New Meds... oh yay.

The initial report from the doctor is in, I officially have high blood pressure. It’s not terribly high, but regularly high enough to cause some concern and land me on lisinopril. I’ll have my first dose tomorrow morning (after I get to work, since it’s known to cause drowsiness, light-headedness, etc., so I’d rather be where I’m not going to be driving before I take it). I also have instructions to exercise more and lose 10% of my body weight. When I’m in the doc’s office next week for a follow up, we’re going to discuss this situation further, because, well, I’m home for somewhere between 3 & 4 hours on weeknights before I need to go to bed, and somewhere in there must be my dinner.  I’ve learned from the past, that late evening exercise and restful sleep are NOT friends in my world. Once it cools off, I can walk a lap or two around the exterior of our building at lunch, but for now, while it’s Hotter Than Satan’s AssHole out there, it is NOT an option. I’m looking into gym facility options that are either near work, or somewhere between home and work that’s easily accessible one direction or the other. There’s a facility associated with a hospital that’s open to the public, and includes an Arthritis Aqua-cise program, which should also be beneficial for the Fibromyalgia as well. My short term goal (by the time I go to the doc’s again on the 19^th) is about 4 lbs, so I’ve gotten some salad mix, and will be working on eating more balanced, healthier stuff, regardless of what the rest of the house is eating.

Happy Jar for the day was making someone I adore laugh til she almost wet herself, when she’d had a bit of a rough 24 hours or so!

Kitchen Lessons

I've tried in the past to not buy a lot of groceries at a time, to go along with the European trend of getting fresh food from the market every few days, instead of doing a big shop one day a week. The problem for me with that is that if I haven't already planned and done some prep, well, then I end up buying junk. Fridays on my way home from work is when I typically do most of my grocery shopping. This serves two purposes, the first is that I'm not fighting with a million people on Saturday (at any given time), and I've discovered that I find fresher stuff Friday night, that's been stocked for the crowds that will be in on Saturday. I live in what I call a 'country-city'. We're actually a city, but a significant part of our property tax base is rural or semi-rural. My grocery store options are Albertson's, Wal-Mart, Brookshire's, and Save-A-Lot. Most of my staples come from WalMart simply because they have the best prices, and I trust the quality of what I've always gotten there. I don't buy a lot of bulk, especially perishables, because it will go bad, either from not being frozen in time, or from freezer burn, because bulk is generally just entirely too much for one person to use. I do sometimes stop at Central Market on my way home from church on Sundays to pick up something special, or stock up on bulk spices. I'm thrilled beyond belief that when I shift back to the main office, instead of the field office I'm in right now, I will pass an HEB going to & from work!
Today I did my main prepwork for this week's dinners (and lunches, probably, since I need to learn to give up my naps at lunch, so I'll be able to actually sit down and eat something, instead of grabbing a sandwich on the run back to work). I made a meatloaf in my new, smaller slow cooker. It turned out better than I expected, but not quite as good as I'd hoped. Of course, I wasn't paying attention, and forgot to put my sauce on the top for the last 15 minutes, though I'm not sure the sauce would have done a whole lot. I also made homemade macaroni and cheese, using the 5 cheese macaroni & cheese recipe that was used at TGI Friday's a few years ago. I tweaked it a little bit, because I couldn't find any fontina cheese here in the country-city, so I substituted gouda instead, and it was still quite tasty. I halved the recipe, however it still made more than I can eat before it goes bad, so I'm thinking I'm going halve it again, and hope that it will be a more reasonable amount, to minimize the waste.
Tomorrow I'll be having a beef stir-fry, with some brown rice, red peppers, & snap peas to use up a small piece of steak that I froze a couple of weeks ago and need to get cooked before it dies.
Tuesday I've got some chicken breast tenders in the freezer that I'm going to grill on my little countertop grill, and have with some more of the mac & cheese, and some green beans
Wednesday is dinner with my crew, and my one night out this week.
Thursday I may roast up a piece of the pork roast I bought Friday night. I'm going to halve it, because it's almost 2 lbs, and I'm going to save the other half to cook later, so I don't end up wasting at least of half of it.
I browned another pound of ground beef to make a casserole. I've not decided for sure yet, but as it's browned with just some onion & some red pepper, I can turn it into sloppy joes, or Mexican food, or even Italian, though I did spaghetti last week, so it's not likely to be Italian again this week. And since I'll be gone on Saturday evening, and all my other evenings are covered, I may just bag it up and toss it in the freezer to have ready for the next time I need to grab some out of the freezer quickly.
I also made my first loaf of bread just for me. I used a basic Country Bread recipe that I found. I'm satisfied with it, but not totally pleased. I'm planning to use it for sandwiches for lunch or breakfast, and it's a little bit dense for that. I think I just didn't let it rise long enough the second time around. Lesson learned.

2012, It’s Good to Meet You

2011 was not my worst year, nor was it my best year, and I can't say I'm sad it is over with.
I don't make resolutions, or at least I don't call what I do resolutions. I acknowledge that I totally suck at follow-through. Yeah, I'm really good at making plans and setting goals, but I'm not really very good at actually following through on everything necessary to meet them. A lot of what I'd like to get accomplished hasn't been lately, largely because I really don't like my current living situation. The good news is, that in the next 2 months, it will change, and I'll be back in full control of my little world, instead of sharing a house with someone I don't particularly like. I will be able to have my home the way that I want it, and I won't have to worry about someone else's clothes in the laundry when I need to wash mine, or try to work out a tv watching schedule.
I've gotten my groceries for the week, and am doing my best not to eat a lot of junk or processed, foods. I've bought frozen veggies instead of canned, I made my turkey spaghetti sauce from scratch with a can each of tomato sauce & tomato paste and added my own spices instead of buying a jar of Ragu. Since I have tomorrow off, I'm cooking up a batch of brown rice, and a batch of quinoa that I can then freeze into individual portions to reheat easily. I also plan to clean out the refrigerator of the leftovers that haven't been eaten. My goal for January is to have all of my groceries for the week by Sunday, so I can spend the afternoon getting the pre-prep done, cooking up my starches for the week, getting sauces ready, portioning my meats, so that I can do quick prep each evening, and have more time to read, write, or play with the cats before we head to bed.
I borrowed a couple of books from a friend, because I spend entirely too much time on the computer, and I need to get back to one of my first loves, Reading. The books are The Chronicles of Faerie, which is a collection of 3 stories, and the finale to the series, The Book of Dreams, by O.R. Melling. I've started the first, but frankly, haven't gotten very far because I haven't yet conquered my addiction to the internet, and managed to tear myself away from the computer until it's time for bed. My 2^nd goal for January is to spend an hour a day reading, just because I love to read, and not because I have to read that contract, or that business email.
I need to get more organized, which is really not possible in my current living situation, because I just don't have space to spread stuff out and organize it, but I am determined that when I move, I manage not to move so much CRAP that I've wagged around for too long, so as I pack over the next few weeks, I'll start weeding out the crap and trying to organize as I pack. Goal #3 for January is to get my closet sorted and packed, starting with the Christmas stuff.
I'm not going to try to fool myself into believing that I can accomplish a bunch of huge goals, but baby steps I can manage.

2011

I have never been one to make resolutions, in no small part because I have a terrible case of A.D. Oooh, SHINEY, and I sometimes have trouble following through on goals I set for myself when they have no bearing on anyone except myself. Yep, I know that the only person who suffers for this is me. That being said, I recognize that the time has come for me to stop punishing myself, and actually follow through on some of my goals. I am setting small ones, that I am fairly certain I can achieve and turn into good habits, which will ultimately benefit my physical health, as well as my spiritual & emotional well-being.

1. Take my vitamins. Daily. – Getting them out of the closet, where I will see them every day will help with this task
2. Eat better, more balanced meals. – I've started this already, having a protein shake for breakfast this morning, and a healthy dinner (let's not talk about my lunch today at a local fast food restaurant) I am trying to keep track of my progress over on my weight loss blog, but no guarantees on that yet.
3. Get proper sleep, EVERY night. A few days ago, I made sure when I was in Arlington, to get by Deep Woods Apothecary, where I picked up, among other things, some of their Serenitea. Night before last it wasn't a fabulous solution to my sleep issues, but Li'lcat was utterly insistent on being in my face, waking me up. Last night, however, I slept like a dream.
4. Spend 10 minutes a day of quiet time… no music, no computer, no cats, no driving, no other distractions.
5. Spend 30 minutes a day reading a book. I used to LOVE to read, and did so voraciously. I'm not sure what happened to that in the last few years. I am definitely a bibliophile, my book collection is outrageous, especially considering the space I have to devote to it at this time, and I am not going to purchase any new books until I finish reading the ones I've already got collecting dust. For me, this is going to mean turning off the television
6. Move more. I'm doing a little research to try and find a nearby yoga or bellydance studio. As much as I wish I could go back to Isis, I just can't justify the 90 minute drive, even once a week.

2010 was a rough year all the way 'round. The saying that what you are doing at the beginning of the year will set the tone for what you will do throughout the year seems to have been only partially true, as I was unemployed, but only spent about ½ the year in that state. I learned a great deal about myself over the course of that year, good things and some not so good things, but in the end, I have a clearer vision of what really matters to me, and what I'm willing to do to accomplish those things. I am blessed in more ways than I can count, with blood kin as well as my chosen family of friends. We don't always get along or see things the same way, but we can agree to disagree and enjoy more those things on which we can agree. 

2011 promises to be a new adventure, a path unseen, yet somehow familiar & comfortable, with God & family (birth & chosen) along the way to share the joys and the sorrows as they present themselves.

I love my crock pot

So, part of my plan for this year is to eat better, which means eating at home, and not eating pre-packaged junk. To that end, I went the other day to Central Market with my shopping list. side notes: 1. I do NOT eat fish, shrimp, or other water dwelling creatures. AT ALL. I don’t particularly like the taste, and it doesn’t particularly like me, so we came to an agreement that I won’t eat them and they won’t do nasty stinky things to me. It’s a plan I can live with. 2. There are several common veggies that I just can’t stand, sometimes it is a texture thing, sometimes it is a flavor thing, sometimes both. That list includes: eggplant, raw tomatoes, broccoli, onions, most squashes, avocados, pumpkin, Brussels sprouts, canned green beans, beets, cucumbers, most peppers, artichokes, asparagus, mushrooms, shallots, and leeks. 3. There are some veggie rules that I have: I cook with purple onion, finely chopped. I eat grilled zucchini sometimes. I cook with red bell peppers. Cucumbers-bleah, dill or sweet pickles-yummy! Raw cauliflower-yummy, cooked-bleah. Mushy carrots SUCK. 4. I don’t do asian food, though I do stir-fry stuff on occasion, but not with asian spices 5. I’m not big on pork particularly, other than bacon. 6. I LOVE beef, unfortunately, it’s reached a point that beef really dislikes me most of the time these days, unless it’s VERY high grade (and therefore high-dollar). Thursday was my shopping day and by the time I finished all my errands, I just wasn’t in the mood to cook anything, so I wound up skipping dinner. Friday I made a couple of individual meatloaves, using ground bison. I’ve done it before, and it was fabulous. This time around, I messed up and used tomato paste instead of sauce, and the result was VERY acidic. Fortunately, I’d only cooked one of them, the other is in the freezer, and I’ve gotten information on how to correct the acidity once I thaw the other one to cook it. Paired with ½ a small baked potato, and a salad, I was pretty happy with the meal I had that night. Saturday, I woke up early and put some beans in the crock pot. Unfortunately, having not cooked with it nearly enough, I didn’t know that I needed to either use fresh spices and herbs, or use extra of the dried/crushed ones. I seriously needed to doctor the beans to have them taste decent. The cornbread, on the other hand, despite being from a package that only required me to add an egg and milk, was outstanding. Added a salad again, and had me a nice, balanced, fresh meal. This morning, I got out the bison roast I’d gotten at Central Market, sliced some garlic and put in it, then plopped it into the crock pot with some low-fat-sodium beef broth, some fresh thyme, rosemary, oregano, bay leaves, Italian parsley, garlic, some potatoes, and some purple onion, and cooked it all day long. The only problem I had was that I put the carrots in too soon, because they were MUSHY and gross by the time I was ready to eat! The roast, on the other hand, was absolutely FABULOUS! Tender, tasty, ahh! And of course, with a salad, I had another healthy, tasty meal. Now I’m off to bed, back to work tomorrow, after 3 weeks off to recouperate from my hysterectomy. Wish me luck! Hopefully I’ll be up on time, to work on time (which to my boss means 7, though I’m usually there by 6 or 6:30), and make it through the whole day!