No good angle!

So, since my hip injury 6 years ago, and combined with thyroid issues and other factors both in and out of my control, I've been slowly and steadily gaining weight.  Imperceptibly so, if you've been at all with me as it's happened--about 10 pounds a year...but that sure does add up!  (Yeah, you do the math.  Sad, right?)

Usually when I look in the mirror there is a magical angle where I can turn my body one way and my head another and honestly tell myself, "Well, I'm not really THAT big."

Today I could find no such angle.

Friends, this will not do!

*Note: Unlike many people, I am not saying this so that you will contradict me and I can feel better about myself.  I do not believe in fishing for compliments.  I really am overweight and this is me acknowledging that I have some part in it.  This is a genuine dismay and a discovering that as unhealthy as I've felt INSIDE, now it's really starting to show OUTSIDE.  Remember that whole New Years Resolution to be healthier?  Yeah, maybe I really should get on that!*

Weekend with family

Since my niece AND nephew were at my mom's house all weekend, I got to play with them a bit.  Those cousins are too adorable!

Mom, of course, bought them new toys to play with.

 But who needs toys when you have a dog the size of a horse to play with?

 Or Aunt Celeste's snow boots?

 Caida still LOVES the trampoline (even though after jumping for 15 minutes she'd have a seizure...she just couldn't stop jumping, though!).

 Of course, she also got a pretty necklace and her first pair of "high heels," and somehow she already has that model pose-and-pout down. 

Little kids are SOOOOOOOO fun!  :)

Obi's New Space

Obi decided that she was going to use our "space" a little differently this weekend:

Yeah, she actually pushed the back of the chair down and climbed up onto it.  Too cute!  Is this what she does at night while we're asleep?  Well, it might have been, except yesterday I came out to find this:

She had been pulling out the stuffing from the couch through a hole she had previously dug in it.  I caught her right in the middle of doing it and MAN ALIVE her caught-red-handed-guilty-look is soooooooo cute!

Now she gets to be in the cage at night until I can figure out how to patch up this hole. 

300th Post!

I wanted to say something profound to mark this special occasion, or at least something more than a few pictures of random happenings around here.  Today is a special day--not only because it is Valentine's Day, but because today is the day my niece has a doctor's appointment to find a new medication for her ever-increasing seizures AND the day she starts her own ketogenic diet.  Well, not exactly the full-blown ketogenic diet (because you have to measure everything to the gram and have a dietician as well as your neurologist involved), but more like a modified Atkin's Diet.  I've been doing a lot of research online this past weekend about what this diet is, how it works, when to expect results (if any), and what it will mean when I am babysitting Caida. 

A full-blown ketogenic diet is a diet in which someone has a 4:1 fats to carbs and protein ratio.  That means for every gram of carbohydrates or proteins Caida eats, she should be eating 4 grams of fats.  This doesn't sound too healthy, right?  You should know within 3 months whether or not this diet is working, and if it's not, you stop it.  But even when it works, children are only on this diet for 2 years or so, so while they have to deal with higher cholesterol and the higher risk for kidney stones (1 in 20 instead of 1 in thousands), the effects aren't permanent.  The whole purpose of this diet is to sort of trick the body into starvation mode (like when fasting) so that the body stops using carbohydrates for energy and instead turns to burning fat.  For some reason that scientists and doctors are still exploring, the ketones that are released when the body turns fat into energy seem to help calm or even cure seizures.  (50% of dieters see a 50% or more improvement, while 12-15% see a complete cure).  Of course, the strictness of this diet (even one SNACK in the wrong direction can trigger an epileptic reaction) makes this a last resort, when medicines have failed to help. 

Caida's seizures have been getting more frequent AND worse.  An EEG in January showed that her brain is in a constant seizure state, even when her limbs are in her control.  But she's also had mild-moderate seizure every 20 minutes or so.  And a few pretty serious grand mal seizures in the last few months.  There are still some medications left to try, though, so they haven't put her on the diet officially.  But the doctor said that cutting out major carbs (so bye-bye bread, cereals, pastas, rice...all those things our family LOVES) and all refined sugars (no more anything with white, brown, or powdered sugar or any form of corn syrup...so pretty much all sweets and many packaged foods) should help when combined with her new drug treatments, and it would prepare Caida in case she has to go on this diet in the near future. 

What is LEFT you ask?  :)  I DID find a list of foods that she can eat, and at this stage pretty much all fruits and vegetables are still okay (on the full ketogenic diet, many fruits and even some veggies are off-limits).  Pretty much all meats are okay, as well as butter, mayo, eggs, creams, and all those yummy fatty sauces.  Nuts, cheeses, and sugar-free jello are good snacks.  In addition to the obvious (like cookies or breads), she should stay away from potatoes, bananas/peaches/nectarines/high-carb fruits, and popcorn, and if she can avoid peas and carrots she should.  Check out http://www.keto.org/foods.htm for the full list. 

My thoughts and prayers are with Caida, and her mom, as they embark on this new stage in the journey to curing her epilepsy once and for all!  I hope the doctors can find medication that really will help.  I hope the new diet, although it will be super difficult, will be helpful in making her healthy again.  I hope that Caida can know what it means to be in school again, with new friends and new fun things to learn (her current school is not equipped to handle her seizures and have suggested homeschooling until new medication or the process of enrolling in the district's "special ed" school can be completed).  I hope she can know what it means to go for a whole day without falling down and hitting her head on something, without that fear of an oncoming seizure, to use her legs as a 6-year-old is meant to.  When whatever it takes to help her heal eventually does work (and I KNOW it will!), we will have a huge party.  Maybe we'll invite you.  :)

Joy of Love Day 10: Space--Where They Are Comfortable

Here is the space that all 3 of us fight over:

We got this "throne" from my mom when we got married (along with a matching couch).  I'm not sure if it's because of the table and drawers in between that hold all our books and magazines, laptop, food, and whatever else we're using at the moment, or if it's the allure of the softer pad in the middle that Obi can rest her head on (she's a sucker for pillows)...maybe it's because it's directly in front of our TV.  Whatever the reason, we all love it.  It is all 3 of our "space."  I can type up blogs, have lunch or snacks handy, watch Netflix, read, nap, etc. in this space.  But as soon as I get up, Obi jumps right in my space and claims it as hers!  :)  Paul and I often have to tempt her away from both of these thrones with treats so that we can watch movies while eating dinner or have FHE together.  :)

Check out everyone else's photos of their special spaces HERE.  :)

New Look

Between being sick, having our heat go out overnight, and visiting with family, some things (like those photography assignments) have been put on hold for a while.  But I DID get around to doing something AWESOME yesterday at my mom's house.  Well, actually, my little sister, Cerene, did it for me:

BEFORE

DURING

AFTER

Yup, I cut and dyed my hair!  My new color is actually pretty much my actual color, just a little richer.  But all those grays and silvers are now shiny golden brown!  It's amazing how much DARKER my hair looks now that I don't have any grays...and how much healthier, too!  There's a hint of red in it, but that wasn't supposed to be there.  :)  Oh well.  I really, really, REALLY like it. 

Cerene decided to do it, too (she IS the hair dying expert, as she has a different hair color almost every time I see her...).  She wanted to get back to her natural color, as well, which meant she had to get some of the red out of her last coloring.  She wanted to match her roots and her daughter's hair:

BEFORE (she had pigtails in her wet hair, she's not usually that crazy!)

DURING (okay, maybe she is...)

AFTER (But she's MUCH prettier in person.  The bathroom light makes it look much redder than it really does, see below for proof).

We are awesome looking now.

The whole time, Caida was stoked.

She gave each of us big kisses for being so brave.  WAY better than a lollipop. :)

Leo (their dog) wasn't quite so impressed.  He slept through the whole thing in this position:

Joy of Love Day 9: Hobbies and Passions

One of Paul's many hobbies/passions is anything STAR TREK!  Especially if you can combine that with his passion for reading, we have shelves all over the house filled with his Star Trek paraphernalia.  I think it's cute.  :)

Obi's hobbies (aside from sleeping and driving me crazy) include hiding under the bed, playing with her ball and blankie, and looking out the window, watching anything and everything that moves.  :)

Joy of Love Day 8: Gifts from the Heart

Today our goal is to capture the gifts given in love to us by those we love.  Obsidian gives me kisses, loyalty, obedience, snuggles, and most of all she teaches me a little about what it means to care for someone or something else that's so dependent on me.  I guess she's pretty much the best practice for parenthood we'll get.  :)  My absolute FAVORITE thing she does is cock her head in confusion or curiosity.  I melt every time.  I think it's because I am internally cocking my own head at her antics and puppy-reasoning almost constantly.  :)

I wanted to add something about Paul today, too, since I'm realizing just how hard it is to find new things to do with Obi (especially since I pretty much can't get her moving around much).  I had seen this kind of picture online and wanted BADLY to make one with my engagement and wedding rings, and now I had the perfect excuse!  A LOT of people did themes on their rings, which makes sense.  I personally love the symbolism of a ring, and the many, many promises that came along with each of mine.

Our wedding rings have "I Love You" engraved three times--because if you say something 3 times, then you must really mean it!

I love how it makes that heart-shape even with the bulkiness of the diamonds and sapphires on the end.  :)

My only complaint was that you couldn't see the scripture I placed this in, which was all about marriage and stuff.  But it was either get a good, focused shot of the rings and heart OR the scripture.  I chose the rings.  :)

There are some GREAT photos submitted today...go check them out HERE and get inspired!

Joy of Love Day 7: Generations

I took a break from photographing Obsidian for this assignment.  This is a photograph of a single rose from my grandmother's funeral this past October.  I hang-dried it in my room and keep it hanging close by.  It helps me remember not only her, but all my extended family that we don't get to see nearly so often as I'd like.

Check out the other entries for "generations" HERE.

Joy of Love Day 6: Who They Love

Obi loves PAUL.  Without a doubt.  She waits by the door for him at night.  She snuggles with him every chance she gets.  She barks and growls at me when I come near him.  He is HERS.  Thankfully, he still loves me more...most of the time.  ;)

Since I had a hard time getting all the manual settings I wanted with my point-and-shoot, I used Paint.net to achieve that blurry background.  I like it!  But I think I'll have to practice using it more...if you look TOO closely, you can see all the places I messed up.  :)
Check out the other entries HERE.