WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR JANUARY 2020

Waiting for the arrival of the 3 Kings (Reyes ) later We get a limited view of the parade from our balcony Won't be down among the crowds too many people and too much standing around, they charge to sit on the plastic chairs

Kate UK

Happy New Year! 2019 was full of deep ocean lows and mountain highs. My positive thinking says the lows make the highs even better. I will try to catch you up on my crazy end of year as I think I have been MIA since vacation in September......I think I just felt overwhelmed by everything so in all honesty, I did what NYKaren does and zoned out with mindless games on my tablet. Not even TV really. Just stupid games....

September started with vacation to the beautiful Smokey Mountains. There is something about the mountains that makes my spirit happy. Last year (2018), my SIL had a nervous breakdown while we were gone. I had to get my husband in the right place so that we could enjoy the rest of our vacation. In 2019, apparently the care of our dogs became a hassle. My MIL would call my daughter at the last minute and say that she needed to come take care of the dogs. My daughter has a full time job, two kids in football and band and lives 15 mins away. My MIL lives next door to us. Now, my dogs are generally outside dogs. Feed them in the morning and put them outside. Bring them in at night, feed them, let them out, and put them inside for the night. Not hard. It got stupid. Really how hard is that.......My husband was getting mad at my daughter for not stepping up, but she tried. She was leaving for work at 4 am and not getting done with kids until nearly midnight. She did come over on weekends. My fur babies are/were old. They really didn't need a lot. We did enjoy the rest of our vacation, but once again it almost got cut short. Of course, that led to a lot of added stress even upon our return home. Work was a disaster as well. I don't know how a person can grow up in a business and not be able to handle the daily customer interactions. My SIL tried, but my poor son in law, worked his butt off while we were gone. It took 3 weeks after we got back before I felt I was back on track at work.

@ are you talking about? He quickly told me he would find out and let me know. Apparently our head mechanic had several mini strokes so they called the squad. My husband didn't want me to know as he knew I would have come back home, so he didn't call me. He said there was nothing I could do, so just enjoy myself. I did have a really good time. Lots of walking, shopping, eating, and yes some adult beverages. No internet and seriously spotty phone service. Was really relaxing. Came back home to a flipping mess at shop again. Mechanic still not doing 100% but is back to work. Trying to keep up with repairs with only my son in law was rough. D does a great job, but has only been doing it for 4 years, not 40. We managed (D and I) and got things done. Also in October, my youngest grandson broke his ankle on the way home from school causing him to miss playoffs for football. Oldest granddaughter fell down stairs at school and twisted up her knee, so was unable to participate in flag corp activities, but still had to be present. SIL had neck surgery. Dear friend of the family had a double mastectomy followed by reconstruction after 20 years in remission. My youngest daughter had to have surgery to remove kidney stones. To say the least it was a rough month!!!!! Oh ....My MIL told us she was selling the farm in KY and wasn't letting the guys hunt this year! I felt as if I was drowning. I look forward to when husband is gone for a few weekends as we are together all the time.

November- SIL making recovery, but still restricted movement and limited time at work. I played Uber for the month for her. It got to be a joke between us when she would request a ride in the mornings. For the newer folks, my husband is legally blind and can't drive, so I am always the driver. She basically working about 2-3 hours a few days a week. We got to go see youngest granddaughter in her school play. Youngest grandson got cast off, back to normal. Husband kept us busy every weekend with fence row cleaning. We haven't done it in 15 years as we don't like the neighbors on that side. It is done now, so now need a privacy fence on that side. MIL still asking when we are getting another dog to keep Sara company. We aren't getting another one any time soon. Sara has bladder issues. Most likely cancer. Like Carol, I am not subjecting our old girl to a bunch of tests and sedation. She has and is living a great life with us and I will spoiler her until it is her time. When she does pass, then I will get new carpet in the house. It is 30 years old and has seen its share of pets. By Thanksgiving, I was exhausted! Thanksgiving is my holiday though. We found out that our oldest granddaughter will be marching in the Macy's Day parade in 2020 if she can keep her grades up! That will be a change next year as most of my family will be in New York with her. Our youngest granddaughter is in a cast now because of Severs disease. These kids are so busy!

December- well, I finally got all my Christmas cards out for both personal and shop by December 16th. Christmas tree got put up and decorations out the first weekend of December. I was lazy this year and only put part of the decorations on the tree. It usually takes me about 2 hours to repack everything afterwards, and just didn't feel up to it. The tree was still pretty. The grands all came for the second weekend for cookie baking, movies, and sleep over. We had a blast! Christmas gifts.....for several years I have done family gifts. I would give the grands a book and an activity something. For my youngest daughter's family, I bought them Kings Island passes. For the oldest daughter's family, I just give her the $ and she spends it on an experience for the family. For 2019, they went to Great wolf lodge for a night. It is an indoor waterpark. She also used the remainder from us and from her dad, to take the family to Disney for Christmas show. She is the value shopping queen. She is planning on using this years money for one of their trips this year. Since my youngest daughter is now working full time and the kids are so involved in activities, they got gifts and money. For the adults, I got them massages. Something they can't afford nor take the time for. I finally got to quit being Uber driver for SIL. She is back to driving, but still under restrictions for other things. She averages about 15 hours a week out of 45. I was stressed as to what to get my husband for Christmas. Every idea he gave me, he turned around and bought!!!!! Apparently we were on the same train of thought though for gifts. Sleep and cleaning. With him only hunting in Ohio, shopping time was limited. As of the day before Christmas eve, all I had for him was the obligatory underwear, calendar, and chocolate covered cherries. He loves them as did my dad. I ended up getting us new pillows and a thick mattress pad for our bed. So nice! I also got him lottery tickets and a lighter plug in wet/dry vac for the cars to use at car shows. He got me some massages, a weighted blanket, a weighted throw, and a Shark Ion Robot vac. He is nicknamed Sharkey. I love him! Both Sharkey and my husband. We had been talking about the Roomba, but the Shark had good reviews and was about 1/3 of the cost. The only issue is he is still having problems mapping the house. I have him run while we are at work during the week. It is so nice to come home to clean floors. The weekend before Christmas my oldest daughter and I went home to MD, to celebrate Aubrey's first birthday!!!!! What a joyous occasion!!!!! She is on par developmentally and still smiles all the time! Her latest tests were great. She is such a warrior. My aunt is also doing well. She sold her condo and is now living wherever she can lay her head until she can get into the development for seniors. We worked Monday and then until noon Christmas eve. Off Christmas Day. On Thursday after Christmas, I sat on ice all day. I had a yeast infection from HE** again. Too much sugar, not enough water, and generally not taking care of myself. Missed work Friday and Saturday as I was in bed on ice or in tub in Epson salt. Finally felt better on Sunday. I don't understand why I don't notice until it explodes. Sorry, maybe TMI. My husband got diagnosed as prediabetic at his doctor just before Christmas. He dropped a tree on himself the Friday after Christmas and hurt his back. Just muscle, but we made quite a pair! New Year's was quiet for us. We were in bed by 10. Time with friends in the evening was wonderful and relaxing. New years day was cleaning and relaxing.

WOW!!! I really need to stay up to date. We worked Thursday, Friday and Saturday. I am looking forward to actually getting back to normal schedule this coming week! I am still working on my word for the year as well as goals. I need to write them down then will share.

I think I addressed Roomba, older pets, and gifts which have all been topics brought up. I have updated you on myself, my family, my great niece, and my aunt. I have missed you all.

Better get my day going!

Happy Sunday!

Love,
Kylia in it is SUNNY today in Ohio!

PS- @Ginnytez- Where are you in OH? I am also an hour from Columbus South of Dayton.

Kylia ... thank you for the update!

Lisa ... love your word and the concept it conveys

We did not go to church today. All of us have come down with some virus. Not major symptoms, just annoying. We decided not to share as the church was having two baby dedications. I thawed turkey/rice soup for those who wanted lunch. Have no idea what I'll make for dinner. I'm cold and want comfort food ... that someone else makes!

Beth near Buffalo

My Sara

2020goLizgo: Welcome to a great group of supportive women. Stop by often.

Sue in WA: I’m glad that you enjoyed your chair yoga. DH loves his and I have gone with him once or twice. Nice people and the teacher is excellent. I still take my own yoga class and am thrilled that the schedule is now more predictable. Now I know I have a class on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I will be able to go with him to chair yoga on Tuesdays or Thursdays from time to time without any conflicts with my regular routine. I appreciate a predictable schedule.

Carol in GA: You have made an excellent decision for your little Pom. I hope he is able to get along okay for a good amount of time. :flowerforyou:

Pip: We’re glad and grateful that you participate in the MS ride every year. It feels like a personal gift. DH’s MS seems to be stable thanks to good research & medicine. You and your cadre of bike riders make a difference for him and thousands of others.

Michele: We still choose to give gifts to our adult children and their children. I expect that to continue for the foreseeable future.

Rori: Which movie did you watch? :huh: Back in the day I was a dedicated Elvis fan.

Shirley from N NY: Congratulations on the smaller clothing size! That means more than a number on the scales. It is proof you are succeeding. WTG!!! :bigsmile:

Pam: Welcome. You have posted. Keep it up!

Machka: I love your photos of Tasmania. I’m always happy to see them. :flowerforyou:

Barbara: Thanks for your good vibes. It feels good to have your good vibes in my corner.

jsophiethomas: Welcome! I choose relatively low carb much of the time, but not no-carb. I try to have roughly equal thirds on my pie chart: carbs, protein & fat. I feel good with this balance even though I don’t always make the goal of one third protein, one third fat, and one third carbs every day. Portion control is my main strategy. MFP has set my overall calorie goals from the beginning. They shift downward when I lose weight. As you go along I expect you will figure out what works best for you.

Lanette: I would love to go on a trail ride with you and others because it is so much fun. It is definitely a fair-weather activity. I spend time at the gym in yoga classes in order to have the supple flexibility I need to ride horses. My sit bones often take a pounding when I ride at a trot because my damaged left knee can’t be used to post without serious pain. Neither yoga, surgery, nor tincture of time can fix the knee. Taking a little weight off can help the situation but not cure it.. :ohwell:

PAC: Welcome to a great group! Post often for encouragement and support. :flowerforyou:

Christina in Canada: Welcome!!!

TerriRichards: Congratulations on having Christmas things put away! We have 99% of our Christmas things put away in the garage attic, but we have a small construction project in the attic before we are truly finished.

Kylia: I am so glad to see you are back with us. YAY! I love the photo of your Sara.


DH is resting and I‘m on fire to get the garage attic set up. We have a floor section to fix in the attic & I still have five plastic boxes with lids and a few other items that need to go up there. I know it will get done. He is resting and I am restless.

Katla in Beautiful NW Oregon

I've emailed the Bargain Hunt guy to tell him we want to postpone. He did say we could opt to be put back in the mix if the recording dates weren't convenient. I made it sound as if it was unavoidable and we were desperately sorry about it, but the real reason is that DH really doesn't want to do it. I'm hoping he might change his mind in the future, but I'm not pressing him for now, it makes him too anxious. I also want to see if my brother is up for it. My brother is used to performing, but his health is a bit unpredictable.
I too get very nervous, but I feel the fear and do it anyway. For me it's always worth it, but DH dreads the whole idea.
I'm sad, but not devastated. I really thought it would be good fun and a chance to see behind the scenes of one of our favourite programmes.

Had an AF day today.

Tomorrow we are looking after Max and Edie all day. Bea will be back at nursery, but the school has a teacher training day. I will be doing the decoupage with Edie that I bought her for Christmas. I think DH will be trying the origami planes that I bought for Max earlier. We won't be able to get our exercises in, nor our normal writing stint in the morning, but it's worth it. We may go round the corner to the local café for lunch, just for a change of scene. Then we will make a slow journey back to their house on the bus in the afternoon. The au pair arrives back from Spain around 4 pm. We can probably slide away at tea time.

I am so happy with my bedside table. When we moved we put loads of really good things on Freecycle, so it's nice to be on the receiving end for a change. What a wonderful system! The guy who dropped it off had just moved and had no space for it.
It's from IKEA.

Love Heather UK xxxxxxxx

Hi, gals (or guys, if there are some who identify themselves as such - I hear we have one or two!)

I’ve finally passed all my pre-work requisits and began work on Friday, only to have a slight cold flare into full bronchitis. I went to our hospital’s urgent care clinic yesterday, and now have antibiotics and some nighttime cough medicine to ensure I have a decent sleep.

Starved because I just couldn’t get the energy to explore my food choices yesterday only to re-discover a 20-piece box of the fruit candy that is similar to loukhoms, or Turkish Delight, from the holidays. I have spread it out over two days. Not a good choice because of the very high sugar, but fortunately I don’t get dumping syndrome from sugar, only fats. I am now in the high 140s, heading for my goal weight of 135-140 lbs., or about 61-64 kg.

My holiday picture says it all. I’m the one on the left.



I hope everyone’s holiday was at least decent, if not magnificent. Mine was low-key, involving a great visit with middle daughter and family, where I discovered that I’m to be a great-grandmother in addition to my three acquisitions by marriage and discovery. It will be fun to follow the process. She’s due August 2nd, which means another Leo in the family. The first since my brother passed away 13 years ago. I’m thrilled!

Other than that, life is going well. I’m gradually filling up my wardrobe with medium tops instead of 3X and large pants and skirt because I have hips. No bottom, just hips. In fact since all my weight loss, my tailbone hurts pretty badly without an extra cushion on a long drive.

Meanwhile, I’m starting from here rather than try to catch up. I’ll get it as I read along. Happy birthday or anniversary for those of you who had milestones, good health to all of you who have problems in that area, and my unwavering support to everyone who has challenges in their life.

Sharon Near Seattle