Relationship, Health and Money

If you have been around here or my Facebook page lately, you know that back on February 19th, I had surgery for a severely herniated disk.  While my surgery (Lumbar Laminectomy) can in many cases be performed as an outpatient procedure, I was kept for 24 hours for observation.  In the process, I learned just What To Pack For A Hospital Stay Post Surgery.  In my case, I had spent 20 days in severe pain, so when I finally arrived at the surgeons office, he said I would be heading directly to surgery as soon as I was able to come back.  That meant I left his office at 11am on a Wednesday and was back at the hospital at 10am the next morning for him to perform surgery.  Having a super rushed evening to grab things and go, I was surprisingly prepared, but also realized those little things you don’t think about needing or wanting.

What To Pack For A Hospital Stay Post Surgery

Comfort Items:  As you can see in this picture, I brought some comfort items from home. Well, I didn’t – but my 7 year old did for me.  The blanket and stuffed animal were both mine when I was his age.  He now has them in his bed at night as comfort items, but he thought I needed them while I was away.  In all honesty, of all the things packed in my bag, these were the best.  I admit it – I was an emotional wreck in the midst of my surgery.  I knew what was coming, sort of.  I suspected I would need surgery, but I didn’t expect my doctor would basically rush me in to do it immediately.  So I went in totally unprepared on many levels.  It didn’t fully sink in until well after I came home from the hospital.  Then, because sleeping in a hospital room with a 7 year old just isn’t easy, my Beau and the Wee Child left me for the night.  They left and I just felt sad.  I was in pain, alone and really just wanted my own bed and for my Beau to snuggle with me and make me feel better.  Since I couldn’t have that, it was really nice to have something that smelled like home to me.  Yes, I have no shame in admitting I snuggled that poor raccoon all night.

Lip Balm and Lotion:  I had both of these in my bag, and was really thankful.  After the surgery, my lips were really chapped.  It helped so much to have that on hand.  Lotion was nice to make me feel a bit more freshened up, and to help with dry skin since it was so cold and dry outside at the time. Plus washing my hands so much in the winter months really dried them out.

Shoes or Slippers With Good Grips:  After surgery I had to make that first dreaded trip to walk and go to the bathroom.  Since I was required to wear the compression stockings for the first 24 hours after surgery, and I was a fall risk, they gave me some really ugly and uncomfortable socks with grip things on the bottom.  I wished I had packed my own comfy and soft slipper socks from home to wear in my room.  If you have to stay for a few days and will be making those walks down the hall for physical therapy of any kind, make sure to pack an easy to slip on shoe or sock that has good grips.  Slick hospital floors and unsteady you are not something you want to mix.

Cough Drops Or Lozenges: Check with your doctor ahead of time to make sure it is okay and safe for you to use, but bringing along your favorite hard candy or cough drop for post surgery will be nice.  If you are put under anaesthesia, the tube in your throat will cause irritation.  I had a dry tickling cough for a few weeks post surgery, but my throat was really sore that first day or two.  They didn’t have anything other than hot tea for me while I was at the hospital and I wished I had thought to pack something.

Entertainment:  That night I think I slept maybe 2-3 hours at best.  With the visits every hour on the hour, it was just hard to sleep.  That coupled with being in pain and having to constantly try to get comfortable, I knew it was a lost cause.  (I caught up plenty over the next week at home).  I brought my phone, laptop and a few magazines with me.  The hospital tray was easy for me to have the laptop on to use when I felt like it.  My Beau set up my chargers and had everything within reach before he left making it easy for me to grab things as I needed without getting up or asking the nurse.  Music, an eReader, laptop, smartphone, books, magazines or even a craft like crocheting, or knitting can be great.  You have to remember though that your brain will be a bit foggy for awhile after you are under anaesthesia, so if it is complicated – it may not be for you.

Comfortable change(s) of clothing:  I brought a change of clothing, but didn’t use it until right before time to go home.  If you are only going to be in the hospital for a few hours or overnight you may simply need one change of clothes.  If you will be there for a few days, then pack some comfortable and easy to get on and off items.  I had some extra large (way too big for me) fleece pajama pants and a super big comfy t-shirt in my bag.  I knew the incisions on my back would be uncomfortable for awhile, so I didn’t want anything to rub against it much.  Plan ahead not for beauty or fashion, but for comfort and easy access to things like bandages, ports, drains and similar items.  If your surgery will leave you with wounds or issues that may seep onto your clothing, grab old clothing or items you don’t mind having show some stain.  You can alternately simply wear the gowns provided in the hospital.  While they aren’t the prettiest things, they are lightweight, mostly comfortable and you don’t have to worry about laundry.

Toiletries:  Basics like toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant and items for the shower (if you will be allowed to shower) should be packed.  Women may want to add in feminine hygiene products as well just in case.  Trust me, these things can come up when you least expect them to.

While there are likely dozens of other things some individuals would say are important to pack for a hospital stay post surgery, these are on the top of my list.  This surgery definitely gave me a new appreciation for the medical field, and for the comfort of my own home.  I hope you don’t ever have to experience what I did, but if so – at least you will be a bit more prepared.

When I signed up with Weight Watchers in December of 2016, it was a last ditch effort to gain control over my health.

Are you currently in the same boat?

These 8 tips for Weight Watchers Online Success come from my own personal experience.

In a little over 4 months, I have lost 40 pounds.

I still have around 80 pounds to lose, but I feel like I have a good handle on how the program works and can offer some solid advice.

8 Tips For Weight Watchers Online Success

This post contains affiliate links. I earn a commission from purchases made through these links.

Success is different for every individual. Some it comes in large numbers of weight loss. For others, it comes in the form of inches lost or strength gained.

For the sake of argument, these pointers are going to focus on the weight loss end of things.

Understand the program before you begin.

As with any new lifestyle, you need to understand before beginning. Weight Watchers points systems can be confusing to some, but it is much easier when you have all of the information up front.

With the latest Beyond The Scale program featuring SmartPoints, the focus is on encouraging healthier habits.

If you have participated in other points programs, you will notice that many items with carbohydrates and sugar now have a higher points value than before. This is because Weight Watchers sees the need to encourage healthier habits.

Focusing on lean protein and nutrient dense foods is a must, and the SmartPoints system gives these items lower points values to make it easier and more encouraging for you to choose.

Learn how to use your daily points and weekly points.

Everyone gets a set amount of daily points. However, these points vary depending on your height, age, and weight.

To find out these points, you either have to join Weight Watchers online, attend a meeting, or use the Weight Watchers SmartPoints Calculator to figure these points.

Using your points can seem daunting, but it is easy when you break down the points by meal and snack. Most recommend also watching your progress to decide if you should be using your weekly points.

For myself, I do better when I use a few of them each week, but I will stall if I use all of the points. So, I try to add an extra 3-4 points in snacks each day out of my weekly points.

If I binge and use them all in one meal, it can often set me off track.  I believe the key is moderation and choosing healthier snacks. AKA, don’t blow your points on a dozen donuts every week.

Focus on lean proteins and vegetables.

Fruits and vegetables that are non-starchy are also zero points on this system.

So, while potatoes, corn, and some peas will have points, things like green beans, squash, peppers, onions, and broccoli are zero when cooked or eaten without sauces or butter.

This makes it much easier for many to stay full and satisfied while not going over their points each day.

Choose the items that you feel are worthy of splurging on.

As I mentioned above, the changes make things like having a piece of cake, cookies, or even ice cream much harder to account for on Weight Watchers.

It doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a treat on Weight Watchers. It does mean you have to focus on accounting for it properly.

Measure and weigh everything.

Eyeballing portions can be fatal to your success.

I learned really fast that taking the time to measure things was a huge factor in my success. Specifically, I found I was not getting an accurate count on things like sauces, salad dressings, and cheeses.

Unlike veggies that don’t matter so much if you eat more than what you account for, a salad dressing can add multiple points to your day easily.

Invest in some good measuring cups and spoons like the ones I have from Tupperware that nest together easily, as well as a quality digital scale.

I love the Ozeri Digital Scale, but any quality digital scale will work.

Choose water.

I confess to having been a bit of a diet soft drink addict.

Over the last few years, I have weaned myself off of this and am now down to drinking tea, coffee, and water. Many studies have proven that diet soft drinks, while low in calories, contain chemicals that are not healthy and can even stall your weight loss.

From my personal experience, this tends to be true. So, I avoid diet soft drinks as well as regular soft drinks.

• Coffee is easy to adjust and account for if you sweetened with stevia or honey, and use coconut milk as creamer.While I try to avoid a lot of sugar substitutes and such, there are many sugar-free creamers that people love to use that are low or no points.
• Another drink that can cause problems is juice. When you drink fruit, it is not being processed the same by your body, so you have to count that as points instead of zero.Juices can also hide hidden sugars that are added for better flavor. Avoid juice and eat the fruit whole.
• There is controversy about smoothies. My opinion is that if you are drinking a smoothie for breakfast with nothing else or only a few points of protein with it, then don’t stress about counting the points.If you begin stalling in weight loss, start counting those points or skipping the smoothies. However, the Weight Watchers policy is that any fruit that is blended and drank has to be counted.

  I have 25 Weight Watchers Smoothies for you to try if you like this as an alternative.

Go to bed.

Seriously, sleep is the best thing for your body from every aspect.

To recover from your exercise. To let your body heal from the micro wear-and-tear of everyday life. To digest all that delicious yet nutritious food you cooked from our Weight Watchers freestyle recipes.

Sleep does so many things that we need to function at a high level. It’s probably a really good idea to learn what happens to your body and brain during the 4 stages of sleep, including the important REM sleep!

So, go to bed early and wake up refreshed, ready to take on the day ahead.

Meal prep for every meal.

My biggest mistakes came when I didn’t meal prep or at least have a plan in place.

When I felt overwhelmed with what to do for dinner or ended up eating out, I made poor choices. Taking the time at least once a week to really choose what we would have for each meal made a huge difference.

Buying the fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and items I used to make sure my meals were lower in points made it much easier to control my intake.

I plan ahead for things like my Black Bean Mexican Salad for lunches by preparing my veggies and lettuce and storing in my FridgeSmart systems or portioned snack cups I grabbed from Tupperware.

You might prefer to use something like a mason jar salad system.

Cleaning and preparing vegetables ahead helps me a ton. Also, I like to have easy to eat fruits like apples, oranges, bananas, and frozen berries so I can grab what I want easily.

This makes snacking and breakfasts easier. Meal prep is easy using my Instant Pot or my Tupperware Stack Cooker so I can have almost any recipe done in under half an hour.

These little changes make it easy for me to stay on track.

Join a support group.

This is vital. I found that the more I communicated with the Weight Watchers Connect community through the app, the better I did. I don’t go to the local meetings, but these people online hold me accountable.

There are also great groups on Facebook for recipes, accountability, exercise tips and more!  I have my own support group for SmartPoints Recipes & Tips that is growing and offering support daily.

If you really want to have Weight Watchers Online success, focus on following the plan. Get to know the in’s and out’s of how the points work for your body.

Eat healthier nutrient-dense options to satisfy your physical needs, while also training your body to eat to live instead of live to eat.

More Weight Watchers Tips:

• Reasons To Choose Weight Watchers Smartpoints System
• 100+ Delicious Weight Watchers Recipes
• 50+ Weight Watchers SmartPoints Snacks
• 25 Weight Watchers Lunch Recipes

In the last several years more and more people have joined the ranks of self employment to work from home. As moms are going back to their roots and choosing a life staying at home with their children, they are also finding a need to work at home to make this happen. With children, family, homeschooling and other responsibilities in the picture, these Work At Home Organization Tips are excellent for keeping you on track.  As a mom, wife, homeschooling parent and business owner I know that these tips work.  If they didn’t, I would be a mess all the time.  I have put these into practice within my own home business and have had great success.

WORK AT HOME ORGANIZATION TIPS

Create Lists: Lists can be hand written on a legal pad, chart or post it note. They can also be kept in documents and spreadsheets on your computer, or online in a cloud storage site. The important part isn’t how you make or store your lists, but that you make them at all. Everything from your to-do list, bills to be paid, clients to contact and who owes you money needs a list for you to check off and monitor regularly.

Create A Dedicated Office Space: While not everyone will have a separate room in their home for an office, you can easily dedicate at least a small space for your office. This can be a corner of the kitchen, part of your dining room table or a corner in your bedroom. The important thing is that it is a place that you can keep your supplies, calendar, computer and feel comfortable yet organized in.

Remove Distractions: Do you find yourself singing along to the music playing in the background? What about getting caught up in the latest soap opera? Is social media on your phone or in a tab on your laptop getting you caught in drama or sidetracked from work? All of these and other things can easily become distractions that keep you from focusing on your work. Remove the distractions during work hours to keep you on task and successful.

Set Short & Long Term Goals: Sometimes the best thing we can do is to challenge ourselves. Setting short and long term goals to help you become more productive will go a long way toward your success. Short term being goals you want to accomplish each day, week and month. Long term goals can be over the course of a week, month, year or even up to 5 years. Keeping these always on your mind and in front of you will help you to stay on track and motivated to be organized.

Leave Household Chores Alone: Sure working from home offers you the chance to cook your own lunch, toss a load of laundry in the dryer as you walk down the hall or pick up clothes from your kids room in the middle of the day. It also gives you a distraction from work when you see or think about these things. Leave the household chores until your work is done for the day. Create chore charts and cleaning schedules to keep the whole family responsible. Working from home is a real job just like any other. Just because you are in the house doesn’t mean you should shoulder the entire responsibility on your own.

Working from home can be a wonderful experience for many people. Not only does it give you freedom, but it can also become much more profitable than a traditional 9-5 job would be. These work at home organization tips are sure to keep you on track as you navigate your first months and years in the work at home business.

This list of the Best Food Tracker Apps is ideal for those who want to follow a diet similar to WW FreeStyle, but can’t afford the full monthly cost.  Journaling or tracking your daily food intake is vital for weight loss.  These tools help make it easy to manage on the go.

Best Food Tracker Apps for Diets Like Weight Watchers

When you’re trying to lose weight, tracking your points, is always super helpful! However, not everyone can afford to pay for the current points system.  If that is the case, there are some excellent options to calculate points for a past WW plan, or just to journal your food intake.

It’s always best when you can get something for free! I have found that adding up points is a very productive way for me to lose weight. Keep in mind, you have to do what works best for you to help you lose weight.  If you want to know how to do older plans, check out this post from our friends about How to Do Weight Watchers for Free.

Check out some of the best FREE or low-cost apps to use instead of Weight Watchers.

iTrackBites

I’ve used Weight Watchers in the past, but when I’m on a budget and don’t have the extra money for paying for an app, you’ll see me using iTrackBites. It’s compatible with WW and is super easy to use. Plus, you can download it on an iPhone or an Android. Additionally, if you don’t use points, you can use it to track your calories. This is a win for you either way.

There are multiple options within the app to upgrade for full functionality.  The most common is the option that is around $35 per year.  This is most comparable to the more recent plans for WW.

Don’t miss this list of WW FreeStyle Must Have Item for Success to help you stay on track. 

My Fitness Pal

I have personally used MyFitnessPal over the years for a variety of reasons.  A few of my favorite reasons are due to the larger number of foods listed in their system, as well as the ability to scan barcodes on foods.  This makes tracking meals super easy.

You can also utilize MyFitnessPal to build recipes you create to find out the actual nutritional information per serving.  If you are using various blogs like ours for recipes, you can drop the link to the recipe into MyFitnessPal and it will calculate the nutritional information for you.

While this isn’t the best option for tracking points, there are tons of ways to make notes on points within the app.  This is especially helpful for those who are following an older WW plan such as PointsPlus or Beyond the Scale.

This Weight Watchers Dining Out Guide is a perfect way to help you make better choices when eating out.

Ultimate Food Value Diary

Another low-cost app to use instead of Weight Watchers is the Ultimate Food Value Diary. You can use this app as a one-stop shop for tracking your food and exercise, online database for eating out, weight and measurement tracking. So, the list is endless is how you can use it.

One of the bonuses with this app is there Extra Boost ™ option.  This helps you determine the optimum amount of calories you should be eating each day to lose weight.

Reasons Fitness & Food Tracker Apps are Valuable

Often, the reason that those pounds creep up on happens to be because we don’t realize how much we are actually eating.  By using an app like these, whether you follow a specific plan or not, you will become more aware of your food choices.

Thanks to these 3 apps, you can track your points without spending a ton of money. Unfortunately, the options are limited when it comes to tracking points due to copyright infringements. Do you know of any other apps that help you track your points?

My husband and I will celebrate ten years of marriage this year, and one thing I know something about is how to build intimacy in marriage. To say these ten years have been simple and smooth sailing would be a lie! The truth is, we have had many bumps in the road and challenges but we have also had lots of joy, fun, and growth. There have been some key things I’ve learned over time that built and keep intimacy alive in our marriage.

6 Ways To Build Intimacy In Marriage

Be Interested in What Interests Your Spouse. It has never been a dream of mine to learn to golf, compete in Triathlons or watch hours of shows on the I.D. channel but these are things my husband enjoys. So, I have found ways to be involved in all these things. I have encouraged him to golf on Sunday afternoons, which is a time I can go with him and I drive the cart and take photos of nature while he plays. I’ve also learned the rules of golf and understand the terminology which makes it more enjoyable for me. It is really the same thing with Triathlons, I encourage him to train, I’ve learned about the sport, I know something about his favorite Pro Triathletes and I never miss a race. As for the I.D. Channel binge watching, let’s just say that I don’t complain when he does it and will sit next to him and read a magazine while he watches.

Listen, Really Listen. Life is hectic and sometimes really listening gets overlooked. In our social media and technology driven world we often think we are connecting when we are really missing out on building quality relationships with the people who are actually in our life. It took me a while to figure out that housework, helping others, church groups, work issues or extended family drama often distracted me from actually stopping to listen to my husband speak. Not only do I put away my phone when he is talking to me, but I also make a point to look at him when he is talking. I have found that making eye contact helps me hear him better and retain what he says. Since I’ve started this, he actually has more to talk to me about than he did before. Really, I shouldn’t be surprised because who wants to talk to someone who clearly isn’t listening?  If you are wanting to truly learn how to build intimacy in marriage, this is one of the most effective things you can do for your relationship.

Pay Attention. This is an area I have recently improved in and it came along with really listening to my husband. When I started listening and watching his actions I picked up on lots of little things I can do to make his life easier. For instance, we have a humidifier in our bedroom and we use it each night. It has to be refilled with water every 2-3 nights and I noticed that he would always fill it which was nice but when I really paid attention, he actually didn’t enjoy this chore. I’ve made it a point to be sure it is filled each evening so he doesn’t have to. In turn, he had watched me walk past the fresh cut flowers at the grocery store and comment on how colorful they were. A few days later, he came home from work with a bouquet of flowers I would never have bought for myself but certainly enjoyed every second of them. Little things go a long way to creating intimacy in marriage.

Be Willing to Compromise. My husband is the most important person to me and I have to always be willing to compromise in order to preserve that relationship. We each came into this marriage with dreams, goals, and a plan. Even if it wasn’t all spoken out loud at the time, we had thoughts of what life together and the future would hold. Combining both of our thoughts and ideas of the future can create conflict and disappointment if we aren’t willing to see our spouse’s viewpoint and compromise. For almost five years, we lived in a city of over 6 million because it was my husband’s dream to live and work there. Some good things came for our time there but as those years came and went our marriage took some tough hits which were partly because of where we lived. After a lot of discussion with each other, we realized that we had to leave there and return to a smaller city with more peace and less chaos in order to preserve our marriage. This was a comprise for both of us. My husband felt like he had to compromise because a dream of his was ending. But I also felt like I had to compromise because after our move I would be working from home, which was difficult for a people person like me. In the end, we both knew it would benefit us far more to make these changes than to stay determined not to compromise.

Take Notes. This may seem simple and unnecessary, but for me, it has done wonders for my ability to improve in the other five areas I have listed. Because all areas of life including work, family, church and my home can pull me in several directions, I have found that keeping a notebook regarding important information for my husband is very helpful. In this notebook, I keep ideas for gifts based on things he has mentioned, subjects to research, ways to pray for him and things I want to work on in myself and our marriage. This is also a place where I list goals we have or ideas we come up with. I’ve planned vacation details and have information about his work here as well. It has been a fun way for me to keep up with his favorites and is a quick resource when I am drawing a blank about something important we’ve talked about. I make and keep notes for other areas of my life so it makes sense to do the same for my marriage.  Building intimacy in marriage isn’t just about physical contact, but about emotional connection and thinking outside the box about ways to become consistent in your pursuit of knowing them better year after year.

Take Care of Your Self. I’ve seen a lot of women neglect their own needs and wants in the name of taking care of their spouse. There has been more than one season in my life where I was guilty of this. What I have learned is that my husband takes notice when I am confident. It’s always easier to feel confident when you are taking care of yourself. This looks different for each person. Maybe, it means taking 20 minutes of quiet to clear your mind, taking a hot bath each evening, shaving your legs and putting on lipstick. For me, it means having quiet time each morning, praying, getting more sunshine, working out regularly and eating food that makes me feel well.

By doing these things I have increased our intimacy in marriage in the long lasting important ways.  While physical things are always important, knowing our relationship is strong is vital. Over time, I have discovered that my husband isn’t really different from me, because just like me, he wants a partner that is involved in his life, knowledgeable of his interests and one who encourage him to grow.

More relationship tips:

• 7 Ways To Rekindle Romance In Your Relationship
• 15 Reasons To Take A Shower With Your Spouse
• Making Your Family A Priority When Working From Home