Daily Chats and Encouragements
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We are having a strange summer, not at all like last year. Last year it started end of May with the temperature rising to mid 90's and stayed that way with most days being in the l00's for all of June, July and August. So our central air ran constant which made our monthly hydro bill go from $85 to $114 this year. Now this year is it different, May was a 'washout' with the temps not getting into the mid 70's and lots of rain. June came and we would have one day warmth hitting between 75 -85 then the next day it would be back down to 70's with clouds. Today, July 1 marks 2 days in a row that we are seeing the sun and where we will more than likely need to put the air conditioning on later this afternoon for about an hour to cool the house down. So quite different. I enjoy the warmth but I don't like the increase in my monthly bills due to running the central air - but that is life.
Am doing well with my food plan of absolutely no salt, no sugar. I don't by anything that has a label as that means there is some form of sugar or salt in it. I also have not had any dairy products for 6 weeks now and boy do I feel better just making that change. I didn't eat a lot of dairy, mainly 2 eggs a day, thought I would really miss them but don't at all. Gave up all beet 4 weeks ago which was a big on as we are meat eaters at our home an was raised with meat and potatoes being the mainstay foods. And am now having 2 oz of grilled chicken once a week. I never thought I would be one that would eat carbs, whole plants and fruit - but I am doing well with it.
Funny story about these changes. Tuesday decided I was tired of just having the same thing (funny because that was what I was doing when I ate animal products) of stir fry vegetables with either brown rice or boiled potatoes with either lentils or beans for extra protein. So I got it in my mind that I needed to go to Denny Restuarent for brunch after my TOPS meeting. Had a 55+ omelete (lots of vegetables which was good but it was made with 3 eggs) and it came with cubed potatoes and an order of toast. Though I eat it all cleaning up my plate it was very salty (think it was the potatoes) so all afternoon I could not stop drinking water (that day I damaged my kidneys rather than helping them heal). So what do I do the next day. Lunch comes and I have planned my meal for my cup of brown rice with lots of stir fry vegetables which I really enjoy. But no, saw that my husband was going to make hot dogs for him and my daughter - yup I did it - not just one but 3. And when dinner came I said to my husband 'I am really craving a Big Mac from McDonalds - you know the hamburger, large fries and a medium coke. He told me to check out the sodium between McDonald and A&W - not much difference - so yes I gave in and had one. Well I am to keep my sodium level below 1500 and closer to 500 - 700 and mine came out for that day ( drum roll please) 2,500 = 1,000 more than the top number I should have let alone 2,000 more than what I should be having. Then Thursday comes along and a lady from TOPS has called to see if she could stop over as she wanted to 'test' some 'yarn' in the dryer. Don't understand why she couldn't do it in hers (but found out why when she arrived) Her and her husband arrive at 11 am with me thinking they will stay 1/2 hour -they stayed right through lunch (2 hours). And she never stopped talking. At one point she mentioned that she her husband takes her every Friday to a senior home Day Care for 3 hours in the afternoon for social time (only ones that I know that do this are people that put their loved one there so that the spouse can have a short brake from caregiving. Anyway she very loudly and really making a point said 'I am very very lonely, I don't have friends, I need friends, I am really lonely' And it hit me - she is looking for a friend. But honestly I know I can't be her close buddy - don't have the strength. It would be a bit different if there was a way we could have a discussion but she just talks talks and talks and when you reply she starts talking about something else before you even finish the thought you had when she asked something. I am going to be putting her on my prayer list but will not be looking to having daily / weekly visits from her as there has to be others that are stronger to handle her personality. She kept saying she wants me to come to her house weekly for a 3 hours knitting session - nope not me, I prefer to knit at home. Funny thing is she came for this visit bring to very heavy sweater she thought were nice - and they were of good quality yarn but the cashmere one was full of moth ball holes - and she modeled it saying it was the prettiest sweater she had. So sad when people are in this state wanting friends but making it difficult to be a friend to them.
At any rate I have rambled on far to long . Have a great weekend everyone -we are in Canada are celebrating Canada Day today while you wait for the 4th for your celebrations
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Oh my, now that was a fall off of the wagon! So glad that it didn't make you sick! You are doing so well, you'll get back on track and stick with it now that you know how much that can hurt your plan. One day wouldn't have been too bad, but three meals - not so much! I'm that way too, when Wade is making something that looks really good and I know it's not great for me - I give in - but lately I've done pretty good at saying "NO". I feel for that lady who visited you. It's hard being friends with someone like that, and it does sound like she needs a person with a strong personality to help her out.
Still at 235.4, but so happy that it isn't higher. God is so very good.
Going to do a cookout on Monday for the 4th with whoever wants to come and enjoy it with us. We are going to be having it with our neighbors (Pastor and his wife), so even if it's just us we will have a lot of fun! Getting ready to go to town so will talk to y'all later. Love ya0 -
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That's an extremely sad situation, Marilyn. But it would be so exhausting to try to carry her burden. Praying for her....and others like her. I can't say much on friendships because I have few to none outside my cyber ones. I made 3 in my Buy Nothing group but I don't spend time with any so it's surface relationships only right now. Dur to my pain, mobility and hearing issues, I just prefer hanging out with Jesus.
You've exercised a lot of discipline in your eating plan. That would be "exhausting"....to me! I am just waiting for an energy surge to make a pot of soup and sort my fridge and freezer again.
Enjoy your cookout, Kim nd the fellowship. I figure some of my neighbors may cook out on the community grills while I stay inside under the AC and long for BB-Q. I did have a small container of macaroni salad, potato salad and jalapeno cheese smoked sausage....over a 3 day period. We have 2 fancy schmantzy BB-Q places here in town but oh my...the prices! Lunch can set you back $25 for ONE. One was featured on the program Restaurant Impossible recently. Oh well.
Have a blessed and refreshing day all...I will as well.
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Well, we are going to reschedule our cook out. Our pastor had West Nile Virus several years ago and still suffers the back lashes of that. He struggles with his breathing and the heat doesn't help with that. He had a bad night last night so we will work in the cook out another day. Wade and I are going to go into town and have some lunch. No plans to watch fireworks tonight though, maybe on TV. Or maybe we will be able to see some from our house - I don't know if we could last year or not! LOL!
Have a very happy fourth, y'all.0 -
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Sorry you guys had to change plans but more so for the reason! Prayers for him...and you all. Hope you enjoyed your day. Mine was quiet, calm and peaceful as most are and I am so blessed and thankful.
I ordered some new stove things...the burner drip trays, lovely covers...I only get those things every 3-4 years and all I really need is the big drip tray. I use my one big burner for any cooking I do. I was able to find a package with 2 large and 2 small. Hooya! That made me happy. I love new kitchen and bedroom things even tho I am the only one to see them except maybe maintenance and the bug man?.... And....aids like my short grabbers...perfect for the kitchen, my study area and by my desk...yep...I have 3 of them.
I'm having some fun in short spurts today...cleaning, restoring order, catching up on things. Other than back pain at 7 minutes (screaming)...I am doing well and am so thankful! I took some Tylenol. My Dr. didn't OK my script so I use the arthritis strength. I am so glad I recover quickly when my back is raging. Who cares if it takes 10-12 steps to sort my fridge and 5 to change my bed? It still gets done!
Here's my new covers. Love them! I have a set for Christmas with cats wrapped in lights that are sweet too. I've had them for about 12 years.
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What great reminders every time you go to cook, Bren!
Did not sleep well last night. I'm functioning on about three - four hours of sleep. I think I might have dozed a couple of times from about 11:30-4 AM, that was the last time I saw on my clock before I finally drifted off. I took my sleep aid at around 2 AM, but still had trouble falling into a good sleep. Then my bladder got me up at 7:15 - bad bladder!!! LOL! God is my sustainer.
Down to 234.4 this morning. Woohoo. God is good! Hope I can keep this downward trend going.
Oh boy, ate at IHOP yesterday and I ordered their protein pancakes which don't have wheat in them, they are oat and flax and chia and rye flours. I got the lemon curd and blueberry (2 of them). When they brought out our order they brought out two plain protein pancakes and said that the lemon ones were coming. My hubby had ordered blueberry pancakes, so we knew they weren't his. When they brought out the lemon/blueberry ones they didn't look like the protein pancakes, but we couldn't tell for sure, so I ate about half of what was there. Yep, they were regular. I ended up with lots of cramps as we were getting ready to check out at Walmart. Praise the Lord we were somewhere I could take care of it! Grrr. Come on people, you are professionals and I really need you to get it right. I should have asked, but they didn't seem too with it so I don't know that I would have trusted what they said. The Lord saw me through it and we're okay today. I am going to eat the protein ones that came extra today for lunch. Yummers!
Hope y'all have a great day. Love you0 -
That was my thought as well! If I feel "blessed and thankful" in my kitchen...perhaps I will actually use it more to feed myself well! One can hope!
I finally got my fridge finished and made my soup before I had to toss my kale! It's a white bean and kale soup with potato, onions, tomato, a bit of bacon, a can of Northern beans and 12 chicken meatballs tossed in. I used both of my boxes of NS chicken broth so have more on my order for tomorrow. I had no Italian seasoning! I used Mr's Dash spicy and found some oregano...and ordered some Italian seasoning on my list. I made me some tea and am enjoying that. I don't have it often so it's a treat today.
I-HOP...ours is really awful! I've been there 3 times in my 25 years here and that was giving them a second and third chance to provide a decent meal. How can pancakes be TOUGH? So sorry you had a similar bad experience! I don't trust them at all...for anything past coffee!
I got my meds packs done...sometimes I can zip thru without a whine and sometimes...I whine for a bit first. I do 2 weeks at a time. I'm always glad to finish a task!
I was up a bit today...232.8...have been a bit careless this past couple of weeks. I'm gonna have some soup for lunch and watch a little TV....hope you rest a lot better tonight. Love you, Sister!0 -
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Just letting you guys know that I haven't fallen off the face of the earth. We are fine...just a different "fine" than a couple of years ago.0
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Totally understand, Connie! You're in my prayers.
Great picture, Marilyn, and so true.
Having tummy troubles lately. I might just go on a yogurt, applesauce, and mild smoothie diet to see if I can get it back on track. It hasn't been since I had Covid and a half years ago, but it's been getting worse over the past two weeks. I'm probably allergic to or sensitive to another food! LOL! My list is getting so long I may only be able to drink water before all is said and done!
Hope y'all have a wonderful day. Love you0 -
Feeling much better bowels are finally doing what they should which is great. But it has been a rough couple of days with having to go to the hospital by ambulance at midnight on Sunday. Ended up having blood in my urine, they took blood to test and did a CT scan. Not sure how long the doctor has been a doctor but was not sure how she handled it all. After they took the tests they gave me a shot of morphine as the pain was incredible. Then she came to tell me that the blood work showed no bladder infection, no kidney infection, no kidney stones but a lesion on the kidney. Then she told me that my back was the worst she has ever seen. Asked her if there showed nothing why the blood - she looked at me and said she didn't know didn't have any idea. Told me I could go home and if the pain came back to take some tynelol which I did before but it didn't help.
Thankfully on Tuesday I had an appointment with my doctor and I broke as I was so upset. Told him about the blood in the urine, what the doc said about my CT and nothing about what caused the blood. He shook his head and then told me what was really happening. He said my kidneys are full of small stones and that over time they will come out and don't be surprised if I have another attack. He order a new med for the pain that does not have codeine and will not cause constipation. He said the blood in the urine happened because a small stone was going through the tube re what we pee from and scratched the side causing it to bleed some - and not to worry about it - that the med's he gave me it would help relax my intestines and allow the tube to be more flexiable to enable the stones to get out easily.
Asked him what the lesion is - he laughed and said, there is no lesion but I have a cyst and have had it since I started going to him 15 years ago - he says it has not changed therefore we don't need to be concerned. As for my back looking so bad - yes he said it does look bad and that is because my complete back is riddled with arthritis - and looking at it without knowing the patient would make you think that you must not be able to do anything due to how bad the pain must be. Yes the pain is bad - it comes and goes but I have learned to live with it knowing when I have to stop doing things giving it a rest.
Anyway after all of this I am now working on my food plan. Asked him what he thought of The McDougall Plan which was put out there over 60 years ago by Dr John McDougall - it consists of going whole foods, whole grains, fruit, absolutely no animal protein, absolutely no dairy, and no oil - my doctor feels it is an execellant way way to eat and suggested going on it for 90 days doing it exactly, then we would do another blood work and see the difference - he believes at that time 90% of the meds will be either reduced or not needed if I change to this way of eating. So that is what I am doing - it will also help with improving my kidney function.
So my food plan consists of the following
1) 3 meals a day with absolutely no snacking / no eating between meals
2) no animal protein - this means eating lentils and beans for protein
3) no dairy - this will clear up all cholesterol problems
4) no sugar, no salt and limit flour
5) daily my meals will be based mainly on whole grains such as potatoes and brown rice as much as I want during the day at meal times, along with lots of fresh/frozen vegetables, some legumes and beans.
I have been doing this somewhat but have had the occasional meat products so am going completely on this program for 90 days and see what happens with my help. I have talked to a number of people that have gone this way and they all said it was difficult at the start as they were lovers of 'meat' but now that they don't eat it they don't miss it - anyway I have the program and it give the 12 day plan with sample meals for the 12 days so that is what I am going to be following - now just to get the kidney stones to disolve without much pain
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Oh man, kidney stones are the worst pain a person can go through. So glad that you went to the hospital and finally got some answers. Sounds like your doctor is on the ball! The ER was that way when we took Mom in because of blood in her urine. They were sure it was an infection of your urinary tract - nope. They had no idea where the blood was coming from but did find the lesions on her liver. I think that was the culprit. Two weeks later she was back because of lethargy and unresponsiveness and the lesions had spread. Super fast moving cancer. She passed three weeks later. So glad she didn't have to go through a long time in that state. So incredibly glad it's not a lesion on your kidney but something that has been there for a long time! Praise the Lord you have a diet that you can follow that I think, because of your love for vegetables, you will be able to stick to. Keep us informed each day how you are doing.
I'm down to 234, a few more ounces gone. Hey, I'll take it!
My tummy has been off as well, cramping for about two weeks after I eat. I have no idea what the culprit is, but I'm going to be going on a yogurt, applesauce, and smoothie diet. Super easy stuff to digest, and see how it goes.
Love you gals.0 -
Thanks for your encouragement - but had to smile some at the 'your love for vegetables' -I do not like vegetables at all never have but I know that they are what we (I) should eat so daily I am working on liking them more - just trying to cook them differently and spiced well.
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I had another episode with my back yesterday. Praise God, it passed quickly and didn't put me down the 3 days. As bad as mine gets, I sure feel for those with worse pain!
I finally managed to get my bed changed today. Hooya. Took 6 phases due to pain and recovery....will sort laundry in a bit. I got the dishwasher unloaded/reloaded and run. I really don't like the extreme heat it dries at but don't know how to avoid it. I'll see if it has a button for no heat?
I made up a bowl of tomato/onion and pepper salad...would have used cucumbers but don't have any yet. They are on tomorrow's pick up list.
Looky here! My camera thingee is working again. My kitchen "corner" looks clean, huh? LOL I call it user friendly when it's clean and for someone alone I can make really big messes!
I had a new cat visit on Thursday. A big old beefy beautiful black and white one. Super friendly. I pet him and talked to him and suggested he be my cat, but I say that to them all....one of my sweet torties came by as well. She's the great granddaughter of my calico cat.
The other night, I cooked the one Swai filet I had and it was delicious! I did want some coleslaw with it but didn't have that either.
I made my soup but will pull the rest of the chicken meatballs. I just don't like them in it. The soup itself is wonderful.
Vexus is going to be coming in next Mon/Tue to install a fiber optic drop in all our apartments. Hoping it doesn't take a long time like with the electrician and plumbing thing did. I have my Roku...still in the box since our cable is still working. Do I just plug it in and watch stuff?
Have a blessed day all...Marilyn, I am so sorry you're having the stone issue! I pray I never have to deal with that particular pain. Love and prayers in this new day...
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We have a Roku, Bren. It has an HDMI hook up for the back of your TV. You also have to pick the channels that you want to watch - but beware, not all of the ones they offer are free! We really like Pluto, it has a lot of old TV shows on it, and even has some cooking and DYI channels as well. We like Perry Mason, Dick Van *kitten*, Wanted Dead or Alive (western with Steve McQueen), the old Mission Impossible, Andy Griffith, and others. I don't think we had to do much other than plug it in, hook up the HDMI and then pick our channels. If you want to pay a subscription for something (we had Vid-Angel which allows you to watch Amazon TV or Neflix TV without all the garbage; I also had the Disney and the Discovery subscriptions but got rid of both) you can do it through your Roku as well.
Marilyn, I've tried to learn to like some veggies, but I have to dress them up so much to tolerate them that it's not worth it. Like having broccoli salad. Love it, but I have to eat so much of it over a couple of days it starts bothering my stomach. The okra we are getting out of the garden has to be coated in corn meal and fried in MCT oil before I can tolerate it - but I can put it in my smoothies, that hides it completely. That is what I hope to do with the zucchini too.
At 234 again this morning. I am eating more lightly and last night I didn't have my evening snack, although I did take my pills with part of an Izze which I counted as my evening snack! I'll try to eat light today, but we may be going out to lunch this afternoon, so not sure what I will get, but absolutely no wheat or dairy!
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Doing better each day - think I passed another kidney stone yesterday and think another one this morning. Needed to take the med for the pain yesterday - ended up having to take 2 of then in a period of 4 hours along with some tynelol to get through the pain - am praying that today will be a pain free day from the stones.
I see the doctor again on Monday to get my 1st 'shot' for my diabetes and then rather than taking a pill daily it will be one shot once a week which will be better - and the shot does not make you gain or hold onto weight. But I will also talking to him more about the stones - how long he thinks it will take to get all of them out - tires me out just thinking about it.
Vegetables are really a problem for many of us. I know if I eat uncooked vegetables, even just a very little, I suffer terribly. So all of them have to be cooked, and have to be chopped fairly small. Also eating them 'plain' meaning no spices or sauces is terribly hard. I stir fry most of the vegetables and we stir fry without oil - we stir fry in water or vegetable broth. We don't use salt anymore - or anything with salt in it. We use lots of spices and herbs to make the vegetables taste good. Ones we use a lot of are onion, garlic, black pepper, Italian Dressing, cayenne, red pepper spice, dill, turmeric, - those are a just a few that we use a lot of.
I used to use cheese a fair amount to make cheese sauces but am now on no dairy products. So a lot of the 'sauces' I now use are made from scratch due to the store bought ones have salt in them. It takes time - usually take one day a week and make a few that will last for a week or two so that helps. Some of the sauces are a tomato sauce made of course with tomatoes that I put through the blender, spice it up with lots of garlic and onion and add to it blended broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, arugula and then measure it into 2 cup servings where I put into zip lock bags for the freezer. That is one sauce we use a lot of. We do another mixture of tomatoes, onion, celery all blended together and then put in some low sodium soy sauce or worchestershire sauce or some has some hot sauce mixed into it. And I again measure out 2 cups servings into zip log bags, labeled and freeze. There are a few other sauces that I have come across that follow the way I eat that we will be making up and freezing - so glad we have a freezer that I can make these all up and put into as it is so much easier to have them all prepped in advance. Also make up a 'meat' sauce for my husband for over spaghetti and I then use the regular tomato sauce for over mine. Works great.
If you are interested I can share some of the recipes I am now using that consist of no animal products, no dairy and no oil and is very tasty. I have started a good collection of them for when I want to 'make it fancy' otherwise I just go for basic vegetables in the stir fry with a good amount of either boiled potatoes, or the occasional baked potato or lots of rice. Last night 1/2 my plate was boiled potatoes (no butter as that is a dairy thing) but nicely spiced and was able to smash it down some and used some of my stir fry over it - hmmm was so good. And just since Tuesday I have now lost 2.2 pounds and I still have a few more days before I officially get weighed so eating this way works.
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Thanks Kim, for the Roku tip. I'd like a clean movie (not Hallmark) ap...I've watched movies on Amazon a bit and like them, just don't like sitting at my computer to watch. I'll play with the Roku when they cut the cable off as I am not willing to pay an additional fee to have it.
I suppose I don't have issues with veggies...raw or otherwise and I'm glad. My only issue is prep time...hacking, dicing, chopping, slicing...so when the urge strikes, I'll do up a couple of containers I can just grab and gobble from.
Dinner last night was a few baby carrots, broccoli pieces, mini sweet pepper, 2 sweet petites one dill petite, 3 pieces Gouda, deli ham and Ranch dip. Quite yummy, satisfying and easy. Bento plate.
I have a Wal-Mart order for pick up today...I had made orders there and at HEB about 6 times in the past week but didn't want to go get stuff so I cancelled them and made do with things I have. I've been wanting salads tho so let this order stand. I normally use HEB since I get bagged ice and WM doesn't offer it anymore for pick up. Most of their prices are a bit lower but then I have further to drive for a pick up....Quite the dilemma for a lazy girl. I do pick ups early before the traffic is crazy so it's not the big deal I make it out to be.
I noticed yesterday how very dry my skin is! Yikes. Is there a pill for that? I have several bottles of lotion and guess I should be using some.
I hacked off some hair last night...about 2-3 inches. It was getting shaggy and on my nerves. Hope you ladies have a good day....be blessed and refreshed. Love and prayers...0
