[BillBlueEyes]

Diet Coaches/Buddies - Was fun to chat with the 13-year-old young lady who lives next door and her mom. She walks to school. Doesn't mind. Always meets her friend halfway to hoof it there together. Plays Lacrosse which I thought was only for the elite ladies at private boarding schools. Some parents think there is less opportunity for injury than with soccer. Hard to believe with kids wielding long sticks. I'll have to try to get to see a game. Will have to learn the rules if I do.

Eating was on plan with no daytime snacks, CREDIT moi. Dinner was the second visit to the pot of chili. DW sauteed some diced Brussels Sprouts with onions in a recipe that I adore but seems to have fallen off the rotation. Was nice to have it back. My crisis of the moment is that we didn't finish the box of mixed lettuce from last week. A smart chef would dump the remainder because I'm picking up a new box at the supermarket today. It doesn't last longer than a week. If I don't toss the remainder, I'll have a larger remainder next week and we'll slowly shift into eating older and older lettuce. That means picking out the wilted little pieces. Another solution is to have a large lettuce salad for lunch. Alas, so many first world problems.


Joy (gardenerjoy) - Neat that your MIL's hospitalist is providing just the services that they're advertised to provide. Kudos for recognizing what you cannot change.

maryann - Yay for setting up trips with your SIL to prepare for your hike. Did you read that a group of Texans had to get rescued trying to scale the Organ Needle in New Mexico? (News story.)

Karen (karenrn) - LOL at "wish we did and wish we didn't" have a bakery nearby. I know that problem. Fun that you got out for a hike with your DB and SIL.

curlyjax - Your Tower Hill Botanical Garden looks well worth a visit. I'm so jealous that you got to visit a real brick-and-mortar library.

Penny. - Sorry to hear about the serious scare with your mom in the hospital; glad that she's recovering. Congrats to your DH for his new job and to your 14-year-old for his new jab. With all that going in your life, like Job, I can't imagine how you'll find time to read Sapiens and Bogelheads.

Readers -

Success Skill 4 Give Yourself Credit

what to do ...

You deserve credit every time you: . . .

• Check off your Success Skills Sheet.

Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Complete Beck Diet for Life (Green book), Pg 68.

[curlyjax]

Training continues at work which leaves me tired and crabby, its hard to focus all day like that, plus balancing stuff from the old job, and then 45 minutes driving home. Then another ridiculous exhausting argument with DD. Only two more weeks left thank goodness. I did get a walk in yesterday and my weights, plus dropped in for a chat with an older friend i haven’t seen for awhile, so that was nice. Eating was mostly OP yesterday.

I’m running late again so personals tomorrow.

[gardenerjoy]

MiL moved to a nursing home yesterday. I hope that can put her back on a path toward strength and moving back to her own house.

I have a meeting this morning and errands to run after that. That's going to limit my ability to stick to my schedule of projects. I'm reminding myself that persistence is something that happens over time. A break in the proceedings today is not an end, unless I don't get back to the plan.

I planned my day so that I'm running errands right after lunch, a time when I'm less likely to think there's something out there that I need to eat. I have a written meal plan and it's all food from home.

Exercise +55, 790/1400 minutes for May

[Penny.]

Good morning!

My son has his 20th birthday tomorrow and wants sushi, so I need to make a plan. There is an excuse to overeat around every corner, it seems.

[karenrn]

Good morning coaches,

I hiked Bell pass with my backpack and an audiobook which I enjoyed. Several times I thought about cutting it short but decided there was no reason to do that. It's garbage day and I'm not even going to attempt to walk Otis. He'll get some throwing of his toy in the backyard later on and that will have to be good enough. I've decided it's just not worth him getting all upset. Yesterday I went to REI to look at a new day pack for one I finally threw in the garbage, but didn't find anything. Afterwards I stopped to visit some friends for a visit. Of course I sent a text prior to be sure it was okay. It was nice to get caught up on what they are doing. Food was on plan yesterday and I did weight today. I'm up a pound, but still in the 140's. I need to be diligent if I expect any weight to come off.

Penny Sushi sounds delicious. I haven't had it in a long time.
GardenerJoy Glad to hear mil has moved to a nursing home for strengthening. I hope she does well.
Curlyjax Your plate is full. I'm glad it isn't too long before you are just at one job and training is finished.
Bill I dump the old lettuce when i get the new one for that very reason . . . I don't want to be eating older and older lettuce. I buy it at Costco and it's very inexpensive besides.
Waving to Maryann!

[BillBlueEyes]

Diet Coaches/Buddies - Major crisis solved: I added a gigantic bowl of lettuce to my peanut butter sandwich for lunch. We're now back on equilibrium with lettuce in the fridge with the new box that I bought at the supermarket. Feels good to have some problem that I can solve, LOL. Eating was on plan with no daytime snacks, CREDIT moi. Dinner was grilled salmon consumed sitting out on the patio in the pleasant evening air. And corn-on-the-cob - so good to get started with that. First ears of the season for us were surprisingly sweet. Looking forward to more. The birds are still loud; they'll get quieter at some point when they are all sitting on nests.

Event was the trip to the supermarket. Got to chat with a neighbor who is considering a full solar roof since he's doing a full renovation. The solar roof will drive his heating system and, if it comes to pass, charge his electric Rivian van. I hope he gets to do it all. Renovations have such a history of killing good ideas as the costs add up.


Joy (gardenerjoy) - So glad that you got your MIL into a nursing home so she can work toward getting back home. Thanks for your reminder that persistence needs to happen over time.

Karen (karenrn) - Yay for the joy of a trip to REI even if you didn't buy anything. One would think that your city would be willing to collect garbage at night so as not to offend Otis. By-the-by, I've solved my heart problem by simply not reading any news article that begins "In Arizona", LOL.

curlyjax - Yay for contact with an old friend. Such a normal sounding activity.

Penny. - Happy Birthday to your DS. Asking for sushi is pretty sophisticated for a young man.

Readers -

Success Skill 4 Give Yourself Credit

what to do ...

You deserve credit every time you: . . .

• Contact your Diet Buddy.

Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Complete Beck Diet for Life (Green book), Pg 68.

[curlyjax]

Yesterday was a better day at work, i think i'm finally starting to understand some things, plus the person I was with was a lot more relaxed which helped. I went for a walk after work with my friend who has started to date someone, so that was fun to analyze and discuss all that.Food was mostly OP. I have rediscovered wraps and although the tortilla is 100 calories and yet another carb, its whole wheat and makes it more of a meal than a salad.
Today's excitement is going to the dentist and then I get to work from home, so no commute today thank goodness.
Gardenerjoy: glad MIL is getting the care she needs.
Penny- happy birthday to you son! yes, constant food celebrations etc.
Karen-so nice to be able to pop in on friends again, I love it! Avoiding the trash truck day walk sounds very sensible.
Bill-yay for lettuce equilibrium!

[gardenerjoy]

After several days of rain, we're moving into our first stretch of the year with highs in the 80s. I plan to take a walk to make sure that I get acclimated before we reach near 90 over the weekend.

Exercise +25, 815/1400 minutes for May

[maryann]

Good Morning, Coaches.

All week I have had a battle with the snooze alarm. I have mostly lost. I seem to be inordinately exhausted these days.

A trip to the Dr yesterday revealed that the most likely problem of the bleeding was the steroid shots for my foot. Who knew? Dr. said she has had it happen to many of her patients. DH liked that solutions far better than the idea that i could have a random ovulation and be pregnant. Good Gravy! And i am a baby lover.
My food has been sloppy in the afternoons. As Karen has said, I must be diligent if I want to go below 160. Any additional Bites, Licks or Tastes (BLTs) will stop forward progress. It would be easy for me to tell myself to just wait until summer but then there will be another excuse. Credit for continuing with tweaks that I know work for me.

Wave to all and hopefully personals soon.

[Penny.]

Good morning!

Yesterday was fine. I'm going to try and get my workout done earlier than 11pm today. Ha!

My boy is 20 today! I should probably let him sleep in and not bug him, but I'll probably burst into his room with wild happy birthday singing and be super annoying.

Cheesecake and sushi will be the obstacles.

Have a great day everyone.

[karenrn]

Good morning coaches,

Food was off plan yesterday, but weight is holding in spite of it. I hiked Bell Pass with my backpack today, so that was 3 days for the week. I'll do more hiking, but not worry about carrying the backpack again until Sunday. I'm on to another audiobook which is not as enjoyable, but very interesting. Yesterday I made a hotel reservation for the night before I meet my friends at Whitney Portal where our August backpacking trip ends. They will leave their cars there and I'll drive us around to Lodgepole campground in Sequoia where we will stay 3 nights before out backpack to get acclimated to the elevation. It's getting real and tomorrow Kathy and I will do further planning for our Tahoe Rim Trail hike which I'll be leaving for in 5 weeks.

Maryann Great news to know the steroid shot could be the cause of the problem. Hopefully it resolves soon. Stress can really take it's toll, so I imagine that contributes to your being especially tired.

GardenerJoy Boy could we use some of your rain. I know when it begins to get hot here I try to get out in it a bit to acclimate. We're getting there now for sure.

Curlyjax I like wraps a lot. There is a tortilla I get that is lower calorie, but I admit it is pretty darned thin.

Bill I totally agree with you about the crazy news out of Arizona. It is simply unbelievable, oh and embarrassing.

Penny Happy Birthday to your son! Enjoy the sushi.

[BillBlueEyes]

Diet Coaches/Buddies - Exercise was chase the (5.5 yo) DGD day, CREDIT moi. Took a long walk around some land set aside for storm water overflow with boardwalks to allow observing the wildlife. It's wildly successful - both with humans, birds, and little critters. Saw a pair of Great Blue Herons in flight. Neat that they were identified by the DGD even though they are the easiest bird to identify next to the Ostrich. Astounded to see a Solitary Sandpiper; I rarely get to see one. If you're not into birding, it looks like just another sandpiper. The DGD age-appropriately spent much time ogling the goslings and the baby Mallard ducks. Unfortunately, a man on a bench was feeding white bread to the Canada Geese and goslings, "It's organic - the same kind that I eat," he proudly displayed the plastic wrapped loaf from Whole Foods. I bit my tongue; white bread isn't good for wildlife and humans feeding wildlife isn't good for training the young to fend for themselves. Living in a city means living with all kinds; we just marched along.

Eating was on plan with no daytime snacks, CREDIT moi. Actually, less than planned snacks since the DGD-uneaten apple didn't appear on our drive home. Dinner was consumed outside on the patio; I can get used to this. Cleaning up after a DGD day includes washing all the instruments of a tea party. I don't attend the tea party - just don't have the patience for it. So, I do its cleanup since DW sat through the whole thing.


Joy (gardenerjoy) - Yay for rain. My DW is back to complaining about our lack of it.

maryann - So good that steroid shots have been isolated as the cause of your issue. Can I be an honorary Great Uncle?

Karen (karenrn) - Your hiking plans are sounding very specific and very real. Love that you continue to absorb audio books as you hike.

curlyjax - It's delightful that grown women can giggle about dating. There's hope for the world.

Penny. - Sushi is such a good choice; cheesecake, not so much.

Readers -

Success Skill 4 Give Yourself Credit

what to do ...

You deserve credit every time you: . . .

• Eat slowly while sitting down and enjoying every bite.

Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Complete Beck Diet for Life (Green book), Pg 68.

[curlyjax]

I had fun at the dentist if you can believe that- I ended up with my favorite hygienist and laughing a lot as usual. Unfortunately she's retiring at the end of this year at aged 60. Yet another person I know who is looking around at the amount of folks who die young and saying- I want to enjoy my retirement just in case something happens soon. They are planning on moving south near some family and coming back somewhere cooler in the summer months, like reverse snow birds. Sounds kind of fabulous I must say.
No exercise done yesterday but food was pretty OP. The kids are heading off to visit family in VT themselves today which is a first; DD just overnight to drop DS for a longer stay. I'm nervous about them driving almost 4 hours but I guess they are old enough.
Penny- you are creating memories for your son by bursting into his room singing good luck with the treats.
Gardenerjoy-90 is way too hot already, goodness
Bill- I feel like we have had a lot of rain recently, the lawns are so lushly green.But I know its never enough for gardeners. Yay for baby animals, they are the best.
Maryann- so good to find out the cause of bleeding. Definitely better than the other idea!
Karen-5 weeks is not long at all, how exciting!

[maryann]

Good Morning, Coaches.

Credit for showing up to work yesterday and putting energy in with the kids. I am following the fabulous rule "Act as If" I am acting as if I want to be at school and then when the kids show up it becomes true. Even the mindless correcting is somehow calming. then I get to come home binge watch Death in Paradise (today on the climbmill) and get to my favorite place in the world these days - my bed. I think this is fine. I won't always be walking step by step with such intention.

Food was messy again last night and the scale has been forgiving. I have taken a few steps today to clean it up. If it doesn't work I am going to throw another food from the yellow light list to the red light list and actually throw the food away. I am working too hard to just maintain.

My friend called me and told me that the Sacramento airport is doing three day COVID tests which is what I will need for my trip. That is great to know.

BBE: Started Sapiens as an audiobook. Very interesting. I have taught ancient civ along time ago. You wouldn't think the info would change but all the info is being reconfigured and embellished with the new data. Thanks for the rec.
Karen: It is exciting to think our trips are getting closer. I am excited to get school over with so I can do real time hiking in Tahoe.
Curleyjax: It is nice to have the two kids spending time with each other.
Penny: A rousing song of Happy Bday is never a mistake.

[gardenerjoy]

I'm going to the Missouri Botanical Garden for a brief trip this morning to see the profusion of peonies and irises. I remember attempting that in 2019, but waited too long. Last year, the Garden was closed completely and I saw the peonies via a virtual tour.

Exercise +45, 860/1400 minutes for May