Angela -- I wrote about stress eating on another thread you posted on. I mentioned that I'm trying to teach myself to exercise when stressed. It does help, but I actually have to think to do it and make myself do it.
Its been a busy day and we worked hard outside. Pulled weeds from around the front porch and the hedge. DH's brother came down. I finished putting out the landscape paper and DBIL carried bags of rock. Other than the border and future plantings, we are done with the landscaping in the front. This also eliminated more potential mud spots for doggie feet. The humidity was miserable. Probably sweated out a few pounds of water though. We picked a few veggies from the garden and I pulled weeds. Tomorrow night, that is my priority is to get the garden back under control after all the rain.
I did work Spanky for the first time since he came home. I was all set to ride him but thankfully I decided to lunge him first as the trainer told me. He acted like a big horse's a$$. Bucking and hopping and testing me. I was a little surprised but then again not surprised because he has always tested me. So instead of riding, he had to work on the lunge line with saddle and bridle. We probably worked for 30 minutes like that. But by then, we were on the edge of storms moving through the area and there was a lot of lightening. Thankfully, we could see the bad storm stuff going to the north of us and the plain rain going to the south/east of us. We got just a sprinkle. That was good exercise for both Spanky and I.
Oh and I did take a quick dip in the pool this afternoon to recover from all the dirty landscaping and weed pulling.
Food has not been good this week. Meals have been okay but I've let my favorite ice cream get into the house and I have been over indulging. Sigh.
Time for Duke to head to his crate for bed and then me to my own bed for the night.
Hope everyone has had a great holiday. Tomorrow is back to work.
I'm so proud of myself! I was having dinner at a friend's house again, with no idea at all of what we'd be eating. I had to totally guess as to what would be okay and what wouldn't. After the meal itself, chocolate and crystallized ginger were put out for dessert. I had one piece of each, guessing that would be around 100 calories and that I could probably afford it. When I came home and counted things up as rigorously as I could, I came in just under my target number of calories. That's not something I've often done when eating at social functions.
Thanks, Heather, I guess that's something to try. I've noticed on the rare days when I manage to exercise 2 or 3 times, I don't seem to have the impulse to stress eat. It seems that if I didn't have a job... but had a secreet source of income, of course... I could make this all work. LOL. But I guess I could always do a 10-minute walk, right? Sometimes I tell myself, if you were a smoker, you'd find time to go out for a cigarette, so why can't you find time to go walk around the building? I'll keep this one in mind.
Things with my mom are up in the air. She's having some bleeding, possibly from something like a bleeding ulcer. The problem is her blood count won't come up, despite several transfusions, but they can't figure out where the blood is going. Meanwhile, however, she seems to be having some additional progress with relearning how to walk! So it's up and down.
Terri, the landscaping and working with Spanky sounds like a pretty perfect summer holiday. Hope you enjoyed! We got those storms here, too.
Hey, we're about to fall off the page. Everyone has gotten quiet this week.
I'm here at work and shouldn't be posting. But I'll sneak in a quickie.
Last night, my DB came out and helped me change around the horse corral panels. We added another area and put in two walk-through gates to make it easier for DH to help with the horses. Also gives me another area to put horses up. The heat wasn't so bad but mercy, the humidity was awful. The kind where water just runs off your skin. After that, I worked on shoveling more dirt around the pool. Just the front area to go. My DB was happy to sit on the patio and watch by that point. Pulled more weeds in the garden. Set the trap to catch a wild animal that smelled like skunk the other night out the back door.
Work and that kind of same old chores has been my week. Too much junk food creeping in to offset and sabotage all the hard physical work I'm doing. However, I can feel the difference in how my clothes are fitting from doing all this hard work.
I've been a bad poster lately, huh? I keep trying to pop in though. It's been a long week. I hope everyone had a good Independence Day. Mine was LAZY! I literally did nothing except go to the "Salute to America" festival, walk around a bit with DS, eat too much and watch Twilight Zone on TV. Part of me really feels like I needed to do that...I've been SO TIRED and stressed...and part of me feels like a slug.
I have been SO Non-OP it's pitiful. Not only am I eating poorly, not exercising and not caring about it a whole lot, I'm sabotaging DH too! It's pitiful! Between stress at work and stress at home and stress with my friend (who is making me too) I've just been one big ball o' stress! I don't do drama. I don't do stress and it's been taking it's toll.
I need a big butt-kick! I need a personal trainer to come to my home and scream at me at 5:30 a.m. until I get out of bed and on the Infernal Machine - which is keeping the Bowflex company in my vast wasteland of unused machines! I need a vacation!
I spent more of yesterday working on updating my resume than I did working! Hmmmm, Do you think the fact I spent company time updating my resume says something about my job satisfaction? I work so much unpaid overtime I'd say we're even.
I made myself feel a bit better last night - I bought new clothes. I got the cutest capri's and a white blouse to wear over a cami, a shrug-type top, two t-shirts and two skirts (one jean, one dressy) all for $93! I am the of the clearance rack! Best part was all the stuff that was too BIG! I ended up buying all 16W's (which run big in the waist, but they had no 18 missy) and some stuff is even 14/16. So I'm pleased. Just takes spending money to improve my mood.
And getting sleep. I was out by 10 p.m. last night and for once was awake before my alarm at 6 a.m. I feel world's better. That and that I think my resume is mostly done. Now I just need someone who knows something about resume's or hiring or whatever to look it over and tell me what they think...It's pitifully short. I've literally held two jobs in 19 years - 13 at this last job - and it's rather specialized. Don't know how I'll get around that. I don't do change well any better than I do stress...we'll see.
This has been a bit long and rambling. Sorry for the lack of personals. I'm a bit scattered today, better sleep notwithstanding. Maybe I'm having a mid-life crisis? Or maybe I'm just !
Either way, I have hearings to do and justice to dispense! Got to run! Take care!
Angela-- Nice way of reframing it -- if you smoked you WOULD take time for the siggy, so why not walk! Hope your mom is improving
Terri -- Hard work is right! At least you're seeing a change in your clothes!
Lilion -- Shopping -- "retail therapy" is awesome! I am just discovering that. I have been doing a lot of shopping lately and even though I went up a size (back into 14s), it's a lot more fun than before. Last week I found not 1 but 2 jean skirts at a Talbots Outlet. The two together were $15.75, so I didn't choose but bought both!
Oh, Lilion and Heather, you two are making me so jealous with the shopping talk! Guess that's good motivation for me. I hate shopping soooooo much because I can't find pants. My hips are about a size 32 and the rest of me is about a size 26. I don't wear skirts in the summer any more because I refuse to wear skirts without tights (can't stand to see my own varicose veins and such). So I'm teaching this summer with three pairs of pants: brown, black, and jeans. Teaching EVERY DAY. Luckily it's a graduate seminar, so we're all sitting down and they're mostly looking at the top of me.
Lilion, I'll yell at you if you'll yell at me. I'm doing okay in some ways, but I had another stress eating down fall yesterday.
Honestly I think the thing that would best replace stress eating would be something SOCIAL, but I've recently had a falling out of sorts with my closest friends. I need to work on building new relationships so I have someone to talk to when I need it. Actually, writing about this is useful because it's making me realize that I'm still not done grieving the loss of my good friend who killed himself 2 years ago. He's the one I would have talked to when stressed, really--he was the only person I didn't feel I was imposing on when I needed someone to talk to. Him and my mother, and my mom's illness means that when I talk to her it's all about that... and I can't even talk to her that often.
Whew. No solutions here, but this was something I hadn't really thought about until now.
Hello ladies, sorry I haven't been around for the last couple of days. Things have gotten bad with my Mom again and I am out there as much as I can be right now.
The head nurse tells me that her body functions are starting to shut down due to age. I am sure that is True, it is first one thing and then another now. They are just trying to keep her comfortable and as contented as possible. She doesn't seem to be in any pain, thank goodness. I don't think I could stand that.
I won't be posting every day for awhile, but I will try to check you out every day anyway.
Angela, I know how hard it is to see Mom having problems. Your Mom is still in my prayers.
Angela -- I know what you mean about only having 3 pairs of pants!
Sounds like your post helped you get some clarity about some issues... it's TOUGH to have no social support!!!! Especially in a stressful time! AND to be grieving a death, still...
Ruth -- Sorry to hear about your mom.
I worry about my parents -- if they ever do get sick, one big problem is that I live 1000 miles away!! Angela and Ruth, do you live near your moms??
Ruth, I'm thinking of you and your mother, too. Thanks for your prayers.
I'm about an 8-hour drive from my mother (it takes me more like 10-11 hours because I absolutely have to stop and walk every 2 hours or so, or I won't be able to stand up straight when I arrive.... plus I lose an hour going into the eastern time zone).
Heather, do your parents have family who are closer to them? It's hard to be far away, but not quite as hard if you know there's someone else who can be there. When my father was ill before he died, my mother was alone in Pennsylvania, and she didn't drive. I felt like I had to be there as much as I possibly could. Now that my mom's in Ohio, she's close to her 4 siblings and their spouses and children, so I don't feel so bad that I can't be there the whole time. Yesterday, in fact, I called and there were EIGHT people in her room (all 8 of my aunts and uncles). I was there for 5 days right after the stroke happened, and I expect to be there during the two weeks between summer session and fall classes. Also, if she gets sent home between now and then, I'll try to be home for a few days, since I gather she'll need someone with her 24/7 when she first comes home.
Heather, your parents must be on the west coast?
Yesterday was good, except I went to bed hungry. I won't do THAT again.
Also, my danged scaled WILL NOT MOVE DOWN. TOM is overdue, so I hope water retention is why I seem stalled already, but I'm starting to think maybe I'm not going to lose any weight at 1900 calories and the minimal exercise that I'm doing. That's discouraging, since I lost about 50 pounds before at between 1900 and 1800.
Angela -- My parents are actually on the east coast in MA, and they just divorced this year, so aren't there for each other. My brother lives in Maine, so is a lot closer than me in IL. My mom's brother lives in NH, a couple of hours away.
Actually, my mom called today to tell me she broke her wrist yesterday. However, she's made a lot of good friends she can call on, so I'm not too worried about this particular situation... thank goodness it wasn't worse.
I'm at work so a quickie post. The weekend was good and food was ink:. My sister and BIL came up Saturday evening and stayed all night with us. She brought german chocolate cake and homemade strawberry ice cream for my birthday which was last week. We played in the pool for a couple of hours yesterday and then had a very mellow day. Actually, I did nothing productive all day and it felt great.
I've started out the week with exercise this morning. 20 minutes on the stationary bike and also ab work on the big green ball. I have a nice turkey sandwich and veggies for lunch. We've been getting a lot of tomatoes and cukes from the garden. Veggies and fresh fruit are more and more satisfying these days. Junk food just sounds awful and unappealing. Which I consider a good thing if I can just keep that going. And get my portion sizes under control.
Ruth - I am so sorry that your mom is not doing well. You'll all be in my prayers. Take care of you and drop by when you can.
Angela and Heather - for you too for having your mom's health issues as well.
to everyone. I hope to have more time tonight for a better post. Makes today a great OP day!
Sounds like a nice weekend, Terri. Thanks for the hug!
Lilion, What's up with everyone's mothers??? Hope yours is coping well.
Nothing special here today. Gave a mid-term exam today so I'm trying to get it graded, but taking breaks to post and (guilt) to play scrabble. But right now I'm going to go walk the halls for a few minutes to see if I can get my exercise in.
And to all the rest of you with ailing parents - hope they are all doing better. This aging parent thing is tough.
We've been running back and forth to the hospital for my MIL. She's going to be fine - she leaves the hospital today to go to "Transitional Care" - which is really a short stay in a nursing home where she'll get lots of PT to build up her strength. She'll be back on her dementia meds too which will help. She pulled her IV line out of her arm yesterday because she thought she had hurt herself in her kitchen. She did say it looked like Mount Vesuvius - which it probably did. The whole thing makes me cringe. She'll be home after that. She gave us quite a scare. If you have older female relatives that are really skinny and start throwing up like crazy - get them to the ER immediately. Apparently old skinny women can have their intestines slip down into their pelvic bone where there is a hole and the thing becomes constricted. Who knew such a thing could happen?
We've been eating out a lot on the way to or on the way back from the hospital. I haven't been on the scale to see the damage - but I can tell from the water weight alone it isn't good. Back on track today with food AND exercise.
to all!
and stressed...and part of me feels like a slug.
too) I've just been one big ball o' stress! 
I don't do drama. I don't do stress and it's been taking it's toll. 
I work so much unpaid overtime I'd say we're even. 
of the clearance rack! Best part was all the stuff that was too BIG! I ended up buying all 16W's (which run big in the waist, but they had no 18 missy) and some stuff is even 14/16. So I'm pleased. Just takes spending money to improve my mood. 
Now I just need someone who knows something about resume's or hiring or whatever to look it over and tell me what they think...It's pitifully short. I've literally held two jobs in 19 years - 13 at this last job - and it's rather specialized. Don't know how I'll get around that. I don't do change well any better than I do stress...we'll see.
Or maybe I'm just 
! 
to dispense! Got to run! Take care!
However, she's made a lot of good friends she can call on, so I'm not too worried about this particular situation... thank goodness it wasn't worse.
ink:. My sister and BIL came up Saturday evening and stayed all night with us. She brought german chocolate cake and homemade strawberry ice cream for my birthday which was last week. We played in the pool for a couple of hours yesterday and then had a very mellow day. Actually, I did nothing productive all day and it felt great.
