Coaches

Weight remains the same. Blood sugar down a bit. Good plan still needs to be written out. I am resisting.

Our weather has been warm lately but it's shifting back into winter. Ottawa in getting 24hr of freezing rain with a 20-30mm accumulation of ice on everything. Not good. That's missing us thank goodness.were getting rain and in a day snow again. It's ok. It is March. No stopping the rotation of the Northern hemisphere towards the sun

I finally had some home made chicken bone broth today. The collagen in it is very good for the skin. My poor thumb that looked and felt healed reopened after ceramic class last night. and a new spot just below the index finger on the same hand has also opened and is sore. The will heal. I've covered them in gauze and taped them into place. I just have to stay more vigilant.

I moved some stuff around in the living room giving myself more floor space. Tomorrow I want to remove boxes or empty boxes and consolidate or donate or discard stuff.

And I think it's time to order the new coffee table with built in storage and pop up top.

Moving ever forward.

Diet Coaches/Buddies - The (10 yo) DGD did drawings with colored pencils for the period we had her at her house before whisking her off to rock climbing. She doesn't need any time to recalibrate between activities.

Problem: On Friday, March 13, from 3 to 4 p.m. local time, Chipotle will offer a "flash" one-hour BUY-ONE-GET-ONE (BOGO) offer for fans who are "tatted like a Chipotle bag". My food plan doesn’t call for even one gratuitous afternoon Burrito. Certainly don’t need two, even if the second one is FREE. Don’t have a tattoo – but carefully checked the rules that a hand drawn, temporary tattoo is accepted. Noted that there are two Chipotle’s within walking distance of my house. The exercise of walking there would burn some of the calories. I would probably be in a long line of young folks who think two afternoon burritos is a great snack. For whom the $11 savings perhaps matters enough to justify waiting in line.

Not that I'm the kind of guy who goes down the rabbit hole chasing a mythical FREE burrito. Or who remembers that he has two DGDs who'd love to help him draw a temporary tattoo. Or who checks to be aware that the offer also covers a chicken dish or sub sandwich. Or who has the 14 yo thought that he'd announce that his tat is on his bum and offer to show it. As if he were the first 14 yo to think of that. When my head is clear about food as a requirement to live, I’ll no longer spend this much time thinking about a FREE $11 burrito.

Eating was on plan with no daytime snacks, CREDIT moi. Dinner was another serving of the fava bean and fennel dish that was our Christmas present from the DS. Evening snack was blueberries with two Thin Mint Girl Scout cookies. Extra CREDIT moi for adjusting to exactly two Thin Mint cookies - a new achievement.


onebyone - Take solace - all our massive mounds of snow are now melted. That warmth is headed your way since, as you put it so well, "No stopping the rotation of the Northern hemisphere towards the sun."

Joy (gardenerjoy) – Congrats for surviving the politicians in Jefferson City. Our news says that you had grapefruit sized hail - a bit extraordinary.

maryann – That's a bunch of busy all on top of itself. Yay for access to quality health care that includes a CT scan. Ouch for that honking big bill.

curlyjax – Great skill to be able to be either supportive or firm as required. May your tendon get back to normal.

Readers -

Today is the first child-care day that we’ve done in a month. Finally, everyone is healthy! I’ll pack a light lunch with protein and expect that the distraction of entertaining children and being entertained by them will be enough to drive away hunger.

Exercise: 60, 690/1800 minutes for March

BillBlueEyes: I saw a photo of a broken windshield from hail, but it was from a storm chaser. They seem to consider that a cost of doing business.

onebyone: I have experience with dry skin on my hands. My best tip is heavy moisturizer underneath a bandage. That usually clears up skin cracks over night before they become something worse. Aquaphor is pretty good, but I also like a waxy moisturizer that I get mail-order from a small-town boutique near where I grew up. https://www.beenaturals.com/products/skin-creme-sticks Recently, I’ve been using both Aquaphor and the wax on my hands at night and my hands are way smoother than I expected that they could be.

Good day at work. I'm trying to get remember to get up and move around briefly every hour. Some of the elders we work with are quite entitled and its all about them, and others have such a hard time in life and are so grateful for any help. The former drive us nuts, the latter is why we do the work. The forgiveness and concern from some elders to others is beautiful to see and inspiring. After work I zipped off to the dentist-the hygienist was very nice and chatty which helps the distraction. I forgot to take my antibiotic which we joint replacement folks are supposed to take for a certain amount of time when going to the dentist-but it turned out 2 years was the magic time anyhow and now that is over with. home for a quick power nap, then some quality time watching a silly movie with DD and still managed to fall asleep at a decent time. OP day, yay.
Gardenerjoy-great to have the memory of how much better your should is now.
Maryann-good job reasoning on the medical cost. Our insurance system is crazy.
Onebyone-Moving ever forward is great. The clay must be drying for your skin too, i'm sure that doesn't help.
Bill-pretty smart marketing by Chipotle.I had to giggle at your 14 year old self's idea.

Coaches,

OP day but with popcorn and soup. The Salt showed up on the scale. Oh Well. I will not weigh myself again till Tuesday. Gym and then yard cleanup for 45 mins was exercise. A woman (in her 40s?) congratulated me on working with a trainer. She wished her mother would do the same to prevent falls. WHAT???? Then I calmed down and realized I could have been a mother to 40 year old.

I have decided on a cleaning strategy. The house is now in four zones. Each zone gets a week. This week is kitchen. I cleaned appliances.Today I will deep clean the counters and backsplash removin appliances to do so. I still continue to do a quick 15 min daily fix up.

Working on my Music for Littles goal, I practiced piano yesterday. I am going to try and memorize music pieces starting with DS old Suzuki Book 3. I also am working through a book about introducing Jazz. That could be a fun stand alone lesson.

For all you declutterers:

I got sent to this idea by FlyLady which is awesome. A quick restart anyone with a few minutes can do.

1. Set a timer for a few minutes (optional but helpful).
   
2. Walk around the room.
   
3. Pick up 21 things that are out of place.
   
4. Put them where they belong, throw them away, or put them in a donation box.
   

That’s it. No organizing system, no deep cleaning—just 21 items.

Why 21?

FlyLady uses 21 because it’s:

• Big enough to make a visible difference.
  
• Small enough that it feels doable.
  
• Kind of like a game — you count: 1…2…3…
  

Example in a living room

Your 21 might look like:

• 3 magazines
  
• 2 coffee cups
  
• 4 pieces of mail
  
• 1 throw blanket folded
  
• 5 items back to the kitchen
  
• 3 things back to the bedroom
  
• 3 things tossed in trash
  

Suddenly the room looks 80% better in about 3 minutes.

Wave to all.

Diet Coaches/Buddies - Hat trick: did three errands in one trip. Makes my little over-engineering heart happy. According to the weather reports, it was snowing during dinner time. We saw a bit of light rain. There's nothing visible this morning. After our record setting blizzard, we're a bit skittish about predicted snow.

Did some admin that's been a burden since there's a deadline. I swapped off - some admin, some reading, some admin, something else ... . It helps me to know that I'll only do it for a countable number of minutes.

Eating was on plan with no daytime snacks, CREDIT moi. Dinner was reheated grilled salmon, spinach, new potatoes, and my green salad. Evening snack was blueberries and two Thin Mint cookies. If I do this often enough, it'll be a habit.


Joy (gardenerjoy) – If you can survive a whole building of politicians, you can survive a pair of pre-schoolers. They do have a bit in common.

maryann – How dare someone compare you to their mother. As if your were old enough to have an adult son. Like your idea of picking up 21 things - might try that.

curlyjax – I do hope that I don't slip into that group of elders who feel entitled. Encouraging to hear that some are working forgiveness into their lives.

Readers -

I was sorely tempted at work yesterday. Panera dropped off some donations including some sweets but I nobly resisted. I had weighed myself that morning and the scale inched down a bit which kept me in line. I went to workout and felt a bit of a shoulder strain so had to modify my weights a bit. Knock on wood everything feels okay today. There were only 4 of us there which was nice. Later in the evening I got mad at DD who acts like a princess sometimes. I tend to put up with things for a bit then blow up. The house is such a mess and I feel like she's taking advantage of being home with mom. But I did not overeat about it. I stared the wegmans chocolate cake in the face and backed away Another reason I think about moving to a condo is there's a lot less to clean and take care of, and it would be nice to start over.
I'm heading up to NH tonight to see a show and crash at manfriend's place, so I may not get to check in tomorrow am. Excited to be away for a night!!
Gardenerjoy-that store looks awesome. Thanks for the recommendation,
Maryann-Sounds like some great cleaning and pick up strategies.
Bill-good idea to swap admin with reading. I noticed the snow too bur fortunately it was minor.

Coaches,

I logged my food yesterday. Trainer was a wonderful challenge, as always. Today I go up for 4 days of skiing. A friend has gifted me with two tixs at the expensive resort. Since I only have a mid week pass, I can now ski Sat. and Sun as well. The snow is almost all gone but I count the exercise of walking and moving. It is a net gain no matter what the conditions.

Since I am in the kitchen "zone" this week, I did the counter tops, backsplash and window. I removed all the appliances. Who would have thought that took me an hour! Oh well - an hour when I didn't eat and when I got extra steps in. I will leave the cabinets for next month. I collected all the stray recipes printed over the last 6 months that were successful. I used ChatGPT to reformat the slimy papers into 4 by 6 cards. Then I printed them out on stock. Ta-da. That was a year in the doing. It also gave me a chance to review all my successful review my successful recipes. Now when I am shopping bargains I know what works. Last year I redid my recipes by appliances . It is really helpful. No, there will be no cross index by food. Less is more in the pedestrian mind of a non-cook.

BBE: Yes alternating between to dos and desires is my best strategy.
Curly: Enjoy your night away. I can concur that moving into a smaller space is helpful. I moved from the primary suite and bathroom to a smalll bedroom because of the mattress situation. I emptied two clothing bureaus, redid the linens drawer in that space, curate the bedroom of DS memories, and then bought a set of second linen from a gift card. Now at least 25% of the house is unused and I love it. I don't have to anything but vacuum and dust there now.

It would be good if today were both a recovery day and a catch-up day. Those two things don’t seem to be compatible, at first glance. I’m hoping that I can take a relaxed approach to the to-do list and that it will work out in the end.

Exercise: 20, 710/1800 minutes for March

Diet Coaches/Buddies - Happy Pi Day to all who celebrate. I acknowledge that I should have posted at 1:59am to make the full 8 digits. We won't have another 8 digit Pi Day until 2126 - suspect that I won't be here to celebrate that one.

Made my noon deadline for some admin work at 11:01 am. Satisfied to make it but chagrined that it's my style to push boundaries. My reward was an incoming phone call at 11:05 am that I'd have had to wave off if I hadn't been done.

Eating was on plan with no daytime snacks, CREDIT moi. I wanted to snack when feeling the pressure of the admin work despite knowing that food doesn't solve deadlines. Evening snack was blueberries with two Thin Mint Girl Scout cookies. I keep reporting that to use you guys as Diet Coaches to help keep me to only two. Dinner was homemade chili with tortilla chips. It's a bunch of work for the chef but we'll get three meals out of the pot. I brought to the table the great news that there is a place where a railroad can cross the Sierra Nevada mountains only going over one set of peaks instead of the two sets in most places. DW told the tale of a friend with back surgery who is finally down to only using Aleve instead of the morphine level stuff. Good to be reminded that there are more serious issues in the world than whether California ever gets its railroad.


Joy (gardenerjoy) – Hadn't thought about the tension between recovery day and catch-up day. May you find a sweet spot.

maryann – Organizing recipes by appliance is a pretty modern concept. Four days of skiing is a bunch of exercise. Joyful exercise though it may be.

curlyjax – Good to have a trainer who knows how to modify your routine to deal with your shoulder strain. Hope your show in NH is a hit.

Readers -

I’m checking in to pledge that I’ll eat a mid-morning salad since that makes my Saturdays work so well.

Exercise: 70, 780/1800 minutes for March

Everyone: I started reading a novel that I think some or all of you might enjoy — The Astral Library by Kate Quinn. Kate Quinn is most well known for her bestselling novels set in and around World War II like The Rose Code about Bletchley Park and The Alice Network about women spies in WWI and WWII. Her new book is something completely different — a fantasy that dives into what it would be like if readers could literally escape into their favorite books. The first couple of chapters are set in Boston, including the Reading Room at Boston Central Library.

Coaches,

Yesterday was a glorious day of skiing. I at a bowl of chili at the lodge which was quit tasty and served for dinner as well. I could not face the burgeoning crowds and the dwindling snow on a Saturday at Palisades. Truth be told I might be a little afraid because that is the exact scenario that produce my concussion last Spring. I cam up with a brilliant plan. DH and I will go Sunday. We will ride the various gondolas sans skis and have lunch at high camp. Then I can ski there in the afternoon on Sunday with fewer crowds.

Last night in a rare fit of energy I took down the TERRIBLE ill fitted mini blinds the cabin came with when we bought it. I started with just my room. I am now in process of sewing new window treatments. I found some great pottery barn new with tags on Poshmark for $30 that will give me enough material to finish two windows in one room. i am in search of the other room.

Todays cleaning in the cabin will be dusting and vacuuming. Food is homemade chicken gnocchi soup.


Joy: I put that but on my library wishlist. Organizational failure was not reading two library books and paying a .50 fine through Paypal.
BBE: Well done on the thin mint restraint.

Diet Coaches/Buddies - Spent six hours in person with a group working a volunteer program. We've not met in person since COVID-19 started keeping everyone at home. In person works so well. So many quips between folks - we all know each other well - as we march forward, that aren't possible on Zoom. It was a grueling day but we got our job done. We were evaluating requests for money from a large number of groups. In today's economy, many groups that have functioned OK for years are hurting. So much need; limited monies to distribute. Got our job done despite feeling the pain of all the people in need that we couldn't help.

When we ate our brown bag lunches together, one person offered "green cookies". We all wrinkled our noses. "Spinach?" one asked. Nope. It was standard Keebler shortbread cookies with green icing instead of chocolate. We all had one. Unfortunately, I also had two brownies. Camaraderie makes it easy to overeat. If one was so good, why not two?

Eating was on plan at meals, CREDIT moi. Snacks included sweets not normally encountered. Dinner was pork chops grilled on the back deck in a stiff wind. The Wegmans chunky applesauce we had came in a ribbed plastic jar. Getting applesauce out of a ribbed jar is a pain. I'm not quite idle enough to start a campaign with Wegmans to make my life more convenient. Evening snack included the two Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies as if I'd not already had enough sugar for the day.


Joy (gardenerjoy) – Your salad is a much better snack idea than the sweets that I had. I'm hold number 364 of 364 at my library for The Astral Library by Kate Quinn. Maybe by this summer.

maryann – What a neat idea to enjoy the mountains without skiing. LOL at how long you lived with "TERRIBLE ill fitted mini blinds." I've noticed that I cease to see the window treatment where I live.

Readers -

Friday I managed to resist temptation of free food-bacon, and then treats from Panera that were donated. I drove up to manfriend and he made me a lovely dinner of baked haddock with a ritz cracker crumb, asparagus and a couscous mix. We saw Jim Gaffigan who was funny as always; a little more low key as he had the flu or was recovering from it. I guess you can't call in sick as a comedian unless you collapse. Then we did indulge in elclairs for dessert. The event got out quite early which was great so we weren't up late. Manfriend had a very cool air mattress I slept on-very comfy but I slept terribly as I often do when i'm away from home. He made me an omelette for breakfast and sent me on my merry way. He lives in a beautiful quiet apartment and it was so wonderful to be away for a night. I came home and was immediately grumpy due in part to the extreme mess in the house, and promptly got into a huge fight with DD. She went off, I took a nap and then figured out with the help of Chat GPT what to say to appease her that wouldn't make it seem like it was all my fault either. I've used this a couple times and it really gives me some good perspective I must say. I went to BFF for a night of binge watching and did get into ice cream plus a brownie type thing. But I'm determined to get back on track today. I need to get groceries this morning and do some meal prep for the week. I dropped off DD at the T-she's going to the Boston St. Patrick parade along with a ton of other folks which i'm a bit nervous about-and i'll pick her up later on, so that structures my day.
Gardenerjoy-mid morning salad is a great idea. That book does look interesting.
Maryann-you've been so productive, that's awesome. I greatly admire people who can sew, I do not have the patience for it.
Bill-wonderful to meet in person, definitely more meaningful. The downside is indeed those snacks.

We have a strange weather day today. We’ll reach our high of 66 at noon. Then it will get windy and stormy and the temperatures will plunge to 21 degrees by the time we get up tomorrow morning. One of my tasks is to cut some daffodils because they aren't going to survive that plus all of Monday being below freezing and into the teens at night. I might as well enjoy them in the house if they're going to turn brown, anyway.

Otherwise, I want to follow my usual food and exercise plans and be grateful that they are currently working well for me.

Exercise: 40, 820/1800 minutes for March