Tag Archives: gym

Thankful Thursday

Posted in Blood test, bread, budgets, California, cancer, cooking, Gratitude, instant pot recipes, velcade, Walking by

I’m thankful I can be flexible when I need to be because:

I woke up grumpy this morning and decided to NOT walk. That’s kind of a big deal for me not to do something when it’s planned. but I figured Fuck it, I’m not walking. I will go to the gym after Velcade and call it good.

I’m thankful the library is such a wonderful resource. I’ll get my holds after the gym.

Last night, we had homemade lentil vegetable soup with the Tartine baguette. The baguette came out very well, and I’m pleased. As I’ve said, his recipe seems to always work. It may be that his hydration is spot on. I used the instant pot for the lentil soup and it was done in 20 minutes of pressure time.

I’m over the moon that Barclay is doing so well. No nosebleeds and his energy is good. Today he’s getting labs so I’m hopeful they are still above the 100 mark for platelets. So grateful for this round being so much easier.

I’m grateful, most of what I wanted to get for Christmas is done. I feel like this is the last year of doing presents even though I didn’t do a whole lot this year. It still adds up and we’re definitely towing the line with money. I think I’ll formulate a plan and write it down so I can reference it for next year. Like maybe Amazon gift cards? Plus be more diligent with the budget.

I’m thankful it’s only 16 days to the Winter Solciste.

Simple Sunday

Posted in California, cooking, home stuff, Uncategorized, Walking by

I went to the gym this morning. I did about 30 minutes of weights and 20 on the treadmill. From there I went to Goodwill to get 2 champagne glasses. I found 2 that matched. They’re kind of cheap but that’s ok. We need 2 so we have a total of 6 for Christmas.

I’m home now and plan on tidying up. I think I’ll do a 10-minute tidy in each zone. Yesterday I re-did the entryways with cedar boughs and red berry faux flowers. I need to clean off the patio table as it is just a catch-all for gardening stuff.

My son is going to spend the night after he visits his friends. I plan on making spaghetti with Rao’s sauce. I have some beef so I can make a beef sauce also. The lettuce in the garden didn’t freeze with our last frost so we have lettuce still, kale, and chard. So I’ll make a salad. I need to plan next week’s menu so I’ll do that later too.

It’s cloudy today but quite a bit warmer. We had a nice walk in the park and no one was there. Maybe because it’s Thanksgiving weekend.

We got our Ikea tree up and lights on it too. I think I’ll wait to put on some ornaments till later this week. I put out the little Christmas houses and I put a battery-operated candle in each one. I doubt I’ll do too much more but I’ll check my bins.

Well, that’s about it at mi casa!

Simple Sunday

Posted in bread, California, cancer, cooking by

We had RAIN! Such a surprise! It started yesterday morning @ 4am and kept going off and on till about 11 am. It was so nice.

I’m back from the gym and working on doing my folds in the cheddar/jalapeno sourdough. One more fold and I’ll put it in the bucket to do the bulk fermentation. The house is chilly so it could take all day. I have some chicken I want to use up. It was kind of a mistake order from Walmart a while ago. It’s not super great quality so I think I’ll put it in the IP with some seasoning and see how it turns out.

This week I have 2 appts. The dentist for a cleaning and then Dr. Laptalo. After the dentist, I might go down to the Roseville gym and the library. It’ll be too late to try and swim. We’ll see. I’ve been so uncommitted to things lately. I wonder where that is coming from? That’s definitely not my usual M.O.

No other news from cancer world. He did get a call from a UCD oncologist’s office and made an appointment. But it’s really only like an info appt not about treatment per se. We’ll do it because that may be the doctor who does follow-up after Stanford. But right now we don’t know that.

Here’s a Gus picture:

And here’s Chester

Simple Sunday

Posted in California, cancer, cooking, Flylady, instant pot recipes, Myeloma, Political things, velcade by

It’s not so hot but there’s more humidity because of some cloud cover. Still, it’s not going to be over a 100 so that’s something. I think the rest of the week is in the 90’s.

I went to the gym and did some weights and then headed over to Target to get a few things. It wasn’t very busy which is odd.

This coming week is not too filled with appts. I have Velcade on Thursday and that’s it. I do plan to swim at least one time maybe two. I have a hold to pick up at the library so I’ll do that too.

I made some Instant Pot polenta yesterday and it was yummy. I love polenta. The recipe called for 4 1/2 c water but it was too much so 4 c. is what I’ll do next time. It was one of the reasons I wanted the IP again was to make polenta. So easy.

Not sure what the rest of the day holds. Maybe a quick tidy. I used the steam mop yesterday after vacuuming so that’s done. Flylady zone is the bathroom so I will mop the floor with my microfiber mop, not the steam mop.

Other than that, not much! It’s somewhat depressing around here with the impending diagnosis out there. I guess we’ll just carry on. After all, what choice do you have really?

On the political front, I’m hoping Republicans don’t start in with this assassination attempt being somehow from Democrats. I believe the shooter was registered as Republican. Also, trump was fist pumping and saying fight, fight, as he was escorted away. So where’s that going? Still, violence is not the answer but banning A-15 rifles just might be.

Simple Sunday

Posted in Blood test, books, California, cancer, cooking, Flylady, Gardening, Myeloma, reading, Uncategorized by

Another week has gone by and it was an ok one with Vecade and Dex. I had a hard time again with Dex and my BP so when I see the Dr in May, I’ll tell him and ask that we reduce it further. Right now I’m on 16 mg down from 20mg but it’s still too much I think for me. My BP was high all day and then started going back down by afternoon and by 5 pm was 120/82 so back in a good range.

This morning we had our Sunday walk and it’s very light out now at 5;50 am. It was only us and the geese.

There are lots of babies!

Today, I’m skipping the Auburn gym and going to the nursery with my daughter. We need to get the tomato starts and some other things as well. We always enjoy going and looking at the flowers and everything. I plan on going down to Maheny tomorrow so I’m ok skipping today.

I have my labs at 8 am and then I’ll drive down and do a workout and drop off a couple of the books I read. The Hannah Kristen, “The Women” is a phenomenal book about the nurses in VietNam. She obviously did an amazing amount of research. I’m not sure I like how she developed the character after she returns from VN. It seems to me she could have taken the character in a different direction. I don’t want to spoil it in case you haven’t read it, but if you’ve read it, what do you think?

This week is not too busy which I always appreciate. I plan on going to the pool 2x and then maybe one other gym day. Next week is the dreaded colonoscopy so the week will be different.

Menu wise, I’m still working on it. I’m going to make some polenta for tonight to have with black beans and salad. The rest of the week, I’ll need to plan. I do have some zucchini to use so maybe a ratatouile over rice.

The Flylady zone is the living room and entry ways. My daughter recently redid the one entry with new plants and tidied it up so I won’t need to do that. I have the red geraniums from Costco I can plant in some pots to put by the other door.

I can’t believe May starts this week. May is one of my favorite months as my daughter was born and what a gift she was/is to us. I think I’ve mentioned this before but we had been married 15 years before we had her and used a fertility drug to stimulate an ovulation. It worked like a charm so to speak and we were pregnant. Wonderful memories and I loved being pregnant. She’ll be 39 in May. Where does the time go?

Simple Sunday

Posted in Blood test, California, cancer, cooking, knee injury, Uncategorized, Walking by

Yay, I walked one round in the park. This week I plan to try and walk 3 times. It’s slow going but I need to build up to my regular walking schedule. Hopefully, I can at least get up to a mile.

I plan on going into the Auburn gym this morning. I haven’t been there forever. After that just come home and do Sunday things. I want to meal plan the week and I want to do the bathroom and bedroom zones.

Okay, back from the gym. It went ok. I’m glad to be back to my Sunday routine. Once home, I prepped the stuffed peppers and got them in the crock pot. I’m pretty sure I’m going to buy another instant pot. The one I like is the new version that’s more oval. I haven’t seen it physically but the pictures look good. Maybe in March. I did check marketplace but they all seemed overpriced for used.

Tomorrow, I have PT and my monthly labs. This is the first month on monthly Velcade so hopefully, all is good. Dr. L wasn’t too worried and that’s why he scheduled a follow-up for the end of March.

Today is Super Bowl and we are not watching. We don’t have the networks that play it so I guess unless we subscribed we’re out of luck. That’s ok, I’m really not into football although it is the SF 49ers:)

Thankful Thursday

Posted in budgeting, budgets, California, cash envelopes, Gratitude, Uncategorized, Walking by

I’m thankful we made it through the storm without trees falling and losing power. Today is going to be sunny and I’m glad for that.

I walked around the park once and I did ok. I was very pleased with that and thankful too.

Today I plan on pressure canning beans in the All American and I’m grateful to have that pressure canner. It seems we use the beans the most and then tomato sauces including salsas. The jams we use the least. It’s nice to have homemade jam but this year unless it’s our apples, I’ll probably skip the jam-making. The one exception would be the blackberry jam which we did use all of. That’s where my daughter and I went to a U-pick farm.

Yesterday, the gym went well. I almost got on the stationary bike but thought I’d wait till I try it at home. ( my daughter has one I can try).

After the gym, I went to Trader Joe’s and got a few more things. We needed oat milk, regular milk, 1/2 cream, bread, and gluten-free bread. Our new Costco opens in April and it will be closer than the one we go to now. Also, it’s basically across the street from the TJs so it’ll be very convenient. I’m not sure where we are in totals on groceries this month, so I’ll do a tally soon.

Frugal Friday

Posted in bread, budgeting, California, cooking, freezer cooking, simple foods, Uncategorized by

Except for regular bills, we didn’t spend much. We went to the co-op twice. One trip was @ $23 and the second $8.00, so not much. I didn’t go to Winco or Costco so that’s a win-win. I also didn’t get gas this week but will need it tomorrow or Monday.

All the big bills are already out of our checking. But there’s still water, PGE, and ATT. But those bills aren’t as big.

We also didn’t do a coffee lunch date so no money there spent. We are planning something right around my sister’s birthday to celebrate her life. Even though for most of our adult lives we weren’t that close, after my diagnosis in 2005 she was very supportive and visited annually. Then she got diagnosed with interstitial lung disease and then later lung cancer. So we want to go out and either do a wine tasting( she loved wine as much as I do!!!!). Or do lunch at a restaurant in Auburn that we went to usually when she came to visit.

I meal prepped 4 frozen lasagnas for those nights just don’t feel like cooking. I also canned 3 more quarts of tomato sauce. I also made 2 loaves of bread. One is a walnut cranberry and the other boule but with some rye flour added.

Last night’s quiche.

Oh, I did buy a sourdough bread book that was recommended by one of the UK bloggers I read. At first, I was going to return it as her original sourdough master recipe is not in it but in her last book, but then I looked at the recipes and decided there were enough interesting ones I’d keep the book. Oh, and my fabric showed up for the back of my Japanese indigo small quilt.

I went to the Roseville gym. It seemed busier than normal. Usually, there are only 1 or 2 people there but this morning it was busier.

Simple Sunday

Posted in Blood test, bread, cooking, home stuff, minimalism, Myeloma, simplicity, Uncategorized, Walking by

Beautiful weather this morning , cool and refreshing. Our walk was nice except, once again, after 4 months the AH showed up. He doesn’t look at us just drags his dog beside him. Actually, my guess is he had some kind of breakdown as he’s gained a lot of weight and is definitely NOT manic like he was. Now he’s playing music on his phone sans headphones. What is with this guy?? Anyway, we just ignore him and go on our way. He’s left before and will probably leave again. We’ve been walking in the park since 2008 or thereabout, so we’ve seen lots of people come and go.

I’m going into the Anytime gym this morning and then to Target for some stainless steel wipes, hand soap, and bar keepers. I’m sure something else will jump out.

I’m not planning on any cooking today. Yesterday I did crockpot fiesta chicken, and made up meatballs for either sandwiches or spaghetti. I did just feed my sourdough starter so I’ll probably make that up this afternoon.

Tomorrow I have my labs. We’ll see how it goes. I was so thrilled last month to only have a one point increase but I don’t want to get too invested in it staying that way when I know it won’t. Still, it was pretty nice to have that happy feeling that my myeloma was somewhat stable.

After my labs, I might go down to Roseville to the Rec Center. I’ll wait till tomorrow and see how I feel.

Simple Sunday

Posted in books, California, camping, Gardening by

We are getting things ready in the trailer and I’ve been working on the menu and foodstuff. I’m making lists for Tuesday morning since we want to leave by 8:30. With one stop for gas I’m guessing arriving around 1 or 1:30.

I plan on doing 2 Lodge meals so that’ll be fun. Then at least 1 BBQ maybe 2. Cooking outside is so nice and then the kitchen doesn’t get messy.

I went to the Auburn gym this morning and then over to Target. I wanted to get some of the Stasher bags to put things in. They are a reusable silicone bag in lots of sizes. I got the snack size and then the sandwich size which I plan to use for sliced cheese camping, and then a 4 cup bag. They were on sale but still they are pricey. If I like using them I’ll get more slowly to build up a nice supply.

These are a daffodil hybrid. I can’t remember if I got these from Brecks or Johnny’s but they are so pretty.