[Wannabehealthy]

Trish,when i buy canned fruit I buy it packed in juice but DH buys it in heavy syrup,but once his is gone he will eat mine, but then complains,about it.

Our ham is done but its too salty. Once its refrigerated its not as salty and thats when iblike it. The potato salad seems to lack something, or my taste is off. DH says its good.

I never bought a spiral ham. Step daughter told me not to because she had one and it was dry. She probably didnt cook it right. I always get a precooked semi boneless. We had one
dog who would chew on the bone but not Rusty. I would like to make ham,cabbage and potatoes but I dont know how. My mother never made ham. I never made it til I met DH.

[pattygirl63]

Carol Sue Our ham was a little dry but I thought it was because it was frozen when I put it in to cook. Also the brown sugar on the ham caused it to burn. It looked like I had cooked it on a grill. We got about 4 or 5 meals out of it and I want some of it for ham and eggs. I told DH I would never buy one like that again. I will buy a regular one and season it myself without all that sugar. I always used cherry juice and the juice from a can of pineapple along with a little maple syrup and it tastes good and is tender, juicy and doesn't burn. It was still good but could have been better. I've also never frozen my ham before cooking and I think that may have caused it to be dry as well.

I did eat 2 meals and will do the same thing tomorrow. Then Thursday, I will back on plan. I've decided to control carbs as much as possible, but I mostly want to do IF.

We will spend the evening and tomorrow watching the rest of our Christmas movies we like to watch. I love It's A Wonderful Life with Jimmy Stewart and haven't watched it yet.

[Wannabehealthy]

We watch Its A Wonderful Life so many times,every year! I always liked Miracle on 24th St.

I used to put cherry glaze on my ham but now I put nothing. I just looked up how to make a turkey breast. I never did just a breast. I have some stove top stuffing and might make that tomorrow, too. Its not as good as real stuffing. also,my instant read thermometer broke and I never replaced it. Ill manage. I have one for use on the grill. It is huge but it might work just as,well.

Nite!

The Steelers play tomorroww so thats what he will be watching.

[Wannabehealthy]

Merry Christmas!

Funny,but Walmart called this morning to say I have prescriptions ready,so they must be open!

Today the scale is up .2 to 178.4. I thought it would be higher from all that salt in the ham.

I cant decide whether to cook the tturkey breast today or wait a couple days. I'll see what DH thinks. I thought it would be good to have another option besides the salty ham. I like both.

I tried to find a recipe for ham,cabbageand potatoes and I dont like any of the recipes. Some say to add water,then theres one that says dont add water. That one says you get enough liquid coming from the cabbage and water will dilute the flavor. Maybe I will wait til I cook the other half of the ham which is in the freezer for another time. I used to give the other half of our ham to step daughter but now her husband makes so much money they can buy their own ham.I dont know if they even eat ham anymore because her husband has gout and doesnt take meds for it. He cant eat any pork or he gets bad pain.

BBL!

[pattygirl63]

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Weight down to 164.8 lbs. Only .2 lbs but I will gladly take it. BP a little higher than usual but not bad. Oncology calls it good, but I'm not use to seeing 130 for a top # at home.

Carol Sue DH would eat the cabbage, ham and potatoes but only if they were cooked and served separately. I would love some casseroles I see online and in magazines, but I know DH won't eat them. He used to comment when I took all my food from a meal and put it in one bowl and mix it and eat it saying he didn't know how I could eat it that way.

I saw an article online from Eating Well. I used to take their magazine but can get it online from their website. They were telling how to eat. They were showing the difference in eating a Low-glycemic diet and a Low-carb diet. I think I just might use their woe so I can eat a healthy amount of protein with the fiber I need to eat without over doing either one. I could do that. They set the carbs at 130 g and say don't eat less than 120 g. Don't know if I could eat 130 g, but will see how that works. I will go on their website and see how to do it since it would fit my need for eating so I can take 40 mg Lasix daily.

DH will have his ham meal and I had cheese toast with yogurt for brunch and will have my ham and eggs for dinner. No real cooking today since I did that yesterday. I don't think I've ever cooked a turkey breast. I don't know if DH would eat it. I thought about getting one to see if we would like it or not.

Have a great day.
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The day went very well. DH DD and Hubby didn't call, but we talked to them texting last night. They said they would try to stay awake to call us, but evidently they weren't able to. They both work nights and sleep during the day. I would rather they sleep than be too tired when driving later. So nice quiet day.

I looked up the website of eating well and they have lots of recipes but I didn't see anything on the diet itself. They will give you recipes for diabetes, etc, but most places have apps and I'm not buying anything. Calories estimated as best as possible were 1289, carbs 120 and protein 92, but the fiber was only 11. So doing this on my own... my personal plan.

Hope your day has been good.

[Wannabehealthy]

I dont think this turkey breast tastes done even though I ami checked the temperature. Im used to cooking a whole turkey because I like dark meat. I dont think I will buy a breast again. Rusty is happy . He would not eat ham this morning but he could smell the turkey cooking.DH ate before i had the sides done. Turkey and carrots. So Im not making the stuffing or Potatoes since he already ate.

The Steelers are losing so far. DH and brother are watching together over the phone. I think thats so funny. As,soon as the game starts the phone rings, and we know who it is.

A lot of people dont like their food mixed together. In Pittsburgh we have sandwiches that have french fries and cole slaw on them. People want it served separate but Primanties only serves it on the sandwich. Ham,cabbage and potatoes is supposed to be together, like stew. I dont know if DH would eat it but thats ok because I cant find a recipe. Some of the recupes are called Boiled Dinner.

We have been having trouble with our bathroom sink. The water does not go down. DH is going to the hardware store tomorrow to get something to fix it. Today he talked to his brother in Las Vegas who told him he had a dream that he was at our house trying to unclog our sink. When he lived here they were always helping each other fix things. Now he lives miles,away, 2 brothers died and one still lives here. He never comes to our house because hes afraid of Rusty. Rusty just barks a lot. He actually likes people but people are afraid of dogs that bark..

Ive read Eating Well. There is a table in the lobby of our library where people can leave their magazines when they dont want them, and anyone who wants them can take them. I used to get magazines there but that stopped during covid. They might have started it again now. Someday i will check.

[Wannabehealthy]

Scale up to 179!.Yikes! One more lb and I'm 180! Need some fasting today or very low carb!

I tossed and turned all night. Just light sleep. I did get up for the bathroom 3 times but that didnt help the scale. Didnt check blood sugar yet. I will check it when I take my meds!

Tomorrow we are going to the Casino for dinner and I'm surehe will gamble. I will justify it because its for his birthday. In January he always says"Lets go to the casino for your birthday.". I hate to tell him for my birthday I want to not go! If I was going for my birthday I would want to go to the one in West Va and stay overnight. We only stayed overnight one time. We cant do that because of Rusty. When we went before we didnt have a dog . We dont have anyone to be here for him or keep him for us. He just needs to be let out to pee. Its a 1 1/2 hour drive home from there. We quit going there during covid because they closed the rest stop on the interstate. Thats when we started going to the one 1 hour away.

I dont want to cook today. DH can eat leftover ham. We have no leftover turkey. I cut it up for Rusty and its in a container for snacks for him. He will eat ham but i dont want him to with all that sodium. I would really prefer he just ate dog food, but DH thinks he needs a treat for going outside to do his business. Step son never feeds his dog anything but dog food. Never.

I vowed to start back to exercise after Christmas but Christmas isnt over until New Years day. We will eat pork and sauerkraut for New Years then a strict low carb diet with 5 days a week of exercise. 2025 will be a new slate for me! Dont Let Me Forget I Said That!

[pattygirl63]

Carol Sue My DD has a little dog that has some kind of stomach problem and she cooks special meals for him. She laughs and says she is a better fur mommy than she was with her kids. The sad thing is that is really true.

I too plan to get more serious after the holidays and sadly I have the same attitude that holidays are over after New Year's Day. I've been exercising throughout the holidays, but not faithfully all of them. Some days I do more than others. Jan 2 I will start back full swing. I have been doing 6 days a week this past year, but there are weeks like next week when I have infusion when I will do only 5 days that week. I just might switch to 5 days a week. Not sure. I don't think 6 days does much for me.

Well, my weight was up too, Carol Sue, to 165.4, but my FBG and BP was good although the FBG has been better. One thing I learn from my eating through the holidays is what affects my FBG and what doesn't. So I really need to take what I've learned and behave myself. I blame it on trying to balance my woe to compensate taking 2 Lasix a day, but some of it is just to get to eat some things I like that I wouldn't eat otherwise. We are having beef today because I have lab tomorrow.

Happy birthday to your DH and I hope y'all have a good and safe trip to the casino. I also think it is funny that he and his brother watch the Steelers together on the phone. That is so cute.

Heard from DGS that was here last Sunday and he thinks he has broken his big toe. He is a big guy... not fat but just big and it sounds like that when he gets sick or something happens he is a big baby or else he just wants his Nana to sympathize with him. LOL I hope it isn't broken and I hope he will go to the doctor. He doesn't go to the doctor and keeps saying he needs to go, but doesn't. He says "I live with a nurse. I don't need a doctor". But we know how that works. Men don't listen to their wives.

Have a good day and I hope you are able to enjoy the casino. Be careful lot of people will be driving home or shopping exchanging gifts.

[Wannabehealthy]

Trish,the casino is actually in the mall,so its always a very crowded area traffic wise. The mall was closed yesterday but thr casino was open. They are open ,24 hrs a day,but they have their own entrance. I heard a rumor that the mall is closing and the casino is going to expand to take up the whole mall. There are small stores but the big ones are Macys and JC Penney. If I wanted, I could leave the casino and go shopping but it would be too much walking. I guess time will tell if that rumor is true.

I think everyone plans to diet and exercise in the new year. I would start now but i have too much going on this week to start now. Ive been watching carbs all along but I still go too high. I want to eat just protein and vegetables. The exception would be Sara Lee Delightful bread with breakfast/brunch. I would like to keep carbs between 50-75 most days. And exercise M-F. weekends would be occasional since I like to exercise while watching my soaps. Watching tv is a distraction and makes the time go faster. The last time I did this there was a huge improvement in my labs. I could use that now.

So thats my plan. I hope I can follow thru!

[pattygirl63]

Carol Sue Your plan is pretty close to how I want to eat and exercise if I can. I figure that since I have lab every 3 weeks and a CT Scan every 3 months, that I will know pretty quick if it is working for me or not. It is worth the try. Don't remember what my calories were today, but my carbs were around 70 g. I will try to do that most days.

[Wannabehealthy]

Scale was down to 178..8. Only down .2 but at least it was down,not up. I have to keep it going down. Blood sugar is high but not drastically. It was high when I went to bed because of too many carbs,so I took meds.

I didnt sleep well but that could be because blood sugar was up.

Today we are going to the casino to eat and let him gamble. It woyld be nice if he won again but Im not going to count on it. I dont know if it will be crowded or not. When we eat there,
they dont have a lot I like so I will probably get steak bites. They are an appetizer so no sides with it. DH will get fish and chips and never eats his cole slaw so I can eat that if I want.

This morning I have to pay bills. I got a threatening letter from my Target card. I usually pay it online but i got locked out of my account. Then I tried to pay it in the store but they no longer accept checks. Once I pay this I will no longer use that card. Too hard to pay it. I can use any card in there but I get 5% off if I use therir card,which isnt much unless I buy something big, like a TV. We have so many TVs I dont think we will be buying more. So if I cant pay it online today I will take cash to the store, then never use it again. There are a few things I like to buy there,,but they are also sold in Walmart. Their store brand paper products are good. DH likes their electronics and I like their kitchen department. Walmart is across the street.

So,time to pay the bills. DH went to McDonalds to get breakfast.

[pattygirl63]

Weight was the same today as yesterday which is good for the way I've been eating this month. I have lab today so I decided it is a good day to get back on track. I've done my exercises that I am going to do today. I figure I will walk at the store while DH gets our meds. We don't need much but I can get some walking exercise out of it. I've had a Protein shake today for breakfast. I don't usually eat before lab draw but they say it isn't fasting so I thought I would try eating this one time to see if it makes a difference.

I've decided to start doing a juggling act with DH medicine so we don't have to rely on doctor having samples. His Farxiga and Eliquis are almost $400 for 3 month supply. So we are getting the Faxiga this month and next month we will have the doctor call in the Eliquis for 3 month supply. It will be easier to pay for it that way. I remember thinking how horrible that would be when Daddy had to pay for my Step-mom's $300 medicine. Now we are doing it. You just work it into the budget. At least this year we have everything done. Property taxes are paid and once that is done, I can breathe easy and start working on saving for next years. As DH previous MIL used to say to me "And these are the golden years?". But thank God we have a home and we can do it. Many people do not.

I called Medicare yesterday to be sure my new card was legit. I told her with so many scams you have to be careful these days. They said there was some issue with it. I still don't understand why I don't use the new card till the middle of January but I will take it to the finance lady at oncology and she may be able to explain that one to me. Did I tell you DS and DBIL couldn't get Advantage Plan? They punished them because they didn't take Medicare when she retired. He was still working and his insurance was better at work so they stayed on it. He worked past his retirement age so they didn't get on Medicare right away so they had to go on Medicare now and take some supplement insurances for dental and meds.

Well, I guess I better go. I'm kind of a chatterbox this morning. I hope you get Target bill paid and glad you can get the items you want at Walmart. I want to go back to buying some things at Walmart. I haven't checked to see if I could get my meds at Walmart or not. It would be nice to be able to because I like a lot of stuff I can get there better than at the other store. Never checked into it. We always got our meds there until we got on our 1st Advantage Plan when they made us change.

Hope y'all enjoy your trip to the casino. Hope he wins that would be nice BD present.

[Wannabehealthy]

Trish,DH retired early,at 59, but he was on my insurance. He still signed up for Medicare when he turned 65 since it was free, but he used my insurance for his medical needs. Somehow we heard that he should sign up to avoid being punished later on. Then when I retired we both signedup and also got an Advantage plan. Its very complicated and you are never sure what to do.

I paid my bills but when I paid our Trash and Recycling bill which is quarterly I filled out the information and there was a box to click to authorize payment,but no place to click for submit. So I dont know if its paid or not. I will check my bank account next week to see if the paymentwas applied. If its not paid there will be a $5 late fee. Bills are bad enough without paying late fees. I hate the thought of going back to paying the bills by mail. All those postage stamps.

You just reminded me I have to pay our taxes by year end. Couple days. Its nearby so we can pay in person.

I used to get our meds at Target until I found out we could go to Walmart. We are there at least once a week, sometimes more, so its convenient. If you can get your meds there,you should be able to transfer them from the other store. Ask in Walmart next time you are there.

Now i have CV to clean off my dining room table. Everything gets put there and theresno room to eat.

[pattygirl63]

We went by to see DS after I got my labs done. DBIL wasn't penalized with his insurance, but DS was. They are going to appeal her being penalized. She said she also got her hospital bill and her DD checked it and said she was charged for things they didn't do or double charged her. They are going check that out as well.

I checked today and our tax payment went through. We got chicken tenders on the way home. Strange how I used to love fried chicken, but I am finding it doesn't taste that good anymore. That is probably good because there was a time I didn't think I could get enough. In fact, I'm starting to lose interest in a lot of foods I used to eat so I guess that my tastes are changing.

I might check to see if Walmart is good for our prescriptions. It would be nice to be able to go there and shop as well as get our prescriptions too.

Now it is time for a nap.

[Wannabehealthy]

No wins at the casino but no losses either. We broke even. The food we had there was good
and our comps paid for it.
I never pay attention to what the hospital charges,because I figure if insurance pays it,they must think its right. When DH had his heart surgery we got a bill from a doctor that our plan doesnt cover. I sent them a letter and told them our insurance doesnt pay and who authorized them to be there. I never got a reply but never got billed again. I dont know if insurance paid it or they wrote it off.

I think DS should have signed up for Medicare when she was of age even if she didnt use it. Thats what DH did. Someone must have told us to do that. I think it was the guy when he signed up for social security, who said if you dont sign up for it right off you can have problems later on. I hope they are able to appeal it.

I no longer enjoy a lot of foods that I used to like. One is Country Fried Steak. I used to love it. Bob Evans still has it but I never order it. They also have it on the breakfast menu with eggs! I havent had fried chicken in ages but get grilled chicken occasionally. We dont go to our local KFC because it never looks busy and we are afraid the chicken wont be fresh. We dont have Church's up here. We used to have another chicken place that cooked the chicken over a wood fire but they didnt last long. It was Kenny Rogers Chicken.

At the casino I started reading "Why we get fat and what to do about it" by Gary Taubes. I heard about it before and I think it is about Insulin and keeping it low by eating low carb. It is an older book,but interesting so far.

I also have "Why we get sick and what to do about it." I read it awhile back but dont remember what it said so I will read through it again. Its by Dr Ben Bikman. Im glad i have things to read while at the casino. I can always find a place to sit and read. I can keep sight of where DH is. It was pretty crowded considering its still right after Christmas.

Tomorrow the kids come for DHs birthday and we exchange Christmas gifts. Today is his last day to be 81. 45 more minutes. DGS is going to drive his car so we can see it. We saw a picture! Then nothing is going on until New Years Eve,and pork and sauerkraut.