“Luckily” I had gestational diabetes. This forced me to learn what normal blood sugars are, how carbs affect your blood sugar and how to manage it.  It’s not fun, but for me, it’s a part of life.  Now that I’ve had gestational diabetes I am at a higher risk of having Type 2 diabetes down the road. Also, I have that pesky family history looming in my shadow.My mother had gestational diabetes when she was pregnant with me, then type 2 diabetes which led to  kidney failure that caused her to be on dialysis for the last 7 years of her life. All of which shortened her life to 59 years.

As I’m knocking on 30 years, I’d hate to know that I’ve lived half my life.  I want to see Hudson grow up. I want to travel with Josh when we retire. There’s so many things I haven’t done.  God gave me a wake up call last week. I met a woman in bible study who I hit it off with fairly quick. I noticed her checking her blood sugar.  I told her I had gestational diabetes. She told me that’s how hers started. She had it with her first baby. She didn’t take care of herself.  Then, with her second child, it didn’t go away. I went home that day, got out my glucose monitor, pricked my finger and held my breath. 167. High, but not 250 – make me throw up- high.  I checked it again the next morning. 141.  Better, but not the 120 I’d like for it to be.  Checking my sugar brought back all those bad memories of doing it 7 times a day when I was pregnant.

At that moment, I decided I had to make a change. I started lowering my carb intake and making sure I exercised 3 times a week, It only took 4 days and I started to feel better. Not just better, GREAT! I have SO much more energy now. I eat nuts for snacks, I try to limit my carbs to 30 a meal.  I am also blessed to have a best friend who is a dietician and used to be licensed in diabetes education (Steph I hope I called all that right). She’s been helping me make better decisions.

Anyone who knows me knows I am a control freak.  I decided I wanted to take control of this. I wanted to do it on my own, not because a doctor told me I had too.  I’m so glad God opened my eyes to what was going on with my health. I have a very strong feeling this is how my mom’s diabetes started. Looking back,  she took a lot of naps, complained she didn’t feel good etc. If only she had caught hers before it started affecting her health. If only.  I feel like I have found the key to changing my life so I don’t end up like her.

I only wish that others could have the same eye opening experience I had. If people could take control on their own, we might be able to lower the number of people who die every year from this preventable disease.

I’m blessed with an awesome family, great friends and the tools to live a LONG happy life. I say 30 bring it on.

I am thankful for such a wonderful husband. He helped clean the house, cooked the turkey and helped take care of Hudson so I could cook. I am also thankful he works hard to provide for us. He has accomplished a lot this year. He is Vice-President of the .net user group.  He has done several improvements to our house to better insulate it to keep us warm this winter. He is a great father. He is my best friend. I love him.

Hudson is just too much. His little personality is starting to emerge. I can see bits of Josh and myself in him every day.  He has brought so much joy to our lives.  He has also brought opportunities for me to practice patience =) . He’s a lot of work, but those kisses and hugs are so worth it.

I am thankful for the friendships that I have this year. Some are old that have been rekindled, some are new and growing and some are steadfast and everlasting.  Each have their one qualities that help me be the person I am.

I am thankful for more than I could ever list, but these are the highlights. I hope you and your family had a great Thanksgiving.

Tip: You can get jute for $1 at Dollar General.  It’s a good thing to have around.

You see, you can’t just go buy presents for your child and drop them off at your local JCP.  You can, however, buy all of your gifts at JCP.com and then have them shipped to the Salvation Army for free. Or, if you’d like, you can buy a JCP gift card and let the Salvation Army buy gifts for your child.   I don’t like the fact the JCP is “helping” the Salvation Army, buy making it convenient to shop at their store. Why can’t they do something out of the goodness of their heart, instead of seeing it as a business opportunity? Not to mention, there are certain things that I’d like to buy my child, that you can’t get at JCP. This makes me want to stop shopping at JCP all together.

I’ve recently been told that I’m opinionated  =)  I took this as a compliment.  You see, if you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything.  Our monetary system is a form of voting. You get to choose where you spend your money.  When you buy something at a store, you are essentially saying you agree with the way that company does things and the morals they stand for. 

“All that is required for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing.”- Ronald Reagan

This is the time of year when we get so wrapped up in everything we have to do, places we have to go and gifts we have to buy, that we often forget to stop and enjoy the moment.  It’s really easy to think of buying gifts for Christmas as just one more thing to mark off our to-do list.

Last year, I got Josh a Nixie Tube Clock.  This is something he mentioned he was interested in a couple of years ago.  I stashed this tidbit in the back of my mind. I waited until he wasn’t expecting it. It was awesome seeing him open it. He knew that I put thought and research into his gift.

 They often say it’s the thought that counts. This is SO true. If your thought is, “Hey, I got you this random thing, just to mark you off my list.” , is that REALLY how you want to approach this season?  In the same note, when someone asks what you want for Christmas, don’t just tell them one thing or just a gift card. Put some thought into your suggestions. I always try to say, I’d like a shirt. That way, the person can still pick out what type of shirt they thought I’d like. That way, there’s still an element of personal touch. If I tell you one thing, and you get me that one thing,  I might as well not even open your gift, because I know what it is. What’s the fun in that?

There’s my 2 cents. Thanks for letting me get that off my chest.

You can use this for Grandparents Day, Christmas or any other occasion. So you don’t have 7 different types of wrapping paper that you use once and then have to store and hope it doesn’t get crinkled for the next use.

Thus far, I have found a 1955 Shorthand book that still has the original owners notes in it.  I originally picked it up for it’s color, then realized this book was more than just a cover. Decorating with books is my newest thing.  I find books that match a color scheme of the room, and stack them to give height  to another item.  In my kitchen, I have a nice assortment of cookbooks (including a 1982 Southern Living Cookbook, that happens to be green- the color of my kitchen) that I have put under my antique coffee grinder.   My favorite grouping is in my living room though. After I discovered this new technique, I went searching my bookshelves. I was looking for color but ended up finding humor. The stack in my living room are as follows: Common Sense, A Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity, and In God We Trust. Maybe I’m the only one that finds a little humor in this selection, neat nonetheless.

While “antiquing” I’ve also learned how to look at things in a different light.  Just because you don’t like the color of something, doesn’t mean you should pass it by.  Spray paint can fix most anything. Also, just because it was being used for one thing, doesn’t mean you can’t do something else with it.  That glass candlestick holder without a match, can easily be turned into a cake plate or a pedestal for your entertaining.

I also see things we have in a new perspective. We have these old Batman glasses that we got from McDonalds 15 + years ago. They were going for $8 a piece at one of the stores!! Seriously?!  Teddy Ruxpin is on his way to being worth something too.  I found an old school nintendo for $100 (I have one in still in it’s box in the top of my closet).  My dad had an old milk jug on his front porch that is now in my garage waiting it’s turn for some love and care. I never would’ve thought of it until I saw it in a store used as a cool decoration.

I’m excited to see what new things I can make of these once old pieces of junk.  It also makes me feel close to my dear mama as she really had a knack for creativity.

As I do these projects, I’ll try to post pics and share my tricks and triumphs.  Here goes nothing!

1/2 stick margarine

1/2 cup sugar

Graham Crackers

Pecans

Bring butter, margarine and sugar to a boil. Once boiling, cook for 2  minutes, stirring constantly to keep from scortching. Place Graham Crackers on a baking sheet. Pour mixture over crackers. Sprinkle with pecans. Bake at 350 for 6-8 min.  Let Cool. Break into pieces. Enjoy!!

4 chicken breasts
2 cans cream of chicken soup
flour or cornstarch for thickening
3 cups of Bisquick
1 cup milk
salt & pepper to taste

Cook chicken in boiling water until tender. I add  1 tsp of garlic and a sliced onion in with the chicken to help flavor it. Remove chicken from pot and allow to cool.
Strain water and return water to pot. Stir in chicken soup. Heat to boiling. In a small bowl, add about 1/2 cup flour or cornstarch to about 1-1/2 cups water and stir thoroughly until smooth. Add this to soup so that it becomes thick.

In a medium bowl, stir bisquick and milk together until stiff . Drop one spoonful at a time into the boiling soup mixture. This makes a TON of dumplings. When the pot becomes full of dumplings, push the new dumplings underneath the first layer you dropped in that are still cooking. Boil for about 15 minutes, uncovered. They will puff up while they cook.  I pulled a dumpling out after 15 minutes to make sure they are done. Shred chicken using two forks and add to pot. Heat through.

This makes really thick dumplings. If you like your dumplings juicier, don’t put all the dumplings in, or you can add some chicken stock at the end to help “juice” it up.

Recipe adapted from http://www.zimbio.com/Bisquick.com+Recipes/articles/16/Chicken+and+Dumplings