Not Much Going On...

Pretty much into the "put your head down and slog" part of the New Year.  Still working out the kinks of the resolutions, working on other goals that need to be met, trying to avoid the flu that seems to be running all over the place. 

Had a very lazy weekend so far, and so tomorrow I have to play catch up.  Even the laundry has been allowed to languish a bit because the appliances (including washer and dryer) had their annual professional tune-up and maintenance checks yesterday. 

So far, the resolution to up the exercise is going pretty well.  Have done at least an hour of exercise most days, split between walking and the elliptical, or all on the elliptical, depending on weather.  One of the things I need to do tomorrow is figure out how to get my weight routine  back into the mix.  (Gotta tighten up these flabby arms!)

On the plus side, I must have looked really skinny on Friday, because at least four different patrons asked me if I'd lost weight.  That helps the motivation a LOT!  Friday was also good because I heard from some Twitter correspondents I don't always hear from, and it brightened up my day.  (Even if I DID get teased about my notorious typos.) 

Have to start watching the diet more closely, as the checkup with cholesterol checks is next month.  Guess I better plan now on low-fat, and more fruit and veggies.  Gotta cut back on the caffeine, too, so the BP won't be high.  (More sleep would also help this, but hey, I have a hard time turning the brain off any earlier.  Of course, less caffeine would probably help that, too...)

Speaking of turning the brain off earlier, it's working on midnight, so I guess I better cut this short and start trying to shut the ol' brain down for the night. 

I hope all who read this are finding success in this new year, and encouragement, and progress toward your goals. 
Never give up, never surrender!  (To quote a very good parody.)

There Is A Lot Less Of Me To Love...

Since my husband's recent hospital adventure, and discovering that he has seriously high blood pressure and is diabetic, we have BOTH been watching our diets and exercising more.  It is finally easier for me to stick to a diet without SOMEBODY sabotaging me.  For him it is a matter of life and death, for me, a matter of pride.  I want to be as thin as I was when he married me.  I want to look as good as I can, and be as healthy as I can. 
My goal is to weigh 125 pound again, like I did in this picture.

His goal is to get back to the weight HE was in this picture, and to get his medications decreased because of the weight loss. 
Neither of us will be as smooth of skin as we are in this picture, this picture was made in 1990.  A lot of time and experiences have passed since then.  I also have a LOT less hair, because I cut it all off a few years ago because I was just plain tired of messing with it.
I have about 27 pounds to go.  I've lost 16 pounds since January, more than 8 of it in the last month. I can wear clothes now that haven't fit me for MONTHS.  I am very glad I kept them.  Some of my favorites among my newer jeans now require a belt, and some may be just plain too big now.  I got into a pair of size 10 jeans yesterday that I haven't been able to wear since the last Star Trek movie came out.  (That's the last time I remember wearing them before this.)  I have an absolutely beautiful green dress with a velvet bodice and a chiffon skirt that I want to fit once again.  When I can wear it again, I will proudly post a photo.  (I hope to get a good portrait of me in it, without my glasses, because they reflect the flash too much.)  It has literally been years since I have been able to wear the dress, and I love it. 
To accomplish our goals, we have changed the way we eat, including more fresh fruits and vegetables, and using sugar substitutes in some things simply because Matt shouldn't have the sugar.  (I have to watch it, though, my digestion rebels at too much Splenda.)  I also have gone back to the way I learned to cook, when I had to cook for my Pop, who had to limit his salt intake.  I use Lite Salt, or Mrs. Dash instead of regular salt.  In some things, I still use Sea Salt, or Kosher Salt, because of the flavor profile, but I use less. 
We are also having a bit of a competition about the number of steps we take each day.  So far, I am beating the pants off him, because I take two walks most days, and I walk a LOT in my job.  Circulation is not sedentary.  We are constantly on the move, emptying book drops, moving full carts around, sometimes shelving books or roaming the stacks doing reports, and going back and forth from the desk to the copiers and the self checkouts, and the automated book drop.  I also stand to check in, and I have developed my own little "checkin dance" that I do moving between the bin, the checkin antenna, and the carts we sort the books on.  There is usually music playing in the work area, so this makes it easy for me to get LOTS of steps in. 
I also spend a lot of time walking from one end of this house to the other, doing whatever chores are ongoing on any particular day.   
We both wear a FitBit tracker that tracks our steps, and monitors the number of times we wake at night.  He does better at sleeping than I do, but then again, I AM a "woman of a certain age", and I do have a tropical heat wave of my very own that seeks me out at inopportune moments.  (Like when I'm trying to sleep.)
We are both also using LoseIt!  a free app that we have on our cell phones.  Makes it easy to log our exercise and our food.  You can even scan barcodes on the packages of what you eat, and it will enter the nutritional information in the app for you.
So far, Matt has probably dropped more weight than I have, but he had more to lose, and he has been eating a LOT less than he used to.  Strangely enough, he finds what he does eat very satisfying, and the difference in how he feels is even more satisfying.  (Personally, I am glad to be able to get closer to him than I have been able to lately.  ;-> )
I have a lot less trouble from my various arthritic joints now that my weight is down.  This will get even better as I approach my goal weight.  My recent checkup revealed that my cholesterol is lower now than it has ever been, and everything else looks really good,too.  (Now, if the follow up mammogram next week show that the suspicious cyst has gone away or gotten smaller, things will be perfect.) My blood pressure is also going down as my weight does.
We are very glad we had not gotten rid of our old clothes before we started this adventure.  I had cleaned out the closet, and had the clothes in the car ready to go to the veteran's charity collection point, but pulled out the barely-worn stuff in the smaller sizes once we started losing weight.  Good thing I did, or Matt would have NO pants that fit at all.
This is working very well so far, I hope we can continue on to our goals and then maintain them long term.  That is the hard part.  Once you get to your goal weight, it is entirely too easy to slack off and gain everything back and then some.  I've done it more than once in my life.
I'll check back in here on my progress after I lose a bit more.  I also promised myself that soon I will order a pair of Boot Campaign boots as a reward for losing and keeping off the first 10 pounds.  Should happen soon.  (I hope.)

Thursday Again

Thursday again, and what a difference a week makes.  Matt had the procedure to correct his heart rhythm last Thursday, and today he had his follow up with the cardiologist.  His checkup was very satisfactory.  He is doing really well, the doctor is pleased at his attitude and his progress.  This Thursday is a lot more upbeat than last Thursday.
Also, MY weight is down some more.  I have been logging on LoseIt! again, and have gotten a FitBit.  (Matt has one now, also.)  I am amazed at how much walking I actually do that previous pedometers have not recorded.  (Like all the numerous trips from one end of the house to the other putting stuff back where it goes, and going back for what I forgot, etc.)  My blood pressure is doing lots better, will probably be low normal again once I get the rest of the weight off.
This is the long day for me at the library.  I work until closing on Thursdays.  Some Thursdays are truly crazy, others are more normal.  My coworkers on Thursdays are a special bunch.  We usually have fun in spite of what else goes on.  It's my night to pick the music we listen to in the work area.  Hope my coworkers are up for Rod Stewart and the Pogues.  (The Pogues are Irish traditional music with a twist.)  Our customers are always fun.  Lots of cute kiddos yesterday afternoon.  I got to give away a bunch of stickers.

It is hoped that poetry
Will present itself once again to me
To keep the skills sharp
To keep the tune in my heart's harp.

This Thursday at least will be more normal for me.  To be at work nails down routine and gives me purpose.  Those mountains of picture books are not going to sort themselves out.  Someone has to do it.  Not to mention the backlog of Inter Library Loans that need to go home or out to customers.
I have said in the past that I forsee my death as coming at the hands of an avalanche of children's picture books.  In summer, this is not so far fetched as you might believe.  Here are a couple of pictures to illustrate, and this is not even Summer yet.

 As you can see, the majority of what is in the drop bins is children's books.  The center photo is of a very dangerous book stack made by a colleague.  This behavior almost always leads to the heartbreak of picking scattered books up off the floor.  If you are my age, that is a very difficult punishment to bear, as the floor seems harder to get up from every time I get near it.

Our shelvers have my undying admiration.  They routinely put things on very low shelves.  This is backbreaking labor, and very painstaking, especially if you are working with non-fiction children's books which must be shelved in order in our modified Dewey system.  The ordeal comes in that the books are very thin, there are literally thousands of them, and their cutter numbers wrap around the spine to the front of the book.  When your eyes are as challenged as mine, shelving in children's non fiction is a job that takes forever.  Thankfully, I don't often have to shelve. I spend most of my time checking in, answering phone calls, dealing with damaged items or missing pieces, booking meeting rooms, processing ILLs, and sorting checked in items for shelving.  I also work the Customer Service Desk, where I have the opportunity to greet and work with our wonderful customers.  Yes, most of them are pretty wonderful.  There are a few stinkers, but that is true of any group of people anywhere.  Most of our customers are friendly, polite, and patient.  They like that they can recognize some of us outside the library, out around town, because we live here, too.  They are our neighbors, and they know we'll do right by them.
Anyway, it's time I got done with this and got myself ready to go to work.  Here's hoping I survive this Thursday at the library.  I'm anxious to see how many steps the FitBit sees me taking in an eight hour work day.  Yesterday's four hours wasn't typical, because I had 2 hours in a meeting, and 2 hours at the desk.  Not my usual amount of walking, bending, lifting and stacking.