Happy New Year! Some Tips to Share

As most of you know, I fight continuously on the battle of the bulge. My stomach just doesn't want to be reduced. Now, stepping back and evaluating this information, I've come to realize some of it is my fault and some of it is caused by medications.

First, let me explain the really easy part. My fault.  I love to eat, plain and simple. I love food. I love to cook and seriously get excited with flavor combinations. I'm always on the lookout for a new recipe that will test my culinary skills and tickle my palate when I eat it. Hence, gluttony will get me every time. Plus, right now, holidays are a killer. Everyone is bringing something for me to taste and well, taste I must. LOL.  The second aspect of my fault is my lack of exercise. When I was exercising, I was losing weight.  Uh, I fell off the wagon.  No exercise means extra weight. Plain and simple.  The tip here: Exercise and watch what you're eating.

Now, let me explain about my medications. I'm diabetic, stage 2. Last year, this time, my A1C was over 10 and my doctor was totally ticked. He wanted me on insulin. I fought that battle and got my A1C down to like 7.4 and I went on a strict, rigid diet, cutting my carbs and meal intakes. My doctor had me take a "diabetes learning class" and things went awry. My instructor was appalled I had cut out almost all carbs. She was adamant, I had to have carb intake. She put me on a diet that consisted of 60 carbs per meal (3X daily) and 30 carbs per snack (3X daily) and if you do quick math, that is 270 carbs a day.  I tried it.  My weight skyrocketed. And my sugar increased, too.  So, after a couple of months of seeing this drastic change, I went back to my diet with minimal carbs. I love rice and potatoes and I wasn't about to cut that from my diet. I just drastically cut back the amount and how often. No more heaping piles of rice - a polite amount, one half cut. I got my rice hit. Same held true for the potatoes. A small serving or a very small baked potato. No longer do I search the tater pile for the biggest ones I can find.  Even French fries are being limited. My tip about this is simple: You are what you eat - or if you're talking about medications - what you take - try to keep control.

But, I digress. My medications, many of them, have side effects and usually that includes, of all things, weight gain. I spoke with my doctor about that and he had a solution. I figured another pill. Wrong! He pulled a fast one on me. I take a Victoza shot every day. It helps me maintain my sugar and also dampens my appetite - somewhat.

Now, as I said, I gave up my exercise. I'm paying for that action now. I've regained about 10 pounds of what I've lost.  I'm still under 250, down from the original 268 at the beginning of the year, so I consider that a good thing. I think I've maintained a 20 pound loss over the year. Yay!!  My tip at this point? Keep focus and don't lose heart. It is too easy to give in.

As stated, I stopped my exercise and to say I became more fixture-like is an understatement. That has not done my heart any good. For the last few days I've been watching my #4 son's dog - a pitbull puppy and she is solid muscle. Lugging her to her bedtime crate for the night leaves me slightly wasted in my recliner. I'm not gasping for air but I can tell it wears on my heart. Having had a quadruple bypass eleven years ago - I notice my heart more, now.  Tip to this? Be aware.

Other topics. My writing has languished of late. I did complete NaNoWriMo but the story is nothing like I planned so it will basically be a rewrite. I want it to be more literary than fantasy. Yes, I know I'm a fantasy writer but I wanted this story to NOT have a lot of fantastical aspects, and be more fictional. I guess that is what rewrites are all about. So my tip here: Sit your butt in the char and write!

So, with the beginning of a new year, like everyone else, I will once again attempt some new year resolutions... and like I've said in the past: Make the realistic and attainable with a definitive goal.

I'm going to lose weight. That is undefined. I'm going to lose 50 pounds. That is probably unattainable.  I want to lose another 15 pounds this year. Now, THAT is a possibility. Why such a small amount? Simple. I lost 20 and struggled to keep it off. Trying to lose another 15 is going to be tough. Did you read the above? My meds make it difficult. Of course, the more I lose, maybe I can reduce some of those medications. It was a slow spiral down to this point, it will be a slow go to reach back up to the top. But I will -- WILL -- get there.

I'm going to write more this. A nice ambiguous goal.  I'm going to publish 4 books. Another unobtainable goal, more than likely. I'm not saying it can't be done, but the reality to do so would involve total commitment and determination.  I'd like to publish 2 books this year. I figure it will be a fight with everything else I think I may be involved with this year, but, I've set a goal... and it is one I feel I could reach.

So my final tip: Make your goals for 2017 obtainable. No reason of going into the new year with goals that you know you can't reach.  It is better to save $50 during the year than attempt to put $1000 in the bank when you know you live from paycheck to paycheck.  A dollar stuffed in a jar each week won't be missed, but $20 a week could mean the difference of a nice meal and no meal.

Did you set your New Year's Resolutions?  Will you keep them?  Share your goals.

Until next I ramble on...

Scammed and Resolutions

Let's start with the "up" side first.  My resolutions for the new year.  Last year I mentioned how I had to get my diabetes under control.  I told some drastic measures and in thirty (30) days I took my A1C from 10.4 to 7.2 and my average blood-sugar was down from 246 to 91.

My doctor was pleased with my results and wants me to continue whatever regime I am doing.  BUT he changed my prescription meds from Janumet to Januvia for my diabetes.

So far, I've been on it a total of 5 days.  I do not like the results I am seeing.  My morning reading is normally in the 90s or very low 100s - like 91 or 102.  The best I've had with the new pills is 130.  My readings during the day aren't better, either.  I'm seeing numbers like 276, 218.  Sometimes I get a "low" reading like 165 and that is 3 hours after eating.  I will continue these pills but will be discussing this with the doctor.

The reason for the change in pills was due to my kidney readings.  My renal was like 1.92 and should be closer to 0 - that's a ZERO.  He wants to check things out so I'll be getting an ultrasound later this week and seeing a specialist the first of March.  More on that as it comes up.

So, for my New Year's Resolutions.  I'm sort of hanging onto what I had last year.  I'd love to publish at least two books this year.  I really want to get "The New York Voice" out to complete the 2nd book in my "The Amish Singer" series.  Plus there are a few other books I'd like to see out there.  And, of course, I'd like to lose another 20-25 pounds this year which would get me closer to my 200 lb goal.  My wife and I have already decided we'll do more traveling this year but I'll still have my garden.  I don't want to make the list too long so it basically is simple - Get my diabetes under control, get at least two books published and lose more weight.  Seems simple enough and over eleven months to get it all accomplished.  Yeah, right!

Now for the "down" part of this blog.

I got scammed.  On my credit card. We're not exactly sure how it was done but fortunately, my credit card company caught it early on, plus I just happen to be checking out my electronic bill.  When we attempted to purchase flowers for my MIL's funeral, the credit card was declined and we just used another card even though we knew there was no issue with the card.  After the funeral I finally remembered and decided to check out the bill and see what might have been the cause.

WOW!  I had a $200 charge made in another very large town approximately 4.5 hours away from me to the south.  I knew I hadn't spent that money and called the 24/7 hotline to see what was going on.  As we talked, I noticed the date - 12/14.  That's my wife's birthday.  In fact, we were almost an hour north of our home.  So where the purchase had been made was now over 6 hours away.  We even used that same credit card for the meal and just a few minutes between the purchases.

I was passed to Fraud Department.  As they checked out the transactions and attempted transactions on my card, it appeared that somebody was "swiping" my card at these businesses.  Yes, plural. The one transaction got through but the card was flagged when they attempted to use it at a business that reads the "chip" on the card.  The card was "tried" at no less than four other businesses but because of the chip on my credit card, when it got flagged, my card was disabled and marked.

As we talked I showed the Fraud Dept where I was and used my card that day and they realized that there was no way I could be at the two locations that fast... if even using a jet.  They cancelled my $200 purchase, removing it from my bill.  And we had new cards issued for my wife and I.

What I found interesting, these scammers were actually using a real card to "swipe" through the machines for the purchases.  I had to make sure both my wife and I had our cards.  Because of the chip in my card and the new scanners using them, they caught and disabled my card.  Sure, it was inconvenient when we attempted to purchase flowers for the funeral, but the other possibility, for us, could have been devastating.  Scammers can duplicate the card, they can't duplicate the chip.  WHY? Because, as I was told, the chip is updated each time the card is used, reading a number and changing it. Each time it is a unique number to your card.  If a scammer were to get that chip number and duplicate it, even if I used it just once before they got their new scam card made, the chip numbers wouldn't match and therefore, voila! Void.

So, here's the caveat.  If you have one of the new "chip" credit cards, don't think it can't be duplicated. The catch is - the store reader must be the new one to force the chip to be read.  Our local WalMart uses the chip with their new readers but many restaurants and stores haven't upgraded to the new machines and thereby just do the generic swipe.  In fact, a local grocery we shop at has the new machines but hasn't "bought and installed" the new software. Using the new card is a waste of time - there is no protection, customers have to swipe their cards.

My wife and I are keeping track of which stores read the chip and which stores don't.  If they don't, we are reluctant to go back to the store unless it is absolutely necessary.

Also, we don't let our card be taken away from us to be used, like at restaurants UNLESS we can see the transaction being done from our table.  Yes, we use cash in those instances.

We have our ideas of where the number got scammed and I notified the Fraud Dept people.  We were at a restaurant and the waitress took almost 20 mins to get our bill and card back to us.  If the place had been busy and I hadn't needed to be someplace at a certain time, I probably wouldn't have noticed the length of time.  We only had 2 incidents where our card has been away from our sight.  Fraud is aware of when and where.

Until next I ramble on...

Year End Round-Up

What did 2015 do for you?  It is the end of another year and, as always, we tend to get a little whispy-eyed with memories of the last 12 months.

This year had it ups and downs.  There were good things and there were bad things.  Of course, we all remember those incidences which just happened... like my mother-in-law passing just prior to Christmas.  That was definitely a down thing but you can spin it as an up thing: She was 103 and had lived a very full life.  Her health had been failing, along with her memory - and that hurt, especially my wife who visited her several times a week.  It's hard when your mother doesn't remember who you are - but, she knows you, just not your name.

Of course, there was my doctor visit in November which wasn't all that great.  My blood sugar was averaging 246 for the last six months and he basically told me, fix it or die.  Again, to spin a good thing to it, I have since lost 18 pounds and my sugar has been hovering around the 100-120 mark.  That is a very good thing.  I'll be going back in January for another blood draw to see what the new results will be.  I'm hoping to lose another few pounds in the meantime.

While on the subject of weight, I'll go clear back to the beginning of the year when I was making resolutions.  What were they?  Lose 25 pounds. Publish 3 books.  So let's see what I did.

Back in June I got so sick I could barely swallow.  I lost weight - a lot of weight.  I lost a total of over 30 pounds.  Then I got well.  I found them.  I didn't have to go that far to search, either.  They were ever so quick to return - and return they did.  Okay, I didn't get them ALL back.  I was able to let some free to roam and find another home.  About 10 pounds were left on the range.  So with the doctor's colorful health report, I've lost almost another 20 pounds, so, in total, I've lost almost 30 pounds this year.  THAT I call a success.  I reached my goal of 25 pounds.  Oh, for you readers, if you find these stray pounds, their yours to keep - call it my gift, if you will.  I don't want them back so they're free for the keeping.  I'm sure they'll be good to keep you warm - not healthy, but good.

Now, to the publishing.  In April I published "The Secret Voice" which has been a great seller.  I have had to order it twice from Amazon to keep it in stock.  I even sold a copy to the young lady who helped me at WalMart when I created my new poster of the cover.  My one classmate also works there and she's been telling everyone about and well, do you have any idea what it is like to have a clerk ask if she can buy a copy?  If you go to Amazon, it doesn't look like it is selling because all the copies I sell don't reflect... and I've sold a LOT of copies.

Anyway, I published that book and was able to finally get my 2nd book published yesterday and should be available now.  "CRACKED! The Writing Mystique" is a short how-to about handling the different aspects (mystiques) of writing including character detail, active/passive voice, writing sex and so much more.  As always, I made sure to include examples so it could be easily understood.

Did I publish three books?  No.  I really feel ashamed.  I could have done so easily but I didn't and there absolutely no excuse.  Of course, I've been working on the sequel to "The Secret Voice" and, as many writers will understand, my mind has been attacked by several other plots and stories that are screaming for attention. I was just busy with other things - like family and life, I guess.

Of course, this year, my wife and I tried to do a little more camping.  Of course, with her mother's health, we didn't want to travel too far away.  Most of the time we went to the local state park just a few miles up the road and would camp there for the week, skipping out Friday morning before it got too crowded.  We did do a trip up into Michigan with our middle granddaughters (ages 13 and 9) where we got in some great fishing.  That was about 5 hours from home... not too far, but away.

My garden.  It was a good garden.  I even was able to grow some sweet corn and it was delicious. My wife canned some tomatoes, making stewed, diced, juice and even several jars of salsa which I have pretty well decimated already.  She agrees - more salsa next year.  Yes, I have already received what I call the best fiction mags of the year - the garden seed catalogs.  And, yes, I already have delusions, uh, I mean, dreams of things I want to attempt to grow this coming year.  Since I was so busy doing mulch to certain areas, I am going to have to be a little more selective in what I want to grow in containers.  I have plans for a couple of tubs.  Of course, my two hanging deck boxes I have to allocate some nice draping plants.  And the step planters, those big 24-inch pots will need some color, too.  In just a few short months I'll be starting my garden seeds likes tomatoes, peppers and just not sure what else as of now.

Also, this coming year, I want to attempt raising some chickens - about 50 for slaughter and another 5 or 6 for eggs during the summer and fall.  Of course, if winter next year is anything like it has been so far this year, those chickens might make it through the winter.  Oh, and I'd like to also raise about 2, maybe 3 turkeys.  Living in the countryside does have its perks but then again, it also has the critters that like chickens and turkeys, especially the young ones... oh, and eggs, too!

So, as you can see, I'm already getting around to my New Years Resolutions for 2016.  I'll keep it simple.  Lose another 25 pounds.  Publish at least 2 books.  Raise some chickens and turkeys.  Grow a garden.  Travel, camp and fish more.  Oh, and spend more time with my wife, kids, grandkids, great grandkids, family and friends.

Until next I ramble on...

Updates to Updates

As we go into the third tri-mester of the year (the last four months), I thought I'd give a little update to what is happening.

Weight.  Good news, bad news.  Remember the 28 pounds I lost back in June when I was sick?  As a friend said, I found some of them. The good news is: Only half of them - so I'm still 14 pounds down which makes my target of 25 pounds by the end of the year - well, it is something I can possibly attain.  At least, I plan to make it.

Overall Health.  I'm not up to par.  I bought into the "you can't do this and that" and my sons have tried to make sure I don't do this or that.  So... now I can't do this or that without getting totally winded.  As stated last week, I bought a lot of mulch to put down.  Of course, having temperatures up into the high eighties and low nineties isn't helping, but I do a little and then need to rest.  I mean, like work for maybe 15-20 minutes and then break for 40 minutes.  It is all about bending over - pushing the gut into the lungs.  Still, I think it might be why the weight hasn't all come back... all that bending.

Mulch.  By the way, the mulch is looking good.  Of course, I didn't buy enough while it was on sale so the one area that I wanted to do probably won't get done - the swing set area.  Just as well.  I think I should put ALL rubber mulch there rather than a mixture of wood mulch with a light sprinkling of rubber mulch.  Since the rubber mulch wasn't on sale, I'll keep an eye open for it to better priced in the next few weeks.

Camping. Took the grand kids camping and now my wife and I can go alone and enjoy some quiet time at the campgrounds during the week since most families have their kids back in school.  OH! Went shopping for a new RV.  We own a 28 foot 1998 Allegro motor home.  Yes, a land-yacht. I'd like to get a "wider" motor home - not necessarily a bigger one.  Let me explain.  I want slide outs in the living area.  If my current motor home had a slide out, I'd keep it since I'm more than thrilled with the mileage I get with it.  Uh, we're talking 10 mpg and up to 14 mpg on flat interstates on cruise.  The new one I looked at would get "maybe" up to 7 mpg, possibly 9 mpg.  LOL. Sure.  I think we're going to hold off on it until maybe next year... unless the salesman comes back with a deal I just can't pass up.  (Like that's going to happen!)

Writing.  Has been stalled.  I've been doing a lot of editing for clients, so I don't have a lot of time for writing.  I've done some - a little - on my second Amish novel.  Was stumped for a while but with a little brain-storming with another writer (thanks, Elyse!), I've now got some great ideas to weave into the tale and give it depth.  With NaNoWriMo coming up in November, I have to decide if I want to attempt it yet again.  I  mean, I've competed 14 years, accomplishing 50K+ words 13 of those times. I've done NaNoWriMo since it's 2nd year of inception and only failing to complete the word count when I attempted a cookbook and my dad passed the month before.  Hint: Don't attempt a cookbook.

Gardening. The garden is coming to an end - sort of.  The corn is done and I've removed all the stalks from the raised bed.  My wife finally agreed that the green pole beans were finished, as were the wax bean plants.  Unfortunately I didn't tie-up my tomato plants - so they've sprawled all over but are doing fine.  We've canned a lot of salsa, diced, and stewed tomatoes - with more to come.  The shelves are filled with beans for the winter.  Still growing are the beets and carrots which appear might be a good crop this year.

Publishing.  I wanted to publish 3 books this year.  So far, only one book out. My Amish novel which has been selling like hotcakes at signings and shows.  On Amazon?  Not so well.  It would seem that the book hasn't sold well at all.  I've order copies twice now and figure I might have to order again before then end of the year - maybe twice!!  If you haven't checked it out - http://amzn.to/1ynQnzQ - you won't be sorry.  But, back to publishing.  Maybe with a little luck I'll be able to get out book 2 of my writing tips and book 1 in my Jewyl adventures is complete, for the most part, just some minor edits and a book cover design.  It's all about time.

Do you remember your New Year's Resolutions?  How are they coming along?  Given up?  Have you accomplished them?  Share.

Until next I ramble on...

Life Update

A friend sent me an email asking how my resolutions have been coming along since we are now about 25% of the way through the year.

Let's start with the worst case.  Weight loss.  I was thrilled when I found my weight down to 252 lbs and decided to push forward with an aggressive attack to really melt those pounds off.  Unfortunately, life has gotten in the way and I wasn't tracking my intake as well as I should have. Lent started and around here that means fish fries.  Yup, the deep-fried fish - all you can eat - type dinners with all the trimmings which include scalloped potatoes, coleslaw, macaroni and cheese, and of course, battered deep fried fish.  Oh, and of course, diet pop to wash it all down.

A couple from church told us about a buffet in a nearby town that included seafood. Yes, we had to check it out.  It was a night of protein gorging.  I had fabulous crab legs which I dipped in hot melted butter, frog legs, deep fried shrimp, boil shrimp, huge crab cakes, battered deep fried fish, broiled fish, and steak.  Again, it was all-you-can-eat and I made sure I ate a lot.  I skipped over the mashed potatoes, French fries, baked potato, buttered corn, mixed veggies and the salad bar.  Fortunately, it was only one night seafood gorging.

My youngest son's wife is expecting twins and we've needed to travel up to Michigan which threw us off our regular eating habits in favor of fast food or carryout.  In fact, we are down to the wire on delivery and my wife is staying with them in Michigan and I'm bouncing back and forth to take care of the dog and keep the rest of house under control.  It is Spring and the critters are coming out.

So, what was has the verdict been on my weight?  How many pounds have I lost?  ZILCH!  I gained.

That's right, I've gained over 10 lbs and am now attempting to place that spiral on hold and get the weight going the other way.  Another friend suggested I do portion control, eat more fruit and veggies and lay off the fast food and fried foods. I can try but when you're on the road, traveling, fast food seems to be the way of the road. One doesn't normally stop at a restaurant when making a dashing trip. I guess I can cut up some celery for the road.

Moving on, publishing books.  I have been a little side-tracked with clients and doing some editing. Still, I now have less than 10 pages of final edits to go and my next book will be done and ready for publishing.  Yes, that's right. With a little luck if I can get the cover completed in another week, I should have my novel - The Secret Voice - ready for publication.  Two weeks top.  So that means one book of three done.

Now, looking at my goals and where I stand, I figure 3 books equals 1 every 4 months.  I'm on target with my publishing goal.  My hope to lose 25 pounds would be about 2 pounds each month for for 3 months, I should be down 6 pounds.  Hmm?  I'm up 12.  So I'm behind about 18 pounds. Not good.

In my favor, Summer is coming and I'll be outside more.  My wife has a goal of camping every week for 3 to 4 day from May through October IF the week will be good weather.  I jokingly asked her if it was forecast to rain, we wouldn't go camping.  Her reply: We on Monday morning and come back on Friday morning - 4 nights. IF one of those days/nights could rain - we can enjoy it.

That means, if the weatherman says we got at least 2 days of foul weather in the week, we will stay home that week.  Actually, I'm sort of looking forward to it.  We usually stay at the nearby state park and during the week, it isn't all that crowded.  Come Friday, the campers come wheeling in and it becomes a veritable madhouse.  I prefer the quiet weekdays.

I've got most of my garden planned for 2015 and already have the tomato seeds started finally. Right now I have 4 seeds of each: Beefsteak, Rutgers, Roma, and Mortgage Lifter.  Will I plant all 16 plants when they come up.  I doubt it.  I'll give a few of them away to my kids... or I may keep them. I can honestly say the stewed tomatoes, tomato juice and - OMG! - the salsa my wife canned last year was fantastic.  The salsa - well, there is only 1 qt left and I'll probably eat it this week sometime.  I'm also considering, in addition to the raised 4x15 ft bed, will be trying bale gardening.  That's using bales of straw to plant things in. It could be interesting.  We'll see if the crocus come up over the next few weeks of where I want to put the bales.  If not, then I will do the bales.  If they do come up, then I will have to evaluate the situation.  Last year's show of crocus was pretty pathetic.

At the present time, no chickens.  Waiting for the twins to be born. Maybe later or next year.

Until next I ramble on...