I hope that you are right! I was feeling a little like a failure in the maintenance department on Tuesday. But another good day yesterday and I was down another 2 pounds this morning. But I've been really hungry this morning. Have restrained myself from snacking so far.

A weird thing happened yesterday - I posted here, but also on the Fitocracy website (the fitness site we've talked about a little here) about my efforts to build up my back muscles more with negative results.

A weight lifter on the Fitocracy site said that I should start increasing my calories because I am - based on the pic - "lean as ****" and that this could be hampering my efforts to build muscle.

His statement that I am "lean" has really freaked me out and I'm not sure why. I mean it seriously has been echoing in my head and making me uncomfortable. I don't know if it's because I don't see myself as lean at all and this is why someone else saying I am is causing a fight in my brain or what!

Of course they very thought of increasing calories - and gaining weight - is there, too, but it's more that statement that has me edgy and freaked out.

Jen

Hi all,
TS Andrea has come and her effects are leaving us now with some much needed rain. It was not a big deal here, other than getting wet today. No injuries, property damage I've heard of here, though I'm sure others on the eastern side of the storm may not be so lucky (but I sure hope they are). My tomatoes are really happy and BF is out surfing because we have some good waves.

Jen, it is so hard to change our perceptions about ourselves. I don't have any good tips - it takes a lot of time. But this guy's comment re: increasing calories to gain muscle could have some merit. I know the idea of increasing calories is scary, too, but if that is really your goal, perhaps you could give it a try. It doesn't mean eating 2000 extra calories of junk. It means eating an extra few ounces of chicken or half the avocado instead of a quarter.

Chris, wow! What a ride! And also such a fun thing to share with Karen.

Saef, good for you for sticking to your grocery list and eating plan despite a stressful day. I often find myself staring at the internet mindlessly, too. It doesn't really help me, doesn't relieve any stress or relax me, so I often wonder why the heck I do it.

Shannon, wow, that's a big shower! Good luck! Way to stay on track with your food, too.

Dagmar, we can't save them all. It's sad but true.

Allison, hmm. Maybe your electronics shutting off was just coincidental.

Miss Emma is clamoring for her walk. Have a good evening all.

Hey guys, I'm still here. Baby Allison might get to come home on Sunday! Baby Cecilia will probably need to stay a few more days. She'd been doing really well and we were talking about her coming home at the same time, but then last night and this afternoon had a couple incidents where she choked on her milk while eating and needed a lot of help to start breathing again. Last night they had to give her oxygen and we didn't need to this afternoon, but it was pretty scary (she turned blue, we had to rub her and pat her to get her to breathe and then she'd take a few breaths and stop again). In any case, they are not going to send her home until she stops doing things like that.

On the upside, they are both over five pounds now and Allison is doing really well with her eating! We're trying to get everything in order in the house, like buying diapers and bottles and such. I'm excited to have them home but I'm also kind of afraid of not having monitors on them to make sure they're okay all the time!

Jessica, why not get baby monitors ?

Please, I could use your best wishes and prayers as Tropical Storm Andrea moves up the coast. There is heavy rain in the forecast, probably four inches or more in just a matter of hours, and you all know the history of my apartment complex, and our still ongoing petition before the Zoning Board to raise a floodwall. Well, since the petition has been deferred at each monthly meeting since February, we still have no wall. But we do have sandbags. As I write this, there's actually a payloader within sight of my French doors, shoring up our sandbag wall. I may actually go out and help heft sand bags at some point today.

What I want is to look like a hysterical alarmist after the storm comes & goes & we don't flood. That's preferable to sustaining another flood, which would also put our apartment complex financially underwater.

But at any rate, please pray that the storm changes direction, as Sandy did last year, or that the rainfall total is less than expected.

I will owe you all prayers in return, on the subject or person of your choosing.

saef, you are at the top of my prayer list. praying that Andrea will completely bypass your area and you and your neighbors will be safe from harm.

Saef~can't your HOA sue the Zoning Board if something happens? I hope Andrea passes over you with just a little rainfall--you know, just enough that the wildflowers are happy.

Jessica~scary about Cecelia choking like that. Hopefully she learns not to do that quickly! Happy that Allison may soon come home.

DH and I drove to San Diego for a construction show yesterday. Gosh, I hate that drive. DH drove down and I drove back and the last half hour is white knuckle. Why is it that coming down a steep, windy road causes me such panic? While I can take the right-hand turns with little to no discomfort, the left-hand turns almost made me want to vomit.

While in San Diego, we made some life decisions. We decided we can never live there because 1) it's too big, 2) it's too crowded and 3) we like the sun. June Gloom hung over the place and it was chilly (65 on arrival and 71 when we returned).

Thinking about you today, Saef.

And Jessia - I'm glad that the babies are doing so well and Allison might get home this weekend. I hope Cecelia comes home soon as well.

to everyone else. Catering week is almost over.

Update on Grandma, who was doing very well after the broken hip. She picked up C Diff. and after giving it a few days back in the hospital, made the decision to go into hospice care. Intellectually, I get it. Everything else - not so much. I know plenty of you have been on the rollercoaster and understand where I am.

saef, prayers for light gentle rains, an abrupt right turn of the storm, and a perfectly dry apartment complex!

Oh, Becky, so sorry about your grandma. C Diff is hard to get rid of (my Dad had it for 6 moths or more) and it's symptoms are rather aggravating, although I can't say that having it warrants hospice care unless she's decided to give up (which is what my Mom did). In any case, you're right--a lot of us have been on that roller coaster and know just what you're feeling. Hugs!

Thanks, Allison. She's 97, and this was just the last straw. Between the antibiotics making her too sick to eat, and the pain from her hip and this bug, which has done some permanent damage already, she's had enough. Even if she beats it, there would be lasting effects that would decrease her quality of life. Now I know of two people that beat it - your dad, and our admin's aunt, who was in the hospital for an entire YEAR. My comfort food is going to be fresh sauerkraut for a long time (heh!).

Becky, I am sorry about your Grandma. CDiff is a tough bug to fight. My ex had it, he did not survive and he was much younger than your Grandma. This and other super bugs seem to be running rampant in hospitals and convalescent homes. My prayer for your Grandma now would be that she be at peace .

Just dropping in to say that Acidophilus capsules are helpful against C. diff. Yogurt does not have enough to fight the infection, so you need the capsules. You can find them in health food stores, but they are usually in the refrigerator case (need to be kept cold).

Real scientific studies have shown that this treatment is effective, but most docs don't know about it because it's not a drug that Big Pharma makes.

saef, good luck. We got heavy rain here in Tampa, but not an overwhelming amount.

Jay

Jessica I hope baby Allison is able to join you and your DH at home and that all goes well!

saef Hope the storm bypasses you or there is little effect.

Becky re your grandmother.

I have a doctor's appointment this morning to deal with what I'm sure is an infected thumb. It's quite horrible looking and so sore I can't touch anything with it. I have been on antibiotics 3 times in 56 years and I believe it's time for a 4th round. I'm hoping whatever they give me will also take care of the now big and sore lump in my armpit.

If my doctor tells me to go and read a book (his advice when I had the back spasm and last saw him) I will slap him!

Dagmar

I feel like Francis Scott Key this morning:

"...gave proof through the night ... that our sandbags were still there ..."

And so is my apartment. The water on the parkway did not even come close to overtopping the existing walls.

But last night was definitely not a good night, and I'm looking forward to my mother's arrival on a preplanned visit with mixed emotions. I really need to sleep this afternoon, after I return from the gym, and not plant flowers or pick up lawn furniture from Pier One.

Back out on a sunny, clear Saturday, with the elation of someone who's won a reprieve.