My Best Friend

My best friend is brown, flat, 7 inches in diameter and called a whole-wheat tortilla.

I have to admit it - I have an obsession with food! Nowadays, its an obsession with juggling my daily totals of 7 grains, 3 fruits, 3 veg, 2 milk, 2 meat and 2 fat (serving sizes) and I do really well with all but one - grains/carbs!

I LOVE pasta, bread, spuds, rice, oh yeah, and beer ... all to my downfall!

I choose a tortilla over ANYTHING else at mealtime. I know that there's only 1 1/2 serving of grains in there (a serving size is 15g), so then I can eat a few bites of something else, ie, spuds, rice, chips.

I serve them a variety of ways:

1. Microwave them with spinach & cheese & salsa
2. Toast them and folded with the same ingredients for quesedilla
3. Toasted, rolled up with deli-meat and cheese - on my George "Formby" (Foreman) grill. You Brits will understand the George Formby reference, but for you Americans, look him up on YouTube - he's one of Northern England's heros (if you're over 70 yrs old).
4. Toasted to resemble an Indian pappadum
5. Toasted and cut up to resemble dipping chips
6. Individual pizza bases
7. Baked with ground turkey breast and enchilada sauce - only if I'm feeling extravagant though!
Nothing is off-limits as tortilla filling - so long as it doesn't get too wet when being heated. They're great for using up leftovers and making food go further
8. Cold with PB&J which is great for school lunches and picnics

Craig jokes about my 101 ways to serve tortillas - I can get very creative in the kitchen. There are only 2 choices for my family at mealtime - take it, or leave it and the family always seem to clean their plates and serving dishes:) I always make plenty of food - they help themselves - and eat more than I do.

My kids call me the 'Food Nazi' too (all in fun), but I worry about them and the amount of sugar they consume in a cookie here, chips there, soda or juice ... which, by the way, probably isn't any more than YOU consume. I worry because its in their genetic make-up, both my grandmothers, my mother, me ... they were both big babies when they were born ... so the odds are stacking up against them.

I only wish I could buy these tortillas from the 'used bread shop' as my friend Allison calls it! The bread outlet sells white, but not whole wheat tortillas (me and my short arms and deep pockets again). BTW, they sell cheap Tullys coffee too, Bobolli pizza bases and sugar-free cookies.

If you have invented other ways that you eat tortillas, or have a good recipe to actually make them from scratch, please send me a comment, or if you'd like more information on the diabetes guidelines, drop me a line.

Flower Fairy

I promised some photos taken by my daughter, Cadence. Here are some from the Spring. I love this collection of 3 - she's like a little flower fairy nestled in amongst my flower garden!

Her favourite subjects to photograph are: 1. Flowers. 2. Friends. 3. The dog.

No, I'm not wearing my 12 year old daughter's clothes ... yet!

I mentioned in a previous post that I've lost 30 lbs since last summer. My weight loss began just before Thanksgiving (November) last year when I was diagnosed with Type II Diabetes. This came as no surprise to me - I'd had gestational diabetes with both my pregnancies, and had been described as "glucose intolerant" by my doctor for years.

It came at a bad time for me though ... I'd just had implant surgery on my gums ... and I turned 40 :( For a time there, I was fragile and became acutely aware that I had to "own" this for the rest of my life - and that I am responsible for what I eat - and that I have to learn what is good for my body and what is not.

I'd lost 10 lbs by the New Year and have "whittled" away another 20lbs since then.

Ironically, last summer, I spent quite a lot of money on new clothes, resigned to the fact that I was almost 40 and just gaining some extra weight. I gave lots of my old skinny clothes to charity and prepared myself to enter into a new decade. I wore a size 10 (UK 12), but I was in denial of actually being a size larger than that, as I'd squeeeeeeze into my jeans.

I was excited about the new style of the empire waist/babydoll tops in the stores, because they'd hide my "muffin top" (or "mushroom" as I wrongly described it to my kids once, who rolled around the floor with laughter so much that it has now become known as a "mushroom").

I'm still loosing weight, my blood glucose levels are still elevated even with my diet and medication and this can lead me to feel like I'm not in control and to feel down about it. I have to remind myself that the big picture is in the form of a 3-monthly blood test called A1C, which will tell me how my overall blood glucose levels have been ... and of course, the grace of God.

A friend asked me about my weight loss on Sunday at Church, and told me not to get any thinner. He asked if I was wearing my daughter's clothes! That made me laugh! Being on the outside and looking at my weight-loss must be alarming. I am eating food and plenty of it, just ask my husband:)

On the upside, I have so much more energy now, don't get headaches or that afternoon 'sleepy' feeling and I'm feeling like I'm nowhere near 40, plus Craig can't keep his hands off me!

Skagit Valley Highland Games & Celtic Festival

Curtis competed in the Junior (under 18's) this past weekend. The air is called Niel Gowe's Lamentation for James Moray of Abercurnie, then his set of march, strathspey & reel are Father John MacMillan of Barra, Belladrum House & The Spey in Spate.

Enjoy!

my HOT husband

My husband, Craig, is soooo HOT! Well...I mean...I think he's hot (but I'm talking about his body temperature type of hotness today).

For most of the year, I can cuddle up to him in bed and warm up my hands, feet, nose (yeah, I admit it, I always have a cold nose) and another area which I won't mention. I make Craig giggle and squeal with my coldness - sometimes he shrieks so loud that he disturbs the kids and the dog!

BUT ...

This time of year, the roles are reversed. Craig cuddles up to me because I'm so cool - he tells me that its "repayment time" for the rest of the year! Its a good job that he falls asleep so quickly (in under a minute), because I can't stand his hotness in the summer. We bought a king-size bed a few years ago, so I simply move over a little more to get out of his hot zone ... and he's sleeping like a baby and he doesn't even know!

When we were first married, we rented a flat (apartment) for a year. It was in a converted Victorian house. It was all self-contained, we had 2 rooms (Living room with a huge bay-window and bedroom) and 2 box-rooms with no windows as a kitchen and a bathroom - all joined together with a hallway.

We married in May (1989), so it was spring when we found this flat. We failed to notice that the only means of heating the place was a small gas wall heater in the living room. By October, we noticed that it was getting much cooler, by November we'd discovered that we needed more than our love to keep us warm!

We invented another use for the hairdryer ... We would take turns blowing hot air into the bed with the hairdryer. One of us would be in the bed, getting all the warmth, and the other one of us was standing (shivering) at the bottom of the bed with the hairdryer pointing under the quilt. We'd argue over whose turn it was, but it was always more beneficial if Craig was already in the bed because of his warmth.

Guess what our first Christmas present was to ourselves ... an electric blanket! Very romantic, I know.

Looking back, we've always been able to laugh at ourselves and our situations. We may be as different as chalk and cheese in many ways but our humour (no, its not a spelling mistake, British people spell it that way) has grown so very similar over the years. We finally 'get' each other.

I'm wondering, though, if he'll be laughing when I begin to experience hot flashes ... those will be coming soon ... I'd better suggest we get a ceiling fan for our bedroom remodel too :)

Strawberry Fields Forever ... and ever ... and ever

We went strawberry picking yesterday! We took a quick drive to Biringer Farms in Marysville, about 20 minutes north of us. Well, it is about 20 minutes if you know where you're going! Took us a little longer:)

We took a trolley ride out to the field then, within 20 minutes, we had what looked like half a ton of big, beautiful shiny red berries. They were lovely and clean, thanks to the 24 hour thunder and rain storm which hit us last week. Oh, yeah, and we ate probably another half ton when we were picking them (they were soooo good).

We had strawberry shortcake last night, berries for breakfast and berries at lunch, I can only eat half a cup of fruit at a time, so I'm freezing the rest of them (before they go bad) and we can put them into smoothies from now until .... Christmas probably:)

Raspberries will be at their peak in a couple of weeks, so I'm hoping to go back.

My Voice

For those of you who know me, I'm a pretty quiet gal. I don't say much - I know that some of you think I'm shy, I've even been accused of being "stuck-up/snooty", but I am neither! I am very down to earth, non-judgemental, plain-speaking and easy-going, but I need for you to understand where I'm coming from:

I hate my PHYSICAL voice! I always have, even when I lived in Hull. If you're my family, you'll notice how my inflection has become Americanized over the years living here, but I still detest hearing my voice. Its not that I hate the Hull dialect - its great! (If you live there).

I also have a slight speech impediment - not a major lisp - I just have problems pronouncing my "ch", "j" and "s". I had speech therapy as an elementary schooler, which was OK, but it was a half-day out of school, (which meant I missed Art Class). In middle-school I had some horrible teachers who'd ridicule me in front of my class-mates - making me stand up and pronounce what I'd just said, but CORRECTLY (which of course, I couldn't do ... they assumed I was being lazy). Kids, of course, were quick to catch on to this, and they were just plain mean.

Living away from home has proved to be a challenge for me in this area too. Folks over here are so endeared to ANY foreign form of the English language (they don't hear the 'lower class' northern sounding voice I possess). People tell me that they could listen to me speaking all day long - either that, or they try to seduce me and my "sexy" voice! After 15 years (and now feeling like a local), it gets OLD!

In certain circumstances, I choose not to speak, or I get my kids to speak for me. I just don't want the attention.

Some people, no matter how hard I try, just cannot understand me. Then I get flustered at having to repeat myself and my childhood insecurities come flooding back ... and my words stumble and I BLUSH!

I KNOW my voice isn't perfect, but my dialect, my challenges and insecurities are a core part of who I am. I could work on this area and pay money to sound 'nicer', but I feel in a way that its a 'badge' I wear. You're either going to like me or not and I'm not going to try too hard either way for you to make up your mind - I like to think that I am kind hearted and I would like to say that my heart speaks louder than my voice.

Maybe I'm just starting to discover my inner voice ... through blogging:)

The Shape of my Heart

I drove home yesterday afternoon from visiting a friend. I had a heavy heart. I arrived home and saw my husband, Craig, busying himself with preparations for some more friends coming over later in the evening and I just needed a hug. I was teary-eyed with emotion from contemplating some big changes going on in our life right now.

I'm sure Craig thought I was PMT-ing, but no, I was grieving ... the upcoming move of a good friend (and her family).

Don't get me wrong, I'm happy for my friends that they're moving on to bigger things. I'm excited about their new adventure! We've experienced many, many, many good friends move away (its not like they're moving, for example, to England!) We do go back a long way and they were instrumental in saving our lives, gave us hope on many occasions, and so have earned our utmost trust and respect. We share very similar hearts, my friend and me ... she's been such a blessing in my life ... and I love her so much.

I am being selfish (grief can be selfish in a way). I am going to miss her! I know that if I don't keep my emotions in check that I could become bitter - and I can't allow myself to do that! Our friendship is too important to let Satan destroy it. I'm praying for my friend to be strong ... I think she needs so much strength and comfort right now.

Her friendship is worth so much to me and I'm going to struggle through and be determined to keep it alive and remain in her life. She's never met a Yorkshire Lass before and I don't think that she realizes that Yorkshire Folk take their time when choosing their friends, but when they do, they do it wisely and for LIFE.

I'm a closet Toby Mac fan - and I'm quoting from the song "Face of the Earth" on the portable sounds cd:
...Its been way too long and we've come too far for you to drop out (of) my life like a falling star...

... and I wholeheartedly mean that!

Enjoy your evening!