First Friday in December

Since Thanksgiving, I have been self-sabotaging with poor food choices.  I am trying to lighten my days by "enjoying food" more.  I start the day out well but as morning turns to afternoon and the sun sets in the west things go haywire.  Each day in December finds darkness falling earlier.  Tonight I refused to forage in the kitchen for something to lift me my mood. I get it.  I miss the 5 o'clock visits from neighbors who stop by to visit baby blue while walking their dogs. I am missing daylight and my neighbors!

What can a person do to avoid sinking into a winter solstice depression that slows a person down until spring?  Here are a few things I am trying this December.  Yesterday at 4:30 I went to the gym to work out on the machines for a while.  I scheduled several sessions with a trainer for the hour when I am most tempted to eat the wrong things.  This morning I woke up with a blood glucose level of 159 (high for me). So I immediately put on some music and started to dance while I waited for my tea water to boil.  I have downloaded some 5 and 6 minute songs to my iPod.  Move to 2 songs in that set and I've gotten a good start to my cardio work for the day.  Dance to 3 songs and I'm half way to the recommended "dose" of PA (Physical Activity) for the day.

This morning I had a date with 5 girlfriends - we met up at the gym's pool for the Aqua-fit class. I felt wonderful this morning for having worked out.  We promised one another to meet up again at the gym on Monday morning too.

I came back to my office and spent the rest of the day feeling good knowing that I had succeeded in self care today - then the sun started to set.  I went hunting in the kitchen and found something that would serve me better had I given it away last night when company was leaving.  I enjoyed a brownie, no two brownies with a cup of coffee.  I wanted more.  I knew should not be going back into the kitchen for more and it took everything I had to stop the cycle that had started.  Brushing my teeth put a stop to the taste of chocolate that had triggered me to behave as if I did not have a condition extremely sensitive to carbohydrates.  It's interesting that an apple never leaves me feeling like I want to eat several more!

People take vacations from food plans. Parties and meals out give me all kinds of excuses to deviate from a healthy minded menu.  However, my diabetes never vacations. In fact, it will not appreciate being treated with ill regard during the season of short days and cold winter nights.

Creativity helps me get back on track.  So, I went to my office to cut card stock for Christmas Cards I have been making.  It was a good diversion that kept me out of the kitchen. After finishing with the card stock I turned to my blog.  It has been weeks since my last entry.   Dinner is ready.  I used the crock pot to make a soup from winter vegetables and a few bits of left over ham adding a can of beans for extra protein and fiber.  The soup is delicious.  I know because I taste tested it.  And it will not raise my BG level.

Reflections On A Saturday Morning in September

Ten years ago today there was no such think as Facebook, Twitter or even iPods!  It was a different world. We've all changed - we dared to rebuild and life went on. We have witnessed amazing bravery, love, courage, and agony. Just For Today, let us love one another and see where it will bring us.

On 9/10/2010

I was a different person. I had not yet turned 50. My mother was alive. I'd just quit smoking for the 3rd or 4th time. I had a system for working the business Alpha-Interiors my husband Vin and I own. I'd begun to enjoy the fruits of being an entrepreneur - I was choosing the time of day when I'd do my share of the work for the business.

I had high cholesterol and needed to increase exercise, lose weight, and stop living like I was going to last forever. I had a few medical conditions as a result of taking a diet drug that was removed from the market and the weight piled back on after I stopped taking the "magic" pill. I was afraid that my foolish attempt to lose weight with a magic pill would bring my life to a sudden end.

I was intentionally working on eliminating refined sugars and white flour from my system. To help me in my efforts to stay off cigarettes I was walking our young dog several times a day (actually she was walking me). Also, I spent several hours a week working at The Great American Stamp Store in Westport, CT as a sales clerk. The work at the store was a delight to me. I loved every minute.

We were preparing for a guest artist who was coming to teach at the store the next day. The classes were booked up solid as the guest's art rubber stamps were a popular commodity in the store. Then next day, I believe just one person who had signed up came to the classes. It was a solemn afternoon as we listened to the radio learned new techniques to apply to our rubber stamp art together.   

Just about a year later, I met a young mother who was a 9/11 widow.  We became friends.  She was pregnant with a second child on 9/11/2001 and had another young child as well.  Knowing her opened my world and my heart to meanings and appreciation for my own life that I am yet unable to put into words.  Today I’m reminded of a poem I wrote as a result of knowing such a courageous woman.  I will share it sometime if I can find where I put it for safekeeping. 

Hand Made Tag Art July 2010

June/July 2010

I made these tags in a 5 hour class with several other artists - Time flies!