When the rubber meets the road

 Hi there!  Yesterday we pulled into our driveway and I felt myself let out a huge sigh of relief. It had been nearly 6 weeks since I'd been home. What a summer. As we drove from True North in Santa Rosa Friday and made our way through smoky California to my sister's new home in Prescott Valley, AZ, the realization was renewed of how huge our country is. And I had lots of time to think. I was tired and not feeling well and Andy could tell. There is some disappointment that I don't feel better after a 14 day water fast and re-feeding. Some good news: in only a few days of eating no animal products at all and cutting way down on salt, oil, and sugar, Andy is reporting that he felt differently enough that he is very motivated to eat much more plant focused. He watched some of the videos and met some of the people there; he's drunk the cool-aid.  After a 24 hour visit with my sister, her hubby, and my dear pal who came to stay overnight with us, we were on the road again to...

 I just haven't felt like posting. I usually do when I have some resolution of an issue or something to talk about. I've just been getting through the days, working on a report for work, and watching too many cooking shows on TV. /-; I'm not down or depressed but I think I am disappointed down deep. My inflammation hasn't really resolved. When I got here, my hands and wrists were very thin; a few days off the prednisone and they started swelling up again and they really haven't gone down. The back of my knee is pretty swollen. I can feel some kind of a new nodule behind my left tonsil I suppose I'll need to get checked out. The doctors can't see it and, like almost all of them for the past 3.5 years, they shrug their shoulders.  The disappointment relates to the disappointment that can creep in that God hasn't healed me as so many have asked him too.  Of course, I have periods when I am grateful for the journey and for the leading I have felt through it ...

It's Saturday morning and I woke up thanking God that I am feeling pretty well. I need to catch up on some work today. It's day 9 of my 14 day water fast.  The night before last I had what I will call a flare up. The same old thing. Swelling that makes it hard to walk, bend my elbows, move my hands, and it all hurts - especially from the elbows down to my fingernails that feel like they are going to pop off. I felt like I had the full blown flu and the chills. I laid in bed, praying for sleep, and wondering what this could all mean for the near and distant future. I notice on my notes it's happened every third night the last few times. Again, I always blame it on food and on myself. I'm on my 9th day of water only so it's very confusing. I also have some new bumps/swelling on my tonsils; I'm grateful my voice has stayed normal, though.  I just finished another book about Corrie Ten Boom called Life Lessons from the Hiding Place. Whenever I am feeling sorry for m...

Hey.  It's been a tough couple days. I've been able to work for several hours remotely but then the pain I've been having just puts me down. They tell me that as the glycogen leaves your muscles, it takes water with it. Your muscles and nerves don't like that so some people get deep muscle pain. I've had it mostly in the back of my legs, kidney area, and hips. It's pretty miserable. I also have a chronic pain between my shoulder blades that I'm convinced is my posture, lack of muscle tone, and looking at a computer screen and phone too much. I'm working on that but it's been worse than normal.  They have a broth that can help so I've been sipping on it a couple times a day. They essentially just boil their veggie scraps in water, strain it, and there you have it. It tastes and looks pretty yucky but it is comforting to drink something warm and to have some taste besides water water water. They say it has electrolytes in it; I got so dehydrated la...

It's 2:13am and I'm awake so I thought I'd check in. Thanks again to you for reading this; we are all so bombarded with information competing for our attention that I feel very honored that you take time for this. I received the nicest text yesterday from a retired coworker and friend, reminding me that "many people who care about you and are here to support you in any way that helps." I've been so blessed with people all my life - in my big family and now families, my past, current work, my church, and friends I've met along the way. I often thank God for this fact and pray others will be so blessed. One of my biggest "problems" in my life has been pointed out by Kiyomi. She's a corporate coach for an insurance company with many tools in her bag and one of them is a myriad of personality theories that help people see themselves more clearly and understand others too. She's pointed out to me that one of my strongest personality traits i...

I was always heavier than I wanted to be. I'd have friends and sisters that were rail thin and I wanted to be the same. I was on weight watchers and going to a gym by the time I was 14. I was always mad at myself that I couldn't just stick with skinny foods. The fact is that I love carbs most of all and like to eat until I am very full. I haven't considered myself an emotional eater until a couple days ago when something gave me anxiety that I saw on facebook. I suddenly wanted to turn on the TV and eat something crunchy. It was a dramatic moment where I realized solidly that I want to check out and use food for comfort when I'm scared or anxious. I know that I've been eating differently since Covid-19 entered our life and our country flipped on it's head too. As a believer in the living God, that means I don't lean on Jesus when I'm scared which is something I want to change. By the time I was graduating from college, I had found my way. I was very ...

It was a busy 1st day. I am working remotely and that adds an interesting layer to this experience. I needed to return a rental car after getting gas twice because of faulty gas pumps and running to Target. The day flew by. Kiyomi is also working and she is in her 3rd day of fasting already and pretty miserable. I was up at 6:30 naturally. Up and ready for doctor and nurse visits, wondering if I can start fasting because I am titrating off of Prednisone which says it should be taken with food. I learned from the doctor here that I can't fast because of what the steroids do to the body and you don't want to be in ketosis with it. Stopping abruptly can cause problems so I will keep reducing until Thursday or Friday when I can start fasting. It isn't bothering me - just eating their vegan no SOS (salt, oil, sugar) food is good for me. Eating this way ("clean") can make the fast easier on the body too. I'm not in this for some short term extreme thing this time....