Amy's New Start : Comments Welcome!

[Goofydiane]

I'm so glad you are enjoying Disneyland and I'm glad that your FIL got out of the hospital today.

It was snowing in MN when I returned from WDW and then when I left for Denver the next morning....it isn't supposed to snow this early.

I'm looking forward to hearing out the trip and then catching up on your journal when you return.

 

[toystoryduo]

I'm glad to hear that you're having a great time in DL!!!!!

I heard about the weather in Colorado yesterday. I know you're glad to be in California right now! Enjoy that nice weather out there!

Looking forward to hearing more about your trip when you get back. Safe travels!

 

[eyor44]

Hi Amy
Glad your trip is going so well. Your nephew is enjoying the trip?

Wonderful that FIL got out of the hospital. Praying that he will stay out now.

 

[traceycooper]

Hi Amy, glad FIL is getting better now
enjoy your trip & have a safe journey home - hope the snow has gone when you return

 

[Amy&Dan]

Thanks ladies for staying with me!

Coming home to two feet of snow was a bit of a magic buster after California! Even with a warm weekend, I still have a ton of snow in my yard. Happy Winter.

Its been so hectic since we got home, we had Halloween of course, a Halloween party to attend, I taught Sunday School yesterday and in honor of our two feet of snow and the fact we are weird, we put up our Disney Christmas tree! I know, I know. But hey, it looks like Christmas so why not? Plus, when you put up seven Chirstmas trees, you gotta start early. My Christmas birthday has translated to lots of Chirstmas themed birthday presents over the years plus I just love Christmas and I now have most of my mom's stuff too. A month from now it will look like a Chirstmas bomb went off in this house for sure!

Dan's dad never did get out of the hospital for our trip. Well not exactly. He got out for about 12 hours and then had to go back in when his blood pressure sky rocketed. I think they have everything figured out now with his meds. Hopefully. He kept telling us not to come that he'd be out tomorrow and of course getting 40 miles in L.A. is no easy task. We tried to rent a car but the place in DTD was sold out the day we did. So Dan will likely go back in a few months for a weekend. And we did get a very nice visit that Saturday and of course Dan and I spent almost a week there in early October. But it was still a bummer. And I still say that they released him too soon and it totally backfired. As far as I know, he went home this morning.

I am glad to be home in some ways. I finally figured out the reason my feet and knees were hurting so bad was I was wearing the wrong shoes (and of course the weight didn't help). So at least my last two days I was not in pain! But I am just so ready to get this weight off. I almost wish I could fast forward through the holidays! One good thing, this Christmas will be very low key. No out of town company. Dan's aunt and cousin can't come out and I have to say, I am more than a bit relieved. I am just not up for that this year. We spent a week with them in June, several days with his aunt in October and frankly the expense of company is a lot and so having this year off isn't so bad. The kids are bummed but I have to say I am not and neither is Dan. We are both just wiped out. So with nobody coming, that will cut down on what I am cooking and baking. I told the kids and Dan to pick their favorite cookie when it gets closer and that is it. I am not going to fall into this "I have to make all this baked stuff" for a whole month. The problem with being a good cook is people love to eat your stuff and so do I!

I didn't make it to the rec center today. Dd broke off a braces braket and I had to take her to the ortho. They were in their other office which is halfway across town. Then ds has a dr's. appt. tonight, also across town. So just a hairy day. And I am still sort of wiped from the vacation. But I made plans to go with my friend tomorrow.

Food over the weekend was so so, better than the last week but of course all that good food at the party plus candy was a diet buster. Today I have not had one piece of candy! Major accomplishment. I also made a lowfat mexican casserole for the crockpot so that when we get home at 7:30 tonight, we have dinner ready. Avoids snacking when I am starved and a possible fast food run. So dinner crisis averted!

I'll catch up with journals later today.

 

[Goofydiane]

I'm sorry to hear about Dan's dad, I hope he did get out of the hospital today if he was well enough too. I can't imagine what it does to a system to get out of the hospital and then have to go right back in.

If I had 2 feet of snow in my yard, I'd be putting up Christmas trees too!

I'm all for a low key holiday season, let's hope it remains that way for you.

I've missed reading your journal and I'm looking forward to catching back up with everything going on with you. Great attitude with going to the rec center and being proactive with the holiday season!

 

[toystoryduo]

I'm sorry to hear about your FIL, Amy. I hope he's out of the hospital and feeling better soon!

I love that you have your Christmas tress up already!!! Christmas is my favorite time of year!! I bet you could do without the snow though. I think it should snow on Christmas Eve and then be sunny and 70 the rest of the year, but we live in Colorado and Ohio....the snow and lake effect snow capitals of the world. Sunny and 70?!?!?! Who am I kidding? It's gonna snow, snow, and snow some more.

I hope you have a wonderful day!

 

[Amy&Dan]

Well, yesterday, I fell off the wagon a bit with food. I had some peanuts (I had bought a big jar of those at Sams for the trip and we still had a few left), and three sugar cookies (forgot I had those in the freezer and of course I found them). When I got on the scale, it showed me up a pound from yesterday. So frustrating.

Then to top that off, I have pulled some sort of muscle in my right calf. When I was getting up this morning, I did something weird and I had this sudden, agonizing pain shooting up and down my leg. I mean I was in agony. Dh was on a conference call with India and I guess I howled so loud they all heard (and I was two rooms away). I have never had this happen. Its better but I am not sure I want to walk today or not. I am really discouraged, I wanted, NEEDED to go to the rec center today. I have taken some advil and I put some of ds' Icy Hot on it and that seems to be helping. I have no idea what I did, how can I pull a muscle when I am getting out of bed?

I am going to go ahead and post my food in hopes that I will stay legal!

Breakfast: Slim Fast shake
Lunch: Lowfat southwest chicken casserole
Snack: Apple slices with reduced calorie carmel sauce
Dinner: Spaghetti with marinara, broccolli and salad
Snack: Yogurt

I read at the doctor's office that if you eat vinagarette dressings (which I do), broccoli and cauliflower and some other things, you can cut your risk of Alzheimers by up to half. After seeing what that diseases did to my mom and the rest of our family, I am all over that. I really live in fear that I'll get it too. Had she not had cancer, she would have faced a horrible fate of being in a world where she knew no one. I remember when she got diagnosed she remarked she was so glad she had cancer. So if eating certain foods can help, well all the more reason to get those veggies in.

I am also making a promise to drink 100 oz. of water today. The rec center is up in the air. Its pretty bad when you can't even get out of bed without injuring yourself.

 

[eyor44]

Hi Amy
I hope FIL is doing better when he gets out this time. Has to be tiring for him.

HOPE you feel better also. I've done stuff like that before. You twist the wrong way or something and instant pain.

Seven Christmas Trees!!!!!!! You are my hero. We have four and I am uping it to five this year. I do so love decorating for Christmas.

Stay straight on the food course and hopefully you will feel like walking tomorrow.
Lisa

 

[lovinaz]

At least you injured yourself getting out of bed. I've actually injured myself IN bed - rolling over! Groin muscle. OUCH. How funny that they heard you all the way in India! All kidding aside, I hope you feel better soon. It's no fun being injured, especially when you are mentally wanting to work out!

Does your lowfat Mexican crockpot dish have beans in it? If not, I'd love the recipe. I'm always on the lookout for more crockpot ideas.

 

[toystoryduo]

Hope your leg is feeling better this morning!

Have a great day today!

 

[Amy&Dan]

Thanks Tracy. My leg is still not 100% and I was going to go ahead and work out, but right before I left for the gym, I unloaded the dishwasher. As I stood on my tip toes to put away something high up, I got this shooting pain again. So discouraging! This time I immediately put some of the icy hot on it and that helped. But apparently that tip toe thing strained that already strained muscle. So I didn't end up going after all. Major bummer. Maybe tomorrow.

I had lunch with a friend today, I got a salad, I think it was fairly healthy. I really like Chick Fil A salads and this one was even tastier than the one I had last time. I avoided waffle fries so major accomplishment there!

Also, I ate out last night, by the time dd got done at the dentist, we only had about 30 minutes before ds had church so that sort of tanked my spaghetti plans. I just got a bean burrito and nothing else and the points came out fine.

So here is today's food:

Breakfast: Payday Bar (yep, I had a candy bar for breakfast).
Snack: 1TB peanut butter to continue the peanut trend from breakfast
Lunch: Southwest salad from Chick Fil A
Dinner: Whole Wheat spaghetti with marinara sauce, salad and broccoli

Dd has a doctor's appt this afternoon, she has in ingrown toenail that is giving her fits, I shudder to think what they will do to that. Poor kid. She has sore teeth from ortho on MOnday, dentist on Tuesday and now they'll be messing with her toe!

Hope everyone is having a great day. Just really hoping my leg is better tomorrow so I can go work out. Maybe I should just not unload the dishwasher ever again!

 

[lovinaz]

That stinks about your leg, but good for you listening to your body and giving it a much-deserved rest. I hope it gets better soon! And I agree about unloading the dishwasher. That is one chore I passed onto DS a loong time ago and don't regret it one bit! Well, except when he occasionally decides to switch placement of some items...

Poor DD! When it rains, it pours. I guess it's one of those life lessons she will eventually find out. I just hate when kids have to be exposed to those "ruining their innocence" experiences!

Great job avoiding those empty carbs at Chik-Fil-A!

 

[toystoryduo]

Your food from yesterday looks good, Amy! No worries on the candy bar for breakfast. I bet you burned those calories throughout the day.

I'm sorry to hear about your leg. I hope it feels better soon!

I hope your DD's toe feels better. Ingrown toenails are NOT fun at all.

Have a wonderful day!

 

[Amy&Dan]

Dd's toe was not biggie! This thing had gotten all infected and disgusting last week in Disneyland. After her limping around I finally cut some of the ingrown nail out and drained some yucky stuff. It really hurt but then felt better. The doctor said I had done a fabulous job. Should have been a podiatrist! So she just prescribed some antibiotic ointment and gave us some tips on how to keep it from happening again hopefully. So no major toe bothers for dd. And she was able to get a seasonal flu vaccine which was nice, since that saved me an additional co pay!

I did very well with food yesterday. Ate just what I said I would but did eat some wheat thins while I fixed dinner.

I am planning to walk this afternoon. Dh swears he is leaving work a bit early (he always has these late night calls so I keep telling him he might as well come home earlier since he has to work again from 9:00-1100) and if he doesn't, I am going to walk at the track by myself. Its a beautiful day here, almost 70 and sunny. Denver is the only place I know that can have a 50 degree temp swing in the same week (heck in the same day). We still have snow on the ground but it feels like spring!

Here is my food today:
Breakfast: Slim Fast shake
Snack: Apple with low fat carmel sauce
Lunch: Tuna melt sandwich (had one of these in CA and have been daydreaming about it ever since, so I am making my own lowfat version)
Dinner: Chicken Pot Pie, salad.

That chicken pot pie is made with bisquick but I am using lowfat soups and extra veggies. I need to figure out the points. Its cheap and easy and I'll just make it work!

Have really been pushing the water big time the last few days. I have to weigh in tomorrow, not sure that will be very good news. But I am going and just looking at it as my fresh start. My plan all along had been that I would not join WW again until after vacation, but they had the buy one month, get one month free deal so I went ahead and did it. But with two trips in October, that month was clearly not going to be a raging success.

Amy: All I can say is thank goodness it was dd with the sore teeth and toe. She is way heartier than her brother (or dad) when it comes to physcial pain! Like most women I know.

Tracy: At least the candy bar had peanuts in it!

 

[Amy&Dan]

I forgot to mention fil is back in the hospital. He was having shortage of breath which probably means he has some fluid around his lungs. Poor guy, I really cannot believe how much he has been through. Hopefully they'll figure it out and send him back home today or tomorrow.

 

[Amy&Dan]

Okay, third post in a row! I was just on facebook which I don't go on much anymore but I went on a friend's page and I noticed she and her husband had a big 25th anniversary party. I have to say, I am really hurt! They had a huge party but didn't invite me and Dan? Guess things change. I mean since we don't go to the same church anymore we don't see them as much but there looked to be about 100+ people at that party and I thought we were still friends to the extent that if they invited what looks like everybody and thier uncle, we'd get invited. Oh well. I commented on the thing "wow fun party, looks like you guys all had fun".

I think people forget how transparent facebook makes their lives!

Oh well such is life. Saved me money for a new outfit and gift! Come to think of it she totally blew off when my mom died so maybe we aren't good friends anymore.

 

[traceycooper]

please dont take it personnel Amy - proberbly a case of out of sight out of mind! & if she wasnt there for you at your lowest moment - no big loss

 

[toystoryduo]

Sending a your way. I'm sorry that your friend hurt you. I hope things work out between the two of you if you want them to.

Sending more prayers for your FIL......He has been through a lot in the past few weeks.

I'm glad that your DD's toe is feeling better. Way to go mom!

Were you able to get your walk in yesterday? How was food?

Sending some for weigh-in. I hope it goes well for you!

Have a wonderful day!

 

[Amy&Dan]

Thanks Tracey and Tracy. You know how it goes, sort of reminded me of years ago when I was a kid and didn't get invited to somebody's birthday party!

I think what got me a bit upset about that was that years ago my friend and her husband almost divorced. He had cheated on her and while I was really upset with him, once she decided to forgive and go through counseling and move on, I really stood behind that, and Dan and I tried to encourage them and support them with all they were going through. Most everyone else really gave her grief on taking him back, but I always knew that in spite of a major mess up on his part, they were meant to be together. So I would have just enjoyed sharing such a special occasion with them. I knew that their 25th was coming up and in fact she and I talked about that when we had coffee a couple of months ago and she never mentioned a big party they were having. I guess in the end, we have obviously drifted apart and I suppose you always have to cut a guest list someplace. I just decided to focus on being happy that they had such a nice party and let it go. Their daughter is getting married in December, obviously I am not going to clear my calendar for that event!!

Oh well, right now I am more worried about Dan's dad than some anniversary party. They are trying to rid his body of the cumadin (sp?) blood thinner so they can do a procedure today to drain fluid out of his lungs and around his heart. They have been giving him some sedation, he's not sleeping well and he needs rest. He has just been through so much. Its to the point, that we are now starting to really worry in earnest that maybe he is just not strong enough to fully recover from everything he has been through. So we'll just wait and see what happens after this, and hopefully this is the last hurdle he has to jump through before he can go home, recover for good and be done wtih the hospital for a while.

I will update later after weigh in. I did walk last night with Dan which was very nice. But I have no doubt this weigh in won't be great. I had a week with vacation food only to come home and have a horrible weekend followed by way too much Halloween candy this past week. I am happy to say, all the good candy has been eaten (by me and Dan mostly).

Update to come later!