Whatever the weather... we'll weather it.

My goodness, the news and the flooding in many places, but locally, it's the return of the heat to start September.  The first two weeks are slated to have high temperatures in the 90's Fahrenheit.  Ember and I are taking our leash walks in the 7 a.m. hour.

We come home, me drenched in sweat, even though the temperature might be "only" 74F.  Some days a shade less, this past week.  We've actually had a nice cool patch, but it's over now.

Ooh!  Ooh!  Big news... Chris Downie just posted on Facebook the announcement of SparkPeople 2.0 being live, and said we can post our personal invitation links on Facebook or wherever, so here's my invitation to you.

On the Lynda front:  I heard through the Spark-grapevine that some one of the group called her son's restaurant and the person who answered the phone had seen Lynda the day before.  So it just seems she's "offline" as far as the blog is concerned.  That is good news, but I don't know how we'll keep up if she can't post and doesn't get her voicemail.  

That said, Life is good, Ember is taking up the whole couch, and keep on Sparking!

Ember sees the vet

Medicalizing is not just for the humans.

I made an appointment for an assessment of Ember's teeth.  Vet says her teeth are in good shape, but yes, start brushing.  Ok.  Can do.  At least NOW I can do.  Two years ago it was out of the question!

I had brought along the entire collection of things I've spent money on related to dental care. I asked his opinion on each of them.  The powder probably wouldn't do much good. It's supposed to be sprinkled on top of her kibble to whiten her teeth and freshen her breath.  Yeah, I succumbed to another one of those ads.  

A little soft rubber-feeling brush that you put on your fingertip like a thimble.  Vet says this one is the best of them.  Toothpaste is not essential, but if the flavor makes it easier for her to allow her teeth to be brushed, fine, go for it.  It comes in peanut butter flavor.  

The yogurt chews that I give her, one a day, are good, keep doing that.  The little finger tooth wipes (that do not have the brush part) he said would be good if she rejects the brush.  The brush with bristles on a handle, he judged not as good as the fingertip brush.  

Oh, and he says avoid tennis balls and bones.  Others had already warned me about the abrasive nature of tennis balls on the enamel, so I've pretty much abandoned them.  The vet kind of laughed about the bones because I said, "but she loves them."  He said they make him a lot of money when they break teeth.  Nuff said.  No more bones, little one.

There you have it, one vet's opinion.  

The vet also checked Ember's ears, did the cytology and pronounced she has an ear infection.  Again.  This is the third, I think.  He cleaned her ears and applied the first dose of medication.  I have to keep her dry (again) and this time I am going to try to apply the second dose myself at home, next Friday.  Notice I'm getting braver?  Also saving money.  

He gave me kudos for being a good dog mom.  Charged me a bunch of money and sent me home. I like to get that reassurance every so often!  It's a plus that Ember likes the whole staff.

Saturday morning

The back is better.  In case I mentioned it before.  Normalcy has returned.  Ember took me around 1.9 miles this morning.  Partway through the dog-walk, I saw a group of runners headed our way, and the gait and silhouette of one of the leaders looked familiar.  "Is that Eddie?"  I asked Ember, as if she'd know.

Eddie is my old running coach, as in "hills for breakfast, Barb!"  He's now a police officer and runs a club called "Marathon Kids" which encourages running in children.  In the time since I was actively running under his coaching, he has married and is now a dad to a sweet little baby girl!  But he has NOT succumbed to "dad bod" as between his coaching, pace setting, and now profession keep him in tiptop shape.  Now, had he become an accountant, for example, we might be looking at a different story!

As the group approached, a familiar voice accosted me with, "It's the legend herself!"  Well, I'm not a legend, but Eddie could make anyone feel like one!

Even Ember wanted to follow him and his runners for a while.  Her nose took her off that task within about half a block.  

Anyway, the weekend is starting well.  Later today, FGC is going to the Huskers' meet the fans event.  Due to his soccer camp award, he has an invite to actually meet the head football coach.  I will await the reports from "the other side of town".  An almost 8-year-old is way too honest about his opinions.  The Mythical Son says FGC would probably be more interested in meeting the players than the coach.  FGC has already stated he would rather meet the head basketball coach.  But it's football season now!

Life is good!  Keep on Sparking, on or off the new SparkPeople.  (By the way, yesterday I encountered a Sparker on there who lives in France, I think she said.)

Little things and check lists

What is the downstream effect of heading back to "the new Spark"?  It seems as though the AI Sparkcoach has given a non-human encouragement layer to the goal setting and achievement scene that always was at the root of SparkPeople.  But the friendships we gained were all part of encouraging one another in the context of weight loss, health, and fitness.  We're all in the same human boat!

I don't want to knock what's going on over on SparkPeople, it's very useful, and it's bringing back a lot of memories of the original structure that worked so well for me, personally.  

But what makes me tick?  This became the real question as I started learning to navigate the new site.

• Helping others
• Encouraging others
• Sharing ones own experiences

Those are the reasons to blog on a platform like SparkPeople.  Cronometer was missing those.  MyFitnessPal was missing those.  Any other pure tracking tool, from the automated step counters to the sleep measuring watches are missing these.  They are wonderful tools, but they are not integrated with the community in the way that works best for me:  the written word, the personal experiences.  That's why, when Spark shut down five years ago, I shopped for a blogging site. I landed here.

Over the intervening five years, most of the original group of bloggers has fallen away.  A handful of us are left, and our blogs have evolved, mostly into daily or weekly updates on "life" and how it's going.  We don't have the access to newbies, or the need to share a bunch of motivational material.  We still share encouragement, and good wishes, and prayers (if we're so inclined), but many are in maintenance or have moved on.  We know what to do, and we go about the business of doing it.  We share what's working and what's not.

What are we missing?  Immigrants!  Seriously, folks new to the process who may need a little hand-holding and personal encouragement!

So, here I am, writing not just a Spark Blog over on the new Spark2, but continuing to blog here, and trying to figure out what's going on in my own head... because that's where all the motivation really happens!

In real life:

I made an appointment at the vet for Friday to have them look at Ember's teeth and help determine whether it's time to start down the path of dental cleanings.  I have never brushed her teeth.  When she was a puppy those razor sharp puppy teeth were giving me too much trouble with bitey behavior.  I only started conditioning her to allow me to brush her coat regularly about six months ago.  

Last week I got one of the doggy toothbrushes out and started the process of conditioning her to let me do things with her now adult teeth.  The vet is running a hundred dollars off an annual cleaning this month, so... tomorrow we'll find out if it is appropriate!

Across town, got notification that my son has signed up to be a head coach for FGC's soccer team!  Wow!  You know, I never would have thought I would raise the kind of kid who would do this.  Blame the army.  I tried doing things of this sort when I was younger (as in 20's) and discovered it way outspends my own social energy budget!  He's good at this stuff, mind you.  I'm not.  I do my best encouragement behind a keyboard!  LOL!

Anyway, life continues to be good.  Keep on Sparkin', on or off the platform so named!

The non-Spark news

Somebody feels totally safe!

Ember was deprived of her leash walk on Wednesday because of her hu-mom feeling her age.  I woke with a screaming lower back, pondering "what on earth did I even do yesterday?"

About mid-day it dawned on me:  stooping and staying stooped, bouncing a bit as I picked up plastic bottles or metal cans to lift from my own bin into the big bins at the recycling center.  It's that bouncing in the stooped position that's dangerous!  That, and stretching in funny directions while weeding.

Anyway, by evening it has calmed down.  I wanted to keep my 10 minutes streak going over on Spark, so I brought a pair of dumbbells upstairs and did some upper body weights and gentle squats and lunges.  Ember got three car rides over the course of the day to make up for me being reluctant to make my sore back worse if she got distracted on leash!  

I wanted to reward her for being so patient with me.  We went to the coffee drive-thru in the morning.  After her first puppy nap, since it was cool enough for her to stay in the car, we went together to the grocery store.  At lunch time she rode with me to the election commissioner's office to drop off my request for an early ballot.

As for Spark, it is a time of transition again.  Five years ago, it was transitioning off Spark and into our various "life rafts".  None of the life rafts were complete, but we have kept along, haven't we?

Now there's the potential of re-transition back to Spark.  But several of us may be leery.  How much can we trust it?  I mean, it went away before... will it go away again?  What if our friends don't come back to Spark?  Remind anyone else of changing school years?  

I'm gearing up for a time of checking multiple places.  Which I was sort of doing already, between blogs here and the maintenance team's Google group and some Facebook groups.

Whether you come over to the new Spark 2 or not, keep on using what you learned from Spark 1... because Life is Good when you do!

Back on Spark!

 

We have really enjoyed the cooler morning walks the past four days.  Ember has taken me round several different loops in the neighborhood.  We have showed off our good manners in giving other dogs and people room, and for the most part avoiding the worst of our enthusiastic greetings, thanks to a mom braced for it and watching the signs.  And holding tight to the leash those few times.

We went nose to nose in greeting with a rescue puppy, 3 months old, saved from Texas by the Beatrice, NE humane society, and adopted by a neighbor.  So cute.  So smart.  We ended the greeting about the time Ember went into a total tail wagging play bow, and I'm sure they would have enjoyed playing, but on the leash is NOT the time for that kind of play.  Gradually, my girl has learned to accept this, but I still have to be watchful.

Besides, a 3-month-old puppy is already a handful for my neighbor, she doesn't need my girl regressing and teaching bad habits to the new puppy when her hu-mom is doing so well!

I got into the new SparkPeople.  Wow!  Have to get myself to bed now, but I can feel the old pull.  It's been rearranged a bit, but I've already found Gloria from the FB group (I think she might be Canadian?)

Tuesday morning, I slept until after 5.  Ember was probably frustrated with me as I was paying attention to Spark stuff, trying to learn my way around the new AI-driven platform before she went to day care.  If anybody wants an invite, I have them.  If I have your e-mail I can send it directly.  I know at least a couple of you are already on it, and I've already put up my first blog over there.  I am now using OKM, instead of the longer version, as my display name.

Ember is now off to day care and I have to avoid getting sucked into an online black hole, because household tasks need attention while she's gone!

I survived my first day on the new Spark, have found a few folks that were in various "life raft" communities, and am slowly re-connecting over there.  I have discovered that international users ARE on the new Spark.  Canadian and UK users located so far.  I figured out what passes for a SparkPage (my Spark) and joined a few user groups, including Sparking with Dogs!

I'll keep on blogging here for a while, just to leave the breadcrumbs if I shift over there.  Also, my Archives from SparkPeople 1.0 of selected saved blogs live on this account.

Life is good.  Spark on!

Woo-Hoo! Lynda is back on blog!

 Collection of snippets from the week between blogs

It was about 2:30 a.m. when the rumbles woke me Tuesday morning (July 28th).  Percussive shakes, I could feel in the timbers of the house.  I flipped on the local TV station, and they didn't have the weather coverage up just yet. By 3, they had a meteorologist in tracking and running the graphics of "Severe Thunderstorm Warning" radar.  It rolled on past our community in about half an hour and I fell back to sleep.  By the time I got up and checked a little after 6, only one deck chair had been overturned by the wind, and it was out in the far-back yard.  Ember was not enthusiastic about going outside right at first but warmed up to the thought when she found out it was 8 degrees cooler than the prior morning!

The indoors was a wreck, born of four days of the heat wave.  When the doggo doesn't want to be outside, she still needs to have mental exercise, and it may have seemed like a whole boxload of toys spilled onto the floor in the x-pen, it wasn't anywhere near her entire supply.  After dropping her at daycare Tuesday morning, I picked up and vacuumed, as usual.  

Wednesday morning the forecast said 80% chance of rain, locally, in the 8 a.m. hour.  The kids and my co-inlaws across town got it, my son got it briefly at his workplace, I got nothing here but a few drops of mist hanging in the air.  All in the same city.  I guess this is what you call "scattered showers".

My bug guys showed up and are doing the outside treatment.  Ember's napping in her crate.  I'm not having them treat inside the house.

Working at cleaning up the storage on my phone.  I've had this phone for several years and I have not good about digital "clean up".  I take photos, I take videos, I used some of them to share, I download some from DIL, etc.  And eventually I get a message that I'm over my storage limit at Amazon photos for videos, etc.  So I searched for help and started clearing some out!

Thursday I was having a "low energy" day, but I made myself feel better by vacuuming out my bedroom and shoving some clutter away.  I indulged in a trip to the library where I checked out a couple more of "The Cat That..." mysteries.  And I took a brief nap after that.  I also puttered with a bit of weeding of the rock bed on the South side of the house since it was "cooler" than it had been over that weekend!

Meanwhile, across town at soccer camp, the foster grandson got an award.  " Jacob Bartlett Sportsmanship Award for showing Team First, Work Ethic, Intelligence and Winning Mentality "

It is a professional team Jersey from the sponsoring Kansas City pro soccer team, signed by the players.  "The kids" (meaning my son and his wife) framing it so FGC can hang it on his bedroom wall.  Quite the honor, and it shows his progress in the nearly two years (in September) he's been with my son and DIL.  You can bet the whole family are busting our buttons over this not-quite 8-year-old kiddo's accomplishments.

I stopped the accumulation of snippets here, because I posted about the day at the fair on Saturday, but... after responding to several comments on that blog, I tripped over Lynda's Sunday morning blog!  She's ba-ack!  And working on her issues, but able to post words at least.

Life's REALLY good!  Spark on!

The heat wave returns.

 

It's hot outside, folks.  Sunday morning the 26th, 79℉ already!

The Prisoner has his fur fluffed up, to cool himself.

A cooling pad is a good idea, here, mom!

Ember kept her outside trips short today and I did not take her on leash in the neighborhood.

About Ember's supper time, my phone rang with an unfamiliar number, and it turned out to be our old friend Lynda (LEANJEAN6)... I promised I'd say hi for her as she's having issues updating her own blog at this point.

Her daughter is visiting and I hope she's able to help with the computer issues as I tried and was unable to resolve it over the phone with my old "help desk" suggestions.

Reminds me of my own recent printer issues where the "help" points to something that you were asking for help with!

Life is good.  We are keeping cool inside.  Keep Sparking!

Happy Birthday

 

This weekend

The birthday boy opens the card and discovers that his in-laws have given him a gift certificate to the restaurant at which we are celebrating his birthday dinner.  Best smile I've seen on him in a while... down to the crinkly eyes!  He quipped, "Oh, for when I steal the check!"  Which of course he did, as he is notorious for doing.

My co-mum-in-law made it clear to the server at another family outing that the bill was to come to her, but my son snuck off and paid it before it got sent out.  It makes him feel good to be a provider!

We got around it this time by giving him money to pay the bill!  Co-in-laws with a gift certificate, me with a check.  Families have to have those inside jokes, don't we?

Ten Years ago

When you have saved stuff online on Facebook, every so often it reminds you of what you were doing "10 years ago".  I'm going to share this one because it shows that once upon a time I did crazy things!

On my son's birthday, 10 years ago, I was pedaling up a hill talking "hands free" to wish him a happy birthday.  This was during a 50 mile bike ride, which is the longest I ever did.

Sunday has been a peaceful "catch up" kind of day.  It's good and hot outside, so Ember and I went for our neighborhood walk in the morning.  It was still 81℉ by the time we got home.  We went on our coffee run.  When she crated herself for a puppy nap, I came upstairs to shower.

I went down and made my breakfast, then stretched out for a nap on the couch.  When Ember and I got up, we went on a ride to get her doggy treats from the store where she's allowed inside.  First time we've been there when another canine was in the store and she did well.  She did shy back when a nice couple wanted to pet her, but they were experienced dog people and politely gave her space to recover from the startle of a stranger approaching.  She happily downed the dog biscuits the clerk offered.  The clerk had remembered Ember's name!  This trip to the "candy store" has become a routine thing, and she knows what is expected.

We stopped and split a little ice cream cone at the DQ on the way home.  Ember has had a good day.  After she had her supper, she bedded down in her crate for her nap before "last call" and I went to the grocery store before coming upstairs to pay bills.  An accomplished day... still to do, laundry sorting and putting away, which I've been putting off for three days.  Still in their baskets!

Monday July 20th

Forecast to be the hottest day of the year, so far.  Supposed to top the century mark, Fahrenheit.  Ember and I went walking in the morning, when it was already nearly 80 when we started.  She was a very good girl as we were not alone starting early!  We did our coffee run, then during puppy nap #1, I got my shower.  This appears to be the routine for hot days.

Tuesday July 21st

I woke to thunder and rain on the roof.  Ember was very happy to head off to day care.  Since I haven't shoveled out (vacuumed) her x-pen in a full week, I'm happy to have her occupied and no appointments for me, so I can clear it out!

Why does it feel so much better when the room has been cleaned?

Also on Tuesday, went for a haircut.  

Wednesday July 22nd

Mr. Weather man tells me that we will have three relatively cool days in a row, and Wednesday was the first.  Starting with the weekend we'll have another week of "above average" temperatures.  

Taking advantage of the cool, Ember and I went out at about 7:15 Wednesday morning and had a nice mile and a half sniffing adventure.  No big arguments about other people's yards or dead things to roll in, and she was proactive about crossing to the other side of the street and even about giving me a pretty polite sit to wait for cars and people to decide their routes before we chose ours.  

However, two blocks from home, she found a second breakfast, left on the front lawn of somebody else's house.  Looks like maybe another dog didn't digest but regurgitated.  Sigh.  But my little gal decided it was now hers, and there was no convincing her otherwise.

Consequently, I am on watch for any unusual "output" again.  We got home before any predicted showers and went on a coffee run before Ember decided a crate nap was just the ticket, and I came upstairs to update the blog.

Thursday the 23rd

Stapled the underpinnings of the couch fresh.  Ember had started "worrying" at the fraying parts again.  Sigh.  I told her "no" and she stopped, and more and more I'm able to remind her of what's a no-no.  She doesn't go out of her mind like she did as a young pup, but she still uses the no-no activity to get her hu-mom's attention!

I vacuumed out the x-pen, got some recreational reading in, and even took a nap before getting the trash together to put out for Friday morning's collection.  Despite it being one of the cooler days in the forecast, it was humid, and I was sweating for sure.

Friday the 24th

It's raining as I type this!  Ember and I went out at 8 a.m. when it was "on a break".  Did we get rained on?  Lightly.  As in a Summer morning gentle mist, with temperatures in the upper 60's F.  It was lovely!  

Oh, and the output I was watching for since Wednesday morning... yep, we've had soft poos for a couple of days.  "See?" I tell the dog, "This is what happens when you eat stuff you find in other people's yards!"  She just grins up at me, as if to say "Worth it!"

Ember's theme is the same as MOBYCARP's:  Life is Good.

I "borrowed" this from Chris Downie's Facebook page.  He was hinting at a SparkPeople reboot, with AI trainers, no less.  I put myself on the waitlist, but if you look at this image closely, you'll see BROOKLYNBORN, LEANJEAN6, and MOBYCARP, among others.  Gives a body a tidal wave of nostalgia, doesn't it?

Spark on!

Live in the body you are given

I remember several times blogging over on Spark about only ever being issued one body, so we have to take care of it, be kind to it, etc.  As we age, this becomes even more important, doesn't it?  As we accumulate (or discover) the weak bits and challenges, we seek ways to live in the body we were issued.

Just now, I'm dealing with finding the way to "live in" the body as it is.  I have another appointment with the doc in Omaha the end of April.  Between now and then, it is what it is.  The experiment of one continues, next chapter.

In this chapter, we are trying things, related to the "leaking" issue :

1.  Does the workout with the trainer (now at once a week) help or hurt the condition I'm "living with"?  Based on this week's trainer workout, it seems that lunges and crunches make it worse.  My current plan is to discuss this with the trainer next week and maybe do less of those.  I think it may have something to do with my pelvic tilt (or lack thereof), and that might be correctable with the right kind of exercise?

2. What about dietary things?  During the time period I was without a weigh-in scale (three days), I was extra careful about the quantity of food I was consuming.  This seemed to help.  Plan is always to exhibit more care about what I'm taking in.  Cronometer, you're up!

I keep having lapses where the dietary issues are concerned, and the scale keeps creeping up.  I was super careful while no scale was keeping tabs, and it dropped a bit, but the very next day, ate badly.  There's a part of me that says, "You've lived your Biblical 3 score and ten, why not enjoy a few things?"  Then of course, there is the bodily price one pays for having "enjoyed" those few things.  As the old folk song says, "When will they ever learn?"

Life is good.  Working at continuing the Spark!

Day 26 - Today I am thankful...

 I told the Facebook world that I'm grateful for dreams today.

Dreams are the part of sleep that tries to resolve things and solve life's problems.  Last night (early this morning) I dreamed that I worked at Disney World.  I was new to the job and trying to "fix" a plumbing issue.  But I was lost.  I kept getting stuck at dead ends in a maze.  The layout looked amazingly similar to a mall I frequented in my childhood and teen years.  At places where there was more than one path to choose, I had trouble picking which way would take me back to my car, where I assume my tools were stored, or to the swimming pool, which apparently was where the problem needed to be fixed.  It was a doozy.  I woke up before solving the problem, as is often the case.

Keep Sparking!

Speaking of sparking, my "alarm weight" the lower limit, the one at which I go into panic mode of "I have to gain a couple of pounds here, for insurance" appears to have ticked up 10 pounds in the past ten years.  When I was actively running in endurance events, I would panic when the scale dipped to 113.  Now I seem to do so at 123.

As a consequence, I have a quart of Egg Nog in my fridge, and a pound of butter in anticipation of baking.  It's hard to bake with a dog in the house, but Thanksgiving is coming, and they expect my pumpkin pie to be available.

Holidays, something to look forward to!

Life is good.

A People Post! A SPARKPeople post!

 

I had traveled East many moons ago and a Spark friend that many of you may know from those days drove up to Boston from her home just to meet in person.  Oh, what times we had on those trips (two of them).

Well, she's on the road again, and this time, she's trying to fill in the blank spaces on her US map, and my kid sis Alicia and I happen to live in one of those blank spaces.  So, here we are, the three Spark refugees, having an old-fashioned Spark meet!

Left to right, that's ALICIA363, ONEKIDSMOM, and OVERWORKEDJANET, from the old screen names days!  We had a lovely luncheon before Janet had to get back on the road.

A Boston marathon weekend memory photo just for grins and giggles.  This was the 2019 version.  Left to right, that is MOBYCARP, ONEKIDSMOM, and OVERWORKEDJANET.

Another fun shot from the Boston adventure, when the girls went out playing... we found a set of teeter-totters that made tonal music.  I was on the other end of this particular see-saw!  This was the 2018 version, also known as "the year of the monsoon"!

Oh, look!  Here's one from the 2016 Spark meet... Janet and I are in the front, the other two are Lauren and Janis, in the back.  Now here's one of the kickers... I don't remember Lauren or Janis's spark names, but I'm still facebook friends with both of them.

It is amazing to me how many life-long friendships were "sparked" by that website, and I know I'm not the only one who misses that venue.  But somehow, in little knots of friends, many of us have stayed connected on other online platforms.

A very satisfying day, I would say, and it is my hope that Janet's traveling party continued their journey with as many good feelings as they left Alicia and me with!

Life is Good.  Spark on!

New pan and old tradition

 

Anybody remember the old Spark blogs, "While the steel cut oats simmer"?  I used to simmer steel cut oats on the stovetop every morning before work.  While they simmered, I would write my blog.

Sunday when I got home from the movies, the Amazon app informed me that the pans I ordered were "10 stops away" from being delivered.  I misread it as "10 steps" and went hunting for the box, but it wasn't there.  Of course not!

Soon, though, I looked again, and saw the word was "stops", and the number was decreasing, and before long, it was here.  I opened it, and decided to put them to the test this morning.  These non-stick surface pans have me pulling out the wooden spoons to stir the oats Monday morning, and I'm giving the pan the big test for non-stickiness, with those steel cut bits of oat.

The pans came complete with see-through lids.  I got two of them, this being the smaller 1-quart version.  I also got a little 8 inch granite frying pan for my eggs.

Between the new knobs on the stove, and now three new pans replacing old ones, gee, it's kind of like Christmas all over again.

Back in the day, I did series blogs about the journey to good health and weight loss:  "alphabet blogs" about living in general.  Wonder if that would be a good idea to re-institute, writing on a theme, with a purpose of motivation and self-reflection.

Only one more delivery left to come.  My t-shirt quilt!  The package tracker says it is due today, and with that, everything I ordered will be here!

An updated weight history, with context

At the height of my "racing" career, I tipped the scale somewhere around 115 pounds.  I scared myself when it would drop below that.

After the great fall and concussion, late in 2016, I regained 20 pounds during 2017.

I shaved 10 of those off in 2018, which was the year of my last half marathon.  It was also the first year of my retirement.  It was the year I drove out to Corning, NY to surprise my brother who was running the full marathon to my half in September.  He ran his personal best marathon that day, and it was the last marathon he would run in his lifetime.  

I ran one more half marathon after that (or rather ran/walked it), in 2019.  Only a couple of months later, my brother died.  I proceeded to pile on about 30 pounds between then and the end of the year.  Scary.

In 2020, the first year of the pandemic, I pretty much stabilized about 5 pounds under that peak.

In 2021, the year that Spark went away?  I had a good couple of months of going into survival mode, and dropped about 15 pounds, but burnt out and it started coming back, ending up by year end about where I was at the end of 2020.

In 2022, I danced with the devil, and the weight crept up another five pounds, then started working on the next five... until on Halloween, I started the Intermittent Fasting experiment.  I told myself it was because of the tummy troubles (I even bought some antacids).  I managed my expectations about weight.  But seriously, here I was in October topping 160, peaking at 163.  This really was not acceptable!

I closed 2022 at 145, which I had stated as my goal weight when I started IF.  I continued with IF through January, as my body has adapted to this new "set point".  If I remained at this weight for the rest of my natural life, I think I'd be OK with it.  I think I'll be fine with whatever dress I fit into for my son's Wedding, this coming April.

But (and there's always a but), I don't intend to give up this way of eating.  It feels good.  And as the sign on my fridge says:  Feeling Good is Goal #1.

Let's get on with life, then.  Because Life is Good.

Spark on!

💖✨🔥

 

Time to connect to others

 

As the holiday season is here, thoughts turn to friends and family, don't they?  Is it time we reconnected with fellow Spark refugees, too?

I know I follow a few blogs, and several with whom I connect follow others.  Our life rafts are drifting apart, perhaps?

In any case, I'm dedicating this entry to links to the blogs of those I follow, in case anybody who meanders by mine can spot someone they miss and would like to send a "holiday greeting" to them, in the form of a blog comment, or whatever.

The photo today is a memory shot, inspired by speded2Jeanne's blog yesterday.  She discusses in her blog the history of Advent.  Three of the ornaments in the photo were advent presents from my mom to my son, when he was a toddler.  The tiny packages were to be opened one a day leading up to Christmas.

Jeanne has just recently moved over here to Blogger with her thoughts.  Some of you may remember her from My Fitness Pal, beyond the Spark demise.

A few of the regular bloggers preferred WordPress and may or may not be posting really regularly.  SelfhelpSunday was only posting once a month, and there are a few months that got skipped entirely.  For those of you who might want to follow WordPress blogs, there is a feature on most of them that allow you to sign up to get e-mails when they post.

Another former Sparker on Wordpress is tmzee22, who blogs as Wherever My Heart Lead Me.  She just posted some great thoughts on finding the right path this morning.

Right here on Blogger, I'm sure many of you already follow Lynda, who went by LeanJean6 over on Spark.  And Paula, who was ADivaGlows on Spark.  Both of them blog almost daily, and you can find links to their blogs and others that I follow off to the right of the blog text on my pages, under "My Blog List".  

Anybody remember endurovet from Spark?  She's blogging, too, but I relatively recently re-found her blog.  Warning, there's a delay from when you publish your comment to when it pops up publicly.  She must have it set to review before posting or something.  But it was good to see her adventures, too.

Anyway, I wanted to give a shout out to all these folks, who help keep me going when they post.  Others are over on the Google Maintenance Group threads.  I don't get over there very often, but there is quite a little community.  They do some daily check ins.  There are also a few Facebook groups, I am part of Sparking Seniors and Friends private group over there.

Hope you have contacts of your own to keep up the spirits as we approach the holidays and the winter hibernation season.  We all need hope and kindness!  Spread it far and wide.

Life is good.  Keep Sparking!

🔥🎄💖

The cold front has come through

 

When the cold front blows through, and the temperature drops by leaps and bounds, and a bit of rain falls because it's not as cold as it will be later, it smells so wonderful outside!

As if in a call and response, the ghost of winters past rises up in my breast and I begin to cook warming comfort foods.

Today's offering is something I would never have encountered as a kid.  Sliced potatoes layered with diced onions and pepper, a few mushrooms tossed in for good measure, topped with a chicken breast dry spiced for flavor and sealed with a can of cream of "you pick it" soup.  Into the little crock pot it goes, set to high for the first hour, and turn to low and simmer for however long it takes to become supper.

Meanwhile, the cats had trouble deciding whether I would be able to pull off opening the door into Summer for them.  I was not.  They have now settled for some indoor time.

I have one of those schmaltzy Christmas movies on in the background, listening more than watching, as I do.  The scene out the bay window is one of misty gray.  What a difference a day makes!

Gratitude is easy when you are warm and dry, my mind thinks.

My walk-sharing sister shared with her daughter's hubby about my basketball spectator habits.  This has its roots in the 1970's.  I used to take my kid sisters to watch the Nebraska High School Girls' state tournaments.  They were brand new, and I wanted to be sure women's athletics was supported enough and we would not lose the opportunities that my generation fought so hard to get.

After I had tucked into bed last night, I heard my phone chirp across the room and ignored it.  The first time I woke up again, I made a quick trip to the bathroom and checked the phone.  My nephew in law had messaged me to ask if I might want to go to a women's BB game sometime.  Aren't young people awesome?  Of course I would!  We shall see what comes of this, but it's wonderful that he asked.

Here's wishing all my fellow Spark refugees a wonderful Thursday, taking care of ourselves, body, mind and spirit!

Life is good.  Spark on!
🔥💖🦃

Cat Carriers

With Rubia scheduled for surgery on the 16th, I decided I had time to "up my game" in cat carriers.  I'd been using the one I brought Cyndi home in, back in 2004, I think it was.  I know it was while Diamond was still pretty spry.  

Cyndi's hu-mom passed away.  A friend of mine at work had promised to take care of this gal's cat, but she already had the city's limit of cats in a home without a kennel license!  My friend looked for someone to take in the geriatric cat.  Someone else had done that favor for us when my Dad passed in 1999, when none of his local kids was in a position to take in Mindy.  I raised my hand, and went to meet Cyndi at the vet's office.

Cyndi came home in a green waxed cardboard carrier.  The one in the photo.  We put the carrier (cat still inside) down for the dog to sniff, and after a bit we moved Cyndi into the Master Bedroom.  There she remained, with the dog banished from that room.  Her litter box was placed in the attached half bath, so she was safe when the humans were off at their various school/work places.

Cyndi was already an old cat (18); she didn't last long.  But the green cardboard carrier has been in use ever since.  It's been used for three more cats, now.  I know, I know, the crazy cat ladies in the crowd are going to tell me I should have a separate carrier for each cat, but I only ever took one of them to the vet at a time, and they live in the same house, anyway!

With Rubia about to go in for surgery, I got this soft spot in my heart for her and ordered a fleece-lined "travel" carrier for her next trip.  

The new carrier arrived on my porch Sunday morning along with some treats and toys for Carl (a couple of them might just get wrapped for Christmas).  It is now sitting out for both kitties to investigate at will until such time as I need to bundle her into it.

Speaking of Rubia, I snapped a photo of the lump they will be removing.  They shaved it when they had her in the clinic a week ago last Friday, and it is starting to re-grow fur.  It's on her mammary area, and she's spayed.  

It looks different depending on the angle you catch, but it is soft and has multiple lobes.  It seems to have grown since her annual physical last Summer.

From one angle

From a different angle

She doesn't complain if my hand is on it when I lift her.  And she's a feisty little thing; if it were hurting her, she would tell me about it.  

Monday's sunrise came earlier, thanks to Standard time.  I didn't catch a photo of it Sunday, but I did on Monday!  That's my neighbor's tree, framing the glory.  

My trainer is off to be educated himself.  He messaged me last night that he would not be able to keep his appointments this morning.  I substituted a short walk, and at 41℉ it felt cold, even in my Winter coat.  At least until I changed direction and the wind and sun were both on my back.  Then it was great.  Still working on that acclimation to a new season.  

Today's kitchen/pantry task, given I'm cleaning up my act to be successful at the IF game, was checking to make sure I have "just enough" sugar and flour to make ONE Thanksgiving pie.  I am assuming I'll be asked to bring one for the family gather.  I want to avoid bringing excess ingredients into the house.

I have been at this latest "experiment" for a week.  This is my 8th day.  

Some things I have observed, in looking around:  

1. Many people in the support group are trying this but still in a very "food tracking" / "dieting" mind set.  This tool doesn't track amounts or specifics in the meal tracker.  It's more interested in the big picture of nutrition:  are you eating protein often enough?  Are you limiting your carbs and dairy?  And it does not enforce any of these choices.  It just makes "suggestions for your next meal".  As in "try to increase your fruits and vegetables today" or "try to increase your non-dairy protein".
2. There is some debate about "clean" versus "dirty" fasting.  Clean means nothing sweet or with any calories.  Dirty implies you allow yourself no-sugar sweeteners.  Clean is really more about health.  Dirty still works for weight loss.  So I started out making my overnight fast "clean", and allowing the artificial sweeteners during my eating window.  This week I'm trying to reduce those, except at an actual time-spaced meal.
3. The app is truly not very intuitive for those of us accustomed to things like Spark, MFP, or Cronometer.  Cronometer comes closest, as it *does* support a fast timer in the paid app.

All of this has led me to contemplate:  what is it I am looking for this to do for me?

• I am looking for it to be a bridge to the holy grail of "intuitive eating".  I have seen others make this transition in the old Spark world.  I have seen them try and succeed, and try and fall back, too.  We shall see which group I land in.
• I am also starting to avoid certain foods which were giving me troubles, digestively.  For example, I had started to notice getting uncomfortable after eating a banana in the past couple of months.  I haven't bought them for the past week.  I have also felt not so great when I've taken on too much flour/sugar/bread... that more a "limit" than an eliminate.  So that would imply a health goal.
• I noticed that I had not been drinking my full allotment of water. It had just gradually fallen off when I was eating more food. Drinking my water is part of this new re-start, too.
• I also had become less active, starting during the pandemic, and it's time to ramp that up.  I am happier when I'm active!
• While my primary goal might not be weight loss, I have to admit that the pants getting tighter was a nudge in the direction of cleaning up my act.  The scale had been creeping up and in September and October it was starting to trot, and threatening to gallop... in the wrong direction.  

Since I've been "working on" my tendency to eat compulsively / gain weight over many decades, and I've tried MANY different systems and products.  I do recognize many core truths about body/self/health/my own psychology.  

One isn't ready to do this until one is ready.  Once one is ready, one can simply feel confident and build upon lessons already learned.  

Just because you've stopped balancing your checkbook for a month or two doesn't mean you've forgotten how... same is true of healthy eating.  Just because you went wild on a cruise or ate your way through a bout of grief doesn't mean you don't care and can't pick up again.  In my case, I tend to enjoy looking at something new and seeing how it fits in to what I already know.

BINGO!  I might just be ready to take this on.  The key now is to keep it simple, and take those baby steps along the way.

Here's hoping those of you who are still looking, waiting for the right time in YOUR lives to pick it up again find that time and method that is right for YOU.  And sorry for spilling this all out on you.  But I guess it's just me, Sparking on, without the website.

Life is good.

🔥✨💖🦃

Autumn is good soup weather

This week I made a huge pot of beef and veggy soup.  I know, it didn't match the weather when I started it, but it definitely will match the next couple of days, and I still have a good amount left.  It always looks good when it's just starting to warm up, but tastes even better after a couple of days.

It is rainy, gray, and chilly outside this morning.  The phone said it was 35℉ when I headed out to take advantage of a coupon for 40 cents off per gallon of gasoline... if you bought $40 worth of groceries, today only.  

I had been worrying about whether my Winter coat would zip up, as the weight had been creeping up over the Summer and Fall, actually, if I'm honest, over the whole past year.  But on Monday I started "futzing" with Intermittent Fasting again.  While the scale has not magically dropped a whole bunch, the coat zipped this morning, and that's a plus!

Fasting report:  

I've tried "loosely" following fasting tracking in the past.  Soon after Spark announced its shutdown, I ended up trying out Cronometer, the paid version, to get the fast tracker.  I signed up for a year, and by the time that year was up, I had burnt out on tracking (again).  Too many details.  A couple of times since, I started trying the "free" version of Cronometer, which does NOT track fasting hours, but does track all the nutrition stuff.  I only made it through a few days each time I tried.

Also over the past year, I checked out Noom, and decided it was not for me.  I'd already "dropped out" of My Fitness Pal, and the SparkPeople replacement, PeopleOne.  

I had toyed with the ads for Jenny and Nutrisystem, but don't really care to do THAT again.  I always seem to need a new toy... uh... tool... to fuel my motivation when it's re-start time.  I guess I was ripe for the picking when an ad popped up on my Facebook feed for something called "Simple".  It is NOT a complete nutrition kind of tracker.  It is a fast timer / calculator.  I mentioned in a blog a couple of days ago what it does track.  I said "no" to paying for a trial or paying full price, and they came back with a discounted price that eventually was acceptable to me.

Since then, I've joined the Facebook group that uses this tracker.  I have NOT gone headfirst into books and literature.  I really do want this to be Simple.  So I have successfully fasted 14 hours or more for five nights (started Sunday to Monday).  I am gradually picking up tips about "clean" versus "dirty" fasting, and I'm experimenting.  They push tips at you, every day, in the form of little slide shows (on the app, which is a smart phone thing, not web).

Anyway, that's where I am with the continuation of the journey that Spark supported for so many years so well.  I hope you're all in a happy place with this aspect of a healthy life!  Let me know in the comments where you have landed, post-Spark.  I don't talk about this so much in the blog, but maybe it's time for an accountability re-start!

Rubia update:

They got back to me with the estimate for her surgery, and it's one of those things.  How much do you value the life of your pet?  Well, apparently, I value her life and quality of her life more than I do the next home improvement plans.  I ok'd the outrageous $$$$ amount of the estimate and left it on the schedule for November 16th.  She will have to be kept fasting overnight before, and I'll drop her off that morning.  She will have to stay overnight, at least one night.

Jury duty update:

I'm impressed.  I got an e-mail from the court yesterday afternoon.  It tells me to report a week from Monday.  Now it's a wait and see whether something causes a delay or cancellation of that duty.  It should not interfere with Rubia's surgery, because I can drop her off as early as 7 a.m. and pick her up as late as 6 p.m. The courthouse hours are well within that time frame.

My trainer will be out of town next week, starting on my usual workout day.  But the fact that I won't have to report for jury duty until a week from Monday allows me to be squeezed in on Monday, before he leaves town.

Life is good.  Spark on!

🔥💖🦃

4th of July weekend with a dog who isn't a fan of BOOM!

 When I had Diamond, the booms didn't bother her.  Apparently, this is not the case with Carl.  He paces the house and is nervous and whiny.  Unfortunately, my son and his lady live within walking distance of the lake where the big fireworks display is hosted.  Tonight.

So, besides having some calming treats for him (valerian root, ginseng and a little bit of some other stuff)... they opted to make sure he had some postivie time in nature this morning.  They "dropped a pin" (this is a GPS thing that the next generation is very comfortable with) for the kayak launch spot, and we took three cars:  mine, her folks, and son's "new truck" with the kayaks and Carl on board.

We set up camp amidst a grove of trees, on the shore.  If this is sounding familiar, yes, we did something very similar for Father's Day 2021.

It was cool and cloudy, so my co-MIL-to-be and I kind of huddled in beach towels in our bag chairs while the kids headed out in the boats.

But Carl wasn't happy being left behind, so I didn't stay in the chair.  Up and hike with him, check out all the smells available on a lakeshore!

After the kids got back, it was time for Carl to get a kayak lesson.  They have been wanting to get him acclimated to this activity, and it resulted in... well... shall we say some level of success?

First we got him into the kayak alone, and he felt the unbalance, and treated it a little like a surfboard.  Then he got into the kayak with his favorite person in the world, but refused to lay down in the boat.

The result was that "dad" got dunked.

So the next step, which was a big mistake, was Grandma (me) getting in the other kayak and the two boats with his dad figuring out how to paddle with Carl still standing, for a little while.

He was OK until he noticed Grandma was there, and he wanted to come see me.  He sprang out, ignoring his Dad's commands not to do so, and swam for grandma's boat.  Once Grandma bumped into him with the orange kayak, he decided to swim to Lacey on the shore, instead.

The end result was the same, his dad was swim-towing the blue kayak, white hull up, back to the boat ramp.

So, they sent Grandma off on her own, while they did a non-distracted Carl short loop where they got him to stay in the kayak without jumping off, out, around in a small circle, and back.

Then Lacey took over the blue kayak and came and joined me on the water, and we went around a long island, following a mama duck and her three adolescent juveniles.  After we got back, Lacey and her mom went out on another lobe of the lake.  I captured a video of them, paddling in synch, mom and daughter, and posted it as a FB story.

For the parting hugs before we split off in our three vehicles to return to our homes... well, somebody had to insert himself in between each pair of people... here's Lacey hugging her mom good-bye.  With Carl mooching extra pets.  I'd say he had a fine outing for his Holiday.

For the humans, too, it was a lovely way to spend a Sunday July 3rd morning.  

But BE CAREFUL out there on the road.  We passed by an accident with emergency vehicles on the way home.  It wasn't any of us, and I waved so long to the kids as they turned left and I went straight at a traffic light.  Quick prayer for those involved, and pay attention to driving... no rubber-necking!

I came home to find the neighbor kid had mowed my grass, including the back part where the fence was put in.  Baby clover is safe.  

Here's hoping all my fellow Spark refugees are having a safe and sane Holiday weekend, if you're in the US!  Take care to treat your body, mind, and spirit well, remember to breathe, hydrate, and rest!

Life is good.  Spark on!