Hello, ladies! I have been here, but I only just pulled up mfp on my laptop. I usually just use my phone and it is so much easier to tap out a note on the computer, not the phone.

So, I’ve made the decision to just accept that I need to lose more weight and to get firmly in the ‘normal’ BMI range. I have flirted with just over or just under 25 for some time. I plan to get 10 lbs under, which truly, has always been my goal weight. I was within 1-2 pounds about a year ago, but never quite reached it. I still decidedly look fluffy at 25 BMI (and I think at may goal weight, too. More decisions may need to be made later ). Everyone is different and I know this would not be true for everyone. I am also very much doing this because I am close to being pre-diabetic. I don’t overdo the carbs, either, just by default of what I prefer.

I’m still exercising, although it was only sporadic for Jan and Feb. I was overbooked in Feb and now I have more time. The plan is to log every day (and exercise) for March and April. I should be within striking distance to my goal then. The timing is good for me because we start camping in May; I eat ok when I camp, but rarely log. As well, we have no reception, which makes things difficult. May can be dicey in the mountains, but the second half of May should be safe. Our first time camping last year was in May and we had major hail the day we got there and then the next. We just went home; it was way too cold. Although hail only happens for a few minutes; afterwards, it looks like there is snow everywhere, which can be defeating when camping.

Big news in my family. My son is now engaged and the wedding will be sometime this year. He is in the military and stationed in Germany and has been dating his ‘Bavarian Bride’ for some time. We don’t know when the wedding is and it may be initially just a legal event, to be followed by a reception later, all in Germany. We have the smallest of families and she has a large one. Regardless, Germany, of course, makes the most sense.

And my daughter is pregnant, her first. She is expecting a girl. She will not be able to make it over to Germany for the celebrations, but will have to celebrate with them later. She and my son-in-law are very happy, needless to say.

I hope all is well with you and your families. I am really looking forward to spring. We seem to be alternating weeks at 60F and then a week at 42F or so (and sunny almost all days). Really, it is only not sunny when it snows and it doesn’t do that often. I realize that saying that is all relative, lol.

OK, I have been tracking and exercising now for four days again. Why haven’t I lost all the way that I want to lose already? Just asking.

Well, typos don’t help. I was talking about wanting to lose a good 10 pounds over a matter of four days, obviously just joking.

We always thought it was odd that in one house in which we lived, in an inner suburb of a medium sized city, we would have more power outages than possibly all our other houses put together, half of which were in rural areas. Those outages were also not usually weather related.

Hello, ladies! This has been a busy year so far for me. I went on a Caribbean cruise with my husband and some friends in mid-Jan and on a 5-days girls trip in Jamaica at the end of Feb. And…shortly after that, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. Sounds bad, but really, if you have to have it, it’s good. I have Stage 1a, both estrogen and progesterone positive (and HER-2 negative, if you’re familiar with the terminology). It was all cut out, less than 20 mm (3/4”), and it did not spread to the lymph nodes. Only five days of radiation is needed, which I started today. No chemo is needed. I start a pill in a month or so for a few years and have less than a 5% chance of cancer recurring in the next 20 years. I also feel completely fine. All the doctors (and oh, my, there are many) said that I am “really healthy” (was ‘for your age’ having in the air? (62 years old)). I would then add, "yes, except for the cancer".

If you recall, my husband was diagnosed with esophageal cancer last year (Stage zero, it was caught so early and fully removed without any spreading). We joked that after last year, that this year would be the official ‘Year of Healing’. I guess it is, but not in the way imagined.

I got my 3D mammogram right at the 12 month mark and am so glad that I wasn’t even a bit late with it (because then I would be beating myself up). So, please, everyone, get your yearly mammogram on time (presuming that you are of that age); oh, and DEXA scans for bone density. If you’re not 60 yet (typical age to start with DEXA scans) AND you have shrunk a bit in height, then get one now, insurance should cover it for this reason (I only know about U.S.). I have osteopenia (precursor to osteoporosis) and take calcium, of course. The pill that I will start taking for breast cancer keeps this in mind, but none are great for bone density. All the more reason to resume weight lifting (constantly going to the doctors has made this difficult). I got a seroma (swelling filled with fluid in my armpit, where they fished out lymph nodes to check during the lumpectomy). This required a number of aspirations (sucking the fluid out with a syringe (which weirdly did not hurt at all)). Of note, the seroma itself was the worst pain that I have ever had (pressing on nerves, sending a lightening bolt through my body every few minutes). Keep in mind, I have had two children—the pain was worse than that and lasted (off-and-on) for a week.

So, with this being a PSA (public service announcement) for mammograms and DEXA scans, I’m also going to throw in getting your pap smears, if appropriate, and colonoscopies. The list seems endless. I am at the ten year mark for getting another tetanus booster this year. I remember hearing from my family doctor when I was around 40 years old that this is needed every ten years—I never knew.

Oh, and me always flirting around the 25 BMI mark? Hormone positive breast cancer LOVES fat (I don’t recall the relationship, something along the lines of estrogen mostly being made in ovaries for pre-menopausal women and less so in other areas of the body, including fat). Don’t quote me AT ALL on those details. My original weight goal was to be 10 lbs less than 25 BMI (135 lb, 23.2 BMI), but now, I would like to be 20 lbs below 25 BMI (125 lb, 21.5 BMI). That is right smack in the middle of BMI ‘normal’ range (it will be hard for me, I am maintaining right now, really focusing on nutrition, and I would not want to eat any less food). Right now, I am just planning to get through radiation (doesn’t hurt at all) and then refocus my attentions on my weight. You know, everyone is build differently and 135 lb still has me quite curvaceous (better sounding than fluffy and meaning a lot of extra fat). And this is with me working out. I remember being in eighth grade weighing 115-120 lbs and my one girlfriend of the same height weighing 135 lbs. If you looked at us, you would have said that I was the right weight for my height and that my girlfriend was skinny.

And other good news: my son is engaged (has been for a bit) and my daughter is expecting (has been for a bit). I am unsure if I have shared that yet. My son is in Germany and is marrying a German woman and will have a paperwork/court wedding soon, later to be followed by a reception in Germany and in the US. We will attend the receptions. We met the fiancee a couple weeks ago, when they were visiting us in CO. My daughter is expecting in August, a girl, and they are not sharing the name just yet.

I hope all is well with all of you and please, schedule any needed medical appointments!

Morticia, I am sorry to hear that your husband so ill. It is incredibly hard to keep things going in your life, much less, keeping it all in balance, when you are caring for another person. Sending prayers of strength to both you and your husband.

Just a quick update. My husband and I will be going to the courthouse wedding in Germany, after all. My son initially said just to wait for the receptions (US and Germany), but later said he would like us to come. There will now also be a dinner in a restaurant afterwards. We will be staying somewhere close to him and where he will be marrying (somewhere in Bavaria, SE Germany, where he lives) and the location is in walking distance of a lot of things of interest. This is in 2 weeks. My sister visited (just left), and was able to attend my daughter's baby shower. I'm a little drained, but onward!

I thought I would report in. I re-read my last note and am disgusted that I continue to bounce around 145 lbs. I weighed in this morning at 145....I looked it up to be accurate and I actually weighed in at 144.7 lbs. So, although not 145 point something, the weight is still around 145 lbs. I keep trying to go back to calorie counting and I just do not like it. When I give it thought, I maintain without counting, but I don't lose. Seems obvious what to do, but there it is.

Every other day, over a period of six days, we have been getting dumped with snow, first ~8", then ~10", and it finished yesterday with ~12". It melts and compresses, so we don't have anymore than a foot. This is atypical for the length of time that we have been getting snow. It is getting into the 50's for the next several days, so it should all melt. We always need moisture here, so I have mild guilt about complaining about it.

My husband and I have been thinking that this year is our 39th wedding anniversary, but realized that it is actually the 40th! A big, round number. We decided that we should celebrate this with a trip to southwest Colorado, to Telluride, Durango, and Ouray. We have only gotten as southwest as Gunnison (Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park), a year or two ago. We have been in the other three corners of Colorado, but just haven't gotten around to this area. We are combining this with Thanksgiving and will be gone a few days during that week. It may be way too snowy, but we'll definitely hike anyway. We have snowshoes and grippy-things for the bottom of our boots for ice (yak-trax) and will bring them, just in case we get ambitious (probably not).

Other than that, more of the same. I've been visiting my granddaughter in Denver and planning a Zoom-ish baby shower for my daughter-in-law in Germany for later this month.

I hope you all are well and enjoying all that you do!