TGIF!

For those of us still in the work force, I think Friday's are a pretty happy day, especially if you pair it with pay day, as that staves off living in a box under a bridge.

So I am proud to say that this week has been a positive one in regards to my exercise program, I have spent 4 days in the gym, two with cardio and core strength training and two cardio, I was not planning to go today, but we have bagel Friday here and so I thought, well 30 minutes of cardio gives me a bagel guilt free.

B:  rye bagel with egg/cheese/slice of bacon (this is breakfast and morning snack)

L:  Salad with a black bean burger

S:  Cherries and 1 cheese stick

D:  Basil Chicken and brown rice (1 or 2 tablespoons) and some veggies

S:  ? 

My weekend will be chores, hoping to see my sweet grandbaby and my daughter and her family, Sunday I need to attend a wake for a cousin of mine who passed away Wednesday night and that about covers my weekend.

Sure hope you all have a good weekend!

Laureen

Good Afternoon Everyone,

I know I've been absent again, but if you are on Facebook, you are surely aware that my life has been busy and I went on a vacation, 6 days, 6 states, four women in a Subaru and it was mostly good, well 4 independent women can sometimes conflict with one another, but being adults, we worked it out and came away stronger with more self knowledge.  Anyway, Saturday, July 9th, at around 8 a.m. we headed south and west, first stop was Roanoke, Viriginia, just a stopover, but we walked around the little city of Roanoke and then went to our lodgings, got up in the morning and continued on towards Asheville, NC, where we were going to check out the local artisians and what Asheville had to offer, as well as the Biltmore Estate, we stayed at a nice B&B, though we were on the top floor, that was fun, but at the end of that first day I had logged 30+ flights of stairs, not doable 10 years ago, we spent two days exploring Asheville and then on to our next destination, which was Jonesborough, Tennessee, a little town that hosts a big event each October, known as the International Storytellers Event, it's a weekend where the town bascially closes down, sets up tents, and people from all over the world come to tell and listen to the stories told.  I hope to go back sometime in the next couple of years to attend the actual event, as we got a small sampling, because on Tuesday evenings they have a few resident storytellers who tell their stories in the town's little theater and it was delightful.  We stayed at another B&B, this one known to one of the gals who'd gone to the Storytelling Event last year and the people that run it, were just wonderful.  Our 2nd day we were off to Dayton, Tennessee, which made national news in 1925 for the Scopes Monkey Trial.  Each July they have a renactment of the trial, however, our timing was off on that, but we did visit the Courthouse, including the Courtroom (which remains virtually untouched), and the museum in the basement of the Courthouse that had lots of information on the trial.  We stopped in a local cafe and had lunch, I had a BLT sandwich, it was only $2.45 (1960/70s pricing).  When we got back to Jonesborough, we ordered dinner for everyone, including our hosts and rented Inherit the Wind, which was based on the trial.  The following morning we headed to Grandfather Mountain, NC and onto West Viriginia, where we were heading to Shenadoah Caverns, after that we headed towards home and my one friend, took out the atlas, as she didn't like the route Waze was taking us on and she saw Harper's Ferry along the route and we wound up taking a small detour before finally heading home on the PA Turnpike and arriving home at 9:15 Friday evening.  All in all, we logged lots of miles, many steps and lots of history rich and artistic type moments and well our experience was truly of the bonding nature.

I am happy to say all that walking, making mostly good food choices, I came back with a 2.5 lbs. weight loss and on Tuesday, I began my return to the gym, utilizing my company's onsite gym, with the free consult of a trainer, who I met with prior to my vacation.  My company built a new corporate headquarters and part of their goal is the wellness factor for employees, so it has a gym, not a huge one, but one that is staffed, has classes, all free, except the personal trainers.  Showers, towels, everything one can need and so there are no real excuses, I am an early riser and now I arrive at work by 7 to workout, two days training with cardio, two days just cardio.  I am hopeful that this will aid my WL, as when I had my surgery I was dedicated to working out 4/5 days a week and it helped me lose and it helped me maintain. 

B:  Greek Yogurt with some Special K sprinkled in

S:  Some wheat thins with cherries

L:  Swarma meat and some cous cous and salad

S:  Cherries and watermelon

D:  Basil Chicken and salad

S:  ?

I need to catch up on all your lives. . .

Nancy, stay cool. . . everyone else too, if you are experiencing any of this heatwave.

Laureen

Good Morning Nancy and others

Insomnia is a bear.  I have fought it for ages.  Interestingly enough the last month or so I have gotten into a different pattern.  I am up until midnight or so then I sleep really well and wake up at 6:13 or 6:14 every morning.  I don't know why so precise but that's my  new pattern.  If I stay around the house there is usually a nap in my future.  If I have things to do I just yawn the afternoon away.

I understand the worry about the heat.  I do NOT tolerate high temps.  I come to WY each summer to get out of the heat and high humidity of Houston.  This year the humidity stayed behind ( 19 per cent in WY), but the dang heat followed me.  It has been I the mid 90"s all week and it is rough.  The sun is so strong I have to wear a hat which I never do.  Hats make me sweat.  I bought a new summer cowboy hat that has vents so its not too bad.  In the shade it is ok and at night it is peasant even when temps are in the high 80's.  I had a couple of bananas to get rid of so I baked banana bread at 11:00 last night.  Didn't want to heat up the kitchen earlier.

Today's eats

Breakfast :  bagel with peanut butter

Lunch: half of  what ever I can find on the road.  Will share with hubby.

snack: small piece of banana bread

Dinner:  chicken or fish with veggies

That's it for me. 

Good morning to all..it is almost 4 am...yup, one of THOSE kinda nights again.

The forecast for today includes a severe heat alert so I am staying inside, making sure that my outside furries all have plenty of shade and water.  Our younger son, Derek, works outside 7 am til 7 pm driving tow truck or flatbed trucks for CAA/AAA...out in the sun mostly.  The same advice for Danny too, as he is outside this week again, working on a jet engine...sheesh!  It is amazing to see the flames streaking out of that engine!

They were over for supper last night so I gave them all the usual "Mommy" advice about staying safe and drinking lots of water and carrying a wet hand towel in a large ziplock baggie to wipe himself down  and keeping cool...we Moms never stop worrying, do we...

My plans for Thursday include more artwork for clients, writing an article on art therapy for seniors with dementia, and working on decluttering my office, an endless job.

Breakfast: protein drink

Snack: yogurt

Lunch: tossed salad with leftover chicken, some nuts and seeds

Snack: unknown

Dinner: halibut filet, steamed bokchoy & sauteed mushrooms, onions and peas

Bedtime Snack: Peanut butter on 3 crackers

This insomnia really screws up my good intentions for getting things done...no matter how LONG I manage to stay in bed, I am still yawning all thru my wake periods. I am due for bloodwork this week so maybe I am anemic again. Back to the iron pills and extra fibre...blech.

Have a safe and happy day!

Hi Jeannie & Other Members!

Jeannie, I was quite surprised to hear you are retiring...had absolutely no clue you were even considering it! However, I can understand all your reasons & believe they make sense in making such a life-changing decision.

I made a similar decision in 2014 retiring at 57 due to my obesity, the cycle of stress = eating my job &other responsibilities caused & my worsening health. I had no major savings, pension, 401K, etc. so quitting was a real sacrifice even though my husband's SSDI & an annuity I have covered the bills.

It was still totally worth it even if I often ***** about the money situation. It really took me about a year to realize I wasn't 'on vacation' and really done with all the demands associated with a full time job. I still have stress in my life, but I am better able to focus on & take care of me so everything else is more manageable. I never would have succeeded with my pre-op plan if still working and I was at a point where it was the job or my health.

I know you have had a great deal going on with family & I don't think you will regret having more time to devote to their needs. In my book family comes first, but I often felt so torn & hypocritical while working bc my job was both time-consuming & demanding. Now I can live what I feel...

I wish you luck & peace as you move onto the next phase in your life. We are definitely at an age where we need to follow our hearts and/or gut instincts!

Much love!