[judydc]

I hope everyone's having a good weekend. I've spent it unpacking the last of my boxes (from October ) and thinking about where to put artwork and misc decorative stuff. I'm also pondering how the haphazard state of my probably reflects my life since the early fall. I can't believe that it's gone on this long! It's not like I have an attic or a basement to hide these boxes in. Anyways, it's been nice unwrapping photos, paintings and other treasures, and getting rid of these boxes .

Eating has been okay, not great. I've admitted that some foods are hard for me to have around, so no more cereal or Skinny Cow ice cream bars. These are the kinds of things that I go crazy on at night. Last night I pulled out my yarn and knitting needles, to remind myself to do things with my hands.

I didn't work out today. I've been on my feet all day, tho, and maybe I'll do a little on the rowing machine this evening.

judy

[auntie g]

Hi all! I probably won't be able to keep up again for a while. I'm still mostly on track, but the newest development around here is that my BIL, father of my little niece and nephews was just diagnosed with a very aggressive cancer this week. He's in the hospital receiving radiation treatments, and we are trying to keep hopeful, but the outlook is grim.

I've had 2 of the kids here at my house all weekend. I do love having them around, but I'm slightly discombobulated as far as getting any normal things done. And of course, the added stress and strain on the whole family is just ridiculous. I keep thinking I'm going to wake up from the nightmare of the past few months, but sadly, that doesn't seem to be the case.

Anyway, I may not be checking in as regularly as I'd like to, but I'll be doing the best I can. I'm still not giving up! Save my seat!

Keep on keeping on, girls!

[penpal]

Auntie - I'm so sorry to hear about you BIL's illness. I will keep him and his family in my prayers. Hang in there .

[judydc]

Auntie--Ditto what Penny said! You have your hands full. What a year this has been for your family.

judy

[Marie]

Auntie, I'm so sorry about the latest 2009 nightmare in your life. You have had so many difficulty. I hope the aggressive treatment has a miracle in it.

DD and I are home from Bangkok. We paid the $$$ and left two days early. I'd be getting home in about 1.5 hours if we'd kept the original flight. It's taken 48 hours to feel nearly normal again. I have a dentist appt tomorrow morning for an achy tooth and in the afternoon I'm braving my way to the orthopedist.

Penny, I read your post about the Asian mark and cringed. I never want Asian food again. I'm glad you like the lo-cal foods.

Judy, good job on the unpacking. Maybe with the boxes gone, some semblance of order will return to your life. But with all your traveling I don't know if that's possible. I really hate traveling.

Jen, welcome to the thread.

I haven't weighed in yet. As Penny has mentioned in the past, I get travel water weight gain and I see no reason to be kicking the scale through the wall. I'm going to weigh in on Wednesday. As I hated the food, I'm thinking I'll be just fine. Since coming home, I haven't been able to hit my 1500 cals. Still not a lot of interest in food. I know that will be fleeting so I will ride that wave until it crashes. I did the elliptical today and didn't lose too much aerobic capacity while gone. Using the kickboard in the pool and WATP kept me moving but nothing like my usual routine. So I am working at getting that back.

Nearly time for bed. I took no naps today, so maybe I'll sleep al the way through the night.
Marie

[penpal]

Marie - Welcome home! I hope your tooth is ok and that you get your wrist seen to. You've really been through a tough time lately - I hope things quiet down for you now and you get to spend some quality time with your DH and darling doggies. I can understand you wanting to get home asap, especially as you couldn't stand the food. At least food wasn't a big temptation for you on your trip. Not like when I went back to England and gained about 10 lbs.!

[Marie]

Hi Penny, I had quite a day yesterday. Two teeth with tiny cracks. In other words, two crowns on the way. Then the ortho found another fracture amd casted the wrist. No long posts for a while. But I did weigh in and and had lost 3 pounds ob the trip. That's cool. The cast weighs about 1 pound so the net today wasn't as good.
Marie

[judydc]

I'm online for a moment, so a quick check-in. I'm in Boston for a few days. I spent yesterday evening with a friend talking about "balance"--a very helpful conversation for me, as I feel totally out of whack.

Marie, I'm sending you a hug . At least you know what's going on. But crowns are expensive, sheesh!

more later--judy

[judydc]

After avoiding it forever, I'm finally ready to face the truth. I forced myself to get onto the scale:234.5 . I was afraid that it would be even worse, but as it is, that more than 20 pounds higher than last summer. But I'm ready to deal with it. I will lose 15 lbs by the Fourth of July. My eating plan:

• b'fast--whole grain and protien
• snack--fruit and nuts
• lunch--veggies and protein
• snack--vegiies and protein
• dinner--whole grain, protein and veggies
• dessert--fruit and protein

Saturday will be treat day (not Pig-Out Day!). I'll get back to doing at least 250 minutes of cardio and strength workouts a week. I'll ask my friend Susie to be my referee on a Stickk challenge, to log everything I eat. And I'll mention my goal on my Facebook page, in hopes that being more public about my goal will give me incentive.

I hope everyone is having a good weekend. I'll be dealing with chores and working on a writing project for work. Oh, and watching basketball--go, Cavs

judy

[Marie]

Judy, good for you facing the evil scale. That's the great motivator. I hope the log challenge works. Between logging (even on vacation) and the scale, I stay motivated. Not to mention I love exercising even though I'm limited at the moment to activites as I can't use my left arm (written forbidden be dr.) and specifically told no rollerblading. Anyway, I love the euphoria from a great workout. Confidence too. So go for the 250 minutes.

Today I walked/hike for about 4.5 miles in the woods today. DH was cutting wood for next winter so the doggies and I went with, then walked up and down the logging roads. It was so gorgeous. All three puppies are passed out at the moment. I also vacuumed, the steam cleaned m wood floors. I love the Shark Steamer. Now I'm zoned on the couch exhausted.

Penny and Caro, I hope all is going smoothly with you both.

Auntie, you're in my thoughts and I hope you BIL has found a miracle.
Marie

[penpal]

We just got back from a lovely long weekend trip to Leavenworth, Washington - a 'Bavarian' town in a gorgeous setting between high snow capped mountain ranges. They were celebrating their May festival with maypole dancing, etc. and we had a very enjoyable stay in a lovely "pension" style european chalet with fabulous feather bed. Here is some info, in case you are interested: http://tinyurl.com/6lked2

Judy - Good for you making a commitment to get back on track. We're both up 20 lbs. so I know how it feels. I'm also eating lots more fruit and veggies and feel better already. We managed to do quite a bit of walking and I'm going to try to keep it up.

Marie - It sounds like you're back into your normal routine. I hope your wrist is soon healed enough for you to do your favorite exercises. Your long hike in the woods sounds invigorating - I bet your doggies loved it too. They must have missed their 'mommy'.

Auntie & Carol - I hope everything is going well for you.

[judydc]

I just updated/upped my 3FC profile. That was unpleasant! But at least it's true. I have started my "clean eating" plan, and am working on getting everything else (logging, Stickk, etc.,) off the ground. Today I had an egg and and oatmeal for b'fast; apple and wanuts for AM snack; roasted chicken and steamed veggies for lunch, and cottage cheese, cherries and popcorn (hmmm) for afternoon snack. I'll have a salad, fish and rice for dinner. Since I had my popcorn already, I may have a small piece of fruit for dessert. It's Monday, so of course I got up too late to work out. I'll sit on the rowing machine for a while as I watch basketball tonight, then organize Tuesday's menu better than I did today's.

Penny, I've been Leavenworth--it's a hoot! Good beer, tho . I hope we can both move speedily to rid ourselves of these 20 lbs.

Marie, that's a good long walk! It's so nice outside this time of year. Boston was unexpectedly (for me, anyway) gorgeous last week. Everything seemed to be in full bloom, just spectacular. I walked a lot, through the Commons and the Public Gardens.

I hope everyone else is hanging in there. Auntie, I'm sending you hugs:

judy

[penpal]

Judy - I'm surprised you've visited Leavenworth as it's a bit of an out of the way place. It's a bit hokey but the scenery is fantastic. Your menu sounds very healthy and delicious. Lately I've been eating sliced oranges which I keep chilled in the fridge - very refreshing. I also get the tart cherries in a jar from Trader Joe's. Cherries are supposed to be good for your joints - which would be a nice side effect. I haven't had any red meat for at least a week - mainly salmon and shellfish and a small amount of chicken. Boston sounds lovely this time of the year. We were only there once years ago and it was in winter but still a lovely city. I've also updated my ticker too to keep me honest!

Marie, Auntie, Carol & everyone - I hope the week is going well for you.

I'm feeling very stuffy and sluggish since we got back. I'm more and more suspicious that I'm allergic to something around here. I always feel more alert when I'm out of town. There's tons of pollen in the air at the moment as we're surrounded by maples and other trees and of course there's always cat hair everywhere from our fur babies!

[auntie g]

Hi everyone! Sorry I'm still not keeping up with things here, but I hope that sooner or later I will again. Just wanted to let you know I'm still here. My BIL is still in the hospital undergoing radiation and chemo. Everything is still in disarray. Yesterday my dad went into the hospital AGAIN. And the latest is that we're waiting (2 weeks, grrrrr) for results of my DH's endoscopy, to see whether his Barrett's esophagus has turned cancerous or not.

I just may be cracking.

Obviously I'm not able to focus on weight loss right now, and I don't want to hang out here being a downer, so I sort of feel like I should stay away for a while. But I wanted to let you girls know that I'm still reading your posts and that I WILL get back when I can.

Good luck to all of you, and keep fighting the good fight!

[penpal]

Auntie - I'm so sorry to hear the terrible time you and your family are going through right now. I will keep all of you in my prayers .