The world is such a challenging place now. We do what we can to help and reach for inner strength to cope. Love is a big part of that. Reach out.
Category Archives: Challenges
Confusion
It seems to me that our world is a mass of mixed signals and confusion. It’s hard to know what to think, what to feel, which way to jump.
I’m kind of like a deer frozen in the headlights, concentrating on one day at a time, trying to do what I can, when I can, one careful step at a time, with a lot of trying to escape thrown in, too, since there is so much happening that I can’t do anything about.
The only thing I can come up with is to try to personally stay as strong as I can, continuing to look for any ways to try to make things better wherever I can find.
I wish I were a fairy godmother, able to wave my wand, think good thoughts, and save the world.
Filed under Attitude, caring, Challenges, Changes, character-building exercises, coping mechanisms
Fun Friday
I’m in awe of people who create ‘felted’ animals. SO much patience and talent involved. This elephant melts me into a puddle.
This is a happy Friday.
First, the weather, which has been so challenging lately, is truly beautiful. Our high temperature is supposed to the in the 70’s today with lots of sunshine! We JUST celebrating the last of the ice on our driveway. It’s still in the ditches along the north sides of the road to town, but it’s finally gone otherwise. I happily waved, ‘bye-bye’ to it. :0)
I immediately wanted to go get some plants, but will need to be careful to watch for freezes in the next couple of weeks if I do find plants to put in my square foot garden.
We have Lunch Bunch today. If all goes to plan, all of us except one will be there today for the first time in about 3 weeks or so. It’ll be great to catch up with our friends.
After, maybe we’ll check to see if there are early spring plants available. I’m particularly looking for lettuce, spinach, and broccoli. We’ll see.
I am actually caught up with all the pesky bookkeeping/taxes/filing etc that I truly hate. Yesterday I updated an ‘important’ spreadsheet for our son that lists information he would need in case both my husband and I croak. I was able to send him the link to it via our chat program. AND my desk is still clear!
Have a fun Friday!
Lewis vs Raccoons – Round 1
Each year we have to defend the food for the birds because we have families of raccoons living ‘somewhere’ around our property. We hoped that we could simply all share the birdseed, but this has never been the case, even when we’ve put out extra, expressly for the raccoons, off the deck.
They come onto the deck, eat EVERY SINGLE SEED plus trash the feeders many times. This combination is expensive for us and frustrating, because we’re TRYING to provide seeds for the birds, plus occasional squirrels.
“Raccoons vs Lewis” season is starting early this year. We’ve noticed the feeder being empty each morning for the last three mornings. Yesterday my husband put out the humane trap and baited it.
This morning we had evidence that a raccoon had 1) emptied the feeder, 2) gotten into the trap, and 3) eaten the bait, broken the cup holding the bait, and then tore out the back of the trap to get out!
So now we’re definitely fighting a wily, strong, and smart raccoon!
My husband took the trap out to the shop this morning, reinforced the back of the trap after repairing it, then brought it into the office so I could help him get the new cup screwed in securely. It is now baited and set again.
Round 1: Raccoons 1 Lewises 0.
We’ll see what happens in Round 2.
Filed under Amazing Animals, Challenges, Changes
Feelings vs Reality
I was brought back to reality when we were at the bottom of the driveway (safely, even after having to drive over the ice on the last third of the driveway!) and I was taking the trash bags out of the back of the truck and putting them to one side of the driveway for pickup.
The trash people didn’t pick up the trash last week. I’m not sure what the state of the road was in front of our house, but it wouldn’t be surprising if they couldn’t do the pickup due to the ice storm. Anyway, I noticed we were a bag short from what I put out. I found the bag on its side in the ice and water-filled ditch beside our driveway. An animal had gotten in it, torn it open and had a big time.
When I was younger, I would have just balanced on the edge of the ditch, reached over and pulled what I could out of the water, rebagged it, and would have been done with it.
Reality struck when I TRIED to balance on the edge of the ditch and had trouble. Sanity kicked in, deciding that a spill into the ditch filled with cold water and ice wasn’t worth it.
So, this old lady will put a trash bag and rake or hoe in the back of the truck and I’ll tackle the problem the next time we go down the hill…
HOPEFULLY the trash guys will get the double load of trash now waiting for them.
It’s Monday
Under ‘character-building exercises,’ I have been dealing with our main credit card being frauded, then cancelled by the credit card company, then receiving the new card (my husband slogged CAREFULLY down our steep driveway Saturday to retrieve them from the mailbox, since the UPS guy couldn’t get up our icy driveway, and we then began notifying the people and places who need to know the new information. My husband quickly got frustrated and angry, so I told him I would do it. UGH. I’m finally down to 2 places and hopefully I can get through to them today.
We are getting a lot of melting where the sun can reach the ground easily now. Our driveway will, as usual, be the last thing to thaw, being long, steep, bordered by trees, and on the north side of our property. I heard our driveway alarm and found our truck gone from the garage. I swept out that side of the garage and my husband came back up with the mail, plus Amber happily riding in the bed of the truck. We’ll be able to take our trash down tomorrow morning, retrieve our mail, and run some errands!
I’m more than happy to start a new month tomorrow, particularly one that includes the beginning of SPRING! :0)
I hope you’re having a wonderful day.
Filed under Challenges, character-building exercises, Seasons, Thoughts on a ________, weather
Togetherness
hahahahahahahahahaha. I love this. :0)
As you probably agree, being stuck at home during the pandemic followed by being snowed in, and then iced in within a three week period can be challenging. My wonderful SIL and I discuss the idea of a “deep hole in the back yard” (I won’t tell you in WHOSE back yard) beckons when faced with too many challenges of living with our spouses.
My mantra is ‘one day at a time,’ and I’m trying to consciously be as nice as I can while engineering ways to get some space and time to myself each day. I figure if we each do that, we probably come out in the middle – and the hole in the back yard won’t be utilized…
Filed under Challenges
Thoughts on a Thursday 2-24-2022
It LOOKS like it snowed outside, but it’s SLEET. We’re lucky about that, since according to what I’ve read, sleet doesn’t accumulate on power lines. Today the forecast is for sleet, freezing rain, and rain. I really didn’t know the difference between ‘sleet’ and ‘freezing rain’, so I looked it up. ‘Freezing rain’ falls as rain and pretty much freezes on contact. ‘Sleet’ falls as already-frozen pellets of differing sizes. I guess the difference between ‘sleet’ and ‘hail’ is the size of the pellets. Not sure what the dividing line is between the two – WHEN ‘sleet’ becomes ‘hail.’ At any rate, it’s all white, all cold, and is a problem when it’s on the ground.
When my husband took Amber out last night, he remarked that he didn’t leave any footprints in the white stuff. It was solid and really slippery. UGH. It’s supposed to start warming up tomorrow.
We’re lucky we have a warm, dry house, power, food, and water.
Since I am powerless to do anything about most of what’s happening in the world, I am again basically hiding from it and trying to not drown in despair. I hate that there are power hungry tyrants in the world making innocent people suffer. I hate that so many decisions are based on people trying to get and maintain power and control others. If I had a magic wand, I would sure be waving it right now.
I’ve been happily finding more evidence of more of the talent and creativity in the world. It’s truly wonderful to be able to type in a few words and be taken to more places than I have time to research, finding jaw-dropping things that people have created that I’ve never seen before. I’ve decided that almost ANYTHING can be made into art. Just put something out there. One person with vision will see it differently – will see the potential of it – and will create something breathtaking.
Yesterday I found some wonderful things I’ll be sharing with you during the coming days. I hope you’re able to stay safe, warm, dry, and smiling today.
Filed under Challenges, Thoughts on a ________, weather
2 of 3
I was able to get and print 2 of the 3 things I need from our investment accounts this morning. As soon as I can get the third, we can bag up or tax stuff and take it to our CPA. I always feel so much better when my part of this is done for another year.
I have all appendages crossed that our weather cooperates with me so I can get my massage next week. We’re supposed to get rain Monday and Tuesday, with a possible ‘wintry mix’ Wednesday, just in time for my massage on Thursday. My body would really be grateful if we can keep that appointment.
I’m doing better with my yoga, though. I’m starting to loosen up again, although it will be awhile before I get back to where I was. Why do I have to prove to myself over and over again that this old woman really NEEDS these stretches? I could win a prize for ‘hardest head’ I think. I’m also doing better at keeping my mouth shut this week. I’ve lost 2.5 lbs and hope to continue this, earning gold stars on my calendar. :0)
We’ll leave for Lunch Bunch in about an hour. It was SOOOO good to finally have most of us there last week. I just got a text saying two of us won’t be there. :0( Hopefully, Kay will be there.
I hope you have a wonderful Friday.
Filed under Challenges, Friendship, Thoughts on a ________, weather
Thursday 2-17-2022
The weather experts were right. I’m not aware that we got the ‘heavy downpours’ that were predicted, but we have the rain, and the cold front is moving in today, changing us from the high 40s now to the 20s this afternoon with a wind chill in the teens. BRRRRR! Did I mention I’m more than ready for spring?
I brought some of the sweet daffodils inside so we could enjoy them, particularly since the ones outside blooming or budding now will freeze today. :0( I’m glad I saw these so they could be appreciated.
Yesterday was a 2-Star day. The first star was for finishing the ‘cleaning-out-and-finding-my-desk’ project. The second star was for the combination of my yoga practice, the fact that I ate nothing between lunch and dinner yesterday, and am weaning myself off of no-added-sugar ice cream, resulting in the loss of almost a pound. Hopefully, I can build on that today.
We’re going to go out – probably after lunch – to run errands. We’ll get our mail, buy replacement tarps to cover the garden raised bed planters again, and stop at Real Food to see if they have some good dinners for us. After that, we’ll ‘hole-up’ in our warm, dry house and enjoy being out of the weather.
I hope you’re safe from the weather, too.
Find Something That Works for You
Our son is really into meditation and it has really helped him.
He used to have quite a bit of frustration. At times it would erupt – one time resulting in broken bones in his hand when he ‘punched a chair.’ (The chair won.)
Over the years he has practiced meditation, even going to places where he could receive instruction in how to do it better. He has taken bits and pieces and made his own form now. He practices every day now, getting up early so that he can practice before he starts his work for the day. I don’t know if he does it again in the evening or not. It has made a world of difference for him. He is content and happy now, able to handle even really frustrating situations with an amazing maturity.
He has tried to get ME to try it, and I have. I’m a dismal failure. I guess I don’t want to do it badly enough. I simply cannot turn my mind off, rechannel my thoughts, or use any of the many suggestions he has made. I envy him and now look to HIM when I need help dealing with things.
The best thing I’ve come up with is finding Art – like that above – in which I can lose myself. Music is a huge help, too. Music I loved in the past transports me to where I was when I first heard the song. I’m finding new music and new artists I find amazing. Frustration, anger, and depression simply melt away. Books help. I dive into the worlds of characters I love, leaving my concerns somewhere else as I immerse myself in their lives. Yoga is becoming a coping mechanism, as well. It’s really hard for me to totally relax, but I come really close when I practice my yoga stretches and poses. When I finish, my mind is calm and my body feels looser.
The world is a very complicated place now. I hope you can find something that works for YOU.
Filed under Challenges, Changes, coping mechanisms
Thoughts on a Saturday 2-12-2022
Ooh! It’s pretty cold here in Arkansas today. It’s 24 degrees F. with a wind chill making it FEEL like 13. BRRRR! The sun is shining, though, and this is a one-day thing. Warmer tomorrow. :0)
I’m doing really well with my getting our tax stuff organized in the office efforts. I’m waiting for our investment stuff to be available for download and print. Then we can bag everything up for taxes and dump it on our wonderful CPA.
I made new spreadsheets for 2022 and will enter January’s information into them today. Then file that stuff, having decided to refine my filing system for less sorting at the end of the year. I’ll make the extra folders today, plus reconciling checkbooks.
Once that is done, the next step will be to find my desk again. The poor thing is buried alive with STUFF. You can see there is ‘something’ in that part of the room, but it’s not clear it’s a desk. LOTS of things to put away from lots of projects…
I’ve figured out a NICE way to tackle this stuff. I listen to music, write blog posts, then tackle whatever the project is. Work for awhile, get to a good stopping point, take a break and listen and type again. This way I get something good accomplished with some good enjoyment keeping my energy up.
2022 will be a good year for me to get serious about getting rid of more stuff. Seriously. I hit some roadblocks in 2021 on this, with our library not accepting used books and our wonderful Veterans Thrift Town not accepting donations. I will call both first to see if that has changed and then plan accordingly. If they are not accepting donations, I’ll have to find other organizations to get things to people who might be able to use them. Maybe our churches.
I hope you’re having a happy Saturday, too.
Filed under Challenges, Mother Nature, Organizing/DeCluttering
“Never Enough for Me”
I’ve been enjoying listening to music while we’ve been up on our ridge line riding out the winter storm. One of the many great songs chosen by good singers to try to win the talent shows is “Never Enough” by Loren Allred. It’s a good description of my appetite when Mother Nature makes us stay inside for days on end, and my current excuse for stuffing my face.
Tonight my husband has requested, “Frito Chili Pie,” a no-no on SO many levels. Assuming that we can get back up our driveway from our trip to town, he’ll get it.
I used to do the chili part using a keto recipe. The chili was GOOD. Unfortunately, my husband’s favorite part of this is one of two variations: lots of fritos in the chili, OR what we call, “Chili Mac,” (chili with macaroni sprinkled with cheese. Making keto chili doesn’t make up for the variations, and trying to eat the chili while my husband adds the variations is spirit-breaking. And so once every couple of years or so we splurge.
NOW I’m telling myself that since our weather is warming and things are melting, PLUS the weather forecast for the next week is a calm one, I can get back to eating like a normal person once again once the ice is gone and we are free to be normally active. Sounds pretty good, doesn’t it. :0)
That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
Filed under Challenges, DIET!
Freebie!
I’m enjoying feeling better. My snark bucket is filling and I’m finding myself smiling to myself more now – an ominous sign, according to my husband.
I come by it honestly. My dad used to say, when I came out, ready for a date, ‘Nice dress.’ I learned early on that his comment meant that he thought it was too short, too tight, too ‘something’ for me to get his approval. It took me a long time to stop looking myself over to find out what was wrong and simply accept a compliment that came my way when I grew to adulthood.
Being raised by my parents was a gift that keeps on giving even now. Being able to stand back and see the humor in any given situation is a lifesaver for me. Instead of building tension inside at all the things I find upsetting, I can say something sarcastic in the privacy of my own mind, making me smile, rather than losing it.
My mother taught me practicality and strength. Her favorite quote was, “It’s better to do any reasonable thing quickly, rather than search hesitantly for the ideal.” I loved it when she got angry at a situation. She could stand on her feet and say what she thought (the length of her words and sentences depended on the degree of her anger.) She could completely undermine someone with a few words while the smarter ones in the group appreciated it wholeheartedly and the less smart tried to figure out what she had said. :0) )
Coping mechanisms are crucially important in our world today. I hope you have a bucketful to help you, too.
Filed under Attitude, Challenges, Changes, coping mechanisms, Funny Signs - Humor, sass
Be You
I get a lot of my news online from various sources. I get into ‘overload’ mode more quickly these days because of people whose mouths are much louder than their minds. They think nothing of expressing an opinion one day, then reversing it the next, as if no one is paying attention and each day is a new day with no consequences.
I believe strongly in freedom of expression. The overabundance of stupidity saddens me and many times makes me frustrated and angry, but everyone is free to say what he or she thinks – and take the consequences. Nothing is free.
Each person should BE who they are and THINK whatever they think, being TRUE to that. Ideally, one would ALSO be willing to rethink one’s opinion if further research proves you wrong, or if someone ELSE’S opinion makes you reconsider. Respectful debate is a really healthy thing.
If you choose to give your opinion, be ready to take whatever consequences come from expressing it. Pay no attention to people who say something, then walk it back over and over. They are simply taking up valuable space.
“Be YOU. The world will adjust.”
Filed under Attitude, Bright Ideas, Challenges
Thoughts on a Saturday 1-22-2022
My day has started really well.
My husband hugged me first thing this morning, thanking me again for figuring out how to navigate the website so we could transfer the money we needed to move in our investment account, and again for figuring out what we needed to do to make our new house phones work. Last night I did a final test, calling our house phone with my cell, confirming our call screening program was again working, then leaving a voice message. I’m relieved that we didn’t have to spend another tense day trying to figure things out, dealing with strain of dealing with each other when things don’t work, plus the support people who always want information I can’t supply, with me desperately trying to hear and understand them.
The sun is shining and it seems that we will have just a ‘typical’ winter week here in Arkansas – really welcome news. One of my less favorite feelings about winter is the difficulty of trying to make and keep appointments when you don’t know what Mother Nature will supply. We have been stuck up here on top of our ridge line for a couple of weeks at a time, not able to negotiate our steep driveway – the last place on the planet to thaw after snow and ice. We plan ahead as much as possible, trying to make sure we have all we need for whatever happens, but I hate inconveniencing others when I have to call and reschedule things I’ve promised to do.
My Lunch Bunch friend Kay has a new primary doctor now. She was raving about him when I talked with her last night. She is hopeful that the pain in her back due to her fall will finally be under some control. I’m SO happy for her!
Since I am definitely in ‘the land of the living’ again, I’m starting to have ideas rattling around my head of things I’d like to try in my art room. I haven’t been up there for over a month now, so it will be good to finally be in the mood to play a bit. I’m hoping to do some experimenting – probably making a mess – but definitely smiling. :0)
I hope you’re feeling healthy and happy this Saturday morning. Enjoy your day!
Filed under Challenges, playing in my art room, Seasons, Thoughts on a ________
Letting Go
I have learned lately that facing your weaknesses is important. I also dealt with a deep fear and made it through. I had the help of wonderful, caring friends, but you are essentially alone when actually dealing with things.
I had a month of trying to face that my husband might have to live alone. I am now taking some positive steps to make things easier for him in case we face this again for whatever reason. The fact that I am making a list of steps I want to take, setting things up differently that I handle routinely, listing reminders for him, has largely calmed me down.
I have let a lot of the fear go.
I don’t think – if I have to face a similar situation again – it will be as bad.
Taking care of what I CAN will help both of us going forward.
Filed under Acting Like a Grownup, Attitude, Challenges, Changes, coping mechanisms
In Your Hands
Filed under Attitude, Challenges, Changes, Dreams, Encouragement
Thoughts on a Tuesday 1-4-2022
This photo above is very similar to what we saw going to town and then returning from errands this morning. It felt almost as if they were running along side us, like a dog tries to chase cars. Happily, they didn’t try to cross the road or crash into our truck. Beautiful animals.
Did I tell you that I hate to do anything involved with the IRS? Our son lives in Thailand, but still has to file income tax stuff for the states. I try to handle the stuff for him. I mailed a self-employment deferred Social Security ‘whateverwhois’ certified with return receipt for him this morning. I’m hoping this is the end of things for him for awhile. My eyes glaze over whenever I try to read letters from the IRS. I send images of whatever it is to our CPA, who ‘translates’ it for me and tells me what I need to do. I do it, send him copies, and breathe a sigh of relief until next time. You would think I was an embezzler or something with the huge negative gut reaction I have to things like this. :0)
We have a cell phone with base that acts like our house phone. We have extensions all over the house. I thought about changing carriers recently, thinking maybe we could save some money. Though I could get less expensive coverage for my personal cell phone, I gave up because we would have to buy another cell phone system and couldn’t get the extensions we have. The system also has an answering program that we love that requires callers to push # or something to indicate they are a real person and aren’t selling anything before we hear a ringing phone. It really cuts down on calls we don’t want. I’ve actually had people laughing when I answer, then wanting to know where we got the answering thingie.
Recently we got a letter from AT&T saying they wouldn’t cover our house phone cell system anymore because it was only a 3G. They said they would send us a replacement phone that they WOULD cover. We have no idea whether the new phone is anything like our present one, our answering program, if it will have extensions, or we can use the ones we have, etc. The only thing that MAY stay the same is our phone number. UGH. We really don’t like change.
Under that same heading of not liking change is that we got a letter saying our trash contract was bought up by another company. The new service started 1-3-2022, according to the letter. We have no other details as yet. We put out our trash as usual this morning, hoping for the best….
While trying to put in new fluorescent tubes in a fixture in the kitchen recently, we dropped the cover, breaking it. We tried to find a replacement cover for it, but couldn’t find one wide enough, either locally or online. Yesterday we decided to buy a 2-tube fixture, using it to replace a 4-tube fixture in our office, and using the cover for the kitchen fixture.
Hours later, we finally had the new fixture installed and working and the cover transferred to the fixture in the kitchen. No lives were lost. If we need to consider this again, I’ll opt for candle light.
New Year’s Resolutions to Consider
We all have our personal resolutions, but I found a few I think we all should consider adding to our lists –
“One resolution I have made, and try always to keep, is this: To rise above the little things.” ~ John Burroughs
“Resolve to make at least one person happy every day.” ~ Sydney Smith
“This year I challenge you to a new resolution. I challenge you to just be yourself.” ~ Aisha Elderwyn
And
- Eat chocolate often
- Send flowers to near & dear ones
- Smile more often
- Listen to your heart
- Accept your flaws
- Adopt a New Vice
- Live . . . Love . . . Laugh MORE!
Filed under Challenges, holidays
Sudden Thought
“The older I get, the more I see there are these crevices in life where things fall in and you just can’t reach them to pull them back out. So you can sit next to them and weep or you can get up and move forward. You have to stop worrying about who’s not here and start worrying about who is.”
— Alex Witchel
Filed under aging, Challenges, Changes, Favorite Quotes
Challenges
I’m trying to get our yard ready for the winter, but Mother Nature isn’t cooperating well. It’s been cold, then warms up and is rainy, then back again. It’s rainy today, and we have storms that might be severe tomorrow. Fingers crossed we come though the next batch of storms in one piece.
I keep listening to the news about the awful tornado damage and lost lives in so many states recently. It’s heartrending. My irritation about it not being comfortable to work out in the yard is selfish and I’m embarrassed.
Wish me luck on trying to keep my head on straight and my mouth firmly shut.
Filed under Challenges, Gardening, Mother Nature
“Because I’m Happy…”
“Here come bad news talking this and that (Yeah)
Well give me all you got, don’t hold back (Yeah)
Well I should probably warn you I’ll be just fine (Yeah)
No offence to you don’t waste your time” ~ “Happy” ~ Pharrell Williams
I received some scary news through the medical portal on a test I took recently. I’m a wimp, so I essentially decided my life was over, started worrying about my husband (he doesn’t know what day it is half the time, what our schedule is, etc. – he has a wife to worry about the details.) I cried, couldn’t sleep, stayed up half the night…
I finally decided to tell my two best friends via email. I’m very lucky to have two such great people who care about me. Both got back to me right away with care and support, plus some much-needed guidance.
My doctor’s office will probably contact me this coming week with what the next step is. I’m much calmer than I was. Although I’m a wimp and would rather just stick my head in the sand and go on in ignorance, acting as if I were immortal, I need to be an adult. I want to be here to help my husband – even wanting to be here to fuss at him when it’s needed.
Filed under Attitude, Challenges, Changes, character-building exercises
Learning to Eat Right
I’m in a state of flux lately on my eating.
My husband and I are trying to incorporate trying to lose the lard (me more than him), trying to avoid as much sugar as possible for his diabetes II, and trying to incorporate food and drink that may improve my plaque-in-my-carotid-arteries situation.
Part of MY retirement is NOT having to come up with home-cooked meals every night for the rest of my life. I still cook pretty regularly, but I try to cook in a more healthy fashion, and then put the leftovers to the original meal into individual serving containers that we can simply put in the microwave.
After actually reading the labels of the two meals we like the best from Stu’s Clean Cookin’, we discovered that our choices are higher in sugar than we would like. We are now splitting ONE individual dinner and eating a veggie on the side.
Eating continues to be a work in progress, but I am making some good lifestyle changes. Hopefully, this will also include losing more of the lard my body seems to prize. :0)
Filed under Challenges, Changes, DIET!
Balanced Eating?
On the one hand, I’m trying to limit the amount of food I eat. I don’t eat anything after dinner until lunch the following day – unless I’m up in the middle of the night and have no willpower. (I tend to think I’m starving to death then. :0) )
My husband and I have been eating individual frozen meals from REAL FOOD or STU’S CLEAN COOKIN’, both in Greenwood, for dinner. I noticed that our choices from Stu’s are too high in sugar for us, so now we’re splitting ONE individual meal and I’m fixing a veggie side. We also have a roll with that.
Lunches are 1/2 slice of ham, sugar-free jello, a hard-boiled egg, two green olives, and sometimes I have a slice of cheese or a cheese stick.
Snack in the afternoon has been raw veggies and a spoonful of ranch dressing with less than 1 gram of sugar.
Since a doppler ultrasound showed 50-70% occlusion in my right carotid artery (not enough to have a procedure) I have found a list of food and drink that is supposed to dissolve the plaque, and hopefully prevent me from getting more.
List for cleaning arteries – SALMON, FLAX SEEDS, BLUEBERRIES, STRAWBERRIES, GRAPEFRUIT, SQUEEZE OF LEMON/LIME, EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL, AVOCADOS, BEANS, PEAS, CHICKPEAS, LENTILS, TOMATOES – EXP COOKED OR SAUCE, GARLIC, CINNAMON, ONIONS, GINGER, TURMERIC, BROCCOLI, CAULIFLOWER, WALNUTS, BEETS, SPINACH, DARK CHOCOLATE. GREEN TEA.
I’m now eating grapefruit in place of the raw veggies some days. I’m drinking a glass of green tea daily. When I eat raw veggies, I’m including broccoli and cauliflower, and I’m fixing spinach as a side for dinner, using walnuts and flax seed in my salads, etc.
My dilemma is that including so much ‘good stuff’ in my daily diet is resulting in my eating more. And GUESS WHAT HAPPENS THEN – my scales scoff at me, laughing and sneering at the poundage creeping up. ARRRRGH!
So now I’m vacillating between throwing my hands up in the air and eating a cheeseburger and fries, eating the good stuff and skipping yet another meal, or……
I will work it out, but right now I’m feeling that getting old sucks.
Filed under Challenges, Changes, DIET!, taking care of yourself
Challenges – Changes
Trying to eat right and take care of yourself becomes more and more complicated as you age. If you are married, the complication explodes because you are dealing with not only different health needs, but also different ideas of what ‘good food’ is, how seriously needed changes should be taken, etc. My husband and I are in the process of yet another adaptation since I had an ultrasound of my carotid arteries.
I’m lucky, in that the problem in my carotid arteries is not to the point where any procedures are necessary, but I am trying to adapt my eating to include food and drink that dissolves, lessens, or prevents plaque. I’m ornery enough now without having strokes! Happily, I found an article on the net that lists 16 things I can include in my diet. I have several of them already and eat them. Yesterday I started drinking one glass a day of green tea (I found sugar-free). Since beets are on the list and I can’t face eating them, I’ve ordered supplements for that. I’m making a grocery list to get other things. I’m feeling very lucky that there are things I can do about this situation that may improve my chances to continue being ornery… :0)
A downside that complicates things a bit, is that I gained a couple of pounds yesterday. I refuse to worry about that yet, though. I will try to include the new food and drink, continue to exercise at least three times a week if not more (elliptical trainer and yoga stretches), and will give the changes some time before I worry again about lardage.
Here’s to doing what you can to get and stay as healthy as you can for as long as you can.
Filed under Challenges, Changes, taking care of yourself
Trying to Keep My Mouth Shut
Oh, please. This is cute – and depressing at the same time.
I will tell you, though, that I’m making a bit of progress on getting the lard off. I lost another pound, so my total off now is 31, with almost 29 inches gone. It’s especially hard during the holidays to try to keep my mouth shut. My goal is to TASTE it all, enjoying every bite, but TRYING to maintain my dignity…. :0)
I did discover – to my horror – that some of the meals we have been getting from Stu’s Clean Cookin’ have too much sugar for us. Last night we decided to SHARE one individual meal and eat an extra veggie on the side. That worked out well, and gave us half the amount of sugar we would have ingested otherwise. We need to be more vigilant. The food is high quality and excellent, as is that of Real Food. They are not made for diabetics and weight-challenged, though, and we need to keep tweaking what we are eating more intelligently. Stu’s lists sugar, salt, calories, etc. Real Food doesn’t, but lists ingredients. Both help us keep our portions good. So we will try to do better homework, plus do more sharing.
Filed under Challenges, Changes, DIET!
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