VSG Maintenance Group
Wednesday January 31, 2018
I must have really wanted to see the Super Blue Blood Moon! I woke up so many times during the night expectantly. Sometime after 4:00 am I knew the eclipse had started because the moonlight pouring in the bedroom window was bleak and dreary - unlike to bright, crisp moonlight at bedtime. I got up at 5:00 am to take a peek. Then again at 5:15, 5:30, and 5:45. Each time the moon was farther along to the totality of the eclipse. Our bedroom faces west. I was able to see the deep orange moon behind the scraggly branches of the bare Blue Oaks, Black Walnuts, and Creek Willows along our creek. I understand why ancient cultures may have considered a blood moon dark magic. Standing silently against the sliding glass door in the dark, hearing only the breath of Ron and the dogs as they slept, looking out into a cold, brilliantly clear winter night created magic for me - a somewhat eerie magic. Nature, the Universe, is powerful. I will most likely never experience such a celestial phenomenon again. It's a memory I will treasure.
Dear Ann, I'm sorry you are exhausted, but I believe it is a normal part of the process. I know I went through it when my mom died and things settled down. My poor father went through a couple of weeks of terribly restless sleeping and then spent about a month having trouble staying awake. I think it was not only the physical exhaustion, but the year of mental exhaustion caused by the care my dad provided that preceded my mom's passing.
Diane O., I'm glad that the group leader made the call to retire the handler. Sometimes that is what must be done. Dogs are living beings with moods and personalities. Without the strong and trusted leadership of a sound human handler a working or therapy dog is FORCED to assume the role. Dogs cannot operate in a vacuum lacking authority. Even a dog ill suited to a leadership role will step up and fill the void. When a dog with poor leadership abilities takes on the leadership role, trouble is guaranteed to follow.
Liz, I'm sorry the pain of DD's cancer and passing visited you last night. I think it's understandable given what you are experiencing with DH's decline and your mom's birthday.
Shel, I enjoyed the NYT article on binge eating. It was sort of a "duh" to me (done my research...), but I did appreciate the MD commenting on the complexity of obesity and how fat shaming and blame have no place in the treatment. I also am glad she acknowledged that in some cases it is the body is actually driving the behavior - not the mind!
My weight is as it was yesterday. I'm assuming it is real weight. Makes sense. I'm probably eating enough extra calories to put on a ½ pound per week at this point. Admitting that I had a deep twinge of sorrow last night when I wrote about my new Post VSG weight pinnacle on the scale is hard. What I felt was that deep stir that brings tightness to my throat and breath and starts to build the pressure behind the eyes as tear ducts fill. Automatic reaction is to immediately push those sensations aside. Logic revs into hyper drive and overrides the emotion. I feel nothing. As the painful emotion is pushed down a few fighting grunts might escape, but nothing that can't be bundled up quickly and sent back down to be locked neatly away in my hermetically sealed trunk of unwanted emotion.
Love your description of the eclipse. We saw the moon rising big and bright but haze around it. High fog factor here so I didn't get up.
Nothing like a mystical nature experience to make one feel insignificant (read: small and thin). Cheers, DS
Join US On The VSG Maintenance Group Forum!!
http://www.obesityhelp.com/group/VSGM/discussion/
Devon, your description of handling the painful emotions is so on the mark. But.. though admitting they are there is painful, I imagine it will lead to something positive in the long run. Wishing for you that that positive something is right around the corner. Hugs
HW (recorded) 323 Start of Journey 298.9 SW 263.6 CW 177.8 GW 180
Good morning!
No moon here. It is so cloudy that even the sun is hard to spot.
It is a true day off work. I am not even tempted to log in from home. That, my friends, means that I have been keeping up during work hours. I do work more than my scheduled time pretty much every day, but to not have it bleed into a day off is a major victory.
I had gym work out very early and then X Country skied. A good day.
I am still logging in MFP. One my favorite things is scrolling for a particular food and seeing how many calories other things have. One slice of Costco pizza is 700 calories.
Ann, you are so wise to listen to your body and soul.
About the Appalachian trip. DianeO, I looked at the inn to inn options and had a kind of a duh moment. Out here, the big thru trial is the Pacific Coast Trail. I would never seek to go hiking on the PCT because it is "deep" and a pain to get to. Once, a trial I was on, intersected the PCT and it was fun to see the jolly, gnarly peeps on it.
Anyway, I haven't looked at that inn to inn info super close, yet, but I suspect that a fair amount of time is traveling from trail head to trail head (and inn to inn.)
Would the group be interested in going to a spot where we have more of a base where there are a fair amount of trails to choose from so there is less time packing/unpacking/driving?
So, not necessarily the Appalachian trial per se, but somewhere on the East Coast like a National/State park with a robust trial system. That would give us more trials to chose from, too. For me, the hiking is more about the company I am with, but it nice to have a variety of lengths/terrain to choose from.
Also, Devon, I am not afraid of your capacity to sweat. You do you. I'll be a ways away because I'll be sweating, too :)
BB, you and Little Nugget are super cute!
Hug you skinny! Shel
HW:361 SW:304 (VSG 12/04/2014)Mo 1:-32 Mo 2:-13.5 Mo 3: -13.5 Mo 4 -9.5 Mo 5: -15 Mo 6: -15 Mo 7: -13.5 Mo 8: -17 Mo 9: -13 Mo 10: -12.5 11/3/2015 Healthy BMI Reached! Mo 11: -9 Mo 12: -8 12/27/2015 Goal Weight Reached!
Shel, so glad you got out to ski! Here in Maine, we have parts of the Appalachian trail. We also have Acadia National Park. It is absolutely beautiful, with lots of trails. Bar Harbor is right there too, which is a fun place to explore. We spent our anniversary in Bar Harbor, back in October. My oldest kept the youngest overnight then met us in the morning. She went back to school, but DH, the younger one and I poked around and drove up to the top of Cadillac Mountain, which has breathtaking views of Bar Harbor and Frenchman's Reef. I would highly recommend it!
HW (recorded) 323 Start of Journey 298.9 SW 263.6 CW 177.8 GW 180
I love Acadia and Bar Harbor! We visited there about 8 months after VSG so I was still pretty fluffy but feeling fabulous!!! It is where I started hiking. It took a lot of effort but I felt so ABLE afterward! Can you believe I had never heard of Acadia before I started planning that trip????
By the way, we visited LL Bean, too, while there. I think it might have been a flagship store or something like that? I was probably the only one in the family that appreciated that type of retail but I certainly enjoyed. You live in a very beautiful area of the country.
HW:361 SW:304 (VSG 12/04/2014)Mo 1:-32 Mo 2:-13.5 Mo 3: -13.5 Mo 4 -9.5 Mo 5: -15 Mo 6: -15 Mo 7: -13.5 Mo 8: -17 Mo 9: -13 Mo 10: -12.5 11/3/2015 Healthy BMI Reached! Mo 11: -9 Mo 12: -8 12/27/2015 Goal Weight Reached!
