Today it is four weeks since I had my hernia repair done. Incision discomfort has been minor, even in the early days. Now the incision is barely visible much less notable.
My respiratory issues that were aggravated during the procedure are gradually improving. I have been increasingly active – doing my daily aerobic and treadmill workouts (increasing duaration and intensity), getting fresh air, getting adequate sleep. And, as usual.. staying on top of my typical health routines – inhalers, lung clearing, sinus flush, deep breathing, vitamins (B12, D3, Lutein) and collagen supplements.
I am truly fortunate to be retired and have the time I needed for this recovery. I am also truly fortunate to have a caring husband who has been with me and been an active participant in my recovery.
And of course, the best in all of this is that my surgery, long anticipated, is now BEHIND ME! My hernia repair has been done successfully and no doubt permanently, AND I am ready to go out shopping for some real jeans and fitted dress pants. 👖
My ray of sunshine for the day. 🌞
Today, it is one month until I complete the first four years of my Health and Wellness Journey!
I am ready to move forward. Success and setbacks will both be a part of this journey. Chronic lung issues will play a part in how far I will go and how I will get there. But, I move forward with hope, faith, excitement and anticipation. 😉
Things are looking up today! My congestion has improved considerably and I am in a much better frame of mind. The latter triggered by a strange realization that I had this morning.
This may be trivial (and a bit odd) but I love the color of my hair!
My hair has all the body of cat fur, but in the light of day – or the light of our bathroom light fixture, my hair sparkles and shines. Photos don’t do it justice, but the color of my hair makes me happy.
Oddly, since the hair I was used to for several decades was dark brown (and naturally curly).
With daughter Jen..
It is strange how we are led to believe that as we age and change, the changes are never ‘as good as’ or Heaven forbid ‘even better’.
I think a lot of the changes for the better, just go unnoticed…
1) The wisdom and insight that we have gained over the years
2) The peace that comes from knowing that nothing lasts forever – not the worst, not the best
3) The time to appreciate what is truly precious
4) The freedom to take care of ourselves – body, mind, and spirit
Today, my day has been spent taking care of my body. Once again, I am hopeful that my latest setback is behind me and I am back on track with my daily workouts. 🤞
And our home. .. Dan and I continued work on our kitchen project. I can access the rest of the cupboards on my own now – and in my own time. They are not in dire need of clearing out.
That’s it for today. Take care and have a great day! 🤗💞
A short and late post for today. Yesterday I was quite sedentary, by my standards.
Today, I have been struggling with severe congestion since I got up. (It’s a process🤦♀️) But, I have been relatively active all day, so hopefully that will help relieve the congestion.
This morning I followed my basic morning routine before Dan and I got down to some serious kitchen cleaning. Dan moved the stove so we could clean under and around it. Then, I pulled everything out of a couple of cupboards and drawers, washed them down, tossed out an assortment of containers, jars, etc. and finally replaced everything in a more orderly fashion.
There are more items we could easily live without, but even if we have no use for them, you never know when somone else might need ice cube trays, coffee filters, lunch containers…
Dan vacuumed and took out the garbage, while I finished up the kitchen. Then he was off to run an errand.
I had a light lunch, trimmed my nails, had a real bath (the first in four weeks since I was allowed only showers following my surgery), did my hair, and completed an aerobic workout.
Dan brought home DQ burgers, chicken strips, fries and onion rings for an early supper. As soon as that settles, I will hit our treadmill for thirty minutes. 🙂
Yesterday, I completed my first flowerish effort.
Things may not looking great for my 2026Daily Activity Journal so far, but I am just getting started! I have eleven and a half months to make this my best year ever! 👍
Today is Sunday – almost midway through January! This year, much like the past few, seems to be flying by.
I should be deep into hibernation mode by now, but life does not seem to be co-operating. Yesterday, I was ready for a nice relaxing day, but Microsoft decided to pick a fight. I would say I won, but while I may or may not have saved my account from some hacker, I have locked myself out of my phone. I can gain access by entering my handy dandy new PIN code, but that has already gotten old.
Our weather is likewise failing to co-operate. While we should be facing frigid temps, cloudy skies, and occasional blizzards – we have clear skies, above freezing temps and the only snow we have has packed down to a solid sheet of ice. Other than the ice, I can live with this, but it does make hibernating a challenge.
I continue to work on my winter crochet project.
I have now formed three balls of yarns out of skeins that had self destructed. I also made two flowers which I tossed due to their less than professional appearance. I will give it a couple of more tries before I move on. Maybe I possess more skills creating fluffy pastel insects…
This week I am planning on another fieldtrip – either to Walmart or to our Victoria Square Mall.
I have always been partial to Vic Square and apparently they have added mini golf to their offerings and Spunky’s Nuttery Bar. Spunky appears to be dowright edgy since he carries cigarettes, vape products, Watkins spice and extract products, as well as his own line of Spunky Nuts.
It has been a long while but there are memories awaiting at Vic Square. (Like..a young Maddy charging into a virtual reality battle while Mom stood by to ensure she stayed on her saddle.)
That is it for today. Take care and have a great rest of your day!
In 35 Days it will be FOUR YEARS since I began my Health & Fitness Journey. The benefits have been incalcuable, the setbacks frequent.
Starting out on this journey, I had no specific goal or path to follow. I was sick and tired of being sick and tired. I knew I had to build up my strength and stamina or die trying.
I focused on becoming physically active. At some point, I began working on the quality of my sleep and improving my diet.
I soon realized that physical health & fitness is not a stand alone journey. My focus expanded to include my mental, spiritual, and emotional well-being. Which brings me to where I am today…
After almost four full years into my Health & Fitness Journey, I find myself in an emotional struggle of sorts.
It is nothing serious. Frustration, annoyance, impatience and the like are perfectly normal human emotions and reactions. Today, thanks to the miracle of modern technology, I am experiencing all of the above.
And I am not loving the experience! I can’t say that I usually do, even when such feelings are totally justified. It feels like I am punishing myself (and anyone around me) for having an already bad eperience. 🤦♀️
To make matters worse – feeling poorly emotionally is affecting me physically and mentally. I am congested, coughing, and feeling mentally sluggish.
I’m not too sure how to turn this train wreck around. My plan is to clear my sinuses and my lungs, relax with a good meditation on You Tube, follow that up with 30 minutes on the treadmill, and finally a few minutes out and about in the fresh air.
By suppertime I should be a ray of sunshine. 🤞
That is it for today. Take care and have a great day! 🤗💞🌞
It is twenty-three days since I had my hernia repair repaired. Today I feel GOOD. I am still coughing – and coughing up some mucus, but the upper chest congestion that I have been struggling with since I entered the operating room has finally cleared!
The incision is fine. It has been fine from the beginning – zero signs of infection and just a little swelling the first couple of days. There was a bit of discomfort in those early days but definitely nothing that would warrant the use of OTC painkillers, much less the hydromorphone that I was prescribed. That will go back to the pharmacy for disposal, along with the anti inflammatory. 🤷♀️
It has been a rather frustrating recovery, but only in regards to my respiratory system. Thankfully that appears to be behind me.
Yesterday, my only workout was freelance dancing to some tunes from the 80’s. It felt good to move and the music was great for elevating my mood!
I straightened out a couple of more shelves in my closet and I packed away the Christmas wrapping paper, ribbons, etc. It feels every bit as good to pack everything away, as it did to take it out in the first place. 😁
I spent some time outside yesterday afternoon. I enjoyed the fresh air, cleared the ice and snow off of our front steps and landing, and basked in the Saskatchewan sunshine.
For supper, I made a chef salad with ham, eggs, and cheese on a bed of lettuce and fresh vegetables. That was my forth salad in the first eight days of 2026. I am happy with that!
After supper, I watched 911 and The Pitt on TV before resuming my crochet project.
I now have a ball of yarn to work with 😂
That is it for today. Take care and have a great day! 🤗💞
Yesterday was not a banner day, activity wise, but it was passable – for January.
January in Saskatchewan has always been a slower month for me – a time of hibernation and healing – planning and preparing for the year ahead.
Apparently for many, or most, January is a time for failing to maintain their New Year Resolution. According to the attached article, 64% of New Year Resolutions are abandoned within the first month of the year.
Personally, I forgo a New Year Resolutions for a New Year’s commitment. This year, I am committed to increasing the amount and intensity of my daily activities in an effort to improve my health and wellbeing – Body, Mind, and Soul.
Yesterday, I did a morning aerobics routine – once again staying focussed on form. In the afternoon, I spent time outside getting some fresh air. Being adequately chilled, I came back in, straightened out a shelf and a few drawers in our bedroom, and I hit the treadmill for thirty minutes.
Dan and I made an amazing pot of wonton soup for supper. He chopped and I cooked. After supper we did the dishes and straightened up the kitchen, before retiring to the livingroom to wind down for the evening.
For the second night in a row, I took out the crochet project that I am working on.
I do not know who came up with the idea of selling yarn in skeins. They do not work for me. Left to their own devices, they inevitably self destruct at their first opportunity.
I spent the evening untangling yards and yards of yarn, trying to find an elusive end – either end! I made significant progress, but this evening will be spent likewise.
So far, my return to needlework has been less than productive and definitely not relaxing. I am not sure what it has done for me – body, mind, or soul, but I will persevere because that is what I do – like the 36% of people who do not give up on their New Year Resolutions in January …
That’s it for today. Take care and have a great day!🤗💞
By February, our kitchen table will be spoting a bouquet of crocheted flowers.
Today is a new day and a new opportunity to step up to transcend my previous limitations!
Yesterday went well. I did my morning aerobics. I put more focus and effort into each movement. I felt it for sure, but I also felt a greater sense of accomplishment when I was done.
I met my weekly goal by getting out and about with a visit to Northgate Mall. Dan drove me and joined me for lunch at the food court. I had an amazing Vietnamese Sweet and Sour Pork Salad from Hung’s Happy Kitchen.
After lunch, Dan left to get gas while I checked out the mall and a few of the shops. I stopped at the Dollar Store to visit their Christmas/Valentine/Easter displays. I did a tour of Fabricland (which was the busiest outlet in the mall). I checked out the Safeway Store, where there seemed to be more clerks than customers. And for old time sake, I checked out the kiddie rides. Twenty years ago, Rory would have loved that dozer!
It is unfortunate how many shops in this mall have closed down. The place is half deserted. I’m not sure why. There are three other major malls in the city that seem to thrive despite the arrival of bigbox stores.
Northgate has a special place in my heart. I was living across the street from it when I met Dan. We worked together for eight months before our first date. We went to a movie. I chose the movie. “The English Patient”. 🤦♀️
Surprisingly, we had a second date. He came shopping with me to Northgate Safeway. As a single mother of three teenagers, working eighty hours a week, grocery shopping was a major event. When my bill rang up at $250.00 (1997), Dan asked me how long it had been since I had gone shopping.
Two weeks later (right on schedule) we were back. That time the bill rang in at $300.00. Dan told me I couldn’t be in charge of grocery shopping anymore. 🤣
Dan has been doing our shopping ever since. He buys in bulk, he checks fliers, and instore sales. He compares brands and price per unit. He examines eggs and meat, fresh vegetables and fruit. He reads labels. He is, no doubt, the better shopper.
Back to yesterday… Dan returned to pick me up forty five minutes after he left to get gas. We came home, had tea, and I did a light weight workout.
Neither of us were hungry for supper, so we skipped that and went straight to our evening wind down.
Dan watched verious televisoon programs and I took out the new crochet book that I got last week.
As far as flower patterns go, it leaves something to be desired, but it has a LOT of extremely helpful information for beginners or for someone (like me) who hasn’t crocheted for decades.
Winter evenings are problematic for me. I am not much into television. Playing mindless, repetitive games on my phone or the computer gets old fast. And doom scrolling does nothing for my mental or/and emotional well being.
I am looking forward to challenging my creative skills and talents! And crocheted flowers beats no flowers during our long Saskatchewan winter.
That’s it for today. Take care and have a great day!
Yesterday was the first Monday of the new year and I am back at it!
To get a sense of where I am going into 2026, I took a short (4 minute) video of my aerobic workout yesterday.
In my head, I was looking and feeling as good as the instructor and her class on You Tube.
In reality, my effort and elegance left something to be desired! The video dies with me, but I did put together a few screenshots to show I am trying!
I may have to smooth out my moves (and my bingo wings) before I am ready for an in-person aerobics class. 🙄
In the afternoon, I stepped outside for a bit of fresh air, did some cleaning (including vacuuming) and I did thirty minutes on the treadmill. I did not break any speed records, but again – it felt good.
Today, I am going to do my aerobics (with extra attention to form) plus a light weight workout.
If all goes well, I plan to take a run over to Northgate Mall to take a couple of laps around the place and possibly check out a couple of shops.
That is it for today. Take care and have a great day! 🤗💞
Seclusion 101 with AnneMarie 