WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR APRIL 2013

Good morning, everyone! I guess my work computer doesn’t think so though as it just went blue-screen-of-death on me. Grr.

Aw, well, I’ve been wrestling with the urge to play hooky and go work in the yard again today – it’s a little cool but gorgeous out right now. I just ordered my mulch as extra incentive to finish up those last few beds and be ready to spread mulch next weekend. I also gave DH fair warning that it’s time to put on his big-boy britches as the walkway he’s wanted to do forever in the backyard will now have six tons of pea gravel waiting to be shoveled and spread for him (he’s NOT an outdoor/handyman/likes-to-get-his-hands-dirty kind of person. At.all.). Actually half of the gravel is mine to put in the walkways between the garden beds, but at least he’s been given advance notice.

I spent the weekend out in the yard – got the front weeded on Saturday, then went out with my sister to a local farm for its open house/festival. It’s a small festival with just a few booths but the house and life-style is amazing. It reminds me of where I grew up with a huge old stone house (ours wasn’t stone, just old), lots of landscaped area around the house with big shade trees and fruit trees, surrounded by the area they garden in. I would love nothing more than to quit and just putter in the yard all the time. Anyway, I finished off the veggie garden on Sunday (getting the beds ready I mean) and some more flower beds in the back.

Jodios, you’re a great mom, making care packages for your kiddos. I miss the days when my kid(s) were within a few hours’ drive. Sigh. I had to call DS late on Saturday night to make sure he was safe after reading about the avalanche in Loveland (right up the street from where he lives). Fortunately he assured me he’s not stupid enough to be in the back country when the snow is so unstable. (this wasn’t really directed at you, just musing about missing them).

Yanniejannie, I agree about surrounding yourself with active people and people who are supportive of your goals makes such a big difference. I had a bit of a rant with DH this weekend when he had to take a nap mid-dish-washing – who the heck gets so tired from washing a few dishes that he needs to nap? He really needs to step up his game .

Poerava, I just bought a Ninja and LOVE it! It does great with blending veggies and is a fraction of the cost of both the VitaMix and the Blendtec. I highly recommend it. There are a few different models – the one I bought comes with a smallish blender (holds about two quarts) and three individual smoothie cups along with a few different blending blades (advertises making cookie dough). It’s fast and powerful.

Barbie, your day sounded lovely too. You’re always inspiring.

Gail, so glad you had a good time catching up at the wedding.

Cheryl, lovely picture! You look happy to be back on horseback.

LindaB, isn’t it funny how we work so hard to be strong, then the minute we flex different muscles we’re all sore and weak again? I couldn’t believe how hard it was to trim bushes when I’ve been working out hard for almost a year!

Michele, I’m so sorry all this worry about Bryan is weighing so heavily on you. I hope you can find a way to be happy for Bryan if this really is what he wants to do.

Lin, welcome back. You’re still down, if a little more slowly; stick with us!

Katla, I’ll second your opinion about Dungeness – it’s divine!

Viv, enjoy your shopping!

Jo in Wales, I completely agree with your Mom! I’m sure you miss her terribly. I will add to your emotions journal: how’s the water? I notice when I skip water (like I did all day yesterday) I eat very poorly. It’s so important to keep hydrated too!

Amanda, how fun about the garden pods! Enjoy your hair color and eyelashes (color me jealous!) and watch DH get all huffy when other men take notice. Wait, maybe that’s why he’s all huffy?

Jane in SLC, I hope you enjoy your visit with your mom. It sounds like it might be a bit stressful and possibly sorrowful; keeping you in my thoughts. I’m sorry you’re not feeling too well – it doesn’t help, does it?

Joyce, I’m probably best kept away from kittens right now. My mommy instinct is coming out fierce – my neighbor brought one of his new puppies over to meet me yesterday and it was all I could do not to march into the house and tell DH “let’s go dog-shopping” lol. Aren’t animals a great comfort? On your trip to Applebee’s – honestly I find restaurants like that just aren’t a great deal. The food simply isn’t good enough to justify the calories, fat and cost.

Polly, welcome back. I’m sorry to hear you had to have surgery – it’s not fun. I’m glad to hear you’re doing better now. Three pounds isn’t too bad though – you should shake that in no time! I’m glad they finally gave you your own classroom and kids – even if they are the struggling ones. Good luck!

Jodios, I used to hate eating cereal but have become a fan of oatmeal. Yummy. It sounds like you had a busy weekend too! And congratulations on skipping the crackers at Costco – we are only buying the gluten-free/seeded ones these days, much to DH’s disgust. I love that Costco is carrying so many more organic items – I just wish they would carry veggie broth instead of only chicken.

Sharon, I’m sorry you’re struggling right now with the weight. You may wish to just step away from the scale for the time being and just focus on doing everything right regardless of the outcome – exercise regularly, eat lightly and sensibly, and repeat. Eventually your body will accept the new “normal” and adjust accordingly. You’ll see it in your clothes. I’m so sorry your DH isn’t responding to treatment. Keeping you in my thoughts.

Brooke, thanks for the good thoughts. I “treated” myself to working in the dirt with my headphones and favorite playlist on – music is very soothing to me. It helped a lot.

OK, I need to get back to work. My manager goes for her appt. this afternoon so I will be very anxious to hear the outcome, good or bad. I have been laying awake at night thinking about her – one of those times I really wish I had the ability to take on another’s pain and illness, but we’re just going to have to get through this. A bit of good news came through today – her manager, my higher-up boss, got a different job within our company and is transitioning now. I’m so glad he wasn’t just laid off, and the new job is a good fit for him.

Have a lovely day everyone –

Cheers,

M.

50ish Foodie: Thanks so much for posting this link. I want to take a look at the whole study to see if I can get more from it. Their conclusions match our experience very well. I started diet and exercise together. DH started diet but not exercise at the same time. (His MS interferes with the exercise portion of the program. Sometimes it is hard to tell whether he could move more and uses his disease as an excuse. I never doubt that he doesn’t feel good when he says he doesn’t feel good.) I’ve lost twice as much weight as he has because I can exercise more. He has lost over 20 pounds, which impresses me. I also think I’ve had more fun with this weight loss adventure because I choose exercise I enjoy and because of this wonderful group of women. MFP has given me the ability to “buy” more calories with exercise when I want to, and that has made a LOT of difference to me. The opportunity to share this adventure with all of you has been a huge help. I know MFP wasn’t part of the study, but perhaps the participants had access to each other for support. I want to see if I can find the full study report online. I’ll repost your link.:flowerforyou:

http://health.usnews.com/health-news/news/articles/2013/04/22/tackling-diet-exercise-together-produces-best-results-study

mwheatcraft: Thanks for the tip on harvesting outer leaves from the spinach plants to help them produce longer. I'm also glad to know the plants are supposed to look this way when they're babies.:bigsmile:

Katla in glorious sunshiney NW Oregon

Good afternoon Vit F ladies,

Went to the Phillies game on Friday night. They were predicting thunderstorms, and it did come down, but we got to the 7th inning, the weather was beautiful up until then, and the Phillies kicked butt! We even got out picture taken in front of the field (we never get pics taken at events like this) and we liked one so much, we ordered it for our "Phillies wall" in our basement. Went to see "42" on Saturday night (do you see a theme here?) and had dinner out with family on Sunday. Not a low cal night, but a welcome treat nonetheless! My daughter is settling in her new home. Her new bed came, and she's thrilled to finally get a good night's sleep.My DVR went on the blink (third time in four years) and I spent the morning on the phone with Verizon. Very frustrating, but finally got it resolved. They are putting us in for a new plan (apparently, we had the old one and couldn't get the updated box) and a credit for our troubles. My DH would never complain, so I have to play the bad guy. But it's the only way to get results. We'll see if they follow through.

:flowerforyou: Lora - Congrats on the weight loss! It's so much better when you have support.

:drinker: yanniejannie - Those last 10 pounds are the toughest, but I'm sure you will be successful.

:happy: gonzamm - The reason most of us are here is that we don't think about ourselves, so no, you are NOT a bad person at all, just one who deserves a little happiness!

Joyce - The serenity prayer says to accept the things we cannot change, change the things we can, and have the wisdom to know the difference. Only YOU can decide what is right for you!

Alison - Your little DGD is so beautiful! If it weren't for logging my food here, I would still be eating those high cal half sandwiches and wondering why I wasn't losing weight!

:noway: DeeDee - That must have been some storm to knock down your pear trees! Glad you didn't sustain even more damage!

:laugh: Brooke - Your view sounds so lovely. Loved your quote!

:flowerforyou: Lin - Congrats on entering the maintenance stage of the weight loss journey.

:laugh: m - You had some cold weather for that game, but bet the win made it worthwhile!

:ohwell: Meg - On a good day, I may get in 9,000 - 10,000 steps, but I usually average between 3,000 and 6,000 steps.

Mary - Thank God you are safe and the escaped suspect has been captured.

:flowerforyou: Polly - You are a wise person & avoided a potentially difficult situation with grace. Those kids are lucky to have you and I'm sure they'll do just fine!

Sharon - I found that MFP is very generous with their calories burned. Any food I enter seems to have multiple entries with different calorie counts, so I try to pick the highest one to be on the safe side. You may either be over-estimating your calories burned, or under-estimating you calorie intake. I made some adjustments and the pounds started coming off again. Good luck!

Geri - Your DGS is just adorable!

Michele - If Jess doesn't mind talking to Dianna, why not have her try & smooth things over? It can't hurt, and she may have better succes than you. I'm so glad Vince decided to go to the wedding. That must be a weight off your shoulders.

Cheryl - Loved the pic of you and your gorgeous horse. I'm sure it's a joy riding her again!

Linda S - Good luck with your upcoming surgery. It is hard to think about exercise when you're in pain.

:grumble: LInda - N. Ontario - Weighing every day only leads to frustration. Try bi-weekly, or even monthly for better results.

Jo - Great idea on keeping a journal for emotional eating.

:happy: Amanda - A little change goes a long way for self-esteem. I bet you look fabulous with your new hair!

Jackie - Dating at our age takes patience and humor! You seem to have both, so I'm sure you'll do just fine. The right one will wait until you're ready and it will be worth the wait!

Robin - Color your hair (take notes from Amanda) and GO and have a great time with your friends! Fingers are crossed that something will open up for you at work.

Congrats going out to all I've missed for continued success and loving thoughts to all who are struggling.

Have a wonderful week!

Hugs,
Lucy in DE.:bigsmile:

Jodios: What GREAT news about your aunt. I think when I'm 80, I'll probably care less about the relationship part of it. And it's really good to know I have a good 30 years left so I don't have to hurry now!

Jackie

Hi Ladies sun is shinning and got some walking in up to 6000 steps so far today may make my 10,000 goal yet!
just got back from an emergency vet visit little toy poodle has a anal abcess and is not happy,glad we were able to get him
some medicine and relief he is now in his bed fast asleep and I'm trying to keep out of the snacks,same as when the kids were sick,
they bounce back and mom freaks out!!
Well wishes to those who need them and congrats to those doing so well.

juanita in sudbury

Did grocery shopping today, they didn't have my organic carrots I love and my Gala apples. Plus I forgot the peanut butter:frown: Hope every one is having a good day. It is gradually getting warmer again Might be able to go out side for our walk. Tomorrow my husband has his treadmill test after his heart attack. Really anxious to see what the nuclear tests show about the bottom part of his heart.

I am currently working with my mother in law and the Blair catalog and helping her shop. It's going to be a long process. She lives in a nursing home, wheel chair bound, hardly ever goes out of her room and she wants a dress, dress shoes and a faux fur coat.! Maybe this will encourage her to get out of her room. I'm afraid what it will do is make her want to get out of the nursing home and neither sons can get her in their cars. She weighs to much and can't stand so we can't get her in the car. The nursing home does have outings to the local casino or circus and they do all the transporting so she could wear it there.

Joyce from warm sunny southern Indiana

Good evening beautiful ladies:flowerforyou:

Didn't make it by here this morning, I got up at 4:30:sad: , and got busy and the day just got away from me. Hope everyone has had a wonderful day, and will have a wonderful night! I've got to take Noel out for a little romp before it get too chilly for my jacket. I had to wear my big coat, hood and gloves when we went out this morning, it was 38 degrees...brrr! I even turned my heat back on, where did those 80 degree days go:frown: ???

Have a wonderful evening ladies!!! Make sure you get all your water in:drinker: :drinker: :drinker:!!!

Hugs,
DeeDee in sunny but chilly NC

Good evening, Ladies. I've been looking for a group of over 50-ers to talk health and fitness with on this site. I just found the site two weeks ago and love it. So I need some help:

I desperately want to run. For four consecutive years now I've begun a running program slowly and carefully, and each year I end up with injuries that stop my progress. This year it's peroneal tendonitis. I'm so sore from my waist down that I can't hardly walk. My hips, knees, and feet ache.

Have any of you had this problem? I'm assuming it's because I'm getting older, but then I read those books that tell us we can run at any age. Help!

Welcome to MFP! You have made the first move in the right direction to getting healthy. I'm cheering you on!