Laura: the biggest things about the jawbone up 3 is that is has a heart rate monitor, smart alarm (wakes you up by vibrating on your arm at the best time on your sleep cycle within a 30 minute window) and you can get one that looks more like a jewelry bracelet than a fitness tracker. Also the technology they use for heart rate monitoring is also capable of detecting whether you're stressed/fatigued or dehydrated. They are going to add new features with future updates through the app. Initially it will just be your resting heart rate, but the technology overall is capable of measuring much more. Heres the website:
http://jawbone.com/store/buy/up3?col...duct-customize
For some reason my tablet isn't letting me open the link button. I do wonder how wrist Pedometers can distinguish between arm movement and steps. I'm glad putting the fitbit in your pocket fixed that problem. I used to keep mine on my pocket too, it always worked well!

Claygirl
I'm going to look into the Jawbone. I've never heard of it but I like what you say about it.

Dee
Thanks for saying those things about going to Houston. I really want to go but I think under my specific circumstances I don't need to. I'd like to give my sister some moral support but she will have that from her daughters. I will go visit with her later on.

Back in a few.

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OKAY I'M BACK AS PROMISED THIS TIME.

The above photos are of lil Miss S wearing the dress I bought her for Christmas and the locket I bought for her birthday. Thankfully it was liked by all.

It's not quite the crack of dawn but I have been outside poisoning the weeds and pruning the roses and watering before it got too hot. Yesterday was around 36C by 10.00am and stayed that way until after 9.00pm last night. Humidity wasn't too bad so that at least wasn't the problem. I went out there early this morning because shortly after sunrise the breeze gets up and I can't poison when the wind blows. Unless of course I want to replace the good plants in my garden as well.
I have one (yep 1) lime fruit on my lime bush. Yeehaa. There were two but one must have come off in the heavy rain. I think I have picked the last of the tomatoes. They have done well considering all they had to put up with. So I will let a couple of the good ones fall on the garden and then dig them in for some new plants in the next couple of months. The new garden under the Poinciana tree is coming along well and the dahlia are starting to flower nicely. Must have been good soil I put in there since they are now taller than me. Not that that is saying much.

Work continues to wend its merry way, getting busier and busier. We will be doing roadshows next month to get the victims ....... aaaaah users prepared for their training. Not sure how this is going to fit since there are only two trainers, one of whom (me) only works 4 days a week. And I see they have scheduled two of my courses for a Friday and I don't work Fridays.

Internet explorer just stopped working. Thankfully I was able to copy my work before I shut it down and came back again. I'd have been really p*ssed off if I lost it all. Things in the Ethernet world are somewhat hairy around here at the moment. I think they are doing things with the National Broadband Network which was dreamed up by the previous government and set in motion only to have this government say it was too expensive and we will only get the fibre optic cable to the end of the street and after that it becomes copper wire again. Don't get my DS1 started on that subject because you will become old and grey before he gets to the end of the lecture. How they think they will get it to the end of the street defies description and my imagination is not up to it.

So where was I before I digressed - oh yeah work. Since the motel I am living in can not accommodate me for the week after next, which happens to be Australia day weekend, I will be working from home that week. I sincerely hope the internet connection works well enough for me. Otherwise I will definitely be in pooh street.

To stop this getting to long and risk losing it, I will post here, and come back with personals. See you all on the other side of the break.

Right so I had better read the posts so I can comment in some meaningful way.

Annie - I was wearing blue yesterday. Have no idea what Colts blue looks like but at least it was blue.
Energy??? Some days I just drag through the day. Rarely take vitamins since the majority of my food comes from my organic garden. (last night was butter beans and tomatoes) and I just get up and go through the list of things to do and get them done as I can. Some days I don't achieve, most days I do. Lists are what gets me through the chores.
Your lunch dates are looking good. And I agree with Laura, that C will only feel better if he eats well and stops the C.R.A.P.

Happy - hope the eye appointment went alright and that you got the hair that you wanted. I guess one of things on my agenda next week is a cut and colour - darn.

Michelle - hope the pain goes away and stays away for you. But at least you have started the plan of action to find out what it is.
So sorry to hear of Bob's ongoing problems. As if it wasn't enough to lose a leg and butt. I have him in my thoughts hoping for a peaceful period for him.

Claygirl - I love the pottery you have made. It is lovely. I'd order a set of mugs but I don't think they would arrive here in one piece. Maybe the next time I come over to the States, I will let you know in advance.

Laura - I travel home on a Thursday night. This week I got a 6.00pm flight which meant I was home just before the sun went down. It was nice. I'll try for that flight again. You get fed on it as well which means that you don't have to worry about food when you get home.

Dee - I use photobucket as well. I don't resize my pics. The ones in the last post were full size on my computer and between photobucket and 3fc it resizes to what you see there. If you upload the photos from your computer to photobucket, then open the picture, you will see the box on the right side of the screen with various types of uploads on it. IMG at the bottom. If you click that, it copies the URL (and says copied) and then you can import it into 3fc through the image button (looks like a landscape pic of a mountain). Once the url is inserted in the your post, you can delete the first and last [IMG] - not the one in the middle. Should then work nicely.
Love those pics of the lil puppies. They are so cute. Unfortunately I like my dogs big - at least taller than my knees. I've had shepherds and kelpie shepherd crosses. I can run with them and they keep going long after I want to stop. In fact my 3fc name is the name of my bestest dog. I still love and miss him and I used to say that if he was human, I would have married him.

Ceejay - seems to me that you must do what you must do as far as this wedding is concerned - it was a wedding right. Maybe they are trying to keep the guest list down or something. Budgets for weddings can go right through the roof if not kept in check. There was a thing on tv a while ago about weddings and one of them cost $40,000. Now that to me is a deposit on a house. It's one day for heavens sake, not the rest of your life.

Nae - Hi, how are you? Long time no talk. Funnily enough I was thinking of you the other day and wondering how you were. I came across the letter you wrote me when you sent me that knitted dish towel (which I still have and use). You should be able to PM me now if you wish.

I'm going to stop right here. I know I haven't got to everyone, but I have things to do - like I bought a box of mango yesterday $10 (and there is 24 in the box) and I processed half yesterday and better get back to them today. It will be good to have a dose of sunshine on my plate in the middle of winter when I start dreaming about stone fruit. I also have some limes to process since I brought them cheap as well. I will process the rind and the juice and freeze them into ice cube trays (for my drinks later in the year) So I have become quite the hoarder and storer this year. There are apples, rhubarb, cherries, apricots, mango and lime in the freezer. I can do things with those.

For those I have missed, sorry about that. I will be back later tonight. This afternoon I have an 80th birthday to attend down in NSW - about an hours drive from here. I still don't have a card or a gift - so what do you buy an 80 year old who has everything. I think it will be flowers and a gift card. And there is also the mango and limes, the microwave needs a clean and the whole place needs a sweep out. I have two orchids to repot, the hedge to trim and I am painting the house - well not all of it today. In fact that will be better left to pre dawn and late afternoon tomorrow. It will be nice when all the projects are finished won't it.

I don't usually remember my dreams but last night they were very vivid. I don't know why nor where I was but there was this large white pillow case on the floor. I opened it to get out what I thought was laundry and their was nothing but copper head snakes, a whole pile of them. I woke myself up screaming. I also dreamed about daddy whose birthday is coming up on Monday. He would have be 96. He's been on my mind a lot this week.
I got a copy of my lab work and really didn't like the results this time. So it's back to taking my vitamins and minerals, and take care of myself. I'll probably pay for my sin of bingeing tonight or tomorrow. Maybe I'll learn.

____________

Michelle
Spend as much time as you can with your friend Bob.
Hope you don't have gallstones.

Happy
Did you draft DH to help transport the pork?
I can understand how some people wouldn't want the dear, especially if they like to have gardens. I would have to remember that I invaded their territory and give them their space.

Annie
I can understand how concerned you would be about C.'s condition especially when it flares up. It does me when mine does.

Shad
Aw, little miss S. sure has grown and is so cute.

Terra
Where are you?

Shad
Re-The trip is to attend a wedding and yes they do have it down for approximately 65 people to attend. I feel honored that he wanted to invite me but he would understand if I couldn't make it. If I don't go that would give one of their friends a place.

Cejay - If you don't know the couple well then it would be a nice gesture to not attend the wedding breakfast and just go to the ceremony. As you say it gives them a space for a close friend or another family member as they chose. Sometimes weddings guest lists are all about inviting family that we haven't seem for years and don't know at all. I'd rather have someone I could relate to. Not saying that you don't relate. You know what I mean.

hope all is well
 

Hope all of you are doing something that you love very much every day. Life is a precious thing. Blessings to of you and your famlies. Renae

Hi I do hope you are doing so well. That your garden is beautiful and prosperous. I so often think of Mel and how sweetly she treated everyone. Her daily struggles were more then we can know I am sure. I am going to be in Boise, ID and away from my home for about 6 months receiving treatment for breast cancer. I have had surgery and received my first round of chemo. It is full of challenges many wait ahead of me. I am getting good care and staying with my youngest Jesse and his lovely wife Morgann. My dog Little Bear has come with me to keep good watch over me. The winter here has been mild so spring is really just around the corner. Having more time on my hands I thought of you and just thought you might want to know about my journey.
Take good care of yourself,
Renae

Nae,
So sorry to hear that you are having problems too. Please PM me your e-mail address so I can keep up with you while you are away. You are right, I would be interested to know how you go.

I presume you know that Mel passed away just over a year ago?

Susie ~ Yeah I agree my profile pic is a great motivational tool

Michelle & Happy ~ Hi, How have you been doing? I hope you've been doing great

Laura ~ Yeah I agree exercise does help. Yeah I find working out on machines is boring too.

Dee ~ Yeah I know I sometimes dont feel like working out 3 times a day but I just keep telling myself that I'm not gonna get to my goal if I dont work out.

Renae ~ Welcome back to the thread

Claygirl ~ I love the round pottery picture

Ceejay ~ I'm still around here but I just didnt have time to post yesterday.

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Woke up at 6:30 this morning. I went to an appt. at 10:00 a.m which my appt. wasnt until 10:30 a.m. and came back home at noon. I still need to do my 30 min. walking dvd tonight though which I will before I go to bed tonight. I hope everyone is having a great night.

Update----I'm going to Houston. My sister insisted that I purchase tickets tonight. I told her that if I got to Dallas crabby not to fuss at me just put me to bed. And that I wanted a Braum's burger when I got there. I'm dreading the drive to Little Rock but I'm now looking forward to going.

Morning all,

Got up at 5:30 today to see the old boy off. Now I have the whole day to myself :dance: :yay: Sometimes it's good just to have a day on your own.

Got my hair cut yesterday. I showed her some highlights I liked and she misinterpreted what I was saying. Instead of low lights (darker streaks) she added more blonde so my hair is substantially lighter than it was before. I don't notice much of a difference but he did the minute I walked in the door. We weren't home too long before we had to go back out to the eye doctor. What a waste that was. 2 and a half hours in the office - they didn't even take us until an hour after our scheduled appointments. And they even bumped some people in ahead of me who were complaining about the long wait. :mad: My near vision has weakened - no surprise there. He said I have the beginnings of cataracts in both eyes - yet another sad reminder of being old. :( This is why I am having trouble focusing when reading - things just aren't "sharp" and after 15 minutes it gets straining on the eyes. Not bad enough for surgery but it will be in my future one day. This also means I have to rethink all those books I have squirreled away to read one day - especially the older ones with the tiny print. DH will be happy to hear that as he thinks I have too many books laying around for too long that I have not read. The one thing that bugged me is because I have always been on the computer for work and leisure and I wear blended bifocals, I have had "computer" glasses. A mid range prescription that does not cause neck strain trying to look at the bottom of my glasses for the close up vision. I've been wearing these for 15 years and it's actually hard for me to focus on the computer with my regular glasses. This guy gave me a really hard time about computer glasses - said to get a new prescription (for all 3 levels) and I should be ok. He forgot to listen / care about what I was saying about cricking my neck. Said if I wanted this I would have to measure the exact distance between my computer screen and my eyes and they'd have to do all sorts of complex calculations to get the right prescription (think Einstein's chalk board with the theory of relativity math calculation on it ;) ) I know in the past it's been a best guess to the prescription to estimate the mid range distance but it's never really been a problem before. I was not happy. DH was not happy with the guy either and said next time we will just drive the hour to the next town and see the same guy who did his cataract surgery. This guy is a opthamologist and everyone in town I talked to who sees him was very complimentary about him. I saw him in the fall when I had shingles and thought he was ok which is why I made the appointment to see him yesterday. I guess the cataracts are why I see things a bit fuzzy - I thought your eye clouded over but DH said no, you just can't focus well. I thought my vision was just getting really bad and each year I was closer to getting a guide dog.

Ceejay - it's a pity that you have to drive so far to get a flight. Memphis airport has nothing but (long) connections - you are better off at Little Rock. I hope you have a good time even if you don't attend the entire reception. Oh my - what a very scary dream! I picked up the pork all by myself. They put it in nice cardboard trays so I was able to carry it to and from my car - then I transferred it to cooler bags until I could get everything in the freezer.

Terra - that's very true - you will never get to goal if you don't push yourself. Just keep up the good work.

Shad - little Miss S is so very adorable - looks a bit like daddy too. Nice age too - lots of fun and very cute. I'm glad a certain someone found your gifts good enough for her to wear ;) Looks like you get quite a bit of mileage out of your garden. Good idea also to get the fruit in season and freeze it. I am hearing more about the benefits of eating the peels of citrus fruit. I do know that the essential flavorful oils are in the peel / zest. However I do worry about the concentrations of pesticides in the skins also. Not sure I see organic citrus up this way. How was the birthday party? Did you find a gift? I give my Mom candy - at least she eats it right away. Everything else gets stowed away (and forgotten) because "it's too good to use right now" :rolleyes: I think the best gift for them is actually just to be surrounded by people and gushed upon. The elderly tend to get forgotten and rather lonely so company can be the best gift.

Nae - I am very sorry to hear of your cancer woes. Will send some healing prayers your way. I wish you well and a speedy recovery.

Laura - deveining shrimp is not so bad - provided you get the big pricy ones :lol: The shrimp shells make a wonderful and flavorful broth for a nice sauce when cooked with a bit of vegetable broth, onions, carrots and celery and seasonings. I loved the Grumpy Old Men movies - Burgess Meredith totally stole the show - just like Clint Eastwood's mom ? character in Every Which Way But Loose. I will be very interested to hear how the yogalities class works out. I think you are smart going with the park district punch card - gives you lots of variety.

Claygirl - loved your pottery. How pretty! You are right - they make it look so easy on TV - didn't realize it takes talent to get things looking nice. We had some horsehair pottery someone donated to the thrift store - it was decorated with strands of horsehair but if you didn't know that it looked like fine lines of painting. Very different. I thought it was pretty myself. Yikes - that sounds like a disastrous situation with your sister and her partner. I think you are right that if you say anything, it will put her on the defensive. Sometimes you just would like to spare a person some pain but they have to figure that out for themselves. Sorry you have a mean neighbor cat, they tend to give cats a bad name. Any animal who bites unless threatened or backed into a corner is not good.

Michelle - I hope you will not have gallbladder problems now. Given the limitations of your diet you need to get some fats in order for the gallbladder to work properly. I know it's got to be difficult to get everything you need into your body while eating substantially less. Hope you will be ok but at least it's something you can be aware of for now. Always something, right?

Annie - I had to smile at your comments about your hairdresser. Isn't your hairdresser Sissy? :lol: I hope she can work out her issues with C. Relationships are far more complicated than they used to be it seems. It's also a major strain on anyone when money is hard to come by. I hear you on the hairstyles. I was just saying to my sister yesterday, every new cut seems to morph into the standard style I have always had. The only difference is the length of my hair. :lol: I look at girls with thick hair with body and texture and I am always envious - I think they are the only ones who can change styles and always look good.

Dee - what cute and adorable puppies! Sometimes I go to sleep with my iPOD when DH is not using his cpap and snoring up a storm. The music is enough to dull the sound of him but then I start snoring too. I said that was in response to his "singing" :rofl:

I guess this is enough for me - been sitting here a few hours already and I don't want to waste the entire day away. I have to render down the lard I got and there is the usual pesky housework thing to do. Have a good weekend everyone!

Hi ladies,

Quick post for me. I saw the my regular doctor yesterday. She ordered blood tests and a urinalysis to check for gallbladder and kidney problems. Urinalysis showed no signs of infection...blood test results haven't come back yet. She also ordered an ultrasound which I had done last night. I'm not sure if I'll learn the results before Tuesday or Wednesday since this is a holiday weekend.

The pain is at a 1 or 2 (out of 10) right now and was minimal most of the day yesterday...so I told the doc that the pain is really mild except when it isn't. Then it shoots up to a 8 or 9.

Santa and I are going to the dog park this morning, then I'll take him to day care while I go visit Bob...then it will be back to the dog park until dark, and then home to do laundry.

D and I went and saw the movie "Wild" on Thursday night. I thought it was excellent. I thought Reese Witherspoon was really good. The scenery was gorgeous! I checked the book out from the library and have just started it. Two of my cousins want to hike a section of the Pacific Crest Trail this summer. I'd like to join them if it's for a short-ish stretch. I guess I'd better start training. LOL

I'll come back for personals later.

Much love,
Michelle

Morning all,

The party yesterday was great. The 80 year old is probably the most sprightly person I have met - she is great for her age. I tell you what, if I am that good when/ if I get to 80 then I will be a very happy person. For her present, I bought some flowers and a gift card. Between the two of them and the card, it added up to $80 so I think I did okay. It was so hot though. The hall where it was held did not have air conditioning and with all the bodies, it was around 33C which was not quite as hot as in my place yesterday. 38.5 at 11.45 was as hot as it got. For those not into centigrade that is somewhere between 104 and 107F. The aircon ran for most of the day. Today is a bit cloudy and will (apparently) not be as bad. We shall see.

So for today I have to repot some orchids, dust and sweep the house, finish with the limes (only 10 more to do), put all the gardening stuff away and shut up the shed, pack for Melbourne and a few other bits and pieces that we all have to do from time to time. If there is time, I might get to some more painting - but I am not counting on it. If I can get all the other outside stuff done, then that will be next weekends task. Then I need to get a tradie in for a few tasks such as boxing up for some concrete and replacing some of the rotten wood on the pergola.

Ceejay - not sure what a Braums burger is but enjoy it when you get it. Glad you are going to the family do.

Terra - when is your next weigh in?

Happy - I get really grumpy when doctors do that to me. I feel that my time is just as precious as theirs. Especially when I am working away from home and I don't have enough time to do everything I want to do. Hope you go back to the one that you liked and get some sort of satisfaction. Cataracts - oh no!!!!
Not sure of the benefits of eating citrus peel. I tend to wash my citrus (even though it is organic) in fairly warm water - sometimes they seem to put a wax on the skins, no doubt to keep them fresh, and it is hard to zest them. So when I buy them, I scrub them up with the nail brush and take those silly labels off them.
Nothing lonely or forgotten about that 80yearold I can tell you. She is the life and soul of many a party. She was up dancing at once stage until she got too hot.

Nae - Thanks for the blessings. We could sure do with some good news on the thread right about now.

Michelle - Hope the doctor can alleviate the pain for you soon. Even though it is not too bad at the moment, living with pain can be incredibly tiring.

Okay - so I am out of here to get some things done outside before the heat hits again. I'm repotting orchids and tidying up in the yard. Don't think I will get the top of hedge trimmed, but who knows. See you

A quick on for me tonight. I've been spoiling myself with extra sleep in the mornings this week end. I slept till 11 today. I'm going to have trouble getting up in the morning.
Called my sister this morning to wish her a happy birthday. She turned 62.
Still doing my counter height push ups and am beginning to see a difference. Rode my bike for 20 minutes with 10 minutes of light weights.
-------
Shad
Braums is an eatery that has really good burgers. Thinking about asking my cousin and his wife who are both retired but younger than myself to drive me to Little Rock.

Happy
You shed some light for me today with your visit to the eye doctor and cataracts. I was wondering why my vision wouldn't be as clear except for a certain period of time. I'm hoping that my cataracts won't be ready for removal until I retire.
Where did your hubby go?

Michelle
I'd forgotten about this being a holiday week end. Hope the pain doesn't get to bad.

Terra
Keep up with the exercise. You and Michelle are still motivating me.

Hi ladies,

My pain in the side has eased up. Now just a 1 or 2. I won't have the ultrasound test results back until Tuesday, but the blood tests were normal. The doctor said the pain could just be sore muscles from working out. Which I guess would make sense since I haven't gotten much exercise in the past couple days. But it just didn't feel like sore muscles, which is why I was concerned. We'll see what the ultrasound comes back with and if everything is ok...then I won't worry.

I spent a few hours at the hospital with Bob yesterday. The plan now is for him to be released in a week or so to in-home hospice care. He'll need 24x7 care, and the challenge is to find care that the insurance will pay for. The insurance would pay for him to be in a nursing facility, but he really wants to be at home.

Today, I'm going to watch the Packer playoff game at the bar with my friends. After the game, I will take Santa to the dog park, then come home and do laundry.

=====================
Happy - So sorry to hear about the cataracts, and about the unpleasant eye doctor. Where did your DH go? Yes, it is nice to have a day to ourselves sometimes.

Ceejay - Good for you for sleeping in. Your body must need the rest. Bummer that you have to drive so far to catch your flight to Texas.

Shad - Glad you enjoyed the party, and I'm sure the 80 year old did too. My step-mom is 76 and she's doing better physically than her two sons and me and my sister. She's always busy with sewing and quilting groups, senior groups and traveling. Little Miss S is not so little anymore! She's growing up so fast...and so beautiful!


Terra - Good to hear you're keeping up with the exercises.

Nae - So sorry to hear you have cancer. Good that you can stay with family while receiving your treatments. Sending you good vibes, healing wishes and keeping you in my prayers.


:wave: to Laura, Annie, Dee, Susie and Claygirl!

Much love and many hugs to all,

Day's and time have eluded me...but I have made it back.

Update on the knee and the hip/leg. Ortho confirmed through x-rays that I have a bit of arthritis in my left hip and most likely the knee is throwing off my gait and I have everything on the left side inflamed. He thought the chiropractor was right on the money and told me to keep doing what he told me to do and to get periodic adjustments if they help with the pain and the range of motion.

I am also going to do 6 weeks of physical therapy starting next week. My first appointment is on Tuesday. They will assess me and my goals and we will work towards those. I was talking to my ortho about how out of shape I am in and how much weight I have gained since he told me no more 5 k's and such. He really listened and then had me try some things, push ups, sit up, leg lifts, etc. He saw how limited I was and how much strength I have lost, then he decided on the pt. I actually cried when he suggested it and he thought he had said something to upset me. I told him "no it doesn't upset me, I am crying because someone finally heard me!" I want to move and not be in pain. He said they will help me learn that and get on the path to wellness again.

Michelle: I had my gallbladder out when I was 21 (many, many years ago). I had lost a lot of weight and then started having issues. I have two friends who have had weight-loss surgery and ended up with gallstones as well. I hope they figure out what the issue really is for you as it is not fun to have any pain. I can tell you that a gallbladder attack is the most painful thing I have every had in my life! I still remember it. In fact when I came out of surgery (and it wasn't laparoscopic...that didn't exist when I had mine out--it was just starting to be done in the big cities), they asked me how my pain level was--it was a pretty big incision--my scar looks like I was in a blade fight and lost! and all I could tell them was that the constant pain between my shoulder blades was gone and I felt really good.

:hug::hug::hug: to you and your friend Bob. My heart just breaks for you and for him. You both are in my prayers.

Terra: I see you were not posting for few days but you seem to be back into the swing of things now. Good for you!

Ceejay: I think it will be good for your to go on the trip and just get away from the pace of every day life.
:carrot: Excited that you won a $50 Walmart card...who can't use that!!

Good job on your counter push-ups keep it up.

Happy: it is frustrating when we can't see that well to read. I am dealing with a bit of that as well. I use "cheaters" right now but I feel that some sort of true "reading classes" for the computer and such are in my future. I am just trying to be happy that I can still see things far away.

Annie: I hope your DH is feeling better and will stop eating/drinking the things that bother his stomach. Men, they don't want to listen and they want us to fix it!

Sorry to hear that your daughter and hubby are having issues. All you can do is be her mom...listen, give advice when it is asked for and just love her...and him too....as much as you can. And pray! we both know that prayer and being focused in our faith and showing others how to do that is a powerful tool, especially when we see no hope or no way to fix it.

Shad: your grand-daughter is so adorable!

Claygirl: Your pottery is beautiful! I have made one piece of pottery and it is something that I want to do it again. It is on my "bucket" list.
How are you feeling?

Dee--those puppies are adorable!

Laura: It sounds like you have a great plan with your new exercise regimen.
I finally got the charger for my fitbit from my brother and it is charging now.

I have went back into my fitness pal and updated things and I'm going to reset my fitbit and get back to it.

Happy & Ceejay ~ Thanks, I will keep up with my exercise and diet

Shad ~ I weighed myself this morning, The scale said 283 and I was 286

Michelle ~ Yeah doing my exercises and and staying at or under my calories are the only way I'm gonna get to my goal.

Susie ~ Yeah I havent been posting for a few days but I'm back to posting now.

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Woke up at 6:40 this morning and My mom and I went to church at 7:30 a.m. and church started at 8:15 a.m. and we left church at 9:00 and then we came back home and picked up my brother and then we went to Jimmy's Egg and then we went to Dillions and then we came home and pick everything up and then we went to walmart and then we came home for the rest of the day. At 1:40 p.m. I went outside and walked for over an hour. Tonight I'm gonna do 20 mins of my walking dvd and then I'm gonna go to bed for the night.

Evening all.

Claygirl - Re the jawbone - neat that the upgrades will be abvailable through an app.

Shad - Little S is such a cutie. What a pretty dress! It's a shame that she'll outgrow it quickly enough, but she'll have that locket for a lifetime. What a great gift idea. Duh re them scheduling training on Fridays. I hope the work from home works out - your connections haven't been ideal...but being home will have other benefits for you personally. Hmmm, getting fed on the plane - do they still do that? Sounds dicey to me, lol. I'm glad you enjoyed the party. Wow, sounds hot though! Can't even imagine getting up and dancing in that heat!

Ceejay - What a horrible dream - the snakes would have me screaming too. I hope the binge didn't cause any problems for you. Glad to hear your trip is a go - don't fret about the travel - you will get through it and have a great time with your family. Good job with the exercise!

Renae - Yes, Mel had a strong spirit and a wonderful sense of humor that I'm sure helped her a lot in her struggles. I really miss her!! I'm very sorry to hear about the cancer. Wishing you the strength to get through your treatments!! It's great you will have your family (including your doggy) near you.

Happy - Sorry to hear the eye appointment was so long. Or rather, the wait was so long! That would infuriate me - as Shad said, your time is just as valuable as the doc's! And after the wait, it turns out neither your or DH like him. I'm glad you have the other doc as an alternative. Re the cataracts - my mother has them, but she too is not at the point of needing the surgery yet. Good advice - I'll definitely keep the shrimp size in mind if I go the raw route and have to devein them!

Michelle - I hope your pain level stays low. Too bad you have to wait for those test results. I should think you know what muscle soreness feels like - and what it doesn't feel like, so that's odd if it is muscle soreness. But that would be preferable to gallstones!!! Bf is off watching the playoffs - I dunno which games were when, but I hope you enjoy(ed) the Packers game. Good luck to Bob in the search for affordable home health care covered by insurance.

Susie - Will the PT address your overall strength so you can get back to exercise, or will it be specific to your hip/knee? Your desire to get moving again will make it happen!! :yes:

Hello to Terra, Dee and Annie!
---
My weekend has been alright. Jazzercise was a killer yesterday morning. It's just tough when I'm only doing it once a week - no progress at that rate.

I joined several local Facebook groups that are "virtual garage sales". They are like most real life garage sales - tons of kids stuff and a small amount of other stuff such as clothing and miscellaneous items. I did, however, see a Calvin Klein bedskirt being sold for $10 in the perfect color to nicely match our new quilt set (the set only came with shams). I picked it up yesterday and it was nice the seller was only a mile from my house. The bedskirt is 100% cotton - much nicer quality than the dust ruffle that we use now that came as part of a comforter set. I'll be glad to get rid of that.

Even though I hit on a nice deal on the bedskirt, I'm still thinking I will quit those garage sale groups. They can be a big time suck if I'm not disciplined enough to limit my time browsing the postings. And the real reason I joined them is the possibility of finding a corner hutch to replace the cheap particle board/laminate hutch we currently have in our dining room. Having had limited luck with Craigslist over a much larger geographic area, I'm not sure why I thought I'd have any better luck going the virtual garage sale route. :dunno:

Oh well, now I know what they're about, and I actually think I'll try to sell some of our stuff through these pages. I think the fact that these items are sold locally is an advantage. If you go look at something and you don't end up buying it, at least you didn't go very far.

Moving on...everything was all melty yesterday and today. Yesterday I shoveled off the leftover ice on the driveway - though it would have melted on its own because today was nice again. It was nice to walk the dog in the sun today. :sunny:

I've been doing a lot of laundry today - suddenly there were a lot of towels and sheets in the laundry and not in the linen cabinet!

That's about it for me. I didn't get much done this weekend and there's a lot that needs doing, so I will have to get a list going and start working it.

This week, probably tomorrow night, I will go buy my group fitness class punchcard and start doing classes during the week. I did submit a cancellation note for Jazzercise on Saturday, so that's done.

Okay, gonna get this thing posted. I think another load of laundry needs to be moved to the dryer, and the stuff from the dryer needs to be folded. At least I can watch tv (or at least listen) while I fold. :)

Nighty night all.

Laura ~ How are you doing this morning? What are your plans for today if you have any plans, I'm not sure if your a planner or not lol. Anyway I hope you have a great day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I've done alot already this morning. I've taken out the bathroom trash out of the bathroom and I've taken my bed room trash out of my bedroom and I'm waiting for it to warm up outside before I take out the BIG kitchen trash this morning. I'm also gonna clean my c-pap mask and tube this morning as well. When it warms up I also need to gather all of the bags of cans and put them closer to the gate that is by the drive way. As always I'm gonna do my morning chair exercises at 9:30 a.m. and depending on how warm is it outside I'll go for another hour or longer walk at 1:00 p.m. and then at 7:00 p.m. I'll do 20 min. of my walking dvd and those are all of my plans for today.

Good morning ladies,

Not a very happy Monday I'm afraid. Bob has taken a turn for the worse. Since he really wants to pass away at home, his sister is trying to make all the arrangements for a hospital bed and round the clock care to be in place for him so he can go home tomorrow or Wednesday. I'm planning to see him after I get off work today.

As for the Packers, well...I was hoping for them to win if just to give me something to be excited about.

Sorry for being such a downer. At least the pain in my side has eased up. I'm going to walk between 1 and 2 miles on my lunch break today.

===========================

Susie - Sorry to hear about your knee, hip and leg issues. However, that's excellent that your ortho has confirmed what the chiropractor said and supports their course of treatment! I can totally relate to how wonderful it is to finally be heard by your physician. I'm glad you're doing physical therapy to regain strength and mobility. Thanks for sharing your gallbladder insight. It is VERY common for WLS patients to develop gallstones, so Kaiser puts patients on a medication to prevent gallstones...but he said people can still have gallbladder issues. Thank you for your prayers.

Ceejay - Congrats on winning the $50 Walmart card.

Dee - Not sure if I mentioned this, but your puppies are adorable! I'm not sure I could part with any of them. Something I like about going to the dog park is that I get to pet/love all kinds of doggies.

Terra - Congrats on the 3 lb weight loss! Great job on the nice long walk yesterday! Now that I can walk, I prefer walking outside to working out indoors...but as long as we keep moving, it's all good.

Laura - What a great buy on the bedskirt! Glad you were able to get out and enjoy the sunshine.

To those who have today off work, enjoy!! As for me, I don't, so I'd better get back to it.

Much love and big hugs to all,

Hello all,

Here's to another Monday rolling around the calendar. My weekend was sort of quiet. Yesterday I decided to render that pork fat I have since it was sitting in the garage for a week and the temperatures were edging up into the 20's outside. I did find a good blog with instructions for rendering the lard using a crockpot but it was woefully under on the actual time it took to do it. And you want to be careful you don't burn the fat so you have to keep an eye on it. All in all, probably took about 7 hours and since I couldn't fit it all in the crock pot at once, I still have another batch to make. I have probably 2 quarts of lard total. My mother was horrified when I told her what I was doing - OH THE CHOLESTEROL! :nono: But actually I did some research and while you don't want to eat this every day - or even every week, lard is actually less troublesome than some of the fats and oils we cook with. Lard contains - pig fat. That's it - no chemicals, no preservatives, no additives. So we'll try it. I made a small (2 and a half pound) ham for supper last night as well as some homemade potato salad which I have not made in ages and some green peas as a side dish. DH was a very happy camper. We are not huge ham people but this was very good - tender, not dry and no where near as salty as store bought hams. There is probably enough for 3 meals which is just enough before we get sick of eating ham so the hams they cut are just the right size for 2 people. I am impressed with the butcher/processor this place uses. Last night I watched a few shows I had recorded on tv and saw just a tiny bit of the front and back ends of the Packers football game. A whole lot of disappointed fans in Wisconsin today I imagine. I had quite a bit of clean up in the kitchen and took care of that. Today is yoga class and then I have some housework and laundry to do when I get home.

Terra - sounds like you have a busy day ahead. Good for you scheduling a long walk today.

Laura - I tend to agree with you about the once a week class not making any progress but then again, at least it's once a week of aerobic exercise for an extended period. And that's a good thing. How are you going to work the punch card classes? Do you have some picked out already? Virtual garage sales? Yikes that would be too tempting!

Susie - that's a downer on the limited motion, however you can gain a lot from the P/T going forward to prevent that from getting too debilitating. Last year's P/T for me really opened my eyes to that and I am motivated to stretch and move now when I feel things tightening up. I hope you get a lot out of this. I know a lot of people who use the "cheaters" glasses and have for years and years. Maybe you can luck out too! The nice thing about those is that they are less expensive than prescription glasses and you can change them out easily.

To the question of where did DH go Saturday - he went to the University of Minnesota to their Raptor Center to take some pictures of eagles, hawks, owls. It was not as good as they said it would be - he got a couple of nice shots but a long drive and lots of money for little return. :(

Michelle - hope you are feeling ok with the side pains. Hope you don't have gallstones - I can't see you eating foods right now that would aggravate that condition. Let us know how things go.

Busy Shad - in and out just like a strong wind. Back at work again? Is the weather any better in Melbourne?

I've got to jump in the shower and get ready for my class so I'll jump off now and catch up later with you guys. Have a good day today.

Morning all. Happy Monday.

Terra – I’m doing alright this morning, even though the weekend is over and I have another full workweek ahead. Other than my usual workday (about 8:45 to 5:15, Monday through Friday), I don’t always do much during the week and I’m not much of a planner. Lately on weeknights, I just go home and watch tv & eat dinner. Tonight I was going to go to the park district and buy my fitness class punchcard and take a class, but we are making pork chops for dinner tonight, so I’ll just do a workout at home instead. And my pushup challenge. Tomorrow after work, I have an appointment with my eye doctor. I have friends who go to a movie every Tuesday and sometimes I go with them, but not every week. On Wednesday, I’ll go buy the punchcard and take a class. So your afternoon walk today will be outside? It’s nice to walk outside when the weather improves and the sidewalks are clear of ice and snow. I enjoyed walking the dog yesterday. Enjoy your walk today!

Michelle – I’m so very sorry to hear Bob’s condition has worsened. I hope he can be back home for the time he has left. Bummer for you about the Packers...

Happy – I’ve heard that the way many oils are processed these days makes them less healthy. The less processed the better. In what types of dishes will you be using lard in place of other oils/fats? Re ham…I always thought it was cured or something. I assume the ones you have are fresh and that’s why it’s less salty?

Hellos to the rest of the Worldlies! Tell me what kind of exercise you’re going to get today!

Tonight I’m going to do a workout at home and it will either be the Peggy Cappy Pilates dvd or one of my Body Electric workouts. I will also do my pushup challenge.

I forgot both my pedometer and my fitbit today. My steps on the fitbit on Saturday and Sunday were both well over 10,000. I was wearing the fitbit on my wrist both days and I was thinking how all my arm movements in Jazzercise class and all the other arm movements during the course of a day would register – shaking out a towel and folding it, brushing the dog, stirring a mug of tea, etc. :D By now I’m sort of wishing I’d received either of the other items on my Secret Santa wishlist instead of the fitbit – a couple Fossil bracelets or a Bosu ball. Oh well.

Okay, nothing much else to report. Adios!

Quick update....Good news: I don't have gallstones. Bad news: I have a kidney stone. Good news: it's not obstructing anything. Doctor says to drink LOTS of fluids and take tylenol for the pain. I'm glad I found out what it was...because now I know I can trust my interpretation of my body's pain signals. It did NOT feel like muscle soreness. Right now, the pain is at a 1...my right side is just BARELY more sore than my left, but I hardly notice it. Hopefully I can flush the sucker out before another round of stabbing pain.

=====================

Happy - Enjoy your yoga class. Glad you're enjoying the pork you bought.

Laura - So you have to work today too? Oh well, I am glad that at least the traffic was lighter than normal...hopefully your train is less crowded. Bummer that the fitbit is tracking on your arm motion. I was going to congratulate you on surpassing 10K steps. I think I'll research fitness trackers a bit more before I invest in one.

Morning all :running: :running:

Seems that this will be a very busy week. The calendar is bursting with meetings and appointments and I have several documents to get ready for sign off.

And my own computer has decided that it will not let me see anything on its screen so I may be away much more than I am here. Working from home next week. Things might get normal.

Aftenoon
It will be going home time soon. I'm happy. So far I have had to call out the stand by electric person once. The people who are on a list to be turned off today came out and I hate this part of the job.
I need to stop by the grocery store on the way home tonight.
----------

Laura
Thankfully the binge did no harm. Don't blame you for staying home tonight.

Terra
Congrats on those pounds lost. Think I've gain them.

Shad
Come up for air when you need too. Love the avatar.

Happy
Enjoy the Yoga class. At least that will give you a break from cleaning.

Hello's to the rest.

Michelle ~ Thanks for commenting on my weight loss. Yes I really enjoyed my long walk yesterday.

Happy ~ I attempted to go for a long walk again today but I started hurting 5 mins into my walk. I'll try to go on a walk again tomorrow if its a nice day again.

Laura ~ WOW it sounds like you have a busy week. Yes like I told Happy I attempted to walk outside this afternoon but 5 mins into it I started hurting so I came back home.

Ceejay ~ Thanks for commenting on my weight loss, I sure hope you didnt gain the 4 I lost.

Good Morning and Happy Tuesday...and taco Tuesday! I have already been invited to join the group and it isn't even 8:00 yet. I think I am starting to feel like one of the "regulars". lol

This week is going to be rather busy, as we have already lost one day (being part of a banking org) we did not have to work yesterday. Instead Sis and I took Royce for his 9 mo pictures, only he is 10 mos, lol We are a little behind. Jacob was very good yesterday so I bought him his favorite - chawk wetts..snickers mini's. He could seriously eat the entire bag, but have to make him stop at 3, sometimes 4. I know teaching bad eating habits already.

Sissy and Chris had a come to Jesus meeting Friday night. C realized he is mostly at fault and promised to do whatever it takes to make thing right. We will see how that goes. Sissy seems much happier these days.

I am down another pound this morning for a total of 14, but that weigh in was directly after a major download, if you know what I mean, but hey I will take what I can get. I did do a little more walking yesterday with Sis and the kids. We went to 3 stores and walked all over at all of them. Ate a small lunch of a side green salad and ordered a bowl of mushroom soup but only ate half of the soup, it was too strong tasting of beef broth or something. Then I made a diet friendly meatloaf for dinner. No tomatos, tomato sauce, ketchup used other things instead for Cs sake. He is doing a bit better by following Doc Anne's orders. He is also down about 10 lbs and his belly is not so bloated.

HAPPY...yes, Sissy is my hairdresser for color only. I actually go to another gal for the cut. I just like how she cuts it, not that Sissy couldn't do it, but there are too many interruptions at her house for cutting. Her kids, babysitting kids, dog, etc. hmmm, pig lard. You sound like my daddy cooking with lard. I can remember my g-ma cooking with lard back in the day too! Not good for you, cause they only lived til 89, 86, 85 and 80, right? lol And none of it was due to eating food cooked with lard, when they died.

CHELLE...yikes on the kidney stones. I have had both gallstone (gall bladder removed when my son was about 18 mos old) and have had kidney stones twice in my life. Both times ended up in the hospital due to pain and once obstructed. I can tell you when the pain is the worst is when the stone is traveling, and believe me you will know when that is, pain like no other. Drink lots of unsweet cranberry juice and water, that will flush them out. Boo's go to the Colts, they didn't even show up. Boo for the Packers, at least they were in the game, can't believe the last 5 minutes of that game. Holy Cow! I think I was more bummed out about the Packer game cause I didn't really think the Colts would win anyway. Praying for the best for Bob and that he does not suffer too long. I am so sorry sweeting, huge hugs!

LAURA...Don't you just hate it when you forget things in the morning, like my lunch today. I also had decided to start wearing my pedometer again and totally spaced that too. This is my Monday morning so I blame it on that. haha. I am addicted to Amazon shopping, I have to stay away from that sight.

SHADDIE...lil Miss S is just adorable. She has grown so much, makes sense tho, the time has flown. A shame they cannot stay little for a bit longer. The dress and locket you got her are so sweet looking. I must say she looks like she could be a little pill. (onery).. I would love your garden harvest, yum on the abundance of tomato's..my favorite and miss having them in my cottage cheese in the mornings.

SUSIE...hopefully the PT will get you pointed in the right direction to keep the pain to a minimum. Dang the arithritis, I get that as it is in my bad ankle. Ask your doc for Warferin Gel. It is great for arithritis. At least it works for me. I think Happy's DH did not have much luck with it.

CEEG...hope you have fun on your trip. My friend in Texas went on and on about Wat-a-burgers, so when I went down for a visit a few years ago, I tried one, I was not impressed. I don't think I have slept until 11 am since I was a teenager. I just cannot sleep that long. My kids can but I cannot.

TERRA...great job on the pounds down, keep on truckin sister. Exercise does make a difference, too bad I just hate it.

HELLO Claygirl, Dee and anyone else I may have missed. Best post this and get my stuff hot.

Hugs

Morning all, no time for posting - barely time for reading as I chug the coffee. DH was snoring up a storm - I'm surprised the bedroom walls are still standing. I eventually gave up and moved beds but didn't get enough sleep. Going to be a long day at the thrift shop today. I have to go grocery shopping too but not feeling it. Anyway, I will be back tonight. Have a good one everybody.


Oh and my PC is acting up big time too.

Good morning ladies,

The news about Bob is a little better. Sunday his sister had told me that he was not lucid or coherent or even awake for very long, so we all thought that his time was getting near. Turns out, he was just on too much pain medicine...so they readjusted his doses, and yesterday when I visited him, he was more alert than I'd seen him in days. We had a lovely 1.5 hour visit. He wanted me to stay longer, but by then practically his entire family had arrived and there were just too many people in his room...so I gave him a big hug and told him I'd see him in a few days. The hope is that he will be released to home hospice care on Wednesday or Thursday. He will have a live-in nurse so he has 24x7 care. I was right, yesterday was definitely the day to visit him. The traffic heading back home which is normally bumper to bumper from 4-7:30pm was non-existent. Thankfully, once he gets transferred home, I should be able to see him nearly every day as it's not far out of my way. And I'm committing to walking at lunchtime when it's not rainy, so I get a 2 mile walk in each day, and this evening, I'm walking with another friend, so that will be another 1.5 or 2 miles. :D I really should get a cheap pedometer so I can measure my steps.

============================

Ceejay - That has to be a tough part of the job...to give the electric department the names of people who must have their power turned off. Glad to hear the binge didn't do any harm. As for burgers, here in CA, we have "Five Guys" (which is good...not great, in my opinion) and we have In-N-Out, which make really good burgers, fresh french fries not frozen, and fabulous milkshakes made from real ice cream. I don't think I'll ever get one of their shakes again due to my surgery, but they do offer their burgers "protein style" wrapped in a big lettuce leaf rather than a bun.

Terra - I'm really enjoying walking now that I can finally do it without having pain. I'm sorry to hear you had pain so early into yesterday's walk. Does it also hurt when you do the walking DVD?

Annie - Enjoy your taco Tuesday! Glad you're feeling like one of the "regulars"! I'm so glad to hear that Chris is going to make an effort to make things right. Congrats on the weight loss! So glad to hear that C is doing better and has lost weight too! Thanks for the tip on the kidney stones. It must've been "traveling" on Friday morning, because the pain was SO bad. Since then, very little pain. I'm hesitating on cranberry juice because I don't want to dump and I know that can happen with even unsweetened fruit juice. But I am drinking A LOT of water. The last 5 minutes of the Packer game were absolutely surreal. I'm addicted to Amazon shopping too.

Happy - Sorry to hear you didn't get much sleep. Maybe you can put off grocery shopping until tomorrow? Or ask DH to do it...if he's like most men, that's a scary thought.

:wave: to Shad, Laura, Dee, Susie and Claygirl!

Love and hugs to all,

Good morning girls :sunny:
Our 4 g-babes were w me from Friday-Monday, no school. My foot is healed so I put on my ski-bibs & we were sledding on our hills in the front & out back & building snowmen using our 6" of snow. :coolsnow: Bad thing is our crazy hungry bellies screamed for food-carbs when we came inside :hungry:

Hap, I might give u a another alias aka 'Busy' for being nonstop as a retiree ;) Rendering lard :o I didn't know ppl still did this, I've heard it makes very good pie crust but I haven't tried it because I've never bought it. If I tried it in pie crust I think I would try it for a pot-pie. Okay this week I'm doing research into 'local yoga classes' because my foot healed. IS it better on our muscles/joints to do it in the morning or afternoon :?:

Shad-Joy, Your Miss S is such a cutie-pie & looks like a little model in her Christmas dress w locket. G-babes r the best, especially when they go back home when we r ready to give them back to mom & dad :) Hmm do u mainly plant veggie heirlooms or whatever u see?

Rita Ann, I just wanted to say your name once :yes: My family being from the south called all 5 kids & my parents by their middle names & I didn't know my first name until kindergarden in MI. when I had to learn it. Ppl up north spoke to us w our first names because of school. - 4 # is a celebration :carrot: What did u sub for the tomato flavor in your meatloaf. Happy for u about Sis & Chris working on their marriage...

Susie, I really hope u feel normal soon :hug: I have arthritis in my neck caused from fast movements my Doc said: snowmobiling & riding rollercoasters in Cedar Pointe & Kings Island (whiplashing). I keep the pain down by wearing a scarf & when I hurt I use heat & rest. Swimming also helps & just laying in our pool floating. Maybe aqua-therapy class/exercises would help u in PT, everything is soothing in the water.

Ceeg, Enjoy the wonderful Texas temps :beach: I've never been there, I have it on my vaca list to go visit. If u take pics, please share some. I don't know if MI has a good MI only burger:cbg:

Hi Laura, Michelle & ClayGirl, I'll catch-up w u on my next post. My doggies r barking so someone pulled into my driveway. :wave:

Morning all.

Michelle – Are kidney stones also a common thing to develop as a result of WL surgery? I’m glad your pain level is low right now, and I hope it stays that way. And I hope that the stone passes quickly and with as little as pain as possible!!! And I’m not surprised the pain wasn’t muscle soreness. After all these years, I sure hope we know our bodies well enough to be able to distinguish between muscle soreness and something else! I had work yesterday and it was nice that the train wasn’t crowded. I would say definitely do your research before buying a fitness tracker. What exactly are you interested in tracking? What features are important to you? Is it something that you will use to motivate you, or to make sure you don’t overdo it? I’m glad you had a nice visit with Bob yesterday, and that they got his pain meds adjusted to a good level for him. I hope his transition back home goes smoothly for him. Good for you getting in the walks. I think you need to post some photos of your walks so we can enjoy the warm temps and sunshine vicariously through you! :D

Ceejay – It must be a PITA when people call you to complain that their electric service isn’t working. When customers get shut off for not paying, are they usually unaware that this was going to happen? I should think they’ve received warnings….

Terra – I’m sorry you had to stop walking yesterday – was it your foot that was in pain again? Congrats on the loss!! Re my week – after work, the nights seem so short, but I’m sure if I planned better, I could accomplish some of my to-do’s during the week and not have to do them on the weekend!

Annie – Nice you get those banker’s holidays in this job! Sounds like you had a nice time with DD and the grandkiddies. Glad DS and C. had a discussion. Congrats on the weight loss!! A loss is a loss! Ha, yeh, so many people ate all the fatty stuff back in the day and they lived good long lives. The life expectancy is higher these days because of all the medical advances, sure as he!! not because people are eating healthier. Way too many Frankenfoods out there nowadays, and/or in giganto size portions. Next time bf and I eat out (which we haven’t been doing lately, thanks to the cold weather!), if we don’t share an entrée, I’m going to ask for a take-out box right away. The portions are so big, eating even half is almost always too much. Better to pack away a big chunk of it so it’s not sitting on the plate to pick away at.

Happy – Oy, the snoring. I thought you might have mentioned your hub has a c-pap – get him using that thing again, for both your sakes!! Hope your shift at the thrift shop goes by quickly. Grrr, computers – just like cars and AC – they are the PITAs we can’t live without!!

Dee - Ooh, the sledding sounds fun! Bf and I need to get ourselves some snowpants not just for the outdoor cold weather tasks, but also for the fun stuff too!

Hellos to the rest of the Worldlies!
==
Last night I came home from work and bf was all ready to get dinner going right away, so I didn’t have time to do a workout before dinner. Excuses, excuses. I did, however, do my pushup challenge. I’ve made another change to that. I decided to stop struggling to do traditional pushups and then finish up with the knee version. Instead, I went to the basement and did the day’s pushups off of the weight bench. This is definitely easier than traditional pushups on the floor, but still very challenging for me. Hopefully at some point I will be ready to transition to the floor. I might set up my aerobic step platform for that. It has two sets of risers, so its height can be adjusted. I can make it slightly lower than the weight bench and continue to challenge myself.

I forgot both my pedometer and fitbit yesterday, so no step counts. Today I have both.

I have to leave work about 45 min. early to get to my eye doctor appointment. I hope to get my contact lens rx the best it can be and not have to deal with that anymore. And I’m really getting sick of the eyeglasses I’m wearing. I need to get out and look at frames again. Maybe I’ll try one of those sites that lets you upload a photo of yourself and it shows you how you’d look wearing different frames.

That’s it for me. Have a great day everyone!

Dee - How fun you got to play with the grandchildren! Sledding and snowman making are some of my favorite activities for Midwest winters. One nice thing about where I live is that if I really want to go visit the snow, it's just a 4 hour drive away. Of course the beach is less than an hour away...so I could go make a sandcastle instead! :lol:

Laura - As far as I know, kidney stones are no more common with WLS patients than with anyone else. I guess I just got lucky. It probably will be painful to pass it, so I'm not looking forward to it. What I want for a fitness tracker is one that tracks cycling as well as walking, and I don't want it to track by using GPS because I want it to track riding the stationary bike at the gym. It would be nice for the tracker to be water proof even if submerged a little for the times I do water aerobics. But waterproof is just a nice to have feature...I don't do water aerobics very often. I want to use it to motivate me. I usually just rely in my body telling me when not to overdo it. I definitely need to do more research. I will try and remember to take photos on my walks. It's not overly warm here with temps in the mid-50s to low 60s, but yes, it's warmer than the Midwest. I hope your eye doc appoitnment goes well. Good for you for modifying how you are doing the pushup challenge. Last Wednesday, my trainer had me to 4 sets of 10 pushups per set off a weight bench. That was dang hard.

Hey forgot to report that Royce started walking last night. I knew he would cause he took 2-3 steps to me yesterday. Sam recorded him and it is on my FB page. Lil stinker walking at 10 mos., makes sense, Samantha walked at 8 1/2 mos. Too cute.

Hi guys,

I got an email from Shad that her video bit the dust and her laptop is a boat anchor. She is limited to the smart phone and will out of pocket for a bit. I am having similar problems. My video drivers got corrupted I think and when I tried to apply an update - now my PC keeps crashing. I'm not sure how much longer it will hold up. So... if it's quiet without us, at least you know why. Will be back asap.

I've sent the man out to reconnect a customer but he hasn't called back yet.
My body said no to exercise yesterday so I listened. I might try tonight when I get home but need to do some errand before I go home.

_____
Michelle
Ouch on the kidney stone. My sister mentioned the In and Out burgers also.

Dee
Oh what fun to play in the snow with the grand children! I will be taking pictures when I go to Houston and Dallas in March.

Laura
It's not a big deal on the reconnects. The guys usually have the same list I do.

Hello! Yesterday was a holiday for me and it was nice to be home. I cleaned the bathroom and living room, took a nap, did my stretches and then worked from 6:30-11 p.m. That overtime will be nice--that is what I keep telling myself.

I had my PT apt this morning at 8 and I left at 10. The first time it takes a while I'm told as they have to do "intake" on you. They wanted me to come 3 times a week..there is no way I can come into work late 2 days a week (they are open on Saturday so I will be doing that as one of my days) and I'm going to work from home on Thursday and go, so on Tuesday they will give me exercises to do at home. Some are the ones that my chiropractor gave to me and they have added a few.

I really like the team that will be taking care of me. I did a little bit with all of them with Rachel overseeing what they did and also a massage that she gave me in my hip area...she said my hips were so tight and knotted up.

My good leg (the right one) has 95% strength. My left leg (the one with the bad knee and bad hip) has 65%! However she did say that she thought in 6 weeks I will be balanced. She said I have good muscle tone I just need to get it working again.

I also found out that as for walking, all I can do for fitness in that are is 1/2 at a moderate pace. I can do the elliptical for 10 min. I can't do the bike yet.

Ceejay: It is good to listen to your body. Where you able to get in exercise tonight?

Michelle: I'm glad to hear that they figured out it a kidney stone. Now you know what you are dealing with. I would think that drinking that water would be a very good thing.

I'm glad to hear that you had a nice visit with Bob and you will be able to see him a lot when he gets home. It's so sad because I know you don't want to see him "go", but at least you know you have this time with him and will make the most of it. As people we should always make time of our time we have with those who mean a lot to us....this life has no guarantees.

Laura: Excellent idea to do the pushups using the bench! Did things go well with the contact?

Dee: How fun that you got to play in the snow! I am glad that your foot is healed up so that you can enjoy the snow.

Happy: I didn't get much sleep last night from just going to bed so late and it took my mind a bit to wind down after working all that time. Tonight I think I 'll be in bed by 10!
I hope you get your computer fixed quickly and thanks for letting us know about Shad.

Anne: I will have to check out your facebook for that video. I bet Royce is so cute walking. Congratulations on the 1 lb loss!

I hope that taco Tuesday was good...and I'm glad to hear that you are fitting in with the regulars. It is nice to have a group you can hang with from time to time.

Terra: I'm sorry to hear that you had to end your walk early the other day, but it is smart to listen to your body. Have you been able to walk today?

I have an all day meeting tomorrow and then after work we are going out to eat with my brother and James and the boys. I most likely won't get a chance to post...but I will try to read from my phone and maybe post...we will see how it goes.

Hi all,
Just a quick drop in. I can post from work. Just can't see anything on my laptop. If I attach it to an external screen I can see just fine and dandy. So I will be looking for a new screen as well as a new computer when I get home. Darn it. I was hoping that it would last for a few more months. This time I will get something that is lighter to cart around. Maybe one of those where the screen is detachable and becomes a tablet. We will see. Meantime there is the nightmare of taking all the information off the old one. Lucky I do back ups every so often isn't it.

Bah humbug. What a day this has been. I am stretched with all the enormity of what I have to do and also the fact that one of the programs I am expected to use doesn't work properly. Aaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrggggggghhhhhhhhh! :cry: :tantrum: