WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR DECEMBER 2023

pipcd34 · December 2023

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cityjaneLondon · December 2023

All the pages are detached!

New England Boiled Dinner.

Love Heather UK xxxxxx

SophieRosieMom · December 2023

MFP Weekly Check-in for December 18, 2023

Rita in Roswell NM - Lost 1/2 pound this week. Still in the right direction!

Debbie in Napa Valley CA - 152.2 this week- down .4 Not bad for not tracking or walking quite as much.

Evie in BC - Managed to eke out a .4 of a pound loss. I will take it!

Lanette in SW WA State – again, weight holding very steady in the healthy range. Still daily walking with weights three times a day after meals, 3 times per day. Starting to gradually incorporate 5# weights, up from 3#.

LisaInArkansas · December 2023

Vicki and Carol, Annie, Machka and anyone else with family members or friends who are ill or struggling this holiday season, much love and light surrounding you and them.

Heather - I had to look up scabies... and then was sorry I did. I'd heard of it, but didn't know what caused it until now! Urk. Glad it's not your friend's issue! Enjoy your time with Max.

Rita - Hope your healing, both from the surgery and the anesthesia, goes very well. Love your Christmas decs, especially the manger!

Tracey - Had to go back and check, well done on the 100 percent! Hope the show went well.

Lanette - How'd the meeting with the doc go?

Got the laundry folded, and the pills finished before Corey's good morning call, then got dinner out to thaw for him... After a half dozen fits and starts, got my niece's quilt pieces in progress, and then took my daughter's call. While I was talking to her, in honor of Rita's posting of National Cookie Day, I made peanut butter cookies, and the dough is chilling in the fridge. I'll make them tonight and send them with Corey to work so they don't stay with me here at the house... Then I talked to Corey for lunch.

After all that, I fell over and took a nap, so I'm trying to decide whether to chill out for the next few hours and then shower, or vice versa. I'll figure it out in a minute.

Love y'all!
Later,
Lisa

grandmallie · December 2023

Afternoon ladies
Well still a bit cloudy but the sun is out.. wild weather overnight and this morning.. i used 10.00 worth of water for the quarter we get billed quarterly and then for the sewer and overall water usage say washing machines etc.. its 25.00 and 25.00 so every 3 months i use 10 dollars worth of water but have to pay 75.00 sheesh.
Well enough of this pish posh.. Im so very sorry to hear about all the sickness and all going on..my prayers to all involved,Vicki ,Carol ,all around the holidays....
Makes my stuff sound petty honestly and I do apologize..
Im going to hop in the shower and going to Trudys for dinner tonight and.. Alfie goes to the groomers in the morning..

kevrit · December 2023

Surprise from rangers. Certificates and small party with cake and ice cream. 5 years hosting for us and 18 years for the gentleman sitting down. He is 94 and still works the visitor center on weekends!

kymarai · December 2023

TerriRichardson112 · December 2023

Today I enjoyed putting up and decorating our Christmas tree.

Carole: Vicki: Annie: Machka:(((hugs))) and prayers for your invalids. Send love, light and positive vibes your way.

Rita: Good to know you are on the mend.

🤗🤗🤗 and 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻 for those who need them.

🙋‍♀️ Miele failte to the newbies.

☘️ Terri

exermom · December 2023

Gave Jerry the biscuits that I made that I didn’t like the way they looked. He was all upset before I gave him the biscuits – something about his sister wanting to put him in a group home in CA. Who knows? I’ll believe it when it happens

M – of course Vince and I talk to each other!!!! Sometimes you just get so busy that something goes out of your mind. No big deal

Carol – I’m so very sorry about your husband’s brother. When you say “his wife could not manage him any more”, what do you mean? Did he have a personality change? Prayers. On another note – I’m not expecting Denise and Pete to let me know of their plans. They never did before, so why would they now???

Got home from bowling and took a walk around the neighborhood. Will eat in a few so we can go to ceramics. Want to stop at one store to get soup for Christmas Eve.

Rita – nice decorations. Love that nativity

Vicki – HUGS for your brother’s wife

Terri – nice tree

Well, off to dinner and then ceramics

Michele NC

Rosemarie2972 · December 2023

Lisa, I didn't realize you had pain in the mornings. Is this something new? Did I miss something or forget something?

Carol: Is this your brother in law in hospice. I hope he is comfortable. Peace for your husband and your family.

Machka: I would be so restless in all those meetings. Even I would be wanting to code. Even as my husband was nearing retirement and not able to walk he was trying to learn Julia. I was trying to keep both our spirits up so I was trying to learn with him! Of course I don't know how to code so it was basically to keep him company!

The best part of this day has been signing on to this blog. I should have read the blog earlier in the day. The weather was glorious today, I will say that. I did take a walk outside by a pond but that is all I accomplished. I got my Covid shot and the RSV shot. The rest of the day I sat in the car. I did not want to be in my house.

I am over whelmed with the clutter and very tired of my decorations. The decluttering group I joined has a goal of throwing 2,024 items out in 2024. I will accomplish this just in paper.

I feel very lonely decluttering by myself. Also I am hesitant to change the house because I want it to feel like a home to my son...age 28 and married. I also don't seem to have much energy. My son and daughter in law are coming the 23rd to the 28th. Truthfully I wish they were coming to help me with the house. Instead it is their vacation from work and I want them to relax and rest and enjoy their visit.

But approaching 10 months a widow, I think it is reasonable to want to make some changes to the decor of the house. After all it is not a museum.

Sorry to be so gloomy! I love reading about all the cooking and art and Christmas decorations!

Best,
Rosemarie from Georgia

pipcd34 · December 2023

Stats for the day-

Walk w/family- walked to Costco- 1hr 57min 41sec, 42elev, 3.26ap, 90ahr, 109mhr, 6.49mi= 634c
Strava app= 794c
Zwift home spin bike- strava stats- 1hr 6min b27sec, 915elev, 125aw, 18.1amph, 20gear, 111ahr, 128mhr, 20.01mi= 406c
Strava app= 475c
Zwift stats- 1hr 6min 34sec, 916elev, 124aw, 67arpm, 18.03amph, 20mi= 476c

Total cal 1040

LisaInArkansas · December 2023

Rosemarie - Thank you for asking, dear heart, but no, you didn't miss anything. The pain pre-dates your time with us. I've got massive arthritis, significantly worsened with Crohn's disease. Some mornings are bad, but a few aren't--and the pain meds do give some relief for a small space of time throughout the day. Working with an acupuncturist weekly right now to try to diminish the overall inflammation (this is the third week) and seeing a gynecologist in the new year to see whether there's some other physical cause for the pelvic girdle pain, which is the worst. VA doctors just don't know how to treat pain without an obvious and visible cause, so it's been an uphill battle. Medicare is a year and a half away, and I hope to get more and better medical assistance when I move away from the VA.

As for your pain, there are no timetables for moving forward after that kind of loss, dear heart, and your son has a home, his own. If you're worried about what he wants or needs at your home, the best possible way is to ask him! You might need to negotiate some things to make you both happy with whatever changes you make, but you might find that he too is ready to move forward and see you do the same. If you are sitting in your car just so you don't have to look at your own house, it's time to make some changes that make YOU happy. I just can't emphasize that strongly enough. You might also want to look into some kind of therapy if you haven't already. I see your struggle, dear, and am wrapping my arms around you from here. Big hugs, held extra long.

Thinking of you - and I hope you enjoy your time with family so much.

Warmest regards,
Lisa in AR

dlfk202000 · December 2023

Rosemarie2972 wrote: »

I feel very lonely decluttering by myself. Also I am hesitant to change the house because I want it to feel like a home to my son...age 28 and married. I also don't seem to have much energy. My son and daughter in law are coming the 23rd to the 28th. Truthfully I wish they were coming to help me with the house. Instead it is their vacation from work and I want them to relax and rest and enjoy their visit.

But approaching 10 months a widow, I think it is reasonable to want to make some changes to the decor of the house. After all it is not a museum.

Sorry to be so gloomy! I love reading about all the cooking and art and Christmas decorations!

Best,
Rosemarie from Georgia

Hugs!! I think you should relax with your son and daughter in law but also ask if they might help with a few of the more important chores that you would love to get done.

After dad passed away, about 6 months after I think, Mom changed quite a bit in the house(mainly in her bedroom and the living room- whole new bedroom set and had the paneling in the living room painted white and redid the ceiling plus new lights.
She got rid of so much pretty quickly- that worked for her.
You do what YOU are comfortable with.

It has been raining most of yesterday/last night/today. Hoping it slows down while I drive to and from class.
I need to feed all our cats then go over and then over to my friend's to take care of her cats and dog then head to class.
between the two houses that is 16 cats and one dog to feed and 8 litter boxes to clean twice a day for the week

Got the candies I made consolodated (sp?) trying to clean up my kitchen., Got most of the gifts wrapping done(not that I had that many people to do for. Still need to start on cards. Maybe after class.

Debbie
Napa Valley Ca

Rosemarie2972 · December 2023

Lisa: Thank you! I hope the acupuncture helps! and that once you are on Medicare you find a great doctor!

I am feeling better now. I decided to start by removing items from the mantle. I think maybe a framed picture of my husband there might be nice and a couple of brand new decorations, not expensive might be nice. We'll see how my son reacts. I moved my 4 foot white Christmas tree out of the room and into a different room. The room really does look better. We took from savings and put down engineered hardwood in the room because using the hoyer lyft on thick carpet was hurting my back. This was a life saver for a couple of years. But maybe an inexpensive area rug would be nice now!

One of the items I took down was this huge orange mug that he gave his father for Father's Day that said, "Your a Big Deal"
I can't remember from how long ago. It was in the middle of the mantle. I can't throw it out. I will find a place for it.

An older friend from the church called this morning and asked if for her and another friend I would be able to be on call for any health care needs they had. They were of course willing to compensate me. I appreciate that they thought about me as a helpful person. I referred them to someone who might be interested. I am a little amazed that they thought I would want to get into a caregiver type role again...especially so soon.

Thank you again,
Rosemarie from Georgia

grandmallie · December 2023

Here we go
Our own Elf on the shelf!!
To all that need a pick me up 🥰

pipcd34 · December 2023

QUESTION :
I put a question out on another forum that I’m an art of. Kirby was wanting to get a new vacuum. The question was “Dyson vacuum owners: How do you like it for pet hair, we have 3 dogs”

I got a lot of feedback with people commenting about a shark vs Dyson vacuum

UPDATE:
I want to thank everyone for their input on my question about the Dyson vacuum. We have tile floors and area rugs (the washable kind from tumbleliving.com). We vacuum once a week. We had a shark rocket vacuum (I didn’t even know it was a shark, hubby got it at Costco) and it was okay I guess, we only had yogi/black lab at the time but then we the other two from my mom so we are a 3 dog family again. Seems like it’s 50/50 on opinions for a shark or a Dyson. I told him to get the cheaper one (shark) and we would test it out.

We vacuumed the rug with our old rocket, then we vacuumed over that area with the shark that he bought at Costco (shark cordless pro) to see how much more dirt it would pick up and it sure did pick up more. This was yesterday. I don’t know what made me change my mind but i asked him what model of Dyson he was thinking of getting and he said the v10 and I told him if we were going to go for it, might as well go all out so we returned the shark and got the Dyson v15. When we got home we vacuumed the same area again and the Dyson picked up more dirt/dust/hair! I know that more expensive doesn’t necessarily mean a better product, but there you have it.

Thanks again to everyone for their input.

SophieRosieMom · December 2023

Carol - so sorry to hear about your BIL. Prayers for you, your husband and the family, they've been through a lot. Hope the lunch with your sis and niece goes well.

Vicki - also sad news about your brother's wife. Hopefully she's under good care and will pull out of it OK.

Rebecca - what a nice picture of you and your friend at lunch. Love your hair, you both looked so happy and relaxed. Nice meals!

Rosemarie - Everyone advised me - don't make any major changes for at least a year after my husband passed. It took me a year and a half to decide I didn't need a lot of this clothing still taking up room in our closet. That was a start and that's enough for now. I sold items taking up space in the shop - his truck, drum collection. They meant nothing to me, had no memories in common. I'm glad I'm able to take my time and take things in stages. It's only in the past couple months that I've felt comfortable saying "my house, my car" instead of "our." Lisa has a great take on your son's and DIL's upcoming visit.

Lisa - hoping the acupuncture kicks in for you.

OK, good visit with Dr. Matt this morning:

He's very supportive of my "House Walking" and said "You're crushing it!"

. I knew that would be his reaction. He's in his early to mid 40's and it's neat having healthcare providers that could be my kids, LOL. I love his energy.

He said DON'T LOSE WEIGHT! As some of us have discussed in this thread recently, unless there's a medical reason to lose it, focus instead on being active - whatever that means to each of us - the gym, walking, treadmill, whatever resistance type training we can get in ... and eating plenty of protein. Crash-type diets can result in muscle loss (sarcopenia) and we don't want that for many reasons as we get older. That smartbmicalculator.com is right on the money.

We talked about intermittent fasting and I told him I normally have a 12 hour gap between finishing supper and eating breakfast, maybe longer if I'm not hungry for some reason in the morning. He said OK to throw in a 16 hr every once in a while, but for my age, (72) I'm getting plenty of benefits going 12 to 14 hours, no need to be stricter. I told him I'm usually getting at least 80 gm of protein and he said that's great and breakfast is important for me.

We talked about adding heavier weights as I walked. He said when I felt strong enough, it was OK to pick up 8# bar bells in each hand and walk, but he said to do it "farmer style" - just holding them at my sides. And concentrate on good posture.

I showed him what I was doing right now, holding 3# or 5# weights and doing slow bicep curls or other movements with my arms and wrists to strengthen my wrists and biceps. He grabbed the instrument he had to measure my grip (a gripometer? LOL!) - right hand gripped 61 lbs, left hand 30 lbs. No surprise there since I'm right-handed. He said walking and holding heavy weights like that should really improve my hand strength over time and I should be able to unscrew jar lids. A bonus I hadn't thought of.

He takes good notes and went over problems I was having last time - bloating, foot pain which have gotten better.

I see him again in 4 months.

That's a wrap.

Lanette

SW WA State

drkatiebug · December 2023

Rosemarie, you are facing your first Christmas without your husband. You are allowed to feel anyway you feel.

May I ask which decluttering group you joined? I don’t know if you’d be interested at all, but Dawn from The Minimal Mom, Cas from Clutterbug and Dana from A Slob Comes Clean joined together to create an online course called Take Your House Back. It is on sale right now through the first of the year for $94. It might be money well spent. I did it when it first came out. There are lessons galore. They have a private FB group, of which I am a member, and they will do an all-day decluttering one Saturday in January. I highly recommend it if it is in the budget. I think it’s regularly around $597 so the sale is a deal. I joined the inaugural course a few years ago so they let me keep my membership for $10 a year, although I don’t visit it often now.

One more suggestion is to take advantage of your son being there and ask is there anything he’d like that you might be considering decluttering or selling. Give him first refusal and send him home with some stuff.

Carol, I’m so sorry about your brother-in-law. Hugs.

Rosemarie2972 · December 2023

Dr. Katiebug: I joined the Nourishing Minimalism Yearly Decluttering Challenge Facebook group. It is an active and responsive group. I will consider the online course you are suggesting. I might be interested in the all-day decluttering one Saturday in January. Is that by zoom? I will google it.

Unfortunately my son is living in a postage stamp MidTown apartment in Atlanta. It will be a few years before he gets a house. His father was quite sentimental about items and I believe my son is as well. I would probably end up "storing" items for him until he got a house. I will make a Sonny Do list for him while he is here.

One lady I spoke to recently has an Apple watch and she says she has lost weight using this watch. It tells her when to stand up and I don't know what else. Does anyone else have an Apple watch that they use for weight control?

Rosemarie from Georgia

drkatiebug · December 2023

Rosemarie, the all day decluttering is either through the course page or the FB group. I’m not sure which. You get a schedule of the activities, and there are video lessons every so often. Like right before you’re supposed to be in the kitchen, there’s a video about what to do. You are encouraged to listen while you work. I edited my post to change the costs. I just had to reset my password to get back in. The sale price is $94 and the regular price is $597. I personally would not pay full price for this, but I do think $94 is reasonable for all you get if you are really serious about it.

WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR DECEMBER 2023

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