Welcome back to another episode of A'lil Hoohaa's monthly photo blogging challenge.
Our prompt for the month of December was "Have a very merry"
Another year of my working full time in December messed up my plans of doing all the cool stuff like visiting the Coca-Cola Christmas truck or the Harley Santas.
I visited one rather lame Christmas market, but only because we had an hour to kill prior to Colini's hockey game, and I literally had to squeeze in what little Christmas spirit I could get.
Did I mention I had to wear a blood pressure monitor for 24 hours? Yeah, that was fun and festive. Since I had to see a doctor to follow-up after my fall, I thought it was a good idea to do my annual blood work. Cholesterol and blood sugars were elevated. Overall, it turned out, that my BP is a little high, but over the course of a day, OK. It wouldn't hurt, however, to do the following:
- Lose weight. *Sigh* No kidding.
- Exercise more. Nothing new. It's just so hard...
- Lower my stress level. Sure. Somebody else do my jobs!!!!
- Limit alcohol and caffeine. I spoke to the lady at the doctor's office. She okay-ed my enjoying two coffees a day and the occasional Prosecco. Love her!
- Sleep more. I wish. I mean, I really wished I was a better sleeper.
So the only things I'm doing well is that I don't smoke and don't have a high salt intake. That's a start.
But let's focus on the topic now. Have a very merry....
Lunch in the Old Town with my niece on one of the two only snow days we had this winter.
This year our family's Christmas Eve took place on the 23rd and was stressful for me, but it gave us the opportunity to do something I always thought would be cool: Checking out the airport on the 24th.
That was it from me. Hope you had a wonderful holiday season! Don't forget to visit my fellow blogger's posts.
I hope you'll have a more relaxed Christmas season next year! At least you could enjoy the lights and take some beautiful photos. And your elf adventures are charming. ☺ I did the 24-hour blood pressure cuff once - not a lot of fun, but no bad results either. Exercise more, eat less fattening food, get more sleep are all on the list for January here. Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteSigh.......Your list to lower your BP sounds a lot like my list! I'm trying the 16:8 intermittent fasting method so we'll see how it goes. Oh yeah.....and exercise, sleep more. And what's with cut out alcohol? Wine is how I manage stress!!! I loved seeing Biscuit and Cookie's antics for December. I bet you had fun with this. I wish for you and yours a bright and promising 2024.
ReplyDeleteFirst -- I like your photos for this month's theme. And that sunset is awesome! But the other stuff, I totally get.
ReplyDeleteI've actually done well in the losing weight department, and it is really noticeable if you compare photos of me now as to 4-5 years ago. I've realized the weight loss journey is a longer plan rather than quick. Exercise - Harper makes sure I get my steps in, though there are times I just want to stay in and doze off. She won't allow that! I love when we're told to lower stress. If it was that easy, don't they think we would have already done it? As for the last one -- thankfully I don't drink too often, and I try and void caffeine most of the time, though I feel like I should use it a bit more as a pick me up!
And then there's sleep. I know one of my issues is needing a new bed. I've been researching that for a while. I hope to figure that out, as well as a full design of my bedroom, within the first quarter of 2024. I feel like that will help me in that regard. I've been trying to go to bed a little earlier and do some of the things "suggested" by experts to sleep better. We will see!
Outside of that... life, right? Happy New Year!
Your December sounds hectic enough to raise anyone's BP! Those photos, though? Lovely. I really took my time enjoying all the ones of the Christmas lights, as we didn't put up a tree this year since we were away most of December. I got a little bit of Christmas lights in Seattle mid-month, and our neighbour has some up in their yard. So I'll take anything else I can get.
ReplyDeleteI haven't had to wear a BP monitor for 24 hours, but I have been taking my BP every day for the past couple of weeks and will do so for the next couple of weeks, in the run up to my annual doctor's appt. One thing I've discovered? Meditation has a BIG effect on my readings. If I meditate for 10 minutes or so, the top reading drops by at least 10 points. Have you ever tried Balance, Calm or 10 Percent? There are also guided meditations on Fitbit premium, so likely on the Apple equivalent, too. I know, it sounds a bit woo-woo if you've never done it. It's like those old Life cereal/Mikey ads on TV..."try it, you might like it!" I know, I know, it's another thing to squeeze into your already jam-packed days. BUT it might have a double benefit if you do shortly before bed...lower your BP AND improve your sleep.
Enough about that. Happy New Year to you and yours. I really enjoyed following Cookie and Biscuit via your FB posts. Super fun and creative!
I'd never had BP issues until last month. It's jumped quite a bit along with my weight. I need to up my movement and down my intake. :) Looks like you had a great holiday season!
ReplyDelete