Your words mean so much. I agree with you 100 percent. Maintenance is never really addressed. A billion thank yous -- and thank you for liking my blog. I take any and all feedback! Wendy

I'm guessing it's just preference whether you do everyone's braces at once vs. separately. I just do better when I can focus heavily on one kid at a time. I know me. I get confused easily! 😅 Wendy

I agree with everyone who are suggesting dementia. Years ago, I had a small dog on dementia pills but I don't know what they'd have for cats. Since you checked for UTI, kidney and so forth, I'd consider dementia. Also, this is just at night, right? She's normal during the day? Wendy

Thank you MommyofFive! One was in early Jan. and the second is at the end of Jan. I did them separately with braces too. Easier in every way. W.

I wish all cats had you for a mom. You're wonderful. (I had a Siamese as a kid, they're awesome cats.) Wendy

I'm not familiar with noom, but I think having some sort of structure -- noom, WW, Paleo, whatever you'll stick with -- is vital. I lost on WW, but you can lose on any structure that decreases calories. (A lot are raving about intermittent fasting.) For me, the challenge started with maintenance. Weight loss maintenance is something our culture doesn't really address. I highly recommend reading The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg. This book came out in 2012 and is life altering. I reread it or listen on audio book every other year or so. It's awesome. Just adding: I think $19 a month is fantastic. (Keeping in mind that I don't know noom well.) Congratulations on getting them to give you a much better deal!! 🤗 Wendy

Jumping on. My spending habits aren't terrible, but they could be shored up. My biggest expense this month is having my two teens wisdom teeth removed. One is only $350, but the other is $1,000 because he needs the anesthesiologist there during surgery. Plus I need to return two Xmas gifts that didn't work. One I assumed I could return to the UPS store, but no, now it has to go to Kohls. When did this change happen? We don't have an easy to access Kohls. 😒

They both were incredibly rude. Hopefully they thought more about their behavior and went to sleep horrified. I've asked full-on adult goofballs more than once, "Would your mom be proud of you right now?" Thank you for your service @Home'scool!! Remember there are people out here that dearly appreciate the work you're doing. Wendy

Hilarious!! W.

I checked: we bought a Simmons Beauty Rest with pillow top. Wendy

Wow!! Photos would be awesome. Okay, wait, one person live in snow country and the other at the beach. Seriously jealous. Gorgeous sunset. Thank you for sharing, that is stunning. Amazing! Congratulations re: food. That is huge! I wanted to share: Costco's Kirkland Stir Fry (in the frozen section with frozen strawberries) is a phenomenal way to get more veggies. I have a cup of brown rice with three handfuls of the stir fry, cook with low salt soy sauce and it's great. And the bag is huge so really lasts. So cool. I'm still doing my indoor recumbent bike -- I did level 6 for 36 minutes and then a cool down. Trying to establish the habit again. I love this group! Wendy

Okay, but first can I have your dog? W.

I posted this in another post -- so I plagiarized myself: Seventeen years ago we needed a new mattress and I'm too embarrassed to tell you how much we spent (clearly we had no idea how expensive my boys, Lambo and Ferrari, would be). Barely a night goes by that I don't give thanks that we went way outside of our budget and bought the best sleeping experience. We've returned home from hotels happy to be back to our mattress b/c it feels better than a nice hotel's mattress. We went from a queen to a Cal King -- with a pillow top which, I think, is what absorbs all the movement from each person. So you won't feel each other rolling around. Downside to Cal King that I didn't know about: Comforters, sheets, mattress pads and so on are expensive because they're for a much bigger bed. (I get around it now by just having a super cozy bed. She's no super model, but I love my comfy bed. (I had to give up on buying pricey comforters and bed skirts and mattress pads etc.) Of course, I have a mattress pad, but it's seen better days. It should be replaced. We also get Cal King sheets from Costco and we don't have a zillion pairs of sheets -- we have two. (I wash my sheets every Sunday.) Also if you like a beautiful four-poster bed or a headboard. . . that will be serious money too. The other downside is that if you guys like to cuddle. . . it's really easy to get out of the cuddle-habit when there is all that luxurious space. Another downside -- when you move to a new town the movers will glare at you when they move the Cal King. You might have to tip them extra. And taking it upstairs is a bear. We don't spend on cars or jewelry or clothes. But we spent a ton on our Cal King -- and 17 years later we still think it was worth it. HTH, Wendy

Farrar, I know you like to read. I somehow found the best book by an amazing writer. Julie started out just keeping a blog on her experience with cancer. The blog turned into a book called The Unwinding of the Miracle by Julie Yip-Williams. The New York Times reviewed it here. I'm a library-person, but I actually bought Julie's book and reread portions of it fairly regularly. I cannot tell you how good this book is. In my Top Ten Best Books Ever for sure. Your friend is lucky to have you. Wendy

Thank you so much for your words. This was not a fun week and your words mean more than you know. When you say, "Re-training my mind" and "I realize it may be a several years process," bingo, those are the magic ingredient. You've got it. Smart habits + time and you can be any weight that feels the best to you. I'd love to know how you realized that habits and re-training were so important (if you feel like it). And weight and food and stress are closely related for me too. You're not alone. A million thank yous again! Wendy

Totally with you. Totally. The eaglets need to eat too. . . but I don't need to watch it. W.

Can you say where you got the sectional? Sounds awesome. A vacuum on each floor: YES! Still don't have that, but would sure love it. Can you link to the vacuum you like the most?

@Lucy the ValiantI also love the Atomic habits book. But also, do you know about the book by Charles Duhigg called The Power of Habit. So, so good. I reread it every other year. That and Atomic. @Sororwhat is a homemade larabar? Sounds awesome! Oh, my goodness. That is a darling baby @IvyInFlorida!!! Dh and I are planning a long bike ride -- in my case a recumbant trike -- the first weekend in February, so getting in shape for that ride is giving me incentive to ride my inside recumbent five times a week. I'm finally back to riding at a Level 6 for 46 minutes. (Goal is Level 7 for 50.) This group is really helpful! Wendy

Seventeen years ago we needed a new mattress and I'm much too embarrassed to tell you how much we spent (clearly we had no idea how expensive my boys, Lambo and Ferrari, would be). Barely a night goes by that I don't give thanks that we went way outside of our budget and bought the best sleeping experience. We've returned home from hotels happy to be back to our mattress b/c it feels better than a nice hotel's mattress. I miss our Shark vacuum. We have one now that I don't like at all. I miss our Shark. Great thread idea!! W.

Bumping.

You're right: a perfect stress reliever. It's also such a cool reminder -- especially right now -- that people can be so awesome. The college has poured money into watching the eagles, allowing the professor to do lectures and so on. So many people care about this eagle family. Male eagles are smaller than female eagles, so I'm assuming that's the male on the eggs now (11:45 a.m. on 1/8). The female has a very light brown spot on her white head and the male doesn't. Wendy

Bumping for others. 🙂

Hi Everyone, I'm totally geeking out on this amazing eagle-cam. There's a college in Georgia called Berry (two hours northish from Atlanta). In 2012, a student noticed an eagles' nest in the trees so -- of course -- the school immediately installed three cameras trained on the eagles' nest, added an infrared light (thus allowing us to spy at night), and created a Facebook page dedicated to the comings and goings of the pair. (Of course, the eagles have no idea that they've lost any hope for privacy due to that one lone student.) The female laid her first egg on January 1 and a second egg on January 4, and now the two eagles take turns incubating them. Nest Cam 1 Nest Cam 2 Approach cam The eggs should open in 40 days from when they were laid. "The chicks hatch from the eggs without any help from the parents. The chick uses its egg tooth to scratch around the inside of the shell in a circular path. The scratches weaken the shell in a pattern all around the egg. This is called pipping, and it can take from one to two days." There are also lectures from the professor and lesson plans -- super cool topic to add to homeschooling. I hope (in these turbulent, difficult times) these three cams bring you as much fun as they've brought me!! Wendy

I'm also a huge proponent of community college for the first two years and then transferring to a four-year. (Unless of course scholarship money is a better deal going straight to a four year). My good friend's daughter did four years at a very fancy DC university. When it was done, the daughter lamented not having done the first two years at her local cc because she incurred a lot of loans. A two year tech college might be fine. Mike Rowe -- the Dirty Jobs guy -- says plenty of kids can get their tech education and start working. The idea that every kid needs four years is not the thing that it used to be. Just a thought, but you can do a two-year nursing degree, then take the registered nursing cert. If you pass the cert, you can go out and find a job. Please don't be hard on yourself, dh and I just happen to have moved to a state that makes scholarships easy. Otherwise, gulp-city. Even so, my two are doing the first two years at the cc and in the fall they transfer to the four-year. (And, yeah, you have to make sure that whatever he takes at cc transfers to the four-year). Wendy

Which state are you in?