Thursday, July 30, 2009

Keepin' up

Yesterday I did get a walk on the treadmill in before my daughter and I went to visit our friends. It was a 3 hour drive, so made for a long day. It was a great visit in a beautiful location. We had some fun mother/daughter time on the drive and I made her mad with my driving. :-P We got home very late, so I only got about 5 hrs of sleep before having to get up to take my son to our regular doc to get a referral for a neuro-muscular specialist. She gave him some pain medicine and we're continuing chiro care, too. That doc is seeing improvement, so that's good.

When we got home from the morning app't, we both crashed for a few hours until we had to get up to get to the chiro. Got a new battery for my heart rate monitor and it works great. When I got home I did 45 minutes on the treadmill. My highest heart rate was 160. (My max is supposedly 171.) Oh, I also picked up the report from the cardiology clinic this morning. It said "narrow (questionable, can't read the handwriting well) complex tachycardia." I asked the tech what that meant and she said it was occasional fast heart rate, but for any further info I'd have to go to my doctor to talk about it. :-P Also did my ultimate abs ball workout this evening.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

HYC Check in

I'm up, but it's TOM. I've been walking with my Skecher Shape Ups two days in a row. First day my feet fell asleep. They felt better today. VERY comfy shoes.

Yesterday I also got my pedometer and heart rate monitor. Love the pedometer! It doesn't rattle, it doesn't fall off and it doesn't talk and scare me half to death! ;-) Unfortunately, I received the HRM dead. No display at all. I'm going to take it to the store and get the battery changed and if that doesn't work, I'll send it back.

My son's arm still is not working very well. Our insurance isn't moving quickly enough on the Occupational Therapy so I took him to our chiropractor. He did some research and thinks he knows what happened and recommended we see a neurologist and get some testing done. So I'm going to be making some calls and pushing for whatever we need to do to get him in for that. The possibility was brought up that the damage may be permanent so we're NOT happy, but will take one step at a time. We are not litigious people, but if this is permanent, there will be a lawsuit. :-(

I'm tired, so I need to get to bed. Tomorrow my daughter and I are going to visit some friends from Texas who are in Colorado for vacation. So I hope to be checking in with HYC'ers on Thursday.

Monday, July 27, 2009

Happy feet!

GOT MY SKECHERS! Hooray! Really wish they'd have had the white in my size, though. Black ones make my feet look bigger. :-) Did some warm up rocking on them and am off to the treadmill!


Here's an article from Men's Health on belly fat.
"Once You Have Fat, You Can Never Go Back

In gyms, playing fields, beaches, and bedrooms across the country, our bodies are constantly being measured. And in dressing room mirrors and on bathroom scales, we're constantly measuring ourselves. But let's set aside those vanity measurements and concentrate on measuring ourselves by a different set of criteria--the number of fat cells we're carrying.

The average American has about 30 billion fat cells; each of them is filled with greasy substances called lipids. When you pump doughnuts, corn chips, and fried Snickers bars into your system, those fat cells can expand--up to 1,000 times their original size. But a fat cell can get only so big; once it reaches its physical limit, it starts to behave like a long-running sitcom. It creates spin-offs, leaving you with two or more fat cells for the price of one. Only problem: Fat cells have a no-return policy. Once you have a fat cell, you're stuck with it. So as you grow fatter and double the number of fat cells in your body, you also double the difficulty you'll have losing the lipids inside them.

The Badness of Belly Fat
Many of us tend to store fat in our bellies, and that's where the health dangers of excess weight begin. Abdominal fat doesn't just sit there and do nothing; it's active. It functions like a separate organ, releasing substances that can be harmful to your body.

For instance, it releases free fatty acids that impair your ability to break down the hormone insulin (too much insulin in your system can lead to diabetes). Fat also secretes substances that increase your risk of heart attacks and strokes, as well as the stress hormone cortisol (high levels of cortisol are also associated with diabetes and obesity as well as with high blood pressure). Abdominal fat bears the blame for many health problems because it resides within striking distance of your heart, liver, and other organs--pressing on them, feeding them poisons, and messing with their daily function.

Take Back Your Belly!
Now take the person with a six-pack. He's the icon of strength and good health. He's lean; he's strong; he looks good in clothes; he looks good without clothes. Defined abs, in many ways, have defined fitness. But they define something else: They're the hallmark of a person who's in control of his body and, as such, in control of his health.

(Large portion of article edited out because it's aimed at men, about sex and not family friendly! You can read the entire article here.)

Read More About It. Take the Challenge!
If you want to become an Abs Diet expert get the book at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble and other nationwide retailers. (Or get the Abs Diet for Women)

* Almost 300 pages of cutting edge research
* 50 exercise illustrations
* Advanced ab exercises
* Dozens of recipes for quick and delicious meals
* Read the success stories from those who transformed their bodies and their lives
* The Abs Diet maintenance plan to take you well past the first 6 weeks
* Read the truth about low-carb diets
* Extra nutrition advice, tons of tips and fun and inspirational stories from Men's Health Editor-in-Chief David Zinczenko"

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Munchie, munchie, munchie

I've had the worst munchies lately. My period is due to start tomorrow, so I know that's the reason. I'm going to stay off of or ignore the scale this week. I've been eating more, but sticking to the healthier foods. Not a Cheeto in sight! ;-)


Wait, that's not me. I swear!

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Owwwww

I'm feeling those 10 flights of stairs again. Seems like it's the 2nd day that's always the worst. I did an interval walk on the treadmill today. I may have to take a rest day tomorrow. I am hurting!

Finished Atlas Shrugged today. Lots of stuff to think about and mull over.

Not getting enough sleep. (A sure sign is my twitching eyelid!) I'm waking up a lot earlier than I'd like, then have to do Kendall's IV meds. There are 3 to do in the morning and each one takes about an hour to infuse. His arm has better movement, but it has started hurting more than his leg. Hopefully that means it's getting better.

Friday, July 24, 2009

Finally home

We didn't get out of there until after SEVEN last night! We got home and Ken and Kisa left for NM for their scuba weekend. Kendall and I had a good rest last night.

I did do the 10 flights of stairs again yesterday. My legs were definitely shaking afterward. And today, I've done my Ultimate Abs ball and weight lifting. I'd missed those!

Thursday, July 23, 2009

A day off and going home!

When I went home Tuesday night, I'd planned on sitting in the hot tub, but the drive home was in a spectacular lightning storm with heavy rain, then hail that started covering the road. I was going the back way on a twisty, dark road because the interstate has had some construction that slows things down. The clouds were wispy and swirly ON THE ROAD and driving through them felt like a scene from a horror movie, but it was beautiful at the same time. There were only a couple of times where they were high enough to hit the windshield, so it wasn't like a fog, just swirls of cloud crossing the road in front of me. I LOVE Colorado! ;-D But I missed my hot tub soaking. lol

Yesterday was awesome. I "slept in" until 8:45 - heaven! Then called my nail salon as soon as they opened at 10 and got right in for a pedicure and nail fill. The massage during the pedicure felt so good on my calves that are still kind of sore from doing the 10 flights of stairs. Then in the afternoon I went to my chiropractor for an adjustment. That felt good, too! My daughter and I got to spend some quality time together. I hadn't seen her since last week because of her trip to Baltimore. A couple of weeks ago she had mentioned that she didn't know how to find her jean size, so I took her measurements and went to JCPenney's website to check out their sizes. I ordered her 3 pairs of 4 petite! and they came in last week. She said one of her old pairs of jeans were a size TEN! She wasn't used to having jeans that actually fit her, but she's very happy with them. :-) And she looks very cute in them! She's 5'6" which is practically a midget in my family of Amazon women. She has tiny feet, too. :-) She had a job interview yesterday for a 911 dispatcher with the city. She'd done VERY well on the assessment test and I know she makes a great impression in person, so we're praying that she'll get this one. It pays TWICE what her other job did, so this may be the window the Lord is opening for her!

Anyway, we came up to the hospital last night so I could take over for my hubby and this morning they are preparing the discharge orders. Hooray! We'll be doing 3 IV antibiotics at home and I'll be chauffeuring Kendall around until he regains strength in his arm and his leg. And he'll need to continue physical therapy on the arm for a bit, too. One of the regular CF nurses was giving me his med list for going home and I said "This was a scary one." She said, "This WAS a scary one." It kind of freaks me out when the medical personnel will actually admit that! Most of the time you have to point-blank ask them how bad it is.

The scale wasn't too unkind to me yesterday. I'm still in the 70's. Up from the "false low" after the Day of Diarrhea, but that's no big shocker. ;-) I'm trying to decide if I want to go for a walk now or just work out when I get home. I may wait, since it's getting hot outside. Last night when we drove up, the temperature was 15 degrees higher in Denver than at home in just 50 miles. We'd had a thunderstorm with hail move through, so that provided quite the drop in temp.

Oooh, just got an email from Skechers that my shoes are due to be delivered on the 27th. The tracking on my pedometer says it will be delivered on the 29th, but since it left Kentucky on Tuesday, I'm not sure why it would take THAT long unless they are sending it on the Pony Express!!! LOL

Ugh, this discharge process can take forever. I think I'll go do the stairs one more time before leaving. I've got most of my stuff packed, but can take a quick shower when I get done. Thanks to all of you for your thoughts and prayers. I truly do appreciate you!

Oh, have I mentioned I'm reading Atlas Shrugged? Holy cow! Now I know why so many people have recommended it lately and are rereading it. Soooooo applicable to the things that are being said by the current administration. It's like they read this book and are quoting VERBATIM the BAD guys in the book. What the heck????? Will America really let this come to pass? I know there are many, many patriots standing up and fighting for our beloved country and I will be one of them.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

YAWN!

Yeah, didn't get to sleep until after 5am, so it's been a rough day. Kendall was coughing badly and was in a lot of pain, so I was up with him. So no walking today.

Barring a setback, he will get to go home on Thursday. We convinced the docs that he really does recover more quickly at home because he can SLEEP there and he eats a lot more.

I'm heading home for the night. My sweet hubby is taking off work tomorrow so I can go home and get some rest. I may do the treadmill before going to bed and definitely want to do my ultimate abs ball and weight lifting.

For those of you with wide feet, the Skechers website says that they are good for people with wide feet. I think it was that website. I've also been looking at Keen hiking shoes, so I now I'm not sure which shoe it was now! :-D But yeah, the ShapeUps are $110, the MGB shoes are closer to $200, I think.

Monday, July 20, 2009

Fun time in the big city

We recently spent 1/2 hour in the hallway because of a tornado warning in the Denver area. Got the all clear so I should get to sleep but I'm really enjoying Atlas Shrugged so I'll read a bit first. :-)

Random thought of the night - do you ever want to take the word verification letters and make up definitions for them???? Some are pretty funny. (I guess it comes from my love of language and games like Balderdash!) LOL

Oh, and exercise record for Monday - Over 10,000 steps and over 5 miles. Stupid thing reset in the middle of the day again.

Another day, another penny - HYC check in, too

Today went pretty well. Finally got to talk to some REAL doctors. ;-) They were talking about the criteria for going home. The hematology docs are OK with him going home and giving himself Lovenox injections once a day until his coumadin level is high enough. If we stay here, they will continue the IV heparin and no injections are needed. Pulmonology docs want him to feel better and tolerate airway clearance before going home. They say another week may be necessary. I told them that would not be good for ANYONE's health if Kendall misses the tournament he's supposed to be in this weekend. (The nutritionist said she wanted him to gain weight before going home. I told her to put that on her Christmas wish list.) Kendall told me he would ACT like he felt better. Good news, he was able to move his left elbow today when the physical therapist was working with him. So hopefully that left arm will soon be back to normal. It was rather scary when he couldn't move it at all! His weight was down to 113, his goal weight is 140. Sigh. Wish I could give him a few of my pounds! No idea what my weight is currently, but I'm not worried about it. Making the healthiest choices I can in these circumstances!

Skechers ShapeUps - a frustrating search in Denver, Colorado! I got directions and went to the mall where they have a Skechers store. They had NO size 11s and NONE of the Mary Jane style. (I could have called and got that info, but it was good to get out of the hospital!) What's really weird - that style is no longer on their website either! WTH! The guy was very nice at the store. He said that none of the stores have received the MJ style and they were on every poster they had of the new shoes. So a lot of people have been asking for them. And he said that he had 3 other women come in that day looking for size 11s! Believe it or not, he said the most popular sizes are 5s and 11s. Well then, I said, they should STOCK more size 11s! Wouldn't ya think? There's another store on the south side of the city that also carry them, it's a different style of Mary Janes, though and he said he'd called them earlier and they did have a size 11 in the toffee color. Those don't look quite as sturdy for walking as the other style. I tried on a sneaker in a natural color that he had in a size 10, but it was just a little too short. My toenail was rubbing against the tip of the shoe. But they are definitely COMFORTABLE! I guess you are only supposed to wear them for 30 minutes at a time until you work up to longer. He said one lady wore hers for 4 hours the first time and got VERY sore calves. Her hubby came in and bought some for himself. I could definitely feel it working my still sore calves. :-)

So when I got back to the hospital, I went back to the website and searched by size. They only had the black sneaker in my size when I'd have rather had white. The natural wasn't too bad either. I did a store locator for Colorado Springs and Famous Footwear was listed in one of the malls near us, so I called them and asked if they carried 'em. They said no, but they could order them online and I'd still get the buy one, get one for half off special they are running.

But I figured, I want them soon and who knows how long it would take before someone got some in or they were available again on the website. So I ordered the black ones and figure by the time I need a new pair, maybe they will be more readily available. I will continue checking their website, too. I don't think I've ever paid $110 for a pair of shoes! Dang! But the guy at the store said that if they didn't fit right or I didn't like them, I could take them into a Skechers store to exchange them.

This morning I took a walk in the other Skechers I bought last night and they are a fairly nice walking shoe, too. I'm not sure my pedometer is accurate. It said I walked 3 miles in 35 minutes and I didn't feel like I was walking that fast. And the amount of steps may be off, too. I think I need to go buy one of the pedometers that "John is Fit" reviewed. These Walmart pieces of junk just aren't cutting it for me! :-P Walking around the hospital complex of buildings, there are some nice trails around. I also did a few stairs when I saw them outside buildings or along the walkway.

I'm an ordering fool. Just ordered the pedometer (John's favorite) PLUS the heart rate monitor made by the same compnay since a fast heart rate is something I've been dealing with lately. I did have a holter monitor on for two days last week and it included the all night visit to the ER, so it will be interesting to get the results. I don't think my heart rate was too high during that stressful time, but ya never can tell. I figured that was a good slice of what my life is sometimes.

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Better nurse - rougher night

11am The nurse was VERY responsive last night and so far today. (It pays to make a fuss!) But Kendall had a very bad night. He had a high heart rate and low blood pressure most of the night and had coughing fits that would not quit. His coughing woke me up around 5, then he finally fell asleep a little while later. He slept for about 3 hours, then woke up coughing hard again and went to the bathroom. (Thankfully, there has been no new blood when he coughs.) He is now sleeping again, thank God. Ii napped in the recliner by his bed so I could intervene for him and talk to doctors so he could sleep. The patient advocate came in, too so the issue is now on record.

8:45pm - he got some good sleep and is feeling better tonight. I had a couple of naps trying to catch up on my sleep, too.

10pm - oh, I'm pmsing big time, so I'm weepy and cranky which doesn't mix well with little sleep. Today was a definite rest day so I'll try to get out and walk tomorrow. Kendall is now on his xbox 360. Yay! :-) The respiratory therapist came in and said the docs have ordered treatments for FOUR times a day. Kendall's normal schedule is maybe 4 times a WEEK! Since that cuts into his sleep time AND makes him cough more, he's none too thrilled about it so we'll talk to his regular docs tomorrow hopefully. Weekends in the hospital really SUCK because all of the rookie doctors are on duty and they are the ones who don't know Kendall's mode and personality - which has a big, wide stubborn streak! ;-) I'm here to be advocate for my baby bear.

I had my hubby bring me a sleep mask and ear plugs so hopefully I can get to sleep a little quicker tonight. But for now, I think I'll read some more of Atlas Shrugs. Just started it today. Never got more than a couple pages read before dozing off.

Oh wait, one more thing. Yesterday I logged over 11,000 steps and a little over 5 miles on my pedometer. NICE! Today was less than 2000 and not even a mile. But rest days are GOOD! :-D And my calves are still screaming from the 10 flights of stairs I did on Thursday.

OK, MamaBear OUT!

Saturday, July 18, 2009

Photos are finally up!

I posted some photos from our trip to Breckenridge last weekend up on my family blog. I will give you a small taste here of our MOOSE HUNT on Rocky Mountain National Park. It's one of our favorite getaway spots and I've taken many a photo there. One year I even spent a week there by myself because my husband had a project come up the week we had reserved. My daughter came for a few days and I spent a lot of time out and about with my camera - even at 5am one day! It was in September and the elk were bugling and walking through Estes Park. So seeing elk doesn't get me too excited anymore since I've seen SOOOOO many! But moose, yeah. However, I do still long to see a big bull with a huge rack!! We've always seen mamas and babies. Here is the closest one we saw last weekend.

Grrrrrr

Kendall did NOT have a good nurse today. Took forever to get her in the room with all kinds of machines beeping and at one point, Kendall was feeling crappy and asked for Tylenol TWICE and after 30 minutes I gave him some of mine. Then I went and found another nurse, asked where ours was and told her that I'd given Kendall some tylenol myself. I dare them to give me a hard time about it! She came in shortly after and Kendall said he thought he had a fever so she took his temp and it was 101.9!!!

Then later he wanted to pull his mediport needle so he could take a shower, so we were waiting for her to come and do the heparin block on the port. I finally went to the store and when she came back he told her he couldn't pull the needle himself since his left arm still isn't working 100%. She said "OK, I'll be right back" which is what she said ALL FRICKIN DAY and we never saw her again for at least an hour every time. Our night nurse finally came in TWO HOURS LATER and she hadn't been briefed at all on the stuff we were waiting for. So needless to say, Kendall is pretty pissed and I told him I didn't blame him a BIT and he said he'd better not get the same nurse tomorrow. I told our night nurse we didn't want the same gal tomorrow and she asked if we wanted to talk to a patient rep. I told Kendall it was up to him, but I think he wants to.

And I gotta tell you, the IV and tube feed machines when they start to beep - especially in the middle of the night - sooooo annoying, I want to take a hammer to them. And one of them would get progressively LOUDER. So Kendall hits the nurse button and we wait and we wait, he usually hits the silence alarm button, but when he's sleeping (or at least trying to!) he doesn't have the energy to reach across with his good arm so I have to get out of bed.

The night charge nurse just came in and he's going to talk to the day shift charge nurse about improving the response time tomorrow. And hopefully he will get a little more sleep than he did last night and in the morning. And this is why I came up with the MamaBear moniker. I'm a fierce defender of my son when he's in the hospital. :-)

Walking shoes

When in Breckenridge, I saw some walking/trail sandals by Keen that looked very comfy. But they didn't have my size there. (I wear an 11.) I looked at their website - Keenfootwear.com and some of the styles DO go up to my size. Losing all this weight, I haven't lost any in my feet! ;-) (But I also was in an 11 before I gained the weight so I think it's a moot point!) I've also been interested in the Skecher Shape Ups. And when driving to the hospital yesterday, I saw a Skechers store just one or two exits down, so I may escape for a little shopping trip later. Those are weird looking, but I do like the looks of the Mary Janes. On the website, those are ONLY available in sizes 10 and 11 right now. How cool is that for us bigfeet!!!!??? LOL Their website has an instructional video with some exercises to get started with them.

Edit at 8pm - the store was a Skechers OUTLET, so they didn't have the ShapeUps yet. He said they should have them in a month or so. Then told me what shopping areas have them in Denver, but they aren't nearly as close to the hospital as this one. I got some cute black flip flops with a big heel for 30% off, then it was buy one pair, get the second 50% off. So I got some walking shoes and a pair of brown sandals which were a size TEN and fit me! :-) 3 pairs for $95 was pretty good, I thought. The ShapeUps alone are $110. Go me! :-D

Another sunny day in paradise!

Went for a walk outside today. It was at least 30 minutes and close to 2 miles. The hospital is surrounded by lots of other medical buildings and there are wonderful sidewalks and walking trails throughout. I did an occasional short power surge, too. It was early enough that it wasn't too terribly hot yet. (Take THAT, Porlock!!!! hehe - you gotta read Cammy's blog to get that.)

Came in and got some lowfat milk for the Kashi cereal I brought with me. They didn't have any bananas this morning. :-( So I got a bottle of orange juice. Their cranberry "juice" drink has high fructose corn syrup as the first ingredient so I gave that a pass. Should have brought my 100% juice from home!

Kendall looked so rough when I got here last night, I was a little concerned. But he perked up a bit and got on his computer for a while. Later he said that he really needed to get a shower because he was tired of being all gross around the cute nurses. :-D That was definitely a cue that he's feeling better. (He'd KILL me if he knew I posted this. LOL) This morning a few of his friends came to visit him and that got him smiling and laughing more than he has since we've been here.

I'm so off on my days. I could have sworn it was Friday and wondered why all the stations were closed in the cafeteria when they're supposed to be open until 2pm, but that's only on weekdays! My taste buds were set for more of that tasty turkey! :-P

Is it wrong that I post here before emailing family??? ;-) I do send out text msgs to them. So it's a little abbreviated unless someone calls. What's hard is this is the first crisis we've had with Kendall since my mom died and I really miss talking to her.

P.S. to Lynn - thank you SO much for faithfully praying for us. I can't tell you what it means to me to know that you are daily lifting us up to the Lord. And Psalm 91 is my absolute favorite during trying days.

Friday, July 17, 2009

Back at the hospital

Hubby stayed with Kendall last night, so I had a good night's sleep at home (after spending some time in the hot tub with a Blue Moon ale!) Today my calves are SCREAMING from those 10 flights of stairs! Definitely works them differently than just walking.

I had to take Kendall's car to the shop so I called a friend of mine to see if she wanted to have lunch while I waited for it. She was meeting some other friends at Mimi's Cafe so I crashed the party and got to see several of my friends, which was really nice. Mimi's is horrendous on calorie counts, but I stuck with a chicken salad and part of one muffin. But I know it was way over my meal calorie limit. I thoroughly enjoyed the girlfriend time, so I'm not going to beat myself up! I got some other shopping done as well as a few loads of laundry before coming back up.

K still can't move his arm, and physical therapy is working with him. He can use his hand a bit better but he also has a fever now. He hasn't booted up his computer NOR the Xbox 360, so I know he's REALLY sick! :-(

And now for a new list. The Worst Snacks in the Supermarket

I brought some of my healthy snacks to the hospital with me and settled into the room since it looks like we'll be here at least a few more days. I meant to get some Larabars and completely forgot when I was at the store. They only have Odwalla ones in the cafeteria and there were an awful lot of ingredients in those. The cafeteria here is actually pretty nice. They have several different stations. A deli where you can build your own sandwich, a carving station (the roasted turkey yesterday was DELISH!), a grill, a wood-fired pizza station, and two large salad bars in the middle. The grill also has premade sandwiches and wraps. They have the best soft serve non-fat frozen yogurt, and the chocolate is a big favorite of mine, but since we've been here this time, they've had just vanilla and strawberry. I M NOT happy! Hopefully they'll have the chocolate tomorrow.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Long night

We are not yet sure if the procedure they did yesterday will do the trick. The coughing up blood has slowed down for now. Where they went in through the femoral artery in his thigh, there is an enormous bruise! The doc warned he'd be very sore. They weren't able to get into the arteries on the left, so if he starts bleeding again, they may need to go in again. Hoping not! When he woke up last night, he said "Why can't I move my left arm?" Not something you want to hear! They are pretty sure it's just from bad positioning during the procedure and it should be better within the week. HOPEFULLY! He's supposed to be in a video game tournament next weekend.

I got a few more hours sleep last night. This morning after breakfast I did 10 flights of stairs. I'll be going home tonight and hubby will stay here. Not sure yet when Kendall will get to go home. We're just taking one day at a time.

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Train is taking a detour

It's not a complete derailment, but definitely a different route than I'd planned this week.

My 19yo son who has Cystic Fibrosis, started coughing up blood when he got up yesterday afternoon. We've dealt with this before, so we just watched it for a bit and when it slowed down almost completely, decided we didn't need to go in. Then around 9pm, he started coughing again and it was way more than we'd ever experienced before, so it was off to the local ER. The doctor there did an xray, blood tests, plus consulted with the on-call pulmonologist at the Children's Hospital in Denver/Aurora. They weren't comfortable with just sending him home, so they told the ER doc to send us to the ER at Children's to be admitted. With a quick swing by the house to pick up some stuff, we were on our way around 2am. It's about an hour drive, much quicker in the middle of the night! :-P

When we got to this ER, they didn't realize that he was supposed to just be admitted right away, so we waited for a short time down there and they took another xray. We finally got admitted around 5am. Since then, they've done a bronchoscopy under general anesthesia, a CT/angiogram with contrast, and he's currently under general anesthesia again in Interventional Radiology, where they are going through his femoral artery up to the lungs to close off the bronchial arteries. Those are the ones that can be big and tend to get abraded and bleed with CF, especially with the extra infection Kendall has dealt with for years. And worst case scenario, those bleeds can cause a person to drown if the lung fills up. So it's a little scary when this happens! I'm running on about 3 hours of sleep, so I may not make a lot of sense.

The really hard thing is that he and his sister were supposed to fly to Baltimore this weekend for an anime convention. So he's pretty disappointed about that. He was really hoping that they could fix him and he'd be on his way, but that just isn't gonna happen. :-( And last year two days before this same convention is when he was in a car accident and totaled my van. He said he's not making plans to go next year!

Monday, July 13, 2009

Ideas for fabulous at 50

Over breakfast yesterday I was thinking aloud, talking with my husband about what I should do for my 50th bday next March. Walk a half-marathon (I do NOT run - ever, unless maybe if a bear is chasing me), hike up Pikes Peak, learn to snowboard (he told me he has a cane and walker I can borrow), ride in a bicycle race? I want it to be something fitness related. And something I never would have been done a decade ago.

Sooooo, any other ideas on some cool activity? And don't say 99 minutes on a stairmaster. I'm not insane like Jen/PriorFatGirl!!!! ;-D

More good lists

Healthiest Restaurant Meals in America

Worst Appetizers in America

The Best Belly Busting Foods

Weekend in Breckenridge

Had a fun weekend in Breckenridge with my sister and her family. Her hubby's boss has a house up there and it's gorgeous! We did a couple hikes on Saturday and I was there to take their family photo so we were scouting locations for that. That evening we went looking for wildlife but only saw one fox on the road right outside the house! We had a few encounters with mosquitoes so I have an itchy spot.

Yesterday my hubby and I stayed later, walked downtown Breck, then drove up through the Rocky Mountain Nat'l Park, looking for moose! We were successful! Saw a mama and baby, then two elk, then another moose while on the west side. Unfortunately I didn't take my telephoto lens and tripod, so the photos are a little far away, so not perfect when zoomed in, but you can still tell what the animals are. During the elk encounter, I slid down a hill and landed on my butt. No injuries, just a little jolt. Did one hike on the west side in the valley, then walked up to the peak at the visitor's center on the top of the mountain. It was very windy and COLD - about 55, but the wind chill factor had to be a lot lower. My pedometer logged more than 10,000 steps for the day.

Got a holter monitor attached this morning. Hope to find out what's going on with my heart. I don't think it's a heart issue, but we'll see.

Will post photos later.

Friday, July 10, 2009

Some thoughts

I'm really amazed that I can get into a size ten at this weight. I know it has a lot to do with working out and lifting weights. The last time I wore a size ten, I know I was 20-25 pounds LIGHTER. So I may be happy at 170. I think I'd like to have my low of the month be 165, then when I'm pmsing and such, it's OK to bump up to 170. :-)

The other day I got myself a new pair of chaps to wear on the motorcycle. My other pair are 2Xs and fall right off with everything pulled as tight as possible. I'll have to get a pic of me wearing them. Hubby LOVED the look! Or is that another L word? ;-) The new pair are 12s. I expected to wear a little bigger size in the tight leather. And there's plenty of belt holes and I can also pull them tighter in the back with extra grommets. So I should be able to wear these even if I get a little smaller.

Got back on the treadmill yesterday for 30 minutes. Kept it kind of slow, max of 3mph and my heart rate was up to 165 so I figured I shouldn't push it.

OK, speaking of sizes, I have a few swimsuits I can no longer wear. One is a 1X.16W, black with white trim skirted one piece. The other is a size 22W one piece with a skirt, black with tiny white polka dots. Neither has underwire in the bra. Also have a size 14 tank one piece, (no skirt) blues with gold stripes running through it horizontally. They are free for the taking if you send me a couple bucks for shipping. (USA only, please) We're going out of town for the weekend, so email me and I'll get back to you Sunday night or Monday.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

My friend Annalisa at Diary of a Yo-Yo Dieter gave me these sweet awards. There were no rules posted, so I'm not sure how many people I can spread the love to, and there are definitely way too many blogs I love to include everyone. So I'll try to include some I haven't given awards to in the past.




OK, I decided to spread the love to the following darling bloggers who bless me with their comments of support and encouragement here, and offer great info and insight on their own blogs.

Jenn at Watch My Butt Shrink

Hanlie at Fertile Healthy

Patty at Fit By My 50th

Diana at Diana's Body Journey

Dana at To the Best of My Ablitly

Cammy at The Tippy Toe Diet

And I would give an award to Jack Sh*t Getting Fit because he always makes me laugh no matter how lousy my day has been, but these awards are just a little too girly for him, I'm sure. ;-) If your feminine side overtakes your sh*tty side today, go ahead and claim the award, Jack! LOL

You all ROCK! (And so does everyone else who comes to comment. If I haven't awarded you yet, I'll try to get you next time.)

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Avoid the WORST!

More Eat This, Not That info from the Men's Health website.
Trans-Fattiest Foods in America

The 30 Worst Foods in America
Some of these are so very, very, very SCARY! (Like the cinnabon beast???? Glad to say I've never gone to a Cinnabon establishment!)

The Unhealthiest Drinks in America

Monday, July 6, 2009

Ideal Body Weight? - 179

Check out this website to calculate your ideal body weight.


"Ideal weight range is 172 - 189.2 lbs. (78.2 - 86 kg.).
Contratulations! Your weight is ideal!"

(And you need to go to SPELLING SCHOOL, ya loser! ;-) I'm not sure I believe this weight range. Wouldn't it be different for men and women due to muscle mass? I still would like to get under 170. I'm back up to 179 after a week of little exercise and an effort to eat more carbs and starches. Hey, I'm still IDEAL, right? Ha.)

"How is Ideal Weight Determined?
Your ideal weight range-- 172 - 189.2 lbs. (78.2 - 86 kg.). --is based on a formula that calculates what a healthy weight is for most people of your height (71 inches) and frame size (Medium).

Are There Other Methods to Determining Ideal Weight? The weight above calculated with your height is only a measure of weight and obesity based on BMI. Specific methods exist to assess the actual composition of your body and specifically the percentage of fat. These methods include hydrostatic (or underwater) weighing, Dual X-Ray Absorptiometry (DEXA), Bioelectrical Impedance, and Skin Fold Testing. Hydrostatic weighing and DEXA are considered the "gold standards" and are the most accurate in measuring body fatness. However, both methods require sophisticated equipment and can be expensive. Bioelectrical Impedance is portable and easy to use. Its accuracy is within 3-5% of hydrostatic weighing as long as the protocol is followed closely. Skin fold measurements are inexpensive and a convenient way to measure body fatness. The method is accurate if performed by a well trained technician. This method is not accurate in the obese population."

Another great article on this website: How to Get a Flat Belly Quickly and Easily - 5 Musts
(This site could definitely use better editors!!!!)

Motivational Monday

How do you like my 9mm XD? :-D (It's the black thing attached to my right hip in the holster.)


From Denise Austin
Motivational Monday
Rethink Your Habits One Step at a Time!
I am a big believer in the power of small victories! The best way to get healthier and more fit is to take baby steps, to introduce good habits a few at a time.

When you try to overhaul your entire lifestyle overnight, it's easy to burn out. But when you start with one small change and put your energy into making it a habit, the chances are a lot better that it will stick! Did you know that it takes about three weeks to establish a habit? If you can take a small, achievable step and make it a regular part of your life for three weeks, you should be able to stick to it permanently.

If you're feeling a bit overwhelmed by the number of changes you want to make in your life, or if you're not sure how to get started, try this: Make a list of the changes you'd like to make, big and small. Include anything you can think of. Now go over the list and pick out one change to start with. Make it something that you feel is achievable at this stage of your life — for example, you may not be able to make over your entire diet, but maybe you can fit in one more vegetable each day in place of a less healthy food. Or you may not have time to join an aerobics class, but maybe you can start taking a walk most nights after dinner. Pick something you think you can accomplish, and put your energy into making it happen! You'll be so happy when you can check this item off of your list.

Once you feel confident that you've accomplished this small change, add another item from your list to your efforts. And don't forget to keep track of the changes you've already made! Nothing is more inspiring than knowing that you can — and have — accomplished changes in your life. Be proud along this journey!

Here's a pic of the pearl ring I got in remembrance of mom.

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Flat Belly Diet

As most of you know, I've had great luck with the Flat Belly diet since I started it on Feb 9th of this year. Prevention Magazine has so much awesome nutritional and health info, I enjoy the magazine and truly learned a lot by doing the FBD. I haven't felt at all like I was on a restricted diet.

There's a lot of info on the website where you can learn about the FBD to see if you'd like to get the book, which has pages for journaling throughout the 32 days and SO MANY recipes to choose from, you'll have no problems finding things you like.

The JUMPSTART is the first four days. It gives you specific foods to avoid to help with belly bloat and lose initial water weight. In the book, there's a shopping list for the specific menus for those 4 days.

Top 10 belly-fat-fighting foods

25 Flat belly meals

How about some Flat Belly diet chocolate desserts?

And here's a 1-week meal plan

I've posted July 4th photos on my family blog.

Friday, July 3, 2009

Happy Birthday, America!

For all Americans - get out your copy of the Constitution and read it. Believe it. Love it. And let's get rid of the buffoons who've weaseled their way into office, pledging to support and defend this beloved document, and then totally chucking it and betraying those who voted for them.

You say you don't have a copy? Yes, you do. You are online right now. So go find it.

Summer weather

We continue to have daily thunderstorms, but the morning is lovely. So this morning we (my sister, her kids, my hubby and I) went for a hike in the Nat'l forest behind our neighborhood. I did just fine with the exertion. This is the BEST kind of exercise. :-)

This is the highest point to which we hiked.

The local wildlife - an itty bitty chipmunk.

My nephews and niece

My little sister and I

Me and my honey