Too Much in Common

Here is a photo of Mr. Man.

And here is a photo of our male cat.

What do they have in common?  Unfortunately, elevated blood glucose levels.

You see, my sweet husband went for a physical recently and found out that his blood glucose numbers were a bit high.  Not too bad, but we don’t want it to get any worse!

Thank heavens we already had a glucometer and test strips for the cat, so we knew what to do!

Besides upping his lunchtime walking at work, we have been learning about how to eat a diabetic diet, which (very oversimplified) so far seems to be a low-carb diet.

Now, if you know us at all, you know that Mr. Man loves sugar and I love starches.  Oy!   

Seriously, his favorite treats are Smarties and Runts, and I just know I could live on potatoes.  (!)  Yikes, how is this gonna work?

So, off to the grocery store we went, looking at sugar-free this and that, and reading all the nutrition labels and checking the carbohydrate totals.  We stocked up on stuff like string cheese and nuts and peanut butter -- things that he can keep at work for a mid-afternoon snack, for example.

And of course we jumped on the Internet, my personal problem-solver for everything!

And we ended up ordering 2 books from Amazon.  One was a comfort food cookbook for diabetics, "The Low-Carb Comfort Food Cookbook" by Mary Dan Eades M.D. (of Protein Power fame), and the other was reviewed to be THE book to get if you just found out you have Type 2 diabetes:  "The First Year: Type 2 Diabetes: An Essential Guide for the Newly Diagnosed" by Gretchen Becker.

I’ll letcha know if we like ‘em…  J

The other wonderful Internet find was Dreamfields pasta.  I also ordered it from Amazon.com.  It has a low glycemic index (13) and is only 5 net carbs per serving.  Supposedly it tastes like real pasta, not whole wheat, so we’ll see.  It has lots of 5 star reviews, so I was encouraged.

Isn’t it nice to have options?

As for eating out, this weekend we went to our favorite BBQ restaurant and had delicious brisket, chicken and green beans.  Yummy!  (I had never had their chopped brisket before, and it’s the best flesh I think I’ve ever had!)

So, I hope none of you ever need to know what works well or what we prefer, but statistically, you probably know someone who has blood sugar issues.

And you *know* how much I LOVE sharing information and getting the word out!

So, there you go.  I’ll report more later… 

This isn’t exactly what Mr. Man ever wanted, of course, but compared to a really *bad* disease, it’s very manageable.  It’s all relative, right?

Over-50 ain’t for sissies…!

XOXO,

Lucky Dog 
♥

p.s.  The blizzard is on its way…!

Sunday Scripture

Hebrews 7 verse 25 

Jesus is able to save forever those
who come to God through Him,
since He is always lives to make intercession for them.

Fun Find

Isn't this a FUN find?

Duct tape in different animal prints!

XOXO,

Lucky Dog
♥

Quote o' the Day

"I once read a book by an older woman on how to bake a pie. She said bake one every day for two weeks, and at the end of that time, you will know how to bake a pie.  That rule applies for many things, including bread baking.  Things may seem a little awkward or difficult at first, but after you have made it 14 times, you will have learned what not to do and will get comfortable with it.  There really was a lot of wisdom in what that older woman said."

-- Unknown

365 Promises

Today I am thrilled to share with you 

my newest internet find:  www.365promises.com

They have combined beautiful photography with Bible promises that have been paraphrased as if God is doing the speaking.  I find that to be fresh and powerful.  ♥

And their photos are for sale and downloadable, so if you find one that you want to frame, you can purchase it and print it as often as you want.  (but not for commercial purposes--only personal use and gifts)  They even have a DVD for sale.

I have fallen in love with the site and with the concept of paraphrasing verses this way.  I’ll share some of mine with you later.  In the meantime, here are some beautiful promises to enjoy every single day of the year.

XOXO,

Lucky Dog 
♥

Sunday Scripture

Romans 8 verse 28 

If you love Me,
I will cause all things to work together for your ultimate good.

Quote o' the Day

“I couldn't wait for success... so I went ahead without it.”

-- Jonathan Winters

Joshua 24:15

“As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

Isn’t that a great verse to use with these little houses?

You know how I love collage, and working on this little house was so much fun!   And there’s just something about making a house that really takes you back to childhood, adding the bushes, making sure there’s a chimney…

I’m still toying with coloring in some of the counters with yellow, but I think I’ll just make another one instead.

It’s kind of ridiculous how much time I can spend on something this simple--auditioning so many different kinds of papers for the roof, for example.  But I get “lost” in it, and there’s the Flow.

To more Flow!

XOXO,

Lucky Dog 
♥

It's a January Thing

“When you have only two pennies left in the world,

buy a loaf of bread with one, and a lily with the other.”

--  Chinese Proverb

Like I’ve said before, money spent on flowers in the dead of winter is money well-spent in my book.  And the grocery store near us always has such a good selection.  One bunch is $4, 3 for $12.

I usually pick the Alstroemerias… 
They’re so pretty and they last so well.

It’s a January thing.

XOXO,

Lucky Dog 
♥

Sunday Scripture

Psalm 119 verse 105 

Thy word is a lamp to guide my feet,
and a light for my path.

ANOTHER Quote o' the Day!

So I was lamenting to Mr. Man about how I am still in Deuteronomy, in my Read-the-Bible-Outloud goal…

And he said, “So what?”

And I said, “Good grief, I probably started it in August! 
I should be further along than this.  I’m so slow!”

And he said, “No, it’s like John MacArthur says: 

It’s not the Perfection of your life,
but the Direction of your life that matters.”

And then I said, “Ooh… that’s good! 
I need to share that quote on my blog!”

So, there ya go!

XOXO,

Lucky Dog 
♥

Quote o' the Day

“When I was young, I admired clever people.
Now that I am old, I admire kind people.”  

-- Abraham Joshua Heschel

Snow Pix

Here are a few photos of today's snowfall...

Tomorrow the brutal cold moves in,

but today was just a light dusting to enjoy.

-2° wind chill in the morning

Stay warm, everyone!

XOXO,

Lucky Dog
♥

Sunday Scripture

2 Timothy 2 verse 15

Work hard so you can present yourself to God
and receive His approval.
Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed
and who correctly explains the word of truth.

If I'm Dreaming...

This is today's experiment:  combining my funky alphabet with PT's Casual Caps on a pastel-painted background.

Actually, I paint the background on last.  Is it still a background then??  LOL

Materials used:  black paper, Sakura Gelly Roll gel pens in white and yellow glitter, and Schmincke soft pastels.

(Oh, and the black paper is pretty cheap!  That's one of the cool things about using gel pens -- you get to use commercial paper that you'd never use with a broad-edged pen.  And I have been given reams of the stuff over the years, and now I know what to do with it!)

Enjoy!

XOXO,
Lucky Dog  
♥

A Fun and Funky Alphabet

Well, I’ve been playing again…. 

Designing another alphabet, it seems.  :)

You see, I surf the Internet and look at all these blogs and even artwork on Etsy with all sorts of quotes lettered on them by artists who, I’m sure, do not consider themselves calligraphers at all.

And their lettering intrigues me...

Armed with only a Sharpie, it seems, they produce letters with so much variety and contrast!  It has such a fresh liveliness to it, and they are solving lettering “problems” with no calligraphic background at all, and they do such a great job!

So I decided to pretend that I was in their shoes, faced with the same design constraints, and see what kind of lettering I would come up with.  So, with a Sharpie in hand, this is basically what I designed:

It seems to be Italic-ish in nature, with the boldness coming from triple-stroking certain parts of the letters.    Maybe even 4 strokes wide, depending on the tool.  (usually the stems, but not always)

And while I am still completely addicted to Peter Thornton’s Casual Caps (!), this new alphabet is a lot of crazy fun, too!  It can be done really really big--something I don’t usually do.  And it has a sort of “funky” look to it, and is just terribly fun to do!

It isn’t elegant at all, but I suppose there is a place for that, too.

Here are some another example:

And it’s really fun to do with all those colorful Sharpies they have out there now.  The way Sharpies bleed a little on the paper make the building-up of the fat stroke easier and fun.

On this one, I used a super Sharpie, black,  and left it plain.  Next to it, though, I “shadowed” the lettering with a Gelly Roll sparkle pen.  (no color, just sparkle)  

Okay, this is really too much fun!

I hope you try this out someday…  And, it’s travel-friendly!

XOXO,

Lucky Dog 
♥

Quote o' the Day

”I hate flowers.  I paint them because they're cheaper
 than models and they don't move.”  

-- Georgia O’Keefe

Sunday Scripture

Proverbs 24 verses 3 and 4

By wisdom a house is built,
and by understanding it is established;
and by knowledge the rooms are filled
with all precious and pleasant riches.

Happy 2011!

Here is my 2011 Wish List…

  

#1 --  For all of us to be safe and healthy and strong!

  

Deeper friendships  ♥

For everybody’s prayers to be answered  ♥

Move more

Be more organized

Be more disciplined  (duh)

Have incredible success in the art studio  :)

     (Hmmmm… I need to define that someday)

No major repairs

More energy  (said the hypothyroid patient)

More allergy-relief

A pain-free body  (well, why not wish for it?)

More money  (just bein’ honest here!)

Gentle weather all year

     (a quiet tornado season and mild temps)

And World Peace.  Amen.

What’s on your Wish List?

XOXO,

Lucky Dog
♥