Tag: health

Healing My Sore Wrist with a Wrist Brace

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"Wrist Brace" Cedar Park, 2019
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.2, 1/50 sec, ISO3200
 “Wrist Brace” Cedar Park, 2019

こんにちは。How’s it going?

For the past week I’ve been wearing a wrist brace in order to let it heal properly. For several months now, I’ve been dealing with a nagging soreness when I flex my left wrist too far in either direction. I think I originally injured it lifting a suitcase in the summertime, and I have kept injuring it with regularity since then, so it never gets a good amount of time to heal. The pain is not too bad, but there are certain times when it hurts more, such as when I stretch for some keyboard shortcuts in Photoshop (like ctrl+t), reach back for the seatbelt, or play the ukulele.

The Vive wrist brace is sized pretty small, so I think anyone with larger hands will find it uncomfortable. My wrist is 6 3/4 in diameter, which is on the skinny side, and it’s pretty snug. The brace has three adjustment straps, and I like to leave it loose, which is comfortable but gives me adequate support and warning when I bend my wrist near the limit when it would begin to hurt.

Also, the brace is great for helping me play my Kala ukulele with better form. One of the reasons why my wrist has not healed is that I used to strain it almost every day due to my bad fretting form. But playing while wearing the brace keeps my wrist straight (and forces me to bend my fingers more) which is so great! In fact, the wrist brace might be a good idea for anyone who wants to improve their bad form.

Anyway, after a week of wearing the brace off-and-on, I can definitely tell that there’s less pain. Even when I don’t use the brace, I am more aware of my wrist position and more hesitant to use my left hand in situations that could potentially put excessive strain on it. It’s nice to be on the road to recovery! I’m not sure how long I will have to wear the brace, but I’m thankful that I don’t have to give up my ukulele hobby, which is a source of joy for me. 😀

I hope you had a nice day!

Reverse Osmosis Water System

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"RO Water" Cedar Park, 2019
Photo info: motorola moto g(6), 3.95mm, f/1.8, 1/20 sec, ISO679
 “RO Water” Cedar Park, 2019

こんばんは。How’s it going?

Today I had a little project: installing an under-sink Reverse Osmosis Water System. We purchased the iSpring RCC7AK 6-Stage water filtration system which has great reviews, and supposedly simple installation process.

I have to say, the installation for the iSpring RCC7AK was pretty easy. I always get nervous when working on plumbing, but this was really straightforward. The unit itself is designed smartly, with easily connected water tubes, and a brushed metal faucet that matches our main water faucet nicely. It is free-standing, but you can mount the system to a wall if necessary. The 2-gallon tank is the largest part of the unit, and I had to remove the bendy part of the PVC drain pipe in order to get it to the back corner, but that took only a few minutes. The only hiccup in the instructions was that part of it is outdated and referred to a couple of parts that had changed. After looking through the added documentation booklet I found the reference to the correct part, and I was back to the installation.


I won’t go deeply into what Reverse Osmosis filtered water is, except that it removes most of the contaminants that tap water contains. It tastes great too! We’re planning on using the RO water for drinking, making coffee, and cooking. As we get older, we’re spending more time/money focusing on our health, and since we drink plenty of water, having the best water possible seems like a great thing to do. 😄

I hope you had a nice day!

またね～

Holiday eating

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"Grilltime" Cedar Park, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/10, 1/100 sec, ISO800
 “Grilltime” Cedar Park, 2016

こんばんは！ Good evening!

How was your Monday? Here in the States, we had a holiday so many of us did not have to work and the kids have a holiday from school as well. We didn’t have any big plans, but we stayed home and cooked, relaxed, watched TV, and enjoyed each-other’s company.

The one thing we did plan was our dinner – t-bone steaks and sausage on the backyard grill. In addition, we had a couple of delicious salads and home-baked bread. It was all so good! We usually like to eat rib-eye steaks, but Koa said t-bones because he enjoys gnawing on the bones. 🍖 Of course we love the filet-mignon part of the steaks the best! So yummy. Bay, on the other hand, is not a big fan of steak, so I grilled some pork and garlic sausages for him. They were yummy as well. 😃

Today’s photo is one I took of our new grill, which is a gas grill. I like our charcoal grill, but Mariko wanted to get a more convenient grill for herself. This one is pretty good and easy to use. It heats up quickly and although it was my first time using it for steaks, they turned out pretty good! I did take them off a bit too early and then had to put them back on for a couple minutes, but since the heat adjustment is so responsive, it didn’t take long to get the grill back up to temperature.

These days, I am trying to eat better, with less processed foods and more natural and organic whole foods. For snacking, I like nuts and fruits, but occasionally I will have chips. And I rarely have sugary foods. I can’t remember the last time I had a soda… but I know I made the decision in January of 2013 to quit sodas… so I guess it has been over 3 years. And I have to say, I rarely get sick anymore. I think it has been one of the best decisions I’ve made. It’s funny, but at my work, we’ve had free sodas available for years now, but I don’t have any cravings at all for them. 😄 Besides the sugar, I don’t want my body to have to deal with all the chemicals that sodas have. Just water is good enough! Well, and my coffee, beer and wine. 🍷

Anyways, sorry to ramble on about my eating habits, but you are what you eat. 🍴

I hope you had a nice Monday, and we’ll see you tomorrow!

おやすみなさい！

– B Barron Fujimoto

Coins to coffee

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"Coins to Coffee" Cedar Park, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/8, 1/20 sec, ISO3200
 “Coins to Coffee” Cedar Park, 2016

こんばんは！ Hello, how are you doing?

Sunday was a funday for us. We enjoyed relaxing, grocery shopping, making smoothies, and watching tv. Koa and I did something new, which is converting all of our collected coins into a Starbucks gift card at the supermarket. It was pretty fun! And exciting too, watching the screen as the machine sorted all the coins and translated that into a total amount. I was impressed that the machine actually weeded out some Japanese coins that snuck into the jar. Pretty smart! Check out the video below for some of the action.

Later in the day I put on my running shoes and went for an easy run/walk around the neighborhood. It’s been a long time since I went running so I took it extra-easy today. It was a lot of fun to get some sun and fresh air. My legs felt great, and after the run, I spend a while on the exercise bike. I guess the smoothie we made earlier gave me a lot of energy. 😄

Tomorrow is Memorial Day here in the States. We’ll be at home again, spending the day together as a family.

Take care!

おやすみなさい！

– B Barron Fujimoto

Heavy chair

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"Massage Chair" Cedar Park, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/60 sec, ISO1250
 “Massage Chair” Cedar Park, 2016

こんばんは！ How was your Sunday? Mine was good, but I’m not feeling 100%…

As you can see in today’s photo, we have a new massage chair… it’s very heavy and not the best looking bit of furniture, but the massage it gives is great. However, moving it into the house was a pain (it took all four of us to move) and maybe I over-exerted myself. So, my back feels a little sore. Or, it could the that I spent too long in the massage chair!

At any rate, I don’t feel so great so I’ll be going to bed earlier than normal, if I can.

Tomorrow is the start of the work-week… lots to do!

おやすみなさい！

– B Barron Fujimoto

A-Z Challenge – V

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V stands for “Vision”

In the past few years, my vision has been getting worse, and this past year I got new glasses, but I cannot focus so closely with my current prescriptions. I can see at a distance very clearly, and even things at an arm’s length distance is ok. But anything closer than about 18 inches and my eyes start to strain and things get blurry. So reading is kind of a problem.

Austin, 2016
Austin, 2016

When I read in bed, I need to shine my bedside lamp directly at the book I am holding at arm’s length, and then I can read comfortably, but other things, like using the rear LCD screen on my camera is difficult. I don’t like to hold the camera far from me when taking photos. That’s one reason that I need a camera with a viewfinder with diopter adjustment.

I guess next time I get new glasses (my yearly allowance comes up in August) I should look at some kind of progressive lens. Honestly, it’s not a huge deal, but if it can be corrected, why shouldn’t I do it?

 

Evening at the baseball field

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Leander, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/100 sec, ISO2500
 Leander, 2016

こんばんは！How’s it going today? Wow, the days are flying past like crazy… I don’t remember when time seemed to move so fast.

Today I took Koa to baseball practice. I took today’s photos when I was picking him up at around 8pm. As you can see, there was still plenty of light in the sky… it’s already starting to feel like summer!

Only five kids from Koa’s team showed up for practice, but that’s to be expected because of Spring Break. Many families go on vacation this week but we usually stay at home. Our school district usually has a few days off earlier in the year, when other schools are still in session. This works out nicely because the popular vacation destinations are usually empty!

The past couple years, we’ve taken advantage of this to go to Disneyworld and the parks were empty! Well, not like a ghost town, but the wait times for rides were usually around 10 minutes or so. It was so great, with less stress and we didn’t have to have a strict plan. We kind of just played it by ear and just went with what felt good, and we still got to experience all the rides we wanted to go on, some rides multiple times!

But back to today… we bought something to help improve our health: an exercise bike. The model we got was relatively inexpensive, but rated very highly. I assembled it this evening in about 40 minutes… there was only a slight problem with one plastic piece, but it is not a big deal and doesn’t affect the performance nor safety.

What I like about this bike is that the handlebars have a large area that is perfect for a tablet or kindle. So, I am thinking that I will try to read a bit and get some exercise in after I wake up. It seems like I should be able to wake up a bit earlier and get in at least 15 minutes before showering and getting ready for the day. We’ll see how it works out. I am curious to see how it affects my energy levels and mindset during the day.

Leander, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/50 sec, ISO3200
 Leander, 2016

Well, I hope you have a nice evening! おやすみなさい！

-バロン Barron Fujimoto