Hi Marie, you're probably away. All is well here. I'm really trying to get back in shape.

Hi ToF, I was away on Sunday - I went to the NASCAR race in Sonoma, CA. It was an absolute blast. I'm doing okay eating wise but better exercising wise. I think it would be cool if I could be good with both of them.

I'm on my last week of work before my 5 weeks off. I'm really looking forward to it.

I bought a new dress for the Alaskan Cruise and I'm excited to get it. I ordered it from a catalog. I needed a formal dress for the 2 formal dinners. I think the suit will be pretty. It's a mint green. Unfortunately it's not in a smaller size.

That's about it for now. I will talk with you later.
Marie

Hi Marie, I'm glad that you liked the NASCAR race. I can't wait to hear all about the Alaska cruise. I think that would be a great 20th wedding anniversary trip for my husband and me. I hope the dress suits you.

I'm doing well here. There's always so much to do that it is hard to prioritize. I'm going to give that some thought this morning. Yesterday I had a great eating day and I had a good start to today with a veggie omelete and a half mile swim. Take care and keep in touch.

Hi ToF, I'm at work at the moment and am frustrated. I have 2.5 days left and what I need to get done is a file to upload to the state. It's exported from our student info system and the program isn't working correctly. It stalls and it's making me mad. I have the programmers working on it, but I don't know if it'll be fixed in time. I do not want to work over my vacation. So I'm frustrated at the moment.

It's supposed to be in the 80's today and I'm going to go swimming. I just love my pool. We've had a little trouble getting the chemicals in balance but I think I'm closer.

DH started swing shift for the next 4 months. I don't like it much but at least one of the months I will be home during the day so it won't be as bad. It's just like living alone since the kids are gone too. It's just weird.

I got my hair trimmed yesterday and it looks good. I've been growing it out and it's now long enough to put into a french braid. Considering I'm driving around with the top off my Jeep, that's a good thing. If I leave my hair down, it turns into one big snarl. When it grows another inch or tow, then it'll be easy to pull back into a pony tail.

I've been okay eating. Not making the best choices, but I could make worse. For breakfast I had a small piece of carrot cake (thankfully there are some good ingredients in there) since I knew I'd munch all morning long if I had a bowl of cereal. So it was probably a good choice in the long run. But I could make healthier choices and less of them. Sounds like you're totally back on track. I'm hoping to just maintain through the cruise, then get back to losing afterwards.

Exercise I'm still doing good at. Congrats on the 3.5 mile run. That is absolutely fantastic.

TTYl.
Marie

Hi Marie,

So sorry about the computer problem. I know you just can't wait to have some time off. We all need breaks and toward the end of a term or work segment one simply gets tired. I hope the problem is resolved very soon.

The french braid sounds great. I love the way a french braid looks. I've never been able to grow my hair long - not even when I was young.

I'm much more on track but not totally. I'm still baffled by the eating - it seems like grazing works best as far as being satisfied and staying at a decent calorie level. I've been buying Trader Joe's frozen foods and loving them.

I had a great exercise day - 1/2 mile swim and 3.1 mile run on the treadmill. It felt great (see what having some time can do). I let myself eat a little more tonight because I burned the extra calories, but I still ate healthy. Here's the menu. I'm sharing it because there are some great foods.

breakfast - veggie omelete, wheat toast 400
lunch - two bean burritos (Trader Joes) lots of cut up carrots 600
dinner - grazing: skinny cow cheese/ww crackers 200
watermelon 50
peanut granola bar 170
chocolate sorbet bar - 80 (great low cal choc fix)
almonds - 170
tomatoes - 50
Then an ice cream cone - about 300 (probably should of skipped it but it was a special treat at a special place)

Total 2020

Hi ToF, I like to graze too. More than I like to sit down to a meal. Lately, I think my grazing has been too much. DH is now on swing shift and I don't have to have dinner if I ate too much during the day. I think that will help me get back on track. You would have been proud just now. Instead of cookies I reached for some grapes. So I do make some wise choices.

I just swam. It's about 90 degrees out and the water was great. DS and I swam a 1/4 mile and then I lounged on my new chaise lounge chair while chatting with my sister on the phone. It was nice and relaxing.

Tomorrow is the end of the school year for me. I am so excited!!!!

I went shopping today and bought a new pair of tennis shoes. They're very nice but I'm not sure if I'm going to keep them. I haven't decided yet. I am keeping the chaise lounge though.

Well, I'll check in with you tomorrow. Have a great Friday.
Marie

Hi Marie, Great job choosing the grapes and swimming - awesome! Your vacation will be wonderful. I'll be away for a week. I'm planning to run a five miler (very slowly) in a race on Sunday. I'll let you know if I finish as that's my goal. Crazy mixed up day today - nothing bad though. Back on track tomorrow. Take care. I'll write again on the 10th or 11th.

Have a great time and good luck on the five miler. I am so impressed that you're doing that. I can't imagine me running. Between the bouncing boobs and the asthma, I'd be in such pain.

I'm knitting today and then I'm going to go swimming. I plan on swimming alot this week since I am now off. I'm so happy for my vacation.!!!

Talk to you on the 11th.
Marie

Hi Marie,

I'm back. A good vacation - lots of biking, running, walking. Lots of eating too - so it's time to reign it in. I didn't do the five-miler as it didn't work out, but I managed a really nice 4 mile run along the beach - a run I've never been able to do before in my life so I was happy.

The vacation was fun filled. The boys played a lot of chess, skim boarded on the sand bars, rode their boogie boards in the waves, rolled in the sand and played on the beach. We all took one particularly great bike ride along the Cape Cod National Seashore - very beautiful. I had my yearly lobster, clam chowder and fried clam roll which are a treat. We also spent a cloudy, drizzly night on the beach with a bonfire to warm us up - fun.

Being able to post here centers me. Thanks for being here. I'm anxious to hear about the start of your vacation and how your health journey is going. I signed my little son up for tennis camp this week to allow me a bit of time to get back on track and ready for this triathlon (daunting!). I also really want to continue to simplify my home so that it is very, very easy to maintain. Any suggestions welcome.

Hi ToF, sounds like you had a perfect vacation for you. The bike ride sounds awesome. I love the beach so I'm a bit envious. The Pacific is too cold to swim in if you ask me, whereas the Atlantic in the summer is fabulous. Good luck getting ready for the triathlon.

I've been doing outdoor stuff like picking strawberries and weekwhacking. Today I have to water all the plants because DH is in MN for a week. Usually he does it but it won't wait until Thursday. The joys of living in the desert.

I'm going to go swimming today and work on the sweater I'm making for my trip. Past that, I'm enjoying being a bum. I do have a little work to do, so I have to do that. Can you tell I really don't want to do it since I'm typing away at 3FC?!?!? But I best get to it since the reports are needed today.

TTYL.
Marie

Hi Marie, good to hear from you. Thanks for reminding me about watering the plants. I have a small garden that needs some water. I'm feeling back on track today. I have about two hours to myself each morning this week - it's heavenly. Today I took a long bike ride with a friend who is also doing the triathlon. The exercise really helps me to eat well.

I hope those reports are completed soon so you can relax. Take care.

Hi ToF, my vacation seemed to be consumed with work these days. I worked on the dumb report for about four hours. I know it is right but the state is saying there are errors. I have to get someone there to look at the text file and tell me where it's wrong. I really think it's on their end. It's so frustrating.

I did pick strawberries, watered the plants and swam yesterday. I forgot to take my meds and I was sick by the evening. That was a bummer. Today I won't forget.

Good job on getting on track and exercising. I too find that if I exercise I stay better on track with the food. That's going to be my goal for my cruise - exercise and the food should be okay. I don't care if I don't lose on vacation but I sure don't want to gain.

I gave up on the Xenical. It wasn't helping me lose weight and the side effects weren't worth it. I felt so bloated and the scale showed it. I definitely didn't find the results I was looking for.

Well, I'll chat with you later.
Marie

Hello. Good day here. My weight is up again. It just shows that it is what you eat that counts the most. Last fall I lost all that weight by simply watching calories and not over eating and not eating the wrong foods. I want to continue exercising because I know it is healthy and it feels good, but it's the calories that count the most when it comes to loosing weight. It was a 1500 cal day - very good. Lots of water and exercise too. I'm ready to dive into lots of treats, but instead I'll head to bed. Take care.

My day was good too. I ate about 1300 calories and swam 1/4 mile. I suppose I could do more but if it becomes work, I won't want to swim in my pool and it was too expensive for that. I agree that it is counting calories that works. I alo knitted today and clean my house. It looks really nice. Now that the remodeling is done, just keeping it clean is important to me. DS and I cleaned the pool area, too. But the dogs chased each other around the pool and knocked a bunch of pebbles into the pool and on the deck. Oh well. I guess I'll clean it again tomorrow. Talk to you later. Have a great Wednesday.
Marie

Hi Marie, your home sounds lovely. Good job swimming the 1/4 mile. I'm really gearing up for the triathlon now that it is only about two weeks away. As I was making out my schedule today it made me realize that having a healthy lifestyle does mean making changes and eliminating some of the old habits, routines. Making time for exercise means not making time for something I used to do.

Now that I am exercising a lot I am remembering just how great it feels to be in shape. Being able to move easily and wear clothes well feels so so so good. I hope that I can become strong enough on this journey that I can remember this.

Today for the first time in twenty years I ran seven miles (very slowly)! It was a beautiful cool day and I took advantage of it by running a very pretty loop. Although I'm up about 10lbs from my lowest of last Feb/March, I am getting stronger. I ate about 1600 today which was a good total. I really have to focus on this to make it happen. Thanks for all your support and my best to you as you continue to strive to be healthy in activity and eating. Take care.