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!