Michele~DS had an appointment to take his driver's test, but he didn't pass the first time. We tried to make an appointment for the 2nd test, but would have had wait over a month when he only had to wait a week between tests. We decided to get there early and DH said get there 1/2 hour before they open. We did, and even then there were 50 people ahead of us in line! By the time it opened, there were another 50 or more behind us. Thankfully, he was called to take the test within 5 minutes of us checking in and he passed it the 2nd time! (Now we're practicing driving! Scary!)

Dagmar~I hope your DH passes the test.

I think I might have plantar fascitis in my left foot. Has anyone had this? Will it go away? I've been having more and more pain in my left heel in the past few weeks and it's getting worse rather than better. Googled heel pain and read up on the problem. The clincher was when they said the pain was worst when getting up in the morning and after having sat for a prolonged period. Thats exactly what I have. I don't like the recommendations, though. "Don't go barefoot, wear supportive shoes, etc." The second I get home I take my shoes off. I hate wearing shoes!

DS and I went shopping yesterday afternoon and got him some new shoes, jeans, shirts, socks, etc. for school. He's usually a jeans and either white or black t-shirt kind of guy and I was pleasantly surprised when he picked out 5 t-shirts that had color in them! LOL

Allison, yes, I've had plantar fascitis. Stretching helps as does icing, but the best thing for me was getting custom orthotics and losing weight. Since you don't need the latter, getting orthotics (custom or otherwise) would probably help.

My DD didn't pass the written driver's test in Oregon twice, and she'd been driving for over five years when she took it. Kind of scary, but then when I think about the strange questions they ask (e.g., what is the fine for driving with a broken headlight), I guess it's not so bad.

Megan, I was brave and looked at a youtube video of manatees mating, but it was taken at an aquarium and was actually kind of sweet. He looked like he was hugging her. The gentle music may have helped.

Dagmar, hope you get some good sleep tonight and hope DH does well.

Pat, 29 days of rain. I remember that kind of weather from living in Seattle. Hope you're taking plenty of vitamin D.

I entered some baked goods in the state fair--first time doing that. I spent most of yesterday making a pie. The first pie crust didn't work so I made a better one, then, after spending all this time cutting apples, etc., I re-read the rules and discovered the pie entries were all supposed to be double crust, and I was making a crumb topping pie. The cake I made didn't come out of the pan so scratch those two things, but the blueberry muffins, brownies and oatmeal bars looked really good. And my DH said they tasted great so I'm crossing my fingers.

I didn't go to the gym yesterday because of all that cooking, but I did aerobics in my living room for 35 minutes and then did resistance bands and stability ball work so I got in an hour's worth of exercise. Sounds good, but later that afternoon my knee started to hurt, and I could barely walk. I iced it, took ibuprofen and elevated it, but this morning it still hurts so no shelter for me today. Bums me out because I look forward to hanging out with dogs. Instead I'll be hanging out at home with three little naughty kittens and one big grumpy one.

Have a good Tuesday!

Good luck to dh Dagmar!! And enjoy your uninterrupted sleep! Hopefully once he's done (and passed), you all can get back to "normal".

My younger dd has had bouts with plantar fascitis. I know from her that it can be extremely painful. Hers is gone now but flares up once in awhile. She got some stretching exercises to do that helped and also the custom orthotics. If it bothers you for long, I would suggest a dr. so you're not miserable.

Thankfully I'm not miserable from the pain. When I first get up, I tend to walk without my heel touching the floor, and usually within a few minutes of walking around the pain has subsided enough that I barely notice it. I'll keep my eye on it and look at some stretches for it. Last night (before I googled it) I was thinking about how good ice would feel on it, so I guess I was right!

Sorry about your knee, Sheila. And sorry you have to hang out with the kitties instead of the dogs! I get the best of both worlds at my house!

Ha, no gentle music here! By telling everyone to google it I was trying to avoid using the word, um, well it starts with "gang". 11 males to 1 female. Apparently this is normal for manatees. It's like when you hear some some really awful gossip, you've just got to share it with your friends.

Does pioneer woman live in Florida? It's like that here too! Hot, humid...

Sheila, good luck with your state fair entries! I hope your knee feels better quickly.

Allison, sorry to hear about the foot trouble. It might be best to follow the doctor's (or web's) advice. You don't want it to get any worse. I'm sure your chicken will be delicious!

Dagmar, gl to DH! Sounds like the hotel room is a great idea to avoid stress.

Pat, I'm so jealous of your rainy and about 50 degree weather. I won't be jealous of your weather come December, but enjoy it today!

Shannon, I hope DH feels better soon.

Marie, I hope the week passes quickly.

Amy, mmm, I love low boil, and if you stay away from the sausage (and possible garlic bread served as a side) it's pretty healthy. Maybe you could save some in case the next night someone cooks something you don't care to eat.

Have a good Tuesday all.

Good morning everyone! Better day yesterday - food was good, I feel a little better, I exercised, DH is feeling better and started antibiotics, if I could have avoided TOM everything would have been perfect, but alas hormones roll on even when you just aren't up for it.

Dagmar - sending positive vibes to you and DH for the test!

Pat - I'm not jealous of the rain you are having, but I am jealous of the temps! It is still 85 here even when it is raining. Which just makes it more hot and more icky out there.

Megan - I was wondering is Pioneer Woman lived in GA! And I did look up the manatees after all - the article I found did describe the large groups of males to one female. My clip didn't have soft music either.

Marie - hope your week gets better. I would suggest trying to stick it out and not burn vacation days this early, but I have a paranoid fear of running out of days too soon, also.

Allison - never had PF, but remember something from Tomato (Alena) in the Weight & Resistance Training thread. She did have to wear orthotics, and I think slept in some kind of sock that pulled her toes forward? Couldn't do much barefoot. Be careful - it can get ugly and last a long time from what I've read.

Sheila - sorry you missed your day with the dogs! And I hope that your entires in the state fair do well! That is cool.

Michele - glad you guys got your DMV issues taken care of without too much trouble. How cool is it that you were able to lower the weight on your license?

Amy - I am loving the menus you have planned for your trip!

Good day everyone!

Shannon, I hope your DH feels better. It’s amazing to me how many people don’t get how bad fumes are for an asthmatic. A while ago my boss spray a dry wipe board with cleaner in a small area. It made my asthma so bad I had to go home sick. And perfume – don’t get me started. Although I would admit in a general sense in my HR days that I would find something wrong with a job candidate (a legal reason) to not to hire someone that doused themselves and left me unable to breath after their interview.

Allison, if your marinade was as good as you hoped, would you mind posting it here? BTW, I have PF in my feet with heel spurs. I have custom orthotics that worked for a couple years (I use them in my snow boots for walking the dogs in the winter). Then I discovered Birkenstock and have not had one injection in my heels since. I LOVE my birks. I just read further about the morning pain. I remember my podiatrist telling me to get a cheap rolling pin and before getting up in the morning to put it under my feet and roll it back and forth for a while. The key was to do it before putting any weight on the feet for the day.

Pat, I hope you feel better.

Dagmar, I’m pretty blonde – what exam is your DH taking? If you posted it, it might have been before my time or my hair got the best of me again.

Sheila, wow on your baking. I hope you do great at the fair. I love crumb top pies and don’t like double crusts so I think the rules stink.

Megan, 11 to 1. OMG.

So quick penny for your thoughts. Open enrollment for our district started and on Oct. 1st we have new/different/less/more benefits. One of them is Weight Watchers. Weekly WW is now covered. A co-worker tells me and I’m “It’s a little after the fact” but I was wondering if the meetings, just for the heck of it and to strengthen maintenance. What do you all think about joining after the weight loss? I’m a calorie counter, not points. But there is the accountability and it’s free. Thoughts?
Marie

The marinade was good, and my DS (who made fajitas the last time) said it tasted better than when he made it. Basically, the marinade was made up of 2 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, garlic, oil, lemon (or lime) juice and soy sauce. I didn't really measure, just poured it and pureed it and then marinated all day (3 boneless chicken breasts). I poured off almost all the marinade before I cooked it with peppers and onions over a really high heat until the chicken was done. It was quite good.

I'm going to buy one of the foot splints for sleeping and see if that helps. As I sit at my desk, I keep flexing my foot to see if that helps. In the end, if I'm still having trouble, I'll visit a store called Foot Solutions that claims to fit you with stylish shoes to help with foot pain. Stylish? Not my style, but better than some I've seen!

alinnell, re plantar fasciitis. Mine tends to flare up if my athletic shoes are too old and no longer give me enough support. I was told that when the condition is flared up, that I should slip into supportive shoes right out of bed--in other words, not walk barefoot or without support at all. Just thought I'd pass that along. Even though you hate wearing shoes, this is a condition that can persist for a long, long time if not properly taken care of.

I'd also suggest you consult a foot specialist and see what else you can do.

Good luck!
Jay

Went out of town for 6 days. Didn't weigh, didn't count calories, didn't plan my meals, ate ice cream and cookies.....came home and weighed exactly the same as when I left. I DID practice portion control. I do feel so much more at ease when I know what I am eating and what the scale says. I was glad to see I could maintain for 6 days without my usual guidlines. I am back to my usual routine now and plan to stay that way.

Bargoo - on your succesful trip! Welcome home.

Morning. I'd happily send any of you my rain for some sunshine - but not the 90+ temperatures though!

Allison - I've had a couple bouts of PF as well. I never go barefoot any more, anywhere except in the gym/pool locker room (and really,there I wear flip-flops) or if I ever find myself on a beach. I have orthotics that I wear in my athletic shoes, and most of my shoes are Dansko or Birkenstock which have good arch support. Icing, rollering, and stretching help.

I cut my medication back a level last night, and so far today I feel much better. No nausea, minimal "fluttering" and less revulsion to food. I'll stay here for a bit before increasing again. Meanwhile, DH has a horrid head cold so I'm trying not to catch it.....

Allison, DH had PF and our doctor told him to do this stretch where you stand with your toes on the edge of a step (like facing to go up stairs, with your heel hanging off the end) and lower your heel down to stretch it. An alternate is to put your heel on the floor and your toes on a wall and lean forward.

Dagmar, good luck to your DH on his exam!

Another fly-by for me, busy again at work. I'll be in all-day training the next three days. We'll see how I can do with the food -- they're providing breakfast and lunch. My plan is to have breakfast at home and avoid whatever is provided (unless it's fruit salad, I might take some of that), then try to portion control the lunches.

Tonight I'm going to an info meeting for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Team in Training program. A friend of mine just completed an Ironman triathlon that she trained for with TIT so I thought they might have a good program for me to do an Olympic distance tri (which is about 1/4 the distance of an ironman! ). I feel like I could use some coaching, and it seems better to do it for a good cause than to try to pay for a private coach.

Jessica - I am so juvenile. Every time I read TIT on the things they send me I snicker.

On the wellness incentive... the jumprope is a cute idea. Frisbees & beachballs work, too. I've seen Biggest Loser style contests with a neat prize (don't love the title, but it is a household name now), recipe day where the employees bring in healthy recipes to trade, healthy lunch potluck (can combine those two), a scheduled 'stretch break' for which you can distribute some 'yoga at work' cards with standing or chair stretches, prizes for highest number of steps per day/week, or number of miles if you encourage people to walk on break. (We used to walk the 'racetrack' on break at Home Depot). You can also contact your healthcare provider and see if they can send a mobile testing van for those onsite screenings, you can do a blood drive which also tests cholesterol I think. Some places provide in chair massage and can come to your office.

I'll poke around and see what else I can come up with. It is part of my job, too, after all.

Allison I've had PF for over a year now. it was getting incredibly painful to stand up in the morning so I went to my doctor. He suggested a couple of of stretches before getting out of bed, off the rack heel cushions from the drug store, and over the counter anti-inflammatories.

I'm much better although apparently it's not something that can be totally cured.

DH is packing - I better go help.

Great evening all!

Dagmar