Jody: Cooking Again

 There are only a few more hurdles to "getting back to normal": cooking and driving. Yesterday for lunch I made a modified version of gumbo for my sister and son, who were visiting; I didn't include shrimp or okra.  And it was gluten free! So much chopping though. Tonight, I plan to make meatloaf again - a family favourite. So this week, the plan is to make supper every evening and to do some meal preps myself for breakfast and lunch: I am thinking egg bites and salad kits. When I combine meat and Skyr or cottage cheese with those, they are a protein-rich lunch with lots of fibre and vitamins. No more ready-made meals ordered from my favourite service any longer. 

My home gym is growing. I have added a few sets of low-weight barbells while I am doing my chair yoga, and a pulley system for the door to also help with shoulder flexibility. I have a step that I can use, and it is showing when I walk up and down the few steps to the living room area from the entryway. 

I am keeping up with my typing exercises. I figured that I might as well warm-up with actual lessons - a refresher! - before taking the timed tests. My goal is 50+ WPM. That is above average and will mean that I am back to my usual dexterity in my hands. 

I haven't weighed myself in a few days - that can be a dangerous obsession that usually leads to depression and lack of motivation, because water retention and hormones mean constant fluctuation, so I am going to keep that to once every 7-10 days. I am also measuring different body parts every month to see how much less space I take up. Because that is what I really want - to be able to sit in any chair and into any car with ease as well as smaller clothes sizes. My knees right now are the parts of me that hurt the most and limit what I can do to lose weight. I can't walk for long periods and I certainly cannot do exercises standing up because they buckle - the arthritis is that bad. I have tried a few different strategies to help with the pain and frustration, but they aren't working. Less weight will mean less pressure, so that is a vicious circle at the moment. At some time there will be a shift - I am holding onto that. 

Other than this, there really isn't much to report. I try to follow a routine every day, but it is quiet here. And gloomy. On wet days like this the clouds move onto the mountain and the gorgeous view from Marble Hill is a lot of white instead of fields and movement from the trees and vehicles on the highway. Time to do some Christmas decorating for colour and light!