I'm losing weight finally!

It looks like Intermittent Fasting is working this time.  I think the main difference is that I'm fasting longer this time and eating fewer calories.  Last time I tried IF I was doing 16:8 and using the zero app to track it.  Zero is an app that is available for apple and android.  I would lose a little but it didn't last. I just went up and down without making much ground.   I was also tracking my calories so I knew I got at least 1200 calories.  This time I'm still using the zero app but I noticed after I get to 16 hours it says "fat burning" so I decided to go a little longer each day.  I'm tracking my food with the Livongo app and they don't track calories.  They focus on eating healthier food and on portion sizes.  I get feedback from a coach on my food log.  I am trying to eat more non-starchy veggies and work on portion sizes and a balanced plate.   I'm not very good at the balanced plate thing.  I am more of a one thing per meal type person.  I'm learning though. " I've lost 6.2 lbs since I saw my doctor on Jan 24th.

I noticed on my "books I'm reading" page that it says "books I've read in 2021."  I can't edit the pages because of a bug with blogger so I can't change the date.  The widgets are from goodreads.com though so the book's showing are correct.  I'm currently reading The Last Hunt by Bruce Coville.  I'm pretty sure that's the last book in the series.  That is a series I started reading to my 2 sons when they were little but after the 2nd book there wasn't another book released for a long time.  By the time the next book was released my boys weren't interested anymore.  I wanted to know how the story ended though so I'm reading them all.  There are a few short stories available on amazon that tie in to the story line and I read those too.  

I just finished crocheting a hat from a video by the crochet crowd.  I think mine came out a bit big for some reason.  The BERNAT STEPPING TEXTURE HAT is a free pattern available here by Yarnspirations.  The link to the video by The Crochet Crowd is here.  I didn't add a pompom because I hate making them.  I bought the yarn in a 3 pack on amazon which I found is cheaper per skein than at my local Joann store.   I used the shadow ombre colorway.  

I'm going to have one of my son's try it on and see how warm it is in our weather here in Alaska.  I think the colors are pretty.

I'm working on another small crochet thread project too but I have to take a break because of problems with my left eye again.  I have severe dry eye syndrome and get a reoccurring corneal erosion on my left eye.   It used to get huge and painful.  My eye doctor put a embryonic membrane (from Placentia tissue) over my eye and after it was absorbed into my eye the erosion quit happening.  The problem is it didn't quite cover the whole area.  I still have a small spot that keeps hurting.  It starts to heal up but when my eyes dry out at night my eyelid will stick to the new cells where it's healing and pull them off when I open my eyes.  They need more time to adhere to the layer below.  I've been using lubricating ointment in my left eye all during the day too and at  night I wear these goggles that help keep my eye from getting so dry.  I'm being extra vigilant about using drops and I'm avoiding screens most of the day.  I think that will help it heal.  If I can make it to summer it usually is less dry then and I don't have as much trouble. The eye doctor could just do another membrane but it is expensive so I'm trying to avoid that.    

I'm not very good at blogging

I need to post more.  It is already Feb of 2023 and I haven't had much to say.  I need to get out more.  

I have been crocheting and knitting.  I just made a crochet shawl for a gift.  It's finished and all I have to do is weave in the ends but there are over 100!  It will take me a while!  

I've also been reading and enjoying that.  Sometimes I listen to audiobooks with audible and I love that.  It's nice to be able to do something else while listening, which you can't do when reading.  I've been listening to a book while walking on the treadmill.  

I changed my diet plan again and I'm no longer doing Noom.  I lost some weight but it was just up and down the whole year.  I ended up pretty close to where I started but I did learn a lot.  I really think the reading I did there helped.  I just have so many things working against me, including chronic pain, perimenopause and medications that cause weight gain.  If it weren't for those things I really think I would have had more success.  I started doing this app called Livongo, which my insurance pays for.  They sent me a digital scale and blood pressure cuff for free and when I use them the results automatically get sent to the app.  They also have blood sugar meters for people with diabetes.  It just depends on what medical issues your medical history shows you have.  I track my food and there are coaches that give me advice.  I like that I can also print a report to give to my doctor which shows my blood pressure readings and weight over time.   I talked to my doctor recently and she told me some useful tips.  I mentioned that I was trying intermittent fasting and she said that was good.  She talked about that and told me I should look for a book on it.  There is tons of info on the internet.   I took her advice and I've been losing weight finally.  I'm using the zero app to track my fasts.  

D

I'm back

It has been over a year since I posted here and I decided I need to get back to it.  I have just had a rough time lately but I feel like I'm bouncing back now.  

I got a new doctor and I feel like she is going to be a good one.  I was so worried about that because it is so hard to find a new doctor that knows about Fibromyalgia and Psoriatic Arthritis and keeps up to date on those issues.  Some doctors just want to keep writing scrips for the same thing and never really think about if there is something new that can help.  My last doctor was great but she moved out of state, like they all do.  It happens over and over again.  My husband said he asked his doctor if she was staying in Alaska and she said she was.  This time when I heard the names of the doctors available I recognized her name and chose her.  The clinic doesn't do "meet & greets" anymore they said so you have to choose your doctor on the spot before being able to talk to them first.  She has a strong accent but I am able to understand her.  I've seen her twice now and when I told her I was having trouble sleeping because of my RLS she told me she would call a couple of specialist I'd seen to see what they said about this and get back to me.  She called me back the next day with a plan to change some of my medication.  I am hopeful.  

I've mostly been reading this summer and not doing much else.  I've been reading a lot more than usual but then this August, for some reason, I just haven't felt like reading.  I did have a while there this month when I had a lot of headaches and a few migraines but I think that is over now.  I picked up the book I started and finally finished it.  The book is When We Were Strangers by Pamela Schoenewaldt.  It isn't the type of book I prefer to read and the first half of the book is so depressing.  It did turn around though and finally got interesting.   I'm glad I stuck with it because I did enjoy the ending.  

I've also been crocheting.  I had been knitting more so when I decided to crochet something I remembered how fun it was and how much faster it goes.  I started and finished a blanket in a week.  I saw this yarn at the thrift store and it was so crazy soft.  It feels just like a rabbit but I'm not allergic to it.  It was Caron Latte cake in the color pink melon.  There were two of them so I got them thinking I could make something with that.  I decided to try the modern granny pattern with it but I needed another cake.  That color was discontinued so I got one in pepper ash to contrast.  It turned out great and I am keeping it for myself.  I think I might get more of the grey/white and make it bigger.  

~D

Feeling Sick

I've got some sort of cold I think.  It's not very bad so that's good.  I just keep getting a headache that lasts forever.  I can feel my sinuses but I don't have congestion.  I've also been really tired and I've been sleeping a LOT.  I have this feeling that my body is trying to fight something and I get a little dizzy at times.  I am just going to stay home and rest and read.  

I have been reading this ridiculous mystery series that's been in my kindle library for 5 years.  I got the whole bundle for free.  I figured I'd start reading the first one and see what I thought.  I didn't really plan on reading them all since they look like silly books and I prefer the more serious mysteries or thrillers.  It's a set of 15 books by Belle Knudson called the Mrs. Fix it series.  I've been reading through them pretty quickly since they are light and short.  They are pretty bad actually and full of typos and flawed logic.  I just keep reading them because I don't feel well and my head is fuzzy.  I'm having a hard time concentrating so it's kind of nice to have something that doesn't take many brain cells.  You may actually lose brain cells reading these.  I can't even link to them because they are no longer available.  They are that good lol  I only have 2 left and I've given all of the ones I've read 2 stars.  

I plan on feeling better soon since I want to go for a bike ride.  The weather man says the sun is going to come out and it will be nice this week.  I really want to get outside and enjoy what's left of the summer and sunshine.  I can feel winter drawing near and I'm not ready.  Are we ever really ready for winter?

D

Happiness is...

Nothing makes me happier than finding the perfect book for the perfect person.

I had a hard time when my dad remarried 4 months after my mom died.  The woman is very nice and it wasn't about her but it just kind of felt wrong.  I was still grieving and he's talking about getting married.  

They were visiting us one time and she saw a book on my shelf and said she loved that author.  I realized that she liked to read too.  She mostly read Christian nonfiction books.  As I got to know her better I started to get an idea of the kind of books she liked.  I was reading this one series and this one particular book really seemed to be the perfect book for her.  It's a faith based mystery series but the books don't have to be read in order and each book can really be read as a stand-alone novel.  I sent that book to her and she loved it.  

Later on I was reading another one and it had a picture of a crocheted angel on the front made with thread like a doily.  It looked so familiar to me but I didn't know where I'd seen it before.  I crochet so I searched all over the internet trying to find the pattern for it and wasn't having much luck.  I just felt like I had to find it so I could make one and put it in the book and send it to my step mom.  Then finally I saw a mention of it being in an old magazine.  I checked and sure enough, I had that magazine.  She loved it and the book.  After that I sent her all of the rest of the series as I read them.  She's happily reading them now.  Now I need to find another series like that so I can send them on to her.  

D

Rolling Along those Emotional Hills of Life but still Jamming

Life is full of surprises and they are not all good.  I just lost another family member and was shocked because he was so young.  42 years old and suddenly gone.  No, it wasn't covid or cancer or a freak accident.  I guess I don't even know exactly what happened but It was a shock for sure.  I saw a post about him going into the hospital with trouble breathing and next thing I know he's going to hospice.  I am still reeling from losing 4 family members in the last half of 2020.  

So I kind of fell off the diet wagon but I'll get back on.  

For now I seem to be keeping myself busy with reading and making freezer jam.  I had never made freezer jam before but I remember watching my mom make jelly and know that seemed way too complicated.  A friend of mine mentioned that she was making freezer jam and I googled to learn more about it.  She created a monster and now I just want to keep trying different flavors.  I really do think I'm addicted.  

I didn't realize when I first started out that they had a low sugar or no sugar version of Sure Jell.  When my friend mentioned Sure Jell I remembered the yellow boxes that my mom used for making Jelly and that is what I bought.  I was grabbing stuff in a hurry so I didn't notice any other options.  I made dark Sweet Cherry Jam and it was good but it was very sweet.  I made strawberry next and it tastes like strawberry candy.  I finally got some of the low sugar version and just made blue berry freezer jam using this recipe.  I will definitely be making it again.  Next on my list to try is peach jam.  

It has been rainy here so I have spent a few days in bed.  I am doing okay though and just reading when awake and able to think straight.  I picked up one book that I've had a long time and started reading it.  That book is These High, Green Hills by Jan Karon (Book 3 in the Mitford series).  I'm enjoying that book and love the other two I read also.  That is definitely an inspirational series and I'm surprised I haven't read all of these books already.  

Then I happened to pick up another book, Darkhouse (Joe Lucchesi #1) by Alex Barclay, and started reading that one.  I often read multiple books at once and switch off depending on my mood.  I'm doing pretty good keeping it to these two actually.  This book is so good I quickly read half of the book.  Alex Barclay is now a new favorite and I'm already looking at her other books.  

D