What's on your (PHOTO) Friday Menu?

Thank you! I tell her " One of these days you'll lose some toes, so don't come crying to me."

That's some tough work. Good exercise though!

Good morning!

Accountability was terrible. No food, too much wine. There. I've said it and I own it and I am moving on and getting back into my wine free days.

Yesterday was so busy. It just flew by. But my physical therapist really wants me to back down on aggressive work outs. So no more stairs for a week or two. Or at least I agreed to give up "my" stairs for the next week or two. I am still going to do the stairs at Mt. Helix on Tuesdays. I hate to give up my stairs because my endurance slips so quickly when I do. But the knee pain is increasing and I need to be focused on our trip and being in the best shape for that. I can still walk, do HIIT and yoga with a few modifications. I'll make it work.

Today is a walk, and I have to go to the damn dermatologist. I'm positive I am putting at least one of her kids through college. I know they are going to attack my nose. I'm going to be a hot mess for a few days but it doesn't keep me inside. I figure if you know me, you won't care. If you don't, I don't care.

QoTD: My mom was not much of a cook but dinner had to be at least two colors (no chicken, potatoes and corn for example. We would have to have a green canned or frozen veggie to have color). And she enforced a clean plate club, so that probably was not helpful to our weight issues. Both my siblings also were/are obese.

I am going to nail it on food today!

B: chicken breast and cottage cheese

L: leftover skirt steak and tomatoes

D: chicken and feta or the gourmet philly cheesesteak sausages I bought at my butchers with grilled veggies.

wine is ou****er is in.

Pics are my little family, minus the littlest grand who was taking the photo. The blonde next to me is my bestie. And our little cowgirl in the only picture taken the whole week of camp. I'm very happy they took one of her on the horse!

Peace Everybody!

What is the point of retire if you can't wine once in a while? Hell, what's the point of weekend without a wine once in a while.

I'm the same way about color in my meals. I can't stand things like completely beige meals. When my dad was in the nursing home, they'd often bring him beige meals - e.g. a chicken breast and mashed potatoes with beige gravy on both, and a dinner roll. On a white plate. UGH!!

Those smiles say it all!

Hello my fellow RnYers,

It?s been a long while since I said hi. From time to time I read your comments here, and I think of you, my friends, often. I hope everyone is doing well, and send you all my love.

June 17 was my six-year surgiversary! It?s hard to believe that so much time has passed. I?m doing well. My weight this morning is 127, a number which pleases me. It still blows my mind that from year to year I am still wearing the same clothes! This is still such a new phenomena to me, after decades of yo-yo-ing, that even though I know that I weigh the same as I have for the past few years, I somehow think things can?t possibly still fit me. But they do! I slip on little skirts, or zip up a pair of jeans, and marvel on a daily basis at the utter and absolute coolness of being where I?m at, scale and clothing-wise.

My relationship with food is very very changed from what it once was. My desire for food has truly become a matter of necessary physical energy refueling. I eat around 5 times a day, when I am hungry. If I can?t eat fairly soon after first being hungry, my energy flags noticeably more than pre-surgery. There is pretty much no food that entices me to really overeat. I realize that I have actually become comparatively anhedonic where eating is concerned. It?s not that I cannot find some food delicious, and I do love going to beautiful restaurants! But nothing is really compelling enough for me to over-indulge. For a bit I was drinking more wine than was wise, but I cut that out. I still can enjoy a glass or two - I?ll go through a bottle about every 3 weeks. That amount is ok with me. I stopped buying crystallized ginger, which was my one sugary (and admittedly bizarre!) indulgence. I?ll still buy it once every couple of months, but not every week like I was for a bit. I do eat more fruit and veggies than I did for the first few years. Anyway, all is well with me and the kitchen!

Speaking of kitchens, I bought a Kitchenaid stand mixer yesterday. Even though I don?t eat baked goods, I enjoy baking for others and find it meditative. I once had a KA mixer, but sold it during my huge belongings purge before leaving California for Seattle. I?ve been jonesing for another for a while. Costco had a 6-qt bowl lift model at an unreal price, so good that I didn?t want to resist. It?s red. Happy I got it!

Guess who?s one? It?s my grandson Charlie! He is such a cool little guy (not little! Big! A very big baby! He entered the world just shy of 12 pounds and his growth has been stratospheric ever since!). Every time I visit him he is doing something new, has discovered something new, learned something new. It is amazing to hold him and to know that our DNA matches so closely. I love him, and love seeing his parents love him so fiercely.

My two Siamese kittens are 1 year old now too: technically no longer kittens, but cats! They are adorable and though I still miss little Kai especially, I am happy and lucky they are mine.

One more neat thing happened yesterday - I was asked to join the Amazon Vine program. Of course I said yes!

QOTD: My European mom was nutritionally aware before her time. I grew up with zero white bread, no TV dinners, minimal sweets, no fast food at all (my first visit was in college). Whole grains, nightly salads including impossibly bitter greens, lean meats, fruit and lots of vegetables, and things like wheat germ were de rigeur. Yogurt never was flavored. My mom was a really good cook and baker (though I always felt many things would have been improved by an extra dose of sugar). Yet somehow I developed a raging eating disorder, and a preference for sugar beyond all wisdom. Go figure.

My food today will involve TJ?s seafood blend, a frozen bag of shrimp/calamari/scallops that I steam with vegetables. Watermelon. Nonfat plain Greek yogurt, with a few berries and some no cal SF syrup. Lots of coffee with almond or cashew milk, plus a splash of half-and-half. SF 15-calorie popsicles.

Anyway, that?s the update. I still haven?t bought my plastic surgery but that is being worked on. I don?t know of any surgeons here with truly intensive experience with our population. I like two docs in CA and one in Houston; I?m inclined towards the one in Houston. Fingers crossed this will happen soon!

Sending you all love,

Cara

(PS, having no luck uploading photos!)

(PPS, this site always inserts question marks on my posts where I?ve typed apostrophes. Not sure why! I went back in to edit & replace, but looking again I can see it didn't take. Grrrr!)

It always makes me smile when you stop by. Glad to hear you are doing great. Keep up the good work. If you get a chance update us on your exercise routine. Always nice to know what everyone's up to moving wise.

Thanks Teenie! I fell a while ago and messed up both rotator cuffs and my neck. Still doing PT. A few weeks later I was working on some illustrations at while waiting for a package to be delivered. It?s arrival, announced by the doorbell, prompted me to jump up, spin around, and go down - I was just moving too fast. I heard my ankle crack as I fell. It was the worst ankle injury I?ve ever had. I can walk well now but it?s still a bit swollen, and it?s been a good 6-7 weeks. Anyway between the two I wasn?t exercising much beyond my PT. But I?m back in the saddle as far as walking is concerned, though still not on the very steep hilly route I like to walk when I buy groceries. Just didn?t want to stress it before it?s time! Aside from walking and dancing at the drop of a hat, I don?t do a lot of exercising. I need to start my old favorite exercise for my obliques again though!

Thank you for sharing. Hope you are back to 100% soon. I have had rotator surgery in March of 2022 and in April this year I started Chiropractor for the left shoulder. I'm just now starting to get my exercise groove back as well. Stay strong you're doing great!!!!