Quiet week (or so)

Not much has been going on lately. I guess that's a good thing overall.

I've decided I want to try and lose some weight, about 20 pounds. I was never one to gain a lot of weight when I was younger -- in fact, when I was a kid I was downright skinny -- but ever since I hit my mid-20s, it's been the norm to put on a few pounds every year. It didn't bother me at first, but now I'm getting a bit tired of just putting on weight and being OK with that. So I joined a group of online friends in trying to get fit, and have a page set up at Traineo to help track my progress. Getting in exercise is the hardest for me, but I've been doing pretty good at getting up early enough in the morning to get some kind of strength training in. Cardio is another problem, since I don't really have a place for that, other than the exercise bike in the garage, and it seems like it's either too hot or too cold for me to really want to get out and do that.

Plus, I've been dealing with back pain. I don't know how I did it, but a few weeks ago I screwed up my back and have had some pain ever since. It even got to the point where after I'd been sitting at my computer at work for awhile, I could barely get up out of my chair and it took me a bit of walking to move halfway normal. It's a lot better now, though. There's still a little stiffness, but at least I don't fee like I'm 90-something. It sucks how it can take just one little thing -- a twist the wrong way, a wrong step -- to screw up your body, and days or weeks for it to get back to normal. Guess I'm just getting old.

It's turning cold and blustery, and there's a chance for snow over the next couple days. No accumulations being predicted yet, but that doesn't mean it won't be nasty weather. Nipper is dong well, but I worry a bit about taking him for walks when it starts getting cold. He's got arthritis, and for the last few years, he has some problems getting around in the winter. It mostly affects his back or his hips when it gets cold, and there's been times we've been out walking, and we're several blocks from home when he just can't go very far without resting for a while. It hasn't hit him yet this year, but I'll be watching a bit more closely and maybe get him some medicine from the vet before it gets too bad.

Next Tuesday, I have an X-ray scheduled, and the week after that, I meet with my oncologist. At times, I'm confident it'll all be good, and other times I worry. It'll probably be that way for awhile whenever I get close to a checkup. It's never really far from my mind that the cancer could come back, especially when I see people in my support group who are dealing with it again. But we're all survivors, and that's the thing I try to focus on.

Later,
JunO