I'm back!!!

I cannot believe it has been two months since my last blog post. Going back to work and getting back into the routine has been a real struggle this school year.  On top of the usual rearrangement of schedules with two kids now commuting to a local college and my work day being 11 hours five days a week I have faced a few minor health issues.
Thankfully I have health insurance these days due to those extra long work hours though. A check up plus some blood work revealed that my BP is a bit high although not high enough to need meds. A simple change in diet to eliminate foods high in sodium is helping. Blood work revealed my total cholesterol is not good and my triglycerides are also high. After doing some research on Lipitor I declined the prescription in favor of more dietary tweaking, limiting red meat to once a week, eating more salmon and tuna, choosing Egg Beaters over whole eggs, and adding a daily Niacin supplement to the MegaRed fish oil I already take. More blood work in three months should tell if these changes are making a difference. Following doctor's advice I am also making myself get at least 7 hours of sleep each night and eating regularly. A scare during the weekday where I got dizzy and started seeing double was a big reminder that it isn't safe to fool around with my blood sugar levels.
I have also added a five day a week 30 minute 2 mile power walk to my mornings. Two of my fellow staff members and I meet early in the gym to do this together. I am feeling pretty good now and my energy levels are rising. And I'm already noticing a difference in how the waistband of my jeans fits. All good news.
On the home front we are in full winter preparedness mode. With the Farmer's Almanac and the weathermen predicting a winter similar in temperature to last year I am being especially vigilant. Next Saturday my GF is coming to give the furnace a cleaning and maintenance check. It is 30 years old and there is no room in the budget for replacement so keeping this healthy is a must.  A new furnace filter has already been installed since I was forced to turn on the heat three times this week for short periods of time to take the chill out of the house. I have programmed the thermostat to reflect the fact that the house is empty of people for longer hours during the day now that youngest son is in college. Window film has already been purchased as has a case of fireplace logs. More logs will be bought as well as a couple more draft dodgers in the coming weeks. I am also considering hanging an old flannel sheet or even a thermal blanket we no longer use over the French doors in the dining room. This is how we let the dogs in and out of the yard but these doors are old and very drafty. Last year we hung up a cotton sheet and it helped but I think something heavier would be  even more effective. Our main floor was the area hardest to heat and keep warm last winter so my focus is on improving our winterization methods there.
Some much needed yard maintenance has also gone on. Last year we had the top part of a dead poplar tree come down on the power lines during a storm and this summer yet another one came down on the fence this time luckily missing those power lines. The GF and my adult son J who lives at home spent a Saturday removing 5 more dead poplars that were do-able with ropes and chain saws. We still had two very tall (one 12 foot, one 10 foot) dead poplars remaining. Yesterday we rented a bucket man lift ($168 for 5  hours) and J and a friend of his took down those last remaining trees as well as the 10 foot black walnut tree that was in a bad spot. The yard looks a cyclone hit it. J will spend time cutting those trees down into moveable pieces and another friend of his is going to take all of the wood to burn in his wood stove this winter. We considered keeping some for our fireplace but I don't like the creosote buildup  you get and decided to stick with the processed logs we buy.
I finally did a real grocery shopping trip two weeks ago. The first full sized trip I've taken since stocking up last June. Surprisingly we still have quite a bit of stuff in the pantry and the freezer as well. I did have to restock a few pantry essentials (juice, snacks, coffee creamer, steak sauce, mustard), get in some meat ( a whole pork loin, some ground beef, ground bison, corned beef, chicken, an eye of round, bacon, and chicken sausage and cheddar brats) and fish (a large package of salmon fillets and several cans of tuna), some dairy (milk, cheese), and fresh produce (loaded up on the seasonal items of squash and apples as well as salad produce). I also bought cleaning supplies, toilet paper, and some toiletry items. Next week I plan on restocking pastas, smart balance, and things like detergent, fabric softener, cat litter, cat food, and more fresh produce.
I've missed sharing here and hopefully now that I feel I have more of a grip on my free time I will back on a regular basis.