02/24/22, Thursday

Good morning ! Life has been busy here ! Lots of deliveries and assembly to arrange. I continue to meet with my new play group weekly, and new friends throughout the week. The weather has been in 80's (yesterday, today, and tomorrow), so I'm trying to fit some pool time / beach time in. Eating out daily, usually lunch, certainly challenges my ability to make healthy choices, but the variety of healthy, tasty options does help. I've got a call in to my attorney to discuss next steps in my divorce. The thirty days for EH to respond is up next week. Have a smooth reentry, DD. Peps, your boy looks like quite the natural. Diane, I LOVE my Purely Elizabeth granola ! Liz..safe driving to you and Mike ! I remember those roads well ! Ceci, it must be gratifying to be able to make a significant contribution to your non-profit ! BB, loved your TT post ! It really resonated !

Busy is good. You are making a good life for yourself and that's is excellent!

So Mike and I were both cranky from a long day of travel yesterday (including the 3 hours of total stress driving in the snow). We hadn't eaten anything other than some peanuts, so we had some words before we found something to eat here. We were Hangry (again)! LOL, but lesson learned that I need to go back to my first few years after WLS and carry protein bars and wrapped cheese sticks with me whenever I travel. It was something the nutritionist at my WLS center taught me even before surgery, but somehow in the years when I wasn't really traveling/commuting I stopped doing it.

So Las Vegas is interesting... Too many people and too much of a ripoff for me to feel comfortable. I somewhat expected it which is why it had never been on my list of places to go. But since we were right near here it made sense to experience it. Today we will take in more of the "sights" and go to a show tonight which should be enjoyable. Tomorrow we leave after breakfast to return to Scottsdale and Justice. I am really missing him! He wasn't with us in Hawaii so I was so happy to have him with us here and it is hard to be separated again. Then on Sunday we fly to Florida!

Have a safe and healthy Thursday!

I know Las Vegas has tried to change its reputation over the years with fancy restaurants, hotels, and shows, but I still get such a sleazy vibe from it! Plus, if past lives are a thing, I must have died in a wagon train in the barren desert, because I have such an irrational dislike for Nevada (and the California desert too).

If you've had enough of the strip, check out Red Rock Canyon or Mt. Charleston.

Thanks! I will check into it but luckily we are only here until tomorrow morning!

I'm with you CC. I am not fond of the CA or Nevada deserts. New Mexico land forms are pretty cool, as are some parts of AZ. Deserts in general don't hold much appeal for me.

Yeah, Vegas is not my happy place! LOL! However, if you are willing to do Vegas right (which means $$$$$) you can have a fun time. Even as a smoker back in the day, I found the indoor smoke to be overwhelming. I really dislike the Casino floors now when I walk in. Takes me quite some time to get acclimated to the smoky air. Blech!

Some people are smoking but most aren't. I don't know if you aren't supposed to but they tolerate it? Regardless the smoke isn't bad thank goodness- that used to drive me out of Aruban casinos. I'm not a gambler so it is all about people watching, being in an adult Disney, and hopefully a good show.

Greetings All

More sun today which I feel guilty for enjoying because we need rain.

DianeO its so fun to hear how you go about creating your new place in the world. Sounds like you have chosen well. Its so fun to discover and explore a new area without baggage. Enjoy your new place and new friends.

Las Vegas might be fun if you are young enough and rich enough but its trashy excesses are not for me either. Casinos make me claustrophobic. Last time I was there - like 20 years ago, DH and I were wandering in some remote part of the Mirage looking for a dolphin exhibit. Along comes this good looking man walking briskly. It was Michael Jordan! About 100 feet behind him were some middle aged men following pathetically and shouting "hey Michael". It was funny. The Bulls had played that evening. We did the tourist crap like take the ride in the Luxor and went to Starlight express. Shows are the best thing in Las Vegas. We also went to Rita Rudner. Could not get in to Cirq du Soliel.

So looks like there is war in Europe. Sad state of affairs. Why cant the human race get beyond this stuff?

Few plans for today. I thought I had a board meeting but it must be next week. So I will do some studio time and grocery shop mainly for dog hamburger.

Peps what's the next dog show plan? Love seeing your photos.

And DD hope you are home safe and well lizzarded.

Cheers Diane S

Good Morning All

TGIF here though my weekdays run into the weekend so not sure why I automatically look forward to the weekend..... It brings more work at the moment. Heading to the farm tonight and tommorrow will be around 5-6 hours of mowing etc

I have picked up a shocking chesty thing and its hard to keep going but I am managing. I have started antibotics so hoping it will start to make a difference soon. Its not COVID so Im thankful but man is it knocking me around.

We have a staff member leaving today and his replacement starts on Monday. I am finalising all the paperwork etc. Not a lot else to report. Sorry for being so absent. I am working huge days and nights. I fall into bed each evening exhausted.

Ocean D - So glad you are settling into your new home :) I hope it brings you much peace and joy

Liz - Loving seeing your posts :) Looks like a wonderful trip.

Cec - Happy belated surgiversary :)

Diane S - Have the renovations finished? Hope you are happy with the result

Peps - Your dogs are so beautiful - Loving seeing the pictures

DiamondD - Safe trip home and looks like you had a wonderful break too :)

Love to you all. I think of you all often

S

The back pain is becoming a real pain in the ass... I understand that I tweaked my back on Sunday, but I am tired of the soreness. I believe the decompression treatments are helping, even though the treatment itself creates a level of soreness all its own. Ongoing pain is just plain unpleasant.

Very few times of my life have not been mentally focused on my weight or appearance. I have expended hours and hours of mental energy on my weight, food life, eating disorder, and emotional "f'd upness". I admit readily that I have spent way too much of my energy over the years obsessed at some level with my dysfunctions.

I had a professional development meeting yesterday. It was a small group.... 3 coaches with 2 teachers. For the first time in my career I was on the verge of tears. It was because of many things, but mostly because I realize that the job of teaching has become so prescriptive that I have checked out. I want nothing to do with this ideal that every child is a gifted child in ALL areas of academics and if they are not doing well we must do this or do that.... UM... Bell curve people, bell curve. Average IQ is 90-110.

So, My third graders are supposed to be able to solve this: Marco bought 3 boxes of cat collars. Each box has 6 collars in it. Marco decides to display the collars in three equal rows. How many collars will Marco have in each row? Not so easy if you're 8 or 9 years old - even if you haven't missed 18 months of school due to a pandemic. Yes, I have a small handful who can handle such a problem, but the majority of third graders find this pretty tricky - especially since we haven't covered division yet... UGH....

While this doesn't have much to do with a WLS blog.... It does explain some of my ongoing stress and I do KNOW stress plays a part of my eating dysfunction....

That's my story for today and I'm sticking to it!