Category: Friday Five

It’s been a quiet week since I came down with my first cold of the winter. I have slept a lot, gone through more tissues than I care to count and drank so much juice, I felt like I would float away. But here are 5 things that actually felt good during my recovery.

1. Naps. Naps are good! I took a one hour nap each day and it was just enough to make me feel a little stronger and a little better each day.
2. Tea. Honestly, is there anything that a good cup of tea can’t cure? I think not! I just love tea.
3. Kleenex plus lotion. These tissues are treated with a drop of lotion, so that my nose has stayed perfectly unchapped and not red at all! This was an accidental buy, but I will keep a box in the house all the time to have on hand for colds.
4. It’s been frozen and icy and I have felt no reason to go out in this weather. Best part, I do not feel like I have missed anything!
5. I just need to take the next few days to finish recovering from this cold, because on Tuesday I go to see my Neurosurgeon for my first post operative visit. I can hardly wait!

Another week has gone by. I’m now four weeks out of surgery, and doing pretty well. I have discovered a few new things and here is my list.

1. I cannot sit in a hair stylists wash chair and lean back to get my hair washed. It seems my neck doesn’t bend that way any more.
2. I was able to kneel in the chair and hold my head over the sink, but honestly, that was tough too.
3. Holding my arms over my head for more than a few minutes is painful! I’m just not there yet.
4. I am cooking, doing laundry and feeding the dogs again.
5. And the office…yes, the office will be finished next week. Then I start on the next room!

After over a month away from regular blogging, I am trying to get back into blogging each day. It’s nice, because after the last month, I actually have a lot to write about. The best part is that 2016 has started off with such positive and healthful results!

So without further ado, here is this week’s Friday Five.

1. I have been out by myself two times this week! As in, in a car, off to Weight Watchers and to the Post Office, and the grocery store. Trust me, it’s the little things.
2. I actually did my hair, put on make-up and dressed in normal clothes. Like a normal person. It’s been great not to spend day after day in my pajamas.
3. I’ve cooked dinner for the last 5 nights. I know that there is one person in this world that is very happy about this. My Hubby! What can I say, he likes my cooking!
4. Today I begin part of my unofficial New Year’s Resolution. I decided to work 1-2 hours per day in a room in the house, until I have gotten the entire place deep cleaned! This includes throwing away all those terribly old books on Windows 95… Yes, it’s time to clear the shelves!
5. I am also planning to make some sort of wonderful dinner. Something soft, something easy to swallow, and something that will give us leftovers for the weekend.

So that’s my Friday Five. My first Friday Five for the New Year.

Happy 2016!!!

It’s been a crazy couple of weeks, but today I finally feel like there is light at the end of this tunnel. In fact, as I write, I am actually smiling. So here is my Friday Five!

1. I met a fabulous Neurosurgeon today. He was bright and calming, and made me feel totally at ease.
2. He spoke with me (not at me) and discussed the various options that I had available to me.
3. In the end we agreed that surgery is the best option. A frontal option, which sounds awful, but in fact is better and safer to do it this way.
4. He has an opening next week and tomorrow I will get my date and time.
5. I can almost feel the pain getting better!

The week is drawing to a close and what a wonderful week it has been. Without further ado, here is this weeks Friday Five.

1. It was my 57th birthday this week. I was very happy about this. I feel good about myself, and my place in life. I love my amazing family and friends, and in turn, I am loved!
2. I was given two beautiful bouquets of flowers for my birthday!  I love flowers and they have really perked up my house!
3. My eyelid surgery is over, and is a complete success! Aside from a feeling of having eyelashes in my eye, I am doing well!

1. My new mattress comes tomorrow! I can hardly wait!
2. This past week Lili has learned about going out to do her business alone and coming right back when she is done. This is a big step! In many ways Lili is finally growing up!

It’s been a busy week, but as we come to the end, here are the top 5 things I am thinking about.

1. This morning Anneliese was chewing on her belly. Upon examination, I saw that she was having some of the dry skin issues that she has had in the past. So,  I got out her moisture rich medicated shampoo and gave her a good soapy bath. While I was up to my elbows in bubbles, I bathed Arnie and Greta too. Grouchy old Greta was not amused!
2. I had some great pork ribs to cook, so this afternoon I slow cooked them and then finished them off in the rotisserie oven. I will not torment you telling you how fabulous they were, but oh my goodness!!!!
3. I ordered a jumbo size box of Twinings English Breakfast tea from Amazon. I love this tea, (bags individually wrapped) but when I buy it in the grocery store it is quite literally the most expensive tea there. I got a huge break on Amazon and I am thrilled!
4. I saw the cutest Vera Bradley pocketbook on Tuesday. Now I am trying to track it down to a discounted price. I hate to pay full price for anything!
5. I went shopping for a new mattress. I found one I love made by Sealy. Made in the USA. I have to tell you, I must have gotten on top of at least a hundred mattresses. I actually felt like the Princess, in the story, The Princess and the Pea. There are so many really bad mattresses out there!

It’s the end of another week. It’s been a busy one, but here are the top five things I am thinking about.

1. I got the Prevnar 13 vaccine for pneumonia. Since my diagnosis with inflammatory arthritis, we’re taking every precaution to keep me well. Including the vaccines I need.
2. The shot didn’t hurt at all when I got it, but in an hour the arm hurt like crazy!
3. I’ve been living on baked apples!

   

   Well, not really, living on them, but I have been making them every night for dessert! It’s the benefit of having all these apple trees in our yard!

4. The air conditioners are all out of the windows for another season. Boy, am I going to miss the low hum of that machine. I sleep so well when the air conditioner is humming along!
5. I cannot believe that Thanksgiving it just a few weeks away, then Christmas, and then the New Year! This year has just flown by!

Well Thursday turned out to be the busiest day I have had in a very long time. It didn’t start that way, but somehow, as the hours passed things popped up!

1. I was in for my yearly physical. Everything is good, and really, I wish I could share my low blood pressure with everyone. I am so grateful for that, as I know many people who are fighting, trying to bring their blood pressure down. I got my flu shot, and found out that last year when I had my tetanus shot it was actually a combo tetanus/whooping cough shot, so I am all safe for all the babies in my life!
2. While I was out shopping, I got a call from Hubby. Could I get everything I need to make the Cabbage Soup that he loves? Well, yeah, except I needed to go to another grocery store for zucchini and celery because the shop I was in the produce was terrible!
3. So off I went to another grocery store and I got the needed produce, and a few other things. $45.00 later, I was out loading the car with all those bags.
4. I came home, made my lunch and then started peeling, chopping and preparing the vegetables for the soup. Trust me, it take a while when you make a triple batch!
5. Lastly I had to feed the dogs and prepare our dinner. Their dinner was easy, and try as I might to keep our dinner easy, I feel like I failed. On a positive note…I did not eat anything that I should not have. And for that I am grateful!

It’s now nearly 8:30 on Thursday night, and I still must put the soup in containers for storage in both the fridge and the freezer. Then I think bed will be on my list. I am tired, but this is a good tired, as I got so many things done!

By the time you read this, I will be down at my sister’s house in Connecticut. I’ve left Hubby home to care for the doggies, and I’m off on my own. Before I went I thought I would write down a few things that I have been thinking about this week.

1. Do you remember a musician named Harry Nilsson? I loved his music, back in the day, and I found this great video of him playing a cute little diddy, that seems easily played on the piano at the start, but ends with quite a flourish. Hubby asked, “So what’s he doing now?” I looked it up and discovered he had died in 1996 of heart failure. Drugs and alcohol lead up to this, and another life ended far to soon. He was only 52.
   

   Take a minute and enjoy this piece. It wasn’t famous, like his song from Midnight Cowboy, “Everybody’s Talking At Me”, but I love it.

2. Thursday found Lili being tormented by a bunch of rotten squirrels and chipmunks! During our walk, it seemed they were all out and the poor girl was being driven crazy. So was I, as Lili is 77 pounds and it is all muscle!
3. I’ve been making baked apples about two or three times a week. Oh they are so good. I use a little bit of light whipped topping and it’s basically a points free dessert!
4. I also made a “Curried Squash Soup” that is points free and out of this world!
5. My new find for the diet is “Flatout Bread”.
   

   

   It is as thin as a tortilla, but it hold together well. It also has 9 grams of protein, and is loaded with fiber. Points Count? 2!!!

So you can see that I am trying to really work the program and make next Wednesday’s weigh in a good one. Onward and upward! Or should I say downward, as I lose this weight!