Yes. I do owe you one.

I'm in the doctor's office a lot these days and I've made some observations. 

 

When dealing with aging parents or others in our life we should learn to

 

    Laugh with them while you have them. Not because you think its funny...because they do.
    Realize you are gettin up there too.

    Teach your young families that old folks are a blessing not an inconvenience.
    Show love in any way you can.

    Don't lose patience. Not too many years ago they had lots of patience with you.
    Don't speak muffled and always face them. Ears don't always work well as we age.

 

And with the younger set we need to remember

 

    To give them some room to learn.  They don't learn when you do it for them all the time.

    Let them explore safely.  We learn from trial and error.  If we don't try we won't err and then we won't learn.

    Let them make reasonable noise.  People in the room are generally way more tolerant than you think

    Let them socialize.  

    Letting them speak or smile will not mean they will think they can always talk to strangers. 

    Children need to learn when it's fine and when it's not. 

    Don't compare your child to others in the room.  All children learn and grow at their own pace.

 

~~~~~

 

Wednesday...

 

My fun food of the day was deer jerky.  I didn't eat any, but I made two trays full in my dehydrater.  I still have the old, old one.  Big and roomy.  I can do lots!  Now for some more deer meat.  Any hunters out there wanting to pass some on?

 

CJ came to see me with Mommy and Daddy.  He is just getting so big!  And he has the most adorable smile.  Little Corry, Jr. will brighten up any day!

 

I spent some time filling up the what not cabinet the kids gave me.  We needed to get some brackets for it and replace a missing shelf.  Not bad.  Not bad at all.  The brackets were in the garage already and the shelf was cheap.  Cliff went down the the nearby glass shop and they cut it and ground the edges while he waited for $5.  I love it.  I put some of my clear and color glass serving pieces in it.  Some were mine, some gramma's and some my mom's. 

 

I worked on a scarf for Kennedy. We had picked up the pretty yarn when we went to the craft store for a birthday gift.  Pretty teal and pretty purple both with a silvery stip in them.  Yes.  If you give me the yarn, I'll be happy to make one for you too.  Or...I still have tons in my totes for sale.  This winter might not have been great for selling them, but there's always next year.

 

Meals today were a little off.  Since I got my lip worked on and it still has stitches, eating just isn't real fun.  I knew I'd need to get in my protein, so instead of a regulation breakfast when I got up, I had baked rigatoni.  It was homemade so I knew how much fat and salt was NOT in it.

 

For my lunch, I thought I'd try a soft pretzel  It really wasn't all that soft, so I gave it to Nelly.  Still hungry, I opted for strawberry applesauce.

 

Dinner was a salad and to boost the protein, I made 1/2 a peanut butter sandwich on heavy bread.  Since I couldn't bite into it without tearing up the lip, I tore the sandwich in itty bits and at it that way.

 

I felt a little puny in the evening so I chose some grape tomatoes and a big glass of skim milk with Ovaltine for a snack.

 

~~~~~

 

Rusty introduced me to a cool app for my phone.  I have a Samsung smart phone.  It's called Key Ring.  You scan in all your store loyalty cards and it keeps them on the phone.  If I have it right, we can then just have them scan our phone instead of digging around for the cards.  I also put in my AAA and AARP and zoo card....all sorts of things.

 

~~~~~

 

Thursday...

 

We are definitely filling our pantry again.  I had been trying to do a use-it-up on all the foods in the house.  Once I get to a certain level, it's time to fill 'er up!!

 

At the R store, our local grocery outlet, I was able to stock on beans, chips for Kennedy, fruit juices, fruit-cicles, oats, white whole wheat flour, sour cream, cheese packs with ready chosen cheeses to go with wines, free candy, free baby food, yogurt, breads, cottage cheese, Tatar sauce packets. 

 

We then went to their flea market store and found baking chocolate bars for .25 each! and picked up a couple other little things.  While there, we stopped at the produce counter and got onions, potatoes, scallions, tomatoes, and peppers.

 

Our next stop was BJ's.  We got two small serving trays of sweet potatoes marked down, toilet paper, sparkling water, and I don't remember what else.  Used coupons and picked up on clearance. 

 

Today was not good for eating though.  I started the day with Papa bringing me breakfast of steak egg and cheese bagel and oj.  I loved it and was very appreciative.  I wanted it.  But...it did me in with calories.  The good part is I'm not supposed to worry about calories, only protein.  The other good part is I still stayed within my own limits of 1930 calories a day. 

 

Lunch was homemade ham, veggie and cheese quiche and so was dinner.  It was easy to eat. 

 

But I had mini donuts and oj for a snack.  I know!  But it didn't bust me off the calorie or fat or sugar chart and it was easy to eat.     

~~~~~

 

Friday...

 

Emmi wanted a banana for breakfast and I thought it sounded pretty good, so we shared.  I also had rigatoni just because and Em talked me into mini donuts.  They need to go away!  I am MUCH too tempted by them!

 

I made a potato corn, carrot and bacon chowder for lunch and we had that and peanut butter crackers,

and for dinner we went out with Papa's work crowd to a place we'd never been to.  We'd heard a lot about Dontino's but never tried it out until now.  We love it.  I got a salad with sweet and sour dressing, perch and some really good veggies.  I ate part of a piece of Italian bread but it hurt my lip.

 

When we got home and I was adding proteins, I realized I hadn't had enough so I ate a few slices of 97% fat free honey shaved ham.  Not bad at all.  I was still lacking so before bed I ate some peanut butter.

 

~~~~~

 

Saturday...

 

We had Emmi today and went shopping at her request.  lol  She was so funny.  She kept telling us more shopping until she'd had her fill and wanted to go to Mimi's to play with her toys.  Silly girl.  She wasn't real happy when our first stop was for gas, but ya gotta do whatcha gotta do.  We were lucky to find gas at Sam's for 3.10 when all the surrounding stations were shooting up, up, up to a high of 3.49.  Man what a rip!

 

After gassing up, we headed to the bread store.  Emmi wanted donuts.  lol  We shouldn't have...but we did.  We also wanted buns for sloppy joes, some oyster crackers for tomato soup, and some bread crumbs and croutons.  Well boy howdy I did NOT buy the croutons and crumbs!  Would've broke the bank!  I did pick up a bargain on bread and brought it home to make my own.  And I got enough for all the kids.  We delivered bread to Kris and Darlene, Missy, her friend Leah, Corry and Angel, one loaf to Rusty and Cait, and I have some for my mother-in-law.  Also filled our littlest freezer with the better wheat bread and a couple good buns.  Oh and I got a couple soup mixes for a quick fix supper.  Dehydrated ingredients.  They'll last a while.

 

We met Kris and Darlene at GFS.  He had called to tell me they had chorizo.  Cool.  Good stuff too.  I had a $5 off $50 coupon so I picked up things like perogies, some ground meat that was a bargain and red and white sprinkles marked way down. 

 

After we delivered bread to everyone, we came on home because little Emmi was ready to play, play, play. CJ came a while too and we played.  He's getting so big!

 

I was pretty whipped after the big day.  Didn't do much else at all!!  lol

 

Meals.  I did oj and donuts for breakfast.  Not what I should be having, but we had doooooonutttttts.  They gotta G O !!

 

Lunch was some of a filet of fish (only at a little bit of the bun and I scraped off about 90% of the tartar sauce), plus I ate the meat, cheese and vegs off a double burger.  No bun. I was craving the meat and veggies.  I ate about 1/2 of a small order of fries too.

 

Dinner was a homemade sloppy joe on a heavy bun, broccoli salad and strawberries.  And for dessert?  Yes, more donuts.  And believe it or not, I was still within limits.  Just not eating what I should.  This will change.  ( as soon as the donuts are gone )

 

~~~~~

 

Sunday...

 

I only babysat a little bit on Sunday.  They kids' schedules overlapped by just a bit.  We didn't have time to do much together, but I did get my daily hugs and kisses.  :-)

In the afternoon, we went to see the play Bingo that one of our friends was in.  It was so much fun.  If you are in this area and have the chance, try to see it next weekend, it's last weekend.  Hudson Players.  Great show!! 

When we got home, I was dog tired.  I cleaned up kitchen and cut up the bell peppers and bagged them for freezing.  I think the next ones I get I'll dehydrate so I have some in multiple types of storage. 

 

Breakfast was two slices of cinnamon swirl bread and a banana today. 

 

Lunch started with an appetizer at Zeppe's.  We stopped in after the play with Kris and Darlene.  I ate one mozzarella triangle, three mushrooms, one piece of boneless wings, and 2 jo jo's.  Next course was a salad.  I got sweet and sour dressing.  The main course ended up being my lunch and my supper.  I got linguini with a mix of alfredo and marinara.  It had grilled chicken breast and steamed broccoli too.

 

Along with that leftover pasta dish, I drank milk with ovaltine and ate...a couple donuts.  SMACK!

 

~~~~~

 

Nearly every night ends with an oj to take meds with.  After the one problem I had after a surgery, they put me on Miralax every night. 

 

~~~~~

 

Monday...

 

I started my day today with cinnamon burst cheerios with skim milk.  Eating cereal or eggs seems to make me feel best. 

 

My first task of the day ended up being the main task.  I started making croutons and crumbs.  After perusing all my spices and tossing a few too old to use, I decided to do some croutons with ranch and some with Molly McButter Cheddar and pepper mixing them with olive oil.   

 

I didn't end up doing the crumbs but I now have a plan for them.  All the buns will go into crumbs.  I will make some rye, some wheat and some white crumbs.  I'm using the dehydrator and oven because I have so much to do!!  lol

 

We went out to camp again today for naught.  I wish one of the lookers would become a buyer.  I really, really want it sold. 

 

My evening ended up being a sit down night.  I spent hours moving pictures from an old phone into files, texting them to the new phone, etc.  Done now.  ...  she sighs.

 

My meals today were okay I guess. 

 

I had a sloppy joe and one of those Iala fudge bars for lunch, and a ham sandwich on sandwich thin bread and an apple for supper.  For a snack, feeling pretty weak, I ate the leftover cabbage and potatoes and drank ovaltine again.  Love that stuff and it's got no caffeine.

 

So now my legs are acting up and I'm needing to get up to bed.  Signing off folks....

 

Hugs to all...

~~Mama Sage