Whatcha Eating Today VSGers? Sunday 1/7/18

I keep forgetting it's 2018. I look at my Facebook memories or my Timehop and see January 2016 and my brain is processing that as 'last year'. We kept my friend's 5-year old last night and it was nice. He's such a good kid, but in the past, it's been a struggle to get him to want to stay the night. He apparently outgrew that and I had nothing to dread as far as bedtime goes!

QOTD: If money were no object, where would you live? I'd have a spring/summer house on the Outerbanks, NC. I'd probably pick somewhere mid-Atlantic for my year-round home or I'd like to travel the rest of the year. I do like the seasons, I'd just prefer them not to be as drastic as we experience them here!

11 months post-op/Maintenance/131.6lbs

M1: Coffee, PP, Miralax, HC

M2: Egg, Sausage, Cheese

M3: Turkey Cutlet & Brussel Sprouts

M4: Pork Tenderloin & Veggies

M5: Yogurt w/ PB

E: 15 minutes of Yoga, apparently today is balance poses (not my strong point!). I'm having fun with this challenge.

Good morning! It is going to start warming up in Florida starting today (though we didn't mind 60 degrees the last couple of days vs single digits at home). I'm looking forward to getting more active again now that I am far enough out from my last PS.

QOTD: I'd have a house on the water on Cape Cod - probably on a lake or well protected harbor. AND I'd have another house on water in a warmer climate. Maybe in the Caribbean?

1 year, 9 months post-op

B: eggbeaters, cottage cheese and Canadian bacon

L: tuna salad, pickles and cottage cheese

D: grilled chicken and salad

S: Halo top ice cream, nut thins and hummus

Happy Sunday everyone! Today should be the last days of 30 degree weather for us for awhile. We should be at 70's during the day by end of week and I should be able to open the doors again. That is why I live in Florida!

QOTD: If money were no object, I would have a cabin in the Blue ridge mountains, a summer home on the beach in Flagler, Florida and a large sprawling house in Jacksonville on at least 5 acres with a pool, at minimum 4 bedrooms with a huge master, 3 baths, a huge main room, a large spacious kitchen with a center island and a huge crafts room.

M1: Coffee, miralax, PP Caramel

M2: Bean soup with protein powder

M3: Beefy chili with a laughing cow cheese wedge melted on top

M4: PP Caramel

M5: Chicken?

S: TBD

E: Nothing formal.

Water/Vits: on track

Qotd: this is easy...a house on the water in the Bahamas and a small cottage either on the cape or waterfront Maine.

B: waffle and homemade smoothie with protein powder

L: leftover homemade pizza

D: clam chowder

E: nope

Third day since new year without heat... it was -5 when i got up

I hear you on the 2018 thing. I need to write a check today and I'm going to have to really pay attention to the date as I write!

Today will be a relatively busy day for me, I have a long to do list of household chores, random life upkeep chores, and I'd like to make more of a dent in my GERO reading. I suppose the first thing I need to do is actually set up my BuJo for the day because I didn't do that last night before bed.

QOTD: If lots of things were no object, I'd move to Norway in a heartbeat. But that would require more than money - it would require two people learning Norwegian, my mom being there too, jobs for three people, etc, etc. So, yeah. More realistically, if money weren't an object, I'd move to West Chester, PA tomorrow. Thankfully this will be a realistic goal for the next 5 years even with money being an object. :)

1: protein shake
2: maybe pork and corn meatballs, maybe super simple migas
3. potstickers and egg rolls - I've had frozen bags of these in the freezer for a while and I forgot that my meal weeks go M-Su when I was planning meals for the week, so I figure these will make a fun meal tonight

liquid and vites: on track
exercise: yoga!

Curious about the Norway comment, Gwen. My goal this year is to get to Norway for the first time. I keep looking for fares to Oslo and I'll probably book it soon. My grandfather was Norwegian and I've always been drawn to that side of my heritage.

My partner is Norwegian and his family all lives in the Oslo area. (Lance lived in Norway until he was 30.) I love the Jante Law mentality. I love the democratic socialism, the choices the government makes with the oil fund (i.e., withdrawing support from bad businesses), I love the secular nature of the country even though there's a state religion. I've felt very comfortable there, even if I don't speak the language. Granted, that's only on a vacation-basis, not a living there basis. I know that Norway isn't perfect - for example, they're subpar when it comes to mental health.

That's awesome that you're planning a trip! When/where?

I've been there twice so far. The first time (2012)we went for 2 weeks and did a week in the Oslo area (with Lance's parents) and then took the train to Bergen and the Hrutigruten from Bergen to Kirkenes before flying back to Oslo. So we got to see the entire coast from Bergen to Kirkenes with major stops in Tromsø, Trondheim, Lofoten, Nordkapp, and lots of fjords including Geiranger. Plus I saw something like 3 downhill ski jumps because Norwegians love their winter sports :D

The second trip (2015) was about a week for Lance's brother's wedding. So we stayed in the Oslo area for that. It was a secular humanist wedding, which was amazing to me. :D This was also post-op and WOW, international travel is so much better.

We've currently got everything booked for trip #3 (May 2018!) and I'm SUPER excited. We're going to fly into Copenhagen, spend a few days there to see LEGO LAND and, hopefully, eat at Noma. Then we'll take the ferry (which is definitely way more fancy than what I think of when I think of "ferry") to Oslo and spend the rest of the vacation with his parents. We'll also get to see the rest of his family for an early Constitution Day party. We'll be gone for 10 days total, but two of the days are mainly travel to and from.

I recommend flying through Reykjavik if that's an option for you. WAY better than Charles de Gaulle and "faster" than the other flight options. And, hey, there's always the chance you'll get stranded in Iceland if they've got another Eyjafjallajökull eruption. ;)

I would really like to get to Norway in the winter some time and see the Northern Lights there. And go to Svalbard. But Lance thinks I'm insane. He also hates traditional Norwegian food so never wants me to make any of the food of his country :P I've considered learning Norwegian from time to time, and even started working on it with Duolingo, but he doesn't see the point in learning a language that fewer than 5 million people speak, especially considering they all speak English and would rather practice English on me than listen to me mangle Norwegian. So I know something like five words. Thank you, pharmacy, chicken, salmon, and thank you very much. Oh, and chocolate. (I try to eat salmon every single day when I'm in Norway.)

Thanks for all the details! That's awesome that you've been able to spend time there and even better with some locals. I would like to get there in the winter also for the Northern Lights. I went to Switzerland in January once and everyone thought I was nuts but it was so beautiful. I took a train from Zurich through the Alps and into St. Moritz and it the scenery was just jaw-dropping the whole time. And easy to get around. They know how to do snow.

My family (historically) is from Trondheim but I am going to do my first trip to Oslo and probably explore there. I think I want to stay at the Grand Hotel and do day trips. I will probably only go for a week. I originally thought of May, the week before Memorial Day, but now I'm wondering if I should go early September (for my work schedule).

My grandmother always said she regrets that my grandfather didn't teach us all Norwegian when we were young. I speak Spanish, French and enough Italian to get around but the Scandanavian languages are not easy.

I hadn't thought about going through Reykjavik so I'll check that out. I agree with you on the politics. And salmon and chocolate sounds perfect! I look forward the update when you go - thanks for sharing! - Cheryl

May is awesome if you can get there for Constitution Day. It's fun to see all the national pride and people in their bunad :D There's a ton to do and see in and around Oslo, so you definitely won't lack for adventure!

If my food blog is ever functional again, I'll try to remember to link you to all the posts and pictures from my first visit.

Your trip to Switzerland sounds awesome.

I also admire Norway (and many of the other Scandinavian countries) that emphasize what's good for all...democratic socialism is where it's at! Unfortunately, I live in Mississippi and it's hard to share my political viewpoints without getting extremely negative responses. It was just really nice to read this!

I would also prefer a more secular government.

For example, in my school district, at 8 a.m. each morning we say the pledge together and have a full minute of a "moment of respectful silence" which is basically a time for prayer. sigh

I would love to see the Aurora one day. Flights to Reykjavik often are under $500 or $600 from major airports when I'm browsing my dream vacations.