Wellness pals, it’s the third Sunday of the month which means time for Wellness Weekend 10.2020. Sharing an update on my wellness goals and talking about our optional theme, walking. Hope you will link up your wellness update and stop by to cheer on some of the others joining in on this journey toward improved health. Pretty sure we can all get on board with that!!
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WELLNESS WEEKEND 10.2020 GOALS UPDATE
Where last month I was doing a mini-celebration because life in El Paso was slowly returning to normal, this month we have taken a HUGE step backward. In the past week our little city has seen an increase of 4,259 new Covid cases. Tighter restrictions are in place since Friday’s high of 800+ cases. We are up to our ears in Covid fatigue.
With all of that being said, I am going to just give an overall update on my goals. It has been very difficult for me to concentrate on improving my physical, mental or emotional health lately when all I want to do is hide under the covers.
PHYSICAL HEALTH – 4.0 (holding steady)
- Stretch and work out 4x a week , Weight Watchers to maintain weight
- Get 7200 steps and 3 floors a day
- Walk in nature for 30 minutes a day, 5x a week
NUTRITIONAL HEALTH – 5.0 (holding steady)
- Cook meals at home 4x a week
- Eat 1 fruit and 1 veggie every day – continuing to drink our smoothies; made 3 weeks of fruit & veggie bags today
- Indulge in alcohol and sweets on weekends
SPIRITUAL HEALTH – 4.0 (holding steady)
- Develop a morning routine M-F
- Enjoy quiet time M-F (devotional, writing, reading, moment of silence and prayer)
- Use aroma therapy during my morning routine
MENTAL HEALTH – 4.0 (holding steady)
- Get dressed every day (not active wear), wear a dress or skirt to church
- Weekly artistic activity; word games, journal – please join me for #25daysofgratitude, an autumn photo challenge beginning on 11.01 on Instagram, with a cumulation of the month’s photos in a post on the blog, 11.30. Feel free to grab these graphics for your post.
- Read 3 books a month in order to meet my Goodreads goal (are we friends on Goodreads yet?) – finished The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi. Read Big Lies in a Small Town by Diane Chamberlain with my book club. It was such a good story. In September, picked up the audio and print versions of An American Marriage by Tayari Jones from our public library. Reading it while also reading The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel with my book club. If you are looking for a great online book club, holler! I’ve got just the one for you. We will be voting on our November book next weekend!!
RELATIONSHIP HEALTH – 4.0 (holding steady)
- Unplug at 8:30 pm, implement evening routine – have been doing very well at this because I have not been in the right frame of mind to blog
- Date night with PC 2x a month (bucket list activities) – autumn bucket list update coming later this week
- Me time, develop friendships, take a class or do something for myself
PREVENTATIVE HEALTH MAINTENANCE – 2.5 (holding steady)
- Improved skin care, routine facials
- Weekly dry brushing
- Regular manicures
FINANCIAL HEALTH – 3.0 (holding steady)
- Continue saving each month
- Save for birthdays and Christmas
- Keep spending under control
Before I bid you adios, let’s take a quick look at our optional prompt for the month…
Walking
It seems I relate everything lately to Covid. Last month’s Wellness Weekend optional prompt was balance. I applied the prompt to life during Covid and how off-balance I have felt for most of this year. Can’t blame Covid completely but it sure has had me tip-toeing around.
This is the twelfth consecutive day with over 300 new cases a day, twentieth consecutive day over 200 new cases, and the thirtieth consecutive day over 100 new cases. So where we were jogging back to normalcy in September, this month we are walking it back to square one.
Heck, schools haven’t even reopened yet here!!
Then There’s Me
In addition, I have had a couple of health issues myself. Started with an infected tooth back in August. My dentist couldn’t identify the problem so referred me to someone else. Had an appointment with that dentist but then had to go see mom. Then the tooth stopped hurting. But then it started hurting worse than ever. I made an appointment to see the second dentist. He put me on antibiotics but isn’t sure what is wrong either. Thinks he needs to extract a tooth to figure out what is going on below the gum.
In the meantime, though, I started feeling really crummy. EXHAUSTED. Having this tingly, stabbing pain on the right side of my face (same side as tooth issue). Pain in my right ear, pain in the back of my head. It hurts to touch my face, comb my hair, touch my ear. Could be the tooth but also had some lab tests come back worrisome. The nodules on my thyroid (there since 2013) have grown. Have had an ultrasound and then a CT scan and go to a new endocrinologist on Wednesday. The dentist won’t work on my tooth until the endocrinologist sees me.
Your Turn
How are you doing? Has this second wave of Covid hit your community with a vengeance, too? If you have a wellness related post, please link it up with us so we can cheer you on.
Right now I am not balancing life very well, and not doing much more than walking on auto-pilot through my days. My daughter Lauren is also awaiting results from some follow-up blood work she had done. We are hoping for the best but still feeling very concerned.
But back to walking, PC and I are going to try to walk 10k steps each day. If we can’t do much else, we can surely do that. Our temps are still breaking records so we are doing our walking in the living room. And at night before bed around the park, We are using Leslie Sansone walking videos to motivate us. Check them out, here.
Thank you for stopping by. Hope to get back on track with blog writing and blog reading this week. Stay well!!
Hugs and kisses,
Laurie
I am so sorry to read about your health difficulties, Leslie. Sending good thoughts and hugs your way. Good luck with 10,000 steps/day. I hope you and your PC enjoy your walks.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thank you, Laurie. Feeling much better and having surgery on Tuesday that will make me healthier.
Donna Connolly
Hi, Leslie – I hope that you are feeling better soon.
Sending warm hugs your way.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
You send the best hugs!! I am feeling mucho better. Toothache is gone…at least for now.
Nancy
Oh that doesn’t sound good.. I hope you’re thyroid problem can be solved soon.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Will be having surgery on Tuesday and hope to feel much better soon. Thank you, Nancy.
Deb
So sorry to hear of your health concerns Leslie, you must be feeling very low. I hope that you can get some answers on Wednesday so that you can get the dental work done soon. It’s impossible to ignore toothache and the referred pain that it causes in other areas so that needs to be sorted as soon as possible too.
It feels like, all over the world, we have taken two steps forward and one step back with this virus and it somehow feels worse to have those little bits of normality taken away from us second time around and scary to see how easily the numbers increase once we start to go out and about again.
Good luck with your target 10,000 steps a day, it must be hard to do that in the heat so that’s a great achievement!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Oh, Deb, this has just been such a crazy year. Full of that cha-cha move of two steps forward and one step back.
Joanne
I am so sorry to hear about your medical issues. I sure hope you can get some answers and some relief from the pain soon!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Toothache is gone!! Hallelujah!! Now to get these endocrine issues behind me and I will be ready to take on the world.
Juhli
Ouch! I hope you find a solution to your health problems soon.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Feeling much better!! Thank you!!
ShootingStarsMag
I’m so sorry to hear you’re having some health issues. And your daughter too! I hope that you both get results soon, and that it’s nothing serious. The waiting is sometimes the hardest part, I know that.
I’m trying to be more active, but some days are definitely hit or miss. hah I’ve been reading more this month though, which is nice, since I barely read in September.
-Lauren
Leslie Roberts Clingan
You are such a voracious reader. Good for you!! Hope you are still doing your dancing, too!!
We did get good news about my daughter’s blood work, thank God. No cancer. Continuing to element things
in an effort to figure out what exactly has made her so sick. Thank you!!
Natalie
Hi Leslie, I hope you and your daughter both get good results and solutions for your health issues. Thank you for linking up with me on this Wellness Weekend. Two more months to go before the end of 2020. Have a wonderful week! #WW2020
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thank you!! My daughter’s test result came back negative for blood cancer. Thank God. And I am feeling much better now that my tooth issues have subsided. Have so enjoyed this wellness journey with you.
Rebecca Jo Vincent
WHYYYYYYY is it so hard to eat veggies & fruits in a day???
Leslie Roberts Clingan
We just grab carbs over here instead of a piece of fruit or some veggies. I love veggies…cooked more so than raw except maybe carrots. But I never open the frig to grab carrot sticks. So sad. These smoothies really are helping us get more of the good things we need in our diet.
Danielle
So sorry to hear about your health concerns. I’ll keep you and your family in my prayers. I totally understand having a hard time focusing. Some days I feel great, but most days I just feel so incredibly anxious about everything.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Oh, the anxiety. But today I am feeling better. And I hope we can all feel better once this election is over. Just not having to be bombarded with political commercials on TV.
Carrie @ Curly Crafty Mom
Our numbers are going up here in STL again after 2 months of them going down. So sad! Our schools are back here, but it seems people are catching it outside of them. I love how you set some artistic goals, I should do that. I feel I’ve been too busy to make time for that lately and I miss it. I would love to spend more time walking in nature, too. When I get outside and run, I don’t feel I appreciate nature as much as it is more work! Lol!
Carrie
curlycraftymom.com
Leslie Roberts Clingan
I love when you take time to craft and share with us. Hope you will find some time to do something fun over the holidays
Leanne | www.crestingthehill.com.au
Hi Leslie – two health whammies – toothache is a nightmare, but to add the endocrine issues on top must really wear you down. I hope you’re being extra kind to yourself and not pushing things too hard. Sorry to hear that your daughter is having issues too – life just sucks sometimes doesn’t it?
On a lighter note, you seem to have all your wellness boxes ticked and a good do-able plan in place- especially if covid numbers are rising in your area. I’m so grateful that we have none here in Western Australia (besides a returned quarantined traveller or two). The problem is that I forget that it’s so real for others still – stay well my friend xx
Leslie Roberts Clingan
So glad you and those in Western Australia are remaining healthy and Covid-free. I just shake my head every morning at our increasing Covid numbers. Today was an all-time high. Makes me weary.
Happy to report my toothache is GONE!! Woo hoo! Feeling better and working on getting my wellness goals up to all 5s!!
Joanne Tracey
Take care in regards to your health issues. Having said that you’re still doing well against your goals. We’re so lucky here – I think we only have a couple of active cases and they are quarantined returned travellers. In the southern states though covid fatigue has well and truly set in. Look after yourself.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
So thankful you all have stayed well from this crazy pandemic. We have, too, but a number of my friends have not been so lucky. It is taking such a toll on our economy, too.
Amy Johnson
I’m so sorry to hear about your pain. I hope they get that figured out soon. You seem to worry about Covid a lot based on your FB posts and here on the blog. Do you personally know a lot of people who became seriously ill with Covid or died of it to cause you such worry? I have relied on Psalm 91 during this whole ordeal and it has helped me a lot. I read it every time I start to have doubts or feel frightened. I even read it aloud and claim it for me and my household. Are you familiar with it?
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thank you, Amy, for sending me that Scripture. What a beautiful verse, Psalm. I will start reading it every day. I do worry a lot about Covid. I have known a number of people who have been sick with it. And then some who tested positive and didn’t even know they were sick. We are the hotspot in the nation now, and have had to shut down again. I don’t worry for myself, but I worry for my city and my fellow El Pasoans. El Paso is a very low socio-economic community and so many businesses are closed permanently. It is going to be a long, difficult road for us to get back on our feet economically and physically. And there is no end in sight. That you for your wise words!!