Life is Good.

Well, I told y'all about my ankle being sprained and getting an unexpected week's holiday from work.
I must say, altho I thought it was going to be a horrible week, I have enjoyed it immensely.
It happened in Wednesday afternoon, and until Saturday morning all I did was , sit on the sofa on my butt with my foot propped up, being waited on hand and foot by my darling husband, Paulius. I have to commend him- all during this time he uttered not a single, solitary word of complaint and did everything with a smile and a sympathetic ear. All women should be blessed with such a loving husband......

Anyway, On Saturday I began hobbling about a bit on it, still not doing too much because, altho it could bear a bit of weight on it, any slight twisting or turning motion set it off throbbing again. So, mostly, I made short trips to the kitchen to get a sip of drink for myself to give Pauli a bit of a break. He still had plenty to do, tho, with me soaking my foot three times a day to take the swelling and soreness out, cooking meals and ,since I was on crutches, bringing me cups of coffee and glasses of water.

Sunday I decided enough was enough and, while Pauli was still asleep, snuck into the bathroom and VERY CAREFULLY took a shower. Sponge baths just don't cut it with me and that shower felt SOOOOOO good. Looking at my foot, I saw it a huge bluish-green bruise all across the top, but the soreness was beginning to work it's way out a bit more. After the shower, I hobbled into the kitchen and propped myself against the sink and washed up the dishes in the sink. It didn't take long and I felt somewhat less useless again. By the time I had finished and altho I didn't actually STAND ON it, my foot was a bit sore from standing for so long(about a half hour with the shower) so I took myself off to the sofa again to follow doc's orders again. Later Sunday evening I even managed to cook a quick, simple dinner for me and Paulius, too!

Well, I have been, for the past month, on a special nutrition program offered by my insurance company. I have a nutritionist/dietitian call me and listen to how i have been eating and give me tips on things i can do to improve my eating habits. I have a Blood-Pressure problem and an irregular heartbeat and the two combined aren't a good thing, so my doc suggested taking advantage of this program to lower my BP and my weight, which I wanted to do anyway. One of the things suggested was to not worry about the scale so much- but to concentrate on lowering my BP and losing inches instead of pounds. She gave me some really good tips when she heard my eating/drinking habits and for the past month I have been trying them out. Nothing too drastic- just a couple of simple changes. I had Pauli help measure me about 3 & 1/2 weeks ago and so last night we measured me again.

I certainly didn't expect the results we got.
I GAINED a half inch in my bust(?????????) Strange, but true.
I lost a 1/2 inch off my waist, lost 4 inches off my hips, lost 3/4 inch off my arms, and a 1/2 inch off my thighs.

Now, I eat a pretty healthy diet, I absolutely LOVE veggies and fruits, hardly ever eat bread, and don't fry foods much at all. I like broiled, baked or raw, highly seasoned foods- but don't use a lot of salt at all either....so I was terribly frustrated by not losing weight and by my BP being so out of control.

All I really changed was- I have almost completely cut out Pepsi- I am used to having one 12 oz can at work every day, but I stopped drinking them this past month(my only concession to this is yesterday I had to go get one and have a bit- when migraines hit me it seems to ease the pain much, much quicker if I take my meds with a bit of Pepsi so I gave in on that one.) So now I drink mostly water. I also have given up chocolate in any way, shape, or form until after we find out the sex of the new grand baby.....I want a granddaughter and I figure I can make a bargain with the devil...or god....or whoever is in charge of these things. I give up something I LOVE(altho I don't eat a LOT of chocolate, either), and I get my long awaited girl that I can dress in lots of frills and lace.
Anyway, I added some upper body exercises at work- I get PLENTY of walking and climbing stairs, but almost no upper body exercise there for 8 hours. Surely this isn't this easy. But seems it is. I couldn't believe those results just by changing those tiny little things.
I just hope it continues NEXT month!

Anyway....my boss called me this morning to inquire as to when I might think I would be coming back to work because, in his words,..."We are in a Mell of a Hess here and we really NEED you."
Altho I could probably go back tonight and hobble thru it, I held fast and told him I had a doctors follow up on Wednesday afternoon and if things went as well as they seemed to be going now, I would be able to come back on Wednesday night for Thursday morning and that if anything changed those plans I would be sure to call him and let him know.

I was worried about our finances for this month, our budget is pretty tight and a weeks off work without wages hasn't been the best of circumstances, but given that the week of was spread between two pay periods and given that I gave complete and total control of all the finances over to my hubby a while back and he has it all figured out already, so I have nothing to worry about at all.

SOOOOO...with that in mind-I may STILL be able to take another week of ACTUAL VACATION/HOLIDAY after the last of this month!!

Now, I HAVE been able to do one of my favorite things while I've been laid up......reading all my fav blogs!!
I must say I have been following Ozzys blog with special interest this week. It sounds like that boy's trip was a blast and makes me think that maybe we might possibly do something along that line for our family holiday with my adult kids this year. Well, maybe not the canoe-ing part- but the camping and fishing part. I'm usually a four star hotel and restaurant kinda girl when it comes to vacation/holiday, but I have been known to go the complete and opposite direction occasionally and take a pup tent,(and sometimes not even that), a fishing pole, sleeping bag, a coffee pot and frying pan into the wilderness as a vacation. Nothing like knowing you could take care of yourself and your family should there be a national disaster of some sort where there was no power and/or convenience foods and had to live off the land.
I definitely don't think taking an RV on a trip with a gas stove and a fridge and dishes to wash and beds to make and floors to sweep is an actual holiday. Not for women anyway. You have to either be completely pampered or be completely self-sufficient when you go on holiday. That's MY take on it anyway.

Anyway, I am gonna enjoy the rest of my "holiday" now......so I'm off with a smile on my face for a change.

Life is good.