2022: Become a priority in your life - today is your opportunity to build the tomorrow you want.
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That's good news about the hurricane! Cooler is so much better for walking and hiking, I think. I love fall/autumn. It's a bit mixed here, quite cold and rainy, but I prefer it to the heat. I have been shifting furniture and decorating today so that's keeping me warm!1
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Today was a beautiful fall day here as well sunny and coolish (15C) so i went to visit my pb friends on the courts while they played.. and i snuck in and did 2 serves lol.. i made a lovely beef stew last night; just a very small amount of stewing beef and chock a block full of veggies with carrots, turnip, cabbage, parsnip, onion and 2 small potatos.. it was sooo yummy and perfect for the rather cool night.. im definately not in the mood for salads these days!
Suzy you hand surgery is wednesday right??? im assuming its a day surgery or will they be keeping you overnight?? i know it will almost impossible for you to type at all for a while but maybe you could open the app and have hubby write us a quick note just letting us know you're home and doing ok! Lovely youre going to plan on starting up the hikes on sundays.. i absolutely HAVE to start walking again and even doing some online strength training with my arms.. im not up to a class with my back but i need to def start doing some stuff and i have a set of light weights at home sot here's no reason i cant..
Vail im glad to hear you're feeling positive these days! You're right. its a bit of a shock to the system without the masks here.. one day everywhere today nowhere ! Its funny tho for some reason today i was thinking back to when the pandemic first started - that February here .. and a few months in people started saying it could be 2 yrs of wearing masks and isolating and me thinking at the time no way that's just not possible. who knew right?? Our normal was gone in a heatbeat and like anything else - the new normal of masks and isolating became the new normal. So i guess its not that weird that the transition back will take a bit of time to get comfy too.. keeping in mind in my area, we had the longest lockdowns in North America... even my sister living down east here opened up months before we did with the mandates.. anyway... i actually did have a really good time at the party - it was just a casual farewell one in a pub but there were so many people i was actually happy to see (vs those you see and think.. ya i'll just keep to this side of the room!) but there was a lot of close talking and hugging going on due to the crowd.. i had thought it would be outside on the patio not inside.. but... again getting used to the new norm...
im ok now with taking this month off of my RC work. this is my 3rd day off and i havent accompmlished anything yet LOL... just lazed around.. but i have set tomorrow as my start doing stuff day.. i think honestly there is just SO much to do around here... i dunno where to start.. plus im the Queen of procrastination at the best of time. One day i say.. ok just pick one room... and work on that one only..then i get distracted and lose interest. bahaha. I'm going to have to do a little bit of clothes shopping too for winter.. not a lot but i need a new ski jacket; my dress coat will do fine again and i have an old winter parka should i get the urge in january to go for a walk in -35 and snow.. but i need a warm little ski jacket for running around in the car and a few warm sweaters.. tonight i am making a tiny little roast beef (did i tell you i'm allowed 4oz of red meat a week again?? My doc called me with my blood work friday and good news is the white blood count came way down, and even tho my hemoglobin is ok some other kind of count with the iron is low.. she also wanted me to start taking an iron supp again til i reminded her of the disastrous effect it had on me on day 2 of taking them (a nightmare i may never recover from at the bank lol).. so she suggested taking one pill a week instead of one a day .. see how i tolerate it.. then maybe 1 every 5 days blah blah.. i still have all the supps i bought so i said i'd give it a go.. but i'm def going to make sure i'm staying HOME for 48 hrs after i take the first one hahahaha... ya sorry.. TMI!!!1 -
Yes, I would definitely be gun shy of the iron pills after what you went through! Can you cut them in half and take them a few days apart? I’m so glad you went to see your PB peeps and served a few! Good for you. Also seeing everyone at the pub party was good for you emotionally. We sometimes forget about our emotional health when we’re so caught up in our physical health. Give yourself a break on getting stuff accomplished. Having a few days to be lazy is a good thing…restorative even!
We hiked about 4.5 miles today and it was good! The inclines weren’t too strenuous so that helped. The weather was perfect! So far so good with the new hiking shoes.
Yes, surgery is Wednesday and it’s outpatient. I have physical therapy on Friday to see how it’s going. I’ll be glad to get it over with.1 -
Good luck for the surgery today, Suzy.1
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Suzy thinking about you for tomorrow and hoping you are in and out in good time and that the surgery will bring you some relief from the pain!! Hugs!!
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omg i typed that last night - just came in and realized i never hit POST it was still there !!! Gak.. so change it to read i hope TODAY the surgery went well Suzy......1
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Thank you! It went well or at least that’s what the doctor said. I’m still numb and can’t feel my entire right arm. The anesthesia didn’t agree with me but hopefully that’s over with. When I had this same surgery two years ago they didn’t put me completely out and my arm wasn’t numb and in a sling. Not gonna lie, this is unpleasant. lol. More later. Thanks for thinking of me.1
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Omg I didn’t realize you had the same surgery two years ago how do I not remember that I’m glad it’s over and I hope by tomorrow the numbness has worn off you poor thing hugs0
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Oh, that sounds awful, Suzy, with the anaesthetic issues as well. I imagined you being conscious: didn't realise you were going under! You will have to build in extra recovery time. Must be frustrating to have a non-functioning right arm too! I suppose you will find out later how well it went, but good that the doctor thought it was a success.1
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I was using my phone app last night to type that - i havent been able to get into the app because i forgot my password lol.. (my laptop remembers it for me) but i found it when i was going thru some paperwork so yay!
That is awful about the whole arm being affected - i wonder why they put you under this time if not the last time but thats kinda immaterial now - i think you said you were going to see the physio or occupational therapist today? or maybe its next friday.. i remember it ws a friday so please let us know when you can how you are doing... must have been a little scary with the side effects from the anesthesia for sure!0 -
Physical therapy was today and I got my huge bandage off! Yay!! I’m doing so well that they just gave me a list of exercises to do and to come back after my post op appointment on the 20th. It’s sore but not debilitating. I think because I had the same operation two years ago I just assumed I knew what would happen. I should have asked more questions. Each surgeon is different I guess. This guy is super cautious so I was completely under and given a block on my whole arm.
I’m thinking of buying an air fryer oven. It sounds a bit like yours Vail but not as many functions I think. It does have a rotisserie and it can dehydrate. It’s got to be a healthier way to prepare food, right? It mentioned roasting vegetables. Have you done that in yours? I’d love not heating up the whole house to do that. The fish gal (at the grocers) said she air fries all her fish and loves it.
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That's great news that you are going well. Funny that your surgeon was super cautious. I think I would like that, being a bit on the cautious side myself! It's just a shame that you reacted to the anaesthetic. I understand if you had had the op before, of course you would expect it to be the same procedure this time!
Yes, my health grill does roast vegetables. In fact, it's quite good for that as it seems to me that it has a bigger surface area than some air fryers. The one I have has a different name but is very similar to this one https://www.ninjakitchen.com/exclusive-offer/IG651WBKT/ninja-foodi-smart-al-pro-7-in-1-grill-griddle-combo-air-fryer-with-uilt-in-thermometer/ Yes, fish is great in it. I've used it for lots of things you wouldn't think of right away, like baked potatoes, cakes, scones, boiled eggs, even casseroles. I use the flat plate quite a lot. I don't use the grill very much, but have tried it and it worked very well.
There are a couple of drawbacks with that model and one I would say is that although it's a bigger surface area, it's not that big, so I couldn't get in, say, two cake tins to make a layer cake. And it's not very all either so I couldn't do something like a tall souffle. I haven't tried a whole chicken, but I think you have to use a spatchcock chicken in it as it's too tall. And I will say that although it says it's easy to clean, that's the ceramic coated pieces. The metal pieces I have found impossible to clean and spent ages scrubbing away but have now given up and they are starting to discolour.
I would say to go for a bigger rather than a smaller one, especially if there are two of you. The rotisserie sounds fun. I don't have that on mine. I have only used the dehydrate function once: it took 6 hours and I ate everything the minute it came out, ha ha! (Apples, pears and strawberries).
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Suzy im so glad your arm is feeling better - no doubt was a little scary about the arm til you found out he did a full nerve blockon the whole thing! Yay the bandage is off and you're already into the physio!!
I don't have any air fryer.. my sister does and she seems to like it and she's solo. i have had a number of appliance type things from toaster ovens to big grills to the george forman little guy etc over the years.. 2 of them are still in a bottom drawer somewhere LOL.. I used them all a lot at first but again i don't cook very much so i dont think i'll be looking at one for myself
this is our Thanksgiving weekend here.. I bought a little turkey breast and went to the farmers market today and got some little marble potatos, carrots and green beans. I'm going to treat myself to making a tiny stuffing all for me LOLOL... I looked everywhere for a mini pumpkin or apple pie.. a place near me used to make 4" pies just the right size for two (or 3 servings for me) but alas.. i did manage to resist buying a whole pie ha.
I'm having a little mini vacation coming up.. sort of. One of my oldest friends lives about 4 hrs away and we wanted to get together for a weekend and we looked at a few spa resorts that sort of thing..but neither of us are really spa people.. a mani or pedi is about all either of us would go for we're just not facial or massage types and to be honest.. the thought of a 2.5 hr drive was making me nervous as sitting is the worst position for my back/leg issues. So long story short.. we decided instead to play tourist in the city - we got a hotel bed and breakfast package right downtown in Toronto .. 2 nights and we're going to hit all the places we both want to see and nobody else does LOL.. there is a placed called Little Canada.. it's an entire miniature display of the whole country province by province.. and we're going to see an "immersive King Tut" exhibit - both look way cool. There's a Leaves N' Fall festival not far from the hotel with an outdoor wine bar and wood burning stove food so we will meet at hotel Tues around 3pm to check in... depending on weather will hit a patio and start catching up on the yapping then maybe wander over to the festival and then chill that night to catch up.. wed we will do both exhibits and anything else we may find as we're looking around at what's going on in the city.. there's nothing playing at the live theatres either of us wants to see or we would have booked tickets for a play but the king tut exhibit is at 4pm and its by the harbourfront so we will def be able to find something to see or do Wed night. I'm going to take the commuter train into the city rather than drive - it's literally 100 feet from my doorstep and I won't need my car and I won't have to stress over traffic either way LOL. So I'm quite looking forward to not only seeing her and having a really good catch up, but a little bit of fun in the city too.
Tonights dinner is going to be a little bit of fettucine (an actual 1/2 cup cooked serving) with loads of veggies - i was going to add a bit of chicken but since im having turkey tomororow it will be a vegetarian night instead ha.1 -
Happy thanksgiving! Good for you on passing up on the whole pie. I made the mistake of buying a pumpkin pie from Costco a few weeks ago. It was HUGE! I thought my husband would like it but then I ate most of it. Total fail. Maybe you could swing by a restaurant that you like and get one piece of pie to go.
The in town vacay sounds like so much fun! Great idea! Have a wonderful time!
I haven’t told anyone in the family, as it’s not really my news to share, but my daughter is expecting again!!!! I’m so happy for them and so excited! She’s due May 19! I am worried about how her thyroid issues will affect the pregnancy but her doctor is aware and they’re monitoring it.
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Ohhhhhhhhhh how exciting on a second grandbaby Suzy !!!! And you know you can tell us - we won't tell anyone :SO YOUR secret is safe with us ! I'm sure with her doc monitoring the thyroid all will be well.. and a spring baby! Yay!!
How's the hand/arm today???
LOL on the pie... i could probably indeed just buy a piece of pie at a restaurant.. but in my head.. the price of one piece there would be about the same price as a whole pie so .... i might as well get a whole one right?? And don't be fooled.. I have indeed purchased a whole pie several times .. both pumpkin and strawberry rhubarb and polished them off all by myself over a few days... like.. 2 days lol.. so I can relate!!1 -
Happy Thanksgiving, Snoozie! Have you already made your Turkey meal or will you do that tonight? Enjoy!
My hand is healing well. I have full range of motion with little pain. The stitches are itching and I’ll get them out on the 20th. I think I pulled something in my shoulder when my arm was totally numb but it’s getting better. I’m venturing out to the grocery store today. First time driving. I’m supposed to go to my women’s club meeting at the elementary school tomorrow. We get a second grader assigned to us and we read with them once a week.
It’s hard coming up with healthy meals when I can’t cut or chop anything with my right hand yet. I’m trying to limit portion sizes to compensate. I think I’m doing better on snacking but haven’t been logging regularly. I haven’t been on the scale in a very long time. I’m afraid to look.0 -
sUZY i would say close to impossible for only one hand lol.. so think you're idea of simply working on portion sizes is excellent.. ohhhhhh your womens club meeting way cool!! can't wait to hear about your little one .. do you get to pick the books?? Try not to scratch the stitches LOL...
i had my turkey dinner last night.. did up green beans carrots and baby marble new potatos along with and stuffing but confess iw as going to make my own but went with a box one .. blech... lol best thing of course is enough leftovers so no cooking today!1 -
What wonderful news, Suzy! Congratulations to you all and wishing your daughter a happy and event-free pregnancy. I imagine your services will be greatly needed in a few months, especially by big-sister-to-be!
I'm glad your hand is healing, but it must be so frustrating! I think I would have given in and ordered takeaway! How about using microwave veg for a while? Pre-prepared mash, frozen packs of prepared roast veg, etc. Then something you can just bung in the oven for the protein? The supermarkets here also do pre-prepared meals, things like Hunter's chicken, roasts, curries, etc., generally a bit overpriced, but this seems the perfect time to use something like that.
Enjoy the women's club meeting. I bet that will be fun! I love reading to children.
Snoozie, I like box stuffing. Prefer it to homemade if I'm honest usually, as I'm not a big stuffing fan anyway, and sometimes stuffing that has been slaved over is disappointing mush. Happy Thanksgiving, and enjoy your leftovers today.
I love your tourist in your own city idea! I used to do that when my son was little and we couldn't afford to go away, and it's surprising when there are all these tourist attractions that you've never been to yourself. But staying in a hotel will make it feel like being away! I would love all the things you are doing. Absolutely would love to see Little Canada! I hope you have a wonderful time.0 -
lol Vail on the stuffing!! I love it usually - in truth we all used to fight over it more so than the turkey! My mom made the best stuffing.. crispy on top and "mushy" in the middle - and in fact it ended up she always had to make a double batch; one to stuff the turkey with and another in a pan alongside to stop the fighting! Sadly i only know how to make a double batch LOL. .can't figure out how to adjust it to one person hence the box one. But i really don't like it.. i only ate a few tbsps it just doesnt taste "right" - i guess it's all about what you're used to as my brother in law is from the isle of man and he hated our stuffing he much preferred Paxton so once he joined the family we always got a box at the British store for him LOL.
Im actually quite looking forward to little canada and the immersive king tut.. it's supposedly a pretty cool concept totally immersing you in the story of his life.. not exactly a museum exhibit LOL.. but quite happy. We lucked in as well as we meet today and next 2 days are showing great weather for our wanderings. I havent seen any progress with my back since i ended my deployment.. its been just over a week so i guess i need to wait a bit but i was kind of hoping to see some improvement between the physio and time off.. altho i seem to be sitting on my butt a lot more which of course is the worst position fot it lol. oh well... thankful im still mobile and with the pills i can get around pretty good so i should stop whining!
its kinda funny tho.. when i went down east for 5 days in June to visit my family i took a tiny little bag.. literally the size of a briefcase but a bit thicker.. and for ONLY 2 days in my own city i have my BIGGER wheeled carryon bag instead LOLOL.... and im not sure everything will fit in there HAHAHA. Altho i am bringing some wine and snacks for our big catch up yap in the hotel room tonite so thats my excuse. I'm taking the commuter train into the city and will just grab a cab for the short trip to the hotel - after my last drive into the city took almost 2 hrs sitting in traffic and construction (when it's normally about 30-40 min) this will be completely stress free for me LOL.
Great idea on the pre prepped meals AND/OR ordering in Vail lol.. i vote ordering in myself hahaha. i have to admit im also looking forward to not having to cook for 2 days lol.. there's a big buffet type breakfast included with the room so I plan to follow the "kings" guide to eating for the next 2.. something like eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper? Let's see if i can make that happen ha...1 -
Years ago, I used to work away and stayed in bed and breakfast places. They would always do a big cooked breakfast and I used to eat some of it and make the rest into sandwiches for lunch, then have a meal in the evening. Although making sandwiches at a buffet might be frowned on! The whole trip sounds great, including get the train! I love getting the train and not having the stress of driving.
Yes, I bet the stuffing is just about what you're used to! I sometimes add my own bits and pieces to the box mix which is either the best or the worst of both worlds. I like little crispy balls of stuffing, in fact I think I don't like the stuffing so much as the outside crispy bit.
I have lost the plot with weight and even exercise has been lacking a bit recently. I've been having some dental pain and work and have felt sorry for myself and eaten rubbish (which as I live alone, means that I have gone out and bought rubbish so there is malice aforethought!). Luckily I have not had a massive weight gain, so I think I have found one of my "set point"s, where you tend to maintain a bit more easily, but find it difficult to lose. However I am still gaining according to Trendweight (which I have been avoidng looking at for the last couple of weeks).
Yesterday I thought I really have to get it in hand and was determined not to eat in the evening after a small meal. It's so like an addiction, isn't it? I spent hours thinking about food and trying to distract myself. I did it, and now I just need to keep doing it! Maybe it's time to do the porridge and lentil soup diet, so I don't have to think about what to eat and don't have unnecessary food in the house. Especially with the cost of living as it is!0 -
Oh ladies, I have to tell you, I posted this morning with my porridge and lentil soup plan, and had my porridge earlier today. Anyway, busy day and for some reason I just wanted pasta. I haven't eaten pasta since last year I don't think, because of dieting. I also am having some work done on my house (oh, my complicated excuses!) and have been moving stuff around, and that includes a wine rack full of wine, which again, I haven't really touched since last year, partly for health reasons (kidney disease), partly for weight loss reasons. But I thought, maybe I should just open one and it will be one less to move.
Anyway, I made some pasta, spaghetti with a sort of egg sauce (you know when you make the sauce with the pasta water and beaten egg, like carbonara), garden peas, sliced chestnut mushrooms, a bit of expensive olive oil, lots of salt and fresh ground black pepper and grated parmesan, and had it with a glass of a very well reviewed 2016 Italian white and, just wow! The simplest and most delicious meal I've had in a long time. I'm sorry, but courgette ribbons are just not the same as good pasta. It just tasted amazing.
I had forgotten how good that sort of food is! So now I'm going to try to get through the rest of the evening without eating, and if I can do that, my small portions of pasta and porridge and a glass of wine are probably not an excessive amount of calories!1 -
Sounds delicious! Every once in a while you just have to say, “what the heck,” and indulge. You didn’t go overboard and enjoyed every bite. That’s a win in my book.1
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It was so good! Today I did chicken breast on the grill. Thought I should go for protein after all those carbs! I used the function that has thermometer. You stick it in and it switches off when it reaches the right temperature, then tells you how long to rest it for. I had it with chestnut mushrooms, baby plum tomatoes and spinach in a creamy white wine sauce. It felt indulgent but no potatoes, etc. (I almost did roast potatoes then decided not to indulge!).2
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Vail - i have to say your pasta dinner sounded not only delicious but totally satisfying too!! I think we need to remember there is NO bad food... the occasional pasta plus the fact you added veggies and olive oil all of which are healthy on their own should be enjoyed just as you did without any guilt or feelings of oh oh i had pasta... especially as you have it so very rarely! I think its really important we actually enjoy our food. i'm so done with eating something i dont enjoy just because its good for me.. that said of COURSE we aim for more healthy options but your dinner sounded just exquisite and i am so glad to hear you enjoyed every bite - as it should be. Actually your chicken in the white wine sauce also sounded amazing!!! I hope you savoured every bite of that as well!!
Suzy how is your hand doing and how did it go with the reading to the little ones?? Inquiring minds want to know lol
I had a great time with my friend - i will admit eating out 3 days for every meal tho.. was actually not so enjoyable.. the portions on everything are so huge to me now in a restaurant.. and while i know i could only eat what i needed to fill me up.. if its on the plate.. i'll eat it. A lot of it wasnt even what we might consider unhealthy - i had a veggie omelllete one morning and grilled salmon for dinner.. with green beans .. but then i had an order of ribs one night with fries.. i ate it all and in truth.. felt pretty yucky afterwards.. but is weird when you're eating out you just feel like you should be eating it since you paid for it lol... makes no sense... but there ya go. I also went short on my water because we were out and about to so many exhibits i didnt want to have to stop to pee every 30 seconds lol... so my scale actually showed a 4lb weight gain ... im not surprised as i swear i ate more the past 3 days then i have the last few weeks lol.. I'm not worried tho i know now i'm home i'll drop it in a week or so. I just dont actually want to look at food right now. This afternoon after my physio i am going to make a big batch of the skinnytaste broccoli cheddar soup .. with my modifications as i dont use all the extra cheese just about a cup of shredded cheddar.. and they have a beef barley soup there as well i'm going to make up.. i've never made it but i have some leftover stewing beef in the freezer which it calls for so i thought why not lol.. i like barley and beef so how bad can it be LOLOL.. I also got a good deal this morning on some small boneless pork loin chops.. skinnytaste has a recipe for a dijon herb sauce for them so i'll make them tomorrow when i split up the pkg of 9 chops to freeze. The weather is getting cooler now.. and today is cold and rainy so a hearty bowl of soup will make a nice dinner.
I'm going to have to find something to do with myself now that my deployment is over.. i still cant play pickleball and not much has changed with my back issues... i was thinking of maybe doing something at the community centre pool more the therapuetic one than aquafit type.. but i dunno it doesnt really appeal to me all that much .. but i'll have to find something to do with myself so i'm not sitting on my butt 24/7!
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Glad you had such a good time on your mini-vacation!
So frustrating about the back problem. I hope you find something that suits you to do. I'm not a big fan of pool things, have to admit, all that getting changed and water and chlorine everywhere. I used to go swimming regularly years ago, and it was incredibly boring. I like the idea of wild swimming but it's not recommended if you have heart issues. I know people who do it and love it! Actually maybe I'm a bit relieved that I have an excuse. I don't think wild swimming is what you're looking for anyway!
I know what you mean about eating too much and then having enough of food. I eat too much when I'm out too as I've paid for it and it's there in front of me, lol. There's so much more control over portion size at home. At least you were having healthy food which has probably done you some good, and the weight gain, I find, seems to be partly from the overeating itself (maybe the extra salt, etc.?) rather than permanent weight gain.
I hope you enjoy the barley soup. I bet it will be amazing, and you could probably do with the iron and B vitamins, etc, in the beef! I haven't made soup with barley for ages, but that reminds me, I used to make a lovely barley "risotto" too
Hope you are OK, Suzy, and your hand is getting better.
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barley risotto??? I may actually Google a recipe for that because I love risotto and I have an entire bag of barley I have to use up now Lolol. I’ll make the soup this afternoon and save a bowl for lunch tomorrow - I had one bowl of my broccoli cheddar soup for dinner with a small roll it was lovely and have four in the freezer for those nights when I’m lazy which is pretty much every night 🤣🤣. But tonight I’m gonna try that new pork chop recipe so we’ll see if that turns out0
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truth be told Vail im not real excited at the thought of any swimming lol.. im just trying to find something that maybe won't aggravate my back .. but i'm with you all the changing and wet everything especially with winter coming here lol. Maybe i'll just try a bit of indoor pickleball.. it's cheap enough even if i only play one game to see how it goes.. but first im going to have to get back to walking a lot more.. my physio tried to add some hamstring stretches yesterday to the others he gave me.. nope... did not go well. i've always had really tight hamstrings even before this back stuff but with it.. just trying to lift that leg a little was NOT fun lol..1
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It’s definitely getting closer to soup weather here. I’m going to have to find a day or two to make some soups and freeze them. We have GOT to stop eating such big dinner portions. Why is it so hard for me to put less food on our plates. Maybe I’ve never gotten used to cooking for just the two of us.
My hand is feeling great. I get my stitches out on Thursday. One already fell out by itself. We leave in a week for our annual day hiking trip with my husband’s siblings. We’re spending a few days by ourselves first then meeting them on Tuesday. We’re going to Kentucky this year.
Reading with the second graders went well. The little girl was very talkative and did all the reading aloud. The little boy is so painfully quiet that he didn’t say a single word and would not read aloud. Complete opposites. Lol. I’ll have the same two all school year.
I braved the scale this morning. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be but it wasn’t great.
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Snoozie, I’m sorry your back isn’t getting better. Have you ever considered acupuncture? I’ve never done it but my nephew swears that it helps his chronic pain. I just hope you can find something that helps.0
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Suzy I'm so glad you enjoyed your reading time with the little ones.. re the painfully shy little guy; when i worked in the kids section of the bookstore i often had parents come in with little boys especially and when i would talk to the kid to try to find out what kind of books he might like (i.e. asking him what he did after school and weekends that was fun - sometimes it was a fav cartoon like captain underpants, or dinosaurs or baseball or whatever) i would pick a little reader and ask him to read a few lines.. BUT.. if his parents were right there he would refuse to read.. so i learned to ask the parents to step away a few feet (just far enough so they could still see him .. but not close enough to hear) If there was ANYONE around us the shy kid would refuse to read anything but if it was just him and I and i crouched down to his level.. he would read out loud a bit.. it only took a minute to figure out if the reader was too tough for his level - i find boys often read at a lower level than girls that's not sexist just something i found was very common) and if he wasn't able to read even 2 words on a line i went down a level... and suddenly when he was actually ABLE to read the whole thing much more easily, he would keep reading! i realized that it takes so little even just a comment from a parent like "Zach you KNOW that word!) to make them shut up like a clam... so the easier it was for them to read it the more they wanted to read. I don't know if they get to pick the books or the school does or you do.. but it might not hurt to try a lower level reader than the girl has or his grade has to see if that might help him.. and maybe if possible if you can be a bit separate with him away from the girl.. just you and him a few feet away he might open up?? its pretty intimidating for someone who struggles with reading to be sitting next to a kid who can read well and then be asked to do the same,, anyway not that you asked LOLOL.. but since you're going to have the same munchkins the whole year just thought i would offer those tips...
of course the biggest problem was often convincing the parent when the kid WANTED to buy a captain underpants book that it was a good thing - they couldn't figure out that ANY book your kid actually WANTS to read is a good thing; they just wanted him reading War and Peace instead of CU hahaha.
How exciting on your upcoming trip!! I swear at this point i couldn't hike a 1/2 mile... i absolutely have to get back to walking every single day... i may have done a lot of standing on deployment but i haven't walked daily since .. June or july?? and i can absolutely feel it in my lack of stamina .. an interesting note the physio guy told me about how i walk and stand... altho i have corrected the "arms crossed legs spread" stance, i DO tend to turn my feet outwards a bit when i'm standing.,, and if i'm laying on my back with a pillow under my knees, my feet tend to splay outwards a bit too.. he had me put my finger on the muscle in my butt cheek (lol sorry but thats one of the other big owies and it travels down the leg cause the pitiformis muscle is squeezing the sciatica along with the bulging discs) but if was interesting cause with my feet pointed straight forward and my finger on the spot in my butt cheek where the pain was, he simply had me turn one that foot outwards.. as soon as i did i could feel the muscle clench under my finger,, and when it clenches it squeezes the nerve under it.. anywayyyyyyy something else i will have to watch and see if trying not to do that helps as well..
im also so glad your hand is doing great!! YAY!! Ha on the stitch falling out by itself!! And im very happy for you braving the scale found it wasnt as bad as you thought!! Woo hoo!
i hear you on the big meals at dinner.. honest to god.. with the airport shifts i got used to having my big meal around 1pm and then just a light dinner like a 1/2 sandwich or bagel or something.. but while i was with my friend we ate HUGE dinners every nite.. and late like 7pm .. which for me is late for a BIG dinner.. so i'm trying to get back now into bigger breakfast and lunch and just a soup or a piece of a veggie frittata or something for dinner. That said last night i made pork chops with veggies and ate every bite.. sigh....
Vail I didn't actualyl taste the beef barley soup yesterday lol.. but i did add too much barley.. when i first put it in i thought hmmm there's an awful lot of liquid in there.. I just didn't realize how much barley actually swells up so i added about another 3rd of a cup LOL.. so its more like barley soup now ha.. i'll just thin it out when i reheat it with a little beef broth... i froze it all except one bowl i will have today for lunch and then popped over to a friends who gave me a big mason jar of her home made turkey soup. So i now have 3 single servings of 3 kinds of soup in the freezer - they will be perfect for those days im starving at lunch or dinner and instead of picking up crap, i can just nuke them and enjoy.1
