O tannenbaum

Saturday:

On Friday Tim stayed home again and I was sick too. Had a nap in the morning, another one in the afternoon, then was in bed by 8:30 and slept nearly 11 hours! Feeling much better today.

We put up the Christmas tree today, or at least Tim and the kids did while I was out doing the grocery shopping I would normally have done yesterday. I could have helped decorate when I got home but was too tired. Jasmine got the decoration idea from the internet, and it looks lovely.

In the morning we went to a three-year-old's birthday party, came home for lunch, I did the grocery shopping, then we walked across to the grassy area across the road to a Christmas Picnic in the Park that has apparently been organised by people in our street for more than 30 years. It was nice, we got to meet some neighbours and everyone was very friendly. A bit boring for the kids as most people were of the retired generation, although some younger people with kids came a bit later. There are actually a lot of children in our street but we didn't see many of them today. Aiden brought his remote control plane over and Jasmine had her phone so they were ok. We stayed about an hour and a half I guess. I was feeling pretty tired by then, it was a big day considering Tim and I were sick yesterday.

Picnic

Saturday:

We spent a lot of the day at a birthday picnic/BBQ for a two year old family member. It was a lovely location, a big park next to where the Sydney Olympics were held. Rolling hills and trees and water and bike paths.

Good: Almost no flies! So I didn't mind eating outside.
Bad: We weren't served lunch until 2:30pm.
Good: I know these people and their sense of time (or lack thereof)! So I wisely made sure I ate a significant amount before we left home, and got through until official lunch with only a very few Doritos, instead of standing over the food table shovelling chips and lollies down my throat.
Bad: The only drinks on offer were fizzy soft drinks - and warm! But it was that or water straight from the tap in the public toilets (without a cup). So I had half a can of lemonade, wishing for cool water.
Good: I sat in the shade chatting, and didn't get burned.
Bad: Jasmine got a bit sunburnt running around, despite sunscreen and a hat.
Good: The kids got to run around!
Bad: I was hoping to get a lot more done at home today with Tim to help me unpack.
Good: We had a lovely day with family.

Tulips

Sunday:

Today we went to the Tulip Top Gardens. It is less than half an hour away, a private garden out in the country. When we first saw it, ten years or so ago, it consisted of plentiful but slightly boring tulip beds laid out around a house on a large property. Over the years the owners have gradually cultivated the valley below the house and now it is a beautiful protected area with tulips and pansies and flowering fruit trees and sweeping lawns and a waterfall and gravel paths. The area around the house itself is no longer accessible, so they have their privacy back, but for four weeks a year the valley is open to the public (for a small fee). It is really lovely, and it was a great day for it.

They can't make a lot of money, certainly not enough to pay for all the work that goes into it, and they even let kids in free and had a free sausage sandwich at lunchtime and free tea & coffee and a two-piece jazz band entertaining the visitors!

Tim's father was still visiting so he was with us, we had a picnic on the grounds and wandered around for a couple of hours then grandad went back to Sydney and we came home. My dad is arriving tomorrow. He thinks. Plans are still a bit liquid.

I am fully well again (yay! I was only sick for a couple of days this time) but Aiden is still recovering. We thought he was better yesterday but after an excursion to ten pin bowling and then a play in the park he had a bit of a relapse and went to bed very early after a couple of bites of dinner. He seems ok today so maybe he is over it now.

Spring goals and Fathers' Day

Sunday:

It's the second day of September and therefore the second day of Spring here in the southern hemisphere. We've had a really long cold winter (I think the northern hemisphere has had a very hot summer!) and even yesterday was freezing which was disappointing but today it was sunny enough to get out for a Fathers' Day picnic which was lovely.

A new month is always a good time to rethink goals, and a new season -- especially Spring! -- even better. Obviously my prediabetes is a big motivator and my goals certainly revolve around getting healthy and reversing the condition. I rarely think about anything else these days. So:

1) Lose weight. I still need to lose nearly 20 kg. I would love to lose 10 kg in the next three months.
2) Manage my blood glucose levels to avoid doing damage to various parts of my body, and to avoid accelerating a plunge into actual diabetes.

I will do this by:

a) Exercise. This helps with both losing weight and managing blood sugar levels. As well as improving insulin action, exercise uses up glucose stores in the muscles so that later glucose will be stored there first rather than going straight to fat. I have resolved to exercise for at least 30 mins every single day of Spring. These first two days I have been for a brisk walk each day, 5 km/h which is about as fast as I can go without jogging. I listen to music and also have RunKeeper on to tell me how fast and far I am going.
b) Writing down everything I eat. As I said yesterday, this really helps me stay on track. For the moment, I will continue to just count carbs. If I stop losing weight I will obviously have to take more drastic action.

When I saw the doctor the other day we discussed my often-dehydrated state and she sternly abjured me to drink more. I really am trying. And last night I only had to get up twice to pee; better than the night before. I did have a dream, though, where I really needed to urinate so went to the refridgerator in my old childhood home and peed in the vegetable crisper drawer! Four times! I woke really needing to pee. Sometimes I wonder how adults don't (usually) urinate in their sleep when they dream about it. Or fall out of bed when turning over. I guess we never sleep so soundly that we are completely out of control or unaware of our bodies.

Another thing that came up with the doctor was that when she was looking over my lab results she noticed that they had not tested my Vitamin D levels, and I had been deficient two years ago. Oh well, she said, as long as you are still taking your Vitamin D tablets you should be fine. I smiled as agreeably as I could without actually lying. Those tablets used to make me nauseated when I took them with breakfast, I even threw up once or twice, but I could never remember to take them later in the day. But I'm trying with that too -- taking one at lunchtime. I have remembered so far, and they don't seem to make me nauseated except in the morning.

It was Fathers' Day today, a lovely day with my little family. Unfortunately (my husband asks: why unfortunately?) my idea of a lovely day still revolves around food. French toast with raspberries and real maple syrup (I didn't have any of the syrup) and bacon for breakfast, lunch picnic that included fried chicken, lasagne for dinner. And dessert. I felt rather overstuffed all day, but I was careful with the carbs and portion sizes and my blood sugars have been ok. Haven't tested the dinner yet.

When I was making the lasagne I thought it would be ok for me because I was only counting the pasta, since meat* and cheese don't have carbs. But 2/3 of the way through my slice I suddenly went and checked the empty tomato pasta sauce bottle. Lots of carbs there! Probably full of sugar. And some in the bechamel sauce too, white sauce has flour in it. I pushed my plate aside and just finished my salad. It wasn't as though I hadn't had plenty of food already.

* I read today in one of my many library books about diabetes that about 50% of meat is actually converted to glucose too, but not for 4-6 hours. So it seems I can't ignore my meat portion sizes after all.

photo by Reid Kasprowicz