Half Asleep

I wish my doctor would believe me when I tell him my thyroid is low and I not only need another lab test but an increase in my meds. I'm so tired I'm napping every afternoon and still falling asleep in front of the tv, some nights as early as 7 pm. I can't do the amount of exercise I need to do, even want to do, because I get part way through and experience severe muscle aches and tiredness as well as loose my "umph." Exercise isn't effective if you're just going through the motions without putting any effort into it. But the doc says I've been stable for 3 months and he feels there's no need for a test, no need for a med increase. Although even LabCorp finally dropped the reference range, my doc is one of those who feels any TSH level under 10 is fine and dandy. It doesn't matter if a patient has a TSH as low as 1.x and still feels like shit. His prescription is to eat less and exercise more. He gave me the same orders when I first complained about my chronic fatigue and hypoglycemia 25 years ago. Ah, an old story on this blog, not worth rehashing again.

Our main car, a 1996 (?) Toyota Corolla, is still at the garage as they try figure out why the brake lights stay on even though the brake isn't being depressed and the headlights aren't turned on. They already changed all the fuses and did a few diagnostics, but I guess it's going to take a while. A few years ago our other car, a Toyota Camry Wagon LE, had rear lights that wouldn't light, the opposite problem. It took four different garages before the cause was found and even then it was only partially fixed - the lights now come on but the inside light doesn't. That was the car that was hit twice in the left front bumper as well as was involved in the fireball when it was parked next to the garage when the gas station we had it at (for those electrical repairs) exploded. Aside from a few minor dings and discoloration in the back tinted windshield from the heat of that of that fire in 2003 the car is going as good as new.

Soup and homemade bread for dinner yesterday and today again. Butternut squash soup and bread yesterday, minestrone soup and sun-dried tomato bread today. Tomorrow is our 31st anniversary - pizza!

Gotta go get my Amazon order in. MXC discs 4 and 5 finally came out today, as well as Scrubs season 7. I still didn't finish watching season 4 on DVD. As soon as those discs were delivered the episodes started playing in constant rotation on Comedy Central. But MXC - a.k.a. Most Extreme Elimination Challange? We've been waiting for these discs for ages and will watch them at least a dozen times, then start with season one and watch them all over again.

Thanksgiving Already?

It's coming very soon. The first harbinger was all the sales in the grocery store and the "seasonal" aisle filled with pumpkin pie fixings and stuffing boxes. Then yesterday's newspaper had photos from the annual testing of the Macy's Parade balloons. And of course, all the Christmas commercials on tv and songs on the radio. Last night my fingers got twitchy and I almost pulled out my Brian Setzer Christmas album! Ack!

All this means I have to seriously start thinking about what we're going to eat that day. My husband said pizza, the kid prefers burgers or mac & cheese, I wouldn't mind a traditional turkey dinner but nobody wants dried out meat, so I suggested Bryanna's soy and seitan vegan turkey loaf, but my son wants nothing to do with either tofu or seitan and my husband reminded me that it makes a three pound loaf and only 2 of us would be eating it.

So, I may just do what I did other years and make up a bunch of side dishes. Everyone enjoys mashed potatoes, mashed sweet potatoes, roasted carrots and Brussel sprouts, peas, stuffing, and biscuits. I might even make up that mac and cheese. Yeah, who needs a dead bird.

The previous post asked if I will ever get back to 100% McDougall compliance, and I can honestly answer "No."

Life is too short, food tastes too good.

I live to eat, not eat to live. If all I wanted to do was eat to live I would eat the protein/enzyme slop they fed Neo in the Matrix movie. I go out of my way to find new recipes, to try new foods, to avoid repetition in my meals. If I'm served a bland meal, I'll finish it, but look around for something different to eat also, Dr. McDougall recommends eating bland foods and chosing the same 5 or so meals to serve over and over, to avoid stimulating the taste buds. I go bonkers eating the same things three days a week - pizza on Friday, spaghetti on Saturday and burgers on Sunday. I purposely make my pizza different every week, choose a different sauce and protein addition to the spaghetti, and different burger toppings, just to mix it up a bit. I don't even like eating the same "holiday" foods each year and have had Thanksgivings where we had mac and cheese and pizza on Christmas, just to avoid getting into a food rut.

I've found that no matter what food plan I choose to follow, my weight stays about the same. Looking over my off-line journals I've been within the same 10 pound weight range for almost 20 years. One year I was up 20 - that was the year I first injured my neck and had foot problems, both of which resulted in not being able to exercise or even *move* without pain. Two years later I was down 20 from where I am today, but that was the result of a starvation diet, eating 800 calories or less each day and still not being able to exercise as much as I had prior to my injuries. To this day I still can't do much exercise without injuring myself, aggravate an old injury, or cause a CFS flare-up which would put me in bed for a week. My weight isn't back to my all time high, just to where it was before I hurt my neck. I go up and down 10 pounds, sometimes within the same month. It's not going anywhere so I really should just accept it and not obsess over it, but after 55 years of weight loss diets, it's hard to stop.

Spending Like There's No Tomorrow

Unfortunately, it's all stuff we need. Fortunately, all of what I ordered helps lower my grocery store bills.

First was my twice-yearly Mail Order Catalog spending spree, where I bought more vital wheat gluten, nutritional yeast, cHreese, and a few pieces of Primal Strips. This replaces all the meat and cheese (and boxes of mac & cheese) in our house. I know Dr. McDougall is against soy-based meat substitutes because of the isolated soy proteins and plain old protein itself, but with my hypoglycemia I need to have readily available protein foods when the shakes hit, something that can be carried in my purse or coat pocket. It's better than grabbing a Slim Jim, right?

Next was Spices, Inc., where I stocked up on dehydrated tomatoes, peppers, and a few other items. Great for tossing into pizza dough to add flavor and nutrition, and some times the only veggies I get into my boys.

Then came something for mama that would help her eat less, further reducing grocery store bills. Another exercise video from Richard Simmons, Sit Tight. On days my arthritis and sciatica act up I use that as an excuse not to do any workout, not even Mindful Movements. Now I'll have a workout specifically designed to be done from a chair for those painful days.

Lastly, my annual SAF yeast order from the King Arthur catalog. I adore this yeast and nobody in my city even sells it in those expensive little packets, much less in bulk. Our city fathers banned warehouse stores, too, so even the cheaper brands are unaccessible without an hour's drive, so each year I order 2 pounds and keep them in the freezer.

With winter rapidly approaching, not to mention another Depression, I'll feel much better once my pantry is stocked up again.

Hippies!

I really wish I had saved everything from my past! It's all back in style now!

One of those things is cloth grocery bags. Back in the 1970's I was one of the few people in my city who brought my own tote bags to grocery stores. It was probably an article in The Mother Earth News Magazine that prompted me, and also gave me my first bag pattern. Okay, so most of the store managers insisted on also giving me my items in a paper bag and I could then do with it what I wanted, and I would usually step aside to a non-used checkout aisle and remove things from the paper bag and put them into my cloth bag, fold up the paper bag, and leave it. After a while it just became too time consuming, or I would forget to bring my bag, or our little family of two expanded, necessitating many bags, but over the years my using of the cloth bags fell out of favor.

Flash forward 25 - 30 years. Now some stores are offering incentives if you use your own bag, and in NYC they're thinking of charging a 5 cent tax per bag if you use plastic. Our mayor-elect (swearing in isn't until next week) also thinks it's a good idea and is thinking of doing the same thing. Ever since Earth Day 2008 local grocery stores have been selling their own bags - some are canvass, others are plastic, but all are ugly and have the store's logo prominently displayed. The prices vary widely, too. Some stores have them as low as 99 cents each, while others are charging an outrageous $10 or more. And they're cheesy and shoddily made, too. So many people are complaining how they have to buy new bags at least monthly to replace bags whose handles fell off or bags that ripped under the strain.

The solution to those problems is to make my own again. I have plenty of unused fabric in my stash, mostly novelty calicoes that I was going to use either for quilts or aprons but never got around to making. I also have a load of heavier fabrics that were bought ages ago from a fabric warehouse store that went out of business. I never used those fabrics for their intended purchases because being a "warehouse" that sold second-quality fabric and bolt ends there was some damage to every piece that wasn't noticed before purchase and probably hidden by the women who did the cutting. They never cut the fabric right in front of you - the cutting table was about 20 feet behind a counter along the back wall of the store so the employee's back was to you, blocking your view of the fabric on the table. Hey, it was the ONLY fabric store our city had for over 20 years, and since it closed, all we had was a non-closed crafting store that sold some fabric of almost similar quality but at 3 times the cost. That place lasted less than 3 years before the chain went bankrupt and we're now fabric-less again.

Anyway, my big job for next week is to start making my own fabric grocery bags again. My husband estimates that 12 should be plentiful, and both he and the kid, the 2 main carriers of said bags, prefer the traditional plastic bag style to the squared off tote bag with narrow strap style. They would also prefer a not-too-girly print or better yet, a solid color, but reversible will do if I insist on cutsie things for when I go shopping. I found exactly what I was looking for on this craft blog post. The instructor shows plenty of photos and gives clear, precise, step by step instructions on how to make a cloth reversible grocery bag in the plastic bag style, complete with its own built-in storage pocket so you can fold it up and tuck it into itself for a nice, neat package to tuck into your pocket or purse while shopping.



That reminds me of another thing owners of today's cloth bags complains about - carrying those empty bags around the store. Those tote-style bags are bulky, especially the plastic or plastic-lined ones, so if you have a lot of shopping to do and use a lot of bags they take up a lot of room in your already-bulging cart. Then you have to worry about someone swiping your bags from your cart when your head is turned. I've seen it happen. The same type of women who think nothing of leaving their purse in the wagon while they walk back to the next aisle to grab an item they forgot leave their empty bags unattended in the cart. I've seen people push their cart past the unwatched cart, grab a bag or 2, and keep on walking. Since everyone has the same ugly bag sold by the store, there's no way to prove ownership of the empty bag, because usually the same type of person who leaves her valuables unattended also never thinks to put their name in their bags.

So, if I get one a day done I'll be happy, but with everything that's been going on around here lately, I'll be happy to get one a week. I'll try photograph them as they're finished and post the pics.

November Menu Is Set

November Menu Is Set

It's been a crazy month so far, between the kid's job interviews and medical problems, the election, 3 doctor's appointments, lab and radiology (some for me, some for my son). Then the gloomy weather - I don't remember the last time I saw the sun. Oh, wait - it was as I was coming home from the opthamologist with my eyes fully dilated from the drops he gave me, and because it was raining when I went in I didn't bring my sunglasses so I was in pain for the next few hours.

And it's not over yet. My son is still waiting for the doctor to call him back with the results (He was out of the office at the time my son was told to call), and he still hasn't heard back from the job interview, but in that case she did say in 3 weeks and it's only been less than 2. I hope he hears something soon - his first student loan payment is due in 2 weeks.

And I'm still jerking myself back and forth between vegan foods and SAD (Standard American Diet). Don't get me wrong - I do love the healthy vegan foods that are available. It's just that some of it is so darn expensive! Rice milk is more than twice the cost of powdered skim; a batch of scrambled tofu costs about ten times more than 2 scrambled eggs; vegetarian sausage is more than twice the price of real sausage and sometimes has the same amount of fat, unless I make it from scratch. And I miss dairy cheese and yogurts. Not only are they much cheaper than vegan versions but they taste so much better.

But I really should avoid them. Tonight we were supposed to have this mushroom and barley thing, but my mushrooms turned fuzzy, so we're having burgers instead. I have no veggie burgers made right now so we'll have the turkey burgers that I have in the freezer. At least I have plenty of stone ground whole wheat burger rolls. I have plenty of fruit for snacks, especially bananas and apples, but have to get used to not putting peanut butter on them, or in my morning oatmeal. I made a tofu scramble this morning and felt guilty because of the price, but I was just so sick of oatmeal and needed a change.

And the dinner menus are not just chosen but printed out and hanging in the kitchen for all to see for the rest of the month. I have December's planned but not printed, too. Out of all these meals, every one is McDougall legal, as long as I eat cheeseless pizzas on Fridays, that is. :) This month we have 2 birthdays, and in both cases they want pizza, so again, a cheeseless pizza for me, with cheese for the birthday boys.

Our 31st anniversary is also this month. On the day of our wedding, my husband and I never got to eat dinner. As soon as the meals at the head table were served we were called by the photographer to get the cutting of the cake pictures. While we were gone the waitstaff cleared our plates! We complained loudly, even calling them idiots - Didn't they notice that every plate for the entire bridal party was untouched? They had no food left in the kitchen (Even the band ate their meals while we were getting snapped) so we were to go hungry. The kitchen helpers felt sorry for us and did give all of us a larger piece of cake each, but we were still going table to table asking our relatives if there was any FOOD. Our best man's mother and an usher's wife had some leftovers that they ate up, but the rest of us had to make do with some candy from the machine in the bar.

My husband and I were almost the last people to leave the reception. What the heck, we were paying for this party and not leaving for our honeymoon until the next day so why not?! As soon as we got to our apartment we popped a frozen pizza into the oven, put Tom Waits on the stereo, and started counting the money and signing the checks from the envelopes, as my mom was going to deposit it into the bank for us while we were gone. Every anniversary we go through the same routine - we eat frozen pizza while Tom Waits is playing on the stereo, and since we have no money we just count our blessings.

For You Monster Magazine Fans Out There

A read this plea today from bobbie on the Bad Movies group on Yahoogroups. For those of you who have memorized the script from every monster movie ever made, this is for you. For those who aren't fans, or are too young to know who Forrest J. Ackerman even is, go to his WikiPedia page or the Wiki page for his life's work, Famous Monsters of Filmland Magazine.


Some of you may have heard this, as it has been posted in several
groups. Forry Ackerman is very ill. He has pneumonia and, considering
his age, many of us are very worried.

If anyone would like to send a card to cheer him up, please mail it to:


FORREST J ACKERMAN
4511 Russell Avenue
Los Angeles, CA
90027

(Thanks to good fan Jeff for posting this.)