Maintainers Weekly Chat March 24 - 30
 

Last week Dagmar started us withCan't think of a better start for the last week of March.

My challenges for the week are in a long to-do list. Stuff that needs to be done before summer sits high on the list. Waiting patiently. They compete with some reading that's also been waiting patiently. Think I'll make a separate, smaller list just for today. The long list intimidates.

Good Morning!
 

Bill Good luck with your list. I agree, breaking it down into smaller lists IS less intimidating.

I am starting the week with a bad cold and at the highest weight I've been in 6 years. It can only get better from here, right? I'm aiming to be down under 140 lbs. again by the beginning of next week and hope to be able to breathe without coughing constantly in a couple of days.

Dagmar :tired: :sumo:

Oh boy! As I've mentioned before we have our graduation celebrations for the clients 2X per year and it is a TON of work. This Thursday will be our March celebration which means I have to develop agendas for the meetings, order the cake and pizza, create programs and otherwise organize the whole thing on top of my regular duties.

I woke up this morning and we found out that my sister-in-law - yes, the one I have been b!tching about - had a heart attack last night and is in the hospital!! Apparently she is stable but this was a scary slap to the face plus I feel so guilty that I have been complaining about her!

Not the way to start the week!

Jen

Hi all,
I had "spring break" along with my parents visit last week. Minus a few hours I had to go into the office to get some things done that were due last week I took the week off and enjoyed my time with my parents. We hiked in the park and had a nice ride on BF's sailboat, walked the dogs around, and relaxed. I wasn't sure what to expect but if I didn't know it, wouldn't think my mom was having back problems. She lagged a little at the end of our 5 mile hike but insisted she felt fine, was just a little out of shape (of course we had offered to turn around earlier/told her to let us know when she was done). I also took my second exam of the semester yesterday which means I'm 2/3 done with my class. With a few busy weeks ahead my pants are really tight. I've been keeping up with my exercise which means it must be the food. Yup. Gotta watch my BLTs and cocktails.

Bill, is it time for spring cleaning? You're right. A mini to-do list sounds more manageable.

Dagmar, I hope you get over your cold quickly. Being sick is no fun.

Jen, keep us updated on your sister-in-law. Will you be able to visit her at the hospital? Good luck organizing the graduation too. You've got a lot on your plate.

Megan. I think about you a lot. I usually watch Jack Hanna on Saturday and he often comes from Florida..

I chose one item to do first from the too-long list: replace the timer switch on the bathroom vent fan. It bugs DW that it has to be manually turned off since the switch no longer does its job.

That's not the most important or most difficult. But I'm hoping that seeing a check mark next to one item is the gateway to moving to the next. And, I have to go to Home Depot to buy the switch - rabbit in the brier patch.

Waving to bargoo - always good to see you.

Love the notion of being happy spending spring break with the parents, Megan.

Sending supportive thoughts to you and your SIL, Jen.

Sending warm thoughts to Dagmar to survive until spring finds its way to the shore of her favorite lake.

Sister-in-law has been moved to a well known heart hospital about 90 minutes from here as of last night in order to have a dye test done and probable stents put in. DH's 96 year old father is not taking this well at all - and coming off what he has recently been through... However, we did receive confirmation from the MD that this was considered a "mild" heart attack with little damage, so that is good news. AND Dad seems to have gotten much better mentally as far as being aware of what's going on, so we're counting our blessings on that.

Our dishwasher died last week so we finally bought a new one only to find that it is not fitting all that well in our 200+ year old stone house but at least it is usable but then last night our shower handle in our bathroom snapped off. So we had to move everything into our guest bathroom in order to take showers this morning. AND, it was a wonderful 4 degrees when I got up this morning.

Can I b!tch and complain any more??!! Is March over yet?????

Jen

Last whine for March?
 

Jen Why yes, :yes: you can b*tch and complain some more. :cheer2:

I really only have one minor one I need to get out before April. How can someone break a dinner plate (porcelain, not iron or steel or anything :p) and, at the same time, chip off part of the finish on the oak coffee table while doing so?

Do I suspect a rather large amount of alcohol was involved? And was he doing a ninja throwing trick or something? :lol3: I will never understand how this happened. And the plates are no longer available (which is why I bought them - they were half price and I have loved them since I saw them 2 years ago but they were too expensive) so I can't replace it.

Dagmar :shrug:

Dagmar~I can see the plate breaking and a raw spot on the broken plate chip off the finish on the table. Can't you find a new plate at replacements.com? I'm amazed at what I can find there.

I've tried to post hellos to everyone since yesterday and every time, I get busy and have to log off. So, hello to everyone!

Hugs to you Jen....

Megan-- your time with your parents sounds lovely.

I have a little less than three weeks before my cruise with dh. I think it will make his trip to China go faster this time-- knowing that my cruise is around the corner. My challenge this time is the same as always. I always say I won't go overboard with the food, but I do. I gain. A LOT. My goal is to hopefully lose 2-3 more pounds before the cruise (or at least not gain). Since I know I will indulge, my plan is to ONLY indulge a few times-- special dinners but not every day or every meal. I will also not plan on any alcohol-- I usually don't drink AT ALL but when we go snorkeling and it is OPEN BAR, somehow I lose my mind. Of course, once that starts, I will eat anything in sight too.... The last cruise I had quite a few drinks on a catamaran snorkeling trip (after snorkeling of course)-- which was followed by lots of food. When we got off the boat, I thought it would be a GREAT idea to stop at a restaurant for a HUGE margarita and nachos. Then I really wanted to make it back to the boat in time for high tea. Unfortunately (or fortunately), I fell asleep in our room and missed high tea. Do you see why I don't drink??!!

Jen- That's so great you got to spend time with your parents! My Spring Break isn't until the week of Easter. So silly that we have it so late this year, but it's tied to Easter since it's a Catholic school. The good news is when we get back we hardly have any time and if you teach seniors, like me, there is even less time. Of course, they are completely checked out mentally so those last 4 weeks are brutal. At the college where I teach we just finished spring break last week so back at it Thursday night.

Bill - wow, you have inspired me to make a list of my spring break to do items. Of course, many of them will simply be handed off to DH!

Jen, sorry about your SIL. Oh gosh, how stressful after what you've been through the past couple weeks.

Dagmar, LOL! Well at least you made me laugh and I'm sure others. I need to check the website Allison said because I have many chipped pieces but I don't really have any nice china. And of all weird things... we are still using our Christmas plates! I usually get them out in December and put them away right away. But I kind of like them and it's pretty much just DH and I and he doesn't care! So I told him, I'm just going to keep using them until I get sick of them! Surprised my MIL didn't say anything last weekend when she came over.

Michele - I have only been on one cruise and I was a chaperone for HS students' senior trip. Oh, that was NOT fun. So I didn't drink any, although I really don't drink much at all anyway. I had heard people say they gained 10 pounds on a 3 day cruise and I thought that was impossible. I quickly learned that if one goes to the midnight dessert bar each night, which we did, it can be done! My DH has family in Germany so we usually go there to visit because that's what he grew up doing. Hence, I have seen very little of the US -- one reason I'm excited to visit CA this summer!

Things are okay here. I guess I need to increase my calories. I'm embarrassed to say I am 6 under my goal now. I am only embarrassed to say it because I know so many people are struggling. Didn't change my ticker because not planning on staying that low. Is there a -A bra cup? (Sorry TMI), If so, I'd have to get it. But I'm this low because I just reached goal a month ago and I am still on my reached-my-goal-high as I call it. I'm still using MFP and logging everything and I have been around 1700 so I'm going up the rest of this week. Went to grocery on the way home from school and bought a few things that I will start adding in. I'm not going to try to gain back a few, that will just happen on it's on, but just not going to lose anymore.

Jen, you know of course that your posts had nothing whatsoever to do with your SIL's heart attack, right? And her misfortune doesn't change the truth of her difficult relationship with you. Please don't feel bad.

Michele, why do you choose a cruise as your vacation each year, if you find the alcohol and food so troublesome? Wouldn't you enjoy trying something new and different, that might leave you feeling good about yourself instead of guilty? Have you ever gone with DH on one of his China trips, and then toured around? Or gone on a wilderness camping trip, or a literature tour of central europe or an ecotour in the Amazon? Your moniker is "Traveling Michele" so I suspect you may have, but I don't know that about you. Funny to think I've been on this board for long enough to have had you talk about your cruising 3 times now, and always negatively.

Jen, hope your sister in law has a fast recovery! Maybe her experience of having some physical difficulty will encourage her to agree that your FIL needs to move to assisted living.

Dagmar, I am just now catching up on last week's thread and saw your comment about Vikings. I love that show! But I am a couple weeks behind right now.

Megan, sounds like you had a nice vacation with your folks.

I have been largely absent because work is nuts. I was finally given a leadership position (which I had been aiming for for quite some time) but it's been an overwhelming amount of stuff that needs to get done, while simultaneously being scheduled into meetings constantly. How am I supposed to do any of my todos if I have to be in meetings all day? Sigh. I'm only sort-of complaining, I'm glad that they gave me this opportunity and I think it will be good for my career and possibly result in a promotion next year.

Adding to the stress, I went to my endocrinologist for my 6-month thyroid checkup and he did a thyroid ultrasound. The cyst I had before has more or less disappeared, which is great, but he found a larger lesion in my parathyroid gland instead. :( I had some labs drawn and am waiting for the results. If they come back normal, it's no big deal and they will just run the labs again in a year. If they come back abnormal, I will have to have surgery. The doctor seemed pretty confident they would be normal and it would be nothing to worry about but I'm still a little nervous about it.

In other news, babies caught their first cold. Luckily it is not a very bad one. They had a very mild fever (99) for one day, and have just been snotty since then. I think they are getting better though because they slept all night last night and this morning they slept later than the past couple days and didn't sound as stuffy when they woke up.

Morning all,

Is it hump day already? I'm ripping off the band-aid, so to speak, this week on retraining myself to get up in the dark to be at work on time with the daylight savings switch. The first week after the switch I was a mess and came to work late (I worked late to compensate, but still). The next week I was off with my parents. I'm telling myself if I am just consistent for a week it will be better next week, but I am drinking extra coffee and green tea during the day, which I'll let myself do for one week. :coffee: I will be glad to be an early bird in the summer when it's really hot and I can get out earlier to do my field work and avoid later day heat. The last two days I've been so tired at the end of the day that my wogs have been downgraded to walks with the dog. I'm trying to tell myself that 2.5 and 3.2 mile walks, though they feel slow and short, are better than nothing. I'm hoping yoga will reinvigorate me this afternoon.

Jessica, congrats on getting a leadership position at work. Will all of these meetings be constant or will they calm down? Fingers crossed your test results come back normal. Please let us know.

Calcounter, don't feel bad. Maintenance is about balance. Just because your scale is going down and more often ours go up, well, that's ok. You're still figuring out your balance. Your plan to increase calories a little bit sounds sensible.

Michele, I thought you didn't drink because you were allergic? Do you just say that to avoid crazed effects? :crazy:

Jen, March is almost over. Hang in there. And complain away. Sorry it's cold and the shower handle broke. Any update on your SIL?

Dagmar, I have occasionally came into my house and had the same thought. "How did this physically happen?" I can relate. :hug:

Bill, I know I'm personally happy when BF does even on thing on his house to-do list. So a bathroom switch is a great start!

Hi Bargoo! Florida is a beautiful and unique place, that's for sure. The "unique" is not always great. We seem to have a lot of crazy nutballs and agressive invasive species running around. But mostly the unique is wonderful.

Have a good Wednesday and rest of week everyone.

CalCounter~so funny you mention the seniors being checked out mentally. My DS, as a senior, took 7 AP classes! No way he could check out! He graduated 11th in his class of 400+ students. My DD, on the other hand, did check out mentally and really disliked school. She's the kind that if told a class is mandatory she hates it but if it is something she chooses, she loves it. Even college was that way for her. Thankfully she's found what she loves and is in grad school taking the courses she wants to.

Jessica~hope your tests come out normal and surgery is not needed.

It was so super slow at work yesterday and today I'll be gone for a couple hours to get my hair done, so I know I'll be swamped. Gotta run, will add more later if possible.

Andrea,
We LOVE cruising and it fits into my spring break schedule plus it is very economical. I just need to curb my food intake. The alcohol doesn't really bother me as long as I don't start. I am "intolerant" to alcohol Megan. According to the doctor, no one is actually allergic. When I drink, my heart starts pounding, I turn bright read and my head pounds-- so-- yes, I should stay away.....

I am "traveling michele" because years ago when I got on my first forum (scrapbooking), I was michele in houston. Then we moved to South Africa, so I became michele on safari. Then, we moved to California and I was tired of needing new names so I went with traveling michele. I do love to travel and have been many places-- Asia, Europe, Africa.... I haven't yet been to China mainly because dh dislikes it so and the air quality is so bad you can't go outside. He doesn't see a point in us spending money on an expensive plane ticket for me to go there when we could go somewhere we both will enjoy... hence the cruise... it is relaxing, romantic time away from smart phones and tablets and work... plus we will snorkel and do other amazing activities in Cozumel, Honduras and Belize.... a week is about $500 including everything so it can't be beat price wise. Then we will be in Houston for 2 days over Easter and that will likely be the stressful part-- dealing with family! Dh's brother is coming from Hong Kong with his 6 year old dd, my dd is there, and my in-laws (including my failing, crazy, MIL). And my younger dd will come from Arizona so it should be interesting.

We are hoping to plan a trip to London this summer to visit my dh's younger brother who lives there with his family. I've yet to meet my youngest niece and am eager to see them.

So, yes, I do travel and love it....

Jessica-- good luck with your tests!!

Morning all!

I am jealous of you Michele. I live 30 minutes south of Canada and that is the only foreign country that I have ever been to. There are also a TON of places in the US that I want to travel to. But instead our vacations involve hiking and camping in areas relatively close to us. I really need to plan a more adventurous vacation - next year will by my 10th wedding anniversary so maybe then!

Update on SIL - she had one stent put in and is supposed to go home today. Doctor says that it was an extremely mild heart attack with no heart damage. She should see this as a "wake up call" according to him. And my FIL is blaming himself for putting "too much stress" on her.

Sounds like all of us have a lot going on and are stressed out. I have been craving carbs like MAD and surrendered yesterday and ate a bread bowl with broccoli cheddar soup in it. So my weight spiked this morning.

I think that we could all use spring to arrive sooner then later!!!

Jen

Something like Californja.

Andrea--it's part of the board. Cruises make people nervous about food. Vacations make people nervous about food. Holidays make people nervous about food. And so on. Just about every event that happens makes people here nervous about food. This is where people come to vent about it.

I hope Spring comes soon for you Jen. I HATE winter and am cold just thinking about your horrible weather....

My weight is also up a pound today. I ate a barbecue salad last night much later than my normal dinner-- so I'm assuming the time plus sodium made my weight go up... it's amazing to me what one little pound makes. Why does the whole pound go to my tummy? Why can't it spread itself around. Or maybe it's just bloat. Regardless, outfit number one was rejected this morning....

Good news, my lab tests came back normal! Phew. One less thing to worry about. :D

Megan, I don't know yet how many meetings I'll be stuck in long-term on this project. We're coming late to the game and there's a lot of pressure on our team right now to do things quickly for a deadline in a couple weeks. Once that is done it should ease up some.

Babies are going to a playdate with our twins club today. They've gone to the library with DH for baby storytime before but this is their first time going to another person's house for a playdate, and DH is a little nervous. I think mostly because our twins club, while it is currently open to men and women, started out as a "mothers of multiples" club, and still most of the at-home parents are mothers. He's just concerned they'll think it's weird to have a guy there. I know the woman hosting it though and she is the friendliest person ever so I can't imagine that they wouldn't be welcoming to him! She personally invited him to come in any case. I hope they have fun!

Jen, my husband and I are trying to follow in the path of his grandparents -- a big exciting vacation for every 5 years of marriage. We took our honeymoon in Australia and for our 5 year anniversary we went to the UK. Our 10 year will probably be much more tame as we will have two little kids to bring with us. :lol: I'm thinking a cruise might be a good option since it is pretty affordable and some of them are very family-friendly, plus at least the Caribbean cruises leave from Florida which is only a 3-hour plane trip from here and we can get nonstop flights.

Feeling like work has chewed me up and spit me out.

Standing outside even for a few minutes helps. Even when it's cold out.

I need nonsmoker breaks.

I need those nonsmoker breaks too - but standing inside please. :lol:

Dagmar :tired: of :brr:

Such fun. The bathroom vent fan switch wasn't to be found at Home Depot, so I ordered it from Amazon Prime.

It arrived yesterday. Installed it this morning (after DW had showered and gone out).

Works like a charm.

Now, to tackle another item instead of celebrating this success for a month or so.

Hi everyone! I am new here, I posted my introduction in the maintainers introductions.

This forum has a lot of good info on Maintenance!


I workout 4 miles Leslie Sansone every morning and I want to start a Wieght Maintenance scrapbook-journal soon, and put lots of motivating and helpful quotes and articles for myself to encourage, motivate and so I can look back and have a resource as I go along

:welcome2: Ahna

Dagmar :cool:

Welcome Ahna!
I'd never heard of counting bites! I started looking at your blog a little bit and was fascinated. I do Leslie DVDs every morning too, but 3 miles most days.