Back again... the symposium Friday went off mostly without a hitch, so as good as could be expected. Unfortunately my stomach is not happy with me today, foiling my "back on track" plans... *sigh*
Jessica I think Carter will probably "tell" you which sitter he likes the best. I would look for the person to be reasonably comfortable with him but not out and out bribing him or overwhelming him with affection.
Good dog handlers are calm and in control from the beginning. This is hard to explain in print but you will see it readily in both the sitter and Carter's body language with each other. Carter will probably be a bit nervous of the sitter and the sitter should be able to put him at ease after about 5 minutes.
Look for someone who interviews with you and Carter - ie they don't completely ignore Carter while talking to you. I tend to like to touch dogs after giving them a smell of me and then I'll talk to them and scratch their ears, etc. while speaking with their people.
I rarely sit dogs that are not going out with me regularly but, when I do, I always ask if I can take them for a short walk. This gives me a chance to assess the dog without his people and to see how he will react to me alone. Your sitter should do some kind of version of this. Probably taking Carter out into the yard to play would be good. If they don't suggest it you might want to. Carter's body language when he comes back in will tell you a lot.
And of course check all references and insurance companies etc. etc. but you already know all of that.
I'm sure you'll find someone that's a good fit for Carter.
Shannon - thanks for the spreadsheet, i am somewhat 'excel challenged' so lets see if i can figure it out
Sheila - good for you on the compost. Ours is full of some kind of beetle that will chomp down the plants if we use it. Not sure how to eliminate them.
I went to a fantastic plant sale here yesterday at the vandusen gardens. They have this sale annually and it is the best. Tons of perennials - great variety for $3-4, also got 2 blueberry bushes for DH. I had my little red wagon stuffed to the brim....now to plant everything.
i also bought a bag of fuji apple chips at the sale and ate the whole thing - the woman selling them said it was approx 4 apples
My ankle is healing - because now i can feel it - it is irritating me, but at least on the mend. May try a run this week - test the waters.
Hey everyone! I am hoping to hang around more in the maintainers section. Life has been pretty crazy this year so far. I am currently recovering from a herniated disk and accompanying sciatica, and actually have not gained weight during the last 3 weeks of minimal activity. I was panicked about that, but I think my body actually appreciated the break from my normal workouts!
Hi Lori! It's a pleasure to see you here! I have herniated disks and sciatica, plus some other back issues, so welcome to the club. I'm most definitely not interested in surgery, so exercise and epidural steroid injections keep me going. Has your doctor sent you to physical therapy? I found it to be helpful for core strengthening (something I tend to neglect in favor of all the fun lifts )
I know you're a runner, but once you're cleared to exercise, a suggestion is to try the bike or elliptical. Even when I couldn't walk, I could elliptical and bike. For some reason, the motion of the elliptical seems to open up my back and give the impinged nerves more room. It would hurt for the first ten minutes and then miraculously, the pain would disappear.
Good job on maintenance during your layoff!
I'm not sure why I'm awake at this ridiculous hour! It's gonna make for a long day.
Lori Sometimes our bodies tell us we need a break. I have to exercise every day ( I'm a commercial dogwalker) on the job but there are some weeks where I take a couple of days off from other exercise and I'm usually way less tired. Good job on no gain in the 3 weeks of minimal activity.
Meg Being up so early you'll want to go to bed around 8 p.m. tonite - welcome to my world ! I'm now very happy when I "sleep in" to 4:30 a.m.
sznn Vancouver is great for growing things! I envy you the blueberry bushes - a 1/2 pint here costs $4.
DH and I are going out to dinner tonite. I weighed myself this morning and will again tomorrow as I'm curious about how much "damage" eating out can do. We are having a prix fixe menu with appetizer, entree, and dessert. I'll try to be quite careful in my choices.
Hi Lori! Good to see you over here in maintainers!
Dagmar, thanks for all the advice! I arranged to meet with our first potential sitter this Friday so we will see how it goes. This is the one that our vet recommended. She only had one review on Angie's List, but it was a good one, and she got voted runner up for best dog walker in a local dog publication. I had emailed one other sitter yesterday but didn't hear back yet. Personally I do most of my communication by email so I like someone who will respond within 24 hours.
I think if we pick someone to do the sit with him we will probably want them to come several times before we actually go out of town so he can get used to them. I'm a little afraid that if we just give someone the key to our house, Carter will think they are a burglar and be aggressive and not let them in. He is pretty protective of the house, but if it is someone he knows and recognizes he has no problem.
Iris, glad to hear the symposium went well!
Sznn - Good luck with the blueberry bushes! We bought two last year, and one of them produced a lot (the other only produced a little). This year we had to buy a replacement for the little one because bunnies came and ate it over the winter. Those darn bunnies!
Good morning! I ate another thing from the Easter basket last night. If I get home tonight and can't keep myself from eating the candy then I have to get rid of it. Tonight will be the test.
Got in a good strength training and bike session last night, planning a run for today, though as I look at the weather now I see that the rain is supposed to start after 5 pm. Darnit.
Susan - if you want me to change anything on the spreadsheet let me know and I'll pop it in and resend it! Blueberry bushes are cool.
Dagmar - enjoy dinner out! I tend to see 3-5 pounds upswing after a dinner out, but it settles back down after the water clears out.
Meg - wow, you were up early!
Lori - hey there! Ouch on the sciatica, hope everything continues to recover!
Iris - glad the symposium went well!
Jessica - good luck interviewing the dog sitters. I'm sure Carter will be okay, and will be much more comfortable than in a kennel while you guys are gone.
Yes, I am totally enjoying my MacBook!! The cinema screen which is set up in the bedroom is amazing (huge, bright and oh, so clear!). I'm still debating on a personal finance software package, but I think I'm going to go with Quicken after all. I tried both Fortora and iBank and didn't like what I was seeing. I have heard that Quicken for Mac is kind of dummied down from the windows version, but I didn't really use all the bells and whistles in the PC version anyway. All I need is to track my checkbook and credit cards.
My bff from college might visit this weekend (she's the one I went to Italy with). It was she and her now ex husband who rescued our yellow lab, and since he's really getting on in age she wants to see him again before he goes (not that I think that will be for many more months).
Day 1 of hurdle #2 yesterday and it was mission accomplished! Now to continue for the rest of the week. It's hard to resist temptation, though. (Pistachios are hurdle #2.)
Week 1 of hurdle #1 is tomorrow and I've done really, really good! I know I lose weight better when I don't drink and I made myself the challenge to stop weeknight drinking 100% and limit weekends to a beer at lunch and one cocktail or glass of wine at night. I was spot on Wed, Thurs, Fri, Saturday (beer at lunch only) and Sunday (beer at lunch and wine with dinner). But that open bottle of wine caught my eye last night and I had a glass with dinner--no more than that, but I can't do that. I must be spot on! I'll hide the open bottles from now on!!
I'll work on hurdle #3 next week.
Has anyone ever had Morning Star Farms veggie cakes? The come (came???) in a couple flavors, but the one I liked best was a southwest veggie cake with brown rice, black beans, corn and tomatoes (and other stuff). I'd heat it and put a little salsa on and it was wonderful. I could only get them at one grocery store and they didn't have them this weekend. I went to MSF's website and they no longer mention veggie cakes in their product line up. I hope they aren't discontinued.
Hi Lori! I bought the magazine you are in and glanced at your article and pics but haven't read it thoroughly yet.
I am still frustrated with my weight and trying desperately to figure it out. I probably need to be more patient but patience isn't one of my virtues (AT ALL). Before I left on my 5 day cruise I was 123 most days and had dipped to 122 for the few days before. After the cruise I came home 128.6. I returned home on April 9, so 18 days ago-- long enough for any leftover sodium to have left my system. My weight has been all over the place since I returned and is now at 126. I saw 124 two days last week but I've gone back up. Not sure why. I have a few possible theories.
1. I injured my foot on the cruise. Though I exercised after, I know it wasn't my full workouts. My foot is now better but then my back seized up on Saturday. It is much better and I'm still working out, but again probably not 100%.
2. My rings still won't budge. Dh cooks and swears he uses little if any salt but I really question that. He uses other spices with sodium-- worchestshire sauce, soy sauce, etc. though he says it is just a tiny bit. He really likes to cook when he is home and I appreciate the cooking so I let him.
3. I started the new thyroid medicine a couple of weeks ago (T3). I would think if anything it would cause weight loss, not weight gain? I've had a headache for several days and don't know if it could be medicine related?
4. too much snacking on low cal foods. Since I do WW, I track points. I snack on a lot of "zero" point foods. While I don't "count" them, they obviously add up. I'm talking about baby carrots, 10 calorie jello, baby tomatoes, etc.
Any red flags you guys see? Thanks for letting me vent!
Jessica, I hope you feel better. I’m glad the symposium went well.
Sznn, those dried fruits are deceiving in their amounts, aren’t they. It’s good the ankle is healing.
Lori, that’s awesome that you didn’t gain weight while your body recuperated. Excellent job.
Jessica, very wise in getting Carter to know his sitter before you leave. My dogs see their dog behaviorist’s truck and they go nuts with excitement (much to her dismay as they should settle). But a stranger’s truck would make them loud and not welcoming.
Shannon, I gave myself the “test” with my cocoa covered almonds. When I opened the jar I’d found in the back of the kitchen (I’d thrown the other two away earlier when I went nutso with them – pun intended), I told myself they’d get tossed if I had more than 6 in one day. A week later, I’m not having a problem with the six. So I hope your candy test goes smoothly tonight.
Allison, sounds like you went through the same financial software process I did. I ended up using Quicken for Mac and it tracks my accounts fine.
Michele, my dr. told me that the thyroid med I was on briefly wouldn’t help me lose weight and would possibly do the reverse. I can’t remember the med name but that could be your culprit.
I have to go to the dr. this afternoon for a wasted appt. Last month at my asthma med refill I was told I was to be seen by the dr. or no more refills. So I made the appt with irritation. Going to a dr. when healthy seems stupid to me. Pretty much insurance fraud in my book. When I made the appt I made it near refill time and said, “Maybe I’ll be sick by then and have a reason to see a dr.” The receptionist laughed and I’m not sick. So much for my idea. Anyone else think having to go for a chronic problem that is controlled with meds is dumb? Or is it just me and my dislike of the medical process (aka scales, “you need to lose weight” comments from days gone by)? I know the scale isn’t my enemy anymore but I just hate it. Weighing myself is a private affair. Marie
Marie, I have mixed feelings about having to go to the doctor to get refills. I can't get a refill on my birth control unless I go in for my annual exam, which seems kind of reasonable because you really ought to get examined each year. I'm sure if it was an emergency my doctor would OK a refill for me anyway though. I also have to get my thryoid tested every 6 months, and I assume she might not give me the refill if I didn't get it done, but I don't actually have to have an office visit for the thyroid test, just the labs. Everything else I get refilled at my annual physical, and it's kind of the same -- they really want you to come in for a physical before refilling, because you never know what might have gone wrong with your body that might interfere with your prescriptions if you don't tell your doctor about it.
On the other hand, really, I see no reason I should visit my doctor to refill my allergy nasal spray. I get it refilled at my physical, but still.
Dog sitting update -- I've arranged to meet one potential sitter later this week at our house. Of the other three I contacted, one hasn't gotten back to me yet (it's only been a couple hours) and the other two said our house is out of their service area. Sigh. If the second person gets back to me, do you think two sitter options is enough? Or should I look up more people to interview? If the second person isn't available I will have to look up more, because I feel like I should at least interview two people even if I like the woman we're meeting Friday.
Michele -- I don't think taking T3 could make your weight increase, but it might be causing the headache. Did they reduce your T4 when they added the T3? If so they might have gotten out of balance and it could be messing with your weight a little (and your head). I'm guessing since you've been on it for two weeks that you are already schedule to have a blood test in another few weeks anyway, but you could check with your doctor. Otherwise I would suspect the salt in DH's cooking, or maybe you actually did just gain a couple pounds on the cruise and need to cut calories more to get rid of them.
Allison - I haven't heard of the veggie cakes, but I have had their veggie burgers before, and used the "meat" crumbles.
Marie - I'm with Jessica on the refill thing. My BC gets refilled at my annual, which makes sense. I understand the need for an annual checkup at the GP, too. I totally resent having to go in every three months to get my allergy nasal spray refilled, though. Doesn't make a lick of sense to me. I've been on it for years. DH has asthma and has to go in to get his meds refilled - the doc does a spirometer every year I think, and some years runs a chest x-ray? That makes sense to me, as his was adult onset and the condition has changed somewhat over the years.
Michele - any medicine I take new causes a water retention upswing. Vitamins, new allergy meds, painkillers, anything. You say your rings are still tight, so DH could be using more sodium than you realize. Is it possible that he is also using more oil or other cal ingredients than you are accounting for? And on the zero point snacks, they will add up in cals eventually. Baby carrots especially. 85 grams of baby carrots are 35 cals, about 14. The last time I really went to town with the baby carrots I found I had five servings in the course of a day. 175 cals extra once I was finished. Add to that the raw broccoli I ate all day and there was another 175. And, if you are injured you will retain more water too, if I'm not mistaken. So, maybe it is a combination of all of those things?
Allison - haven't seen those in any stores around here. I'll keep my eyes out.
Back again... the symposium Friday went off mostly without a hitch, so as good as could be expected. Unfortunately my stomach is not happy with me today, foiling my "back on track" plans... *sigh*
- it is irritating me, but at least on the mend. May try a run this week - test the waters.
I'm most definitely not interested in surgery, so exercise and epidural steroid injections keep me going. Has your doctor sent you to physical therapy? I found it to be helpful for core strengthening (something I tend to neglect in favor of all the fun lifts 
)
It's gonna make for a long day.
! I'm now very happy when I "sleep in" to 4:30 a.m.
