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CLAIREHASGOALS's Recent Blog Entries
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Wednesday, January 11, 2012
I love my cats. I have 2 of them. One is Penske (named by former owner):
I got her from the humane society - of course - last March. Her paperwork said she was 13, which is why I took her. She got a URI right away and I spent over $500 within 2 weeks of her arrival to get her healthy. She lost over a pound in those few weeks (down to 7 lbs) so when she was feeling better I left kibble in her bowl 24/7 so she could gain the weight back. Within 6 weeks she weighed 12 lbs!!! You all know how it is: you go to bed one size and the next you wake up to entirely different body. That's what it seemed like.
So now, I'm feeding her 2 of those little cans of cat food a day with no kibble at all (per vet) which is what an 8 lb cat should eat - and she hasn't lost even an ounce. Meanwhile she begs constantly for more food. Seriously, she is sleeping, eating, or begging to eat more. She's driving me out of my mind.
In July, we got a 2nd cat (from the humane society) so that Penske would have some company. This is Mary.
She's 5 and kind of skittish. She pretty much lives in our bedroom because PENSKE WON'T LEAVE HER ALONE. Ms. Obese is placid and sleeps most of the time as one would expect from a 13 year old. But, if Mary steps outside the bedroom she is right there in full stalk mode, trying to catch Mary unawares and clobber her.
Just now, I heard some cat yahooing in the bedroom and there was Penske backing Mary into a corner of the room. YELL AT CAT! PUSH CAT OUT OF ROOM! Cuddle Mary - who has no reason to trust me since I can't protect her.
Penske, you are lucky you are 13 and not long for this world. I've never ever considered taking an animal back to the shelter but we would do so if she was younger. Clearly, she should be the only cat in the house. And maybe someone else could handle putting her on a near starvation diet and ignore the incessant begging.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Went to Olive Garden today for lunch and had a bowl of minestrone soup with a small salad (red wine vinegar for dressing). I enjoyed the soup so much! It had beans in it and I haven't had any in at least 6 months. There weren't a lot, but I savored every single one! I have kidney disease and My renal dietician limits me to 1/3 cup beans twice a week. There is nothing I would make that I would be willing to limit to a little puddle on my plate. So I don't make them and I rarely eat out so it was a real treat. I love beans - they were a primary source of protein for me before I was diagnosed. I'm sure the excellent flavor was enhanced with a couple days' worth of sodium, but what the hey.
Monday, January 02, 2012
Did my first walk of 2012 today! I felt like I was chugging along really well, but I guess SparkPeople doesn't think so. I walked for 60 minutes and based on the calculation from routing my walk in SP, I walked 2.54 miles. 60 minutes divided by 2.54 = 23.6 minute miles. The slowest choice in the Fitness Tracker is 20 minute miles! I KNOW I'm not the slowest walker. Any insights from someone?
Even though I feel I'm walking a pretty good speed, I do have some problems with my left knee. Years ago, an 80 year old Snowbird (someone who comes to Phoenix only for the winter) decided that, even though he was in the inside lane, he wanted to turn into a parking lot. Um. I was in the curb lane and he cut me off so I hit the side of his car going 40 mph. I. Was. Very. Lucky. It took him 50 ft to go "oow, Something happened - let me stop this monster Lincoln and see what it was!" My bike was caught by the car and as he continued forward I was dragged under the car. He stopped 10 inches before I went under his wheels.
Anyway, the end of my left ring finger was crushed between the car and my handlebar - goodbye to 1/3 of my finger. I also fractured - no, HE fractured! - my tibia within the knee joint (tibia is the big lower leg bones). Because the fractures were vertical, I couldn't put any weight on them until they were completely healed. 6 months on crutches. The end of my finger was barely hanging on, so they did a quick amputation in the ER and then I had reconstructive surgery later. So, I'm ready to leave the ER and the hand doc says, "Keep this finger in the air as much as possible so you aren't putting pressure on the stitches." Standing right next to him is the orthopod who says, "Get up on those crutches as much as you can to keep the circulation going in that leg." Got that? Don't use the hand and crutch a lot. I said, "You realize I can't do both of those things, right?"
Since I could only use my index finger and thumb to crutch with (your middle finger and little fingers move when your ring finger does, and there was no way I was squeezing a crutch handle with that baby!), I leaned on my right leg a lot. One regular step with the right leg and hand, then a short quick one on the left to get off my hand. That usage imbalance continues in a zillion different ways, but the issue here is the length of my stride - I think I'm still doing the long then short step cycle when I'm walking. After I walk for about 20 minutes my hip starts hurting.
So, I talk to my doctor about it - How can I determine if my strides are really two different lengths? And if so, how to fix it? Answer: if your hip is hurting we can give you shots in the joint to relieve the pain. I looked at him like he was crazy! The problem is my knee, not my hip! He didn't really have anything else to say on the matter so I said, "Well, I guess I need to create a hobble at the right stride length to figure this out." He looked at me like I was crazy! and said I'd probably fall on my face. Thanks so much for the help.
If it's not my stride, or in addition to my stride length, my leg muscles are still not equal to my right leg's. I was a bad girl and didn't continue the post-rehab work I was supposed to do. I was tired of everything about this accident. I'm gonna work at the gym on strengthening those muscles, but in the mean time, what do I do about my walking issue?
And, lastly, how the heck does everyone carry water with them on their walk? I don't like keeping the bottle in my hand, but attaching it to my belt or a fanny pack has it bouncing all other the place and it drives me nuts. Wearing a back pack for a 30 minute walk seems like over kill.
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Because of circumstances, we need to plan our vacations for next year within the next week or so. I just found out yesterday. Great timing! We are a member of a very flexible time share plan - our contract gives us XX # of points each year and we can spend them on any of the resorts in the plan - which is in the hundreds.
So, I spent today going over all the units within driving distance of us. Looking for several 3 day weekend trips - that will be refreshing without all the transportation costs. I printed the info out so my DH and I can look and compare more easily. Well, there is no "print this page" in their online format. When I look at the condo 'resort', all the info is tabbed: one for amenities, one for accommodations, one for # of points required, etc. So, I can't just do a default print page. Instead, I had to open a word document and copy and paste all the relevant info per location. Just looking them up and printing them has taken hours.
Tonight, I've got to get my DH's attention on this. It's tough because he's been working 11 hour days for several weeks and he's just exhausted. What I want to do tonight is talk about how many points we have to spend each quarter to keep us on target. (It's not good to have a left over balance of points at the end of the year!) From there, I'm hoping we can point out some target dates and locations that I can work with.
Our anniversary is on the 28th (our 4th! although we've been together for14 years). Every year we use some of our points for a few days up north in the AZ snow belt. If it actually snows, I'll be glad to enjoy it fully and then skedaddle right back to my desert! We are leaving on the 26th and my step-son is going to stay at our place to feed the cats, etc.
So, between now and the 26th I need to figure out what our son is gonna eat, buy it, make it, and freeze it. I need to pack for a week. I gotta check the tires and gas my buggy up. I have to plan meals for vacation and figure out how much of that I can bring. Need to get our valuables and, uh, stuff that's none of our son's business removed from the house. (I don't want him to feel responsible for valuables. The kind of kid he is - kid? He's 22 - it would weigh on him.)
I wanted to put together a very nice Xmas dinner for myself and my DH - we don't have family gatherings to attend so we are on our own. I may end up suggesting we run out to IHOP instead!
Luckily, my career was project management and I'm really good at it! DH laughs because I have a vacation check list to which I'm continually adding stuff. (I just added "Fill hummingbird feeder" to the "Week b4" section.) Nothing goes into the suitcase without it going onto the list. And I print 2 copies of the checklist - one for going and one for returning. We don't leave for home until everything on the list has been packed and/or checked!
Oh, I have a check list for the son, too. Here's what I bought to eat and here's how to make it. Water plants on X days. Feed cats on Y schedule. Breathe every 6 seconds.
Oops! The man just walked in the door for dinner - gotta get back to my chicken w/mustard sauce and roasted veggies.
Happy holidays, everyone!
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Member Comments About This Blog Post:
Very nice Claire. You have come so far this year in learning what you can eat and what you need to limit,ect. Keep up loving your kidneys and maintaining your ckd. Jean
I too miss the old days when I could lift this and carry that - but good for you Claire, I bet the scenery is just beautiful! Keep on keeping on! Jean
It makes you feel good to do something like this. I know i feel good when i walk.
You can do it Claire. One step at a time. I do not carry my water when walking - when I am going to walk uptown, I drink at least two bottles a few hours before I walk to hydrate myself, bring a water with me and leave it in the car while I walk and drink it when I get back.