Some exciting news

My mom called last night.

It looks VERY likely that my brother and sister-in-law (and the baby, of course) will be making the trek to my parents' house for Thanksgiving. So I will very likely get to meet my niece!

(And I wonder: is this Someone's way of telling me, "Look, it's really really okay you chose to travel for this holiday, even though it meant cancelling one class and your university claims not to like that and not to want you to do that. So don't feel guilty.")

It also means that my weekend project is going to be handstitching the binding down on her quilt and making a label for it - because I can fit the quilt in my suitcase and hand-carry it to them, rather than having to trust either UPS or the US Mail. (They are driving, so space to carry stuff back is not an issue).

They decided this was a good time to do it, because Christmastime is more likely to have bad weather (they are kind of in the foothills of the Appalachians) and there are also a couple things at their old house my brother needs to check out prior to the house's sale. (It looks like they have a buyer. They're taking a bit of a bath on it because property values have gone down in their old neighborhood, but at least they'll be out from under the mortgage.)

***

I'm noticing a side effect of the new diet: I am having to wear a belt again to keep my pants from gapping at the waist. This is a good thing. (Smaller waist circumference relative to hips is a positive health indicator in women, besides the obvious aesthetic reasons). A lot of my slacks are noticeably looser on me and a pair or two that previously weren't comfortable to wear any more are now.

If this continues - and it's not just my body going "Th' heck?" in response to the new diet and medication - I'm tentatively planning a day or two over Christmas break to do more extensive clothes-shopping and try different sizes and styles of slacks to see what works now, instead of just going, "I'm always a size 16 in Lees, I'll just get those."

I used to be more of an hourglass than I am now - my waist had started getting a little thick - and it makes me happy to see that coming back. I don't care if my hips or bust are still big, or even if my legs are a little big. (Big, yes, but they're not jiggly). But it makes me happy to have a narrower waist.

And while my blood pressure isn't low-low, it's dropped back to the level they would consider "prehypertensive" and I hope it'll continue to slowly go down. 

***

I've also decided that I need to scale back a bit on my go-go-go work-all-the-time style of doing things. There's not as much urgency as I imagine: it's not like I'm trying to grind out five papers a year so I can earn tenure at a Research I school, so not coming in on Saturdays to do research is not going to sink my career. And not coming in on Saturdays - staying home to knit or sew or read - is probably going to help maintain my health.

I've also decided to take this afternoon off and make my first Sherman jaunt since my diagnosis. (For a while, I was worried about driving long distances until I knew how I reacted to the new med, but it doesn't seem to make me excessively sleepy or inattentive). Also I am considering going to the natural-foods store to see if they have anything in the way of low-salt/no-salt things that are normally harder to find. (the wal-mart here is TERRIBLE about not carrying anything with reduced sodium. The Green Spray, as small as it is, is actually better - but again, I think they recognize that their clientele consists of a lot of more "mature" people for whom sodium might be a concern).

I did also learn that plain hummus - which I like - is acceptably low in sodium per serving so I can eat that. And I found a cheese (a smoked Gouda that is very good) that is also acceptably low. (I had not been eating cheese because some of it is very high in sodium.)

I also have a JoAnn's coupon, and I really just want to go to a big craft emporium. And I hear that the new KnitScene is out, but it seems nowhere in town carries it, so I'm going to hit the bookstore while I'm there too.

And I have to take tomorrow morning off: it is the premiere of Season Three. (You probably need not ask "What show?"). I know where I am going to be at 9 am local time. I may even pull out all my Ponies and sit them with me on the sofa - a memory of my childhood Saturday mornings when I would carry whatever stuffed animals were currently the most beloved down to the living room with me to watch cartoons.