Well guess what? After a month of very limited carbohydrates, increased exercise and lots of water (and possibly a round of food poisoning), I’ve lost some weight! I did an “official” monthly weigh-in yesterday morning, and this past month I lost eight pounds! Eight pounds!! I could tell I was losing something because my clothes have felt different, but it was a nice surprise to see so much come off. I sure don’t expect to lose this much every month, but it’s a good start, and I sure haven’t felt deprived in the least.
YaYu saw the doctor this past week for some breathing difficulties she’s been experiencing, and like her two sisters before her has for the time being been diagnosed with exercise-induced asthma and prescribed an inhaler. The doctor has also ordered a pulmonary function test to rule out general asthma, and until that happens she can’t participate in any running events for track, although she can still compete in both the long jump and triple jump events. Exercise-induced asthma for teen athletes is more common here than one might imagine, possibly caused by a combination of heat, humidity and dust in the air.
We received the invoice for the Key Club convention that YaYu will be attending in April: $325 per person. However, after all the fundraising she has done the past few months, her balance due was just $12.20! She is still continuing to sell candy bars, although the money going forward will go toward reducing her airfare to Oahu and back.
Anyway, this afternoon I am:
- Reading: It’s been slow going with Nobody’s Fool so far, although I am enjoying it. I’m finding myself overly distracted by the news once again, so am going to have to knock that back some and focus more on reading.
- Listening to: It’s a very quiet morning here. The sun is out, but the only sound outside is birds singing (and the occasional rooster). YaYu is still asleep – she had a long day yesterday – and Brett is reading.
- Watching: Brett and I just started Season 3 of Ripper Street, still watching just one episode an evening. On Friday evening we all watched The Talented Mr. Ripley, courtesy of Amazon Prime. Still a great story, and terrific acting from everyone in the film (and a reminder once again of the talent lost when Philip Seymour Hoffman died). We noticed that there are new episodes available of the Great British Baking Show on Amazon Prime, so we’re going to take a break from Ripper Street starting tonight to watch that for a few days.
- Cooking/baking: I’m making an orange cake this afternoon for Brett and YaYu (Brett’s choice), and tonight we’re having Chinese stir-fried tomatoes and eggs again. We raved over it when I first made it a couple of weeks ago and are excited to have it again along with sautéed bok choy. Besides being delicious, the egg dish is also a snap to prepare.
The stadium market on Fridays is very low-key compared to our local market. - Happy I accomplished this week: I didn’t think we’d be going to a farmers’ market this week, but Brett and I headed down to the Friday afternoon one at Vidinha Stadium in Lihue, and bought enough to get us through until the Kapaa market next Wednesday. I cranked up my bike riding to three 15-minute sessions a day, and rode over 105 miles, and burned over 3,880 calories! I also drank all my water (and then some), and did all my Japanese and Portuguese study sessions. As of tomorrow though I’m changing the time spent on each language: I’m cutting back the Japanese to 20 minutes, and increasing Portuguese to 20 minutes each day. It’s not my accomplishment, but Brett got WenYu’s taxes done – they were complicated because she worked in both Hawaii and Massachusetts last year. She’ll be getting back a nice refund this year from both states as well as from the federal return.
- Looking forward to next week: Brett and I plan to head down to the south side of the island either Tuesday or Wednesday to visit Hanapepe. There’s lots to see and do in Old Town, and we’ll have lunch while we’re there. We’re also planning to finish up gift shopping this week for our upcoming Japan trip.
Tiger girls - Thinking of good things that happened: Seeing that tiny amount due for YaYu’s convention payment just about blew us away – we thought, if we were lucky, that she might have raised maybe $200 or so. I had a very fun time chatting with Meiling and WenYu on a conference call yesterday – they showed me how to add filters while we talked which kept us laughing the whole time. We put $4.52 in the change/$1 bill jar this week. It was going to be nothing because we were heading for a no-spend week, but then ended up going to the farmers’ market on Friday and got some change back.
- Grateful for: Both Brett and I are so very thankful that YaYu has put so much effort into fundraising so that we don’t have to pay so much for all these activities she’s involved in. She is a “joiner,” and every thing seems to required some sort of payment these days, but she always tries to find a way to keep the cost down to zero, or as near to that as possible.
- Bonus question: Are you a risk taker or someone who’s more risk averse? I think I’m someone who falls right into the middle of those two things. I definitely not afraid to try something new or somewhat risky, but before I do I try to find out as much about what I’m getting myself into. This goes for everything, whether it’s bungee jumping, skydiving, or some major life decisions. There are loads of people who would find moving to Hawai’i with three teenagers while living on a fixed income a very risky proposition, but we investigated our move thoroughly before we committed, and knew what we were taking on before making the move. Same for adopting three children in our mid- to late-40s and early 50s. We were risking our retirement when we did, but we weighed all the plusses and minuses, and knew it was the right thing for us to do. If I do think that something is too risky, or I learn of possible future pitfalls that I won’t be able to avoid, then I have no trouble pulling back or backing out from something.
That’s what’s been going on this week at Casa Aloha. How was your week? What have you been up to? What good things happened for you?
The Occasional Nomads 
Reading- “Chasing Sunsets” by Karen Kingsbury
Listening to – Tv is on as is the dryer
Watching- Batman
Cooking/baking- Hubby home this week means SF jelly bars and lots of grilling
Happy I accomplished – minimal eating out with hubby being home only 1 of each meal over a 6 day staycation
Looking forward to – my very first Schwans order 😋 And payday as always
Good things- hubby came home (he works in TX and we live in CO for an extended weekend and it’s our 17th anniversary today.
Grateful for – an amazingly strong marriage that can withstand him working away from home doing a job he was meant to do and that he’s happy doing. Always our fur babies that keep me busy and entertained while he is gone
We have taken many risks over the years with self employment, moving from Illinois to Colorado to Texas, back to Colorado, I am happy to just stay in one place for a while at this stage in our lives. (We are both in our 50’s)
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Thank you for mentioning your strong marriage. Being in one, and working as partners makes a huge difference in what you can accomplish, and allows you to take risks that you wouldn’t be able to do otherwise. Brett and I are very different people, but we agree on the ‘big stuff,” which is what counts, IMO.
We were happy to stay in one place (Portland) after moving around so much while Brett was in the navy, but we’ve caught the wanderlust again and are looking forward to more travel.
I wish we had something like Schwan’s here – once YaYu leaves the nest I told Brett and I am cutting w-a-y back on the cooking detail. Not sure what we’ll do here, but we’ll figure something out because I’m also not interested in eating out all the time.
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I just took rolls out of the oven (prepping for when I’m gone next week), and sitting at home with a sick kid. Poor guy is actually napping. . . which, never happens! I also ran to the other house (so out of shape), spent two hours pulling up the carpet staples, & then ran back. Great financial news today – I sold a necklace on eBay for $511! I was expecting, at most, $200, so this was a huge win. I’ll be putting the money toward the many, many unexpected house purchases. 🙂
Enjoy your Sunday!
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Also, awesome work on the weight loss – that is great progress!!!
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Congrats on your necklace windfall! It’s exciting, isn’t it? I sold some old campaign buttons that had belonged to my grandfather on eBay before we moved. Interest was lackluster, then at the last minute the bidding went crazy and they sold for nearly $400! I thought I might get $50, tops, for them.
Napping was always a sure sign my kids were sick. I could also tell by looking into their eyes – when they were sick they didn’t sparkle. When the sparkle came back I knew they were on the mend. Hope your little guy feels better soon.
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Total shock – it’s been years since I lost that kind of weight in one month.
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He woke up from his nap and said, “Mom, I feel great & I’m ready to go to flag football. My team needs me.” It was a very strange, but intense, 4 hour thing. Now he feels almost fine. Who knows?
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Also, jealous! that’s how I lost weight in my 20s. Now I’m at the “lost 2 lbs in a month” phase. 😉 If I work REALLY hard. 😉
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That’s how I lost weight in my 20s too, and that was a long, long time ago. I’m with you in the 2#-per-month club, if I work REALLY hard (and starve myself).
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My bad luck continues. The air conditioner went out on my 2013 Volkswagen cc and they want $2200 to fix it. I have already spent $2100 on same vehicle since December. I am currently looking at new vehicles and have been to 3 dealerships and much research on-line. I hate buying another vehicle. I thought this one would last me at least 7+ years. Cest la vie.
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I got through your second sentence and was telling myself, “It’s time for Vivian to get a new car!” VW makes great cars, but when they break it’s always expensive. We loved our 2003 Passat wagon, and planned to drive it forever, but the engine blew up when it was less than eight years old. (And right now my laptop’s touch pad has decided it doesn’t want to work anymore. Ugh. I’ve barely had this thing a year.)
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Great job on the weight loss! That’s amazing loss for one month! The carbs make such a difference. And I agree it’s so hard to lose weight at my age (63). I lost 12 lbs last year (soooo slowly) and have gradually watched 5 of them creep back up over the winter. I think the cold and dark are biological food triggers…I don’t crave carbs the same way in summer. At least that’s what I tell myself. Luckily, the days grow longer and we have sun this week. I did my 3 mile loop outdoors yesterday – although bundled against a cold wind.
I’m reading News of the World and enjoying it. Random pick from a book list in a magazine. And watching The Americans Season 4, which is finally free on Prime. I can only watch one episode per sitting, though. It’s scary and (I fear) too realistic. And of course, I had to watch the Oscars. The Best Picture jumble on stage was wild! And being in the Easter time zone, I’m pooped out today…waaaay past my bedtime. 🙂
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Reading: All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
Listening to: a morning talk show and the crackling fire; on the stereo right now for the afternoon – The next performer at the Home Routes concerts I host is Winona Wilde’s album You Lose Some, You Lose Some.
Watching: Saw the movie A Dog’s Purpose last week. Excellent.
Cooking/baking: made Mediterranean tuna-noodle casserole with artichoke hearts last night and used the spiral slicer for the first time to add carrots to the dish.
Happy I accomplished: completed the tax prep and budget last week and spent a week with my granddaughters. Such energy!
Looking forward to: the new season of The Voice on tv, massage after a morning of housecleaning tomorrow and a hair appointment on Thursday.
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