I’m glad I skipped yoga yesterday. I got my groceries done, a little thinking time to calm down, and even squeezed a quick nap in before driving to https://www.dunkindonutscenter.com/e...l/stars-on-ice in Providence with my buddy from college. We had a great time but agreed we were both old and ready to leave when it was done; it was really cold and cramped. Eating was dreadful, the only healthy thing I had was a banana. Today is cooking day though with salmon, greens mix, and a zucchini corn bean thing so i’ll be set up for some time after that. Penny-that’s a beautiful sweater pattern. Upping the protein for weight loss is a good idea. Karen- I’m so glad restaurants are doing salads like that now, so healthy AND good. Maryann- wonderful kitchen organization! Its true, with technology I use certain cookbooks much less than I used to. Nationalparker-ooh that recipe does sound good. I’m sure you are quite ready to be done with this task, goodness! I used to do a similar veggie sandwich in a pita pocket, that could work to keep the veggies in. I should dig that recipe out. Bill- too funny about your son’s view of his “elderly” father. She’s anxious about taking Uber late at night from her job so we’re at a standstill.
My rainy day went reasonably well yesterday but I turned to food, at one point, for a bit of entertainment. Today, I'm putting times on my food plan because part of the problem seems to be entitlement thinking that I should just get to eat what I want, when I want. Sometimes, controlling the "when" helps me control the "what."
Exercise +45, 1245/1400 minutes for April
nationalparker: Thanks for the SoulSpace recommendation -- I just requested it from the library.
Still no change in weight. I'm going to skip the rice today.
My 20 year old microwave decided to quit working yesterday. I went to the same store and picked up the same microwave, and had it swapped out on the kitchen cart, all in about 30 minutes. The kids are unhappy about the missing 'sound' button on the newer model. No way to eliminate the beeping noise.
I thought about my friend who lives without a microwave since the microwaves-are-bad trend picked up, but that would really mess with my method of cooking every few days and everyone reheating on their own.
Food is on plan and weight is holding. It goes up and down a little bit, but no big drop yet. I got out for a moderate hike this morning and then took Otis for a walk. I had planned to do a longer hike but it was so windy that I decided against it. No big plans for the day, but I certainly have things I can do around here.
Penny That sounds like a pretty easy swap out for the microwave. I couldn't live without mine. There are times when I just don't want to turn on the oven and heat the house any more than it already heats from outdoors.
GardenerJoy It seems when I'm busy enough I don't think of food. The problem is I'm not usually that busy.
Curlyjax Sounds like you had a nice day yesterday. I agree there are some darned tasty salads on many menus.
Bill It sounds like DFGD is doing well and fitting right in. I hope she isn't going anywhere soon.
Nationalparker Yes I guess hoarding is a mental illness. The dressing on the salad was an apple cider vinaigrette. It seemed to have a touch of sweet in it and was very good. I need to make some salad dressings. I've just been relying on things from the store. I do love a spicy peanut vinaigrette from Trader Joe's, but it's not good on everything.
Maryann I have a vertical cupboard that pulls out like a drawer from my island in the kitchen and I just love it for baking sheets and racks. I'm glad we had a designer when we did the kitchen or I wouldn't have thought of many of the things that I love the most.
Well I had better jump in the shower. A friend says he'll bring me some grapefruit. It's the end of the season.
Day 1 Fast of 5. Fine. I stayed up too late binge watching Mare of East Town which I highly recommend. I am working a bit from home, taking a nap and doing my yoga. Those are the musts.
I started teaching the war unit today. We are starting with the Ukraine war and I shoed the kids a video of how they could sign up to fight. I wanted to impress upon them that a war must be analyzed before we send our most precious possession ( our children) in harm's way.
Enjoyed a clothes closet with no laundry and freshly hung work outfits. i wore the apple necklace and the black and white baby doll dress with legging. Lots of compliments.
Hello, coaches. Food on plan today, enough. I like a later lunch and smaller dinner when DH is working, so I ate a very small amount of leftover soup while DH enjoyed the tofu stir fry that Bill recommended. He liked it and observed I could double the jalapeno next time. I had three but only put in one to start with. Noted that in my spiral notebook where i copied it down so I didn't have to keep refreshing my screen as I moved through the recipe. Another squabble. I'm over this clear out now. I tried to solve an issue that apparently when I got the go ahead, DH wasn't clear on what I was asking earlier today. Got two others involved and it was solved, except then he said he was going to have to do one part of it himself, so he might as well do it all. And why was I trying to control this all? And why was I pushing him so hard with "my agenda". OK. Apparently I'm dense. I will do what I promised to do tomorrow afternoon to clear out trophies, a four-hour project of which driving is two of the hours, and then do my own thing most days - garden, paint, read, write, connect with friends, do yoga, etc., and do some tasks and chores, but not be driven by these other thoughts, as well. I was thinking we were moving along well on it, getting along. I told him I want to go visit my brother and the longer this is lasting, the later it is getting for me to visit him. He said maybe we can go the beginning of June. I want to go alone now. I guess that's five weeks away, but ... the issue with driving is that is keeps getting pushed back. And that I'm not happy about.
I want to just blast Lizzo and dance around and get this heavy feeling of frustration, hurt, irritation, sulkiness out of me. So that will be my morning when alone tomorrow. Then I walk with a friend at 11.
It will be interesting to see how things are in three weeks when he is retired. Not rereading this to correct grammar/edit, so apologies in advance.
Tuesday - Tanganyika and Zanzibar merge to form Tanzania (1964, Africa)
Diet Coaches/Buddies - Eating was on plan with no daytime snacks, CREDIT moi. Dinner was the dish that DW calls Dreamy White Beans - since that's the only solid ingredient. Eaten with a couple of coins of toasted baguette. I'd be vegetarian for the day again except that we started with a few previously-frozen shrimp as shrimp cocktail. A nice start for a meal. We're still working on the two-pound bag DW bought for Christmas. She's feeling a pressure to make them go away. I could do shrimp every day without complaint. I pretend that they have no calories.
Spent most of the day preparing for an evening Zoom meeting - the one where I used to sit before a table of top-shelf cheese and crackers. I do miss those. Zoom works better for one member who has had a stroke; he attends with his aide - sometimes not making it through the entire time. A friend just committed to moving from a splendid home into a retirement community. Big decision. They'd applied five years ago for a specific unit in a place that's so in demand that they expected some ten years before they'd get in. The time arrived. They pondered, and made the decision. I'm always impressed with folks making decisions to move forward in life before there's no other option. While they can still wonder if they moved too early.
Joy (gardenerjoy) - It take courage to recognize "entitlement thinking" - Kudos for that.
maryann - Such a powerful notion to teach kids about a war that is raging right before their eyes. I am so surprised that you aren't reported to the School Board after each class.
nationalparker – Neat that your DH liked the Golden Tofu dish. I hadn't mentioned that DW left out the jalapeno - she's not a hot spice person. Love that you're going to triple it. Good luck continuing to survive the burden of the humongous work load of emptying your in-laws house.
Karen (karenrn) - Love the notion of grapefruit appearing from a friend - my vision of nirvana where fruit grows on trees.
curlyjax - It is interesting to note that skating rinks have gotten colder over the years. Reminds me that I used to go to a local college hockey game occasionally with a neighbor. Wonder if we'll start doing that again.
Penny. - Congrats for replacing your microwave so quickly. Hope your new one gives you 20 years also. I, too, could live without the little beeping noises from the things that I own.
Readers -
Quote:
Chapter 5Stage 2 - The Think Thin Initial Eating Plan
Graph Your Weight Loss
I have found that most dieters understand these concepts intellectually, but they still panic whenever the number on the scale goes up. The only way to get over your panic is to graph your weight, day after day, and see that while there's a downward trend over time, on any given day the sale may have stayed the same or gone up.
Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Complete Beck Diet for Life (Green book), Pg 123.
Putting times on my food plan helped rein in extra snacks, yesterday, so I'm going with that method again today.
Yesterday's adventure in paper-sorting included a tote bag full of papers. I thought it was going to have to do with gardening, given the papers that surrounded it. But it turned out to be full of printed recipes and cooking magazines. Sigh. What a thing to have cluttering my office for the better part of a decade. I suspect it reflects a previous attempt to clear out recipes, but one that ended prematurely. Everything got chucked into recycling. The tote bag was a cheap, ugly thing from a conference, so it went into the trash.
Day 2 of Fast in the bag. I have a hot tea, a manicure, yoga and bed left. Some of my favorite things.
Wore a new outfit from Catalina. -a flirty golden yellow skirt with a bee hive at the bottom, black keds and the sterling silver sun earrings I bought. It looked great. It is exciting to me that I now have at least two knee high summer skirt dresses. I don'tfeel pretty in shorts. Fun dresses seem much more hip. It all depends on the material. One is made of guuaze ( no wrinkle for travelling) and one is made of a stretchy jersey. So easy. Feeling good about the way I dress is so helpful to my food program. It reminds me I like how my body feels when it is in the other decade. I hope to be there by the end of the fast. I also noticed that my body likes doing yoga with my stomach emptier. All good things.
BBE: i expect to be carted off to the school board daily. They can hit me with their best shot. At least I challenge them intellectually. Word had it today that a youngish woman teacher was sitting on a female student's LAP texting. So inappropriate. I felt like calling admin myself. Our lead called her lead so hopefully something is done.
Food is on plan and weight is down a tiny bit to 135. I hiked Bell Pass this morning and weather was great. It was a bit windy which was a good thing to keep it a little cooler. This afternoon I took my friend to the doctor for her check up after last weeks back procedure.
My other friend is not going to hike the Grand Canyon with me and is feeling so badly that I'll have to drive alone. She doesn't seem to understand that I don't mind driving alone at all. I'll listen to a book and the time will fly.
A better day today for me on several fronts, so I'll go to bed feeling lighter in spirit if not in body. I'm trying to find places to put the items DH and/or I bring home from his folks' house, mostly small items (except for a bureau he's deciding if he wants or not), and reading the latest book I'm looking to for thoughts regarding making your space reflect what's important to you, not just what you want to keep, and I looked closer at what purpose different pieces of furniture were serving. I was able to clear dishes out of a cabinet that we're turning to full office supplies/printer/paper, etc. and I think DH was very pleased with the transition. It was a cabinet for my dishes, but it's composition (closed doors/not glass) and location is a good call for this. I have cleared out many of the pieces I was storing. A few still need to find homes, but I'll work on that tomorrow. Progress along the path is pleasing when I end up happy about the update.
I walked with my friend this morning and could have used an actual coat; I had long underwear on and my walking gear, but the wind was just whipping through my windbreaker. We enjoyed all of the spring blooming trees. I zipped home and made a pb sandwich and then drove to the in-laws, clearly marked all of the items for the yard sale, a pile of about 40+ boxes and random items (chairs, trampoline, etc.), labeled and moved other stuff so it wouldn't accidentally be picked up, then loaded my entire car full of boxes of trophies to take to a local guy who was going to recycle them, using parts. I found his business, in a small home on a gravel road, and he did seem pleased to take them.
I checked my calendar and I've been out to the house, working for 33 days since they passed. I told DH and he said, "We've been there 33 days??" I said, "No. I have been there 33 days, I have gone most weeks when you're at work as well." He's like, "Wow! We've gone about 30 days!" ... ... It is what it is, I guess.
Joy - What a score, in a way, to find an easy thing to chuck out! I was excited about that for you
I'm going to not try to rush through personals and will check in early tomorrow.
Wednesday - Blind John Milton sells the copyright of "Paradise Lost" for £10 (1667)
Diet Coaches/Buddies - Excitement coupled a trip to the brick-and-mortar library with a trip to the supermarket. Joy in the library was gently stepping over two young girls sitting in the aisle reading Dr. Seuss's Cat in the Hat. Loved that they were doing that; loved that I knew the words and could have helped them along without seeing the page itself if they'd stumbled. Picked up my reserved copy of You Can Do It, Noisy Nora! by Rosemary Wells. Maybe the (6 yo) DGD will enjoy me reading it to her. Maybe not. Doesn't matter. I've already enjoyed reading it myself.
The other excitement was walking, CREDIT moi, to the dentist for a standard cleaning. Ran into an ex-neighbor visiting from Hawaii. Neat that the kid next door now drops in from Hawaii. And on the walk home I bumped into another ex-neighbor visiting from Cape Cod. It was like reunion day on the streets. Short chats since everybody had places to go.
Joy (gardenerjoy) - Yay for one more chunk of "stuff" gone - especially since it had the aura of importance and difficulty for disposition.
maryann - Thanks for "Feeling good about the way I dress is so helpful to my food program." Reminds me that I can up my food plan game by working on another part of my life. FYI, it made our news out here that a San Diego High School made the decision to abolish Advanced programs in the name of equity; then reversed that decision when the parents rebelled. (San Diego HS cancels/uncancels Honors programs.) Interesting times, these. Awful story of the young teacher who doesn't get boundaries with the kids.
nationalparker – Super Congrats for 33 days of clearing out your in-laws house. That's a bunch. It's that time of year for walking outside to be less chilly.
Karen (karenrn) - Neat to be reminded that listening to a book can make driving an easy task.
Yesterday, I finished a little project that's been on my list for months. I would never have guessed that the way to get myself to do a small paper-sorting project was to hide it in the middle of a large paper-sorting project. But it worked!
Today's challenge will be a hair appointment running over one of my scheduled eating times. Oh well. I'll either eat before or after and it will be fine, either way.
Food has been on plan and weight is holding. I decided to take the day off from hiking but I have walked Otis. We had two coyote across this street this morning, so I kept a close eye on him and of course he was on a leash. I'll hike again tomorrow and take Friday off and get about 3 hikes in one on Saturday when I hike to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and back up. I've got some potatoes in the oven roasting and I just cooked up some mushrooms that needed to be used. I'm heading to Costco when it opens to get a few things. Luckily it is only 5 miles away, so every trip doesn't need to be a huge haul. My plan is to get a bit of housework done today and be sure I'm organized for the Grand Canyon trip. I mainly want to be sure I have all of the food that will fuel me. I think I'll take my own dinner food too cause the choices are not great at the restaurant nearest the camping area. I have a vegan freeze dried meal in the backpacking closet and I'll take a few PB&J's, fruit, nuts, etc.
GardenerJoy You're doing so well with your organizing/sorting. My hair appointment challenge is tomorrow is that it's at nap time. ha ha
Bill How nice to run in to neighbors to visit with. I know so few people in our neighborhood, but I do visit with a few when walking Otis.
Nationalparker Oh boy that is a lot of work at the in-laws house. Funny that dh figures he has only been there 3 days fewer than you have.
Maryann The skirt sounds very cute. I have quite a few cute summer skirts and they are quite cool for summer. The good news is they now fit. I'll admit I love shorts though and when I'm around the house I wear them most of the year.
Penny That sucks that you were rewarded with a gain when you didn't have the rice. My friend says her WW leader says "the checks in the mail" when you've been doing everything right and just don't see the result exactly when expected. I try to remember that.
Curlyjax How is your week going?
I listened to a good YouTube video this morning that was kind of a reminder/summary of a book I read a while back. The title was How to become 37.78 times better at anything/Atomic Habits summary. It was on the Escaping Ordinary (B.C. Marx) Channel. It was a cartoon type summary, but a good reminder of how habits work vs motivation.
Tuesday - Tanganyika and Zanzibar merge to form Tanzania (1964, Africa)
... It is what it is, I guess. 
