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Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom. Awesome! Moving. thought provoking. Sad. Joyous. An Extraordinary Man with an extraordinary life. A story beautifully told. How far we have come and how far we still must travel.
Its been a momentous week for me one way and another. I have decided to take a couple of days off work to give myself a proper rest after a difficult day on Wednesday I found that I couldn't continue on Thursday. Am looking after myself and will ensure that I am ready for Monday one way or another. Going for a ride in the morning.
PB xx0 -
Had a lovely ride on Harley this morning. It was raining first thing so the forest was soggy but we saw some deer - including a white deer on the field just opposite the yard. And there weren't too many about this morning just a few cars. The sun is now shining and its certainly not cold. Had a big breakfast and am now going to get some work done. Then I think I should go for a swim later this afternoon. Tonight I need to shape and paint my nails for the morning.
So now its ironing - whilst listening to the Archers Omnibus and a tidy round sort out the bins and tidy the bedrooms. (not necessarily in that order).0 -
Good luck for tomorrow PB x0
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PB - Hope your nails are looking good and good luck for tomorrow or today for me!!0
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PB, your interview will be over by the time you read this but I will have been sending good vibes to you. Also your ride sounds lovely- very envious as I have not now ridden for several weeks, even indoors, because of the weather.0
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Hi Ladies, hope everyone is well. PB please put us out of our suspense and tell us how it went!
I seem to be going through a bit of a slump at the moment, still within my calories and walking lots but have lost my mojo for anything else. I am not going to give myself a start date now for my exercise. I think I am pressuring myself and then I am dreading the given day approaching and hate myself when I then don't start. So.....I am going to take each day as it comes and not force the issue. I KNOW I will start it, but am just waiting for the exercise bug to bite me again! x x
Best wishes, BM x x0 -
Morning Crackers!
Bracken - sorry to hear of your troubles but I understand your feelings all too well. I'm so glad you mentioned lapsing, relapsing and collapsing as my 'Diet Trials' book has a definition;-
'A 'lapse' is a temporary slip up or straying off track from your weight loss plan. It could be overeating, or missing out on a regular exercise session.
A 'relapse' is when you feel so guilty, fed up or hopeless that you abandon your weight loss plan.
'Collapse' is when you feel so hopeless you give up totally.'
Having re-read that definition I would now define my eating habits over the Christmas period as a TOTAL collapse; as I TOTALLY gave up on my way of healthy eating and abandoned all exercise and felt TOTALLY hopeless and fed up!!
And of course like you said Bracken - my 2 weeks off track can not be corrected in 2 weeks on track! And I'm only too aware of every pound and inch I've gained. And yet I over indulged this weekend on crisps!! Something in the air BM?!! The crisps were on offer buy 1 get 1 free, family size of course and I put 4 packets in my trolley. I knew as I did this I was playing with fire and yet I reasoned with myself that I had struggled last week, as I didn't allow myself any treats at the weekend... That may have had an element of truth but if so I should have bought just 2. Overworked and over tired my husband and I ate all 4 packets.
So I'm aiming to STS this week and probably will only achieve that if one; I stick to my diet plan for the rest of the week and secondly because my husband dragged me on a 90 minute walk, of sheer torture in deep snow on the Sunday. At the time I wasn't grateful but I am now!!
One month after my parents arrived, I'm now very cross with myself when I think back to my own behaviour during their stay. I didn't deal with the situation well, instead I took what seemed the easy way out at the time and let my father dictate the meals and because my daughter was under the weather for one week, we didn't exercise and instead I let all my weaknesses; being frustrated, angry, fed up - 'allow' me to emotional eat and get stuck in to all the chocolates (mainly bought by me) that were sitting around everywhere to sooth me. Of course all that it did was fatten me up and now the hard work is in progress and it will take weeks to shift!
This is a lesson I need to remember for next Christmas.....
Right Jillian is awaiting me - she is calling my name! BM - my first session back with Jillian I was not in the mood and did not want to do it at all and yet once the music began and I started exercising I felt simply great afterwards. Don't be so hard on yourself, who says you have to do it everyday? Twice a week would make all the difference.
PB - we're all looking forward to hearing how the interview went!!
Oh Jillian is shouting!!!! Must go!0 -
Well hello Crackers! To put you out of your misery - I didn't get the job. To be honest it would have been nice but I don't think I'm in the right place for it and so I think I sabotaged myself subconsciously. So, now I must face up to going back to the GPs and perhaps being there for the rest of my working life. So I say my own GP this morning and he has kindly signed me off for a couple of weeks. The plan is to look after myself, get exercise eat well and plenty of fresh air. I'm doing OK so far. Have been for a swim and done my (healthy) shopping over the lunch period. After several nights of waking up at 2.00am I woke up at 4.00am this morning - to discover I have a sore throat - precursor me thinks to a cold. Bother!
MITM I so feel for you - its so hard to break away from the 'norms of family life' especially at Christmas when the expectation is that you will provide a feast that lasts for days and that you will join in the feasting rather than being the odd one out - families can really dictate - without meaning to of course. I know I have a similar problem when my parents arrive. The worst one over Christmas was when I came home from work to find lunch was pie with potatoes and veg (OK ish) - followed by apple batter - really not a good thing. I found I couldn't consider saying I didn't want anything because of the look of disappointment on Mum's face that I wasn't tucking in to her good food. Just impossible. Like you, I'm paying the price - but now its time to knuckle down.
Bracken - it must be very frustrating not to be able to ride at the moment - and its also a trial when you find you have a very unfit horse on your hands when the weather improves. Hopefully, a) the weather will improve in the next few weeks and b) you will be up for the challenge of getting both you and your horse fit again. At least you have the machinery to get some exercise in your own home but it must be a trial for Nelly too.
Bailey - yes that exercise bug will bite again - and fighting it won't make it come sooner. I'm discovering that for myself.
Feeling very tired this afternoon so hoping I will get a little bit of a snooze.
Thanks everyone for the good wishes and thoughts.
take care all
PB xx0 -
My condolences, PB, on the job but don't give up on a future change in the job area. I'm sure the break will do you good and allow you a bit of time to concentrate on your personal goals. You've started well with a swim.
MITM, your definitions of the lapse, relapse, and collapse are very apt. However, I don't think that you should label your Christmas situation as a collapse. I think a collapse needs to take place over a longer period of time and also involve a complete withdrawal from trying; in my previous collapses (and I have had them) I think I go into a kind of denial and numbness about dealing with my weight that results in putting on most of the weight lost. You had a nasty relapse, made more understandable by the season ands the stresses of family dynamics. PB put it very well in explaining how we so easily fall into the expectations of parents. I could certainly relate to you both. That is not to say it is just to be brushed aside but don't beat yourself up too much. A 90 minute hike through snow does not sound like the behaviour of someone who has given up! I do envy you being able to do such a demanding hike. I know the frustration of feeling the weight gain. I was thinking today about how fat I feel and yet I am far away from the heaviest I have ever been. I think some of it is that with this weather I seem to wear nothing but bulky layers of clothing. My house is quite old (for Canada) and drafty and could cost a small fortune to heat if I were not careful so I typically dress quite warmly inside. We are in another deep freeze, today lower than -20C. Yesterday I felt quite wretched with my stomach/GERD problem, so bad that I did not exercise at all. I can't figure out if it was food related (I have really been trying to increase and vary my vegs but a lot of them give me bad gas/bloat and I had eaten asparagus soup, butternut squash soup and spinach salad which may be the problem of too much of a good thing). However, I have also considered if my Jillian exercises were a contributing factor as I had done Jillian the day before. In any case, yesterday was a write-off for exercise but I did at least take the opportunity of an afternoon of substitute teaching. Today I managed better. I did 3 miles on the treadmill and did the Nordic track, both less jarring on the stomach. So as bad as it may be to have to do Jillian, it may be worse not to be able to do Jillian! On a different note. Today is Nellie's first birthday and yes, she was given some nice treats with a little cooked chicken in her kibble. I also drove to my vet's and got her some of the special rawhide chews that I think are better than the ones in the stores as they are not bleached or chemically treated. However, with the temperatures today even Nellie did not want to stay outside long.0 -
Thanks Bracken - I think you are right about the collapse. It is why I say I'm not on a diet - its a lifestyle change - and it will take a lifetime to change. I will always fall victim to comfort eating, the expectations of others, periods of poor focus when the rest of my life seems to take more of my concentration/focus than it should. If I didn't then I would be concerned that I was no longer engaged with the world - which is almost worse than the sense of panic we feel when we have a lapse - that we won't get back on track.
Whatever our troubles we can never truly understand what creates problems for others as we can never hope to walk a mile in their shoes. That goes for our joys too. So I'm not on a diet. I am on a healthy living programme and its for ever. When I lapse, relapse or collapse I know what I have to do to get back on track - all I have to do is have the will to do it.
the other day I was talking to someone who was admiring all I've done and saying its harder as you get older to lose weight. I've realised that's not true. What is harder is that as you get older your focus/concentration is divided in ever increasing ways - it is easy to sublimate your own needs in order to meet what you see as your obligations to family, friends, work etc - but in the end, you have to focus on what YOU need. And do what you can to stay on track.
Looking back at this track I'm wondering if it should be on the 'words of wisdom' thread - sorry!
By the way, Bracken - don't worry about the job - I believe in fate - the right thing will come along in its own good time!
So - I was awake from midnight tonight and finally gave up and got up at 6.10am. Bother - hopefully, this will get better as I get more exercise.
take care all
PB0 -
A short note today but must say how thoughtful your posting is, PB. Well worth reading more than once and reflecting on. Certainly could go on the Words of Wisdom thread!
BM, I see you could no longer resist doing some exercise!
I've spent the day dreading the phone would ring as there are two people in my family in the hospital in poor condition at the moment. My brother-in-law who many years ago suffered a debilitating stroke has blood clots in the leg and lungs. My sister-in-law is undergoing her second operation for her colon cancer, this operation expected to be about four hours.
Cold again so exercised on the treadmill for 3 miles and did a 1/2 session on the Nordic track.
Regards all.0 -
PB, so sorry regarding the job, but you are right. The old saying "what's for you won't pass you by" is very true.
Bracken, my thoughts and prayers are with you whilst you have the dreadful job of waiting for news of your family.
MITM, you struck such a chord with me when you wrote about "the Parent" situation. I am off home for three weeks and then my parents come over for almost a month in May. So I initially felt like "Oh well, that's seven weeks of gaining". But as you say, there are lessons to be learned and I am now not going to be resigned to gaining, but aim for maintaining.
I have found (I think) the reason for my lethargy. My gynae problems have kicked off again. Yesterday found me mostly horizontal with my legs elevated, as my blood loss was quite dramatic! (please, please excuse the frankness, I have no one else to discuss this with!). This is not supposed to happen at all, so it is off to the Doctors for another increase in medication. I did manage to walk the dog, but it was uncomfortable to say the least. Strangely, although it is quite painful I am at least happy I know the reason why I felt so dreadful! Always a silver lining
Take care all,
Love BM x x0 -
Hi Bailey - don't apologise - I for one totally understand. You cannot imagine how relieved I was to hit menopause. I know exactly what you mean about uncomfortable and remember being on edge constantly in case I 'leaked' in public. Horrid.
Bracken I'm so sorry to hear about your family worries - you don't do things by halves do you??? I hope you have had good news by the time you read this - but if not, know that we are here with you and want to support you. Big hugs.
Car went through its MOT and service without problems yesterday which was a relief. Still cost over £200 but not as bad as it could have been.
Have resolved that today is the first day that I will take hold of myself and clear up/tidy up and clean the house today. May not finish today as one of the jobs is to work through all of the 'papers' I have dumped in the spare bedroom and get rid of all the rubbish. I'm sure I don't need to keep half of it at all but I find it difficult to throw something straight in the bin unless it is obvious rubbish!
Over to exercise thread now for more...
PB xxx0 -
Hi all, a really awful few days for me, hope things will improve a bit now! Had to see the Gynae Doc as an emergency apt yesterday as felt so unwell from the excess I was bleeding and needed to stop it. (apologies again for the frankness!). I am now anaemic (quite badly apparently)so am on iron and will need to start B12 shots again. He also, quite casually, mentioned that the lump in my breast from November was benign (a cyst), but that as my breasts are fibrous it could not rule out a mass! I should be used to how blunt and ABC the Doctors are here, but it is still a shock. He also told me I must wear a talisman and have my medical history in my purse/handbag at all times with details of my haemophilia on. I now have to find a Haematologist I trust and won't need a mortgage for each time I have to visit. Between it all I came out of there reeling and feeling so much worse than when I went in! OH left work and came to meet me straight away, but it is a bit much to take in at the moment. (I couldn't help but smile when the Doc said I was on enough medication to stop an elephant bleeding but unfortunately it wasn't working. I was hoping he wasn't referring to my weight and size!).
I am now supposed to rest and take it easy until my bloods return to a normal level (for me). So it feels like I have a proper Doctors note to get out of gym class for a week or two! lol x I am however bursting to try my Darcy Bussel pilates DVD so may take the Doctors advice for this week and then see how I feel to start it next week.
I am sorry for the moaning, but it does feel a bit better to share this. I can't worry my children with it all, and don't really have a friend I would tell all this to over here. Thanks again for listening.
Hope you are all having a fab weekend. Love BM x x0 -
Hello BM - poor you - how horrible. Mind you it crosses my mind that some people in this country should hear your story as they would expect everything to happen for nothing - no worries about paying the bills. Perhaps they might realise how lucky they are.
You must feel permanently exhausted - I can't imagine how you do as well as you do with everything. well done. And its fine to talk frankly on here - we all understand and as you say sometimes its hard to talk to someone you don't feel so close to about these things - especially face to face.
Have just had a lovely ride on Harley - which was fab. The weather is going to close in big time as the day goes on so I think we've made the most of it. Mind you we put them in the field and as I drove home it started to rain - bother.
Had a rather spectacular little storm last night just as it was getting dark - very unexpected. Didn't last long but was impressive while it lasted and came with some rather strong winds meaning there were a few branches on the road this morning when I drove over to the yard.
Not sure where everyone else is at the moment - but hope you are all OK. I've had a couple of good nights sleep but last night didn't sleep too well. Need to make another appointment to see the GP tomorrow for next week. Not sure how I feel - the pressure has come off and I'm feeling better in myself but I don't feel right and I'm not convinced it would take long to take me back to the edge again. Its difficult as I'm fretting about work as well. I suppose if I'm not raring to get back then I'm probably not ready yet. Then again its coming up to the end of the year which is very important that I do quite a lot of extra work then and I'm not sure it will get done if I'm not there. Still lots to do here so need to get on with it will talk to you all again later!
Take care Crackers
PB x0 -
Hello all. Dreadful weather still continuing. I feel so housebound, Temps have been in the -30C's with the wind chill factor since Wednesday. Friday night there was a significant snowfall with the wind and cold and today it is snowing lightly again and temp is
-22C. There have been many road closings though not in my immediate area but 2 hours north of me, there were road closings and 400 people stranded in their vehicles who had to be rescued. it is very frustrating for the police who issue warnings for people to stay off the roads unless absolutely necessary. Nellie is feeling housebound too but in her short visits to the back yard she usually finds a couple of squirrels to bark at in the trees- fortunately no chance of her capturing them! My exercise has been restricted to the treadmill for the past few days- Thursday 3 miles, Friday 3 1/2 miles, Saturday felt sore, took a rest, today I've done 2 1/4 miles so should be able to finish the 3 miles at least. I have not been able to get to the city for hospital visiting but the sister-in-law came through her operation and now awaits the pathology report ( regrettably her colon cancer is stage 3) and the brother-in-law is stabilized but both are an ongoing worry of course. BM, what a lot of health issues you are dealing with. You never need to apologize for discussing them here. It is strange how differently menopause affects women. I had a relatively easy time. One of my sisters though has had uterine fibroids which created a lot of bleeding issues and then had a menopause similar to what you discuss. When she mentioned this to another sister, she was very breezy about sailing through menopause; needless to say my former sister was not very impressed.
PB, good to hear that with all that is going on with you, that you have managed to get in riding on Harley. It seems so long since I have ridden now ( since before Christmas) that I know no matter what exercise I do at home I will be sore when I start back! This is most unusual for me. I have always ridden in the winter and in the previous three years since I moved to the new stable, I had done Sunday schoolings very regularly through the winter.
I had my last tutoring session with the reluctant scholar on Thursday. He writes his final exam on Monday. The high schools here are semestered and courses run a half year at a time. I think his mother wants me to work with him for his final year course. One of the difficulties with semestering is that there can be such a time gap between courses that even good students do not retain all they need to know.
Tomorrow I have an appointment to have treatment on a Plantar's wart on the ball of my foot. It has been very painful and I hope something can be done for it. I am told it often takes numbers of treatments as incising the tissue on the bottom of the foot is not recommended because of painful and permanent scarring. I am thankful that it is not a dire medical issue but nevertheless painful and, I think, left alone it would affect the alignment of the foot. Well, enough moaning for the moment. Must try and finish the treadmill and then some reading- at the moment it is The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton, not the best book I've ever read. I can't remember how I acquired it but now I'm well into it, I'll try to finish it. I did really enjoy Road Ends which I mentioned earlier.0 -
Good Morning Ladies. Bracken, your weather is just crazy!! Brilliant you still use the treadmill though. I think I would just cozy up by the fire, have lots of soup and watch old films! Your commitment to "the cause" is fab. It sounds like Nellie and squirrels is another Harry with lizards, he almost caught one about 3 foot long on the beach yesterday, but I don't think he ever actually will catch one as they are so very quick. He is a coward really and will surely run if they turned around to him!
I hope both your in-laws are recovering and will receive good news. Such a worrying time for you. My thoughts and prayers are with you x x
PB, thanks to both you and Bracken for the kind words...... Sounds like you had a lovely ride on Harley, the storm you described was, I think, the one on the internet news. Amazing! Thankfully no fatalities. The world's weather is trying to send us a warning for sure. Please think again re going back to work too soon. If you are not ready (and I think you know you aren't yet) then it could mean it will make you unwell again. (I do speak from personal experience). x x
The good news from me is I am almost "back to normal" again. The bleeding is well under control and I was able to stroll around with the dog yesterday. Unfortunately, I am nowhere near menopause yet, my blood results indicate I am not even peri-menopausal. All this medication and IUD I have fitted are to try to control my seemingly never ending periods! I cannot have surgery as the Doctor thinks the risk of my Haemophilia and possible blood loss during and after surgery is too great. So it's just a waiting game.( In all honesty this past week is the worse I have been in such a long time it was hopefully a one off). So thanks again both for "listening" and the kind words.
I am going for a walk now before it gets too hot. We are coming to the end of Monsoon season now and already the temperatures are rising. I just hate it from here on in as it seems to become hotter daily! No complaints though as I will on the way to the UK in 3 weeks time Yay!!
Take care all, BM x x0 -
Well apologies Crackers for my absence - I am currently struggling to remain on the straight and narrow on a daily basis! Usual busy, busy, weekend with work and that's not going to let up anytime soon because I'm disappearing to England. The work load had the knock on effect of giving me backache again and even my hand was hurting. I also know I'm a mild sufferer from SAD and it has snowed and been grey since Friday, plus I've had tension headaches for days as my daughter continues to stress and worry me not helped, when my mother informed me my sister-in-law had contacted the school to find out if she's as unhappy there as she is at home...
All of these situations combined have led me to over eat... fortunately there's not a chocolate square to be found in the house!! However today it is sunny, actually looks just like my profile photo and I've been out for a walk with my friend this afternoon which has worked wonders, as has reading about everyone else's problems which put my own into perspective. I'm glad you're on the road to recovery once more BM, and that your in-laws came through their operations Bracken, and that PB you're horse riding and getting your house tidy. For me it is very important for my house to be in order for some reason!!!
In one of my sane moments, I have concluded I am not getting any younger with all these aches and pains. Funnily enough I have been reading of late a book all about perimenopause!! I have to continue working if only to pay for my daughter's bed and board so I have to find some stretching exercises to help. I know I have to exercise in general for my whole well being and I haven't done anything since last Thursday so I'm not helping myself in the least. And when I get to England I have to sort my daughter out. As I knew they would the school came back with a glowing academic report and that she is happy and content - her problems lie with my sister-in-law, her aunt who is simply mad!! My mother knows this, I know this and my daughter if she wants to stay (which she insists she does) has got to learn to play the game if she wants to continue living under her roof. The trouble is my daughter is not your average 15 year old, she is shy, serious, studious, and has led a very innocent, sheltered, religious upbringing and my sister-in-law can not bend her! I'm realising I've sent my daughter to live with a wolf dressed in sheep's clothing!
Anyway I feel all the better for getting that off my chest and now I'm going to attempt to be good for the rest of the week and hope for a small miracle and STS yet again!!
Be good Crackers!0 -
Hello Crackers. Well the theme here certainly seems to be struggle but at least we are all trying to engage in the struggle. MITM, I completely understand when you say about struggling on a daily basis. You clearly have lots of reasons to be under pressure, especially with the difficult sister-in-law causing stress with your daughter. Add to that a bit of SAD, something my Dr. has also mentioned to me as possibly an issue in the winter. Of course, she would readily give me medication should I ask for it but I am very reluctant to do so. I do take 2000 units of Vitamin D ( whether it does any good is debatable- it seems every day there is a news saying this or that vitamin is useless) but it has been recommended by the Dr. too. Sunshine certainly makes one feel better and your walk was probably as good a solution. It is however easy to skip exercise when one is not feeling energized. After my appointment at the Podiatrist, I did not exercise on Monday or Tuesday using the excuse of my sore foot; however, it had been sore before and I exercised so it was more likely just the lethargy of the season. However, today I got back in gear and did 3 1/2 miles on the treadmill and felt much better for it. It is still bitterly cold here, around -20C and lower, so I was only out to let Nellie in and out. But there was very bright sun, and even I had to admit that looking out the snow was brilliant. I've been trying to do some de-cluttering in my den. It is amazing how much paper accumulates. I've been reviewing some files I keep of bank statements, hydro and gas bills etc. and been trying to cull them. I'm also one who thinks an organized house makes me feel better able to cope. I have also gone through some previous Diet journals, looking for inspiration and insight before I dispose of them. How many accounts of ones dieting does one really want to have hanging around, especially when they are replete with admissions of serious deviations from proper eating! I do not frequently order products on-line but I'll use the excuse of the weather to say I've ordered a couple of books, and Season 4 of Downton Abbey (I do not get it on my tv and was surprise to see that it is already available). I also ordered a small blackboard/chalkboard for my kitchen that I came across. I have been wanting one and hadn't seen anything in the local stores. I also ordered a Pilates for beginners dvd. It was very inexpensive so that if it doesn't work well, I'm not out a lot but I thought it might have more stretching type exercise than Jillian and would be another tactic. I'll review it when it comes!
BM, I keep meaning to ask you what breed of dog, Harry, is. You may have mentioned earlier but I have forgotten if you did. What a world it is when you can tell me about your dog chasing 3 foot lizards and mine is bounding through 3 foot snow drifts. Hope you are not too hot!
Regards all.0 -
Evening/morning Crackers!
Well my little part of the world made it briefly onto English 'Sky News' Sunday night, we're like Somerset on the Austrian news, as we've had a months worth of snow in 3 days and they've had to call in the army! Villages were cut off, roads closed and trains not operating over the weekend as it was too dangerous. The schools are still shut which in Osttirol has happened on only 2 occasions in the 15 years I've lived out here. And there is yet more snow on the way and I'm suppose to be flying to England on Saturday but will I get to Salzburg which is a 3 hour car journey away.... I may lose weight this week just from stress!!!
BM - staying the same especially during the Chinese New Year, I think is a major achievement to be proud of! Personally I feel I deserve a medal for STS!
It's so gloomy here that to keep myself from diving into the biscuit tin, I too like you Bracken have been keeping myself busy and have taken on a major project. I have started stripping all the paint from the door frames on what was my mother-in-law's floor of our house. There are 7 doors in total. Now we are using the rooms on a daily basis I cannot ignore the state of the walls and the doors in the hallway any longer and as my workaholic husband has no spare time and I'm the one whose housebound I have started on the prepping. It's certainly time consuming and keeping my fingers occupied!
Hope everyone else is coping.0 -
Hi MITM - sounds like you are having a fairly horrible winter too - with Bracken. The last couple of days has actually been sunny and quite nice here in the East of England - however, I believe that the storms are back tonight and the poor people in Somerset are unlikely to get any relief any time soon.
well today I had my first decent days diet and exercise since I can't remember when and came in well under my target for the day. Ate well and properly - lovely roast chicken and salad for supper ( no bread) and a glass of water, followed by a weight watchers yoghurt (dessert recipe - really yummy). I also went swimming first thing then took Mum up to Aldeburgh as it was a nice day and we walked along the prom towards Thorpeness and back - although it was very windy on the way back so Mum got back in the car while I walked a little further. Then I came home and had a break before going for a massage. Last night was choir so off I went out again last night. Had a good rehearsal and was very pleased with the racket I was making especially in the Hummel which has some very high and tricky passages in the Gloria (and for that matter in the Agnus Dei and the Sanctus - actually it looks simple but its actually very tricky and I've been practicing hard at home).
I'm going in for a trial day at work on Thursday - can't say I'm looking forward to it.
Today I'm having lunch with a work colleague then going for a ride this afternoon. Hopefully it will stay reasonable until I get out there and back!
How is everyone else? its been a little quiet on here lately.
take care all
PB0 -
Argg! I had just spent 2o minutes here when inexplicably everything disappeared so I'm not sure how much I'll get back to tonight.
And I have been a bit quiet lately but hope to be a little more consistent as I always do better when I am consistently logging in.
PB, it is good to read that you have had a good day with the diet and exercise and are looking forward to a ride. You are certainly keeping active with everything including the choir and still making time for your Mom. I think some of my problem at the moment is that I am not able to get about as much as I should. I had a nice chat today with the stable owner who phoned to update me on my horse as again I haven't been out for awhile. He is doing fine and apparently is the only one who is not acting up because of this weather here. He is being ridden once a week or twice by a young woman who lives quite near the stable and who worked there in the summer when off from university. She is extremely nice and kind and would treats my horse very well (the stable owner asked me if I would like this woman to ride for me)but there is still apart of me that feels sad that I can't be the one riding. In line with MITM's plan of doing jobs while housebound, I have tried to do likewise. One job has left me with quite a sore back however. I have cork flooring in the kitchen/dining room and periodically it has to be conditioned. This involves cleaning on the hands and knees with a special cleaner and then conditioning with a wax like conditioner that also has to be put on the same way. I put on two coats of the conditioner because of Nellie and have now had quite a sore back for the past couple of days; however, I hope to get in some proper exercise tomorrow. MITM, I feel as if you and I are in a contest for the worst winter ever! Calling in the army certainly gives you some cred; we've have school closings this year too and have broken records for coldest days in Jan. and another storm is predicted for tomorrow; thankfully I don't have to travel anywhere. I do hope you are able to do your flight to England, MITM. I did manage yesterday to get out and get my hair cut ( it was over two weeks overdue) and I felt much better for getting it done. It made me think that if money were no object, I think I would have a hair stylist who would keep my hair perfectly in the style everyday, the way some of the television presenters on the news look- you never look at them and think, she is ready for a trim! May I suggest this as a
QOTW (we've not had one for awhile); what indulgence would you have if money were no object that would make you feel good everyday?0 -
That's easy for me Bracken - I'd have a swimming pool at home and swim every day! No problem with bad weather cos it will be indoors and it will be warm! Oh well I can dream.
Had a lovely ride in the end and then went to a quiz with a friend - we came last - I don't think I've ever done that - but the questions were tricky and my team members were all drunk - I was the designated driver- good way of avoiding drinking more than I should. still it was fun. A relaxing day today and then to work tomorrow. Hopefully it won't be too bad. The plan is to ride again early on Friday morning but it may be raining hard then.
I don't know what it is but I quite often come on here start writing a long post and then for no obvious reason it disappears completely mid sentence.
Had to laugh last night when I got home - Mum and Dad were ready for bed and Dad told me that Mum had put the cats to bed - they have beds in the kitchen - however, Bentley was standing staring at me from the living room. He obviously walks through closed doors - cats are clever like that!
Take care all and I hope you get to ride soon Bracken
PB0 -
No extra charge for the large dream, PB. Why not add a pool keeper to maintain it too. That has always been the drawback to pools for me. Well, the storm came as predicted and with it lots of snow making it difficult to get Nellie to the back yard. On top of that I had a very upset stomach today- reflux and irritable bowels on overdrive. However, I am wondering if I have found the cause. For the past two nights, I have had fresh asparagus as part of my dinner and I ate good portions as it is so healthy and low calorie. I haven't had it for awhile though so it is 'new' to my digestion. I looked it up on the internet and found that it is one of the foods to avoid if you have problems with gas/bloat. I was amazed to find that it is in the same veg family as leeks, garlic, and brussel sprouts, all of which bother me- garlic in particular is like poison. It is very frustrating as I like all these vegs and they are all so healthy. I'll try an introduce a little asparagus again but in very small amounts. The upshot has been that I have not been able to exercise today but at least feel that I know what went wrong.
One of the jobs I've ben doing while so housebound is going through some previous food logs, of which I have several. I'm getting rid of them but before I did so I went through because they often had little notes of daily happenings, particularly exercise and riding. So I made some notes. I should be a real journaler as I don't seem to have a great memory! The other thing I did was look at my eating notes and tried to see if there were any patterns, to see if I can learn anything to go forward better. One thing that is quickly obvious is the role of sweets. The logs show me that everyday I seem to have something sweet, even if it is a day when I am well within 1200 cals. The logged days are nearly always relatively good days; I have a bad habit of not logging at all if I go right off the rails! It has been good to see that I have long stretches of consistently. The gaps speak out even in their silence! ( I am well aware that a couple of bad days take more than a couple of good days to compensate for!). However, my plan is to focus on cutting added sugar from my diet as much as possible. It is becoming quite worrisome to me. Just yesterday there was an article in the Globe and a piece on tv about the excess sugar being a significant risk factor for heart disease. The recommendation is that one should keep added sugar in foods (not the natural sugar in fruits or veg) to no more than 20-25g per day. I know that a single serving of an ice cream that I've bought has 28g. in a half cup. Yikes! It is amazing how quickly the little bits add up too - 4 g. in some ketchup on my poached eggs, then another 4g. on the cod at dinner. Oh well, as Beck would say.
Must try and get Nellie again. Regards all.0 -
Evening Crackers
I've just finished work for the night. I'm having to put in the extra hours this week to get the orders done before I hopefully depart on Saturday for England. Hope your day back at work went okay PB?
Well Bracken, I was thinking about your question today whilst finishing off my doors (only stage 1; the stripping is now completed) and I decided upon my very own 'Jillian' as in personal trainer would be my indulgence! However I don't think I'd want her or him (!!) every day. But I imagine I might exercise more often if I had someone arriving on my doorstep to push me. Jillian and I have not met in over a week again! But I've done plenty of snow clearing instead....
Is LMV back tomorrow? That's a whole month doesn't time fly and yet I've lost next to nothing whilst LMV has been gone!!!! I shall need to get that new DVD for when I return ready for the next 'Shredders' challenge! I may not have the personal trainer but at least we have LMV to encourage us on!!!0 -
Hello all. A better day for me here finally in regards to exercise. I did 3 miles on the treadmill and made a start with my Pilates dvd. The exercises are very different from Jillian's which I think will be good for me because they will give me an alternative. The total workout is 51 minutes but can be divided into 2. I thought this was plenty to make some attempt at so I'll see how I feel tomorrow- perhaps it will take a few times before a really get a sense of how much it is working me. After yesterday's storm, the snowbanks on my street are so wide and high that I don't know where we are going to put any more snow- not to mention the mess it will all be once it starts melting. That will not happen soon as the next week is going to be very cold- tomorrow -30C with the wind chill factor.
MITM, I think I might trade in my fantasy indulgence for yours- yes, a great personal trainer would be the ticket. I hope you have finished your work without ending up totally exhausted and that you'll get off to England without incident. PB, I hope your return to work went ok. Checking in tonight, I see the return of LMV. Looking forward to hearing about Australia when you have had a chance to get over your jet lag. BM, good to see you are reporting your logging. Hope there is some relief from your recent health problems.
Regards.0 -
Hi All - well the day at work went OK. I was a bit anxious about it but I kept it low key- kept my phone on do not disturb and didn't engage in anything too controversial. I spent a lot of the day catching up with the team and going through nearly 400 emails that the girls had left in my inbox. They had dealt with quite a lot but as Julie said to me 'I didn't realise the weekly inbox was important' - so I have to do some trawling through those to see if there is anything of importance that I have missed. Two partners were in so they popped in to chat but the other two were on leave and I have a salaried GP on sick leave too - today is going to be a nightmare as she won't be in and there is no one to do the on call - they'll just have to share it. In the end I did almost a normal day - 9.30am - 4.30pm without a lunch break as such so it wasn't too bad. Am seeing GP tomorrow morning and going in on Mon/Tues/Thurs next week and probably the following week too - then we'll see how it goes from there!
Supposed to be riding this morning but its currently bucketing down so not sure what will happen. Need to text Maria and see.
Well done Bracken - although from your posts I think you do better on your exercise than you give yourself credit for! I think here in the UK we'd be delighted if there was a cold dry spell - the whole of Somerset now seems to be under water with no sign of an end to the rain. There are people in tears every night on the tv = watching their businesses slowly go to rack and ruin all because successive 'townie' governments haven't understood the need to dredge the *kitten* and rivers. There is just no where for the water to go. My friend in Bordeaux is also finding herself threatened by flood waters due to the storms.
Have woken up this morning with another head cold and sore throat - bother! I'm supposed to be doing an Evensong on Sunday afternoon in Ipswich.
Well hope all is well with the rest of the crackers - speak soon
PB0 -
Evening Crackers!
Well I may have been a little hard on myself, it's been just over a month since I started back on my way of healthy eating and I've lost 4 of the 6 pounds I gained over Christmas.
The good thing about stats (like you Bracken I have records of my weight, measurements and comments going back years!) I can actually see that I'm doing far better than this time last year, when it took me 2 months to get this far! Plus I've lost 2 inches from my waist, stomach and tummy button and an inch off my hips and thighs and that's with more snow clearing than Jillian!!
Not sure how I will do in England but I'm back in my tight cords that's a first since Christmas and I'm taking my pedometer. My plan is not to gain more than 2 pounds... I can but try! And then on my return it's back to serious business and Jillian, that's assuming I can get back in the door. This weather is relentless, we are due another metre of snow on Tuesday so the husband is up clearing the snow from the roof.... I will be thinking of you Bracken!
Well Crackers be good and I shall catch up on the 24th.0 -
MITM, it looks like you may not read this until your return but I'll say congrats anyway on doing so well in dealing with the Christmas gain but more so it is evident that you are making longer lasting changes. I'm glad you have at least got some benefit from the snow- those measurements are impressive. PB, glad you were are to survive your day back at work. There seems to be extreme weather in so many places. We have had news of England's flooding on tv and last weekend, I phoned a friend in Marlowe. She was telling me about the incessant rain and spoke of the damage it was doing. I continue virtually housebound with the cold. I managed to do 2 1/2 miles on the treadmill today though and did part of the Pilates tape- the exercises give me a whole different perspective of aspects of my lack of fitness! The miles on the treadmill count for nought in terms of the demands of these new moves. However, I am going to try to persist as I think they will improve both flexibility and strength and hope to intersperse them with my other efforts. I haven't given up on the Nordic track but I am really behind as the Olympics have now started! Regards all.0
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Hi all,
Apologies for being absent and short post.....
Bracken, have written a few lines to you on other circle post x
MITM, Sorry I missed wishing you a safe journey, but hope you have a wonderful time with your daughter .x
LMV, Hope the jet lag isn't getting you down! x
PB, hope all is well? x
Saffy, am thinking of you x
A short post as this is my first day upright since Saturday. I have had ? food poisoning (I think). We have narrowed it down to potatoes I had Saturday whilst out. I was assured they were vegetarian, but now believe they were cooked in animal fat. I have not had these same symptoms since eating "vegetarian" gravy an aunt had made in the pan she cooked the meat in!! All I can say is thank goodness our apartment is small and the bed is only yards away from the en-suite! Also, I would have never been able to fly if it had happened this time next week. Unbelievably I have not lost any weight. I have however been able to sip ice-cold milk since yesterday morning and that is full of sugar here so am blaming it on that!
Back off to bed now, will be up later to hopefully walk the dog, not too far though! lol x
Wishing you all a safe and happy week, BM x x
PS, from what I am hearing and seeing on TV I may need a water plane to land next week. Dreadful flooding! Hope you have all been spared the worse.0
This discussion has been closed.