2021: Think Positively for a Better Year!
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I was supposed to have my first voice therapy call this morning. But somehow the therapist had her phone rigged so it wouldn't communicate with either my home or cell phones. NO one else ever has a problem. Over my strenuous objections we rescheduled tomorrow as a video call (I refuse to do that even with clients!!) They must not be very busy as they had all kinds of openings tomorrow. You wouldn't think they'd be too picky to just go pick up a regular phone.0
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Maryanne, ouch! How did you scrape your foot? I’m wincing just thinking about it. I fell in my bathroom about a month ago. I was surprised I didn’t bruise because it hurt like hell. I was lucky I didn’t break anything but I guess my extra padding saved me. For once, being overweight was beneficial. I was surprised when I healed in just a few weeks.0
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Maryanne, ouch! How did you scrape your foot? I’m wincing just thinking about it. I fell in my bathroom about a month ago. I was surprised I didn’t bruise because it hurt like hell. I was lucky I didn’t break anything but I guess my extra padding saved me. For once, being overweight was beneficial. I was surprised when I healed in just a few weeks.
I don't even know. I'm so busy; moving from one thing to another; always stubbing toes and similar small ouchies. But this one really hurts!0 -
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72% of vaccinated people are worried about the Delta variant.
48% of unvaccinated people say the same.
Yes, you read that right.
https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/19/politics/covid-19-coronavirus-vaccines/index.html0 -
I’m going to a luncheon today with a couple of friends. It’s put on by my women’s club. I haven’t been to one of their meetings for two years. I took a couple of days to decide whether I wanted to go. I’m taking a mask with me in case I feel nervous.0
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I’m going to a luncheon today with a couple of friends. It’s put on by my women’s club. I haven’t been to one of their meetings for two years. I took a couple of days to decide whether I wanted to go. I’m taking a mask with me in case I feel nervous.
I really hope you're able to enjoy it.
I view us as in a lull right now. I'm not convinced it's going to last (daggone folks who won't get vaccinated not to mention the issues in getting the entire globe vaccinated) but if anything that makes me more determined to enjoy it a little.0 -
And as Damon Linker pointed out recently in The Week, citing Hannah Arendt, lonely people are drawn to totalitarian ideologies. “The chief characteristic of the mass man is not brutality and backwardness, but his isolation and lack of normal social relationships,” Arendt concluded in “The Origins of Totalitarianism,” describing those who gave themselves over to all-encompassing mass movements.
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Polling data from A.E.I.’s Survey Center on American Life found that 17 percent of Americans said they had not a single person in their “core social network.” These “socially disconnected voters were far more likely to view Trump positively and support his re-election than those with more robust personal networks,” wrote Cox.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/19/opinion/trump-covid-extremism-loneliness.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage
Huh...0 -
Interesting theories. Lunch was good. I got there early to save 2 seats. 5 other ladies joined us and all were vaccinated. I chose the table closest to the door. A few people had canceled so the nearest table was empty. There were about 50 people nicely spaced out in a large ballroom. I did well with the buffet. I took small amounts of the items I wanted and skipped the rest. They had biscuits. I debated that one but decided to half it and eat only half. They had Mac and cheese and I took a tablespoonful. It was the smallest serving of Mac and cheese I ever had but I enjoyed it and was satisfied with that portion. One of the recent Noom lessons is leaving something on the plate. That’s a hard concept for me because I was taught to clean the plate. I left the biscuit, a bit of quinoa salad, some chicken and pulled pork. I was pleased with my accomplishment. I took less than usual and left token amounts on the plate. And I stuck with water instead of a glass of wine. I’m still full so supper will be light tonight.0
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Today we both had dental appointments for routine cleanings and checkups. I got an A+ for my report card, but DH didn’t fare so well. He needs a couple of small fillings and an old filling needs to come out. He will probably need a crown on that tooth and possibly a root canal, to the tune of around $2900.
For dinner tonight I made a sheet pan dinner of chicken fajitas. It was very easy, and tasted really good. Cleanup was a breeze because I lined the pan with heavy duty foil first. I didn’t really use a recipe, just sliced up some onion and bell pepper and put them on the sheet pan, drizzled a little olive oil on them and tossed them around. While they were roasting I sliced up a large chicken breast into thin strips, put them in a baggie and poured a marinade of about 3 tbsp olive oil, the juice of a lime, and a tsp of taco seasoning in the baggie. I closed it up and tossed it around to make sure all of the chicken was coated. After the veggies roasted for about 10 minutes I added the chicken to the pan and tossed the veggies around. After another 10 minutes I turned the chicken pieces and tossed the veggies again. I also added flour tortillas wrapped in foil to heat them through. When the pan came out of the oven I squeezed another lime over all of the veggies and chicken, then served with vegetarian and fat free refried beans, salsa, cheese, and (store bought) pico de Gallo. I don’t like guacamole or sour cream, but restaurants typically serve those with fajitas. Super easy and we both liked it a lot. I have no idea what the stats would be on it, but I don’t think it would be too high in calories or fat.0 -
Pam, that sounds delicious. I agree it probably wasn’t high in the stats category. How’s your knee today?0
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My knee is a technicolor vision right now. Mostly a lovely shade of green, slightly swollen, but not really painful unless I put pressure on it. It doesn’t hurt to walk, so unless I need to kneel on it it’s not a problem. And I can’t think of a single reason to kneel on it right now!0
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Pam - OUCH!!! I can't imagine you want to kneel either.0
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Maryanne, how did your voice therapy session go?0
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Maryanne, how did your voice therapy session go?
It was a mixed bag. Some of the stuff she wanted me to do my face just didn't want to cooperate with (like do a "raspberry"?). And overall it sort of seemed all over the place. But she sent me a bunch of handouts and some of it I know I can do like use a vaporizer twice a day (ordered that today), change my menthol cough drops to ones without menthol (ordered those today), and do some making of sounds/words. Also ordered Biotene throat spray. Apparently there may only be 2 or 3 more appointments. She said she won't hesitate to say it's not working if she thinks it isn't and send me on for something else.
She's apparently a trained singer. She asked me if I sing. I said "I used to". She guessed soprano? Heck, no. Alto/tenor. And my voice has been gone for years. I may not be a trained singer but I know my singing voice is gone.
Apparently coughing is hard on vocal cords as is acid reflux. I don't even pay much attention to those any more. I guess I'll need to try. I've tried to avoid cough medicine, just sort of on general principles but maybe I need to think about that. I told her I threw out my omeprazole after my BUN came back elevated and she wondered if I ever used anything like Tums or Pepcid. The honest answer is never even considered it. I need to go through the handouts carefully and see what I can glean and then make more appointments.
Drinking more is recommended but I'm already doing that because of the elevated BUN (dehydration) Give up alcohol and caffeine? Already did that. Etc.
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(David G. Brown)0 -
Ann Tefnaes:
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Maryanne, what is BUN? I hope you benefit from her suggestions.0
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BUN is one of the kidney values tested on a blood panel (human or feline). (I've been looking at cat lab work so long I sling around the acronyms. LOL!)0
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Are your numbers okay? I hope so.0
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Are your numbers okay? I hope so.
Apparently elevated BUN with normal creatinine is usually caused by dehydration. I think of myself as someone who likes water but never concentrated on drinking any given amount. Since I take a diuretic for high blood pressure it made sense. Repeat labs were normal!0 -
I log my food and water these days. I drink between six and eight glasses of water and a couple cups of coffee. I drink water with my meals so it’s not anything I have to think about to get enough in.0
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Pinned Tweet
Lin-Manuel Miranda
@Lin_Manuel
"All I can do when the road bends
is lean into the curve
All I can do when the tank's run dry
is see what's in reserve
All I can do when the plans break down
is stay on my feet
& all I can do at the end of the day is play on, play on
& keep the beat..."
Vivo. 8.6 on
@netflix
!-LMM0 -
My BIL is out of town for a couple weeks so my brother is cat sitting. Yesterday I participated by phone in a vet appointment as the cat's not eating. Helped lay out a plan for what steps we'll take. Apparently they are 2 hours away from any veterinary specialists. I forget sometimes just how good we have it here in Baltimore.1
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Random thoughts from grocery store trip today:
1. The store has apparently stopped requiring masks for employees
2. Customer mask wearing is confusing. E.g. young couple with two elementary school age children. They had on masks; no masks on the kids.
3. Toilet paper/kleenex aisle was pretty empty (OH NO)
4. I should have checked out the pet food aisle but didn't
5. Even on a Friday not a lot of customers (in the major grocery store)
6. Some of the aisles were completely blocked with stocking (just weird)0 -
I sure hope the cat is alive and well when BIL gets home. Fingers crossed.My BIL is out of town for a couple weeks so my brother is cat sitting. Yesterday I participated by phone in a vet appointment as the cat's not eating. Helped lay out a plan for what steps we'll take. Apparently they are 2 hours away from any veterinary specialists. I forget sometimes just how good we have it here in Baltimore.
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I sure hope the cat is alive and well when BIL gets home. Fingers crossed.My BIL is out of town for a couple weeks so my brother is cat sitting. Yesterday I participated by phone in a vet appointment as the cat's not eating. Helped lay out a plan for what steps we'll take. Apparently they are 2 hours away from any veterinary specialists. I forget sometimes just how good we have it here in Baltimore.
Apparently the appetite stimulant is having at least some effect. I am cautiously hopeful Jack will still be alive when BIL gets home.0 -
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After one month on Noom, I’ve lost 5 pounds. That’s a good total for me as I don’t lose quickly. On the flip side, I don’t gain that quickly either.0
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Good job, Helene! I’m maintaining my 2.5 pound loss, but not progressing yet. I really need to add exercise, but the recent foot problems have made that difficult. Chair exercises don’t raise my heart rate enough to get into a fat burning mode, though they are good for toning and possibly building some muscle.0
