05/02/18 Wednesday

Good morning ! Even though my massage therapist rescheduled yesterday's massage due to illness, my echo cardiogram brought fabulous news ! The technician had an old report from my former cardiologist indicating moderate aortic stenosis. He could find NO evidence of that. He called the doctor in because it was such a significant discrepancy. Sure enough, my aortic valve is functioning normally. So thrilled and grateful !!

I'd love to be able to pass this positive outcome forward to each of you.

Fantastic news! I am so glad to hear those great results!

Weight 116.8, calories 935. I always hate that bounce back up when I am keeping calories low. The wonders of the body, water and poop...

Today is supposed to be in the mid 70s here, but windy. We can't take Justice on the regular beaches between May 1 and October 1, but there is a sanctuary on a harbor nearby with trails and beaches which allows dogs year round so maybe we will take Justice there. The downside in the summer there is extremely limited parking. He loved walking on the beach last weekend. Oh, and yesterday Chiquita wanted to go for a short walk!

Other than that, I think we will bring up patio furniture today. Yesterday, when I was cleaning the deck DH jus****ched. He has been saying I don't let him do anything, but then doesn't help when I want him to. I even asked if he wanted anything to do and he said no and jus****ched. Kind of weird actually based on what he would have done in the past.

I also should start training Justice on the invisible fence. I have the flags and the collar is ready. I hope Justice picks it up quickly. He is pretty smart so I would think so. Duchess actually learned quickly though her IQ wasn't great. Chiquita couldn't be on it because it freaked her out so much that she refused to go outside.

Have a well Wednesday!

Haven't weighed yet today. Will have to weigh at my Dr.'s appointment. Not thrilled about that. I think I'm 167ish, so now the high weight I was before losing weight last year. Is this pretty good considering I had a baby 7 weeks ago? Yes. But it's also clear to me now that my weightloss has stopped. If I don't start eating decently, I'll keep gaining. If I don't work really hard at counting calories and possibly exercising, I won't lose weight. Grrr. Hate that truth.

Every morning I wake up feeling like this job loss thing was a bad dream. It just doesn't make sense! My husband hired and trained everyone below him, but he got the axe. It doesn't really matter now, but it makes me wonder if he hadn't excelled, and instead stayed in the middle of the pack if he would've been better off. And that goes against everything I've ever thought as far as career growth. I had dinner last night with two friends who still work for the company and I liken it to having dinner with friends who are still friends with your ex. You want to know how the ex is doing, but you don't, and you know your friends wish your ex well, but you wonder why he's doing so well without you. It was kind of weird. The thing that brought us together is now gone. The convenience of that friendship is gone. Wonder if we'll remain friends. Hope so. And DH is getting panicked because in the past, recruiters have called him. I guess he kinda thought/hoped that would happen now. It's been just one week, so we need to breathe.

To that end, we're leaving for Florida Friday and will not return for 2 weeks. We'll be splitting time between my BIL's Orlando house, lake house, and beach condo. So thankful for his offer! I am going to challenge myself to try and do a lot of walking and cooking some healthy meals. It's exactly 9 weeks until 4th of July. I would really like to lose 10lbs. by then. At my current weight, that's quite a challenge, but I think I need to be stricter with myself for a short time.

Happy No Aortic Stenosis Day!

DianeO, I am reveling in your news. Some things aren't supposed to go away once they develop yet there you are! I love this news.

Liz, sometimes you must wonder who you are living with. Very odd, to see someone you know so well, gradually change.

BB, even I am looking forward to your Florida trip! It will be good to get out of Dodge for a change of scenery.

I'm still mulling over info from the conference. The Southern Diet (high in both bad fats and sugar) was labeled the worst of all the American Diets. A TN cardiologist noted he can't get his patients to overhaul their whole diet. So, if he was going to pick just one target, is it more important to reduce saturated fats or sugars? The entire panel (4 people) all said "sugars". By the way, they are talking about sweet sugars/processed food sugars. Not fruits.

On tap today: do a bit of planting in garden. Long walk/possible close-in hike We have sun!

Find some recess! Shel

Greetings Precious Peeps and Peps

148 today. No gain is good. I have decided I must get more protein and got skim milk and will try to get a couple of glasses per day. Also got a couple of prepared protein shakes from the health food store. Will see if I can stand them.

Yay on the no aortic stenosis Diane O! I had to look up what it was and I am glad you don't have it. Now all you need is that massage!

Liz you are so industrious cleaning the deck and getting furniture out. Ours just sits out but then we don't have snow. Glad Chiquita showed interest in a walk.

Well we had the electrician come to see about putting in an electric car charger. DH has made a shambles of the garage but promises to take away all the cardboard boxes he has been saving to the recycle. But in fairness I make my share of messes too. Two messy people together are a deadly combination.

Peps you are lucky to come home to a clean house and kitchen when you travel! We have to shovel a path for the cleaning lady.

BB enjoy Florida and for sure don't stress too much about weight. Hope Becca travels well. Interesting thoughts on the friends from DH former employer. I guess its natural for some friendships to fade when the basis of them changes.

Not much more to report. Its sunny here which means all the stuff in the studio will be drying out quickly so I have to take care of it. Diane S

the house is usually kept orderly and neat and mostly clean (though we suffer from a lot of dust). I think it's because we have so many dogs we are forced to keep up on it. We probably wash walls and windows more times per year than all of our neighbors combined! The garage, however, gets cluttered very quickly. We still haven't put the Xmas boxes back up in the garage attic! Not so good!

Dog drool/snot has an amazing staying power on floors and windows/doors if you don't clean it up right away! On my hardwood floors, I need to use a nylon scrubby to get up Ferg's "gimme cookies" drool.

Best dog snot/slobber cleaner upper is a 25/75 to 50/50 mix of ammonia and hot tap water. It also is great for getting the itchy back/side rub marks off the walls. I don't know if Goldens do this, but every single one of my Airedales has done this all the way back to 1981 - leaned up against a wall (usually a hallway) putting the weight of his/her full body including face (and drooly mouth) on the wall and walking along the wall in delicious ecstasy, turning around and doing it to the other side. Given the dog's mood he/she might do this back and forth 3-5 times. I wash our hallway wall regularly! Kelly Moore Durapoxy semi gloss is a savior in a dog household!

My dog does that too! I had wainscoting put in on my stairwell walls because he and my previous dog, Lily, had blackened the paint by rubbing their way up and down the stairs. Now it's got high gloss white paneling that wipes up easily. The front of my cream colored living room couch is a target too. I have furniture baricading him from getting to it. There is a fountain in the backyard that is his current preferred rubbing spot because it has stone-facing for good scritches... Thanks for the cleaning solution recommendation! I'll give that a try!

Update.... Apparently the doctor the technician called in was a resident. My cardiologist just called with a different interpretation...mild aortic stenosis and moderate leak.