WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR OCTOBER 2015

dreamwriter

I skipped ahead to page 30 to try to get back on track. I know I've missed a lot so hope that what I do write makes sense.

Gloworm - Definitely trying your quinoa recipe.

Allison - Praying for a good result for your DB

Irish Terri - I think the reflection of a slimmer you is a great NSV. Love the water colour and hope to see more of your art.

Carol - Oh my. I had a little cry looking at the photos. No wonder you are exhausted. God must have been with your son.

Sylvia - Adrienne is lucky to have you. You are building a bond that will never be broken. Everyone should have a Grandma like you.

Katla- I would skip yoga to ride also. Maybe you could think of it as equestrian yoga as it provides peacefulness and good feelings. You also have to breathe and become one with the horse.

Penny - I remember spoonfuls of cod liver oil. Not fondly I might add. I think I'll just stick to the D3 in the capsules.

Busy day. Schedule is out and next one started. Now to catch up on everything else.
Went to Brooke, my weight loss nurse, no change. I mean not even a 1/4 lb. Just exactly the same. Have to shake things up some how.
Worked in our home office trying to slay our paper dragon. Trying to straighten out the mess DH has made of things is daunting. I have to own part of this because I should have been paying attention instead of leaving him to sort out his own stuff because in the end it is all our stuff. I guess I was biting off my nose to spite my face.
Made pot roast in slow cooker.
Took DGD to her tumbling class. She is such an out going kid and it is pretty clear that she is a favourite of the young coaches. She just keeps trying and trying and trying. The goal she has for herself is to do a cartwheel and a walk over.
DD and myself are planning to go to Calgary on Sat. We were trying to go with no kids and no dogs but looks like we will have to take DGD. Oh well, she will enjoy a girls trip. Going to see DD's friend's new house. Stay at niece's. Meet up with DS for breakfast before Tattoo Convention on Sunday. He flew from Vancouver to Calgary tonight. He is booked up for Friday and Saturday. He usually wins something so we will see what this weekend brings. He has made quite a name for himself in the tattoo industry. He is the owner of Steveston Tattoo in Richmond, BC. Very proud of him. It is a joke in the family how many times we told him to go to school and get a real job. He followed his dream.
Went off on a tangent.
We will probably shop some.

Up way too late
-Sharon

CynthiaT60

Still waving (though my arm is getting tired).

Carol, thinking of you.

Cynthia

grandmallie

good morning ladies~
slept like a rock last night ...
working 9-5 today and have the weekend off..
going over to see DFIL and then take care of Faith before I go to work.. as Sean and Jean are going to the orthopedic dr, Jean working in the medical field for the past 30 yrs she knows what to ask...
Sylvia~ so wonderful that you got to spend time with Adriana and help her with the homework,, I agree with the grandmother of the year award..
Carol~ those pictures are stunning, cant believe he came out mostly unscathed.. I worked in the volunteer fire dept years ago and saw many horrific accidents, alot of them were not so lucky...
Barbie~ you and Jake have a great time...
Heather~ hope the hubbys party is a smashing success!!!

lhannon062709

Have been up since about 2:30 a.m., couldn't sleep. Not stressed (don't think I am) just not sleeping. We've been dealing with a couple skunks (four-legged ones, not two-legged ones) who are just terrorizing Daisy the dog, and I'm going to stop and buy a pellet gun while I'm in town today. Don't want to kill them, just keep them out of the yard. We think they may have dug a den out under the fig tree, so I'm going to look for some critter repellent while I'm in town, as well.

---

So, this is my final day at the Impossible Restaurant because, while the decision was made to fire the new manager, that decision was changed at the request of the owner. While the owner's daughter, who is nominally in charge of the restaurant, was fine with letting the new guy go, Mr. M has pretty much had enough of the whole shebang. The GM narrowly avoided having to shut down, and Mr. M basically said, in the black by December, or done. No more personnel changes, etc. Just do it.

I was able to answer all his questions regarding the financial picture now, what it will take to get in the black (about $900 more every day in net sales), what happened in the bar, etc., to his satisfaction, which made me feel good about my performance, but not so much for the future of the restaurant. Why? Couple things--one is that the goober new manager tried to construe a $19,000 week as being "in the black." Called him on it--it will take $26,000 a week to get to breakeven in the restaurant, as you can see by that daily figure above.

Then he said he could recover much of that amount in labor. The entire staff to run the restaurant (ALL OF THEM) besides him and me costs between $700 and $800 a day. By getting rid of a cook, you save less than $100 a day, and your service gets slower, customers get irate and don't come back. Get rid of a dishwasher, you save $54 a day. Getting rid of a server, at $3.00 an hour recoups a whole $24 for the company. And again, fewer servers, slower service, repeat customers dwindle. He doesn't get the basic equations at ALL.

There are, however, eight people at the restaurant who may be saving him the trouble of letting him go. They've all said they will be walking out--and they are, of course, the crew chief who was up for the promotion, and the best cooks in the house, as well as some of the best servers. Will they actually do it? I don't know. They all have families, and it's an employer's market right now. I don't want them to... I'd rather, even as much as I despise the guy, see the restaurant succeed.

But, on the flip side, his ego is such that he basically told Mr. M in the meeting that no matter who quit, he can do their jobs in half the time. There is one snarky, evil part of me that would really like to see that tested. Of course, he thinks the only thing a dishwasher does is wash dishes, when in reality, they also bus tables, mop kitchen floors, clean bathrooms, clean coolers, freezers, storerooms, pick up outside, empty trash all day, and on and on. The place will be back to filthy within two weeks. Arggghhh!

Anyway. Rant's over. Trying to put this one under the heading now that I've "changed the things I can, and there are things I cannot change."

Until it gets light, I will finish sending out the e-mails with the final documents I've built or am finishing up this morning, send my final billing, and then after I shower, I'll drive into town and drop off the six-inch stack of paper that I've generated in the last three months. Or I may just keep it. I will go in and hug a few necks to say goodbye, and then go buy that pellet gun. Not a good idea to have any kind of weapon in hand if I end up running into Mr. Smug.

I do, however, have a wonderful character now for the sequel I'm writing to my mystery novel--a bullet-headed, weight-lifting, smug four-flusher who presents himself as intelligent, knowledgeable, capable at first glance, gains the love of the heroine's best friend, and then proceeds to attempt to manipulate events in ways he believes are smooth and undetectable. The heroine will, of course, expose him as the goober that he is, but not until she has to extricate herself and her friend from mortal danger incurred due to his egotistical actions. I think I will make him break down and sob before I drop a rock on him.

Or something like that.

Maybe now I can get my head out of my own posterior and be able to interact more here instead of just telling my story.

---

Love you guys--you've been an amazing outlet while I struggled through this contract.

Someone asked if there was a retirement system at the ranch, where my husband works--and he works for the same people who own the restaurant. We live here at the ranch, so the 45-minute each way commute over the last three months has been no fun, either... The answer is, yes. Mr. M and family own a number of companies under the umbrella of the Riata Corporate Group, so my husband has a robust 401K. He contributes 20 percent of his pay to it, and they match 5 percent, so it's growing fast. I was working as an independent contractor, so no benefits, but less detachment hassle, as well.

My eating has been out of control the last few days--eating the right things, just too much and too often. Time to get it back under control. Running this morning as soon as there is enough sunshine so I don't trip over any wandering skunks!

Warmest regards, thanks for listening to my stories...
Lisa in West Texas

mollywhippet

Joyce, when she was adding fractions with different denominators she was multiplying the denominators to make them the same but then just brought over the original numerator. I was trying to explain to her that you have to multiply the numerator too and she told me, "grandma, that must be the old way to do it, but this is how we do it now". Funny! So, I opened her math book and found the part about fractions and I was right. I got a bunch of pennies and showed her three/fifths (three pennies above five pennies) and another bunch that had fifteen pennies below the line. When I put one penny above the line it was easy to see that it was a smaller fraction, and then I put three pennies above the line. That's when the lightbulb went off. Suddenly she knew why she was getting the wrong answers. Fractions I can do, but some of the other stuff I might have trouble with later on. But if she has her book I think we can figure it out. If not, we have a handy math loving grandpa waiting in the wings.

Katla, happy anniversary!

Gotta run!

Sylvia

bwcetc

Lagopus wrote: »

Beth, I'm not so sure about taking 10,000 mg of vitamin D per day--and I sincerely hope your "mg" stands for micrograms, not milligrams. The National Institutes of Health recommend only 800 IU (international units) per day, which is about 200 micrograms. 10,000 micrograms is 50 times that, which is okay because vitamin D isn't very toxic. But 10,000 milligrams is 50,000 times the RDI, and anyone who takes 100,000 mg per day is getting half a million times as much as they need.

I used the wrong unit of measure .... I take 10,000 iu. And while my initial info came from a homeopathic practitioner, my medical doctor is on board with it as I've had positive results.

Beth

miriamwithcats

Betty in WNY, I would highly recommend having your doctor do a Vitamin D blood level test and monitor your levels if you are taking large doses of Vitamin D. Vitamin D (and A) are stored by the body, unlike B and C vitamins so you CAN overdose yourself on them! Talk to your doctor about how much to take, after you see the results of the test. Supplements can cause problems!

miriamwithcats

Linda in IA. I worked from home for years and found it really a good thing for me. I am very much an early morning person, so I could get all my "thinking" work done then when I was fresh, on the days I was home. I was giving presentations around the state of IA to mental health clients, agency staff, and DHS staff, as well as planning an annual conference for over 200 (with 75% of the presenters people that also have a mental illness), and writing reports on site surveys on some of our innovative programs like Intensive Psychiatric Rehabilitation and Peer Support. I could then use the middle of the day for my own activities, and make phone calls later in the afternoon/ early evening. Of course, on days I traveled, I often had 12 hour days, or stayed overnight somewhere. Travel time was considered work time, so I actually like that since it meant I could "play" during daylight hours more. The biggest problem for me was that I worked far too many hours. It was a salaried position, so I received no compensation for that, but I did such a great job that the company could never find anyone to replace me after I left! (The position required it be a person with a severe and persistent mental illness and most people who can do as well as I do will not tell a soul that they have one since discrimination is so rampant.)

Lilymay2

Morning...

Overworked the lower back at bit yesterday...so will just walk today and then a card making class this afternoon. Will need to be okay for the Saturday yard cleanup at mom's .... at least there will be 5 of us there this year instead of just my SIL and I ....

Lillian
in West Central Saskatchewan

P.S. .... AND there is a BLUE JAYS game this evening... as my DGD & DGS say "GO JAYS GO!!"

miakoda40

O.M.G.!!!!!

I just walked in to work. It's in a 5 story office building. Lots of folks I don't know working here. As I went down the hall a woman who I have not met stopped me and asked if I had been losing weight. I said that I had. She then went on to tell me that it must be a lot of weight since she doesn't notice small changes. She then asked if it was a good thing and expressed concern that it wasn't because I am ill. I grinned and reassured her that I have been working at losing. I thanked her for making my day.

What a great feeling. I may have just found my motivation for the next week.

Mia in MI

pipcd34

morning peeps -
wowzers nccarolb !

terri_mom

Happy Friday ! ! !

Sylvia – I am so excited for your DGD/homework story. You are teaching her some valuable life-skills.

Betty – I heard the “S” word today, too. I’m not ready.

Barbie – that does indeed sound like a marvelous weekend. Enjoy !

Carol – Sending more hugs for your son and everyone involved.

DJ – I have events written on a calendar in the kitchen, and I also have it saved to my phone. I also “invite” DH and DS on their phones, so there are always back-up plans.

Rosie – I hope you find the right Fitness Center. The right combination is so important for our success. Good luck making your decision.

Sharon – when you write about your DS, I feel like you are writing about my DD, except she isn’t there just yet. Her dream is to be successful as a tattoo artist, but she can’t find anyone in her tiny little town to intern her. So for now she is working in a factory in her town, and not the least bit happy about it. I keep supporting her saying it is a means to an end, but not the end. I hope she finds the success she wants quickly (she’s 24 already).

Lisa – good luck with your skunks. We had one in our bushes last summer, and a rag soaked in bleach was enough for him to move off our property.

Mia – OUTSTANDING NSV. Congrats ! ! !

I have always been taught that vitamins A, D, E, and K are stored in our body and can reach potentially toxic levels. Most other vitamins are expelled from (usually) our kidneys. I would suggest being careful with large or speedy increases, and be monitored by an expert. (hey, that’s pretty close to what Miriam just said)

DS wants to hang out with the Varsity basketball team today after school, and since he was invited, I'm having a hard time saying no. I told him it means we will spend a few hours in the yard tomorrow before bowling, even though the temperature is going to drop overnight. So, the "ball is in his court" regarding when he will be cleaning the gutters on the house: this evening in 50 degree weather, or tomorrow morning in 30 degree weather.

Since the Three Dog Night concert has been postponed until February, I will probably watch the Cubs this weekend. I think the first game is Saturday evening against the Mets. The first Professional baseball game I saw live was in first grade, and my Dad took me out of school to see the Season Opener for the Cubs when they played the Mets. That is one old memory (more than 4 decades) !

Hugs for Everyone ! ! !

Terri in Milwaukee

margaretturk

Terri and Penny love the artwork.

Carol glad DS came out okay. Regardless it is traumatic. Pray nothing shows up later.

We will have our first hard freeze tonight, so last minute gardening. I do cover because it will only be tonight and then will warm up some. When it is freezing all day that is when I say goodbye to the last of my plants.

Margaret

NO_Excuses_515

mollywhippet wrote: »

I'm sorry for jumping right to the end, but I had such a wonderful day I just have to tell you before I burst wide open!...
Sylvia

Sylvia - I'm so glad that your son agreed to your suggestion and that you were able to help your granddaughter. Maybe in one of these homework sessions, she'll start to open up to you about other things going on in her life. But, I have to say it made me smile most that you were so excited to share your wonderful day with us!

Linda/IA

NO_Excuses_515

nccarolb wrote: »

I finally had a meltdown today. I found out that the wreck he was slowing down for was a 21-year-old on her way back to school who wasn't wearing a seatbelt and was ejected from her vehicle. It made everything all that much more "real" I guess.
Carol in NC

Carol - I think the meltdown was warranted. I know I will be giving my daughter an extra hug tonight and another reminder about the importance of wearing her seat belt. Did you hear what is the condition of the 21-year-old girl?

Linda/IA

miakoda40

Glo – Thanks for posting the Steel Oats Quinoa recipe. It looks like a yummy start for these chilly mornings.

This leg of my weight loss journey started Feb. 2013 when I had gastric bypass surgery. My weight loss slowed down after 18 months which is “textbook” for weight loss surgery patients. Although I know this is expected, I am frustrated by it. Some small part of my brain still wants that instant miracle even after it has been proved time and again that there is no easy way to lose. Guess that is why my word of the month is PERSEVERE.

As for how much more I want to lose… Well, I’m not sure. I feel good where I am right now and my doctor is happy with it. I know I want to lose 10 more pounds so that I have a BMI of overweight. I am aware of the controversy over using BMI to determine your perfect weight but that just feels like a good goal for me. I will probably want to drop 10 more pounds after that simply for the pleasure of telling the world I am half the woman I used to be. Silly? Yes. But we all need some form of silliness in our lives. So, I guess my current goal is really 20 more pounds. Do I want to lose more than that? I’ll wait and see. I want to know how I feel at that point and decide if I want to go lower once I get there. I need to drop 45 lbs. from where I am currently to hit “Healthy Weight” on the BMI chart I am using. I’m not sure if that is where I want to be. I cannot remember when I weighed that little and I’m not sure just how strong and healthy I will feel at that weight. So, 5 pounds at a time once I hit overweight until I decide I want to stop.

I noticed yesterday that the BMI chart on the wall in my doctor’s office does not match the BMI chart that I have. How weird is that?

I hope you find a good Red Hat group and have a lot of fun with them.

Vicki – So sad and sorry about your brother’s estrangement from the family. As an only child I have these idealized dreams of what my life would have been with siblings. All too often I am reminded that my life with imaginary siblings does not match the reality of many people.

Michele in NC -

exermom wrote: »

Mia - if you were to regain the weight, you'd have the problems all over again.

That is the truth! Actually, it is probably worse that that because every time I have lost weight and regained, I have gained back more than I lost. I like having energy, being able to walk distances on vacation and not taking meds for weight related issues. I may or may not lose more weight, but I certainly am not gaining back what I have lost.

Sylvia -

mollywhippet wrote: »

I don't toss them across the room, but I do hit them with a hammer if they don't meet my expectations.

This made me laugh. When my glass turns out really badly there is a bucket in the studio where we throw our bad pieces for recycling. Many of us (me included) throw the pieces in hard enough to break them. It is so satisfying to hear a piece shatter. Visitors to the studio wince to see us so gleefully breaking things but it really is cathartic.

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

DamitJanit

Call me crazy but I love to see other people happy and succeeding .

Good Morning Ladies,

Sylvia, I love the cat video. Thanks for a morning laugh.
I found the cutest image of you throwing a pot but can't get it to post. I somehow don’t understand what you are saying about DGD? “she had been in the process of being "groomed". Can you elaborate on that? Do they know what her problem was/is? Wow, about your DS and not letting you see the girls. Knowing that, I’ll say he is doubly lucky to have all your help.

Barbie, it always makes me sad when we have to board our fur babies but I try to look at it as a vacation for them. You know how some people love to get away and get to stay at the hotel, well I’ve heard it’s the same for dogs and cats. Maybe they like a rare vacation from us, even though we don’t think that’s the case.

MicheleNC, glad you enjoyed the show. I love to laugh!! I did hear your crying all the way down here is SC. Just keep thinking about reopening the pool next spring. Hopefully it will be here before we know it.

Katla, I’m glad the new mattress is in the guest room. I’d hate to have all that “off gassing” in your bedroom. Tee hee hee. I’m very impressed with your mattress moving weather your DS is or not. Enjoy your riding lesson. I mean really, you can always do yoga at home but you can’t do the same with riding. HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!
Joyce, that apple cinnamon topping on your waffle sounds absolutely wonderful!!!! As long as you don’t do that often, I’m sure it will be okay. As long as you savored every bite?

Rosi, good luck choosing a gym. I think it is important to find one that you feel the most comfortable in so you will tend to go for a long time. To spend the money and not go is just such a waste. Good luck.

Heather, I love the way you weren’t going to be involved in planning this bash. LOL You can have a huge celebration for yours as long as someone else does all the work. I do think a 3 day event must be tons of work but should be a blast.

Lisa, so the owner is going to keep the manager that was basically stealing from him? Ya just never can tell about some people. Glad you are finished. Have fun getting back to a normal life, whatever that is?

MargaretMN, I can’t believe ya’ll are getting a hard freeze. It’s too early!!! They have even mentioned a frost here by Monday. I want summer back!!!

Mia, I can understand wanting to loose half your original weight. Sounds like a great goal to me. I’m like you in that I may never lose more weight but by golly I will not gain it back this time!! Now that we know the right way to lose, there is no reason to, even though it may not always be fun.

Wow, for some reason I kept getting side tracked while reading the posts this morning. I finally caught up. I’m going to the grand opening of a new Steinmart store and then to lunch with my BF. I hope all of you have a healthy and happy day.

Words I live by:
Savor. I have to slow down and savor every bite.
and
Opportunity. Each day offers new opportunities for good health and happiness if we just look for them and choose them.
I Love you,
DJ
Myrtle Beach, SC

nccarolb

Linda/IA - Unfortunately, the 21-year-old died at the scene. She was from our area (lived less than five miles from us) although we didn't know her.

I don't know if I said this, so please forgive me for the repeat, but I found out yesterday that the young woman who hit my son had no insurance. The officer is investigating it and called her yesterday about it. She said she had switched to a different company in March, which turned out to be true, however, they said that her policy lapsed in August, so we're still in the same boat. I will have to pull my policy out to see exactly what is covered under my uninsured motorist clause, but I'm expecting that, at best, it might cover some of his medical expenses and nothing for his truck. There is, of course, no money to replace it which means he will be highly unlikely to find employment while at school and will remain homeless for the remainder of the school year. I just want to crawl under a rock and never come out.

Oh, and to add to the aggravation, my mother offered to loan us her extra vehicle (which I REALLY appreciate), but that threw my 28-year-old niece into a temper tantrum because my mother wouldn't loan it to her when she'd asked before. My mother would not loan it to my son over the summer, either. But, at this point, my mother is aware that he has nowhere to sleep and needs transportation to get from one couch to the next, so, I guess, feels that the need is very real and necessary for him at this point. If we do borrow it, I will drive it and let my son take my car so that I will be the one responsible if something happens to it. I can not believe the attitude my niece took! She lives about a mile away from my parents and they do all manner of things for her all the time. I never ask them for anything. It would never have occurred to me or my children to feel jealous if my mother HAD loaned the car to my niece at some point. And, this is why I live 155 miles away from the drama...

I hope everyone is having a great day! I have to muddle through another hour of work and then I'm off to PT. Then I am going home and crawl into bed since it will be too wet to crawl under a rock.

Carol in NC

Katla49

Heather: I think your 70th birthday should be celebrated at Disneyland with your DH. It won't be quiet, but it won't be stressful. :bigsmile:

Penny: Science geekery is a good thing. DH's acupuncture doctor had him talking cod liver oil daily. Since he started working with an MS specialist, he's been taking vitamin D3 and takes 2000 IU daily. He doesn't take cod liver oil anymore. :noway:

Lisa: I'm happy that you're out of the Restaurant Impossible business. It is too much stress and not enough reward. :flowerforyou:

Mia: Congratulations on a fabulous NSV! It is wonderful when someone who sees us regularly notices that we've changed. I'm an only child, too. I don't recommend it, but we don't always get the ideal situation in life. :noway:


We have a pretty day today. I'm looking forward to my riding lesson & hope for more work at the canter. I'm close to catching the balance and rhythm, but not confident enough for hands free just yet. Hands free cantering is my next goal, and will show me that I've made significant progress. :bigsmile:


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.

nccarolb

DJ - I'm not Sylvia, but I'll take a shot at explaining what "grooming" is as far as sexual abuse. (I teach this stuff.) Adults will do things such as touching children to see if the child objects or tells. The touching is not necessarily sexual but may be borderline inappropriate. Example: A kiss on top of the head leads to a kiss on the cheek leads to a kiss on the lips, etc. Another type of grooming is giving gifts or special privileges to a child so that the child will later feel "obligated" to let the adult do whatever they wish in return. Predators also groom by sharing secrets to see if the child will keep the secrets. Sexual predators are smart in what they do and they get their routine down to a science. Coach Sandusky at Penn State was a pro at grooming children.