Journal entry

My GP phoned the surgeon today and was able to arrange an earlier appointment for me - Feb 15th instead of March 31. If the surgery is to be done then I want it over ASAP. I want to find a job, and I need to find it soon to keep a roof over head and food on the table. Details, details.

I am lucky that I have private medical coverage, that will cover some of the costs. Not all, but some. I won't have to pay for the hospital. Medicare will cover some of the doctor's costs and insurance some, but there will still be some out of pocket expenses. Private health coverage means I don't have to go on waiting lists, I can choose the private hospital I want and the surgeon that I want. I hopefully will have had surgery and recovered before I would have been processed through the public system as I would still bedeemed elective surgery. If I presented as an emergency it would be different of course.

I saw someone on American TV waving a placard at a tea party and the placard read "Health insurance is not  right!" WHAT? Health care is a right for everyone. It is a basic need for life - just as food, water and education is. Every citizen should get equal access, no one should be victimised because they are poor. No one should be thrown into poverty because they are ill. One can only wish karma hits though horrible selfish people...

I increased my fibre yesterday - I ate half a banana and 6 slices of tinned peach. I could feel the bulk in my bowel...it worried me all day. So I went low fibre today. Safe but boring.

That is me these days - dull and boring. I bore even me!

Next Month's good intentions

Next month I want to :
Eat the right carbs - not biscuits!
Get more physical - at least walk somewhere!
Declutter my bedroom.
Take up one of my hobbies again ...scrapbooking, photography? writing? needlepoint? knitting - maybe too hot to knit as yet....hhhmmm.
Read more, watch less television - american politics can live without my overseas rantings!

This month I :
Drank more water
Saw a dietician to work on a low fibre diet for my diverticulitis.
Tried to destress .... well some days! Make that, some hours...
Started drinking green tea again - need to continue working on this.

One month of 2010 almost done and dusted....onward, ever onward.

which one is not like the others?

It gives a whole new meaning to spectator sports, doesn't it?

Aim for type 3 or 4, and I do mean aim!

living on the edge

I am living on the dangerous side. I ate tinned peaches last night. Six slices of peach. Bliss.

It was like nectar of the gods. I found a particularly beautiful dessert dish and lovingly counted the peach slices into the bowl.  I added a scoop of cookies and cream ice-cream and carried my bowl before me like the crown jewels going forth. I found a quiet corner in the living room and savoured every mouthful. It is true, the little things are often the best.

Now we wait and see...will there be a price to pay?

Gidday, Australia Day!

January 26th is our national holiday, Australia Day, when we celebrate all things Australian - past, present and our hopes for the future. It is a time for family and friends, and to be grateful for having the luck and good fortune to live in this great land.

Think of us today, and join us in a toast to this Great Southern Land - Australia!

Brain Workers to the fore!

I love this vintage advertisement. An anti-headache cap that is a Brain-food unequalled in the Known World! Why are they not in every major department store? Surely a must have for every modern "brain worker"?

aussie, aussie, aussie - MUFFINS!

Usually for Australia Day (January 26th) I bake ANZAC buscuits, but off the list this year as I can't eat rolled oats. Lamingtons off the menu too, as I am not allowed coconut. No pavlova as no fruit allowed! Not many traditional Australian goodies open to me, so I went all creative and made an original. Meet the Aussie Lime Muffin - in our national colours of green and gold!

 
Having a restricted diet can be difficult and boring, but one just has to think creatively and just work with what you are allowed. It may take imagination, and not be orthodox, but it can relieve the stress and the boredom of a restricted diet. I think it is important to have fun, and to include others as well. I made a dozen muffins and all our guests had one and though it was a very simple muffin, they all enjoyed the fun side as I coloured the batter in our Australian national colours and used coloured sugar in the same green and gold to decorate the icing. It marks the celebration, the guests know that you cared enough to make something for them, and yet you manage to stay within your diet.
 
I think it is important to try and include others in your menu selection as it makes everything harder if you feel that you have to miss out ,or have a special meal prepared for you. Of course, it can't always be that way, but just try and think about what you can do. It also educates people to what your issues are and models for them the food that you can eat, so that if they have to provide a meal for you, they already have examples of some foods that they can serve you.
 
Happy dining! Happy Australia Day!