Quick wave as DD is here with a cold and wanting attention I did get in a good walk with my friend yesterday, and then I went to a comedy show all by myself! It was in a small venue a few towns over, again with the vaccine and mask requirements, and it was women comedians. It was fun- no one was but gusting funny but enjoyable and I was proud of myself for going. Today will be chores and taking care of DD-which means some deep breaths while I am constantly interrupted. Thank goodness i have recovered from last weekend's stress! And another night of going to bed a little hungry- I think that is what it will take to lose weight, in part.
The Friday day off means I STILL have two days. Excellent. Slept until 9:00. Wow. So a quickish breakfast of field picked honeydews. They are absolutely fantastic. Then I am going to work on the side yard - trim, hedge, landscape cloth, and then bark. Two walkers stopped for five minutes to tell me how much they liked front yard. It felt good. Weight is at ticker which is also terrific. I have a surprise bday get together at a boat place/restaurant on the river. I want to try to not over indulge. I love that i have kept pounds off to date.
Joy: I know you are the gardener. I bought a hibiscus plant. It doesn't get more than three hours of sun a day and is well watered. Do you think it will make it? BBE: DW thoughts?
We had a pleasant hike this morning, then ran some errands and will get our clothing and food together this afternoon so that we're pretty well ready. We don't plan to leave until 9 or 10 tomorrow because we've been getting up pretty early and will be getting up very early the day we hike the canyon. I think since it's a long weekend for some it might be pretty busy in the canyon, but I hope we can get out and walk to some of the viewpoints for fun. There aren't many choices for restaurants, but we'll find something to eat for dinner and then there is a microwave and fridge in the room for breakfast.
Maryann I actually have four hibiscus plants in the yard, but they get quite a bit of sun. I will say the two that don't get quite as much do a little better than the other two. Ours must be 6 or 7 feet tall by now.
Penny Maybe you should be writing down those issues with work, so when it comes down to making a decision to change you won't forget them. What a bummer that they just pile it on. My niece has been telling me how busy they are at the hospital. She works as a charge nurse of a 27 bed unit and also has to take patients and be the unit secretary. Crazy times.
Curlyjax That is great that you went to a comedy show by yourself. A friend and I were talking this morning about hiking and going to movies alone and how some of our friends won't do one darned thing alone. Sometimes it's just easier.
GardenerJoy Boy are you flexible. I bent over to see how close I can get my nose to my knees and I'm sure there is at least a foot. I'm glad your back is better.
Bill Sorry your catch up day left something to be desired. It's frustrating when you make the time to do something and then it doesn't work out.
Have a great rest of the weekend and I'll let you know how we do Monday. I'll take any good thoughts or prayers.
Sunday - Composer Giuseppe Verdi born (1813, Le Roncole, Italy)
Diet Coaches/Buddies - Attended an amazing performance last night, DDC/Dance featuring the Boston Cecilia. The link takes you to the Boston Globe review that drove us there; it'll help you realize that it wasn't comprehendable - just amazing. Great quote from that review, "The piece is sung in Greek, Latin, Spanish, Basque, French, English, and German. Nothing, not even the English, is intelligible, which is too bad, but the Cecilia is so fervent it doesnt really matter." What's not to love about not being able to understand while sitting and standing next to and among the dancers and singers in a grand gothic church. After the first movement the audience was broken into four groups and led to walk outside the church around to enter into a different door into a different room for the second movement. Singing and dancing was non-stop. Had to open the mind a bit since this was way, way beyond. Unlike Verdi's operas, we didn't leave humming the melodies.
Eating was on plan with no daytime snacks, CREDIT moi. Went shopping at Trader Joe's to make up a bag of goodies as a thank you gift to a family who did us a favor. I loved buying stuff that I shouldn't eat myself. Don't know why I think it a kindness to give folks dark chocolate coated roasted almonds when I have to avoid them because they're addictive. It just doesn't seem gracious to give someone a bag of carrots and celery, LOL.
Joy (gardenerjoy) - Glad that back is better. I'm still trying to get the image out of my mind of you sitting in a chaise lounge sipping a glass of naproxen over ice.
maryann - Honeydews are just the best. We're so grateful that some farmers ship a few to us out here on the East Coast. DW's thoughts on your hibiscus plant: "It's a sun loving plant. Three hours of sun a day is likely enough to keep it alive. But to blossom, not so much."
Karen (karenrn) - Bon Voyage on your journey with your niece to the Grand Canyon. I hope the sightseers don't clog the trails. I'll be dreaming of the views you'll have.
curlyjax - Super Kudos for going to a performance alone. Good luck today tending a young adult who doesn't feel well.
Penny. - Ouch for the overload at work. Front line folks should not be the sole bearers of the burden of this pandemic.
Readers -
Quote:
Success Skill 8Follow Your Plan, No Matter What
Many dieters are able to do quite well following their plans on weekdays but find it more difficult in the evenings and on weekends. If you do, too, then structuring your time will be a great help. Initially you may want to spend more time than usual out of the house while you are learning this skill.
Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Complete Beck Diet for Life (Green book), Pg 95.
Today's tasks include a phone call with my brother to listen to his decision process for taking early retirement. He always wanted to do that, but he's rushing it because his work situation has become untenable. Kind of like Penny, I guess. He's been pushed into a job that took more than 50 hours a week, according to the previous person who did it. And, no one is slated to take over his current job. So he's expected to keep that going to. Sheesh. This is a different aspect of the labor shortage than I considered before. Companies aren't helping themselves out by making the jobs impossible to do, which just chase people out of the workforce. DB works for a company that routinely makes the top 10 list of "best companies to work for" but he says it's changed in the last year or so.
Exercise +45, 470/1500 minutes for October
maryann: Growing hibiscus in Missouri requires more sun than three hours, but that may be its need for warmth, rather than sunshine. It may be fine in California.
Eating was way off yesterday, too many bad carbs. I treated myself to a chicken shish kabob sandwich for brunch at a farmers market-which wasn't worth the calories-and indulged in fresh cider donuts-which WERE worth the calories. DD got me to watch a series on Netflix called 'Squid Games' which is so disturbingly addictive we watched 4 episodes straight. Nice bonding time although not something I would choose to watch by myself. I went on a mission to find freshly picked apples and bought ones that turned out not to have enough of a bite, but oh well, still good.
Today is hopefully meeting a friend for coffee and puttering around, bills etc. I'm babying my feet today and only doing functional walking.
Karen- have a great time! So nice to have a family member who loves doing what you do, and having the nurse thing in common too.
Penny- sorry about the current job. I think Karen has a great idea of pros and cons list.
Gardenerjoy- that is an interesting aspect about the labor shortage. Nice that you could offer your brother support.
Bill-that performance does sound very cool! It is fun to buy yummy things for someone else.
Maryann-yay for keeping the pounds off and good luck with the surprise birthday.
One more day/night of work and then I'm off for two weeks. I have a me weekend away planned for next weekend and I am looking forward to it. Just me, myself, and I at a hotel. I'm taking myself to a concert and will visit a friend for one meal out. I need the quiet!
Thanks for the hibiscus info. We will see what happens. It is really a lovely broad leaf and has one peach colored flower on it so far. A friend gave me three mums in a pumpkin planter which are now on the front porch, full sun. I can't believe I have morphed into someone who is enthusiastic about watching the blooms open. The surprise bday was very nice on a porch overlooking the Sacramento River. Weather was perfect. I ate a cookie and some cake frosting which I haven't done for awhile. I threw some of it away. Weight is still holding so all is well but I don't want to get back into the sugar habit.
BBE: I looked up the Cecilia. I would love to see them. The conductor, by the way, went to University of Michigan where of course all the best boys go
Penny: I love solitary weekends. I thrive in the quiet.
Karen: Enjoy. I am jealous of your outing.
Curleyjax: I am binge watching Miss Fisher Murder Mysteries. It is super fun.
Today I am going to putter around the house. I have to brave Loews and Sam's club but DH is going with me so that will be better.
Monday - Indigenous People encounter Barbaric Sailing Ships (1492)
Diet Coaches/Buddies - Walk, CREDIT moi, with DS, DIL, and DW, also now included their (18 month old) Foster Daughter (hereafter, DFGD) who's just been placed with them. Great walk and play time at two different playgrounds. There is so much to learn about the foster care system. There are so many rules in place to protect children - not all of them obvious to newbies. For example, a foster mother does NOT cut the girl's hair; cutting hair is a privilege reserved for the bio parent. The DFGD absorbs attention like most kids I've met. DW and I are two more opportunities. My DIL said to me, "We can talk about anything you want - as long as it's about my new DFD since that's the only thing on my mind this week." Yep, the overwhelm of a new mother. While out walking, we spotted two restaurants we'd never patronized. Realized that we were longing for restaurants just because it'd been so long since we just went out to eat.
So, after two years hiding under our beds, we ventured out for dinner. Chose a "Mediterranean restaurant," Baraka. Like all cities, we have an abundance of small ethnic restaurants. Delightful highly spiced entrees. I asked if my eggplant with feta cheese dish was Moroccan? "Well, not so much. More Algerian, and Tunisian. Her lamb was Moroccan." I had to remind myself that the Mediterranean is large and has shores in Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Turkey, as well as all of North Africa. I conflate 'Mediterranean' and 'Middle Eastern'. Reminds me how much of the world I have yet to visit.
Joy (gardenerjoy) - You're a good DS for consulting with your DB about retiring. One more story about how the work force situation is becoming unstable.
maryann - Wish you lived nearby to encourage me to take in a Boston Cecilia concert. It's hard for me to reach out to hear stuff beyond my current understanding. LOL at "University of Michigan where of course all the best boys go" - a detail that I hadn't noticed.
Karen (karenrn) - Waving toward sunrise over the Grand Canyon. With fog still sitting above the Colorado River. Such powerful memories.
curlyjax - Don't mention "fresh cider donuts" - DW insists that she's going to buy the next ones that she sees. Hard for me to stop at one. Neat that you watched Netflix with your DD.
Penny. - Kudos for planning a time for yourself, "Just me, myself, and I at a hotel." Sounds lovely.
Readers -
Quote:
Success Skill 8Follow Your Plan, No Matter What
When Lisa first started planning her meals and snacks, she knew it would be difficult to limit herself to just one evening snack, since she was accustomed to "grazing" until she went to bed.
Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Complete Beck Diet for Life (Green book), Pg 95.
I'm giving up on my exploration of Sun Salutation. It turns out the easiest parts aren't good for me when my sinuses are congested (which is pretty much chronic for me). The flow begins with a transition from hands over head diving to a forward bend and ends with the reverse, forward bend rising to a stand with hands over the head. That rapid movement of my head from high to low and back again messes with my sinuses and gives me something akin to vertigo. I have a friend who is struggling with vertigo and it's debilitating. I don't want to invite that into my life. So, I'll move on to something else to explore. Maybe side plank.
Exercise +50, 520/1500 minutes for October
BillBlueEyes: How exciting to have a DFGD in your life! I look forward to hearing about her adventures.
curlyjax and BillBlueEyes: I had to google fresh cider donuts. I've seen the term before but never separated them from childhood memories. We had fresh cider alongside powdered sugar donuts. That was the traditional offering at the Halloween Parade every year in my small town. I didn't know that anyone put cider in their donuts. Since the only food that I gave up completely at the beginning of my weight loss journey was donuts, I'll never try them now. It's been a dozen years since my last donut. I can live with never trying a new one. In the meantime, I'll find some fresh cider to enjoy in a glass -- probably not the tiny white paper cup of my childhood.
Today is the Boston Marathon. It's usually in april but moved this year to October due to covid. One year I would like to get up early to watch in person but not this year. Yesterday I went to hang out at my widow friend's house which was nice, and ended up eating junk, which I then continued for the rest of the day. DD and I watched two more episodes and she wants to finish it with two more today before she goes back to college. I don't like watching tv during the day unless i'm sick but I will do it today for her. Later I need to finally pay my bills and do some food prep for the week, and get back on track. So nice to have a long weekend! Maryann- I would argue that not all the best boys go to Univ of MI; some go to college at UMass Penny- yay for a me weekend, what a great idea. Quiet time by oneself is essential especially for introverts. Bill- its great that your DS and DIL are foster parents, what a gift to a child. Gosh those flavors sound good. Gardenerjoy-I never thought about the uniqueness of apple cider donuts; I wonder if its just a New England thing. I can live without donuts, this is the first one i've had in quite some time.
Bill, good luck to your ds and dil with fostering. It can be a lot of stress, and hard to communicate just how difficult it is to care for a kid that age coming from trauma. They seem like a regular toddler to the outsider. But, since they have no other kids it should be a lot easier.
Curly, I've never heard of the cider donuts either. We have bags of mini donuts being sold at the farmer's market. I'll have to look closer to see if they are cider donuts.
Maryann, you are putting amazing work into your yard! Congrats on the neighbor's validating praise.
Joy, good luck with side planks. Is everything sorted with mil's end of life stuff? You seem less stressed.
Tuesday - Opera singer Luciano Pavarotti born (1935, Modena, Italy)
Diet Coaches/Buddies - Amazon issue: Small package promised Sunday. Didn't arrive. Then promised Monday delivered by the US Postal Service. But the USPS didn't deliver on Monday, the holiday. So, couldn't happen. But, Voila! When I hit [Track Package] just now the site declared it had been delivered yesterday [near the front door or porch]. Went downstairs and checked. It wasn't. I've seen this before. Amazon achieves its delivery goals by the simple technique of stating that they did. [/RANT]
Eating was on plan, CREDIT moi, except for one unplanned afternoon snack. For lunch I made a peanut butter with pecans on toasted whole wheat bread sandwich. I always drop the bag of pecans back in the pantry as I walk to my office. Yesterday I forgot; they sat on my tray as I ate lunch. After eating my sandwich, I opened the bag and ate a small handful. Wasn't hungry. Wasn't really craving pecans. But there they sat and I indulged. After all these years of following the strategies of Beck my little brain just 'forgot' that I eat by a plan. Lesson learned: next time I get to my office with my lunch tray still containing the bag of pecans, I'll march it right back downstairs to the pantry. Will call the trip down and up the stairs an exercise. Oh, Well.
Joy (gardenerjoy) - Good luck choosing your next yoga pose (posture, asanas - whatever). Love your memory of donuts and fresh apple cider in little paper cups.
curlyjax - Neat that you can hang with your widow friend. I suspect that your DD will cure you of wanting to watch TV for a month.
Penny. - Thanks for the good wishes for my DS's fostering. It's hard to not know what sort of trauma is in the kid's background. The Agency works hard to respect privacy. But that simple leaves the foster parents to guess.
Readers -
Quote:
Success Skill 8Follow Your Plan, No Matter What
So she made plans to go out every night for a week. She went to the library and read magazines, met her best friend for coffee, window-shopped at the mall, visited her sister, volunteered in the community, and saw movies. At home she practiced the Resistance Techniques describe on the following pages.
Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Complete Beck Diet for Life (Green book), Pg 95.
Yesterday was kind of wasted. I watched the last of the Squid games series with DD, and didn’t have much productive time after that. I did cook some chicken which i’ll use for salad lunch this week, so at least there’s that. Last night during my dream I asked someone if they were vaccinated- the first time covid has invaded my dreams, kind of interesting. It’s going to be 70 this week so another nice week. A nutritionist is coming today for a program at work so hopefully I’ll pick up something useful. Penny- yay for onplan. Bill- did they mail the package to someone else? One time they sent a photo of where they had delivered it to, and i figured out by the photo it had gone to my neighbor instead. I’m amazed at all the times it’s been right!
I did get in a good walk with my friend yesterday, and then I went to a comedy show all by myself! It was in a small venue a few towns over, again with the vaccine and mask requirements, and it was women comedians. It was fun- no one was but gusting funny but enjoyable and I was proud of myself for going. Today will be chores and taking care of DD-which means some deep breaths while I am constantly interrupted. Thank goodness i have recovered from last weekend's stress! And another night of going to bed a little hungry- I think that is what it will take to lose weight, in part.
Sunday - Composer Giuseppe Verdi born (1813, Le Roncole, Italy)
