@quilteryoyo - I think that is the best, healthiest way to approach the holidays. Enjoy it, maybe overdo a little and get right back to your normal eating. It doesn't happen often so don't feel guilty about enjoying yourself!

The apple festival was ok. It got really crowded so we basically just walked around (a lot) and looked at everything. There was not much apple butter in sight anywhere and none of the advertised apple butter demonstrations. The lines for the restaurant and bakery were consistently, crazy long all day so we didn't eat. We waited in line for the restaurant at one point and I took the opportunity to look in the window at the bakery and they had already sold out of apple products - no pie, no cookies, no bread. I could get cranberry or pumpkin but I can make those at home. When I checked in at the restaurant they confirmed that if the bakery was out of pie so were they, so we left. We went up to the cider house and the lines were equally as long but we were able to go in the store and just buy a quart of cider. Then we headed to In-n-Out for lunch cause we were all starving 😂
DD and I commented that it was great to see it so busy, the area was hit with fires in the last year or so and in general struggles and depends on people coming up for apples and apple products, but it was so different from what we normally experience there. All in all I think we would go again, maybe earlier or just plan a day midweek like we normally do. And we had fun and got a lot of walking in.

DD goes home today and I will miss them. Last night after we went to bed I lay there listening to her voice and laughter as she and her partner were talking in the family room. It reminded me of when she was younger and had her friends over. Just felt so sweet to know she was there.

@CMorning99 - hope you had a nice Thanksgiving!

Hi Folks!

I haven't been getting on much since not much has been going on. (I say this as I will probably write a novel LOL).

All is well and status quo in the house. I am really working on not stressing and fixating on "to do's". I suspect I do it because I have nothing else to fixate on. I am not saying going back to work is the right answer, it is just my personality I guess...I like to have my teeth sunk into an adrenaline producing problem LOL. Right now our #1 issue is finding a new place to live.

TDay was quiet. DH and I made a prime rib and vegged. It is always a quiet affair now that I associate the day after as mom's death. We bought some water filters during the sales and that is about it...oh and DH got some new undies LOL. Romance is alive

Black Cat: He is hanging in there. We have come to just assume his IBS is the source of his energy and eating swings. The last 2 days he was a complete psycho around the house...today, he doesn't want to eat. Not much more we can do.

House: Yeah...it goes. I am waiting on a second quote for the final project prior to split...the driveway. Luckily all we have to do is add the turnout and extend the asphalt 20 ft into the driveway to make a "public approach". Unfortunately because the scope is smaller, the price goes up. Our first bid was $12827 minus 10% if I pay cash. I hope we get the second one soon and we can start next week. Who knows how long the paperwork is going to take. Everything else is on hold till we finish this.

Life: No luck on the life insurance/annuity. DH mentioned we just keep it since I never saw the money anyway. Just sucks how insurance works...spend all the money just to gamble on who gets it...especially when the actuaries are betting against you LOL. I have been trying to streamline our finances a bit with payroll deductions and that is an adventure. I still don't have a VA rating. I was scheduled for an EKG with the psycho heart doc again and 3 hours before my appt they called me and cancelled and told me to find another provider. So now I have to wait for the schedulers to find a new doctor and then it will go to the VA. I suspect I have another 60 days before my claim is submitted.

I am still taking my vitamins and my weight is 100% stable at 185. I haven't started walking yet since I am still dealing with fatigue but eventually I need to get over myself LOL. I need to pester DH to go walking in the evening...he has been in a funk lately and grumpy. Probably do us both good.

Reselling is going. There have been so many platform issues lately and return rates are going up. I am not isolated in this, but it is still something I am not used to. After all the returns from Nov - it seems my profit dwindled down to Oct balance. I need to grow a bit more but this is not for the faint of heart LOL. I have thought about going back to work but honestly I really enjoy not having the stress...or dreading Mondays LOL. We will see how it all shakes out, especially when it comes time to ask for a construction loan.

Hi all. Trying to get back on track. Day 1 logging food.

Kevin had his second knee surgery yesterday.

Hope everyone is well.

Nice to see you back @swenson19d . I was wondering how you were doing. I didn't know Kevin had the first surgery, so I sure didn't know about this one. Is he doing okay with the recovery? Did he get injured or what?

Hahaha @CMorning99 . I'm glad your mom was able to do that for you. This is the anniversary of the formation of the Space Force, as you probably know. So, I guess that a T-minus 10 miler is the way they are celebrating. You should train for the one at Vandenburg next year! We could virtually run it together, 3 hours apart.

@swenson19d Poor Kevin, but he is one lucky pup. I feel ya on the $$...black cat is currently costing us $1K a month for chemo and meds

Hi Folks!

Another week! Another chance to keep this ball rolling.

DH caught a miserable cold last weekend and somehow I seem to have avoided it for a change. Usually it is the other way around.

I have been officially tracking calories for 1 week! I have MFP set for between 1650 and 1750 calories ...which based of my Apple Watch should be about a 350-500 cal a day deficit. I haven't weighed myself though, it doesn't seem important. We have holiday dinners tomorrow and Friday but that should be it.

We officially started on the driveway today and the county got my "last" check for the map filing. Nice to have something happening again.

Reselling has been the pits for sure. I don't know what is going on or if this is normal but my sales are down 47% from last month. I made more in Dec of 22 doing this part time! There seems to be so much drama on the platforms. Today I had a person open a return on eBay (an item defective return which is a ding on my account) for a $12 pair of leggings I sold her cheap to get rid of them...she has had them 3 weeks and it looks like she washed them or somehow put hole in them and wants her money back. Of course eBay is 1000% Customer is right and I just have to eat it. Really makes me think about going back to work...but then DH comes home and tells me his stories and I am in a rock and a hard place. He literally had to have a convo today with someone about how they could not ask to leave early when they have not accomplished their 2 tasks that they had all week to do.

I guess I will let it ride and see what the long game is. I wouldn't want to go back to work before June before my annual vacay anyway.

Black cat is declining again. Absolutely refuses to eat anything unless it is fancy feast kibble and only if I put it right in front of him a little at a time. He sees his oncologist on Monday so I guess we will see what she thinks...but honestly I think she is out of ideas. His ultrasounds look good, he isn't puking, he is alert, his kidney values are acceptable (barely)...he.just.wont.eat!!!

Well I best get to work...I had a 4 hour hair appt (this could get hold really quick maintaining this purple hair LOL).

Have a great week!

Hi all.

I'm kinda hit and miss with logging, but I think Ive made it 4-5 days of the last 7. Last final exam was today. Now on to projects. The bathroom shower needs replaced. The foundation shifted and the plumbing didnt.

I felt so bad today. I made dd cry. She still lives with me. I popped into her room, while she was at work to leave a canvas print that I thought she might like, picked up some dishes, threw in a load of her floor clothes, and left a note on the ketchup bottle "Whale *kitten*. I had to eat my fish'dks sans ketchup. Hoarder". She came home, and got mad at at me and cried that she has no personal space. 28 is old enough to acquire said space, but I was respectful, apologised. Offered to buy her 2-3 days at a vaca spot 2.2 miles from the house (inn and cottages with hot tub, and personal space). She passed, apologised for being hormonal- I said dont dare apologise for such a thing. No worries. Wish she'd let me know sooner.

I had a dang mammogram last Friday. Saturday the report is up and a mass was found in the left. I'm in no way concerned. it happens, and isnt something til it is. Of course I shared the info with dd that Saturday making light of it being the remnants of my heart. I suppose she could be a bit emotional over her mum with cancer kinda scare. But she is smarter than that. So... poor kid.

I have this dipsht dog, Nina the doberman, who is just untrainable. She followed me outside today accidentally. So dog rodeo show for the neighborhood. She found a chicken (several piles of feathers), a coyote or bobcat or fox got and showed real focus tracking the thief. oh wait... Nina is a Kleptomaniac , maybe she thought she'd found her ppl? I think I am going to try to focus her on tracking games. She is sweet, just is not interested in leaving anything alone.

Hope everyone is warm!

Love the Run! @Quilteryoyo!

We have Kevin & Sandy still. dh is still a pain. So I got Nina as my pup. She is 10 months old and 80 pounds. She is so big I forget that she is a pup. She is a backyard breeder dog. Then I got Zara, (and her sister, who I gave to our dog trainer), were free FB dogs and a mere 9 weeks younger. So thats 2 dobies! Zara is such a good dog. Nina is sweet as can be, just dern busy! Nina went to training and learned little restraint without a constant reminder. Kev & Sandy listen so well. They are often of leash. But I have had to watch Sandy, she has become reactive. I sent her back to training and it is much better, but still have to watch her. The Dobie girls are so much more aware than K&S were at that age or are currently.

Zara napping,
Kev napping with his swollen Knee. I quit giving him med coz he wont stay inside off of it, insists on running outside to bark at things only the dogs can hear. It looks bad. I will give him some after the nap.
Nina (with the "naughty collar) & Zara (with her ears up- my lil razzle dazzle) and Kevs shaved butt.

@quilteryoyo - I love that picture of you too! You are definitely streaking across the finish line!
@swenson19d - The Dobies are gorgeous and look like sweet girls! I hope Kevin's knee is better soon and heals well.
Do you still have all the kitties too? How do they get on with all the big pups?
I hope the lump is nothing serious. Did they do any kind of needle aspiration? Years ago I had a lump and they immediately did an aspiration thinking it was a benign cyst. When it wasn't they scheduled me for a lumpectomy and I was lucky - it was cancer but fully encapsulated so once it was out all was good. I am hoping for a benign cyst, lump, whatever for you!
@CMorning99 - is there something that black cat really likes that you could give just to get some calories in? I don't remember what it was called but we used to have something at the zoo that came in a tube and was sticky but the animals really liked it. We used it for animals that weren't eating food whatever reason.

The last couple of weeks have been tough, especially this last treatment on Monday. I have been sleeping 10-11 hours over night and basically have no energy to do much of anything during the day. We did manage to get the Christmas tree up (fake with lights) and today I got some of our antique ornaments on it. Fortunately I don't have to be anywhere or do anything but it makes me feel pretty useless. DH has been wonderful, making sure I eat and taking care of things around the house and Hobbes rarely leaves my side. Mostly he is draped across my lap.

Thanks @shanaber . I'm sorry the last treatment was so hard on you. It sounds like your husband is a great caregiver, and Hobbes too! So sweet. How many more treatments do you have? You're almost done, aren't you? Hang in there. I pray for you often.

@swenson19d I'm glad the follow up showed a lymph node, I think. That is good news, right? Do they have to do anything else? I'm glad the cats and dogs sort of get along. It's great that you made spaces for the cats to go when they need to "escape." I know I can't have a cat around. Tippy is NOT a fan. Sorry you lost a lot of your kittens to wild animals.

We had a Christmas pot luck on Sunday with mom's Sunday School class. Tomorrow, we have Christmas lunch with my cousin in assisted living. We're going to have Christmas with my neighbors on the 25th and with my family on the 26th, and then New Year's with the neighbor's. I'm hoping that will be it for the big meals for a while and I can get back to eating like I should. It's so hard during the holidays and I've learned to not even try, just enjoy. No need to put guilt on top of the calories. LOL