I just did three days at an out of town family event. Eating seemed to be my choice for soothing all the family stuff going down. Ouch. I'm glad to be home.

Bill I think most family events are an emotional time, good or bad and everything in between. I am very much an "emotional eater" and would probably respond the same way you did.

I am off to my dog sit this evening. DH has received word that the diet phase of our lives this summer has now commenced - for both of us.

Good week all

Dagmar

I love the word "home". In robot-speak, it's where the operative bits go to recharge, check in/check over, reorient, get clean etc after completing assigned tasks. And usually, in robot "home", there is a fixture that takes all the stress and pressure off while the tooling is at rest. We all need one of those.

Pledging to do a better job of not lurking quite so much. On tap this week is moving my office back to the other building, in preparation for starting the old/new job next Monday. I'm trying not to think a whole lot about it because most of that thinking is backward-looking and second-guessing. It will be a healthy change in all ways that count. Period.

Home is where the heart is. It's always good to get home. And it's funny, once I'm home (like after work) I really dislike going out. I've never been a spontaneous person, so if there isn't anything on my calendar, I don't leave once I'm home. If it is planned, then it is okay, but I'd rather stay in. I guess I'm a homebody!

it took me so long to get my own home that I too like to stay in most nights, particularly after a working day, to enjoy the place! I would like to go out more on the weekends but I'm always catching up on all the errands I was too tired to do during the week.

I'm really hoping eventual semi-retirement gives me a chance to rework my sleep schedule and have energy for things other than work (and domestic work).

Dagmar

Bill--- I respond the same way to family occasions. Good that it was only a couple of days!

Add me to the homebody list. I love to be busy, travel, etc. but home is the best. We tell the dogs "couch time!" when it's time for us all to hang out on the couch for the evening, watch TV, etc.

I have 4 more days to work before my summer break-- I had 5 but I'm using comp time to take Friday off to pack and get ready for my cruise-- I leave Sunday!

Not happy about where my weight is... tried on some clothes from my drawers and closets and looks like my cruise wear will be pretty limited (or tight). I'll do my best this week and then refocus after the cruise. My younger dd starts her summer job as soon as her fingerprints clear-- I think it will be easier for me to focus when she's at work-- I won't feel guilty leaving to exercise, etc. When she's home, we tend to go out more, etc.

Off to tackle my inventory.... only 20,000 more books or so to go...

I am such a homebody, too. I'm just like Allison - once I'm home, I like to stay home. If there are plans I'm good, but spontaneous often drives me insane. My neighbors like to call last minute with game night or go out to dinner plans and I more often than not tell them no. They think I am very antisocial.

Michele - don't get me started on clothes that don't fit. I currently have one pair of pants I can wear that aren't the Land's End elastic waist starfish pants. ONE. This may be part of my stress. LOL

Becky - trying to lurk less myself. I started okay last week, and then fell off again. Back in the water today.

I'm leaving on Thursday for a short trip to Cancun. I so need a break. We'll fly back late Monday night, so it is a quick trip. We had to do something before we broke.

We had DSS all week last week and I'm very proud of DH and I. We cooked dinner every night, and even on the two nights we let DSS have takeout (nuggets one night and a cheese pizza the other) we cooked and ate healthy food. Our only indulgence was at the Father's Day (early since he is out of town with his mom on FD, which resulted in us taking a little trip ourselves) cookout we had yesterday. It was nice having him there all week, but our systems and processes aren't set for full time parenting, so I'm worn out!

Good week everyone!

Shannon-- great job with DSS. What is FD?
I'm thrilled you are still getting a getaway--even short-- they are often the recharge we need!

I'm not sure dh and I will have any getaways this summer-- I was hoping on a big trip but that isn't going to happen. I'm going on this cruise with dd which will be wonderful but pretty much eliminates any extra $$ for trips. I might take a short trip to Houston to see dd, friends and family later in the summer, but without dh. I think he and I need to plan a short getaway somehow... But then younger dd is home and if we leave her home, she has to take care of all the pets which isn't very fair, and if we take her with us, not so much of a getaway....

Talk about last minute! As of noon the dog sit was cancelled - probably - but now they have just taken off in the plane so it's back on. Good thing I didn't start to unpack anything.

DH will be disappointed. His face just lit up when I told him it was off again.

He and the pets will be fine. I haven't had break from all of them this year (and never from the pets as we didn't get them until August and Oct. of 2014) so I'm kinda looking forward to being away from these routines for a bit. Still coming by every day to take Trixie out in the morning and stopping in sometime in the afternoon or evening to snuggle Natty so I will be away but not away. I'm curious to see how they are with this.

Dagmar

Michele - I just reread that sentence and it does sound confusing. FD is Father's Day. His mom is taking him to Colorado because one of her friends is turning 40 this Thursday so the girls are going to go out and celebrate this weekend, leaving the boys with the dad. DSS was good friends with the son before the move to Colorado, so he is excited to see him. He didn't realize it was over Father's Day weekend until this week and he lost it. He has been pretty upset at the inequality of the amount of time he spends with us versus his mother and the fact that she is back on her 'shannon can't be alone with him, he needs to come to me if dad can't be home' thing, plus she has badmouthed me and dad a lot in front of him again lately. He had a pretty significant fit when he realized it - said if she had bothered to ask him, he would have wanted to stay with us instead of missed Father's Day with his dad. Said it was another example of how she doesn't care about him or what he wants. He is very articulate about it, and it breaks my heart to listen to him. He shouldn't have to be as grown up as he has been forced to be.

Twin! I have these too. They are too big round the waist, emphasise my tummy in an older lady kind of way, and have a small hole in the knee. I wear them frequently and pretend they are OK. They do very little for me. They are one of three pairs. For summer, I've just discovered two pairs of linen trousers which fit, kind of.

Shannon, we have to do something about this. It can't go on. (I am also having a blouse/top crisis. I think I have two for the summer. I tried on six things in a shop today, all hopeless.)

No, I don't think naturism is a good answer.

Busy weekend! DS and his fiance bought a house and it needs a lot of work. So both days of weekend we were over helping. I still did get a bike ride in on Saturday and ran on Sunday morning and this morning. I was surprised I was up 3 lbs this morning, but it does usually go up after the weekend and by Friday back down. I did eat out a lot last week and on the weekend and that will do it.

School is out but I'm working a few weeks on the master schedule. I would like to retire from that thankless job. But at least I get paid extra.

Shannon - that's so awful the she talks bad about you. I think I told you I grew up with that and it is just not healthy. In my case, it was both parents talking about the other.

I have slowly gotten rid of the majority of my bigger sized clothes over the past 16 months. I wanted to get some junky clothes to wear to help with painting, and cleaning and I had nothing bigger. I have a lot less in the closet which is a good thing. I still could purge some dresses that are too big. But you know with dresses sometimes it's okay if they are a little bigger.

I used to never understand people that didn't want to go out once they were home. Now, that's me too! When there are no kids home I just like to put on PJs the minute I get home at 4:00! Then just chill out and relax. Although, I do my online teaching so it's not much chilling many nights. DH and DD go up to NY to look for an apartment for her on Friday morning. So I'll be alone for about 5 days. Although, I will probably still help out DS with his house some. Looking forward to alone time .. and then after a few days I will tire of it I'm sure.

On the topic of dwindling wardrobes, I'm down to one pair of black and one pair of gray work trousers. And 1 pair of drawstring-waist knit "fancy" sweatpants for casual Fridays and weekends. Zero jeans. Silverbirch, I agree - action is required. I am contemplating a trip to Goodwill for some interim pieces in my current size to get me through until I can get back to my closet.

Since I don't have to wear dressy clothes to work, my wardrobe is okay. I went to Nordstrom Rack a few weeks ago and found that they had several colors of some shorts that I had bought a pair of last summer. In my mind, that pair was size 10, so I bought three more pair in size 10. Then I wore them. By the end of the day they were so loose that they felt like they'd fall off (a good thing, right?). So I gave all three pair to my MIL (because I found out the old pair was size 8) and went and re-bought myself the same three pair in size 8.

It's my golf shorts that don't fit as well. All my size 8's in those are uncomfortably tight--so I bought three pair in size 10. I like them and they fit (now) but I kind of don't like that I got them because I intend to lose weight and then they won't fit (and they're a lot more expensive than the others).

I have one pair of good black slacks that I've had for 20 years that are still nice. They fit, but they're tight. So at Nordstrom Rack, I found a long black skirt, a shorter black skirt and a pair of palazzo pants that I can wear when we go out.

Lately the tops that I've been buying are of the "flowy" sort rather than form fitting. I guess it helps hide the rolls in my midriff.

I've just managed to find and buy one top. Yes, it's of the kind you mention .... Blue linen, in a sale. I also bought a black bag for the funeral as I realise the one I have been using was given to me 40 years ago, and it was secondhand then. It's a very smart bag but doesn't hold my glasses and my sunglasses plus anything anyone else gives me to look after.

So I'm on the move re clothes but more work is needed. I've also realised that last summer I mostly wore dresses which helped in blanking out what was going on with my body. For heaven's sake! (Nothing quite like a self-hug, you know.)