86 thoughts on “Happy New Year 2013”

  1. Wait a minute. It’s not even 9:30 p.m. way out here on the coast. I think I’ll go to bed before midnight though.

    At any rate, I do believe this makes me … FIRST. 🙂

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  3. Congratulations on first, Donna! You got your comment in while I was watching that nice video of Auld Lang Syne.

    Thanks AJ for everything you do here. MUCH appreciated! 🙂

    Happy New Year to all of you wonderful folks!

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  9. Happy New Year!
    I’ll answer the QoD from yesterday, since I missed them:
    1) No resolutions – never make ’em
    2) I had three highlights of 2012: meeting Mumsee and family, my youngest sibling getting married, and of course, coming to the Gambia. I remember posting last New Year that 2012 looking like it would be as interesting as 2011, and all I knew then was that I was going to see an unknown family somewhere in Idaho… Well, I think 2012 surpassed 2011 for excitement.

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  10. As for items which I am thankful for this past year, they are too many to count, but they include:
    – Opening the borders of a certain country when it seemed like they would refuse me entry, which allowed me to meet Mumsee, which prompted Aji suun to tell me about an opportunity…
    – Preventing me from getting a job which not only would have presented an ethical dilemna, but also prevented me from doing my present work.
    – Providing the support I needed to get here – including several people whom I have never met (but then I was recruited by someone I had never met)
    – Giving me strength and wisdom to deal with everything that comes with a new country and culture

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  11. A Psalm for the day (67):
    ‘God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us; Selah.

    That thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations.

    Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee.

    O let the nations be glad and sing for joy: for thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth. Selah.

    Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee.

    Then shall the earth yield her increase; and God, even our own God, shall bless us.

    God shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear him.

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  14. So. I woke up this morning to find the world did not end in 2012, our presidential election did not cause earthquakes in divers places, and we’ve just jumped off the fiscal cliff and lived to tell about it. All in all, not a bad start for a year ending in 13. Happy New Year everyone. I think it will be an eventful year, and I pray God’s best for us all. :–)

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  17. Elvera says Shirley Temple is the first movie she ever saw. She tried, for years, to determine which movie, and years ago, watched many of them to try to identify the one. But she never did.
    I always thought that Reagan’s appointment of Shirley Temple as ambassador to the UN was a sly statement about the UN. She was a good ambassador.

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  18. Hubby starts overnight shifts tonight. He’d been 2nd shift for 14 years, then recently started getting earlier and earlier start times (as early as 7:00 a.m.), with long hours, 11-15 hours per day lately and no days off. Yesterday was another one of those long days, and now today he’ll begin overnights. He starts at 4:00 p.m. today and estimates he will be at work until at least 7:00 or 8:00 tomorrow morning. It will be all overnights for probably the next couple weeks, then he will be first shift from there on out, and should probably have just 40-hour weeks with no weekend work. So far he’s managing pretty well with all the crazy hours.

    Have a great First of the Year, all. 🙂

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  20. So far today has started off as any other non work day . I do not like typing on this tablet when I try to play Words with Friends in Facebook it keeps sending me through Google to play random people and then occasionally will let me play people I know.
    I have wanted to tell you about an episode of Criminal Minds that was set in Gulfport, MS, Citronelle, AL, and Pensacola, FL that didn’t have any exaggerated accents nor a token Miss Magnolia, nor a crooked police department, nor a Big Daddy in a seerssucker suit. No one was sweating profusely and the characters appeared to have command of the English language . I was quite shocked! Oh and the bad guy was not a racist member of the KKK.
    THAT my friends is real progress.

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  22. Still waiting for the little folk to get dressed so we can get out and do the chores. Husband and the others should be back late tonight so this should be the last of the mandatory kick everybody out time. Can’t be leaving folk unattended in the house, you know. It is holding steady at eighteen degrees this morning so should be comfortable. Though we won’t be wearing tee shirts and sandals or flip flops. Lots of frozen water buckets to take care of.

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  23. Today is just lay back and do next to nothing. Except that our potential buyer never came yesterday. Ironic. He couldn’t come Saturday because he was snowbound in SE Missouri. Yesterday was snowy here and caused a lot of travel problems. Sunshine today, so hopefully this afternoon we’ll see him.

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  25. Hope so, Peter L.

    We’ve got a bunch of sleepyheads here. Hubby and 1st Arrow will both work overnights tonight, so they are getting their sleep now. And everyone else but yours truly is still asleep from last night. It is so quiet in the house, the ticking of the clock in the living room as I sit on the couch planning my day is quite loud and distracting. Only when the furnace runs is the sound blocked out.

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  28. Good morning. We are at our “ranchette” in Centerville, TX. I’m writing this on my phone, so I’ll be brief (I hate texting!). I’m so glad I discovered this online community. I don’t always post, but I do read the thread at the end of the day. I enjoy it very much. Thank you, A.J., for keeping it going. I feel my burdens lighten when I share my prayer requests, knowing others are lifting these situations up to the Lord. Thanks for that– it’s an amazing gift.

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  29. Ok, we are in and eleven year old daughter with challenges is cooking a nice bacon and omelette and toast breakfast for all. Smells good. I hope we have grape juice from our vineyard with the breakfast, that would be just right.

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  30. Delighted to start the new year with a full night’s sleep! May it always be so in 2013!

    We’re just back from a destination wedding in Puerto Vallarta. Lots of fun with terrific conversations and opportunities for reflection. What I liked best was all the chance encounters with family–around the pool, at the beach and over innumerable enormous meals.

    We met several relatives for the first time (including the hero of the pregnant niece climbing a tree story, and the now 15 month old who was the reluctant flower girl–note, fruit loops do not entice down the aisle). My husband FINALLY has become convicted he needs to learn to dance (though not Zumba) if only to make his daughter happy at HER wedding.

    (I’m so glad my daughter is a confederate now–he responds to her commands so much more readily!)

    Irritated with United Airlines for ONCE AGAIN scattering my family all over the plane rather than seating us together. I only bought our tickets FIVE months ago. It’s got to be harder to NOT put us together. Why do they do that? Grrrrr.

    But a good time with much to think about. Beautiful, successful, glamorous, smart individuals (including several professional athletes). I was the only person who went to church. Sigh.

    But I asked the whole congregation to pray for my nephew and his bride.

    They did. 🙂

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  31. I hope never to get on a plane again. Though I suppose I could make the short hop to Boise to visit daughter and son and be sick for three days before coming back and being sick for three more. Have I mentioned I am not a fan of flying? Oh, it is pretty and it is neat to see distant lands, but I think I prefer a boat. But best is staying home.

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  34. Ah, Puerto Vallarta — I was there years ago, it was beautiful (though probably more developed now). Wasn’t it popularized when Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton bought a house there? I remember seeing the house, but they’d sold it and moved on by then.

    And Michelle posted on FB today a wonderful aerial shot of her former (my current) hometown as she passed over in the plane. 🙂

    I was asleep by 10:30 last night but awakened at midnight with all the neighborhood fireworks going off — which caused a full-on rush into the bedroom by my 2 frantic border collies.

    Tess launched herself onto the bed at one point, but she’s too big and too pushy to allow up there with me. She likes to do a full body press on my face, which just isn’t a feasible sleeping position for me — she’ll probably suffocate me in my sleep one night.

    Finally got her off my bed and the dogs re-settled on their dog beds once the fireworks died down. I slept late after that, didn’t get up until 8:30 — and no breakfast for me since I’m going to an early lunch out, but I’m starving … It’s Mexican food again on the waterfront again today.

    It’s sunny and 59 degrees out here today. A beautiful day for a parade (though I only watch the highlights later).

    But seriously, AJ — 8 hours of football? 😮

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  35. I see there’s a police standoff with a “naked, sword-wielding man” in San Jose in Northern California today.

    Gotta love New Year’s Day.

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  36. Happy New Year.

    Undecided whether to watch eight hours of football involving college teams I know nothing about, read a good book or go on a long walk. Probably do a combination of all three.

    Tomorrow I paint the kitchen. Start the new year with an accomplishment.

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  37. Just checked our newspaper’s website, looks like we had several shootings last night and at least one fatality in our general area (including the town next to mine).

    Great start to the new year. Our holiday shift reporter will be busy today.

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  38. * U.S. Tax revenue: $2,170,000,000,000
    * Fed budget: $3,820,000,000,000
    * New debt: $ 1,650,000,000,000
    * National debt: $14,271,000,000,000
    * Recent budget cuts: $ 38,500,000,000

    Let’s now remove 8 zeros and pretend it’s a household budget:

    * Annual family income: $21,700
    * Money the family spent: $38,200
    * New debt on the credit card: $16,500
    * Outstanding balance on the credit card: $142,710
    * Total budget cuts so far: $385

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  41. From Wikipedia:

    “Taxman” is a song written by George Harrison released as the opening track on The Beatles’ 1966 album Revolver. Its lyrics attack the high levels of progressive tax taken by the British Labour government of Harold Wilson.

    “Harrison said, “‘Taxman’ was when I first realised that even though we had started earning money, we were actually giving most of it away in taxes. It was and still is typical.

    “The Beatles’ large earnings placed them in the top tax bracket in the United Kingdom, liable to a 95% supertax introduced by Harold Wilson’s Labour government (hence the lyrics ‘There’s one for you, nineteen for me’).”

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxman

    They, along with other British rock stars in that decade, fled the country of course.

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  42. Off to see Les Miz. We left my husband at our friend’s Ode to Cholesterol New Year’s Day party. They’re eating as you can imagine and watching football together.

    I’m glad it’s not me, though I did eat too much bacon before I left their house! 🙂

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  43. As to United Airlines, I’ve written a scathing review for both me and my husband, complained on Facebooke where others have shared their stories and now tweeted my unhappiness.

    Maybe this is a clever policy to ensure families don’t fly their airline?

    It’s working for me!

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  44. I took all the candies and cookies around here (most unopened and received as gifts) into the office yesterday so I’d get them OUT of my house.

    Back to salads.

    Well, except for my planned lunch today — at a Mexican restaurant. 😦 Call it the last Hurrah.

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  46. That is what I need to do, best I ever felt was when I was sugar free. But I cook for eleven children and a husband who are not. It is a challenge. But, as I tell my children, you are responsible for yourself. Time to listen to my own directive. I am with you Kare. We will make it. Get the poison out of the body and enjoy the gifts of good food God has given to us.

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  47. Thanks Mumsee, I appreciate the support – looks like I’m going to need a lot of it. I discovered one last package of cookies in the freezer – guess who’s eating them.

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  50. Go Boise.

    My husband is always amazed how I can sniff it out. I never buy it, one of the reasons I never shop, he is a hoarder as well as an eater. I see him eat and stumble across his hoards. But, you and I are going to be strong this time! I lost about twenty five pounds last year and am still down ten. I took that from something Adios said. It is an encouragement. I may not be down to where I should be but ten pounds is progress.

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  53. I used to be cavity prone, but that stopped when I stopped going to the dentist. But I do feel much less sluggish when I am off sugar. I suspect it is all of those sugar highs and lows that pull me down. A friend, a long time ago, told me she did her nurse’s thesis on sugar addiction. I know, “they” say it is not one, but she said it got her attention when she learned it had the same effect on the brain as heroin. Hmmm. And when heroin addicts come off of heroin, they crave bags of sugar.

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  54. There is all sorts of evidence that Mumsee’s nurse friend is right. Sugar hits the same receptors as Heroin, and people do get addicted. Those of us who lean diabetic are the most likely to be sugar/carb addicts (you must realize that carbohydrates break down … easily … into sugar.)

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  55. And so, I will be attempting to eat real food, which I have for years. But without the junk food I have also eaten for years. Bye bye chocolate chip cookies! Fortunately, I find, though I despise potatoes, I can tolerate sweet potatoes, baked in their skin. There is all sorts of good food out there. I just have to retrain my brain. Again.

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  56. I had a tostada for lunch. There was lettuce on top. 🙂

    Underneath, there were tortillas, beans, cheese and ground beef. I had them hold the guacamole, though, which I’ve never liked much.

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  57. Yum! And I don’t care for guacamole, either.

    Is anyone else BLAH like I am? I am tired and trying to just do some more things from my list of things to do today. I was pretty productive for several hours today, and also got in a little tiny nap on the couch about noon, but now I’m wiped out again, and there are still more hours in the day that I could be doing something useful, but here I am, hardly functioning.

    HELP!

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  58. Maybe you’re coming down with something 6 arrows. Eat a little sugar. Just kidding. Hope you feel better, maybe it’s just the post-Christmas blahs? I can get those.

    After lunch out my friend and I visited the tall-masted ship (Lady Washington which also was the Interceptor in Pirates of the Caribbean) that’s in town for one more day and then drove up to visit the harbor seals that are being rehabilitated.

    I thought it was supposed to be sunny out today, but it’s not — it’s overcast and chilly. But there were still quite a few families at the parks overlooking the ocean where they were flying kites and playing basketball & soccer.

    Thinking of taking the dogs for a visit to the dog beach, there’s maybe 90 minutes to two hours of daylight left …

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  59. I’m totally running away from home today where all the Christmas decorations are still up! Yikes.

    On the other hand … Christmas will only come again in less than 12 months, right? I’m beginning to see the logic of just leaving it all in place.

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  62. We just returned from seeing Les Miz and it was really exceptional! It brought on high emotions. I need to snap my fingers and come up with some dinner now. Popcorn at the movies does not a dinner make.

    We were close to midnight getting out the door last evening to see the fireworks. We had to walk fast to get out to the beach so I think I overdid it with my leg. I have not done much walking today. The fireworks lasted until 12:17 over across the water on Tybee Island. We had some fireworks on our beachfront here in Sea Pines. We did not see much activity from boats near the shore.

    The jigsaw puzzle is coming along, no thanks to me. This is a tricky one with the random way pieces are cut. A lot of the edge pieces just have to be pushed together without interlocking so it wants to drift apart. My friend gave this one to me. I may boomerang it back to her. I bought a cowboy Jack Sorenson puzzle which looks like more fun to me.

    I have been on my Kindle a good bit today. Since our computer does not work so well at home I have not been able until now to shop for many books. I have found some of the free books, classics and Christian fiction, to “buy.”

    I hope everyone is having a perfect as possible Happy New Year!

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  63. It’s not sugar that’s bad for you, it is bleached processed sugar. Raw sugar, the way God made it, is good for you in moderate amounts. The problem is that Americans have grown used to everything they eat being processed to the point of health hazards. I am not proposing everyone go totally health food crazy, but using some raw foods is a start.

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  64. AJ- I only wish I could see more than the one game I watched today. A pox on the NCAA for selling ESPN the rights to all the good bowl games! Another reason I don’t like Disney (which owns ESPN and ABC, among other networks).

    But I see the score is 17-14 Stanford at this point in the Rose Bowl. Go Cardinal!

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  67. Turbinado sugar has about the same number of carbs and calories, not seeing it as better, though with all the stuff added to make white sugar, it has to be.

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  68. Fun at the dog beach.

    Isn’t sugar a natural substance? You wouldn’t want to eat a lot of it, but in small or moderate amounts?

    I do think many of the carbs are not good for us.

    Meanwhile, my veterinarian is on a kale & other greens kick.

    Sigh.

    Just trying to figure out what to eat or not eat anymore …

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  71. From Nourishing Traditions, by Sally Fallon:

    In her “Guide to Natural Sweeteners”, she lists the following types of natural sweeteners as products where the nutrients have not been removed, or may be more concentrated due to boiling down and evaporation:

    Raw honey, maple syrup, Rapadura (dehydrated cane sugar juice), stevia powder, date sugar, molasses, malted grain syrups, sorghum syrup, and naturally sweetened jams (sweetened with dehydrated sugar cane juice rather than fructose or high fructose corn syrup).

    “The following sweeteners are used in many so-called health food products, but should be avoided”:

    Fructose and high fructose corn syrup, concentrated fruit juice, “raw”, “natural”, turbinado and sucanat sugars and Florida crystals.

    I’m not sure of the carb levels of these sweeteners, but this 600+ page book gives information about sugar on at least 75 different pages, so there’s a wealth of information on that topic!

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  74. well, since I am here and it would not dare to tell me I am typing too fast and because husband and children should be home in the next forty five minutes but I will probably be in bed before then….

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  78. Donna- Rolls are high carb. And why would you sit on a roll to type on the computer? Most people sit in chairs of some kind.

    As for raw sugar- I am going on what Mrs l says, based on her research of processed vs non-processed foods.

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  80. Sorry to rain on everybody’s party with the sugar comment @ 71. 😉

    Just for the record, I didn’t do so well in the sugar department today (leftover treats from last night’s party), and that is probably why I was so BLAH @ 57.

    We also let our young ‘uns stay up too late last night, and not eat that great last night and today. Sixth Arrow started feeling sick several hours ago, and about an hour ago threw up in her bed. 😦 All over her nightgown and in her long hair, too. She was such a trooper, standing there in the shower afterwards, getting all cleaned up.

    And now I hear Round 2 starting. 😦

    My resolution is to be a better mom tomorrow. Good night.

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  81. Re: Raw sugar…We only use raw sugar and have for many years. I started with florida crystals, and then some other “organic” brands. The natural food coop that I purchased from went out of business unexpectedly, so I had to find another source. We live in a very rural area. I had my local store order me the C&H unbleached organic sugar by the case for a while until I discovered that you could purchase good quality unbleached sugar in almost every supermarket in the Mexican food section. It is often less expensive than regular white sugar. The brand that I find most often is Zulka. It is not turbinado, but does have larger granules than regular white sugar. We use less of it, as it has flavor, which satisfies. Sort of like raw honey compared to refined clover honey.

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  82. …meanwhile…doing laundry…

    have you heard of xylitol? On the package I have in my kitchen cabinet, it says “Low Carb…Low Calorie…Diabetic Safe”. 40% fewer calories than processed sugar. 75% less carb intake. One part Xyla = One part sugar. Low glycemic.

    And other things. I haven’t used it long, but it’s worked fine for baking, etc.

    Just another thought I had while buzzing around with my late-night second wind. I hope the kids sleep late tomorrow. 😉

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  83. No, God did not make sugar. ALL sugar is processed. There is natural sugar IN fruits, and IN sugar cane, and IN maple trees, but you have to process it to get it out.

    Sugar was not even known until 600 BC, and was only a luxury for the rich until the 18th century AD.

    The only natural, God-given sugar is HONEY.

    Sugar is bad for you. Period. Research it.

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  84. Xylitol will not raise your blood sugar, but — for many people — it will mess your intestines up but good. I can’t eat it in any serious quantities, as I will spend a great deal of time in the necessary room, and being very uncomfortable.

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  85. Good morning. Early start to the day, considering I went to bed just two and a half hours ago. Such is the life of a mom when a little one gets sick a couple times in the night, then in the same night has a little potty accident. 😉

    In the end, though, the blessings of motherhood so vastly outnumber any miniscule inconveniences like this, there is not even any comparison.

    And my hard-working husband is still at work after many, many hours.

    I am such a blessed woman.

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