Beautiful Weather

The weather here in Michigan has been absolutely gorgeous! Sunshine and highs in the upper 50s to low 60s is just what my body needed. I spent a few hours outside yesterday picking up sticks and rocks that were thrown around by the snowblower. I have spring fever like I've never felt before. The sad part is, we have snow in the forcast for this coming Sunday.... just a light dusting, but I was hoping we were done with it. I'm going to work on my flower beds next week so my tulips can come up without any obstuctions. I love watching the flowers come up in the spring. It adds new life to the yard and puts a smile on my face. It's also nice that the dog will stay outside for hours too. He loves the sunshine and fresh air. It gives me more time to get things done that I normally put off when he is in the house. He doesn't like it when I go into a room he can't be in. Yes, he's that spoiled. I made my spring cleaning list yesterday and was able to cross one off the list already. Let's just hope I can keep up the momentum! As soon as Young & the Restless is off and Buddy is done with his nap, I'm going to head out for a nice spring walk around my old neighborhood. Time for some fresh air and exercise!

It's Been a While

Wow! It's been a while since I posted here. I've been enjoying the wonderful weather the past few days. We are in the high 30s/low 40s here. The sun has been shining and it really seems to brighten my mood. We are finally getting our new door installed tomorrow. It took the company a full month to send it. The guy that is going to help Chuck install it is going to pick it up today along with the other stuff he's going to need. Then he'll be out in the morning to get started. Hopefully it goes smoothly. I would hate to have a door off my house for too long. I know the temps are warming up, but it's not THAT warm! We are going to put up some plastic and a couple of blankets to block as much air as we can plus the gate to keep the dog inside. I hope this warmer weather continues so I can get out and walk. I love to walk the neighborhood, but the roads are getting slushy and muddy as the snow melts. Sometimes I have to put on rubber boots just to get to the mailbox! We still have quite a bit of snow in our yard, so it will be a while before I can do any yard work (not that I can do too much anyway!). I just can't wait to uncover my tulips and daffodils. I love to look at my flowers. Anyway, time for Young & the Restless and maybe a little snooze!

Must Be Doing Something Right

Whoo Hoo! I lost another 3 pounds! After all of the ups and downs this past month, it's starting to pay off. I am down a total of 9 pounds since the beginning of the year. It took a while for me to re-learn everything I did a couple of years ago. The only difference now is I don't tell myself I can't have anything. That was my downfall before. If I was told I couldn't eat chocolate, I would sneak it and devoir it. But now, with a little self control, I allow myself the pleasures in life. My wonderful 7 year old neice offered me a Chocolate Kiss this afternoon. I took one and savored it. It was sooooo good. When she offered me another one, I told her "no thanks". Now that takes willpower! I have felt like crap for the past week now and maybe that has something to do with my weight loss. I haven't eaten a lot, but I have been getting my calories. I eat a lot of pretzels yesterday because they were settling my stomach. I know it was too much salt, especially this morning when my fingers were all swelled up. Apparently it didn't affect my weight any. I also had a good night sleep for once, even though I slept without my CPAP mask. Until this cold clears, I probably won't. It prevents me for having a productive cough because it is forcing air in when you want air to come out. Keeping my fingers crossed that I get all better soon. We start singing in church this week and all the way through Lent. We have 7 weeks of choir, then I plan to sing a solo in church. I'm a bit nervous, but I shouldn't be. I have been singing for 23 years and spent 6 nights a week in Karaoke bars for years. God will be with me and I will get through it.

Will He or Won't He?

Chuck and I have been together for 11 years. In that time, he has only bought me something for Valentines day once. That one time, he came home with flowers, candy (that I had to share with him) and a card. Nothing since. I kept the card because it was a very nice one. Plus it reminds me that he does care. So now the question remains.... Will He or Won't He? He was alone at Walmart on Thursday evening while I was at choir practice, but he probably forgot. I mentioned the card because I remember growing up my Dad used to give my Mom the same card every year for Valentines Day and the same for their anniversary. My Mom would read the card and say Thank You and put it away for the next year. I thought it was so cute. My Dad has been gone 10 years and Mom still has those cards tucked away. I'm sure she pulls them out from time to time, just for the warm memories.

DaniLynn

Sigh of Relief

I spent Tuesday and Wednesday fretting about the snow storm moving through. I'm used to the snow. I've lived in Michigan my whole life. I rearranged appointments and stocked the house with essentials expecting to be snowed in for a while. Last night I felt like an idiot. We got about 6 inches of snow over a period of 36 hours. No big deal for us. Then I'm watching the news and they are showing people completely snowed in on the east coast with businesses and even the Federal Government closed down. I heard this morning that the main highways going through Philadelphia were closed and they pulled the plows off the road because they weren't able to see. I guess I overreacted. I know better than that. I hate having this anxiety disorder that prevents me from leaving the house during snowy weather. A few years ago, Chuck and I were heading to the grocery store the morning after a big storm. We came upon an accident that had just happened. It was only a single vehicle that skidded off the road. That's nothing new around here. While we were waiting for the police to clear the road so we could get through, I looked over at the mini van and saw a man slumped over in the back seat. I read in the newspaper later that he had died on impact. That has stuck in my mind ever since. I think that is why I'm afraid to ride in the car when the roads are bad. I have been known to have complete meltdowns in the car, to the point where Chuck wants to drop me on the side of the road! I'm a lot better this year thanks to the meds that the doctor put me on. I also found out that the high dose of Thyroid medication I take also has something to do with my anxiety. Another "storm" is coming Sunday night through Monday. I promise I won't freak out about this one.

DaniLynn

Time to Get Back on Track

I had my first setback. I gained 1 pound at my weigh-in yesterday. I blame it on my carelessness with the pizza at our Super Bowl Party at my brother & sister-in-laws house. My sister-in-law and I had been accepted to host a Digiorno House Party from HouseParty.com. We each received coupons for free pizzas and $4 off coupons to share with our guests. The timing was perfect! We didn't have to figure out what to have for the Big Game. Of course, we had heathy choices also: Salad bar with all the fixings, lots of fresh fruit and cheese and crackers. My problem was I started eating about 5pm and didn't stop grazing. The fruit was sooo good and I wanted to try all the different types of pizza so I could report back to HouseParty.com. Now I need to do a couple of extra workouts this week to get myself back on track. I got to thinking... if I lose 2 pounds a week for the next year (52 weeks) I will lose 104 pounds. That will get me well on my way to my goal. I get excited thinking about it. I would love to be pain free (or even feel less pain), I want to get off my cholestoral and heartburn meds. If I can get my thyroid meds down some, I can probably get rid of the anxiety meds I'm on to counteract the side effects from the thyroid meds. I watch Biggest Loser every week and see how the people that are larger than I am with worst health issues lose the weight and make a better life for themselves. I want that for me too, just not to that extreme. I read in a magazine recently that the contestants on the show stop drinking water the morning of the weigh-in and take dieretics for water weight gain just so they can show big numbers. It's not healthy! They stress on the show the importance of drinking a lot of water and eating all the calories you are supposed to, but then the producers let the contestants risk their health for high numbers. High weight loss does not create ratings. The stories of these people and their lifelong struggle is why I watch. It's inspirational. When the show first started, I used to watch it with a bowl of popcorn or ice cream in my lap. Although I still have a snack from time to time, it is usually some fresh fruit, rice cakes, or lowfat popcorn. The show has changed my life. Anyway... time to work out and shed some more pounds!

It's Never Ending....

Saturday night we went to the World Championship Ice Racing event at our local arena. It was neat, but they had to keep the doors open because of the fumes and there wasn't much room to keep all of the bikes & quads. It was so cold. I'm glad I wore extra layers! We got home rather late and were worried about the dog being alone so long. As soon as we got out of the car, Chuck felt something bump him on the leg. It was Buddy, our beagle. My first thought was that someone broke into the house let the dog out. Boy was I wrong! Buddy had chewed a hole through the exterior door! We live in a mobile home, so the door was only fiberglass and Styrofoam. So we covered the hole with plastic, duct tape and an old rug. Sunday morning we went shopping for a new door. We had to special order it, so it will take two weeks to get to the store. UGH! We put a temporary fix on the door yesterday so we can use it. Maybe it will hold until the weather gets warmer so I don't freeze while Chuck and his friend are putting the new door in.

I finally got into the chiropractor on Monday afternoon to straighten my back out. I feel very good now. I feel a cold coming on. I hope it doesn't get too bad. I have church choir practice tomorrow night and I need to have my voice. I hope things calm down for us now. We definitely can't take anymore.

DaniLynn

What Was I Thinking?

Oh boy am I in pain! I really overdid it yesterday and I'm paying for it today. When I woke up, I felt a little pain... then I stood up. OMG!!!!! I didn't think I would make it to the bathroom. My poor pup needed to go out and I could barely get dressed. I felt so bad for him. It eased up a bit the more I moved, but I never really felt right today. My time at the computer was limited earlier because I couldn't sit in my computer chair very long. I didn't even go out to get the mail. I waited for Chuck to get it when he came home from work. He ended up working overtime so my bathroom sink didn't get fixed. He said he would do it tomorrow along with rest of his "honey-do" list. Needless to say, I didn't do any kind of workout today... I couldn't even stand long enough to make dinner. Laundry got put off again too. I'm ready to go to bed and lay on the heating pad for a while.

Such a Long Day

I never thought this day would come to an end. I was up at 6am to take Chuck to work so I could have the car. The weather was nasty. The temp was 15 with a wind chill of -5. We had light snow, but the wind made it almost blizzard-like at times. I prayed for the whole 30 mile round trip. Back at home, the dog and I decided we needed more sleep so we slept in the recliner for a couple more hours. I knew I had to get moving because I had to be to the Church by 1pm for a funeral luncheon for one of the church members. I went to take a shower and heard a drip.... drip.... drip.... coming from under the bathroom sink. Not good. Come to find out, the leak was on top of the sink and the backside of the counter flooded causing a leak between the counter top and the wall. So I shut the water off from below the sink and called Chuck at work to tell him the news. We have been wanting to replace the cheap faucets in our bathrooms so we saw this as a sign that the time is now. Anyway, I finally got my shower, had some lunch, and wrote out some checks for bills. I got to the church about 12:30pm to help set up the fellowship hall. There was so much work to be done! The other ladies (my Mom and Sister-in-Law included) already had a jump start on the work. I don't think I sat down except for a short time during the service and the a few minutes to eat after the family had eaten. I was short on time because I had to pick up Chuck from work and get home to my poor pup who doesn't like to be alone. I was so tired and sore when I left the church. I haven't done that much work on my feet in a long time. I used to work in a restaurant but I quit working in 1999 when my arthritis got real bad. I was sure I would not be able to work out when I got home. After dinner, I made myself turn on the Wii and put in my Biggest Loser workout and off I went. All I have to say is.... OUCH! Bob put me through the ringer! It was just a light workout, but I dread that Downward Facing Dog. I did my best and got through it, but now I think I'm confined to my recliner for the rest of the evening. Hopefully it eases by tomorrow. Laundry beckons me (my least favorite chore). I am also hoping to add some pictures to my blog tomorrow if time allows.

Welcome to My World

Well, here I go. My first blog. I never thought I would do this, but here I am! I need a place to vent my frustrations and achievements of life's journey. My current journey is a life changing one. I'm on a mission to lose 170 pounds. It may never happen... it's a big goal. I just take it one day at a time. This week's achievement?... I lost 3 pounds for a grand total of 10 since January 3! I'm very proud of myself since my weight has been an issue my whole life. I'll get into more of that later. My wonderful sister-in-law is on the same journey and she is my main support. My boyfriend of 11 years supports me also, but he likes to criticize too much.

Stayed tuned for more updates to come!

DaniLynn