[BillBlueEyes]

Diet Coaches/Buddies - The clock that hangs on the bathroom wall stopped clocking. Not a problem. I put in a fresh AA battery. Still wouldn't tick. It's dead. I was SHOCKED. I expected it to last forever. It has, indeed, lasted so long that neither of us remembers buying it. The price sticker on the back reads $8.99 suggesting it was a long time ago. Put it on a list to be replaced at next trip to the local hardware store. It's not the only clock in the house, LOL.

Listened to Vivaldi's Four Seasons streamed. It was a concert we'd attended several years ago giving us the double pleasure of the music and the memory.

Eating was on plan with no daytime snacks, CREDIT moi. Dinner was a Trader Joes's chicken and mushroom concoction that we both like. The package says three servings. We both served ourselves what we wanted and there's one serving left. I'll use that for a lunch one day soon. Other packaged dishes that claim three servings can be plated for two people and not feel like it's too much food. Evening snack was blueberries and two Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies. The cookies are now gone. Have to deal with whether I've become addicted to a sweet bite in the evening.


Joy (gardenerjoy) – Waving. Enjoyed a brief video of the Clydesdales at Busch Stadium that showed up on my news feed under the heading, “No one does opening day like St. Louis”. I've been an admirer of Clydesdales as long as I can remember.

curlyjax – Having a giggle-friend at work is such a bulwark against the normal absurdities. Avoiding someone else's grumpiness seems smart.

Readers -

day 6 Find a Diet Coach

what are you thinking?
Are you having sabotaging thoughts about lining up a diet coach? Check to see if any of these thoughts are familiar and use the helpful responses as guides to creating Response Cards for yourself.

Sabotaging Thought: I strayed from my diet plan, and I think I gained weight. I don't want to call and tell my diet coach.
Helpful Response: This is the time I need my diet coach most. In a few minutes, I'll probably be glad I called. My diet coach won't criticize me or think poorly of me. If I call, I'll get the practical help and support I need. The reasons to lose weight that I wrote on my Advantages Response Card are still important to my so I should go ahead and call now.

Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Beck Diet Solution (Pink book), Pg 88

[curlyjax]

Yesterday was a long day being a chaperone at a field trip to the https://springfieldmuseums.org/about/dr-seuss-museum/ There are five museums together. I wish I had taken the kids to the Dr. Seuss museum when they were young, it was very fun. The art museum was actually impressive too and had a lot of great paintings. I was glad to collapse for 30 minutes and watch a planetarium show at the end of the day. One elder wisely put her head down for a few minutes in a quiet room, and I myself snuck away to have a peaceful moment to myself with a strong cup of coffee to revitalize myself.Long bus trip there and back means being wedged in uncomfortably and i got a bit nauseous but a splendid time all in all. I did treat myself to ice cream from the first ice cream stand of the year for me, later in the day. They were already out of hot fudge, or maybe it wasn't available yet.
Today is the usual errands plus I'm going to a No Kings rally later in the day. I still have to make a sign too which will be hastily scrawled but that's okay. A nap is in order as well.
Bill-I'm always amazed when clocks stop working too. Yay for hearing an old favorite streamed.

[maryann]

Coaches,

Woke yesterday morning to very upsetting news. During a farm family partnership zoom meeting, Dh was served a subpoena. His evil elder brother set it up. Continuing his lifelong malevolence, BIL is suing DH for embezzlement. When DH was 5 years old (and in Forrest Gump braces), BIL ( then 10 years old) would hold DH under a blanket and beat him. Now DH suffers from medical grade claustrophobia. BIL would hold DH under the water until he thought he would drown and DH now has a terrible fear of water. BIL has gone through 3 wives, has 5 children, and, despite being given free cars, land, and a house, is nerly bankrupt. DH had one adult relationship ( me), one child, saved his parents from bankruptcy, and continues to work 6 days a week at 63. Sigh. There are five siblings. Two sisters stand firm with DH. One older sister for some inexplicable reason has decided to stand with the devil. They will now try to sell the family farm amidst a failing economy, soaring gas prices, drought and legal matters.

I admit I ate over it. Sigh. I am back in the 80s with four days till weigh in.

I am not equating the two paragraphs in importance. It is not an excuse. I am just a little beat up. My only job yesterday was to create a soft place for Dh to land. Credit. I succeeded. I worked on the yard getting it ready to sell if we can ever move to the River House. I worked with an AA sponsee who is living through similar family chaos.

OK first things first. I can have a good OP day. I can, I think, finish the outside of the house. I can rest my back which aching from the hedge trimming.

BBE: I think I told you I went to a live performance in Venice of the Four Seasons in the first church it was performed in. Magical.
Curly: That sounds like an awesome field trip. i have PTSD from 35 years of field trips. I can't imagine getting on a yellow bus again .

[gardenerjoy]

My allergies are acting up. I held down our usual Saturday vigil and, then, drove past two different No Kings gatherings to honk and wave. Now, I’m back home where I don’t have to breathe in the pollens. And, I’m putting hearts on all the Facebook photos I see, but I want to stop that for a while and do some other things on my list.

I have a food plan to follow. I’ve been pleased with the scale reading for several days. I would like to keep it in this range.

I’ll want a longer day of exercise to reach my March goal, but I think that won’t be today.

Exercise: 60, 1550/1800 minutes for March

BillBlueEyes: I’m old enough to remember when Gussie Busch rode on the beer wagon on Opening Day, wearing a bright red jacket and waving a red Stetson hat.

maryann: So sorry for the family mess. What a horrible situation! Good for you for recognizing the need to create a soft landing for DH and for succeeding at it.

curlyjax: That field trip has fun. Looking forward to hearing your No Kings rally story.

[BillBlueEyes]

Diet Coaches/Buddies - Success story: DW offed herself to the local hardware store – the very store whose price tag of $8.99 was on the back of the wall clock that just died. She bought the identical clock: same manufacturer, same shape, same color. Identical as in one couldn’t tell them apart. For $15.99. Not a bad price jump for a bunch of years.

Great walking, CREDIT moi, to Boston Common via the subway to join some “tens of thousands” of others. High spirited, friendly, determined crowd. Lots of grade school kids with signs alongside their parents. One young woman insisted that I take a donut from her wagon of some twenty-four dozen labeled “Donuts for Democracy”. Dr. Judith Beck might point out that despite my love of democracy, the lady would still be considered a food pusher and I was to stay my plan. Ooops! Great cake donut it was. Otherwise, food was on plan for the day, CREDIT moi.

Moral dilemma: an insistent guy with a clipboard seeking signatures asked if I was registered to vote in Massachusetts. Slight pause, then a deliberate, “No”. Much debate later whether I’d made a gentle diversionary tactic, told a white lie, or told a bold-faced lie however noble my intent to avoid having to tell the young man that we weren’t going to sign his petition regardless of what it was.


Joy (gardenerjoy) – Neat that you could honk your support of two No Kings gatherings in addition to your usual Saturday vigil. Hope the tree pollens soon decrease so that your outside time is more enjoyable. Had to google an image of Gussie Busch's red stetson. A character that one, E.g. 11 children from four marriages. [The link above sometimes needs to be clicked a second time to get to the Gussie Busch photos.]

maryann – Wish you well finding a path through the horrible family/business situation. I second the admiration that you recognized that your roll was to create a soft place for your DH to land.

curlyjax – What a grand museum. Wish I'd taken my Dr. Seuss fan kids there - maybe the grands. Or, maybe just me. Fun to be reminded that you go to neat places on the clock.

Readers -

day 6 Find a Diet Coach

Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Beck Diet Solution (Pink book), Pg 89

[curlyjax]

Leisurely day. My accountant called with some questions. I wasn't totally sure of the answer to one but did my best. I talked to my colleague; her son sustained a concussion playing a sport and was in the hospital overnight. I feel terrible for her, the kid has been through so much already. He's home now but a wait and see type of thing for recovery.
I spent some time looking up Ireland and found a wonderful website with various itineraries for different towns and energy levels, so that will be a fun resource to explore.
College friend came to my house and then we went to BFF and drove to a local rally.It was very cold but great to be out there with like minded folks.Afterwards BFF made us grilled cheese with tomato soup and I ate too much dessert. I was wiped out by standing in the cold and whatever else, and went to bed at a decent time.
Today is groceries and food prep and getting back on track with food.
Maryann-I'm so sorry you and DH are going through this. What a terrible person that brother is.
Gardenerjoy-Fun way to participate with allergies.
Bill-too funny about the donut pusher. I did sign something, now I'm realizing I didn't look at it thoroughly, hmm.

[maryann]

Coaches,
I am struggling again this morning. DH is so down. We have 485 acres of wheat that are an impending failure if DH doesn't irrigate and we can't irrigate. It is cost prohibitive putting more money into a crop that likely won't make money anyway. I am in danger of getting into this morass which will help no one. My weight is at 180 despite my sore muscles and watching my food plan yesterday. This morning feels hard.

For Today: I have a hot cup of coffee in my hand and the phenomenal gift of a working body and mind. I have 38 years of sobriety, a host of healthy friends, and loved ones. I am safe in a wonderful home with plenty of healthy food waiting in the kitchen for me. I am living a dream - the standards and freedoms of which were not possible for any other woman in the world 100 years ago. As to today's struggles, I refer to a quote from Best Exotic Marigold Hotel: Everything will be all right in the end... if it's not all right then it's not yet the end.

Joy: I have spent the week literally buried in 7 foot blooming hedges. Thank you for reminding me what a blessing it is to no suffer from allergies.
BBE: A great reminder that despite the inflation we are experiencing that is causing fear in us, so many things are so much cheaper than for the generations before us in terms of percentage of income.
Curly: Is there a better meal than soup and grilled cheese on a rainy day?

[BillBlueEyes]

Diet Coaches/Buddies - Missed our usual visit from the (6 yo) DGD because she had to attend a birthday party. That kid has more birthday parties - don't know how her parents can afford all the gifts, LOL. Got caught up on the tax work I still need to get in the mail to our accountant.

Got educated about E-ZPass, the device stuck on the windshield of our car that can be detected at highway speed to pay tolls. The one for my car can't be found; possible lost when I bought this car ten months ago. I discovered that, since I have an account, when I drive through without a readable E-ZPass, it looks up my account by license plate number to charge me. Easy peasy. However there are different rates charged for E-ZPass and for standard license plate billing. Mine is NJ based because I got it on a visit there before it existed in MA. To my surprise, I've been paying a higher price on MA toll roads than I would have been paying if I'd switched to a MA account. But my MA account would pay a higher price on the NJ turnpike. I have to figure out if mortal human beings maintain two E-ZPass accounts and switch the responders on their windshield as they drive from state to state.

Eating was on plan with no daytime snacks, CREDIT moi. No daytime snacks was possible because I avoided nibbling on peanuts that we would have set out for our DS if he'd brought the DGD for a visit. Lunch was the leftover Trader Joe's chicken and mushroom dish; I'm always the hero when I finish off a leftover. Dinner was turkey burgers grilled on the back deck as if it were summer. Evening snack was blueberries with no Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies. Felt deprived.


maryann – Wish your DH well handling a crop with so many factors making it impossible. Even our news out here covers how difficult farming in California is right now. On the positive side, our news also celebrated that Lake Tahoe has recently gained 16 billion gallons that was dearly needed. Love being reminded of Maggie Smith's The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel - what a flick that was.

curlyjax – Great feeling to be tired from walking and standing during Saturday's demonstration. Awful that your friend's DS was so badly injured playing sports. Planing a trip to Ireland is a sane way to spend time when all else is in chaos.

Readers -

day 7 Arrange Your Environment

I find it difficult to have junk food staring me in the face.

Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Beck Diet Solution (Pink book), Pg 90

[curlyjax]

I got organized with a long list and trotted off to the grocery store yesterday am, stopping at a "healthier" place for an egg sandwich. It cooks fresh and uses good ingredients etc but it's still quite greasy and I felt overstuffed after. Several things I needed were not available and I was a bit cross as I needed zucchini for my casserole, and really didn't want to go to another store. By the time I got through the long checkout long, I peeked and voila there it was, so I deposited my bags in my car, came back for the necessary items as well as flowers and zipped through the self check line. I was wiped out and took a nap after even though I had slept well. Then a long afternoon of food prep-roast vegetables, boil quinoa, bake chicken and combine into a casserole. Boil pasta for DD, bake salmon, prep my lunch and breakfast for today, and clean up everything. The casserole came out quite good-I splurged in fresh Basil for it-but not as filling as one would think, or maybe I was just super hungry for some reason. I fell into loneliness and sadness and I'm not sure why. DD stated I should adjust my meds but I don't think that's it.We decided to watch a silly movie together which was nice.
I slept poorly ugh but will push myself to go to the gym today anyhow. We're in for a few warm days and I still haven't located my short sleeve shirts so that's a must do.
Maryann-best quote ever! I'm so grateful to not have those allergies either.
Bill-I didn't know EZ Pass charges more out of state. Birthday parties are indeed plentiful at that age.
Wave to Onebyone!

[maryann]

Coaches,
I am up at Tahoe. I decided getting out of the house would do me some good.

Food was not a disaster but just maintenance. I realize I was angry at the great power of the scale. I need to stop weighing myself every day. It is giving the numbers too much power. I have just set up an appointment with a nutritionist on April 30. ( Earliest date available.) So my goal between now and then is to keep an accurate diary of what I am eating. I am going to print it out on a daily basis and put it into a a binder. I can do that I have had so much success with my trainer, I am hoping this is the missing piece of my puzzle.

On the brighter side, the curtain panel from IKEA was a lovely pale green not mint chip. Excellent. I will be sewing curtains all day today. I am practicing buttonholes which I haven't done for 20 years. I have a cute valance patter that uses them. Wish me luck.

Curly: Great to cook ahead. I am roasted 2 pounds of brussells sprouts for the week. Is it zucchini season already?
BBE: Ask DW is the flowers shows are happening at the great Boston homes.

[gardenerjoy]

I’m back from lunch with a friend. CREDIT for arranging a place where I could eat a giant salad. I even left some in the bowl!

I’ve gone about as far as I want to with a long list of PT-style strength-training exercises that I put into a spreadsheet about five months ago. Last week, I did 2 sets of 20 of each exercise, twice in the week.

I plan to keep that up, but alternate weeks with the Improved Health 25-day strength-training program on YouTube. I’ve done that in that past a couple of times, so I’m looking forward to having more of a focus on dumbbells and to having more variety in the movements.

I did Day 1 before lunch. I was a little surprised by how hard bicep curls with 10-pound weights are for me now. It’s been a while!

Exercise: 60, 1680/1800 minutes for March

[BillBlueEyes]

Diet Coaches/Buddies - Couldn't go out without any coat, but only wore a light Spring jacket. I'm so ready for warm weather that I keep track of each little step toward being there.

Class on the trans-continental railroad is still trying to get over the Sierra Nevadas. Tough little mountains they turned out to be. The unthinkable solution was to hire Chinese men from San Francisco. Chinese men working in laundries and as domestics. The naysayers made it clear that they were too small, had all the undesirable traits of human kind and, worst of all, boiled water to make tea. They were stellar workers. The head Chinese guy finally offered to do the blasting "their way". Turns out that all these men were experienced blasters from the major dam and river diversions of China. They ordered reeds from San Francisco, wove baskets half a man's height with four grommets at the top to be used to carry the crushed stone. They then blasted the route through the Sierra Nevadas despite being scorned by the White men whose production was much less.

Eating was on plan with no daytime snacks, CREDIT moi. Dinner was salmon grilled on the back porch, Bok Choy, buttered new potatoes, and my green salad. The standard. Conversation was about a girl we know headed off to college in the Fall who needs someone to take care of her axolotl whose face only its mother could love. Her intended college has standards for pets. Evening snack was the standard blueberries


Joy (gardenerjoy) – Finding a sane place to eat lunch is a big win. I'm being reminded that I need to improve my understanding of geography of the Mid-West to understand building the coast-to-coast railroad. E.g. The Missouri River, needed to carry the multi-ton railroad engines that'd been brought up-river on paddle boats on the Mississippi, is only robust enough in certain seasons. But it's the only way to get to Omaha, which barely existed as opposed to Council Bluffs, IA, which is on the wrong side.

maryann – Yay for IKEA delivering a desirable green. All my life I've just assumed that buttonholes were magic.

curlyjax – Going back into a store for zucchini after a long-lined checkout is some dedication to sane eating. Paying for fresh Basil now will make you appreciate it all the more when your own grows in a few weeks.

Readers -

day 7 Arrange Your Environment

At home, I make sure it's all on a high shelf in a cupboard or in the freezer.

Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Beck Diet Solution (Pink book), Pg 90

[curlyjax]

I resisted the lure of grilled cheese as well as a baked potato with toppings yesterday, credit moi, to eat my salad with protein. Then I succumbed to the lure of chocolate Easter eggs, boo. They are so small and seemingly innocent. I spent time looking into an issue with Medicaid for something I haven't dealt with before, for a client who fortunately decided to reschedule. I have my doubts about the success of this venture but we'll see as the client is very disorganized and forgetful, and needs to find/remember various info. My workout was crowded but thorough-they have systems of breaking us into groups and trading off using equipment. At home I was briefly motivated to work on some admin and then just collapsed into hours of tv instead. I did not sleep well once again, grr. That is one thing you're limited in how much control you have-I can't get my body to stop waking up too early or get sleepy earlier without taking a pill which i'd rather not do as then I feel sleepy and headachy the next day.
Maryann-good idea to get out of the house. I hear you about the power of the scale. It's not zuke season for quite some time but I wanted to make a casserole that features it.
Gatrdenerjoy-I have found that too when I take a break from strength training that it takes a bit to catch up again.
Bill-Fascinating story about the Sierra Nevadas. Definitely looking forward to herb gardening.

[maryann]

Coaches,

Big work day yesterday. It took seven hours to finish three window dressings. It was very creative and consuming. I needed it. They look great.

DS just called me from Paris using What's Ap. He is on a layover to Barcelona where his gal is teaching English. He is so excited he can barely contain himself. Very good to talk to him.

It is the last day of the month. The only money over budget I spent was for rods to put the curtains up. Other than that I was right on the mark with a budget that was over a 50% reduction from last year's average monthly expenditure. I am very proud of myself.

OK. Taking Mom to the med appts and other honeydews for her. Food will be reasonable. Beginning April 1st I will log my food, print it out and put it in a binder.

Wave to all.