Saturday is for Shoveling

Dressed for the cold!

Shoveling snow can be good for you. At least that's what I'd like to believe. There are lots of online articles that will testify to this belief. My son and husband left this morning for an overnight trip to a Scout camp in Alpine NJ where they will have access to the High Exposure adventure and Ninja activities. I took the dogs to the park where they got to run around with the German Shepherd puppy until it was time to leave... because the Big Dog was en route and no one wants a dog fight. 

I shoveled for two and half hours because I needed paths to some of our windows. The snow depth ranged from hip to calf height, but it was all covered in inch-thick icy crust. Which meant every foot, as in 12 inches, took 3 shovels of snow, like dissecting a 3-layer cake. And why did I need to get to the windows? Because of the massive, potentially fatal icicles. Some were thicker than my forearm. Granted, I have small forearms, but still... Of course, none of our homegrown stalactites can match the cage bars hanging over the vending machines at Camp Alpine. 

Since learning that my cholesterol is too high, I've started eating a lot more oatmeal. Even though I own a big container of plain generic oatmeal, I'm partial to the multiple flavors of instant oatmeal, especially "cranberry flaxseed" and "maple, dates and walnut." Unfortunately, one bag is not quite enough and two bags is too much, so I often wind up clipping half a second bag shut with a small binder clip. Office binder clips are a fabulous kitchen staple! Even though food snobs will tell you to skip the instant in favor of plain regular oatmeal, there's actually nothing wrong with instant if you don't mind the added sugar. I would've added maple syrup or honey to the plain anyway! Oatmeal has a lot of benefits. 

I've also drastically cut back on fatty meats, trans fats, cheese, and (sigh) alcoholic beverages. Another page of the lab report shows that blood protein is a skosh lower than the normal range. There could be several reasons for that (it's never been a problem before) such as not eating enough protein (the least worrisome and most easily corrected), or something more serious, such as liver or kidney damage. 

My doctor isn't concerned about that blip. It's the cholesterol that's an issue. So I'm exercising as much as I can within reason, like shoveling whenever necessary. And ignoring the chips and crackers and cheese in the kitchen.