Hope to exercise more often

Ugh! I am so tired of eating healthy! Several times this week, I have gobbled chips, candy and delicious creme filled orange cupcakes. This, in spite of the fact that the healthy eating has helped lower my blood pressure. Back on track so far today...apple cinnamon oatmeal with soy milk for breakfast, a deli chicken cheese on multigrain and a kale-orange-sunflower seed salad for lunch. I have been walking both at the store and at night with my dogs. And...on Monday the kickfit classes begin at the dojang. Classes are offered Monday through Thursday, and I'm hoping to attend them all! The school is moving much closer to my house, so I'm hoping to kickfit often.

Bruised

Busy day yesterday! After canceling my test two times (because I worked and had to go to my uncle's funeral), I finally, finally was able to have a mammo. Once at home, the dogs and I walked around the city, probably about one mile. Someone was fascinated to see a long hair mini dachsund, but Maui wasn't so happy to see him. Ruf! Ruf! Ruf, Ruf Ruf! And here's the clinker. I really want her to bark at people that approach, especially since I will be walking the dogs in the dark soon, and I need them to ward off anyone that gets too close. I then took my friend out for lunch ($29) and then over to the store to buy chips and diet pop ($8). Good thing I only do this a few times a year! I drove over to my Dad's house to meet my daughter. She brought her new used (2011) car over to show my mother. We wheeled my mother out of the house and she checked out the engine, trunk, seats and driver's seat. We visited for a bit, and then we went home and I made tacos for dinner. I had sparring and class, so after dinner, I headed off to the dojang. Sparring ended prematurely when I took a low side kick to the pelvis. I have a huge bruise and I am extremely sore. My master asked me if I was "taking it like a man." I guess, but I'd rather take a head kick. I wear a helmet. So, I'm at work, hobbling around, although I did walk the prescribed 10,000 steps. My daughter, her husband, my son and another friend are heading to Detroit to a preseason Wings game. And congratulations Tigers on landing a wildcard spot!

Misjudged

Well, I misjudged my husband. We have been using one car because my daughter's car is totaled. Turns out that no mechanic will fix it. When he came to pick me up from work, he told me about the car and listed three options as to how to get rid of it. I was rather bent out of shape because I thought he had told everyone but me (it is my car). At the end of the evening, I was listening to the voice messages and lo and behold I heard him start..."Bad news about the car." So he had tried to tell me, but I didn't listen to any phone messages. So I misjudged him and consequently had a lonely, stressful evening. My daughter has done some preliminary searching, and once my father is back from the memorial service out of state, he and she will go look at cars. I wish I could go to the Memorial to visit with my relatives. What could I say when my dad said, "What are we going to do about mother?" My husband says that bearing responsibility is a characteristic of first-borns, and he would know as he had to care for his mother too. Very busy at work. Homecoming is tomorrow and we have lots of orders for corsages and boutonierres.

A Good Day

My daughter needs to rent an auto dolly to tow her car to the repair shop. She had taken the car to an Auto Shop where she lives, but the mechanic refused to look at it, telling her, "that she needs to look for another car." We want a second opinion, so are hauling it 40 miles or so to our trusted mechanic. If he says it is not worth fixing, then we will hunt for a new car. After work, I walked our two dogs. People seem to delight in watching the puggle and mini dachsund trotting down the sidewalk. We did the city route today, west on our street, north at the light, east and then south to our house. My friend was across the street, just leaving work, and wanted to know what I was doing. So across 5 lanes of traffic, I introduced her to my dogs. It was hoi jeon sool night, and the master reiterated how "my body doesn't do what my brain tells it," not in a mean way and besides it is true. Late this month, the school is moving closer to my house and revamping the schedule. I will participate in a 45 minute kickfit class with exercises and diet journals and then 45 minutes of hoi jeon moo sool. Both tae kwon do and hoi jeon moo sool adult students will train at the same time, dividing into groups by discipline. I am looking forward to seeing other students!

Peaceful and happy

Today, I decided to restart my walking campaign--10,000 steps every day. And as I walked, I realized how blessed I am. Presently, I feel rested, peaceful and fulfilled. I see that France won the basketball game with Lithuania. My college football is winning though the quarterback just threw his second interception. I am praying for those I love that they too will be blessed. I hope that my dad, sister and brother have a safe and meaningful trip to Florida for the Memorial service for my aunt. I pray that my mother will do well with her caregivers and me while my dad is gone. I hope that my daughter and her husband build a strong marriage. I pray that my son finds a second job to help with his financial difficulties.

Rest in peace, sweet aunt.

We received the call yesterday afternoon, that my aunt died. She was diagnosed with stomach cancer in mid July. Hospice nurses helped with her care, and she died at home. She and my uncle had four sons...one passed away twenty or so years ago. He was the oldest grandchild on my dad's side of the family and he and I were very close. I would spend a week during Christmas vacation at his house while I was growing up. The memorial service for my aunt is next Saturday, out of state. My dad, brother, sister, aunt and uncle are flying to Florida, but I will not be going as I need to stay home and care for my mother. Someone needs to be with her at all times due to her immobility and dementia. My preference would be to attend my aunt's service and visit with my cousins. And am I resentful? Of course, but I am not going to harass my 89 year old father who is grieving and scared to death of flying. This is the third member of my family that I have lost in a month. My 59 year old cousin died unexpectedly of lung cancer, my 83 year old uncle died in late August and now my aunt on 9-11. I am of an age where the elder generation is passing away. I am staying faithful to my low carb, 1200 calorie, including 1200 mgs of calcium diet. I quickly lost 8 lbs. due to the glycogen and water, but now I am at a plateau. Been reading about weight loss plateaus, and need to up the ante on my aerobic exercise. Dieting is a challenge since my husband enjoys the expediency of quick processed meals. I enjoy cooking, so am hoping I can figure this out. But when I told my sister of the low carb thing she was horrified (think she imagined Adkins) and pointed out that my husband does most of the shopping and likes processed food. I'm not quite sure how we can blend processed food with healthy eating. The two are contradictions because of fat, sodium or carbs.

A Birthday Treat

Today, my work colleague invited me to go out to lunch. I ordered a Mediterranean veggie sandwich, a salad and fruit. We had a good time, but after about an hour, my friend decided that she wanted to go, get on with her day. I came home, waited a bit (so the students could get home) and then the dogs and I walked around the field. A clear warm sunny day. It will be a beautiful clear night for the super moon.

Back online after vacation

We returned home from our camping trip at the state park on Tuesday. We drove up under blue skies and fluffy white clouds. Set up camp, made dinner and sat by the fire and had a s'more for dessert. The next day rain began at 8am and drizzled down until 2pm. It cleared and we were able to enjoy the day. It rained on Saturday but later cleared. More rain on Sunday morning. Monday was a bit crazy, We were under a tornado warning--one set down about 30 miles from where we were camping. Some rain, but no high winds, mostly clear and sunny. We took down our tent gazebo and packed it away before the rain. On Tuesday, we got my mother and dad packed up and off, and then my husband and I headed for home. We had gotten a message that my uncle passed away, so stopped at the funeral home on our way back. I only wish that the message had been delayed so that I could have enjoyed a day or two of vacation without the sadness. My dad became stressed about when to tell my mother that her brother had died and getting home in time to go to the visitation. We unloaded the trailer, so our house was a mess, the camper needed to be cleaned--refrigerator wiped down, sand swept out, and floor scrubbed. I finally finished those chores last night. I did aerobics at hoi jeon mool sool and learned two new hand techniques. Our key member hurt his back at boot camp and the 2nd dan hurt his heel. Now I am back at work, but I have good memories of my vacation--the 5 mile walk across the bridge connecting the upper and lower peninsulas, sitting by the fire and making s'mores and popcorn and visiting with my children, brother and parents. I feel rested and relaxed.