Happy Thanksgiving, Karen!

Just starting the topic for now. I just finished a workout and am going to jump in the shower. I want to get in a little more studying for the next NYS Teaching Certification test today (I realized that it was in 2 week and I've hardly done anything!) before I relax.

Judy

Thanks, Judy, and happy Columbus day to you! Hope the studying goes well!

We had a nice dinner at my cousin's last night - had sensible portions of everything including pumpkin cheesecake for dessert. I treadmilled yesterday before we went for insurance!

I've not been sleeping well for the last week or so; waking between 2 and 4 and not getting back to sleep. Can't think of a reason; everything in my life is as normal as it ever is. We've been grocery shopping this morning after we did our week's menus, so we're stocked up. Jen has just gone back to Victoria; was lovely to have her home for a few days - didn't see much of her as she was at a lindyhop exchange weekend, but she did come home in the small hours to crash!

Have a restful day. I'm off to try & nap.

Karen

Karen - doesn't it feel great when you go to something special (like dinner at youor cousin's) and you do well with the food - it's just such a feeling of accomplishment - congratulations! Glad to hear you got to see Jen for a few days. As for sleeping - I've had problems on and off with waking up in the middle of the night too. I've been chalking it up to hormone nutsiness because I've heard from some of my older cousins that it is a pretty common sympton. Next time I'm at the doctor's, I'm going to talk to him about something like Ambien. There are times when it happens a few days in a row and it really takes it out of me. Good for you for TM'ing.

I did not make it to my meeting this Saturday - I stayed up too late the night before and the PMS snacking continued as Tony brought home chocolate covered cashews!!! I know, just because he brings them home doesn't mean I have to eat them. The good news is that his colonoscopy went well yesterday and since he won't have to fast anymore, he promised he won't be bringing home any naughty goodies. I decided on Saturday morning that I felt like cr** - getting away from eating whole foods really starting feeling yucky after a few days. I'm back on core and feeling much better. I will definitely weigh in on Saturday. I did not try to get up this morning to exercise - I decided to make today a rest day. I hope to do a little yoga tomorrow morning - unless of course, the Yankee/Dread Sox game goes too late tonight!

Have a great one!
Judy
186/240 workouts

Hi all.

Karen - Congratulations on doing so well with Thanksgiving dinner. How great that you got to spend a few days with Jen. Tell me, what is a lindyhop exchange? I'm sorry to hear about your sleeping problems. Like Judy, I've heard that this is something that can happen during perimenopause/menopause. Sigh. You'd think that after years of dealing with PMS and periods, that our bodies could be a bit more gracious about ending the whole thing. I'll have to look for that author you mentioned - Ian Rankin. I love English crime novels too. Like Judy, I've read P.D. James and have enjoyed her books a lot.

Judy - Thanks for checking on the DIBBLES test - that's so sweet of you. I'm glad to hear that Tony's colonoscopy went well, but sorry to hear about all the snacking. I'm confident you'll get and stay back on track. That camping trip at the end of the week sounds interesting. You'll definitely be burning up some calories.

Our weekend trip was nice, but hectic. We had terrific weather for the game - sunny and crisp, but unfortunately our team, Minnesota, lost. Eating wasn't so great - a tailgate breakfast, brats in the stadium, dinner at a BBQ place. I'm going to skip weigh-in this week. I know I'm retaining water and I just don't feel like dealing with it. I'll be back to doing core when I switch over tomorrow, so things should go much better this week. As of yesterday, I now have a very part-time part-time job: 8 hours a week working for the Religious Ed department at church. I've been volunteering for several years teaching kindergarten REP on Sunday mornings and this year I put in some extra time helping to get ready for the start of classes, so the director of the program is familiar with me. She needs some additional help and thought of me, bless her heart. For now it's 4 hours on Wednesdays from 4-8 and then I'll put in the other four hours whenever I want. So, it will get me out of the house a bit and I'll be earning some "pin money" as my grandma called it. And now off to clean the house.

Have a great day.

Carla

Good Morning,

Judy - I know of which you speak re the whole foods. We're eating almost exclusively whole foods these days and feel much better for it. All the chemical additives and preservatives in prepackaged convenience foods do some bad things to the body, in my opinion. I had another filthy sleep last night; no energy for treadmilling this morning. If this keeps up I'll have to go and see my GP. Glad to hear that Tony's colonoscopy went well. Darn him for bringing home those chocolate covered cashews.

Carla - Glad to hear that you had such a nice weekend. Oh well about the food! Congratulations on your job! 8 hours a week would suit me to a tee - I'm sure Mike would have something to say about it though! I wholeheartedly agree about our bodies oughta be more gracious about things. Lindyhop, since you asked, is the original form of swing dancing, and is undergoing a resurgence amongst the twentysomethings. An exchange involves an organization in a city to hold several nights' worth of dances, and people come from far and wide to attend. They had people come from California, Toronto etc. to Vancouver. There's a big online network and people arrange to billet with locals. It's great - no drinking or drugs, just lots of fun and aerobic exercise. Jen and her friends did a little demo in our kitchen; it looked like very hard work. I have no idea how they manage to stay up ALL night dancing.

Forgot to answer Judy the other day - Ian Rankin's first book is Knots and Crosses. I'm also fond of Elizabeth George, and Ruth Rendell. I ran out of energy around 11:00 a.m. yesterday and spent the rest of the day wishing I wasn't tired. Today I have a 2 hour appointment with the dentist; I have an ativan prescription for before the appointment because I have a worsening anxiety problem with dentists...so if all goes well, I should at least get a good sleep tonight. Mike is driving me to and from my appointment.

Better get to work!

Karen

Hi all.

Karen - Thanks for the exchange info. I figured it had something to do with the dance. My mom was quite the lindy hopper in her day, so I hear. The exchanges sound like a lot of fun. A great, safe way of meeting people and making friends. I love swing dancing -well, I love watching it and I love the music. I hope that you do get a good night's sleep tonight. It is so hard to function when you're constantly tired. And I hear what both you and Judy are saying about the whole foods. We're not completely weaned off of packaged foods yet, but we're having a lot more whole foods and it does make you feel a lot better.

Busy day today - meeting a friend for lunch and then working this afternoon. Lunch is at a big mall, so I'm going to leave early to try to get some mall walking in, if I can muster the energy. I feel a cold coming on and have been feeling rather blah. My hope is that the coffee I'm drinking right now will help me kick it in gear.

Have a great day.

Carla

Good Morning!

Carla - stay well. Keep that cold at bay! Hope you enjoy your lunch out and that you find the energy to do some mall walking. Then go home to the couch with a good book and a warm blanky!

I survived my dental appointment, and with the help of 2 mg of ativan for anxiety, went straight home, Mike whipped me up an omelet for dinner, and then I crashed for 12 hours and slept like the dead! Woke late, but made time to treadmill before coming in to work. I actually feel well today! TOM arrived too...first one in 2 months, so the hormones can simmer down a bit now too.

The scale god smiled on me this morning. I'm pleased to report a 1 lb loss which brings me to the lowest point this year. Only 74 more to go. I've decided I'm going to get a bit scientific about tackling my weight i.e. calories in vs energy out. I'm tracking on Fitday - I downloaded the personal version on the weekend, and am very pleased with it. I've also been reading the archives at the Skinny Daily Post for a bit of motivation.

A meeting calls...

Talk to you soon,

Karen

Carla – Congratulations on the new job – that sounds perfect! Sorry about the tough weekend – I know you’re back on track already. I hope you were able to get in some mall walking and even more, that you are successful in fighting off the cold. The teacher I spoke with was going to speak with her mother about the DIBBLES test after the mother was going to talk to the reading teacher at her school. Only thing is, with the 2-day class trip, I probably won’t see her until Monday.

Karen - Congratulations on the pound lost and being at the lowest weight this year – that is fabulous! I’m so sorry that you had another bad night of sleep but glad that after the ativan/dentist appt, you were able to sleep long and well (with a chef-whipped omelet). My lack of sleep is my own fault – the Yankee game ended late and I was so wound up from the game that I stayed up to watch the post-game show. I REALLY need to get a good night’s sleep tonight – tomorrow is going to be a very long (and rainy) day. My promise to myself is that I won’t watch the post-game show. I’m praying that TOM holds off until at least the weekend. Thanks for the Ian Rankin title – next time I have a few weeks off from school, I’m going to see if our library has it.

I’ve been pretty much OP although I did use some points this afternoon. We’ve been studying the geography of Long Island in preparation for the trip and today, each of the kids made a Long Island Cookie – shaping cookie dough into the shape of the island, marking off the counties with licorice strips, lining the north shore with chocolate chips, etc. I had a little north shore…. Still, not too much and not bad for PMS. I’m off to get some grapes and/or popcorn while I watch the game – and see if we are indeed Pedro Martinez’s daddy! I’m packing food to eat for dinner tomorrow eve and lunches on both days and am also packing a bunch of fruit. With that, cereal for breakfast and a lot of hiking, I should be OK for the next two days, although we’re bound to get wet with the yucky weather expected.

I won’t be on until at least late Friday. We’re going out to dinner with friends on Saturday – and going to a great Italian restaurant in Brooklyn. Actually, it’s the restaurant that Jack Nicholson went to when he was looking for “background” on Prizzi’s honor. I know I’ll need some inspiration/support beforehand!

Have a great one!
Judy

Good Morning,

Judy, I hear congratulations are in order for the Yankees again! The restaurant sounds fab - can you view the menu online? LOL re eating a bit of the north shore; what a great way to teach kids geography.

Carla - hope you're doing okay with the cold.

My day yesterday was spot on. Food was great, drank gallons of water, got my exercise in. This morning I woke just before 5 and drove the dogs to the river for an hour's walk. I'm going to pull out my weights tonight for the first time in living memory. Wonders never cease.

Have a great day!

Karen

Karen - congratulations on a great food day. Major kudos for getting up at 5 am (!!!) to go to the beach to walk the dogs - an hour's walk is fabulous. you and the weights get re-acquainted? I'm going to *try* to work out some mornings this coming week. Yes, the Yankees are 2-0 in the series and are winning game 3 as we speak. The Yankee games may make it hard for me to follow through with my morning exercise plan (why or why do the games first start after 8:00pm?)

Carla - I also hope you are doing OK with the cold - I found out a little about the DIBBLES assessment (and plan on asking my literacy professor more on Tuesday). It is a 4 minute phonics assessment. It's being given in some districts on Long Island as part of something called the "Reading First" grant. While I don't know specifics about it, my guess is that "Reading First" is a government grant (since the Bush administration thinks that phonics is the *only* answer). I'll let you know what else I find out.

The field trip was great - exhausting but great. We were outside most of the time (we lucked out on the weather - the reports were for tons of rain but we only had a bit of it on Thursday) and must have done at least 5 miles of hiking all told on Thursday (on the beach of the North Shore and around the salt marsh). The trip was run by two naturalists who were not only very knowledgeable but great with the kids and very nice. I did well with food (brought my own lunches and dinner) with the exception of a small bag of animal crackers on Thursday night and breakfast on Friday. I had heard that there was cereal for breakfast so I didn't bring anything - well, the only cereal they had was pretty loaded with sugar and they only had whole milk. Not the worst but boy, I'm not used to that much sugar and I almost felt a little jittery from it. We did a pre-breakfast hike on Friday and did some more hiking later in the morning. None of the kids were homesick but I woke up every 2 hours or so and having been sleep deprived from the Yankee games on Tues and Wed, boy, was I beat when I got home yesterday.

We had a great time tonight - great company and great food. I didn't do too badly. I had one drink, mussels marinara for an appetizer (mostly core), and fish in a white wine sauce with some sauteed broccoli rabes. Oh, and then because I was so good, I had a piece of Italian cheesecake because I think theirs is the best I've had. I have to add up the points but I did a yoga and a short cardio workout this afternoon so I should have enough left for the week.

I hope everyone is having a good weekend so far.
Judy