Well that was relatively painless.

Thanks for all the moral support, gals! The visit didn't go too bad. Step-mom gave me a piece of apple bread that I had to eat because she watched me like a hawk, but then she told me how great and thin I look, so that made me feel slightly better. And she's a psycho about healthy food, so at least I can be pretty confident the apple bread wasn't made of just sugar and butter.

And then my little brother and his friends (there were like 8 kids in the house -_-) decided to make chocolate chip cookies. Little Bro #2 has the recipe on the back of the chocolate chip bag memorized, and he has "improved" it. Instead of the normal 1-tablespoon sized cookie, he uses a 1/3 cup measure to make giant leviathan cookies.

I ate like half of one immediately after it came out of the oven, so I could punish myself and eat at the same time. Good god, that burned; but it was good. Little Bro#2 ate some of my cookie, as well, so at least I didn't have the whole 400-calories.

Here's my family tree, before I try to explain how we all fit in: (click on it to make it bigger)

I think that's even more confusing, to be honest...
Made for some good craic growing up, let me tell you!

Ok so the reason I do not get along with my father is that he basically tossed me and my older sisters aside when he Found Jesus 10 years ago. It's like we don't matter anymore; only his current wife and their 2 children matter. When I go visit him, I get the feeling that they can't wait until I leave. Older Sis #2 feels the same way. And Older Sis #1, in England, hardly ever speaks to him. She used to be his favorite before Jesus became his bff.

I have nothing against religion. To be perfectly honest, I think they're all different versions of the same basic idea, and there's no point in arguing over something that is part belief/faith and part culture/tradition. It's just silly. We should all be able to believe whatever the heck we want to without worrying what other people think.

And Daddy believes I am going to burn in the deepest, darkest pit of Hell. The VIP section that Satan has reserved just for Catholics. 

Dad only calls when he wants something. Since I live like an hour away, he never calls me. Older Sis#2 lives down the street from him, and I see her more than  he does. His religion has taken over his life. And for all his righteous preaching, I certainly don't think he's the living example of Christ's teachings when he acts like the 3 kids from his 1st marriages don't exist. It's the hypocrisy that pisses me off - not the religion. 



So after visiting Dadum, I met up with Older Sis#2 and my niece at one of the nearby farms. (They live in Upstate New York). I was going to pass on the ice cream (obvs), but then Older Sis #2 is like, "you can eat their ice cream - the custard one doesn't make me sick at all, so it should be ok for you, too." 

And then she gave me that "stop starving or I'm gonna tell Mum" look. So I got a kiddie-sized soft serve pumpkin ice cream. It was pretty delicious, and a tiny cup, so I didn't feel too bad.

But I still ate like a pig yesterday, so I'm on a hard-core fast today. I've only had a cup of tea with a splash of skim milk, and some black coffee this morning. Going to work out, then go to the mall and get spray in hair colour for my Halloween costume, and think of a reason to skip dinner in front of Mum. I'll have to feign food-borne illness, or something....