Category: A Healthy Me

A cold, brisk morning,
Today we bury a friend,
Sadness fills my heart.

Yes, today we bury a friend—my best friend’s Dad to be exact. But I phrase this loosely as I cannot physically be there due to the pandemic restrictions put in place of no gatherings, including funerals, of more than 10 people. This is devastating all the way around! The family doesn’t feel the peace that comes from the the heart-felt words, stories, and emotional hugs of those paying their respects, and those wanting to pay their respect cannot do so in person. I view this as a major disruption to the healing process. I, myself, feel like I need to do more, but haven’t figured out what that entails. So I resolve to paying close attention to facebook and look for all of the family’s posts filled with loving memories and photos, and try as I might to respond to each and every one.

But today does bring with it some goodness! The college I work for is launching some really good events to help the local medical community. We’re making masks! There are sewing stations set up as well as 3D printing stations. A local company donated fabric for sewing cloth masks, and the 3D printers are producing the plastic headbands that will then be fitted with transparent film sheets that together make face shields. I headed to campus to document these activities on videotape and photography, and it makes my heart melt that even though the campus is nearly empty, the few that remain are taking on this effort! I’m also so grateful that I got to actually leave my home and be a part of this wonderful event. Yes, we all still had to stay 6 feet apart and don latex gloves and face masks, but that doesn’t detract from the excitement I felt at seeing coworkers’ faces, hear their voices, and even just being in the same room! This reinvigorated my soul and spirit. Cabin fever has been delayed!

Rain to start this day,
Washes away yesterday,
Bring on the flowers.

First thing I noticed when I woke this morning is that my knee felt a lot better. Second thing I noticed is that it’s pouring outside! Correlation? Perhaps. Except it’s become all too predictable. I’m just always happy when the rain finally gets here because that means my activity level can return to normal! I don’t know the science behind this scenario, only that I believe it has something to do with the pressure in the air before a storm-front moves in.

Another day home, same as yesterday, and the day before that, and the day before that … this is getting old. Cabin fever is beginning to show its first symptoms! At least I’m not the only one in my household! I share this space with my sister Jennifer, my niece Eleanor, three dogs—Biscuit, Pixie, and Axel, two cats—Clare and Janet, and seven chickens—all named after YouTubers! They provide a lot of entertainment to break up the monotony, especially the dogs. I will miss all this excitement when I’m once again in my own home. I already had plans to get one dog, but now I’m upping the count to at least two new canine buddies. I’m going to start stockpiling dog balls now!

From the health front, activity levels are back up as mentioned above! My goals have been to get up and get 750 steps each hour until I get to 10K at the least, but yesterday I think I only got about 5K in. Today is starting off strong as I got 2500 in before 8 a.m.! Step goal is starting out strong. Consumption should be good today too. But Eleanor did make brownies yesterday, so I’ll have to keep my eyes closed as I pass that plate during my hourly walks. I’ll allow myself one tiny brownie at the 10K mark.

Yesterday is gone,
Today’s atmosphere is blue,
Family memories.

I’m liking this modified edition of “A Healthier Me,” because I get to make my own rules. Not straying too far from the original plan, but not doing the complete elimination due to lack of grocery supplies these days. That said, I’m trying to eat as healthy as possible, get in some home exercise/walking, and keep myself occupied so that my mode and optimism stays positive. the biggest deviations, however, is I am free to enjoy my niece’s baking attempts, and a temporary allotment of alcohol consumption per week (like only 2 glasses of whatever). I may not loose the weight as quickly, but at least I won’t gain it either. I’ll nickname this round the “hold the line” round.

Diet aside, today my knee is killing me—like swollen pain. I do know exactly what is to blame, and it’s not overuse. It’s weather related. This means a nasty storm is heading my way. But I’m holding off on the Advil as long as I can because this too shall pass.

Eternal journeys,
Footsteps on a graceful path,
Peaceful conclusions.

Yay! The program is back on with only slight modifications. This is great news and is symbolic of several areas of my life during these days of face masks, protective gloves, and self-distancing. I’m making the best of the situation, turning lemons into lemonade. First, unsweetened almond milk is back on the store shelves, so I grabbed 3 of them. Next, there was fresh meat and chicken to be found, and fresh fruits and veggies to boot! Either grocery supplies are beginning to stabilize, or I just happened to hit the store at the perfect time (Thursday at 10 a.m.), either way I’m back on track after a 10 day lapse. And, because it’s Day 1, the scale made an appearance and I am so happy to report that I did not gain anything back in those 10 days, and that was definitely a surprise!

Several other balls that were in play in my world all seemed to fall into place too! I sold my townhouse for a hefty profit (15% over appraised value), which is a miracle considering the ongoing pandemic. And literally 6 days later my deeply discounted offer on another property was accepted (5% below appraised value). These two efforts were very large seeds that have now blossomed into the most beautiful of flowers.

So yes, a lot of good news and plans working out in the best possible ways. But there was one very sad event that occurred in the form of my best friends lost her father yesterday morning. It’s never had loosing a parent, and it’s even more difficult now with all the restrictions on social gatherings. I’m very sad for the entire family as I am quite close to several of them (best friends was not a misspelling—it is deliberately meant to be plural as two sisters are equal in my circle of best friends). Today’s haiku is dedicated to the man I fondly referred to as my second Dad. Rest in Peace Ken Marrin and thank you for your service (Korean War vet).

Day 1 stats:
Scale: ##3.2
Health: good
Steps: 7,800
Mood: overjoyed AND very sad

Netflix binge watching,
Catching up on all my shows,
Need more exercise.

I finally reached double digits, but it feels like I’ve been on this plan forever. Okay, so maybe I have with a few short breaks here and there. I’m really on day 94, with about 10 cheat days mixed in. And even the cheat days were not too far off plan, so overall I feel very good about my progress. I certainly feel healthier, but I do more to go. And then this brings on thoughts about what 100% achievement looks like, and does such a thing exist?

But I don’t need 100%. I’ll be happy with 80% – 90%. Now I realize everyone’s 100% looks different. My 100% is to be back to my high school self, or even my early 20s. Yes, a most unachievable goal, but if i can get 80% there, that’s a success in my book.

At least it’s Friday, the end of the work week. I did have to pop into the office today to participate in a department meeting (we used an oversized meeting space so that our self-distancing bubbles remained intact), and it was good to see everyone healthy, even though the campus looked deserted with no students or faculty around, and half of the staff is working from home. I managed to get some face-time in and was back home by noontime, and stopped at the grocery store on the way home to get just one thing—chicken. And oh joy, oh joy! The store had only two packages left (needed 2 lbs of chicken thighs for a stew I want to make), and I grabbed one of them! We will be enjoying my favorite on-plan stew in a day or two, right after we finish off the rest of the corned beef. I do want to open a really good bottle of wine to go with it, but for today I am able to resist.

The rest of Friday was fairly uneventful, and these days that’s a great thing!

The news on my mind,
Florida beaches crowded,
Selfish Spring Breakers.

Hopefully some day soon my Hikau’s will be more light-hearted. But for today, Thursday, that’s the key outrage people all over the country are expressing. And the interviews with the drunk college students on the beaches and in the bars is only fueling the fires in every way possible! They are angering the rest of the country, and they will be the cause of this country’s numbers of confirmed cases and deaths shooting through the roof. But today they are happy and partying. Come March 27, they will be the ones getting sick and watching their loved ones get sick and dying, all because they did not want to heed the warnings and brought the SARS-CoV-2 virus back to their homes and communities. They won’t be bringing it back to their schools, however, because just about every school in the country has closed until further notice (all classes to be held virtually).

I work for a college in Vermont, one of the last states to identify a first case, and our biggest fear even as much as a month ago was students bringing the virus back from Spring Break. We took incremental steps: first extending spring break by a week and requiring all students submit to a health screening before being allowed back onto campus, but now we are not allowing students back until April 18, which is another month away, and that date may change again. Even with all the precautions being taken by employers, governments, schools, etc., there is a large number of people who still believe that the health professionals are overreacting. To them I have only one thing to say, “You’re an idiot!” There is an expression that is commonly said when someone realizes they made the wrong decision or choice: “In hindsight, …” or “If I knew then what I know now …” The ironic part of this situation is that the United States DOES have the precious gift of hindsight—and it has a name: Italy!

Now that I got that off my mind, I can switch over to the health update. Diet going strong with no cheating yet. There was only one worrisome issue today in that my sister visited 2 different grocery stores and neither of them had any chicken of any kind left to buy. A moment’s pause and a hope that the shelves are restocked tomorrow. Fortunately I did not need the chicken today as we still have corned beef, cabbage, carrots and potatoes leftovers from St. Patrick’s day, and it is even tastier on the reheat!

That’s it for today. I’ll be more upbeat tomorrow. Until then, stay safe, stay healthy, stay alive.

Yesterday was my pj day, which means today is my “errands” day. Given the current flu environment, my goal was to get out and get things done as early as possible. As early as a Sunday morning would allow, that is, given all the blue laws in mine and neighboring states that limit store hours. But my thought turned to “get out and do my errands while the religious community is watching church online.”

So that’s what I did, and I was fairly successful. There were no lengthy lines at the grocery store as others had reported just a day earlier, and I was in and out within a half hour (bringing a list of “must haves” really helps speed things along), although I did find the experience almost equal to a gym workout as I found I had to find creative ways to get those items that were on the back of the highest shelf—climbing up a shelf to reach, finding a long item to help move the item closer to the shelf’s edge. I’m just going to bring a yard stick and step ladder with me next time I go shopping!

Diet wise: still on track! But I do see challenges going forward as cities and towns, states, and even entire countries are shutting down in effort to slow the spread of covid-19. The trickle-effect will be vast and touch every industry, even distribution of goods to grocery stores and pharmacies. I expect that some of the healthier food products that I have enjoyed the last half year may become very hard to find soon, like almond milk, raw coconut water, cashews, fresh produce, etc., as delivery systems start to slow or stop completely. For example, I like to make my own mayo instead of purchasing it from the store as I know if I make it there will be no sugars or preservatives in it. The ingredients needed are olive oil, eggs, salt, mustard powder, and lemon juice. Nothing that can’t stand the test of a few weeks time, but once made and because there are no preservatives, it’s only good for about a week whereas a bottle of Cains would probably last years. I also use my homemade mayo as the base for salad dressings, so that too would suffer. If there is no unsweetened almond milk for my coffee, I may just have to give up coffee completely, and that would be a major change and I almost equate that to a smoker giving up cigarettes, and yes, I know what that’s like as I gave up smoking 25 years ago. So in short, my biggest worry these days is how to maintain my Whole 30 plan in this era of pandemic-induced shortages.

For today, things are on plan, a visit to the scale revealed another 1.5 pounds gone, and I will keep at it as long as society’s grocery systems hold on. At least we have our own egg-producing chickens so breakfasts will be spared.

Sunday prayers online,
The faithful find solid hope,
Peace be with you all.

The weekend has finally arrived! This is when I re-energize and let a day of rest repair any stress or body aches before the next work week begins. It doesn’t matter if the day is Saturday or Sunday, it’s a day spent in pajamas doing household chores, cooking, enjoying a hobby or two, ignore paperwork (yes, there are piles), and just let the work of the previous week wash away in the laundry with the rest of my cloths. This weekend the pj day is Saturday. My sister and niece are back and in their scurry to clean up from their trip and get some of their shopping done, so I’ll do all my scurrying about tomorrow as I’ve learned if we all do our scurrying on the same day, tempers are tested when our goals clash.

The body feels good, even though I could use a good back massage to work out a few knots. Stayed on plan, and even gave the scale a curious glance, and then a visit. Down 3.6. Not too shabby for 4 days since we last met!

I am still feeling a bit creatively stifled these days, however. And thoughts about a rather ambitious stop-motion animation project I’ve been wanting to do for years has recently resurfaced. My stumbling blocks around it is that it will required uninterrupted space for a long period of time (perhaps months), a LOT of patience, watercolor work, obtaining some music rights, and learning origami. There’s also the camera components, lighting, rigging, software, and all the technical side, but that stuff doesn’t inhibit me. So i came up with a plan: Step 1: Write it all down and treat it like a movie production complete with storyboards, scripts, shot lists, equipment lists, stage construction schematics, list of actors, location possibilities, and the origami animation models. Step 2: order origami paper and start learning how to create the actors. This is when Amazon Prime is the best thing on the planet. I sifted through all the fancy, multi-colored paper options and found a package of 100 white squares. Perfect for practicing. They arrive tomorrow! Now I’m all set in the event I find myself working from home for weeks on end! That’s what I call a successful lazy day in the pjs.

And now, for the haiku:
Quiet days at home,
Restful invigoration,
Resetting the soul.

Day 3 has arrived! My first thought for the day was, “Thank GOD this is not Day 13!” as today is Friday the 13th. Irony aside, it felt so much like the curse of the date tried its hardest to prove itself true. Yes, it was a clutsy day. It started with a downpour, which resulted in me waking up late due to lack of any light. It continued when I was attempting to get into my car with my hands full and dropping the Yeti mug with almond milk in it .on the dirt driveway and realizing I forgot to seal the lid! Ugg! So back inside I went to clean off the muddy mug and refill it with a little bit of almond milk (coffee to be added later). I get to the office a half hour late, and the parking lot was only about 20% full when typically at this time you struggle to find a spot. So at least no one noticed.

A few more people showed up later, and perhaps the campus is quiet as Spring Break begins today, but it is still an eerie feeling. There was still a lot of buzz about the coronavirus pandemic, and later in the day the lighter side started to ease its way in, so perhaps the curse was losing its power! Even the rain started to subside just after noontime. My favorite meme of the day: “Drink of the day: The Quarintini. Same as a Martini, but you drink it alone in self-isolation.” Yes, even though there is no alcohol allowed on the plan I’m following, it still got a chuckle from me.

Even so, I still found it difficult to concentrate on work with all the news floating about. I did complete what needed to be done, was able to work on a few other projects, but my focus was just not there. It wasn’t until a text from my sister arrived just as I was leaving the office asking me to stop at the store and get toilet paper as the store she was at had none left (she was just returning from a vacation to Wolfeboro). I laughed out loud as there were only two packages left in the store near me just two days earlier (and I bought them both). I let her sweat it out a little then assured her that our butts were saved. That seemed to break the final spell of the day and the remainder of the day was fairly light-hearted.

Diet wise: everything stayed on plan, energy levels normal, things are on track, and I leave you with the following:
Friday, the 13th,
Your curse failed to knock me down,
Happy endings won!