Dragons' Roost OK

Well, things here at Dragons' Roost are moving along!

The little chest freezer and the gas stove have made me a MUCH happier cook!!

Also, over the past few weeks, we've been buying extras of this and that, so it no longer feels like we are living on the edge of being out of everything all the time.

I'm actually USED to that, having had it that way out of necessity for all of my years in the condo...but Dave finds it uncomfortable, and now we have eliminated it.

During the past year, we have paid off the heart attack hospital bills, and the subsequent hospital bills, and have been working hard at doing other things to improve cash flow. 

This has helped a LOT with getting rid of that uneasy feeling.

Unfortunately, Jack the cat had an unexpected four day stay at the vet hospital for an oral infection this past week....so $600 dollars later...ugh.

We had no choice but to use a credit card.

Hopefully, the increase in payment amount will just fold in with our other mass of debts, and not be too difficult to incorporate into the monthly out flow.

Maybe it will just fit right in, along with PLANNED recent credit purchases of the freezer and stove.  Oh well!!  The best laid plans....etc. etc.

Anyway, Jack's doing fine, now....though he lost is right front upper fang.  Now, when he smiles, he will be lop sided.

*giggle*

I didn't feel like putting out any Halloween decorations this year.  I have no idea why.

This is the first time in my life I haven't been interested, yet only the second time that I've had a real front porch to decorate.  You'd think I'd be all over it....but I opened up the box of the same old stuff, and just didn't "feel it" this year.  Maybe I need some new Halloweenie stuff.

There are a few things up on the inside of the house, but the porch is just going to be the mums and the pumpkins, which we will carve after my dance class Tuesday night.

Anyway... maybe when we're out and about this weekend, if I see some affordable Halloween tchazki on sale, I will pick up a couple of new items for the porch.

Maybe I'll be inspired yet.....

I'm very proud of my husband for deciding to become a registered voter again for the first time in decades.

We are hoping to take advantage of the early voting opportunity in this state, which is next weekend.

Tuesdays are REALLY inconvenient for  most working people...and I also have dance class at 6 on Tuesdays, and it ends after the polls close.

It would be difficult at best to have to try to get there between the polls opening at 7 am, and get in and out by 7:25 am, when I'd have to be on my way to work.

Our local polling place is in the wrong direction from my workplace, and it would take an extra few minutes to get to work.

My company, which has such a horrible time off policy for full time employees to begin with, does not allow time for voting.  As mentioned in previous posts, my company does not really allow for anything having to do with real life! 

So, I'd have to stay late and make up the time if I got there late, and I don't WANT to have to do that on dance class night, because that means having less time to eat and get ready for class, etc. etc!!

SO---the plan is to go next Saturday.

Oh, and as has become my pattern of late, I COMPLETELY forgot to buy and mail a birthday card to my brother....I would had to have mailed it yesterday for it to get to Wheaton by Tuesday.  SORRY!

Happy Birthday, big brudder!!!  It's your turn for the next milestone!  Don't let it weigh you down!

Cookin' with gas!

We finally got some appreciable rain yesterday.  Haven't heard yet how much, but it rained on and off all day, heavily at times.

It's only 5 months late!

We have started to re-introduce alcohol and grain into our diet the past few days.  I am pretty sure I don't like how flour makes me feel.

I had some crackers with my soup for lunch the other day, and felt queasy after.  Then, on Friday, we went all out and had pizza and beer.

Saturday, I felt tired and bloated and out of sorts.  Kind of like I had been feeling for months prior to the elimination diet.

Good information! 

So far, no notable reaction to red wine or a shot of whiskey.  

My biggest news right now, though, is THE NEW STOVE!!!

It arrived Friday.  Dave took that day off from work, and did the installation himself.  I cooked on it last night for the first time.

In three years of not being able to cook with gas, there were some adaptations to make!  I will remember how to do it in short order, though!

change in the weather...change in the weather....something's happening here....

Good Sunday, gentle reader...if anyone's out there!

We're having another cold snap like we did last October....the cold snap last year was when we discovered that our furnace had stopped working, and it happened in the midst of my 25 year old cockateil's fall molt.

He died from the stress.  I was heart broken.  We were together for half my life.  I still miss him.

Fortunately, this year, the furnace works.  It got down into the mid 30's last night.  I hope it was cold enough to kill off some plant based allergens in the air, but I'm not so sure.

I am 31 days into the 90 day dance challenge.  I've found it difficult to dance on a couple of occasions....like Fridays, because they are SUCH long days (i get up at 5:45 on weekdays and workout, then go to work, then on Fridays, we do all of our grocery and other shopping--so Friday's obligations don't end until 8 or 9 at night), and there was one day last week when I had NO inclination what so ever to even try....so I took that day off....but then, I made it up the next day and danced twice as long.

I am doing this for many reasons, a couple of which are making dance practice a daily habit that I no longer have to think about MAKING time for...I have the time, I just need the focus;  and trying to break through the deep anxiety that I have about doing improvisational dance.

It's been interesting so far.

Then, there's the diet.  We are now at day 28 of our 30 day cleansing diet.  It's gone by pretty quickly, and with a lot less angst and crankiness, on Dave's part especially, than predicted.

I am confident that I will stay at my normal size now, so I have cleaned out my clothing stores and donated the larger sizes!

I was, after all, the same size for 20 something years.  The weight gain was the un-natural part.  Being back to my normal size is the natural part.

I now know, without question, what my body thrives on at this age: the right balance of protein, fat, and "slow carbs" from lots of variety of veggies.

And, I now also know what my body gets fat and unhealthy on: mostly glutenous grain foods, processed convenience foods, and sugars.

I could eat those processed, grain filled, sweet foods before without consequence...but I can't anymore...and, from what I've learned about chronic inflammation and malnourishment of the body's cells....I don't WANT to anymore!

If everyone out there knew that grains cause inflammation, and inflammation causes almost all of our lifestyle related illnesses in this country, I think Americans would eat a LOT differently.  If they cared, that is.

Most people don't care.

Anyway, the cravings I was having for cakes and cookies and bread have completely stopped, and now I'm not in the least interested in adding those foods back into my diet.  I will probably have something in that group once in a while, as a treat...but really?  Do not want.

This past week at work was customer service week, and each day, they handed out treats to everyone...cookies, cake, ice cream, chips.....and it was extremely easy to say no, even when the goodies were brought to me at my desk!

My cravings for alcohol have taught me a LOT about why and when I drink.  I will have a MUCH different consciousness about it from now on.   The past several years of almost non-stop stress had a very bad impact on my drinking habit, and Dave and I had become FAR more interested in daily drinking than either of us ever was before.  Now that I've not had a drop in a month, I am no longer desperately wanting a drink.

From here on out, one or two will be MORE than enough, and only on the weekends and holidays.

If for no other reason, I don't have any "fat" clothes anymore!  :)

Sunday stuff

21 days into the cleansing diet....9 pounds, and 5 inches... gone.  I am back to my "normal" size/weight.

THIS pleases me!

Dave is losing weight more slowly, but that's because he's burning off that solid abdominal fat.  I mostly lost water and soft saddle bag fat.

SO-  off to shop at the thrift stores!  Wheee!!  Hoping to continue to build my bohemian wardrobe!

Bought new jeans at Kohl's yesterday, on sale plus a 20% off coupon. 

It's been years since I bought a new pair of jeans!  It was fun!  Kohl's credit card, I love you!

I've tried to buy jeans at thrift stores, but they often have thousands of pairs of jeans, and they tend to be in no order what so ever ...i.e.  not by size or brand or ANYTHING.

Buying new and getting two brand new pair of Levi's for less than $60 (given the fact that they're usually SO expensive as to be completely out of my budget) was kinda fun, and SO much easier than trying to sort through the thrift racks!

Anyway... the cooking for this new way of eating has been a challenge, but I'm getting the hang of it.  We've had a few recipes that were "meh" at best, and, thankfully, none so far that were...."ew."

Learning to cook in a new way.

Speaking of that....sales and coupons and discount for using the Sears card...and I AM GETTING A GAS STOVE!

I am SOOO excited!  I HATE cooking on electric, and that's just what folks use down here.  No idea why.

The new stove has one of those oblong burners down the middle, great for a griddle or a big ham pot!

It's not self cleaning, but I have never used the self cleaning feature of any stove I've ever owned...so....I won't miss it.

With the discounts, the free delivery and haul away....still...under $700 on the card!  SWEET!  And Dave has taken care of making sure the electrical hook up for it is ready, and he'll handle the gas line, too.

And we also got, with awesome discounts, a little chest freezer.

Making my kitchen what I want it to be a little at a time!

Oh, and I think I had told my sister that I would write down all of the bone building dietary ideas I've learned since being diagnosed with osteopenia....

Vitamin K2
Vitamin D3
Of course, Calcium, Magnesium, and other minerals....but to be sure to alternate forms.  NO carbonate, though, and NO oyster shell source!

Good bio-available sources include citrate, lactate, and microcrystaline hydroxyapatite.

Another important mineral that is often overlooked is Boron.

Also, include in the diet: prunes, dark leafy green vegetables (preferably eaten with something that's slightly acidic, like say basalmic vinegar), sesame seeds, almonds, cashews, and green tea.

I also incorporate enriched almond milk that comes in asceptic cartons, since I can't drink cow milk.

I've been counseled to try to drink that with a meal so that the acid in the foods and through digestion will help the body utilize the added minerals in the almond beverage.

And then, of course, there's the bone building lifestyle stuff, too.....  Cut down on alcohol, and increase resistance type and weight bearing exercise.

I work out almost every weekday on the eliptical bike thingie we got for cheap last fall.  I also walk for 15 minutes a day on workdays if the weather permits (temp is between 55 and 90 outside, and there's no rain falling, or ice on the pavement).  I also  stretch and dance for 20 minutes, every day--7 days a week.  AND, I take a 90 minute dance class once a week. 

My doctor recently told me that's all fine and good...but now, try to add weights.  "Get some hand weights and pump your arms while you're watching tv or something..." LOL...

HOOOOKAY!  We'll see how to incorporate more resistance.....

This day

On the autumnal equinox of 1992, I took a step.

After opening my eyes, looking at options, and trying a few new things, I chose to step away from "the religion of the popular culture," onto a path of my own. 

20 years ago, on this occasion, I made a conscious decision, manifested it through ritual, because I love ritual, and began to forge my way back in time:  looking for what I thought could have been glimmers of the religion of my deep ancestry.

I began earnestly gathering snippets of information, and snippets of speculation, and building my own intuitive pathway to Spirit.

And I have never looked back. 

20 years of exploring, experimenting, and expanding.

20 years of learning, listening, and loving.

20 years of praying, peering, and playing.

During this time, I have gone from being alone in my practice/search, to leading a Circle, to being a teacher, to being alone again.

The spiral continues, and it will always expand and contract, and expand again. 

But at the center of the spiral is my heart, in the exact spiritual place where it belongs.

First week on Paleo

So, the first week on this strict, cleansing diet has been interesting.

The only thing I have really had cravings for is alcohol.

This is very good information for me to have.

It tells me that my old (read: when I was living alone) habits of drinking a little on the weekends were PROBABLY a lot healthier for me than the habit I have developed since moving in with Dave.

Since moving down here, we have gotten into the habit of having a drink almost every day.   Some days, way more than one or two.

My cooking marathon this weekend has been VERY different to be doing withOUT a glass of wine in my hand!

I know how insidious alcohol is.  I know how it ruins lives very slowly.  I know my own tendency to use it to self-medicate.

And now....now I know that I let it get out of hand over the last three years, and it needs to be better controlled after I reintroduce it into my life after this cleanse.  Which I will do, but with a different awareness.

Also, I have lost a total of 6 pounds (between my 2 weeks when I did a sort of "pre-strictness" diet on my own, and this week).  Those pounds that, no matter what I did before, I could not shed have been melting away magically.

Now, Dave, who drank more than I did, as a rule, has only had one craving for alcohol, and that was yesterday.

He has been having issues with craving his snacks, though.  No cheese. No pretzels. No candy bars.

He says he has realized that he counts on those snacks when he's bored during work.  I have found the same thing to be true as well.

We now ask ourselves "am I HUNGRY, or BORED?"  If the answer is really, truly "I'M HUNGRY," then we now are armed with healthy snacks that fit with the program.  (I've actually been doing that part for months, but now Dave is too).

Plus, we are eating SO well, that there is no feeling what so ever of deprivation.  I wake up hungry for breakfast (which is supposed to be NORMAL....I've never felt hungry for breakfast in my life!), and I have really been enjoying the process of creating new meals on the  menu.

There is a lot more work involved in cooking, but Dave is helping me, and we are having fun with it.

This weekend, for example: put 8 chicken thighs in to marinate, and then brined a sizable pork roast that will be roasted today;  grilled those chicken thighs, which will be used in meals this week on Monday and Friday nights, and roasted a whole chicken for dinner, with some baked sweet potatoes.  Seems like there was something else, too, but I can't remember.

Today, stripped the chicken carcass (that was his job), and got a batch of broth going with the bones; made a batch of breakfast sausage patties for the week, put a pot of smoked sausage stew in the crock, and it's bubbling away.  Later, strain the broth, and make chicken veggie soup with the left over meat, and finally, roasting that brined pork and making some whipped cauliflower (no white potatoes on this diet) for dinner.  That roast is so big, there will be left overs for a pork and pepper stew next weekend.

This will provide us with all of our lunches and some of our dinners for the coming week.

Hopefully, next weekend won't be so intensive in the cooking department, because now I have a better feel for how it works, and what needs to be done ahead.

One week down!  

Going Paleo

So---for a number of years, there's been a movement in the nutrition world called the Paleo diet.

It's based upon the concept that during the time in our species' history before we developed agriculture, humans thrived on the foods we evolved to eat:  meats, eggs, nuts, vegetables, and fruits.

It's based upon the theory that daily consumption of post-agricultural foods, such as grains, legumes, and the milks of different species, has resulted in our health being compromised every day of our lives.

And there was no such thing as sugar.

Studies have shown that post-agricultural foods can cause inflammation and poor digestion.  Inflammation, when it builds every day over a lifetime, becomes systemic, leading to chronic health issues such as arthritis, atherosclerosis, osteoporosis, and even cancer.

So, anyway....being that I've always been interested in health and nutrition, I've heard about this diet style for years.  I've read about it here and there, but had not considered experimenting with it until now.

Recently, however, in reading about it more in depth, and talking with Dave about it, I've become convinced that there has to be something to it.  The nutrition science behind the theory is not only compelling, but completely logical.

I have friends who have gone down this path, who have reported improved energy levels, weight balancing (either loss or gain, whichever was needed), better sleep, and fewer aches and pains.

This is not to say that they never, ever have rice, or bread, or pasta, or ice cream, or cheese....but they have reduced consumption of these foods drastically, and they feel better, stronger, and healthier because of it.

Starting tomorrow, Dave and I will be doing a "thirty day challenge," in order to allow our bodies time to cleanse from a lifetime of gluten, sugar, alcohol, and dairy.

After the 30 days, we will see how we feel, see what's changed (like Dave's blood fats and weight, and my chronic poor energy and bad sleep), and then decide what to add back into our diet.

We will need support and encouragement as we go through this process. 

Especially Dave....I've been into healthy eating for a LOT longer than he has, and he still has some daily bad habits, like snickers bars and pretzels. 

Even though he is completely on board with this, and it was even his idea that we do it....he's convinced that he is going to be grouchy and unhappy during this process, and I keep trying to encourage him and tell him that it won't be as bad as he thinks.

Also, by putting it out there on my blog, and on Facebook, we will be held accountable to ourselves to follow through.  It's public now, so we gotta do it!

Please, wish us luck and good health changes!!