1/16: I went to the Reid Park Zoo
1/26: We went to the Phoenix Zoo
1/29: I went to Catalina State Park to see the snow on the mountains.
1/30: I returned to Catalina State Park to get more pictures of the snow on the mountains, but there wasn't much left. I did see a bighorn sheep, though.
2/6: I went to Tucson Botanical Gardens, Green Things Nursery and Lowe's.
2/10: I went to the Desert Museum to see the raptor free flight show. They only do the show Friday-Monday now which makes it hard to get there and see it. This was my first time seeing it for the season. A javelina got in our garbage. One returned the following day the middle of the day when the window people were here getting final measurements.
We're buying new windows (17) and 2 new sliding doors from Tucson Window & Door. It is going to cost $37,798! The house was built in 2003 so the current ones are 22 years old. We had to put 1/2 down (charged 2/5). Work hasn't started yet. I think they said it would take 6-8 weeks to get everything before they can install them.
We're also having our balcony resurfaced because it was bubbling. They started the work 3/5 & 3/6. What they are doing doesn't seem to be solving the problem, but we shall see. They have a couple of more days of work, but they said they would return this week since there was a chance of rain last week. It did rain on Friday. However, we haven't heard from them this week and it may rain the rest of this week, too. We are paying $3,581 for this project and we already paid 1/2.
2/14: I went to Reid Park Zoo. I also went to Lowe's.
2/15: I went to Pima County Cooperative Extension Gardens.
2/18: I went to Green Things Nursery.
2/20 & 2/21: Nathan had off school for Rodeo Days. on 2/20, Nathan and I spent a mother son day at OdySea and then ate lunch/dinner at Grimaldi's.
2/23: Taxes are done! We are getting $ back from both the Fed & State.
2/25: I went to Tohono Chul Park. I was disappointed because there was not much blooming.
3/3: I went to urgent care. On Friday, 2/28, my hear rate was consistently above 100 and I couldn't get it lower. It stayed this way through the weekend so I went to urgent care on Monday, 3/3. They tested for flu & covid and both were negative. They did an EKG which was normal except for the elevated heart rate. They suggested that I go to the ER. They recommended either Oro Valley Hospital or Northwest Emergency at Marana which is an extension of Oro Valley Hospital. Northwest Emergency is right by our house and since it is not a main admitting hospital I thought it may be faster to go there. They did another EKG with the same results. They did a CT Scan of my chest and that was normal. They did some bloodwork and nothing was abnormal there. They gave me an IV. They concluded that there was no sign of a heart attack, no blood clots, no kidney problems, etc... They suggested I follow up with my primary doctor. Northwest Urgent Care actually set me up with a new primary doctor. His name is Ryan Brenza with Northwest Primary Care of Oro Valley. I met with him on Tuesday, 3/4. I found out that he is from Crestwood, IL and he is a year older than me. It's a small world. I really liked him. He took the time to listen to me and he was easy to talk to. He went over the notes from the ER. He decided to order a couple of other blood tests that they didn't do. I go to Sonora Quest on Thursday, 3/13 to get those done. He ordered me Cologuard which arrived today. He does not push vaccines and said it is completely up to the patient. He did recommend the shingles vaccine, however. Paul got the shingles vaccine recently. Unfortunately, his office doesn't do the shingles vaccine so he said I would have to go to a pharmacy like CVS to have it done. That is on my to do list. You get the first dose and then the second dose 2-6 months later and then you are done for life. Once my heart rate started to elevate on 2/28, I immediately changed my diet. I quit coffee, I have been drinking a lot of water and I am eating healthier. I am still getting 10k steps 6 days a week, too. At the doctor's office on 3/4 I weighed 154. That was with a tshirt, sweatshirt and jeans on and it was midday. But it was depressing because I was down to 142 November 2023. Today I am 151. I have a lot of weight to lose to get to my goal of 120. That is a hefty goal considering I was around 130-135 when I got married and haven't been below that since. However, I was only 110-115 when I graduated college. I am a lot older now, my body has been through pregnancy and now it's going through the change of life. It's probably unrealistic to think that I will be 110-115 again. But it would be nice to be 120-130. One day at a time. My blood tests will probably indicate that my cholesterol, triglycerides and blood sugar are all high. It will take awhile for my better eating habits to make a difference, but I am hoping I can do this without being put on medication.
This week my heart rate finally seems to be back to normal. Yesterday, 3/10, I went to Catalina State Park. I was disappointed because I didn't see one flower. It was warm out, too, because there was no cloud coverage. I cut my hike short and went to Pima County Cooperative Extension Gardens, Green Things Nursery and Home Depot.
Next week, Paul has to travel to San Diego for a few days for work. He will be gone 3/17-3/19. That also happens to be Nathan's Spring Break. We aren't doing a vacation this year because of the home improvements we are doing. This Friday is Q3 end for Nathan. Saturday, 3/15, Paul and Nathan are going to a picnic at Sun & Shield Baptist Church. Nathan is going with because the teens will be having nerf gun fights.
