“Put down that turkey leg, girl, and slowly step away from the buffet. You know you can’t eat that, you just dipped it in gravy!”

All right, the holidays are no longer coming up, they are here. The time is upon us. Maybe a party or two? When it is a pot luck or covered dish, we all like to bring our favorite best thing and when everybody does this it is an evening of feasting/disaster. Some dinner with friends can turn ugly pretty fast when you add a couple of glasses of wine and some good fellowship. I mean ugly in the calories sense, of course.  I am sure you know the drill.  Gathering means eating and eating means eating well. It’s a tradition and in all honesty, it is a tradition everyone loves and enjoys.

In the past I have shared many tips about how not to gain that holiday 10 pounds and I know everyone has taken those tips to heart and done every one of them. For example, you always fill your plate with veggies, no dip, and step well to the other side of the room and never go near the food again, right? You pour one drink and sip it all evening and when someone offers you another drink you reply that you already have one. You mix, mingle, chat, dance and have fun with friends and never think that you are really there for the fabulous food, do you?

Okay, I know that I am only kidding myself with all of this and you know that if you think you will really do all of these things you are kidding yourself too. Life is simply so good around the holidays that some things just cannot be passed up. One cannot say that this kind of pie or this particular drink will be here next week so why have it now. Why not wait a little bit since you may be a little stronger next time that temptation comes along? We get that it is actually NOT coming along again. No turkey, dressing, pumpkin pie etc. until next YEAR never mind next week. Same with Christmas candies and people’s extra special dish. You know what I mean and don’t pretend you don’t.

I frequent use, among others, the excuse that holiday time is the ONLY time I can or will have certain types of homemade candies that my daughter-in-law makes or the fudge my friend gives out to the neighbors. Even people who don’t usually holiday recipe handed down from some person in the family who did not get the memo that sugar rots your brain. Here it is NOW and it will not be here in May and that is a fact so you better eat up.

Well, Hello You Silly Person-Have you not heard of a deep freeze. Yes, here it is-tip one. I learned this from a friend just recently and I plan to do it this year for sure. Freeze stuff. Make your own TV Dinner in a Tupperware container and include turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy, and anything else that says Holiday to you. Make up 10 of them. Freeze pie. My favorite is pumpkin and I really like the kind my daughter in -law only makes for Thanksgiving. I will ask her to make two instead of one and I will add a bakery bought apple to fill in and I will freeze in individual portions the other pie. Lucky me, my husband does not like pumpkin pie-yes, that is one of the reasons I married him if you want to know the truth.  Freeze anything and everything you love and pull it out any time. If it is good enough for Marie Callendar, it is good enough for me.

Here is tip two. I can sum it up in one word-WALK!  Last year when it got cold, I took off my Fitbit and started to hibernate. I totally regret it and I am really mad at myself for it. I bet you never get mad at yourself for something, do you? Anyway, not this year. I dug my Fitbit out of the dirty clothes basket, don’t ask, and I get up and walk even if it is only a block or two. We recently visited some friends who live near Washington DC and they got up at daybreak to walk their dogs. We had our dog with us so we got up too thinking we would plod along for a while then come in for coffee but OMG when I looked down at my Fitbit we had walked nearly 3 miles. I was in total shock that I could do that. I felt so fit and buffed and jazzed until my friend started to show slides of their 120 mile walk through the Alps. Oh, well. It inspired me just enough to start doing it myself-no, not walking through the Alps, but at least walking a bit each day.    My dog is thrilled I might tell you. Your will be too. Just ask him!

Here is your final tip and it is a good one-trust me. Look in your closet for what you think you might be wearing for events and put on the outfits in total and stand in front of a full- length mirror.  When I say in total, by the way,  I mean accessories and all. Think about how nice you look in a dress that is not too tight and zipped/buttoned up easily. Now think about how much you like this dress. Finally, think about how much this dress cost you and whether or not you can afford to replace it.

So, there it is, ladies. Let me know either by email (jlresource@aol.com) or go to the BLOG at www.skatinguphill.com to talk about holiday tips and good recipe ideas to share and finally and BTW Donald Trump, for what it is worth, has just come out and instructed the faithful base to start saying Merry Christmas again. I never stopped-Did you?  Love, Judith