Flipping Through the Channels of Life

Hihi, blogadoodles!

This week has been a roller coaster ride with ups and downs and upside-downs and inside-outs and twists and turns. I’m feeling woozy—literally—get me off… now!

I went for an eye examination on Monday, my first one in 15 years. I’ve had difficulty focusing my eyes for quite some years now, lots of squinting, but figured it was all part of aging combined with being parked in front of a bright computer screen for hours on end for the past decade. I really should have had an examination sooner, but it was one of those things that I kept procrastinating on. I’ve realized for a few years now that my right eye has blurred vision and I can only see well if my left eye is open. I can see with my right eye, just not well; the vision is blurred and hard to focus without getting within half an inch of whatever I am trying to focus on.

I placed my chin up on the machine so he could look into my eyes. He went through several different lenses, but there was no improvement. I started feeling a little nervous when he asked if I have ever had any injuries or infections in my right eye. He brought me over to another machine to take an image and we went back into the examining room. He said that I have astigmatism that can’t be corrected through surgery and corrective lenses won’t help much as it had to be corrected during childhood. But I had no symptoms during childhood! I read eye charts clearly and accurately and had no trouble seeing or reading anything else for that matter! It wasn’t until these past few years that I have noticed the decline.  He didn’t give me much more information during my visit, but emphatically suggested I NOT get contacts. He said you wouldn’t want to take the risk of an infection in your good (left) eye. That was comforting. As we were walking out, Dustin asked him if the new prescription lenses will help, and he said, “they might but he’s not hopeful.”  SOOO comforting.

I ordered glasses (Versace frames) with the special lenses ($$$) that he recommended. I was a little upset and shaken up when I left. When we got home, I did some Googling because that seems to be how every doctor appointment ends for me—more questions than answers. I figured out that what I have is amblyopia from astigmatism, which basically means my brain is ignoring my right eye in favor of my left eye. And it says that it can be corrected… between the ages of 2-5 years. Fabulous. Improvement in adults is unlikely, but new treatment shows promising results. I’m going to see a specialist about this, and in the meantime, wear my new prescription. Perhaps I can reprogram my brain at the ripe old age of 31. Even if the doctor is pessimistic, I am not willing to accept that attitude. I’ll keep trying. It can’t hurt to seek more answers. At least I tried, right?

We stopped by Target after my appointment. We needed some paper goods and Halloween candy. And as if my cart wasn’t overflowing with enough sugar and chocolate, I had to throw these Mauna Loa dark chocolate-covered macadamia nuts in the mix:

I think the ingredients are pretty legit…

But I’m not a purist, so don’t expect me to condemn anything seen there.

I needed another pick-me-up, Target wasn’t soothing enough. I needed a dose of shopping Nature’s Pantry to lift my spirits. Not like I wouldn’t go there anyway, so maybe I was milking it a little.

I picked up a few things, including this piece of raw pecan turtle cheesecake:

It tastes JUST like cheesecake, yet it’s dairy-free and raw! Amazing. Made with cashews. SO GOOD. Must duplicate this at home.

Also bought some of these banana chips from the bulk bins. The only ingredients are: bananas and coconut oil. SO GOOD. Addictive!

On top of my disturbing diagnosis at the eye doc, my ear has been bothering me. It feels like it needs to “pop” for the past week, and my throat is a little scratchy. I swear I think I have the same sinus problem that never really goes away, it just has worse flare-ups every few months or so. So frustrating. Plus, Aunt Flo has been in town all week. She’s actually been one of the easier battles this week. Natural Calm magnesium supplement helps wonders with her. Along with the relentless sinus/allergy/ear/throat problems and HER, I’ve also been battling perpetual nausea all week long. I feel so sick and achy, it’s awful! I don’t think it’s the flu, I think it’s just another extreme episode of whatever my underlying problems are. I’ve also been doing intermittent fasting and carb-cycling for the past week, and it seems like ever since then I have had this feeling. Perhaps it’s the low-carb flu that people speak of? Not sure. Could be coincidental. I haven’t been extremely low-carb, but much less than usual. All I know is that I feel hung-over and yucky, but the ear problem started before the nausea, so I think it’s just combination of bad timing and a zillion things, including stress, going on simultaneously.

But the good news is…

We’re going to Florida on vacation next week!!!!!!!!!!!

I’ve been meaning to blog about it, but it’s just been one thing after another, not to mention house-buying in between. Nonstop calls from our attorney and real estate agents and CPAs and mortgage broker… oy. We SO need a vacay!

We’re leaving NY on Wednesday. Destination: Orlando! Guess where we’re going?

I’m SOOOO excited!! I haven’t been to Disney World since I was 8! I purchased the whole trip on Expedia.com during the first week of October, completely on a whim. Dustin was sleeping and I was up late surfing the net, and  then I had a most pleasant notion:  “We need a little getaway!!” Booked the plane, hotel, and car rental in one swipe. Easy, easy, easy. Can’t tell you how much I’m looking forward to this. I just hope that my yuckiness subsides before we take off. I do not want to travel feeling like this. We leave one week from today, so body: You have until then to feel good, ya heard? Thanks.

I came home to another wonderful delivery that further boosted my spirits on Monday: Newman’s Own salad dressings, tomato sauce, and a free frozen pizza coupon from the Foodbuzz Tastemakers Program!! The package came with something else that’s incredibly awesome: A Flip UltraHD Video Camera!!!

How cool is that?! Very. I’ll attempt to make a video with it… wish me luck, hehe.

Can’t wait to try out all of these dressings and sauces. I’ve had Newman’s Own Italian before and really liked it. Light Caesar… hehe. Between our new doggie and this delivery, I think a Caesar salad is in the near future.

This is my first attempt at carb-cycling. I figured I’d add it to my mix of calorie-cycling and intermittent fasting. I love changing things up often, so the more options I have, the happier I am. I haven’t formulated an official regimen yet, I’m sort of just winging it for the time being. The nausea I have is messing things up because I feel too sick to eat, yet at the same time I’m starving. The gnawing won’t subside. I’ve had this before, it happens every few months. It’s just another symptom and episode of my digestive woes. I’ve reduced dairy significantly, but I still eat it, of course. Technically, I’ve reduced everything this week because I’m eating very lightly. Yesterday, all I could eat was a small low-sodium Boar’s Head turkey sandwich and a lime ice pop before falling asleep at 6:00pm for the rest of the night. I woke up starved at 3:00am and ate a quarter of Dustin’s leftover Italian sandwich. I felt like if I didn’t eat something right that second I’d implode. Terrible, terrible feeling. I’m a mess! Hungry yet too sick to eat; hot and cold, cloudy and tired. Not fun. At all. Trying to shake this. I feel like I was going through this not so long ago… Oh, I was. Maybe my stomach doesn’t like me taking Zyrtec while intermittent fasting? Hmm. Maybe I’ll wait to take it with food. Duh. I’ll adjust my timing on that, hopefully it helps!

I’ve been taking Caesar out for a walk every morning for 40-60 minutes, despite feeling so lousy. It’s chilly out there, but I like the fresh air.

I woke up feeling a bit energetic (and hungry) today. After I had a wake-up snack, I went back to bed to play with my iPad for a few hours. Then, I headed downstairs to roast some veggies:

Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and butternut squash cubes. I bought the broccoli already chopped and the butternut squash already peeled. Shortcuts: Gotta love ‘em!

Roasted the broc and Brussels on 425 degrees F for 18 minutes, removed them and kept the butternut squash in for another 10.

I love having lots of veggies cooked and ready to eat. I’m trying to use up our fresh produce before we leave next week. My mom will probably eat like an unattended 6-year-old while we’re away, so I won’t count on her to finish anything that’s left in the veggie bins, ha.

I don’t subscribe to the whole “carbs are evil” dogmatism, but I do believe there can be benefits to carb-cycling, as well as calorie-cycling and intermittent fasting. Me, personally, I like a mix of all of it! I can eat vegan or I can eat Paleo or I can eat carnival food until I puke. Tasty is tasty, and I am really into variety. So if you see me low-carbing it, don’t worry. I’m still the same Jenn. I have not joined any cults, I’ve just expanded my palate and broadened the parameters of my diet. Options rock my socks. I love experimenting with foods of all kinds. Food is great. All cuisines, styles, traditions, cooking methods. I could never choose a favorite unless I could choose bread and cheese as a diet. I like something from everything. No matter what type of foods I eat on a particular day, I still believe that any and all diets should be plant-based. Meaning: Plants should be the biggest part of any eating style. And by plants, I mean all types of plants! Not just fruits and veggies; nuts, grains, seeds, sea vegetables, etc. Some of the healthiest fat sources (olive oil, avocado, and coconut) are in fact plants! Food for thought…

Plants rule.

Our lower-carb dinner from the other night:

Roasted chicken thighs sprinkled with lemon pepper and EVOO, roasted butternut squash with butter and a small spoonful of Fifty50 maple syrup baked until fork-tender, and boiled kale with garlic

This was my main meal of the day; heavy on fats a.k.a. LOTS of flavor and low-ish carbs.

I buy my kale pre-washed and pre-chopped. Does that disqualify me as a foodie? haha

Chicken thighs > chicken breast

I don’t eat the skin, but cooking it with the skin on makes it taste infinitely better. Highly recommended.

Lower-carb isn’t necessarily boring; it can be quite delicious. But I can’t (won’t) do it all the time. No thanks. A few days a week? Sure. But I need my variety, namely my bread. heh

I need a shower… pretty badly. Sheets and blankets are in the wash, I can’t stand the thought of getting into “sick” sheets. I change our sheets every other day or so, but it’s priority when I don’t feel well, even though it doesn’t make much of a difference germ-wise. Then again, I’m not contagious, I’m autoimmune and allergy/sinus sick. And I wouldn’t wish this feeling on my worst enemy.

I have so much to do this week and all I want to do is go back to bed. I’m hoping by this time next week this feeling is a distant memory!! Crossing fingers…

My tummy is gurgling. I think I’m hungry. Can’t wait to eat, but at the same time the thought repulses me. Shower time!

Tagged as: allergies, diets, doctors, eyes, Flip camera, Foodbuzz, health, low-carb, lower-carb, Newman's Own, roasted vegetables, sick, Tastemaker Program, travel, vacation