Granny Nogg

Thank you, the support means so much to me. Honest to God, I'd it wasn't for NF, this would throw me completely off my routine rather than be a temporary interruption. I'm just not strong enough to do it on my own. You guys rock, thanks for reading and holding my hands. ....*sent from my tiny particle accelerator*....

Wow so I'm not getting notifications that I had replies. Sorry, I should have checked the thread manually. So where to start? It looks like grandma will be approved for an independent senior retirement home about 15 minutes drive from my house (and 5 from my daughter). They've already reserved the apartment for her. Allen is flying down in a week and we're packing the truck, then he's leaving ahead of us. It's looking like we'll be driving 3-4 days, because grandma has a bad back and we are stopping in Charleston to see my youngest son and his family. I've been waiting all week to get my dad's ashes. Not anxious about it but they'd said Tuesday. .. so this afternoon I called, and oops the funeral home forgot they were still at the crematorium. So they said I could pick him up on Monday. I'll be getting ahold of the VA to give him a military burial - he was a proud Marine who served in Vietnam. I haven't worked out a single day since I've been here. Not really any valid excuses for that. I could wake up earlier. Dad's got a bicycle. There's a swimming pool. I could walk. But I've spent the last two weeks on the phone and cleaning and running errands and cooking, literally sun up to sundown, and I'm tired. So I haven't been lazy but neither have I been dedicated to continuing my workouts like I had planned. A glimmer in the midst of it though is my diet has been pretty good. Trying to entice grandma, so it's been really clean and fresh, big salads for lunch, and I'm quickly developing a passion for fresh veggies sautéed in olive oil. Grandma says, "I'm not having any of that" and instead has vanilla ice cream and carrot cake for dinner. But persistence may yet pay off. I've gotten her to have fresh cut fruit for lunch every day, and sometimes breakfast. And I've converted her to the dark side, green olive tapenade hummus on Ritz. She's gained a whole pound this week, which is excellent. She now weighs a whopping 86 pounds, fully dressed, with shoes on. Still horrible when you realize in her youth she was my height, 5'8". But she's got a good strong grip and there's muscle in her arms, I've felt it. Get her eating regularly, and I would say she's got a good 10 years in her yet. The only thing about her that makes me worry is that she slid off the side of her bed this afternoon. I know part of it was polyester slacks from the 70's and poly cotton sheets. Makes for a slippery combination. But the worst part is that she couldn't reach her whistle or phone, and she doesn't have a Life Alert button yet. So fortunately she was only on the floor about 5 minutes; I was on a call and had to ask her a question so went to her bedroom and found her. I steadied her walker and let her attempt to get herself back up. She worked hard at it but doesn't have the strength. So that worries me, and until we get her an alert button, I'm not comfortable with being far from her. I think we need to practice the speed dial on her cellphone and make sure it's always charged. Tomorrow I start packing the house into boxes. Fortunately they don't own much, really. So one person can get it done in a week's time. I'm hoping to start the next NF challenge with the same theme, and pick up where I left off, so this was just a pause button because my grandma called me and I had to pause the controller, rather than a power failure and need to respawn. ....*sent from my tiny particle accelerator*....

Thank you, everyone. Thought you might get a smile out of this snapshot of grandma taking to the girls - she'd never used headphones before so she's holding the ear buds up to her ears. Made me smile. ....*sent from my tiny particle accelerator*....

Thank you guys so much for the hugs and prayers! I need it badly. An update on my grandma. Allot has happened. First, the landlord had the air conditioning fixed yesterday. That's huge. I don't know how my dad and grandmother endured south Florida in August with no AC! She said it's been broken for the whole four years she's lived here. She told me that she doesn't get cold because she's nothing but bones. And that's true, she looks emaciated to me. But the humidity isn't good for her. I think there was allot of not good things happening inside my dad's head, maybe the whole time his mom lived with him, and culminated in elder neglect. When I got here, the house was filthy. It looked like he hadn't done any cleaning in six months. There were dirty pans in the cupboards; the dishwasher was disgusting; mildew stains on doors and walls and in the kitchen cupboards; broken toilet seat that hadn't been cleaned in easily as long; tv remotes caked in dirt. I was appalled. There was almost no food. Some soup and crackers, couple cans of hash and chili, and a vegetable bin in the refrigerator filled with bags of candy. Grandma eats nothing but tv dinners, candy, and ice cream. She said her back teeth are bad so she can't eat meat or vegetables. My dad grilled if he cooked at all, and she can't eat meat, so they ate and lived separate lives in the same house. She can't cook, barely knows how to use the microwave. She's hard of hearing and he never took her to an audiologist so she could get hearing aids. He just turned the closed captioning on for the tv. I think she needs to see a dentist and get dentures, or at least the bad teeth pulled. But he didn't do that, either. She fell and broke her hip last autumn, and aside from doctor visits which ended in December, she hadn't been out of the house since then. He couldn't figure out that he had to unscrew the handles to her walker so that it would fit in the trunk of his car. So he would only take her somewhere if he absolutely had to. I've seen some glimmers since I've been here, though. Yesterday we were going to go to the grocery store, and I walked into the living room to see her putting on makeup! Oh, did that make my heart sing!! She's 95 and hasn't completely lost her vanity. I am bringing her with me back to Illinois when my dad's financial affairs are done. It looks like the bulk of his assets will be held in probate, so she won't have enough to live on, for at least 3 months. She doesn't know this yet; she doesn't want to come with me, and I haven't pushed it with her. I'll let the doctors and lawyers be the bad guys on it. It'll be hard enough driving back home having a hissing and spitting 95 year old toddler in a car for 4 days! Yesterday I showed her how to have a video call on Google hangouts. I helped her hear by plugging my headphones into dad's laptop. You should have seen her face! She talked with my daughter and granddaughter, and then a second call with my oldest son and grandson. Today she'll video call my youngest son and his family. I'm hoping these calls will stir in her a desire to be with them and see them all face to face. At the store, I didn't fight her on what she bought, but I'm cooking healthy meals and inviting her to try it. Also clearly marking leftovers so she can have some if she gets hungry, instead if reaching for ice cream or candy. This morning I'll make her an egg and strip of bacon. She said she'd eat that. Yesterday was the home health nurse and today is the social worker. The doctor's nurse said it's likely she'll need a legal guardian, so there's that paperwork (and implications) this coming week. To me, her mind is still sharp as a steel trap, but maybe I'm not seeing things as they really are. So glad she's having these evaluations. I'm not sure how long I'll be here in Florida; I should have a better idea on the time frame next week. And I'll keep you guys updated as it goes. As for me personally, I've been resisting the junk food well. I've been too busy cleaning! I had one piece of candy day before yesterday, and some honey peanuts off and on. But having salads for lunch every day, and still trying to keep my carbs low ish. I haven't been tracking, and that's a no-no for me. Gotta get back in that groove, because the emotional eating may start next week when the financial realities finally hit the fan for grandma. I also think I don't really realize what I'm getting myself into. I've never cared for an elderly parent, so while my heart is right currently, who's to say I won't get jaded six months or a year from now? I'm glad I have a therapist and will put accountability in place for that when I get back home, so that I'm taking good care of me in the process of taking good care of grandma. ....*sent from my tiny particle accelerator*....

Hi everyone, my father died suddenly on Monday, and I'm flying to Palm Beach to bury him and gather up my 96 year old grandmother and move her to Illinois. I really need the accountability here, so that I stay on track with my challenge. It's all the harder but I need the consistency so I don't get derailed. It'll help me cope with the changes while I go through this valley. ....*sent from my tiny particle accelerator*....

Yay, the Crunchy Knees League! Kinda like the Justice League except we can't sneak up on anybody like Batman because they'd hear our knees a mile away. .. *jk* Thanks on the knee sleeves, ban looming online at the links you guys gave and also amazon, etc. I just last weekend spent $ on more micro plates and 5-pound regular plates, so now I don't have enough money to get a really good pair of the sleeves. So is a cheap pair better than no pair, or should I wait a few months and get the better ones? ....*sent from my tiny particle accelerator*....

Workout log Squats -- still at bodyweight, 3 sets of 10. I widened my stance, it's not quite sumo I think but definitely wider than shoulder width, and then aimed my toes out more, maybe 11 and 1 o'clock. That does seem to help reduce some of the strain on that knee. I tried a set up against a wall-- have you seen that, training to squat upright by using a wall? It stressed my knee, so I didn't do it for the third set. I feel the strain in my knee right now sitting at my desk, so that means ice. :/ Wall Push Ups -- @elastigirl, I gotta tell ya, those GMB wrist extension and flexion stretches hurt so good. There was a noticeable lessening in the wrist pain when doing the wall push ups after doing the stretches!!! I had no problem knocking out 3 sets of 10 wall push ups after that. Definitely can feel it in my carpal tunnel in my wright wrist now, but it isn't pain, it's just a slightly noticeable level of discomfort. I'll ice it if it continues, but those stretches told me a lot about my wrist mobility. Lunges -- still at bodyweight, 3 sets of 10. I did the static ones first set of 10, making sure to place most of my weight on the forward leg. Much harder than putting the weight on the rear leg or balancing it between the two. The first set went fine, but the second set I thought I'd try walking them. NOPE. That was not good, not good at all. So for the last set I went back to static. Le Sigh. But oh well. Better to be patient. Dumbbell Rows -- Chugging along at 3 sets of 10, with 30 pounds. First 6 feel like a metronome and I have to concentrate on going slow and steady, next couple feel like I'm starting to work, and last two I'm trying to keep my torso from getting involved. 30 pounds is right where I should be. Planks -- Still doing elbow ones, still doing 3 sets of 40 seconds. Last 8 seconds are still tough so I'm in a good place with these. Disc Golf Putts -- still working on my form and trying to get a consistent groove. Looking to power up the putt! See, there are a few different styles of disc golf putt. There's a push putt, a lob kind of putt that almost resembles a softball pitch, then there's a spin putt which looks more like a controlled frisbee throw, and there's the sploosh putt, which is what I do; it's kinda halfway between a push putt and a spin putt. Looking for that sweet spot when I draw the disc down toward my hips, and trying to get it consistent, and trying to power my disc just a little bit more so that it resembles the lob less and the spin more. Yes, because a woman with a powerful putt always gets compliments when those chains just clang really loud! LOL. So messing with my form, I got 2/10 the first set, 5/10 the second, and 7/10 the last. Drawing the disc down to the center of my hips, or slightly to the left of center, seems to be helping. Bicep Curls -- yep these are holding steady at 3 sets of 10, at 30 pounds. Kinda like with the rows, first half dozen feel fine, then I'm trying to not let my back sway but squeezing those core muscles and making sure my elbows don't slide forward. 9th and 10th are still really tough and sometimes I have to pause. Tricep Extension -- I dunno if these are just too light or what, but 3 sets of 10 at 12 pounds and I don't feel like I'm having to work at it. Do I increase the weight a little? Wait until next week? Whaddya guys think? I mean, I'm not even really feeling a stretch in the tricep at this weight, not even on reps 9 and 10. Bangin' em out. But do I need to be concerned about my shoulders and messing those up? Would skull crushers be better? Or does it matter much....

Awesome, thanks guys! Hey do you find that wearing the sleeves makes your squat harder to get atg because the fabric is in the way and pinches the back of your knee? My knees and lower thighs are still kinda fleshy so I was wondering about how the sleeves would affect that. Thanks for the link Mark! And yes to rice crispy knees, yikes. Dampening that noise would be helpful indeed.

Yesterday I was a grumpy, whiny, weepy mess. The kind where you wake up on the wrong side of the bed. If I hadn't had a hysterectomy 20 years ago I'd have thought I was having shark week start. Went to the therapist and he made the suggestion of setting my alarm to wake up at the same time every day. He referenced some studies about circadian rhythms, and the things that can happen if you let your sleep cycles get all over the map. He thinks that might be part of my really emo day. Good advice, going to give that a try. I used to be on a schedule like that years ago, and I can fall asleep almost within 5 minutes when I have a consistent bedtime. Workout day today, hopefully my knee isn't bad. I was thinking about getting a knee sleeve for it. Would it help, do you think? ....*sent from my tiny particle accelerator*....

Eating feelings. ... sigh. Yesterday was tough. I didn't give in, but it was very very hard not to. Usually I do, and I hate myself afterwards, plus when I eat feelings it's never vegetables. Why couldn't it be vegetables??! No it's always something sweet when I eat my feelings, and then that triggers my sugar cravings for days afterwards. ....*sent from my tiny particle accelerator*....

Same here, and from challenges I'd followed. ....*sent from my tiny particle accelerator*....

Today's breakfast was an Eggwhite Protein shake with frozen blueberries. I had a morning snack of some beef jerky. Lunch was a big Asian chopped salad with char siu on it. I've been trying to have a big salad for lunches lately. I also had a little cubed watermelon I saw at Kroger. It wasn't very good watermelon, so I only ate a little. Dinner was beer battered fish filets, tater tots, and another generous chopped salad. Calories were 1580 out of 1500. Protein was 94, fat 76, carbs 138, fiber 14, and net carbs 124. Hit all my macro targets except the fiber. ....*sent from my tiny particle accelerator*....

Absolutely is the crafter spirit. "Ooooo shiny" could be our meditation mantra. Self discipline in this area doesn't come easily. Well, I made the decision to cut while I was thinking about my injury today, and only because said jeans dunna fit, so well see how it goes. But it just made sense; lightening the exercise load means I don't need all the extra calories. So turn the injury into something salvageable by losing some fat. Awesome on the fence stakes! And made me smile about the farmer gene. ....*sent from my tiny particle accelerator*....

Sounds like you're going to have some serious fun at that gym! ! ....*sent from my tiny particle accelerator*....