Up Swing

I know what my problem was...my hormones changed and tanked me for about a week. Now they've shifted back and things are improving. Yesterday was much better...the overlay of fatigue was mild and I didn't have to lay down in the middle of the day.

Mostly it's just been fatigue, no weakness which I take as a good sign. The only thing is, even fatigue alone sucks. It's like having a hangover all the time. I just can't wake up. Gah. Dislike!

As a result of the tireds, I've been on the caffeine sauce again. Coke Zero to the rescue. Man, I really need to learn how to like coffee so I can get off this chemical shit. Tea does not have any kick to it and I needed a grenade launcher up my butt to get myself moving this past week. So I turned to Coke Zero. Just once a day, but yeah, not really thrilled about it even though it helped a lot.

Exercise has been regular, much to my relief, at least something went well. Mostly walking, a little bit of yoga and one bike ride. I've avoided strength work the last several months, but realize now that's a mistake. The hikes aren't getting any easier because I'm not building any strength.

But I don't want to over-do it either. I'm working on figuring that out.

Here's a dump and go recipe for you...love this one, sooooo easy.

Ham Dinner

4-5 large potatoes, peeled and sliced (use rutabaga if you're low carbing)
2 tbsps. olive oil
1 tbsps. herb blend of your choice (I use a no-salt blend with a bunch of spices in it)
1 tsp. salt
1 bag of frozen green beans (if you have a crowd, double the beans)
1-2 ham steaks cut into quarters. (1 ham steak serves 4, two serves 8)

1.Put potatoes in the bottom of the crockpot. Toss with oil and spices.

2.Top potatoes with green beans.

3.Add ham steaks.

4.Cook on low for 8 hours.

No you don't add any water...because the oil on the potatoes will brown them very nicely without any extra liquid. Also I think the frozen green beans provide all the moisture you need.

It's really lovely. My grandmother used to can her own green beans with bacon and this recipe infuses the beans with a ham flavor similar to hers (which we always scarfed down and coveted at family events).

Off the Cliff

So the deal-io with progesterone is I take it for 20 days and then have 8 days off to induce a cycle.

As I've mentioned previously, not being on progesterone is horrible. It's the horror of going to a Halloween haunted house and finding out the serial killers are real as opposed to paid actors.

I am not exaggerating.

Tonight I'm due to stop taking progesterone until next Friday.

You can imagine my lack of enthusiasm, yes?

As far as I know, there's no information out there that talks about how to manage this (dose change, low dose during my cycle etc...) or if it will go away. I can only hope that, with time, my body will build up enough reserves to make it for eight days without completely losing its shit.

Until then, I am resigned to being completely useless for the next week.

Ugh.

Still with the Allergies

The asthma has remained activated since salsa Sunday. My nasal passages are inflamed and swollen, similar to how I couldn't breathe through my nose after an allergic reaction to Cipro a few years ago.

Energy is in the toilet (when is it not?) with lots of weakness. I was not seriously considering sleeping on any flat surface yesterday like I had been on Sunday, but I was only a hair above that. I really probably should've stress dosed, but I didn't.

Take that, adrenals.

Here are some pics. I'm still working on a food project and I have cute dogs.

This is our beloved black lab. 12 years young and wise beyond her age. Best dog I've ever known. It was 90F+ on Monday so we got the pool out for the dogs.

Here's our yellow lab. Yeah, he looks cute, but his beauty regimen consists of eating poo.


This was breakfast a few days ago. Sauteed kale and onions topped with scrambled eggs and seasoned with tumeric and paprika. It was good.


Vegetarian taco salad: salsa, guacamole, beans, peppers, lettuce, cheese. I took this before I realized I can't eat tomatoes or peppers anymore.


Wild blueberry sorbet. Delicious. I was going to add low carb ice cream, but it didn't need it. Incredibly decadent for a one ingredient dish.