Where Has The Time Gone ?

Sorry about the lack of posts lately. Until last Saturday, I have been miserable. The knee pain was just out of control, my feet hurt due to neuropathy in the worst way, which all added up to very little interesting going on. At least I did accomplish one thing that has been on the to do list since moving in to this house and that was the kitchen peninsula project. It added 3 cabinets and additional eating space. Seems we have guests a lot and run short of room at the dinner table, plus lack of storage has been a problem. This addition has killed 2 birds with one stone. It was basically stain and poly some unfinished cabinets, install a counter top, assemble some stools and there you are. An economical, but very visually appealling and functional project that really defines the space. Now the wife wants me to change the other counter tops in the kitchen to match. Maybe next fall.

I took that pic with my new BlackBerry phone. We had to change cell phone carriers due to the poor coverage with the existing one we were using. But, our phones weren't compatible, so we had to get different ones. Since we were changing 3 phones, we bargained and got a sweet deal on the new ones, nearly next to nothing. I never thought much about a BlackBeery except that a lot of people are so enamoured with them, but now I know why. All the applications you can run, the quality and support, the total logical functionality, all just blows me away. Yes, I'm now part of the BlackBerry cult.

OK, now back to what I was initially going to write about. It's been several months since my knees went in the tank again, thanks to a bowling injury. Several trips to various my doctor and the ortho surgeons did nothing to relieve the constant pain. A new knee is the only real solution to the problem, but I'm too young I was told. Would a brace help, I asked. No, the arthritis and cartilage damage are too advanced for that to be of any help. So after several months of hobbling around like a gimp, my outlook on life was getting pretty dim. Workouts were getting sporatic, I was getting grumpy, life just sucked.

Then, last Thursday, just for the heck of it, I pulled on my wife's compression wrap she wears when playing volley ball. She had cartilage replacement in her knee and uses it just to be on the safe side since the digging on the hard surface tends to be not a knee friendly exercise. Well, don't you just know, the pain was reduced by about 80 percent in just minutes. WTF? The next day, I bought a cheapy, $8.99, for myself. After a couple of hard workouts while wearing it, I can all of a sudden push to point of exhaustion, not pain limiting strengthening drills. I just can't believe the difference it has made. I can actually move without much discomfort for the first time in months.

Chodromalcia patellae is what most of the pain has been from. I'm usually not a self diagnoser, but after doing much research on the Internet, I have come to this conclusion. The knee compression wrap is part of the treatment for this condition. That it has been so effective leads me to believe that the patellae is more the problem than the meniscus tears. Time will tell, but for now, I'm feeling much better about the future, what with the knee pain subsided and the diabetes seemingly under control. Plus, the pain in my feet has decreased a bunch. I feel alive again!!

Non Resolutions

Do you do the New Years resolution thing ? I don't really, but the New Year ( should it be capitalize?) a good reminder/place to start some changes. The old saying goes something like "you can't expect to get different results doing things the same way" rings true about this time every year in my life. And this year, it's more true than ever. So here goes a review of some things I need to change....

Paying myself first. Money needs to go into the savings account before anything else, no matter how it hurts.

More consistent training and work outs. Make a good plan and stick to it. The key to success is having a plan and seeing it through, no matter how it hurts. I think I see a theme here. Pain.

Set some goals to match the training. Just training for the sake of training makes little sense in that there is nothing to reinforce the worth of all the effort. Except, maybe, good health. Plan on some rides and races, maybe hit the local group rides more often.

Make more time for doing things with my wife instead of just watching the TV. Shut the damn thing off and do active stuff together. It would help with the stress level and keep our bond strong.

Cook healthier for the family. Lord knows it couldn't hurt. I can prepare the soles of my shoes to taste great, so a little more accent on the quality consumables. Just a small change can make a big difference.

Keep working on the knee. I've been doing the R.I.C.E the last few days and it has helped immensely. Why I wasn't doing this before is beyond me. I guess I'm not the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree.

All of the above will go a long way towards me getting back to my fighting weight. But, on the positive side of things, my A1C is at it's lowest ever. 5.4. Better than most adults walking around these days. That's a full point drop from just six months ago. The insulin therapy has really done wonders. Cutting back on the cocktails helps with the weight loss too, but that's not much of a deal. But, every little bit helps and in the end, add up to success. Hope your New Years goes well and you reach some of your goals as well as I plan to.