WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR JULY2015

Ahh... I know I'm a writer, but I'm at that point that's past tired and past exhaustion, not sure there's a word for it. Or maybe my word retrieval capacity is just spent as well. Slept about three hours because I was hurting so much from the thirteen hours yesterday. The first five, we were open, so I cleaned that horrendous office from top to bottom and still didn't finish.

For the next six hours, I was pushing 20 people toward a common goal. The servers a) didn't want to be there, b) didn't want to do the work, and c) didn't want to work together with the bartenders. And the bartenders didn't want to work with them. So they went to their separate corners, but at least the work got done, with a few hitches. The kitchen staff, on the other hand, rocked it. Then an hour's drive home. Every bone in my 55-year-old body hurts like stink.

This morning, my body feels like I was literally pushing these people, and came within an ace of firing one on the spot. Every time I walked around a corner, she was leaning on a broom handle or a scraper handle looking at her phone, or just watching everyone. Then she started complaining to me because she didn't have as many hours as one of the newer hires on the schedule. I lit into her in front of everyone, told her my family was there working their a$$e$ off for zero pay, while she was getting paid to be there, and she needed to start earning it instead of complaining about it. She's walking a line that she can't seem to see, and has already gotten a verbal reprimand. Written's next, and then out the door. Two other servers simply didn't show, both of whom were on the schedule. That won't fly either, and they will both hear about it from me today. I've got plenty on staff that want their hours.

The best part of the day was that my family was there--I think some might know my Army daughter and son-in-law (and his 16-yr-old sister) are here with my grandbabies. The sister watched the 4-month-old and 4-year-old at the ranch all day. The DD and DSiL came in at the same time I did yesterday morning, cleaned out two huge storage rooms and bleached walls, ceilings, etc., for me, and did a liquor inventory (never done before!), before we closed the front doors to begin the big cleaning. Then they proceeded to outwork everyone in the place and put the rest to SHAME. They were up the ladder cleaning vents, changing furnace filters, scraping floors, powerwashing everything, assisting everyone, until 10:45 last night when we finally walked out. Without them, we'd have been there until 2 a.m. and not got done what did get done. And then my DD wouldn't let me drive home, she drove me, and her husband drove his truck.

My husband, bless him, drove in from the ranch on his day off, and spent four hours with us. He walked in with a protein bar and basically watched me 'til I ate it, showing he knows me pretty well. He got the pressure washer running, scraped floors for two hours, and helped disassemble equipment in the kitchen to get it out the door. He and the DSiL and the General Manager took two floor jacks and horsed an unused 500-pound (if not heavier) mixer out of the kitchen and into the fenced storage area, creating more space in a kitchen that desperately needs it. Hasn't been used for two years, they just never did anything about it.

Half the kitchen, the worst half, is up to code. The cook staff will start moving down the line on the other side, one piece of equipment at a time, move it, clean walls, clean floors, and then clean the next piece the next night. They understand the requirement, and I think they'll live up to it. They genuinely were appalled at what was under the equipment, or seemed to be, and are determined to make it right. At one point, while they were in the middle of cleaning the outside of the deep fryers, which we could not power wash, there was, without exaggeration, three inches deep of old hardened grease, schmutz, pieces of fried chicken, jalapeno poppers, french fries and onion rings on the floor around them. My husband estimated that easily 20 pounds of food had fallen into the undercabinets and never been cleaned out.

The GM was there from 4 p.m. on, did all my nitnoid mechanical bits, installed a viewer on the back door, got the restroom air fresheners all working, fixed the bitsy things that are just annoying, and then pitched in to help with the floors. He's a good guy. Helped to have him there when we found 15 bottles of booze and mixers that the bartenders had left uncapped or allowed to grow mold, so I didn't have to tell him about it. His assistant, who I love to pieces, came in and did a bunch more work in my office to get rid of some of the crap, and will be back today.

Oh! And the GM tells me there may be a good candidate for the manager job--I'm a fixer and an enforcer, so once I get it in shape, I'll be more than ready to turn it over to someone. They were kind of hinting around for me to take on the position, mainly so they could stop looking, I think, but nuh-uh. Nope.

I am still reading posts... not responding to y'all, but sure am using you for a dumping ground for my thoughts about this. Thanks for all the encouragement! Might use my posts and pics on how to do a turnaround guide for restaurants for my next book. If you got this far, thank you! Wanted to get this down so those of you following with interest get the scoop. I'm going to do the "after" photos this morning when I go in.

So, the summary: Mixed good and bad on the employee side, all kinds of blessings on the family side. The DD and DSiL are going to come back in today, they say, to finish things. Because they're that kind of people.

Speaking of going in, I'm already on my second cup of coffee, and the sun will be up soon. Off to the shower. Got to do the deposits and the payroll this morning, clean up some bits and pieces we walked out on last night.

Oh, and we close on the warehouse late this afternoon--as long as the cashier's check makes it from Lubbock to the title company, which I think it will.

Love y'all,
Lisa from West Texas

Lisa - I am following your posts with enormous interest! However, I find myself confused as to why you and your family are doing all this work. Why isn't the owner paying for a professional deep clean? At the very least he should pay your folks for their time. His company is not a charity and you are saving him a heap of money.
I do think you could get a book out of it! ! ! ! !

Feeling a bit better now.
Annr - I've got the book now on Kindle. Just what I need today to get back on track. Thanks. :flowerforyou:

Heather UK

Good morning friends!! I had a great weekend!! Except I went to our lake camp and because I was so white...I got burnt to a crisp!! SO, I had to stay home yesterday.
I NEED some advice. Do any of you know of any type of food....that I can dip in hummus, other than pita chips. They are so good, but really have too many carbs for me, unless there are some that don't have as many carbs. My sister suggested pretzels rods, which would be okay, but still a lot of carbs. I've seen people talk about kale chips. Where can I find those, and are they low in carbs. I know that you guys can HELP!!! I like to snack a little...so any no carb, low carb snack ideas would be great!!! Thanks everyone!!!

Good morning! I went out to do my walk/jog early and it was already hot. I was drenched when I came back in the house. Now I have to clean house. We are meeting the kids at the mall deli for lunch at 11:30, then hubby insists we should come back here for cake afterwards. I don't want cake, but he says it's not a birthday without cake. And he actually took the initiative to call my son and arrange the lunch, so I guess I should be grateful. I doubt my son would have remembered or even mentioned it without hubby's intervention. He never has before.

Gotta get busy. I hope you are all having a great day.

Sylvia

Checking in, haven't read all the posts since Friday yet.

Went to my C25K class Friday morning and 1 of my knees immediately began to hurt as soon as I began to run. This was alarming because I haven't had any issues with either 1 all year after injuring them both last year 10 months apart. I walked the first 1/2 of the program and was able to run the last 1/2 with some pain. By the next day both of my knees were bothering me and I had to ice them and take ibuprofen. I have reluctantly decided to abandon my running program. I have nothing to prove and 2 knees to protect. Fortunately walking and elliptical does not cause any pain so I will continue on that path. This program has gotten me to get up early and exercise before I begin the day which has been a good habit. One of the reasons I had decided to do the C25K was to change up my exercise program to avoid the dreaded plateau. I have less than 10 lbs. to go to reach a healthy BMI and I want to continue losing until I reach it. I will think of something else.

Everyone have a great week.
Chris in MA

tuliplor wrote: »

Good morning friends!! I had a great weekend!! Except I went to our lake camp and because I was so white...I got burnt to a crisp!! SO, I had to stay home yesterday.
I NEED some advice. Do any of you know of any type of food....that I can dip in hummus, other than pita chips. They are so good, but really have too many carbs for me, unless there are some that don't have as many carbs. My sister suggested pretzels rods, which would be okay, but still a lot of carbs. I've seen people talk about kale chips. Where can I find those, and are they low in carbs. I know that you guys can HELP!!! I like to snack a little...so any no carb, low carb snack ideas would be great!!! Thanks everyone!!!

broccoli, carrots and celery

morning peeps-

ya know the minute you feel or you say to yourself, "hey, I think i'm back to normal", then reality slaps u upside the head and says, " uh really?". I did a full 45min of spin today. today I drove the car or as I call it, the beast to work cuz at 1pm I have the doc app to see about this shoulder. I have a recorder on my phone so i'm going to record the visit so I can let Kirby hear what was said and asked. I still haven't run since then and I still haven't had a backpack so I would use a strap over the shoulder. I've been using a bike messenger bag so the strap can go over the right shoulder. we will see what shakes on this visit.

type to ya later

Joyce: I am so sorry to hear about your fall. I hope you recover quickly. Have you resumed your MS medications? I worried about your comments a while back that you were quitting them. :flowerforyou:

Sharon: I do hate it when I have to ask for a book back. I haven't seen my neighbor in days, but I'm going to have to mention it the next time I see her. I hope you are able to get the rest you need. :flowerforyou:

Heather: I am sorry you've had a tough few days. I'm sending good thoughts your direction. You are absolutely right that maintenance can be hard. That is why I stay around. I'm here because I need the support and encouragement. You have overcome difficult things in your life and you are a strong woman. Baby yourself a bit and get the rest you need to tame your dragons and write your memoir.

Lisa: Your post sounds like an episode of "Restaurant Impossible!" If anyone can turn this business around, it is you. :flowerforyou:

Gloworm1946: Welcome! :flowerforyou:

tullplor: Celery is a great veggie to dip into hummus, or any other dip. It has lots of fiber and takes more calories to digest than it contains. I see you've had this suggestion form others along with additional good ideas.

Sylvia: Is this your birthday? Happy Birthday to you! You have done an excellent job choosing your husband. He is a prince among men.

Chris in MA: The eliptical trainer is a great idea to protect knees from pounding. Bikes are another good choice. :fowerforyou:



We got a call from DS pst night because the anchor windlass quit. That means they'll have to pull the thing up by hand and it weighs a lot. I hope he finds a solution to the problem. DS suggested he take it to a boat mechanic. DS and DDIL are in Canada, north of Vancouver. I wonder whether they'll go there for mechanical help or maybe Nanaimo.

Yoga this morning, and then we pack and go to meet our friends down the river. I'm looking forward to spending some time with them. Right now I'm doing a large load of laundry so I'll have clean clothes to wear.

Katla in Beautiful NW Oregon

“Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” Thomas A. Edison

July Goals:
1. Log every bite and swallow.
2. Cardio exercise at least 3 days a week. Work on flexibility and back strength.
3. Have fun every day.
4. Drink at least three glasses of water daily, preferably more!
5. Eliminate alcohol.
6. Monitor sleep. Try to average 7 or more hours of sleep nightly.

Happy Birthday, Sylvia.

Morning all.
Gloria- you're quite the woman!!
Tuliplor- I like carrots in hummus.

I did great on my first party yesterday but not so great on the dinner party. Oh well. The food was good and so was the wine ;(. Next time I need to just stick to my plan and the food.

Hi again everyone! I know I've been rather silent recently but I've been trying to keep up with the reading, and my thoughts are with you. I just finished p 62 but don't have any more time right now so I'll post what I've collected. More later...

A couple other differences between there (Norway) and here (New Hampsire) that I forgot to mention:

Man-oh-man but they've got good celery here! And the cottage cheese is to die for!

Concerning shoes to go with fancy dresses, I think I wrote about my debacle trying to find suitable footwear to go with my party dress. (My sister insisted I couldn't wear my comfy low black heels with a cream-colored dress.) I'm sharing a pic we took for her, showing the 3" heels I ended up with. They were anything but comfy. I thought I would survive the evening, and I did, but only barely. We spent the first 45 minutes standing in a reception hall, then an additional 20 minutes in a long line to shake hands with the dignitaries. They all shook hands with every single guest, all 400 of us. I wonder what shoes those ladies were wearing! At the end of the evening my feet were killing me. I don't know if I'll EVER wear those shoes again. Well, I guess I will if I don't lose enough weight so I no longer have to wear the cream-colored creation. If I lose enough, I can get back into my glorious iridescent blue-green silk gown. Yet another reason to get back to my previous size!

Joyce - Yeah, all the cloud formations have official scientific names. I use them, but then I'm married to a man with a PhD in meteorology. There's a saying in Norway, "There's no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing." Our own take on that is "There's no such thing as bad weather, just more or less interesting weather."

You also mentioned how lucky we were when God took the tree down for us. We-l-l-l... We still have to pay to have other trees damaged trees pruned or removed. Actually, the Act of God aspect was a something we discussed. The maple landed at a safe distance from the house, but smack dab in the middle of a blueberry bush from which my son and brother-in-law had very carefully removed a young beech tree the day before the storm. We joked that it was God's response to our piddling human efforts at forestry. "You dare to mess with my trees? I'll give you TREES!"

Heather - I never liked dill until I grew my own in Northern Norway. It came out so incredibly aromatic I suddenly understood what all the fuss was about. Now I can't be without it.

Concerning the Salisbury Museum, you wrote: "The gold necklace was so new looking and 3,500 years old." One of my most prized posessions is a single-strand necklace of tiny green/brown/yellow/turquoise beads. They came to me from my mother-in-law, who received them from a friend who was professor of botany at Cairo University. Despite being a foreigner in Egypt - and a woman to boot - the professor was loved and respected in Cairo. She often went along on excavations to study the funerary offerings, flowers that could be identified on site but turned to dust the moment they were touched. On one occasion, some of workers gave her a little handful of beads that were lying loose on the floor. She gave them to my mother-in-law (who was, like herself, a Swedish-speaking botanist) and my mother-in-law passed them on to me. It's a giddy feeling wearing something that old!

It appears to be a good year for turkeys in New Hampshire. A hen with 8 little chicks just walked past my window. A few days ago we spotted three hens with a total of at least two dozen chicks.

Wishing you all a good day!

.

Hi every one my name Is. Debbie I'm 52. Married with 2 children which are all grown up and flew the nest. I've been on a diet most of my life. At the moment I'm doing juice plus any one else on or done this diet

Hello everyone,
Can't say I'm being too successful with the food diary, and certainly haven't gotten back to the gym. My bad. On vacation starting today and hoping to get a few things done around here that I can never get to while working full time. It's been very hot here on the prairies of Manitoba (just north of N Dakota). Right now with the humidity it "feels" like 38 degrees Centigrade. Expecting a nice whopper of a storm later today or overnight.

Because I don't check in every day, I have not read everyone's post or I would have to spend a couple days just catching up. LOL. Mary from Minnesota, your post was quite interesting. I have never heard about coconut oil pulling before so I had to google this and was quite interested in trying it, based on what I have learned. I am aware of the benefits of coconut oil but had not heard about the dental piece.

Yet again, my goals are to:
Journal my food
Get back to activity (gym)
Keep track of this blog for success stories and support
Hydrate (water)
Read labels and focus on whole foods

Aleta "Litre"
Manitoba, Canada

Hi again,
It's almost 1 PM. DH has finally risen (he's a night owl) and soon will have lunch and wants to get to the beach/water on such a sweltering day. I had a decent breakfast and now it's lunch time so will need to eat a good lunch if we're hitting the beach. I love vacation time, no pressure. I wish everyone a successful day!

Aleta "Litre
Manitoba, Canada