night all - NITE JOHN BOY.........

Good Morning-
Seriously tired. I wonder how long it is going to take my body to adjust to all this- fast paced and running pace. I jumped right in the deep end without wading in first. Of course- that is how I roll!!!!

What is everyone doing this week? - Sunny and cold - possible flurries tomorrow!
Today I am covering the ICU
Tomorrow though the rest of the week I am just helping the gals in the step down unit. That is a very busy floor. Gets a bit of everything.
They are all over the TV right now over the Flu- it is a bad time and year. I am knocking on wood! I can't afford to get sick.
If I am sick I don't get paid!

I am in the mood for a good read- any suggestions? I doubt they will give me a library card- but I can ask. The library here is a converted house, so I don't have high hopes they would have anything I would want to read.
I am too stubborn to give into a kindle. I am old school in that!
I know...........

Not much else shaking this morning. I ended up for over an hour trying to order something off Amazon last night, only to talk to 3 people in customer service for them to tell me this address doesn't exist. Ya well I ended up just closing the lap top and not ordering. I was over it. I was just trying to get a new oil for the diffuser I am getting.
I love the smell of vanilla and citrus together.

My son ordered me a diffuser and a starter kit of essential oils for my birthday. It is a bit early- 16th. But hey, I think it was BLUE who took the ENTIRE month as a birthday celebration!!! HAHAHAHA- I'm in!!! HAHAHAHAH.

Back later after ya'll wake up and get to some posting!!!

Good Morning!

Man....what a good night's sleep! The furry alarm clock slept in, just hours and hours of sleep in my cozy sheets. I woke up sometime after 5, DH got up about 5:30 and I stayed in for a few. Wonderful!

We had a bit of snow overnight, just an annoyance. I'll just start my car and let it warm up so I don't have to scrape. I'm heading to the gym at 8:30 to do a run on the treadmill, then a yoga class at 10:15. A quick stop at the grocery store...again...sigh...home for a quick shower and then a massage at 12:30. Whew! A busy few hours coming up for this girl.

Today's yoga class is called Yin Yoga, which is a much slower paced, relaxing class. It is perfect for after a run. The class yesterday was quite hard and I'm feeling it in my abs & butt muscles. All the yoga I've been doing has made a difference thru my middle. I feel tighter and longer some how. I've been stretched!

Scale had been up a couple pounds, but happy to report that those couple pounds are gone. Back to goal weight. Now to lose a couple insurance pounds. I know I'll gain a few in Florida. I won't be eating crap for the sake of eating, but I am going to have something if I really want it. Plus....there will be alcohol. It will be my birthday week and you HAVE to have some alcohol when you're turning 60!!!!! Right? Hello?

Ok...I need more coffee. Hope you all have a fabulous start to your week!

Lori it seems my early hunger is annoying me now HAHA
Cheese, oh yea such an easy snacky thing to grab, I am trying to avoid doing that like the plague now HAHA

I am on your tail for turning 60 and yes alcohol is a requirement HAHA

Snow....even a bit...yikes...

Hey you got the sheets done and I was supposed to do that for the last 2 days....I opted out LOL but today is my day of get'er done. ugh. usual chores get annoying. My mom says laundry is easy, the washer/dryer does all the work....I say heck no, after that part ya still gotta be involved

Nicco, yea her days off fell long for some reason? time for her to go ya know waiting on bus now and can't wait to hear it drive away. I need a kid break

Oh so DH was going thru some adaption? cool....so glad he took LC, boy I wish mine would. my hubby is gaining more. told him he best watch it but he ain't listening right now. ugh. lucky your DH is on board.

Blue...work. yuk. I tell ya at some point ya gotta make a bold move on some idiots in your life that 'challenging' person you have to work with sounds like a dunce for sure HAHA feel for ya on that. Hope it all pans out good. When you make a big final decision, that is when it all comes around for you. To work it and smile and accept or to say 'bye and screw you' while going out the door

Jaz, we had monster wind here also. all night it sounded like the doors and windows were gonna fly off creepy cause no storm, just those high winds. and cold wind at that!

As much as ya wanna see the sights and more, you are there to work HAHA and thing is I think if you 'plan more time before a new gig' to get explore time and chill time.....and if you love an area, stay a week after your job has ended before going home kinda thing.....in that you are free to do as you please. but while there, work is they key thing they are paying ya for and you do a great job and work hard, so yea, sleep etc would take over and something you need. You got this girl!!


Hey all
my eating times are changing up a bit. I am finding I want food way earlier now....huh? Not good for me cause if I load up the big steak at, say, 8-9 in the morning, yea I hold very well but then around 6-7 'I want something' and I tend to eat a little this, little that, and I am finding this is not suiting me well at all. Like Lori I grab cheese, some deli meat, some beef sticks, and maybe a can of tuna and then maybe fry up some bacon.

In other words I am eating too much 'carnivore junk' and yea it is that. Snacky type stuff is empty kcals to me. I need hardcore steak. Hardcore big azz pile of chicken. Those foods paired with some seafood for surf and turf. That holds me. I know the meals I require. This 'carnivore junk' is not feeding me well, it just makes me wanna snacky out and eat more kcals than needed without the dense satisfying filling the tummy.

I see this. I know this. I will change this. Hell I am up 3 lbs and feel bloaty to the max. I see how I am messing up for me. I don't like it but will handle it NOW before I go rampant in some way.

I gotta get me back to that first food around 1 in the afternoon....and a second bite maybe around 6 and done for the day.
Morning hunger is rough LOL it is like all I can think of is I am friggin' hungry and it takes total focus.

Today I don't care how hungry I am, I am not eating til around 1 and then I will eat my total fill and see if I can flip me back around into a better situation for me.

Like Lori..cheese is a go to when you want 'something' and worse is I don't need it. So I best get back on a tighter control of my eating times and copy again what I did to lose these regained lbs. and hold there. Holidays put me out of sorts and I see it so I best act on it today!!

Went thru some extra clothes I had. Got a lot of pants that are 'just there' in fitting again! My good ones My newer capri….my newer nice jeans...my newer shorts. Tight but can close them where that 20 lbs before I sure couldn't do that, I was out of these things. Now I am right there getting into them and come hell or highwater, I will get into all them comfortable so losing lbs. is my focus.

Hubby threw out smaller jeans and shirts he can't get into and are getting shabby. He stacks clothes, never does a clean out. He ditched 3 black garbage bags yesterday. Hooray...some crap gone but he was a little shocked how 'big' he has gotten.....wake up? who knows, he doesn't seem interested in attacking any lbs. gone so will see if I get thinner, will he then have to catch up? put some fire under his butt. If he lost 25 he would be fine....a bit ago it was if he lost 20, now I say 25 nd if not watching himself we can say 30 sooner than later. But he hits his point where he huffs and puffs and will tackle it, I hope he starts soon.

So today is food focus, change me back to my old eating and food that I was doing well on and how I did it, then chillax thru all this crap

off to get some crap done.

oh I have to drop off my car. taking mom home from Xmas, went by the golf course and nice day and it was packed with players. BAM BAM BAM BAM, roof of my SUV got golf ball hit. 4 dents. 2 smaller, 2 darn bigger ones. So off to Kenny our body work guy. 1 week no car, will have to use our farm truck. yak. can we say what a pain in the azz.....no golfer to claim cause no clue where this damn golf ball came from off that course. course on both sides of road, never saw it coming LOL ugh

so off I go....

Blue, glad you are starting to feel a bit better. I cannot imagine for the life of me anyone not liking you but then again, as I tell my kids, unless you like everyone you meet, you can't expect everyone to like you either. That being said, there is no reason for one person to make things so hard for you work wise. I am sorry you are having to deal with that stress.

Jaz- I know this new position is running you into the ground. On the flip side, though, you are getting all kinds of good exercise in, I bet, between the job and the stairs outside. Bella too!

Books- I read a book called The Silent Patient last week that was pretty good. It was a Goodreads winner for the year. A book called The Chain was pretty twisted, with a horrifying premise. Five Feet Apart is a YA book that was good.

How strange that Amazon doesn't recognize your address. I mean you are getting mail after all, right? Have you asked any of your neighbors about how the input their address for Amazon packages? Have you met any of your neighbors yet?

Lori- Glad you slept so well. That's great! I hope your exercise and massage goes well. Sounds like a fabulous day to me!

Trig- You are doing great. You have dropped a LOT of weight in 2018 and have been a true inspiration! Hugs to you as you figure out this next stage. I know for me I would be reading that as my body wanting some variety but I also know that you have your own plan and carnivore ways and support that 100%.

Enjoy the return back to routine today. I LOVE that part!

•••••••••

Happy Monday! I've been a busy bee this morning. Cleaned DS18's room and bathroom, as well as the basement family room and rec room. Got a load of laundry in as well, vacuumed the main level too. All by 9:30 AM. Whew!

Have an 11 AM appointment for the dogs- Bella needs her butt squeezed and they are both getting their nails clipped.

Then I'll drop them back here, make my cheeseburger soup and run to the store.

TOM is knocking at the door today. Hello, closing in on 51 soon so get the heck away!

Looks like Ravens will be playing the Titans next week. Yikes! At least we'll be at our home field. Fingers crossed!

Oh! Don't think I told you guys that my wallet got returned! I had already arranged for new cards and license, but still! How great is that? I already have a firm belief that people are good and this reinforces that notion.

Hugs!

Hi all.

Trig---Yeah, isn't that weird how when one wants to eat changes for no apparent reason? I mean when I was off plan I understood waking up hungry---it was absolutely the carbs. But I've had it happen on plan too, don't know what causes that. Sounds like you've got a quick and good handle on it. Heh, we think we're in charge of these things, but sometimes our only real control is in our reaction to the changes we don't control.

Yippy on the pants that are almost a great fit again, 5 lbs down and they'll be sliding up and down. I know that feeling and it is so fab. When I've got my mojo going I've experienced pulling some old pants out thinking no way, then trying them and being almost giddy that they fit!

Lori---Cool news on that mid section tightening up w/Yoga. That's a hard zone and seems it's one of the first places that blow up when we're off plan. Know how you feel about losing extra lbs for a trip, but seems you'll be fine either way. You are in that "sweet spot" which I would call staying at goal weight w/in 4 or 5 pounds. Gets to be 5 pounds, and you nip that in the bud! SIGH. Once again, wish I'd done that. GOOD FOR YOU, GIRL!!!!


Jaz---Not surprised you're tired. Sometimes I think it's sort of an organic tired that isn't all about how much we've slept. And you sure have had a wild and woolly ride for awhile in so many ways. I think change is both refreshing and
exhausting, depends on the day.

Hey, know you finished Mrs. Maisel --- 3rd season. We're halfway thru and I think it's the BEST season yet. They just keep getting better and better, IMO. OMG---and I know you love this part like I do---her clothing in season 3 is TDF.
Love her relationship w/"Lenny Bruce." Pals w/a spark. If you google Lenny Bruce you'll be amazed how much the actor playing him looks like him, if a bit more smoothed out.

Gals---really, if you have Amazon Prime network, this is SO worth a watch. Trig, know you like old movies like I do. Think you'd really like this.

Nic---I just love the sound of your productivity, and I can identify w/your need for it. It's so cool when you tick off a bunch of stuff in a day that you've been wanting to do. I think house cleaning, organizing, weeding out and throwing out or giving away is particularly satisfying. Doesn't take long really, and is such a great front line offense to Monkey Mind. LOL, my mom always said, a tidy home is a tidy mind. She was kind of right, or at least it sure helps.

So glad we're both back on plan. No offense, but lately we're typically the laggers here. LOL, love myself some company in that category, although not for long, and hoping we both bloom ON PLAN in this new year.

I think it's SO SWELL that hubby has joined you on plan. That just makes it easier, and easier is good! Not to mention, better for hubby's health.

Thanx hon for your empathetic response to my "darker days." The whole work thing for me is still in transition, and I'm sure there's some lesson I'm meant to learn here. To which I say, hurry up already and let me get it! Every time I think "I've got it w/this situation" I find I don't. As I said up post, sometimes our only available response is reaction, vs. action. That's where I've felt stuck. Have to find a way to change that, or at least balance it out.
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So, did y'all feel like today was REALLY the first day of the new year? I sure did, in that the holidays are now officially, really officially, OVER. I feel all kinds of things about this. Yeah on one hand, couldn't take much more of the social demands of the holidays, and on the other hand, new years have their own challenges, something about the demarkation of another year really gets you thinking. AND, some of this is personal to me and my situation, and I'm feeling the new year and the questions about it more keenly.

But hey, here's some really fab news for me. My son doesn't have to start school again for two weeks, and he just changed jobs again. Going to brag on him for a minute. I'm telling you that kid gets hired on the spot more than anyone else I've ever known. Granted, he's not being hired for big time jobs, but as a server, and in high test restaurants, they grab him every time. He's so good at it, and his interview skills are incredible. Hoping when he gets thru school and finally decides his path, this same talent will work for him. Meantime he is using being a server in the exact right way---he's darn experienced at it and has a great resume in it, so when he's tired of a place, or the tips aren't good enough, or the MGT sucks, he just moves on. In SF, there is NO END to the possibilities in that regard, and I cheer him on every time he makes his "for now" job work better for him.

Anyway, SO, he has a break between last job and new job and new semester. So he's coming home! Just like that. Called me today and said, "Hey mom, how do you feel about seeing me tomorrow? Of course I said, "what time should we pick you up at the airport?"

Hopefully he'll stay just over a week. A nice long juicy time. This year was hard, not having him for either holiday. But we got him right before the holidays and now we're going to bookend that w/right after the holidays, at least as of this writing. Spontaneous is his middle name. Thrilled to the gills and can't wait to get my arms around him.

Also, have decided on my word for this year, even though I can't remember my word from last year , but what the heck. So, my word is ENERGY. I need to find it in new places and new challenges in several ways.

When y'all chose your words, I couldn't for the life of me feel the right word for me. But then today it zoomed into my conscious like a heat seeking missile. Yeah, I need to find a way to give light, sun and water to more energy in my life. Lots more I want to say on this, hopefully soon.

Best day on plan yet. I'm working my way back. But this time I think I'm going to have to add my word to get there. Energy. And I think it is a mental and physical challenge. Yep. On the hunt for more of it.

Oh and btw, Lori I have found your framing of your word so useful. Just this morning I was looking at our unmade bed thinking, oh I just don't want to make it this morning. Sometimes jobs like that feel like the movie "Ground Hog Day" to me.

But THEN, seriously and really, your framework for your word came zipping into my conscious just like that. It's an amazing thing how we take stuff in and never know when it will re-visit us to our benefit. But I knew in those words of yours there was some gold for me.

So I made my bed and totally changed my internal monologue about it. "So grateful I can still do this, and do it nice and crisp the way I like it and so welcoming when it's time to crawl back into it. YEAH! I can still do this."

And y'know, I slowed down and put some loving elbow into it. Took a drop of joy in fluffing the pillows up and making everything ship shape. A drop of joy goes a long way.

LOL, look at me going on about making a bed! But y'know it's just an example of so many things we think we never want to do again---till we can't do them again.

So, thanx Lori gal for those words. They are making a difference for me.

Hi all of you low-carb gals. I want to wish all of you a Happy New Year and tell you that I really enjoy reading about all of your adventures. That vacation in Florida was great with the live web-cam. I kept looking for all of you.
Good luck in the New Year and best wishes for low-carb health and happiness!

Hi Meme!!!

So VERY nice to see you here, and Happy Happy New Year right back atcha.

Not sure how many of our gang remembers you, but I sure do. Hello---meme's LC fried chicken!!!, LOL, and so much more. I always enjoyed your comments in the way back when you were here for awhile. Something very sprightly and brightly about you.

I invite you to stop in more often, any old day or every old day if you ever feel like it. Short of that, wishing you good days on the woe, and thinking I need to stop in at your journal more often, as I just enjoy you.

It was so fun last year looking at your vaca live cam focused on that little beach bar (as I guess a lot of us were) not knowing what any of you look like but I knew there would be 5 happy ladies all chatting it up, so it wouldn't be too hard to figure out.

Hi Meme! Happy New Year to you also. Hope you have a great productive year!

You got me confused. 5 ladies in Florida? Not us LOL Live cam at a beach bar, not us....but it sure sounds nice LOL



Lori, what you doing today? I know you got something planned to use up your energy I slept well. bed at 10 cause I couldn't keep my eyes open, and up at 5:30....long good sleep for this old gal

Nicco, your food variety bit is my spice variety bit LOL hey we all need that taste change sometimes

So glad you got your wallet back! Cool. So sad you cancelled cards etc but hey, at least you got peace of mind on having it all back I know it would make me very happy to find it again!!

Jaz this first gig is the big learn gig for ya You can change up how ya roll on the next gig thru your experiences so that is a great thing.

Blue, so cool to read about your son and how well he is doing. I tell ya, that guy is handsome! He has a great smile, that draw ya in type smile, I bet that is why everyone wants to hire him

Yea you are dealing with how your work life is gonna change and go down for you. In transition is how you put it and I think that is a great way of saying it. Transition can be hard in all aspects of our lives. You will rock thru all this tho and come out smiling on the other side!

ENERGY is a good word. OMG we can all use more energy for sure. Put our energy more out in the world in force. Love it.



hey all
today is head to store for junk kid needs for school for this semester. new binder and notebook and stupid crap but away I go to get it

will buy a big old ribeye steak for me. check out seafood sales. I need some good steak and seafood sales for my freezer. I 'seem to buy alot' and store it up but then I seem to eat a lot and use it quicker than I think LOL

I been wanting to say scale is down but it ain't right now darn it. I will do all I can to start shifting it down again! That is a focus for me and I can't be too chillax on tackling that LOL

Not much doing. Store and home to pick up the house a bit. All good in this neck of the woods.

great day all

Good Morning!!!!!

Hey MEME- so happy you dropped in! Nice to "see" you again! Fun to know you read along! I should read your journal as well. I find th more I read and learn how others do things I pick up tips here and there!

BLUE- I KNOW that your happy meter just went from whatever to 10+++- YEA on the son coming to see you! I feel we already know what a well spoken, good looking young man he has turned into!
How awesome you get him for a week! Tell him he has a big hello from the ladies of the THREAD!!!!-

I agree that a new year and a new decade to boot does make you stop and pause
Funny you would use that word because I was thinking about energy just this morning. Wishing I had more.
I know that you will resolve that awful work situation and at some point either suck it up or move onto something else. That situation is unsustainable. But you are so creative I know that no matter what you do will be good for you!
Enjoy the "kid"- HAHAHA

NIC- I think it is totally cool your hubby is jumping on the LC band wagon! That has got to feel good that you now have a partner in the LC life. I know that it is harder when your spouse eats junk and you don't. So very cool with that! So is your meals different. The thing is men tend to lose it so much quicker!

I will look into the train thing at some point! Maybe towards the end of Feb. When the weather starts to warm up a bit. I know I will just miss the cherry blossom festival in DC. Thats ok.
I bet you are getting your ducks in a row for this year! Plus you are planning for next year!

Lori- - I love that you are working on "insurance" weight! - Oh HECK yes you kick up your heels in FL. What part are you going to? That sounds like a wonderful way to celebrate a 60th birthday!!!!!
Is it you and the hubby? I love Florida! Truly you are flying right? That is a trip if you drive it! I know you are long, and lean! Lucky gal!!!!

Trig- I will take your "fat" clothes!!! HAHAHAHAH- I just want your pink flannel top! I keep looking for one like it and can't find one! I guess if I went on LL Bean- they would have one. I might just do that. I really had pink flannel envy! Funny because it looks so good on you- but you don't strike me as a "pink" girl. You are hardly a girly gal! Nope!

Hey I wanted to remark on the eating.
So since I have been here in DE- My OMAD has gone to the wind. Getting up at 530- and running my butt off I am HUNGY about 1. I have been taking something small in for "lunch". Usually it's tuna salad I make. I just want enough to take away the hungry. That being said- I know then the "clock" eating window has started.
I get back here to the condo and eat about 515- and usually done by 530.
However, I really hate to HAVE to eat twice. I was so comfortable with my one meal of the day but it is not working with this schedule. So I am just eating small at the 1:00 feeding!

So far this has not derailed me. But it has double the what to eat now way of thinking. I loved only having to manage one meal. now I need to toss a "snack" into the mix.
I like it simple like you!

I have got to get this weight off this year! I want this to be the year I hit goal. I will tell ya- watching people my age and just a bit older in the ICU- because they ate themselves into disease is just frightening to me! Real deal in your face.
I would even say that 1/2 of those people are there due to lifestyle! I know that is a rough thing to say- but the truth is we are as Americans eating ourselves into an early grave. I do not want to carry around this fat suit anymore!

And on THAT happy note! - I am off to work! HA

Good Morning!

Glad I'm not the only one confused on the Florida beach bar cam.....I thought it must have been a good time if I couldn't even remember it!

I think I may take today off from exercise. I think I overdid it yesterday. I was going to go to a yoga class today, but I'm still feeling tired. I was totally wasted last night. After doing a run, yoga and then the full body massage, I was done. I went to bed at 8:30, but had been falling asleep in my recliner a while before that. A day off may be the best thing for me today.

Blue....how exciting that your son is coming for a visit! I bet that news perked you up! Funny how my words came flying at you and gave you the nudge to make that bed all pretty! I could use some of your word.....energy!

Nic....so awesome that your wallet was returned! There are good people in the world!

Trig....How did DD's return to school go? Sounds like she found out about some new projects so off to the store you go, right?

Don't worry about the scale..you're doing great on plan and the results will come.

Jaz.....we didn't hear from you last night, so thinking you were totally exhausted. Working in the ICU has got to be extra stressful and busy. Hope you had a good night's recovery sleep.

Maybe my 2nd cup of coffee will pep me up enough to go to the Yoga class. We'll see. It is a rather strenuous type class.....not the easy one like yesterday.

I've paused all my meal plan boxes for now. I have a lot of food in my freezer to use up and then I think I'll restart Green Chef as that was my favorite.

I got a Stitch Fix box yesterday. I get one a month. It's just fun, but Lord, I have too many clothes!! I didn't try on the stuff from this box yet, but looked thru it and at the prices. There is one plain, white, vee neck tee shirt so thin you can see right thru it and its $85!! Are they nuts? There is a nice zip up sweatshirt that would be great for our FL vacation....I may get that. We'll see.

I have to tell you all about the bargain of the year that I got last week. I like to shop on the Loft website. Really nice, trendy clothes. Anyway, I usually only look at the clearance and sale sections. There was a pair of pants that have an olive background with black leopard print. They were 1 size bigger than I wear, but I just had to get them. The regular price was $79.50......I paid $7.44!! Yes, seven dollars and 44 cents with free shipping!! I love them even though they are a little big. I threw them in the dryer and hope they shrunk a bit. Now that was a bargain!

Ok...enough of my blathering. Have good days!

Jaz, I think eating 2 times per day will help you.
OMAD is good but our bodies get used to things, I think you new overly active lifestyle, those damn stairs for you and Bella HAHA and eating a small meal for lunch and a dinner is a GREAT THING for you. You were in that slump and stress over that last job and in the car all the time.…..a new active lifestyle means your eating should change with it. that is a good thing actually.

keep it super simple on lunch. just eat tuna each day. when ya can't stand tuna, get yourself some 'really top quality' lunch meats. have it sliced a bit thicker than thin if you like it that way and eat that for lunch time. easy peasy really.

keep that lunch meal simple, easy, smaller but enough to keep yourself happy and fed. You will never go wrong on that.

Keep your dinner meal the bigger one and enjoy the hell out of it. I think 2 meals per day in an active lifestyle is truly a good thing for you now.

rock it out!


Lori, yea I had to read that a few times also from Meme. Was that us? HAHA boy did we drink more than we thought we did huh? LOL

I think that is smart. a day off from you being super active is a good thing for your muscles etc. Body repair day for ya
nothing wrong with that!

Kiddo came home from school and hit her small couch in her game room and 'out like a light' so fast. HAHA her day back to school killer her LOL but she is OK with her new semester classes, a lot of friends not in them but she is fine with who is in them so that helps. all good.

Ohhhh, great deal on the bargain pants! A little big, who cares cause as long as you are fine in them and think they look ok and good....then ya got it made. a bit bigger means COMFORT in those suckers One thing I love is comfort in clothes now. Older I need that, younger I would wear the see-thru things, the tight stuff, the uncomfortable 'fancy' clothes and loved it...but at this age, comfort all the way baby HAHA

Girl I would love to see your closet truly. I bet you are loaded to the gills with clothes. You cruise it, you vacay it, you jog it, you yoga it and have winter clothes you truly need in that rough winter weather, yea I bet you got a lot LOL Nice thing down here I don't do winter clothes, so no sweaters, coats and more. I don't miss storing all that heavy clothing either. Heck it takes up a lot of room those big coats and long johns and more.

Long johns. OMG when skiing I lived in those things. Downhill and cross country, had so many great 'winter active' clothes....all gone now….and I can say while I loved my 'cold active' life before, I am so glad my life is capri and shorts and Ts and flannels now LOL

You look great in 'little black dresses' and more. You got that great body shape that seems to fit a lot of clothes well. I love that. Wish I had that a bit better for me. And you are a bit more smaller structure so you look more petite than that more stout bigger frame that I have. You are 5'7 I think and I am 5'8 and to me, you look so much slimmer and small......you got that smaller skeleton and I got that wider one LOL

omg I am chatting out crazy here

well, off to brush teeth and more and out to store to get kids crap she needs. I don't wanna move....don't wanna drive the farm truck either. omg 1 day and I miss my SUV terribly LOL

off I go.....til later

Blue- I absolutely agree with your Mom about a tidy home and tidy mind. I mean, don't get me wrong, our house is in no way minimalist. I am reading a book about that right now, but when I look at pictures of people with truly minimalist homes, to me they "read" as cold, stark, and without any personal touches. I like a happy medium! When I am in very visually cluttered environments, it just makes me feel confused and disoriented. More so the older I get.

Yes, I am glad we are both back on plan too! Hopefully this year we will be able to keep it together more. I think I've been the worst of everyone this past year!

I love, love, love that your son is doing well, is happy, and is COMING TO VISIT YOU!! I am thrilled for you!!

Oooh, energy is a wonderful word. It works in so many ways. Sending positive energy out, taking in things that feed good energy, whether food or books or media. Preserving your energy and directing it to what really matters to you in your life. YES!! (fist pump!)

Lori- I agree with Blue about your word and commentary on gratitude being helpful for all of us and our mindsets. Most definitely!

Funny you are getting Stitchfix boxes and I am working on doing a major stuff dump this year! That is a super good deal that you got on the Loft site though, for sure.

Trig- So, catch me up here. Your DD's high school classes are only one semester long, and now she has different classes? Or does she just have a class or two that were one semester long?

Jaz- I think that two meals might do you good. I don't know that OMAD and long days of fasting, day after day, are necessarily good for everyone. Each person's body is different and there isn't IMO a true one size fits all. Go with it and see how you do. I actually wouldn't be surprised if you don't lose a little with adding in a second meal.

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Like Trig, I'm no clothes horse. I'm more of a 'uniform' type of gal. Plain v-neck t's and shorts in the summer, jeans and long sleeve shirt in the winter, topped off with a plaid/flannel or vest. Nothing special or fancy for me unless I am forced! ALLLL about comfort here!

Today I am hitting a couple of steps on my "lighten up!" phrase. First, I have my first Barre and Balance class at 2pm. Second, I am getting some boxes from neighbors and starting my first day of Decluttering/Minimalizing our home. For one thing, eventually we are going to want to downsize. Also, seeing DH's parents' home and how much stuff there was, and also how they wanted to give so much of it to all of us and we didn't want it.. I know our kids will be the same way. They won't want 98% of this stuff. I don't want to burden them with it, or move it. Today's goal will be the main level family room. I will work on that today and tomorrow.

Dinner tonight will be leftovers for all. In the fridge is Cheeseburger Soup, Chicken Lazone, fresh cooked tail-on shrimp, leftover meatballs and spaghetti (this gets tossed after tonight)... I think that is about it. I am going to go ahead and poach four chicken thighs that I had thawed and then set that aside for enchiladas/quesadillas, and also for chicken salad later on in the week. I also have about 3/4 pound of ground beef that I thawed, so for that I will make one mini LC lasagna and a burger patty or two to cook up. Done and done!

We are supposed to get a touch of snow today. Not thinking it will even impact the roads- probably just coat the grass. We'll see.

DS18 had me laughing this morning. He was literally moaning that he thinks he might be in another growth spurt. He is about 6'3" and does NOT want to grow any taller. He says he is feeling much hungrier, eating more at lunch and I did notice he came home and fell asleep after play practice and dinner. Bless him.

He has midterm exams next week. I have literally not looked at his grades one time since he got his report card. He says he is doing well. Continuing to let go..!

DS21 has chosen, um, austere housing in NYC for the summer. It is almost monk-like. Still, he is my most frugal child for sure. They all are good savers but he is one who takes spending seriously. He always has, even as a child. I was encouraging him to spend more on housing, we were offering to help him with costs, but nope. So, when I visit him this summer it will be a hotel for me, all the way!

On plan.

Guess that is mostly it for me. Hugs!