Positive Thoughts Thread Anyone?

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  • posted by KazzUK
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    Hello all!
    My positives are:
    1 – me, my mum and aunt had a right old belly laugh yesterday whilst out. We were in the tea room next to the garden centre. They both got in a right tangle with their walking sticks and bag straps whilst trying to get their coats on! Then we became aware everyone was watching with big grins at this ‘scene’ of me hopping from one to the other, trying to help them both as they both kept dropping sticks, bags, and couldn’t find their coat sleeves! The funny thing was, it was some sort of lunch club for retired people and there was a distinguished gent playing 78 rpm records set up in a corner. Eventually they were donned in their coats and we left with them hanging on to my arms as we made our way to the car. We were doubled over with laughter! It was like a comedy sketch!
    2 – I have 5 days off. 1st break this year.
    3 – friends coming to stay overnight tomorrow that I’ve not seen since before Xmas.
    Have a good Easter everyone and enjoy your long weekend.
    Kazzeeexxx

  • posted by Joes Nonna
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    Just jumping in for a quick one before Easter.

    1) Decorators finished today! Yay!
    2) Their work has made my house look amazing, except where they didn’t work, which now looks shabby!
    3) I finally got to spend time with my lovely Grandchildren who I haven’t see in the flesh for 2 weeks. It has been MURDER!
    4) Loved having my baby cuddles.

    Have a great Easter people, but don’t eat the chocolate!

    Nonna Mary
    xxx

  • posted by marie123
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    Kazz – I’m not supposed to be on here but had to say what a funny story and beautifully described – it did make me smile.

    Mary – I’m about to paint/get some of my rooms painted and I fear it’ll end up just as you describe. Hope you get some more of those cuddles over Easter.

    Have a good Easter everyone.

  • posted by Joes Nonna
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    Marie123, I love your posts. Good luck with the painting. xxx
    Mary
    xxx

  • posted by alliecat
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    I have to respectfully disagree Marie! You are absolutely suppose to be here 🙂 I love Kazzi’s gift for being able
    to find laughter in everything. too, and not take herself too seriously. Life is ridiculous, and I often find my own
    antics the most cringeworthy of all! It was a delightful story. Thanks for sharing it, Kazz 🙂 🙂 🙂

  • posted by SunnyB
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    So here are my positives for the day – nothing earth shattering, but then it’s looking for the small positives, which helps to keep us mindful of our blessings.
    1) Got a huge batch of ironing done.
    2) Packing has progressed really well.
    3) ‘To Do’ list is dwindling fast – yay!
    Happy Easter to all!

  • posted by Californiagirl
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    I am struggling to think in a positive direction — this last week was one of the most difficult I have ever experienced — my husband was fired (fired!) last Thursday from his favorite fantastic job of ten years as General Counsel — they just hired a new CEO in January and he wants “his own team” so he has moved out half the executive staff — no warning, no inkling at all, just came in at 8 am for a meeting and went home an hour later.
    I’m so angry they didn’t let him “retire” gracefully and finish up this quarters meetings in Singapore, Japan and Ireland and do his conference presentation in Toronto next week. The abruptness of it was cruel and he is shattered. It is tech/Bay Area typical but we’ve never experienced anything like this before.
    So, my positives in the face of basically, almost nothing positive, are:
    1.) this is going to free us up from the demands of work to do something different — perhaps full retirement and freedom to backpack and travel for long trips
    2.) I’m finally able to breathe again, I couldn’t even get a full breath the first five days
    3.) I haven’t used food as comfort — in fact I don’t even want to eat which is a 180 degree change from where I used to be two years ago — so the principles of BSD have fully integrated into my brain even in the face of “awful”.
    Wishing you all a wonderful Easter. I’m going to cook a filet roast and asparagus for my daughter and her fiancé. I think I will make hollandaise (spelling?) which sounds good right now.

  • posted by alliecat
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    Oh Julia, What a wretched week for you and your husband! He must be just reeling at this point. I was a corporate
    wife for @25 years too, and enjoyed all the perks that went with it. My husband always defined himself by his position
    as a founding partner in a midsize management consulting firm. One partner staged a coupe, and life changed forever
    from that day forward. However, today he is a fulltime professor, and is happier than ever before. Yours will regroup
    too, and together you both will define your future. This is a horrible shock, and I have immense empathy for how
    adrift you must feel right now. Inspite of this, you have been out and about, and making a difference in the lives of
    others on these forums, so I see you as a gentle and kind lady, and you will find your way forward, I know. Most of
    all, thank you for sharing this with us. We’re never prepared for change, I certainly wasn’t, but sometimes it can
    be a blessing in disguise, but it might be a little too early to see it that way just now. I’m thinking of you both,
    and hope that you will find joy in the holiday with your daughter and her fiance. I’m ushering in Spring with the
    first of the seasonal asparagus, too. xoxo
    Allie

  • posted by JGwen
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    I am sorry to hear about your husbands distress Californiagirl, I used to work in IT and had the same happen to me on my first job. The work force were split into 3 groups, taken into separate meetings. I was in the group who were told we were to be made redundant, we were escorted to our desks to pack up our personal possessions and had to be off the premises within an hour. It is a shock both to those it happens to and those left behind. Unfortunately companies worry about what actions disgruntled people will take so they prefer it this way despite how disconcerting it can be, I still remember how hard it was waking up ready for the normal routine and then remembering I don’t have any work to go to.
    Hopefully your husband will have financial compensation, so will have the time to sit and think about his ideal work / life balance and work out ways of getting there.

  • posted by SunnyB
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    What a dreadful shock for you both and I can only imagine how it has turned your world upside down, Californiagirl. I echo Allie’s sentiments though. And whilst this change may not have been sought, it may well herald the start of something new and dynamic. Take the time to grieve the loss, evaluate the situation and then look to the future. I so admire your finding positives in the face of this unexpected life changing event. Congratulations on not turning to food for solace, which as you say, proves that you have completely reset your mind where food is concerned.

    Have a lovely meal with your family; be gentle and kind to yourself and your OH and keep looking for those positives, ‘cos they’re still out there waiting for you.

  • posted by Californiagirl
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    Thank you Allie and JGwen and SunnyB for your replies — they made me cry and you have no idea how much I appreciate them.

  • posted by alliecat
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    Hi, Sunny! I wrote a long post yesterday, but it seems to be adrift in the ether! To summarize, I was telling you how
    I fantasize about taking a walk with you along a country lane, observing all the signs of new life burgeoning from
    beneath the ground. Perhaps I have a romanticized view of what a true English garden might look like, but I’d love
    to have a peek at yours! We sold our home of 27 years @ a decade ago, and now live in an apartment. Maybe I
    should hire myself out as a gardener, for I surely miss the 4 gardens on our property. I do have a balcony, however,
    so I’ve just begun planning what I’ll put in 5 containers this year. I’ve found my gardening journal for last year, and
    I’m evaluating the successes and failures, and soon will arrive at what combination of annuals and perennial filler
    plants I want to try this year. Gardening centers don’t get fully stocked until the beginning of May in New England,
    but it’s never too early to dream. I have challenging conditions, only full sun for about 2 hrs. each day. I’m glad
    that you’re beginning to pack, it must feel “imminent” right now! Don’t lose your lists 🙂 🙂 🙂

  • posted by KazzUK
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    Hi Californiagirl. I really feel for your husband and you. I too know how ruthless today’s corporate world is. I had to apply for my job 4 years ago now after a big cull of support staff that followed a cull of partners and solicitors. It is totally vile treatment, but despite the shock, those that left never looked back and all went on to better things. Your husband has had a lucky escape although it doesn’t feel like that right now. The backpacking sounds like a wonderful idea to take stock and come up with a plan. Enjoy your weekend CG. Don’t let the bstards grind you down is a saying over here.😉

    Marie, Allie – I’m glad you enjoyed the antics from Thursday! It was funny!

    Kazzeeexxx

  • posted by SunnyB
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    Oh that sounds like a lovely walk, Allie. My garden is modest and largely shrubs plus containers, as this keeps maintenance low and so doesn’t get too out of hand when we’re away for weeks on end. Like you I like to change the content of some of the containers each summer. There’s as much fun in planning what to plant, as there is in planting, so enjoy your dreaming.

  • posted by alliecat
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    Sunny, I forgot to mention this, but you summoned up a long forgotten memory for me the other day…when you
    mentioned dianthus. My grandmother used to plant them on a steep, 4′ high embankment just beneath her vegetable
    garden, every year. She died when I was 13, so 56 years ago! I could see them and enjoy their fragrance in my
    memory, so thank you for that! She also used to have a riotous display of “parrot” tulips along the side of her
    bungalow, which looked somewhat sinister to me as a little girl, especially the black ones! Fascinating at the
    same time, though 🙂

  • posted by Joes Nonna
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    CaliforniaGirl, can I just echo what everyone else has been saying. It was an awful way to be treated, but he can now relax a little more and look forward to better adventures. He is well out of it. Lots of love to you both. Stay strong.

    Nonna Mary
    xxx

  • posted by treelady
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    Some spring related positives today –
    1) Spotted the first Primrose flower opening up in the garden
    2) The Curlews are back to nest in the field behind us – I love to hear their haunting trilling song as they fly over
    3) Shifted the last few logs out of the corner of the woodshed, evicted a couple of mice by doing so, and swept and cleaned out the woodshed ready for our next load of logs delivery
    It looks dry for us tomorrow so looking forward to Easter day pottering about in the garden before the predicted deluge on Monday.
    Happy Easter all.

  • posted by KrysiaD
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    Californiagirl – what a horrible shock. How positive though – that the BED is so fully integrated in your brain that you didn’t want to comfort eat. Hope you have a wonderful Easter with your family. I do hope that something really positive comes out of this. I agree with KazzUK that maybe your husband has had a lucky escape – although it probably doesn’t feel like it at the moment.

  • posted by sunshine-girl
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    Hi Californiagirl, my commiserations too but as you say it might give you a chance to pack up and go around the world. Here is an idea for you, why not join trustedhouseistters.com and register as a housesitter. My next trip I have a Dutch couple coming for a month to look after my cats then we are going back to the UK in May when we have a Texan couple staying at ours for a week – they are touring all over Europe just now. If you sent me your private email I could even get you a 20% discount on your first year registration (total for a year is normally about $140). Obviously you can do it yourself without the discount. Great way to travel for free – we dont pay out sitters and they get a free holiday at our beautiful French house. Now that is a positive. (I think you all know me so know I am not trying to sell something).
    My positives are:
    One week today we head off on our travels to UK then our cruise around the Med and Adriatic Seas.
    Looking forward to seeing daughters new house.
    Cant wait to see my 2 grandsons soon.

  • posted by Californiagirl
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    More thank yous to KrysiaD, Joes Nonna and KazzUK for your support — I am reading all your posts out loud to my husband and he said to send his thanks too.
    Sunshine girl, your house sitter idea is so good! I will take a look at it — that sounds like a wonderful way to travel — thank you for the suggestion.
    Happy Easter today!

  • posted by SunnyB
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    Allie, dianthus are one of my favourites. I love scented flowers and those that supply a good period of colour too. Scented roses remind me of my Nan and in particular one called Crimson Glory, which was deep red with a really strong perfume. I have just recently tracked it down online and plan to buy one later this year. I have an area of the garden containing a number of scented roses, so it will make a great inclusion. Most trips out to Turkey, I bring home a scented rose to add to the collection and this trip, I’m planning to bring home an oleander too.

    Anyway, all that gardening stuff aside, I hope that everyone has been enjoying their Easter. My OH has been working most of it, although he did take today out as it’s his birthday today. We had a pleasant evening at a local fav. restaurant last night (notwithstanding a young woman at an adjacent table who didn’t stop talking in a loud voice, the whole time she was there – it was exhausting to listen to). Positives for today are:
    1) OH and I have had a relaxed and fun day together.
    2) Cooked a simple by very good BSD friendly meal to celebrate OH’s birthday today.
    3) Had a lovely video message, containing our youngest grand daughter age 7, reciting the first verse of To Autumn by John Keats. Was completely blown away by her phrasing and expression.

    Looking forward to reading positives posted by others.

  • posted by caronl
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    Hi everyone, especially to Californiagirl. I hope the shock is subsiding. It sounds like the company doesn’t deserve your husband. From memory, after such blood-letting it can be worse for those who remain than for those who find a new direction. Anyway, thinking of you and hoping that you will enjoy the positives you have identified. Well done for sticking with the low-carbs!

    Sunshine-girl I have been hovering on the trusted housesitters website for a while, without taking the plunge into membership. It looks quite tempting. But my suspicious mind kept telling me that there would not be enough houses for the number of interested sitters – or at least not the gorgeous ones featured! What has your experience been?

    After a very busy birthdays period and Easter, some quieter positives:
    1) I am back in my target kilo of 73-something after too many parties. I did worry that I had loosened the reins too much, but the weight is going in the right direction.
    2) Have finally started the next painting project in the stairwell. One floor at a time….
    3) Looking forward to my next UK trip later this week to see family and friends.

    Have a good week everyone – good luck to the post-Easter newbies, and warm thoughts for all the familiar posters and absent friends.

  • posted by sunshine-girl
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    Hi Caronl, we are not sitters but we get people to come and sit for us. I know we have a beautiful house in SW France with a swimming pool although our pool has been closed every time we have had sitters (winter). So we have no trouble getting people to sit. We know from our sitters that more and more people are travelling this way and our Australian sitters said it was getting harder to get good places. We have had 3 sitters so far and they have been excellent and kept the house clean, looked after our kitties and stocked up our fridge for our return. My daughter put her house on in a not so nice area of Birmingham and only had one offer but she moved to a ‘posh’ area in a big house and was inundated. She is in New York this week and the animals are left with a lovely Icelandic girl. Not everyone has pets, our friends here just want someone to be in their house for security. Obviously if you are travelling far from home you might have to find other accommodation at times or not be quite so fussy. One sitter had 2 nights between our sit ending and the next starting just 30 miles away so we invited them to stay instead of finding a hotel and the husband help mine to take the cover off the pool and do some garden maintenance. They have been doing this for 3 years and been to South America, America, all around Europe and SE Asia. If you are interested I can give you my email address here and you can email me so I can give you access to the discount. No obligation to join but you would have the link.
    Sorry for taking up time on this post so I had better say something positive.
    Going for a full waxing tomorrow so I will be positively smooth,
    going for hair cutting and dying on Wednesday
    Daughter taking me for a shopping day to buy my an evening dress to wear on our 25th anniversary.
    Have a good day everyone.

  • posted by caronl
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    Hi Sunshine-girl. Many thanks for the extra info. The comments from your Aussie sitters confirm my doubts! I shall carry on lurking I think, but if I go for membership, I’ll take you up on the email/link. Thank you again.

  • posted by alliecat
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    Good morning/afternoon, everyone! I’m a little pressed for positives today, because we woke to yet ANOTHER snowstorm
    today! Will this ever end??? Looks to be about 6″ so far….So crazy!!

    Sunny, thanks to your wonderful description of your rose collection, I’ve decided what my celebratory gift to myself
    is going to be in 13 days when I have 1 year in maintenance….drum roll, please……..A bottle of monstrously expensive
    rose parfum 🙂 I use a spicy fragrance in Fall and Winter, but I love this idea 🙂 What a marvelous Easter gift from
    your obviously very sweet granddaughter! Lovely. I have a book recommendation for you, and any other nature and
    garden lovers reading along today. “The Country Diary Of An Edwardian Lady”, by Edith Holden. It’s finally back
    in print! It contains her botanical paintings, diary notes, wonderful poetry classics, all in her own hand. It describes
    the changes in her garden in 1905, and didn’t see the light of day until it was discovered in 1977 in an English country
    house in Olton, Warwickshire. I’ve had it for literally decades, and never tire of reading it. I thought you might enjoy
    it too 🙂
    I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend,

    Allie

  • posted by SunnyB
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    I despair for you, Allie! We are fed up enough with grey skies, wind and rain (some snow in the north today, but thankfully not in the SW). I can’t imagine waking to yet another dump of snow at this juncture. I’m going to say congratulations on a full year in maintenance now, as in all likelihood I will miss the actual day. Lovely idea to treat yourself to some extravagant rose perfume by way of celebration. I have five months to wait to be able to say I’ve maintained for a whole year, but I’m confident it will happen – even though the scales shocked me a little this morning (still well under original target though).

    On your recommendation, I have just placed an order via Amazon, for an old used copy of the Edwardian Lady book, for the princely sum of £3.30 including p&p. Looking forward to it arriving. I’ll offer a counter book recommendation – Petal, Leaf, Seed by Lia Leendertz. It’s has lots of surprising and interesting ideas for flavouring foods with botanicals of various types. I bought a copy last year and dip into it quite frequently, to help ring the changes.

    My positives for today are:
    1) Log burner is alight and we’re cosy warm.
    2) Have finished the last of my Booking Sec duties until we come home in July – yay!
    3) Wrote a poem today, for and about my grand daughter. I’m going to post it to her in a card, so that she can keep it.

  • posted by treelady
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    Not much in the way of positives today, but I’ll try –
    1) Managed to get all my business receipts for the year into a box ready to do my annual tax return (I know, what an exciting life I lead).
    2) Have only succumbed to one quarter of my dark chocolate Easter egg so far.
    3) Rescued one of my stupid hens when she fell in the duck pond and had to be dried off with the hairdryer.
    Hope others have had a more fun-filled Easter Monday than me.

  • posted by alliecat
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    I know, treelady, gathering up receipts is a crashing bore 🙂 Tax return day in the U.S. is April 15th, so still a little
    more time in which to procrastinate! I’ve gotten to be very professional at this, especially when I have the option
    of full time chatting here on the forums. Picturing the job of using a hairdryer on chickens did put a broad smile
    on my face, though 🙂 🙂 🙂 It must be wonderful to have fresh eggs each day!

  • posted by Luvtcook
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    My positives….had a lovely Easter, and hope everyone else did as well, and lovely Passover as well.

    Had to search high and low (I mean litterally go to 3 different grocers) to find lamp chops or steaks as I did not want an entire leg of lamb. Finally found one single blade steak to make an Easter dinner of (yay!). That and some gorgeous seasonal asparagus, which is so so low in carbs and so so high in fiber. Truely one of my favorite meals.

    And I am so ready for spring. The Cherry Blossoms are finally starting to come out in DC after quite a long delay due to the extended patch of cold weather.

    So lots of positives to celebrate over this weekend.

  • posted by JGwen
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    My positives are for the weekend.
    1. Have been having a good time having a major clear out in my office, it all started on a hunt for some lost keys. I am a creature of habit but the keys were last used by someone else who despite being told to put them back where he got them from ignored me. So the hunt started where I was working when he came to tell me that he had finished the job. No keys found so far, but have found £35 pound in an envelope, and have a lovely roaring fire this evening with all the paperwork that I don’t have a reason to keep.
    2. Guests staying in the holiday let left some bread and jam behind. Thank heaven they didn’t leave any butter or I am certain that a jam sandwich would have been on the cards…… I am sad how much will power it took me to take the bread out to the chickens. Poor things, the ex battery hens didn’t realise they could eat it. I have never felt so like an addict, it took me a couple of hours to get to the point of picking up the bag and taking it outside.
    3. I was quite excited when I first heard about the man engine event and then had forgotten about it – but just in time was reminded by someone on this forum talking about having seen it at an earlier event on its tour. I was thinking about going to Swansea to watch it, but given the price of parking in the town it would be cheaper to go to the paid event which lasts for a couple of hours at Hafod Copper Works.

  • posted by alliecat
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    Luv, it looks like we were following the same imperatives when it came to Easter dinner!

    Could someone please tell us Americans what the man engine event might be???

    Thanks,

    Allie

  • posted by treelady
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    Hi Alliecat,
    the man engine is the largest mechanical puppet ever constructed in Britain (https://www.themanengine.co.uk/) and looking at the photos and videos is quite something to see. All to do with underground mining heritage etc.

  • posted by SunnyB
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    Seems I’m the first with some positives today. It’s ben dry here today and the temps were in double figures too, so a small improvement on what has become ‘normal’ here recently. We’re threatened with rain again tomorrow though, but that’s another day. Right now, I’ll confine myself to today’s positives.
    1) Finally managed to get grandson’s birthday present sorted, as he’ll turn 11 at the end of May, while we are away.
    2) Made Father’s Day cards, as it too early to buy the cards in the shops and again, we will be away for that event.
    3) Pre-holiday waxing done – I’m ready to go!
    Hope to be reading positives from the rest of you all soon.

  • posted by alliecat
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    Sunny! Do you make handcrafted greeting cards, too? Yet another thing that we have in common! I use a tabletop
    die cutting machine to accomplish this, as well as stamps, inks which I use as watercolors, and layering papers.
    The three dimensional ones I mail off in1″ plastic cardboxes. What is your style? I’d love to know!

  • posted by treelady
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    Today’s positives for me –
    1) saw my first queen bumble bee out and about in the sunshine
    2) got great satisfaction from stacking a trailer load of logs into the woodshed
    3) arranged to meet up with a friend for dinner that I haven’t seen since before Christmas

  • posted by JGwen
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    I found one set of the missing keys 🙂 and am half way through the office clear out that was inspired by the hunt.
    My nails have never been as clean as they are this morning, was washing down walls with sugar soap last night ready for repainting….. I will enjoy the next few hours until normal colour scheme returns. Somehow I can’t see my incorporating washing down walls as a prep for going out.
    Finally my spare tyre is starting to reduce. Another inch off waist and hips this week. 🙂 – Just checked and I am now officially down a full 2 dress sizes. Just 2 more dress sizes to go.

  • posted by caronl
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    Hi JGwen. Congrats on the new measurements! A very good start to the day.

    My positives:
    1] Lovely walk in the woods with borrowed dogs – wild garlic and flowers now emerging. I think spring will explode this weekend.
    2) Roofing people have finally confirmed dates, which means we can plan a few mid-week mini-breaks
    3) Poised to start sanding the stairwell again – which will make me feel virtuous in due course!

    Have a good day one and all.

  • posted by SunnyB
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    Oh Allie, now I feel like a fraud!! I’m not great at arts and crafts (I like to try occasionally, but it’s rarely hugely successful). My cards are created on a desktop publishing programme, utilising photographs I have taken – at which I feel I can confidently say I am fairly good. The cards I created this time, featured photos of my Dad and my OH. For the card for OH I used a photo of OH and my son walking our youngest grand daughter along pathway in the park, each holding one of her hands. At the time, she was a toddler – about 18mths old and really tiny – and I took the photo from the back. It’s one of my favourite photos and to me, captures a tenderness. The one I used for my Dad’s card, was a photograph of him laughing with friends in Turkey, who also call him Dad, which really delights him.

    That clear out has certainly proved beneficial, JGwen and excellent news re: the spare tyre too. You’ll crack the next two dress sizes for sure.

    It’s just stopped raining, so I am going to make a dash for the shops – will check in again later.

  • posted by JGwen
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    I should clarify my positive for today. I achieved down 2 dress sizes in the store that I normally buy clothes from a couple of months ago and celebrated that. Then my body decided to focus on loosing weight off other areas and keep my spare tyre. Now the tape measure says I should fit within the published waist and hip sizes for the official dimensions of a dress size which SHOULD mean I could go into any dress shop and get into clothes with a label 2 sizes smaller than I was wearing….. – So another angle to count as grounds for celebration. Aren’t shops so wonderful in their inconsistency in sizing. My target is another 5 inches off my waist and 6 off the hips.

  • posted by SunnyB
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    Fact is JGwen, you’ve dropped more inches and whether that means you can fit in a certain dress size in all stores, really doesn’t matter to your palls here. I find now I fit 8’s in some stores and 10’s in others – and even 12 in a few. As you say though, any excuse for a celebration keeps the motivation going, so celebrate heartily and a huge well done!

  • posted by alliecat
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    Yoy have really done so well, JGwen! I remember when you joined us back in the Autumn of 2017. Do you have a specific
    goal in mind re how much additional weight you would like to lose?

    I did get myself “in gear” today, and emptied out all the containers on the balcony that had the dead remains of
    crysanthemums and ornamental cabbages still in them from last October. Planning in progress toward this Spring’s
    selections! I’m thinking I’d like to see some cheerful pansies to start. Can’t warm up fast enough for me 🙂

    Have a positive day, my friends!

  • posted by Luvtcook
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    Congrats JGwen…..gives me hope that my “spare” will shrink at some point. I too am shrinking in size…..had one of my best shopping days in many years buying some shorts and capris for a visit to see old friends in Orlando later this month. So that part was great.

    My frustration is that I look like two different peope in the mirror. Looking much leaner with a waist and thinner hips when I look at my image full frontal. But when I turn to the side…..not so good. A great deal of my remaining excess weight is all packed onto my front hangin on my belly. Never had that problem before, but I guess this too will change in time. Must have patience and enjoy the parts that are thinner and the fact that I am not so disproportionately hippy as before. And am also finding that sizes are changing more than the scales would predict. Weight loss is crazy crazy crazy.

    One more positive: after a bout of several weeks of “more hungry than usual” am finding I am confortably back in my old groove, which is a great relief.

  • posted by JGwen
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    As of today I am 3.2kg (7lb) away from my initial target of a 36 kg (79.2lb – 5.66 stone)weight loss. – I guess from the amount of wobbly areas there may be another 10kg / 2 stone sort of range to loose once I get to my initial target, but, just lately its been more common for there to be inch loss and no changes to the scales. Over the five and a half months I have been following BSD, my body has decided to shrink in areas that I didn’t think were too bad before the areas that I wanted to shrink so I have sort of decided to give up on expectations for target weight and focus on a target body shape. I would hope though at some point to join you in the 100lb lost club.
    Actually I was going to ask you and the other maintainers something, at present the only area where I have some very loose wobby bits is my arms. There’s still quite a bit of filling inside the skin there, so I am sure it will change further over the coming months. Did you or any of the other maintainers do any arm exercises to help shape up that area?

  • posted by JGwen
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    Hi Luvtcook,
    I have exactly the same problem with the pattern of weight loss. Initially I did loose inches from waist but not so much from hips. Then my body decided to change the size of my legs and arms and keep the spare tyre. While the inches are starting to go down now at the waist and hips I am hollowing out from the sides, so the face on image looks so much better than side on. When I have been on cal counting diets a stone lost would normally equal a dress size, but this has been so different. You know those photos of fit people with a clearly defined 6 pack standing proud of their skinny hips, well if you replace the muscle with draft excluder size rolls of blubber that’s my current shape around the waist plus a large tyre width of blubber at hip level.
    I am determined to count it as a positive. If the waist and hips had been down to size first I would have been heading over to the maintainers side of the fence by now, this way my weight will be even lower when I get to my target shape which will have its advantages.

  • posted by SunnyB
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    Had a good day, although the rain didn’t hold off, so I got quite soggy whilst out shopping this morning. However, there are still some positives to report:
    1) Saw daughter and oldest grandson briefly this afternoon. Pleased to have seen them before we go away at the w/e.
    2) Nice long chat with Mum, she and Dad are off to India on Sunday.
    3) OH gave me a bottle of single malt scotch, as a belated Easter gift – it’s wonderfully smoky and packed full of flavour, definitely a ‘little will go a long way’ type whisky, to be savoured.

  • posted by alliecat
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    LTC, there you are! This is an interesting discussion, because the 2 of you are so close in your accomplishments thus
    far. I really do believe that loose skin has much to do with % of body weight lost as well as chronological age. Loss
    of collagen is the cause, and exercise may help, as well Jason Fung’s ideas on fasting to rejuvenate skin and promote
    hgh (human growth hormone). JGwen, I’m now trying 5lb weights for my arms, and planks for my abdomen. I can’t
    see any noticeable changes in my measurements over the past 6 months thus far. Others here have suggested that
    it can take up to 2 years, though 🙂 I had a 50″ waist at one time, and my body has accommodated me by shrinking 21″.I
    have noticed that friends over 65 who have never been overweight seem to have a “roundness” in this area too,
    however. I think gravity does its thing, which could be why the looseness ends up where it is. I’m probably just
    going to have to accept that as a post menopausal and formerly obese woman of 17 years, I’m not destined to
    have the formerly flat/concave pelvis that I had many years ago at the same weight that I am today. I focus on
    and revel in the fact that I feel 25 yrs younger, and that’s going to be enough for me, I think 🙂 LTC, my overall body
    shape has changed, too. In my prime (age20-25) my measurements were 34-24-35, so mildly pear shaped. Today
    top and bottom are exactly the same, and no longer an 11″ differential in waist measurement. Picture a banana
    instead of a pear. Interesting and confusing, at the same time. You both are destined for the 100 Club, and I
    will be first to welcome you there. It’s been wonderful to follow your progress and celebrate the victories along
    the way. It seems somewhat hard to comprehend that I’m only 11 days away from 1 year in maintenance, for
    I approached it with far more trepidation than actual weight loss. If you experience an uncustomary sonic boom
    in either D.C. or the U.K., that will probably be me breaking the sound barrier with my screaming “Hoorah”!
    Orlando should be perfect in april, Luv….Have a wonderful time 🙂

    Allie

  • posted by Luvtcook
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    Allie, can’t wait to be among the many helping you celebrate your ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY !!!! Losing it is a great accomplishment….keeping it off even more so since you don’t have the weekly successes to keep you going…..and so few before the BSD ever were able to manage it. You and the other MAINTAINERS give hope to the rest of us.

  • posted by alliecat
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    Hi, Sunny! I can actually smell that perfect bottle of single malt…Usually makes my eyes smart, however 🙂 I hope
    that you’ll find time to tell us all about Turkey. Is it a “dry” country, and do you have to bring libations with you? Only
    2 days left until blast off…I’m excited FOR you!

  • posted by SunnyB
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    Find it hard to resist a good single malt, so it was a lovely surprise to get this treat today. Had a little sample and it is extremely good. Yes, I’ll happily post some info about Turkey while we’re away.

    It’s not a ‘dry’ country as such, although Muslim’s are not officially meant to drink alcohol, it is still available and Turkey does produce alcohol – beers, gin, vodka, raki, wine and various liqueurs. In recent years, the price has risen considerably though, as the President doesn’t approve of alcohol consumption, so he’s trying to price it out of the average Turks budget. We all know though, that if someone is determined to drink, they will find a way. In the last couple of years there have been several deaths as a result on people drinking ‘bootleg’ Raki (aniseed drink like Ouzo). For us, the cost of locally produced alcohol is pretty much at the prices we’d normally pay in the UK for a cheap bottle of the equivalent product, so not an issue if we wish to have a drink.

    We are taking a couple of bottles out with us though, one of Noilly Pratt and one of Tequilla, as imported drinks like these are very expensive to buy. When we were there last year, I wanted a bottle of Extra Dry Martini vermouth and the cost in the supermarket was £21 for a 70cl bottle, whereas in the UK it’s possible to buy a litre for £9. Anyway, we’re not big drinkers, so as long as we can have the occasional libation, we’re happy. The local alcohol is very drinkable – even the local wine is very good these days, long gone are the days it was like drain cleaner!

    I’m so excited about the prospect of the trip, all week I have been thinking we’re one day further through the week than we actually are!

  • posted by alliecat
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    News and highlights from Turkey will be something for me to look forward to, Sunny. I’ve never done any traveling
    in that part of the world. It must be so wonderful to have your parents visit and meet your Turkish friends! My father
    died when I was only 20 and still in college, and I’ve thought about the relationship o/h and I might have had with him when
    we were fully adults. I was blessed to have my Mother with me until I was 67 though, so maybe it balances out
    in the end? I hope I will be as vibrant and full of life as she was at the age of 94 🙂

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