The day of rest!

If only it was a day of rest, it would be wonderful. What would I do if I could do anything at all? I would listen to my music really loud, not answer the phone, not cook anything, and make cards all day without any interruptions because the dog wants out! Fat chance of that happening.
The yard sale is over and I am left with (what I think is) good stuff! Most of the items will go to the church/school sale that I help with once a year. Now that's a tag sale!!! Too bad it's the same weekend that the next town over has theirs! They have great clothes at that one....I have heard!
Today is the last day of hubby's vacation and I really appreciated his help in the yard sale, cuz without him, I probably would not have had it at all!
Now it's time to clean up the mess that I left in the house all week while preparing for it!
The blood sugars have been high and low through this process and it doesn't surprise me at all. Now this morning I am at 250 and I will take coverage plus extra for my coffee.
We (hubby and I) made great roasted chicken tacos with a slaw dressing for the top. It was so good. And with that I made some jalapeno poppers.
Yum! The tacos were from a recipe by Claire Robinson and the poppers were from Emeril Lagasse. Here are those if you would like to try them:

Chipotle-Lime Chicken Tacos

Ingredients
1 bone-in, skin-on whole chicken, rinsed and dried
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
1 lime, zested and juiced (lime halves reserved), plus 1 lime, zested,
1/4 cup water
1 cup crema
2 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, finely minced into a paste
8 (6-inch) corn tortillas, warmed
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Generously season the chicken, on the outside and inside of the cavity, with salt and pepper, to taste. With your fingers, put some of the lime zest under the skin of the chicken. Sprinkle the lime juice over the chicken and put the halves into the cavity. Put the chicken in a roasting pan, breast side up, and add 1/4 cup of water to the bottom of the pan. Roast the chicken until the internal temperature registers 165 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer, when inserted in the thickest part of the thigh.

Remove the chicken from the oven to a carving board, let sit until cool enough to handle.

In a small bowl, combine the crema, minced chipotles, remaining lime zest, and salt and pepper, to taste.

Once the chicken has cooled, pull the meat from bones and shred.

Put some of the shredded chicken on each tortilla, top with chipotle crema and garnish with some zest from the remaining lime. Serve with lime wedges.

Grilled Corn Slaw

Ingredients
4 fresh corn on the cob, shucked
1/2 red cabbage, sliced
1 lime, juiced
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
1/2 cup crumbled queso fresco (cheese)
Handful fresh cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
Directions
Heat a grill pan over medium heat.

Grill the corn on the hot grill pan, turning periodically, until cooked and grill marks are all around the corn. Set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, toss the cabbage with the lime juice; season with salt and pepper, to taste, and set aside.

Once the corn has cooled, cut the kernels off the cob and add it to the bowl with the cabbage. Taste for seasoning and adjust, if necessary. Add the crumbled queso fresco and cilantro leaves and stir to combine. Serve as a side dish or use as a taco topping.

Notes
If you are not a fan of cilantro (the soap tasting folk), try flat-leaf parsley or even celery leaves.

I love to use a pinch of cayenne pepper or spicy paprika or even cumin instead of black pepper for a spicy kick.

To make this a creamy slaw side, try tossing in 2 tablespoons of Greek yogurt or whipped avocado!

From Emeril:
Fried Kicked Up Jalapeno Poppers

Ingredients
Vegetable oil, for frying
12 fresh large jalapeno peppers
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup Monterey Jack, grated
6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
1/4 teaspoon Essence, plus 1/4 teaspoon, recipe follows
1/2 cup all-purpose flour plus 3 tablespoons, divided
1/2 cup milk
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs
Directions
In a deep-fryer or heavy-bottomed stock pot add enough oil to come 1/3 of the way up the sides of the pan. Heat oil to 370 degrees F over medium heat.

Cut a slit lengthwise in each pepper down 1 side to create a pocket. Leave stem intact and remove seeds if desired.

Combine cream cheese, Monterey Jack, crumbled bacon, and Essence. Place mixture in a zip-top plastic bag or large piping bag. (If using a zip-top plastic bag, cut and remove 1 corner of the bag, large enough so that the bacon will squeeze through.) Squeeze mixture to the bottom of the bag and fill each pepper with as much of the cream cheese mixture as will fit. Press slit edges of the pepper together to seal.

In a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup flour, milk and egg. Place remaining 3 tablespoons flour, panko crumbs, and 1/2 teaspoon of Essence in a shallow bowl or plate, and stir to combine.

Working in batches, dip stuffed jalapenos into the milk batter and then roll in the panko mixture, pressing to coat.

Working in batches, if necessary, gently place jalapenos in preheated oil and fry until golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the oil and drain on a paper-towel lined plate. Cool slightly before serving, as the cheese is extremely hot.

I didn't have any essence of Emeril, so I used a little papricka, a little cumin, a little chili powder, and just a touch of seasoning salt. I added sea salt and cracked pepper to taste.

This took a while to prepare, longer that the 10 minutes stated cuz of the prep! but it was worth it! Dinner was so good and unusual for us.

I'm taking the left over roasted chicken and making a stir fry for dinner today, I think that will be quick and easy!

Everyone remember to enjoy every second of your day!

America's Got Talent Reveal!

It was a very exciting night of television! The AGT was the best ever 2 hours of a variety show. Every single act was absolutely worth paying to see! My bet is on Fighting Gravity, Prince Poppycock, or the little opera angel! Sugar is up and down and I am so tired. I've been going through box after box for the yard sale. So sleep well tonight and I will write more tomorrow.

Labor Day is Over...Now it's Time to Work!

Yes Labor Day is gone and I'm not done with laboring! Surprise! Is anyone really done with laboring? The alternative is bleak, so no we don't want to be done laboring!
Hubby is on vacation and he is helping me get rid of STUFF. We are having a yard sale!! I even made great signs with my cricut!!
I'm so excited!! I've said it many times.....the first half of your life you collect things (STUFF! and the last half trying to get rid of it!! LOL Well, I'm way on my way. The hardest is getting rid of some of my mom's stuff I inherited! The broken and just sentimental stuff is the hardest. The old bingo bag and the eye glasses. I really miss her alto at times.......back to the matter at hand. : )
I really am trying to go through all that stuff!! I mean box after box after little containers. The old collectible lighters and key chains and "this I was saving for", most of you know what I mean.
And in between, trying to remember to check my sugar and eat correctly. A struggle I tell ya! It's been way high and way low and it's probably going to be the same today as I get busy. Got lots to do today.
I hope everyone enjoyed their holiday weekend.
Remember to Stop and Smell the roses while enjoying the seconds of your life!

The Life of a Diabetic Struggler: A Saturday Gone

The Life of a Diabetic Struggler: A Saturday Gone

A Saturday Gone

Today was game day!!! The first one of the season and since I am a big Alabama fan, it was a great one!!! With The Tide winning 48-3 the game was just plain FUN!

I woke up with a BS of 194, which is better than the day before which is in the right direction! With that number I took 4cc of N and checked an hour later and it was 269 after 2 cups of coffee fixed the usual way. So my deduction from yesterday was correct! And I still drank it again!! Tomorrow, NO COFFEE FOR ME! I took 12cc and and still didn't eat anything. I just don't want to eat the first part of the day. I know that it best in the morning to break your fast but I just didn't. Later my sugar was 104!!! Yay!! Finally!! Then I ate.................and took 10cc to cover what I ate, right? When I checked an hour later I was at 202. It's a roller coaster ride....I did warn you. Now before bed it is at 181 so I took 4 more cc's of N.
So now before bed as look back on the day, I wasn't really too productive but I did enjoy myself and that's what really counts, right?
Remember to Enjoy Every Second of Every Hour of Every Day!

Day 3 Already

So I woke up early feeling pretty bad with a blood sugar (BS) of 208. After 2 regular size cups of coffee with sugar substitute and dry regular creamer, I checked my sugar and it was 335! What's up with that? I once read from Adele Puhn, M.S., C.N.S. and author of The Carb-Careful Solution, and I'll sub phrase, your body does not know real sugar from fake sugar, it will ALL raise your blood sugar! I tend to agree with her because I took 4 units (cc) of Novolog (N), drank the coffee, my sugar went up, and then I took 12 cc of N. Waited till noon and took my sugar again and the result was 251! Sooooo I took another shot of 8 cc of N and waited till 2:00 and checked once again. It read 154 and now at 3 I feel somewhat better but I need, really need a nap.

My grandson spent the night in the hospital. He's 9 months now. He is pulling himself up on furniture and crawling so fast, I know he can't wait to run!! He swallowed a penny and it got lodged in the throat/chest area. They took him this morning, had to put an IV in his arm, sedated him and went in to get it. Thank the powers that be that he has such a good mom who was right on top of the situation!!

Hubby starts his vacation so time to work on the house! The garden is seeing lots of wear and tare! I'm having a problem with my raspberries. That is such a bummer. That's another thing on my list! I have to look up what to do about them. Does anyone know and want to share?

Well off to mark some stuff off my list before picking up the hubby.

Remember to Enjoy Every Second of Every Minute of Every Day!

Ok! Here it goes!

Well, I heard that's it's better to start a new habit during the week and since Wednesday fell on Sept. 1st, I thought it a perfect day to start a new chapter! So I am starting in a bad place. I know I should not have let it go this long however, when you have to push yourself to do anything, things (stress) can get ya down if you let it. I guess I'm tired of letting it affect me so I decided to change! Sounds easy doesn't it? The hardest thing is to decide, to make better choices, so that's what my intentions are! That is why I have started writing again.
I have a lot on my plate right now.
I am helping keep my sister sane and calm while she deals with some very trying challenges in her life.
I am in the midst of fundraising for JDRF, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, and so far that is going good. I do have one thing to make a decision about and that is: One gas station/store in my neighborhood said that they would most certainly sell shoes (JDRF's signature icon) for me. That was such great news, however, when I went to purchase something from there......no shoes were in sight and they didn't ask me if I wanted to buy one! Now I don't quite know what to do about that.
I just got through canning tomatoes for our garden. I had help from a friend for the second batch. And the hubby helped with the third. Thank goodness! I 'bout killed my back doing them so I'm thinkin' this might be the last year for salsa. : ) The first and third batch was Salsa!!! One peach and one batch pineapple mango!!! Yum yum are they going to be good this winter!
I have this sad connection with food!! lol I love it! It DOES NOT love me back though!
Another item I got caught up in was my son's issue with a local Stop N Go in his neighborhood kicked him out of the store because of his guide dog!!! Would not let the man come into the store with his EYES!! That was a story on the 10:00 Fox2Detroit New last night.
I am planning a murder mystery dinner to benefit JDRF and since I have never done anything like this before, it will have some bumps in the road!
And the last thing is making my cards. A family member told me that Hallmark sells or has a section for handmade cards, so I am finding out info on that! Is that everything? Oh of course not! I still have to drive my hubby to work and pick him up, clean the house, fix dinner, and watch the clock so I take my sugars regularly. Ok, I'm tired now that I wrote it all down on ?paper? LOL
So my sugars are up in the 200 to 300 range and it must come down if I want to live a life of productivity! Been doing a pretty good job except for that raspberry (from our garden)/apple pie I mad yesterday. Man O man was that good!!! And man did my body hate me for that. I'm still paying today, which was not a good decision! Each day we learn how to "rise above our raising" as Dr Phil says! Been eating a lot of salad, thank goodness I love salad! It has lots of veggies in it cuz I love veggies!
More tomorrow. Remember to enjoy every second of every day!