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Hello Crackers. MITM, I so enjoyed your post. I have said before and will say again that these communications by fellow Crackers have given me so much pleasure and it does not matter when you or others post; it is completely understandable that work or family responsibilities can put posting on the back burner at times. I am also pleased if my posts are enjoyed which adds to the benefit that I get from doing them as it seems that keeping current here is a way to help me keep my focus on my health and weight struggles. It is particularly nice, MITM, that you have taken to Beck- the points you raised in your last post are great to have brought up. I'm trying to keep Beck as an aid and not just think I've read it again and can lay it aside. Your account of the donut incident rings so true to me- that being able to be set off, as you say, is such a baffling phenomenon but at least you are nipping it in the bud- yeah you! it is also interesting to me how much our weather patterns are similar. Today was 18C again but a change is coming tomorrow with -1C and possible flurries by the afternoon. Today I noticed a few little crocuses (croci ?) in bloom too, right against the foundation of the house- almost unheard of until recently. Also when I was walking Nellie I saw a robin sitting on a rooftop- he will get a rude awakening in the next few days. I also was at my stable today and heard the distinct sound of red-winged blackbirds, an early returning from the south bird but again not this early. I was able to take advantage of the warm weather to do a bike ride. The increase in exercise this week has made me feel better so I want to find some indoor exercises to do as it turns colder again. Take good care of yourselves all.0
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It has been warm enough (5C) today that I was able to take Nellie for two walks and did a short bike ride (only 20 minutes) but I can feel some unused muscles have been engaged.
This morning I saw a flock of tundra swans flying overhead, headed for the Arctic. It is amazing how far they travel. Tundra swans are white and easily distinguished from the Canada goose; they also have different sound which I could hear. On the ground, the little chipmunk was out today too.
I was pleased this morning to have lost between 1 1/2 and 2 pounds in the past week. I think the increased exercise is helping and hopefully the diet too.0 -
Last day of Feb already and the weather continues very mild. My brother dropped in today after school. He lives in the country and makes maple syrup as a hobby. He told me this unseasonably warm weather is not good for syrup production. What is needed are warm days, not 18C though, and very cool nights.
Nellie and I walked twice today- she is really liking this weather.
Thursday, both my book club and my writing group meet- one is in the afternoon and one in the evening. I prefer of course when they are on different days.
I have spent a lot of time recently revising one of my short stories. It is much different from the kind of stories I usually write since it ventures into the horror genre. It started as an exercise we did as part of our group meeting but I became interested in it and decided to try to polish it up. It is amazing how much time you can spent on a 2500 word story but I really enjoy trying to find just the right word or way of expressing my thoughts. At book club on Thursday, we will not discuss a book but a DVD- apparently this is because a lot of members go to Florida in Feb. when there is no meeting and want something easy to prepare for. Later in March, however, it will be back to serious reading with a classic- Wuthering Heights.0 -
Good Evening Crackers!
Well I'm still struggling... the scales dared to go up AGAIN when really they should have shown that pound last week when I stayed the same... Beck had to remind me AGAIN
'The more you focus on your mistakes, the worse you feel. The more you give yourself credit for all the great things you're doing, the better you feel, the more momentum you build and the easier it gets to continue doing well. Make a commitment to CREDIT.'
So as of the 1st March, new start and no chocolate in the house!
Congratulations Bracken on your weight loss, I'm so pleased for you and it is well deserved with the amount of exercise and effort you are putting in. Here the weather is changeable by the day, one day we walked in pouring rain, the next in glorious sunshine, followed by snow overnight... Today as I wasn't walking I made myself salsacise. Did you see that Bob Harper 'From the Biggest Loser' had a heart attack whilst working out at the gym? I read his Mother died from a heart condition.
I've been reading lots lately as I've had to read my daughter's EPQ - a mini dissertation which she has written on "What was the main reason for Oskar Schindler saving his Jewish workforce in comparison to Amon Goth murdering individuals." Hope your own, make believe horror went down well Bracken!
Be good Crackers!0 -
Slightly annoyed to realise I missed logging in yesterday and so have broken my 40 day run of log-ins. I'll blame the weather which has turned bitterly cold the past two days and now the ground is well covered with snow. More of the same expected tomorrow. I wonder where the robin is that I saw in my back yard on Tues/Wednesday.
The writing group went well. One of the members has extensive experience with website setups as part of her professional life; she is designing and setting up a site for the group on which to post writings. I did not really envision that when this started and I must say I am a bit nervous about putting my work out there. I originally thought that sharing writing with a group of like minded individuals was a good step if you were thinking of entering a writing contest. I find this a bit scary and feel there will be some pressure to routinely have something to update one's postings. Most of the other members do not seem to have these concerns or at least have not voiced them. The evening reading club went well. There was no meeting in Feb. as several people typically go to Florida. For the same reason, a book was not assigned. Instead we did a dvd, "Eye in the Sky" which I had previously not seen but am very glad now to have seen it. If you have not seen it, Helen Mirren plays a central role and does a terrific job. It is a bleak movie about the use of a drones on the fight against Al Shebab (sp?)in Kenya and raises all sorts of political and moral issues about the modern waging of war. The character development of the many different people involved was excellent and we had no problem discussing it for the two hours. Of course, it was very easy to relate to on-going events today.
Keep up your good fight, MITM. Your quote from Beck is a good one. I did see about Bob Harper. His death raised a lot of discussion. I heart about about his family genetics but also heard comments about risks from extreme exercise by which is meant truly extreme like doing iron man competitions. I am sure you daughter would have done a good job on her dissertation and reading it would be instructive.
Hope all Crackers are well. Regards.0 -
Afternoon Crackers!
Well Bracken I'm slightly confused as on my news feed you have logged in for 45 days and that was 13 hours ago so were you mistaken about breaking your run? And secondly you put that Bob Harper had died - I thought he just had a heart attack but was recovering?
Your writing group sounds rather interesting - why don't you write under a pseudonym to take off some of the pressure? Talking of books have you by any chance got 'The Four Day Win' in your extensive library of dieting books?! I'm tempted to buy it, to read during my 3 week potato free break in the UK!
Sadly I am still struggling... last night I could so easily have ate, just for the sheer sake of eating! However I stopped and went in search of some Beck inspiration and found this quote:-
'If you think, "It's okay to eat because I just need to feel better NOW," remind yourself:"While it may be true that I need to feel better, it's not true that I need to eat to feel better. There are other things I can do to help myself feel better that won't cause me to take in extra calories and gain weight. Besides, if I eat to feel better now, the only thing I'll be doing is signing myself up to feel badly later - when I feel guilty about what I've eaten, when I've reinforced bad habits, and when I've gained weight. Do something else that will help me feel better now and later."
So I made myself go and salsacise for 15 minutes and it did the trick - the moment passed and I felt better for the exercise...
This morning I got out my little book of measurements and weights over the years and discovered it's been a whole year since I last posted in it. That in itself tells me I must have been happy with my weight and measurements for the past year which maybe I've lost sight off. I am currently 2.2 pounds off my target weight and 1/2" larger all over but I'm no longer doing Jillian exercises or daily Rosemary salsacising. However in the past week I have done 3 sessions now of Rosemary and there really is no reason why I can't fit 15 minutes of her into my day so that is my aim for the next 10 days until I depart.
Be good Crackers!0 -
Hello Crackers. MITM, I am as confused as you about the 45 days. I was sure I had missed one.
Perhaps one is excused for a day after so many consecutive ones!! I definitely was wrong about Bob Harper- he is recovering but I might have confused it with his mother who died of heart disease as he commented on the genetics in his family.
It is possible to write under a pseudonym but we were told that it might make our writing less credible for publication should that (perhaps unlikely) condition arise. The other factor is that the other members are going with their names so I felt some pressure to do so too. I had thought of going by my first initial and middle name which might still be an option.
I have not heard of the Four Day Win but will definitely search out information on it.
MITM, your accounts of how you struggle and your coping strategies are really inspiring to me. The quote from Beck, as usual, is a good one and her arguments are so clear and logical that even if one ignores them at one time, I find they still worm their way into ones thinking and help at many others. The business about giving into an impulse or a craving being a tool for only reinforcing bad habits is something that has really stuck with me. I think exercise is one of the best coping strategies too.
I was really pleased on Monday to find I had dropped 3 pounds. The scale had been stuck for so long before these past two weeks that when I saw the drop I had trouble reading the scale!
That loss is very unusual for me in a week and is probably in part because I had 2 days of quite intense gastro distress when I ate much less than usual; however, the other five days required considerable diligence and compliance to my plans so I did work for that loss.0 -
Hello Crackers. I am finding the return to extreme cold here very frustrating. Temps of -14C with the winds which are very high. It is so cold I can only let Nellie out for about 20 minutes at a time. My brother was here for a nice visit this morning; he brought his chocolate Labrador
Retriever with him and Nellie had a bit of a romp outdoors with her. My brother and his family are flying to Arizona tomorrow morning as they will be on a school holiday, here known as March Break. They are off to see our sister there. So far there has not been much snow with this cold although squalls and significant snow has been forecast. I hope there is nothing overnight as they drive to Detroit in the morning to catch their plane, almost a 3 hour drive. As usual, I will worry about them!
One of my short pieces of writing is now on our group website and a second short piece has been sent to the woman who is so ably managing the site. I cannot believe the amount of time I spent revising and polishing those pieces but when it is put up for public display it makes one very self-critical. I have a third ready to send but the group decided to put two a month per person so I am happy to have one in hand.
Regards.0 -
Hello Ladies,a quick pop in from me as I landed last night and don't know which way is up yet! I am hoping to sit down later when I feel a bit more with it and catch up on the posts with a lovely cup of tea. I hope this post finds you all well xxx0
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BM, very glad to see that you have arrived safe and sound back 'home' and look forward to hearing about your trip home.
Well, I am sure I have now broken my 50 day log-in run as I definitely did not log-in yesterday although I tried. I was not home; in fact I had not been home since Monday morning (when I did log in) but was away until this afternoon. We have had such appalling weather, especially for March. Huge winds, low temps (-18C yesterday) and snow squalls. Yesterday major snow was predicted, influenced by the even worse weather in the Eastern US. The amount of snow could have been worse but I felt so dragged down by it all that I booked a room for Monday/ Tuesday in a hotel in the nearby city, just to get away (really only a few miles!!) Because it is a school break here and because I did this last minute, the hotel I wanted was fully booked so I had to settle for a less desirable one. Still it served the purpose and had a decent swimming pool. I don't swim but Monday my sister brought her youngest daughter who is an excellent competitive swimmer and she had a very good time so I was pleased to do that for her. Also I was able to take Nellie to the hotel which was a good trial. She has been to a boarding kennel but this was different of course. She did really well- her toilet behaviour is impeccable and she gave only a couple of barks so it is nice to know that if I wanted to take her further afield she should be fine. Still quite nasty today and predicted so until the weekend. The birds had eaten all the extra food I left for them so they, I suppose, were pleased to see my return.0 -
Good Evening Crackers!
Welcome back BM - hope you had a great trip. Bracken - so sorry to hear about the appalling weather you are experiencing, I did see it mentioned on the news and I was thinking of you and how you would be coping. I did not for a moment imagine you checking into a hotel - good for you!! Well sadly I have no time to linger as I'm off to the UK tomorrow and I really should be in bed as I have to get up in 4 hours time!! However I just wanted to let you know and I will be in touch.
Be good Crackers!0 -
The weather here is still up and down though not as bad as last week- at least no snow. But last night and today are very cold again and an extreme cold alert was issued. It is very sunny today which is some consolation and since the weekend, I have heard a lot of birdsong, especially in the morning when I first let Nellie out. That is one of the great joys of spring to me after the dreadful silence of winter.
Tomorrow evening I have my book club meeting. We are doing Wuthering Heights. I still have my university copy complete with some notations and some excellent critical commentaries included. I was amazed at how much I had forgotten the novel and have enjoyed reading it again.However, it was quite slow going especially with the sections written in dialect. It is really a remarkable book and amazing to me that the author could have written such an intricate and original book given her constricted life at Haworth. I feel I have not really done it justice with just one reading but am looking forward to our group's discussion.
BM, I hope you have recovered from your recent trip- such a long journey.0 -
Thank you both for the welcome home, much appreciated. My apologies for being absent, I have had the obligatory chest infection, plus I had to have a minor op on Wednesday which as is usual for me a bit more of a problem than it appeared it initially would be due to my bleeding excessively. To cap it all, I landed, had two days with my lovely OH and he had to fly to Norway. So he is not here to help me out with changing dressings etc so I am having to take two taxis Everyday to the GP's for dressing change.
Anyhow.... enough of my troubles. Bracken, I thought your idea of checking into a hotel was wonderful and so lovely you could take Nellie too! I sincerely hope your weather is kinder to you both from now on xx You have reminded me of when we had lived here a while and our first apartment had no bath in either bathroom. I really enjoy a soak in the bath with a good book and missed it so much I checked us into a hotel for a couple of nights and had 5 wonderful baths there
MITM hope you're having a great time with your family in the U.K. Safe return journey to you xx
I am going to get myself ready now for the quite painful journey to the GP so will wish you a happy weekend both, wherever you are and whatever you are doing!
Take care, BM xx0 -
Hello Crackers. BM, I hope you are now well on the road to recovery. You do have such struggles with your health and it must be difficult being in another land and your husband having to fly away to business. That says to me that you are really very brave.
Yesterday after such a long winter layoff, I finally got back on my horse! He was wonderfully well behaved. I did mainly walking and a small trot but it is a start. He is in quite good shape from the young girl at the stable riding him. I've said that I am reluctant to have someone else riding him but I've been able to observe and she seems very considerate about not overworking him. This is usually an issue with young riders I have seen before. She has also not mentioned jumping him which is good as I am not keen to have him jumped. I just hope she easily realises that as I am able to do more, she will not be able to ride him as much as she has been doing. However, she/her family have not paid for anything (and boarding a horse
is very expensive) so it is not like this was a shared board situation and I'll definitely let her ride when I cannot.
A milder dull day here so I must try and get some jobs done, either indoors or outdoors.0 -
Evening Crackers!
Yay! This trip to the UK I am able to log into my account on my Father's tablet which on previous visits, for whatever reason it wouldn't allow me but there's no way I'm able to type on that mini screen! However the daughter is giving me 5 minutes on her laptop!
BM I too hope that you are on a speedy road to recovery and that OH returns soon. Bracken how lovely to hear that you have been back on your horse.
Well I'm all over the show here eating things I would not dream of scoffing at home! I ate so many hot cross buns which I absolutely love during my first week.... Fortunately we don't have them in Austria nor do we have 25g packets of crisps in a bargain 14 packet bag. Thank goodness! I'm safest with one family size bag 175g, shared with my husband equally once a week. I'm not safe with 14 individual bag lurking in the store cupboard I cannot be trusted!
Anyway been there, done that and not buying anymore of either. Had a major wobble, went up at one point to 9.11 - heaviest weight in a year, came to my senses again and have been sensible ever since. I'm currently giving advice to the daughter to stop stressing about her all important A-level exams in 11 weeks time and concentrate on the mocks this week first. So I'm now telling myself to stop panicking about Easter fast approaching (and chocolate!) and just get through the next 12 days in the UK first!
On a positive note I'm walking LOTS - pounding the city streets, to shop for groceries daily, not a mountain in sight but since it's 23 degrees at the moment at home and muck spreading season, just as well!
Be good Crackers!0 -
Hello Crackers. Enjoyed your UK post MITM and hope the rest of your trip has gone well. Your hot cross buns anecdote reminds me of helping my grandmother make them so many years ago. I don't think I have had them since the ones of my grandmother. I remember liking them
though they were not a favourite food. It's funny how different foods appeal to different people. I do remember that they were very good when just out of the oven and still warm.
Our weather continues to be up and down and so I have tried to use the good days to get some yard work done. Monday was very nice and I worked for many hours in the yard, raking
leaves and picking up twigs and branches- so many pieces from all the high winds. Tuesday it poured rain so no garden work but today was quite nice so again more raking and picking up.
Yesterday I took advantage of the bad weather to get some other jobs done- I went to the water garden store to pick up some rubber cement to do a bit of patch work on the pond. As I was also near a large garden centre, I stopped in. There was not much in the way of plants yet but there were pots of beautiful pansies. I like them so much as they are our earliest flowers for pots. So I have bought one all ready planted bowl of mixed colours for my front door steps and several packs to be planted. That was partly what I did today so now I have several pots of pansies. I like to get them early as they do better here when it is cooler. I also have a lot of stiff muscles from this work!
Sunday I was at the stable and was told the most shocking news which I had not heard as I do not always listen to the local station. There was a terrible barn fire on Thursday at the stable of a family with whom I am well acquainted. (The riding community here is small enough that
everyone involved with horses pretty well knows or knows of everyone else.) The fire was at 3 a.m during a violent thunderstorm and it sounds as if lightening may have been the cause.
Five horses perished in the fire, despite the valiant attempt of the husband to go into the smoky stable. He was able to open the doors of the stalls but the horses were too terrified to leave; he could not get out the way he came in and suffered injury making a narrow escape. His wife was able to rescue one horse before smoke got to one end of the stable. It was heart breaking to hear about. Fire has always been something that haunts me especially as when I was a child (about 9) my family suffered a barn fire in which we lost cows and pigs. To make things worse, I was told that the family whose stable burned have had some postings on Facebook claiming they probably started the fire for insurance purposes. Can you imagine how cruel that is to have to read. It is very hard in such circumstances to know what to say but I did write a card of condolence.0 -
Oh Bracken, this is heartbreaking. my thoughts and prayers are with you and that poor, poor family. I say "shame on you" to the horrible, despicable, evil people who are writing such deplorable things. I despise Facebook/twitter etc and think the world is a poorer, sadder place for them. They seems to cause far more problems than is worth it. I hope the husbands injuries heal soon, he sounds a dedicated, loving person to put his own life on the line for his horses. An absolutely heartbreaking event for all concerned.
I apologise for my absence, my wound is taking longer than anticipated to heal. apart from that my eldest son and 7 year old Grandson are with us for a 2 week holiday. so that is keeping us very busy!
MITM, I am always reminded at Easter of the wonderful wreathe you hang on your door. I have searched John Lewis avidly since seeing yours, but have never seen one as nice.
If I don't have time before Easter I wish you both a happy time with family and pets. It"s not particularly celebrated here, but I do keep to it's traditions in our house.
Take care, BM xxx0 -
Just a quick pop-in but nice to hear from you, BM, but sorry your recovery is taking longer than expected. how lovely it must be to have your son and grandson. I hope you enjoy every minute of it. I can not remember the wreath of MITM that is referred to but would be interested to have it described.
Very unseasonably mild here all of a sudden so am hustling to get more gardening jobs done as rain also comes with this mild weather. I am very sore this pm as today I tackled the dreaded pond cleaning! Thankfully I was able to complete the worst part- pumped out the pond, raked out the many sodden leaves in it, and hosed it down so it is basically clean. Now i must wait for a couple of consecutive sunny days as it needs some touch up work with the rubber cement product. The warm weather has brought along some cheery daffodils and narcissus and the tips of many hostas are poking through along with a couple of my woodland
plants, the may apples and the bloodroot.0 -
To all Crackers wherever you may be, my good wishes are sent to you for a Happy Easter.0
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Good Evening Crackers - I'm back!
Well this time last week I spent the night in London with my Mother as it was my birthday. We were staying opposite the Shard, across on the other side of the river - fantastic view of it and the weather was brilliant. Went to the theater to see 'Stepping Out' (which the film was based on) which was excellent and then the following morning we visited Kensington Palace to see the Princess Diana exhibition on her dresses which were stunning. Up close (behind glass) they were so small and dainty, not in height obviously! And the 'white' garden planted specially this year as it's 20 years ago she died was simply beautiful. We also spotted the Duke of Kent coming out of the Palace, totally alone, who no one recognized except my Mother and me! Needless to say I ate total rubbish from start to finish and I'm just grateful it was only a 1.4 pound gain this week but fortunately we shopped until we dropped so did over 20,000 steps each day.
Arrived back in Austria with the daughter on Monday. Although the husband picked us up at the airport because of our luggage (daughter had all her college books for revision), as we were in Salzburg he wanted to take the opportunity to get a new coffee machine as ours had died during my absence, I have been praying for this day! But when you have been up since 3am... so we still didn't get home until very late. However we eventually found one that made coffee as the husband wanted with whole coffee beans and as it cost an arm and a leg, it will be our 28th wedding anniversary gift to ourselves (which is tomorrow), he gets good coffee and I get to look at something that is pleasing to the eye as the old one was a huge, commercial machine, bright red which did not fit in with the kitchen colour scheme and was so ugly - 18 years living here I have put up with it!
I haven't had time to post as it has taken me 4 days to clean the house from top to bottom and tidy my front garden. The husband whilst I was away cleared the basement floor and dug over the vegetable plot and started planting up but just closed his eyes very tightly to the inch of dust and cobwebs gathering everywhere inside of the house - men!
I've now a house full of Austrian family and having not had chocolate in almost 40 days - I feel quite ill! I made my birthday cake belatedly, dark chocolate and smothered it in little chocolate eggs and may now never be able to face another chocolate egg again!! Next weigh in will not be fun however it is Easter! BM - like most things in my life, my Easter wreath (Bracken - in my profile photo!) is 18 years old and I've never seen another since. I have a tree a metre high, made of the same coloured eggs clustered which I bought at the same time, standing in the hallway.
Frightful news about the stable Bracken - it seems to be the latest thing you can post the most horrible comments online. What is the matter with people? BM - how lovely for you to have family staying, I hope it helps speed up your recovery. Well ladies I will wish you both a peaceful and happy Easter.
Be good! Any progress?
P.S. I had a lovely birthday text message from LMV she has been in Australia for 6 weeks and hopes to join us again soon to shift her excess baggage!0 -
What a lovely newsy post, MITM, and so nice so much good news. You certainly are in line for congrats- belated wishes for your birthday and congrats on the wedding anniversary. Your 28 years is a formidable achievement, especially in this day. To top it off you have done really well with the weight maintenance.Your time in England sounds lovely, especially the Diana exhibition.I have looked at the wreath; it really is unique.Like you, if I find something I really like for decor I am quite happy to keep it indefinitely.
I feel as if I have been doing nothing but gardening/yard work for the past month which is not quite true though I have been very constantly in the garden. The good part is that I am early getting a lot of the jobs done. I have cleaned out my pond early as usually the lilies of the valley which are around the edges are well leafed when I do it. This year they have barely poked through. I had a tremendous amount of twigs and small branches to pick up because of the wind storms and a lot of leaves despite all the raking I did in the fall .I've top dressed a lot of the lawn and overseeded it too. In addition,the new fence at the rear of the garden had required the removal of two trees that had grown into the fence line; now that area gets more sun so I have had to dig up a number of hostas and relocate them. I've moved some iris to their spots Every job seems to require bending, lifting, and/or digging and my back has been quite sore. But I like working in the temps of 14C and every day there is something new coming along. The crocus are finished but I have some beautiful daffodils and hyacinths this year. Also my woodland flowers are appearing. The bloodroot has a delicate white flower; it doesn't last long but it is the leaves that are the main attraction.Today a nice patch of May apple shot up several inches ( we also call them the umbrella plants) Tomorrow there will be a pickup of yardwaste (leaves, twigs etc.); it is only once per month so I wanted to get as much as possible set out as my garage has been full of bagged materials.
My brother hosted Easter celebrations at his farm on the weekend. There were over twenty of us. And of course a lot of good food. I made lemon tarts from scratch (well I cheated with the shells which I bought prepared) but the lemon filling was somewhat fussy to make (the recipe included a dire warning about folding in the six egg yolks properly to avoid them scrambling) The tarts turned out really well. My brother did an egg hunt for the 'children' who ranged from 2 to 30! My nieces and nephews seemed to enjoy it just as much as when they were really young. Some of the prizes have changed though- now there were gift cards to the local coffee shop and beer store along withe the chocolate. Nellie had her first jump in the pond for the spring which meant a very thorough wash when we got home.
Has anyone seen the movie, Brooklyn, which came out last year? I took it out of the library. The story basically revolves around a young woman who leaves her family and friends in Ireland in search of a more adventuresome life in Brooklyn, New York. It was billed as a romance which it certainly is in part but I found it had a bittersweet air to it when you considered the bigger picture of her life and the choices she had to make and what she had to give up to leave. I wondered if I would have viewed it differently had I seen it when younger. In any case, the acting all round was superb I thought.
Finally, It is very nice to hear of LMV and I shall look forward to her return here. Regards all.
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Afternoon Crackers!
Well Bracken your Easter sounded an absolute delight - I only wished I could say the same of mine! We had half the number you had but maybe the difference is because our guests were staying for the weekend in our home.....
I have been reading 'The 4 day Win' by Martha Beck in a lot of ways her message is the same as Judith Beck; losing weight is not about willpower or depriving yourself of the foods you enjoy, instead the key is in learning how to adjust your behaviour patterns and the way you think about food.
Well after the long, 4 day Easter break, in cold (we had fresh snow on the mountain tops last night), rainy, miserable weather, I realised after our guests had departed I had spent it in what she describes as the 'Rat-trap'. 'The times you gain the most weight are the times you feel trapped and joy-deprived.' I can easily identify as she advises, the specific people, situations and activities that push me towards food as a mood-lifter. However this Tuesday finds me safely back in my 'Rat-park' door firmly bolted as my husband's family have departed.
Last night on an evening walk in the drizzle with the husband, I fully dissected from start to finish, what was for me a disastrous eating weekend and laid out to the husband, how in future we would be doing things differently. Luckily we were on the same page. What with my birthday cake and this weekend, I have ate my body weight in sugar this past week and boy am I regretting it. I actually feel worse than I look! However I feel 100 times better for just stepping on the scales and logging in my weight and being accountable. I am 4 pounds over my target weight and the heaviest I've been in a year, so it's now time to stop the bad habits which are beginning to creep into my everyday life and move on again.
Your garden Bracken I'm sure is lovely and you have been working hard. We are far behind compared to the UK but I do have daffodils and tulips out and thankfully the hillsides are no longer brown but turning greener daily. Well I must get on with my mountain high of ironing - bedding from our guests, I am returning to the UK again on Friday but with a quick turn around, coming back on Monday and I want my house in total order before I leave!! I also need to pack away the Easter decorations - so goodbye wreath for another year.
Be good Crackers!
P.S. I know of the film you mentioned and it's on my wish list to see - I'm interested to know how I will react!
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I feel as if I am not getting here as much as I would like the moment and do apologise. This too will be briefer than I would like. I have been very busy lately with both my writers' group and book club. The book club has had extra meetings this month and last but tomorrow's meeting is the last until September so that will be a welcome break. However, it is not quite the last meeting as in May there is no book but a pot luck dinner. I would so like to skip it but there is some pressure to attend and I am too much of a people pleaser so-called. I also have 120 pages yet to read for tomorrow night's meeting! The writer's group met today.The garden has also taken a lot of time but I have so many lovely flowers this year that I really like to be there. For some reason, there are quite a lot of tulips although I have not planted any for several years because they often did not flower but just produced great flat leaves ( lack of light!). However, now both at the front and back of the house, there are some lovely ones, some already out (yellow and orange with yellow) and others in full bud, including a lovely cluster of ten that are showing a peachy pink. So I'll say more of the garden later and just add that the other thing that has taken a lot of time recently has been preparing my taxes for the April 30 deadline. They are ready to be mailed tomorrow so that is a great relief. I do feel some satisfaction that I am able to do them myself although they are not complicated really as I am not running a business and do not have complicated finances with complicated investment reportings.
MITM, I read and enjoyed your recent post which merits more response than i can give at the moment.
Regards.0 -
Hooray, Hooray Hooray!!! I am finally able to be back here! I have been having dreadful problems with logging on. I read both your Easter emails a while ago, wrote a little bit about my part of the world and next thing I knew I was on the "this food diary is private" page! It would not let me log back in although I knew for sure I was using the correct details. I tried all my technical things (phone, iPad etc) but they all did the same. One morning on trying yet again (hoping it had fixed itself overnight!) i tried and it told me I had an 18 day streak lol, if only......I also managed to get in somehow for 5 minutes a couple of times then it was back to pear shaped. OH finally took my laptop to work yesterday and they did something to it. He said it had needed cleaning, and cookies sorting. Absolutely no idea what it all means but it works. My Netflix also has a lot more content than previously so I am a happy bunny today.
It was lovely to read the Easter emails, my son and Grandson went home on the Monday after Easter Sunday so it was quite sad here but I had a plan.......
I joined Slimming World online (I was so unhappy and quite desperate with my weight). I joined as my Daughter who is quite petite had recently lost over a stone with them, her last bit of post baby weight, and although she took it slowly she said it was working well for her. So I joined and the first week lost almost 6lb. OH who is a bit of hostage in this as he has no choice lost 3.7lb. We were both so sceptical starting and I'm still not too sure but it does seem to be working. Ironically I am eating more portion wise than I ever have and have not been hungry once but still managed to lose weight. It is built around Syns. these are calorie laden food/ drinks of which you are allowed between 5-15 daily (each food having different Syn values etc). Fruit, vegetables and pulses etc are all "free" foods of which you can just eat any given amount of (within reason!). I genuinely find I am reaching for fruit now when peckish instead of my usual things, it is so lovely being able to eat fruit again! Every diet I have ever been on has limited it. Only time will tell, but I am enjoying it at the moment so hopefully it will continue to work. I'll close now because if I lose this mail there will be a tantrum again! lol xx
Hope you're both keeping OK, it will be lovely to hear from LMV again. Take care,
BM xx0 -
Good Morning Crackers!
Well I'm delighted to say that TODAY is actually looking like my profile picture (which the daughter took the day before leaving Austria) after yet more snow on the mountains, over the May day bank holiday weekend.... I'm pleased Bracken your garden is giving you pleasure, the weather has played havoc with mine this year.
BM - delighted to see you back and whoopee what a brilliant start to your Slimming World diet - don't knock it if it works and you're happy I say! Friends I know who have followed the principles have been very successful - until they come off it.... Which brings me neatly to my next point!
Horror of horrors last Monday traveling back from the UK, I found myself walking the food aisles of a supermarket in Salzburg, hunting for junk food. Something I haven't done in over 12 months now. All my previous journeys last year I have made the effort to choose healthily and drink lots of water and I have survived. Not this time it was like I wiped my memory cells of everything I have learned from Beck and I just did the complete opposite as I ate one biscuit after another and they were horrible!!
April this year for me has been a dieting disaster from start to finish. However it is now May! After my weekend home when I found myself once more just opening my jaws to whatever was put in front of me as I was thinking along the lines of what is a one more weekend... but I did have a nasty wake up call when I caught sight of myself in my Mother's floor to ceiling mirror and could see the gained pounds! I know it's only pounds not stones but when you have finally got use to seeing yourself a certain way it's quite a shock when you no longer look as you thought!
But that got me thinking as I sat on the railway platform, munching my packet of biscuits how come I was happy to prance around in a bikini one summer this same weight? Then it dawned on me that although I still without fail step on the scales each morning monitoring my weight when was the last time I got my tape measure out? I use to measure myself monthly and record it in my little book - well my tape measure has not been seen this year. So I was brave and got it out after I weighed in the day after returning and surprise, surprise NOT along with my 5 pounds of chocolate baggage, I am currently 2 inches bigger all over. I might walk daily but this winter/spring I have given up any other form of exercise. So I am now back salsacising daily and this week I'm going to start doing my Jorge 8 minute exercises as I know both work wonders for me.
I treated myself to the new Amelia Freer 'Nourish and Glow: The 10 Day Plan' it's more of a feel good book and guide to healthy eating than a weight loss book and her thinking fits in well with Becks. On flexing your willpower muscle and saying no to yourself or others when being offered something you don't really want, she says and I quote 'It wasn't a 'worth it' moment to go off-piste with your food choices (as it might be for your own birthday cake or a special pudding at your favourite restaurant).' And that really sums up my month as I use to be so good at thinking this way, I would indulge in treats but only on my terms when it was a 'worth it' moment but this month I have let everyone and myself sabotage my way of eating but I have at least learned from the experience along with realising giving up chocolate for Lent was not sensible as I ate far more after Lent to compensate!
Anyway I feel better now I've got that off my chest, I have been home a week and I'm back following my rules and I'm delighted to say I've knocked 3 pounds off and I'm exercising so hopefully I will be able to face that mirror again in June and get into my summer wardrobe!
Be good Crackers!
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Hello Crackers.
It is good to hear, BM, that you have chosen a diet plan that you are happy with and that is giving you results. it is so important to be satisfied with the kinds of foods recommended and I would be hard pressed to not have any fruits although because of some digestive issues I mainly eat berries (plus apple if cooked and small amounts of orange and banana) I also eat dates, figs, and other dried fruits though I know they are higher in sugar and try to eat them judiciously.Blueberries I consider a basic food and eat them often. Also I sympathise with your
recent computer problem- so frustrating.
MITM, I hope you are having a better May than April. It truly is frustrating to find oneself indulging in mindless eating, especially of food that isn't even that appealing.You seem to have stages a good intervention however with the renewed exercise and a fresh 10 day plan to focus on. I absolutely agree with you about the measurement issue. I have found the exact same thing over the past number of months and it is probably also due to decreased exercise for whatever reasons. I too had a poor April. I had family birthdays as well as Easter and additional meetings with my Book Club and Writing group, all with food. I find it difficult to immediately return to my regular eating after these occasions even though I may not have had that much indulgence. Anyway, better this week despite continuing wretched weather- going down to 2C tonight with possible flurries in the air tomorrow. This is after huge amounts of rain, almost continuously for the past three days. The ground here is completely saturated. Yesterday and the day before my fish pond was overflowing and my garage was flooded. I had just put the fish I wintered over out the day before the rains; I have not seen them but think because of the cooler weather they are sheltering under the bridge. I mentioned earlier that I have had surprising tulips this year and some of them have been bent right over by the rain. I have put all my plants in pots and baskets ( pansies, geranium, and begonias) in the garage during this weather which was also very windy. I was going to plant some nasturium seeds as they grow very easily but have held off because I thought they would be washed away. However, as much as I am complaining about my little garden problems, I know that my little areas of south western Ontario has escaped the worst of this storm. In Toronto and Ottawa, homeowners have been sandbagging their homes and face evacuation from some areas and in Quebec the premier called in the military to assist with the flood threat.
Must off now- yet another birthday, this for my niece who is turning thirteen. She is a lovely girl, very creative and also with a great interest in nature. She also takes riding lessons so I have bought her some apparel she needs as she is also at the growing out of everything stage.
Regards.0 -
I see that my last post complained about all the rain and here I am today on another rainy day. However, in the meantime we have had some relief though it has continued cooler than normal with frost warnings for several nights so I am still putting my tender plants in hanging baskets into the garage at night. I have continued with a lot of gardening recently. A good factor about this wet spring has been that it has made dividing hostas an easy job so I have done a lot of that. This coming weekend is a holiday and the traditional time to plant the vegetable garden though often it is safe to do so earlier. I have done nothing regarding my vegetables so really hope to get to it this weekend.
I also need to get my window boxes planted. I have mentioned how I was also putting bird feed in them in the winter and am still doing so. I think the birds have trained me through my enjoyment of seeing them. This morning while eating breakfast, I had a red cardinal, a blue jay, and the usual sparrows at the box as well as the chipmunk. I feel as if I could almost reach out and touch them. On the chipmunk scene, I have been delighted to have seen two chipmunks at once. Last summer I told the sorry tale of how Nellie caught one of the chipmunks, how I tried to rescue it, treated its cuts, and left it in the garage. I never saw it again nor did I ever find a chipmunk body. I like to believe that this second chipmunk is the one from the garage as it does not live under the front step where the other one does and definitely comes from the side of the house with the garage.
On another note, I mentioned in the last post going to a niece's birthday. I was talking about it to one of my sister's who was at the gathering but had to leave early and before the presents were opened. She gave my niece a substantial gift of money and has not yet, over a week, heard a word of thanks. Her sister on a recent visit for Mother's Day was hinting broadly to me and my sister about prom gifts and graduation gifts. (She is off to university in the fall). Both these girls are in many ways, lovely girls but have fallen short, I think, on basic manners here. I hesitate to mention it to my sister, their mother, as she will be upset and blame herself and I think she has enough worries in her life. I have thought of speaking to the girls but am not sure if I should. Should I say something? I know this really bothers my sister, not just for these siblings but for many of the nieces and nephews (we have 14, not including now several of the following generation) and we have both given many birthday, graduation, shower, wedding, birth of child gifts over the years. We have certainly been thanked, occasionally overlooked. It particularly bothers my sister that the older ones (20's, even 30's)take no initiative to keep in contact, particularly as there was a lot of close contact when they were children. My sisters and I kept in close contact with our aunt in England from childhood until she died and as we grew older we always sent cards, letters, and little gifts. Of course, our mother always asked us if we had written thank you letters to her. Am I to suppose it is just a change in generational behaviour? I think it does raise interesting questions in general about the nature of modern relationships. For one thing, children at a very early age here spent a lot of time in activities with their friends rather than family- having sleepovers when they are so young that
they have their parents called to get them in the middle of the night. I can recall at least two instances of that from my own nieces/nephews.
I have been able to get better focused on my diet and exercise recently. I am slowly getting back to riding and asked the stable owner if she would monitor my riding once a week- sort of a lesson but not really formal. She was very positive about it. We will start first of June. It gives me another goal again. Last weekend, I watched a dressage clinic with two of my friends. It gave me some inspiration just to have some small riding goals of my own again.
Rain has stopped. Must be off. Regards.0 -
Good Evening Crackers!
Well sadly Bracken I am having an indifferent May! However I am glad to hear that you are focused again. The only consolation for me, I haven't gained any further weight but I haven't lost any either. I enjoyed my new book, it was nicely presented but I didn't learn anything new and although there are dishes I would like to try out, it's not a 10 day plan I would want to follow - I don't like set plans. But what I do know is, if I want to start losing weight again I've got to stop eating the rubbish!
I'm having either very good days, or very bad days. The days which go wrong are because I'm allowing myself to comfort eat... I had a dreadful weekend where my husband crazily agreed to cook for the Austrian ski team - which turned out to be 500 people. He did his prepping the evening before at home and of course I got roped in to help.... It was all super, healthy, rabbit food, so I was just peeling endless vegetables for hours on end whilst he did the actual cooking. We didn't finish until 11.30pm and he then had to get up at 3am to get to the venue with the organizers. Leaving me to clean the kitchen of all the pots and pans, I made a start but gave up at 1am which is when I started eating in anger. Having finished clearing up the following day, he then arrived home in the evening with all the dirty pots and pans from the event which I just couldn't face doing then and there and he was obviously shattered. The following day Mother's Day, the husband was helping another friend doing 200 covers leaving me to clear up. I just felt so annoyed about the whole set up and I let myself over eat which of course only made matter worse!
I did make Brownies for Mother's Day as the week before when I was going to make some, I talked myself out of it, but ended up eating everything else in the house instead, so this week I made a batch. The good news, I froze most of them in bundles of 2, to defrost each Sunday after our afternoon hike. So far this week, I have stayed in control although the scales do not want to play along yet. Finally some spring warm weather has arrived which is helping (as my summer clothes fit too well) and I have done a lot of work in the garden, cut the grass and we have planted up lots in the vegetable garden. I have also bought my window box geraniums and I've planted them up and although my neighbors have put their balcony flowers up, I shall allow mine to adjust first under the covered terrace, as we have cooler weather forecasted again for the weekend and I shall wait before planting my petunias as they will be exposed. I did see on the news the dreadful flooding Canada had.
Right I shall post this and then continued part 2!
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Part 2!
I found your last post Bracken most interesting about thank yous. I am very old fashioned and I have always written thank you letters and I have insisted from the moment my daughter could write her name, she too send her own thank you notes/letters. When she was very young, she would draw or we would craft something simple onto a card and she would then write her name and I would write the thank you note. And now aged 18 she automatically writes to say thank you for any gifts she receives from her many aunts, uncles and great aunts and uncles who have been kind enough to send her something. And every now and then she will drop them a line or send a postcard as they always ask after her and she sends Christmas cards and Easter cards. I too always kept in touch with my Grandmother/Aunts and like you Bracken would send letters and little gifts until they died, I've only the one Aunt left now which is very sad!
But it has to be said I don't receive even a thank you verbally from many of my nieces and nephews! The one that annoys me the most is my brother's child. I know he is spoilt rotten and receives so many gifts he has no idea who gave him what. However his parents do know that I have made the effort to get my present organized, gift wrapped (beautifully if I say so myself!) and left in the country ready for his birthday. If they can't be bothered to send just a text to say thank you, they could as they take it from my Mother ask her to pass on their thanks - but no nothing!
Anyway I remembered a letter I had read on the very subject to a help page after Christmas which I had kept so I hunted it out!!
'I'm a widow with 2 children of my own and 2 step-children. All are married and each have 2 children. Each Christmas and birthday I give my step-grandchildren money in their cards. This is always the same amount I spend on my grandchildren.
However the eldest step-grandchild turned 18 last summer and I gave her a larger cheque than usual (normal amount 30 pounds but I gave her 100 pounds that time). But even though she lives 100 yards along the road, I never got an acknowledgement or a thank you. Her mum (married to my step-son) said when I bumped into her a month or 2 later 'Oh thank you for Emma's cheque, yeah, I think she wrote you a note but... well... you know what she's like.'
Well I feel at 18 she should have said thank you in some way and since she lives along the same street it can't be that difficult. So now I don't want to give her anymore money. I bumped into her mum (10 days before Christmas) and told her this, making the excuse that, as she's an adult now, I thought it was time to stop and also she's now working full-time. Well my step daughter-in-law didn't seem best pleased. I really wanted to tell her the real reason I was stopping but didn't have the courage.
Though my step-grandchildren live just down the road, I never have any phone calls or anything to ask how I am - while I've always gone along to them to take their Christmas money or birthday money and I've sometimes been invited to sit down while they carry on watching TV! I do get cards on my birthday and Christmas from the mum. I just wanted to know what you would do as I need your thoughts and clarity.
Answer:
Though it's certainly too late to give you advice about Christmas donations, printing your email now is timely - because Christmas is over and thank you notes must be written. Yes they must.
Since I am on your side, I'm hoping your dilemma will be read by parents like your step-daughter-in-law who need to get their act together and ensure their children say thank you properly for Christmas and birthday gifts.
I remember all those Christmases when I handed my 2 children pencil and paper and instructed them to write down a list of gifts and givers. Then after Christmas, came the ritual of enforcing. And the nagging was just as tedious for me as it was for them - but it worked. Are kids and teens going to write thank you letters without being made to? No. So it's up to parents to ensure their youngsters grow up with a proper understanding that gratitude is essential.
I know this sounds judgemental, but if parents fail in this duty, they do so through laziness (why else?) and that very feebleness lets their own children down as well as disappointing the older people who have every right to be thanked, yes, even for the smallest gift. And if any parent reading this is irritated by my uncompromising opinion I suggest it might be because you feel guilty.
Teaching gratitude is one of the most valuable lessons to bestow. Expressing thanks is one of the most positive and beautiful things we can do. Simply saying 'oh how kind, thank you so much' spreads happiness around -since the person doing the thanking, doubles their own happiness by making the giver pleased.
In your place I would continue with the 30 pounds (because it would be odd to stop now) but let it be known that you will indeed stop when the young people come of age. I doubt you should deliver the cards and money in person, though frankly if they have not been taught to bother much with this lady who has always been so generous to them, I see no reason why they shouldn't now pay a visit to collect their loot. At least that will require effort. There would be nothing malicious about this shift: all you would have to do is get their email addresses and send a festive greeting, saying there is a gift for them at your house.
My suggestion to everyone is simple: give thanks every day. And get out a pen today and write thank you notes to everyone who gave you a Christmas gift no matter how small. Or pick up the phone.'
Hope you are still with me Bracken and that this helps you in your decision on what to do!0 -
I have thoroughly enjoyed reading the last few posts. I have to say I agree entirely with the response given on the help page. I do agree it's lazy parenting and have been through similar. My Brother and I don't speak any more and it is partly over just this situation. I never received any thanks off his 3 daughters for anything I bought which, which I did for every occasion. In fact my own 3 children never received a card or gift off my Brother and Wife for any occasion and I was still gullible and daft enough to keep on buying and giving to them. Eventually when the children got older I snapped and said enough, I stopped completely and for over 15 years now have not even sent a them a Christmas card. I feel no guilt for this and they are no loss. I think the mistake I made is thinking that I must persevere and ignore their ingratitude just because they are family. If any "friends" had disrespected me the way my Brother did I would have cut ties with them a lot sooner.
Reading this back makes me sound hard and cold, I assure you I am neither. I am a coward who hates any confrontation, but ingratitude, injustice and bad manners are my weak spots and probably the only times I will take action. Unbelievably my Mother blamed me for causing a rift in the family with my Brother being "too busy" to bother with cards and his Wife doesn't drive so couldn't get to the store to buy any (seriously!). I was a one parent family with two jobs but God forbid if I was a day late or forgot a card for anyone in the family!
I am so proud of my 3 children. Not just because they all have good careers etc but because they are polite and caring. My boys will still open the car door for me, carry my bag and call me just for a chat etc My Daughter works crazy hours and has 3 young children of her own but still manages to take my parents for their weekly shop at the weekends (the boys work most weekends). The irony that my Daughter lives 20 miles from them and my Brother 20 yards is completely lost on my parents. (He's still "far too busy" to be troubled!).
I think families are such hard work, I firmly believe the saying "friends are the family you chose". I appreciate what I did with my Brother is not the answer for everyone but the older I am getting I am realising life is too short to waste or worry on people who are not worrying about me! I now accept I can't control or change other people's behaviour, but I can control how I react to said behaviour.
On a lighter note I have lost 11 pounds, I am still waiting for the feeling "I am on a diet" to hit me! I am eating well and more than I ever have. I am just loving eating all this fruit! I have also noticed I am reaching for a banana, a few grapes or even a boiled egg when I am peckish instead of a quick cup of tea and maybe a biscuit/sandwich. I still have a couple of glasses of wine at the weekend so haven't felt like I am missing out at all. I also eat practically everything I did before I just make a healthier version now. OH is delighted as he has lost just over 6 pounds and doesn't feel like he is dieting either!0
This discussion has been closed.