Posts by skinny_kitty

Gotta get serious about saving the whales. 

Not joking, here.  Lotsa Japanese and Norweigan folks killing whales in the name of "research" and then putting them on people's plates (there's even a program to serve whale in elementary school lunches in order to help children develop a taste for it.  Brings up the whole "mystery meat" debate again, huh?)

I have a question...are you Italian? Are your in-laws? If you're not and they are, then maybe there's a cultural difference playing out.  Same kind of thing I went through with my in-laws in the South of France (very Mediterranean...kinda macho...women do this but not that, etc.)

Unfortunately, I couldn't make it as the perfect daughter-in-law because I was quite simply from somewhere else.  For years I tried to fit in, do what I thought they wanted me to do and change my behaviour if I got flack for it (I know, I know, but I was desperate for a family).  It never worked because they are culturally hard-wired not to accept anyone different. 

I've stopped pretending and stopped trying and it's been liberating.  I still secretly resent their rejection, but I figure my energy is best spent elsewhere. 

Um, I could be really off the mark, here.  Maybe your situation is completely different.  If so, then all I would say is try to let it all be like water off a duck's back.  You can't change their behaviour any more than they can change your body composition.  Your husband finds you beautiful, right?  Let that be enough on this one.

Corsica.  DH and I went on a cycling trip there several years ago and I found it to be the most jaw-dropping, beautiful place on earth (the Northern part of the Island much more than the South).

We went in February, when the weather was warm during the day and cool at night and nary a tourist could be seen.

Also, Paris is my absolute favourite city in the world next to Montreal.  The Latin Quarter is the most romantic place to be.

Other recommendations would include:  Provence (Lubéron); Nice (expensive); Austria (Tirol); Chamonix (or anywhere around the Haute Savoie region -- i.e., Mont Blanc); Florence (go in the off season, not in the summer) and Montreal (great because you get the feel of Europe without the language / monetary constraints).

I haven't been to Greece, but I really, really want to go.  Ditto Prague.

Oh!  I hear Oslo is outstanding.

Won't you take me to Funky Town?

(The song has always made me want to cringe into a ball and bang on my ears).

And well, I know it's more than the required ONE song, but anything by Celine Dion is just not music, IMHO.

I'm not American, but yesterday moved me more than any other political happening within my lifetime.

I've never seen that video, but I'm glad I did just now.

Thanks!

What do you mean "thyroid nuked"?  Are you on any meds?

Having similar issues -- my thyroid and adrenals are in horrible shape and I put on 15lbs in three days last month.  They have yet to go.  I'm waiting on tests, tests and more tests.

You're right, I shouldn't feel guilty but do because the kids were so attached to him.  Believe it or not, he actually played hide and seek with them.  Amazing to see a 13H2 pony try to hide...(he was better at seeking).

We're looking into doing a half-board for the winter.  The kids have access to a little 12H pony who's a little machine, but I'd also like them to be on a horse (the twins are 8 and I want to ride, too!) so we'll see what comes up at the local barn -- which happens to have a huge indoor arena.

Seven years!  OMG that's patience for you.  You're so very lucky to have had the opportunity to foster a relationship like that.  Kudos!

I had twins in 2000, nursed them for two years, had a baby boy in 2003, nursed him for over a year, and a girl in 2006 who I nursed for about 11 months (I was so done with nursing at that point!)

In a seven year period, there was only 15 months that I wasn't either pregnant or nursing.

For the twins, I put on over a hundred pounds.  I'd read in several places that to have twins at term, it helped to put on as much weight as possible.  It worked; the girls were born 5 days overdue (40 weeks +5, I was massive).

For my boy I put on 70lbs.  He was born at 10lbs, overdue, and had a voracious appetite.

The fifteen months grace from pregnancy and nursing allowed me to finally lose some weight, but then I had some issues with some medication I was taking that caused me to bloat up 40lbs in three months.  I didn't lose that before getting pregnant with the last child.

The long and the short of it is, I couldn't lose a single pound while nursing the first three children.  Think about it; you're sitting most of the time and your body is producing mass amounts of estrogen and prolactin in order to produce enough milk -- I'm guessing you probably have a healthy eater on your hands!

I lost weight with number three ONLY because DH put a paper in my stocking telling me that he'd signed me up for a triathlon 9 months hence.  I had to start moving if I wanted to finish a sprint.  Without doing any physical activity, I never would have lost a pound.

Fodder for thought...have you considered taking the time to do 1/2 an hour of free weights, three times a week to get your metabolism going?

I'm a full time mom right now (that's about to change in Jan) but personally, I waver between pop and heavy metal (you should see the kids faces when I'm in head-banging mode -- they stare at me with look that's a mixture of awe and mortal fear...*LOL*)

I'm not pouting anymore...I got to share...

You don't have to go anal to get an STD; a lot of the gay men I know don't do anal either, but they're positive nonetheless.

I am with trustwomen all the way.  When I referred to being discreet, I meant with everyone, but especially men.  As much as our society has come a long way, I'm not delusional about the amount of homophobes that live around us.  Most judges (generalisation) are of a certain age (it takes years to earn the position) and therefore from a certain generation that certainly frowns upon homosexuality.  I didn't make the rules, I just know what they are. 

When it comes down to talking about going outside of the marriage, I wouldn't talk about your intention to get involved with men.  That just gives her ammo to stick in her pocket in case she ever needs it.

And then there's this guy at work...it's a pretty risky thing to do because you a) work together and b) will be seen together.  But, you're gonna do what you're gonna do and if he's willing, it's probably going to trash any logic that would keep you out of it.  Just be careful and know that body fluids of a certain nature can make their way into your bloodstream in a whole variety of ways. 

http://kidshealth.org/teen/sexual_health/stds /AIDS.html

This post struck more than just a few chords with me.  I've been cheated on by a man, with another man.  I was so very surprised at the feeling of betrayal that came with that event.  The guy I was going out with was openly bi, and when he cheated on me one weekend he mentioned it in passing as though it was no big deal.  (This was before AIDS was as rampant as it is now). 

Since then, he married a woman who is a homophobe.  When I read this post, I actually wondered if you were Steven!  It's the same story. 

And this is how I see it from my angle.  Steven is absolutely miserable.  He isn't connected to his wife anymore because she's not interested in an intimate relationship at this point. 

However, they don't have the financial means to do anything about it.  Divorce is so expensive in so many ways -- and that's before you factor in the two rents, two households, etc.  You'd have to have a place big enough for your kids when they come to visit -- that means paying for space that would be empty half the time (or more).  I know in Steven's case that were he to leave, his wife would have to go to work, they'd need to look into day care, she'd never make enough to live on and he'd end up garnering his wages which would mean HE wouldn't have enough to pay rent anywhere else.  Financially, it's an impossible scheme.

Therapy just happens to cost upwards of $75 an hour.  That's $300 a month.  Where are you supposed to find that kind of money when you're raising kids in this economy?  There are public services that offer counselling, but you'd probably have to hold your tongue for 6 months and wait patiently for the next available counsellor.

It's easy to get onto a moral high horse when the shoes you're currently wearing fit just fine, but unless you've had to go barefoot, it's a difficult concept to grasp (yes, I just intoned what you think I just did -- walk a mile in this guys shoes before going on about "the right thing").

What bugs me about this situation (and Steven's) is that the kids intuitively KNOW that something's wrong and it's setting them up for how they'll react in life later on.  They don't need to know the details to know that there's unresolved tension and animosity.

Another thing that nags at me is my own personal paranoia, HIV and AIDS.  Condoms break.  It freaks me out.  I have a close friend dying of AIDS and it is such a horrible nighmare. 

You want your kids to have a healthy dad at least until they're adults, too. 

So, the above said, I would say that laying it on the line for your wife is your only way to go.  I'm 100% with trustwomen on this.  She doesn't have a whole lot of choice in the matter unless she wants to go waitress for $3 an hour and live through horrible financial hardship.  She's going to have to let go of you and I think once she does, you'll be a happier person, your kids will feel it and a whole lot of tension will leave the house. 

I wouldn't however, tell her that you want to go out and have relationships with men.  This would certainly count against you in an eventual court case if she decides to get evil on your butt (it happens a lot).  Stay ultra discreet, ultra "safe" and breathe a big sigh of relief. 

Okay, so you're all going to laugh at me, but let me start by saying I'm not a vibrator advocate in general...

A friend of mine has an endothermie center in Montreal and has recently bought two Power Plates.  He swears that they are the greatest thing since sliced bread and that there are more clients lining up to use them than he ever expected. 

His pro-athletes use it to reinforce strength and some lift weights while on it.  It's increased their muscle mass exponentially.

Right.  I personally haven't even seen this machine.  This is just the opinion of someone who owns a couple of them!

Drink tons (and I do mean tons) during the flight and you should be okay.  Oh, and get up to stretch every 15 minutes or so -- keep your circulation going.  Flying dries you out (your skin too!) so you need to keep your hydration levels high.  That should help.

1.  I have always heard that you should never use your running shoes for anything but running.  The logic behind this is that when you run, your feet use the shoes in a certain way (distribution of weight, etc.) than when you walk and if you do anything but run in them, you're using the soles differently, which could have an eventual effect on your running gait.  Did that make sense?

2.  My coach has, like, 4 pairs of shoes that she alternates.  She swears that if she runs two days in a row with the same pair, there's less cushioning.  Personally, I think as long as the shoes have 24 hours in a warm dry place with plenty of air circulation, they're fine.  That said, if they get wet in the rain, they're going to need 48 hours to dry out properly -- otherwise you compress the soles prematurely.

I am NO expert by any means, but my husband is worse than Imelda Marcos when it comes to shoes and he's sure that the above is true.

Thanks, wrm.  I appreciate the encouragement.  I took almost five weeks off, though.  And I'm starting to put on weight (I think that's freaking me out more than anything else).  True, there were some really impressive gains (my HM time was improved by 20 minutes in six months), but next year seems so faaaar awaaaayyyy...

Add to that the fact that everyone else seems to be having a great time training (except those of us with possible *SAD* or who wish to be reincarnated as bears in our next lives) and I suppose I feel like I just need to kick myself in the butt and find some inspiration.  With all of the rich food coming up, I need to figure out a way to burn some of it off before I'm condemned to the Athena category...

Geez, I really didn't mean this to be a "woah is me" thread.  Let's think sunshine and happy thoughts.  Maybe I should buy myself some new running shoes -- that's always good for a boost.