Wednesday Weigh-In: Week 94

Like I mentioned yesterday, I had a great week (as far as my eating habits go, anyway)! I didn't really have many challenges, though. Taking Luke and Riley out to eat was easy--Luke wanted to try Panda Express, which literally had NO vegan items on the menu (or so I thought--I didn't know that their noodles are vegan). The location we went to didn't have any of the new vegan options Panda offers. So, I just ate when we got home.

One thing that I *really* need to do is run! I just have not had the motivation to make myself do it. The 10K that Nathan and I signed up for is in less than four weeks and I haven't been training at all. I'm really trying not to beat myself up over it, because nothing good ever comes from that.

My mood has mostly been sad, given the circumstances with Luke and Riley (you can read about that here if you missed it). Logically, I know that exercise is good for one's mood; it's kind of ironic, really, because when I'm not in a good mood, it's hard to make myself just do it. If I run, I know it will boost my mood; and with a better mood, I'm more motivated to run.

I planned to take Joey for a three-mile walk this morning and then follow that up with a short run--two miles--but I ended up calling it quits after Joey's walk. It was SO COLD; even after walking for an hour, I could feel the cold all the way through to my bones. Being mid-March, I didn't even check the temp--27 degrees--before I left. I don't know how I used to run when the temp was in the single digits! The older I get, the less I can tolerate the cold. (As I sit here typing this, I'm wondering why it didn't occur to me to just run on the treadmill.)

Anyway, I wasn't really sure what to expect on the scale this morning. I was super busy yesterday and didn't get to eat dinner until almost 9:00 last night. I made a vegan version of chicken paprikash and it had a lot of sodium--it didn't taste very salty, but I had to keep adding more salt when I was cooking because it kind of bland. It turned out good, and I ate a big bowl of it. I was sure I would see a gain on the scale this morning (just water weight from the sodium) but I was pleasantly surprised to see my weight was down from last week:

At 143.2, I lost 1.4 pounds from last week. I'm happy with that! I wish that the weight would come off as fast as I put it on, but we all know it never works that way, unfortunately.

I was thinking about how quickly I gained back 25 pounds in the winter and I wanted to figure out why. I think what happened is that when I dropped weight really quickly in the fall--about 25 pounds--it was because I was really overwhelmed and stressed and didn't have much of an appetite at all. I was actually kind of worried about losing too much weight, which has NEVER been a problem for me.

So, I think that once my appetite returned, my body tried to make up for the quick weight loss by giving me a bigger appetite than usual. I try to listen to my body--eating more when I'm hungrier, less when I'm not--and over the past couple of weeks, I think my appetite has been smoothing out. It'll be interesting, if nothing else, to see how this goes from here, haha.

Aside from listening to my body, my main goal for this coming week is to RUN. I need to do it--not only for my mental health, but for the 10K. I don't want to struggle through it. Worst case scenario, I'll do a run/walk method; but I'd really like to try to run the whole thing. 

I'm going to write out a commitment here to hopefully hold me accountable this week: I will run three miles on Friday, four miles on Sunday, and three miles on Tuesday. No goal for speed or heart rate or anything like that; just getting in the mileage at a slow pace will be fine.

Well, I am going to go to bed and try my best to fall asleep early. I didn't get much sleep last night because my carpal tunnel syndrome has been awful ever since I was doing all the painting in my bedroom and bathroom. Yesterday, Noah asked me to fix the waistband of a pair of pajama pants he has and I had to pick apart the seam--I always forget that doing motions like that flare up my carpal tunnel.

It doesn't feel nearly as bad as it did in 2018(?) but I'm thinking I may go see another doctor about it. I saw two specialists last time and had a nerve test (I can't remember what it was called), but the doctor said it was "mild". I wanted to punch him in the throat when he said that. A ten on the pain scale is NOT mild--and that's coming from someone who has had a severely broken jaw and two surgeries to repair it. 

Anyway, I'm getting off track here. I'm going to put on my wrist braces and try to sleep. I'm hoping for another good week (that will include three runs)!

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Jerry Loses His Dad Bod: Week 9

Clearly, I spent too much time working on that photo, hahaha--I forgot to take a picture of Jerry before he left for work, so I made one. I even downloaded Star Wars fonts (*groan* I can imagine the targeted ads I'm going to see now for Star Wars stuff!)

Jerry and I had a good conversation about weigh loss today and he brought up a very wise point about trying to lose weight in general and having weekly weigh-ins. I've thought of it before, but the way he said it just seemed to make better sense with a simpler explanation. So, that's what he wrote about today...

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Welcome back. 

Every week it seems like I have an epiphany about weight loss. And it always seems to come off as an excuse for my slow weight loss, but I don't think it is. It's more of a realization and I'm learning something new all the time. So let's just rip the band-aid off, 190.6. That's a gain of 0.6 from last week. 

I did fairly well, or so I thought. I felt heavier over the last couple days and felt a little uneasy about what I was actually doing as far as my diet was concerned. But something dawned on me last night and I think it might ring true with almost everyone that does a weekly weigh-in.

While I always feel like I might be doing okay through the week, I have a tendency to spend the couple days before my weigh-in trying to eat better because I don't want to see the gain on the scale. So, if I can do that for the couple days before the weigh-in why can't I do it every single day? Why can't I just make it a lifestyle change as opposed to treating it like a temporary thing just to meet some number I want to see? 

I stress myself out on Sundays and Mondays because of the weigh-in and it doesn't have to be that way. That said, I will be making another change in how I eat and approach this week and we shall see how well I do. 

Also, I'm a firm believer that old habits die hard. Habits are like Vigo the Carpathian from Ghostbusters 2. He was poisoned, stabbed, shot, hung, stretched, disemboweled, drawn and quartered. Before his head died he said 'Death is but a door, time is but a window. I'll be back.' Those are my habits. LOL. The bad habits die when I work on them and then after some time, they come back.

I talk of bad habits because I have a couple. One glaring one from this week was eating when I'm not hungry. 'There are starving kids in [insert third world country here]'. Every kid heard it growing up. Every kid. As an adult it transformed into not wanting to waste food.

So, I eat everything. Even when I ain't hungry I still eat just because I don't want to waste the food. That's stupid. So, new mindset with that as well--don't eat if I'm not hungry. This will be the absolute hardest thing to do, for sure. More than portion control. More than eating healthy. More than eating slowly. Eating when my body is telling me I should and listening to it will be the hardest thing. 

So, I have my work cut out for me. Wish me luck.

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I felt bad when Jerry said he feels stressed out on Sundays and Mondays because of his weigh-ins on Tuesdays. I wanted this to be a fun series for him! I told him that we can quit this series so he doesn't think that way, but he wants to keep going with it. Hopefully with the realization he had last night about it, he can keep it in mind this week.

I *try* not to have that mentality before my weigh-in, and I've gotten much better about it. In the beginning, I was careful not to eat too much sodium the day before my weigh-in and not eat anything too heavy, etc--it makes no sense in the long run! It works great if you need to drop a few pounds within a week's time, but if you're working on losing a large amount of weight, it's much less stressful to just make better choices daily rather than trying to "catch up" right before a weigh-in.

I've eaten really well this week and I hope to see that on the scale tomorrow--but not enough to stress out today, worrying about sodium and volume of food. I made a vegan version of chicken paprikash for dinner tonight and I had to keep adding salt to it--for a second, I thought, "My weigh in is tomorrow--that's too much salt!" but I'm not going to worry about it. I didn't overeat and the ingredients were healthy, so if I gain a little water weight overnight, it'll come right off if I just continue with healthy habits.

Jerry has always had a hard time with listening to his body's hunger/fullness cues, so I hope this week goes well for him!

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Deep Thoughts With Jerry #10

Well, I wasn't planning to do two Jerry-posts in a row (tomorrow is his weekly weigh-in), but I just had no idea what to write today. This "spring forward" time change (even though it's only an hour) really messed with me. Setting the clocks back an hour in the fall doesn't mess with me like this, but "losing" an hour in the spring really feels like losing a big chunk of the day!

Anyway, I asked Jerry if he'd write a light-hearted "deep thoughts" post. It was either this or a vegan recipe review that did NOT turn out well at all, haha. Here's Jerry...

What is your favorite thing about the place you live?

My favorite thing would have to be the view. We live kinda close to Lake Erie and there are all sorts of marshes and other wetlands around. Across from us is a duck reserve. The DNR came through years ago and got rid of all the fragmite and flooded the area in order to make a refuge for the water fowls. The view is awesome pretty much year round.

What famous animal character are you most like?

Garfield. I know that when Katie reads this she's going to be all like 'WHAT?!' I love to just cuddle up under a blanket and I can fall asleep anywhere, I would like to sleep all day, everyday. Also, he loved lasagna and that's totally me, too!

What is your favorite restaurant?

Another surprise for Katie, Melt Bar and Grilled is my favorite. We have been there twice and each time was amazing! This place makes everything into a grilled sandwich. Everything. They made one called  'Glazed and Confused' that was a bacon cheeseburger between two glazed donuts with sweet berry jalapeño jam. Then it was covered in donut batter, deep fried, and covered in powdered sugar. YUM! From what I understand the place used to be a late night hangout for night owls and stoners and became extremely popular locally. Sadly, it's located in the Cleveland area and not really within a reasonable driving distance. 

Sweet, salty, or sour?

Never, ever sour. Not a fan at all. I would have to say that it would really depend on my mood but I think I'm totally a salty guy. 

Have you ever been to Disneyland or Disney World?

Nope. I flirted with the idea when I was a younger adult, always thinking that if I had kids I should take them there and it would be a great family experience. However, the price made it impossible and the kids weren't really into Disney stuff anyways. Fast forward to my 40s and now I want to go just for the Galaxy's Edge part of the park. It's a Star Wars themed part of the park that sounds like an awesome, unique experience that the kids and I would totally be up for. 

When did you get your first cell phone?

It was in 2000. Bought it from a gas station and had to buy minutes for it. It had a leather case and a flip down receiver. It was also thick and bulky and definitely wasn't a phone you'd want to put in your pocket. 'Is that a Zack Morris cell phone in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?'

Desktop, laptop, or tablet... which do you prefer to use?

Well, I have to use a desktop at work everyday and I use a laptop at home. I prefer Apple products and just really grew to hate Windows. I went through numerous PCs in my lifetime. I've had this Macbook for 12 years without any issue. 

What movie could you watch over and over again?

There are numerous movies I can watch. I can watch any MCU or Star Wars movie anytime, from any point, and just be into it. Katie always comments about how I can watch the same movies all the time and she doesn't like to do that. 

If you could be any fictional character who would you be?

Bruce Banner, better known as Hulk. Bruce was always the smartest person in the room. There was a rage that grew inside him and he just started destroying everything and was unstoppable. And when others tried to stop him it only made him more angry, hence making him stronger and more unstoppable. 

If you won the lottery what would you do with all the money?

I would pay off all the debts of my parents, brothers, and sisters. I would make a savings account for my kids, nieces, and nephews. After all that, I would buy some decent sized acreage in the pacific northwest and live off the grid for the rest of my life. Simple. 

As a child what did you want to be when you grew up?

Firefighter. My grandpa was a firefighter in Petoskey for years. His house was decorated in all this firefighter memorabilia and awards. My dad was also a volunteer firefighter. To this day I still watch firefighter shows and always think about what could've been if I had chosen that route in life. I know they glamorize it on TV and movies but still... I would've loved to do that. 

Four generations: my grandpa, my dad, me, and Noah

Field trip with Noah and Eli

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On My Mind

I haven't exactly kept it a secret that I've had a very tough year or so. I've mentioned it several times, but always kind of cryptically because it wasn't something I felt was my choice to share. I really can't stand it when people write cryptic things on social media, basically just asking for people to ask them what is going on, so I tried not to make it a big deal when I mentioned it here.

There were actually about five different things that were stressful, sad, and/or overwhelming, and I probably won't be able to write about most of them. The major one, though, that has been on my mind almost non-stop, is finally at the point where I can write about it. I write this so that I can stop being so vague when I am feeling down, and it may be understandable why I've been so emotional (basically since last summer).

My brother, Brian, and Becky got divorced last month. Brian and Becky are Luke and Riley's parents, so this is understandably devastating. The divorce was amicable, though, which definitely made it easier than it could have been.

The hardest part for me is that Becky and the kids are moving to Minnesota next weekend. I know I don't "owe" an explanation, but I feel it's important to explain the reason for the move. Brian lived in Minnesota for years--probably about 15-20 years?--and that's where he met Becky. Becky's entire family lives there (including Luke and Riley's cousins, who are about the same ages as them) so it seemed natural that she'd want to move back there after the divorce.

When we got in the car yesterday, Riley told me that she looked like "a hot mess"--hahaha!

With Brian being a pilot, his schedule is kind of all over the place; however, it also gives him flight privileges (he can basically fly anywhere whenever he wants). The kids also have flying privileges, but Becky will not now that the divorce is final. So, it made sense for Becky to bring the kids to Minnesota with her. (Luke and Riley are used to going back and forth to Minnesota several times a year.)

Becky is an AMAZING mom and I know she would only do what is best for the kids. I'm not at all questioning her decision to move and I know the kids will be happy there. It's just so HARD for my family. I don't know how often the kids will come out here, since Brian can go to Minnesota for his time with them, but I like to think it will be often. I do know that they will be spending a lot of time here in the summer, so I'll definitely take advantage of that.

This whole thing has been super hard on everyone (especially Brian and Becky), but they are doing what they believe is best for the kids--and that's what is most important to everyone involved.

Yesterday when we took Luke and Riley out for Luke's birthday, it was really tough--I knew it was going to be the last time I'll see them while they still live in Michigan. Brian is taking them to Hilton Head for a long weekend starting on Wednesday, while Becky packs and gets ready for the move (I'm going to help her). Then Brian will take them to Minnesota. Luke and Riley seemed very positive about the move when we talked about it yesterday, which was reassuring.

Needless to say, though, this whole thing has been heartbreaking and whenever I think too much about it, I get really emotional. I would like to continue to do the birthday tradition of Barnes & Noble for each of them (in March and August) so we may go out to Minnesota or make plans for when they are here. Thankfully, I love Minnesota! I wish it was drivable (it technically is, but it's about 15 hours--not worth two full days of travel for a trip).

This picture was for Aunt Jeanie, because we saw a basset hound puppet

I loved seeing Luke and Noah talking in the backseat. Luke was very interested in a video game on Noah's phone.

I also adore Becky and I'm going to miss her SO much. I don't even have to say how much I will miss being able to see the kiddos whenever I want. I know Brian will be okay, but I feel awful for him, too--he's not open about his emotions, but I know this has been unquestionably hard on him.

This picture was from when Becky and I had no idea we were going to be flying at the same time, let alone the same flight to Portland! I saw her on the plane and the flight attendant basically played musical chairs so we could sit together.

Anyway, I've been wanting to write about this for a while, but like I said--it's not my story to tell. I asked if it was okay to share the basic info, which I've done here, so that I don't have to be so vague about "things on my mind". I'm sad! I know everything is going to be fine, but I just feel heartbroken that everything turned out this way.

I still want to be "the fun aunt" so I'm going to make the most of every moment I can with Luke and Riley!

(Usually I publish all non-spam comments, but because of the nature of this post, I'm not going to publish any negative comments or questions about Brian and Becky's parenting or choices or anything like that. They are fantastic parents and they both want what is best for their kids.)

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On This Day (March 11)

Today was a busy day--we took Luke and Riley out for Luke's birthday. As has become tradition, we went to Barnes & Noble so they could pick out a "book" and then lunch/dinner somewhere. When I started this tradition, I literally meant a book; well, the joke was on me when they saw the toys section! Since toy stores are pretty much non-existent these days, Barnes & Noble it is--and they have fun toys there.

Noah and Eli came with us, which made me happy. It's so hard to get everybody on the same page with schedules! Jerry had to work today, but we made an afternoon of it. I am not up for writing tonight, so I'm going to just share some pictures from March 11 over the years. There are some good memories here!

This was in 2006 at Chuck E. Cheese. The band characters have always been the creepiest things ever.

This was when I was losing weight in 2010. Wearing a dress was kind of a "bucket list" goal, and I remember feeling SO good about myself at the time. I *think* I had lost about 75 pounds at this point.

Jessica and I enjoying our celebratory beer after running the Corktown 5K in Detroit in 2012. I obviously made our sparkle skirts for the St. Patrick's Day festivities!

In 2014, a love note from Jerry, attached to my tea.

In 2016, I went for a run (I think it was 10 miles, if I remember correctly) and I asked Noah to come with me on his bike. He carried a backpack with water in it for me. I love this picture!

Also in 2016... this was Jessica's birthday party at a Mexican restaurant. She, Renee, and I were pretty close then! I miss those times. We met at a Mom's Club--I have two boys, Renee has three, and Jessica has FOUR.

Jerry went to visit our friend Mike in NYC (also 2016) and I told him he should try the November Project workout while he was there--I had done one with Runner's World a couple of years prior and I knew that Ali Feller ("Ali on the Run") really liked those workouts (she was at the Runner's World event with me). I told Jerry to look for her at the workout, not even thinking for a second he'd actually see her--but he sent me this selfie at 7:00 in the morning :)

Sweet Luke--just a few days after he was born in 2017 <3

In 2018, Jerry and I went for a run and we randomly saw this dog standing on a fire hydrant. Haha! The owner was a dog obedience trainer and explained to us what was going on. (Basically showing that you can teach your dog to do anything with obedience training.)

A selfie from our run that morning.

This was from 2020--the toilet paper shelves at Kroger! Remember that mess?

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Friday Night Photos #107

Some weeks, I have more pictures than I know what to do with; others, I don't have many at all. This is one of the latter weeks. I already posted a lot of photos I took (like my thrift store finds) but here is what I have on my camera roll this week...

I woke up to our inevitable March snow storm...

Yes, that is Joey on the dike. He gets super hyper when it snows and he loves to race around the yard.

Yesterday, I decided to work on a couple of projects for the "cat wall" in my bedroom. I have so many things I want to do for it, but I've just been choosing one thing at a time; the cats really like it, because they get something new and exciting to check out whenever I finish a piece. It was too cold to work in the garage (I cut some boards, but after that, I brought all my stuff inside!). This is before it got messy.

I had already hung one of the sphere beds (the black one), but every time I looked at this one, I wanted to do the same with it. I really wish it was white or black, or even gray, but I used it anyway. I mounted it onto a board that I painted black and then hung it next to the other one, underneath the top shelf on the wall.

The other thing I made is this little bridge--some flat boards woven with rope--that the cats will totally be into scratching once I hang it up. Right now, the skin on my hands is raw--it took a LONG time to weave and not without a lot of tugging. It's definitely not easy on the hands. 

I used hot glue on every single piece. I am going to hang it between two shelves on the wall. I hoped to hang it today, but this took me a lot longer than I expected.

The cats never slept in this bed, and then I moved it into my bedroom and suddenly, it was like a new toy and they all wanted it. After hanging it on the wall, Duck is actually the one that uses it the most. 

It hangs directly above my head when I'm lying in bed. Last night, I had all the star LED lights on and when I stared straight upward, I could see Duck's leg sticking out through the side of the bed. It just looked funny--the random black spot that probably doesn't even look like a cat paw, but I knew what it was immediately.

Speaking of the LED stars, I am loving how they look against the black ceiling and walls. Maybe it makes us seem like stoners, but we love the whole ambiance with the lights. I had no intention of the ceiling light looking like a moon, but it kind of does! 

When I was looking through my pictures, I stopped on this one and wondered why I took it. It's nothing special. And THEN I saw it and I remembered...

Hahaha! I remember learning that black dogs are the least adopted because they are the least photogenic--they have to be against a light background to be able to see them clearly. And my bedroom conceals Joey and the kittens so well that I sometimes don't even see the cats when their eyes are closed.

This picture below is another example. You can't really see Duck at first, but he's there--sleeping on my chest.

I didn't realize I took so many pictures of the pets this week. I don't normally like to turn on YouTube for the cats (i.e. Duck) because it makes me feel bad that they can't "catch" the birds that they stalk. But I was desperate one morning because I was trying to get things done and Duck wanted attention (per usual). 

I had some time to kill before Goodwill opened the other day, and I went next door into Tractor Supply Co. My heart melted when I saw these little ducklings. 

I just now said to Jerry, "I can't tell if these are chicks or ducks--they look like ducks." (I know they sell chicks at Tractor Supply, but I thought the ducks were a little odd.) Jerry was confused and said something that made ME confused. And then he said he thought I was asking if "these" (he didn't see the picture I was looking at) belonged to Chick or Duck. Hahaha! ("I can't tell if these are Chick's or Duck's--they look like Duck's."

Then he had to go and make a dad joke about "Quactor Supply Co". *groan*

Finally, this was my mess when I made spice blends. I make our favorite spice blends in bulk to keep in the pantry and we were running low. I actually find it kind of fun to make the blends.

When I was done, I had vegan bouillon powder; "cheesy garlic blend", which is what I like to use in place of parmesan cheese; pancake mix; Indian spiced potato seasoning, and a mock-Red Robin fries seasoning blend. (Jerry likes to spray a touch of oil on pretzels and then sprinkle with the Red Robin seasoning and toss them all together. It dusts a light coat of seasoning on all of them and they are SO good! Jerry loves seasoned pretzels, and making them this way is about a quarter of the cost of buying a bag.)

And I'm out. Have a great weekend! xo

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Three Things Thursday: Pets

Jerry and I were talking about the pets this afternoon and I thought it would be fun to do a "Three Things Thursday" post about them. Here are three things that I love about each pet (in the order that we adopted them):

Phoebe

1. Phoebe can sense emotions and no matter where she is or what she's doing, if she hears someone crying, she goes to them and climbs as close to their face as possible. 

2. Phoebe is super subtle yet passive-aggressive when she wants to be petted. She will walk up to you and stare for a minute; if you ignore her staring, she takes one paw and places it on your arm. Then she just holds it there until you feel bad for her and you pet her. It's the saddest--and sweetest--gesture!

3. Even for her size, Phoebe is a spitfire and and she sounds like a bobcat when she gets mad. She weighs less than five pounds (for reference, Duck is 13 pounds!) but she even scares me in certain situations. I have to cut her nails just a few in each sitting, otherwise she gets more and more annoyed and starts growling. Once she growls, I leave her alone because as loving as she is, she doesn't hold back for anyone!

Estelle

1. Estelle thinks that she's being coy whenever you look at her or walk over to her--she may turn in a circle, sit down calmly, and look at you lovingly--but when you reach for her, she makes this little annoyed-sounding "mew mew mew" and runs away. Usually, she'll run under my bed. It's like she thinks she's hurting my feelings by running away from me; even when I'm not going after her! Basically, she adores attention but she doesn't want you to *know* that she adores attention.

2. Estelle is as dramatic as they come. She loves to play the victim. Sometimes, she'll walk in front of Joey then dramatically fall over and meow like he's hurting her. I've seen her do the same thing to Duck. Duck gets really excited when it's time for their "special food" (just canned food--all the pets love it) and he runs around to gather all the pets. When he races up to Estelle, she does her dramatic fall and cry, like Duck just pushed her down a flight of stairs or something, haha. 

3. Estelle is super determined when she wants to sit or lie somewhere--she has some serious ninja skills when it comes to balance. Aside from her balance, she just doesn't give up when she wants to sit on your lap, for example--no matter how you contort your body or get up and down over and over, she insists on securing whatever spot it is that she wants.

Joey

1. Joey is simply a damn good dog! We got so lucky when we chose him from the shelter. He was there for three months before we adopted him and I'm super grateful that we are the ones who became his "forever" family. He's not at all aggressive (sometimes Duck will even go stick his head in Joey's food bowl to see what Joey is eating, and Joey is totally chill about it). He stays with us when he's off leash; even when there is another animal or person, he listens and stays where we tell him. 

2. Joey is kind of like a cat, even though he's a lab-chow mix (looking nothing like a cat). I joke that he thinks he's a cat because he's around four cats all the time and he does pick up their mannerisms. One thing that I really love is how respectful he is of the cats; when I give all the pets their "special food" once a day, Joey finishes his immediately and waits for the cats to finish. He knows that he gets to lick the plates clean when they are done, so he patiently sits down and waits for me to give him the go ahead. Once in a while, I will totally forget that he's waiting, and 20 minutes later I'll notice him still sitting and watching the plates! He doesn't clean up the plates until I tell him it's okay. What kind of dog has that kind of restraint? ;)

3. Joey likes to show off his toys. Whenever someone comes over, he trots over to his toy box and digs around in there for whatever it is he's looking for, then brings it to the person, like, "Look what I have!" Jerry, the kids, and I will NEVER forget a time when we were all going somewhere in the car and we backed out of the driveway, then slowly drove past the house. We saw Joey standing in front of the living room window watching us, with a ball in his mouth, tail wagging back and forth like crazy as he watched us drive past. It was so heartbreaking!

Chick

1. Chick is SUPER chill. He reminds me a lot of Chandler in that way. Even though Phoebe hates other cats, she is most likely to put up with Chick. He's incredibly laid back and doesn't get scared of anything like the other cats do. He likes to be held like a baby and to have his belly rubbed. If Joey is like a cat, well, Chick reminds me of a very calm dog.

2. Chick sounds human when he's looking for Duck. He calls out, "HELLO?! HELLO?!" and you can hear him through the whole house. Jerry imitates it really well and it never fails to make me laugh. 

3. Chick is the fearless one. It's funny--Chick and Duck were from the same litter and we adopted them at the same time. However, Chick is fearless and Duck is scared of everything. I love that Chick is the first to try new things--when I put up the cat shelves in my room, for instance, Duck clearly wanted to check them out. He was scared, though, until he watched Chick do it first. If Chick was a person, he would be a fun stoner who likes to try new things... because YOLO.

Duck

1. I saved Duck for last because, if it isn't obvious, he's my very favorite. I love all of our pets, but I have never felt as close to a pet as I do with Duck. We have a special bond. Something that makes me feel really good is that Duck looks to me for comfort. He has terrible anxiety (we are spirit animals, Duck and me) and when he's scared, I can see the panic on his face. When I call out to him, I can visibly see his body relax and he comes over to me so I can hold or pet him. He trusts me completely. (The downside is that he gets super jealous when I pay attention to anything or anyone other than him.)

2. Duck is a total chatterbox. This could be something that could fit into a "like" or "dislike" column, depending on my mood. Most of the time, I love that Duck "talks" to me all day long. He follows me around and there are certain noises he makes for different things he wants. He makes a short, quick chirp when he just wants my attention--when he wants me to know he's there. He has a series of long and short meows, but his most common is "Ma?" like my kids used to ask, "Mama?"

3. Duck has the biggest personality of any cat I've ever known. He's as smart as a whip and 'curious' doesn't even begin to describe what goes on in his mind. You can SEE his mind working when something piques his interest, and he's great at figuring out solutions when he wants something. When cat-proofing stuff, I have to think beyond what the average cat would do; Duck is on a whole different playing field!

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Okay, this post took me MUCH longer to write than I intended! Actually, it was looking through photos that took forever--I have hundreds of the pets and I had such a hard time picking them. This was a fun post to write, though; I love our pets <3 

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Wednesday Weigh-In: Week 93

I just realized I'm approaching Week 100 since I started losing weight (in May 2021). Not that 100 is a big deal in this case, but it's one of those nice, round numbers that feels special somehow. I immediately started thinking of some sort of challenge I can do between now and Week 100, but I am going to nip that in the bud right now. The only thing I want to be focused on is staying in good eating habits (and training for the 10K with Nathan).

I had a pretty good week; there were a couple of days, however, that I ended up eating all out of whack (by that, I just mean not like my typical day or circumstances). It's been very hard not to eat emotionally lately; I've still got a lot of personal stuff I'm dealing with and hopefully I'll be able to write about it soon. I've managed to keep from snacking every night, though, so I'd hoped that I would see another nice loss on the scale... unfortunately, that wasn't the case.

I was at 144.6, which is exactly where I was last week. I can't say I'm surprised, though--my weight hasn't really budged all week. Last week, I'd lost over three pounds, so it's possible that I didn't lose anything this week because I dropped so much last week. I'm not going to analyze it!

Since Jerry wants to work on portion sizes this week, I thought it would be a good time for me to do that, too. Like I said yesterday, I tend to eat more just because something is plant-based--it's like my mind subconsciously assumes it's healthy. I have a very hard time weighing and/or measuring my food once I get out of that habit, but I've gotten back into the routine where I eat the same breakfast and lunch. If I eat a "normal" sized dinner and a healthy snack in the evening, I should be eating about the right amount of calories I need for the day.

My routine is going to be thrown way off at the end of the month, because I'm going to Illinois to dog-sit for my sister's basset hounds. I am going to be totally out of my element, and staying away from home for the first time since becoming vegan, so I'm not sure how it's going to go. I'm not worried about eating vegan--I can live on bread and peanut butter if I need to--but I don't want to throw off my weight loss mojo! ;) 

This is SO nerdy but I'm actually pretty excited right now to go into the kitchen and mix up some spice blends, haha. There are several that I like to make large jars of to keep in the pantry and we're running low on a few of them. I don't know why I find it so fun to mix spices in the blender!

Anyway, hoping (as always) for a good week ahead :)

By the way, today is Luke's sixth birthday. Can you believe that I've been an aunt for SIX YEARS now? I think we're going to take Luke and Riley to Barnes & Noble for their birthday tradition (choose a "book" for your birthday, where "book" usually always ends up being a toy, haha). I always enjoy taking them there--it's like being a kid again!

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