Random Friday List

It's been an interesting several weeks since my last post (the date on which is not correct. It was April when I posted that, but I started a post in March, saved it as a draft and added to it. The date on that post is the date I started it, not the date I posted it, but I digress). So, here's a quick list of various updates and random thoughts:

1. Michael had his surgery last Monday. It was to correct a defect in the valve that closes off the stomach from the esophagus that was causing his acid reflux. Now he will not have to take acid reflux medication anymore. He had his post-op appointment this last Tuesday and was cleared to return to work. He's still pretty tired, largely because this is week three of a liquid diet. Today is the last day. Tomorrow morning he will inaugurate the next phase of his diet with baked eggs. This will be the first solid food in his diet in three weeks. He's excited.
2. My dietary changes are having a positive effect. This was made abundantly clear last week. I spent pretty much all day Monday at the Northwest Specialty Hospital in Post Falls because of Michael's surgery. Breakfast was the only thing I ate at home. I did bring some snacks with me, but those certainly didn't last all day. So, I had fast food for lunch and dinner. On Tuesday my joints hurt and my fingers and feet were puffy. Not super puffy...I could still wear my rings and shoes, but certainly puffier than normal. So, the lesson to be learned from this is: Eating real food makes my joints happy. Eating processed food makes my joints unhappy. And they're not afraid to let me know.
3. We've signed up for the herd share program on the farm that we visited that I mentioned in my last post. The visit was fun. We toured the entire thing, including the chicken coups and the dairy barn. There was a calf in a pen in the barn that we got to spend time with. He was cute and funny to watch hop all around and try to get attention. He'd been by himself for a while and was lonely, so he was all about trying to get attention. Anyway, we joined their herd share program, which means we own two shares of their dairy herd. This entitles us to a gallon of milk per week (each share is 1/2 gallon). We pick up our milk on Fridays, so today was our fourth time getting milk. We can also get fresh eggs from their chickens, which are really good.
   
4. People's reactions to my dietary changes are interesting. Some are supportive, some less so. It seems like, because I decided to try this on my own, rather than being told to do it by my doctor, some people think it's silly. I don't entirely understand this point of view, as many people go on weight loss diets without their doctor telling them to go on that particular diet, and it's seen as valid and sensible. Even laudable. But mine's just weird. Maybe they think I'm being snobby by not eating processed foods? I don't know. That's not what it's about. I think we can all agree that forgoing processed foods is generally a healthy choice, no matter what the motivation. My motivation is not to hurt. I don't like hurting. It hurts. As I've already mentioned, this eating habit change is working for me. When I eat processed foods, I hurt. When I don't eat processed foods, I don't hurt. My skin is happier, my allergies are better, and my recurrent sinus infections seem to have gone away. Also, I'm losing weight eating this way, so that's a bonus, too.
   
5. I watched a trailer for the movie Prince of Persia: the Sands of Time today. It looks entertaining, and I think I would enjoy watching it. It seems to be a movie of the epic persuasion, which I generally enjoy. Something occurred to me while I watched the trailer. In epic movies, someone seems to always be trying to destroy the world. This seems silly to me, because if the bad guys destroy the world, then the bad guys don't have anywhere to live either. I mean, the world's been destroyed in their ideal scenario. Where does that leave them? It also made me think that true evil in real life is not about the destruction of the world. It's much more insidious than that. If "the world" enters into the equation at all, then it's about controlling the world, or subjugating the world. True evils tend to be about power and control. There's a certain amount of destruction inherent in that, but destruction of the world is pointless. If the world is destroyed there's no one to control or dominate or subjugate. It's the desire for power and control that's led to the holocausts, genocides, and totalitarian regimes that have plagued our world. This is the true face of evil. Not the desire for world destruction.
6. Les Schwab is a great tire place. I had a slow leak in one of my tires that we discovered this week. I took it to Les Schwab yesterday (where we had purchased the tires), and they fixed the leak free of charge. With all the medical bills coming in, it was really nice to not have to pay for that, especially when we fully expected to do so.
7. I really enjoy eating real food. Most people think of diets as systems of deprivation. There are lists of things that are off limits. I eat pretty much whatever I want. Most industrially processed foods can be made at home from non-processed ingredients. So, I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything. And a lot of the things that most weight loss plans eschew, I'm feasting on...whole milk, cheese, whole milk yogurt, butter and other traditional saturated fats, as well as the full gamut of fruits and vegetables. The only thing I'm limiting is my intake of grains. From the reading I've done, lower grain intake helps with inflammation issues. So, I eat grains at one meal a day most of the time. And, I'm not gaining weight. I'm losing weight. That's right...I've upped my intake of fats big time, and the weight is dropping without much effort on my part. I'm a big fan.