WOMEN AGES 50 + FOR SEPTEMBER 2015

17761776 wrote: »

Tracie: welcome!!! This is a great group o women, hope you chat often. Have been ti Green Bay, on our way to door county. Beautiful!!!! Chili is always good, protein, filling! Go packs!!!! Love them!!!

Thank you! I LOVE Door County. For the past 8 years, my hubby and I lived halfway between Green Bay and Door County. Used to go up there every weekend! We moved to town (Green Bay) just last December and I miss it like crazy.

I ended up with homemade fresh salsa and vegetables, cheese & sausage with crackers, a fruit bowl and an Italian hotdish. It was a noon game so the family all came for lunch. I did really well though staying away from "crap" and feel great today! First time for everything I guess!

Tracie in Green Bay

Barbie & DJ: Thanks for the advice on game day food. I would love to know how you make the oven baked broccoli and cauliflower. Do you drizzle it with olive oil or something? Seasoning? I have a hard time eating both of those without cheese sauce! (BAD Tracie!)

wessecg: You look great. I haven't heard of the Dr. Phil 20/20 diet. I'll have to look it up.

Today I am at work packing up my drawers and desk. I am switching jobs today and have to move to a different building. Kind of bittersweet. Leaving my current team will be sad but I also love the team I am joining. Exciting yet sad at the same time.

I can't remember who posted the picture of the salad a page back, but YUM!!! It looks like a taco salad kind of....and now I know what I'm having for dinner tonight.

Heather in UK: Thanks for the website! I will certainly check it out.

Tracie in Green Bay

I have fond memories of camping in Door County, swimming in a beautiful clear lake all the way out to the middle with the sailboats (no motor boats allowed), and of skinny dipping at night in that lake. Becca, I am a bit of a nudist too. Love skinny dipping.

Just got a text from DDIL to say that the CVS test came back ok so the baby is fine. A couple of other results take a bit longer, but they are rare problems.
I had a little cry when I got the news. You never know how worried you are until you get the good news. Bit of a cry of relief.

I wonder if they will go to Paris next weekend now. I expect they are exhausted! I will ask her tomorrow. She made a very good show of putting a brave face on things yesterday. DS looked very tired though.

Love Heather UK

Found a photo on my phone. DGD with her "Frozen" cake. She loved it. Next to her is my ex's youngest child.

Hi all. Looking for 'motivation and support' as I begin a community fitness challenge here in West Sacramento! I have been trying to ignore the fact that my lifestyle has been slipping deeper and deeper into the unhealthy range for the last 5 years. Ah...acceptance. It's not going to get any easier as the years go by and just saying that seems to be helping with my determination. I am beginning to accept what being healthy and fit will entail. My grandson recently asked me if I was a person who liked to exercise? He said he was. He said he liked to move his body because it felt good. I have always liked being active but have slipped into a very passive lifestyle since retiring. I know that in addition to 'moving more' I will need to eat less. My diet is fairly healthy. I am blessed with living in an area that has many farmer's markets year round so we eat fruits and veggies every day. But I eat too much! I just don't need to eat as much as the rest of my family members. I am a small boned older woman. I recently read that losing weight was 80% about eating and 20% about exercise. I feel like I need to work on accepting this fact. Darn... where is the fairy dust when you need it?

Losing weight at 50+ (45+is what I learned) is really tough. And, a sedentary lifestyle contributes to further slowing an already slowing metabolism. Learned that, too.

I don't know about the 80/20 ratio, but I do know that cutting processed foods, including wheat and sugar, help a lot. When we started eating "paleo" or "primal," my husband and I noticed a huge difference in how we felt and our ability to move without those pesky ankle and knee aches. We cut down or completely out things like: pasta, potatoes, sugar, bread, anything with partially hydrogenated oil or high fructose corn syrup. I made dessert treats out of coconut flour instead of wheat flour. We substituted spaghetti squash for regular spaghetti. We used nuts to make hot cereal, instead of oats. We ate a lot of greens. A lot of protein. Even a lot of BACON! I noticed I lost fat, not necessarily weight. And, my cholesterol dropped from 186 down to 165 with clinically perfect levels of LDL, HDL, and triglycerides.

Now, we're about 80% primal in our diet with an occasional piece of bread or roll or pasta. But, we do watch our portions. And we EXERCISE! As I grow older and I see my mother struggle with shoulder pain and loss of muscle in her upper body, I realize that exercise is so critically important, especially as we age. I've been briskly walking (with some slow jogging mixed in) anywhere from 3-4 miles three to four times a week for the last few months and I feel healthier than I have in years. Because I'm so scared to wind up like my mom (osteoporosis, deteriorating shoulders, and no muscle mass), I'm getting ready to start weightlifting, using the StrongLifts 5x5 workout routine.

While there's no fairy dust (gosh, I wish there was, too), with a little work and sensible eating, I think you'll blow your local fitness challenge out of the water! Good luck!

Happy Monday ! ! !

Miriam – hugs for your previous marriage. No one should have to leave the hospital so quickly after surgery. If those men had to have similar surgery, they may finally understand. Last January DH and I both had Influenza at the same time, but his also caused a sinus infection, and mine infected my lungs into pneumonia. He actually said “I will do it, because you are sicker than me.” I warmed up soup while he drove to get DS from school (-30 degrees that week in January, so 2 miles is too far to walk). My current DH is still far from perfect (mostly just ignorant about proper behavior), but he does treat me well when I tell him what that means, and he knows how to make me laugh. And if I tell him specifically “you need to be with me for . . .” he will be there. (this is a crazy paragraph, my thoughts were broken and sporadic, sorry). Anyway, hugs for your past, and prayers for a better future !

Lillian – LOVE the “whatever” story. I will try that !

Linda (and Rori, and everyone) – Thank you for sharing your 9/11 story. So sorry for your loss, and Hugs for everyone ! ! ! I didn’t realize the towers fell onto the Marriot. That part breaks my heart. The boss I had at the time was vacationing in Boston, and it was several weeks before he was able to return to Minnesota. I spent hours glued to the TV and crying, then rushed out to donate blood.

Joyce – Hugs. I hope you feel better REALLY quickly !

Becca – Yay you ! ! !

Cheri – Nice job on the c2c afghan.

Gloria – Thanks for sharing. You are so insightful ! ! !

Katla – Hugs for DH and his difficulty adjusting to the altitude. I don’t remember much, but apparently in 2000 when DD and DH and I stopped at The Grand Canyon I was a blubbering, tipsy idiot. I was 3 months pregnant at the time, and DS was taking all the oxygen out of my blood, so I couldn’t function or think straight, so apparently I spent most of the trip lying down in the van. Give your DH a hug from me.

Carol – Congrats on sleeping all night in bed !

Heather – Hugs !

Joyce – Hugs ! It’s so cool that the karaoke buddy brought in a machine for some added fun. I imagine the Director would allow for “a show” some day. Especially if they sing music from prior to the 1980’s that everyone would likely enjoy. I always enjoyed doing shows for Nursing Homes. More Hugs ! ! !

Mparker – I am in a similar position. Anything I suggest for weekend “fun” is met with ‘umph’ instead of either enthusiasm or another suggestion. The only thing DH ever wants to do is watch sports on TV. I would even prefer to leave the house and watch in person, but then he would have to walk from the house to the car, and from the car to the event, etc. Yes, he walks a lot at work, but he is rarely willing to try something new (unless I put on my tiara and start demanding). I try to suggest all the Fairs, and Festivals, and events, and church picnics. We even have some quaint towns around here that supposedly have fun things like antiquing or crafts shops, etc. If the Casino has a free comedian, I can get him to go to that, but never anything that costs money. Let me know what you find that works ! ! !

Tracie – It sounds like you made some good choices for snacks that everyone will like, and may not notice how healthy they are. I hope you all enjoyed the game. My Dad watched it, too.

It is well past noon, and I am only up to page 29. So I’m going to tell you all about my weekend, sign off, get some work done, then pick back up with my reading and posting:

This Saturday night was the Stars & Stripes Honor Flight. A group does fund-raising to send War Veterans to the Memorial in Washington DC, and other places of interest to them. They leave around 6:00am and return around 8:00pm. The job DS and I were assigned as volunteers was to follow the families out to their cars so we could bring back the wheelchairs that belong to the Organization, this way the family does not need to leave the Vet in the car to walk ½ way through the airport to return it. So, I was stationed at the end of the Parade route, near a rarely used elevator. Only 2 families wanted to leave immediately instead of congregating in the meeting room, so I took those 2 groups of people down the elevator and returned the wheelchairs. In the meantime, I took pictures of all of the 183 Veterans that were on the flight. Most of them wanted to shake my hand when I said “thank you”, and some even hugged me. One particular gentleman came up the ramp with his hands waving high, like he was the president thanking everyone. His son rolled his eyes at me and said “the entire day has been like this.” I said “you have quite the character on your hands”. Well, dad saw son talking to me, walked up to me and said “Thank you for volunteering your time to take care of all of us”. I said the pleasure was mine, so he wrapped his arms around me tight and gave me a huge hug and kiss like it would never end. It was my honor to assist these people who helped maintain my freedom, and here is this big burly man hugging and thanking me. Wow ! ! ! It brings tears to my eyes yet, just remembering the feelings. When my job was done, and all 183 Veterans (over 100 from WWII, around 70 from the Korean War, 1 from VietNam (terminal illness), and 1 Lady), I started to the end of the congregation site to find my son and head home. There were still about 20 volunteers in the room, and only about 4 families, so our job was technically done. DS stated how boring it was, because no one told them what to do, so he and 3 of his friends just stood around talking. I told him of my experience, and he said “see, at least someone appreciated you for being here”. As we were leaving, we saw a small family with a Veteran in one of the Organizations wheelchairs, so I walked up to them (dragging DS by the hand) and said “It is my job to make sure you get to your vehicle safely and I will return the wheelchair so you don’t have to. Is it okay if my son and I walk with you?” They agreed and thanked us, then started talking to DS about their day, and his interests, etc. When we got to their vehicle I said “shake his hand and say thank you", so nice and bright and loud he stuck his hand out and said “thank you for your service”. The man shook his hand and pulled him in for a hug. As he was taking the wheelchair back, he saw another family unattended in one of the wheelchairs, so he folded up the chair he was pushing, placed it safely against the wall, and ran up to the family and repeated what he had heard me say before. A family member put her arm around my son and thanked him. I was on a moving sidewalk, so I had to run the wrong direction to catch them. The same ending to the first story, except every person in this huge family gave my son a hug and thanked him. I think he learned some worth-while lessons that night. Plus, I treated us to Wendy’s on the ride home. My Dad had also wanted to volunteer, but he hurt his knee when he fell and cut his eyebrow, so he is trying to re-arrange his schedule to volunteer in either October or November, and I will definitely do it again!

Ok, time for real work. Hugs for Everyone ! ! !

Terri in Milwaukee

happy mon
hugs
jane

Becca - Forgot to say thanks for posting the article on Your Inner Body Image. Printing it off for the fridge.

Tracie - I will be in Green Bay in March. DS will be bowling the State Tournament in Ashwabenon. I think we have some other scholarship tournaments also on the schedule, but nothing is concrete about those yet. I'm not even sure of the exact weekend of State, but I remember it was March. We are staying in a Hotel that has a big pool. Maybe we can meet up for a walk (or swim, or coffee, or whatever).

Sylvia - I turned on the furnace today, but left myself a post-it so I would remember to turn it off again since it is now 82 outside.

News from the Rheumatologist could have been better. As soon as she walked in she noticed my right wrist, poked and prodded everything, then gave me the quickest cortisone shot of my life. She said "this will hurt worse than any you have ever received, but I'll do it quick, so go ahead and yell". Well, she was in and out within seconds, so I barely took a second breath. Now, my wrist moves about 50% better than before, and the swelling is mostly gone. Next week I start a new pain med (can't take anything until after the colonoscopy next Monday). She said I have graduated from mild to moderate RA, because this is the first time she has seen so much swelling and stiffness. So, if the new pain med doesn't work, I will be taken off the plaquenil and put on something else, likely a biologic. I will do some research, because all the sickness exposure I have, the biologics make me worried. I have missed 6 days of work in 4 years, and 5 of those were for influenza and pneumonia this past January.