Hello! I'm happy to read that you are both doing well! Interestingly, we've been enjoying local honey too. It is the one consistent thing that we've been purchasing at the local Farmer's Market.

It has been a week for me! Church went well and I was able to sneak a cough drop while the minister gave the sermon. On Monday I had dental work on the tooth that was bothering me and I'd taken antibiotics for it in preparation for a permanent fix. The appointment went well but I woke up Tuesday morning in extreme pain. They called in another antibiotic prescription, and I took lots of ibuprofen every 2-3 hours plus a gabapentin. On Thursday morning, the pain was subsiding but that side of my face was swollen so badly that I wore a mask to work. I called the dentist again and he was out of the office until Monday and could see me Tuesday. The swelling has gone down but not 100% and the pain is better but not 100%. I have a cleaning on 6/23 so plan to cancel the Tuesday appointment unless it gets worse.

The funeral on Tuesday was very sad but there were many many people who came to the calling hours to offer their support. We had no idea that he was so well known in the community.

My weight has continued to go up even when I expect it should go down- possibly due to the salt content of the soft foods that I've had to eat. I'm eating a bit more normally now so perhaps the weight will start to go down.

I hope you both have a blessed Sunday!

Shari, I literally laughed out loud reading your comment on Tony's clothes! I could just picture the situation. I haven't weighed myself in a long time because stepping on the scale and standing unassisted is so difficult for me. My legs and strength have slightly improved lately so maybe this will be the week I can stand on the scale and get an accurate weight. I snacked more than I should have today without tracking every bite, but I tried to keep my evening meal and points down a bit.

Tomorrow we take Buster to have his dental cleaning. Seems like dental work is touching all of us in one way or another. I have never had dental cleaning done on any of my other pets ever but am doing this for Buster based on the vet's recommendation. The cost is more expensive than for a human dental visit, I think partly because Buster has to go under anesthesia. He is 6 years old so I am hoping he will not need this done ever again. I will to drop him off at 9 am and will be called when it is time to pick him up, likely around 3 pm or so.

Buster did well with his dental cleaning. I was somewhat stressed when I expected an update call between 12 pm and 1 pm, and the call didn't come til 2 pm!! That one hour seemed like forever to me!. We brought him home around 4:30, still somewhat groggy from the anesthesia. He is slowly coming around to his old self but still is a bit groggy and out of sorts. I expect by tomorrow he'll be mostly back to himself. My food day was not as good as it could have been. I was snacking and didn't make the best choices. My points for today are high again so I have to be extra careful for the rest of the week. I like the idea of morning smoothies. I have them on occasion and really should have them more often too.

DW, I hope your oral problems have subsided and that your mouth is healing and the other related issues are improving too. It seems to me that while dental procedures have greatly improved over the years, more people are having difficulties and issues with dental work. It seems that things were much simpler years ago.

Shari, I was not familiar with casein so I looked it up. It sounds interesting. Breakfast apple risotto sounds delicious and exotic. So I looked that up too. Yum! I might try that sometime. You certainly are broadening my horizons. Do you make it in advance or do you make it the morning you eat it?

I did well today. I had strawberries for my healthy snack and reasonable points for my meals. Our 2 online church classes tonight were great. I was all caught up on the readings and enjoyed the discussions. My RA symptoms have been mostly manageable lately but for reasons I can't figure out my eczema (atopic dermatitis) is raging these days. It is all part of my auto immune disorders, that much I understand. It's sort of like one area of inflammation calms down and another flares.

I am happy that Buster is mostly back to his normal self.

I want to try the apple risotto as soon as I get some nice apples. Batch cooking it makes sense to me. John is looking forward to it too. I admire your involvement with your youth program Shari. Hope the weather cooperates for you. We are coming to the end (I hope) of a very rainy trend. We really didn't have much of a spring season, and now it seems we could be facing a heat wave (temps over 90) most of next week. Not looking forward to that!

I did very well today with food and my to do list. My energy level was good. I slept late again and felt well rested. Thursday's to do list is not long as of now, but often I find more things that need my attention.

Shari, you are very blessed, cooperative weather and even better a wonderful husband who helps! I am sure he is just as blessed with you.

We had temps in the high 80s today with considerable humidity. Fortunately our home stays cool through most of the day so we really need to adjust the AC for just a little while before bed and then return it to its normal setting of about 75 degrees. I did ok today with tracking but used all of my points, which is ok, but I like to have a few left over at the end of the day.

I learned that the son-in-law killer waved his preliminary hearing so he won't be in court until mid-July for his arraignment. I think when the arraignment is held he will officially learn of the charges against him and will then plead guilty or not guilty. Of course I still think about horrific way in which my friends died, such kind innocent people. I just hope he pleads guilty and doesn't put the family through more pain with a trial.

So happy to know that Tony is home and even better that he looks good. You and your DH are doing the Lord's work in caring for and helping him.

My friend Carol texted me late in the afternoon to say that her surgery went well, that she was tired (of course) and that her daughter is staying with her at least for the 1st night. Her daughter is a sweet woman but has a host of issues both medical and (mostly) mental health. I am glad she is able to step up and help Carol. (Carol, a widow, also has a son who is a recovering alcoholic who is a great guy but of course is faced with his own challenges.) I am sure Carol will call when she is able to chat a bit.

I did well with my tracking and food choices. I have been enjoying strawberries for my snack (zero points) but might splurge tomorrow and have strawberries and cool whip on top of pound cake (easy version of strawberry shortcake) for John and me. I plan to count the points for this too.

Shari, you really put in a lot of time with your responsibilities at work. I hope you enjoy the remaining time this weekend doing what pleases you and isn't work related. I slept in a little again today and appreciated the extra rest. I had a few tasks on my list and took care of the biggest one but not anything else. Our weather is increasingly hot and humid now. I am grateful for our AC and being able to stay indoors. After all the rainy days we had, we are now entering a heat wave. We really did go from "wet to sweat" as some folks are saying.

I cooked enough today that I won't have to heat up the kitchen by using the stove tomorrow. Will just reheat using the microwave. I made the strawberry shortcake for John but had just strawberries and cool whip for myself, even though I love pound cake. I opted to stay within my point range.

DW, Great to learn that your dental issues are resolving so well! Hope you "weather" the heat wave in as cool as possible ways. We keep our house closed up as much as possible and manage the AC at reasonable temps. Our electric utility provider raised its rates 16% as of June 1 so I am bracing myself for the first summer bill when it arrives.

Shari, Hope your week is off to a good start. I would need to recover from having house guests, even easy ones I enjoy.

My Monday went well. I was able to rest a little in between chores. I needed that because I had a very restless night with my eczema still bad. It is almost always much worse at night. I did fine with food and am working on paying closer attention to portion sizes to make sure I am accurately tracking. Some foods are easier to track than others for me.

I wonder if Walter and Tony do have their heat turned way up. Maybe Tony is cold due to his medical condition, circulation issues,etc. Our heat wave continues but I think I have a little different perspective today because I started thinking about my family who live in Texas and have weather like this quite often for extended periods of time. I know theirs is more of a "dry heat" while here we have high humidity, but I think our unusual weather is preferable, at least for me.

My day was uneventful and productive again. That is a good day in my book. I was high in points today but not overly so. I will just make sure to be a little more cautious on Wednesday. My eczema is calming down a bit too. I slept better last night and am aiming for another good sleep tonight.

It looks like our heat wave will break on Thursday with a high only in the mid 80s, and by Friday our high is predicted to be in the 70s, delightful! We'll go back to higher temps (in the 80s again) after Friday but I think not the oppressive heat and humidity of this week.

My day went well again, but I was a little hungrier that usual even for me. I was kept pretty busy with a fairly long to do list and feel good about everything I got done. Tomorrow's list is long too but I am thinking positively that it is all do-able.

Your computer skills must be very good Shari. From what I remember from years ago working with databases can be complicated. Yay for your accomplishments with this!

I had a VERY productive day today, switching around my spring/summer and fall/winter clothing. When I was more mobile I used to store the off season clothes in our finished basement, but I haven't been to my basement in years. So now I have to fit everything in the accessible areas of our ranch home. Since I am a clothing lover, this is rather challenging. It has, however, inspired me to clean out some items I don't care for as much or don't expect to wear. Today I filled one large garbage bag with donations for the Purple Heart Foundations which supports veterans. I scheduled a pick up for July 3 and plan to have at least 4 bags for them by then. I am very motivated with this and am grateful that I had the energy and John's help to get done as much as I did. I did ok with food choices today but skipped some of my tracking. I might add in what I missed before I go to bed. I remember what I ate so it should be easy to do.

Hello! I'm happy to hear that you are both doing well!! The heat wave has continued here. Even the days that are only in the upper 80s are miserable and feel much hotter due to the humidity. Today my car thermometer said 95 after work. I am going to visit my sister for about half a day tomorrow since her son and his family are here from CA. She sent me a text to bring my tennis shoes to play kickball. I'm pretty sure I won't be doing that at my age and in this heat. On Sunday morning we pick up DD. She has been feeling ill for the past 2 days with a cough and sore throat. I suspect she is putting up a good front and continuing with the vacation activities.

I am looking forward to a shorter work week this coming week due the July 4th and am also looking forward to working at the dog show7/4-7/6. The extra money will be a nice bonus! I hope I don't spend it all there because there are vendors with all manner of dog products.

I hope you both have a wonderful weekend!!