Good morning all. I feel guilty posting that it's another clear day with temps in the 50s expected for the day. I live west of the Cascades, so it's a pretty moderate climate in spite of being so far north.

Bllondy -- I don't even know where to begin you've got so much going on in your life right now! First, congrats on the house. The next few weeks will be very hectic, the bank/mortgage people will drive you insane, and just the move itself -- at the holidays no less -- will consume a lot of time. The up side is that you'll be so focused on all of that that the overeating that accompanies the season shouldn't be a problem (do not succumb to junk food!). Your smoothie sounds like it's nice and healthy. You asked about getting a weight tracker. I think that 3fc makes you wait some period of time before they'll let you add one if memory serves me, but on the menu bar, go to quick links, and then click on Sig Weight Tracker. That takes you step by step through setting one up.

Ubee -- Sounds like you're getting our mojo back. I'm assuming you will send me some. I'm doing ok, but not soaring with the eagles yet. More like the baby bird who decides to fly and flops to the ground upon leaving the nest. And, yes, I do happen to have my housework done for the week but only because the handyman was coming yesterday so I decided that getting the piles of dirt off the floor that Toby hauls in would be nice. Then I decided that dusting would be good rather than using the dust on the dining table to take notes, and I always try to keep the bathrooms clean just because they are such an ick factor for me. Today is laundry. Tomorrow is clean out the frig in prep for next week. Etc. You know how this time of year goes.

Fi -- Hang in there. This, too, shall pass.

Terra -- So sorry about Clyde, but it is really the kindest thing you can do. As a fellow doggie mommy, I'll be thinking about you and will Toby an extra hug today in honor of Clyde.

Donna -- Thank you. I try to stay on the positive side. And I appreciate your classifying it as upbeat since my friends and family frequently seem to just roll their eyes and scratch their heads. Toby copes with the cold very well because he has enough hair to cover 3 dogs. Also, he is so spoiled that if it's truly bad weather, he's inside where he then bugs me 20 times an hour to go out on the deck. Now this loving being able to say you're just back from the gym. What does that feel like? I go every day, but don't think I've ever felt any emotion tied to it that even remotely resembles love. Glad Magnus is behaving well. You asked about sodium intake. The recommended amount of sodium per day is 2300 mg which about equals a teaspoon of salt. Doctor's recommend 1500 mg of sodium a day which is almost impossible unless you cook everything from scratch.

Shan84 -- Sounds like you're off to a good start and it's a good point about the first week might not be so dramatic due to having been calorie counting for 3 months already. I cannot even imagine trying to teach ESL -- although I have often thought that many people here in the US who supposedly speak English as their primary language could attend the classes and learn that a noun and verb are supposed to agree! Could you tell my mom was an English teacher?!

Sam -- If you gained 5 lbs, you'll probably be having a whoosh next week. You do set the gold standard for being able to keep on truckin' as opposed to using it as excuse (speaking from experience here) to just say what the heck (trying to keep it semi-clean here) and eating whatever you want. Do you have a set menu for Thanksgiving or is your husband allowed to be creative?

Yes, Donna, in typical American fashion of excessive living, the next six weeks are typically a celebration of overeating, over spending, and just generally over the top. I'm with Ubee in that I am determined that I will not just use it as an excuse to stuff whatever into my mouth. Has anyone else decided that if their families and friends want the fudge, toffee, candy, chex mix, and cookies that they can just make them themselves this year? Actually, other than the pies, our Thanksgiving menu is pretty healthy since heaven forbid I be allowed to fix something new. Both nephews seem to think that the "MENU" is written in stone. We've had the exact same thing for the last 30 years. On the positive side, I can fix this meal with my eyes closed and no cookbooks are required.

OK, off to the gym, get the laundry done, sign up for my Medicare supplement plan, do some bookkeeping, and anything else that tickles my fancy. have a wonderful day.

I'm afraid today is a not-so-good day. As I write these words I'm in -3 level of depression pain. I could wait and check in later when I feel better, but frankly, it's boring just lying on the couch and hurting. At least now I'm distracting myself for a few minutes. Bob and I both are going through the phase of being so daunted by the work we'll have to do to get rid of the ringworm, we're just about paralyzed. I know we'll get over it and move on to being able to divide the labor into little pieces and accomplish it, but for the time being, the mood in the house is dark blue.

And the kittens have gotten nauseous in response to the antiviral medication, so they're hardly eating. When we took 'em to the vet yesterday, they had each lost 4 ounces. It goes without saying: growing kittens are not supposed to be losing weight. So we've discontinued the antiviral, which wasn't doing squat anyway, and have a new plan for getting them at least some symptomatic relief.

Somewhere inside of me, I can tell, I still feel good about the state of the world. I'll blow on that tiny flame and try to get it going stronger. Thanks for bein' there, y'all.

Fi....I am so sorry you are in a bad place. It's a question of telling yourself that it DOES pass even if it doesn't feel like it. When you feel up to it, my daughter sent me a link that she had been given at Uni for Psychiatric research (she is studying medicine). I guess if you typed it in to Google it would take you there. A photographer called Liz Obert has done a series called "Dualities" she has a diagnosis of Type 2 Bipolar disorder which is the same as mine. I found it reassuring as she reports alot of the same experiences as me. Hope you find it helpful.

Terra....I am so sorry about your poor dog. It is such a difficult decision because we love them so much ....I am thinking of you....and "woofs" from my doggies.

Betsy...how was the gym yesterday? Your day sounded hectic! Well done for going daily! At the moment twice a week is my commitment. It gives Sven and Magnus...the knees....time to acclimatise and my husband time to get used to my being out of the house. He gets a bit whiny if I am out too much.....who said husbands weren't like extra kids!! Bizarrely I actually enjoy working out in the gym. I am really antisocial and listen to Madonna (or Beethoven!) loudly and go around in my own little world! So I get headspace, a work out and everything feels looser afterwards (except my knicker elastic!). Then you have that wonderful glow of self righteousness! What's not to love!

Ubee.....ditto Betsy's post.....you sound like you are having a return of missing mojo! Hooray!

Hi everybody else!
So far so good with food choices this week and the imaginary gastric band is still in place!
As a treat to myself I am having my grey hairs zapped at the hairdressers on Friday( just the ones on my head in case you were wondering!) I am going to go a bit shorter too as my hair always looks a bit scruffy!
I don't have wrinkles and I am determined to avoid showing the grey for as long as possible!
Mum's and Toddlers tomorrow and the pool...on my own this time as my young man is having a lovely friend to tea.

Have a great day chickens.
Donna

Good morning, folks! At least to those of you here in the morning... I feel so much better this morning, it's like a miracle. But of course I'm already wary about what may happen to me in the afternoon...

Ubee— I'm sorry you found what I wrote, plus the collage itself, depressing. I admit my intent was to be a little bit disturbing, but I never want to cause anyone to feel depressed. =sad face= Good luck with your cleaning—as in, I hope it's mostly over—and way to go for being on plan since Saturday!

Betsy— I'm a bit surprised that everyone's talking about Thanksgiving, when according to my calendar, it isn't until next week. I guess you guys are just extra conscientious about making sure everything is done right: I do appreciate folks who have high standards. And "Yay!" for you that you've already got your housework done for the week. I don't know what we're going to be doing on Thanksgiving. We were planning to make it a long weekend at the farm, but now with the kittens' ringworm, we can't do that. Bob said something a couple days ago about going to the farm by himself to de-ringworm the farmhouse. That sounds practical to me, but a little lonely for both of us.

Blondy— Your smoothie with cilantro and lime (yum!) sounded delicious, especially when you added more spinach. =smile= I love spinach, and I love the way that a little fruit, like even just an apple, makes vegetables go down so well in juice or a smoothie. I'm glad to hear you're feeling less self-conscious about going to the gym. I'm with you on wearing huge clothes to cover up my unsightly bulges, but I do like wearing a jog bra and leggings with a loose tee over it all, so if I feel like doing some exercise, I'm already dressed for it. As for weighing yourself less often, I'm all for it! Our bodies have a natural fluctuation within a four-pound range, anyway, so less frequent weigh-ins are a more accurate measure of your weight loss.

Terra— So sorry to hear about Clyde: he was a true friend. You must tell yourself that you made the right decision, that you didn't want him to suffer any more. My kittens are suffering right now from their bad cold, and I'm pushing the vet to give them something so they will get relief!

Donna—That's unfortunate you're going to have a gap in therapy, just when you were getting some stuff done. But writing in a journal is a great alternative: I have no idea how many hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of words I have poured into journals over the decades. One thing I find helpful—maybe it would work for you, maybe not—is to ask myself, "What do I not want to write about?" Then I've identified the area of my life that would most benefit from some journal writing. Good luck! Oh, and by the way, I love it that you're taking classes in Welsh!

Sam— When you thank Betsy and Ubee for being such good mama bears to you, I must admit, I get a teensy bit jealous. =laugh= I know I don't write personal comments to you as often as I might if I weren't so distracted by my life, but I want you to know I love your postings. I always read them with attention & enthusiasm, because I admire the way you respond to life stresses by picking yourself up off the ground and getting out to the gym, taking a walk, or some other healthy activity. My Qigong is helping me change my old habits of lying horizontal and moaning when I get slammed with a stressor: now when I feel bad, at least some times I want to work harder on my Qigong practice, because even though it's not much in the way of exercise, it does involve moving my whole body and it elevates my mood.

Shan— I admire your work as a teacher, because my mother was a schoolteacher (or a school principal) her whole life: late in her career, she was teaching ESL to Hispanic kids in Houston. So I know how hard being a teacher is, and also how rewarding! That does sound frustrating that you have to teach to the test, instead of devising your own lesson plans. I hope to see you posting here every day, if you possibly can: the support makes such a big difference.

Anyone I left out? Dean, where are you? After your blood clot episode, we do worry about your health.

I think now instead of my usual routine of writing postcards and greeting cards in the morning, I'm going to watch the video I made with my iPad of my Qigong instructor doing a new, rather complicated exercise, and try my darndest to learn that exercise. Sometimes Qigong feels like being in a dance class—that is, if I knew what being in a dance class feels like, since I've never been in one! =laugh= But first I gotta say the word "steam" to the kitties so they'll go racing upstairs and into their crate to get a steam treatment, which will help their breathing a good deal. =smile=

Good morning all!

Signing in a bit earlier today just to say hi and read up on the current posts.. Today I added blackberries to the smoothie. Wow. What a beautiful dark purple it turned out to be! That's my favorite color.. Had a bit of a rough time yesterday with eating.. bread. I need to find an alternative to sandwiches for my husband's lunches so that we can just eradicate bread once and for all from our household. Except for homemade cinnamon rolls (with the sticky stuff on the bottom) for Christmas morning.
Things are progressing with the paperwork for our new home.. I told my hubby I wish we could just move in and then do paperwork!! It would make the paperwork seem much easier, I think.

Fi, I wish I could see how your kitties respond to the word steam! I've got a pretty good picture in my head, but it sure sounds hilarious.. I need to see if I can figure out a way to attach a picture of my kitties on here.. I took one yesterday of the 2 of them sleeping on our big chair.. They look like huge balls of fluff!! As for Operation Ringworm (I think that's what you were calling it?), all I can say is just take one day at a time and pretty soon you'll be at the end of it, sighing in relief! Praying those kitties get better soon!!

Well, the little boy I babysit is hollering in his swing because he's bored (how dare I not be holding him 24/7?! Hahaha..) so I need to get a move on. Hope all of you have a wonderful day today! We've hit a heatwave here.. it is 28F..

Good morning all. Today is vet day as it's time for Toby's 3 year rabies and the 3-in-one shot. He'll be good about the shot, but hates riding in the car.

Fi -- It was so good to read your post from this morning after yesterday afternoon's. Glad that you're feeling a lot better. I chuckled about your comment that Thanksgiving is not until next week. I learned years ago that if I didn't pace myself in terms of doing some prep work each day for the week before that I just didn't enjoy the day -- I was too exhausted. Plus, I cook the turkey on Wednesday and get it off the bone, which means I need to brine on Tuesday and thaw in the frig starting on Friday/Saturday depending on how big the thing is. Plus the house gets a good cleaning and setting the table using the good china, crystal and silver, plus so much cooking of sides that are only done once or twice a year from scratch -- like corn casserole and sweet potato souffle and sausage stuffing and pecan pie and garlic bite rolls and Waldorf salad and and and. Plus the little ones are spending the weekend so I need to think through what to fix for them while they're here. I agree with you that Bob going to the farm by himself sounds kind of lonely. I understand wanting to tackle the ringworm and probably feeling that having the kittens there kind of defeats the purpose, but it's a holiday -- one where we're supposed to be with family.

Bllondy -- You may be close to succeeding in getting me to do a smoothie. I love the things once I make them, but they're just not on my regular menu. Bread is always an issue. Have you tried the Sara Lee 45 calorie breads? They are both low calorie and low carb. Or just use lettuce leaves to make wraps or as a substitute for the bread in sandwiches. We all have things that are our trigger foods. Fi gave up cookies. I am working on chips, ice cream, and chocolate.

Donna -- You have a bunch of other things that you do such as swimming and walking in addition to the gym. You're going 4-5 times a week in terms of muscles getting worked out, just different from my repetitive stuff at the gym. Can you explain what constitutes tea? I've had high tea up in Victoria which was tea (duh!) along with what I would classify more as pastries. But I've also heard tea referred to as more of a meal. Maybe they all fall under the tea category? And what time is tea? The one in Victoria was in the middle of the afternoon (2-3 PM, I think). It seems like a wonderfully civilized approach to the afternoon. I always envision ladies in summer dresses with big hats on having a cup of tea in the garden. I think I'll start having a cup of tea in the afternoon and wear a hat. Still in jeans and a tee, but with a hat.

Hope everyone else is doing ok. After Toby and I come home, I'm going to tackle cleaning out the frig (I'm sure I will discover a few science projects gone astray in there) and work on collecting all of the financial info for my annual will-your-money-last-as-long-as-your-retirement review with the financial advisor. I've also got to figure out what got paid out of my HSA account this year and what I just paid out of pocket so that I'm not swearing a lot in Feb when I start on the taxes. Before you think I'm just tremendously organized, this is a way of delaying cleaning out the garage which is what I should be doing.

Off to the gym and on with the rest of the day. Hope everyone has a great day.

I'm here to report that not only did I have a good morning today, which is kind of predictable given my diurnal rhythm, but my Qigong exercises were able to banish the depression pain that started coming on early, around noon. Qigong is amazing stuff: it really seems to be changing the way I experience depression, making it much more tolerable, and has radically reduced the frequency of my bad afternoons. Yay!!

Fi- So glad to hear you had a good afternoon.

Thursday night here in Chongqing. So glad the week days fly by because I am so busy with work. Excited for tomorrow because my bf is coming home for the weekend and because it's parent/teacher conferences. A lot of teachers dread it but I always look forward to it. Chinese parents specifically at my school are so uninvolved that I cherish the opportunity to convince them that their parents are worth their time and effort. At the school that I am at now, students only go home on the weekends and even then, some students don't. So they only see their family on holidays. It's really sad when I think about it. Imagine being 14-18 years old and not having your parents around. Ugh.

On another note, day four of atkins is complete and I feel so much more happier to post here daily because I am on plan and doing good. No hunger pains, no cravings...except for tuna salad which is so bizarre like I said before and thank goodness its on the induction food list. Can't wait to see results when I weigh in next Monday morning (Sunday night for a lot of you).

Hope everyone has a good Thursday!

Good morning!!

Today I have the excitement of watching 3 little ones.. I'm not too worried though. They are all very good kids. I added a cucumber, cilantro, lime and ginger to my leftover smoothie from yesterday which contained raspberries, blackberries, apple, yogurt, strawberries and spinach. Tons of stuff!! Surprisingly (or maybe not) the main thing I taste is ginger (I did put a big chunk of it in there.) Anyway, it is good, a little overpowering, but not hard to drink at all. It's rather good.
I'm really excited about Thanksgiving next week. It will be the first one (I think) that my husband and I have spent just the 2 of us since we got married 7 years ago. We are going all out too.. The works. In moderation of course. I sure do love turkey though.

Shan, I have a cousin who teaches English in China. I don't remember where she is but she's been in China for around 10 years. Her name is Allyson. I know China is huge and wondering if you know her would be like wondering if I know someone who lives in North America.. But still, it would be cool. Keep up the good work on the atkins diet!!

Betsy, I hope you do decide to make a smoothie.. Maybe start out with all fruit and slowly add in spinach or some other veggies.. Getting your daily dose of fruits and veggies in a cup is so nice.. and I don't like juicing because you lose all that fiber.. Anyway, I'm trying to get into a routine of eating healthy for breakfast. That way I start the day well! I also was told by a friend that they eat a big breakfast and lunch but have something very light like salad for supper.. I may try that. I don't know. Any advice of what's worked for you all is welcome!

Fi, glad your afternoon went better than expected!

Ubee, missed you yesterday.

Everyone else, have a wonderful, wonderful day! I am glad it's almost the end of the week though. Means we're closer to getting into our new home..

First response to Betsy.......no hat is required for tea at our house! The tea with piddly little sandwiches, even smaller cakes and a cup of Darjeeling is known as High Tea and taken in the afternoon. Depending where you are on the social scale, dinner is taken in the evening and lunch at midday (posh!) or dinner is at midday and tea is in the early evening (not quite so posh....ie our house!) How I love the language differences!

Shan..I am so glad you are doing well with Atkins and without side-effects too!
I hope your parents evening goes well.

Bllondy...I am always amazed at what goes in to your smoothies! What is cilantro? Have you started to pack your current house up yet? I found that it is " little and often" with regards to packing as I quickly lose the will to live!

Ubee....You ok?

Fi.....you sound like you have found a fantastic self treatment in the form pof your Qigong. So glad today is a better day.

I have had a really busy one. Mums and Toddlers was great but there was only 2 of us helping instead of 4 so I was kept really busy. I then spent a happy hour in the library just mooching about amongst books.......ahhhh....heaven!
Then I managed 30 lengths and a few knee stretching exercises and goodness my knees felt good.
Gym tomorrow and hair dressers....hooray!!
Love and hugs chickens
Donna

Donna So glad to hear things are going well at the gym. Keep at it girly! Smores are when you roast a marshmallow and take a piece of chocolate and two graham crackers and make a mini sandwhich thing out of it. I'm looking forward to the holidays this year and though I may indulge a little bit, I'm not going to over do it like I have in years past.

Terra I'm sorry to hear about Clyde. I know this is going to be a hard time for you. I don't know what I'd do if I had to be faced with the situation of putting a fur baby down ...They are like my children so I can't even imagine how you must feel. Much love to you deary.

Bllondy I'm glad I could be of some encouragement for you. That means a lot! I think at some point you'll just say forget it and keep pushing and don't care what other people think. I've definitely been like that for awhile and those girls set me off so I just had to tell myself to ignore it because I know I'm better than that

Ubee I think my TOM was a false alarm. Nothing's happened yet but then again my TOM is never regular so who knows. I do sometimes get the symptoms but never actually have a TOM. I have been meaning to get more Vitex so that's probably why it hasn't been so regular. I'm hoping for the whoosh this week

Betsy I'm thinking the same as you with the whoosh ...We don't necessarily have a set menu but every year there has to be DH's sweet potato casserole and baked mac & cheese. DH is going to make a special sweet potato casserole for me and use coconut sugar instead of regular brown sugar. I will more than likely have the mac & cheese because that's always been my favorite food, but I don't have any plans to eat more than what I should. We're also going to have some corn, fresh green beans, cranberry sauce, deviled eggs, my mom makes a spinach dip and possibly collards, pumpkin pie and I'm going to probably bring a veggie tray this year. My grandma has to have her stuffing as well so I'm sure I'll nibble a little bit at that too because it's so good. But trust me, if the gym is open my plan is to go after we eat lol...But I'm sure they'll be closed but I will be there with bells on on Friday!!

Fi I'm sorry the depression is rearing it's little head again. I hope things get better for you. Sorry to hear about the kittens. I just found out that 2 of my cats have ring worm. My vet told me to try vaginal fungal cream to see if that will work to get rid of it before they put them on medication. I'm hoping it works because I can't really afford to bring them to the doctor again if it doesn't help. We're going on day 3 for the cream but I know I'm going to have to push real hard with getting the house clean and everything washed so it doesn't spread. I just had the carpets cleaned too so I'm hoping a good vacuuming will be good enough ...Stay strong my dear! You'll get through everything...you are much stronger than you think...Especially in my eyes. Don't tell the others but you're one of my favorites

Shan So glad to hear that things are going good for you with the Atkins!

I'm being sneaky and checking in at work today lol....Didn't go to the gym last night because after running errands with DH I was just too tired. I'm going tonight and I guess I'm going to have to start going there on cardio only days too since it's starting to get cold here and I don't want to get too much cold air in my lungs. The other night when I went walking my chest started to hurt from the cold air...I DO NOT want to get sick lol...I'm still sipping my hot lemon water on the daily so I'm hoping that helps with prevention of getting sick this year.

This weekend mom and I are going to go shopping for Thanksgiving dinner to get it ready for DH. I'm getting out of work at 1pm on Wendesday and I have Thursday and Friday off. Really looking forward to that...Then it'll only be 3 1/2 weeks until I go on vacation. DH and I are trying to plan what we're going to do since we are going up to VA to visit family for a day or two. He really wants to see his grandmother because he worries this will be the last time he sees her. Which I don't blame him. I just hate that we will have to drive so far to visit them and if we are there more than 2 or 3 days they act like they want us to leave and make us feel uncomfortable. So we won't be planning on staying long. Such a waste, but I do want to visit my dad's side of the family too.

I need to get back to work but I wanted to check in with everyone since time seems to be getting the best to me this week. I can't believe tomorrow is already Friday!! Have a great day everyone! Stay well!

Hi Everyone.
Yes, I am OK and very blessed. Our sons house was lost in a fire. Everyone is safe and healthy. We have a house full and so much going on. Please do not feel sorry for us. We are so blessed to all be safe. Everyone is doing well emotionally and celebrating life. I miss you all but know you will understand as I am rocking my grandson as I type this.
Take care and I will check in as soon as I get a chance. Hopefully tomorrow as everyone is being so helpful.
Thanks for being here. Ubee

Ubee— Oh man, that's terrible your son's home was lost in a fire! But if everyone is OK, that's certainly a big, big reason to feel blessed. It makes me think of a favorite line of mine from Bob Dylan—not from one of his songs, but from an interview. Quite a few years ago on his 65th birthday, a journalist asked him if he was happy. He replied (I'm paraphrasing here), "Happy? Happiness, unhappiness, those are yuppie words. The important thing is not whether you're happy or unhappy, but whether you feel blessed or not blessed. I do feel blessed." I liked it so much I made a collage about it called "almost blessed". (You definitely need to click for the larger version, so you can see the stamps.) I made that collage when Bob and I were in pretty dire straits, because he had just lost his job as a NASA scientist.

I feel sort of the same way tonight, because I'm not happy. The depression pain returned for a visit this evening. But I have a wonderful husband and two precious, adorable kittens, so I do feel blessed. That is the important thing: to feel blessed.

Hi Everyone!
Spoke too soon. Crazy, busy weekend ahead. Three more people coming to stay for the weekend. Am doing well and counting our blessings.
Have a peaceful day. Miss you!

Oh my gosh....Ubee I am so glad everybody is OK. It takes a proper disaster to make you realise what is important in life. Enjoy your hectic weekend!

Fi....I loved that quote about being "blessed" I try to tackle some elements of my depression by each day listing in my head (and sometimes in writing) all that I have to be grateful for.....starting with waking up every morning. We have had a powerful TV commercial running where a lady who has recovered from cancer is grateful for every day........even her husband's snoring!

Sam......thanks for the encouragement.....you are my hero as you have lost so much weight and are obviously going through the mill but still fighting the battle! Our Gym is open every day except 25th Dec and 1st Jan so I will make a pledge to go as soon as I can!

Well, went to the gym again today and increased my cardio a bit....nothing to shake the world.....just my saggy butt!

Then hooray.....I had my hair done and cut in to a much better shape and feel about 10 years younger! I am going with a friend to a dog show tomorrow. She shows Pembrokeshire Corgies (one of hers was on stage with Helen Mirren in "The Queen") and I want to learn to show our spaniels. As I struggle with feelings of isolation and feeling I have no life....this is indeed an exciting outing .....and should be fun!

Have a lovely weeknd....and stay warm! We have had pictures on TV about terrible snow storms in the US so I hope you are all warm and safe! There is a monsoon-like deluge outside my window at the moment but it is better than snow!
Love and hugs
Donna