11.  I'm pretty sure that's the DVD I purchased because it was "Full Body Mobility" and included more standing routines.  (Still haven't unpacked the DVDs.)

Anyway, tomorrow is Episode 17.  There are 30 in the season.  Each workout is under 30 minutes and she's always in some exotic locale.  I watch for the occasional odd bird or lizard to cross the set during her routine.

It's constant movement and it's never painful or extreme.  The half-hour goes by pretty quickly.  For me, it's doable.

[geezerette]

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@just bee wrote:

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@Oshare-girl wrote:

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@just bee wrote:

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@geezerette wrote:

@just bee 

Oh, and I hear ya about the dog wanting to play when you're on the floor.

The other day I was laying on my back on the floor and you-know-who comes over, towers over me, sits down, and drops her solid rubber (heavy!) ball right on  my face.

🤬

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@geezerette 

That's why I avoid them.

I actually don't think WGD would think I'm on the floor to play.  He'd probably assume it's an emergency and I've fallen and can't get up.

Then he'd call 911.

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@just bee @geezerette LOL our dog does that to DH every time he lies on the floor. He goes right up to his face. We always joke that he's checking to see if he's breathing, but I think it's really what he's doing. On the other hand I have to check that the dog's still breathing. He has started to sleep with his eyes slightly open and his tongue hanging out. It's hard to get old...

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@Oshare-girl 

WGD will be our last dog and I dread the day he leaves us.  Reminds me that we need to check on our friend again.  He's been going from room to room, looking for his dog who isn't there anymore.

Why do we do this to ourselves, again?

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@just bee 

I've had two dogs after I first said "This is our last dog..."

This one is getting to the point that I'm starting to see the very beginning of the end.  And this one is my last dog.  For many reasons.

I do have fleeting visions of another cat, though...