It was a week of better control of eating than has been happening. Yesterday, two meals were made of appetizers from my own kitchen as we entertained a bunch of family after a graduation ceremony. Fortunately, DW and I had chosen more healthy food than less healthy stuff.

My goal for the week is to buy a car. I'm not moving forward on this as rapidly as I wish; there isn't a car that I want, but our schedules are diverse enough that we need a second car. I waver between wanting a tiny all-electric and a van that we can use for occasional hauling of plants and stuff. It's easier to buy a car if I first make up my mind what I want, LOL.

How exciting, Bill! I love looking at cars. On line. Building them to see the cost and such. I'm really happy with my Acura RDX. Not a van, but a small SUV. It gets between 20-22 mpg around town which is a lot better than my Jaguar and better than DH's Ford SUV.

Countdown to vacation! Of course, my assistant, who assured me would be in today, isn't coming in until tomorrow.

Bill, I am not very interested in cars, but needed a new one. Here is how I handled it last summer. I set a budget and yes, decided on what I wanted, more or less. (I liked a particular color more than any model or make, probably because I am unserious or aesthetically directed, take your pick, only I am not mechanically minded -- I spent more time selecting my 1830s Empire sofa from various antique dealers than I did choosing my car.)

Then I gave myself one week during my July vacation in Upstate New York, saying firmly that by the end of the week, I would be driving a new car. That concentrated my efforts wonderfully. Also it gave the unpleasant task of car-shopping a time-bound limit, which meant I wouldn't have to think of it afterward.

I feel okay about my Hyundai Elantra. It's such a neutral car. Every time I walk into a parking lot, there are three or four others just like mine, so for once in my life, I know my license plate number. My only comment about having a new car is that it's nice not to be worry about all the things that were starting to go wrong with it, as I'd done continually with my 2001 Cougar in the past four years.

Good luck with your car search, Bill.
My only words of wisdom is that you might want to look at internet sales through the dealer once you narrow down your selections. Dealers have internet sales groups which will give you a price, and then there is less haggling than if you went into the dealership cold. If you contact multiple dealers, you can see which ones want your business the most.

My weight is good but we'll see where it is after this week. Two dinner events including one tonight with friends, and a second one later in the week with elderly relatives I've never met. Dh comes home Wednesday night and is only home for a few nights, so I'm sure we'll splurge foodwise.....

My hip/back are flaring up too so I'm trying to not push it too much.

My classes are done coming but now starts the monumental task of getting all 40,000 books back to the library, back on the shelves, and inventoried.... It takes forever....

Good morning! It's a holiday here and we're doing outdoor stuff this morning. Finished setting up the deck furniture and putting out the yard decorations so now it's time to sit on the deck and have a cool drink.

Then I'll move indoors and tackle the clothing switch-over from winter to summer. We have about a week of spring and fall so I don't bother much with separate wardrobe for those.

Kayaked successfully yesterday and I feel quite relieved that we can still do this together. DH had great difficulty getting in and out of the boat last summer due to his knees but he seems better now, after weight loss and weight lifting specifically to strengthen his knees.

Good week all!

Dagmar (pretending this is a paddle but not working is it?)

I second what Michele said about shopping for cars on the internet. Good deals, you can see what's available in a wide geographic area, and best of all no having to go to different dealerships and haggle with the sales reps. You can also view the cars' histories.

We bought our replacement car that way--the one we wanted was at a dealership about 35 miles away, but it was worth the drive to get it. 2014, 22K miles, clean record, certified used. It's a small car but not electric, price was $12,600. Oh, and ruby red.

Internet car shopping is a great idea. Also, I'm going to give a plug for CarMax. My sister needed a new car, but couldn't afford a new one, so they decided to go for a used, but not too old car. They found what they wanted at CarMax and were so thrilled with their experience there that she called to say how happy they were to have used CarMax. So when DH and I began looking for a used Porsche, I turned to CarMax and I, too, was extremely happy with the whole purchase. The car I found was located at a CarMax farther from home than I wanted to travel. I emailed them with the information that I preferred to go to a closer CarMax and they transferred the car to the closer one so I could go look at it. I didn't even have to agree to buy it! We did buy it, of course, but it was nice that they did that. They transferred it, called me when it got to the closer dealership and made an appointment for us to go see it. We went in, looked and bought it. In and out in less than 2 hours.

I also car shopped on the internet. Found the vehicle I wanted, narrowed it to the best priced one close to me, haggled a little on some rebates and discounts, drove down and picked it up. DH did the same thing with his last one. We were very happy with it.

Another internet car shopper here. I narrowed down the choices on the net, based on work needs, price, and distance to dealership (for minimum time spent on repairs). I went to several dealerships to price and to test drive and to see what the service department was like. I don't particularly like to drive the car I wound up with - Elantra Touring - but it suits my needs. The financing was great!

My next car, based on our living circumstances, will probably be a small electric. Much as I dream about having a Tesla

https://www.teslamotors.com/en_CA/modelx

That is just not going to happen, unless I win the lottery, in which case my second car (for summer driving) would be this one

http://www.cars-on-line.com/80217.html

I hope this has been helpful Bill

Dagmar

So on the recommendation of a friend on Facebook, I bought a bottle of CBD oil for cats. I got it yesterday and gave some to Ringo last night to see if it calmed his anxiety. All I can do is rave at this point. He was super chill all evening. At one point, he walked so close to Louie who was asleep on the ottoman, that Louie, in fear of losing his resting spot, tried to bite his leg and Ringo didn't react AT ALL. Lately, he wouldn't have come so close to any other cat, so this is a huge improvement. This morning, I gave a small dose to Waffles to see if it'll calm her down at all.

I recognize a few names from a couple years ago here. I fell off the wagon over the last couple years, I am sorry to say. I'm going to have to find a page I like for the support I need for weight loss. Feeling pretty low about gaining back those 20 pounds! I'll be checking in a little this week right here, but will be living on a weight-loss support page for the rest of this year probably.

Nice to hear from you Chris. Hope the chocolate business is going well. I had about 25 lbs. to lose overall and I did well at "featherweights". But that was years ago so I don't know what it's like right now. I seem to remember there was a "mostly men" forum too but can't remember the name. Good luck!

Dagmar

Welcome back, Chris... We all have our setbacks. You're welcome to post here again....

Allison-- what is in the stuff you're giving your cats? I'm wondering if it would help my dd's kitty with his anxiety.

Nice dinner out with two friends last night-- weight up 1.4 as a result...
One friend told us she is moving to Seattle, so that is a bummer!

I've been having pain in my hip, and now it feels like the bone inside is bruised-- is that a possibility? ouch!

We see tons of Teslas here as we are near headquarters.... So pretty!!

Hey Chris! Yes, everyone slips a little. You can get back.

Michele - have you injured your hip? I have heard the phrase 'bone bruise', but am not sure what it entails.

I had to go back to the doc today to have more blood drawn. That was exciting.

Pet Releaf. It's not cheap, but wow, what a difference!