VSG Maintenance Group
Friday, June 25, 2021
We are having a lazy morning here because it is wet and muggy out. So the tree trimming we were going to do will probably have to happen tomorrow. I just found out that DS is going away for the weekend so we will actually be alone for the first time at my house. Yeah!
Mike is golfing this afternoon and I am meeting childhood friends for lunch. The weather should improve but I may go shopping for a bit this afternoon.
Eating was as expected yesterday. I didn't eat as much pizza as the others, but more than I should have. It is a struggle.
Have a safe and healthy day!
Liz 5'3" HW: 219 SW: 185 GW: 125 LW: 113 Desired maintenance range: 120-125 CW: 119ish
Liz, We are happy to have daughter living with us, but I also love the "just the two of us" feeling when she's off on an adventure.
Today dawns better. A few of yesterday's issues are resolved, some not the way I want, but what's done is done. So I need to let go. I thought about the tapes in our head a lot, because a few of mine got triggered. Maybe they never stop, maybe the best we can do is recognize them when they start, and tell ourselves, that's not true, or that's not right, or, I'm only thinking this way because of (insert childhood trauma).
One of the little chores I did yesterday was "make kindling" with my hand clippers. I pull big branches out of the brush pile and cut them up. It makes the pile more stackable, tidy, but probably not necessary, as you can pick up a branch and break it down just as its going into the bonfire. But anyhow, I find it so calming as the brush pile dwindles, and my stack of kindling grows.
Cecily, I was thinking about the friendship issue in Michigan. The culture here in Minnesota is called Minnesota Nice, but people who move here call it Minnesota Ice. Non natives say it is really hard to make friends, people are polite, friendly etc but everyone who grew up here has a social circle comprised of relatives and friends from grade school. I'm wondering if Michigan, especially small town Michigan also shares that vibe. A long way to say, I don't think it's you.
Not sure what the day holds, I have a million projects to work on, and I'm relishing the chance to pick and choose as the spirit moves me, like making kindling when I need to be meditative. :)
No social plans this weekend beyond hanging out with my own family, so no eating situations to navigate. 100% happy with this.
Having a sad, feeling the feels kind of day. I caught myself focusing on the things I miss instead of gratitude for what the future holds. Ceci, I feel your ache for true friends. My weight is currently a non issue, but I still weigh every morning and panic at fluctuations within my range. Man, those tapes are powerful and pervasive. My eldest DD had a lumpectomy Monday, and I am eager to hear negative results. I'd give anything to have all of you on my porch right now !
Age: 64; 5' 5"; High weight: 345; Start weight: 271 (01/05/15); Surgery weight: 218 (05/27/15); Pre-Op (-53); M 1 (-18); M 2 (-1.5); M 3 (-13.5 ); M 4 (-13); M 5 (- 8); M 6 (-12) M 7 (-5, Xmas); M 8 (- 9) Under surgeon's goal and REACHED HEALTHY BMI 12/07/15!! (Six months and one week.) AT GOAL month 8. Maintaining at goal range (139- 144) ~ four (4) years !!
on 6/25/21 11:29 am
Didn't weigh today. I walked with my dad this morning. The air is so wet (but just this side of raining with humidity in the high 90s) I commented that it would help to have gills!
I'm feeling a bit better today. Peps asked why I come here given I can get lonely here. It's a great question. Part of the answer is I own half of it! Another part is that I know my time with my dad is finite and I am fortunate to not have things in CA that require me to be there full time (job, family) and I can take the time to be with him now. My mom is gone, I have no siblings, no family of my own. My dad is all I have so I don't want to waste that time. And it's incredibly beautiful and serene. It would be perfect if I had people to do things with regularly. A really close friend of mine said over and over with frustration that she didn't understand why I came here every year. She came to visit and within an hour said, "I totally get it now. I won't ask anymore..."
DD, what you said is accurate too. People who live here full time grew up here, married people from here, have had the same friends since birth. It's a bit of a closed environment. A very nice closed environment! The rest come here for a few weeks, so I might see them at parties, but they are packing in things with their kids and grandkids before they head out again.
Another part I need to own up to is I do have a lot of social anxiety. So putting myself out there is hard. I have tried, gone hiking with neighbors or invited people to the movies, but those friendships haven't seemed to go anywhere. But I could try harder. I have good friends in CA, so I can make them, but it's been a struggle here. Argh. I wish Meetup.com was a thing here...
Today is my dad's wife's birthday. She asked me to make this again: https://www.ambitiouskitchen.com/salmon-taco-bowls/ It's sooo good!
Anyway, I hope you all are having lovely days!
