lonestarpenny's Journal

another nice day of swimming

Jul 03 2009 01:03

well, I know it is getting boring hearing that all I talk about is swimming. Today was my last day of swimming until next week. I never brave cypress lakes on a holiday, or anywhere else for that matter. figured there would be alot of campers setting up and filling up the pools tonight since alot of folks are off tomorrow. wasn't too bad. 1 of the three main pools is down, the second one where the main camping area is was full, I mean completely full. I didn't have much hope of getting a good work out in tonight, but when we made it around to Lincoln pool there wasn't many in there. in fact one group left which left me and some other people that I have met before( last yr) that are nice folks. so it was a good night. the water was cooler from the past two days small breaks in temps and cloud cover, eventhough no rain. they did add some cold water to the pool also so it was easier to do my laps tonight. felt exhausted when I was finished though. I walked 2 miles last night after my 50 laps. don't think I will be able to do that tonight. tomorrow. nothing big. hubby may go to town to find the stuff he wants to clean the bike( harley road kind 03 model) up and polish the chrome. some rust has started to form and he thinks he can take care of it. we will see. he hasn't rode that bike 6 t or 7 times since he got it in 04. It is just the fact that it is there if he wants to and I didn't throw a fit when he said he wanted it. we put the cobra mustang up for sale and harley. said we would keep whichever didn't sale, sold the mustang in very short period of time. have had some calls on the bike still as we haven't taken the sign off of it, but bikes have come down alot since all this economic turmoil. there at tons of them on the market now. we will probably hold on to it until after his knee surgery when we see how things will go. i told him either he will have to get up around and riding it or I would have to learn to.( I can't it is just too big for me to manuever) . the idea was I was going to ride behind him, but after we got the bike we both couldn't fit on it. He wouldn't go anywhere and ride without me... so hence it has not got much time on the road.( it is not that I would not want him to go anywhere without me, he just won't.) now we are finally getting to the point where we could both get on there safely and maybe comfortably. we will just have to see how it pans out. but with my back.... well I don't know. I love the idea of riding.....it is just the doing it that is the problem. haha.

little cool off

Jul 02 2009 03:41

Had a nice cool eve. yesterday. It cooled down into the mid 80's while I was at town grocery shopping and a big black cloud came up and I was sure it would surely come a deluge. not. well the cool off was nice anyway. went to cypress lakes swimming and had one of the pools all to myself for my laps and exercise. I only got about 30 laps in tues as hubby was having a hard time just working off and his knees were really giving him what for. was nice of him to grit his teeth so that I could go get some exercise in pool though. had a pretty nice day today also temps hit 90's but was cloudy alot of the day. still no rain on our house. will have to water foundation again tommorrow. It was cloudy in the eve. at cypress lakes so it made it cooler, and evidently the temp being cooler yesterday and last night cooled the water enough that is was pleasant. not cool, by any means, but ok,not like bath water like last week. I managed to get in 50 laps today and 30 mins of stretches. it was a nice eve. of the pool all to myself again and with going later it made it real cool. didn't get out until 9 pm. I may try to go swimming again tomorrow, eventhough I am sure some folks will start coming in with campers and all getting geared up for the holiday weekend. I wish that I could go see large fireworks display or parade or something to get into the festive mood. unfortunatley nothing is happening in our town at all. nothing for the last 4 years. really not worth getting on the roads to go anywhere else and besides we need to go have meal with ma and c. on the 4th. seafood it is ........ I am lucky to have a place to go swimming, lucky to be able to do 50 laps. never would I have thought last year, even at the end of the summer that I would ever do 50 laps. I believe I did 40 one time last year and it nearly killed me. my avg. was 25. we watched 3 coons play tonight near the pool hubby fed them the funyuns I didn't finish. saw alot of dear rabbits squirrels etc. we have coons and armadillos in our yard all the time.( they love it when I throw out scraps) sometimes a deer wonders through the yard also and squirrels play all the time. guess we take it for granted having been around it all our lives......

hanging in.

Jun 29 2009 10:08

still hanging in. mother-in-law's sitter should be back tonight, probably about midnight as usual. that works out ok this time since hubby is working days and gets up about midnight. I am afraid that it is looking like the end is close with the sitter. hopefully we can make it through at least hubbies first surgery without her quitting. I can tell she is ready to leave, she keeps dragging in stuff even after I told her not to and pretty much does as she pleases around there also. I haven't said much for fear she will quit and there is no one, I mean no one to hire to take her place, it will be me 24/7 from now on and I just don't know if I can handle that. I look over a lot because I know ma can be a pill and has been, but things are getting to a breaking point, and I hope they don't before hubby gets operated on and all. the heat has not broke here still over 100. I am so thankful for air that works( we got a new unit last year) and for warranty if something happens.( nothing like looking at the bright side haha). I am still on plateau, but feel it is of my own making. I need to have a long talk with myself, but right now I guess I am not willing to listen.evidently. As a friend has suggested if I could just cut 300 or so calories from my diet I would start to lose again, as hard as I exercise most weeks you would think I could use the self control( again) and cut those measely calories and make it easier on myself. I guess I will when I can. seems I am not going backward, that is good, but I seem to be in limbo, somewhat mirroring life right now. I need to muster up that gumpton that I had right after back surgery, to find that strength to whip those 300 measly calories. easier said that done... but doable. Now to JUST DO IT!!!!

104* today ugh and the humidity..... ouch

Jun 26 2009 00:53

ok I will not say again how high will it go, beause it can and may go higher. ugh. the pool was so hot to day, some came and left saying it was too hot, we went in, but it felt as warm as hubby's bathwater. hubby did go in with me I did not get my 5o laps in but did do 32, and about 45 mins, of stretches and water exercises. pew, if we don't get a rain or something then the water will be too hot to get in. that is a first for me. thanks for all the atta girls about the blood work. I am so thankful that the numbers show all my hard work. the heart dr. actaully said he was proud of me, imagaine that. he did however say to keep up with what I am doing but do more because I need to lose more. yes, doc, we both know that. working on it also. I have to go to stay at my mother-in- law's this weekend. her sitter is taking off to go to the german festival at their little central texas hometown. should be fun except for the heat. ugh. she should be back on tues. hubby is getting closer to surgery. we will both be glad when the first one at least is behind us. I remember going into my back surgery and how much pain I was in before. the one thing that crossed my mind was, will I be able to ride in a car on long trips again? will I be able to go back to Tombstone, 2000 miles. thank the good Lord I was. after 8 months we took a trip to tombstone az, and drove the whole way 19 hrs there in one day. the way back in 22 hrs. an answered prayer. traveling is my passion, it would have broke my heart if I was never able to do it again.( at this point--- I mean someday I know the day will come, but at 41 I wasn't ready for it.) I believe we have decided to have seafood on the 4th. shrimp and oysters. I found some oysters hiding at the back of the freezer today, I thought we had ate them all. we try to eat them all before hurricane season. during rita I had about 12 lbs of shrimp in freezer. I was not about to throw away even with out a generator. I boiled every single one and ate boiled shrimp until they were all gone. breakfast lunch and dinner. first time I ever got all the boiled shrimp I could eat. didn't tire of them either. haha. we do have generator now, no thanks to fema....( who was suppoesed to pay for it for my mother in law). so we can keep one freezer and some fans going. possibly a little window unit for one room and freezer and one fan.( we haven't tried that yet and hopefully we won't ever have to. I am rambling so I better close and finish up the washing and folding, before going over to mil's... no walking outside this time, will have to improvise with walking in her house, and dancing or something. will still try to get one hour exercise a day. If I could just get the calories down to 1800 a day I think I could lose. It is like my body knows exactly how much it takes to maintain itself. ( about 2500 with exercise) and no matter how hard I try I seem to hit that number. oh well. at least I have proved I can maintain pretty well for 6 months. that is something....... I thought with the swimming and ramping up the exericse by at least 500 burn extra a day I would start to lose again. so far no luck. just have to hang in there. and that I will do. can't go back the other way. life is to good on this side to go back....

103* today.... how high will it go?

Jun 25 2009 02:24

ugh. the heat. I am so thankful for air conditioning. got my results back from lipid panel etc at heart dr. today and the numbers were.... are you ready... are you sure?....... perfect, yes perfect. I mean yes, I am still on 145 mg of Tricor and blood pressure meds etc, but never in over 10 yrs or more have my numbers been on the low side of normal almost perfect. I feel like I should pinch myself. shows what the exercise along with better eating will do. I am a firm believer that a huge part is the exercise since I am doing so much now. hubby gave his pint of blood also today for his surgery on july 14. I believe he is now resigned to having it, just wants to get it over with and on to recovery. me too. I just hope he heals fast so he could go on to the other one. wish we could have them done by the end of the year. both of them. we will see. not rushing it or anything, but would be nice to get them both done in this year. I am here to be Nurse Ratchett and make sure he does what he is suppoesed to do and be moral support and all around cheerleader and bandage changer. the same he did for me when I had back surgery. I am so blessed I had him to take care of my through all of that.( I could even give my own self a shower, and you know what I mean....... ugh...)humbles you alot to be that dependant. I swam again today. did get my 50 laps in, plus 45 mins. water stretches and exercises, came home walked a mile on treadmill. we ate out mexican food today. it was very good. tonight we had grilled talapia,baked sweet potato, green beans, and i had a lettuce and spinach salad. it was very good. we have to go over to mother in laws this weekend for 4 days so I will probably be out of pocket for a while. still no more weight loss, but inches seem to have come off in last 2 months. our temps are getting out of hand 103* today. hubby had to water the slab again tonight to keep it from cracking. we were thinking and I don't think we had one day over 100* last summer, it was hot mind you, 98,99, but I don't think we broke 100 and didn't stay that hot for days and days like we are starting now. I am worried about forest fires as you know we live in the big middle of the forest at the edge of the big thicket. if one gets started it will spread like crazy. We just have to pray that it doesn't. don't know yet what we will do for the 4th. hubby is off, but as hot as it is I am thinking if c. doesn't want off again then bring her and ma over here and cook something easy like maybe burgers etc. it is too hot to bbq for 16 hrs( I do mean really bbq not just grilling). burgers we could just grill. I would love to go somewhere where they are having patriotic celebration, but it is just so hot I don't think we could take it....... everyone have a good weekend...............

burn bans, drought, and 100 plus temps

Jun 21 2009 22:16

burn bans in effect in most of the counties of s.e texas now. hopefully the idiots will obey them and not start a major forest fire. still it doesn't stop the smokers flicking those cigarettes either. No common sense nowadays. it has gone the way of the rotary phone, the 8 track and cassete to only name a few. I spent most of the eve. tonight watering our foundation. you have to do that to keep it from cracking when a drought sets in. It has been several years since we have had to do this in our area, eventhough to the north or west of us has had drought conditions over the past few years. todays high was 99 again. thank the Lord I have lost some of this weight and can handle the temps a little better. I am still very hot natured and nearly have a melt down upon going out in it, but I believe if I hadn't lost weight I probably would be having heat stroke with this drought and high temps now. things going ok otherwise. back acting up a little, but not bad. have to get my 3 miles in at least tonight as I didn't get but 1/2 mile in last night and none the night before. I did get the swimming in this week, so that is a big thing, but still to get the weight to start dropping I need to exercise everyday.( I only walk on treadmill, not out side so I don't have to worry about the temps on that). I can't wait until hubby gets off tues so I can go back swimming again. he doesn't like me to go by myself for two safety reason. don't need to be there by myself because of who knows who might be there, and I don't need to swim alone. I pray that hurricane season passes us by without a hitch, sure don't need to worry about that with hubby having surgery july 14. maybe we will have another 25 yrs without a major one... will go wed. for heart dr. appt. had blood work done fri. also hubby gives his own blood for his knee surgery. will be glad when that is behind us. glad he will be away from work for a while too. it is really getting under his skin bad. hopefully he will be able to retire soon............ I have been pretty good with my eating lately, even with the eating out occasionally I have stayed pretty much in perimeter of what I should. I still need to drop some calories though to get the weight loss going down. still I am losing inches, so that is good news...... I have got to make myself do my pilates every night. I know they work, I know they help my back. sometimes it is hard to do them, not because they are so hard, but because I put them off. they have made all the difference in how well my back does, and how many inches I have lost and the firming of my legs stomach arms etc. I recommend them to everyone. start small. work up. it works....

mall shopping

Jun 19 2009 23:45

I did get the blood work done today. will get results when I go to heart dr. next week just for checkup. then it will be a good while before I have to go again. I decided to go to the mall to see how the city folk are getting along nowadays. they had a bungee cord " ride" over a trampoline for younger folks hooked up there on one end. older folks were hanging out on second level watching. kind of funny especially when they were doing flips. it was real cute to see the little 5 yr olds catapulting around. to my surprise the mall seems to be booming, at least on the side of town I ever get to. macy's is coming back soon. I found out that they only went out because they had hurricane damage( so I guess the decided to remodeled in process since they bought out Foley's). they have been out over 9 months now. seems our economy here is coming back pretty good. the last time I was at the mall maybe feb.half the stores were closed...... there sure was alot of people out at the mall today.... I shopped most of the stores that had my sizes, but was good and didn't buy anything except more new balance tennis shoes that were on sale for 38.99 at penney's. If I had needed anything there were alot of good bargains at penney's but I just couldn't justify with all the clothes I have. they had 60% off orig. prices on all clearance.with alot of choice left. I enjoyed window shopping though and seeing what is still in style. luckily things don't seem to be changing much of late. I got lucky and got a great fitting pair of Liz clairborne jeans( size 16... they are stretchy) with front and back pockets, at the resale shop. not as high waisted as I would have liked, but not low rise either, in between. with a long shirt they are cute. only paid 2.50 once I had used my 3.50 credit I had from something I had sold. whoo hoo... no swimming today... was going to walk on treadmill, but I did walk the whole mall up and down so that is something. 3-4 miles walking tomorrow for sure. gearing up for hubbies knee surgery. maybe swimming again next tues. I do feel so much better when I swim. got some more of the max sun block today 30 spf. 1.00 at dollar world. that stuff is outrageous at walmart or anywhere. I bought 8 tubes. it should last 3 yrs. ex. 2014.. we don't have a good just a buck store here anymore, so when I go to humble I rack up.. they have good stuff at their dollar tree( or whatever that is called. it is a big store...........

hot hot hot

Jun 19 2009 01:28

we are going into drought now. burn ban in effect. it is hot. Aug. temps in june. ugh. 98-99..... got in 50 laps again today. took last night off, but did walk one mile. will go tomorrow for blood work to see if those megadoses of vit. D I have been taking are doing the trick. have been getting some sun in the pool. usually don't like to go until the shade hits the pool, but to get all the exercise I need plus 50 laps,( about 2 1/2 hrs) I have to start while sun is still bad. so I am getting some rays to help with vit. D. will get results next week. hubby will also go with me next week and willl give his blood for his surgery on knee. so at least we can kill 2 birds with one stone next week. I have decided to go blonde for summer since the red fades so fast( and eventually becomes blonde with the sun and the chlorine anyway.). been a long time since I was a blonde by choice. we will see if blondes have more fun haha... will make some time for me after errands tomorrow to just meander through the mall looking in the stores. sometimes I just love to window shop and see what is in. hope everyone has a great weekend...............

swimming swimming

Jun 15 2009 23:14

went to the pool again today. hubby went with me. he actually got in and did some work with his arms and legs too. I am trying to get him to do that to strengthen his muscles in his legs before he goes for the knee surgery. we go to the dr. tomorrow and learn the details of surgery etc. will probably treat ourself at "captain tom's" the place where all the blue collar's eat at on the east side. they have the best fried shrimp and oysters and gumbo. very reasonable, you pay for the food not the atomposhere. it is a cute place though, one of those boat type bars you all sit around and eat. very laid back. after doing my 50 laps last night I came home and did 2 miles walking, to make up for the night before when I hadn't done any exercise. today I did a mile walking before we went swimming then was in the pool 2 1/2 hrs, did 50 laps and about 40 mins. other exercise. maybe the scale will start to drop now. the way I swim, freestyle moderate I burn about 660 cal. an hour. so I proably burned over 1200 in the pool today altogether. meal wasn't so healthy tonight, but one of those you just have to have every now and then. the pinto beans were healthy, but I thawed out some rice I had cooked for me, then cooked hubby cornbread. I rarely do the cornbread or rice anymore. hubby will eat the cornbread until it is gone, like cake, and of course he wants lots of butter. maybe he won't get anymore for a month and a half or so. the heat has been off the charts here. we went straight from not so bad, 88 or so to 98-100 the last 6 days. the lows have been in mid 80's. it is getting into heat warning area., then there is dire heat warning of heat death because your body can't cool itself enough from the day to the night. I feel so for the ones without ac. they have opened cooling centers all over the city. and we are only into second week of june. hate to see aug............ we may have to fleeee.....it was so hot today and since it has been so hot the last 6 or 7 days the pool water felt like warm bath water....... the only saving grace was a breeze blowing. I could be a member of the polar bear club. I love the water when it is still freezing like in march. they didn't open them early enough this year for me to get into that cold water.............

swimming

Jun 14 2009 21:49

When hubby got in from work today he went with me to cypress lakes so that I could swim. we went early so it was hot for him, but like a good hubby he went with me anyway. I put the spf 30 on and got some sun( itwas about 4:30 pm), did my stretches and then did get this 50 LAPS. Probably helped my vit. D getting some sun also. didn't do my 3 miles walking last night so I think I will try to make up for some of that tonight while I watch some kind of mindless tv. cooking some pinto beans for tommorrow. haven't had any in a while so looking forward to them. think I will make a huge pot of shrimp gumbo tomorrow so we can have that for later and freeze some too. trying to use most of the stuff out of my freezer since hurricane season is upon us again. I still have quite a bit of food in there. has been close to 100 this week everyday with about 79 for lows. and the humidity ugh. no rain for about 2 weeks so everyone's gardens are staying to scorch. ugh. wish I had some green tomatoes to fry.....