The birthday that is changing my life smiles

We were traveling home from Utah on my birthday so I didn’t blog about it at the time. Then after we got home, I was so busy with other things that time got away from me. It has been almost 2 months since my August birthday but I’ve decided to do a post about it anyway because this birthday is changing my life and I want to document it.

Ellie and I share the same birthday. Our special day started out with a nice birthday breakfast at Erin’s house in Utah.

After that we all packed up and headed for CA. Erin, Cal and Ellie traveled with my Niece and her 2 children. John and I drove in our little car.

On the way home John humored me by stopping for lunch at a restaurant that I’ve been wanting to try for years. We had a nice meal at Mickelsons.

It is a really cute place with trains that run all through the restaurant.

A few days later, Mindy made me a delicious belated birthday dinner with all of my favorite foods.  Friends also did sweet things that made me feel loved.

These things were very much appreciated but not life changing…. However…. some of my birthday gifts this year are doing just that.

The Saturday before my birthday, Erin had arranged and paid for me to have a professional shopper spend 2 hours with me picking out clothes that were most becoming to me. Erin got Grampy to agree to buy me the new clothes the shopper thought I should buy.

I have never done anything like this in my whole life. I just sat in the dressing room at Macy’s and the shopper brought in stacks of clothes for me to try on. I got 3 skirts, 2 pants and several tops…. all that can be mixed and matched to make 19 outfits.

I wasn’t going to buy anything new until I lose the weight I gained after the accident…. but it really does feel good to go to my closet and have nice out fits to wear even if I am bigger than I wish I were. Erin and Grampy’s thoughtfulness and generosity are helping me feel better about myself and the way I look. That is a change for me… and… Lynell and Mindy also gave me  gifts that are truly LIFE CHANGING FOR ME.

They gave me a fitbit and good walking shoes.

A fitbit is a type of pedometer that counts each step you take and wirelessly keeps a record of your progress on your computer. I wear it on my waistband or somewhere every day. When I first started I found I was only walking about 2,000 steps a day or less.  I was shocked to find that at age 69 I should be taking 7,000 to 8,000 steps a day. Younger folks should take 10,000 steps a day.

I’ve been making an effort to walk farther and farther each day. Yesterday I set a new high record for me of over 15,000 steps. This more than I usually do but…

In the past 6 weeks I have not walked less than 7,000 steps a day (except on Sundays). As you can see by this chart from my computer, I often walk 9,000 to 10,000 steps. (One mile is about 2,300 steps) John and I joined a gym where I walk on a treadmill. We also go to water aerobics 3 or 4 days a week.

This is a total change for me. I’ve mostly sat in my chair and not exercised at all since the accident. Having the new clothes and the fitbit to motivate me has made all of the difference.  I have pushed myself through the pain and I’m getting stronger and stronger.

Unfortunately, I’ve only lost 4 pounds in 6 weeks. I’m being very careful about my diet so I hoped to lose a lot more than that… but…. I feel really good. 

I am so excited and thankful that my health has improved enough to allow me to do this. My 69th birthday gifts are really changing my life.

What a blessing!

I hope to keep up my walking and exercising routine all year. My goal is to be in much better shape by my 70th birthday.   I have 10 months to work on it.   Wish me luck.

I hope that your are doing well too. Hugs, Grammy