Day 67 through 72: The Struggle Continues

 

Here we go ! It's a new year. Time to get back on track with diet and exercise. The goal is 100 pounds by 12-31-25. Can I do it ? At this point, probably not but I'm going to keep trying. I'm not going to link my original Day 67 through 72. I know where the blogs are if I want to read them again.

I last wrote on Monday, which was the day I went to the bank, grocery store and the ill-fated McDonald's. Even though winter was on it's way out, wouldn't you know my heat decided to act up on Tuesday ! Same old thing, low water. Fortunately for me the heating guy I use was able to come on Wednesday after originally telling me he might not get here until Thursday. I was fine with that because I did have heat upstairs and in the laundry room & kitchen. The main zone that covers the hall, living room and dining room wasn't working. I learned my lesson last year and didn't try to fix anything myself ! Fortunately it was a simple fix to clean the valve that allows the system to refill and 34 minutes later he was on his way to his next job. The fix cost me a well spent $80, which is exactly what he charged last year for the same thing. I'm sure I will see him again next year ! The benefit of this issue is that it forced me to clean up the house. I shouldn't have to be forced, but I have been sick and the house chores have slipped a bit. The weather was warm most of the week and the snow is melting fast. Since I've been sick, I didn't even try to shovel the front sidewalk. As of today, the snowbanks along the road are mostly gone and 90% of what was on the walk has melted away. The rest will be gone this week as warmer temps and some rain are predicted. I spent my days on the couch watching YouTube and playing the online slots. Saturday (yesterday) I went on a road trip with Barb & Rich. We went to Ballston Spa to visit a brewery. Problem with that is it's St Patricks day weekend and the place was mobbed. With nowhere to sit we left there and headed to another brewery in Saratoga Springs. That place was busy too but we were able to get a table and enjoy a craft beer and some Detroit style pizza. I guess that means thick crust and sauce. It was good and we enjoyed the beer & pizza with shared plate of nachos. From there we took a little walk to the Saratoga Chocolate Company. I bought a bag of chocolate covered almonds and a large pecan turtle. I haven't had any of the chocolate yet. I left my house just before 11:30 am and got home about 8:10. It was a long day but not as traumatic as our last road trip. There was no range anxiety, no blizzard, no freezing temps. A much more pleasant experience ! Next weekend we may go to the Saranac Brewery Tour in Utica. I really appreciate the fact that Rich & Barb are willing to let me tag along on their adventures ! I can't go on the overnight trips but I enjoy the day trips. Overnights are just too hard on Minnie as she's not used to eating a lot of dry food and it leaves her constipated and uncomfortable. She is going to be 16 this year so I have to consider her needs. With winter pretty much gone, I don't mind driving back and forth to their house. We stopped at Stewart's in Liverpool on the way home as Rich was out of ice cream .. lol. I ended up buying 2 half gallons as I've missed their ice cream since the Stewart's in Mexico closed a few years back. I had some ice cream before bed and it was divine !

So that brings me to today, Sunday. I spent the morning watching YouTube and playing my online slots. Shortly after 11 I decided to head outside and fix my sump outlet. When I left the house yesterday I noticed the extension that takes water out into the yard had come off, so the water was dumping right next to the house. That's just a never ending cycle for the pump ! I was going to put on the new connector I had bought last year, but the existing connector was not damaged and it was easy enough to put it back on. Now the water is directed away from the house and the pump is not running quite so often. Rain is in the forecast today so I'm glad I got that done.

I haven't spent much time thinking about my diet and exercise. I'm 100% focused on being 100% well again ! Although I feel fine I am still coughing and blowing my nose. It gets a little better each day but I'm tired of it and want it to be over. One thing I haven't done is drink enough. It's possible better hydration might help break up the congestion and move it out. I'm going to try and drink a lot more today.

I checked in on my bills today and all is good. I still have over $70k in the bank and it feels good to have that security in these uncertain times.

I mentioned Minnie earlier in this blog and she's definitely slowing down a little. She moves a little more carefully when jumping up or down from the bed or furniture. I put my yoga pillow on the floor next to the couch and she steps on it to get on the couch. I can relate to aching joints, though my hip has been much better since I realized stretching helps ! My left shoulder stopped hurting as well and I realized that is because I had moved the couch and wasn't using that should multiple times a day to situate myself on the couch. Knowing that, I'm being more careful now that I put the couch back in its original spot. Friday Minnie spent most of the day snoozing on my bed but she is eating and drinking, so I'm not worried about her health. She's almost 16 and that is old for an animal. I feed her the canned food whenever she lets me know she is hungry. I don't care if it's 3, 4 or 5 cans a day - I will give her what she needs to thrive. Today she snoozed in my lap for a few hours and would have continued to do so if I hadn't gone outside to make that repair. By the time I came in she had cuddled up in the blanket and there was no reason to move her. I took the opportunity to get my recyclables ready for this week's trash. I have a backlog as I haven't put them out for a few weeks. It'll be easy enough to clear over the next 2 weeks. I also have a massive backlog of bottles to return. I will start working on that now too, since the weather is better. All the bottles are in the garage, so I'll just grab a couple bags whenever I go to the store. This is the down side of buying soda and letting the bottles accumulate. Once the backlog is cleared I am going to make sure I return whatever I have whenever I go to the store.

I feel so much better mentally now that winter is gasping its last breaths. We could still see cold temps and flurries and maybe even a winter storm, but we are through the worst of it. I'm looking forward to getting out and enjoying the nice weather once it warms up and the ground is dry. Right now the ground is still frozen and that helps keep the mud down. It makes me so happy to look out my kitchen & dining windows and not see a mound of snow. There's also a lot more room to maneuver on the back step when I go out to feed the stray cats.