by Tish MacWebber | Feb 2, 2018 | Trust Your Gut
Trust Your Gut this week is going to focus a little on Type 2 Diabetes. Sometimes, I don’t feel well. When that happens, I take a guess at what is going on.
Let’s take today, for an example. I stayed a little later after work to run to the grocery store and to get some wine. Then I got a ride home. I shovelled the driveway, steps and walkway. There wasn’t a lot of snow, it wasn’t heavy, and it wasn’t too cold or windy. Half an hour later, I come inside. I take off my layers and am I glistening. Yay me for doing some exercise. Then I noticed that I was perspiring from my scalp.
That is not good. I had a reason, but from my scalp usually means a low. So I was going to treat it, but I thought, well I should know how low it is so I know how to treat it.
It is a good thing that I Trust My Gut. I wasn’t having a low, my blood sugar was high! I was surprised and glad that I checked. I knew I didn’t feel confused. I wasn’t weak, or faint. I was a little out of breath from exercising with the snow and shovel.
The lesson this week is that it is ALWAYS better to check first. I could have been adding to the problem, instead of solving it. I did have carbs at lunch, and that was what was going on. So it makes sense, even though I thought that it was the opposite. I had been exercising, and I was overdressed, so I was really warm.
Tonight I am going to make burgers. I am craving burgers, and this way I can control what I am eating. There is no extra junk in a burger if you make it at home, just a tasty meal that helps to avoid the lazy route of getting fast food. Now don’t get me wrong, I am still working on the plan, but sometimes it is good to have a regular meal. I got some buns, and cheese slices. I haven’t made homemade burgers in a while. I also grabbed frozen fish burgers last week, and I will keep 2 buns for the last 2 fish burgers. Just to have something different to eat.
Cheeseburger pie and Big Mac Salad will always be in my meal rotation, now. I have decided to make taco salad for SuperBowl Sunday. We ate chili last week, and I suspect the Nacho Queen (yours truly) will make some nachos over the weekend. I love to have a plate of nachos as a meal. When I don’t know what I want, there had better be nachos I can make. I am eating the blue corn nacho chips these days, sometimes even the organic ones if they are on sale. They are great with an avocado dip I get as a treat sometimes. I go on kicks and eat them every other day sometimes, and other times I go a month or two without them. When I have all the ingredients, it is an easy, filling meal to make.
Well, I am off to make supper, Roy will be home soon. I want to get ahead of the prep cooking someday and get some cheeseburger pie in the freezer. It is a really good idea to have it ready for that next burger craving when you don’t want to go off the plan…
#TrustYourGut
by Tish MacWebber | Jan 31, 2018 | Treasure Seeker Tuesdays
Treasure Seeker Tuesday is going to focus a little bit on a project that has taken over my free time the last few days. Someone in a writing group was looking for feedback on their cover. I shared mine, and I too was given feedback. It sent me on a quest. My first book cover design quest. This is something I never planned on doing. I had designed a cover that I was quite happy with a while back. Then someone offered an idea.
Well, 15 more covers later, I am still narrowing it down. Here is what I learned so far.
People will comment on things. I like this. It is how I ended up with the Logo I designed for the website. It is helpful to have the opinion of people in the industry, but also from friends and family. There are strongly positive and negative reactions.
Purple was the one colour that I knew I had to keep when I was choosing colours for my Brand. That was an adventure. I started with blues and purples. I was told it all looked the same. It didn’t to me, but that is how I ended up looking for the brand colours that you see today. I wanted purple, and other colours that were nothing like it. I spent hours on a website narrowing down my choices. One palette became the one I started comparing to the rest. I knew that was the one I wanted.
Exotic Fruits Color Palette – My Brand Colours
This website is where I found it. I didn’t create it, but it quickly became my favourite, and I am using it throughout my website and social media platform. I see choosing my palette as the first step in what you are looking at today.
Naturally, my book cover was going to be purple. That purple, right up there. I tried different colours and got a little help with my picture, and came up with this.
From Where I am Sitting A Collection of Cat Tales by Tish MacWebber
I was asked a few questions, and then I started playing in canva. I came up with several variations, with the picture, and the colours above it. Then I tried something I wanted to do, but I am still not sure that it will be practical. I added the tartan that I designed from the colours above at this tartan designing website. I am really liking the tartan.
I took tonight off. I even designed the back cover of the book in my dreams last night. I have been immersed in this project. I am not yet done, so I will show a few of the favourites so far. If you have any comments, I am open to constructive criticism. If I am going to change it, I might as well have fun with the process!
-
-
Whimsical White and Purple
-
-
Creative Colour combo (Stories should be Tales)
-
-
A twist on colour
-
-
Pop Yellow
-
-
Pop Peach
-
-
Pop Pink
-
-
Pop Green
-
-
Peach on tartan
-
-
Purple on tartan
That is what I have been up to this week. Trying new cover ideas. When I make a decision, I will share that with you as well.
#TreasureSeekerTuesday
by Tish MacWebber | Jan 29, 2018 | Weekend Warrior
Weekend Warriors, I kept things low key this weekend. I had Thursday & Friday off. I also had today off. My weekend is going to align with the real weekend, starting next weekend! I am only really having today as a real day off. It is late, and almost tomorrow.
I relaxed all day with my computer. I worked on social media, and I also played with designs for my first book cover. I did a little work on the website last night. Another category, Trust Your Gut has no more duplicated posts, and they are all there. One large category all set up. I have to go through each category and do the same thing, I think. Any missing posts were in the uncategorized list, so I have a way to find them.
I made a significant decision this weekend. I am going to change the way I do things. I started this category, Weekend Warrior, as a way to keep track of my spring cleaning challenge, and any fun things I had going on. Well, I am severely lacking in the accomplishments, both in what I need to do, and what I want to do. It is time to change my tactics.
I still need to do the cleaning, and try to plan fun activities. I am going to make a significant change this year. Last year, I planned 6 months of cleaning and 6 months for writing. I got as far as I could with that plan in 2017. This year, I am aiming for Success. What that means is in a previous post. Treasure Seeker Tuesday #11 has a list of what I am going to do to succeed in 2018. It doesn’t say how. I am going to be working on that throughout the year.
I have realized that just like I need to work on my cleaning challenges, I also have to work on being creative. I am still figuring out how to implement the plans I am coming up with. I just know that inaction is not helping me to get things done, and I still have a lot of things that need me to do them.
I did laundry today. No big deal for most people. But it is the clothing that I have to hang up, and not just put in the dryer. I have a clothing rack, so everything is hanging to dry. I have been putting off that laundry load for 2 weeks. It’s going to be nice to have my sweaters all clean to wear again. It’s not that I don’t know what I have to do. It’s that there is so much to do that I get overwhelmed.
Remember the Overwhelm Elephant I wrote about in Trust your Gut: Tish’s Story; Part 32? Well, it had been giving me a stress headache for the last few days. I had been putting too much pressure on myself to get everything done. I can only do so much. I am working on a plan to get things done reasonably, and effectively. I need to fit in the creativity, or I’ll have a meltdown. Those are never pretty.
I also have to learn to go with the cleaning bug when it strikes. Although if I wait for it, that may never happen. I have to start somewhere. I know I am going to have company in June, so I have a deadline. I do not want to leave it that long, it is too hot and uncomfortable to clean in June. So I am trying to get myself started by working on the house for an hour every day. Then I need to focus on being creative for an hour every day unless I am having a productive cleaning day, in which case I will keep going. It isn’t rocket science, but on the days that I don’t want to clean, I can time it, and still get it done.
I am really glad that the living room furniture rearrangement is done. I still have tidying to do, but there is a lot less to do because we worked in this room already. My office is also in the living room. So it has double duty. I still haven’t finished organizing my office, either. It is a lot better than it used to be, and I have done a little here and there, but the finishing touches have not all been applied. It is something I am waiting to feel like doing.
Tomorrow after work, it is time to reclaim my living room. I have Christmas decorations to unpack and store until next year. It is time that I took that step. I can then create my Launch Pad in the living room, by my front door again. I need to reclaim that space. Then I will start in the kitchen. I still have 4 lbs of ground beef to cook up. I just wasn’t feeling like it today. Tomorrow is a new day. And next weekend is a real weekend! Yeah!
#WeekendWarrior
by Tish MacWebber | Jan 24, 2018 | Treasure Seeker Tuesdays
Treasure Seeker Tuesday will cover a few different points this week, readers. I hope they make you think about things that you are struggling with in your own lives.
Today I do not feel very well. I either ate something that did not agree with me, or I picked up a virus at the hospital yesterday. I had to go for the ophthalmologist appointment. As a person with type 2 diabetes, side effects can be devastating, if you don’t keep on top of the disease. They dilated my pupils, and then they froze the eyes. That last part was so that the ophthalmologist can put a lens directly into my eyes so that she can quickly determine whether or not the next step is necessary. So far, I have been lucky. I do not need the common treatment called Photocoagulation which is a form of laser treatment, at this time. I am working hard on keeping my sugars in control, and that is keeping the lasers away. For now. You can learn more about this treatment here.
I am a creative, which means that I do rely on my eyesight. I am going to be getting progressive lenses as soon as we save up enough to afford them. I really notice a difference lately, and the general eye test at the appointment yesterday confirmed that I need to make this a priority. If I lost my eyesight, it would be devastating to me. I don’t know how I would continue my jewellery business, without it. I don’t know how I would be able to work outside of the home, but I do know that I would want a seeing eye dog. I am sure that I could find a way to continue writing verbally, with a voice recognition software program. But it would be a hard thing to learn how to deal with. I hope I never have to look going blind right in the eye.
I have also found that I am struggling with my winter blues this year. I was watching a video last night in one of the groups I am in, for writers. It is a supportive group, and there are a lot of great people there. I enjoyed the video and commented. It was about courage as a writer. People don’t realize it, but a lot of authors are terrified of sharing their work with the general population. There is a fear of rejection, negative criticism, and failure that brews together and holds some people back. This video was addressing this topic, and Debbie Burns is one of those brave people that put things out there, and the emotions do show that she cares deeply about helping other authors get their stories out. I write quite freely here, on the Blog, but there are times I have hesitated before pushing that publish button. On Politics and World Peace #This was an example of this. I didn’t know where to put that open letter to the leaders of the world after I wrote it. I hesitated. I asked for advice and was told that the Blog was the right place for it. So I pressed publish, and off it went!
Another example of this was my first ever Trust Your Gut story. I took the leap. I shared my own weight and medical description of being morbidly obese for the first time. I had a difficult time going public about being a type 2 diabetic, and I thought long and hard about sharing that information here. One person in my life has never been told, and unless someone tells her, she will remain in the dark about it. That is my wish. She is my grandmother, and has since stopped using her computer, and has trouble remembering things now. I didn’t want her to feel bad about giving me desserts as a child. I don’t want her to worry about me. I am doing just fine, and managing it the best way that I know how.
In terms of what I got out of watching the courage video yesterday, the word I chose to create changes in my world with was to simply just start. No further explanation was given at that time. I know that I have a lot to do, and I know that I need to start working on the things that I need to do; so that I am going to be able to feel like I can spend the time doing what I want to do. It is a vicious cycle that I fall into every winter, and I need to start something to make changes and feel like I am making progress. I decided that I need to make the “List of all Lists” and write down all of the things that I need to get done. As long as I am working on those things, I can give myself permission to be creative. This way I am not limiting my needs to be creative, and it also helps me to work on one or several other tasks that need to be done. I will write that list when I am feeling better.
If you are an author and want to learn more about Debbie Burns and her facebook group, you can sign up for it here. I like being a member, and maybe I will see you on the inside.
#TreasureSeekerTuesday
by Tish MacWebber | Jan 19, 2018 | Trust Your Gut
This week in Trust Your Gut, I want to focus on the big picture for this category. I am morbidly obese, with type 2 diabetes, thyroid disease, and a few other less dramatic health issues. The ones that relate here the most are the ones that I write about. However, when I started writing in this category, I did have a bigger picture in mind.
Some people have participated in telling their stories here. It is a brave thing to do, to write down one of the biggest things that play such a large role in your day to day life. Your weight, your appearance, how you see yourself, and how you think the rest of the world sees you. I work on this material every week, and lately, I have been finding myself at a loss for what to write about.
My story is written to be real, and honest. It is relatable, and I know that it resonates with many of the people that read this Blog, maybe only for this story every week. I really appreciate each and every one of you that have become fans of this category, and the whole Blog, of course.
Don’t worry, I am not dumping it. I will still be writing every week. What I want to do is to reach out to more people. I have a one-sided view of the struggles I am having with my weight. One thing that women, and of course men and children have in common in this world is that we all have imperfections that we do not like about ourselves. It might be that you are struggling with a number, but not the one on the scale, the one on the tag of your clothing, the size. Another person may have issues with not seeing their true self in the mirror. Some people look at their reflection and see what used to be there, or see themselves as fat when in reality, they aren’t.
Karen Carpenter’s story is a well-known story about a real person who had everything to live for but died from anorexia and complications related to that disease. Bulimia is another issue that people have that is not something that I could imagine having to deal with, but I know that there are people out there that struggle just as hard as I do, with their own issues relating to their weight. I was watching This Is Us and this week they touched on another side character’s story. She has been written into the show as a person who is dealing with the perception that she is fat, overeating, and purging after she eats too much. That is a very basic description of bulimia.
Stories about people that have these other issues are not mine to tell. They are the stories of other people. They could be featured here in this category, as a side character story. I am hoping that this week someone reads this and thinks that they might be brave enough to share their story. I would love the opportunity to help you help yourself by telling the story, and maybe you can help someone else that is just like you. That is my ultimate goal here, with my story. I want to help people like me, with ideas of new things to try and to share what is working for me, and what is not.
If you are like me, struggling with the overweight end of the scale, I am open to stories from everyone that is brave enough to share them here. If you are not a writer, I can talk to you and work with you to develop a story here for you, or I can send some questions and we can write it like an interview, where you answer some or all of the questions, whatever you are comfortable sharing. Let’s face it, I do have a story to tell, but if it is always my story, at some point it will be repetitive and boring. That will make people lose interest, and that would not help people like I have intended to do here.
If you have contributed to this category in the past, and want to write an update, that is also something that I would be very happy to set up with you. I am always trying to help people, and learning about different people and their issues helps me just as much as reading my story can help you.
My gut is telling me that it is time to put out an invitation to new and different stories and points of view here, in this category. If you are reading this, and have a story to tell, please reach out to me in the comments below, or in a private e-mail (tishmacwebber@gmail.com with the subject: Trust Your Gut Submission). I sincerely want to hear from people that are struggling with their weight, on either end of the scale, so that together, we can help each other, and help people like us.
#TrustYourGut
