Marsia's Diary

Phew, I have another day to clean before company comes, and I really need it. Did 2,700ish steps of cleaning today, and the house is all torn apart now with half cleaned things everywhere and boxes of things to give away piled up. Didn't mean to get so many cleaning projects going at the same time, but it's good - everything needed it.

I didn't lose any weight for the last couple of weeks, but my jeans and clothes are so baggy that I look extremely frumpy. Time to dig out the next size down clothes! My arms are looking a lot better, too. It feels really good to have this much energy again! I don't think I've felt so energized in a couple of years!!
 
"Having to" dig out the next size down is awsome! I tend to feel so much better when my clothes fit properly.
 
Thanks, LaMa! I think you are right, and I'll feel a lot better when I find my old clothes that fit again!

Oops, I meant 20,700ish steps today!
 
Marsia have a wonderful time with your guests and enjoy the holidays .

We are reading some Wordsworth poetry right now ( exams ) and he is all very much about nature and how it's always there for us like a constant companion. I see this very much in your messages here Marsia .

Looking forward to joining you on your journey in 2019 .

I'm envious of your arms . The one thing I hate more than my horrible stomach from my c sections are my massive arms. They are truly off putting so any tips greatfully received .
 
Hi Petal, honestly I am not sure what was most helpful for my arms. I think it was maybe digging in the garden and putting in stone walls. I also carry a lot of firewood in - at least one heavy load a day. So maybe weight lifting would help and preparing beds for gardening. Another thing I have done in the past is yoga with an emphasis on holding up one's own weight - high plank, side plank, downward and upward dog, chaturanga, girl's pushups, that sort of thing. I also think the intermittent fasting is getting rid of fat on my body now. I am not losing weight, but I am firming up all over, which is even better really. Besides that, I have been doing about 15,000 to around 18,000 steps a day cleaning and doing yard work. But I think maybe the digging was what did it mostly.

I'll have to look up Wordsworth. I have been thinking about how we are nature and we forget that. I want to do art that is about that somehow. To me it feels like all of nature is reaching out to us to learn to be in harmony with it, but we generally as a species are so noisy and fast paced that we don't notice somehow.

What are you planning for 2019? It seems like the more specific, the easier to set goals and know if you are on track. I plan to meditate more consistently. I need to stop yo-yoing with my moods so much. I stress myself out! I also want to get more aerobic exercise in and maybe yoga. Have to think about what specifically to try.

Hope you have a wonderful Christmas and get to really enjoy things!
 
I wasn't myself on Wednesday as I was so stressed out & missed your post about your clothes & your arms. I have stopped doing IF until I can be sure that it is not affecting my BP adversely. I know that I am no longer dizzy or light-headed, so I have a feeling it was interfering with it. My stomach had felt much smaller doing it.
I think having a plan for 2019 is a good idea. Mine will not be one resolution as such, but learning to stress less will be high on the list.
 
Really Marsia I think for me I want to have a happier 2019 then I did 2018. There was lots going on that I haven't delved too much on but I found it an incredibly hard emotional year . I realise I need to do something new and I'm hoping a little veg garden be part of thst . I want more regular exercise . Eyes closing here will write more tomorrows
 
Hi all! Our company just departed. We gave them a whirlwind tour of our area and spent yesterday in San Francisco sight seeing. I am exhausted because we tried to pack so much in. It was really nice though and everyone had a great time hanging out together. My brother in law's girlfriend has a lot of dietary needs, so I'm pretty tired from making different keto food and food for her and everything, but it went well food-wise.

For the new year, I want to experiment more with what works that makes me happy. Most forms of exercise feel like another chore instead of something I would actually want to remember to do. So I want to keep experimenting with intermittent fasting to get the last 20 or so pounds off and to figure out more aerobic exercise that I can not only get myself to do every day, but maybe even look forward to doing. And I want to meditate in some form a lot more, maybe at least 4x a week. And I really hope to branch out more and meet some new people.
 
Glad your visit went well Marsia . Your plan for next year sounds like a good one . I feel like you about the exercise . It can be a chore. That's why I like to walk especially with a friend or my daughter if I can but it's not always possible . Think I will commit to Leslie video a few times a week as I do enjoy that .
Have a happy Christmas. Hope santa arrives
 
I´m sure the girlfriend was very glad to have someone taking her dietary needs seriously. That kind of thing can really make or break a trip so well done! In order to find some kind of exercise you´ll actually like enough to keep it up in the long run maybe you can make a list of things available in your area or possible to do at home, then each month give one option a thorough try?
 
Hi! Christmas Eve was really nice - my mom got us tons of presents that are really perfect - lots of art supplies and wonderful art books. And we had a really nice dinner with lobster claws, ribs, seafood soup, and veggies. My daughter made a super good keto eggnog, and she made really nice origami napkins for the place settings. My husband and I were both very overtired, and he is not a fan of Christmas to say the least - he hates spending money on presents and doesn't like opening them, so there was some tension there, but when we get some sleep again, things will go back to normal. I am practicing being my own person and ignoring weird behavior, and not letting it affect me - he grew up poor and didn't get nice presents, so never liked celebrating Christmas. My mom and daughter really enjoyed themselves, so that was great. I did, too, even with the fatigue.

The girlfriend with the dietary restrictions who was just our guest is a really nice person, but she has been in and out of the hospital a lot of her life and is very particular about how everything is, so I did a lot of scrambling around to accommodate her. And there were some things I just couldn't fix, like the water for the shower is not exactly hot because we still need to fix that part of the plumbing. And we only heat the house when we get up in the morning and it takes a while because we have very high ceilings and it is a bear of a house to heat, and to save money I start fires in the wood stove instead of using expensive electric heat (we opted not to heat with propane because we don't want to support the oil industry), so having guests over in the winter means keeping the fire going all day, too. So I tired myself out cooking and cleaning and waiting on people and was just so tired, but I pulled everything off reasonably well. Hopefully that is the last time people invite themselves over to stay 2 days before Christmas, though they were very nice and it was a really nice visit. I feel pretty good now waking up this morning. Going to read some of my lovely books and have some tea next!

With exercise, it is like with food for you LaMa. I do enjoy the exercise while doing it, but it is hard to get myself to do it, and I need to make it a habit - like you were saying with food. Same with meditation. I have a question. Last week I averaged about 17,700 steps a day, but it was all house and yard work. Does it make a big difference that none of that was aerobic exercise, especially now that my metabolism slowed down? It is making me firm up to do a lot more house and yard work, but do I also need to add in aerobic exercise to really become healthy? What worked with meditation was waking up early and doing it before anything else. Maybe my routine needs to include pre-set times set aside to do healthy things. I'll have to experiment. I do think I at least need to add in some form of stretching, probably yoga, as I am very stiff. I do like the idea of giving each thing a thorough try for a month, like you suggest LaMa!!!

Petal, Santa didn't wake up to put the stocking up until she woke bolt upright early this morning remembering! Luckily my daughter is still asleep.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful Christmas Day!
 
My husband and I were both very overtired, and he is not a fan of Christmas to say the least - he hates spending money on presents and doesn't like opening them, so there was some tension there, but when we get some sleep again, things will go back to normal.
I can understand that Christmas is stressful, especially if you don´t enjoy it, but if you´re an adult, you´ve got a family that does and you choose to celebrate with them you can bloody well put a brave face on for them and go for a walk when you´re sick of it.
Hopefully that is the last time people invite themselves over to stay 2 days before Christmas, though they were very nice and it was a really nice visit.
:eek2: :eek2: :eek2: :eek2: :eek2:They did WHAT now? Feel free to call me a grouch but I would book a last-minute cruise to Alaska to avoid that.

For most healthy adults, the Department of Health and Human Services recommends these exercise guidelines: Aerobic activity. Get at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity a week, or a combination of moderate and vigorous activity. Some yard and/or house work counts as moderate aerobic activity (I remember you mentioning dragging stones around; mopping floors and cleaning windows probably count as well).
 
I think with all the stresses of Christmas it feels good to have survived it again. I am so relieved the day is over & am every year.
Now to concentrate on looking after ourselves. I'm stiff a lot of the time too, Marsia & am going to try to find a yoga and/or meditation class in the new year. Swimming would be good.
Here's to looking after ourselves & not getting tangled up in other people's hangups xoxo
 
Hi Marsia . When I was at the doctor the other day she told me 30 mins walk 5 days a week so that equates with what LaMa says . I still haven’t got my ass in gear to start it again . I was doing so well up to last September when I got that horrible dose and really haven’t got my mindset back. Excited to start again though . Thank god we have no guests this year . We often have between Christmas and new year and you are right it’s such hard work and stressful. Hope you enjoy some peace now .
My husband is same as yours and Joan’s about Christmas not so much the gift part but he is anti social so I get moans about meeting people etc . I just tell him now if he doesn’t like it go stay with his mum . Lol
He bought me a new iPad . I have it set up now but found it hard to get this site open. Kept directing me to a German site ,
 
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