Good Morning . . .

Just for a change -- it's raining -- at least we did get about 15 minutes of sun yesterday about noon. Maybe we'll get lucky again later today. Oh well, when I compare us to north-eastern parts of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia is getting by pretty lightly.

I've given up waiting for it to stop completely because I absolutely have to go to a grocery run this morning for a number of things that I'm out of. Maybe I'll get some extra exercise trying to run between the raindrops.

Have a good day . . .

Counting Down--two words re heat in Fla: air conditioning. It is just HOT in Florida, I couldn't tell you any different. But, I sometimes felt just as uncomfortable in Massachusetts in the summer. And up there, no air conditioning.

Come to find out that a large part of North America is considered subtropical climate during the summer...

Jay

flowingair - yup - for me it has to be both calorie restriction AND exercise. One without the other just never worked. The problem was, I could get my act together and do one successfully, but never both at the same time. But, practice make perfect, and I finally was able to make it work.

Jay - glad you are getting those jobs done - paychecks are always nice I think I would enjoy freelance work. I'm beginning to explore some options so that when I do retire from the school district that I have some possibilities for some extra income coming in. It takes a disciplined person to do what you do though! I'm betting that discipline has been a big part of your weight-loss and maintenance success!

Linda - hope the weather cooperated for you today! It sure was hot here!

Gotta get some weeding done and some water on the gardens so they make it through this heat wave.

Have a GREAT evening all!

Hi, A quick fly by. Thanks for the encouragement. I'm going to keep working on my food choices. Have a great day everyone.

Mornin ladies, Another hot, humid day for us here in Michigan. But the evenings are starting to cool down. Really nice.

Did anyone watch Oprah yesterday? Dr. Oz was on and was talking about why men lost weight faster than women. He said it was because of the muscle mass. As we get older, especially women, we loose muscle. That is the reason I lift weights. I've never been able to maintain weight loss before. I've got to do the whole package too, exercise and diet. But i've stopped looking at it as a chore, and now it's just the way I live. This is what I have to do to maintain the life style I want.

make it a good day, freda

Hey the slim me!

Yep, definitely muscle mass. Men just start out life with more.

I like using weights, too! And for just that reason.

flowingair! (watching the flyby)

CountinDown, being totally freelance, also known as owning your own business, is not for the faint of heart. Many people can't handle the stress of not having a paycheck every week and not knowing where one's next work is going to come from or when. At this point I have a few regular clients, but even then, reorganizations happen--so I'm always kinda looking around for opportunities.

Now, if you're retired and have a pension, that's a better situation. Then extra work is frosting on the cake. Oops, sorry for the food reference. Let's say... um... some chopped nuts sprinkled on the fruit!

Jay

Just can't get away from those food references can we At least that one is healthier -- how about "the extra work is like the incline on the treadmill -- very beneficial".

We have mostly sunshine and comfy temperatures today. Hope it continues for a little while.

Later . . .

Linda

Jay - I really admire anyone that can work for themselves. I have always gone the "safe" route. Though, it will most likely pay off with a pension 4 years from now.

Freda - I DID catch a few minutes of the Oprah episode. Which was weird because I am rarely home befor 5 p.m. and never watch Oprah. But, I turned on the TV while doing laundry and caught it. I was impressed with what I saw. And yes - I have been a believer of adding weights into the routine for quite a while now. Though, I burned out on using the multi-station machine that we have in the bedroom. I have been using dumbells and resistance bands for a while and really enjoy the variety that they provide.

Hi to everyone else. Gotta get some zzz's.

Have a great day all!

Good morning! CD, I hope you bagged some zzzz's!

meowee, somehow the metaphor of the incline on the treadmill doesn't seem to have the same appeal...

Oh, yeah, the pension question. It's nice to simply have a job where the money for things gets taken out of your paycheck, because you don't see it and you therefore don't miss it so much. In my case, I have my own individual retirement accounts (IRAs) that I've contributed to over the years (but not enough, I think). And of course, I've had to pay into Social Security/Medicare at the same time I pay my income tax every year--this is called self-employment tax, and it runs about 15% just by itself. What this means is I have to plan for my tax payments all throughout the year, so I don't find myself short at tax time.

And shall we talk about the cost of individual health insurance? Well... no.

So, here it is Thursday. More to do... Hope you all have a good day.

Jay

Morning ladies, Ah, a day to myself, at last. What shall I do? ANYTHING I WANT! I've had the kids all week, can you tell? They do make sure I get lots of exercise. I go for several bike rides a day. This week I played hop-scotch, helped with soccer practice, and played catch. much more fun that just taking a walk.

Laurie, I use dumbbells too. I like the fact that I can watch TV and do my weights at the same time. Makes the time pass quickly. You can do many many things with dumbells and increase as you get stronger. My family was amazed at how much weight I was using when I was on vacation. And the bands you can take with you anywhere.

Jay, If you work for yourself you know you have disipline! Not sure I would be able to do it. I do plan to work past retirement also, and for as long as I can. We can go contingent at work, that means we commit to work 1 day a month and can work when and as often as we want.

Flo, Just hang in there!

Linda, Glad your weather is nicer, hope it continues

make it a good day, Freda

Hi . . .

Weather is back to 'normal' -- it's raining. there is a little difference though -- now it's cold and wet instead of hot and wet.

I still have a preference for 'the icing on the cake' metaphor anyway -- always reminds me of my Father who used to say "the cake is just something to keep the icing from sticking to the plate" Eating watermelon always reminds me of his other favourite 'food' line -- "an awful lot of work for a drink of water". I don't ever remember seeing him eat watermelon that he didn't say that.

Today is mall-crawl day so that will be the exercise routine for now. Another line that springs to mind -- my Mother this time -- " you aren't made of sugar, you won't melt". Think a lot of parents have used that one on their kids.

Anyway, enough is enough of my maudlin comments -- have a great day, gang . . .

HI all - just flying in. Gotta get some work done in the gardens. Doing well here - the weather is cool, which is really wonderful!

I really am blessed to work for a school district when it comes to discussion of retirement. I can retire at 55 with half pension and full health benefits. The latter of which is really the blessing. Thus, I am starting to weigh my options as to which is preferable -stay with the district or "retire" and do something else instead. I change my mind almost daily as to which I would like more. And of course, as school starts again and things get crazy - I will be leaning toward the retirement choice.

Linda - hope you enjoyed the mall crawl! I think more cool weather is headed your way.

Freda - LOL - I love days to myself. I don't get them often, but I do enjoy them! I think that is one of the things I am lamenting now that DS2 is living here. No more "ME" days. It just isn't the same when others are home. Silly, really, but it isn't.

Jay - health insurance right now is just ugly. Even for folk that aren't self-employed. More and more businesses around here are changing or dropping their coverage for employees. DH works for a hospital and they are struggling to stay afloat financially. Small town hospitals really do face a lot of challenges.

We are blessed that ***S has a plan for young folk under 30 that is affordable and covers the basics. Otherwise DS2 (since he is not in school right now) would not have coverage. I feel for so many out there that don't have such options.

OK, I gotta get moving! Have a great evening all!

Hey! CD, were you trying to type Blue Cross Blue Shield by its initials? I don't know why the automatic word police asterisked that... huh... I have B C B S as my individual plan. I'm hoping I can convince them to remove the "build" rider from my policy--they charged me more initially because of my weight.

Hey flowingair! About the weights--don't start too heavy if you haven't lifted for awhile. Some hand weights are a good way to start, and I wouldn't go over 5 pounds--3 would be safer. If you can get a set that allows you to add weight in 1 pound increments, that might be a good investment. Sometimes the weight set comes with a booklet of exercises. A video might work--I don't know of any, though.

The basic idea is that you do repetitions of a movement--say 10, or 12, or 15--and by the end, you can't do it another time. This is working the muscle to fatigue. It's important not to use too heavy a weight, especially for women, not because of muscle damage but because you can strain your tendons. They take a long time to heal.

the slim me, how was your day to yourself? Good, I hope!

Jay

Another overcast, but not too hot, kind of day for me -- and it has just flown by really quickly.