Good afternoon coaches,

This has been kind of a wasted day. I did get together with a couple of gals from my PNP group this morning and then I got some grocery shopping done. I decided to get take out pizza for dinner for a change. I figure it will be impossible to get it tomorrow, so we'll have it today. Plans are made to hike tomorrow, dh will golf and then we'll have the football game in the afternoon. I honestly don't care much about the game, but dh has a bet on it with friends so that makes it hold his interest.

Maryann When you said you were knocking on the next decades door I was thinking as in birthdays, but then realized you must mean weight. It seems so easy to go up, darn it anyway. You will put in the work and down it will come.

GardenerJoy I wish we could get a few degrees, maybe ten, of your cold weather. I don't want to warm up yet.

Curlyjax I thought I was losing it when I read your message, but GardenerJoy helped me realize it was a duplicate.

Bill Using the phone to send a photo to the doctor sounds like a great idea. There are definitely some new ideas since Covid hit and some of them are good time savers.

Diet Coaches/Buddies - Exhausted myself working with a neighbor trying, once again, to repair the tire on our community snow blower. Failed again. Did discover that the reason that the attempt to insert a tube failed was because the new tube that I bought had two holes in it. Really bummed. And we face 4-8 inches of snow today. Oh, Well. Eating won't make it better.

Eating was on plan with no daytime snacks, CREDIT moi. Dinner was DW's leftover fajita chicken dish from the prior day's restaurant takeout. She made a gravy to get moisture back into the chicken; added asparagus seasoned with lemon pepper, and our standard large green salad. Made a fine dinner. Means that her dish from the restaurant was made into three meals; mine was made into one. Gotta rethink what I order next time.


Joy (gardenerjoy) - What a great story of getting sleepy listening to the evening's British shipping news. Re QEII: I suggested to DW that she'll abdicate next year on her 70th. DW replied that I understood nothing; she'll die on the throne. That's a long time to do a job. Congrats for going out for a walk in 32 degrees F.

maryann - Your book, Unorthodox, looks like a powerful read. Thanks for the also powerful "but I WILL NOT VEER FROM THE PLAN."

Karen (karenrn) - Yep, no pizza orders today. Or chicken wings. Or Chinese takeout. We were offered some of the spread that my DS and DIL plan to make but it'd have to be delivered since we're all practicing isolation and wouldn't consider sharing a TV game.

curlyjax - Kudos for doing "hunger is not an emergency". That remains my favorite Beck insight.
curlyjax - Kudos for doing "hunger is not an emergency". That remains my favorite Beck insight. (Methinks there was a duplication in your post of yesterday, LOL.)

Readers -

Oops! Ha, sorry about the duplicate. I usually time out when I'm done writing, and then I have to copy and paste, so clearly I didn't execute the copy part right. I'll be extra careful today!
Friday night I was quite productive around the house, washing the kitchen and bathroom floor, and straightening up a bit. I made it thru the week without spending any extra money on groceries which I was proud of. I'm shooting for an average of 50.00 a week.
Yesterday I went for a walk with a friend, picked up some roof ice melt just in case, and went to Paneras as I remembered that I had a free "you pick two" on my card. I walked out with sandwich and salad, and not spending 14.00 which was awesome. Then I had a long planned chat with a long distance friend on the phone, so it was a very social day. I did break down and make a microwave brownie and had a beer to help me sleep, but I'm back on track today.
I've been having a very dry mouth and everything has a bit of a aftertaste, which is apparently related to perimenopause, sigh, and my hot flashes are coming back so i'm waking up at night more. There is a lot of breast cancer in both sides of my family so I don't want to get on any HRT. Really, this is worse than pregnancy because at least for that you know its only 9 months, and at the end you get a lovely baby.
Maryann- I will not veer from my plan today either!
Bill- ouch for the new tube that had holes. Hopefully you won't get too much snow. At least much of ours has melted, but not all.
Karen-glad you saw your PNP gals. Good idea on ordering the pizza yesterday. We're having a snowstorm today which will complicate things for takeout etc as well for those who partake.
Gardenerjoy- that is very cool listening to the shipping news.

The snow didn't amount to much, but enough to cover the driveway. It's too cold to melt, but we're hoping that sublimation might take care of it. The current temperature is 6 degrees -- with wind chill, it's -5. I think I will exercise indoors today.

Exercise +50, 305/1400 minutes for February

BillBlueEyes: I agree with DW. The abdication of Edward VIII feels like ancient history to us, but it was the propelling moment of QEII's life. She will not do the same.

Beautiful day in Tahoe. A successful OP day although I had to sub some things due to poor packing. But I wrote everything down and will do so again. Credit for biking when my foot was aching from the previous day’s walk. My orthotics are not helping. I need to find a new podiatrist. Today is cross country skiing.

BBE: probably too soon to remind you the zen is in the process of the mechanical fix: Zen and the Art of motorcycle maintenance.
curleyjax: credit for couponing for our FF. I listed two more items to sell and used up the last bits of food in the frig.
karen: enjoy the game. We just don’t do that anymore. DH feels that football has become just like big time wrestling. I want to get back into live baseball games when I retire.

sorry for typos on the phone.

Good morning coaches,

I just got home from a nice hike with my friend. We went to the place that is best for weekend hikes and again it was good. Tomorrow I'm doing a long hard one with my backpacking buddy. The weather is beautiful, 44 when we start and then warming up during the hike. Nothing big planned for the day, but I'm sure I'll make a few phone calls since dh will be gone for awhile. I haven't done my food plan yet, but will when I finish. It is done in my head anyway.

Maryann Enjoy your cross country skiing. I don't pay attention to the football game either, but it will be on one of the tvs. I'm just glad we're home with no company, so I can do whatever I want and not have a bunch of junk food around.

GardenerJoy I have never been in weather that cold. It was never that cold in Washington and when my parents lived upstate NY, I moved back to Washington. Sheesh, indoor exercise would be the way to go for sure.

Curlyjax Sounds like a very nice day yesterday. So far so good with both kids gone?

Bill What a bummer about the snow blower tire. I guess that other snow shovel is going to get some more use and you're going to get some more exercise. Take it easy!

Okay, I haven't done my journal page yet, so I'd better get that done and then it's time for lunch. I actually slept in until 5.

Diet Coaches/Buddies - Exercise, CREDIT moi, was dealing with the six inches of snow using my new Sled Shovel. It worked wonders; takes so little effort to slide the shovel to fill it and then tilt the snow away. It was particularly useful for the wet snow berm at the end of our driveway left by each pass of a snowplow on the street. Shoveling that heavy stuff has always been a painful chore. With the sled shovel, it scooped and tilted away with little effort. Did a one-hour pass before dinner and another pass during half-time after the snow had stopped.

Eating was on plan with no daytime snacks, CREDIT moi. Dinner was DW's combination of burger, beans, and rice that we both like. Cosmic Crisp Apple was consumed while watching the Super Bowl.


Joy (gardenerjoy) - You do manage to get the cold weather - don't know that I could go out in that. Get a good book - it'll melt by Spring.

maryann - Thanks for the reminder about Zen and the Art of motorcycle maintenance - it would help me to get a bit more centered when facing a mechanical challenge.

Karen (karenrn) - Do like the notion of warming up during your hike. Congrats for having your food plan in your head already.

curlyjax - You certainly had a productive day. Hope you were able to deal with your snow.

Readers -

My main goal was getting the FAFSA done yesterday, which I accomplished, yay. Exercise was shoveling snow mid-storm, since I figured by the time it was over it would be dark.There's a little left today but not bad. I heard my neighbor hustling out there with his snow blower right before the game started Dinner was turkey meatloaf, baked potato and broccoli. I made enough for the next two nights and then am freezing half. Today I will make a chicken-broccoli-whole wheat pasta-celery-onion-kale casserole, with a mushroom soup sauce; not fine dining but I crave that soup taste every so often. I'm not sure how well it will freeze but I'll try one portion and see. So I should be set for this week. My goal is to freeze enough this week and next, and then not cook at all the third week.
I talked to another long distance friend on the phone, and settled in happily to watch PBS for two hours instead of the game. My tv/exercise room has it's own heat zone so it's very cozy in there.
I forgot to mention I talked to DS the other day and he's doing well; he's found a few guys to eat dinner with and to run with, all SD, so I'm satisfied he's seeing some actual humans.
Gardenerjoy-boy is it cold there. Good to have indoor plans indeed.
Bill- glad the sled shovel worked out. yay for apple only super bowl snack.
Karen-It is great with both kids gone It was wierd at first, and I startle when I hear house noises as I know i'm the only one there, but it is so nice to pick up and have things stay clean, only think about feeding myself, and have lots of quiet time to think and do things. Yay for no junk food during super bowl!
Maryann-sorry about aching feet, I know what you mean. My right heel was aching from my walk, I need to stretch more and forgot to put insoles in my hiking boots.

Today, we'll be at the hospital from 11am to 3pm for two scans for DH -- a bone scan and a CT scan. We'll make sure that the cancer hasn't spread already and have baseline scans in case there are problems in the future.

There's a good chance we'll get snow while we're out -- between a dusting and 1.5" -- which is the difference between getting up our driveway and not. I'm grateful that we're healthy enough to walk up, if needed.

DH can't eat or drink for much our time there, anyway. Given my experience from last time (that I never felt comfortable taking off my mask, even for a sip of water) we'll just plan on food before and after. Neither of us are going to have any trouble going that long without food. I do want to remember to hydrate well when we get home.

Exercise +35, 340/1400 minutes for February

Good Morning, Coaches.

Weight today was back to just two pounds above ticker. A little breathing room. How did it get there? Magic? I think not. I wrote down everything I ate for three days. I got my steps in. I drank my water. OK I want to get back to ticker so the next step is to sit while I eat. I was just removing a stain from a brand new blouse that is a casualty of the habit of standing while I eat. I can't tell you how many blouses have the exact same stain - right down the front. So in order to save my clothes AND get back to ticker I will sit while I eat today.Food is written in the plan for today. Lots of veggies have been added.

I have talked about my Grandmere's ( who lived to 100) words of wisdom "Keep young by learning two new things everyday." So cross country skiing I learned I can NOT stay in the tracks going down hill. I went way too fast and crashed. The second thing I learned was I can do a "diamond" hill which is the steepest. I stay out of the tracks and do what we in the business call a "pizza slice." Triumph.

curleyjax: freezing meals is just the best. i am lucky because DH is not picky in the least about what he eats. I know some spouses won't do leftovers or crockpots, etc. . . .
Karen: Hope the hard hike was fun.
BBE: DH was very scientific about his approach to the snow berm - to the tune of an hour's worth of discussion. It must be a guy thing.

Good afternoon coaches,

Food was on plan yesterday and so far today. Our hike was good and we have some plans to do at least one long one each week. The gal I hike with frequently just doesn't like to do really long ones. If I haven't said it before she probably doesn't weight 100 pounds and has no interest in backpacking, so she certainly doesn't have the same motivation that I have. The weather is perfect here right now, high 40's to start and low 70's when we finished.

Maryann Sounds like you are doing really well with the cross country skiing. It's so nice to have several fun exercise type things to do.
GardenerJoy I hope it doesn't snow much when you're out and I really hope dh's scans come out well.
Curlyjax I am doubly glad for you, 1) that you are enjoying the kids being gone and 2) that ds has made some friends to hang with.
Bill I do wish I had someone I could share the sleigh shovel info with. It sounds like a great thing. It almost sounds fun!

Well, I've got to hit the shower and take poor Otis for his walk. Since we don't make him stay in the crate when we're gone anymore, we don't take him to doggy day care as often. It's just one more place to risk catching the virus and at $30 a day, it's a nice savings when he doesn't go.

Diet Coaches/Buddies - Spent most of the day preparing for an evening Zoom meeting. There were 14 of us from a group that rarely exceeded ten before the pandemic. Gathering folks from around the country is an unexpected benefit of Zooming.

Spent joyous time reading Sapiens, A Brief History of Humankind by Noah Harari, for my course. Harari makes our journey such a fun read. He shows great respect for our Neanderthal ancestors who seem to have won their first encounter with Homo Sapiens - driving them out of the Levant. We weren't always the best and the brightest. Makes me love my Neanderthal genes each time I learn more.

Eating was on plan with no daytime snacks, CREDIT moi. One more time, a friend dropped by with a small number of brownie-like treats that she'd just baked. They have been counted and apportioned; I got my first of eight as dessert with dinner. The remainder will come one each day this week. DW guards them like a mother hen.


Joy (gardenerjoy) - Ouch for a full four hours at the hospital getting scans. Hope you found a way to stay both safe and warm at the same time.

maryann - Neat to be learning the tricks of cross country skiing. I join you in believing it wasn't "Magic" that's moving you forward.

Karen (karenrn) - Jealous of your warm weather; we haven't and won't be above freezing for a few days in a row. Interesting that you have to consider COVID-19 even for a trip to daycare for Otis.

curlyjax - Congrats for getting that FAFSA done. Neat that you make yourself turkey meatloaf even without your DS there to finish it off.

Readers -

A busy work day yesterday which makes the day go by. I made the casserole which didn't turn out great- the mushroom soup was a bad idea- but it's edible and chock full of vegetables. I bought extra chicken thinking to freeze it, but it felt partially frozen so I ended up cooking it all, then had to deal with too much cooked chicken. I froze a few pieces, i'll see how that turns out. And I have too much leftover broccoli. I'll have to figure out portions better. I ate too much peanut butter but otherwise not a bad eating day.
Today the big excitement is going to get my second vaccine amidst another snowstorm, predicted 3-5 inches. I have to drive 45 minutes to the site and hopefully will get back before it snows heavily. Sometimes its the worst in the beginning before the plows are out. Our winters have been so mild recently I'm out of the habit, and thus more fearful.
I'm interested to see if I have any reaction to the second one; hopefully if so it would be just fatigue.
Gardenerjoy-hope the visit went well. I can definitely see not wanting to eat while you're there.
Maryann-A nonfussy husband is very helpful, mine was too. I know what you mean about staining shirts, I have worn an apron to eat tomato based meals at times.
Karen- that weather sounds just perfect, enjoy it! Glad Otis is well behaved enough to avoid the crate
Bill-I don't think I could deal with one little brownie a day; if I knew they were there it would be on my mind. your DW has amazing self control.

Good morning coaches,

I'm hiking later today (8:30) so I figure I will post while I have the time. Food was mostly on plan yesterday, but I did have a couple of drinks on the patio in the late afternoon. I really thought about my goal of losing weight with also staying strong as I do it. I know it is going to be important not to waste calories on alcohol and sweets. Now I need to tell myself that in the late afternoon. Dh ordered a step up box for me and he was busy putting it together. It is a plywood cube, but has 3 different heights, 16", 18" and 20". I'll use it for training and there were many screws to put it together, so it took awhile. The ones at the gym can be very high. My nephew can jump straight up onto the tallest of them, but I will just step up and not jump. I'll put my pack on with increasing weight in it as along the way. Today is a fairly short hike with friends and then Costco and the regular grocery store. This afternoon Otis goes to the vet at 3:30. I won't get to go in which I just dread, but I'm sure he'll survive.

Curlyjax: I'm so glad you get your second vaccine. Drive carefully. I'm sure it will take a bit to begin cooking for one.
Bill I'm afraid dh would have to do more than "guard them like a mother hen", he would have to lock the sweets in his trunk. Good for you for being so disciplined with your sweets.

Yesterday went fine. No more stressful than it needed to be. I'm grateful, especially, for the very pleasant nurse who started us off on our little journey. She set the tone and that meant that I barely noticed when other people were a bit less filled with warmth and caring.

I did the minimal exercise yesterday to avoid breaking any streaks. I'm grateful for my daily exercise streak that's been running for years and my daily stretching streak that's been running for months.

I'm feeling anxiety about things that need to be done this week. Which is probably masking anxiety about DH's health issues. I suppose I could be grateful for the distraction and just get on with what needs to be done, which will automatically reduce the anxiety.

Exercise +15, 340/1400 minutes for February

curlyjax: When I have too much broccoli (cooked or raw), I chop it small and toss it with chopped nuts and dressing and eat it as my salad.