Do you think you might find handling raw meat to be an issue? Chopping up boneless skinless chicken breasts and cooking them in a sauce is maybe easiest. You could start with a Kitchens of India Butter Chicken spice pack, if you enjoy that type of food. Follow the directions, super easy, really no way to screw it up.

Oh yes, similar wood stove experience here. Your clothing can get quite hot without you feeling it, then you move away from the stove, the pant leg touches skin and yikes! I had strange marks on the back of both my calves for years. That Burt's Bees After Sun lotion helps almost any kind of burn, I swear. Sorry about your poor leg.

Another quick 1km walk plus 60 minutes Zumba ripped today.

A one-hour zumba dvd, plus a quick 1km walk to burn off some steam. Have had four crappy phone calls in the past few weeks, and am so done being the bad guy already. Felt much better after my walk and could get back to zumba.

One hour Zumba ripped dvd today. I feel better and stronger, but I do wish I was *seeing* more results - whether it is the number on the scale, or looser fitting clothes, or something. At the same time, I had radioactive iodine in November for hyperthyroid, was diagnosed about 6 weeks ago with hypothyroid and am in the process of dr. adjusting meds, trying to get that all under control. So maintaining with hypothyroid issues is probably a good thing, right? Right? :tongue_smilie:

PACING was the issue of the day. I thought I would try the 20 minute Zumba Rush dvd again. It still felt hurried, particularly at the end, but a bit better. I did finish wondering, though, why they felt the need to pair such a fast pace with frantic music... we get it, it's supposed to be quick, lol. Plugged in a Tai Chi for Beginners dvd found at the thrift store for $2! But after 30 minutes, we hadn't got much further than some stretching. Just agonizing! LOL, makes you appreciate good quality when you find it. :D

If you see a need for boundaries, maybe your daughter's texts and phone calls, unless it is a dire emergency, could be left for a specific time of day that works for you, with you mentally setting a time limit (again barring dire emergencies) for those conversations. At least for your son, this should be a more short-term time crunch? End of semester performances and hooking up a summer job should be all over in the near future? Unless you can pitch one of the three jobs, I'm thinking you may not have time to read a book right now, lol. In the big picture, though, yes I bet there are books out there about making this transition and I'll be lurking to see if you find anything that works. Good luck to you! I know it's not easy.

40 minute Zumba dvd

Anyone else ready for a May thread? I actually exercised today, so I'll start one. :D Link to May thread

New month, new thread! Yard work for a couple hours with dd yesterday. One hour Zumba ripped dvd today.

A quick catch-up on books recently read: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (Sherman). This young adult book is described as semi-autobiographical, if that helps some readers here. Still Life (Penny). Thanks to the BaWer who recommended this Canadian cozy mystery series. While I didn't love everything about it, it was an engrossing, fluffy, quick read. Loved the food and the locale. Laughing All the Way to the Mosque (Nawaz). I never watched an episode of this author's Canadian comedy TV series, Little Mosque on the Prairie, but I did enjoy her humorous memoir (of sorts).

I voted kitchen, but only if you have at least another 1/2 bath somewhere. If it is one bathroom for six people, then yes that should probably be dealt with first.

Hmm, memory is blurry but I think you do not want the mp3 version, but rather the EPUB eBook. Maybe? ETA: If you want to read it on your Kindle rather than listen to it, that is.

Got in an hour of Zumba Wed and Thurs, and the 30 minutes Toning today. Yay!

Good call!

Find steeper trails? Pretty dependent on location for this one, lol.

I managed to get in the one Zumba chair dvd. Getting busy with running kids to soccer, community events and really I don't even know what-all. Hoping for more productivity but taxes are due here by April 30, and I should take advantage of the weather and start on some painting/staining projects.

I have been looking for an excuse to re-download the library software that allows my Kobo to access their e-books, since our hard drive crash over a year ago. As my library only has The Madwoman Upstairs as an e-book, this will be the perfect opportunity! Thank you for the intriguing and motivating recommendation. :D

I just finished another title for book club, of Bees and Mist by Erick Setiawan. Definitely of the magical realism genre... though it seems to me the genre should be called magical surrealism. While I did like the way these fantastical events revealed truths about parent-child, husband-wife relationships, the spirit world was sometimes a little much for this 21st century reader. I don't know if it's too much reading of BaW threads or if I was unduly influenced by the author info on the book cover, but I was wondering if some of the elements could have been inspired by traditional tales from China or Indonesia. Like a fairytale, the main characters and events were a bit predictable. Overall it was a quick read that sucked me into an interesting world.

I'm confused by the above. Is the article truly stating that exercise levels in America have not dropped over the last 20 years?

Best situation summation I've seen so far. Having trouble resisting the urge to share this. :D

Got in one hour of Zumba ripped today (such a silly name). Love that one!

This week's bookclub title, which also happened to travel through Egypt in the 1860's, was The Mistress of Nothing (Pullinger). Highly recommended.

Wish I could 'like' posts by moderators, but I shall do it the round-about way. Consider your posts 'liked'! :D

Got back to Zumba today, yay! Did 60 minutes of exhilarate. I *will* master this one. Maybe. Also maybe glad I don't have a mirror, lol.