Time for Myself - April changes update

This is another update to the year long on-going rejuvenating time to 'sharpen the saw' as Stephen Covey wrote about in 8 Habits of Highly Effective People.
In March I had minor knee surgery to repair the torn meniscus in my right knee.  That has altered some of my plans.  Much of my rejuvenation comes while I am in nature hiking or biking, and both of these are somewhat limited by my knee rehab. 

To recap:
January - day trip to Appleton to see the Leonardo Da Vinci exhibit at their History Museum. 
February - day trip to Lake Geneva's Winterfest to see the national snow carving competition and hiked a trail at Big Foot Beach State Park that they light by luminaries
March - Zion Passion Play.  This was something that has been on my bucket list for a while and going there with Barb and Jon ended up enhancing the experience. 

And moving forward:

April Changes -While I was still planning on the mega hike at Starved Rock State Park for April and the physical therapy sessions had gotten me physically ready....Mother Nature played her card - the flood card.  Starved Rock State Park is on the Illinois River and is flooded.  They had to cancel the Mega Hike for April and reschedule for June 1 and 2. So I need a new (and quick) plan for April.  They called cancelled last week but I forgot to get my plans in order for something here.  Had I been thinking about this challenge, I easily could have taken time this weekend for a special bike ride or movie night - both had been options I considered for last weekend but instead I did lawn work (on my nature trail) and tired myself out.

So I have today and tomorrow left for April .... well tomorrow I'm going to the Brewer's game.  That sorta counts.  It also sorta counts that I had a very nice 6 mile hike at Laphem Peak.  This was part of my training for the Mega Hike.  I could still run out to the movies tonight.

The problem challenge for me is that's a lot of nights out this week - movie tonight?, Brewer game on Tuesday, Fun Run on Wednesday, Art Museum on Thursday.  I know myself well enough to know that will likely stress me more than rejuvenate me.

When I look back on April there were several outings that could have fit the bill except for a few adjustments.  For example, I had a really nice day at our public museum's special pirate exhibit, but we wanted to go to a certain restaurant (McBob's) before and use a restaurant.com gift card.  If McBob's had worked - then that would have been a good rejuvenating day.  But it didn't - McBob's had a shuttle to the Brewer's game and they were overloaded with people eating before taking the shuttle.  We had also tried AJ Bomber's - but that had over a 45 minute wait (that's another place that has been on my 'list' for a while - at least now I know where it's located!).   I had wanted to see the play Catch Me If You Can at the Marcus Theater, and that didn't happen -- these are the types of things I'm hoping the challenge helps me do for myself.   Another possibility was the Puzzle Museum in Kenosha  - they have very limited and sporadic hours for the public (mainly only open for groups); and they were open to the public these last 2 Saturdays. 

The other concern is that until this afternoon when I realized I was behind on doing the April challenge, I was planning tonight as a 'clean up' home night to close on several things that are half done.  Skipping this, and having a busy week just adds more stress to me. 

May challenges - this has to be revamped, with my job change and a possible trip to London, I now no longer want to burn a vacation day for this. 
I was tentatively holding Sunday, May 13 and pairing it with a vacation day on Monday, May 14 for a trip to Spring Green area to see the House on the Rock and Cave of the Mounds.  Both have been on my (minor) bucket list for a while.  Along with them, if there is time, I can add the Frank Lloyd Wright house, Taliesin; and possibly camping at Tower Hill State Park.  Solo camping has also been on my list and I do want to test out my new tent - although I may find mid May still too cool to for camping.  Alternative plans are there are several movies coming out that look really good - may be time to do a personal double feature, with a hike? or a bonfire?  Or maybe the day in Madison with a bike ride from the farmers marked to picnic park, another ride through the Arboretum, and possibly a tour of Camp Randall and the Kohl's Center.

June - Mega Hike was reschedule for June so I have Sat, June 1 for travel and and Sun, June 2 for the hike- this is the weekend Danny graduates from St Dom's and there may be family celebrations, so its just tentative until I hear about those plans.   Barb T can no longer go with me so this is a solo adventure.  I also put a tentative hold on the weekend of Jun 14 - 16.  That may be a good weekend for a Door County visit, with the extra stop to the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help where there was the approved apparition; or possibly a camping weekend

I still have a lot of work to keep this challenge active and meaningful.  I need to focus some planning time and then to commit to it. 

Time for Myself - update #2

This is another update to the year long on-going rejuvenating time to 'sharpen the saw' as Stephen Covey wrote about in 8 Habits of Highly Effective People.
In March I had minor knee surgery to repair the torn meniscus in my right knee.  That has altered some of my plans.  Much of my rejuvenation comes while I am in nature hiking or biking, and both of these are somewhat limited by my knee rehab. 

To recap:
January - day trip to Appleton to see the Leonardo Da Vinci exhibit at their History Museum. 
February - day trip to Lake Geneva's Winterfest to see the national snow carving competition and hiked a trail at Big Foot Beach State Park that they light by luminaries
March - as much as I tried to make Wally's Day something extra special, it really did not work out that way and my March event was the Zion Passion Play.  This was something that has been on my bucket list for a while and going there with Barb and Jon ended up enhancing the experience. 

And moving forward:

April -still planning on the mega hike at Starved Rock State Park.  The physical therapist has given the ok, with the caveat I need to stop half way if the knee is hurting.  I'm registered and have the hotel room paid for; Barb will be going with me.

May - the weekends are already filling up but I'm tentatively holding Sunday, May 13 and pairing it with a vacation day on Monday, May 14 for a trip to Spring Green area to see the House on the Rock and Cave of the Mounds.  Both have been on my (minor) bucket list for a while.  Along with them, if there is time, I can add the Frank Lloyd Wright house, Taliesin; and possibly camping at Tower Hill State Park.  Solo camping has also been on my list and I do want to test out my new tent - although I may find mid May still too cool to for camping.  Alternative plans are there are several movies coming out that look really good - may be time to do a personal double feature, with a hike? or a bonfire?  Or maybe the day in Madison with a bike ride from the farmers marked to picnic park, another ride through the Arboretum, and possibly a tour of Camp Randall and the Kohl's Center.

June - again June is already filling up.  I have tentative calendar holds on Sat, June 1 and Sun, June 2 - this is the weekend Danny graduates from St Dom's and there may be family celebrations, so its just tentative until I hear about those plans.   I also put a tentative hold on the weekend of Jun 14 - 16.  That may be a good weekend for a Door County visit, with the extra stop to the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help where there was the approved apparition; or possibly a camping weekend

Lenten Promises 2013 Status Update #6

Well Lent is really flying by this year.  I'm sure a big part of that is because of the distractions going on in my life.

1st Lenten Promise is to declutter for 15 to 30 minutes most days
I'm not taking a stop watch to this tasks, so the status is more of a thumbs-up / thumps-down.

    week 1 - Feb 10- 16 - Success, but a bit sloppy/slow over the weekend
    week 2 - Feb 17 - 23 - Fairly Successful, I may try to start timing myself to help keep focus
    week 3 - Feb 24 - Mar 2 - this is slipping, I need to refocus
    week 4 - Mar 3 - 9 - I'm making progress but its slow
    week 5 - Mar 10 - 16 - this promise has been derailed -- need to get back on this horse
    week 6 - Mar 17 - 23 - had some great strides this week


2nd Lenten Promise is to go out for at least 4 fish fries - Completed!!
Most of these fish fries are Fridays, and this past Friday I was out of commission with the knee surgery.  There are tentative plans for the YACC alumni to go next Friday and I'm counting on going with them.

    1 Completed - Friday, Feb 22 with the YACC alumni at St Agnes
    2 Completed - Friday, March 1 with the YACC alumni at St Florence
    3 Completed - Friday, March 8 with the family for Dad's bday
    4 Completed - Friday, March 22 take out at Queen of Apostle (Fr Sean's church)


3rd Lenten Promise is to consume no more than 2 bags of snack food per week (Sat to Fri)

    week 1 - Feb 10- 16 - Success!
    week 2 - Feb 17 - 23 - Success (but no exclamation point); the post-Valentines sale caramel popcorn almost caused a problem, luckily I got it under control in time
    week 3 - Feb 24 - Mar 2 - Success
    week 4 - Mar 3 - 9 - Success, and still have a quarter of last week's pretzels left over and only started the baked potato chips at lunch today (so no new bags started on Sat or Sun - that's good)
    week 5 - Mar 10 - 16 - Success, but there were a lot of rice crackers this week - if they were counted then I failed, but they are somehow different ;-)
    week 6 - Mar 17 - 23 - success
    week 7 - Holy Week -


4th Lenten Promise is attending and/or participating in 6 spiritual events this Lent -- Completed with extra!! Nicely Done

    1) Completed - Fri, Feb 15, Jesus Christ Superstar
    2) Completed - Fri, Feb 22, Stations of the Cross at St Agnes, with YACC alumni
    3) Completed - Fri, March 1, Lenten Day of Retreat 
    4) Completed - Fri, March 1, Stations of the Cross at St Florence, with YACC alumni
    5) Completed - Fri, March 15, Sacrament of the Sick, in preparation for the knee surgery
    6) Completed - Fri, March 22, Stations of the Cross at St Mathais, with YACC alumni
    7) Completed - Sat, March 23, Zion Passion Play (tickets purchased)

Learning to Cope

I've been working to plan something special for me on Sunday to memorize Wally's passing.  One thing I've noticed is that I'm not looking to food for comfort.  In the past I would have been all over the prospect of having some special food treat to eat to make me feel better.  I would have given myself a pass on any concerns for calories, fat content, etc.   It would have been big volumes of comfort food.

Instead of food, I'm focused on doing an activity to comfort me.  If I could, I would go on a nice long hike.  I was able to do that last year and it brought me a lot of comfort.  This year I have a knee that is fresh from surgery, the trails are still too snow covered to be enjoyable, and the day is going to have a high of around 35F.   I really wish I could have made this into a spa day at somewhere like Kohler's Water Spa.   This year I had St Dom's commitments on this date because it is also Palm Sunday and we have 2 changes this weekend - no way for me to break out for a day trip as Sunday we can't even start until noon (after the 11 am mass).   Instead this year it looks like I will be sitting home and watching pay per view movies.  The local theaters really didn't have a great selection or timing for Monday.   The budget theater did have a number of the movies that are also on pay per view (Life of Pi, Lincoln, etc) but they are all start before 1pm and there is no way for me to finish at St Dom's and make it all there there in time.

At least in 2014, this date falls on a Monday and I won't be leading the St Dom's A&E group next year; so I will be able to take a vacation day and do a day trip away from all of this and be able to focus solely on my Wally boy.  And I hope to still be able to do it without a focus on high volume of comfort food.

Call me Alexander

I feel like I'm living the children's book Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.
This was one of my favorite books when I was as a kid.

It's 10:30 am and it's already been a day of frustrations.  In no particular order....

• my egg sandwich exploded egg yolk all over my hand with the first bite
• it took almost an hour for the VPN software to update and recognize itself
• when finishing up an old notebook this morning, I discovered my weekly plan for what turned out to the week Wally died - which will be 2 years in 2 days.  It was ironic timing.  It made me feel really sad
• my sore throat keeps getting worse.  I don't feel good.
• yesterday we decided to put the LW group on hold - and today I'm concern that it will affect / slow / stop my weight loss which was just being to have some positive momentum 
• it's officially Spring but its cold and snow is everywhere still
• I can't make any plans for hiking, biking, etc for this spring or summer until I find out the rehabilitation plan for my knee.  Being a 'planner' it bothers me that I can't plan.  

Augh.

I hope it gets better soon!

Quick Weight Loss Update

The scale showed a 4 pound loss from last week.   Yea!!! 

The weight had been creeping up since Summer but ramped up when the knee trouble escalated.   It was a combination of lack of being able to move around (reduced exercise) and increased food (both holiday excess and also frustration and stress eating related to the knee injury).

In reality the weight loss has plateaued over Summer with the conclusion of the second LW session.  Summer is a challenging time for me.  There are a lot of festivals, fun outings, and family gatherings that all have either too much food or alcohol consumption, or both.

The family vacation to New Mexico stalled my weight loss efforts.  My family tends to eat more than I do; most of them have better metabolisms than I do so the excess does not impact them.  But I need to realize that I can't 'keep up' with them and just because they have some snack doesn't mean I can join in or maybe I can just have a taste but not a serving.   Also, and this is something I still need to figure out, I have a tendency to give myself a pass for 'travel eating'.  I actually shop for snacks and candy that I can have for the flights or in the car driving.  

The New Mexico trip was quickly followed by the annual HB trip which is a text book definition of excess. Very fun but not the healthiest of weekends.

But lately I've really felt the need to get back on the LW program.  And our group is still meeting; although it is a much smaller subset - we down to 4 or 5 of us most weeks.  We've changed from watching the LW videos to another DVD series and I think that has made a good impact.   The LW DVDs are old - probably from the late 80s or early 90s.  The old hairstyle and clothing are distractions; plus the LW founder is not a very good speaker so its not the best series to watch and be motivated by.

Part of my motivation is that I know losing some additional weight will really help my knee recovery.   Another part of the recent success is both the Lenten Challenge with the chips and also the reduction of stress related to the knee.   Plus I've recently really come to terms with the fact that I can't count on my own family so I need to take care of myself now so that I don't have to try to rely on them when I'm old.   And of course, the summer motivation for shorts and swimsuits.

Overall this is a step in the right direction.  I'm pleased.   And I foresee this to continue.  I have more motivation than normal and that is making me determined. 

Time for Myself - update

It's ironic that I had a calendar task set to update the Time for Myself goal since yesterday was  a realization that I'm going to have much time to myself!   But its a different kind of goal :-)

Yes, as yesterday's post pointed out, I don't have a lot of family support and I don't expect to be spending time with any of them anytime soon so I do have a lot of time to myself.  Yes, I'll do Easter brunch with my Dad, and yes there are multiple graduations that I'll be included in this spring.  But overall they are not going to call me to invite me to hang out with them.  I've got to let that go and move on.  

Anyway, this is a different type of time to myself.  Its the rejuvenating time to 'sharpen the saw' as Stephen Covey wrote about in 8 Habits of Highly Effective People.

Last Friday I had minor knee surgery to repair the torn meniscus in my right knee.  That has altered some of my plans.  I'm still waiting for the first follow up visit, but the pre-surgery assessment was that it would be about 8 weeks before I could be hiking, biking, and jogging at my prior levels.   This cuts out a lot of Spring hiking for me (which does make me sad).   I decided against the planned trip to Arizona and Utah national parks.   I even had to cancel my plans for a weekend trip to St Louis.   So I'm starting over on planning these days,  and right now only focused on March and April.   I'll wait to see how I am in May with the rehab before planning any additional days.

To recap:
January - day trip to Appleton to see the Leonardo Da Vinci exhibit at their History Museum. 
February - day trip to Lake Geneva's Winterfest to see the national snow carving competition and hiked a trail at Big Foot Beach State Park that they light by luminaries

And moving forward:
March -I've selected Sunday, March 24 as a day to celebrate Wally.  Unfortunately his day falls on Palm Sunday which means I have other commitments.  Last year I did a movie (Warhorse) and hike - it was good and I needed it.  This year will not have any hiking - its both too cold compared to last year, and my knee is in no shape to tackle the black trail at Laphem Peak.   I'm thinking of a double feature movie day - the weather will be around 30F and I can't do a lot of walking, so that takes out both outdoor activities and museums, etc.   The Budget theater has better movies (Life of Pi, The Hobbit, Lincoln, etc) than the local Marcus, but the Marcus has better food options for being able to make a day of it.  And neither have their Sunday schedule online yet.  I'll wait and see.  It is not what I wanted for my memorial day, but I'm confident I can make it work.  


April -Still considering the mega hike at Starved Rock State Park.  I need to get the doctor's blessing on this before I commit the money.   If he doesn't think I'll be well enough for 13 miles of hiking, then I'll switch over to the long put off trip to Spring Green - House on the Rock, Cave of the Mounds, etc.