Thurs 31 Jan

Another cold and frosty day again. Bob is staying home, at least til after our 11 am dental appointments (if they aren't rescheduled again). That is the only appointment on my schedule today. I'm very grateful for a warm house, but you do get tired of being cooped up after awhile. It will be nice to have the weird warm temperatures forecast for the weekend. I suspect everyone will take to the outdoors. Food: 8:25 am 1 c Quaker Oat Squares, 1/2 c soy milk, 111 g blackberries, coffee 1:05 pm 2 fried eggs, Thomas English muffin w/butter, cara cara orange 3:45 pm Kettle corn 6:30 pm White chicken chili, Italian bread w/butter

Wed 30 Jan

Bitter, bitter cold. -27° F this morning. Most everything is closed down, even UWSP and Mid-State. There was a huge list of Madison restaurants closed today and many tomorrow as well. The gym is closed and I won't be surprised if Bootstrap is as well. I convinced Bob not to drive out to the country to work this morning. If his van starts in the garage, it likely won't if he has to park it outdoors. Food: 7:50 am Honey bear pastry, 101 g blackberries, coffee 11:50 am Small portion mac n cheese, cara cara orange 5:40 pm Bourbon sweet potato ravioli w/tomato carrot sauce, edamame pods

Tues 29 Jan

Not my best night for sleeping. All my decongestant medication was outdated and did nothing to open up my clogged sinuses. I got out of bed and tried being more upright but that wasn't at all restful so I resigned myself to mouth breathing. Sometime in the night, one side opened spontaneously so I could breathe regularly if I laid on my right side or my back, though I couldn't let my head rest flat on its side. I did get some sleep that way. Food: 7:55 am Chocolate croissant, 101 g blackberries, coffee 1:15 pm Thomas English muffin, 2 tbl Jif, cara cara orange

Mon 28 Jan

Snow! Several inches down and still falling heavily from the looks of it. Slightly less cold this morning. Attempted to watch RENT on tv last night, but it was on Fox and it's been a long time since I watched anything other than football games on network tv. I had not realized how much commercials have overtaken programming content. It seemed you couldn't watch more than 10-15 min of the program before another 5-10 min barrage of commercials repeatedly. I gave up on it at about 9:10 and went to bed, listening to one more program break before Bob turned it off at 9:30. It was okay to stop as they were getting to the point where people started dying, and I really didn't need that. Okay, I had to give up on going to the gym. There is so much snow down already and more coming that it's likely the Prius would get stuck on the way if not already in the driveway. The plows don't seem to have started yet so the streets are deep. Oh, well. Food: 6:50 am Apricot danish, 101 g blackberries, coffee 12:00 pm 2 fried eggs, Thomas English muffin w/butter, cara cara orange Exercise: 9:45-9:55 am 10 min kick box workout 10:20-10:30 am 10 min kick box workout part 2

Sun 27 Jan

Very nice evening with the Hartmans here last night. They came early at 5:30 and we were done by 8:30 so I got to bed pretty much at the regular time. All the food turned out very well, even though I used the outside shelf to hold cold items as I usually do and they froze solid. I had to thaw the raita in a bowl of hot water since I had it in a metal dish, but it thawed well that way and didn't separate. I used the microwave to thaw the salad dressing which was solid. We enjoyed playing the new word card game that Hartmans had given us for Christmas. Food: 8:25 am Cheese danish, 101 g blackberries, coffee 12:20 pm Bob's 8 grain cereal, 1/2 scoop Elevation protein powder, 1/4 c dried wild blueberries, soy milk

Sat 26 Jan

Gave in to my developing cold yesterday and pretty much just sat and read. Got my 9/9 steps but only totaled a little past 6000 on the day. Told Bob to get Rocky's for himself for dinner, had a bowl of cereal, and vegged out. Needed decongestants to sleep, but got some sleep and feeling better today although the cold is still with me. Damn, it's cold outside! Car thermometer only got down to -11°, but that was enough. Food: 9:15 am Apricot danish, 101 g blackberries, coffee

Fri 25 Jan

Bitter cold, and the cold that was coming on the last day or two has taken hold in my sinuses. I got up for early class but crawled back in bed before hitting the shower, deciding that the extra exercise would be too much. I'm not entirely sure I'll motivate myself to go out to the gym at all in this bitter weather, though if I stay in, I will plan some exercise here beyond lapping the living room. Sometimes you have to pamper your body when it doesn't feel well. Food: 7:30 am 1 c Quaker Oat Squares, 1/2 c soy milk, 101 g blackberries, coffee 12:25 pm 2 fried eggs, Thomas English muffin w/butter

Thurs 24 Jan

A little more snow falling this morning, precursor to the cold snap waiting in the wings to assail us for a week or so. Frustration this morning when I almost couldn't zip my blue corduroy pants. Good wakeup call to slow down the eating. We had pasties last night which always result in a slight increase on the scale the next day, but this is a long-standing problem that needs to be addressed. Food: 8:00 am 1 c Quaker Oat Squares, 1/2 c soy milk, 101 g blackberries, coffee 12:40 pm Chili w/sour cream & cheese, mini naan

Wed 23 Jan

A little bit of snow and a break in the bitter cold for a couple of days. Today gym and back to Bootstrap. No birthday lunch as Amy's son is sick. Might make Michael's pasties for dinner tonight. Food: 7:45 am Honey bear pastry, 101 g blackberries, coffee 12:40 pm Slice 12 grain bread, 2 tbl Jif 6:20 pm Pasty, beets Exercise: 9:00-9:30 am Tone class 9:30-10:30 am Body Pump class

Tues 22 Jan

Tummy was a little funny yesterday evening; didn't cook supper and just had a bowl of cereal. Seems okay now (fingers crossed). Michael came over and brought us pasties from the UP and picked up his allotment of the Costa Rica coffee that came by UPS yesterday. Looking forward to some tasty pasty and good coffee soon. Food: 8:00 am Chocolate croissant, 101 g blackberries, coffee 12:15 pm L'Oven Fresh 12 grain bread, butter 34 g cheddar, cara cara orange 7:00 pm 1/4 Trader Giotto's meat lasagna Exercise: 9:20-9:30 am Walk to Jefferson School 10:40-10:50 am Walk home

Mon 21 Jan

Another cold and frosty morning. Forgot to turn off the bathroom heater before drying my hair and blew the circuit breaker for the first time in a long time. Fortunately Bob hadn't gotten into the shower yet so was able to go pop the circuit for me. The box is too high for me to reach without something to stand on. Hopefully the gym is open today so I can do Zumba again; the website seems to indicate that it is not closed for MLK day. Food: 6:55 am Cheese danish, 101 g blackberries, coffee 12:50 pm 2 fried eggs, Thomas English muffin w/butter Exercise: 8:00=8:55 am Zumba class 9:20-9:25 am Treadmill 9:30-10:30 am Body Pump class

Sun 20 Jan

The cold is settling in thoroughly, but I want to try to walk to church today, albeit well-bundled. The sun is shining brightly so it's worth a try. Neither of us need to do anything at church so it doesn't matter if we're a little disheveled from layers of clothes. Bob vetoed the walk to church due to the cold and wind. Sure tastes good to have one of David's regular pastries for breakfast again. The holiday specialties were a nice treat, but they really weren't breakfast appropriate. A cherry danish hits the spot today. Food: 8:40 am Cherry danish, 101 g blackberries, coffee 11:30 am Chili w/sour cream & cheese, mini-naan

Sat 19 Jan

Good to be back home in familiar routines. Have to attend a funeral today; Steve Bierman's dad passed while we were away. He was such a vital man, seems strange that he is gone. Food: 8:45 am Blueberry almond cinnamon roll, 101 g blackberries, coffee 11:30 am Coffee 1:30 pm 2 fried eggs, Thomas English muffin w/butter, cara cara orange, Nespresso 6:20 pm Chili w/sour cream & cheese, toaster naan

Fri 18 Jan

We're back! Safe and sound from a wonderful trip. I felt badly that we weren't able to get to church on Sunday. I hadn't anticipated any problem since I assumed that Costa Rica was a heavily Catholic country and Mass would be readily available, if not at the resort, at a nearby and easily accessible town. I was wrong. We would have had to take a taxi to La Cruz, about 45-60 min away at a cost of $80 to get to a Mass at all. Not until we were leaving the resort did we see that there was a public bus that stopped at the resort. Don't know what the timing or cost would have been if we could have used the bus, or even if it ran on Sundays. The concierge that we had asked about getting to Mass never even mentioned it as a possibility, even when we blanched at the thought of paying $80 for a cab. Miss my yummy French toast with lemon curd and flambeed fruit for breakfast. Also the wonderful tropical fruit: papaya, persimmon, etc. Food: 6:55 am 1 c Quaker Oat Squares, 1/2 c soy milk, 101 g blackberries, coffee 12:55 pm 2 fried eggs, Thomas English muffin w/butter, sugar/molasses cookies Exercise: 9:30-10:30 am Body Pump class

Wed 9 Jan

Here we go, Costa Rica! Weird to be up and eating breakfast at 1:20 am, but that's traveling for ya. I think pretty much everything is packed, including some things I just thought of this morning. (Extra socks and undies and a long-sleeve 32° for Thursday morning after we return.) Should not be a problem getting on the road on time. We have gas in the car and the weather was cold but otherwise okay as far as I know. Food: 1:20 am 1 c Quaker Oat Squares, 1/2 c soy milk, 84 g blackberries

Tues 8 Jan

I can hardly believe that tomorrow is finally Costa Rica! I pray that the travel goes smoothly so we arrive in the afternoon and have the evening to familiarize ourselves with the resort. And I pray that Bob's health is good so he can enjoy himself and relax a bit. Taylor's birthday dinner last night seemed to go quite well. She was pleased that I made cranberry pudding pie for her "birthday cake" and they seemed to like the chicken vegetable curry that I made in the Crock Pot. I also think she liked the Bordeaux set that we gave her for a gift. Food: 7:45 am Cinnamon sugar pretzel, 101 g blackberries, coffee 10:15 am Herbal tea 12:15 pm 2 fried eggs, slice 3 kings bread Exercise: 9:20-9:30 am Walk to Jefferson 9:55-10:05 am Walk home 2:20-2:50 pm Cardio Dance Segments 1 & 2 3:20-3:40 pm Cardio Dance Segment 3

Mon 7 Jan

Michael and Taylor will come for dinner this evening to celebrate her birthday as they had plans with friends yesterday evening. Will be nice to spend a little time with them. Looking forward to trying the Zumba class at the gym this morning. Hopefully I won't make a complete fool of myself. Zumba was fun but I'm wiped! Food: 6:40 am Honey Bear pastry, 100 g blackberries, coffee 12:30 pm 2 chicken drumsticks, Thomas Lite Wheat English muffin, honey crisp apple w/cinnamon sugar Exercise: 8:00-8:55 am Zumba class 9:30-10:30 am Body Pump class

Sun 6 Jan

Taylor's birthday. Bob had a bad asthma attack in the night and was just about ready to head to the ER when he decided to try the "emergency" prednisone prescription he had been given in case of problems in Costa Rica. Fortunately, it helped and he settled down. He now needs to finish the prescription for five days and will call Paul's office with some questions on Monday. Hopefully he will stabilize so we can travel without panic. Food: 8:25 am Cheese danish, 101 g blackberries, coffee 11:30 am Breakfast cafe: egg bakes, French toast w/syrup, 2 sausages, 1/4 c fruit cocktail 4:00 pm 2 pc string cheese 7:40 pm 1 pc Omega 3 bread, 1 tbl Jif, Honey Crisp apple w/cinnamon sugar

Sat 5 Jan

Here we go Saturday. Hoping to get the Christmas tree de-trimmed and dismantled and put the living room back to rights today as well as maybe sneak in a hike at Rib this afternoon in the milder weather. Yay, tree is down and put away! Food: 8:05 am 101 g blackberries, coffee 9:40 am Cinnamon roll 1:40 pm 2 fried eggs, 3 Trader Joe's cinnamon graham crackers 6:25 pm Baked salmon, 1/2 c parmesan cous cous, 3/4 c stir-fried pea pods Exercise: 2:35-4:00 pm Hiking Rib

Fri 4 Jan

Seems that by realizing I'm planning to try to get up for 8 am class on Monday as well, it is a little easier today to get up for 8 am Barre. We'll see how long that lasts. Cream puffs are still fine today; we just couldn't eat them all up yesterday. Probably helps that the kitchen stays pretty cool in the winter so though they aren't refrigerated, they're also not too warm. Don't know how filling they'll be for exercise fuel, even though they have a lot of egg in them. Food: 6:50 am 2 cream puffs, 1 chouquette, 101 g blackberries, coffee 12:45 pm Turkey soup, Panera croissant Exercise: 8:00-8:35 am Barre class 8:45-9:15 am Treadmill 9:30-10:30 am Body Pump class

Thurs 3 Jan

Bob's computer keyboard is on the fritz at the moment and he is frustrated. I predict he'll buy a new one before the day is out. No walk with Kathy today, so the schedule is free. Might make the cream puffs just to make sure I can. Scale is down a bit after severely limiting sweets (to a normal level) yesterday. But I have the ingredients that have been sitting at room temp for a couple of days now and I really want to try it. I probably will only fill about half of them and eat the others as chouxettes. Food: 8:15 am Orange scone, 101 g blackberries, coffee 12:40 pm 1 g challah, 55 g roast pork 2:30 pm 3 small cream puffs 6:10 pm 2 chicken drumsticks, 1/3 c quick cook brown rice w/golden raisins, 1 c broccoli Exercise: 1:30-1:45 pm Half of Jessica Smith Fat Blaster walk

Wed 2 Jan

Here we go, 2019, starting regular schedules again. School bus came through this morning, no more holidays on the agenda until Good Friday that entail days off. There will be Valentine's Day and St Patrick's Day, but they just entail minor celebrations. We, however, have two major vacations to look forward to, the first of which commences a week from today. Bob sees his doctor today and hopefully will find out that he can treat whatever is ailing his lungs with an antibiotic or other basic treatment and be at least starting to recover soon. New gym schedule for the new year. On Wednesdays, they now offer a Tone class for half an hour before Body Pump. Not as many steps, but good aerobic toning moves. On Mondays, I will try to go at 8 am for an hour of Zumba 8-9 with a short break before Body Pump. Continuing to go at 8 on Fridays for Barre. Time to step up my game. Food: 7:55 am 1 c Quaker Oat Squares, 1/2 c soy milk, 101 g blackberries, coffee 12:30 pm 2 fried eggs, 3 TJ's cinnamon graham crackers Exercise: 9:00-9:30 am Tone class 9:30-10:30 am Body Pump class

Happy New Year's 2019

Woke up at 11:59 pm last night just to look at the clock, so got to watch it turn 12:00 to 2019! Thought about waking Bob up to wish him a Happy New Year, but took the polite route and wished it silently. The neighbors sent off quite a few fireworks as soon as it had turned midnight, but I couldn't see them from my window and I wasn't motivated to get up and go to a west-facing window in another bedroom. But it was fun to see in the new year in my own way. Food: 8:25 am 1 c Quaker Oat Squares, 1/2 c soy milk, 101 g blackberries, coffee 2:15 pm 31 g challah, 43 g roast pork 6:25 pm 2 pc Omega 3 bread, butter, 2 oz black forest ham, 1 oz jarlsberg, 1 c TJ's Autumn Harvest soup Exercise: 10:15-10:25 am Janis Soffel warm-up and start of Brand New Butt 10:30-10:45 am Jessica Smith Walk and Talk Jan 2019 challenge 1:50-2:10 pm Jessica Smith Equip-free cardio