Monday, November 18, 2019

Oh yes ... back in the 60s (when in my high school days when I worked in a drugstore) you could get anything with codeine in it over the counter. All you had to do was "sign for it" (in a book that we kept under the counter). These were the days when parents gave their kids Paregoric (with codeine in it) to keep them quiet at night.

Not kidding.

A.

Wowsers to the kids having codeine. Its the only cough syrup that works for me when I have that cough that wont stop........

But when I take codeine I have to be ready to rest as it does it for me. Panadeine Forte and Im tucked in bed nodding off.....

I remember that too!

You should absolutely have a birthday party! But don't do all the work, all the people you care for should pay it forward :) Anyhow, I'm sure your family and friends are delighted to have a chance to celebrate you, because you are a blessing in their lives.

Awww Thank you so much. You made me tear up reading that xx

I have been told Im not doing a thing on the night - so I guess I will do the organising and then let them go from there. Keeping it simple :) Its more about spending time with the people I love than a military organised party he he he

Meeting my small step goals again today. Eating per my eating plan for the week, did my little bit of recumbent bike, and then tried 20 minutes of tai chi. My hips are so tight, and it hurts to lift my left leg when I'm walking up stairs, so I'm hoping the tai chi will put me back in a better mechanical balance. If not, I'm going to have to go to the doctor again, and sigh, more PT. In the last few years, I've done PT ppl for each ankle, then my right hip, and then my hand. I'm on a once a month schedule for my hand now. I don't want to have to do the left hip. It's like I'm chasing some pain around my body. I get it to move out of one location, and it settles into another. Ha! Maybe it's trapped chi and I just haven't done enough tai chi to release it.

Greetings All

Just got home from the pool and am destroying all the benefits with a glass of red wine. Too bad. I am getting so that I really look forward to it. Walking in the water and even using a kick board is the only time I am pain free. Diamond D, you might try a pool. I hurt when I go up even a few steps and when I walk its always something. I also sit in the jacuzzi and do "bicycling" with my legs to loosen up joints. Feels good. Plus in the dreary winter games that are coming its nice.

But if Peps is a Beast in the gym, then I am a tiny gnat. I am hoping that the motions of moving my arms through the water will give some benefit. Most arm excercises involve gripping with my hands which hurts.

Hey Shirley enjoy the birthday party and DONT DO ANY WORK. Allow yourself to be waited on. You deserve it. And I swoon at the thought of roasted home grown lamb. My dream food. Enjoy.

Ann looking forward to the penguin expedition. Once I had my art class all make penguins. They were all different but adorable. Cecily, glad you had some close encounters of the third kind with penguins. I am going to make some more.

Liz I hope you will share sand sculpture pictures. Glad you and Justice arrived safely and you are getting into the R and R routine.

Pseudo Mexican food tonight, No grass fed pork. Diane S

Diane, I'm so glad you're pain-free in the pool. I'm already looking forward to my return to the pool in January. Your rhapsodizing abou****er's benefits is helping me gear up mentally for that addition.

Grass fed pork! LOL! That cracks me up. Did the book really say eat grass fed pork? What idiot thinks pigs can survive on grass? They eat ANYTHING! They are not plant eaters.

Hell, you want to get rid of your murder victim? Take the body to a pig farm and let the pigs feed off it. It'll be gone in only hours! Why do you think Dorothy panics when she falls in the pig sty? She's afraid those piggies are going to eat her friggin' alive!

I am WHOOPED! My students were like the bees in a bee hive today. It never stopped. Movement and buzzzzz all day long and no amount of positive energy was going to change it. As a matter of fact the switch to a more negative approach did little good either. Neither Art nor Cursive calmed the inner beasties!

By three o'clock a shot of whiskey and a cigarette sounded pretty damn tempting! But instead I self medicated with sugar. As I reached for the chocolate at 10, 12, and 2 I thought to myself this is what I'm reduced to - self medicating with chocolate!

Shrink session today revolved around decompressing from the day at school and how that type of stress affects my eating and my sugar consumption. The session ended up being a good natured acknowledgment of my history of self medication that began somewhere between 6 and 10 and was firmly in place by the time I was 12. I started with food, moved to pot, cigarettes, hooch, and a few other things I tried along the way (after all, I was a teen during the late 70s and early 80s). I've abstained from the cigarettes and booze (and other mind altering substances) for years, so I use solely food for my self medicating purposes.

Something else that I voiced, which is pretty powerful when considered, is that I would rather be fat than to smoke or drink again. Think about the depth of that statement. Being thin is lower on my list of importance in my overall vision of wellness than being tobacco free and sober. That truth, in a sense, also grants me the permission to be at my current weight because I am able to rationalize the lesser evil of sugar consumption compared to tobacco and alcohol use.

I figure all this self awareness is good thing and getting me one step closer to the JFDI stage.

Liz - hope you are happily ensconced in FL! Are your SILs with you?

Ann - You just got back from France and off you go again. I truly am impressed by your travels!

Shirl - Yay on the party, but for heaven's sake, girl, let other people plan and work this party - unless you are like me and need to hold the reins for at least part of it! LOL! You are such a giving and kind soul, I'm sure it's hard to get back, but I hope you will allow others to shower you with love and appreciation for the one day. I know you've swaddled your people in love for years and years. I'm sure they are champing at the bit to pay it forward!

Diane S. - Yay on the swimming. You are not a gnat! Maybe just a young carp learning the ropes! Strength can be gained at any age and from any starting point.

Ocean - What are you up to? Is the snow gone yet?

DD - So sorry to read about your hip. Hip pain is tough. I have had a few bouts, but they have been short lived. Hope you manage through it rather quickly.

Leap - How's the knee doing? Adalyn updates are needed! I love her playing in her box!

BB, Bonnie150 - miss you!

And finally, I want to say Hi, Shel. I miss you very much! Love you and think of you often. I think of Reed and hope that your spirit is guiding her safely through her sadness. I'm so so glad you touched my life. Wish you were here.

Love you guys! VSGMG Peeps are the bomb!