The fundamental conundrum of broad mindedness

Today on Facebook I saw this photo and caption...

I shared it with the note... "OMG how true is this?"

It got me thinking about how much damage is done by narrow-minded, bigoted people because broad-minded people are broad-minded.

Let me clarify - Commentators like Rush Limbaugh, Alan Jones (here in Australia) and all the other ranting conservatives can whip their audience into a rage of righteous indignation on almost any subject.  They can (like the nit wit pictured above) ride the single issue with evangelical passion and seemingly almost without opposition.  This is allowed to happen because those of us who take a more balanced and easy-going attitude to the world at large THINK TOO MUCH and RESPECT THE RIGHTS OF OTHERS TOO MUCH to create a frenzy of passionate zeal.  We are too liberal (definitely small "l") to deny these bigots their right to an opinion in spite of the fact that they want to deny us all kinds of rights.

There is a reason that left wing talk-back radio hosts don't really get the ratings... it is because everything they say MAKES TOO MUCH SENSE!  Tony-bloody-Abbott can ride the "Carbon Tax Is the Work of the Devil" horse right through to the elections in September without having to propose any real policies or alternatives.  The good government we have been enjoying from Julia Gillard is just too calm and steady to stir the electorate into action.  Why can't people realize that we have a steady ship, when the rest of the world is still struggling to come out of the GFC, simply because of good government?

Thank Herbert that Obama managed to get reelected as it is the only thing giving me hope at the moment.

The zealots have cornered the market on passion and it is IMPERATIVE that level, open-minded people find theirs!

While I am in a praying mood I need to thank Herbert for Rachel Maddow, Bill Maher and Jon Stewart too and ask if someone like that, someone more enigmatic than Charlie Pickering, could emerge in Australia - soon please!

Ch Ch Ch Ch Changes - Turn and face the strain...

Moving right along...

Last night TLOML and I cooked a roast and it proved to be my first major slip.  How oh how could I resist baked potatoes???  For Herbert's sake I am only human!

I cooked masses of pumpkin and sweet potato (allowed), zucchini, broccoli, and the most delicious piece of tender lean beef, seasoned with salt, pepper and oregano.... (drooling all over again now).  I slipped in three little ways...

1.  I had a huge serving having waited too long for the dinner to be ready
2.  I had three tiny pieces of potato
3.  I followed up with a generous dollop of flavoured yoghurt

My taste buds were in heaven.

The worst thing was probably the yoghurt because it has way too much sugar and that is the villain I have worked hardest to avoid.  I guess to be honest I have not cut out as much sugar as I should have...  Tropical fruits are in season here and I have eaten several mangoes, two pears, quite a lot of watermelon, and one red papaya.  I have also had flavoured yoghurt maybe four times in the last two and a half weeks.

TLOML has been very encouraging and has been carrying on about how good I have been and I know I have done pretty well but I still think I need to be more aggressive about losing the sugar.

Here is an interesting note...  I seem to be having less bouts of severe pain.  Now I wasn't looking for this and to be honest it is always variable and sometimes I do go a while with only the lower level baseline pain but I think this is starting to appear significant.  I will say that I have been easier on my body than I was in the months leading up to this situation because it is so bloody hot I have not been doing any projects outside (having finished replacing all the stair treads into the house - all 16 of them! - in the 6 weeks before TLOML's birthday in mid November).  But I am going to aqua aerobics twice a week and last time I went to aqua I was spending a couple of days recovering from each session.  I hope this is not just a normal fluctuation and that it proves to be a significant improvement but I won't shout it from the rooftops just yet.  Still here's hoping!

TLOML is working her last days this week before breaking up for the summer holidays.  Her summer plans are still up in the air (waiting for someone else to make a decision) and so, therefore, are mine.  I don't think I will be going to Sydney.  The Boy is working lots over the summer so he is too busy to hang out with and much as I would LOVE to see all my friends it is a big expense when The Boy is not available.  I will probably just stay home and swelter quietly with our beloved dogs.  Maybe if TLOML ends up staying here too we will get away to the tablelands for a few days at some point and cool down.  I certainly have enough university work due at the end of January to keep me busy!

I know in the grand scheme of things if I make this dietary regimen a lifestyle (and I think I probably will) then a few cheats now and then are not only fine but are necessary.  This first 30 days though, I really need to stay hyper-focused and try to be perfect so that I can really make a difference to my blood readings.

I think I can ... I think I can... I know I can!

Happy Anniversary Baby!

Well yesterday was the one year anniversary of the last time I had a cigarette and it was the easiest quit ever.    I have come to realize that I am actually in control of things like smoking - I can stop quite easily with minimal pain (nicotine gum for a couple of days) and easy to manage cravings.  It just isn't that hard!

I'm trying to apply the same mindset to my dietary lifestyle change.  I'm trying not to say I am on a "diet" and to invoke the phrase "going primal" instead and strangely it is harder to change the way I talk about what is happening than it is to change the foods I am eating...  Maybe because I need to think in advance about foods and the words just pop out uninvited... I'm not sure...

Looking around online for more info on the Paleo Diet I came across a series of reports from a San Francisco TV Health Watch program.  The TV doctor was going paleo and followed a diet prescribed by the research team at UCSF and the documentary clips are so interested I thought I should post them here... about half way down this page there are five links under the video clip - I think they are really worth a look.

I'm doing pretty well with going primal...  yesterday I made a huge pot of Italian style vegetable stew stuff...  

two onions chopped and softened by frying in a teaspoon of olive oil

two tins of tomatoes with no added preservatives or sugar

about twenty pitted kalamata olives

a generous sprinkle of Italian herbs and black pepper

about a tablespoon of garlic

a teaspoon of ginger

a teaspoon of chili

two carrots

six medium zucchini

one medium sweet potato

a quarter of a small pumpkin (skinned)

one large eggplant

about a cup and a half of red wine

any other vegetables you feel like adding.

It was super yummy - I ate a bowl and a half with just a little shaved Parmesan sprinkled on top.  Then I stir fried some lean kangaroo meat that had marinated in red wine and garlic (which I think could have been better if cooked on the BBQ). 

The tomato stuff made enough for maybe three meals for TLOML and I.  We ate as much as we wanted, then froze half of what was left and kept the other half fresh for eating today and tomorrow.

Not bad huh?  This is the Italian version of my standard one pot vegetable thingy...  I have an Asian style version and an Indian style version but they are all basically the same with different spices and flavours.  

Probably none of this sounds too amazing but seriously I didn't cook anything until this year really... except to run the BBQ grill and to grab processed food from the fridge I had nothing to do with food production until moving in with TLOML.  Now I cook heaps and we reheat my cooking on most of the other nights!

As an aside it is anniversary season for me...  in about a week and a half TLOML and I celebrate our first anniversary.  I have already bought a few little gifts online and have been having the fun of seeing them arrive almost daily.  I doubt TLOML will do anything much but that's fine.  I have the leisure and pleasure of shopping and choosing things while she is at work.

Do check out the video it really is enlightening...  There is another story about the study, two groups of diabetics were given diets for two weeks - one group was given the diet recommended by the Diabetes Association (the Mediterranean Diet) and the other group went Paleo -- the first group showed no significant changes while the Paleo group saw lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol, lower blood sugar and lower triglycerides.  It even surprised the researchers what could happen in two weeks!  I hope my version of this diet does the same for me when I go in for my 30 day blood tests!

Day 7 since D Diagnosis Day & Diet

Well this time last week I got the dreaded news and I must say I have been quite proactive throughout this week.

I have joined an online health and diet tracking community at www.sparkpeople.com that allows me to input everything I eat and any exercise I do... it also tracks my weight loss (assuming I have any) and if and when I start measuring my blood sugar it can track that too.  I'm using the site to try and keep my interest level high and my focus intense.

On Friday night we went out for drinks that turned into dinner with TLOML's workmates.  Her boss (who is wonderful) was permanently confirmed into the position and it was truly cause for celebration.  I confined my drinking to Gin and Tonic (low sugar and low carbs) and though it still has calories it is better than wine or beer.  Then I managed to choose a meal from the menu where the only thing that was not Paleo approved was the mashed potato and I only had about half a cup.

Yesterday we went across to the mainland and saw the new James Bond movie Skyfall ... it was very good (if you like that sort of thing which I don't really)... we had lunch at the local Leagues club and I ordered a Gluten Free Option Kangaroo Salad made with lots of greens and lean kangaroo loin.  It was bloody delicious!!!  I should have taken a picture.  The waitress might not last long (but then again it was the Leagues club) because she put it on the table and promptly told me that she couldn't cope with eating Skippy...  Hmmmm... not the best marketing move LOL.  Kangaroo is a great option for any red meat eater who is dieting... it is tasty and lean and high in omega 3's, antioxidants etc (check out this link if you want some info)  Anyway I had a lovely lunch accompanied by ice water with a slice of lemon (free is me!) and didn't harm my diet in any way!

So things are going well... no spectacular weight loss... but to be honest that is not my focus anyway even though I could do to lose a few pounds my real intention is to change my blood sugar readings.

I really appreciate the comments and the support it is wonderful to know people are reading this and thinking about me even if only for a few minutes.

My thanks to you!

Is it day two or day three?

Well early days either way...

I just wanted to quickly touch base and let you know that I am doing ok so far.  I have NOT yet managed to get a Paleo breakfast and have had cereal two mornings in a row but the rest of it is going well.  The grocery order arrives this afternoon so I will have more choices then!

FibroFacioGal (my old mate whose blog is really worth a read) commented on my blog and asked what I'm going to do with myself and my new found education once I finish this Masters.  I'm not sure everyone knows but I have been doing a Masters of Conflict and Dispute Resolution and I should be finished early in the new year.  This very question is the fuel of much intense self-examination and thought.  My Professor at the uni is trying to persuade me to do a PhD and has a study plan all worked out for me.  She has given me some work as a Research Assistant (which I can do at home, in bed, lying down... nice work if you can get it eh?) and the project I am working on is a pilot... the Professor has suggested that when I am done with the Masters I could carry on with the extension of the pilot study we are working on at the moment and do a nation-wide study of the same issue.  It's pretty interesting stuff - we are researching conflict between graduate students and their PhD supervisors.  Quite possibly I could get a scholarship and some research funding to continue this study and the Professor would help me get it all up and running.

As part of my course I have done what I need to do to become accredited as a Mediator and as a Conflict Coach so if I were going to go back into the mainstream workforce I would probably be looking for something in one of those areas... apparently Family Mediation is a growth area and I only need another course or two to get accredited in that too.  As things stand at the moment I am not really fit enough to return  full-time to the workforce and I already have some part-time work so I am pretty happy with where that all is for now.  Strangely the recuperative effects of not working make me feel almost well enough to work but time and again I find that when I take on a project here at home it knocks me back down again so much that for every hour I spend doing something I need three hours of resting to recover and I'm likely to feel lousy for a day or two!

I just had a call from The Boy who is working and taking care of himself; he's doing pretty damn well for a nineteen year old!  We had a nice long chat.  The shopping order arrived with all my new veggies and stuff - I unpacked as much as I could before pooping out.  Off to pick up TLOML from her work in about half an hour... Life goes on... with or without the diet...

The view from the bottom of the valley...

Well it has been ages since I wrote a blog and there are a number of reasons why... I guess, in part, I didn't think I had anything to say or anything anyone else would find interesting...  I have been doing OK with University and I'm in the home stretch for the Masters...  Health wise I have been kind of bouncing along... not great... not terrible...  I appear to have entered menopause and for the past few months I have felt like I'm permanently experiencing severe PMS...  I've been pretty grouchy, very snappy and a bit paranoid...  I described myself to a friend today and told her that TLOML doesn't seem all that into me at the moment and she said (rightly) "Who would be into that?'

Well I thought I would start blogging again because yesterday I got some not great news and today I have begun the first part of a journey designed to turn my health around... (at least as much as possible).

Yesterday I got the results of a Glucose Tolerance test and it is the first test I have flunked since high school! My baseline fasting glucose was 7.2 (130 for my North American friends), then I drank the sugar drink and 60 minutes later it was 14.3 (258) and after another hour (120 minutes total) it was 13.5 (243)...  The doctor (who I have never named but she took over after Dr McSincere left) said she doesn't think it will be able to be controlled by diet but she wants to give me a month to try and get the levels down and then she will repeat the test (lucky me it cost five needles getting the test done the first time).

So here's the challenge... I am going to start a Primal/Paleo diet.  Taking sugar and grains out of my diet will not be easy but the alternative is most unattractive.

So here goes...  Today, without knowing it, I did the wrong thing by having some cereal for breakfast... no more cereal...  lunch was a hearty ham and eggs which, as counter-intuitive as it sounds, is apparently one of the best things I can eat...  dinner is on the stove chicken, brussel sprouts, broccoli, sweet potato, red cabbage, onion, garlic, chili, ginger, with a dash of wine (not much I promise).  I have ordered Krill Oil and will start that on Thursday.

Well I intend to find a site online to track my progress...  I have a friend in the US who has cured her own diabetes readings with this diet and she is going to coach me online...  I'm going to weigh myself but I'm not sure I am going to share that with you lot...

Wish me luck, I have not really done much with dieting in the past... I did the juice diet for most of a week last year...  I spent a few months on a low fat diet back in the mid 90's...  Still I never had as much motivation as I have right now - today!

Ugly Boats and Ugly Houses

I remember once one of my ex-girlfriends was having a tantrum and picked up a heavy paperweight and made as if to throw it into the leaded glass window on the built-in-buffet...  "Don't!"  I screamed, "Tell me why I shouldn't?" she yelled back, red faced and with flaming eyes....  "Because it's beautiful." I replied.  She calmed down, lowered her throwing arm (which I can assure you was deadly accurate and powerful when used!) and said "Yes.  It is.".  Beauty managed to save itself from destruction in that case.

Another time when I was a Realtor I was working with a young woman buyer and she had a list of very practical requirements of the home (she was an accountant) and she was very tight in the budget department...  I showed her a house that ticked all her boxes except having a garage door opener...  Unfortunately what the house did have was orange (yes I mean it) shag carpet wall to wall and on those walls  was the synthetic 'genuine imitation picture of wood' fake wood panels, the basement was full of dead appliances, the upstairs had that 50's colourful striped carpet... it was UGLY!!!  She said, "I can't buy it; it's too ugly" and I said "But it has everything you want, new roof, new furnace, updated plumbing, near the bus, nice area...." etc etc ... Of course I understood... it was UGLY!  A week or so later I heard from the agent who had that house listed asking me what my buyer thought... I told him it was probably the right house for her but that it was just too ugly... He said "Put it in writing, whatever you want, make us an offer; my seller is very handy and is keen to sell."  My buyer took some persuading; it was hard to get her to see what the house would look like with the carpet all removed and the floors all polished, the paneling taken down and the walls patched and painted beige, the giant woodburning stove removed from the middle of the dining room (you can't make this stuff up seriously), AND a garage door opener installed.  It was the longest list of requests addendum I have ever seen in real estate and nearly every one was accepted.  The day we inspected the house, after the work was done and before closing, my buyer was astounded (and so was I) it was the cutest little house with beautiful maple floors.  Several years later I saw that buyer at an event and she was still in love with her house.  Ugly just might not be permanent.

I've been shopping for a boat - now that I live in tropical paradise I may as well get out on the water and enjoy it...  I fell in love with the prettiest little runabout, but it doesn't have an electric tilt button and I don't think my body can handle lifting the engine.  It also only really has room for two people, the trailer was rusty and unregistered, it is a long way away...

In my imagination I want a boat like this one (it only costs about 20 times my budget!)

Then, for the same small budget, here locally, I found a bigger boat with an engine with tilt, rego on the boat and trailer (which is decent), all the safety gear, and plenty of room....   but OH MY GOD IT IS UGLY!  This thing has been hand painted (without the need of masking tape or a good eye, perhaps Helen Keller and Stevie Wonder worked on the paint job together?)  It has all the wires running down the side just hanging there, the bench seat across the front is a lump of timber, it is hideous!  But hey as I used to say to my real estate clients... "Paint's cheap!"

This weekend I am going over to town to go to Uni for a workshop...  I have arranged to check out the boat again on Saturday (after my course) and if it all checks out on Sunday I will take the truck over on the barge and pick up the boat...  I'm not sure if I want to call this boat 'The Silk Purse' or 'The Beast' but either way it will be quite the project cleaning it up.  Maybe I will blog about my progress (with pictures of the hideous thing)...

Pretty ugly huh?  I blotted out the guy and the number though...  (Actually it looks worse than this in person).

Perhaps I will paint flowers all over it like the old VW's from the 60's and 70's?  Maybe I will install a couple of banana lounges in the back of the cockpit?

Whatever way it goes it will be an adventure!

So unless something better presents in the next 24 hours I am buying the ugly boat on Sunday!

UPDATE: not 30 minutes after I posted this blog I was contacted by someone in response to my wanted ad - now the ugly boat has a competitor!  Two to see on the weekend!