Menu Plan Monday - I'm baaaack!

Well, I haven't updated this blog much lately because The Flyin' V had me to the point of simply being almost incapacitated. And on days I could function I posted a little on Twitter or elsewhere but couldn't really keep up with everything. Blessedly, the vertigo is about gone now and I can function well most of the time. I've missed Menu Plan Monday and can't wait to resume. If you haven't participated yet, give it a try!

Speaking of food (okay so we weren't but we're about to) if you haven't checked out JC's Good Food Place yet, put it on your list of blogs to read. It's a new one and there isn't a lot there yet but the entries are short, sweet and full of good information on food and nutrition.

So, this week's meals are all easy and thrifty and fairly low in carbs. Leftovers will be eaten for lunch during the week.

Tonight I had dinner alone so I broiled a couple of boneless beef ribs and had them with half a baked sweet potato and mixed Asian vegetables. It was so easy and good.

Monday night we're having Carne Picada in Onion-Mushroom Gravy, served with a salad and garlicky green beans.

The rest of the week we'll have, in no particular order:

My Way Wings with homemade buttermilk ranch dressing, salad, and steamed carrots

Homemade beef salad made from leftover beef roast and served on low carb tortillas or lettuce leaves with a side of broccoli slaw

Slow cooked Teriyaki chicken with wild rice, salad, and steamed asparagus

Cabbage Casserole using raw shredded cauliflower and a very small amount of wild rice, served with salad

YOYO (You're On You're Own) when we eat leftovers from the fridge or whatever else we can find. This will more than likely be on Saturday since I work late that night.

And there you have it, our simple, easy, frugal, fairly low in carbs but very tasty evening meals and lunches this week.

I'm alive and cooking!

At least a little bit today. And The Flyin' V is down to a definitely dull roar. It rears its ugly head now and then but not nearly so often and it doesn't last very long. I'm thrilled, too!

So, the man person is out of town today and I've spent all day planning for the upcoming genealogy trip to Kentucky and Tennessee. I'm so excited about it, I just can barely wait! I finally got hungry, though, so I made an early dinner for myself of boneless beef ribs, half a baked sweet potato and mixed Asian vegetables. It was tasty and filling. Later I'll probably have a little cream cheese with splenda and vanilla snack but I'm not very hungry so that might not happen at all.

Hopefully today heralds the return of my cooking. I miss it!

Okay, so my sons came to visit my mother and me on Mother's Day. We had a nice Sunday evening chatting then Monday they picked me up and took me to Chili's for lunch. How nice! I got a few pictures while we were there and thought I'd share a couple of them.


Jeremy and Jonathan at Chili's


And here are the three of us, posing for a picture as we leave Chili's. From left to right, there's Jeremy, me, and Jonathan.

Handsome men I helped produce! :)

The Flyin' V is just about gone!

Other than when I lie down at night and now and then, here and there during the day The Flyin' V appears to be departing from my life. Yeeeeeehaw! I sure hope so. That was one of the most miserable experiences of my life. It was depressing, scary, and just downright wrong. Hopefully it's almost over.

My blood sugar has been good and the blood pressure is running right around normal or slightly lower. Whew! All in all, I feel better but am trying to work up to walking more in an effort to help both of those issues and lose some more weight.

I miss cooking and blogging but I hope to be back real soon, probably this weekend. Sit tight, folks. Don't give up on me yet. :)

Me and The Flyin' V

"The Flyin' V" is what I call my new and constant companion, Vertigo. I detest it. I wouldn't wish it on another person, even my worst enemy. But today, Thursday, makes one week that the V and I have been together. I suppose today is an anniversary of sorts. Ha!

I went to the Dr. yesterday and my blood pressure was way too high so I'm on BP and cholesterol medications. She informed me that the Meclizine should help the V but I haven't been taking enough. I chewed four pills today but no improvement yet. However, my eyes do have this lovely gritty feel to them and I have no energy at all. Hopefully the Meclizine will help at some point.

The Dr. didn't seem to think there was a connection between the blood pressure and the V but some things I've read on the web make me wonder if there is. I hope there is and I hope the medication will lower the BP enough to help the V. We'll see.

Honestly, if this doesn't improve a lot and very quickly I can't see any way I can keep my job. I can't drive and although I have short periods where the V seems manageable, its definitely affecting my performance at work.

At any rate, I'm still around but not cooking much as its hard to cook when one can barely stand and I haven't felt like doing much.

Thanks for the emails asking how I am. Now you know. :) And if you're a long time sufferer of Vertigo, you have my utmost respect and deepest sympathy at the same time.

Vertigo! The symptom, not the movie

I woke up at 4:30 this morning lying on my stomach, my favorite position. Something startled me and I pushed myself up with my arms, immediately felt like I was spinning, and fell onto my left side. For a few seconds I thought my blood sugar was too low but I wasn't sweating, my heart wasn't pounding, and my hands weren't shaking. The sensation didn't leave so I scooted to the foot of the bed and managed to get myself into the front room where my glucometer was. I checked the blood sugar and it was okay at 113. The spinning feeling didn't leave but I was able to make the man's breakfast and accomplish most of my morning routine. I googled the symptoms and it sure sounds like Vertigo to me.

I knew I couldn't drive to work so the man took me in. Five hours later he picked me up because I simply couldn't function well. Every time I looked down at the floor, counter, or sink I felt like I was in a vortex and was about to drown. I even tripped a couple of times on floor mats. Bending over to wipe something off the floor caused nausea and moving quickly, a requirement in my job, caused the sensations to worsen. I bought some Dramamine, both regular and "less drowsiness formula" and took one before we were out of the store parking lot. Ehem..."less drowsiness formula" my spinning rear! Within an hour I was snoring and three hours later the man person woke me up because he knew if I slept more I'd be up all night. I might be up all night as it is. The spinning and listing feelings are somewhat better but still present. I'd call them manageable, though. However, it's been 15 hours since I woke up feeling this way...

And yeah, it feels something like this, a feeling of falling, sliding, tripping, etc...

So, what's the cause of this? I haven't a clue. And the solution? No clue there, either. I do know that this needs to go away and fast. I have to work tomorrow and though I'm off this weekend my sister is coming to visit and I really don't want to be dealing with feeling like I'm falling over while she's here. She probably would be okay with it but let's face it, the weekend will be more fun without me afraid to move!

If you know anything about Vertigo, please do comment on this entry. This day's been a trip....literally. ;)