September Update

MS:

No updates

Other health related things:

I wasn’t sleeping well for some reason and was really tired, but I finally bought a new mattress and I’m feeling a lot better. 🙂

I had what I think was a sort of mild but longer lasting migraine this month (I finally took one dose of medication and it helped, so pretty sure that’s what it was), so I tried ginger for it, and it’s amazing how much it helps. Even, I, who is so convinced about the healing power of plants, have trouble believing this. But I’ve suffered with migraines for YEARS and tried a lot of things, so I really don’t think it could be a placebo effect. So thankful to Dr. Michael Greger and his team at NutritionFacts.org

What I am eating/cooking:

Like I said last month, having symptoms again really threw me. So, I started rethinking things, and wondering if I need to cut back on nightshades (nightshades are tricky, because there’s some evidence that unlike other food allergies, you might not have any noticeable reaction right away, but they could still be causing damage. This would all be easier to deal with if I could know for certain what was helping and what’s not). Anyway, this could also fit under the “things I’m proud of” section, but I tried making my own tomato-free tomato paste! It was pretty good 🙂 (I since gave up on taking out nightshades. 😛 )

Mom was a bad influence, 😉 and got me started on gluten free bread! Really though, I was having my fried eggs with potato chips, so I’m not sure that gluten free bread is worse. It’s probably an improvement! It felt SO decadent when I started eating it! I felt like I was cheating. No, it’s not as good as “real” bread. But it’s nice to have peanut butter toast again, and toast with my fried eggs. 🙂

Last month I mentioned the book “How Not to Die”, by Michael Greger. This “ice cream” recipe is from that book and it is SO good. I have this for breakfast sometimes. And the author says the more you eat this the healthier you are! Win-win! (I don’t add the dates or vanilla, and I only add the milk if I want it more like a milkshake.)

Speaking of breakfast, I’ve also done this tofu pudding a few times. This is good with granola like a parfait. 🙂 (I don’t use the sweetener or dates for this either, just tofu and frozen berries.)

I made a renewed effort on plant foods this month. One of my coworkers mentioned to me that when she first met me (around February?) I was so focused on eating all these different things, and lately I had been more focused on what I couldn’t eat. That was really convicting, so I started looking for new things to try again. I didn’t want to just get a bunch of different kinds of apples or pears (although I did add a few kinds of pears!). I also added shiitake mushrooms and kiwi berries! (Kiwi berries are delicious! Check your local PCC in September!) I also combed our spice collection and found some that we use that I hadn’t added to the list (trying to get my number up before the end of the year!)

I’m up to 143 types of edible plants eaten since 12/12/20 (up from 126 in my last post). If you’re interested, here’s the list!

How I’m doing emotionally:

Pretty well, but there’s still a lot of stress at home. I’m also learning to limit myself a *bit*. Like if there’s a friend I haven’t seen in a while, or something else I want to do, but I’m having a busy week, I’ll think to myself “I can hang out with that friend (for example) in a week or so, instead of ASAP”. At work, we reopened our Seattle mobile, so I’ve been filling in on that one again, which is great because I get to see some coworkers that I hadn’t seen in a while, but it also makes me busier for a few weeks.

Things I’m proud of:

Being a better Ultimate Frisbee player than I was 10 years ago. Not so much because of increased athletic ability (although I certainly workout a lot more now and am probably capable of a lot more) but knowing my strengths and having more skill/strategy. Remembering how much I love Ultimate Frisbee was one of the things that scared me and inspired me to do better at taking care of myself because I remembered that I don’t have to be in a wheelchair to lose that. I just have to lose a bit of coordination in my hands and/or feet.

There’s an Ultimate Frisbee group that Peter and I actually helped start YEARS ago, but I hadn’t been going. But I went a couple times towards the end of the summer and it was great. 🙂

Random:

Just a reminder of my special offer:

If I know you personally and you would like me to knit something for you (or your child), let me know! I’m not making any promises! Lol! I don’t like to do things that are too complicated, or that need to be too precise/fitted, but we can talk about it. 🙂

What I read/am reading this month:

**Edited on 11/11/2021

How to Hide an Empire: A History of the Greater United States by Daniel Immerwahr ~ A really interesting book that filled in some gaps in my understanding of history.

Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World by Tracy Kidder ~ This is an inspirational book about a man helping the underserved.

Fitness Goals:

Honestly, working out has taken a backseat. I’m walking more though. I really got serious about my step goal. As of today (10/13/21) I’m on a 40 day streak! (I only had my goal set at 8,000, but last week I increased it to 8,100, and I plan to increase it again this week. This is the time of year when I’m naturally less inclined to walk, so although those are only tiny increases, I’m mainly concerned with staying consistent.)

I tend to get very discouraged about pull-ups, because I’ve been working those muscles for YEARS and still can’t do even a single pull-up. But I was looking back at how many reps I used to do and how much weight I was doing and stuff like that, and I really have come a long way. 🙂

Monthly summary:

	Dec	Jan	February	March	April	May	June	July	Aug	Sept
Walking	17 mins	18 mins	20 mins! 🙂	23 mins	27 mins!	18 mins	15 mins	20 mins	24 mins	29 mins
Dark Leafy Greens	1.2	1.2	1.3	1.7!	1.6	1.7!	1.1	1.1	2!	1.8
Sulfur-Rich	1.7	1.9	2.3	2.5	1.9	1.9	2.7	1.8	1	1.3
Colorful	3.6	5.1	3.5	2.3	3.5	3.9	3.8	3	3.7	3.5

Averages per month (a serving of leafy greens is 2 cups, all other servings are 1 cup each)

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