Woolly Mutts

Fatty, Fat, McPhaterson

Hello, My name is Holly and I am fat.  Yep, that's right, I'm chunky and I am aware of the situation and I swear on all the Cabury Caramel Eggs in the world that if I hear another news story about how obese Americans are I will force high fructose corn syrup down someones throat.  Seriously. 

Here's the thing - we know.  We know we should eat less and exercise more.  One can hardly pass a magazine rack, television, radio, coffee shop, without being blasted with the religion of good health, and truly, I agree.  Most of us in the category of pudge would agree.  We have our own stories of weight gain (the WORST two words in the language) and yes, there are those few who just plain gave up on giving it the old college try and survive on McDonald,  Twinkies and Mountain Dew. (No offense intented to those 3.  It's about selection, not choice).  Chances are the preservatives alone will keep them alive longer than expected, but that is not my story. My story began with anxiety and a helpful drug called Paxil.  Paxil turned me from a vibrating insomniac who was one pinky toe from the edge, back into something that resembled what I remembered myself to be, with the small revision of an additional 50 pounds.  They don't tell you that stuff when they prescribe it, but honestly, I probably would have taken it anyway.  Sometimes it's hard to tell the yin from the yan.

Now that I was fat and happy the inevitable happened, type II diabetes.  I was diagnosed in, I think, 2007.  I took the classes, lost some weight (Kysa was getting married so I had a pretty strong motivation) and was able to control it with diet and exercise for almost 6 years.  As Cam would say, "I did it!"  Then I herniated a disc in my neck, managed to anger the hip gods and was gifted with bursitis, so exercise was almost impossible.  To drown my sorrows I ate like a 13 year old boy for a couple of months and anything resembling control disappeared. 

It was time to go in for my check up and I was afraid.  Afraid my doctor, who truly is the nicest man, would be all, "your A1c is 15oo thousand and you are a pitiful loser".  In truth, my A1c was just under 7, which isn't good, but not as bad as I feared, and he very kindly told me that considering all my factors I had done a good job for all those years and now it was time for drugs.  Bummer.   If you even whisper the word  "side effect" anywhere near my body it will conjur up said effect with the enthusiasm of a tsunami.   And it did.

First med was the traditional Metformin.  Took my glucose numbers right down, but my intestines revolted in such a profound manner that I lost 6 pounds in 5 days.  No, no, bad meds.  On to med # 2.  I forget the name...no side effects, in fact no effects of any kind. Epic fail.  We have now moved on to drug number 3, a once a week inject-able (it's ok, I'm good with it and if I weren't my lovely daughter-in-law who is a nurse has offered to assist).  So far, and I shouldn't even type the words, so good.  No side effects, slowly decreasing numbers, AND I don't feel like eating.   Anything.  I'm not nauseated, just not hungry.  Saints be praised.  I may, possibly lose weight.  At least I'm no longer considering a bathroom remodel to include a nice lounge chair and a mini fridge.  We must be grateful for the little things.

So, the point of all this blah, blah, blah, is that some people struggle with their weight.  Ok, lots of people struggle with their weight, especially as we get older and our metabolism retires to Florida, leaving us behind.  I think, that like all things in life, kindness is the best medicine.  Being fat does not make you less intelligent, less worthy, less human.  My belly and double chin do not alter the value of my soul. Yes I need to eat healthy foods and do my best to move my body, but my size does not make me less or more, it is simply who I am.  My battle to fight, my path to walk.  Waving a celery stalk in my face isn't going to help.  Empathy, understanding and kindness will. 

To all the fatties amoung us, I say, stay the course.  Being healthy in body is very important, but so is being healthy in mind and spirit.  Love thyself, for your worth is a glorious thing.

Namaste, brothers and sisters, namaste. ♥

A new camera to make friends with.

After much research on AH's part and a lot of narrowing down of true need, we bought me a new camera.  My criteria was simple; point and shoot, good in low light, macro mode.  That's it.  Someday in my future I hope to take photography to the next level, but right now I just need to take a simple picture.  So, we went to Target and got a Nikon Coolpix S6300 on sale for $179.  It's red and cute and so far we are getting along well.

Remember you can click on these to embiggen for a better look.  First picture of the first thing I had on hand.  I was impressed.  If you look closely you can see the shimmer of the polish.  On to more.

These were taken early in the day in very bright, unforgiving light, and I am happy with the results.

The zoom is way better than I expected.  I took this pic of a robin from over 50 feet away.

Macro?  Kind of still struggling with that.  It's hard to convince it to focus on the center, though AH has played with the setting a bit and we've had more success.

If those last three are the only pictures I ever take with the camera I'll be happy.  Cam and Coop are such good friends.  She sat down next to him, leaned over on him and then fell back laughing.  Oh my, life is a dear, dear thing.

Random Monday

Ah Monday, I do adore you.  It's just me and you and the quiet...well...and the to-do list, but that's a given.  This morning I have started the laundry, done the dishes, took about 100 pictures with my new camera (more on that tomorrow) spent some time on the yoga mat, caught up on the Jerseylicious recordings and here I am at my computer.  Bliss, even with the laundry and dishes.

I thought maybe I'd try something new for a bit....Random Monday in which I tell some random stuff...randomly.  :-)  New favorite word...random.  It describes me pretty well!  So, this week:

This weeks favorite Pandora channel:  Bruno Mars.  upbeat, occasionally explicit (which I thumbs down if I'm truly offended).  In the last hour I've heard One Republic, Gotye, Adele, Glee, Bruno, NeYo.  Makes me want to dance and sing, which is good for a morning alone.

Book I'm reading:  Just finished The Witches of East End. Smallish book, which is sort of unusual for me.  It was good and I'm looking forward to the sequel.  Aparrently she has previously written a series of books that I might have a look at.  Not sure what I'm reading next.  Open for suggestions.

Book I'm listening to:  in my world there are always two books (at least) going, on reading, one listening.  I am deeply sad to say that I finally finished listening to Wise Man's Fear, by Patrick Rothfuss, the sequel to The Name of the Wind.  I am missing the tale of Kvothe like crazy since it too me months to listen to both of them. WMF in hardcover was 993 pages though I have no idea how many hours of audio that adds up to.  If you are not into fantasy, take a pass, but if you enjoy a well told tale, I give these books 5 stars.

Movie:  This weekend we went to see Battleship and it was pretty good.  Much better than I was expecting. I'd even go so far to say that it would be a great family movie.  Not for the littles, but I'd say maybe 10 and up.  No major language, no crazy blood, aliens aren't real scary.  I think the did a good job.

Shameless product endorsementt:  Ro's Argan Body Condtioner from LUSH.  Have you met LUSH?  Organic, mostly vegan, animal friendly, such.great.stuff.  Ro's Argan is new, to me anyway, and I won't lie, it's pricey, $29.95 for a jar, but now that I've tried it .....oh man....so hooked.  You smooth it on in the shower, pat dry and spend the rest of the day feeling soft and smelling fan-freaking-tastic.  Seriously.  It even works on my feet and I'm always barefoot.  Fifty gazillion thumbs up.

Knitting project:  Emerson's Peace and Love blanket. (Rav link)

I love everything about this project, even though I'm being crazy pokey knitting it.  Really cute blankie for a peace and love kind of baby (or baby Nana). 

TV:  Ok, I know everyone is watching Game of Thrones and they should be because it's crazy good, but sharing its time slot, at least in our neck of the woods, is Masterpiece Mystery; Sherlock Holmes.  SO.GOOD.  SO.GOOD.  SO.GOOD.  Thank the tv geeks that our DVR is able to record two shows at the same time.

Happy, happy Monday!!

The simple joy of bubbles.

In this matter I tell you the complete and irrefutable truth; there is nothing on this earth as sweet as spending time with your grandchild.  She is the definition of joy.

 

 

 

 

Today I feel blah and so I will ramble on about nothing.

Today I am blah.  Blahish.  In the vicinity of blah.  All that and a bag of blah.  AH is on staycation this week and is busily working in the yard while I continue to be blah.  Truthfully, I'm more in pain than blah.  Blah is just a side affect.  One little herniated disk can radiate pain in the oddest places.  Like the center of my chest, for example, or right above my ear.  Nerves are just crazy little buggers.  Glad I have them, most of the time.  Today, not so much.

Isn't that little geranium budlet beautiful?  It was the last picture my camera took before the battery died.  Remember how we got a new charger?  Yeah, it doesn't work.  Really nice work for a parting shot, though. 

I really dislike pink.  Who doesn't like pink?  Me.  It's right up there with yellow for my least favorite colors ever.  Pink feels frivolous and a tad insincere.  Yellow just tries too damn hard.  Funny, isn't it, how colors make impressions? At the moment I am loving orange.  We just got a new picture for the dining room and it's got lots of orange.  I would share a photo, but.....that's right....the camera is dead.

Aren't refridgerators amazing inventions?  We have been saved from having to haul a gigantic old piece of ice home and then only have cold until it melts.  We don't have to hang our meat in salt houses and then pray to be safe from any number of air borne bacterial diseases.  Oh mighty fridge, you are awesome.  What if, though, there was a fridge that could read expiration dates and dispose of things when they expire?  Or maybe even be able to tell that last weeks lasagna was growing spores and just make it go away?  How cool would that be? One day it's there and the next day there is just an empty dish.  Awesomeness.   I HATE cleaning out the fridge. 

I swear I have not taken the back pain medication yet. Sometimes I am just random.

Typepad has started throwing in recommended links in my posts.  It generates them from topics I've just written about.  I find them mildly hilarious.  So far it wants to help you find information on bacterial diseases and pain medication, to name a few. It kind of makes me want to type even MORE random things just to see what it comes up with.  Menopause, carmel topping, organic mushrooms, purple unicorns.  I'm going to leave them there today.  Let me know if they are annoying or distracting or hilarious. 

Did anybody see the last episode of Private Practice?  Lord have mercy, I cried my eyes out.  Vampire Diaries also a tear jerker, but really good.  Phil Phillips should win American Idol because he is unique and loves his Mama and Daddy, which you can never have enough of. Also because he knows and appreciates the wonder that is Damien Rice.  (Check out 'The Blowers Daughter'.  Seriously beautiful.)

It is a gosh darn beautiful day out there.  I'm going to go take drugs and enjoy it from a prone position. 

Roger Wilco over and out.

Mother's Day 2012 Sky Lantern Launch

 

 

 

And so it was accomplished..our Mother's Day sky lantern launch.  You can tell from all the voices on the video above that there were all ages in attendance and everyone seemed to have a good time.  Some of the conversation you hear is about the 2 or three that ended up in the trees taking a few years off the life of firefighter Karl, but they burned out without the necessity of a 911 call.

To everyone that came, I can't thank you enough.  Thanks for joining us and for letting us all be a part of some really wonderful moments.  The launch itself was lovely, but the best part for me was standing back and watching the small groups after their lantern had launched.  They held hands, hugged, huddled together in moments of memory and love and it was beautiful. I hope all the spirit that we honored that night were there to enjoy it with us.

Below are a few links to other videos:

Kysa and Sherise 

Stan and Dorene

 Karl and Santa

The LONG version of the evening.  About 6 minutes and including footage of the lantern eating trees.  (Remember Charlie Brown and the kite eating trees?♥)

Side note:  Mary....we launched one balloon for all your loved ones.  It was the first one to go up and it was a beauty!

Above is a short (REALLY short) video of the lantern that Josh and Kysa decorated for my Mother.  It was one of the ones that ended up in the trees and then fell to the ground and, though I could hardly believe it, the decoration did not get damaged at all.  I guess mother really didn't want to see that lantern go. :-)  Kysa and Josh are going to save it, cuz we are all sentimental like that. 

I think that we will make this a yearly tradition and utilize all we learned this year to make next year even better.  (Avoid the trees, have a hose handy, synchronize launches...etc.)  To all the cars that stopped to watch...hope you liked it!  To any neighbors who ended up with one in your back yard...they are biodegradable and did not arrive from another planet. :-) 

 

My Mother's Day gift from Cam.

Mother's Day picture 2012.  Please forgive the manical grin on my face. I don't know why I always look like I'm about to disolve into hysterics when I get my picture taken.   The other two beauties make up for it.

Backstory: I have an issue with what my sister and I like to call "the area".  That  jolly space between bra line and hip.  Of all the woes that is my 54 year old self esteem, "the area" is the one holding the loaded gun just waiting to fire the shot to send me into permanent hiding. 

Last night the fam came for Mother's Day dinner and I decided that I wanted to dress all cute for a change so I did....for about a half hour and then I got so hot that I ran into my bathroom to change.  When I disappear Miss C tends to come looking and I heard her calling in the hallway.  Our conversation went down like this:

C: Nana!

N: I'm in here Cam.  In the bathroom.

C: What are you doing?

N: (I open the door so she can see me.  I am standing in shorts and bra.) I'm changing my clothes.

C: Oh.  Nana!  You have a pretty belly.

N: Thank you.

C: Can I touch it?

N: Sure

C: It's very soft.  Pretty Nana.

N: Thank you darling. I love you.

C: Yes.  Bye.

As they say, out of the mouths of babes.  Sweetest Mother's Day gift ever.

 

Our sky lantern launch went off very well.  More on that next post.

For any mother who has parented a....um....let's just say....creative...child.

Kysa, lovely, kind, thoughtful, beautiful Kysa was what I will kindly call, a handful.  She was not mean spirited, not overly naughty, it was really more that she was creative.  Creative in ways that either endangered her life or made me seriously consider a habit that would lead, one day MUCH later, to a twelve step program.  And, there was the added problem of her cuteness.  Lord she was cute and she could turn it on like water from a tap.  Barely ten seconds between me wanting to seriously harm her (or myself) and beautiful blue eyes batting as she hugged my legs with, "I love you, Mommy".  I went to bed at 9:00 pm back then from pure exhaustion. Just in case you have reason to question my accessment of the cute factor, here she is at 3.  It isn't a great picture, but you get the idea.

So when I found this blog post I laughed.  I laughed so hard I cried.  Sometimes the truth is so hilarious a person can hardly stand it.  Please click the link and have your own hilarious moment, especially if you had the honor to mother a "creative" child.  The dreaded year.  BTW, her entire blog is pretty great, but I should warn that she can occasionally use some appropriately (I think) adult language.

Happy Celebrate Mother's Day!

Sky Lantern launch reminder

Fast reminder that we are a go to launch the sky lanterns this Sunday (Mother's Day) at about  8:30 pm.  I explained in more detail at THIS blog post.  The weather forecast looks amazing and we are super excited to make this happen.  If you are coming, park wherever you find a place.  There is plenty of room in the field.  Bring friends if you think they would enjoy this, and also, if you can, bring a clicker to light your lantern. 

Feel free to come by any time after 8:00 or so.  We'll have a place for you to put a name or decoration on your lantern, if you choose.  There will also be a bonfire (well tended by firefighter Karl).  We have some chairs, but you might want to bring one, or a blanket, just to be sure.    OH...and your camera!!!

Kysa and I are so excited about this.  I can hardly wait!  If you can't make it and would like to have a lantern launched in honor of a loved one, just leave a comment below, or drop me an email (hollyberry57@comcast.net) and let me know. 

Let's light up the sky with love!

The lure of the north woods.

Any time we find ourselves with funds and availability, the first thing we think of doing is head for the north shore of Lake Superior.  It's been a few years since the stars have aligned and I miss it.  A lot.  I miss the sound of the waves against the rocks, the walks in the woods, the sweet town of Grand Marias with it's Sven and Ole's Pizza. My mother's ashes were scattered there.  Over the years it has sort of become "our" place.

We talk about it and dream.  We dream about a vacation home there large enough for the entire family to come and visit.  It's about an 8 hour drive from our home to Grand Marais, so we dream about flying from Chicago to Duluth and then renting a car for the final leg.  I can never decide about a home on a inland lake or one right on the shore of the big lake. Deep in the woods or nearer to town.  The great thing about dreaming is that is has no boundaries.

Our little place is beginning to change, and not necessarily for the better.  When we first discovered it, it was a well kept secret.  We generally go off-season, so crowds haven't been an issue.  The place we LOVE to stay, East Bay Suites, was just getting off the ground and is now considered a boutique hotel with prices that reflect that.  Mind, it is a very special place that sits right on the shore of Lake Superior and the suites are amazing.  Still, it becomes harder and harder to fund our trips when the prices continue to climb.

I am fond of torturing myself by receiving several emails from different spots along the north shore, and today I received one with the information that the drive from Duluth to Grand Portage has been declared one of the top 10 great all-American road trips, and let me tell you, it is certainly that.  There are trees and tunnels, water falls, miles of scenic shore line.  Castle Danger (one of my favorites which is nothing but a sign by the road near a place that has great pie...Rustic Inn?  I don't remember exactly.  I know it's not Betty's Pies, but her's are good, too.), ore mines, deer, wolves, moose, bears.....it's the best.

It is simply beautiful, but will it stay beautiful if the world makes its way to it's door?  Many of the places up there survive on tourism, so I'm sure they are very happy about the good PR and I should be happy for them.  I think.  Perhaps if we continue to visit in the off-season I won't even notice the difference.  Perhaps. 

Or, maybe the time is coming to set out to discover a new place, though my heart breaks a little to consider that.  Life is change and change is not always bad.  Then again, sometimes it just plain sucks.