Things to do in Atlanta on an off day

Tuesday was an off day for me , so I could venture from the 'country suburbs' in to the wilds of Atlanta to visit my sleep apnea doctor for an annual appointment. And then I had a list of TO DO's and Where to go's--some of the hip, cool places that don't exist in my suburban world.



First off: Things you just don't usually see

1. 3 cocker spaniels frolicking in slow motion , back and forth, on a semi-country road. Traffic at a standstill. The car in front of me pulled over to check their collars and find their owners I guess.
2. Box turtle crossing the road....made it! alive.
3. A parking place! at the medical center. Woo hoo! since I'm now late due to dogs and turtle.








Then the day goes down hill fast....I see a pulmonologist (this is overkill, insurance company!) in order to get orders for Cpap machine supplies. They check my machine to make sure I haven't diddled with the pressure and that I'm racking up hours of usage and to weigh me.

My old sleep disorder doctor , a psychologist, is now famous and does the circuit of tv talk shows like Dr Oz and The Doctors to discuss all things Sleep disordered. He was inspiring.

Now I see a pulmonologist who does appear sheepish at wasting his time seeing me. He notices my weight. He gently asked me about my weight. "You are not losing weight like you did before. What were you doing before that you can do now?" Doh! I lost a bunch of weight when I went from eating too much and never exercising to eating healthier, lower calories and exercising a lot. Six years into this journey and I have to exercise more (than 6 hours a week) and eat even less calories and be very strict to lose weight. (I think , it's been so long since I lost weight.) The fact that I have occasional binge issues really throws things for a loop.

I tell him how much I exercise, but we both know that I'm probably eating too much. My annual appointment is changed to a 'see ya in 6 months cause you really need to lose weight appointment'. Tail between legs, I zoom on to my therapy session.


After therapy , I venture in to the nearby, cool little neighborhood area and visit a Tea/coffee book place that has been calling my name for months but the menu of bakery items / scones scared me (and attracted me) . This place has been using up nanobytes of my brain power, so I wanted to see it and decide if it was worthy of the bytes. In other words, I felt I could deal with it and had a plan.




The name alone Dr Bombay's Underwater Tea Party. So cool. The purchase: Iced ginger peach tea and a piece of blueberry coffeecake (half there, half to go). tasty. I went out to the patio but left because it smelled 'old and musty' and I didn't think the cute little red patio chairs would hold me. The inside was 'dark and musty' too. Mystery and attraction dissolved. I won't fear the call of this potential trigger place.

On to Fellini's pizza outdoor café for a slice of pizza . I enjoyed the patio and people watching, pizza not so much. Good for me-ate only half.

On to Barnes and Nobles -I have a gift card!



I wanted a 16 month calendar but I must be too early for them. One issue of Gardens and Guns to go instead.

Coordinates set in to GPS and on to IKEA!...ooops where did that Porsche come from ? .....IKEA !! .how do they have such cheap things? A nice / cheap toilet bowel brush set for $7 was nicer than the $16 models at Kmart. I had a list and only spent a few bucks. The real goal was to examine more closely a desk that I've been thinking about getting. After sitting at it, I realized I liked EVERY desk in the place other than this one. Will need to rethink this. must do more research, but i'll order it for delivery this time.







I love the little rooms of furniture.

After walking the floors of Ikea I'm pretty tired and have to skip a Trader Joe's visit to get home in time to go Bowling with the husband. This is only our second 'adventure in bowling' in 15 years. We had a groupon deal. I'm so inconsistent-with one throw a complete strike. Then next two rounds gutter balls. Also, I have poor bowling alley etiquette according to my husband. Still , it was fun.

Then Fro Yo, Krogers for a veggie tray for tonight's church picnic and then home and to bed by 10. Exhausted.

All photos copied from Google images and were taken by someone else

EAT THIS!!!......NOT THAT!!!!!!!!!!!

EAT THIS


PANERA Chicken Strawberry Poppyseed Salad--best salad ever! 350 calories with dressing


NOT THAT


Sonic Peanut butter and Bacon Shake --!!!!! 1720 calories

Wednesday .......so far....and then

walked 20 minutes listening to birds sing and music
walked 10 minutes slowly with dog#2
Breakfast: Greek yogurt, Blackberries, Dried cherries/blueberries/almonds and oats
chicken sausage
coffee : Foldgers Vanilla Biscotti flavored

And Then a huge mistake: Fruit punch flavored Crystal Light 33 ounces, and a little leaning over to do some weeding, and then spicy chicken sausage, and then ...and then practically a sudden ulcer like indigestion pain ....Bad indigestion....Suddenly, the Mirilax I've used for constipation kicks in ..................and then , the toilet overflowed...the kind of overflow where you start throwing everything possible on the floor to keep the flooding from the carpet in the hallway.

big ol mess

I missed a free training session and yoga, but my bathroom is now very clean.....

50 changes: Happy Happy Hormones and Structure

50 and going through the change o' life...so it becomes more clear to me when I've had a few days like the last three. I actually feel like I'm in my late 20's most of the time when I'm eating healthy food, taking time to pray /meditate/journal feelings, and exercising regularly. I like alternative music which I have more in common with hipsters than with most people my age so this really fosters that 20's vibe. Also, I think it's that I never have had kids (other than my furry chillins')

But other times (the out of balance and non-healthy times) when my joints are really aching and the Clairol hair color is fading, I feel every bit of 50. Then, once in a blue or pink moon, I'll actually have enough hormones in me to have a quasi monthly cycle. I say quasi because it is nothing like the days of old. In fact, I can't even recognize what is happening until I smack my head and go....."oh yeah, that's what this is."

The first sign appears to be being super Happy, wanting to GET THINGS DONE !. The planner/decorator/ doer in me awakens. The last few days while working I made a list of the things we need to do in our house, things I want to do in our house , and things we need to do legally. And, all in the necessary order.

Lots of laundry and organizing getting done during break times at work. There was also a few scattered diagrams of how I want to reorganize the furniture in most of the house. There's a list of all the household goods I want to buy and have stored up so that I don't have to go shopping as much this summer. I dallied with a plan to reorganize the patio too. I wrote out a few things I wanted to change / add to my exercise routine and need to research. I planned my meals for the weekend to balance eating out meals with lower calorie meals and treats.

Maybe this is how 'normal' people are all of the time? I will likely return to my usual half strength efforts once the hormones die down, but I'm going to ride this wave as long as I can.

Happy! Oh, yeah I'm really happy compared to the last 8 months. We'd had 8 prior months after the husband was laid off where there was so much fear and unrest while dealing with his lack of confidence and then reluctance to make the effort to figure out what he wanted to do with his life. Then there were those months of applying for jobs in to that great empty void. This, was NOT a happy time. Some marriages turn to divorce in this time.

Spending money / creature comforts became an issue with more fear and unrest. Ok, if I'm stressed and freaking out and if I'm not using food then I want to be able to go buy some nail polish, or a new pair of pjs or new underwear without feeling guilt. More often, I used food probably
(with guilt and self anger).

And not to be left, out there were all the serous health issues with both of our dogs. Some have questioned why we didn't just put both dogs down because of their illnesses and the costs. My Babies! LOVE THEM! Not ready to say goodbye yet though I know it's coming sooner than later.

Recognizing happiness and that things are better and having gratitude is what has happened for me in the last few days along with my dear sweet, old Aunt Flo's return. The dogs are stable and happy and the major $1000 recent bill paid. We have flea medicine on board before the major flea season hits (last year was a flea-ah-palooza that defied all treatments). We have decided what our limits will be with both dogs and that gives me peace.

The husband is a month in to his new job and his confidence is growing. He laughs every day while working. We both work at home and that is going surprisingly well...each in a separate bedroom/office. Last night, I took him for a dinner out at Chili's and tried to imbue in him to recognize and accept joy (skinny margarita and half an order of fajitas for me--long Island ice tea and chicken and veg for him). He was pretty happy and chilled.

And me. I'm embracing the structure my life now holds that my 20 something me typically rails against.

7 to 7:30- feed animals, give insulin shot to dog #1, give steroids/chemo to dog #2, nurture time with the kitty man
7:30 to 8 -fix my breakfast, pray / breathe/meditate, start work and eat
10 to 11ish-- walk the dogs.
12:30 lunch while watching House Hunters International (I'm hooked)
---after that work until done
---exercise more days than not / housework/ internet/stares into space
---to home for dinner and nightly viewing of Sopranos reruns on HBO with husband who never watched the series. We are in season 3 now and we both speak Sopranos - speak around the house...fuhgetta bout it.
---bath/shower and then a little reading time of Game of Thrones and then I'm asleep
--it starts over again

Happy

Smokin at the Gym

I'm a non smoker but I come from a family of many, many heavy smokers (almost all dead by the way), thus I've inhaled by proxy aplenty. And, I will admit to a few puffs here and there in the last 30 years of a clove cigarette or a Swisher sweet cigar shared with a friend/husband. But smoking at the gym is beyond me.

I was planking on a mat and downward dogging and was stunk out by the fumes on the matt from the smoker who was apparently there before me. I really didn't think anything about it and kept working out- 40 minutes moderate to high intensity weights/cardio intervals. Afterward, taking a walk around the parking lot to cool down, I saw a dude smoking. I say dude because he was obviously sweaty and 'post workout' and dressed in that shiny and swishy loose workout clothes with a backpack looking guilty while smoking a cigarette. I guess if I were eating an ice cream cone in the parking lot after a workout it might seem ludicrous too. Not that I would, mind you. But I would at least leave the gym grounds first.

just sayin'

Weird therapy session but right on target

The title says it all....I bounce between being "in" my food addict behavior / love of all things food and being "in" my super healthy strict "diet" dictator mentality. Polar opposites. Keeps my head spinning. Funny too, that blog world reflects these polar opposites so well.

What I really need is to be in that space "in between" where the better decisions are made. The higher self decision maker who is a little blend of both. Self Love, baby.

The thing is, I don't trust that little part of myself (or the other two, for that matter.) My therapist says my food addict energy is that low, in the belly kind of energy and the strict super healthy diet mentality dictator is the head energy. That 'in between' energy is the heart energy. A little bit of one and a little bit of the other but with love and awareness.

Now if I can just remember this.

Uggh

Whinnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnne whine, whine...tired of cough, phlegm, tiredness, and going to the vet. Today is the 4th visit in the last 4 days--Lillie's sutures were removed yesterday and then part of the incision popped open. I'm not that upset about going back to work on Monday--gotta work to pay the vet bills. I felt pretty good Thursday and went out to try on eyeglasses and to see Oblivion--Tom movie. Kinda relapsed with my sickness after that. I'm sure not having endorphins from lack of exercise is a big part of this depressed mood.

Highlights for the week: Baked sweet potatoes, washed AND PUT UP laundry, naps, Game of Thrones and a bagel from Paneras