Friday October 6

Weight 115.5. Calories 887. One more work week almost done: 24 workdays to retirement!

I am meeting a couple of friends from high school days for lunch today at DS' restaurant. SIL and BIL are down for the weekend for local SIL's Birthday. We need to find somethng fun to do during the day tomorrow.

We hiked at a local preservation area yesterday afternoon. Not like Shel's hikes, but it was very peaceful and beautiful as the hike wound around two ponds. Picture below:

Good morning,

Different kind of hike but just as beautiful! It is nice to gaze at even as I sip my morning joe. I don't think I will have a weekend hike, too much rain is in the forecast. I will likely get Buster out for some nice walks. I like selecting just the right outdoor coat for him. (Shopping addiction takes many forms.)

Gym work early this morning then off to work. Our moon was massive and hung very low yesterday morning. I don't know the astronomy behind it. An extraordinary act of kindness to start the day. The Age of Aquarius hummed thru my mind to provide musical accompaniment.

Paula, I loved the pictures of your parents. Such love on both sides of the lens.

Hug your skinny,

Shel

Shel, we had a huge moon here, too. You've got a good moon eye: This year's "Harvest Moon" is a big damn deal and is all over the internet.

Weight: 132.2
Macros: Cals - 1,702, Carbs - 204, Fat - 42, Protein - 95, Fiber - 24
Veggies/Fruits (goal 8): 8
Sleep (goal 8 hours): 8 hours
Exercise: Yoga class

Liz, that pondside hiking trail does look peaceful. You've made me want to go for an actual walk, not just mow or pull weeds.

Yesterday at yoga class, our teacher announced that October will be "Focus on the Core" month. And yowzah!, she wasn't kidding. BTW, September's focus was "Three-Minute Plank" -- not a big deal for many yoga afficionadoes (one guy in our class made it to six minutes), but it was for me.

Yesterday's V/Fs came from a banana, Romaine lettuce, black beans, tomatoes, kale, spinach, bamboo shoots, and (ahem!) spicy V8 juice. It's unclear to me if V8's claim that 8 ounces equals 2 vegetables is legit, and I'm not thrilled with the nearly 500 mg sodium it carries. I'll finish the bottle, but probably won't buy another one.

For last night's dinner I had a Healthy Choice Korean-inspired Beef Power Bowl. Lord, was it spicy, but also delicious. Tonight it's back to home-cooked leftovers.

Finally, hubby's oncologist wants him to have a PET scan "just to be sure nothing else is going on." Not a big surprise that he has to have that done. His test will happen tomorrow morning, and we'll learn the results next Thursday.

And already, just like that again, it's T.G.I.F.

How brave for her to announce a month of Core. (It must be capitalized.) Every class will be proceeded by dreadful anticipation.

Ok, imagine yourself in side plank. Now crunch your top elbow and your top knee together 15 times. Is that easy for you? It was a new maneuver for me and it made my upper quads (? sometimes it is hard to pinpoint) hurt for 24 hours. Plus, super tippy and no coordination. So interesting to find an area of zero strength.

Hell, no! I can barely do a side plank, much less all that elbow-knee stuff! But it's probable that particular embarrassment is in my near future.

Lordy! Yoga can be humbling.

This is why I do yoga DVDs, in the privacy of my own home! Lol!

208. Still kicking. I stress ate a lot of pirate booty last night, so hopefully this is mostly water from all that salt. I recognized it was stress eating, measured out a big serving and ate it with enjoyment while watching tv before passing out. It has been a hectic week and I am very behind in my reading of everybody's posts.

My daughter had the hopefully final surgery on the fistula/dialysis port in her arm and should be able to use it in about a month. Then we can finally start testing donors. They need to have her ready to roll before testing donors. Seems like an unnecessary delay.

Went for a walk to the store today during lunch and got a small piece of salmon and a little bit of pureed cauliflower. It was very good. I didn't think it would be enough to fill me and bought an apple too. No room for the apple. More comments and questions in the lunchroom, but it's all good.

Haven't weighed.

I love the water during a walk but don't do it often enough. I have plenty of places around me to hike or bike but I would rather woodwork if the energy is there. We "sold" some highway frontage to the state yesterday. I was planning for it when we placed the house but found out in the next 5 yrs they may be another widening. That's what the highway dept. does, take land. Maybe it will make my property worth more with a better road. We have a pipeline at the back of the house so couldn't have moved it back any further anyway. My youngest son and DIL are wanting to rent or buy the property. I obviously didn't learn on the last renting to family. We will see.

Recliner vs zip line. I never have done the zip line. They look fun. I worked high in the air in my 20's building locks and dams. Never really needed the thrill of the zip because I had it at work. I was scared of heights too. Just young and broke. I started out in the mud and worked my way higher. As far as recliners go, I slept in one for years because lying flat killed my back. Before WLS I had trouble with them breaking at 362lbs. So I built my own chairs. Kinda Adirondack style but easier to get out of. I put them on the front porch and watched cars go by and drank my morning coffee. Then people started stopping by the house to ask where I got it so I made a few for the public. I think I could have sold as many as I could make. Still need to make a dozen or so. My sawmill guy went out of business and buying cypress from my supplier blows the profit margin.

More later, David

David, come the Apocalypse, please bring your trailer up here!