oh, this is only an eff off Friday to that time of the month, a busy day at work AND our holiday lunch. I've got an appointment with my gyn doc in two weeks to discuss getting rid of my lovely fibroid (heavy bleeding which requires constant vigilance) so it's fun at work and I have to be prepared for a bathroom break at literally ANY TIME.  I cannot wait to be rid of it.

I don't really crave carbs exept for PMS time, two days before if I'm inhaling cookies or pastry I know why. 

DH and I like tofu stir fries and we try to do a tofu stir fry or tofu dish minimum once a week. I'll use it (the firmest) cut super small/diced, to saute up with garlic and herbs, with spinach and olive oil over pasta. It's always important to use good flavor with tofu as it's a neutral taste, but we've always liked it.  I've even made desserts out of the soft tofu that have been really good (think mousse or puddings).

Sdiabla24 is coming to town. Yup. SD is flying in on *Christmas Day* DH told her to come whenever so I don't really blame her other than it is right in line with her usual lack of consideration. DH has to drive 3 hours total to pick her up. Lol, that should be punishment enough. I will be home enjoying edibles and eggnog.

I am actually relieved that SD will not be here on Christmas morning. We can still have an uninterrupted Christmas morning with my adult BK's. I plan to make a simple Christmas dinner that I know my BK's and DH will enjoy. SD will be at dinner too but I doubt she will enjoy it.

Even though my BK's and DH are not super close they are kind and respectful to each other. If my BK's needed anything my DH would immediately drop everything to help them. This is what I have to remind myself when bratzilla Sdiabla is here. I will be polite. I will not react. I will not respond. repeat.

I love that banana crepe recipe. I have some rotten bananas that I am going to go try it with right now.

I plan to make springerle cookies this year. I have a nice Christmas springerle set that I still haven't tried out. I may also make some dutch speculaas. I may try flavoring my springerle cookies with lemon rather than anise. Is this sacrilege?

I already got my sweet 6 y/o niece's gift sewn and shipped. (I sewed blankets and a pillow for her dollbed) Most presents are bought, also not looking foward to wrapping.

Eff0ff: To cellulitis. Dad had a  bout last week that swelled his face to the point her eyes were completely close and one ear was 3x its usual size.  A cycle of antibiotics appeared to resolve it... until this AM. Another bout of the same thing. This time they put him on a longer cycle of a much more powerfu antibiotic and a steroid to reduce inflamation.  If this does not work... likely hospitalization for IV antibiotics and engaging with his dermatologist. The concern is that it infects his "eye sockets".

Eff0ff to diabetes supply providers who jack up orders, play games, and screw up the very delicate balance of BG management. My CGM supplier and my insurance company changed their model and now run CGM orders through their pharmacy rather than their Medical Supplies business. So, all new doc approvals, etc... and.... instead of 4x90day Rx's they do 12x30day Rxs. Copays are $30 per Rx so.... a 3X increase in out of pocket costs.  Grrrrrrr.  Fortunately they delivered yesterday so I am now fully regulated again rather than doing very well manually monitoring and manually dosing, the pump and CGM are doing their job.  This tech is nearly miraculous.

Eff0ff to not having a job. Though things are picking up significantly.  I have had a bunch of interviews over the past two weeks.  Interestingly, my on the spectrum former #2 from my previouse rile quit in Nov.  They are now out of Sr. leaders. They apparently got a replacement for me in Aug who resigned 4wks later.  I wish I had done the same when I first took the job. Hind sight.......

F0rn:  Our low carb commitment is continuing to pay off.  We did not put on weight over the TG holiday. Though my nearly two months only partially dodging my mom's kitchen wizardry did cost me 5Lbs.  Not bad, I expected twice that gain.  Our IP coach is pleased over all. I did lose 4Lbs over the past week.  I recommited to full compliance to the model. It works.  I also increased my Ozempic by 2x and it is showing in my BG control and in my waist.    Though for sure... Eff0ff to the related nausea. Not horendous, but noticable intermittently in the week after dosing.

DW did her GM's recipe peanut butter balls for an office party. So far, I have only had a few over the past week but only when correcting a low BG.  That is my story. I am sticking to it.  These things are like crack.

I am looking forward to DW doing her low carb baking. Her muffins, bundt cakes, waffles, etc... are spectacular. Not to mention her LC Cheddar Bay Biscuits.  Yummm.

Well, I wanna say, "Eff Off" to still not being able to taste anything, but I went to the doctor today and have lost 60lbs! I've not been weighing myself so had no idea what the number was, just that I've had to get rid of a lot of clothes.

So, it's not really been a bad thing, just very frustrating at times. My sense of smell is coming back, so I can sometimes smell the food, I just can't taste it. 

The PanCrepes sound awesome, though!

Eff off to stupid people who have a car.  Too many of them on the road.  I almost hit one today.  That's what they get for slamming on their brakes to turn.  Idiot...I didn't hit them though.

Eff off to my hand that is hurting for seemingly no reason.  It hurts to grip anything with it but I have to do what I have to do. 

Eff off to blood tests.  My cholesterol is up two points and I'm so disappointed.  All that exercise I've done.  I feel like I did it all for nothing in terms of lowering my cholesterol.  I'm sure it's helped keep the weight off but my doctor is going to be concerned about the cholesterol numbers, not the number on the scale.  I don't eat a lot of fried foods at all.  In fact, my triglycerides are considered low.  It's just my total and LDL that are too high.  HDL is where it should be.  Another test to determine my blood count had a high number and a low number.  It seems to point to me being anemic, I think.  I'll find out when I see my doctor.  

Eff off to my period.  Seriously, just stop.  It started last week and I keep spotting.  Perimenopause is the worst!! 

Eff off to the cyst they found in my breast.  Instead of it's just a benign cyst after I got called back for another mammogram plus an ultrasound, my result was it's a cyst and you need to come back in six months so we can keep an eye on it.  Apparently the category I fall in is that while it's probably benign, there's a less than two percent chance that it is malignant.  So I get to go back in the spring.  It annoys me because of not knowing what is going to happen with it.  

Forn: I'm going to make my dad's famous strawberry cake.  It has real (frozen) strawberries in the cake and the icing, along with coconut and pecans.  It's actually my maternal grandma's recipe, which is kept in my mom's cookbook.  She's told this story many times and it's still hilarious.  She and my dad divorced when I was around 12.  They were amicable, didn't fight over anything.  They didn't even fight over custody of us kids.  But every year, come Thanksgiving, Dad would come over and steal her cookbook and her turkey roasting pan.  Christmas time too.  He was in charge of cooking the turkey and would bake that strawberry cake both times, for his side of the family.  She would have to send one of us to his house to retrieve those two things. 

To this day we don't know what happened to her turkey roasting pan.  He passed away 22 years ago and we never found it.  I don't know if my stepmother ever knew where it was and if she did, she probably had no idea where it came from.  She would have given it back had she known.  Mom ended up buying another one but retained custody of her cookbook.  She emailed me the recipe.  She's retired so I can't sneak in and steal her cookbook.  I'd love to try once just to mess with her though.  I tell her I can run faster scared than she can mad.  Lol

Raising a glass of red in a Friday toast to all the StepTalk peeps!

Late to the party.

Eff off to my stupid bad cold that turned into a chest infection.  The cough has mostly gone but it was so bad for so long that I've damaged the muscles in my shoulders and neck.  So painful and its taking so long to get better.

F0rn

I don't have a substitute recipe.  However, I did get a present of a side of smoked salmon that I'm working my way through.  Salmon sandwich, salmon suchi, salmon pasta, salmon with scrambled eggs, etc