40+ Club- I'm Dreaming Of A Light Christmas

singfree

Good morning!

Well the concert weekend is FINALLY over. Four days in a row to Harrisburg is plenty for me. Tonight I have to go to Hershey for our regular rehearsal. We didn't even look at some of the Christmas music yet. It's going to be a busy 3 weeks until those concerts!

For those of you who were asking about the concerts on You Tube, sorry but there are none there. You can sample some of our music if you go to www.susquehannachorale.org. To find my mug shot, click on "recent photos" and scroll down to Christmas 2008. I am one of the soloists (the guy in the tux with mostly black hair the left). Not a great picture of me in action. especially with my reading glasses on. Click on "recordings". Some of the recordings can be highlighted and you can hear a sample of the recording. Under "about the chorale" you can find me listed in the tenor section. Enjoy!

Alf, please keep us posted about your hip. I know it's frustrating, but take it easy until the Doctor determines exactly what the problem is. You can do some upper body workouts and concentrate on shoulders, arms, back & core. Good luck!!

OK...back to the real business...keeping the weight off! Turkey Day is on Thursday. Watch your cals & carbs starting today because you know we will not be able to resist those goodies on Thursday. Drink plenty of water too!

Since Friday is the dreaded "black Friday" and everyone might be out at 4 am at K-Mart, :laugh: please feel free to report on Wednesday. I know that we will be busy with company on Thursday, then cleaning again for more company on Sunday. We are going to NYC on Saturday to see a dance program in Harlem. I'm not a big fan of modern dance, but it will be fun to see the bustle of shoppers and looking at some of the great decorated windows like Macy's. We are driving to central NJ and taking the train to Penn Station in NYC. I really hate driving in the city! I will report on Wednesday, but if I have time I will check in on Friday too.

Have a great day!

duffyzmom

Happy Monday All! It will be a crazy week here - kids are on limited schedule due to first trimester final exams - and we will be hitting 3 states in 3 days in order to keep all sides of family happy this Thanksgiving.

:flowerforyou: ALF sorry to hear about your injury - let me know what you hear from doctor. I will say that with most of my running injuries - time is the key to healing.

My goal for this dreaded week will be to get as much exercise as possible and make sure I'm drinking lots of water. I received my Eat to Live books -and will be reading and researching during the next month to see if the science behind it is sound.

Sing: Congrats on a successful concert weekend. I'm sure you are exhausted after all those trips to Harrisburg. At least it was snow free

zebras

Good morning all!

Alf: I'm so sorry to hear about yoru injury. My thoughts are with you!

mkwood10

Good morning all!

Alf..........I hope you get some answers and heal quickly - being hurt is SO frustrating!!! ((((((((HUGS))))))). :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:

Sing........sounds like your "busy" singing season is in full swing! I envy you; I can't carry a tune in a bucket, much less sing in front of people!:laugh:

Everyone else........hope your holidays are wonderful, stress free (a girl can hope, right??:laugh: ) and not filled with oveating!!!

Still at 129 this week. Had to buy a new scale on Saturday, the old one suddenly stopped displaying the top half of the numbers!!! Not good.....kinda hard to tell what it's supposed to say!!:laugh: So, bought a new inexpensive scale that measures tenths of each pound....wow! Also has a feature to track 2 people's weight for up to 10 weigh-ins. It'll be interesting to see how long it actually takes me to lose a full pound!! Took the dog on a looooooooooong walk yesterday and she loved it. She's 14 now, and definitely slowing down. I have to admit, it was nice not to get my arm jerked off all the time:laugh: :laugh:

Talking to the hubby almost every night-yeah!! He figured out how to send a text thru the internet so I know when he's made it into his office in the morning, which is 10 1/2 hours ahead of us. So, I can call him to end my day and start his........nice!!

Really should get some work done this morning:laugh: :laugh: Have a good day:flowerforyou:

alf1163

Thanks everyone!! I went to see the doctor. It is what I suspected, a hip flexor strain. She said to take it easy for at least a week and then start some gentle stretches and some light exercises. Continue icing for another day and gave me a 24hr anti inflamatory to take for 2 wks. She said I have to make sure I warm up and stretch properly before any exercise activity which I do most of the time. :noway: but I admit not always. It does not hurt as much anymore. I think I am doing some upper body weight trng today as you suggested Sing. I cannot take it anymore...:laugh: Maybe some core trng but I have to make sure I dont use my hip flexors? Hmmm What should I do?? I just cant see myself not doing anything at all....:grumble: :grumble: Suggestions??

MK, glad your husband is doing alright! Don't you just love the new technology? Glad you are able to talk to him and text him. Nice!!!

:flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:

singfree

Alf, now is the time to concentrate on those areas that don't require flexing the hip. I assume that it gives you pain mostly when raising your leg as in a deep running stride or jump? If so, do some of the Core Synerg. workout. Just stay away from anything that might re-injure your hip. Banana rolls, etc... keeps your legs together and should not cause any more problems. Some ab work (not let raises) might be ok too. Just try to isolate the area as much as possible. You can then alternate days of upper body and core. It's not cardio, but it is a good workout otherwise. Good luck!!!!

StiringWendel

Hi everybody!

alf, I'm happy to hear you went to the doctor. Please listen to her and don't rush a recovery. I've rushed a recovery in the past with my shoulder, and I paid for it big time (and am still paying for it as a matter of fact). The thing is, you won't gain weight if you watch what you eat. And as singfree said, you can focus on upper body right now. I know (if you are anything like me) that you will be restless not being able to work out, but it is better to take it easy for a couple of weeks than risk injuring yourself more and having to take a couple of months off. So my recommendations echo singfree's......focus on upper body, do core exercises that you don't put any strain your hip flexors (I'm thinking crunches and such will be okay, even weighted crunches) and just take care of yourself. You have my full sympathy because I hate not being able to workout, but, again, take it from somebody who didn't listen to a doctor's recommendation who, instead of being off' for six weeks, ended up having to take nearly half a year off from working out. That wasn't good.

singfree, happy to hear your performance went well. Thanks for the info on your group. I'm sure this is a busy season for you. Like mk, I couldn't sing myself out of a paper bag if I were really trying, so I admire anybody with that talent.

duffy, I listen to a Vegan podcast quite often, not because I'm a vegan (or even close to it), but because I find the information provided about different foods/nutrients to be fascinating, and actually have more to learn about veggies than I do meat products. Anyhow, today I was listening to a podcast, and the hostess got to talking quite a bit about Dr. Furhman and his books. I saw your question in the food/nutrition forum, and since I've not read the book 'Eat to Live', I don't have an answer for you there. But if his books are anything like these podcasts, I don't think I'd be able to follow his recommendations totally. But , again, if they are anything like these podcasts, I think I'd enjoy the useful information on various foods. I hope you post your impressions of his book here because I'd be curious whether you do find them useful, even if you don't implement his plan completely. I know I'm not interested in totally changing my eating habits, but I do like the information so I can incorporate more modest changes to my diet with some degree of intelligence.

mk, I'm happy to hear you are able to talk to your husband every day. It doesn't seem that long ago that being able to do that would have been impossible. Glad those days are over! I hope you are planning something special for your family for Thanksgiving.

I'm doing well. This is day 7 of back to clean eating. My weight is staying stable, but I feel better about what I'm doing. I'm feeling this last week of Insanity right now, and am looking forward to a little more of a 'sane' week next week. That being said, I can't wait to start the second month and the longer workouts. I'm also getting more used to doing P90X with resistance tubing and bands (did shoulders/arms this morning) and am beginning to feel like it is doing some good in getting my arms back in shape. I've got to wear another formal gown in a week, and I want my arms to look good for that. :happy:

I need some help, though. I'm really trying to focus on eating clean right now, and intend on doing that right through Thanksgiving. (We aren't going to be having a traditional Thanksgiving this year as our day is going to be dedicated to serving Thanksgiving dinner to airmen in Korea who are spending their Thanksgiving away from their families). But, I have a dinner to attend tomorrow night (about 12 people or so, so a somewhat intimate dinner) with some very high ranking people. Dessert will be served (by a server no doubt). I asked my husband if he thought it would be rude of me to turn the dessert down. He said 'no', but I'm not totally comfortable with that. What do you all recommend? Any feedback is appreciated. I know one dessert isn't going to hurt me (goodness knows I've had enough of them over the past month to know that!), but I also don't really want to eat a dessert tomorrow, so.....Help!! I'm leaning towards just eating the dessert right now.

I don't know when I'll check in this week. If my weight is good tomorrow, then maybe tomorrow. If not......I'll shoot for Friday. :bigsmile: No Black Friday shopping at K-Mart for me this year, but I do plan on seeing what shopping in Korea is all about. Should be fun!

Hope you all have a great Tuesday!

singfree

Good morning!

One day closer to Thankgiving. Did I mention that a Turkey dinner is my favorite holiday meal of the year? As long as I can eat in moderation I'll be fine. We will be eating mid-afternoon so I will not succumb to having 2 turkey dinners that day (1 hot & 1 cold). I am also planning to exercise in the morning, so that should help with the total calories. The next few days I will do Insanity and some strength training. I will take Sat. off since we are going to NYC...a lot of walking is planned for there.

Stiring, thanks for the updates. Since you've been a good girl now for 7 days and you won't be having a traditional T-Day dinner, go ahead and have dessert. You above all have earned it. Flex those guns in that gown and all the men will take notice. Don't mess with a 40+ lady!

MK, it's great that you can communicate regularly with your husband. It certainly help a lot. Case in point, Stiring is now only 7000 miles from PA. It still seems like she is just next door in CA!!! :laugh: Anyway, best wishes to you and your family as the holiday season approaches!

Have a wonderful day!

Swissmiss

stiring, will you be able to say "no" to the rest of the meal if you are going to eat that dessert? If you have a choice then just not have the dessert and eat only healthy for the rest of the meal.

sing, it sounds like you are planning on enjoying your Thangsgiving Day meal. Good idea to do some extra exercise to burn the calories.

I will be having turkey at my house with my three daughters and two of my husband's kids. Then we are driving two hours to see my son. And, of course, he is planning a large meal for us.

duffyzmom

Happy Tuesday!

Stiring: I vote for accepting the desert and having a bite or two. Right now that is my plan for the holidays. I will be miserable for Thanksgiving if I can't enjoy some of my favorite foods. Luckily for me desserts are not a favorite of mine - it is my mother-in-laws cornbread stuffing (a meal in itself). So my plan is to only take the items I really love and then only eat a small bit of it. Here's hoping it works:drinker:

ALF: Definitely take it easy and you'll be surprised at how quickly your back to normal.

MK: Glad to hear you are keeping in touch - I know that will make your husband's deployment more bearable.

As far as Eat to Live goes - I will definitely post a book review when I'm finished reading it. He recommends that you read the entire book before starting the plan and it is a pretty detailed science based read (not one of my favorite kinds of books ) I'm considering implementing his eating plans at the start of the year as there is no way I'm missing my honeybaked ham for Christmas (Sing's Turkey is my Ham). And Stiring I may search for that podcast.

alf1163

Hey guys, thank you for your words of encouragement. It really helps. I have been pretty bumped out about my injury but the smart thing to do is what you guys suggest, take it easy and heal. I have notified the two gym directors where I was supposed to teach Zumba about it yesterday. I have not heard from them yet. I am sure they will understand.

Stiring, at your dinner analyze the situation, you might be able to turn down dessert easier than you think. If you don't feel comfortable, I agree with Duffy, take one or two bites. You have been doing so well the past week, I would not worry about it. It is great you will be spending Thanksgiving with Airmen who alone during the Holidays. :drinker:

My strategy for Thursday?? I am planning on doing a good upper body workout, will rest until then. We are going to my sister in law's cousin's house. There will be a little bit or a lot of everything. Planning on eating a snack before we arrive so I dont eat appetizers. No drinking alcohol. I am planning on serving myself small portions of what seems to be good. If not good, I will not eat it. Dessert, craving pumpkin pie, so I will take a small slice. Also hoping it works out as well :drinker: :drinker:

Gotta get ready for work....talk to you later. :flowerforyou:

Texssippian

Hi all! I'm back from a trip to Mississippi to see family and be there for my mom's 79th birthday last Thursday. My father died a year ago today but I could not work out travel plans to be with the family today. I think everyone will be ok today.

My brother-in-law Mike (husband of my sister. Gretchen, who died unexpectedly last September) and his son Joe are doing well. Joe graduates from college on Dec 11 with a degree in information technology. He had a final interview for a job on Saturday and will start a real job in IT on Dec 14. Yea! Mike, my other sister, my mom and I went through Gretchen jewelry. Mike is starting to be able to go through Gretchen's things which is good.

I did major yard work in my mom's yard over the weekend and put in a large shade garden under a live oak tree in her front yard. About 6 hours work. Definitely aerobic and strength training work.

My brother-in-law Richie is home from his liver transplant in New Orleans in August. He looks really great and feels great. He and my sister and their 7 year old daughter are going to come out here to Texas in February to stay with us and see Cirque de Soliel which is my niece's favorite show.

Trying eat sensibly. Had to miss the trainer last night due to late meeting at work. (Told the trainer to work the hubs hard, which she did!) Will get home early tonight to meet with a contractor about repairing water damage from a leak in one of the bathrooms. Hopefully can go to water aerobics tonight.

Son flies in from grad school in San Francisco tomorrow. Daughter arrives from UT in Austin tomorrow. I'll cook Thanksgiving dinner. I usually don't eat too much because I am tired from all the cooking.

Alf: take care of yourself. Sing: keep those vocal cords well hydrated. MK: glad you are getting to communicate with your hubby. Stiring: keep taking care of yourself in Korea. To all, enjoy the holiday and appreciate all the blessings in your life, particularly the blessing of yourself and loving yourself enough to take care of yourself. TxMs

singfree

I am curious about something. Since many of us are from different parts of the country, what are some of the regional holiday meals where you live? The big holidays: Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, New Year's Day.

Thanksgiving: We are traditional with Turkey and the usual fixings

Christmas: Not always the same meal, but usually ham, turkey or roast beef.

New Year's Day: Here in eastern PA, since there are a lot German- PA Dutch people in the area, the traditional meal (for good luck & health) is a pork roast, mashed potatoes and sauerkraut. I only eat that combo once per year and it reminds me of Germany.

Tex, Duffy & Swiss: Have a wonderful holiday and I'm glad you checked in!

Hoosiermomma

Just a quick Hello to all and wishes for a Thanksgiving full of gratitude for the many blessings we enjoy! :happy:

Alf - glad you have your diagnosis. You are getting all the right advise from the Doc and here. I am sure you will be doing better all the time!

Tex So many things with-in the family to be Thankful for this Thanksgiving!!

I am heading out to do our Thanksgiving shopping. Having the married daughters changes things! This time we stay home with the sons-in-law not being able to take days off for travel to family in MI. I'm looking forward to it! Especially since we are getting together with one of the in-law families. The Pa-in-law happen to have hobbies of wine making and gourmet cooking. (Count them, 3 - THREE types of stuffing on the menu!!) I'm making the traditional items... green bean casserole, corn, etc. I did find what looks like a great recipe for twice baked sweet potatoes They even look heathy - made with egg whites and only a bit of brown sugar, oh and of course some butter!

Have committed to exercise before I go shop and of course laundry after that! OH.. yesterday went horseback riding! Pleasantly suprised to see the calorie value for that!

Have a great Thaksgiving all! (Address holiday food later- I'm Dutch so there are some interesting options!)

cardigirl

Hi all! Sorry I've been MIA, but I went home last week to Indiana to visit my brother and sisters and have been on a mad tear since I got back trying to get ready for Thanksgiving! Missed checking in her and seeing how everyone was doing.

I had a great time visiting family. It was the first visit back to Indiana after my mom passed away this spring, and everyone seems to be doing okay. I'm sure this first holiday without her will be strange, but we have good memories to pull us through.

Did just terrible about food while in Indiana. :embarassed: As soon as they picked me up at the airport, my sister and her husband drove to White Castle and of course, I had to have one. Sigh. The next day was Chik Fil A, and then on Friday I took everyone out to dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, The Iron Skillet, which is, as you can probably guess, a fried chicken restaurant. Whew. I did take oatmeal and some energy bars and bought fruit when I got there so I was eating healthy some of the time, but I tell you, it's darn hard. The good news is that I did FINALLY beat the 150 mark and the needle on the scale went below 150 for the first time in 15 years. :drinker:


I like reading everyone's plan for dealing with Thursday's excesses! Thanks for all the ideas and suggestions. Hopefully it will help us all keep from committing too much mayhem to our lifestyle changes! :flowerforyou:

singfree

Hoosier & Cardi: Have a great holiday!

Hoosier, I could make a meal with stuffing...I love it!

cardigirl

Hoosier & Cardi: Have a great holiday!

Hoosier, I could make a meal with stuffing...I love it!

Thanks, Sing! You too!

And I love stuffing also...so glad I only make it a couple of times a year.

mkwood10

Hoosier & Cardi: Have a great holiday!

Hoosier, I could make a meal with stuffing...I love it!

Thanks, Sing! You too!

And I love stuffing also...so glad I only make it a couple of times a year.

Stuffing's my favorite too - can't have Thanksgiving or Christmas without it!! :happy: :laugh:
In fact, in 2007 I drove to Texarkana to be with the hubby (who was at a school for 5 weeks). Both daughters spent Thanksgiving day with the youngest's boyfriend's family. The youngest made me write down my stuffing recipe (if that wasn't fun- who writes down the ingredients for an ancient recipe????:laugh: :laugh:) so she could make it, and ONLY called me twice while she was making it. Both daughters said it helped having "Mom's stuffing" in a house that wasn't home! They've both informed me that Mom's stuffing (and Mom's presence to make it) are mandatory forever, no matter who is hosting Thanksgiving!:laugh:

Making a single pumpkin pie tonight; since my oldest's boyfriend is coming for Thanksgiving, I figured I ought to make one! He better eat most of it so I'm not tempted!!:laugh:

Thanksgiving for us is always turkey, potatos/gravy, stuffing, corn, wheat rolls. Christmas Eve is usually baked potato soup with garlic bread before we open our family gifts. Christmas morning, blueberry or cinnamon muffins (or pancakes if I can con the hubby into making them). Christmas dinner is usually turkey and all the fixings, but I do remember making a big beef roast on a couple of occasions. We usually try to go out to the lake and hike around for a couple of hours after all that feasting.......burn off a tiny portion of what we've consumed!:laugh:

Happy Thanksgiving all..............

alf1163

All this talk about food is making me soooooooooooooooooooooo hungry!!!!!! :noway: :laugh:

First let me say that ever since my injury I have been focused on eating healthy and staying within my calorie requirements. Every time I think about splurging I think that I cannot make it up with exercise so I have been able to control myself. At work they still had leftover pumpkin cheesecake, pecan pie and pecan cookies in the kitchen and I really wanted some so bad but I told myself "NO, you will have something sweet on Thursday" and I ran out of there as fast as I could. :laugh: :laugh:

Growing up in Puerto Rico we did not eat some of the traditional American dishes but we do eat turkey and stuffing. The side dishes are mashed potatoes or potato salad, rice with pigeon peas (arroz con gandules) and a side salad, usually lettuce and tomatoes. :noway: You might also find additional meats such as roasted pork and a baked ham. Also pasteles, hard for me to explain what it is. :laugh: For dessert, pumpkin pie, a cake, flan (custard) and some coconut desserts. It is pretty much the same for Christmas, New Years and 3 Kings Day (Jan 6).

Have a great evening!! :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:

StiringWendel

Happy Thanksgiving Everybody!

It is the day before Thanksgiving for me now here in Korea. All this talk of stuffing has me craving it even though I just finished my oatmeal for breakfast. Like others, stuffing is my favorite. I'm actually going to try to skip it altogether this year. We'll see how that goes.

singfree, I grew up in Denver. There, the tradition for Thanksgiving was the usual turkey dinner. But I never found any other traditions for Christmas or New Years. People had their family traditions, but as far as the city itself went, there wasn't any consistent food tradition as far as I can tell. My family always did a buffet-type meal on Christmas Eve with our extended family and ate left-overs on Christmas day (we did this so nobody had to be cooking/working all Christmas day, which I loved). Our one Christmas food tradition (one I've continued into my marriage) was eggs benedict for Christmas breakfast. And we had no tradition for New Years at all (minus the neighbor forcing black eyed peas--the food, not the musical group --on me when I was very young).

I weighed 100.8 this morning! :drinker: So I've taken off two of the five pounds I gained through the move this week. That makes me feel better. Thanks to everybody for their recommendations on whether I should take dessert tonight or not. I'm going to read the room and see how I feel. Knowing that my weight is headed in the right direction AND I'm not having much of a Thanksgiving in terms of food, I'll probably just enjoy the dessert.

Welcome back, cardigirl!! Congrats on the weight loss. You have been working so hard, and that must feel so satisfying.

TxMs, I still can't believe the tragic year you had last year. I'm so happy to hear your family is doing well this year.

Hoosier, I love your photo!! I haven't been on a horse in years. I'm thinking I wouldn't be able to walk for three days if I tried to get on one now. :laugh: But I love horses!!

duffy, the podcast I listen to is called 'Vegetarian Food For Thought' by Colleen Patrick Gudreau. I found it on iTunes. I really enjoy her style. Many of her podcasts are focused more on the treatment of animals than on food, but I find those informative as well. She is very easy to listen to, so I highly recommend her if you are interested in learning more about being vegetarian or vegan and/or are interested in the treatment of animals as that relates to the food we eat.

Since I probably won't write again until Thanksgiving has come and gone, I really do have so much to be thankful for this year. And I especially want to thank all of you for your knowledge, support, encouragement, and, most importantly, your friendship throughout this year. It means so much to me. :flowerforyou:

Again, Happy Thanksgiving everybody!!