March, 2015 in like a Polar Bear!

I'm with Charlotte!! That is really scary!!!

Hi Ginger, glad to see you back here. Beautiful picture of your place. Our things are just beginning to bloom here. The hellebores have been blooming, but with the warm weather the past few days, my daffs are finally blooming!!! Of course the rain last week beat them down pretty well so they haven't perked up yet. But it's still nice to see things greening up.

Earl is working on our long fence replacing boards. I put out Preen and weeded yesterday, plus trimmed back stuff I neglected to do in Feb with all the bad weather. So everything except a couple of grasses is done. We were both beat yesterday afternoon.

Sandra, any time I hear 'blood clot', I think it's scary.

Jeri, glad Jim's report was good. It's so hard to believe Ashley will be graduating! I can't even believe we have grandkids in high school! And next year it will be 3 of them in HS!

Wow, I am sooooo far behind that I won't comment on everything but I agree with what the rest of you have said. I also am on another forum at that other place with Sandra so I knew about Cayla's latest issue. I am praying for wisdom for her doctors and that they will be able to help Cayla!

It seems that after all the winter weather, that Spring might be here, after all. We had a beautiful day yesterday with sunshine and temps in the 70's. There will be more of the same today! Hooray! We will be working out in the yard, doing some clean-up, etc.

You ladies have a good day!

Sometimes I have to remind myself that what Cayla is dealing is , is a pretty much an unknown situation. The other three people who had the same thing happen to them (that lived) did not have anything happen to them, so they have no reference points to use. She has a very good doctor handling her case there, Dr. Trainor, and he is determined to take care of her. They set her up with a follow up with another doc in the group, but she has e-mailed Dr. Trainor and asked him to do her follow up, it is a huge group he is in but Cayla really likes him and has trust in him, which was really hard for her to do after her experience in Memphis last fall.
This is what we know after this visit: Nothing, pertaining to her leg being numb, no answers to that. They said sometimes the nerves will "reposition" themselves after a spinal shock but if that were the case, it would be both legs, not just one, so they ruled that out.
They did find another "clot, bruise, mass". Yes they have used all these words to describe what is on her spine. It is positioned behind her lungs. It is not anywhere that would affect her leg. One doctor seems to think it came off the first "mass,clot, bruise" at the base of her spine where the bleed happened in Oct. the other doc said no, not possible, because the "mass, clot, bruise, is measuring larger than it was in Dec.
After the 4 hour MRI her shunt had to be reset, as a magnet messes it up, they told her to not use a magnet cover for her tablet to stay away from magnets. They reset it, confirmed there was no swelling in her brain, confirmed the pump was working correctly and with x-Ray, confirmed it was still in correct position.
Final summary, she is in no danger. The trip to the ER was to be sure that her brain was not swelling, and it is not. She is not in any pain, except her headaches and neck pain and most of that will settle back down to more an annoyance. She lost so much sleep and shuffled around for hours at the hospital. She plans to go to her class tomorrow night. She has enrolled in a class to learn to draw blood, last week was her first week. She has to be back in Nashville early Wendsay morning for a check up with her lung doctors there which was already scheduled, Jana is taking care of Eli this round. I want to be sure you all know I appreciate your kindness and prayers for us and hope you will continue the prayers. The unknown is always scary and all I know to do is trust God. He made her and He knows what the doctors doesn't.
Love you all

Sandra I'm sure glad Cayla has found a doctor that is taking good care of her and one that she is comfortable with. It really makes a difference when you have confidence in your doctor. You don't often find them now days.

Well, I haven't been on in a few days and I am just now seeing this. I am so sorry to hear that she had to spend all that time being shuffled around in the ER........sounds horrible! It is bad enough to have to go to the ER - I can't imagine just having to be stuck out in the hall for LONG periods of time. The clots appearing does sound very scary - did they speculate WHY the other clot was larger? I thought they had thought it would be slowly absorbed by her body? It all sounds very scary, but I agree with Charlotte that it is great she has found a doctor she can trust. That is worth its weight in gold!

Jess and I went back to Dr Stringer in HS on Tuesday and he checked her insulin levels. No one has ever checked that on her before - just blood glucose. He called me with the results on Friday. He said normal insulin ranges are from 2.6 - 25 I believe and hers was 188. He started her on metformin immediately. He put her on 2 pills per day, but told her to start with one and give her stomach some time to adjust. It still made her sick, so I suggested the second day that she split it in half and take it like that for a couple of days and then move up to 1 per day then to 2. She seems to be tolerating it better. Her blood glucose was only slightly elevated (and she had not fasted) and was still within normal...... so she has probably had this problem for a long time just no one checked it.

It is supposed to be 80 degrees here today with a high of 42 tomorrow............ I was sick all weekend but felt better yesterday so I finally was able to get a few things done outside after work. I hope to accomplish some more today because I have a LONG way to go.

I have a question for you lasagna bed makers. I have a large bed that is down by the road probably 150 ft from my house. I made the bed around a light pole and guide wire to keep from having to try to mow around the guide wire. Our mower has a rollover bar on it and on more than one occasion someone was mowing and would go under the guidewire and hit the rollover bar on it. We came really close to flipping the mower a couple of times and so I decided a bed would be a safer alternative. But, back when I was so sick that summer I lost a large portion of what was in that bed, and that fall I moved out some DLs to another bed. Now, it only has some lorepediulums around the light pole, and some of those pink and white bushes that are blooming right now in it. I am drawing a blank on the name at the moment - but they only bloom in spring and have thorns on them....... anyway, the bed is overrun with weeds and grass off course, and I KNOW that I can not get it under control this summer. I am going to focus all my attention on trying to keep my big center bed and my huge foundation planting under control and hopefully if that goes better this summer, then I will try to redo the other two beds I have either in the fall or spring. I went down there last night to pull some tall weeds that had died and looked horrible..... I was trying to figure out what I could do with it without trying to kill myself down there on it. I wondered about just piling LOTS and lots of cardboard and paper in the bed and covering with mulch and leaving til fall or even until the following spring. I did do some improvement to the soil down there, but my soil is so sandy it can always use more help, and that was one of the earlier beds we did so it probably has less improvement. I just wondered if ya'll thought that would work. Or if I would just be creating more of a monster by covering up the grass, etc that is there because I am sure there is nut grass and Bermuda not to mention a million kinds of weeds........... Any suggestions appreciated. I am having a LOT of trouble with both of my shoulders so I am not sure how this spring weeding/ planting scenario is going to go......... :(

Hope everyone has a great day and enjoys the sunshine...... guess we better soak it up to get ready for tomorrow!

Genna

Genna, with that bed I think you're moving in the right direction. The only thing I'd probably add before you cover it with cardboard is to spray all the weedy stuff with a weed/grass killer just to try to make sure it dies. Read the label and make sure your weather is warm enough for it to take effect. Usually that is around 50 degrees so you're probably ok. Then do your thing with the cardboard and mulch and let it sit. Is the pink shrub flowering quince? Pretty shrub, but ouch!

Wow, I'm glad the doc checked Jess's insulin!

Sandra, I keep thinking about Cayla and praying she gets better. I'm so glad she is not in danger. Add me to those who are just so glad she has found the right doctor! Jess too!

Yep! Quince - that's it!! I was telling Leigh the name of it last night, but it was GONE today! LOL And yes, those thorns are rough..... that's why its in the bed WAY away from the house! Jessica just HAD to have some, but I didn't want to deal with it in a location where I would be around it much. It's only pretty for a short while then its done.

I had thought about trying to wait a few weeks and spray the whole thing with RU. There are several cool weather weeds in there at the moment, but I am not sure it has been warm enough for the Bermuda etc to begin feeding....maybe, I don't really know a lot about grasses. Will definitely be there soon probably.

Bermuda here hasn't greened up yet, but those roots will take hold anywhere, any time. Hard to get rid of them. I love quince too, but don't have any now.

Yes like Elaine said you are headed the right way. I even put my shredded junk mail on my beds and even use shredded mail on my compost pile. Worms love it! Elaine is right about the bermuda grass. I bought some stuff on line last year that was expensive but really worked on killing bermuda grass and not my plants. It was called Grass Getter by Monterey. I paid 40.00 or 50.00 for just a few ounces but you mix it with water and it makes several gallons. I sprayed it on some daylilies in a front bed and that had a bunch of Bermuda growing in it and it killed the Bermuda and didn't harm the day lilies at all.

I have some quince that was here before I moved here 33 years ago! It's back in the very corner of my yard. I like it but don't want anymore. It actually sends up a lot of new shoots that can be dug up and transplanted if you want to add to it. I dug a bunch of mine up several years ago and gave to my MG project that actually wanted some.

Genna is Jessica diabetic?

Sandra, I am so glad that Cayla trusts her doctor and I hope they will let her keep him rather than switching her from one doctor to another all the time.

Genna, Sounds as if Jessica is diabetic to me. Al is diabetic and metformin is one of his meds. Did they give Jess a diet sheet with what to eat and what not to eat?
I, too, think the cardboard is a good idea for your flower bed but I wouldn't put it down until after you had sprayed with a weed killer and then let the weeds be exposed to sunlight for several days. I'm not sure weed killers will work if the weeds are immediately covered after spraying. However, I have never done that so I couldn't say for sure. You could also add some manure and/or compost along with some good soil if you can find a source for it after you cover the bed with cardboard. Then it will have plenty of time to "cook" before you put any plants in it. Buddy found a construction site where a bank was being built and they had piled up a huge amount of top soil when they scraped the lot to prepare it for the foundation for the building and parking lot. Out of curiosity, he stopped and asked the workmen what they were going to do with the dirt. They told him they were going to have to haul it off to the dump!!! Buddy asked if he could buy several pick-up loads and they told him he could have all the dirt he wanted free of charge! He really struck gold because that dirt was wonderful top soil. He brought 4 pick-up loads home to add to the lasagna bed we were making in the back yard in Cabot. They even loaded the dirt into his pick-up with their back-hoe! Talk about a find!

Al and I worked outside all Monday afternoon for several hours. It was a perfect day for it! I found several sedum plants that have pushed up green leaves and the Husker's Red Penstemon has literally had green leaves all winter. My chrysanthemums also have some green leaves coming up. I cut back all the dead stems which I had left on purpose to shield the roots during the winter plus there were a lot of leaves that had blown into the beds which I left on purpose, again for protection through the winter. I do have some daffodils blooming and more on the way. We were in the 70's yesterday and only about 59 today but the temperature is dropping. We will have a low of 38F tonight and a high in the 40's tomorrow so I'm not counting on too much right now as far as the flower beds are concerned. We will have to give Spring a bit more time before we get any blooms up here except on the flowering quince. :) Mine is the deeper red in color. It was here when I married Al.

Here is an article about Grass Getter. It worked on bermuda grass for me. I also used it at my garden plot around the edges of the box where grass was growing in. I also sprayed it on my strawberries after they had stopped producing. It was a year ago now. I wouldn't put any on them before they start producing berries. But I figured a year should be ok. It said it was safe to put on them. It is also safe to put on other vegetables but I would not want to do it. Just don't like chemicals on my veggies! I forgot to say I also bought an additive to mix with it which helps it to cling to the grass.

http://www.clyderobin.com/newsletter/2001/062101.html

This is what I bought and the source I bought it from.
http://www.domyownpestcontrol.com/monterey-grass-getter-twin-pack-p-2168.html

This message was edited Mar 17, 2015 7:21 PM

Jessica is not a diabetic - she would be considered "pre-diabetic" because her blood glucose levels are "normal" but her body is producing a LOT more insulin to try to keep the glucose normal. Eventually her insulin producing cells would wear out and she would be "diabetic" because then her glucose levels would escalate as well. I am SO frustrated because we have been asking doctors for help since she was probably 11 or 12 because diet and exercise didn't seem to have ANY effect. But, all I can do at this point is be thankful that we are FINALLY getting some help addressing her medical issues and that maybe with a lot of hard work and some correct medication that hopefully she can improve her overall health. He said in time that as she lost weight and was controlling her diet she might be able to come off the metformin but only time will tell. No, they didn't give us any list of what she can eat or what she can't. She has been trying to follow a paleo type low card/no carb type diet but she is really struggling to keep the carbs and sugars low - such as snacking on fresh fruit etc. She is trying to watch the sugars - even the natural sugars. Some days her schedule is so crazy that she doesn't have a lot of time to cook so finding things that are quick and easy to prepare but also fit all the nutritional guidelines she is trying to follow is hard. But she is trying. If anyone has any recipes you use for quick nutritious meals, please dmail them to me and I will share with her. Prayers for her to tolerate the medicine, for the medicine to help, and for her to be able to stick to a diet plan are greatly appreciated!

Cooler here today, but they were calling for a high of 42 originally, then said 49 last night and it is 54 here this morning. Not sure if the cold front hasn't made it all the way to us yet - or if it just going to be warmer than they expected. It will probably be raining long before I get off so I doubt I get anything else done outside. I got the rest of my hardy hibiscus limbs cut back last night and Leigh helped me dig up two "mini Nandinas" that weren't! There were already up to 3 1/2 ft tall and spreading.......... so we dug them up. Thankfully all the rest of the ones we planted really were what they were labeled!

I am going to check out those links Charlotte. Sounds like a great product! Marilyn, that was a GREAT find on the topsoil and the loading! My soil is so sandy and really bad in places that I would have wanted it all over the yard! LOL

Have a great day everyone!
Genna




This message was edited Mar 18, 2015 7:49 AM

After my mother died and Dad was living by himself the doctor discovered that he was pre diabetic. He was not over weight. Never had been his entire life. He was always very thin but he ate lots of sugar. I'm really surprised that they did not offer some kind of diet counseling for Jessie. They told dad that his could probably be controlled through diet and if so he would not have to take meds. He met with a dietician and he was determined not to have to take meds and followed what she told him. He lived alone and didn't cook. The main things that I can remember was he gave up all his sweets such as cookies, pies, cakes, candy, etc. He was supposed to eat a protein for breakfast. He had been eating a bowl of cereal. He started cooking him an egg for breakfast. The extent of his cooking!! He ate out his other meals. But when I would go out to eat with him or if I was there and cooked for him he just ate normal things. Meat and vegetables. If we ate at a buffet he would never get a desert but he would get some fresh fruit instead. He mainly replaced all the snack food he had been eating with fruit. If I remember he needed to eat a lot of protein. He never had to take any meds and was able to keep it at bay with diet. If she doesn't have time to cook she could keep things in the fridge to make salads. Lettuce and raw veggies with some kind of meat on top. A can of tuna or chicken on top with a vinegar and oil dressing. She could cook up a big pot of soup on the weekend. Stir fry is extremely quick and easy to make. Just cut up some chicken in bite size pieces and cook over high heat with oilve oil and seasoning and also throw in what ever veggies she likes. Takes about 10 minutes to cook. I usually use a chicken breast that is frozen. You can pop it in the microwave on a low setting for a minute or so to slightly thaw. It cuts up better if it is still mainly frozen. I told my oldest grandson how to make it and he cooks it a lot. Keep fruits for snacks. I send my grandsons dried apple chips, summer sausage, etc. in the snack boxes I send them. Seems to me she really needs guidance from a professional as to how she should eat in order to control it. A one time meeting would probably be all she would need.

Thought of a couple of other things. Peanut butter is a really good quick meal. I slice an apple a lot of time and spead the slices with peanut butter. Or put sliced mozorralla cheese on sliced apples. Both make a quick easy healthy lunch or dinner.

This message was edited Mar 18, 2015 8:42 AM

Yeah, she does a lot of stir fry already, and she has done a lot of reading on low carb diets - she had already done so in her attempts to lose weight. She is trying to cut the sugar - which is very hard. But, she has done it before and not seen any results so she would just give up after several months and ate what she wanted, but supposedly this medicine should help equal the odds on helping her get the weight off and so hopefully she will see some results of the diet modification and have motivation to stay with it. She called the other night and was hungry and thought she had probably already had to much fruit during the day (because of the sugars) and when I got to talking to her she had eaten salads etc but had only had a small amount of protein all day! I told her she was going to have to eat lean proteins in order to avoid being hungry. I suggested some PB or PB and apple or even cheese. I am not a cheese eater, but she likes cheese. I will have to tell her about the cheese on apples....she would probably like that. That might also be good on pears. Sounds good anyway....... She does not eat fish though - and so she quickly tires of chicken all the time. She does sometimes have eggs for dinner though because it is quick and easy. I will pass on the suggestions. She will appreciate them because sometimes it is hard to see the forest for trees and you just cant think of what to eat! :)

Genna, if you try the American Diabetes Assn and some other on-line sites, they have some great resources for diet and meal planning. A family friend who was recently widowed was diagnosed as Type II, so several friends have tried to help him with some meals and planning. There was another website that was suggested and the name escapes me right now but I will try to find it again. There are even some fruits and veggies to avoid too much of.

I will not comment on "diabetes and fat". Diabetes is a disease. I do have a comment on something to eat quickly, if she has a toaster a piece of toast spread quickly with peanut butter is wonderful !! It kinda melts if not too thick and it very good. I also suggest variety, because she will quickly burn out on things if not.

Cayla saw her lung doc today and got a good report, her lungs are all cleared up now. They did an immunity test and told her it would be 10 days before they get results
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Jerry went for his 6 month checkup to get his meds and our doc said he has A Fib, he even did and ekg after he listened to him. He has an appointment Friday with the heart doc.

Oh my Sandra.... I am sorry to hear that Jerry is having problems as well. Glad they were able to get him an appointment quickly though! That is amazing in itself!

Glad to hear that Cayla's lungs are clear! that is good news! What is the immunity test for? I do hope that she is feeling better after her ordeal at the hospital. My Mom and father in law both had diabetes. It terrifies me, but Jess isn't there yet and I am hoping that we can prevent it or at least delay it a long, long time. I know she has an uphill battle for sure. That's one reason I asked for suggestions for quick easy, healthy meals because I know she will get burned out if she just tries to eat the same thing every day.

Please keep us posted on Jerry! Will definitely be praying for him.

Sandra I'm so sorry to hear about Jerry's problem!! Goodness you all don't need that. But there are ways it can be corrected. I have two neighbors with it. One is older and is the one that had to move to assisted living last year. She kept having problems and they finally put in a pacemaker and it solved her problem. The other is a young neighbor with 4 kids in her 40's. She had been having problems for years and they finally figured out her problem and she has a pacemaker and something else. She had the type that was more difficult to determine - something about a short t or something like that. Praying that all goes well with Je

Sandra I'm sorry to hear that about Jerry, if you remember Jim had that a few years ago and we were on our way to have it shocked back into rhythm when I hit a bump in the road and Jim got upset at me and his heart went back into rhythm on his own. Tell Jerry I'll come take him for a ride and won't even charge him anything!!! Jim's went back out of rhythm and they did eventually shock it back into rhythm. Jim said it was easier than me hitting the pothole.

Good news on Cayla's lungs!! Still praying!!!

The new pool that we put in is 24' round just like the other one but it's bigger somehow and we are in the process of modifying the deck and I had to have 2 large gardenias, 1 split leaf philodendra and about 6 clumps of bananas for the extension of the deck dug up and moved. I'm rushing to get everything done by Ashley's birthday next month. She wants a swimming party for her 18th birthday and I think I may pull it off. Then almost a month to the day both Ashley and Bre graduate and they informed me that they want a combined party for that occasion. LOL!!! Will this ever stop?

I showed my mobile home park, yesterday, to my friends daughter that bought the other park a couple of years ago. We had to go into all 16 of my mobile homes and then I had church last night. Today I'm sore. Wonder why?

Jeri, I had forgotten about that, but get on up here !!!!! Looking back we think this has been going on for a while now. He has been so utterly exhausted. He has also had a toe hurting that he went to the foot doc about a month ago. The doc told him it was a circulation problem that was worse in the winter, wear 2 pair of socks and keep it warm, it would get better when warm weather came. It hasn't gotten any better, so now we know why.
Good luck with those teen parties !!!

Kids are really into graduation parties these days! I remember when Justin and Clint graduated last year there were all kind of parties going on the weekend I was there. Their parties included parents as well. Jeff, Kristi and I went to one then Jeff and I took off to do something else while Kristi went to 2 more! Three parties all in one afternoon! Because there were so many parties Kristi decided to wait until the end of the summer and do one that more of a going away party.She and a friend that also had a son graduating did it together so it was for three kids. They went all out with decorating. For food they hired a food truck to come. They had a menu of what they could choose. So they didn't have to do any cooking or serving. It looked like they did prepare some fresh fruit trays.

Jeri in a few years you'll probably be wishing for a party for the kids! LOL

Charlotte, Yea, I don't think so. You never know with me! LOL!!!

Sorry to add anything else to Jessica's busy schedule, Genna, but exercise is a must in order to maintain firm muscles if she is going to be losing weight. otherwise she will be flabby and I know she wouldn't want that. Plus, exercise will make her feel better, both physically and emotionally. :) I'm glad you all are trying to get her possible tendency toward diabetes under control especially because of the family history. It is good for Jess to learn about the proper diet at such an early age. Al's sister also has diabetes and in the past year she has decided that she is also gluten intolerant and has gone on a gluten-free diet. It must be working because she has lost weight and feels and looks much better! She has become almost fanatical about it though - LOL - and is now trying to get Al and everyone in their family to go on a gluten-free diet. :D

Sorry to hear about Jerry's Afib diagnosis. I have had Afib for 11 1/2 years and have had a pacemaker that long, too, so I hope that Jerry can correct his without having to have a pacemaker. Jeri, you should definitely plan a trip up to Sandra's! LOL

Today is officially the first day of Spring--at 5:45 p.m. CDT to be exact. It doesn't feel like spring here today but we are promised a beautiful week-end with highs in the 70's and sunshine. Hooray!

Yes, she knows she has to exercise. She has been trying to go to Zumba classes and also doing some workouts on her own or with Kyle. The local gym in town (also where the zumba classes are held) gives the students a flat rate for the semester so that helps!

Genna like Marilyn said it's really good for her to learn about proper diet now and start to change her habits. It's probably easier to do at her age than later. I never had a weight or health problem but I was really conscious of weight when I was young. I gained probably 2 lbs and I thought I had to do something before I gained anymore. At the time I was 5' 7" and a size 4 or 6 so certainly not overweight. I was about Jessies age. That's when I stopped using any sugar in my tea or coffee. No sugar on cereal. No butter on bread. Very few soft drinks, etc. I don't like rich real ice cream. It actually makes me feel ill. When I was growing up my mother only bought what they called back then "ice milk". It would be similar to non fat yogurt today or sherbet. I used to cook desert for my family but I ate very little of it. Instead of desert I would fix myself a cup of hot herbal tea with a very small amount of honey after dinner. It seemed to satisfy that need for something for something after a meal. You just have to retrain your taste buds.

Walking would be a great exercise that can be done at any time without any preparation. Rather than drive to class a walk to class would give her the exercise without even having to plan for it or make time. She might even be able to find someone to walk with her. Not being used to it she probably needs to start out walking a mile and then add a mile each week until she is comfortable walking 3 or 4 miles.

I've been neglectful of walking myself this winter!! I've got to get back to it! I can tell a difference in how I feel when I walk regularly. My cardiologist really emphasizes the need to walk over all other excercises.

Hard boiled eggs are also good things to snack on or to eat for lunch. You need to send her back to school with lots of fresh fruits and nuts (raw almonds are excellent) and take a rest from baking cookies and special treats. I know it's hard not to make those special things for them.

Gosh I didn't realize today was the first day of Spring! Certainly doesn't feel or look like it here either. It's overcast and has drizzled a little and feels cool.

Same weather here - and I think there is a chance of rain all weekend here. We certainly need a break from the rain - all the ditches are overflowing and the river is still way out of its banks. Maybe at least it will stay this drizzly stuff and not real rain!

I don't know if I have even told ya'll but she is going to have to move yet again after semester. Our whole point of moving her in December was so that she could pay the fee and leave her things in this apartment and be set to go next August. Well, the school lost the contract on the apartments and now she has to move again! There are two apartments buildings on her side and they lost the lease on both of those - but there are three buildings behind her and the school still has the lease on them. I wasn't crazy about her moving back to those since the other apartments would be occupied by whoever and wouldn't be subject to the university rules regarding drinking, partying etc. There are 2 - 3 BR apartments on campus in a complex that is closer to campus - and directly across the street from where she was last fall. Her and two of her friends managed to have enough hours that they were able to have first choice and were able to get one of the 3 BRs so she was excited. She walked to school most of the time last fall - it is about 4 blocks one way I think to the edge of campus..... but once she moved they are a lot further from school and beside the main hwy into town with no sidewalk and some construction going on so she or her friend had to drive every day. I hate the thought of moving her again AND the fact that we will have to bring home her stuff again for the summer because they won't let them move in until August, but I am excited that she got into that particular complex so that she can walk and not have to drive every day.

I gotta get back on my walking as well. I did get a fitbit (pedometer type thing) thru my company for 10 bucks..... and realized just how little movement I get some days at work. At least I am more concious of it and try to make an effort to go down the hall or walk upstairs more. But, the only day that I would have gotten my 10K steps in was the day of the daffodil festival and I forgot the thing! Actually I thought I had put it on my jeans and then late that afternoon when I went to check to see how many steps I had, it wasn't there. We even looped back over part of our steps looking for it. When I got home it was here. I was glad to still have it, but hated to miss counting all those steps. But it has definitely pointed out that I need to get back to my walking!

I thought of something else. She can keep some non fat jello in the fridge and eat it with just a little bit of Cool Whip (not whipped cream but the no fat Cool Whip). She could also make the no fat pudding and also eat it with a small amount of Cool Whip on top. It's actually very tasty. I've eaten this a lot. If she likes nuts sprinkle a little bit of chopped nuts on the pudding and Cool Whip. The jello and pudding has almost 0 calories but you can eat a big bowl of it and feel like you've actually eaten something. Satisfies cravings.

We did a cross post. Arkadelphia is small enough that she could even walk downtown. There has to be a way she can walk through campus and get to a side street and not have to walk down the main highway. She needs to walk a lot further than 4 blocks. The football field or track is another good place to walk. When I first started running I went to a high school football field. Four times around the track is one mile. I stopped doing that because I ran three miles and it got boring to me just running around the track. I love to walk through the neighbor and look at the yards, etc.

This message was edited Mar 19, 2015 5:49 PM

Well, you ladies will have to wait until Friday for Spring. I got ahead of myself. The first day of Spring is tomorrow. Not today. LOL

Shame on you Marilyn!!! Here I thought I was already in Spring!!

Genna I'm not talking about the jello and pudding cups that are already made up. I'm talking about the old fashioned packages that you mix up yourself.

Yeah, I know she needs to walk more than that, but when she was living in Starlight, she would walk that several times a day and not feel like she was "walking for exercise" . Then she would still go to zumba or workout for "exercise" but that extra walking was burning calories as well. Much more so than driving the car. Unfortunately, there is no back way to the apartments where she is at now...... I think part of the construction that is being worked on will eventually include a new sidewalk down that part of the street so they wouldn't have to walk in the street - but that won't be finished for months.

Well, its raining here again today.......... so not much different from yesterday Marilyn. Can't really tell the difference here! LOL......

I happened to notice the Old Washington Jonquil festival is this weekend. I guess even with the snow prior, Camden's weather turned out better than theirs is looking. I think South Arkansas is supposed to have rain most of today and tomorrow.

Genna, here are a couple of links I found from when I was looking. Also remember that low glycemic foods are those that are low in sugar and slower to turn any starch into its sugars. The point is to keep blood sugars from rocketing up from a quick sugar dose. And everyone's metabolism is different. She might be able to eat/drink something, even like a Coke or a very small piece of cake, in moderation, as long as if was a really slow drink or small amount. Only she will be able to judge that over time and trial.

1.http://www.eatingwell.com/nutrition_health/weight_loss_diet_plans/diet_meal_plans/7_day_diabetes_meal_plan - This is a 7-day meal plan (for diabetics but these might work for her, especially as guidelines for snacks, etc when she has time to cook something)
2. http://www.diabetesselfmanagement.com/recipes/ - from the ADA - again all these are fro diabetics but good suggestions.

Sandra, sorry about Jerry's diagnosis, and hope he gets to the Doctor soon and is straightened out.

Jeri, you have your work cut out for you! I don't envy you right now.

It's not 'Spring' here either. We just thought it was last week when it got up nearly to 80. Teaser. It was downright cold Tuesday and Wednesday and today it's drizzling. We went to Nashville Wednesday afternoon for the Fleetwood Mac concert. Meredith and John came up too and had dinner and the concert with us but they had to drive back to go to work Thursday morning. We stayed overnight and drove back home yesterday. Mack had a soccer game last night but it got cancelled. Of all things, the stadium lights didn't work! A transformer blew and the city couldn't get it repaired in time. They worked on it an hour and the refs and coaches finally called the game at 8:00.

Genna it just occurred to me that the gym they go to is probably the same one my friend that lives in Arkadelphia goes to. Don't imagine there is but one in town. If so there is a walking track in the gym. My friend has used that track a lot. I believe I remember her saying it goes around the top or something like that. She is in Nashville a lot now but when she is in town she goes to exercise class there almost every day.

The heart doctor is admitting Jerry Tues for cardio conversion. He said first they will do a TEE test to be sure there are no clots, and if it is ok they will put him to sleep for about 20 seconds and shock him. Said he could go back to work the next day if all goes well.

Praying it works for him!!! They did Jim's at the Dr's office and it worked much better than me hitting the pothole.

Also praying that all goes well Sandra!!

Thanks girls

My older neighbor that had a pacemaker put in for her afib problem has a daughter around 50 that also has the same problem. They did some kind of procedure on her (not a pacemaker or anything like that) that was supposed to correct her problem. Really don't know what she had done - just that it was supposed to solve the problem.

Jerry's Mom is going to have to have her pacemaker replaced on April 1st. Her heart doc said she needed the whole thing replaced but would use the old leads so it wouldn't be a bad surgery for her. She asked him if it would make her feel better and he said probably not, but you need it anyway!
Jerry's heart doc set up an appt with the vein specialist there to look at his leg that is so bad. That appt is the 15th of April.