Saturday, September 27, 2008

Tortoise and the Hare

I just celebrated my 40th birthday...something I've been excited about for many years now. Not sure why I was so excited....but it was definitely a day I was looking forward to. Dave surprised me with gorgeous flowers.



A couple weeks ago Megan and I had a ton of fun creating Modge Podge birdhouses. I'm still laughing at our totally different approaches. She loves color and playing fast. In 2 seconds her project was totally transformed from its original state...and then she layered, built up, tore down, and joyfully transformed it 20 more times. Apparently, I'm a more ...hmmmm....methodical crafter. The white birdhouse stayed white for an hour as I selected papers, organized shapes, twisted trellises. I wouldn't make any changes until I was reasonably sure they'd be permanent. And it turned out exactly as I hoped it would. I love it!!! But our approaches sure make me laugh. I think that there's a psych experiment in there somewhere. :-)














I think my approach will probably help me in my next project...getting my newly diagnosed diabetes under control. After YEARS of trying to lose weight with varying degrees of intensity...but always with a high carb/low fat/low calorie plan, I had almost zero success. I'd maintain my weight within a few pounds...but the pounds were usually creeping up, and I've been significantly overweight most of my adult life. Drove me crazy because I knew what I was supposed to be eating.

When I was diagnosed, my doc told me that my diet approach simply wouldn't work because the diabetes wasn't allowing me to process the sugars properly...so up up up I'd go. He asked me to get some exercise in and try to lose about 50 pounds with a reduced carb/low fat/low calorie plan.

I've already lost 6 pounds. And my headaches are gone. And I feel more alert. And my feet aren't purple. Eureka! And, yes, I do eat carbs...but healthier ones. I can't believe that one little switch made such a difference. Bottom line is that my doctor now thinks that I'll probably be able to lose the medications within a year...if I keep it going. And I know I can. I think I've been building my house for a long time. :-)