Ahhhh Football Season begins

Well, last night was the first pre-season game and we decided to stay home and watch it rather than go out. We haven't gotten the pre-season games since we moved out to the eastern shore -- something that has bothered us both enormously. But every year we try and this year, lo and behold, we're able to watch the game at home! Yay!

We were very curious to watch our Redskins to see if all the changes (AGAIN) paid off THIS TIME. I know pre-season games aren't really much more than exhibitions for the coaches to pick the starting line-up, but you know, we haven't had a fun football game in a LONG time, pre-season or otherwise, and last night was fun! They were actually playing football! They were passing and catching and tackling and blocking! It was awesome! It gives me hope for the regular season. I know you don't get to the Super Bowl in one season after changing things as much as the Redskins have, but I'm hopeful that I won't be embarrassed to be a Redskins fan this year. Just don't humiliate me boys. That's all I ask. For now, I'm actually looking forward to next week's game.

I'm still sticking to my new routine and it's great. I'm feeling really good. Even my golf game has improved -- probably because my belly isn't in the way. Like I've said before. I'll never be tiny, but I'm smaller and it feels good. And my blood pressure has been awesome. My doctor had added a third medication to control it this past winter and my asthma caused us to drop one of them, but it doesn't matter now because my numbers are better than they were before on just 2 meds, so I'm good! And, my weight is still trickling down. I'm almost down to 160 lbs. I haven't gone shopping for clothes, but I might be close to a size 12 which would be wonderful. I will definitely need slacks for work this winter. I think I only have 3 pair of pants that fit right now. It's so much fun to get back into clothes that I haven't been able to get into for years. I don't even know why I kept them, but I did, and it's just plain fun to put them on. It makes me smile every time.

And, for me, it's all about exercise. No one can really loose weight with just diet. And I definitely can't. First of all, it's boring to eat the way you have to eat when you do it via food alone. But it's also about the metabolism, and the only way to rev up your metabolism is to build more muscle -- can't do that through diet alone. I am way more toned than I've been in a really long time, maybe ever, actually. As a runner, I burned a lot of calories, but running doesn't tone you. I think the exercise videos that I have that combine light weights with exercise, have been incredibly effective for me. And, as a result, I don't have to eat like I live in a refugee camp. I really do eat. My body is just using it.

Who knows. Maybe I could be a size 6 if I also ate less, but I'm not that interested in being a size 6. I just didn't want to feel like a blob -- and I don't anymore. :-)

How hot can it get?

Well, according to the thermometer at the kitchen window, it got to 110 degrees in the back yard today. Now, we get FULL sun in the back yard in the summer, so I now that that's probably not a true temperature, but it was true enough for me!

I went up to Greenwood to help Dan move Jen's HomeSweet studio to the basement. Fortunately, they also had friends who live nearby there too and the husband is young and strong. So the guys did the really heavy things before I got there. But there was still plenty of things to move down the 2 flights of stairs. It was a good workout and it felt good to help. And Eli gave me a hug when I arrived! That alone was worth the trip. :-) This was step 1 in getting ready for the new baby. Move the studio down to the basement, so they can move their bedroom back into the bigger room upstairs. Then Eli moves into the room they are vacating and the smallest room stays the nursery for the new baby.

I am surprised to find my weight still trickling down. And trickling is the right word. But it's better than going in the other direction. Last year, I longed for a metabolism that actually burns the food I eat rather than storing it. And now I think I have one!! No one would ever call how I eat a diet, but weight is still declining gradually. I read that when someone with a healthy metabolism eats, they burn the calories. A person with a sluggish metabolism would gain weight. I've been really focusing on my workouts more this year. And I don't just work out in the morning. And it's paid off. I guess the whole metabolism thing still works for us old farts too. Thank goodness something still works!

So I'm now down about 37 pounds! Amazing. Jay keeps calling me "skinny minnie" which is funny because I'm still over 160 lbs and about a size 14 ... getting closer to a 12 though! That's a far cry from skinny. But it makes me smile, so I'm sure he'll keep saying it and I'm ok with that. I've never been skinny, so I have no delusions that I will be now. I am more than happy to be thinner than I was and feeling as good as I do again. This side of the hill is no picnic, but I guess it's up to each of us as to how miserable it is. Attitude is key. I just hope I can keep mine positive even when things get tougher because I want to feel as good as possible as I continue my slide down the hill.

Long HOT Summer

I took off Friday and Monday for a long 4th of July weekend. We didn't go anywhere. We just relaxed and did fun things. It was such a pleasant weekend.

It's been brutally hot this summer. We didn't have a June. We're having 2 July's. Yuck. But we're still riding our bikes after work every day. I haven't lost any more weight, but I am still shrinking out of clothes, so I guess things are just firming up. When I say shrinking, I'm not talking 2 more sizes or anything. But I'm easily into a 14 (closing in on a 12) now and a plain old large t-shirt fits me just fine -- no more XL unless I just want a baggy fit. So I'm pretty happy. I was exploding out of my 16's, so 2 sizes is good in my book.

I'm also noticing more definition in my arms which is pretty cool. Now all this involves a lot of working out. Well, a lot for me. A real workout every morning, 5 days a week. Then every day at lunch I do a serious walk. In this heat, I'm doing an inside walk where I walk a back hall and then do a flight of stairs -- I started out doing 2 laps and then a flight of stairs. So I'm doing more stairs now ... like 12 flights of stairs! And then our bike rides after work. So, at 58, I think I'm getting a lot of exercise. And it seems to take all of that to replace my old jogging routine. I wish I could still jog, but I can't. My knees (especially my right knee), say no.

So, all in all, not bad for an old broad sliding down the back side of the hill.

Now what?!

A couple of weeks ago my boobs were really sore. I really thought that, if I didn't know any better, I was about to start my period. EXCEPT that I haven't had a period since the beginning of 2006! Lo and behold, last weekend I spotted for about 3 days. Ugh.

So I contacted my GYN and asked her if I should be concerned. She said not yet, but I should have it checked. She wanted to do an endometrial biopsy. I have had an IUD, so I figured it wouldn't be any worse than that. WRONG! Yowza! I can't even describe the feeling. It's not pain like stepping on a nail or cutting yourself, but damn, that hurt. I know I was doing a lot of heavy breathing. I think I hyperventilated almost to the point of fainting because my fingers were cold and tingling like crazy. I finally asked her to stop and she did. She put a cold compress on my head and left me to lie down for 10 or 15 minutes which I very much needed.

The good news is, because there are relatively few nerves in the uterus (though I'm pretty sure she found them all), or whatever, as soon as she stopped, the pain/uncomfortableness stopped. And there wasn't any lingering discomfort or pain. I just felt weak from almost passing out. We even rode our bikes after work like we always do.

So now I wait to find out if I have plain old hyperplasia or nasty dysplasia and the course of treatment that will ensure that I never have to have another endometrial biopsy.

I swear, it's 2 steps forward and 1 step back. I've lost weight. Improved numbers in my blood work. Am feeling better and more fit. I just have this uterus issue to sort out. At least, for now, I'm still ahead overall. Eventually it will be 1 step forward and 2 steps back. :-( So I guess it's not that bad yet.

Yay! It all paid off!

I finally got the results from my blood work today and there was definite improvement. My potassium level went from 3.3 (below normal) to 3.8 (lower end of normal range). Glucose went from 102 or 89. HDL went from 23 to 36. Still low, but almost at the low end of normal. The big winner, though, was triglycerides. I went from 205 in January to 114! Get out!

So even though the weight loss isn't AS dramatic (27 lbs now), those numbers show the real benefit of making the changes that I've made this year. I'm pretty excited about it. And I am happy with the weight loss too. Thank God what I'm doing is all stuff that I can keep doing. I'm already on my maintenance plan and now I know this is good enough.

So I keep doing what I'm doing. I'm delighted that the Moringa powder has done so well for my potassium level. I don't mind having a banana every now and then, but having them every day wasn't something I thought I could maintain over the long haul. Who knows what else it helped with. It's main job for me was potassium.

As for the cough. I'm still using the inhaler twice a day. I tried cutting back and I started coughing up mucous. I'm not coughing constantly or anything. I expected that I might cough a little more, but was pretty disappointed that I started coughing up mucous again. I'm hoping that it's largely because of the time of year -- pollen is really heavy around here right now. So I'll try again in a couple of months.

So, in a little over a month, I turn 58. Ugh. But I am clearly in better shape than I've been in a while, so maybe I won't notice. OK, ok, hopefully it won't bother me as much. OK, ok, I'll think about the grandchild that is due in November and try to block out the birthday. Yea. That will work.

A busy weekend

It was a busy and pleasant weekend. The first order of business was to go to my daughter's house and help her with a big project that she's working on for her home business. She's making 42 table runners for someone's wedding. They are beautiful. The customer chose a lovely combination of pattern and color. You can see the project at

http://www.homesweetbyhand.com/blog

My mother-in-law (and friend), Jo, was there too. We were in charge of turning the table runners right side out and pressing them so that Jen could do the top stitching. We got them all done and left her with a stack to finish off this week. It felt good to help and it was a really pleasant day. It was like an old fashioned quilting bee where we talked about everything all day as we worked. It was really pleasant.

Then we went to dinner at one of our favorite restaurants in Ocean City -- Adolfo's. Great food. We just ate light, but yummmmm. Their garlic bread is the bomb. And we go so often that they've become friends, and it's always good to see them.

http://www.oc-adolfos.com/

Today was my normal chores and I went to a nearby woods and dug up a load of rocks to use as borders in a new flower bed I want to get done this spring. I hate to see the weekend end. Sunday nights are always difficult because I dread the beginning of the work week. I usually take an ambien on Sunday nights to help me sleep.

The cough is doing better. So much so that I think I'm going to try to start eliminating the inhaler. I'll do it gradually. But I think it's time to start the process and see how it goes.

I'm still sticking to my new eating plan. I hadn't lost any more weight for a while, but I knocked off another pound last week. As long as I'm not gaining. I guess I'm about where I'm going to be weight-wise since the weight loss has tapered off. And that's ok. I'm back into a lot of clothes that I wasn't able to wear and I'm feeling pretty good. I think that's pretty good for 58.

More coughing, more rain, Calgon ... take me away

I tried a couple of different homeopathic remedies during the last week. They caused my coughing to change, but not really go away. Then my sister thought of causticum. I read the Materia Medica and it struck a nerve on a lot of fronts, so I went looking for it. I couldn't find it in local stores, so I ordered it. Thank goodness for "Homeopathy Works". I've been using their online store for several years. I think they filled the order in record time.

I took a dose of causticum this past Thursday night and started coughing more again. I was moving in the wrong direction! It didn't keep me from sleeping, but I started coughing again when I woke up Friday morning and all day long. I ended up needing cough medicine so I could sleep last night, which I know wasn't good for the homeopathic meds, but I really couldn't sleep. I didn't take any more causticum because I had such a strong reaction.

But I woke up this morning feeling pretty good. I don't want to jinx it, but I coughed very little today. I'm thinking I'll hold off on the next dose of causticum until Monday morning. I'm doing pretty well today, so I'll see where this first dose takes me. Boy, I hope this works. 6 months of coughing ... enough already.

Also, I had a cup of regular coffee this morning and have been jittery all day. I'm wondering if it was partly the causticum too since one cup of coffee doesn't usually affect me like that. I just started feeling "normal" a little after dinner. That causticum is potent stuff -- at least it is for me.

And, of course, it's raining buckets today. Which is better than snow, but I'm sick of gray, dreary days and blizzards and crappy weather in general. We did have nice weather last weekend. I even got out to the driving range to hit a bucket of balls. But I'm thinking that all this snow and rain is going to make for a very bug-infested spring. At this point, I just want spring. My feet are tired of being in shoes. I want my flip flops back.

I'm still hanging in there with my new exercise routines and eating habits. It has definitely paid off and I've been happy with my energy level and how I feel. I'm a lot less sluggish. I find that I get up right away when the alarm goes off and I don't dawdle as much. All good things. I'm actually getting to work earlier. And I'm into some jeans that I had to stop wearing. Granted, they WERE my fat jeans as my girth grew, but NOW they are my skinny jeans. It's all a matter of perspective. There's another pair that are a better size. I don't know if I'll ever get back into those. I'm just happy having gotten this far. But this isn't a diet -- it's my new routine, so we'll see where it takes me.

So life on this side of the hill has been a little better lately. I know that I'm still on the bad side of the hill and that this feeling that I'm improving is kind of an illusion, but what the hell. I'll take it. If it feels good, it feels good. Don't look that gift horse in the mouth.

One day at a time

I'm still plugging along. Eating less bread (a lot less bread). Not snacking (mostly). Exercising daily. Remember, I'm not on a diet per se. I've adjusted/corrected my eating habits. I've lost about 16 lbs and it hasn't been bad. This week has been more difficult because my "why am I doing this" attitude tried to come back. I guess I'm going to always struggle with that. I didn't used to, but I think this side of the hill makes those thoughts inevitable. But I keep telling myself that even though I won't be a size 8, I am already feeling better and that's worth a lot.

It's disappointing that no one can tell that I've lost weight, but I definitely notice. I no longer feel like I'm going to explode out of my slacks and I'm able to wear some pants that I had to stop wearing. And I guess that explains why no one can tell ... I'm wearing the same clothes. I haven't lost enough to drop a size, I'm just able to wear my existing clothes again and not feel terrified of an embarrassing moment, but they are definitely loose now. So I have to stay focussed on the positive.

I'm still fighting the perpetual cough. All the various medications that have been prescribed have helped, but it hasn't gone away. I've been coughing more this week and it's frustrating my husband because he went out and bought better filters for the house vents and a couple of air purifiers to help reduce the pet dander, and I seem to be coughing more this week. I can't explain it.

I decided to try a home-grown remedy since modern science isn't quite doing the job. I got some apple cider vinegar and fresh, local honey to mix with hot water and sip in the morning and evening in an effort to get rid of it. We'll see how it goes. It won't hurt and, who knows, it might help. It's a generally good-for-you kinda of tonic anyway, so what the hell.

So I continue to fight the loosing battle of the wrong side of the bell curve. The positive results give me the illusion that I'm winning the battle. I know there's no way to WIN the battle. Aging is aging ... no getting around it. So, even though I can't change that fact, I can make the journey less miserable. That's all any of us can do. So in that sense, I guess I'm winning. :-)

Snow, snow, snow

I am so sick of snow! I thought we wouldn't ever need our snow shovels again after moving to the eastern shore. WRONG! It was a good thing that Jay can't throw anything away because our snow shovels were put back into service this past weekend. We got over 10 inches of snow which is VERY unusual here. Jay's mom was visiting and got snowed in in her vacation home nearby, so after I cleared our driveway, we headed over to her house to dig her out too. I think I made up for a week of no workouts.

It was Jay's birthday on Saturday, but the winter storm kept us in. Our friends who own a restaurant felt bad that they closed the restaurant because of the snow on Jay's birthday and brought us over fixings for our favorite dinners on Sunday, so he still had a fantastic Adolfo's dinner -- minus the wonderful service. But I still owe him a dinner out. Maybe this coming weekend -- though they are calling for more miserable winter weather this weekend. Spring ... where are you!?

It was nice to get back to working out again this morning. I'm still coughing. I go to the doctor for another test tomorrow. I hope they see something that explains all this stinking coughing. Plus my blood pressure doesn't want to be managed -- it's still high even though the doctor added another medication. So I guess we'll have to do more experimenting to find what will work. Blah blah blah. Fighting the urge to say to hell with everything again. I'm feeling better with my little 10 lb weight loss though, so I guess I'll keep my focus. It's still hard though.

Another miserable day

Boy, whatever this is, it sure has me miserable. Although, the tenderness in my neck is fading, so maybe I'm finally, really on the mend. I thought I would start feeling better after the fever broke yesterday, but that didn't happen. And though I'm less miserable (I think), I wouldn't say that I'm ready to go out or anything.

I'm trying hard to not blame being sick so much the last few months on my age. Everyone gets sick, but I've always been pretty hearty, so it's really tempting to to just blame this last several months on age, but I'm resisting. I figure that the bronchitis-turned-chronic-cough has made me vulnerable to colds and flu. Based on the really miserable achiness, I'm guessing that what I have/had was some form of flu.

On the brighter side, I checked my daughter's online store and she has over 100 orders now! I am so proud of her! Again, one of those things I couldn't experience if I was 20 and didn't have a grown daughter. If anyone is curious, check her store out at http://homesweet.etsy.com or visit her website at http://homesweetbyhand.com/

So proud. :-)

Glutino?

I have had this persistent/chronic cough since I had bronchitis at the beginning of November. The latest plan is to treat it as "adult onset asthma", so I have an inhaler and a new allergy medication in addition to my blood pressure meds. If this doesn't get rid of the cough, then we (my doctor and I) will try taking me off of lisinopril and try something else for the blood pressure because one of the common side effects of lisinopril is a persistent cough.

The reason we didn't change the BP medication first is because the cough isn't a dry, tickle kind of cough; it's a productive cough.

I got to thinking, I wonder, if with everything else that's going to pot on me these days, could wheat/gluten be becoming an issue for me. It's odd that I would love something that makes me ill, but it fits with the other craziness going on with my body any more. Although, I HAVE dramatically reduced my bread intake, I am still having bread. Mostly whole grain, but that's the not the same as gluten free.

When I was in the grocery store, I saw a cereal called "Glutino" in the "natural/organic" aisle. It looked like gluten-free cheerios, so I got it to try. It's actually pretty tasty. I guess the only real way to know if I have developed an issue with gluten, is to stop eating foods that contain gluten, but I don't think that's very likely. I'm not THAT miserable. Certainly not miserable enough to go that far ... unless nothing else works I guess. If I have to go that route, fortunately the health food grocery stores have gluten free bread options. We'll see.

In the mean time, I'm staying pretty much on track with my eating plan and I have increased my exercise in an effort to pump up my metabolism. I'll never be a bony ass with my little program ... I've always been a sturdy girl. But I'd be delighted if eating this way knocked off 20 pounds or so. That's not asking tooooo much, is it?

Good football weekend

It was a busy weekend. I visited my mom near D.C. We babysat our grandson while the kids helped friends paint some rooms in their new house. And we watched a lot of football.

I took my new Wii to my mom's house to show my mom and sister. Mom thought it was interesting, but wasn't interested enough to try it -- she is 83. But I thought she might try the bowling. My sister really seemed to get into it. I wonder if I can get a commission from Nintendo for sales that I make? :-)

Though the weekend was fun, it was far from anything you'd eat on a diet, but since I'm not on a diet, it's all good. 3 glasses of wine at mom's house. Buttered popcorn with football (not ALL of the games -- just one). And eating with a 3 year old rarely consititutes healthy eating. But, I don't think I went nuts either, so I'm feeling pretty ok about it. Afterall, I'm not on a diet ... I'm in the process of changing my eating habits as part of a general lifestyle change/improvement.

Even though I'm thinking about and talking about food constantly, I am trying to not think of what I'm doing as a diet. It's a quality of life issue for me. I had managed to let myself go to where I just wasn't feeling good about myself or even just good in general. I'm not a candidate for "The Biggest Looser", I'm just slipping into the next size and I don't want to go. Ergo, changes need to be made. Baby steps.

Finally!

The universe threw me a bone and I actually lost a few pounds. Woo hoo. I think I will start weighing "in" on Fridays instead of Mondays. :-)

I do well during the day, but still find myself hungry in the evenings. Hopefully, that feeling will eventually go away -- I'll just get used to this being the amount of food that I eat. It's only been 2 weeks afterall.

All-in-all, it hasn't been too difficult. My eating habits are/were not that bad as far as what I ate. Apparently, quantity was more of an issue than I realized. I have to make concious decisions about stopping and not having some things -- like unlimited amounts of bread. I do love bread. I wonder what weight these eating habits will take me to?

Of course, I've also re-engergized my workouts. I had really slacked off this past year (or more) -- since I hurt my knee I guess. That started the pity party. But the Wii makes it fun and I'm really liking the new video I got recently -- Denise Austin's Boot Camp workout. I am actually feeling better even though it's only been a few pounds.

Gotta keep it going.

More changes ... not in a good way

I've noticed that my skin seems to scratch/break easier. I guess the loss of collogen or whatever, that affects the elasticity. You see it in "older" folks all the time, but I guess I never thought about when it begins. Let's face it, you don't wake up one day and all at once have thin skin. So I'm thinking it begins like this. You start noticing more nicks and scratches. It's not noticeable to anyone but me at this point, so I won't loose sleep over it. It's just another annoyance that this side of the hill/bell curve offers that the other side doesn't. Oh joy.

And this chronic cough, that seems to have been a gift remaining from a bout of bronchitis that I had last fall, just won't go away. I don't know if, in addition to all my other complaints, this has turned into asthma, but the doctors don't have a better idea at this point. I guess it's back to my primary care group to see what other ideas they have.

I did well on my new regimen again today. I'm hungry right now, but I guess that's not avoidable. I am eating less after all. Hopefully, my body will adjust to the new portions and stop being hungry. Apparently, that doesn't happen in a week. There really isn't any reason for me to be hungry. I ate more than any diet would allow, but I ate a lot less than I normally do. And that's all I'm planning to do -- all I'm willing to do. I haven't gotten get rid of my entire "I don't give a crap" attitude. I do want to enjoy meals. I don't want to count calories and live on teeny, packaged portions for the rest of my life. I am willing to cut back on how much I eat and indulge less often. That's reasonable.

I worked out this morning and had a walk at lunch at work. I might play a little tennis later this evening. The trick will be to stick with this for more than a few weeks. I usually manage to be "good" for a month or so and then, when the pounds don't melt the way I think they should, I give up in disgust. I have to remember that I'm not 20 anymore. Nothing about this body works the way it used to. Since I don't really consider this a diet ... just a diet change, I'm trying not to obsess about the weight part. Though you can't tell it from reading this blog. But I don't get on the scale every morning or multiple times a day like I usually do.

So I continue on my slide down the hill, but trying to slow the slide down a little.

When your child becomes your friend

My daughter discovered my blog this past week, which is fine, but it means that this is no longer an anonymous outlet. She's known for a while that I'm not happy with the aging process. Turning 50 (7 years ago) was the first birthday that bothered me. Unlike many people, I didn't care about 30 or 40, but 50 ... I took the day off from work, stayed in my sweats and moped. It was like a sick day.

Jen discovered that I was home doing the death scene from Macbeth and left work at lunch and joined me. She made tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches for us (comfort food from my childhood) and we spent the afternoon watching movies. :-) That turned out to be my favorite birthday memory.

My daughter has a business that she started a little over a year ago. She hand block prints fabrics and makes home decor items. http://www.homesweetbyhand.com/. I love her work -- and not just because she's my daughter. There are many things where we have similar taste. At her website she has a blog too and I love checking it out. This morning I did my usual thing and checked out her blog and she has an entry about the decision to have children ... I have a spectacular grandson. It was like she read my mind as she described what it's like to have kids. I loved it.

It dawns on me as I write, I can't be 20 and experiencing this sense of pride and happiness at my daughter. The ONLY way I can be having this experience is to be my age because she needed to be a grown-up to have her son and be the person she is. So, I guess I have FINALLY found a bright spot to getting older ... enjoying the fruits of your labor. We work hard when we're young to build a life and for those of us who had children, there is more to enjoy as they do the same thing. If you're lucky, children are the gift that keeps on giving. And I AM LUCKY.