Day 76: Hello Spring !

 

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 I can't, but I'm going to keep trying. My original Day 76 was a quiet but chilly start to Spring, with a morning temp of 19 degrees. It was in the low 50's when I got up today but as of 11:46 am it's 61 ! Rain is in the forecast and the low tonight is 29 .. what a temperature drop ! The rain might turn to flurries but there is no accumulation expected. I will take it !

I was awake around 3:30 am today because I was coughing and my sinuses were clogged on the left side. I got up to pee, cough and blow my nose but the coughing persisted and I knew I wasn't going to go back to sleep. Sometimes you need to be vertical to get the sinuses to clear and I wanted some cough syrup to quiet the cough. So I got up, fed Minnie (who was glad to see me!) and settled in with my breakfast. The coughing soon subsided and sometime before 7 I was able to go back to sleep on the couch until almost 8:30. I was groggy and wanted to sleep more but I knew the outdoor cats would be waiting to eat. I got them fed and then hopped back on the couch. I still feel fine so I'm not worried about the lingering cough & congestion. Perhaps this mornings episode is just another sign of things breaking up and moving out. Coughing easily clears my lungs and deep breaths are no problem. The nasal congestion is more annoying than anything else !

Breakfast was 160 calorie waffles with sugar free syrup. Around 11:30 I heated up the gnocchi left from last nights dinner. Later I had a 250 calorie enchilada with salsa and low fat sour cream. Dinner was 260 calorie roast turkey with mashed potatoes and a can of green beans. More on them later ! I had a few cookies and some cashews today for snacks. Evening snack was a 140 calorie chocolate cupcake with whipped cream.

I'm astonished at how fast the snow is disappearing. It's hard to believe that only weeks ago there was a literal mountain of it across the street and about 90% of it is already gone. Fortunately the melt has been relatively slow and my sump pump has been able to keep up just fine. I think the basement is dryer now that I fixed the outlet and directed the outflow away from the house ! I need to figure out a way to keep it from disconnecting again next winter. Something as simple as a wooden "A" frame over it would be sufficient. I have a large wood pallet in the garage (from my treadmill!) so I may try taking that apart and using the wood slats to build one. We'll see !

My online slots continue to be up and down. I uninstalled Hit It Rich today as it's impossible to earn coins and despite sending out tons of "friend" requests I get nothing. I refuse to chase coins again so it's gone for now. Jackpot World still sucks coins at an alarming pace but it has many different ways to earn coins. There are several side games to entertain you as well. Dancing Drums and 88 Fortunes have been the most reliable of late. Both have fun and relatively easy daily challenges and they're letting me win enough to play frequently. I still have CluBillion but my favorite game remains out of commission. It's been that way ever since the day I got the bonus and the game failed before the bonus game ran. I'm waiting to see what happens when the game comes back. I've seen the "under maintenance" banner on games in the past, but I never had a problem with the function of any of the games I played. I think more companies are relying on AI to "run" their business and at some point I think they'll realize you still need the human touch to keep things running smoothly.

I need a couple things at the grocery store so I'm planning on a trip out tomorrow for gas and a quick grocery stop. I'm down to one box of tissues in the pantry and the cough syrup is nearly gone, so they are top of the list ! I'll probably get the mail while I'm out too. Saturday is the brewery tour so I'll be heading to Rich & Barb's house just after noon. I'm looking forward to that ! We're also going to a baseball game on 4-4. The long range forecast predicts temps in the 50's, but that can change 6 times between now and then. If it's cold I'll just bundle up. The games concludes with fireworks and that is always fun !

I mentioned canned green beans in my food diary. I'm finding that I like them better than frozen, even though the frozen has no salt and is probably better for you. Truth is, I'm tired of them and the canned version is a nice change. I'm going to pick up a few more cans and also some corn, even though it's not a recommended item when you're on Nutrisystem. I just need to get some veggies in and if that means some extra calories, so be it. I could get frozen corn and avoid the salt. I will do that is they have big bags of it. That would allow me to control the portion a bit better, if nothing else. If I feel up to restarting exercise on Monday I plan to take before photos and capture my weight. Then I'll reset my "ticker" and start adding that at the end of each blog again.

Our nice Spring day turned wet and chilly. it's 8:18 pm and it's 43 degrees and drizzly. The low for tonight is 29, so I need to make sure I turn the heat back on upstairs when I go to bed. Hopefully I will sleep better tonight ! The high for tomorrow is only 41 but it's supposed to be dry, so it'll be a good day to go out and run my errands.

I didn't do much today. I'm trying to rest as much as possible and kick the remnants of this cold. I am making an effort these days to keep the house neater, so I washed out soda bottles and recyclables and gathered up any trash. I'm also doing better at keeping the sink area in both the kitchen and laundry room clean and dry. Small changes are starting to become habit and as that happens I'll be able to add more small changes and expand my habits. I can't blame anyone but me for a messy house, so it's on me to do better. I'm trying and that is what matters. Depending on how I feel, I'd like to get out early to do my errands. The longer I wait, the less likely I am to get up and go !

It's nearly 9 pm and I'm planning to go to bed soon. I can watch tv and play my slots in bed.