Ah, the Summer Palace is just what I needed, especially the Patio. Thank you Arabella for getting the doors opened.

Arabella, you were not sticking your nose into anything or overstepping any boundaries. I've been trying to ignore the baking kick as tied to weight gain, but it is so apparent. It is the perfect example of me letting something slide out of balance in my life. I went far beyond what was reasonable, and I was eating considerably more of that sort of food than normal. I've already put the starter away, and my goal is to keep my new passion limited to once a week. I think I was trying to convince myself that with all my new activity I could sneak in more goodies than normal. Well, I probably could, but instead of sneaking, I basically backed up the entire truck to the kitchen door!

Now, we have a freshly strewn path of rose petals leading us to where, exactly? Time for me to set a plan for myself, but first I should reflect on what worked toward solstice. The most successful portion of the last challenge for me was that I am now taking a multi-vitamin every day! I've also incorporated movement into my weekly schedule on a regular basis. The gym has been a 3 time a week affair for an entire month now. It is so nice to have some success to build on.

A Run for the Roses suggests a sort of finish line, and I'm remembering Arabella talking about 21-day challenges. Seems short, sweet, to the point, but not a sprint. Where would I like to see myself in another 3 weeks, and how to I plan to get there? To reach my yearly goal, I need to be losing just over 1.5 lbs. a week now, so I'll set a physical goal of 5 lbs. As for my plan, a lot of it may sound familiar, but there are some items that will always bear repeating.

• Journal--both food and exercise.
• Eat regularly and mindfully throughout the day.
• Do not go hungry during the day.
• Do not eat in the late evening more than one time a week.
• Fiber is a must.
• Movement is mandatory--3 days a week at gym, a walk or some other movement the other days.
• 5k steps a day minimum on workout days.
• Keep positive talk going. Squelch the negative immediately.
• Engage my family in success--their own as well as mine.

Ok, that is definitely enough for now. The list feels balanced and doable. I'm ready to run!

Andria

I'm here! I'm here! But I have to go to work. It's always something, isn't it? I will be following the rose petals this afternoon... can't wait to get all caught up again. See you later!

It felt so odd sleeping until 6 this morning. Odd, but good!
We were up late celebrating with some other of DHs no-longer-intern buddies, so I was a bit sluggish and slow to get moving this morning. I did get out and do a walk, though. Journaling both food and exercise is going well so far. I'm back to using one of my favorite programs. I love how it learns my metabolism and adjusts my caloric intake accordingly to help me reach my diet goals. It also won't let me set any ridiculous weight loss goals, which kind of amuses me. And right now, I could not tell you why it is I stopped using it on a daily basis. I'm guessing it had a lot to do with life taking over. After three weeks though, it should be a pretty good habit once again.
If you all can't tell, I'm back to being in a good place and feeling like I'm moving in the right direction!

Kat, looking forward to the update! Are you remembering to take time for yourself yet?

wsw, I love your goals, but I especially love that your persistence has paid off! Congratulations!

Arabella, hope your End of Month wraps up soon. I love reading your goals.

Well, I'd better get out of here. There are at least two business type phone calls I need to make today, but I'm thinking lunch sounds like a good plan first. It was so hot and humid out this morning, even with a good cloud cover, that I'm kind of wiped out. Dealing with bureaucracy isn't at the top of my list when blood sugar is low.

Andria

Wow, the Summer Palace can still be a bit hard to find. We actually slipped to page two.

I don't have much to report yet, but I did have a good day of journaling yesterday. Everything that passed these lips was written down. I swear my husby tried to throw me a serious curveball by taking me out to an Asian buffet. Journaling does make you think twice about what you choose, though. Not only do you have to think about quality vs. quantity, but you have to consider whether it will be worth trying to figure out how to log it!

Got to run for now.

Andria

Hello all!


WSW!!! Congrats and congrats again for being so patient and persistent and BEATING THAT PLATEAU!! 5 lbs is glorious! GOOD FOR YOU!!


WoodNymph! Dropping a size is so exciting too! GOOD FOR YOU!

Anagram.... Royals Running for the Roses is so original and SO Perfect!
Yes, I love it!

Silver! Good for you deciding to bake just once a week.... I too was looking just this morning at a rice pudding recipe.... It was in a list of "low cost recipes".....Well, the ingredients weren't costly but you either stirred on the stove for nearly 30 minutes or baked in the over for 40 minutes..... And then, we all know 1/2 a cup is NOT what we are going to have....
So....unless its something I can share with the neighbors, batches of rice pudding will have to wait......


AND YES, GOOD FOR ME.... I have parked the car further away for 3 days now and today..... DRUM ROLL PLEASE..... climbed 5 flights of stairs....
Very slowly....very carefully....BUT.... I DID IT!.....

And believe it or not, I am feeling that little zing you feel when you are ....what is it called...hmmm, MOVING..... Gee whiz... For me, its either all or nothing and pretty much for the past 2 years, its been nothing....
But thats ok, because I was quickly rewarded.....The stair climb uplifted my mood immediatley. I also am realizing when I went to the vending machine, it was so, so easy to pick the wheat blend stix instead of the licorice....



Oh, and by the way, I tasted an amazing Carrot Curry soup..... which actually made me wistful for my old mantra of trying 3 new things a week.....

Oh...
I nearly forgot....
Here's my goals:

Keep walking, more today than yesterday.
Climb more stairs than yesterday.
Research and try riding a real bicycle to see if the expense would be worth it.


Does anyone know if you can ride a bike .... 25 miles or so... with achey knees...
will it improve or hurt them?

Hmmmm


Okay my friends... I am excited. I am so, so glad to be back in the mind set.................Glad you're here too@

NOOOOOOOOOOOO!

I just sat here for the past hour, getting all caught up, and in the click of a key, *POOF* gone!

Kind of how the rest of my day has gone.

I can't re-create all that I wrote. You know, it's probably better it was poofed away... it was really kind of a downer post. Maybe I just needed to get things off my chest and move on. That's the ticket!

I feel better already!

Tomorrow IS another day. So...

Happy Canada Day, Arabella and Ceara! Happy Fourth of July, Anagram, Andria, Kaylets, wsw! ( I wish we had the appropriate smilies for the occasions!) Wishing all s (self included) a wonderful weekend!

Just dropping in really fast, letting you all know things are going well for this royal.
DHs vacation started today, so I might be a little scarce around the Summer Palace the next ten days. Fortunately, he is still being supportive of me and my weight loss efforts, so there shouldn't be a problem getting in exercise or journaling. In fact, he promised to start exercising with me regularly as soon as his intern year finished, and we talked about getting that going last night.
I decided to shake things up a little bit today. Kaylets had mentioned bicycling, and since it looked like rain outside this morning, I decided to hit the recumbent bike and the mini-trampoline instead of walking. I have to keep the bike turned down to really low resistance, but turning it down also makes it so I can go a lot longer. Whatever works, right? Between the two, I put in 30 minutes of work, and it was fun doing something different.

wsw, You definitely don't need anything added to your stress load. Hope the water problem is solved quickly and on someone else's dime. Still, have to say I was impressed with all the work it must have taken to unload those bookshelves!

Arabella, hope your knee gets feeling better, and fast.
I've read a lot of similar sounding facts about journaling. I even know I lose more when I actually do it. My biggest worry is that I end up getting all obsessive about it, and the act of journaling actually becomes a sort of compulsion instead of a healthy tool to use along the way. Yet another thing in my life that must be brought into balance. I will be one amazing juggler by the time I get this all sorted out.

Kaylets, Wahoo for movement! Also, the Curry Carrot soup sounds divine. I love curry!
As far as cycling and unhappy knees go, I'd probably take the lead my post-surgery rehab folks did with me--they started me out slowly, with very little tension, on an exercise bike. It isn't the same as being out there, I know, but it is controlled and will allow you to build up. 25 miles isn't just whistling Dixie, even on a bike. But on the same bicycle front, there are some really cute bikes out there that aren't all that expensive. We just picked up a really cute Cruiser style one for my eldest for under $100. She is using it to get back and forth to her new job, plus she is already seeing weight loss benefits. Oh, and she doesn't have to fork out gas money for mom to drive her back and forth.

Ok, time for me to get outta here. This post has taken about 4.5 hours to finish because I was called away a couple of times. Ack!

Happy 4th of July tomorrow for those of us who observe it.

Andria

What a lovely, enthusiastic Summer Palace! So inspiring to read all the goals and accomplishments. Most particularly, kudoes to wsw for her Whoosh! Now I know what I need. A Whoosh!

Vacation sounds like a great time to relax, andria - you must all be feeling a sense of relief that intern year is over.

How did you and DGS enjoy the beach, arabella? Your fatigue and not-being-able-to-stay-up-late battles echo mine. Of course, here I am up too early, actually not able to fall back to sleep since 1:30. But I have at least done bills and checkbook, etc.

But I need my rest. Had a nice weekend away and P. Twelve has been with me the last several days. Have been doing way too much (even for her, I think). But I get her to myself only a few days a year and we have SUCH a delightful time. Tomorrow (oops, that's later today) the rest of her family come. Tomorrow, Mom and Dad are leaving (supposedly overnight) so I can have a mini Mimicamp for the younger one. Later tomorrow DS and DDIL arrive. Sunday we all head to surprise party DBIL. I'm to arrive early to be sub-hostess until sister gets there with the honoree. Twelve and I made dream mints (definitely not non-caloric) for the party. After the after party, I'll be alone again.

Then I have TWO FULL DAYS to finish getting ready for my Quebec trip. I'm afraid my goals for the new challenge will involve just trying not to gain with all these activities.

Two good points - over the weekend away, I did go to the fitness room once and hit the treadmill for a good walk and yesterday (at her request) Twelve and I did a nice long (er than I'd have done alone) walk.

Of course my fridge is once again way too full of food.

And now I MUST try for just a little sleep - an hour would be nice. Good thing Twelve and I got so much in the last few so I can take it more leisurely today. Well until food making time, etc. I will NOT be going to the Fireworks with them tonight. Watching those on tv will suit me fine.

I will try to check in in the next couple of days but then will be gone from the 9th to the 19th or thereabouts.

None of the above, btw, are why I'm awake. I'm just worried about DD as she seems to me to be very depressed lately. She's been stressed for ages now but it seems to have downgraded. Am semi-rehearsing a talk w/DSIL if she's not a bit perkier/sociable. And a reminder to DD that I am not the enemy. Twelve and I talked briefly about it (confirming my feeling) and she says the sadness started about the time of the two recent medical procedures. Reason enough, I guess, but I think it may need addressing.

Nap, I must.