I was running late yesterday so ran out of time to post. Sunday I had a great dinner with my two buds from church at the house of one. Very healthy foods, although they did both get a bit tipsy My excitement was last night. I was woken up about 11:15 pm by DD, whose car was locked in a Boston garage. She had worked a 3-11 shift training as a CNA, and didn't notice the garage wasn't a 24 hour one. There had been a shooting around there earlier that afternoon so everything was blocked off and chaotic when she was parking. Anyhow, I groggily drove down to pick her up- I HATE/fear driving into Boston but since it was so late, it only took about 30 minutes and there were very few cars out so that was very helpful.
Today we have to drive to the garage, hope the car isn't towed, and find another spot for her to park for her next shift today. There's supposed to be a thunderstorm too so that will add to the fun! I have been very calm about it all and am patting myself on the back for it.
I'm supposed to attend another meet and greet thing at work but it depends on the timing and if I am still awake at that point!
Penny- I keep thinking about dipping my toe in the dating waters but haven't made the plunge. My friend went thru some awful ghosting by a few folks, but she has now met a really nice man. I hear both sexes ignore/don't respond/ghost; I don't know why people can't just be honest and say they aren't interested.
Karen-i didn't know about treating your clothes either, that's a great idea. Sorry the PNP group wasn't so good this time. It's very annoying when one person dominates the conversation.
Bill-I'm thinking the doc wants to check in with you again partially since that was quite a fall, they tend to be very cautious. That get together sounds lovely.

Good morning coaches,

I had a few extra nibbles yesterday and weight remains up, no wonder. I had a busy day yesterday, but I do feel like I'm getting more organized. I ordered a 3 oz wind breaker, and some extra titanium tent stakes, and tied a little reflective cord on the tent stakes I do have so they are easier to pull out.

Dh came home a little grumpy. He didn't have a computer that worked well available and lots of new employee forms to complete. I think he'll sign up for his Medicare now rather than need Cobra for two months until his insurance kicks in. I hope he'll ask to be reimbursed for the cost since it will be far less than what they would have to pay to cover him. I'm going to buy him a laptop computer this morning because that's what he's used to having rather than the desk top that they will be providing. The good news is that he already got a paycheck for his first two days which will cover half of the HP laptop. We use apple computers at home but they are ancient and he is used to using either, also they are about twice the price.

I'm getting my first haircut in 3 1/2 months later this morning with a new gal. I just can't bear to go back to the gal who cut it too short a couple of times. I seem to change every few years anyway, so maybe it's just time. It's 95 degrees at 8:30 this morning, heading to 115 . . . yuck.

Curlyjax Yes I guess the good news is there wasn't much traffic heading in to Boston at that time of night. Poor dd, that would be awful.

Penny I'm sorry about your back, you must have really tweaked it. Is there anything you can do besides rest and wait? Thank goodness for your teenagers who can help a bit.

Bill Yes your wife could easily take out your stitches and being skeptical as I am I bet you'd only see a medical assistant anyway. It's worth calling to see. I've actually never used a tube sock on myself or dh, but I sure have on the dogs. he he

Maryann Oh it sounds like you are having so much fun. Really neat that you all got together for ds's birthday. Have fun at your sisters too.

Onebyone Hang in there. We all know weight loss is not linear. Unfortunately I usually go overboard right before I am likely to have a good drop. Keep it up and I am going to try to keep it up with you.

The PT went well. We have new exercises and massage techniques to figure out but I'm hopeful that they'll make a difference.

I had an early morning meeting on Zoom. After complaining about 90 minute meetings a couple of weeks ago, I host this one and that's how long it is. Some of the best stuff came out in the last 30 minutes, so I'm really glad that we did that. I'll take some credit for setting up a good structure and for saving a couple of good discussion questions for the last 20 minutes.

I haven't got my usual go-to foods in the house. I cobbled together lunch and I have a plan for supper. I want a plan for a snack so that I don't just graze all afternoon....Okay. Plan made

Exercise +55, 720/1400 minutes for June

Followed.my plan today, and though I did want to stuff.myself, that urge is lessening. Thank goodness.
No exercise to report. one day I will report that I'm sure.

Car had a stretched handbrake. That was the cord hanging down bow the bottom of the car. Over time and use it stretches but you just do something and it tightens up. Creaking was due to coil springs in and around struts. They.changed angles and so were out of alignment. Now they're in their right place and quiet. Also.discovered was a.clonking sound up front. The something something that holds the bar that helps the wheels turn. Yikes. Some small thing that does a lot so we replaced that. $475. Happy to have the money to do the work to keep the car going.

That's it for today. I haven't navigated this recent difficult patch with the foodplan perfectly and at times not that great but I didn't stop or binge. I regrouped and don't feel as though I've lost ground inspite of the scale rise. I am determined to simply keep going.

Early busy day tomorrow. Wave to all!

Diet Coaches/Buddies - Remain OK, but only OK; continue to wish that I felt like going dancing. Continue with Ibuprofen being aware that I should eat something with it. I have chosen a small almond biscotti. Doctor's orders, I tell myself. Continuing Ibuprofen is a concern because I'm vigilant about getting dependent upon drugs. Now I've added one of my favorite snacks with the dose each day that's not at a meal time. I already know that I can get dependent on biscotti, LOL.

Eating was on plan with no daytime snacks except for the biscotti with the Ibuprofen. Dinner was grilled Monk Fish - a rare treat for us since it's listed as "Yellow" at Whole Foods. It has the texture of lobster with a strong taste. We're also attracted to it since we've seen it underwater in our Scuba diving days. It's one UGLY fish, LOL.


onebyone - Yay for (relatively) minor fixes required on your car. I love that feeling when I know I'm about to take an old car on its next round.

Joy (gardenerjoy) - Does seem that most meetings produce the best at the very last? I've always wondered if meetings were only 15 minutes would that consist of the productive final 15 minutes of most meetings or the wasteful first 15 minutes of most meetings.

maryann - Waving somewhere between Michigan and Virginia.

Karen (karenrn) - Such fun to get to go out and buy a new laptop. Fun for us geeks, that is. The greatest difficulty signing up for Medicare is admitting that we're old enough to do so. Good luck with your new hair stylist.

curlyjax - What an awful car story for your DD. Congrats for being the type of mom who'll drive in the middle of the night to solve her DD's problem.

Penny. - Ouch for a real body issue. Congrats for raising boys that can do the shopping. I'm content to have a professional remove the stitches because I want that ten second glance that says that the cut is soundly healed.

Readers -

I ended up taking off work the whole day, although i checked some messages and emailed with my sup. DD and I drove back to the garage and fortunately the car was still there. She wanted me to follow her into the new one to make sure she found a space. That wasn't a good idea as it turned out to be only employee parking and I blocked the entrance panicking, then made a u-turn to the disgust no doubt of cars trying to get in. I chortled as I drove away- look at me! little old curlyjax driving like a renegade in Boston! Anyhow alls well that ends well.
I did my weights last night. I am so far off track again with eating; I keep calling things a special treat when they aren't. Time to get back on track yet again. Today is going to be deliciously cool at mid-70s, a perfect summer day, so I should be able to get a walk in at lunch. Or a nap if I can find a shady space
Penny- so sorry your back has landed you in bed, goodness. Yay indeed for kids who can grocery shop.
Bill- I didn't like taking so many pills when I had my hip replacement. The opioids I took made me such an emotional wreck, I was glad to stop as soon as I could. I bet you will be able to stop taking them soon.
Karen- you sound very organized. I know what you mean about the too short haircuts, it will be fun to try someone new.
Onebyone-I'll join you in regrouping. Good indeed to have the money to keep the car going.
Gardenerjoy-yay for a good zoom meeting, that is a long time for one. I'm usually done after an hour.

I'm pleased that I'm more than half-way through my exercise minutes goal at the midway point of the month. CREDIT!

Today's adventure is shopping at Whole Foods. I haven't let the cupboard get this bare since before the pandemic. Apparently, I've recovered some trust in our food distribution system.

Exercise +55, 775/1400 minutes for June

Good morning coaches,

A little too much time at home yesterday and a few extra snacks. Todays goal is to be really careful, eat within my calories and no extra snacks. I really liked the new hair stylist and she did a good job on my hair. I let her know what I want and I'm in the process of growing it out a bit. In the meantime she made it look much better and I'll go again between my backpacking trips to keep it looking decent. It's amazing how much better I feel having my hair look better.

I did get the computer for dh and also attempted to clean up his MacBook. He has only used about 1/3 of the space on it so hopefully it will still be fine for his personal stuff. I do wish I could get a computer geek to stop by weekly to take care of any little thing. In the meantime we usually muddle through.

When I saw the prices for dh's insurance and what the company contributes, we will definitely just get the Medicare and supplement started and just get our dental and vision through them. I just can't believe the cost of insurance but I am grateful we have it.

GardenerJoy Kudos for getting your exercise minutes. It was 100 degrees here at 3 a.m. and finally got down to 88 when I walked Otis at 5. I'll need to get my exercise in the house for now.

Curlyjax Sounds like dd found a better place to park. Hopefully there won't need to be anymore late night saves.

Bill I would imagine you have a higher chance of becoming dependent on the biscotti than the Ibuprofen. I've never thought about becoming dependent on an anti-inflammatory. I'm sorry you're not feeling great yet. I can imagine how sore a body could feel with a fall like that.

Onebyone I'm glad the car is fixed and the cost wasn't horrible. I always get nervous when I take mine in for fear it will be the time I need to consider getting a new car.

Waving to Penny and Maryann.

Good morning!

Yesterday was on plan and weight is down. I did end up getting all the food prepped with some help. I just need to get the bean soup in the crock pot. I don't make the mistake of doing it overnight anymore, because I like to still be able to see bean shapes and not just have brown bean gravy.

Curly, that's great your daughter is getting her CNA. I worked as a cna through college and it was a good one. I found the memory care/psych units to be less back breaking work. Yes, dating women still has all the drama. Some can be quite misogynistic and there is also domestic violence. It's wild! I got that vibe from an Afghani women I went out with. Noped out of that real quick.

Joy, congrats on meeting you halfway goal for exercise, and for leading a successful zoom meeting.

Karen, yay for a successful haircut! You prob have a lot of stress energy right now with the trip and your dh's new job, etc. That would definitely have me nibbling.

Onebyone, the car fix doesn't sound like it was too bad, and now you can drive it with confidence. credit for not stuffing yourself.

Bill, lol on becoming dependent on biscotti. Knowing your track record, you will run out of them and not go to the store to buy more.

Great weather in Virginia. The usual humidity is absent. Worked out on the stair master my friend has. Hours of catch up for two old friends is great.

Food is not an issue.

wave

Coaches

On plan today but it was difficult.

I had my meal planned but not made, and I knew what time I wanted to eat at.

I was good until about an hour before I was supposed to eat. Then I became HUNGRY, felt exhausted.and could hardly stand it. I wanted to keep my promise to myself. It's essential I follow my plan and not tweak it everyday.

I didn't navigate that hour perfectly. I "tasted" my meal to see if it was good or if it needed anything. It was all I could do to put the spoon down. My mind kept giving me ways to get around my plan.

Eventually I thought that if I ate early I would be disappointed in myself, that I let myself down. That feeling would stay with me until tomorrow or longer. Add on to that a scale rise in the morning and that sets me up emotionally to sabotage things.

So thinking about how I would feel if I didn't stop eating and just wait until it was time to eat was what broke the spell. I also want to complete doing this for 75 days. I need that succes. However much weightloss that translates to is almost secondary. My journey to my goal weight is long. I need to keep going and stay focused on what I can do today. Today I did ok in the end. I ate. I closed the kitchen. I have tomorrow planned. I used my resistance muscle even when it felt like I had no strength to resist.

Diet Coaches/Buddies - Exercise was chase the (5.5 yo) DGD day, CREDIT moi. That included a subway ride to Boston's Greenway Belt - a mile of gardens, artwork, and just interesting stuff. She walked the entire mile; we no longer take the stroller for backup. There is a convoluted way to avoid the mile walk on the way home by taking a series of three different subway branches. She loves getting on and off the cars - so it only added to the adventure. The goal of the walk was the Carousel - a marvelous reconstructed device that goes round and round and up and down just like it's supposed to do. She cajoled us into taking four rides. For whatever reason, the price of each ride is only $4 - the best deal I get on anything. Fun, fun, day.

Eating was on plan, CREDIT moi, with planned snacks. We bought Italian Ice for the DGD; I ate most of it after she was done. We had nibbles in the car on the drive home after dropping her off. I'm embarrassed to still be in recovery mode. Both my head and the large muscles of my body wish that they hadn't been the second domino to fall down those stairs. Continue to feel that I was lucky to only have complaints of being sore.


onebyone - Super Kudos for breaking the HUNGRY feeling.

Joy (gardenerjoy) - LOL at the reminder that we're all in the state where going to Whole Foods is an adventure.

maryann - Sounds so neat to have an old friend to catch up with.

Karen (karenrn) - Congrats for buying that computer for your DH. I, too, would like a computer geek to drop by for a few moments once a week.

curlyjax - Ouch for "driving like a renegade in Boston!" - a fun notion.

Penny. - Yep, beans deserve to remain recognizable as beans. Yay for weight is down.


Readers -

I'm in this cycle of coming home after work exhausted, taking a nap, then I can't get to sleep at my usual time, then I'm tired at work etc. I need to find a shady place to nap at my new position, on the days it isn't too hot. It's not good for eating/exercising either. Oh well, I'm off tomorrow anyhow, we have a new holiday of Juneteenth, hooray!
At the end of the day yesterday a resident came to me with an upsetting story about cockroaches in her apt that management isn't addressing properly- they need to eradiate the source which is the apts surrounding her. I'm seeing my supervisor today so we can put our heads together about that. Assuming this story is true; I have dealt with very delusional folks as well. It's certainly interesting and the day does zip by!
I'm with Bill and Karen on needing my own IT person. Like a 12 year old who's really into computers
Karen- a good haircut always makes me feel great too. I'm letting mine go a bit longer and am enjoying that.
Bill- I have yet to see the Greenway Belt, it sounds really cool.
Penny- lol on brown gravy. DD wants to ultimately become a nurse so this is a good intro and prep: nursing school is very competitive apparently.
Onebyone-great job on the resistance muscle. Mine definitely needs a workout.
Maryann-great you had a chance to catch up with a friend.
Gardenerjoy-yes, its great to trust the food supply again!

Good morning coaches,

Food was pretty much on plan yesterday. I did take a nibble of a snack food I bought for my backpacking trip to see if I liked it. I didn't like it and it went in the trash. It was something I purchased at the International market. I got all my food together and packaged for my Tahoe backpacking trip. I was kind of postponing doing this because it meant opening the packages and needing to stay out of it. I had packages of a cracker I like, peanut M & Ms, trail milx and macadamia nuts to package. It's done and they are put away. It wasn't as bad as anticipated. I just have to remind myself that I do have control over what I put in my mouth and not get started. Weight is down this morning. I packed my backpack with the full bear canister, but no water and it didn't feel bad at all. Of course water is heavy so that will add some weight.

We had an in-person meeting with the financial planner and it went well. This morning I got dh's Medicare supplemental insurance taken care of and I'll do the drug plan soon. His boss has agreed to pay for the premiums, so that's great. I would think it's also great for the company. Taking care of these things is alleviating stress for sure. Dh is liking the new job situation, so that is good too.

Curlyjax I hope you can get your sleep schedule working better. Nursing school is very competitive. I think there just aren't enough instructors. I hope dd still wants to be a nurse after her CNA job. That is tough duty.
Bill That was some fall you took. I'm just glad you didn't have a brain injury. Take it easy.
Onebyone Sometimes when I'm really hungry I just eat my meal earlier. It's often lunch that gets eaten earlier, but then I'm fine for the day.
Maryann Such fun to catch up with a good friend. Enjoy yourself.
Penny You are right I was having some stress that honestly I wasn't really acknowledging. The only thing I am really stressing about now is the backpacking trip. Gaining weight and not fitting in my clothes will not be helpful, so I'll try to keep that thought front and center. I agree on wanting beans to look like beans.

Last night was an extravagant dinner at the Georgetown waterside. We ate on the outdoor porch with a view of the Watergate hotel and the Kennedy center. Beautiful. I split a beef tenderloin salad and lobster scampi with my friend. I was not overfull at the end.

This morning my sister picks me up and we drive back to Kent Island in Baltimore for two days. Poor DH flew home on Southwest and was delayed 24 hours - 12 hours in various airports around the country. Southwest had a computer glitch that caused chaos. I was lucky to get out just before it hit.

wave to all