ON A ROLL HERE

Well... After making that darn cute Soup Bowl Cozy the other day, yesterday I sat down and made:

ABOVE:  A few more.
I want to have at least a dozen or so by my next market day.  And two to send to my Mum for her Birthday/Mother's Day next month too.

Clearly I was trying to STAY AWAY from blue!  But today I will be making some blue ones, and a few other options too.  Maybe more 'earthy' tones?  We will see. 
I really struggle not to do brights and pretties, so don't hold your breath for a brown one!

Unless I get an order for one of course.

*** HAPPY 31st BIRTHDAY TO STEVE ***
We hope you have a lovely day.

At some point I will be going down town to pay more of my dental bill... nasty thing!  
And that is about all for now.

ONWARD...

Feel bloody sick this morning.  I had stopped taking the anti nausea medication with the Metformin.  Bad move I think.  It looks like I need to give my body more time to adjust to the increase in Metformin.
One good thing... having to visit the bathroom constantly has stopped, thank god!  

I'm thinking of going into Hamilton, I want to find a smaller stand to display stuff on... probably find what I'm looking for at Payless Plastics.

I'm bored.  Been stuck at home for what feels like weeks!  

I had greek yogurt, berries and a spoon full of raw rolled oats for breakfast.  I am NOT a breakfast sorta person usually, but I was STARVING when I woke up.  Weird.   But then... not eating very much either!  

I've got out pork strips for dinner.  I've got several lovely marinades and sauces in the panty, bet I can't use any of them.  What to cook them in now?   Just oil I suppose.

OH and by the way, while I am doing Low Carb/No sugar does not mean I am doing HIGH FAT.  We are not doing high fat.  We are doing protein/veges/fruit/no processed stuff.
For now.  Until things level out and our blood sugars come right down.

Then we might be able to add some healthy carbs back into our diet.  Like potato.  God I miss potatoes at night.  

AND DON'T ANYONE SUGGEST FRIGGIN MASHED CAULIFLOWER!  It is NOT the same.

Makes me laugh.  I say don't mention mashed cauliflower, and of course several do!
Maybe adding cream cheese and so on is worth a try?  *screwing my face up*.

I had a mandarin and a feijoa about an hour ago... BAD MOVE.  Feeling sick as a dog now, and I have that weird tingly feeling all over my body again.  WTF is wrong with two small pieces of fruit?

I'm not having my dinner till after 9 pm tonight.  It's FBG Quizz Night, so I'm off out at 6.45 pm.
Stew and Griffin are on their own for a while, won't kill them.

I must show you what I got in Hamilton too!  Still in the car in fact.  Maybe tomorrow... for now I'm busy.

Well... Quizz Night was enjoyable, even though we sucked!  So many of tonight's questions were difficult!  We didn't come anywhere in the placings.  But it was still nice to get out with the girls.

Home, had some dinner, and now... off to bed soon.

WHY THERE?

Right, who can tell me why we have to friggin stab our fingers?

Ya know it kinda hurts eh?

I'm sure it wouldn't hurt so much if ya stabbed your leg!

Today I am going to be making a few of those cute Soup Bowl Cosy's.  They are rather fun to make.  Not complicated like some things.
I don't think my brain wants to be bothered with complicated shit right now!

I AM  feeling quite a bit better... which is bloody awesome.  The horrible 'side effects' of taking more Metformin seem to be settling down.  I'm not living in the bathroom anymore!
And the all over body tingling is not so bad either... THAT was the weirdest thing ever.

Here's a few photos from the weekend:

 ABOVE:  I love how our 'lounge' converts to a bedroom/playroom when necessary.

 ABOVE:  How adorable is this photo!  

ABOVE:  Not staged... all three dogs leap on Stew's lap often... and poor Coco is usually UNDER one pup or the other!

 ABOVE:  Griffin is a very popular 'playground' for the littlies.  They love playing rough house with him.

 ABOVE:  Some happy snaps.

ABOVE: Our super cute little girls.

I decided to make our own Scotch Eggs...

ABOVE:  Don't use really fresh eggs!  They are a right bitch to peel.
But, as a whole, I'm happy with my results.  I only added chopped onion to the sausage meat, and NO breadcrumbs.
I baked them in the oven, not in oil.

I will be having one for my lunch today, so will tell you how they taste after lunch.

ONWARD...

The other day I said I was NOT going to be weighing myself, counting calories or points, or doing anything that makes me obsess over these changes I have to make.

BUT... I am using My Fitness Pal to track the food I am eating... JUST to keep an eye on the carb and sugar values of the foods I am eating.  NOT for any other reason.  I am not 'tracking'  or obsessing over it.  It is good to know what foods are high in carbs, some are really surprising!

Did you know that even cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli have a decent amount of carbs in them?  And as we all know, carbs convert to SUGAR once eaten.  That is why we are being very careful with our carb consumption, in case you were wondering!

Cutting sugar is easy!  If it's sweet, don't have it!  Carbs are sneaky little buggers, hidden in so many foods.  Shit, I plan on having gravy with my roast pork tonight, and it's really high in carbs!  Sad.  But, I'm still having some.  

Did I mention (Nah, I know I didn't)... Stew is doing all of this too.  He's a diabetic like me, and has not been exactly stellar in his 'diet' either.  So this is benefiting both of us.

So clearly no one knows why we have to prick our finger?  Oh well... I will have to google it... or ask an expert on diabetes!

I've got a bit of sewing done this afternoon... just as well it's a sit down activity, cos I have NO ENERGY at all.  NONE.

Dinner smells amazing... so hungry!

Well... our dinner was really good.  Very filling too... lots of veges.  2 hours after dinner I took my blood levels again... and got a nice, healthy 8.2.   Yaaaa... go me!

I did more sewing this evening too... but need to stop now, my back is killing me.
Signing off... time to relax for a while.

BIT OF THIS AND THAT, AND A WEE VIDEO TOO

I made another Soup Bowl Cosy yesterday afternoon, using some fabric I'd had for probably 20 years!
All was going well... till I tried to iron it!
It fucking melted!!!
So, I patched the melted bit, finished it off and threw it to Bex and said:

"Here ya go, you get the 2nds!"

ABOVE:  It's such a pretty bowl, she's going to use it to hold her skein of wool. 
The rest of that lilac fabric got thrown in the bin... it must be some sort of acrylic or nylon mix.  Ikkkky.



ABOVE:   A little video of the kids playing with the dogs yesterday.

Bex, Brylee and the kids will be leaving for Auckland around lunchtime.  After they leave, Stew and I will be doing the grocery shopping.
I also need to pop into Spotlight for more batting.

So the day is pretty much mapped out till mid afternoon.

ONWARD...

Observation:

If 'normal' blood sugar levels during the day are say 4-7.... mine used to always be around 6-8, with the odd high around 11-12.

I took my reading after lunch yesterday, having eaten a banana and SMALL handful of grapes for breakfast, a scotch egg and coleslaw for lunch and another small handful of grapes around 1pm. 

The reading was 16.6,  I freaked out!  Considering I'd not eaten any processed carbs or sugar AT ALL in three days, I expected it to be low.

So, I took another test late afternoon and to my extreme relief it was down to 7.8... and I took it again after dinner and it was down to 6.8.

PHEW!  Perhaps the lack of carbs/sugars AND the increase in metformin will work?

And perhaps I shouldn't be eating bananas and grapes either?   

I think I will be testing myself for a while to see what I react to.  The pricking of the finger is horrible, I cringe every time Stew goes to stab me, but I know it has to be done to make sure I'm on the right track.

SECONDARY ONWARD...

I took my 'fasting' test this morning.  Well Stew did the pricky thing!
And it was 11.5.  So not that good.
Then I had some No Sugar Greek Yougurt with some frozen berries for breakfast and had my Metformin.

I'm going to have lunch then test again.

I must have lost some weight already... my rings are spinning around on my fingers!

Well the family have left for home, and Stew and I are going to do the grocery shopping.  Griffin is staying home ... grocery shopping is not his thing.  NOT mine either, but some bugger has to do it.

I will be getting more steak, something I usually don't like at all.  But, we had rump steak last night and it was just so delicious!  Stew only cooked it for 2 minutes each side in a very hot pan... PERFECT!

4.35 pm:  SO HAPPY RIGHT NOW!
Stew just took my readings again (that prick hurt!), and after breakfast, lunch and doing the grocery shopping (exercise), my level went down to 6.4.
THAT means my pancreas IS working!  I am so bloody relieved.
THAT means I can control this with exercise and diet... I just have to be very, very careful what I eat from now on.

OMG I can't wait for my next HbA1c test in 3 months.  Maybe it will actually be GOOD?

I hope I'm not getting ahead of myself... there is still that big niggle there.

LYNDA:  With the 'number result' I got from my last blood test, the doctor said there was a GOOD CHANCE my pancreas had already totally given up, and was no longer working to produce insulin.

That is why I freaked out... because if I couldn't get my blood sugar levels to go down with diet and exercise, it meant INSULIN injections or a pump was unavoidable for me.

And that is why I am so thankful my recent daily testing is showing a drop, it means my pancreas IS still working.

Well... it's been a good day on a whole... lovely to see family... Russell and Ange called in late in the day too.
Signing off... catch ya tomorrow.

KIDDIES TODAY

Totally looking forward to today!

Bex is coming down with the little kids.

Just for the day though, she's picking Brylee up and taking her back to their's for the week.

A day full of cuddles will be wonderful... I really miss those kids.

Before they arrive, I have got to do some perfectly boring housework.  And tidy the 'spare' bedroom... it's a disgrace!
Seriously, it's become the dumping ground ... even worse than my sewing room.   If I remember, I will take a photo and show you how bad it is.

ONWARD...

I was just talking to Stew about how I'm feeling.  Cos I feel weird.
Like there is adrenalin running around my veins... all tingly?  I just feel WEIRD.
Like there is something 'wrong' inside me.

Would that be because of the extra metformin, the anti nausea medication, or my blood sugar levels dropping?

I hope it's not a bad thing.

Although I have NO ENERGY what so ever, I have managed to get the spare bedroom tidied up:

 ABOVE:

BEFORE

ABOVE:

AFTER

We now have room for the airbed when we have visitors, or two single mattresses for kids.

It's a good job done.

I might not get anything else done today, cos that was draining.

Cutting carbs and sugars sure depletes your energy!

There was a lady on one of the FBG walks last year who was doing the 'Ketogenic Switch' diet... similar thing... VLCarbs.   She nearly fainted on our walk from lack of energy and dizziness.

I can see that happening to me somehow.

Another lovely parcel arrived in the post today:

ABOVE:  Cookbooks from Marlene, another lovely friend up in Auckland.  Stew has already had a quick look, and I'm about to just sit back and have a good read.  I'm sure there will be lots of ideas in there for us.

THANK YOU MARLENE! ♥

So Bex just asked me if I'd heard from my other kids, bearing in mind I'm not well at all right now.

And I had to say 'NO'.  Not a word from any of them.  

Just as well I have plenty of friends eh?

Ha... made a mistake with the visitors only coming for the day.  They are staying the night, so Stew's gone out to get a bit more for dinner.  

Our dinner tonight is:

ABOVE:  Rump steak and veges.  There will be a cheese sauce over the broccoli and cauliflower too.  I'm drooling just thinking about it!  

Well... I tried another little pattern just now.  Had to do a bit of unpicking cos I buggered it up a few times... even though it was the most SIMPLE pattern ever!

Let's call it 'diabetic brain' shall we?  lol

ABOVE:  It's a 'Soup Bowl Cosy'... or in other words, it stops you burning your hands with a hot soup bowl!

I love it, and will be making more for my stall.

PAULA:  They will be $10 each.  I will have a selection to choose from in about 5 days.

I finally started feeling much better mid-afternoon!  Well... not so nauseous anyway.  I've still got that funny, tingly feeling in my body, but it's not bothering me too much.

Looking forward to a quiet evening... once the three small people are in bed that is.

Signing off... been a fairly good day today.

TOUGH DAY

Today will be difficult.
Saying 'Goodbye' to my friend J.
She lost her battle with liver cancer on Monday, after a valiant fight.

There will be a large contingent of us Fat Bottomed Girls going.  I am taking at least 3 with me that I know of... we are all car pooling.

We are all going to (hopefully), be wearing something small in purple, our FBG colour.

So, apart from that dominating this morning/lunchtime, I have no other plans for the day.

I expect I will get home feeling drained.   No one like funerals, they are so very sad.  I usually avoid them like the plague. 

Nothing else to add right now.

ONWARD...  

2.35 pm:  Been home for about an hour.  As far as funerals go, it was a lovely one.
Gut wrenching though.  There was a young girl in front of me who sobbed virtually the entire time, made it very hard to keep it together for me, and many others.
So very sad seeing a wee 9 year old boy help carry his Mummy's coffin into the chapel.

There was an amazing amount of us Fat Bottomed Girls there! So we all had plenty of support for each other.

God I hope I don't have to attend another funeral for years.  

By the time I got home, I desperately needed food, so I had some more of the muffins (1 only) and coleslaw.  I think I'm over coleslaw now!  God my brain just can't think straight right now on what else to eat!  

I'm so used to having bread/pasta/rice/potatoes.   Grrrrrr.

I arrived home to a parcel!
From darling Tracy up in Auckland:

ABOVE:  Tracy's daughter was using this sort of 'drink bottle' last time they were down here and I remember saying how awesome it would be to have one, as it would fit in my bag so much better than my round one.

And would ya look at that!  I now have one.

THANK YOU SO MUCH TRACY!   I will use it every day.  I ♥ love ♥ it.

ABOVE:  Almost forgot... she sent this adorable card too.  So happy and bright, needed that today.

OK.... everyone is saying it.  I AM waiting for an appointment at the Weight Management Clinic at Waikato Hospital.  They will be able to give me all the advice I need, and information on what I can eat.  

But in saying that, I am most appreciative of all the messages, emails and texts that you have sent me, giving me advice and recipes.  I have already make those amazing muffins suggested by Tania!

And I am expecting some Diabetes cookbooks in the post soon from Marlene too, which will be most helpful I am sure.

As I said the other day, I literally have 'Diet Fatigue'.... which means my mind simply closes down when I think of food/diets/limitations.  I am struggling to think straight.  I'm just so TIRED all the time.  (no doubt due to the HIGH blood sugar levels?)

It's horrible having to take so much more Metformin too... I have the SHITS all day and all night.  Thank god the anti nausea medication is working though!

Tonight we are having sausages, baked beans, spaghetti and eggs. The kids will have toast under their spaghetti.   It's Friday night.  Silly bugger dinner.

edit:  Stew and I did not have spaghetti!

It's been a long day... made worse by still feeling TERRIBLE.  Tonight even though I took anti nausea medication, I've felt sick all night.

Signing off for the day.  Hoping for a better day tomorrow.

YESTERDAY WAS CRAZY

YESTERDAY WAS:

CRAZY

CRAZY

CRAZY

BUT ...

I am so thankful for all the concern and support I was given yesterday.  I really appreciated it.
If you left me a Comment, Personal Message, Email, Text or rang.... THANK YOU!

I did not expect such a response!

There is going to be so much changing.  No little steps here!

If I'm going to get my numbers down in three months, I literally have to pull out all of the stops.

I'm NOT going on a diet.

I'm NOT adopting a 'Lifestyle Change'.

I'm going to live my life as a bloody DIABETIC, a diabetic who does NOT want to end up having insulin injections every day!...or any of the horrible consequences of having out of control diabetes.

That means all of the things I listed yesterday will be happening.

So... ON WITH LIVING MY LIFE.  

Thankfully, I love Meat.  Bacon.  Cheese. And most Veges.  And I will learn to like coffee too!  Cos coffee will help with the caffeine withdrawals from not drinking MUCH Diet Coke!

AND.... I am making a VOW right now.  I will NOT be getting on the damn scales for the entire 3 months I am working on getting my blood sugars down.
I will not let a number derail me, as it so often does!
So, no weight numbers.
At the end of 3 months, I will go to the Doctor, have my blood test and see what I've accomplished. 

It's NEVER going to be about numbers on a scale again.

I am MORE than a number on the scale.

AND... just remembered:  I'm NOT counting calories or 'points' either.  I'm just going to relax and eat when I need to, but keep an eye on my portions.  

Keeping it simple.

********************

Today I am making a fabric flower.  A Purple Flower to wear to J's funeral tomorrow.
Purple to represent our Fat Bottomed Girls 'bond'.  It was suggested we wear our FBG t-shirts, but I feel that would be too much.
I'm gunna wear a flower on my dress.

I will show you how it turns out... later.

Woke up this morning feeling exactly like I usually do.  Sick as a dog.  Nauseous and with no energy.  But, I'm hoping once my blood sugar levels drop that will change?

I stayed up far too late last night, as per usual.
A kind girl had given me the idea to make 'breakfast' muffins... so I made some.  At midnight.

ABOVE:  They came out perfect.  They are made with egg, milk, bacon, onion, tomato, cheese and fresh herbs.
I was outside at 12.30 am (it was freezing on me bare feet!), picking parsley and chives!  lol

I plan on freezing them individually, and just pulling one out a day.  They were going to be for breakfast, but I tried eating one this morning and I only managed one bite before literally vomiting!

Too rich for my stomach first thing in the morning.  They will be OK for lunch though.

So I need to re-think breakfast ideas.  Maybe just a poached egg? Or half a piece of wholemeal toast?  I know I should have something to take with the friggin Metformin!
It just needs to be something bland, so it doesn't make me throw up.

I had a visit from one of my FBG friends this morning.  Sarah has two daughters who have diabetes, so she came around to have a yak with me about it all.  And one of her daughters, who is joining the FBG's this year, is possibly coming around on Sunday to talk with me too.  

She's been heavily involved with Diabetes Waikato and is a nurse, so is full of information and tips.  She's happy to sit and talk me through different ideas to get my numbers under control, and food ideas too.

Sarah told me that walking around the Avantidome spectator gallery is a good walk... particularly when it's too hot outside.
So after she left I went out there, turned on my 'Map My Walk' app and did three laps.

According to Sarah, three time around the track equals 1 km.  Well... I did three laps, and this is what I got:

 ABOVE:  Now, bearing in mind the track is perfectly oval... and I started and stopped at the same point, Map My Walk stuffed up somehow!
And it recorded a distance of 0.28 km!
Wrong obviously.  
I will do it again tomorrow and see what happens.
edit:  I actually ended up doing 6 laps, but didn't bother to record after the first three as it was obviously not working properly.

 ABOVE:  It's an amazing facility!  So big.  It will be perfect for walking over winter if I don't want to get wet, or join a FBG walk on a particular day.

I found it quite hot inside there today though, it was airless.  Sarah thought they had air conditioning... but if they do, it wasn't on today.

ABOVE:  Bex sent me these photos of the little boy's haircuts.  I nearly cried.  Archer no longer looks like a baby, he's a BOY.  So sad.

  ABOVE:  Bex had a go at trimming Keera's fringe (bangs)... I think she did a damn good job of it!

I made some purple felt 'fabric' last night, I'm waiting for it to dry so I can make it into a flower to wear tomorrow.  I might have to start ironing it to speed up the process!

ABOVE:  Start to finish on making felt.  It takes a bit of time, and arm exercise!  Lots of rubbing.  Tiring, but hopefully worth it.  I can't wait for it to dry so I can get creating.

OH and I am ALREADY RENEGING on coffee drinking!  I can't stand it, weak or strong... I've had 3 cups full now... and feel like puking. So, I will have to stay on Diet Coke.  It will have to be my one and only vice in life.

I don't know why I 'HAD' to give it up anyway?  Sure, it probably increases one's desire for sweet things, but I can resist, I WILL RESIST!

No comments on the issue of Diet Coke please, I've heard them all before.  If it hasn't killed me in 25 years, it's probably not going to.

ABOVE:  This is the flower.  I know you can't see the three dimensional aspect, so it doesn't show up as well as it could.  I went for a 'rustic' look, as opposed to 'perfect'.  The aqua heart is a nod to J's love of that colour.

Dinner tonight was one of those bacon 'n' egg muffins chopped up into some coleslaw.  Much more palatable that way I must say.

Stew had the same, and the  kids too, only they added potato to their dinner.

Signing off... catch ya tomorrow.