Continue the Frenzy

Wow time flies while you are trying to stay warm in South Dakota in the winter. What a winter it has been! The Interstate has been closed due to bad conditions very often and again tonight it is closed from the Missouri River to Albert Lea Minnesota and from South Dakota all the way north into Canada. We are having a blizzard.
Meantime, my knees are killing me. I walk on the treadmill but it hurts most of the time. I need to walk even more but it is so cold and dark when it comes time to go to the Rec that it takes a great deal of will power.
I believe we have finally figured out what has been at the root of my fatigue. I had a sleep study on December 9 and did not get the results until last week. I saw the Pulminologist about the results. He was surprised I don't have apnea. That is good. But I still have significant episodes of shallow breathing and that causes me to wake up (that too is good) and he believed I need a CPAC but was certain my insurance wouldn't cover it. So he ordered another sleep study and this time I had a sleeping pill so I would remain on my back all night and this time the numbers were high and indicated the need for the CPAC. I have been sleeping with it since last Friday and I really am much more clear headed and I believe I am catching up on my rest. Sleep deprivation has been a real problem.
Work is busy but it seems about the time I have a day scheduled in a school, they have to cancel because of snow. This has been a very different winter thus far.
I am reading the latest Jennifer Chiaverini's book from the Elm Creek Series. I lover those. I have been knitting and quilting and cooking soups for Vince and I. I went to see Extraordinary Measures with my gal friends yesterday afternoon. It was excellent. I also loved It's Complicated. That was great!
I promise I won't take so long to post. I read blogs everyday and love listening to you. I feel like I have this whole set of friends out there. When I went to the Post Office today to mail a baby gift to one of my daughter's friends, the postman asked me if I wanted stamps or postal supplies or a passport application. Interestingly, I said "yes" to the passport application. I have one that has expired. I know I won't be able to get Vince to go with me but I would love to return to England and the more I read blogs of my Aussie friends, I think a trip down under might be delightful. Stay warm.

This is Crazy!

Vince said to me today that I have been writing on my quilting blog and not on this one. His question was "am I not motivated?" That is certainly not accurate as each day I try very hard to do right by my band. It has just been crazy. I promise a longer blog later tonight - in the meantime, Go Vikings!

Power Thinking

OK so I am not a resolution maker as I am old enough to know those don't work for me. However, I can be a power thinker and I have been doing some of that these past few days. I need to adjust my thinking and then match my actions to my thinking. Walk my talk! You see, I have been dancing around the 195 pounds mark for almost a year now and that stinks. It doesn't stink that I can stay at that weight and eat right and be comfortable with my lapband and use it as a tool for this weight thing. It stinks that I have not lost the last forty pounds I set out to lose in the beginning. So what is it going to take?
1. I need to drink the eight glasses of water everyday. Coffee doesn't count as water and although I am drinking, it needs to be water. I can do that if I put my mind to it and it feels good when I do. This #1 is easy for me if I plan ahead and fill the water bottle and take it with me where I go. DRINK
2. Eat three meals a day and no snacking. Hmmmmmm! As busy as I am that should be simple as well. I have mastered lunch at lunch time and I can plan ahead and carry a good lunch with me. There is no reason why I can't eat breakfast either in the kitchen or on the road when I am driving to the office or a school. I like yogurt and oatmeal on the run is not bad either. Supper is a challenge because I sometimes don't get home at a decent hour and when I sit down, I often grab for the wrong thing or too little of a good thing. You know what I mean? My "dine and dash" doesn't have anything to do with money and everything to do with planning ahead and eating the right things at the right time. Now this one is not difficult if I start planning some meals ahead and using the crock pot which would be of benefit to Vince as well. My schedule is what it is and unless I start planning better, #2 will not get better. PLAN
3. Exercise! This one is a real issue. I like to exercise when I get to the rec. I love walking on the treadmill and I don't mind riding the recumbent, and I even enjoy crunches on the big ball. I just have a very difficult time getting to the rec. Sounds like an excuse, doesn't it? It is so cold in South Dakota right now (sub zero outside both early in the morn and after dark). It is dark when I get home from work. It is dark when I get up and I don't like mornings! So what am I to do? I would rather read blogs, quilt, knit, or just sit with a great book than go out after I get home from my drive from whereever. So I now that I am writing I am thinking again. Maybe I should take my exercise clothes and shoes with me and never come home until I am done with the exercise. Perhaps that would work. Once I am home, I am done for the day because exercise needs to be part of my day and not something I go out to do after I am home. I will try that starting tomorrow. EXERCISE
4. I must continue to share my successes, my weaknesses, and this ride with my blogging allies. I know that may sound wierd but I do get counsel from many of you and you keep me honest in this quest. After all, every day is the first day of the rest of my life. BLOG
Stay warm and stay tuned!

My Bear

I think two year olds have it all together! My little G is holding his "bear" and when things go awry, he goes and finds his bear and everything is better. Bear is there to take away the hurts, to snuggle with when you are all alone, and to just hold when you need some comfort. I have a "bear", he is my best friend, my husband Vince. Yesterday we celebrated our 23rd wedding anniversary and as I sat today and tried to relax just one more day before I start the "hassles of work", I was reminded of how much he means to me and how I rely on his wisdom, commitment, and genuine concern about my health and well-being. I am so lucky, no blessed, to have Vince in my life. He is "my bear".

Some Fun

I have a friend who owns a book store in our town and I was wondering how I could get the word out about having Mrs. C sit outside our house and pass out candy canes to passerbys. Well, my friend reminded me that I have always wanted to come to the store and read to children. So we took this opportunity to have me come to the store as Mrs. C. This is a picture Vince took on our sun porch before I went to the book store. We have a wonderful costume rental place in town and one of the lapband benefits was that the costume fit me. I had such a delightful time doing it even though only five children came to the store that December afternoon. Maybe more next year?

Happy New Year

I want to take this opportunity to tell all of my blog friends that I value your time reading and kind words responding to this blog. I really feel connected to all of you and many times over the holidays I thought of you and warmly wish you the best of everything for the new year. Life is hectic with many wonderful visits from family and friends. Please pray for my friend, Sara, who had emergency surgery on Tuesday. She will need much time to recover and prayers for no infections. I will write more later but it looks like it will be the Nashville Rock N Roll marathon for us. 114 days and I AM Counting!!

The Greatest Gift

I am such a blessed person. I have a wonderful husband who loves me unconditionally and is so willing to walk by my side through the good and the bad, the wild and crazy, and he even moves furniture when the Christmas tree is to be put up. I just spent the most delightful few days in celebration of my 63rd birthday. When I arrived home from work on Friday there was the most beautiful floral arrangement from my work colleagues (a gingerbread mixing cup with roses and greens) waiting for me. I love and respect the gals I work with and it was especially nice for them to remember me. I am lucky to have a most expert staff and great friends as well. On Friday evening, my son and his beautiful family (wife and three sons) took Vince and I to dinner. The little boys sang Happy Birthday (I am most impressed with D3 who is 18 months doing that). It was a great meal, the boys were very good, and I was surprised with a gift certificate for a pedicure and one for the movies. The greatest gift was spending time with them and enjoying their company.

Yes, I had to teach on Saturday at one of our Indian schools but the people are so nice and they work so hard. It was a great day. Late Saturday afternoon my brother and sister-in-law arrived from Minnesota to spend the rest of my birthday with me. We had some wine (have to remember it hits harder with a lapband) and then went to dinner. Again, beautiful gifts but I am so lucky to have a brother in my life (there are just the two of us) and I so appreciated their traveling to spend the day with me. We watched Marly and Me which is a real tear jerker but as we all love our dogs, it was worth the tears.

I fixed some oatmeal and coffee Sunday morning and we enjoyed the conversation. After lunch they departed for Minnesota as I had been invited to my dear friends' house for another birthday get-together. As I have been reflecting on my years, I just have to say that friends and family are the greatest gift one can have. Flowers and books and just wonderful people for whom to be so very thankful. I received cards and e-mail greetings from so many loved ones. I am just so very lucky.

I have been reading The Thread of Truth which is a sequel to A Single Thread. The author writes about women who have become close friends. I recommend these books if you haven't read them. I have been quilting (more on my other blog). I finished the Christmas quilt for our bed. It is the one that 12 of us each made a block for each other and now we have the most beautiful quilts to remind us of our friends. I am making gifts as quickly as my little fingers can stitch, listening to Christmas music as loud as Vince will allow. Work is busy and I get stressed. I have my sleep study on Wednesday this week after I see the pulminologist. I just love this time of year!

I promise to be more regular in my posts as I want to continue to care for my bloggin friends. I do believe the greatest gift is friendship. Pictures below are of D2 in the lion costume I bought for D1 nine years ago. D3 is wearing the Air Force flight suit I made for his daddy 36 years ago. And the Minnesota boys went shopping with Baba for a rose poinsetta and I just couldn't pass up the picture.