@MusicCandy @SadMe70 A place to communicate

I'm back! I just ate and drank whatever I wanted to, whenever I wanted to for 4 days. But we also did a lot of walking. The Shennandoah Crossing resort is not that far away - just past Louisa and the Yurt was so cozy and fun. Great family times too. I'm glad you got some family time- and walking too. I have done all kinds of walks in Richmond, and I love anything by the river, like the pipeline. What park was it? VA is full of beautiful parks and I love walking in nature too, most any season ( except winter- YUK) I struggle with the sweets too, so I can relate. But I'm really going to T R Y to go 7 days without wine and do 2 shakes a day. When I got back to work I heard that one of our nurses was murdered on Monday, two small children behind who were there when her husband shot her. It is devastating for all of us who worked with her, but I can't imagine what the family is going through. It made me want to throw up, and it also takes my focus off my goals- I want to help them and not stay so sad. Hope you are having a lovely day. I'm back on at least one shake today and definitely back on exercise, stair climbing 20 min. yesterday and 20 min. today. Take care buddy.

I am so sorry about your friend! That is tragic. How are you doing? So very sad that she had two children.

I am glad you had a good vacation. A yurt sounds so cool! Were there beds or is it more like camping? A vacation is when you can eat and drink what you want!

On Friday we got on the pipeline trail at the end of S 12th street. At one point we climbed up a bank into a park that I think is near Tredegar Iron works but not sure of the park name. The park I went to on Saturday with my other son is Prince William forest, a national park adjacent to Quantico.

My checkin for today is that I went swimming at the Y for the first time since August and really enjoyed it! I did about 10 laps . I used to do 16 easily but my shoulder can't take it anymore. Now I swim one way and kick back the other way to rest my shoulder. Still it was very nice. The hottub is broken though

My eating today was not too bad. Meals were good and even my snacking was not bad. At work I carried a note to myself in my pocket reminding myself that I do not need the candy or pretzels that are in the office at all times!

I'm back! I just ate and drank whatever I wanted to, whenever I wanted to for 4 days. But we also did a lot of walking. The Shennandoah Crossing resort is not that far away - just past Louisa and the Yurt was so cozy and fun. Great family times too. I'm glad you got some family time- and walking too. I have done all kinds of walks in Richmond, and I love anything by the river, like the pipeline. What park was it? VA is full of beautiful parks and I love walking in nature too, most any season ( except winter- YUK) I struggle with the sweets too, so I can relate. But I'm really going to T R Y to go 7 days without wine and do 2 shakes a day. When I got back to work I heard that one of our nurses was murdered on Monday, two small children behind who were there when her husband shot her. It is devastating for all of us who worked with her, but I can't imagine what the family is going through. It made me want to throw up, and it also takes my focus off my goals- I want to help them and not stay so sad. Hope you are having a lovely day. I'm back on at least one shake today and definitely back on exercise, stair climbing 20 min. yesterday and 20 min. today. Take care buddy.

Carrying a reminder note- Clever! good for you!!! I have exerciced well Mon,Tues - walking,swimming,strength training... and i havve done pretty good with meals. i haven't made it to 2 protein shakes, but i did have one bth days-- and drumroll--- no wine. Nada. One trick for me is i cannot be up too late doing what MUST be done for the next day and i'm already tired, That is when i'm really weak with the wine - and so far I am making it. Having herbal tea and sparkling water handy is a must too. I think my vacation helped. The yurt is like glamping- one big room but everything comfy and cozy- extra nice king bed, kitchen, pull out couch, big TV, grill on the deck and you can still use evrything on the resort- restaurants, lodge wirh entertainment, lake for walking or fishing, horeback riding, ect. It was really just what I wanted,

Retreat , my hospital is havibg a mem. service for our nurse Katrina Thursday. I choke up a lot thinking about how she dies and leaing her children. I can't believe it was an accident like he said when three shotgun shits were fired. but- we have to carry on and try to help the family and each other. Thanks for being here for me. Tske care buddy, i'll chek in tomorrrow afternoon. Peace

Hello buddy,, I hope you had a good day. I am back at work - it will be all night tonight and then I have one class to teach in the AM- but I can sleep after that. I did well today with 2 protein shakes and exercise - 25 min. stair climbing,jog,walk. I am still making it to no wine 7 days - so none until Saturday night to make 7.I haven't really struggled with that , so I'm grateful. The Memorial Service for my nurse friend is tomorrow so I will get up from nap for that. I'm having some survivor's guilt- feeling like I don't have the right to feel sad- and with that- have others (in my church) comfort me. I work right beside her, and why her? She was a wonderful nurse and mother,sister,daughter,friend- everything.. now 2 children have a last memory of their Mom bleeding and dying on the floor of their home. It is horrible beyond my comprehension. When you mentioned Prince William forest- I never hiked it but I've driven around it many times. I had a previous job with a lot of travel to NOVA. I did go on a boat tour from the little village right past there- forgot the name - just under the bridge. There are quaint shops and a nice place to have brunch and walk. Check in when you can , I know it's your bedtime now!

I have been having a really good week depression-wise. My eating has also not been too bad and I did exercise some each day Mon to Wed so far. Today I went to the Y after work and did 30 min on the elliptical and some stretching. I've had my reminder note in my pocket all week and so far have not eaten any of the junk food that is all over the place at work. The newest temptation is that somebody put a festive holiday tablecloth on the tables in the teacher's lounge closest to my office along with a bowl of chocolate candy. Why do they do this?? Do they all want to be fat? Good grief. My additional reminder is the pants that are all too tight!!

I can't imagine how hard it is to go through losing someone in the sudden violent way that your friend was lost. As far as survivor guilt though, no one came to your hospital and opened fire. This was a crime against her specifically (and I agree with you that it doesn't sound accidental). I know that won't make you feel better, and you should of course grieve, but don't feel guilty. I work with young kids and some of them have seen such awful things, and others are treated so badly. It breaks my heart.

I hope to go back to Prince Wm forest sometime. I will try to figure out what the village is.

I can't remember if I told you, but my younger son is at VCU.

ok - I know you are in bed by now. The village is Occooquan. It is a easy-going place to just walk around and the little riverboat is a short guided tour about the region. We went on a Sunday and one of the restaurants had a lovely brunch. No- you didn't tell me about your son at VCU - Go Rams! My daughter graduated from there 3 summers ago - she absolutely loved it. Founding President of her sororoty ZETA Tau Alpha, and then Pres. of the Intercolligiate Greek Council. It was a lot of hard work for her, but it paid off with leadership skills. She has a great job now as a recruiter with Bon Secours and is happy and about to be engaged! Thank you for the kind words to me - i know that feeling that I shouldn't feel sad is irrational, it just came up and it helped to talk about it.

I wish you well with staying away from the candy - I know - there is a lot of it around here too. You just look at most people and you know they don't care about their health - most are overweight and don't exercise. So you just feel superior and say - better on your hips than mine!

I just got back from the Memorial service - it was heartwrenching. But I did OK with my goals - no wine, and I did some exercise and ate well. I did extra work last night so I am very tired. I hope you did well today . I'm gong home and get some rest . I'll ck in tomorrow afternoon. peace.

I'm sure the memorial service was hard. Sending you some hugs.

Good for you on the wine! I did give up alcohol for the last 2 Lent seasons, but otherwise I don't seem to want to give it up. I drink wine most evenings. Like you mentioned, I am weak at night.

I ate well again today, and exercised at the Y after work. I did not eat any extra junk at work this week. The note in my pocket actually helped me this week. Tomorrow will be tough because there are going to be special treats (whatever that might mean) every Friday this month. I will try to be strong!

I've heard of Occoquan but have not been there. I'll look into it!

Hey, I am proud of you with the work treats - it is not easy. Some years I did give up wine for Lent too, but last year I didn't even try. I made it 7 days, but no plan forward. It was a test for me mostly. It was just becoming too much of a habit. I exercised today and am going for at least one shake, and maybe 2. Have a restful evening- I'll ck in again this week-end.

I made it all week with no work treats. They even brought around a cart with donuts for a staff "fun Friday" treat and I didn't eat one!! We are going out tonight and I will probably have dessert, but overall my eating has been good this week.

My exercise was also good this week, except for today when I didn't do any.

The second time I gave up wine for Lent was because I also felt like I was drinking too much. Good for you for making it all week! I think setting short goals to test yourself are important.

We are going to an Indian restaurant that used to be in our town but moved in April up to La Plata, MD (about 30 min north of the Rt 301 bridge over the Potomac). It's a bit of a hike for you, prob close to 2 hours, but if you like Indian food and are out that way sometime, it's excellent food and run by a very nice couple. We used to go there a lot when it was down here near us. It's about 40 min away now (plus the darn $6 bridge toll) so we don't get there nearly as much now. I'm excited to go tonight!