Hi everyone. Good to hear from you. Judy, sounds like you're feeling a bit better, Carol, thanks for the good ideas.

I'm really beat today. Thurs. and Friday were ever so busy. Thursday I went straight from 7am to 10 pm on task working, driving, picking-up, attending a meeting and eating fast and lousy in between. On Friday similarly I went straight from 7am to 8pm, then dropped into bed and to sleep. No me time on either of those days. Could I have fit it in? I've got to rethink my schedule. My dh has been very busy with our ill relatives (now two - husband and wife). He's been spending about one-two days a week plus many phone hours managing their care. That's time he used to be spending helping out around here. Our schedules are simply too full and something has to go - any ideas?

Here are mine:
children - lots of activities, all very positive, in general they are happy kids. I really don't want to change things in this arena.

marriage - generally good - enjoy each other's company

house - a mess! When is there time to clean. Maybe I need some help here.

work - very busy, but I'm good at it and I like it. I guess I'd rather work full time and hire some help for the house and maybe some of the driving and picking up - a thought

exercise - it's a must that I haven't been fitting in. I have to get to bed earlier so I have the energy to exercise in the am.

TV - I don't watch much, but basically I can let most of it go

Food - simple meals, simple shopping. This week we were caught without healthy food - have to do that shopping weekly.

Me time - have to find time for it or I crack.

Thanks for being here everyone. When I told a very close relative about my frustration this morning she went on to recite every horrid situation in the world news to make me realize that I had too much self pity. I appreciate you all letting me vent once in a while as I figure this all out without reciting the world's problems. Take care.

Hello all. Hope you're having a good day. Hoping it will be a good day here too. I had a good night's rest which really helps. Hopefully I'll get some exercise too. Take care.

Hi everyone, just a quick note to say everything is fine. I've had a nice weekend. Not too much planned. We went across the mountain to shop yesterday and that was fun. Tomorrow is work again and I'm never looking forward to that.

I did a first today. I overate on healthy food. I ate so many grapes that I'm physically sick. Yuck! I hope I never do that again.

I've been exercising. DS's GF and I have been walking. That's been nice.

Well, got to go.
Marie

Well this weekend I kind of went off a bit needless to say. I baked lots of apple pies with the grandgirls and applesauce. We put some little pies in the freezer to bake at a later date. Something new we are exploring this year. The taste of pie season in the winter months. I made spaghetti for the whole crew yesterday as they are all remodeling their homes. One is doing her bathroom and I wallpapered most of it at 10;30 last night. Then the other one just finshing her flood mess from last year. They remodeled a whole downstairs. It looks great hopefully that never happens again. I can relate to some others with floods but not to their extent. Thank goodness. It was bad enough. I went to some sales and had a fun time with that not any huge goodies though few small finds.
Gotta get on track today and I am going to the gym no excuses I have today off. I am finishing the wallpaper and then doing something for me.
Tired yah gotta find some wiggle time for yourself even if its 15min. then make it 20 etc. You won't be any good to others if you wear yourself down. Are there any relatives that your husband could delegate some responsability to? Sometimes its easier to handle it yourself I know I have been there. As far as the house goes your not the only one living there. My friend and I had a long talk about this the other day. Well saturday she got everyone moving and things look great. Now she has made everyone have some chores and if they don't do them right she makes them do it over. She is in hopes that this will be easier in the end and she will have a more organized home and cleaner with out total responsibility. Good luck its not easy. I am tackling my computer / sewing room today. Before going out of this house. It is a mess and I need to clean it up its my room can't even blame anyone else. I need to get organized with this room. Lots of storage not used correctly so that is my plan to reorganize. On friday and saturday I took all the summer clothes went through them and put them away and fall came out and I cleaned and organized my work clothes. So I need a few new things but not much. I have some things that will fit better this year and I look forward to buying a couple of new things as some pants are to baggy.
They won't be if I EAT PIE! Thank goodness the hubby ate the last piece of ours and my daughter took hers home.
Talk to you all soon Marie better to od on healthy then non healthy. You could of shared my apple pie it was so good but not low in calories.
Judy hope you doing well?

Hi all,

Marie, glad to hear that you're doing well. Any chance you could switch jobs or positions within your system? I know it's difficult to have everything just the way you like it and we all have to put up with some things we don't llike. Sometimes though there is a positive change out there waiting to happen.

Carol, I appreciate your thoughts. Hopefully I'll find some "wiggle room" today. You are so right about cleaning the house. Actually when I lost it on Sat. night everyone started cleaning and the house looks much better. Unfortunately there's little to no help as far as relatives go (long story). My dh is a great help.

Better go now. The boys are acting up. Started out on a healthy note, let's hope it stays that way.

Tired good luck with all your juggling. I know your going to be fine but when there are so many extra's going on in your life sometimes just venting helps. We all need an outlet. Glad the family is helping with the house it makes a big difference. I told my daughter to hand out little chores no matter how small they all make a difference.
I have gone back to carrying my intake journal (small) in my purse as it will make me more accountable. I have had added in a few extras over the long weekend. Better to catch it now before it gets out of hand. I would have a fit if my new clothes were to tight. They are a good source of measurement along with that scale. I noticed with being home I drank less water this weekend. I am charting that as well for a few days til I get back on track. Charting is my reinforcement to get on track and fast. So today is like a monday for me as I had yesterday off. I have my computer/sewing room half done. I decided to move my sewing machine and that will take some bull work its an industrial machine heavy! I really want to start my grandaughters quilts. If I am to get them done by christmas which is only about 11 weeks away I better get it going soon. Anyways my sweater is 2/3rds done. I have to get that finished but it works up pretty fast bulky yarn.
Hope everyone else is doing fine. Lets kick butt girls we can do this we seem to be all at a little low spot! Come on lets eat healthy and move more!

Hi Tired and Carol. I'm glad that you're both doing okay. Good luck with the journal book, Carol. I think that should help a lot.

I'm at work (no opportunity for changes in the near future) and it's okay. Personally I'm starting to hate computers. Okay, I have started to hate them for some time. I'm trying to burn a DVD of our website to move it from one computer to another and the DVD burner doesn't seem to want to finish the job. It's irritating.

I've been walking a lot lately with DH or DS's GF. That's been good. Eating wise, I've been so-so. I could do a lot better. I'm just not in to it at the moment. I wish that the determination that I usually feel was more constant. I hit a plateau and my determination goes out the window.

Well, back to work. Talk to you later.
Marie

Good evening! Hope you're all doing well. It's been another crazy day, but I've been calm all day. Yeah!

I see 15 more years in my position and I don't want to wish the years away. I want to find a balance and harmony in my work as a classroom teacher. I have a great class this year so it's a good time to start.

At home our ill relatives continue to consume many hours each day with phone calls and troubleshooting. There's no clear answer. I just want to make sure we're doing our part to make these days more comfortable for them. I think that part of my challenge is realizing how fast the world is moving and wanting things to slow down enough to care for the young and elderly.

Carol and Marie you both seem to be the kind of woman who are making fine choices as mothers. Choices to keep the connections strong. I want to be like you as my children grow older.

Eating wise - not bad. At school I'm doing great for the most part. It's the late night nned for comfort that's doing me in a bit (not totally). Watching our relatives' illness though reminds me how important it is to stay thin and healthy. Good eating and health habits really pave the way for a healthier old age. Take care. Thanks for being here.

Today
breakfast: cereal and milk
lunch: soup and salad
dinner: 1/2 sandwich, carrots w/little dip
snacks: pears, a few candies, cheese stick
Not that bad - no more candy though. I don't need it!

Oh Tired your so right when it comes to growing older at least a bit healthier we can all look forward to living a fuller life. My mom is 83 and still very active she has slowed down a bit and I look at her sometimes and think she really is aging. But that just started recently. I think because she stays involved with her family, trying to eat healthy and her beliefs in God help her daily. She is a wonderful mom and I had good examples with her and my grandparents. They were always active and gram used to be up at 5 every morning working out. I used to go spend the nights once in awhile she would be on the floor with this black board mat and exercising to Jack Lalane. Grandpa on his exercise bike. They were so wonderful and I miss them but i have good memories. I hope my grandkids will always have good memories and pass things on to their children. Your doing a wonderful thing for the ill folks and teaching your children a great lesson to take care of the older family members in need. Sometimes people just take life for granted and we need to all slow down a bit and enjoy it a bit more. Good luck and feel free to vent anytime. We took care of my inlaws for as long as possible, so I have been there. You do what you can , push in some services if possible ck out your resources, Office of the Aging for info. if you haven't yet. I am doing a lot of future planning for my clients parents currently as in the future placement for the kids is needed when the parents have always done it. I have 3 on my case load currently in the stages.
I didn't do to bad with the intake yesterday I did manage to eat a handful of chips. A coworker brought them in. But when everyone else took a choc. break I had an apple. I took a few to keep in my drawer at work. I still need to get my exercise up there again. These dark mornings are killing me and I don't get out the door. 1400 cal. day monday. I will shoot for another today.

Marie try to shake up your calories a bit maybe add more fiber or protien or both? Sometimes we get stuck and just need to shake things up a bit. Our bodies get to a point of being used to one way we need to show them something new to make them start the process of losing once again. Good luck and just a thought. That is why I tried to change my calories from 1500 to 1400 and change a few foods around. Gotta fool the body a bit! Good luck at least your increasing your walking I need to.

Morning Carol and Tired, just a quick note since I'm at work and have an appointment in a couple minutes. Sounds like you're both doing pretty good. Carol, my mom is 76 YO and started exercising regularly. Since the first of the year, she's lost 22 pounds. She wasn't overweight to begin with, just a little plump. She is so proud of herself - she's been doing water aerobics and her clothes are getting loose. So definitely it's never too late to get into the healthy lifestyle.

GF and I went walking last night. I decided it was the last time the dogs went on expandable leashes. They drove me nuts, so tomorrow they go on leather leashes. We had a good time and I was exhausted last night.

Tonight I start the drawing class. I hate to not go home after work, but I live 30 minutes from town, so I can't. The puppies have to wait until late in the evening for dinner. I really feel a bit guilty about that. But I am looking forward to the class. It should be fun.

Well, off to work. TTYL.
Marie

Hi all.

Carol, thanks for the nice stories about your mother and grandparents. I do believe in family and the need to support one another. Your example is a strong one for me.

Marie, the drawing class sounds wonderful. I'm looking forward to hearing about it. I love to draw.

Judy, hope you're doing well.

Good teaching day - lots of creativity and enthusiasm amongst the children. I love a day like that. Good day overall. Reaquainted with an old friend after many years, events - a mutual respect and caring feeling. Very nice. Tough eating day but tomorrow will be better.

Take care and thanks for being here.

Marie keep up that walking and the drawing class sounds like fun. I can draw but not very good really. Now my son he has done some creative drawing and some tatoo work. He is of course the contractor whom uses his work of art on a daily basis. I am artistic in other ways decorating, knitting, quilting etc. Let me know how it goes.
Tired glad to hear you have a great class this year. Maybe this will be one of those years where you'll enjoy teaching so much you won't want it to end? When I worked at the school for 10 years I viewed a lot of different teaching ways. I must say the teachers can really keep the kids attention span when they are creative and are able to reach the kids. Keep up the good work and it will pay off in the end for sure. Their lucky to have such a caring teacher. Hows the snacks in your desk working out? I took apples in the other day two coworkers asked to have one now I have none. Glad their eating healthy but my drawer is empty. Oh! I will be taking a healthy lunch today I haven't been as good with packing it this week. I guess its time to go shopping the pantry is full but not with what I want. Gotta go put some dinner in the crock pot. The hubby wants scalloped potatoes hopefully they come out okay.

Hi all, hope you are all doing well. I haven't even thought about eating today as I've been so busy. I just ate breakfast and lunch - no snacks.

I spent the day cleaning and organizing the house. My dh and I bought a couple of items that really spruced the place up. We bought some colorful pillows for the couch, a plant stand and a coffee table. It feels warm and cozy. I like that. I have apple crisp in the oven and made beef stew for this wet, rainy weather so the house smells good too.

Rough day at work yesterday. It's so difficult finding your place in the world when you're a working mom. It's so busy and there's so much care taking time. I probably would be better off in a position that wasn't as taxing as teaching - a position where I could use my brain and where I didn't have a job to do every single second (parenting and teaching - makes for long days). Anyways something to think about.

Carol, I've been bringing healthy snacks to work and that's helped a lot. I also have lots of healthy food at home so I'm finding that this week is going well with eating.

Take care all. Have a good day.

Hi Tired and Carol, I hope things are still going good. Tired the apple crisp sounds divine. I love apples in the fall. I brought one to work and had it as a snack this morning. It was great. And Tired, I think most jobs are taxing if you care about your work. That's just how it goes. I had a good day at work. The webserver is finally up and running. After we rebuilt it for the 3rd time, we found that the new memory that we put in it was bad and it corrupted some files. We were able to fix it but it was touchy.

Carol, I found out last night that I can draw but not very good either. I'm creative with stained glass and knitting but I have trouble putting down on paper what I see. I'm hoping a class and practice will make me improve. I don't think I can get a lot worse.

GF wasn't home this afternoon and I took the dogs for the walk by myself. It's quite a hike and it would have been easy to talk myself out of it, but I didn't. I did my vacuuming while I waited for her, then I went by myself. Yeah!!!

I guess that's about it. I'm really learning to leave work at work. I promised my beloved puppy that I would stop coming home in a cranky mood (about a month ago) and I'm keeping my promise. It is making life a lot more fun. Well, I'll talk with you all tomorrow.
Marie