Feb 2020 - in less than an hour

It is currently 11:10 PM January 31rst... can you believe a month is GONE already? WOW! I have been a horrible Blogger once again and we have fallen off the Vegan Wagon. I can do it... Scott seems to need the "meat".  Perhaps I just need to do more research on how to get alternative proteins. If anyone has any recommendation on a book or website with GREAT info on getting all the right Nutrients from a Vegan diet; please let me know in the comments below.

2020 is HERE!

Today is January 4th, 2020... CAN YOU BELIEVE IT? I remember my 16 year old self standing in the barn on the farm thinking ... wow I will be OLD in the year 2000... woo hoo a whopping 36! I never thought I would live to 2020 at that time. Not sure why but I thought my life would be so short. I am so thankful I found Scott and had Greg; they have filled my life with so many happy memories. May 2020 be filled with many more special moments.

We worked on the house over the Christmas Holiday and I will be painting in my old hobby room the next time we are down there. I have primed everything and even got  the ceiling painted so next I will paint the trim, inside of the closet and the walls. Scott will work on replacing the two windows while I paint. We are hoping to have it completed so we can move our bedroom furniture into that room so we can get started on the Master bedroom next. We also need to sand and paint  the closet and room doors in a nice crisp white. Just doing that makes the rooms look fresh and bright as well as larger. All the little things ad up and we are hoping will give us a better chance at getting top dollar when we sell.

Scott has some repairs to make in the sheet rock in the Master bedroom before I can start painting in there. Baby steps but we are planning to list the place in May. I have a list of tasks to complete by then and we are slowly getting things checked off that list.

While Scott starts  the sheetrock repair work in the Master bedroom later this month and in February I want to clean the yard up really well and mulch all the flower beds. There are still a couple raised beds in the backyard that need to be taken out and the dirt spread about and grass planted. We also want to dismantle the original shed we built and Scott wants to save some of the lumber to reuse for shelves up here in the garage at the cottage. If only we could find more hours in the days we are there. 

Next time we are down I will put the To-Do list here on this blog so you all can see how we progress. I may have to start going down more when areas are available to paint. I can't next week as I have a Doctors appointment - just routine check-up to check  that I am keeping my A1C down. And the dreaded PAP smear... UGH! 

We also have to be courteous to Greg and be as quiet as possible in the mornings as he works so late and is sleeping in the mornings. We are on a similar schedule so we know how hard it is to get good sleep and Greg works to  the wee hours of the morning and then doesn't get to sleep until 5 AM or after. Anyone that thinks a person can come straight home from work and fall straight to sleep is fooling themselves. There is winding down time, fur babies that need love and attention, a bath or shower, prep for the next day. Well you get the idea. 

I need to get better about taking photographs again. My camera has been giving me fits even after the trip in for repairs and I am not willing to spend anymore money on it. I have another really nice camera... just need to learn how to use it. 

Until next time... have a wonderful weekend.

                                                         

Tis the Season

I can hardly believe another December has arrived. I have a few gifts wrapped for Greg and Scott. I will pick up some little gifts for the children under 18 and that will be all for the extended family as the family has just gotten so big we can't get gifts for everyone.  Time spent together is more important than gifts anyway... at least I think so.

I forgot to check my Blood sugar before breakfast this morning but my 7 day average on my meter says 128 (A1C would be 5.7 to 5.8). My current 90 day average according to my mete is 133 (A1C of 5.9).

It is so hard to eat right at this time of year! Yesterday Scott and I cleared away the rotten wood pile in the side yard here at the cottage. We pushed it down into the woods and created a compost pile that I will add kitchen scraps and leaves to and Adele will have a nice rich compost pile to pull from after we move out of here. After all that hard work we were exhausted and hungry so we went to Arby's and got a couple loaded Italian subs, some stuffed jalapenos and 2 Jamocha milk shakes. ALL THE WRONG THINGS!! And then I was ill all night because of the dairy! My stomach churned ALL NIGHT LONG! Lesson learned... no more dairy. We have switched to almond milk for making our oatmeal and that's about the only thing we use milk in anymore here at home. So from now on if we don't eat it at home we won't be eating it out... at least I won't. Scott will decide for himself.

Well that's all for today!

Vegetarian... NOT going well

Going Vegetarian is not as easy as I felt it would be. I have been eating meat and dairy again. So I would say this experiment has failed entirely. It is hard to make dietary changes when you have to include other people in the meals. Scott said he would eat whatever I fixed but I could tell he was not thrilled about it... especially the no bacon/sausage and eggs in the mornings. Breakfast is his favorite meal of the day. I can go with the loaded oatmeal... oatmeal, fruit, nuts and seeds; but he needs some protein.

Another thing I discovered is aside from hot sour soup with tofu in it... I hate tofu done any other way. So I cut that out of the plan too.

I need to focus on just MORE vegetables in each meal to fill out dietary needs and reduce the portion size of the meats. Meat is just too expensive these days. Perhaps we will eventually end up Vegetarians but I think a slower transition will be better. Perhaps start with one day a week and then two and then three would be better than trying to go all in at once.

My 7 day average for my blood glucose is 127 (an A1C of about 5.6). I have not weighed myself this week... will do that next week. Today I have an appointment with the Orthopedic Dr about my left knee. I am in no pain at all now and quit taking the Naproxin last Friday. So I am going to talk with him about forgoing the surgery for now and see if the tear in the meniscus will heal on it's own. I will ask about exercises to help with that.

Until next week.

Updates on Health

Hello everyone! ME AGAIN!  I hope everyone is staying warm during this cold blast we are getting. I am so glad we have a home with heat to stay warm and my heart goes out to those that do not.

 I guess I will start with the results of the MRI I got  last week... I have a pretty severe Meniscus tear on the inside of my left knee. The Ortho gave me a cortisone shot and a prescription for 30 days of Naproxen. I go back to see him week after next and we will discuss whether to do surgery or not . It would be an Outpatient procedure and they would go in and shave the damage away to my meniscus. There would be a recovery period afterwards to regain full use of the knee. I was feeling so much better yesterday I tried to run with the dog (Bernadette)... HUGE MISTAKE. Hurt like crazy and I saw stars  and now the pain is back; not as severe but above a dull ache so it is annoying. UGH! Lesson learned and I am now only walking slowly and taking it easy. This is all so frustrating for me as I am used to going and going as I please. I will give an update on this in a couple weeks.

I went to the Dentist on Tuesday and got a GREAT report. NO CAVITIES!!! And now I have smile that sparkles... at least until I've started drinking coffee again. I was thrilled to have no cavities! Next visit with her will be in May.

OK lets get to the health update. For anyone that doesn't know Cortisone will mess your sugar up for SEVERAL days afterwards. I am saying this as my weekly average shows this immensely as I had a reading of 189 for my fasting the day after I received the shot which affected my weekly average. This morning my fasting reading was 119... YEAH!!!! So now to the averages for the current 7 day period .... My readings are 75% in range and the average is 141 (A1C - about a 6.1). I really am aiming for my average to be under 130 by January. Currently my meter shows my 90 day average is 132 (A1C about 5.9) which is AWESOME! I am so hoping to be under 6.0 by my next check in January with the Dr.

Now my weight... I weighed in this morning but only looked at weight in pounds not the BMI, percentage of fat and the rest... I will do that next week. So this morning I weighed 194.6 a loss of 2.2 pounds. YEAH!

I have struggled with staying 100% Vegan but I am pushing forward to reaching that goal as well. It's learning and unlearning so much of what I learned growing up. I keep exploring different ways to get all the Nutrients we need from a plant based diet without using tofu. Scott is being a good sport and just eating what I prepare with no complaints... quite a breath of fresh air from how he was when we were younger. (LOVE YA SWEETY).

See ya all next week!

Weekly Check-In

I am skipping weighing in this week as I am having trouble with my left leg. I am having an MRI tomorrow and will find out the results on Friday. I will weigh-in next Monday.

 I will report that my current glucose average for the past 7 days is 130 which puts me at an A1C of about 5.8. My 90 day average is 132 (A1C - 6.2). There are all sorts of conversion charts available online if you want to print one off to easily see where your glucose level falls on the A1C range.

This is but one site with a chart - https://tudiabetes.org/understanding-the-a1c/ They also have a lot of GREAT information to help you get your glucose (A1C) where it should be for a healthy life.

See you next week!

A Journey/ Experiment Begins

SO... this past week I started us on a journey to see if going mostly Vegetarian would improve our blood work results. I go again in January to have my blood work done and I would love to KNOCK HER SOCKS OFF with some amazing blood work.

So I guess the first thing I should start with is where my last blood work had me and my current weight, body fat % and BMI. So Current weight (as of today) 196.8 lbs, 42.3% body fat and my BMI is at 30.8; this was what my scales told me this evening. My blood work was done earlier this month and I am focused mainly on my A1C as I would love to get it under control the most so lets start there... 10/9/2019 my A1C was 6.3% with a value of 134 mg/dL.Standard ranges for these two readings are 4.3 - 5.6% and 77-114 mg/dL so my aim is to get to the 5.6 and the 114.  I am also planning to increase my activity level.. walking, hiking and following along with You Tube exercise videos.

I'm also going to take my measurements but am keeping them in a paper journal just for me. Sharing my weight is enough on here. Today's Fasting BG was 123 at 9:55 Am... we sleep later than most as Scott (husband) works the second shift. And my after dinner BG is 132.  My 7 day average is 135 (A1C - 6.0)

A couple photos of me at the Fiber event we  attended this past Saturday.

My plan is to post weekly on Mondays with "updates".