WOW — I’ve been slack, again!  BUT – I have a lot of excuses – it has been a VERY busy couple of weeks!  Traveling for work, renovations, and other stuff going on!  So, here is a feeble attempt to catch up…again!

About 3 months ago, I was diagnosed with diabetes — I went to First Health in Pinehurst for counseling to learn how to control it, did a lot of research and reading about it, made some life style changes, and monitor my blood sugar 3 times a day!  I was feeling like I was doing a good job of keeping it under control, but sure how I was doing overall.  Well, I had my first A1C test done last week and the results were GREAT!!!  My A1C level was 6% – yes, I said SIX!!!  I did the happy dance when I heard the news and am now so proud of the work I have done to get such good results!  This is an important test -  that is the test that shows what the average blood glucose level is over a period of 3 months — it is a LOT more accurate and paints a bigger picture than the finger prick readings I get (although they are also important, because they can indicate a current problem and tell me if I’m starting to get out of control) — anyway — the A1C shows the average over 3 months.  “Normal” is 4-5.9%.  Poorly controlled diabetes is 8% or above.  And well controlled diabetes is 7% or less with a recommended goal of 6.5%.  The closer a diabetic is to “normal”, the lower the risk of complications…….So, 6% is GREAT news!!! 

Overall, I feel much better than I have over the past couple of years!  I think Dr. P and I have finally gotten to the bottom of what has been causing so much of my health issues and I’m getting back to some level of normalcy!  Another big impact is that the arthritis and asthma seem to be calmed down with few flare ups and very rare really major flare ups.  I am still tired a lot and don’t sleep well – I tend to yawn a lot, even when I don’t feel tired!  But, my sleep patterns pretty much stay out of whack — case in point:  It is 3:50 am and I am on here instead of in bed because I zonked out on the couch after a busy day and evening.  I know stress is a major contributing factor to most of my health problems — it will either cause them or complicate them!  I really need to de-stress my life…easier said than done, though!

The renovations on my home have begun!  I am LOVING the colors I picked out.  So far, the kitchen, living room, and entry hall are all done and the hallway walls are done and the trim should be done tomorrow!  Then, we will move on to the other rooms right after the holiday weekend.  I say “we”, but to be honest, Ronald is doing all the work!  I am a terrible painter – messy, messy, and just plain don’t do a good job!  Ronald knows me all too well and when I said I would do little things in the evening to help him out, he said “no, just leave it and I’ll take care of it” — I said that it sounded like he didn’t trust me and he confirmed that suspicion!  Between you, me, and the sign post, I agree with him……ha-ha-ha!!!  He is a real perfectionist when it comes to stuff like this (you should see the gorgeous log home he built – incredible)!  So, here are some “in progress” pictures – excuse the mess in the photos:

This is the “La Fonda Terra Cotta” I chose for the kitchen!  I am soooo happy with it!  I was really nervous that it would be too dark or too “reddish”, but it is PERFECT!!!  This area (from the garage door around to the refrigerator) will have wainscoting and chair rail molding on the bottom section when we’re done – we want to finish up the painting throughout the house, first.

The terra cotta goes great with the wood cabinets and stainless steel appliances, too — before, they all looked kinda out of place with the white walls, but now the whole kitchen is so warm and inviting!

And it is a PERFECT contrast to the “Milk Toast” I chose for the living room!!!  I was worried about the transition between the two rooms – I wanted a clear separation, but wasn’t sure how it would look!  But it is fine!  The line above the garage door looks crooked, but it isn’t – it is just the camera angle!   This was taken before the trim was done, so the door is still the shiny white it was before!

I am also very pleased with the trim color I chose – “Tagsale Linen” – I was concerned it might be too close to the Milk Toast color, but it is a lighter, creamy version of it and it is a great contrast!!!  And it looks great with the Terra Cotta, too — and is perfect with both the wood floors in the living room and the tile floors in the kitchen!

So much warmer and softer than the white walls — I LOVE IT!!!

I had the idea to do the entry area the same as the kitchen — one, because I wanted to distinguish this area from the living room — two, because when you are in the living room you can see both rooms beside each other (with an angled wall that is part of the living room separating them), so I didn’t want it to be a different color than either the kitchen or living room…..so, I went with that idea and it turned out GREAT!!!!  What a nice transition between the three rooms!!!

So — as you can see — it is turning out great and I am soooooo happy!!!!  I can’t believe it took me so long to get to this – I could have been enjoying this years ago!!

And, of course, a big part of any renovation is the hauling out and rearranging!!!  I am such a pack rat — I keep EVERYTHING because I just might need it some day!!!  And, of course, as soon as I get rid of something, I end up needing it or know someone that could have used it, which validates my obsession to not toss anything “good” out!  But — I am just doing it and will suffer any consequences that may come later!  ha-ha 

The girls are loving having “Daddy” here during the day to keep them company and let them play outside!!  I hope they don’t get too used to the company during the day……but, they have been all tired out in the evenings and excited about having him here! 

Speaking of the girls — I got Megan and Amy after they showed up at Ronald’s house one day as little bitty puppies.  He lives way out in the country and his place is about a 1/4 mile off the road, so we weren’t sure how they got there, but they did!  It became obvious that they were stray puppies and that was confirmed a few months later when more that looked just like them showed up out there, too!  And, a couple times a year, we have found some that are identical to Megan and Amy!!  It looks like a couple of wild dogs keep having litters out there somewhere and they always have some that look exactly like Amy and some that look exactly like Megan!!!  So – that erases the thought that they may have come from separate litters.  Anyway — the other day, Ronald was out getting ready to take a little flight around the area in his plane and he saw two dogs at the end of the runway — one was the spitting image of Megan and one was the spitting image of Amy!!  But, these weren’t puppies — they were about the same size as Megan and Amy!  So — maybe they are the parents or a grown up set of siblings…..it is so sad to know that they are out there with no one to take care of them, but they are wild and they won’t let you near them to try to help!

Well – I am finally getting sleepy (about time – it is 4:40 am), so I guess I’ll see if I can get a couple hours of sleep before Ronald comes to do the trim in the hallway!