Back to Work

We got in late last night. So late that I didn't do my routine. I was up early and struggled to get out the door to work. I did get lots done at work. Mostly because I couldn't go back into the plant so I was working in the training room.

But I did get caught up on everything. I also had our women's support group to run. I got home around 7:30pm. But I am exhausted and I have to be at work at 6:00am. So tonight is a short one.

Last Day with the Grandkids

 Sadly, our trip is coming to an end. We said goodbye to the grandkids tonight. (and their parents too). It was  a very pleasant visit. We got to make some memories. The kids were on their best behavior. We celebrated our Daughter-in-law's birthday early. Two granddaughter's sewed their first skirts. The grandkids played scrabble with Grandpa. It was a good trip. 

I am sorry it is coming to an end. Tomorrow we fly home and return to normal routines. Still it was a great trip.

Sewing Lessons

 Yesterday, Josh suggested I show Kara and the girls how to sew. They have a simple singer sewing machine but haven't really used it. 

We settled on a simple elastic waistband skirt. Today, I sat down with all of them and explained the parts of the machine and how to thread it. We wound a bobbin and everyone got to try stitching with the machine. Kara learned about how to balance tension. Kara is actually looking for a simple project to sew for herself.

I got skirts cut for Mary and Phoebe. Mary got her skirt stitched together. I miscalculated and the skirt is longer than she wanted. So tomorrow I will cut it down and we will get it hemmed. I am hoping to help Phoebe get her skirt made. Rebekah didn't get fabric picked out but is helping her sisters a little bit, so I am hoping she can follow the directions in the pattern to make her own.

After the sewing lessons, we all went up into the wood/mountains and had a weenie roast. It was fun to watch the kids roasting hot dogs for everyone. Grandpa shared the secrets to marshmallow roasting. The kids made sure everyone got perfectly roasted marshmallows.

It was a good day with lots of memories made. This trip is way too short.

Day Two With the Grandkids

Kim and the four younger grandkids

Today was another fun filled day with the grandkids. We are starting to learn just who they are. They are starting to open up and trust us. It is really great to be here with them. We have two more days with them and I think we are not going to want to leave. 

We took them to a quilt show and even the teenage boys were interested once they figured out what it was. It helped that Kim was talking things up to them. Josh also asked questions. The girls showed us the ones they liked. We talked with the featured quilter an learned some.  She asked to see a picture of some of my quilts. She and I talked about processing scraps into usable pieces. Rebekah asked her some questions as well. The boys also asked some questions. It was an experience for them. 

We even dragged them all to a quilt store. The kids saw first hand how their grandfather supports my hobby. They also saw how he picks out as much or more fabric than I do. The boys even commented on it to me.

We did do some fun stuff like, ride bumper cars and play miniature golf.  It was a hoot, even if there were some frustrated feelings. I have been so impressed with how the kids carry themselves. Their parents are doing a great job.

Meeting the Grandkids

It was a fun day with the grandkids. We had only met the oldest 3. And that was like 11 years ago. Rebekah is almost 17 and Nathaniel is almost 16. Jethro just turned 14. Phoebe is 12, Elias is 10 and Mary is 9. They all are rather quiet and we had to probe a little to get to know them. 

We went to the Wyoming State Museum and then the Cheyenne Botanical Garden. It was a busy day of walking and learning. It was pleasant temperature and we were back at their house before the thunderstorm hit. We watched a couple of movies, ate dinner and then called it a night. 

We are still on the eastern time zone and are not quite used to so much fresh air and sunshine. But it was a good day.

A Day of Travel

 We got up at 7:00 eastern time. I quickly finished pacing and we were out the door by 7:45.  Killian, Kim and I stopped for breakfast at Waffle House. Then Killian dropped us at the airport. We were there 3 hours before our flight but that was just fine. Travel went without a hitch and we are nestled in our hotel room. It's now 11:30 eastern time and we both are tired.

One thing that interested me today. While at Waffle House, some people from upper management showed up. The crew greeted them as they walked in and then realized who they were. The was just a second of awkwardness. Then the lead of the upper management started chatting with workers while helping out. And by helping out I mean doing dishes and talking with the workers. There wasn't anymore awkwardness. They were all working as a team.  I made me think a little bit about my interactions with my employees. I need to engage more with them. Something to work on this year.

Feeling a Little Rushed

 I worked today. I went in late but stayed until 5:00pm. I was busy taking care of some special testing. one of the employees asked why I was still there. I pointed out that she failed to get coverage for the tech on Jury duty and i needed to help Tomiko.  I also checked in with my boss before leaving. Then I dropped my car off at a friend's who needs it to take her aunt to the dentist an hour away.  My husband or one of my kids was supposed to pick me up. Killian did but is was after 6:00pm because he worked.  Kim worked from home today and yesterday.  So he was able to get lots of things done to prepare for the trip. I have not prepared anything for it.

So I get home and Kim reminds me that we need to pack. I said that I also need to pay the bills because he got paid yesterday. I went in and folded the laundry which was mostly his.  Then I started on the bills. He proudly announces that he is packed. Yay for him. I still have stuff to do before packing. Plus some of the stuff I need I can't pack until tomorrow anyway. 

He isn't really rushing me but it does feel a little that way. I guess we're both just a little excited to go see the grandkids. the last time we tried to visit them we were snowed out. 

Still no caffeine. Still drinking 80oz of water. Still doing morning and evening routines.  

Getting Ready to Be on Vacation

 On Thursday, Kim and I are flying out west to see our oldest son and his family. Which means I will be out of the office for 4 days.  I need to have things prepped before I go. Today was one of those days that afforded time to do just that. I was able to get lots done. I still have tomorrow after noon to finish things off. 

PT is going pretty well. I am really liking it. I am definitely making strides. I am mostly trying to not go to the bathroom out of habit or opportunity right now. I had realized that was what I was doing the other night. Then again yesterday, I noticed I was doing it again.  I am going to talk with the Dr. Smith about it tomorrow at my next session.

Still no caffeine. Doing better on the starches. Still drinking lots of water.  And still doing my routines. Looking forward to some down time.

Monday, Monday...

Usually Mondays are filled with ups and downs. Most of the time, Mondays are full of set backs. Today, however,  it was not. It was a fairly calm day.  Work came together easily, and I was able to leave work at a reasonable time.

I am still off the caffeine and I am still drinking 80 oz of water daily.  Doing a little better on controlling the starches. But I have a long way to go. I need to buckle down on what I eat.

I am still doing my morning and evening routines. Which honestly is the best thing I can do right now. Controling stress and keeping my spiritual needs met is vital to any and all wellness efforts I make. I don't know why I let myself fall out of the habit.

Still moving forward is the best thing. Taking it one day at a time. And improving day by day.

Pleasant Day

Today is my husband's birthday. He actually made it home for it.  He was supposed to fly in last night but he got stuck in the Atlanta airport all night due to the storms. He made it in at 9:12am this morning. I picked him up at the airport and we came on home. 

We had a pleasant day. Perigrin cooked her dad's birthday dinner. Killian and Kim put a new air conditioner in our room. I went to Bainbridge to pick up the cake.  TaKayren, Jeramie and the kids came over to spend the afternoon and have dinner. Arianna and Tatianna called to wish Kim a happy birthday.

This evening I folded 3 loads of laundry. I cleared more space in the dining room, and I stisched about 3 hexie flowers. Both morning and evening routines were done. Plus 8 days caffeine free and doing fairly well with the PT homework.

All in all another pleasant day.  

A Good Day

 Day 7 of no caffeine. But still tired. Water intake is at least 80oz a day. Still struggling a little, okay a lot, with the sweets cravings. Trying to limit carbonation as well. Doing better with the physical therapy homework. 

I did end up taking a nap today. After my RS activity this morning, I came home talked with Killian a little bit and I realized I was drifting off to sleep. So I decided to go ahead and take a nap. 4 hours later, I finally got up. Feeling more rested but still groggy.  Then Kim's flight has been delayed by at least 4 hours. So the nap was probably a good thing.

The RS activity went well, even if there were only 4 other women there. I had a power point on the whys and what of  72 hour kits. I had an example of a 72 hour kit that I had put together. I unpacked it and showed what I had inside it. I also had a folder for each of them with emergenty preparedness planning guides, FEMA's list of emergency supplies for a kit, and a news release article about kits.  Then we put together basic Hygiene kits to get the ball rolling for them to start getting their own 72 hour kits together.

I felt really good about the whole things. I had been prepared for 12 women but we aren't doing a very good job of informing women in advance of these activities. I left the extra folders for anyone who might want them. I then came home a prepared 4 basic Hygiene kits for our family. We need to start getting out Bug-Out kits together.

So all in all a good day.

Friday At Last.

 It's Friday!!!!! This week has been a hectic and stressful one. The hectic part was way too many doctor appointments. I am begiing to feel a little like a Hypchondriac. I swear my GP would rather send me to a specialist than try something on their own. And all the doctors want follow-up visits to see how all the changes, meds, etc are working. But I am really liking the Pelvic Floor therapy. I have a long way to go but I am seeing how this all works.

The stressful part was work. Drama with a couple of employees has made for a long week. But I believe those situations are going to work themselves out here shortly.

As a result of the Drama I have developed a training program for new techs. I got all the techs' input on it. I sent out the proposed program for review.

Still no Caffeine, 6 days in a row today. Still doing my routines both morning and night. I already feel less stressed. Still craving sweets though. That will come with time I am sure.

Tonight I finished my presentation for the Relief Society Activity tomorrow. It's on 72 hour Kits. I had to pull one together. We've kind of let ours slide. In a pinch, we can just grab the camping chests, a case of MREs  and our medecine bags and we are on our way. Mostly for emergencies, we hunker down at home. We have all we need here unless we have to evacuate.

Should be a good activity. I am feeling good about it.

One More Day

Today went pretty well. Day five of no caffeine and it is going pretty well. Still tired though. I'm sure one I get used to not having the caffeine. I'll have more energy. I did pretty well with food today. Well at least I did until I got home. I need to work on healthy snacks. I do pretty good during the day usually.

At work I got a couple things done. mostly because I couldn't work in the lab. On the bright side, a situation that wasn't looking very good yesterday took a turn for the better. Unfortunately another one took a turn for the worse. But I am begining to think that second situation will be an addtition by subtraction.

Went to therapy today. This week's home work is working on suspressing the urge to pee. Basically retraining myself to hold it longer. I knew that having to pee every hour (or sooner) was rediculous but that is what my body was telling me to do. So normal shoud intervals should be 2-4-hours. So we are starting with retraining my body to control the bladder better. Then when I have control back, start on lengthening the times between bathrooom breaks.

Interesting to note that it's what you eat and drink not how much that causes the frequency of needing to pee. I knew caffeine was a cuplrit. I kinda thought carbonation is probably not great. but I didn't realize acidic food also plays a role. All of them are bladder irritants. So need to look at curbing them a little bit.

Starting on the home work tomorrow. I go back next Wednesday. I am looking forward to making this work.

Another Day In

Day 3 went fairly well. Both morning and evening routines are being done. I managed to drink 96oz of water. I did eat off diet a little bit but I limited my starches. Day 4 of no caffeine and no real headache. 

At work we had conflict training.  Basically having a difficult discussion with subordinates without it escalating.  It was good training and I enjoyed it. Unfortunately I had to use those lessons at the end of the day. It went okay. Sad situation and I really feel for the person.

My doctor's appointment went well, but I don't understand why the GP is trying to manage my diabetes and lipids when I have an endocrinologist doing it. She has me coming back in 6 months. I am thinking I will put it off for a year.  I don't need to be seen by 4 doctors twice a year. The GP and the gynecologist only need to be once a year. The pulmonologist and endocrinologist can me more frequent as they are treating conditions not just monitoring my overall health. Maybe I am being stubborn.

Well it was a long day and I still need to do scripture study and bathe. One more day in and many more to go.

Day Two Down

 I did pretty good today. Did my evening routine last night and my morning routine this morning. Kept my eating mostly in control. Drank lots of water. And I am 3 days caffeine free. So progress. 

Having a little trouble getting motivated to work on the house though. I am tired but I think that is from the caffeine rebound. That and I need the kids to take care of some stuff.  We'll get there.

I saw the endocrinologist today. Everything looks good. I go see my GP tomorrow. Then physical therapy on Thursday. I have 12 weeks of that.  I need to reschedule my gynecologist appointment later this month but then I should be good until my dentist appointment in October.

This wellness stuff is kind of expensive. But I am hoping it is worth it.

So Far So Good

 Today went well. I managed to do my morning routine. and now I am doing my night time routine.  I am heading to bed a little late as I did watch a couple episodes of Eureka. But I it's a start. Plus this is day two of no caffeine. I am drinking my 80oz of water. I ate pretty decently until I got home. But in all fairness I didn't get home until almost 8:00pm. I did a tiny bit of work in the dining room. 

Tomorrow will be busy and I have a doctor's appointment in the afternoon. It is late and I am going to call it a night. 

I'm going to get back on track Day by Day.

New Record - Not a Very Positive One

Well since I started trying to blog for 31 days straight, I have not made a whole month yet. But July is my worse month to date. I managed to post once in July and that was on the first day. 

In all actuality, the last half of June and all of July haven't been terribly healthy months for me. I have not been following my healthy diet and have put 30 pounds back on. I have been stress eating for sure.

I also have not been following my morning and evening routines. No blogging, scripture study, nor reading uplifting books in the evening. No spiritual messages and stitching in the morning before work. I have not been packing healthy lunches. And I have been consuming lots of caffeine. 

I have come to realize that I don't recognize when I am stressed until I start doing the old habits that I used to deal with stress. Eating and drinking all the wrong things, Binge watching sappy movies and shows. Spending lots of time on my phone on social media. Staying up way too late.  I have doing all of these things in big way.

I know if I do my morning and evening routines I am more centered and at peace. Little things don't bother me. People's unacceptable actions (lying, rumor mongering, etc) don't affect me personally. So why did I let these routines go. Because I was tired and frustrated and I fell back on old habits.

Time to do better. One step at a time. One day at a time. I plan to dig out of this funk and get my ZEN back.

Wish me luck?