WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR JANUARY 2016

tawnya, for the life of me I can't understand what people are talking about when they say they have an open windows or whatever it is. I just buy a bunch of notebooks from Walmart at the beginning of each school year for about ten cents and right notes as I read. So that is how I used to do it. Now I just write what I can remember. And sometimes my little MS brain can't remember much. They all know I love them and am not forgetting anyone so all is good. You are doing OK with what you are doing right now. You are managing to stay afloat. and that is an accomplishment with this group of girls.

Mom wanted so much to be able to see us enjoy her things while she was alive. So she asked us. No one spoke up about her crystal so my sister got it, also her china cabinet, china and a bunch of other things that are actually worth money. I know I had equal right to say I wanted something but I wanted my Mom and wasn't really into thinking about what I wanted. So my sister took most of it while she was alive and then has given most of it to her daughter. But I just wanted my Mom, nothing else. She did make sure I got some things, and I appreciate them. She listed my brother as the executor of the estate but since he didn't live here and I was the one who knew her quirky way of doing her check book and dealt with her bank for her all checking accounts. So he asked me to deal with her accounts. So when it was all finished I presented all of them a check for $65. That was Mom's money left for all of us. But we all got the best part of it. We had the privilege of knowing her got as may years as we could. I love the pieces I got from her and use them all, except her old lead oval mirror. I think her and Dad's love together kept that thing staying together because as soon as I got it the wood around the mirror split. I dont' know where I would put it. The little cabinet she had above it is in my office holding my phone, prevents paper from spitting out of the printer and keeps me smiling every time I look at it.

Called the hand center today. It is amazing why a doctor's office asks all the questions they do and then never do anything with it. Apparently they knew he was on a blood thinner. But they asked if I had called our family doctor to give permission to be off of it for 12 days. Now why would a doctor give permission to be off a blood thinner for 12 days without making some provision for something else. I told her that it would not be our family doctor but his heart doctor. Oh boy, that really upset her that she didn't know he had a heart doctor. Honey, it's on the massive amount of paper work I gave you a month ago. So heart doctor says 4 days. I guess they will have to duke that one out. Also he says in order to give his OK to have anesthesia, Charlie will have to have a stress test. YEAH!!!!! I have so wanted him to order that. The man is exhausted, weak, tired, feet and legs swollen and no one will listen. Only problem is that the stress test is the same day as his annual physical. I just hope it wont cause any scheduling problems. Since the physical is at 10:30 that probably means he won't be seen until noon anyway. I am glad mine was scheduled for 1 PM. I was the first one after lunch!!!!

Nite nite ladies. Joyce, Indiana

It's me again. I guess my New Year's resolution should be to be more consistent. I'm going to try but no promises. Christmas crazies and inventory are over so it should be easier. Also my coughing fits are down to a minimum, Larry is recovering from his lung infection. Larry's arm is looking so good and he goes to see the surgeon tomorrow with high hopes of not having to wear the brace any more. It is going to take time and a lot of physio to get his hand/finger function back to normal.

Our DS spent a few weeks with his Mom helping her after her husband's suicide. Sad when people are in so much distress that it is the only way out they can see. I feel so bad for her.

I've been trying to get back into the swing of things but it is taking me much longer than I would like.
I read today's posts but know I have missed so much from you active bunch of ladies.
I have been going to the gym with my daughter who is working her "a**" off to look fantastic in the brides maid dress in Cuba.

Today I spent with my DGD who always tickles my fancy. Then I helped my DS with some things for her Avon business. It was a good day.

Lenora - 33.5 lbs since May, that is impressive

Terri - Enjoy your time with DD

Peach - Glad to hear your niece and the baby are doing well. 4 lbs is so tiny.

Betty ROC - You can do this.

Barbie - The planking pics are priceless.

Becca - An almost 20 lb loss in a year sounds good to me.

Mary - Shep is so cute I just want to cuddle with him.

Thank goodness for Chinooks
-Sharon in Lethbridge.

Down 1.4 lbs this morning!

Here's a link to the business profile that went in the paper today. Rough picture, but nice article. Since no one here is within a few hundred miles, it's not advertising, I figure! Into town for a meeting tonight on what's needed to get the Chamber Banquet together for February. Work out in the morning, and then back to the ranch.

Weather really is all relative, huh. Don't see how y'all stand the below-freezing temps, it's hard enough here for the few days we get them. We like the summer, dry, heat, it makes both of us feel so much better in terms of joint aches and pains.

Short and sweet enough?
Have a great Thursday!
Lisa in West Texas

Tracie in Green Bay: Thanks to good news from the orthopedist, I will be able to take my horseback riding lesson on Saturday. :bigsmile: The horse belongs to my riding teacher and is a very well trained fellow. He's a grade gelding, quarter horse type confirmation, about 14 years old & has done very well in competitive Western Trail classes for her. She is currently training a younger guy who she'll use for competition. The new guy is a Mustang she bought wild from an Indian tribe. I have never owned a horse because of finances. I probably could afford one now, but this situation is so good for me that I don't want to change. I don't live in a place where I could keep a horse and don't really have enough time to give the sort of care a horse deserves. I may consider a partial lease in the future, though. As to the orthopedist, I fell on the ice and have a compression fracture in my right wrist. :ohwell: He says I can ride with the wrist brace on. :bigsmile:

Grits: You are so close to the BMI goal I've no doubt you'll reach it, and fairly soon! You've accomplished a lot. WTG! :flowerforyou:

Heather: I think you're doing the best you can with the situation involving your old friend. I am sorry that you'll miss seeing the others, though. So sorry about the friend who is fighting a tough battle with cancer.

Becca: I have a couple of free Bird apps that might help your bird research. One is Merlin Bird ID, and the other is Birdsnap. I use them all the time to identify birds we see from our windows and when we are out on a trip somewhere. :flowerforyou:

Tawnyasever: I have the darndest time trying to use my iphone to stay in touch with this group. I usually get here from my computer and use the iphone to log my calories. Good luck to you. :flowerforyou:

Cheri NE OH: From my vantage point you are still a "sweet young thing." It is all a matter of perspective. I am currently healthier and happier than I was 57, and the support form this great group has played a significant part in that health & happiness. Stick around! :flowerforyou:

Pip: Respond as you can and keep letting us know how you're doing!

Mary: What a cutie! I love the photo. :bigsmile:

janetr: Great photo! You look like you're having fun.

Lisa: I agree about the nice article. I'll bet it brings some business your way. The local newspaper could get a better photographer, though. This one doesn't seem to know enough about lighting. :grumble:

Penny at the Pole: I am astounded that your temperatures are less severe than those in the midwest and Canada. :noway:



I had trouble sleeping last night and am up and the crack of dark. I'm planning to go to Zumba with my neighbor and my DH this morning. DH & I will ride the recumbent bikes in the machine room while my neighbor dances.

Tomorrow I get to ride!!!!!! WAHOO! Last time I lost a stirrup while cantering and had to stop to regain it, proof positive that I still have work to do on balance, along with a long list of other things. Advice from experienced riders is always welcome. :bigsmile:

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

January 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.

Rori & Kimses ~ Happy late birthday! Hope it was a great day.

Mary ~ Shep is a doll. So cute.

I don't write much cause my life is very, very quiet and I love it.

Carol

OK girls - wait for it -
I DID IT I DID IT I DID IT I DID IT I DID IT! :drinker:

The pain of not ringing the mobile phone company got to be greater than the pain of ringing them. :ohwell: So I abandoned my writing for the morning and rang them. They answered quickly (previously it had been ages) and an intelligent and helpful girl talked me carefully and slowly through what she was doing to get my refund on the phone and the postage refunded.
The reason why I can't get onto my account is because of the cancellation, so she has shut down the old account and told me to re register after 24 hours. She was so helpful I could not stop thanking her. :laugh: Now we will see if it all works. :ohwell:

I was so empowered I emailed my girlfriends group and bowed out of any spring/early summer meet ups. I said I would reboot for the autumn. I then offered to meet the difficult friend in our local town for lunch one day. Now the ball's in her court. Bet she doesn't. I prefer her one to one.
Katla - I see my nice friend almost monthly anyway, so it's just the Scottish friend I miss out on. Autumn will be fine.

I have yet to check my bank account to see if my olive oil money is back in there.

Anyway, with nagging problems attended to I feel much lighter. DH is off tonight to his sister before going up to Lincoln tomorrow to see his aged aunt. Weather a bit cold. I have to draw on all of your strength to stop me shirking my exercise in the morning and overeating and drinking in the evening. DJ - where's that boot? It's probably best if I don't have any alcohol.

Love to all. Heather UK

I love this, Barbie! Testing:

Katla, I have always known that about exercise videos, so when I did talks to mental health clients and staff I always recommended using Richard Simmons' Sweatin' to the Oldies. He has people of all different shapes and sizes and fitness levels as well as having a good warm up, progressive aerobics that are low impact, and a good slow down. I had all of his VHS (yes, it was a while ago) and I used them every day myself before I got bone on bone arthritis. I even had my son dub one that had my favorites on it. That one I still have somewhere and as soon as I find it I plan on using it again (I took all of the others to the Goodwill when my orthopedic surgeon told me NO exercise but swimming. He was wrong.)

Kimses, I don't do "planks" but my PT has me tighten up my belly muscles like I am pulling my belly button to my spine, and I find that my mind won't remember to keep them tight for that long anyway! After about 60 seconds my mind wanders, and then I have to remind myself to tighten up again. So when I hear of people doing long planks I think they must be incredibly focused! Now I know that they probably are just like me! With my bum shoulder and wrists I cannot get in the position to do planks. The tight belly muscles help support my lower spine that has arthritis in it, so I have less pain now.

Good morning everyone! I had a rough night sleeping but that's normal. I will be doing my exercise this morning and I am following a new program called Become a Fat Burning Machine. I like the concept of it. For each meal you have one 4-6oz protein, one Low carb vegetable, One fat option usually oil for cooking or dressings and yes you can have butter and mayonnaise and nuts, and one Limited serving size carbohydrate mostly with very little added sugar this would be your bread cereal crackers, or a low sugar fruit. Then you have three snacks one midmorning one mid afternoon and one evening. The snacks can be vegetables with dip low in sugar, 1 to 3 ounces of protein, hard-boiled egg, nuts, or serving of low sugar fruit. You are supposed to do your exercise in the morning within one hour of waking and prior to eating breakfast. Exercise 30 minutes to one hour. More like HIIT. However, any exercise even 5 to 10 minutes helps to get your fat burning machine going. Breakfast should be within one hour after your exercise. I will be doing this through out the BLC. I also get one day off where I can eat whatever I want as long as I stick to the exercise and try to get the four groups in every meal. It is a 12 week program. With this program you have approximately 40% fat, 30% protein and 30% carbohydrate. You're not supposed to count calories either. However, I am going to log my food. I am starting this on Sunday. I need to go shopping and prep my house for success.

Chris - thanks! Yes those are the wood floors that we put in. We still have the two bedrooms and kitchen area to finish. We took a break because of the holidays.

Pip - I love your car! Beautiful color and a convertible!

Have a great day everyone!



Mary from Minnesota

Welcome logjavannah. Where in TN are you? I was born in Memphis, spent the first 8 years of my life in Nashville. Lovely country. I debated moving back a few years ago, but could not give up my house here in Iowa.

Happy Thursday ! ! !

Milwaukee is NOT in one of the states that had a PowerBall winner, so I’m back to work today (don’t think I would just up and quit anyway, but it’s fun the dream). I matched 1 number on each of 2 tickets, but no powerball match. This is just not where I usually have luck, but it’s fun to dream (and I only buy 1 or 2 tickets at a time, so it doesn’t cause financial difficulty).

Tawny – I have an iPhone6, and I can read, log, and type, but I don’t know how to type in a different screen to copy/paste; I do that from the laptop or desktop. What I do is send my other e-mail address a note (in case I lose it or hit a wrong button), type the message, then copy/paste into the reply box at the bottom. I hope this helps a little.

Lenora – I have heard the same about divorce “you never really know a person until you divorce that person”. My Mom’s family is just hurting themselves. I’m not sad that I don’t have to buy an expensive gift this summer when my cousin gets married since I’m not invited. I’m too busy with bowling and baseball anyway, so one less Hotel room to purchase.

Pip – Keep taking care of yourself and Kirby. You will be back to us when the time is right. Hugs ! ! !

Mary – thanks for teaching me that dogs' ears don’t automatically stand up; I had no idea. He looks so lovable !

Janetr – funny picture. How exciting that you could technically hide behind that post. I hope to be that thin some day (yes, I [we] can do this ) ! ! !

Sharon – Welcome back; I’ve missed you. Hugs and Prayers for all the struggles with your family.

Allison – Hooray for your brother. I will keep him in my thoughts and prayers that he is able to release the grip that alcohol has on him.

So sorry that I missed the posts about Birthdays. Happy Birthday to everyone with a Birthday nearby ! ! !

Sweetnsouth – Congrats on your loss ! ! !

Peach – Congrats on your quiet life. I hope it stays exactly the way you like it!

Kimses – I agree about the planks. My son works with a personal trainer. He started with gravity/body weight lifts, and is now doing more difficult of that and has added free weights. Major things changed about his planks; Not only does he lift 1 arm and 1 leg on opposite sides of the body off the floor, but he also does them on the same side of the body (this one is called Superman Plank). He also now does his pushups with his feet on either the third step or on the couch, and those he does with his hands in 3 different positions (wider than shoulder, at shoulder distance, and hands touching each other).

Miriam – I started my planks on knees and elbows, and graduated to 60 seconds. Now I do my planks on elbows and toes (when my arthritis is not flaring in my feet). I had another Physical Therapist teach me something he called “turtle”. You either lay on your back or sit in a chair, and raise your feet off the floor, and push gently against your knees while pushing your bellybutton toward your spine, and graduate up to holding that for 60 seconds, then gradually put more resistance against your knees. Sometimes I do this at work, and no one even knows. Yes, a strong core (tummy) helps make a healthier back.

Today has officially been 1 year since my cycle. Hooray ! ! ! I was done using that organ anyway.

Today I was able to add a sticker to the calendar, but my co-worker who is doing it with me is being too hard on herself. She wants to go COMPLETELY carb/suger free, so if she puts even a cracker into something, she feels like she doesn't deserve a sticker. I told her this is supposed to encourage success instead of failure, but she insists that eating anything that is not part of this crazy diet she is reading about means she doesn't deserve a sticker. My theory is: we work, and we sometimes work hard and/or long hours, and she is a single mom. Sometimes in our lives we need to eat a piece of pizza, but only having 1 piece is a success, not a failure. I guess I'm on my own as far as the stickers are concerned, but I know I have all of you for support, too.

Today we are expecting a high of 36 and the sun is shining, so the attitude around here is looking up.

Hugs for Everyone ! ! !

Terri in Milwaukee

LOVE the plank posting!!!