Thursday Potpourri

This post is composed of unrelated, random stories, so I won't even pretend to tie them together.

My Health
Back in February when I had my appointment, my doctor wanted to run some blood work to have concrete, post- insulin- resistance- diagnosis numbers. Physically, it was clear that I’d found a balance because at that point I’d lost 20 pounds, but he wanted to see the same tests from November run again to make sure the numbers reflected my outward success.

A couple weeks back, I had a message from my doctor that my results had come in and everything was “much improved,” end of call. That wasn’t satisfactory at all, so I called back the next day to hear specifics. I was floored. My cholesterol, already under 200 in November, dropped 72 points. My insulin level, which should be under 10, went from 8.8 to 1.8. My fasting glucose went from 112 to 91. And on and on. It was very gratifying to learn of those results and to have another marker that things were progressing very positively.

My Hobbies
Along with being strict about my dietary restrictions (I only deviate for communion and, last Friday, for a lone strawberry someone offered – the latter sure made me feel guilty!), I’m continuing with knitting and sewing projects. One of my friends had created a cute little bag pattern, and I purchased it from her. I’ve now made four bags, and a couple of them are holding small knitting projects. They’re quick to whip up and they help organize the small projects that I’m simultaneously working on. Now it’s just a matter of which bag to grab rather than constantly throwing individual projects in and out as my whims change.


My Family
My nieces and nephews are all growing up, and on my side, it’s getting to the point that I can understand my sister’s oldest, and sometimes the two oldest, over the phone. Plus, Big Sister has now sent me an email and a text message, which both amuse me to no end. I get a huge grin whenever I see I have an incoming message from her.

I thought I’d share a cute story.

I was speaking with my father a couple weeks back. Since my sister is often at work by her children’s bedtime, my father tucks them in.

Every night before bed they like to pray. From oldest to youngest, they tend to stick to their familiar recitals.

K, the timid second-grader, often prays the following: “Dear God, please don’t give me scary dreams tonight, just good dreams."

Then comes R, not far from starting school: “Please make Mommy be okay, and Daddy, and Chloe [former dog], and Grandpa, and let us see Chloe again, and…”

Finally, the youngest, C, closes with his unintelligible mumbling. He would happily pray all night, but one of two things tends to happen; either Grandpa is forced to eventually cut in with a gentle word of, “That’s enough – God’s ready to hang up now!”, or R suddenly exclaims, “Christian, don’t pray for cookies!"

Not Me! Monday

I stumbled upon a new blog a month back when a friend joined the Not Me! Monday experiment. The goal is to pretend you didn't do what you did indeed do, even confess something by claiming you didn't.

So here are the things I certainly did not do this past week.

I did not get the nerve to travel Washington, D.C. on my own for a couple days while Eric was in a conference, and I certainly didn't use the Metro multiple times, exploring several museums and a yarn shop.


I was not in awe of "Ghost Clock" at the Renwick Gallery, since carving wood to look like a sheet draped over a grandfather clock is not all that impressive.


Since I grabbed a map when I entered Arlington, I didn't get lost when trying to catch the changing of the guard, because I wouldn't cut such a somber event so close.


I did not go to the top of the Washington Monument and take numerous photos from every direction.


And since I mailed a quick note to my mom before we left town, I certainly wouldn't see the need to mail her two postcards and a card while in DC.

And now that I'm home, I don't have achy joints after wandering around for two days in a row for about fourteen hours total.

And for the 72 hours I was gone, I did not feel guilty for leaving my cat alone, stocked with food, water, and a clean litter box. Because there was no guilt, I absolutely did not call our home -- twice -- to talk to her through the answering machine.


Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

Waiting Rooms

I had some blood drawn this weekend. Back in October or November, I had some drawn, and they want to measure my fasting blood sugar now to compare it to that earlier reading.

So Saturday morning, I awoke and went to the center. Naturally, there was a long wait, as everyone else decided not to miss work and get it completed on a weekend. I was there nearly two hours, but I had some knitting to occupy me, so beyond some periodic grumblings from my stomach, I was content.

I was amused by a four-year-old boy there with his mother. He was being silly with the toys, so in an attempt to calm him down, his mother tried to engage him by looking through a Highlights magazine. He was game, counting things for her and asking questions. This was happening in the background of my knitting, and I was catching snippets. Suddenly he piped up, “This page is for coloring. Where are the crayons?”

When none were to be found, he hopefully exclaimed, “Maybe I have crayons in my pocket!” He earnestly dug his hand down, only to emerge empty. Despondently he said, “No crayons.” Then he brightened up: “Maybe I have crayons in my other pocket!” Again, the ritual of shoving a hand down, only to emerge empty yet again. “No crayons. I wish I had crayons,” as he threw himself down in a chair.

I tried to hide my amusement at his antics. After all, perhaps it was commonplace for him to shove crayons in his pockets, but I like to imagine that he thought willing them to be there was enough to make it so.

Later on, he walked around with a large book balanced on his head, declaring, “I have a hat that looks like a book!”

I wanted to pull out my hat and reply, “I have a book that looks like a hat,” but I didn’t want to scare him off.