My mother used to do this too - and she loved fruitcake. She could never, ever persuade me to eat it. Her saving grace was that she was the best Xmas-cookie baker in the whole wide world.

I was waiting impatiently for Behind Closed Ovens yesterday morning. I took a very bad fall on Sunday and I'm so bruised I can barely sleep...hence being up and looking for it way too early. Thank you as always!

And fried egg sandwiches, and meatloaf...

I am not quite this bad, but I do panic if I don't have a backup jar of mustard in the house.

MMMM sour cream. I adore the stuff. I too have to limit my intake :)

Even easier: an ounce of johnny walker and an ounce of peppermint schnapps...a "snowshoe" I think? A couple of these and I'm out.

I'm a lot older than you, and my clock never did kick in. The world is plenty over-populated, not everyone "needs" to have kids. Don't feel pressured to do it. None of my siblings - who all have kids - express any additional happiness coming from that fact. I know being a parent would NOT make me happy. I don't like…

Exactly - and welbutrin is my friend too! And one doesn't have to be particularly old — very early "peri-menopause" has been going on at least 4 years now — started with scary cardiac arrhythmias (male cardiologist: "oh, it will get better in 2 or 3 years"), and many other symptoms, physical and mental, that have made…

Yes. Nor is rape "entertainment." I am very sick of TV programs expecting me to sit through rapes as a way to amuse myself. Rape is about power, and putting it in TV shows is simply a way to keep reminding women to be fearful — that they are always at risk. Given that there are so many rape survivors, do you think it…

A little over two years ago, I called my mom to say that I would be "home" in two weeks for a visit. She put my flight times on the calendar. We made plans to talk the next day. And six hours later, she had a stroke. She slipped into a coma, and died the next day. She was 71. Call your mom. Life really can change in…

Have you tried this? As a person who bakes regularly, I can say that more likely it will turn it into a mess that will stick to anything like iron — requires rubbing to get off wet, extra rubbing and swearing if it dries. Also it's wasteful, versus just using a cloth or sponge.

Finally, someone else who isn't brainwashed. I loathe that show. I don't consider depictions of rape, gratuitous T&A, and constant misogyny to be entertaining. And, it still manages to be intensely boring.

I'm in the same boat - blah, work! But depending on your realm it may be a lag-fest or simply too crowded for fun. I set my alarm for 3 am EST so I could spend a few minutes in at the start — could barely move, everything so slowwww (high-pop server though) - did make it through the dark portal, then the world server…

I'm glad to hear that you have made this conscious decision. I made it myself long ago, even though I live in MA, the most blue state, I still want to be counted, particularly on ballot questions, and local elections are important also (like my town voting to throw out all the town committee members who were…

Yes, young people, fucking vote. Not just when you feel like it, not just when it doesn't interfere with your drinking/pot smoking/mani-pedi, GTL, but every...single...time. Vote. I am an over 30 liberal who has worked to ensure voting rights and it really pisses me off that you are all happy to live under the banner…

I help my brother out with his kids on Halloween, in a decidedly mid-low income neighborhood. Carloads of kids show up from other neighborhoods, and they are lots of fun and I love seeing their cute costumes. The only thing that bugs me is that parents will drive them between individual houses (for example, if the…

I have (nearly) this experience when I eat out with my brother and his three kids — he has taken them to restaurants all their lives. The older ones order promptly and carefully specify changes up front, eat what they get, and are quiet. (The youngest is only five so he's still in training.) Recently I ate out alone…

I always used to check what my parents were tipping and use the "go back" or "last out" routines to make sure there was at least 20% on the table. My mother grew up very poor and it made her extra, extra frugal. Nowadays, I have one particular friend I must eat out with from time to time who has autism spectrum…

Other book conservationists will tell you the opposite - that unvarnished well dried hardwood is the best thing for books (the type of wood does matter). I'm a rare book collector, my shelves are all unvarnished oak. There are many more immediate threats to a book collection: damp, insects, not being shelved properly…

"According to Healthspan, women's leading grumpy "triggers" are worrying about weight, money, weather and attention from their partners."