Nice, I figured sending would be the hard part. The making is super-fun because it's an automatic "special activity" for my kids. I'll just have to make a double of whatever I decide to send because they'll want some of it, too.
It sounds crazy, but if you put a slice or two of bread in your cookie bag/container, it allows the cookies to stay super fresh super long. It works really well.
Don't make the mistake I did though, in thinking that there were some nice cookie crumbs in the bottom of the bag. I threw them in my mouth expecting delicious cookies and discovered really stale bread instead. Major disappointment.
TheScrupleThe Oldest of BridgesRegistered Userregular
Unfortunately, I will not be able to participate this year. I bought a house yesterday, so my discretionary spending is pretty limited, but for good reasons! I will be lurking this thread and awesoming the awesome posts!
All prairie dogs just want to be heroes
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The_SpaniardIt's never lupinesIrvine, CaliforniaRegistered Userregular
Unfortunately, I will not be able to participate this year. I bought a house yesterday, so my discretionary spending is pretty limited, but for good reasons! I will be lurking this thread and awesoming the awesome posts!
People are buying houses and children every year just as an excuse to not do PA Secret Santa... =P
Unfortunately, I will not be able to participate this year. I bought a house yesterday, so my discretionary spending is pretty limited, but for good reasons! I will be lurking this thread and awesoming the awesome posts!
People are buying houses and children every year just as an excuse to not do PA Secret Santa... =P
It's much cheaper to just do the secret santa, gents.
Just saying.
Unfortunately, I will not be able to participate this year. I bought a house yesterday, so my discretionary spending is pretty limited, but for good reasons! I will be lurking this thread and awesoming the awesome posts!
Congrats!
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ArcticLancerBest served chilled.Registered Userregular
Hey @see317, are we going for a hat trick this year? ;D
I'm doing MFP and Fitbit. I've recently had to cut even lower than I was at, so it's really not fun. Fitbit and MFP link as well, I'm just trying to make my daily steps and very active times along with my calories.
I guess it depends on what your goals are. I assume you're trying to "cut"? As I'm sure we both know from experience, it's a slow, slow, SLOW process.
I recently checked the scale after not looking for a while and saw a number that was higher than my weight in HS, which was probably my highest and worst. I've been living at home and it's definitely not a great environment for me, health wise. It's not a coincidence that once I moved out, I dropped about 30 pounds. That was just from being lazy at school and not wanting to walk to the dining halls.
I just turned 25, I've got a history of cholesterol issues and now sugar issues, my insurance is up in a year, and I didn't like that all my nice jeans don't fit anymore. I jokingly said to myself that if I wanted to go through with my plan to dress up as a wrestler for Halloween, I'd need to start working out. But I've been meaning to get into an exercise routine for a while and running is cheaper than a gym. And with apps and stuff, it's probably never been easier to keep track of stuff. No more running in the street while staring at my watch so I know when to run/walk. I have an app that just tells me when to run/walk and I can listen to podcasts and it's great. You know, besides all the exercise stuff.
@The_Spaniard Hmm, I'd say you were like me, but that whole "Yeah, I used to work out 5 days a week" means you were probably at a better place than I ever was. Even your worst is probably better than my best. I'm 6 feet tall as well, so 160 is like a dream goal for me, 180 is "realistic", and that's all if I just lose weight and don't put on muscle or whatever.
edit: This is not necessarily a Santa hint, but I did some research into those "wearable tech" things people have on their wrists, and it seems like there is nothing out there yet that does all the things I might want something like that to do. They range from "complete garbage" to "almost there but not quite" to "sorta like what you want but really expensive".
I'm a 30+ year old woman trying to lose weight. The calorie goal set by fitbit/MFP/and my own calculations based on my BMR didn't work so I'm going to go (a bit) lower. My husband was able able to lose 20 lbs based on his Fitbit calculation but biology is a bitch.
Re: wearable tech - they are all limited, true. I went with Fitbit because my husband wanted a sleep tracker and he says it actually wakes him better than his alarm clock, and I wanted motivation and seeing the lights fill while I'm walking is is that for me (plus I have other friends that use it and competition you know). I also like the weekly reports it emails to me.
I'm also OK with getting treats, I just need to know the calories to fit them into my diet. Believe me, if I tried to cut sweets altogether I'd kill someone, I've just been learning to portion them in a way that doesn't sabotage my diet.
Elin on
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So I'm curious about this whole thing. This is my first full year at PA. The price doesn't seem to much, but I have no idea how you would figure out what someone wants? I'm just curious how all this works. I did read the first post, and skipped to this page.
So I'm curious about this whole thing. This is my first full year at PA. The price doesn't seem to much, but I have no idea how you would figure out what someone wants? I'm just curious how all this works. I did read the first post, and skipped to this page.
You hide outside their window and watch them for at least a week.
Then you move into the closet and watch them sleep.
it's not real until you find them on social media and conscript their friends and loved ones into terrorizing your target
I am thinking about it. It sounds fun and all, and it isn't like I'm worried about being me, even though I don't do social media. I have no FB, Twitter, etc as the real me. I guess I do in the sense that DyasAlure exists, but that is it. I don't tie to my real me. That, and only reason I have them was to try and advance my twitch channel; which isn't working.
A lot of good info can be pulled right off the forums. Usually their info message helps fill out gaps. Proxy is amazing for confirming suspicions on interests.
Yeah, some people "stalk" but don't go further than the forums. And then they just get you stuff they think would be cool. Nothing wrong with that.
Secret Santa isn't that big of a deal, DyasAlure. Just chill. Check out the previous year's threads to get some idea of how this work (usually after a GIFT GET post, the Santa will post about how they figured stuff out)
Yeah, some people "stalk" but don't go further than the forums. And then they just get you stuff they think would be cool. Nothing wrong with that.
Secret Santa isn't that big of a deal, DyasAlure. Just chill. Check out the previous year's threads to get some idea of how this work (usually after a GIFT GET post, the Santa will post about how they figured stuff out)
I hope I don't sound worried, I'm not worried. Just curious. I never would have considered this a year ago, but after hanging out in the steam thread, gifting random people seems normal now?
Yeah, some people "stalk" but don't go further than the forums. And then they just get you stuff they think would be cool. Nothing wrong with that.
Secret Santa isn't that big of a deal, DyasAlure. Just chill. Check out the previous year's threads to get some idea of how this work (usually after a GIFT GET post, the Santa will post about how they figured stuff out)
I hope I don't sound worried, I'm not worried. Just curious. I never would have considered this a year ago, but after hanging out in the steam thread, gifting random people seems normal now?
The gift walls for the past years are still up as well so seeing what people have gotten in previous years is also possible.
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The fallback I tell my Santa every year is that I would love love love to get stuff they're psyched about, too. It's a great way to find out new awesome stuff without having to risk buying it myself!
The fallback I tell my Santa every year is that I would love love love to get stuff they're psyched about, too. It's a great way to find out new awesome stuff without having to risk buying it myself!
Do you want books, because that's the way you get books (from me).
PS - I send out a lot of books.
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The fallback I tell my Santa every year is that I would love love love to get stuff they're psyched about, too. It's a great way to find out new awesome stuff without having to risk buying it myself!
Which really works out great, because I love to send stuff that I would like to receive. My default question when trying to pick something out is "Is this something that I would like?", and it hasn't failed me yet. At least, I don't think it has. Really, you'd probably have to send a severed head to get a negative reaction (or a copy of Halo 3 wrapped in jerky and a flag).
The fallback I tell my Santa every year is that I would love love love to get stuff they're psyched about, too. It's a great way to find out new awesome stuff without having to risk buying it myself!
Do you want books, because that's the way you get books (from me).
PS - I send out a lot of books.
I love books. I'm more of a Kindle reader these days though - less to carry around, always available.
The fallback I tell my Santa every year is that I would love love love to get stuff they're psyched about, too. It's a great way to find out new awesome stuff without having to risk buying it myself!
Do you want books, because that's the way you get books (from me).
PS - I send out a lot of books.
I love books. I'm more of a Kindle reader these days though - less to carry around, always available.
My wife converted me to the land of Kindle. Turns out that was a good bet since I'm allergic to paper. Or more specifically the dust mites therein. Yay e-readers!
The fallback I tell my Santa every year is that I would love love love to get stuff they're psyched about, too. It's a great way to find out new awesome stuff without having to risk buying it myself!
Do you want books, because that's the way you get books (from me).
PS - I send out a lot of books.
I love books. I'm more of a Kindle reader these days though - less to carry around, always available.
Kindle and Audible here. I'm actually listening to a book right now, Lock In by John Scalzi. I'm downloading The Way of Kings and The Lies of Lock Lamora. I tend to have a book playing while I game, walk, and surf Reddit. Mmmm continuous books.
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Discord Hypacia#0391
Talking of Books, I actually bought a Nook not too long ago. So far I've read Fault in Our Stars and I'm almost through The Road. That's pretty much all I have for it. It's a pretty neat gadget.
I couldn't do Kindle. I don't read enough books as it is, and I feel like having a device for book reading would just end up being a huge waste of money. Right now I only ever read on the train, and even then that's only when my phone battery is dying and I can't listen to podcasts.
@Elin I was not interested in fitness trackers, really, until I saw that they had a sleep tracking component, but I've heard the best one for tracking sleep is the jawbone up24. I'm just not sure if I want to pay that much when I have a mild not-yet-weight-loss-related interest in activity tracking and a definite interest in learning about exactly how crap my sleep really is. Also I guess there are a few that do heartrate monitoring, which I also wonder about sometimes (but apparently not wonder about enough to get testing, due to the possibility that I might have something my brother was diagnosed with that my doctor apparently thinks is a made-up thing) but there isn't one that does both well because the HR monitor is bulky and you wouldn't want to sleep with it on. I like data, is what I'm saying, but these things are pricey.
That is how the sleep tracking works, right? I mean I don't have to do data entry, these things just figure it out? I wonder if it can figure out how long it takes me to actually fall asleep. Maybe I'll have to do data entry for that part.
@mare_imbrium my husband says that the Fitbit tracks "restless" periods i.e. moving around excessively. You get a chart showing restless periods and sleep periods. You can also set an alarm to wake you up, the bracelet will vibrate to wake you.
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Discord Hypacia#0391
The fallback I tell my Santa every year is that I would love love love to get stuff they're psyched about, too. It's a great way to find out new awesome stuff without having to risk buying it myself!
Do you want books, because that's the way you get books (from me).
PS - I send out a lot of books.
I love books. I'm more of a Kindle reader these days though - less to carry around, always available.
My wife converted me to the land of Kindle. Turns out that was a good bet since I'm allergic to paper. Or more specifically the dust mites therein. Yay e-readers!
Is it considered an allergy if it is basically a laxative? I can't walk into a book store without that feeling. I try to avoid them, but I was recently out with some friends and they were all, "lets go to Barnes and Noble!" and I reluctantly agreed. Well I walk in and instantly B-line to the restrooms.
I've been this way my whole life. E-books all the way!
So after revealing all that way too personal info, I'll add that gifts don't even have to be physical necessarily. A lot of people are happy when a gift is in the form of a donation to Child's Play or otherwise. I know I'd be happy if a donation was made to cancer research, as I lost my mom to ovarian cancer a year ago.
The fallback I tell my Santa every year is that I would love love love to get stuff they're psyched about, too. It's a great way to find out new awesome stuff without having to risk buying it myself!
Do you want books, because that's the way you get books (from me).
PS - I send out a lot of books.
I love books. I'm more of a Kindle reader these days though - less to carry around, always available.
Kindle and Audible here. I'm actually listening to a book right now, Lock In by John Scalzi. I'm downloading The Way of Kings and The Lies of Lock Lamora. I tend to have a book playing while I game, walk, and surf Reddit. Mmmm continuous books.
I thought The Lies of Lock Lamora was pretty great. @Nackmatholn I've found that the bunnies love randomly hopping by while I'm reading books and trying to eat them a bit, which I thought was hilarious, but may be an effective way to remove any non-digital books you may have still.
I sent The Lies of Locke Lamora and the sequel to someone one year. Maybe @minirhyder? I can never remember. I'm also all kindle at this point except for graphic novels obviously. But I don't buy the latter that often. Considering how many books I read, this just keeps our shelves and house from being overrun.
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ArcticLancerBest served chilled.Registered Userregular
On talk of E-readers, I quite enjoyed my Kobo. Was nice to always have access to a new book if I was in the mood.
... But then it broke. I've gone back to good old paperbacks, and still enjoy that just as much. I just wish I had space in my apartment for a bigger book shelf. Anyway, suffices to say that books are indeed awesome, although I currently have a backlog of about 6, so I don't necessarily need more right now.
My then 2yo son put his knee through my ereader screen last year. Fortunately, now I got my father-in-law's hand me down Galaxy Tab 2 I can use the Kindle app to read my books. It's a bit too bright for night reading still, but it's something. I actually thought about getting the Tab S because it has an AMOLED screen I could make black (completely off) with white text that would work better for night reading, but $400 was a bit steep compared to free. :P
That was my original plan, to pick up a Tab but holy shit, the prices on those things is nasty. Figured I have a smart phone for browsing and an e-reader is so much more fitting. Just a shame the Barnes & Noble digital stuff is so limiting. No LOTR Collection
I couldn't do Kindle. I don't read enough books as it is, and I feel like having a device for book reading would just end up being a huge waste of money. Right now I only ever read on the train, and even then that's only when my phone battery is dying and I can't listen to podcasts.
I don't have an actual Kindle, just the app on my phone. Dragging around a Kindle would be like dragging around a book - another whole thing to keep track of.
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Don't make the mistake I did though, in thinking that there were some nice cookie crumbs in the bottom of the bag. I threw them in my mouth expecting delicious cookies and discovered really stale bread instead. Major disappointment.
It's much cheaper to just do the secret santa, gents.
Just saying.
Congrats!
Perhaps I can interest you in my meager selection of pins?
I'm a 30+ year old woman trying to lose weight. The calorie goal set by fitbit/MFP/and my own calculations based on my BMR didn't work so I'm going to go (a bit) lower. My husband was able able to lose 20 lbs based on his Fitbit calculation but biology is a bitch.
Re: wearable tech - they are all limited, true. I went with Fitbit because my husband wanted a sleep tracker and he says it actually wakes him better than his alarm clock, and I wanted motivation and seeing the lights fill while I'm walking is is that for me (plus I have other friends that use it and competition you know). I also like the weekly reports it emails to me.
I'm also OK with getting treats, I just need to know the calories to fit them into my diet. Believe me, if I tried to cut sweets altogether I'd kill someone, I've just been learning to portion them in a way that doesn't sabotage my diet.
PSN Hypacia
Xbox HypaciaMinnow
Discord Hypacia#0391
You hide outside their window and watch them for at least a week.
Then you move into the closet and watch them sleep.
Or you just e-stalk them, either way works.
Steam
I am thinking about it. It sounds fun and all, and it isn't like I'm worried about being me, even though I don't do social media. I have no FB, Twitter, etc as the real me. I guess I do in the sense that DyasAlure exists, but that is it. I don't tie to my real me. That, and only reason I have them was to try and advance my twitch channel; which isn't working.
Again, sounds fun, still thinking.
Secret Santa isn't that big of a deal, DyasAlure. Just chill. Check out the previous year's threads to get some idea of how this work (usually after a GIFT GET post, the Santa will post about how they figured stuff out)
3DS Friend Code: 2165-6448-8348 www.Twitch.TV/cooljammer00
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I hope I don't sound worried, I'm not worried. Just curious. I never would have considered this a year ago, but after hanging out in the steam thread, gifting random people seems normal now?
The gift walls for the past years are still up as well so seeing what people have gotten in previous years is also possible.
PSN Hypacia
Xbox HypaciaMinnow
Discord Hypacia#0391
Do you want books, because that's the way you get books (from me).
PS - I send out a lot of books.
PSN Hypacia
Xbox HypaciaMinnow
Discord Hypacia#0391
Man Arctic, I don't pick the names, I just buy the taffy. You'll have to ask Hypatia.
I love books. I'm more of a Kindle reader these days though - less to carry around, always available.
My wife converted me to the land of Kindle. Turns out that was a good bet since I'm allergic to paper. Or more specifically the dust mites therein. Yay e-readers!
Kindle and Audible here. I'm actually listening to a book right now, Lock In by John Scalzi. I'm downloading The Way of Kings and The Lies of Lock Lamora. I tend to have a book playing while I game, walk, and surf Reddit. Mmmm continuous books.
PSN Hypacia
Xbox HypaciaMinnow
Discord Hypacia#0391
3DS Friend Code: 2165-6448-8348 www.Twitch.TV/cooljammer00
Battle.Net: JohnDarc#1203 Origin/UPlay: CoolJammer00
That is how the sleep tracking works, right? I mean I don't have to do data entry, these things just figure it out? I wonder if it can figure out how long it takes me to actually fall asleep. Maybe I'll have to do data entry for that part.
Wii: 4521 1146 5179 1333 Pearl: 3394 4642 8367 HG: 1849 3913 3132
PSN Hypacia
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Wii: 4521 1146 5179 1333 Pearl: 3394 4642 8367 HG: 1849 3913 3132
Do you want gift escalation?
Is it considered an allergy if it is basically a laxative? I can't walk into a book store without that feeling. I try to avoid them, but I was recently out with some friends and they were all, "lets go to Barnes and Noble!" and I reluctantly agreed. Well I walk in and instantly B-line to the restrooms.
I've been this way my whole life. E-books all the way!
So after revealing all that way too personal info, I'll add that gifts don't even have to be physical necessarily. A lot of people are happy when a gift is in the form of a donation to Child's Play or otherwise. I know I'd be happy if a donation was made to cancer research, as I lost my mom to ovarian cancer a year ago.
I thought The Lies of Lock Lamora was pretty great.
@Nackmatholn I've found that the bunnies love randomly hopping by while I'm reading books and trying to eat them a bit, which I thought was hilarious, but may be an effective way to remove any non-digital books you may have still.
... But then it broke. I've gone back to good old paperbacks, and still enjoy that just as much. I just wish I had space in my apartment for a bigger book shelf. Anyway, suffices to say that books are indeed awesome, although I currently have a backlog of about 6, so I don't necessarily need more right now.
Perhaps I can interest you in my meager selection of pins?
@Hypatia You're a (end) boss for doing this.
Let's play Global Thermonuclear G&T Secret Santa
The only way to win is not to play? No, that doesn't make sense. Doesn't make any sense at all. The only way to win is to get everyone to play.
I don't have an actual Kindle, just the app on my phone. Dragging around a Kindle would be like dragging around a book - another whole thing to keep track of.