NON WW & WW NEWBIES, OUR NEW LIFE, THE START OF SOMETHING WONDERFUL

Hi all...we woke up to about 3" of snow this morning! But it all melted by noon. Yay! Still not very warm yet, tho.

I have started a Nativity scene advent calendar. The figures are on each day, then you move them for the scene. They are about 2 1/2" tall & so cute! (I am making them with my embroidery machine) I had seen the pattern around Christmas & wanted to wait until it went on sale, but decided I have time now, might as well get it anyway.

@mswatson0777 No, our regular garden..about 8x10' is in our back yard. I usually just grow tomatoes, green beans, & zucchini. But the big pumpkin patch is close to where we used to live. It's on the land that dh grew up on. When his parents passed, no one in family wanted the land, so we bought it & sold the house. We have planted pumpkins & gourds out there for probably 6 or 7 years. Mostly for the gkids & then would give whatever was left over to any neighbors that wanted them. 2 years ago had a bumper crop, especially of gourds! Last year didn't do as well, & this year might be nonexistant.

@nighthazel01 We did talk to the dentist office this am. For now, just going to wait until they reopen..probably sometime in May as long as it isn't hurting. We really don't want to go anywhere to get it checked right now anyway. Re: the garden...I did that one time..my beans looked so nice & then we had a frost & the next day, all I had was black sticks in the ground & had to replant. So now, I wait plenty long before planting.

Wow, everyone exercises so much!! Great work! Makes me feel lazy that I have only been doing the treadmill. I ordered an exercise dvd from Grow Young Fitness. Supposed to be good for seniors, lol. But haven't tried them yet!

Hi to everyone else. Guess I am going to go down & sew a little before Dr Oz comes on & the treadmill calls.

@RetiredandLovingIt 3” of snow- yikes! Glad it melted. It has been cool here, and we have had flakes but so far no accumulation on the ground. All in all it’s been a pretty good spring for Toronto. ….oh I’m glad about your husband’s tooth, that it isn’t hurting…..man 100lbs for gardening? I find a pumpkin patch sounds interesting and romantic, but yeah I bet it’s a lot of work. …I’ve done very little gardening but enough where I was like it is so tough. I can also see where it’s rewarding however.

@theslightedgeforever lol about your period. I mean I’m sorry you don’t feel great but yep I’m ready for it to go permanently anytime. …do you know what is causing your leg pain? My legs can ache- sometimes it is due to built up anxiety that I’m not feeling. Sometimes it is chronic tightness from too much sitting/inactivity. Or your strength training- how long has it been and what did you do? I hope it gets better. …..lol about the pizza crust. I hate when I make something and it doesn’t turn out. I can usually get myself to eat it once, then it gets thrown out. I hate to waste the food, but I have a limit lol.

@Shexio aw with the Easter candies. I totally get wanting it if you don’t feel good, plus not being able to connect with people on the holidays…one of the reasons I’ve moved to a rough maintenance mode is bc I’m indulging more, and I just can’t restrict myself too much when everything is so restricted. So I’ve set a 5lb window and if I stay in it for now I’m happy. …..yeah groceries is like a big adventure now lol.

@TeresaW1020 action over words is a great motto. I knew someone at the gym once that would always say- hard work is hard. It really stayed with me. I think of it particularly when doing a tough exercise I hate.

@trooworld- sleeping well- I don’t believe it! Lol. Seriously isn’t it great when you can sleep well? I feel like people that don’t struggle with insomnia have no idea how awesome it is. …I can’t get delivery or pickup for groceries either. I tried a few times, and gave up. ….hope the change works for you with WW. It does seem like it makes sense.

@mswatson0777 sorry you’re struggling so much without your peeps.. I feel like I’m in existential dread most of the time but not during the shut down ironically.

So- I’ve been doing okay this week. Slightly better with calories though I don’t expect any serious weight loss. Saw my trainer twice this week and it was a bit better. On Tuesday we did some core. Today we did some strength training. It didn’t kick my butt quite as much, so maybe I’m getting back into the rhythm a bit.

On the work front- I work with a company and I am permanently employed (supposedly) and they essentially farm me out to clients on assignments like a consultant. So I have been with the same client since last Sept. They have contracted to June 1. They were pleased and are trying to negotiate another contract to have me from July to next Feb. I’ve been kind of stressed, bc I’m trying to help the negotiations and hope it won’t fall through, but my company is sort of mixed messages on it. Bc it’s only part time. But it would be nice to have the job security right now, even though the client could bail on the contract at any time, it still is some security better than none.

If that made sense lol. So- hopefully this works out.

I am watching too much tv- @theslightedgeforever- I dvred Rocky 4 the Russian one, but I still have to watch Rocky 3. I’ve been watching- soaps, Madmen, Justified, Damages, and some British comedies.

Take care all. I feel like my life has gotten very small bc of the shutdown.

Hi all..just came in from outside. Looks nice, but still cool & so windy! Dd made a trip to Costco & asked if we needed anything, so she brought us paper towels, kleenex, a few other things, & a rotisserie chicken which was not on our list, lol. It was good to see her, even though we stayed 6 feet apart.

@trooworld Hope your job situation settles down. Congrats on the loss!

@its_cleo Hope your job situation settles down, too. I have pretty much moved to maintenance mode also. So far, not gaining, but have gotten a little more "snacky" than I was at first.

@Shexio Yeah, I do feel good when I do the treadmill. I know it is helping me.

Managed to do another online order of grocery for pickup. Last time the closest slot was about a week out, but when I did it this am, I could have gotten it later tomorrow, but instead opted for early Mon am during senior time.
Wonder if I will get all that I ordered, last time out of stock of a few items like tp. Ordered it again, still have enough for about 3 weeks, but thought I would try it.

Hope everyone has a great weekend.

@its_cleo, I sure hope everything works out with your job. You need that security and something to do while being stuck at home all day. Is your government starting to lessen the restrictions in some areas like our is?

@trooworld, Wahhoooooo on your awesome weight loss! WW seems to really be agreeing with you. You have motivated me and yes, I will get my mojo back for sure!

@RetiredAndLovingIt, I hope you will get all your order from the grocery store. I need to go to Sams and I’m thinking of trying to order the stuff in advance and then go pick it up. I just love getting out and the only place I can really go now is to the store.

Good morning! It’s going to be a dreary rainy day today with possible big storms and tornados in the South. I sure hope all that drama stays away from us! I think I overdid it on the weights this week so today I’m just going to do some Pilates BOD workout and then walk on my treadmill. My eating yesterday was on plan and today will too. I have grocery shopping to do tomorrow so I need to spend some time making out this week’s menu. Have a good day!

@RetiredandLovingIt glad you’re getting the necessities you need. Someone online yesterday said they miss hugs. Or maybe it was a tv show I can’t remember lol. I’m sure it’s a pain to see your daughter and not get close.

@theslightedgeforever well I’m glad the leg pain stopped. I just finished season 5 of Justified. I just have the last season to go – don’t spoil me. I didn’t know he was in the Santa Clarita Diet show. Unfortunately I can’t stand Julianna Margulies and I swore I would never watch another show she was in again, so that is out lol.

@TeresaW1020 no I think our government is more cautious. In Ontario it will likely be around mid-May or end of May before they start anything different. British Columbia possibly a bit earlier bc apparently they were rock stars with how they managed it. ….hope you don’t get hit with any big storms. It’s raining here too

@trooworld have you been making the WW recipes?

Well gang my weight is down a bit this week, which is good but not such a great accomplishment bc overall I’ve increased the last month or so. But it’s a step in the right direction.
Today I did hills/stairs, about half of what I normally would do. Not sure about the rest of the day. It’s kind of cloudy here.

I’ve gotten tired of talking to people on the phone. Like I just feel like – eh, forget it I’ll talk to people when this over. Not that I was talking to a lot of people anyway.

I’ve started working on the puzzle I have. @TeresaW1020 I meant to say- that 40 000 puzzle- wow! Looks amazing. I wonder how much space it would take up.

Anyway take care all.

@teresaw1020 That's great that you stayed OP and are getting in some exercise. You will get your mojo back soon.

@trooworld NY is starting to come out on the other side of it so there's hope for all of us. Although infections will probably continue to climb for awhile around the country. You continue to be a source of motivation for all of us.

@its_cleo That's great that you are losing some weight now. Maybe we are all flattening our curve. I think caution is the way to go on this virus and you all will be better for it probably. Seems everyone I talk to either has rain or snow right now. I have some actors where I won't watch movies or shows. lol Brad Pitt is one of them. I don't think Julianna Marguiles is in that. His wife is Drew Barrymore. Unless you don't like her too. I'm midway season 4 of Justified right now. I'm thinking of watching Deadwood after this since I can pretend the character is Raylan's granddaddy.

@its_cleo Congratulations on your weight loss. Any amount of weight off during this time is an accomplishment. I know what you mean about the phone and people, I'm just not motivated right now to keep up with calls.

@cbabie I'm glad you got out for a walk, the exercise and sun. I've been feeling run down myself the last couple days.

@theslightedgeforever Thanks a great idea about the zucchini and airfryer.

Had a nice weekend, we had quite a bit snow for the beginning part of the weekend and yesterday some rain showers. I got outside though and there were moments of sunshine, which felt great on my walk.

@nighthazel01, glad that you can get back outside for your walks.

@theslightedgeforever, I love crunchy snacks too. I have made zucchini chips in the past and they are yummy. Not very crispy but tasty. Have you tried roasted chickpeas? Those are very good!

@cbabie, sorry your in a funk and that your wrist has been hurting. I hope you start to feel better soon.

@its_cleo, yayyyy for weight loss! I would think that 40, 000 piece puzzle would take up a lot of space. It would be fun but I wouldn’t want to crawl around on the floor to put it together.

Good morning! Well, I got ready early and was at Walmart by 9 am to do the grocery shopping. I like going at that time of day and might keep up that habit even when life resumes. Is life going to resume? Sometimes I wonder. We had storms through the night but nothing too serious around here and this morning it is beautiful. Today is the 15th anniversary of the day that my DH and I met online. We like to celebrate this day and we were planning to go out to our favorite Italian restaurant but instead, DH is going to go there and pick up a pizza that we will have with some salad and wine. Not as romantic with my mom eating with us but that is OK. At least I get wine!!

Hi ladies. Sorry I don't have time to catch up one on one. I went pretty off the rails this weekend, and honestly I'm not even that upset by it. I think I was just mentally, emotionally, and physically burned out. I curled up and devoured two books this weekend and it felt amazing. I've been pushing hard to be productive and get a lot of things done. I think it was just a little too much. Grad school work, house stuff, possible promotion on the horizon, existential dread on the state of the world, trying to still connect with family and friends, being a decent spouse. It's all a lot. I've decided I'm taking the pressure off myself. I'm still going to focus on healthy movement, connecting with people, and eating well, but I'm not going to pressure myself like I was. I don't need to go 1,000,000 miles an hour all of the time, especially now.

@TeresaW1020 - Wine is a good trade off these days. It's nice that you still found a way to mark the special day, even if it wasn't how you planned.

@cbabie In the 90s, I can't even imagine. Winter isn't as strong here anymore as it once was, but now it just drags on forever, sometimes it feels like we lost spring and fall.

@mswatson0777 - Good for you for taking a step back, we all need to sometimes. Just from reading your posts it seems like you have a lot on your plate, all the time. I've been in a funk the last week too.

@its_cleo You always get some exercise in, even if it's not as much as you want, you moving and that's great.

We had a huge storm blow through last night. I'm tired of being at home, it makes me feel tired and I haven't done anything. Food wise I did good yesterday and I got my walks in. I made a vegetable stir fry for myself for dinner.

Hi all. I'm feeling so restless and can't concentrate on anything. Last week, I was doing really well and doing Photoshop tutorials to actually take advantage of the time off. This week? Not so much. Today, we have to take our pooch back to the doctor to get re-checked and then a handyman is coming again so I won't have time to focus on anything. For dinner, we are having Instant Pot Pasta e Fagioli and 2-ingredient Dough Garlic Breadsticks. If I get around to the breadsticks.

@TeresaW1020 Hang in there. Life WILL resume and soon! Enjoy your Italian food and wine, that sounds yummy!

@cbabie Woo hoo! Great job! Ugh to the 90s. Yay to feeling the hugs!

@mswatson0777 That sounds like a good plan, to take the pressure off. I'm glad you read those two books and relaxed a bit.

@its_cleo It does seem long. It feels like this is never going to end but it will.

@nighthazel01 Vegetable stir fry sounds good.

@theslightedgeforever My hydration has been very good. I'd say on plan. I hope you have a better water day. My friends are pretty stuck in their ways except for one, everyone else wouldn't want to try anything new. May IS right around the corner, wow!

COMMITTED.
April goal: track 2 meals a day, do some form of exercise once a day, drink 52 oz of water per day

@its_cleo How did the jog go? It sounds like you're doing pretty well on activity

@nighthazel01 Storms are hard. It makes me feel even more trapped in the house if that makes sense? I'm glad you were able to get out for a walk.

@theslightedgeforever Hamsters in a wheel for sure. It's definitely a groundhog day situation!

@trooworld I hope your pup is doing okay, your dinner sounds amazing!

@TeresaW1020 How scary, I can see why you're hesitant to see things open back up, especially since you have so many people in your household who fall into a more vulnerable category. I hope you and your family are able to stay safe!

Morning Ladies! I am doing much better today. I swear this whole situation is such an emotional roller coaster. I got up and got a workout in, I'm doing a walk over lunch, and hopefully seeing my jiu jitsu team after work on a zoom meeting. I talked with my doc advisor and we're thinking about dropping me down to 1 class this summer to try to make life a little more manageable.

I looked over my quarantine to do list and there's nothing urgent or all that important on it, so I'm keeping the pressure off an focusing on self care. My new question to myself is what will make me happy. I've decided I'm focusing on joyful movement, joyful interaction, joyful activities. I've done enough self development, now it's stuff that is just for me.

@theslightedgeforever I've never watched Deadwood, although I've heard of it. There is too much good tv to keep up with. Lol about throwing out celery. I don't mind it, but it's not my idea of snack. Whenever I go to a restaurant and they have it on the side- like you order wings and there's like one carrot stick and one celery- I never eat it. ....Cals I am over as per usual but so far over by about 200? or something which is not too bad for me.

@trooworld - photoshop tutorials. I did some of those a long time ago. Think I've forgotten everything. But someday I want to do something with my vacation photos. I got a camera that takes pictures in raw footage- somehow they are easier to fix and manipulate. But I've never tried. I have to buy a photo editing program someday.

@TeresaW1020 I'm sure it's normal to be scared, and it's smart to take your time with it. I hope it turns out ok. I was reading a bit about it and it did seem kind troubling, but I'm kind of an outsider Don't really know what's going on there.

@mswatson0777 I'm glad- you sound so much better!

@cbabie yeah I know you're right, better to be safe than sorry. I'm just glad that with everything we've done so far our hospitals have been able to manage ok. Toronto had quite a lot of cases. So far our health care system has held up.

I don't mind, 6 weeks more, if that's what it takes here. They say it has peaked and should start dropping and they want to give it more time so that when we start reopening cases have been low for a while.

Well I do mind lol it's hard but I'm trying to see that we're getting to the other side.

@mswatson0777, you have your head in the right place and that is great! Yes to focusing on joy!

@cbabie, sorry that your job is so stressful. Every other day of walking is better than none. I miss church too!!

@its_cleo, The thing that I just heard on TV is that COVID is with us now forever and they think it will come back this winter during flu season and that could be a big problem. Hopefully, they will have better testing capability. We can’t go through another shutdown! I think I will give that Justified show a try since it seems to be so popular.

@theslightedgeforever, I get a blue dot by pre-tracking and not overeating. I also workout really hard to if I do go over, I can use some Fitpoints. I’m trying! So, I watched Deadwood years ago and it was awesome!! I hadn’t heard of Justified but went and looked it up and it gets very high ratings. I think DH and I will check it out. We need something new to watch.

Good morning! Well, I have calmed down a little from my freak out yesterday with the news that Georgia is going to reopen. A good friend pointed out to me that I don’t have to stop doing what I’m doing. My DH and mom can still remain in quarantine and we can continue to be super careful and wait and watch to see how it goes. I really do feel strongly that we can’t keep living on lockdown. People are truly suffering and that has to be taken into consideration as much as keeping people safe from this virus. PLUS, I have a hair appointment scheduled on May 5th and my roots really hope that I can go see my girl. Today’s plan is to work out, stick to my points, and give the dog a bath.

@trooworld Good news is we carved out a plan to keep my graduation date the same, so honestly it's a win-win. How are your April goals going?

@TeresaW1020 Absolutely, you can still stay safe even when others are going out! I'm glad you're feeling better today.

@theslightedgeforever Homemade doughnuts sound delicious, I'm jealous! And I like your comparison to grief. I am mourning what my summer was supposed to be, while trying to embrace the joy of what it is.

@its_cleo I hope it's just 6 more weeks. We're already starting to contingency plan for if classes aren't able to be back on campus for fall. I sincerely hope it doesn't last that long, I would feel awful for our poor incoming freshmen.

@cbabie Every other day isn't bad at all! Are you able to get some stretching or meditation in to help with the job stress? It could be a way to add in more joyful movement.

Happy Wednesday All! I'm still on the joy train today. I woke up originally planning on a full workout, but my body felt sore and stiff from yesterday so I chose joyful yoga instead and I'll do some puppy walks later. I ended up being really active yesterday with the good weather so I'm glad I took today as a more restful day. It's supposed to be beautiful weather again today so I'm going to try to spend as much time outdoors as possible!