Back on Track and well over 50

[Chris55]

Just finished a wild busy week at work. Stayed away from the chocolate, had only two slices of homemade cake all week, and have pretty much substituted dark chocolate for my ice cream in the evenings.

We have company for the weekend - a niece-in-law who comes up every fall as a college recruiter. Unfortunately today, when she has an entire day to share with us, it's raining. We wanted to take her to the big organic farmers Common Ground Fair, but it may have to wait until next year. We may go tomorrow ourselves, when it's supposed to be sunny. It's the best fair in the state, lots of grassroots political activity, alternative energy projects, great food and crafts. Haven't gone in a few years and am missing it!

DH was home yesterday, so I had him put a turkey breast in the oven, did some quick "stuffing" when I came home, steamed some organic broccoli, and made some gravy. Yummy dinner, but I had too much stuffing - it was half Stove Top and half leftover artisan bread, but it was the only grain/starch I had all day. We have half the turkey left for sandwiches/salads today. Then I'll make some stock and soup for later in the week. I've been trying to take soups to work for lunch - keeps me out of trouble!!

[feminista]

Hi Chris: Its been hot & humid here--today its suppose to reach 80, but it is sunny .... LK starts her drive home, the visit with her mom & cousin was very good...
LX's boyfriend went on a deep sea puking trip this weekend--he said it was soooo rough out, but he did bring home 2 lobsters for us that he bought at the pier--I am going to parboil them today, so that LK & I can have them tomorrow evening as her welcome home dinner. (LX does not eat any fish, silly girl).
Have to prep classes and finish reading my seniors' proposals (arghhhhh they can not write--partly becasue they do not read enough!), do laundry and a quick grocery shop.
Sleep has still been awful...have a call into my doc...
Have you been following the protests on Wall St? Hardly making main stream news...
Best line yesterday was Thomas Friedman's (a slight paraphrase) : "We the people" are having an economic crisis, You the politicians" are having an election."
Food today: turkey bacon & eggs, lunch will be tomato/feta salad, dinner pizza & salad. Soups work the best for me for work lunches, too...

[Chris55]

Not sleeping must really be getting to you. When I have trouble for a few nights I eventually get so tired that I do sleep through the night. Usually melatonin or some sleep-inducing tea helps. Thanks goodness I haven't had to resort to anything stronger. Most drugs make me groggy and useless. I also sleep much better when I exercise, which I try to tell myself as I'm making my excuses to sit with a cup of coffee instead of popping an exercise DVD into the machine.

My son informed me about the Wall Street protests last week - they've hit the local papers here, but they're being scoffed at. I did have my political fix yesterday at the fair - signed the petition for marriage equality. I was supposed to help with the campaign this fall to get the question on the ballot for 2012, but am too busy with United Way stuff right now. I may go in and speak to the UW director about it in case I decide to work at the polls or something. We had to sign an ethical agreement with all kinds of clauses about conflicts of interest and representing UW, so I may just check in with her to cover my rear. But the fair was fun - lots of tables with fun bumper stickers for sale. Had some really good organic food, bought myself a nice pottery mug and new earrings, and had a hoot watching the border collie demos. It was hot and sunny and we all got a little pink from being outside all day.

Today I feel like I'm either in allergy hell or I'm getting a cold. As usual for me lately, my nose isn't running, but my throat is tickly and gunky, and so is my stomach. I almost bailed out of work early, but had tea and have been using Zicam all day - lots of people have sworn by it, and it did perk me up enough to get me through the day. It was hot here again today and I took a half sandwich and salad thinking I'd sit by the water, but I felt so lousy at lunchtime that soup would have really hit the spot. Tomorrow I have an 8:15 presentation about an hour away, so will come home a little early. Hopefully I'll have energy to get dinner together and prep some things for later in the week. I had grand plans for making my son's favorites while he's home from school and sending back a few meals for his freezer, but I haven't really gotten organized.

[Chris55]

I think I've caught your sleep disorder! I was up for a few hours again last night, came down and had some tea and I think I fell asleep on the couch until DH came downstairs to tell me that my alarm had gone off. It was still pretty dark out - I'm so used to waking up with the sun. Luckily I have an easy day at work today - just a tour of Bath Iron Works, which is pretty exciting. I'm wearing my hiking boots since we'll be tramping all over the place, then just a staff meeting, and home early. I've been working long hours so taking a few hours today to spend time with DS, who is home from NP. He got home with DH late Wednesday night, they drive back on Sunday. So I'm probably spending a rainy weekend cooking. Will try and get some lobsters tonight.

Food has been the same. I'm on-plan for meals pretty much, delve into a little dessert at night, though that's been just a bit of dark chocolate most of the time. I was at Sam's Club this week and got a bunch of bananas and a vat of pretzels for the snack table at work, trying for healthier (though not SB healthy) options. Everyone has been digging into the pretzels, and I've only had a few. Secretaries are still filling the chocolate basket, but there have been no more donuts or pastry. I forgot my lunch yesterday, so went to the grocery store and got some squash/apple soup that was pretty good but still had more fat than I would have liked. I also got a small portion of marinated mozzarella balls and artichoke hearts.

Exercise isn't happening. Most days I'm barely getting my hair dried in the morning and running out the door - all the banks want to meet with me between 7:45 and 8:30. I'm experimenting with not washing my hair every day - so far, so good. Maybe I'll have time to do some yoga.

Hope you're feeling better!

[feminista]

Hi--Took 1/3 of an ambien last night--slept the sleep of the dead, until I woke up sobbing--a strange night mare...yuck! One of the reasons I do not like these drugs...
LK is out with Evan this morning feeding friend's horses...he was so excited about going that he was up and dressed real early : "don't need breakfast Mom, gotta feed horses with Yaya"
Making roasted root veggies to take to poker club pot luck...
Can't believe its October already...glad that the humidity has broken...tho' its still rainy here...its cool enough for a sweater...today is the Slutwalk in NYC (because some police officers told young women not to dress as they were o they would not get raped...in my mind: rape doesn't happen because of how one dresses, ut ecause of the rapist(s). There was a young women raped in Florida while wearing her boyfriend's red track suit--not provactive...
You prob do not have to wash your hair everyday (Americans overwash)...I read that you could even get away with just using hot water on your hair and not shampooing unless you have a lot of product in it...
re: exercise...you prob are walking a lot on the job, too...count that--use a pedometer to count steps and aim for 10,000 a day I think...I have been parking further away from things when I have not done any exercise in the a.m. to get in some...
Food today: green apple and cheese, tomato & feta salad, and chicken, root veggies & salad for dinner...oh, and one banana (!) tootsie roll pop...

ciao,enjoy the college Son...

[Chris55]

It sounds like you're eating well - wish I could say the same. Our UWay team visited one of our big donors, Bath Iron Works, on Friday and got a 2-hour walking tour (put in a couple of miles easily) of their shipbuilding facilities. Being not very fond of war ships, it was still amazing and impressive. But the company line is very pro-military, so it was a little tough to listen to all of it for me. Afterwards, unfortunately, we all went to a local really awful really greasy Chinese buffet. I didn't want to go, but didn't want to be the only one not participating, so I made the best of it and tried to find the least greasy foods. Even the green beans were deep fried, I think. I wished I had a roll of paper towels to absorb the stuff before I ate it. It was horrid. I tried to make up for it at dinner - grilled some burgers outdoors as per DS's request, and had a large salad. Luckily I didn't wake up with a stomach ache through the night!

Nights have been weird for me - lots of being awake at 3, but at least I don't have nightmares!

Today I've spent much of the day cookings. I started with a pot of meat sauce so I could do a small lasagna for later in the week and a tiny one for DS to bring back to school. I roasted a small pumpkin from my farmers, toasted the seeds, and made a pot of soup with turkey stock I had frozen, plus some of the pumpkin, a celery root that I received from my farm share, and a bunch of carrots. I had a big bowl of that for lunch, plus some of my son's free focaccia and a little cheese. While I had the oven on I also roasted some brussels sprouts and peppers and onions for later in the week. Tonight's menu will be DS's favorite asian apricot chicken w/jasmine rice and broccoli - packing up leftovers for him. I will try and not dig into the rice, maybe have a tomato or some other veggies instead. I'll also make an apple crisp and try to keep my portion small.

I need to get moving again, though. Walking just doesn't happen - Friday's walking tour was an exception. Mostly I'm walking from my car to a building and carrying a huge tote bag holding a TV. Weight lifting?? I need to start doing 10 minutes in the morning again, but this past week I had appointments before 8 many times and just couldn't squeeze it in. By the time I get home and do dinner, I have no energy. I know that I'd feel better (and sleep better) if I exercised. Maybe this week!

[feminista]

Good Monday --sun is shining, its crisp & falllike ...my fav weather...
LK came back from Iowa with a little extra, so this week she is doing ph.1 to cut the cravings for bread, ice cream, etc.
So...food will be real good this week--making a huge pot of chili ( I had oatmeal for breakfast, cheese, fennel, hummus and tomato salad for lunch, and making chicken, mashed cauliflower and salad for dinner tonight).
I'm a bit under the weather--swollen glands, scratchy throat...planning on easy lessons in case I do not have a voice tomorrow...but have to go in tomorrow--3 classes and because my office computer is being upgraded (finally!)--its so old a laptop that without being plugged in, it has no battery.
You have to carry a tv set??? to show a video? (I am envisioning one of those small tv sets with built in vhs tapedeck... Why don't you suggest having the tape made into a dvd...then you just need to carry a laptop...

ciao

[Chris55]

Sorry you're under the weather. I'm fighting allergy headaches occasionally, but have been able to keep from getting a cold so far. I'm anxiously waiting for the sun to come out again. It's been pouring here since Saturday.

I'm carrying around a small TV/DVD player in a large LLBean tote bag! We have 3 TV's to share between 5 of us, only one laptop that I'm not sure is allowed out of the office. We all brought in our own laptops, but mine is a tiny netbook. I do have a separate DVD drive on it, but the screen is tiny. I'm going mostly to banks where they can't always put a DVD into their systems because of all the security firewalls. It's not a big deal; it's more clumsy than heavy. I've been averaging three presentations a day so am almost on autopilot by now.

Food isn't great, pants are getting tight. I've been cooking in advance, beef stew last night, lasagna tonight. Tomorrow it will be beef fajitas, then roast chicken on Thursday - will have DS stick it in the oven. My two sisters are coming for the weekend, but I have to work on Monday. We're having our annual Pumpkinfest in town this weekend - huge decorated pumpkins, pumpkin boat races, pumpkin catapulting, general silliness. The weather is supposed to be gorgeous, so it should be fun and the fall colors should be peaking. Now if I can only manage to get some exercise in!

[feminista]

Good Friday morning--frosty but sunny--rought in most of the herb pots, some other flowers/plants and our huge ficus tree (we have had it for 20 years, and it is now over 10 feet tall--thank goodness our ceilings are 12 feet tall! Though its supposed to warm up to 80 degrees by Monday...
I did lose my voice on Tuesday--but had planned for it .I should have known when Evan came home from pre-k with a fever on Friday night--childrens tylenol and sleep and he was back to normal by morning--that I would get whatever...and mine lasted longer.
There is going to be a televised teach-in Wednesday night at 7 with Robert Reich & Frances Fox Piven,entitled:Students Rising for Jobs and Economic Justice. Its being webcasted across the country, and sponsored by the AFLCIO. And, would you believe when we posted it, we received negative comments from 3 profs, yet they will not show up for discussion after (also they only have opinions, no facts).
Had sauceless veggie egg foo yung last night at the Chinese restaurant between classes, had the left overs this a.m. for breakfast. Lunch will be leftover chicken & cauliflower, dinner will be eggplant parm (just sliced up 3 eggplants that are now draining) Will be also having eggplant parm tomorrow evening, just informed by LK that she told our poker group I would be making it...
LK & LX picked up first load of wood yesterday, so LX can start splitting it...
well, to write...or really do the busy work that my editor requested...

ciao

[Chris55]

Good morning! Gorgeous weather here this weekend. I planted some iris bulbs yesterday - 100 little ones. I have some hyacinth bulbs, too, but need to figure out where to plant them.

My two sisters are here for the weekend. Unfortunately I have to work on Monday, though. It's our annual Pumpkinfest here in town. Yesterday I walked around and looked at all the carved and painted pumpkins, today we may go see the pumpkin boat races, but they're at 9:30 because of the tides, so not sure if everyone will be showered and out in time. We may just all go for a drive in search of some fall color - not much here along the coast yet.

Dinner last night was good - pork loin, sauerkraut, squash, asparagus. But apple crisp and ice cream for dessert!! Today we'll probably eat out somewhere, tomorrow we'll do some lobsters and the last of the season's corn.

DS spent all day yesterday running around campus playing zombies and humans with nerf guns - the newest campus craze, I guess. I'm glad he took a day to have some fun - he's been working too obsessively on his evolution class. I'm trying to get him to go over to the tutoring center for some help - he missed a 20 point essay on his first test because he works soooo slowly. Knew the material cold, but never got to start the essay. Very frustrating for him. He's always been slow and meticulous - not necessarily a bad thing unless you're taking a timed test. Ugh! Anyway, I'm glad he relaxed and finally had some fun.

I need to get moving on meal prep for next week. I'll only have one really crazy busy day at work on Thursday, so will try to get something made that can be popped in the oven or microwave. Thursdays are DS's crazy day delivering bread - he worked 13 hours last week, so we'll definitely need something simple. Chili!

[feminista]

A quick good morning--I have been making foods that only a 4 year old and I really enjoy--last night I used a head of purple cauliflower with the pasta & ricotta, boiling the caukiflower with the pasta turned the water purple (yet the cauliflower did not lose its color when cooked,so the dish was purple & white). Tis morning I threw some frozen blackberries into my oatmeal, and voila purple oatmeal...Evan is enjoying emmensely.
Bought new flat lug soled boots and socks yesterday (in case it gets cold).
Spent the weekend making a 41 page list iof terms/names for my editor...
Now off to teach...ciao

[Chris55]

Busy day today - left the house at 6:45 for an 8am meeting and was glad I left early because there was an accident and my colleagues were all late. I, of course, coming from the farthest away, was on time! On the go all day raising money - preliminary results are indicating that most places are a tiny bit up or a tiny bit down this year, so we're holding our own in the rough economy.

Started the day with my eggs and black beans and some espresso - hate having to pee if I drink coffee and am on the road. One of the bank managers brought in muffins for the meeting, those big cake-like supermarket ones. I was trying to find a bran or whole grain one, but the brown ones were chocolate or coffee cake, so I grabbed what they told me was blueberry. I jumped in my car with it and went to get McD's coffee, only to find out that the blueberries were really chocolate chips!! It was downhill from there. I had a meeting from 11:15 to 1:45, so ate a half sandwich and V8 in my car, but ended up snacking on junk at the office later in the day - even had a mini Snickers. Brown rice, asparagus, and chicken tenders for dinner. Also cooked up a batch of chili while tonight's dinner cooked so we can just nuke it on Thurs when I'll be home late. While I was chopping, I cut up some more peppers and onions to have with lowfat sausages tomorrow along with leftover brown rice, so tomorrow is all set.

Still no time for exercise - I need to join a gym again, but with these crazy early morning meetings and all the driving, I really don't have time. I'm in bed at 8:30 or 9. Tomorrow I have a breakfast meeting at 7:30 and need to get there early, so have to leave home at 6:45 again.

I'm liking your colorful meals!! Glad the little guy is enjoying them, too.

Are you sleeping any better?

[Chris55]

The rain has finally stopped and it looks like a gorgeous weekend to do yard work. I planted iris bulbs last weekend, now I have to tuck in some hyacinths where I'll see them once the snow melts. Also a cooking weekend, again. Last week and this coming week are my peak weeks of meetings/presentations, which means driving all over the place every day, coming home exhausted. I've been eating way too much junk at work and at home. I finally caved in to the afternoon chocolate cravings, but after one peanut butter cup from the snack table, I brought in my own dark chocolate. One of my co-workers who is a fitness/kinesiology expert went on a three-day cleanse this week, eating only certain very healthy foods like plain chicken, almonds, and cheese. It looked a little like SB to me. Her rationale included something about getting the salt out of her body and flushing it. I was worried that she was going to be drinking weird concoctions, but she ate small amounts of foods. And she managed to do this during a wonderful catered breakfast we attended during which I ate eggs, sausages, scones (they were wonderful!) and a lovely fresh fruit salad. But here I am at the end of the week feeling bloated and awful, so the time has come to think about Phase 1. Maybe I'll stick to an apple or banana a day so do an early Phase 1. I need to maximize my energy and get rid of all this bloating!!

I just started a large pot of turkey stock in my pressure cooker - found part of a turkey carcass in my deep freezer. Creamy veggie soup will be in the works for this week, maybe some stew. I've picked up our last CSA share - a two week share with all root veggies, so many of those will be roasted for later in the week. Starchy veggies will have to be included in my Phase 1 1/2 plan. I also need to pick up some boneless chicken - my mom and pop grocer has large bags of boneless thighs or tenders on sale for a ridiculous price, so I'm stocking up. Although every time I looked at my packed freezer, I think of all the food you lost in the hurricane power outage.

[feminista]

Hi Chris, boy do I understand eating under pressure...this week is wild: today was a big fundraiser for the Eleanor Roosevelt Center, tomorrow starts with a breakfast wit an old friend and ends with a political desert meeting, Thursday night is one for the battered women's shelter,and Friday & Saturday are my conference, Sunday & Monday we are going to the shore with old friends...so food will be not too SoBe...I will try and eat as reasonably as possible for breakfasts & lunches...and walk a lot! And do more zumba!
Just made some chicken soup from fridays roasted chicken--need to let it cool so I can strain it and add veggies...
Sleep has been a bit better...actually clocked in 5 hours last night...

Have a good week!

[Chris55]

I'm having another whirlwind week, but having fun. I did 5 presentations yesterday, clocked in quite a bit of mileage, and was in bed reading at 8! Things should slow down after this week with meetings in the mornings and the rest of the day spent chasing down all the pledges and paperwork that need to be turned in.

Food has been pitifully bad. I've succumbed to mini Twix bars at work, but have brought some dark chocolate so that at least I'm not eating too much of the caramel and sugar. DS brought home pumpkin raisin bread from his bakery and it's too good to resist. I have been eating fruit, lots of veggies, and not too much cheese. I've been bringing soup for lunch but ended up at a very nice Chinese buffet yesterday and had some fried things that were delicious but obviously not SB. A few more weeks and then I'm hoping I have time to get back exercising and eating better. I start at LLBean on 11/14 unless something better comes along, but I'm not very hopeful at this point. At least they have an exercise room there that I can hit after work and if I bring food from home for my lunch/snacks I should be able to withstand the cafeteria based on my penny pinching tendencies. I just hate to be working to make ends meet and then spend money on cafeteria food.

It's pouring here again, but at least it's still warm - good for the oil bill!