Sunday, July 24, 2011

Not So Lazy Sunday

Productive days in my life come few and far between.  Today, I'm happy to report has been a gold star day for Barb. 

Greg and I did the grocery shopping this morning, and I stocked up on fresh veggies and fruit.  I also picked up a few things to use for stir fry - my evil plan for getting more veggies in my mouth.  The down side of fresh produce is finding room in the fridge for it.  Well today, I made it the upside, because it gave me a reason to thoroughly clean out the fridge.  My friend Amy and I got into a debate one day over just what constitutes "cleaning out the fridge".  In my world, it means basically throwing out the leftovers that are no longer identifiable.  And occasionally sorting through the veggie drawer and tossing anything limp.  Now when Amy cleans out her fridge, she throws out anything open (maybe a slight exaggeration) and wipes down all the surfaces.  AND she claims that she does this every week before she puts her groceries away.  I love Amy!  Today, I gave my fridge the Amy treatment, and then some!  I threw out all of the jars of stuff that Greg won't eat and I shouldn't eat.  Yes, that meant throwing out 1/2 a jar of expensive Harry and David jelly, but it was old anyway.  I also threw away multiple open jars of pickled beets, old dill pickles, and even some liquor.  THE HORROR!!!  I organized the items in the door (I can just hear Greg now "where the hell is the ketchup?"  He'll get used to it.  I'm happy to report that even after putting all the new groceries away, there is still room in the fridge.  Which in our house is something to be said.  While I was in the cleaning mood, I even cleaned out a kitchen cupboard and cleared off the counters!

After eating lunch (yummy BLTs) I got chicken breasts marinating for supper, and moved on to laundry.  And then I took a nap!!   Hard work makes Barbie tired :)  And now I need to go cut up some veggies for Greg to grill. 

PS - I'm in such a good mood I'm even listening to doo wop.  THE HORROR!!!

Friday, July 15, 2011

Not Ready To Quit Yet

It's been a week now since I was shocked back to reality, and I'm happy to say I haven't lost any momentum.  The changes in my eating habits have been pretty easy to make.  I'm still completely dependent upon my Sparkpeople food diary and don't put a thing in my mouth without consulting it first.  In looking back over the last week I've discovered I actually need to eat MORE carbs!  I was so worried about carbs in the beginning that I searched out all the low carb foods I could find, but I'm starting to see that I don't have to do that with every little thing I eat.  If I have to choose between low carb not so tasty and regular with just a few extra carbs, I can have what I like.  I think knowing this will help me stay on track. 

The walking has been more of a challenge. It's way too hot out now to walk outside, so I'm walking to the DVD, but walking in place (even with the extra fancy stuff they throw in) gets very boring.  Something for me to work on, I guess!

In other news not just about ME ME ME, we have 6 new baby kitties, courtesy of Scheid Farms.  And you thought they just raised cattle over there!  Carter called Aunt Jan Wednesday morning and asked "Where are the kitties?"  so she immediately gathered up all she could find at the time (ha) and brought them over.  Most of them are really tame, and two in particular were willing to be mauled by a 2 1/2 year old.  After a few minutes they all scattered to places unknown for naps.  It took most of the day for 4 of them to come of out hiding, and we took them outside to their new home - the garage.  The other two were a bit more difficult - the last one wasn't caught until 8:30 that night.  They've all settled in nicely, and seem to be getting along pretty well with the other cats and the dogs.  Luckily Lucy is a cat lover.  Most cattle dogs are not, so we're grateful for that.  Hossy likes to play with them too.  I took a few pictures the evening they came,  but it was getting dark, so they didn't turn out great.  Hopefully I can get some better ones, but for now here they are:


5 of the 6  from left unnamed gray girl, Cup Cake, Taffy, Fondue, and Jelly Bean


last but not least, Muffin


no really, Jelly Bean LOVES being held like this!


Poor gray kitty needs a name.  They are obviously all named for food items. (Yes I love torturing myself, thanks for asking)  Jan named Muffin, and the rest just fell in line,  Cup Cake looks just like muffin, but he has frosting on his face, Jelly Bean is named for Greg's favorite - Black Jelly Beans, Taffy - well just look at him, and Fondue - you can't tell in this picture, but his back legs and front feet look like they've been dipped in marshmallows.  But the little gray girl has me stumped.  Suggestions are welcome. 


Our garden is coming along.  There are several GREEN tomatoes.  Wish they'd hurry up and ripen!  We picked a few banana peppers and 2 ears of corn Wednesday.  Erin says Carter doesn't really like corn, but he sure likes corn on the cob!


I worked hard for this!!


Saturday, July 9, 2011

My Plan for Life

Dear Blog,

I'm so sorry I've neglected you so over the last few months.  I can give you a list of excuses but none of them are good enough.  I would like to promise that I will never neglect you again, but that would just get your hopes up, and that's not fair to you.  For now, I'll just promise to think about you often, and occasionally update. 

Love, Barb

Type 2 Diabetes sucks.  For 10 years I've known I had it, and I've taken medication for it (with the exception of a 9 month period where I went temporarily insane)  But in all that time, I don't think I ever really accepted it and I know I've never understood just what it meant.  Up until 2 years ago all it really meant was I had to take a pill every day.  Medicine kept my blood sugar in check, so what I ate really didn't seem to have any effect on my illness.  Well let me tell you, that has changed.  Big Time.  After my recent visit to the Dr. and hearing my latest A1C test results, I've finally... yes FINALLY, decided to take the bull by the horns.  So to speak.  I went to the Diabetes Learning Center 2 days ago and visited with a nurse.  She pretty much laid it out for me; if I continue down the road I was on, in 5 years, I'd be looking at some pretty ugly possibilities.  Things like heart failure, loss of eyesight, loss of limbs, you get the drift.  Well I certainly got the drift.  She suggested some changes to start with, and in August I'll start classes for 5 weeks.  I've decided diabetes will no longer control me.  I'm the boss of me!

So I'm sure you're wondering what changes I'm making....  well let me tell you!

1.  Eat Breakfast.  I learned I'm not taking my medications properly -- some are to be taken on an empty stomach and some with food or after eating.  If I don't eat breakfast, I don't benefit from my meds. 

2.  Count Carbs.  WOW.  Have my eyes been opened!  When you realize a meal should only have 30 to 60 carbs and snacks 15 to 30, it changes the way you look at food.  Take my beloved Hostess Cherry Pies for instance.  Yes, I knew they had sugar in them, and probably weren't too good for me, but sweet baby Jesus - 67 carbs in one pie!!!  I dropped that pie like lit firecracker with a short fuse!  I think a few carbs rubbed off just by being in the same aisle!  There is some good news though --  Miracle Whip is relatively low in carbs!  YES!  You have no idea how big a deal that is to me!

3.  Walk.  She told me I need to walk 30 minutes a day.  Doesn't matter if I break it up into 3 10 minute walks or all at once.  Just get moving.  I started wearing a pedometer, and was surprised at how many steps I take during a day at work.  Over 5000.  So my new goal is to get 10,000 steps a day.  She also recommended a DVD to walk to when the weather keeps my from going outside.  No excuses!

4.  Check my blood sugar levels frequently.  Knowing exactly what effect different foods have on my bs level will help me make better choices.  I'm already seeing positive results, which makes me feel so good about what I'm doing and make me want to do even more!

I found an online tool that I'm finding is invaluable in helping me implement these changes.  The website is www.sparkpeople.com  I already knew about it, and had even registered on it several months ago, but ignored all of the emails they sent, and pretty much forgot about it.  But I decided to check it out again and found specific programs for diabetics.  There's an awesome online food diary that lets me journal everything I eat no matter where I am - there's even an app for that!  It tracks calories, carbs, fats and protein, and breaks them down by meals, and snacks.  That has been a huge advantage

So that's it.  For now anyway.  My new life plan.  Today is day 3 and I can't really explain why, but I feel different.  Mentally, physically, all around better.  I think I like being in control of my life for a change!