Weighed in today - down 1.5 lbs! From 205 - 188.5

Something funny/scary happened today. I attended a Senior Luncheon with a friend (I am an honorary member at 40!). I hadn't seen some of them for a while. One lady who lives not far from me grabbed my hand and said, "Shari! You don't know how lucky you are to be alive!" She had been watching me walk past her house. On one occasion, a mother bear and her cubs came on to the road just after I had passed by, and on another occasion a large timber wolf had come out behind me! Anyway, this woman is known for a little bit of exaggeration, but her husband was agreeing with her!

Now here is the catch - I about 50% deaf from birth, and I walk with music to keep a pace - so I don't hear anything really while I walk.

On occasion, a friend joins me on my walk. She will sometimes look sharply in the bush. Says she hears something walking around.

So ... with all this, I decided I should be a little more alert and carry some protection! Tonight I strapped a big, old hunting knife onto my walk vest and a shrill whistle! I wonder what people thought as they drove by me?


Clydegirl - what a horrible thing for someone to do to kittens! I feel like crying - would love to string up whoever did this and shoot at them for a while - don't think I would feel too bad about it either! I hope Lucky will be OK - glad she found a good home!

Shy - I hope you feel better fast!

Anyway ... wish you all well tomorrow! Shari

Clydegirl,

Keep us posted about poor kitty. Hope she's ok. I can never understand the cruelty of some people. We have a rescued cat too. Found wandering in a state park in January in subzero weather. Poor thing was nearly frozen to death.

hopefuldreamer

Rennie, good to hear from you. I'm sorry you're going through a rough patch right now. I hope you get back on top of things and feeling well again.

Clyde, Lucky is a good name for that kitten. I hope she's ok. I, too, have a rescued cat. She can't see very well and her eyes shake back and forth. A vet told me it is because she has had some kind of head trauma. She was found in a boat dealer yard. But, she gets by!

Shari, you are living up to your user name with your bear and wolf story! That is scary!

Lovnmom: Where are you?? You're supposed to be back now, right?

Not much going on for me. Just trying to finish up the last few things before school starts next week. My son's football practice time is changing, so I have a new worry of how to get him there on time. We live kind of far from the field or else I'd have him ride his bike. I don't know how they expect us to do all of this and work full time!! I'm thinking that they don't care how we get it done.

Oh, and I have an eye twitch going on right now. Stress??? maybe???

Hi to all. Hope everyone's week is moving right along.

Clyde, what can I say about the kittens that hasn't already been said. It truly is beyond comprehension what horrible things people are capable of doing...to animals and each other. It's chilling. Anyway, I am sure you will be able to nurse Lucky back to health and she'll have a great life with you! All of our cats and dogs have been from shelters and rescue organizations.

Hang in there, Rennie. We know how strong you are...you'll bounce back with flying colors, I'm sure.

Diane- my left eye twitches if I'm over-tired and/or stressed. It's really delightful *sarcasm* I always feel like putting on an eye patch or something when that eye gets going!

Shari, please be careful!

My husband went down to Orlando on Monday for business. His flight home yesterday, originally scheduled to take off at 7:40 p.m., was delayed by FIVE HOURS! Thus, he didn't get home til slightly after 4:00 a.m. this morning. Anyone who thinks that business travel is glamorous...think again!

I'm on vacation next week and not a moment too soon. I feel fairly burnt out and uninspired at work. Now, I've only been at this job for 6 months and it's been great so far - but my last vacation was a year ago, so it's not this particular job that's making me feel so worn down. We are going to the beach. I've been checking the weather forecasts and while they're not fantastic, it will be better than being at work!! I can hear the surf already...

OK, back to work. There's no lack of stuff to do before going away!!

I can't believe all the rescued cat stories, as I have one also! A year ago this pitiful vastly underweight cat wandered on to my property. My husband, being the original farmboy, is not a cat lover. He kept thinking it would go away if we ignored it. Well, after two days of that and listening to the poor thing cry I finally said, "Either put it out of its misery or I am feeding it. I won't watch it suffer this way." He took about two steps toward the gun cabinet, and I played the ultimate trump card by saying, "So...what do you think Jesus would do!" If looks could kill, I would not be writing this. To make an even longer story short, Lucy now has a home, a room (including a heater) built into the shed, and the shed has had windows installed in it so she can sit by the fresh air or just have light in the winter. And it is the hubby who feeds her at night! So much for not being a cat-lover. And the hubby's brother's cat just had kittens and the hubby says we are adopting one so Lucy has company! I just have to chuckle. I am sure someone threw our Lucy out of the window of a passing vehicle.

We drove down to Shipshewana and wandered through the flea market yesterday. It is county fair time for us and we went out there today as one of my students is showing a pig. I am trying to fit in whatever I can before I go back to school on the 27th. MI has a law that the students can't start until after Labor Day but staff always goes early for meetings and such.

Diane, I'll bet the eye twitch is stress. I get that. I hope you get some relaxation time in soon.

Andrea, Enjoy your vacation.

Clyde..keep us all updated on Lucky. And everyone else, keep writing, it helps get me through my day. Laurie, the LibraryLady

We are a bunch of animal lovers, aren't we?

I am attaching a picture of our non-human children. Hopefully this will work...our cat is named Jack and our dog is named Chloe. For anyone who watches the TV show "24," you will recognize those names!

Afternoon girls.

Laurie like you said it's amazing the animal rescue stories that you hear. Lucky is doing very well. She is quickly learning the layout of the house. She has no ill effects from the abscess. I think she is more traumatised from me giving her the antibiotics. It's not easy to give a cat medicine orally.

LetsgoMets that is a lovely cat. Enjoy your time at the beach. Where are you going? I love being near the ocean. It would be nice to go away even for a weekend.

Diane that really weird my eye twitches as well. It's not all the time I have no idea what brings it on.

Shari that was bit scary, please be careful when you are walking.

My eating has been out of control these past few days. I dread getting on the scale tomorrow.

Just got back from middle school registration. My youngest will start 6th grade. I'm so nervous for her, she's not at all worried. She's in special -ed classes and has medical problems. I do worry about her as some children can be mean to her. They go back next Thursday. I need to get out and buy some shoes for all of us.

Enjoy the day.

I've given lots of meds to various furry beasties over the years. The key for pilling a cat is to wrap kitty in a towel (if necessary), have one person grip kitty's jaw joint gently. This will open kitty's mouth. Biggest tip is to stick piller FAR down the throat before "popping" it. That way, kitty can't spit out the pill. She HAS to swallow it. Learning to do that has made all the difference for me. Now, I can usually pill on the first try, which is far less traumatic for everyone.

hopefuldreamer

Clyde, we went to middle school "back to school night" last night for my son going into 7th grade. Now he is very ready to go back to school on Monday. He saw a lot of his friends and he's happy to be going back. I am glad too. I don't think that he and his sister will live if they have to spend much more time together. Today, I take her for registration for 8th grade. Our district is a little different because we have an 8/9 school. The high school and middle school were both crowded, so they built this one for the 8th and 9th graders until they can build another high school in the valley. I kind of like it this way. Anyway, I have to take my checkbook and get it fired up for all of the fees. I'm sure she'll be ready to get back after today, too.

Eye twitch went away! Such an annoying thing, but it happens to everyone.

LetsGo: Love the picture of the animals. Cute! I have a cat that looks like yours. He's a funny little guy.

Dowlibrarylady: I think the key to have acceptance of the kitten is to make sure it is HIS idea! ha!

Clyde, we are headed to Long Beach Island, which is a small island that lies parallel to the New Jersey coast. We have been going there for many years and we stay in a town called Beach Haven. It is wonderful...the beach is beautiful and the whole atmosphere is really, really mellow. "Dressed up" is a T-shirt and flip flops. The biggest decision is usually where to eat or which mini golf course to go to! Can't wait!

My son is also starting 6th grade/middle school, and he, too, is a special-ed student. His "official" diagnosis is autism but really, he falls under the "pervasive developmental delays" umbrella. But "autism" gets us a lot more services! All through elementary school, he had an aide/shadow, and will have one this year as well. And he has other modifications, like having a scribe for certain tests, more time to take the tests, etc. School starts on the 26th for us. This is definitely a year of change, and it should be exciting! I think the parents are more nervous about the transition to middle school than the kids are.

Well, last month I set the goal of losing 5 pounds before vacation. That has not happened. I lost 3 lbs and promptly gained them back, even while eating less and exercising 12 out of 14 days. So I made no headway. It's so frustrating; my weight has stayed the same for about the past 8 months or so. It doesn't matter what I eat or don't eat, if I do or don't exercise, it just doesn't seem to make a difference. I guess I should make some drastic change in my diet and/or exercise but I am pretty demoralized right now. At this time last year, I weighed 13 pounds less than I do now. Maybe after vacation, I will wipe the slate clean and re-evaluate. Clearly whatever I am doing - or not doing - is having no effect whatsoever.

Oh well, did not mean to be such a wet blanket! Just two more days of work, and then off to vacation!

Mets, have you taken measurements? How do your clothes fit? Are you sleeping better? Do you have more energy? There are lots of positives to a healthy lifestyle, not just weight loss. Have a great vacation!

Our cat is a stray who adopted us. She still escapes every chance she gets. She is outside somewhere right now and I really hope she wanders back here soon.

Letsgo
I don't remember what plan you are using but I will let you use the " Rennie Plan " free of charge lol. Try counting calories, it isn't as hard as it sounds. Measure your food. Weigh your food. It really becomes old hat and you don't think much about doing it. It just becomes something you do. Make sure you are eating the required amounts of the four basic food groups each day. It takes a whole lot of eating to get all of those groups eaten a day. Stay within some general ranges of calories, fats and carbs. You really only need ( I am no expert but I have done a lot of research on this ) to do aerobic exercise 3 times a week and resistance training twice a week. Maybe trying walking/aerobic videos three times a week. I happen to swear by Leslie Sansone, I find her fun and motivational. You have to remember this journey we are all on to a more healthy and thinner body doesn't come with dates nor times. We stick to a good healthy diet and exercise routine. The side effect of those two things is losing weight and toning the body. The turtle wasn't very fast but he did win the race. Your vacation sounds great. I love mellow and relaxed. One of the reasons I love to go to the camp grounds every chance we get.

Slash
My daughter starts school on the 25th. My son starts college on the 2nd. Going to have to see how that goes. They aren't going to give him a scribe as the iEP suggests. We are going to give it one class and see how things go.

Hope
You wouldn't believe how many people leave pets at the camp grounds after they leave. It is a shame that people would just drop a pet off and not care what happens to them. I know money is tight these days with prices going up and pay going down but if a person can afford 350 maintenance fees for the camp grounds they can sure afford to take care of their pet or at least take it to the human society.

Scary
I don't know about the bears but you don't have to worry about the wolf. Wolf's get a bad rap lol. Sorry about your hearing. Sounds like you take it in stride and do what you have to do day to day. Nice going. Oh yes, if I drove by and saw you with a big hunting knife hanging by your side I am sure I would want to stop and converse with you lol. Never is a bad idea to keep protection with you when out walking. Nice going on the loss.

Melissa
Thanks. I am sure at next weigh in I am going to be upping my ticker about 10 pounds. lol the meds are really doing me in. I won't let it get me down. I lost it once I can lose it again.

At 48, I must be the old lady of this group! My daughters are 25 and 23, and although my youngest daughter "went back to school," it was to teach, not as a student! She teaches in Colorado. I remember how fun it was to go "back to school" shopping (my girls loved to shop) AND I remember how if they didn't go back to school soon, I was going to have to lock myself in my bedroom. My girls sure knew how to get on each other's nerves.

I am a wet blanket today also. I am just frustrated. I am doing all the right things and just not losing weight. I don't know, I didn't have a period last month (I skip every once in a while lately) so maybe that is the issue.

Andrea, enjoy the vacation. I love the Jersey Shore!

I went for my walk this morning but nothing exciting like bears or wolves...just a few loons flying over the river. Have a great day everyone.

Afternoon girls.

My weigh in and I stayed the same. That was a fluke.

Laurie I think I might be the oldest. I will be 50 next year. My oldest is 20 and youngest is 11.

Letsgo we lived in Jersey for 5 years and used to go to the Shore a lot. My husband and his friend used to go crabbing on Long Beach Island. Fun days when they brought all the crabs home and I had to cook them!

My daughter has had an aide every year but this year she won't have one. She will be in a self contained class and there are only 5 children to one teacher and 2 aides. We are hoping she does all right. I hope you and your son do all right with the switch to middle school.

Dreamer the cats medicine is liquid so it's easier than having to give her a pill. My husband is holding her in a towel and I get the medicine in her mouth.

I must go and do some housework, the place is a mess.

Have a good day.

Hi all! Sorry I haven't posted in a couple days! I blew my runners and my headphones in one walk (2 days ago) I ended up limping home with blisters. So yesterday I went in the city for shopping. Got myself a pair of New Balance shoes (really comfy!) and a set of ear buds to keep me going!

Today the blisters are not quite healed, but I put in 10 hours of hard housework preparing for my kids coming back from visiting grandparents. My kids are 16, 15, 13, 11, and 7. They start school Sept.2. This will be their first year in a public school. They have all been homeschooled up to now.

I also have some rescued pets - have 5 cats (or fluffies as I call them ). One was rescued as she was being buried alive by a couple kids, one hopped into my vehicle after I stopped to see what was running down the middle of the road (was winter), another was rescued from a woodpile, one moved in after being abandoned by my neighbor. I only have one that is a Nova Scotia import - she's a polydactal - has extra toes on all paws.

They make for interesting pets, and all have their favorite person!

LetsGoMets - have you ever had your thyroid checked? I have a thyroid problem, and unfortunately, I have to work twice as hard to lose a pound compared to a "normal" person. Even with my meds making me function "normal", the metabolism runs slow. It is frustrating. Also, thyroid acts a bit like diabetes. The body does not process sugar well - converts to weight gain really fast. I have to eat more protein and whole grains in order to lose. Something to consider. Don't give up.

Shy - just a questions - what are meads? I am thinking this is the English term for ale or beer - is that right? Just curious.

Have a good day tomorrow! Shari