Preparing to return to Arizona

It's been a great year here on the Mississippi River but it's time to get ready for our southern migration.  The weather in Minnesota this year has been unusually wet, almost feels like living in the Pacific Northwest. And the sunshine of Arizona is beckoning.

Maybe it's the weather, maybe it's from spending three whole days with my daughter, but I came down with a nasty head cold that laid me low for about a week.  Thankfully I'm starting to feel better and should be in prime shape to fly out of here next Saturday, complete with cats in tow.

Getting ready to return is always fun, all those lists of things that must not be forgotten.  Trying to keep the one checked bag under 40 pounds.

Of course there's always those unexpected surprises that come up...like having your credit card compromised.  Yup.  I can see it now.  

It will get sent to Arizona and forwarded here just as we leave, only to be redirected again. Sigh.

During my stay here I developed a great deal of pain in my feet...not good for an avid pickleball player.  I finally broke down and saw a doctor, which is good because now I have a clinic in Minnesota to go to for my needs.  I have completely flat feet and planter fasciitis.  This makes my feet the only thin part of my body.

Due to the wait for the appointment to get fitted for orthopedics they will probably have to mail them to me in Arizona.  But there's always a silver lining and due to the nasty cold/flu that kept me off my feet for a week my feet feel pretty good right now.  I try to see the sunny side of things.

I learned about how to find a better shoe which led to an expensive shopping trip and was advised to lose weight.  So I joined Weight Watchers (yet again) with my daughter as my team mate in this endeavor.   Oh, I knew this day would come.  Maybe this will be the time it really works and I can keep it off.  It always works, it's a great program.  It's the maintaining.

I had considered the gastric bypass but for once I am pleased to say that I wasn't fat enough, plus there's no health concerns that overrule the lack of a larger BMI.  Hmmm, I'll bet I could get myself up to that limit without any problems, but that seemed backwards to me.  So I guess I'll have to struggle along with drastic measures, like healthy choices and (gasp) realistic portion sizes.

If I am successful this time, the silver lining to this would be that the teeny tiny seats of Allegiant Airlines might actually be comfortable in the future.

Long Live the Plump Queen with Bad Feet