Wednesday, February 26, 2025

119.6

No bowling yesterday as it was sunny and beautiful. We went to the Beach Club instead.

I called Social Security to make sure the timing was set properly and find out the amount that I will be changing to after my 70th birthday. I have been receiving survivorship benefits until now so my own SS benefits could mature. I am getting a $20K annual raise! And I didn't get put on hold at all - another miracle these days.

Also used ChatGPT to create a packing list for our trip to BVI in 2 weeks. It did a pretty nice job.

I made double the recipe for WW mushroom bolognese last night. So good and I will freeze half of it. Since I hate cooking I love something like that that generates future meals.

Today will likely not be so productive. DH plays golf so I will run him there, then go to water aerobics, followed by Justice walking. Laundry is on the agenda, then we have our last 3 games of the bocce season at 3:00. Somewhat busy day but then tomorrow has nothing at all on the agenda (other than Justice walking) because there is no ladies golf this week due to a Men's Invitational Tournament.

Worried about younger DD who is having some female problems. She had a biopsy last week but they didn't get enough tissue so she has to have a repeat this Thursday. Nerve-wracking at best but this is also the 20th anniversary of the last few weeks of eldest DD's life so both DD and I have that in our head too.

I hope you all have a winsome Wednesday!

127.6 lbs.

Liz, congrats re your SS raise! And best wishes to your daughter who has to have a second biopsy. That's a bummer.

Little new to report here. DH continues to be pain free and is no longer limping. Remodeling proceeds.

Yesterday was "the first day of spring" here--mid 60s, sunny, no wind. I walked in the neighborhood and lover being outdoors. While I was out running errands, it felt like every one on the street was high and happy!

Book club was last night--Tinkers by Paul Harding who won the Pulitzer in 2009 for his first novel that was published by a very small press. I liked the book, but like most of the books we read it wasn't your regular kind of book.

I really like my book club--5 women in our 70s, retired professionals, travelers, some mothers, some not, some widowed, some not, some religious, some not, a lot of care-giving experience, 2 cancer diagnoses. They're all lifelong Louisvillians who are my go-tos for local history and culture instruction and insights. In short, we've all been around a while and know s**t. Nobody is afraid to say what they think or to disagree with each other. It's lovely to be around grown-ups.

Last night at one point, because of the book we were discussing, we were talking about motherhood--and when did you know you wanted or didn't want children. Several referenced the fact that our club is a safe space where we can explore and speak our full truths out loud. (This sounds a bit like Paula's church group where they're exploring their life experiences and the impacts those have had on their development.)

All of this underscores the contributions that being in community can make to all aspects of our health--physical, mental, emotional, etc.

I sincerely wish I could live another 100 years and keep on learning about the human experience. I certainly don't think that 79 years is long enough to figure it out!

Your book club sounds very cool Ann! Glad you have found some like minded ladies to connect with! My church group just keeps getting deeper. There are only 6 participants and 2 leaders and so far 4 have shared experiences with sexual abuse and I have not even shared my experience with it yet. One person had planned on taking the "secret" to the grave, they are in their 70's. Really cool to see people opening up and beginning the healing process!

Definitely a book club to be sustained by! Mine is too large to be able to delve too deeply in discussion but good for meeting new people.

Congrats on getting a raise in your SS Liz! I will miss out on survivor benefits because I got remarried before age 60! Sucks! Ben put in money all those years and the only amount we got out of it was for DS3 until he graduated high school. Better than nothing I guess since he hasn't had to take a loan out for college yet!

The scale is really taunting me today! I stepped on this morning and it read 130.1. Really? .1 away from goal! Determined to see the number I want, I kept stepping back on the scale and instead it went up to 130.3, just to prove that it is the boss! Fricking scale!

I'm loving the different interval programs on my treadmill. Today I did one that was a constant speed of 3.5 and then it did intervals at 3, 4, and 5 percent before starting over again at 3. Today was 30 minutes and then I did 3 sets of upper body resistance exercises. I'm happy that my long hiatus from exercise didn't seem to poorly affect my aerobic capacity, though I was doing at least 3.5 mph with a 10% grade for 45 minutes after VSG. When I was 30, I remember my treadmill workout was 4.2 mph with a 17% grade which correlated to a stage in a stress test that most people pooped out at. I decided to make most people's max level my workout level. I was a beast myself back then!

Pork egg roll bowls for dinner tonight. Funny that there are no eggs in the recipe. I did buy some crunchy wonton strips to put on top even though the idea of the bowl is to avoid the wrapper.

Off to my podiatry appointment. Hopefully they don't have to do too much digging around (at least without some local anesthetic).

I deleted the other note because I was going to say that I thought a woman here had survivor benefits but had remarried before age 60 but that wasn't the case. Weird distinction. I guess it used to be that anytime you remarried you lost survivor benefits but they changed it at some point.

Your scale has been snickering - you do know that right?

I'm enjoying a leisurely "I'm practicing retirement" morning. The judge called us to report at 10:30 today. Whoo hooo!!!! It seems so civilized, except that unless I'm dismissed from duty, I am stuck there until 4:30. Being used to my teacher schedule, 4:30 seems very late in the day. If I am selected the trial will take roughly two weeks. Not sure how I feel about that.

Liz, it's interesting to me that in Florida the cut off age is 70 for jury duty. One would think that in Florida with so many retirees that they might make it 80+. In California, I don't believe there is any cut off age. There were a few octogenarian appearing people in our jury pool. One of the women who was interviewed yesterday had children close to my age, so I'm assuming she was close to 80.

210.9 WHOOO HOOOO! I've been waiting for weeks to make it here. Doesn't matter whether it sticks. Once I've seen it I know it comes again and the downward trend is still holding.

Thanks for the nice words on TT. I should tell you that I don't do arm exercises. That's all from using them as helper muscles for chest and back exercises. I do shoulder exercises though. I am terrified of losing arm mobility and shoulder strengthening seems to be key to that.

I was thinking about protein last night. Here's what I came up with: First, most of us don't get to obese eating tons of protein. I think we can all agree on that. Once we had VSG protein became a focus, but it was hard to get enough, so in came the shakes which don't seem to be a favorite among our tribe. When we did transition to solid protein, it was hard to eat very much because our sleeves were young and still quite small. We'd fill up quickly and then sometimes feel icky or sick after eating protein because it sat so heavily in our guts. I even developed a sensitivity to super concentrated whey protein isolate. All of this makes protein less desirable over time. When I started the semaglutide and then the tirzepatide I struggled to get enough food in, let alone protein. I had to make protein a focus again. Plus, I was absolutely determined not to get Ozempic Face or let the meds cannibalize my muscle mass that I had worked hard to gain. I don't think there is any one right answer here, but I do encourage everyone to consider the importance of protein moving forward. Proteins really are the building blocks of the body. It is the macro that keeps the body in reparative mode. I was reading on one of the medical sites last night that as we age our need for protein actually increases - especially for post menopausal women. Okay, off my box....

We are having a glorious spring like day. The creek willows are just starting to leaf and against the blue, blue sky today they create a beautiful picture.

Wonderful Wednesday to all!

In Florida you can still get called for jury duty after 70 and can still serve if you want to. But if you don't want to go it is an automatic out. Probably basically to accommodate people who have a difficult time getting around.

Greetings all

Early check in for me on this sunny day. House is being cleaned so I am desk bound for a bit. Actually accomplished quite a bit since we had studio zoom board meeting with my financial report and then I did overdue banking for the gallery. I have a list for the day and at the top is gym. I keep missing it and am determined to return. Out of Claritin which is a must have for me.

Yep protein. Thanks for the refresher Peps. Dr. C was really big on it and told me to up my protein when my weight loss slowed. Still don't understand how a protein calorie differs from a carb one but it's true. Must renew my efforts on protein. Too many carbs here lately. I will likely stop at the hippie hippie grocery and maybe get a roast chicken. I need to look for a new kind of protein bar that does not gag me. Are protein drinks considered a highly processed food? Suspect they are but what can you do? DH has been consuming some kind of organic protein drinks. Mocha. No clue if they are any good.

Rats Liz on DD's medical issue. Hope it resolves uneventfully . Congrats on the new SSI$$. The government had better not mess with that if they know whats good for them.

Ann sounds like you have a great book group. How lucky you are to have found them (and they to have found you). Fun to explore your new neighborhood.

Yep, the Shark kind of looks like Santa Claus. He is a lovely gentleman who has extensive word knowledge. He used to be the mayor. Scrabble group kind of acts like your book group Ann as we share lots. Mostly about our ailments

Day 6 of the endless eye drops. Only 22 more.

Not much else. First I will fix some eggs and then go out for adventures.

Diane S