Sunday Night Chit Chat: Broken Record

Hey Humble Readers...

Are you still out there?  Even after I dropped off the face of the earth?  **sigh**

Apparently... obviously... I have been in a real blogging slump for the last few months, and I'm at a bit of a loss as to how to break out of it.  I want to blog.  I need to blog.  In an effort to get myself back into the routine, I have signed up for ICLW for this month.  Hopefully it will give me the kickstart I need to get back at it. 

Other than my bloggy-suckiness, things in the Shire are pretty good.  My seasonal allergies and this spring cold that I'm battling are proof positive that spring really has sprung here on the frozen flatland.  It's a long weekend here north of the 49th parallel, and because he worked some overtime at the beginning of the month, my Beloved gets an extra-extra-long weekend.  He doesn't have to be back in the office until Wednesday afternoon!  Yay! 

In diabetes/weight loss news... my sugars have been really good for the most part.  There have been a couple of blips, but there were obvious reasons (like Pip's birthday party).  I'm walking a little over 6.2km every morning.  I am a hair away from being down 42lb.  The new capris that I just bought at the beginning of last month are getting too big. 

A one-year-old Pippin, post-cake. 
If you look closely, you can see cake in his ear.
I'll do a full post with lots of pics in a day or so.

On to this week's chit chat.  Here's what I'm...

Reading - I'm almost finished "Plan D" by Sherri Sheppard.  I've found it a bit repetitive and more conversational in tone than I like for non-fiction, but I have gotten a few good ideas and some good encouragement.  I'm also reading a historical novel called "The Purchase" about an excommunicated Quaker, his family, and the young slave they 'mistakenly' buy.  It's interesting, but slow.  I'm hoping it picks up soon.

Listening to - My Beloved, chuckling to himself as he watches youtube clips.

Watching - My Sunday night usuals... Call the Midwife and Mr. Selfridge (if I can stay awake that long).

Cooking/Baking - Because it was a bit cooler today, I decided to do what will likely be my last big Sunday night supper until the autumn.  Braised short ribs (done in tomatoes and sherry, with carrots, celery, garlic, and onion), mashed potatoes (with sour cream and horseradish), and roasted mushrooms and zucchini.  Was very yummy! 

Happy I accomplished this week - I've hit 10000+ steps every day for the last ten days.  We also went to the first farmer's market of the season yesterday.  It was a nuthouse!  They've expanded this year so there is room for a lot more vendors, but even so it was still crazy, especially trying to navigate the double stroller through the crowds.  Treasures from the day included two new pairs of pretty jewelled flip-flops for me (2 for $20), some fresh zucchini and cucumbers, and some illicit chocolate chip cookies.  Also got to go to a movie (Star Trek) last night with some girlfriends, and then out to a pub afterward. 

Looking forward to next week - Some fun family time.  Tomorrow it's off to a park for some play time on the grass (something that doesn't happen often enough, given our neighbourhood), and Tuesday we're taking the wee-lings to the library.  Ginny hasn't been in ages, and will likely go mad for all the books.  Thinking about going garage sale-ing next weekend. 

Thankful for today - Sunshine, rain, and green tea.

***Bonus Question*** Do you like your name? Would you change it if you could?  I've never liked my name.  It's gender neutral, and that has caused me no end of grief.  In fact, one of my BIL has the same name.  I would love to change it, but it would be bizarre at this stage of the game. 

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This was posted as a part of Carla's Sunday Night Chit Chat.  Why not pop over and check out what others are chatting about tonight. 

Sunday Night Chit Chat: One Extreme To The Other

Good Evening Humble Readers...

I'm hoping you've all had a lovely weekend.  Ours was busy but good.  Errands, housework, an impromptu date night, church, and a fun/interesting afternoon today (more on that later) made for a lot of running around, but it was good. 

First and foremost, we have had the most astounding change in our weather.  Tuesday we had a daytime high of 1C.  Today we got up to 28C... from winter to summer in the span of six days.  While I'm going for my walks I've noticed that the trees are finally sporting green buds!  Hooray!  It's supposed to get back to seasonal by midweek, but tomorrow is supposed to be another hot one. 

My Beloved and I decided, rather on the spur of the moment to go out this weekend.  MIL came to spend time with the wee-lings, and we did a little antiquing (just window shopping, trying to find some interesting/affordable pieces), went for dinner, and to a movie.  It was fun, and I did splurge a little bit on dinner (felt it later) but I did enjoy it.  We went to see "42" as well... fabulous movie.  I loved it! 

The highlight of my weekend was this afternoon.  One of the local malls was hosting a sort of antiques roadshow.  I heard about it on the radio a few weeks ago, and made an appointment to have my family heirloom violin appraised (you can read about the violin here).  The gentleman who was looking over my family treasure was intrigued by the history of the violin, even more so when he spent some time looking for my grandfather's great uncle in multiple lists of British violin makers and through auction records and not finding anything about him.  It fits with the story that I've been told that he was a cabinet maker by trade.  The appraiser speculated that the violin may be something that Frederick Barnes may have made it as an apprentice or perhaps as a hobby.  Because there were no auction records and nothing about Barnes in the lists of UK violin makers, it's hard to establish a value.  However, he said that it was beautifully constructed and even with the damage and repairs that happened when I was a child, he felt that it could easily be worth up to $3500.  It's nice to know how much it's worth, but it will never be sold.  It belongs to the wee-lings now.  I simply hold it in trust.  I just hope to hear one of them play it.  I long to hear it make music. 

On to this week's chit chat.  Here's what I'm...

Reading - I just finished "In This Mountain" by Jan Karon early this morning.  Now I'm onto "Plan D" by Sherri Shepherd.  It's about her journey with type 2 diabetes and how she has managed to go from medication to controlling the disease with diet and exercise alone.  I'm hoping to get some insights and ideas, and hopefully laugh a bit too.

Watching - Call the Midwife (tonight's episode was particularly heart-wrenching.  Poor Sister Bernadette), Mr. Selfridge, and Bletchley Circle.  I love Sunday nights on PBS!

Listening to - the neighbours thumping up and down the stairwell.  There was a break-in in the building (a basement unit on the back side of the building) on Friday, and I'm finding I'm a bit hyper-aware of the outdoor sounds now. 

Cooking/Baking - Typical Sunday night fare... lemon dill roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, roasted broccoli, gravy.  I did a bit of baking this weekend too... I was on the volunteer list for church this weekend, to make the communion bread.  I tried a recipe I haven't used in a while, to make a brioche loaf.  It tasted great, very eggy and yummy, but the shape of the loaf was a bit off.  Looked a little funny when our pastor was holding it up at the front of the church.  That's what I get for trying to be fancy, I guess. 

Happy I accomplished this week - I hit my 10000 steps!  Yesterday and today.  I don't know how I'll manage it during the week, but with errands and grocery shopping it was easy to get there the last couple of days. 

Looking forward to next week - I'm half excited/half dreading Pippin's birthday on Friday.  How is it that my baby boy is a year old???  I'm hoping that the party comes off okay. 

Thankful for today - The fact that the Big D is coming into line.  That I have this chance to change my future and my health. 

****Bonus Question**** What are the top 3 things on your to do list for next week?  Wash all the windows.  Clean the blankety-blank fridge.  Bake a cake!

*****

This has been posted as a part of Carla's Sunday Night Chit Chat.  Click over to see what the others are chatting about tonight, or even better yet, join in!

A *Surprising* Doctor Appointment

Howdy Humble Readers...

I can't believe what I'm about to say. 

(If you've been around here a while, you know that I'm not terribly happy with our family doctor, the underwhelming Dr. B.  His dismissive attitude when I went through my miscarriages and his brusque bedside manner made for a bad start to our doctor/patient relationship.  Unfortunately, the way the medical system works here makes it extremely difficult to change doctors.  Anywho...)

I just had a great doctor appointment. 

(let that sink in)

It was awesome. 

Dr. L, the doc who diagnosed me with diabetes two weeks ago, had been adamant that I have a follow up appointment with Dr. B.  So, I printed off my blood sugar/exercise chart and my food diary and headed downtown this morning feeling a bit anxious. 

Maybe it's just me, but I have always felt that there is a lot of judgement out there in the world at large about type 2 diabetes.  It's not like type 1, where you can't help it.  Whenever I read an article or see a report on tv about type 2 diabetes, there always seems to be an attitude of "well, you did this to yourself you lazy fatso" (and no matter how true that is, no one wants to hear that).  So, given all that, and my less than stellar relationship with Dr. B, I was sure I was in for a sermon about diet and exercise. 

At the beginning of the appointment, before I had a chance to say much, Dr. B was going to add ANOTHER medication to my lineup, possibly even insulin.  When I was able to ask him to look at my blood sugar chart, he changed his tune. 

He actually started smiling.  He asked where I had gotten the chart and where I was getting my information, I told him that I had just set it up myself and that I was using reputable websites to get my carb information along with measuring everything.  I also told him that I was working toward my 10000 steps a day, and that I had just passed the 35 pound mark for weight loss (check out my new ticker up there on the right!). 

He asked me where I got my motivation.  My answer was simple (albeit a tad cheesy).  I want to be around when Ginny and Pip graduate high school and be at their weddings.  I told him I want to be off the high blood pressure medication by the time I'm 40 (a year and four months away).  I want to be managing my diabetes with just diet and exercise in two years.  And along with those goals, I want to get to a healthy weight. 

I'm not targeting what the BMI chart says I should weigh, because I think that would be too extreme for my frame.  I'm shooting for somewhere in the 160s, but I'm not thinking seriously about that yet.  I have a long way to go to get there, and I know me.  I need smaller, more achievable short term goals. 

After I prattled on for a few minutes, with Dr. B just smiling away, he looked at me and asked if I would consider coming to talk at a town hall meeting that he's heading up next month.  He wants me to talk about motivation and exercise, not from a doctor/medical perspective, but from a real person perspective.  To be honest about the challenges and the rewards of it all.  (oh yeah, there's going to be about 100 people there... Yikes!)

To say the least, I was floored. 

I walked out of that appointment laughing, the exact opposite of my appointment with Dr. L two weeks ago.  Talk about unexpected. 

Hobbit-ish Potpurri: Spring in the Shire

Howdy Humble Readers...

I'm hoping that you're all doing well, wherever you are.  I haven't been commenting much lately, but I do promise to improve that, and please know that I am reading and following what's up in your parts of the world!

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Spring has sprung in the Shire.  Finally!!  Warmer temps are here most days, and it feels good to be able to have the windows and doors open on the hobbit-hole.  I confess, I did have to turn the furnace back on yesterday (if it had just been me, I would have just put on a couple of sweaters and sucked it up, but the wee-lings were cold and that changes everything).  Another sign of spring... my snow mold allergy has kicked in.  Oh well.  It means that summer will get here eventually. 

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I have had a miniscule interlude of single parenting.  My Beloved had to go out of town for work (to be on-site at the part of the company that he does the accounting for... does that make sense?).  He has been gone one night, but I sure do miss him.  He should be home in the next hour or so, and I'm very glad.  I really don't know how the multitude of single parents out there do it, and do it well. 

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For the last couple of days, my morning workout has consisted of doing workout videos (can't go for my walk and leave the wee-lings at home alone, and if I don't do it early in the morning, it just doesn't happen).  I've realized just what it is about workout videos that I don't like.  The host/trainer.  The fake cheerleading/encouragement/patronizing commentary.  It gets on my nerves and makes me want to spew a string of expletives at the screen.  I'm going to have to get past it, though.  Because once there's snow on the ground again in the fall, I'm not going to be able to go for walks.  Any good recommendations?

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INPUT NEEDED: Plans for wee little Pip's birthday party are coming together.  I'm struggling with the menu though.  We are doing a beach/surf's up theme party, and for the life of me I can't decide on what to serve.  I have the cake figured out, but other than that, I'm hooped.  I've been toying with the idea of shrimp or fish mini-tacos, but I'm not sure.  It's an afternoon party, so it doesn't need to be too much in the way of food, but I still want something yummy and beachy.  Any thoughts?

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Something I'm pondering today... can diabetes have an affect on my cycle?  And vice-versa?  For the last few months, AF has been, well, odd.  I start getting cramps about 3 days before she actually shows up.  I was fully expecting her to show up on Sunday, because I had wicked cramps for a few hours (needed my heating pad).  The cramps died down a bit, but she didn't actually make an appearance until today.  Odd.  And my sugars, which had been going in the right direction, yesterday jumped up for no apparent reason.  Hmmmm...

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Well, I have to go get to work on supper.  Crock pot beef with broccoli on brown rice, with broccoli slaw.  Yummy!

Sunday Night Chit Chat:

Hey Humble Readers...

All things considered, it's been an okay week here in the hobbit-hole.

The good...

• I've been consistent with going for walks every day this week.  I've increased my steps per day from a low of around 2500 to a high of just over 8000 (target - 10000).  I'm averaging between 5000 and 6000 right now.  Starting tomorrow I'm going to be adding in my walking poles (for those unfamiliar... imagine ski poles with blunted ends) to help work out my upper body. 
• I have been counting all my carbs (as best I can... it's an inexact science I'm afraid) and measuring everything.  I'm keeping my counts below my self-imposed targets (breakfast < 30, lunch < 45, dinner < 60) and I may be able to lower those targets soon. 
• My blood sugars have been dropping steadily, and while they aren't where they need to be, they are markedly improved.  I'm not sure how much of that is attributable to the metformin and how much to diet and exercise (I'm guessing maybe two thirds/one third), but however it's happening, I'm glad of it. 
• I have lost a little over two pounds this week, so I am less than half a pound away from my original weight-loss target!!!  Woohoo!
• Pippin went for his first haircut this weekend.  He looks like such a big boy.  Less than two weeks until his birthday... how the time flies!
• We actually had weather warm enough for me to break out my new capris and flip flops.  Of course, there is a possibility of snow in the forecast for the next few days, but we are supposed to be back up around 18C by mid week.

The bad...

• While the metformin is doing its job on my blood sugars, it's also doing a number on my lower GI.  There has only been one day in the past 10 where I haven't had an IBS flare.  Not fun, and certainly not convenient.
• When I got back from my walk on Friday morning, my Beloved and I discovered that we had no hot water.  If you've been around here awhile, you may recall that we had just had the hot water tank replaced a year and a half ago, so you can imagine how unimpressed I was.  After waiting all day for the plumber to come, we discovered that our gas had been shut off.  On a Friday.  There has been a huge mess about the gas bill (basically, my Beloved who is our condo board treasurer hasn't been getting the bills.  Our board president changed our service provider a couple of months ago, and has never gotten around to giving us any of the paperwork... like I said, a huge mess).  We have been without hot water all weekend, and likely won't have it back until sometime tomorrow.  Ask me how much I like cold showers and boiling water on the stove to was my dishes... I dare you. 

Ok, on to the Chit Chat!

Reading?  I'm about 30 pages away from the end of Taliesin.  I'm going to finish it up tonight and then dive back into the Mitford series. 

Listening to?  My Beloved as he slurps his iced tea. 

Watching?  Call the Midwife and Mr. Selfridge.  There's also a new series on PBS called Bletchley Circle that's an interesting mystery/procedural drama that I'm recording.  Who knows when I'm going to get around to watching. 

Cooking/Baking?  Tonight was a typical Sunday dinner.  Roast beef, mashed potatoes, and roasted carrots, asparagus, and mushrooms.  Was very yummy.  Tomorrow is a new recipe for pork chops, mashed sweet potatoes, and roasted cauliflower.  I'm very into roasting our veggies just now.  Roasted mushrooms are seriously the best thing I have ever eaten.  At least this week.  :)

Happy you accomplished this week?  I'm very proud of myself for sticking with my walking this week.  There have been moments when I didn't feel like getting up at the butt crack of dawn, but this is important. 

Looking forward to next week?  Planning Pip's birthday party.  I think I have the menu sorted out, now I need to decide on the cake and do some dollar store shopping for decorations. 

Thankful for today?  The things that make our lives easy.  Dishwashers, washing machines, and hot water heaters (when they blankety-blank have the gas to make them work). 

****Bonus Question**** What is your preferred method for contacting someone? (email, text, phone, letter, etc...)  I prefer anything but the phone.  I hate talking on the phone.  My cell phone rarely actually is used for making or receiving phone calls.  I guess I would have to say email is my preferred method, although texting can be good for quick messages.  My sister loves to text and I'm just not that into it.

*****
This has been posted as a part of Carla's Sunday Night Chit Chat.  Click over and check out what others are chatting about tonight.  And better still, join in!