Lunch!

I do really like my every-other-month-Tuesday-morning-off schedule at work. Seems like I'm more productive when I can take my time, if that makes sense. At least it feels that way.

And instead of brown-bagging, it lets me make a yummy lunch like this:

I made this black bean and corn salsa last night and added some bite-size chicken breast pieces that I stir-fried. It was so good, I decided to have it for lunch, this time with some diced avocado. Add some tortilla chips to eat it salsa-style and it's pretty dang good.

Sweet kitty

Alex, the almost-not-kitten-anymore, is being real sweet this morning.

On my days off, or mornings off as this one is, the critters all insist on being fed at their usual time -- around 6 am (if not before). So I get up, let Buster out, get his food, then get the cats' food, and go back to bed to snooze for a couple hours.

This morning, after I went back to bed, Alex started wandering around the house meowing. This went on for about 10 minutes or so, and I wondered if maybe she "lost" me since I wasn't following the usual weekday routine. So I called her, and she came into the bedroom and jumped on the bed, staying just long enough for a little head scratch. But she quit wandering around and meowing.

After I fell back asleep, I had a dream where I was visiting someone in a strange town with all the pets. Alex got out of the house. I followed her into the back yard, but she was already out of sight. I started calling her. There were plenty of cats around, but not her. I started to panic and ... woke up with a start. And there was Alex, in the perch by my bedroom window looking out over my back yard.

I don't know if she sensed the dream had upset me, but then she jumped up on the bed and lay down on my stomach, purring as I petted her and scritched her head. She doesn't do that very often any more, so it was a nice way to start the day.

Juicing up

Time for an update on my recent blood pressure diagnosis. 

I've been doing pretty well on keeping track of my blood pressure. The highest I recorded at home was 158/93 on March 3. I kind of forgot to take any readings last week, so I was really happy this morning when I took a reading and it was 120/78! I've also lost about 4 pounds.

One of the things I decided to do to get this under control was to get back on juicing. So I splurged a little and got a NutriBullet — yes, one of those TV gadgets. I'd been looking into it for almost a year, though, reading reviews and user comments on sites where you can purchase it, like Amazon, Target, and Bed, Bath and Beyond. I ended up going with Amazon, and it arrived about a week after I saw the doctor.

I've done pretty well using it, missing only a couple days in the last two weeks. I've followed recipes on this site. I like that you can look up recipes according to what health condition you want to benefit, or by what ingredients you have on hand.

Here's one juice I had recently. I guess you could call it a berry blast: spinach, frozen strawberries and blueberries, and some fresh raspberries. The NutriBullet comes with a book of information and recipes (seen in the photo), but I haven't really used it, partly because the poorly edited stock art makes me laugh too hard to read it. Seriously, you can tell they photoshopped the NutriBullet cups over a coffee mug or something.

This is one I made Saturday — spinach, cantaloupe, carrot and cucumber.

There's two things I like about the NutriBullet. No. 1 is it's so easy to clean. You might remember, a friend sent me her unused juicer a couple years ago. I used it til it just quit sometime last year. I loved it, but it took a lot of effort to clean it. I easily spent a couple hours or more cutting up the fruit, juicing, then cleaning the machine. I learned pretty quickly to make a whole lot of juice and freezing it so I wasn't spending time every week with a long task.

With the NutriBullet, I chop up just what I need (what I don't use, I keep in a vacuum-sealed bag for the next day) and when I'm done, just rinse the blade piece and the cup and it's ready for the next day.

Also, there's very little waste with the NutriBullet. With a juicer, there's the pulp left over. I usually put mine in the compost bin in the back yard, but it seemed like such a waste. And actually, that pulp is all the fiber in the fruit and vegetables that is really good for you. Without it, you might be spiking your blood sugar, and that can be dangerous.

I don't do a "cleanse," and never have, so I'm not worried about that. Instead, I just make juicing part of my diet. I usually make about 8-12 ounces in the morning for breakfast. I do need to work out an easy way to get a solid breakfast later, though — something I can put together quick and heat up to eat on my drive to work or after I get there. Maybe the breakfast sandwiches I made in this entry. They were pretty tasty.

So that's the health update for now. I'll find out officially how I'm doing after the upcoming follow-up visit.

On a new path for health

I've always been pretty happy about the fact that I have always been healthy enough that I have never had to take a regular prescription medication of any kind.

That's over with now.

Back in late November, I started having a ringing in my left ear. I've had tinnitus since I was maybe 7 or 8, a high-pitched tone in both ears that I really only notice when I'm not feeling well. But this was like a different layer to that -- a low pitched rumble that would have some vibration with it sometimes.

The night I first noticed it, there had been a band out the mall for an event, and I though maybe I just spent a little too much time too close to their speakers. Or I had an ear infection maybe. I went to the doctor then and was given an antibiotic, but all it did was make me feel confused and light-headed. So I quit taking it. Money was tight then, and I didn't go back to the doctor. I just lived with this noise. It was tolerable, and I only noticed it when I was home and didn't have the TV or anything on.

But then in the last week or so, it started becoming noticeable at work, even through all the office noise and busyness. I debated about going back to the doctor, but finally called on Thursday for an appointment. I'm glad I did.

Diagnosis: high blood pressure.

I guess I shouldn't be too surprised, since both my parents have it. I've put on some weight over the last year or so, and haven't been as good on watching what I eat, too. So here we go, on another path for health.

I now have a month's prescription for lisinopril, and then it will be back to the doc to see how that's doing. In addition, I also picked up a blood pressure monitor and a bathroom scale. It's been awhile since I've tracked my weight. I've put on about 10 pounds since the last time I did. Time to do something about that, too.

I'm going to do my darnedest to try and not have to be on the meds forever. It might not be possible, and even if I do make that happen, it's something I'll have to keep a watchful eye on for the rest of my life anyway. 

I'm on both MyFitnessPal and MapMyFitness, if anyone is interested in joining up on my health path.

Good, quick meal

A few weeks ago, my local grocery store had an outrageous sale that included bags of name-brand frozen mixed vegetables at something like three for $1. I'm not crazy about peas or green beans, but that was too good a deal to pass up. 

I've used the veggies as a side dish quite a bit, but my favorite thing to do with them is toss them in some pasta with garlic and butter, or like tonight, with some ranch dressing, and anything else that sounds good like bacon or avocado. 

During the week, I want something quick and light for dinner so I don't have to spend all night cooking and then cleaning. When there's nothing in the freezer or I want something fresh, this hits the spot.

I'm down to my last bag of veggies, though. Hope the store has another sale soon!