Healthy, Wealthy and Wise?

Healthy:
As many of you know, I injured my foot in California and wasn't allowed to do anything strenuous on it for a month. The month ended last week smack dab in the middle of the fever-cough-misery so I wasn't able to jump back on the horse as planned.

To be honest, I've only worked out once or twice since Christmas. My back has been acting up something fierce and between my bone disease, sprained foot and several respiratory illnesses I just haven't had the strength to do much at all. But, this morning I walked down the stairs without coughing myself silly or limping so I pulled out the Wii-Fit. Let me tell you, it hurt like a son-of-a-gun! My foot is stiff and tender. I only made it through 18 minutes of exercise (which is about 25-30 min real time) and after advanced step I was coughing like crazy. But I did it.

My plan was to not weigh myself. When I'm sick I don't eat well. Veggies and tofu just don't look comforting but rice and bean chips, refried beans and hummus are grand. I also drink more juice and eat less fruit. All that can add fat to the ass. YKWIM? Then I realized that looking away from the facts is a quick way to gain back the weight I've lost so I gritted my teeth and tried not to squinch my eyes closed as the scale swung up to my weight. I was up 0.4 pounds which in my world doesn't count. A half a pound one way or another has more to do with eating, drinking and whether or not I peed than much else.

So I'm weighed in, worked out and back on the program.

Wealthy:

We paid off our hot tub one and a half months before we would have incurred finance charges. Yippee. We also paid off the computers - what a financial disaster the month of November was! We still have a ways to go on other outstanding bills but those two were out of the ordinary debts for us and I'm thrilled to be free of them. Without those expenses we were able to bump up our commitment to our missionaries. I think when discussing debt, people often over look the good you are unable to do because of your spending choices. Our friends have been in PNG for six months already and our support of them hasn't been what it should be because we had to take care of these expenses. In the future when making decisions about money, I want to be mindful to factor in what opportunities to help others are lost if we buy more than what we can afford. The hot tub has nearly paid for itself if I compare the medical bills I used to incur (three appointments a week at $45-$160 each) and the fact that I don't get any of that care now - I just jump in the tub. My quality of life has improved greatly and our gas bills have been reduced. But we still had to pay for it.

Wise:

When I was first dealing with my bone disease I made an agreement with myself. I should be a smart girl, seeking knowledge and wisdom during the normal parts of my life and when the pain kicks up and I'm spread thin to the point of breaking I can read trashy novels, watch old TV shows and give my poor mind a break. We'll that deal is officially defunct. Too much of my time - let's be honest, it's everyday now - is consumed by pain so deciding to take a break from thinking when in pain is no longer appropriate. It sure has been fun though. So this weekend I packed up my paperbacks, I wasn't going to reread my Koontz, King's or Hamilton's any way, and sent them off to Powells. They are all at the library in hardcover so it's not like I can't read them again. Our shelves have gone from bursting to merely sighing under the weight. As for me, I'm putting myself back on a reading program. I'm starting out with The World is Flat, Collapse: How societies choose to fail or succeed, Atlas Shrugged and Nature's Witness. After that I'm going to get back on working through the classics I bought - maybe The Scarlet Letter, finish Utopia and Iliad and then see where that takes me. And with that, I want to get back to dedicating a part of my week to writing. I haven't been doing nearly enough of it and for the first time in years I don't have a single piece out to publishers under consideration or lined up to be in print. Not one. I need to fix that.

If you are willing, I'd love to hear your healthy, wealthy and wise list. Leave a comment and fill me in on how you are doing.