My Diabetic Journal - Week 2

Saturday January 17th, 2015:
I was away from my house all day today so I knew it was a day where I would have to make smart choices on the go.  I started my morning at Starbucks where I used the rest of my gift card by buying the Spinach and Feta Wrap, a Bacon Breakfast Sandwich, a Tall Skinny Vanilla Latte and a Venti Black Iced Tea.  I can hear you saying "Girl, that is too much."  Calm down.  I was being smart.  I ate the wrap and drank the coffee on the drive north.  It was 8:30 in the morning and I wasn't sure when I would be having lunch so the second sandwich was an emergency food supply.

I went and dropped some things at my sister's house and spent some time with my nephew then headed farther North to hang out with a friend.  By 11:30 I was getting hungry and I could tell I needed to eat.  I ate about a quarter of the emergency sandwich while driving out to Yelm.  I was glad I did because we didn't have lunch until 1:15.  We stopped at a KFC/Taco Bell.  Not many healthy choices to make but I did find a Chicken Cantina Power Bowl.  I was actually quite disappointed in it.  There was more rice in it than lettuce.  It had 490 calories, 20 grams of fat and 49 carbs.  But, it was very filling and I wasn't hungry again until around 5 when I got home and ate the rest of the breakfast sandwich.

I was home for about 30 minutes in which time I did my nails, my makeup, my hair and got dressed for Roger's Company Party.  I had two drinks while at the party.  One Long Island Iced Tea and the second was an Apple AMF.  They had a nice buffet set up with a ton of food I can't eat.  They had pasta salad, mac and cheese, rolls and a ton of desserts.  I did find some good stuff.  I had salad, steamed vegetable medley, pork loin, roast beef and chicken breast.  I also had a very small scoop of mashed potatoes.  I needed some carbs ya know?  It was a nice party with 2 hilarious comedians.

It was a whirlwind day of being on the go but I thought I did really well.  I woke up in a good mood and it continued all day. I think today proved that I am on a good path.  I didn't have a hard time making a good choice.  In fact, nothing on that KFC/Taco Bell menu really looked good at all.

Sunday January 18th, 2015:
I was pleased that after a few drinks the night before, my blood sugar was 109.  It had to have been the amount I drank last time and the Red Bull.  Today is game day so we headed out to our regular Sunday breakfast.  Roger's parents joined us today but I made sure we were out of there by 10:30.  I really didn't want to miss the 12:00 kick off.  We did a quick grocery shopping trip which included a bunch of meat and vegetables.

Since the weather has been so rainy and I found some Pork for Posole on clearance, I decided to make a Pork Vegetable Stew.  I threw in a can of green beans, a can of corn, a can of black beans, carrots and some diced red potatoes.  I also made some barley to toss in and used some cumin and garlic powder to season.  It was delicious and the perfect accompaniment to some Sunday Football.  However, watching the Seahawks game was making me sick.  My stomach was in knots.  Until those last few minutes where my Hawks pulled that stuff off.  I never doubted them and knew a miracle was headed our way.

Monday January 19th, 2015:
I woke up in a terrific mood again today.  The Hawks are heading to the Super Bowl to play the Patriots and I am heading to a healthier year.  I finally ordered a scale online that weights up to 550 lbs.  It should be here next week.  I don't want to weigh myself every day but once a week or so should be fine.  I have never been one to obsess over a number on a scale.  I want to feel better, that's it.  And so far, so good.

Yesterday I was craving a Diet Coke so instead of getting a 2 liter (or 3) like I used to do.  I paid twice as much for a 20 oz.  It was gross. I hadn't had a soda since Christmas.  I've been drinking water, herbal tea and iced tea.  The soda coated my mouth with a film that I just hated.  Guess that proves that I have beat that bad habit because I don't want that anymore.

I roasted 2 chickens last night so I could have extra chicken for salads and later on in the week, I am using some in a recipe.  Either Chicken Enchilada Zucchini Boats or Creamy Chicken Quinoa Casserole.  To go with the chicken, I also made Roasted Broccoli.  It is my favorite way to eat broccoli and is so easy.  All you do is put your broccoli into bite sized pieces, put them in a bag, add a little olive oil, garlic powder and parmesan cheese, shake it up and bake it at 400 for like 20 minutes.

Tuesday January 20th, 2015:

My Suburban (aka The Party Bus) is in the shop so I am driving my husband's truck (Johnny Longbox).  Yes, we name our cars.  I've already shared my story of Juanita our Chrysler Imperial.  Anyway, this means I have to get up at 4:30 to take him to work.  Oh Joy!  This morning I decided I was going to take him to work, exercise, shower and then go to work.  I found a fitness show on TV and thought I would give it a try.  I lasted about 15 minutes.  Which is actually longer than I thought I would.  I then laid down and fell back asleep until 6:30.  I still had to shower and get my lunch together.  I was only 5 minutes late but ended up with a salad for breakfast.

I am being tested today.  The guys had Big Ass Sandwich today which is this amazing food truck in Portland.  They are so delicious.  They come with fries on them.  Anyway, the boss brought them in and they smelled so good but I had my lunch, I was fine.  Now I get a call about my Suburban and the guy says it is going to be $1900.  This is completely depressing because it will pretty much wipe out my savings.  This makes me want to drown my sorrows in a juicy cheeseburger and some fries or a pizza but I won't.  This is too important.

After we finally got home last night, I deboned the rest of the chicken from the night before but was too tired and depressed to make one of the recipes I was going to try.  I made Roger Chicken Quesadillas and I had Breakfast Hash.  It was quick and easy.  I went to bed early, dreaming of a miracle for my car.

Sunday January 25th, 2015:

I missed a few days of journaling.  I have been running around like crazy.  Let me quickly catch you up. Wednesday night I made Creamy Chicken Quinoa Casserole.  It was one of the best dinners I have made in a long time.  It had chunks of chicken, broccoli and quinoa without any of that canned cream of whatever soups.  Roger is being pretty good about at least trying everything and he has okay-ed quinoa to enter our staple items.  

I got my vehicle back on Thursday.  I got new calipers, u joints and brake pads.  In total, it was only $800 so I was pretty happy.  And I got it back just in time to head north on Friday to spend time with my sister and nephews.  We made cupcakes for a baby shower for our cousin and just had a great time.  I will share one of the cupcake recipes and the casserole recipe when I can.

One bad thing was how I ate on Friday.  I had breakfast at home at 7:30 but didn't eat again until almost 1 and I was on the road so I grabbed a burrito from Taco Bell.  It had 55 carbs in it.  Yikes!  Then, we went to Jack In The Box for dinner because Kari and I were heading to a party about 45 minutes away.  I had a large fry on the way there and then a Chicken Fajita Pita before bed.  My blood sugar in the morning was 137.  I was pretty disappointed in this because I had been doing so well.  I hadn't been above 120 in a week.

Tried my hand at Kale Chips today. They were actually really good.  I have been missing a crunch in my diet and this really satisfied that.  I took about 4 cups of cut and cleaned kale, drizzled a tablespoon of light olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt.  I spread them on a baking sheet and cooked them at 300 for about 25 minutes.  Roger even tried one and said it was ok.  And he is opposed to anything green so that says a lot.

Heading to the kitchen to make Turkey Quinoa Stuffed Peppers.  I will fill you all in next week.