Jan 3-Jan 9, 2024

SarahMaxx

LW: 129.8
TW: 129.0

Happy New Year, everyone. I'm just quickly putting in my stats. I noticed that the last thread I started does not show up when I look at the top of the page for latest entries. Don't know what is up with that. Hope this one will show. Noticed that I'm the only one who has been on MFP for a number of days, so hope all is well with everyone. I will check in again later to chat.

Here are my daily averages over the past 7 days, which are still suffering from time in the car (we drove back on Wednesday and Thursday of last week), weather that forces me on the TM, and of course, wonderful food at a New Year's Eve dinner party. But I've managed to control my sweet tooth a little during the past couple of days. One of my goals for 2024 is to reduce sugar and salt. Have I said that before? LOL

Steps: 9,198
Stairs = 11 Floors
Kcals burned = 1,636

GaGasheesh

Last time: 132.4
TW: 133.6

Oh wow. I gained more than I thought I did. I was hoping all the activity with the grands would help, but as everyone experiences, the food, treats, and snacks took their toll. I'm glad to be back to normal, although we're busy putting away Christmas, cleaning up, etc.

Glad to see you here, Sarah! Sorry I've been MIA. I'm sorry to read about your sister's additional and ongoing health issues. I'm really glad you're taking care of yourself. It looks like you did a pretty good job of keeping active, so congrats on that.

Kelly, it's great to see you check in despite all the holiday, family, hockey, etc. going on. Check back when you can.

Lois, I'm so sorry you got sick! I hope you're feeling much better by now.

My family visit was soooo fun! I had a plan for every day, and boy did we keep moving. Of course Christmas gifts exchanged, food, holding the newborn, Cali fam playing in the snow here, hot tub. Then, skiing (hubby and I didn't ski though), Fat Cats (arcade, bowling, etc,), a movie, a Christmas lights drive thru show, games, and a "fake new years eve" party on the 29th that was a blast. The kids made decorations, snacks, and we had a dance contest with prizes. I had it in my home gym, the kids had such great dances . . . the five year old came out with a dance that nobody could believe! He was break dancing, and doing unbelievable moves. He won first prize (a disco lights globe) and since they returned to Cali has been having "dance lessons" in his bedroom for his family with it, lol! My son says they'll try to find him break dance classes there . . they had no idea The 11 year old did some "Black Pink" moves she had memorized. Wow. My grands are dancers, lol. We toasted the New Year at 9 pm with our plastic champaign flutes filled with diet 7-up. The kids had made really great decorations too. I was sad to take them down, but I gotta get back to my workouts. Anyway, it was a very fun visit, and now I'm cleaning up and I'm exhausted. Oregon daughter, hubby, and their girls are coming to see newborn later this month . . so, no rest for the wicked.

My trainer went to Mexico for Christmas, so I haven't seen her since Dec 18th. She's back, but of course we didn't train on New Years Day Monday. She texted that she's been sick since 2 days before returning from Mexico. She saw a news story yesterday about Covid making a surge, so she tested and it was positive! She's on the mend, but needles to say, we can't train together until she's negative. . maybe next week. Meantime, I only got one actual "workout" during the visit, and I've started back yesterday. It's not too cold here, but I think I'll do a gym one to save time.

Looking forward to setting fitness goals for 2024 with you ladies.

wiredkell

TW: 156.3

Happy New Year all! Time for me to start weighing in again. It's been so many months since I have and I think I need it.

It was nice reading and catching up with everyone's plans over the holidays. Sorry to hear you were sick Lois! I hope you're on the mend. I feel you though, as I've been sick for over a month and a half, on top of my allergy issue. I had my appointment with my doctor. He said I likely had 2 different colds back-to-back. He said he's seen it lots this year. No prescription for me, as he thinks this cold is on the mend, so there's no point in antibiotics. My lungs were good. For my allergy, he prescribed me an allergy pill for a month and referred me to an allergist, which I'm sure it'll take months to get an appointment. I had another reaction on December 21st and this time both my eyes swelled up instead of one. It was bad and to the point I couldn't see. Luckily it got better before bed and only took a couple days to go away. Since then I was just taking a non-drowsy allergy pill everyday so it wouldn't happen again. I have my physical with him on Jan 30, so we'll see how things with my cold and my allergies are then.

Despite being sick, we had a good Christmas and New Years. It was the first year in a while that both my brother and I's families got to be together for Christmas with my parents. That made me happy but mostly for my Dad because he's getting slower as he gets older. He'll be 75 this year but he's battling Parkinsons. He was super happy that we could all be together. Our kids also finally got to meet my brother's soon to be stepchildren, so that was really nice. For Christmas Eve, we had my husbands Mom & Aunt and Dad & girfriend over, plus our kid's Mom came over too. We had appetizers and drinks. Then for Christmas Day, the kid's Mom came back over to watch our kids open presents. All in all a good Christmas. In between Christmas and New Years, we got to spend a couple night at the cabin with the kids which was fun as it was the first time with the kids, and then for New Years Eve Shawn and I spent the night at the cabin with our pup. Great night.

So now for some new goals. I have been out of the exercising game for awhile, so my small goal is to start getting my minimum 30 mins of exercise a day ring closed on my apple watch, to drink 2 of my large bottles of water a day and to post my weight on here weekly. I'm going to start with that, since I'm still sick. Shawn and I have both agreed to eat well until we go to Wisconsin on January 25 and so far, we're doing great. My larger goal will be to eventually close all of my rings daily on my apple watch and to incorporate stretching into my daily routine.

Can't wait to hear how everyone is doing.

SarahMaxx

Hi, everyone. I was so glad to login and see new posts. Lois, I hope that you're over that bout of bronchitis and that you get a long stretch of being healthy. My goodness you deserve it!

Sheesh, your time with your family always sounds like so much fun. I think it's great that activites that include all ages are planned. You have some creative souls in your clan! I'm sure the grands will cherish the memories that are being made.

Kelly, oh my gosh, I am so sorry to hear that you had another round with allergy and the swelling eyes. I have been there. I'm glad that despite this, you had a nice Christmas and got to be with so many of your loved ones. And I can also relate to waiting for an appointment. As I mentioned, I'm having to wait more than 5 weeks for a diagnostic mammogram, so I called on Monday to ask if they have had any cancellations (no), added any more appointment slots as staff returned to work after the holidays (no), and if I could be put on a cancellation list to be called if anyone cancels (yes). I also sent an email to my doc to ask if I should consider trying to make an appointment at a different location or with a totally different imaging center. The nurse called me today to say that my doc thinks I might want to try to make an appointment for a regular screening with an utrasound only if needed, as those are easier to get. But I know that won't fly, because that is what my original referral order said, and they changed it in their system when I mentioned the "maybe felt something." They even amended the original referral order and gave me a copy of the new one. But it sounds like my doc is not concerned enough to suggest that I change imaging centers to get in earlier, so that does make me feel better, and I think I'm going to just wait it out.

In the meantime, my internet provider (Xfinity) was hacked via Citrix and let me know that my information, including my email address, password, and other PPI was among that which was stolen. So I've had to take steps to reduce my risks, and it has been a bit of a pain. And I'm not sure that these steps really make me safe. Actually, I don't think there is a "safe." I think just about everyone's info is out there somewhere. Through time, I've been involved in several data hacks--once with my health insurance and once with the big database of government employees and contractors. So this is just one more worry, and some things I've been advised to do have created other problems. (I know--breathe!)

And before I go--goals for 2024. I haven't quite formulated mine yet. Kelly, I think you're right, though, about starting out with small goals. So I'll be back with something more than reduce salt and sugar.

Take care everyone!

Lastchancelj

Happy New Years Everyone! Sorry I've been MIA. I had PTO from 12/19 - 1/2. And I was sick for all of it. I told you doc started me on the antibiotics. And thank goodness as it was a full on respiratory/sinus infection on Christmas Eve. Though I wore a mask, I was able to participate (from a distance of course) Christmas Eve and Christmas morning with Cameron and Kelsie across town. Hubby and I only stayed to see the kids open their gifts have a quick bite to eat and then we left. We were back home by noonish (hour drive each way and we left here at 8:45ish). The antibiotics gave me severe diarrhea so I had to actually slow down on them on days 8-10 and added Imodium 2/day along with Culturelle 2/day and more Yakult drinks. So we did cancel our trip to California. I couldn't stay out of the restroom more than an hour at a time so there was no way I was getting in a car for 6 hours each way. When we facetimed our auntie, she still was battling her cold before her trip to the Philippines, so hubby decided he wasn't going to go alone either. I felt better around NYE and on Jan 1 and we attended Pennie's wedding (Cam and Kelsie's Mom remarried). It was outdoors, short and sweet. I'm not sure if I caught something else (I was bundled up with a jacket and scarf and it wasn't THAT cold) but now I'm running a low grade fever and fatigued. No other symptoms to go with it. So I'm plugging along. Again, super thankful that I work remotely. I was also super thankful I had scheduled the PTO as I was able to rest in between festivities and just chill to recover. My colleagues - believing me to be enjoying the holidays and knowing I wasn't watching my emails, didn't really bother me with phone calls etc. So for that I am thankful. I'll check in with my doc next week if the fever doesn't break. I usually run 97.3-97.5 (we check our temps often - especially since mom had moved in with us and we find that we still do) - and now it's at 98.6 - 99+. The only thing that had me really check it was that I was shivering and freezing and the heater was set at 72!! I like it cooler at 68...and when hubby bumps it to 70 I'm sweltering with a fan. So something is going on. We're taking down most of the Christmas stuff Sunday morning after 3 Kings Day and Gerardo will be here next Friday to take down the outside lights. (BTW - negative for COVID).

We celebrated Christmas with my kids and Rhea on 12/30 as we didn't follow them up north to Flagstaff. My DIL's grandma has some health issues so they celebrated Christmas at her Grandma's house in Chinle and we don't go quite that far (it's another 3 hours from Flagstaff). Plus her home and her parent's homes are not quite set up for large gatherings. With Disneyland being our big Christmas present for the adult people, it did feel weird that I didn't have many gifts under the tree. And even Rhea had just a couple. OK one of them was a massive princess castle and princess dolls, but usually we have quite the exchange. But my heart was full just being with everyone together...and discussing our next family trip. They're really pushing for Walt Disney World or even a Disney cruise in 2025/2026. I've never wanted to leave the US, but I also have a fear of missing out on memories with all of them, so I may have to get started on a passport... ugh.

Sorry that was so long... whew.

Oh and Disneyland is opening up for more Magic Key pass sales - so yep, I'm going to attempt to get two. I think one for hubby may be a waste, as we could just buy him a ticket if he decided to go with me, but he wants one too. He rarely will take any days off so I don't know if he will go enough to get the value, whereas, I believe I will go without him and the extra discounts and parking passes ($40/day) is what I'm after. Wish me luck next week that I'm able to get one.

Kelly - I can't believe you had yet another allergic reaction. Maybe compare the ingredients on the first allergy med to the next and see if there is a common ingredient that's not in the OTC version to see if that's what's triggering. How scary. I hope the OTC is helping. We had my daughter's cat here over the holiday and I had to take both Claritin and Zyrtec because of my allergies. They did vacuum and change the air filter to the HVAC/heater before they left. But maybe you can identify the culprit with a review of the ingredients. Your Christmas sounds lovely! I love having everyone together.

Sheesh - your family gatherings always sound like so much fun and lots of love and laughter. You'll catch up with your trainer soon and you'll be back where you want your weight.

Sarah - I am so sorry to hear of the travel challenges. I know you want to do more for your sister and I understand how challenging that can be (my sis is single/alone and 400 miles away - I can relate). Washing my hair in the sink....I might have invaded their shower. Be thankful you don't have the vertigo I have or you'd be in a world of dizziness. Happy you did get to spend time with her. I know she was happy you were there.

2024 goals... yeah I dunno what to set my sites on. Giving it some thought and hopefully I will have something next week.

Have an awesome weekend.

SarahMaxx

Hi everyone. I thought I'd post today, because who knows what tomorrow will bring. Today has already brought too much. But before I get into that, Lois, I do hope that respiratory infection has cleared. And isn't it great that we can telework and do other things remotely now. I'm sure we all remember the dilemma of "do I go in sick" or "do I stay home and worry about work not getting done and sick leave running out."

Well, first off, my class was cancelled for today due to no heat in our facility. And it's probably a good thing I was home because hubby went down to the laundry room in the basement after he got back from his early PT appointment and immediately yelled, "We have a real problem down here!!" The drain that was not draining well had stopped draining at all and we had lots of water and sewage backing up into the laundry room and spilling over into the finished part of the basement. So I dressed quickly and put on my duck boots and went down to help him move things and do as much as we could with the wet/dry vac.

You won't believe this, but I had planned to call my insurance company this week to add a rider for outside sewage pipes. But yesterday I did other things and just let this slip my mind. However, I doubt the coverage would have been in effect yet even if I had done it yesterday.

The bad thing is that it appears the pipes out in the yard have collapsed, as they are 50 years old and they are not PVC but rather cast iron, which errodes over time. And a worst thing is they will likely need to dig under the house, as well as in the yard, which means using a backhoe to dig up the basement floor.

And the very worst thing, is that they may also need to tear up our kitchen to get to some connection. If that happens, we do not have extra flooring (used that when the kitchen was remodeled 3 years ago) and we likely cannot match what is in the rest of the ground floor. So new floors throughout, a new floor in the basement rec room, and god knows what else. But I'm trying not to panic. I had saved some extra money, hoping for a river cruise late this year or early next year that I guess will end up being repair money instead. I think in1972 when our neighborhood was built the builders were riding high on the demand for housing in the DC suburbs and just did not do a very good job. They put up a lot of houses quickly. It's happening all around here including in multi-million dollar homes (and no--that's not the value of mine!)

So now I have something to worry about besides the mammogram. (See the dark humor here?) Honestly, it does feel like things always come in batches, and with the car accident and all the appliance repair, I thought we were in the clear for awhile.

Today, it's raining cats and dogs and we expect high winds later. Hubby just moved the car back in the driveway away from the pines in guest parking just in case some of these old white pines give up the ghost. Having the car flattened would just the cherry on top of the mud pie wouldn't it?

Sorry to just dump all this, but who knows what is happening in the days ahead. Hope you are all well and okay. I'm trying to tell myself that it's just our turn and that we will get through it.

Lastchancelj

Oh Sarah!!!! So so very sorry!!!! Fingers crossed all goes well for you...and no. The insurance would probably have a 30-90 day active claim loss from addition. So don't kick yourself for not adding that.

I popped on to wish you all a happy anniversary. I had a FB notification yesterday that I started the BB 1/8/2010!!!! That was when I jumped into the boards anyhow.

My respiratory infection appears to have cleared, but I'm running this stupid low-grade fever where I have the chills all day. No other real symptoms. SOMETIMES a scratchy throat but I also attribute that to possible cat dander left over from Ella Bella's visit and my allergies. My temp runs 97.3 when all is good. I'm now running 98.9ish - 90.2ish. To a person with a 98.6 that's not a fever, but for me - it is. Especially since COVID and when my MIL was living with us, hubby takes our temp often with the forehead scanner one. Especially when I say I'm cold, because I'm usually super hot. And it's always in the higher 98's when I feel that way. I've also checked it against the tempural one as well and they are matching. Not Covid...i've tested again.

Anyhow, just wanted to say Happy Anniversary...I'm not sure when you all started...but that was my first date with a hike using the BB and then I posted on the boards..