Week By Week

It's almost November!  Can you believe it?  1/3 of the way through the school year and I swear school just started a week or so ago.  I am boggled by how quickly time flies and remind myself of that a lot. Retirement will be here before I know it at this rate!

J. trekked to San Francisco this week for a meeting with our financial advisor - I had hoped to go, too but my boss and I needed to spend time plowing through some budget stuff and that particular day was the only day we could really block to do that - and I'm glad we did because it was a very good meeting and helps me move forward on a number of things that require forward moving steps.  J.'s meeting with our finance guy was also good - we're solvent, headed in a very positive direction and will have a glorious mutual retirement soon!  Not imminently but soon - I'm on the downhill side of my working life - 40 years of work so far and a little bit more to go!!

I appeared for jury duty on Tuesday and did have to go to a courtroom.  In a jury pool wherein I filled out a 15 page questionnaire and will await further instructions.  The website says for jurors in my group to check back Monday (this coming Monday) after 5PM so perhaps there will be an update. Maybe the defendant will decide to take a plea deal - who knows.  Fingers crossed because if selected, it is a 5-6 week criminal trial and will be gut-wrenching.  That's all I can say at this point. People were in tears at the thought of having to be on the jury - so yeah...not something to look forward to.

In other news, H. had another accident wherein he rear ended someone.  The guys trailer hitch went into H.'s car - front grill and engine compartment - though it is running fine.  It's a little banged up but oh well.  So far, the other guy hasn't filed a claim with our insurance so fingers crossed.

H. is essentially grounded - he can leave the house for school and is only allowed to drive to/from school.  He is to come straight home - though there's no way to monitor that (yet).  We are putting a GPS unit on his car - yes, I'm serious - 'cuz if I catch his ass somewhere he's not supposed to be, there will be (further) hell to pay.  I'm so angry at him, I can barely look at him - and he knows it.  He's lying low.

Finally got my glucometer set up and am testing morning and evening.  This morning was my first 'high' (out of range) reading and it was only 9 points higher than my reading same time yesterday. We had thin crust pizza (frozen) for dinner last night so that could explain it - even though J. made a delicious salad as a starter.  Guess that's the point of the process - getting used to the things that throw you into 'red' zone vs. green.  On a great note, both J. and I are losing weight and it's been relatively easy.  The nutrition classes we attended the past two Thursdays helped to create more perspective on portion control for us both as well as highlighted that it is important to eat carbs.  I'd been assuming the goal was 'no carbs' but it turns out our brains get energy from only sugars created by carb consumption so....eat carbs.  In moderation and watch for 'good carbs' vs. bad carbs.  Eating a candy bar is a no.  Drinking some milk (dairy is a carb) or eating a piece of fruit (loaded with fiber) is a yes. We learned how many grams are in a diabetic carb serving (because counting carb servings throughout the day is one way of monitoring your intake) and to aim for between 10-12 servings a day.  J.'s number is higher.  I enjoyed Cheerios for breakfast this morning!

I'm also becoming a fanatic about bone broth.  I'm buying it from a mail order company and it's one of my morning warm drinks - it's got huge amounts of protein, little fat and no carbs - and has all kinds of collagen, etc. .

Today, I'm heading to Stockton for a Trader Joe's shop and also Target later today or tomorrow.  It's sunny and cool here so I'm also going to get some exercise via yard work.

OH - and we did sign for our refinance last night so we have officially lowered the payment another $93.  We're down $1100 a month from when J. retired and a goodly chunk of that amount goes into savings every month.

And at some point, fingers crossed when the stars and planets align, I'll get a raise which will be lovely.  Contract negotiations are always challenging and this year (and last) are proving to be interesting, to say the least.

Happy Saturday!