I'm back!
The laptop charger arrived, so I am all set. When finances loosen up a little I am going to get myself another one, so I can keep one in Montreal and one in Ottawa. I think it was at least partly the fact that I had to wrap the cord over and over and over that led to the plastic/rubber casing wearing out and then fraying to the point of snapping. If I make the cords travel less, I'm sure they'll survive longer. Plus it'll save space when I pack.
This week has been one of mitigated successes. I got out into the yard on Tuesday the way I'd planned, and cleaned a hefty chunk of the ocean of gravel that was on the front lawn. It was back-breaking work, and after three hours I wasn't finished, but I was definitely done. I didn't manage to get out there again on the Wednesday, mostly due to rain and other considerations, so that was all the yard work I was able to accomplish.
I did take the dog for two good long walks on Tuesday and Wednesday (Thursday didn't happen, alas), and he's much happier for it. I also brought him to the vet on Wednesday evening for his annual vaccinations and also to do some follow-up blood work for his thyroid issues. Unlike my own doctor, the vet had results for me within an hour, and it's all good news. Sergent's thyroid is back to functioning within normal parameters (though he's on the high end of normal), so we're sticking to the current dosage of his medication. His arthritis has also improved almost 100%. The last time we were at the vet they couldn't get him to extend his legs beyond about 45% of what would be considered a normal range of motion before he protested. This time? The vet extended both back legs to almost 100% of his normal range of motion and he didn't make a peep! I am so proud of my puppy. He also lost two pounds in the last month, which is very good news for him (he packed on a lot of weight this winter!).
George also got brought to the vet, got all his shots and a clean bill of health, in spite of a slightly worrisome lump on the back of his neck. The verdict is that it's likely a benign cyst, but that we should keep an eye on it.
The vet also gave me a new estimate to remove the growth on poor Sergent's eyelid, bringing it down to $400 from $800. That's still $400 I don't have, but it was good news nonetheless. Again, when money frees up, it's something to do, because the growth is obviously irritating him and doing him no good at all, poor puppy.
Yesterday was a commute day, and I got stuck in the most random traffic jam on the 401, of all places, about 15 km away from the 416. It took me 45 minutes to get through 1 km of traffic to the nearest exit, and I was not best pleased. On the other hand, I discovered two delightful little towns, Pittman and Shandy, that were along the rural route that I took as a detour. The weather was beautiful, and both towns seem like quiet little farming communities. We're heading into May, so the countryside was looking pretty green already, and the sky was bright blue and flecked with clouds. Driving easily down the deserted road, my earlier irritation at being delayed soon dissipated.
I paid for it later, of course. I decided to take a walk when I got to Ottawa. After all, I'm determined to walk every day, and I hadn't yet gone for a walk. I made a point of exploring the bike path that starts about two blocks away from my place, and discovered to my great delight that I can walk a loop of almost exactly five km all the way back to my front door. That means that I don't have to pay attention to the distances when I'm walking or running, since I'll have a pre-set path. The new season of Zombies, Run! is out, and so I've been avidly listening to the new episodes when I walk. When I run out of new episodes, I'll re-run the first two seasons.
I've also decided to reward myself when I hit specific goals by buying myself a Captain America t-shirt for each goal/milestone. That way when I start running again I can yell "On your left!" at people. /dork Maybe something like this:
Where the traffic delay really cost me was in the evening, when I was trying to prepare my food for the week. I only got started at 19:00, and I don't care what the websites say, the prep is NOT 15 minutes. Not when I wash and chop all the vegetables by hand. I think most of the websites use pre-chopped veggies, in which case, yes, I can see how that would be faster. It also costs a lot more, which is counter to what I'm trying to accomplish: namely, to eat good, nutritious food that's also relatively inexpensive. Anyway, by the time I had done all my prep, packed my lunch, set up the coffee maker, washed and dried and put away the dishes, it was well after 21:30. So much for my plans to go to bed early (I'd been aiming for 19:30 in my original plan, but that was before I got caught in traffic for 45 minutes and then lost an additional 30 minutes to the detour).
Since I wasn't able to get to bed early, I also wasn't able to try my new 10-minute yoga routine this morning. I just wasn't able to drag myself out of bed 10 minutes earlier, since I'd gone to bed an hour and a half after my usual cut-off time. I don't regret sleeping those extra 10 minutes, let me tell you. I am going to aim for a much earlier bedtime tonight and hope I can do it tomorrow. 10 minutes of beginner yoga poses seems entirely doable to me. I will update as events warrant on the yoga.
I've been remiss about posting my daily gratitude thing too, so for the month of May I'm going to commit to doing that every day, as well as holding myself accountable for my eating and exercise habits. Don't worry, I'll keep it all under a cut, I promise.
For today, I am grateful for:
1- My coworker's return to work. He's coming back part-time and on weekdays only, but that's when he'll be most needed. I am happy that his health is improving.
2- A working computer. It's my main means of staying in touch with people, and the adage is right: you don't know what you've got until it's gone. I wasn't completely isolated while not having the computer, but I was lucky enough only to be unplugged for a couple of days. If I'd gone longer I think I would have felt the effects a lot more.
3- Sergent's gradual return to health. The vet bills have been killing me of late, so having fewer of those is a good thing. Most importantly, though, having my dog happy makes me happy.
The plan is to either walk on my lunch break or, if it's raining, to walk after work. I still have three episodes of Zombies, Run! to discover, and I'm quite looking forward to them.
This week has been one of mitigated successes. I got out into the yard on Tuesday the way I'd planned, and cleaned a hefty chunk of the ocean of gravel that was on the front lawn. It was back-breaking work, and after three hours I wasn't finished, but I was definitely done. I didn't manage to get out there again on the Wednesday, mostly due to rain and other considerations, so that was all the yard work I was able to accomplish.
I did take the dog for two good long walks on Tuesday and Wednesday (Thursday didn't happen, alas), and he's much happier for it. I also brought him to the vet on Wednesday evening for his annual vaccinations and also to do some follow-up blood work for his thyroid issues. Unlike my own doctor, the vet had results for me within an hour, and it's all good news. Sergent's thyroid is back to functioning within normal parameters (though he's on the high end of normal), so we're sticking to the current dosage of his medication. His arthritis has also improved almost 100%. The last time we were at the vet they couldn't get him to extend his legs beyond about 45% of what would be considered a normal range of motion before he protested. This time? The vet extended both back legs to almost 100% of his normal range of motion and he didn't make a peep! I am so proud of my puppy. He also lost two pounds in the last month, which is very good news for him (he packed on a lot of weight this winter!).
George also got brought to the vet, got all his shots and a clean bill of health, in spite of a slightly worrisome lump on the back of his neck. The verdict is that it's likely a benign cyst, but that we should keep an eye on it.
The vet also gave me a new estimate to remove the growth on poor Sergent's eyelid, bringing it down to $400 from $800. That's still $400 I don't have, but it was good news nonetheless. Again, when money frees up, it's something to do, because the growth is obviously irritating him and doing him no good at all, poor puppy.
Yesterday was a commute day, and I got stuck in the most random traffic jam on the 401, of all places, about 15 km away from the 416. It took me 45 minutes to get through 1 km of traffic to the nearest exit, and I was not best pleased. On the other hand, I discovered two delightful little towns, Pittman and Shandy, that were along the rural route that I took as a detour. The weather was beautiful, and both towns seem like quiet little farming communities. We're heading into May, so the countryside was looking pretty green already, and the sky was bright blue and flecked with clouds. Driving easily down the deserted road, my earlier irritation at being delayed soon dissipated.
I paid for it later, of course. I decided to take a walk when I got to Ottawa. After all, I'm determined to walk every day, and I hadn't yet gone for a walk. I made a point of exploring the bike path that starts about two blocks away from my place, and discovered to my great delight that I can walk a loop of almost exactly five km all the way back to my front door. That means that I don't have to pay attention to the distances when I'm walking or running, since I'll have a pre-set path. The new season of Zombies, Run! is out, and so I've been avidly listening to the new episodes when I walk. When I run out of new episodes, I'll re-run the first two seasons.
I've also decided to reward myself when I hit specific goals by buying myself a Captain America t-shirt for each goal/milestone. That way when I start running again I can yell "On your left!" at people. /dork Maybe something like this:
Where the traffic delay really cost me was in the evening, when I was trying to prepare my food for the week. I only got started at 19:00, and I don't care what the websites say, the prep is NOT 15 minutes. Not when I wash and chop all the vegetables by hand. I think most of the websites use pre-chopped veggies, in which case, yes, I can see how that would be faster. It also costs a lot more, which is counter to what I'm trying to accomplish: namely, to eat good, nutritious food that's also relatively inexpensive. Anyway, by the time I had done all my prep, packed my lunch, set up the coffee maker, washed and dried and put away the dishes, it was well after 21:30. So much for my plans to go to bed early (I'd been aiming for 19:30 in my original plan, but that was before I got caught in traffic for 45 minutes and then lost an additional 30 minutes to the detour).
Since I wasn't able to get to bed early, I also wasn't able to try my new 10-minute yoga routine this morning. I just wasn't able to drag myself out of bed 10 minutes earlier, since I'd gone to bed an hour and a half after my usual cut-off time. I don't regret sleeping those extra 10 minutes, let me tell you. I am going to aim for a much earlier bedtime tonight and hope I can do it tomorrow. 10 minutes of beginner yoga poses seems entirely doable to me. I will update as events warrant on the yoga.
I've been remiss about posting my daily gratitude thing too, so for the month of May I'm going to commit to doing that every day, as well as holding myself accountable for my eating and exercise habits. Don't worry, I'll keep it all under a cut, I promise.
For today, I am grateful for:
1- My coworker's return to work. He's coming back part-time and on weekdays only, but that's when he'll be most needed. I am happy that his health is improving.
2- A working computer. It's my main means of staying in touch with people, and the adage is right: you don't know what you've got until it's gone. I wasn't completely isolated while not having the computer, but I was lucky enough only to be unplugged for a couple of days. If I'd gone longer I think I would have felt the effects a lot more.
3- Sergent's gradual return to health. The vet bills have been killing me of late, so having fewer of those is a good thing. Most importantly, though, having my dog happy makes me happy.
The plan is to either walk on my lunch break or, if it's raining, to walk after work. I still have three episodes of Zombies, Run! to discover, and I'm quite looking forward to them.