Beautiful Day!!

It was a gorgeous day outside. The wind has finally stopped blowing. It seemed to have been blowing for weeks! My youngest is here this weekend. What a great couple of weekends. First my oldest last week for several days and a great visit, and now the youngest is here. It is so nice when the kids are here..we can take walks...chat...reconnect..and just spend quality time together! I'm so happy to have great kids!

Today I used the hand trowel and tilled the soil in one of the planters on the front balcony to put some seeds in that I had left over from last year.  Hopefully some vegetables will come up. I may do more of them tomorrow as I have other seeds to try too. Today I planted Kale seeds. Hopefully it won't get hot too soon to grow.  At least no money has been spent so if it doesn't work no big deal.  In an attempt to really watch the wallet, which is getting cobwebs, I need to try this first. Then maybe I'll get some pepper plants like I did last year. Those did really well. 

My youngest and I took a long walk today, we walked all the way down to the park and it was really nice out. I was a bit worried I'd get sunburned on my legs because I wore shorts and I forgot to put suntan lotion on my legs, but they seem to be fine.  It was fun walking down to the park but it is a bit further than I'm used to walking.  I got through it, thankfully with the bottle of water we each had, that helped.  It is uphill coming back up the road, but I did fine.  It goes so much easier and faster when someone is with me walking. So thanks Stac! And thanks Dani for last weekend's walking. These are the times when I get to remind myself..it is not quite an Empty Nest just yet.

I forgot to mention that I did retest my fasting blood sugar 10 days after the first time and it was 91, so that was great news!  I am planning on keeping up the walking every day, even if occasionally it has to be a short one. I've been doing it every day for 2 weeks straight, so off to a good start!  Life is good!

Saturday ...in the Park...

Today I volunteered at the local animal shelter. They had a special spay/neutering day that they had for cats and I have never seen so many cats in one day! ;-)   It worked out pretty well as there were enough people to do the job. I was happy to help and when that was done I even stayed and walked two dogs (separately as they instruct). There is a park right near the shelter so plenty of places to walk.

The first dog I walked was a Pit Bull...I would not have picked that dog to walk but the gal who showed me what to do, picked it.  I am very Leary of the breed, can't help it, heard too many stories about them attacking...so I started out a bit cautiously but then it went fine.  She was really a well behaved dog.  The other dog I walked was a Black Lab who was bigger that the Pit but I used to own a Black Lab mix so I felt more comfortable with that guy.  It was nice getting some of my 'steps' in by walking them and helping them out at the same time, although I forgot my pedometer so I don't know how many steps I got in.

After dinner this evening I walked one of ours, Tika (my shadow) for about 30 minutes. So got some exercise in and got some work done as well.

I felt pretty good today, first day OFF any Truvia !   No bloating, no diarrhea.  I'm not going to bother experimenting any further, (not going to give it a try again), so will chuck the rest of it tomorrow.  I would offer it on freecycle but it is already opened and I wouldn't wish the side effects on anyone else either, so in the trash it is going.

Now to relax for the rest of the night...

I do NOT recommend Truvia !!

First let me say my oldest was here to visit during her Spring Break.  She stayed for 3 nights and that is the most she has stayed ever!!  It was so great having her here.  We got some great walks in, some with the dogs and a few without.  It is so much harder with certain dogs who just bark at everything and everybody!! Last night we took a short walk after dinner and that was nice and quiet!  I feel guilty we didn't take any of the dogs but hey, sometimes we people need a break from the furkids.

My oldest got to visit with the grandparents a little and spent some time being entertained by my hubby when I was working.  All in all, she was relaxed, happy and it was great to have her here.  She knows the door is always open for her, so hopefully she'll come back sooner than later.

.....
Now onto the Truvia story.. Monday while doing my grocery shopping I decided to try Truvia as I heard it was a good alternative to sugar and natural, etc..blah.. blah.. Tuesday I put about a half teaspoon in my coffee and a little bit on my cereal.  Wednesday same thing and I started feeling a little crampy and bloated, but passed it off to being that time of the month. I haven't totally gotten to menopause yet, and figured it was my once every 5-6 months period. 

By last night I felt bloated and something just didn't feel right. This morning, coffee again with Truvia...and then I got stomach cramping and then some diarrhea.  Then more.  I started wondering if it was the Truvia. That was the only thing I had really changed in my diet and everyone else felt fine. After doing some searching on the Internet I found more than one website with threads of conversation dealing with these sort of side affects from using Truvia. Some even got migraines, neck and back pains.  I'm convinced that is what the problem is.  I am going to stop taking it and see if I get better. I bet I do.  Then I plan to throw the rest away...shame too..as it was not cheap! 

I am going to just stick to regular sugar, if I really want it.  I'll just use less than I normally do for coffee. So anyone who is reading this that is thinking about trying Truvia, please read up about it first and maybe just try a packet or two to see if you have a reaction before you buy a whole container of it.

Today is the first day in over a week that I didn't take some sort of walk but between work and doing a bit of running (in a car, not literally running) around with my oldest, didn't have time. I'll make sure to get some good walks in this weekend though.

Woo Hoo!!!

I got a blood sugar meter yesterday and got a good deal. Walgreens own brand had a mail in rebate for the full price I paid, so that is cool. Mailed it today so that I wouldn't forget about it or accidentally throw out the box (which would have the UPC bar code I would need), which I have been known to do. If its free its for me!

So fasted last night and tested my blood sugar before I drank or ate anything this morning.  Guess what?  It was 89 !!!  Thus... the Woo Hoo!.. For those who may not know, the normal range for fasting blood sugar is 70-100.  So my blood sugar was normal and I'm so glad.  Now this doesn't mean I am going to slack off what I have been doing.  I am going to keep at it. So that I don't have to go totally without something sugary in my coffee, I did get some Truvia yesterday. I only needed about a half teaspoon today and it was very close to sugar. I think its going to work well!

I went to the local animal shelter today for orientation as I want to volunteer to help with their animals there when I'm not busy with work and since I haven't had weekend work for a while, I went today. I met some very nice people there and I'm sure I will enjoy helping out. It was hard seeing all the lonely dogs (and cats) needing homes, but at least I can help by walking some at times, and helping out with events they have.

After we had lunch, hubby and I walked three of the dogs and then I broke off and walked Merlin a lot further, in fact stopped at my folks to say hi. Then I walked Molly and Tika for a while too. Only did a little over 3600 steps but it was getting pretty hot and I had walked enough for today.  I guess I was not in as good of shape as I thought (since I already exercise 3 x week). My thighs are sore from walking and I don't see how I can walk 10,000 steps at one time any time soon.  That is a lot of walking!  I'll just have to try to increase it gradually.  Maybe do it in two walks and not all in one.  We'll see how it goes.  I was just so glad to have a normal reading this morning!

Pedometer..

Today I finally got a pedometer so I can see just how many steps I am taking with all these walks. I know Dr Oz says we are to walk 10,000 steps a day (as a goal).  I took one of my spunkier dogs with me, Merlin, on the walk. 4462! That is the number of steps it indicated I went.  That wasn't too bad. :-)  I already did my regular exercise this morning also so I don't think I have to do that long of a walk on the days I exercise.  I have no clue how my blood sugar is doing but I plan to get a meter tomorrow at some point so I can see how it is Saturday morning after I've changed some things for a whole week.  I am getting used to, I guess, having my coffee with no sugar.  It just isn't that great.  I don't even usually finish the cup which I guess is fine too, but it makes me hungry for breakfast earlier than used to.  I think I am going to look into other cereals besides oatmeal.  I've been sticking with that for a long time now and since it apparently hasn't done THAT well for me, I want to add something else to my morning breakfast selection.  I have already starting substituting a scrambled egg (on whole wheat toast), every couple days as I read eggs are good for keeping blood sugar down. Think I'll try All Bran.. any suggestions, feel free to leave a comment.

I am looking forward to the oldest's visit during Spring Break next week.  It will be so good to have her here and have some good visiting time in!  My youngest is going to help out with a church group event, sort of like missionary work and I'm hoping that goes well for her.  I know we have to let our kids grow up and experience life...it is just hard sometimes when we'd rather they be home whenever possible!

I disagree...Suze

This morning, while grabbing my one cup of coffee (without sugar now) .. yuck( it is taking some getting used to)! ..I was sitting in the kitchen watching a morning television show with my husband.  They had Suze Orman on as a guest to answer a few callers questions about money.  As much as I usually love Suze and usually agree wholeheartedly with what she says, I did not agree with her today. Perhaps it was due to the fact that there were only a few minutes for this Q & A, but here it is. A woman who is 60 wanted to know if she could retire next year. She has over $750K in retirement and other accounts, home owned free and clear, no other debts, no dependents and she clearly stated she does not spend a lot every month for living expenses.  This to me equals someone who is frugal with money and doesn't go on a lot of trips or shopping sprees.  Suze's answer?  NO WAY. .She told this woman she would not be eligible for social security for years and should work until she is 70 for the best security. It isn't that I don't agree that yes, she will get the most in social security benefits the longer she waits to retire, and she won't get any social security for at least a few years but my thinking is this... 

By owning her home free and clear she only has taxes and insurance and whatever maintenance costs there are. The fact that she may be able to retire next year gives me the impression that she is going to be eligible for pension at that time which would be a monthly income. Depending on how much that pension is, she could possibly live on THAT, until her social security would kick in, that granted yes, would be less per month but maybe she doesn't need to worry about getting all she can in social security benefits. 

If she can live on the pension she gets, she doesn't even need to touch the $750K she has in retirement and other investments, which could still continue to earn interest/dividends until she does want to tap into them.  And with no additional interest income whatsoever, if she takes out (when she can with no penalty) $25,000/yr to live on...that $750K should last her 30 years, so at this current juncture..this equates to well into her 90s before it is gone.  And that is just if she has to tap into it at all.

I'm just saying that this poor woman on the other end of the phone who probably had her heart set on retiring next year, just got some depressing news that she should really wait another 10 YEARS.  This is assuming she can still work, is healthy enough..etc... I just wish Suze would have asked a few more questions instead of bursting the bubble for this hopeful woman who obviously was looking forward to retiring into thinking she needs to work for another 10 years....

I hope this lady gets another opinion.   :-)

Saturday....

I did a bunch of cleaning today since it had been a while since cleaned the first floor well.  My hubby pitches in and does some house work which is really appreciated.  I just want things spotless when I clean, like the floors. I use a rag and bucket of water and scrub the floors so that they are very clean and with 5 dogs, believe me they get pretty dirty!

Even the air gets dirty in here. When we're using the heat or A/C most of the time, I need to change the air filter in the furnace at least once a month, and even then it is pretty clogged up and gray. 

The first floor is in good shape now for at least a day or two. :-)  

This is another movie rental weekend.  This time we rented Due Date, Clash of the Titans, Inception (my hasn't seen it but I have), and The American (George Clooney).  We saw Due Date and Clash of the Titans today and they were both pretty much what I expected.  I'm looking forward to seeing Inception again, it was tough to follow when I saw it in the theater. I liked the special effects though, very cool!

I am really bummed as I got the results of some blood tests that were just routine needed for insurance purposes. My fasting blood sugar was higher than it should have been and that really gets me mad.  I eat so healthy, and I exercise (although not every day of the week), and am not overweight. It just doesn't seem possible to me.  But I did go ahead and look up ways to reduce blood sugar levels and one was to exercise every day. I also decided to lower my intake of sugar as much as possible, although the only time I ever add table sugar is when I have my one cup of coffee in the morning. I may look into those sugar substitutes such as stevia, not sure yet. I might try less sugar first.  I usually put 2 teaspoons of sugar in my coffee but I started using one yesterday. Yuck!  Didn't even finish it, it tasted so bad. I don't know how people drink coffee black. ICK!  But I'm going to try to keep whittling it down to 1/2 teaspoon. And instead of putting my liquid vitamins in juice I started just adding a little water to it. I already rarely drink soda and really do not eat a lot of sweets. I already eat old fashioned oatmeal every day with cinnamon for breakfast and I drink green tea too, so already do some things good for lowering blood sugar (part of the reason I was frustrated at the results).

I'm planning to see how walking 30 minutes/day (one of the things they recommend), on the days I don't exercise may even try to do it on days I DO exercise) and watch sugar and what I eat even MORE so..and see if that doesn't help keep it in normal range.  If that still doesn't do it, I did see some additional remedies for lowering blood sugar online that I may try such as apple cider vinegar before meals. I am not interested in the potential of being put on meds. I just love that so far I have escaped the need to go on any medications for anything chronic and I'd like to keep it that way.

 

Georgetown.. or SKUNKtown..

For several nights in a row I've woken up to the strong stench of skunk!  It penetrates through the closed windows I guess..and hits me like a ton of bricks. I roll over in bed and take a deep breath and start to gag it is so bad, it wakes me up. The first night I smelled it, I even got up to see if we had an open window since it was so strong.  I've also seen three dead skunks on the roads around town too.  I guess it is 'skunk season' but I hope it ends soon or I will put in a petition to officially change the name of this town to Skunktown!

Well it is hump day.  Turned out to be a beautiful sunny day today and got up to 75 degrees.  Started out in the upper 30s this morning. We walked the dogs and I was glad to get a little Vitamin D in (from the sun). I noticed today that my husband is getting quite a thinning hair area on the back of his head.  It isn't what I would call balding but could see his scalp through some of his hair near the top center. I didn't bother pointing it out as he probably knows and would rather I not bring it up. ;-)

Speaking of hair, I got a long over due haircut on Saturday and got it back to really short and sassy. And I finally got the blond chunk highlights that I used to get.  My hairdresser had not used a strong enough blend before and now finally has it. I love it!  It was weird first time I washed it once again, as there was what felt like no hair in the back to shampoo. At least I only need a pencil point amount of shampoo. :)

Okay were watching American Idol and it is the top 12 gals tonight. I didn't catch the guys last night but the first gal on, sang flat nearly the whole song and Randy was the only one who agreed with me. Randy may turn out to be the new Simon if the other 2 judges aren't going to be honest with these people!