02/29/2020, Saturday

Weight: 138.8
Veggies/Fruits: 10
Macronutrients: Cals - 1,252, Carbs - 141, Fats - 31, Proteins - 103, Fiber - 32
WW SmartPoints: 24
Water: 2
Fitbit Recorded Sleep: 6'16"
Exercise: 20" circuit training and 10,358 steps

Scales need to go the OTHER direction! I'm definitely not eating enough to be gaining weight. My skinny clothes continue to fit better. Measurements are good, too. The slight weight gain this last week or two could be the result of five weeks of circuit-training/weight-lifting, even though the weights are light. The body parts I'm working (butt, arms, shoulders) are firmer, curvier and even a little more cut. Or this is just my imagination or rationalization, because I'm skilled at that, too. ;)

Today is Leap Year Day! It's a big deal in our family, because one of our siblings is a Leap Year baby. He told me yesterday that there are a couple of mothers with three kids (all singletons) all born on Leap Year Day. And people say I'll never win the lottery! Heck, I wouldn't even have to give birth to do that.

Today's going to be a beautiful Saturday here. Will do some timber pick-up, but mostly work on my writing. Yesterday I trimmed my butterfly bushes way back (that chore needs to be done around here in March, but I figured February 28 was close enough). BTW, I noticed while stepping up and down some tiered flower beds yesterday that my knees and legs feel stronger and more stable, and don't twinge as much as they used to. Clearly, the muscles around my knees are stronger these days, so I'm not having to rely on my knee joints so much. Could this be my expanded yoga@home practice? Hip-hop classes? My little deadlifts and squats? Dunno, but I haven't felt that stable on my pins in a long time.

And speaking of hip-hop, my dance class last night didn't happen. My instructor wound up in the hospital this week from a sickle cell crisis that erupted after he got a cold and a high fever. Man, I hate that he has to deal with that. There are many diseases it'd sure be nice if someone would find a quick fix for, and sickle cell disease is one of them.

BTW, DD, I loved your description of how your kids got into Romeo and Juliet. You sound like such a super teacher. Sometimes I'd just be happy to go back to a really good high school. There's so much to learn at that level, and I'd love to dig deeper into some of it.

Enough chattering. Y'all have a great day.

Weight 125.6, WW blue points 27. That is a dehydrated weight after ingestion of several glasses of wine last night. My head is dehydration fuzzy. Because I am rarely drinking wine these days it hits me harder, so I need to restrict the count more than I did last night when I do have some.

Speaking of which, I had just gotten up this morning and heard a crash. SIL was on the living room floor. She apparently was disoriented when she got up, went into the living room instead of the bathroom, got dizzy and fell. She has a major bruise on her knee but otherwise seems okay. She is on Eliquis (anticoagulant) so the bruise is going to get worse before it gets better. She drank way more than I did last night, so even if she is used to it apparently she must have been super dehydrated as well.

Oh and men can be such dogs (sorry Devon, not you)! We were sitting at a bar having our drinks and chatting with the group next to us, a husband, his wife and his brother. The brother is a widower. He and SIL were chatting up a storm, which is unusual for her. I wasn't really interacting in their conversation. When SIL went to the bathroom, he told me I was really pretty and asked for my phone number. No thanks!

Ann, it sounds like you are getting into great shape. Good for you! I look around at my friends here who range from 55 to early 80's and they all seem so much younger than they are because they keep active and take care of themselves. In comparison, there are others in our park who are overweight and sedate, riding around in golf carts and complaining about their various aches and pains.

Hopefully today is warmer. I think walking, pool and leftovers for dinner are our best bet. SIL leaves for a week early tomorrow morning. And my friend of 50 years arrives for a 3 day visit tomorrow afternoon. It is the man who I had dinner with a few times over the last couple of years. I'm a little nervous, but it should be fine. I have known him for a long time and we are good friends. It will just be weird to have a man visiting without DH being here.

Have a good Saturday!

Liz, I feel the same way you do regarding your Florida friends about the women in my yoga class and can't help but compare them to women I know who are the same age, but aren't in good shape at all--mostly because they haven't had much (any?) exercise experience and have given all their energy to their careers and/or families. Those lifestyles don't leave many resources to care for oneself. As we all know too well, lifetime habits are hard to break and new habits are hard to form. Yes, it can be done. But it takes great focus and desire to change.

Another thing about that ... it's an undeniable fact that our behavior is so very much affected by the behavior of the people we associate with. If they exercise and eat well, we tend to do so, too. If they ride around in golf carts and eat for entertainment, we will, too. There's so much research underscoring this truth. Mother was right: We should pick our friends carefully.

I hope you and your friend have a good visit next week. Good friends should be treasured, because they're incredibly valuable.

Boo to the guy chatting up your SIL, only to hit on you. But yes to one of the good guys being your friend and coming to visit.

One night when I was out for a walk in my parents Florida neighborhood, I got smoked by an 85 year old who passed me on the right and left me in his dust. My Dad pointed out that overtime, the less fit people or people with big health problems can no longer be snowbirds. The people in the golf carts will stop coming south sooner than the walkers. Maintaining two houses, traveling, requires a minimum level of physical and mental health. Sadly, I think that is now the case for my Mom. Her multiple issues, kidney disease, lung cancer, fused back are narrowing her world considerably. She's only 78, but I think this is her last winter in Florida :(

I am sorry your Mom is struggling. Sounds like she has a lot going on.

Thank you. It would be easier if my Dad was more able to "deal". He is physically very fit, he's 82 and starts his day with a 3 mile walk, does all the maintenance in both houses (but should he?), etc.He cares very lovingly for my Mom, but he just doesn't get things other people might. He does not have dementia, but he has always been eccentric, and he can't deal well with day to day life. And he gets overwhelmed by things he used to be able to handle. He creates chaos, and my mom doesn't have the strength anymore to keep things on track. I feel sad. I also feel conflicted about how much care I owe them. I love them, but they were often negligent with me, and outright made decisions that harmed me. It's hard.

It is good to know what ALL your options are. And to expand your options as much as you can.

One thing I learned from experience and watching a lot of others in the same boat ... the decision/option you choose right now is not the decision/option that will be right in the future.

TLDR: Be very willing to change your mind.

1. Within Range: 4.5 over
2. Blue SmartPoints: 23
3. General Wellbeing: 8
4. FSF: Experiencing outer bands of lake effect snow
5. Yesterday's Insights: Keeping my head in the game is crucial. I will identify more things that work for me to more effectively/efficiently expedite that process (beyond activity, music and journaling) and I will work to habituate methods I have identified.

Liz, Key West sounds wonderful as does two solo weeks at the end of your FL time. DD, loved the way you celebrated your students' success with Shakespeare ! I can remember supporting SPED students pushing out into mainstreamed 9^th grade English. The fine line between scaffolding learning and watering down is difficult for some to understand. Kudos ! Ceci, how fun to have Barkley and Fergs together ! Can you walk them simultaneously ? The first few minutes for Sadie and Atlas on lead can be a bit of a challenge until they settle into their pack mindset. Ann, I agree about the benefit of looking at Fitbit data in relation to quality of sleep. DC and I both have the Versa 2 HR, but I have a premium membership which goes into much more detail. Beyond my sleep score, I can track how much restorative sleep (at or below resting heartrate) I got throughout the night. I can also send 24 heartrate data to my cardiologist. Yes, I think your circuit training shows in your stable pins, weight trend and clothing fit ! Keep at it, my friend ! Diane, sometimes popcorn is just the right choice. Keep that gallery sanitizer full ! Congrats on your brother's good labs. David, you fabulous inventor... love the pad stand you fashioned ! Peps, it is no wonder your insides are spinning ! Rushing before school is sooo stressful !! You are modifying your game plan, expecting MORE puppies and are uncertain about Ron's health. A salad spinner rinses out all of the excess debris and eliminates it from the wonderfully healthy greens... perhaps that will be a benefit of your spinning ?!

Our trip to and from Syracuse took us along the outer bands of the Lake Ontario lake effect event. Plows were out in force but conditions weren't too bad. One hour north of Syracuse, they are expecting 3-4 FEET of blowing snow. Most lakes never froze this year, so, water cycle anyone ? DC's scoping showed no stricture in the reconstructed urethra and no additional growth in prostate, so no explanation for frequent UTIs beyond the constipation theory. We'll go back again in May, half way through second hip replacement recovery. Have to run ! Love to all !

Diane, you sound so great! Damn, I wish we all lived close enough to get together occasionally. In fact, getting together would NOT be an impossible feat. Would require some actual coordination and focus. But it could be done. :)

Sadly, I found I can't. Fergie walks so slowly now, under a stroll, and Barkley is a power walker still. No matter how I tried to adjust it was too fast for Ferg and too slow for Barks. So separate walks keep both happy and the exercise is good for me!