WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR MAY 2025

Hello, all,

Woke up at 2 a.m.; my sleep schedule is a bit off. Mostly because I've slept 20 out of the last 30 hours. That business really knocked me off my pins. Still staggering to the left a bit, but feeling better. Plus, my brain is working a tiny bit better at the moment, so I thought I'd see if my typing fingers work. So far, so good…

Heather - Love the new bedroom look, very cool and peaceful and inviting. So pleased John is letting you get his room sorted, as well. Loved John's doodles. Bright, beautiful colors, love that kind of saturation.

Beth - So glad your hearing has improved so much! Regarding the truck, I've got a rule of three for a vehicle that we're wearing out - after the third major thing goes wrong that's more than a couple hundred to fix, I'm done with it. Until then, I can deal with it. It's kind of a game of chicken. What's going to go first? Your patience or the truck's will to live? 😉

Mo - Your headaches sound awful—but I admit to being a complete weenie when it comes to headaches. Hope things happen soon for your son and husband. It's an interesting job market out there right now.

Lanette - The "slacker" bit made me laugh too. You take all this on the chin long enough, I'd imagine I'll be yelling too. After 15 years, enough of the shine has worn off of how Corey does things, plus the things I see you and Ginny and everyone who's lost a mate have to do, that it's made me do things differently than I might. Like we don't NEED another string trimmer, but I wanted one I can actually use. That one kinda hurt his male pride I'm afraid - but he also went down and trimmed the weeds I wanted cut by the road on Tuesday afternoon when I was resting after the test. With HIS string trimmer and some side-eye thrown my direction. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Whatever it takes, you know?

Rebecca - That was the exact feeling for six months post-op from the gastric bypass! Hard to explain how much your appetite drives your eating until it goes away. As soon as you've put a small amount of food in, you simply can't think about eating another bite. When you forget to eat at all for the first time in a few dozen years… yeah, it makes a big difference.

Allie - Such a lovely memory of Carmine and your dad. Do you hear anything from her? Delia has such beautiful eyes.

Ginny - I'm seriously contemplating trying needlepoint. Any beginners advice? Almost picked up a kit in Hobby Lobby, but put it back before I left the store. Do you make your own patterns or use kits?

And… yawning again. I think I'll see if I can get a couple more hours of sleep.

Later, my dears,
Love,
Lisa

Lisa and Kylia - Big excitement on my street yesterday. Roger got a 52" Stihl zero-turn mower. Wow, it's a rugged beast. It was fun watching him figure out how to mow, I coached him. He had driven my Toro across the street earlier this year to give it a tune-up but never engaged the mower deck, and was a little afraid of it. I remember those days of learning how to handle it and being afraid I'd crash it into a tree. He has 2 acres of nice flat lawn similar to Kylia's so he'll be able to zip through it in no time. My Toro is going on its 7th year and has through a lot with all of the bumps and blackberries I force it through. If DH was still here, he'd been itching for a Stihl.😁 Roger said it was his birthday and Christmas present for the next few years.

Debbie - sounds like gardening is full steam ahead! Some of my tomato starts just aren't doing well at all. I've been fertilizing them and setting them out in the sun but they still look stressed. I wonder if there's something in the potting soil I repotted them into that they don't like. The county Master Gardener coordinator called it "killer compost" where aged cow manure was added to potting soil and the animals had eaten hay and grain that had been sprayed with herbicide. 😥

Ginny - I am closely following your mattress/backache saga. I think I mentioned the PT told me to get a Tempurpedic - I have 2 new twin mattresses on the king size bed I bought last year and don't want to spend more $$ on a new mattress when there's no quarantee that would even help. So, I guess if getting up at 3 and sitting in the recliner on a heating pad is my fate, then so be it.

Mo - how well do you think an adjustable bed would work for a bad back? I start out a side-sleeper so not sure about this. And a too-hard mattress hurts my hips.

The more I think about it, maybe it would be better to just get a new recliner, one that fits my back better and is more adjustable.

Barbie - DH had heavy commercial grade gasoline yard tools until his final years and switched to battery powered Ryokis. I tried to use the Ryokis but my hands are so small I couldn't get the batteries out - didn't have the strength to "pinch" the release. So, I got Stihl battery powered tools - leaf blower, small mower to get into places I can't push through with the big mower, and a string trimmer. Love that they all use the same batteries. And are powerful for their size. The Stihl batteries release easily, it must be the design.

When I got the string trimmer, the salesman said it was only for cleaning up around the tulip bed, not cutting big swaths of grass. Little did he know, lol. I went after blackberries with it yesterday. 😁

I did get a Stihl mini chainsaw pruner, but most of the time I can't be bothered to get it out, oil the chain and all that. Easier to grab one of DH's many little pruning saws and go after hard to reach branches.

Ladies - Saw this on FB - here's your morning chuckle!

Missing Re, Annie, Vicki, Rosemarie, Karen and many others! Hope you are all doing well, please catch us up when you get a chance.

That's it for now. Make it a super day!

Lanette 😎

SW WA State

Today is :

B- Protein coffee, two prunes

L-5 chicken nuggets, a hash brown patty

D- 4 oz roast chicken, 1/2 a container of brown & quinoa, 1 T of shiitake dressing in it, Siggis yogurt

snacks- 1 T of fat free dressing with cauliflower and celery, Magic Spoon chocolate protein bar, 2 packets of Halo Sport pink lemonade hydration.

"Wake up with determination, go to bed with satisfaction"

Rebecca Whidbey Wa

I am not a big fan of apple pie, BUT, I love to bake them. That was my dad's favorite pie so I loved baking them for him. Same with lemonade- don't like to drink it but enjoy making it. Dad loved it- lemons from his own tree. Dh and ds enjoy it- use lemons from MIL's tree-need to pick some-they are over ripe and just falling on the ground.

Getting a bit more protein in this week. We went to the KP International Marketplace in Rancho Cordova- picked up a bunch of different cheese they had marked down. 6 slices in each pack for around $1 each- Tried a Russian one on the drive home, just finished a Polish one(had it with crackers for a snack before I went to bed last night). Will pull out another one. Love trying all the new cheese and seeing what we really like. Haven't found one we didn't like.

Worked in the front yard and green house this morning. Transplanted more plants. Counted 17 varieties of tomatoes!! Think I may have over planted but that is ok. I have a bunch of extra plants to give away too. I keep one, maybe two of each variety. A few aren't really big enough to go in the garden yet but they all need to be transplanted into bigger pots.
I need to transplant the flowers and herbs next- carnations(the old fashioned beautiful scented ones) snap dragons, marigolds(the little ones), sage, catnip.
Marigolds and catnip are supposed to be cat safe and flea repellent so planting a lot around their catio.

Still to plant- transplant more cucumbers and dill. Will plant some dill seed too- want extra.
Okra, carrots, ?? Need to pull out my seeds tonight- cant remember what else I want to plant.
Will see how many more empty pots I have in the back garden

Plan on going up to mom's on Tues. morning to take a bunch of tomato plants to her. I usually go on the weekends but busy the next few weeks and the plants need to go in the gound.

Going to go walk the wetlands in half an hour. Only 6 more times before Ezie is out for the summer. I will miss my walks but, it is also getting hot and there is basically no shade for 80% of the walk. Thankful for the nice breeze off the river when we get it.

Debbie
Napa Valley,CA

I am having a problem with some of my starts not doing much- and I bought the more expensive starter soil. Going to transplant into bigger pots and see if they start growing more. I have plenty of plants so not going to be a big deal if they don't all grow. I do want the catnip to start growing so I can transplant it.

Well I amended my dinner because I added 1/3 of a bag of Taylor farms salad kit in there too. Took out the yogurt.

Its quite yummy! I added the toppings so I have some crunchy bits in there. Love these salad kits. I might not ever buy a head of lettuce again!

Rebecca Whidbey Wa

Good Night, my friends;

Ginny, you are right; I must let DS make his own mistakes and decisions. I will keep savings for him if he needs money. I learned a lot from my mistakes, and maybe I should let both of my kids learn from theirs. Julia is still learning from hers. I ran out of gas in nursing school and had a big test to study for. I asked my dad if I could borrow his car to get gas to put in my car so I could go to the study lab. My dad said no, so I had to walk to Kmart and get a gas jug, and then I had to walk to Arco to get gas. Then I walked to my car to put gas in. After all of that, the study lab was closed. I never ran out of gas again (so far). Julia always ran out of gas and had to call on Triple-A for gas, or DH would also bail her out. She continued to run out of gas. No lesson was learned. She wasn't any better at car maintenance, either. Getting oil changes. Now she doesn't have a car. DS needs to learn from his mistakes, too.

Ginny and Lanette, I love my adjustable bed; it was free. DH had to use the products he promoted, so the companies provided us with these products, including our Stearns and Foster. I like the adjustable bed for sitting up and reading or watching TV. Pillows can adjust that as well. DH likes the bed flat, so I used the pillows. The adjustable bed does not help with back pain. I have sciatica, and exercise helps. Motrin, and my muscle relaxer. Linament and my heating pad also help. I ruptured my disk trying to lift a 15-year-old football player that weighed 315. During Covid, we had a skeletal staff, so no one was around to help me with him. A good mattress is what helps, too.

Lisa, I am a wimp when it comes to my headaches, too. I shut down and need no stimuli. Just a cold, dark, quiet room helps. DH doesn't understand. I don't want to be touched or held. Just leave me alone. I was coming on with a headache at work. And a parent came out yelling at me as I was taking medicine to get it under control. He was saying F this and that. He told me on the intercom that his daughter's pump was beeping. I told the nurse, and she said she's got it. So I didn't worry about it. So, he came out, and I told him that I needed to talk to the nurse to see what to do for his child's IV. He asked why I can't do it now. I explained that I needed to know what was next with blood products. He didn't even hear me. He just started yelling.
I got up to find out what Kelly needed, and he slammed the door on me. So I told her to handle it cause he was rude. The day nurse told me to hide, and I said no, I won't. I will call BRT on him if he tries to hit me. My head was throbbing, and I had tears in my eyes. I refused to cry cause I knew it would hurt worse. I was mad at Kelly cause I felt she should have told me what I could do to help if her other patient went downhill. Communication could have helped to avoid the drama.

Debbie, did your first husband die? If not, what happened to him?

Rebecca, your salad looks good. I made a pizza with one thin Keto sandwich. I opened it up and put it on parchment paper for easy cleanup. I put Rao's pizza sauce on it, then spinach, onion, bell peppers, mushrooms, cheese, and grilled chicken. It was excellent.

Allie, I love the photography done on your grand. Who took the pictures?

Barbie, I was talking to my dad today and thought about you talking to Jake. My dad was always wise, and I miss his advice. The drawer in my bedroom opened without rhyme or reason, so I started talking to my dad.

Have a good night, everyone. Sleep well.

XO,

Mo in Mississippi

Hi, Mandy, and welcome! Make sure you can find your way back to us by either bookmarking the thread on your computer browser, or by going to Community on MyFitnessPal, community.myfitnesspal.com/en/, and finding the Motivation and Support Category. We're always near the top in that category, and easy to find.

Heads up, our Barbie ( @barbiecat ) will post the June thread the last evening of this month, and we start over clean each month. One of our long-time posters likens this thread to a cafe - sit in on any conversation you want, ask a question, let us know how you're doing, add your own advice when you're ready! It's a wide-ranging group of women from the US, the UK, Ireland and Australia, welcoming and supportive. We do avoid religion and politics in order to keep this a safe place for everyone to come and talk about their lives—because we've all come to realize it's not just about diets and exercise, it takes an entire lifestyle change to reach the healthy goals we all have.

Don't feel you have to respond to everyone! A few of us do, but most of us don't. And don't be upset if you don't get a quick answer to a response, there will almost always be some response from one or more, but due to the way the technology works, there may be another five posts put up, (or even another page of posts!) within a half hour of yours.

We're glad you're here, please do stay. It seems like we're a good fit for what you are looking for. There are regular posters who are in their 50s, 60s and 70s out in front of you, and nearing 80s if not already there!

Warmest regards,
Lisa in AR

Working & Exercising & Attempting to make some headway with my home Things To Do list.

Today's bicycle ride …

Annual check-up today at doctor - BP is normal!! 132/70. It hasn't been that low for quite a while. It had been sitting at about 145/85 for years. Maybe the drop has something to do with my recent weight loss.

I still have my bloodwork to do.

And my "poo test" will come up in a couple months. NOT a colonoscopy. They don't do those here unless they find something on the "poo test". I'm hoping I never have a colonoscopy.

Machka in Oz