[Newlifestyle]

Hello Coaches,

Today was a great day. Food and exercise on plan. I also spent time with DGD which was fun. I went for a pedicure and she cut my nails too short. It hurt my big toe.

Joy - I find it much easier when I write my food plan down. I hope the event went well today.

Karen- I thought of you as I heard about the horrible rain in Arizona and that a 13 year old boy is missing. Mother nature is scary at times.

Maryann - It is nice to hear that you and DH had time to process your situation. Thinking of you at the family reunion and hoping all is well.

Hello to everyone. Have a great night.

Take Care
Ann

[nationalparker]

Doctor appointment this morning and took vacation in the afternoon to get stuff done - errands, chores and unpacking stuff I'd packed up when we did the dining room. I'm putting fewer items on the shelves...some are getting passed on, while others are just getting alternated.

For as much as I'm stressing about thus weight gain that's sky rocketed, dr said everything was perfect ... Great BP, cholesterol, triglycerides, blood sugar etc...felt good that even though weight is up body is healthy.

Dh's daughter had her baby today so we drove to where she is to see her. Baby had a few issues so we'll return tomorrow as well.

[silverbirch]

I'm posting. Just in from 20 minutes walk along the lane. Only one car passed me! It used to be like that when I was little.

[gardenerjoy]

My event last night went well by all accounts and I followed my food plan. Today gets to be a bit of a recovery day. The only appointment on the calendar is the HVAC guy who will top up our freon. Today's the last day will see a high under 100 for the rest of the week. Some years, St. Louis never has a high of a 100.

maryann: Yay for lots of walking!

karenrn: Good job maintaining over vacation and for thinking through how to make a good adjustment for your temporary circumstances.

Newlifestyle: Yay for time with DGD!

nationalparker: Glad you got a good report from the doctor. Thinking of you as you deal with the stresses of a baby with medical issues.

silverbirch: nice to get a quiet walk on a summer day.

[karenrn]

Good morning coaches,

Food on plan and today's exercise was a walk with Otis and a friend. I have an appointment after lunch to pick out plumbing fixtures with the kitchen designer, so I won't go to yoga today. I don't want to leave Otis much until he gets used to it here.

My friend checked on Otis yesterday when I went to Crossfit and he was being quiet. By the time I got home he was whining, so I will start taking him into dh's office on Mon/Wed/Friday when I go to Crossfit. Probably in a week or so he will be more used to being here.

Dh and I went over to our house last evening to see how the demolition was going and they were basically done with it. The walls around the kitchen were all removed and the new wall which is between the kitchen and dining room was framed. It was just amazing what they got done in a day. It gives me hope.

GardenerJoy I'm glad your event went well. As your weather is a little warmer, ours is actually a little cooler at right around 100 for the next week. So much better than over 110 degrees.

Silverbirch It must be so nice to walk where it is quiet.

Nationalparker Being healthy is the most important thing. I'm glad everything is good. I hope the issues with the baby are minimal. Is it a baby girl? When you said going to see her I wan't sure if you meant dh's daughter or the baby.

Ann That's terrible that she cut your toe nails too short. I don't think I'd be going back there. The person who is missing here is in his 20's. Nine people drowned and it is likely that tenth person did as well. So very sad. They were in an area where there was no cell phone coverage, so they wouldn't have known there was a flash flood warning posted.

Take care everybody.

[Newlifestyle]

Hello Coaches.

I had a busy morning but remember to plan meals and exercise as reminded by Joy (thank you Joy). It is funny because when I write things down and have them planned I do much better. I am not sure why I slip with this one. I saw some friends and talked them into going for a walk. It was nice to get out walking with friends.

Nationalparker - Great news you are healthy at your Dr's visit. That is wonderful. Hoping baby and mom are doing well.

Silverbirch - Kudo's for getting out for 20 minute walk. I hope all is well with you.

Gardenjoy - wow temperature over 100, remember to stay cool and hydrated.

Karen- That is so sad about the death's because of the weather. Floods can be so destructive.
Otis is lucky to have you, you take such good care of him.

Hello to everyone else and I hope you are all well and have a great day.

Take Care

Ann

[silverbirch]

Good morning, all. I keep trying to get a handle on my days. I write a plan and each day something happens to blow the plan to smithereens. I keep keeping on. If I've achieved one or two things from the plan by the end of the day then I'm pleased.

Newlifestyle, you're quite right that days go better with plans.

karenrn, glad the work's going well at the house. I hadn't quite realised that it was going to be so serious!

gardenerjoy, you're on a roll with checking in! (I've just googled HVAC and freon! Some things that are part of everyday life to us are quite strange to others ...)

nationalparker, hope the baby's OK. And it sounds good that you're passing things on. I'll take some things to a charity shop today.

maryann, hope things are going well with lots of walking.

onebyone, thinking of you.

[nationalparker]

Finding my time is in short supply here lately (or I'm not allotting it well). I have add'l dr. appt this morning and decided to take a half vac day this afternoon to keep things moving along this afternoon at home. I had to work late yesterday, so got home, changed and we headed to the hospital (an hour away) ... DH's daughter had a son, and he'll be in the NICU for a while, they've said. Not sure if that's weeks or what. We'll see.

Food was good yesterday, despite a lunch out with a new friend (maybe not friend YET, but it sounds funny to say new acquaintance!) ... but then we ate dinner at 10 p.m. on the way home and went to Applebee's. I chose well ... but then the waiter said we could add an appetizer, so I chose the two side salads option and DH was like OH NO... so I said you pick. (WHY??!!!??) and he picked the onion rings. I ate several of them, and they were delicious. But STILL. Frustrated at myself, not him.

I'm going to try to get out and mow the front yard before showering for the dr. visit this morning. It's MUGGY.

[gardenerjoy]

I had an achievement yesterday--I refrained from eating bread the minute that it came out of the bread machine. I let it sit on the counter until supper. By then, I could slice it thinly and we had amazing turkey sandwiches for supper (DH cooked the turkey sous vide and, then, smoked it on the grill).

I walked at 7:30 this morning. My normal walk time is between 3 and 5 in the afternoon, but not this week. Gotta beat the heat. Although, even at 7:30, I came back more sweaty than normal. The guys working on the road in the neighborhood were already pouring their second truck-load of concrete. I imagine they'll be headed home by early afternoon.

karenrn: That is fast progress on your remodeling!

Newlifestyle: Planning meals and exercise work like magic for me, too -- a great tool when I actually use it.

silverbirch: For me, having a plan is more important than following it -- my day goes better even if it doesn't go as expected. Oh yeah, I remember that we didn't have air conditioning in our hotels when we visited England. It was an unusually hot September, so we certainly would have made use of it if it had been available.

nationalparker: A half vac day sounds good when you're feeling pressed for time. I hope you got your outdoor work done early.

[karenrn]

Good morning coaches,

Food on plan, but I did use a few of my weekly points yesterday. I am basically following the same points or calories as I was when I thought I was trying to lose and I am maintaining well, which is pretty much what I want. This morning Otis and I went on a walk for an hour and fifteen minutes. We left before 5:30 so it wouldn't be too hot, but it was still plenty warm, about 86 degrees. I didn't intend to go quite that long, but I'm not as familiar with the neighborhood. At 7 we met with the contractor, electrician and kitchen designer to sort out the lighting. This will actually entail all rooms in the main portion of the house, cause the lighting had been nearly non existent. After that Otis went to work with dh and I went to Crossfit. I've picked Otis up and we are home, probably for the day.

When you talk about meal planning it makes me think it would be really helpful right now. The grocery store is only a mile away, but if I had a plan I could be sure I have the ingredients for a few days worth of meals and not be running to the store all the time.

GardenerJoy The turkey sandwiches sound wonderful. I had never heard of that method of cooking, so I looked it up. I have some great cranberry sauce that my friend made in the fridge, so I'll have to get some turkey for some good sandwiches. The demolitions did go quickly. There is a lot to do though, so I imagine the other part will be much slower. The cabinets won't be in for 5 or 6 weeks and I bet they'll find enough work to do between now and then.

Nationalparker It sounds as if your plate continues to be very full. I hope the baby improves quickly. Was he early?

Silverbirch Hey at least you're making a plan and some of it is working out. I think that is always better than not making a plan.

Ann We moved to Arizona 12 years ago and most of my new friends are hikers or walkers. Most of my socializing is done while exercising. There is the occasional happy hour, but for the most part during the time of the year they are here we are either hiking the hills or walking in the neighborhood. It may not sound nice, but I purposely wanted to find active friends. It's like double duty to be able to get a great visit and some exercise too.

Onebyone Just wanting you to know I'm thinking of you.

Well time to get cleaned up and see what I can figure out to do today. I think it may entail more organizing or a little housework.

[silverbirch]

Good morning. Thanks for your encouragement about planning. I heartily agree that having a plan for the day is better than not having one, even if I do have to go off plan when the Rest of Life strikes.

We are going to visit the SO's family next week. Well, we're going to the area but are staying elsewhere and will be doing other things as well, I hope. It's a shame we'll miss curlyjax who's been in that neck of the woods! There's lots to be done beforehand, so this morning I will work in the garden to start to square off things there. Compared with all of you, it's pretty cool here: 15C, about 60F.

Plan

Breakfast was cheese on toast. Most unusual for me but I woke at 4.30am, had a cup of tea, went back to sleep and woke thinking that this was a good idea.
A couple of cups of coffee. Done.
Edited to add: do flexibility exercises. I was going to miss these out as I want to get into the garden but I've just had a tiny twinge in my back. A warning! Done.
Unplanned: long and complicated chat with member of the family about plans for the future. As I'm not involved in driving them around I was able to get straight back to the next thing on my plan.
Work in the garden. Have done a bit. I've planted out Crocosmia lucifer which should be red but looks rather orange. Long story here which I won't bore you with.
Lunch will be tuna salad and I'll have a short walk afterwards. Lunch was nice and I've let it go down. About to go out for a walk.
Work on an article (it's going to rain this afternoon, I think). Now glorious outside but I will work on the article. I have to get ahead before we go away. Having a few nuts and raisins. Forgot to put a snack in the plan.
Tea will be something with leftover chicken and a lot of vegetables. It's going to be minestrone. Everyone likes this. I'll make the stock from the carcase during breaks from writing, and put some beans in to soak. I can use up some rocket that's gone to seed in the garden. Actually didn't use beans but used up some leftover dahl. All yummy - I had grated cheese with mine.
More writing. Doing it now.
Early to bed. On the horizon and getting closer.

I stand ready to change this plan should other reasonable demands be made of me ... Or there's a chance of getting something else done, needing more than one person.

karenrn, meal planning for more than one day is really good and frees a lot of mental space for me. So hot with you!

gardenerjoy, it sounds pretty hot where you are too. Kudos for getting out for a walk.

nationalparker, 'time in short supply' - I have that and it's not a good feeling. Sympathy about the mugginess. We had that yesterday and it broke with thunderstorms. Now it's cool.

[gardenerjoy]

My walk was at 6:30 this morning. We had a plumber come in at 7:30. Our stopped-up drain problem just turned into a small remodeling project of replacing one of the vanities in our upstairs bathroom. It would be more fun if I were feeling inspired to create a new look, but, really, I just want the sink to work.

karenrn: You and Otis are walking even earlier than I am! DH got into sous vide a year or so ago when he realized that was the secret for the tender meat that we get in nice restaurants.

silverbirch: Good plan! I like how you're tracking it.

[karenrn]

Good morning coaches,

Food on plan. Today's exercise was an hour long walk with Otis. I'll be skipping yoga because we are choosing the quartz slabs for the countertops this afternoon and I don't want to leave Otis twice. Otis was so tired yesterday he pretty much just slept under dh's desk while I was at the gym. The people in the office actually like him to come in, so from now on I will drop him there when I go to Crossfit. Dh's office is only 2.5 miles from the gym, so that works out great. I kind of figure if I spend a little time early on getting him adjusted it will pay off in the weeks to follow.

So far I finished the ironing this morning and now will get on to some other housework. One of today's jobs will be the sliding door track. It looks like it's been awhile since anyone took a scrub brush to it. Since this is a fairly small place, it is easy to notice things that need attention. When my friend is here, she is so busy with her in-laws and other family visiting that I don't think checking every crevice is high on the to do list.

After going over all the lighting yesterday, the electricians bill doubled. I can't say that is a surprise for as much as they have to do. We did come in under budget on plumbing fixtures, mainly because I decided I really don't need a pot filler. I think they look kind of cool, but I really don't cook that much pasta or whatever and it seems carrying the pot full of hot water is much more difficult than carrying it to the cooktop with cold water.

I kind of consider my main job right now is to be the stabilizing, low key and happy as possible one. Dh is a little stressed with work and not being in our own home and of course Otis is also a little out of sorts.

GardenerJoy I hate those unexpected, not really fun, expenses. I like it about as much as I like buying underwear. It's expensive, but a persons got to have it. If you have two vanities can you find a matching one? Otis would like to walk at about 4:30 a.m., but I hold him off until a little after 5, so it is light. I do like to get out before the sun is really up though.

Silverbirch Looks like you're really doing great with the planning today. I don't have to worry about tonight's dinner because it's leftovers from last night. I specifically asked dh not to take too much last night, so we could eat it again. I'm going to really do some meal planning today or tomorrow and do the shopping on the weekend when dh is home. My problem is I sometimes buy more veggies than the two of us can eat, so I need to be cognizant of that.

[Newlifestyle]

Hello Coaches,

Sorry I did not post yesterday. I can't get rid of this headache, I think it may be weather related. It is really hot and humid here. I hope to post more tomorrow. The computer is not helping.
Have a great night.

Ann

[silverbirch]

Thank you very much for your support yesterday as I worked through my plan. It really did make all the difference to me. I learnt that writing the plan to provide answers to my questions about my own daily life is the way to go. The plan has to show what I'm going to eat and, if it's my turn, what I'm going to make for tea; what kind of exercise I'm going to take; how I'm going to fit in work; how I'm going to fit in gardening; that I'm going to go to sleep at a sensible time for me. When I've got all that in place then I'm in a stronger place to respond to the unexpected, particularly from the three currently challenging areas. I know things will come from these areas, I just don't know what they are going to be!

I'm also very pleased that I'm getting back into the routine of an after-lunch short walk. Getting out in the day gives me more energy in the afternoon when I can slump, and turn to food for energy.

Remember I planted out the Croscosmia yesterday? Yesterday evening a cow reached over the wall and munched some of the larger plants, with a bit of marjoram for added tastiness! This hasn't happened for a number of years, and not at all since the wall has been rebuilt, so I'd forgotten about it as a danger.

Ann, I get very headachey on muggy days too. Is the weather likely to change?

karenrn, so great to hear 'food on plan'! Your friend will be delighted that you've done those little jobs that she doesn't have time for. I always use hot water boiled in an electric kettle for pasta, veg etc but I have a feeling that kettles are not very common in the US.

gardenerjoy, credit for keeping up your daily posting which is encouraging me to keep going! I do recognise this: 'really, I just want the sink to work'.

to all. to onebyone.