Down 2lbs on last week which is good going, I think. A good example of how one can believe one thing ("I've not lost any weight for weeks") and be completely disproved by the data. My tummy seems smaller. Bottom still looks terrible so I must get going on the lunges, squats and deadlifts now my back is better, if not 100% right.
Rain, rain, rain here. Although we're not flooded out, all major roads are closed. It's the SO's birthday and I'm hoping we'll be able to get out for a walk at the very least, and possibly a meal somewhere. Not holding out much hope really. The skies seem clear but floods + Sunday + Christmas period lead me to think that the bijou little Italian restaurant I have in mind will not be open. Fallback plan is a duckling. That's a small duck but not one of those adorable bundles of yellow feathers which are everywhere at Eastertime. They wouldn't keep a kitten alive.
Got to have a walk though. I think my body has seized up somehow although I've been doing my exercises.
Hope you're all doing well. I'm thinking of you.
ETA
Am wondering whether to keep the Starfish trousers as pants-o-meters. But the style may simply not suit me, at whatever weight. That's what happened with the last pants-o-meters.
Last edited by silverbirch; 12-27-2015 at 04:14 AM.
As for the Starfish as "pants-o-meters" I find that the pants still have to have the basic fit. They can be quite tight but they still have to fit.
I had to abandon my dress pants as Christmas Eve wear due to a too tight fit (I wouldn't have been able to eat or drink much) but I will use them as a "pants-o-meter" as they were bought before the days of 5% spandex woven in.
As for the Starfish as "pants-o-meters" I find that the pants still have to have the basic fit. They can be quite tight but they still have to fit.
Good point, Dagmar. It's made me realise that this is actually my lifelong problem. Trousers have never ever fitted me properly, even when I was a reasonably sized and shaped 20-year-old weighing 127lbs/5' 6". I was this weight for years and years.
The restaurant was closed but it was lovely to be out in the sunshine. Clouds are gathering in the west though, so perhaps the rain will start again this afternoon. In the meantime, Keralan chicken soup for lunch and I'd better work out what to do with this duckling for later on. Between ourselves, I'd much rather be in the garden but birthdays come but once a year.
That "thing" is a very muddy rain frog from Africa, caught in the worst possible picture. They are actually astoundingly cute and sound like a squeak toy -
I don't know about the pants-o-meter. I am currently able to wear only one pair of jeans and that sucks. I own maybe six pair and only one can I fasten. But even then, I have to wear a belt with them as they're so low rise they feel as if they'd slip off without the belt. My summer shorts all fit, so that is good. My golf shorts and pants are uncomfortable, and we're golfing next weekend.
My weight is almost to my old high. That, too, sucks. I have to get down to at least 150 before my cruise in 6 months. I'll be mindful this next week, try to be good over New Years weekend and then start fresh on Monday. That said, dinner tonight is very good and healthy--homemade butternut squash soup with salad.
Yesterday, we went to an Italian place for lunch and I had a salad. A better choice than some, but not great as it was slathered with blue cheese dressing. Breakfast was leftover egg casserole and we had a vegetarian (but quite cheesy) gnocchi dish for dinner with bruschetta.
Greetings from Hawaii! There's no gym near where we're staying (and who wants to be inside lifting, anyway?) but I've been running every day, doing a lot of walking, and spending at least an hour a day in the ocean body-surfing or boogie-boarding. According to Mr. Fitbit, I've logged over 13,000 steps every day of our vacation, and this doesn't include the "steps" of the hour plus of ocean activity. I don't think Mr. Fitbit cares for salt water.
I've been worrying a lot less about calories and carbs -- it's vacation, after all -- but still somewhat mindful. My one vice has been a late afternoon beer or two, but as long as I'm not tempted by the chips and guacamole or crackers and cheese that my the rest of the family snacks on with their evening cocktails, I figure I'm doing just fine. With the additional activity, it probably balances out. And, I'm pleased to report there's no change on the pants-o-meter.
Work, in the form of e-mail demands, has already started to encroach. I expect tomorrow (Monday), there will be a deluge. Yuck.
That frog is adorable! I played the video and our cat jumped up and ran away. I think she was afraid of the squeaking - she's not the brightest bulb (understatement).
I've had a few too many cookies so far, but have been able to exercise much more than usual thanks to the work break. Clothes are fitting pretty well, which is good. Somehow stress plus work travel plus holiday stuff has averaged out ok. This week I will focus more on the loss goal.
I just received a job offer from the interview I had last week - hooray! Except... the other job that I applied to is a few months behind this one in their hiring schedule, and it's the job that is "better" (it's at my old institution with all my old friends and colleagues, and very close to my family and DH's mother). The position I've been offered is in a different state, at a school where I know 1 person, and about a 12-hour drive from our families.
I will stall as much as possible, but it's about 95% likely that I will have to make the decision on this position before having any idea if I could get position #2. A bird in the hand, etc.
Greetings from Hawaii! There's no gym near where we're staying (and who wants to be inside lifting, anyway?) but I've been running every day, doing a lot of walking, and spending at least an hour a day in the ocean body-surfing or boogie-boarding. According to Mr. Fitbit, I've logged over 13,000 steps every day of our vacation, and this doesn't include the "steps" of the hour plus of ocean activity. I don't think Mr. Fitbit cares for salt water.
I've been worrying a lot less about calories and carbs -- it's vacation, after all -- but still somewhat mindful. My one vice has been a late afternoon beer or two, but as long as I'm not tempted by the chips and guacamole or crackers and cheese that my the rest of the family snacks on with their evening cocktails, I figure I'm doing just fine. With the additional activity, it probably balances out. And, I'm pleased to report there's no change on the pants-o-meter.
Work, in the form of e-mail demands, has already started to encroach. I expect tomorrow (Monday), there will be a deluge. Yuck.
//kaw
Kaw Does your workplace seriously expect you to deal with emails when you are officially on vacation? That's awful if it's true.
When I'm on vacation (even if I'm hiding at home like now) I don't respond to work requests or clients. I made two exceptions this year. I finished a cat sit today and have to drop off the key and collect my $$ so had to email. And clients have just flown off to Argentina for 3 weeks and I have to orchestrate a hand-off of their dogs back to me on Jan. 2 so I was in touch with the clients today twice. But now I am "unavailable" until Jan. 4.
Self-employment sucks for the most part but I do have some autonomy when I'm off work. That IS a bonus.
JZJ, why did you leave that position? And if you go back, will it be with a promotion?
Becky, its sound is indeed cute but that is one ugly frog.
Dagmar, I can't speak for kaw, but yes- my workplace definitely expects me to manage my job (urgent patient issues; paper re-writes; grad student problems) when I'm on vacation. Basically, if it would screw someone else if I didn't respond in time, then I would be judged (and would feel) an *sshat if I didn't.
Andrea, I wasn't faculty at the time at my old institution, it was where I did my residency and PhD. My former mentors are on the search committee.
I too am expected to be available during vacations, unless I stipulate no email contact and I arrange backup for all possible situations. I have done that once each year for about a week, so my situation isn't terrible, but I use the option judiciously.
I made an impulse purchase of a mini stair stepper for about $60 on Amazon, based on a fitness blog recommendation. And I love it! For the money, it's a great deal - it's sturdy, quiet and I can pull it out to exercise while watching a movie. A wonderful option on rainy nights and for our tiny house (it takes no space at all). I've slowly started to overcome my dislike of indoor exercise, as it's always better than none.
Having a glass of wine to serenade the end of the three days of gift stuff. I get to look forward to a normal meal at my own table with my own family tomorrow!
Feeling just a tiny bit jealous of DS16's upcoming day - he has a 3 hour team swim practice immediately followed by 3 hours at the Base Camp Challenge Center (zip lines, climbing walls, obstacles, etc) which is billed as "team building" but is really just more workout, LOL, and then a break for dinner followed by an hour of Hapkido. ;D Poor kid. I don't think he'll need to worry about what he's eating or how much.
Now to get all the stuff put away and the house cleaned up - we're hosting the annual New Year's Eve Cajun dinner (and MSU football game). Too. Much. Food.
Congrats on the job offer, Jay Zee Jay! Major score, in this period of declining funding for higher ed.
I'm expected to answer e-mails when on vacation. At least no one really expects a *prompt* answer. (Which is good, because they won't get it.) But, yeah, I have one of those 24/7/365 jobs. It's a living.
I, too, will be checking email many times this week until New Year's Eve, even though I'm out on vacation. It's what's expected in the tech industry, which no one can accuse of being overpopulated by slackers or underachievers.
I'll also be writing up some year-end reviews that I need to schedule next week, as soon as we all get back. These will run into kickoff meetings and objective-setting meetings, and I hate the feeling of not having wrapped up the previous year before the new one has launched.
When going on vacation, I have done two things: 1) alerted all my clients roughly 3-4 weeks ahead of time, 2) put an autoresponder on my email telling the vacation dates and how often I can access email, and closing with an assurance that I'll get back to them as soon as I can.
The reason is that, as a self-employed consultant, I haven't wanted to miss any work opportunities or critical communications. And I check email every day anyway, whenever I can.
Now that I'm retired, it's not as crucial. As in, no longer applicable!
JayZeeJay, best to answer Andrea by Private Message re institution name. This is a public forum. I think I'll go look at that mini-stair-stepper.
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