Dry Run

I did a dry run this morning. I ran/walked with no rain showers and I also practiced my school morning routine with a dog involved ... something new this year. Both were exceedingly successful. It was confirmed that I absolutely can not work out in the morning before school. It took me 90 minutes to dress, exercise, shower and dress again. I was back at my desk for work by 8:00, but Princess was not involved in the morning at all. Alas. Looks like exercising will have to be done in the evening during the school year.

My FIL has hip replacement surgery tomorrow morning. Please pray for him. God has most graciously allowed him to advance this far in life without having ever been in the hospital. King will be staying with him on the night shifts while in the hospital. King also has a h-u-g-e business meeting in the morning before his trip to see his dad. Big week.

Ouch

These Low pressure systems here in Texas are great rain producers. They also can cause some whopping chest pains for a gal with potassium issues. I was feeling funky today, so I took some slow release potassium. I thought a walk might make the funk go away, so I changed into my workout clothes and hit the trail. About 3/4 mile into my walk, I started having chest pains that radiated down my left arm. I slowed to a stop and then had another set, then another. I decided I better call King to come get me. He and Princess drove over to get me and took me home. I was bummed because I didn't get my whole walk done. :) Bummed because I had a couple of episodes with trouble breathing after I got home. I forget so easily how scary it is to have trouble breathing and not be able to move or talk to get help. I'm telling ya ... God listens and prayer works. He is very attentive to His kids.

It's been a lazy day with swim lessons, friends over to play, computer work and ... episodes. All's well that ends well. It's ending well.

Progress

I did a few calculations and my BMI has gone from borderline "obese" to "normal". When I started NS on March 1st, my BMI was 29.2. Today it is 23.7. I've lost 2 inches from my body just since July 1st! I do not do anything dramatic in this journey to better health. I simply avoid paralysis triggers, take my medication, eat as sensibly as possible and walk. Walk, walk, walk. One of the things that has helped me is to buy colorful and fun exercise clothes. It is surprising how much more comfortable they are compared to regular "street clothes". When I put my work out clothes on, strap my sneakers on ... I want to exercise. It's fun. (Jamie, I can so relate to that "go to the gym feeling" that new sneaks give ya! Love them, by the way. )

It's supposed to rain again today. The last few nights it has been so cool that it feels like autumn or spring. The temps have been in the low 70's with the high in the lower 80's. Normally the low is in the lower 80's and highs in the upper 90's to 100's. We are so spoiled.

School starts all too soon. Princess and I are soaking up the days while summer lasts. She's had a sleep over in our room the last two nights and we've stayed up late playing games. She's so fun.

Plasma Ride

Last night I took Princess with me on my walk (normally 3 miles) and this time, she rode her plasma car. We have a lot of hills in our area and finding a means of transportation for Princess has been difficult. Her little legs have trouble keeping up with me. We've tried her bike, walking and now the plasma car. The plasma car is the definite winner. I strapped a leash to the steering wheel and pulled her up hills and she rode down them. It was great fun for her and a great workout for me. All totalled, I pulled 60 pounds up and down hills for two miles. We would have done the whole smash, but we ran into a good friend and walking her back to her house was more fun and important than getting in that extra mile. This morning she joined me for my walk again, this time on her bike. I can really tell the Periodic Paralysis is affecting her muscles more all the time. She just doesn't have endurance like a normal kid her age. Aside from the fact that it began pouring rain 5 minutes into our walk, she did very well for the first mile and then she wanted to turn around. I guess when she comes with me, I will go for shorter walks, but it is always fun to share that exercise time together.

My eats are good. I usually only eat NS food at lunch now. Last night I cooked for the first time in weeks! It was rainy again yesterday, so we had black-eyed peas and corn bread. I was out of milk, so we used Dan Active yogurt instead. It turned out really yummy! We also grilled chicken sausages (this flavor was pablano peppers with queso). They are not fatty and are very tasty.

Walking Again

My knee is so much better! I went for a short hike with Jamie and Princess on Sunday evening. Previously, I've posted a waterfall picture from our neighborhood. In the 4 years that we have lived here, I have never hiked down by the lake. I couldn't believe how pretty it was! It was getting dusky and there are "critters in those woods", so we turned around and headed back. I really want to go back in full daylight and enjoy the hike.

I went for my 3 mile walk this morning as a celebration of my "new" knee and also to celebrate my new official pant/dress size! I'm in a solid 10 now. Since the 1st of March, I have gone from a 16 to a 14 to a 12 to a 10!!! Yahoo. Josh, you know those beautiful cream slacks from Ann Taylor that you gave me? I kept thinking I would take them to the tailor to shorten the hem. I tried them on this morning and, alas, they are way too big. I also tried on my "inspiration" jeans this morning ... you know the jeans you keep stuffed in the closet hoping that one day you'll fit in them, but knowing that you never will? I tried them on and they fit! Ok, so a bit of a muffin top, but it won't be long 'til I'll be in them with no muffin in sight.

Dixie Update

Well, aside from being the cutest little poodle I have ever seen, she is adorably sweet. It's been two weeks now and still not one bark. King thinks that's not right ... like something has happened in Dixie's past to prevent her from barking. One can only speculate. She's hand shy, too. Obviously she's been hit a fair amount. It makes me sad to reach down to scratch under her chin and she ducks and flinches. Poor little punkin.

She does have knee cap problems, but they do not seem to limit her movement. Every so often you can hear a "snap", like the sound my knees make when I stand or squat down. She rarely whimpers when it dislocates, so I think it must not hurt terribly bad. I would love to do surgery on her, but we are going to wait. She's still almost deaf, but being a poodle, she learns fast, so she's picking up some hand signs and that's helpful.

The breeder. Oh dear. She's a piece of work. When we met her, we could tell she is a "hard woman", if you know what I mean. She's an older lady and she an her husband are not in great health. Looking back on our hour spent at her house when we picked up Dixie, there were signs that we should have followed up on. We were choosing to think the best, so we extended lots of grace. I'd do the same thing again (extending grace), but I would ask a lot more questions. King can be dramatic just like me, that's why we have so much fun together. However, when he relays a conversation or talks about life in general, he's very understated. I, on the other hand, apply full dramatic license and paint the most colorful, yet truthful, picture.

So, King calls the breeder and explains that we weren't looking for any money, we just wanted to hear more about Dixie's past, from her perspective. When she heard the first of what King had to say, she went on the attack. King will not tell me what she said (ouch), only that we are never dealing with this woman again. She hung up on King three times. Enough said.

So, we are loving on this little gal, enjoying her antics and all around becoming poodle people. You know, "those people".

What To Do?

We picked up our poodle, Dixie, on July 8th and have had her 11 days. Of those 11 days, she's only eaten 3 of them. We've been to the vet twice and two different vets have concluded:

1. She's going deaf.
2. She has a very bad case of canine peridontitis (rotten teeth and infected gums)
3. Her knee caps (patella) are dislocating on both legs
4. She is not 6 years old as purported, but 8 years old



We are waiting on a return phone call from Dixie's breeder. We are all attached to Dixie already, but Princess especially loves having Dixie sleep with her at night and playing "veterinarian" with her friends. The vets say that we are looking at approximately $2000 to fix Dixie. I can't pay that kind of money. Dixie was offered as a dog who needs her teeth cleaned, but is otherwise completely healthy. I am hoping that the breeder will cover the vet bills that correspond to the "completely healthy" label that Dixie had. Since we bought a "completely healthy" little dog, I am stunned to hear that the popping sound I heard yesterday is actually Dixie's knee dislocating and popping back into socket! Stunned also that her "teeth cleaning" will consist of massive dental surgery and possible oral surgery at a price tag of $400-$900. I'm surprised that this "completely healthy" dog has both knee caps dislocating and have been dislocating long enough for it to have rubbed the bone down around the knee! Ok, so I've already mentioned the knee thing, but geez. That's a hard way to pass the days. And finally, this "completely healthy" dog is almost deaf. Now, honestly folks, how can one mistake all of these issues and sell a dog to an 8 year old girl who is expecting a healthy little pal for the next 6-8 years? I don't want to indicate that the breeder is less than straight forward, but she's been less than straight forward with us. And I'm miffed.

I honestly do not know what to do. I hate getting attached to animals because invariably I have to make hard decisions like this. Just pray for wisdom for us and that we will have a gracious, yet crucial conversation with the breeder. We'll keep you updated.

On the NS front, my eats have been good. My knee is almost back to walking status (the foot stool is working great!) and my weight is going back down.

Persevering

Yesterday was a tiring day. Ya ever have those? The days where you slug through it and when you get to the end-ish of it, all you can think of is comfortable jammies and a book? Well, I had one of those and if I don't keep in motion, today will be another one. I really want to persevere. Persevering requires commitment. Commitment requires discipline. Discipline requires pain. Pain requires a decision - "lay down or fight". And we're back full circle to Persevering.

1 Cor "Love ... always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."
1 Kings "But your hearts must be fully committed to the LORD our God, to live by his decrees and obey his commands, as at this time."
Psalm "Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun."
Proverbs "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline."
Prov "Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid."
Prov "Buy the truth and do not sell it; get wisdom, discipline and understanding."
1 Cor "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline."
Titus "Rather he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined."
Hebrews "No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it."


I figured out why my left knee is hurting so much. I realized that it was a ligament, but couldn't figure out why it was hurting. This morning it dawned on me that it's the way I am sitting at my desk. My feet do not touch the floor, so I tuck my left leg under me and sit ... and sit ... aaaand sit. I guess I'm pulling that ligament the whole time I'm sitting. So, I have a little foot stool under my feet now and we'll see if it fixes my knee. I hope so ... I can't go walking again until my knee is better. Thus, I can't burn any serious calories until my knee is better.


My eats have been okay this week. Yesterday afternoon I didn't have much to snack on that was healthy, so the hershey's kisses won out. That was silly. One thing I love about mess ups is that as soon as I mess up, I get to try again! I'm going to the grocery store this morning, so healthy snacks should be a no brainer again for a few days. I'm off to put the kisses in the freezer where they are not accessable or desirable. BTW, I'd love some delicious and easy low-calories or low fat recipes. Wanna lay some on me? I'll send you some kisses...

A Girl and Her Chocolate

Well, my laziness the past couple of weeks is paying off. I've gain a couple of pounds back, I think. Weight fluctuates so much that it's hard to guage how I'm doing by the scales, but I'm not going to deny the effects of the Supremely Chocolate Mudpie Thing from Cheesecake Factory pictured above, the chocolate shake I shared with my family and the cream cheese brownie yesterday. Are ya seeing the chocolate theme?? Now, I did share all of these things with others, however, I did my share of partaking, too!

The aforementioned Mudpie was last Tuesday on date night (Amy, this is the date when we thought of you and Ray) and happily last night for date night we walked around Town Lake. Here is a picture that Jamie took this past week. It had calmed down some by the time we went yesterday I guess because they closed a flood gate. They still have two flood gates open to Town Lake. Ok, for those of you who do not know what town lake normally looks like, I'm going to have to find a picture ...

Ok. This is what Town Lake normally looks like. Did I mention that we've had a lot of rain lately?

So, I'm not sorry for the treats I've had this week, but I am glad that I walked 3 miles last night and 3 miles again this morning. Be gone, extra calories!!!

A good week

Summer seems to be a hard time to blog. There is a lot going on and nothing going on. Between the two, I seem to forget to blog.

We've taken a break from cleaning the garage because I bought 20 rose bushes from Home Depot this past week. Now we have to make spots for them in the yard. It was a good thing, really, because we've had these scary plants out in front of our house. They are called cotoneasters, but really they make our house look like the Munsters' house. Yesterday, King wrapped onto them with heavy chains, put the pickup in 4x4 and ripped them out. It was impressive! Now the fig ivy is really showcased. I think we'll plant roses in most of the bed (the sunny spots) and fill in with nandina, holly and jasmine. I can't wait. It will be so much more inviting when we are done. King keeps teasing me that I'll be known by the kids as "the rose lady". I think he must've had some past trauma from childhood in regards to finding lost baseballs in thorny flowerbeds. Bless his lil' pea pickin' heart. I'm still planting my roses.

So, I didn't post a full picture of my new dress, but here is the top of me in it with two dear family members. Note the new haircut. Well, okay, it's not new. It's the same cut I've had for over a year, but my hair grows so fast and cuts are so expensive that I've tried to stretch it out and not go so often. The result is that I have 2-3 different hairstyles in 8 weeks. Alas, I have resigned myself to go and get a cut every 4 weeks and look the same all the time.

Did I mention that we got our little Dixie this past weekend? She's been with us a week as of today. She acts as if she's always lived here. She's been a mama dog most of her life and lived in a kennel. Having said that, we are amazed at what a doll she is. She loves people, kids in particular. She is completely housetrained, does not bark (we have not heard her bark, ever), is not hyper and is overall precious. The kennel part comes in with the fact that she doesn't seem to know her name. This dog just turned 7 years old! She was one of the breeder's favorites, yet "dixie" means nothing to her. And, to top it off, she doesn't seem to be able to hear very well. I'm hoping that it's just wax in her ears. I plan to take her to the vet this next week. She's a doll though and we love her so much already. This is a picture of her and Princess in the car on the way home about 15 minutes after picking her up. What a cutie ... and the dog is, too!!

Cleaning

Hubby and I are still cleaning and organizing the garage. It's going to be great when we get finished ... it's just taking so long!

I got my hair cut today. It's basically the same ... short and flippy.

Last week I walked 10 miles. I began to run periodically during my walk and am amazed that I am so lacking in stamina. In college, I did aerobics 3x a week and ran 2-5 miles the other two days. Now, after 7 years of paralysis, I just do not have the stamina to run. I am amazed at my progress in overall endurance though. To walk 10 miles a week is nothing short of stupendous for this paralytic. :)

I bought a new dress (and shoes) today for a wedding we are going to this weekend. I bought a medium size dress. Haven't done that in years! I also made a goal to be in the 130's by the end of the week. Well, I made 139 yesterday! I hope to be at goal weight by Christmas. I'll try to post a pic in my dress, shoes and new hair in the next couple of days.

Eats have been good. I got my last NS order last week. I will miss the convenience of having yummy diet food premade for myself.

Well, I'd better get back to the garage....