Work was a bit slower so I made myself work on one of my goals.I'd much rather be up and about or working directly with people but its good to have quiet time to think too. I am so lucky to have my own office and have a window in it too. I zipped off to my workout after which was not as exhausting as usual-I like feeling wrung out afterwards, it makes me feel like i've really done something-but i'm still babying my tendon a bit. My boss had asked me about my place and I inwardly cringed-I do not want her going there-but I don't think she will. I went to BFF and didn't have dessert there, credit me. We wanted to finish up a show we had started that had 2 more episodes but neither of us could remember what it was called and it wasn't coming up on her watch list for some reason. Her 24 year old DD was there interjecting her young person wisdom and we rolled our eyes at each other and laughed at ourselves. This DD is similar to mine in many ways and we vent to each other. Anyhow a good night and I didn't get into dessert, credit me.
Today is a party at work which will be fun. I'll have to watch myself with the food-lots of heavy carbs and salty meat.
Maryann-I like your advantage card, I'm going to use that one myself!
Onebyone-glad things are going well. BFF did great with Mounjaro and it definitely cut the food noise with her, which is huge.
Bill-I have trouble with those type of lids too. It's such a convenience to have the lettuce all prepped and ready to go that I put up with it.

Today’s our day with the kids. It’s spring break, so we’ll be responsible for four children instead of our usual two, but it will be fun to spend time with the older kids that we don’t get to see as much of. There are plans for building a KiwiCo kit and a Lego kit — both a little over their age ranges but should be doable and fun with some extra adult attention.

I will lean into today being light on food because children are a huge distraction from my hunger cues.

Exercise: 60, 1050/1800 minutes for March

Coaches,

Yesterday was much improved in my eating. I hate my full fruit and veggies servings. The day become maintenance when the stress in the company of too many family members at once tipped my choice to having ice cream. Sigh!. Today's advantage:

I don't need to fix "hunger." Let it rise and fall.

Today is another incredibly busy day. I drive to UCD Medical Center twice - once for Mom and once for DH. I will follow Joy's advice and lean in on the food. It is just one day. I will get my training session in all though physically I am beat. I washed the outside of the car as well as bathroom duties.

My new great find is Britain's Great Sewing Bee!!! How have I not found this before? It is free on the Roku app on my TV.

BBE: If you were King richard, then you could send Prince John to collect your taxes. Ahh but then you produce another Robin Hood.
Curly: Good Luck with the party today. I remembered at work, if there was a party, I would take something like looked good home and eat it off premise just to show I could.
Onebyone: that is some great decluttering.

Coaches

Today I'm focusing on the big picture window side of the living room. Three boxes on the floor one box on a bench plus my brother's home made Art cases. I will check out the two bins I've already packed and move them to the new Box Mountain v.4 I believe. Maybe even version 5. Everything is being consolidated midway between living room and new studio space.

I went ahead and ordered a printer table/side table for the living room. I have a small side table under the window that's a real junk magnet. My printer is on the bins I am going to move today so it needs a home. On the floor around the small table are power cords, power bars, usb-c cords, extension cords and a couple of useless non-working cords. The new printer table comes with four USB ports and three power outlets built in so I will clean up the cords permanently. I can put the printer paper there and ally electronic devices. Wow. A place for everything and everything in its place. Big time decluttering progress there.

I'm looking at getting a local junk service to take everything in my second locker away next week. Most have same day or next day service. I need to get some photos of it as it is in order to get a price estimate online. I may even get the photos today. I'll see what I think about doing it myself when I'm taking those photos. I still want to keep my paintings I think but maybe not.bor maybe I'll paint over them. Or I could give them away. I don't know. Lots to consider. But I'm making decisions this month. I want this declutter business wrapped up or close to wrapped up by April 1.

Better go!

Diet Coaches/Buddies - Had lunch with two friends at the home of the one who is in his mid nineties. He discussed how he'd watched a gondola in Switzerland add water ballast to the tank under the gondola at the top to use gravity to keep the cable of gondolas moving. Clear memories from when he was seven years old. Interesting story, but more interesting that his memory of events that long ago is so sharp.

The Hyacinth that I bought from Trader Joe's fifteen days ago finally gave up the ghost. Two weeks from a cut flower is a bunch. Each of its six blossoms had opened slowly, one after the other. They were at different heights so were moved to a smaller vase as each taller blossom was removed when dead. The last one was just the small blossom and one green leaf. Felt we were watching Custer's Last Stand.

Eating was on plan with no daytime snacks, CREDIT moi. Dinner was soup made by Whole Foods as the chef was racing out of the house for a 5:30pm in-person group meeting. She returned with a pair of lemon-something cookies for me made by a mutual friend. Extra CREDIT moi for not eating them on the spot; methinks I'll substitute them for my planned Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies in an evening snack. It'll be on plan for me to avoid over eating cookies just because they're there, because they are homemade, because I know the baker - there are so many justifications for eating off plan. If there were an Olympic category for making excuses to over eat, I could be a competitor.


onebyone - A printer table where you can organize all the cables is a big win. Wish you well figuring out how to deal with old paintings.

Joy (gardenerjoy) – Do hope you survive herding four kids at once. Neat that you arrive with new things to build with.

maryann – You sent me to try to distinguish King Richard the king vs the legend of Robin Hood tales. The real King Richard earned the nickname Coeur de Lion, "Lionheart", for bravery. I'll leave it to real historians to distinguish King Richard I from King Richard III.

curlyjax – Each skipped dessert is a victory. LOL at eyes rolled at the wisdom shared from a 24 yo.

Readers -

Very fun day yesterday with party doings but tiring as well. I did have the "Irish" meal of very salty corned beef, potatoes, cabbage, carrots and soda bread but skipped the dessert. Later on I was told there was extra soda bread so I had two more small pieces of that with butter, yikes. I did ignore the candy. On the way home I picked up my meds, vitamins and Easter candy for DD (she still loves getting a basket). I was craving something so I had two Cadbury cream eggs and left everything else in my car -I'm going to store it at work so I can't get into it. Then with the sugar door open I broke down and had a slice of the fabulous Wegmans chocolate cake that has been staring me in the face. Ugh!!
I was exhausted from the party and not sleeping well so took a nap and then spent the rest of the night in bed watching tv. I love my job and the socialness of it but again the little interactions can wear you out. Someone asked me to tell a volunteer not to do something -"you're good at being firm" she said- and I spent time chewing on that. I'm tired of being the bad cop but it gets tricky on how to address that. Another colleague said she didn't feel well and hid in her office instead of helping, and folks were grouchy about that as it doesn't get addressed by management.
Anyhow- on with the day. I didn't sleep well again but its friday and going to be 50 out, yay!
Gardenerjoy- spending time with 4 kids will definitely keep your mind off food!
Maryann-my BFF watches that show, you will love it!
Onebyone-That sounds like a great table. I'm sure it must be hard to figure out what to do with all your creative stuff.
Bill-I feel like TJ flowers last quite well indeed. Homemade cookies over thin mints any day for sure.

Coaches,

Yesterday was under the calories limit. Credit. Today's food challenge is a Mexican restaurant before a Celtic concert.

It was an exhausting day as I knew it would be. Two long visits to a bustling medical center. Terrible traffic to and from. DH's appointment was frustrating. We were set to start treatment for prostate cancer but they declared the need for yet one more test. Sigh. We were assured his prognosis was excellent.

I am exhausted and overwhelmed today physically and emotionally. my self care approach is to not leaving the house or my pajamas until 4:30 when I travel with a buddy an hour away to the concert. I wish the concert was another day. I have completed my one 45 minute chore of cleaning the front half of the car. The back half still has skis in it, but the passenger side is immaculate. I am so happy with my new chore system of little by little. 45 mins means a really deep clean for small areas. Overtime, this process will really pay off.

I am also sad today because the brother that is a year and a half older has texted he will no longer see any of us in person for any kind of event. I get it. Our childhood was terrible for him. Of the six of us, I believe he took the brunt of the ill treatment from my father. My brother has been diagnosed bi polar and has sought therapy, sobriety and medication for his struggles. I couldn't be prouder of his journey. He wants me to keep in touch through telephone, facetime, etc. . . I sent him a supportive note. I also have my card making hobby. I have pledged to send him newsie cards at least twice a month. I have individual relationships with all my family in a range from cordial to intimate. I am lucky to have that. I guess it is a silver lining of a large family.

BBE: I am referencing the ultimate historical source on King John: Errol Flynn's Robin Hood. It was my favorite movie as a child.
Onebyone: You have had great success with the dishwasher. I am sure the new desk will be equally productive as will be junk removal.
Curly: A comment I get that makes me grit my teeth is "You're loud!" It is mostly said with a smile. I am a social leader in groups, often the clown. But it strikes deep down as "not being feminine." i have rto remind myself that Hubby and good friends like to be around me for who I am and what I bring to the table.

Diet Coaches/Buddies - Splendid trip to the Fort Point district in Boston - a longtime mecca for artists. The Boston Lyric Opera has relocated its studio there where it has space for occasional small performances. Last night was a Mahler work, Song of the Earth (Das Lied von der Erde). The words were influenced by ancient Chinese poetry, translated into German, projected overhead in English. The music was pleasant; the singing didn't float my boat. Not sure that I need Mahler in the small group of composers that I understand. The best news was that we drove there directly, quickly, without getting lost. Made a prepaid 'reservation' at a parking garage where one didn't fiddle with any ticketing mess; the cameras recorded our license plate and, because we were prepaid, won't send us a whopping huge charge for parking illegally. Felt rather modern.

Eating was on plan with no daytime snacks, CREDIT moi. Dinner was an easily prepared frozen Trader Joe's concoction - Chicken Mole. I don't know what 'mole' actually means. It's translated as a Mexican sauce or mixture - not terribly helpful. We had it with a flour tortilla. Nice, but not with memorable flavors. We might not have sophisticated Mexican food palates. Evening snack did include the two lemon-something homemade cookies that arrived the night before. Good enough. Would rather have had the Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies. But I'm already suffering from the thought that they'll be gone in a week as will be my excuse for having cookies with evening snack.


maryann – I wish you well dealing with the pain your brother is experiencing. You're a good soul to respond to his needs instead of your hurt. Gotta rent me The Adventures of Robin Hood with Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland.

curlyjax – Green with jealousy for your Irish corned beef and cabbage dinner. Hoping we still have one here. You're a valuable professional to have the ability to be stern; it's not universal.

Readers -

I stayed OP at work and some nice interactions with folks. My colleagues groused about the one who had not helped at the party and was at home today-hopefully she'll apologize Monday to smooth out the atmosphere. I went to my workout, then dropped off more forms at the accountant, and then dropped a prepaid envelope in a UPS dropbox. Home for a shower, then off to the grocery store. My tendon is still a tiny bit sore at times and I still don't know if I should be stretching it or not, but I want to get back to more walking exercise. I had a fabulous grilled chicken on ciabotta with pesto mayo, cheese and bacon from a takeout place that uses fresh ingrediants but it still was dripping in oil and way more calories, and then I had a slice of cake and two cadbury eggs. Argh!! I've had too much salt, fat and sugar the past two days and it showed up on the scale. I'm resolved to be OP today.
Today's excitement is bringing my car in for a recall that apparently came out two years ago but I forgot about it- the gas tank has to be replaced as it might just stop working at some point. I'm feeling a bit nervous about the whole thing. There were reviews on the Honda service places near me, some not great, but presumably they know what they're doing with this. They'll shuttle me which is a big help, and in between i'll spend the day picking up and cleaning.
Maryann-I can definitely relate to that comment about being told i'm loud. It's good that your brother wants to be in touch with you at least.
Bill-I had to look up Fort Point District-looks fun. Yay for prepaid parking, quite modern indeed.

Coaches.

A successful dinner out at the Mexican food restaurant. I had a big green salad with shrimp. I enjoyed the Celtic All Stars concert. I know it beat BBE's Mahler for enjoyability - by a mile.

Today I am completely exhausted. I have been a driver, socializer, caretaker but am now at my breaking point. When I get like this, there is a voice in my head that says, "You should do more." that word "should" is dangerous for me. If I continue to follow this trail it will lead to depression or rage. So I am doing service to those in my world by practicing self care. I declare today a vacation. I will let my mind become curious, if I feel like exploring the outside I will. If I feel like a 15 min tidy, I will. Dinner is already made and waiting in the freezer.

The great news is the upcoming week has lots of space for a balance of recovery and puttering. My nephew is staying with my Mom through next week. My only to do is to treat myself well with a solid food plan and the trainer. I predict hours of the Great British Sewing Bee ahead of me.

Curly: I join you in an OP day.

Diet Coaches/Buddies - Blockbuster: saw Project Hail Mary at the cinema last evening. They nailed it. Loved watching the whole thing. It made Eva Stratt, the hard world-wide czar more human than in the book but no less ruthless. Enjoyed the ups and downs of Grace, the protagonist. Came to love Rocky, as will everyone on the planet. I'm glad that I read the book not knowing that Rocky would appear but I'm revealing no surprises since he's in the trailer and all the advertisements.

Bought our movie tickets in advance on line where I was asked to also prepay for popcorn for which I was offered a half-dozen choices of $12 buckets. The pressure was to buy; "all the other kids will have popcorn". I'd guess that half of the audience had popcorn - mostly large buckets. And large drinks. It didn't bother us as we sunk into our leather lounge chairs, leaning back. Other patrons weren't visible to us. Full theater at the 6pm showing. I'd guess that the later showings were even more so.

Otherwise, it was a gentle day - which means that I dawdled about catching up on this and that. My new daily procedure is to log in to check on two credit cards and our checking account. This is motivated because I've had three invalid charges in the last month: one for $40 and two for $5. They seemed random to me but the security department at each immediately canceled the card and issued a new one. Perhaps the villain was testing to see if they were caught before going for a large amount. I've been no less cautious than in the past. Don't see the events at two cards as being related. One I use as seldom as once a year and had just used in the prior week; the other is my workhorse for all my automatic payments and online purchases.

Eating was on plan with no daytime snacks, CREDIT moi. Dinner was omelets and my green salad eaten early. We even abandoned the dishes to rush out of the house in time to make our movie. Evening snack was my standard blueberries and two Thin Mint Girl Scout cookies. There's only a countable number of them left.


maryann – This link gives a snippet of your Celtic All-stars. That's some lively music - easily more so than Mahler. It's constantly in my news that caregivers need to attend to themselves out of respect for the intense pressure of the work that they do.

curlyjax – Continued Kudos for so regularly doing your workout routine. Replacing a gas tank is a big deal; hope it goes well.

Readers -

The car appointment went well. I haven't been to a dealership in awhile;this is a big Honda one with 3 service bays that you pull into, and row of about 4 sevice reps. Everyone was quite polite and I chatted amicably with the shuttle driver who dropped me at home and picked me up. Of course the rep called me to say they had checked over the car-looking for things they could actually charge me for as this was a free recall-and I gently declined, but i'll call my mechanic and see what he says about the maintenance stuff. On the way home I treated myself to a egg bacon bagel sandwich, then had a lovely nap. Not much else done other than the dump run and general pickup. I made baked cod for dinner with steamed cauliflower and a microwaved white cheesy sauce. An all white meal and rather bland but enjoyable. Then I got into some ice cream and leftover stale cookies, sigh. I was on such a good roll before. And my weight has popped up 2 pounds again. I feel like I need to be exactly OP to make any headway, its definitely much harder at my age. Evening's entertainment was watching the movie Secrets and Lies from years ago with a great cast. It's slow but has held up. Fun to see the formidable detective Vera playing a much different character.
Today I'm meeting a friend to walk at the mall as its not great weather out, and we'll find lunch somewhere but probably not there as its all heavy stuff.
Bill-that looks like a perfect movie to see in an actual movie theater.Yikes on the little financial charges, I better start checking my stuff more too.
Maryann-the concert looks wonderful. I hope you enjoyed a well deserved self care day.

Coaches,

Food was at a Calorie Deficit. Credit.

Gentle rest and puttering, as the doctor ordered. I did not get in my car. I finished countertops and mirrors in the bathroom. All that is needed in that zone today is a wet swifter on the floors.

Money Saving March:
1. I made granola cookies from walnuts and frozen cherries on hand. I couldn't find a bargain for the protein bars I give Dh for his lunch. Also in the cookies was 1.5 cups of left over cereal. They are very good.
2. I set my thrifter friend on the task of colored bud vases for future River House celebrations - if we ever move in.. She can find anything.
3. I bought my ticket for Project Hail Mary for Tuesday discount day. I paid half price. So I didn't read BBE's first paragraph

Today's musts are Instapot chili, 30 mins of yardwork and a nice walk around the neighborhood.

Curly: I put Secrets and Lies on my Movie List.

I woke up with allergy symptoms. So, here is my reminder that food doesn’t fix malaise, runny nose, or sinus pain. Fortunately, the pain was fixed by a shower, aspirin, and tea this morning.

I finished The Astral Library by Kate Quinn last night and I stand by my recommendation — terrific for library and book lovers!

Exercise: 60, 1190/1800 minutes for March

BillBlueEyes: I’m pleased that I read Project Hail Mary since I’ve been able to read and watch content about it without spoiling the plot. My favorite, so far, was this video by Dr. Becky about the science:
maryann: I hope you enjoy Project Hail Mary, too.

curlyjax: Yay for a good car appointment!

Diet Coaches/Buddies - The (now 6 yo) DGD hid behind a post on the front porch after ringing the door bell. Like an ostrich, only her face was hidden. We got to ooh and aah about how big she now was since she turned six. It took her all of ten seconds to find the new ukulele we'd bought for her birthday that’s to live here to be played when she's visiting. (Both DS and DDIL have implored us not to send more stuff to their house which is full.) Her very first act was to turn the nice little knobs on top. Ouch! DW had taken great effort to tune it - at least to a first order. It's an uber inexpensive kid's toy, but it was made to have notes in ascending order. Not a problem for her since she only strums to accompany singing off key. Whatever coins I'm saving for her college education, it won't be to The Julliard School of Music.

Each of the four of us built Lego structures. She did a reasonable job building a simple car. Chose a Lego man with an axe as the driver. Rather ferocious looking. They left early because buying a new pair of shoes was foremost in her mind. She has more shoes than Imelda Marcos because she outgrows shoes faster than they can get rid of them.

Eating was on plan, CREDIT moi, with peanut snacks put out for visiting DS counted as my afternoon snack. I don't have to eat peanuts, but he and I have always shared peanuts when he visits. Dinner was another frozen Trader Joe's concoction, Beef Bulgogi, that I'd picked up just for such situations when there was little time for prep. Pretty good for a two-thousand year old recipe. Worked well over the brown rice that was conveniently left over from a prior meal. Evening snack was the standard blueberries plus the two Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies.


Joy (gardenerjoy) – Thoroughly enjoyed Dr. Becky's take on the science of Project Hail Mary. Both the author Andy Weir and the movie producers put some serious effort into being real. We continue to discuss what parts of the book that the movie had to leave out. Remained convinced that the movie did an outstanding job of being true to the story.

maryann – Neat to have a friend who can be assigned to find bud vases at thrift stores. Your granola cookies sound yummy.

curlyjax – Smart move to take the list of "necessary repairs" to your known mechanic. Hard to argue that the emotion of dealing with a dealer doesn't call for an egg bacon bagel sandwich since replacing a gas tank is a once-a-lifetime event.

Readers -