Good Afternoon, Coaches.

One more day of school left. Today was easy with one class taking a final and another class doing a movie guide. The latter had a final which was a project i corrected all day. So I should be able to get correcting done, grades and securing the classroom for summer by dinner tomorrow. I stayed up way too late binge watching The Undoing on HBO - all six episodes. I never do that. Do I am going to watch Dumbledore this afternoon ( just released on HBO) and hit the rack early.

I had two successful online purchases - a Poshmark New with Tags Free people summer dress - light and airy and eminently packable since it is gauzy. https://ibb.co/4tV4sHk It is perfect. Also, I bought a Spanx legging type girdle for some light coloered work pants. It is a new kind of material and they will work great. Right now I am ten pounds up but hopefully by fall, I'll have lost the weight and the pants will work great.

I have modified the fast again today because of the school pot luck but I was very reasonable with eating. I am going to let myself off the hook. Two days isn't going to make for catastrophic weight gain.

Wave to all

Diet Coaches/Buddies - Got a project done; an electrical outlet box had pulled out of the wall. The whole outlet box! Don't know how that happened. It was designed to be held by four screws; only two had been used by the original electrician and these had been stripped out of their holes. Easy peasy. I took it all apart and inserted a piece of wooden match stick in the hole to fill it up then put the screws back in. This has worked for me before and it worked again. I also inserted screw number 3 but screw hole number 4 had no wood behind it - old house this is. The challenge for me is the getting up and getting down. It was the kind of job that seemed to require a dozen trips to the floor to get it right. CREDIT moi for doing a small job that had to be done for which getting an electrician would have been nearly impossible.

Eating was on plan with no daytime snacks, CREDIT moi. Dinner of dahl happened at our computers as we watched a Zoom discussion/performance of Shakespeare and opera. I hadn't been aware of how many times Shakespeare has made it to the opera. Ended with Romeo and Juliette. As always, it didn't end well; as always I hoped that this time it would be different. At least in West Side Story, although Tony dies, Maria lives on. I suppose if you're Steven Spielberg you can modify Shakespeare.


Joy (gardenerjoy) - Congrats for your Yoga Month of May! And Kudos for using your resistance muscle when your head wanted a pint of ice cream.

maryann - Happy last day of school. Neat that you have a plan for finishing the grading and closing of your classroom.

nationalparker – Yay for a good watermelon - always an iffy proposition. You're being such a trooper with your in-law's house; hope the end is in sight.

Karen (karenrn) - Looking forward to your thoughts on the book Alive Until You're Dead: Notes on the Home Stretch by Susan Moon. I'd love to get my head straight on that issue.

curlyjax - Congrats for switching to a doctor who you feel will be supportive. Continued support as you keep your patience working with your DD's different style.

Penny. - Yay for new flowers - even though you'll need another trip for the flower box. Neat that your pizza dough is just your bread dough baked at a higher temperature.

MrsCalypso - Kudos for planning a path for desserts that'll work for you. Re photo uploads: This site doesn't accept photos from your own computer, but does from a URL. Might take some fiddling to figure out which buttons to press but it works. Not that long ago, maryann posted some pictures of her landscaping work.

Readers -

Hello folks!

I'm hoping to join your group. I'm on Day 2 of the Beck Diet Solution. Worked the book last year, and I definitely lost some weight, but I stopped all the practices and it somehow came back! Funny how that works

So I'm seeking to do it this time with a little more accountability. All of my struggles with weight are related to my thinking patterns, so I really love this approach. Your group looks like a very supportive environment with some very experienced in the method.

I picked my plans today- going with a modified whole foods diet (I'm planning to allow a few treats per week), and using Noom as my back-up plan. I'd be grateful for anyone who has experience finally breaking through the stop-start dieting cycle.

I managed to make it to my doc appt on time. I really like the new gyn- she followed up right away on an issue we had talked about. She asked a bunch of health questions, and for diet it was “do you eat one green thing a day” and “do you get 2 servings of calcium a day” or something like that. I thought it was a good way to look at realizing one is doing something right, instead of beating yourself over everything.
I talked to my friend who is lending me her husband for the move, and it turns out she is coming too which is wonderful. She’ll drive the kids down and back. We’re still figuring out the route to Boston with a uhaul. Today I have to get the key for the apt, so i’m driving to a subway station and taking it the rest of the way there, as there’s no parking and its less stressful for me that way. Then I can walk around a bit too and check out the area. I made the wise decision to take today off. DD is still busy with school and has plans with her brother to get the packing done this evening. I’m trying to remain calm
Welcome MommaMeli!
Karen- that book looks really good, and might be a good resource for my work too. Good health in all forms is indeed a blessing.
Nationalparker- I’m impressed your friend actually did that! I’m intending to quietly do some weeding out when she’s gone. I’m sorry about the games SD plays, that sounds very hard.

Yesterday's adventure was taking the car in for service. I miss how the world re-oriented itself in ways that made things easier for home-based introverts. There's no valet service, now, where the car was whisked away from my driveway and returned a few hours later with the service complete. This time, I waited in the waiting room with my best mask and was never as comfortable, there, as I remember managing in the past.

Worse, though, was discovering that the car won't pass the safety and emissions inspections without lots of expensive work, including replacing the rusted-out exhaust system. I guess that happens to fourteen-year-old cars with over 100,000 miles on them. We haven't owned one that long, before, to find out.

Given the horror stories we've heard recently about buying cars, we didn't seriously consider not repairing this one. Spending this money, now, we'll get us another three or four good years, at least, and the market for automobiles may be in a better place by then.

The good news is that they'll give a me a loaner for the next appointment when I spend all that money to fix everything.

CREDIT for not eating over the weird boredom/discomfort from the waiting room (it helped that I'd have to remove my mask to eat any of the snacks on offer). CREDIT for not eating over the initial surprise and distress of the amount of money that will be required until I could discuss it all out with DH and determine that we're doing the right thing.

Exercise +45, 100/1500 minutes for June

Welcome, MommaMeli! This group was definitely a piece of the puzzle, for me, to stop the on-again, off-again dieting cycle. A daily place to analyze what's gone wrong and right among people who use a shared language made a huge difference.

Good morning, all

Today is Day 8 for me, create time and energy. The task is to plan time in a weekly schedule for things like planning, shopping and food prep.

I like eating healthy food, I really do. I'm not driven to junk stuff if I can eat food that makes me feel good at this point in my life. But I am so busy and then so resentful of all the things I have to do a lot of the time. Planning for one more thing feels overwhelming sometimes.

I also don't really like meal planning anymore. Back when I was more eating as my main pleasure and escape, I used to love thinking about what I was going to cook. I would think about breakfast before my feet hit the floor, and would fantasize about the dinner I was going to make on the way home.

I'm grateful that I no longer use food as an escape to that extreme at this point, but it has sort of shifted to the opposite extreme. When I am hungry, I just grab whatever is handy and sounds good. I do prefer healthy food, so I'm not just going for junk food, but keeping healthy options around for quick meals requires some planning that often I just don't do.

This day's task encourages us "busy people" to really look at how we are spending our time and consider letting some things go in order to prioritize our healthy eating. I don't have time to do that this morning, so I might need to take an extra day with this task. That's ok. Good for me for thinking about it and being realistic.

MommaMeli, as you can see, I am just a couple days ahead of you. I'm new here too!
Bill, thanks! I did research desserts and have some ideas, and I figured out the avatar picture! Ha about Stephen Spielberg!
np Domani....LOL. I lived in a city in Belgium for a while, where we walked or biked everywhere. It was definitely easier to keep the weight off. Your comment about your pot plantings amused me. Maybe I'm a little immature...

Good morning coaches,

Food remains on plan but with portions just large enough to prevent further weight loss. I hiked Bell Pass this morning which is a good 7 1/2 mile hike and finished listening to The Magnolia Palace which I enjoyed. As soon as I get cleaned up I'm heading out to my friend's to do some grocery shopping for her and a few things around her house. She's the one who hurt her back and then she fell earlier this week. I am so thankful for my exercise habits. I hope it will continue to help me stay strong and independent for many years to come.

GardenerJoy Oh I hate when I learn the damage/dollars that a car repair will be. I usually try to have some large number in mind so anything less than that I can stomach. My car is 15 years old but it runs like a top so far. I too am wanting to wait until the market for cars is better. Congratulations for not eating over it. Our waiting room also has chairs spaced and outside. Not bad at certain times of the year.

Curlyjax That's great that you like your new doctor. I know all of us will be so happy for you after moving weekend is over. Good luck with all of it.

Momma Meli Welcome! I know the Beck Strategies work and I will admit I follow them loosely anymore. I'm not even sure if it's Beck or not but the thing that helps me the most is to never/rarely beat myself up and then just get back on track.

Bill Good job doing your electrical work yourself. Sounds like the getting up and down was good exercise and of course something we always want to be able to do. I'll let you know how the book is once I get started. It isn't very long, but may be quite thought provoking.

Maryann Yay, the last day of school. I hope it goes smoothly and then a wonderful time off for you.

Nationalparker I forgot to ask the other day . . . was your friend in AZ for the NCAA tourney? As for your time alone once dh retires, hopefully you will work something out so that you still have some time. The amenities where my friend moved are lovely but it's in Hootervile as I would say, so I would never consider living in such a place. At least no time soon. I want things to do nearby including an airport.

Penny I need to work my resistance muscle a bit more too. I need to limit my portion sizes and probably realize I don't need a morning snack even if I have hiked. Obviously the calories need to go down a bit before my weight does.

Mrs Calypso It's great that your environment is already in pretty good shape. I find that so helpful and my dh is very good about not wanting/needing things around that are tough for me to pass up. I've done the Grand Canyon Rim to Rim and then backpacked it Rim to Rim to Rim a couple of times. Last October and April I hiked Rim to River to Rim on the south rim which is so much easier for logistics. If I were you I'd try to do the hike on a fall or spring break. I'm not sure if you're familiar with the weather in the canyon, but the bottom is about the same temp as Phoenix, which means over 100 in the summer.
Do you hike now? I see you uploaded a picture.

Okay I had better get moving and get on with the day. Have a good one everybody.

Good morning!

I almost forgot to check in because I was distracted by video chatting with my friend. It's been fun.

Yesterday is a credit day. I took my son to Chipotle for lunch and we kind of stuffed ourselves but I just had that and my breakfast of bell peppers with hummus. I didn't eat enything else and finished the day with lunch. I also weeded my gardens and planted my starts, which had me waking up with sore hamstrings.

I need to get some type of food prepped in the fridge. All I have left is the Farro dish but I think it's been in there too long and I've burnt myself out on it.

Joy, we never have that rusting problem here with our older cars. I suspect it's your snow and salt treatments. Is that it?

Curly, does the daily green food include avocado? prob not. I'm bad about eating greens but my garden of chard should change that soon. I wish I had gotten a kale too. Good luck with the move! It sounds like you have good support.

Maryann, happy last day of school! We aren't done until the 16th here. I love the dress you bought. I love the fit at the top, which looks flattering and comfortable.

Nationalparker, great job sticking up for your own plans and staying home! He used emotional manipulation to try and change your mind but you didn't go for it. That respect for boundaries for yourself and from him will probably make all the difference in retirement. Maybe that's why your worried because historically boundaries have been problematic?

MrsCalypso, that's so great you no longer have the emotional eating problem. It's always ready to take over in myself if I'm not vigilant. Clawing my way back from it now.

Bill, it's always nice to not have to call in a professional for the home improvement needs. You can add that saved money to your book fund.

mommameli, welcome to the group! Good luck with your weightloss goals! It's hopping in here now.

Karen, that's too bad your friend had a fall after hurting her back already. Yikes! Good luck to us both reducing portion sizes today.

Got out to the in-law's house today and loaded up the huge trailer with all the rest of the medals for recycling. We had one huge tub of copper wire from a lot of cords, and that paid the most. All of it to the estate account. When closing the garage doors, one of the springs broke on one of the doors, so DH ended up taking a time to fix that today as well. Every single thing is on the verge of breaking, it seems.

When we got back DH called the insurance company to remove the insurance off the vehicles, since both were now insured through his brother and our insurance. The insurance rep said hold on there's an alert on this account let me see what that's about. She then proceeds to tell DH that his parents have received three notices over the course of the last year, the fourth will be going out this week, of repairs that need to be made to their property in order to retain insurance. If the fixes are not made in the next month, there will be no insurance on the property, which still has a mortgage and needs the insurance. It is always something. One of the jobs we'll have to hire someone to do. But DH said he can fix the front steps at a railing repair the concrete, and The other repair is to the soffit on the back of the house, but birds are nesting in that part of the soffit now. I looked up to see when they be fledging and it should be soon, so we'll wait that out. He said he can do that repair on one full Saturday.

Tonight, I overate in irritation, frustration and hunger. I brought us each healthy lunches and healthy snacks, ample drinks etc and then we got home Not long after 8. I prepped DH's favorite spaghetti and plant-based meatballs. I wasn't planning on having the pasta because I don't really love pasta and figured I'd have a piece of Italian bread and the meatballs and sauce. Then I thought I wonder what the plant-based butter taste like on this angel hair? Turns out it went down way too easily. I ended up making myself a serving with just the butter and pasta and I have never done that in my life. I see buttered noodles on kids menus and inwardly roll my eyes, Both for the amount that is charged for it :-) and how bland can you be. I know ... How judgey. I ate more than I needed to, when I had wonderful watermelon ready for dessert.demerit. no credit at all. I was going to take credit for the wonderful Apple harvest salads I brought, gold nugget mandarins for snacks etc...

Waving to all and will have a less cranky check in tomorrow hopefully. We packed the car with about 40 hazardous waste household cans, jugs, and a ton of old fluorescent lights etc to drop at the toxic drop in the morning. It's one day a month in our area.

Welcome, MommaMeli!
Joy - good luck with the car repair! I've had cars that i sold with 180,000 miles
​​and 150,000...both Toyotas. I'm aiming for 200,000 with my current car but I'm only near 90,000 now.
Karen - yes! The golf championships! Year two out there and I only hear great things.

Diet Coaches/Buddies - Just like human beings, we left the house. Attended an open house for the art exhibit of a friend. In downtown Boston - the SoWa district (South of Washington). Rubbed shoulders with folks buying art off the wall like that's what one does with a spare Friday night. Our friend was delighted to see us; a number of folks who know her were constantly moving through. CREDIT moi for calling a mutual friend who has been a bit of a recluse since his wife died a few years ago. He was delighted to join us. We laughed when he told us the story of their wedding. Later we realized that we'd never heard a story from him because his wife was a constant talker.

Eating was on plan with no daytime snacks, CREDIT moi. Dinner was leftover grilled salmon served at 8:30pm after we got home from the art exhibit - that's late for us. I did snack at the various receptions - there were a half-dozen going on at the same time. But it was planned and I restrained myself. I did learn that some folks must live in GIANT houses since some works of art were quite large. I enjoyed the thought of having a house so big that I needed art that size.


Joy (gardenerjoy) - Ouch for the reality of nursing along an old car. BTDT. I think you're right to believe that the market in used cars will get easier in a year or so.

maryann - Waving to a teacher who is done with school for the year.

nationalparker – That's quite a load to take to the toxic waste dump. Ouch for the surprise from the insurance company that you have to complete four repairs or else they'll cancel your fire insurance - a really big deal. Your efforts on your in-law's house are so above and beyond the call of duty. I do hope you're appropriately appreciated by your DH, his brother, and all the family that will benefit.

Karen (karenrn) - You are kind to do grocery shopping for your friend. I agree, your exercise habits should keep you strong and independent for a looooong time.

curlyjax - That really is a neat idea that your doctor asked you questions that you could answer positively while reinforcing what your good eating habits should be. Hope you enjoyed your walk-about in Boston.

Penny. - Kudos for ending your eating day with lunch at Chipotle's. I'm still looking for a restaurant where I can eat and stay on plan.

MrsCalypso - Great comment, "I'm grateful that I no longer use food as an escape" - it's good to feel like we've left some bad habits behind.

MommaMeli - So neat that you will go through the days of the original Beck book again. My take is that we can't do that enough - it's easy to slip away from strategies that we think have become habit. Glad that you've joined us.

Readers -

I am so, so mad at DD. We finally gave up and went to bed at midnight, and there is still so much packing to be done. She is still trying to sort things out as we go and micomanage everything. I realize she has been busy with schoolwork but some things could have been addressed much earlier as I kept offering to help. I'm going to be so embarrassed when my friends come if things aren't ready. She is very rigid and has a hard time shifting gears when needed. DS is being a saint for helping.
The walkabout in Boston was good. There should be a spot for the van today if people pay attention to the signs. I met one of the roommates and she's adorable. There are lots of places to eat etc and things like Whole Foods and a CVS very close by, as well as a t stop. The apt is tiny and up four flights so they'll get their exercise.
It will all be over soon!!
Nationalparker- I'm surprised the insurance company knew about the house hazards, mine wouldn't have a clue if things were wrong.

Good morning!

Yesterday was another credit day with on plan eating.

Today we have plans to attend a kid's pride event, that was also organized by kids. Then we will have lunch at my SIL's new restaurant. Her restaurant is quickly becoming a posh breakfast and lunch scene in Portland with its advertised "boozy brunch". Fancy cocktails and Spanish coffees, scratch made recipes with lots of vegan options.

The challenge will be not giving in to comfort eating again later when I finally get home.

Have a great day, everyone!

I'm abandoning my goal to complete the 30 Day Yoga For Weight Loss with Julia Marie on Amazon Prime in 30 days. I expected the first week to be easy, but after three days in a row, my body is feeling kind of beat up instead of strong and calm.

New plan. I'll continue doing yoga every day. I'll include routines from this program two or three times a week, but do easier routines from YouTube on the other days. Maybe by September (our next 30-day month) I'll be ready to tackle this again.

Exercise +45, 145/1500 minutes for June

BillBlueEyes: Thanks for the recommendation of Gender Queer. I wrote up my thoughts on my blog: Gender Queer #BookReview #PrideMonth #DiversityRC2022 – Joy's Book Blog (joyweesemoll.com)

Penny: I suspect you're right that our winter weather, and the road care required because of it, contributed to rusting out the exhaust system in a way that drivers in other parts of the country don't have to worry about.

Good Morning, Coaches!

Ta da! my 32 year completed. Grades are done and room is packed. I won't be going back for two months. Per usual I was exhausted and went to bed about 7:30. So sweet. A girl from my third period bought a beautiful little engraved box with and apple on top. She had all the students write little notes to me and then added a Panera card. I started to cry. DH and I went to Panera for dinner. Often for me the good things are more difficult to take. I feel vulnerable and uncomfortable. Still, what a gift. I am humble and grateful.

OK - I have a two day count down till I fly to MO. The big thing missing is a purse/ carryall as a personal item. My usual is not fancy enough for the city of Quebec. I am heading over to one of my best friends who is a clothing guru. Hopefully I can borrow something from her. If not, I am off to Sacramento to the consignment shops. Those of you who have been with me over the years know that packing is a big enjoyable puzzle. The fewest items with the most outfits. I am going to bring my new dress ( Thanks, Penny, I like the fit on top and the longer sleeves, as well), one black double knit jersey maxi, an upscale pair of quick dry hiking and jeans. Some tops to mix and match but a ton of scarves and necklaces. The big decision was to bring my hiking boots. I am going to wear my brown suede ankle boots. This is a big prime real estate commitment but I don't want to take chances with my heeling toe.

BBE: Isn't funny. You are as excited about fixing you electrical box and I am packing. It doesn't matter what the passion is, as long as there is passion. Right?
Curleyjax: Kudos for friends that help. I picture a big day of napping once all this is over.
Karen: I put Magnolia on my reading list as well as Alive
Mrs. Calypso: I completely agree that planning food is not my thing. I am in and out of the kitchen as quickly as possible with as healthy food as possible.
Welcome MomaMEli!
.

Good morning coaches,

Food continues to be on plan with weight holding. My goal today is to continue with food on plan, really pay attention to my hunger and lots of water. I had a good hike this morning for almost 2 hours and we were lucky that it was only 70 or so and mostly in the shade. Dh walked Otis and is now out on his walk. I think he might be doing the whole 5 miles or so only 3 1/2 weeks after his hip revision surgery cause he's been gone awhile. I did remind him to call if he decided he got too far and didn't want to walk back. He just got home and did the whole thing.

I've been doing some meal prep including baking some marinated tofu, roasting sweet potatoes and mushrooms and cooking some farro. I do like to have some things prepped and do like to cook. Some of it may be that I don't work and I'm too frugal to go out very often. With eating plant based now I find I can have a much better meal at home. No big plans for today but I have some reading to do and I'm sure we'll get in the pool this afternoon.

Maryann It's so great that you've finished another year. Very thoughtful of your class to give you the gift and especially the notes. I know you are a fabulous teacher. How fun that you will leave for an adventure in only two days. I'm glad you're taking what you need for your feet. Nothing can ruin a trip faster than foot pain. Well maybe somethings, but it's a big one.

GardenerJoy Very smart of you to modify your yoga goals, it is for your benefit after all. Thank you for the book report. I just put a hold on the book from the library.

Penny Your day sounds very fun. So fun that your SIL has a restaurant. Will you share the name? Who knows, I might get there one of these days. I hear Portland has many vegan restaurants. When I was looking at the ones nearby it seemed like they had a kind of vegan junk food.

Curlyjax Prayers going up for your sanity today. I hope dd got things together enough that it isn't a problem. Thank goodness for ds. We'll be happy to hear the report.

Bill The art exhibit sounds very fun. Just like the old days. So funny about your friend who was able to tell you the story now that his chatty wife is gone. We have some friends like that, but it happens to be the professor/husband that is the chatty one.

Nationalparker I'm sorry but I am almost laughing at the horrible situation you're in with the in-laws place. I keep thinking you could make a movie about what not to do. I'm sure I would lose my mind. It would be very difficult to focus on food with all you have going on right now.

Waving to Mrs Calypso and Momma Meli!