Shari, you are right: eating your packed lunch when a lunch is provided can be a real challenge. This is a definite non-scale victory that will result in a scale victory!!

I was kind of out of sorts today. My stomach felt queasy yet I was hungry too....a little too hungry actually. I skipped logging my foods which wasn't a good idea. I had a pretty good logging streak going, but now I am back to day 1 of logging tomorrow. Even though I didn't feel great, I was able to accomplish a lot of my to do items, mostly because I made an effort to pace myself and take some short breaks. The cleaning service comes tomorrow so I had to get the "straightening" done to make it easier for the gal to clean here more thoroughly. We also had the annual HVAC maintenance today on our natural gas boiler that heats our home. The tech was an adorable young man who said everything is in great shape and looks brand new. Hoping for an uneventful winter of heating!

Shari, It sounds like your area is dry as it is here these days. I recently heard that October could be the driest month for this area on record. We have been having warnings about increased risk of fire spread for some now. So far this month my area has had only 0.01 inches of rain all month! Glad your DH is safe and that the fire dept protected your property so thoroughly.

I am soooo ready for a quiet relaxing weekend. I like it when I have what I call low demand days, especially after having a series of high demand days this past week. Tomorrow will be college football all day, except for our online Vespers service at 5 pm. I did well today with my food and points. My hunger was manageable. Yay! It is nice that the cleaning service was here today. The house looks and feels fresher.

I am pleased with my day today for prioritizing relaxing and for my healthy food choices. I logged all my points and stayed within my range. Craig came today and installed wrought iron railings for us at one end of our patio/breezeway where there are a few steps going down to our back yard. We have been wanting railing for there for quite a while so John could go up and down those steps when walking Buster. With the railing now installed John has more options when walking Buster. I will still worry about his safety going up and down those steps with Buster on a leash (though they aren't steep at all). Pleased however with another home improvement of sorts.

You had a busy Saturday Shari! I know how good it feels to have such a freshened up bedroom and the laundry done too. For me that is good reason to celebrate.

Today my neighbor Jane texted me a photo she took early this morning of the huge maple tree in my back yard as it appears from her vantage point across the street. I think she took the photo around dawn. I will attach the photo to this post.

I did well again today. Good ol' baked chicken and steamed broccoli filled me up and helped keep me on track. Both are zero points so it gave me some options to add in some snacks (pretzels) which I enjoyed with John. Tomorrow we have plans for lunch here with John's 3rd grade teacher and the secretary from his elementary school as we get together with them a few times a year. I think we will have pizza but not sure yet.

I bet you got in some extra exercise carrying water to the fire area Shari. Great that your neighbor is a retired firefighter. Great to have access to someone knowledgeable about something that important.

I had a great time with our visitors today. We always have so much to chat about and share. I had 2 pieces of margherita pizza at lunch with our guests and then was very careful for the rest of the day, focusing mostly on zero or low point foods. After our guests left I was pretty exhausted. I did a few things around the house and then slept for 2 hours in a very deep sleep. Sometimes that happens, but I don't think I am in the midst of a flare. I think some things just drain me at times, even fun not stressful activities. It is good that I have time to rest/sleep when that hits me. I felt back to my usual self after that deep nap.

I have never tried Hawaiian pizza and would like to try it sometime. When I asked John tonight he said he would be willing to try it sometime. Will let you know our reaction when we try it. I like the idea of another opportunity to skip cooking. Shari, one of the best things you can do for the woman at your gym is to pray for her. I gather that there is little opportunity to interact directly with her, but I suspect you would be a good person to connect with her since you are so warm and caring. With prayer avenues can open.

My day went by quickly and went well. It was a low demand day. I had a bit of reading to do because we are starting a new book in one of my online book study classes. This is the class that wasn't in session since the beginning of the summer. It has finally resumed. I missed it. I love this class so much and greatly enjoy the interaction with the other folks in the class.

I made a stir fry for supper with enough left over for another meal for John. My hunger was manageable today, always a plus when that happens.

I think one of the reasons I did so well with the 17 DD was that it was fairly structured and the allowed protein was sort of unlimited. I think having more chicken/turkey filled me up and kept me away from snacking temptations. I try to apply what I learned from that success. Thanks Shari for mentioning it because it does give me food for thought, pardon the pun. We don't get trick or treaters here either. The houses in our immediate area are too far apart. The kids nowadays prefer to go to the newer developments, not far from here, where the houses are much closer together.

DW I know the frenzy involved in cleaning for guests, no fun for me at all. But I love the way the house looks when I am finished. Have fun with your sister. That is a blessing to enjoy!

It was another quick and busy day here. I had a repair man/installer here working on the kitchen floor which has deteriorated. This floor was installed in 2022 and repaired once in 2023. The repair man is very nice and indicated that if problems continue the company will likely redo the entire floor with another type of flooring. He thinks part of the issue is the floor we had installed isn't designed for use by wheelchair (even though they told me it was). I am at least relieved that if I need another floor this time the company will stand by. Having the repair guy and his helper here took up all of the afternoon. I made a quick evening meal and was exhausted afterwards and ended up with an early evening nap that refreshed me.

God bless your FIL Shari. 93 is an amazing age to reach. I will continue praying for him and appreciate the updates. It is soooo nice having the floor repaired and in good condition again. Hoping it stays this way!

So happy with how today went for me.... a busy productive day, all wise & healthy food choices, and no nap needed or taken. This is the kind of day I aim for every day. I am expecting the same kind of day tomorrow. We have our usual college football time planned, and I might accomplish some to do items, but nothing major is pressuring me for Saturday. Craig might stop by as I also have a to do list for him, whenever he gets here.

DW, you continue to be such a busy lady! Sounds like lots of good things for you.

Shari, I think John read some of the Narnia books a long time ago. I don't think he read all of them however.

It was another day that didn't go as I planned today. I had 2 unexpected visitors, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, both of whom stayed well over an hour. I enjoyed their company as usual, but found myself scrambling to get some of my to do items completed later than planned. I know that friends are more important than "to do" items, but sometimes I stress about what remains to be done. As it turns out I did accomplish the main things I was aiming for.

Yay for getting in all of your steps Shari. You are right....yesterday was a lesson in flexibility for me. I appreciate that insight, and that is how I will now think about those situations.

I logged all of my food today and had to tap into my "weekly" points, something I don't like to do this early in the week. It will push me to be more cautious with my choices for the next few days. This afternoon I caught up on my reading and enjoyed our class tonight very much. The fire in our area has now destroyed about 600 acres. It is no longer advancing however, so that is good news. Now they are focusing on hot spots.

We don't have Mucho Burrito in our area but it sure sounds like a place I would enjoy! I could eat Mexican food every day I think!

It was a rather full day for me today. Craig was here and did some work. He had to go to the store to buy some supplies he needed. I gave him $40 because he wasn't sure how much the materials would cost. It turned out the cost was less than $10....but he lost one of the 20 dollar bills I gave him. He told me he would work for me for free today because of that loss, but I couldn't do that so I paid him anyway. I believe he is honest and that he honestly lost the twenty. I feel sorry for him when things like that happen. Today instead of craving sweets I craved carbs (like bread) I fought off the craving somewhat but then ate a few potato chips (5 points worth) which I logged and managed to stay within my point range.

Today was haircut day for John and me. I did relatively ok, but going out (even just a little walk to the van etc.) is difficult for me at times. I am always pleased when I do get out and accomplish something however. I didn't log my food and am annoyed with myself about this but will get back to logging tomorrow. I have no good explanation for not logging and also no good reason to understand my straying from plan so much today. Onward!