De-cluttering my way

I made this vision board a few months back when the clutter in my life really began to irritate me.  It was very specific as to what I wanted and what needed to be done. I wanted to reclaim the organized person I was; to do that I needed to do A LOT of pruning. Monday morning I woke up bright & early itching to get rid of things. I spent an hour going through my book collection bagging books for an upcoming book sale. After that hour I had 4 bags of books for the sale.  On the way to work I dumped 4 boxes from my garage in the dumpster. Later that afternoon, I was able to collect 2 garbage bags full of junk.  This morning I dropped those off at the dumpster. God I love dumpsters, it’s so liberating to throw boxes & garbage bags into a non-judgmental receptacle. I spent another hour this afternoon clearing out notebooks and other useless stuff I’ve accumulated in other lives. Here’s a picture of this afternoons hall. I can’t wait until the garbage men get here tomorrow morning! Maybe I’ll even throw the bags in the garbage truck for good measure.

Acid-Reflux is back

Thrilled am I not; my acid reflux is back. Drugs are good to a point, they can help stem the pain and minimize acid production, but I don’t like taking them on a long term basis. My gastro doc recommended Ginger tablets to relax the esophagus. Ginger is a wonder spice. Besides calming the digestive track, it helps with morning sickness and stimulating your metabolism. Trying to pinpoint trigger events can help aide in preventing a miserable night. For me it’s a “that time of the month” trigger. The food I eat around my period can help determine how painful and long the attacks will last. After visiting several sites, I’ve compiled a list of foods to avoid and foods to favor until my digestive track is back on track. Grilled Trout, brown rice and carrots with ginger sounds about right tonight.

Get up, get out, get moving

I’ve gotten behind in my blog reading, so I just read a post from My happy blog by Diane Lang which she wrote in May! Diane has begun a self-help challenge, “the goal: next time, you go looking for a self help book, you won't have to worry which ones really work because I have done the research for you.”  Her 1^st choice was a self help DVD to encourage her to add physical activity into her schedule in order to lose weight. http://myhappyblog.vox.com/library/post/my-self-help-challenge.html?_c=feed-atom  Hello, did Diane did you write this with me in mind?

My translation of her review is eat a good breakfast and get outside for a walk. I’ve got Shredded Wheat in the cabinet. My sneakers & MP-3 are next to my bed. There is no excuse not to get out in walk around my neighborhood before I shower & dress for the day.

We're having a heatwave

Martha & the Vandellas had it right we’re having a heat wave.  This summer has been unbelievably hot & humid in the NYC area. The sun setting at the end of the day which usually brings cooler temps has had minimal impact on the stifling heat. Thunderstorms that usually bring relief to the heavy humidity have no effect. A friend & I went to a jazz concert last night in a church - no a/c. We thought we’d get a little exercise so we walked from her house. I think I sweated off 10lbs. If I wanted this kind of sweltering summer heat, I’d live in the south. I’m headed to the pool to cool off. Since it’s still Ice cream month, I’ll top it off with some of the cold stuff. 

Sandwich Day

I had been meaning to schedule my mammography since the beginning of the year. Life happens and here it is July and still no mammogram.  Then while scheduling appointments for my dad – an early morning doctor appointment followed up with an early afternoon CAT scan, both nearby the hospital, I suddenly had a block of free time on my hands. Now being the multi-tasker I am, I searched for something to fill those hours between dad’s appointments.

Oh, what about taking care of me and finally scheduling that mammogram? I called the Ripple Breast Center at Morristown Memorial Hospital and explained that I was trying to sandwich my abnormal mammo and ultrasound in between dad’s appointment in 2 days time. Any chance they could squeeze me in?  After a bit of deliberation on their part and me shamelessly playing the pity card, they came through. Hooray, they could squeeze me in to get squeezed, swished, and mushed!

Like many of the sandwich generation, I tend to forget to take care of me, and when I do it’s sandwiched in between taking care of others in my life.

Ice Cream!

Today is National Ice Cream Day this month is also National Ice Cream Month. I’m just going to ignore for the moment that our elected representatives can’t even decide if ice cream ranks a day or a month, nor the time & $ wasted in the endeavor and just enjoy celebrating ice cream. I’ve been a fan of ice cream since I was a little girl sharing a cone with my dog. I remember the road trip where our family took a break at a rest stop and got cones to break up the journey. I got a scoop of hard vanilla ice cream. Unfortunately when I took my 1^st bite, the ice cream fell off the cone. There I stood staring at the cone in my hand and my ice cream on the road. I must have looked pathetic enough, because my mom, whose usual attitude is you drop it you lose it, sent my dad back to the window for another cone. The employee, who saw the splat, gave dad a new cone for free. 

All’s well that ends well. Time for a cone!

Happy 4th of July

Sunday is the 4^th of July, a time to celebrate with family & friends the start of this great nation. I’ll be celebrating by watching one of my favorite movies 1776. 234 years ago, the Continental Congress signed the Declaration of Independence. 1776 is a musical comedy that recreates the days leading up to the signing. It reminds me that We the People can unite to create an amazingly special country.