Sistah Pat

Anybody lose a cat?  I can’t believe this guy!  We came home from vacation to find him coming to visit.  He spends the day on the back porch and runs in the house whenever the door is opened.  This morning, I woke up to find him all snuggled up in bed with me.  DH has tried to feed him several times in the last week and he doesn’t eat.  Since he’s all fit and fat, that means he’s eating somewhere else.  He’s been declawed and is very well-behaved so he must belong somewhere besides here.  He doesn’t have a collar so I guess I’ll have to put some “found” pictures around the neighborhood.  After years of having/loving pets, we’re finally at a point where we don’t have any and it makes it a LOT easier to take trips and vacations.  Also, the last few old friends we lost left us so devastated that we decided not to go through it again.  (sigh)  Now DH and the boys are trying out names for him.  This is not gonna happen!

Yesterday was a perfect diet/exercise day.  Can I have another helping, please?  A perfect day should always start with weighing myself so I did.  It’s 174 this morning so yesterday had some effect.  It’s still not where I was just a couple of weeks ago but I’m back on track.  I’ll have to check my blog but I think I dipped down to 172.5 while we were on vacation.  I have a new goal.  The goal of five pounds every two weeks is too confining.  I can’t predict losses that accurately so I’m not going to try.  I’ll be content to just sit back and watch the pounds come off however they choose to do so.  My new goal is to be in the 160’s by the time I go back to work.  That shouldn’t be a problem.  I’ll just keep myself busy for the next couple of weeks and it should happen.  Actually, I haven’t been in the 160’s for a long time.  I think it was before my first ankle surgery which would have been almost seven years ago.

So…what’s going to keep me busy today?  I’m determined to get to the nursery and see if they have any perennials reduced dirt cheap.  My flowers are gorgeous.  It always amazes me how they respond to watering and fertilizing.  Things didn’t look too good when we got home from vacation and, in just the last week, the watering and fertilizing have made a huge difference.  I bought some scraggly perennials about this time last year for next-to-nothing and they look fantastic!  Maybe I can do it again.

I also have to have pre-op labs done today but I made a mistake about the fasting.  I don’t have to fast for the labs, just tomorrow’s surgery.  Shouldn’t take long but it’s right in the middle of the day at 2:15.  I fast tonight and I have to be at the hospital at 6:00 a.m. tomorrow.  Seems like a mighty big deal for a little bump on my knuckle.  I made a date with Sistah Pam at the gym tomorrow because I’m so optimistic about how easy it’s going to be.  We decided to go for the water aerobics class but, in case I’m not supposed to get my hand wet, we can do something else.

If I’m asking for another perfect day, I’m going to have to get up from here and go dance with the treadmill.

12:00 - Okay, a perfect workout for another perfect day.  Did the 3 more miles workout but really pushed.  That’s what it’s about, right?  Always pushing the envelope?  I figured if I did 3.2 and 3.3 for a while yesterday, I should be able to do it more all the time.  Went all the way up the incline at 3.2 but dropped it down to 3.1 at 7% and kept it there until I got back down to 8% and then raised it back to 3.2.  At 6%, I raised it to 3.3 and kept it there until the last 5 minutes when I cooled down.  Managed to go exactly 5 miles and burn 785 calories.  Pulse never got above 132 and that was just for a few minutes.  Most of the time it stayed around 118 - 124.  Now, I’m so gross, I’ve got to get a shower and head to the nursery and then to the hospital for labs.

4:00 - Sniff, sniff, I feel like an invalid.  They went ahead and put my hospital bracelet on.  Seems a little premature to me.  Geez, I’m having a little bump removed from my knuckle for heavens sake!

I left the house and drove up to the nursery which is only about 6 miles away.  Not a cloud in the sky, stopped to get gas and you could actually see this big black storm moving in.  I signed my loan application to fill up the tank and got ready to pull off and it hit.  This was one Hellacious storm!  Lightning and thunder so loud it made me jump!  I pulled off from the pump and hail started coming down so I circled around and pulled back under the canopy and waited about 20 minutes until it let up.  Proceeded to the nursery where I sat in the car for another ten minutes or so and then it cleared up.  The clouds blew over and I could see blue sky again!  Of course, it waited until I was at the furthest end of the greenhouses and cut loose again.  I paid for my flowers (got some good deals on annuals but the perennials are only $2.00 off) and would have waited in the greenhouse but I had to get to the hospital by 2:15 so I made a mad dash for the car.  Got all the way out to the parking lot and realized I set my keys down on the counter so I had to slog my way back to the greenhouse to get them.  Didn’t bother rushing back to the car.  Once you’re totally saturated, it doesn’t make much difference.  Got to the hospital and tried to pull off that “I’m a wash and wear kind of girl” attitude as I dripped on the marble floors.  Don’t think anyone bought it.  I just looked like one of those idiots who gets caught in a downpour without an umbrella.  Came home and everyone wanted to know why I was so wet.  It didn’t rain here.  Ah well, guess I’ll drag my invalid self out to the backyard and fill in some bare spots with my flowers.

9:00 p.m. - Went out to vacuum the pool and it looks like we’ve finally beat the algae.  The water was so nice and clear I went ahead and jogged for 30 minutes.  Did a bunch of weeding and planted the new flowers.

I ate a huge dinner.  I was really hungry but it’s all under control.  Still well within my allowance.  I had two pieces of grilled ginger pork loin, sliced tomatoes, fresh green beans with dried cranberries, and a little bit of leftover black eyed Senorita.  To polish it off, I’m sitting here eating a bowl of Shwann’s sugar-free, fat free ice cream.  Since I burned at least 1,000 calories in working out today, I think I’m okay.

Just finished making myself anti-bacterially clean and shiny and sanitized for your protection.  They make such a big deal of all this.  No jewelry, no perfume, no lotion, no hairspray, no nail polish on fingers OR toes.  Scrub down with antibacterial soap tonight, don’t eat or drink after 10:00 and don’t do anything in the morning except get out of bed, brush my teeth, wash my face, and go to the hospital.  Actually, I love this hospital.  It’s fairly new (maybe 5 years) and it’s gender specific.  I’ve been there before and it’s pretty upscale.

All private rooms, beautiful interior that boasts a showcase for Kentucky glass artists.  The rooms all have beautiful mahogany furniture and a hidden TV/computer in the armoire.  How come I rate such special treatment?  I have an allergy to latex and it’s the only facility my wise and wonderful orthopedic surgeon uses that addresses latex allergies.  Lucky me!

And so, we come to the end of another perfect day…

G’night, little chicklets!