Moving?

Chris and I are officially starting the search for a dog friendly home to move to on the peninsula so that we can be full-time owners and companions for Dusty. Please keep your fingers (and paws) crossed for us. We will update you all on the search as we proceed.

Sugar no More

A couple of weeks ago I totally OD'd on sugar, and no, not in a good way. I was at work, and was surrounded by sugar, and had an entire movie sized box of candy plus a couple of cookies and a handful of chocolate, by-my-self. I went to Bikram (way to hot to be comfortable) yoga that night with my friend and mostly laid on the floor in class, feeling the sugar coursing through my veins and wondering why I had, and had been, doing this to myself. I resolved that night to stop eating junkie sugar products (candy, baked goods, and other sweets) and to see how I felt about it after a week.

Days one and two were hard, there were the ever present bowls of candy and well meaning plates of baked goodies sprinkled through the office. I apparently see anything sugary and my brain instantly tells me to eat it, but once I identified the urge and resisted a few dozen times, I found that if I think about it - I can control myself. Duh, but when you don't actually evaluate and run on autopilot when it comes to this - it's easy to eat handfuls of this stuff without even registering it.

After week one, my impulses were controllable again, and walking away from sugar temptations were pretty easy. I was also surprised how much sugar has influenced my energy, emotions, and mood the past few months. Instead of feeling exhausted all the time and commenting several times a day that all I really wanted to do was sleep, I slept better at night, woke up rested and made it through the day with some energy to spare. I still had moments of stress, but instead of diving into a candy bowl to avoid it, took a deep breath or two and worked on addressing it in a positive way. And instead of getting frustrated or cranky when things didn't go as planned at home (like dinnertime), I learned to joke about it and move on. This low to no sugar eating is a habit I am planning on continuing as it has made my life better in so many unexpected ways. Goodbye sugary drugs, welcome back to the real Summer.

New Work Blog

I have been asked to maintain a Blog at work to gather information and news for potential and current students, staff, and 'alumni' of our program at the VA. Please check it out to learn a little more about what I do and where I spend 40 + hours per week, loving every minute of it.

westernblind.blogspot.com

You'll find posts such as the one below, hopefully up-dated every week or so... a goal I should set for this blog... hmmmm....

ABC Channel 7 San Francisco, Dec. 20, reports, “Veterans at the VA hospital in Palo Alto are being trained to use technology where their eyes can no longer take them.” Story goes on to follow a veteran who is using the device to maneuver through a local community town. Laura Kohler, who is an Orientation and Mobility Specialist at the Western Blind Rehabilitation Center at the VA hospital, said, “What’s different is it’s about the same size as a handheld device, but it’s got a tactile key board overlay to allow them to access the information using a sense of touch.” The GPS figures out where he is and he tells it where he wants to go.

Click HERE for a Link to the ABC News Clip

Tucson Holiday

Happy Holidays everyone! Chris and I are enjoying our Christmas trip to Tucson, AZ to visit my Mom and her hubby Bob this Christmas. We are here for a week and thus far have been really enjoying hanging out, hiking, and being in completely different surroundings.

Moon rise over saguaro cactus at Kings Canyon, Saguaro National Park

Christmas morning found us drinking coffee and opening stockings near the fire. Stockings are a tradition with my family and even though we promised no presents this year, due to pricey airline tickets, Mom surprised us with stockings anyway. My stocking contained a nice mix of old and new, some ornaments from my childhood, a locket belonging to our family being passed on, and some new decorations for our tree. A very thoughtful and reminiscent way to celebrate the holiday. Then we moved on to a yummy breakfast, then a long hike at Kings Canyon at Saguaro National Park.

Petroglyphs at Kings Canyon, Saguaro National Park

We walked up the wash, looking at cactus, ferns from the recent rain that had greened up, rocks, and even Petroglyphs. It was such a neat way to spend time with one another, pointing things out, talking, joking, and marveling at our surroundings.

Mom and I hiking the wash at Kings Canyon, Saguaro National Park

We Scrambled up rocks, took in the sweeping views, spotted birds, and checked out the old mine along the trail. Then we headed home and, orchestrated by mom, cooked up a wonderful evening meal (it was mostly mom though).

Yummy Christmas Dinner, Tucson, AZ

Grilled pork tenderloin, roasted butternut squash, acorn squash, and sweet potato, stuffing, grilled green beans, and yummy sauteed red cabbage. The table setting included, Christmas Crackers, a throwback to when I was growing up in the British Virgin Islands. Chris had never seen these before, so it was really neat to cross hands and 'pop' the Christmas Crackers open with him, discovering paper crowns, jokes, and prizes. We had a wonderful Christmas day, and are looking forward to more visiting, talking, and laughing in the days to come. Merry Christmas everyone!

Solstice

Happy Solstice everyone! On Sunday our friends L&M invited us over to their house for a Solstice party. We had a lovely dinner, wine, and lots of good music, talk, and laughter. L and her family have a tradition of writing wishes and goals for the coming year, or notes of thanks on pieces of paper and tucking them into the Yule Log, then burning the Log in the fire.

Then your thanks, goals, and wishes are heard, and will come to fruition. We had a warning to be sure about what we were wishing for, and all of us filled out a few pieces of origami paper and tucked them into the Log.

Then L&M placed the Log on the fire and we all sat and watched it burn. Presents and more wine followed. Stories were told. Games were played. It was a wonderful way to celebrate the arrival of lengthening daylight; the promise of sun, spring, and hopefully, a few of those wishes.