I hope you had a happy St. Valentine’s Day! I got up early yesterday morning to work and then ran some errands. I got a few treats for Sean and Marty. We do follow a strict keto diet on most days, but on holidays, we do allow ourselves to have some treats. We keep an eye on Marty’s bloodwork and so far, his A1C and blood glucose have stayed in the normal range. His blood sugar does spike more than mine when we treat ourselves, but he has diabetes so that is to be expected.
I’m not keeping up with my fitness goals, sadly. I had planned on bringing Ghost for a hike yesterday, but then ended up having to work. Marty is working this weekend and I’m going to be honest — with him having to work every other weekend, we aren’t getting in the backpacking miles we had hoped we could. Life happens and it is difficult to get the miles in when you also have to work. LOL One of the ladies who shuttled us for a previous backpacking adventure said something like, “It’s hard for those of you who have to work to plan these section hikes! You’ve got to figure out the shuttles and make sure you get the time off to do it.” That stuck with me.
Our NordicTrack rower has a recall, so we’ve put in the request to get it serviced. Apparently, the screen can catch on fire? I am not completely sure, but Marty put in the request to have a technician come out to repair it. From what we read, they replace the monitor/screen. Seems fairly simple. I think we can still use it in the meantime, but we just have to make sure we turn it off when we are not using it. I really like the rower a lot! It gives me a full body workout, for sure.
We had a funeral to attend last weekend, so we have pushed off our Bald River Falls backpacking trip to this weekend. Here’s hoping we are able to make it! I think it is a 10.9 mile hike. We plan on trying some of the meals we have freeze dried. We know that the high fat content of some of them mean they will spoil faster than the lower fat meals, so we want to see how it works out. There’s a vacuum sealer that Marty wants to get….eventually. Maybe for Christmas. The vacuum sealer will preserve the food for a longer period, as well.
Today, I have prepped a tray with blackberries and blueberries and two trays of fresh pineapple. We don’t eat a lot of pineapple due to the higher sugar content, BUT when we are on trail, we do eat some freeze dried bananas and pineapple now and then. Due to the workout we get on trail, the carbs don’t quite affect us the same as in our sedentary daily lives. <smile> We don’t overdo it on the trail and try to keep it to the lower carb fruits like apples, strawberries, blackberries and blueberries. I’m going to prep two more trays of apples after church today. Then we will have 5 trays and a full run. We have been pre-freezing the trays before putting them in the machine and this cuts down on the time it takes to do a complete cycle/run.
In our quest to try to eat more veggies on the trail, I bought some Brussels Sprouts to roast in the oven. Not going to lie here, I am not sure how they will turn out. I also got some pickled okra and pickled green beans. I thought these would make tasty snacks on trail once we freeze dry them. Marty wants to do pickles, so I think for the second run of the week, we will do a veggie run with what I have and some pickles. It is fun to see how these things are turning out.
Several weeks ago, I ordered a silicone ring with mountains engraved on it. I had bought some cheap silicone rings to try out for work, camping and backpacking. They come off when I wash my hands! I liked the feel of them, but they were cheap and flimsy. With what I do, I hit my hands on things quite a bit and was hitting the diamond on my engagement ring a lot, so decided to use silicone for work. Marty has done the same because he deals with electricity and moving parts. When he saw my ring, he purchased a matching one. It arrived on our 7th Valentine’s Day together. Aren’t we cute with matching rings? <laughter> The design fits us
After putting off my 50 year colonoscopy for 7 years, I finally got one done. Every year for the last 7 years, my doctor says, “Pattie, you need to get a colonoscopy.” I reply, “I’ll get it done.” If you are putting it off like I did, I want to tell you that it really isn’t as bad as you hear! I used SuTab and the prep was fairly easy. It wasn’t painful. The procedure from the time I arrived to the time I left was 2 hours. I was able to work before and from home after. I waited the prescribed time after anesthesia before driving to South Carolina for work. The place I went did not require a pre-op appointment for a screening scope. I had two small polyps removed and the pathology came back fine. So I am good to go for another 7-10 years. It really was not that bad — so if you are putting yours off like I did, just do it. <smile> Our VP of Operations told us to get one thing that we have been putting off done. She made a dentist appointment……. get one thing you’ve been putting off done. You’ll be glad you did.
In other news, my oldest turned 32 years old on Friday. It’s the first birthday where I didn’t send a gift, card or text. 2026 is the year I’m not going to insert myself into the lives of those who don’t want me in theirs. All of the memories on social media I’ve looked at since January 1st sure do paint a different picture. I’m glad that I have the memories documented. We were not a perfect family. I wasn’t a perfect mother, wife, daughter or human being, but we sure did have some amazing family memories. I am making it a point to look at my memories every single day in 2026. So far, it has been healing.
I cling to the memories I have and pray. That is all I can do. On a human level it hurts tremendously, but all I can do is trust that God has a plan for the pain and suffering. He is healing my heart and teaching me lessons through the many wonderful memories I have of raising my boys, homeschooling and this amazing life He has given me. God give us each ONE life to live and I have done my best to live it for Him and to the fullest.
Despite it all, life IS good. If you had asked me 9 1/2 years ago if I would have a successful career, be married to my best friend and loving life, I don’t think I would have said, “Yes!”. What a blessing it is to look around and see pieces of my old prayers scattered everywhere. God has truly given me the life I have prayed for since I was a little girl hiding in my closet searching for love, peace and a family who loves me. I cling to the ones I love and to those who love me back. It doesn’t look the same as I imagined, but it is a millions times better — even with the losses. God is good. I am blessed.
My Little Red Bike 