LW: 129.8
TW: 129.4

Hi, all. Sorry to be late logging in late today. I had a derm appointment this morning, and then hubby and I drove up to Frederick to take my rings to be resized and do some shopping up there where the crowds are less intense and the people are a little friendlier. Got home and got a message from a friend who having a tough time, so I spent some time with her.

Kelly, gosh darn, you are having more than your fair share of things to deal with. You know I can't speak from experience, but knowing what family and friends have gone through with teens, it's pretty common for them to show poor judgement at times and fall in with what others are doing. But it sounds like you and Shawn and his mom are doing the right things by making him accountable and using this as teaching moment. And I agree that 2024 has not been the best of years. Just know that I am sending good thoughts your way.

Sheesh, good for you for that reduction. Intake is so important and so difficult at times for me to manage. This week was a bit harder for me because we went to dinner last Wednesday night with friends for hubby's birthday and I had shrimp and grits with lots of cream and cheese, and then we ended up going out for dinner again with other friends on Saturday, and because of the late hour, there were not many places still serving. So we ended up in a bar/restaurant that had mostly high fat options, and it was so late that I was starved and didn't make the best choice there either. Somehow I managed to stay somewhat stable with my weight, but I know that if I make this a habit, the scale will definitely creep up.

Lois, I don't know if I said this before, but you all look so happy in the photo from Disney. It made me smile. Your granddaughter is a real cutie! I hope that the knee is doing better and that your docs can give you some good advice about your glucose level and how to get it down a bit. My A1C is also a bit high and since diabetes runs on both sides of my family, I need to really improve my level, too. It's never easy!

Well, I just looked at the clock and realized that if I don't get moving, I won't get a walk in before dark. The days are getting shorter. I'll circle back later or tomorrow to put in my 7-day averages, which I have to do by hand now that Fitbit has done away with the online dashboard.

Hi ladies.
And the hits just keep coming. My Mother-In-Law fell at home on Tuesday and couldn’t get up. She was stuck on the floor for most of the day, laying in Pine Sol water that dumped over from her mop bucket because she couldn’t reach her cell phone. She couldn’t use her arms to get up because she thought one was broken. She finally was able to butt scoot to her chair and got up to call an ambulance around 4pm. 3 hours later, the ambulance still hadn’t arrived.. we’re assuming it’s because she said it wasn’t an emergency, so Hubby's Sister picked her up and brought her to the a hospital. Hubby went there at 10pm to relieve his Sister and didn’t get home until 3am. She did break her arm but it's the top part, so not castable. They are keeping her there for a few days, which she isn't loving. She's a heavy smoker and they won't let her go outside on her own without a family member. All of us are too busy to drive the half hour it takes to get there just bring her out for a smoke.
I sure do feel for her though, as we know she's probably frightened. They tell us that she shouldn't go back home and that she should go into a Transitional Care Unit for now, but she doesn't want to hear it. She's probably so worried about not being able to be in her own apartment to smoke that it's taking over her mind. Plus, if she doesn't go back home to her apartment, we'll have to deal with all her stuff, plus finding her a placement to a care home and we have no clue on any of that stuff.
It really is never ending here for us. I'm taking 1 of my "wellness" days tomorrow to sleep in and I'm going to go to our cabin, just me and the dog until Sunday for a much needed mental break. Hubby has to work all weekend and the kids are at their Mom's until Sunday night (at least).

Have a good weekend all.

Oh my goodness, Kelly. I can't believe something else has been added to your plate. And I so wish I lived where I could come over and give you hand, or bring over dinner, or just do something to lighten the load. I am so glad you can get to the cabin to rest, read, walk with the dog, etc. You so need it. And I know you're worried about your Mom. I also lived through my Mom's declining years and her spinal stenosis eventually getting so bad that she couldn't be left alone for very long at a time.

Regarding your Mom's smoking, I don't know if I've ever said this, but my area of expertise for much of my career was tobacco control. By working in that field, this never-smoker learned a lot about nicotine addiction and how powerful it is. Thankfully, most healthcare facilities will provide nicotine patches to patients who smoke to help with withdrawal. Healing is slower among smokers and the goal often is to also help the patient gradually quit. Most hospitals also have information about services the patient can access once they're home. I know with people who have smoked for years, the biggest obstacle is getting them to agree to try. My dad was a smoker who developed COPD. He quit for a year, but started back after my Mom was in the hospital. He thought it helped with the stress. Finally, his pulmonologist told him that if he didn't quit, he would no longer see him because he couldn't help him. Unfortunately, that was years ago when they thought that if you were using a patch and smoked while using it, it could cause you to have a heart attack. And Dad was afraid of that. Now we know that it not the case, but it kept him from giving it a try, and that was before we had any of the newer medications. There's some info here, in case you're interested: https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/campaign/tips/quit-smoking/quit-smoking-medications/index.html.

Lois, you also seem to be getting more than your share of stuff to deal with. I hope the medication knocks this sinus infection out PDQ.

Yesterday was a tough day for me with intake and I'm up about a full pound today. But I learned an important lesson. Do not let yourself get over-hungry. I went for a walk around 6:45 p.m, thinking hubby was going to run to the grocery store to pick up a green pepper and then would be preparing dinner while I walked. But when I got back (starved because I had not eaten since a late breakfast/early lunch) he had started watching a news program he had taped earlier in the day and nothing was started toward dinner. So I ended up snacking and then also over-eating once we got the meal prepared. I know I cannot let myself get too hungry or I'll eat too much, too fast, and I may also make some not-so-good snacking choices. So I need to take some corrective action. At least my class is back, as of Tuesday, and so I'm getting some extra exercise with that, and it also get me out of bed earlier.

Before I move on with my day, here are my 7-day stats for last week (which I now have to do by hand--arghhh!) I think Fitbit and MFP have broken up! LOL

Steps = 10,588
Kcals burned = 1720