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gerisullivanIt's cold and rainy. Cold as in 40 degrees Fahrenheit cold. Brrr.
I walked up to the post office anyway. Mailed client stuff and a birthday package to Daddy. He turns 84 next Wednesday! It's more than a tad remarkable that he's made it this long. He was diagnosed with congestive heart failure a good 20 years ago, and other medical problems have followed in the years since. The medical issues and age have certainly slowed him down, but he's still out there gardening, walking three times a day, cooking healthy meals, and enjoying sitting in the very same armchair that was a Father's Day present more than 35 years ago. He insists it's still comfortable.
A phone call to my credit card company turned up some surprising news I'm none too pleased about. The card I was calling about expires in July and I wanted to have its replacement in hand before I start traveling in mid-June. -"No can do,"-the rep said. The best she could offer was to cancel the card and issue me a new one. No thanks! This is the card I use for all of my online shopping, including a few automatic payments, hotel and travel reservations, and more. I was really hoping to have everything updated before gadding about. So much for that plan. I've had this card since 1981; through cardholder insurance coverage, it just paid all but $50 for damage I accidentally inflicted on a rental car in Texas. I'm loathe to give it up, but at this point, I'd probably be better off opening a new account with American Express or Discover Card and using that for my daily account instead. Any caveats or satisfied customer stories with either of those credit providers out there?
The 1.5 mile roundtrip walk to the post office included a stop at Auntie Cathie's Roadside Stand and Bakery. My deal with myself is that if I want a treat from Auntie Cathie's, I walk up there to get it. I was in luck today -- pumpkin whoopie pies! Limiting myself to buying just one was hard. They're delicious! "("Buying two wouldn't be completely unreasonable," the little voice in my head said.)
Oddly enough, it was much easier to limit myself to only eat half of the one I bought once I arrived back home. Yes, they're large, but that's usually not enough to slow me down.
The fact that I stopped with half is a sign that the dieting half of my current diet'n'exercise effort is continuing to go fairly well. I've been at it for a month now. Results to date: the scales are down 15 pounds and I'm up to 15 minutes on the elliptical. Well, okay, I managed 15 minutes for the first time last night. The norm for the last couple of weeks has been 12 minutes. I'd like to build that up to the 20-30 minute range, but most of all, I'd like to just plain keep on doing it at all.
I'm large enough that there's not much visual difference yet, but I'm beginning to feel a tad less completely stuffed into my skin as I had been of late. That's a welcome improvement! While I do have at least an interim weight loss goal (45 pounds), my primary focus is on making permanent changes in my eating and exercise habits. Much as the changes are likely to bring about further weight loss, the changes themselves will be a benefit no matter how much I weigh.
Over the years, I've had limited success in eliminating or even lessening my bad habits. I'm certainly better on the sleep front than I was for several years in the early 1990s. That's a clear win in the "lessening" column. But there aren't many others I can point to. I'm glad I'm working on this particular set of bad habits now, and hope I can get the better habits to stick.
So, I'll enjoy the other half of the whoopie pie later. And keep on doing my best to continue eating sensibly in the days, weeks, and months to come.
It looks like we have a rainy weekend ahead. I think I'll run errands now, while the skies are merely grey, then hole up inside and work on the tricky bit of a fun knitting project for![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
smofbabe, finally stain the CD shelf I bought last summer, and attend to other tasks awaiting my attention. More likely, I'll get to one or maybe two of these things, and spend all too much time surfing the net instead!
I walked up to the post office anyway. Mailed client stuff and a birthday package to Daddy. He turns 84 next Wednesday! It's more than a tad remarkable that he's made it this long. He was diagnosed with congestive heart failure a good 20 years ago, and other medical problems have followed in the years since. The medical issues and age have certainly slowed him down, but he's still out there gardening, walking three times a day, cooking healthy meals, and enjoying sitting in the very same armchair that was a Father's Day present more than 35 years ago. He insists it's still comfortable.
A phone call to my credit card company turned up some surprising news I'm none too pleased about. The card I was calling about expires in July and I wanted to have its replacement in hand before I start traveling in mid-June. -"No can do,"-the rep said. The best she could offer was to cancel the card and issue me a new one. No thanks! This is the card I use for all of my online shopping, including a few automatic payments, hotel and travel reservations, and more. I was really hoping to have everything updated before gadding about. So much for that plan. I've had this card since 1981; through cardholder insurance coverage, it just paid all but $50 for damage I accidentally inflicted on a rental car in Texas. I'm loathe to give it up, but at this point, I'd probably be better off opening a new account with American Express or Discover Card and using that for my daily account instead. Any caveats or satisfied customer stories with either of those credit providers out there?
The 1.5 mile roundtrip walk to the post office included a stop at Auntie Cathie's Roadside Stand and Bakery. My deal with myself is that if I want a treat from Auntie Cathie's, I walk up there to get it. I was in luck today -- pumpkin whoopie pies! Limiting myself to buying just one was hard. They're delicious! "("Buying two wouldn't be completely unreasonable," the little voice in my head said.)
Oddly enough, it was much easier to limit myself to only eat half of the one I bought once I arrived back home. Yes, they're large, but that's usually not enough to slow me down.
The fact that I stopped with half is a sign that the dieting half of my current diet'n'exercise effort is continuing to go fairly well. I've been at it for a month now. Results to date: the scales are down 15 pounds and I'm up to 15 minutes on the elliptical. Well, okay, I managed 15 minutes for the first time last night. The norm for the last couple of weeks has been 12 minutes. I'd like to build that up to the 20-30 minute range, but most of all, I'd like to just plain keep on doing it at all.
I'm large enough that there's not much visual difference yet, but I'm beginning to feel a tad less completely stuffed into my skin as I had been of late. That's a welcome improvement! While I do have at least an interim weight loss goal (45 pounds), my primary focus is on making permanent changes in my eating and exercise habits. Much as the changes are likely to bring about further weight loss, the changes themselves will be a benefit no matter how much I weigh.
Over the years, I've had limited success in eliminating or even lessening my bad habits. I'm certainly better on the sleep front than I was for several years in the early 1990s. That's a clear win in the "lessening" column. But there aren't many others I can point to. I'm glad I'm working on this particular set of bad habits now, and hope I can get the better habits to stick.
So, I'll enjoy the other half of the whoopie pie later. And keep on doing my best to continue eating sensibly in the days, weeks, and months to come.
It looks like we have a rainy weekend ahead. I think I'll run errands now, while the skies are merely grey, then hole up inside and work on the tricky bit of a fun knitting project for
smofbabe, finally stain the CD shelf I bought last summer, and attend to other tasks awaiting my attention. More likely, I'll get to one or maybe two of these things, and spend all too much time surfing the net instead!
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no subject
Date: 2007-05-18 08:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-19 09:40 pm (UTC)Alas, the postal carrier delivered the package. 'Twas a lovely reason to walk to the top of my driveway, and that takes effort, too.
Many thanks! Your gifts mean a bunch of us will have a truly wonderful tea tasting at ConQuesT in Kansas City next weekend.
no subject
Date: 2007-05-19 09:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-22 06:36 pm (UTC)Comments
Date: 2007-05-18 09:02 pm (UTC)Re credit cards, will you be travelling in country or out of country? If out of country, I can recommend a Mastercard with lower currency conversion rates than some. If in country, I'd suggest an Amazon VISA card. For every $2500 you spend, you get a $25 Amazon gift certificate. It's with Chase, which I have found much pleasanter to deal with than MBNA. There's also a Chase Freedom card which gives 3% cash back on groceries, gasoline, and drug stores and 1% on everything else. The problem with this one is that you have to watch your credits and request a check every so often. The Amazon one just sends the certificate automatically. (And watch out - the Freedom card web site plays obnoxious music). Both of these have no annual fee. I've always avoided American Express because they do charge an annual fee. Don't know much about Discover, although I get the impression that they're not as widely accepted. That can also be an issue with American Express because they charge higher fees to the merchants.
Great news on the weight loss front! I'm very impressed by 15 pounds in one month! I've been trying to eat better, but still am not losing anything to speak of. I really need to get back into regular walking. It doesn't help that I live on a hill, so if I walk from home, the last bit is always uphill!
Nika here
Date: 2007-05-18 09:06 pm (UTC)I wish I could lose 15 lbs in a month. Its a journey, not a quickie trip thats for sure. Now a days, I do low glycemic as much as I can stand. Have to get the blood to not be so sweet, if you will.
Nika
CCards
Date: 2007-05-19 12:10 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-19 12:19 am (UTC)It's rainy and cold here, too, although not quite that cold. I can leave the fountain up. Usually mid-May is safe to start the fountain
no subject
Date: 2007-05-19 03:29 pm (UTC)K.
Stuff
Date: 2007-05-19 11:24 pm (UTC)Nate B.