Dagmar, it just goes to show you where my mind is that I read the "O" and immediately thought "there's a magazine for dress sizes, and they think the goal is a zero?"

Saef, you're really not having a good month are you? My heart goes out to you, and I fervently hope this week is better.

Shannon, 6 weeks is a long time. I'm sure your doctor will be able to eradicate the rash before you leave. Also, did you go back outside the day before the new patches appeared? Also, rash around the waist and hips suggests a reaction to something in your clothes. Any new detergent or soap?

I've decided to try out Blue Apron's family plan, 2 meals/week. We shall see if it's worth it ($70=8.75 per serving) soon enough.

Andrea, we did Blue Apron for several weeks (for 2) and were happy with 98% of the meals. Some of them were large enough to split three ways with our son, who liked the recipes so much he uses several on his own at his apartment. I hope it goes well for you! I intend to go back to them in a few weeks.

Andrea I've been a fan of Oprah's magazine "O" for many years. It has directed me to many resources that have helped me with life, as well as being entertaining and a fun read.

Dagmar :dizzy:

We've been doing Hello Fresh for several months (skipping some weeks) and I really like it. I'm not much of a cook but I can follow a recipe and turn out some really yummy meals. That being said, even though I stick to the lower calorie options, I think they may still be too caloric for me and I'm debating stopping them.

My weight just keeps going up. I'm a full 5 pounds higher than I was last Monday. Way over my redline and I need to make some changes or something at this point. I hate the yo-yo-ing.

Andrea - I didn't go back outside before the new patches popped up, but I may have reworn a pair of workout pants I had forgotten to wash but thought were clean. No new detergents or anything, but I sweat like crazy so could have carried the initial that way.

I went back to the doctor on Friday, got a steroid shot, another prednisone pack and a steroid ointment. It is looking a little better. And, my sinuses are draining like I've never seen before.

Pretty good weekend this weekend - managed to keep food and drink under control, and came out pretty much where I went in. I'm okay with that.

I'm calling the weekend pretty much a loss. I was depressed, though not dangerously so.

Scale is not showing anything, not even a weight in the 90s. My goal is a trip to Target after work to replace it. I need that data, even if I don't like the numbers.

A sharp email from the co-op president to the management company & the superintendent this morning, telling them to answer my question about a work plan for renovating my apartment.

I bought a scale at a Bed Bath & Beyond that was so highly scented with candles or room deodorizer or potpourri or something of that ilk that it made me feel light-headed, like being trapped in an elevator with a woman who's put on way too much perfume. And I like scent, and in fact bought a candle while I was there. The store was stuffed to the rafters with objects and it filled me with distaste for shopping or even owning anything, the same way three consecutive days at the antique show did over the summer.

I'm at 150.7 this morning on my new scale.

Finally some movement on the apartment: I was told to call up "my" contractor, whom they'd found for me, and ask him to reach out to the superintendent. He'll make an onsite visit on Wednesday. He's trying to get me to upgrade beyond replacing what I had. I will go for stone countertops rather than formica and subway tile in the back. But I am resisting because I never planned on renovating a kitchen that was only four years old. I'm angry that this incident is costing me money and time and depressing me so much more than it ought to.

I think your depression is completely understandable, Saef. I do hope that you end up with something beautiful in the end at least. What is subway tile? I find Bed, Bath and Beyond completely overwhelming too.

Shannon-- hope you're feeling much better today!!

Saef - I'm so sorry for all this stress. I also believe the kitchen will turn out beautiful, but understand the frustration at the situation around it.

I'm wondering now if I have a cold, or if it is just the sinus drainage and fallout from now ten days of heavy duty steroids. My mother is a nurse and said sometimes steroids plus the allergy meds they have me taking along with it can dry everything out and cause headaches while opening up everything to drain like crazy, and that I might also be tired from the steroids themselves. I'm not sure if this is true, or if she is just trying to get me out of her ear with my whining. :)

I'm doing a lot of coughing now, and I'm always congested this time of year per my FB memories anyway. I'm working on rolling with it.

DSS is out on fall break this week so I'm WFH with him as DH is now solo in his dept and couldn't take any time away. DSS was bored after three hours yesterday morning - I told him it didn't bode well for the week and boredom today meant he would have to clean out his toys in the breakfast room to trash or donate. Voila - today he is wildly entertained.

https://www.homedepot.ca/en/home/p.s...000778436.html

I had ceramic subway tile in white and grey put in as a backsplash in my kitchen and it looks great!

Dagmar :dizzy:

my backsplash

Not a true subway tile, but very similar that we did a couple years back.

Subway tiles are long ceramic tiles of the sort that were laid on the walls of the New York subway stations during the early 1900s.

I'm at 149.8, which relieves me because I was battling to stay close to 150, having spiked as high as four pounds over that. Maybe the best I can hope for till I move back home is maintenance at that high weight, rather than gaining & gaining. I'm still thinking about how best to cook here with the stovetop and the microwave, and no oven, when I'd relied heavily on an oven. I'm thinking that now the humidity and heat have finally dissipated, it's time to make soups, stews and different kinds of chilis.

Do you have a crockpot, Saef? That would be good for soups and stews and such.

Thanks for showing and explaining subway tiles. I've seen them but didn't know what they were called. Very pretty!

I'm also thinking maintaining my high weight, rather than going up further, might be the best I can hope for at the moment.

Got to work at 7 and the bookfair guys were already here delivering the fair! We set up tomorrow afternoon so that is always a good workout! Tons of boxes and cases and books to move....

Dh is back at jury duty. He was chosen Monday for a jury. He's hoping they finish today, or at the worst tomorrow. He is flying out Monday so he needs to be done by Friday for sure.

I'm at 149.9 this morning, not statistically significant from yesterday, though in the wrong direction.

And I managed to get a visitor's office for the day, which spared me from having to book conference rooms for three out of my five meetings today. It's a gray autumnal day and I am thinking I need to go to a museum this Sunday just to get away from desk work in my hotel room.

No idea yet if the contractor walked through my apartment yesterday as planned or not.

Up to 150.6 after lunch at the company's salad bar yesterday.

The superintendent has confirmed that the contractor and his assistant visited the apartment. They need to get a certificate of insurance. They could start work next week, I don't know when. If work would just start, after a month of inaction, I'd be relieved. I need to see some progress.

We were thanked for work on the new product for testing two weeks from now. I'm sure I'll be scrambling to find material to answer questions and to add to further iterations, but now it's in the hands of graphics and designers. That's a relief.