THURSDAY TOTALS

[Harriet]

ToddlerC will be knocking on my door at 7:15 a.m. Ohmigoodness. I am so glad I asked in advance if I could keep her here rather than spending so long at their house with nothing getting accomplished.

I hope I can get as much done as lucylee did with her granddaughter yesterday. I just didn't break it to ds that HRH's friend is coming at 10:00. That's okay. they can just enjoy each other. i hope.

The lights are on the tree. Nothing further on the decor front. With a toddler here in the morning, I don't think I'll pull decor out.

Worked some on front bathroom clean. Needs more, which I will consider my "Next Up".

Biggest focus today was ordering the cards. That project is underway.

I'm finishing up the day's eating with a strange meal, I guess, but I wanted to check off all my spaces. Banana sandwich, navy beans and an orange. That makes sense, right? I'll add exercise this evening and that fills in the day's blanks.

[Lynlee]

LM. I wonder where the 'science' and testing is with the no sugar thing. Personally I have my own reasons for doing no sugar, but to take a child to the no cookie/ slice place seems a long way to go. I can understand too many is too much, but there is a huge difference. Is honey and 'sugar from other sources' get cut out as well? Testing had not shown a sugar ADHD link here. I had a look on fedup.com.au but couldn't easily find the years ago thing I read on that.
Artificial sweeteners mostly don't get a good wrap, so I'd hate to see anyone do that substitution.

Yesterday I went to an appointment that really is today. So I need to move towards that now.
By bus means 45 min lead time verses 5-7 min driving.
Annoyed that my appointments change day and time ... just when not expected.
otd. poof

[Nancy]

LM the sugar factor is exactly why I pulIed out of church. Potlucks especially bad this time of year. I have a thing on the 19th I need to think about. I took my own beverage and had food I could eat with me last year just in case. I can eat deviled eggs, cream cheese, summer sausage, olives and have coffee so I try to focus on that I can get a bit out of sorts if I focus on the sugar factor. Hot soup from scratch for dinner was great for dinner.

I cooked up more boiled eggs, made pasta salad for hubby, and cooked up sime chick peas. I still need to tweak the pasta cooking and learn veg. do some other meats but I am confident I can do it.

I have been knitting in the cold weather finished up a lap robe and started one more. Then I hope this stash of fat yarn will be gone!

Walked w ddog at the grange, then a longer walk later on added a block today. Yea me.

Dog has figured out how to get out so we will be doing something different.

I enjoyed the Penatonix holiday specual last nite.

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

LadyM: First - stopping sugar for the next 30 days is impossible and not fair to ask of anyone. At best, next December might be no sugar but you have to give EVERYONE in your life a year to get used to that idea. It isn't just you and ds who have to make changes, it is the others in his life, too, who have to find another way of showing love than just baking for him.

Second: for this month, the best you can hope for is that he make conscious choices about putting sugar in his body. In other words, it isn't bad if he eats it but he should know he's doing it. And each time maybe thinking about what a different choice would be for next year.

Thirdly: find someone to give that candy to. My instinct would be a food bank to hand out in a candy dish to clients when they come in. That, along with a cash donation (since they have bulk buying plans in place and can buy about 4x as much food per $ as you can.) Or just leave it out at church and let ds take one piece when he puts it out on the dessert table.

Nancy: I fully understand pulling out of church because of the temptations of coffee hours and potlucks. I find them most difficult and once my resolve is broken, I'm derailed for the rest of the day and often several days after.

Dd had talked about limiting sugar severely for dgs. That's why I had yogurt and fruit instead of a first birthday cake for him (and rice krispy squares for the adults.) Turns out she isn't as strict as me and made him a cupcake for his actual first birthday. I'm still not sure what to feed the kid (at first I couldn't even give him lettuce, but she gave him sweet & sour chicken the other day when we were out although at home he doesn't get sauces on anything and he was devouring the chicken probably due to the sweet sauce.

*****

The newsletters are now finished. Dh is starting in on the out-of-town cards now. I'll get them all mailed tomorrow morning (I have to buy postage for the international ones.)

[LadyMaverick]

Home from Robotics meeting and basketball signup/tryout. Both were held in nearby town with a larger school system.

The doctor talked to DS9 about how sugar affects the brain. She believes that sugar could be affecting DS9 tics. I don't know. I want to do everything possible to improve DS9 health (and my own) but I don't want to quit living life. Eliminating sugar seems like a huge challenge to tackle without knowing if it will help.

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

LadyM: when dye was cut, the tics were reduced. Since dyes are most often in sweetened foods, I'm sure he has had his sugar intake cut already. It seems to me that keeping up the focus on dyes is important since that helps cut sugar too. Life can be enjoyed without cookies, cakes and candy or at least keeping them for two days a week and only at church.

Talk to your mother and ask about when she was a child. Ask what she remembers eating and if she remembers having sweets routinely or just on special days or events. It is easy, in this culture of constant sugar, to forget that pounds of sugar per person were not the norm. Yes, they had sugar and honey and maple sugar, but it wasn't used in the abundance it is used today. So the healthy start your mom had in life is something that parents now struggle to offer their children in the face of food processors as well as the whole 'food is love' attitudes.

This won't change quickly, that's why I said it would be reasonable only to attempt to get through December 2018 with little or no sugar. I can't imagine how anyone could do it this year without the groundwork it will take to shift everyone's thinking. I've been off aspartame for months now but it is only in the past 3 weeks that I've finally stopped craving a diet soft drink at certain times of the day, every single day. And I have added Zevia into my pantry (although I'm out at the moment) in order to have the crutch when I really need it.

Would it help if some of us attempted to give up sugar along with ds? I'd be willing to try if you'd like.

[LadyMaverick]

Saturday I'm going to take a 4-hour class on how to decorate cakes. Doesn't it seem a bit idiotic to be thinking about giving up sugar the same time I'm learning cake decorating? groan.

It is going to take some thought to get the sugar level down in our lives. Even if we don't eliminate sugar, I'm sure there are ways to decrease it.

[Lilac]

Well I didn't get any more cleaning done but I had 2 hours 45 minutes of quality time with dgd6. After we took dgd8 to gymnastics we came home and I got a pot of chili going. While it simmered, we played several games and talked. After we were done eating, she cuddled up with a blanket on the sofa and watched a kid's movie and I sat on the end of the sofa playing Spider Solitaire on my Kindle. When dd2 and dgd8 came to pick her up, both dgds hugged me like they didn't want to let go. I am beyond blessed with my 7 grandchildren and I'm so glad the last 2 came along to be my bonus grandchildren because after the first 5, I thought that was it. Then there is the next generation starting with our precious babyK.

[Lynlee]

for what it is worth - some fact sheets of what others have found.
https://fedup.com.au/factsheets/symptom-factsheets
https://fedup.com.au/factsheets/symptom-factsheets ADHD (outlines the beginning of the 'artificial/ chemical' trail.
https://fedup.com.au/factsheets/symptom ... e-symptoms Tourettes
https://fedup.com.au/factsheets/symptom ... sorder-odd ODD

from travelling in USA comments
-Researched the Fedup website and joined the USA Failsafe FB group.
-Read a great website I found called Fooducate that gives full ingredient lists for many USA products.
(I'm not sure if they both still exist.)

fact sheets for other needs
https://fedup.com.au/factsheets/symptom ... and-diet-1 arthritis - all types
https://fedup.com.au/factsheets/symptom ... mptoms-ibs IBS

home from appointment
didn't see the bus home until it sailed past me - basically at the bus stop, but not yet turned to see it had come around the corner. Hot and sunny day so waited 30+ min for the next one.
Now - We are under a brewing storm, broiled and steamed seem to be the result..