@MusicCandy @SadMe70 A place to communicate

🎉Wow, that was a lot of news. I love it when you let me in your world. I don't reach to friends as much as I should, and you make it easy. I think your interaction with your DIL was just about right. It is hard as we know, and sometimes family is even harder. Probably her Korean culture is also part of the reason. You did have a nice time with her doing some cooking and having tea- and that may have taken her mind off her woes. I hope something will work out for them in the long run.

I had no idea your mom is 83 and still that active! That is remarkable. I'd love a rail trail one day. i know one runs through DC and MD. Rachael and I also walk about a 20 min mile, total 3 and 1/4 miles each day. she has long legs, and i just walk a little faster pace than a stroll. I know that was enjoyable for you - walking outside has so many added benefits. It is supposed to be a wintry mix day on Monday morning, but we may be able to go out in the afternoon.

Funny you mention mincemeat pie- I also adore it. My grandma used to make it at Christmas. I know no one else in my house would eat it, so I don't even want a whole pie laying around, but I would still enjoy a slice, with ice cream sounds delicious. I haven't done too badly over the Holiday, trying not to overdue the fancy chocolates. I read the average person gains 7 lbs over the holiday - Really? I'd hate to have to do the deprivation to lose it... On top of the Pandemic weight a lot of people gained.

As for all your first and second hand COVID exposure, I wouldn't say anyone in particular caused it. Way more people I know have or had the Omicron - it is so contagious that even careful people are getting a mild case. Vaxed and Boosted folks usually only have the mild symptoms, so I hope that is true for you. My daughter's BF had it a few days..he had runny nose, fever and felt bad, my best friend and her mother ,lots of church members and every other person coming in to the ED. We are not even surprised a bit and treat everyone as if they do. We still N95 mask of course, and one of the careful techs got it last week. The only thing to do is rest, OTC medication and isolate as long as they tell you to. It is still the unvaxed that have to stay in the hospital or even need any real treatment at all.

I hope you got out to the animals before it rained too hard. I'd love to listen to it too - I don't have a skylight but I can remember my Grandparent's farmhouse tin roof - that was a real sedative. I look forward to some rainy afternoons to relax and read. with a cup of tea.

My long week-end is just 6 more hours, not too bad tonight although some of the previous shifts were pretty tough. I talk myself into staying calm when it gets hectic and I'm working alone. Since I'm in pretty good health, I am able to do the physical part - and my shoulder is much better. The hard part is 4 Am when 'm already tired and have to think through a procedure that maybe I haven't done before.

Got a couple of patients now, so saying bye and wishing you the happiest , healthiest 2022.🎉

Well, that was quite a week! The power went off Monday morning, and was off until Thursday afternoon. It makes you see how fragile society is when we are a mess from a few days with no electricity. We got close to a foot of snow here, and it was so heavy there were trees down everywhere on roads. I finally sent out yesterday and they are all over yards, etc. I could hear stuff falling in the woods all day Monday. I am so thankful that we have a wood stove to keep part of the house warm, and my husband had a butane camp stove that we made tea and heated some other stuff on. I was still not feeling well at the beginning of the week, and had not been to the store since before my trip, but we had plenty of food here. I am feeling fine now, and will go back to work tomorrow. Lucky for me, school was close all week so I quarantined without using any leave!

I spent the whole week sitting and reading, eating, and drinking, with no exercise. I started having trouble with pains that have not been bad lately (like my hips hurting at night), so I've started at least stretching a little. Back to normal tomorrow! One thing I really liked about the power outage though, was sitting in candle light in the absolute silence. So peaceful! No sounds of the refrigerator, TV, fans, nothing. No little lights from power strips, microwave clock, etc. Just dark. How did you fare in the storm?

Years ago I did part of the rail trail in Charles County, MD, not too far from me. That part was along a pond and was very pretty. The rail trail near me is also nice, but is privately owned. Because of the strong objections of properties that it runs through when they made it into a trail, you have to go online and get a permit. It is just a formality, so that they can say they are controlling access. Half the time I forget to carry mine, and nobody has ever asked to see it.

I don't know why anyone does not like mincemeat pie. These days it is basically apple pie. I did try to make a more traditional mincemeat a few years ago with some venison someone gave me. I didn't do a great job, but I think I could do better if I have another chance some day. I think I may have gained 7 pounds some years over the holidays. This time it was more like 3, but I think I picked up one more this week. I think it will come off without too much trouble once I get back to my regular meals and exercise, which should start tomorrow!

I hope you were able to stay safe this week. I know you would have had to get to work, so I hope your fiance helped you. Hopefully you were not out of power too long. My son had to go back to work for a couple of days before his power was back on, and that was hard (no shower, no heat, etc.). I was very lucky and I am grateful. I am also hopeful that since people were mostly stranded at home for a week here, everyone got over their COVID, and we will not have too many out at school.

Stay well my friend!

Hello! The last week or so has not been all that exciting. I have gotten back to my regular exercise routine, but still slipping up a lot on food, so no new weight loss yet. I'm getting there!

Mask-optional school starts Monday for kids. They are still checking about the ruling for staff, since the gov didn't address that. As soon as they say it is optional for staff, I know I will be seeing a lot of bare faces. Once I use up all my KN-95s, I'm going to try different masks. I read an article and it sounds like the Korean ones might be better than the Chinese ones I'm using. I won't be able to stay distant from kids, so I want to do what I can to try and not catch anything! I did not get a flu shot because I assumed we would all be masked. Now I think I need to go get one.

Congrats on your daughter's new job and the raise! My younger son went to VCU. Both of my kids make more than me! My younger son's is eaten up with expenses of a 2-person, 2-dog, 1-income family, but my older son is doing fine (until he moves to northern VA where everything is so much more expensive!).

I hope you are still keeping safe, since you are around so many different and often sick people! I know they would have a hard time covering for someone who works as much as you do! It is a beautiful day today, sunny here despite the very cold temp. I don't know if I will get a walk in this weekend. Lots of chores and errands to do!

I hope you have had a good week, and got in some nice walks!

Good to see you are hanging in there, best buddy! I didn't have a very exciting week either. Rachael and i missed 2 days of walking last week due to the bitter cold, and one day snow/ice. I did some online workouts, but she didn't get her exercise in. There is a senior center with n indoor walking track i may see if they will let her go. The gym doesn't really have an indoor track,but she did splash around in the indoor pool one day. I'm not sure about mall walking and it would take 2 round trips at the mall closest to us. I just haven't taken her to stores at all and no word about the Day Support Center yet. I do believe it will start to get better soon.

We have plenty of N95's at work, not rationing them like before. I sneak out a few for elderly friends. Maybe that's the 8th deadly sin. 😊 I don't envy you with the schools not knowing what to do now. Local districts here are all over the place. I saw the inauguration of the governor picture, all sitting at desks or standing close by, no masks. Are they just stupid? I hope they don't get sick, but it would serve them right.

Working the weekend as usual and not too bad so far. At least I work alone mostly so I can exercise when I can ( all done for tonight) and play the calming music in the background, kind of smooth jazz piano . I hope you get your errands done and animals take care of, in this frigid weather it can't be that much fun.. but I know seeing them gives you pleasure. We have cats. They have different personalities and the oldest one wants nothing to do with the others, so we let her stay in the basement when its this cold. Nothing special tomorrow, not going to Sunday service in person yet but I can watch it online. I called some friends and extended family last week and its the last thing I enjoy - talking in the phone- but I felt better afterwards. Stay warm and cozy as you can till next time.

Hello! I am writing a day early, because tomorrow I will be up and out early (if the weather allows!). I have to leave at 7:15 to be at my son's by 8, to go visit the wedding venue in Powhatan. That means getting up at 5:30 in order to feed animals, eat, and shower. Bleh! I am not feeling well this week and really don't want to get up early! I have had a headache, post-nasal drip, and feeling very tired. I think it is from the heat being on so much this week - I have this problem every winter from the dry air - and didn't have a humidifier on until last night.

Two of my office-mates have COVID, one of whom just tested positive yesterday morning. Just to be safe, I checked in with my vice-principal about my symptoms and she had me fill in the HR staff reporting form and go get tested. My rapid test was negative, as I figured it would be, but they have sent out a PCR. Since I think I had COVID just after Christmas, the PCR will likely be positive even if I don't have it now, since it can be positive for up to 3 months. So, I might have just screwed myself out of being able to go to work next week. I don't want to waste leave if I am just feeling crappy from dry air! I sent the negative rapid test result to HR, and crossing my fingers they will leave it at that. I was not allowed to go today because they have not processed my "case," so that is 2 days of leave gone already. I am kind of regretting saying anything. I should have waited until after work and tried to get a home test.

Except for feeling bad, I had a pretty good week. I might have told you that the calorie counter website I had been using since May, MyNetDiary, stopped working on my Ipad around Thanksgiving. My Ipad is old and can't update any more, so I am finding more and more stuff that won't run on it. I took a break from logging calories until this month, and then started using the only thing I could find that worked on the Ipad, FatSecret (terrible name!). I like using the ipad because I take it to work and do my logging during my lunch break. I didn't like the new site, wasn't using it much, and gained more weight. I was kind of floundering, so I went back to MyNetDiary, using a desktop computer that is in our office (right next to my friend's desk who tested positive - thus I wanted to check in case I was exposed!). I hate being dependent on a crutch like that, but I already feel like I am back on track. My calorie intake was more in line this week, and I exercised each weekday except yesterday.

I hope you and Rachael were able to get some walks in during this cold week! I know how frustrating it is when you want to exercise and weather or something else keeps you from it. I am glad you have the indoor pool option for her too! And I know you are doing your stairs at work!

Our mask-free school started Monday. A lot of kids are still wearing them, thank goodness, but lots are not. I work in small groups (in close physical proximity) with quite a few unmasked ones. The younger ones are already starting to stick my materials (like a dry erase marker) in their mouth, or their fingers in their mouth and then touch my stuff. Sigh. Plenty of parents here are very happy about the no masks, so I know our school board is not going to make any waves against the governor. They even removed the waiver requirement that K-6 is supposed to have.

I hope work is going well, and that the snow doesn't cause any problems this weekend. Have a great week, my friend!!

You poor dear .. i'd have to be heavily bribed to get up early on my day off, and drive to Powhatan? That's a hop skip and jump from me, but it is probably a good drive for you. The snow wasn't bad at all here , so i hope that worked out for you. Is it a plantation or farm type? There are a lot of pretty rolling hill areas out there. Have you met the bride's parents? Usually the venue is all about HER.

I was really glad about the weather so it was no trouble for me to drive back and forth. sometimes, i just stay over, but I'd so rather be in my bed with 6 pillows. The work load hasn't been bad either. You never know it is totally unpredictable. Last Saturday I was booked the whole shift, tonight very little. I'm thankful to have an easy night sometimes.

I don't think you should feel guilty about needing a calorie tracker. I went back down at least 1 pound last week, but I don't know what I did differently. I have made a real effort to not eat the pizza the one Doc brings in. Last 2 nights I had a bowl of bean soup, Indian style, in a packet. It was just the right amount of spice and very filling. And a navel orange, sweet and also filling. That does help me to resist. Exercise has been good. We missed 2 days total , walking outside. But then I pull up a video and do something at least. Stairs at work as usual. It feels so good when I get that all done.

I hope you aren't sick, and the tests allow you to work - if that is what you want to do. Our work gives 5 days pd leave if we test positive, not out of our regular PTO. I wouldn't mind that as long as i don't get really sick! Everyone else here has had or probably will get a mild case , just not me so far. We are all working extra when one person is out and that gets old. i can

I imagine how hard it is with the unmasked kids that you have to work with handling everything. The numbers are at least leveling off finally. Just a few more months of school before break - hang in there brave soul. The wedding plans will lift everyone's spirits. Good riddance January.

Hello! My second rapid test was also negative, as was my PCR! I got to go back to work Monday morning, only an hour late after my detour to take the test. Phew! They did create "Covid leave" for us this year, though it is only offered until March. I think they should extend it until the end of the year now that the mask mandate is lifted. Fewer kids wore theirs as the week progressed.

The visit to the wedding venue was great despite getting up so early! I have nothing in common with her mom, who grew up and remains more affluent than I am, and lives a more urban, affluent lifestyle than goat lady here. Plus, she is uber-fit despite being about five years older than me, which is just annoying (that of course is a flaw in me, not her, but still!). However, she's pleasant enough if I can get myself past her stories of skiing in Italy and vacations to Peru and St. Lucia, so we got along fine. I had met her twice before, but this is the most we talked. I met her dad at a college graduation party for the fiance a few years ago. He seemed nice, but probably also little in common with me. Her parents are divorced but I think are pretty amicable.

The venue itself is beautiful, and they chose one of the outdoor spots and picked a date (May of next year). It is not a plantation, but was the site of a gristmill on a big pretty creek. The brick-walled gristmill ruins are one of the outdoor ceremony sites, and that is the one they chose. It's very pretty. There are 12 "cottages" on-site, so we've rented three for our family and my mom rented one for that part of the family. The fiance's family is going to rent the remainder, so we'll have most of the family on-site. The wedding party will stay nearby. There is also a brewery on-site, so we will host the rehearsal dinner there. The venue will provide food, cake, and anything else you want to add from their list (DJ, flowers, stylist, etc.). Weddings these days are so much more elaborate than mine was, and with that comes a GIANT price tag. I could not begin to afford this place, but her parents both have money, so it seems like they are ok with it. Just the cottage rentals are going to run us well over $1000, and the rehearsal dinner will likely be multiple thousands. We are starting to save now!

I have had a pretty uneventful week otherwise. I am doing better with the food now that I have gone back to my other calorie counter. I try to use it on the computer in our office during my planning period. Weekend eating and alcohol consumption is not good, but during the week I am doing well. I I really wanted to get out and walk in the warm weather we had over the last two days, but the rain kept me from it.

Tomorrow is my younger son's birthday, and this past Tuesday was Korean Lunar New Year. We are going to their house tomorrow to do a joint celebration. I am baking a cake today, and as a surprise for my DIL, am going to try my hand at a Korean dessert called yaksik. I googled gifts for new year, and bought a game and a couple of other things. I have no idea if these would be things her family actually does, so they may not be appropriate gifts (I don't want to seem touristy), but hopefully she will take it as intended, that I am trying to do things that she might be missing from home. I asked if we could cook something together, since we enjoyed cooking some American dishes together, and also that way she doesn't have to do everything, so she asked if I wanted to make dumplings with her. I actually made those years ago with a Chinese friend, so I'm looking forward to that!

I avoided our kitchen area at work yesterday because it was the monthly birthday junkfest, and I am bad at avoiding stuff once I see and smell it. It would take a huge effort for me to avoid pizza. You have some strong will power!! Your bean soup sounds delicious! I like that kind of soup in winter, hearty and filling without needing meat. I do love oranges and don't eat them enough. We tend to have those or clementines around, because my husband does eat a lot of them.

I am glad you got most of your walks in. I'm guessing the rain might have messed you up too. I know there were breaks in it throughout the day, so hopefully you did get out in the warm weather. I am glad there are so many free exercise videos, and I have found lots that I like, so I haven't gotten bored doing those 4-5 times a week. Yesterday I just did yoga, so didn't burn many calories, but I felt like I needed some good stretching. Good for you keeping up with the stairs! Our school is two stories, and I have one class upstairs, but otherwise I'm downstairs. My planning period is at the end of the day and I should take a few minutes to go up and down before I do my planning (and calorie logging!) but I never remember it.

I hope your week at work was not too hectic, and that you got some good walks. Have a great week, my friend!

😍

I finally got around to reading your note. Is the wedding venue Fine Creek Mill? I have heard of that one, but I didn't know that was the one they chose. It sounds like your boy has good taste! Growing up with affluent parents may seem like what she is used to and maybe someone more down-home like your son is what she is looking for. There is a lot more to character that money and fancy vacations, but I'm sure I'd be envious myself. We are only human. Still, they will inherit the wealth when the time comes, so maybe you won't have to worry about them long term. Sweetness and light is what we all wish for our children. Don't let the MIL get you down with her figure -no doubt she can afford spas and what ever else she wants to stay thin.

I'm still crossing my fingers over Daughter's BF coming up with a ring Valentines Day. The family isn't rich by any means - both parents are veterans and the other son has wasted their retirement funds on drug treatment. - never ending it seems and never gets over it. I hate that for them. Any wedding they have will be moderate, neither family is loaded. Daughter now has COVID, BF had it last week. she says she feels terrible so i hope it will only be a few days. She bought a lot of decorating banners ect for her Dad's 81st birthday and he was happy with the attention, that's what he craves. But at least he treats the girls with outpouring love and no drama like before when we were married. I pray he stays in pretty good health to keep Rachael week-ends until I retire, 16 months. That;s my hope anyway.

We had walks last week, every day except the cold day, We walked the rainy days in between, and it wasn't too cold. Both my shoulders bother me at times, not just the right one, but I'm exercising for that as much as I can. Sleep time is still when it's the worst, it wakes me up which is annoying, but I'm not going back to ORTHO unless it gets worse. My food is OK some days, at work not so good - now Valentines candy. i can usually bring some fruit and a salad, but the treats are always around and I always seem to find them when I'm really tired.

I think it is so special that you are going out of your way to do cultural activities and cooking with your DIL. I bet it will mean a lot to her. The only dumplings I make are in the grocery store in a package with premade sauce, but i do like them. I keep hearing more about fermented foods nutrition and I keep meaning to have them on hand - some really fresh yogurt ( but of course you make your own!!) and I don't like kimchee ,kefir and the fermented Korean vegetables that I've tried - but i read that there are some types that are not as strongly sour. They are supposed to be superfood. Wine is fermented, but the pasteurizing destroys the health benefit - Darn!

I'm having an OK work load so far this week-end. I worked extra 4 hrs , so it helps if it isn't too crazy. There is so much to worry about- schools going with no masks, Ukraine, and the divided political unrest - we just have to stay calm as much as we can and pray for peace. I hope you have a nice relaxing week-end and a great start with the school week with healthy kids and staff. And if it rains ( or snows a little !), et a smile😍 be your umbrella.

Hello, Yes it is The Mill. The fiance is pretty down to earth, more so than her mom it seems to me, or her sister (though I only met the sister once). My son is looking for a job closer to DC so they can move up there. He did 15 interviews this past week. I really hate that they are going to move up there. Mostly for my selfish self because I want him close, but also he will be leaving behind his friends, his weekly Dungeons and Dragons game which he loves, swapping their great living situation for something tiny because cost of living is so expensive.

I have not been doing well with my eating lately, after having a couple of really good weeks. I avoided the kitchen at school on Valentine's Day because the PTA did a huge spread of junk for staff. Then, kids in every classroom I went into gave me candy! And I am talking mostly pretty good stuff - Lindt truffles, Hershey kisses, other good chocolates. I also got a nice cup that says Teaching Fills My Heart, cute socks, cute pencils, and a candle. It was so touching that so many kids thought of me! I gorged myself on candy for 3 days though. I have at least kept up my exercise, and got two one-hour walks this week after work. I hope to take a longer walk this weekend because I have Monday off.

Did your daughter get a ring this week?? Has she recovered from COVID? Sorry to hear about her bf's parents losing all that money. I have a small nest egg in the bank that I am guarding as well as I can, because I can never replace it. I was so tempted to use it to buy my son a car, but I will need that to live on later. I hope your girls had a good time with their father for his birthday. I am glad the drama is gone and he treats them well - you all deserve that.

I am so glad for you that retirement is in reach! I would like to retire at 60, and 9 more years seems doable to me. However, I will likely have to go to 65 for health insurance reasons, and 15 years seems an eternity. If my husband dies, I will definitely have to keep working that long.