Alcohol Free Is What We Want to Be! Tuesday, April 9

New Challenge: CARING April 1 - May 31

“Your body is precious. It is our vehicle for awakening. Treat it with care" - Buddha

This challenge is about caring about and for yourself. So often we get caught up in taking care of everyone else that we don’t give ourselves the care we need. Or we give up caring about ourselves. A variety of reasons and for no reason, it just happens. The hard part is to recognize it and once you do, it is hard to explain because very few want to acknowledge it. You get kudos for taking care of others, not so much for taking of yourself. Not caring about yourself can leave an emptiness that you may try to fill with food and alcohol. The emptiness remains, just stuffed down. We want and need more for ourselves. So let’s begin!

Treat yourself the way you’d treat someone you love.

Love yourself first and the rest will follow.

Focus on health and well being

So how do you begin to care about yourself?

Eating fruits and vegetables sounds like a plan. So does drinking water!!

Walking up a flight of stairs without gasping for breath. Your heart will thank you.

If you don’t want to be AF then restrict the amount and limit the days you will allow yourself a drink. But remember if 10 is not enough, one is too many.

Start with baby steps. Making too many changes at once can be discouraging so start small. Have you been slacking on flossing
daily? Then start making it a ritual. Do you drink soda for energy? Start cutting back by one.

Treat yourself to something you enjoy. Buying the store brand face cream will sit on the counter. If you have a favorite, budget it in as a necessity….better than buying alcohol! Maybe getting a manicure or pedicure is important to you yet you deny it for yourself. Ask yourself why.

Make a list of indulgences that aren’t food or alcohol and start sprinkling them into your life.

Ask for what you need. Too many times we get into a funk and we don’t ask for help. You are loved and we want to help each other.

Curb all the justification. Sometimes you just have to do something because you want to do it. You don’t have to explain yourself!

Think of your successes….add three things that went well today to your daily journal. What?? you aren’t journaling? Journaling is caring!

LET THE CARING BEGIN!!

Out the door in 2024!

THE EIGHT GOOD HEALTH GUIDELINES
1. Eat at least five servings of vegetables and fruits each day.
2. Choose whole-grain foods, such as brown rice and oats, whenever possible.
3. Include two servings of milk precuts – low fat (1%) or fat-free – each day.
4. Have some healthy oil (olive oil, canola, sunflower, safflower or flaxseed each day.
5. Ensure that you are getting enough protein by choosing at least a serving or two of meat, poultry, fish, eggs or dried beans each day. Many dairy products are also good sources of protein.
6. Limit added sugar and alcohol.
7. Drink at least 6 8-ounce glasses of water a day.
8. Take a multiple vitamin-mineral supplement each day.

NUTRITION ACCOUNTABILITY
Drink more water: 64 oz
One or more fruit daily: Y
One or more vegetable daily: Y
AF: (mostly alcohol free since August 16, 2006): 6455; ANIM: 1 (021221)
AIM: N
ANIM: N
Fitbit Goal/burned: 2170/2071
JUST JOURNAL!

HABIT ACCOUNTABILITY

Move Accountability: 3, 11,000+ steps, 250 steps 8/8 hours, farm loop, worked in yard
Sleep Accountability: 3, slept well, 7 hours, Fitbit score 84, stress management 78
Nutrition Accountability: 3, 33/23, 18 weeklies left, blue dot, pancakes, Red Lobster biscuit, pasta
Happiness Accountability: 3, enjoyed family time, eclipse awesome, stitched, read before bed
Habit Accountability: 3, drinking more water than diet Coke
Check in Daily Accountability: 3, I'm here!
Time Management Accountability: 3, talking with brother and sister, hanging out for eclipse, worked in yard, cut out more backs for Santas
What did you do for yourself today? Reading, couch time, time outside

Please post a NSV (non-scale victory), LSP (little sign of progress), PA (positive affirmation) or motivational quote: “It’s no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then.” ―Lewis Carroll

Start weight, April 1: 168.8
April 8: 168
April 15:
April 22:
April 29:
May 6:
May 13:
May 20:
May 27:
End of Challenge, May 31:

2024 Goals:
11,000 steps each day: 97/99
At least 7 hours sleep: 49/99
Lift weights twice/week: Wk 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13:only once, 14
Blue dots: 89/99
Starting weight: 179.8
Get to the 160's: March 10, 2024
150s:

My sister called about 9:30 yesterday to say she was stopping by before going to work. We chatted for a bit then my brother came in and we chatted some more. It was about 11 before we headed to Kokomo for breakfast. We went to Cracker Barrel. I got Momma's Pancake Breakfast, ate the eggs, 1 piece of bacon, and the crispy edges of the pancakes. We gassed up the car, bought a case of water and headed back to the farm. We walked the farm loop a few times then settled down in lawn chairs to watch the eclipse from DB's driveway. It was a beautiful day in the 70's. When the eclipse reached totality, it got so dark, and the temp dropped about 8 degrees. DB's dusk to dawn light came on, and we could clearly see Jupiter and Venus in the sky. It was one of the most awesome things I've ever seen, so glad we traveled to see it. When it got light again I walked the farm loop until the eclipse was completely over, pulling my glasses out of my back pocket periodically to check the progress. Then I worked in the yard for a bit, picking up sticks, doing some raking. I felt really close to my Mom as this was the stuff she would do until she was into her 90's. There are a lot of old maple trees and any wind at all will bring down sticks. I took some pics of the blooming stuff and looked at the rhubarb which looks close to being ready to harvest. I had a bit of couch time then we went back to Kokomo for dinner at Red Lobster. I wasn't that hungry, but ate a biscuit, all my shrimp and less than a quarter of the pasta. We watched a bit of TV when we got home and packed the car with a few things. We weren't able to get the game and were invited by both my brother and sister to come watch it, but we decided to just go to bed early to hopefully get an early start home today. Hopefully the traffic will not be too bad.


Jan- WTG steps 10/11, PU, stretches, AP, blue dot, treats to work, planning on going to WW meeting. Yay for your last day of work! I missed what the Chicago thing is as well.

Murphy- Glad DSIL could get out for a hike. Hope the pocket knife turns up.

GG- Yay for being able to see most of the eclipse from your back porch! Glad the duet went fine and DH had a nice birthday. GL with the colonoscopy & prep. Yay for Jackson being cleared for baseball.

Carole- Glad you could see the eclipse and both kids want to go on a family vacation.

Cindy- So sorry about the bad flare in your right leg. Glad you could see the eclipse. LOL over having the Kokomo song stuck in your head. Glad DS had a good visit with the GI doc. Hope the thunderstorm moved on without causing issues and the A/C doesn't have a major issue. Hugs!

Cathy- Hope the scale gets unstuck soon. Yay for having lots of veggies to work with for lunch. Your books sound fun.

M-W Word of the Day

fatuous 
adjective | FATCH-oo-us

What It Means
To describe something, such as an idea or remark, as fatuous is to say that it is foolish or silly rather than sensible or logical.

// Our hopes for an apology and a reasonable explanation for the error were met with fatuous platitudes.

Hi girls. Hope everyone is having a good day. I did get home before noon, but I guess I'm not done yet I'm going in Wed, Thurs, Mon and Tues a couple hours each day to do filing. Every morning there is a huge stack of finished, picked up files that need to go back in the drawers for next year. One of the girls in the back usually does them each morning, but then she can't be printing out the unfinished returns and doing her own work. I said I could come in and just file and then leave each day, get a few more $$ hours and help out. Thursday I'll still go to knitting and lunch and then go in at 1 until I'm done. Still haven't heard anything from the eye place so need to call them and find out if I have an appt. Or I'll just schedule one for later next week. The WW scale was down -.2, but I'll take it. Just keep marching downward bit by bit. When I got home I took a walk over to the park with my camera, got a few pics, but nothing great. Did get my AP and that felt good, I guess so good I came home a took a little nap We are going to make some stroganoff out of some LO steak from last night. I made up some of the FF cottage cheese/pudding mix to try for my dessert tonight. See if it helps push down the sweets craving. I'll put some strawberries or cherries on top. They also talked about a "recipe" to make a low point breakfast. Put a big 1 or 2 point tortilla, like the Ole extreme wellness, in a pie pan so it's up the sides. Mix 3 eggs and a few tablespoons of FF or ? cottage cheese then add whatever. Broccoli, salmon, black beans, pour it in the shell and throw in the oven for @ 15-20 mins until it doesn't jiggle. I may try one this week one day. No plans for tonight except some knitting and I think Will Trent is on. Have a great evening all. Jan

Amy Hope you haven't had a lot of traffic mess on the way home. Now you will be on countdown for your next big adventure to Europe. Whee. Did you take any of your mom's rhubarb home with you to use or wasn't it quite ready? Wonder if they had enough for yoga with you gone?

Cindy Glad the Doctor will do a work up for DS and that he got some answers from him. Hope you flare up was feeling a bit better today or at least that you got some sleep with the meds. Fingers crossed they can figure out what's wrong with the Ac and get it running soon.

Cathy Hope you got some of your book done and reviewed. Quite the mixture of story lines there.

Carole Yay for the kids wanting to do a summer vacation. Where are you thinking or going?

Vicki Nice pictures on FB and glad Dh enjoyed his birthday. We did not have eclipse glasses but then didn't really get outside while it was happening Hope you got to the Y to walk or whatever felt best for you today. DH went over this afternoon to sign up using his Medicare Advantage card. Hope he decides to go sometimes. I've been better about staying out of the treats, but my portions have still been too big I'm pretty sure. I need to start with a smaller plate and then if I'm really Hungry!!, not just bored, go back for a little more. If I fill up my plate in the kitchen, then I eat it all whether I really need it or not. At least when I took the Easter candy to work yesterday it all disappears so no regrets for me. yay for Jack being cleared for Baseball. We're hoping to see a game with my cousins this Saturday if the weather is good ( I'm a fair weather watcher) and hoping that Bennett gets to pitch. He made JV at HS this year so should be fun.

Waving hi

Hi All!

We had strong storms all night! Hail, thunder and lightening and heavy downpour. When I got up at about 3 AM the septic system red alarm light was lighting up the window. So at that point I knew there was a problem. But what I didn't realize was when I flushed the toilet, it would overflow....and it did and I wasn't strong enough to use our industrial strength 35 years plus old plunger. I yelled upstairs and DS came down but even he couldn't get the plunger to work. The plunger is so old that the rubber is just a harden mess.

So basically turned off the water, mopped up the floor with the towels and cursed. The "sealed" opening to the overflow chamber is "bubbling". It rained off and on all day, not helpful. We are under a flood warning until Friday noon. More rain predicted for tomorrow. There is no way the A/C techs could do any work. I called the Septic people and they can't do anything until the flooded area recedes into the ground. I know once everything dries out I need to find someone who know what to do. I know the first step would be risers but then what? Bring in dirt?? Or start breaking down the clay again so the water will drain?? For another day....

So not a productive day. I moved too fast grabbing towels from the garage for mop up so have been resting The Leg with help from pills. It felt like a Sunday for some reason.

Will do personals tomorrow.

Hugs to all, Cindy