Thurs 30 Apr

Mandatory training on a new computer system for billing that I have no idea why it will be relevant to what I do. My goal for the day is to keep my negative emotions on this whole situation as close to forgotten as possible as I realize they only serve to make me more miserable. I need to shrug it off as one more day out of the office. I don't expect the technicalities will be difficult for me to learn, so I'm going to try to just go with the flow. Food: 6:45 am 1 c Trader Joe's multigrain flaxseed cereal, 1/2 c light original soy milk, 1/2 grapefruit, 103 g blackberries, coffee 10:00 am 2 small cookies, 1 Musketeers mini 12:00 pm slice Omega 3 bread, 1 tbl PB, 1 tbl raspberry preserves, Fit & Active Banana Cream Greek yogurt 2:00 pm 1 Musketeers mini 4:30 pm 3 cashew clusters Exercise: 4:50-5:45 am DWTS DVD 2:30-2:40 pm Walk around downtown block 4:25-4:50 pm Walk around neighborhood 5:30-6:15 pm Walk around Schmeeckle w/Dad

Wed 29 Apr

Suicide prevention conference at the local Holiday Inn today. They usually put on a worthwhile conference so I'm looking forward to a good day. Hopefully they won't be blasting the A/C. Food: 6:40 am Slice raspberry danish coffee cake, 1/2 grapefruit, 101 g blackberries, coffee Exercise: 4:50-5:10 am Jessica Smith strength training YouTubes 5:10-5:40 am Jessica Smith Power Walk YouTube

Tues 28 Apr

Yesterday one of my clients offered me some loratadine because I was coughing/sneezing/runny nosing constantly. I explained that I had used it at the beginning of this illness and it didn't touch the symptoms, but when I got home, I decided it couldn't hurt to try it again. I should call that client and thank him today because it now is working as it should. Symptoms were considerably less, allowing for better sleep and activity! Food: 6:50 am 1 c Quaker Oat Squares, 1/2 c light original soy milk, 1/2 grapefruit, 102 g blackberries, coffee 11:40 am Slice Omega 3 bread, 1.4 oz cheddar, small smear butter, small banana 12:30 pm Peanut butter oatmeal cookie 1:30 pm 2 Perkin's mini-muffins, 1 Rolo 2:45 pm 1/4 dark chocolate covered almonds 4:45 pm 6 mini jelly beans Exercise: 4:50-5:50 am Leslie Sansone routines DVD

Mon 27 Apr

Made it through upper body and aerobics of Jane Fonda; could have finished lower body and mat but didn't want to have to rush rest of morning. Drainage appears to be thickening for what that's worth. Not so runny but slightly congesting. Energy okay at present. Food: 6:45 am Morning bun, 1/2 grapefruit, 101 g blackberries, coffee 12:00 pm Slice Omega 3 bread, 1 tbl Jif, 1 tbl raspberry preserves, sm banana Exercise: 4:50-5:40 am Jane Fonda Complete Workout video

Sun 26 Apr

Didn't sleep as well as I would have liked last night, so didn't get up to exercise early. Nothing but church on the agenda today and it's supposed to be sunny and reasonably warm, so hopefully I can exercise in pleasant conditions later. Energy level doesn't seem to be too bad yet. It's so nice when I am struck with an immediate need to nap - now - when I can satisfy that need. Managed a small hike at Hartman Creek, followed by another hour's nap as soon as we got home. Will likely head up to bed soon. Food: 7:40 am Chocolate chip danish, 1/2 grapefruit, 99 g blackberries, Tazo tea 11:30 am Chocolate chip bar, coffee 1:10 pm Slice Omega 3 toast, 1 tbl Jif, sm banana 4:15 pm Dish ice cream Exercise: 9:55-10:25 am Walk to Newman 11:50-12:20 pm Walk home 3:00-3:45 pm Hike at Hartman Creek

Sat 25 Apr

Afraid to say it, but feeling a little better this morning. Didn't get my steps in either yesterday or the day before because rest was more important. Did stay at the Soiree til after 9 last night. Would have left a little earlier, but got to chatting with Kathy and Jan Hermann about traveling and retirement. This morning I feel quite well rested. Hopefully it will last. Food: 7:25 am 1 c Quaker Oat Squares, 1/2 c light original soy milk, 1/2 grapefruit, 101 g blackberries, Tazo tea Exercise: 10:00-10:10 am Running in basement, waiting for laundry

Fri 24 Apr

Did pretty much nothing but sleep after the day of conferences yesterday, but feeling better rested today. Opted out of exercise for more sleep because I'm hoping not to collapse again at the end of today. We have the free tickets to the Soiree tonight, and I'd like to be awake enough to go. Food: 6:30 am 1 c Quaker Oat Squares, 1/2 c light original soy milk, 1/2 grapefruit, 102 g blackberries

Thurs 23 Apr

Two days in a row of conferences to finish out the week, and today the morning and afternoon sessions are in different cities. They co-scheduled a hoarding conference this afternoon that the other folks wanted to attend, so I'm just going along for the ride. Certainly I can benefit from hearing about that topic! Food: 6:15 am 1 c Quaker Oat Squares, 1/2 c light original soy milk, 1/2 grapefruit, 98 g blackberries, coffee Exercise: 4:25-4:55 am Jessica Smith Latin Dance Walk YouTube 4:55-5:15 am Jessica Smith Power Walk Quickie YouTube

Wed 22 Apr

Happy 30th birthday, Laura! Thirty years ago today I had my first baby, and what a wonderful experience it was and has continued to be. It is a delight to watch you become the person you continue to evolve to be. Thanks be to God for the gift of being your mom! Food: 6:45 am 1 c Quaker Oat Squares, 1/2 c light original soy milk, 1/2 grapefruit, 101 g blackberries, coffee 11:30 am Light & Fit Blackberry Greek yogurt, 66 g chocolate brioche, med banana, 2 oz soy milk, 1/2 tsp sugar 12:30 pm 3 Peeps chicks, 1 peanut butter oatmeal cookie 5:55 pm Tuna casserole w/extra peas Exercise: 4:50-5:40 am The Firm Bootcamp DVD 5:00-5:30 pm Leslie Sansone Walking YouTube

Tues 21 Apr

Makes me nervous to say it, but I'm feeling a tad improved today. Made it through the whole exercise routine, though a little slowly this morning. Not quite as much drainage either. I'm very ready for improvement. Mammogram at 7:30 today. I haven't had one for awhile. Kind of exciting - I won 2 tickets to the UWSP Soiree Musicale Friday night thanks to WPR. Food: 6:40 am 1 c Trader Joe's multigrain flaxseed cereal, 1/2 c light original soy milk, 1/2 grapefruit, 99 g blackberries, coffee 11:35 a Slice 12 grain toast, 1 tbl Jif, med banana, 20 cal Nestle Fat Free cocoa 12:30 pm 2 Peeps chicks, 1 peanut butter oatmeal cookie 5:45 pm 1/2 c steamed white rice, chicken curry w/peas, lemon icebox cheesecake Exercise: 4:50-5:45 am Dance DVD 4:550-5:25 pm Jessica Smith Disco Walk YouTube

Mon 20 Apr

Only made it about halfway through the morning exercise routine, but I need to be grateful that I'm doing that much better. Dad woke me last night to say Dan is okay, just suffering from the crud but with no heart complications. Thank the Lord it didn't turn into something worse. Got called to bake cookies for a church meeting for tomorrow night; haven't baked a batch of cookies in a very long time. Made a peanut butter oatmeal recipe I found that I hope resemble the ones you used to make. Food: 6:35 am 55 g chocolate brioche, 1/2 grapefruit, 99 g blackberries, coffee 11:40 am Slice 12 grain bread, 1.25 oz cheddar, 1/3 tbl butter, 1 c roasted red pepper tomato soup 12:30 pm 3 Peeps chicks 3:30 pm 3 Kavli wafers, 1 LifeSaver 5:50 pm Sloppy joe w/bun, mango peach applesauce, 2 peanut butter oatmeal cookies Exercise: 4:50-5:25 am Jane Fonda Complete Workout (incomplete) video 6:00-6:40 pm Jane Fonda/Jessica Smith YouTube walking segments

Sun 19 Apr

Even with 10 hours' sleep, morning exercise is exhausting. I only made about 40 min and I needed to rest on the couch for a few minutes before making oatmeal for breakfast. Hopefully my normal energy will soon return. My worst fear realized - Dan & Kris did get what I had and were sick for most of their cruise. If anyone did not need to catch it, it was them. Food: 8:05 am Steel cut oats w/protein powder, flaxseed meal, 1/2 c Bayfield blueberries, soy milk, 1/2 grapefruit, 100 g blackberries, Tazo tea 12:00 pm Cheese omelette w/chopped veggies, 2 slices wheat toast w/butter, 1 pkg blackberry jam, wedge cantaloupe, coffee 2:50 pm 2 Swiss dark chocolate biscuits 5:30 pm 1 c Quaker Oat Squares, 1/2 c light original soy milk, med banana, 70 g raspberries Exercise: 6:50-7:10 am Jessica Smith Cardio Barre YouTube 7:10-7:30 am Latin Dance 10-min workouts DVD 4:05-5:05 pm Walk to Schmeeckle

Sat 18 Apr

Trivia phones this morning, so a very early rising. I made sure to get to bed early enough to get my full eight hours as I'm really trying to maintain my recovery. So far, so good. Trivia was fun, too much to eat as usual while there. Food: 5:10 am 1 c Quaker Oat Squares, 1/2 c light original soy milk, 1/2 grapefruit, 101 g blackberries, coffee

Fri 17 Apr

Trivia starts at 6:00 pm today. We are answering phones tomorrow from 6-10 am, a shift earlier than previous years due to a mixup but it means we have more of our day free. It's a fun thing to do. Feeling a bit better today, though still not back to fully healthy. I hope the improvement continues to be linear. Wish we were due for another warm week next week when I'm finally ready to hike Rib again, but even low 50s isn't too bad. Food: 6:45 am 68 g chocolate brioche, 1/2 grapefruit, 101 g blackberries, coffee 11:35 am 1 c Quaker Oat Squares, 1/2 c light original soy milk, 99 g raspberries, 1 wedge Laughing Cow Light swiss 12:30 pm 2 premium Swiss biscuits, 1 Peeps chick 4:40 pm 2 Fiesta eggs Exercise: 4:50-5:20 am Jessica Smith Stride & Strength YouTube 5:20-5:35 am Jessica Smith Power Walk Quickie YouTube 4:50-5:05 pm Walk near office

Thurs 16 Apr

Made it through a regular exercise routine this morning, and only a little exhausted. This is definite progress. Walked with Dad after supper last night and was home and in bed reading by 7:00 so got a regular night's sleep which surely helped. Let's hope progress continues without relapse. Hungry for first-of-season burgers on the grill. Food: 6:50 am 68 g chocolate brioche, 1/2 grapefruit, 101 g blackberries, coffee 9:45 am 3/4 serving dark chocolate almonds 12:25 pm 1 c Heritage flakes, 1/2 c light original soy milk, pomegranate berry Greek yogurt 4:30 pm 2 Peeps chicks 6:40 pm 4 oz extra lean burger, Roundy's bun, 1 tbl ketchup, 1/2 c Bush's beans Exercise: 4:50-5:50 am Dance DVD 5:15-6:15 pm Walk w/Dad to Copps

Wed 15 Apr

Happy Tax Day! This year, it really is happy as for maybe the second time in our 31 year marriage, we're getting a large refund. Last time we used it to fund our trip to Galapagos. This time, it will likely pay (mostly) for a new roof. Unexpected windfall. Opted to stay in bed today and sleep the extra hour or so because we got home late from French cooking class last night. I thought it more important to get a full night's sleep than to get back on the exercise track immediately. I don't want to fall apart for lack of sleep today. My recovery is still too tentative. Had time for a longer-than-usual nap at lunchtime which helped, and my energy actually picked up a bit as the day progressed. Short walk on arriving at home has me up to almost 7,000 steps, so another short walk later with Dad should finish the count for the day. Food: 7:00 am 1 c Trader Joe's multigrain flaxseed cereal, 1/2 c light original soy milk, 1/2 grapefruit, 100 g blackberries, coffee 11:30 am Blackberry Greek blend yogurt, hot cross bun 3:20 pm Fit & Active berry crisps -3 pack Exercise: 4:45-5:05 pm Neighborhood walk

Tues 14 Apr

Feeling a bit better today, enough so to do a bit of exercise and still feel able to shower and go to work. I hope to last through the day as we are scheduled for the last Rockman class of the year tonight and it is the French cooking which is particularly good. I only have Intake this morning, so I will mostly be sitting in my office. I have a few things this afternoon, but not too strenuous, and I hope to get home for a nap at lunch time. Food: 6:40 am Morning bun, 1/2 grapefruit, 101 g blackberries, coffee 12:30 pm Cinnamon scone, 158 g strawberries Exercise: 4:55-5:35 am Jessica Smith Belly, Buns, & Thighs workout YouTube

Mon 13 Apr

Oh, my, but I still don't feel well. I would just call in sick today, but I have an appointment scheduled to take a client to Marshfield and I need to pick up the on call binder for tonight only as it doesn't seem fair to TJ to stick him with another night. I will call Marshfield to reschedule, but I still have to bring the client in from the country to get a lab draw which has to happen this week, unless I can arrange to do it tomorrow, hoping for better health. I'm sure I will be back home and in bed by lunch time. Got up at the normal time and knew that if I exercised, that would use up all of the energy stores likely to be available all day. Went back to bed til 6 to get up and shower and didn't feel I could manage that either. This is the first time I can remember that I will be going in to work without showering first. TJ nicely volunteered to keep the on call binder for tonight. He good-naturedly said he'd much rather volunteer than be volunteered. I was able to make the switches, hoping I'll be okay to go in the rest of the week, then came back home and went right back to bed. As of 11:45, I'm feeling a bit better, but looking forward to further rest. Food: 6:55 am Hot cross bun, 1/2 grapefruit, 99 g blackberries, coffee 11:45 am Slice braunschweiger, slice 12 grain bread, 178 g strawberries 4:00 pm 4 Peeps chicks 6:00 pm Lean Cuisine Margherita pizza

Sun 12 Apr

Whatever bug or pollen or other thing hit me, it hit me good and hard. I fell into bed upon returning to Point yesterday, I think around 5 pm, and didn't get up til the regular 6:30 alarm. I didn't have enough energy to do a full Sunday workout with cardio barre and another 30 min cardio add-on. I settled for one 30-min Leslie Sansone 2-mile walk and barely had enough energy to finish it. Had to rest a bit before getting my breakfast together. Hoping to get back to myself soon. Beautiful afternoon for a walk at Mead. I am still quite weak, but a slow walk on a flat surface in the beautiful weather was okay. We were out just over an hour, and I needed a nap upon return (but so did Dad!) Food: 8:00 am Morning bun, 1/2 grapefruit, 100 g blackberries 12:00 pm 2 slices Perkins french toast w/whipped butter & syrup, coffee Exercise: 7:00-7:30 am Leslie Sansone 2-mile walk DVD 2:05-3:20 pm Walk at Mead Wildlife Preserve

Wed 8 Apr

34 years ago tonight, Dad and I had our first date. It's also Val & Kate's anniversary as a couple. Got a call on the pager on my one night this week that ended up taking 2.5 hours. Not even sure if I'll get straight time pay, depending on whether I'm forced to deduct it from the funeral leave. And I am sleepy on only 1 hour before and less than 4.5 hours after the call. Food: 7:00 am Hot cross bun, 1/2 grapefruit, 99 g blackberries, coffee 9:30 am 1/4 c purple popcorn chips 11:30 am Slice braunschweiger, slice 12 grain bread, 1/4 med cantaloupe Exercise: 4:50-5:25 am Jessica Smith Stride & Strength YouTube 5:25-5:55 am Jessica Smith Power Walk YouTube

Tues 7 Apr

Badgers defeated in the championship, with a bad ref call at a crucial time. Familiar story for Wisconsin teams, but still sad. At any rate, we (unlike Kentucky), are still proud of our team for their amazing accomplishments. Food: 6:40 am Hot cross bun, 1/2 grapefruit, 101 g blackberries, coffee 8:45 am Milky Way mini, Snickers mini, 3 slices Kavli 11:40 am Slice 12 grain bread, slice braunschweiger 12:30 pm 2 Peeps 1:45 pm 38 g dark chocolate covered almonds 4:40 pm 1 Fiesta egg, 1 Peep Exercise: 4:55-5:25 am Jessica Smith Latin Dance Walk YouTube 5:25-5:40 am Jessica Smith Power Walk Quickie YouTube 4:50-5:20 pm Jessica Smith Barefoot Fusion Walk YouTube

Mon 6 Apr

Short work week due to travel to Oregon. Need to pack my work into half the time. Was able to make arrangements for coverage of intake and on-call, so the worst worry is over. Trying hard to limit my indulgence in the Easter sweets. Taylor and Michael gave us an Easter basket with Ski's ribeye steaks and some excellent cheese. We grilled one of the two rib eyes tonight and chose to freeze the other one as neither of us would need to eat a whole one in one sitting. First grill out of the season was awesome! Food: 7:00 am 49 g cinnamon brioche, pecan kringle, 1/2 grapefruit, 101 g blackberries, coffee 11:35 am Slice braunschweiger, slice 12 grain bread, 1/4 med cantaloupe 12:30 pm 1 Peep 12:45 pm 1/4 c dark chocolate covered almonds 4:30 pm 1 black jelly bean 4:45 pm 1 Fiesta egg 5:45 pm 4 oz ribeye steak, 1/2 c grilled potatoes/peppers/onions, 8 spears asparagus, 2 Swiss biscuit cookies Exercise: 4:50-6:00 am Jane Fonda Complete Workout video 4:45-5:00 pm Leslie Sansone 1 mile walk YouTube

Sun 5 Apr

Happy Easter! Vigil was lovely last night, infused with the energy of Newman parishioners knowing this is our last real Easter vigil as we know it. Fr. Tom was with us (as opposed to at St. Stan's) which was appreciated. He was a tease at the end because our parish loves to respond with great enthusiasm during the Easter season to the acclamation at the very end. It is prompted by Tom saying "He is Risen"; the congregation responds "He is Risen INDEED!" When the time came he stood there with an impish grin and waited for several beats before giving us the cue. The anticipation was palpable, but the response was suitably booming when it came. I hope that some of our more memorable unique features, e.g. Horse and Chariots and coming up to the font in an unstructured way to dip into the pool for holy water are kept in the new version next year. Easter brunch at Bernard's is on the agenda at 11:30 with Michael and Taylor. Go Badgers! When we walked out of vigil, several folks had smartphones checking the game. There was about 1:32 left and the Badgers were up 63-60. Someone came in to the coffee area as soon as it was over and announced for us that they had won! Food: 7:30 am 59 g cinnamon brioche, slice pecan kringle, 1/2 grapefruit, 101 g blackberries, coffee 9:00 am 1 Dove dark Promise 10:30 am 1 Peep 11:45 am Mimosa, Bernard's brunch w/multiple desserts Exercise: 2:40-3:50 pm Walk through Iverson back Patch

Sat 4 Apr

Michael and Taylor will be joining us today for Easter dinner. Can't sit around too long over breakfast; need to start cooking. Dessert and one color only of Jello eggs (green) are made from yesterday. Need to assemble cheesy potatoes and bean casserole and get the ham in the oven. Yum! Easter dinner was great. Ham with Rittenhouse raisin sauce, an excellent batch of cheesy potatoes and bean casserole, green Jello eggs, broiled asparagus, and lemon icebox cheesecake with Prosecco on the side. Michael and Taylor brought us a fantastic Easter basket with Ski's ribeye steaks, a couple of kinds of awesome cheese, dark chocolate covered almonds, Dove promises, and Peeps! Food: 7:50 am Hot cross bun, 1/2 pc kringle, 1/2 grapefruit, 101 g blackberries, coffee 12:30 pm Small piece cinnamon brioche, ham, raisin sauce, cheesy potatoes, bean casserole, asparagus, lemon icebox cheesecake, Prosecco 3:10 pm Several malted milk eggs, dark chocolate covered almonds Exercise: 3:40-5:10 pm Walk w/Dad around Schmeeckle

Good Friday Apr 3

Singing with the Ecumenical choir for the noon service at Trinity. They would like us there at 11 am, but I work til 11:30. I'm wearing my all black to work, along with a little cross necklace I dug out of my oldest jewelry box. I'm somewhat surprised that I never had a really nice cross necklace in all these years. This is a little one made of sparkling fake stones, about an inch high. There was another fake gold one next to it, but it was only about .4 in so I opted for the slightly larger one since it is alone on a black shirt. I was tired this morning from two nights up later than usual, so I opted to sleep in and work on my exercise later today. I don't work this afternoon, so there should be time between the noon choir and the 6 pm call for the evening performance at Church of the Intercession. Discovered that the Leslie Sansone DVD I like that won't play in the basement will work upstairs so I don't have to send it back. Food: 7:00 am Pecan kringle, 1/2 grapefruit, 102 g blackberries, coffee 1:30 pm 3 fried perch filets, french fries, 1/3 c cole slaw, 12 oz Stella Artois 9:00 pm Filet 'O Fish Exercise: 10:55-11:05 am Walk to Trinity 12:55-1:05 pm Walk home 4:05-4:55 pm Leslie Sansone 4 Fast Miles DVD

Thurs 2 Apr

Made arrangements last night to fly out to Oregon to be with the family to remember Catherine. We will fly out of Madison Wed at 4:45 pm and arrive in Portland around 8:30 pm their time. We return on Saturday, flying out at the crack of dawn. The upside of this is that we are staying at Kris and Dan's new house and they have to be at the airport to fly out for their cruise at the same time on Saturday. Now I have to make the arrangements at work to switch my mobile crisis on call as that was supposed to be my week. Very much enjoyed what may be the last Holy Thursday potluck, at least as a Newman entity. Food: 6:50 am Pecan kringle, 1/2 grapefruit, 99 g blackberries, coffee 11:30 am Med banana, 3 sheets Kavli 12:30 pm Toasted coconut Greek blend yogurt, raisin scone, 151 g strawberries Exercise: 4:50-5:50 am Dance DVD 5:15-5:35 pm Walk in the neighborhood

Wed 1 Apr

Catherine has passed on, no April fool. She died about 6 pm PDT yesterday, just as she was about to move in with Dan and Kris. As I understand it, they had cleaned out the apartment at her senior center and she was on her way. Now she will make her new home elsewhere with Gordon. Today was National Walking Day. We did our part with a 1.25 hr walk to Schmeeckle. Food: 6:45 am Hot cross bun, 1/2 grapefruit, 102 g blackberries, coffee Exercise: 4:45-5:45 am Leslie Sansone 30 min walk, 30 min weights YouTube 4:45-6:05 pm Walk to Schmeeckle w/Bob