Our frigid weather has finally started to ease off a bit! It is hard to believe we are already (finally) seeing the end of another January. By the weekend we are supposed to be seeing temperatures near the thawing point! 👏
I haven’t been doing anything too exciting for the past few days – my aerobics and yesterday I went outside with Molly for half an hour. The effort it takes to get dressed to go out is as bad as being outside in the weather we have been having.
I did find a little ray of sunshine! It might be a few weeks until my plants start sprouting.
These last few days have not been great. I have been super congested and coughing ALL of the time. I have been drinking a lot of water, tea, and broth to help clear it up. Yesterday, Dan went to our health food store to pick up some Mullein tea and tincture. I have only had a couple of doses so far, but it seems to be helping A LOT! 🤞
Last night, I made roast beef for supper. I forgot to make yorkshire pudding, but everything we had was amazing. The horseradish we have is The Keg brand. It is awesome! We are having leftover beef for tomorrow night, so I get another shot at making the yorkshire puddings.
That is about it for today. Take care and have a great day!💞🌞
I came across this picture this morning. Molly was so little! I would be on the floor if she jumped up on me like that now. 😁
Our temperature has climbed a few degrees and the wind has dropped considerably. And the sun is shining! This could be the day for an outting.
I am not talking any grand adventure to Walmart or Vic Square Mall. But, I am planning to bundle up, head outside, and breathe some fresh air. 🌞
Yesterday was another uneventful day as we were still in the deepfreeze. I did my aerobics and treadmill, as well as my regular respiratory care routine.
And I baked some Date Bran Muffins…
They were a nice change from all the rich Christmas baking and decadent chocolates.
I have been letting my crochet project slide for a few evenings now – but I have not abandoned it. I have just been busy enjoying the ability to lean back and relax in my recliner, wrapped in Dan’s big cozy Leaf’s blanket.
Molly prefers to curl up like a giant kidney beangiven the opportunity.
The BIG thing for me is that I CAN lean back and BREATHE without struggling.
I have been on my Health & Wellness Journey for almost four years now, in an effort to get my health back on track.
My daily routine is one that I have created for myself – based on what works for me. It has been a hit and miss effort built on advice from medical professionals, family, and friends, books, articles, and You Tube videos.
It has a long, dull, frustrating, painful, and promising journey… but that I can feel significant improvement to my breathing – that I can comfortably recline and breathe easily is incredible.
Not only am I happy with what I have accomplished healthwise, I am excited about what I can and will do moving forward!
In these words, David Goggins was talking about ultra races – races longer than typical marathons, races from fifty to hundreds of miles long.
“These races aren’t about winning or losing or even finishing. It’s exploring oneself and the human potential that lies within all of us.” – David Goggins
As much as I have zero inclination to take up ultra marathon races, I can relate. For me, LIFEisn’t about winning or losing or living indefinitely. It is about exploring myself and the potential I possess.
But … when I do get a win, I appreciate it, I celebrate it, and sometimes I just lean back for a while and I enjoy it. 😁
That’s it for today. Take care and have a great 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! 🤗💞
Today is Day 363 of my Daily Food Diary. THREE days and I will have fulfilled my commitment to maintain and post my Food Diary for one full year!
Every single day during this past year, I have benefited from this exercise. My Daily Food Diary WIN yesterday, was having the knowledge, practice, and incentive to switch out of holiday mode and serve up a healthy supper of fresh salad with baked chicken. 😀
Outside of my Daily Food Diary wins, I continue to acknowledge my basic life wins every day.
Today, my Daily WINS include:
1) The variety and quality of foods that we have available to us.. With each trip to the super market, we have access to fresh, frozen or packaged dairy products, vegetables, fruits, meat, baked goods and more. Our foods are produced locally or shipped to us from around the globe. There are people the world over that cannot conceive of the abundance that we too often, and too easily, take for granted. For us, our food supply is a daily win in our lives. 🥦🍖🍪
2) My waist! I know that is odd, but for too many years I struggled to bend over because my gut got in the way, I struggled to sit because my gut pressed into my lungs, and I struggled to buy clothes because properly fitted clothing is not designed for narrow hips and shoulders and big bellies. 🤦♀️
It took FOUR years, but I am happy to be in the shape that I am in now!
3) Peace and quiet… at the busiest, noisiest times of my life – I cherished moments of peace and quiet. I craved silence. Nowadays, it is almost an obsession. I love those random moments of silence in my day to day life. I notice them, I appreciate them, and to this day, I absolutely cherish them. 🤫
Daily Food Diary – Day 363
Breakfast:
(1) c coffee (2)
(3) crumpets (240)
(2) tsp butter (69)
(1) tbsp jam (50)
Snacks:
(1) c lemon ginger tea
(1/4) c mixed nuts (180)
(1/2) pc Christmas cake (120)
(48) Oz water
Supper:
(1) Dinner salad (190)
(3) chicken drumsticks (600)
(3) chocolates (190)
Total consumed calories: 1643
Total used calories: 86
Total net calories: 1557
Net calorie goal: 1208 – 1557 = 349 over 👎
Thats it for today. Take care and have a great day! ☺️💕
Today is Day 360 of my Daily Food Diary – my 360th consecutive day of diligently tracking everything I have consumed. 🎇
I have noted a number of benefits that I have recognized from this exercise. The win that I am celebrating today is the positive use I have made of the internet to source out helpful nutritional information. We hear so much about how detrimental the internet can be to us. It never fails to amaze me how useful it can be as well.
Workout videos on You Tube have been invaluable to me over the past four years. Now I have branched out to ‘yeast free’ recipes, nutritional information, health supplements, and more. 👍
My current Daily WINS are probably relatable for many:
1) Enjoying these days between Christmas and New Year’s when meals are simple and easy with plentiful leftovers on hand.
2) Relaxing with a good book or a new Christmas Jigsaw puzzle.
Maybe not quite so relatable if your children received ‘some parental assistance required’ Christmas gifts from Grandpa & Grandma. 🤭
3) A fresh blanket of snow that turns the world into a winter wonderland.
Especially if you are a ‘Queen of the Snow‘ Dog!
Daily Food Diary – Day 306
Breakfast:
(1) c coffee (2)
(1) paratha (240)
(1) tbsp jam (50)
(1) tbsp peanut butter (105)
Snacks:
(1/2) c broth (5)
(3) chocolates (210)
(1) pc Christmas cake (240)
(1) c tea
(36) Oz water
Supper:
(5) pierogis (283)
(3) Oz sausage (285)
(1) cabbage roll (120)
(1/2) Oz onion chip dip (20)
Total consumed calories: 1560
Total used calories: 175
(30) minutes aerobics (175)
Total net calories: 1389
Net calorie goal: 1208– 1389 = 181 over 👎
Thats it for today. take care and have a great day!😁💗
May your day, and the days to come, be magical for you and yours! 💞
Today I have four really cool Daily wins to report!
First off, granddaughter Genie messaged her Mom (Jen) and I about how her Christmas Eve supper meal plan is coming together!
It is so heartwarming that our newlyweds are so enthusiastic about hosting their first Christmas. The first of many no doubt! 💞
Second & Third wins of the day! Getting a call from son Dan last night asking how my recovery was going. We had a long fun chat about everything from soup to nuts – the nuts being in our annual Christmas bake-off which has been meeting with limited success for both of us this year. 😂 And, this morning Dan’s wife Amanda has been texting about their pre- Christmas visit (and my limited standing in our family). Apparently, being the MATRIARCH doesn’t guarantee the over reaching authority it once did. 🤣🤣🤣
Life is an adventure with Amanda & Dan 💞
Forth, last, and not at all least – Daughter Jen stopped by last night to deliver a tortierre (ground pork pie) for our supper tonight. We had a nice short chat as her fiancé was waiting in the truck for her.
Jennifer & Tanner 💞
My win for my Daily Food Diary is a mega win today. As part of my overall fitness lifestyle, being mindful of whatI consume and making small adjustments as I see fit has proven to have so many benefits – not the least of which has been:
1) Improving my confidence, which made my recent hospital visit so much easier than it would have been otherwise.
2) Improving my physical strength and fitness level, so that my recovery is coming along better than I anticipated.
3) Improving my overall wellbeing, so that my discomfort is minimal! All of the painkillers and most of the anti-inflammatory drugs that the surgeon prescribed will go back to the pharmacy for disposal.
Daily Food Diary – Day 352
Breakfast:
(1) c coffee (2)
(2) poached eggs (114)
(2) potato patties (240)
(3) pc bacon (130)
Snacks:
(48) Oz water
(1) pc Christmas cake (240)
(1/2) c caramel corn (85)
(1) butter tart (100)
Supper:
(1) Hungry Man Chicken Cutlet Dinner (520)
Total consumed calories: 1431
Total used calories: 0
Total net calories: 1431
Net calories goal: 1208 – 1431 = 223 over 👎
That’s it for today. Take care and have a great day! 💞💝
1) I walked with Dan and Molly in the morning, did my aerobics in the afternoon and went for a spin on the treadmill in the evening.
2) I got most of the house vacuumed, scrubbed, and tidied up – while dan washed all of the bedding. Even if I am totally knocked down by my little surgery tomorrow, the house will be in order when son Dan and family arrive on the weekend.
3) I messaged with one of my nieces yesterday and it was all good news with her and hers! 🤗
This morning I awoke to a weird win…
I swear, since my Mother passed away in 2013, she communicates in music – music and hymns that I am vaguely familiar with. I woke up to this tune playing in my mind this morning. (?) Not my favourite but not the worst way to wake up. 😂
My Daily Food Diary win for the day…
Cutting back on restaurant meals and on using processed foods at home. We still get take out, eat out, and use some processed foods – but we have cut back a lot and Dan and I are both better off without the additives and extra salt and sugars. 👍
Good, nourishing, and natural (mostly)!
Daily Food Diary – Day 349
Breakfast:
(1l c coffee (2)
(1) granola bar (160)
Lunch:
(1) serving shepherds pie (340)
(5) hot chicken wings flats (156)
(60) Oz water
Supper:
(2) Harvest hotdogs (320)
(6) onion rings (150)
(8) tater tots (124)
(2) mozzarella cheese sticks (127)
(2) tbsp Dilly Dip (100)
Total consumed calories: 1479
Total used calories: 379
(30) min walking (137)
(30) min aerobics (171)
(30) min treadmill (71)
Total net calories: 1100
Net calories goal: 1208 – 1100 = 108 under 👍
That’s it for today. Take care and have a great day! 🥰💓
My biggest win for today is that my pre-surgery clinic is behind me – including bloodwork, chest xray, EKG, and meeting with the anaesthesthesiologist.
It was two hours of fun-ness, but basically, I am hale and healthy (other than lung issues) and I got the all clear for surgery.
There were a few non wins –
1) This will not be the laproscopic surgery I was led to believe it would be – one hour full on slice and dice c/w opioids to follow and NO aerobics or light weights/cardio for six weeks. This will not be good for my lungs. 😢
2) When we went to the xray lab, we traveled down one lengthy hallway past a PCL construction work site. The site was an enclosed space, but it was vented into the hallway we were in. I am still coughing up a lung. 🤦♀️
3) In going over my overall general health issues with the anesthesiologist, I happened to hit on my and my family history of Ehlers Danlos/collagen issues. He believes I should go for a complete evaluation. I agree, but every doctor/nurse practitioner I have spoken to rolls their eyes and claims that collagen is nothing and I don’t get anywhere without a referral. So… that got a bit tense. But all in all, the anaesthesiologist was very nice and very calm (and calming). And while he asked that I discontinue all of my other vitamins & supplements (B12/D3/Lutein/Quercetin) until after the surgery on the 17th, he does want me to continue the collagen supplement I have been taking for the last six months – so that is a win of sorts.
For my December recap of my Daily Food Diary win of the day..
I am going to have to go with Martha’s advice to try collagen supplements. With zero undesirable side effects, these supplements have worked wonders for me – from joint stability, muscle strength, sinus and airway stability, healthier skin, nails, and hair, clear vision, better hearing and more! Thank you Martha for today’s HUGE WIN. 💗💗💗
Daily Food Diary – Day 345
Breakfast:
(1) c coffee (2)
(1) c Honetnut Cheerios (147)
(1/4) c milk (28)
Lunch:
(1) Pork fried rice (290)
Snacks:
(2) coconut macaroons (220)
(1) 7 up (140)
Supper:
(1) c Campbell chicken noodle soup (120)
(5) soda crackers (63)
(1) tortilla wrap (170)
(2) Oz pillers shaved ham (57)
(1) slices havartii cheese (130)
(5) slices red onion (5)
Total consumed calories: 1372
Total used calories: 0
Total net calories: 1372
Net calories goal: 1208 – 1372 = 164 over 👎
That’s it for today. Take care and have a great day! 💞🤗
Seclusion 101 with AnneMarie 