Friday June 21: Altaview Hospital

Trying to compose this post from my Kindle. Let's see how that works! I checked in at 9 on Wed,was in recovery by 11. Much less pain this time. Loene brought me and stayedvall day. I was in and out of sleep all day. Karen & Jo Ann stopped by. Later Cathi & Spencer came. I didn't sleep that night...I was itchy from the pain meds. Thurs morning I got up to walk and did a tiny bit of therapy. We took me off the pain pump so it took some experimenting to get the right balance. Loene came at 11. Lovely visits with Brian,Carrie,Brandi,Derek,Pam, Jennifer & Mike.More walking. CPM machine going, so pain & stiffness. Last night slept quite well.

273.4: A Summer Cold

Sneeze, wheeze, cough, swallow-ouch! Repeat. That's a snapshot of the last few days. My niece Katie spent the weekend with me--she just moved back from Virginia to begin a new job in Ogden--and we both succumbed to sICK. Still, she was great company and we had a fun time.

I love my family. I am so blessed to be part of a rambunctious, loving, united family. My brother and sisters, their kids, and their kids' kids enrich my life and keep me balanced. Add to that my expanded family of friends and neighbors and I'm the luckiest gal alive. Lots of love, I'll tell you.

I'm feeling a bit sentimental today, I guess.

Diet is not happening, but neither is eating, so that's a wash. No appetite. I'd rather sleep than eat--now that's a mouthful!

Surgery to replace my right knee is a week from today. Wow!

274: Post Australia

Hello! I am back from Australia and nearly back to a normal sleeping pattern. Yay!

How was the trip? In a word, wonderful! The flights were unremarkable (which is a good thing), the friends I travelled with were delightful, and most importantly being with the Australian and New Zealand demonstrators was AWESOME! Truly, these women (and men) are so loving, so enthusiastic, so gracious, so them that it filled my cup just to be there. Add the lovely city of Brisbane with easy access to delicious restaurants, a hotel that was maybe 100 yards away from the convention center, and a not-to-be-missed local market the day we left, and this was an unforgettable jaunt.

How was my eating? Mixed. I will confess that I didn't even try to diet. I didn't record my food. I ate way too much chocolate. Cadbury. It's so good. And they have different Cadbury in Australia than we do. Did I say it's good? Creamy, yummy, lovely. I also ate lots of delicious fresh fruit and salads. Australia is superior to America in gluten free offerings at restaurants, so that wasn't a problem at all.

Stress and soda caused a hiatal hernia flare up which caused a problem for the set up days. Once I realized that's what was happening, Mylanta and loads of water solved everything.

I got back home to an empty refrigerator. My only food was Medifast and some chicken breasts I had baked and frozen before the trip. So, during the brain and body travel hangover time I drank water and ate my diet food. For four days. Probably the best thing that could have happened. I was just too tired to go to the store. Here's what I've learned: if it's available, I'll eat it. So, I'm not going to buy slices of cheese anymore. Or turkey pepperoni. I really do need to stock my fridge and pantry with veggies, veggies, and more veggies.

So, my current goals are:
1) Log my food in Fitbit.
2) Get back to 120 oz of water a day.
3) Blog on Wednesdays and Sundays.

Thanks for checking in and caring! Happy, healthy days are ahead...