Day 18

Hi,

I read the title for Day 18 and it says "Add Yoga."  My gut reaction was, "Yeah, like that's gonna happen." I did a bit of yoga when I was young and injured my back from doing a Cobra. It has never been the same since. I suppose there might be some good things about yoga -- I don't have to do the Cobra. I have to remind myself to be open minded. I had initially thought I would just skip that chapter, but there might be something that I can get out of it, so I will read it at least. And I do feel the obligation to participate with the program as completely as I can, so I will read it, and give it a chance.

I am actually feeling a bit depressed today. I have a couple of financial things that are bothering me and I need to do something about them. I am also having trouble finding jobs to apply for. I put in keywords like "clerk, typist, general office, data entry" and get back job listings for "CEO of bank." I guess they just didn't want to say they didn't have anything for me, and thought I could be enticed to apply for that one. I don't even have a suit.

I am also going to read up on the new HBP med my doctor gave me to try out and see if depression is a side effect. If it is, I am not taking any more. "The 30 Day Diabetes Cure" program, just yesterday, was about eliminating depression, not adding in a little bit more.

I am cooking a big pot of Pinto beans. It was a two pound package and I think it may be a little too large for my pressure cooker. I am only at the "reconstitute" stage, -- where you put the beans in water and bring them to a boil, then let them rest about 20 minutes before putting them under pressure and cooking for 45 minutes --  and the beans have swelled to the top of the water. I split it to cook half now, half later and have also put on a pot of whole grain. (Remember one serving per day for me.)

When my doctor said it was OK to try brown rice and that wild rice would be better, I remembered that I had seen mixtures of the two for sale together, so I bought a small bag of brown rice and a small box of wild rice. When I brought them home I mixed them together and added some whole flax seed to the mix and put them in a storage container. I wanted to see what the mix was like so am cooking up a pot.

I recall from cooking rice as a kid that my mother taught me to put in one cup of rice and two cups of water, sprinkle on some salt and add a pat of butter -- bring it to boil, then reduce the heat and cover the pot until the rice is finished cooking. I used peanut oil because it was right there near the stove and added some garlic pepper, turmeric, and parsley to the pot and turned them on. I have no idea what it will end up like. I put in an extra half cup of water just in case. If it is too much water, it will just cook off. I turned the burner on high to bring to a boil and after 10 minutes on the timer, turned it down to simmer and covered the pot for 20 minutes.

Also the pressure cooker with the beans has come up to steam, so I turned it down and marked the time in my mind (11:15). The beans should be done by 11:45. (I am including this info in case someone needs the directions on how to do it. If you know of a better way, please let me know that, too.)

I looked up the med called "Diovan" -- generic is valsartan -- and it does have depression and also anxiety as a side effect. I also saw that it can cause symptoms of a cold. I noticed last night at church that I had trouble clearing my throat and did it about 20 times with embarrassment. I am still clearing my throat this morning (a not unusual thing for me -- it just seems a little worse than usual). Am feeling depressed and a little anxious, with a little dizzyness thrown in. I think I am reacting to it, but, it is not so bad, so will go on for a few days and see what happens. -- Well, an hour has passed and I am now having waves of anxiety attacks -- so that is it for that drug. That is enough for me. I am going back to my cozaar. The new diet should be reducing the BP anyway and I would rather try the natural route.

On to day 18:   OK I read it. I thought it was well written. I'm glad it was short. At the end, it said to try the yoga poses (one each day) that are found in the free material that came with the book purchase which I had previously printed out and made into a booklet for myself. I found that booklet and as I read I realized it was the same information as in the book. I was going to try one of the poses. I figured I could do one. But, unfortunately, my body is so big and stiff and full of pain that I did not find one I thought I could do. I have to be careful of my knees and not bend over because of my eyes and yada, yada, yada.  But I am willing to do the mild exercises that I already have in place, so will be doing those.  If you are more flexible than me, and are interested in trying Yoga, then, please, have at and perhaps you might make some positive comments for others to read and be inspired by. But it is not for me.

Be back soon

--Marcia