Back on track.

I can't believe how long it has been since I last posted. Besides dealing with grief and getting used to being on my own for the first time in my life, I have been working hard to catch back up in school and pass the two computer classes I was taking.

I have been taking D.E. steadily over the last month or two, but the results I have been getting are mixed. My energy is way up along with my motivation, I have lost some weight, and both knees are pretty much back to the way they should be. However, my blood pressure is running very high - 156/112 last time I took it, which was a few days ago.

The blood pressure could be due to the stress of school, which I was really struggling with over the last month. I was originally taking four classes, but dropped my beginning piano class because I felt I should concentrate on my two computer classes. I had intended to stay in my intermediate algebra class and get as much out of it as I could, then drop the class to avoid getting an F as there was no way I could possibly pass the class as far behind as I was. But I was way too distracted with everything else I was dealing with, and I did not drop the class in time so I now have an F in the algebra class. Because of that F I needed at least B's in the two computer classes - Office Application Development, and Data Management Systems. The first class dealt with Visual Basic for Applications, and the second class dealt with SQL. Two classes that deal with writing code are the perfect combination for stress, and I have learned my lesson - I will never take two classes like that at the same time again!

At one point I told my neighbors not to worry if they saw a computer fly out the window, that I was just doing my homework. I was 12 assignments behind in the VBA class, and struggling to keep up in the SQL class, but I am proud to say that I have at least a B in the VBA class, and probably have a B in the SQL class. Now that the semester is finally over, a huge amount of stress is gone, and I am hoping that my blood pressure drops.

Another thing that should bring my blood pressure down is that I am actively working on losing weight. I now have a scale so I can keep better track of my weight without having to depend upon the scales at the houses I clean. The scale I have been using at the one house I clean weighed me at 152 last Friday, while my home scale weighed me at 155 this morning. I am getting a lot more exercise than I was getting when my knees were bad, and I am being much more careful about what I eat. I am hoping that I can keep myself on track through the remainder of the holiday season, especially since my customers like to give us candy for Christmas, and my roommate is no longer here to help me eat it. I do realize I could give the candy away, but my love of chocolate does not allow me to do this! Still, thanks to the fact that D.E. works wonders for keeping my appetite at bay, I think I can keep myself from overindulging with the holiday treats.