Monday, February 7, 2022

The Heart Healthy Lifestyle



As most of you already know, I have lived through two tough
years with serious health issues.  Thank the Lord that I have 
survived cancer and a stroke.  What this has taught me is
that despite my prior beliefs, I am NOT invincible.  I 
face life with a different attitude and have adopted changes
to help me live a longer and happier life.

In February, our thoughts are turned to the romantic 
side of our hearts.  Love, flowers and candy dominate
the days leading up to Valentine's Day.  We all 
enjoy every aspect of the holiday, but we should also
remember to care for our own hearts.  

So, for the remainder of this month I plan to
incorporate the tips I have learned on my own path
to better heart health.   The first tip I want to share
is the importance of managing stress.  I will admit that
I have not always been successful at doing this.  I
have been forced to deal with some pretty rough
patches in life despite my illnesses. In order to
preserve my health and be happier, I have been
focusing on changing my perspective and the way I
view things to shrug off the negative feelings.  The 
best way I have discovered is to stop everything and
breathe.  I found a wonderful app that I have added to
my iPhone called iBreathe.  It's a free app, and you
can set it to remind yourself to breathe and how long
to hold the breath and how many reps you want to
perform.  It's easy and it has helped me enormously.
So now, whenever I feel the stress creeping up, I
just stop and breathe.  It works wonders!

Love,
Susan and Oliver


 

Friday, February 4, 2022

A Basket of Hearts


 


A few days ago I was in a thrift shop I had never been to before.  I
found two baskets I liked, and one of them was this white wicker
one.  It was in perfect condition and only cost $1, so of course it 
had to come home with me!

It's really cold here, and once again we are about to lose all of
our ginger plants just like we did last year.  Really makes me
sad.

Love,
Susan and Oliver

Thursday, November 11, 2021

Forever Cottage Core


I was cottage core before it became a lifestyle term.  It's no secret that I love the
old, well worn and well loved look.  In the Fall and all through the Winter
months this look just draws me in and keeps me snuggled.

 

This is the sitting room of our main bedroom.  This is my favorite
spot to sit and read or watch old movies on the weekend when
David is immersed in a football game or golf match on the
big screen TV in our family room.  



It maybe called Cottage Core, but I call it home.

Love,
Susan and Oliver






Sunday, October 31, 2021

Thanks for All the Love!


I am overwhelmed by your thoughtful and compassionate comments regarding
my recent stroke.  It has been a scary experience, but I am so very thankful to
have survived without any permanent damage.  

Your kind words of encouragement are better than any medicine my
doctors can prescribe.

THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH!

Love,
Susan and Oliver



 

Thursday, October 28, 2021

After the Stroke


After a very long absence from this blog, I am back.  Life has been filled
with ups and downs for me in the past two years.  I had a life threatening
illness, followed by cancer and all of the treatment that arises from that
dreadful disease.  During my cancer, my weight went down to 78 pounds.
People often talk about the difficulty of losing weight, but for those who
become so frightfully thin, the struggle to gain weight lost is very real.
The doctors advised me to eat, eat everything, and so I did.  No one was
concerned about the type of food I was consuming, just that I consume
lots of it.   

In hindsight, I wish I would have more carefully monitored my diet,
but I did not.  In fact, it was unusual for me to eat a diet so rich in
calorie laden, fat filled foods, but alas, I did it.  

Also during the height of my cancer battle, the Covid pandemic hit,
and because my husband was employed in the oil and gas industry,
when the price of oil dropped to $0 per barrel, he was laid off from
his job.  This was very stressful for me.  We were facing an unknown
future on all fronts, so it seemed.  The co-pays for my cancer
infusions were staggering.  My beloved little Yorkie Bentley had died
at age 14.  In my mind, things could not get any worse.  

In typical fashion, I covered up my heartache.  I did my best to be upbeat.
I didn't fully convey the heartache and anger I felt about the cards I
had been dealt.  

On October 5th, just three weeks ago, I learned that there didn't 
appear to be any hope of my husband returning to his former job.
I was devastated.  We had given up everything back in Idaho to
move down to Texas expressly for this job.  Now it was over and
we are stuck in a small city with few good job opportunities.  I was
angry and afraid.  I started to sob.  The kind of heart wrenching 
sobs one gets when it appears that all hope is gone.  I went to 
sit down in a chair in our bedroom.  That's when it hit me, a 
stroke that left me paralyzed on my left side.  I went to the 
emergency room by ambulance.  I was given the clot buster
drug, and then air lifted to Houston for treatment at the University
of Texas Medical Hospital's stroke unit.  I recovered and could 
return home.  I'm on meds and a very heart healthy diet.  I was
one of the lucky ones.  Now I have choices to make.  Where does
life lead me now?  Having faced death twice within two years,
it is a very important decision to make 

Love,
Susan and Oliver







 

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