Still Alive...

Hi All!

I know it's been an off and on couple of months for me here and I apologize for that. I really love writing these posts because it gives me an outlet for getting out things that I'm happy, sad, excited or stressed about. However, it's been a few weeks because again, I haven't been feeling well.

I had some minor surgery this week. I still had a catheter in my chest that I was using to get high doses of antibiotics a few years ago, but it wasn't working. They never took it out because it would've been an unnecessary risk of infection and they decided if it wasn't bothering me, we wouldn't bother it. Well, it started bothering me about 2 weeks ago and was making me really sick so it had to come out. It's not a huge surgery but enough that I decided to go spend a few days with my mom and step dad and let them take care of me. I NEVER do that. I mean never. I've had a million several of these exact surgeries in the last 6 years and have always just wanted to go right home. It's done under general anesthesia but I didn't care, I wanted my bed. This time though, I just wanted to be around people. I don't know if it's because I'm getting older or what, but it was actually really fun spending time at mom's.

This is going to be a fairly short and rather boring update but I'll be back either later today or tomorrow with more but I do want to leave you with a quick weight update...

I've been doing pretty well actually lol Since going primarily gluten free (more on that later) I've been making pretty good choices food wise and have lost now a total of 21 pounds since August. It's definitely slow and steady but I'm soooo ok with that lol A loss is a loss and it's 21 pounds that will be gone forever...hopefully lol

Until next time I'll leave you with a couple pics from Niagara Falls! My daughter and I went to visit a college there and took a quick trip to the Falls. I live literally an hour and a half from them and have only been a handful of times in my life! One of those times it was just the kids and I and honestly, it's probably one of the BEST days we've ever had together. We had such fun at a time when we really needed it. I was at my sickest...on dialysis, in and out of the hospital and sick nearly every day. I'd woken up that day and decided we were going to take a trip up there. I gathered our birth certificates and we were off. We went to the Canadian side because there's so much more to do there and we did it all! Anything they wanted to do, we did. I was so exhausted but, I wanted the kids to have one really great memory of a time we were together. I don't mean this to turn into anything morbid but like I said, I was at my sickest and we weren't sure if I was going to make it to the transplant. I wanted my kids to have a great memory of the 3 of us doing something fun together. It was something I will NEVER forget.

We haven't been since and it was just Becca and I this time but, we had lunch and spent about 1/2hr checking out the Falls then turned around and went home. It was a good day-even though it would've been great if Robbie could've been there.

The American side of Niagara Falls-Oct 2012

 I hope I still have some readers and that you're doing well!

Until next time...

Nice Fall Walk

Hi ALL!

I hope you're all having a good weekend so far. This week has been one of a lot of research and it's only just begun...

My daughter and I have officially begun eating completely gluten free-much to the dismay of my 14 year old son!! No, it's not just to lose weight, though I've heard some people HAVE lost weight on a gluten free diet but that's not why we're doing it. For me, I've had severe iron deficient anemia for about 2 years and it's completely unexplained. I've had all kinds of tests and everything's coming back totally normal (no internal bleeding, I take massive amounts of supplements daily, etc...) After doing a lot of research and speaking with my Dr it's been found that many people with Celiac disease or people who have gluten sensitivities are not able to absorb dietary iron and once gluten's been eliminated, the iron levels increase. At this point I'm so tired of the miserable side effects of having practically no iron in my blood that I'm willing to try anything and everything.

As for my daughter...she's been suffering with daily stomach aches, again unexplained, for about a year and a half. After doing all the research I've done for myself, I started to look at a gluten sensitivity as something that may be her issue as well. So, even though she's a serious bread lover, she's stuck to it 100% this week (with one small mistake) and shockingly, after being gluten free for  only 3 days, she's had not one stomach pain!!! Her only mishap was when she ate the granola on her fruit and yogurt parfait. She was out with friends and wasn't even thinking since she only really thought of gluten being in breads and about 20 minutes after, she was sitting in class and got that miserable pain in her stomach again and that's when she realized what she did.

So...I think we're gonna make this a permanent way of life. I'll be getting some blood work done in a couple weeks to see if it's helping me at all.

The next phase of my "research" is reading the book "It Starts With Food" that I mentioned in my last post. I really want to begin a new challenge. Since the "Lose a Marathon" challenge, I've realized I do much better with my eating when I have something I'm actually working toward. The Whole30 program is exactly what I need. I haven't gotten the book yet but when I do, it's on like donkey kong!!

My daughter started a new job teaching young kids swimming lessons and it's right near this beautiful walking trail along the Erie Canal. Friday I brought the dog and while I waited for her to finish-about an hour-the dog and I walked along the canal and took in some of the beautiful fall scenery.

Enjoy a few pics!

I love seeing all the fall colors and leaves on the ground

This path goes along the entire Erie Canal for 78.8 miles!!

My dog Addie trying desperately to get to the ducks!! LOL

While the trees started changing about a month ago, we still have quite a ways to go because there's still an awful lot of green!

That's it for now, I'm gonna get some sleep. Have a great Saturday night!!

QUESTION:  Does anyone have any experience eating gluten free or have friends/family who are gluten free? I could really use some guidance, especially with meal planning. Feel free to comment here or email me...Bwarner1972(at)gmail(dot)com

Thanks!

Until next time...

I Will Not TRY

Hi All!

I hope you had a great weekend! It's been getting chillier and chillier around here and I'm LOVIN' the fall weather! The temps are getting down into the low 40's at night and even though I'd love to have someone to cuddle with (insert "awwww"'s here lol) I'm just fine with throwing some extra blankets on the bed and curling up with a book for the night.

The kids and I went to an Apple Farm yesterday since they had off from school and it was a relatively nice day. I thought they had "pick your own" but they didn't which would've been cool to do but we did get some great apples and some yummy kettlecorn! I'm going to make some applesauce tonight to go with our pork chops for dinner. Am I the only one who LOVES applesauce with pork? For those of you old enough to remember, I blame Brady Bunch for my love of "pork chops and applesauce"!

I didn't take any pics cuz really, there wasn't much to take pics of :( but will certainly take some of the applesauce and let you know my reviews. I have only ever made it once but mom used to make it ALL the time when I was growing up so I don't think it's too hard...(she says in a tentative voice LOL)

Weight wise, I'm up 2 pounds and I'm not happy about it although I know why I am so I only have myself to blame. I've been eating a lot of salt lately and haven't been eating regularly. Today I'm back on track again after only a brief tumble off the wagon.

I read a post from a woman on another blog, Liz, who's doing an AMAZING job with her weight  loss last night. She is seriously an inspiration and you should really check out her blog-actually, it's not just her blog, it's called Prior Fat Girl and has 4 amazing people blogging. Jen, who's the moderator and owns the blog has lost and kept off a serious amount of weight and is so open about her struggles and successes. Seriously folks, check this site out for inspiration.

Allll of that to say, Liz was wavering about something I have been too for the past few weeks-the Whole30 program/Paleo-style of eating. I've been seeing a lot about this lately and one of my best friend's swears by it. Its helped his little girl who was had eczema and some stomach problems. I told him some of my concerns and why I'm a little hesitant (all of them revolving around "but I loooove bread and cheese" or "it's sooooo strict") and his replies to me where interesting. I completely expected him to agree with me and tell me I was right. He didn't. He did what a good friend is supposed to and told me the truth.

He told me 2 things:

1. You'll never know until you start. He told me he chose the word "start" for a reason and not the word "try". When you say you're going to "try" something, that gives you an out.

 "I started the program but I cheated last night. Oh well, I tried"

He told me I had to decide whether or not I really wanted to do this program (the Whole30). Then, once that decision was made I had to either let it go and stop obsessing over it or I just needed to start it. Duh. Why the hell didn't I think of that???

Then he said...

2. "There's always going to be a reason not to make changes in your life. There will always be something holding you back from doing things you want to. Why not stop thinking of all the reasons why you can't and start thinking of all the reasons why you should".

Again, DUH

I realized I wanted him to tell me what I wanted to hear, even if that wasn't what was best for me. He's a good guy and tells me the truth whether I want to hear it or not. He tells me what I won't tell myself and dammit, he's right!! I hate that! lol 

So, I ordered the book and hope it comes soon so I can get to reading! Until then, I'm starting to make what changes I can in anticipation and will update you as I continue the process. I'm nervous but, that's not a bad thing.

I hope you're all having a great day!

Question: Do any of you follow the Paleo lifestyle or have tried it in the past and if so, what are your thoughts??

Until next time...

Oops I forgot to mention...

Hi All,

One last thing that I forgot to mention in my last post...I've been participating in the Foodie Pen Pals that Lindsay over at The Lean Green Bean founded and coordinates monthly. I'll have some pictures and general info about what I've sent out and the GREAT stuff I've received coming up in another post. It's been such a fun experience and have gotten some really great things from even greater people across the country!

Check it out!

Until next time...

It's about time don't ya think???

Hi All!

Ok. It think it's pretty obvious I haven't been around in, well, quite some time. The honest truth is that after I got so sick, I really didn't have too much to talk about here. But...I'm back and have 2 months worth of things to share with you so it's gonna take a little time and a few blog posts.

1. My weight.
This is actually going very well I'm happy to say. I've lost a total of 14.2lbs and I'm still going. I attribute my motivation to the Lose a Marathon weight loss challenge that Jess over at Run With Jess was sponsoring all summer. It's over now and while I didn't lose the full marathon (26.2lbs), I did lose a half marathon and I'm super excited about that. I'm continuing with Weight Watchers and getting weighed in (although I have to admit I haven't been going to meetings and that simply has to stop!) and even bought their ActiveLink.

From the Weight Watchers website:

"Activity is every movement of your body, and the Activity Monitor registers all of it by measuring your body acceleration in all of your movements. The focus is not on any specific activity or exercise that you do, but on how much you move throughout the whole day. Therefore, wear the monitor all day! Because it’s waterproof, you can also wear it in the shower, ocean and swimming pool. There is no need to wear it when you sleep."

 You plug it into your computer when you get it and it starts an initial analyzing phase for 7 days. It keeps track of what your normal day's activities are and after the initial phase, it sets a goal of how many activity points you should try to earn every day and you enter into a 12 week Challenge. When you plug it in you can see graphs of what times of day you're active, how many Activity Points you've earned that day, what percentage of your daily activity you have accomplished and you can even go into your graphs and label which activities you did when.  I'm not really doing it justice but it's REALLY cool and it gives you such an accurate depiction of your day which I really like.

Ok, I admit there is one treat I've found that I've only just tried this week that is beyond anything I've EVER tasted out of a little package lol It's not something I'd eat on a regular basis because it's really not great for you BUT...for me, it's built in portion control and instead of baking and eating a whole cake (nd its raw batter shhhhh lol) or a dozen cupcakes that will inevitably get eaten (mostly by me) this is perfect. Each small package comes with 3 little pieces (about the size of a bon bon) and taste exactly like the Betty Crocker cakes and frosting. YUMMY!!

Betty Crocker Devil's Food Bites-in case you can't read it they're a
"creamy mix of cake & frosting dipped in a chocolatey coating"
Serving Size:3 pieces, Calories: 200, Fat: 9g, Carbs: 28g, Protein: <1g
Fiber: <1g

2. My kids.
There's not a ton going on with my son right now other than working on homework and getting back into the swing of the new school year. He didn't start until Sept. 10th so he's just finishing up his first month. He had baseball try outs already for his summer league which went well and he got onto the team he was hoping for. His 14th birthday is at the end of the month so he's pretty excited because he really wants a new bat-that costs a damn fortune!!

Becca's in her Sr year and we've been busy going on college visits. I'm still not feeling 100% so actually going on the campus walking tours has been difficult and have had to skip some. It's exciting for me to see how excited she is to take this next step in her life. College was such a huge part of what has defined me as an adult and while it's been a little emotional on my part (yes, more than a few tears have been shed lol) it's also soooo exciting!!

 These are a few pics from the beautiful area where 2 of the colleges my daughter is looking at are located. There's a large state park in the southern tier of NY state called Taughannock Falls (pronounced Ta-con-nik) So gorgeous!!!

(Sorry for the horrible photo quality. It was a really sunny day and I didn't have the right settings on my phone camera!!)

Taughannock Falls Ithaca, NY

Taughannock Falls Ithaca, NY

 She also got her Sr pictures done and let me tell you, that was an all out cry fest!!!! After the photoshoot was over, they took about 15 minutes to pick the best ones and do their magic with them. They put us in a room and all of a sudden my baby was on the HUGE 60" flat screen tv in front of me and wow...just wow. That was an experience I will NEVER forget. I sobbed. Heaving, can't catch my breath sobs. Embarrassing? Yup lol But I didn't care. To see my daughter, looking so mature and gorgeous was just an unreal experience. Honestly, I can definitely wait the 4 years until we do the same for my son because this was enough of a meltdown to last those 4 years lol

Becca-Sr Pic Class of 2013

3. Future Plans/Health
Well, I don't really have any future plans yet but I'm working with my Dr's to hopefully find the reasons behind my severe iron deficiency and anemia. It has literally made it impossible to work-hell, it's almost impossible to even do daily tasks without gasping for breath. When you have such low blood counts and almost non-existent iron levels, the oxygen doesn't get where it needs to and causes shortness of breath and sometimes even passing out. I'm hoping we can get some answers asap so I can maybe start looking for a job. Actually, I've been looking, just to see what's out there already so when things are better, I have an idea.

Being out of work for 6 years is starting to make me crazy. I know I can't yet but it doesn't make it any easier. I have been thinking about going back to school-online. The only problem is, and I don't know if it's even a problem is that this year is supposed to be all about my daughter and her getting ready for college. I don't want to take a thing away from that kid. She's gone through so much in her life and has had to work her butt off for everything she's done and I wouldn't want to take even one second of her time to shine away from her. She's the one encouraging me though so I know she'd be happy for me if it was something I did but still, I'm having second-and third and fourth and fifth-thoughts about it. Hell, I still don't really know what I'd get my Master's or an additional Bachelor's or even a certification in. That's problem #2. But, it's something I'm thinking about.

Ok, I think that's more than enough for one day. I promise I'll be back at least every couple of days from now on but I'd really like to get back into posting at least once a day. I kind of needed a break and like I said, I really didn't have much going on. Now that I'm really working on my health and weight, I'll have more updates!!

I hope you're all doing really great and if there's anything new and exciting I need to know, please, gimme the deets!!

Next up: Foodie Pen Pals

Good Nutrition When Sick

Hi All!

I hope you're settling into an enjoyable evening at home. As promised, I'm gonna do a short post (ok, I'm going to try to do a short post lol) about how to get in some good nutrition when you just can't seem to keep anything down *sorry, TMI* or have no appetite due to illness.

DISCLAIMER: I'm simply giving you some suggestions I've found to work well for me through my illness and some suggestions my transplant dietician gave me. When you're sick, please consult your physician and make sure you follow their orders. What works for me, may not work for you or be in your best interest. I am NOT an MD, just someone with a lot of personal experience.

Ok, now that I have that out of the way, we're on to our regularly scheduled broadcast lol

Throughout the past 6 years, there have been many times when I can't eat or keep food down due to severe nausea or no appetite. That's what I've been going through since they started me on this super, heavy duty, kills your entire system, antibiotic when I was in the hospital recently. Luckily, my last injection is Sunday and hopefully, this will go away and I'll be able to eat again (although I'm not going to lie, the numbers on the scale have been great-if only it weren't just a tease!!)  When I went into kidney failure in 2006, I was assigned a dietician and she was wonderful in helping me figure out the best way to be able to eat and get in some good nutrition at the same time.

• Eat what sounds good. Ok, yea "Thanks Captain Obvious" (This is the phrase of the moment with my teenagers who would be completely mortified if they ever knew I said that out loud because I'm sooooo un-cool LOL) If you have a stomach bug or an extended illness that makes you have absolutely no appetite but every once in awhile something really sounds good...eat it! Even getting in something that may sound weird is better than nothing so go ahead and eat it (as long as you aren't on a restricted diet-again, consult your Dr)
• The colder the better. For some reason, its easier for people to get colder foods down and keep them down. I am one of those people. Luckily I learned this early in the game and have put it into play many, many times. Some of my favorites are:
• Fresh fruit and yogurt smoothies
• canned fruit that's been refrigerated
• cottage cheese (plain, with canned fruit or with a little splenda and cinnamon)
• regular cheese
• frozen popsicles (store bought or homemade)
• frozen yogurt
• applesauce
• cold hard-boiled eggs
• grapes and frozen grapes(one of my personal favorite!)
• fruited yogurt or even just plain yogurt (regular or Greek) Be sure there are Active and Live Cultures in the yogurt as these can help to regulate your stomach's pH. Here is a great blog post from one of my favorite blogs about this: http://www.3fatchicks.com/why-yogurt-with-active-cultures-helps-the-gut/
• fruit juices, lemonade, gatorade, Special K protein drinks and V8 Splash or Veggie juice
• pudding
• jell-o
• Ginger Ale or Ginger added to hot or cold tea *Ginger has been found to help with nausea due to illness or morning sickness*
• Other carbonated beverages-diet or regular-but it's better to stay away from caffeinated beverages
• Dry, bland foods such as:
• Toast-no butter but can progress to putting a little peanut butter or nut butter on as your stomach starts to feel better. This will give you a little added nutrition instead of just adding extra fat with butter. Could also eat it with a little bit of jelly or fruit spread.
• Soda crackers (Saltines) or other dry crackers. If your dr says its ok, eating the salted or lightly salted crackers helps give you a little sodium which tends to help you feel better, especially if you're a little dehydrated. *Please make sure this is ok with your dr*
• Cashews, Almonds or other nuts-again, salted or lightly salted
• Plain rice. Even a few tablespoons of plain rice can help settle an upset stomach.
• Dry cereal. Usually milk and other dairy products are harder to digest but dry cereal ( my favorite is Mini Shredded Wheat with the fruit in the middle!!) can be a great way to get in some vitamins and minerals.
• Pretzels-again, with a little salt
• Dry pancakes or waffles
• Soups-especially Chicken Noodle or other broth based soups. Try to stay away from cream based soups because they tend to be harder on your stomach. Unless something's really calling to you, then obviously, give it a try!
• Adding a little protein powder or dry milk to yogurts, soups, ice cream, cottage cheese etc Again I will say, make sure this is ok for your particular diet and with your dr but, this way, if you've been unable to eat much for a long period of time, you're able to get a little protein into your body which helps with healing. Here's a great article from Women's Health Magazine that talks a little about this: http://www.womenshealthmag.com/nutrition/foods-that-help-you-avoid-colds?page=1

There are some things you should try to avoid when having "tummy troubles". Spicy food for one is rough on the stomach. Of course, if it's something you're really craving, I'd suggest just trying a little at a time to make sure your stomach will digest it.

Eating small amounts, frequently throughout the day is also the best way to go. If you're used to eating only 3 meals a day with one or two snacks, you may want to try just eating a little bit every 2 hours. This is easier on the stomach and won't overwhelm it with large quantities of food. When you're sick or have a stomach bug, if you try to eat large volumes, your stomach's response is to get rid of it...that's what you're trying to avoid! lol

When I was in the hospital, I tried to make the best choices when ordering my meals-luckily my hospital has a great food program. They have tons of food choices, including low fat, low sodium, heart healthy, gluten free and vegetarian options. They have a "room service" type plan. You order your food from their menu when you're hungry and they deliver it to your room. Gone are the days of someone coming in the day before with 2 or 3 options for breakfast, lunch and dinner and make you order everything you're going to eat for the following day. Ugh I hated that!! lol

This was a staple on my daily menu this last time:

Amazing Fruit Plate with: Fresh fruit, cottage cheese, 2 mini muffins, canned peaches, skim milk and not pictured are a bowl of chicken noodle soup and a small dinner roll. I kept some of it in the refrigerator on the floor to eat if I got hungry through the day.

Yumm!

Since I've been home, I've been relying on some old standby's in very small amounts. Things like:

Greek yogurt with granola and berries (pic taken for an earlier blog post)

Frozen grapes (pic taken for an earlier blog post)

Greek yogurt (pic taken for an earlier blog post)

Yummy hard boiled eggs I made this morning. A great way to get a little protein in!

Fresh fruit (pic taken for an earlier blog post)

Ok, I think this is long enough so I'm gonna wrap it up lol Hopefully this post isn't something you'll need to worry about any time too soon but, it's good to keep in the back of your mind if you ever do. It's important to stay hydrated and get some nutrition in if you're sick and hopefully some of these tips will help you out a bit.

Have a great night!!

Until next time...

Crazy Few Weeks

Hi All!

Ugh, these last few weeks have not exactly been the best but haven't been the worst either. As I stated in my last quickie post, I'm home from the hospital but am still seeing a nurse daily for antibiotic injections and just generally check in. I'm not tolerating the antibiotic well and haven't really been able to do much other than sleep and go to my Dr appointments. The rest of the day is spent taking medicine for my stomach which puts me to sleep.

Sooooo...pretty much everything has been put on hold-which is incredibly frustrating. My kids are old enough (13 and 17) to take care of themselves for the most part but, I feel so guilty being home but not really available to help them, cook their meals, take them where they need to go etc. They don't complain and do what they can to help me but as a mom, you don't want your kids to have to mother you and take care of themselves as well. Not cool. But I'm only on the antibiotics through this weekend and they'll be done so hopefully, once I'm done with it, I'll start feeling better.

The other hard thing has been asking for and relying on others for help. I'm stubborn. Yes, I actually just admitted that lol. I'm stubborn and I like to do things myself. It's very humbling when you have no choice but to ask people to do things for you that you would normally do yourself-like grocery shopping, rides to dr appts and help with my kids. I've been doing it though. If I don't take this time to take care of myself, I won't be any good to them. (insert the "if you're traveling with a child, please secure your own oxygen mask before assisting them" airplane speech lol)Especially since the next few weeks will be filled with getting the kids ready for school and going on a few college visits with my daughter.

My family has been so helpful and I'm so very grateful.

I have a few other posts planned for later today and tomorrow. The first is the Foodie Pen Pal blog from July. I have just a few more things to add to it but it should be up later. It's a few days late, and I apologize but I just couldn't do it until now. I've received my new pen pal for this month and can't wait to go looking for things to send her next week.

Next I have a post about healthy eating when you're sick. Hospital food just doesn't get a fair rap and but when I was able to eat, they had some great options. Also, since being home and starting this new antibiotic, I haven't been able to eat or drink much of anything but have a few tips to share in case anyone is ever faced with the same issues (which I hope never happens!)

And the last is a Marathon Weight Loss Challenge update. LOL Obviously that's been on the back burner the past few weeks but I still want to keep up with it.

I will not post all of them today so I don't blow up the feeds of all those that follow my blog and so I don't completely bore you lol

I've missed you all and am still playing catch up with the blogs I read but never fear, that'll get done too! lol

Until next time...I LOVE this quote!! I can relate to this in so many ways!

How true is this???