July Balanced Life Goals: Wonky Wheels!

It is July!  The first half of this year is over!  It is time to look forward to the second half of the year!  It seems like a very good time to do a mid-year check on my goals and resolutions for this year, to see how things are coming along.  After all, that is what my monthly Balanced Life Goals are all about!

My New Year Resolutions for 2018 were:

• Resolution 1:  Continue to pursue good health - keep all medical appointments, eat a healthy diet, drink enough water and stay hydrated, increase my activity levels to build up stamina and strength,  get more sleep and rest, continue to climb the mountain.

• Resolution 2:  Procrastinate less - attend to things right away and get them done.

• Resolution 3:  Be more organized - declutter, have a place for everything and  make a habit of having everything in its place.

• Resolution 4:  Be more positive - focus on accomplishments.

• Resolution 5:  Maintain a balanced life.

I have been trying to incorporate them into my Monthly Balanced Life Goals to make sure they are worked on throughout the year.

As I've explained before, when I do my monthly balanced life goals, I picture a wheel with several spokes, each spoke representing an aspect of my life that is important to me.  Taken together, I like to think that they make a well-balanced life.

When I first started doing this balanced life wheel exercise, I was instructed to rate each category, from 1 to 10, in terms of my satisfaction with how things were in that category, with 1 being most dissatisfied and 10 being most satisfied.  The length of each spoke would represent my satisfaction.

Ideally, each spoke is of equal length and the arcs drawn between the spokes would make a nice, perfectly round wheel.   For me, the emphasis is on being of equal length - not necessarily having each spoke at a rating of 10.  Obviously, a rating of 10 would be lovely!  But a rating of 7 or 8 would be good, too.  A rating of 5 or 6 would be just average, but, if all spokes are of that length, then, it won't be a jarring ride.

More often, however, in reality, the spokes are all of different lengths, with some being a 3 or a 4 (time management, perhaps) and others being an 8 (Spiritual, perhaps) or even a perfect 10 (relationship with a loved one).  The resulting balance wheel is something that looks like a bicycle wheel might after a very bad crash!  Dented, somewhat misshapen, deflated with a punctured tire, and maybe even a spoke or two broken and sticking out of place!   And that is exactly how my balance wheel looked, when I first started doing this, years ago! 

A well-rounded balanced wheel results in a smoother ride; a dented wheel results in a bumpy ride.  Add some ruts (doing the same old stuff, day in and day out) and a pot hole or two (a cancer diagnosis, for example) to that road and you can imagine just how wobbly that ride can get!  Currently, as shown in my month-end reviews, I am mostly wobbling along!  But, at least, I am traveling along the road, and for that, I am grateful! 

But, since I am doing a mid-year check, I will add my satisfaction ratings to my spokes, this month.  Which brings me to the question  of what would make me feel that I am perfectly satisfied with how things are in any given area or segment of my life?  For me, it would be a feeling that I have achieved all what I would like to accomplish in each area.  I will give the current level of satisfaction (on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being highest) and, at the end of the month, when I do my review, I will rate my level of satisfaction, again.

These, then, are my goals and current ratings for July:

Spiritual (8):  The goal is to live a spiritually meaningful life.
- Continue with daily prayers and gratitude; focus on being positive
- Take time for meditation - at some point during my day, pause long enough to consciously meditate for 5 minutes; 10 if possible 
- Cultivate non-attachment - focus on letting go of attachment to material possessions
- Attend the monthly rosary prayer gathering

Environment (5):  The goal is a clean, tidy, uncluttered house and a well-maintained garden.
House: 

- Focus on decluttering and maintaining cleaned areas - get 20 bags of donations out of the house by the end of the month!
- Deep clean my bedroom - It is the first thing I see in the morning and the last thing I see at night; it should be a place of calm restoration!
Garden:

- Maintain (water 2x per week; weed)
- Scatter some seeds and see if they will grow!

Daughter (10):  The goal is to continue to have a close relationship with her (without being over-protective!)
- Daily texts, phone calls, emails, and video chatting
- Look forward to her visits (2) in July - over the 4th of July weekend and, again, towards the end of July
- Be supportive of her enthusiasm for the upcoming Anime Exposition by sewing part of a costume, by giving her rides to the event and back, etc.

Family & Friends (8):  The goal is to keep in touch with various family members and friends.
- Wish friends A and R on their birthdays
- Go out to lunch with friend R
- Attend cousin V's son's wedding (7/21)
- Attend another friend R's daughter's wedding (7/28)
- Regular phone calls and emails
- Will be seeing several members of the family and friends at the various family gatherings this month
- Weekly calls with neighbor T/have coffee with her one day

Community (8):  The goal is to become more involved in my community.
- Continue to participate in the blogging community

Career (9):  The goal is to continue to work while planning for retirement.
- Complete as many assignments as I can in the next 3 weeks and bring the others to a good pausing point
- Clean up my work space and files
- Continue to work on retirement related stuff

Finances (9):  The goal is financial security.
- Continue budgeting and spending mindfully, with purpose
- Make an appointment with financial planner
- Make final decisions about pension options

Health & Well Being (6):  The goal is good health.
- Attend the appointments with my various medical doctors - 2 scheduled for July, so far, with maybe 2 more to be scheduled upon authorization approval!  
- Call and make dental appointments!
- Continue to monitor blood pressure, sugar levels, and weight
- Continue to focus on a healthier diet, drinking enough water (8x 8oz), exercising regularly (walk for 30 minutes during the work week), and getting sufficient sleep
- Focus on accomplishments and staying positive

Time Management (4):  The goal is having enough time to do all what I want to do!
- Procrastinate less
- Implement routines and schedules

Leisure/Crafts/Hobbies/Me-Time (7):  The goal is to relax doing something I enjoy doing for the pleasure of it.
- Set aside 30 minutes a day to do something relaxing, such as reading books  blogs, or doing a craft

And how does my balanced life wheel look?

Balanced Life Wheel at the Start of July

Just a bit wonky, wouldn't you say?  The blue outer circle is how it would be if everything thing was a 10.  The red shape is the wheel I get when I connect the dots, so to speak.  (Please ignore the pointed bit at the Career spoke; I made a mistake and connected to 10 instead of 9 and didn't feel like redrawing the circle; also, please ignore the fact that some of the segments are larger than others - it is truly not an indication of their importance or lack of importance; it's simply because I have 10 spokes and I didn't bother to divide the circle into 10 equal segments!)

The good thing is, only one item (Time Management) dips below a 5, and only because I procrastinate a lot and don't really follow a cleaning routine.  The others are at a 5 and above, with one (Daughter) at a 10. 

Showing the circle at the midway point of 5, in green

Health, Time Management, and Environment are the areas I need to focus on, in July. 

Have you ever tried doing a balance wheel?  

June Balanced Life Goals - Update

Jacaranda Flowers and Pomegranate Leaves

On the last day of June (didn't the month start just the other day?), it is time to update the monthly goals, again!

As I've explained before, when I do my monthly balanced life goals, I picture a wheel with several spokes, each spoke representing an aspect of my life that is important to me.  Taken together, I like to think that they make a well-balanced life.  Ideally, each spoke is of equal length and the arcs drawn between the spokes are equally rounded to make a perfectly circular rim around the wheel, without any bump-outs or indents.  A well-balanced wheel results in a smoother ride; a wonky wheel results in a bumpy ride.  Currently, as shown in my month-end reviews, I am mostly wobbling along!

Here's how I wobbled along in June:

 Spiritual:  The goal is to live a spiritually meaningful life.
- Continue with daily prayers and gratitude; focus on being positive - On-going; I don't think I complained too much or grumbled a lot, and I listed five things for which I was grateful, every day.
- Take time for meditation - continue to attend the Friday night meditation sessions at the temple - I decided to wait until I had retired, as it was a bit of a rush to get home from work around 6:30 p.m., go to pick up my friend and then, drive to the temple to be there by 7:00 p.m.  It didn't give me enough time to change out of work clothes, freshen up a bit, feed the cat, have a cup of tea, etc.  And all that rushing around in the half hour preceding wasn't very conducive to slowing down to meditate!  
- Cultivate non-attachment - focus on letting go of attachment to perceived grievances and grudges - This one is almost as hard, if not harder, than letting go of things with sentimental value!  Even when I make a conscious effort to let things go, I find that the emotional scars remain and they have become a part of me, a part of who I am now.  This one is still a work in progress.
- Attend the monthly rosary prayer gathering - The date was changed at the last minute (it was originally scheduled to have been held, tonight) and I couldn't attend due to a prior engagement.  

Environment:  The goal is a clean, tidy, uncluttered house and a well-maintained garden.

House: 

- Focus on decluttering and maintaining cleaned areas - Work in progress! 
- Deep clean my bedroom - Didn't do!
Garden:

- Maintain (water 2x per week; weed) - Accomplished for the most part, although, some weeks, watering was done only once for the week.
- Plant some flowers and vegetables - I planted a plumeria cutting.

Daughter:  The goal is to continue to have a close relationship with her (without being over-protective!)
- Daily texts, phone calls, emails, and video chatting - Accomplished
- Look forward to her visits in July - I didn't have to wait until July, after all, because she came for a visit in June, as well!  To accompany me to the retirement counselling session, because I got so stressed over the forms and options!  Having her home for those few days was wonderful!  We went out to lunch (or got food to go), we went shopping and found some good buys, and we were able to just spend time together!  

Family & Friends:  The goal is to keep in touch with various family members and friends.
- Attend uncle's funeral (6/2, morning); cousin P and her daughter will give me a ride to the funeral and back - Attended the funeral and the reception afterwards.
- Attend bridal shower for cousin V's son's fiancée (6/2, evening); again, cousin P and her daughter will give me a ride to the event and back (although I offered a ride to them) - Attended the bridal shower and dinner.
- Call, email, wish people on their birthdays, etc. - Kept in touch with various friends, including my former supervisor who checked my blog to see how I was doing and emailed me when she found out that I was stressing about the retirement papers!  We have since exchanged several emails and I am hoping we'll be able to get together for lunch, in the near future.
- Will be seeing several members of the family and friends at the various family gatherings (funeral, bridal shower, monthly prayer gathering, etc.) - I saw several friends and family at the funeral and the bridal shower; however, I didn't attend the prayer gathering this month.
- Weekly calls with neighbor T/have coffee with her one day - Weekly calls and one or two in-person chats, although I didn't have coffee with her.

Community:  The goal is to become more involved in my community.
- Continue to participate in the blogging community - On-going.

Career:  The goal is to continue to work while planning for retirement.
- Continue to do my assignments in a timely manner - - On-going
- Read up the brochures and other retirement related information - Did so; still more to information to process, though!
- Print out and fill out the required paperwork (lots of forms!) - Did most of them, but some will have to be redone, because of retirement date changes!
- Gather all the documents (birth certificates, marriage certificates, divorce papers, etc.) that are being required to be submitted and make copies  - Accomplished
- Attend the retirement counseling session (scheduled for 6/20) - Accomplished

Finances:  The goal is financial security.
- Continue budgeting and spending mindfully, with purpose - On-going; I went over one or two budget categories (groceries, eating out), but savings in other categories more than made up for it.


Health & Well Being:  The goal is good health.
- Attend the appointments with my various medical doctors - 3 scheduled for June, so far, with maybe 2 more to be scheduled upon authorization approval!  - Lots of medical appointments, this month!  I went for a consultation, a bone density scan, a mammogram, and will be scheduled for additional screening tests, in July.  I rescheduled two appointments, however, because there were too many to go to this month!
- Continue to monitor blood pressure, sugar levels, and weight - On-going
- Continue to focus on a healthier diet, drinking enough water (8x 8oz), exercising regularly (walk for 30 minutes during the work week), and getting sufficient sleep - Let's just say it's a work in progress!

- Focus on accomplishments and staying positive - Trying!

Time Management:  The goal is having enough time to do all what I want to do!
- Procrastinate less - I got the important things done, such as getting the documents ready for the retirement counseling session, etc.  This is me, focusing on the accomplishments!
- Implement routines and schedules - Work in progress!

Leisure/Crafts/Hobbies/Me-Time:  The goal is to relax doing something I enjoy doing for the pleasure of it.
- Set aside 30 minutes a day to do something relaxing, such as reading books  blogs, or doing a craft  - I read and commented on blogs, I played sudoku and other games online, I did crossword puzzles, I did some knitting, I made a couple of cards, and I started sewing an apron for daughter on the last day of the month!  

So, that is my goals update for June.  I think, overall, I did pretty well.  I'll be posting the July goals, tomorrow.

(Some of my color changes on the updated items wouldn't show up in blue, but showed when I did in a different color!  Weird!)

Friday's Doings

I went to the office, on Friday, and had a relatively productive day at work.  I wonder if I will miss not being able to write that, after next month? 

I also made a couple of phone calls during my morning break.  The first was to the billing office and, once again, I reached their voicemail and was instructed to leave a message, so I did.  It is the third message I've left, this week.  I suppose I shall call again, next week.  The second phone call was to schedule another doctor's appointment in July. 

I took leftovers from my dinner, last night, for my lunch, today.  A yogurt for breakfast.  A mango fruit cup for afternoon snack.  Dinner was the rest of the tuna salad on crackers, followed by more crackers with peanut butter and apricot preserves.  I wasn't hungry for a big dinner, tonight.

Friend M was working in the front garden when I came home in the evening, so I spent a few minutes chatting with him. 

After tea, I replied to an email from a friend and then, chatted with daughter.  Later, I looked up the pattern for the apron she has asked me to make for one of her costumes to wear to the Anime Expo, next week.  In years past, she and two of her friends would get together at our house over a weekend and make their costumes.  We'd set up two sewing machines on the big dining table and they'd watch sewing tutorials online and sew their outfits.  Her friends would stay the night and it would be a bit of a sleepover, as well!  This year, they are unable to get together to work on their costumes, but they will meet up at the Anime Expo, itself.  So, plans for tomorrow include clearing the dining table in order to set up the machine and cut and sew an apron!  I shall use fabric from the stash; I'll need about one yard of white fabric. 

After that, I need to sew myself a sari blouse to wear with my new sari to the weddings!  I have just three more weeks to do that!  Better get started on that, over the weekend, as well!

Today, I am grateful for:
- A productive day at the office
- A safe commute to and from the office
- Chatting with daughter
- Emails from a friend
- A relaxed evening.

Saturday's To Do List:
- Clear the dining table
- Cut and sew an apron
- Change my bed sheets
- Do laundry

Plus other things such as cleaning the litter box, watering the indoor plants, and doing the daily dishes.

How was your Friday?  What are your plans for the weekend?

Thursday's Accomplishments

Today, I woke up at 9:00 a.m., which meant I had 7 hours of sleep!  I had my cup of coffee, replied to blog comments (thank you to everyone who takes the time to read and comment, even if all I write about is what I did and ate that day!), and cleaned the litter box.  Then, I swept the bathroom before I took my shower and got dressed.  I wore my new grey print blouse, again, paired with one of my new pairs of black pants and a black cardigan.  It is fast becoming another favorite blouse, and I've worn it twice, already! 

I put gas to the car on my way to the clinic.  Gas was $3.43/gal. at the cheaper station; it is a lot more at other stations in the neighborhood and over $4/gal. at stations closer to downtown.  I put $40 worth of gas.  Then, I drove to the clinic.

There was a short wait, which I didn't mind.  They always say to come 15 minutes prior to the appointment time and I usually get there 10-15 minutes before that, so I expect to wait.  Usually, I take something with me to do while I wait, some knitting, perhaps, or a book to read.  There's is usually a crossword puzzle book in my purse, as well.  Today, however, while I waited, I watched news coverage of the shooting in Maryland on the television set in the waiting room.

The mammogram itself went well.  The technician, once again, exclaimed at how red and swollen the whole area still is from the radiation treatment (radiation ended in August 2016).  And the oil cyst is still there, too, quite visible in the images.  She had me wait in the dressing room until the doctor reading the images had said they were OK (in the sense that they were readable and she didn't have to redo anything); then, I was told I was done and could get dressed and leave.

By this time, it was past 2:00 p.m. and I was getting hungry!  I had taken a granola bar with me, just in case, but I decided I wanted something more.  I was tempted to buy a hamburger on the way home, but decided not to.  Then, since I was passing by the fish and chips place, I debated whether to get fish and chips.  But, again, I decided not to.  Instead, I came home and made myself a tuna salad sandwich:

Lunch: Tuna Salad Sandwich

There was just enough lettuce left for the sandwich!  I was very tempted to open the bag of potato chips and have some with my sandwich, but I resisted! 

After lunch, I rested a bit and then, ran an errand that I had been putting off.  I had collected some items to donate to the animal shelter; I finally took them there, today.  Next on the agenda of postponed tasks it to sort through the rest of the donations and call for a pick up! 

After I came back, I had a cup of tea and had some of the mini multigrain crackers.  I had just finished watching the evening news when daughter called and we had a long chat!  She had gone shopping after work, at the Japanese store, and, among other items for herself, she had bought me a present:

Kitty Cat Mugs!

"For the Crazy Cat Lady in my life", is what she said!  LOL! 

I had planned to get some housework done, but I didn't do all of them.  Instead, I decided to cook dinner.  Yes, I had leftovers from last night's dinner, but I wanted some rice and curry!  So, I cooked:

Meatball Curry

Sauteed Cabbage (with curry powder, etc.)

Fried Pappadum (lentil wafers)

And I cooked some rice.

Dinner: Rice and Curries

As you can see, I cooked more than enough for one meal.  I will pack some of it for my lunch, tomorrow, and probably freeze some of the meatball curry for another time.  After dinner, I did the dishes (some by hand and some in the dishwasher).

Today, I am grateful for:
- Time off from work to attend medical appointments
- Getting my mammogram done
- Validated parking (had to pay only $3, with the validation)
- Safe drives to the clinic and animal shelter and back
- Daughter thinking of me and buying me a gift of mugs!


Thursday's To Do List:
- Put gas to the car - DONE
- Go for mammogram - DONE
- Do the dishes/run dishwasher - DONE
- Clean the litter box - DONE
- Another load of laundry - maybe
- Tidy the living room and dining room

Friday's To Do List:
- Go to the office
- Tidy the living room and dining room
- Empty the dishwasher
- Another load of laundry

How was your Thursday?  What are your plans for Friday?

Wednesday's Accomplishments

Today, I went to the office and had a very productive day. 

Around 11:30 a.m., I called the billing office and got their voice mail, again.  I left another message, but no one returned my call!  I will keep trying. 

Breakfast was a yogurt and a little granola type cereal added to it for crunch.  For lunch, I had another salad:

Salad: Lettuce, carrot, dried cranberries, cashews

I hadn't taken an afternoon snack, so was feeling tired and hungry by the time I came home!  I ate a kiwi while my tea brewed and, afterwards, I watched some news, knitted a bit, and relaxed.  Then, cooked dinner:

Dinner: Chicken breast with plum sauce, baked potato, green beans and carrot

Dinner was easy.  All I really had to do was cook the vegetables and bake the potato, which I did in the microwave, and heat up the already cooked chicken breast.  There's enough chicken and vegetables for tomorrow's dinner; I'll just have to bake another potato or boil some corn.

Later, I put away the rest of the laundry that had been hanging up to dry and video chatted with daughter, who had gone on a 2 hour hike with some of her colleagues after work!  She booked her flights for Thanksgiving - she'll be coming down for the whole week, then.  There might be one or two additional visits between now and then, as well - she might need to come down when I am scheduled for my endoscopy and colonoscopy, and, again, when it is time for me to host the monthly prayer gathering in October.  But, I don't have any dates for either of those events, yet, so she can't book her flights, yet. 

Today, I am grateful for:

- A productive day at the office
- Safe commutes to work and back
- A relaxed evening
- An easy dinner
- Video chatting with daughter

Wednesday's To Do List:
- Go to the office - DONE
- Call the billing office - CALLED and left yet another message!
- Put gas to the car - THURSDAY
- Put away the rest of the laundry - DONE
- Cook something for dinner! - DONE

Tomorrow, I have to go for a mammogram in the early afternoon.  I had a previously scheduled appointment with the podiatrist for tomorrow afternoon, as well, but I called them, today, and rescheduled that for a later date.  One medical appointment per day is enough, I think!

Thursday's To Do List:
- Put gas to the car
- Go for mammogram
- Do the dishes/run dishwasher
- Clean the litter box
- Another load of laundry - maybe
- Tidy the living room and dining room

How was your Wednesday? 

Tuesday's Accomplishments

I guess I did a bit too much, yesterday, because, today, I woke up feeling tired.  I would have liked to have stayed at home, today, but I talked myself into going to the office.  I have a lot of work I need to get done before I go on vacation prior to retiring!  In fact, I spoke about it with my supervisor, today, and said that I might come back to the office for a few days during that first week in August, just to finish up a couple of things.  He sounded rather relieved when I mentioned that!  LOL.   

My morning commute took longer than usual, because the Attorney General was in town to address some law group and there were protests and road closures!  My usual route to the parking garage was closed off, so I had to go around the long way and so did everyone else who was diverted from their usual route to work, so traffic was a bit crazy.  The protests were just ending when I left after work, so that had an impact on the evening traffic through downtown and it was compounded by a baseball game at Dodger Stadium and all the traffic related to that (I drive past the stadium on my way to and from work)!  Those traffic snarls are something I will not miss when I retire!  

I wore my new grey print blouse to the office today, with a red skirt and a black cardigan:

New Grey Blouse

  

Yes, I sometimes wear long skirts to the office.  I bought this red pleated skirt and a cream colored one before 2000, in 1998 or 1999.  I know it was before 2000, because I remember wearing it at a different office building where I was prior to 2000 (in 2000, I moved to the building where I was until earlier this year).  The cream colored skirt began to show its age after about 10 years, but this red skirt is still going strong!  The office is the only place I wear it to, however, so I might give it away when I stop working.

I didn't call about the medical billing I received because I had a busy day at the office and I didn't have time to call during working hours.  I didn't want to call during my lunch break, because I did that yesterday and got their voice mail.  They had said to leave a message and they'll call back; I left a message but no one called me back.  I will try to call them, again, tomorrow.

The pharmacy had texted that yet another prescription refill was ready for me to pick up, so, I stopped by on my way home and collected that.  By then, I felt too tired to go to put gas to the car, so, came home, instead, and had my cup of tea.  I took it easy in the evening and didn't do anything much.  Some of the items I washed and hung up to dry yesterday were still a little damp, so I didn't put away the laundry, yet.  I'll leave everything up overnight, again, and put them away, tomorrow.

Lunch

I had a banana and a granola bar for breakfast, today.  Lunch was a salad with the last of the chicken breast from Saturday night's dinner.  For dinner, tonight, I combined the last of the Thai glass noodles with the last of my fried rice!  Strawberry yogurt for dessert.

After dinner, I video chatted with daughter for about 30 minutes.  She had gone to her last ice skating class (she took 12 lessons).  She won't sign up for a new session in July because she'll be missing too many classes since she'll be coming down twice in July (there is no making up of missed classes), but she might take another session in the Fall.

Some of the laundry I did yesterday were still slightly damp, so I didn't put away all the laundry.  Just what was dry enough.  The rest will remain up, overnight, and I will put them away, tomorrow.

Today, I am grateful for:
- A safe commute to the office and back
- A productive day at the office
- Yet another drama-free prescription refill!
- Video chatting with daughter
- A relaxed evening at home

Tuesday's To Do List:
- Go to the office - DONE
- Bring the trash cans in - DONE
- Call the billing office, again/call insurance, again, if needed - NOT DONE
- Put gas to the car (can be done on Wednesday, too) - NOT DONE
- Put away laundry - DID SOME
- Clean the litter box - DONE

Wednesday's To Do List:
- Go to the office
- Call the billing office
- Put gas to the car
- Put away the rest of the laundry
- Cook something for dinner!

How was your Tuesday?  What did you accomplish today?  

Back to Work Monday and Doctor's Appointment

Today, I went to the office in the morning and had a rather productive morning, responding to emails and returning phone calls, mostly, but getting some work completed, as well.   

During my lunch break, I tried to call about the doctor's bill I had received (which I had called about, last month, as well), but, I think they were out to lunch when I called, as it was just before noon.  I left a message, but will call again, tomorrow.  

In the afternoon, I went to my pre-colonoscopy consultation.  My appointment was at 3:40 p.m. (and they wanted me to come in 15 minutes prior to that).  But I left the office early, at 2:00 p.m., because I wasn't sure how long it would be before a shuttle bus would come for me to return to where I park my car and I didn't want to feel rushed.  I remembered that the last time I had to go to a doctor's appointment from the office, I waited for almost half an hour for the shuttle bus to come.  Today, however, the shuttle bus came right away!  I was at  the parking garage by 2:15 p.m.  I also didn't know how bad the traffic would be (when I looked at the route map online, it showed two spots with traffic delays), so I was making allowances for that, as well.  However, traffic was fairly smooth and I was at the clinic almost an hour prior to my appointment time! 

I was fully prepared to wait, but they were nice and took me in as soon as I had filled out the new patient information forms.  The doctor was nice, too.  He was concerned when I mentioned my iron levels were low.  So, in addition to the colonoscopy, he wants to do an endoscopy, too!  I suppose it is best to get all the screening tests done.  Both procedures will be done on the same day.  They put in for the authorization and they will call me to schedule the procedure once authorization has been received. 

Because they took me in earlier than my appointment time, I was able to leave downtown early.  I drove straight to the pharmacy and picked up my refills (and the stuff I need to take before the colonoscopy).  I was home by 5:00 p.m., which was good.

I had eaten a banana and a yogurt with some cereal for a late breakfast and hadn't been hungry for the salad with chicken that I had taken for my lunch.  So, after I came home, I ate my salad and had a cup of tea.  Later, I ate a slice of toast with a scrambled egg for dinner.  I was tempted to have a slice of cake, too, but I am trying to lose a little weight before I see my primary care physician, next, and I won't lose any weight if I keep eating cake!  So, I sliced the rest of the cake and froze it!  

After I came home from the doctor's and the pharmacy, I took the trash cans to the curb, turned the sprinklers on to water the back garden, put away the laundry from yesterday and did another load.  I also called a friend's daughter to wish her for her birthday and called aunt C to check on her.  Aunt said I sounded tired, and, I suppose I am, but I accomplished all the tasks that were on my to do list for today!  

Monday's To Do List:
- Go to the office - DONE
- Make a photocopy of the list of medications - DONE
- Get driving directions to the clinic - DONE
- Go to the doctor's appointment - DONE
- Call the insurance/medical billing office re. the bill I received (which I thought was taken care of, earlier) - DONE/left message, but might have to call again
- Pharmacy to pick up refill - DONE
- Take the trash cans to the curb - DONE
- Water the back garden - DONE
- Put away the dried laundry from today - DONE
- Do another load of laundry - DONE
- Call aunt C - DONE
- Wish friend's daughter for her birthday - DONE

Today, I am grateful for:
- A good consultation with the doctor/Being seen early, without any problems
- Free parking at the clinic
- Safe driving to the office, to the clinic, to the pharmacy, and back home, again
- Drama-free prescription refills at the pharmacy!
- Being able to accomplish all what I set out to do, today

Tuesday's To Do List:
- Go to the office
- Bring the trash cans in
- Call the billing office, again/call insurance, again, if needed
- Put gas to the car (can be done on Wednesday, too)
- Put away laundry
- Clean the litter box

How was your Monday?  Were you able to accomplish all what you wanted to do?  What have you planned for Tuesday?