Got...

A new digital scale
a new diabetic cookbook
some dried green peas (to make pea soup)
some butter beans
a sore neck from being on the computer so much
some salmon and grilled it
to make another pot of ww cabbage soup
to finish my laundry
to exercise more

Waiting

For the rain to stop~
for Sarah to finish painting the bathroom~
To quit thinking about food~
to drop a clothes size~

Things To Be Thankful For

Some things I have been thankful for lately:

• a clean mammogram
• warm weather
• dropping blood sugars
• a steady income
• good friends
• only 1 more month til the wedding :-)

Projects around the house:

Repainting the bathroom - yes again

Putting in a medium size garden; getting the soil ready & choosing what to plant

Went to Bordine's and bought some new herbs for my herb garden

I Learned Something new Today

I learned that not all carbs are processed the same in my body. I need to check the GI, or Glycemic Index.
What is the Glycemic Index?
Not all carbohydrate foods are created equal, in fact they behave quite differently in our bodies. The glycemic index or GI describes this difference by ranking carbohydrates according to their effect on our blood glucose levels. Choosing low GI carbs - the ones that produce onWhat are the Benefits of the Glycemic Index?
Eating a lot of high GI foods can be detrimental to your health because it pushes your body to extremes. This is especially true if you are overweight and sedentary. Switching to eating mainly low GI carbs that slowly trickle glucose into your blood stream keeps your energy levels balanced and means you will feel fuller for longer between meals.
Low GI diets help people lose and control weight
Low GI diets increase the body's sensitivity to insulin
Low GI carbs improve diabetes control
Low GI carbs reduce the risk of heart disease
Low GI carbs reduce blood cholesterol levels
Low GI carbs can help you manage the symptoms of PCOS
Low GI carbs reduce hunger and keep you fuller for longer
Low GI carbs prolong physical endurance
High GI carbs help re-fuel carbohydrate stores after exercise ly small fluctuations in our blood glucose and insulin levels - is the secret to long-term health reducing your risk of heart disease and diabetes and is the key to sustainable weight loss.

Low GI Foods are less than 55 on the GI chart. I went to the following web page to check out low GI foods . http://www.southbeach-diet-plan.com/lowglycemicfoodlist.htm So now I have a new challenge. ~ cooking with foods that are low GI.
Why all the buzz about all this? I went to the Dr. and my blood sugars are sky high. I'm now considered high risk for heart disease. So I'm trying to change my habits. I see I have messed up pretty bad. Even with the new meds my sugars are only S-l-o-w-l-y going down. Let's see if the low GI foods make a difference. Back to the ole grocery store.

Movie/Book Review

Marley and Me
The book was so good that I'm not a good source to comment on the movie. I don't like Owen Wilson, so that also made it difficult. And Jennifer Aniston, well again not my favorite. The book was excellent. Anyone who has or had a dog should read the book. Definitely better than the movie.

I am happy to report that my changing lifestyle is going well. Getting lots of exercise and have significantly changed my eating habits to follow the diabetic plan. Trying to make new and yummy recipes. Tonight will be a good night to make my new recipe for Black Bean Soup. Having that with quesadillas.

It's Raining It's Pouring

We are supposed to have rain for the next 3 days.

Top ten things to do on a rainy day:

1. Read a good book

2. Extra cleaning around the house

3. Cook something, simply deliciouso

4. Catch up on your laundry.

5. Play computer games

6. Do a couple scrapbook pages

7. Take a nap

8. Paint a room in your house

9. Do your exercising on the Wii

10. Play board games

Weight Watchers Cabbage Soup - My Version

I made a pot today! Yum. Love to eat it with a sandwich for lunch. It's a good way to get all your veggies in. Even Renee liked it. First timer.

2 c. cabbage, sliced fine
1 c. celery, chopped
1/2 cup green pepper
1/4 onion chopped
1 large can c. V-8 juice or tomato
1 c. water
1 or 2 bouillon cubes, beef
2 tbsp. lemon juice
splash hot sauce
1 Tlbs Worchester sauce
2-4 tsp. Equal sweetener (optional)
Combine all ingredients in a large kettle and cook until vegetables are tender but not overcooked.

The Eating Well Blog Part II

It's been requested of me to post the diabetic diet plan. This is for 1200 - 1400 calories. In order to follow this properly you need a diabetic or a food exchange list.
Carbs: 45 at each meal and 15 for each of 1 or 2 snacks
Meats: 4 - 6 exchanges - basically ounces
Fruits - 2 counts towards the carbs group
Milks - 2 counts towards the carbs groun
Veg. - 3 - 5 servings of non-starchy
The exchange list can be found at: http://www.diabetessymptom.net/news/news_item.cfm?NewsID=54
I'll be starting this in full force today.

Medications and Medications

Dr. called to see him to chat about my blood test results. Not so good. My sugar is sky high. Upped one med. and added another. My cholesterol is up. New med. I have a new vitamin deficiency, (D) gotta take that now. Back to "sticking" to the diabetic diet and exercise. Yikes. Gonna go drag out the diabetes eating guide.
Anyway, on the bright side, I'm taking my little sister Felicity out for dinner tonight. That should be fun. She is quite a talker.

Indian Lakes Campground, Lakeview OH

So, it was a little chilly camping this weekend. The heater works just fine. Highlights include:

• Staying dry during an all night rain
• getting the van stuck and then unstuck
• Buying baked goods from an Amish lady and her 2 little kiddies: they were selling right out of their buggy which was pulled off the road. Peanut butter cookies and pecan rolls were yummy!
• Smelling something yummy cooking, wait is that bacon? mmmm! Where is that coming from? Oh, realizing on the way home we passed the Rudolph food plant which makes world famous pork rinds. Good laugh over that one!
• Going potty right in the camper! the toilet of course.
• Having a campfire.
• No "wedding" talk.
• Eating lunch at Skyline (Chili) in Lima OH

Mystery of the Day

So, I'm sitting in the office working, minding my own business and suddenly I hear water rushing through the pipes. I am home alone, haven't used the toilet, shower, or sink or anything. I'm totally freaking out. Sarah has her dad come out to check and see what's going on. There is no water leaking anywhere in the house that we can find. He goes outside to check. Sure enough water is running from the backyard faucet. Question of the day? Who turned it on? Bailey? He was out. Can a dog turn a water faucet on? Kids? Our back yard is fences. Hmmmmmm.
2nd mystery of the day. I saw Billy R. Cirus on Good Morning America, "live" in concert. 1/2 hour later he was on Regis & Kelly, "live" in New Orleans. Hmmmmmmm.
K, so I'm running around crazy today, trying to finish up stuff, get work ready for the guys tomorrow and I'm cooking a turkey and all the trimmings dinner. Yikes. Bye!

Snow-oh-oh!

All told we got about 6 inches. But it's still snowing, however it's melting too. Ya gotta love a spring snowstorm, don't cha? Bailey sure does. He's been out several times having a ball rolling around. Well it needs to stop cuz we got lawns to mow. And we're taking the new camper out on a camping trip; leaving Thursday.

I've been cooking again lately. Yesterday I made some yummy sweet potato fries, we love those and some awesome crispy chicken fingers. (Karen's recipe) Tonight I'm making "Deb's Scallops Florentine" which I found at www.allrecipes.com

I actually get a lot of my recipes from there. Wednesday I'm making the turkey that we stuck down in the freezer at Christmas time or Thanksgiving. Gotta cook it up. I guess you could say it's Easter dinner since we'll be in Ohio camping for Easter.

Big House

Yesterday I was in the biggest (regular) house I've ever been in. Sarah had a job in Novi so I went with her. The place was like a compound with the following features:

• 
  
• built-in intercom system with monitors
• 8 toilets
• large rooms with huge ceilings and arches
• butler hallway between kitchen & dining: sink, fridge, large buffet
• jack & jill bedrooms with walk in closets & huge bathroom
• master bedroom with huge bathroom that was 3 rooms by itself; master suite over 1000 sq ft
• fireplace in master bedroom
• fireplace between kitchen and family room
• walk in pantry
• huge kitchen
• granite floor tiles
• wrought iron stairway

beautiful really. I wonder how much they're selling for? Too bad the people couldn't afford their house.

Just Another Day in Paradise

Did a little work in the morning. Then after Sarah came home (early) we went and picked up Sydney Bean from school. She had told her mom that she wanted someone different (then Renee) to pick her up from school. So we took her to "Donald's" and played in the playroom for a while. Then we came home and put all the stuff into the "new" camper. Then we noticed it had really warmed up so went went out and played ball & other cool stuff like that. It was a beautiful afternoon. The bean went home and we met up with some friends at Don Poblos. They have a 3 yr old and 1 yr old. Whew, that was fun... I forgot to add that I of course watched the whole ER 3 hour extravaganza last night. I've been a fan since the beginning.

April Fool's Day

April Fools' Day or All Fools' Day, although not a holiday in its own right, is a notable day celebrated in many countries on April 1. The day is marked by the commission of hoaxes and other practical jokes of varying sophistication on friends, family members, enemies, and neighbors, or sending them on a fool's errand, the aim of which is to embarrass the gullible. Traditionally, in some countries, the jokes only last until noon: like UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and South Africa, someone who plays a trick after noon is called an "April Fool".[1] Elsewhere, such as in Ireland, France, and the USA, the jokes last all day.