Happy, Healthy, Grateful, Blessed....

Funny how things connect. Topic at meeting on Saturday was what are the blessings that have come your way since you became sober. Odd how these things remind us to live gratefully. Yes.

On Saturday I started eating the Keto way of life. This is usually the way of eating most docs will put diabetics on to get the AC1 in normal range. I am not diabetic but am trying this way of eating. NO CARBS (well 20 NET carb a day), NO SUGARs. So far I am liking it. Especially the recipe for the coffee bullet. Google Keto diet and read up on it. Pretty interesting. I will let you know on my first weigh in this coming Saturday. Yes it is pretty high fat. The good fat.

Posting will come back.

Ok Back.

Bullet Proof Coffee

1 T Real butter (no margarine or subs) I don't melt just add to mis
1 T Heavy Whipping Cream
1 T Coconut Oil
Coffee
Sweetner if necessary

Blend in blender till all liquid. Drink. This is a meal replacement and actually keeps you full. It is not Starbucks but works for me.

I made the Keto chili yesterday and have brought it for lunch today. Yes, I am kind of excited about this way of eating. I know there are probably downsides to to this, but heck there are downsides to everything. U-tube Ketogenics diet by Dr. Eric Crall.

C and I have been watching the series Longmire on Netflix. I like it. It is based on a book series. We have been able to guess the plot before the show is over but for some reason this series is addicting. We watched 4 episodes on Saturday evening then 3 episodes last evening. Sheriff Longmire is widowed. The setting is Wyoming I think. Indian reservation involved.

Went to Intergroup meeting yesterday. It was fun. Met some new people and one in particular was really funny. I laughed a lot. Gathered up some flyers for events going on in the area that all sound like fun. I am planning on going to a weekend retreat in July with fellow lady AA's.

Today's high is 50. Weather is so up and down but loving the ups. It was very windy yesterday which made the 50 degrees weather seem cold. We got some rain on Saturday evening, but not much. Just enough for Bruno to make mud pies in his paws. What a mess he was/is.

HAPPY....sounds like you are getting sucked back into the Thrift shop. Sister, do what makes you happy not for others that you feel sorry for. I am the biggest offender of that. Doing things I don't want to do because I feel sorry for others. I am trying to do better with that. Glad to hear Meadow is eating well. Who knows what happened to make her eat. Loved DHs eagle picture on FB.

SUSIE...wowser down another 3.8 lbs That is amazing. So your total is 28/29 down? You must post your total loss along with your loss each week. Proud of you sister. Stay the course.

CEEG...don't know that I have ever tried pheasant nor that I want too. How the heck did you lock your phone up?

LAURA...feet screaming for too much walking? Mine did too when I first came out of my boot. Just letting you know it can still happen. I need to get my mammo. February is my yearly month for that. Guess I should call them.

SHADDIE...hope you are feeling better each day. How did the painting go?

Best get busy. Keep waiting for my boss to pop his head in for our morning catch up.

'Mornin Kids,

Happy, blessed and grateful. Not sure about the healthy part - I am sneezing up a storm - more allergy feeling than a cold. Don't know what's up with that. It's going to be rough at Tai Chi today - my arthritic knee is really paining me something fierce. Hard to stand on it. I would like to talk myself out of going, especially since on Friday it "caught" and every time I put weight on it, it was as if it wanted to give out so I had to be extra careful. But I will plug along.

Yesterday we had a nice day. Went for a long ride. Went to one casino about an hour's drive away. Passed by a field where a couple of crows / blackbirds were giving a baby eagle a hard time and the parents were trying to chase them off. Baby eagle is the same size as parents but does not have the signature white head of a bald eagle. We swooped around and went back and DH took some photos. We learned not to pass on opportunities. After the first casino it was early afternoon and we decided to check out another casino also an hour away. It was sunny, and a beautiful day for a drive. We had Sunday brunch at the first place and I got comp'd a chicken dinner at the second so we had dinner there. Good baked chicken, peas and carrots and a baked potato. Got home, talked to my sister, listened to my Mom's further adventures to bug her. I was going to go in the hot tub but decided to hit the sack and get a little more sleep. Today is going to be busy - Tai Chi, then into town to drop some paper work off and pay the dentist bill. Back home because I cannot remember if we are meeting the landscape lady today for follow up or next Monday as I have it marked on the calendar. I have a mountain of laundry to do and some piles to tackle and clean up. All week is going to be on the run. The weather is supposed to be above freezing so there will be mush and puddles everywhere. Particularly treacherous in the early morning as things will freeze up over night.

Anne - I hope you do well on the keto diet. I think if you can handle artificial sugar you will do ok. I can't so net 20 carbs is a particularly rough challenge. Yet it tends to be fatty BUT like you said - it's good, healthy fats - or it should be. I have heard about the bulletproof coffee and as much as I like butter - I just have a hard time wrapping my head around butter in a drink. The only thing I heard about the keto is that maybe it can be hard on the kidneys so unless you have problems with kidney disease... Also I think when your body goes into ketoacidosis your breath can get a bit smelly. Other than that, it makes perfect sense to me. Just like Susie decided low fat was the right plan for her, I think low carb is something I need as I don't think my body can tolerate the sugar any more. It's just HARD to transition to. I hope you can do well on it.

DH is totally hooked on Longmire. He watched it when it was on cable tv and when Netflix picked it up he was disappointed. So he finally decided to get Netflix and now he is binge watching all 56 episodes from scratch. He said it's a really good show.

Good luck on day one with the new boss.

Time for me to get ready for class. Will catch up later chicks.

HAPPY....SOrry your knees are giving you a rough time. THe weather changes makes different parts hurt on me. I heard this Keto diet helps with arthritis. You might want to look into it further. No problems with sweetners. I don't like sugary things. I never put any type of sweetner in my coffee, real or fake. Only cream. I thought the same thing on the butter in coffee however it is actually good. Nice and creamy coffee. YUM. I can truly say that is one thing I don't have trouble with YET, kidneys. I should do ok on this woe. I have yet to visit a casino, guess that is one place you and DH can take me when I visit. Sounds like a load of fun. Had to laugh at your calendar date. I don't even trust what I write down to be accurate anymore. hahahha. We are coming to the end of the first season of Longmire. I think there are 5 seasons. We really like it. DH has good taste. Don't have a new boss yet. The position has not been posted as yet. Plus once I get the new boss does not mean he will be at this location. He may be in one of our Great Lakes region sites (Chicago, WI, OH, IN, Iowa, who knows). Best get busy.

Lost my post will be back later.

I’m happy, healthy, blessed, grateful.

Afternoon all. Nice and sunny out there. Another “breezy” day. Ha, they (radio) called it “breezy” yesterday too, and there were wind gusts of 30-40 mph! Breezy my you-know-what.

Ceejay – Hope you find your post and don’t have to retype it. The Valentine breakfast sounded nice. == How frustrating to have locked out your phone!! Glad you got that resolved. Yum, strawberry sundae!!

Annie – Good luck with the keto diet. I don’t do well with diet plans that are restrictive. However, refined sugars don’t have much nutritional value to speak of and should be minimal. Sweets are a weakness of mine – it certainly would be a good thing for me to try to cut waaaay back on them. Good for you that you don’t like sugary things. That said…can you have honey, and is there a restriction on fruits? I guess to the extent they are carbs, there would be, right? == Glad you’re enjoying the Longmire series. I’ll have to check that out, seeing as we have Netflix. Are the settings beautiful? That’s part of what got me hooked on the PBS series “Doc Martin” - lovely, stunning views of the coastal Cornwall area of England. == Getting away for a weekend retreat sounds like it would be relaxing. Somehow I think you need that with your full house.

Happy – I hope you got through the Tai Chi class this morning without too much pain. Sorry your knees are bothering you so much. Is the new knee feeling any better now than it was a few months ago? I guess the healing process takes a good long while. == Sounds like you had a nice drive yesterday. I’m going a bit stir-crazy myself being inside so much. Maybe I need to just take a drive, and not just get out for errands. Anyway – were any of the places you went to likely to be a location for your anniversary overnight getaway? == How nice Meadow’s appetite has improved. == LOL, I was just joking with my question about kicking in Tail Chi since you said you were still “kicking around” (and you mentioned it again in a post over the weekend). Yes, you certainly are, though not literally, haha. == Your Aunt J’s place sounds very much like my mom’s, but it’s not the size of my mom’s place that’s the cause of the seating issue, but the furniture she took with her from the house. The one really awful chair she brought is/was supposed to be temporary. And she didn’t bring her sofa because it was a large sofa sleeper. She does need to shop. She wants a sofa or loveseat that reclines, and new coffee and end tables. I think it’ll be a while before she’s ready to shop for the furniture, and she didn’t want to make changes right away. But she’s already very certain about wanting to remove the garbage disposal and replace the kitchen sink. The sink she currently has is a really odd double basin arrangement with a large basin and a very narrow/small 2nd basin beside it, and the drain on the small one is the one with the garbage disposal. The small one is so useless. I’m not sure what they were intended for. == I know there are several eyeglass places around Woodfield, but I avoid that area, so I went to two places in Arlington Hts yesterday. I don't like picking out frames either. I take pictures of myself wearing the frame and a photo of the model number/name so I can go back through them later and also to get bf's opinion.

Susie – Wow, another fantastic loss for you last week!! The low fat eating is certainly working for you. == I hope you found some quiet time over your busy weekend. we need that!! == I used to wear contact lenses the majority of the time and only replaced my glasses every 3 years or so. This past year, I’ve had a lot of trouble reading with my contacts, so I began wearing my glasses the majority of the time. Now I’m resigned that I’ll have to wear reading glasses with my contacts, so I’ve got a couple boxes of the daily contacts on order and hope to wear them more going forward. I’ve had my current eye glasses just under 2 years now, but will be getting new ones because I need bifocals now. (And I’m thoroughly sick of the purple frames, LOL.) With the cost of eyeglasses so high and the fact that I also wear contacts, I don't replace my glasses yearly.

Hello Shad! How did the pre-chemo appointment go? Getting any rain and/or cooler weather yet? I know you’re ready for it!!

==

Saturday morning I went to the eye doctor. I do indeed need to wear readers with my contacts now, and as I commented to Susie, I’m finally resigned to that now. I’ll go get some at Costco or one of the drugstores now that the doc has agreed that +1.5 is the right strength for me. I also need bifocals now, so I will give them a go with my next pair of eyeglasses. I looked at frames at my doctor’s office and found a pair of very neutral light brown frames that are fine, and with plain earpieces which I like. Really not a fan of the logos and other bling they use to decorate the frames these days. My only concern is the light brown may just be too light and wash me out. And I didn’t consider checking frames just for the shape and then checking online to see if they were available in other colors.

I went to two other eyeglass stores on Sunday and tried on a number of frames. Having decided to go back to a neutral color frame, my choice is basically tortoise shell. But the ones available are a darker tortoise shell, which will be a stronger color for me, but probably better than the light brown. My glasses are a very strong prescription and make my eyes look small. I don’t like wearing a lot of eye makeup with my glasses for that reason, so it’s probably a good thing to have a darker frame color than a very light one. Haven’t quite made up my mind. I bet I’ll end up back at the eye doctor’s office to see if I overlooked any possibilities.

Other than that, I didn’t do much over the weekend other than several loads of laundry.

Hi all,

At last it has cooled down a bit - well at least for today. Had a bad nights sleep last night and been somewhat lazy during the day. Did a bit of shopping and a bit of cleaning. Hope tomorrow is a better day.

Went to the Mater Cancer Care Centre (now referred to as MCCC) yesterday. I spoke to the consultant and her apprentice and we went through all the various bits of things I need to know. I start chemo on Thursday at 2pm and it will last for 5 hours ! Prior to that I will see the consultant, get the results of the blood test I have to have done tomorrow and go to the education centre to get info on what happens and where we go from here. The good news is that the consultant has reviewed all my tests and scans and recommends that I only have to do 4 rounds of chemo, instead of six, since there are no visible signs of the disease. She tells me I am one of the lucky ones and asked how the diagnosis was made. We went into a great discussion about catching things in time and how it is so hard with ovarian cancer. Okay enough about that. Thursday I start the treatment. I do one round every 28 days. Better get some reading matter on my kindle. 5 hours will be a long time on a drip.

I'll do personals tomorrow. Just about asleep tonight.

Hey Chicklets...Good Morning...Happy, Healthy, Grateful, Blessed....

Not a lotta going on in my world. Dinner was taco's last night. Beef with seasonings, cheese, tomato, lettuce, black olives, avocado, sour cream, green onion. On Keto, I could eat all that so I made a salad out of it. Everyone else had it in a tortilla wrap or with taco chips. Filling to say the least. Tonight is Mississippi roast in the crocker. Will make veggies to go with and also potatoes for the rest of the folks. Sam is going to dinner with her BF, bleh, I am trying to like him. Doing better. It is what it is so adjust. Not my monkies as HAPPY says, not my circus, zoo or forest, well kind of. lol C and I are going to enjoy dinner at home and save money. Big taxes coming up. Plus Cs box truck is at the 5 year mark. Repairs so far are the lift, tires and now the radiator. About 2K so far. Yeee. Not going to stress over financials, the good Lord will provide. I have to say that every day also. It helps.

Keto, since I had to weigh for my work challenge I got a preview of my weight. Four days into Keto...

SW 192.2
GW 165-169 (high end of chart for my height) 5'9"
CW 188.0

4.2 LOSS...wow, plus my tummy area is a lot smaller. Wish I would of measured when I started.

Mississippi Roast

4 to 6 lb roast, I used a 2.5 lb roast and cut the portions down.
1 pkg Hidden Valley Ranch dry
1 pkg Au Jus dry
1 stick butter
salt n peppa

Salt n peppa the roast and pan sear on all sides. Put in crocker. Sprinkle with all dry ingredients, place stick of butter (must be BUTTER, not margarine) on top. Crock on low for 8 hours.

I will let you know how it tasted tomorrow.

Hello to all, Hugs.

Oh hey was on the wrong page and didn't see LAURA or SHADDIE's posts.

SHADDIE...Michael went through that long chemo drip thing for 3 times and then told them the heck with it. He was supposed to go for 6 sessions. Via the blood work it wasn't helping anyway, made him violently ill and just wasn't worth his little time left on earth. He want to feel good and enjoy while he could. His sessions were one week for 3 days then 2 weeks off. Sick most of that time. Fortunately you get a break and doesn't sound as harsh. YEAH!! Rest up.

LAURA...How is the foot feeling? Any better? How long to you have to wear the boot? I really dislike getting glasses. I am never happy with them. May the force be with you. Do you have a L. Fish furniture? If so mom might want to check out their discontinued sale section. Great prices.

LAURA and you are right on. No fruit. Berries can be eaten but very little and sparingly. Frankly, I miss fruit. I am a fruit nut. It is all good tho and this too shall pass. Craving for popcorn has ceased already. I used to eat it nearly every night. OMGosh.

Morning all.

Shad – Five hours is a long session! I’m glad you won’t need as many sessions as previously thought, and that they have spread them out. == I hope today is a better day for you.

Annie – Congrats on your weight loss and smaller tummy!! Yum, tacos. Sounds good, but I think I would miss my crunchy taco shells. Does crispy lettuce satisfy that for you? Oh gosh, no potatoes – I would miss those too, and the fruit. But too much starch/sugar. Hope you all enjoy the MS roast. – How is Sam feeling now? == Ugh, when I think about how much money gets spent on vehicles, it’s just crazy – registration, insurance, fuel, maintenance. At least C’s vehicle is a deductible business expense! == I can definitely understand your brother skipping the chemo if the writing was on the wall and it would have made no difference. Why extend the inevitable if you’re going to be feeling crummy that whole time? -- My foot’s feeling better. Been about 2.5 weeks now. I assume I have to wear the boot until my next doctor appointment, which is March 2nd. I have minor swelling on my foot and I’m not sure how a real shoe would feel because of that, even if I thought I was ready to wear a regular shoe. I’ve been taking an aleve tablet every 8 hours, but I don’t ice the foot regularly. I think I’ll try to be more consistent with that. === We don’t have L. Fish furniture in our area anymore. I bet other chains have discontinued sections – good idea.

Hellos to the rest of you! Have a happy Valentine’s Day.

==

Today we’re having a fundraiser party that benefits the charity our company supports (kid-related) and also a pit bull rescue. There will be kids and puppies at this party! Should be fun, but only 90 minutes. Kids and pups will get tired in that time I guess.

Nothing much else to report, so I’ll get this posted.

Sooooooooooooo, happy, healthy, grateful and blessed! The greatest Lord will provide!

C and I exchanged cards last night. We are doing the minimum to save $$. His card to me was so very touching and his hand written part was sweet. Yes, tears welled up. Go ahead, bit baby Annie. I feel like telling all those having trying to get preggers, do not have a gemini. Yep that is it. Born under the wrong stars. hah

Don't think my job will be going away any time soon. OMGosh. I have been reporting to my manager's boss since my manager left for what now,? 2 days. 4 new reports. Also have to pick up the one we quit doing that gave me all the headaches. I have a job, I am blessed to have this job. Amen. I just laugh, Mary Jane knew she wasn't a potato chip. Punch line from a Mary Jane joke. Will tell entire very bad joke if anyone wants to hear it.

The roast was so dang good last night. Geez just melted in your mouth. I am loving this keto woe. (way of eating). I love the BPC-Bullet proof coffee. Keeps things moving. I hope I stay this "in love" with keto. So Sam's bf ran late, they did not go out to eat so it C, the boys and I for dinner. Then Sam and BF ate when he got there at 9 pm. I had headed to the bed. Missed This Is Us, hopefully it will be on netflix or hulu or something later on down the road. Scandal isn't as good this season, maybe because they are trying to hide Kerry Washington's real life pregnancy so there is no "Scandalous romance" going on. Just all political and frankly I am burnt out on anything political, real life or tv.

Bout it for me, gotta get started on this day. My days are much fuller now. Who would of thought that without a boss on site?

Make it a great Wednesday, HUMP DAY<---HAPPY,

HUGS

Hi all,

Happy Day after Valentine's Day - hope everyone had fun. We had a super busy day yesterday. Started early - we had an hour's drive to another clinic for a test for DH to determine what's going on with the pain and numbness in his hands. He doesn't have carpal tunnel but they didn't have much other information. He is at the doctor for a follow up now. I hope they find something as it does interfere with his sleep and rest. Then we went to look at flooring for the basement. We ripped out all the carpeting when the basement started seeping after the record snow and spring thaw 2 years ago. We believe we fixed the issues so it's time to put a floor down. Then we hurried to the senior center - were meeting friends for lunch. They had a nice performance by a group of ladies who sing and all play different kinds of ukuleles. They call themselves the Ukel-Ladies. It was nice but I was getting nervous as I had to be at the shop at 1pm for my shift - the morning folks get testy if you are late. They had a breaded chicken cutlet over spaghetti with marinara sauce, roasted brussel sprouts (although DH passed on his even though I told him to give them to me). Also milk to drink and a delicious light cheesecake bar dessert with blueberry or cherry sauce. All for $4. How can you go wrong? Very filling. Except that they gave me a piece that was not browned properly - the chicken was cooked - that's all that matters. I did get done in time to get to the shop. My friend gave me a pretty hand knitted "treasures" bag and some of her favorite iced tea powder. I did not expect this but then she reminded me that I supplied her with fresh peaches and oranges throughout the season. DH picked me up after my shift and we went to the steakhouse for dinner. I debated about what to get, I wasn't super hungry. I decided on a pasta dish with lobster. It was very tasty - not a heavy rich cream sauce and it had fresh grape tomatoes and peas in it too. I was full from the dinner salad, a small bread roll and a couple of bites of pasta. Of all the dinner offerings, this one would be the best bet to reheat. Even DH liked it and I gave him about half of the lobster chunks that were in my pasta. Came home, watched some tv. Anne you missed a good "This is Us" episode. Chicago Fire was also good. I was going to go in the hot tub but it was getting late - figured I was better off going to bed and getting more sleep.

Today we have the landscape ladies coming to give us the "numbers" for the landscape proposal. We're hoping it's not as much as we THINK it's going to be. But we know it won't be cheap. The commune is going to look quite nice ladies. Will have to call it a resort. Then I have to get my wonky knees over to yoga.

Anne - glad you are having success with Keto eating. It sure seems to be agreeing with you. And it's nice that you can incorporate things for the family to round out the meal and not be tempted by carbs. I hope that the transition of the bosses works out well for you. I'm sure they recognize what a valuable employee and hard worker you are. And I hope that the universe recognizes your financial knees and takes care of them. Sometimes you just have to trust things will work out.

Laura - how did the party work out? Pit bulls and kids - what a combination!!!! I'm glad your foot is feeling better. I heard it's going to be 60 degrees down your way this weekend. I wish last minute airplane tickets weren't so expensive or I'd be rushing to go visit Mom and my sister. Actually next weekend would be better as I am booked through Sunday with stuff. Enjoy it for me.

Shad - I am glad to hear they were able to cut your chemo sessions to more of a preventative thing. I hope it won't be too harsh for you.

Gotta stop now and pick up the kitchen before the ladies arrive. Back after yoga folks.

Morning all. Another sunny day today. But we’re back to more seasonal temps today – it’s 30 right now. Looking forward to the warmer temps coming up in the next few days – it’ll be nice to get a taste of spring in February. Grateful for this mild winter.

Annie - Your current boss is keeping you busy!! Good thing, and this is a good opportunity for you to show him firsthand that you’re a valued employee. Though I do think your former boss probably filled him in on that already. == Sure, a joke sounds good – tell us the rest of it. --- Glad the roast turned out well. And glad that you’re enjoying the keto woe and that it’s working for you. I’ve been logging my eating on MFP for a while now but I’m not cutting back on anything, so I’m not losing any weight. I'll find my way at some point.

Happy – You sound busy as all get-out. That’s okay, keeps you out of trouble, lol. == What kind of flooring are you thinking of for the basement? Will it depend on how much the landscaping quote comes in at?? I’m getting excited for the commune…make that “resort”.

Hellos to the rest of you!!

==

The “Puppy Love Wish Party” was cute. There were 4 puppies from the pit bull rescue, all at about 12 weeks of age. Very sweet doggies. The admin and I didn’t stay very long – about 20 min., but the kids that came took photos with the dogs and there was a setup for them to do some crafts. It seemed well-attended, so I hope they raised a decent amount of money (admission was $5, and there were a couple raffles too.)

Bf and I went to dinner last night at the Mexican restaurant about 4 blocks from us. We had ceviche for an appetizer and split an entrée. The ceviche wasn’t quite flavorful enough (needed more marinating time, IMO) and didn’t have any heat to it, but the entrée was tasty – skirt steak, enchilada, beans, etc. And the chips and salsa, my downfall. And that's why we could split an entrée - I fill up on them.

Back at home, we watched some of the Westminster dog show. It was nowhere near the end when I had to get to bed, so we’ve dvr'd it. Don’t tell me who won Best in Show!

The boss is out of the office for the rest of the week, so that’s nice. I’m in the office for the third day in a row, but I still might work from home Thursday and/or Friday. Friday is the business day before a company holiday (Presidents' Day), so our office closes at 3 pm, but I realized yesterday that we have a meeting scheduled on Friday from 3-5. Bleh. Another department member suggested rescheduling it...I'll have to give her a nudge...

That’s about it for me, so I’ll get this posted. TTFN.

Morning
Not much going on. Cleaning house today and may go to the grocery store a bit later. I want to get some more things done first.
Don't know why but I've bee a bit depressed. Could be the lack of sun shine. But we have a beautiful but cold day today.
Sorry no time for personal but I will be back later.