Monday, December 9th, Cardio & Cafe

Good Monday Morning Botters:

I hope you had a productive weekend or at least stayed inside and kept warm.  I did the latter.  I have a few more items to buy locally but I am just about finished with Christmas buying.  We ate veggie chili over the weekend and even had a cheese pizza too.  Scales are still kind this morning but back to my protein bar and daily menu.  My eats for today are:

Breakfast:  Coffee & Miralax

2nd Breakfast:  Oatmeal

Snack:  Fiber One Bar

Lunch:  Quest Protein Bar

Snack:  Banana

Dinner:  Lean Pocket Chicken & Garlic

Snack:  Vitatop

Exercise:  Bike

Have a great start to the week and remember those vits and fluids.  Chat with you later.

It turned out to be a pretty productive weekend (in spite of the weather). The tree is up and decorated. The house is clean. Did some baking. Wrapped a few presents. All in all it's been a cozy family time.

My step father is almost 90 and he's got a bad case of bronchitis. It scares me to watch his health decline like it has these past few months. His sense of humor is as sharp as ever but the twinkle in his eye is so much dimmer.

Today's plan is looking like:

commute: coffee

Breakfast:  Multigrain cheerios & fake milk

Lunch: Lean Cuisine & banana

snack:  Yogurt & handful of granola

Dinner:  Chicken vegetable soup

Doesn't look like I'll get a walk in at lunch. It's damp and dreary here today. It's supposed to rain through tomorrow. Maybe it'll be a Wii night for the household.

Reading through the weekend posts, it looks like we have some new posters. I encourage you to come daily and interact as much as possible. There is a sense of community here that is missing from other forums. We've all fallen from that straight and narrow path we first found so easy to walk just after our surgeries. It's a hard process to find the way back----for me it was the realization that surgery wasn't the miracle fix and that I had to actually do my part.

Have a great day.

- Iris

Sounds like you have had a busy but good weekend!  So sorry for your step father's bronchitis.  I had it all my childhood life and bless my son, he got it too!  It is something that we both have grown out of but he still has bouts of it in the winter time.  Knock on wood, it's been a long time since I had it.  I hope your stepfather gets to feeling better real soon.

Monday... ugh.. Rain and cold.. I don't mind the cold it is the rain and low pressure that makes me tired.. 

I deal with severe allergies now - I think it is food allergies..  Last few weeks I have been covered in hives, itching and scratching.. the allergy meds only help so much, I am tired of slathering the cream all over me.. I thought that after a few days this gets resolved, but it has not.  So I decided to do drastic changes, very strict elimination diet. 

This weekend I ate chicken and pickles.. (organic) and had coffee and tea only... I started feeling better by the end of the Sunday.... but I was so hungry ... and I ate other foods... and I am back to itching and scratching.... So back on the chicken and cucumbers diet... grrr.  I know I will lose some weight... how much chicken a person can eat? right? 

Our weekend was pretty dreary with rain, ice and sleet all mixed in and so cold!  We may get a little bit more tonight but I am hoping that it passes us on by.  Sorry about the allergies, that is a bummer.  I hope you find something else besides chicken that will work for you.  If I had know how much chicken I was going to consume after surgery, I would have bought a chicken farm!

Good morning BOTTs.

Wow...it's been a trying time.  My daughter has been dealing with depression and is under the care of a psychiatrist and a therapist but last week she was even more blue than she has been so we called her dr and went to see him Thursday.  She had began having suicidal thoughts and during the appointment, her dr decided that she was a danger to herself.  What began as a dr appointment turned into an ambulance trip to a psychiatric hospital and a 72 hour hold in a secured facility for adolescents, about 2 1/2 hours north of us.  I followed the ambulance in a state of shock and awe.  My beautiful girl was so depressed she was actually thinking about ending her life.  Oh my heart still aches at the thought.  I drove up to visit her the following day as well, and then again on Saturday, I stayed in a hotel room and then on Sunday we had a family meeting with both sets of parents present with a therapist/social worker.  My daughter's biological father is the biggest jerk, most insensitive, mean, cruel excuse of a man alive.  He calls her fat, tells her he never misses her and that she doesn't even cross his mind when he doesn't see her.  She was only a year old when we divorced and of course as a baby, she wanted to stay with me (her mommy) well he insisted on taking her on "his days" and the fact that she cried and didn't want to leave me, he still holds that against her, and he tells her that she set the tone way back then.  She suffers from clinical depression, however, he creates deep rooted pain that triggers it and makes it all the worse.  She was thinking that maybe if she was "gone", he would then, miss her.  My head spins at the thought and my heart aches for her.  She was released yesterday, and she is feeling a little better, but she has a long way to go.  This morning, I drove her to school (she normally drives herself) early and we talked to the vice principal and counselor to let them know what had transpired and what was going on.  It's really important for her to know that there is nothing to be ashamed of and that it's not a "dirty little secret".  My daughter has wonderful support in our house, her stepmother is very supportive, (her father insists that "he is the way he is and he's not changing"), she has a brother (my son) and a stepbrother who are there for her, and her grandparents (my parents) are wonderfully supportive.  I hope and pray that school goes well today for her and that her friends are extra gentle with her. We have a long road ahead of us but we are headed in the right direction.  If you are a believer, I would appreciate your prayers. 

I need to take good care of myself, as well, so that I can be the best I can be, for her.

Breakfast:  oatmeal with cranberries

Snack:  greek yogurt

Lunch:  baked chicken

Snack:  protein shake

Dinner:  not sure just yet

I hope all is going well for you and your families this holiday season.  Today after I pick her up from school, we are decorating our tree.  Hugs to you all, I have missed you. 

Gaby

HUGS Gaby... about your ex "can't fix stupid". Sorry your baby has to deal with that ...I am glad that beside the "sperm donor" everyone else is supportive. Please take care of yourself. 

Praying for peace within you and your daughter.....

Gaby...so sorry that you and your family are going through this heartache, but your daughter is very fortunate to have you and others for understanding and support.  I agree with what H.a.l.a. said regarding her biological father, and it's hard to swallow someone being as insensitive as he is to her plight.  I'm sending up prayers for all of you, and may your daughter enjoy peace of mind and greater contentment while surrounded by those who love her.  ((((hugs)))) to you :)

We may have just met however, you and your family are in my prayers.