WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR OCTOBER 2015

Katla49

Elaine in Lansing: People with Celiac disease need to be as gluten free as humanly possible, and we switched back to regular cooking because gluten was not a factor in DH's health problems. I have noticed what seems to be a gluten free fad in our area. I am pleased that one of the effects of the fad is to improve choices and flexibility for those who are genuinely suffering with Celiac disease and need to be gluten free. One of our local breweries makes gluten free beer. They created the product because one of the brothers has Celiac disease.

Miriam: I love your wellness plan! Your strategies for dealing with depression are well thought out, and likley extremely effective. I suffered from seasonal affective disorder for a long time and discovered that solar temperature lights are vey helpful in combating depression for me. So is vitamin D3. I have been told that SAD is more common in people with summer birthdays. My birthday is in July, and so are the birthdays of my children. I live above the 45th parallel, and so does DS at the moment, but DD lives below it. Latitude seems to make a difference due to its impact on day length. :flowerforyou:

Linda in CA: I agree that choosing happiness is an excellent strategy. I've discovered it is very powerful in my life. Yes, bad things sometimes happen and they do affect me, but I try not to dwell on them. Sometimes it is difficult, but doing something positive is very empowering. That is why having fun every day is one of my goals. :flowerforyou:

Vicki in Grand Island NE: Congratulations on the NSV! I'm sorry about your frustrating time in the emergency room. I avoid them as much as possible because there are too many people, too much noise, and too big a likelihood of being exposed to something contagious. :noway:

Carol in NC: It is good to see you here! I am so sorry your son was in an accident but glad that being sore & having abrasions were the worst parts and that he will be okay.

Sylvia: We often need to call a phone to find it. I'm happy that the clerk at Petsmart was so helpful. I am also pleased that you've found a way to exercise all the dogs without conflicts. Yay! :bigsmile:

Grits: Nice advice about passing things along in the family. I have three large pieces in my living room that my mother wanted be passed along to her grandchildren. Unfortunately, they don't want them. At this point, they're getting them, anyway. :devil: :angel:

Patceoh: Congratulations on the cardiologist thinking you were the wife of DSIL! Nice testimonial that you're looking young and healthy. :bigsmile:

Mary from MN: Beautiful photo! :bigsmile:

KGallen: Welcome to a great group! :flowerforyou:

Michele: I love the colors you painted the duck. It is gorgeous! :flowerforyou:

Lisa: It looks like there is real progress with the restaurant. The owners are lucky that the new manager showed his weaknesses so quickly. Congrats on getting your warehouse painted. :flowerforyou:


Yoga today! I love yoga days and missed both yoga on Monday and spin yesterday. I need to get back in the groove! We're having a new mattress delivered today. I hope we like it! If we do like it, we'll order another so we have new mattresses in both bedrooms. If we don't love it, it will become our guestroom mattress and we'll look for something else for ourselves.

Katla in Beautiful NW Oregon

“Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” Thomas A. Edison

October Goals :
1. Log every bite and swallow.
2. Cardio exercise at least 3 days a week. Work on flexibility and back strength.
3. Have fun every day.
4. Drink at least three glasses of water daily, preferably more!
5. Eliminate alcohol.
6. Monitor sleep. Try to average 7 or more hours of sleep nightly.

margaretturk

drkatiebug

Hope blossom, your friends won't see your weight. You can choose whether to make your diary closed, open only to friends, or open to everyone, but nobody sees your weight but you.

cory17

Cat - that is wonderful news! please post if you feel differently after a few days. Wish my mother would let me give her a hand w/clearing the clutter out. I'm trying to do that for myself as well.
carol - good news that your son is recovering!
Headachey today, dH was talking late last night, he's excited at prospect of a couple job interviews possibly today. They are for positions out of state!! (Lost his job 3 years ago after stopped for dui and has been sober since due to the consequences & trying to get back into his field)

pipcd34

lhannon - CRACK THAT WHIP!!

cityjaneLondon

My cake is iced. I have sorted out what jewellery I am taking. Still got to do shoes - my nightmare! I think I will attempt heels for the actual dinner and change to velvet pumps for the dancing. Might get changed altogether for that. :laugh:

DH went out and bought some last minute food bits as I still can't amend my delivery order. Grrrrr!

DH 's brother sent me an email asking me to kiss DH for him at the dinner and DH got an email ftom his wife wishing him well, so all is sorted on the family front. :bigsmile: People have been asking what to bring for the potluck, so thst is taking shape. I'm sure there will be too much food. As we are leaving home at 11.30 on Friday I have organised a bite to eat before we leave. It's not good for me to arrive starving! I will also pack healthy snacks in a bag. I get very hypo if I don't eat regularly. We should be there soon after 2 pm. A lot of sorting to do when we get there, including stowing away $300 worth of food on the delivery order for breakfasts etc. Hope there's space! ! ! ! !

Feel a bit better now that I've started sorting things. Will enjoy some TV tonight and get everything all packed and ready tomorrow so we just have to transfer it to the car on Friday morning. We will be doing our exercises before we leave. :laugh:
Got lots of lists! !

Mary - your location looks great! :flowerforyou:

Love to all. Heather UK

miakoda40

Carol – So glad to read your son’s injuries were minor. Sorry to see he had an accident.

Lenora – Cracker sounds so cute. I hope you have many years of love and joy together.

Joyce – I’m glad to read that Charlie’s and your doctor’s appointments went well. May you both be back to good health soon now.

Miriam – Several of my friends live off of gravel roads. You are so right about them being unexpectedly slippery. Keep on preaching it to your kids. I have slid through stop signs on more than one occasion. Fortunately without incident but I am very careful these days. Especially since the deer population has exploded around here. Every year I keep track of the number of deer that have crossed the road in front of me. So far this year I am sitting at 17 sighted 0 hit.

I appreciate you mentioning full spectrum light therapy. It made me recall that I purchased a light box to try this year but I put it away someplace safe and had forgotten about it. I was able to locate it last night. I will give it a try, but am not sure just how effective it will be this year. My understanding is that I need to start using it earlier in the seasonal change like around August so that as the days get shorter the lightbox has already had a chance to build up and replace the lost light. I’ve gotta go back and refresh my memory on best use practices.

clh72569 – Congratulations on being taken off all prescriptions. That is awesome!!!!

By the way… I adore your profile pic. I am a Winnie the Pooh fan. I am especially fond of the classic illustrations. Eeyore is my favorite.

========

I appreciate seeing so many of you also use the “act as if” tool. I have found it works for me and is usually enough to shake the blues if I remember to use it early enough in the depression cycle.

About 10 years ago I was diagnosed with SAD. 8 years ago I finally conceded that it is a chemical imbalance in my brain and not just something I can power through or make go away with therapy. I am on an antidepressant these days and the seasonal changes have been so much better. I haven’t felt suicidal since I started taking it and my depressive cycles have been very occasional and fairly mild. Being raised by a father who thought therapy was hokum and that depression was simply a state of mind that could be overcome by sheer willpower didn’t do me any favors. I was very fortunate to have friends who managed to convince me that sometimes therapy is needed and it is not shameful to need that kind of help. I was even luckier to find a therapist who was able to explain in a way I could accept that sometimes medications are needed to help you over a rough patch and sometimes there is a genuine medical condition where they are needed long term. No shame in that need either. Depression is a medical condition that needs to be treated if it lasts beyond a point where it begins to affect your day to day life.

Mia in MI

October goals:
Continue to honestly log food every day
Weigh and measure all food that I prepare at home
Get at least 15 min per day of aerobic exercise
64 oz. water (or what counts as water for my program) daily

Word for the month - PERSEVERE

Annr

just checking in with you all!
Having a wonderful time with my two older sons and getting to know my middle sons wife. Its hectic fun around here. Haven't even logged since last week, but reality happens when you are having fun! Didn't attend the meeting today, and it was kind of liberating... So is not logging.... Middle son and wife leave on Friday, (she is getting a full sleeve tattoo from that morning until they start driving down to Calif. ). On Saturday my middle son got a Celtic knot work tattoo with my initial and my husbands'. Then he has another tattoo that is knot work and he put his initials along with each of this brothers'. So now the family is represented forever on him. As long as the tattoo's don't show when he wears his uniform its OK is the Navy's policy.


taken at Astoria's Column


Eldest son and middle son with wife at Astoria's Maritime Museum


Picture of me pretty much says it all at the top of the Astoria Column...I definitely got my workout that day!

Hope every one is getting along well. Haven't been able to even read the threads these days.

Becca
Oregon

fanncy0626

Pip - if you rode up that mountain side you are my hero! We saw one man heading down very steep. We wondered how his brakes would hold up!

Have a great day everyone!

Mary from Minnesota

jmkmomm

Lovely family Becca.Carol, so good your son came out of that wreck with only bumps and bruises. I remember when my daughter had a roll over. All walked out OK. It wasn't until I saw the pictures that I cried. Snow, thanks for your input on trochanteric bursitis. I have even gone to Sam's to pick up my prescription. That's how much I don't think it will work. But I will try. Heather, is your party going to be in the newspapers as party of the year???

I gave Charlie the task for getting all of his medicine together for cardiology appointment today. They want to see the actual bottles, not just a list. I don't know how many times he called out and asked me if he took this or that pill. Men.

Joyce, Indiana

Annr

Joyce- I am the pill person of my husband... God forbid if he had the task to keep track. I have a week organizer and after I fill that, I count pills to make sure I have enough for the next week. My husbands' anti-rejection pills he takes 10 a day so even if there looks like a lot in the bottle, there might not be enough for a weeks' worth. I get them sent from Portland, so it takes about a week to process. I use my "Chief's Wife Voice" sometimes when I order, because God forbid, he runs out. these pills are like his life-force in his liver transplant journey.

Becca
Pill Queen
Oregon

trisH_7183

CarolNC ...Thankfully your son is ok & with some Mom care,will soon be all better. Those "kids" of any age can still worry us for sure.
We are having breakfast for dinner. Made DH a bowl of tapioca with cherries & pineapple.He has dessrt a couple of times a day.Weight is not a problem for him.

LOL at looking healthy. Most of my parts have been switched out for newer models,but the face is same old me.

Heather have a wonderful time & Happy Birthday to your husband.Hope you will have pictures to share.

GRITSandSLUTSandWINOS

Carol - I had a seizure 3 years ago and flipped my car with 2 of my 3 grandchildren in the car with me. Neither hurt bad; little one in a car seat. Middle one couldn't get me to wake up, so she climbed between the seats to get her sister to stop crying. Middle child won't ride with me driving, not that I blame her. I'm doubtful that the little one would either. I'm not sure I would be a passenger in my car while I was driving.

I'm glad that your son is "OK" other than a few bruises and cuts. I know that had to be scary. I don't remember my wreck; only that they showed me pictures of the car (DnL). She put on FB to "pray for her MnL and my sisters called not knowing what was going on." I have told her before about putting things on FB that we might consider personal, or that we would rather inform others about it ourselves. But, she'll never learn that, apparently. They had put out a white sheet and one of the mail carriers who is a friend of a friend, called her and told her about it and that it looked like someone had possibly been killed. This really upset my friend (one that was called about it). She fussed that a family member had not called. Spent 2 nights in the hospital to make sure I did not have another seizure. Wreck was possibly caused by a seizure, especially after DMGD told them what was going on just prior to the wreck.

Lisa - a restaurant is a full-time business, especially if it is just started opening or re-opening. It is very important to have a manager you can trust; because otherwise you have to be there as manager to make things work the way you want them to. As a manager of a small deli while going to art school; I had the right to fire someone - after telling my boss about things they had done; but, I told him about the things and left the 'firing' up to him. Mainly, because all 3 had worked for him longer than had. Sounds like your manager was stealing from you. I don't blame you for planning on firing him on Friday.

Katla49 - my oldest son, especially, will walk through our house sometimes and look at things; it makes me feel like he is 'casing the joint'. LOL! I know that he and his brother will be fair to one another once we have passed away; but, it makes me want to ask him, 'is there something here that you really want to be inherited to you'?

Mia - I think that Cracker's middle name is "Shadow" - he follows me closer than a shadow no matter where I go. I can't even pull one over her by trying to get up quietly to go to the kitchen. DH just laughs! I think she knows that I 'saved' her from having to be around other barking dogs. She likes music. She rides well in her carrier; and I plan on taking her places other than just the vet so she won't associate it with going to the vet every time I pick it up. Right now she's in our kitchen in a crate; and 10 days from now, I am going to return the kennel and dish we bought her so that I can get my 'cash' back from my check and not take a 'store credit'. She's gone to pee outside; but, she won't poop yet. Won't use the 'puppy pads' or hasn't so far, should I say. Vet says that part of it is probably a change in food and a little stress. That also might be why she won't let me out of her sight. She is working on making my DH love her, too. He just laughs at her. She is having to wear a cone around her neck to prevent her from pulling out the spaying stitches; she will lay her head over the edge of the bed so that her head will be in line with the rest of her body. Vet says that she might be between 18 and 20 lbs when she is grown; and he will tell me when she is grown. He agreed that she was approximately 4 months old; so I put on the chip paperwork that she was born on my son's birthday (6/16).

miriamwithcats - My parents kept us all very busy and doing things. Like dancing, piano lessons, in the HS band (also middle school - just not a marching one), and I was a cheerleader. Once my MD asked me how long I thought I had been Bipolar; and I thought about it and said that I was sure since I was in HS; and maybe before. When we were little we got put outside to run and play, called in for lunch, then had to take a 2-hour nap (or be quiet in our rooms for that long), then outside again until we were called at 5 minutes to 5:00 everyday. She had a very distinctive whistle and I could hear her a block-and-a-half away; and I had 5 minutes to get in the house. She was the disciplinarian of the family and never said, 'wait until your Daddy gets home' like a lot of my friends' mothers did. She took care of whatever we had done (or not) as soon as we did it (or not). As we got older, our rooms had to be neat (on passing by) before we could go out on a date or to the pool (until I became a lifeguard and drove myself), even then, to go out on a date, she did a 'walk-by'. Knowing that I had swept everything under the bed (they had floor length covers on them). She just wanted for them to at least look clean. I have always been a little head-strong.

bjkidfun

Mary- love your pic. I was in Colorado back in May and we went up pikes peak on the cog train, the views were awesome.
Because of snow we couldn't go up to the top. But we went up far enough to get the headache. We also went to Garden of the Gods... Can't wait to go back out there.
Brenda from Md.

pipcd34

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margaretturk

fanncy0626

bjkidfun wrote: »

Mary- love your pic. I was in Colorado back in May and we went up pikes peak on the cog train, the views were awesome.
Because of snow we couldn't go up to the top. But we went up far enough to get the headache. We also went to Garden of the Gods... Can't wait to go back out there.
Brenda from Md.

We went to Garden of the Gods this morning. It was a little too hot to hike. We decided to go back tomorrow morning early.

Mary from Minnesota

terri_mom

Sylvia – Now that you have found your phone; lol about your phone. It amazes me the crazy places we have found our phones thinking they were lost. // Have you tried a whip-it or chuck-it for throwing tennis balls? My sister loves hers, because you don’t have to touch the slobbery ball. We also use them as coaching tools for baseball, because it makes it simple to throw fly-balls to the boys for practice.

NcCarol – Hugs for your son, and the truck.

Mia – nice work avoiding those deer. They tend to come out of nowhere. I have hit 2 so far in my life. Where I am now there are VERY few. // I have a full spectrum light next to my throne (the chair where I do my crochet), and I use it whenever I don’t get enough sunshine. For me that is mostly whenever it is NOT baseball season. I use it on rainy days in warm weather, too. I try to remember to turn it off about 1 hour before I want to go to bed. I have never noticed if it builds up for me or not.

So sorry to everyone I forgot. To be honest, I’m not sure if I read everything or not, because it was that kind of a day.

Today has been broken into numerous pieces, because we have 3 Flu Shot Clinics scheduled, so people just stop in whenever they want within the specific hours. The last time slot for the day has just begun. There are always a few hours that everyone goes to a different building, and that is when I ate my lunch and tried to do some paperwork. In 2 weeks they spend the entire day in a different building. That is my most boring day of the year. No appointments of any kind, almost everyone has already called to find out when they can get a shot, I’m the only person in the entire building. I get up and dance whenever a good song comes on, just so I don’t go crazy.

Today would be a wonderful evening to walk to Big Lots, but it won’t happen this time. Not only is my RA flaring in my right knee, but DS and I stopped there on the way home from bowling on Sunday, and he spent most of my money. They had Muscle Milk 4-packs for $3.00 and I just can’t pass up a deal like that. Also, Bear Naked granola for $1.50 so I stocked up on that, too.

I am planning to let the house situation rest for awhile. When I get energetic I will look on the Internet for some smaller condos or apartments in the nicer neighborhoods between my work and DH’s work. And when I feel like my Dad isn’t pinching pennies quite as tight, I will ask him his opinion of my ownership in the house, so I know what to tell the attorney that I will get soon, and so I can prepare for how much I need to save up for moving day. I will likely hire a moving company this time, too, because I am TERRIBLE at packing, and I can’t really carry anything heavy, and every time I have moved it has been a nightmare that I don’t wish to experience ever again.

Dad’s being weird about the fall yardwork, too. He wants it done before Nov. 1, but he doesn’t want us to get started on it this weekend because the trees aren’t done dropping leaves. Well, DS has school and basketball and bowling and a weekend job. That means available time to teach him how to prep the house for winter is limited, so we are starting this weekend regardless. I would rather take 30 minutes this weekend and 30 minutes next weekend cleaning the gutters, than to save the whole thing for next weekend and not get it finished in the 45 minutes available (or whatever the case may be).

Hugs for Everyone ! ! !

Terri in Milwaukee

Katla49

Mia in MI: In my experience, solar temperature light works and doesn't need to be started in specific season or date. The longer I live with it, the better I like it. I don't get the winter doldrums any more. Day by day the light gives its help. I take vitamin D3 & an antidepressant every morning, too. :flowerforyou:

Annr: Lovely photos of you and your family. :flowerforyou:

Mary from MN: I love the Garden of the Gods. DS was stationed in Colorado Springs for a time and we went there when we visited him. :flowerforyou:


I took my bean vine down today and ended up with a pot full of green beans to cook. I'm considering a meal of them or blanching and freezing them for later use. My next garden task is to get rid of my rosemary bush. It is huge and taking over the world. I'll either start over with a small plant and make it into a rosemary topiary or buy rosemary at the grocery store in the future.

Katla in Beautiful NW Oregon

“Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” Thomas A. Edison

October Goals :
1. Log every bite and swallow.
2. Cardio exercise at least 3 days a week. Work on flexibility and back strength.
3. Have fun every day.
4. Drink at least three glasses of water daily, preferably more!
5. Eliminate alcohol.
6. Monitor sleep. Try to average 7 or more hours of sleep nightly.

Lagopus

Heather, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for everything to go smoothly at the weekend bash. Sounds like a judicious choice of footwear. I know it's a special occasion, but the fact that you are actually going to wear heels for part of it emphasizes just how special it is.

Becca, I'm amazed how much your eldest looks like your husband. He could have stepped right out of the wedding pictures you shared earlier! Your middle son's facial features paid a bit more attention to your genes, though. And the entire family looks great!

Lisa, a while back I wondered if maybe your restaurant debacle was really a draft of the plot for your next book, but the latest twist with the new manager getting the sack has me convinced it must all be for real. Fiction can't afford to be that strange. Great to hear that the person your gut feeling originally identified as a good potential manager has come around and will take on the task, and have good support. Too bad all the drama extends your stay.

I just walked home from choir practice with a new person, a soprano. She's a university student, originally from the Southwest (of the US) and speaks no Norwegian, so I've been trying to help her out a bit. Unfortunately, on the walk home, I came to the conclusion that I don't like her attitude. She griped about the choice of repertoire, about having had a substitute conductor today, about the concert date... but most of all, she griped about the roads being full of potholes, poorly plowed, and so icy they're impossible to walk on without falling down. She asked her Norwegian friends how to negotiate this slippery surface and they told her she would just have to learn to walk like a Norwegian. But she refuses. She did cave in and buy a set of cleats to put over her walking shoes. I suggested she could try shoes with built-in studs. I showed her my studded jogging shoes and said I'd never slipped even a tiny bit with them on. But no, she wasn't going to buy studded shoes. She already had jogging shoes that she liked. If the people in charge of the roads would just do their job so she could run in her ordinary shoes... yada-yada-yada...

As I see it, she's defying the laws of physics. Come ON lady, this is the High Arctic! You can't expect to use the same gear as you do in Arizona. Our snowstorms can be so bad people don't leave home at all (except to take a few steps out the door and admire the power of Nature). An acquaintance had to wait four days with a broken shoulder before they could get a rescue helicopter into the air! Learn to deal with it, or leave!

Rant finished. Thank you for listening.

I ran to and from the gym today (easy-peasy in my studded jogging shoes). I've cautiously started increasing the amount of weight I'm lifting. Still just 30 kilos (66 lbs) in deadlift and 16 kilos (35 lbs) for goblet squats. But I'm noticing that my back is stronger, and danged if my legs aren't looking a bit more shapely. I've added a few extra core exercises, because that's where I'm weakest. Michele, every time I do my modest planks I think of you. Maybe someday I'll make it up to your 2 minutes 45 seconds, but for now I'm just glad I can handle half that.

Time for bed. Catch you all later!
/Penny, at the wild, majestic, glorious