Saturday, July 2, 2016

Friday: Hydration, Bone Density Scan and Monthly Goals

I had another hydration session this morning, before which I met with my oncologist for a check up and to go over the blood test results.  The results were all good, I was told, which was nice to hear.  The hydration session went well, too.  My hydration session ended at 11:30 a.m. which meant I had 3 hours to spend before my bone density scan, which was scheduled at 2:30 p.m.  Briefly, I considered driving home for lunch and then, going back, but I decided that was a lot of unnecessary driving.  The bone density scan was just a 5 minute drive from the clinic where I had my hydration.  Instead, I bought some Chinese take out and ate it in the car.  Then, I read some magazines until it was time to go to my appointment.  The scan didn't take long; I was done by 2:45 p.m. and home by 3:30 p.m.  I spent a quiet evening after I came home.

Review of June Monthly Goals:

Spiritual:  Continue to focus on prayers and meditations; on gratitude and being thankful; on appreciating the blessings; on the positives and let go of the negatives.  Daily prayers and listings of gratitude.  I think I did well with this goal.

Environment: Focus more on decluttering and organizing, while making allowances for the fact that I am still not feeling 100%.  Go back to picking one room to declutter, deep clean, and organize each month.  Start with my bedroom in June.  Also, go back to decluttering 10 items a day; that will be 300 items decluttered by the end of June.  I cleaned and organized my bedroom and decluttered 10 items a day for a total of 300 items during the month.
 
Daughter:  Celebrate her achievements as she starts her new job and takes her first steps towards becoming financially independent!  Her first month at her new job went by quickly and she has enjoyed every day.

Family: Most contacts will be on the phone or on-line, again, but one cousin has offered to accompany me to this week's chemo session as daughter won't be here for that.  Cousin did accompany me to the chemo session. 
    
Friends: Contacts will be mostly on the phone and on-line, which will be OK.  Most of the contacts were on the phone and on-line but a couple of friends did visit and I was able to visit one friend.
 
Career: Will continue to work from home. I continued to work from home in June. 

Finances: My finances will get a definite boost from now on, because I do not have to allocate funds towards daughter's education, apartment rent, etc.  I will review my budget and make some changes as I will not need to be quite as frugal.  However, I will continue to budget and manage my finances because that's just how I am.  I kept track of my spending all month to help me review the budget.  

Health: Once again, the main focus will be on health.  I've just two more chemo treatments to go and then I will be done with that phase of the treatment!  Next on the agenda will be radiation, but I don't know when I'll be scheduled to start.  In the meantime, I need to focus on getting 30 minutes of daily exercise (walking), drinking enough water, a balanced diet, etc.  I completed the chemo treatments and started on the preparations for the radiation treatments.

Time Management: Once again, as long as the important things, like work assignments, bills being paid, etc., are being done on time, I will not fret too much about managing my time.  Even after I finish chemo treatment, I am aware I will still have low energy as my body continues to recover.  The important things got done on time and I was content with that.

Leisure/Crafts/Hobbies/Me-Time: Continue to knit and sew, read, etc.  I started making a crocheted rag rug.  

I think I had a pretty well-balanced life in June and achieved most of my monthly goals.

My July goals will be more or less the same.

Spiritual:
-  Continue to focus on daily prayers and gratitude.

Environment:
- Continue to declutter and deep clean and organize one room each month.  July's room will be the 3rd bedroom, which functions as a guest room, crafts room, and storage room.
 
Daughter: 
- Support her as she juggles working full time and being there for me while I undergo radiation treatment.

Family:
- Most contacts will be on the phone or on-line, again.   
    
Friends:
-  Contacts will be mostly on the phone and on-line. 
 
Career:
-  Continue to work from home.

 Finances:
- July's budget will include more medical co-pays and parking fees as I start daily radiation treatments; also airfare for daughter's visits home.  

Health:
- Health will be the focus again.  I had two medical appointments today.  I will start my daily radiation treatments next week.

Time Management:
- This month's focus will be managing my medical appointments and getting my office work assignments done on time. 

 Leisure/Crafts/Hobbies/Me-Time: 
- Continue to knit and sew, read, etc. 


Today, I am grateful for:
- A good blood test report
- A safe drive to the clinic and back
- Cooler temperatures
- Medical insurance and access to medical care
- Video chatting with daughter

How was your day?  Did you have a good start to July?

10 comments:

  1. so proud of all your accomplishments.. And praying for your upcoming radiation treatments.. Praying for daughter and her new job.. Know you are so proud of her. Have a great weekend.

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    1. Thank you, Judy. Really appreciate all your prayers. Hope you have a wonderful weekend and enjoy the family gathering on Monday.

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  2. Glad the results were good. Good job on all your goals.

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  3. Glad that you're having cooler weather! And it's so nice that you're getting out and about after being in isolation during chemo. Praying for you as you enter the next phase of your recovery journey. :)

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  4. Next step forward...

    :) noticed you glossed over daily 30 minutes walks and goal of healthy foods in your summation. When do you next meet with a nutritionist? I wondered what you thought of Patty Prosser's link...was it a gentle message for you...I wondered?

    Interesting that your choices validate the research. The majority of individuals who work from home save their employer huge sums by not requiring work space, not taking sick days or vacation days. They spend more personal time doing work tasks, work related tasks and thinking about work tasks than employees who scamper away from their work site daily.

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    1. Ha, ha, Hon, I should have known you'd notice! :D Not sure which link you are referring to, though. As for work, I will be celebrating my 33rd year with the same employer, next week. :)

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  5. You've achieved do much. You should be very proud of yourself. I like your idea of listing what you wish to achieve over the month and being able to review it. Thinking of you as you start your next course of treatment. X

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    1. Thank you, Jules. I find that it helps to have monthly goals. Doing something to achieve at least part of each goal brings a sense of balance to my life. Otherwise, it is so easy to feel that all my days are taken over by just one or two things (these days, it would be my health and medical matters).

      Thank you for visiting my blog and commenting. Look forward to hearing from you again.

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