Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

December flew by so fast.  And here we are already half way through January.  

We had a lovely Christmas.  The kids both got home for break the second week of December and I have really enjoyed having them home....even though it's meant actual cooking and lots of laundry.  Although, they can  do their own laundry and cook their own meals, I like doing it for them when they are here. :)

We've spent a lot of time watching football (college and professional) as well as a lot of hockey (Carolina Hurricanes).  We've eaten out, gone to breweries, watched tv, talked, laughed, and in general just enjoyed being a family of 4 again.  Peter's classes started on January 6th so he left on the 5th. Sarah's classes start today but she left last Wednesday to go to State to hang out with her boyfriend and their friends. And I didn't blame her.  Dan and I were both back to work last week (well actually before that even) so she was just hanging out around the house alone.  

I'm not going to lie though.  It was a little sad when I came home from work last Wednesday and the house was empty.  It had been so nice coming home and having the kids here.  Back to the empty nest...

On to the Christmas update...

I hosted the annual Christmas Eve party after the Lovefeast and Candlelight service at the church I grew up attending.  Jennifer and her family joined us and we had a great time.  And of course, I got zero pictures.  

Christmas morning was our normal stockings, presents, lots of coffee and then off to Mass.  Cathy and Eric made it in time from D.C. so that Cathy was able to join us at church.  After church we had lunch with my mom and brother (mom prepared  a Thanksgiving feast) and opened more presents. Then we came home and opened even more presents! Our dinner was leftover food from Christmas Eve and  then we watched A Beautiful Mind.  It was a very enjoyable movie. Peter wanted to watch Inception but that seemed to intense for me.

The next day we hung out around the house and I made chicken pot pie soup for lunch and then we piled into the car and headed to Raleigh.  Peter wanted to show Cathy and Eric  his beloved NC State Campus. It was a good time to do it too because we practically had the entire campus to ourselves.

 We  had diner at Player's Retreat and then we went to the Chinese Lantern Festival in Cary. We had never been so I had no idea what to expect but it was really cool.  If you live in NC, I highly recommend it.

I had to work on the 27th and Cathy and Eric had to head back to D.C.  so Christmas was over.  

On New Year's Eve,we met the Waller's for dinner at Tokyo (our longstanding tradition). It was delicious as usual and I love when I get to hang out with Jennifer.  I miss when the kids were little and we got to hang out every day!

I actually had to work New Year's Eve for a couple of hours after the store closed because New Year's Day meant INVENTORY!  I worked a lot of hours but we managed to get it done by end of day on Saturday.  4 days isn't bad when you are counting and reconciling an entire store's worth of inventory! 

And that pretty much sums up the holidays for me!  

Happy New Year!  Although at this point I should probably say, "Happy Valentine's Day!" ")

A November recap!

December?!  Already? November flew by but one thing I've noticed as I've gotten older (as we age...) time goes so fast.  And speaking of aging, I haven't forgotten about my series.  I've got lots to write about.  But sadly, as we age... we get tired easily and prefer to sit on the couch when we get home from work instead of writing blog posts about getting old.  Oh well!  I will get back to it eventually but for now, I wanted to do a quick update from November.

My sweet little baby boy turned 22!?  He was able to come home for a couple of days so that we could celebrate with him.  When I asked what he wanted for dessert, he immediately said "banana pudding"!  Now that's a good southern boy for you! And in case you don't know it, this is the best banana pudding recipe hands down.  I always make it in a triffle dish instead of a 9x13 because it makes the presentation a little nicer. And then I stuck two number two candles in it and voila!  Birthday "cake" for my baby!

Guess who's a HUGE Grateful Dead fan?  And guess who loves his new Christmas sweater?

He's also a huge Hurricanes fan so this sweatshirt and hat from Uncle Dick and Aunt Jen were perfect!

It was so nice to spend some time with my boy.  The only thing missing was my girl!

But never fear! Both kids came home for Thanksgiving so I was in hog heaven.  I worked Monday and Tuesday and then spent the day on Wednesday cooking.  But I had help.  Sarah made the carrot cake I always make and Peter made a pumpkin pie.  Both were delicious.  I also made cranberry sauce and sweat potato casserole.

We spent Thursday with my mom and my brother and Jennifer's family. Mom insisted that we take a group photo so I brought my real camera and my tripod and I'm so happy I did.  Look at this great group picture:

We had a great time.  The food was delicious and it was so good catching up with Jennifer and her family.  

And then of course, we headed to the mountains the day after Thanksgiving to get our Christmas tree.

It was COLD.  It even snowed a little bit on us but that just made it seem more Christmasy.

We found the perfect little tree!

And then we headed to downtown West Jefferson and walked around while we waiting on our table at New River Brewing Company.  The food is good there and the beer is too so win-win!

When we got home, I made chili and we decorated the tree in our pjs.  

We also watched Planes, Trains, and Automobiles because that's now our Thanksgiving tradition movie.  It's really funny and has definitely stood the test of time!

Peter headed back to Raleigh on Saturday morning because he had a graduation party to attend and he and his friends were going to watch the State/Carolina game and Sarah spent the day with her whole crew so just like that, it was just the two of us.  It was a wonderful time with my sweet little family and I cherish every minute I get to spend with them.  That's another thing about aging...you finally understand what's important and it's ALWAYS the people never the things.

And guess what it did on Tuesday?  We woke up to a light dusting of snow.  Of course, schools here were cancelled and I got to go to work an hour later and there were lots of wrecks.  It was so quiet and peaceful when I was drinking my coffee.  

I hope you all had a great November!  I like to think that I'll get back on here and post again in December but I have a lot to do what with it being CHRISTMAS EVE IN TWENTY DAYS!  So I guess I'll go ahead and wish you a Merry Christmas! 

And just for fun...Here's some out takes from our Christmas card "photo shoot".  Yes, we did it in the front yard on Thanksgiving morning but it was the only time we had since we were getting our tree on Friday and the kids were heading in different directions on Saturday.  

I should have used this one for the card!  :)

As We Age...A Series in Who Knows How Many Post Because I've Got A Lot of Issues. Part 2

Next up on As We Age...A Series in Who Knows How Many Posts because I've got a lot of issues....

I would like to discuss feet.

Ewwwwwww.  Gross.  Nobody likes to talk about feet.  And certainly, nobody likes to look at pictures of other people's feet so there will be zero pictures of my feet posted here today. 

While I may find feet ugly I am very thankful for my feet.  Until 4 years ago, I had zero thoughts about my feet.  I used to bee bop into a shoe store and pick any shoe I thought was cute, purchase it, and wear it with no issues but then one day all that  changed.

It was the end of 2020 and I was working early voting for the election. In our county, early voting lasts 17 days.  They like for everyone working to be there every day and to be there the entire time the polls are open which is typically 12 hours.  They don't like election workers coming and going in shifts.  They like continuity.  Most of these 17 days I was on my feet for all most the full 12 hours .

And for most of these 17 days I was wearing cute, non-supportive shoes - the type of shoes I've always worn.  Flats, fashion sneakers (you know the shoe that looks like a sneaker but has zero cushioning or support), little booties, you get the idea.  I was dressing for cuteness without giving a second thought to my feet.  Because prior to this, my feet hadn't given me any problems.

After that election my feet were killing me.  Every step I took caused my feet to burn.  I remember it felt like they were ripping with each step and the pain in my heels were intense. After much googling, I determined that I had plantar fasciitis.  

And in case you are lucky enough not to know what plantar fasciitis is here's a brief synopsis:

Plantar fasciitis is an inflammation of a thick band of tissue called the plantar fascia. This tissue runs across the bottom of the foot and connects the heel bone and toes. This is one of the most common causes of heel pain. Plantar fasciitis occurs when the fascia becomes overstretched or experiences excessive strain caused by repetitive stress from activities like standing or running. The most common symptom is a stabbing pain in the bottom of the foot near the heel. Pain is usually the worst in the morning.

I brought it up with my doctor who agreed that's what I had.  She gave me a printout of exercises to do with my feet. I bought a contraption from Amazon stretch my feet. I used a frozen water bottle to roll my feet on to stretch out the fascia.  I even started doing the foot exercises before I got up in the mornings because when you haven't been using your feet the muscles constrict and then if they aren't stretched out properly the ripping feeling occurs. These exercises helped  some and the frozen water bottle felt nice on my poor feet but it was still very painful to walk.  And if you will recall, this was the exact time I was starting to gain weight so I'm sure not being able to move without pain didn't help in that area either.

I decided I needed more than some foot exercises to help with the pain so I went to Fleet Feet and got special inserts in my shoes.  I also bought a pair of very expensive Hokas to wear when I needed to be on my feet for long periods. Both of these helped but I still didn't feel like my feet were healing. It was at this point (spring of 2021) that I discovered the thing that literally saved me...

OOFOS!

 

 

I had never heard of OOFOS but in my extensive googling and searching for relief from my foot pain, I came across an ad for them.  And even though they were the ugliest things I've ever seen and they were expensive, I ordered a pair.

When they came and I put them on, I swear, I could hear the angels singing. 

My feet felt good for the first time in months.  I could actually walk without intense pain.  

They were ugly so I never wore them outside of the house but the minute I got home from anywhere, I put them on.  I even kept them by my bed and wore them to the bathroom in the middle of the night.  

I remember about a month after getting them,  I accidentally wore them out the house, I was mortified.  I looked down and I had these ugly shoes on out in public.  Sarah told me they weren't that ugly and not to worry about it. I decided to stop being vain and enjoy the fact that I could walk from the parking lot into a building and not be in pain. And from then on, I started wearing them to the grocery store and any other places that it didn't really matter. I would never wear them to church or out to dinner but I basically was wearing them 85% of the time at that point. And it was then, they my feet finally began to heal.

Eventually, I started seeing ads for OOFOS on TV and started seeing other people wearing them out in public.  I've gone through quite a few pairs of them over the last four years and my brother and my husband are now also proud OOFOS owners. Thankfully, now, the basic OOFOS have come way down in price too.  I was originally paying $90 and now you can get the basic pair for $60! 

My feet are now fully healed from the plantar fasciitis thankfully and I can wear cuter shoes again.  But gone are the days where I can wear just any old cute shoe.  The heel has to be a certain height and there has to be a certain amount of support.  If not, I have to use my good old inserts. I still come home from work or being out and put on my OOFOS.

I remember in my youth wondering why all the little old ladies wore such ugly shoes and vowed never to be like them.  HA!!! 

 As we age, our feet break down and we become little old ladies wearing ugly but sensible shoes!  

Have you guys ever heard of OOFOS?  Do you own them?  Would you wear them out in public?

As We Age....A Series in Who Knows How Many Parts Because I've Got A Lot of Issues (Part 1)

I am 55. At least that's what the calendar and my math told me on September 13th. And don't think I didn't double check my math! I still can't believe it. How did I get so old??

My mind thinks I'm 21 but my joints are telling me otherwise.

And now the doctors are telling me too.

It all began when I turned 50.  Literally 3 months after turning 50 in 2019, I was down on the floor watering the Christmas tree when I couldn't just get up.  It's like my knees mysteriously decided they were done.  I had to use my hands to push myself up off the ground and it's been that way ever since.

That's exactly the same time that I started (also mysteriously) gaining weight. Literally nothing changed in my diet or my exercise but every morning when I would weigh, the number on the scale would be slightly higher than the day before.  I blamed covid, I blamed perimenopause , I blamed myself for not being "better".  But now, I believe it's just aging(so also maybe perimenopause because being in perimenoapause means you are getting old).

How do I know it's aging that was causing the weight gain?  Because when I asked my gynecologist about it I got a speech that started with "As we age...."  Basically saying you are getting old and there's nothing you can do about it.  I saw this doctor (a male) and got this speech year after year so I switched gynecologists.  I found a nice woman and thought she might be more helpful.  After I described my symptoms and complaints, she started with "As we age...."  and I got the same speech. Again it was just you are getting old and you have to deal with it.

So, for 4 years, I kept gaining weight even though I was trying different things.  Different diets, different exercises.  No diet.  I even tried less exercise and more calories because a lot of things I was reading about  weight gain as we age said that I wasn't eating enough and that I was exercising too much. And still, nothing happened EXCEPT that I continued to gain weight. 

Fast forward to February of this year.  I decided enough was enough.  I was officially in menopause so even though I was old and aged, I was going to do what I've done before to lose weight.  I was going to limit my carb intake.  

In February, I was a whopping 35 pounds over my actual weight in the spring of 2019. That's the equivalence of a pregnancy weight gain without the joy of a baby at the end.

I started limiting my carb intake to under 20 per day.  This meant I cut out sweets, adult beverages, potatoes, rice, bread.  All the things that make life delicious.  But it was worth it.  By July, I had lost 23 pounds.  Since then, I've added back in a couple of adult beverages on the weekend and also some other tasty weekend carbs and I've maintained by 23 pound loss.  

I have decided that my goal through the end of the year is to maintain my current weight loss and then start back up in full force in January to see if I can get these last 12 to 15 pounds off.  It's going to be hard but I think I can do it!

I'm feeling better about myself and in general, just feeling better.  My knees still don't work though but that's just because, as we age...

This was June of 2019 when I was feeling good and looking good!  No clue of what was yet to come.  This was 3 months before I turned 50.

This was October 2022.  Who is this woman?  I don't recognize her.  

This was last month.  It's a definite improvement and I'm feeling so much better in my own skin these days.  We'll see if I can drop some more pounds next year.  But if I can't, I'm perfectly happy at this weight and hope I can maintain it. 

This is part one in a series of all of my aging woes. So if you want to hear me complain more about my old body, stick around!  :)

Tis the season...

It's election season and this is the first time Peter and Sarah  are eligible to vote for the president.  What should have been an exciting time for them was marred by the fact that both candidates are extremely flawed and there is no obvious "good choice" that you could confidently cast your vote for. (At least in our opinions.)

But, we did our duty as citizens and we all got out there and voted.  And since it's 2024, did it even count if you didn't take a selfie and share it to the family group chat?

 

Voting in three different counties means three different I Voted Stickers!

Not only is it election season, It's also Halloween!  Last weekend, both kids attended Halloween parties and they sent us pictures of their costumes.

Sarah was Daisy from The Great Gatsby (her favorite novel)

She added gloves!

Peter was a pirate!

Here he is with all his roomies on their back porch before heading out!

And because this is one of my favorite Halloween pictures it seemed appropriate to share it now...

This was from Halloween 2007 and you can read my blog post from that day if you are interested Oh those sweet babies!  

Happy Halloween everyone and don't forget to vote!