Barbara J. Hamby

Sniffles

I’ve been fighting a miserable (is there any other kind?) cold for about a week now. Consequently, I haven’t been exercising and I really miss it. For the last couple of nights I’ve been able to sleep fairly well by propping my head up with two pillows, and I’m not coughing—the problem is all in my head—enough mucus to sink a battleship.

Meanwhile, I’m trying to organize an annual family get-together for next month to celebrate my 80th birthday and my daughter’s retirement. So far, it’s going fairly well, but I need to build up my energy because next month will be really busy.

I’ll be installed as leader of my TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) group on April 2nd, so that will be an additional workload. I agreed to do it to avoid having the group disband. TOPS’ methods work, if the participants are willing to do the necessary work. In the eight months or so I’ve been a member, I’ve taken off 22 pounds and intend to continue to lose, even while participating in a maintenance program.

I’m still involved in a Kaiser research project concerning weight loss maintenance, but, fortunately, next month the meetings will switch from weekly to monthly, with less time commitment involved. There is still the commitment to get to a reasonable weight, and stay there, in order to improve my health.

My long-term writing project (memoirs) has been neglected recently so that I could finish and polish the journal I kept on our recent cruise. I still have a bit of minor editing to do, thanks to the assistance of my writing critique group. Then I can post it to the travel pages on my website. I’d like to try to add pictures, but I’m not sure I’m up to that, yet. I got some great shots, especially of the coral and fish visible from a glass-bottom boat.

My energy level is seriously low right now and I’m very grateful that I can usually get at least one nap a day.

Maybe this evening, or tomorrow, I’ll resume editing my pictures. After I finish editing the travel journal text, that is.