This is it – the final day of 2024. For the first time in what seems forever, I am excited to bid farewell to one year and to welcome in the next!
2024 was a good year for us, not perfect (there were a few hiccups) but overall a really good year. 🌟
This has been the first full year of retirement for my husband Dan. We have settled into a pretty good daily rhythm. Dan’s been kept busy dealing with our shopping, spending time at the dogpark with Molly, and keeping up to granddaughter Maddy – who’s highschool and work schedule often clashes with her mother’s busy work schedule. I keep busy working out, cooking, baking, and generally keeping things neat and tidy.
We have also both been catching up on some home and yard maintenance projects that had been avoided during my years of 8 to 5 and Dan’s 24/7 shift work.
Our December project – painting and refurnishing our livingroom. I finally have the Steel Blue sofa that I fell in love with thirty years ago. 👏The new microwave and stand – the stand was all Dan’s project. While the end result is perfect, the execution was a bit painful.The freshly painted spare room that became Molly’s room. 😂
All was not work and no play, as daughter Jen and I took a long anticipated trip through the Dakotas to help my sister Jeanne celebrate her birthday.
Always a warm welcome and a good time at Jeanne and Don’s.
A couple of more great moments from 2024 came via granddaughter Maddy…
Celebrating Maddy’s Grade 8 graduation, addition to the principal’s honor roll, and academic award for literary excellence.Dan and I also had the honor of attending Maddy’s indoctrination visit to high school – Arch Bishop O’Neil.
To round off the year, we had an early Christmas visit from son Dan, Amanda, Gabby & Cason.
And Bacardi and Cornelius who stay with us, while Dan and family stay at a nearby hotel with a waterpark for some R & R between visits.
Christmas itself was a fairly quiet day, topped off with a traditional turkey supper with daughter Jen and family.
Overall, Christmas this year was just a nice stressless time where hiccups happened, but everything ultimately worked out well for everyone.
That is a wrap for 2024. Tomorrow, we usher in a new year with all of the hopes, wishes, and intentions to make it our best one yet.
It’s been a while, but with holidays here (or around the corner) I thought this would be as good a time as any to check back in.
I’ve had a pretty good year and I hope the same goes for everyone out here in Jet Pack land.
To catch up… I am mostly on track with my health and wellness journey. Fitness wise, I have managed to stay consistent with my workouts – aerobics six mornings a week and light weights Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Health wise, I have been pretty decent. Despite my chronic issues with asthma, COPD, and bronchiectasis, I have avoided any major flare-ups and ZERO rounds of antibiotics or oral steroids this year! I do use my three inhalers – two regularly and one as required, but they are just for maintenance and prevention purposes. Recently, I went for my COVID, extra strength flu, and pneumonia vaccines. Unless I get hit by a bus, I should be good for another year. 👍
The one area that I have struggled with has been my diet/nutrition. Last May (2023), I realized that yeast was causing my severe digestive issues that had been giving me grief for years. Avoiding yeast wasn’t too painful – except for breakfast, which APPARENTLY sets the tone for the rest of one’s day.
At first I did fairly well, eating bacon and eggs, potato cakes and the like for breakfast. That got tiresome to deal with, so I switched to fresh fruit – which was fine for a while until I realized (remembered) that I don’t much care for fresh fruit. 😧 So.. I started mixing it up with waffles (and syrup), pre-sweetened cereal, crumpets (and jam), grapefruit (with sugar) or store bought muffins (basically sugar held together with a bit of bran or a couple of blueberries).
As the weeks went by, the insidious “sugar creep” kicked in. Ultimately, I would have my sugary breakfast, followed by a sweet midmorning snack, lunch (with dessert), a sweet afternoon snack, happy hour consisting of a mixed cocktail or a can of Pepsi or root beer, supper (with desert), followed by ice cream (with butterscotch AND chocolate sauce), and finally a bedtime snack of caramel corn. It wasn’t that I would snarf down an entire cake in one sitting – I was just indulging in bits and bowls of sugar ALL DAY.
Obviously, that could and did not last. A few weeks in and feeling miserable, I reviewed my diet and realized things had to change.
I circled back to the traditional breakfast of eggs and bacon/sausages/ham and potato cakes. Pretty much salt and saturated fats!
About this time, I met with a nurse practitioner who sent me for a complete blood work up. Surprisingly, my tests came back with a few borderline issues – glucose, salt, cholesterol… My nurse practitioner set me up with a dietician. She gave me some helpful advice for getting my diet (and bloodwork) back in order.
The best advice I got for tracking cholesterol intake was to check nutritional value labels on food and choose food products with less than 15% DV saturated fat per serving. ONE sausage patty contains 26% and I occasionally (frequently) indulge in two at one sitting. 🙄
If I haven’t lost you yet, this has led me to make a commitment to getting a better handle on my diet. I decided the best way for me to do that, is to keep a food diary for the next year. AND to keep me accountable, I have decided to share said diary with anyone out there who chooses to (or inadvertently) reads my blog in 2025.
Bottom line, you should be seeing more of me in the upcoming months.
In the meantime, MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR! All the best to you and yours this holiday season and throughout 2025!
This is it folks – I turned sixty nine years old yesterday. In one short year, I am going to hit my seventies and I am going in as prepared as I can be, for whatever lies ahead!
This is what I am starting with.From where I was last year…And the year before…And this one was taken in late 2019, four months before I retired. I felt every bit as terrible as I looked. (Even Cason seems concerned. 🙄)
Anyway, you get the idea. I’m not (just) getting older. I am getting better. I have put in the work and I am feeling infinitely better – body, mind, and soul.
The first step I took to better health was to retire. I needed to remove myself from a toxic environment and spend some time resting and healing. That helped, but by February of 2022 I realized that I needed to do more – way more.
I gradually became more active and ultimately started doing morning aerobics on a regular basis. Eventually, I added evening strength training with lightweight dumbbells. When I struggled with physical setbacks last year, I stepped back on the aerobics and weights and stepped up on reading and meditation.
So far, this year has been full steam ahead. I have upped the morning aerobics and added back the weights on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoons. This week, I bumped up the weights to ten pounders, thanks to my birthday present from Dan.
I have continued meditating daily as part of my late evening/bedtime routine.
Last night, I added a new habit to my health and wellness journey. For the first time EVER I started ‘journaling’ before I start my meditation. I have often read that journaling is very therapeutic and offers many benefits for mental and emotional health. This seems as good a time as ever to give it a shot and I am super excited to see how it goes for me. 👍
As much as I have worked hard to get where I am, and am determined to work even harder moving forward… I have hardly done it alone! I cannot be more grateful for all of the support and encouragement I have received since I began this health and wellness journey. To everyone – my husband Dan, my family, my friends (online and and off), my online family (Dwight, Jackie, & Barb) THANK YOU! Without you, I would not be where I am today, living my life as I am, and totally excited about my future. ☺️
The orchid Dan gave me for Valentine’s Day. ‘THEY‘ said it would only bloom once a year – but look at it now. Just like ‘THEY’ said it’s all downhill after 40. 😂
Summer has finally settled in Saskatchewan! None too soon for me and all of the rest of my news for this week is positive as well.
Our garden is showing signs of growth. I took a few photos last Sunday and tried to repeat them this past Sunday as well.
Tiny Tim Tomatoes Garden ShotGarden and Pond
Molly is thriving despite the heat that she is unaccustomed to. Dan has been taking her to the park before it gets too warm out. Her friends have been going earlier than usual as well, so it’s all good. Yesterday, we took her for her annual vet checkup. She passed every test with flying colors. Her weight is a perfect ninety three pounds and her teeth are clean and white. (Yay Greenies!)
Molly 💞
As for me, all is going well! I have not missed a single Monday thru Saturday morning aerobics since the beginning of July. Even more impressive, I have not missed a single Monday, Wednesday, or Friday afternoon strength training session. I have also been clearing my lungs with my Aerobika (morning and night) and have been using my neti pot at least a couple of times a week. And… I have been getting a decent amount of sunshine and fresh air each day.
All of this consistent effort has kept me healthy despite the fact that I spent an evening at our new urgent care centre last week (supporting Maddy who had a severe bout of the flu and a brutal ear infection). The next night I was doing likewise at the Pasqua hospital with Jennifer. Fortunately, they are both pretty much recovered with only minor lingering effects. And YAY for me, I did not catch anything from them or from anyone else at either health center.
There’s not much else to report on. I have a Spirometry test with my respiratory therapist on the twenty-fifth of this month and I am celebrating my sixty-ninth birthday on the twenty-sixth. My goal is to keep nailing my workouts, keep healthy, and crush both my spirometry and my birthday. 😁
Here we are – July 2024 ! It seems impossible that this year is half over already, but as personal progress goes, I have already accomplished more this year than I did in all of 2023.
In 2023…
I broke my arm.
I struggled through months of forest fire smoke drifting down from northern Alberta.
I went through multiple doses of oral steroids and strong antibiotics to combat lung infections caused by ongoing sinus issues.
Due to health issues, I missed more than half of my morning workouts, and doing weight and strength training was hit and miss at best.
I quit eating or drinking anything containing bakers or brewers yeast and virtually eliminated severe digestive issues. (That has been a huge win.)
I lost ten pounds.
I started hiking (in and out of the city) with Dan and Molly.
So far in 2024…
I have had virtually no morning workouts missed due to health issues. (Obviously, I still have asthma, COPD, and bronchiectasis but all are relatively under control.)
I have been doing strength training workouts three days a week and have graduated to eight pound weights plus I have doubled the reps to my routines.
I have been driving further and more often in the past couple of months, than I have since retiring in 2020.
I made a trip down to Nebraska with my daughter. That was six days of traveling, hiking, shopping, hotels, restaurant meals, and visiting with family. And… I made it back not too much the worse for wear.
Dan did work up most of the garden planters but I was able to plant most of the garden. I have been maintaining it and I have been painting the garden planters (weather permitting). And… I edged and mowed our front lawn at least once!
Personal growth is about progress, not perfection. – Hal Elrod
This weekend, we finally had consecutive days of summer-ish weather. It was warm and sunny, with relatively little wind. We did our best to take advantage of it.
Most of Friday was spent tidying up around here, inside and out. Later in the evening, Prim came over and we hiked across the street to the ball diamonds to watch the Indigenous Day fireworks. Dan stayed home with Molly, who is not such a fan of loud noises and bright lights.
On Saturday, we hosted a slightly belated birthday party for our daughter Jennifer’s nineteen year old son, Rory.
Our new gazebo and barbecue were both up to the task and served us well. Jennifer and her brother Mark set up our previous barbecue to celebrate Father’s Day and Rory’s first birthday. I’m not sure how long these things tend to last but I’d say eighteen years was a decent run.
Genie brought over Nerf paddles and balls, so the younger generation spent a good part of the evening across the street engaging in some friendly competition. In true Martel fashion, Maddy and Prim came back with more than their share of scraped knees and mud stains.
Standing on the back landing, staring into the sun. 🙄The girls and Ronan decorated the gazebo before Rory arrived.
Yesterday, Prim returned and we headed over to the Regent Park Pool. She spent four hours splashing around with her friends. I spent four hours in the shade of nearby trees, enjoying the fresh air and park ambiance.
Regent Park
Today we are looking to enjoy another warm and sunny day. It would be nice to sit back and soak it in but yard chores are calling so it is time to get to work.
Yesterday was officially the first day of summer and I was finally able to get outside to enjoy a bit of heat and sunshine! Our spring was one long stretch of cold temperatures, rain and more rain, and strong winds. My asthma, COPD, and bronchiectasis have not been happy.
I have maintained my Monday through Saturday morning aerobics and my weight and strength training on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Since I could hardly blame the weather for poor eating habits, I have also stayed on track there as well.
I saw both my respiratory specialist and therapist over the past couple of weeks. Despite the weather, my lungs have stayed clear of any infection and healthwise I am doing okay. I have been coughing A LOT, especially these past couple of weeks but that is to be expected. Hopefully, that will clear up as our weather does likewise.
I have been doing a fair amount of driving, which is a good thing. We have been helping daughter Jen out while she works, getting her daughters around the city for various appointments and events.
Our main ‘event’ this week was granddaughter Madison’s grade eight graduation.
Maddy accepting her ‘Top Reader’ and ‘Honor Roll’ awards and medals.Maddy with her sisters Genie & PrimMaddy with her friend Ronan.
We could not be more proud of our little ray of sunshine. Not only did she excel in her academics this year, she earned her place on the Saskatchewan Youth Honor Band, and she started working part-time as a hostess at one of our local restaurants. Everything Maddy does, she does to the best of her ability and she makes it look easy by doing it with her charming attitude and beautiful smile. 🥰
Finally, we have been working on, and enjoying, our yard as weather permits.
We skipped the pool this year and went with a gazebo to protect us from the heat and bugs – neither of which have been an issue so far.The garden is struggling but coming along. I am trying to get the planters painted but that has been a process as well.
A friend of mine is listening to an audiobook (“Dream Big” by Bob Goff) that poses some interesting questions. She shared a few of these questions and, after thinking about them for a few days, I thought I would share them (and my answers) in a blog post.
Who are you?
As Wayne Dyer would say ” I am a spiritual being having a physical experience.”
Where are you?
I (and my husband) are at an amazing point in our lives where we do not need anyone to take care of us and no one needs us to take care of them. Others occasionally do for us, as we do for them, but no one depends on us and we depend only on each other. At this point, retirement is a wonderful thing. This is our time to ponder life on a deeper level and enjoy each day as it occurs.
What do you want?
I want to spend the rest of my time here striving to reach my potential – physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.
How many of your ambitions have been mothballed?
One, but it is out of the mothballs. My only ambition is, and has always been, to evolve as far as I can, in the time that I have here. That ambition was mothballed for sixty five years while life happened. Any personal growth that I experienced was accidental or incidental. Now that I am retired, it is my top priority. My days are spent learning and growing, embracing challenges, and clearing my mind to enhance my spirit.
My health and wellness update takes a bit of a left turn this week. I am fine and I have been fine, but I took a break from my regular workouts last week to take a trip with my daughter Jennifer.
Our first day (Wednesday) was spent driving to Rapid City, South Dakota. We were in my daughter’s Jeep and she did all of the driving –driving, driving, and more driving! Between taking the long route to cross the border, slowing down for every small town along the way, slowing down for road construction between small towns, and taking a hundred mile detour to go for lunch in Williston, North Dakota, we managed to make the eight hour drive in thirteen hours. We finally arrived in Rapid City, checked into our hotel, and ran into my brother Pete and his wife Janice when we stepped out of the elevator on the forth floor. We went our separate ways for supper but met up (this time, as we had planned) for breakfast the next morning.
After a few hours of shopping in Rapid City, we all drove to Chadron, Nebraska to celebrate my sister Jeanne’s birthday. We spent a couple of days with family, friends, and an adorable little dog named Buddy. Despite the fact that this was somewhat of a surprise party for my sister (as she was unaware that the Canadian half of us would be there) she and her husband Don were as warm and welcoming as ever. Our time in Nebraska was great.
Late Friday afternoon, we turned back north and drove to Sturgis, South Dakota. That was a relatively short and uneventful drive. We turned in early after a good supper in one of the local bars.
On Saturday, we headed into the Black Hills. We stopped in Deadwood for a stroll around their scenic main street and did some shopping. We left with a few good memories and a lot of South Dakota Beef Jerky.
Doing the touristy thing in Deadwood. I managed to get up on my own but Jen may have had to lend a hand on the way down. There were a lot of amazing chainsaw sculptures but this one was my personal favourite.We loved the cobblestone street and horse drawn carriage.
After Deadwood, we took the scenic route South to a bar in Lead for lunch and on to Mount Rushmore.
Waterfallsand cavesAnd huge rocks!
The drive through the hills was beautiful and relaxing. Of course, I wasn’t the one maneuvering around hairpin curves, through rock tunnels, and on gravel detours.
It wasn’t raining mud. By this point, a LOT of bugs had tried (and failed) to fly through Jen’s windshield.Driving by a ‘fluffy cow’. Fortunately, it did not try to dash in front of Jen’s Jeep – like the THREE deer that she barely missed. Cliffs on one side.Sheer walls on the other. On to the road less travelled.
From here we headed to Mount Rushmore. I didn’t take any photos. I did go up to the main area and in to the gift shop for a few minutes but I sat on a bench while Jen walked to the look out point. When she got back, we left and made one more quick stop at a small tourist town, drove to Rapid City and back to Sturgis.
Sunday morning we headed back to Canada.
Driving back through North Dakota – and MORE construction.
A few notes on our trip:
– The Americans we met along the way we’re as friendly and good natured as ever. 🤗
– The food was great but the restaurant meals just did not sit well with me. 🙃
– My lungs struggled. I don’t know why for sure but I felt much better as soon as we got home.
– My daughter is an amazing driver. I knew that but I had forgotten how good she is!
– The border crossings were quick and easy. No problem whatsoever!
– I was surprised by the lack of traffic – anywhere, everywhere, even during the Memorial Day weekend.
– It was good to go, a great time there, and a joy to be back home!
Television is far from my favourite pastime. I love the sounds of silence and nature, so even having a television on for background noise, is an acquired taste that I personally have never acquired.
That being said, I do have a couple of comedies and one reality show “My 60O Pound Life” that I do try to catch every week.
The thing with “My 60O Pound Life” is that it is more about the real people that it highlights, and less about over the top drama of most reality Shows, or most television shows for that matter. It is about people.
This week, following “My 600 Pound Life”, I stuck around and watched a couple of other TLC shows – “Botched Bariatrics” and “Super Face Surgeries”.
All three shows were comparable in that the people were real and their health issues were heart wrenching and life threatening. The medical personnel were amazing and the patients were strong, determined, and willing to do whatever was necessary to make their lives better and to become better and healthier for the sake of their families and loved ones. By the time I was into the third show, I was an emotional wreck.
These stories and the people who shared them were undeniably moving, but sadly that was not what destroyed me. On these shows, and on virtually EVERY episode of such shows, the one challenge that these amazing survivors have in common is the fear of going out in public to endure the stares, cruel remarks, and general ignorance of others. Physical deformities caused by their life threatening conditions make them a target for bullying and harassment.
Unfortunately, this is not just a made for television phenomenon. Bullying, verbal, psychological, and physical abuse is commonplace in what we refer to as our ‘civilized society’. Why?
There have always been bullies and cruelty. But now it seems to be more prevalent than ever before. Now we have constant garbage beamed and streamed to us via television and social media about how one has the right to say or do whatever they want, whenever they want, about or to whoever they want. People buy into it because “It is their right”.
But between the garbage, there are also constructive messages of love and kindness, respect and consideration for others.
How can people read or hear one message without seeing or hearing the other? And having read or heard both, how does anyone deliberately choose to believe that their right to be an asshat overrides the right of anyone else to simply exist and live their own life?
I don’t get it, but I am way past accepting it. This is me speaking up and out.
“Love and kindness are never wasted. They always make a difference. They bless the one who receives them, and they bless you the giver. – Barbera De Angelis
Seclusion 101 with AnneMarie 