The Pug Lady

When you live in a city that welcomes "snow birds", don't try to take yourself out for a meal at 12:30pm on a Sunday after church!  Even at a fast food place, I waited 20 minutes for a meal.  There was a long line at Chipotle, so I didn't hang around (I had groceries in the trunk!)  I opted for a quick Crunchwrap Supreme from Taco Bell.  Not the best meal for me, but .... it was pretty good.  After the long wait!  Sometimes, when we get a sunny day after the week of storms we had, it was easy to forget that there would be others out and about as well.   Not that I had anywhere else I needed to be .... lol

It's been a week of changes for me in my eating habits.  I have been encouraged by reaching my goal of a nutrient score over 80 when I log my foods.  This week, I made 85 three times so far!  I removed carbs from my breakfast and just eat my eggs.  I added an apple and some raw baby carrots to my lunch each day, as well as making sure I drink at least 48 ounces of water during my work day.  That won't be hard to hit now that we're back on track with our normal spring weather -- warm and sunny!

I've also quit focusing on a goal of 12k steps per day, and am actively watching how my FitBit tracks active minutes.  You have to be engaged in your activity for more than 10 minutes for it to count anything toward that number.  Mondays are always more active than any other day, but with changing that focus, Sadie and I head out each evening at 6pm for a long walk.  It's a quick 10 minutes over to the park where I let Sadie run in the grass.  Then it's back into her stroller and off we go for 1.4 miles, circling our neighborhood.  I'm sure if any of the neighbors are like me, they have a nickname for folks if they don't know a real name. 
I'm betting dollars to donuts that I'm "The Pug Lady".  lol 
Many folks wave to me each evening, and that's really nice :)

I'm hoping after all the hard work and better eating, I show improvement on the scale!  While I know it's not good to be measuring success by the scale, it's hard to break a habit so ingrained into us.

Long Strange Trip ...

... to quote a 1977 Grateful Dead song!  The past 24 hours have been ... eventful!!

We're in the longest cold, wet stretch of weather here in the Valley of the Sun - with no end in sight!  It has rained 23 out of the last 24 hours it seems.  I barely got a walk in with Sadie this evening without getting soaked.  Our morning walk was delayed until it was sprinkling rather than drenching!  And during the night when she needed to go out -- well, let me tell ya, my pug is notorious for not wanting to pee in the rain! I had to trick her at 11pm, make her think we were taking a walk out front to get her to pee, and then?  Dashed right back in, she wanted no part of a walk! (Thank goodness, because I was in my jammies!!! hehehe)  According to the weather service, 55 and sunny on Saturday, then more sun on Tuesday, with a high of 72.  Finally!!!  I'm ready for winter to be over!

It looks like someone crashed into one of the power transformers, or mini power station?  I'm not sure what to call it, but SRP has been working hard to keep that up and running while repairing and/or replacing whatever is needed.  I noticed the damaged unit on my way home from work Thursday, then at 2am Friday morning, we lost power.  It was resumed just past 4am.  But with temps in the low 30s, the house was very chilly and it took some time for my heater to get the house back to warm again!
Kudos, SRP! for keeping things running!



With a day of vacation today -- nearly a waste of a day, considering it was too wet, too rainy, too miserable to be out and doing anything fun!  Instead, I spent the day "adulting" -- doing things that you can only do on a work day, and because I work days, I have to take time off to make time for these crazy things.  I spent some time with an estate planning attorney, because yes, I'm turning 60 this year, and yes, things need to be .... taken care of!  Frankly, I'm in one of those weird positions:  I don't quite have enough equity in my home to need something just yet.  But at the same time, if housing markets keep growing, and I gain a little more equity, I'll be needing something.  And let's face it, I'm making payments, so my equity should grow there too!  So.  I went ahead and decided on a trust. 

But what was so draining was having to think about *things*.  If you were to die today, who would do what?  How do you want things to go? And if by chance you, your children and grandchildren were in some kind of horrific accident, then what?  Who handles your estate??  Let me tell ya, I never thought up those kind of drastic scenarios!  What happens when you ..... ? what happens if this .... ?  My cousin recently went in the hospital for a procedure that doctors have done thousands of times over the years, and yet his heart stopped as he was being prepped for surgery.  Not common!  And who would've thunk it??  But there it is:  he was 61. They were able to restart his heart, but he was on a ventilator.  In that situation, what would *you* want??? 

Yes, we all need to think of these things!  As painful as the subject of death is, we will all face it some day.  Given that my maternal grandfather lived to be 104, and my paternal grandmother lived to be 95, maybe I'll get some of those good genes.  However, my maternal grandmother was only 32, and my paternal grandfather was 57.  I've bypassed both those ages, so am I living on borrowed time?  Naw, I don't think so. 

However many days I have on this earth, I hope the rest of them are as good as the past has been.  Yes, there have been ups and downs; the good, the bad, and even some ugly.  But there aren't any choices that I have made that I regret.  I just followed my heart and did what felt right.  And there was always more good than bad in nearly every choice I made.  So no regrets!

"..... Sometimes the light's all shinin' on me,
        Other times I can barely see.
        Lately it occurs to me
        what a long, strange trip it's been. "

Saturday Again

Saturday, another day off work, and Mother Nature is NOT cooperating!  It's cloudy, and there are strong gusts of a very cold wind!  Too cold to be out and about doing anything outside!  So here I sit inside.  On the computer for the moment.  I need to work on taxes (doesn't everyone?) and also need to prepare for an estate planning consultation I have on Friday.  I have decided that I need to have some kind of will or trust.  Not sure what is needed for this meeting, or if it's just gathering information to start with, but in my experience, the more prepared you are when meeting with a lawyer, the less it will cost you in face-to-face time!  And I'm all for that.

I had my semi-annual air conditioning unit inspection.  It went well,  my tech was Michelle -- she's been at my home in the past, so it was like catching up with an old friend!  However, the unit I have wasn't the best quality when it was installed -- oh the joys of working with a "home warranty" company.  They have resources and you pay minimal service call fees, but they don't hook you up with the top of the line or even mid-line replacement units!  Knowing that going in, I realized that there would come a time when I need to think about a replacement.  That time's fast approaching, it seems :/ 

I became restless this afternoon and started to work on rebuilding the workbench in the garage.  At the time it was built, when we'd first moved in, didn't have a lot of extra $$ so it was thrown together with the least amount of effort.  After I've had to move it a couple times, the legs are not staying in place, so it needed some reinforcements.  I spent an hour doing that, and then decided that after 10 years, the garage needs a little sprucing up, a good coat of paint would do wonders for it! So I think that's on the agenda for tomorrow.  At least in the garage, I can paint one wall, put everything back in place and then paint another wall another day. 

The whole garage update started because I realized that my car being on the smaller side, it will fit in my single car garage and not hang out the door!  With summer heat on it's way, having it parked in a garage out of the beating sun at least 2 days a week will be a bonus!

Monday, because someone on my "team" is on vacation, I'm the lucky chosen one, and my hours are 4am to 1pm.  Um.  ICK!  But what are you gonna do?   Folks higher up the chain have decided that we mere peons have to work our exact schedule.  If we don't, it will cost us "points".  If one accumulates 5 points in 6 months, you will be terminated.   It's weird.  I'm 60 years old, I have always worked the hours that are best for the company's needs, and now this?  So yeah, shut my mouth and work my assignment.  It doesn't matter that the things needing to be done on a Monday can only be done by me, and I won't be working in that area.  Oh well.  I'm toeing the company line.  That's what they want.  *smh* 

Change is Good

Two weeks in and after many ups and downs, I think I've finally conquered the 3 pound loss.  It isn't easy eating "clean", and I have my slip ups.  It isn't easy having to ponder the good vs bad with every food choice because I'm trying to watch so many different things.  I've gotten to the point where I look forward to 2pm when I allow myself a Diet Coke.  At the same time, I'm watching calories but more, I'm watching the nutrients in my food choices.  About 3-4 days a week, I'm able to reach my score of 85 in the nutrients category on my Samsung app and that's really good!  **pat on the back**

Today at work was another story, however.  When something hazardous like a bottle of bleach leaks, we process it into special waste buckets that get picked up by a special hauling company.  It's our job to make sure that liquids are absorbed so they don't harm anyone.  Between our processing, and the company's removing the products from our building, about a quarter cup of bleach was left in one of the buckets.  As I was putting things back to rights, I grabbed a bucket and was about to slide it up on the shelf.  The contents of the bucket came splashing down the front of my shirt.


I didn't panic, I've been trained, I grabbed paper towels to wipe the excess, then tossed off my shirt before heading into the bathroom to splash water on my skin (and my bra).  I wiped down, then splashed myself again and wiped down yet again, just to be sure I got it all off.   All was fine, although I had to buy a new shirt to finish out my day!!  Once I got home, it was time for a shower - took a couple of scrub downs with some coconut body wash (it goes along with my coconut shampoo and lotion as well!!) After all that I was finally rid of the smell of bleach.  *whew*

Long walks with Sadie in the stroller each evening, along with taking my supplements, I find myself sleeping better each night.  I think it's a combination of many things, but I'm chalking it up to two things:  very little Diet Coke and my Plexus Probio5 .  Maybe it's only my imagination, but getting enough sleep is definitely good for me --- and my co-workers!!

So here's to some good changes --
and I'm hoping for more to come!

Accidents Happen

They say most car accidents often take place within just 25 miles of home. While this is due to the fact that most driving occurs close to home, the relaxation we feel caused by the repetition of driving through our own neighborhood likely plays a role.

With that being said, around 10am this morning, I was lounging on the bed with Sadie - mostly because it was a very chilly morning!! - and we heard !!BAM!!   Still in my pajamas, I dashed out to the living room to gaze out the window and my next door neighbor's SUV was plowed into by another car. 

The SUV fared well in the crash, but the other car?  is totaled. 

Now, who knew that an accident would be THAT close to home????  There was no screeching of brakes, so I don't have a clue if it was just timing and/or failure to be looking for another car.  We live on a very quiet street.  The few cars that cruise past my house are usually neighbors. 

I hear a helicopter; it must be a slow news day when a neighborhood car crash gets a fly-over!  lol

It sure does make you think about the when's and where's of accidents. 
Being observant and careful at all times behind the wheel is a must!

Doctor, Doctor....

Gimme the news .....   *sigh*  Old song reference, but ...

A trip to the doc, with 8 months between the last visit resulted in some good and some bad news.   On the good side, my white count was back up again.  And my cholesterol dropped 20 points!  On the bad side, my blood pressure was up.  The doc was concerned that maybe I have "white coat" anxiety, and it goes up when I'm at the doc.   Personally, I think it's related to my caffeine intake.



I've been doing much better on reducing my consumption; Monday thru Weds I only had one Diet Coke, at 2pm each day.   But now that I think back, my Thursday started with over 200 gallons of paint that needed to be processed before I left for the doc's office, so did I slip and have a Diet Coke first off?  Did that set my blood pressure higher???  It will be one of the things I'll be tracking.

I've been investigating "diets".   Keto has too much fat for my body to process with my liver bile issues.  Lowering my carbs has always worked for me in the past, but I need to also reduce sodium and eat more plant based foods.  So I'm going to try the "DASH" diet -- a wider variety of foods, and controlling portions, and greatly reducing my sugar intake.  (Goodbye chocolate, I will miss you!!)

This will easily fit in with the new "Lifestyle Changes" I've been trying to do.  to keep. 
One day at a time ......

For today's numbers:  14,758 steps today, which included a 34 minute walk pushing Sadie in her stroller.  Tomorrow will be more walking, along with some housework!

Hello, Weekend!

Lifestyle Change Day 9

Here I am, 9 days into the changes, and ... it's going well. 

I've not lost any weight, but I'm feeling better than I did before. 
I'm trying to stay positive about the changes, and hope that other things will follow when my body and hormones adjust to the new eating style.  At least, that's what I'm telling myself. For now.

Sunday, with the Superbowl, I exceeded my Diet Coke limit, and treated myself to a small plate of home made nachos.  Which nearly started a fire in my microwave! 

I had this paper plate left over from Christmas, red with a gold trim.  I wasn't thinking the trim had any metal in it, but I should have guessed.  I couldn't figure out what the smell was as I was melting cheese on my nachos!  But back to nachos, it was just 1 serving of tortilla chips, a little melted cheese, then chopped avocado and tomatoes on top.  Which tasted delish!

My step counts were down that day as well, because of the rain.  But they're back up over 10K again this week.  My food counts are recorded and each day it's been over 85 in the nutrient content, and that makes me happy.

I see my doctor tomorrow for an annual checkup.  I know she'll say something about my weight.  And maybe a lecture if my cholesterol is up, or my blood pressure.

Weird Dreams

I had another crazy dream. 

I was in bed in the bedroom I grew up on.  It was night, there was a skylight above the bed (there really isn't).  Someone was on the roof, and shined a light into the room from the sky light.  The light turned on then off three times.  I shouted for my Dad as I ran down the hall, "Dad! Dad! Dad!"  He and my mother were in their own bed.  Dad said "shhhhh.  Listen.  Whoever it was ran off the roof."  

With Google help, 

• To dream of your childhood bedroom indicates that a current situation or feeling has triggered a memory from your childhood that you have kept secret.
• To see light in your dream represents illumination, clarity, guidance, plain understanding and insight.
• Light is being shed on a once cloudy situation or problem. 
• You have found the truth to a situation for an answer to a problem.
• The number three represents creativity.

I wonder if there is something to the fact that the light shined three times, that I shouted three times.  The fact that my Dad is dead, but I saw him alive and well in the dream.  And he spoke.   Was the fact that this person fled off the roof significant as well?   I'll never figure it out, but I find dreams very fascinating!

SuperBowl LIII

Here we are, another Superbowl game to watch.  Most years, it's the National Anthem, the commercials and the half time show that get all the attention.  As well they should!  Some of the singers we've had in the past made ... history.  It was nice to see (and hear) Gladys Knight singing it this year.  Personally, I prefer people to sing it as written.  I understand as an artist, they want to add their own personality to the song, and her version was just fine for me.  Always nice for me to see the "oldies but goodies" be out there singing!  Mostly, before they're all gone. :/

The half time show :  Maroon 5 and Adam Levine, wow, good job!  I like his music, always have.  Didn't know the other two singers, but I don't follow that genre of tunes.  Adam is a great showman, and seems to be in tune with his fans.  I admire that.

I just saw the Toyota Supra commercial the Pinball Wizard, I liked it!  And a Michael Buble commercial... yay :)  I wonder what the favorite commercial will turn out to be?

One last crazy football fact:  I was dating my second husband Superbowl XXIII , 30 years ago!  It was 49ers but I don't remember who they played.   Did they win?   Yes!  20-16 against the Bengals.  I cheated with Google. hahaha

Even though it was the weekend, and raining, I made an effort to get in a walk - not a Sadie stroll, but a real walk for me.  I was able to do three 20+ minute walks in my two days, and am counting that as success!  My eating was a bit over what I do during the week, but that's how it works out on a weekend.  After Subway for lunch, and veggies for dinner on Saturday, I had a late lunch/early dinner of cheese pizza.  I wanted something warm and comforting what with all the rain, and even though it was sprinkling, forced that final walk with Sadie!  I'm wondering what the scale will show in the morning!

I spent part of my day preparing lunches and dinner meals for the week.  I baked some eggs for breakfasts, and cooked up some hamburgers on my Foreman grill so they're ready when I come home from work. (I rarely feel like cooking during the week!)

I wonder what this week will hold, but am keeping a positive attitude - so far!

Lifestyle Change, Day 6

On Thursday, I fasted through breakfast so that I could have blood drawn for my annual checkup.  I'm fretting what the numbers might say.  But I did my best the three days prior, so that's that.  For lunch, it turned into a cheat day because I didn't bring my lunch.  I know better -- but still didn't do it.  While lunch was a cheeseburger and fries, dinner was reasonable, so that helps.

Friday was a bit better.  I count it a success when I can ignore "donut day" and stay on track.  Every day, a little success is better than nothing!  When I got home after work, right before my shower, I stepped on the scale, anticipating what it would read.  And I was OK with the number, it was 2 lbs lighter than the start of the week! 

But then my hopes were dashed when I finally stepped on the scale Saturday morning.  I was heavier in the morning after 12 hours of fasting, having only sipped 8 ounces of water throughout the night!  Two pounds more registered on that scale and all of my hard work, my hopes, were dashed.  Hit me like a ton of bricks!  Which means I ate breakfast 2 hours earlier than I should. 

I indulged in a sandwich from Subway for lunch - turkey, bacon, guacamole with cheese, spinach and tomato, no sauce.  It was delish!  My calorie goal per day has been 1350.  This put me over goal by 400 calories, and I wasn't at work so my step counts weren't as high either. 



But Sunday is another day.  It's also grocery shopping day,
so I can be diligent with my purchases
and careful with my choices for another week of meals. 

Bring on the veggies!

Performance Evals

This was a crazy work week.  I had no idea that I would be inputting on my team's evals but that was the surprise waiting for me Wednesday morning.  Sometimes, that's how retail rolls, but in my own style of managing, when there's an issue or a problem that needs addressing, I do it right then and there.  After, I include management in the discussion if it's warranted.  Because two of my team members have less than a year in this position, most errors that occur are based on training issues.  And I can deal with that, as long as my team is willing to keep learning and don't repeat those same mistakes.

It's always been an issue for me to do these evals when the work isn't up to par.  I have one guy who gets pulled in several different directions.  He's the kind who likes to please everyone, tries to do everything that's asked, but when that happens, his own work suffers because he tries to take shortcuts.  After the difficult eval, we had a long talk about doing, and not doing, everything for every one.  It's a learning process, and it will be up to me to be on top of the work until it improves.


At the same time, it was MY turn for an eval from my supervisors.  And this year it was a pretty good one!  It's never easy when you do a job that most others don't know how to do.  Yes, management knows the "overall" but this job is all about the details because of the potential fines from the state and federal levels when something isn't done correctly. 



That being said, I was pleased that management recognizes that I go above and beyond whenever possible to do the right thing.  My direct supervisor likes the fact that he can give me a task and walk away, knowing that I'll do what needs to be done.  Maybe I'm old fashioned, but isn't that what's supposed to happen when you're told to do something?   My own personal belief is that it's my job to do everything I can that makes the boss look good, and if I can, to anticipate problems before they become problems.  For me, that's the bottom line of being a good employee.

While the boss may always think he's right, if he's wrong, I won't throw him under the bus in front of others, but when we're alone in a conversation, I *will* correct him!  lol