i did it!

I climbed 53 flights of stairs in about 45 minutes.

How? I have no idea. One thing I did do was take some advice I overheard. Stop every 5 floors whether you are tired or not. I did. It seemed to work.

The stairway was narrow, and cold at the start. Needless to say I wasn't cold long. I had thought they might have a photog at the top so I didn't carry my camera. That was a mistake. There was a lovely volunteer taking pictures, but you needed your camera. Angel took this one when I returned to the lobby, via the elevator. They wouldn't let us take the stairs.

I've posted it here, but I have to warn you, it's ain't pretty. I look like an overstuffed sausage in my workout clothes!

I'm also posting the drawing E made me while I was climbing.

snowacane

Snowacane. Isn't that the silliest word you ever heard?

"AccuWeather.com reports the same storm that brought a gentle snowfall across Texas on Tuesday will reach the Northeast in the form of an atmospheric monster with damaging winds, blinding snow, torrential rain, huge waves and flooding. In the hardest-hit areas, it will seem more like a 'snowacane,' as a mere blizzard may not adequately describe conditions of this soon-to-be powerful nor'easter."

When in doubt. Make up a word.

It's been snowing for two days.

Yesterday we had 6 inches of no-work snow. It only stuck to trees, old snow, grass, ect. Last night we got another 6 inches or so. It stuck. It's heavy. And it's drifting. It's still snowing, off and on. I think it's mostly done.

You guessed it, this fat girl is shoveling. Again.

I don't get much exercise other than shovel. The sidewalks in my neighborhood are too hazardous to walk. The slumlords don't shovel their properties. I haven't taken Sharon to the gym in two weeks. She now goes with her neighbor Carmen who joined two weeks ago.

So I'm getting worried about the stair climb Sunday. 53 flights, 1019 steps. I don't think I'm ready. But I'm doing it anyway.

I've done the stadium which was 1000+ steps, but it was up and down. I've done 9 flights up, and I've done 9 flights, plus 3 sets of three up and down. So I know for sure I can do 12-15 flight. My goal is the top, but I'll be happy with 25. I'm buying gum, or hard candy to suck on so I don't breath thru my mouth.

I think I'll run a guessing pool on my FB page. How far will the fat girl climb? I can give one of my doodles as a prize.

the mouse-in-the-house diet plan

Last Saturday I was at home, using the computer in my office and having a fine evening with anticipation of the Olympics. Then I heard a crinkle, crinkle, crinkle noise. When I looked down there was a mouse perched up on the top of my waste basket, with a look on his little face that said "hello there".

I know what he was after. Saturdays are usually fend for yourself days around here, and I didn't eat well at all. And I was craving sweet. About a half-hour before I had taken a Taskykake Kandy Kake out of the freezer, ate it frozen and thrown the wrapper in the wastebasket. The smell of peanut butter still lingered and "mikey" smelled it.

I got up, threw on the light and "mickey" fell into the basket. I grabbed a book and stuck it on top. (Advertising and Brand Marketing). Told my roommate what was going on and then took the basket outside. A little while later I retrieved the book. Did I mention that it was under freezing, the mouse perished. I thought I was setting him free.

I was unsettled and grossed out. But okay. I could deal. Then the next day, at midnight I turned off the Olympics, turned off the lights, and headed up the dark stairs in my bare feet. The stairs are white and as I ran up them I noticed something dark on the step. When I got to the top I flicked on the lights and it was a mouse. I freaked. I went into full panic mode. I was being invaded. I couldn't sleep. I was a mess.

That started the mouse-in-the-house diet plan.

Until that day I ate a lot at my desk. I never cared what I threw in the basket. My keyboard is full of crumbs, and my desk gets cleared of them regularly. It all stopped that night. I won't even eat in the living room any more.  Hell, I'm afraid to even go in the kitchen after dinner. I'm afraid of eating anywhere but at the table lest I drop a crumb. I'm a mess.

Yesterday I was in the supermarket and I went to pick up candy. Put it back. Mice would get it. Went to pick up these really tasty multi grain tortilla chips. Again put them back.

Mice have changed everything. The way I shop. The way I impulse buy, the way I eat. At least till spring.

oops, I did it again

Last year I swore I wouldn't do any more multi-day charity walks. Everybody around me said sure, right, like that will happen. Especially since Bonnie was diagnosed with breast cancer last fall. I could have gotten free registration for the 3-day. I ignored it. I received a letter from the Avon walk with discount registration and ignored it.

Bonnie called yesterday. "Since I don't need chemo I'm in for the Avon walk". Bethy, who walked with me last year is signing up for crew. So yesterday I signed up for the Avon. Good thing I didn't throw out the letter. Team Bonnie's Boobies were born. Our logo is a pair of pink-footed boobie birds.

So if anybody is in a giving mood, my link is http://www.avonwalk.org/goto/gayleh. I won't keep the blog there this time. I'll just stick with this one. That one disappears after the walk.

Didn't walk much this week. there's snow everywhere. 

My brother in law is in the hospital, and my sister isn't handling it well. So I decided I'd go cheer her up. There's not much I can do for her husband. I took a chance and walked up to the hospital and found a stairway. You start at two. I walked up to five (apparently this was a short stairway) then down to the ground and back up to four. I exited and started to look for his room. In the process I found another stairway and made a mental note to check it out going home. When I left I found it again, it went to nine. I came back down to four and went back to my sister to tell her I found a tall stairway. She was surprised I was back so soon. On the way out I found another across the hall from his room. I entered and it was a triangle. Decided to leave that way. I got to 2 and the door was locked. I had to go back up to four, and exit thru another set of stairs. That's when I decided not to do the parking deck stairs. I just headed up the hill and went home.

There's two weeks left to the first stair climb. Still not sure I'll make it. But I'm gonna try. I'm thinking of chewing gum during the climb. It will keep my mouth moist and more importantly it will keep it shut! I tend to breath out of my mouth instead of my nose.

fat girl, shoveling

We had 15-16 inches of snow today by my calculations. I went out several times to shovel. In front of the garage the drifts were 24 to 32 inches. It was deep.

I won't be walking anytime soon. Many of the properties don't shovel. It will be hazardous until March!

So today I shoveled. And shoveled. And shoveled. I joked that I burnt 100 calories. Might be closer to the truth than I think. I looked online. Some sites said 20 calories a minute. Some asked my age and weight and they ranged from 300-650 an hour. One asked if it was light or heavy snow. Light was 12.5 calories, heavy 20, but it only went up to 200 pounds.

I went out and was out at a minimum of half hour each time. For a total of five times, I think. One time, when I did the garage drifts it took an hour.

Don't you find it shocking that nobody can agree. Shouldn't it be as simple as activity x minutes worked = total. Simple, right?

Maybe I need one of the electronic things you wear on your arm. Not. That would be so stressful. I'd be checking it constantly.

sodium?

Yesterday at the Doc-In_A-Box, the doc asked me if I used salt. I said no.

My dad had heart disease back in the early 70s, maybe late 60s. My mother never used salt or cooked with salt except in pasta water. That's how I grew up and it's pretty much how I live today. I have a table salt shaker and fill it maybe once a year.

But last night after my binge I got to thinking. Some foods are salty. Like ham. Or potato chips. But is there that much hidden salt out there? Perhaps. It might be the key to my BP issue.

Today I was at the nail salon and they were going to Panera for breakfast sandwiches. I said sure. I got a power sandwich. I had no idea what was in it. It was multigrain bread with all kinds of nuts and seeds in it, an egg, and ham. I said to Beth, oh this is going to be high in calories and in salt. When I got home I looked it up.

The calories weren't awful. About 360. That's in line for one meal. But the salt was over 800 mg. When I looked at the chart I thought the ham was the culprit. It wasn't it was the bread!

Earlier in the week I noticed that the can of black beans was 18%! I'm going back to soaking beans. The convenience isn't worth it. I'm going to see if maybe I can freeze them.

So for the next week I'm reading the sodium content on labels. I'm going write it all down. Add it up. Could hidden salt be the simple solution to my big problem?

Hunting hidden salt will be more fun than taking my BP twice a day.

a lawsuit waiting to happen

Somewhere in a city planning meeting, some engineer came up with an idea. Let change all the curb cuts for the handicapped. We'll make the ramps longer and have a smoother transition. Everybody I'm sure cheered his (Yes, it had to be a man. A woman wouldn't design this. That whole protection/nurturing thing.) brillent idea. They found funding somewhere, and began.

All summer long they worked on it on the southside of town. They are still working on it.

It is a lawsuit waiting to happen. And it's gonna be big. Look at the height of the curbs at the southside library.

As you can see only one person at a time can cross the street. You are blocked in by these weird, generally high, curbs. I should measure them.

You should see the old people trying to navigate them with their walkers. If someone comes with them, they cannot stay next to them. Kind of takes the aid out of aide. In my neighborhood, moms pull the children along. The poor child I saw today must have been in pain hitting all those curbs. I can't even imagine coming out of the bars drunk and trying to navigate my way back to the university. Or crossing in a group.

I walk a lot on the southside. It's gonna be tough crossing the street safely. And that's without worrying about the traffic.

fat girl binging

Went to the Doc-In-A-Box today for my blood pressure check. Again, I failed. It was 132/88. That 88 will kill me some day. But it's no longer in the 90s. I guess I should be thankful.

He told me to eat better, lose weight and exercise. Duh? Is nobody there listening. I am eating better (not perfect, but better). And I am exercising. But all the walking, all the stairs, all the diet changes are doing squat for my blood pressure and it's really pissing me off. What more do I need to do?

Oh, yeah, lose weight.

That's a losing battle. I been fighting this beast for nearly 2 years and I've only lost 12 pounds and three dress sizes. Please don't tell me muscle weighs more than fat. That worked for the first six months. Not anymore. I guess regular meal times, proper portions, and me cooking all the time instead of letting my roomie do some of it would help. But at this point I doubt if anything will help. And it won't happen anytime soon. I have 97 million jobs. Eating at regular times and doing all the cooking is impossible.

The wanted to increase the medication. I said no. The goal is to get off the medication, not take more.

He wants me to take my blood pressure every morning and every night and keep a journal. I wanted to laugh out load. The stress of doing that would drive kill me. I offered once a week. He said that's not enough. Well it will have to do.

So I came home and ate my relatively healthy dinner (chicken, baked potato and roasted asparagus) and stewed. Answered a few emails and stewed some more. The Girl Scout cookies started to shout to me....dessert. So I ate them. And drank a Coke. And it helped, but didn't help.

Tomorrow is another day. I'll start over. Again.

I've mostly done stairs this week preparing for the stair climb at the end of the month. At NCC I park in a very remote lot, go to the classroom center and climb the stairs to the 4th floor and back down. At each landing I see the young, able-bodied, healthy students waiting for the very, very, very, slow elevator and wonder what the heck they are doing. At 54 I walk to the top and am heading down the stairs and the door hasn't even opened yet. Sometimes they are still waiting when I see them again on the way down. back in the dark ages, when I went to school there, I flew up the steps two at a time. I want to shout at them, look at me, you don't want to become me. But they're young. They won't listen.