Living Maintenance - Maintainers Chat: Week Of February 22 - 28

Woo hoo, it's the last week of February! Thank goodness!! :carrot:

We're still leaking here and I'll calling our insurance company today to give them a heads up that there's a lot of water damage. But tell them not to send a claims adjuster out until all the ice and snow melts, which will be ... June? :lol: We're getting freezing rain and snow today, then it's getting colder and we're back to snow later this week.

I strained my shoulder with all the ice chopping and shoveling, so am going to focus on cardio and lower body this week (which is always what needs it!) I made it back to 95# for sets of squats and will probably stay there for a few weeks before I decided whether it would be smart or stupid to try for 135#. I was finally able to do weighted step ups for the first time in maybe four years, before the arthritis got bad. So there's a whole new world opening up to me in the gym since the last knee surgery. Yay! (and oh boy do I feel it the next day! Good hurt, not bad hurt. :D )

DH is off on a business trip today and tomorrow and I always need to watch myself when I feel lonely and tired. What I need to do is make a plan to get out of the kitchen tonight, brush my teeth, and read a book instead of sitting here at the computer within 10 feet of the kitchen. :chin: I'm reading a book of essays by a woman named Cheryl Peck, who tries hard to be a female David Sedaris but is failing miserably. But I'll finish it -- better than eating!

There's not too much exciting going on here this week, except trying to stay dry. How was your weekend? What does this last week of February look like for you? :)

Special :hug:s for Marie and fast healing!

Crazy week for me this week (leave the house at 7 a.m., get back about 12 hours later) so I was gonna whine. But after reading Meg's post I will adopt her positive attitude instead.

I weighed in at 140 this morning. Probably about 4 lbs. of bloat due to very salty snacking this weekend and drinking about 10 gallons of water during the night last night.

I'm going to be feeling very sorry for myself this week. But I will not go off plan. I'm gonna weigh 135 :cheer2: by Mar. 6th which is my 53rd birthday!

Gotta go shower! Have a great Monday everyone!

Dagmar (so cheerful it HURTS!!! :p)

Good Monday morning! Yesterday we had our first warm, sunny day in forever so I was able to get outside for a run. The rain is back today, though. No gym for me this morning, as I am taking my son for his 6-yr check-up, then I have to get another crown replaced. Hmm ... can't think of anything positive to say about that!

Hi all,

Pretty good weekend here. I was pretty happy w/ myself for sticking to my food plan Friday night. I did drink an extra beer, but avoided dessert and the extra dishes I had told myself I didn't need, and felt pretty good about it the next day. Sunday's kayaking/birthday party I did eat more than I'd planned. I was happy to go home early and sit on the couch w/ BF and watch a movie and relax - glad we didn't stay out all night. I also decided that I don't really enjoy kayaking (and had to convince myself it's ok to not like something!). I started out at the end of the group, which was full of expert kayakers. I was expecting a more leisurely paddle (it was billed as a kayak "party" after all) and spent the entire 3 hours paddling furiously trying to catch up w/ everyone, which I never did, and getting soaked by a drippy paddle. Boy did I feel the tricep workout I'd done Saturday morning, too! I got some bulk cooking and veggie chopping done, also. Preparing for another week of work, gym, rehearsals.

Ward, glad you got to enjoy the sun yesterday! Hopefully we will all get some sunny weather soon. It's stormy here today too.

Meg, be careful with your shoulder!

Marie, glad you're doing ok. You & your DH look nice and warm in those photos! I hope you have a speedy recovery.

Hi everyone else! I hope we all have a good week!

Meg, sorry to hear your house is damaged by all the weather stuff going on back there. You've had quite the winter.

Dagmar, I just read that cheerful people have less risk of heart attack. You know, I weighed 165.5 on Saturday after eating a homemade flatbread pizza with anchovies on it, then weighed 163 on Sunday. Sodium really affects us.

Wardhog, glad you were able to run. Let's see, how about, if I get that crown, I can keep my tooth? After 50, you start seeing things that way. :)

Friday I did a two-hour yoga class for people with neck and shoulder pain and woke up Saturday with back pain. What's up with that? Really it was an okay pain--I think my mid-back muscles just weren't used to doing that stuff. Plus on Wednesday I had my first trainer session where we worked on muscles I, sadly, haven't used in a while.

My Monday starts off with a training session in 1.5 hours, followed by taxes at 2:00 pm then a meeting with a contractor at 4:30 pm because we're trying to figure out how to add a bathroom without adding square footage. Oh, and without spending too much money. We'll see if that can really be done.

Oh, and we sold our house in Oregon. It was only on the market for about a week and sold for just $3K less than asking. I'm pleased with that, particularly since asking was about $10K more than I thought it would be. We have a wonderful realtor who knows how to price right.

Happy Monday, everyone!

:hug:Meg-- so sorry you are experiencing damage! Is it from the roof leaking or water coming in windows or something else? I don't live where we get ice so I don't know what damage it does. Sounds like you have a good plan for when dh is gone. I usually do better when my dh is gone as I can make simple OP dinners and not worry about him. I just finished an absolutely hilarious book if you're looking for a new suggestion. It is a laugh out loud memoir by former child star, Quinn Cummings (though it is mostly about her adult life); It is called "Notes from the Underwire: Adventures from my Awkward and Lovely Life". I read about it on Jen Lancaster's blog. I love Jen's books too!

Megan-- I can just see you kayaking! I'm pretty sure I wouldn't like it either. The only times I've tried canoeing, I've pretty much gone around in aimless circles. You have permission not to like something. Sounds like you did great with your weekend eating too!

Ward-- glad you got a run in. Sorry you have to get a crown. Yuck! I guess you may not feel like eating-- that could be a positive?

Dagmar-- you can do it!!:carrot::carrot: My birthday is also next week (March 3). I am almost exactly 10 years younger than you. I think I'll just be at my current weight for my b-day and try not to overindulge.

Dd had her bday party this weekend and I didn't eat one thing! Not the ice cream cake, the chicken nuggets, the chips or salsa, animal crackers, or the bagel bites! Dh and I made a healthy dinner and I just ate that. I've come a long way from when I would have just eaten through the party too.

I made a delicious crock pot recipe yesterday (Weight Watchers). It was Cuban style pork stew with sweet potatoes. I can't wait for my leftovers I brought to work for lunch!

I better get to work! Happy Monday everyone!!

Hi everyone! We've been getting rain the past two days, which is great because the snow is finally getting melted away. OTOH they are forecasting that the rain is going to turn back into snow this afternoon. Sigh. Will the sidewalks EVER be clear enough for running??

Meg, sorry about the damage to your house. I hope the weather clears up soon!

Megan, I would hate being at the back of the pack for kayaking! I've always wanted to try kayaking actually but I'm afraid to do a kayak trip because of that exact issue.

Sheila, glad you sold the house so quickly!

Michele, great job on the party!

Hi Dagmar and Ward!

I am totally lacking in motivation today. I am so not feeling motivated to go do my run at lunchtime (but I will do it anyway), and I am totally not motivated to actually do work here at work. :lol:

OMG what a Monday! I've been up since 4 AM, it is only 9:30 and I'm totally frazzled! I hate making reservations, and doing it for people other than myself is a bit more trying than that! I'm trying to get 4 of my employees up to Yakima, put into a hotel for 9 days, rent them a car and get a container/storage bin placed where we need it. Oh, yeah, and order a truck to drop off a trailer so we can load it to be hauled up there. It would have been fine except the first EIGHT hotels were booked and the flights are more expensive than originally figured 6 months ago. (Of course I knew that, but I doubt DH put that in our proposal.) This job had bad vibes written all over it from the beginning and it's gotten worse as time has gone on. The worst being that we had no inkling of the tax rates up in Washington. Oh, my, they are actually higher than California if you can believe it! But at this point, we're committed and have to do the job. I just wish DH had listened to me and not taken the job but he was determined....

Anyway, my 3 minute break is now over and I have to get back to it.

Good morning! I had a pretty good weekend. Got my bathroom cleaned and my laundry done on Saturday, which had been bugging me for weeks I swear... Got in a good workout with DH on Saturday - he helped me a lot with my squat form. I can't see myself obviously and haven't put a mirror in the garage yet, so it was nice to have another pair of eyes to look. Was a sunny & pretty weekend here, so got some cleaning done on Saturday and got in a nice run at the park on Sunday. Felt good to get out. Went and played trivia at a tavern with some of DH's friends from work, that was fun. Had a veggie melt & yellow rice w/ black beans, held it to two beers and split a brownie with DH. I was proud of myself.

Allison - this job has been a mess from the beginning! Hope it settles out some.

Jessica - I'm not feeling particularly motivated myself. Hope you get your clear sidewalks soon.

Michele - good job at the party!

Sheila - what did you do at your neck & shoulder pain yoga class? Was it a real class or a video? That is great news about your house selling so quick and at a good price.

Megan - perfectly okay to not like kayaking. I don't really like it either. Sounds like the rest of the weekend was productive, though!

Ward - it was beautiful this weekend! Hope your dental visit goes smoothly.

Dagmar - cheery is good. And, the salty snacking probably did hit the scale today. It will come back down. You can make the birthday goal!

Meg - yes, be careful with the shoulder! You hurt your shoulder with upright rows in the past, didn't you? Hope your snow and ice clear so you can get a claims adjustor out there soon!

Good day everyone!

Okay, things have settled down a bit. I got the flights in for the guys, finally found a hotel that wasn't booked on my 8th attempt! Bad part is that it's a lot more expensive. Rented a car for them but they'll have to put it on their own card--they wouldn't let me pay up front. And got ahold of the container place up there to have a container dropped off later this week. That was the best part--he was really nice, knows the contractor we're working for and knows the jobsite as the contractor has several of their containers up there already. The freight company should drop off a trailer today so we can load it up. I'm glad that part is over, but I'll have to repeat the flight/hotel/car thing several more times in the coming weeks.

Last night for dinner we had an amazing "scramble." I don't know what else to call it. I went to the store and bought:

zucchini
red pepper
yellow pepper
butternut squash
Brussels sprouts
red onion
mushrooms
cherry tomatoes
green beans

I chopped up what needed chopping, threw it all in a bag with some chopped up chicken and added a Zesty Herb marinade. At dinner time I cooked some rice and then put the "scramble" in the oven and roasted it all. It was truly amazing! Everyone loved it! And it was colorful. nothing worse than a bland looking dinner.

I just have to say, I am far too excited about the fact that our weekend forecast says it will be sunny and in the upper 30's. I'm laughing at it because back when I lived in LA, I would have been horrified at such a forecast, but now I'm thinking, "Sunny and warm!!!"

Allison - I love the sound of that! Similar to my veggie scramble of Friday night, we just left out the chicken.

Jessica - funny how our perspective changes! I used to think 42 was chilly to run outside, now I exercise at that temp in my garage and have gone for runs in the 30s. Hopefully those are almost done for the season for me, though.

I had a good salad for lunch today, am eating some fruit now, feeling good so far. We'll see if I can keep it going.

About time too! I was thinking we'd have an entire winter without snow - a first for us I think, at least in my lifetime.

All of this is supposed to melt in the rain tomorrow, making for happy but slushy dogs in the car.

And Mudpie, bless her pointed little head, has discovered sititng on my desk and looking at the monitor screen. Her favorite? The 3FC dancing carrot of course! She keeps swatting it and has now started scratching at the screen. Time to remove her to the floor.

I'm going out to clear off my car and then I think I'm going to bed. I feel about 4 years old saying that but it's been a long, long, day.

Have a good evening all you grownups who are staying up later than 8 p.m. :p

Dagmar :tired:

Dagmar, :rofl: about the carrot! That is too cute. Hey, I went to bed at 8:45 last night, you're not alone!

I got asked to do this career panel thing at a local university this afternoon. I thought it sounded like fun, and the people who asked me picked me because they liked me at the women in computing conference, but now I totally don't feel like driving the almost 2 hours each way to do it. In the snow, no less. Oh well. Actually to be honest I got annoyed that I have to pay for parking. It's like, you invited me to your campus to talk to students, you could at least pay for my parking! Technically I could expense it but filing an expense report is too much of a pain to bother.

On the other hand, I get out of the office for the afternoon, which is nice. It's not like I'm getting anything useful done here anyway, my brain is not functioning today.

Laughing about the carrot, Dagmar. It is my fondest wish to be able to go to bed at 8:00 PM, so I'm envious of you. I try so hard to get to bed "early" (read: the time I should in order to get 8 hours of sleep) every night. It almost never happens these days.

Jessica, hopefully the university panel will turn out to be fun. Those things are always more fun than I think they will be.

Allison, the scramble sounds delicious and very veggie-ful!

Is it only Tuesday? :faint:

Hi! :wave:

I can't believe I've been too busy to catch up here. :) I spent Thurs through Sat afternoon at a quilt retreat which was a ton of fun. Lots of sewing, laughter, and good friends. We had no internet access, but there was a TV so we kept up on the Olympics. Sat night DH had a volunteer fire dept dinner which was fun for the people, not so much for the food. After the smoked salmon appetizer, it went way down hill, and consequently I had no trouble with portions. :lol: I'm not sure where Sunday and yesterday went....

DH has gone to Anchorage to hand deliver stuff for Medicare, and I'm about to go and visit with my quilt friends and then to the gym. I have been really good about making all my workouts, and while the scale is not moving, the inches are decreasing! (or the number lost is increasing - whatever, I'm smaller! )

Glad to hear everyone is doing okay, and that the east coast folks are at least not getting too much more snow... We've had none for about 2 weeks, and the datytime temps have been in the 40's for the last week. Supposed to go back to "normal" below freezing temps by the weekend. Good thing as the Fur Rendevous, Anchorage's winter festival, starts this weekend, and the Iditarod Sled Dog race starts next weekend.

I've now had on day 5 of not preparing any meat with meals at home. I've had chicken in my salad for lunch both days, but no other meats. I feel oddly full today. Weird. And expectedly a little gassy from the veggies. :o DH is going to lower his cholesterol or else... :)

Pat - welcome back!

Dagmar - funny about the carrot!

Megan - only Tuesday... sadness... All day yesterday I thought it was Tuesday so was sad to realize I was wrong...

Jessica - they are inviting you to speak and making you pay for parking? Cheesy. Cool that you got invited to speak though.

Wow... I've been up until after midnight every night this week watching the Olympics. No going to bed at 8:45 for me!

DH is having a chalazion lanced on his eye tomorrow morning at 8:45 so I'll be either off or working from home, depending on how it goes. He has a hard time with things touching his eye, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a good result.

Good day everyone!

Pat-- sounds like fun! Sounds like you are enjoying retirement so far!!

Allison-- what is that on your dh's eye? I've never heard of it! I am funny about my eyes too and I had lasik (PRK-- the older version where they cut) on my eyes. I told them I was uncomfortable with the procedure and they said they would give me valium. I kept asking for the valium and was told they would give it to me right before they started. Long story, short-- they forgot and I was freaking out trying not to move! I was so mad. They finished and said "we forgot the valium didn't we?"! Luckily I was fine but I was livid! Your dh may want to ask for valium before if he needs it!!

Michele - A 'chalazion' is an infected tear duct that turns into a hard mass. Basically, a stye gone graxy out of control. We have been fighting it with drops, creams and antibiotics since November, it is time to get rid of it. Starting to blur his vision from the pressure of it against the eye. Yeah, we might need to ask for valium up front. He really has a hard time with the eyes - the drops and creams haven't been able to work to their best because he has so much trouble getting them in there....

Oh my gosh. I just had a Stoneyfield Organic Oikos Pure Pleasure Honey on Bottom yogurt cup. That could be the best yogurt I have ever had...

Pat The Iditarod runs through your town - how cool! I've seen a couple of programs about competitors and actual footage from some of the races and it it looks like an amazing event to compete in. If you like living with 16-dog husky teams 24-7 ;).

Shannon Hope your hubby's eye thing goes fine. I'm one of those people who can have a drinking straw stuck into their eye and not react. But try to touch my tongue and :eek:. Makes going to the dentist fun!

We had a slushy messy day here. The dogs were whooping it up in the little drifts of snow that were piled on the beach. Thye have sooo much fun - no wonder almost everyone greets me at the door when I pick them up!

I am OP for the third day and I've lost 3 lbs. of the salt bloat. My real anti-whining/eating challenge will come on Thursday as I have to drive all over the place all day long and well into the evening in another snow storm. I'm hoping my cat client makes her flight back to TO so I don't have to be there again at 7 a.m. Friday.

Tonite I'm going to be daring and try to stay up until 10 p.m. Such a major party animal :p !

Have a great night all!

Dagmar :coolsnow:

Allison, there is a ceremonial start in Anchorage - about an hour south of here, then they drive north about 2 hours for the real start. I've seen both in various years. Most of the places the mushers go through are small villages, like less than 500 pop. Nome, where they end, is much larger. And I sure wouldn't want to be around any of those places! Too many dogs, and too much mess from what I see on TV. :)

Speaking of the Iditarod, I feel in love with this dog at the shelter today. Wouldn't she look great behind a sled? One of the pitfalls of volunteering at an animal shelter--but I know I can't take her home. She sits, downs, shakes (both paws), speaks and probably does some other stuff that we're unaware of plus she's very affectionate. I can't believe she hasn't been claimed yet.

Hope everyone has a great Wednesday!

:dance: Oops, Mudpie likes that one too.

I'm weighing and journalling every day for awhile, just to make sure I don't miss any food I eat or not notice that my pants are too tight. I think I might do that in week-long blocks. Journal/weigh week 1, weigh twice a week/no journal week 2, etc. etc. I know what I have to eat to maintain but it helps to see it on paper every so often.

I think I have to make the lifelong commitment to a system but I can't wrap my mind around doing it every single day. Not yet.

Have a great hump day all!

Dagmar :woohoo:

Hi all,

I am on the same time zone this week! I'm on a business trip in california, going to a conference. I had my presentation yesterday s I'm off the hook for the remainder & I can sit back & enjoy for the rest.

Not much OP for the remainder: the hotel has a gym but the conference has an 8am till 9 pm program. I was in bed at 8.30 yesterday, did not last till the end.

Hi :wave: to everyone,

Rabbit

:wave: Rabbit! Welcome to California! I hope you're having beautiful weather. :sunny:

Woohoo, Dagmar, that's terrific! It's all about finding something that works for YOU for the rest of your life and it sounds like you're really on the right track. :high:

The sun is out here while we're waiting for the next snowstorm. This is getting very old. At least the birds are singing their little hearts out, so spring must be on its way! Not a moment too soon.

Cardio is done, I'm going back to lift this afternoon.

Good morning everyone!

I had a weird dream last night and both Shannon and Jessica were in it, too. Just cameos, though!

My treadmill had a problem this morning. I set it up for a 30 minute workout and it put me into cool down after only 17 minutes. I managed to up the # of minutes on the cool down to keep me at 30 minutes, but had to keep adjusting the speed and incline. It made it not as fun.

If I didn't have such a disdain for cold weather, I'd love to watch (at least part) of the Iditarod. And Shiela, that is a beautiful dog. So sad when they end up in shelters. As far as I'm concerned, once you adopt a pet you have it for life. Period. End of discussion (although my SIL and her kids don't seem to think along those lines and it makes me livid!).

I'm quite mad at So Cal Edison...Long story short, they STILL have not come to do the final inspection on our solar panels and our solar installer said he has to disconnect them until they do the inspection (in about 2 weeks or more). Because if we didn't, we might get fined for using the solar. In the 3 weeks or so that they've been on, we've used only 19 kilowats. I guess they want their money until they give the okay to let us be free. Maddening.

Rabbit~sorry our California weather can't be more sunny for you. We're expecting rain over most of the state for the next few days.

Meg~I can understand the "getting old" thing with the weather! When I lived in SLC, we'd get inversions this time of year where the cold icky air gets "stuck" in the valley. You can actually go up to the mountains and see the sun and blue sky, but the valley is dark. Sometimes you have to drive with your headlights in the middle of the day. Air quality obviously suffers and then they won't allow you to use fireplaces.

My afternoon was really hard today. Not physically but psychologically.

The big dog who's dying was in distress. He had had diarrhea all over the hall and was lying in it, unable to get to his feet. I managed to pull him out of his poop and on to a small rubber mat. I tried and tried to help him to his feet (so that at least the peeing would get done outside) but the poor guy just couldn't do it.

I had to leave him there without getting him outside. I had two other dogs in the car downstairs and had to get them to the beach before they messed in the car.

The look on the poor big guy's face was heartbreaking. He tried to drag himself after me on his front legs and then went down on his belly. I comforted him but saying" I'll come back later, I promise" doesn't mean much to a dog.

I did go back later and he was on his feet! I opened the door and he almost threw himself down the stairs. I got him to the parking lot and he peed all over everything. The disease he has causes him to be thirsty all the time and he drinks huge quantities of water.

Then I had to do the clean up. I can't just leave a dog sitting in an apartment full of poop, with poop all over his own backside. A box of baby wipes later I was on my way.

I don't know how many times I can do this. I feel so bad for this great dog.

The good news is that I didn't eat, even though the next stop has all sorts of cookies, candy, etc. that I have an open invitation to consume.

Dagmar :(

Oh Dagmar, that's just heartbreaking. But thank you for taking care of that poor sweet dog. Hard as it is, you're making the end of his life so much easier and better for him. :hug:

Dagmar-- I am so very sorry for you, the dog, and their family. Hugs to all of you.

The big dog was put to sleep last night. It was an end to what could have been a lot of suffering for him. I'm glad his owner loved him enough to release him now.

Dagmar

Dagmar, I'm sure it was the right decision but I know this will be a sad day for you. :hug:

I was in Petco yesterday and they have the cages of cats set right up front so you can't miss them. And all the kittens and cats were sticking their little paws out the cages, saying mew mew, and it broke my heart. :cry: I kept having to remind myself that we still have four cats at home and that's quite enough.

We're waiting for the next snowstorm but it's only supposed to be about 6" so we're lucky this time!

Dagmar - :hug:

Morning all, :coffee2:

Maybe I'm finally caught up on sleep b/c I've started waking up before my alarm goes off, after 8 hours of sleep. Nice. Food and exercise has been POP this week. I've got a free night tonight, exciting! Oh, wait, I've got lots of music to study... lines to learn.... oh well it's still sort of free.

Rabbit, that sounds like a very long conference. I hope you're able to get out enjoy the change of scenery.

Sheila, beautiful dog! There were 2 huskies at the shelter here for a few months. Of course everyone just thought, what kind of person would try to keep huskies in Florida weather? I believe they were adopted by someone who lived a bit further north.

Shannon, how is DH's eye?

Allison, sorry the solar panel folks haven't come to inspect yet. See, I don't mind watching cold weather on TV. The snow looks so happy and fluffy when I'm not in it.

Speaking of snow, I hear the northeast is once again getting walloped today. Stay warm and safe, everyone!

Dagmar, that is so, so hard - both handling with an animal unable to help itself and to let it go, even if it's the right thing to do. :hug::hug::hug:

Have a good Thursday everyone.

Dagmar, I am so sorry about the dog. :hug:

Dagmar-- so sorry but glad the owners took him in. As a pet owner, it is always hard to know when it is "time", but that dog was obviously saying it was his time.

I am frustrated with my weight but trying not to let it get to me. I really think I am a little constipated which is very unusual for me as I usually eat a ton of fiber. Not sure if I've eaten less fiber or what, but I'm hoping the extra weight will "go away" soon. Just feel very bloated and yucky.

Just a crazy, hectic week here..... wish there was time for sleep. I couldn't get out of bed this morning and I was almost late to work!

Dagmar - I'm so sorry about the dog, though it sounds like it was the right decision. I'm glad you were able to be there for him near the end. :hug:

My parents had to put their Rottweiller down on Monday - the vet came to their house at lunch and did it so it was peaceful. She has been battling with cancer for a while, and there was no fighting it left. My parents are devastated, but know it was the best thing for her.

DH's eye is still swollen and red, sore and a little blurry. We hope that when the swelling goes down the chalazion is actually gone... His was on the outside of the eyelid, which is apparently somewhat rare. They are normally on the inside of the eye I guess. It was pretty fast - only took about an hour and a half from beginning to end, and that included an eye exam.

Sheila - that is a beautiful dog. It would be hard for me to not take every one of them home with me!

Pat - I've seen the footage of the Iditarod, I can't say I would want to be around it for long either - always looks messy to me, too. :)

Meg - I bet you are getting seriously tired of the weather. You guys have been getting hammered! And I always want to take home the kitties at Petco, too. They all seem to be waving at me. :)

Allison - cameo appearance in your dream? . Hope we were doing something fun. :) Annoying about the inspection on the solar panels. How long can they make you wait for the inspection? You get fined for using the solar without an inspection? Weird.

Rabbit - hope you are enjoying your trip! 8am-9pm program - wow. I would be exhausted.

Megan - I can't even imagine being caught up on sleep! :dizzy: Glad you are having a good week!

Michele - Hope you feel better soon. Last time I felt like that I piled in a lot of veggies in a couple of days and it finally took care of it, but not until after I felt bloated and uncomfortable for almost a week.

I fear I am once again fighting off a head cold. I really want to go to the park for a run this afternoon, but we are under a severe wind advisory today, and after watching cars get blown around on the road last night I'm a little leery of running outside. Hope it has calmed down by evening. Sun is out, so it looks beautiful!

Good day everyone!

Dagmar~that is sad, but they did the right thing. Perhaps a tad bit too late, but it is a horrible decision to have to make.

Shannon~yeah, it was a cameo. It was weird, we were sitting in a circle in a gym having some sort of reunion/party. We were dressed for working out. It was definitely a 3FC sort of thing! But there was this 3rd person who was kind of being ignored, but we invited her to join the 3 of us and then she got all weird.

I don't know if we could get fined for using the solar panels, but they will certainly be upset that we're not paying them for any electricity! It goes against common sense if you ask me. But bottom line is they are a business and they want money.

The big dog was put to sleep last night. It was an end to what could have been a lot of suffering for him. I'm glad his owner loved him enough to release him now.

Dagmar

And I ate a package of cookies in his honour yesterday. Will I never learn?

I can't seem to stay OP for more than 3 days. I'll use any excuse to binge eat on the 4th. I know it's because of emotional issues but I can't face finding another therapist right now. I'm barely hanging on getting through this winter.

And now we are having the snowstorms I was praying we would miss this winter. I couldn't sleep last night because I was so anxious about going out there today and having to drive and walk in the blizzard.

I can't take any time off because of our economic situation. DH keeps promising he'll start looking for a full time job but I'm not holding my breath.

But it is Friday and I'm hoping the snow stops by the end of the weekend. I guess the worst thing about all this is I have no choices left. Dogwalking is what I do and I have to do it in Toronto. I can't move and start up somewhere else where the weather is better. I hate feeling trapped!

Have a good Friday all!

Dagmar

Morning all,

I'm a bit frustrated right now b/c I've been eating well, at a calorie level that has been "losing" for me in the past, exercising, and the scale is not reflecting my work, in fact it's going up. The only thing I can think of is a gain in muscle (but I didn't gain 2-3 lbs of muscle!). I'd made plans w/ some girlfriends to go out of town and go outlet shopping and out to "real clubs" Saturday and I don't want to go just b/c I don't want to go off plan, and don't feel like I should buy new clothes at this weight. I hate that feeling! I'm trying to just stay positive and have fun instead of being negative. And have a few drinks but otherwise eat OP.

Dagmar, I can't offer much advice but I can give you a big :hug:. Sorry that you are so stressed out. If your DH isn't much help, it does sound like maybe you could benefit from professional help. I know the last therapist didn't work out but maybe you could try another few. I think therapists are like shoes. You might need to try a couple before you find the right fit.

Allison, I hope this other "weird" person in the dream wasn't one of us! lol

Shannon, I hope it's less windy today and you can get outside for a run.

Michele, I hope your, um, difficulties resolve themself soon!

What are everybody's weekend plans?

Dagmar, how sad for you. I'm glad they made the right decision, but it's so tough--for both you and them. Eating is a visceral reaction to a loss for so many of us. :hug:

Megan, water weight? Our bodies are so weird. *Sigh*

Allison, inversions are horrible. We get them here a lot and where I lived in Oregon. I used to escape to the coast in Oregon, but here there's no place to go but up in the mountains and I'm not a snow person. The solar panel issue must be frustrating--hope they come sooner than 2 weeks.

Shannon, hope you didn't get a full blown cold!

Michele, have you tried drinking more water?

Well, I just need to "let go" of that dog. I'll drive myself crazy thinking about her. All I can do is hope she goes to a good home and that's that.

My new trainer is really working me hard. I love the way she works a lot of things at once. When we work legs, she always has a core component plus a bit of arms, too. Hopefully I can get back into the shape I was in when I moved here. The scale is inching down, which is okay with me--below my red line by a couple of pounds. Yeah!

Have a great weekend everyone! Any exciting plans? We're going to see someone we know dance and then to a fundraiser on Sunday with a silent auction.

I am *ahem* somewhat better today after eating a ton of fiber yesterday. I will work on drinking more today and see if that helps too. My rings are tight and my stomach is distended so water may be an issue too. The scale is staying put so I'm going to have to work hard this weekend to stay OP with all we have going on.

My weekend is busy! After work today, I'm going to race to the gym to get a workout in. Then, tonight we have a Beetle's themed Purim celebration at the temple. Not sure what I'll wear. We are going out to eat first but I have a totally OP meal that I always get when we go to this restaurant.

Tomorrow morning I am either going to spin or to my WW meeting. Haven't decided yet. Then, there is a free ladies health fair at the hospital and I'm going to check it out. They do cholesterol and diabetes screenings, osteoporosis screenings (my mom had), body fat analysis, etc. I have school work to work on for my class I'm taking that I'm going to squeeze in somewhere along with errands, cleaning house and cooking!

Sunday I work in the morning and then I have a staff meeting in the afternoon. The staff meeting is probably going to be 1.5 hour drive (never been there so not sure) so I might just drive from one to the other and find a Panera or Starbucks to hang out at if I'm super early. So, my whole Sunday will be spent away from home.

With the stress of my job uncertainty, I am debating taking extra meetings on Saturdays for Weight Watchers. I already work M-F at my school job, and Tuesday nights and Sunday mornings for WW. I just don't think I want to work 7 days a week but if I lose my job, the opportunity will be gone and we would really need the money. We could use the money now but I'm afraid my family life would suffer. The only time dh and I get a chance to talk is on the weekends now! What would you do?

Michele, just reading your post made me tired. You are a whirlwind of energy.

One final note on the dog's passing. My client stopped at my house today and gave me a really lovely thank you card and gift certificates for a restaurant that DH and I would never be able to afford.

We will go there for my birthday dinner next Saturday and it will be totally off plan. I will budget for that next week.

Have a great start to the weekend night all!

Dagmar

Hi everyone - I did make my run last night. 6.05 miles in the freezing cold wind. By the end of it I felt like my butt was one big block of ice. That goodness for seat warmers. :)

Dagmar - that is a tough spot to be in. Can't leave because your career is there, have a hard time with the climate there. And sounds like you get little support from DH. It is no wonder you find yourself with a lot of highs and lows. :hug: Megan is right, sometimes it takes several tries to find a therapist that clicks.

Megan - you sound exactly like me a few weeks ago. I was bloated an distended feeling, too. It finally broke with the addition of extra fiber. I also think I gained some muscle - I found some studies that said a women could gain 3 pounds of muscle over a year of hard training. I'll see if I can pull them up again for you. Also, I think muscle holds more water than fat, or at least more noticeably. More water actually does help me, but it sure puffs me up in the short term.

Sheila - glad you like your new trainer! Seeing the scale move down is a good endorsement! I've never been to a silent auction, but they always sound neat.

Allison - that inversion sounds terrible. Hope you don't get fined for the panels.

Michele - be careful that you don't take on so much now that you wear yourself out. I know you are worried about the job situation, would you be able to add the extra WW meetings layer if something happened?

No exercise tonight. My head is pretty congested, DSS was bad at school and DH worked late, I had to run all over hither and yon getting tax forms finished,
I'm just tired. So maybe some yoga, maybe not.

Good weekend all.

Good day so far! I went to my spin class--- fantastic way to start the day!!

Then I went to the Women's Health Fair. It was mobbed and they were overwhelmed with the turnout so I couldn't do much of what I wanted. I really wanted to get an osteoporosis screening but they weren't taking any more bookings and then the machine broke down. I was going to get my cholesterol and glucose checked but the lines were ridiculous so I passed. I get my cholesterol checked when I donate blood and I know it is fine (used to be high when I was heavy though). My glucose has always been fine as well and I have a physical fairly soon so I'm sure my doc will check it. I'll have to ask her about getting the osteoporosis screening.

All I ended up doing was getting my BP checked which was fine... and I got my body fat done. I hadn't had it checked since I was heavy so I was interested to see what it would be. I'm sure it wasn't the most accurate testing-- they hooked my arm up to a computer that spit out the results. They said my body fat was 12.3%! How cool is that?! I feel like an athlete! The woman doing the testing said that is "excellent" and anything over 9% is fine (you don't want to go under 9% or you can have adverse health issues)... well, not anything over 9%--- you want it to be under 25% I think.

While I was waiting I talked to the nicest lady in line with me. I would have guessed she was a fit 65 year old at the oldest. She told me she is almost 81! I want to be like her when I'm her age!! She said she wakes up every morning at 4:30 to get to the gym at 5:00. She goes to a super nice gym with all the amenities. She gets there at 5:00, gets her coffee and her newspaper and exercises, takes a class, etc. Then she uses the whirlpool, sauna, etc, takes a shower and goes home to read her newspaper. She said she's done this every day for the last 20 years! She was telling me about all these great restaurants that I haven't tried yet and how she eats anything she wants to but in small portions. She also told me she is 4'9", 110 pounds, and super healthy without any medial problems. She said she is determined never to have to live in a nursing home. What a cute little fiery lady!

Hope everyone is having a great Saturday!!

I want to be that fiery senior too! Although it looks like I'll never be able to afford what she does I can certainly continue working out and eating right.

Funny, thinking about how different the seniors in my and DH's family are. This parallels DH and myself too (sadly).

My dad is going to be 87 in June and he's still planning to go to Estonia (the old country) for 3 months this summer. He lives alone (my mom was killed in 1992) in his house, cooks his own food, and exercises every day with 2 walks, small hand weights, and a recumbent bike that DH gave him (it never got any use at our place). He reads a bunch of stuff (he's a bit mental about his politics - conspiracy stuff) every day to keep his brain active, and socializes with a bunch of other seniors who share his politics.

DH's dad is 70. He is morbidly obese, has had two knee and one hip replacement, breathes with an oxygen mask at night, and watches TV as his sole entertainment. He can barely walk with a cane any more.

He lives with a bunch of DH's family and they eat mostly take out and microwaved convenience foods. Exercise is laughed at. DH's dad used to have a social network that revolved around ourdoor activities like fishing and hunting but he can't do those any more due to his weight/physical deterioration. In DH's words his dad is "sitting around waiting to die".

Funny how the people right in front of us can sometimes open our eyes about our own lifestyles. I'm hoping DH wakes up and sees he's headed down his dad's road unless he makes some changes soon.

I'm determined to live longer than whatever number my dad reaches, but I also want to live well. That means being fit and active.

Dagmar (too much :coffee2: this morning)