Staying Out of Trouble

Feb 3

steps 10,450

 Today has been another slow day. I did not sleep at all Saturday night. So, all my sleeping was during the day. I slept three hours today with no nap, so hopefully I will sleep well tonight. 

For dinner I had: tuna, MW, chopped carrots, and two boiled eggs eaten with two huge Romaine leaves. Tommy ate something. Then, I made pimiento and cheese and packed me a sandwich for tomorrow when we are out. Tommy will make his out of whatever he wants. 

I finally tried fixing the no-color problem on my hair. I still have hair that is white. The doctor won't care. I will, very much will. 

As I was telling Tommy something from the past, I decided to see if this very nice man from our church was still with us so I could get in touch. Nope. Dead. Then, I looked up another family in another location and cannot find her. The death is not overwhelming, bringing me grief. But, where is the other family??? I will work on that another day. 

My Victoza is promised for Wednesday. I do hope I get it because I cannot stand the anxiety I went through not having meds and having to go 64 miles to get only enough for two or three weeks.

The weather was beautiful, a little humid and the temperature was about 76F, I think. That is what Tommy told me. I only made one call of the many I need to make, but there is tomorrow. 

We are still inundated with glitter from the deer I hit and rolled around with on the front porch! I even get it in my bed, off my feet, I suppose.

The abandoned house next door has a fire ant mound that is two feet in diameter and about a foot tall. I am going to go over there and use Amdro around it. Hopefully, I won't get in trouble. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Slow Saturday

Jan 2

steps 11,000

 Maybe I have my sleep schedule under control. I hope so. It affects my daytime when I don't sleep well at night. 

Tonight, I ate ground beef that totally up my digestive system. Right now, I am so dehydrated. I need water and electrolytes. 

I think I took a nap in my bed. And, I slept in my chair through a holocaust program I wanted to see. I never miss AFV, of course. So, it appears it was a restful day, maybe wasted. Tommy was rather calm and helpful. 

There are lists, plans, all waiting until I put color on my hair again! Tommy left me with a circle of hair about 6 inches in diameter, all white.

USPS delivered a huge, heavy box only halfway up the ramp. Taking care of that is the first order of Monday morning. If we have a ramp, we might have a need for help, like bring the huge box all the way to the door!  

It was 69F today, pleasant. 

How was your Saturday? What did you accomplish?

Does USPS deliver packages so you can easily get them into the house?

My Chins

 Feb 1

steps 18,182

I noticed my face was not so fat and was thrilled. Then, one day I noticed my fat chins were less. I suppose it is still a fat double chin. But, now it is the kind that is a band going from chin to base of neck that has many wrinkles in it. Disgusting, but better than before.  I know I can have surgery, but that is not even a consideration. What can I do to make my saggy neck less prominent? Send me an email if you don't want to admit to the world you have done something to your neck.

Surgery or botox are off the table.

Friday night, I cut up the cabbage and Tommy put it on and then refrigerated it after it was cooked. We had some tonight. It is delicious. I ate it with the rest of my rice and broccoli. I refused to eat the still raw potatoes, so Tommy refrigerated them. He had the same thing. 

This morning, I finally was in bed by 8 am. I slept until 2 pm, and woke up in bed thinking I was sleeping on my stomach in my chair. I have felt okay this afternoon. 

The day has been beautiful and the week to come will be equally warm and lovely. 

Do you have excess chin/neck skin/fat?

This lost post

 Jan 30

steps 14,628

Hmm, I have no idea where this post should be.

Some People Drink at the Fountain of Knowledge; Others Just Gargle

 Feb 1

Steps 12,000

Right? 

Well, I awoke ready to make calls and places were closed on Friday. No one will be open tomorrow. I have another list of calls of people and places that should be open. So, called one and hung up discouraged. Sending me a text so I can fill out my info is not great customer service for me. 

We are making progress. Tommy took the bows off the deer. At this rate, I will be done by Labor Day. 

Tommy's osteoarthritis is causing him so much pain. For years I have suggested a doctor. He always gets loud and denies anything can be done. He last consulted his family doctor about 20 years ago. Lately, he has quit objecting, so it is time for me to make an appointment. He no longer says he won't have an operation or knee replacement. Wish me luck. 

The two airplane crashes have rattled me. I knew all along flying was dangerous. How do you feel about flying?

How I Perceived it and How it Really Happened

Jan 30

steps 14.628

73F!

When I got up to go to the bathroom, I wondered why Tommy was up as it was 6 something. So, I went to living room where my lamp was on and he appeared fully awake. I sat down, still stunned from sleep as I usually am when I awake. After about five minutes, I started talking. The news was on. All seemed not normal for a morning. 

I asked him why he was up. Because... Had he eaten? Of course not. Why are you awake so early. Because it is six o'clock. What did you eat. Nothing yet. 

I kept this up, questioning him with same questions until I realized it was still Thursday. He told me I lay down for a nap at 2 pm. How did this all happen?

What really happened--I lay down for a nap at about 2 this afternoon. I told him not to wake me. At 6 pm it was dark, so I thought it was still night and he was up at 6 am. It was still Thursday, and I thought it was Friday morning. I thought he must have had breakfast. 

I must have been very out of it, because I could not understand how this all happened and kept asking him the same questions. I hope not to be in this state again. This was so bizarre. 

It has been two hours, and I am fully awake now. 

We did nothing today. I asked Tommy to remove the bows from the reindeer. He forgot. I needed to hang two pair of pants and jacket. I forgot. We did nothing done that we planned! I stayed up late watching the tragedy in DC. Then, I got up early to have it continue. The political comments overshadowed the human tragedy. 

It was warm today, so I took off the top wool blanket before the nap. It is good I did take it off because the temp was 73F. 

Today, I gave myself an injection just below my waist in a nice fatty area. As I stuck the needle in, I felt a severe pain in shoulder blade on same side. This pain continued for about three minutes, feeling like a thumbtack was being pushed into my back. Now, injections often cause a tiny pain elsewhere, but I have never had this kind of pain and for so long. Has anyone ever experienced anything like this? 

It is only about 9 pm, and I am now extremely sleepy!

I laughed about my confusion as to whether it was night or morning. Have you ever awakened confused about whether it was day or night?

I Want an Orange

 Jan. 29

steps 13,780

Wednesday was an all-around good day. Nothing spectacular happened except for the weather, 64 degrees. That alone is enough to celebrate. We accomplished lots in comfort. 

We collected ads from three stores where we shop. Publix is the last store ad we collect. Today, we got it first. There were things we knew would be gone by Thursday morning. Some items on bogo were gone by 3pm! 

We bought these b2g2--Cokes. These b2g1--HUGGIE wipes, Cottonelle. Coleslaw mix was two for $6. White grapes were reduced, not sure how much. 

I heard that Cottonelle was best tp for not having lots of fuzz, so tried it. I was sitting in Electric cart, tried to tip off a small size, tipped it right into face and knocked my glasses off onto floor. It took a great effort to retrieve glasses from the floor. ugh! 

We have passed by drugstore several times in the last three days on the way home or out to do chores. We kept going because there were too many cars in line. This prescription I do not need in a hurry. Last night, it was getting dark, so Tommy went inside hoping to avoid eight cars in line. He came back out saying there were fifteen people standing in line. Today, we had plenty of daylight and just wanted to get this pickup over with. So, we sat it out. This prescription is an ophthalmic med for my ear. I don't know.

The only things on the list we did not accomplish were jumping off my car and going for a ride. Those two things go at the top of my list tomorrow.

I want an orange. I am starving for an orange!!! I have not had one for a year. My history with oranges is not altogether a happy history. Somehow, I knew I was allergic to oranges or at least sensitive. But, I kept consuming the orange and juice. When my son was 18 months, we moved. The house had just been built and had a well. My son kept having massive diarrhea issues. I remember walking down the hall carrying him with his diarrhea running down the front of my housecoat and nightgown and into my house shoes. I had no idea what was happening all of a sudden with him. 

I took him to the doctor several times. He suggested testing the water since we were on a new well. The authorities came and tested our well water when I requested. It was perfect and pure water. 

I thought about this all the time. One day, I was sitting and drinking orange juice. It hit me. I told husband to never allow son to have even a sip of orange juice. After a week of no diarrhea, I gave him a sip. Within the next day, he let loose. We withheld oj for a period of time two more times. Both sips of oj disrupted his bowels. So, he and other children never had oj before they were two or three years old. I kept drinking it, but hid or drank out of cup so they could not see what I had. I had no untoward problems.

One day, the youngest was begging from her brother and sister. She was a year old and wanted some orange juice from a sibling's juice glass.  I told them not to ever give her orange juice. They were stunned. I explained son's diarrhea and they were sure not to give her any, no matter how prettily she asked. So, the two younger, both girls, never had the digestive problem.  Maybe it would not have affected them. Both girls were eventually given orange juice when they were about five, but never had the same problem. 

However, oranges or juice does not affect my digestion as far as I know. I have figured out that oranges or juice cause me to have sinus problems that end up being a sinus infection eventually. Or, I am just congested forever! One of these days, I will give in, but I am resisting the oranges I so want. Of course, this includes all citrus fruit. I love them all so much! 

I stopped typing and made dinner. We have leftover chicken and turkey. Frozen broccoli was put in refrigerator from freezer, so I had to do something with it. I made two medium casseroles. Each had a bag of broccoli, 1/2 can of cream of chicken soup and 1/2 can of cream of mushroom. Neither had sodium. In my casserole I put cheese. Tommy said he hates cheese on chicken or rice or in his soup. Two casseroles work. 

We are both tired. He gets grumpy when tired. Not fun. Thankfully, he settles down when he eats!

We have a few chores for tomorrow, but I am adding planting bulbs.

Are you allergic to oranges? What is your reaction? Do you ever have a strong desire for a food to which you are allergic? 

Accomplishments

 Jan. 28

steps 13,000

Because I only slept three hours Monday night, I was weary all day long, but did not sleep until 6:30pm. UGH! Then it was just an hour nap.

Tommy went into Dollar Tree and bought a red, heart garland with pink on it. It's on the tree with the red balls. It covers the tree, so the tree is mostly red. It is really very pretty and sparkly.

I think the temp was almost 60F today. The weather was dry, wind was almost non-existent. The sun was brilliant. 

Today. we ate leftovers. That helped clean out freezer and refrigerator. 

Eggs at Publix were $5.40 for a dozen Grade A eggs. This was cheaper than other stores around here. I looked at blueberries which I also had to toss. Blueberries in a tiny box were $7 each. My mouth fell open, and I put the blueberries down as four employees watched. 

Tonight, there was about a half cup of chili, so I had that with chili on top. It was delicious, all hot and gooey. I will eat salad in a bit and lots of strawberries. 

Tommy and I were talking about Kim's brown furniture and how beautiful it was. I asked him about brown furniture in his family. He said when he and his brother divided up house when the sold their parents' house. Tommy said he took the bedroom furniture and his brother and his wife took the dining room furniture, dark brown, maybe mahogany. His brother and his wife painted the formal dining room furniture the most terrible green.  They asked Tommy about his painting the bedroom furniture. What color was he going to paint it? He avoided answering. He said he would clean it if anything. Thank goodness. 

Today, I actually was able to get appointments, thankfully. Tomorrow, I will get the other appointments I need. Usually, the nurse calls back the next day or when I have the phone off.

I was discussing buying a laptop. I mentioned to a friend--"Oh, where does Sam work?" "Oh, Sam died." I was shocked. Tears came. Another friend is gone, and he was only about 45. It is a sad day. This only happened a month ago. It is particularly sad when a young person dies. 

Do you like dark brown furniture or not?

More Steps

Jn.27 

steps 20,273

My scales to weigh myself on were in the way. When I moved them, I don't get on them so often. But, tonight, I decided to lug them out and weigh myself. Shockingly, I lost another pound even though I have not eaten well...too much chocolate. So, I am down 34 lbs. 

I wonder if the exercise has anything to do with the weight loss even though it seems my eating is out of control? Chocolate seems to have hold of me.

More strawberries were needed since we let the others rot in refrigerator. That disappoints me. Things happened. Tommy browned about two pounds of ground beef. It may be spaghetti since I really want spaghetti. 

I was wandering through the Valentine aisles in Big Box when I happened to strike up a conversation with a woman with cutest twins. I said I was looking for a garland with hearts on it. She said they have those at Dollar Tree. I will go there tomorrow. 

Tonight, I happened to glance in the mirror where I could see the top of my head which is completely white! Tommy said it was all my fault. grrr

The temperature will be near 70 later this week. I am supremely happy. I suppose Anne will be happy, too. 

Tommy just brought me a piece of Irish Soda Bread with butter on it and heated. It was heaven. I need to make some. Have you ever made Irish Soda Bread? Any tips?

Coloring My Hair and Everything Else

 Jan. 26

steps 10,452

I slept a whole 7 hours last night, awoke hot and had to get up. I lurched down the hall and stabbed the wall with a thumb nail. I wonder what damage I did. My nails are lethal weapons, especially my thumbnails. If anyone ever attacks me, I will leave him permanently scarred, maybe bleeding to death. 

At the grocery store I did not even slow my cart as I grabbed a bag of Quaker Chocolate Rice Cakes. Yesterday, I had two left of fourteen. I wanted to eat them, but neither Tommy nor I could find them. When I came into living room and sat down, the bag was sitting next to the remotes. I ate them. But, when Tommy awakes, I will say I have not seen them. That will send him on a chase. I won't make him look, not that mean. There was a time about 40 years ago that I ate rice cakes all the time, but they did not have chocolate.

4:15 and everything melted down. Tommy will never be near me with color and my hair. Now, I cannot put it on like they do in a shop, but it works, so don't tell me how a shop does it or I should do it. I take the bottle of color with the little tip and use the tip to get it on hair in close rows in some places. Then, I use a toothbrush to sort of poke it down along the lines so color it to roots. 

He started at the front like I told him, then sort of swirled the toothbrush until I had a rat's nest on top of my head back to crown. He did this over a dozen times. Yes, I screamed at him lots. One time, he cut my hair off four inches too short. I only wanted length off. Years later, he said he did that to get out of doing it again. Nope, didn't work. 

I told him he pays for hair color for me at shop. He agreed by saying nothing...lol. I really hate it when people do things wrong to get out of doing it again. I just refuse to do whatever it is! There was more color smeared and dropped than ever before. At my house I have colored my hair without ever getting a drop on anything. I colored my hair at daughter's house and spilled not one drop. She would have told me if I had anything spilled or dripped. Now, I have to do it sitting in my recliner. 

This is something I have never paid to be done. People have said it looks great. Now, I cannot get arms up for so long. I will remedy this problem. Plus, I have to sit in lift chair because I cannot stand too long.

OT story. She came in smiling saying she could smell marijuana in our front yard. We wonder who was smoking so that it wafted into our yard. She said it was strong. So now we wonder who it could be. 

After all the talk of egg shortage, I finally asked Tommy how many eggs we have. We have 13. So, there is no catastrophe about to happen when we run out of eggs. Tomorrow, we will buy more at some price. 

I may go to the store and get a garland for the Christmas tree to make it a Valentine tree. It only had red balls on it this year, so it will work fine. I will figure out something for St. Patrick's Day and Easter. The red makes it work for patriotic holidays. I won't use the multicolor lights that are on it. 

Have you ever had a Valentine tree using your Christmas tree? 

Do you put color on your own hair or go to a stylist. Problems with either?

Do you eat or like rice cakes?

Are your nails lethal?

Lazy Saturday

 Jan 24 and Jan 25

steps 20,298 

Today has been a lazy day. Plus, I have no ooomph. 

I rounded up info to tackle another problem over the phone. I don't relish this call. But, it is worth $2000, so I can handle it. 

Friday night, I slept ten solid hours! A couple of times I wanted a nap today, but after five minutes reclining, I felt refreshed. Silly, huh? I never rested for more than five minutes today. 

I read a lot and watched tv. Of course, I read on laptop where I can enlarge the text.

I forgot to post steps on Friday, so I posted for two days today.

Dinner: pork medallion, salad, snacks after dinner were about a dozen chocolate chips, and half dozen pecan halves. 

Thankfully, it is warming up here. The snow on the sand at the beach is disappearing.

Do you still have ice, sludge or snow? 

Solving Problems Today

 Today, I steeled myself, gritted my teeth, then relaxed and put on a voice more pleasant than I felt. I got a woman to whom I have talked before and told her how disruptive this was to my financial life. So, this is the long story of how it happened.

I was at Bank1. They became Bank 2. I was told the free checks were good and free to use as long as I had them. I still have about 100 checks. I use them not often. I have never used one over the phone until a few weeks ago. That is the problem--the routing numbers are changed since it is under a new bank. Now, why couldn't someone else help me figure this out? I was an agent of the solving the problem. However, I had a late charge at Amazon. The local business took off the late charge and something else. So, now I know. Why could all these employees before her figure it out? Also, why couldn't someone have given me new routing numbers to use over the phone. I don't need new numbers if I use a check at the store or at bank. I do not have and have not had one overdraft, thank you.

Tommy just finished a 30-minute call to ATT about why he was not charged for long-distance service. Somehow, his charge was not put on the bill. But, the amount of talking required was too much. At least, his service was not cancelled.

Now, I need to talk with Amazon.,,,if I can find someone who speaks English well enough to understand. People in this country need jobs. I ordered something on sale for $329 and used my accrued points to pay for it. They did not use my points and charged me $449. Needless to say, this does not sit well with me!`

Tonight, we had baked chicken, garlic potatoes with green beans, and Romaine. Tommy had a salad, chicken and garlic potatoes with green beans. 

Additionally, I baked a turkey breast wrapped in bacon and some sort of stuffing. I pulled off all the bacon. Whatever it was stuffed with will keep my mouth and stomach burning all night. I only took a taste! 

A sliced baked ham went into the freezer. I cannot wait to eat it. I need to cook beans and bake sweet potatoes for that. Or, maybe we will have that for Easter.

a funny commercial

Obnoxious Hyundai Tucson "sugar mamma" commercial

My feet are so cold!

Insufficient Funds

 Jan. 24

steps 12,150

OT called and I was not on her schedule, so she did not keep appointment today. She said that is usually a sign I am not getting more therapy. Bummer. I may have started three months ago, but I have gotten only half that. She said my insurance probably cut the program for me. 

The nurse needed to see me this week. Since I was busy the day she wanted to come, I mean right that day, I told her to let's make an appointment for tomorrow. No, she cannot because she might get new patients she would have to see. Tonight, I went to bed at 7 pm. She called at 8 pm, trying to convince Tommy to make an appointment at 3 pm even though he told her we had something planned. What's wrong with these people? I called her and got her voice mail, so nothing will be set when tomorrow comes. I hate this.

Today, we came home, and I rushed to the bathroom. I unlocked the door and rushed down the hall. I sat on commode and a few minutes later was rushing to go out again. As I stood up, I heard something rattle and then a thud on the bathroom floor. I had to shake my cell phone and keys out of the leg of my pants. The phone and keys fell out of my jacket pocket, into pants and through my pants leg. I was so confused. I have never had that happen before. Tommy had a good laugh when I told him. 

We had chicken fingers I cooked in the oven for dinner. I had chicken fingers and Romaine, and Tommy had chicken fingers and a salad. I have never tasted such salty fingers. I am finishing my third or fourth bottle of water tonight. I just hope I am not up all night. 

At 7 pm, I had to go to bed but only slept until 10pm. I do expect to go back to bed about 3 am and sleep the rest of the night. 

The temperature was around 42F. It is back to 27F tonight and back up to mid 40s Friday. Yesterday, the humidity was -6. It was so dry it was affecting my sinuses. I have never heard of such low humidity. 

My bank is rejecting checks and debits because of insufficient funds, yet the tell me I have plenty of money when I call the bank. This is driving me crazy.

Every night, we watch a Hopalong Cassidy movie since they come on Grit at 1 am. Has anyone found them yet? 

Wednesday Warmup

Jan 22

13,350 steps

 I know 37F is not very warm, but compared to overnight temperatures, 37F is a warmup. 

Last night, Tuesday, I did steps, then OT suggested I do more because I was shoding' to let her know when her time is up! She keeps leaving earlier and earlier. 

I was so tired and frustrated, I just did not want to do more steps after she was leaving after only 30 minutes. She is having trouble at home. I want to get a timer that makes a 'ding' to keep her working until it dings. 

I may have done more steps. 

She showed me a picture of a scantily clad woman to whom her husband had sent money several times, claiming it was his brother's girlfriend. hmmm  He always has to go to town where the girl lives. So, she kicked him out. I feel sorry for her. She does not have her mind on my problems right here and her work. I don't mind at all her talking about her problems. I will commiserate with her like I did last night. She does not 'need' him to support her, so that is good. I almost called her to make sure she made the 90-minute drive safely. 

At any rate I did not pedal more on Tuesday night.

Tuesday night, I looked online at Publix ad. There were four things 'chosen just for you.' There was a2milk, Nature's Own Honey Wheat bread, Coke, and something I forgot. Publix bscb was $5.49 bogo, so almost rock bottom for bscb. Yes, I do buy and eat all four items. So, Publix is watching me. I did buy all those items and a few more. Then, we got the other two ads and did not hang around the store to buy more. 

When I awoke Wednesday morning, I was so hot, like fire. I came down the hall trying to figure out why I was so very hot. I sat in my chair, uncovered with only a summer nightgown on my body, rather than a jacket and blanket as usual. Finally, my body turned icy. Then it was time to cover up. I think the two wool blankets, flannel sheets, and bedspread overheat me. But, I am only staying warm until I am overheating.  Maybe it was a hot flash. 

I sent Tommy into CVS to use a 40% off any full-price item coupon. He got a Revlon lipstick for me--Pink in the Afternoon. The lipstick was about $7 instead of $11 and change. It seems all my lipstick has disappeared, probably under the car seat, 

When I went to hatch to let guy put groceries back there, I discovered someone had hit the car. !!! I suppose this is to be expected. The mark in sort of a scrap about 6 Inches by 12 inches, definitely hit. 

Do you have every scrape, ding, and dent repaired? 

Waiting on OT

Jan 21

steps about 4000

 So, just now I called at 4:55 and she is 2 miles away. I was afraid she had an accident or decided not to come. 

Today, we went to my new hairdresser. I like her. She did not cut it exactly how I want it, but she did not destroy it. Plus, it looks neater and less straggly. I will go back in a month so we can fix it more like I prefer. She charged $20 and I gave her $30. She tried to give me change. 

It was maybe 25F out and I wore sandals. It was not too bad. Plus, it is not far to go. I doubt I will ever have to cancel because of weather. I explained to her about my need for help. She said she would ask around. I gave up on the cleaner the doctor recommended. If she cannot answer the phone or return calls where I explain what I want, I suppose she does not want to work or would not show up. 

We have seat warmers in the car seats, so that helped to not be so frigid, plus I took a throw that Tommy used while I was getting my hair cut. And, there were two more throws in the car. Tommy does not know if he has gloves. I have not looked for mine. That is on my to-do list--find gloves. 

Last night in bed I was very warm. I had two wool blankets and a bedspread over me. I used a throw over top of my head and a throw bunched up under the flannel sheet to keep air out. Tommy said he was not hot or cold in his chair. Tonight will be down to 3F, so hope we are warm without turning up the heat. 

Since Tommy gave me gift cards for Barnes and Nobles, I decided to make a list of books I want. I know I can order online, but when I did that, my book had no name on the spine. So, I have bought nothing there in three years. So far, my list has: Little, Brown Handbook; The Handmaid's Tale; and nothing else. 

We had pork medallions with vegetables and sauce. Tommy did not care for the dinner.  

Since it is going to be 3F, I need to tend to half bath.

What is the temp at your house tonight?

Writing

 Jan 20

steps 12,463

I think I must readjust my writing schedule. I usually write late, often after midnight. Now, since I have been going to bed early, I cannot write late. Of course, I do get up for four hours, but those are not good writing hours. One night, I did write in the middle of the night. I could not type very well at all. It was a chore to correct so much. 

Today, I expected the ot to come between 3:20 and 4 pm. Tommy said she said 5 pm. Around 6 pm, I called her. She was already 90 miles from here and apologized about two dozen times. Since I am going for haircut tomorrow, I knew I did not make an appointment for that time tomorrow. While I had nowhere to go, I resent living on tenterhooks! 

It is soooo cold--21F right now at 10:15 pm. 

Today was a sad and tiring day. If we can make it through four more years....

Hopalong Cassidy

 Tommy turned to a TV station to a cowboy movie. He said he was going to watch it because had never seen a Hopalong Cassidy movie before. I was shocked! I could not believe he had never seen a Hopalong Cassidy movie. Since he is 71, he is of the right age. He said he watched cowboy movies on Saturday afternoons. So, I wonder how he missed seeing this cowboy movie. 

We started watching Randolph Scott movies, so I quit writing this post. 

Have you seen at least one Hopalong Cassidy movie? Who has not?

Saturday

Jan. 18

9,999 steps

 Tommy said he thought it was 20 miles one way. Then, when he checked the odometer, it was a 32-mile one way trip. So, 64 miles trip to get Victoza. You would think that starting 4 weeks ago to get this refill would be long enough. 

My scales had 'low' message instead of weight when I stepped on the platform. I changed the batteries and still got nothing, no message at all. I was set to buy another. Finally, three days later, Tommy did something and saved us having to buy another. I could not find the same one on Amazon, where I got the first. My weight is at the same low as before--32 lb. loss.

Tommy saw our neighbor going into The Pig as he was coming out. Tommy said, "What's happening?" Neighbor said, "To Hell with the milk. I came for beer!" 

I slept poorly last night, although it was more than eight hours. I took a Melatonin on Friday night, and I have noticed it causes disturbed sleep. I didn't take any for a year. I think I will quit again. I don't have nightmares like some people report. My response has to it has changed.

Now, I have to go hang up wet laundry.  

Victoza

 Thankfully, I had good night's sleep because I am exhausted at 6 pm. We got into the car for a few chores. I called pharmacy and they found Victoza for me. The hitch was that we had to drive 20 miles. That was no problem except it was mid-afternoon and dark comes early this time of the year. The road was scary, but Tommy was cautious, especially when I asked and begged. 

The pharmacy had two hours and knew where we were driving from. But, no, they had not worked on it yet, come back in 30 minutes. We came back in 30 minutes after telling him we could not drive in the dark. A young woman said it was not ready. I told her we could not see to drive in the dark, and if we ended up dead in a ditch, it would be Walgreen's fault, that they had had all afternoon to fill it! She said they would fill it right now. 

If was fully dark when we arrived home, thankfully in one piece. It was scary on the drive over and even scarier on the drive back. 

Well, I 'lost' Tommy's monitor and he is unhappy. Okay, I was sitting on it for a couple of hours. I figured that out after he went to car in the dark and cold to find it. Ooops!

We did not make it to any grocery store. If it is raining tomorrow, there is nothing greatly reduced that we want or need. So, we can stay inside. 

Tonight, I will put frozen bscb, mostly thawed, into the crockpot. A big package of bone-in and skin-on chicken will go into a pot to boil. It's getting late, almost nine so I should get busy. I have been wanting chicken/broccoli/brown rice/cheese/pimiento. Tommy hates the pimiento so he will get carrots or something. I will make two casseroles, small ones that will make two or more meals each. 

We had roast chicken, cabbage, and butternut squash for dinner. Delicious. 

This was a beautiful day and warm. Then, before we left town, clouds rolled in. 

Tommy just came in with laundry at 9 pm and said the driveway is damp and a few drops of rain hit him. So, maybe the Saturday rain has started. 

Now, I need to cook and go to bed. 

A Haircut

 Wednesday night, I went to sleep at 8 pm and woke at 2 am. Of course, I could not go back to sleep until about 7 am and slept until 9 am. I wish I could develop a better schedule, but at least I am getting seven or eight hours sleep. And, I am not awake all night, necessitating sleeping in the day.

Tommy is funny. I told him the other day that I would cook the small cabbage and to get the larger cabbage out of the plastic bag and don't put it in the refrigerator. He incredulously asked, "And, let it sit out for days out of the refrigerator." I suppose he thought it would rot in three or four days. I always store cabbage in the crisper, but the refrigerator was full. Two days on the table where it is cool was not going to make it rot. I forgot to cook it today! 

He said he liked the way I cooked cabbage. Some people, he said, cooked cabbage to mush and he likes cabbage with a bite. 

I have an appointment to get a haircut on Tuesday, but the weather will be bad. I have not had a professional haircut since 2018! It is too long, scraggly, and cut wrong. I just hope the roads are not frozen. I am so excited!

Tonight, I had chili, hotdogs, shredded cheese, and half a hotdog bun. Tommy had two hotdogs, catsup, mustard, and relish. 

The ot who was scheduled for 3:30 to 4--arrival came at 5 pm. The nurse called, expecting to come here tomorrow morning. She told me most people never went anywhere, so I told her most of the time I went out and sat in the car while Tommy went into stores. So, she misses seeing me this week. 

I tried once again to contact the cleaner the doctor recommended. No contact. 

The table to my left desperately needed cleaning of bits. This has been done. It has been an uneventful/boring day.

We are expecting rain for two days, then freezing weather. If snow is forecast, I will make the milk concoction for snow ice cream. YUM

Do you have snow forecast for next week?

Maybe?

 June 15 

steps 2,700

We sat in line at the pharmacy drive-thru for almost an hour. It took a long time to finish both our transactions. The last thing we heard was that the Victoza would be in on January 21. I doubt it. I hope I am wrong.

We had things to do. We managed to do all but the most important--shop for a storm door. I sit here facing the door and can see daylight around the door. Of course, that needs to be fixed. Plus, a storm door that fits will help immensely to keep this place warmer and not so drafty. 

When I first came here, he refused to let me put in weatherstripping. Now, I cannot reach high enough. So, we can spend lots of money. I talked to another Home Depot and got more help over the phone than I did in person at the other location.

At least, one project will be done. It is a long list. Tommy did take in about 10 items from three trips to get a refund. I suggested he not go in sooner as the refund line would be too long.

On Wednesday night, I went to bed at 8 pm. and awoke on Thursday at 2 am. I was so hot I had to get up. Now, two hours later, I am wide awake with the hiccups.  

I have been so frustrated because my debit account has been frozen because of McAfee's attempt to push through a charge that was not authorized and exorbitant. Well, I called the bank today, and they have no info showing my account has been frozen. And, McAfee tried twelve times to push the charge through on Friday morning between 8 and 9 am! As I went into Publix to collect the ad, I bought one item, and the charge went through. I am so relieved that I can now use my card and money is accessible to me. Tommy was going to allow me to use his card, but Amazon will not take a cc for bill payment.

Christmas is still out and up for the most part. Today, I struggled to get into the room where the rest is stored. The room has stuff about two feet high all over the room. Christmas items that were stored on top of one box now covers the tops of items in the room. I am so furious! I managed to pull out the two boxes that two table-top reindeer and a Santa should go into for storage. I almost fell down as I came into the living room because I was carrying the boxes awkwardly and had to sneeze. Maybe Tommy can climb over his junk and hand me those three Christmas items. 

I am tired of having to watch cleaners so they don't hide things from me and make my life more difficult in the long run. 

Today was a beautiful day. The days are getting longer which makes me deliriously happy.  

Maybe I can go five days without med for diabetes.

Panic

 Jan 14

11,000 steps

Yes, I am in a panic. I am out of Victoza for diabetes. There is none to be had. I only have a pill I take with the shot. For breakfast at noon, I had cheese and enough crackers for 10 mg of carbs. Then when we went out, I told Tommy I wanted one plain hamburger. Then, I decided to get a Whopper, Jr. since it is only fifty cents more than a hamburger. He got me two Whopper, Jrs. because that is cheaper per Whopper than buying one. I got rid of the top and bottom bun of one burger and the top of the other, so not many carbs. I had a tiny yogurt, 10 carbs, I think. 

Doctor does not respond. Pharmacy says nothing helpful. I know I need some carbs, but I can cut down. I have glimepiride and am tempted to take more than prescribed since I am out of Victoza. 

I will use the Ellipse after meals instead of all at once and restrict carbs and take Glimepiride as ordered. This, no doubt will help in weight loss. Tonight, my scales gave up the ghost!

The only reason given to me as to why there is no Victoza is that there is a 'shortage.' I decided to see what that meant.

VICTOZA SHORTAGE  So, this shortage was planned and has been ongoing? 

Heaven Help Us

no steps

 Tonight, we were preparing dinner. Tommy was getting his vegetable ready to spend ten minutes in the microwave. I dipped out my hamburger and readied it for the bun, put it on bun and grabbed a Coke. Then I sat to eat. He came in a few minutes later with all his food and told me the green spatula had melted.

I tried to figure out what went wrong. It turned out I had left it in the pan. Now, remember, I had to ask 20 questions to get the whole story. The flat part of the spatula had melted into the pan. the handle melted to where it was under the electric eye! Oh, as an after-thought, he added the handle was flaming. Then, before he took his meal to eat, he asked me if I wanted the eye turned off!!! 

No, just leave it flaming!

It turned out to be my fault as I had left the eye on and spatula in skillet. 

OT came today. We have to make ourselves stop talking. We both forget the count. Today, she said you have been doing that so long, it is bound to be twenty by now. 

At noon, we were going to grocery shop from ads. Then, I felt like I had to sleep. She was coming at 3:30-4 pm. Tommy wanted to know when to wake me. When she gets here. I awoke at 3:50. jerked on my clothes, and she knocked on the door a minute later. I have gotten up from a nap for people who do not show up or come late, so now, I sleep as long as I can. 

My left foot and right heel were injured once again by the lymphedema therapy once. No one calls me back when I call the doctor's office. So, I am not sure what to do. Tomorrow, I will make an appointment. I tried several doctors today, but it seems doctors are taking Mondays off, too. Have you found doctors taking Mondays off? 

Multitasking

 Jan 12

steps 14,250

I am so clever! Not!  I decided to eat dinner while I used the Ellipse. I had baked chicken, baked carrots, and boiled cabbage. I pedaled and ate. Ate and pedaled. Drank water. I talked to Tommy and laughed at TV.  Pedaled. When I had finished eating, I asked for a chocolate covered cherry and a Coke. I had five swallows of the Coke. Kept pedaling. Then, the pain started. Then I hiccupped for a while. I finally quit and started again. I hurt so. 

Remind me never to eat and drink while exercising. Groan!

This morning, Tommy said he was getting sick. He could not stand to have the TV on at all until after 1 pm. He said he felt feverish. He was truly miserable. He gets this way several times a year. He recovers quickly. His headache goes away with sleep. His sinuses quit hurting. He will probably use a Hall's Mentholyptus cough drop to help with his sinuses tonight. 

The snow is gone. I am grateful. 

Is your snow gone yet?

Has anyone else ever had a 12-hour sinus problem with temp and headache like Tommy does?

Can you eat and exercise without pain?

Saturday That I Thought Was Sunday, Lack of Confidence

 When I sleep long in the middle of the day, sometimes I think it is the next day. That is what happened Saturday. It is a strange feeling. 

Finally, Tommy decided it was melted enough to venture out to mailbox and to get papers from the doctor. I left them in the glovebox. When I tried to read directions for bloodwork, the printer was out of ink as only a shadow was on the page. Neither of us could read it. So, I will have to get this mailed to me. 

Then, I was horrified to read a diagnosis, then another, neither of which I have ever heard or read on a chart! That will necessitate a call to confirm. Also, I wonder how the cardiologist came up with this diagnosis. As I continued turning pages, nothing is legible, just shadows.

When I used the ellipse on Friday, my feet were injured from using the lymphedema therapy, so I used neither. So, no steps today. The top of my left foot was hurting the whole hour of therapy. Plus, it did not quit hurting Saturday, so I did not want to chance squeezing it again or using Ellipse. When I did steps on Friday, it hurt. Plus, my heel, part that touches the floor was hurt by the squeezing. sigh No steps and no squeezing for Saturday. A few years ag the bones in top of my left foot hurt so that I used any means I could to keep foot from touching floor. Doctor did xray and told me it was age-related arthritis. YAY! Better than a broken bone. It bothers me about twice a year. 

Then there is a notation that I am on insulin. I am not. And, that I have venous insufficiency. I do not. However, I was tested for it. It makes me wonder about this old doctor. 

On Saturday night, I had baked chicken, cooked cabbage, carrots. Tommy had the same, plus baked potatoes. 

There was very little snow left when the sun went down. We have needed nothing, so it appears our preps for this weather were sufficient. 

Would you have confidence in this doctor? 

Do you have age-related arthritis? How does it affect you? So far, it seems only to affect top of left foot and back of left hand, no fingers.

Now for Thursday

 Jan 10

steps 10,185

Right now, it is 10:30 pm. I slept from about 5 pm until 10 pm. I never try to watch anything I plan, just go to bed. I eat too much candy, regular meals if I am hungry or whenever. My weight is still at its lowest. Tommy just brought me baked chicken, carrots, potatoes, and a bowl of cabbage. I love cabbage.

Back to Thursday now. I asked for a wheelchair and someone to push me. It was about 40F out. The woman brought a short and narrow wheelchair. I told her I needed a taller and larger one. She rushed back and brought a wheelchair two of me could fit. I really don't care, just noted the discrepancy. When I opened the car door, she pushed the wheelchair into the car where I could not step out. I had to ask her to move it back. 

When I got into the wheelchair, she started moving it before I could get my feet onto the places folded up. I asked her to get the footrest down so I could put my feet up. She said I would have to wait because it was cold and she did not have a sweater and was cold. I almost fell out and almost let me feet hit the concrete because my back was hurting trying to hold feet up. I was appalled. 

She parked me right in front of door to wait my turn checking in. I asked someone to move me to side of door. That person, an  employee said it was going to be cold anywhere waiting to check in. I retorted that I did not mind the cold, but the blasts of air really hurt. 

Then, the check in person brought the buzzer to me instead of me coming to check in desk. That was nice, but she was so annoyed. 

Finally, I was pushed to the woman who is always nice, but had my back to her. She got up and pushed me to other side of this huge waiting room. Then a woman over there told me I was in the way. I was not. 

Finally, I was pushed back to wait for doctor. The person who put me in the exam room was so funny and nice. I think everyone in the building was irritable because I heard remarks that were grumpy. We were all looking forward to shutdowns on Friday for snow. Maybe they were all wanting to make one last trip to grocery store for supplies.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

From former post:

I can relate one funny instance on Thursday. The doctor who was old, doddered in, giving me a fist bump. He also offered one to Tommy. I said, "This is Tommy." Thirty minutes into the visit, he said to me In a conversational tone, "Are you married or single?" That question always bothers me. I said, "It has been almost 50 years since I divorced, so I don't know what difference it make how I got to be single." We both laughed. 

Then, he pointed a finger at both of us and said, "What is your relationship?" Tommy and I said simultaneously, "Friends." He said, "Is it platonic?" 

"Sometimes."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Then, we continued with medical stuff. He asked me why I was there. I answered but was confused. He told me nothing I was taking was for my heart and that I did not need a cardiologist. He denied what I read on the prescription information with the meds. I was so shocked and confused. He demanded to know who sent me to a cardiologist. That was at least 8 years ago! How do I know in the confused state of mind. 

The aspirin, although common, IS for my heart. So is another med. I am still confused. But, he said resignedly that he would see me in a year. He reaffirmed there was nothing wrong with my heart. 

Thankfully, we took something to eat. I had a chunk of chicken and Tommy took crackers. We were eating when his very wonderful, smiley nurse came in. She assured me that eating was okay. I was eating chicken with my fingers. I will miss her! The woman who pushed me out was very helpful and funny. 

We were at doctor's from 11:30-2:45. We were starved and went to Chick-fil-A and had to rush home for pt. We were on time. She was not. But it was okay. I needed to decompress and try to deal with this news that I was referred to cardiologist when there is nothing wrong with heart. Tests show there are problems with my heart! This only makes me worry more! I feel like an idiot!

When I first looked out at the snow, there were about three inches on top of my hanging blue bird. It is not a bluebird, just a blue bird. At the most, later there were five inches. I suppose that means we had five inches of snow. Tommy says no. I am over the snow and ready for it to melt and for warmer weather.

Do you still have snow? Or ice?

Skipping Thursday for Now

 I started Friday by waking up after four hours of sleep Thursday night. By the end of Thursday, I was not doing well. Thursday, I was stunned and puzzled, and flabbergasted!

At 4 am on Friday morning, turned on TV to news and it was snowing here. So, I rushed to the door and everything was covered with snow. I yelled for Tommy. He got up to look and went back to sleep. 

I can relate one funny instance on Thursday. The doctor who was old, doddered in, giving me a fist bump. He also offered one to Tommy. I said, "This is Tommy." Thirty minutes into the visit, he said to me In a conversational tone, "Are you married or single?" That question always bothers me. I said, "It has been almost 50 years since I divorced, so I don't know what difference it make how I got to be single." We both laughed. 

Then, he pointed a finger at both of us and said, "What is your relationship?" Tommy and I said simultaneously, "Friends." He said, "Is it platonic?" 

"Sometimes." Tommy said nothing. I could not believe he would even ask the question. It was bizarre!

I related this to pt. She was horrified. She had never heard of a doctor asking anything like that. But, she laughed about my reply-'sometimes'-saying it was a perfect answer.

It is after 5 am. If I can get another 4 hours sleep, I won't sleep all day and won't need a nap. 

Another funny. Back in November, I bought a roll of chocolate chip cookies to bake cookies around Thanksgiving maybe. Tommy did not want any, I was coughing and sneezing, so we did nothing. After Christmas, he said to me, "A few days ago, you said you wanted cookies" with a question in his voice. (No, I did not even remember they were in refrigerator!) So, I sliced them all and quartered each dough circle. We made a dozen and put the rest back into the refrigerator. When I went to bed at 7 pm, he got them out to cook. The man could not have done this without my teaching him the intricacies. /sm He is funny sometimes. 

So, I had three warm cookies I did not have to supervise. 

Madhouse in Grocery

 Jan 8

10, 217 steps

Sometimes, I think going to bed early is useless. I woke at 5 am and had no nap because I was busy. I will never wake Tommy before 11 am if he is sleeping late. So, I turned on TV and he woke up and ate.

I wanted to get the ads from three stores. That went off well. And, straightened out the mess of buying wrong thing by returning it and then rebuying it. Publix was a madhouse again today. Since I had been up since 5 am, I was a mess. 

When we got home, Tommy ate the leftover lasagna and I ate a meal ready to cook that had a chicken breast and asparagus. It was delicious. But, before it was cooked, it was 3 pm. This was not the plan.

Pt was coming between 3:30 and 4 pm, I barely finished eating. I spent an hour exercising. When she left, it was too late to make phone calls I needed to make. 

We got 6 huge bscb, potatoes and 2 lbs. carrots into a turkey cooking bag. Then, I had three bscb for the crockpot. Unfortunately, I left onions and celery out of the bag, so it went into the crockpot. I went to bed for two-hour nap. 

When Tommy woke me, we then ate a tiny dinner at 8:30. I used my machine for a walk. Now, I am waiting for my lymphedema therapy. 

So, that was my day whether you wanted to hear it or not,,,,lol. It seems like all day we have been listening to CA fire news or Alabama snow news. 

I was going to wait until Tommy noticed the CF Diet Pepsi. He never did, so I asked him if he put any CF in the refrigerator. He assured me I had not bought CF. He will drink them since he did not object at all. Things, change, must be mentioned over and over until he thinks it was his idea. 

Tonight, when I was pulling a gown over my head, he was shocked by a bruise. It is very dark right now, just below my armpit, about six inches by 2 inches. It does not have any pain at all. I have no other bruise from the fall. I pulled my nightgown up so he could check for other bruises. There are none. 

The cleaner to be is still not reachable! This has been a tiring day. 

I am so happy Tommy is willing to give up some of the caffeine he consumes every day. 

He yelled about going to a cardiologist, but is now okay with it, so tomorrow, I will make him an appointment with my cardiologist. Next for him will be a doctor for his osteoarthritis. He says there is nothing except surgery and he is not doing that. It is getting worse, so I think he is changing his mind since he no longer yells.

Do you have anyone you have to cajole or talk about a health problem until that person sees the light? 

Is everyone ready for bad weather?

Caffeine Switch

Jan. 7 

10,136 steps

Monday afternoon, I took a solid five-hour nap. I never had the desire or motivation to try any steps after I fell. I resumed that on Tuesday.

We were not out or spent time looking out the door but never heard about more snow. Too bad. 

We went to the podiatrist. She was trimming my nails nicely. I requested she dig the nail from under the side of the toe and the ingrown part. She did. That was the way she always did it. I told her if it hurt me, I was okay with that. It hurt a lot.

I messed up at the grocery and bought the wrong thing. Then one employee shrugged his shoulders and walked off. So, I went back and found another employee. I told her my experience and wondered if she could help me. She described the guy and asked if it were him. Yes, it was. Then, she told me customers complained about him. I was wondering what I did to make him act the way he did. Apparently, nothing. 

Then, I was looking for a bogo meat special. It is in next week's ad. So, how did I see that since the ad is not out? 

Then, I went on to buy wrong stuff supposed to be bogo, but I had the wrong things. Now, I have to go back tomorrow for returns and the new ad items. 

Tommy hates Coke. Tommy hates Caffeine Free. When he runs out of his Diet Pepsi, he drinks my Diet Coke Caffeine Free which is perfectly okay with me. He has been out for a week. I bought some today that he wants--Diet Pepsi, b2g1. One of those 12-packs is Caffeine Free. He took them out of the car and put some in the refrigerator. He has not mentioned some are CF. 

We are making sure we are set for the storm. Hopefully, it won't be too bad. I will have food made, plenty of milk for both of us, and all laundry done. Since he has to walk outside and up the driveway and up into the carport to get to laundry room, I don't want him to walk on ice. Hopefully, the electricity will stay on. Maybe I will get out a big, fluffy comforter that is only warm with plenty of blankets underneath. Strange comforter.

Oh, doctor recommended a cleaner/helper. I called her number, and a child answered, saying she was not there. There was lots of screaming like rowdy children playing. This could be a challenge. 

Dinner: frozen lasagna, one that only has good things, nothing bad for us, butternut squash, lots of tomato chunks in the lasagna. 

Nothing hurts on my body, but all is stiff.

How are you preparing for the snow and ice?

Reindeer Attack

Jan. 6 skipping steps tonight

Today, we got up early and prepared to see the podiatrist, both of us. Well, I staggered to the door. It was dark inside and locked. On the door was a sign informing the public of new hours--Tues--Friday. 

Since we planned to go to Publix with a list of bogo items and other things we need, we shopped instead.  My electric cart would not turn, causing me pain. I almost hit a dozen people. Finally, a customer told and employee I needed a new cart. 

There was only one thing I could not find. There were no more Pepsi at noon and the Pepsi man came this morning. Grrr. No one checked the back. My hands trembled the whole time, and I was in no mood to be right. 

When we came home, I took the two loaves of bread and three bananas and went up the ramp to save the soft things and unlock the door. My toe of left shoe caught where ramp meets porch and I slammed into the deer headfirst. 

The porch was freezing. I was screaming because my elbow was twisted under me. I could not get my elbow out. I thought I could twist around and sit up. It is a good thing I did not because I would have fallen off backward. I landed on the bread and dropped the bananas!

Two of the guys grabbed me by upper arms and to pick me up. I was screaming in pain, telling them they were hurting me because of torn rotator cuffs. Two other guys chimed in and said I had told them before. Of course, the new guys did not know. So, they stuffed the soft stretcher under me and got me to my feet. 

My poor deer barely survived my lunging into them. Tommy has been struggling in below freezing (31F) and (18F feels like) weather to make the deer stand. I told him to lay them on the porch. We can see how broken they are next Christmas. It is snowing on and off. 

I have a huge abrasion on head. The deer are a wire frame with soft mesh around them. So, there is no damage to my head except for the burn of the abrasion. 

When I fell, I knocked over a pot of dirt and broke it. So, I was sitting in that. When I sat down inside, my behind and leg were wet. Lovely mud.  Poor Tommy has been out in the cold for an hour. He just came in and said his hands are numb. They look swollen. 

The guys were telling me I had bedazzled my clothes. I suppose after rolling around in the deer glitter, I have dragged in enough to last until next Christmas. 

Tommy just looked at his day planner. He has the appointment correct in his day planner but told me the wrong date. Oh well! I am more annoyed at all the glitter in the house right now. Shockingly, I did not break any fingernails or bones. 

No chiding me! The mud on my behind and glitter all over me, squashed bread and bruised bananas are my only problem.

When Tommy finally came in, he immediately brought me a Hershey's Miniature. Good man. Just now, he told me I broke the plastic pot AND my watering can! I did more damage to everything else than me. 

I never slept on Sunday night, so that probably played a part in the tumble. I am going to bed now at 3:30 and eat dinner later after a nap. Tommy said he can get a bag of meatballs and leftover vegetables. I will eat tuna with lots of carrots and celery in it. We will survive! The dinner for tonight will be for Tuesday night.

I  did get an appointment, most important doctor for this week!!!

Struggling

 Jan. 5, 2025

Steps 9,999

I barely made it this far pedaling. I am definitely sick. I may have to go to ER if I cannot get a doctor appointment.  I can barely walk and keep going to sleep in my chair. It is not the same old stuff I get, much more serious.

We had the other two hamburgers for dinner and finished the chopped slaw. The four burgers weighed 1.99 lbs., so each burger was 1/2 lb. of beef. 

I have lost weight back to my lowest weight and another pound to go with that. Of course, I only ate the burger, slaw, two graham crackers and cup of milk today.

It's raining like crazy right now. This will start a week of unpleasant, very cold weather, maybe snow. At least all Christmas items are out of the yard and deer are on the porch. 

I have not edited this, so no telling what is here. 

What kind of weather are you expecting this week?

Shocking Ad

 Jan 4, 2005

steps 9,999

I stopped using machine when it went off in order to make dinner. I put two premade burgers in skillet, salted and peppered then. They were so large we could have both eaten from one. I had to cut mine in half to cook it. 

This chopped salad has one of my favorite dressings--sweet onion. When a salad has shredded carrots or matchstick carrots, I am happy. However, there is never enough to suit me. So, I bought a pound of shredded carrots. Tonight, I put at least two helpings of carrots into the chopped salad. It is more nutritious and so colorful. We eat so much salad that this will be at least two helpings of vegetables tonight. 

I use matchstick carrots in my tuna salad, first chopping smaller. I can barely tell they are there. 

Carbs will be 1/4 of apple pie. There is so much crust that I will take that off the pie before I eat my piece. 

I only pedaled for 9,999 steps because I wanted to get dinner ready. 

Tommy went out today while I took an unplanned nap sitting in my chair. He got two extension cords from yard, took three strands of light from three tomato supports and put those on the porch, bagged up lights in separate bags, put all three deer on porch. Tommy pulled up the garden stakes with the garden tool, a short claw. The yard is cleared of Christmas! Taking apart and storing the deer in a huge box and getting them inside is impossible. His having to do this today makes me resent the cleaner even more. 

Today, I received junk mail that was shocking. It was from a fitness center. Pictures showed people on exercise equipment, baby in childcare, a tanning booth and weight training session with a personal trainer. I rejected it, then took it back and looked on the other side.

```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` 

SEMAGLUTIDE INJECTIONS NOW AVAILABLE. 

#1 weight loss injections for adults

BENEFITS

appetite suppressant (and other benefits)

And, there was a large picture of a woman giving herself an injection.

Hurry, offer expires 1/31/25

`````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

I was shocked! Is this the new thing for a gym and fitness center?

Are you as surprised and shocked as I am? 

 

Time Well-spent

 Jan 3, 2005-- 10499 steps

The nurse came, the one Tommy described as 'rough.' The visit went well. She put lotion on my lower legs and feet. I cannot reach that far. Vitals were good. 

I saw cleaner. She approached me and wanted to know what was up. She said I never answer or call her back. She said she left messages. My inbox is full, so, NO. I told her so. She swears I never ever called her or left a message. YES, I did. So, with her failure to admit she did not get calls from me, it is over for me. 

With her excessive texting and her daughter and boyfriend here all the time, sitting outside and texting her, I am definitely over her 'help.' They were out in driveway cleaning out boyfriend's car. The daughter (19) ends up in house talking to mother when mother is supposed to be cleaning. The bf ended up at door, but I did not invite him in!

I am slowly filling all dates preordained. Tommy and I both keep a day planner, but we keep the other's information. 

My neighbor has had bronchitis and RSV. She brought home four prescriptions and had been banned from going to children's houses to see grandchildren's Christmas toys. I was asking her to come over where I was in car, but told her for my sake and hers to stay home. 

Since I slept almost three hours on Thursday night, I was desperate today for a nap-three hours. 

We cannot get out the red boxes for Christmas decorations. We have one she left out, so it will all go into that. Of course, we will start next Christmas very disorganized, I think when I get someone to help me, I will  make organizing Christmas a task I will pay to have done when it is finished. 

Now, it is time to do the lymphedema therapy. 

Robins have acted like it is spring. There are thousands of dandelions all about. There are none is our yard, though. Today, we saw a bluebird in the yard. Nature does not know there will be very cold weather this next week. 

When we do lymphedema therapy and I use the pedal machine, I spend 5 hours in therapy/exercise! So far, it is paying off. Tommy can see torso is slimmer and my face. Even my double chins are getting fewer and smaller. Of course, the weight loss happened earlier.

Okay, apple pie is on its way. 

How many hours do any of you spend in exercise or physical therapy? If you don't want to say, no problem. 

Have you seen many robins and bluebirds this year? Are dandelions in bloom where you live?

More Health News

Jan  2--12,000 steps

 In the last few months, I lost 33 pounds with little effort. Before, I had found some of my blouses were too tight to wear. Now, my favorite red blouse is loose! I need to try on the others that were too tight.

I think I become dehydrated during the pedaling. I am woozy even 30 minutes later. I cannot walk! Well, I can walk but feel like I might fall. 

Friday, the plan is to take extension cords from Christmas trees and reindeer. Because we have something else to do, the deer and trees may only make it to the front porch. The wreath can come down, too. The nurse is coming too, my least favorite of the workers. 

The ot person who just checks in and records vital signs and progress came on Thursday. I learned lots about hunting birds with dogs. I thought they just took a dog out to find birds shot down. It appears the dogs are very specifically trained. If the dog did not see the bird go down in the water, they can signal the dog to get its attention and point right or left. We learned more, but you probably already know the information. 

The leg therapy is helping greatly with lymphedema. But, the pressure is destroying my toes and feet. The pressure on my foot hurt the arch behind my toes so much I limped for over a day. I need to figure out how to turn down the pressure. 

I still have an excess two pounds from my lowest weight before Christmas.  It will come off. 

It is 5:30 am. Acid reflux has me sitting up. I do have med for that but it is linked to dementia. I accidentally woke Tommy, but he was snoring in less than a minute. Good! 

We collected the store ads today. Tommy went through them and said there was not much on sale we would want. I will check tomorrow. When he ran out of Diet Pepsi, he refused to drink one of my Diet Coke Caffeine Free. Now, he has been drinking them for almost a week because he ran out of Diet Pepsi. He was drinking four each day. When we find his drink b2g2, maybe he will switch to Caffeine Free Diet Pepsi. Since he was drinking four Diet Pepsis with Caffeine, that might be why he was getting so agitated. He takes bp med, so he should ditch the caffeine. Well, that is my opinion. 

Maybe I can go lie down without problems. 

Do you drink caffeine free drinks if you drink drinks that normally have caffeine? 

t

Rhapsodizing over a Machine

 Jan 1, 2025

steps 15,556 

The machine I have is working miracles already. Well, I am working it for miracles. 

I have to move the Legxercise machine in front of me each time I use it and then move it away. I thought it must weigh fifty pounds. It is heavy, but only fifteen pounds! When my daughter was a year old and weighed fifteen pounds, she was light as a feather. I cannot imagine cuddling this heavy machine! 

Sorry to go on and on about this machine, but I love it, love the results. Tonight, I was lying on the bed when I felt strange feelings in my abdomen. I concentrated to see what the feeling was. It was muscles. For the first time in a long time, I could hold in my stomach. My muscles worked! I could not really hold in my stomach much, but the effort was felt. 

I suppose the loss of face fat is due to loss of weight, but I wonder if improvement in lymphedema could cause the smaller face.???

Like I said, my feet are so much less swollen that I do not realize I still have my sandals on. I imagine in a few weeks I will have to tighten the buckles that I had let out. I found my Mother's ring I had misplaced, and it is too loose, even after moving it to a larger finger. My hands did not look or feel swollen, but I suppose they were. My knuckles have never been enlarged, so they look the same they always have looked. 

My left knee and left hip bend more easily to get into the car. Life is better. 

If we are going out of town overnight, I will carry the Legxerciser with me and use it in the motel room. I may have a duffle bag it will fit. I don't want to live without it now. After three days, I am hooked. 

Riding my bike was a supreme joy when I was a child, teen, and adult. I even rode it when pregnant and had people call my obgyn to tell me to quit. He did not. I put three-year-old on seat behind me and the one-year-old in the basket and rode them to pool and around town. 

So, this new machine is wonderful for me in many ways

Do you ever love a piece of machinery to exercise?