Thursday, August 23, 2018

Weight: 134.6
Macros: Cals - 1,372, Carbs - 171, Fats - 39, Protein - 104, Fiber - 37
Sleep hours: 6
Vegetable/Fruit Servings: 8
Exercise: Aquarobics class, walking 10.5K+ steps, mowing 30"
Meditation: Yes

Yesterday morning one of my very best friends, an extremely accomplished, strong person of age 61 who lives in another state, called from an orthopedic surgeon's office to say she'd just been told she either has bone cancer or has a different cancer that has metastasized to her hip joint. Horrible news! BTW, her husband also has cancer.

She'd been sent to the orthopedic surgeon after having had an MRI of her hip to diagnose what her own orthopedist had identified as a ligament tear. Yesterday afternoon, only AFTER she was told she had bone cancer she underwent a PET scan (results aren't back yet). As the day progressed, her doctors fell into noisy disarray about her diagnosis, and she was told she might not have cancer at all. WTF?! She'll learn in the next few days what the real deal is.

So last night, knowing only that she has cancer or she doesn't, she opened the really good wine. I would have, too.

And that, ladies and germs, is an AP course in how to contemplate the preciousness of life, the briefness of life, and the inevitability of suffering.

And in local news, book club last night was interesting. Turns out, I liked the book (The Goldfinch) a good deal more than other folks did. It seems that reading about characters who are struggling and in peril is very upsetting to some members. We had an interesting discussion about what we're willing (or not) to read about and why.

It seems that the challenge of "sitting with discomfort" was yesterday's theme.

Today's theme: I'm sticking with Just Breathe.

P.S. BTW, for all you oncologists lurking out there, please get a damn PET scan AND view the PET scan results before diagnosing someone with bone cancer. Process, people!

Weight 120.4, calories 1326. I'm going to try to keep calories low today and tomorrow as we have events this weekend which may upset the meal planning and we leave for Europe in 9 days!

We have had a great visit with our friends and they are leaving this morning. The guys went bowling and out for ice cream yesterday afternoon, then we went to our favorite seafood restaurant last night where I had super fresh sushi (with 2 days of leftovers remaining from that meal and the prior day - yeah!). They have offered to plan a guys weekend soon too where I would drive DH halfway and his friend would pick him up. That will be a nice break for both of us.

Ann, I think that is terribly unprofessional of the doctors, but I've heard somewhat similar stories. A friend in Florida was told he had a particular type of rare liver cancer and there was no point in having surgery as it was inoperable and he was going to die in a few months. They went to Mayo Clinic for a second opinion. After a lot of tests the Mayo doctors decided that it wasn't that form of cancer after all and that they could operate. When he had the surgery they said it was completely encapsulated (not sure about the term?), the surgical margins were clean and there was nothing in the lumph nodes. So they feel it is likely that he is cured. I hope for good news for your friend, but what anguish to have to go through!

Today may be beach and DH will be helping prep for the neighborhood BBQ on Sunday.

Have a thistle Thursday!

Ann, I'm so sorry to hear about your friend. I'm hoping for a hasty misdiagnosis. Fingers crossed for her today.

Yes, life IS precious -- I know this group appreciates this but I personally sometimes need to be reminded. There is always a bear near the trail, even if you don't see it.

About The Goldfinch.....I wanted to be part of your book club so looked into the audiobook but I saw a fair amount of reviews about it being dark and disturbing and decided I didn't want to invite that into my hiking experience. Someday, I would like to read it, tho.

Sitting with discomfort...I think about this fairly often. For one thing, it is literally written on my gym's wall. For so long, sitting with discomfort required a bag of peanut MnM's. I miss them.

I'm on the way out the door, hoping that the smoke will be wooshed away by the breeze later today. I'm heading to the peninsula, driving this time to the Southern edge. Will stay overnight and hopefully do another hike tomorrow.

Peps, I'm sorry that fires have been so close to you. Smokey AND scary! So much worse than smokey alone.

DianeO, you must be having so much fun getting ready to feather that new nest!!!!! Such an adventure!

Ok, off into the dark I go....(I miss the long days of light...)

Shel

Good Morning !

Misdiagnoses, in either direction, are so scary and seemingly avoidable in this day and age. I am rotating my reading between leisure (just finished Shelter in Place), RV books and Bright Line... I am really enjoying the science and theory in the later, but balk at the rigidity of total elimination of sugar and flour. Here are some of my newest factoids:

Our finite supply of willpower can be replenished in the following ways, in descending order from highest impact to least: expressing gratitude, sufficient sleep, social connections, meditation, prayer and glucose. The theory emphasizes the behavioral aspect of eating and is based on the fact that sugar is 8X more addictive than cocaine. Most recent studies indicate that elevated glucose levels actually block leptin and our natural ability to get accurate satiation feedback.

More pre-RV staging and searching for routes to the west that guarantee no snow and/or freezing weather in late November. We have a series of 4-5 day mini trips scheduled in this region, to shake things down. We're working up the courage to "dry camp".. no external electric, sewer, water and relying on the internal features of the RV. We're definitely going to sleep in the RV in the driveway tomorrow night, and go to our first RV park Monday. There are a few extras, like a bedroom ceiling fan, that won't be installed yet, but we have air conditioning if it is really hot.

The RV already sounds SO exciting! I love the idea of sleeping in the driveway and all your other shakeout plans. :)

I have several friends in Missouri, Mississippi and California who own RVs (monster ones!), use them a lot, and absolutely love them.

Weight: 167.2

Ugh I have a cold or something. Doctor gave me steroids to help boost me out of it. Thank goodness.

Not much else to say. Feeling pretty blah. Feeling unmotivated about most things right now and...kind of okay with it.

136 OTD. Yay! Not even trying. I know it is the new relationship butterflies that are keeping my appetite at bay. Both good things! I missed those butterflies!

Have a Senior photo shoot for a co-worker's son this afternoon. Another one scheduled for Saturday but I'm thinking the weather is not going to cooperate. Lots of rain in the forecast! No smoke here! Sorry for all of you that are getting smoked out!

Diane O, that RV sounds fabulous as does the adventures that will go with it!

Shel, keep on hiking. Maybe some day I'll be fit enough again to join you (on a lower elevation hike). We have no hills here at all to train on!

Sorry about your Ann. That news sucks no matter what the final diagnosis turns out to be.

Greetings Purple Thursday Ones

149. So thats that.

Ann so sorry for your friend. I too would open the expensive wine. I know doctors are overworked and health care delivery is not an easy thing to do, but it sure seems like there should be a better protocol on diagnosing and giving information. Look at all the junk they do on the HIPPA privacy stuff - endless notices and such. Here is hoping things turn out well for her and husband. Yep, just breathe and keep on breathing.

Yep, its kind of hard to read disturbing books. Years ago I read one called "Running with Scissors". Don't read it. One of my all time faves is "The Forgery of Venus". Very intriguing.

Pot roast last night. So good to have a comfort food. Dogs loved the cooking juice. And the best part is there is more for tonight.

Sending a rain dance for those of you in smokey fire areas. Shel good on you for heading out to find a hike. You are the hike queen. Are you taking Buster?

Peps, loads of little girls in your class. Such fun. Hadn't really thought of the difference a class of mostly girls would make. May you have an interesting year. Reminds me of the show "Doc Martin" where there are bands of giggling teenage girls marauding the town.

A grocery store is going out of business in our dinky town so I may go see what bargains they have on canned stuff. Two other stores have opened in the past year and I guess one couldn't survive.

Paula, love hearing about your adventures. Its so good that you are embracing life.

Not much I have to do today but lots I should. Gallery banking, studio duties, junk removal. Eat GY and repeat. Drink coffee and repeat. Diane S

Running with Scissors is one of my favorite books - EVER! I love Augusten Burroughs. His ability to look at his own abusive childhood, bare the pain of his soul, and continue to have a sense of humor about life was enthralling to me. Was is childhood absolutely abysmal? Yes! Are there lessons to be learned in his tragic adolescence? You better believe it! Plus, I strongly identify with Augusten. He and I have mu*****ommon. More than I would probably like to admit.

You would very much enjoy his book Sellavision. It's a satire on Home Shopping Network and QVC channels. I roared with laughter when reading it!

Hey , Sellavision sounds great. will check it out. I liked the first half of Running with Scissors - quirky and odd. But then it turned dark for me. Felt bad for the kid who was robbed of decent childhood. But it wasn't dull! Just sayin Ann's book club might find it creepy.

My SIL is addicted to QVC so now I gotta check out the other. ds