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It's going....but going slowly. Keep fingers and toes crossed. Hopefully I'll have it up and running in a few days.

Moving to my own DOT COM

Living by the Meter is moving to its very own DOT COM

livingbythemeter.com

I have a wonderful guy at blogrescue.com helping me with this....need blog help? Web hosting? Go....see him....he ROCKS

So stay tuned....

I’m in Beta hell

Sometimes I wish I could just leave well enough alone…. but that would be someone else’s life not mine. In a moment of stupidity I switched my blog to the new (and not completely improved) Google Beta version. As you can see if you look at my sidebar, I am missing a few elements (like my Diabetes OC and Super Diabetics navigation bar) and this beta version is not yet set up for html editing which I would have known if I had had my snack and had read the entire description. Yes I’m blaming it on low BG and yes that IS the story I’m sticking with.

To comment on my blog until they fix this thing (or I get fed up and move my blog somewhere else) you will need to comment as anonymous….unless you are also in beta hell right along with me….in which case….what the hell were YOU thinking?

Cha, Cha, Cha, Changes

I had a great birthday weekend with just the right amount of fun and solitude. Friday after I dropped Sweetness off at pre-k I went to the hairdresser down the block and chopped off all my hair. And I mean ALL MY HAIR. I’ve had long hair forever…. down my back ending at my waist. It’s naturally curly although for years I didn’t think it was curly enough so I tortured it with a perm…. no I don’t know what I was thinking and yes I did end up looking like little orphan Annie. For the last 10 years or so I’ve just let it grow, getting it trimmed every once in a while and hacking at my bangs (yes I have bangs) when they got in my eyes. I’ve always had haircut anxiety so walking in the beauty shop was a major move on my part…. and then telling her to cut it ‘just above my shoulders’…well big bold move. I can’t say that I liked it right away…Stephanie (that’s who cut it) styled it and I knew I was in trouble when she got out the round brush and started making comments about Reba and Dallas. I walked away looking a bit puffy with not a curl in sight and when I walked in the front door of the house the look on Mr. Man’s face said it all. I marched right into the bathroom, stuck my head under the facet and scrunched until my head was full of curls. I like it….really really like it.

Friday night the daughter and I went to Carrabba’s Italian Grill, my favorite restaurant of all time and I confirmed that I can indeed go out to eat and still maintain tight control over my diabetes…GO ME. I had one and a half pieces of their yummy warm bread dipped in olive oil and spices, an Italian salad and Spiedino di Mare (shrimp and sea scallops coated with Italian breadcrumbs, grilled and topped with lemon butter sauce), garlic mashed potatoes, sautéed spinach, a glass of red wine and (I skipped the tiramisu) a bowl of vanilla ice cream with caramel and nuts that the daughter and I shared (the waitress and staff put a candle on it and sang happy birthday in Italian to me). I split my dinner in half and asked that it be boxed up so I could take it home (and I had that the next night for dinner…. oh so yummy the second time around). I tested before dinner and was at 82 and then tested again right before I went to Joyce’s to get in the hot tub about 80 minutes later and was at 135… within reason and I can handle that just fine, thank you very much.

Saturday I went shopping for ME stuff and bought myself a calligraphy set…. because…. well I have no idea why…. just wanted it…so there you go. A pair of shorts (size 14…woohoo) and new bra (like you really needed to know that) and some new makeup (I’m not a big makeup wearer so why I felt I really NEEDED to buy makeup is another mystery…. but what the heck). Mr. Man and I stayed home and because this is a ‘G’ rated blog (and because my mother reads this) I’ll refrain from any more detail on that. **Evil grin

Sunday I did girly things…painted my nails, messed with my new hairstyle, tried on all the old clothes in my closet that I saved because I was sure that I’d once again be thin enough to wear them…. I am and I’ll bet if I wait ten years or so they might actual come back in style. Threw away a bunch of out of date clothes, because I don’t feel like waiting ten years or so for them to come back in style. Went to dinner at John and Joyce’s and then came home and spent the rest of the evening reading, knitting and practicing calligraphy.

So I’ve decided to stay on the 850mg (x2) of Metformin instead of asking Dr. N to lower the dose…. last week I was riding in the 80’s and 90’s all the time and for some reason I thought it was time to drop my dose, but I think I just wasn’t eating enough to make my BG go up at all…. that might also be part of the reason I’ve hit another weight plateau…. my body thinks I’m starving it. This week I’m it the 90’s and 100’s…. go figure?

Oh and that whole not smoking thing…. sucks. I’ve broken down and had about 10 cigarettes since the 18th.

My Mom

I love my mother…she’s always been more of a friend then a parent and for us that works well. We have the same views on things, we have basically the same kind of sick sense of humor and I don’t think I’ve kept many secrets from her…. there simply wasn’t the need to; she isn’t judgmental.

She reads my blog and sends me emails about what I’ve written and I think that’s kinda cool, I like the fact that she gets a glimpse of this part of my life. She's also a diabetic and she’s had her disease under control for many many years so that gives me hope…..all in all she’s a wonderful woman. ::waves at mom::

So in the spirit of love I really need to say....

For the last three days she’s been sending me ecards counting down until my 46th birthday. I’m going to go with the flow on this….but…..MOM? If you do that when I turn 50 I’m going to smack you…..mmkay? I love you…**Smooch**

Ps….my mom is 22 years older then me….you do the math. **evil grin**

It’s my birthday tomorrow

I’m betting that my friends and family are going to be glad when it’s over since I’ve been reminding them daily for about a week now. No more sitting quietly and waiting for the day to come hoping that I get what I want… nope if you want something you gotta get it yourself. I’m not talking material things…. I’m talking about going out and spending time with the people I love…. spoiling myself or being spoiled by others. So this year I took the bull by the horns and let them all know what I wanted.

I’ve basically been celebrating for days. I’m starting my weekend tonight, not going to work Friday or Saturday. The daughter is taking me to my favorite restaurant tomorrow night because Mr. Man has a gig and I don’t feel like sitting around a hole in the wall beer joint from 7pm to 2am watching him play. I’ve spent too many birthdays and holidays that way and this year I just decided to say no thank you. He and I will go out Saturday night instead.

Tonight I head to Donna’s…. then tomorrow I’m getting my haircut (because it’s down to my waist and I’m sick of it being that long) then I’m going to go to Lisa’s and drop off Sweetness and light…. dinner with the daughter then back to Joyce’s and in the hot tub with a glass of wine.

I haven’t gone out to eat since my diagnoses and I’m a little hesitant. This restaurant has the best bread in the world that they serve warm with olive oil and herbs for dipping. I could eat nothing but the bread and be a happy camper…. ah but if not for the dreaded “D” word. They also make garlic mashed potatoes to die for…. and tiramisu…. oh yummy…. and a chocolate martini. All things I really shouldn’t have…but I’m going to have a little bitty bit of. Because it’s my birthday damn it. And yes I do plan on testing…and yes I’m planning on splitting my meal in 2 and taking half home (and no I will not eat it in the middle of the night…but I’m not promising that I won’t open the frig and look at it longingly)

If it sounds like I have all this planned to a tee…. it’s only because I do. I’m determined to have a wonderful weekend…. and I’m determined to make it all about me…. for once.

Oh and in the middle of having a ‘Me-fest’…tomorrow is my quit smoking date. We’ll see how that goes.

In the big scheme of things…

diabetes is no big deal. It could be so much worse. I could have lymphoma like Anthea who lost her very short battle with it on Friday.

Anthea had a shop in Austin for years…. she made the best incense and candles and oils. She made jewelry and baths salts and was a very gifted reader. And she was my friend. And we were in the middle of opening a shop together… and then she got sick. A month ago I bullied her into seeing a doctor. We were certain it was her gallbladder, just like what I had gone through a few years earlier. Piece of cake, get it taken care of and be done with it. Only that’s not what it was at all….

So she went into the hospital and it was decided that chemo and radiation was the way to go and she cut off all her hair in anticipation and resolved herself that at best this was going to be a long hard road and we all prepared ourselves. But it wasn’t a long road, even though it was a hard one and two weeks into the treatment the doctors told her they wish she would have come in 5 years earlier and how very sorry they were but there wasn’t any more they could do….

And we moved her to hospice…. and we took turns being with her…. and she made her wishes known…. and we talked and talked about all our wayward plans….and we cried and we laughed and we hugged…..and she died.

We’re cleaning up the pieces of the life she left behind….all her unfinished business ….and we’re packing up her belonging with the lists we made with her at the hospice, gifting the people she loved with the things she wanted them to have and we’re trying to move one foot in front of the other.

Cancer sucks and in the big scheme of things diabetes is ‘doable’.

Random stuff for a Saturday

It’s been so hot here that walking in the evenings is a pain in the butt. I have issues with sweating…hate it…. but it isn’t cooling down much at night and last night it was still 90 degrees at 8:30 so Joyce and I forgo the walk and I rode my exercise bike in the semi comfort of my bedroom with AC humming along. I say semi comfort because my wall unit AC in the bedroom is on its last legs and spitting out lukewarm air at best. Keeping my fingers cross that it makes it through the summer since I can’t afford to buy another one right now…. and I really HATE to sweat, don’tcha know.

I broke down and bought 3 new (to me) pair of shorts yesterday at our local ‘Thrift Town’. $4.99 a piece and then 50% off of that and no tax because it’s a tax free weekend…. score! None of my old clothes fit anymore and I was sick of the baggy derelict street urchin look…. ok not THAT bad but close. My shirts I can deal with being a bit too big but the pants falling off wasn’t a look I was going for. I’ve gone from a size 18 to a size 14, which is a loose comfortable fit. And pretty soon I’ll be able to crack walnuts with my thighs…:-p

The city left a notice on Joyce’s door last night that we need to boil our water. Didn’t leave a notice on MY door…. hit every single one of my neighbors…. but not my house. I’m pissed beyond belief. Had this been a bigger city where often neighbors don’t know each other I would have never found out. The granddaughter and I drink a ton of water…. the dogs drink a ton of water…Mr. Man drinks…. ahh…. well I drink a ton of water. I’m grabbing a 10-gallon water bottle from work, which should get me through until Monday.

This morning I was woken by a bellowing sound coming from the bathroom…. it sounded something like….”hey…we’re out of damn toilet paper” which was my cue to grab the first thing I could find to wear, tie my hair back in a ponytail and I headed out to hunt for TP. Thinking I’d kill a few birds with one stone I picked up a few gallons of water so Mr. Man and Sweetness and Light won’t dehydration before I get home from work, the TP and then because deep down I’m passive aggressive and I’m not at home with Sweetness today…. some chocolate donuts for her to have for breakfast. While I was at the counter paying the clerk I noticed that the security camera was focused on my butt…. ok not just my butt, but I got a full-length picture of ME from the back. It took me a minute to recognize that it was indeed ME…. I mean there really aren’t a lot of pictures of my backside out there…. Thank the Gods. For the first time in a long time I didn’t look and cringe. I’m thinking that’s a step in the right direction.

My mother (hi mom…:::waves::…) told me about this I’ve actually had Agave before…. Agave Margaritas are to die for….oh so yummy. But I hadn’t thought to use it as a sweetener. I’ll have to check it out since I loath the taste of Splenda.

Thanks all for now….

Yep…still here

The daughter’s car is broken again. My best friends granddaughter was the victim of shaken baby syndrome and her son-in-law now finds himself in jail as a result. One of my employees and I are not seeing eye to eye…. on anything…and are fighting like cats and dogs. Krystal and her boyfriend are moving over 600 miles away. The city is giving me a hard time about Mr. Man’s classic car parked in our driveway and wants to fine us $2000 if we don’t either put it in ‘our’ garage or behind a 6 foot fence both of which the city has refused to give us a permit to build. My friend and soon to be business partner was just diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and is in the hospital undergoing chemotherapy.

Stress…big time and all over the place and as a result my BG has been big time all over the place. Not just weird highs but strange lows. I’ve had a hard time predicting what my BG will do. How much fun is that…. and in the big scheme of things when you consider child abuse and cancer my BG levels being askew is minor.

I’m finally really truly at 160 pounds and according to Dr. N I only have 20 pounds left to lose…. I’d like to lose 25. It’s been slow going and I’ve had moments of discouragement, which is what I get for being impatient. My hatred of exercising has once again reared its ugly head. I haven’t walked in a week and all my exercise bike is doing is collecting dust…. (Note to self…. DUST ALREADY…. sheesh…slob).

My smoking quit date is 18 days away (as is my 46th birthday). What in the hell was I thinking choosing my birthday as my quit day? I’m buying packs two at a time because of this handy ‘buy one, get one free’ thing that camel has going on…. really not conducive to quitting…. but it’s ‘buy one, get of free’ for Pete’s sake.

and now for something a little different: YUMMY

GRILLED RIB-EYE WITH TOMATO SALAD AND CHIMICHURRI SAUCE
Salad:
4 medium tomatoes cut into wedges
½ cup of thinly sliced sweet onion
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon ground pepper

Steak:
1-pound boneless rib-eye steak, about 1 inch thick, trimmed of fat and cut into 4 portions
½ teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon ground pepper
Chimichurri Sauce

1) Preheat grill to high
2) TO PREPARE SALAD: combine tomatoes, onion, oil and vinegar in medium bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
3) TO PREPARE STEAK: rub steak with oil, season on both sides with salt and pepper, grill 3 to 4 minutes per side for medium rare. Let it rest for 5 minutes and serve with salad on the side and a dollop of Chimichurri sauce on top.

Chimichurri Sauce:
1 cup packed flat-leaf parsley leaves
1 small clove garlic chopped
3 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon ground chipotle pepper or cayenne pepper

Chop parsley and garlic on the cutting board together until finely minced, put it in a bowl, add the oil, vinegar, salt and pepper, stir….

It makes 4 servings....307 calories 18g fat, and most importantly 9g carbohydrates!!

Ok….just checked my BG….73….off to eat a PBJ sandwich….and yes I know how anti climatic that this.