Northern Noise

So I had a follow up blood test and my dr. says things are better!  Hooray!  The healthy choices are paying off. Keeps me going awhile longer. 

So today wasn't a good day for me calorie-wise.  I fell into temptation.  I also am so exhausted three nights of sleeping on the couch waking up every 2 hours that I wasn't up to walking.  I know I'll get up in the morning and hit the treadmill before work; I'm getting that habit nicely established.  And I know that it's not the end of the world to have a little slip up. Okay, so that's my update and I'm posting because it makes me accountable to myself.  In the words of Scarlett O'Hara, "After all, tomorrow is another day."

This is one of my favorite pictures of my dad.  I think it might be taken in Oregon around my sister's wedding but I'm not sure.  I just like it. Today my sister posted she was thinking about Dad.  I asked her, "Wonder what he's say about Obama getting sworn in."  Her response was that he'd have his inappropriate jokes all lined up.  She's probably so very right. Dad would have loved to see his grandsons; it makes me sad he never got to meet Connor.  He sure loved Jed and Miles (who he called "inches" when he was a baby). Remembering my dad's life is another impetus for me to get healthy.  My dad wasn't.  And he died young.  I'm not going to miss that time in my life or with my family.  So in addition to the life lessons I got from him over the years, I'm going to honor this lesson.  He knew.  One time as he hacked his smoker's cough he wrote on a napkin:  coughin' = coffin.  A dark and twisted humor he had.  His

So my sweet wonderful husband is recovering from surgery.  He's taking his pain meds dutifully, sleeping quite a bit, and occasionally saying weird things that verbalize his dreams.  I figured I was okay to get on the treadmill for while.  When Bob got up from his chair, and said he was going to the bathroom, I didn't think twice.  When he didn't come back for what seemed a long time, I sent Jed to check on his dad. Jed came back to tell me, "Dad's fine.  He's just trimming his beard."  That worried me a little, but beards grown quickly.  In reality, it turns out my husband was cutting his own hair.  Yes, that's correct.  My pain killer taking husband decided to get a pair of clippers and cut his own hair.  Oh, and I must add he did it with his left hand because his right arm is still in a sling.  Yes, he's right handed normally.  However, his brains weren't addled enough to miss a chance at  a devious plan - waiting until I was on the treadm

Last year I read the book A Year of Living Biblically by AJ Jacobs.  I really enjoyed it.  It made me laugh out loud at parts, and think and reflect in others.  So now that I'm on my "plan" I figured it was time to read his book Drop Dead Healthy , subtitled "One Man's Humble Quest for Bodily Perfection."  It's an interesting look at the research, cultures, and practices associated with "healthy living."  It begins with a nice overview and then chapters devoted to specific body parts such as The Heart, The Lungs, etc.  I'm anxious to keep going with it.  He bases his quest on three criteria: Longevity Freedom from disease and pain A sense of emotional, mental, and physical well-being. Actually, those same 3 criteria are exactly why I buckled down and got going on my own plan.  I want to live long enough to enjoy my family for as long as possible.  I need to reduce my risk factors for disease and get in good enough shape that daily l

So both Bob and I survived his shoulder surgery today.  Here's hoping we both survive his recovery period.  It was our first experience at the new Surgery Center of Fairbanks, which his doc, Dr. Wade, spearheaded.  I have to say it was better than the hospital, although I never had a problem with Fbks. Memorial.  The surgery center was just calmer and seemed more controlled.  We had the same nurses all the way through, which was great and reassuring.  When I met Bob I was impressed by how damn healthy he was.  He worked out, ate well, took care of himself.  It's kind of ironic that healthy Bob has had 7 sinus surgeries and 4 orthopedic surgeries since we've met. Plus dental surgery, removal of lipomas, two colonoscopies and another "day procedure."  I think I'm getting pretty good at nursing, especially since nurturing and patient isn't necessarily my natural state. So I'll keep my husband in ice and pain meds. I'll work on my patience and my p

Today was a country music day.  I'm usually an NPR in the car, gal and a musical/oldies kind of lady at work.  Today I found myself listening to twangy country while I ran math scantrons.  Then I listened to some pop country while I worked this afternoon.  And on the drive home it was even more country.  Don't know what was in the air, but it was definitely there.  Crazy.

Only nine, 10 lb bags of potatoes left to lose.

No school, no work today.  It was a rain day.  Freezing rain yesterday and all last night led to icy roads this morning that buses didn't want to run on.  Funny thing is that by 10:00 this morning the temp had dropped from 35 to about 5 and the roads were significantly less slick. Jed (and probably many children) were happy to miss school.  Bob and I were sort of glad; these days cost us a day of annual leave.  Teachers get a day added to their contracts, but since we're year-round employees we can't make up a day.  It kind of sucks. So I enjoyed the boys.  We got up early.  I got coffee and some reading in. I hit the treadmill and watched recorded What Not to Wear while the boys went to the garage/gym/man cave.  Then a nap, some snuggle and more reading,  a little bit of work, and helping Jed make a powerpoint for his current event presentation. Overall, a very good day.  It was especially nice since Bob gets his shoulder worked on Friday and he won't be much fun f

Today is day 14 of my path to health and wellness.  I've logged my calories on Loseit.com every day, which has really made me think about my food choices.  I've exercised almost every day, being careful to not overdo it but be consistent.  Tonight I'm feeling like it hasn't been that hard.  Looking back over the blog, I know there were some hard days.  (And if you ask my husband, he'll give you the REAL story...)  However I feel better already.  I'm moving better, I'm sleeping better, I have more energy.  I think it's because I'm not dieting, I'm just making a needed change.  It reminds of when I was pregnant.  It wasn't a problem to not get a glass of wine, or a beer with the football game.  It simply wasn't an option.  I think this is the same situation; making those unhealthy and dangerous choices simply isn't an option.

This has been a hard weekend for me in some ways.  I'm plugging along, feeling really good about the lifestyle changes I'm implementing and feeling like I'm making progress on creating some good habits.  I ate a little too many calories when I was in Anchorage on Friday, but it didn't freak me out or make me give up.  I just kept going. Then, Bob mentions that he ran into an old, and former friend of mine and she had lost major weight.  She's doing this Ideal Protein diet that so many folks I know are on.  I had actually considered it myself.  My dr. mentioned that she has lots of patients that do well on it, and some friends of mine have lost a bunch.  I did some research (it's basically an 800 calorie high protein diet using their food) and decided that given my past history a long term, but slower, plan would be more successful.  However, knowing that this person that I really don't like is all skinny now sent me into a deep depression.  My husband tried

1 ounce of bourbon has 70 calories.  Just sayin'.

Tonight I walked in the house to total chaos.  Jed's teacher assigned a science fair project, which is good.  Jed began communicating this to his father and confusion ensued.  By the time I walked in, there was miscommunication, a concerned father, and a freaked out kid.  We were able to get things calmed down, find the science fair packet, check the teacher's blog and (finally) have a reasonable conversation.  I emailed the teacher with our questions and got the boy into a shower.  Bob's working out, Aileen has retreated to her room, and I'm totally wiped out. My plan had been to get home, get changed, and get on the treadmill.  It's now an hour later on what has been a long and busy day.   This is my challenge, and this is why I'm fat.  What I WANT to do is pour myself a glass of wine, make a grill cheese sandwich or some cheese fries, curl up on the couch and soothe my stress with emotion-driven overeating.  That's what I WANT to do. What I wish I wan

I'm trying very hard to get past the grumpy and look at the positive.  First of all, I haven't been hungry really since deciding to make better food choices.  What's killing me is finding other ways to deal with stress and changing old patterns and habits.  And the other thing is that I feel better already.  My body feels better now that it's started moving a little bit.  And that's what this is all about - feeling better and being healthier.  So I'm trying to create a new outlook and here was my realization for today.  My goal is to lose 100 pounds.  That won't put me in the "stick thin" category, but it will put me in the middle of my recommended weight window.  So here's what I will have gained by losing 100 lbs. 100 lbs = 2 bags of IAMS dog food that I carry from the truck to the house. 100 lbs = 2 third graders. 100 lbs = 2 concrete cinder blocks measuring 8x12x16" 100 lbs = 10, 10 pound bags of potatoes 100 lbs = 20, 5 pound

So it's Friday night and what I really want is a couple of martinis and some artichoke dip.  But I've made it 4 days (well, almost 4 days) and I am going to stick it out.  My sweet husband reminds me that days 3 - 7 are the worst, as my body is craving all the bad stuff and trying to convince me to relapse.  My wise mother says that it's only hard until the body clears out all the sugar.   I actually have enough calories left that I could have a glass of red wine but I have been refusing to buy any and our stash is all gone.  So maybe a sugar free jello? Umm. Tasty. I got up and walked before work but Bob convinced me that I didn't need to do a 2nd time today, that it's okay to take it easy in the beginning.  It's probably a good idea because I'm tired. The other thing that sucks about trying to get healthy is drinking all this damn water.  I know I need to drink a lot more water so have been making a concerted effort.  That's why I was up three time

I'm celebrating each success.  3 days in a row on the treadmill and that's a good start.  I'm not pushing it.    Slow and steady.  Consistent and persistent.  No dramatic anything, just get up and get on the treadmill. Log my exercise on Loseit.  Watch what I eat and log in on Loseit.  Write it down on the blog so I keep my public declaration of healthiness. Sorry to anyone who wanted to read a blog with funny stories of my clever son, or hear about exciting books and stories, or become enlightened with my political insights.  This is Mel on determination..... 

I originally started this blog because I needed a motivator to write. It worked well for a long time, and then I started to get more and more sporadic.  Writing is good for me; it makes me feel like I'm doing something to nurture myself.  Turns out, a few people read this blog and got amused - that was even better! But now, I'm returning to my motivational roots.  I'm also banking on the fact that not many folks still read this thing.  I'm publicly declaring my intention to get healthy.  Yes, I know resolutions to get healthy are cliche this time of year, but mine has been a long time coming.  I've had two rather scary bouts of breast lumps, and having to go back in for tests next week, have family history of type 2 diabetes and knee issues and I feel and look like hell.  So it's time to quit putting it off and making excuses. I'm not going to do some crazy fad or program.  I'm going to watch what I eat, count calories, and start exercising.  The Los