Monthly Milestones - June

I would like to start out by saying that I did not tear my ACL. Woo Hoo! June 1st I finally got to see the orthopedic surgeon and all I did was dislocate my kneecap, ha ha , yeah, "that's it". I am now in physical therapy and it has been a difficult process but I am getting my strength back. I have bad days where even my good knee hurts, but my Dr. says that it's normal. On those days I take it easy and use ice. My back is better and I don't need a babysitter anymore. I can do the shopping as long as I am not on my feet for too long and I don't have a lot to carry in. I hope to be back to normal by the end of August as I have a very important trip to make.

I'm still up that 10 pounds, but I've managed not to gain any more than that until recently.

Heidi is off visiting her dad. I hate it when she is gone. She came down with a cold. She called me early in the morning last week and sounded terrible. My poor baby, so I sent her a care package of Ricolas, vaporizing shower tablets, Nyquil and Dayquil, popcorn, soup, fruit pops you freeze and eat, gum, her Netflix dvd's, a card with stickers and a candy filled car for her little brother.

My goals for July are to continue to progress with my physical therapy and get those stairs down. I'm supposed to be doing them already but I can't. My Dr. has been very understanding but forcing me to keep trying.

I'm also going to start logging my food again tomorrow. I want to get back on my weight loss plan. I was doing really well before I got hurt, there is no reason why I can't continue to do so. Especially now that I can mostly walk and I'm working out at physical therapy twice a week.

Heidi will be home next weekend and we can get back to hanging out and having fun. I miss her.
Big Brother 13 starts next week, and America's Got Talent is on. We watch those shows together and I enjoy them more with her.

Monthly Milestones - May

May has been a trying month. On April 13 I tore my ACL getting into a middle seat on my flight from Paris to Detroit. It should have been an aisle seat, but leave it to Air France to screw things up and cause me physical pain and financial difficulty due to numerous Dr. visits, drugs and medical supplies. On Mother’s Day, May 8th, I woke up and could not get out of bed. Because of being on crutches and not having the use of my left leg, my back had gone out. I can’t be left alone or do anything myself because my condition has become very fragile and complicated, not to mention I’ve gained 10lbs. of the 39 I lost since January. Grrrrr! Thankfully, for the two weeks I was unable to move I was able to work from home… the perks of using Salesforce.com.
On a more positive note, I’ve managed to maintain the 10 lb. gain by continuing to drink plenty of water and eating balanced meals. My daughter Heidi has been home from college and has been keeping the house, cooking, packing my lunches, shopping and doing laundry. This all includes her waking up at 6am every day and coming to me every time I call. I don’t know how I would survive without her. She’s been very patient and helpful and I appreciate her very much.

I am getting very tired and worn out from using the crutches and don’t know how much longer I can do this. June is going to be my month of healing. I’m going to maintain my weight by watching my fat and sodium intake, I am going to work hard on following my Dr.’s instructions and heal. I am determined to get better and be better. I WILL drop that 10 lbs. and continue where I left off. Most importantly I will continue to spend time with Heidi while she is at home. There are movies we want to see, TV shows to catch up on, games to play and stuff to buy. I appreciate her so much and I shouldn’t get so defensive when she gets cranky because she’s been doing everything for me without one complaint. I’ll be alone on June 18th when she goes down to her dad’s for a few weeks. I admit I’m a bit nervous about being alone but I will be fine because thanks to her I’ve been able to take it easy allowing my body to heal. Hopefully the June Monthly Milestones will be even better news! Wish me luck!

She's Home!

My girl is home! I'm so happy. She also brought home her future roommate who is a super great girl. She's not from this area and I don't think has ever been up here before so she had some new experiences while she was visiting.  She got to be a Yooper for a week.

These last two weeks haven't been as fun as I would have liked. The first week they were home they spent it out in the woods with the grandparents. On the lake, 4 wheeling, and running around in the woods. The second week they both spent with me, and if you follow my other blog, you know that I have not been that much fun lately. I have a knee injury, which in turn has caused me to have my back go out so I'm confined to the chair and my bed and in constant pain. Heidi and her roommate have been doing the dishes, cooking my meals, helping me stand up, helping me go to bed and bringing things to me when I need them. They also ran to the grocery store since I can't really walk or move. Not exactly a fun week for them, but they were both great. I'm hoping Heidi's friend wants to come back because I really am a fun person.

The girls and I watched a lot of Gilmore Girls.  We also watched the latest Harry Potter movie...uh... the Deathly Hallows Pt. 1. Heidi's friend was super impressed at how I understood what was going on considering I don't read the books. I got Heidi the 3 disc special feature dvd/blu ray/digital copy as a surprise and it turns out she got it for herself already. Boy was I mad. She figured I forgot about it since she wasn't here. When is she going to realize I think about her constantly? Stinker! I can't wait for Heidi to get back from her trip to Madison because I want to watch more with her. She is seeing off her friend so she's been gone since this morning and wont be back until Tuesday. I miss her so much already.

I'm really looking forward to having an awesome summer with my girl!

They tell you they love you in their own way.

She called me today, told me about her day and the success she had on a French assignment.
She told me she hasn't been drinking soda and has been eating lots of salad and veggies recently.
She told me what she was planning on doing for the rest of the day.
Then she enthusiastically asked me how I was doing. Wanted to hear about my recent health improvements.

She's going to call me later today.
I feel really lucky.

Losing Weight, Nutrition, Exercise, Social Networking and TRAVEL!

I miss my daughter. I miss her a lot. I'll be listening to the radio, watching movies or tv and see something and think of her. I'll remember something really funny that was triggered by a song or a movie/tv quote, and want to call her immediately but I don't. I have been avoiding the want to curl up in the corner of Heidi's room and cry by keeping busy. Since January I have changed my lifestyle drastically. I eat healthier and exercise. I am able to focus all of my attention on food, cooking, researching nutrition and looking for decent exercise videos. I like being able to take my time shopping, reading labels and comparing fat and sodium contents to various foods. I wouldn't be able to do that if Heidi were home. She'd be calling me every 5 minutes. "Mom! I'm starving! When will you be home?" Silly girl. I keep her updated with what I'm doing and how I'm doing and she is very proud of me. It is wonderful motivation when she is enthusiastic about my weight loss (which right now is 25 pounds. Woo Hoo!) 

Cooking has been interesting too. I've been trying new recipes and new types of foods and I know I will be able to stick with what I have been buying and cooking because she is a healthy eater. It will be tough buying food for two again, as I have adjusted my budget to food for one, but it's only for a few months over the summer.

I've picked up some other hobbies also. I spend a lot of time on Twitter and Facebook. I also like to Blog as you can see by this one, although I have neglected it since December because I've been so busy with the things I mentioned above. I love YouTube, I have my own channel now and I Vlog about my weight loss journey. I enjoy making videos and editing them. I also keep a written journal and spend a lot of time on Spark People where I research recipes, log everything I eat and read weight loss blogs. I also have a blog about my 11 year long distance relationship (LDR) with Vernon Sexy Chicken Was Here... I put a lot of attention into that one and recently I have been asked to guest write on someone elses blog. I'm really excited about that!

The next thing on my list is getting ready for my trip to see Vernon. I leave in less than a month and I'm so excited. Normally I would take Heidi with me but she will be getting ready for finals. When I get back Heidi will be finishing up with her first year of college and then she will be home! I have lots to do to get her room ready for her. (I kind of have been using it as a storage room.) So much going on and I'm feeling better and healthier and energized and happy, but I could have done all that with Heidi here too. I'd rather have her home, but I'm so very happy she is enjoying school and finding herself. It's rewarding to see that I managed to raise such a beautiful responsible adult.

Jerk Ass Arrogant Inconsiderate Mindless Frat-boy Low-life Buttfaced Miscrient!
This is a link. Click on me for a wonderful surprise!

I miss you Heidi!

I'm Going To Have a Ba.......

Yeah, that's how far I got and she thought I was going to tell her that I was going to have a BABY! YIKES! Not exactly sure how that would happen since my Sweetheart is over 3,500 miles away and I haven't seen him since January. My goodness. What I ended up telling her was that I'm going to have a BAKING party. I've never done that before. I've gone to them at my friends' homes, but never hosted one. My girlfriend Heather is a wonderful cook and baker but has such a tiny kitchen now and my kitchen is huge and I don't really bake or cook, so I thought why not have a baking party!

We made all sorts of cookies. Snickerdoodles, oatmeal choc. chip, peanut butter balls, Cathedral Cookies, candy cane sugar cookies with peppermint frosting, frosted cutouts, Puppy Chow, and there were also lots of munchies like Chex mix, veggies and dip and cheese, sausage and crackers. Yum! Heather made Sloppy Joes which was great and kept us energized for the cookie making that we were doing. Heather's girls were singing the funniest song... I had never heard of it. It was by the Giggles and the lyrics went like this. "I've got the clap and I'm giving it to you, I've got the clap and I'm giving it to you, I've got the clap and I'm giving it to you, who wants the clap? I do! I do!" All night long we sang that song. Was so much fun!  

On Thanksgiving I spent the day alone. Had been alone in the house since Wednesday. I was a bit sad and depressed and I wanted to be left alone. Thanksgiving rolled around and I made myself a wonderful dinner of turkey breast, mashed potatoes, corn, rolls, and lemon fruit pie for dessert. Also, thinking about baking on Saturday was keeping my spirits up. I was really looking forward to it. Spending the day with friends, I have not had a party in this house yet, and I've lived here for a little over a year. It's about time I think. I really had a great time, and I hope to do something like that again soon. 
Maybe New Years? Heidi will be here... hmmmmm, something to think about!