Getting fit!

Well, I have reached my first weight loss goal! I am under 200 pounds! Depending on the scale, of course! The one at home this morning said 195. The ones at work have still had me over 200. But I have consistently at home been under 200 for a week, so I will proclaim the victory! The next goal is 190 pounds. I know that is not much, but last time I lost weight, I went down a dress size at 190, so that is why I picked that number. The next goal after that will be 175.

I have joined the community fitness program at Provena. This is in the same gym where Wayne takes his pulmonary rehab. I can use the machines while Wayne does his exercises; hopefully Wayne can see that I truly am supporting him in this. Plus, I can get into shape. Yesterday was my first day. I did 20 minutes on the recumbent bike. I got to my target heart rate of 140, didn't get short of breath. I did 8 minutes on the arm crank, Wayne does 10, so next time I will do 10. I tried the treadmill, but it couldn't get coordinated enough, and my left leg was starting to give me problems, so I don't think I will do that. I will probably do a second 20 minutes on the bike after the arm crank. There are 2 recumbent bikes at the big house in their gym that we can use; I may go use them, will be an easy walk.

Spring! please come and rescue us!

We are so tired of winter. Spring has been flirting with us, but hopefully the snow and cold weather are behind us! It has been sunny, in the 50s, and almost all the snow is melted. We have a pair of ducks on the pond. We are so hoping that they nest here again. As Wayne bought a digital video recorder, I am going to try to get some action shots of the ducks/ducklings.

Wayne started pulmonary rehab this week. Today will be his second session. He was pretty angry at me. He groused that I was out of my mind if I thought that this was going to get him in the shape to put on his own socks and wipe his butt. I told him that I knew that wasn't going to happen, and wasn't my goal. My goal is for him to be able to walk around the house without getting short of breath. My schedule is such that I will only to be able to go with him on Fridays. I am going to see if I can join the Community Fitness program that is in the same gym so that I can work out (well, do the recumbent bike, treadmill, and the hand bicycle) while I am waiting for him. I can also do it on Tuesdays and every other Thursday. Deb Woods, who is the coordinator for cardiopulmonary rehab, is an old friend of mine. We got our ADN from Parkland the same year!

I have had my first week of Parish nursing. It is very interesting, and I am praying that Olivia and I will be able to initiate a program at St. Elizabeth. I have a few ideas, and I know that Olivia does also, as she took the program a year ago. One of the nurses in my class, Jan Galaras, was in my trauma nurse specialist class 27 years ago! Wow! I feel old! Faith Roberts is the coordinator for the program through Carle. She had been my boss on maternity at Mercy/Covenant back in 1990! She is a very dynamic speaker, and has spoken at many national conferences. But the two things I remember most about Faith is 1) at my evaluation, she called me an outstanding nurse. WOW! What an encouragement! 2) on the first Mother's Day after Joe was killed, she sent me a card. How kind!

Today is my niece Lindsay's birthday. She would be 28. I miss her smile.

Today also is Steve's birthday. He would be 58. I miss talking with him. Just hearing his voice, and knowing that he cared would help me so much.

Tomorrow is the 5th anniversary of Steve Szafranski's death. Time marches on. I know that men grieve differently than women. Wayne just doesn't seem to have much emotion about this.

I am earnestly trying to lose weight. For Lent, I am trying to follow the fasting guidelines every day, not just on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Also, trying to eat more fruits and vegetables. My initial goal was to get under 200#. On my scale at home, I am there. Still have a few pounds to go on the scales at work. But I can certainly tell that I have lost some weight. My pants are no longer tight (I was having to unbutton them at times). And I am feeling better. Except my shoulders are still painful. Especially my left shoulder. I am trying to do ROM exercises with them, part of the reason I want to work out at the rehab gym. I certainly don't want to get a frozen shoulder. Anyway, my next goal is to get to 190#. Last time I lost weight, I could drop a size, down to 16, when I reached 190. Then the next goal is 175. I'll see how things are when I get there. I have been wanting to get a bicycle, maybe this will be the year. Mary has a bike and rides. I'm sure we could ride together.

The girls are coming here for Scrabble this morning. Donita will not be joining us, as her mother fell, broke her hip, then had a stroke. Donita is an only child, so she will have her hands full. Her mom was living in a big old house in Mattoon, and refused to move.

Still looking forward to Paducah! It is going to be such fun! I have been restraining from buying anything quilty, as I want to see the offerings there. When perked up when I told him I was going to bring the laptop and his portable DVD player with some of his DVDs. Hopefully, we can reproduce home in our little suite! I hope that the pulmonary rehab will by that time be showing some improvement in his breathing.

The TQS BOM is going great! We have developed a really nice community on the forum. There is also talk of a road trip to LaVeta for a taping of the show, with a show and tell of our completed quilts! I have been having a nice conversation with one of the members who is also a nurse practitioner working in a Walgreen's based convenient care. She lives near Houston. She was envious of my going to Paducah. I reminded her that she gets to go to Houston. She offered to let me stay with her for that show. I don't know how serious she is about that. Anyway, definitely not this year.

February musings

We are still having crazy weather. Warm one day, then plummeting temperatures. Our old neighborhood flooded. Thankfully, our old house did not. We raised it enough to spare the new owners. Clara had her pipe freeze two weeks after the first. We got water, but not as bad. Everything is back to normal, and no repeat performances.

I am playing Scrabble once a week with the neighborhood ladies. I enjoy getting out and visiting and playing. Reminds me of Sunday afternoons at Grandma and Grandpa Sheffield's house playing with Aunt Zola.

I am doing 3 BOMs this year. I finished a patriotic star wall hanging, and an Illinois wall hanging. Wayne wants me to make a new quilt with fabrics he picked out. Haven't got motivated to get started yet.

Christie clinic has opened a new convenient care at County Market in Champaign. I have been doing some shifts there.

I have an awful cold. Worked 2 shifts with it. Glad I have had a few days rest before going in again. We have had a lot of influenza at work. Thankfully, I took a flu shot.

Obama is leading Clinton in the primaries. But I think there is going to be a fight at the convention to determine who will run against McCain. Either one surely can beat McCain. Last night at his speech, he just looked and sounded so dull. Course, this was after we had just been watching Obama. What a dynamic speaker!

Feb 25 will be the one year anniversary of Steve's death. I try to talk with Carol every few weeks. She is remodeling her kitchen, which she and Steve had talked about. Actually, doing the bathroom and the living room. I am encouraging her, because I believe Steve would be in favor of it. She knows that Steve's sister Dorothy is going to give her grief, and that is so unfortunate.

Wayne is on oxygen all the time now. But his sugars has been improving, so he is getting less insulin. He is eating a little less, as he realizes when he overeats, it is hard to breathe.

Still looking forward to Paducah!

My friend Susie had to have mastectomy for DCIS, elected for a bilateral, which was good, as there was cancer in both breasts. She is going to have lymph node resection as soon as her ITP is stable. Maybe chemo if nodes are positive. Her daughter Maria is getting married this June, so hopefully she will get recovered.

Crazy weather

Last week it was 0 degrees, yesterday it was in the 60s. It is raining, and it was lightning last night.

Except for getting the furniture moved back in, the front bedroom is back to normal. I took the opportunity to clean out that closet, and am putting a lot of the stuff that was in there in the attic. I don't know what's gonna happen with that stuff up there. Can't part with. Probably send a bunch to auction someday.

Hopefully, I can get down to some sewing. Moda U is this evening. The Quilt Show has a block of the month going this year that I think I will joining. I belong to a 6500/6600 challenge group, with the current challenge using the decorative stitches. I am thinking about doing pink ribbons with the different stitches.

Happy New Year!

Weird weather! New Years Day was snowy, cold wind. We only went out to go to mass. Next two days the temps hovered around 2degrees. Bright sunny days. Now it is in the 50s with rain.

Illini lost in the Rose Bowl against So. Cal. We were definitely the underdogs, and it showed. Looked more like a brawl rather than a football game. We also lost our Big Ten season opener with Ohio State (the media can't let up on Thad Matta being a former Cornjerker. For what ever reason, that night they said Thad played for East Lynn high school. East Lynn high school closed in 1973. Thad was born in 1967. Doh!). The guys have spurts of genius, but not enough to look great.

Thursday night we were watching Fox News coverage of the Iowa caucuses (after watching the basketball game). Clara from next door called and said she had a flood at her front door. I went over, and indeed, she had a flood! I could hear water running as I walked over. Paul Tatman's son and dil (she cleans for Clara) arrived shortly after me and they turned the water off and helped Clara mop up and move furniture out of the front bedroom. I went back to our house, and our front bedroom carpet was also wet. I stayed with Clara for about a half hour to help settle her down, then went home and picked up stuff off my floor that wouldn't tolerate the moisture. Paul Tatman came the next morning, and found that the pipe to Clara's front outside faucet had a huge leak. It wasn't caulked around the faucet, and allowed the cold air to leak in. Poor Clara, she had seen my faucet "cozy" and thought she should have one also, but her sil David nixed it, saying that she didn't need it. David is on Clara's fecal roster! LOL! Paul had the plumbers out and they fixed it. He had his guys move furniture for Clara and us. The carpet guys got the excess water out of the pad and removed that. Fans are running now. By early next week, we should be back to normal. Gives me the opportunity to go through some of that stuff. Have stuff that probably could go up in the attic.

While the plumbers were here, I asked if they could look at our toilet in the front bathroom, as it has always had a wobble. Well, they did, and it had a broken flange. They had to take up the toilet to fix it. Because it wasn't done right in the first place. Paul saw it, and I think he is gonna pay the plumbers. It took them over 2 hours to get the job done. I am thankful that Paul has been a great contractor with a heart.

I saw Dr. Thatcher on Thursday and I now have a name for my intermittent thigh numbness. Meralgia Paresthetica. Never heard of it. Has nothing to do with my scoliosis or bulging discs. No cure. But it is not going to cause any problems. The lateral femoral cutaneous nerve gets compressed, causing the numbness. Sometimes pain (thankfully I have a high threshold for pain). But it is purely a sensory nerve, so it cannot cause muscle atrophy. I do have a diminished left ankle jerk. But that is not from the MP. That is probably what causes me to have a left foot flop when I am tired.

Wayne was put on BiPap, but he could not tolerate the changing pressures. He was set up at 25/18. His CPAP was on 18, so wouldn't think it would be a problem but it was. They finally set his new machine at 25/25, and he is doing much better. He didn't get very short of breath when we went out last night with the Cunningham's. Speaking of them, Benny has been helping Wayne get from our car to their door. How cute! He has more personality than any 4 year old needs!

Another day

Another day. They all seem to be the same. I got through Christmas. Well, basically ignored it, as I have for several years. Didn't have the angst of Parents After Loss support group hanging over me. I'm not going to go to their holiday memorial service this Sunday. I'm just too tired.

Wayne had his repeat sleep study, and the tech was not very happy. She couldn't get him adjusted to maintain a good oxygen saturation. I am so scared that Wayne is just going to have a massive heart attack and die. Dr. Top wants him to use oxygen with exertion, but Wayne refuses to use oxygen when we go out. He will sit at home with it running. Now he feels that his body has gotten used to the extra oxygen, and that he is feeling more short of breath with exertion than he did before. I say it is because he knows what good feels like, and when he drops, it is a bigger drop than before. But, what do I know? I am only a very experienced nurse practitioner.

I haven't been doing too much in my sewing room. I made a bunch of chenille potholders to give for Christmas gifts to the neighbors. One day I made 18 dozen cookies. My legs were numb and sore after that one. Made a second batch of oatmeal raisin cookies for Wayne because he said he liked them. He wanted me to make a double batch, as he wanted to give some to his buddy Donnie. I say, let him make his own. For goodness sake.

I now have a pain in my left wrist, ulnar aspect. It is getting better. I am supposing it is from the Femara. I have decided to continue with it. I will see Dr. Thatcher next week to see what options I have in regards to my back. I am hoping some physical therapy will be helpful. Some days my legs feel like they are getting weak, but it may be just psychological. I feel better when I am active, moving. Just standing or sitting are not good.

Wayne got me a beautiful diamond cross necklace for Christmas. I was very surprised. I knew I was getting jewelry, but I figured it might be something too ostentatious for me to wear often. But this piece is beautiful! He also got me a Catholic Bible (I had asked for this). My name is printed on the front leather in gold. It is bigger than I would have liked, but I am sure I will get used to it.

Erin asked if I would make a lap quilt for her. She liked the colors and blocks from this year's block of the month, so I will get it made up for her. Wayne thought she had a lot of nerve asking me to make her a quilt. Who cares. I like making quilts, and always need a new reason to make one.

Merry Christmas

The following was posted on my breast cancer support group.
Symptoms Of Inner Peace
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Be on the lookout for symptoms of inner peace. The hearts of a great many people have already been exposed to inner peace, and it is possible that people everywhere could come down with it. Under the right circumstances, inner peace could reach epidemic proportions. This situation could pose a serious threat to what has, up to now, been a fairly stable condition of conflict in the world.

Some signs and symptoms of inner peace:
- A tendency to think and act spontaneously with love, rather than on fears which are based upon past experience.
- An unmistakable ability to enjoy each and every moment.
- A loss of interest in judging other people.
- A loss of interest in judging yourself.
- A loss of interest in interpreting the actions of others.
- A loss of interest in conflict.
- A loss of the need and even the ability to worry. (Please Note: This is a very serious symptom.)
- Frequent, almost overwhelming episodes of appreciation andgratitude.
- Frequent attacks of smiling.
- An increasing tendency to let things happen rather than make them happen.
- An increased susceptibility to feeling the love extended by others as well as the uncontrollable urge to extend it back.
- An unmistakable feeling that everything is okay.

Warning: If you have some or all of the above symptoms, please be advised that your condition of inner peace may be so far advanced as to not be curable. If you are exposed to anyone exhibiting any of these symptoms, remain exposed to that individual only at your own risk. Inner peace is contagious.