Here on yet a new password, sigh. Yesterday was a fasting day (24 hours) and I always feel great the next day. X3 weights and stretching done. A little work on the Left hand part of "Bring a Torch" for hand stretching (!)
My Noom comments tell me I may "treat myself" today so I had to decide how. So, while ordering DS's birthday gifts, I also bought myself some new Crocs with sharks on them to celebrate the upcoming Shark Week. Here in the Gulf we have two Shark-celebratory days: "Shark Rodeo" and "Sharkathon" which revolve--in theory--around conservation, so it's not just a Discovery Channel thing.
In this heat--97 degrees with 87% humidity--I'm not so inclined to cooking and need to make a plan for the rest of the day's meals. I'm thinking sandwiches and the boiled eggs DH keeps in the fridge.
Bill: I did get 2 weeks off after my finger accident while trying to get past the high danger of Osteomyelitis presented by the compound fracture. Then I made my way through my workdays with splint and sling. Now it's just a heavily padded wrap. Progress.
nationalparker: For years I dreaded having to clear my Mom's house should she pass. It was jammed full and she had two elderly cats to which I am allergic. I was saved the trouble when the place (and the cats) burned down and the insurance handed us a check. No, it wasn't arson on our part, but it sure did save me a lot of trouble!
Penny: DS had a first Tennis class last night. He wanted to try it after falling in love with Pickleball. Still waiting to see if he wants to take further classes.
gardenerjoy: Thanks for the reminder. It's time for another of what we call at our house "Great Throw Out"!
karenrn: On our walks we have seen coyotes and javelina pigs which pose a hazard for our small dogs. Only one snake and not a rattly one!
curlyjax: I'm eyeing one of DS's culinary school's recipes for seasoned, sauteed sweet potatoes. They sound amazing.
Thursday - Fête de la Fédération, aka Bastille Day, "Vive la France!" (in 1789)
Diet Coaches/Buddies - For those who cherish correct details: the storming of the Bastille did happen in 1789; it was first celebrated as Fête de la Fédération the next year in 1790 and each year subsequently where that's what it's called in France. In the US, it's called "Bastille Day" presumably because we're adverse to saying words covered with all those little accent marks.
Joy was picking up the 6 yo DGD from her gymnastics camp. She just bursts with stories to tell. Each kid gets their own goal for the week. Her's is to learn the backward walkover. The link is just to remind folks that our bodies were once supple. Playground time was oddly almost a solo adventure - the gang of kids who've been there before, weren't. Two younger girls joined her on their modern version of a merry-go-round; she 'let' them spin her. Apparently, learning dominance is age appropriate.
Eating was on plan with no daytime snacks, CREDIT moi. Dinner on the patio in near-perfect weather was, again, spent in awe of the pictures from the Webb telescope. One article I read pointed out the "Easter Eggs" in each picture. I object! Video game designers insert Easter Eggs to amuse their followers. It's not my belief that the universe came to be with amusements inserted waiting 13.8 billion years for the arrival of sentient human beings to chuckle. Curmudgeonhood without apology.
Joy (gardenerjoy) - Neat to use a doctor's visit as a motivator to get to your set weight.
Karen (karenrn) - Yep, Kudos, indeed for hiking when it's that hot. Hope you found a shady place to walk Otis.
curlyjax - Happy Shower Day. Don't even think about it being coincident with the violent storming of the Bastille, LOL. Hope it all goes well.
Penny. - LOL at "Buying peaches is always a gamble but it worked out this time." We had two batches of picked-too-early peaches then this last batch of absolutely luscious. But totally worth it.
VertOlive - It's such a good idea to reward yourself with a non-food item. Had to google shark crocs - quite a variety.
MommaMeli - Continue to send supportive thoughts. Hope that you have enough help that you can find time to rest your own brain.
Readers -
Quote:
Chapter 6Stage 3 - The Challenging Situations Plan
General Plan for Eating Out . . .
Dessert: None
Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Complete Beck Diet for Life (Green book), Pg 134.
My post from late last night that wouldn't post because i kept getting this message, despite only submitting one post:
This forum requires that you wait 30 seconds between posts. Please try again in 15 seconds.
Another day at the in-laws and while not DONE, we're close. I think DH can finish it off. I have a vet appt for our cat tomorrow afternoon and am not going to come racing back for that with the hour drive.
Food was more than I needed as I tried to care for myself with food- fried rice for dinner that was fine as it was loaded with veg, but I ate a half pb sandwich on wheat just because I got aggravated at something and more importantly, I sneak ate it which I rarely do. But probably hard to sneak eat peanut butter now that I think about it. Plenty of watermelon today. We are eating them at an alarming clip this summer, but I said we'll buy them as long as we're eating them. The cherries I bought on a good sale were juicy but flavorless so I'm sticking with the melon right now. I finally have a system for cutting them and getting it all in the fridge in about five minutes.
VertOlive - OMG on the house burning down with the cats. I don't know that I could have handled family cats dying in a fire. That would have nearly done me in. I get too stressed out with road kill, etc. I wish I could turn that part of my brain off. My sister is not just allergic to cats, but has asthma so when she visits she doesn't sit on any upholstery (just dining room type chairs and rocker). Just today we were talking about if DH and I died soon/accident or whatever, who would care for the cats. We need to amend our wills to cover care for them and WHO. Those sweet potatoes sound wonderful! I love using them in many recipes.
Penny - You and I are in the same mindset - I THINK we want to sell this or that and then it ends up going to Goodwill. We have to sell more than the cost of the storage unit to even make any of it worthwhile. Things like the two tractors, I think should be fairly easy to sell. We'll see. One interesting note from the plant-based eating doctors on these shows is that you look at the largest mammals and they're all plant based as well - getting their protein from vegetation.
Bill - These galaxies and just so much out there is almost more than my mind can really grasp. Just amazing. DH has been enjoying them, though probably not on your scale of appreciation.
Preparation for my presentation has been going slower than I hoped. I think I forgot how long this takes, since it's been a while. Fortunately, most everything else on my plans can be pushed to late next week after the presentation is done. Except that, I really need to go to the grocery store today. The sooner the better because we're out of some things that we usually consume at lunch.
For the second week in a row, we're planning a homecooked meal around the family Zoom call instead of takeout. That means we've now gone more than a week and a half of eating only meals that we've made at home. CREDIT!
Exercise +50, 710/1600 minutes for July
VertOlive and nationalparker: When my mother died, my brother and I insisted that the person who gave her the last cat find a home for it, before we went in to empty the house, since we both have allergies. It took us (me, mostly) three months to empty the house. I was highly motivated because she rented. She kept a neat house but had a surprising number of things stuffed in closets and behind other things on shelves. As you can see with the slide rule and coin collection, I kept too much sentimental stuff and I'm still dealing with it seventeen years later. A timely fire would have solved some things.
Penny and BillBlueEyes: I'm going to brave peaches again, today, now that we have local ones. The Georgia peaches that I bought a few weeks ago didn't work out so well.
Yesterday's eating included some junk food after the grocery shopping, but was otherwise healthy and full of veg/whole foods . Hopefully I got that craving out of my system.
I managed to have both the trampoline and the hot tub hauled away in the same day. The yard is looking so spacious! Next we need to (as Curly always says) make a dump run- to empty out the pile of junk collecting in the trailer.
Vertolive, pickleball looks so fun! I discovered a group that meets for pickleball at a nearby park and am hoping to get in on that. I hope your son enjoyed the tennis class. My 15yo is eager to try wacking the tennis ball around the court today, to see how it works. That's sad about the cats lost in the house fire.
Food has been on plan. Today I was feeling hungry and ate my lunch very early and then went to the morning movie to get out of the house. I saw Mr. Malcolm's List which was a cute love story set in the 1800's. It was a perfect distraction. I went by myself today and I think a friend and I are going tomorrow and will see either Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris or Hallelujah.
Penny Nice that you were able to get rid of both the trampoline and the hot tub. Yes it is harder to get the protein with the plant based diet, but especially since I'm older I don't want to do anything that might contribute to muscle loss.
GardenerJoy That was a great idea that the giver of the kitty had to find a home for your mother's cat. We do have a clause in our trust for a provision for the pet. So far I know my sil Laurie would take Otis although I expect to outlive him. Maybe we can forego a pet in the future, or maybe I'll just line up the next likely caregiver.
Nationalparker That is so great that you're nearing the end of the clean up at the in-laws. That will be such a weight off your shoulders and those of dh. I did watch the documentary that you had watched. I love watching that kind of thing to keep me inspired.
Bill That's great that dgd is in gymnastics. My number one niece, Justine, was in gymnastics for years and was and is so strong. I think it kept her inspired to take good care of her body.
VertOlive The shark crocs are very cute. I'm glad Bill put a link in his post. We don't even let our pup Otis in our back yard alone since we have seen bobcat and coyote even in our neighborhood which is essentially in town. I have picked him up on walks when we've seen coyote.
Curlyjax I hope the shower installment has gone well and you love it.
Thinking of MommaMeli and family and hoping Maryann is having a fabulous time.
Checking in after a down day. Not the scale, just my mood. Beautiful sunny day, though, so there's that. Food was ok, changed meal plan for dinner as I didn't have cilantro and had planned tortilla soup. Moved that to tomorrow or Saturday depending on plans. just blah and a downer, so hope everyone has a good start to Friday.
Friday - The Rosetta Stone found in the Egyptian village of Rosetta (1799)
Diet Coaches/Buddies - Again, joy was picking up the (6 yo) DGD from gymnastics camp. Bursting with stories about their swimming sessions. She's a known good swimmer so she, quite proudly, didn't have to repeat the various tests to earn the coveted green bracelet that allows her to swim without wearing arm wings. The pecking order in their little world is fierce. When we drove to the playground near her home, she spotted a friend - both neighborhood friend and fellow gymnastics camper. The friend's face was face-painted. So, off we trotted to the "Farmer's Market" nearby where the DGD patiently waiting in line to get her face painted. Neatly set up - the kids got to choose from a dozen styles. DW and I wandered about the market to discover that it was a farmer's market with no veggies - not a single farm grown item. It did have cheeses, honey, fresh fish (from wherever), wines, and baked goods. Oodles of baked goods. I nobly turned down "Apple Pie Bread" that looked like a dessert. "Oh, we just experiment with different ideas, this tastes like French toast but with apples." And turned down cookies - BIG cookies. I was willing to pay top dollar for a good tomato or some okra or greens but my food plan did not need cookies and dessert-like bread. CREDIT moi for a sane moment.
Walk, CREDIT moi, included stopping for errands at the drug store. My goal was to get out as quickly as possible. No dawdling to see what new elixirs were being offered. I have a tube of ointment from my dermatologist to use PRN. The pharmacy wants me to stock up. I have no desire to become a drug warehouse. When the tube is empty, I'll call in for a refill. I suppose that it's an assumed privilege to believe that the pharmacy will have it whenever I need it. I used to believe that about machine-ground-into-your-container peanut butter at Whole Foods and that's no longer reliable. It's not available at least half the times we look for it.
Joy (gardenerjoy) - I recognize that "going slower than I hoped" - shows up in so many places. Thanks for the motivation to get rid of stuff so that my kids won't have to do it.
nationalparker – Sorry that you're having troubles with the mechanics of the site. I'm still trying to get attention. Feels so good to hear that you're close enough to being finished at your in-laws' house that you can skip a day. Soon you'll be free. Do you have to put it on the market and show it to prospective buyers? Do hope your upbeat mood returns.
Karen (karenrn) - One advantage of going to a movie is that you can't hit [pause] to drop by the kitchen for a snack.
Penny. - Congrats for getting rid of the trampoline and hot tub. So neat that your reward is a spacious yard.
MommaMeli - Sending supportive thoughts to your family.
Readers -
Quote:
Chapter 6Stage 3 - The Challenging Situations Plan
General Plan for Eating Out . . .
Bonus and Special Event Calories: Decide in advance whether to use these calories, and, if so, how. (For example, you might have a glass of wine; a small piece of bread with butter; a small dessert; or an extra protein, grain, sauce, or dressing.)
Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Complete Beck Diet for Life (Green book), Pg 134.
The shower installation went smoothly and they finished around 4:00, hooray! They were very polite and hardworking. They did not speak much English so we communicated with gestures and a few words, except when the head guy came to explain and translate a few things. Honestly when workers are chatting I would rather its in another language so I don’t have to hear what they’re saying We can use the shower tonight.
I texted a photo to DD and she responded “that’s OUR house???” lol. The new wraparound looks like grey marble and the rest of the bathroom is still old peach tiles, but I don’t care, it really brightens up the whole bathroom. I splurged on new towels, new bathmat and a new shower curtain. I used to have glass sliding doors and hated them so I’m super excited about that as well. The whole thing costs as much as going on a really nice vacation but its so worth it, and will stop the dripping into the bathroom. Hopefully no new problems will emerge!!
Wasn't sure I would hike today because I'm taking my friend to the doctor, but I actually had plenty of time and it was a couple of degrees cooler. I didn't want to miss that and now I've finished the hike and walking Otis. I listened to the podcast The Daily at the beginning of my hike. It was about the Webb Space Telescope. Very interesting podcast and only 29 minutes. I actually enjoy most of their podcasts.
I would have to say I had an extra snack yesterday, but it was just carrots and a little bit of a vegan dip. Not so bad although unplanned. I'll be gone most of the morning today and then I'm seeing another movie this afternoon, Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris. Being out of the house so much will hopefully keep me on plan. I'm not feeling hungry or deprived but I never know when out of the blue I'll figure I need something.
Curlyjax I'm so glad the shower is finished and you love it. I was worried that it would be like one of those remodel shows on tv where they find an issue that doubles the price. I'm so glad that didn't happen.
Bill Congratulations for making it out of the farmer's market without a big cookie or other baked good. It almost seems like false advertising to call it a farmer's market.
Nationalparker I hope your spirits are better today. I know I have my moments especially at this time of the year for me. Anyway, take care of yourself.
Waving to the others. I guess I'll get cleaned up and ready to go. I don't wear make up when I'm just hiking and home, but I do like to fix up when I'm going to see people, so a little extra time for that.
I'm still working on the presentation. Until that reaches completion, everything else pales in priorities. Pretty soon, I want to do a read-through. I suspect that one of the reasons this is taking so long is that I've gone into way too much detail and that the presentation is too long. It's easier to make things shorter than longer though so that's not a bad problem to have.
Yesterday's grocery run went well. But I had to buy store-brand facial tissue. I've had Kleenex on the list for the last several trips and what I normally buy just hasn't been on the shelf. So, I finally bought something else.
Fresh wild-caught Alaskan sockeye salmon was again available, so we had that as the protein in a main-dish salad. I fixed the salad before the family Zoom call. After the call I baked the salmon in the toaster oven and threw it warm into the salads. It was yummy! Kind of a perfect summer meal.
It took two new passwords to get this posted Grrr.
Apologies to all who were traumatized by my cat story. I wasn't thinking, perhaps because it happened so long ago for me and the emotion has evaporated. They were 17 & 18 years old and had lived their lives as cat royalty under my mother's care if that helps. My Mom chose to run from door to door to alert the other apartment dwellers of the danger as opposed to finding the cats to save them. Those families were grateful.
Bill: I miss the farmers' markets of my home state of Michigan. The Jams and honeys were always a temptation!
Gardenerjoy: What's up with grocery stores? A bottle of bleach is suddenly $7.56 at my store--that's if they have it that day.
Curlyjax: A bathroom renewal sounds grand! We had a generous bathroom with very dated wallpaper and flamingo accessories when we moved in, but the estimates for a re-do are pretty scary, so we tossed all the flamingos and supplemented with the shell collection.
nationalparker: I'm sorry about the down day. But probably some of the best days of your life haven't even happened yet!
karenrn: It really bugs me when my body decides it needs a snack ( usually off plan) just out of the blue. I don't always find out what triggered it so I can avoid the trigger. It's like the Snack Fairy just whispers "Haagen Daz. Now"...
Now I have to copy and paste all this elsewhere and come back to post it on a new password......sigh. BEST to all!
We were getting such a late start after some errands and things accomplished here that we didn't head to his folks. Tomorrow morning. Got other appts set up for next week.
Made cocoa overnight oats and we both had a bowl this morning with a sliced banana and a tbsp of chunky peanut butter. The latter was not needed but a yummy touch. That was a filling meal, and one I said I'll make more often, now that I have a humongous container of oats. Lunch was on plan with good salad and some leftover pasta e ceci except made with small white beans, much better than chickpeas in texture. I double the recipe but only 1.5x the water. Perfect for two full meals and two smaller meals, and only using one can of beans and 1 cup of pasta.
Was relieved at my diabetic cat's vet appt yesterday for a redo of a glucose test. It was very high last month but then I realized that the syringe needle length I was using was not truly going SUBcutaneous, so got longer ones and now a return to no pain, and her number came down by 100 points with no adjustment to the dosage am/pm. Her reaction of pain to each injection that just started after several years of these, had me worried. Glad we got it figured out. My vet is retiring and he wanted to let me know (well, all his clients) and I'll see him at her next month's annual appt, so will think of what I want to write in a card in advance. He's been through a lot with my pets over 21 years. One morning he did surgery on a previous cat of mine to remove cancerous intestine, and he did the same surgery on his own cat ... mine survived and his passed that morning. I've never forgotten that. I cried over his loss, while relieved I could go home with mine a day later. Ahhh...the bonds of those who love and care for our pets
My sister sent me a very heavy package and I opened it up and was so confused because a fair amount of it were items she'd asked me if I wanted and I declined. I thanked her for the box but asked if some items were for other family members she'll be visiting after coming here. No. She also sent me some wonderful italian spices, but included a VERY STRONG Ethiopian spice that I dislike and had given her to try years ago (berbere) and it overtook everything in the box. I can't even store it in my indoor or outdoor pantry. The odor goes through all packaging. I was a bit cranky, honestly, at now do I have to hold onto these things I already said I didn't want, etc., at least until after her visit...
VertOlive - I can certainly understand your mom's actions with the fire. How traumatic to go through that. Those are cute crocs - not what I was picturing so I'm glad you posted the link! I have NO IDEA on the password issues. that is so annoying. My site problems are mainly it takes forever to load and only can access on laptop if I've read the previous posts.
CurlyJax - I'm so happy that you're pleased with the bathroom reno. We need to tackle our shower and I think it'll turn into a whole big deal here. So instead of shower doors, what do you have? Half wall? DH wants to get rid of our shower doors.
Joy - Good luck with that presentation. I always liked doing projects and always got an early start, but it seemed I'd keep massaging it until go time.
Karen - I hope you liked the movie - what rating did you give it (Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris) ... if that's the one you caught? I want to see it but after showing the previews at my theatre, it's not showing there! I will ask why when we go this evening or tomorrow evening. That seems wonky. I need to find someone in charge as everyone else is 17 years old. haha
Bill - I completely hear you on the farmer's market with no veggies/fruits. One in the fancier area here is like that. Olive oil from California, wooden items from Thailand, baked goods from the Amish, honey and flowers, dog treats by this little shoppe. But I wanted tomatoes, corn, etc. and left with flowers but no food.
MommaMeli - I'm hoping your DD is tolerating the chemo well and continue to send positive vibes your way.
Last edited by nationalparker; 07-16-2022 at 10:04 AM.
Reason: oh goodness way too long and involved
Saturday - J.D. Salinger publishes "The Catcher in the Rye" (1951)
Diet Coaches/Buddies - Drove with a buddy to visit with a 92-year-old friend. He works valiantly to recover from his two strokes. Refuses the wheelchair to use his simple walker for most movement. He had us read to him from one of the three books he was reading about Steven Hawking. "Yes, he's an inspiration for me. He was so much worse off than I am." Was surprised to read that Hawking's version of his divorce from his first wife is strikingly different from the version that I'd read in the past from his first wife, herself. Should have expected that but somehow thought that a brilliant physicist would have come closer to a common story.
Remembered a vignette from my visit with the DGD. Her buddy at the park was selling lemonade. "Sure, I'll buy you a cup," I offered with confidence. It was $2.00!!! My face must have blanched because DW sarcastically offered, "You can afford it." It was the first cup of lemonade for which I didn't feel the need to apologize to the parents because I hadn't paid enough to cover their ingredients.
Got to be a good neighbor when I received an email from my neighbor who is visiting Canada with his family. Turns out that his package of beer making ingredients including yeast had arrived on his front porch. "Can you retrieve the package and put the yeast in the fridge?" Easy peasy task to be a hero.
Joy (gardenerjoy) - Drooling over your "Fresh wild-caught Alaskan sockeye salmon." When we have that, I find it hard to believe the logistics problem of getting it from Alaska to any city in the lower states. Thank you airplanes.
nationalparker – Such good news that your cat's difficulty was resolved by using longer syringes. Who'da thunk? Ouch for having to confront the Ethiopian spice berbere. We're fans, but only for so much.
Karen (karenrn) - Interesting to think of a podcast about the Webb telescope which cries for visuals. Glad that Otis got to walk in slightly cooler weather.
curlyjax - Congrats for the success of your shower installation. Few construction projects are completed in the time frame predicted. LOL that you'd rather the workers be chatting in another language so that you didn't have to understand.
VertOlive - What a heroic story of your mother alerting the other residents. 14,080 steps is a bunch of walking about. By-the-by, I long ago got tired of losing a post when touching [Submit Reply] caused everything to vanish. I always copy to a word document before posting; has saved me many times over the years.
MommaMeli - Hope all is going smoothly as possilbe.
Readers -
Quote:
Chapter 6Stage 3 - The Challenging Situations Plan
challenging situation skills
Before the Event
6. Imagine the aftermath. In Stage 1, you learned how to imagine the aftermath of a craving: the negative thoughts and feeling you would have after you gave in to a specific craving versus the positive thoughts and feeling you would have if yo stood firm. Do the same with a challenging situation as a whole.
Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Complete Beck Diet for Life (Green book), Pg 135.
I just baptized the new shower by being the first one to use it. I spent more time than usual in there, just amazed how beautiful it is. The old shower was SO disgusting with tile coming off the wall, mildew etc, it is such a change. I need to find a curtain for the window (there was a window before, it was replaced) but for now i’m okay because no one can see-maybe my next door neighbors but only if they’re in the backyard and staring over here, because my yard is pretty big. They also moved the shower head up which is very helpful for my tall DS, and its one that can be handheld one which will make it easier when I color my hair. Ok, enough about my shower Food wise I’ve fallen off the wagon again so back again I go. I’m going to meet some new widows today at a farm today and i’ll probably have ice cream but that is it. It’s a bit of a drive, but its good to push myself to meet new people. Gardenerjoy- we’re having issues with certain items too. Organic French dressing of all things! VertOlive-I write my post in a google doc then paste it, after losing too many posts- but this was way back before all our new problems.I like your “oh well, i’m not done yet” moment. Nationalparker- I have a shower curtain now instead of the glass door. I hear you about being irritated that you sister sent you things you don’t want. I think a lot of women don’t take any BS at a certain age, and I think that’s good actually! Karen- that podcast does sound interesting. Thank you for alerting us to some good movies as usual! Bill-your friend has a wonderful attitude. I met a gentleman yesterday who nonchalantly said “ i’m 96” wow, I had no idea!! Too funny about the lemonade stand.
Thursday - Fête de la Fédération, aka Bastille Day, "Vive la France!" (in 1789)
We can use the shower tonight. 