OK ladies. -14 this morning. Wind chills -40. No power yesterday for about 7 hours. Cold and more cold. Work is closed again today. I am going stir crazy. Should take advantage of ythis and clean but not in the mood. Back has been hurting. Over it. That is my update. Love and hugs to all
Morning all. Working from home again. Trains were not running on schedule yesterday, as I could tell from all the e-mail alerts that I received. The alerts are arriving in even greater volume today as well, so I easily decided to work at home again. The temps are still extremely low and this is not the weather to wait around for trains.
Annie - Horrible you had a power outage in this weather! I hope all is toasty at home today. Sorry your back is hurting you and you're not in the mood to clean - moving around would warm you up! Yeh, I'm going stir crazy too. I think I might be ready for some quick errands via car, but the thought of being in and out of the car, and waiting for the car to warm up each time isn't appealing. So maybe not.
Susie - You, Annie, Happy & I are all experiencing this cold, snowy weather! We only have a one-car garage too, but we only have one car, so it's not an issue for us. Sure glad to have it in this kind of weather!! Wow, a half marathon! Even walking it would be a big challenge. But the training would be a good way to get your exercise! Do you think you'll do it?? Personal chef - sounds really nice. Too bad she's moved on. But it sounds like you're your own personal chef now! Re your cruise - the only other cruise I've been on (w/ bf) was to the Eastern Carribean, so we also visited ports in St. Thomas, St. Maarten as well as Princess' private island in the Bahamas. Beautiful! I should look through my photos from that cruise - it might make me feel warm! Re My Fitness Pal - I have that app on my cell phone, and have used it in the past. Right now I tend to use SparkPeople's food tracker. I might have to give MFP a try again though, especially if I've got buddies on there keeping me accountable! Never watched those Bachelor shows.
Hellos to all the rest of the Worldlies!! Hope you're all keeping warm, keeping cool, keeping dry - whatever applies, as long as you're keeping safe!
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Not much to report. Finally started on my 30-day squat and ab challenges last night. I'll do the squat challenge as per the schedule, but will be cutting out the situps from the ab challenge and focus only on the curls, leg raises and planks.
Other than that, just getting a bit of cabin fever. Been trying to drink a lot of water - the weather guy says indoor humidity is something like 1-3%. I'm also trying to use hand lotion frequently because my hands are very dry.
That's it for me. Back to work. Finished my input for our monthly report and a couple other things, and now it's back to the PITA project.
Location: A beautiful and peaceful place in the woods
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Morning all,
Well Annie and Laura and those with cabin fever - YOU ARE NOT READY TO RETIRE YET
It's funny - we went out on Friday to run errands in advance of the cold snap and I only went out once since then - on Sunday for a while with my cousins and even then it was last minute and I wasn't planning on going out in the first place. Cabin fever has not hit - yet. But it will. I was supposed to work at the thrift shop today but I got a call - the lady who took my slot and doesn't bother to sign up on the calendar IS actually going to continue to work after going 2 weeks MIA. That's ok I said, I won't mind staying home as we are not due for a warm up until Friday. I guess they left the shop closed yesterday and today which is good - the building is a very, very old and drafty frame building - the poor ladies would be freezing in the back trying to price things and it's just a waste of heat because no one is going to be out and about in these frigid temps and wind chills.
Yesterday I got busy at home started to make honey lemon chicken which looked good but was decidedly bland we agreed even though it did have lots of spices in it. It's hard working with honey because things tend to stick and burn. I had a package of cut up whole chicken and used 2 big breasts for a pot of chicken soup and made the rest as the honey lemon stuff. Shad - will you give me your recipe? Besides cooking it was trash and recycle day so I gathered up the stuff, cleaned out both refrigerators (not much at all to toss out but they got a good once over), cleaned the kitchen and washed dishes twice, cleaned the cat boxes, swept and washed that floor, did a couple of loads of laundry and started taking Christmas things back down to the basement to be sorted and stowed away. It really was quite a busy day and it flew by. I talked to my Mom and Sister yesterday which took up most of the evening. Before I knew it, bedtime.
All I did was poke my head out the door to set the trash and recycling on the deck for DH to take out and jiminy was it COLD. I think our wind chills were close to 50 below zero when I got up and didn't warm up much during the day. Even the deer are hiding and hunkered down somewhere out in the forest under the pines. The fox was out last night - at first we were afraid that he made a meal of our bunny but this morning DH went out and said no (thank goodness). My knee is bothering me a lot lately so I have been diligent about doing my PT exercises. I'm thinking I will sort some papers later and maybe put an ice pack on it. Other than that not much else going on.
Susie would you mind sending me that 5k marathon schedule via email? I would love to do a 5k walk - like you I am not a runner or jogger but I agree with you - to do it and finish would be a nice accomplishment. But wait - if it's a marathon would that mean I have to swim in one of our cold lakes???? I might have to rethink that Many years ago DH and I bought some really good bikes - geez might even have been when we were in Illinois and we used them one year and never again. It seems like such a waste although by now they'd need new tires. Another goal of mine is to build back stamina in the legs to start bike riding again. There's a ton of bike trails here but they are the fat tire / mountain bike ? kinds of rougher trails but I'm sure we could find something that was an easier ride. Lots of gentle rolling rises too so one would have to be in better shape. Right now I'd ride down the driveway, down the road to the top of the hill and be pooped out.
Laura - sure is good you are able to keep your car in the garage - with the winds whipping around, I'm sure the car would not be happy outside, plus too in the garage you don't have to worry about scraping ice or snow off the windshield. BTW - my sister uses a can of HEET auto de-icer to spray the windows and it melts the ice fast when you're in a hurry. I'll bet thinking about your cruise in balmy weather is sounding very dreamy right now. Where do you get these 30 day challenges that you do? Sounds like they focus on different body parts just to mix things up. Good for you for drinking water - I am trying to be better because things are very dry here too. Poor kitties get zapped when we try and pet them. As for the hand lotion, darn if I don't slather it on and then 5 minutes later I have to wash my hands for some reason Hope you are able to power through and get that yucky project done.
Annie - hang in there this is the weather for making body parts stiff and achy. A little Ben Gay or Icy Hot (since you're home) or just some Aspercreme or an ice pack on that sore back. I know you are go, go, go and I can see you getting stir crazy. Maybe you should just do some cooking and surprise the kids or put the stuff in the freezer. I can vouch for the fact that chopping lots and lots of veggies takes an awful lot of time and will make the time pass quickly. Or I can send you my pasta maker and you can experiment and when you figure out the trick of it, let me know, ok? Are you and C both off and restless?
Susie - how nice was that you had a personal chef? I totally agree with you. No different than getting meals from Jenny Craig, Nutrisystem or Seattle Sutton and I'd much rather have someone cook fresh than packaged or heavy soy based. And since she was going to culinary school it gave her a chance to practice so a win, win for everyone. Cooking takes a lot of time and even if you make things ahead (which only seems to work well for winter meals I think), you wind up spending half the precious weekend just planning, shopping, prepping and cooking. As for the Spanish, I only had 2 years of it in high school long, long ago and also forgot everything but about 10 words. I don't think I'll be conversant after only 6 weeks but it's something to pass the time and keep the brain growing brain cells If you don't do a marathon, can you try to hit a couple of 5k walks this year? Especially if you have done them before and the magic is that you said you missed them
Hello other Worldlies - sounds funny I will check back later.
The past few weeks have been such a whirlwind with moving into D's house, the holidays, the various jobs starting and ending, and the trip to Southern Cal for my niece's wedding. I'm really looking forward to settling into a routine.
My first day as a "real" employee at the San Jose job was wonderful. I found a few major issues with the website and am now working on resolving them, so my manager is pleased with that. It is great to be able to sleep in until 7, and it was even better to be home by 5:45 (after picking Santa up from day care)! Today, I'm going to go to the grocery store on the way home from work so I can prepare some healthy items for breakfasts and lunches. In addition to lunch, I normally eat breakfast at work as it's just easier to quickly get ready and get out the door with Santa rather than take him outside to do his business and then come back in and get ready.
I've turned in all my benefits paperwork. The medical insurance takes effect immediately, while the dental insurance takes effect on February 1st.
==================
Shad - That's got to be awful to have a leaky roof right over your mattress. Those don't dry out easily and may smell damp and mildewey. Yuck. I hope the landlady gets the roof repaired and the mattress replaced soon.
Happy - I don't miss the double-digit below zero temps one bit. I hope you don't have to go to the thrift shop today. They should just close it...I mean how many customers are going to be out in the cold. From what my friends in Milwaukee are saying on Facebook, very few are venturing out in this bitter cold, and it's warmer there than where you are. I'm so glad that your vertigo has eased up!! What was the procedure they did? I love Maggie Smith. I'm going to have to jump on the Downton Abbey bandwagon...I'll have to do a marathon of previous seasons to catch up.
Laura - I'm glad you're able to work from home. I don't envy you the PITA project, but working from home is better than braving the elements. A friend of mine who lives in Chicago said it was so cold there, that the Lincoln Park Zoo aren't even letting the polar bears out in the cold. I hope you stay warm. I remember taking Santa out in the winter and it being so cold that my face would go numb even if I had a scarf. The Midwest is truly having a worse winter than any I endured in my 12 years there. Here people are bundled up in the early morning hours wearing winter hats, coats and scarves and it's 45 degrees. I still have only worn a light jacket a few times...mostly when I walk the dog at 9 or 10 pm in my jammies and sweatpants. Your cruise sounds lovely. I think I might've missed where your cruise is too. Speaking of warm climates..my step-brother made it to Belize, and the trip only took him 5 days. He had a couple flat tires in Mexico because the roads were bad, and he'd never seen so much poverty as he did in Mexico. He was really saddened by it. My step-mother and I are very relieved that he arrived safely and is now able to start this new chapter of his life.
Susie - So nice that you were able to have a personal chef, and the arrangement worked out for your friend as well. D is a very good chef, but our schedules are very different and he works most evenings. I took 4 years of Spanish in high school and used to be fluent. I had the opportunity to converse with some people from Argentina last summer and was able to do fairly well despite having forgotten a lot. I'm impressed you're doing a 1/2 marathon. Because of my back, I have difficult walking for more than 10 minutes, but I'm trying to slowly, gradually increase that. Sad that your Bengals are now out of the playoffs as are my Packers, but you're right, there's always next year.
Annie - I was so worried for you, C and Sassy with the power outage. I hope the power stays on today. I was also worried for your DD and her family, and your DS. I hope they are ok too. I hope your back pain eases up.
Ceejay - I hope you're doing well.
well, I've got lots of stuff to do, so I'd better get to it.
Happy - You were typing above me. I'm glad you don't have to go to the thrift shop today. Just the thought of 50 below zero wind chills sends shivers through my whole body. Good on ya' for having such a productive day yesterday. There's no swimming involved in marathons...those are triathlons...and that might mean swimming in a cold lake unless it's affiliated with a Recreation Department or local gym (like the Y), then the swimming might be in a pool. I want to do some bike riding when it gets warmer here. I've got a slow leak in one of my tires...and my bike needs to be tuned up (greased and gears adjusted), so that will be in the spring as well. I'm really going to work toward building up my walking/hiking ability so I can hike in the hills/mountains and along the beaches this coming spring/summer. You mentioned static electricity...some people at my new job don't know why they're so static-y and always getting shocked, and I explained it's because using the heat reduces the humidity and dryer air can lead to static electricity. Stay warm, sista. I hope your knee feels better. How is your DH feeling nowadays?
Hi Everyone. I needed a break from work emails so here I am!
It is bitter cold today. Like Annie, I woke up to -10 this morning. Not sure what the wind chill was..but COLD!
I didn't work out today at lunch. Tuesday's I usually work out in the evening with my friend (its' our chance to catch up) but it's too cold for me to go back out to the YMCA tonight so I am going to do my walking DVD when I get home.
I am really giving some thought to that 1/2 Marathon in May. It would be amazing to just say I did it. I'm thinking if I get a cortozone shot in my knee about a week before and then ice it afterward I will be ok. As I am training I'm going to have to ice a lot. I will also do a lot of the training on the elliptical with maybe just one day "road work" where I'm actually on pavement or until it warms up the treadmill. I was talking to a girl at work who has done it before and that is what she recommended.
Happy: I'm going to try and attached the 1/2 marathon training schedule to this post. If it doesn't work, then pm me your email address or send it to me on MFP.
It sounds like you got a lot done at home yesterday. How goes it with the vertigo? Fingers crossed it is staying away.
Michelle: I'm SusieChaney on MFP. Sounds like the new job is going to be a good thing for you and I couldn't be happier for you!
Annie: I say forget the cleaning and just nap and watch movies. I hope this cold spell breaks for all of us soon. I hope your back gets to feeling better.
Laura: I have heard of Spark People and I know a lot of people who use it. It was thought up by a guy here in Cincinnati, which is kind of cool. I'm going to stick to MFP for now...I have everything in there and now I have friends from here with me...come on..join us! Your 30 challenge sounds good. Keep us updated on how it is going.
The internet was out at work yesterday due to the cold. Think it was frozen along with some other things.
Laura
I sure wanted to stay home in the bed the past couple of days. And we didn't have the snow to contend with either. It was cold at 11 degree's or less with the wind chill.
Happy
I'd like to take a course in German. Guess it's because that's where my ancestors originated. I'm freezing here at 11 degrees I couldn't take -50 degrees.
Annie
Hunker down. play with lil man.
Susie
I would love to have a personal chef. You have chosen a good challenge. My problem is that I never follow through.
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Since every one is posting their challenges here's mine. I'm riding the bike for 25 minutes per day. I don't have an excuse if I go to my uncles. They have the same bike as I do. Will do strength training 4 times per week and 20 wall/counter height push ups and 20 squats. AND don't eat heavy meals after work.
We're supposed to warm up today to 25 degrees but it's still cold. I dread going outside.
My co-worker has settled down for the time being. I think it shocked her that I pulled that.
My boss friend told me yesterday that our HR and Utility director made him sign a paper stating that he was leaving June 30 of this year. I think he's having mixed emotions about it now. But I have to hang in here till 2015. I told him that it they make it to rough on me I'll leave. When he leaves, and I'll be the only one with a class 4 water treatment and distribution license and I'm afraid of what this Utility director is going to expect. Since I'm not in management, I can't cover the whole city and much less I don't want to. My licenses will cover me. If worse comes to worse I'll call the Health Department director and talk to him personally. He already knows the situation. I don't want the responsibility nor the public relations that go along with this.
Location: A beautiful and peaceful place in the woods
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S/C/G: Stuck/Working on it/Good 2 Go
Height: Fun Size
Thanks Susie, I'm glad that worked. Looks like the only day you measure actual distance is Sunday. All other days you are just going for duration which I guess is building stamina to distance.
So far my vertigo is keeping at bay but not unlike DH after his ablation, I still get some twinges which I guess are normal and the PT said that will happen, but I just worry - oh oh - is it coming back? With the winter dryness and sinus and cold issues - kind of forget that the season brings it's own set of issues to deal with. That's really neat that the SparkPeople inventor is a home town boy! I tried that a while back and they have some really great information but like you, I feel I am getting settled into MyFitnessPal and I'll stay there for a bit.
Logging calories is not as bad as I thought although I do find that the measurements in the pre-existing foods database are a bit off. I entered a recipe for home made coleslaw today and had to diddle about to convert teaspoons to cup measurements. I probably should make totally new entries just to be more accurate with the calories off the labels but I'm already finding this logging takes a fair amount of time. It is good to log the food - I am mindful of what I am eating BEFORE I put it into my mouth and it's also easy to see what something that sounds easy could be rather sinful.
How are you doing with it Shad?
Michelle - you found me as I was about to add you from this morning's post so we are linked up now. Glad to hear that you are settling in an liking the new job. Can't beat the commute, that's for sure. Thank you for the clarification on triatholon vs marathon. For some reason my brain was frozen and I was thinking marathon was more than just walk/run/jog the length of the course. Sure glad I don't have to jump in a cold lake! The do have a Polar Bear jump in the lake here although I don't think it's at New Year's because I don't remember reading about it - although if they tried it this new years it would have been not only foolish but deadly. They have it on the shores of a lake backing up to a hotel and I'm sure afterwards everyone runs into the hotel's hot tub or pool to warm up I have a hard enough time dealing with the 2 seconds of cold water that comes out of the shower when I turn it on - no lake jumping or wading for this chilly chick. It's probably better (and cheaper) if you can bring your own lunch and breakfast. I would find they had too tempting of stuff in the cafeteria or I'd eat more than I should have if I got the breakfast special with eggs, toast and such.
Ooops - hit enter before I intended. Was just going to say that weight loss takes a whole lot more time and planning than just mindless eating
Anyway I have entered lunch and some recipes into MFP and now off to do some cleaning.
Location: A beautiful and peaceful place in the woods
Posts: 8,905
S/C/G: Stuck/Working on it/Good 2 Go
Height: Fun Size
Hello Ceejay - we were tying over each other. Are you having any trouble at the plant with the cold outside of you being chilly? I don't blame you for standing your ground with the responsibilities - I've seen where they push out the management and then expect someone with less pay to do their work and some. 2015 is only next year and the time flies quickly. Just come in, do your job, ignore the drama and don't let them push you around and you'll be having your retirement party before you know it. I'm glad you posted your challenges - they are very doable objectives and you can always increase them if they get to be too easy but like all of us, let's get ourselves into a routine first. Good job!
The internet was out at work yesterday due to the cold. Think it was frozen along with some other things.
Laura
I sure wanted to stay home in the bed the past couple of days. And we didn't have the snow to contend with either. It was cold at 11 degree's or less with the wind chill.
Happy
I'd like to take a course in German. Guess it's because that's where my ancestors originated. I'm freezing here at 11 degrees I couldn't take -50 degrees.
Annie
Hunker down. play with lil man.
Susie
I would love to have a personal chef. You have chosen a good challenge. My problem is that I never follow through.
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Since every one is posting their challenges here's mine. I'm riding the bike for 25 minutes per day. I don't have an excuse if I go to my uncles. They have the same bike as I do. Will do strength training 4 times per week and 20 wall/counter height push ups and 20 squats. AND don't eat heavy meals after work.
We're supposed to warm up today to 25 degrees but it's still cold. I dread going outside.
My co-worker has settled down for the time being. I think it shocked her that I pulled that.
My boss friend told me yesterday that our HR and Utility director made him sign a paper stating that he was leaving June 30 of this year. I think he's having mixed emotions about it now. But I have to hang in here till 2015. I told him that it they make it to rough on me I'll leave. When he leaves, and I'll be the only one with a class 4 water treatment and distribution license and I'm afraid of what this Utility director is going to expect. Since I'm not in management, I can't cover the whole city and much less I don't want to. My licenses will cover me. If worse comes to worse I'll call the Health Department director and talk to him personally. He already knows the situation. I don't want the responsibility nor the public relations that go along with this.
Susie and Happy - I'm glad we're now linked up on MFP.
Happy - They have a polar bear plunge in Milwaukee on New Year's morning...they break up some of the ice along Lake Michigan and lots of drunk/hungover people jump in. I didn't hear how many people did it this year with the bitter cold. Brrrr. Who is that lovely woman in your signature?
Ceejay - You're definitely right in standing your ground. They shouldn't expect you to take on management's responsibilities.
I hope y'all are keeping warm. I had to call the Human Resources department for a company I worked for last year in Milwaukee. I needed to change my mailing address on file so that the W2 will come to the correct address. Once the woman heard my address, she asked me what the temperature was, and I felt so bad saying the high would be in the mid 60s to low 70s. I really wish I could at least send 10 or 20 degrees your way.
I went to the store on my lunch break and bought some packaged salads and yogurts. There's no cafeteria here, and it will definitely be cheaper and healthier to get the packaged salads and yogurts than to go out to fast food every day. And since D caters meals for his various bridge groups, there's not much room in the frig. We'll have to figure something out though.
Location: A beautiful and peaceful place in the woods
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for me - I fixed a technical problem on my computer all by myself. I am totally confident in my ability to muck up my computer beyond all repair and rather nervous about touching things in case I can't remember what I did to make Humpty Dumpty fall off the wall so to say.
But now my video player is working again which means I can play my yoga, WATP, and Pilates CDs
Michelle - that lovely lady is Valerie Harper - age 73 with brain cancer. I find her to be very inspirational to me. She looks freakin' fantastic for her age and she is just so positive in dealing with her disease. So when I wimp about making excuses for anything, I think of her - she just keeps pushing through. I am going to ask her to be my inspiration this month.
That's good that you picked up some healthy things. Didn't realize D was catering - and space was a premium in the refrigerator at home. Do they have refrigerators at work or are they like ours were - graveyards for old abandoned leftovers that people forgot? I had a hardcase cooler - one that would fit about 2 sets of six packs. I would add ice from the ice machine at work each day - in a zip lock baggie so it was easier to transport and keep my water, yogurt and cool stuff in there. But it doesn't replace a refrigerator which would mean you'd have to do a couple of shopping trips which isn't practical either. And those small personal refrigerators can run upwards of $200 although if you keep one at the house, it might pay for itself after a while.
One good thing about where you live and one of the reasons we once thought of moving to SF was the very mid level moderate temperatures. No Santa Ana hot winds, no freezing cold. Just neat fog. Funny how people are all bundled up and you are walking around with a light jacket - that's how it was the first year we moved to Memphis. The only time I wore a winter coat was when I flew up to Chicago to go visit my Mom. Next year you will become more acclimated though.
Happy - Congrats on fixing the technical computer problem! Well done, sista! I thought that looked like Valerie Harper, but wasn't sure. She is INCREDIBLY inspirational. Did you see her on Dancing with the Stars last season? She started off kind of stiff, but she lasted for roughly half the season. She never complained or used her illness as an excuse. She was fantastic! Everyone cried when she was eventually eliminated. Also inspirational on last season's DWTS was Jack Osborne (Ozzy and Sharon's son) who has MS, and never let it slow him down nor used it as an excuse and he made it to the finals. Another person who I find very inspirational is Michael J. Fox. Despite his Parkinson's, he's working and his new show is pretty good. And I really enjoyed his book "Always Looking Up". Yes, we have 3 refrigerators at work...and they actually have a bit of room in them! Even more room in the freezers, so I'm all set in terms of lunches and breakfasts. And there's enough room in the frig at home for healthy stuff. It'll all work out. D doesn't cater big parties or weddings...just his bridge events a few times per week (roughly 20-30 attendees per event). I'm sure it will all work out well...just got to get myself in a routine. Yes, I love the moderate temps here. We didn't even have any temps near 100 this past summer, which was nice. Not too much fog down here in the South Bay, which is a blessing when it comes to driving. Interesting about getting acclimated...this past weekend in Southern Cal at the wedding, it was in the 50s for the Sunday morning brunch on the beachfront patio, and both my step-mom and my aunt who are in their mid to late 70s wore heavy turtleneck sweaters and light jackets...and I was wearing a short-sleeved shirt. I do remember from my ex-DMIL that as she got older, her blood didn't circulate as well, so she got over-heated and especially frozen very quickly. But even though I don't get cold easily with my extra "insulation" as I call it, I'm sure a 50 below wind chill would be too much for even me to handle. I'm so glad I'm not in Wisconsin this winter.
A friend of mine sent me this little poem that she received from her cousin in Wisconsin:
Its winter in Wisconsin
and the gentle breezes blow
Seventy miles an hour
at Thirty-five below.
Oh, how I love Wisconsin
When the snow's up to your butt
you take a breath of winter air
and your nose gets frozen Shut.
Yes the weather here is wonderfull
So I guess I'll hang around
I could never leave Wisconsin
'Cause I'm Frozen to the ground!
Re My Fitness Pal - I have that app on my cell phone, and have used it in the past. Right now I tend to use SparkPeople's food tracker. I might have to give MFP a try again though, especially if I've got buddies on there keeping me accountable! Never watched those Bachelor shows. 
Hope you're all keeping warm, keeping cool, keeping dry - whatever applies, as long as you're keeping safe! 
That's ok I said, I won't mind staying home as we are not due for a warm up until Friday. I guess they left the shop closed yesterday and today which is good - the building is a very, very old and drafty frame building - the poor ladies would be freezing in the back trying to price things and it's just a waste of heat because no one is going to be out and about in these frigid temps and wind chills. 
Many years ago DH and I bought some really good bikes - geez might even have been when we were in Illinois and we used them one year and never again. It seems like such a waste although by now they'd need new tires. Another goal of mine is to build back stamina in the legs to start bike riding again. There's a ton of bike trails here but they are the fat tire / mountain bike ? kinds of rougher trails but I'm sure we could find something that was an easier ride. Lots of gentle rolling rises too so one would have to be in better shape. Right now I'd ride down the driveway, down the road to the top of the hill and be pooped out. 
Hope you are able to power through and get that yucky project done. 
this is the weather for making body parts stiff and achy. A little Ben Gay or Icy Hot (since you're home) or just some Aspercreme or an ice pack on that sore back. I know you are go, go, go and I can see you getting stir crazy. Maybe you should just do some cooking and surprise the kids or put the stuff in the freezer. I can vouch for the fact that chopping lots and lots of veggies takes an awful lot of time and will make the time pass quickly. Or I can send you my pasta maker and you can experiment and when you figure out the trick of it, let me know, ok? Are you and C both off and restless? 
If you don't do a marathon, can you try to hit a couple of 5k walks this year? Especially if you have done them before and the magic is that you said you missed them 
but not unlike DH after his ablation, I still get some twinges which I guess are normal and the PT said that will happen, but I just worry - oh oh - is it coming back? With the winter dryness and sinus and cold issues - kind of forget that the season brings it's own set of issues to deal with. That's really neat that the SparkPeople inventor is a home town boy! I tried that a while back and they have some really great information but like you, I feel I am getting settled into MyFitnessPal and I'll stay there for a bit. 
for me - I fixed a technical problem on my computer all by myself. I am totally confident in my ability to muck up my computer beyond all repair and rather nervous about touching things in case I can't remember what I did to make Humpty Dumpty fall off the wall so to say. 
I thought that looked like Valerie Harper, but wasn't sure. She is INCREDIBLY inspirational. Did you see her on Dancing with the Stars last season? She started off kind of stiff, but she lasted for roughly half the season. She never complained or used her illness as an excuse. She was fantastic! Everyone cried when she was eventually eliminated. Also inspirational on last season's DWTS was Jack Osborne (Ozzy and Sharon's son) who has MS, and never let it slow him down nor used it as an excuse and he made it to the finals. Another person who I find very inspirational is Michael J. Fox. Despite his Parkinson's, he's working and his new show is pretty good. And I really enjoyed his book "Always Looking Up". Yes, we have 3 refrigerators at work...and they actually have a bit of room in them! Even more room in the freezers, so I'm all set in terms of lunches and breakfasts. And there's enough room in the frig at home for healthy stuff. It'll all work out. D doesn't cater big parties or weddings...just his bridge events a few times per week (roughly 20-30 attendees per event). I'm sure it will all work out well...just got to get myself in a routine. Yes, I love the moderate temps here. We didn't even have any temps near 100 this past summer, which was nice. Not too much fog down here in the South Bay, which is a blessing when it comes to driving. Interesting about getting acclimated...this past weekend in Southern Cal at the wedding, it was in the 50s for the Sunday morning brunch on the beachfront patio, and both my step-mom and my aunt who are in their mid to late 70s wore heavy turtleneck sweaters and light jackets...and I was wearing a short-sleeved shirt. I do remember from my ex-DMIL that as she got older, her blood didn't circulate as well, so she got over-heated and especially frozen very quickly. But even though I don't get cold easily with my extra "insulation" as I call it, I'm sure a 50 below wind chill would be too much for even me to handle. I'm so glad I'm not in Wisconsin this winter. 
