What's on your Monday menu????

I personally didn't think the pain was that bad. I didn't like it as some people say they do but it was worth it.

Good morning, everybody!

Back in Chicago this week. Marilyn and my youngest come home tonight and they leave for school Tuesday morning. We are going to go to dinner as a family, which we rarely get to do because everybody is on a different schedule.

Marilyn and the 2 kids had a great time in Florida, I have some Star Wars pictures to share on Friday.

I'm stiff today because we did this workout called troll toll. At our neighborhood park we have a pond with a half mile walking path and three bridges that go back and forth over the pond. We did six laps (3 miles) and each bridge was a stop for either 15 pushups (first bridge) or 15 air squats (second bridge). Anyways, the trolls must have taken a toll on me because I am sore today. It took me 44 minutes, so its not like I sprinted through.

QOTD: I don't really know, to be honest. Presumably, we would have to add Hello Fresh, Jewel, Costco, Walmart deliveries etc. My sons also go out for food sometimes as well.

Breakfast: Bagel

Lunch: Roast Beef

Dinner: Out with fam. Probably Cod.

Have a great day, all!

That workout sounds pretty intense and a little fun. Enjoy the family dinner.

G'morning all!

I am baaaaack...missed you guys!

We had a glorious vacation with the kids; having them all to ourselves for almost two weeks was pure bliss. I have so many pics of all of our adventures that I can't wait to share with you guys.

We were in Costa Rica during the rainy season; I didn't understand what rainy meant until our first rain storm. It was like in the movies; the sky opens up and water comes down in sheets. It was very refreshing, and almost every day at the same time. We knew we had sun from about 10:00 am to around 4:30-5:00 pm. And then the skies would open up and dump as much water as possible. One day Mother Nature didn't follow her own time line and we got caught in a rain storm on our way back from a hike to see some waterfalls. This was about an hr hike back to the car in torrential rain. Thank goodness it's the tropics so the rain felt like a warm shower at home. It was actually fun, the only con was the mud under our feet and being so slippery when you are trying to walk fast.

Here is a pic of the Nauyaca waterfalls, and one of DS that we named Tarzan...lord of the jungle, due to his long hair. See the mud trails?

My menu during the trip consisted of strong coffee, tropical fruit, coffee, ceviche, coffee, any kind of fish, coffee, patacones (fried plantain), coffee, and caldosa (street style ceviche + chips in a bag). Did I mention I loved Costa Rican coffee? In certain places the coffee I was offered could put hair on your chest. I sure missed my sf syrups but "when in Rome you do like the Romans do" so I had a TON of black strong coffee. Some mornings I showed my weakness and asked for cafe con leche de mandorla, but only in the morning. The rest of the day I was going toe to toe with the rest of the country drinking plain black coffee. In the hot afternoons 2 shots of coffee on shaved ice (granizado de cafe, sin azucar) was my favorite snack. DH was joking that if something happened to me and they had to draw blood they would get coffee out of my veins.

QOTD: $200-$250, but this is a rough guesstimate.

I will start posting my meals tomorrow, because I've been all over the place. Yesterday DD left for DC and today DS leaves for San Diego. The house and my heart will feel empty.

Happy start of the week! It's good to be back.

Welcome back. How much Coffee did you bring back. I know the last time were were there we purchased 5lbs so we would not go through withdrawals from the great coffee.

I brought 7 bags, no idea how many lbs. I also ordered a chorreador on Etsy to make coffee the costa rican way but it's too sort for my mug, so looking for another one.

Your trip sounds fabulous!!! Can't wait to see more photos!

So glad to hear you had a good trip! And it sounds like it was a great coffee experience, too! I remember something similar in Italy with all of their espresso. They have some strong pride, there. Love the photos!

Welcome home! Missed you but so glad you had a great time.

Mornin' All!

well, I'm back at it. Last week was nuts because of my sick cat. He presumably had adenocarcinoma, a very aggressive cancer, based on a radiologist's reading of his ultrasound, so he had exploratory surgery on Friday morning (thanks to my terrific vet, who's unfortunately going to retire at the end of the month - WAH!!!). I'd called several specialty clinics in town to get him in for either exploratory surgery or an ultrasound that included fine needle aspirations to confirm what was going on with him - and everyone was booking out at least three weeks. One place couldn't get me in until November. Good Lord - the cat could be dead by then! I then heard from a couple of friends that there's evidently some huge vet shortage nationwide. Who knew? Anyway, after letting my vet clinic know of my struggles (I'd called them to ask if they knew of any good places in Milwaukee that I could call (an hour away!), my vet said she'd come in on Friday (her usual day off) and do the surgery. YAY! Anyway - even better news - what the radiologist saw was not adenocarcinoma. No masses to be found. Several very inflamed lymph nodes, though, which is probably what he was seeing on the ultrasound. My vet did some biopsies and sent them in to a lab for analysis (we should hear back sometime this week), but she suspects it's intestinal lymphoma. Which actually isn't bad news. Most feline intestinal lymphomas are low grade (i.e., slow moving), and can be medically managed. We've dealt with this before with other cats. They can usually live for 2-3 years with this - sometimes longer. And since he's already 12 years old, that's going to mean a fairly normal life span for him. YAY! Anyway, we are very relieved (although we should probably wait for the lab report before getting too excited). He's doing very well. Eating well and has his energy back (probably due to the post-surgery drugs he taking, though, since the vet didn't actually do anything other than take several biopsies). But anyway, we're finally out of crisis mode - and things are returning to normal.

QOTD: I have no idea, to be honest! Our two fridges (and their freezers) are always full of stuff, so we've always got things to eat. We tend to go to stores just to get things we've run out of (although I sometimes find some interesting items while I'm there that end up in my cart). I go to Aldi most often - although I sometimes go to one of the local grocers - and there are a couple of items i buy regularly at Costco. We probably go to one store or another two or three times a week, usually to just pick up a handful of items.

B: plain skyr with strawberry compote, coffee with half and half

MS: protein shake

L: cheesecake-flavored yogurt pie topped with apple or strawberry compote

AS: protein muffin and/or cottage cheese

D: salad made with power greens, shredded chicken breast, diced 1/2 peach, and light dressing

ex: biking (should be a great week for it!)

have a great day, everyone!