Thanks for the welcome!

Lisa: I've been thinking about you.

Catinhat: do you feel like trying to lose weight during menopause is like beating your head against the wall and wondering why your head hurts? Sometimes I think I should just chill and give myself a break. I'm on Ideal Protein and suffering from asparagus intoxication. Veggies are my life now. Without some support from the scale I'm afraid I can't do this.

Thanks all!

Purple, I have felt that way aobut trying to lose weight since I was twelve....but that's a long, sad mess of a story.

Today was alright. I've been talking to my boss about something I think we should try, and he's willing to go for it. I take dictation of all his case notes for clients, and he's going to use a little digital recorder right after each session to 'put down' what happened in session. I will be able to listen to them on headphones, which means my kiddo won't be hearing bits of discussion this summer when she's home on vacation. So, I've got from now until end of May to make this work really well for my boss - woo hoo! It's a small victory.

My joints are sore today. I didn't exercise, in part because of that. I did, however, pick up a book at the library that is about yoga and using it for pain in joints. I think I have to start very gentle and with nibbles of exercise, and build my strength over time. In the past few years, I feel like I've lost a lot of strength and flexibility, and I want those back. There are some projects I'd like to tackle around our home, but I am so low energy these days. It's time for me to step up and get stronger and healthier and get 'me' back. I've been through some fairly deep depression (at least for me) in that same time frame, and I really want to climb out of it.

To end on a positive, I am going to bed half an hour early to get some rest and not just be on the computer. I hope everyone has a good night and sweet dreams!

Catinhat - if you are new to yoga and using it to help joint pain, I would recommend you do a few classes with an instructor initially, just to have someone there to correct your posture and give you tips. Just a slight curve in the spine or angle in the hip can be the difference between a good stretch and a bad one.

Holly - my mum passed before I joined the forum, so you won't really know the circumstances. I don't so much mind the way the news broke but I wish we had prior warning - mum had been poorly, but the dr told her she had a virus and needed to sleep it off and then she died of heart failure. It took us all by surprise, as she was only 62.

Lisa, I hope you are getting on ok, and hope your job search is showing up a couple of possibilities.

Thanks, Coop27! I'll keep that in mind. There are classes in my area, and even some free introductory ones at the library.

Wishing everyone a wonderful day!

It is so difficult to stay on track when there are all these holidays and gatherings with so much chocolate and desserts. They are my weakness! So the library has a lot of sweets? On the days you know you are subbing, have you tried packing a lunch with lots of healthy snack choices? I find that bringing my own healthy food, that I know I want to snack on, helps me steer clear of the chocolates. My favorite is to snack of berries - they are so sweet and I don't even miss the other options!

Wow! Lots to catch up on here!!! It is great to log on and see so many posts, though! 😊 My recovery is going so well that I almost can't believe it. No pain at all now. In fact, I drove my daughter (on Spring Break) and I to lunch today. It was a nearby restaurant and I was very careful, but I never thought I'd be able to do "normal" things again so quickly. If you can believe it, I am right now waiting as my son is being assessed for intensive outpatient therapy at the same psychiatric hospital I was in (inpatient for a month against my will last summer). Yes, I have the heebie jeebies just sitting in the hospital waiting room. Don't want them to take me and lock me in again (even though we aren't even here for me this time). This was recommended by his psychiatrist who we all trust. My son is not really on board, but there has been a ton of tension in our home and he has done a lot of stupid things (whether he admits it or not). He has a girlfriend now and thinks everything is solved because he is "happy" now. Uggh! If this girl breaks up with him, he will be crushed and sink back down into a deep depression again. I just know it. 😟 His moods are so fragile right now. His psychiatrist actually recommended the intensive outpatient therapy to add some structure in his day as well as to treat him for anxiety and depression and some substance abuse. Long stories that I don't really want to expand upon for his privacy. Anyway, I am waiting on pins and needles to see how his assessment goes! 😯

Welcome to purple cow and healthylivingalways!!! I'd post some cute welcome emojis but I am typing quickly from my phone. So happy you have joined us! 😊 I hope you will keep posting. It's great to see catinhat posting so often and sharing so much. I will try to get back ASAP but wanted to touch base while I had a chance! Where did Fi and guacamole and librarian and bookmark go? Hello to Lisa, Holly, EasySpirit, Coop, & everyone else! 😊

And by the way, I had a terrific follow-up doctor appointment yesterday! There is already some evidence that the lymphevenous bypass on my left arm might be working!!! This would be HUGE if it works! Could mean that I get rid of my lymphedema sleeve part if not all of the time. What a huge relief that would be!!! All incisions are closed completely and healing nicely and I got the okay to begin range of motion exercises and even already got out of the surgical "straight jacket" bras! I am one happy camper..... except for the situation with my son (which is constant high tension right now). I will choose to focus on the positive and be thankful that my recovery is going so well! 😊

IBelieveInMe2, I'm glad for your happy news with regard to your recovery. I work for a psychotherapist, and a lot of clients want to stop therapy when things are going well, even though those things aren't really a long-term management of depression or anxiety - I think it's a common thread. I hope your son's eval went well and that he benefits from the program there.

We went to the nature center and hiked, then toured the visitor's center. It was really nice. We stopped at Goodwill on the way home and picked up a few items that will be useful to us. It was a really nice afternoon.

Hi all! Kathleen I am so worried for your son, I HOPE he finds the treatment helpful!!

but I am so happy to hear how well your recuperation is going! that is fantastic and you are so upbeat, that is sure to help you also

catinhat, sounds like you had a nice day the other day, good to hear! and I hope you can sell your boss on the idea that would be helpful.

Hi to Lisa (take it day by day), coop, Fi, purplecow, EasySpirit! and to healthylivingalways!

Well I guess all I needed was some nice weather; I remember last week I wasted my two days off; today, I was outside for almost 5 hours straight doing very vigorous work; cutting down trees with a bow saw (yeah, small ones, but they were LONG like 20 ft) and dragging them further into the woods; clearing a large area of shrubby stupid things, using lopping shears to cut them down to the ground and hurling them back into the woods; intensive raking of a couple years' worth of wet yucky leaves...but it looks so much better and expands our garden, and is gonna give us more sun on that ground. Emptied the big compost bin into the ground ... relocated the platform the compost and recycling bins are on..wow

It is UNHEARD of that the weather is permitting this! usually at this time in Vermont, we are still deeply locked in snow and ice. It is soooo great that I can do this now, before the vegetation takes hold and it seems insurmountable.

I took 2 advils in anticipation, lol, but I have been working out about 4 x's a week now so I hope I'm not too sore tomorrow, I will let you know. Still eating too much but at least I'm exercising.

Only 13 more days until I'm done with the Rat B@stard

I know from experience that I tend to waste a lot of time when I'm struggling w/depression. Lately, I am wasting a lot of time - some on the computer, some just in my head - procrastinating over some thing I have to do that would take 10 minutes, except I put it off for a day...or three. The longer this goes on, the further behind I get with various tasks, and the more anxiety builds. It's an ugly little cycle, and I need to figure out how to break it. If you have thoughts, I'd love to hear them, but I just wanted to put it out there in part to acknowledge where I'm at these days. Thanks.

On that note, I'm going to get off *here* and go do things for 15 minutes. Then, I think I'll head for bed.

I do this too. I try to develop a pragmatic approach to it - I will have to do it at some point, it might as well be today. But I'm easily distracted...

I don't have any strategy to offer, for me, there are some tasks that I just seem to have blinders on about...like the upstairs closet, it can be a mess for months and I just don't care..then one day I see it, and have the ambition to tackle it?

for things like bills, I just make myself write out a check and pay them as quick as I can, because I hate the anxiety of wondering if a payment will be late if I procrastinate.

Hey I am not sore today

today I chose a Jessica Smith video, it was mostly cardio, 25 minutes, then about 6 minutes of floor abs.

Had a local landscaper come by, and for just $100, he did in about 2 hours what it would have taken me weeks to accomplish! woohoo alot more space for planting.

am enjoying this mild (mid 50's to almost 60) weather because it ain't gonna last, Sunday the high will be in the 20's!

have a good afternoon/evening everyone

It's silly, maybe, but just by talking about it here, I've been better about getting off my backside and doing things. I have a friend stopping by tomorrow afternoon. The house was ok, but I switched out some decor I've been meaning to take care of for a while, tidied, vacuumed...it looks better, and I will feel less overwhelmed by what I want to get done tomorrow before she arrives.

Today has been stressful. My boss had some bad news which would potentially affect my employment with him. Hubby reminds me that we'd be fine if I didn't have this job, and he is right....but it's stressful, not knowing what's going to happen. It's also out of my sphere of influence, at least, much of it, so this is a good time to remember boundaries. I've been thinking that a re-read of Henry Cloud's book, Boundaries, would be a good idea. Guess this is my sign.

Meanwhile, my weight has come down a little. That makes me happy...mainly, that it's not increasing (it had been before I came here).

LisaLuvsHearts, I'm sending you virtual hugs and good thoughts. I have not experienced what you have, but I wish you well. I think it is a process, and I admire you for looking for the positive.

VermontMom, what will you be planting? I'm not sure if you're landscaping or gardening...or some combination. I love to garden, so I'm excited to find others who do too. I had a tiny garden last year, but I scrounged some fencing from next to my henhouse and pretty much quadrupled my garden space. It still needs to be dug, but just seeing it fenced has me happy! (We have to fence because of the deer).

IBelieveInMe2, I'm glad you're having good results from your procedure, and I hope that continues! You sound upbeat and like you're feeling good, and that makes me feel happy for you!

HealthyLivingAlways, your strategies are great....much better than my 'eat the chocolate while it's free and nobody's looking' strategy. That one just doesn't work at all!

Oh, yesterday I had a bunch of holds come in at the library and one of them is a yoga dvd - Easy Yoga for Easing Pain. I am going to try it tonight! It's from a series called Yoga For the Rest of Us....I think it will be easier for me to see/understand than the book I got from the library. I'll let y'all know!