@MusicCandy @SadMe70 A place to communicate

Good to hear that you were able to get to the Y. I thought of you since last week my lower back was sore and tight and I did a Yoga DVD twice and it feels much better - plus I was very relaxed and ready for sleep. Today I did my gym arm workout so I was able to do Come exercise every day. I am keeping the wine down to a glass and a half in the evening and I make sure I am just sipping and enjoying it as a treat. I am going back to my shakes this week-end for the protein. It was a busy week with church and sick visits, but work looks a little less traumatic- so far. I hope everyone gets over the bug quickly. And then you get some rest this week-end, and enjoy cooking your meals. I love to cook but there never seems to be enough time.

I am feeling back to normal now yay! Yesterday I made a recipe from the healthy meals desk calendar my sister gave me for Christmas - lentil artichoke tomato stew. We had Indian carryout from Friday night for dinner so I didn't eat it, but preliminary tastes seem very good! Today I'm making a curry from the same calendar, to put in the freezer because I ate several frozen meals last week when I was sick. I have two quicker meals planned for this week on days when I will get home right after work, and should have the energy to actually make them. One is a fish dish because we haven't had fish in a long time. I need to get more fish into my diet!

I have missed yoga 3 weeks in a row but am planning to go this Tuesday. I am glad your DVD was helpful! How is your back now? I am planning to exercise today at home. I have not done much in over a week, but I am ready today. Probably some online cardio. My shoulder has appreciated the week off. I am not looking forward to ramping that pain back up, but it's that or no upper body exercising.

I drank no wine while I was sick, but have been making up for it the last two nights. Two glasses last night.

I hope work stays manageable for you this week. Good luck with your other activities! Do you visit sick people from your church? You are a very busy lady, and you seem very kind and compassionate!

We are coming to Richmond next Saturday to see my son for his 20th birthday. No more teenagers at my house!

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!!

I am glad to hear that you are over the sickness, again. It sounds like you are getting back on track with your make-ahead meals.I know that helps your routine. My back is better. I am constantly moving people at work, so low back pain comes and goes; but the yoga helped a lot. I like the calming quality too, it suits my nature. I am just trying to stay with my shakes/salds/soups meals and doing well with that so far. I log close to 20,000 steps in a normal 16 hr. shift, so I get in walking for sure, plus I add stairs every week-end that I can. Good on that too so far.

I visited one of the ladies that go to the "early service" in the hospital last week. She is pretty sick, so we are just praying- she lost her husband 2 weeks ago and I think she is giving up. My daughter's best friend's mother was just diagnosed with brain cancer and going to hospice. She is an only child and her Dad has dementia - so much for a young person to handle alone. Abi's friends are taking turns going to Charlottesville to be with her. I want to adopt her when the worst happens - my heart just bursts sometimes. But that takes your mind off the political mess at least - it's good to be doing good for others when everything else seems to be going nuts.

I hope you have a good time with your son Saturdsay - I'll be here at Retreat working from 3PM to 7 AM . Stellas is a great Greek restaurant - and I'm sure there are good Indian restaurants here too. I guess he gets to pick where since it is his birthday.

Enjoy your last hours of time off- I'll get some of that tomorrow afternoon.

I did finally get to yoga last night! This morning I planned to resume swimming at the Y which I haven't done in a couple of months and some pipes in the pump room broke just before I got there and they closed the pool for an undetermined amount of time. Sigh. So, I walked a mile on the treadmill. I'm doing that February heart awareness challenge (I forget what they actually call it) here on this thread where you walk a 1k, 3k, or 5k sometime during Feb. I'm doing a 5k in parts!

How is your friend who lost her husband? Has she improved any? I'm so sorry about your daughter's friend's mother. That is incredibly sad, especially since she is essentially losing both parents. I'm glad she at least has some friends to be there for her.

How is your meal plan going? I'm eating pretty well this week overall.

My son will pick the restaurant for Saturday but I don't know yet where it will be. His brother visited him last weekend and they ate someplace called the Pie Shop. We all like Greek food so I will put in a good word for Stellas!

I'm glad you got back to exercising and meal-making. I have exercised something every day since my resolution, AND I am eating a lot better, evven without checking it off- just better habits. I had another relax session- sound therapy and salt float. It was so worth that monthly fee- i have to do that or i'll just put it off. I got a beef roast( on a super sale) and put it in the crock pot with potatoes,carrots,garlic, red and green peppers and pepper spices and left it all day. It was so good and made at least 3 servings for us 3.More veggies than meat but that stretched the nutrition too. My hat is off to you if you can run a marathon. i can sort of jog,power walk on an interval cycle- but after 20 minutes I'm done.

I am sad to say that my daughter's friend's Mom died Monday, very short time to prepare. I will virtually adopt her, and I bet some of the other friend-moms will too. Abi grew up with a tight knit group and everybody's mom was "Mom" to them all. My fried's husdand's service is Friday and I'm naking some sandwiches for that service. We can be of service to God in many ways and I just pray to make me open to his voice, and give me strength and time untill it's my time to go. We never know.

Have a fun birthday,, Just being together is the main thing. I'll be back at wotk tomorrow and ck in again.

always, your buddy

You have been doing a fantastic job! I am not meeting all my goals but I'm hanging in there. I took off the 5 pounds that I gained in December, but the remaining pounds that I put on over time are so far not budging. Your roast sounds delicous! I have not made a roast in a while. My husband would really like that too.

I cannot run a marathon, or even run at all because of my knee. I'm doing the challenge by walking on the treadmill, and I'm splitting it up over 3 days. I walked 1.1 miles the first day, and 1 mile yesterday so I have 1 to go. Yesterday I walked faster so that in my pic of the treadmill display it would show different times so it was clear that I did it on different days. I walked at 3 mph so I finished in 20 min and just that made my knee sore. No way could I run! And of course I didn't ice that or my shoulder when I got home because it was so late and I had so much else to do.

I'm so sorry to hear about your friend. It is wonderful that she has some people who will help to look after her. It's so nice of you to make some food for your other friend's husband's service. I know they both will find comfort from your caring.

I had a great day with the kids at school yesterday. A lot of days are frustrating, but yesterday all the K kids cooperated in their reading groups (honestly made easier by the fact that some were out sick so the groups were smaller). My two lowest kids who are really struggling are often cranky, but yesterday they were engaged and I even got a couple of smlies from the grouchiest one. Second grade was a little frustrating, but then first grade was really great. We get to have a game day once a month, where we play reading-based games and then read them stories. I took a simple game with words written on popsicle sticks, stuck down in a cup. They draw a stick and read the word. If they draw a stick that says BAM on it, they have to put all their sticks back in the cup. They LOVED it. We had so much laughter, and I used second grade level words to push them a little so we still had an educational component in there :) The stories I found at the library were also cute. Those are the days I really really love my job!

My son picked a place near campus called Black Sheep. I'll let you know how it goes!

I am sorry for your recent losses and the people they left behind that you are helping so kindly. I'm so glad to have met you!

So nice to get your newsy post. I think walking is great any way you can do it. It sounds like you are doing the challenge in a safe way that doesn't cause any more stress on your knee; that is important. I have to get to my stairs today at work, you gave me that mental push to go ahead and start. I break that up too for times I'm not busy, and it totals out to about 50 min. for the 16 hr. shift. 5,000 stair steps plus some regular walking just doing patients.

I love the word games you created for the kids. Are you a reading specialist? I was an early reader and loved literature all my life. They do respond to anything that seems like a game, and they learn even better. I'm thinking of that process for my kiddos next week. The 4 and 5's are going to hear and dance to jazz for Black History Month. There are a few simple steps that I can teach them and then there is free dance time. But if I don't add some parameters they will just go crazy. So I am going to have a pocketful of little stickers and during the dance part when they are trying out those steps and creating their own dance - I will put a sticker on them when I see them doing a move they just learned. After 20 plus years, you pick up these little tips just by experience. I send home a paper with illustrations for them to do with the family at home plus a CD I make for them each month - just on my own. Some of them do use it and parents love that too.

I have heard good things about Black Sheep . I know you will enjoy the time with your son. I "enjoyed" my daughter so much more when she got into VCU and got involved in campus life. She grew up in so many ways . We are still waiting for "ring day" - maybe Vday?

Thank you for your kindness to me too, that is all we are on the earth for anyway. I try to only hang with people like you who have that sweet uplifting way about them- and the down times are easier to bear when a friend is beside you.

I'm glad to have helped to motivate you with your stairs. That sounds like great exercise! I have not gotten out of bed yet today (!!) but doing some exercise here at home is on the schedule. I have to make myself do that first because if I start doing all the other things on my list, the exercise will not happen.

I am a paraeducator - an aide who does instructional work with small groups of kids. We are a team of 6 people who mainly help with early literacy skills for K and 1st grade. In K we start out with teaching letter recognition and sounds, rhyming, syllables, and the concept of words. My lower group is still at that stage. As they progress we move onto reading little passages. The first graders are onto harder passages and other literacy activities. I also work with a first grade class for about 40 min during their math time, and do some remedial reading help with second graders (mainly working on comprehension there).

I was also and early reader and I still love to read. My boys were also, and we had a good time sharing a lot of books. I still go back and re-read some children's books now and then because there are so many that I loved. Mainly I read lighter fiction, but sometimes I try out classic literature. I've found some that I love, and others that I could not get through. Right now I am reading one novel in print and listening to one audiobook from a series called Discworld that my son got me into. I used to have a long commute and got interested in audio "courses" by The Teaching Company. I bought several that I haven't finished yet but I was so interested in all of them that I listen to a few tracks of one then switch to another, so it might take me a while to get through them all! One is about mindfulness. What do you like to read?

Jazz is great fun for listening and dancing! The kids will love that! We use stickers at school to motivate. I give them out at the end of our lesson. I like the idea of giving them out when they are dancing a new move. Great positive reinforcement! Let me know how that goes. It sounds very fun!

We ended up not eating at Black Sheep because there were no tables. We went to Level, on Broad St., not far from campus. We had eaten there before. It was 2:30 by the time we got there, and except for a friend of the waitress who sat at the bar, we had the whole place to ourselves! It is pricy, but the food is delicious! For dessert we went to Proper Pie further downtown. My sons ate there together last weekend. No tables there so we ate our pie in the car! And sang happy birthday :) I had chocolate raspberry pie with whipped cream on top and it was amazing! They also serve savory pies, little personal sized ones, so I brought home 2 for my husband and I to share for dinner. One was pork & peach BBQ and one was butternut squash/spinach/cheese. We are on a low salt diet so they were pretty salty for us, but so tasty!

Sounds like you might have some excitement over Valentine's Day! Keep me posted on that!

I think I will get up and go weigh my post-pie body. That might motivate me to do my exercise first this morning!! :)

I just wrote you a long post- and it disappeared== I'll try again later. Boo hoo!

Oh that stinks! That was happening with my feed sometimes during the challenge they had back before the holidays.

My day was pretty uneventful. Good day at work, ate pretty well (leftover rabbit soup that I made on Sunday!), and yoga tonight. I keep eating way too many Hershey kisses at night but otherwise am eating well most days. I haven't lost any more weight. Last night and tonight I drank tea instead of wine. I also read a book for about an hour and no TV. I'm kind of stiff from sitting at the table that long, but I'm going to lie down with my heating pad and listen to a book on tape as I fall asleep. Goodnight!