Healthier Me

Hello, blog land.  I haven't blogged much for a while now, and I do miss it.  It's ok, though, as I never wanted this blog to become a full-time thing.

So, recently, I've been working hard on my eating habits. Here's what's working for me:

• I've successfully given up my daily Mountain Dew habit.  It's been a lot easier than I thought, actually.  In the past month, I've had three... and I only actually finished the first one of them.  The other two, I took a couple of sips, then decided it just didn't taste good so I didn't want to waste the calories on it.   I'm amazed at how something I used to drink daily (sometimes more than once a day) now doesn't taste good to me!
• I am logging every single bite I eat into MyFitnessPal (free website/app).  I've used this in the past, and I know that any time I log my food, I automatically eat better.   Right now I'm on my 27th day straight of logging!
• I used the The 17 Day Diet Breakthrough Edition to start my weight loss.  I followed the program about 90% for the first cycle of 17 days, then decided to transition to just watching what I eat instead of following the next cycle.  (I kept my coffee creamer, and I had a few other things that weren't 100% legal on the plan, but I still lost 9lbs in those 17 days!)  If I find that I start gaining or just not losing, I will definitely hop back on the 17 day wagon.  
• I'm learning that many of my new food preferences fall under "clean eating" categories.  My tastes are definitely changing, and several of my old go-to snacks just taste... funny.   That definitely makes it easier to stay away from some of the bad stuff!

I'm working on this week's menu plan, and it will be up tomorrow for Menu Plan Monday.

 

This post may contain sponsored reviews or affiliate links- see my policy here. 
I always provide my honest opinion regardless of the source of the product.

Resting

If you've been reading here a while, you know that I have dealt with chronic abdominal pain for several years now.  On Thursday, I had yet another surgery for related problems... my 7th surgery over the last eight years. I am hopeful that this will be the very last surgery!

Right now, I'm resting, doing a little reading, and trying really hard not to do anything else... which is really hard!  Why is it that we moms have such a hard time letting others take care of us?  

In other news,  I'm trying the Bible in 90 Days reading plan again.  (Last fall I made it about 1/3 of the way through before I finally gave up.)  

Oh, and perhaps the most exciting news... our family is expecting a new member in about two weeks- a puppy!  We have been looking for a while now, and when a friend of a friend had a litter of Golden Retrievers (which I have always wanted), we decided that this was a perfect fit for our family.  We'll be bringing home our new little puppy as soon as she's weaned, which will be around the end of January.  Clearly I need to rest up and get ready for that! 

Your prayers for my healing and quickly regaining some energy would be appreciated!

Light at the end of my tunnel...

Finally!   After a crazy couple of months with me working 5-6 days a week, I can finally see on the calendar a date when things will get back to a little more "normal" with my {allegedly} part time job.  Whew!

A few updates:

• for those of you who have been weight watching with me... I'm down 19-20 pounds, depending on the day.  ;)   (Although this week I have really not been sticking to my points so I may have gained a little back-- we'll see on Sunday!)
• for those of you from the DOC (Diabetes Online Community).. my daughter's blood sugars have been fairly stable with no crazy/scary events recently.  We have had the CGM in our possession for a month now, but we haven't started using it yet because DD is really fighting us on it. She already goes through so much with her diabetes and her pump that I have been reluctant to push yet another thing on her.  I wanted her to have some say in the matter, since this is one of the few aspects of diabetes that she can actually control.  However, two days ago we struck a deal: when she starts wearing it, she can get her ears pierced, which she has been begging to do for months now.  We may start it this weekend!
• for those of you who don't read specifically for either of those reasons, thanks for sticking with me!  I realize that my recent sporadic blogging isn't good for growing readership, but during this busy season of my life, I'm OK with that.   I'm grateful for each of my bloggy friends!

This post may contain sponsored reviews or affiliate links.  You can read my policy here. 
I always provide my honest opinions.

Season of Exhaustion

Where do you find yourself today, with two weeks to go before Christmas?   I had hoped this would be the year my shopping would all be finished the first week of December... yet I'm still lacking three gifts.  This year we got the Jesse Tree book, made the ornaments.... and have yet to fully assemble and do the nightly readings.   I'm finding myself really drawn to writings on Ignation Spirituality (Jesuits) lately, and keep thinking that Advent is the perfect time of year to deepen my spiritual time.... but the only quiet time I seem to find lately is right before bed, when I'm usually too exhausted to do more than stare at the news before I fall asleep.  I have a million blog posts floating around in my head, but no time/energy to write them.

I have a lot to be thankful for, too-- DD's seizure from a few weeks ago didn't have any lasting effects; DH's health seems to be improving; things at work (part-time) have settled down.  

I'm just.... exhausted.   Exhausted translates to forgetful and highly irritable, which is NOT how I want to spend my Christmas season.   So, today, I vow to get back into the Christmas spirit.  Here I go...

What are your tricks for getting/keeping the Christmas spirit?

Just Call Me Bill

My life looks calm.  Looks normal.  It's not.  I feel very much like Bill the Cat these days: my brain is fried, which pretty much limits my responses to major life events to muttering "Ack" and "Pbbbthhh" and slinking off to do whatever it is that needs done.

(Side note: Bloom County remains my all-time favorite comic!)

Recent brain-cell stealing events:

• 44 gallon fish tank sprung a leak in a bottom seam & couldn't be fixed. New tank, new supplies, big bills, and fish living in a Rubbermaid box for three nights.  Pbbbbbttthhh!
• DD's insulin pump arrived in the mail last week.  This amazing piece of technology will soon be attached to my child, keeping her alive, 24/7.  We have SO much to learn.  Ack!
• Stuff going on at work.  Friends leaving.  Stress levels at an all-time high.  New regulations and paperwork and deadlines piling up.  Pbbbbbbttthhhh!
• A nagging feeling that maybe it's time to make a career change, yet no clue what/ how.  Ack!
• My annual eye exam uncovered a problem involving four follow-up visits so far.  I feel like one of my elderly residents as I organize my numerous vials of eye drops and complain about blurry vision.  Pbbbbbbtttthhhh!

See?  All these things have just sucked the life right out of me lately.  These things really  deserve much deeper responses, but I'm tapped out.  So.... thhhhppppptttt!

This post may contain sponsored reviews or affiliate links.  You can read my policy here. 
I always provide my honest opinions.

Since my last post, I've...

• gotten to see Glenn Beck and Bill O'Reilly on their Bold, Fresh Tour.  I'm more of a Beck fan, and DH is more of an O'Reilly fan, so it was the perfect show for us.  DH had splurged and gotten us great seats, right on the floor in the front section.  We never do things like that-- too expensive-- so this was a real treat.   The kids spent the night with my sister since we were in her city, so we went out for our favorite wings afterwards- it was a great date night!
• gone on a mini-vacation with the family for the weekend.  We picked the kids up the next morning from my sister's and carried on with our fun weekend. We toured a cave, tried a local restaurant, and spent several hours at a kid's place with a 3-story indoor climbing area & go-karts. Fun times!
• celebrated my baby boy's 4th birthday.  His choice: family lunch at a local fast food place with a play area.  Future post on the last-minute frugal themed cake to come soon! 
• spent some time with our neighbors.  Their 3 year-old was just diagnosed this week with Type I Diabetes, the same as my daughter.  We've talked a lot about the theory that something in the environment triggers this disease.  :(   I'm hoping our family can be a real help to them as they work their way through this scary new world. 
• worked.  A lot.  Among the time-consuming things at work: we threw a luau for the residents two nights ago.  They loved it. 
• with all of that... on top of normal life... I've just had no time for blogging or reading blogs. I'm trying to do some catch-up today since it's so hot outside! 

This post may contain sponsored reviews or affiliate links.  You can read my policy here. I always provide my honest opinions.

It's Not You, It's Me

If you read my blog in a feed reader, you're going to notice some wonky things with the post dates tonight.  I've had some half finished posts sitting here, and when finished tonight, they published under the dates on which they were originally meant to post... make sense?  LOL.  We'll now return to your regularly scheduled programming.  :)

This post may contain sponsored reviews or affiliate links.  You can read my policy here. I always provide my honest opinions.

Memorial Day: Please Do Remember

We spent Saturday morning at the local Veteran's Cemetery, planting flags on many of the 35,000 soldiers' graves there along with scout troops from all over this area.  It was really something to see so many identical stones and flags, representing just a fraction of the brave men and women who have given their lives in service to our country.  I hope that this Memorial Day everyone will take a moment or two to remember... this is not just a day for cooking out, or a day for general cemetery decorations, but a special day to pause and remember our fallen heroes.

 

7 Quick Takes: Post-Op Edition

1.)  Remember when I said I wouldn't be blogging for a while?  Well... I wasn't thinking about the fact that a large part of my recovery time from my recent surgery would involve sitting/laying on the couch, with a laptop readily accessible.   I might actually wind up blogging more while I'm recuperating than I normally do!

2.) I watched Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution tonight and LOVED it.  Every month I get mad when I read our school's menu for the month.  "Breadsticks and dip"?  "Nachos and cheese"?  Those are hardly entrees in my opinion... and my child is not allowed to buy on those days.   I love Jamie's plan to make changes all across our country!

3.) True fact: I am way, way, way more tired than I am in pain from my hysterectomy.  My doctor told me this would happen, and I didn't believe her.  The pain is there, don't get me wrong, but the sheer exhaustion from doing simple things (like showering) still amazes me. 

4.) I am having serious withdrawal symptoms from... my BlackBerry.  The port where the charger plugs in broke the day after I got home, and so my cell company sent me a new one.  Well, apparently the new one is a refurbished model, because there are all kinds of things wrong with this one.  I am NOT happy.  I'm one of those people who depends on my BB for everything, and I feel a little lost without a functioning BB.  And, since I can't drive, I have to wait until Monday for DH to be able to take me back to the store to get things fixed.  Again. 

5.) One of the best things about my BB was a free app I had recently discovered-- Slacker Radio.  It's a free radio program, and it, along with some $5 headphones, pretty much kept me sane in the hospital.  You pick a station and listen to your choice of music categories for free-- and you can "heart" the songs, so that your favorites pop up in the rotation more frequently.  They have a free website that does the same thing for your computer.  (Slacker Radio is not compensating me in any way- I just happen to be a fan!)

6.) I am worn out from the health care debate, both on tv and in my real life, arguing with friends and family.    I simply can't talk about politics, especially Obamacare, any more right now... my brain is overloaded.

7.) I really do not talk about my surgery non-stop in real life... but it is a pretty big factor in everything I do right now.  Not being able to drive is strange, and it's really hard not to lift my son up.  But, hopefully, in another week my restrictions will be lifted a little and I'll start to feel more normal.. 

7 Quick Takes is hosted at Conversion Diary!

I'm in need of a bubble.

You know, the kind that would insulate my household from any more germs or illnesses?  Like Bubble Boy.... or maybe like Sandy's dome in Sponge Bob?

Seriously.... someone in my house has been on prescription medication for acute illness every single day since the first week of December.   We've gone through pink eye, ear infections, bronchitis, c-diff, and a breathing problem.   I've used enough bleach that we should be buying stock in the Clorox company.  Ugh.

Your prayers for healing and continued health in my home would be appreciated!

I am attempting to post daily in January for NaBloPoMo's theme of "Best".

Back to Life.... Back to Reality.....

Yep, the 80's song Back to Life is now stuck in my head!

I'm baaaackkkk! LOL. We went out of town last week for our first family vacation in several years.... it was great. More details & some pics to come soon... I have to get them uploaded first!

Then we came home to some crazy stuff, including a sick child and my car window being shot out yesterday morning... so I had to miss work. The window was shot with a BB Gun, some time between 7am, when my husband left, and 9am, when I went out to my car. We believe my husband being a Police Sergeant has something to do with it, as nobody else in the city was hit, and we live in a (normally) safe, quiet neighborhood.

So, instead of going to work, I spent my day on the phone with insurance, making a police report, and entertaining a sick boy for two hours in an all-glass showroom.... the place that replaced our car window didn't have a seperate waiting area. Ugh.

On the positive side, though, our insurance people were great-- they got us an appointment for the replacement window within two hours of the time I first called with the claim... AND they were very friendly. I was pretty pleased with that. It made a not-so-great situation a lot easier to deal with, that's for sure!

SO... things have just been crazy IRL around here, and my poor blog has been neglected. I'm home again today with the sick boy, but he's perked up quite a bit, and it looks like he's going to be content to play quietly today.

Right now, I'm off to vent my frustrations from yesterday into some deep cleaning of my house... since I'm unexpectedly "free" today (supposed to be at work), this seems like a good time to do that. Here's hoping that today is much less eventful than yesterday! :)

Don't Mind Me, I'm Off Napping

I'm here! Here! Really! :) I haven't gone off on another bloggy break, I've just been hit with this overwhelming tiredness. We seem to have some kind of virus thing going around work that hits people with exhaustion and a fever for a couple of days. I haven't had the fever, but DD has. So, anyways, if I can keep my eyes open long enough I'll be back soon to share some of my recent bargains.... if I can stay awake.... zzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Juvenile Diabetes... where's our "stuff"?

I'm at a point in dealing with DD's Type I Diabetes where I'm starting to feel energized... starting to want to join a group, walk a walk, raise some funds, educate the world.... something. I'm tired of this disease having control over our lives, and I'm ready to start taking action on a bigger scale.

My online searches for groups, organizations, and research foundations almost all lead back to JDRF. There's nothing wrong with JDRF, (though my local chapter is disappointing), but you'd think there would be other organizations to become involved with outside of some online chat groups.

You know how everywhere you look there are pink ribbons? If you Google "breast cancer graphic", or clip art, or ribbon, you'll get thousands of hits. Tons of free graphics and logos to use. If you Google those same search terms, but for "Juvenile Diabetes" or "Type I Diabetes", you'll get next to nothing. There are some tshirts on Cafepress, and a couple of places sell grey ribbons, which is the general diabetes ribbon. A few sites have grey ribbons with red drops or red hearts on them to signify Juvenile Diabetes specifically. If you are a graphic designer, or even just someone who likes to make graphics from time to time, I've just handed you a niche to fill.

Three million Americans are affected by Juvenile Diabetes.. so why are we so quiet?!

Blogoversary & Blog-o-vacation

Tiny Blessings turns two years old today... whoo hoo! If you were here I'd serve up some of my world-famous enchiladas and a giant bowl of salsa & chips.

As others before me have done, I'm taking my blogoversary as an opportunity to go ahead and open up the floor to your questions. Don't be shy, step up to the comment box and ask away. I'll answer your questions {subject to editing to compensate for my slight major paranoia about giving out too much personal info online} when I return from my bloggy vacation.

Oh, hey, wait, did I mention that I'm taking a bloggy vacation? Here, I'll use Holly's button and make it all official looking now:

(*Commercial break: Holly is not, sadly, someone I know IRL, but her blog is one of my favorites...go check it out if you're not already familiar with June Cleaver Nirvana!)

My real-world life is still a rather topsy-turvy after our recent crazy schedule changes, and I've got my hands full just keeping up with the people and things that need my attention here outside of blog-land. I haven't written much of anything lately, and my reader currently has 315 posts waiting to be read. Yikes.

I'll be around, just not posting for a week or so... long enough for me to feel like things are under control again in my world. See you soon!

New Routines

So much for my big idea of doing NaBloPoMo this month. I'll still be posting on the topic of "giving (up)"... I'm just not going to kid myself into thinking that it will happen daily. It's been all I can do this week to get online to check my email and Facebook- forget about any real blogging time!

The week was a blur-- DH and I both changed our work schedules after working the same schedules for the last three years. We had things worked out as far as shuffling kids around and who took them where on what days. I had my home routines down-- menus and coupons on Sundays, shopping on Mondays, laundry on Tuesdays, and then I worked Wednesday through Friday. Now? I'll be working Sunday evenings, Monday, and Thursdays... which is just enough to throw my regular routines completely out of whack. I didn't realize how dependant I was on those routines until this past week, when I kept having to check the calendar to see not only what was happening, but also what day it was!

Hopefully in another week we'll have worked out the kinks and our new schedule will flow just as easily as the old one... please just bear with me in the meantime! :)

P.S. I'm more dependant than ever on my handy dandy personal planner, and I finally got around to altering the cover recently. Check out my Sunday Scrappin post (the post after this one) to see the results!

Happy Valentine's Day

We don't really do Valentine's Day at my house in terms of the commercial stuff, like cards and flowers. DH and I have just never gotten into those "Hallmark holidays" like Valentine's Day or Sweetest Day. Instead, I'll make a special dinner for our family, and the kids and I will make some kind of heart-shaped dessert. However you spend it.... have a Happy Valentine's Day!

Thanks to Mandie for the great graphic!

479 {ramblings of a sick woman}

479. My daughter's blood sugar was 479 at lunch time today. (For those who don't know, it should generally be in the range of 80-150.) That's the highest it's been since her diagnosis back in September. She's sick. I'm sick. DS is sick.

We're not sneezing or vomiting... it's more the "my head feels like it's in a vice and I can't muster the energy to move off the couch" kind of illness. My voice is just about gone, too, but that's ok, because the sound of the kids' movie player (playing a new VeggieTales video from the library) was just about all the noise I could handle this afternoon, all the while fearing that my head might actually implode. It didn't. I survived the day... and now I'm physically exhausted yet too wired to sleep.

479. That number has been floating through my foggy brain all day long. 479 times I worried about whether it would go higher and we'd wind up at the hospital tonight. 479 times I tried to figure out why it would be higher today than yesterday, when she actually feels and looks better today. 479 more reasons why I hate this crazy disease.

Post-Christmas Relaxing

I hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas- we did! My husband had the entire day and night off for the first time in many years, so that itself was a great gift.

Today I'm feeling both tired and relieved. This year I mostly felt stressed regarding Christmas... I never really hit that joy-filled point that I usually reach. This week we had various family gatherings to attend on five of the seven days (one more tomorrow)- it's fun, but stressful to get all of us, food, and gifts ready for each party. Every year I plan to make things less stressful, and every year it doesn't happen. Maybe I need to start now with planning for next year?

I'm planning to do nothing but relax for the rest of the evening- and I hope you're getting a chance to do the same! :)

I won- thanks! :)

A big thanks to everyone who signed up for SecondBrain through my link... I won a $20 Amazon gift card in the contest for the number of people I recruited. I have a long wishlist at Amazon, so I'm sure I'll find something to spend it on pretty quickly!

It's Saturday night, and all is... well.. chocolate.

Tonight I'm making various kinds of candy (see my dipped oreos on my cooking blog) and working on a gift that I can't talk about here yet... what about you? Are you done with all your Christmas preparations yet?