Five things that make me happy:
1) This photo of my son and his Japanese host family:
2) Netflix options such as Tiny: A Story About Living Small, Joss Whedon’s Much Ado About Nothing, and Orange is The New Black. Especially Orange is The New Black, and especially the scene in Vee’s apartment where she serves salad from one of my favorite $1.99 Goodwill bowls:
3) The rainbows that scatter along the floor of my childhood home from the leaded glass windows:
4) Finding new and creative solutions for avoiding food waste, such as making crostini from leftover french bread from my makeshift croque monsieur dinner:
Just brush olive oil over french bread slices, add a bit of salt, bake a bit and voilà you’ve got crostini! Perfect to pair with the Grocery Outlet brie I picked up earlier. And since french bread on day two is harder than a moon rock, it preemptively avoids that fate.
5) Fresh berry season in Oregon. Raspberries, strawberries, blueberries!
One thing that’s pissing me off:
1) My 46-year-old female metabolism. I eat very healthfully, yet you’d think I eat nothing but McDonald’s. If I ate the way I do now when I was in my twenties I would have been skinny, skinny, skinny. Blarghhh!
Now your turn. What’s making you happen and conversely what’s pissing you off?
Katy Wolk-Stanley
{ 47 comments… read them below or add one }
Love the picture of your son and host family! And I totally agree on the metabolism – my 50 year old body seems like it has NO metabolism and I eat healthier now than I ever have. Frustrating….
Five things that make me happy and one thing that pisses me off
1) my granddaughter is spending the summer at home so we get to go to the beach everyday!
2) I have more time to work on couponing and designing.
3) I am working on a new card making class. Innovating and nobody has tried it as far as I know.
4) the antique mall was the ultimate green store.
One thing that pisses me off. The antique mall is closing because a developer is going to remodel it and turn it into 10000 square feet of BEER.
I sympathize with the metabolism thing. Last year I had my overactive thyroid irradiated – welcome to instant middle age metabolism!
One thing that is pissing me off is the pop up ad that hovers at the bottom of the screen when I read NCA. I actually don’t mind ads on blogs, except when they cover the text like this does. And today’s ad is for Smart Water – not NCA AT ALL!
There’s a pop up ad? That shouldn’t be there at all.My ads are from Blogher, which haven’t been pop up ads, and also through Lijit, which tend to be ads for stuff you’ve already clicked on from your computer. I’m sorry about the popup, which is truly obnoxious.
Can I ask what format you are reading the blog? Is it your phone or computer?
Katy
I’m reading it on my iPad through Safari. I’ve noticed a lot more pop up ads on the iPad in the past few weeks. The iPad used to be great for blocking things but something must have changed with an OS update.
I have a jeep as floating at the bottom of my screen. I’m in safari on an ipad.
I am also using Safari on an iPad and I also see the floating pop up Jeep ad.
By the way, I love your blog!
Rereading my comment, it sounds critical of Katy. I didn’t meat to criticize the fact that there are ads on the blog. I just don’t like how this particular ad is behaving!
have you had your thyroid level checked recently? re: metabolism?
Good point Stephanie. I just turned 46 and my doctor had me start taking thyroid medicine about 6 months ago. I am not losing yet but at least I have stopped gaining a pound every time I just looked at a cookie.
I started using My Fitness Pal to count calories, and lost 13 pounds, but it I plateaued even though the program would occasionally tell me that I wasn’t eating enough calories. Also, the weight loss was very, very slow. Much slower than than you’d expect.
My thyroid level was normal with my last doctor’s exam.
Katy
I really enjoyed the tiny house documentary on Netflix. Very inspiring!
Thanks for the tip on _Tiny_ on Netflix. I will check that out!
Have you looked at all into your sugar consumption? After reading Dr. Lustig’s book, Fat Chance, I found all sorts of sugar that has been treating me to a sluggish, heavy metabolism. I wanted to mention is, just in case.
1. Nine and a half weeks more of summer vacation. Time to do projects around the house that I can sit back and enjoy in the winter.
2. Looking forward to traveling to Boston in a couple of weeks. My son goes to school there, and I haven’t seen him since Christmas.
3. Fixing an 18″ by 19″ hole in my closet’s wall caused by the repair of a leaky pipe. I found the sheetrock in a free pile the street and had all the other supplies to do it myself. It doesn’t look perfect, but it’s a closet. Who cares?
4. My husband posting on next-door.com that we were going to rent a pressure washer and asking if anyone wanted to share the rental. Several people offered to let us borrow theirs.
5. Netflix-I have to limit myself or I would be watching far too much T.V>
The pisser: I’m 52 and worked hard to lose 20 lbs last fall and have been keeping it off. Then I gained FOUR pounds last month. UGH! back to kale salads for lunch.
I’m happy that:
1. My daughter and her friend arrived safely in London last night to begin their Contiki Tour.
2. My new front stairs are finished and look FANtastic!
3. Decluttering is ongoing, and has been going well. Donated a bag of clothes and a box of books yesterday.
4. A recent health concern turned out to be nothing.
5. I’m going to Europe in 2 weeks!
Not happy that:
Our teachers and the government have not been able to reach an agreement, and as a support worker, I can’t go to work.
Also Katy, I am getting a pop up ad at the bottom of my screen, I am on my IPad.
Could you take a screen shot of it for me please?
I posted it to the Facebook page. Not sure how else to do it.
Thanks.
It’s going to be hard to find 4 things for me, but I will try:
1) Learning to enjoy the summer weather here in So. Florida. Not so much fun when you go out for lunch to walk the dog, but the afternoon storms do cool it down a bit.
2) Still trying to declutter from the move. I went to get my new glasses the other day and they had a donation box for my old 6 pairs of glasses that moved with me.
3) Still trying to find a local animal shelter that wants my old towels that moved with me.
4) Got my FL drivers license the other day and it was easy. Just showed them all the paperwork. Much easier than when I moved to Jersey years ago and had to take another written exam! And yes, I failed the test in Jersey!!!
5) Don’t have a 5th, but I fully understand that 50 yr old metabolism! Every 10 years, it gets harder and harder to lose weight.
One thing that is pissing me off is I’m not sure I have another sinus infection or if it’s allergies. But the hot flashes are more intense and I am dizzy quite a bit, so that does lead me to believe there is a lot of fluid in my head and I need to find a MD — sooner rather than it getting too late and I then I have ear infections too.
Hey Maureen, your veterinarian might also appreciate the old towels. They sent two nice (but definitely no longer ready for prime time) blankets home with my dog after her last surgery – I returned them, but I know they could really use additional bedding like that. I know an animal shelter would be better, but if you run out of luck, a vet is another option.
I donated a bunch of towels to my old vet before moving – yeah we had a ton! Anyway, since vets are “for profit” you do not get a tax deduction. There is an animal rescue place for all different kinds of animals around here, and I just found out there hours so I hope to bring my towels there. They are always looking for donations, and I’m sure they will be “not for profit”.
Five things that make me happy:
1. I have not seen the pop-up ads on my PC (running Windows 7 and using Google Chrome). I find those the worst kind, the others I just ignore.
2. My weight has been steady for the past several years (I am 55). I make sure I get at least 10,000 steps a day, attend a yoga class twice a week, and have eliminated most grains (especially wheat) from my diet.
3. I have chicken soup on the stove that will be ready for lunch. I used a chicken carcass, some red lentils (that will cook until the break up, which will thicken the soup), rice, vegetables on the edge, and spices from the cupboard. Cheap, delicious, and healthy.
4. There are enough leftovers in the refrigerator/freezer for dinner tonight. I won’t be getting home until dinner time, so that is a very good thing.
5. We have been enjoying nice weather that past several days. Even the day rain threatened it held off and we were able to attend an outdoor potluck.
One thing that’s pissing me off:
Despite not gaining weight my body shape is just not the same as it was when I was younger. I try to keep active but that just is not enough.
Making me happy:
* Getting to enjoy extra time with my kids during the summer
* The weather has been cooler than usual (80s and 90s rather than 100+) so we’ve barely needed to run the AC
* Making progress taming my yard. Also, my husband and I successfully reconfigured parts of a falling-down, metal gazebo frame into a smaller arch/pergola for our wisteria. It created a nice focal point along a completely overgrown path in the side yard, which is now motivating me to clean up and landscape the whole thing.
* All this gardening is keeping me moving and helping me lose some weight. (Yeah, I feel your pain on the mid-life slower metabolism. I have to pay attention to thyroid levels, too.)
* Continuing to declutter and get ready for a yard sale. I keep asking myself: If we were moving, what would I be willing to pack and move? If it doesn’t make the cut, it goes in the yard sale stuff!
Pissing me off: Lawn mowers. Specifically, noisy, stinky, gas-powered lawn mowers and the people who think they need to mow all. the. time.
1. I’m happy to be getting exercise in by push mowing my acre yard.
2. Its nice and sunny out today so I put a load of clothes on the line.
3. I’ll probably go take a dip in my moms pool later to cool off and relax.
I can only think of 3 things at the moment. What’s pissing me off is that its suppose to rain for the next 3 days 🙁
Re the diet thing: it’s the carbs! We have been trained to think that our body gets energy from carbohydrate, but in fact the opposite is generally true. Google it: there is no basic RDA for carbohydrate in the body (our bodies do not require carbohydrate), but we would die without adequate protein and fat. Cut the flour and the sugar and see what happens! Painful but true. At 43, I have had to eliminate most fruits except the low-sugar ones like berries, but still love salads and meats, yogurt and almonds.
I’m generally a pretty happy person so I’m just going to offer a couple of suggestions: if you run the loaf of bread under the tap for a second or two, then pop it in the oven at 300, it should freshen up so you don’t have to use it as a weapon or doorstop for another day or two. 🙂
Also, re: metabolism. Strength train. Cardio and diet are super, but it is so important for us to strength train as we continue to age. Work out with a trainer a couple of times to learn some basic exercises (and safe/correct form) and lift a couple of times a week. It’s so satisfying, too!
1) Still gainfully employed at a well-paying, interesting job
2) We pay a lot for health insurance as its a high-deductible policy, but I am grateful I have good health insurance
3) My daughter will be able to spend one fun day a week at Grandma’s house this summer vacation
4) We had a HUGE oak tree an several HUGE oak branches removed from our yard this week (dangerous, were dead) and for less than $500 (A MIRACLE–that price, seriously) and my husband will split it, stack it, dry it and that’ll be a cord of firewood for us next winter! Saving on the oil bills!
5)Found a new novel to read today from Goodwill, for 50 cents
The pisser-offer: Does NO ONE know how to RSVP anymore? We invited 20 children to my little daughter’s birthday party and ONLY 2 RSVPd! What the wha?? We gave a respond by date, our email address AND a phone number to call, and heard from 2 people! This is the second year in a row this has happened. My daughter is a lovely little person, so I am sure this lack of response was not due to children not liking her. Last year I spent hours tracking down phone numbers (the school doesn’t give them out) and badgering people to ask if they would attend. I wasn’t going to do that again this year. Lesson Learned: I will never have anything other than a family party or small group of two other kids personally invited over from now on. It still just BAFFLES me.
The non-rsvp thing happened to a friend of mine, too! She had planned a party at her local skating rink, goody bags, cake, and she received virtually NO responses. No manners! I know that people are busy, but that is no excuse for rudeness. I think your plan to have small group/family parties is an excellent one.
My son sent out evites for his party this year and not one person RSVP’d, yet every kid came.
My sister had a beautiful outdoor wedding for her daughter two years ago, and had out of town FAMILY members not RSVP, and not show up. No acknowledgement whatsoever. She was baffled. I consider it very rude. How do you plan for food and drink when you don’t know how many will show?
So disrespectful. I sent 40 invitations and received 15 rsvp’s for an expensive birthday celebration for my husband that took place at a restaurant. Those who showed and did not RSVP were turned away. They were shocked. I don’t care.
We had a fabulous time with those who did and it was the best celebration ever! 🙂
Wow! I feel so validated by this RSVP thread. We had a catered party (a first for us), rented our neighborhood pool, & had to hire lifeguards per our HOA rules based on the number of attendees. I did get quite a few responses compared to what some of the commenters have had to endure, but I was appalled at the lack of response from some of mu closest friends. REALLY? Also, on evite they have a “maybe” response. I tried to customize my invite not to allow for a “maybe” response, but couldn’t find a way to do it. Anyway, I was frustrated to say the least by several invitees. It is so rude! But, to avoid excess rage, I’m just lumping it in with what I call “flakiness.” It’s a very common thing I see in my circle and group. People who cancel meetings at the last minute, people who fail to make carpool arrangements etc. Sigh
I’m basically a happy person and enjoy most things – cooking, cleaning, sewing, living frugally. I have been looking for a classic style couch to recover at our local thrift shop. After months of diligently looking, I found one. I paid for it and they said they would hold it for a couple of days in the back until I could get a truck to bring it home in. They reassured me that it would go in the back of the store. Well, I went to pick it up and it was nowhere to be found. They said that occasionally someone will take the “sold” tag off of it because they want it – if it isn’t hidden in the back. I was SO pissed off! What ever happened to INTEGRITY?
I am very happy that my garden got some rain – we can get awfully dry after the spring rains. I LOVE eating seasonally from my garden- asparagus, followed by spinach salads, and now the cherries are ripe, along with the apricots, and cucumbers and tomatoes are starting to trickle in.
this isn’t so much pissing me off , it is just so different than I am used to doing: I have been reading France Mayes’ book Under the Tuscan Sun ( completely delightful, NOTHING like the movie). It is an account of her time in Italy, and yes she is restoring an old house. But wow that woman is definitely a consumer! she sees a black bag that she MUST have, etc. She buys things constantly!! NOT judging, I am just so used to doing the polar opposite! and noting how uncomfortable I would be with this lifestyle.
1. Summer, though it’s 72 out and raining at the moment. I could live with 9 months of summer being the NW
2. All the fresh veggies in the garden. We had salad coming out of our ears, now it’s cabbage and strawberries, and the raspberrys are coming on.
3. I got a reservation this morning for camping this weekend. We bought an old tent trailer last summer, so we’re hitting the road, can’t tell you how happy that makes me.
4. The wild bunny in my yard, I know I’m supposed to hate him, and probably will if he finds my veggie garden, but it’s fun watching my stupid dogs try to catch him (they won’t)
5. That the low carb diet my husband is on, has reduced my tummy, it’s just easier not to eat pasta or rice in front of him
6. The low carb diet. I would kill for a big bowl of pasta! And yes Katy getting older is tough. I’m 54, and it gets harder every year to stay in shape
1) getting to stay home with my boys this summer instead of having to work
2) getting to drive cross country from San Diego to TN to visit in-laws, with a husband that also likes to drive straight through, avoiding a cruddy night’s sleep in a roadside motel, reducing road trip time and saving money!
3) being able to pay to have my hardwood floors refinished this summer with money we’ve saved, and hopefully having enough left over to fund our DIY landscape in the front of the house, making my home a comfortable place to entertain without adding to our debt.
4) having a family that is just as content to stay home as they are to go out adventuring.
5) being a member of a PTA board that is all about the kids and promoting community involvement instead of fixating on fundraisers. Awesome people!!
1) 🙁 So many things on my to-do list that I don’t feel like I can relax. My fault, I know, but I will get some down time on the TN trip….
Noooo guuurl I’m in my twenties and don’t want my metabolism to get any worse. I eat almost nothing but fruits and veggies- literally. I continue to yo-yo up-and-down in weight. I’m starting jog and swim laps to attempt to get the metabolism working better overall. Sucks. I’ve never ever been an active person and jogging feels like dying 😉
I saw the tiny house documentary on Netflix and HAD to watch the whole thing! So inspired, always makes me donate piles of stuff I didn’t even know I had piles of to donate. So want a tiny house one day…
1. Sunny Florida has given me some lovely tomatoes growing in a big galvanized tub on my front porch. (I rent a duplex, so it’s container gardening for me.) My father gave me the tub.
2. My daughter (25) lives with me and really wanted a better computer desk. She is going back to college, and we have a very tight budget (just the 2 of us), so I happened to look at Craigslist today, and there was the perfect desk. $45 and 16 miles later we had the desk. It was in pieces with no instructions, but we rebuilt it from the photo that was posted. She loves it!
3. I just started full time at my job, and am so grateful that I can afford food now. We had been going to our church food pantry once every 3 months. (I lost 35 pounds last year so haven’t needed as much food anyway).
4. Menopause is tough, but I am grateful that I can take OTC for my hot flashes and they are calmer at work. I am 56 and dealing.
5. What bothers me is that weight training is recommended, but how does one weight train with arthritis in shoulders, elbows, and hands? I cannot take the joint pains. (bad enough at work).
Hi Trish,
I’m 55 and have joint pains as well (goes with the territory), but I lift light weights. I started with 5 pounds and have increased to 10. Do you take glucosamine/chondroitin? If not, you may want to try this. I take it twice a day with a meal and it really helps. Give this a try and see if it helps.
thank you for the advice, I will try this!
Ouch–This last month I’ve packed on the pounds! I didn’t understand why, as I’ve been a slim chicken since the birth my last kid (now 19 months). I talked with another gal who claims this is my thyroid FINALLY getting back to normal. But after 19 months?! Holy moly I have the queen of the muffin tops in all my business casual gear. I had to put on my “fat pants’ this morning!
If you were breastfeeding and stopped, that might also be the cause. My understanding is that it takes your body a lot of energy to produce milk and nourish a child; many of us eat more to allow for that and when you stop breastfeeding, your body has to adjust back to the needs of just you. Of course another possibility is that your body just has a different shape than it used to. My youngest is now 11 and I keep wishing I’d been more diligent with those abdominal exercises when he was a baby!
Happy:
1. Finally, someone has acknowledged that it’s hard to stay in shape in middle age. Thanks for the honesty! I’m 53, and I’m shaped like a potato. Until I was 43, I was shaped like a pear, a very slim pear. Oh well.
2. We’re getting our 35 year old toilets replaced tomorrow. Not very glam, but it should save us lots in water bills.
3. My daughter’s tweeny wonderfulness!
4. Coolish days here in the South – only upper 80s! It could be worse, a lot worse.
5. Quiet time.
Not so happy:
1. I’m shaped like a potato. See #1 above.
I may be a potato as well, but I am far from being able to admit it yet. 🙁
Katy! I too love your blog but the pop up ad thing is really driving me crazy! Although it is the same on my iPhone as my iPad on the iPhone is makes reading your blog harder and is most frustrating since it covers the entire bottom part of the iPhone screen and it flashes constantly!? It has a close button/cross but never ever goes closes always pops right back up!
I’ve just started reading this blog — http://180degreehealth.com/blog/ — there’s also a newsletter you can receive in your inbox. Matt Stone talks a lot about metabolism and foods, and not in the “hey, I’ve got a high metabolism so I’m thin” kind of way, but, the foods we eat or don’t eat because we thinks it’s bad and creating a balanced metabolism. I came into the conversation late, so I’m backtracking and trying to grasp the concept and understand it all, but you might be interested in checking it out.