We went camping again last weekend. This time at Colorado Bend State Park. I really like that park, but it certainly is much more primitive. We actually camped in a primitive spot this time too - a mile hike to get to our camp site. I didn't take any pictures this time around, but we had a pretty good time. A raccoon stole our tortillas and made them into a midnight (actually, it was about 3 in the morning) snack, LOL. The one food item we forgot to bring inside the tent and pack away. Ben and I definitely chalked this trip up to a learning experience. As soon as we got home, I started looking into ultralight backpacking equipment again; I think we will be making some equipment exchanges before doing that again. : ))
We still have no further news on the transplant. The last time Ben had labs done, his phosphorus and potassium levels were high, so we are trying to watch those things once again. His acid levels were also high, so the doc put him on some new pill to try to get the PH back in balance. Other than that, we are still waiting...
My parents plan to come down this weekend for a visit. They wanted to come visit before the girls are gone for the summer. Ben and I will be driving them up to Missouri soon after they get out of school. I'm trying not to think about it too much because all summer is a really long time. : ( Anyway, my parents are going to be bringing our mountain bikes down with them, so Ben and I should be able to start visiting some trails soon. I'm really looking forward to that.
Okay, just wanted to touch base.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
I DON'T WANT TO GIVE UP CHEESE!
Ben and I are still working on this whole eating healthier and working-out thing. Ben is still holding steady at about 14 lbs lost; I am currently at about 7 lbs lost. Since we stopped the Daniel Fast, Ben's weight seems to be staying about the same, but mine has slowly began to creep up again. How frustrating!!! Oh well, we did get off track with eating healthy over the weekend. Plus, we had some stomach bug over the weekend, so we didn't work out much either. Time to get our focus back!
Ben really shouldn't eat cheese, due to his kidney's, and I shouldn't eat cheese either - for the many obvious reasons. The problem is WE BOTH LOVE CHEESE! So, we have been trying to find some good recipes for cheese alternatives. Here is one we tried out recently that actually turned out pretty good. This recipe came from vegweb.com
We used BRAGG Premium Nutritional Yeast Seasoning, bragg.com. I bought this product at a local health and nutrition store. We ended up adding extra nutritional yeast to this recipe, to give it a little more of a cheese flavor. This product is also good to just sprinkle on top of vegetables and such. I think it has the flavor of a very sharp cheddar.
We will be taking the girls to their grandparents, in Missouri, shortly after they get out of school. Most likely Ben and I will do the Daniel Fast again at that time. It will be easier to do it again when we don't have to cook two separate dinners each night.
Anyway, just wanted to let you all know about our yummy cheese alternative discovery.
Ben really shouldn't eat cheese, due to his kidney's, and I shouldn't eat cheese either - for the many obvious reasons. The problem is WE BOTH LOVE CHEESE! So, we have been trying to find some good recipes for cheese alternatives. Here is one we tried out recently that actually turned out pretty good. This recipe came from vegweb.com
Nutritional Yeast Queso Sauce
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon salt
dash garlic powder
1 cup water
2 tablespoons margarine
1 1/2 cups salsa or 1 (14 1/2 ounce) can diced tomatoes and peppers (RoTel or other brand)
tortilla chips, to serve
1. In a saucepan combine dry ingredients (nutritional yeast, flour, paprika, salt, and garlic powder).
2. Whisk in water. Continue to whisk constantly over medium heat until mixture is thick and bubbly. Remove from heat.
3. Stir in margarine until melted, then stir in salsa.
4. Return to low heat and cook just long enough for salsa to heat. Pour over chips and eat like nachos or use as a dip.
We used BRAGG Premium Nutritional Yeast Seasoning, bragg.com. I bought this product at a local health and nutrition store. We ended up adding extra nutritional yeast to this recipe, to give it a little more of a cheese flavor. This product is also good to just sprinkle on top of vegetables and such. I think it has the flavor of a very sharp cheddar.
We will be taking the girls to their grandparents, in Missouri, shortly after they get out of school. Most likely Ben and I will do the Daniel Fast again at that time. It will be easier to do it again when we don't have to cook two separate dinners each night.
Anyway, just wanted to let you all know about our yummy cheese alternative discovery.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Transplant Approval & Other Updates
We received a call from Ben's transplant coordinator last week. Washington has approved Ben to be placed on the transplant list. They just wanted him to do a couple more tests, - and Eco cardiogram and a Doppler - both of which he has already done. Now we just have to wait for a call from the hospital in Nashville, to find out when we will be going out there for our week long, pre-surgery visit.
It looks as though God may have timed everything just perfectly for us. God's timing is always perfect, but this is actually what we have been hoping and praying for. If everything goes smoothly, it still looks like it may be possible for Ben to have the transplant sometime this summer. That would be perfect timing for us because the girls will spend the summer with their mom and/or grandparents. I believe that will be less stressful for the girls - because they won't be here when he is gone for the surgery and hopefully will still be gone when he returns home. I think if they are with their mom and/or grandparents they will be more preoccupied and less likely to worry. Plus, it will probably make things easier for Ben and I to settle-in to his recovery time at home.
I believe I forgot to mention, in the last post, that Ben and I completed the Daniel Fast on Good Friday - our wedding day. The fast truly did help both of us to become much more aware of what we are eating and what is in the food that we are eating. In the end, Ben lost 14 lbs and I lost 9 lbs. We have now added meat and dairy back into our diet; however, we are trying to keep those things to a minimum and continue to focus on whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. We are also trying to begin working out more regularly. We wanted to start P90X, but my ankle is not going to allow us to do that right now. Instead, we are doing some cardio in the gym [me on the eliptical and Ben on the treadmill], hapkido training everyday, and then doing the strength training portions of P90X.
The girls are all doing well. We have survived TAKS testing. We found out yesterday that Kaley passed both the math and reading portions - WOOHOO!!! Angela also passed the math portion - getting almost all of the questions correct! - but missed passing the reading portion by 6 points. We are very proud of her for doing so well on the math portion, and we are confident that she will pass the reading portion when she retests. Being that Solina just completed her TAKS tests last week, and Angela and Kaley just did their Science test last week, we do not know the outcomes for any of those tests yet.
Okay, I think that is it for now. I'll try to keep y'all as up-to-date as possible. I know there are several people reading this who do not show up as following the blog - I want you to know that Ben and I appreciate your support. : ))
It looks as though God may have timed everything just perfectly for us. God's timing is always perfect, but this is actually what we have been hoping and praying for. If everything goes smoothly, it still looks like it may be possible for Ben to have the transplant sometime this summer. That would be perfect timing for us because the girls will spend the summer with their mom and/or grandparents. I believe that will be less stressful for the girls - because they won't be here when he is gone for the surgery and hopefully will still be gone when he returns home. I think if they are with their mom and/or grandparents they will be more preoccupied and less likely to worry. Plus, it will probably make things easier for Ben and I to settle-in to his recovery time at home.
I believe I forgot to mention, in the last post, that Ben and I completed the Daniel Fast on Good Friday - our wedding day. The fast truly did help both of us to become much more aware of what we are eating and what is in the food that we are eating. In the end, Ben lost 14 lbs and I lost 9 lbs. We have now added meat and dairy back into our diet; however, we are trying to keep those things to a minimum and continue to focus on whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. We are also trying to begin working out more regularly. We wanted to start P90X, but my ankle is not going to allow us to do that right now. Instead, we are doing some cardio in the gym [me on the eliptical and Ben on the treadmill], hapkido training everyday, and then doing the strength training portions of P90X.
The girls are all doing well. We have survived TAKS testing. We found out yesterday that Kaley passed both the math and reading portions - WOOHOO!!! Angela also passed the math portion - getting almost all of the questions correct! - but missed passing the reading portion by 6 points. We are very proud of her for doing so well on the math portion, and we are confident that she will pass the reading portion when she retests. Being that Solina just completed her TAKS tests last week, and Angela and Kaley just did their Science test last week, we do not know the outcomes for any of those tests yet.
Okay, I think that is it for now. I'll try to keep y'all as up-to-date as possible. I know there are several people reading this who do not show up as following the blog - I want you to know that Ben and I appreciate your support. : ))
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