The biggest challenge of the MRI was getting into the parking lot; its on a very busy one way road and with no obvious entrance. Inside is very clean and everyone is quite friendly and calming. I treated myself to a large bagel egg sandwich afterwards and then went to work for a shorter day. I've been so sleep deprived that I took a nap after work and spent the rest of the day in bed watching tv. DD and I made up so that started the weekend on a good note. I ate too much chocolate again, ugh. Today will be getting groceries and going to the dump, plus getting out my shovels and doing whatever storm prep I can do- we're supposed to get 8-12 inches by tomorrow night. A co-worker that lives in an apartment made the comment about spending the day cozily inside, and that made me realize how nice it would be to only worry about the snow on my car, and that I really do want to move to a condo in a few years.
Bill-wow that stew looks good! So glad you'll be able to have your celebration today.
Onebyone- yay for a fun play time with nothing on your mind.
Gardenerjoy- great that you're on track with yoga, stretching is so great for our bodies.
Maryann- that sounds like a perfect day. I hear you about the residual candy.
We had the perfect snow over night -- just deep enough to cover the grass, just wet enough to stick to the tree branches and make everything pretty, and just warm enough to melt immediately on pavement.
I have an even busier than usual Saturday with a vigil at mid-day and a Zoom meeting that I'll help run at 2pm. I expect to be mentally drained after. Physical movement might be perfect to rinse adrenaline out of my system. I didn't get that walk done yesterday because it was colder than predicted and the wind was biting. I'll try again today. It will help if enough snow remains to make it feel special, but we'll see.
Today I am heading down to the river house to get some gardening in. I am going to tackle pruning junipers.Apparently it is very tricky because once oruned, udergrowth branchs never bloom again. If it doesn't work out we will just remove it. There is supposed to be some rain. I'll get in at least two hours.
I had a nice day and my hair looks good - so successful. Slept not well which means the exercise will do me good.
Scale doesn't drop because I refuse to eat below maintenance. We will see if that changes when I start school on Monday.
BBE: Enjoy the family holiday.
Curly: There is a beauty to condos for sure.
onebyone: Glad you had a good art day.
Joy: Exercise does indeed work on mental stress even 20 mins helps.
This morning was sunny so I took advantage of it and pruned some more roses (almost there now), set the rhubarb up to force pink stalks in a few weeks (a pile of mulch and a galvanised dustbin on top) and considered where I’m going to grow veg (there’s probably no time to set up a vegetable patch so I may jam things into the flower borders). It’s all very pleasant work. I also made a stab at finishing the Christmas cheese which should be eaten by today and made an apple and mincemeat crumble (to use up some terribly tasteless eating apples from the supermarket). A delicious food day (also included brown rice and dahl) but too much of it. The SO and I are trying hard but we’re not quite into the groove here yet. He’s cracked how to make bread (which bowl works and which tin) and that isn’t helping me. But the house is coming together a bit more now.
Decluttering - Yesterday I worked through three sets of china. Does the big china company want to buy any of these discontinued patterns? Tune in to see next week. I also made a good start on cutting back the brambles, prior to digging them out.
onebyone, anxiety is so unpredictable and frightening. I’m glad you had a good experience with a therapist when you were in your 20s. Perhaps that memory could help smooth the path to making the call to Sunnybrook. I love hearing that the dishes are done, the sink is empty and the kitchen table is clear! Credit x3!!! Oh, and the entryway! Credit!
Bill, I hope you’re all having a lovely Christmas Eve, possibly as I type! Lovely food, presents and company!
curlyjax, I hope you don’t have lots of snow to clear. I quite see the attraction of an apartment!
gardenerjoy, I wonder whether dancing would work to disperse the adrenaline if the weather doesn’t play ball. It’s so horrible to have it coursing around the body.
maryann, good luck with pruning the junipers! My understanding is that less is more with them. And only do it if you want to for aesthetic reasons. Gardening’s always a work in progress. It’s so nice to hear that you’re enjoying it so much.
I had a hungry day today. I grazed today which is not in my foodplan. I stuck to low carb food. And I cooked all my food. Oh I finally made a crustless quiche! Perfectly on plan and it felt like something The Elites have on their yachts while sipping exquisite coffee as they soak up the Mediterranean sun
I did zero work today.
Some dishes remain in the sink. A few things on the kitchen table. The entryway is still clean and clear.
Tomorrow I'll catch up with the housework and Id like to clear 3 small but significant areas, all in the livingroom.
Weatherman says we are getting our first real snowfall tonight: 15cm and then more on Tuesday. Glad Monday looks good for the drive to Sunnybrook.
Sunday - Galileo discovers the 1st 3 moons of Jupiter: Io, Europa and Ganymede (1610)
Diet Coaches/Buddies – The family's "Christmas Eve" dinner was a glorious success. The beef bourguignon was widely acclaimed. The two grands leapt at my call to make the salad. With great fanfare, and approving parents' videos, they spread the pre-cut items. The older one admonishing the younger one to spread them around evenly. After dinner, when the time came to serve the salad, the older one grabbed the bowl with serving spoons and walked around the table letting each person serve themselves. The younger one followed carrying the bowl of roasted pecans which she'd sprinkle on top for whoever wanted them. They made that up themselves. It's "their" salad. Their ownership makes me so happy.
Gift opening proceeded without trauma. Stacks of little girl gifts met with little girl squeals of delight. The adults all were aware of the threat of RFID theft so appreciated the cards I gave them that one carries in their wallet to block attempted unauthorized RFID reading. I called it spreading paranoia, which I try to avoid, but I've fallen for this one. DW was delighted at my gift of the book
which is a page turner that has grabbed me already.
Eating was on plan, CREDIT moi, by the criteria that I'd planned to eat exactly the dinner served, including dessert. I avoided seconds of each. Already drooling because there's enough beef bourguignon left over for a meal for us. Entertainment was all the adults and the two grands spinning around in my new office chair since it was my Christmas gift from DW. Each adult compared my chair to the one they have at their office at work and at home. My Herman Miller Aeron was determined to be the best.
onebyone - Such an encouraging image of the "The Elites on their yachts sipping exquisite coffee as they soak up the Mediterranean sun." I'm ready to go.
Joy (gardenerjoy) - Your snow sounds visually lovely.
Silverbirch - Quite a chore you have getting your new house under control, but the aroma of your SO's baking bread should help sooth things along.
maryann – Good luck with your pruning - a pretty serious intervention into the life of a plant.
curlyjax - Yep, there's an appeal to a condo situation where outside maintenance is someone else's problem. Congrats for figuring out where to park to get your MRI.
Readers -
Quote:
Chapter 8Stage 5 - The Motivation-for-Life Plan The following techniques will help you remember why it's so worth it to keep up your efforts.
For example, Toni clicked her counter when she: . . .
Stepped on the scale and thought about the number she used to see - Click!
Looked in the mirror in the morning - Click!
Got dressed in smaller-sized clothing - Click!
Climbed the basement steps more easily - Click!
Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Complete Beck Diet for Life (Green book), Pg 197.
I was able to get my errands done easily although the grocery store parking lot was a nightmare as every one wanted to get groceries before the storm. I mostly ate the remainder of my zuchini lasagna for the day, but also made chocolate chip cookies which I was craving and it seemed like a worthwhile storm prep activity I managed to get everything cleaned up and picked up a bit of my bedroom as well, and undecorated the Christmas tree except for the lights. Watched a recent Midsomer Murder and then snuggled in bed to start a book called "To Marry an English Lord, Or, How Anglomania really got started" which is great fun and really makes me miss DH as he would be interested in it as well.
I'm lazing about in bed; the snow is pretty and we didn't get much, and hopefully won't accumulate a lot more. I'll go out and shovel in a bit but no hurry.
Bill-I'm so glad you got to have your holiday dinner, and yay for leftovers!
Gardenerjoy-yay for perfect snow. It can be nice to walk in a small amount.
Maryann-glad you had a nice day out with successful hair cut, that can make one feel really good.
Onebyone-crustless quiche is a great idea, I'll have to make one soon too.
Silverbirch-oh dear, it is hard to resist homemade bread! I have various bits of China sitting around too to work through too, ugh.
I spent two hours outside before the rain working on the junipers. One was a post mortem clean up. The other was a careful surgery. I came home and dug into "landscaping for an American Foursquare." I followed the rabbit hole down to the Golden ratio and Spiral. https://ibb.co/txw7Xqp. Fascinating how it applies to created a garden. So I made a "base map" using google earth. I printed a transparency of the golden spiral to the specs of our place and placed them on top of the Google map print out. Irealized that I had naturally been removing, replacing and adding according to those proportions. Awesome. It gave me a little more info on what to do with the GIANT silver birch tree in the front. Prune, not remove.
Today I head down with a friend who will teach me about roses. tomorrow i am back to work with a new bunch of kids.
Silverbirch: Hope the companies want to buy the china. that is a toughie because it is so hard to ship. I have my grandma's Franciscan rose pattern. It is well loved and chipped. Some is fro the 40s.
BBE: Put the Art Thief on my Goodreads list.
Curly: Yeah for cleaning up some.
I walked yesterday -- CREDIT! I couldn't really use cold as an excuse since I stood outside in it for my weekly vigil earlier in the day. Both excursions were helped considerably by a lack of wind.
We liked our festive meals so much in the last month that we're replicating it again tonight. Given that it's as healthy as our normal repertoire, this is a good edition to our winter eating. We'll call it a celebration of the first week of January.
Exercise: 50, 360/1800 minutes for January
silverbirch: I'm glad that you got a bit of sun for gardening work. I'm hoping that we'll see a little mid-week.
onebyone: I experienced a string of hungry days in December. The good news is that they have finally dissipated recently. I hope that yours does, too. Your crustless quiche sounds yummy.
BillBlueEyes: Sounds like a wonderful "Christmas Eve." Yay for winning the best chair award with DW's Christmas gift.
curlyjax: A cozy day with a little shoveling sounds perfect on a snow day.
maryann: Cool that the Golden Spiral helped you make a decision about the silver birch tree. I've run into it for both art and photography but I don't think I ran into it for garden design.
Quick post. I ran out of steam completely mid-morning so I went to sleep for several hours. It's been a very quiet day. The SO has done a lot of job applications which is never much fun. I've edged a few things forward (opened a couple of boxes, read a book and decided to keep it). Food has been OK but not great. Tomorrow will be better, I hope.
I had a quiet day today. I made soup from scratch. Froze some and kept some for tomorrow. Credit.
I seem to have taken the weekend off from cleaning. Thats ok.
It isn't out of hand and the entryway remain clear of clutter.
Credit for entryway maintenance.
Tomorrow I meet with the oncologist at Sunnybrook. My main question to her is what is my treatment plan? And when will it begin? I am as in the dark over that as I was when I first met my doctors October 1st. I'm glad the appointment is early so I can get it over with.
My food felt erratic this weekend. I didn't have a hungry day today, which was welcome, but I didn't tighten my meals up either. That has to change if I want to continue to lose weight.
Monday - Dr Herman Hollerith patents a mechanical tabulating machine (1889)
Diet Coaches/Buddies – Winter arrived in the form of 4 inches of snow. Pushed the sled shovel to clear the walkway in front of the house and the end of the driveway. Sufficient resistant exercise for the day. There's an overnight dusting that will need to be cleared this morning. Can't complain; I know where I live. But we've gone two winters without the need to shovel snow at all. I was getting used to that. We got DW's car cleared enough for her to drive to today's appointment. My car remains covered; I'll let some warmer temps assist with the ice on the windshields.
Eating was on plan with no daytime snacks, CREDIT moi. Dinner was a repeat of the big meal: beef bourguignon, broccoli, and green salad. The beef remains superb even after its second reheating. DW may offer it again in a year but not before. It's a bunch of work.
The Art Thief was so compelling that I finished the book - less than 24 hours after receiving it. It met the definition of a page turner in that each moment that I knew what was about to happen, something else happened. Would be hard to believe that it's a real story except that there's a final chapter detailing how the author got his information. Was the perfect read for a recovery day. Also dismantled the Christmas tree to drag it to the curb for this morning's pickup - dragged in a tarp with no needles spread though the house or porch on the way out. I'd started the day with my morning cup of coffee in the dark living room with the tree lit. Life is good.
onebyone - Good luck at your appointment at Sunnybrook today.
Joy (gardenerjoy) - Congrats for remembering that you have clothes warm enough to walk in the cold.
Silverbirch - Encouraging that every book isn't destined to be sent away, "I read a book and decided to keep it."
maryann – So glad that the Silver birch is seen as desirable in its current location. Welcome back to work to deal with all the energy of kids coming off the holidays.
curlyjax - Ouch for that moment when everyone shops at the same time before a storm. Hope your DD was able to get to and from her hospital.
Readers -
Quote:
Chapter 8Stage 5 - The Motivation-for-Life Plan The following techniques will help you remember why it's so worth it to keep up your efforts.
For example, Toni clicked her counter when she: . . .
Got out of the car more easily - Click!
Felt confident at a meeting - Click!
Lifted heavier weights at the gym - Click!
Pedaled the stationary bike for half an hour - Click!
Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Complete Beck Diet for Life (Green book), Pg 197.
I finally went outside yesterday in the early afternoon to shovel-we got more than you Bill, buts its hard to measure as the wind was blowing snow around. I had a mini breakdown as I was struggling to get into my boots due to my hip and the fact they were tight-and started sobbing feeling sorry for myself. One of my shovels snapped right away, sheesh. The snow was heavy and I had to keep resting. The young dad from across the street came over to offer to plow the end of driveway which was so sweet-his wife's idea-and I offered to let the little boys sled on my lawn as its a slightly better slope and doesn't head into the street as theirs does. They came over, I chatted with them and the wife for a bit, and that was a lovely interaction. We wave but don't talk so this was unexpected and I was sooo grateful for the help and to know someone cared. I hate feeling physically powerless.
Eating wasn't great as it was a pizza from Whole Foods, avacado toast and chocolate chip cookies (at least they were homemade) I have GOT to get back on the prepared meal bandwagon.
Wave to all, I need time to continue digging out my car, ugh.
Today is a big day. I am two pounds into the wrong decade and enough is enough. So in trying to balance what I know works and what i know DOESN"T work here we go:
1. No eating after 7:00
2. non UPF.
3. Write down what I eat
4. No sweets at work.
5. Post here my progress.
OK - I expect on average 95% days. That is 5 points a day. I will record it on my desk calendar. Simple enough. I will review the process at the end of January.
Today I am dressed in all University of Michigan. They are playing the college championship Game tonight! I thought it would be fun fopr the kids for their teacher to be dressed in silly.
Last night's meal was a success. We decided it was the one month anniversary of our 32nd wedding anniversary. That's worth celebrating with a festive meal. Our anniversary was the day after my tooth extraction and the night that I led by my book club meeting last month, so the actual date didn't get much attention.
I managed to get everything cleaned up and picked up a bit of my bedroom as well, and undecorated the Christmas tree except for the lights. Watched a recent Midsomer Murder and then snuggled in bed to start a book called "To Marry an English Lord, Or, How Anglomania really got started" which is great fun and really makes me miss DH as he would be interested in it as well. 
Monday - Dr Herman Hollerith patents a mechanical tabulating machine (1889)
