Happy Monday ladies,
Sorry I was away over the weekend. We had gorgeous weather and I wanted to minimize my time indoors. It was in the upper 80s on Saturday, and muggy, both of which are very unusual for this area at this time of year. Santa's vet appointment went well. The vet said his heart sounded really good, despite the murmur, and the blood tests were all perfect. She does recommend me getting Santa in for an echocardiogram (an ultrasound of the heart) to make sure everything is ok. This week, my vet's office is opening up a new branch closer to where I live, so I'll make an appointment for the test.
I had an eye exam on Friday as well. The doctor said that my eyesight has improved a lot. She said as we age, sometimes we get more farsighted...and as I've been nearsighted since my 20s, now it's balancing out. I ordered a new set of glasses. I was hoping to keep my current frames since I like them so much, but since I need my glasses to drive and I don't have any others, I can't give them up for the 7-10 days to have them put lenses in.
I went over to my step-mom's on Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday, we played a game of Scrabble, and I helped her with some computer issues. My nephew and his new girlfriend were in town for the weekend, and they came over to my step-mom's for lunch on Sunday.
Santa and I went to the dog park on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We always have such a good time there.
I'm super excited for my cousin's wife...she's having gastric bypass surgery tomorrow! And like Annie and my niece were there for me to answer all my questions, I'm now able to do that for my cousin's wife. She's very excited! Although when I told her that I have difficulty with chicken, she kind of freaked out because she and her family eat a lot of chicken. I explained (like Annie explaiend to me) that different people have difficulty with different foods...for me it's chicken; for other's it's beef - and I do perfectly fine with beef and pork.
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Happy - Bob's kitties seem to be doing really well in their new stable environment. The poor things have been through a lot the past few months when Bob was in the hospital for nearly 8 weeks, and someone would just come in a couple times a day to feed them. When Bob was back home for hospice, there were so many strangers (nurses and other care personnel), and the living room furniture had been replaced by a hospital bed. And then for the past couple weeks, Bob was gone again, and there were lots of people in the house clearing stuff out. I'm sure they miss Bob, but they are probably relieved to be in a loving, mellow household. They really warmed up to the couple that adopted them very quickly. There were parts of the SNL special that I really liked, and other parts I thought could've been done a lot better. I was glad some of the ol' timers came back, but I wish the clips of the really old shows could've been longer. I did hire a personal trainer before I had my surgery. I've been seeing her a couple times a week; however, due to finances, I have to cut back the sessions to once a week. I was strength training just twice a week, but at the rate I'm losing weight, and not gaining much muscle, I need to strength train 3x per week so I keep my muscle up to fuel my metabolism. The gym is offering an option called Group Personal Training, 3 one hour sessions per week on Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays, for $200/month. That seems like a good deal to me. Oh, you should definitely watch the movie Maleficent! I thought it was excellent, It's more the back-story on how Maleficent became a villain. Though I don't know how it ties in with the Maleficent character in Once Upon a Time. I'm not familiar with Ursula either. Like you, I really enjoy Once Upon a time. I couldn't find the photos of the frozen falls. I'll look when I get home as I can't spend much time on FB here. To answer your question about the dog park, yes, it's a great social opportunity for both me and Santa. I've got some good friends there, and it's always nice to chat with them...even if we do see each other nearly every day. I actually prefer to clean up the dog park over cat boxes. IMO, dog poo doesn't smell as bad as cat poo and urine, and there's no dust. 63 degrees?! Wow a tropical heatwave for Northern WI! I had to laugh at the restaurant owner's Chihuahuas...most small dogs don't know they're small. Santa thinks he's the biggest dog in the world, which makes it difficult when he tries to convince a pit bull or mastiff of that fact. And if he were in your yard, he most certainly would go after the bears just as he would a squirrel. I hope your body (and internal clock) eventually adjusts to the daylight savings time. I'm finding I'm awake until 10 or 10:30, whereas I used to be asleep by 9 or 9:30, but I still get 7 or 7.5 hours sleep.
Danielle - When I lived in Wisconsin, I used to hate when the snow piles on corners were so high that you couldn't see oncoming traffic. I'm glad you've had a bit of a melt to make it safer. I've never had kids and have always thought of my pets as kids. In the past, I've had both dogs and cats...right now, it's just my super sweet and adorable dog Santa, and my bf's cat Athena...but she doesn't really like me, and likes Santa even less.
Tinka is an adorable name. We all love pet photos, so please post some if you have time. I pretty much love all animals, and all breeds. At the dog park, I'm a total sucker for doggies that "give kisses". I know some people find it gross, but I like puppy kisses and I don't let them kiss me on the mouth. Good for you for joining Weight Watchers. It's a good program that works well if you stick to it, and make sure you track your food and drink your water. Congrats on losing 7 lbs already!
Smart way to save money by doing it online and using the extra $20 for a gym membership. Looking at your photo, you are most definitely beautiful. And your starting weight is about 40 lbs lighter than I was at my heaviest. Losing weight does help you feel better physically and mentally. You've come to the right place for support. I wish I was 27 again. Happy is right...you're still young enough to take on the world and mature enough to have confidence. And she's also right that it's harder to lose weight as you get older. When I was in my late 20s/early 30s, I had older co-workers tell me that, and I didn't listen. I'm paying the price now. The other thing is when you lose weight at a younger age, your skin is more elastic and shrinks back better than when you're 50+. Granted I'm losing weight at a fast rate due to having gastric bypass surgery in November. As for your nieces in Colorado, don't count them out. I didn't see my nieces and nephew very often while they were growing up...but we are close now. Now that you've mentioned you're in the orthopedic field, you might get a lot of questions from us since many of us have (or had) knee, hip or back issues. I went through a lot of emotional crap in my 20s too. On this thread, we're really good listeners and have all had our difficult and emotional times in life. And if you ever want to PM (Private message), you can do that too. Good luck with the dog training. I took Santa for obedience training a couple years ago, but he was already an older dog by then. He's good with some stuff, not so good with others. Right after my surgery, I weighed myself every day. Now I'm finding that I may not lose anything for several days, and then all of a sudden, I lose a few pounds seemingly overnight. I hope you were able to avoid temptation and overeating at your aunt's house. Good for you for bringing your own lunch. I'm getting together with some friends for a special tea on Saturday, and since I can't have scones or any sweets and very few carbs, I asked the hostess if I could bring food I can eat (she knows I had surgery). She was totally fine with it, and I'll bring my own tea as well because I have to have decaf tea.
Susie - Congratulations on getting the refund!! So nice that you'll be able to get a recumbent bike! That's been my go to cardio exercise at the gym for years because it didn't hurt my back. I really have to finish my taxes soon. Especially since I'm going to be out of town from March 29-April 1 (going to spend a few days with a friend in Vegas), and then again right after tax time (going to see my sister, bil, my nephew, and my nieces and their kids). Glad to hear your PT is going well. Glad you got a cortisone shot in the knee. I hope it helps and you're able to get the gel shots. Those medicines can be so hard on your stomach! My ex-h recently told me he's off his pain meds and instead uses a patch that he changes once a week. The benefit is that it doesn't make him groggy or upset his stomach. You definitely had a busy weekend. Did the nieces enjoy Cinderella?
Dee - I'm glad you got the client, the electrician and the contractor all sorted out. Your talk of Reuben sandwiches has my mouthwatering. Some of the bars in Wisconsin made what they called Reuben Egg Rolls. A regular egg roll wrapper filled with corned beef, swiss cheese, and kraut, then deep fried and served with thousand Island dressing for dipping. Yummy! I'll probably check out the Arby's Reuben...even though I can't have much, if any, of the bread, the rest sounds yummy. Santa has been doing better. I'm slowly introducing very low fat treats back into his diet, which he greatly appreciates. When my nephew and his girlfriend were visiting, I gave her a HUGE box of Milk Bones to give to her dog. I had bought them for Santa right before he was diagnosed, and it says the Minimum Fat was 5%, with no indication of the maximum fat content. I'll be keeping you in my prayers for your mammo and ultrasound.
Ceejay - I'm glad you're having a nice visit with family, and that the wedding was nice! Good for you on doing all that dancing, not to mention the walking around Houston!!
Traffic in cities can be fairly daunting, especially when you're not used to it. I hope you find other options to eat that agree with your tummy and digestion. Danielle is right...wear what you feel comfortable in. I'm not much for dresses. I haven't worn a dress in over 10 years. I much prefer slacks and a nice blouse or a pants suit.
Annie - I'm so glad to hear your DS is doing better. I'm glad Royce's b'day party was fun too. I couldn't find the cake photo on FB. Please post some photos of the grandbabes and Sassy. I cracked up at Jacob's response to you asking him if he was going to share R's presents with R. Too funny! Nice that you bought such practical gifts. I'm sure your DD appreciated them. So smart of C to use the door for a workbench, and I love that since it folds up, it can't collect clutter.
Laura - You are definitely correct about the personal trainer pushing you harder than you push yourself, at least that's the case with mine. She really pushes me to the point of muscle fatigue to where I can't do one more rep. Regarding taxes, I think I got about as far as you did with online filing. Did you have a fun time at the St. Paddy's day celebration? Did they dye the river green or will that happen tomorrow? I just love seeing photos of dear Coal. He's such a sweetie!
Terra - Taco soup sounds really delicious! Please share the recipe if you have it.
Shad - Your weekend breakfast of eggs, pancakes, bacon and all the rest sounds mouthwatering! I still like eggs, and I'm looking for a recipe to make a high protein pancake. I figure we have to be able to add protein powder to the batter, right?. In the meantime, I occasionally indulge in a Kashi whole grain blueberry waffle, which has low carbs, low sugar and a little protein. I serve it with sugar free "maple" syrup. I had to Google Bellini, along with some of your other phrases over the years...it's nice that you put up with us Yankees. What is the "salad sandwich" that Happy referred to? Is it a vegetarian sandwich with lots of veggies in it? Or is it like an egg salad sandwich or a chicken salad sandwich...which is egg (or chicken) and sometimes celery mixed with mayo?
Okay, this novel is long enough! Today after work, I will be going to the gym for cardio and strength training and then if there's time before sunset, I'll take Santa to the dog park.
Much love and many hugs to all,