My Trail

I just followed my snowshoe trail....you know, the one I created last weekend. Boy, it's been a long week. Getting out today in the snow and 13 degree temperatures was refreshing and brisk!
Stopped every ten minutes to blow my nose, but hey, it was all worth it.


Snowed all day. Pretty typical for February, but spring is looming....I can feel it! Bike man is still laying low and resting like the doctor ordered. By next week, I'm sure he will be eager to jump on his bicycle trainer and resume his sanity.

After my snowshoe workout, I was warm and comfy wearing my new wool socks. I love these socks. Bike man spotted them for me at the Angry Catfish Bicycle shop and persuaded me to buy another pair of wool socks.....my collection is growing. I highly recommend wool socks for all-year round.

Under the Weather

Why is it when you go to a clinic or spend time in a hospital, you always seem to pick up some kind of germs or illness? Been feeling under the weather for several days now and currently am dealing with a head cold, headache and fatigue. Kleenex was my best friend today.

Despite my head cold frumpiness (is that a word ?) I still managed to attend the women's night out at Kim's house. Lots of snack foods, laughter and fellowship with my women friends.

Tonight? I'm just hoping for a good nights sleep without waking up hacking. Really need to do some exercise tomorrow.....my body is craving it!

Look At My Deal

As our life slowly gets back to normal, I wanted to show you the great deal I ran across several weeks ago. I happen to know someone that will be moving soon and she needed to get rid of lots of stuff since she will be transitioning from a house to an apartment. As I was looking through all her thrift sale items, I discovered a 7 piece cycling set....$25 dollars! The cycling gear was something she received through her work place and was never worn. Most of the cycling gear was woman's size small, plus one extra jersey in large. I was very excited since this Italian cycling gear is considered very high quality.

Bike man figured the cycling gear was valued around $250.....wow! This was basically the cycling kit for the Overdrive cycling team based out of Eau Claire, WI. All the members receive this basic kit, so guess I now own the kit, without belonging to the team! I love a good deal.

Update on Bike man: he's resting at home and is now on more aggressive medications to deal with the the heart issues. By next week, he'll be back to his exercise routine. I'm now thinking about how to make changes to our everyday eating style. We eat lots of vegetables and fruits and whole grains, but we also love our variety of meats and cheeses. Guess we'll have to treat bacon as a rare food item. And pizza? Less often and less cheese......dang it! Shoot, and here I thought all that bean soup was making a difference in our life!!!!!!

Happy To Be Home

Discovered a little beaver chew along the lake shore today....those busy little beavers! Headed out on my snowshoes this afternoon. After two days of hanging out in the hospital, it felt refreshing to get outdoors and enjoy the new snow.

A little breezy, but a nice 36 degree temperature this afternoon. Good conditions for snowshoeing.

Thanks Son for coming over to help with the rest of the snow shoveling.

I received the call this morning from Bike man telling me they were releasing him from the hospital. Wow, that was quick! Of course he has restrictions for the next week, but it will be so nice for him to be home in his own comfortable setting.

What's next? Cardio therapy, new medications, bicycle trainer, heart-healthy eating and a new outlook on life. Still giving thanks.......

Giving Thanks Tonight

Healing Garden

While I was driving home tonight from the hospital, I thought, so much of our lives is so insignificant. All those little things in life that we stress over......when it really boils down to it, are we giving thanks for those little things in life? How about concentrating on small stuff like a hug to a person feeling down, a wave hello to someone you know in the community, holding the door open for an elderly person? All of a sudden I realized tonight that it's not about how much money you have, or what kind of car you drive or how big your house is. Life is measured up in how grateful you are for life....the life that God has planned for you.

Bike man is a lucky person tonight. We had a long day today. Angiogram followed by three stents put into two blocked arteries. The hardest news for me today was when the Cardiologist told me that Bike man's main artery was 100% blocked! What? How can that be? In some rare cases this can happen. He's been living with a totally blocked artery for many years. It's a miracle that he's still alive.

So, the heart quickly overcompensates by building a new artery, which distributes the new blood flow from the heart. Well, this new artery also became significantly blocked and that is why he finally showed symptoms of a heart attack. Today, the Cardiologist told me that if the new artery would have reached total blockage, Bike man would not have survived this incident yesterday. The signs were there, but unfortunately missed for common reasons. Tonight, I feel so lucky to have my husband living and breathing. I can't even describe to you the overwhelming feeling I felt when the Cardiologist told me my husband would not have survived the next incident.

I believe what saved his life is the fact that he has always stayed active. Bike riding and racing, running, triathlons, orienteering etc. Words can't describe how I feel tonight. Thank you God, plain and simple.

I'm Sooooo Sorry

So I wanted to make a nice late breakfast, especially since Bike man had worked for nearly 4 hours this morning clearing snow and raking snow off our roof. I decided to make a nice potato hash with bacon, colored peppers and of course.....jalapenos. This time I used two instead of one. These particular jalapenos seemed hotter than normal. Oops!

Thirty minutes after eating our late breakfast, Bike man in a very nonchalant voice, looked over at me and said, "I think we better head to Menomonie." Huh? What bike man really was trying to say was.....you better take me to the hospital because I'm having chest pain!!!

Wow, wasn't prepared for that one. To make a long story short, Bike man was transported over to the Eau Claire hospital so he could be seen by a Cardiologist. At the moment he is feeling ok, and the doctor really isn't sure what happened but ordered a stress test for tomorrow morning and then we'll take it from there. So not sure if he a mild heart attack or the possibility of a blockage somewhere in the arteries. The other explanation (here's the part where I feel really bad) could be a combination of too spicy foods, combined with extreme physical exercised, downed with a cup of strong coffee. OMG, did I almost kill my husband???

Keep Bike man in your thoughts and lets hope it was just a bad food judgment call on my part. I hope I can bring my husband home tomorrow afternoon. More news tomorrow.

PS. We received around 12 inches of snow this morning and another 2 inches tonight.

Old Man Winter

I just had a feeling old man winter would return. Never under estimate Midwest winters....they can be so sneaky!

Our snow storm finally arrived prior to noon. The snow has continued all afternoon, and 22 mph winds out of the Northeast. Would you believe we even had lightening and thunder....yup, I'm serious! I call it snow-thunder.....

No real outdoor exercise today, just a little walk to take photos this afternoon. I'm wondering what tomorrow will bring. More snow, slippery roads, school closings?