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The Great Cycle Challenge.
18 Tuesday Aug 2020
Posted in Photography
Author Archives: Tim Hughes Living with CML
There’s Always Something
29 Monday Jun 2020
Posted in Depression, Family, Retirement, Twins
I know it’s been a while since I’ve posted anything but I’ve been doing other things and I haven’t taken the time to post. To be honest I’ve been rather depressed as of late. The fact that I’m not working anywhere and not able to keep my mind off of things makes it difficult to not get depressed.
Both my daughters graduated in May and here it is the end of June and neither one has any job offers on the table. One of my daughters has a teaching degree and has had a couple of interviews but no one wants to hire her. The other has some sort of advertising degree and she’s got several applications in but hasn’t had any interviews yet. They have six months to get a job to start paying their loans back. My son went through the same thing and we were prepared to help him with paying back his loans but as luck would have it, he got a job right at the end. Now we have two that we’d have to help and right now there is no way we can help. We just can’t afford it. I guess, if worse comes to worst, we could get some kind of load to help but I don’t want to get back in debt again.
The sight of my daughter getting so excited to get an interview and then wait for a phone call that never comes is more that I can handle. She says she’s alright but I know just how disappointed she is and I’m disappointed for her. What makes this thing a little worse is that she does have a part-time job working at the YMCA. The thing is that they’ve hired too many people and now only works every other week so she’s not making the money she was promised. At least my other daughter is working, at least until the end of July until she has to move out of her apartment and then she will be out of a job.
I guess it’s all part of parenting. There’s a lot more I’d rather do as a parent than to watch them struggle. My son, who I was worried about when he graduated, now has a job making nearly twice as much as I did when I worked thirty-two years and he’s only worked for about four. Go figure. Maybe my girls will end up doing the same thing. I pray they will.
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When Did I Find The Time To Work
18 Monday May 2020
Posted in Retirement
Tags
I’ve always heard people say that once they’ve retired and I never believed it. Well, until now. Do you remember me talking about having to remove my shrubbery? I’m still working on getting everything put back in place. When I removed the shrubs, a ton of dirt was removed with all the roots. It left big holes in the ground which I had to purchase a couple of loads of dirt to fill in these holes.
I’ve got the holes filled in, all the rocks removed and leveled out. Then I found out that I needed to turn the new soil in so, I removed my Mantis from my shed and turned one side of my flower bed. That thing wore me out. After about thirty minutes of that thing, every muscle in my body was sore. Thank God the next day was Sunday. I could barely move. Today it rained so I went to pick up our taxes and to pick up a few items from Lowes. I’ve still got to turn the other side of the flower bed and relevel everything. We’re in the process now of trying to figure out what to plant.
I’ve already got a project to do after I get done with my flower bed. I’ve already got most of the materials for it so I’m hoping that step is done with. I’ve got to add gutters to my sunroom. I’ll be glad when I get these projects done. I’d like to take a day and go fishing.
Happy Mothers Day to All Mothers
10 Sunday May 2020
Posted in Diabetic, diet, Gym, Photography, Twins, University of Alabama, Weight Loss
Tags
daughters, diet, Graduation, Mom, Weightloss, Weightloss goal
I hope you got a chance to visit your mother today or at least made or received a phone call. I got to visit mine for a few minutes. We practiced social distancing while visiting her on our porch. My mom is in her mid 80’s so she won’t be here with us too much longer so I want to spend as much time with her as possible, front porch or not.
My family spent the afternoon last Saturday taking pictures at the University of Alabama, where my two daughters graduated. I’m so proud of both of them. The one on the left will go into advertising while the other will be going into childhood education.
Off-topic…The person I’m seeing in the mirror in the mornings as I’m getting into the shower is beginning to disgust me once again. You and I both know what that means. My gym will be opening soon and then there is that treadmill downstairs. In the meantime. I’ll be watching what I eat and walking on the treadmill. I’ll need all the encouragement I can get. The goal…10 pounds in 10 weeks.
Having issues with WordPress
02 Saturday May 2020
Posted in Photography
For those of you that have sent me messages regarding my existence, It is my pleasure to announce that I am still alive and well. I am currently on my phone app because the desktop version of WordPress is not working for me. Hopefully they will get this mess resolved soon.
I have been on lockdown for over two and a half months and it’s starting to get the best of me. I have left my house a total of three times during this time frame, twice to the doctor and once to check on my fishing hole. I’ve tried to keep myself busy such as doing yard work but because my gym is closed my weight has crept back up. So much so that I’ve been afraid to even look at the scales. I did however get on the scales this morning and to my surprise I’ve only gained 6 lb. My sugar has also crap back up and I’m ashamed to say that I have become a grazer again.
Today my daughters graduate college. It was supposed to be this huge pump and circumstance of an event but because of this virus that has shut down our nation, their graduation ceremony has become a very surreal event. No pomp and circumstance, no walking down the aisle, and no watching the other hundreds of graduates receiving their diplomas as well as my own daughters. Today, while one daughter is in Tuscaloosa working, I am fortunate to have the other daughter with us and she and my wife are currently gone now to a local restaurant to grab a bite to eat and bring it back. That will be our ceremony for today. I was supposed to drive to Tuscaloosa tomorrow
to take pictures of my daughter’s in their graduation cap and gown but the other daughter’s boyfriend doesn’t have shoes so it’s been canceled for now. I was so looking forward to it.
I guess that’s it for now. I live quite a boring life at times. my part come in from my lawn mower so I guess I’ll go out there and work on it to get it going. I hope everybody stays safe, stay at home, and if you’re one of those essential workers, thank you. Thank you for all you’ve done during this time.
3/29/2020 Update
29 Sunday Mar 2020
Posted in Cycling, Diabetic, diet, Gym, Weight Loss
How is everyone doing during the quarantine? I’m doing fine I guess. I did something stupid the other day and I really hope that it doesn’t come back to bite me. I’m expecting a house painter to come early next week to start painting my house. In order to do the front, I had to get rid of my hedge bushes.
They’ve been there for years and have grown quite big and tall. I took a chain saw to them which made for quick work and after the front was exposed I noticed a large hole that went underneath my front stoop. I had to purchase some bags of dirt to fill it in before the painters showed up. The stupid part is when I went to Lowes to purchase the dirt. The place was packed. It looked like they were going to have some sort of give-away. I should have turned around then but I didn’t. When I went to check out the line was over twenty people long. With my health the way it is, I should’ve turned around but instead, I stood in line with all those other people. I won’t be doing that again.
The house looks bare now but at least they’re cut down now. The only thing I have to do now is pull up the stumps. I’ll do that later on. The grounds too wet to get in there with my truck and I don’t want to ruin my yard with ruts or worse get my truck stuck.
As of this morning, I’ve lost 9.2 pounds. I’ve got to get back on my treadmill so I can lose the other five pounds so I can get on my bicycle. Plus, with the virus going around and us being quarantined, I’m making more and more trips to the refrigerator which is not good. I’ve still got this nagging cough which when I get out of breath makes it hard for me to breathe and I have a coughing fit. I’ll either start back this evening or wait until Monday to start.
I have a doctor’s appointment come Wednesday. I’m sort of excited about going. I’ve been keeping up with my sugar and it’s down from 9.9 to 7.2. I’ve already seen the medical test report. So I’m pretty excited about that. My triglycerides are high and I need to do something to get it lower.
I’m near to 400 followers now. When I started this blog I never thought it would be this high. I’m about to go through and delete a few because some I have found are nothing but spam and sex promo sites. I have no idea how I got those followers. Anyway, thanks for following me.
Stay home and stay safe everyone!!
3/22/2020 Weekly Update
22 Sunday Mar 2020
Posted in Gym, Weight Loss
I’m a couple of days late. I’m still quarantined and I’ve come down with not only the flu but a bad sinus infection, self-diagnosed of course. There is no way I’m getting out of this house and getting tested. I’ve been taking the Tamiflu as my wife’s doctor prescribed and I’m getting better every day. My daughter, who has also been quarantined with us has not shown any symptoms as of yet. My wife has nearly gotten rid of her aliments with the exception of her cough. That, I’m afraid, will stick around for a while.
I’ve slept more in the last week than I’ve slept in a month. I’ll be watching something on the television and what seems like moments later, something else will be on. I can’t stand going to sleep during the day and waking up. I feel like crap afterward.
I’m down 6.2 pounds as of today. That’s a little over a pound from last week. Not being able to go to the gym is going to be a drag if this quarantine lasts much longer. Around here the government has closed all nonessential business, gyms being one of them. I really haven’t felt like getting on my treadmill lately but I know I’ll have to soon if I want to continue to lose weight.
I hope everyone stays safe and I hope no one gets this virus.
Quarantined
16 Monday Mar 2020
Posted in Cancer, diet, Gym, Weight Loss
Tags
My wife has come down with the flu so I’ve been quarantined for seven days. That means seven days without going to the gym. I’m glad I went ahead and bought that treadmill. One of my daughters is here while she’s on spring break, she’s also quarantined. In fact, her college has made the determination that school is canceled until further notice or at least until this virus is contained. We have no idea how they’re going to do graduation.
My wife was diagnosed today and was given several shots. I, as well as my daughter, was given a prescription for Tamiflu which I’ve already taken one. Right now I feel fine. My wife is not feeling well. She has a sore throat, low-grade fever, and a dry cough. If her condition worsens she has the paperwork to go get tested for the virus. The doctor does not think it’s anything more than the flu. I know that if I get the flu, because of my health conditions, I’ll probably be admitted into the hospital. That I do not want. I’d rather stay at home and let it run its course. I know I”ll get more rest that way.
I hope everyone stays well out there.
3/14/2020 Weekly Update
14 Saturday Mar 2020
Posted in diet, Gym, Weight Loss
Tags
“Slow process is better than no process”. This week’s totals are in. I’ve lost a total of 5.8 pounds since I’ve started at the gym. It’s been nearly four weeks since I’ve started and it’s still too soon for me to tell if I’ve lost weight or not. My clothes still fit the same. All this exercising and dieting has got to be doing something. it’s just going to take time I guess.
I’m having to drive the misses around this week and part of next week. My son wrecked his car last week and now it’s in the shop being repaired. We’re hoping that it’s repaired this Wednesday. I’ve had to make slight adjustments to my daily schedule to make sure I’m there in time for me to pick her up in the evenings.
This COVID-19 is something else, isn’t it? My daughter’s school is closing just after spring break, my wife’s school where she teaches will be out for over two weeks, churches not having services but streaming them over the internet instead, people hoarding toilet paper (which I don’t understand), just people in a panic all over. Personally, I’m not going to fall for the media-hyped panic that the rest of my state is going through. I’m going to keep doing what I’m doing to keep me from being sick and I hope everyone else does the same. Everyone needs to turn their TV’s off and calm down.
3/6/2020 Weekly Update
06 Friday Mar 2020
Posted in Cycling, diet, Gym, Retirement, Weight Loss
It’s definitely been one roller coaster of a ride this week. I gained a pound, lost two pounds then I gained a pound. All in all, I lost 1.4 pounds this week. I’ve got 15.4 pounds to go before I can get my big butt on my bicycle.
I went every day this week to the gym. I spend on average 30 minutes each on the treadmill and the cycle. I walk away with my clothes soaked in sweat and my legs heavy as lead. Twice this week I’ve worked with the trainer learning how to operate the machines correctly. Next week I’ll be adding at least some of the machines to my daily routine.
I had to change my routine somewhat to accommodate my wife. This was due to my son having a car accident late Thursday afternoon. It messed his car up somewhat and it had to be towed to a garage. So, being the generous parents we are, we’ve given my wife’s car to him to drive during the next three weeks while his car is getting repaired. This requires me to get up in the morning and take my wife to work in the mornings and making sure I’m there in the afternoon to pick her up. This also requires me to pick her up during the day to take her to her doctor’s appointments which I had to do today. The things we do for our kids.
Back to my weight loss. I’m a little disappointed that I haven’t lost more weight than I have. I’ve read that when you start exercising like I have, you tear or damage the muscles which become inflamed. When this happens the body retains fluid around the inflammation which aids in the healing process. This also adds weight to your body. This is all new to me so I can’t tell you if it’s true or not. I did read this on the internet so it’s got to be true, right? lol.
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