Wet Wednesday

[Colliemom]

Good Morning everybody. Looking like a wet Wednesday for most part here in Northern Michigan. As the saying goes, April showers bring May flowers. Should get rid of what snow patches are around yet, but piles will take a bit longer.

Haven’t been up to a whole lot around here as waiting out the transition period between Winter and spring. Have been doing a few things in the yard here and there though. Having an office reorganizing sessions in the house too as well as some craft work.

Barbie, Velda is right on the diet. Nix those diet fads and do your own thing. It doesn’t happen overnight, but gradually it will. I don’t keep breads, sweets etc., in the house at all. I’m getting back into that routine of staying away from that stuff again. It’s hard when you first start because of the craves for it and you have to fight those craves, but later it becomes easier. Every day you tell yourself, one day and I didn’t have no sweets or breads etc., , then it becomes two days and pretty soon a week goes by. One of my favorite meals is Romaine lettuce, a big plateful, mixed with little Grape Cherub) tomatoes, shredded cheese, cooked chicken breast cut up or shredded, not more than two tablespoons of dressing and some honey roasted walnut toppings. That makes a meal in itself. I also have salad everyday at dinner. I use boneless chicken breasts as dark meat like thighs especially, contains a lot of fat. I looked for low carb recipes on line too and I lost 20 pounds. And that combined with the SPM Activate, dropped my cholesterol almost 100 pints in 4 Mi ths. I got off track last summer and this wi ter but all the talk on here has gotten me motivated to get back on.

Anne, thanks for the advice on the computer monitors. I decided to wait, since my current computer is an older model, it has Windows 8.1, not 8,7. Don’t know why I was thinking that And after January it won’t be supported, so will be looking into a new computer by years end. Might get a desk top one with a bigger monitor rather than a laptop, since it isn’t going anywhere. I have my IPad for mobility and like Tina’s, is getting Oder and battery starting to not hold charge that long anymore. Have a few months to think in it. Just thought that learning process all over again because the programs have changed over the years. Tina, which model IPad did you get?

Brain can’t think of anything else right now, so will just say I’ve been reading along and glad everyone seems to be doing okay. Thinking of those in the South who are heading for a third day in a row of Severe Weather. Safe safe you all.

[Redetotry]

It is wet here too, wet and turning colder. Frost prediction for tomorrow night but that seems to happen every year. One of out pear trees has so many blossoms on it the limbs are hanging down, the other two didn't have that many and are already leafed out. They are all the same variety and the same age so it seems strange. We never eat the pears as the deer, squirrels and raccoons get most of them. The ones that are left you have to pick around Labor Day and store them in a cool spot till they ripen. We gave up and buy them from the man who gave us the trees!

Sue I bought a 24" iMac desk top around 2015 and I love it. It is big enough to watch movies on and has great resolution. It also comes in a 27" screen. I had always used windows until I think it was when they did away with Windows 5. I decided if I had to start over it would be a good time to switch to a Mac. I had someone come to the house and set it up for me. Not inexpensive but at that time I was selling on eBay and I was on it for hours.

All is quiet at the moment here, Emma is home so it's a bit harder to keep an eye on three. She sleeps almost the whole time she is home, she works and plays hard when she is at 'school'. The last time she was groomed she looked like a beginner had practiced on her so she is going to be groomed by a different groomer the 20th. Hopefully she will have grown out and they can make her look good for the Poodle Nationals (for obedience) at Purina Farms near St Louis near the end of the month.

[MandysMom]

Sue, stop looking at total cholesterol! What are your triglycerides and HDL? Women who have the lowest total cholesterol are the most likely to get dementia! Studies and evidence are showing a high percentage of those who are hospitalized with a heart attack, do NOT have high cholesterol! You want your triglycerides (which are driven by sugar/carbohydrates) to be low and HDL high enough to match. The sole way to lower triglycerides without drugs, is, to lower carbohydrates/sugar in your diet. Those "honey" walnuts have sugar! Fatty chicken including skin is not harmful! High fat diets when it's natural saturated fats in meat, fish, poultry, are NOT dangerous! It's the seed oils such as in salad dressing you need to avoid! Your salad sounds nice, though I do not tolerate much vegetation as it flares IBS. What is dangerous, is eating a high carbohydrate and high fat diet at same time! A new study was just out in past few weeks.
Keto, in it's true medically defined form is not a Fad diet! It. Without Keto treats or weird tweaks or fads is safe and effective long term. Medically defined, by Dr Eric Westman, head of obesity research at Duke, is: Carbohydrates below 20, eat fatty sources of protein, above ground vegetables and a minimum of low carbohydrate berries in season. No Keto treats. No shakes. No Keto breads or pasta. He has gotten thousands off medications for diabetes and high blood pressure in his Duke hospital clinic. His lectures are widely available on YouTube. insulin resistance has become rampant since the Big AG push for 13 servings of grains and all manner of high carbohydrate foods, following the Ancil Keyes push after his flawed 7 Country study, where he cherry picked the data which seemed to show his hypothesis from his actual 21 country study, tossing out the rest which proved him wrong. The drug companies Love us addicted to carbs because then they sell billions in drugs to "fix" all the diseases people get from Big Ags high carbohydrates! And that includes supplements to supposedly lower cholesterol! It's a win For both of them and a huge expensive loss for the rest of us.

Sun is shining here and we are headed for 90 today. I'm not ready for hot weather! It's already in 50's at the low point overnight! Mosquitos are thriving !

Gotta get ready for Curves. That, walking on treadmill (for how I feel each day I walk), and watercolor painting, are the happiness in my days.
Velda

[JudyJB]

Wet AND chilly here is Tennessee, except today is going to be slightly warmer for a couple of hours before it starts raining again. Good news about this state park campground, other than it gives a 25% discount to any senior, is that it has recycling for plastics in a small container. I will not put any recyclables into a dumpster, even if it is labeled as recycling because people do not read signs and toss their garbage into it. If there is garbage in the dumpster, recyclers will not take any of it, so the recyling ends up going to the dump. But the bins here are small, clearly labeled, and with only a small opening on the top so people cannot stuff other things into them, so they are OK.

I will store my plastic recyclables for weeks just to find the right place to put them, and right now I have several plastic bags full. I took some to the plastics-only bin a couple of days ago, but want to take more today. It is sunny right now, so am running out now before we get the heavy rain expected.

Tina, I was really worried about my income tax, but I ended up owing the feds $1,000 and getting a $1,000 refund from the state of Ohio, so it is all even! Except I paid the federal tax, but have not yet received the Ohio refund. I did file electronically, so hopefully it will be soon.

[BirdbyBird]

Judy, my main concern was since I didn’t work at all for the scoring center in 2021 my income was greatly reduced. I knew that I had had additional taxes taken out of funds from the scoring center so that I wouldn’t be hit by taxes but it was so long ago…..I first started working there seasonally 14 years ago, I had no idea if my withholdings on my STRS pension were adequate for those funds alone. Apparently they were/are.

[BarbaraRose]

I went to WM to pick up my trimmers at work and did a little shopping. I avoided the snack and chips aisles and got some salad fixings and some Clemantines, etc. I also got a little thing of Nutella to see if that will be a good substitute for my chocolate cravings. Got some cut up rotissary chicken. I love chicken but not the skin.
I am thinking tacos would be a good thing to make but wondering what I can use to replace the taco shells? Any ideas?

I made a big mistake with the thunder gourd ! I used the wrong kind of glue to glue on the mylar material to the bottom of the gourd. It didn't work very well and since it is a watery consistancy it ran onto the front of the gourd too. So the whole bottom needs to be redone with a new piece of mylar. It is a mess! I just ordered a couple new sheets of it and the right glue on line from the guy who taught the class. So will have to wait for that to get here. Meanwhile, I need to figure out how to remove the mylar that did stick (it is like super glue) and the glue on the outside of the gourd without wrecking the paint on it. I was SO close to being done!!

Velda, I can tell you are very passionate about the Keto diet! I want to learn what I can about it, and the next time I get my blood tested, I will give my dr a list of the things I wanted tested besides just the HDL and LDL numbers. That book I am reading is very interesting and eye-opening, and really explains a lot of detail about how all that works and in a way I can actually understand it. He explains how low cholesterol levels (LDL)are actually more dangerous than high levels. Our bodies need cholesterol and make a lot of it. It is the sugars/carbs and inflammation that are the problem. Being that my diet is/was about 80+% carbs and sugar, if I get rid of most of what I was eating that has all that in it, I should be able to feel better and get my numbers in a better place by the time I see my doctor again in June.

It is hot today, in the mid 90's. It is supposed to hit 100* on Friday. Then by Monday it will be back down into the 70's for a few days with lots of wind. The humidity is coming down some over the weekend too.

Will start working on the kitchen today including going thru my cupboards and fridge to see what I need to get rid of. They are collecting food at the clubhouse for the food shelf this week so some of it can go there. Altho I need to check the expiration dates, as a lot of things I have had for quite awhile now.

Have a good day and those of you in the southeast, stay safe! You have all had more than your share of bad storms there lately!

[OregonLuvr]

It is a beautiful day here today. Tomorrow supposed to be low 80's then we plunge down with the cold front to 49-52..........Mother Nature is just fooling us. Did some vacuuming and dusting in the living room and family room. I vacuumed up a whole nuther dog...sheesh.
Need to clean my Asparagus as I am having salmon and asparagus for dinner. I am hungry now but will wait a bit. Being outside most of the morning sure did kick my allergies into high gear. I am so sick of this cough, and now my eyes and nose have joined in.

Barbie sorry to read about your gourd mishap. Hopefully you can fix it like you want when you get your new supplies. BJ my Tibbie breeder/Handler showed 2 Havanese and posted a picture holding both of them, dang they are BIG. Are there different sizes of them. These were white also. So cute tho. Guess they won but I am never sure since I dont understand dog show language. She usually holds up the ribbons but dang she had her arms full LOL

[BirdbyBird]

Barbie, not to be a downer but read the ingredients of Nutella. I believe it is high in sugars which won’t help quiet cravings much.

[Bethers]

Barbie, not to be a downer but read the ingredients of Nutella. I believe it is high in sugars which won’t help quiet cravings much.

You are right about Nutella and sugar. I don't follow Keto, prefer the Mediterranean diet myself but closely watch bad sugar (as opposed to natural sugars in many fruits which for me are good sugars).

It's important to find the right food fit for you, but I don't think Nutella fits into any good eating plan. Sorry, Barbie.

[BarbaraRose]

No problem. I don't really care for it anyways. Just trying to find a healthy snack besides fruit. I should try some of the dark chocolates out there. Maybe there is one that isn't so bitter.

[OregonLuvr]

Barbie
I bought a bag of Lily's dark chocolate chips, No-Sugar-Added · Non-GMO · Gluten-Free
They made a nice little snack

Nutrition Facts
Amount Per Serving 60 chips
Calories 55
Total Fat 4g
Saturated Fat 2.5g
Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol 0mg
Sodium 0mg
Total Carbohydrate 8g
Dietary Fiber 5g
Total Sugars 0g

Protein 1g

[Redetotry]

BJ my Tibbie breeder/Handler showed 2 Havanese and posted a picture holding both of them, dang they are BIG. Are there different sizes of them. These were white also. So cute tho. Guess they won but I am never sure since I dont understand dog show language. She usually holds up the ribbons but dang she had her arms full LOL

Karen, Havanese do seem to vary in size. This is a picture of my first Havanese and he was average size and weighed a little over 20 lbs. A lot of it is hair! Pippa will be smaller I think around 10-14lbs. She is 6 months and weights 8 pounds. The breeder said the litter was a bit smaller than the usual litters from the parents.

[OregonLuvr]

BJ, Yes she was holding 2 about that size and color, they are so cute.

[snowball]

I went to get my taxes done today sure didn't have most of what was needed... although we worked through it... I didn't have last years taxes as they are in the 5th wheel... but guess they needed those to get the SS number... proof of it as it is one number I can rattle off they needed it if I didn't have my ss card which I don't it is also in the 5th wheel but then they remembered that the tax information from the SS has the number on it so we had that ... whew and then I forgot my check book so they would have the ability to have it direct deposit... gave me a fold out with an e-mail address so I could send that I did not really wanting to then I got a call from the tax person so gave it too her again thinking back probably shouldn't have done that either but the email didn't go through and it's been several hours if they were going to play around with my account I would have seen evidence of it when I went on my account a bit ago...
I put another two rows on my Swedish Weave... and another two on my crocheted afghan... will be through with it soon I believe
no deer tonight though
it was actually a beautiful day no wind always a plus!!! my youngest called and told me that the winds were at 55 in Driggs Idaho which isn't far from here and did some damage like the screen at the drive in theater was blown down... that is really too bad hopefully they will fix it...
you all have a great day
sheila

[MandysMom]

Barbara, I truly dislike the term Keto Diet anymore, because Big AG latched onto it and can literally label anything Keto! I prefer PHD-Proper Human Diet, which does not include junk food, processed food, vegetables that grow below ground (yes, even a carrot is pretty high carb, and no you don't get vitamin A from them! ). And a limited amount of low carb fruits in season, eaten as whole fruit not juice, such as berries. Yes, the others were right, Nutella is a terrible choice (sugar and Palm Oil are the first 2 ingredients! ) you are going to have to tough it out for a week or two, for cravings to quiet. Keeping full with fatty sources of protein does help. There is a term in PHD- crispy cooked bacon, stored in a baggy in your purse, is known as Purse Bacon, and having it nearby to take a piece when cravings hit helps, as do crispy salty pork rinds- just read labels to be sure they are only pork skin, lard and salt- no sugar based flavored varieties. I ate them dipped in sour cream while I was adapting to the low carb way of eating. Keeping hydrated with water through the day helps. Be careful of diet sodas because many contain aspartame, a very nasty artificial sweetener, known to affect blood sugar. The only sweeteners so far proven not to affect blood sugar are stevia, monk fruit and sucralose. But the longer you keep feeding the sugar monster, the longer it's a battle.
Velda