Sunday Weigh in December 31, 2023

[Barb135]

Good morning.  Well, here we are, with the last weigh in of 2023.   I hope everyone has has a good year and is looking forward to an even better New Year.  

Although my year has been pretty hectic at time, my last week has been pretty laid back and quiet.  The year has been busy with calligraphy classes, meeting and other events, along with trying to get in practice and project time.  Of course, there were the broken bones and surgery that required recuperation time - those kind of put a damper on my activities, but as usual, I managed to come out of them.  

I've discovered now that I have some issues with the muscles in my right hand that are hindering the use of my hand, which explains why I'm having trouble with calligraphy since it's very precise and must be done exactly right in order to be considered "calligraphy".   I'm afraid a trip back to the hand doctor will be on the schedule in the near future, but we'll see.  In the meantime, I'm trying to work on the muscles to see if I can get them strengthened on my own.  Always something new, isn't there??  

Coming into a new year, I have to wonder how many of you make New Year's resolutions and whether or not you're good at keeping them.  I pretty much stopped making resolutions years some years ago because I, typically, end up letting them go by the wayside within the first month, if not the first week.   Also, my resolutions, typically, had to do with weight related issues and I long ago realized that living with someone who refuses to change their diet and/or provide encourage and help only sets one up for failure and disappointment.  That said, if I were to decide on something resembling a resolution, it might be something along the lines of trying to spend less time on computer things and more time with calligraphy related things, along household things, such as getting closets cleared out, stuff given for donations, etc.  

I've been trying to get husband to agree to replacing the cabinets and flooring in the kitchen and dining room, so if I'm successful with that, the first thing that would need to be done is clearing everything out to remove the old cabinets in preparation for the new.  What better time to get rid of things that are no longer used or needed?   Even better yet would be to get rid of items BEFORE it's necessary, so when it's time to begin demolition, that part is already done!!

Anyway, that's more of a "plan" than a resolution, but the "plan" includes the whole house - all the closets that are stuffed with "stuff" that never sees the light of day, therefore doesn't need to be there.   Nobody wants most of it when we're no longer here, so items that important to us can be photographed and kept as memories that way.   Other things are simply taking up space.   Husband has just as many things as I do.  Don't get me wrong - we're not hoarders or anything like that - it's just 56 yrs (how long we've been married) of accumulation!!  

Anyway, that's my vision of the start of my new year.  Of course, I'll need husband's cooperation for some of it to take place, but there is a lot I can accomplish on my own if he chooses to be obstinate, which he, often is when it comes to household repairs and upgrades.  

I'm still walking nearly every day and plan to continue until my neighbor goes back to OR in the spring.  I'd like to think I might continue beyond that, but again - past experience says I probably won't.  I think I mentioned that my husband had been on a cruise, returning Christmas Eve Day.  I'd lost 2 lbs while he was gone and believe it or not, I've managed to keep them off.   I did step on the scale this morning and even though it was after I'd already had coffee, my weight was within 0.2 lb of last week's weight.   I've had a lot of swelling in my feet/legs this past week and was really surprised to see that I actually maintained last week's weight.  

So far, I've lost 9 lbs since I saw my doctor in October.  I'd have hoped to lose more, but 9 is better than none, plus, slow going means I'm more likely to keep it off.  

So that's where I am... what about you?  How was your week?  Have/will you make New Year's resolutions?  Are you good at keeping them?   I look forward to hearing from you.  

~~Wishing everyone a wonderful, successful week~~  

**Happy New Year**

[AnnieBrooke]

Barb, 9 pounds is great! I measure my weight successes in fractions of pounds. But over the past few months, even with some weeks coming in the same as the previous week, I'd say I've taken off and kept off at least 4 pounds.

We've had a stinker of a year (including continuing financial fraud and identity theft issues from having had our house burgled last November) and my mother's death. Last week, I was getting ready for our family party on the 23rd, and as I think I mentioned, my husband needed a ride (evening of the 22nd) to pick up the car that had been in the shop, and I couldn't do it because I was cleaning, so he took a Lyft, and they got hit by a drunk driver. Also, his Lyft driver was coughing and hacking, and my husband helped him change the car's tire so they could get off the left shoulder of the freeway where they were stranded in the dark. Well, guess what. On the 25th, my husband started to feel a sore throat coming on, which he assumes was from the Lyft driver. He took a Covid test, it was negative. But by the 28th he wasn't feeling better and the usual cold remedies didn't ease his symptoms, so he took a Covid test again, and it was positive. Our son and I were negative on the 28th, but I started to get a sore throat on the 29th. Tested yesterday, and I'm positive. Meaning, just in case 2023 didn't end nastily enough, hey, here's some Covid to see the old year out! I know our problems are nothing like those of the war-torn world, but am glad to say Amen to kicking 2023 goodbye. May we all have a better 2024.

Thanks to Covid and no appetite and being in bed all day yesterday with a headache (and massive nose-blowing), it's no surprise to get on the scale today and find I'm a pound and a fraction lower than last Sunday. I doubt the drop will last longer than the Covid does, but at least I didn't magically gain weight when sick.

I asked my son if he had tested yet (he's got a Covid home test waiting on his desk) and he said "Yes," and I asked where the result was, and he said "Online." He hadn't heard me say "Covid," and thought I was asking about some homework he handed in electronically. So he still doesn't know from today's test, though on the 28th it was negative for him. I'm hoping he didn't get Covid from either his father or later from me. School is starting back up on Tuesday.

Have a good week. May we all have a wonderful or at least better 2024!