Bummed Out

I have a genetic predisposition for having high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high trigylcerides, etc. Over the past few years I've gained about 40 pounds, which contributes to these problems. I started going to Jazzercise about a year ago and I really love it, but I have realized that not only do I have to have regular exercise, but I also have to watch what I eat in order to lose weight and change all these factors. I have been really watching what I've been eating for the past 6 weeks and as of this morning I have lose 6 pounds since my 6 week checkup.

Six weeks ago when I went for my yearly exam, my blood pressure was higher than I would like for it to be even taking my bp medication. This morning it was higher than ever, but I had not taken my bp med because of the fasting. I guess I'm going to have to really watch the sodium intake more than I have for the past 6 weeks. My triglycerides have gone down because I've practically cut out refined sugar altogether, but I guess I'm going to have to cut it out totally because that number is still not where we need for it to be. My total cholesterol had come down and so had the LDL's and other things and they are closer to where they need to be, except for the triglycerides. The lipid nurse was going to put me on an additional medication called triglide or something like that to lower my triglycerides. She said that one of the side effects was it might cause me to have an upset stomach. I told her I have enough trouble with that already and I really didn't want to take it if I didn't have to. She said that I could get omega-3 fish oil caplets and take those. I went to Walmart and bought some, but they are HUGE. I don't know if I can take pills that huge or not. And then there is the fishy aftertaste or oder issue. Will that make me queasy too? So much to think about. I'm obsessing, I know. I did some research and found that flaxseed and/or walnuts added to salads, baked potatoes, etc. will give me enough omega-3's from my food, so I wonder now if I can get enough omega-3's from food without have to take the horse pills?

I guess I'm just really bummed out because I feel like I've been trying and there doesn't seem to be the improvement I had hoped for. I guess I haven't been trying hard enough, so now it's time to get down to the nitty gritty and really get serious.

On a lighter note, last week Eddie and I went to the quilt show in Nashville. Well, I did. Eddie spent about 6 hours in the pool and hot tub at the hotel while I was at the quilt show. I really enjoyed it. I learned alot and came away with some good information. I took a class from Linda Pool and learned how to do dimensional quilting. We made this pretty Victorian Lady.


I don't feel like I got her hair quite right, but overall I'm happy with her. It was fun to learn something new.

I also bought a kit and made this scarecrow wall hanging.




I haven't quilted it yet, but now my attention has turned to crocheting. I've been working on a couple of shawls that I will post pictures of later.

The World Can Wait

I've been feeling overwhelmed lately at work. Just so many people needing help, having questions. I work in an academic library and am responsible for hiring, training and supervising about 7 student workers in addition to all of my other work. I'm still amazed at the number of people who can't comprehend the simplest tasks. It's tiring and draining. I told a friend the other day that I felt like I was being picked to death by buzzards. Anyway that, along with so many different projects going with on with deadlines demanding more and more of my time, has left me feeling burned out. I'm pretty sure I can attribute part of it to the fact that we haven't had a real vacation in about 5 years. I mean the kind where we can go somewhere for a week, like the beach, and just relax. We haven't taken these because we've always been able to go to Spring Creek Retreat. But a couple that we usually go with have decided that they don't want to go anymore. They said it's too much packing and getting ready for just a couple of days. I think the reason is that one of the people in the relationship probably got stuck with doing everything with no help from the other person. Because my cousin works for the company, we only have to pay for the cleaning fee for the weekend, which is not bad compared to the normal rate. But if we get enough people to go we can divide the cleaning fee up and it's really cheap. But if we don't get enough people to go, then it's more. My cousin doesn't seem to want to go unless we have at least 8 people to go. It's getting harder and harder to find 8 people who will commit. Most people are wishy washy about it. At any rate, we had planned to go this past Spring and actually booked it for 2 different weekends. The problem is that if a paying guest wants it we have to let them have it and that's what happened both times. We were bumped. So, we haven't been able to go this year. I'm feeling it.

Between the work situation and not having a vacation, I remembered a Hallmark ecard that my friend sent to me awhile back when I was sick. It has a wonderful message. I love it.

Comfy jammies,
cozy bed
Big soft pillow
for your head
Worry NOT
The world can wait.
Take your time,
Recuperate.

Sometimes I think we all need to just say The World Can Wait and take a sick day from work. We need to take time for ourselves.