Weekly Chat Nov. 26 -Dec (!!!) 2 - Page 2 « Back to Group Discussions

[Chapsie]

writermama-- thanks for that post!  I have also been trying to incorporate elements of the GD diet and Brewer diet into my eating habits (watching carb intake and only eating carbs with proteins, no sweets, exercise every day.. I just started, but so far so good.  Thank you for sharing how good you feel already!  That is very inspiring and encouraging!!!

Do you like the Nourishing Traditions cookbook?  Would you recommend it?  

My mom gave me "clean eating" by tosca reno and said it has good recipes in it.  My mom has been diabetic for 20 years, so she knows a thing or two.  I haven't looked at it yet, but am excited to find some healthier/more balanced meals.  I have always been a sweet tooth and my mom told me to just affirm every day to myself that refined carbs (cakes, cookies, white breads, etc) "taste like cardboard, are full of toxins, and I don't even want them."  It's been two days and I haven't had any sweets at all (that is probably a lifetime record for me, haha) and I even drove by Tim Hortons and didn't stop for a donut!  :)   I have Thanksgiving #2 with my in laws today and am nervous about all the deserts there.  Pray for my self-control!  :)   

Great job, WriterMama.  I'm so happy that you are feeling better.  Keep at it-- it WILL be worth it!!!  And know there are others here that are trying to do the same things!!!  We're in this together!

[cabbitdancer]

Man, writermama, that food list makes me HUNGRY. Of course, I think, at this point, any list of food would make me hungry. XD

The only way I have ever been able to cut carbs from my diet is to remove them from the house. My willpower is terrible when that stuff is around. I'm good, when it comes to actual meals, but the snacking gets me. I'd rather eat a bag of goldfishes than a bag of carrots. I need to get back into the habit of just not buying stuff that I know I can't resist, but also know is bad for me. We're in the home stretch, and my insulin resistance is expected to increase. My daughter can survive without her goldfish for the next 108 days or so, right? ;) 

[writermama12]

awwe, you ladies make me feel so warm inside! So glad to know there ARE others grappling with how to be healthy in new ways.

[spughy]

I've read Nourishing Traditions, and I don't wholeheartedly recommend it.  I am slightly biased because I can't do grains at all (unless they're refined - it's the fibre that bothers me) soaked or not, and while there are a few really good recipes in there, there are a LOT of really horrible ones and it's hard to tell the difference.  Many of them are way overcomplicated (and I've been a professional cook, it's not like I'm some kitchen neophyte) and her fermentation advice, while well-meaning, is nowhere NEAR as good as Sandor Katz's.   It's also highly alarmist and strident in tone and VERY dismissive of mainstream dietary advice, but in a really mean way.  It's a good book to check out of the library if you've totally believed everything your doctor or a regular nutritionist ever told you, but at the same time, not all of her science is exactly dead-on either.  She does have a very good attitude about fats though, and I do like the emphasis on pastured/wild meats and raw milk (but I don't think pregnancy is the best time to add raw milk to your diet.)

I do much better on a largely paleo diet (no grains, legumes, dairy, seed oils) so that's what I'm doing, just spread over six meals a day instead of my usual 3 +1 snack.  It's a bit of a pain eating so often but it's nice not feeling stuffed.  Since my DH is on essentially the same diet (I can get away with SOME dairy) it's not too bad. 

If you want good recipes that are very diabetic-friendly AND tasty and good, check out Mark's Daily Apple.  Everything I've made from there has been fabulous, and last holiday season he posted a recipe for a cauliflower-based stuffing/dressing that was so good it became a staple in our house.

[writermama12]

Chapsie, Yes, I'd recommend Nourishing Traditions. I learned a TON from reading the Gut and Psychology Syndrom book by Dr. Campbell-Macbride first, then bought NT as the GAPS book was heavily based off of Weston A Price Foundation's research and the research of Elaine Gottschall who authored Breaking the Vicious Cycle. I am just getting to know the NT cookbook, but I really like it. Before I got pregnant, I had been on the GAPS diet for six months. It's a sort of paleo-style diet with a lot of probiotics and fermented foods to heal the gut. 

[writermama12]

Spughy, I will have to look into Sandor Katz. Thanks for adding in a reference. 

[chocolatechip]

Hi everyone! Finally have a chance to check back in, and enjoyed reading through the chat threads of the past couple weeks. I just spent a week and a half visiting family in California (Bay Area), and it was SO nice to see them, a bunch of friends, have Thanksgiving, etc. Lots of fun and food and dog-walking and sleep. Hooray!

So there's one quote I have to go way back to, from scruffy too, who said, "Last night I felt the strongest kicks so far - it was crazy!!!  Sooooo cool!!  I felt very blessed.  I guess the baby likes nachos..." I had to laugh at this, because every time I eat Mexican food, I feel like the baby moves more! Starting pretty much once I've finished eating. I posted as much on Facebook, about how "the baby likes Mexican food," and it spawned this whole debate about how long it takes nutrition to get to the baby, whether there is ambient noise or something at the taqueria we often eat at that the baby likes, what baby movement actually means (awake? asleep?), etc. All I know is that I go to the taqueria, I eat, and afterward the baby starts kicking. Personally, I think it likes the heavy protein dose. 

writermama, congratulations on finishing your thesis! What an accomplishment! And I bet some relief, having been there myself.  Oh, and congrats on your 5th anniversary! Glad you got to have a good time!

jodieanneanton, I'm glad you made it through moving successfully, and are enjoying settling into your new house. Moving is always a horrible process, even if you end up somewhere better. When my husband and I moved to our house in Seattle, I moved from occupying one bedroom, and he moved from living with two other guys, and he decided to sell the few bigger things he owned so that he could move everything in his car. So we got to Seattle, and suddenly went, "hmm, we don't have any furniture!" I'd brought a few things with me (bookshelves, a piano, one bed frame), but it took us a while to build up the rest. Getting a dining room table made a *huge* difference.  Anyway, good luck settling in, and have fun with it!

Regarding cleaning, I'm generally quite happy with how my husband cleans things, and he's neater than a lot of people I know. But he mostly only cleans when I ask, and it has definitely been a source of conflict. I think we've finally decided that I have to be willing to just say, "let's spend some time cleaning NOW," and not feel like I'm nagging, because that's what works best for him. And at the same time, he has now been given one job that is his job to keep an eye on and take care of when needed - the bathroom floor, because I'm not fond of getting on my hands and knees right now! So, this seems to have been working fairly well so far, but we'll see how it continues.

About weight gain - I normally eat pretty healthily, and I've been trying to get my grains in mostly whole-grain form. And for the first four months or so of being pregnant, I didn't want sweets. And then suddenly my sweet tooth came back! So, the dark chocolate stash is active again, but at least it's dark, and I don't eat much at a time.  And when I bake, which I love to do, I try and use a lot of whole wheat flour and almond meal, and cut back on sugar when I can. So far I think my weight gain is pretty normal, but I don't own a scale, so the weighing is pretty sporadic! 

And lastly, I love how excited so many people are here about seeing the Hobbit! 

[Melany]

Little out of the loop. I was in Seattle for 3 days for work and our home PC died, so this is the first time I've logged in for a week or so. Baby is dancing up a storm. Little stressed with work, have a MW appointment tomorrow. 

[Melany]

I cannot sleep. My daughter said something funny last night. I had just gotten home from my 3 days in the office and went in for a good night hug. I really had to use the ladies room and she told me that the baby must have to go, too. She then proceeded to come up with this long winded theory on a bathroom inside my uterus. I love her imagination, except when I'm doing a little dance in her doorway... hehe. :)

[maydaymom10]

Originally Posted by Chapsie 

My mom gave me "clean eating" by tosca reno and said it has good recipes in it.  My mom has been diabetic for 20 years, so she knows a thing or two.  I haven't looked at it yet, but am excited to find some healthier/more balanced meals.  I have always been a sweet tooth and my mom told me to just affirm every day to myself that refined carbs (cakes, cookies, white breads, etc) "taste like cardboard, are full of toxins, and I don't even want them."  It's been two days and I haven't had any sweets at all (that is probably a lifetime record for me, haha) and I even drove by Tim Hortons and didn't stop for a donut!  :)   I have Thanksgiving #2 with my in laws today and am nervous about all the deserts there.  Pray for my self-control!  :)   

If you like the idea of "Clean Eating" (once you look through it), then you should also check out the Gracious Pantry website. I love Tosca Reno & her approach to clean eating, but it's sometimes really high on the protein side (not a bad thing for us right now) and sometimes I find it hard to get all of that in. The Gracious Pantry website is also all clean recipes, but she tones down some of the nutrient requirements because her approach is more from a healthy eating in general side, rather than getting lean and ripped (like Tosca). That being said, I plan to resume my dedication to Ms. Reno post baby when I'm ready to get my body back a bit. 

AFM - this has been a really tough week on my emotionally. I'm not really sure why, other than I just haven't been feeling 100% and I know I'm not getting enough sleep. I had BH start up this week, which is a new experience for me as I never really got them with DS and for sure not this early. They are not painful, but uncomfortable. And I can't seem to get comfy while sleeping, which causes me to toss & turn. Then DS had a really rough night last night for some reason. He was basically up form 1am - 4am. I finally brought him in with me at 3, but even then he was upset and restless. I don't know what was going on with him - there was really no reason for it, but perhaps a bad dream. He's 2.5 yrs and still is working on telling us what is bothering him. But he's fine now, of course. Up at 7am and currently chasing one of the dogs around the house. Me, not so much. I started the day in tear when DH mentioned that he's working late AGAIN. I know I'm overly emotional from lack of sleep, but ugh. I was hoping to get a workout in this morning, but in my current state I would just end up on my face and injuring myself. I'm hoping for a good nap to renew my spirits, and some good family time this weekend. 

[Melany]

Another good site for clean eating is: http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/

We've really enjoyed a lot of her recipes.

[maydaymom10]

Originally Posted by Melany 

Another good site for clean eating is: http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/

We've really enjoyed a lot of her recipes.

I just found this site a few weeks ago. DH & I are starting our "100 days" tomorrow. I thought it was also fitting as it actually coincides with the 100 days or so that I have left in this pregnancy!

[spughy]

Just remembered the name of the book I recommend instead of Nourishing Traditions - total pregnancy brain there... I've had the book for, like, 5 years and have read it multiple times but it's on loan at the moment and I just couldn't remember!!!  Anyway, it's called "Full Moon Feast" by Jessica Prentice and it's a much more spiritual, gentle, holistic approach to food with a real seasonal bent to it.  And, the recipes are GREAT.  Well worth reading.

In other news, I slipped and fell on some stairs today and whacked my butt SO hard.  I resorted to some tylenol.  Nothing broken or seriously damaged - baby is fine, still kicking away and I didn't have any bleeding, but OMG THAT FRICKIN HURT!!!!  I was delivering newspapers (not something I normally do, long story) and it was over in another townhouse complex but fortunately 2 of the people who lived there were outside and saw me fall and helped me up (and even delivered the rest of my papers for their townhouses!) and I limped off.  I kept going for another 20 minutes or so just so I didn't stiffen up too much but then I had to go home and ice my butt. Driving afterwards was excruciating until the tylenol kicked in, then it was just uncomfortable. 

This is some kind of karmic retribution for me getting on a plane in 2 days to go to Hawaii.  Because sitting on my sore bum for the 5 or 6 hours it takes to fly between Seattle and Honolulu is going to be distinctly even more not fun now. 

[ClumsySugarPlum]

Hi, ladies. It's been fun catching up on all I've missed the last several weeks. Writing my reply in this week's thread has taken me a long time, and I hope it won't take too long to read. I didn't realize when I set out to write a reply that some new ideas and feelings would be coming up, but there they are.

Jodie – congrats on the new house!

We have been in extreme nesting mode over here too because we are changing up bedrooms to make space for babe. DH and I have moved our bedroom to our T.V. room which used to be a garage (before we bought the house). This change has included rebuilding the existing closet, painting, assembling a new bed frame (with built in storage!), and installing curtains on a track to separate our sleeping area from our “master bedroom TV area.” We even got DH wireless headphones so he can watch his creepy zombie shows while I sleep undisturbed. DS will be moving into our old bedroom, making room for his new sister (We’re having a girl! Just realized I think I need to update this in another thread!) in his current room. He was apprehensive about this, but DH got the idea to build him a bunk bed, and now he is totally stoked.

Writermama – Congrats on finishing your thesis! I can remember when DH finished his and how much stress that took off of he and I. Going back to school (and finishing) is a big deal. I hope you feel proud of your accomplishment.

Spughy and cabbitdancer – I have obviously not been paying close enough attention, because I missed the conversation about tea parties. I love this idea for a shower/ mom’s gathering too. I have my grandmother’s old melmac dishes from which I remember fondly eating my medicine (fresh raspberries from the backyard). Maybe I will have some friends over to celebrate becoming a mom again and we’ll eat off those dishes. I have always planned on saving them so a future daughter could have them to play “tea-party” with. I think that knowing I had a tea-party in anticipation of her birth would make them even more special.

Quote: Originally Posted by maydaymom10 

This is a great thought process. I'm new to the whole SAHM-thing and cleaning is something I just don't like. But, I'm trying to adopt the mindset that it is now my job to keep the house cleaned and picked up. DH gets stressed with a cluttered house, so I'm at least trying to keep the downstair picked up when he comes home in the evening & keep the dishes from piling up. The kitchen doesn't bother me to clean because it's a pet peeve of mine to cook in a cluttered kitchen. The thing that gets me is when I do bust my butt picking up, wiping down, doing dishes and laundry, it never fails that DH will freak out on the weekends and decide that the whole house needs a deep clean. Then he stressed and gets upset over "losing" his weekend to cleaning. He doesn't seem to understand or appreciate the daily work that goes into the house, so then his frustration pisses me off. I could put in a little more effort during the week - deep cleaning a bathroom (toilets & such) and giving the house a good vacuum, but I'm not going to go overboard. I just wish we could find a happy medium.

Maydaymom, prepare yourself, I think we might be married to the same man! It doesn’t help that DH works out of town a lot right now, so he’ll be gone for a week at a time in a hotel with housekeeping and without a 3-year old and dog!

I love the idea of 100 days of real food. With DH out of town so much lately and me working until at least 6:00 a few nights a week, it has been really hard to get motivated to cook anything nutritious for dinner. Now that I’m feeling so full much of time, it feels like such a waste of energy, time, and money to really cook a meal at night when I’m satisfied after five bites and ds only wants to eat kid food anyway. Apparently, this is really affecting me because my iron levels are low- 35.2, and they say anything under 36 is anemic. So, I’m starting an iron supplement in the morning and DH has promised to help make real dinners after he gets back next week. So infuriating when I come home exhausted and starving, and he is involved in some other home improvement project. I’m grateful that he’s into working around the house, but at the same time I’m like, “Really? It’s more important to assemble a bookshelf than to start a few steps of making dinner so we can not be grumpy at each other and get our son to bed at a decent time?” Thankfully, he’ll be home for the rest of the winter after next week.

Echoing Maydaymom again, this trimester has flown by and it’s hard to believe that the birth is really getting close. It’s time for me to start getting ready to give birth, and so far this pregnancy, from eating poorly to not exercising regularly, I don’t feel I’ve really prepared much. I’ve started reading some birth stories, so that is helping my visualizations feel a little more concrete. I’m hoping DH will be ready soon to prepare for his role in the birth. He was very patient and supportive last time. He mostly sat on the toilet while I labored in the bathtub as I recall. I didn’t really want to be touched during contractions. This time I think I would like him to be more hands on. Maybe these feelings are coming from my desire to just be touched period. With him gone so much lately, I just feel sort of depleted in the human touch department. He’s never been great at backrubs, but I anticipate really wanting him to touch me and hold me during labor. He’s not much of a PDA guy, and I hope he can get over his ideas of PDA because labor is not really public. It’s extremely private; it just happens to be that there are some other medical people who will be there.  We will have to talk about this….  A lot of this is coming to me for the first time now.

Now that my extra-curricular schedule is winding down I am hoping to get to pre-natal yoga a couple times per week. There is also an aqua-natal class I want to start next week as well. I loved being in the water last time, and I normally hate swimming other than lounging in a hot tub. With babe moving so much, I have really started to bond with her, and I feel a greater need to make us both feel healthy with a return to whole foods and exercise. I haven’t felt this adamant about health eating/ living since we were trying to conceive. I just hope I can follow through.

Spughy – enjoy Hawaii! I am so jealous. The idea of bobbing weightless in oodles of sunshine sounds divine.

That’s it from my end. I think I’ll have a lot more to share (and time to share) in the coming weeks and I look forward to reconnecting with everyone.

[writermama12]

Spughy, That is aweful about falling off the stairs! What is so weird is I did a similar thing yesterday!! I had slept only a few hours the night before because DS2 had a fever and I was worried, so took a short nap in the morning with him. When we got up, I was really groggy and crackly feeling and carried him down the stairs. When I got to the third step down, I tried to step over a raisin that was in the middle of the next step and I totally missed and FLEW off the stairs, like through the air, landing right on my knees and the tops of my feet. I managed to keep the baby from getting hurt, but man I know what you mean-- THAT FRICKIN HURT!!! I bruised my knees and feet and scraped the skin off my feet. Now, my knee is acting up when I walk on it too. I guess I'm just so front heavy now that my balance is way off-- I didn't realize it was even possible to fly off the stairs like that. 

Last night was no better. Four hours of sleep. UGH! This happened last week too. Hell, that's what it feels like. I was sooo tired yesterday that playing blocks with the babe and vacuuming were the only things I had energy for. I sat on my butt the whole rest of the day. Yuck.

[babytoes]

Originally Posted by ClumsySugarPlum 

Echoing Maydaymom again, this trimester has flown by and it’s hard to believe that the birth is really getting close. It’s time for me to start getting ready to give birth, and so far this pregnancy, from eating poorly to not exercising regularly, I don’t feel I’ve really prepared much. I’ve started reading some birth stories, so that is helping my visualizations feel a little more concrete. I’m hoping DH will be ready soon to prepare for his role in the birth. He was very patient and supportive last time. He mostly sat on the toilet while I labored in the bathtub as I recall. I didn’t really want to be touched during contractions. This time I think I would like him to be more hands on. Maybe these feelings are coming from my desire to just be touched period. With him gone so much lately, I just feel sort of depleted in the human touch department. He’s never been great at backrubs, but I anticipate really wanting him to touch me and hold me during labor. He’s not much of a PDA guy, and I hope he can get over his ideas of PDA because labor is not really public. It’s extremely private; it just happens to be that there are some other medical people who will be there.  We will have to talk about this….  A lot of this is coming to me for the first time now.

I also am feeling like birth time is getting very close. This is DP's first time doing any and all of this and he's got no idea what is going to happen. I am blessed that he is a very patient and loving man, so I know he will follow my cues of what I need him to do. I am very sure I will want him very close and very hands on. I have with my previous births, amazingly enough even though my ex-husband and I had a very volatile relationship and did not ever get along, he was an excellent birth partner, took my cues and did exactly what I needed him to do at every turn (don't tell DP, I think it will hurt his feelings).  I have told DP how I have been through my other births, I am a quiet birther but will suddenly get very vocal once transition hits. I have taught him what a lot of these birthing terms mean... Like transition, and even Braxton Hicks were foreign words to him, he has come a long way! We are very touchy-feely with each other now, and I know I will pull him in even closer while in labor... I am really looking forward to the experience! I don't think he realizes how amazing his point of view will be... his daughter, born at home in the most gentle and serene setting. This will change him forever, and I think I will see him cry for the first time, actually I know I will.

Oh I am so ready!! The next couple months will be very hard for me to get through because I am so excited for this birth!

[Melany]

Hello, again.

I had my MW appointment last night and she is moving me up to every 2 weeks since I'll be 26 weeks on Sunday.

Had a MAJOR pregnancy brain moment this week. We live 2 hours east of Seattle and I drive over once a week for work. I had to go over for 3 days and I was 1/2-way to the office when Pete called my cell and asked me to check my purse for his car keys. Not only did I have both sets of the keys for the car he was driving, but I had both sets for the one I was driving and the spare set for the minivan that is currently in the shop. I was almost to the top of the pass and I had to turn around. Luckily, he was driving the car that had a valet key, so he could get to work, slowly, but he could get there. He would have been fine with that if I hadn't planned to be out of town for 3 days. I got the keys to him and turned back around to go to work. It only took me 3.5 hours to do my commute. Stupid pregnancy brain. On the plus side, my purse was significantly lighter after that.

As far as the 100 day pledge, I'm not sure I can commit to 100 days. I am planning the 10 day thing. My kids are SO picky. We don't do a lot of processed foods as it is, but there are some items I have a major weakness for. :)

[SamSarah]

Originally Posted by Melany 

Had a MAJOR pregnancy brain moment this week. We live 2 hours east of Seattle and I drive over once a week for work. I had to go over for 3 days and I was 1/2-way to the office when Pete called my cell and asked me to check my purse for his car keys. Not only did I have both sets of the keys for the car he was driving, but I had both sets for the one I was driving and the spare set for the minivan that is currently in the shop. I was almost to the top of the pass and I had to turn around. Luckily, he was driving the car that had a valet key, so he could get to work, slowly, but he could get there. He would have been fine with that if I hadn't planned to be out of town for 3 days. I got the keys to him and turned back around to go to work. It only took me 3.5 hours to do my commute. Stupid pregnancy brain. On the plus side, my purse was significantly lighter after that.

Thank you Melany, this is comforting.  I drove all the way out to Ikea yesterday, something that I don't want to do after work (rush hour) or on my weekend .. so have been procrastinating on.  I arrived to the parking spot to realize I left me wallet at home and had to turn around.  Not quite as bad as the 2 hour commute your face, but none-the-less frustrating.  

[spughy]

Well fuck.  Excuse my language, but I've been trying to teach my daughter how swearing ought to work and this is a situation that definitely calls for some colourful language.

We had to cancel our trip to Hawaii.  The condo we were renting fell through - flaky owner (DH thinks he was on drugs) just would not send final confirmation or billing info, and we weren't willing to show up in Honolulu with no confirmation or anything - plus we had no way of getting keys, etc... just really shitty situation.  Theoretically we had a condo booked but as it got closer and closer and we hadn't paid and had no physical meet-up info and the dude would NOT answer the phone then when he did was just... not all there.  So we had to bail on the whole thing.  Last-minute accommodations would have set us back more than an additional $1K and we just can't afford it.  Fortunately our flight was on points so we can just get those refunded (minus a fee of course).

 

That pretty much covers it.  I'm also angry at DH and myself for not planning better and generally, just HUGELY disappointed that I won't get any sort of break before the baby comes - unlike jobs where you get mat leave - however meager it is where you are - I can't "leave early" and I will be up at 7 am making breakfasts and lunch and walking the dog and cleaning the house and paying bills and grocery shopping and all the other not-terrible but boring and mundane things until I give birth. Yay birth!  Now it looks like a vacation - I can maybe take a few days off from household stuff!  Then after exhausting MIL's help quotient I will be back doing exactly the same things after the baby is born, except with the added bonus of probably constant nursing, crappy sleep and even more stressed out husband.

Life is so much better when you have something to look forward to.  Right now, the most I have to look forward to is a 2-week hiatus from making ONE lunch before 8 am every day over DD's christmas break (counterbalanced by finding activities with which DD can entertain herself during those two weeks), followed by 2 1/2 more months of drudgery and miserable weather, followed by god-knows-what horrors of labour followed by more of the same, only harder.  Woo.

Don't get me wrong - I do LIKE being a SAHM and generally I find my life fulfilling and happy.  But... I was just so looking forward to two weeks of enjoying no schedule, no winter clothes, no computer, no DH griping about work, no before-school rush and no after-school crankies...  the loss of that is making it really hard to think positively about the foreseeable future. 

[SlimP]

Spughy, that totally sucks about your holiday plans. Can you do some fun holiday stuff out locally or have a little spa day away? I feel the same about the drudgery of SAHM life. It has it's advantages but you need a light at the end of the tunnel, a small reward for the largely thankless draft

I'm feeling similarly to other posters, thoughts turning to birth preparations and plans, partners roles, the reality of another baby hitting home. Pregnancy brain has taken over making it hard to focus on anything much and my cooking methods have changed considerably. Usually we have very little processed food but I'm finding the convenience irresistible right now. Thanks by the way for the rundown on Nourishing Traditions, I have a copy but haven't looked ar it much, Clean Eating and Full Moon Feast sounds more inspiring and might get me back on the straight and narrow!

We have to move out of our leased house too and find another home before due date.......trying to not worry and to believe that the perfect place will turn up, in the area and in timely fashion. I must not be too swayed by pregnancy hormones or we'll end up in a dark, cosy hole which would suit my nesting instincts but not the family. It's hard to know my own mind presently, I'm not sure if it's me or baby in my driving seat.

Clumsy, I might steal your earphone idea as I had a full night of zombie nightmares after watching The Walking Dead with DH last week.......not a restful night. My sensibilities are too delicate for adrenalin-packed shows right now. I need calm escape on my couch, not edge-of-my-seat apocalyptic action. Bring on the feel-good Christmas movies I say!