Important Things

My sister Lucille died unexpectedly May 27. It was exactly 2 years to the day after her husband Keith died. Since she lived in Utah and the funeral was a week later, it was a great opportunity for me to go on a car trip with Justin. Bob was not able to travel by any method since he had total knee replacement surgery May 11; both he and I were disappointed and sad. But the drive gave me some time to catch up on Justin's life and to buffer the transition from home to the funeral and time with Lucille's family.

I've been listing--in my mind--important realizations this experience has brought to my attention. These are things that are always important, only now I'm more aware. And I pray for the good sense and guidance of the Spirit to help me remember as time goes by.

1. If you can in any way manage to see your distant family members more often than you have, do it.
2. Hugs mean the world to us, even if we don't admit it. Hug those you love.
3. Say, "Love ya!" at the end of every conversation or visit. It only takes a second, and we can never say or hear it too much.
4. When you are feeling blue, get up, get dressed, and find a way to serve someone.
5. When you find yourself thinking negative thoughts, end your pity party by insisting on writing down at least 2 positives.
6. Read more, especially the scriptures.
7. Watch TV less, or not at all on days you are feeling strong.
8. Listen to music that makes you happy, or calm, or wild. Sing along. Make up words if there are none or if you don't know the words.
9. If you are LDS, go to the temple more often.
10. Contact at least one family member not living with you once a day. (Optional for those with children living in their home.)
11. Be generous with back rubs and scratches
12. Never be too busy to talk with family or friends.
13. Ask what you are to learn from a particular day or a particular incident, and listen for the answer.
14. Take pictures.
15. Journal.
16. Send "Thinking About You" cards or e cards.
17. Sing in the shower.
18. Sing while driving your car.
19. Pray while driving your car. (Those are some of the best prayers!)
20. Be patient.
21. Be aware. Really look at the world and those around you.
22. Listen to the promptings of the Holy Ghost and FOLLOW them. How often have we heard and not done? I'm guilty!
23. Do genealogy and go with family to do temple work for your ancestors.
24. Decorate your home nicely because it is your daily temple.
25. Make your home a refuge of peace for all who enter.
26. If anyone needs an "adopted" grandma, mother, sister, aunt, or whatever, be that.
27. Drop whatever you are doing when a friend calls and listen--or talk, if that what is needed.

I could go on. But enough for now. Just remember "IT'S NEVER TOO LATE TO LIVE HAPPILY EVER AFTER." It's at the top of my blog and on a plaque I bought 2 years ago and still haven't put up on the wall! Decorating our house is something I will be working on the rest of the week, and the plaque will be one of the first things I'll take care of.

Cats Inspired by Cat Boxes

I love owning cats. Easy maintenance and so warm and cuddly. Funny too, when they're awake, which is rare. If I were an animal, I would be a cat.

However, litter boxes are the pits. Our two boxes are in the basement by the washer. We have a scooper right there, and a covered can to put the scoopings in. But I hadn't been down in a couple of days. And Bob did no scooping! I don't know how he can spend nearly every evening down there in his recliner and NOT take care of the cat boxes! It is a family joke that his nose died in 1986, but come one!!! It's a joke!

I did my treadmill time, thinking I get used to the smell the way one gets used to hospital smell after a few minutes. But no. Something inside made me NOT scoop out the boxes. I'm going to have to negotiate something with Bob while we are out for dinner later. I do not mind taking care of the boxes, so maybe I just need to make a schedule so I won't forget to go down for days at a time. It is when they are so unbearably polluted that I get nauseous and gag. WE should not let them get to that point.

My dream is to have a system that bags up the stuff right after kitty uses the facility. But I hear they are expensive, and looking forward to retirement, we need to cut back, not spend more!

But then I turn my head to the right and look over at Annie, curled up asleep on the printer. I'd better get down and clean the boxes before I get ready to go out for dinner with Bob. He'll be home soon. I'm sure we can find better things to talk about than my trivial irritations. After all, I'm retired. He still works full time and even overtime most days; he also goes in on his days off. I guess he doesn't need to clean litter boxes.

However, cleaning the wood burning stove and keeping the area around it tidy is another story!

Looking Forward

I like to say, "There is always something to look forward to." Here are some of my favorite things yet to come:

1. Bob's retirement. He works very hard and gets very tired.

2. Moving to the house we own in Watertown, S Dakota. This will happen after Bob retires.

3. Going on a mission with Bob. This will have to wait until Bob retires.

4. Learning the new music for Minnesota Mormon Chorale.

5. Performing with the Chorale in the spring.

6. Working a shift in surgery next week. I so enjoy the people with whom I work.

7. Family reunion next July or August.

8. Seeing Nolan receive the priesthood next month.

9. Going to the temple and being endowed for some of my aunts.

10. Making quilts.

11. Sewing doll clothes.

12. Planting bushes in the spring or summer.

13. Surprising my family doctor when I show up pounds lighter at my yearly checkup next fall.

14. Postal holidays.

15. Spending time with true friends.

16. Primary activities.

17. Be reunited with my parents and meeting my sister Betty and my brother David.

18. Linger Longer!

19. Hiring another dumpster in the spring.

20. Growing even older with Bob.

Improvements

I'm getting into a new eating and exercising habit, and I've been talking a lot about it on this blog and on Facebook. It isn't my entire concern or my only focus, but it does affect most areas of my life. In fact, I'm only now realizing how I'm "getting better" because of this improved lifestyle:

1. Sleep is deeper and more refreshing.

2. I'm more awake and aware during the day.

3. I have more energy and consequently get more housework done.

4. Life is happier and routine daily things are fun and interesting.

5. I have a better sense of accomplishment.

6. I'm more engaged with those around me.

7. Breathing is deeper and more refreshing.

8. I'm not constantly thinking about what to eat next.

9. I'm optimistic and hopeful.

10. I look forward to tomorrow, next summer, next year, and the rest of life, including retirement with Bob.

The list could go on and on. I am thankful to have found the program that is working for me and the strength from the Lord to make this much-needed change.

After years of living with blue safety-grip strips on the shower floor of our now light yellow-gold master bedroom's bathroom, I finally removed the remaining strips and cleaned away the adhesive goo. Spray Gel Goo Gone worked nicely. After letting the Goo Gone work a short time, the adhesive softened so I could lift it away with a metal spatula. (AKA: "Pancake Flipper) After a scrubbing with Whink Ceramic Cook Top Cleaner, only shadows of where the strips had been remain. We had used a square safety mat on top of the safety strips, since some of the strips had come up and since it is the shower Marian also uses. But now we have a long safety mat running the length of the shower enclosure. It is much safer now, and much prettier as well.

I'd post pictures, but I forgot how to download them from my camera. Next time Phil or Dan or Ryan show me how, I'll be sure to take notes! I know I have the equipment, and I'm pretty sure which is the correct cable to plug into my laptop. Someday soon I'll surprise myself and start posting pictures directly from my camera. I have a lot of pictures that belong with past postings!

At Last!!!

I slept in this morning, and then kept drifting back to sleep as I tried to catch up on favorite TV shows by watching "On Demand" on Comcast. I thought I might call this my day off from exercise. After all, the DVD literature and Leslie and Shaun say to take one day off each week. However, I had always intended to make that day Sunday, the day of rest! I kept telling myself I would go down and get on the treadmill instead. After dinner, as Bob was making popcorn, I almost gave in and thought I might as well also have some popcorn. I could almost feel the kernels touching my tongue. But at last!! Something inside me snapped and I marched myself into the bedroom where I tied on shoes, and then went down to the treadmill in our basement family room.

At last!! Thank goodness! I didn't really enjoy the treadmill; it was like a medicine I knew I had to take. But I did really enjoy the feeling of openness and energy I had a few minutes after I finished. I could feel my lungs. I could feel my muscles.

Now here I sit, freshly showered and smelling wonderful. I thank God for helping me today, and for friends who encourage me every day. I'm going to fill my water bottle and see if I can finally stay awake for the latest NCIS show. Good night.

Cottage Cheese Is My Friend, and Bob's too

Now that I'm eating better, cottage cheese is one of my favorite foods, and I must have it on hand continually. It tastes great and is easy to dish up and eat with very little preparation. In fact, when it gets down to the bottom of the container, you don't even need a separate bowl! I especially enjoy it with garlic powder sprinkled gently or liberally (depending on my mood) on top and then mixed in for an all-over great taste.

Miraculously I got Bob to taste my 1% Old Home cottage cheese last week. And he likes it!! In the past he was not willing to even try dairy products with less than full-bore fat content. (I need to moderate that by saying we do buy 2% milk. I'm not a milk drinker, so it doesn't matter to me whether we have skim or 2%.) So when we were at Walmart a couple of days ago, he looked to see if they carried 1% cottage cheese. They do not. BUT they have fat-free Land O Lakes. And miracle of miracles, he put a big tub of it in our cart! He said that since it was a major brand and since the 1% tasted so good, it was most likely just as delicious as the 1% Old Home. Besides, we were tired and Bob didn't want to stop at Cub; he just wanted to go straight home and collapse in his recliner. I agreed I too was looking forward to my recliner. So hooray for another improved food item in our refrigerator!

To eat or not to eat, that is the question. . . .

I got up this morning--late, but still morning--and exercised. I had been told in my Transitions Lifestyle coaches that it is best to exercise on an empty stomach because your body then burns fat rather than muscle. I feel great exercising first thing. But then I am thinking I want to add treadmill time afternoons or evenings. So I did some checking online on the subject. After finding strong opinions for and against exercising on an empty stomach, this is one source that seems reasonable to me:

Dear Reader,

As you are already aware, there is debate about strategies for maximal fat burning. This being the case, it's not surprising at all that you are confused.

Let's start by saying that as long as you are exercising, you are doing a great service for your health no matter the time of day. Whether or not you want to work out first thing in the morning or later in the day is usually determined by what fits best into your daily schedule and how you feel at that time.

To help clear up the confusion, it is possible to accomplish your goals of losing fat while maintaining lean muscle. Yes, exercising on an empty stomach allows for maximal fat burning, but it also causes maximal muscle loss. Since you are looking to preserve your muscle mass, you may want to consider the following suggestions that may benefit your early morning workout:

• Drink two eight-ounce glasses of water upon waking to hydrate your body. This is important because when you first wake, you are dehydrated as a result of your night's sleep — you can lose water through sweating, and also from nocturnal urination (if this applies to you); and, for however long you've slept, you haven't had anything to drink.

• Wake up a little earlier than you normally would so that you can have a chance to eat a bit of food before you exercise. Then allow at least one-half hour to forty-five minutes to pass before you begin your workout. Think about eating a light, 200 - 300 calorie meal containing some carbohydrates and protein. Examples of such a breakfast are egg whites, cottage cheese, yogurt, or a protein shake. The body not only requires carbohydrates to utilize fat, but also by eating, your body will use less protein from your muscles. The body requires a protein source approximately every eight hours (this exact amount of time differs from person to person depending on one's weight and athletic pursuits) or else it begins to use its own lean muscle mass. By not eating after a night's sleep, you are unknowingly aiding this process, and thereby losing the lean muscle that you have already worked hard to build up.

• When eating before your early morning workout, you may want to try food in a liquid form, such as a protein shake or blending cottage cheese and yogurt together. By doing so, you can further eliminate or reduce the risk of stomach cramps, especially if you are going to run or do a similarly vigorous activity.

Early morning exercisers have an added benefit of having the rest of the day to eat, recover, and grow. Also, not eating right before going to bed can aid in muscle stimulus and growth.

In addition, eating five to six small balanced meals a day maintains your metabolism and keeps its fires stoked. If you eat too few calories daily or deprive yourself of energy, your body will begin to hoard the calories you do take in as fat so that it can survive the starvation it believes that it is experiencing. This action in turn makes it harder for your body to utilize these calories.

Even if you cannot work out in the morning, exercising later on in the day can be just as productive and beneficial. If you stumble a bit along the way, it's okay; everybody does. You just need to jump back on the horse that is your workout regimen, watch what you eat, and get back to work.

(I forgot to list the source)

For now, I'll continue to exercise morning on an empty stomach and make sure I drink a lot of water before. When I get on the treadmill, I'll be sure not to do so too soon after eating. I won't have to be concerned about timing meals around running since the orthopedic doctor told me no running and no jumping now that I have two total knee replacements. And I'm not walking outside until spring, and even then not until my weight is low enough to let me "blend in" with the other neighborhood walkers!

Tonight is Minnesota Mormon Chorale practice. It will be our first practice of a Mendelsohn composition we will perform in the spring. I am looking forward to being in better shape then so I can stand to sing without pain in my back and hips. The blog address is: mnmormonchorale.blogspot.com

I couldn't wait

This morning I couldn't take it any longer. After Bob left for work, I opened our new scale and set it up according to the instructions. (Which I am proud to say I understood completely.) It shows I have lost 21 pounds since November 29. I don't care about the BMI, hydration, etc figures. I timidly--and hoping very few read this entry--admit my weight was 334 pounds; it is now down to 313. I think I had to write the exact weight in order to have it to look back on as I continue with the transition I'm making to a healthy lifestyle. I don't know too many people who look forward to their weight finally falling below 300, but it will be a huge milestone for me. It will finally match the weight I admitted to on my Minnesota driver's license! Maybe for my birthday on May 31, I will go to the licensing office on Highway 10 and see about modifying the weight and getting a new picture. Let's see what weight I should be by then. . . .

In a related morning story, I exercised for 17 minutes, one minute more than yesterday. Tomorrow's goal is to hang on for 18 minutes. I can't wait to get to the part where I get to use the exercise bands that came with the DVD. I'm also thinking a stabilizer ball is in my future.

See? There is always something to look forward to!

A Couple of Thoughts

Today was Bob's day off, so after attending a Primary presidency meeting this morning, he and I ran some errands together. I couldn't get over the irony of driving to the Anoka Post Office on his day off, seeing as how he goes to work at the Brooklyn Center Post Office 5 or 6 days a week. But he never seems to have a chance to mail off letters and bills while at work; they keep their carriers WAY too busy. While in traffic, some other driver irritated me, and I found myself saying, "Oh, my __!!! Did you see?" I surprised myself as much as I did Bob, but immediately apologized to the Lord, because I know better than to speak like that. I blame the time I spent as a waitress at The Tally-Ho Restaurant the summer after I graduated from high school. Before that, the worst language I used was when I told my brother, "I'm going to kill you!!!" as we watched Saturday morning cartoons on the living room couch and had foot fights.

After apologizing and asking forgiveness, I calmed down and was thankful for the principle of repentance. I know God forgave me right away. I am thankful to know about J Golden Kimball. He was an apostle, and he used to also have a time with his tongue. He would even use some colorful language when speaking in General Conference, but then would immediately apologize to God. He is quoted as saying, "They can't send me to hell. I repent too damn fast!" He is definitely my exemplar!

We had lunch at The Bamboo Village. It was our date for the week. We love going out together for a peaceful meal we don't have to fix or clean up after. And while the meal didn't exactly fit my new lifestyle, it really wasn't too bad. They serve the best egg rolls in the upper midwest, and we did split an order. There was enough eggs foo yung and rice left over for me to have it for dinner. We brought enough of Bob's hot and spicy chicken home for his dinner as well.

Then on to Wal Mart. Last night at Transitions, I told the group that I don't like to weigh myself at home because I tend to obsess over the slightest weight variances and drive myself crazy generally by weighing too often. I said I prefer to wait for the official weigh-in every month on our coaches' scale that they bring with them. Then on the way home I couldn't stop thinking about having my own scale! Was I Jekyll or Hyde? The scale in our bathroom is rusty and inaccurate. I mean, you could jump on it until it registers what you want to weigh, within reason. Or you could sneak up slowly on it for an especially low reading. I looked at scales last night at Wal Mart, but only in passing; I had gone in to buy a few other things on my way home. But today, I couldn't remember where the scales were located and asked 2 employees for help finding them! And then I selected the exact same brand and model scale that Leslie and Shaun bring to Transitions! It measure up to 400 lbs in 0.2 lb increments, it figures out your body fat, your hydration level, your body mass index (BMI)and your bone mass. It stores information for 4 users and tracks the last weigh-in per user. It has a 1.5 inch LCD display and has a tempered glass platform with silver accents. I told Bob I'd pay for the scale since it was $39.99 and I had money in my account. I thought he'd be against it, and even hoped he'd reason me into not buying it, but he said, "Okay, but I'll pay for it. Let's throw that old one away when we get home." (We each have a checking account, but it is really all OUR money; it's a long story, but it works for us.)

So now I sit here at the computer, looking at our new scale, still in its box. I wish I had the strength of character to take it back and go with my original intention of weighing infrequently. I think I might do better that way. Yet at the same time, I'm trying to figure if it is a good thing that I want to have an accurate scale in our possession, or if it is my crazy self attempting to sabotage my weight loss/lifestyle management.

I'll be damn sure to post when I figure it out! (Did you notice how quickly I repented?)

A Couple of Thoughts

Water!!! I need more water!

When I was a child and teenager living at home, my mother often told me that when I feel hungry, I should just have a big drink of water. Finally, I am willing to believe! I could go into a discussion of the family dynamics and logical (to me) explanations that made me NOT want to have a big drink of water, but that is water under the bridge. (Too punny! I kill myself!) TODAY I can report that I love water and sometimes can't seem to get enough, even though our plumbing is working just fine.

For the most part, I drink Anoka City water. We used to have bottled water from Culligan, but discontinued it about a year ago. I'm considering now whether to keep drinking city water. But when I fill the car's gas tank, I still like to go into the convenience store and pick up some bottled water. So far the only brand I don't like is Aquafina.

I now realize that most of the time I think I am hungry, I am simply thirsty. A major feeling of peace comes to me when I take a big drink of water. Instead of throwing some water down while standing by the sink, now I most often run the water to be sure it is nice and cold and add ice cubes. Then I take my bottle to a relaxing place and enjoy. The ritual of preparing it has become part of the satisfaction.

Then if I am still hungry and it isn't meal time, I can go get something low glycemic to snack on. And I must now admit that water does suppress the appetite, and that when I feel hungry, I should just have a big drink of water. All diet advice tells us to drink at least 8 glasses of water a day. So that is one of my daily goals. It is such and easy goal to attain!

I'm Baaaaaaack!

A recent winter-scape as seen from our deck

After a nearly 3-month hiatus, I'm back to blogging. It wasn't intentional; I simply drifted away. I seem to have had little original or entertaining to say. Plus, the kids are all adults now, living elsewhere, so I have no one to photograph and put up on the blog.

Well, no one other than Marian, Bob, me, and 2 cats. The first 3 of us are only growing older and not going anywhere much in this winter weather. Post one picture of the 3 of us, and that's good for at least a year or two. Post one picture of the cats, and that is good for years and years since their looks never change after kittenhood.

Since October, we've had a great holiday season. It started with a beautiful sit-down Thanksgiving dinner at Ryan and Andrea's new house in Albertville. Andrea set the table in fall colors with cloth napkins she had cut and sewn. She and the kids made place cards with Scrabble letters so everyone knew where to sit. They served sparking juice in wine goblets. It was so special and fine. And we all had such a good time visiting and playing together.

Just before Thanksgiving, I heard about and joined a Transitions Lifestyle group. I heard about it from a friend who lives in the state of Maine, and she--Cindi--phoned me with the information on a group starting meetings in Fridley that very night! I know the Lord works through us for each other, and I'm most thankful for Cindi in this regard. The 12-week course starts with a 7-day detox. Most of us in the group started AFTER Thanksgiving. I started November 29. For that week, I started the day with lemon juice in warm water and then ate only fruits and vegetables. And plenty of water. Since then I have lost 20 pounds!

For the first year after retiring, I had become so sedentary that I couldn't walk a block without having to stop to catch my breath. Climbing the 13 stairs from the basement found me breathing hard. I felt nauseous and weak much of the time. When we had our first annual family reunion in Itasca State Park last July, I didn't have the stamina to even walk to see some Lady Slippers the grandchildren had told me about. Forget going on a bike ride with the family! Walking from the parking lot to the headwaters of the Mississippi at Lake Itasca was a major effort, and included several rests. It was not a far walk.

In an effort to get myself involved in life again, I decided to audition for The Minnesota Mormon Chorale last fall. I used to sing with The Bach Society Chorus in Minneapolis years ago, and missed participating with fine musicians to perform beautiful music. I was so excited to be invited to sing! Things I learned: I needed to sit down more often than another other singer in the group; we were expected to stand even in practices; I really don't look good or feel comfortable in concert dress; my legs, feet, and back cause me nearly unbearable pain by the end of a 45-minute concert.

In stead of giving up, I decided I needed to get healthy if I wanted to keep up with my family and with life in general for the rest of my life. I had had enough of sitting around not feeling well. I couldn't imagine spending any more time NOT PARTICIPATING.

So I was prime for changing. I knew doing the same things I had done before didn't work. I had been reading about Cindi's detoxing and her renewed love of vegetables. And now after finding the same kind of group she had, I can firmly say that I also absolutely love vegetables. Celery has replaced my Icee habit.

After the detox week, we started on a low glycemic index diet. It is really a change of lifestyle that we are working towards. It takes about 12 weeks to change. I suppose that is why the course is that long. Until a few days before Christmas, I was sticking to low glycemic and did not eat anything with sugar in it. I even made our traditional Little French Christmas Cookies without tasting the batter or eating baked cookies. I baked rolls for Christmas dinner, and that is when I started tasting things made with sugar. We had a most enjoyable Christmas, spending Christmas Eve at Justin and Madelyn's and Christmas dinner here at our house with all of our Minnesota kids and grandkids. Nothing on earth is as close to my heart as family, and thank the Lord we have such a loving family. I made fudge and caramels after Christmas; I ate small pieces here and there for a week. I gave lots of the candies away, though, and even now a few pieces remain on the counter in a plastic storage dish.

But I find I am having a hard time getting back to eating foods from the low glycemic index, and I believe it is because even some sugar in my system makes me crave more. Even bread is a binge item for me, and almost all bread has some form of sugar in it. But I did learn of Ezekiel Bread from one of the Transitions Lifestyle coaches, and I use it now instead of any other.

Soon I'll be doing another week of detox. I'll be doing it with a friend. After that, I will continue to keep refined sugars out of my diet. When I was off sugar completely, these are the benefits I noticed:

No nausea

No dizziness

No headaches

No abdominal bloating or discomfort

Increased energy

Less sleepiness

Greater sense of well-being

More positive attitude

Enjoyment of housework (I especially love this benefit!)

Better comprehension of what I read

More interest in almost everything

Enough for one day. I'll blog about my weight, exercise, and changing diet and cooking. I'm very thankful to have found a new beginning in my retirement years. Who would have thought?