[*Wendy*]

Emma eats well for the folks at daycare ... it always amazes me how my Justine behaves when I'm not around - her teachers, etc. at school just love her!

I'm going to try your advice about using the simple ingredients that she loves (it's shocking - but she LOVES her veggies - one of the only kids I've heard of that will gobble up broccoli before her french fries, etc.). But if I put cheese sauce over them - she won't touch it!! Someone told me that if I involve her in the preparation it can make a difference ... I'm working on that.

I laughed OUT LOUD reading about your friend's baby that chose a sock - kids are so nuts!! I love it!

Longboat Key is very close to me - I'm not sure if it's in Bradenton or Sarasota County, but both of them are immediately south of Pinellas County where I live and work - only about an hour's drive. We are on the west coast/Gulf of Mexico coast of Florida, and I know some folks at work that take their long weekends and vacations in Longboat. (Personally, I don't even remember what a vacation is!!)

Hey, I'm with you on the Coke Zero - it is fantastic!! I found one lunch place that serves it "on tap"/fountain style and it is wonderful. Recently too the market where I shop added that to their fountain so we always get one of them & I share it with my daughter as we shop. I buy it in cans for at home, but there is nothing nicer than when it's freshly mixed from the fountain. Maybe I'm weird, but when I used to drink beers I preferred the tap beer to bottle/can too - it's just fresher & cleaner.

I'm sorry to hear that it's hard to get ingredients over there - have you tried Netrition.com? I don't know if they ship overseas, but I've found it's a great source for all kinds of lo-carb ingredients & treats. I'm lucky in that we also have a lo-carb grocery type store nearby where I can pick things up too.

Covered dish dinners: this is where everyone brings a home-cooked dish (main course or side item) or if you don't cook or don't have time then you bring pop, bread, store-bought cookies, etc. You never know what you are going to get, but somehow it all works out. They set it up on a buffet table and you graze along filling your plate. Sometimes it's called "potluck" too.

When you get a chance, please browse the site and go to the Journals forum and then START ONE! Once you do, you'll find lots of vistors and more advice, support, etc. I don't know how many members cruise the "Introduce yourself" thread (I do!), but I'm thinking that more tend to hang out in the journals thread.

Wendy