Backing Down

I can't take it anymore.  I am officially stopping the vegan diet.  I have been having such amazingly persistent cravings for meat the last two weeks!  It's almost all I think about nowadays. I've had dreams about steak.  I had given myself permission to quit at any time, and have been taking short breaks from it whenever I felt like it, but it's gotten to the point now that I take a "break" almost every day.  So, I think the new classification is just "eating healthy".  I'm still probably going to limit my cheese and milk products intake, but I need meat.  I didn't really feel this way until I started taking the Metformin, so it could be that my hormones are adjusting themselves, and I just have more of a biological need for protein than I did before.  Regardless, cows and chickens watch out!

Although, I will have to say that the vegan diet was good to me- I lost about 25-30 pounds in 6 weeks.

Healthy Living

Today I weighed in on my delightful Wii, who greeted me with a reprimand for not visiting it often enough. I found that I have lost 20 pounds since July 18th (I've weighed in between now and then.... don't hate). Veganism is good to me. Yesterday I decided to have a piece of cheesecake at my brother and sister-in-law's birthday party, and then got some cheddar peppers from Sonic (hey, I figured why stop with just one no-no?).  Then my wonderful husband and I went to Wal-mart to get groceries, and ended up taking advantage of the back-to-college sales to get some shelves and storage containers for the guest room. Fifteen dollars for a three-shelf bookcase? Yes, Please!!  Then, my amazing, patient, and wonderful husband put those shelves together for me once we got home, and gave me his input on arranging the furniture and decorating the room. He rocks!

While we were at Walmart, though, I paid the price for for my dairy indiscretions- cold sweat, queasy, stomach ache, and so forth... My body wanted to take the opportunity to remind me that some things are very obviously poison for me.

Also, I got a follow-up call from my OB/GYN.  They got the test results back from my bloodwork.  My cholesterol is not horrible, but a little high (220, when it's supposed to be under 200), and I'm not diabetic (yay!) but I was at the very most highest decimal point in the normal range.  So, the nurse I was talking to was like, "You're not diabetic, and you're not really pre-diabetic.  You're more like pre-pre-diabetic." Which is guess is still a different category than normal..?  And, the hormone levels in my blood confirmed the diagnosis of Polycystic Ovarian Disease (PCOD).

The good news is that there is a success-ridden treatment plan for this.  So, at this moment right now I am infertile, but I will definitely not stay that way.  And the point of all this is not to be bull-headed and pursue pregnancy at any and all cost, but to get myself healthy, and make sure things are functioning the way they are supposed to.  Then, we will continue to wait for God's timing in His blessings.

So, the treatment is a drug typically used to treat Type II Diabetes, called Metformin. They have found that it also works well as treatment for PCOD. Other benefits of the drug are that it will help me to lose weight- hooray!  One of the symptoms of PCOD is hormone-triggered weight gain, and weight loss resistance.  I wish I had known about my health issue back when I was in high school and struggling so hard with my weight.  Even back then I had such a hard time acheiving a normal weight, even with a healthy diet and daily exercise.  I have suffered so much humiliation and demoralization over my weight- it's nice to know that I'm not just lazy and completely lacking in self-control (though I do struggle with both of those things on occasion...  Doesn't everybody? lol)

So, overall, it's all good news.  I have so much confidence and hope and this is all going to work out well, and that this can be an experience to use for the glory of the King. It's a great day, isn't it!

Here are some pictures from our last anniversary, just because! All of these were taken by me with the fantastic camera that my wonderful husband got me last year! :)

Isn't he handsome?  :)

A sunset in Old Town Alexandria, VA facing away from the riverwalk along the Potomac

The butterflies in DC were amazing last summer!

I LOVE Canadian geese!

I used the special effect on my camera where I could highlight one color and mute the rest- pretty cool!

Once again, the special effects....

He's my favorite astronaut!

Sunset at the National Zoo

More Happenings

This past weekend was restful and hectic all at once!  A lot has been going on- though more of the hecticness has been emotional rather than physical.  Last Friday, David and I finally went and saw the A-team movie!  Woo hoo!  It was really good!  The best part, though, was seeing how excited and how much enjoyment David got out of reliving his boyhood while we were watching it.  And, seeing them be "shot down in a tank" was pretty hilarious.  I really liked seeing the sequence about how they met at the beginning.

Then, after the movie, we went and had lunch at Freebird's, which is David's favorite burrito place.  I was psyched to try out a vegetarian burrito.  I splurged with some queso on my burrito, and I was impressed with their roasted garlic and grilled veggies.  It was delicious!

After lunch, we went shopping for groceries at Whole Foods, where I found several frozen vegan meat substitutes, and I was pumped about that.  I have been missing the flavors of fried meat particularly, and they had some breaded "chik'n" patties which are delicious.

Then, Friday night, my parents and neices came over.  The girls were very excited to get to see the guest room, and play with all of the toys that I had gotten out of storage.  We had dinner with them, and then visited a while and watched some tv, and then my parents took them home.

On Saturday, we slept in really late.  Then, we watched a couple of movies on tv, worried over finances (this is the hectic part), then my parents came over and we went shopping at the Salvation Army thrift store.  I found a wall unit there that I sort of liked, but David and I had agreed on a 20 dollar limit, and the manager didn't seem to think that was a good price.  So, we went along on our merry way.  We came back home, had dinner with my parents, and watched another movie.

Then, on Sunday, we had a very good day.  We went to church, and I was reminded how much I love my church family all over again.  I was very glad to see everyone, but very tired.  While we were there, we looked in the library, and I got to check out a book that I have been wanting to read for quite a while now,  "A Full Quiver" by Rick and Jan Hess.  David and I have been reading it together and enjoying it mightily.

After church, we came home and worked on the house for a while.  Then, one of our friends from church came by to pick up some of our moving boxes that we were finished with.  I was very happy to see them go, since they were taking up mucho space in my living room.  And, I was very happy to help out a friend.  Boxes can be expensive!

Then, it was time to get ready and go to my wonderful sister Carrie's house for the Fourth of July.  We had a cookout, played Loaded Questions (very fun!) and watched fireworks.  I am so thankful for my family!

Then, we came home, crashed in bed and slept, slept, slept.  We woke up pretty late on Monday.  Like, 1:00pm late.  I was cool with that- I'll enjoy being able to do that now before we have little people running around to wake us up.

Once we woke up, I packed up a picnic lunch and we headed down to Lancaster.  We had to check on the old house, and David had to mow the lawn.  We were blessed that it wasn't too hot, and David did a fabulous job.  I enjoyed watching my amazing husband at work!

Then, we headed home, read out loud for a while, and then had to go to the grocery store for some tortillas and salad.  I've been enjoying making quesadillas with my vegan chicken and cheese substitutes.  They are yummy!  So, we had quesadillas and salad for dinner, and watched a show on tv.  Then, we read out loud some more and went to sleep.

So, it has been a weekend full of activity and some good rest.  On Saturday we were feeling so worried and overwhelmed about finances, but then the message on Sunday at church was about leaning not on our own understanding, but on God's, and trusting Him to take care of us.  We were both so encouraged and comforted!  God has been really good to us in all of this, and I have faith that He will continue to work everything out.

My Gas Stove

Today I am using my gas stove for the first time.  Wonderful David got the fire on it started for me, and relieved me of the stress-inducing job of playing with the combination of fire and natural gas.  Needless to say, I am a bit of a baby, and he is good to me.

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Okay, just finished my virgin run on the new stove.  I have never cooked spaghetti this quick before in my life. Fabulous!

This is my third day without meat.  Last night, though was a little rough.  We went to a buffet for my dad's birthday- his 75th, as a matter of fact.  I stayed away from all the meat, but I did splurge a little with a couple dishes with cheese or butter in them.  Overall I consider it a success though.  Today I have done very well- lunch was a large salad with spinach, tomatoes, guacamole, and italian salad dressing, with an orange and banana as a side dish.  Dinner tonight is spaghetti with mushroom sauce, salad, and fruit.  I haven't decided to give up my sodas yet- they are my comfort food through all this change.  And I still maintain that I will only do this as long as I want to, and I have permission to stop at any time. And I feel great about all of it! :)

Happenings

Yesterday I ate no meat.  I also ate little other than raw fruit.  I had oatmeal for dinner though, along with my fruit.  I woke up yesterday morning with what I feel is an inspired drive to start eating healthier.  I haven't decided for how long I will forego meat.  I might not even continue through this evening.  The point is, I want to for now, and I will continue for as long as I want to, and I have given myself permission to stop at anytime.  And I think that is the most important principle: all of us strive against rules, myself immensely so. It's deeply embedded in my nature to lust after the forbidden fruit.  So, in order to have success, I make it so that I am okay either way. I am also praying for God to teach me to love submission.  I think that there is so so much to be said for those who have the skill of making up their mind to do something, and then accomplishing it.  I'm slowly getting there. God and I are working together on slowly taming my rebellious heart, and I see improvements every day.

I felt better this morning when I woke up.  I felt lighter, and I had more energy.  And, I managed to feel well-rested after only eight hours of sleep.  That is huge for me.  The last few days I have been feeling tired, and I have been sleeping in a little later every day. A lot of times I would still feel tired after sleeping for ten or eleven hours.  Not so this morning! :)

I think the trick to making any sort of dietary change is to wait to eat until you are very, very hungry.  Then, everything tastes like ambrosia!

I've also been slowly tackling getting my house in order.  The new house is still piled with boxes, yet it feels comfortable.  My furniture is surprisingly suited color-wise to the curtains that were left by the people who lived here before.  And, the color that I chose for the walls adds the perfect final touch.  Now I just have to go scrounge around in some thrift stores and garage sales until I find the perfect artwork for the walls.  In my new house I want to keep things as simple and uncluttered as possible.  I have been forcing myself to let go of a lot of things the last few weeks, and it really shows!  My bedroom is almost completely finished, and my kitchen is getting close to being done.  I think I might do some laundry today, too! It's easy because my washer and dryer are inside.

I have been feeling so appreciative of things that I took for granted before- toilets that work without having to be jiggled, dishwashers, laundry in air conditioning, vent to the outside for the dryer, and my wonderful husband for providing me with all of the above.  And also, I thank God for providing us with everything, and for giving us challenges to help us appreciate what would otherwise be normalcy.