The 2013 Palace: Nurturing our royal selves

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  • Huzzah, Wildfire! So good to see you. Sorry you are in that busy time until April. Great idea about precooking your week of food so you don't have to wait so late to eat. Congratulations on getting to the gym three days a week and getting past the painful period from that. Have a wonderful week!

    ***
    This is a quick flyby as I do need to go back to bed. Just updating the streakity streak, will likewise update my weight tomorrow after I do the weigh-in.

    Queen’s Royal Good Caloric Level Streakity Streak, Round 3
    Day 1, Friday, March 8, 1105
    Day 2, Saturday, 1455
    Day 3, Sunday, TBD


    Love to all royals, wherever they be in the world right now.
  • The Sunday Palace
    Happy Sunday, lies! Shook up the routine a bit today. I went to hot yoga at 8:30 and then we had breakfast. So we haven't walked yet but will do so soon, then I think a little nap.

    I came out of the shower to start cooking and DH had put some old Rolling Stones on the sound system. We always listen to something classical or at least a bit quiet on Sunday mornings, so that was a departure too. He had the CUTEST look on his face when I walked into the kitchen, like "See what I did? Do you like it?" I did, danced around singing and dancing and cooking.

    We had an extra rehearsal yesterday -- we're doing not one but two requiems on Good Friday, the Rutter one and Haydn's Nelson Mass. Both short but quite different. Anyway, practice is coming along and they're both fun to sing.

    Low carbs, control, eating when hungry, yoga and walking all going well. I made yoga five times last week. Steps weren't quite there earlier in the week but good now.

    Amarantha, I need to nap too. I never seem to be able to actually sleep in the daytime though, so hope to get to bed early tonight and wake up refreshed. Hope your sleep is sublime and refreshing!


    Wildfire, I think we're just too busy. It seems like I'm saying every few weeks that I'm in an especially busy period but where are the lulls? I do not know.

    Anagram, I hope you've got some violets from the old homestead.

    Re: struggling -- that seems to be just about the only way to get started. Sometimes "the click" snaps into place but in my experience, that's a rarity. We work towards it and click manually when required.


    K, DH is putting on his boots. Off I go! Have a blissful rest of your Sunday, lovelies! xo
  • Arabella, your Sunday sounds lovely so far, with the music and the hot yoga and the sense of creating a sacred place that comes through in your Sunday posts.

    I use Sunday for the purpose also of creating a sacred space. My rationale for that is that it is the first day of the week.

    I think Saturday is a little sacred, too, as it is the last day of the week.

    I really sleep deeply in my nana naps, but it isn't a function of age, although I joke about it being a nana nap. I've always been like that, taking naps, even in the early working years when I worked in offices and newsrooms, I often took little lunch naps in my car or in a park or something.

    My Sunday news is in the following post lol.
  • Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy, Joy
    Well, huzzah, royal friends! I do have to do a little happy dance here

    A REALLY exciting mornin' took place in the Queendom/Empire of Queen/Empress o' Her Own Little Universe Am2 this mornin'!!!

    Yes, it did. To make a long story short, mainly because she is getting ready to go get the Royal Canine some Milkbones (we are out in the Palace and the Canine gets restless), Am2 did hop on down like an Easter Bunnyette (channeling the coming holiday) to the Royal Grotto of the Golden Scale of Dietary Justice and hopped with alacrity upon said scale and it did inform her that she had lost two pounds this week!

    Lol! This is a VERY GOOD WEIGH-IN for Am2, who at this stage of life is slow to let go o' the pounds between herself and her IDEAL WEIGHT, so it all provided a much needed fun time on a cold Sunday mornin' in LaLa Land, THE QUEENDOM OF AM!

    We MUST venture to interject here that without the NO WHEAT EXPERIMENT, this very likely would not have happened at this time, as the experiment is helping us on a number of eating and health related levels.

    It. Is. Manifest. There. Is. Joy. In. Our. Land.

    We do not know why this stuff makes us so royally happy lol. The scale is actually NOT supposed to make us happy, so many experts say. But anyway ... there it is!
  • I am just trying to stay busy this week and strict with the diet as I want NOT to have any nasty regains. It has been so long since I've lost a whole two pounds lol.

    The calorie streak log is to be curtailed for a bit & I may or may not revive it. I had a problem with Fitday PC & went back to a mobile app that I like a lot but that makes it too time consuming to log calories in a journal right now with so much going on in life for me.

    Basically I have decided to remain wheat free for the foreseeable future so removed the vernal equinox challenge as well. I don't need it.


    "To err is human, to forgive, infrequent." ~ Franklin P. Adams
  • Happy Monday, Lovelies! I managed to squeeze off a pound last week. And given that it was the first full low-carb week and the first week I got to yoga five times since the fall, I think I will take it as reward for good work. Huzzah!

    I know changes are greater than a pound loss by the fit of my clothes, flatter tummy and muscles popping up.

    Amarantha, congrats on the two pounds!

    Yes, I like to make the weekends a time of sacred bliss. In fact, trying to pull more of that into every day.

    You are blessed to be able to nap well. My plan for eventual retirement is to rise early, have a lovely nap in the afternoon and then stay up much later than I do now.


    I've got deadlines for mid-week so should get at it. I'll get my steps today but it will probably be Wednesday before I can get back to yoga class. Maybe I can squeeze in a few poses here and there. I did meditate this a.m. -- doing this 21-Day meditation challenge via Oprah and Deepak.

    Let's make this a good one!


  • Thanks for the congrats, Arabella! Congratulations on your pound down and for the fit of the clothing victory, which is, after all, what this is all about to a large extent, in my opinion.

    This is just a wee little tiptoe-through-the-spring-holidays-to-approximately-the-summer-solstice-or-4th-of-July status update. Am2 is not as into St. Paddy's Day as she thought she would be mentally by now and her first target in the ever exciting (to her) marriage of holidays and weight management targets does take place on St. Patrick's Day this Sunday.

    The big goal is NOT to have gained any of that GREAT WEIGH-IN FROM LAST WEEK. Whether this happens or doesn't happen, Am2 is leaving it up to the Capriciousness of Spring Fairies. She will cope regardless, begorra.

    Later that week, it is time for the Vernal Equinox (on the 20th) and that will be fun and in the Am2 palace, we celebrate Easter Sunday (secular) with a weigh-in (well, we celebrate every Sunday with a weigh-in lol, honestly, folks, we know our material is dated but we still have fun).

    The very next day is April Fools' Day and we will celebrate by NOT being foolish with food! 'Nuff said.

    There are a number of minor holidays in April and the major one of Earth Day, April 22.

    There followeth May Day and some other holidays until we reach the Solstice and on then to the 4th of July.

    Right now, though, the WHOLE POINT OF THE WHOLE THING IS TO HIPPITY HOP TO EASTER AND CROSS THE PORTAL INTO 120s LAND AGAIN!

    A sub goal is to establish a mode of thinking reflecting the fact that though things change, Am2's life relies on health and a happy frame of mind, both of which, in her little queendom include but are not limited to three principles: 1) She is no good to the world, family, friends or pet children unless she is good to herself and cannot love others if she does not love herself (she does love herself, btw); 2) Part of loving herself is to honor her body by continuing to manage her weight at a reasonable level and exercise and eat as she deems proper for her own self; 3) Only Am2 knows what is reasonable, proper and sane in her own journey and her judgment tends to be sound, her intellect intact and her abilities more or less still okay dokey.

    With these principles she will now hippity hop through the rest of the week. Will start calorie posting at a different time, maybe as part of a summary on weigh-in days.

    Begorra.
  • Finished the awful work stuff at about 11 last night. As predicted, I didn't get to yoga Monday or Tues but was back there today. My steps were only around 8000 Monday but am still over 10,000 per day averaged out over the last week. AND. Totally binge-free. That's at least three heavy deadline days that I've gotten through without resorting to food. If I want to procrastinate, I just procrastinate -- don't have to have a snack to stop for a break. Huzzah!

    Amarantha, I love your principles and am much in accordance with them. Re: the looser clothing -- I was thinking yesterday that I would be losing weight faster if I dropped the yoga but, in fact, would not be making as much progress and wouldn't improve visibly as quickly.

    I tried on my spring coat in January and it was unwearable. Today I wore it over a bulky sweater and it was not the slightest bit tight.

    The thing is, though, when you weigh this much you think the weight should be falling off. Just have to get over that way of thinking.


    An early bed and novel are beckoning. Hope all have a blissful night and awake refreshed.

  • Fly-by report, b/c ... I stepped on the scale today and saw another 2 pounds off, for 3 in a week. Um, ok, this is what I meant by the "weight dropping off" thing that wasn't happening. And I'm down 11 from the (unreported) high in January, which if memory serves was a bump-up after my first weigh-in. I do feel like I'm on my way!

    So -- low carbs, 10,000 steps a day and lots of hot yoga seems to actually work -- imagine that! Huzzah, huzzah, huzzah!

    I am very encouraged. I'm going to scoot out for a walk around the mild and drizzly harbour before long. Yoga at lunchtime and then another little walk later to meet my sisters for a drink.

    Have a fabulous day, Queenlies!


  • Woot! Queen Arabella! Congratulations on the new two down making three in a week & 11 since the January high!

    Love love love this happy news!!! Needed to be cheered up this morning in general & the progress of a fellow royal of long acquaintance on the journey really heartens moi.

    Such good work, Wood Nymph.
  • For the first time ever I made no resolutions this year but am adding one to reach the 120s & maintain some range in there on an ongoing basis. At that point I think I'll do better at organizing the rest of my life.
  • All continues well here. Step-step-steppin' and lots of yoga. Four times this week and tomorrow will make five. My one little complaint is that I wish the classes were a bit less challenging but ... I guess that'll happen.

    Amarantha, thanks so much for the joy-sharing! Much appreciated!

    I love your new profile pic. It's pretty much how I picture you, although sometimes I see you with shorter hair.


    Friday night coming on here. I've got low-carb veggie pizza ready to heat up and salad ready to toss together. Late season snow is coming down -- what my former editor used to call "silly snow" b/c it's so pointless given that spring is coming -- and I've got the fire on. DH is doing his little end-of-day meditation and then he'll come down and we'll have a glass or two of wine, which I allow myself on occasion.

    Have a wonderful evening!

  • Thank YOU, Arabella, for letting us share your joy. Woot!

    I do look a bit like the avatar. I used to have very short to almost no hair & wore hats a lot, but following my accident in 2010 & two arm surgeries, my hair began to grow, which it had not done for years. So it brings me a sense of power & renewal as I go through some sorrows, aging & change in my life in these years & I keep it long & very blonde lol.

    The avatar represents Coventina to me, a water goddess, who (to me) symbolizes transformation, healing & letting go of that which does not support us.
  • Beautiful! Well, I still think you're related.

    In fact, the evening devolved into an argument -- DH complaining that hot yoga was too expensive, not exactly trying to get me to give it up but just complaining. Well, I'm not giving it up. And also not going to let the argument continue. I guess arguments happen. Life is still good.

    Winter wonderland out there again today but the sun's peeking through. I'm going for a goodly walk and then will go to yoga at 4 this aft.

    Happy Saturday!
  • Arabella, glad you are determined on the hot yoga question lol. Yoga is very important. I should do more, although living in Arizona, I have enough heat so don't really think I'd want to do hot yoga, but I know people love it.

    Happy St. Patrick's Day to all royals who celebrate the day.

    Begorra!