[curlyjax]

DH had a good few nights thank goodness. He felt well enough that we were able to go to see some amazing brick townhouses in the historic South end of Boston. There was an open house so we went to see how the other half lived. I asked one of the guides if she knew how much the lower level apartments rented out for, and she merrily laughed and said she was renting out a two story one for 5,000 a month.. yikes! Anyhow it was nice to do something different.
I have been doing some emotional eating and not doing well but back to square one today.

Nationalparker- ooh your food always sounds good. I think you could be a chef in a healthy restaurant as another career!
Bill- interesting about Masonic Temple!
Gardenerjoy-great strategies for your social events! I should think of cookies as artwork too.

[gardenerjoy]

My predictions for food at the birthday party were all wrong. But, thinking them through in the morning gave me the right mindset to think through the challenges as they presented themselves. I felt good about my choices and the scale is back to my low reading for the month. Yay!

All the activity yesterday and the sleepless night the previous night have me feeling delicate this morning. That can be a trigger for overeating. But if I'm really attentive to what I want, it's easy and distracting activity, not food.

Okay. I have a plan of low-key activities and healthy food. Credit!

Weigh-in: -0.15 kg, Exercise: +25, 805/1200 minutes for October

nationalparker: you might try linking up with Wordless Wednesday. They just want a photo, it doesn't matter if it's new. I sometimes find that a good outlet if I'm in the mood to practice my photo-editing skills on an old photo. http://wordlesswednesday.blogspot.com/
There's a thing going around Facebook about posting black and white photos, so I checked to see if there's a weekly linky for B&W and found this one: https://blackandwhiteweekend.blogspot.com/

BillBlueEyes: I learned a few years ago about Prince Hall Masons -- founded by and for African Americans in 1784. That early date is so surprising! It started in Boston because black men were denied admission to the St. John's Lodge.

curlyjax: I'm glad that your DH is doing well enough to have a fun outing with you.

[nationalparker]

I can't remember a Sunday night on a regular weekend that I wasn't wishing I was off on Monday. Not even during my slower time at work. We were treated to just a gorgeous sunny warm day today, with rain moving in tonight, along with cooler temperatures. I worked hard and steady in the kitchen for several hours, prepping the turkey meaty pasta sauce, a spicy soup with cannellini beans, carrots, onions and red pepper, along with marinara ... after making brunch. Also prepped cinnamon apples to put with plain vanilla ice cream tonight. Did a late lunch with a new recipe for chicken thighs on rice with an onion/garlic/lemon "sauce" ... I only tried it because I rescued the bone-in thighs from the freezer and the recipe was "ok" but only mediocre bc the thighs had too much fat on/in them. Too much work for a so-so recipe. Kitchen is spic and span now and my office work is wrapped up as well.

I'm fighting off a cold still, and am fading fast. I didn't sleep well at all last night. A combo of mid-life plus got to bed way too late (after 1:30 a.m., too late for me), our cat had brought a mouse she caught in the garage into the house - I thought she had a cobweb on her face and let her in, followed her to get it until the cobweb took off. Great! Right into our bedroom. This is after DH decided to sleep outside in the hammock on the last nice weather night for a long while. SO it was just me and the mouse and I kept looking for him but no luck. Finally heard a bit of ruckus at 5 and the kitty had terminated his life so I took him outside to be buried today. I hate that. I honestly think they're pretty darned cute - not much different from hamsters. Then was awake for good.

GardenerJoy - Thanks for the wordless Wednesdays tip! I'll try to remember! I think I'm going to start a few posts and just work on them as I can, posting when done. I am going to rework my unspoken eulogy for him for his birthday this Tuesday. I have good memories of nearly always visiting him then.

CurlyJax - Glad you were able to get out with DH and enjoy time together. Hope you were able to spend good time today as well.

Bill - Will your DGD dress up for Halloween next week? If so, will you be able to see her all duded up? My new neighbor caught me to ask about the number of trick-or-treaters we'll get next week. I said it's been drastically down the past two years, maybe 12 or fewer ... so that will jinx us and we'll be mobbed without sufficient candy.

[BillBlueEyes]

Diet Coaches/Buddies – Kept on my eating plan and had no snacks, CREDIT moi. The tough part came when I was trying to get something done in the evening and found myself thinking 'hungry'. Of course it wasn't hunger. So I thought about having to write here that I'd had an evening snack of something from our pantry and just let the thought of you guys help me stay my path. Lunch was the piece of leftover salmon from days ago. It was even better for all the days I've been thinking about it. I ate lunch out on the patio in warm, sunny weather - just the best.

Walked, CREDIT moi, to a big yard sale at a nursery school to find stuff for the DGD. I just wallowed in the stacks of books at $0.50 each. DW had to remind me that we already owned several that I'd put in my bag. We only need one copy of Runaway Bunny despite how much I like the book. We bought three bags of stuff; it's easy to want things in the frenzy of a whole bunch of folks trying to grab things.


Joy (gardenerjoy) – Super Kudos for planning in advance to achieve the mindset that led to good choices at your DGN's birthday party. [Thanks for sending me to learn about Prince Hall Masons - love the images since I'd never wondered how African-Americans became Masons back in those days.]

nationalparker – We're having the same amazing October weather. Ouch for having to deal with a cat and mouse all alone. Sounds like you got a lot of stuff done. [Yep, the DGD is a lamb in a white furry costume; the DD has already posted her pictures - possibly because she might not put it on again for actual Halloween.]

curlyjax - Just terrific that you and your DH did a tour of the historic South end of Boston - what a great area to strut about when you're feeling good. We only get to see that part of town when we go to a performance. The doors on each house are impeccably restored. WOW for that rent! Kudos for recognizing emotional eating and setting yourself to get back to square one.

Readers -

chapter 5 Week 1 - Get Ready: Lay the Groundwork

day 1 Record the Advantages of Losing Weight

Do you remember having thoughts like these before? If so, you know just how persuasive they can be. Chances are, there were times when you bought into these kinds of thoughts, strayed from your diet, and stopped losing weight - or worse, quickly gained back the weight you had worked so hard to lose. You need to learn how to combat these kinds of sabotaging thoughts in a strong, forceful way. Otherwise, you might very well follow your old path of giving up when the going gets tough.

Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Beck Diet Solution (Pink book), Pg 55.

[gardenerjoy]

I coped with my low-energy day yesterday without overeating. Credit!

I ended the day feeling frustrated that I didn't accomplished more. In retrospect, I want to give myself credit for accomplishing so much on low-energy day.

I have a plan for the day that incorporates all the things that I didn't get done yesterday and still looks reasonable. We'll see if it is!

Weigh-in: -0.05 kg, Exercise: +30, 825/1200 minutes for October

nationalparker: we had zero trick-or-treaters last year, so we're abandoning the tradition. We live up a hill off a dead end street, so no one is going to come up if our lights our off. I might take a walk right when it gets dark to see what, if anything, goes on in the rest of the neighborhood.

BillBlueEyes: thanks for the description of how you avoided an unplanned evening snack -- I can use that!

[onebyone]

Coaches

Hi there.

I do believe my super-busy string of events with hard deadlines one after the other has been completed. There are, of course, more deadlines but when you apply for grants and for shows there are always deadlines. I'm good with that.

Today is the first day I can comfortably stay home and tend to some paperwork. Unfortunately I can feel the start of a sore throat but I'm hoping some rest will help with that. Rest and drinking lots of fluids.

Weight-wise no real change to report. I have been unable to stay on plan and so I am not losing anything. However I am not gaining anything either which I attribute to my "trying to stay on plan". My trying is keeping me in maintenance, but my inability to commit day after day is preventing more weight loss from happening. I may, finally, be done with this pattern and able to commit to taking some serious weight loss actions. The fact that my birthday is approaching is always extra motivation. The fact that a recent terrible picture of me taken while I was working on a public art project was picked up by 3 or 4 local papers and printed and re-printed has also stuck with me. As I said to DH. I am sure I am empowering someone, as size of body should never deter anyone from doing anything they want to, but personally, I'd like to look better in photos.

That feels so trite, so trivial to say. But it is true.

DH is taking a mental health day. Poor guy. That constant scrutiny by THREE people at his work as he tried to improve his work to their satisfaction is wearing on him. He had to create a "what I learned from you" list of things itemizing what valuable things he learned from these three that has made a world of difference to him. He had a list, but when they scrutinized it, they said it was too short and not detailed enough.

I wish he would put his resume out there but he won't.

Oh well.

[nationalparker]

Out sick from work but ended up working at least a half day before I got a nap. Will go in tomorrow but if not feeling great, will delay until meds kick in. Up most of the night, so I'm hoping I'll sleep thru tonight. DH is on the couch. He always gets SO offended when I move to the couch when he's sick. I'm not offended...I like being able to put on tv if I fall awake.

The evening was very long tonight...turns out our clock is dead. Said it was 8 when it was 9:30. Better note tomorrow.

[BillBlueEyes]

Diet Coaches/Buddies – No snacks, CREDIT moi, included the evening event spent with friends around a table of good food. I only had a six ounce glass of cranberry juice diluted with water ignoring the cheeses, crackers, and nuts including shelled pistachios. Having an on plan day clears my mind.

Walked, CREDIT moi, part of the way to class and back. The good news is that we finally took Lewis and Clark across the Rockies to the shore of the Pacific Ocean at the mouth of the Columbia River. It's been quite a hike. The story rests so heavily on the generosity and acceptance of the several tribes of Native Americans whose land they crossed. There were numerous times that their small group could be easily have been wiped out - but weren't.


onebyone – Always Kudos for "trying to stay on plan" - staying in the game is step one. Congrats for getting so much done to meet your stack of deadlines. I wish your DH well climbing out of that work improvement plan. The tension he's feeling has real sources; that system is not a level playing field.

Joy (gardenerjoy) – Kudos for making a plan that catches up "... and still looks reasonable." I find it easy to make a plan that impossible.

nationalparker – LOL at getting snookered by a dead clock. I once got seriously late because the bathroom clock was stuck at 6 - didn't notice that it didn't change. Hope you feel better today.


Readers -

chapter 5 Week 1 - Get Ready: Lay the Groundwork

day 1 Record the Advantages of Losing Weight

If, on the other hand, you read your Advantages Response Card several times a day, every day, these reasons will be firm in your mind when you're tempted to eat something that you shouldn't. You'll be able to remember why you want to lose weight at the very moment your sabotaging thoughts are desperately trying to convince you that it's okay to eat something you know you shouldn't. You'll be able to say to yourself, As much as I want to eat [this food] and enjoy a moment or two of pleasure, losing weight is much more important to me.

You'll start making Response Cards now, on Day 1, because reading them is an essential strategy for lasting weight loss. Creating your first card should take you less than 10 minutes, and it should take you less than a minute to read this card each day.

Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Beck Diet Solution (Pink book), Pg 55.

[gardenerjoy]

Most morning's "Beck first" means that I jump on here before I jump on Facebook. No great sacrifice. Every once in a while, like today, I wake up with a project in my head that I'd like to dive into (and fear might drift away, if I don't). I'm going to trust that it will stick around for a brief post and while I get a plan written for my day.

Okay, I have a plan written, including my project which I will start now instead of jumping on Facebook.

Weigh-in: +0.3 kg, Exercise: +40, 875/1200 minutes for October

onebyone: Yay! Glad to see you here.

nationalparker: Hope you're feeling better.

BillBlueEyes: That's quite a journey you've taken with Lewis and Clark. We can trace the beginning parts of the journey at sites around here. It takes a lot of imagination to see what they saw in what's on the ground now.

[nationalparker]

Slogged through my workday but felt better today than yesterday. It will be an early night, though. Dinner was soup that I prepped on Sunday, so that was some time well spent to end in time that I used to talk to my brother this evening for more than an hour. Nice to catch up, as always. Our temps dropped drastically and it spit rain on a windy day today. Felt much cooler than the thermometer read. We'll be in the 40s all week with the exception of one warmer day. I dread the start of the dark winter, cold temps and dreary skies. For the rest of the year, I think, "Oh, I could live here when we retire if I'm not having to drive in to work no matter the weather, etc." ... Then I get rolling into the bleh weather and realize it brings me down so much. Maybe that's when we do a long road trip haha.

Food has been on plan today, with the exception of one piece of chocolate. (YES, sheesh) ... Spent lunch at a learning session on Social Security, even though I'm years from being able to claim. I like to learn about the options, though! Interesting to see that nearly all of the participants were women - about 30 women and four men.

[onebyone]

Coaches

Had a good on plan day leading into an on plan night. So happy to report this here.

I taught downtown and then went to Potter's Guild to complete the third of three sculptures for an art submission. They are due next Wed so I hope I can get them fired. Being sculpture, they can get away with one kiln firing band I can call it done. Yay.

Ok bedtime. My cold did not manifest, but I feel the need for lots of rest. I will treat myself with kid gloves for a while.

Bye!

[silverbirch]

Good morning! I am here, reading, but my days are complicated at the moment. My plan is evolving to suits the circumstances so that is good.

Have a great on-plan day!

[BillBlueEyes]

Diet Coaches/Buddies – Another day without snacks, CREDIT moi, making me feel like a winner - enough so to tackle two old items on my to-do list that I've been avoiding. One was to make an appointment with a plumber for a minor issue with the gas dryer in the basement. It bugs DW and I can't fix it myself. They'll charge me a fortune for a tiny bit of work. I'm not a fan of plumbers. Perhaps I should feel happy that I'm not in a phase of life where the cost will come out of the budget for my kids' shoes.

Exercise was little since I got snookered to stay home to meet up with a guy who got vague about when he'd arrive. He sold me Microsoft Office for a good price that he hadn't installed on a computer that he returned. My versions were all old and Microsoft is urging folks to all go into the monthly fee version so this protects me from that step for a while. One thing about working that I miss is that I had access to all the best and latest software on my work computer. Software that cost many thousands of dollars I could check out for the duration of need with just a few strokes on my keyboard. The other stuff was all installed on my desk. And I miss the nice folks who showed up with only a phone call to make anything work. Yep, working had many positive aspects.


onebyone – Kudos for an on plan day. Good to hear that your teaching continues.

Joy (gardenerjoy) – Smart to get stuff done before Facebook. More and more of my friends are unplugging because they can't control their time.

silverbirch – Hope it's a good complicated.

nationalparker – I do like having seasons - although the winter around here can get long. Interesting that it was mostly women learning about Social Security.


Readers -

chapter 5 Week 1 - Get Ready: Lay the Groundwork

day 1 Record the Advantages of Losing Weight

Benefits of Weight Loss

So, why do you want to lose weight? Take a moment to think about this question. How will weight loss impact the following?

• Your love life, friendships, family, career, and social life
• Your energy level and participation in hobbies and recreational activities
• Your body, health, self-image, and mental outlook

Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Beck Diet Solution (Pink book), Pg 55.

[gardenerjoy]

Another day that I woke up with a project. I'm planning to do NaNoWriMo this year. Today's project is starting a spreadsheet of the scenes that I want to write.

Yesterday went according to plan, including a small serving of stir-fry. I was rewarded with a down-tic on the scale.

Today's plan includes picking up a pizza to take to our nephew's house. I'll get salad, too -- one slice of pizza and a hefty serving of salad will work fine. A small price to pay for a couple of hours with the DGN.

Weigh-in: -0.2 kg, Exercise: +40, 915/1200 minutes for October

nationalparker: Your soup sounds good on a cool rainy day.

onebyone: Good for you for taking care of yourself and your art -- they go hand in hand.

silverbirch: Adaptation seems to be an important part of the process.

BillBlueEyes: We've got a plumber we like because he'll talk through everything with DH, who likes to learn new things about systems. I write the check so DH isn't aware how much that edutainment costs.

[curlyjax]

Hi coaches. Eating has not been good, too many sweets again. Today I am home and planning to eat lightly and deal with hunger, which I find easier to do here. DH is doing okay- still a bit bloated and eating a little less but able to sleep thru the night thankfully. He is keeping up with his y class for cancer survivors which is great.
I have met one of our new neighbors, an amiable young man. They are getting married this weekend. That is a lot to take on at once, a wedding and a first house! It is so nice to have new neighbors and start fresh after the strained relationship with the former ones.

Gardenerjoy- a piece of me envies you for being able to ignore Halloween. No candy to tempt you for one thing.
Bill- good to be reminded about the positives of working! If you like your job, it is nice to look forward to being in one’s office and have a balance between work and home. I find I can think more clearly at work sometimes, since no family members are bugging me Of course there are the food temptations!
Onebyone- sorry about your husband’s work situation. That would be very difficult to be scrutinized by 3 people! Glad you are getting continued recognition for your work.
Nationalparker-its great you are thinking about social security etc now, while you have a lot of time to plan for retirement. Some people put it off far too long.