Thursday June 4, 2020

Weight 121.6, WW Bluepoints 11. Up 1.6 - I knew it would be up! But the fact that I briefly saw 120 makes me feel solidly in my target range which is what I needed.

I hope we helped Devon with some possible strategies yesterday. I do love that we all have such interesting viewpoints to share and we incorporate whatever we think will work for ourselves. Remember when we were first investigating WLS and heard about the "journey"? Though I knew enough from the past to know that maintenance would be the biggest challenge, I never realized that the true journey happens after we can eat more or less "normally" again and what we learn about ourselves along the way to cope with that.

So glad to hear that Ann is physically healthy. Sending my love in case she reads this

I started sewing SIL's slipcovers yesterday. Only 4-5 years after the fabric was purchased . Everything is cut out and I sewed 10 yards of self cording. The next step is to start sewing the covers for the cushions: two chairs, each with 2 cushions, one cushion for the ottoman and 2 small accent pillows. I could do it in 2-3 days if I stuck with it but my plan is to not spend more than 2 hours on days when I work on it and not to necessarily work on it every day. But now that I have started I will feel a compulsion to finish so they should be done in 2-4 weeks (by the end of June anyway).

So nephew and fiancé STILL haven't scheduled telling the family about the pregnancy. Did we used to do that years ago? I don't remember it being such a big deal requiring a zoom meeting with all the aunts, uncles and cousins. I feel like we just told the parents and maybe a sibling and told them to pass it on! I keep slipping and almost telling. When I talked to stepdaughter yesterday I almost slipped. They are more than 4 months along now!

Today I have to shuttle DS around a bit because he is having the car serviced and has a doctor appointment. I am hoping to slip in a bit of beach time as it will be about 80.

Stay safe and healthy!

Liz, I am pretty impressed by your ability to sew slip covers! I feel like my life would be so much better if I could build bookcases and sew slip covers (or reupholster). Alas, I am somewhat afraid of power tools, and despite years of tutoring from my Grandma, I am not a great seamstress. I did sew clothes when I was in junior high and high school, but it took me forever, and always involved at least one episode of me pounding on the sewing table in frustration.

Today will be pretty much like yesterday. Work, followed by some yard work. My vines are growing vigorously. Yesterday I was out weaving them through the fence (otherwise the just end up running along the very top, I like as much of the fence covered ad possible) when my neighbor came out. She said hello, I said hello, and continued with my weaving. I hope it bugs her A Lot to see me tending my vines.

I bought a life jacket last evening for my kayak, so I'm all set. DH is off tomorrow, so I told him I could probably knock off at 2:30 since its Friday. He said it would probably take him that long to load the kayaks into the new car top carrier he installed. :) If the weather's good, we should be on the water tomorrow afternoon.

Off to refill the bird feeder for my continued viewing entertainment.

Thank you all so much for the input yesterday. I will be making that lemon blueberry pie for sure! I'm going to try the banana pancakes today!

Some people are weird about announcing pregnancies. I know many wait until the second trimester begins, to play it safe. Most of my friends' kids just spill it and it gets around by word of mouth. My niece puts it on FB with the intent of telling everyone at the same time because she is certain if she tells people individually she will forget telling someone important. She inadvertently forgot to tell my brother she was getting married before she told some others and put it on FB. That hurt my bro and sister in law a lot, so niece announced both her pregnancies and made no phone calls, text or emails. LOL. In our area it seems people in their 30s tend to make a bigger deal out of the announcement. One friend even had a gender reveal party! I thought that was funny - weird funny. Not haha funny.

My weight was down a little tiny bit today. But anytime I dip below 270 makes me happy these days. Simple pleasures.

A very surprising thing happened late last night. Ron made a truly negative wisecrack about my eating. It really hurt my feelings and therefore I went straight into silent retreat and defensive mode. I went through the mental list of all the stuff I could say right back to him to dig the knife into his own insecurities. This happened just before bed, so I went to bed kind of pissed off. I made the decision that rather than being a dick back to him and purposely going for his emotional jugular, I would take the high road and politely tell him that making wise cracks about my eating is counter productive, hurts my feelings and makes it harder for me to live in harmony with my eating disorder. Don't know what else to do, but that. Hoping that owning my feelings, letting him know that such comments are unacceptable to me helps me move on. Boooooooooo.....

On the docket today is the gym, a phone consultation for the flooring project, and perhaps a little drive by B'day hello for one of my former students. Emma is the daughter of my teaching partner. She turns 10 today. Emma holds a special place in my heart because I've known her since she was in her mama's tummy and like her mama, she is good people. Emma was also the best 3rd grade teacher assistant any teacher could have. Because she helped her mom so much from Kindergarten on, Emma could go make copies if we ran short, loved doing bulletin boards, etc.... And because she was always at school early with her mom she had plenty of time to do little extra projects.

Had BFF come over yesterday for a visit. He's in a bad space, so the visit helped. He had to leave by 7;30 to be home by curfew, which was weird. There is another protest scheduled in my neighborhood (about a half mile or so from the house) tomorrow, so businesses are closing at noon tomorrow in our area. Boooooooo!

Question for us all here: Why is there such a lack of coverage of the law enforcement officers that have been shot over the past few days? I am appalled by the lack of coverage in my area about this. Not one mention on our local news about the 29 year old Marshall in las Vegas who was shot in the head from behind at point blank range. I find this equally, if not somewhat more horrid than Mr. Floyd's homicide. Shooting a person from behind shows malice and intent and forethought. Not sure if that will be legally murder 1, or murder 2 if the Marshall dies. I understand my viewpoint may be less than popular, but needless killing, thoughtless, reckless regard for life in the name of vengeance doesn't hold any credence - ever.

Here's to a day that brings each and every one of us closer to our personal goals. Love and health and serenity to us all!

I think that the media is trying to manipulate us. And I don't mean that from a liberal or conservative perspective. I mean it more from a "if it bleeds, it leads" kind of perspective and right now police have been the "enemy." (Now please please don't misunderstand. Definitely those involved in the homicide of Mr. Floyd were wrong, bad police.)

From a legal perspective, I would think going up and shooting someone from behind is a potential higher murder charge. But as first degree murder in Oklahoma is defined as when a person unlawfully and with malice aforethought (aka premeditation) causes the death of another human being, I think it would be a fact question as to the premeditation (my guess is probably not). But in the instance of a police officer, at least in Oklahoma, that is automatically a 1st degree murder charge regardless of premeditation if the officer is in the performance of official duties.

So that's the legal jargon side.

I dont' know the answer. I feel the PEACEFUL protests have been extremely justified and way overdue. And they are happening and peacefully. Sadly, those too, don't make the news. I am saddened that some people are so at their wits' end that they feel the only way to get attention is with more violence. I cannot imagine how it feels to be black in America. To be scared by the very people that are supposed to protect you. I won't even pretend. I guess I will just have to acknowledge I cannot know. But I see and hear how the violence is beginning to fuel more division, more hatred. Just like Peps has mentioned. Hey guys, this should not be a one side or the other issue. Nobody should be comfortable with what happened to Mr. Floyd.

I just wish we could get out there and love our neighbors. I know that's extremely simplistic. and maybe too naive under the cir****tances. But "let's get together and feel alright."

Whew. I hardly know if I should say anything after that. I do want to say I continue to really appreciate the diversity of perspectives in this group. One thing I find social media to be dangerously lacking in is a diversity of opinion and lack of civility in discourse. I know some of my friends are big fans of "unfriending" people who have content that they disagree with. I do not. Although I'm on a big kick of filtering what you "consume," I also worry about creating an echo chamber for myself where only opinions I agree with float around. Sometimes it's uncomfortable to hear differing opinions, especially on heated topics. But I appreciate your honest and bravery in discussing those, even when they are so dear to your heart.

Not much foodwise to share other than I've fallen off the losing wagon but I think I"m okay on maintenance. I'm about to make my menu plan and grocery list for the next week and hope to get back at it again. But i"m okay with that. I have no deadline.

So thoughtful! much of what your write mirrors my thinking - especially, I can't know what it's like to be black in America. The closest I can come is to remember back to the early 1980s when I was a young man grappling with my sexuality and all that meant in those times. Being gay was not an accepted societal norm. It was okay to slander, malign, and physically assault gays in those times, especially as AIDS was beginning to hit the news in 1981. The thought of revealing who I was was terrifying. That's as close as I can get to true understanding.

Bonnie, you're wise to not isolate yourself in an echo chamber. My husband and I always joke that's what our extended family is for, they are not an echo chamber for us, nor we for them. And yet we love each other.

The Minneapolis Police Department has a rotten center. The union president has a stranglehold on the department. The last 3 police chiefs and mayors say he is a huge problem. There are officers now coming forward anonymously and saying that they are terrified to speak out against some of the abuses they see due to fear of retaliation. I fear it is an environment that turns good people indifferent, or worse, abusive.

I think reforms that make It easier for good officers to operate would make things safer for all of us, including law enforcement.

I thought it was interesting when the mugshots were released of the 4 officers that while two were white, one was asian and the other black. So diversity wasn't the issue, something else made those three other officers either feel what was happening was okay or made them afraid to put a stop to it.

Right? There is much evidence that Chauvin did have racial animosity, from previous statements and observed behaviors, and multiple complaints filed against him by citizens. I don't know the stories of the other officers. But I don't rule out racial bias, some of my Hispanic friends have said shockingly racist things about African Americans. Sadly, the first time our daughter heard the n word was from the Grandma of one of her Hispanic friends.But yes, they could feel intimidated by Chauvin. I'm sure we'll learn more during their trials. Either way, what a mess to be unraveled and set right. I hope we're resolved and up for the task.

it is fascinating how racism/sexism transcends racial boundaries. One of the first times I was a target of antigay language came from a black man and woman. That was my first glimpse into anti gay sentiment from other minorities. It is amazing how some minority cultures still consider it okay to be prejudice against gays on one hand, while on the other protesting oppression from the American social system. Weird.

I think this is a good example that nobody is above it. I mean at some point if we peel down, we all have prejudices. Like think about even obese people. But I do think that this particular case gets at the idea of criminalizing color or at least racial profiling. I could go on and on with the flaws in our criminal justice system.

I think I may need to revisit the film "Crash." I think it is an excellent illustration where it says "look in the mirror" Very humbling