3 day weekend is over

Am I odd? After 31 years of being married to my hubby, I still like having him around, LOL. Today was his first day back at work after his Memorial Day 3 day weekend, and I miss his company. Wasn't too keen on that 5.30am alarm going off either. I really wish he didn't have to work, and we could just be together all the time, waking up when our bodies wanted to and doing stuff without regard to time. No rush. Just as and when. Yeah, I know ... keep dreaming!

We went to my favourite place locally, on Saturday - Cedar Falls. I walked (with my trusty walker) about 1/3 of the way along the River Trail, sitting to rest my legs and hips every few steps, and back again. Coming back was harder on my knees as the slope then is downwards. Hubby joked I could sit on the seat and just roll back down. I was well chuffed at managing to do it though. And I made a new friend, a lady who was with her mother, and had recently moved here. We chatted awhile as we both rested. It was nice.

Been delving into some more family history, trying to figure out why major moves occurred, and wading through same names, trying to back up info on which one is really mine versus the hundreds with the same name in the same period of time. Gets frustrating sometimes.

BP has been up and down today, which is annoying, but highest has been just over "high normal" so I am thankful for that. Odd though when top number is high and bottom is low ... how does that happen, I wonder.

Well, have a wonderful day everyone!

Yesterday was my birthday

Good afternoon!   Yes, yesterday I turned 62! WOW! It turned out to be a pretty good day!  Although started off with me feeling grotty and my heart deciding to do it's crazy dance for a bit. I hate when it does that. I get scared even though my heart is good (according to 2 recent EKG's) and the cardiologist is happy with how things are going. I will be having a sonogram done in 2 weeks just to confirm his confidence that my heart is ok.

So, my granddaughter, Jel, picked me up with my 2 great-grandbabies, Daniel and Sami. My other granddaughter, here, Nicolette, met us at McDonald's, in Mauldin, after getting off work. I like going there as Daniel and Sami get to play, and I get to smile at their antics.

Yesterday, Daniel decided he liked my walker, and took to pushing it all around the playroom area, while I was sat at a  table, watching him. I love that little boy so much and he is such a character! I love how he "helps" his little sister and the other kids when they need it. And he always makes me smile!

They all leave on Saturday to go on holiday to England, to see my daughter, Galina, and the girls' brother, Jacob. When asked if he's going to stay at his nana's house, he says "Jacob's house" LOL. 

After McDonald's, Jel had errands to run, and we decided I'd just hang out.

She decided to get a car wash as she was getting gas, and so we went through it, and talked to Daniel about the soap colours, the rollers and such ... and just as we were emerging, as we went through the blowers, it blew all kinds of debris from the roof rack area down over the windscreen and bonnet. I cracked up but Jel was well ticked, and parked by one of the pumps to squeegee it all off. As she came around to my side, the radio aerial hooked her and pinged back and forth wildly, and I laughed again that it was trying to get her. In true Queen Victoria mode, her expression stated clearly that she was NOT amused.

I must admit, when you pay for your car to be cleaned, then you do expect it to at least come out clean. So I get why she was annoyed.

Later, my son called me to sing "happy birthday" to me. That was nice. We chatted awhile.

Hubby and I had a quiet evening in, watching tv. Mine wasn't the lucky viewer code, in "Wheel of Fortune". I didn't do as well as some evenings with "Jeopardy" and the finale of "Survivor" brought this season to a close.

Thankfully, my evening had no incidences of fluttery heartbeats, and I had a peaceful night, for which I am ALWAYS grateful.

This morning, I submitted my AVON order, and the commission for Monday's sales was credited to my account. $47.25, nice! I do love my AVON! It helps pay for so many extras.

I'm having kind of a lazy day, watching a Finnish detective series on Netflix, enjoying the doors and windows open for the fresh air, and with the 4 legged children lying about everywhere. Life is good, and I am well blessed!

Enjoy your Thursday, my friends. The weekend is almost upon us.

And so this is Tuesday ...

Hubby had taken yesterday off to take me to the cardiologist, so today was our first day back with the alarm blaring at 5.30am ... I need to win the lottery so that we'll never have to do that again, LOL. I hate being in the middle of an awesome dream and then that awful nose blasts through, shattering the peace. Oh well, such is life.

Its raining pretty heavily here this morning. Yesterday was overcast and cooler, providing a much welcome break from the recent heatwave we've had.

My cardiologist appointment went well, really well. I think my BP was the lowest it's been in YEARS, I was amazed! 116/54. I was very thankful too! Such a blessing after having 200s/100s!

I'd also lost another 2lbs, making a total of 63lbs so far! Still a long way to go, but every little helps! It's a journey!

So yesterday was a pretty good day, for me. I had a day where I felt great, and that was so welcome, after feeling so ill for so long.

I'm starting today feeling decent too, so am hoping to be productive and get some work done!

Have a lovely day, my friends

Oh what a week! Ups and downs, bad and good

Today is a much better day than many, recently. For that, I am extremely thankful. We do not realise how much we take for granted, until we are without it, or something goes wrong with it. Nor how helpless we can become in certain situations.

What a week!  Life has a habit of getting in the way of the best laid plans and work goals! I am sooo  thankful for my AVON!  If I worked for an employer, I'd have been fired long ago. And I would not have had money going into my bank while I was not working! It has been such a blessing for me!

Last week, Thursday, leaving for work, my hubby ran over one of our 4 legged children, Angel. 13 years old ... strong willed ... she has a broken rib, inflammation and is lucky to be alive. Giving her the pain pills and anti-inflammatories has been a battle of wills, with winners on both sides. Her "treat" - McDonald's cheeseburgers - became a way to fool her into taking them. The vet was awesome but it was a bill we could have done without.

Friday, we had rented a truck to pick up a new (to us) washer, take our old one and some other household goods (a tv etc) to recycle, and remove cut tree limbs from our yard to the recycle place, for mulching. Hubby's back started going out, so halfway through the day, we returned the truck and the tree limbs remain in the yard.

Then, Saturday, we had a tire started going flat, resulting in us needing to get 2 new ones put on ... another bill we did not need.

The stress, and the heat, made my blood pressure go up, to high 180s/100 and working my business was farthest from my mind. thankfully, 2 of my online customers placed orders totalling almost $100. I was extremely thankful.

Tuesday, unable to get my blood pressure to go down, I went to the doctor, and we have decided to up my meds for the time being. having maternal grandparents, one who died of a stroke and one who had an aortic aneurysm, I HAVE to take my BP seriously.

Anyway, I am feeling semi-human today, so am trying to work a little, while I feel up to it.

On Sunday, in trying to relax and lower my blood pressure, we went out to Cedar Falls  - not realising that my "quiet place" was a weekend mecca for loads of other people too. The parking area was packed and the disabled spot was taken by a young gal in a pick up truck, no placard and she was running around, partying, but I managed to squeeze into a spot, and with my hubby and my trusty walker - and resting at various points along the way - I made it to the bench that looks out over the whole river as it comes down from the old mill.

I sat there maybe 30-45 minutes, laughing at kids playing in the water, and just enjoying the view.

My trusty walker, though, is old and one of the "stop and go" variety, so making the 100-150 yard trek was (for me) a huge struggle. Thus, when my AVON bonus hit the bank this past Tuesday, I blew some of it on a newer, modern version with a SEAT and BACKREST!

I will collect it tomorrow from my local neighbourhood Walmart, after ordering it from them online. I have such high hopes of being able to attempt to walk more.

On a good note, my Tuesday doctor visit revealed that I had lost another 8lbs, making a total loss of  61lbs so far. It seems I am definitely getting the hang of this, and I'm finding some fast food faves along the way, that keep me out of the kitchen and thus away from temptations!

My beloved Chick-Fil-A Spicy sandwich - even done as I had it before on wheat with no butter and no pickle - took just too much of my day's calories/fat/carbs up ... for now it is off my menu. Me, being such a picky eater, what would they have to offer that I felt good about having? The Market Salad! I am hooked, it is amazing, only 200 calories, grilled chicken, bleu cheese crumbles, shredded lettuce, shredded red cabbage, grated carrot, blueberries and strawberries. I must admit the cheese is pretty piquant, but I am acquiring a taste for it. I do it without dressing, but they have a wide choice of them available! I also don't add the toppings that come with it, granola and nuts.

Out of the blue the other week, hubby had not had Bojangles in forever, so we stopped to get him something, and I noticed their new salads, so decided to get one of their Roasted Chicken Bites ones. Sadly, in checking out the nutrition, it was higher in sodium than I could allow myself to have in one meal ... easily remedied. I divvied it in two, and saved one half for lunch the next day. The one I had for dinner, I used about 1/4-1/3 of the pack of Ken's lite ranch dressing with it, and added the nutritional info of both to my Sparkpeople log for the day.

I also discovered a new fave food. Well, the lady in the seafood department at our local Publix turned me onto it. They do a grilled salmon. She gave us some to taste ... and I fell in love immediately. The pieces are approximately 6oz each, and I divvy them into 3 of approx 2oz apiece, and freeze them. 

Every morning, I get 2 slices of my Nature's Own Double Fiber Bread, and I spread them with one triangle of Laughing Cow Light Creamy Swiss Original Cheese. Then, because I do not like oatmeal ... but am ok with the oatmeal grains on multigrain bread, I now take 2 nice pinches of dry oatmeal and sprinkle over the spready cheese and use the knife to smooth it into it. Then I break up 1 piece of salmon over the top on one slice and pop the other on top to make a sandwich. I like to cut it into 4. It's a heart healthy breakfast and quite filling. The 10gms of fiber is almost 1/2 what most people need in a day ... and it's given me back my sandwiches, now that I have cut most processed meats out of my diet due to sodium content and the preservatives. so I'm a happy camper again!

Well, in the words of Bugs Bunny "that's all folks!"  I'm getting tired and the buzzing in my ears is coming on (telltale sign - for me - that my BP's going up). Have a great day, and enjoy your weekend!

So good to be off the heart monitor!

Yesterday was my final day, and hubby downloaded the last transmission today and took the monitor back to Carolina Cardiology. I'm glad to have had it, so that we could figure out what the issue was, but it was so awkward trying to remember to carry it with me to the rest room, since it did not hook to my waistband as they said it would, but kept falling off. And the area where the pads were stuck on me got sore, which apparently happens to a lot of people.

I get to go visit my cardiologist in 3 weeks, by which time we will have some things to discuss, as in my feeling better on the Eliquis, and whatever things he has to tell me based on the 30 days of monitoring.

He also bought a new (to us) washer, which we will collect on Friday, from a local electronics business.  Our old one died a death, so will be going to the happy hunting ground of washers.

I guess my weight loss is becoming more noticeable - hubby said my pants and drawers were droopy on me now, ha ha! Well, as long as they aren't falling down, I'll keep wearing them. I hate wasting money, and since I only go out of the house once or twice a week, who's going to see me in my droopy drawers? Possibly my granddaughter if she comes to bring my great-grands to see me, or my friend Dimple, when she comes to clean ... other than that, I don't really get visitors.

52lbs gone at last weigh in a couple of weeks ago, but I only weigh at the doctor offices so have to wait until my next visit to find out what I've lost since. I do love my Sparkpeople site though, it definitely helps me to keep track of everything. I even added my meds as "foods" so that I can mark them on my daily tracker, as I take them. That's very helpful, as I am forgetful now and hated double thinking "did I/didn't I?" as far as taking my drugs.

We had a rainy day today, but it passed through quickly. The cooling down was an added benefit!

Hope you've all had a good day. Enjoy your evening.