Yes, this is a long post, but it’s covering so many months!!! 🙂
MS:
No new symptoms to report. I did have my MRI and *drumroll* . . . it was stable! Which means NO new lesions since my last MRI and NO active lesions!!! 😀
I also saw my neurologist, and he was encouraging about my MRI, even though he still wants me on meds. 😉 But he didn’t push it like he did last time and he said that every year that I don’t have a relapse, the chance that I’ll have a relapse goes *down*!
Also, I was thinking of going *two* years in between MRIs, but he’s not a fan of that, but he suggested that I don’t need to do my spinal cord anymore, because if I had a new lesion in my spinal cord I would most likely have new symptoms. So as long as I don’t get new symptoms, I can just get an MRI of my brain next time. Maybe if that one is stable, I’ll go to 2 years after that. We’ll see. 🙂
My vitamin D level was down a little, but I think that’s just because I’ve been missing my supplements a lot. As you know, 😉 I’m taking several, and I just get tired of taking them. But I’ll probably trim them down again, and I need to prioritize my D. But it’s still fine. Down to 69 from 74, so not a big difference, just the wrong direction.
All my other bloodwork was good. 🙂
Other health related things:
Nothing to report
What I am eating/cooking:
I made two things for the holidays that were really successful!
I took this panforte to a Christmas party (very fancy looking for a somewhat dressy event!). I used apricots instead of prunes and almond flour instead of coconut flour (use 3 times as much almond flour).
I also made molasses cookies from a recipe I made myself! I used these two recipes as a starting place (https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/9311/molasses-cookies/ https://www.darngoodveggies.com/the-best-almond-flour-cookies/) and you can find my recipe at my other website, AmandaWhiting.Fitness
I made these Paleo breakfast muffins last spring but forgot to include them! Mom & I both liked them a lot (I actually just made loaves of quick bread instead of muffins for the convenience), but they were so much work that neither of us has felt up to making them again. *Facepalm* But maybe some of you aren’t so easily overwhelmed. 😉
You could make them per the recipe, but here are my modifications (kinda makes me tired just reading this! Lol!): I was mainly trying to avoid the sugar, so I didn’t add the sugar OR the maple syrup. Instead I used about 30 dates (for a double batch) (they were “Deglet Noor” dates but I think Medjool dates are sweeter and you wouldn’t use as many), soaked them in just enough boiling water to cover them in a measuring cup, and then pureed that. Consequently, that made the bread dough a lot moister than it was supposed to be. So, I left out the coconut oil and the applesauce, and I was using OJ concentrate anyway, so I just added that straight without diluting it in water first. (I didn’t use orange zest because I didn’t have oranges.) And instead of just raisins I did half dried apricots. And then I had to cook it 2-3 times as long. BUT, it turned out!
I’ve made this Mexican Cottage Pie at least twice and it’s a new fave. 🙂
Since it’s been a few months, here are just a bunch of recipes I’ve made 😉
- Almond flour waffles (just made these again today!)
- Roasted red kuri squash (of course I left out the syrup and the spices 😉 But Mom was actually surprised how good it was just with oil and salt! This was a new plant food for us and we liked it (doesn’t always happen 😉 ) )
- Vegan pesto
- Brussels sprouts chips (these were good and I’d be happy to eat them again, but they were a bit too much work for me)
- Cinnamon apples (We had a lot of apples (long story) and this was a nice dessert option for me to take to a family get-together. I baked them instead of cooking on the stove.)
- Mexican Breakfast Casserole (I made this for Christmas at my Father-in-Law’s, and everyone said it was good 🙂 )
How I’m doing emotionally:
Last summer/fall I was feeling a little “stuck” in my life. But since my last post, I’ve started (indoor) rock climbing, been to San Francisco AND Florida!
On the other hand, we lost Bennett, my last sibling, on January 20th. He was an alcoholic and had been in poor health for a while, so we knew this was coming probably sooner rather than later, but obviously it’s still a time of grief for our family.
Random:
When I was in San Francisco I got to hold the baby that I made the knitted things for that I showed in my last post! ❤ ❤ ❤
I made this hat for someone at church and I’m pretty proud of it:
I also made this pineapple hat for my cousin’s baby due soon:
Mom & I have been to several more Barbershop events and continue to enjoy seeing the guys ❤
Mom & I had a great time in San Francisco in October! We stayed with one of her best friends from high school and his husband on their boat (thanks again, Jacque & Doug!) and as mentioned, I got to meet up for the first time *in person* with one of my friends from my support group. ❤ Plus we did a bunch of touristy stuff and were pretty exhausted by the time we got home. 😉 LOTS of walking. (As you can see, we did wear flowers in our hair. 😉 )
Also, Mom & I started rock climbing! This was some exposure therapy because I’m working on my fear of heights. I made it to the top of the wall!! I could hardly believe it! Mom was great. 🙂 ❤ She signed up with me and belayed me and was my cheerleader! And she climbed too! 😀
It was also nice to see that I *do* have some upper body strength. 🙂 Not that I’m hanging upside down only holding on by the tips of my fingers or anything crazy, 😉 but all the work I’ve done trying (unsuccessfully so far) to get my first pull-up finally paid off in a way. 🙂
In January we went to Florida to stay with long-time family friends, the Meerts! We had a great time! I’ve been saying it was like we won Florida bingo! We swam in the ocean, made tie-dye, saw some local sights, saw manatees, and even got to see a SpaceX launch! Plus just a lot of great times with our friends, going to church, playing games, and just spending time together. Here’s a photo of us in the ocean in January!! Mom said we should say it was our Polar Bear Plunge (that’s my kind of Polar Bear Plunge!) 😉
What I read/am reading (the highlights):
Solving the Autoimmune Puzzle: The Woman’s Guide to Reclaiming Emotional Freedom and Vibrant Health by Keesha Ewers ~ I don’t agree with everything in this book, and some of it I’ve heard countless times by now, 😉 BUT she focuses a lot more on the emotional aspects of health problems than a lot of other authors I’ve read, so I think it’s well worth reading.
Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World by Cal Newport ~ Because of this book, I’ve started using my “Do Not Disturb” feature on my phone a lot more. 🙂 I used to think “If someone’s texting me, it’s urgent”, but I’m realizing how few of the texts I get are very time-sensitive at all. And why be distracted from the person you’re with? 🙂 (I still let calls come through in case it’s an emergency.)
Accountability:
As a reminder, this is just the total # of days out of the month that I ate a significant amount of these vegetables. So I’m not counting servings, just days. (In June I wasn’t very consistent with tracking so those numbers were probably better than is reflected here):
| June | July | Aug | Sept | Oct | Nov | Dec | Jan | |
| Greens | 10 | 14 | 20 | 15 | 18 | 13 | 15 | 14 |
| Sulphur | 13 | 16 | 19 | 14 | 21! | 13 | 19 | 9 |
Wow, my sulphur number was bad last month!!! I guess that’s my goal now!
Amanda's Journey with MS 