Thursday, October 22, 2015

"To Infinity... and Beyond!" (Or at least the year ahead...)

This week marked my 55th birthday! Thank you to all who remembered it.
My birthday buddy, Kimber Ann turned six. I am trying to keep up with the grands birthdays- and get each a gift. Keeping it under $20 is hard. I have sent magazine subscriptions to some- to remind them CowGranny and Umpaw think of them all year, NOT just on their birthdays. I try to keep the parents in mind as well... some tolerate small piece toys such as Legos better than others. :) .
In a few weeks, Dakota and Althea have birthdays. It looks like we may be abandoning the Individuals to fend for themselves this Thanksgiving. (As we once did Ben and Tommy.) Mr C has his final week of vacation, and wants to go to Ohio. (Where he can watch Ohio State beat that team up North). Anyway, while there, I am hoping to have a party for his 60th birthday. Phase one! It will be more than a month early, but will be a chance for his family to gather and join in the celebration. With the boys staying home, we won't have to take Jaffa along. (He DOES know when he is being left behind. It upsets him.)
Then, Phase TWO! On Tom's actual birthday, the kids are going to all try to be here on Dec. 27th. December birthdays are hard- everyone already has Christmas plans and such. (I can talk birthday plans here... Mr C read my blog ONCE, several years ago.)
Daniel and Sam are talking of trying their winter hike that they missed doing last year, while Sam is out of school for Winter break. Just over 200 miles, and that here in Arkansas.
The detox has been a rollercoaster. I went off completely while visiting in Texas the one weekend. I went off for my birthday- not that I got any treats other than wine, and a flour tortilla! I can't say I have noticed feeling any better. That is, until I went OFF the program. Then I felt awful. So it must be doing me good, right? "They" say the first several days of detox makes you feel like you have flu. I felt like I had flu after the tortillas, and wine.
Oh yeah, I also fell off the program at work... those hushpuppies! After last Friday, I ought to be cured of my hushpuppie addiction. I make the pups. I am supposed to try one, and have another person try one. (Over the course of a typical Friday night, I usually eat several.) My test one was HORRIBLE! Apparently, a lump of salt managed to stay intact until I bit into mine. Nothing like an unexpected mouthful of salt to send you spitting into the trash can! I was afraid I had ruined the entire batch, but no one else got a salty one. Good for the customers that I got the ONE bad one. And good for me- my brain decided I could avoid further snacking on hushpuppies! (Another good: I work ONE night a week!)
I am growing accustomed to the taste of stevia. At first, I just couldn't stand it at all. Becky told me it is probably the aftertaste of whatever they mixed with the stevia that I don't like. I researched stevia online, and came to the conclusion that if I were not using it as a sweetener, I should be taking it as a supplement. It is actually GOOD for you, and sweetness is a side benefit. So I got the purest form I could find- and really, it isn't nearly as bad when it isn't mixed with carriers. It seemed expensive, a little salt-shaker sized bottle was over $12. But I compared it to white sugar prices- and found out that serving to serving, they are about the same price. The little bottle of powdered stevia has as much sweet in it as two and a half BIG bags of sugar.
Learning to cook without flour and sugar has been getting easier. By "flour", I mean the typical ground grains. I use almond flour, coconut flour, and (some) rice flour. I use vegetables in place of pasta products. (I can't believe how much the guys all LOVE the pizza crust made from cauliflower.)
Perhaps by the end of the year, I will have some weight loss. (Not GAINING is a positive!)
That's about all from here... I am officially a "senior citizen" now.

No comments: