mary

Good morning, Y?all!

Just once, I?d love to wake up with no pain!  That would be simply wonderful!  But at least I am waking up!

Well, I made a big decision yesterday.  I made an appointment with the dentist to start the process of having the rest of my teeth yanked and get full dentures.  I already have a partial, but it?s getting old (I?ve had it for more than 15 years!).  My teeth have always been brittle, and now my mouth is starting to hurt most of the time.  It hurts to chew?not like a regular toothache?more like pain from pressure.  So it?s time to get it over with.  At least that?s one pain I can get rid of.  And, they said that all the teeth can be pulled and a temporary denture put in all in one day.  Yeah, I probably won?t be able to eat anything solid for a few days, but that might be a good thing.

Maybe not being able to eat for a few days will get me off this stupid plateau I?ve been on for too long!  I know I?m doing all the right things.  I?m keeping my calories within range.  I?m keeping the fat content down.  I eat very little sugar in any form.  I?m getting exercise in when I?m able to?walking anyway.  I?m drinking all my water.  I even shake things up once in a while.  So maybe a few days on a liquid diet will get things going again.  I sure hope so.

Micheal has been working 10-12 hours a day.  He spends 8-9 hours at work, then comes home and works some more.  Then, he works several hours on the weekends.  Neither of us likes that.  Most of his time at work is spent in meetings and there is no hands-on.  He agrees that it?s time to cut back on the hands-on, but he?d like to keep doing a little anyway.

So, we?ve been doing some talking?about going back to Fort Wayne and finding a job there, even if it?s less money.  My truck is almost paid for, and most of the credit cards are completely paid off.  The only ones with a balance are fairly low balances.  We have a little money in savings, and we can now afford for him to take a lower paying job and still put money away for the future.

Of course, Fort Wayne is the first option.  Anywhere he can find a good, permanent position and housing is reasonable will be great.  But I think we?re about ready to settle down for a change.  We?re both getting older, and our recovery time after a trip is getting longer.  And, Micheal would love to have a place so he can get an old car to restore?one of his passions.  He can?t do that with the traveling, living in apartments or extended stay hotels, etc.  For that, we?d need a home with a garage.

I?d like a room where I can spread out all my craft stuff, then go in every morning and see it all and decide what I want to work on that day.

And we?d like to have a place where the grandkids can come and spend time when they?re out of school.  As it is now, we have nowhere for them to stay.  We?re in a one-bedroom apartment.  If we move into a two-bedroom, it will still be rough cuz it would be cramped and there?s really no place for them to get out and play.  And we?re not talking about just one or two of the grandkids.  We want to have ALL of them here at once.  I know that?s not gonna happen.  It will be a cold day in hell before Nova lets me have her kids without her being there.  But that still leaves 8 more (that?s including the one due in 2 months) that we could have all at once?uh, as long as Micheal can get vacation time and we can rent a van and car seats!!!!!!

But that?s probably all just a dream.  We?ll see.

Well, I?m off to read some blogs.

Y?all have a fantabulous day!!!!

Good morning, Y?all.

Micheal loved his massage.  Of course, he was in hog heaven cuz he was the only man in the place except one employee.  It was a deep tissue massage and he was sore after, which he was told he would be.  But he still enjoyed it.  And he got the manicure and pedicure, too.  He didn?t go play golf cuz the masseuse told him not to.

We went to the circus yesterday.  That was a big let-down.  Definitely not the circus of my childhood.  We knew there would be no tent, because it was in the DCU Center, but it was more of a theme show than anything.  There were no trapeze or high wire acts, only some acrobatics.  It was mostly clowns and horses.

Woke up hurting again this morning.  I?m sure it has a lot to do with all the stair climbing this weekend.  We went out Saturday to get groceries, then to the circus yesterday, and at the circus.  Plus there was a lot of walking yesterday.  So, I?m sure that?s what it is.  And, well, I slept like a log last night?only about 5 hours, but I slept hard.  That always contributes to the pain.  Can?t win for losing!  Oh well!

Today?s gonna be a busy one, so I?ll just have to shove the pain to the back of my head and work around it.  Micheal wanted Chinese for his birthday, (it?s actually today, but I was spreading it out over the whole weekend) specifically sweet & sour pork, but none of the restaurants around here serve it that we?ve found.  So I?m gonna try my hand making it.  And I still have to make his cake.  I bought fresh strawberries this weekend, so some of them are going on the cake, and maybe even in it.  There?s only the two of us, so I?ll probably end up putting half of it in the freezer.  Micheal will eat most of it, but I?ll have a little.  Just have to cut back on everything else.

And speaking of cutting back.  I?m gonna drastically cut my calories for about a week.  I?m gonna drop down into the 1200-1400 calorie range and then up it again after a week and see if that will jump-start my loss again.  I?ve been on this plateau too long.  Well, don?t know if you can actually call it a plateau, since I keep bouncing the same 2-3 pounds back and forth, but most of you know exactly what I mean.

Well, I?m off to read some blogs.

Y?all have a fantabulous day.

Good morning, Y?all.

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It?s a rainy, nasty morning here in New England.? Micheal?s taking off work at noon, and we?ll be heading for the airport.? We?ll have plenty of time to get there, just as long as some idiot doesn?t do something stupid along the way to cause a traffic jam!? Maybe the rain will let up before we leave.

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Micheal picked up my picture yesterday on the way home from work.? It looks nice.? I have it hanging in the living room right now, but we?ve already decided that when we get moved into a permanent place, it?s going in the dining room.? Yeah, I?m gonna put a picture of an outhouse in the dining room!

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I probably won?t even get on the computer this weekend!? Got a lot to do and only a couple of days to do it all in.? I promised Micheal we?d go find a shipping container for his golf clubs so we can put them on the plane.? That mad-woman saga has him stressed and he needs something to put his energy into.? He can go hit a few balls and imagine they?re her head!!!

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Speaking of the mad-woman saga.? She?s still there.? They?ve scheduled a meeting with her on Monday morning at 10:00.? They invited Micheal to attend, but we?ll still be in Fort Wayne, or on the plane back here, thank goodness.? We found out yesterday why nothing?s been done yet.? She?s suing the company for some stupid reason, discrimination or something like that.? She says she?s been mistreated.? And they found out she definitely owns guns.? So they?re being very careful to do everything legally, and as safely as possible.? I think I?d have just called the police and had her removed from the premises and slapped a restraining order against her coming back on the property.? Of course that wouldn?t help if she was determined to do something stupid, but at least it might possibly get them a little faster response from the police if she does show up.? But hopefully, by the time we get back, it will all be over with.

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Ok, enough with that.? I?m still staying within my calorie range and drinking my water.? But I?m still not losing any weight.? Maybe I just need to take a little break.? I think this weekend I?m just gonna say the heck with the diet and start back up Tuesday.? We?ll be eating out all weekend anyway, so I won?t have to worry about choices if I take a break.? I won?t even get all my calories in today because of traveling.? We?ll be leaving the apartment about 12:30 to head for the airport and won?t get home in Fort Wayne til about midnight, so what I eat before we leave will probably be it, unless we grab a sandwich or something during our layover in Detroit (if there?s time for it).? And I?ll be getting a lot of walking in at the airports, getting to the gate and changing planes.

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But when we get back here, I?m gonna start looking at changing things up.? I?ve gotta figure out a way to start losing again.? And I?m gonna get an appointment with a doctor (gotta find one of those).? Maybe they can figure out what?s going on and help me out.? Haven?t been to a doctor in over a year, and that was just for the sciatica attack.? Before that it had been another year!? Guess it?s about time to go get checked out.

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Well, I guess I better go read some blogs, then get off here and get ready to go.? I don?t have much to pack cuz we?re not taking much with us, but I still have things to do.? Housekeeping will come before we get back, so I have to pick things up and put things away.

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Y?all have a fantabulous day!

Good morning, Y?all!

Another busy day yesterday.  Stayed around the apartment for the most part, but did go out to see a house.  Thought we?d found the almost-perfect one?4 bedrooms, above-ground pool, two-car garage, a little over 1900 sq.ft?.the specs the realtor sent me didn?t say that the 1900 sq.ft. included the basement!  Nobody does that!  So it was a little bitty house!  Oh well?back to the drawing board!  But at least I got some exercise cuz I went up and down the stairs here and at the house, and other walking besides.

What else is there to say?  Hmmmm?.oh yeah?I stayed within my calories again.  I?m getting good at this!  I?m definitely burning calories going up and down those stairs?as long as I don?t overdo it.  I make sure to take the stairs slowly.  And I?m getting my water in.  So that?s a good thing.

Ok, that?s it.  I?m letting you guys off easy today!

I?m off to read some blogs.

Have a fantabulous day!!!!

Good morning, Y?all!

Where is everybody?  Got up this morning and logged onto BuddySlim and there were no new posts from people on my subscription list since early yesterday evening.  Guess everybody?s too busy to log on.

Not much going on around here.  We?re gonna spend today shopping and exploring.  Tomorrow we?re gonna go look at some houses and apartments.

Yesterday was another good day, diet wise.  I had toast for breakfast, a salad with shrimp for lunch and spaghetti for dinner.  And I stayed well within my calorie range.

I got on the scale this morning (I get on every morning before I do anything else) and the weight on my ticker is correct for the first time in a couple of months!  I had changed it about a week ago, added a couple of pounds back because I?d gained a few pounds and they weren?t coming back off.  But I didn?t add back all that I?d gained.  Well, it?s correct now.  I got on the scale this morning and I?m officially back down to 330.  And I set a new mini-goal.  I did have it set at 300, but I decided that was too low so I set it at 320.  That doesn?t look quite as daunting as 300.  And when I reach a goal, I?ll set another, keeping them at about 10-15 lb increments.

I?ve probably been sabotaging myself to an extent by setting unrealistic looking goals.  So I?m gonna keep my goals a bit simpler and more attainable.

Well, I?m gonna go hit the shower and get dressed.  We?ve got a lot of running around to do today, and I?m gonna go out and burn a few calories!!

Hope everybody has a wonderful day and a fantastic weekend!!!

Good morning, Y?all!

It?s gonna be a beautiful day out there today?a bit nippy, but beautiful!  It?s only 15 degrees out there and only supposed to get to 35, but the sun is shining and the birds are singing!!!!

Who cares if it?s cold?!  I?m not going anywhere!!  I?m still waiting for them to come replace my kitchen countertop and the linoleum in the bathroom!  They were supposed to do the bathroom Friday, but never showed.  That was rescheduled for tomorrow.  They were supposed to do the kitchen countertop yesterday, but never showed (actually that was originally scheduled for last week, too).  I don?t know when they?ll reschedule that for.

At least I know housekeeping is coming today.  Of course, there?s not much for them to do.  This place is practically spotless!!  But they?ll sweep, mop, vacuum, clean the bathroom and change the bed and the bathroom linens anyway.  So tonight we?ll sleep in a fresh bed.  Hmmmm?maybe I?ll spray the sheets with a little lavender after they leave!!!

I?ve been staying between 1500 & 1800 calories a day, and it looks like maybe I?ve shaken things up a bit.  I got on the scale this morning, after 4 days of reduced calorie intake, and I?m down a pound.  Of course I still have a couple of days til my ?official? weigh-in, but I?m hopeful.  I mean, jeez, I was to the point that I was gonna have to go buy bigger jeans cuz mine were about to cut me in half, and I didn?t bring the bigger ones with me cuz they were falling off of me when we left!  So maybe these will be comfortable now.  Luckily I brought a pair of stretchy pants to kick around in!!!  Those are what I?ve been wearing when we?ve gone out!

I think we?ve about decided to just rent an apartment instead of buying a house for right now.  All the houses I?ve previewed so far have just been?well, let?s say they?re less than desirable!  Most are 2-story with all bedrooms & bathrooms on the 2^nd floor.  And in most cases, a 3 bedroom, 2-bath is around or under 1100 sq. ft. on a quarter acre or less and priced at over $250,000!!!  Oh, and with most places, the parking is on the street!!!!!!  At least if we rent an apartment, we won?t have to worry about maintenance (unless we rent in this complex, which I don?t see happening!).  We just won?t have the privacy we?d like.  But we would most likely have a gym onsite as well as a swimming pool during the summer (and I can make sure to only look at the ones that have a pool and gym), so those would be a plus!

Ok, I?m off to read some blogs then check the apartment listings online.

Y?all have a wonderful day!

Good morning, Y?all!!!

Woke up this morning to a white world again!  Well, actually, there was about an inch of snow on the vehicles in the parking lot when we went to bed last night, but there wasn?t quite as much there this morning.  The temp actually went up during the night.  The parking lot and drive are just wet, so it won?t be long before last night?s snow is gone.

This area, or at least this apartment complex, is much different from any other we?ve lived in.  I told you yesterday about the jerk parked next to me shoveling snow from around his car and tossing it against and behind my truck.  Well, the maintenance crew was out yesterday with their plow trucks clearing out the parking spaces that were still covered in snow.  There was a car parked just below and to the right of our balcony that was totally snowed and iced in and the owner was trying to get out, but not having much luck.  Well, one of the maintenance guys took his truck and plow and plowed just as close to the guy?s car as he could get.  Then he proceeded to help dig the rest of the snow out from around the car until the guy was able to drive it out.  Now that was consideration.

I was watching all of this from the balcony and when they finished, as the maintenance man was walking back to his truck, I complimented him for helping the guy, and commented about the older lady parked a couple of spaces over having the same problem the day before.

Now listen to this!!!  About half an hour later, I heard a lot of noise coming from outside again and I went to look out the door at the balcony.  There were TWO maintenance trucks with plows out there.  One was using his truck to clear snow from around the lady?s car while the other directed him.  Then they both started shoveling.  Apparently they knew the lady, or at least knew which apartment she is in, cuz they had the keys and had the car started.  And they worked til they had that car out of the snow and into a completely cleared spot.  They even cleaned all the snow off of the car.  Of course, I had to say something to them after they finished.

I thought that was pretty good in this day and age of ?fend for yourself?.  They could have just gone about their own business and let those people do their own dirty work, but no, they jumped in and helped them out.  And yes, I let management know what I thought about it.  You know me?I?m just too outspoken to keep my mouth shut and not say a word!

So now I?m sitting around waiting for maintenance to come put in a new countertop today, and they?ll be putting new linoleum in the bathroom on Thursday.  It was supposed to all be done last week, but delays occurred.

It looks like it?s gonna be a beautiful day out there today.  The wind?s blowing pretty good, but the sun?s shining.  Hopefully the weekend will be just as nice, cuz we?re planning on doing some running around!

Oh, almost forgot?I was under calories again yesterday.  The past 3 days I?ve been within 1500-1800 calories a day.  Hopefully I?ll start seeing some changes by the weekend.  If not, then I?m gonna have to figure something else out.

Ok, off to read some blogs.

Y?all have a wonderful day!!!

Good morning, Buddies.

Slow weekend here.  We didn?t do much of anything.  Well, we re-arranged the living room.  There is a long sofa and a love seat here.  They had the love seat beside the TV and the sofa across from it.  We didn?t like the sofa.  It was just toooo long!!  So we switched them around so we can sit on the love seat and watch TV.  Ahhhhhh?togetherness!!!!!!

Yesterday was another low-calorie day.  I undercut my normal range by about 300.  I sure hope cutting my calories for a few days jumpstarts the weight loss.  If it doesn?t, I don?t know what else to do.

Micheal did have to work yesterday, but he was able to do it from home.  He set his laptop up on the table.  He?d work a while, then he?d take a break and sit with me awhile, then he?d work some more.  The fun thing about this job?Micheal is a salaried employee, but if he works over 40 hours a week for two or more weeks straight, he gets extra pay for those hours!  That money is going into the house down payment fund!!!  Well, Micheal says it?s going in the new car fund since we?re selling his car, but my truck will be paid off by the end of summer, so we don?t need a new car fund.  We find the silliest things to argue about!!!

Ok, like I said, slow weekend so there?s not much to report.

So, I?m gonna go read some blogs.

Y?all have a wonderful day!!!!!

Good afternoon, Buddies.

We?ve been having a lazy weekend.  Micheal got home around 5:30 Friday afternoon, parked the truck, and we never bothered to try to dig it out.

When we got up yesterday morning, my truck had snow piled up past the back bumper (partly because of the snow plows), half way up the door on the driver?s side, and over the headlights against the curb.  Yesterday afternoon, some idiot that had parked next to us started digging his car out and was throwing the snow up against the side of, and behind our truck.  I stuck my head out the door and told him I would appreciate it if he didn?t bury my truck further while digging his car out.  He looked up at me, said ok, then proceeded to throw another shovel full of snow behind my truck!  I was soooooo tempted to go get a pan full of water and throw it on him!  But I didn?t.

Well, this afternoon, Micheal went out, cleared enough snow from the side of the truck so he could get in and start it, then cleared the windshield.  Then he got in and backed it right out and into the cleared parking space across the drive with little effort!  Thank God for all-wheel drive!!!  Nobody else is gonna be able to park in that space til the plow clears it or it melts!  One guy stood there watching and shaking his head!  He?d been shoveling snow out from around and behind his car for over an hour and still hadn?t gotten it out yet!  He went back in before Micheal even got out of the truck and hasn?t been back to his car.

I didn?t reach my minimum calories yesterday.  I fixed egg sandwiches for lunch and split pea soup for dinner.  I also had a handful of peanut M&M?s.  I ended up with about 400 calories below my minimum.  But I did have all my water.

Today won?t be much better.  I had cereal for breakfast, nachos made with baked Doritos for lunch, and we?re having left-over split pea soup for dinner.  But I will get my water in.

I?m cutting my calories for a few days hoping it will shake things up and get me started losing again.  I gotta do something!

I?d like to get another 5 lbs off before my family reunion in Arkansas, Easter weekend.  And I already know I?ll have to have a seatbelt extender on the plane.

We went online last night and booked our airline tickets, rental car and hotel room for our trip to Arkansas.  We managed to find round-trip, NON-STOP airline tickets for less than $25 each over what they would cost if we had to change planes somewhere.  So our flight will be around 3 ? hours as opposed to the 6+ hours it was gonna be if we had to layover and change planes somewhere.  I think that?s a pretty good trade off.  And we booked the hotel room at the same time, and got a king suite for less than $75!  That?s a suite?with a separate sitting room.  And the hotel has an indoor pool.

We usually stay at Dad?s when we go down there, but his sleeper-sofa is just a bit too hard on my back.  And I have a couple of cousins that like to stay with him when they?re down, and they can?t afford hotel rooms.  So we decided we?d just get us a room.  If we find out the cousins aren?t gonna be staying with Dad, we can always cancel the hotel room and stay with him if my back?s doing ok.

And, we?re flying to California the end of May.  I?d like to get a few more pounds off before then, too.

Well, I?m gonna go read a blog or two, then watch a movie with Micheal.

Have a wonderful rest-of-the-day!!!!

Good morning Buddies!

It?s a winter wonderland out there!  We got at least that foot of snow they were predicting!  The front of my truck is buried, and it?s parked nose in so, it may be drifts but it?s not from the plows.  And it all has a nice coating of ICE over it!

Guess it?s a good thing we?re not planning to go anywhere today!

Yesterday was another on track day.  I stayed well within my calorie range, as usual.  And I drank all my water, as usual.  And the scale isn?t moving, as usual.  I was up 5 lbs earlier in the week, and went back down 3, but I?m still right there, even with the trips up and down the stairs.  I?m gonna reset my ticker to 330 cuz I think those last 3 lost were just a fluke?they only stayed gone about a week.  I?m thinking about dropping my calorie range by about 200 calories to 1700-1900 and see what happens.

I have a pot of split pea soup ready to start simmering for tonight?s dinner.  You can?t get much more low-fat than that!  And it will taste good on this cold, snow-covered day!

Well, this was short one, but there?s not much happening.  Guess I?ll go read a few blogs.

Hope everybody has a wonderful day!