I was interviewed for this issue of Commodore Free magazine. - my interview is the last article (Gaelyne Gasson, VCSWEB.com)
Enjoy.
Enjoy.
31 March 2008
A few thoughts
Last week I ordered a backrest massager for my office chair and it arrived this afternoon. It's not like Rod's which was a whole long pad that does from the back of the neck and all the way down to the thighs. This is just for the lower back, although you can move it to work on other areas. This one is just perfect for me though, and makes my chair that much more comfortable. I'm hoping that the massage for it will help with 1) my bronchitis, 2) the osteoarthritis, and 3) the lymphedema I have in my back. Oh, and just because it feels good too. :-)
I have an appointment to have my HBA1C test on Thursday morning this week. Basically it's a check up with blood tests for my diabetes. It includes the HBA1C (which says how much sugar has been in your blood stream over the last 3 months), tests for cholesterol, and for me, a test of my iron too, since I finished taking the iron supplements a couple of weeks ago. I was taking the supplements because the last lot of tests I had showed I was anemic again. I've been having problems with anemia for about a year now. I'm pretty sure with the way I can drop off to sleep so easily that the iron will once again be down. I drift off at the computer so often it's really not funny, and I know it's not related to high glucose levels because it happens whether my readings are high, middle of the road or normal.
I've been working on a website that will be selling locally produced honey (in fact, I should be working on that right this minute, but I've a list of things I've wanted to write about it and decided to get it out of my system today). My client dropped off some of his honey in various sized containers so I can sort out shipping details for them, and naturally I had to sample at least one of the honeys. (grin) He dropped it off on his way to work in the morning and as I hadn't had breakfast yet, I decided to be VERY brave and try a drop on my usual breakfast of 1 slice of crumpet toast with a bit of peanut butter. The reason this was brave is because there's hardly anything I can eat in the morning that doesn't push my glucose levels up over the threshold. This is why, for anyone who's noticed I have nearly the same breakfast everyday, I tend to stick with one or two things I know don't cause me too much trouble. So the day I tried the honey out, I put a small drop of honey with the peanut butter and quite enjoyed having something a little sweet. Well, blow me over with a feather, but my after breakfast BGL was lower than usual! I have found I have to make sure it really just a DROP (about the size of my small fingernail) otherwise my BGL really will go high, but if I only have a drop, my BGLs are in the mid 6 range (or around 120 for the USA readers). What a pleasant find!
In the exercise department, I am trying to increase my steps for my walks to about 5,000 steps minimum. That way it should be easier to hit the recommended 10,000 steps per day as the other half would be from other activities around the house.
It's interesting as I find the longer I've been going for walks, the more active I become otherwise. This can only be a good thing as it in turn burns even more calories and also helps improve my whole attitude.
And I know I used the word exercise up there, but I intend to replace that word in my vocabulary with 'play'. In the afternoons or evenings, I play on my Gym ball. Exercise is a definite 4-letter word and should be banished. I'm much more likely to go PLAY than I would to go exercise, even if they are both one and the same. It's my perception of the activity I'm trying to change so that it's something I do because I want to and it brings me pleasure. And yes, I've smiled and even cracked up when I've been playing on the gym ball, so that's good. It is fun.
The other thing I've decided to change when it comes to 'play time' is not doing actual counting of various moves. Instead I have a digital clock that also displays seconds, so I've been aiming for 1 minute on each activity. Later when I have more confidence I can built up to 1 and a half minutes and increase from there. I'm probably doing more reps than I would if I were counting, and it keeps that feeling of 'exercise' away. I'm playing with the ball doing sit ups for a minute - I'm not obsessing over how many I do. I just keep going as best as I can until the minute is up. So far this change is helping my attitude and helping me to look forward to having a good play. Just don't ruin it by telling me it's good for me. ;-)
I have an appointment to have my HBA1C test on Thursday morning this week. Basically it's a check up with blood tests for my diabetes. It includes the HBA1C (which says how much sugar has been in your blood stream over the last 3 months), tests for cholesterol, and for me, a test of my iron too, since I finished taking the iron supplements a couple of weeks ago. I was taking the supplements because the last lot of tests I had showed I was anemic again. I've been having problems with anemia for about a year now. I'm pretty sure with the way I can drop off to sleep so easily that the iron will once again be down. I drift off at the computer so often it's really not funny, and I know it's not related to high glucose levels because it happens whether my readings are high, middle of the road or normal.
I've been working on a website that will be selling locally produced honey (in fact, I should be working on that right this minute, but I've a list of things I've wanted to write about it and decided to get it out of my system today). My client dropped off some of his honey in various sized containers so I can sort out shipping details for them, and naturally I had to sample at least one of the honeys. (grin) He dropped it off on his way to work in the morning and as I hadn't had breakfast yet, I decided to be VERY brave and try a drop on my usual breakfast of 1 slice of crumpet toast with a bit of peanut butter. The reason this was brave is because there's hardly anything I can eat in the morning that doesn't push my glucose levels up over the threshold. This is why, for anyone who's noticed I have nearly the same breakfast everyday, I tend to stick with one or two things I know don't cause me too much trouble. So the day I tried the honey out, I put a small drop of honey with the peanut butter and quite enjoyed having something a little sweet. Well, blow me over with a feather, but my after breakfast BGL was lower than usual! I have found I have to make sure it really just a DROP (about the size of my small fingernail) otherwise my BGL really will go high, but if I only have a drop, my BGLs are in the mid 6 range (or around 120 for the USA readers). What a pleasant find!
In the exercise department, I am trying to increase my steps for my walks to about 5,000 steps minimum. That way it should be easier to hit the recommended 10,000 steps per day as the other half would be from other activities around the house.
It's interesting as I find the longer I've been going for walks, the more active I become otherwise. This can only be a good thing as it in turn burns even more calories and also helps improve my whole attitude.
And I know I used the word exercise up there, but I intend to replace that word in my vocabulary with 'play'. In the afternoons or evenings, I play on my Gym ball. Exercise is a definite 4-letter word and should be banished. I'm much more likely to go PLAY than I would to go exercise, even if they are both one and the same. It's my perception of the activity I'm trying to change so that it's something I do because I want to and it brings me pleasure. And yes, I've smiled and even cracked up when I've been playing on the gym ball, so that's good. It is fun.
The other thing I've decided to change when it comes to 'play time' is not doing actual counting of various moves. Instead I have a digital clock that also displays seconds, so I've been aiming for 1 minute on each activity. Later when I have more confidence I can built up to 1 and a half minutes and increase from there. I'm probably doing more reps than I would if I were counting, and it keeps that feeling of 'exercise' away. I'm playing with the ball doing sit ups for a minute - I'm not obsessing over how many I do. I just keep going as best as I can until the minute is up. So far this change is helping my attitude and helping me to look forward to having a good play. Just don't ruin it by telling me it's good for me. ;-)
Sun 30 March Update
08:14:01 8.0 / 144 Fasting.
11:34:49 7.6 / 136 Post-Bfast
12:48:28 6.7 / 120 Pre-Lunch
15:16:45 7.6 / 136 Post-Lunch
16:45:54 6.1 / 109 Random Felt shakey after driving
Scratchy: No win. 3756 steps
Breakfast: crumpet toast w/ PB and drop of honey
Lunch: scrambled eggs and 2 crumpet toasts
Tea: 2 slices pizza, some cheese & onion bread
Notes: First time driving car (in Australia) today. Two things to adjust to (aside from driving on the other side of the road, which isn't all that hard to do) are having the switches for indicators on the other side of the steering wheel from what I'm used to, and on this car, the gear change is in the middle of the two seats, and on the left hand side for the driver. As I suspected, most everything else came back fairly easily and naturally. We went to the Tafe parking lot and I was able to go up and down the rows several times and practice turns, and generally get used to the brakes and handling. Then I drove to Colonnades (aka the Mall) and did some driving around the main parking areas and practiced parking in a few places and backing out. Then we did my walk through the mall and checked on prices and sizes of shipping boxes for my honey client, and picked up a few essentials. Back to the car, and I drove to Maslins Beach (where we used to live) and then to the parking lot by the beach. We snapped a few pics and then I drove all the way home. All told, I got in 70 minutes driving towards my required 50 hours. I'm very pleased with my first experience. I played with the gym ball for about 15 minutes tonight, mainly trying to counter act the extra carbs I had during tea tonight.
Steps: 5258
30 March 2008
Sat 29 March Update
08:13:43 6.7 / 121 FastingScratchy: no win 3262 steps
12:05:54 5.5 / 99 Post-Bfast
14:44:47 7.8 / 140 Post-Lunch
19:59:29 4.4 / 80 Pre-Tea
23:04:54 6.2 / 111 Post-Tea
Breakfast: crumpet toast w/ PB and drop of honey
Lunch: 2 eggs w/ bacon, 2 crumpet toast
Tea: porterhouse steak, 1 small baked potato, salad.
Notes: spent day going around in circles trying to get a website update going. It took all day to sort it out, so I feel like I haven't really accomplished much. Other than that, the rest of the day was quite nice. It's a bit chilli out tonight. Took my walk early this morning.
Steps: 6223
Fri 28 March Update
10:57:25 7.2 / 130 Fasting Wow - slept in!Scratchy: no win.
13:20:48 7.4 / 134 Post-Bfast
14:42:49 5.8 / 105 Pre-Lunch
19:20:11 7.4 / 134 Pre-Tea
23:45:58 9.3 / 168 Post-Tea
Breakfast: crumpet toast w/ PB and drop of honey
Lunch: large salad w/ tuna and cottage cheese
Tea: chinese $5 meal at Central Market Food court
Notes: Went to Breastroke meeting, went to see ASO Plays Deep Purple. The concert was great, and it was a real pleasure to see Jon Lords (founder / keyboard player for Deep Purple). However, Lords didn't play for the majority of the DP songs (he did for his concerto portion). While I enjoyed it immensely, the one or two songs that had the keyboards included along with ASO had so much more depth to them. It's a shame the other songs didn't have this even if it were someone other than Lords on keyboard. I suppose this would be a huge ask for anyone though, what with the original artist in the wings. Still, very excellent night. And our dinner out was top notch too. Gotta love a cheap meal that's practically all you can eat.
Steps: 8018
Thur 27 March Update
06:49:03 6.7 / 121 Fasting woke up early coughingScratchy: no win. 6075 steps
11:10:20 5.9 / 107 Post-Bfast
15:43:57 5.2 / 93 Post-Lunch
18:51:50 4.7 / 85 Pre-Tea
21:55:57 6.6 / 118 Post-Tea
Breakfast: crumpet toast w/ PB and drop of honey
Lunch: sausage roll and cottage cheese
Tea: pork chop (large) with thin sliced, 3x rinsed potatoes, gravy and onions
Notes: Was a bit rainy this morning and Rod suggested I go with him to school and do my walk at Colonnades (aka 'the mall'), so I did. I was at the car before Rod was finished with his class so since I'd bought some microfibre cloths, I used one to 'dust' the inside of the car, and to clean the windows inside and out. Gee those work really well. I'm just amazed by them. I played on the gym ball this evening and am very pleased with my whole day's glucose readings. Didn't sleep well last night (kept waking up with this dang cough I have), but because of it I got a fair amount of work done on a couple of web sites this morning.
Tomorrow we are going to the city to see ASO Plays Deep Purple. Really looking forward to it. I'll go meet up with the breastroke girls and Rod will pick me up from there. We'll have a cheap meal at the Central Market food court and then go to the concert.
Steps: 9920
Wed 26 March Update
04:26:21 10.9 / 197 OvernightScratchy: no win. 5120 steps
08:19:07 6.9 / 125 Fasting 2c green tea at 4am
11:36:48 6.5 / 117 Post-Bfast
17:28:19 5.3 / 96 Pre-Tea
21:37:00 7.9 / 142 Post-Tea
Breakfast: crumpet toast w/ PB and drop of honey
Lunch: 2 low carb tortillas with cheese and guacamole. Cottage cheese.
Tea: KFC
Notes: Had Rod meet me at Coles after his classes. Played on exercise ball twice today (after lunch and after tea). Vacuumed.
Steps: 6901
Tue 25 March Update
09:13:01 8.6 / 155 FastingScratchy: no win. 5097
13:14:35 7.2 / 129 Pre-Lunch
17:56:54 7.8 / 140 Pre-Tea
21:20:49 9.7 / 174 Post-Tea
Breakfast: crumpet toast w/ PB and drop of honey
Lunch: ham & mayo twist from Bakers Delight. Ate it on way home.
Tea: nachos
Notes: My brain seems to be in neutral today. I just can't seem to get moving. Have a papercut on my palm that is getting quite red and infected looking. I tried in the last two day to use a spray on bandage but that doesn't seem to be working so have put antibiotic ointment on a cotton ball and put this over the cut, and wrapped hypafix around my hand, just to keep it protected. The nurse came this morning to look at my dressing, which she changed. She'll come back on Friday. Rod has classes all day.
Steps: 8824
27 March 2008
Easter Monday Mon 24 March Update
08:22:37 7.7 / 138 Fasting
11:10:36 9.7 / 174 Post-Bfast
13:36:59 6.9 / 125 Pre-Lunch
22:06:53 11.8 / 212 Post-Tea
23:38:44 9.4 / 169 Bedtime
Scratchy: n/a (no walk)
Breakfast: crumpet toast w/ PB and drop of honey
Lunch: chicken and large tossed salad
Tea: 2 slices pizza
Notes: Finished reading Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood. Very good book. Watched the Neighbours Catch-up recording that we made on Sunday. Watched all 2hrs 45 minutes of it, and am finally caught up with it so I can watch current episodes. First I've been up to date with it since before Christmas. Again, spent day trying not to be too productive so Rod could get his homework finished. Was easy to do as had bad cough and a very sore left side. It finally eased up in the late evening when I used the massage thingy over my chair. It seemed to help break up the congestion. Had to have RDNS come and change my dressing as it was it becoming saturated. The infection that had started last week appears to be contained with the antibiotics I'm taking.
Steps: 3559
Easter Sun 23 March Update
09:23:46 7.1 / 128 FastingScratchy: No win. 4742 steps
12:43:10 4.8 / 86 Pre-Lunch
16:22:44 7.2 / 130 Post-Lunch
19:56:54 6.7 / 121 Pre-Tea
Breakfast: crumpet toast w/ PB and drop of honey
Lunch: scrambled eggs, 2 crumpet toast
Tea: steak with grilled capsicum
Notes: Went for a longish walk in the morning and spent rest of the day reading and trying not to be productive so Rod could get his homework done.
Steps: 9153
22 March 2008
Sat 22 March Update
07:41:30 8.7 / 156 FastingScratchy: $7 on $2 3865 steps
10:45:25 6.5 / 117 Post-Bfast
19:20:20 4.7 / 84 Pre-Tea
22:08:20 8.9 / 161 Post-Tea
Breakfast: crumpet toast w/ PB and tiny amount honey
Lunch: 2 eggs, bacon, 2 crumpet toasts
Tea: sweet chili garlic prawns, bread rolls.
Notes: Took early walk and even then the shopping centre parking lot was totally full of cars. (Sun and Mon are holidays so people go a bit nuts stocking up on stuff). Had stuff for kids ready to mail but post office wasn't open. It'll keep.
Came home, had lunch, then ended up napping in the afternoon. One minute I was here, next I was just out.
As grocery store would be closing for 2 days, we went shortly before closing time in hopes of picking up some good mark downs. We got some strawberries, some marinated steak for tomorrow, sweet chili garlic prawns (which we had for tea tonight) and other misc stuff. They didn't have much meat left so they must have marked it down earlier this year. In years past we've practically stocked our freezer with months worth of meat at half to a quarter of the regular price. Alas, not this year though.
When we got home, I felt really hot and just 'off' so I checked temperature. 37.6 (my normal is 36.4). I guess the sleepiness and fever are all part of my body fighting off the infection.
We had tea and tonight I'm getting my BGL and diary stuff up to date again. Have already dozed off once though! Have made a cuppa coffee and will see if that helps.
Steps: 9861 so far
Fri 21 March Update - Good Friday
08:37:49 8.5 / 153 FastingScratchy: no win. 3020 steps
11:06:34 8.4 / 151 Post-Bfast
12:52:23 6.2 / 111 Pre-Lunch
15:54:30 6.9 / 124 Post-Lunch
22:00:17 8.7 / 157 Post-Tea
Breakfast: crumpet toast w/ PB and tiny amount honey
Lunch: sausage roll w/ cottage cheese
Tea: fish & chips
Notes: As the shops were closed, I walked to the service station on the corner of South and Sherriffs Roads. Didn't buy anything (no scratchies), but it was a pleasant walk and I noticed there's a Salvation Army store within walking distance. Will have to check it out. Had a very quiet day otherwise.
Steps: 6039
Thur 20 March Update
09:12:00 6.8 / 122 FastingScratchy: no win. 2676 steps
Breakfast: crumpet toast w/ PB and tiny amount honey
Lunch: Wendy's hotdog with garlic butter and mustard
Tea: KFC
Very long day. Up early, planned quiet morning, but didn't happen. I forgot Jayne (my nurse) was coming today. My dressing even wetter than it was on Tuesday, and the wound has a greenish discharge again. So, had to phone doctor. He gave me last appt for the day at 7:10. Took quick shower and got ready to leave with Rod, who had an eye doctor appt so we had to leave early. While waiting to see someone at Centrelink I sorted the documentation so the copies and originals were together. I had a much more 'clued' person helping today. So now all the 3lbs or more paperwork has been sent off.
I picked up a few things and grabbed a hotdog for lunch. Once Rod finished his last class, we went to the DMV where I had all the forms filled out and had my photo taken for my license which will be mailed to me. We had to stop at the bank where I needed to pick up my credit card. Was great timing as I needed photo ID and still had my passport in my purse from earlier in the day. From there we took it easy for an hour then headed for my GP appt. I now have a 1 month supply of ciproxin and hopefully it will knock this infection off.
After, we went to Woodcroft to get groceries and then Rod dropped me at the chemists while he went to KFC to pick up our tea. We ended up finding a good parking place to watched the annual fireworks at the shopping centre just up the road from us. It was a nice display, and then we were home in only about 2-3 minutes.
Steps: 9617
Wed 19 March Update
07:43:13 6.7 / 120 FastingScratchy: no win. 6341 steps
10:28:28 7.1 / 128 Post-Bfast
19:08:30 4.6 / 83 Pre-Tea
22:39:14 8.8 / 159 Post-Tea
Breakfast: crumpet toast w/ PB and tiny amount honey
Lunch: lemon chicken & noodles w/ Rod at Food Court
Tea: Yiros
Notes: I passed my Learners! Spent all afternoon at Colonnades. Copied all the USA disability forms, had appt with Jen, then wasn't able to turn in disability stuff yet because original documentation needed to be sighted. Didn't get out of there until after 5pm - was locked in and had to be let out. Spend evening collecting all the original docs.
Steps: 8186
Tue 18 March Update
07:08:40 6.2 / 111 FastingScratchy: No win. 2927 steps
11:12:24 6.8 / 122 Post-Bfast
15:44:27 9.0 / 162 Post-Lunch
22:09:20 6.5 / 117 Post-Tea
Learners Permit Theory Test Practice Scores:
Give Way Test: 8 of 8 correct (8 required)
Multiple Choice: 42 out of 42 correct (32 required)
Breakfast: crumpet toast w/ PB and tiny amount honey
Lunch: tuna and noodles, salad
Tea: honey soy chicken & veg stirfry over low carb noodles
Notes: Up early so got walk in before nurse came. Dressing a bit wet, but we think it was from the shower. Did heaps today. Tomorrow is test, appt with Jen, and then Centrelink to turn in USA disability forms.
Steps: 10521
21 March 2008
Catching Up
This is my current favourite photo of my grandson Ricky. I've been so busy lately I didn't get a chance to have a peek at the pictures my son uploaded to me on the 8th until today. Gee, bad Granny. I've put the best of the batch up on flickr if you'd like a look.
When you take a test over here, they phrase it as "I just sat my (insert test name here)". So, I sat my Learners. And passed the first time around with 100% correct. The kids in the class room clapped! It was so funny.
The girl I was taking the course with, Kirsty, the daughter of friends of ours, failed the first part of the test (8 give-way questions) and was devastated. You have to pass these 100% before you can go on the the 42 multiple choice questions. The test costs $25, and she didn't have enough to re-sit the test, so when I finished with mine, I went and found her and encouraged her to go try again, and loaned her the money to do it, telling her I believe in her. And I did, too. And she passed!! I'll tell you, I think it gave me a greater satisfaction that I helped her to try again and succeed than my own score. I guess it's just the Mom in me.
That was Wednesday morning, and taking the test required a whole lot of personal ID, and as you know I've been working on the USA disability forms which also required a heap of ID that had to have official copies made and so
I planned to turn in this paperwork on the same day. That way I only had to have this stuff out of the house for one day instead of two. So the rest of Wednesday was spent photocopying all of the USA forms I'd filled out (well over 50 pages worth) and waiting to see someone at the Australian equivalent of DSS (which we're so PC it's called Centrelink). I got in finally and it was nearly 5pm. The person said she wouldn't stamp my health documentation copies unless I had the originals which is no problem - except I didn't have the originals with me. So that didn't get finished but at least it was 'started'.
Thursday morning I completely forgot that my nurse was coming to change my dressing. I'm down to only 2 days a week now that she comes these days. Anyway, bummer... I had a LOT more exudate and the wound once again had a green discharge. The psuedomonas infection is back. I had just finished the antibiotics just 36hrs earlier too. So I had to ring the doctor up and explain this all to him. He gave me the last appointment of the day so he could give me another script. This is a controlled antibiotic so I had to have an office visit and he had to call in to get approval for it. So my appt
was for 7:10 in the evening. The worst bit was he complained I'd left it a bit late. It's not like I can see this wound, and when it's only dressed twice a week... oh, never mind. It was just annoying. And I can't blame him for being a little annoyed as well.
Thursday afternoon I had the original records and started my afternoon waiting again to see someone at Centrelink, but I used the waiting time to sort the papers so the originals and copies were right together. I had a different person this time and she was thrilled I was organised so much as to save her a lot of work. And she even gave the official stamp to stuff I took in that I couldn't provide originals for, such as all the case notes from the RDNS nurses who take care of my wound. (The originals belong not to me but to the RDNS). So 3 pounds of paperwork, forms, documentation, etc are now on their way through Inter-mail first to Hobart Tasmania and then will be sent on to the USA overseas disability SS office in Manila. It's done. Whether it's approved or not is out of my hands and not my worry. It's nice to be able to see my dining room table again. I'll tell you, I was so sick of those forms and their complete lack of sensible English. I was required by law to apply for this, but given a choice, I sure would have skipped it.
After that was sent off, I met Rod and we went over to the DMV where I got my photo taken for my new license. YAY! I will finally have some Australian photo ID besides my passport. We then went home for a couple of hours and then back out again for my appt with the GP. I now have a 1 month supply of Ciproxin. This infection better not develop a resistance to that, because after that, I think we'd be talking about IV antibiotics. We then went grocery shopping.
In Australia, EVERYTHING is closed for Good Friday. It's the only day of the year that even the pubs are closed. So even though all the grocery stores will be open on Saturday, it didn't matter, shopping for groceries was nuts with a zillion people all out doing the same thing. Rod then dropped me off at the shopping centre where the chemist (drug store) is
and went to buy KFC. We met up later and found a good parking spot at the same centre for fireworks. Our local shopping centre has had fireworks on Thursday before Easter for several years now (aside from last year when they cancelled 5 minutes into the show). We had a great spot this year and the show lasted about 10-15 minutes. The great thing about our parking spot was that we were able to literally drive straight home. We had parallel parked on the road, and as we live on the same street (several blocks away) we only had to get through one traffic light (which gave us a green light - so very rare) and a couple minutes later we were home unpacking our groceries and had our very late dinner. I racked up over 9,000 steps yesterday, and more than 10,000 on Wednesday.
Today is Good Friday and a holiday. I'm doing my best to not accomplish a thing today. Rod and I have this ying-yang thing. When one of us is being productive the other is spinning their wheels. Well, he has some major homework due on Tuesday so he's the one who needs to be productive. Me, I'm on holiday and have watched soaps, gone on my walk, and am farting around on the computer doing fun stuff that's not work. And that's what I plan to be doing all weekend too in between naps. :-)
Speaking of naps, I was just dozing off and I haven't even sent uploaded this yet!!!
19 March 2008
I Passed! I got 100% right!
Tomorrow I can go get my Learners license! Yay!!!!
PHEW! First you have to pass the 8 Give-Way questions and then if you pass, you go on to 42 multiple choice questions. You're allowed to get up to 10 wrong, but I managed to get all of them right. (Does Happy Dance)
And that question I mentioned a few days ago here was one of the questions I asked. I didn't choose to drop the oldie relative off at the train station, but it still gave me a giggle when I read it.
LONG day. We've both been out since 8:30am today and only just got home around 5:30. I have to go back to Centrelink tomorrow to turn in my US disability stuff. They want to sight the originals of my tests and lab results and stuff. Fortunately that's no problem and Rod has a class so I can just go in with him. Then when I'm done, I can go to the DMV and get my piccy taken for my license. :-)
PHEW! First you have to pass the 8 Give-Way questions and then if you pass, you go on to 42 multiple choice questions. You're allowed to get up to 10 wrong, but I managed to get all of them right. (Does Happy Dance)
And that question I mentioned a few days ago here was one of the questions I asked. I didn't choose to drop the oldie relative off at the train station, but it still gave me a giggle when I read it.
LONG day. We've both been out since 8:30am today and only just got home around 5:30. I have to go back to Centrelink tomorrow to turn in my US disability stuff. They want to sight the originals of my tests and lab results and stuff. Fortunately that's no problem and Rod has a class so I can just go in with him. Then when I'm done, I can go to the DMV and get my piccy taken for my license. :-)
17 March 2008
Mon 17 March Update
Scratchy: n/a
Learners Permit Theory Test Practice Scores:
Give Way Test: 8 of 8 correct (8 required)
Multiple Choice: 42 out of 42 correct (32 required)
Lunch: sausage roll, cottage cheese
Tea: cold meal. tear-apart cheese bread, cold ham, cold seafood extender, tomato wedges, tossed salad
Notes: They say it's the last day of the heat wave. One can hope. No walk today. It was already 30 at 8 this morning. Found a program that will let me program it to show an alarm after a specific amount of time, so have been using it to allow myself to work on various things for only a specified amount of time. It's helped keep me focused. No cool change yet as of 10pm.
Steps: 4213
Learners Permit Theory Test Practice Scores:
Give Way Test: 8 of 8 correct (8 required)
Multiple Choice: 42 out of 42 correct (32 required)
01:01:01 6.6 / 118 BedtimeBreakfast: crumpet toast w/ PB
07:41:53 6.4 / 115 Fasting
10:49:32 9.2 / 165 Post-Bfast
18:37:26 5.0 / 90 Pre-Tea
21:38:17 8.5 / 153 Post-Tea
Lunch: sausage roll, cottage cheese
Tea: cold meal. tear-apart cheese bread, cold ham, cold seafood extender, tomato wedges, tossed salad
Notes: They say it's the last day of the heat wave. One can hope. No walk today. It was already 30 at 8 this morning. Found a program that will let me program it to show an alarm after a specific amount of time, so have been using it to allow myself to work on various things for only a specified amount of time. It's helped keep me focused. No cool change yet as of 10pm.
Steps: 4213
Sun 16 March Update
Scratchy: no win. 2661 steps. I think my step counter is also suffering from the heat. Did power walking at the grocery store in air conditioning.
Learners Permit Theory Test Practice Scores:
Give Way Test: 8 of 8 correct (8 required)
Multiple Choice: 41 out of 42 correct (32 required)
Lunch: scrambled eggs, 2 crumpet toast
Tea: 2 slices pizza, tossed salad
Notes: I'm hot, it's hot. Tuesday is supposed to be much cooler (under 30c). C'mon Tuesday! Although I got up a couple of times to go to the loo, I did sleep better last night in that I didn't wake up with an allergy attack. Napped this afternoon too. And no allergy attack. Sad though, I really liked the pillows we'd been using -- but not if they're going to give me asthma.
Steps: 4477
Learners Permit Theory Test Practice Scores:
Give Way Test: 8 of 8 correct (8 required)
Multiple Choice: 41 out of 42 correct (32 required)
08:15:26 7.1 / 128 FastingBreakfast: crumpet toast w/ PB
11:18:29 9.2 / 166 Post-Bfast crumpet toast w/ PB
12:24:45 6.7 / 121 Pre-Lunch
15:01:09 8.3 / 149 Post-Lunch scrambled eggs, 2 crumpet toast
19:32:53 4.9 / 88 Pre-Tea
22:33:55 9.8 / 177 Post-Tea 2 slices pizza, tossed salad
Lunch: scrambled eggs, 2 crumpet toast
Tea: 2 slices pizza, tossed salad
Notes: I'm hot, it's hot. Tuesday is supposed to be much cooler (under 30c). C'mon Tuesday! Although I got up a couple of times to go to the loo, I did sleep better last night in that I didn't wake up with an allergy attack. Napped this afternoon too. And no allergy attack. Sad though, I really liked the pillows we'd been using -- but not if they're going to give me asthma.
Steps: 4477
15 March 2008
Sat 15 March Update
Scratchy: no win. 3617 steps
Learners Permit Theory Test Practice Scores:
Give Way Test: 8 of 8 correct (8 required)
Multiple Choice: 42 out of 42 correct (32 required)
Busy morning. Did 3 loads of wash and hung it all up before I had my morning walk. Stopped at a garage sale and picked up an ornate photo frame (metal lattice with roses) and a complete wok set (wok, all racks, lid) for $3 total. Not bad! Worked on the honey site a little bit today. Went to take nap and had more of a coughing than napping session. As an experiment, I have moved the feather pillows out and substituted fibre fill ones to see if that helps because it's beyond a joke these days.
Time management has really been a real issue for me lately. I feel as though I just can't keep up with everything no matter how hard I try. There are some things I really truly enjoy - reading various news feeds, and I like to take my time with these and read those things that are of interest to me, but then I seem to get behind on other things. Having to take time out for naps doesn't help either, really. What I need is a 36 hour day!
Steps: 7640
Learners Permit Theory Test Practice Scores:
Give Way Test: 8 of 8 correct (8 required)
Multiple Choice: 42 out of 42 correct (32 required)
07:38:30 11.7 / 211 Fasting
11:45:31 5.7 / 102 Post-Bfast crumpet toast w/ PB.
This is also Pre-Lunch reading.
15:01:55 8.1 / 145 Post-Lunch 2 eggs, 2 crumpet toast and bacon.
Forgot to drink any green tea. Whoops!
19:22:57 5.8 / 105 Pre-Tea
22:11:32 5.4 / 97 Post-Tea cheap steak and a large salad.
Hardly any carbs. EXCELLENT results!
Busy morning. Did 3 loads of wash and hung it all up before I had my morning walk. Stopped at a garage sale and picked up an ornate photo frame (metal lattice with roses) and a complete wok set (wok, all racks, lid) for $3 total. Not bad! Worked on the honey site a little bit today. Went to take nap and had more of a coughing than napping session. As an experiment, I have moved the feather pillows out and substituted fibre fill ones to see if that helps because it's beyond a joke these days.
Time management has really been a real issue for me lately. I feel as though I just can't keep up with everything no matter how hard I try. There are some things I really truly enjoy - reading various news feeds, and I like to take my time with these and read those things that are of interest to me, but then I seem to get behind on other things. Having to take time out for naps doesn't help either, really. What I need is a 36 hour day!
Steps: 7640
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