bunsofaluminum's journal

[afreespirit]

Are you taking an ace inhibitor for high blood pressure (the generic name ends in "pril")? These have a common side effect of persistent cough with an itchy throat. Just a thought.

[ncyg46]

i take lisinipril...generic..is that the one? I usually have a cough in the morning.....

[afreespirit]

i take lisinipril...generic..is that the one? I usually have a cough in the morning.....

Yes, lisinopril is an ace inhibitor. There is a newer, similar class of drugs called ARB's (example: Cozaar) that your doc could switch you to, or maybe switching to a different ace inhibitor would relieve the cough. The ARB's do not typically have the cough side effect.

[bunsofaluminum]

Hi freespirit

nah, no meds on me at all. This cough comes from me inhaling a leeeetle teeeeeny speck of incense smoke when I lit a stick of incense in my house...argh! It did start out with a scratchy throat that was most annoying, and now it's deep in my chest. Probably developed into bronchitis.

Being too broke for the doc and with no health insurance, and because there has been no fever or any other systemic symptoms, I am trusting my body's own defense mechanisms to kick this. Mucinex is good stuff. And so is ginger

Well, tomorrow the youth group at church is having a fund raiser, and I signed up to bring cookies for the bake sale, and I decided not to try a non-fat recipe, so I'm planning regular oatmeal EVERYTHING cookies: oatmeal cookies with walnuts, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, raisins, and the regular spices: cinnamon, cloves, ginger. I'm going to be baking those tonight, so I plan on eating BIG before starting....you kiddin' me? cookie dough? yeah, I better have a full tummy, eh?

I've done real good with my eating since coming off the mini, but the thought came to me yesterday: I'm in size 16 jeans which not that long ago, I could not have IMAGINED I would ever be in again...for some reason, it just felt really tenuous to me yesterday, as if I could easily slip up and gain pounds and sizes back again. Well, I'm not going to let it happen. I'm losing and want to keep it that way. baked potato with that yummy Hummus Dressing a la' Raven. and some coleslaw. yeah.

THEN work on the cookies.

I'm also going to spend some time on Saturday getting a bunch of cooking done, or anyway, prep work so cooking is a breeze. I have a non-fat vegan potato salad in mind, but I need to totally invent the dressing, not using mayo or any equivalent. I have some ideas and will report here as I figure it out.

Feeling the loneliness a little bit today. Not hankering for a "soul mate" or a man (other than missing the sex) but just community. People to be with, to pray with, share meals with, PREPARE meals for.

It has been a season of retreat, and maybe the time is coming to begin stepping out of that.

[afreespirit]

Hi buns,
The vegan potato salad sounds so good. Have you ever tried a sweet-sour type dressing for it (I think it may be German-style)? I don't have a recipe, but sweet-sour is basically just equal parts vinegar and sugar. If I was making it I would add some onion and pickle and--yum!

[bunsofaluminum]

Quick post this morning. I did make the cookies last night, after a yummy dinner of baked potatoes and coleslaw. The dressing for the coleslaw is what you recommend for my potato salad, freespirit...that is, equal parts sugar and vinegar, over sliced cabbage, red onion, and grated carrot. The dressing is a good balance for that oniony flavor that I disliked before. Tasted the dough once to see if it tasted okay, and the bowl was put IMMEDIATELY into water, so it would be beyond temptation. And I had one teeny cookie this morning to see if they came out okay. They did.

Today's Plan:

B: oatmeal w/figs and spices
L: baked pot w/hummus dressing topper; coleslaw
D: ratatouille, baked potatoes, coleslaw, etc. (leftovers day)

Bake Sale this evening. I'll be busy after work. Glad I took the time to bake yesterday so all I gotta do this afternoon is put cookies on plates.

I hope to walk today. It's going to be beautiful.

[kirstykay]

You're doing great, Buns! Hope the bake sale goes well today! Congrats on baking and not indulging!!!! You Rock!!!!

[raven]

Hi Heidi, You did good! Yay!

Take care.
Raven

[bunsofaluminum]

It's another rainy day here in the High Desert Mountains of Utah. My pansies are absolutely amazing...bright, colorful, perky. I planted them in new potting soil at the beginning of April, outside in window boxes and color pots on my front porch and they are GLORIOUS. So sweet. Pansies with their little faces are so adorable All this moisture is doing wonders for the flowers everywhere. I'm sure my roses will be amazing later in the summer, and I see wildflowers growing in all the interstate medians and on ramps.

But because there has been less sunshine than usual, my veggies are growing very slowly. I should be harvesting my spinach patch right now...nope. Not a leaf bigger than two inches. And the beets should be ready by next week? nope. They are doing fine, but way too small to think of harvesting yet. And the peas are beginning to climb the poles I put near them, but no flowers on them. Oh! and the "early girl" tomato plant is the only variety that has no flowers on it yet

There are Western Tanagers in the area right now. I've never seen these birds before, and this year and they are abundant. I've seen them all over this area, and my mom in SLC has them in her yard. They are a mediumish bird, larger than a sparrow, smaller than a robin. They are bright yellow, with an orange-red head and black wings. Very cool. We didn't know what they were and had to look them up. hm.

Still coughing. Ugh. If I felt sick, I would have already gone to the doctor, but I'm fine other than once or twice a day, a coughing spasm. And...I think I have something more serious to deal with, healthwise. That is, a bump that appeared on my chin last week. I thought it was a zit, but it never came to a head. Instead, it just opened up and is now an itchy little open sore. It seems sort of abnormal and I've had my share of sunburns, so...gonna have that checked early next week for sure.

Eating today:

B: rice w/ratatouille YUM
L: baked potatoes with Raven's Heidi Dressing
D: hot and sour soup over rice

[sksamboots]

Sounds like your doing good. Keep on keepin on

[bunsofaluminum]

Ha! Down another pound! woot! 194

I'm also praying for a shortened workday, because my best friend wants to barbecue at her house, and if I only have to work until 2:00 instead of 5:00, that's TOTALLY DOABLE! yay!

In the interest of full disclosure, I must confess that I ate a half dozen cookies yesterday...those "everything oatmeal bars" that I made for the bake sale. i took two dozen to a potluck in the afternoon, and on my way home, i ate what was left...probably six or seven of em.

Today, I will do better. Maybe not MWL. If I'm going to a barbecue, I am taking one of my Boca burgers to grill, but I'll follow the 75% rule of making sure my plate is 75% low calorie dense veggies.

If we end up not bbq'ing, I will eat MWL today.

The potato salad turned out delicious. I took it to the potluck and everyone loved it! Very simple: potatoes, minced celery and red onion, and a dressing of equal parts honey and white vinegar. YUM!

Today's Plan A:

B: ratatouille over rice
S: an orange
L: potato salad
D: boca burger w/the works; large green salad w/hummus dressing; probably something dessertish.

Plan B:

B: ratatouille over rice
S: an orange
L: potato salad and romaine lettuce
S: nuked sweet potato
D: caramelized yellow squash and onions over baked pots; salad

[sksamboots]

Congrats on the 194!!!

[kirstykay]

194!!!!!!!! WoooHooo!!!!!
Who said slow and steady wins the race???? Well, you are just moving right along down that scale!!! Yay You!!

The cookies were a brief laps in judgement! Not going to derail you, no they're not...you're right back! Way to go!

[bunsofaluminum]

Hey there boots and Kirsty

thanks for the cheers!

Earlier, I said "no meds on me at all." Huh. I went to the dr. not because of the cough, but because an ugly sore broke out on my chin. But the doc listened to my breathing and said "asthma induced bronchitis" and prescribed prednisone, antibiotic, and an inhaler. The antibi's are mostly for the infected sore on my face, the inhaler and steroids for my lungs. groovy

scary, the side effects on that steroid! I hope it all works and I get healthy again.

Today has been a very nice day. I got a chance to watch cedar wax wings, western orioles, and sparrows flitter around in a tree at work. I think it's a plum, and there must be some dried fruit still on some of the branches. Cedar wax wings are such cool birds.

We have Miss T back, who was with us in the summer last year, but still in school, so we didn't have her over the school year, but she's back! ha! she is a HOOT! She's non-verbal, and non-ambulatory EXCEPT she can crawl and she does. And she did...right over to a little shelf full of DVD's and took them all out of there and made a lovely mess all around herself. Her favorite toy, which really is hard to find nowadays, is a twirly style phone cord...they just don't make em anymore...but she'll get her fingers wrapped around one of those and pull on it, put in her mouth, shake it, whup it around...ha!

And a new client, Mr M, who is very quiet, in a wheelchair, non-verbal but he did smile at me when I went over to say hi. He's cute. Looks like Harry Potter. We don't know his likes and dislikes yet, but we'll learn him soon, I'm sure.

It was a full house today.

Eating is good. I had some potato chips when they were out open on the table...grrr...but I've eaten very light, and very healthy other than that.

Got the ingredients I need for making the oatmeal bars recipe that is in the recipe forum. I'll make those tomorrow or the next day. Planning on making some baba ganoush and some ratatouille, as I found eggplants at the discount store, four for $1.00

Hm, better put those in to roast now that I think about it. gonna be good. LOOOOOVE baba ganoush!

[bunsofaluminum]

Huh, I never got near a computer all day yesterday. But it was a good busy. The work day was spent entirely with one client, who was over the top when he arrived, and needed one on one time to calm him down...The Cat in the Hat, x2. And, a book with music from Sesame Street, me singing every song and tapping the rhythm on his leg or back...and hacking my voice. But it was still good.

Then my afternoon client who I haven't seen for a week because of illness. He is going downhill pretty fast I never thought I would say this, but a feeding tube would change this guy's life. He is losing the ability to swallow, and other clients I know (two of them) who cannot swallow and have feeding tubes, are normal weight, well fleshed, no pressure sores, energetic. Mr E, who I had to coach for every sip of ensure he took yesterday, is literally wasting away, and it makes me sad. The plain fact is, with a feeding tube, a person can get enough calories. That's the bottom line. When you can't swallow, it is impossible to get enough calories, and you get underweight, and when you are in a wheelchair, the pressure sores start up. With enough calories, the skin can be healthy and firm, and a little fat on the bones softens the pressure points where the person has to sit all day long. But they are resistant to the idea of a tube

I ate some M&M's at their house but I also ate the last of my baba ganoush and veggies, and that was the last of my food for the day. Well, I had a taste of my sister's green curry at a restaurant. But I get ahead of myself.

After work I pulled weeds in the garden, then went to group. I wore the CUTEST girly blouse. The lowest cut top I ever wore in my LIFE, and the VS push-up bra absolutely made it work. Made of a lightweight pleated fabric, with plunging v-neck. Calico type print of magenta, peach, orange, and khaki. The front gathers right beneath the breasts, with the effect of ruffles and soft pleats to the hem. It's ruffly without being frou-frou. I felt SO feminine in it. I'm loving how confident it makes me, getting the weight off.

And, because of that plunging v-neck, I was more self-conscious than i wanted to be. Oh, well. It was still dang cute.

Then, after group I met my mom, my sister, and her family at a restaurant, and this is where the changes in me manifested themselves: I sat and visited with everyone, sipping on ice water, while they ordered and ate. My sis had green curry with chicken. I had a couple of tastes of that (just the creamy broth...oooh,yum!) and a bite of her egg drop soup. (and I LOVED the rich flavor of the egg in that...whoever would have considered EGG to be rich...)

There are lots of vegetarian options at this place, and I was invited to join them, but I just wasn't interested. And when I got home at 9:00 it was bedtime and I DID NOT have a snack. Just brushed my teeth and hit the hay! The last thing I ate was some baba ganoush and veggie stix at 5:00 pm at my client's house. I proud of myself

Today's Plan:

B: Oatmeal w/raisins and brown sugar
L: saute'd yellow squash and onion over rice
D: ratatouille? I have eggplant

I will be serving dinner at the rescue mission, so I want to eat before I go there for sure.