They clearly know how to market their products and hook their customers!



I haven't had one since I was a kid, and this was an experience I hope to repeat!








i get that. I totally lose track of my days during semester breaks. Last night I tried to post, but got a message saying the administrator had blocked my IP address. I have no idea why. I wrote to the administrator but got no response. I didn't discover it until I tried to submit my post, so i hope the same thing doesn't happen again.

Our sleep patterns surely don't mesh--I often don't go to bed until after you're up for the day! I hope you were able to go back to sleep. I'm glad you're still below goal despite all of the eating challenges you have faced lately.

Last night I went out to dinner with three female colleagues. I had my first-ever martini (we were at a restaurant that has a long, long menu of flavored martinis, and the one I had was pink and fruity and a totally girly drink--delicious!). For dinner I ordered a lunch portion (which turned out to be the tiniest portion I've ever been served--I was still hungry when I finished!) of fettucine with chicken and broccoli with the sauce on the side. Then we went to see the play Mamma Mia at the campus PAC. It was awesome, and I had such a good time. Today I went to a strawberry festival with some friends (this is an annual ritual) and had strawberry shortcake (planned for and compensated for by eating very low calorie the rest of the day).

My date (with John, my latest eHarmony match, who is also a colleague) has been rescheduled for a week from Sunday. It was the only day I have available before I will leave town again, and I have to go to church in the morning, so I invited John to come to church before we go out to lunch and then for a walk at a local state park. The catch is that I will be singing that Sunday as part of a duet, which makes me nervous under the best of conditions, and being watched by a music professor, of all things, is definitely not the best of conditions!! What was I THINKING???! I'm excited about the day, though.

OK, let's see if this is going to submit!

Sounds like you've been having fun! I drink martinis occasionally, but almost never the flavored ones. I'm not much for sweet drinks. Wow, this must have been a hard year for strawberry festivals! The strawberries showed up early and the early crop has already come close to ending here!

Oh, he's a music professor! Very cool.

Looks like luck was with you!

Report: didn't weigh, off to Youngstown again today after the market. My friend Cindy is taking her son to camp and they're staying overnight with my cousin, and I offered to come along to see Gwen again and give Cindy company on the drive home. I'm not taking my laptop so may or may not post tomorrow, depending on when we get home.

Hope you had a great day!

Yeah, the strawberry crops have been horrible here. There were some booths selling local strawberries at the festival, and the berries were the tiniest I have ever seen.

And yes, I've been having some fun, but mostly I have been crazy busy with my condo. I've spring-cleaned every surface in the place (and found cat hair in some very odd places in the process--like inside the freezer!!); washed all of the quilts, throw rugs, and curtains; handwashed the siding outside; cleaned the garage; had the bedroom carpets cleaned; had plumbing and electrical work taken care of; ordered a storm door; shopped for wallpaper. And today I had the kitchen and laundry room flooring replaced. It was an icky, outdated, torn white vinyl, and I had it replaced with a floor that is also vinyl but looks incredibly like hardwood--it has lots of texture, making it look rough and primitive. I wasn't sure of my choice, but now that it's installed, I'm over the moon. It looks amazing and totally transforms the rooms. On Monday, the living room carpet will be replaced. On Wednesday, a new CHERRY RED high efficiency washer and dryer will be delivered. I will positively swoon to have those red appliances I have lusted over forever. I still have a few more projects to get done before the summer is out. I had been saving money all year to do all of this work but have been going through it at a rapid pace. Everything is more expensive than I predicted.


I thought I had told you that, but maybe not! Yeah, and he composes music, too. He promised he wouldn't critique me too harshly or treat me like a student!



That's very nice of you to do that for Cindy! Have a safe trip, and check in when you get back!

I ate about 1450 calories today. Got plenty of "exercise" moving furniture and washing the siding. Tomorrow I will go to the gym after church, then come home and start shifting furniture around again in preparation for the carpet installers. I hate the upheaval and mess, but the result is going to be worth it!

They're good, though! I had some for breakfast yesterday at Gwen's -- not large, but deep red and very sweet.

Wow! Your condo must be looking great!




LOL! He sounds nice.







And whenever I totally empty a room I end up with a less cluttered space, which I love.

Report: weighed (2 under goal, yay, even though we went out to a new Italian place with my cousin and ate lunch yesterday at the little drive-in we always stop at in Conneaut on the way into camp. Saw Jane for a few minutes, but she was pretty busy getting ready for her first cabent full of Aztecs (10-11 year old girls) to arrive. She got her favorite cabent (it's shaded except for the middle of the day and has a view of Lake Erie out the back) and seemed very happy. John and I are going back up Friday to stay overnight again with Gwen and pick Jane up Saturday to bring her home for a month.

Hope your day was great!

I had some little strawberries today, and they were surprisingly good--like you said, really red and sweet.

Sorry to go MIA. I couldn't even FIND my laptop for the last couple of days; it was piled in a mountain of stuff on the guest bed. I have now had the flooring redone in my kitchen, laundry room, and entry (all vinyl that looks like oak planks); and in my living room/dining room (carpet that hopefully will hide the kitty barf a little better). So I had four rooms full of stuff piled in the bedrooms. What a mess. It took me hours to get everything cleaned up and put back in place, but everything looks great now! Tomorrow I get my new red washer and dryer, which I am very excited about. On Friday morning, the storm door will be installed. Phew!

I like the oak-look flooring SO much that now I am thinking about getting it in my bathrooms, too. Then I am going to have the walls in one bathroom re-papered, get someone to paint my front door (once I have a storm door to protect it), and I think that will be it as far as home improvement goes!




He is that. He's a true, gracious gentleman. In fact, he's exactly the kind of guy my mother would have picked out for me. I haven't decided yet if that's a good thing or not!!







I have gotten rid of a TON of stuff over the last few months, and I am really liking the less cluttered look more and more as time goes on. I used to NEED to be in small, cluttered, closed-in rooms that had layers of decorative stuff to create the feeling of a safe "nest". But I have really come to appreciate spaciousness and openness--symbolizes my changed personality, I guess.
YAY for being two pounds under goal! And I'm glad Jane is doing well! I can't believe that you will only have a month with her before she goes off to college. This summer is going way too quickly.

I still haven't weighed myself but don't think I have changed one way or the other. I had a super-intense personal training session today. At the end of it, my hair was soaking wet and I could have wrung out my shirt. I am not used to sweating like that!

Hope you had a great day today!

Sometimes the smallest ones are the sweetest, it seems like!

No problem! I was actually unintentionally MIA myself. I don't have an excuse, either! Just crazy busy as usual here! I'm glad your new floors look great!

Is that all? LOL! I have so many projects I need to complete. I'm thinking of maybe considering possibly downsizing in the next year or three and going back into the city now that the kids are out of school. I just look around at all the decluttering and minor repairs I need to do...ai yi yi...






With most moms, I'd say it was a good thing.









I love an uncluttered look, too, but my natural tendency to acquire too much conflicts with that! I think I'm going to start decluttering one room at a time, plus doing paint touchups and some minor decorating -- hanging a few pictures, putting up draperies in my dining room which has nothing but wooden blinds on the window, stuff like that -- as a precursor to getting the house ready for viewing. I also need to replace some windows, one panel of three especially very badly.


Don't remind me! She's going to leave a big gaping hole in my life, that's for sure. And in her cat's life. Rosie's been wandering the house crying for no apparent reason for the past week, and I suspect it's because she misses Jane.

Report: didn't weigh, didn't go to class because I had a gazillion early-morning errands to run. Gr. Hoping to go Friday before we take off for the weekend AGAIN.

Hope you had a great day today!

Somehow summer ends up being the busiest time of the year, even though in theory it is supposed to be the slowest.

"The city"? What city would that be? Yeah, I've gone a bit overboard with the projects lately. It's just that I never have time to do this kind of stuff during the school year, so the summer ends up packed.






Yeah, but this is MY mom we're talking about!!









I also have a window (big picture window in my living room) that really should be replaced (I accidentally broke the pins holding it in place), but I think I'm going to put that one on the back burner for now. Maybe next summer. How big is your house? How would your kids feel about downsizing?


Aw, poor Rosie. I'm sure she does feel Jane's absence keenly. Maybe she is missing your dog, too?

When are you leaving? It seems like you just got home!!

I finally weighed myself this morning and was down 1.2 from last time I weighed, but still a few pounds heavier than I want to be. I can feel that some of my clothes are a little snug. I'm still trying to find my way to healthy eating with minimal cooking and limited NS food.

Hope your day wasn't quite so busy today!

Ain't it the truth!



Into Cincinnati. We're in the northeast suburbs, and while our area is unusually walkable -- we can walk to restaurants, bars, parks, the post office, library, produce market -- we used to live in a neighborhood, Clifton, where I did most of my errands on foot. The library and post office here are 3/4 mile if I cut through the back yards, but there it was six blocks with sidewalks all the way, and the grocery was 8 blocks, and there were dozens of restaurants and bars and a coffeeshop and a bakery and an Indian grocers and little boutiques in the neighborhood. We moved out here because of the schools.










Our house is probably 3000sf, plus a screened porch, a patio, a deck, and a partially finished basement, all on a little under 3/4 acre. It's a ranch so theoretically we can stay here 'til we die. But the idea of moving back to the city is intriguing. We mentioned it to Michael last night, and (surprise) he didn't express any concerns. That doesn't mean he isn't stewing it over, though. It'll be interesting to see what Jane will think, though. She's likely to have a more immediate reaction, and I doubt it will be positive.




It's possible, though for the past two years he's mostly just laid on his bed and slept most of the day, only getting up to eat or because he has to go out. Which more and more often, he'd get up too late. When it finally got to the point he was consistently soiling his bed and then just lying in it, we knew it was time.



I know! Friday around noon we go up to Gwen's, then Saturday we pick up Jane and come back.

Yay on finding you were down after not weighing for a while! Why with minimal cooking? Just because you don't yet have all the skills, or because of the remodelling chaos, or have you decided you aren't really keen on learning to cook more?

Report: weighed (no change, yay!) and am headed out now to dig a bed, so I'll get some fair exercise.

Sounds like you'd actually get more exercise living in the city! I've never lived in a city (unless you count Albany in graduate school), so it is hard for me to imagine what that lifestyle would be like.










Has Jane lived in the same house all her life? If so, I would imagine that she would be less than thrilled at the idea of moving.




That's definitely no life for a dog (or for any species, for that matter). Quality of life matters.





All of the above! I find it really difficult to muster up the motivation to learn something new, especially something that is so time-consuming. I would imagine that if I really put some effort into it, though, I'd probably discover that it would be worth my while, and I'd wonder why I resisted it for so long--kinda like exercise!
You mean creating a new bed? That sounds ambitious! Flowers, or vegetables?

I weighed again today (no change). I had a personal training session that was so intense, I now understand why contestants on Biggest Loser sometimes barf during exercise! But along with the intense nausea, I felt an incredible sense of pride and accomplishment. In addition to warming up and cooling down on the treadmill, 10 minutes on the rowing machine, and 5 minutes working on a punching bag, I did 100 squats, 100 jumping jacks, 100 of a weird leg exercise I don't know the name of, 50 jumps up onto a platform, 100 crunches, and 25 push-ups, all consecutively with no breaks. Oh, and I also ran up and down a flight of stairs 30 times. I did all of that in a one-hour session, moving at a fast pace the entire time. YAY ME!!! I have come a long, long way, baby!

Today I got my bathrooms measured and am going to get new flooring in them, too. Tomorrow morning I am getting a storm door installed on my front door. I also have an appointment tomorrow that I am having lots of second thoughts about.....I'll tell you about it afterward!

Hope you had a terrific day!

I used to get a ton of exercise when we lived in Clifton. The house was up 30 steps from the street, so going to the grocery involved carrying down the stroller, then the kids one by one (Michael didn't walk until 3 because of his various physical differences), then pushing the stroller the six blocks, loading the groceries into the stroller with the kids, and reversing the process. The only bathrooms were on the second floor, and the yard was small enough and garage space limited enough that we used a reel mower. I loved it.




Yeah, we moved in here when she was two and Michael 5, so it's really the only house either of them really remembers.

That's actually my feeling, though of course I can only assume. What I can tell you is that there are MANY "recipes" that are just as simple and easy to master as the baked fish and poached chicken I gave you. You don't need an interest in cooking to learn to quickly and easily produce good, fresh, simple food for yourself, but learning those basic skills may very well -result- in your developing an interest in cooking. Your preference for simple preparations and especially for limited variety means you'll actually very quickly learn everything you need to know and will be able to equip yourself quite easily and inexpensively. You already have the baked fish -- that's a dinner a week plus if you do a double portion, the fish can top your salad the next day. The poached chicken, done 4 breasts at a time and stored in the fridge, opens up several options for simple dinners and lunches with little to no additional cooking -- salad toppings, sandwiches, chicken salad (we can find one with no mayo). I have an absolutely simple roast chicken technique that ANYONE can master and have tender roasted chicken pretty much any time. And the basic sauteeing method (and roasting method, I think?) you've already learned for veggies are nearly all you need to know for most vegetables. I'd like to see you grill them, too, and blanching is a VERY VERY simple -- BRAINLESS -- basic method that is good to have in your arsenal. Every one of these can be learned easily and quickly.


It's an existing bed that did have perennials in it, but it was destroyed when we did that addition. It's pretty shady, so I've been a bit stymied, but I found three plants I think will work in there. But I want to dig in some amendments first. Didn't get to it yesterday after all, but I hope to this morning.

Wow! I have to wonder what your "Before" picture would say to you!

Hmmmmm! I'll look forward to hearing!

Didn't weigh this morning, but ate reasonably yesterday. Have a great day!

Wow, I didn't realize that that part of Ohio is hilly enough that houses would have steps going up to them! Sounds like just going to the grocery store would give you a real workout! And it reminds me of when I lived in Albany and had to walk everywhere (hadn't even learned to drive yet and had no money for a car, anyway). I used a child's red wagon for grocery shopping and to go to the laundromat. It was quite a challenge to navigate when there were several feet of snow on the ground.




No surprise, then, that Jane would feel very attached to it--and surprising that Michael does not.

I'm sure you're right, but first I have to change my attitude about it. ANY cooking at all feels like a lot of work to me. I feel so awkward in my own kitchen and hardly know where all of the necessary implements are. The whole thing just takes so much thought and effort. in fact, just the grocery shopping feels overwhelming, not to mention the cleaning up afterward (I'm so awkward that I tend to make a tremendous mess every time I even attempt to make something). It hardly seems worth the time and angst for something I'm going to eat in 10 minutes. But, like anything, it would become mindless and automatic with practice.


One thing I really miss about gardening is the satisfaction and the feeling of accomplishment when something you plant actually grows! My mother used to tell me that my father (a landscaper) smiled down at me from heaven every time I planted a flower.

I love those segments on Biggest Loser where the old self is talking to the new self. I always wonder what it was like for the contestants to film those old-self segments. It must take such a leap of faith to imagine the new self and to know what the new self will need to hear and be reminded of later.

I went for a free consultation to see about having laser liposuction or Zerona on my abdomen. (And it turned out that the receptionist is one of my former students. ACK.) I'm not sure that either of those is a viable option for me, and I think the aesthetician who did the consultation was inclined to agree with me. But I also made an appointment to talk with the actual doctor about it before I make a final decision.

I wasn't in a very good frame of mind when I went to the appointment, which wasn't until 5PM, after an endlessly frustrating day (mostly involving a ridiculous comedy of errors that culminated in not getting my storm door installed today as planned and scheduled). I was also in a lot of physical pain, because I also went to a dermatologist today (in Akron, and I got lost because my GPS took me to the wrong place, adding to the frustrating day) to get a bunch of growths removed from my torso (keratoses--I have hundreds of them, and they itch and drive me crazy, especially when I exercise and sweat). Only the largest ones were treated today. Each was individually poked with a needle and then sprayed with liquid nitrogen. My rib cage is now flaming red and covered with bandages, and my ribs are sore and burning.

Despite the frustration, I did not overeat. Yay me. My weight was down .2 this morning.

I hope you had a better day than I did! Odds are pretty good that you did!!

Saturday: Weight was down .2. Spent most of the day cleaning and doing laundry in my new HE washer and dryer. Talk about intimidating! Starting the washer makes me feel like I am launching a space ship, and the noises it makes only intensify that impression!

Sunday: Down another .2. John, my eHarmony match, was supposed to come down today to hear me sing at church, then go out to lunch and for a walk. But he called first thing this morning to say he'd been up sick all night and couldn't make it. A little part of me wondered if he was just looking for an excuse to bail on me, but I think he was truly and greatly disappointed, and afraid of disappointing me, too.

And you already know that I decided to do the Susan G. Komen walk. Thank you so much for your donation! I really appreciate it!

LOL! I bet!


Actually, we asked Michael not to tell Jane so we could, as we thought she might be upset, and he said, "Actually, I'd kind of like it if you'd wait until I was out of college." His concern (so typical): he doesn't like the idea of driving in the heavier traffic closer to the city while he's home for breaks from school. We told him we'd discuss it with the whole family if we needed to make a decision. And the big surprise came when we told Jane and her only concern was how far away we'd move. When we told her it was about seven miles, she totally shrugged the whole thing off.



The avoiding of mess and the amount of work it seems to involve absolutely are a factor of practice. When I cook, I put together a mis en place -- I do all the chopping, measure out herbs and spices and other ingredients, etc., into little bowls. I clean up from the mis en place before starting cooking -- the chopping board and knives get wiped off, measuring spoons into the dishwasher, veg ends go into the compost, jars of soy sauce or whatever back into the pantry and extra half onions into the fridge -- and then as much as possible I clean as I cook. A bowl gets emptied into the pot, and the bowl goes into the dishwasher instead of the sink. It's absolutely automatic -- if I'm attempting something that requires lots of little bowls I'll even empty the dishwasher before I start. For many dishes, the only cleanup after the meal is the final pan and whatever servingware and dinnerware. Some more complicated recipes won't allow this because of the timing they require or the fact two or three pans are all in play until the final moments, but you're unlikely to be using such recipes for a good long time. For me it's all about planning, and you learn it by having done it before. And grocery shopping, same thing. Certain things you need to keep in your pantry, and you build those up over time as they become common in recipes you make often, and you just re-add them to your list when you run out just like you would with toothpaste.

Have you ever watched cooking shows? If not, you might give a few a try. Rachael Ray's 30-minute Meals might be a good place to start, or Melissa D'Arabian's $10 Dinners. Both are geared for beginning cooks with mostly very simple recipes and techniques, and the hosts aren't too annoying.

Your condo doesn't have any place for you to garden?







Why do you think they're not good options for you?

OMG! I hope it's feeling better by now!

OMG! Just a long day! But not a bad one!

Oh, I'm sure! From what you've said before he sounds interested. Hope the performance went well!

You're very welcome!

Sorry to be MIA again. Got home very late Saturday, and then spent all day madly decluttering, then breaking the news to Jane, then madly decluttering again. We actually got a lot done -- main living areas have uncluttered bookshelves, my pantries and kitchen closet look pretty good, and the drawers and cabinets in my powder room. Master, master bath, spare bedroom, and all the public areas look good. The kids' room and the bathroom they use look horrible. But apparently the woman -- if she isn't a figment of the realtor's imagination -- is a realtor herself, so she ought to be capable of overlooking teenager mess.

Didn't weigh, didn't go to class this morning! Too busy!

Have a great day!

Hi, Robin! Hm, I would have sworn I posted yesteday morning! Sorry!



OH, my, that's not the reaction I expected from Jane, and obviously you didn't, either. You would think she would want the comfort of being able to return to her familiar home when she is facing the prospect of going away to college for the first time.[/quote] I think she's just thinking ahead, not back.



Too funny that you haven't used your dishwasher! Well, to start with you can concentrate on things that don't require many ingredients or pots. You can do a ton with a frying pan!

Yes, mostly on Food Network.

Wow, lots of issues with all of the ideas! Bummer!

Ouch! Hope it's getting better!





You're just one big blister! Fifteen miles is a long walk, but I'm not surprised that your biggest issue was with blisters rather than stamina.

We haven't. We just let the woman in to see it, and she came back again yesterday to take measurements, make notes, etc. about what kinds of remodeling she'd want to do. So I guess she must be at least somewhat serious.

Love it! Although I've already missed one item I donated, LOL! You go years without using something and the minute you get rid of it, you discover a need. Maybe it's just because the act of handling it puts it in your brain when something comes up.

AND again didn't go to class this morning -- had my hair straightened yesterday and I'm not allowed to sweat for at least 24 hours. Good luck with that, since of course I woke up at 4am drenched in sweat. Oh, well. Didn't weigh, but ate reasonably yesterday.



Good for you for recognizing you could eat a little more because of all the walking you did!

Hope you have a great day! I have another crazy busy one ahead!

SUNDAY: Have had no power since Friday when the storms came through! We just got it back late last night -- what a relief! Hope you can get in here to see this, but I know you're on the road!

When people are looking ahead rather than back, it's usually a sign that their heads are in a good place!





When I get home, I will have to check to see if I have that channel. After years of having only channels 1-11, I finally upgraded my cable service about a year ago so now have access to lots more channels.

I have an appointment with the plastic surgeon on July 16. I'll be interested to see what she says about all of these issues.

My ribs are still red and blistering, and I think I'm going to have some noticeable scarring. I don't know if it was a good idea or not to try to get rid of those growths.





Today I walked about 10 miles in scorching heat (5 miles with my SIL and 5 with my brother). As of tonight I am at about 68% of my fundraising goal, so I am confident I can do it. The best news is that my SIL and my younger niece are going to come to Cleveland on the last day of the walk to be in the spectator section to greet me when I finish. I'm tickled by that.

I'd say that's a good sign that she's very seriously thinking about it. What's the latest news?

Yes, I think that is exactly right. The act of getting rid of something brings that item back into short-term memory and primes the long-term memory, so that it is more easily brought to mind the next time you encounter a situation where you could have used that item. If you hadn't gotten rid of it, you probably wouldn't have even thought of it.

I didn't know that hair-straightening precludes sweating, although it makes sense! It is so hot and humid here that MY hair is curling, and my hair is normally as straight as a stick!





I'm having a great time. Saw my mom's boyfriend, my aunt and uncle, my cousin, and two friends, all in a little over 24 hours. My niece's baby shower was a great success. Attended a graduation party today. Ate very reasonably at the graduation party. Ate a number of small sweets (cookies, bite-size pastry, a cupcake) at the shower but figure I had to have burned up the extra calories walking 10 miles in extreme heat today!

Would write more but am afraid I will get kicked off when I try to submit this. I saw that there is a thread where others are also complaining about being kicked off. Hope your busy-ness has abated and you are well!

At library -- still having connection issues, will check in tomorrow if possible!