I'll just jump right in with both feet!

I hate being plunged into darkness at 5:30 in the evening! But there isn't a thing I can do about it except accept it! I just feel like stomping my foot and having a little fit about it but that wouldn't do any good either, sooooooo.....my only other choice is to just flat get over it and realize that it is going to be this way for the next 3 1/2 months! help.

I've already gained my 5lbs. of holiday weight. I read somewhere that that is the average weight gain by most Americans over the holidays. Of course, that was a few years ago, so it may be 10lbs. by now, at the rate America is going with its obesity.
Soooooo, tonight I am cutting up a large bowl of salad, of which I will be partaking during the next several days.

I have so many extra "eating occasions" in the coming weeks and it is mostly at night! Help! :-/

AND as if that isn't enough, I read on the internet somewhere today that diet soda is bad for you in that it causes you to bloat AND is thought to have something in it that causes you to want to eat more or eat more sweets or something like that.

I loooove Diet Pepsi in the 24oz. bottles/six pack. I drank Diet Pepsi in the can for years and once in a while would buy a 2 liter bottle but I seldom could drink an entire can at one time and the 2 liter bottle would get stale before I drank it all. (Ed doesn't drink soda.)

Well, one week while getting groceries I saw that someone had the 6-pack bottles of Pepsi on sale for like $2.50 so I purchased one. I cannot begin to tell you the difference in flavor and carbonation!!! It scarcely tastes like the same soda as what is in the cans and 2-liters. I always kind of wondered why people bought the 6-packs, thinking they were more expensive, but they aren't. It is the same as buying a 12-pack of cans and I only buy pop when it is on sale.

I loooooove Diet Pepsi in the bottles!!! Only to read that it is not good for me and could very well be one of the reasons why I need to lose weight around my middle, like a kazillion other people!

Okay, I'm done with that topic. :-) But I did have to go and get me a glass of Pepsi on ice before continuing this post! :-) Ahhhhhh....how delicious and refreshing!!!
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Below, you will see a picture of little Jaylon alllllllll stretched out taking his afternoon nap! He is getting so tall!!! Oh, but he is my precious little man! He is so good to take his nap every afternoon, for which I am so thankful. By two o'clock, grandma is needing a nap, too, or at least a good stretch of quiet time! :-)


Oh, and that is his blue blanket laying on top of him. Now he doesn't rub the silky border on it but he does rub the taggy on it that you can see right there by his hand. :-) His daddy rubbed the silky border on his blanket when he was little. :-)
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A week ago Thanksgiving, my oldest sister Bev, pictured below with her daughter Bethany, and me and our sister-in-law Sandy drove to Newark to spend the day with Bethany and her little ones. I had Jaylon with me that day, too. We had such a good time!
Bethany lives the farthest away of any one else in the family and she feels kind of isolated sometimes so we finally were able to get away and go spend some time with her. We had such a relaxing, pleasant afternoon.
We ate at a local buffet which the little ones loved, as well as the "big kids", too! :-)
Jaylon loved the train they had which ran on a track that hung from the ceiling in the middle of the restaurant. AND he loved playing and spending time with Nathen and Hayley. Now he played with Nathen but he just loves girls!!! Of all ages!!!
It was so nice to just be able to go and not have to be concerned about being back at any certain time and to be able to relax and enjoy ourselves with Beth.


My sister Bev and her daughter Bethany


My sister-in-love Sandy and me!


Jaylon and Hayley


Nathen and Jaylon! :-)