Saturday, April 21st

I'm up! Why am I up? Because I dreamt it was time to get up, so here we are!

I took the opportunity to tidy up a bit and pay bills (which magically appeared over night) and rebalanced my luggage. I'm using a checked bag so I have clothes for every occasion. I find I care more about hiking pant options than I do conference pant options.

Paula, just get used to me thinking about you and yours every single day! Hug those boys! Hug that Ben! Let the pups hug you! I hope you found a housecleaner.

DianeS, Bryce is about 4 hours from Las Vegas. On the way there (or back) I hope to stop at Valley of Fire State Park which has petroglyphs. So I think Valley of Fire is about an hour out, then Zion is about 2 hrs out and then Bryce 4 hours out. All very rough estimates.

I know this will sound lame to those of you with snow, but a few days ago this became the 3rd rainiest April on record for Seattle, even no more rain fell the rest of the month.

Ok, I'm going back to bed for a few hours before I leave for the airport.

Find time for recess,

Shel

Paula, virtual HUGS to you and your family.

Good morning, Up early. Early morning is my most productive time. I lack 4 strips in the 2 nd bedroom and then the living room and I will be done with the flooring. I will have to purchase more flooring as I took up the tile by 100 feet more than I bought floor covering.

Eating has been fair. I tend to graze more when I am trying to get things done. Still have not had N&Y so that is good.

I have wanted a cognitive behavior therapist for a long time. No one in this area does this. There might be one in Little Rock but that would be 6 hours round trip. My nephew found a podcast and I got it from my sister. It is Feeling Good with David Burns. He has several books. I am binge listening to them while I work. It makes the most sense of any treatment technique that I have read on.

Shel, enjoy your hiking.

More later, David

Paula, I read your Caring bridge and posted there. I hope your conversations with the boys is behind you, and that it went as well as can be expected. Hospice was such a lifeline when my dad had cancer. There is typically so much support for children and spouses during and after...I encourage you to take advantage of it. I,too, hope you found a housekeeper. Shel, I laughed when I read your post. I cared way more about the hiking attire than the street clothes I packed! I used to have nightmares about forgetting to pack the ONE pair of pants that actually fit well and was comfortable.... Now, if I forget anything, I can walk in anywhere and grab anything I need. I can so relate to the seatbelt thing Cecily and BB...

I was able to hop on the scale my first dawn at home and I'm down a pound. I took advantage of all of the fresh fruit and vegetables and abundance of fish. I added a protein bar most days to support the higher activity level and did try to stay hydrated. My bathroom success has been minimal, but my colonoscopy prep for Tuesday should take care of that ! I have to do the big guns prep because my last colonoscopy six months ago was inconclusive as the basic prep didn't fully work. It is NOT snowing...expecting 50 degree weather!

Yes, let's continue to hug our families and pets. I'll share some DD insights after I process a bit more.

Weight 118.8, calories 751. Third day in a row over my comfortable range. I know it will take time to bring it back down - I just need to continue doing what I started yesterday which should be easier now that I have regular food in the house.

Thanks to all for the advice on the dogs. At this point we won't make an issue with Justice, but just keep taking him out and praising him for doing potty outside. I'll hold on Chiquita for now - She sees the vet on Tuesday so I can discuss it with her a bit at that point.

Speaking of vets, I took Justice on Thursday. They said he is in excellent health and appears to be between 2-4 (the vets in Florida said 4). So we are picking 3 as his age and his birthday will be March 2 (the day he came to our home for foster care). They did a blood test to confirm that the heartworm treatment had killed the worms in the stage(s) it was supposed to (it did). He will have another test in 6 months.

My class reunion is tonight. I am riding with 4 friends/former classmates who live in the area (it is about 90 minutes from here). I am looking forward to it and hope that a good number of people I can remember are there. I am finding it more difficult to remember casual acquaintances. Name tags are going to be critical as we all look SO DIFFERENT (aka old)!

Have a soft Saturday!

Greetings Peeps and Peps

Just can't get over the cuteness of that intro. What is not cute is weight. 148. Pizza again. Just too lazy to fix something else.

Hey Shel, you are totally right to care more about your sports attire than conference stuff. Conferences are just vehicles to go somewhere and do fun stuff. Thanks for the info on Bryce and the place with petroglyphs. Have a fun trip. I wish I could get a transfusion of your hiking enthusiasm since I live in one of the great hiking capitals of the universe.

Hey Dave, I have that book Feeling Good. It is indeed a good approach. Hope the podcast continues to be useful. There is a publisher called "new harbinger publications" that has a boat load of self help books including stuff on overeating and every form of mental issue under the sun. I have one of their anxiety books which I only read a little of. But its good stuff. I get an email every other week on some new form of self help. They must think I am a real mess.

Well Liz, glad Justice is settling in. Dogs aren't a luxury. They are a necessity.

Paula you are on our minds and in our hearts.

Nothing I HAVE to do today but lots I should do as I survey the domestic mess.

So it looks like we are going to rebuild the front counter at the gallery to accommodate new sales system. At least there is someone willing to do it. Out of my bent up little hands.

Well coffee cup is empty. Time for another. Diane S

Thought of you when we purchased our 16 ounce ceramic coffee cups in San Diego ! Almost big enough !

Paula-keeping you and your entire family in my thoughts and prayers.

Weight: 165

We had some friends to dinner last night to meet Rebecca. They are low-carbing it, so they brought and grilled steaks here and also brought cheese and cracker appetizer and Caesar salad. I made roasted asparagus and a cauliflower au gratin. The dinner was wonderful, but I actually felt heavier after it than I usually do. I do not subscribe to a low carb lifestyle in general, and feeling heavy last night made me think maybe it isn't the best approach for me. It is definitely possible to eat poorly while eating low carb. I think I felt heavy because of the high fat content of the food. I do believe in protein first, as it's the only thing that really fills me up and doesn't slide easily through. Other than that I find moderation is the only thing I can do long term. My trouble is I often am not a good judge of "moderation." Especially when losing weight, and I do want to lose at least 10lbs. To lose weight, I simply cannot be satiated AND eat what I want. I have yet to find a way to lose weight that doesn't involve some amount of deprivation. That's such a dirty word in dieting, but I just think it happens. When I'm in the calorie deficit necessary to lose weight, I feel either hungry or mentally deprived of something I want. One thing I do eventually want to incorporate is more fruits and veggies, as I've been inspired by Ann. And what better time of year than spring and summer?!

Another 7+ hour night of sleep. I must be the luckiest mama ever.