Daily Check In: Are You On Track Today?
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A good day here for eating and to do items. I tend to avoid too much "to do" on Saturdays, especially during football season. But today I decided to tackle (pardon the football pun) an area where I store food and other supplies near my kitchen. My options are limited because I cannot reach the high shelves in the kitchen or elsewhere for that matter. So I use this area where I can reach things easily but it isn't designed for that and tends to get cluttered and look bad. I reorganized it today and am so proud of how good it looks. Now the trick will be to keep it looking that good.0
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We made it to Vancouver and back and had a lovely time. Lots of steps, but way off plan for eating. I am so happy to be able to get back to my typical foods, although we had some very delicious meals out. We came back to quite a bit of snow and DH was out all night doing snow removal. I believe he will sleep for the next several hours! Not sure how he managed to do it, but he did. We got home later than we expected to and I decided to sleep in a bit. I will keep this message short as I need to get ready for work. Very thankful that I can work from home today.0
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Hello! I’m back as well but no travels-just my usual busy-ness….Shari, I’m so happy to hear that you had a nice trip and visit with your son and his GF!! Paula, it sounds like you’ve been doing an awesome job with your eating and to do list! My weight and eating continue to bounce around the same levels. One of my dog classes is done until after the holidays so that is good! I have one more week of my Monday class and then it will resume in January, and I have the next 2 weeks off from my Scentwork class. I am hoping to get my package ready to mail to AK by the 1st week of December . I am falling asleep so must close! Happy Tuesday!!0
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DW, Good that you will have some extra time with your classes in recess for a while. I hope you are able to build in some time for yourself given your demanding and busy schedule. You sure deserve some "me" time!
Shari, Your weekend away sound great. Not much can compare to a good time with family. Ugh on the snow but it seems you and DH are much better about such weather than I would be. Bless your DH for working to remove the snow, not an easy job for sure.
Nothing much happening here today. I didn't have much to do today, just the usual routine stuff, so it was an easy day for me. I enjoyed taking things easy and slow. I was too lazy (not busy) to track today, but I will consider it a high point day. I am kind of annoyed with myself because I wanted to save up some points with Thanksgiving this week, but today wasn't helpful in that way. I plan to be having low point days for Tuesday and Wednesday. I will be careful but not strict on Thursday.0 -
Good to hear from you DW! Enjoy the change of pace over the next few weeks.
Paula- I am glad that you enjoyed a slower pace to your day yesterday too. You have two days to eat well so that you can enjoy Thanksgiving (but not too much lol)! Getting back on track after a slip is still a win. You could have the mindset to give up until after Thanksgiving, but you don't. That is awesome.
I will work from home again today. I am hoping to have time to tidy up the mess from my suitcase. Yesterday flew by, and I didn't manage to spend enough time on housework. Thankful to be working from home today.0 -
Today was so busy I more than made up for my easy day yesterday. I wasn't planning to be busy today but it turned out that way. Part of my time was taken up with work for our church group. The Prez, in a bad mood over something that wouldn't put most people in a bad mood, asked me to do some things involving speaking with a rep from our national organization. I did so and got excellent results. I suspect with her negative mood she would not have been as successful had she called the national office. I also had a lot of household "little things" to take care of such that every time I took care of one thing I saw something else that needed my attention. I made a fast supper (low in points) and then had our Bible study. Our Tuesday book study class was cancelled tonight. That was meant to be because when I would have been zooming that class one of my 1st cousins called. She lives in my area, but we don't really stay in touch except for Christmas and birthday cards and an occasional text. She and I were very close as kids and into our 20s. She is 9 months older than me. We talked for 2 hours tonight. It was wonderful to catch up with her. I hope we stay in closer touch going forward.0
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Great work with everything that you got done Paula. Especially the results with your national Church organization. Celebrate that win! And catching up with people can be very heartwarming. It sounds like that was the case with the visit on the phone with your cousin.
I have to venture out today and go in to the office to work. Not looking forward to it, but I know I will be fine once I get there. I have a break between work and when youth starts and I hope that I can get some Christmas shopping done. I don't have a lot to do, but I don't like waiting until the last minute.
I have my lunch and dinner packed, all I have to do is stick to what I take. Here is hoping that I can.0 -
Wow, Shari, packing 2 meals is real commitment! I hope you were able to stick closely to your planned meals.
It was another successful and busy day here today, mostly thanks to Craig. I had quite a list for him today, but the list required my involvement too in completing a lot of the items (and also supervising Craig lol). Craig was a huge help today and was here for quite a while. He put the Christmas lights outside on the shrubs and did a few other Christmas items. He will probably come back on Saturday to help put up our Christmas tree. He also helped with other things around the house. Because we were so busy I didn't really have time to stray from my plan. This is great so that on Thanksgiving I won't feel too stressed about my food choices. I will enjoy everything but will focus on portion control.0 -
Good morning! Just a quick “Happy Thanksgiving “ this morning! Shari, do you have a holiday today? We are traveling to DH’s sister’s home and back today. DD is going with us and we are all leaving dogs at home so will need to return fairly quickly. We haven’t done this in years- more about that later! I hope you both have a wonderful day!!0
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Happy Thanksgiving DW and Paula. I hope you enjoy a wonderful meal with family. We do not have a holiday today as our Thanksgiving is in October. We do seem to participate in the Black Friday sales, but with far less of a discount. We seem to get more crowds out shopping on Boxing Day. Which is so crazy since we just received gifts the day before. Not sure why we feel the need to get more stuff. A sale before Christmas makes much more sense to me.
I stayed on plan fairly well yesterday, but I was hungry while at work and added a few items, but I did pretty good even with the additions.
I need to go in to the office today, and I will stop in at the gym on my way home. I can't believe how much I enjoy lifting weights.0 -
Yay for you on the weight lifting Shari. It is such a good thing to build muscle.
Just a quick check in after a wonderful Thanksgiving day. I did not over eat at all! We have leftovers and will probably end up freezing some of the turkey. Tomorrow is back on plan for sure.0 -
Glad you enjoyed Thanksgiving and I am sure a wonderful meal (without going overboard).
I wasn't as strong at the gym yesterday. I think I was tired and could have used some fuel before working out. I go again on Saturday and will make sure I have a meal beforehand and see if that will make a difference. It's still progress!
I work from home today. I asked if I could. That saves me time as we have our staff Christmas party tonight and since we don't live super close, it would have been difficult to work, go home to get ready and pick up DH and head back in. I am not a huge fan of being on the road, so that saves me an hour of driving.0 -
Shari, your progress at the gym is well worth noting! Your are taking good care of your health in more than one way.
I had a fairly relaxing day and enjoyed some extra "me" time. A friend stopped by and surprised us with some potato pancakes she made. Because John loves them so much and because I was glad to escape any extra cooking, John ate most of them and I had only 2. For me that is a giant step forward in managing portion control. I am hoping Craig comes tomorrow to put up our Christmas tree and do some other things. We are hoping he finishes by 3 pm because that is when our first football game comes on.
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So happy for Saturday so I can do some things around the house. I will decorate our Christmas Tree today and put up a few other things we have and enjoy to look at for the season. I have also started emptying out our storage area in the basement. We have too much stuff and I can't organize it all. I want to reconfigure the shelves and give everything a home. That will be a big project, but my goal is to get everything out of the space and clean. I can start to put stuff back in over the week.
Weight is not in a good place, I am trying to be okay with that! I know other health markers are improving.0 -
Shari, enjoy this festive time of year! Good luck with clearing out some storage stuff....a task I always find challenging! No additional Christmas decorating here today. I told Craig to stay with his 86 year old mother who has a really bad cold. He called and told me he planned to come anyway, but I told him it is much better for him to stay with his sweet mom. I worry a lot about his mom. Craig stops to visit her every morning to check on her, but I don't like her alone when she is so ill. I am sure we will eventually finish our decorating here with Craig.
I did well again with my food plan. I have not been having any cravings and my appetite has been manageable. I am hoping someday soon to be able to step on the scale. This is tough for me as a balancing issue. I am sure my weight is up somewhat, but I think I need to know just how much it is up from my low point earlier this year.0 -
I am glad you asked Craig to stay with his mom. Plus it's safer for him not to accidentally bring the bug along with him. There is still lots of time to decorate.
Our news from yesterday is that my DH went to help with the neighbours skunk issue and although he didn't get sprayed, when the skunk was "looked" after, it released it's odour and DH, at 20 feet away, got it. He brought it home and everything he was wearing and everything he touched, or the item touched stinks! It's so bad!!!! We got him cleaned up pretty well, but we have to deal with all of the other things still. It's pretty funny, but it's also quite awful. Another lesson learned the hard way.
I am looking forward to decorating for Christmas. I have a long way to go in clearing out the basement, but it is doable. It will be so much better organized and we should have less stuff. So many things we haven't used in years. Hopefully someone else can find joy from them. Some things we can sell, others we will take to the donation centre. At least my house will lose some weight.0 -
Oh Shari, I feel for you and your DH with the skunk incident. I had no idea that it could cause such a problem from 20 feet away. Talk about the powers in nature!
Craig called today and plans to come on Monday. His mom is doing a little better. Anything Craig and I can accomplish will be a step forward. Since I tend to keep Christmas decorating pretty simple here, I expect we can get most of everything done.
A friend from my old church stopped by this afternoon with her sister who is here from upstate NY. Both are in their mid 80s. The NY sister the older of the two and is failing a bit. John and I enjoyed their visit and catching up with both of them. Both are brilliant women and always so interesting to chat with. We are hoping the NY sister will be back again over Christmas.
Our Thanksgiving food is now officially gone. Back to my normal eating on Monday.0 -
DH still smells, but it's not too bad if I keep a bit of distance. I think the clothes that he was wearing may be destined for the garbage though. We have them soaking in water with a lot of detergent. Hopefully that works, but we shall see.
I am close to being done decorating for Christmas. I need DH to cut around a power outlet. When we got our new window in, the company partially covered it up. I can't believe we didn't notice until this weekend. Thankfully DH can fix it, otherwise I would need to call and see if the company would do it.
I slept well last night, but not long enough. I will aim for an earlier bedtime tonight.0 -
Shari, I understand not sleeping long enough. I always feel that way. I think about this often. I never wake up feeling well rested. After I am up and about a little while I feel well rested, but I never wake up feeling that way. I do feel well rested at times after a nap however. I wonder what this means. Sometimes I think some of my medications cause me to sleep more, but I am not sure about that.
Craig did a super job with putting the lights outside on our shrubs and on the large wreath we have on the house, though he drove me crazy in the process. I know how to do the lights from the days when I was able to do them. Craig didn't quite get it and I gave him a bit of a hard time, but in the end it worked out great and the lights look better than they ever did. I hope we can get the Christmas tree and the few other little things I usually do taken care of tomorrow.
I was kind of grumpy and out of sorts all day today. I tried to explain to Craig and John that I just didn't feel well, but I don't think either one of them understood. I am not having a flare or anything, but I just didn't feel right. I feel better now and hope to rest well over night.
Here is how the outdoor lights look. We also have individual single battery operated candles in all of the windows but they don't show up well on this photo.
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Paula- the lights on the house look so good!!!! Very warm and festive. Praying that you wake up feeling like yourself and very well rested. We all have days where we are grumpy, you did well to communicate that you were not yourself. I know I don't always do that.
I didn't feel super well after dinner, but I headed out to the gym and whatever tummy trouble I had went away. I had a good workout and then sat in the massage chair for 10 minutes. Very relaxing way to end a workout. I have a dental cleaning today. I am not excited about it, but it needs to get done.0 -
The relation of a massage chair is great. How fortunate you are to have access to one at your gym!
I am happy to report that whatever funk I was in yesterday is gone and I am back to my relatively normal self. I did feel more rested this morning, and as the day went on my energy increased (it sometimes happens that way with RA). Craig was here in the afternoon and was a tremendous help with getting the Christmas tree up and beautiful as well as some of the other Christmas touches I add around the house. John and I are very pleased with the results. I also did great with logging my food and stayed well within my daily point range. I have some plans for what I want to do tomorrow, but I am not stressing too much about what I should accomplish. I am trying to make the remainder of the week kind of easy for me because next week I will have a lot to take care of.0 -
Our houses are decorated for Christmas and that will help us to reflect on the birth of Jesus over the coming weeks. To celebrate such a precious gift.
I have been pretty focused and able to eat well, but the scale is the most stubborn thing to get any changes from. I will use it as one measure of how I am doing, if it was the only one, I would have to give up trying after no results for so long. I do see my muscle growth and I am much stronger. It is time for the fat to melt away. I am going to stay the course for the next three months and if I don't see any weight loss, I will reduce my calories by 10% and ease up on the the amount of weight I am lifting. I really hope the fat will start to melt off.
I have created a calendar of chores leading up to Christmas so I can spread the work around with the time I have available. We are going to Mexico for a week (Dec 11-18) so I do lose out on some prep time, but it will be worth it. I am looking forward to some sunshine, walks and reading. And no schedule!0 -
Shari, excellent that you are appreciating your increased strength and muscle growth. I think that would be motivation to keep up the good work, as you stated. I like your idea of creating a calendar of pre-chores! I might do something similar. Thanks for the idea. Nice that you will be able to get away before Christmas.
This was not a demanding day for me so anything I accomplished pleased me a great deal. I am back on a good streak for logging all of my food and had another good day for points today. I have a few more items on my to do list for Thursday, but I think it is all doable. I am feeling good again with no excessive pain (for me) and a fairly high level of energy. Hoping to keep this momentum going.0 -
My Christmas To Do list starts today and it's great to have some company to journey with. We can share what's on our lists for inspiration and encouragement. I haven't looked whats on the list for today yet but I can let you know how it goes tomorrow.
We could use prayer for Rick. He is the husband of a former colleague of DH. He has brain cancer and isn't expected to live much longer. DH went to pray for him last night and share the gospel, but the pain killers that Rick was on didn't allow for him to be awake and with it. DH plans to go again to tonight. We are praying that he will be cognitive and his heart will be soft towards Jesus. His wife Terry is having a difficult time and that is quite understandable.
Hoping to stick to my meal plan today- I did well at work yesterday. I didn't realize it until now. I didn't add snacks to the meals that I took and I was completely satisfied.0 -
Both John and I have added Rick to our prayer lists. Please keep us posted on how he does. God bless your DH for going there to pray. I am a firm believer that a person can be aware of and touched by important actions such as this even when appearing to not be awake. I am sure that your DH's presence was comforting to Terry as well. We will pray for Terry too of course. Life can be so short. Hugs to you and your DH too.
I did ok today, even when faced with a cookie challenge. A friend from my old church (the same friend who makes the filled peppers in the summer) brought some cookies to me and John. I enjoyed a few and then got right back on track. Of course I went over my daily point range but used some of the extra weekly points so I am not totally off plan (yet). I decided to allow myself one cookie a day for a few days. That won't do too much damage on my plan.0 -
Rick has been kept sedated for his pain. Jim will most likely go see him again this evening. We hope he will be awake for a time, but you are correct Paula, Rick could be aware.
I haven't started my Christmas baking yet, which is good as I don't have to resist indulging. I have made it to Dec 6 doing pretty well. But- I will be joining you Paula with enjoying some Christmas treats once they are available. I hope to make some holiday favourites this weekend.
No weight loss, but I am still able to add more weight to my lifts at the gym. I can hardly believe it! I keep expecting to max out but I haven't yet. When I do, I will be able to focus on consistency and maintain how far I have come.
Thankful it's Friday!0 -
Shari, your progress at the gym is so impressive...adding more weight to your lifts. Do the workers/trainers there give you the word about increasing the weight or do you do it on your own? Prayers continue for Rick and Terry.
Today was an easy day for me. We had a morning church service as Dec. 6 is the Feast of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker and Bishop of Myra in Lycia. He is an especially beloved saint in the Orthodox Church and many Orthodox churches are named St. Nicholas. On this day we follow the custom of giving our children small gifts in their shoes when they wake up in the morning. I modify this custom a little for John as he has gotten older, but today "St. Nicholas" brought John a beautiful new knit shirt and a bag of one of his favorite candy, M & M Megas. We typically treat special holy days like today the same as Sunday/Sabbath in that we don't do our usual housework, etc., kind of along the lines of the Jewish Sabbath practices. So after church I rested, did a little cooking for supper, and enjoyed a day "off" without feeling guilty. I do have a small but mighty to do list for Saturday. My food choices were reasonable and within my point range but the cookies I ate used up the rest of my weekly extra points. So I must be more strict tomorrow.0 -
Hello! So sorry, once again, for disappearing! I came down with a bad cold on the Friday after Thanksgiving and my energy has been zapped. I've continued getting to work and a few of my other responsibilities but have also cancelled on some and gone to bed. Sometimes it's hard to tell if I am exhausted from the cold or if it is the medicine I'm taking for the symptoms. I think I'm at the end of it and will try to get through the day without medication to see if I have more energy. This has not had a good impact on my weight since salty soups and creamscicle ice cream bars have been my go to for my throat and other symptoms.
Today we will have Christmas with our DD since she leaves for AK on the 15th and returns on the 29th. I thought that she might want to pack some of her gifts so wanted to do it ahead of time. We will have a variety of finger foods for "Christmas dinner".
Shari, I will also pray for Rick and Terry. I have not been to the gym and your progress there inspires me to get back there. I can tell a difference in my strength for daily activities when I get there regularly. At this point, I plan to not go to my late dog class(starts at 7:30pm and is a 30 minute drive each way) in January and that will give me an additional opportunity for gym time. Paula, congrats on your continued success with your points! Your home looks lovely with your Christmas lights!
I did Facebook church last weekend due to the cold, but hope to get there in person tomorrow. I hope
that you both have a nice weekend!0 -
Sorry to hear that you have/had a cold DW. Let's hope you feel more like yourself today and you see your energy back to full strength. Sore throats are awful! What will your DD being doing in AK?
It sounds like you both have a bit of a mini-Christmas and that sounds quite delightful. I am sure that helps with the holiday spirit. I hope everyone likes their gifts.
Thank you for praying for Rick and Terry. Rick is in hospice care and hasn't been awake and able to converse much at all this week. Jim went to see him again yesterday, but he wasn't cognitive, he did spend time with Terry. She is exhausted. Lots of family coming out to see him and she is missing having alone time with Rick. Terry feels better when Jim is there to pray for Rick, so he will keep going when she requests that.
My work day was painting our youth centre. I didn't think to take photos. I wish I had. It was a big change from sitting from in my desk all day. DH volunteered to help and he was a BIG help. There were four of us working on it. It looks so much better!
I have a lot on my to do list for today. Nice to have some time to sit and enjoy a cup of coffee before getting to it.0 -
DW, Hope you are feeling better. I applaud you for taking the steps you did to rest and cancel commitments. I am hearing about a lot of URI issues happening in our area and also in western PA where some of my friends live.
Shari, So nice of Jim to help with your painting. And I admire all he is doing with Rick and Terry. It takes someone special to be that supportive and caring.
I had a very good day today all around. I made a very large pot of veggie chili which will keep us fed for several days. It is essentially a zero point food and very satisfying to me. John likes it too. I think this will help boost my weight loss. I also tackled a chore that was well over due and one I tend to procrastinate with often. Well, today I completed that too. So I consider today a success. Nothing really planned for tomorrow except reading for Tuesday evening's class.0
