I am getting motivated to slim down.  I took a picture of myself in my bra and panties in the mirror and will use that as a baseline.  Hopefully I will see improvement.

Last night I started bowling in a summer league.  By playing in the bowling league this summer, I get 6 free games each day if I want to use them.  I am going to try to use them as much as I can.  Tonight I plan to bowl and then go to the grocery store.  Sometime today during work or after the store, I am planning on riding the stationary bike and the treadmill for 5 minutes each.

I am also doing laundry, so each time I get up from my work chair, I will try to hold in my stomach as I walk around the house.

I weigh a heavy 220, and my first goal is 180.

Maybe if I post once a day how I did, I might be able to hold myself accountable.  It hasn’t worked in the past, but I guess I need to keep trying.

Blood Donation - For many years I have given blood at the Red Cross and now that I am in Oklahoma, at the Oklahoma Blood Institute.  I wanted to give blood again for the tornado survivors and was told that I am blood deferred.  They will no longer take my O- blood.  I have an antibody attached to my red blood cells that they no longer will allow to go to the general blood supply.  I probably acquired the antibody to a foreign protein that was in the blood that I received (2 liters) at the time of my hysterectomy in 1996 or so.  Or I might have gotten it from one of my pregnancies, but I doubt that.

I think I have given over 8 gallons and now I am not allowed to.  I am very sad.  I had a sense of pride when I gave blood because I had a blood type that can be given to everyone and it is needed so badly.  Now I can’t.

Bowling - I might get into a summer league on Wednesday so I went to the alley to practice.  I didn’t do well, but I had someone point out that the ball goes where my plant foot is pointing.  I had already determined that my back swing was also causing a problem.  So now I have two things to watch out for.  Plus I cannot bend over to release the ball, as that hurts my right hip.  Point foot straight forward, don’t swing the ball back so far and make sure you don’t turn your body, find the right spot on the floor to aim for - now GO.  Wow, that is a lot to remember.  

I bowled three games by myself and it wore me out.  I should take more breaks between frames.

This is just a diary of my husband’s and I trip.  Might not be interesting to most people.  

Read more …

This is for all the mothers that I know:

Kari and Melinda:  My two wonderful daughters have become awesome mothers.  Both of them are so good at being a mother that it makes me proud to call them daughters.  When they were growing up, I just knew they would be special people and I was right, they are very special.

Kari somehow handles three jobs, 4 children, one awesome husband and is a runner.

Mindy handles a job, a wonderful husband, two children, and has MS.

I also want to say how much I miss my mother who died in 1996.  I never really knew her, I don’t think.  She was much for talking about herself or sharing her feelings.  But she was strong and very generous.  I am sure I could have learned a lot more things from her if she had been able to live longer.

My mother-in-law, Joanne, is a very good friend and I admire how she strong she is.  She has had quite a few trials and tribulations in her life and she is still joyful and compassionate.

Other great mothers I have gotten to know recenly:

Nicole - I haven’t see her lately, but I know that she is awesome as a mother to her baby boy, Mason.

Kira - She is a mother who seems to have a lot of wisdom and patience and I am sure that will carry her through the years as she raises her children, 

Julie - Julie is a great mother and she is daily tested by her children.  But she still has a positive spirit and great sense of purpose.

These are just a few.  There are so many more mothers that I have come to know.  Each one different, yet they are the perfect mother for their children.

Happy Mother’s Day to you all.

PS:  I don’t know what to get my daughters for Mother’s Day.  I know that I am constantly supporting them and telling them how much they mean to me, so I am pretty sure they know how much they are appreciated.

I have been thinking about this a lot.  As a child in the 50s/60s I had a lot of freedom.  I remember playing outside for hours at a time with the neighbor kids, never with any supervision.  Us kids ran all over the neighborhood.  I remember riding my bike when I was in maybe 5th or 6th grade to a store that was two and half miles away.  It amazes me that we were allowed to do that.  We made forts in the small grove of trees behind our house, played cards in the neighbor’s screened-in porch, went exploring, played baseball, kick the can and other games.  I don’t remember much about the inside of my house on Engleside Drive, in Grand Rapids, MI, but I remember a lot about the outside.

Now when my kids were growing up, I don’t think we were quite that relaxed about them going places and playing outside alone for long periods of time.    But I think they still had a lot of freedom.  

But this was also when “computers” started coming on the scene.  I know my son played a lot of video games as he was growing up.  Still does.

What will our children/grandchildren be like when they are adults now when so much of their time is either supervised by adults when they are outside of the home or they are using computers and other electronic devices to socialize with their friends?

Will they better adapted or less adapted to the world?  Will it be harder for them to deal with people or easier or the same?  Will they be better problem solvers?  Will they be more responsible for their own actions?

I welcome comments on this if anyone is so inclined.

I am trying to get in the habit of using the stationary bike every day.  At first Dave and I only exercised on Saturday and Sunday, he on the treadmill and me on the recumbent bike.  Then I think we exercised on a Monday after that.  Then only on the next Saturday.  This week I exercised on Monday for 12 minutes and then went bowling on Tuesday and then today I finally did 20 minutes plus I added hand weight exercises while I was cycling.  Riley the conure came with me in the exercise room to motivate me.  I am trying to motivate Dave.  He is the one that wanted the treadmill.  Years ago he lost a lot of weight because he used a treadmill everyday for about an hour or so.  But so far he isn’t motivated.  Maybe I can shame him into it.  I know he will like it when he gets going.  

Hmm, maybe if I put a picture of a pizza up in front of the treadmill it will make him want to walk.