Wednesday, June 26, 2013

I Hate to Damage the Psyche of a Good Chair

     The last few weeks have been a blur of what to eat/not eat, what needs washed, dried, folded, put away, wiped up, wiped down, swept, mopped, scrubbed, mowed, pulled, watered, filled, drained, heated, cooled, painted, sanded, waxed, taken, dropped off, heard, written, crossed off, let in, fed, taken out, walked, hugged, ripped out, replaced, straightened, shined, polished, caulked, replaced, checked, adjusted, verified, etc. I bet yours have been about the same. 

Gratuitous photo of Audrey with her buntings. Because I know some of you require pictures.


     The most difficult part for me? Was the eating/ not eating. I had a health scare, and I have the all-clear from my doctor now. I feel like I can breathe again. But saying I had a health scare makes me feel like I am downplaying how I felt by about a kajillion. I started eating clean, eating what I should eat for my kidneys, to be precise. 

     Let me just tell you that in my whole life I have always eaten a lot of junk. Not lots of McDonalds or something - but lots of sugar went into this container of awesomeness. I was downing way more soft drinks than I want to admit. I swear there were days when I drank ten cans of Pepsi. No lie. 

     Add to that chocolate. Lots and lots of chocolate. And other candy. Every day. Many a day. And the baking. And the no-bake stuff. And the desserts, which are official. All that other stuff was unofficial, in case you were wondering. 

     Have I mentioned cheese? Because I really, really, really like cheese. Really. A lot. Times ten. 

     All that stuff (and oh-so-much more) was bad for me. And I stopped it. And I was making myself miserable. Also, I was hoping for a miracle when I had my next blood tests. I was hungry and sick of berries, cucumbers, cherries, celery, watermelon, onion, garlic, and whatever else was on the super-kidney list. I may have been feeling pretty sorry for myself. And very much afraid. I'm not good at admitting it when I'm afraid. I just get cranky. This way nobody can tell if I'm just my regular cranky or afraid. Great plan, isn't it!?

     Like I said, the blood tests all came back improved with everything in normal range, so it paid off. I lost nearly 30 pounds in those seven weeks, and my thyroid is now doing better than it was. It's still not good though, just improved. 

     My point, if I ever had one was "The last several weeks were miserable for me. Now I am feeling a great sense of relief." 

     On top of the great sense of relief, I am also feeling better in general. The pain I have had all of my life? The daily, constant, inescapable pain I always had in my neck and shoulders? It's gone! I'm going to attribute it to eating clean. You really should try it. You will probably like it! 

     I will still have occasional treats. Key word: occasional. Meaning not all day every day. (This note is more to remind myself than for you. I am sure you know what occasional means.)
  To celebrate my new-found peace and health I did a little shopping of the Craigslist variety. We agree we want a large table in our dining room. We want a large table which we can make extra extra large. My goal is a table which starts at nine feet and can expand to fifteen feet. We will use it at nine feet for day to day and pull it into the long room and run it and other tables all the way from the stove to the fireplace. 

Which would make this the 'before' photo

And make this the 'during' photo.



        Sorry Charlie, there is no after photo. Not yet. 

     Craigslist did net me these beautiful chairs from Yugoslavia. They are quite old, they are sturdy, they are comfortable, and best of all, they are mine.

    They don't match the table at all. But I do not care. Wait, that's a lie. I care. I am not sure if I can paint them yet. I know I can paint them. I mean I am not sure if I can do that to the chairs. I do not want to damage their psyche.  For now the table will be covered with a tablecloth. But I love that table so much that I like to look at it. So the chairs may have to take paint. We'll live with it a while and get to know them. I do not have to decide right now.

In Summary: 
  • I feel better
  • Chairs

  *To read more about our Ryan Homes Ravenna click the "Our House" button at the top of the page.    

7 comments:

  1. Whenever I see pictures of your house I have a great urge to run over and drop off the kids, yelling "See you later!" over my shoulder. Is that weird? I'm really glad you're feeling better. I love the term "container of awesomeness." My brother is having a weird kidney blockage with an upcoming surgery and he knows all about the kidney good foods.

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    1. Tamara, I hope they fire up the teleportation machine soon. I would be so delighted to get to play and read and make messes with your kids!

      I'm glad his is just a blockage and not some of the terrible variety of things which can happen to kidneys. I was praying mine was just a blockage and scared to my wit's end it was something worse. I'll keep in my prayers and good thoughts, in the spot next to where I keep you and your lovely little family.

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  2. Wow 10 pepsis in one day??? I'm surprised you didn't burn a hole in your esophagus! I understand you though. I love sweets, and I could marry cheese! I too am trying to change my eating habits and eater cleaner. It is feeling great and the pounds are coming off but I MISS MY TREATS! I'm breaking those habits though! Good for you!

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  3. I love that you're going to get to know the chairs before you paint them!
    And I am so happy that your health scare has passed! And I believe in clean eating but have lots of "occasional treats" too. It's a good way to be. And I like Alexa, could marry cheese as well!

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  4. When you talked about what you love to eat, I thought it was my words. I know how you feel. I gave up pop for about two years now and it's done wonders. I just drink water now and I've lost a lot as well. : ) I just have to cut down on chocolate!

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  5. mmmm cheese. I just went to Wisconsin for the weekend. What do you do in Wisconsin? you eat cheese. Do you know they make "BreadCheese". It's like a bread stick, but with no bread. But still tastes like a bread stick. ermergherd! cheese.

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  6. The sugar thing? I have to do without entirely. Whenever they talk about sugar addiction as being a true addiction, I'm their go-to example. Then I screw up on it (pecan pie on Thanksgiving), and have to start over again. I can't do "occasional" with this food group.

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