What's on your Tuesday Menu?

Good morning and happy Birthday month for Rog! Halloween was a sh*t show around here in the best way. ~380 kids, and dinner for 12 on the front yard watching it happen. Chili, bacon cheddar corn bread, a great salad and my daughter made us all creme brulee. I ate NO candy, a small piece of cornbread, limited chili, no creme brulee and one bite of the scrumptious cookies I bought as Roger and Alivia's birthday "cake". I did have two glasses of wine. My kitchen was a nightmare last night. But Roger and I got it all cleaned up except the wine glasses before bed and he did them this morning before I got up. Then I polished up the counters and cleaned up the front yard before coffee.

Yesterday's HIIT class has introduced me to muscles and muscle groups that I did not know I had. And the scale is up today as well as a reward. I have yoga today and hope to add a walk. I need stretch all the muscles out today. And some of those soft yoga moves throughout the day to keep stretching and easing recovery. Other than paying bills today, that's all I have on my agenda! Yay for reading time. My daughter left me a bowl of egg whites from making dessert last night so I might try my hand at Meringues.

QoTD: I really used lots of the advice. Weigh/measure everything and I still do several times a week to keep my eyeballing in check. Work hard during the honeymoon period and I did. Exercise, and I did not until at least 2 years out, and am paying for that now I think. But my very favorite remains from my doctor. "Weigh everyday and spend that moment reflecting on your choices yesterday. Not as punishment, but as an opportunity to connect action with results." As I said, I am up this morning, and based on my calorie intake yesterday, that's unfair. But I did a huge workout, and Mr. Google says that weight gain after big workouts is common and actually a good sign that my muscles had to work hard and are drawing in the fluids they need to rebuild and that is a temporary situation. It was true last Tuesday and I am hoping it is true today.

Menu:

B: cottage cheese and leftover salisbury steak

L: cottage cheese and chicken salad

D: maybe dried meats and cheeses. We are trying to eat down these leftovers so I can reclaim some fridge space!

Peace Everybody!

Hi Menu Friends

I was MIA at the end of last week due to my vacation in Mexico. I am impressed with anyone who is on vacation and still is able to post to the site. The vacation was so glorious with beautiful weather, fun activities, relaxation, family and friends. We had the best service at the hotel we stayed at (Four Seasons ***** Mita-I got a deal for the room of $75/night since my sister works for the parent company). We had some wonderful meals (yes, I did overindulge with food and desserts) and activities. Now I am back to the cold (mid-40s), rain (boo-hoo), and food accountability. I also need to "make-up" for missed yoga workouts since I had signed up for the Burn for the Bird Challenge at the yoga studio. It is 30 workouts in 30 days, which started the day before I left for Mexico. Yesterday I did a 2-fer split, a yoga session in the morning and pilates in the evening. It felt good to be back. I still have 4 days I need to double my workouts to make the challenge. If I can do the 30 in 30 it is worth a month of free yoga ($150 value) which is definitely worth the effort.

Today is my first day back to work after vacation. Lots of emails to catch-up on and paperwork. I am leaving a little early (although, I did get to work around 6am) to meet a friend for a movie (the G. Clooney, J. Roberts one) but will try to make it to the yoga studio to get a workout in after.

QOTD: I would agree with the use the first year wisely advice. Other than that, I would say it was make a lifestyle change that you can stick with because you are in this for the long-term. I feel like I did a good job with this since I exercise in moderation and have developed an eating plan that is sustainable.

Accountability: Excellent

B: triple zero greek yogurt with keto granola, blueberries, cold brew with half n half

L: Summer salad with chicken plus poppy seed dressing

S: protein frosty

D: Asian chicken salad with light sesame ginger dressing

S: protein frosty, 4 squares sf chocolate

E: 60 min Inferno Pilates

Have a terrific Tuesday.

Sounds like a great vacation!

I lost a good friend from work last week. I normally hear from him every day or ever other day we video chat on Teams. Last Friday I realized that I hadn't heard from him since Tuesday. I texted him-no response. I called him and left a voicemail-no response. We all work remotely. He usually turns his time in early on Friday so I checked with the person who does our time and she hadn't received his time. I called another one of my coworkers and he also hadn't heard from him, so he called his Dad- he also used to work here and nothing. On Saturday I got a call that confirmed the worst, he had died on Wednesday. We haven't heard a cause or when the funeral will be. He lived alone, so I'm not sure who found him. He does have a cousin that is taking care of things, which was another of my worries.

He was 3 years older than me and had just started getting his Social Security. He was going to work for another 2 years to pay off his house and then retire. He is the one that used to video call me pretty much daily while I was in Maui. If it were not for him I wouldn't have survived it there. I keep expecting to see him calling on Teams, but he won't ever be doing that again. I am so sad because he was finally happy, had a new girlfriend and everything was going well for him. So you just never know how much time you have.

I'm still trying to process this, it has me thinking about my future and I'm trying to figure out what I'm going to do. If I didn't need the money I would apply for Social Security and retire today. I keep asking myself if about $350 more a month is worth the next 22 months of my life? I'm not sure that there is a right answer.

We didn't get the decorating for Halloween done until kids started arriving. I had been told by one of my neighbors that we will get lots of kids. So I bought a ton of candy. We didn't even go through half of the first bag, so now what do we do with the leftovers?

I have lots of work, so I'd better get back to it. I haven't been very focused.

Here you can donate your extra candy to the local children's hospital; if you have next door or Facebook for your community, you might be able to find someone that is collecting.

Oh Julia so sorry to hear about the loss of your dear friend. I just posted last week how the USA retirement system is a **** show and how unfair it is we have to work so long in life just to survive the even ****tier Health care system. My thoughts and Prayers are with you. I hope you can find some peace. God Bless you.

Hi Julia,

I am so sorry for your loss. None of us know how much time we have left, but I plan for a lot of years. I retired at 61. $350 a month would not be worth years of my time. You are educated and have skills that you can use to earn money. I took a few years off to travel and play and then went to part time work.

I am 74 and my social security goes up every year based on my previous year's earnings. I have friends *****tired at 50 and are doing fine. I suggest you find and read a book called, "Your Money or Your Life". It talks about how we trade our life for money. It might help you to clarify your thinking.

I read that book when it first came out in the early 90s. It changed my life. Some of the financial advice in it is questionable, but the concepts behind what they're saying make a lot of sense. Like figuring out what your true hourly wage is (after taxes, health insurance, commuting expenses, etc are taken out), and looking at things you're tempted to buy in terms of how many hours you'd have to work to get whatever it is. Is that thingamajig worth working 40 hours for? Or 2000 hours for? Or another three years for? If yes, then fine. If no, pass it by...

Thank you I just put a hold on the book with the library, I should get it in a couple of weeks.

So very sorry for your loss, Julia.
I guess losing a friend, so unexpectedly, forces you to re-evaluate your priorities.