Is Spring Here to Stay?

We have had 3 days of spring weather, beautiful, sunny warm weather. Please, please stay warm, sunny and pleasant. I, for one, have had too much winter.
My Weight Watchers meeting took place this morning. I was hoping to stay the same, but much to my surprise, I was down 2.6 pounds. So, I am only a few pounds away from my goal. Scary for me, especially since I am revisiting my taste for candy. I think that I must have eaten 10 caramel nips yesterday. Bad for me, too much sugar and nasty for my teeth. For quite a while, eating fruit took care of my sweet tooth. Then I stopped eating fruit regularly. Will taking up fruit again help me get rid of the candy cravings? I know that the candy is taking me nowhere good.
Alma, that beautiful dog, is asking to go for a walk. I think that I will take her out to enjoy the spring day.

Good Bye to an Old Friend

Yesterday I said good bye to my friend Vicky. She is moving to Lansing MI to attend law school and be closer to her family. She is happy and sad about moving away from Illinois, since she has lived here for most of her life. We only saw her occasionally since we retired in 2004, but we still had a bond since we had worked together for so long. We had lunch together yesterday, and I am so sorry that I didn't bring my camera so I could take her picture.
She and I worked together since the 1980's at Nichols, and we saw each other and ate lunch together almost every day for years. We worked on two teams together, she taught language arts and reading, and was willing to team up on projects etc as well as working together to deal with kids. She was a good work friend.
Now is there a difference between work friends and outside of work friends? When Vicky and I worked together, we talked every day. Her classroom was next door, and I really missed her when she retired, a few months before I did. After she left, I didn't see her often or talk to her much. I have other work friends that I see much more often, but I didn't have as close a relationship at work with them as I had with Vicky. This is a conundrum. (One of the vocabulary words from my class) So, I really don't have an answer to this at all. Even after giving it some thought, I still don't have an answer. I guess that work friends are work friends, and other friends are your real friends. Something to continue to think about.

Back from Houston Texas.

Houston is about 2 months ahead of Illinois weather wise. All the plants that bloom here in May are in full bloom now. On the down side, the pollen is all over the place, especially all over my son's car. Azaleas, pansies and wax begonias are all flowering now. The temperatures are in the 70's, and the humidity is low. About as good as weather can get.

We were down in Houston for my son David's recital. That was just spectacular. He played so well, he just gets better and better. Rice University has a wonderful recital hall and a great concert hall. We were lucky enough to see David perform in both. The Rice Orchestra played on Friday night, and they are very good. David's recital was on Sunday. My sister-in-law, brother- in-law, niece, nephew and grand niece came from Layfayette LA, for a mini family reunion. We thoroughly enjoyed seeing them.

Houston is a good restaurant town. We managed to eat in a few good places, I will list them for you: Benjy's in Rice Village for Friday night dinner, House of Pies for breakfast, Goodes Barbeque for Saturday night dinner, Carrabba's for Sunday dinner and Kenny and Izzies for Monday breakfast. Not a bad meal at any of them.

We also shopped at Central Market on Westheimer. Why can't we have a place like that in Chicago? Our grocery shopping venues are so mediocre.

The Gerstein, Klepper, Fiest, Melker and Noznick Family Group.

Help me. Jelly beans again.

Why oh why do I walk down the aisles where the jelly beans are located? Tuesday, I had to get a few things at Walgreens, and I saw my very favorites--Jelly Peacock Eggs. So, into my cart and into my house. I have been counting them out and booking them until today. I started to eat them, 10 at a time, and just can't stop. I have been on program since I got back from Houston, so the only good thing that I can say is that these jelly beans are made only once a year. Are they good? Yes, but not that good.

Shoes, shoes, shoes

Every woman loves to buy shoes. Yesterday was a beautiful teaser of spring day. So, off to Nordstrom to buy a pair of casual shoes for spring. I have been checking shoes out for the past few weeks, and to tell the truth, nothing excited me. But yesterday there was a lot of new stuff at Nordstrom's, so I came home with 3 new pairs of shoes! Very cute ones at that. One was a sort of updated gymshoe, one was a nice wedge sandal and the other was an espidrille. I'm set for spring.
Today is a rainy day, no shopping for me.

Unstuck at last.

Today was my WW meeting and I learned that after 4 weeks at the same weight, I am finally unstuck. After following the advice of my WW leader, I are a little more and cut back on the cardio. This seemed to do the trick.
I have lost 35 pounds since I began WW, and have to lose less than 7 pounds to reach goal. I am down 4 sizes in pants, and have lost inches and body fat. So, for the most part, I have stayed with the program, for much longer than I have ever done before. I have managed to control my cravings for candy and salty, crunchy snacks. Emotional eating is still a problem, as is eating out of boredom. My WW leader gave out a card today with the following idea "If hunger isn't the problem, food isn't the answer." This made a lot of sense to me, as I have piled on a lot of pounds eating because I was anxious, upset or bored.

A nice day, a nice surprise

Yesterday I went to the gym and met with my trainer. When I mentioned that I had bought some new slacks in a much smaller size, she suggested that we measure my body fat. So, we did. As some of you might know, I have been stuck at the same weight for 4 weeks. So, the new size pants were a nice surprise, but when I got my measurements, I got another nice surprise. After measuring in 3 different places, I found out that my body fat measurement has gone down quite a bit. I forgot to get the actual percentage, but I have gone from the low end of overweight to the moderate area of normal for my age and height. So, stuck on the scale doesn't always mean no progress. I am almost at goal in my waist measurement, but I still have a big stomach, so I have a ways to go.
Alma, my husband and I took a walk today, since it was the first springlike day this year. We stopped to see a $2.2 million house, which was open for the afternoon. It was quite spectacular, unlike many of the new houses in the area. We walked for about an hour, a nice changefrom going to the gym.

135 posts! I Can't believe I could do it.

This is the 135th time I have sit down at the computer to write this blog. I didn't think that I had the discipline to do this-write on a schedule--albeit a schedule that I made for myself. I have my son to thank, since he was the one who acquainted me with blogs, encouraged me to start one, helped me to set it up, assisted me with problems and linked me to his blog. Thank You, David, you have exceeded my expectations as a son and have made me one proud mother.
On another note, I have been spell checking lately. Much to my surprise, I spelled albeit correctly the first time.

More snow, still winter

If March comes like a lion, it is supposed to go out like a lamb. I certainly hope so, since it is March 7, and we are having another snow storm in the Chicago area. Is this the reward for 6o degrees in December and a mild January? I was thinking of shoveling the snow since we have about 3 inches on the sidewalk, but it is still snowing. I will wait until it stops. The weather prediction is for warmer weather tomorrow and Friday. I'm dreaming of a sunny and mild March!

Still stuck.

This is my second post of the day. I decided not to mix my weight issue with the coyote sighting. So, at my WW meeting, I found that I am stuck for the 4th week in a row. I have followed the program, and have done a lot of exercise this past week. My group leader has said that my body is adjusting. She suggested that I mix up the food. Change what I eat. I like sandwiches, so she said eat salads for lunch instead. Eat eggs for breakfast instead of cereal. I will try this. I am optimistic that I will get off this plateau and make my goal --which is only 9 pounds away--soon.
This is one of my favorite WW quotes.
"Don't sacrifice what you want the most for what you want for the moment."

Predators again

Living where I do, in close in suburbia, seeing animals that are usually associated with the "wilds" is a surprise. A peregrine falcon visited my back yard a few weeks ago. Yesterday I saw the coyote a block from our house. It was at night, and we were driving. It looked like a large dog, actually a little like a German Shepard, and was running on the sidewalk without a person nearby. That let me know that it was no dog. It ran back and forth a few times, and must have been scared by the car lights, so it ran across the street and disappeared. We have plenty of small animals like chipmunks, squirrels, rabbits, possums and birds in the area, which provide food for predators like the coyote. They have developed a bad reputation recently because they are going after small dogs. I think that this animal lives in the neighborhood. He has been seen around, and actually was living under a porch across the street for a short while. And my husband says that living in suburbia is boring.

A Pleasant Surprise

Yesterday I stopped at Target to get a few things, and decided to try on some khaki slacks to get me through early spring. To my surprise, I fit into a size 10. Now this is a size that I haven't seen for over 15 years. I'm taking it, even though the slacks are "relaxed fit." Then I went to Nordstroms to scope out the new fashions. I tried on a few bras and found that I have gone down 2 sizes. Not too bad. Finally, today I stopped into Macy's, again to check out the spring fashions, tried on a few things found that "medium" and "small" fit pretty well. Again, the clothing I tried on was from a manufacturer who sizes generously. So, I am seeing the results of 6 months of sticking to the WW program.

It's about Choice

To bad that we can't choose the weather. Today it is raining, but not too cold, the water is pooling up because the ground is frozen. This is the first day of spring--meteorological spring. We had thunder, lightening, hail and rain last night and this morning. Not too bad for the beginning of a season. Unfortunately, snow is expected later.
Thinking of summer, my son has been accepted again as a Tanglewood Fellow, and will spend the summer in the Berkshires playing wonderful music. Maybe we will travel out there for a concert or two.
I found this poem on a message board on the WW site. It was given out by a WW leader in MI. It has a lot of good ideas for those of you who in the the same boat as I am--trying to lose weight and stuck on a plateau.

"It's not about deprivation. It's about CHOICE.
It's not about dieting. It's about CHOICE.
It's not about denying yourself. It's about CHOICE.
It's not about "making" yourself exercise. It's about CHOICE.
It's not about being "bad". It's about CHOICE.
Food doesn't have volition or will, it can't CHOOSE you.
Food doesn't have moral value. It's not bad or good.
Food is just STUFF, do not fear it.
You are smarter than food.
The glass is not half empty.
The glass is half full.
You always have another CHOICE.
You can CHOOSE to be healthy.
You can CHOOSE to be in control.
You have the tools.

So, what happened to the pound cake? The people in my husband's office are enjoying now, as I write this blog. I chose to plan my food for today and will be in control.