Cliff jumper, South Point, Na'alehu, Big Island - Monday, March 10, 2025

Cliff jumper, South Point, Na'alehu, Big Island - Monday, March 10, 2025
Cliff jumper, South Point, Na'alehu, Big Island - Monday, March 10, 2025
Showing posts with label health. Show all posts
Showing posts with label health. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 16, 2016

A Little of This and A Little of That - Tues., Aug. 16, 2016

On the Friday after his Wednesday surgery, Bob went to work because he had so much to do. He "could give me 50 reasons" he had to be there. At work, tiredness set in for him about 3:00 p.m.

Friday and Saturday were regular work days for me. Well, Saturday wasn't exactly regular. We had thunderstorms and lots of rain. The power went out (no computers, lights, copiers, phones, etc.) for about 50 minutes. This was a big power outage affecting about 1,500 customers.

It could have been worse...about a week ago when Delia was working, she and Brenda were without power in the office all day. At that time there was power in the rest of the park, so they were able to run power cords to the ice machine and the ice cream freezer!

Bob worked all day Saturday too. He was still tired, but did better than Friday. He was still having headaches.

Sunday, we were going to do a walk early in the morning with Susan M.; however, rain was in the forecast so we skipped walking. For lunch, Susan, Bob and I went to Dave and Busters. Bob had a dish called the "Lawnmower" which consisted of a huge platter filled with fresh veggies of all kinds, avocado, bacon, and blue cheese. I had shrimp skewers with seasoned rice and broccoli, and Susan had hamburger sliders and fries.

After lunch, we went to see "Captain Fantastic" with Viggo Mortensen as a dad who chose to raise his five children in the woods. We learn how they hunt, learn, and have fun. We also learn about their absent mother who "is in the hospital." You can tell they love each other very much, but they are lacking in the social skills that come from being around other people. The movie is irreverant, funny, touching, and unusual. All of us liked it, but not everyone will.

After the movie, we walked Susan around the model railroad exhibit. She loved it.






Susan headed home. Bob and I walked the mall because Bob felt a need for some exercise after all his time in the hospital. The rest of Sunday we relaxed.

Monday Susan and I were supposed to walk early. Sunday night we checked the weather and saw an 80% chance of rain, so we decided not to walk. But we decided to see "Jason Bourne." She hadn't seen it and I wanted to see it again. Normally we would have lunch, but I was on a liquid diet for the rest of the day (more on that later).

Tomorrow is my colonoscopy, so breakfast today was limited to oatmeal or other whole grain cereal. As I stated above, the rest of Monday (until midnight) was clear liquids only. Nothing at all after midnight, including water.

At 10:30 a.m. Monday I had my chiropractor appointment and the meditation class they offer. I have officially lost 25 lb. My pant size has gone from size 16 to size 8. My goal is size 6, so that's another 10-15 lb. I feel great.

Susan and I met at the theater at 12:40 p.m. "Jason Bourne" was just as good the second time, although I did nap a little through this one. The rest of the afternoon was spent quietly at home.

My big test for the day was the prep for colonoscopy. I had to drink one gallon of water starting between 4-6 p.m.: eight ounces every ten minutes. The rest of the evening was spent in the bathroom. Aaack! That was the absolute worst part of the whole colonoscopy experience: the prep.

Today, Bob dropped me off at the gastroenterologist's office at 8:00 a.m. He went to work 1/2 hour away. We both thought I'd be there until at least 11:30 a.m.

At 8:30, I was taken back to the pre-surgical area. OMG, what a zoo. It was like a super-highway of people on beds being taken for endoscopy or colonoscopy. I've never seen anything like it.

By 8:45, I had all my paperwork done, was gowned, on the gurney and joined the superhighway to operating rooms. They put in an IV. The anesthesiologist, nurses and doctor talked to me. The anesthesiologist asked me if I was getting sleepy yet. I said, "No. Is the back of my throat supposed to be burning?" She said, "No." That's all I remember until they woke me up.

At 9:35 or so Bob walked in the door to pick me up. Wow, that was really fast. Speaking of fast, I had been fasting since Monday morning and was starving. They gave me a cup of apple juice in recovery, but said I could resume a full diet. Score! I asked Bob if he would take me to breakfast at Guenther House or IHOP. He wanted IHOP so off we went. After a satisfying breakfast, Bob dropped me off at the 5th wheel and he headed back to work. I went to bed and cat-napped with the cats for another two hours.

Meanwhile, Bob went to work until 1:00 p.m. He had an appointment at 1:30 p.m. to get his drainage tube removed. His experience wasn't as quick as mine. He waited two hours before the doctor removed his tube (which took about five minutes). Then he went back to work. He'll be working late tonight because his boss asked him to do a special project due by tomorrow morning.

The doctor told Bob he's cleared to walk until Saturday. On Saturday, he can start his marathon training as long as he isn't too tired. That was music to his ears. He gets stir-crazy, cabin fever if he has to sit still too long!

It seems we can now get back to our regularly scheduled lives. Medical stuff can go away for at least a year. (Well, not quite. I have a couple more appointments scheduled in the next two weeks - mammogram and a visit with an orthopedic doctor to look at my cramping hand.)

Texas has been having rain and our temperatures have dropped from 101 to 78, but still with high humidity. I'd rather have high humidity at 78 degrees rather at 100 degrees! Rain is predicted through the weekend. We'll see how that affects our weekend walk and run.

So, a little of this and a little of that. Travel Bug out.











Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Bob Flew to Seattle Yesterday - Tuesday, April 26, 2016

At 9:00 am yesterday, I took Bob to the airport for his 10:30 am flight to Seattle. He's going there for a seminar for work. I wanted to go with him, but I'll be heading to Oregon in June to visit Mom and do a Volksmarch weekend in the Columbia River Gorge. Can't take that much time off work.

Speaking of work, we have slowed down considerably in the RV park now that most of the snowbirds/Winter Texans have headed home. I will be going to a 30-hour work week until we get busy again in the fall/winter. It will be nice having four days off each week.

Bob is busy reacquainting himself with Seattle. He walked along the waterfront last night. Then there was a welcome reception for the attendees at his hotel. I miss him!

Today he had classes. Tonight he is going to a social at the Experience Music Project (EMP), Paul Allen's collection of music memorabilia in an art nouveau building that is all curved lines. People in Seattle thinks it looks like wadded up bubble gum. But the music collection inside is awesome. We went there a number of years ago. As you wander through the exhibits, you listen to a recording about the artist, listen to their music, and look at clothing from concerts, posters, musical instruments and other musical tributes. It's easy to spend hours in there.

Tomorrow Bob has more classes, then is free tomorrow night. On Friday, he is driving 3-1/2 hours to Portland, Oregon, to spend the night at Mom's house and take her out to dinner. They are looking forward to seeing each other.

Saturday, Bob is driving back to Tacoma, Washington, and will run the Tacoma marathon on Sunday. Sunday night, he flies back to San Antonio. Busy guy!

On a completely different note, Bob and I have been going to a Wellness Center in San Antonio to work on becoming more healthy. We want to stop eating so much sugar and flour. On our fourth week of this lifestyle change, we have each lost 15 pounds! My goal is to lose 40 pounds.

Besides eating less and healthier food, we are working on reducing stress, drinking more water, exercising more, and getting enough sleep. Some of those things are easier to do than others! For me, getting enough sleep is very hard as I've always been a night owl. And for some reason, I just don't remember to drink enough water throughout the day.

Oh, well, it will all come together in time. We're happy with the progress so far, but even eating healthy for four weeks is taking its toll. It feels like eating isn't as much fun as it used to be; although I did make a new recipe which was really good.
Cod Lettuce Wraps

Six large Romaine lettuce leaves
Cod fillets to serve two
Ground cumin
Garlic salt
Homemade guacamole
Coconut oil spray for frying pan
Wash and drain the Romaine leaves.

Coat frying pain with coconut oil spray. Place cod fillets in pan. Sprinkle cod with ground cumin and a small amount of garlic salt. Cover pan and cook on medium for 3-4 minutes. Flip fillets and sprinkle with ground cumin. Cook cod until just flaky.

Spread guacamole on Romaine leaves. Flake cod and put on top of guacamole. Enjoy.
Our weather has been hot (in the 90s) and humid. Last night we had a thunderstorm around 3:00 am. Woke me up from sleep and knocked out the power for a couple of hours.

On Monday afternoon the cats were staring at the skylights. I kept hearing noises like squirrels dropping nuts on the roof. Looked outside and it was hailing pea-sized pellets. The storm blew in out of nowhere and was gone in about 20 minutes. I'm glad the hail wasn't any bigger!

Back in January we saw a gorgeous sunset while out driving around. Thought I'd share it with you today...
Tops of houses and a water tower
I must go to bed! Good night all. Have a good Thursday. 



Monday, August 26, 2013

Yummy Dinner Tonight! - Mon., Aug. 26

Here's our first meal from The Engine 2 Diet book by Rip Esselstyn. Boy is it good!

E2 Black Beans and Rice

2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 to 1-1/2 cups water or vegetable broth
1 Tbsp. Bragg Liquid Aminos
1 tsp. chili powder
2 to 3 tomatoes, chopped
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 can sliced water chestnuts,drained
1 cup corn: fresh, frozen or canned
2 red, yellow, orange or green bell peppers, seeded and chopped
1 bunch cilantro, rinsed and chopped
1 avocado, peeled and cubed
3 cups brown rice, cooked in water or vegetable broth
Salsa or tamari to taste

While you are cooking the brown rice, you can do all the other preparation.

Heat the beans with water or broth, Bragg's Liquid Aminos, and chili powder. Place the chopped vegetables and cilantro in individual bowls, e.g., tomatoes in one bowl, corn in a bowl, peppers in another bowl, cilantro in another bowl, etc.

To serve, place several big spoonfuls of brown rice onto large plates and ladle beans on top. Add generous handfuls of chopped vegetables, cilantro and avocado on top of the beans. Add salsa or tamari to taste.

Serve with healthy chips (we like Food Should Taste Good's Multigrain chips) or warm corn tortillas.

* * * * * * * *

This afternoon Snelling called. The insurance office I temp'd for last week requested me for Tuesday and Wednesday this week. I'll be there all day Tuesday and three hours on Wednesday. The owner wasn't kidding when she said if she needs a temp she's going to ask for me. I enjoy working with them.

* * * * * * * *

We hung up some sunflower seeds on our bird feeder and now have cardinals and white-winged doves providing entertainment right outside the window for the cats and I. Yesterday a squirrel tried to climb the metal pole to get up to the sunflower seeds. It was pretty hilarious because she would jump as high as possible, grab onto the pole and slide down like a firefighter in an old fire station (with the pole from the second story). Hah, wouldn't you know, we have a squirrel pole dancer. LOL.

Today a different squirrel (I think!) ran up to the pole and climbed it from the ground just using its claws. I chased it away twice. All we need is a parade of squirrels running up the bird feeder to get to the seeds. NOT!

Have a good Tuesday.

Travel Bug out.




Sunday, August 25, 2013

Wake Up Call and Dietary Changes - Sun., Aug. 25

The good news is, Bob's plantar fasciitis is under control. Our Volksmarch on Sunday was back to our normal 10K and our usual pace.

On the other hand, Bob's "routine and preventative" physical exam last week was anything but. He had routine lab work done a few days prior to his family practice doctor visit. When he saw the doctor, his "one to 1-1/2 hour appointment" turned into three hours. Additional blood tests were drawn, he had to have a urinalysis, an EKG, and a sonogram.

The doctor was very worried about Bob and wanted to admit him to the hospital on the spot. Bob's diagnosis is atrial fibrillation in which one valve of the heart doesn't pump properly causing blood to pool. This condition can lead to a stroke. He also has diabetes, and edema in his ankles. The doctor told Bob to lose 80 lbs. ... Bob hasn't been at that low a weight since college. A cardiologist appointment was set up for the next day. Needless to say, Bob and I were completely shook up by this.

Bob loves his cardiologist, who is also a runner, is the same age as Bob, and recently lost 80 lbs. The cardiologist told Bob to take his medications and he can keep running marathons.

What this means is, we are changing our diet. We plan to avoid wheat breads, pasta, and sugar, and eat highly sweet, starchy vegetables (white potatoes, carrots, yams, corn, peas, etc.) in moderation. No more soda for Bob (my soda intake has been almost nil for a couple of years) and cookies, cake, pie, candy will be only for very special occasions. Thankfully, we have limited drinking beer and wine (not into heavier alcohol) to once in a great while. This will not be easy because most of our eating habits have been ingrained over many years.

My "routine and preventative" physical exam is Tuesday. I wonder what they'll find. My guess is he'll tell me to lose 30-40 lbs.

In a serendipitous turn of events, while I was working in the RV park office one of the long-time residents brought in some books for the park library. Brenda (my boss) and I looked over what he was dropping off. In the stack were many cookbooks and books about health. I snagged some low-fat, low-cholesterol cookbooks and a book called, "The Engine 2 Diet," by Rip Esselstyn. Interestingly enough, we already have a book called "Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease" by his father, Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr., M.D.

So, a new diet will be a challenge and will require cleaning out our cupboards, learning new recipes, and making a shopping list of what we'll need. I love to cook so this will be a fun, interesting process. Eating out will mean closely studying menus and opting for healthier choices.

All this makes the plantar fasciitis seem tame.

We choose to be healthy. We'll keep you posted on updates.

Travel Bug out.