[nationalparker]

News that a former coworker/friend of mine died in a car accident this morning on slippery road with blowing snow in another state has been hard to reconcile today. It's occupied my early evening, touching base with a many common friends as we're all reaching out to each other, some calls, some texts. Everything else has receded into the "not important" aspect of my day. It's surreal.

Bill - You're more kind on the hosting "when will people leave" thoughts than I, as she is often very rude, then laughs to supposedly lessen the rudeness. I interact less now, and spend my time enjoying the kiddos. She doesn't wait on anyone - I appreciated that she made us a few side dishes, but also I know she will be asking for something this week. It's how she rolls. I DO love your notion that Fisher Price should make appliances. I'm all for that. I'm hesitant to fork out hard-earned money on a new one if the expectation by the makers is that they last about five years.

Karen - Your friend is most lucky to have you to visit and assist her. I'm glad she has some answers. Is it steady pool weather there now? We had almost 2" of snow this morning, and my daffodils were bent all the way over. At least I didn't lose a food crop to the snow. I think/hope my flowers will bounce back. But the idea of floating in the sun at a pool just sounds so heavenly.

CurlyJax - I hope the water station at the marathon went smoothly for you and you weren't soaked. Weather looked nice from what we saw on the news.

Maryann - I hope your toe is feeling OK, and that it's not bothering you much. So interesting about your DS's spiritual experience and many credits to you that he was comfortable to initiate the sharing of it.

Joy - "Little treats and plenty of quiet time" sounds like a great way to spend a holiday weekend. Or a year. I like that balance.

[Penny.]

Good evening!

Missed a few days. I'm still on plan and weight finally dropped a little.

I had my pre-op appointment this morning and am getting ready for my hysterectomy on the 4th. Hopefully it goes okay without any complications.

Maryann, that's wonderful your son calls you with the deep conversations. Good job biting your tongue. I have to admit I worry one of my kids might one day get sucked into religion and I won't be able to. My mom got into religion later in life and it has been very hard on our relationship but she is of the aggressive, evangelical type.

It sounds like everyone had a nice Easter. I had to make one of my kids' baskets braces friendly. Nothing crunchy or sticky. I think I did okay.

[BillBlueEyes]

Diet Coaches/Buddies - The (6 yo) DGD's sleepover is underway; she's asleep in the next room as I type. It's been a whirlwind; she doesn't slow down. By fortuitous timing, the Post Office delivered Noisy Nora by Rosemary Wells - a hard copy of one of my favorite kid's books. Amazon shows it published in 1999 which seems to ignore the 1973 small paperback edition in our collection that's totally worn out from a zillion reads to her mom and uncle. She opened the package for me and read it happily only having difficulty with the words 'monumental crash' and 'Mercy!'. She later read it a second time to her uncle who came for dinner. He couldn't stop grinning the whole time since he hadn't heard it in nearly 40 years but remembered every single line.

Complexity included having the DS, DIL, and (2 yo) DFGD join us for dinner - a spontaneous invite so the girls could play a bit. A spontaneous dinner invite was possible because we declared that it'd be whatever we picked up from Whole Foods. I grumbled at the prices we paid from Whole Foods ($26/pound for teriyaki salmon) but am grateful that everything we chose was delightful. Wish that I'd get over that stuff costs money; we can afford to do this and are really pleased that we made a spontaneous dinner party with little effort even as we were hosting the DGD for a sleepover. I ate rationally, CREDIT moi, and there's a small piece of salmon left in the fridge for someone's lunch. The green veggie dish was artichoke hearts, red pepper strips, and mushrooms; the pasta dish coated in thick white calories was to die for. None of either generous amounts were left over.


Joy (gardenerjoy) - Neat to make a genealogy discovery that can be happily reported to the family. Continue to send supportive thoughts for your DN to find her path forward. Yep, it's hard to know what's open or not on Patriot's Day since it's a state holiday but not a federal one. For example, trash wasn't picked up (holiday) but mail was delivered (not holiday).

maryann - If you can graduate a bunch of kids who see what lobbyists are doing to us you're my heroine.

nationalparker – Sending supportive thoughts for the loss of your friend by car accident. I share your desire not to buy into the only-for-five-years state of new appliances.

Karen (karenrn) - Ouch for a lot of fractures in your friend. Hope she can find a comfortable rehab environment.

Penny. - Congrats for setting up your operation; I do hope it resolves your issues. And congrats for finding a braces-friendly Easter basket.

Readers -

Chapter 5 Stage 2 - The Think Thin Initial Eating Plan

Bonus Calorie Guidelines

• In Chapter 10 I've included the portion sizes for many different possible Bonus Calorie foods. But you can use your Bonus Calories for any food or beverage; you are not limited to the suggestions on the Bonus Calories list. These are provided for your convenience, so you can easily find the correct portion size for a number of popular options.

Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Complete Beck Diet for Life (Green book), Pg 123.

[curlyjax]

Sunday night I became very emotional for some reason and just sobbed hard for awhile. Even though DH has been gone 4 years and I keep going, every so often it just hits me how hard it is to do everything myself, and to be the solo parent. I forgot about getting a place to eat dinner for DD’s graduation and after hours of looking I found something okayish about 30 minutes away. I wish we had a bigger family and friend circle to make a big splash for her but we don’t. I’ll have to think of some little things that don’t cost a ton of money.
The marathon was okay-lots of standing around in the cold for hours, with very little to actually do. It was cool to get a front seat for the runners, wheelchair folks etc. next year I may just go watch. A few of the regular runners looked tired already at the 5K mark, not sure how they made it thru the whole thing! I bonded with a woman my age and we chatted about our lives, and went for coffee before the thing started.
Bill-I’m glad you mentioned the mail- i forgot it would be delivered and its probably a soggy mess now as it poured last night. The visit with the girls sounds very fun.
Nationalparker- so sorry about your former coworker, that is awful.

Wave to everyone else.

[gardenerjoy]

A Zoom meeting led to a late supper, a late movie-night, and a late bedtime. Here's my reminder that a messed-up sleep schedule is not cured by food. Here's what does help: late day exercise, early mealtimes, and some movement back toward a normal bedtime. Also, patience. It can take a few days for everything to feel right again.

Exercise +45, 875/1400 minutes for April

karenrn: We had homemade treats for Easter -- deviled eggs and a bread pudding with apples, raisins, and cinnamon.

nationalparker: So sorry. That is a shocking way to lose someone. I'm glad that you've been able to be in touch with the friends you had in common.

[Penny.]

Good morning!

Weight went back up this morning. Ha! Always. I'll keep going.

Nationalparker, I missed your post last night since we were posting at the same time. So sorry about the loss of your coworker. that is such a shock.

Curlyjax, Lol at the already tired runners at the 5k mark! That's nice you made a friend to have coffee with as I'm sure all these social connections help with the hardship of losing your husband, but still the burden of solo parenting is overwhelming. You're doing it anyway and the kids are meeting milestones in finding their independence.

Oops lost track of time and I need to start work. Have a great day everyone.

[karenrn]

Good morning coaches,

Food is on plan and weight is in a holding pattern. At least I'm fairly happy with this weight. I hiked a shorter steep hike this morning by myself. I really like not having to coordinate a time with my friend. I'm meeting a few friends for coffee at 10 and then will have an early lunch and head to the hospital to see what is going on with my friend today. I need to make some meal plans, which I didn't do this week. I want to make some recipes using ingredients I have on hand, which I'm pretty sure I can figure out.

GardenerJoy The bread pudding sounds really good. Who knows how long I will stay on my current eating plan, but I can tell you the things I'll eat that aren't on my plan will be sweets.

Curlyjax I'm so sorry you're going through a rough time. I wish there were a good group that was excellent at supporting widows. It seems like even if there was assistance with the practical things and decision making it would be helpful. Is there such a thing? I think it was you that said you wish you had a larger family and I hear you on that. These days so many of us have smaller families and don't live near families. Maybe I just have rose colored glasses on thinking they would be helpful.

Bill It sounds like you are in the midst of a very busy fun time. Sounds like you might just be a bit tired by the time dgd leaves. It sounds like Whole Foods made the dinner party much easier and tasty.

Penny Yay on the drop in weight.

Nationalparker I'm so sorry to hear about your friend. That is such an awful shock. I hear you about nothing feeling important after such awful news. As far as our weather, yes almost every day could be a pool day although we mostly just use it on the weekend.

Maryann I'm sure your lessons on lobbying will be very interesting. Smoking and now the food industries are both prime examples. Of course really I imagine it is almost limitless.

Well I guess I'll get cleaned up and fixed up for coffee with the gals.

[nationalparker]

A sunny day here, and am thankful for that, as hopefully it lifts my mood a bit. Every winter I get down and this year I'm taking more Vitamin D3 and bought an anti-SAD light, which I have forgotten to use on cloudy days. It probably would work if I gave it a shot. I need to set a phone alarm like I do to administer my cat's insulin in morning and evening. You'd think after four years of administering the shots to her, I'd remember, but time slips some days. I did some marketing and bought plenty of veg and a few fruits, olives, almond milk creamer (a treat, $-wise), and a big bag of garlic among other things and got out for under $30. Score! I will mow tomorrow when it'll be 10 degrees warmer. I ran into my neighbor and let her know I'll mow her yard then. She was hoping her grand daughter was coming home from college this weekend but it's not until the end of the month. She always feels so guilty to accept help in any way and I say that's the benefit of living on our street - we all know each other at my end and help each other out with shoveling, mowing, food, rides if needed, etc. Good activity, too. Funny that it's way more rewarding to mow her yard than my own some weeks.

I'm worried that I won't fit into my spring/summer clothes. I know, worry won't help take off inches. I've gained about 6 pounds from when I was wearing them at the end of summer I think ... and it's all fat weight no muscle. So, I'd better get my rear in gear and get walking, that always seems to work, yet I push back at helping my own self. Some days I'm so charged and others I feel defeated. My brother's chemo isn't doing the trick and so the oncologist has doubled his dose and it's difficult to tolerate for him. Thankful for free long distance calling. He has trouble keeping weight on and I feel strong guilt at being overweight when he's in this struggle.

DH and I will walk the trail this evening. I have a spicy bean soup in the slow cooker, so no set "dinner time". I did make a mistake, thinking all of the beans were cooked/softened a bit ago, I added salt and blended it some to thicken it. The beans weren't all done, and adding salt when beans are not fully cooked, keeps them from softening. I'm hoping it was so late in the process it won't mess up dinner. Phooey. I put it back on high for the next hour and keeping fingers crossed. An inexpensive meal but I still don't want to waste food.

Bill - What are some of DFGD's fave foods now? I get a kick at seeing how some tykes enjoy this or avoid that. A nephew of mine loves veggies and fruits to the near exclusion of everything else, starting from toddlerhood. He'd go in the freezer and pull out a bag of mixed veg and of broccoli and make himself a big bowl and crunch away on the frozen ones in the summer instead of popsicle type treats. On birthday gatherings, he'd always sit next to the veggie tray and choose extra there instead of cake or cupcakes. His mom was like, "I have no idea where he gets it from!" Nature. His younger sister is completely opposite.

Penny - Yay on the weight drop. I hope this school week started out well.

CurlyJax - Oh i wish we lived closer in this community to gather now and then and be in-person support, though maybe the lack of anonymity might be odd... I don't think time passing means anything should be easier. I think it just means they were loved a lot and we miss them. I still cry from the loss of my parents when I'm particularly missing them and that's been seven years. But it just must be hard to handle the life moments without him. I did smile at you meeting a new acquaintance and bonding quickly. You have that gift and that is to be treasured.

Joy - Hope you're able to recharge after your late night. I struggle with late movies now, sometimes I'm so wired and awake if it was good, that I can't turn off and sleep.

Karen - If I stray from my food plan, it'll be when I'm in Italy if I choose the pizza margherita. The amount of cheese is so much less than here, and tastes so much better. The true mozz as well as parm and cheddar. Not that I've thought about it at all, huh.

Maryann - I would love to be a fly on the wall in some of your classes. Your students, their parents and your school administration are more fortunate than they know. I would have loved a teacher to illustrate theories and engage a class the way you do.

[maryann]

Good Afternoon, Coaches.

Heavens to Betsy! I forgot DH's bday until 4;15 this afternoon. I put the poor guy through heck because he thought something was amiss 9 I have never forgot before) and he didn't want to remind me in case I was planning a surprise party or would scream at him for not telling him sooner. Poor guy. I did have a gift and just got confused on the day thinking it was on Thursday. He is down at the ranch and we decided to celebrate tomorrow since I go to bed in about three hours and he would be alone anyway So for me it is an opportunity for growth. I told him he just got the biggest gift ever - a get out of jail for free card next time he forgets something important. I will make a mental note to forgive others for such lapses.

We are doing the lobby simulation tomorrow. It will be interesting to see if it works out. I have already had the kids pre voted on the issues to see if they will change their votes after lobbyists work their magic.

Day 4 with yoga and I love the practice. I ate very well if still working on smaller portions. I am happy to be slowly dropping back to ticker. I have given myself two weeks to do so.

Wave to all

[BillBlueEyes]

Diet Coaches/Buddies - Concluded the (6 yo) DGD's sleepover. Just like I said yesterday, she never stopped. Her reading leaps forward by huge bounds. She does no reading in kindergarten, but reads with her mother, "She always wants me to point to where I'm reading so that she can follow along." Won't get out of the car until she finishes a book. DW suggested that she take the book and read it on her "secret bench" in Mount Auburn Cemetery. She loves that bench; is thoroughly convinced that it's secret and that only she knows about it. She built, with lots of help, a complex plastic car with a spring wound motor. Amazing concentration, and even patience with a HUGE amount of patience from DW.

Eating was on plan with no daytime snacks, CREDIT moi. Dinner was a rapidly prepared frozen concoction from Trader Joe's. So glad that such exists for occasions when time is short. My accomplishment was chasing down trash cans that the wind blew up and down the street. When the day ended, there were five extra trash containers in the front of my house - four of those yard waste barrels. All were from the house across the street; they were gathered by their owner before dark. Was an unusual amount of wind for us.

ETA: The green veggie dish mentioned yesterday was "artichoke hearts, red pepper strips, and mushrooms;" How could I have forgotten the mushrooms, LOL.


Joy (gardenerjoy) - Thanks for "a messed-up sleep schedule is not cured by food" - needed that when I was looking for a snack because life was crazy around here.

maryann - Happy Birthday to your DH; glad that you had a gift even if the day was off. Love the notion that your forgetting becomes his "Get Out of Jail Free" card.

nationalparker – Always sounds so neat when you and your DH take your evening trail walk. Congrats for still speaking to each other after so many hours of cleaning out his parent's house. When offered anything she wanted at Whole Foods to bring home for her dinner, the DGD chose cheese pizza and steamed broccoli. Yep, broccoli! She loves the stuff. Hope she stays with that even after all the other kids explain that kids HATE broccoli, LOL.

Karen (karenrn) - I just love that when you meet friends at 10 am you've already done a short, steep hike.

curlyjax - Thanks from all of us sitting at home for being out there supporting the Boston Marathon. Neat that you met a new friend out there. Wish you well as you process the waves of grief that become visible from time to time.

Penny. - Kudos for "I'll keep going." Sometimes I feel that that's all I can do.

Readers -

Chapter 5 Stage 2 - The Think Thin Initial Eating Plan

Bonus Calorie Guidelines

• I've included Bonus Calorie suggestions for beverages, but most dieters find that they feel more satisfied if they use their calories on solid foods. Try low- or no-calorie beverages, such as water or tea. If you really like juice, experiment with diluting it 50-50 with water, gradually using more water and less juice over time so that you can save more of your Bonus Calories for solid foods. This is also a good strategy for switching from half-and-half to milk (or even skim mile) in your coffee.

Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Complete Beck Diet for Life (Green book), Pg 123.

[curlyjax]

Thanks for the love peeps! I felt better yesterday- until I went back to my ob-gyn appt. I had an ultrasound and figured all would be well, but apparently it was cloudy so they couldn't see much. So now I have to choose between an endometrial biopsy or a hydroscopy with d and c. I'm fluctuating between freaking out thinking I have endometrial cancer, and thinking i'm not truly in menopause yet so it could just be perimenopause. If anyone has any advice/knowledge feel free to pm me I'm definitely having a lot of cramping-which could also be caused by a benign fibroid possibly. Anyhow- personals tomorrow!

[gardenerjoy]

Yesterday's eating went fine, helped by a Sunbasket box that brought us a recipe and ingredients for Japanese Hot Pot. That's something that we'd never make on our own, but it was fun to make and eat with a little help.

We're expecting rain all day, so I'm aiming for good desk projects and a normal food day, plus one or two YouTube workouts.

Exercise +50, 925/1400 minutes for April

curlyjax: Yikes! No experience to offer, but I know with DH's troubles last year that it can be really hard when you're offered two options with no really good criteria for choosing between them. Or, maybe I have this to offer -- a year out and I still don't know what the best choice would have been. If we had to do it over, I might go for the other one. But that's only because I know precisely what went right and wrong with the choice we made. I'm pretty sure that I'd feel exactly the same way, if we'd gone the other direction. So, it's pretty easy to put that all behind me, on the list of "things I cannot change" and move on to finding things that I can change.

[Penny.]

Good morning!

On plan and no change in weight.

Getting kids off to school is still quite an ordeal. The picky eater makes lunch packing difficult and then she forgot her retainer case and had to run back home after we started walking. She took a long time gettig it so I went back for the car. We'll get it figured out.

Bill, lol about the garbage bin pile up! We have severe weather warning today that includes wind, large hail, and tornado(!!). It is also garbage day for us so I can see that happening here too.

Karen, I'm with Bill chuckling about how much day you've already finished by 10am. I hope things are looking better for your friend in the hospital today.

Nationalparker, I need to try the spicy black bean soup recipe! I'm running out of groceries but do have a big bag of black beans. Your close neighborhood sounds wonderful.

Curly, no advice to share but sending well wishes everything is okay. Hopefully whatever is decided can happen soon so the mind doesn't have too long to think the worst.

Maryann, so your dh isn't the type to announce his birthday month, week, day? Darn! Thank goodness you had a gift so he knows the thought was there. Good lucky with the lobbying project today.

Joy, the Japanese hot pot looks good. I have an instagram friend from Japan (who started out as a Couchsurfing friend- she stayed with us, then we stayed with her), who hikes and makes little hot pots out in the woods. such beautiful photos out in the snowy mountains, and then her little camp stove full of lovely bits of veg and meat. I didn't know it was called hot pot, but the photos look the same. Good to know.

[maryann]

Good Afternoon, Coaches.

The lobbying simulation was historical. Lobbyists earned money by shooting baskets. Then they could choose to grease up the senators on the bills presented or save the money for the auction at the end. Key comments. "How come the senators have so much less money than the lobbyist." and "Hey you promised to vote for my bill." Very happy with realistic outcomes.

Food is good and will be capped off by sashimi for a day late bday with DH. I will do my yoga.

I am just beat today.

curleyjax: no experience. Both procedures sound yucki. I have had fibroids wich did produce said pain but that was long time ago.

[nationalparker]

Hello coaches! A good day despite dreary skies. I decided I'd put off the mowing because it started raining, then about three minutes later, it stopped. No excuses, so I got our yard and my neighbor's mowed, all trimmed and edged and cleaned up. When DH came home from work, he asked if I was ready to walk the trail, so laced up and got out there. I think it's important for us to get back to that, mainly for the stress relief aspect for both of us. The other day I said in passing to DH that walking will help with his stress as it's coming out in tension headaches and higher BP ... with me it's stress eating. It'll help both of us. He asked, "You're stressed?" ... Yep, hon. I am. Maybe I just shouldn't be...?

CurlyJax - I have no experience with either of those procedures, just sending good vibes your way. Hoping that whichever procedure you decide, can be done quickly so less worry time, as Penny notes.