@MusicCandy @SadMe70 A place to communicate

Hey- how are you?. I have the hanit of waiting until you post and then i answer-otherwise i lose the thread! But it was a week off and noe back to routins, and I hope you are OK with all of that. I had a nice week off and a lovely Easter. i went to a medidation service, candles and chant in a cathedral-like church Easter evening. It eas breathtaking beautiful anf peaceful. as a musician, I have never experienced the exquisite voices like they were- 12 or more and no instruments. The service is a compline- all dark and sort of medieval.

To work this week has been OK. Not back in the routine of shakes ect. yet, but i am drinking more water and less sugar. I need to do more, but everything was off from not teachibg. I had some fun days though and relaxing. I hope you did too- write when you can.. i miss you.

I hope you understand all that with all the typos- it is late, and i'm tired and typing fast, but I didn't want to close out the day without checking in on you.

Hello, so sorry for my long absence! I did not log in for about a week until yesterday and that was just briefly. I was completely out of my routine and distracted by various things including a trip to my mom's. I will write more later. I am headed to the Y for the first time in over a week also.

No need to apologize, I am glad you got back to the Y. I was busy last week too, and did some fun things.What did they say about your shoulder? you know i answered mainly so your post would pop up on my messages.

I am slowly getting back into my schedule I think. Over spring break I went to see an orthopedist about my shoulder pain which is getting worse. He thinks it is related to my neck problems and is sending me for a neck MRI. That was supposed to happen this past Thursday, but they called and rescheduled it for this coming Friday. After that I'm supposed to go to their pain clinic. I also got a mammogram but haven't had those results yet.

That week I also drove to a neighborhood NW of Baltimore to pick up some furniture for my son. It is a dining room table, chairs, and china closet that belonged to my grandmother for a while, and then my aunt had it in her house from her marriage until her death. Her daughter had it in storage because no one in their family needed it. It needs a little work but I hope my son will fix it up and use it.

On Thursday of break I went to my mom's. On Friday we bought a headstone for Dad's grave, and finally had her phone appointment with social security for getting her monthly amount increased to his level. She had to go get a registered copy of her marriage license which has to be sent to them, and then it takes 3 weeks to process, so it's still going to be a while before she has more income. They cut Dad's off immediately, so she's going to be low on income for a while. On Friday we also went and got 2 box springs to convert a daybed and rollaway to 2 regular beds and put them into what used to be the master bedroom, and hauled the daybed frame plus two bookshelves out to her yard and put a FREE sign on them. I hope somebody takes them! She thought the garbage men would take them otherwise but I forgot to ask her if they did! On Saturday we drove to my sister's house near Baltimore for an early Easter dinner. My husband drove up from here and brought the dog because we all wanted to see how well she would play with my sister's dog, and they had a great time.

This past Friday, we took my husband's dog to a dog park in Fredericksburg and she had a great time again. She gets no exercise and is a one year old border collie so she really needs it. It's not close to home but it is close to where I work, so maybe if I meet my husband after work on some Fridays he will actually bring her to exercise. I know he won't ever go on his own.

I've gained a few more pounds. My neck crunches more than it used to, and my shoulder hurts all the time, and any upper body exercise aggravates it. I hope something will come of the MRI etc. I need to exercise. All the grief over dad makes me perfectly happy to lie around doing nothing, especially since I know there is not much I can do without being in more pain, and it's getting harder to get motivated. I have also not been doing any PT stuff. My lower back is a little sore and I suspect it is because of my pelvis which gets rotated if I don't do my exercises for that. I plan to do that one today! I'm going to something called the Strong Woman Expo today. It's a first time thing so I don't know what it will be like, but they are having some exercise demos and vendors. My yoga teacher was hoping to get some students to be at her booth. Hopefully that will be fun!

I think that catches you up on me! I hope things are going well with you!

Always good to hear from you- and hear how you are doing. I think we are in the same sort of slump health wise right now. So sorry about your neck and shoulder pain- that must make it even tougher to even try. I don't do MRI's (just CT) but I have had a couple of them myself. It is always a process getting things setled after a parent dies. Go easy on yourself with everything that has to be done- extra stress will only make it worse. Easy to say.., I know. I don't even know where I am in a "program". I haven't weighed in over a month and I used to weigh every day. Still scared of the number. The only thing I am doing is exercise and increased water- I think that has really helped me feel better anyway. Trying not to go overboard with carbs and that is about IT. I hope your collie gets some exercise - is he able to run around your yard? I grew up with a collie/spaniel - the sweetest dog ever. Now I'm just hanging with kitties. Rachael just loves cats and when our tabby comes in (she is an in and out cat) - Rachael says "Mama LO-OK!. That comes out in anout 4 syllables, she is happy and excited every time and laughs at her;; and the cat is doing absolutely nothing. Sometimes she will let Rachael hold her for a few minutes and I help her rub her gently. There have been times when Rachael was in a bad mood and the only thing to console her or distract her is the cat. Always thankful for small things. On another side note my mother called to say the cardiologist had admitted her to the hospital- that was late yesterday, but before I could get a break at work to call her back- guess what - she has been discharged. Same old same old. Take a deep breath and carry on my friend.

Just back from yoga. I have been good with exercise so far this week. Monday I saw my trainer for our weekly half hour session and today was my regular yoga class. My yoga teacher has been doing a 4 week series on Mondays of restorative yoga. I missed the first one but made it to the last 3, so last night I did that class too. That was the last one and she is deciding whether to continue. She's just started holding classes in a small studio she made in her basement instead of the church hall where we were going. It's now $5/class instead of free, but I really enjoy it.

My eating has been reasonable this week. Last night I even had chamomile tea instead of wine because I was freezing cold! Getting ready to go out in the rain and feed goats. It's not my favorite thing when it's been raining. It's so muddy and smelly out there in wet weather!

Testing season has started this week. For the next 2 days, kindergarten is doing math assessments and we will have a mixed up schedule. One of the two days I will sub for my home K teacher for a few hours. Next week K does reading assessments and my para team will spend several days subbing for the teachers for a couple of hours each morning. I'm not sure when 1st grade will do their assessments. These kids get assessed and tested half to death. The older kids are doing the state standardized tests over the next couple of weeks. Last year I had to train as as proctor in case they needed a sub, but luckily I did not have to do it. This year I didn't even have to train for it. Phew!!

I am off to muddy goatland. Have a good night!

Sounds like a good yoga class - restorative is probably what you need right now. I think 5 dollars a class is a bargain. I used to teach zumba for "free" with a suggested $3.00 donation. It wasn't ever for making money though- just a way for people to think it was worth something!

I know what you mean about last night-it was cold! That doesn't stop me from drinking wine though.We went to the pool for Rachael and I didn't really want to get in the cold pool, but judst like you feeding the animals- you just do it.I think about my grandparents on the farm and what they had to do in all kinds of weather.I'm sure some days and nights weren't very fun.

I'm having an OK week- same with keeping up with my water and exercise and holding back on sugar- but not much else. I found a Arkins bar that has 13 grams of fiber - half the daily requirement. Chai rasberry. It is good and filling. There were other flavors that also had good amts of fiber.I'm working an extra night and I am teaching 3 morning classes after that. It will be a little challenging getting sleep before going back in at 11 again- but I've done it before. I'll sack away the OT for vacation. I don't envy teachers with all this testing. I know it has some value- but it seels to be getting worse all the time and putting pressure on the young ones too soon. Just my opinion.

Have a good week-end and enjoy the babies- I hear the weather will be nice

The cost per class is good, but if I go to both classes each week, that's an extra $40 on top of my Y membership (the yoga is not part of the Y, but her class fits me better than those). I can afford it right now, but once my husband retires, things will be tight. He should have retired before due to his health, but he has to keep going until our son is out of college (2 more years).

Zumba is so fun! I tried it several years ago. My bad knee couldn't handle it even doing low impact, so I had to give it up. I had my MRI last night, and my appointment at the pain clinic is Monday morning. It is apparently a consult only, which to me means a way to make extra money without doing anything. I'm already in for about $1000 between the orthopedist and the MRI. Sigh. One reason my neck got so bad was we couldn't afford doctors back when all my problems started about 15 years ago. I've spent a lot in the last 4 years dealing with it. Once my husband retires, we'll be back to not affording doctors or PT so I have to do what I can now!

My exercise was good most of the week, up to Thurs when I had PT and yesterday when I had my MRI. No time if I have something to do after work. I did squeeze in a 5 minute cardio warmup at home before work yesterday. My meals have actually been good, and snacking and wine were not too bad. Still not losing any weight though.

Chai raspberry sounds delicious! I make protein bars in big batches, which I eat just once a week after my session with my trainer. It used to be really helpful when I was lifting a lot of weights. I was so hungry and needed that protein right after. Now that I can't do much in my workouts, I don't really need it. I only have a few left and not sure I will make more. It feels more like a treat-snack at this point (has choc chips and pb!).

How are things going with your busy schedule? Are your classes going well? Are you getting enough sleep? I don't think I could keep up with you! Do you have your vacation planned? We'll be going to a cabin near Luray in July, where we have gone for the last few summers.

I agree on the testing. Kindergarten has assessments every time you turn around. Older grades have benchmark testing. And the state tests at the end of the year have waaaay to much importance attached to them. It is very stressful for the kids and the teachers. One of the computer lab testing rooms is in the K hallway. The K kids have to spend the first half of the day being nearly silent. They get extra recess in the afternoon, but it's just silly to expect 22 5-year olds per room to be that quiet for that long.

I need to castrate the 3 boy baby goats this weekend, so they won't be very happy with me. They are all still cute. I will be heading out there in about an hour.

Castrating baby goats? I can't imagine doing that, but I guess you just gotta do it. I remember my grandmother strangling a chicken from the yard every Saturday for Sunday dinner- but I never had to do anything like that. Best chicken and dumplings I must say.

Ypur bars sound yummy. I wouldn't have the time even if I wanted to make them- maybe one day - like you say- when we all retire! The bars are pretty cheap at Walmart considering the time it Would take me and the ingredients ect. No preservatives or GMO stuff. My meals are OK these days but I'm not tracking anything now, which means I sneak in a slice of deep dish pizza with everything. The sugar has been better though, maybe that is the biotin I started taking. And I'm drinking plenty of water. But the wine- I am not even trying right now.

I am formulating a plan though for when school is out and less hours and more sleep- I am sleep deprived a lot when everything is in gear. I am making a short 7 day plan and then another longer term one for after that. Before I did a great 7 days and nothing planned after that so it all just went back to No plan.

I am so sorry about your health care situation. Do you get benefits from the school? It is almost impossible for many people even now and Lord knows what the government will do next. I'm close to Medicare and hopefully that won't go away, but I know you still have to pay a fair amount. I pray my health allows me to work until I'm 70 - going to parttime. 64 and kicking so far. I'm doing my stair climbing routine at work now so I'll get back to another round. Very Warm outside- I hope you enjoy your week-end. Monday: Keeping 5 's quiet for that long is not even reasonable and a stress on you too. Do you do any teaching summer school? I can do some camps but no one has asked me so far. I'll be plenty busy in any case.