I'm very sheepish lately :)

So. There is this thing going around wherein you comment on this post and I give you five things that I associate with you and then you take them and elaborate in your own LJ, right?

elismor (from whom I stole the above description) gave me

1. evil (because i know you and you are not, really)
2. the south
3. books
4. otters (though this is newish)
5. cats

( And away we go! )

update-yness

Saw my doctor yesterday. Right now I'm staying on insulin on a sliding scale and not going back on oral meds. I was also a tad low on potassium levels, so she wrote me a prescription for that, but when I was glancing through the info sheet, there was something about making sure your doctor knows if you're taking diuretics - and since I've been on one of those, I think I'll call her on Monday to see if I need to stop that pill before starting the potassium. Everything else was pretty good.

Weight loss: Usually I don't weigh, but of course, now I do. Partly because I didn't want to know and partly because the regular doctor's scale didn't go high enough. The office does have a digital scale, but it was waaay over on the other side (office looks like a bracket ] with the scale at the top end and my doc at the far bottom end). Yesterday I was able to use the regular scale. I've lost 68 lbs.

Today my therapist and I walked around the parking lot a couple of times before heading inside for our session. We still have our July 4th appointment scheduled for her office, since right now I can't get to her office very easily as it's up a steep flight of stairs. I managed to get up the stairs for our first appointment, but we've been using her church as our office since then. She says that was how she knew how much I wanted help when I made it up the stairs. It also let her know that she hadn't thought about how people with disabilities wouldn't be able to get up the stairs (it's a 2 story building with all outside entrances and no elevator).

I can't really see the difference, but I can tell. I can walk longer without pain, I've got more stamina, and I've been able to move the seat up in the car :) The seat had been pushed back as far as it would go and I have a pedal extender on the accelerator. I've actually moved the seat up twice, which makes driving easier on my knee, since it doesn't have to be as fully extended all the time. I *am* short, so I may never completely do away with the extender, but it'll be nice not to have a sore knee and limp every time I get out of the car after a long drive.

And Monday I'll try to start back at the YMCA, since the easier part of the weight loss will probably start slowing, and I'll have to start relying on actual 'exercise' -oh, gasp! the horror! :) I'm looking forward to be able to do some swimming - and some walking without pain. Still will never be a wildly cheering advocate of WLS, but right now it's working for me and getting me to where I can start doing for myself.

Feb: thrillers

all books 100 books challenge

Three Weeks To Say Goodbye by C.J. Box - Jack and Melissa, the adoptive parents of an infant girl are confronted by the baby's teenage father and his father, a federal judge, who say they want the infant back and are giving them three weeks to before they come get the child. But there's something seriously wrong with these people and Jack's investigation show's they'll have to take desperate measures to save their child. Took me a bit to get into it, but then it started rolling along quickly. His Joe Pickett series is still better :)

Born To Run by James Grippando - The VP of the US dies and Jack Swyteck's father (the former governor of Florida) is asked to replace him. Dad asks Jack to be his lawyer during the initial confirmation hearings, but tries to protect him by firing him after Jack uncovers a cover up that goes back decades. Jack's persistence lands him in a hostage situation with a man who will willingly take down the president - politically, or with a bullet. Throw away your disbelief and hold on for a fast ride. Not my favorite in the series, but still fun - Jack's a good character.

The Deceived by Brett Battles - Jonathan Quinn is asked to clean up a body in a shipping container. Problem is that the dead man was a friend of his. So Quinn and his team try to find the man's girlfriend to tell her the news - but she's disappeared. Following her trail, they head to DC and end up in Singapore, trying to repay an old debt. Great sequel - and a third coming out later this year!

Fire and Ice by Julie Garwood - Sophie Rose is a newspaper reporter trying to live down the notoriety of her famous father Bobby, a big-time thief sought by most of the major law enforcement agencies. Working at a small newspaper, she gets odd stories - like the overbearing winner of several area 5K runs, whose trademark is red socks. Those red socks and her business card are about all that's left after then man is attacked by a bear in Alaska, after disappearing before a race. Sophie thinks there's something to the story and heads for Prudhoe Bay, accompanied by a brash, but sexy FBI agent who has been assigned to her after her father is accused of raiding a pension fund and someone tried to kill her. Fun, but not her best. I liked Sophie and Jack - and obnoxious runner guy deserved his death :) but the story behind the death was weak.

Empire of Lies by Andrew Klavan - Jason Harrow used to be a cynical NYC liberal with a penchant for kinky sex. Now he's a conservative midwestern Christian with a wife and children. His former lover summons him back to the city and tells him that his (previously unknown) teenage daughter is in trouble and she needs him to try to help the girl. When he finds the girl, she's wasted, and after being sick, starts babbling about some boy and "not knowing they were going to kill him." His search into the girl's story leads to a vanished college student who spouted conspiracy theories about a Middle Eastern professor and a possible terrorist attack. Editorial review gives it a C- for plausibility and an A for thrills. I'd go down to a B on the thrills. Wasn't *bad*, just not Klavan's best. (A to Z title)

Beat the Reaper by Josh Bazell - A former Mob hitman, turned hospital doctor in the Witness Protection Program, Peter Brown's life is about to go to hell in an express handbasket. A new patient recognizes him from his former life and threatens to expose him if he (the patient) dies. While Peter's trying to figure out what to do, things at the hospital heat up with odd patients, illnesses and fighting departments. Alternates with chapters detailing Peter's path to WITSEC. Fast and fun. Not great literature, but not meant to be. Gore and dark humor splattered all over :)