Once again I'm joining in and apologising for not mentioning each one on your posts but I promise next time I def will!
I have been trying to keep to a good diet but unfortunately my back is not getting any better.. actually the fact is it is gradually getting worse and with the meds I take it is necessary to eat first which often means the nearest and quickest is a dip into the biscuit tin.. or perhaps I should say.. cookie jar..
Carol Sue..I have had heart problems for all my life and in 2012 I collapsed while shopping and was rushed into A&E and eventually had a pacemaker fitted due to arrhythmia. I do hope your problem is not too serious..I will read more tomorrow.
Sandy .. I hope you enjoy your gardening as much as I used to. At one time I had an allotment and grew all my vegetables and fruit too. I used to spend ages digging and carting stuff to and fro but it never helped me with any weight loss either.
I would love to clean my little apartment but these days it's out of the question but I do have a lovely young lady who comes in once a fortnight for a couple of hours and does the vacuuming, dusting and ironing for me and anything else that needs doing.. she's an absolute angel and nothing is too much trouble for her.
Well.. it's now 10.56pm here and time for me to prepare for my bed.
Hope you all have a very good day tomorrow..(Monday)
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Hi Emmaline. I'm sorry to hear you are having back problems. I have them occasionally, but it's not debilitating for me. I hope you can find some relief.
I understood about the biscuit tin, but had to google "fortnight." LOL The English lanquage is different in the US from in the UK. The one that really confuses me is "tea." To me, that just means a cup of tea! LOL
My heart problem were handed down from my mother's side of the family. My trouble first started in 2000 and has continued from there. I have had a few stents inserted and in 2008 had quadruple bypass surgery, and another stent since then. 2 of my valves are leaking, but they are watching them to see if they get worse and so far I am doing OK with it. I am having a routine cardiac stress test on Wednesday and hope they don't find any problems. It doesn't really keep me from doing things. My arthritic knee gives me more problem that my heart.
Our son and family decided to join us at church this am which is always a pleasure and encouragement to me. We had a good service followed by lunch together at Burgerville. I tried to eat a bit healthier than I usually do for fast food and had a salad with my burger but did have a small strawberry shortcake for dessert. It was very tasty and I'm not sorry...my usual dessert (when I get one is much worse!).
Last night was different...I went to bed about 11 but couldn't sleep, by about 12 I realized I was very hungry. Usually I never eat after I go to bed but for some reason I was hungry and specifically for carrots! I had a kind of light dinner and no snacking afterwards. I wondered whether my bs might be really low so I decided to get up and check it. My bs was 112 certainly within normal limits but pretty low for me, so I ate a bunch of baby carrots, then saw a pizza box our son had put in the fridge...it wasn't a brand I like but I ate one smallish slice, drank some green tea and went to bed and finally to sleep. The funny thing too is that I realized (looking at my med case) that I hadn't even taken my dinner meds. I remember thinking about taking my meds but guess I didn't. I almost took them after the pizza but then got to thinking perhaps I took them from a different day or something. I don't think so though. Anyway my before breakfast test was lower than usual (but still high) prob because the glycogen didn't have to rush in so much with me getting up and eating. I think if I continue to eat the way I am these days, I may be able to eliminate one of the Amaryl...think I'll try that tonight.
Funny thing...dh and I took long naps after lunch. When we got up we couldn't find our gd's dog which lives in our back yard these days. We both hunted all over front and back just in case, calling her name. We thought we lost her so I called our son to let him know...and they had her with them. They apparently followed us home, slipped in and got her while we were changing and we never knew! So glad she's safe as knew there would be tears.
Glad to have you posting again Emaline29! Glad you have help with your home.
Carol Sue .. It is amazing what they can do these days and I do hope things don't get more difficult for you.
My heart problem was due to having had rheumatic fever 4 times when I was very young and whilst my mother was very anxious about allowing me to do any sort of exercise which was the way it was treated in those days.. I went on to do a lot of things like playing badminton and gardening, etc. It's only now in later life that it has caused problems which is often the way, is it not?
The problem I have now is due to ankylosing spondylitis which is a degenerative disease .. just have to keep going as much as we can, don't we?
The language difference is quite funny isn't it? I went on a coach trip to Greece some many years ago and half of the people on there were American and each morning as we were travelling to the next point we exchanged word descriptions and one that caused the most laughter was our use of a car bonnet whereas you say hood..
Maryea .. That must have been quite a shock for you.. I wonder that they hadn't thought that you would be looking for her although I expect it was done quite innocently.. glad everything turned out okay.
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My dog is so funny! Do you know how rats in a lab can be trained to do a certain thing when they hear a bell right? Well, in the morning, whoever gets up first makes the coffee and lets the dog out. Rusty will come into the kitchen with me and just lie down. For some reason, when we plug our coffee maker in, it beeps. As soon as he hears that beep, he gets up and goes to the door. It's like it's his signal to go out. LOL I guess that has been our procedure for the past year since we got him and he is trained by that. He is definitely Mommy's dog and listens to me and follows me around. DH will call to him and say "Let's go outside." and he will just lay there, until I say "Rusty, go outside." then he gets up and goes. Also, he likes to lay up on the back of the couch. If we are going out somewhere, he sees us lock the doors, turn on the radio that we leave on when we're gone, put jackets on if it's chilly, and then I pick up my purse. When he sees all that, he runs and gets up on the back of the couch, like he knows we're leaving. He seems to be very trainable, but I can't seem to train him not to bark and growl at our visitors. He's a little dog, but my brother-in-law calls him Cujo.
Mary, your son should have told you they were taking the dog, or maybe they just assumed you would know. That's so scary to think that you lost someone's dog.
Most of the time I can't sleep well if I have a full stomach when I go to bed, but also not if I'm really hungry. I remember Bobbi used to say she would eat something, I think it was a small bowl of cereal, if she couldn't fall asleep.
I hate The Dawn Phenomenon and for the life of me I can't understand it. I feel that if I don't eat, my blood sugar should stay low. I think you have to figure out for yourself, how long you can go without food before your get the liver dump. Some people do better if they go longer without eating, and others need to have that bit of food every so many hours. I know I definitely eat too soon, before my blood sugar gets down to what it should be. I can't seem to break that habit. It's easier if I'm out and about and not near food.
Last night I didn't take one of the Amaryl pills and this morning my bs was higher than it's been for a week, so I guess that probably means I still need to take it, darn it! I was so hoping to drop at least one of them. My weight was also up 2# this morning so maybe I just got more sodium than I realized yesterday or maybe it was the extra "meal" I got very early this morning.
I'll see how I do the rest of today before making a decision.
Gonna be a busy day...dh took the kids to school this morning and will pickup the one, but then I'll have to put them both in car seats (ugh!) and drop one off at his school, then pick up later (car seats for both again..ugh!) possibly will also have to pick up the other. Dh has a doctors appt but may be back in time for that one. I hope I can get the car seats on correctly (esp for the smallest)...that's often hard for me. So much easier the way we did it with ours and of course, I was much younger, stronger and had more energy! And hope I can find the schools but dh says the GPS will lead me right to them.
I will be glad when their mommy is home! She may be home tonight or if not expects to be home Wed.
Guess this is my week for "losing" things...yesterday I searched high and low for my purse, ...first thought maybe I left at the restaurant Fri night...even called them...then decided it must have been at the post office as I mailed a package on Sat. Then thought how did I drive home. (I always keep my keys in my purse, not just my hand)..had to have had my purse, silly me..so looked again all over...and finally found it in my son's room...I think when I got home I remembered the biggest gd told me the youngest had gotten marking pen ink on the sheet in there so I stopped to check it and probably lay down my purse to do it. What a lot of wasted energy looking so much.
Then at some point I have to figure out what I'm fixing for dinner..and probably have to run to the store for ingredients as I haven't done any shopping recently. LOL I'm tired just thinking about all this...all I want to do is take a nap. The way this fam is, I'll probably cook and only dh and I will eat it which does not make me very enthusiastic about it. So hard to please everyone!
Rereading this, I realize I sound very grumpy this morning....didn't get enough sleep I guess...but I'm really not that grumpy, just dreading what I have to do today. I'm sure it will all work out fine.
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Mary, I don't remember why you said that you have these family members living with you. Just curious. How long with they be there? I can imagine it is a big change for you. I didn't like dealing with the car seats with my grandson, either. Now he just uses a booster. That's so much easier. DH remembers when he was growing up back in the 50s there were 4 of them in the back seat and his youngest brother up front with his parents. So car seats, not even seat belts. A couple times he tried to drive without buckling my grandson in and my grandson would scream "Pap pap I have to be buckled up!" LOL
Emmaline I have heard of ankolosing spondilitis. That's a very strange word. 2 of our Mayors in Pittsburgh PA had it. That's when I first heard of it and thought it was strange that 2 mayors had it. Very debilitating. Sorry to hear you are dealing with it.
I'm not sure, but I think one of my problems with my heart is something that is often caused by rheumatic fever in childhood but I never had it. It's unfair that you have been hit with so much. But life is not always fair, is it?
Well I was saved from all the transporting of children and car seats! Dh's appt was very brief and he got home in time to do it! This morning we got to see our youngest gd who is nearly 5 mo now. She has grown so much since we last saw her. She is now rolling both ways and is trying to crawl, usually ends up scooting backwards but she's working on it. Carol we have fam with us now because there lease was up and they couldn't go month to month so had to move out and are looking for a house to buy. The landlords/management co didn't even give them 30 day notice, so no time to find anything. Renting is very difficult up here. I didn't know that until my kids had this problem.
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That's a shame that they had problems with renting, but they are lucky you had the room for them to stay with you for a while. I hope they find something soon.
I made stuffed peppers for dinner. They were delicious, if I do say so myself! And I do! That's something quick and easy.
After dinner, I realized I hadn't taken any of my meds all day. When I got up this morning it was around 5 AM and I decided to wait and take the meds around 7, then forgot all about them. I checked my blood sugar and it was 167. I didn't check my fasting so I don't know what it was when I got up, but 167 isn't bad for no meds. I took my 2mg Amaryl then and probably won't need any more tonight, as I don't plan on eating any more.
CarolSue Stuffed Peppers sound delicious even after I've eaten supper! Describe what you put in yours and procedure, please. I don't cook any more, but that is one thing I may do again.
Your heart issue as well as blood sugar has got to be a real hassle. I need to be more thankful how few problems I really have.
Low energy is the one that bothers me the most. Too many days I have to really, really push myself to get things done except to read a good book. I can read for hours and never think of anything else.
DH cut down some over grown shrubs in back corner and we now have an area about the size of a twin bed that is free of those shrubs. I'll move the Lenten Rose into that area tomorrow where it will look good and do well. I have a beautiful white Day lily with purple throat that would look good in the hole that will be left. Near by I'm planting some Purple Dome Asters that already have some blooms. Funny, but I bet I'll have energy for that! Supposed to be about 77 degrees tomorrow instead of the almost 90 we have today. I do find energy when I'm in garden.
Mary Sorry about your son's lease messing them up. Good luck with those care seats. I made straps and seats for our children back in the 60's so we could travel safe. I covered blocks of wood with padding and a cleanable cover so they could sit up higher and the straps went around the back of the seat. Worked! I was thrilled when seat belts first came out. Our oldest daughter STILL refuses to wear one even tho she has been fined at least twice when caught without a seat belt. She was the one who always did what I told her not to do and even tho in her 50's is still that way. Her daughter is same, of course. Funny, her son is a careful rule follower. Where did he get that? Not from my Son-in-law, he is just like our daughter.
Emmaline So sorry about your pain and limited activity. Yes, loosing weight would be even harder. I need to stop complaining. Today with good full body massage, she worked on my back quite a while. I have a very, very strong back and I bet it hasn't hurt over 1/2 dozen times in my life. Something else to thank God for.
Do you have medication to help the disability? Glad to know you have a great help. Some days I envy you the help, but not the pain!
Pat made the best and healthiest salad for supper after I was hot from house cleaning and DH was hot from heavy yard work. It tasted really, really good. She is still tired after manning a booth to sell her artwork at a festival on the grounds of a local university. She bragged on the marvelous volunteers who brought her coffee, watched her booth to let her take potty breaks, and even helped transport all her stuff back to her van. Hope she braggs on them in the local newspaper.
Book club tomorrow but the garden calls me. Cool day, and new area are too tempting to leave. I failed to read the book they'll discuss but I do enjoy going to socialize. Still, I'll be here instead.
Laughing at Carol Sue's dog counting her as "in charge." Thought this was to be your husband's dog. The bell on the coffee maker was very interesting.
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Sandy, I developed this stuffed pepper recipe when I was still working and had to get supper ready in a hurry when I came home. I would get it all together in a casserole dish and refrigerate the night before. Then after work I just put it in the microwave for 5 minutes or so and dinner was ready.
I only make 2 peppers now since it's just the two of us. I cut the tops off the peppers, take out the seeds, and membrane, and simmer in boiling water until soft, until a fork will pierce them easily. Drain and rinse in cold water to stop the cooking. I chop the tops of the peppers, (or save them for snacking), chop onions, bit of baby carrot, bit of celery, and saute in a bit of oil. Then add 1/2 lb of ground beef and brown. I add some seasonings, black pepper, cumin, cayenne, chili powder, parsley flakes, whatever, add a bit of tomato sauce, just enough to moisten. Oh, and I cook about a half cup of brown rice and mix that in. That's the stuffing. I stuff the peppers, and the rest of the tomato sauce to the bottom of the casserole dish, and microwave for 5 minutes to heat up. When I serve, the extra sauce can be poured over, if desired. When my step-daughter makes them, everything is put together uncooked and baked in the oven or sometimes in a crockpot. Cooking everything separate works better for me. I'm always afraid the meat or rice will not be thoroughly cooked if I mix it raw.
You are very fortunate that you have made it so long without any serious illnesses. You must come from strong stock. I was great until age 50, then it all went to pot, and I consider it to be caused by my weight gain. If I knew then what I know now, I would have fought that tooth and nail and avoided a lot of misery for myself. This was all avoidable, IMO.
DH picked out Rusty at the shelter. I wanted his kennel mate, but let DH make the choice. Then when we brought him home, he hid under the diningroom table except to go outside. When I would be in the kitchen cooking, I would lure him out with little bits of this and that, just setting it out on the floor where he had to come out from under the table to get it. After about a week, he would walk over and take things from my hand. It took about a year before he would take something from DH's hand and he still balks sometimes. Also, just recently, DH could walk up to him and pet him without him running away and hiding. He follows me all over the house, even into the bathroom. LOL He likes to sit on the front porch with DH and watch the world go by.
Last edited by Wannabehealthy; 06-07-2016 at 07:37 AM.
CarolSue Rusty has become a good "member of thee family." I miss Casper who was last dog we owned. When he died we were both working long hours and didn't dare get a puppy, or even a trained dog. When we retired, I had discovered how allergic I am to dogs and it is not possible. We've replaced the carpets and my allergies are controlled until I go visit one of our kids with dogs who are very friendly. Had to insist they come here WITHOUT the pets. That took quite a bit of training. Had trouble getting them to understand. Kids are wonderful, but determined to have their own way.
Love the way you make your stuffed peppers. You add some ingredients I'd like to also use, but best of all is the delightful way you prepare it all. We often use brown rice and have leftovers. I can use that to do as you do and treat the family to stuffed peppers. DH loves the sauce in the bottom of the pan. Hmmmm, makes me hungry to think of it.
Last night was a rough night...got into it with my son for trying to get the kids to eat two or three pc of macaroni before they could have anything else. I just wanted them to try it and I knew that when daddy came home he'd give them something else and that was ok with me. One refused and the other spit out her first taste, so I told them they could only have plain milk not chocolate...one agreed to that, the other (older) declined. I told my son about all this when he came home...I realize now I should have waited until he'd had time to rest a bit, but he came home he had two boxes of pizza for him and the kids and even though I've come to expect that, it still bothered me about how they eat...so much sugar, fat and salt... They eat pizza almost daily! Most things they eat are pretty much junk and that bothers me and I guess because I was so tired I reacted this time. Anyway he said they let them eat whatever they want and I should too. So I said from now on I'm just cooking for dh and I and he can feed them. Normally I tell him each day what I'm planning and he texts me back whether he's eating or not but yesterday I got the text too late and had already fixed a large amount of food, so guess that was part of my frustration too. I ended up filling two quart freezer bags to freeze and one plastic container for leftovers. Anyway in the heat of the moment words were said that shouldn't have been and I regret that. Today however it's been fine. I don't think I did anything wrong with the kids though and think what I said about their eating needed to be said. He is setting himself and his children up for health problems. They already have cavities even the little one, they eat lots of sugar and they don't brush their teeth. My son wasn't raised this way...he ate reasonably healthy until he was older, but once he could choose his own food that's when it went south. He then went out and put in a large supply of junk/snack foods so they can eat what they want...including some of those little lunchables which really aren't TOO bad for a snack, some even for a small child lunch, but the funny thing is, I offered one to the 5 year old today and he actually didn't like much of what was in it and preferred his usual pb sandwich which I make on WW bread. I did give him one later for a snack and he only ate the pretzels, not the cheese and drank a sugary punch drink with it. At least it was only as a snack, not a meal. but what a waste of money.
Another family thing...today Halo snapped at the three year old I think. I heard a strange sound...kind of a growl, kind of human like sound...it was weird and then heard our gd scream. I ran to her as she was running to me...tried to get her to tell me what happened...and she kept saying doggie and pointing to Halo who was now lying on her bed but opened her eyes and looked a bit guilty. I have only known Halo to snap at anyone (same kid) once before and it was when she was continually sitting on her. Halo will endure it for a while, then eventually will just get up and let them fall...but if they keep doing it she has snapped once before and I think that's what happened today. Gd had no bites, scratches or even redness and she cried a bit then went to sleep.
Other than that my day was just busy here at home....I did two loads of laundry and cleaned the spare bedroom, incl changing sheets.
They need to go to bed now, so I'll close...sorry for my complaining.
It has been a stressful couple days. On Sunday after I posted here, my phone rang and it was the nursing home ~ I feared the worst, as mom had not been doing very well for a few days. Thankfully, it wasn't “that” call. They were calling to tell me that some of mom's labs were quite elevated (potassium, sodium, BUN) and CO2 I think they said was low. So, they were sending her to the hospital to get them straightened out. She was on an observation unit, and they thought she would probably be sent back to the nursing home the next day. The labs were better the next day, but not back to where they should be, so they kept her. She is still there ~ they are taking it day by day. I am hoping she will improve and nothing else will happen ~ worrying that she might lose her place at the nursing home.
While talking to the nurse at the nursing home on Sunday, I was asking about if the DNR order that had finally been obtained would follow her to the hospital ~ the nurse said ~ your mom doesn't have a DNR. She said the guardian had never signed the papers. I was so upset, because a different nurse the other day said it had all been taken care of. The nurse on Sunday was not one of their regular staff. I didn't know whose story was right. Prayed that nothing would happen to mom before we could get it straightened out. My sister called them on Monday and the nurse on Sunday had made a mistake. I wasn't mad at her, because I know how easy it is for stuff to get miscommunicated. I was so thankful that she was wrong and the other nurse was right. So, mom does have the DNR and they got it so she has one at the hospital too.
Mary ~ I'm sorry for the stressful time you are going through with all the extra people in your house. I know how hard it is to feel concerned about some of the things our kids do as parents and either saying something and it doesn't go well, or having to sit by and watch and say nothing. I expressed concern one time with Sara and something she was doing ~ for Corbin's and her safety. She got very defensive and asked if I was trying to say she was a bad mom. I wasn't ~ I was just concerned, but right then I felt like if I did ever say anything, I might not get to see my grandchild anymore, so I prayed a lot and kept my concerns to myself.
Is your son's family getting any closer to being able to have their own place again? Glad the little granddaughter did not get nipped by Halo. I don't feel like you were complaining, so don't apologize. I feel like you were sharing ~ and I think we need to do that to be able to survive the stressful times.
Carol Sue ~ your stuffed pepper recipe sounds delicious. My husband likes them, but I don't have the patience to fool with making them. I found a recipe that uses all the same ingredients but is made as a casserole. That seemed a lot easier to me ~ and Steve liked it ~ so it worked out well. You asked a few posts back and I forgot to answer ~ you were curious what Steve ate that night when we went out to dinner before Corbin's graduation. He had a salad. I ordered the same thing ~ couldn't finish all of mine, so he had his and half of mine. It was some kind of Greek salad with spinach, cucumbers, olives, feta cheese and a vinegary dressing. It was OK ~ but too vinegary for me. I should have asked about some or the other salads. Oh well, live and learn
Sandy ~ it was surprising to hear you say you have low energy. With all that you do in those gardens, it sure doesn't seem like it. If I tried to do the things you describe in your gardens, I'd be exhausted. Interesting how we are all different ~ what one of us really loves, the next one isn't as interested in that thing. That is really cool how you made your own version of car seats and seat belts for your kids when they were little. Way to go Mom.
Emaline ~ glad you have rejoined our group. Sorry that you are having health problems. I admire that you can still sound upbeat in spite of your difficulties. I need to try harder to be like you. I'm glad that you have someone to help you with the stuff that you are no longer able to do yourself. It is fun to learn the different way they say things where you live.
Karrine ~ thinking of you and hope you and Nan are hanging in there ok. Prayers continue.
I have stayed up later than I probably should have again tonight. Maddie is here with us all day now that school is out. She is pretty good, but somehow, I just can't let go and relax while she is here. I like to unwind a little in the evenings and get on the computer or watch a favorite TV show ~ but can't really do that while she is still here. By the time Sara gets here to pick up Maddie some evenings, it is pretty late and that doesn't leave much time to do those things before going to bed.
Gayle Having Maddie all day would really change the way you spend your day. I remember when I used to keep our grandkids and it was usually at their house. Occassionally I'd bring them here so I could at least get some of my house hold chores completed. Relaxing? Seems I've done little of it since DH retired. I did increase the gardening with him home because I don't like lots of TV and house isn't quiet. Also with Pat living with us, she tries hard not to interfere, but she does change when I can use Living room (her studio except for my comfortable chair and bookcases, and the computer when she needs it for classes or to do her business.
Pat is checking out a small house about 10 miles away that she may move into so she can have larger studio. We assured her she can stay here as long as she wants too.
Regarding the DNR: what exactly would that include?
Mary We've had family and others live with us off and on during the years and I know how hard it can be to get meals organized to please all. Hope the kids soon find a place to live. Also, wish they ate healthier.
Morning spent weeding, etc. Amazed how many weeds grow so quickly. I try to weed front one time and north side another, and back the forth, and the South side the other day, but we aren't home that often to be able to keep up.
Today I cut back my area of Columbine that now have leaf miners. By discarding them the new leaves come back and look good rest of year. Sometimes they will even bloom again in the lovely blue and white.
Can't understand with all my activity, no sweets, and much smaller meals, why does the scale refuse to budge down?
Thank goodness I have no pain inspite of all that work. Amazing, really.
I had a kind of light dinner and no snacking afterwards. I wondered whether my bs might be really low so I decided to get up and check it. My bs was 112 certainly within normal limits but pretty low for me, so I ate a bunch of baby carrots, then saw a pizza box our son had put in the fridge...it wasn't a brand I like but I ate one smallish slice, drank some green tea and went to bed and finally to sleep. The funny thing too is that I realized (looking at my med case) that I hadn't even taken my dinner meds. I remember thinking about taking my meds but guess I didn't. I almost took them after the pizza but then got to thinking perhaps I took them from a different day or something. I don't think so though. Anyway my before breakfast test was lower than usual (but still high) prob because the glycogen didn't have to rush in so much with me getting up and eating. I think if I continue to eat the way I am these days, I may be able to eliminate one of the Amaryl...think I'll try that tonight. 
So hard to please everyone!
