#2593 Saturday with Sandy

I'm writing early today because MT and I are headed back to Sundance tonight for the second show in the Bluebird Café concert series. It's not as smoky around here today, and I'm hopeful we will have clean, beautiful air at the venue.

This morning I said good-bye to my WW coach, Lana. She's not going anywhere, but I have cancelled my WW membership and to forge my weight loss path on my own. As T says, it is the end of an era LOL. I came to the realization that although I know the plan absolutely works, it wasn't working for me anymore, totally because I wasn't working the plan. After a lot of thought and conversations with MT and Lizzie, I made the decision. Like I told Lana, I'm going to trust that what I've learned at WW over the many years will stick with me. I know that's where the food rant on my last post came from. I've been obsessing (a little) over this decision and it's scary to lose my WW security blanket. I feel good about the decision, actually. I'm going to be okay.

I did do something to sort of take WW's place today: I signed up for a gym membership at Vasa Fitness. I've even booked a couple of classes for myself next week, on Monday and Wednesday. I feel ready to get back to the gym and get sweaty. The membership I purchased lets me have access to any Vasa Fitness. There are a couple of gyms close to me, and another that isn't as close, but still do-able if they have a class I am interested in taking. I'm excited. I love Zumba, and I'm looking forward to getting back into it. I signed up for a Zumba class on Monday at my "home" gym, the one nearest my house, just over a mile away, and a cycling class on Wednesday at the Vasa about four miles down the road from my house. It's gonna be good.

Happy weekend! I'll see you back here on Monday. I'll let you know how hard the Zumba class was after over a year of not taking any classes :)

#2582 Saturday with Sandy

I've had a pretty good day! I started out with MT and the dogs at the dog park. We got there around 8:15 or so and spent about 30 minutes there. I think the dogs could have stayed longer, but I actually had somewhere to be at 9:15: the first in-person WW workshop in West Valley in well over a year!

This may sound corny, but it was so great to sit in a room with other WW members - my people, my tribe, so to speak. When Coach Lana walked in to start the meeting, we all clapped and cheered and got a little misty-eyed. We laughed, we cheered for each other, we talked about the good and bad of the past year, and it felt right and good. 

The topic of the workshop struck a chord with me. It was about setting up your bedroom to have a good night's sleep. Sleep is one of the 4 WW pillars, meaning that sleep is very important to our health and to achieving weight loss. We talked about decluttering our bedrooms, among other things, and since decluttering was one of the things that I talked about in my last post, I decided that today was the day to tidy up my bedroom.

There are six flat surfaces, not including the floor, in my bedroom. Two of the surfaces are mine, one is common area, and the other three are MT's. My goal was to tidy up each of those surfaces. Here are before photos of my surfaces and the common area:

This is my nighstand right next to the bed. Disgraceful.

Here is the top of my dresser. It's just cluttered and had become a catch-all space for random stuff.

This little table holds the TV gadgets and other assorted stuff we pile on it.

For each surface, I removed everything from it and dusted it. (Everything was pretty dusty.) The next step was to put back stuff that I wanted and find homes for other stuff or just toss it. I did end up throwing a few things away, and when I actually thought about some of the things, I realized that I didn't need them right there by me at all. I did dust and clean up a bit of MT's things, but I didn't know what he wanted to keep or toss, so I basically just put stuff back, but a little nicer. I spent about an hour total on the spaces. Here are the after pics:

I feel like I still have some work to do on the bottom shelf of the night stand, but I'm a lot happier with the top and middle shelf. I had my TBR book pile on the to shelf, and I realized it was kind of stressing me out! It was a bizarre realization. I love to read, but having the pile sitting there made me feel like I wasn't reading fast enough or something. It's dumb, I know. Anxiety is a strange creature.

I ended up moving those books to the left corner of my dresser and seating the meditating dragon on top of them. It's kind of funny because this space actually took me the longest because I had a bunch of little knick-knacks there that I kept moving around, but it still felt really cluttered to me, even though I liked all of my things. Now when I look at the top of my dresser, I feel much more calm. 

Finally, here is the little common space table. I had a stack of books (of course) on it that simply didn't need to be there. All that's there now is the TV stuff, a plant, and a photo. I like it!

MT really liked the results of my labor, too. He hates clutter, but is just as guilty of it as I am. 

After the hour of tidying, I read for a little while and took a nap. I do love a nice nap.

You know,  I have to tell you that as much as I love Red Butte Garden, not spending lots of hours there on Saturdays is good for me. In 2019, it felt like Saturdays belonged to RBG, and it tired me out, to be honest. Since the Garden was closed for much of last summer, I didn't go there at all, of course. This year, the docent gig in the Courtyard looks different because the Garden is not providing the little golf cart tram to show people around, so if a docent does sit in the Courtyard, it is to answer questions, of which there were never very many. Plus, the requirement is four hours/shift instead of two (I was there from 1 -3 on Saturday afternoons.) I simply can't see sitting out in the Courtyard for four hours on a hot Saturday afternoon. It has been nice to spend Saturdays at home. 

Overall, I feel like I made good progress on getting my bedroom cleaned up a bit. There are a few other things I'd like to do, but it is a good start and I am happy about it!

Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

#2552 today’s best: Oprah!

My favorite thing about today was listening to Oprah on her virtual event Your Life in Focus presented by WW. This was the second event this year. The main point of this talk was self-care. Even though the pandemic is not over, by far, more and more people are getting vaccinated and glimmers of hope that beginning to make it seem like there could be a time when we can get back out into the world. I don’t know that things will be just like it was in The Before. 

Oprah reminded us to acknowledge that we have so far gotten through a GLOBAL PANDEMIC and all of us have faced hardships and probably made some changes to figure out how to survive. It’s been a year of anxiety and isolation. For me, I don’t have little kids that had to be home-schooled. I have a job that allowed, and continues to allow me to work from home. I have been extremely cautious and careful about who I have been around and what I have done, and I continue to be that way.

Oprah’s “workshop” had a little workbook with sections that allowed us to acknowledge the challenges of the past year. There were 11 challenges list, plus a blank space to fill in if your particular challenge wasn’t listed. I marked five challenges. That’s not too bad, and the ones I identified were pretty mild compared to illness, death, educating children, or financial distress. Still, the challenges I feel that I faced were difficult and troublesome in their own way.

The second section encouraged us to identify sources of resilience. Again, there were 12 options. I marked  seven. We have all found ways to help ourselves move through this Difficult Time. Self-care is huge. Whether it is taking time to meditate, or nap, or get outside and look at flowers,  it all counts as part of taking care of yourself.

What I like most about Oprah’s workshops is that she and her guests are positive and make me feel good about what they say. I always have something to think about at the end of the sessions. I wasn’t part of the 100 person Zoom audience which was a bummer because she gave everyone in that group a trip to a spa resort! 

Happy Saturday! Here is a photo of a squirrel having a snack at Red Butte Garden today:

#2414 WW Wednesday

WW is continuing with the virtual meetings. I usually sit in on a meeting on Tuesday, and sometimes on Saturday or Sunday. We are currently in the middle of a six part series called "What Happens to Your Body When..." and each week builds on the previous weeks' topic. 

I changed things up a little this week with my plan. WW offers three plans: Green, Blue, and Purple. Blue is pretty much the standard plan we were using before the three plan system came along. You get a certain number of SmartPoints and weekly points plus 200 or so zero point foods. Green has fewer zero point foods, but more SmartPoints; Purple has lots of zero point foods and few SmartPoints. I've been on the Purple plan because I liked the idea of lots of zero point foods. The idea is to build your meals around the zero point foods and I kinda got away from that. It has been helpful in maintaining my weight, but I really want to be a loser. I switched over to Green. It's only been a day, but I like it. It more closely mirrors the original WW from when I came back and I was pretty successful. I like the idea of having a points "budget" and figuring out how to stay in that range. I was feeling pretty stale with Purple, so I think the switch will get me back in the groove. 

Another thing I've been doing is adding in some movement daily. I downloaded an app called FitOn. I learned about it from WW. FitOn has some workouts on the WW app. I decided to get the FitOn app because there is more variety. There are so many options! Lots of yoga, dance, weight training, stretching, body weight resistance training (using your body as resistance instead of hand weights). Since going to the gym is not an option for me - although it is open and they are having classes, I just can't bring myself to go in there and breathe other people's moist breath air and be around the sweatiness - FitOn has been a nice alternative. MT and I also get out for walks a couple of times a week and we have a goal to ride our bikes at least once a week. Maybe that doesn't sound like much, but at least we are doing something!

Speaking of which, I'm going to do a back stretch workout right now. My back is still feeling tight, and a good stretch sounds pretty great. 

#2398 WW Wednesday: still virtual and that's okay

Although a few WW studios in the Salt Lake area are opening up for weigh-ins and product sales, the actual workshops are all still being done virtually on Zoom. Although I miss seeing the people in my regular Saturday morning group and I really miss my coach Lana, I enjoy the Zoom meetings. I can easily listen in on workshops any day of the week with different coaches. I can even attend a virtual meeting in another state. I have sat in on the meeting in La Mirada a few times. I like the Saturday morning coach there. 

WW has a topic that is discussed each week, so every workshop has the same topic, but there's often a different take offered by members or coaches. The first part of the workshop generally celebrates successes and tackles challenges that members want to discuss. It is nice to hear from different people.

I still keep in touch with my WVC group through Facebook. We have a private group there and we check in occasionally, though not as often as we did in March and April.

I'm thankful for WW. It's like my conscience. I am pretty sure I would be eating with wild abandon if I didn't have those points and their words and thoughts lurking in my brain whenever I go into the kitchen.

#2384 WW Wednesday: I am

On Saturday, I sat in on Oprah's Zoom meeting presented by WW. The topic was Connect and referred to connecting with friends and family during These Trying Times and also connecting with yourself. There were a few things that caught my attention, and one thing in particular has been on my mind since Saturday morning.

The words I AM, and specifically, what follows them. She referred to a conversation she had with Joel Osteen as few years ago in which he said that whatever follows the words I AM comes looking for you. Here's a clip of Osteen talking to Oprah about the concept from March 2016. 

Here's an even earlier clip from October 2012 from Oprah talking about I AM. (Yeah, I'm kind of on an Oprah kick lately.)

It made me think about how many times I have said, "I'm tired," and then I continue to feel tired all day. Or if I say, "I'm hungry," and I can't seem to stop munching on stuff. 

This week when I have caught myself thinking "I am" I have paused to think about what I want to come looking for me. It's been kind of a rough week and I have found myself thinking and feeling some negative thoughts. Anxiety and depression often find me, so I have to be careful with my thoughts. Taking that little pause when I start to think, "Whew! I am..." has been helpful in keeping myself on an even keel this week, for the most part. 

Words you say or even just think to yourself have a lot of meaning and power. Be gentle, joyful and easy with yourselves. We're all going through something, aren't we?

#2377 weekend wrap-up

Sunday evening already. At least somethings during These Trying Times haven't changed. I still get bills in the mail and the weekend still flies by.

Yesterday morning was a WW festival. Maybe you know that Oprah is a WW member and ambassador as well as being, you know, Oprah. She has partnered with WW to present on online series called Oprah's 202 Vision: A Vision Forward. The first presentation was Saturday. I knew it was happening but didn't know what time it started, so I found it a little late, and am I glad I did find it. I was able to cast it to my TV, so I didn't have to sit there holding my phone for the whole time. Basically, she has people on Zoom and she is broadcasting it to the rest of us. She talked to some regular people, and then she also had guests: The Rock, Kate Hudson, and a meditation guy named Jesse. Jesse lead us all in a good meditation. I really liked the whole thing. I will be sure to watch next week's presentation from the beginning!

After that, I jumped into the La Mirada virtual WW workshop. I've been to that group's meeting a few times in person when I've gone to visit the fam. I like the leader, Jacki, a lot. I like her style and her personality. She was very nice to me when I got on her meeting. 

Full of WW inspiration, I took my journal outside to write for a few minutes. I realized that I haven't been getting outside very much, and I miss it. I made a commitment to myself to get outside a little while every day and to take a photo of it. Here's my Saturday photo:

It was a gorgeous day and I felt like riding my bike, so MT and I loaded up the bikes and headed to Farmington to ride on the Legacy Parkway trail. I did great the first seven miles, but kinda bonked on the way back. In all my WW joy, I hadn't eaten anything (well, half of a peanut butter sandwich). We were still two minutes better than last week's ride. Here's the summary from my biking app:

We stopped at a Mexican restaurant in our neighborhood on the way home to get some take out. It was so good!

Last night T went out to a friend's house. MT and I stayed home and read. I also did a Babbel lesson in French and reviewed my Spanish. The Spanish lessons are way longer than the French lessons. I don't know why. Spanish comes more naturally off my tongue than French, but both are difficult. 

This morning I made French toast for breakfast (delicious), then MT and I went for a walk. I'm doing a photo challenge on Instagram and today's prompt was "clouds". The pic also serves as my proof that I was outside today:

It was pretty cloudy earlier today. Now it's clear, but very windy and warm.

I went to the grocery store and bought gas for the car. The car was almost empty (about 70 miles left in the tank) and I filled it up. Guess how much I paid? $19.93! It was just $1.439/gallon! I had a $0.40/gal credit from the store. Awesome!!

This afternoon I have been reading and I just got done paying the bills. In an hour I'll watch episodes 9 and 10 of The Last Dance. Since the last game of the Last Dance is against the Utah Jazz in 1998, I'm pretty sure I'm gonna cry, just like I did back then. I do acknowledge Jordan's greatness as a basketball player, of course, but how that all went down still stings.

I hope you had an excellent weekend. Please take care of yourselves and find some joy in the everyday stuff. 

#2364 WW Wednesday: maintain

WW workshops are being held virtually through on-line meetings. I like it because I can attend meetings at different times and with different coaches. I usually attend a couple of workshops a week because I can. There are some people that are virtually "traveling" and attending workshops held in other states. There have been people from Texas, North Carolina, New Jersey, Idaho, and California that have attended workshops based here in Salt Lake. I check in with my local coach, Lana, every week just to see how she's doing, and I also check in with my regular Saturday morning crew through our Facebook group.

Even though everyone who attends WW is there for the same reason, I find that now, even more, the WW community is facing the same thing. We are all at different stages in our weight loss journey, but everyone is being affected by the pandemic and having to stay at home. Everyone is tempted by their kitchens and what's in those cabinets. Everyone has had to modify their exercise routine. Some people are working from home, some people are retired and were at home most of the time anyway,  and some parents are struggling with finding ways to deal with their children 24-7. One mom of rambunctious twins was online the other day and I thought the poor woman was gonna lose it. Her kids were yelling and jumping up and down in the background, knowing they could get away with all kinds of shit while their mom was trying to get a grip on sanity. I thought she was going to cry or scream. She looked exhausted.

One thing I like about WW is that they do a good job of sending out positive messages and trying to keep us all on track and motivated to stay on the weight loss path. My goal these past weeks has been to just maintain my weight, and I have been able to do that. I haven't been very active physically and I am a snacker if I don't have an actual meal. Figuring out my hunger cue was a true a-ha moment for me. I found that I would start poking around in the kitchen looking for food and telling myself I just wanted a little something-something. I finally realized that I could snack on crap for a long time and feel like crap, or I could fix myself some real food and then I wouldn't snack anymore. Yes, it sounds so simple, but until I took a moment and looked at what I was doing, I really didn't know. Now when I start snooping around the kitchen, I just fix myself whatever I had planned to eat and I'm satisfied.

I'm not saying I don't grab some chips every now and then, but it's been less frequent. 

I also discovered that I prefer to eat something more substantial in the morning, and eat lighter meals in the afternoon and evening. I have no hang-ups about having dinner or lunch food at 10:00 in the morning. Today I fixed myself a bowl of rice with black beans around 10 am and I was satisfied until around 2 pm. At that time I had a bowl of strawberries because I knew I was making something yummy for dinner. It felt like a balanced day as far as food goes. It doesn't always work out, but today was good.

Stay positive. Stay hopeful. Stay home.

xo

#2350 WW Wednesday and being at home

As with most things these days, the WW studios are closed to flatten the curve, but WW has not left us members high and dry without a guiding hand. We have virtual meetings using the Zoom app. It't not exactly the same as being with your regular group because they couldn't do virtual meetings for each individual workshop. It's still helpful to be able to hear a coach and other members. We're all going through the same things, so I find it to be worth my time.

Today I sat in on a lunchtime workshop. My coach, Lana, was a participant, but not the leader. Still, it was good to see her even if it was on video. The topic was about creating a new routine when you're at home. This topic totally applied to me because I have said before that I am a creature of habit, so having my routine changed up so drastically has been unsettling in many ways.

For one thing, even though I am working, every day seems like a weekend day, mostly because I am at home, also because I tend to wear my weekend or after-hours relaxin' clothes. I do shower, brush my teeth and comb my hair, etc, but I'm definitely not putting on jeans. Maybe I should, though! Several of the members said it really helped them remember not to hit their kitchen because they were wearing regular clothes. It's so damn mental! Also, my pants will feel tight if I snack too much. I don't want that!

I was just looking at the WW website and they have a handy daily schedule where I could write times and activities. That might be really handy for me, even when we are done with staying at home. Weekends tend to be more challenging for me with my eating because I don't have a routine in the winter (summer is more structured with my volunteer activities). Yes, I am kind of like a 12 year old and I need to have structure! Plus I love lists.

Mostly, though, I am doing okay. Work has been busy. It takes a little longer to do stuff since I'm on a laptop and I don't have a printer or a mouse. I could get a mouse and probably a printer but I'm doing okay without. I've really noticed how reliant I am on printing stuff to review instead of looking at the the report or whatever online and making notes as needed. It's been an interesting observation.

I still listen to sports radio in the morning, even though there's no live sports to hear about, there are things happening, like players moving to different teams or the Olympics being postponed for a year. I listen to The Dan Patrick Show and the fellas are just entertaining. They talk about pop culture and music and what they are watching on Netflix and what they are cooking on their Traeger grills. Sometimes I'll listen to NPR, but when I have news overload, I'll put on a familiar movie, like a Disney musical and I'll sing along. I don't have to watch to know what is going on, and it is just fun noise for me. I won't put on a movie I haven't seen because then I would just want to watch it. It *has* to be a movie I already know very well. Today was not a musical day. Today was Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. One of the best films in the series, IMO.

Hopefully all seven of you are staying inside and taking care of yourselves. More words on Friday!

#2344 foodfoodfoodfoodfoodfoodfoodfoodfood

While talking to my mom and sister the other night, Mom commented that she'd been reading this blog and noted that I write about food a lot. For some reason, the comment bothered me. So, being me, I thought about why it bothered me so much. I think it's because I am sensitive about my weight, and therefore sensitive about food.

For the record, this year I have posted 34 times and tagged "food" or "cooking" six times. Maybe that's a lot.

It doesn't really matter, because as much as I post about food, I actually think about it constantly. Like, all the time. If there's one thing you can't get away from, it's eating. I know that for me, if I don't plan what I will eat and take the time to prepare it, all the weight that I have lost will come back in a flash because I will eat whatever is nearby. If I don't have a food plan, I will find myself with a donut for breakfast, fast food burger and fries for lunch, and take-out pizza for dinner. I know this about myself because I have done it. Living like that put on a lot of pounds until I figured out something had to be done.

My mom says that her mother always said, "Just eat what you want in moderation." How I would love to be a person who could do that, eat in moderation, but I'm not. If I was, then as a child I could have told my grandma that I didn't need six hot dogs or tell my aunt that one donut would be plenty. If I could eat in moderation, I could go to the cookie store and just get one cookie, or stop eating chips when I felt full. Most of the time, I just can't. Or I won't. Because I don't.

Enter Weight Watchers. Now I pay them hundreds of dollars a year to help me figure out what to eat. WW has made eating a bit of a game for me, which I like. They tell me I can have so many points every day, and then I try to figure out how to be satisfied by my meals within those points. I'm on a plan that has a lot of zero point foods. Those foods include chicken, eggs, brown rice, whole wheat pasta, all the veggies, all the fruits, Greek yogurt, steel cut oats, etc. I use my points on things that make those kinds of foods taste good, like cheese, butter or oil, bread, etc.

Yes, it's kind of a hassle. At one point in the late 2000s, I thought I had it under control and I left WW, only to go back about eight months later because the weight was coming back. This time around, the losing has been slow, but it's coming off again finally. I wish I could be a person with enough sense to be able to do it on my own. I know that I am not, and I learned that the hard way.

So yeah, I think about food all the time. I write about it because sometimes that's really all I have to write about and I made a commitment to myself that I would write here every other day. Sometimes my life is pretty dull, but there's always food. I'm probably going to keep writing about it because I like to write. And I like food.

Happy weekend, everyone. Wash your hands.

#2285 WW Wednesday team purple

It's been a couple of years since WW changed up the plan a bit, so it was time and that's what they've done. Now the plan is called myWW and members have three options to choose from: high points and fewer 0 point foods, medium points and more 0 point foods, and fewer points and lots of 0 point foods, including potatoes (!), brown rice (!), and whole wheat pasta. The plans have color names: green, blue and purple. I chose the purple plan, the one with the fewest points and the most 0 point foods. I've been doing it for about a week and a half and it's been good. 

I know that WW plan works if I work the plan. It is a day-to-day thing. Planning what I'm going to eat each day and tracking in advance works for me. It's not my natural tendency to choose a salad, so I have to consciously make that choice.  I am a work in progress, as all people are, I suppose.

It is not my intention to obsess about this whole topic. I just thought you might be interested in this little WW change. I like it. I feel re-energized and satisfied.

#2277 WW Wednesday - a new program and follow up on Post Malone

WW rolled out a new plan on Monday. They are calling it MyWW and the member gets to choose between three plans. One plan offers more daily points, but fewer zero point foods. Another plan is basically the current plan with zero point foods and points, and the third plan gives you over 300 zero point foods and even fewer points.

I am a bit like my mom in that I don't really love to make decisions. I feel a little stressed about what plan to choose, but I am not going to worry about it now because I'm going on vacation and I won't be worrying about WW.

I have lots of thoughts about all of this, but I'll save it for another time.

Last night our little family had the opportunity to go to the Jazz game. I was happy that T came with us. We all had fun and the Jazz won.

The night before, on Monday, T and I went to see Post Malone in concert. It was a great show. Post didn't chat much, but he sounded good. I was dancing and singing and having a blast. T had fun too. We were both glad to be there. Click here to read a review of the show from The Daily Herald.

It was a late night; I didn't get to bed until well after midnight and it was hard to fall asleep.

It's pretty unusual for me to have back-to-back nights out during the work week. Today was tough and I'm tired! I'll be going to bed soon. Tomorrow I'll be busy getting my stuff together for our trip. We leave on Friday! I'm not quite as prepared as I usually am.

It will all work out!

#2233 weekend wrap-up

I'm writing on Sunday afternoon because I'll be heading up to RBG to volunteer at a concert this evening. Tonight the bands are Pigeons Playing Ping Pong and Umphrey's McGee. No, I do not know either of these bands and have only heard a few of their songs via Apple Music. I really want the volunteer hours. LOL

I wrote on Friday about going on a date night with MT. There was a question from Lizzie in the comments about "money dates". It's a term that MT heard on the Bigger Pockets podcast. Basically, the way he explained it, is that we will have a date where we will talk about our money. Maybe one time we'll focus on our retirement funds. Another time we might talk about the business. I just googled the term and wouldn't you know there is a whole website about money dates. I asked if there would be pie or donuts and agendas involved. MT said it would be whatever we made it. I'm sure there will be more on this to come.

The post on Friday was kind of disjointed because there was a lot of stuff going on. T's friends Derik and Jess came over with their cute little baby to have a couple of beers. MT kind of invited himself to drink with them, and even brought out a bottle of Patron for shots. The five of us each did a couple of shots together, which is something I very rarely do. The Patron was good and smooth, though, so it was okay. After that I brushed my teeth and got ready for bed, but MT was talking to the kids and I decided to hang out and chat too. I wasn't drinking, but they all were and it was actually pretty fun. I even held the baby. She's dang cute and I'm happy when she comes over, but I am not interested in being a grandma at all. I got to bed around 1 AM. At least I wasn't hung over when I got up on Saturday morning, unlike my two menfolk.

Saturday with the typical full day. I was down around two and a half lbs at my WW weigh in. On Wednesday I started doing intermittent fasting (IF). I downloaded an app called Body Fast (it was an ad on one of the games I play on my phone). I have heard of IF before and I thought it would be a good way to shake up my body and get back on track with losing weight. What it really did was make me refocus on what I am eating and in general pay more attention overall. If you are interested in IF, check out this article. I am doing the 16/8 method. The first day was the hardest. I was fasting from 8pm to noon and at 11:45 I doubted I would survive. But I did and I'm fine. It has been easier every day. The cool thing about the app is that you can change the times, so you'e still fasting 16 hours, but it doesn't necessarily have to be from 8pm - 12pm. 

After WW, I went right up to RBG to record blooms. It was so hot, I felt like I was melting. There aren't as many plants that are blooming right now, so I got through fairly quickly. I had enough time to eat a peanut butter sandwich in the shade before I started my docent time. It was a delicious sandwich! (Another benefit of IF: that first bite at the end of fasting time is freaking wonderful and tasty!)

Last night I was the gatekeeper at a wedding. It was extremely windy when I got there around 8pm. All the signboards that help people find their way up to the amphitheater had blown down, so the woman I was paired with told me to go out in the parking lot to direct people in to the amphitheater. I must have had a look on my face because she quickly said, "Oh! I'm not ordering you to do it, I just think it would be helpful." Doesn't matter to me, so I went to the parking lot and talked to a few people and helped them get where they needed to go. It was fine, but then this other volunteer came out and said, "Okay, you can come back in now." Sigh. I think she is just the kind of person who needs to feel in charge of shit. Whatever. Overall, the night was fine. The wind died down, it stayed pretty warm and the other volunteer was with the tram up by the reception area, so I was by myself and able to read in peace and dance around to the excellent music the DJ was playing.

Today I've been doing chores around the house and relaxing a little bit. I've got a busy week coming up. Work is always busy this early in the month, so all week I've got stuff there. In addition, I am volunteering at two concerts, one Wednesday and one Friday. Book club will happen on Thursday. I'd like to get to the gym a couple of times this week too. I'm happy to be busy and active in the summer!

Have a great week!

#2226 weekend wrap-up

Sunday night again already? Sheesh.

Actually, this weekend was manageable and good. On Friday night I came home and watched TV and relaxed, so that was pretty great.

On Saturday I did my usual things, but I did change it up just a little. After my WW meeting (I was up this week. I'm in total yo-yo mode right now), I went right up to Red Butte Garden and recorded blooms in the Children's Garden. I had been doing it on Friday evenings, but felt like doing things a bit differently. It was hot, but there was enough of a breeze that it was bearable. I finished the assignment with enough time to take a quick stroll all around the garden before I got to hang out in the courtyard for the docent gig. I even had time to run out to my car and get my water.

Side note: I have a Yeti Rambler thermos cup that keeps beverages COLD for hours. I filled it up with ice and water before I left for WW at 9:45 and it was still icy and delicious at 1:00. I was through the water before the ice melted. I didn't think I would want one of these cups, but I treasure it and wouldn't want to be without it.





After docent time was done, I went to the grocery store, something I rarely do on Saturday, and it worked out great. There weren't as many people as I thought there would be and since I didn't have an enormous list, I was able to get done with it fairly quickly.

On my way home, I noticed that the On the Hook fish & chip truck was in the neighborhood, so I quickly put the groceries away and went over to get some dinner. MT had already eaten and for whatever reason, my son doesn't do fish & chips. Their loss. Those are probably the best fish & chips I have ever had. They are perfect.

In the evening MT and I decided to watch one of our favorite movies, The American President. It was written by Aaron Sorkin and was kind of his precursor to The West Wing TV series. We have seen The American President many, many times and we enjoy the hell out of it every single time. The acting, the dialogue, the characters, the story - it's all good. The movie finished just in time for me to be able to watch Ghost Adventures with my sister, virtually of course. We text throughout the show until one of us falls asleep (me) or one of us loses interest (both). The show hasn't been as good this season. Maybe we have outgrown the schtick?

Today my plan was to stay home as much as possible and do some chores around the house, and that's what happened. MT went over to the new flip house to do some work. I went over to see it (for the first time!) and then we went to lunch. We had Mexican food at a local restaurant. Always good stuff. I had to stop by the grocery store to pick up some Gatorade for MT. It's been extremely hot and dry here lately and he needs to stay hydrated, you know. I was also supposed to pick up some dog food, but I of course forgot that, so I went to Target and ended up with a few more things than dog food.

For food prep this week, I cooked a chuck roast in the slow cooker. It was so tender and beefy. Delicious. I also made Cajun-flavored rice and beans. I suck at cooking rice. The directions on the recipe told me to cook it for 18 minutes, but I ended up cooking it for over double that amount of time and it's still not as tender and wonderful as it should be. Why do I suck at rice cooking?  I'm just going to stick with the frozen rice from Trader Joe's that you microwave for three minutes and it is perfection.  Good thing I just bought a small bag of rice. I guess I'll keep working on my technique.

Next week is lining up to be fun. I think my brother-in-law will be here tomorrow to spend the night, but maybe not. I'll find out tomorrow. Tuesday I have a concert at RBG - Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats. I listened to some of their tunes on Saturday and I think it will be a fun show. Wednesday is Pioneer Day, a Utah state holiday celebrating Brigham Young's declaration that "This is the place." No work for me that day! MT and I are planning to go for a bike ride in Park City. The temperature is cooler up there. Thursday is book club's final discussion on our current book Lights All Night Long. I like having things to look forward to.

Hope y'all had a great weekend! Stay hydrated!

#2224 WW Wednesday: gut check time again

Lately I have been thinking about all of the leaders/coaches that have come and gone since I joined Weight Watchers over 10 years ago. I can't even remember all of their names, like the little old lady who was the leader when I very first joined. She didn't know my name either. I knew hers at one point, but now I don't. I can't remember who replaced her; maybe it was Marla, a redheaded woman who loved Celtic dance music, like Lord of the Dance type stuff and would often play that music when she had us brainstorm different things. There was Alicia, the free spirit with multiple tattoos who is the first person I ever knew with celiac disease. I'd never heard of gluten before she talked about it. Then there was Gina, who I absolutely loved and still do to this day. Sometimes I hear from her on the WW app and I'm thrilled that she remembers me at all. There have been several short-term substitutes and now there is Lana who I completely love and admire. She makes me feel good about myself and calls me her friend. She's lovely.

I was thinking today that I've been going to WW for a long time, with a break in there for several months, maybe a year (?). One of the reasons I stopped going was that MT had just left his job and money was tight and I was uncomfortable spending the money on WW when I thought I could do it myself. I'd been successful at it. I knew/know what it takes to get the weight off. Plus that was at the time when there was a leader I didn't especially care for or about. She was not inspiring and I don't think she even knew my name.

Long story short, I did not fare well on my own, even with all of my knowledge and experience, and I gained back nearly all of the weight. I joined back up and got a grip before I was right back where I started. I have lost weight and kept it off over the years, but I want to do more losing. In the past few months I have been gaining weight which is just bothersome and annoying and makes me feel like a failure, even though I am doing it to myself. I understand that I will always battle my weight. I have actually had the thought that maybe my body just wants to be here, at the weight it is, but I'm not satisfied with this weight. However, I have a sweet tooth and lack the willpower I had ten years ago, apparently.

Today I found myself thinking again about quitting WW. Not because of the money, or the people or the leader, but because I feel like I am throwing the money away with no end in sight. Weight loss is such a mental game. I see food pics that my fellow members post and I think, "Sheesh! I don't want to eat that!" I hear some of them talk about how much exercise they do and I think, "Holy crap! I don't want to work that hard!"

I'm just feeling extra fluffy right now.

I went to a Zumba class tonight and I felt like my shirt was too tight. The shirt was fine, but I felt uncomfortable, all jiggly and left-footed. More money thoughts about the gym: I only have to go five times a month for the membership to pay for itself, but I have struggled with that commitment. I think mostly because it is summer and I have Garden hours to get and work is busy. I do like the classes at the gym though. There are a bunch of new instructors that are good and whose classes I've enjoyed when I make the time to go.

It feels like every day is a re-commitment to myself and my overall wellness. I need WW and I need the gym and I need positive people who are supportive. I have all of those things. I only need to believe that I can do it (again).

#2222 Saturday with Sandy

I have good news! The quaking aspen is NOT dead! When I was leaving home this morning I looked at it and thought I saw leaves, so I went to examine it more closely just now and I was right, there are new leaves! YAY!

My Saturdays are mostly always the same. Broad outline: I go to WW, I go to the Garden, I come home for some food, and I go back to the Garden.

Here are some details about today:

 At WW, my weight was down, which is great. I did a good job of focusing on making good food choices and not overeating, so I was happy with the result.

At the Garden this afternoon, the sky was overcast and there were occasional raindrops. There was a nice, cool breeze so the temperature was pleasant. We did not have a lot of visitors the first hour I was there, but it picked up in the second hour. I didn't really chat with anyone except the tram driver today, during that first hour when we were just hanging out.

There was a family that came in and had a picnic at one of the Courtyard tables. The mom left with a tiny baby to change it's diaper, then the dad left too, leaving Grandma and Grandpa with a four year old girl. The little girl sort of lost her mind when her dad left and started crying and yelling "Daddy! Daddy!"  The grandma was having a hell of a time holding on to the writhing, screaming, crying, teary-faced child. The child did escape the grandma and made a run for the visitor's center. Grandma didn't think the kid would be able to open the door, but that little girl had a strong need for her dad and pulled the heavy door right open, causing the grandma to sprint across the Courtyard. Grandpa was just hanging out in the shade.

Grandma caught the child and brought her back to the picnic table where crying continued for the next 20 minutes or so until she either tired herself out or the grandpa's monotone voice soothed her. The dad came back five or ten minutes later and all was well. I never saw the mom and the tiny baby again, though.

After Garden time, I went to the library where I picked up a new book, then I got some food for T and I from Chick-Fil-A. Don't judge me; they know how to cook some chicken.

I've got just over an hour before I need to head back up to the Garden for a wedding this evening. The bad news is that the local weatherman says there will be thunder and lightning over the Wasatch this evening. Seems like I better take a raincoat.

For some reason I've been having a powerful desire to go to Costco. I think I'm going to do that tomorrow morning.

Have a great rest of the weekend!


PSSST...

I updated my reading page! Go check it out.

#2210 WW Wednesday: gratitude

We talk a lot about gratitude in WW. I might even say it is a core philosophy in the program. Last Saturday, gratitude was the topic of the workshop.

In my humble estimation, I think you get to choose whether to be happy, sad, bored, angry, etc. Sure, things can happen during the day to tip you into another mood, but when you wake up, you get to choose how to look at the day, so why not choose happy as a good place to start?

One way to get to happy is to think about something that you are grateful for. I tend to think of things I'm thankful for at the end of the day. You might notice that over on the right hand side there is a little box that always starts with the words "Today I am grateful for..." Sometimes it can be a deep, profound thought and other times, frankly, I am thankful for bacon or Trader Joe's or Red Butte Garden or a pile of books waiting to be read. It doesn't so much matter what "it" is as long as "it" gives you a bit of joy and your thankful for "it".

My WW coach, Lana, often sends us on our way at the end of the workshop with an assignment for the week. This week the assignment is to write down three things every day that we are grateful for. I'll share a few:

• my book club leader sent me our latest book.  
• we have enough money to pay all our bills and still live nicely (if you have ever not had enough money for those two things, you know what I mean)
• texting with my mom
• walking with MT

(And yes, bacon was something I was grateful for this week! We had BLTs one night and they were dang good!)

When I feel blue, I will often think of something that I am thankful for and it makes me feel better. I wish I could say I do the same thing when I feel angry, but I haven't quite got that far yet. 

I really do think that gratitude begets happiness. Maybe it's a little corny, and I'm okay with that. Check out this post from gratefulness.org. I think it's spot on. 

There are people who keep gratitude journals. Whenever I write here or in my personal journal, I always like to write something I am thankful for each time. I started doing it last year when the word I chose was, in fact, gratitude.

Just try it. :D

#2208 Saturday with Sandy

I missed writing on Thursday but I do have a valid excuse: MT and I were out on a date night! We did something way different. Well, I guess when I think about it, maybe it wasn't all that different because it was dinner and a movie, but we were in Park City (different) and the movie was a film festival (also different.) We saw the International Ocean Film Tour. There were six films of various lengths and they were all unique and interesting. The first was a short about a dude who surfs on Lake Superior in the winter (not the ocean, but still water related). The next was about a French woman who is a freediver and has translated her freediving skills into underwater dance. If you don't know, freediving is diving without oxygen tanks. This woman could hold her breath for a very long time. Next was a movie about the Sea Shepherds and the fourth was about Lisa Anderson, a four time world champion surfer. Those two were my favorite films. I also liked the movie called 700 Sharks which was about sharks and groupers that all go to the same breeding/feeding grounds in June. The last film was more like a long commercial for a movie about a couple of guys who decided to get a sailboat, sail around the world and record music at each stop. What I mostly got out of all these movies is that there are people out in the world doing some strange, wonderful, and interesting things.

So today was Saturday. I started out at WW with a gain. I wasn't too surprised about it because my birthday was this week and I pretty much ate whatever I wanted mostly all week and I didn't do any exercise to speak of.

Next stop was Red Butte Garden where I recorded blooms in the Children's Garden. There is a lot of stuff blooming right now, but it is far from peak season. We have had a lot of rain this spring and everything is really lush and green. It's just awesome and beautiful up there. I didn't have time to walk around the whole garden because I had to hang out in the Courtyard. My friend Jo Ann, the tram driver, was super sweet and gave me a nice birthday card and my favorite chocolate chip cookie from Crumbl. Yummy! So nice of her to do that!

This evening I've been hanging out on the couch. I watched a new episode of Ghost Adventures, then I watched the movie Always Be My Maybe on Netflix. I kinda loved it a whole bunch.

T is working. MT is somewhere in the house. He was reading on the couch in the front room, but he's in the bedroom now. I was surprised he didn't want to watch the movie. He secretly likes rom-coms, I think. Usually I am the one upstairs reading or playing on my phone while he watches TV downstairs. It was kind of fun for me to be in charge of the remote. Actually, I was in charge last night, too, because I was watching the Raptors/Warriors game.

Saturdays are great because it is mostly all fun. Sunday is chore day and I have a bunch of stuff on my list to do tomorrow, and that is all fine too. I think I feel like cooking something delicious. I've been craving chicken and rice lately, but pasta sounds good too.

I hope you are having a good weekend! Enjoy and I'll chat with you on Monday!

#2202 Saturday with Sandy

I am still in southern California spending time with my mom and my sister. Yesterday we took Mom to the doctor to have the tube removed. Today she has been very tired and sleeping a lot. I think it's because although she did rest a lot this week, she was uncomfortable because of the tube and the rest she got was not of good quality. She has been sleeping pretty soundly today.

This morning Lizzie and I went for a walk to the WW studio here in town. It's just less than a two mile walk from the house to the studio. Lizzie waited for me at Panera. I was glad that I made myself go to the workshop because the discussion was exactly what I had been thinking about and needed to hear. It's crazy how that happens sometimes. After the workshop, L and I walked back home, so we had a nice nearly three and a half mile stroll this morning.

Lizzie spent the day unpacking boxes and getting settled in to her new (old) house. I've been reading most of the day and thinking about books. You see, my to-read list on Goodreads and on my eLibrary app were kind of out of control and I was looking to add more books to the lists. The sheer volume of books on my lists was overwhelming and giving me no joy, so I went radical: I deleted all the books off the to-read list and from the hold list on the library app. Some of the books on the Goodreads list had been there since 2013. I had been unable to find some books at the library or on the elibrary site, so even though they seemed good at the time, it was unlikely that I would ever read them. Still, to delete everything was pretty wild for me. I had over 100 books on each of the lists. I have added some books back on to each list. The books I own that I want to read are on Goodreads, and books that are new that I am interested in are on the library list. Both are manageable at the moment.

Tonight Lizzie and I went to the grocery store to pick up a few things for Mom. I am heading home tomorrow afternoon and I think Lizzie will be heading back to San Diego to clean her apartment before turning the keys back to the owner.

#2198 weekend wrap-up

I'm not even going to say how fast the weekend went by, because that's just a given.

Saturday started out with WW at 10 AM. I had a good loss this week. I was in that magical nexus where my food intake went as planned and I was getting regular exercise. I didn't snack too much or overeat. Everything was good. You would think it would be easy to duplicate that effort week after week, but it's not. Some weeks are just magical and right and last week was one of those. I liked it.

In the afternoon I had my first shift of the season in the courtyard at Red Butte Garden.  I didn't have a tram driver with me, so I just hung out and chatted with a few people and read a book. There were only two groups that asked about the tram and though they seemed kinda bummed out that it wasn't available, I don't think it ruined their day or caused them to think the Garden was lame. There were lots of people coming in with picnic baskets. It was a beautiful spring day, about 74 degrees, bright blue sky and not much wind. Perfect for a picnic in the park. Throughout the two hours I was there, the tables in the courtyard were full of people. Fun!

When I got home MT was still working. He doesn't usually work on weekends, but he had a special project that came up to put a floor in a house, so he had to go do that. When he got home we went out for dinner to one of our favorite neighborhood restaurants, Copper Creek Pub. I had fish and chips, the first time I have had them there. The fish they use is salmon, which is different. It tasted good. I'd have it again.

That night I had to watch a Star Wars movie because it was May the Fourth after all (you know...May the Fourth by with you). We watched The Last Jedi and we both fell asleep at the very end when Luke fights Kylo Ren. It was late and we were full!

This morning we had to have Sunday morning pancake, of course, at Black Bear Diner. We didn't have time to go for our usual walk, though, because MT had to meet with Bruce the realtor to look at a house, then he had to go finish the floor. I came home and did chores like laundry and paying the bills and going to the grocery store. I also took a little nap. I really wanted to make it a longer nap, but I had stuff to do. In the afternoon I went for a walk by myself because I had to get in my steps. I'm five for five on getting at least ten points every day in the May fitness challenge.

Tonight we watched Game of Thrones. Last week there were not a lot of words because it was a big battle. Today's episode had lots of words. Only two episodes left. Glad I could get in on these last five shows. FOMO is real.  LOL

There are a couple of things coming up for us this week. On Monday I will return to Rideologie for another spinning class. Wednesday we will watch the second-to-last Survivor episode of the season. MT will begin his two days of liquid-only diet in preparation for a colonscopy on Friday. He should be fun to live with for those two days. He's going to be hangry by Thursday night when he begins with the prep meds.

I hope you had a wonderful weekend!