The thankful week

This is a record of the thanksgiving week.

 I am calling it the thankful week because of how lovely it was in its ordinary peaceful way

Sunday (In R's words)

Today I woke up. Mama was in the study room
Santa wears a tan.
Then I ate dinner. I got my allowance and then I went with Miss Darlene -
Mama took a photo of me with Miss Darlene

Where is my Peter Pan Blanket?
I went to Whole Foods Market, Macy's and Subway with Miss Darlene
Then we came home
We went to Target - At target I bought Skittles - Wild Berry.
(Mama bought a present for a little girl called Aniyan - she does not have any money. The present was a kitchen set to play with - I hope she will be happy with her Christmas present)
I need a gift for Christmas - Macy's present- a gift card - I want 50 dollars
Then Mama went to Bath and Body works - I did buy a blue bottle of hand sanitizer.
I went to Applebees. I listen to the music. I sleep in bed.
The END
It was a good day - yes. I will smell the markers
Miss Michelle is gone

Monday

Do you guys know that I have started this program called 2020 Lifestyles?

Anyway 2 months in I have lost about 13 pounds and I have really started to become a "work-out person".

However, the program has started to really annoy me.

Honestly I have really never had self-esteem issues – I never think, for instance, that my husband is looking at the ladies in Fred Meyer.

But NOW – I think about weight all the time

I have been stewing about it for a while and today I decided to do something about it and wrote to my dietician Sarah that we need to change our approach

1. Can't frame a week as a success or failure based on the number on the scale
2. Stop saying "I am on a plateau"
3. Stop talking about weight altogether for the time being and just focus on doing the right things.
4. Be okay with weight coming off slowly.
5. Need to add normal food in –real and normal food like oatmeal/ brown rice /real eggs/quinoa/beans.
6. I need to accept that I cannot eat so much meat/tofu. I added the morning star stuff like they suggested and I am looking at the ingredient list – it over-processed food that cannot possibly be good for my body. How is it better to eat this than a bowl of homemade black bean soup?
7. Diet is not sustainable without dairy. Without greek yogurt –every snack is so hard
8. Hate all the soy/egg- white shakes I am not going to try any more.
9. I know a huge part of the problem is that I am a very picky eater and that I don't like meat. But that is who I am and we need to accept that slow weight loss is a consequence of that and be okay.

Guess what? Sarah was simply lovely - she humbly apologized to me and she said that she should really have thought it through and that 99% of the folks who come to the program have one goal which is to lose weight –

I felt so much better

Just putting my unmet need out there in plain words. Without judging I, for having those needs in the first place. I love being 40.

DH and R came to  the club and I gave him a bath after swimming and we all went home.

Tuesday

Was simply a luscious delicious day as I spend all day thinking about how close I was to the long weekend
Sigh
Swoon
How I love this time of year.
October there is the cabin break, November there is Thanksgiving and in December the office will be so quiet at Christmas

Wednesday

I had no meetings and I worked from home-A corner of  DH's study room is my "home office"

I think I really love the actual  work - the politics gets me down - but the actual work is amazing.

I was in my fuzzy robe all day - R was so happy that I was "doing Microsoft at home" (sounds like those clichéd Porn movie names "Debbie does the east side)

At lunch I stopped and DH cooked cutlets and we ate together and watched Madam Secretary

I walked on the treadmill for a long time - 62 minutes - 4.5 incline, 3.5 miles

Then we watched a lot more of Madam Secretary

R and I wrote journal

I love doing this with him - some of it is prompted and answers to questions because he likes to skip the detail
R's Journal
Today is Wednesday
I woke up in the morning. I went to see Marla. She was closed. Because she was sick
Then I saw Lake Sammamish which is on the end of Idylwood Park
I came home
Then I did HW .HW was very hard.
Then Mr. Peter will come .With Mr. Peter I did Math and Science
I went with Mr. Peter to the park .I went on the swings.
Then I ate chicken
Mama was at home today. Mama was doing Microsoft.
Then I went to the center- I did Math. I worked with Jason and Stacey. They are new. Then I came home
Then mama was home
I did treadmill
No grinding in Hilton Fort Lauderdale Marina Elevator
I ate dinner.
Then we listened to ILS - I was looking for Eine Kleine Nachtmusik. I found it in the ILS
I filled two glasses with Sprite and with water
I brought them up with me
Then I took a bath - I was looking for the baton - its gone. I could not find it
Then I wrote and journal and now its time to read a book - The book is called "Special Delivery"
This book is about Oswald - he is an octopus. He has got a present. The present is books. People guess that it's a hot air balloon.

Thursday

R, I and DH lounged about in bed till 2 pm. simply delightful.

I finished a book by Elizabeth George- a disappointment but still a decent book. 
I went downstairs and forced R to play with me by bribing him that we would go to Macy's in the evening ( Dr Greenspan would shudder at this floortime - we did Pretend play with a Thanksgiving feast and read a few Christmas books) 

In the evening we went to Macy's. 

R has been simply perishing to go there to take pics of the elevators

The problem is that he wants to take thousands of pics to get it "perfect"

He mails a letter to Santa - in which he says that his Christmas wish is to see Santa. His sweetness makes my heart ache

I have been really la-di-da about the sales but I see the oceans of these gorgeous cashmere sweaters and am weak with lust.

Maybe the best Thanksgiving I have ever had

We watch Gracepoint

Friday

Have to wake up early to go to the gym with the trainer-But even the gym was great as it was super empty

Its raining quite heavily.The firs are all shiny and green

People say this weather as grey and depressing

But I feel like I am living inside an emerald - so radiant is this green

When I am inside the house - it feels like the heavy rain is keeping the outside world out

I LOVE just being at home with nothing to do but watch TV cook and eat

We snuggle a lot - drink tons of tea and generally have a great time

We saw a new Miss Maple "Greenshaw's Folly" which I could not remember reading - a major bonus

I went to Trader Joe's for grocery shopping - which was also really empty .

I asked R whether he wanted to go to QFC with Papa or Trader Joe's with mama

He chose a third option "I will dance"- and dance he did in Trader Joe's.

I bought many nice things for DH to eat so that he would not feel deprived because of my diet.

Also since I cannot eat these sweet things myself - I get vicarious joy out of watching him eat

I bought

1. Pecan Pie
2. Croissants ( for breakfast)
3. A big Toblerone
4. Chocolate
5. Shortbread Jammy cookies
6. Wasabi nuts

I also insisted that he get Thai curry for dinner in takeout – R got a subway sandwich - so the family s very happy

My one worry is R's sore which is still not fully healed - have a new course of antibiotics.

Tomorrow we have to go to the hospital to get Remicade which will depress his immune system further

Still - this is life

Saturday: Hospital Day

Like everything else this week - this went rather well as everything was less crowded.

DH stops by the Mall to get a replacement cover for our "Lovesac" ( have you heard of this  800 dollar pillow ?) He also wins husband of the year by stopping by Macy's to get  pair of boots that are for 19.99

It usually takes FOREVER after they take his weight to get the Remicade prepared but today it is super fast. 

I love the halls of Swedish - which I walk up and down on to get my steps for my fitbit. 

There is nothing like being  in a hospital to give you perspective.


There is a wall where nurses have put up sayings which are very touching

His liver feels less annoyed ( nurse showed us his ALT /AST) this time but some of his inflammation markers like sed rate are up.

 DH and I both feel very bugged by Crohns. While we were coming out of the hospital - there was a couple taking a new born home looking so tired and DH was saying "What an exhausting time is ahead of them?" Then I said "hopefully their life won't turn out like ours".


I said a silent prayer for that mom in the wheel chair and also chided myself for saying that about our life which is really very good.

Interestingly we also discussed if we had a choice and could pick one - we both said we would picks Crohn's over autism

Though we both hate Crohn's a lot more – we complain about Crohn's SO much more than we complain about Autism ( we also crib about having 2 things – that is having Autism should have given R a free pass)

I cooked this afternoon. I am getting serious dislike of meat/eggs -Anytime I am unplanned - I don't eat any meat at all. Today I ate tofu and beans for protein - as a result I looked at the "dashboard" and I have only eating 50% of the protein and over 100 % of the fat and carbs :-(. So envious of those that love meat

DH got the fireplace burning and the lovely smell of wood was amazing. 

We watched "Paradise" which we have always jeered at as being a Selfridges wannabe but it was really very good

Sunday

Since all our chores were done yesterday today was a day of rest. R was out with Miss Darlene so DH and I took a long walk.

While it was bone-chilling cold – the sky and the lake were just so sparklingly blue

It's the end of the loveliest week ever.

When I think about when I am happy vs when I am not – I think I just need the 3 of us, some good books, some PBS shows, a fireplace and our slow paced lazy life.

Those are my ingredients for happiness. What are yours?