Just a quickie...

Don't say it! I'm not that kinda girl!

Anyhoo.. just wanted to let you know that there are still a few days left for voting in the Wellsphere People's Health Blogger Awards. I probably don't have a snowball's chance in hades, but I thought I'd bring it to your attention anyhow.

If you'd like to vote for me, here's an easy button to help:

for Amy D. http://lovinglowcarblife.blogspot.com/

There are some great bloggers in this contest, so I feel honored to just be among them in this voting.

I thank you, my blog thanks you, and the bacon on my plate thanks you!

Healthy Low-Carb Living Great Start Giveaway Winners

On Jan. 4th we announced that we have were having a giveaway to celebrate the new year and help you succeed with your low-carb goals in 2008. All you had to do was look at the photos posted and send in your guesses along with your name and address. Even if all your guesses were wrong, you were entered into the drawing. The point was to have fun, make you think a bit, and give away some fantastic prizes. I think it's safe to say Mission Accomplished!

The response was overwhelming and many of you mentioned how much fun you had in the process. I can only hope it's been as half as fun for you as it has been for me! I've enjoyed this so much and I'm sad to see it ending. But I'm looking forward to our next giveaway which we'll be announcing within the next several weeks. :0)

Thanks to the generosity of so many wonderful people who strive to help the low-carb community, 10 of you will soon own some of the best low-carb products and books available! We had 124 entries and I wish we could have given each one of you a prize.

A basket containing all the entries we received!

I'm sure you are ready to get on with announcing the winners, but first we need to solve the mystery pictures! These turned out to be tougher than I'd thought they'd be. But you all had such great guesses! And I honestly never thought about how similar some items look up close!

No one got them all right, but some came pretty close! We had 5 people who guessed 6 out of 8 correct and I want to recognize them here for their great eye for details!

Honorable Mentions

Jenny T. from TX
Yvonne E. from IN
Joanne L. from OH
Jennifer R. from PA
Lynn D. from SD

Ready to see the answers now? Here ya go:




Strawberry Sugar-Free Jello




An Almond




Flax Seed




Pepperoni




Broccoli



Inside Of A Red Bell Pepper




Splenda




String Cheese

I appreciate everyone who gave these an effort. You all did very well!

My children had the honor of choosing the winning entries from the basket, so you winners have them to thank for drawing out your names! :0)

My children drawing the winning names!

Now to announce our prize winners....

Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution Winner:
Gayle M. from IL

Protein Power Lifeplan Winner:
Tanya W. from NY

Carb Wars, Sugar Is The New Fat Winner:
Debbie B. from AL

500 Low-Carb Recipes Winner:
John M. from NY

ChocoPerfection Variety Pack Winners:
Carol M. from AZ
Mairi B. from NC
Dan S. from KS

Cal-Carb Clicker Winner:
Joan S. from WI

Fiberfit Winner:
Patti D. from IL

$50 CarbSmart Gift Certificate Winner:
Alison D. from NJ

Congrats to all the winners! I will be contacting you soon about your prizes, so watch your email!

I just want to say thanks again to all the generous people who donated prizes! And to each of you who read my blog I owe a huge debt of gratitude. I hope I have touched your lives in just a measure of the way you have touched mine. I promise that in the years to come I'll do my best to bring you informative, encouraging, and inspiring posts that will help continue Healthy Low-Carb Living!

More About The Prizes You Might Win....

Today I want to look at a couple more prizes you could win in our Healthy Low-Carb Living Blog's Great Start Giveaway this month.

When someone mentions low-carb, usually the first plan to come to mind is the Atkins diet. While there are other great low-carb plans available, most of the bad press has been aimed at Dr. Atkins. Thankfully the word is starting to get out about the wonderful healthy benefits of low-carb living. While the "craze" may be gone, and good riddance I might add, the staying power of low-carb plans are proving themselves. People from all over are enjoying satisfying meals while improving their health and losing weight! Dr. Atkins diet was the plan that changed my life forever. This is why I'm so happy to be giving away a copy of Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution to one of you lucky winners.


You may not know this, but Dr. Atkins used to struggle with his weight. It was in an attempt to lose weight himself that he stumbled upon what is now one of the most amazing diet plans I've ever seen.I can't say it any better than the back cover does, so here ya go:

With more than six years on the New York Times bestseller list, Dr. Atkins' nutritional approach has taken America by storm. Now, Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution offers not just weight loss, but also total wellness.
With results starting to show in just fourteen days, find out how you can:

Re-energize yourself.

Reach you ideal weight... and stay there!

Eat the delicious meals you love.

Never count calories.

Reduce the risk factors associated with major health problems, including chronic fatigue, diabetes and high blood pressure.

Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution also provides tips on how to jump-start the program, delicious recipes, case studies, new information on how to do Atkins, and studies that support the safety and efficacy of the Atkins Nutritional Approach.

(Amy's note: I LOVE this last line!!)

Everyone knows someone who has lost weight with Atkins. Now you can be that someone!

Of course if you are already utilizing a low-carb plan, you'll need a way to keep track of those carbs. Which is why we are excited to be including the Cal-Carb Clicker in this giveaway!

This handy little item helps you easily keep track of calories, carbs, and water intake. Don't track calories? You can easily use that part of the clicker to track something else. It's super easy to set up and use. I have mine hanging from my key chain and I'm always reaching in my purse and clicking away. If you are tired of lugging around a food journal this is the ideal product for you! To learn more about this great little weight loss tool, you can visit their website at www.calcarbclicker.com

If you haven't joined in the fun, be sure to have your entries submitted by Jan. 24th!

A Look At Carb Wars, Sugar Is The New Fat by Judy Barnes Baker

Today I'm excited to tell you about one of the wonderful prizes I am giving away here in the Healthy Low-Carb Living Blog Great Start Giveaway - Carb Wars, Sugar Is The New Fat!



In Carb Wars, Judy Barnes Baker certainly gives us a glimpse of what true luxurious eating can be like with the low-carb lifestyle. While flipping through my copy I found so many recipes I wanted to try that I couldn't decide where to start! As a huge fan of Mexican food I was pleasantly surprised to find a recipe for something as indulgent as tamales. Tamales? On a low-carb diet? You bet! As a matter of fact, I made them for dinner tonight and they were fabulous! I almost felt guilty enjoying this old favorite of mine, until I reminded myself that this version is good for me!

And this book isn't all recipes. Judy took the time to share some eye opening history about today's dietary recommendations, as well as information for getting started on a low-carb plan and explanations about specialty items commonly used in low-carb cooking.

There is a great assortment of tantalizing recipes in this book. And I have a surprise for you! You won't have to wait until you buy a copy, or win it in the giveaway, to try one! Judy has graciously given me permission to share with you one of my favorite recipes from Carb Wars. This chili recipe is perfect for a cold winters night. What's even better is that it's simple and quick! THAT'S my kind of recipe! :0) I'm serious, I threw this together in a matter of minutes and it was so good that my husband raved about it all night.

This was our dinner last night. Is your mouth watering yet?

You're probably wondering what those chip looking things are beside my bowl. Well most of us are used to having crackers with chili and soup, but on the low-carb plan it's tough to find something to replace those with. I simply cut up low-carb tortillas, salted them, and baked them in the oven at 350 until crisp, about 10 minutes. (I used a pizza stone, but a baking sheet would work fine too.) They reminded me a lot of crackers and were a nice accompaniment to the chili.

Quick Chili
Pg. 81 in Carb Wars

1 pound ground beef
1 cup water or broth
1 (15 oz) can enchilada sauce
1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes with juice
Salt, pepper and chili powder to taste
1 cup Mexican-style hominy* or 1 cup of cooked tepary beans (optional)

Brown ground beef and drain off the fat. Put meat, water or broth, enchilada sauce, and tomatoes in a large saucepan. Simmer for 30 minutes. Add optional beans or hominy; cook for five minutes more. Correct seasoning with salt and pepper and chili powder to taste. Serve with shredded Cheddar cheese, chopped green onions or chives, and sour cream.

Serves 6
Per serving: Total Carb: 6.8g Fiber: 0.6g Net Carbs: 6.2 g
*Judy recommends Juanitas Mexican-Style Hominy. It's what I used and it was really good!

This is just a sample of the yummy stuff you'll find in Carb Wars. So be sure you have your entry in by Jan. 24th so you have a chance at winning a free copy of this fantastic cookbook for yourself!

Wow... you guys have kept me busy!

I want to say thanks to everyone who has entered the giveaway so far. You guys have kept me hopping! There have been some really great guesses!

I hope you all are having fun doing this. I know I'm certainly enjoying myself. I'm so excited to be giving away such great prizes to such fantastic people like you! I can hardly wait for the drawing on the 25th!

If you haven't entered yet, please join in the fun!

I was going to take some time today to discuss one or two of the prizes I am giving away, but I've been so busy answering emails that I haven't had a chance. :0) That's a good thing though and I'm loving it!

So tomorrow I'll post about a couple of the prizes you can win, as well as any news I think is worth the time. Today was just too crazy! *smiles*

Weight Loss Tips Interview

Last week I was interviewed by a website called Weight Loss Tips. I'm very honored that they felt my story was worth sharing. When they contacted me about the interview I felt sure they had me mistaken for someone else.. LOL.

So here it is! If you poke around the Atkins category you'll see some other low-carb bloggers that I'm sure most of you know very well! I feel privileged to be among such company!

Have a great weekend all! Hopefully I'll see you Monday!

What'cha searchin' for?

Just a fun post....


So what are folks looking for when they find this blog? Here's some search terms my stat counter shows: (my remarks in bold)

low carb living

low carb

kimkins red dress

low carb pizza toppings

healthier green chili enchiladas (well.. my enchilada recipe isn't green chili, but it's healthy!)

your name dictates your job (wow.. I posted that a long time ago)

kimkins celebrity

sherrie cannal (Say what? Not sure why they got my blog on this one)

low carb chicken enchiladas

chicken enchilada recipe and healthy

kimkins low carb forums (run for your lives!!!!)

your name dictates your job panto dame (is that what it's called?)

kimberly heidi diaz

low calorie living blog (Nope.. no where near low-calorie)

grilled pork loin

how much carb lady should have (huh?)

sugar overdose sick (Oh...I feel for this person...)

my diet is just like atkins, only with c... (I REALLY hope that last C didn't start the word carbs. If so.. this person is a tad bit confused.)

healthy low carb blog

low carb chocolate pudding

low carb blog

calories in one slice of mozerella chees... (they didn't find that info here.. but hopefully they found other things they liked!)

"jimmy moore" (Yep.. lots of references to JM here..)

it's difficult to know how to begin (Begin? Begin what?)

low carb websites

dinner tonight blog

karens low carb recipes (I bet they were looking for my buddy Karen Rysavy at www.trulylowcarb.com - she has awesome recipes!)

living low with amy (I doubt this person was looking for me. I think they were looking for the other one.)

the truth about insulinoma (The truth.. it's no fun. That's about all the help I can be.)

eating healthy low carb (This one I can help with!)

how many calories are in a 10in cheese p... (Ooo. Sorry. Can't help ya there..)

too little carbs

chicken low carb jalapenos (chicken jalapenos? jalapeno chickens?)

lazy low carb (Oh. This. Is. So. Me.)

busy brain sugar (uh.. ok)

grilled pork loin recipes (YUM!)

"becky's blog" kimmer

my ferret is stiff and screaming (Aww.. poor baby. Sadly, I probably can help some with this one.)

low carb and healty pizza

low carb livin

low carb living magazine (Pffft! That's a wasted search)

this low carb life blog

kimmer, woman's world picture, heidi dra... (They should have just typed in scam..)

i'm a mother of two and extremely overwe... (I feel for this person. I truly hope they got help here!)

low carb heart flutters (can we say Kimkins?)

failed first and second phase insulin re...

what happen to your body if there's lack... (wonder what the rest of this was..)

loving life girl

i feel great eating low carb (Whoo hoo! So do I!)

how fast do pancreatic tumors grow (Sorry.. don't know that one either.)

healthy low carb eating

lo carb living

healty living pictures

kimkins

"heidi diaz" woman's world

healthy pork loin

grilled pork loin recipe

blog "low carb"

heidi kimberly drake

low carb diet

kimkins amy low carb (again, pretty sure I'm not the Amy they are looking for..)

low carb for life (YES! Someone is figure it out!)

kimkins celebrities

kimkins red dress photo found (Should I even say what I'd like to here? Nah..)

healthiest carb

living low carb

healthy grilled pork

i eat low carb (so do i)


Have a great weekend!

Jimmy Moore Supports My YouTube efforts...

I was pleasantly surprised today to check one of my favorite blogs, Livin' La Vida Low-Carb, and find that Jimmy had this post dedicated to raising the viewer and subscriber numbers to my Video Blog on YouTube! I'd like to send a huge thanks to Jimmy for helping promote my efforts. I appreciate your support! I also want to thank all of you who watch and subscribe. My subscriber numbers are growing nicely and I appreciate you taking the time to sign up! Feel free to spread the word!

And don't forget that very soon I'll be announcing that giveaway I mentioned earlier! :0)

HLCL Video Blog: Episode 2 - Snacks!

Hey everyone! We finally have the 2nd video blog done. This still didn't turn out the way I'd hoped it would (phone rang, etc.), but it will have to do. Below the video I have some recipes for ya! :0)

Deviled Eggs
Makes 12 servings

6 eggs
3 tbsp Real Mayo
1 tsp Yellow Mustard
1 tsp Red Wine Vinegar
Salt and Pepper to taste

Place 6 eggs in a pan with water - enough to cover them. Bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat to simmering. Cook 15 minutes. Drain and add cold water to pan. Let stand 2 minutes, then peel.

Cut eggs in half an scoop out yolks. In a bowl mash yolks up, then add mayo, mustard, vinegar, salt and pepper. Mix well. Scoop yolk mix into pastry bag with large tip and squeeze yolks into egg cavity. If you don't have a pastry bag you can just use a spoon to fill the egg whites. Sprinkle with paprika if desired. Cover and refridgerate.

Nutrition info: Perserving - 61 calories, 106 cholesterol, 55 mg sodium, 5.3 g fat, 0.3 carbs, 0 fiber, 3.1 protein.

Spinach-Artichoke Dip
Serves 8

1 box frozen chopped spinach (thawed and well drained)
1 cup real mayo
1 cup parmesean cheese
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can artichoke hearts (diced)

Mix all together and place in pyrex baking dish sprayed with non-stick spray.
Bake at 325F for 25 minutes (will be melted and bubbly).
Serve with pork rinds, veggies, or low-carb tortilla chips.

Nutrition info: Per serving - 257 calories, 26 g fat, 6 g protein, 3 carb, 2 fiber, 17 mg cholesterol, 367 mg sodium.

Frozen Chocolate Kisses recipe can be found here.

The protein bar recipe can be found in Dana Carpender's 500 Low Carb Recipes, page 444.

Enjoy! And as always I'd love to hear your comments on the new video!

Wow.. is it Monday already?

It seems like lately time has just been flying by! I'm sure it's because I've had such a busy schedule. OK, where to start?


Weight Loss:

Nothing much to report. I've struggled with my eating somewhat and it's not all been low-carb. :0( But I'm back on track so things should start moving again. I've been stuck at 2.4 lbs above my ticker weight. I lost the .4 today. Hopefully tomorrow will show more loss.


Photography:

The voting part of the photo contest is now over. Thanks so much to those of you who took the time to vote! It means the world to me! I'll let you know how things turned out as soon as I hear something. The last I looked, which was a day before the voted ended, I was still in the running with all 3 pictures. They are supposed to notify the finalists soon.

I photographed my first wedding this weekend. Wow is that a lot of work! I was on my feet about 7 hours. My mom and I worked this wedding together and I think between the two of us we got some really good shots. I plan on putting my best shots on my website, so I'll let you know when those are up.

I'm excited to announce that a few of my photos are going to be auctioned off in a charity silent auction to benefit the down and out here in St. Louis. (we haven't worked out all the details yet, but should have know more soon) I'll be sure to post more information when it is available.



Health:

Sometimes I tend to forget I have fibromyalgia (Thank you low-carb!!!). Then I have a very busy and stressful weekend and I am quickly reminded. This weekend was very full - a church picnic, the wedding, Revival at our church, and a few other exhausting things all added up to my being fatigued beyond belief. Thankfully I have no pain and pray it stays that way. My fatigue should disappear soon, but it will take a lot of rest to make that happen.


Homeschooling:

This year has started out very well and the children and I are both very optimistic about it. The kids seem to really be enjoying themselves, and I'll admit I am too! We have a lot to figure out still, but we are learning together and having fun. Learning should be fun! Don't you agree?


OK.. gotta run. I'm gonna leave you with another wise saying:

Everything your mother ever warned you about it true.

I've finally done it..

OK, I've finally decided to give video blogging a try. I've been hesitant because, quite frankly, I only wanted a video of me on this blog, not out in YouTube land where everyone and their dog might come across it. Makes me uncomfortable. So Blogger comes out with this feature to add video and I get all excited and film a short blogcast. Then when I try to upload it, it doesn't want to work for me. Go figure. So I finally caved in to the YouTube craze. We'll see how it goes.

The quality isn't great, but I'll work on fixing that. I filmed this with my digital camera, so it keeps trying to re-focus every time I move. Hope you don't get dizzy! LOL

So here it is. A quick review of a couple of frankenfoods. Tell me what you think? I'm an amature, so go easy on me. :0)

So sorry.. experiencing technical difficulties.

I want to apologize to those of you who have tried to use the forum in the last couple of days. I thought I'd check in and found that it's throwing errors left and right. I have a request for help out and hope to have it fixed very soon. I don't know how much I can do from the hotel room, but I'll do what I can. I'll be sure to let you know when it's back up again.

Thanks for your patience!

Discussion and Support Forums...

I thought I'd give you a heads up about two new low-carb forums.

The first one many of you probably know about. It's Jimmy Moore's Livin' La Vida Low Carb Discussion Forum. There seems to be a good number of people there already!

The other is a forum that I have been working for a couple weeks to put together. Here's what the header will look like when we are done:



I hired someone to help me with customizing (forums are a bit tougher to figure out than websites) and he's almost finished I think. So right now it looks pretty plain, but should match my blog and site very soon. It is usable now though, so if you'd like to join I'd love to have you! You can find it here:

www.healthylowcarbliving.com/forum

Since it's still in it's infancy stage, I'd love to hear what you'd like to see there. :0)

I'll be leaving for vacation on Wed. but will try to check in here and on the forums while I'm gone.

Have a great week!

Working on the site today...

I'll be working on the Healthy Low-Carb Living site today. I'm trying to finish the last few pages that I seem to keep putting off.

I could use your help!

I'm working on the myths page. I'd love to know what kind of arguments you have heard in regard to low-carb being bad for you. I have the basics that are spread around the media, but maybe you've heard something I haven't. If you'd like to share your "myth" with me, please feel free to email me, or post it in the comments section here.

Thanks!

This and That...

My wonderful hubby has been miserable lately due to a sinus infection. After a trip to the doctor yesterday he learned he had sinusitis. As someone who used to suffer from it all the time, I REALLY felt sorry for him. He then told me the doctor kept asking questions about his exercise routine, eating habits, etc. Well, his exercise is virtually non-existent since he spends most of his days traveling. It's just tough to keep any kind of routine going. He's also not been sticking to low-carb like he should. Which can also be tough when you travel all the time. It's doable of course, but not always easy.

After finding out he wasn't taking care of himself as he should, she told him to get back on his eating plan and exercise routing asap. For the first time in his almost 40 years he has high blood pressure. So today is starting day one of doing things correctly. I'm going to make several of his favorite low-carb snacks that he can take with him on trips. But it will be up to him to properly take care of himself when he's away from home. If you think about it, say a little prayer for him. He needs to re-establish low-carb habits before it will get any easier.

This is extremely minor, but I think my hit counter at the bottom is stuck. That sounds nuts since it's just code. But the counter has been stuck on 1700 for 2 days now, and I KNOW there have been other visitors since it hit that number. I may have to change counters if it doesn't correct itself soon.

I have to go get groceries. Have a blessed day!

The proof is in the pudding!!!

OK, I really shouldn't be on here again. I have soooo much to do. But I just couldn't help but share this. I'm a regular reader of many blogs and I just found a great post on Dana Carpender's blog.

A new study by the Journal of American Medical Association is now showing that Atkins is actually the best way to lose weight. You can read about it by clicking here. Now this is no big surprise to us, but maybe, just maybe, we will finally start seeing some positives in the media about this way of life. I'm not gonna hold my breath, because I know how stubborn some people can be. But hey.. it's a start, right? This certainly isn't the first study that confirms this, but this one is getting loads of attention.

I was a participant in the CCARBS study that just finished up a couple of months ago. It was great to be a part of such a ground breaking study and I can't wait to see what the findings are.

Keep your eye out for more great studies that prove you can succeed with Healthy Low-Carb Living!

Not much time today...

...so this post will be short. I have to play catch up with all the housework, etc. that didn't get done while I was sick.

I'm still the same on the scale.. down to the ounce! I'm used to seeing the scale bobble up and down so this has been pretty weird. My scale measures in 10ths of a lb. My weight has been EXACTLY the same, down to the 10th of an ounce, for the last 4 days. I'm not complaining or obsessing. It's just one of those things you don't see very often.




Today is my day to measure again.

So.. the results after one week are:

Neck: - 1/4

Chest: - 1/2

Bust: - 1/2

Arm - 1/4

Waist: - 1/4

Belly: - 2 (WOW!!!)

Hips: 0 (stayed the same)

Thigh: - 1/2

Calf: 0

4 1/4 inches lost! That's a total of 8 3/4 inches so far!



What progress did the scale show this week? Not much. It showed a 1 lb loss.. then held steady the rest of the week. Good thing I stuck with it and didn't let the scale frustrate me, like seems to happen to so many. Then I wouldn't have seen all these inches disappear.

I didn't get much done on the website despite my good intentions. I did spruce up the home page and added a few nice graphics to some of the others. I managed to at least get an "under construction" page put together for the links that aren't working right now. I do hope to get those pages done soon, but it may not happen today either. Thanks to all of you who have been visiting! Please do drop me a line and let me know what you think. You can leave a comment here, on my website guestbook, or e-mail me at webmaster@healthylowcarbliving.com .

I spent most of yesterday lying around trying not to be sick. In turn, those product reviews I mentioned yesterday didn't happen. Maybe I can get to them today. I'm doing much better and I hope this time it stays gone. Whatever this bug is, it seems to come and go quite a bit. I was fine on Sunday.. then sick again yesterday. Fine today. Let's hope tomorrow breaks the pattern and I'm still fine.

I'll post again later in the day if I'm able. Have a blessed day!

4 Topics for today...

There is so much to post about today that I don't even know where to start!

Topic #1: Let's start with one of Jimmy's latest blog posts. Today he posted more great blogs that I can't wait to check out. Ten of them to be exact. As I read down the post I was thrilled and honored to see that my website was #3! Here are his exact words:

3. Healthy Low-Carb Living

This isn't a blog, but it is one of the best-looking low-carb resources I have seen in a very long time from one of my most faithful readers--Sparky's Girl! "Healthy Low-Carb Living" organizes just about everything you could ever want about livin' la vida low-carb in one lovely package. You can read her and her husband's weight loss success stories, see pictures, find low-carb tips and links, see the myths addressed, and so much more! Check it out along with the companion "Healthy Low-Carb Living" blog.

How great is that?!?! I guess I'd better get a scoot on it and finished up the last few pages that are not working yet! I still haven't finished the myths page, the cookbooks page.. and to be honest the front page still looks pretty bare. But my goal is to have all those things finished sometime this morning. Anyway.. Thanks for the mention Jimmy! It really is an honor and I'm so glad you like the site!

Topic #2: My weight has stayed the same on the scale for the past couple of days. I've actually eaten less than normal this weekend due to not feeling too well. I can feel a bit of water retention, but nothing too major. So yesterday I get out of the shower and go up to my room to dress. I'm standing there in my underthings and happened to glance at myself in the mirror. I had to do a double take! Was that really me? Could 17 lbs really make that much difference? I was amazed. I was seeing MUCH less of me. Areas that had rolls are starting to flatten out, my stomach doesn't stick out so much anymore, and my arms and legs are showing marked improvements. I ran downstairs like an idiot to tell my husband what I'd seen (I was acting like I'd seen a miracle, and some ways I felt like I had). He smiled and told me how proud he was of me and how he'd noticed the same thing. He just told his parents a couple of days ago how well I was doing and that he couldn't remember exactly how much I'd lost, but it was really showing. It's so nice to have that kind of confirmation. It really helps you keep going!

Topic 3#: Moderated comments. I have decided to moderate all comments on this blog. Not to be a dictator, but to keep offensive material and spam from showing up. I don't always have time to check the comments daily and I certainly don't want something offensive sitting there for several hours before I catch it. I get loads of spam in my website guestbook and have to delete it all the time. I have no problem listening to other opinions on the subjects we discuss here, as long as they are made in a kind and courteous manner. I will not tolerate hateful or vulgar comments though. They will simply be deleted. I know some subjects can become heated and emotions will run high, but not here. That's not why I started this blog. If someone wants to debate the merits and faults of this or that, find a forum for just that purpose. Also keep in mind that I have a very dry sense of humor.. and tend to use it when things get uncomfortable. I did so a couple of days ago after a post on a friend's blog got a bit personal and nasty. I guess one of the posters doesn't have a sense of humor. :0)

Topic #4: I think I'm fighting the bug my children had last week, though not as severe. My stomach has been upset off and on since Friday. So after finishing up my website, I'll probably take it easy today. I was only able to finish about half of my 11 oz. protein shake this morning before I felt a little sick. So anyhoo.. I doubt I'll be walking on the treadmill today.

Well, I'd better stop here. I plan on doing a couple of product reviews later today or early tomorrow. If I'm not spending the day bowing at the porcelain throne, I'll get them posted asap for ya.

Have a great one!