Looking Ahead

What a booger of a weekend it was. I began feeling badly on Saturday afternoon and by Sunday morning I was feeling gut-wrenching heartburn, lower back pain, nausea, shakiness and light-headedness. After a woman at church told me this sounded like symptoms precursor to a heart attack, the inconvenient constitution shift took on a whole new apprehension of what exactly I might have. A sleepless night left me heading into work early on Monday — to prepare for my weekly company meeting — feeling a bit puny to say the least. I led the meeting sitting down (I normally stand) and by 11:00 was "done." A visit to the doctor and off to the lab for bloodwork. Doc thought it could be a virus, stomach flu, or, heaven forbid, gallstones. Gave me a prescription for the heartburn and one for nausea, neither of which I took, since within 24 hours I felt much better. Still getting some upper abdomen pains, but feel much, much better. After googling gallstones (and way too many other diseases and ailments that had my symptoms written all over them), I came to the conclusion that this old broad needs a lifestyle change. I'm 51 and overweight. Enough said. Over the past three days I've been eating better, going to bed earlier (which means waking up alive and full of energy), and enjoying the discipline of it all. I feel more in control, for sure.

This Friday I have foot surgery to remove a plantar fibroma on the bottom arch of my left foot. Dreading that ordeal, for the recovery alone.

And all the while keeping my eye on the prize . . . my three-week sabbatical.

I've got a folder going of all that I could be doing (and not doing, which is just as sweet to the girl who tends to take on too much). One of the projects I will undertake, one which I will enjoy for years to come, is to do a scrapbook journal. I got the idea from blogger Melissa over at Bursts of Creativity. With a plan hatching on all the contents I can capture, I bought this book for the cover, a true nod to the beachy days ahead. And I couldn't resist this PVB sticker. Both book and sticker Etsy finds.

Maybe by the time I head out on my dream trip I'll be skinny and hot.