WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR MAY 2016

Happy Friday/ Friday the 13th/ Full Moon ! ! !

Saffron – Yes, Avon still sells clothes, and I have a motivational shirt. It is bright yellow and from Avon. It is hanging in my hall, so I see it every time I walk to/from bedroom, bathroom, etc. I’m so excited to hear that the motivational dress worked for you ! ! !

Marcelyn – Happy Anniversary ! ! !

Karen – Love your “limited screen time” attitude. I try to limit mine at home, because I am on the computer all day at work, and want to enjoy other things in life and family. And, I found the snarky threads, and am VERY thankful for this group. I have been gone awhile, between work and health, and I love that I can just jump back in and feel welcomed.

I was hoping to jump in with both feet today, but it didn’t happen. I have read from my most recent post yesterday, but unable to keep my thoughts in order to respond, so I hope you all know that you are constantly in my thoughts and prayers, and I offer virtual hugs whenever you want !

Today we have a lunch meeting at work, then a pretty busy afternoon schedule. Tonight I am taking another crack at banana bread with coconut flour; I read that the secret is to triple the amount of egg in the recipe, so keep your fingers crossed for me please.

Sorry this is so short and scattered, but the phone keeps ringing (yes, that’s what I get paid to do, so I better do it), so I better copy/paste/ get back to work.

Hugs for Everyone ! ! !

Terri in Milwaukee (sun is shining )

Dear ladies whom I love... (sounds like the beginning of a great story eh?) Oh by the way, my "novel" is caught on some kind of mental block...It seems I can't figure out how to introduce Dmitri into the story. First I was going to paint him as a clairvoyant (since she had moved into his psychic awareness bubble). The reality part of me thinks that is hoaky. Or maybe he is that anti-social phobic hottie that lives in the huge house that overlooks the sea on the outskirts of town....Hmmm What do you think (to the ladies that have read my chapters thus far). What would you like Dmitri to be?

So yesterday was priceless in relation to the recruiters visit. There were two, all spit and polished and ready to impress us. I let them in and they cranked their necks looking at the huge map showing all of my husbands travels. Then they came in to sit down and they saw my husbands' shadow box saying..."OS Chief". It was a nice visit, and they were comfortable with us from the start. Knowing they didn't have to impress us, that we were Navy peeps just like them, let them lower their guard a bit I think. We found out the bonuses for the Nuclear field are amazing like 80k or 100k when they re-enlist. He could be a 1st class at 7 yrs in, and a Chief at 13 yrs in. With his schooling (2 yrs of Nuclear School) would count as 77 credits toward a college degree. There is a lot of stress with Nuclear School though, and I'm kind of worried about that. But the environment is so conducive to learning, that I am hoping that he will just be a sponge and soak it all up. My son will sign up this July, and there is a two day event where he goes thru the medical screening, takes the Nuclear test, (he has already taken the asvab test, and gets to chose a Job B (in case he doesn't make the cut for the Nuclear fields). They house them at a hotel near the airport, and give them vouchers to eat at the restaurant there. I still see my son as a child most of the time, so that whole event kind of gave me a panicky feeling. Knowing that I still have summer, and next year of school is a comfort. Most definitely.

Becca
Oregon

barbiecat wrote: »

Larisa, I live my life like a clock ticking in a thunderstorm...I keep doing the same thing no matter what is going on around me....so I eat and exercise and live my life the same no matter what the scale says or what my head says.

Yes, thank you! I'm trying to do the same. Just stick to the program, and not worry about how fast results come.
I also keep reminding myself that I'm a former-and-future-athlete, and consistency, discipline, determination, these are what athletes do. If you knew how often in a day I say "this is what athletes do", or ask myself, "what would an athlete do?" You'd probably chuckle. But hey, it'll probably work?
Thanks,
Larisa

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Lagopus wrote: »

Larisa – Hang in there! You clinched the fitness trophy, so obviously you're doing something right. Plateaus are frustrating but they do end sooner or later. It's just that it always feels like much later from our own perspective.

Thank you!
Yeah it's been three weeks so far. That's not really unheard of, I know...and I'm under enormous stress right now, trying to find a job and/or new clients for my freelance biz. So I'll just keep plugging away, and get what I get. I did have a non-scale victory this past week: I swam five days in a row for the first time ever.

@Lagopus Penny, I took the photo on a trip to Sanibel Island. I love birds.

@jmkmomm Joyce, I am commiserating with you about the jeans. Plug away.

Karen from Virginia

Hi ladies: Got my hair cut this morning, yeah! Groceries are bought and I got some fresh raspberries on sale plus we found a few wild ones way out in the back in the brush. We knew we had lots of blackberries but not raspberries. Thought maybe we would not have apples since we had to severely prune the apple tree but it looks like we will maybe have more than last year. Also will have more blueberries than last year, just have to get net over them so the birds will not get them. We have two trellises near the gazebo so have decided to try cherry tomatoes and green beans. We will see how that goes.

Pip - PCP is primary care physician. She takes care of my general health and I see a pulmonologist to manage the sarcoidosis. I live on ten acres between Snohomish and Monroe north of you, near Hwy 2 going up to Wenatchee.

Marcelyn - Happy Anniversary, enjoy!

Karen from VA - Welcome.

Everyone take care, Sue in WA

Greeting to all you 50 + year olds. I am 62, this past March. My name is Debby and I am from Northern California. I was doing fine and then all of a sudden I got lazy and put on some weight. Last night I weighed myself at 177.8. So I'm back! I need to get a grip and sounds like you gals, do.

Maybe joining in, will keep me motivated. Friend me if you want.

Have a great day Ladies and on to the weekend....

Good Friday evening! I am soooo glad it's the weekend. It has not been a particularly bad week (other than computer issues this morning), but the only evening I was home was on Wednesday. Although nutrition hasn't been spectacular, I've done well with calories. I made the Fitbit's request of 250 steps per workday hour (10 hours) all but two days and barely missed it then.

Chris - I am so happy for you!! He sounds like close to perfection.

Terri - So glad to see you back!

Miriam - Congrats on the too big pants!

Michele - The lighthouse made of pots was something that came across my Facebook news feed--someone had glued (?) them together and then painted them. I saw a big ceramic fish outside a consignment store today and though about you!

Joyce - I'm beginning to wonder about my continuing jaw pain. It doesn't hurt at the joint but below the tooth I had worked on. I'm sorry you are so miserable!

Becca - You are such a brave woman to encourage your sons to join the military. I have to admit that I am secretly very relieved that Celiac Disease will keep my son out.

Lisa - Good luck with your sale tomorrow!

Pip - I'm glad that "tap" from the car was nothing but a tap!

To those of you I missed mentioning, please know that I read and thought about you individually as I read. Welcome newbies!

To whomever it was that talked about their motivational dress (or pants, etc.) - Thank you! I think it's time to get mine back out where I can see it. I bought a dress when I first started losing that was my goal dress. I got to the point I could get into it but never quite small enough to wear it. Now that the weight has crept up some and the muscle tone has disappeared, it might do me good to have a visual reminder.

I keep putting off calling the orthopedist but I can't any longer. I'm setting a reminder in my phone to call on Monday. The shoulder gets a little better then it gets worse again. I want to nip it in the bud!

The weather is supposed to be gorgeous here tomorrow with highs in the sixties and sunny. I plan to make myself get my butt out of the house and into the park for some walking.

Oh!! Some of you may remember that I went to a coworker's home for Thanksgiving last year. Well, she's been telling me for years that when she wins the big lottery that she's going to be sure that I am all taken care of. She wins with some frequency up to $2,000. Last week she told me on Wednesday that she had won $500. Yesterday, she walked into my office and handed me $50 and said that was my share of her winnings! I couldn't believe it and tried to refuse it but she was having none of it (she's retired from the Army). I passed it along by tipping my hairdresser last night.

I think I need to go find some dinner. I sent the boy child to the grocery store for me but I don't have anything ready at this point. I'll be cooking tomorrow! Tonight, it may just be cereal.

Carol in NC

Chris, so glad to see you happy!

I am past exhaustion and on to happy lunacy. At least it's happy. I can tell when I'm nearly done, when I start getting absent-minded. Worse than any professor. I had to go hunt my phone for an HOUR this evening. Found it at work, on my desk under a piece of paper. Once my blood pressure came down, I could see the humor. Lordie.

But - the sale's in the morning... I will have help... and it will be a success. Indeed, it's the talk of the town. My boss put a free 4x3 ad in the paper, AND a nice long classified, and people have been stopping me to ask about it. As well as congratulate me on the job. One good thing about small towns.

Can't say I'm looking forward to both a county and city meeting Monday, but there are worse things. The more they see my face and understand I'm not there to snitch on them, but to give a balanced and fair picture, the more they'll open up. It's a really, really interesting thing, digging this deep into the underbelly of a small town.

And my sis is coming this way, with two nieces in tow, with the next load. The timing's a bit up in the air, but at this point, the longer the better! Give me time to take what doesn't sell and rework it, clean it, sell it online, whatever. Much of what I'd hoped to refinish, there just wasn't time to accomplish. So I took the cost of my time off the refinished price, and selling it for a profit over what I'm paying for it (most of which is ten percent to my sister). Win-win. Less work for me, cheaper for them, and everyone's happy.

Time to go make signs. If the weather-critters are right, the rain's supposed to hold off until 5 p.m. tomorrow, and I'm closing the sale at two, so fingers crossed!

Love y'all... thank you all VERY much for the good wishes... Once I've sold a bit over $800 worth, the rest is profit, and I've got more than $8,000 in priced goods. If I sell a tenth of it, I'm in the black, and if I sell half (reasonable guess), it's a really good profit.

Lisa in West Texas

KetoneKaren wrote: »

@cityjaneLondon and others who have welcomed me. I have been unfortunate enough to have blundered into some of the snarkier threads on this site. I have to say, this thread is breath of fresh air, and much more worthy of the limited screen time I am going to allow myself. Thank goodness I found you!

Karen in Virginia

Sorry to hear , but welcome!!!!! Gayle Minneapolis

aw thanks ladies for the nice words :-) As a mom I have to look at the military as a company. Great savings plan, medical and dental plans, college opportunities, travel the world, have babies without going into debt, and instilling a sense of pride. I know the military hasn't always been looked in high esteem for many people, and lives lost for the sake of war sickens me. But there isn't a job I can think of that instills a sense of purpose, that life's privileges aren't just an expectation, that you are part of a picture bigger than yourself, than the Navy. Proving to yourself that you aren't a kid anymore, that you aren't apron-tied to your momma (even though I do try to re-tie them when they come home on leave), is an important stepping stone. These are my views now, and everyone has had many different experiences with the military. These opinions keep me grounded, when I think of my middle son far out in the Big Blue in the North China Sea. The way I look at how the military keeps me thinking positive about my eldest son working on jets up in Washington state. I respect everyone's opinion and how they think. All I know is that I do say thank you to every person in a Navy hat, saying "thank you for your service from a retired Chiefs wife". Like today at the grocery store I saw an elderly gentleman in a Navy hat, and went up to say thanks, and he took my hand so tight and started talking about his Navy experiences. He is 93 yrs old, was at The Battle of Guadalcanal, in Manila, and Hawaii during WWII. He painted a picture of him at 19 yrs old, just goddamn fighting old school. He was still so affected by it all, his eyes pained, but you talk about being proud.... He was a hero plain and simple. Veterans are still trying to get their proper dues. Today we are all thanking the guys coming home from Afghanistan, and other battles more recent, but those veterans that are still living thru the nightmares of WWII need care too. Even if its just lending an ear to "their stories".
Becca
Oregon

Have not posted for a bit but have been keeping up on the posts. Many new people greet to see. I love this group. Alway supportive through good and bad. Have enjoyed the pictures that have been posted and all that is going on in your busy lives. For those of you going through some kind of pain physically or emotionally I think about all of you hoping that things get better for you soon.

Many have supported me through my struggles and I truly appreciate that. Working on trying to love myself more and feel that I deserve better. Part of that is keeping a journal. This group is always in my gratitude journal. You have helped to encourage me to stay positive and keep me on track with my diet and exercise. I am truly grateful for that. It is amazing that I may not know any of you personally but feel that many of you truly care about everyone in this group.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart as broken as it maybe right now but you all are amazing women. I strive to be like many of you in my daily life. Just know I am grateful that you are part of my life.

Thank you.

Anne from Wisconsin

Dear all,
I am so sorry to have been MIA. I have not had the emotional capacity to read, respond to and support you. It has been a bifurcated two weeks. Lots of personal depression punctuated by an incredible professional high.

I do want to say thank you for the wedding advice. I said to my friend that I was uncomfortable driving myself so late in rural areas on bad roads after a long evening and she agreed completely. She also said no gift necessary. They need nothing. Whew and thank you.

As for depression- I am having to completely cut someone out of my life again for my own protection. I thought I could renew a relationship with family member. No such luck. Long history of poor communication and lots of hurt. This person has an excuse for everything and blames everyone for everything. Toxic, toxic, toxic. It spilled into my eating and exercising this week and I am in such a deep hole over this.

I better stop before I depress you.

CJ