The turtle and the scale...

At 44 years of age, I feel like I know my body pretty well. I know when something feels a little off, and when I'm not running on all 6 cylinders. I can be cruising on the scale and seemingly everyday it's going down 1/2 lb or so. And then the dreaded PMS begins...profound fatigue, migraines, weight gain, and well, the grumps. Seems to happen right when you need reassurance that what you're doing is working. It usually takes me about 5-7 days before I begin to feel back to normal and the scale starts agreeing with me again. I feel like I live and die by that thing but I can't stand to only jump on the scale once a week. The migraines...well that's another story. One that I would have hoped would be a thing of the past, but they still come. Luckily, my physician wrote an Rx a couple of years ago for Relpax and that has been my lifesaver. Since the surgery, I haven't dared to take any kind of pain reliever other than liquid ibuprofen, but the Relpax is like heaven in a pill. Just magic. Amazing how something that used to consume my life is now no more than a nuisance at best.

I've been trying to eat better and am succeeding pretty much during the week. Even my husband is liking some of the things I'm putting together. He wiped me out of the little quiches I froze for breakfast or a quick lunch, and I think he's been dipping into my homemade trail mix (he'd never admit to eating Kashi out loud). I've been trying to politely point out some of the "not so good" foods that I need to try and limit. Like the ham steaks...way too much sodium. The trail mix he bought from Walmart for vacation...not so good, about 906 calories for a 6 ounce bag. But, since he usually makes dinner so I don't like to pick too much. Just make him more aware.

I've been kind of on a kick with the trail mix though. I find myself eating it every day! My own version is about 1 part dry-roasted peanuts, 1 part chocolate chips, and 3 or 4 parts Kashi Go-Lean cereal. The Kashi is only about 140 calories a cup with 13 grams of protein and 40% of the recommended daily fiber, peanuts are another protein and well the chips....not so much, but hey, we all need a little sweetness! Heck of alot healthier than what you can buy and amazingly good. Or my taste buds are just changing I don't know. I'm liking the WASA crackers too that the weight loss centers' nurse told me about. With cream cheese, it's a nice snack.

This weekend my nephew and his wife are driving down from Madison to stay at my folks house for the weekend. We are all going to a benefit for a cousin on my Dad's side of the family on Saturday that is suffering from Chronic Myeloid Leukemia. He's my age and it doesn't sound real promising for him. The Gleevec treatment did not work for him and as far as a bone marrow transplant, well, there is only 1 sister that isn't a match and he doesn't have any kids, so a "bank" is the only place he's going to get lucky. Although the chances of success diminish with a non-relative. He is continuing to work since he needs his health coverage, but the medication and treatments are incredibly expensive and he has alot of out of pocket costs. He's lucky to have his parents and an uncle and aunt that live close by to him since he lives in the "sticks" in Mississippi.

Sunday, we plan to go out for Father's Day and then try and swing over the Celina and see my husband's folks too. Hubby is lining up a trip to Canada with his brother and some friends in August and went to get his passport last weekend. So friday night they want to get together and talk about that. He just found out they will have a makeshift shower and an outhouse at the cabin their staying. He's not thrilled at that prospect, but hey it's only 4 days. When my friends and I went on an overnight pack trip one night in Montana, we had to use the "bathroom" by digging a hole and putting an old canvas "fishing" chair with a hole cut in the middle and that was your seat to go do your job. Try doing that at 3 am when it's about 45 degrees out and no lights in the mountains. You don't dilly dally.

Tonight I'll have to catch up on the quiche making to stock up for the next couple of weeks and clean the house in case the family ends up at our house during the weekend. Our cat will wonder what got into me.