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This week we plan to continue enjoying a fun-filled holiday season even though our family and friends are not with us some of the time. Steve and I already began celebrating with a lovely dinner out at Lombardi's in Bellingham, followed by a lovely, though less professional, version of The Nutcracker at the Mount Baker Theater. We try to see A Christmas Carol or the Ballet and try to rotate each year. We've seen beautiful renditions of both in Houston and Washington, D.C., and are looking forward to the border opening so we can enjoy both in Vancouver eventually. Jake and his husband, Harald, arrived on the twentieth and just left today. We miss them already, but by mid-January, will see them in Hawaii. We had a lovely Christmas together. They spent much of their time skiing, shopping, and running around the area, so entertaining them was easy. They even did much of their eating while they were out and about and I prepared a few meals for all of us. Our son Stevie planned to join us. He lives in Austen, Texas, and works T-Mobile, so he was busy through Christmas eve, and headed to Bellingham on Christmas day. Unfortunately, a big storm hit the state, and his flight was delayed and then canceled for several days, so he gave up and went to El Paso to visit friends instead. We were disappointed, but that's life. Right? He'll come back this summer to fish and crab as usual. Our Christmas meal was traditional. Of course, I enjoyed the ham, turkey, and seven-layer salad, but abstained from the carb-filled items like yams and cornbread dressing. It's getting easier to avoid these foods, and I no longer suffer from carb cravings. COVID is impacting our traditional New Year celebration again this year, because our usual guests cannot attend. The border opened between the United States and Canada for a short time, so we hoped our dear friends from White Rock, B.C. might join us for New Year's Eve, as usual. We've not spent New Year's Eve together since COVID struck, and that was two years ago. However, it looks like they are unable to join us again this year because Canada has made crossing an expensive and challenging process since the emergence of the variant. We're happy that we spent several evenings together before the institution of new rules. Although we'll likely celebrate alone, we'll still make a special evening of it. I'm planning to create a New Year's meal that includes traditions from both the East and West Coasts. I'm having a seafood buffet, including shrimp scampi, baked scallops, crab pasta, and oyster bisque. We'll also have brisket, slaw, potato salad, and black-eyed peas. Hors d'oeuvres include pate, cheeses, and crackers. I'm still pondering deserts and haven't decided what to serve. We have several items left from Christmas dinner, and maybe I'll use those. More on that later. In the meantime, Happy New Year to all and I'm praying for continued health and prosperity in the coming year.
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Good news! My radical interventions worked and I've managed to get my weight loss going again. I shall continue doing things the way that they are working for now, because it's a big relief seeing the scale go down instead of remaining the same day after day. We're looking forward to several things this month, and I want to be prepared with a plan to manage holiday events. First, we are attending the Nutcracker in Bellingham. I'm not sure about the quality of the dancers, but we'll find out. We're not snobbish, but we have attended some remarkable performances, including several in Washington D.C. and then several others in Houston, so we're a little spoiled. We were hoping that the Vancouver venue might become available, but the border crossing is very inconvenient, requiring expensive testing along with other restrictions. Consequently, we decided to try the Bellingham performance, and hope we enjoy it as much as we have others in previous years. My husband and I try to rotate between The Nutcracker and A Christmas Carol every year, so next year we'll be looking for the Dicken's play. We both enjoy this seasonal tradition. Also, we'll have dinner at an Italian restaurant , so I've already looked at the menu and have decided on several items that will support my keto plan. We're looking forward to an evening out, and both of us enjoy dressing up and going out occasionally Next, our son and his husband are planning to visit and we're very excited. However, they are forecasting snow, and we hope it doesn't delay their flight. It will be lots of fun having them. Our son-in-law is from Sweden, and loves coming our way every year. Did I mention that they live in Hawaii? The weather there is fabulous year round, but it's nice to come to Washington every year during the holidays to enjoy the wintery season, and then return to paradise. We're planning to make the shift to Hawaii as soon as I am able to have the polyp removed. Oh, yes. I failed to explain that the doctor has to remove the polyp in the hospital because of it's size, location and shape. It is large, and flat and sits at the very end of the bowel, where the appendix lies. The doc suggested the possibility of having a surgeon take the end of the bowel off, but I think it's best to try it through a colonoscopy first. If that doesn't work, I'll move on to a surgeon. Actually, working with surgeon's in the VA hospital when I was young made me wary of them. Most were very mechanical and often careless, depending upon the nurses to watch for the human that they were working on, so I am happy to avoid surgery at every turn. I'll let you know how it goes.
Update: 12/22--The procedure is complete and appears successful so far. The Doc found another polyp behind the one that was so concerning and removed them both without incident, and no surgery is necessary. Both are benign. Thank God it's over and I'm good for another year. It took a while, but I've finally come to the realization that the Pino Grigio has to go, at least for a few weeks. Sadly, I've not lost any weight for more than two weeks, and it's clear that something is going wrong, and the Pino is the only carb-infested element in my diet. Therefore, I shall dispense with the wine for several weeks and see if it makes a difference. Fortunately, I've not gained either, but my goal is to lose weight until I reach the top end of my appropriate weight at a minimum, which is 159 pounds. Also, I'm going to try to jump-start my weight loss with additional fasting. I'm already doing the 16/8 intermittent fasting, but I don't think that's enough for my issues, which may include ruining my metabolism when I was younger by yoyo dieting. Current research seems to disprove this idea, but it is certainly more challenging for me to lose weight now. I'm not sure that these changes are permanent until I see how my interventions work. According to some, fasting has other benefits like lowering cholesterol and blood sugar levels. According to my most recent blood tests, both levels exceed the normal ranges. Also, several studies show that calorie consumption within a limited time frame prevents hypertension, so this seems like it is a good practice for anyone. I've had a relatively easy time sticking to the 16/8 fast and will continue doing that even as I fast for two days out of the week. For those who don't know about this, I will explain. Abstain from anything containing calories for sixteen hours each day and then consume your regular number of calories within eight hours. I've had moderate success with this, but now I need something more. If I continue with the status quo, I'm sure that I will eventually lose weight, but it will be slow, and I don't want to get discouraged. Therefore, I intend to add the 5/2 fast and do away with my daily wine consumption. Hopefully, the combination will get the weight loss going again. If this combination is successful within a few weeks, I'll continue until I reach my goal. Obviously, I will continue limiting snacks and remain within the keto carb limits. I am careful to consume plenty of vegetables, protein, and of course, the fats necessary to remain in ketosis. The 5/2 fast is simple. It requires fasting two days of each week. I plan to fast on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I chose these days because my exercise regimen is somewhat easier. On Tuesday and Thursday I don't lift weights. The literature recommends consuming no more than one-fourth of your average caloric intake on fasting days. Since I try to limit my calories to 1200 per day, I'll be having a maximum of 300 calories on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Again, literature shows that fasting several days per week helps control blood glucose, and that's a win for me. If necessary, I will change fasting days to accommodate things that might come up. We'll see how it goes. Wish me luck!
I began this week by preparing for a colonoscopy. What fun! Of course, preparation began days earlier with a COVID test to ensure I was not taking the virus to the medical staff. Then, fasting began twenty-four hours before testing, and drinking the horrid cleansing medication was an endurance event, but I got it done. On the day of the test, my husband delivered me to the clinic's front door, and they took my vitals and had me dress up in the hospital gown. Next, they inserted the IV portal for the drug that put me out. It was all relatively simple. However, to my dismay, the doc found a polyp that looked suspicious, so he did not remove it but biopsied it instead. I don't understand why he left it in place unless he thinks it might be cancerous. I certainly hope not. I never suspected such an outcome. I thought it would be smooth sailing, with a clean bill of health. So now I have to play the waiting game to find out what it is or if it contains bad cells. If it comes back negative, I probably have to go through the entire cleanse process again to have it removed. Ugh! The test results will be available in a day or so, so I'll be back later with the news. Oh, happy day! I just read the results of the polyp biopsy, and it is "noncarcinogenic." The polyp is benign! What a huge relief! I will return to the doc next week to find out the next steps. In the meantime, Steve is prepping for his procedure tomorrow. I'll be back with his news soon.
More good news today. Steve had no polyps at all, and so we're both in the clear for a while. Next on the agenda is our trip into Seattle to deliver my Dad's World War II-era artifacts that my sister and I sorted through and identified. Thankfully, the world-renowned Museum of Flight in Seattle wants the entire collection, so I will meet with them tomorrow morning and turn everything over. The director appears very anxious to acquire the items, and I'm pleased about that. It means that they will remain protected long after I'm gone. Also, the collection will be digitally searchable so that members of our family can access them by the Hartell name. The Museum of Flight is the best possible solution for protecting the items that my parents guarded their entire life. I am thrilled that the Museum's board recognized the historical value of everything my parents saved and that they will store and share the collection with others. |
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September 2024
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