Last leg home of a six hour drive. DH is driving. Mom and I fell asleep In the back. Yeah.

I will be happy to get home, clean up and putter. The sweets will be gone today. I will go to the gym in the afternoon.

wave

Good evening coaches,

Weight was down this morning after an on plan day yesterday. Today has been on plan too, but I haven't eaten dinner yet. It's leftover from Christmas dinner and is in the oven warming. We had a nice hike this morning and we all enjoyed the King Richard movie about Serena and Venus Williams. We wore our N95 masks in the theater, but we were at least 15 feet from anyone else.

After the movie I took my friend to stay for the next couple of weeks at another friends house. I was sorry to see her go. She has been a delightful houseguest who even does housework. I'll still see her for some hikes before she leaves 1/10. Otis will miss all the extra attention he has gotten.

Maryann If you're like me you are ready to be home and have a little more routine.

GardnerJoy The chicken tortilla soup sounds really good. I think I'll need to make some of that before long.

Penny Yay for weight is down. I'm surprised your snow melted, my brother in Longview WA has a ton of it and 25 degrees.

Curlyjax The ham sounds good and I always love having some leftover in the freezer. I also love to use it for soup.

Bill I've kept the snacking under control, but I will say I would like the goodies out of the house. I think dh may need to take them to work. It's so much easier when there aren't goodies or snacks to even be thought about.

Onebyone I hope you feel okay after your booster shot. I didn't even have a sore arm. I hope you are as fortunate.

Well tomorrow I'll get back to my more normal schedule. We may get more rain, but if it isn't in the morning I'll get out for my exercise and then have a puttering kind of day.

quick check in
 

Hi Coaches

Late. I'm.about to.head to.bed but wanted to check.in
Got the booster today. My first mass vaccination site. Previously I got a.shot st Costco and one in the Dr.office and flu shot at the grocery store pharmacy. The.mass.clinic was.very industrial. And they ran out of pfizer so those 12.and up were.turned away (only Pfizer for 12 to 30s I think) buy Moderna was still.on the menu so I got my jab. I was speed reading as in not really reading a headline that Israel is looking at dose no. 4.
Four.
We'll cross that bridge as well if we.come to it.

Reporting that I did a one song dance workout.nptmlong ago. Didn't want to miss a day. 4:55 long. Objectively really not much but it feels like something great.

Weight was the same as yesterday. Good. Woke up.hungry. very good. Ate ok all day but had a late sandwich at 9pm. Didn't resist. not great or op.but I havent officially drawn the line there yet. So some technical.wiggle.room.

I made bone broth but the pot is way too hot for the fridge. I'll get it into the fridge in a few hours when I wake up to use the facilities. Usually Caesar will.wake.me.but he's had a low day today. super.sniffly and very very sleepy. I will be surprised if he wakes us.

Off to bed now. Good night.

Tuesday - 1st observation of Neptune; Galileo observes a "fixed star" (1612)
 

Diet Coaches/Buddies - Eating was on plan, CREDIT moi, with snacks reduced to reasonable. That occurred because the food is nearly gone but, in the spirit of CBT, I'll take credit anyway. Dinner was the last serving of the leftover ham. It was still quite good. I suspect that part of the joy of ham is the abundance of salt. Went back to my beloved peanut butter and pecans on toasted whole wheat bread for lunch instead of a ham sandwich. Feels a bit like headed toward normal.

Excitement was one more trip to a bank to get a Spousal Wavier Form notarized to unravel the problem created by my friendly financial institution. The nearest branch office remains closed, presumably due to difficulty keeping staff during the pandemic. Learned that the Spousal Waiver Form is used frequently these days - ever since spouses (usually wives) complained that their joint 401K retirement assets were taken without their consent.


onebyone - Yep, waking up hungry is a good thing. Kudos for sticking with your dancing.

Joy (gardenerjoy) - Love, love, love that a local Buy Nothing group on Facebook was used to "borrow" a cup of heavy cream. Maybe civilization will be saved by Facebook even as many are screaming that it's the destroyer of civilization. Neat to have a second festive meal.

maryann - Glad you're on the way home - presumably avoiding the deep snows that seem to be in several places in California at the same time.

Karen (karenrn) - What a perfect house guest. King Richard looks good. You and your DH need to factor in that he won't be available to make sweets disappear at the office when he retires, LOL.

curlyjax - Neat to see the world through "puppy eyes". This sounds smart, "I'm really craving something healthy and light."

Penny. - Your wild rice mushroom soup looks great. I wish we'd put wild rice more often in our cooking; it's so much fun.

Readers -

Good morning coaches,

I'm back on my regular schedule, at least so far. It's going to be a low key day. I've got a little ironing to do, a bit of filing and I'm going to see West Side Story this morning. I've wanted to see it and it's been on long enough now that I don't think the theater will have many people. I'll wear my N95 mask again.
My weight is just 1/4 pound above my low, so I am very happy about that. I feel proud of myself to have had some nice meals and treats so that I don't feel deprived and then get back on plan.

I sent a few food items with my houseguest and then the other treats have been put in a drawer rather than on the counter so I don't have to see them. Out of sight mostly out of mind.

Bill It is nice when the treat food is nearly gone. What a process to unravel the mess with your retirement accounts. Glad you are working through it.

Onebyone Glad you got your booster shot okay.

Maryann I imagine you made it home safe and sound. I can't believe the photos from the Tahoe area. My hiking buddy has photos on FB from his place in Incline Village and it is a crazy amount of snow, but so beautiful. Ten to twelve feet in the last ten days.

I am still in festive eating mode, but at least I ate my salad yesterday, as well as some cauliflower. I'm not going to beat myself up about it. The cookies are getting more stale each day so that helps lessen their temptation! The grocery store is still lacking cream cheese, and was down to about 4 boxes of salad greens. Its like the beginning of the pandemic to see it so empty again in spots again.
Work is going to be slow this week but that is fine with me;gives me time to organize things better and sort thru some of our old files. As long as I don't get into candy out of boredom.
Productivity was finding a new pcp; mine decided to go telehealth only, and sent out a form letter last week stating we all needed to look elsewhere as her office colleagues couldn't accomodate all of us. From the magic of FB community, I found a new doc quickly who had glowing reviews and is nearby. he's male, which is a switch for me, but I'll give him a try.
Bill-I'm one who finds FB quite useful; I just have to ignore the stuff that makes me depressed :) Interesting about the spousal waiver form.
Onebyone-yay for successfully getting your Booster.
Karen- yay for a houseguest that does housework! I'd love to see West Side Story on the big screen, but wearing a mask fogs up my glasses, so movies are a challenge these days.

Our festive meal failed last night due to a lack of planning. We'd forgotten that it takes 21 hours to cook turkey drumsticks using the sous vide method. So, we started them last night and ate takeout. I'm looking forward to our festive meal tonight.

I'm also looking forward to trying our new Airgami masks that arrived in the mail yesterday. They've passed their N95 tests, although may not be officially certified, yet. My BiL did the research to find them. I ordered one for each of us. I'll probably still use my cloth masks for my weekly outdoor event on Saturdays, but these will be good for shopping and medical appointments in my community where cases are rising but mask-wearing is decreasing.

Exercise +80, 1420/1600 minutes for December

curlyjax: I've found that masks with around-the-head straps instead of ear loops fit better and reduce eye glass fog considerably. So, that's the option I chose for our new Airgami masks.

Good morning!

Yesterday was on plan and weight is holding. Sleep was restless so I'm feeling a little flat this morning. I thought I was off work today but I have one more day. Hopefully the mushrooms are still good for my soup recipe tomorrow, or maybe I can make it tonight.

Have a good day, everyone!

Good Morning, Coaches.

I had the dreaded weigh in after a week of vacation. I am back above 170. Drat! I have a plan to use to fast bars to work a mini fast today. Sometimes, just cutting out the sugar will pop me back down quickly. I will also head to the gym. My incentive is not watching tv until I am on the climb machine.

Today i will unpack and make a plan for the week. I have emailed several jewelry appraisers with letters of inquiry to get their thoughts on a 58 year old starting in the business. I also have emailed the GIA school to have an admission counselor contact me.

Joy: Thanks for the airgami link. I bought two. I have to face the fact masks are going a part of my everyday teaching life and I better invest in some god ones.
Penny: Boy, I have terrible luck with mushrooms. I lose about half every time I try to cook with them.
Karen: It is so fun having a great guest but I also really value my alone time.
BBE: Yeah for snack diminishing.
Curleyjax: You remind me that I am lucky I have an extra week of vacation.
onebyone: Yeah for increasing exercise.

check in
 

Hi

I'm committing a no sugar, extra water day tomorrow. I will also stop eating at 8pm. Nothing after 8pm. and.no seconds!!

I think good was ok today. Made a wonton soup from a frozen.kit: frozen wontons plus frozen broth mix in a bag. Added frozen mixed veggies and had to resist through the whole meal adding extra noodles. I resisted. Credit!

Had minute steak sandwich with cheese for supper on low carb bread.Plain nachos with cheese.sauce in between, no! Right after soup. Not hungry just wanted more.More more more is still.never enough :eek:

Then had a hunk of cheese around 8 or 9 just cause and a hard candies from a jar, 3 or 4? Don't know.

That was my food today.

Scale down 0.2

I need to tighten things up to really make the scale move. I will get there.

Going to dance to one song now.

DH got his booster today btw and my arm.is a bit sore today but no other reactions to report. Tomorrow I have to go pick up ceramic work from a gallery shop that's closing. I really don't want to think about my work yet but this has to be done. I will be back to my own schedule.by mid-afternoon. Just a detour into work for a few hours.

Ok dance then bed.

Until tomorrow!

Wednesday - Pepper Pot Day (since 1777 when served to troops at Valley Forge)
 

Diet Coaches/Buddies - Excitement was a trip to a hospital that has the equipment for an x-ray of my esophagus. Not a big deal, except that the machine was magnificent! It was large with me standing in front of a bed-like platform with a huge x-ray apparatus in front of me. Then the good doctor wanted to take additional pictures of me horizontal, so he pushed the button and the whole affair rotated 90 degrees to flat: me, bed, and x-ray apparatus combined. I was impressed. Less impressive was that I had to drink two glasses of Barium laced liquid that was easily visible in the x-rays. Dr. Beck never mentions a mid-morning snack of barium; I have no idea how many calories, LOL. The good news is that I'm well; where I'm slightly obstructed can be opened up with a balloon or a broomstick inserted in a brief procedure. "Everybody should have a diagnosis that's benign and fixable," the good doctor told me as I left. I was especially pleased that I got into a hospital at all given the pandemic.

Eating was on plan during meals, CREDIT moi. Snacking is still high, but not out of control. A trip to the supermarket found the shelves a tad depleted. I assume it's just a post holidays issue; but do worry that the supply chain crisis is raising its ugly head and that scarcity is a new part of our lives.


onebyone - Wonton soup sounds good. Congrats for holding off on the noodles.

Joy (gardenerjoy) - Thanks for the link to Airgami masks. I'm drawn to order one so that I can have a mask that is comfortable for a long wearing. DW asked if they were washable; I assume not.

maryann - Congrats for moving forward with the notion of becoming a jewelry appraiser. My take is that age will add credibility to your work.

Karen (karenrn) - Regular schedule is nice to be back on.

curlyjax - LOL that stale cookies are less tempting.

Penny. - Mushrooms last - especially those destined to be cooked. Hope your work day counting gets back on track.

Readers -

Work yesterday was fun. I ended up helping with various tasks I don't usually do like answering the main phone as the receptionist was on vacation. There were only a few of us in the office and my boss treated us to pizza; I had two slices as I had skipped breakfast, not being hungry. I'm still snacking on the hard candies when I'm bored, which is a habit I need to stop. At home I feel unmotivated to do anything and I'm really not excited about planning meals and cooking for 3 again; I guess I'm still in holiday mode. I'm going to force myself to go to the dump today and toss out a lot of garbage so there will be less stuff in the house which always feels good. The week in between Christmas and new years is always wierd and its easy to lose track of what day it is.Grumble grumble. I think my motivation will be back next week-I'm ready to take down all the Christmas stuff now and move along.
Bill-glad to hear you're okay and its a simple fix for your esophagus. Medical tools are always interesting.
Onebyone; frozen wonton soup sounds good. I hear you about the more is never enough.
Gardenerjoy- thanks for the mask suggestion.
Maryann-I feel like I'm mentally on vacation:) yay for getting started on the new career plans.

Good morning coaches,

I had an extra grapefruit and portions were a smidge larger than they should have been yesterday, weight up a smidge. I told dh that the sweets had to get out of the house because I didn't think I could continue to leave them alone. He listened and they are gone. He may have taken them to work or hidden them in the garage, just out of the kitchen is good. This morning I'm waking up with the tiniest feeling of a cold coming on. I'll stay home, but will go out for a Covid test just in case. I've scheduled one for this morning at 10:50. I guess I had better purchase some tests for at home too. I would be extremely surprised if I have Covid, but I want to be sure.

Yesterday I ironed some sleeveless tops to take to Thailand and also tried on all my shorts. I don't have any that are too small anymore, even the ones with tags on them. I do have some that are too big. I'll get some of them ironed in the next week or two. I think I'm going to have a lazy day and finally read a book that I've renewed from the library twice and not read yet. I would take down Christmas, since I'll be home, except I'm still enjoying the decorations.

Curlyjax It sounds like yesterday at work was fun. So glad you are liking your new job.

Bill I'm glad the test didn't show anything other than needing your esophagus dilated. Have you been having troubles swallowing?

Onebyone The scale down is good. Good job continuing with the movement.

Maryann I'm sure that post vaca weight gain will be down shortly. You'll have to keep us abreast of what you learn about your potential new career.

Penny What a bummer to realize you had one more day of work. How many days will you have off now?

Gardner Joy You'll have to let us know how you like the new masks. They look like paper. Are they?

Well, I guess I'll get Otis out for a walk and get on with the day such as it is. Glad I feel pretty good and I could still hike alone, but I will steer clear of friends for now.

I failed at my goal to stay out of other buildings until after the new year. I needed a quick trip to pick up books on hold at the library and a slightly less quick trip into the international market because DH liked the smoked salmon that I got him for Christmas.

Oh well. That meant I got to give my new Airgami mask a test run. It's very breathable and doesn't muffle my voice, as advertised. I had a little eyeglass-fogging at the beginning, but the seal improved over time. If that continues to be a problem, there's an extra fold that I can make at the nose that is purported to fix it.

The downside was how delicate it is. The origami folds can't be damaged, so it can only be handled at the two places on the sides where the folds all come together. As DH said, "You mean, I can't smash it into my pocket." Yep. I went back to a practice that I was doing early on in the pandemic -- put my mask on before I left the house and didn't remove it until I got home. Good thing that it's breathable!

Exercise +50, 1470/1600 minutes for December

BillBlueEyes: The Airgami masks are rinseable. I haven't looked at those instructions yet. One reviewer suggested leaving the masks in a sunny window, which is what I do with cloth masks, since I don't wear them for very long. Also, if you believe that the Airgami mask may have been exposed to germs, it can be disinfected using heat. Again, I didn't pay much attention, but I think there's both a microwave and an oven method.

karenrn: The mask is light weight enough that it must be paper, but it has some sort of coating. It would need some coating to be disinfected using heat, I guess.

Good morning!

Yesterday was a little off plan with two bowls of the wild rice and mushroom soup. Omg it is so good! and all healthy ingredients. Weight went back up a smidge.

I'll be having pretty much the same foods today but the soup (one bowl) will be with my lunch and not late at night. Timing does seem to make a difference.

I have a glorious day off and will enjoy puttering and straightening up.

Joy, I checked out the mask link too and they look great! I kinda hate the over the head straps when I'm not at work but it does seem like we need to be even more cautious.

Bill, that's a bummer you're having swallow issues but good news it is fixable. I'm not liking the broomstick imagery. lol

Karen, fingers crossed it's not covid. Scratchy throat is the symptom I keep hearing about.

Curly, cooking is such a drag. Hopefully the kids can help with a meal or two.

Onebyone, I argue all the time with my addictive voice telling me I need more and, you're exactly right, more is never enough. Good luck with your no sugar day.

Maryann, very exciting to be researching a new career. I'll be following along interested in what you learn.