The Bad Gets Worse

     Another weekend equals another disaster. Friday morning I woke up feeling great. Baby Girl got a clean bill of health and a prescription for two weeks worth of antibiotics, so things were looking up. All that changed when I was cooking breakfast. This was a big day for eating, since it was eggs and bacon day. I only have that once a week, so it's kind of a big deal to me. I put a good amount of spices into the eggs and throw in some habaneros for myself. While I was finishing up the bacon, I heard a commotion out in the living room. I ran out to see what was going on, and found my mom on the floor. She had taken another fall. She was trying to sit up, but I got her to slowly roll over on her back, and take it one step at a time. I felt around asking I've anything hurt, and she first said it was her foot, so I checked, no pain their, then it was her wrist, no pain there, then it was her hip, a little pain there. My fear was that her hip rebroke, which is a really big deal. I got her up in the wheelchair that we have, and rolled her out to the TV room. She said she was feeling fine, and I wanted to give her some time. I finished up breakfast, and then reevaluated things after she had eaten. As long as she was sitting, she was fine, but I asked her to stand up, and she couldn't do it on her own. I helped her up and she could stand, but as soon as she tried to bear weight on her right leg, she was in pain. The ER was our next visit. I got her in the car and drove there as quickly as I could, which was complicated by the main road in town was closed for a crafts fair, so I had to detour way out of the way to get to the hospital. They admitted her pretty quickly, which is a shock, any time I've had to go the place was crowded. The ER doctor came in and checked her out, and it she was feeling pain in her left and right side, with more on the right. That is the hips that she had surgery on. X-rays came out negative, and they gave her the all clear. The said the pain is due to some bruising and that she was fine.

     Once we got home, there was a big change in her demeanor. She immediately thought she was in a rehab facility and that she was being left alone. I tried to quell those thoughts, but she is in deep this time around. She had given up trying to stand up on her own, and only wanted to go to bed. I held that off as long as I could so she could get her daily phone call. After that, it was straight to bed. It took a lot of work to gently get her in and settled, but it was only temporary. The whole rest of the day and night was her yelling and talking to herself. I would go in, and she would say that she was talking to the other people in the room. I barely got any sleep last night, and the same for her. Today she was very lethargic, and defeated. She is still feeling a large amount of pain, but I'm not sure if it's really as bad as she thinks and she is just imagining a lot of it out of fear. I got her in the shower today, so I could get a look at the area, and I saw no bruising. She also can't seem to tell me where it is that she is hurting. She can't even point to the general area, so I just continue to be as gentle as I can. Moving her from the bed to the chair is the most difficult part. I have to reassure her that she is going to feel some pain, but it is only temporary, and once she is settled, she will be fine. It takes some coaxing, but it always works out the same each time. The longer it is between moving her, the more pain she feels. Which seems right if it is stiffening up. I don't know how things are going to work out. She can stand with support, but as soon as she tries to move, she feels a lot of pain. I'm making an appointment with her personal doctor tomorrow for some time this week and see what he says.

     This has put me in a massive bind. I still have to get Baby Girl's prescription filled. Fortunately there are enough pills for a couple more days. I also have to go to the bank, and then there are the normal things like grocery shopping. When she would walk, I could take her with me, and guide her around in her walker. It wasn't easy to do, guiding her and pushing a cart at the same time, but it worked out. I have no idea what I'm going to do now. I can't take her grocery shopping if she can't walk. I don't know how that will work with a wheel chair and a shopping cart. I don't want to leave her by herself, but I may have to for an hour, so I can get groceries. I can spend the time to get her in the car for everything else. That way she can get out and about, without having to actually get out of the car, but when I have to spend some time in some place, I can't just leave her in the car. That would be torture.

     She is in bed for the night, and hopefully will get plenty of sleep tonight, since she didn't get much at all last night. I'll do what I did last night and keep my door open so that I can hear her if she wakes up.

     This brings me to something that I didn't plan on, or want to talk about, but I have a legitimate health concern of my own. For the past two or three weeks, I've been feeling a tingling in my left arm. I looked it up, and of course the first thing is a heart attack, but there are also other reasons for it to tingle. Pinched nerve, neck problems, sleeping on it wrong, but it always leads back to the worst case scenario. Here is my big problem, I can't go to a doctor, since I don't have any health insurance, nor could I figure out how it would work taking my mom. The other thing is, as far as the symptoms of a heart attack are concerned, that is the only one I've had. I have no head aches, chest pains, upper back pains, palpitations, or anything. That leads me to believe that the tingling is coming from that pain that is in my shoulder. It could have damaged some nerves, with how long and intense that pain has been. I've been spending the past several days resting my shoulder and not even raising my left arm over my head. This has resulted in less tingles during the day, which is a good sign.

     I know this is going to sound strange after dropping a bomb like the one above, but I'm now going to transition into talking about health and fitness. This all goes back to the 30 day plan of bettering myself in both mind and body. Part of what I've been doing, is a slightly different way of eating. Instead of going more hardcore on the keto, I'm doing a slightly different version of it. I'm still in the realm, but I've dropped my protein a bit, and cut my fats in half. I'm doing all this while keeping my carbs to a minimum. This is all in an effort to decrease body fat, while building muscle. How can i do that when I drop the protein? Well, I'm actually trying to discover the right amount of protein for me. Different people have different protein needs. I won't deny that the conventional way of building muscle is by increasing your protein consumption to about 2 grams per pound. I'm taking a more scientific approach and taking into account, that since I'm fat adapted, and not insulin resistant. My cells really take in more protein than they would otherwise, since they are more upon and ready without insulin blocking the proteins from getting into the cellular wall. So far, this has been working great. I'm seeing some pretty significant changes in my body, mirror wise, while not losing or gaining any weight. I'm listening very closely to my body, and what it's telling me. Yes, that includes the tingling, and my body is telling me good things. My energy level are up, excluding today and my lack of sleep. Even with the less sleep, I'm feeling really good, but I'm sure I'm going to go to bed early tonight. Tomorrow is also my alarm off day. I"m sure I will still rise at around 4-5 am, but that will be when I wake up, and not when an alarm tells me to.

     Yes, my progress has been slowed, by me taking a big break with my shoulder, so I have done very little upper body work outside of abs. Despite all that my body is looking better to me, and that is really all that matters. I have no desire to listen to anyone else's opinion of my body, even if it's positive. Someone telling me that I look just great, is fantastic, but I know I can look even better, and when they say that you look good enough, that just sounds defeating to me. I will not be defeated, and yes, I have a long way to go. This is not good enough for me.

     I'm not going to bother updating you on the garden, because it is all status quo at this point. I will tell you that two more strawberries are ripening, and I have hidden them inside the grow bag, and under leaves so Morty doesn't get a hold of them. I will eat those berries with my mom, and it will be a good day when I do.

     I've already said quite a bit in this one, and I'm sure I'm going to have people trying to tell me what to do. Know this, I know what I should do, but sometimes that isn't the thing you can do. Peace in and goodnight.

If Only I Had Tasted It

     I am so upset with Morty right now. Earlier this evening I went out with Morty and the Baby Girl. I left them in the backyard while I went around the front to water the plants out there. When I came back I went over to check on the strawberries and new tomatoes that I planted, and saw something missing. The two ripe strawberries that I was going to pick tomorrow morning for breakfast. Morty had eaten them off the plant, and I was beside myself. Morty is getting no pets for the rest of the night until tomorrow. I couldn't believe that he did that. I will have to watch him like a hawk now when there are ripe berries on the plants. It's mostly my fault, because I haven't built the fence around the strawberry patch yet, so I'm probably more upset with myself than him, but he still isn't getting any pets till tomorrow.

     I was lucky enough to get a picture of the first ripe berry before he manage to woof it down, so there is that, and it was glorious, one of the biggest berries I've ever seen

     Look at that, it was beautiful and I can only image now how good it was. Morty did also get an unripe berry, so I'm hoping he gets a little tummy ache to pay for his thievery. There are other berries, but none of those will be the first every from the plant, and that's why I'm so bummed. On the plus side, my other strawberry plant that was a runner from that mother plant, is also producing berries now, so maybe, I'll get to eat the first berry from that plant. Although, I didn't have any intention of actually eating the first berry. I was going to give it to my mom, so that she could enjoy it, and maybe take her back to when her father was alive and had his own strawberry patch.

     Today hasn't been a good day. I woke up not feeling well, and decided to kind of sleep in, which meant 5 am. I didn't do cardio or my other workout, I just went straight to meditation and then back to sleep in the living room. I've felt weird all day, and my pulse has been accelerated most of the day. It's down around 60 beats per minute right now but most of the day it's been in the upper 80's. I'm not sure what that means, or if that is why I've felt strange all day. It could be over training, and my body is just drained, but I did have an active rest day yesterday. That means only cardio and abs for the day, so I should have been rested. I'll just see how tomorrow goes.

     That up there is more spicy chocolate. I figured out the bitterness problem, and added a third of a cup of monk fruit to it, also about a teaspoon of salt. I then put in all the pepper powder that I had left, which was probably about a half a teaspoon. I'm really not sure cause I didn't measure it out. The taste is on point, just a mild dark chocolate bitterness with a sweetness that comes from behind, when that leaves you get a touch of the heat. That is where the disappointment comes in. For me, the heat is low, and I was bummed. I thought that the powder I had, was clearly more than what was in the bottom of the mortar from the last time, and that seemed hotter. It could be either the sweetness or the salt that is cutting the heat, or I just didn't have enough powder. There is also the possibility that my tolerance is so high now, that I'm not affected by it. I have noticed that my death salt (that's the name of the current red powder) isn't bringing the heat like it did. I even shook a bunch straight into my mouth today. It packed a punch by itself, but not like when I first made it. I truly can't believe that I've made it to the point where something that is really very hot, isn't hot to me anymore. I still love the flavor. I'm just going to have to wait for my buddy and myself to grow more hotter peppers, to make more salt so that I can feel that heat.

     Despite the off feeling today, I still feel far better then I ever did in the past when I was overweight. So far, what I'm doing this 30 days, which is all about improving myself, body and mind, is paying off. I'm noticing that my body is looking different after only a few days. It's not a bug change, but I do see a difference when I look in the mirror, so hope is high right now. My vascularity is insane for me. I've never been vascular and now I am, and getting more so each day. I'm going to reach my goal, it's just a matter of time. Since I haven't set a deadline on it, I have all the time I need.

     The vet called yesterday and told me that the infection that Baby Girl has is sensitive to one of the antibiotics that she is on, so they wanted me to make an appointment for Friday so that they can see her again and more than likely give me more antibiotics to finally get rid of this infection. She is looking so good right now. When she was at her worst, the whole side of her face was swollen and her ear was hanging down by her cheek. Her ear is now back in the right place and the swelling is gone, and she is once again a happy, lazy pup. Which makes me happy. I'll let you know on Sunday how things go.

     Let's talk about Dolittle now. This was the movie I went to with the moms this week. I knew it would be fun, but I really didn't expect much from it. It is after all a January release, and this is when movie companies put out the movies that cost too much not to release, despite them being subpar. This movie was anything but subpar. It was downright wonderful, and much much better than I had anticipated. It had great acting and a really good story, that potentially sets up for sequels in the future, but if not, stand alone as well. I really think you should give it a try. It's fun, funny and heartwarming, with a few surprise appearances in it. 

     Oh, I mentioned that I didn't read this morning, but I did end up getting some reading in, just before I wrote this. The current book is Imaginary Friend by Stephen Chbosky. You may remember that he wrote one of my other favorite books, Perks of Being a Wallflower. This is quite a bit different though. He wrote this as a tribute to one of his and my favorite authors, Stephen King, so It is a horror novel, and I'm at the part where it's getting real good. I just met the villain of the story, and it's creepy. Stephen went to film school and was also the director for the Perks movie, which as you know I love, so I'm fully expecting him to turn this into a movie as well, and I'm already seeing it in my head. I'm really hoping he gets the chance to make this into a movie. It is an original idea, which Hollywood is lacking in these days. Listen, I enjoy the stuff that comes out, but I am growing tired of the retreads, and this is a fresh take on horror. If you like reading, pick this book up and enjoy the ride, so far it's wonderful.

     I'm going to spare you the boredom of the garden and just call it a night tonight. Peace in and goodnight.

The Lack Of Stress Is Glorious

     I can't tell you how good I'm feeling right now. I do believe that it's the freedom from social media. I did as I said, and went on Facebook for a couple of minutes today, maybe not even that long. I only had to post pictures in a group with a little caption and I was done. This is part of a contest I entered that actually began today. It's called Pepper in a Can, and like the title implies. you grow a pepper in a can. I'm attempting 4 and here are the pictures.

     The top was setting them up yesterday and the bottom is them with the seeds in and a cover to keep humidity in while they germinate. I'm a little worried about the Orange Habanero. The seeds are form peppers that were bought at the grocery store, so I really don't know if they were nuked or not. I don't believe that they were, but you never really now. I did plant a Poblano in a can as a test to see if it would sprout. I did the same thing with those, got them from the same grocery store and hoped beyond hope, that they weren't nuked. I guess I should explain the nuke part. If the vegetables aren't sourced from this country, they have to go through a low level of radiation to kill any harmful bacteria, or bugs. This isn't harmful to humans, but it does make the seeds unviable. I was banking on the fact that these were loose and in bulk bins, so they had to be sourced not just in this country but local to the area. Well, the Poblano sprouted this morning, and is looking good. So I see several home grown stuffed Poblanos in my future.

     Just look at that little beauty right there. It's no all about the heat, just mostly about it. Poblanos are very low on the SHU scale, coming in at around 2000 SHU. That makes them about 3 times less hot then a jalapeño. I will of course stuff them with meat laced with habaneros to bring the heat up.

     Couple more pictures before I get back to the whole social media break. The Tongues of Fire has some flowers on it, which means beans are coming soon. It has a hot sounding name, but it is all about how they look. These green beans have the normal green color, but it also has splotches of red streaks on it, hence the name. The flowers are really delicate and pretty looking. Much more delicate than what the name would suggest. The first flower has dropped and a tiny green bean is forming. There are several others on their way too.

     The left is the flowers and the right, well you have to look close to see it. The little green stem coming from the base of the flower with a string holding onto the remaining pedals is the green bean itself. Hard to believe that they start out so tiny.

    Ok, I lied, I have one more photo for you. It's of the strawberries that shouldn't be. The first one is huge and should be fully ripe tomorrow or the next day. I'm going to leave it until Friday, just to get it good a ripe. There is one other right behind it, and this picture was taken yesterday. Now it is about 95% red and I could probably pick it and let it ripen, but on the vine is way more fun.

     I'm really excited about eating the first strawberry that I've grown. I'll probably split it with my mom, so she can also enjoy the first from the garden. I can remember when I bought it as a tiny seedling and it is now producing some good looking fruit. I don't remember the exact count, but I think there are somewhere between 10 and 12 on the plant right now. You can see 4 in the picture alone, and that is just a quarter of the plant.

     Ok, back to the social media break. It has felt so good not to know anything. I get tiny news bulletins from my phone, so there are a few things that I know, and am so happy not to know what people think about them. I heard Joaquin Phoenix made some statement at the Oscars, and I'm sure people are going absolutely crazy talking in favor or against it, and here I am just enjoying the stress free environment that I have fore myself. Yes, sometimes it is real good to be ignorant, especially when it comes to pop culture and politics. I can catch up on everything in 29 days. By the time I come back to it, I'm sure there will be brand new controversies to deal with.

     With this 30 days comes physical work as well as the mental. I'm now waking up before 4 AM in order to get things done, and it's been going great. I will have a day that I just let myself wake up without an alarm, and I'm sure I'll still wake up around 4:30, maybe I'll be real lazy and wake up around 5:30. Ah the life of leisure will be grand on that day. Anyway, I did set a goal for one of the physical feats, but that will remain unannounced until after the 30 days. Where in I will tell you what it is, and if I succeeded or not at that goal. This all has to go with that secret workout that I've been doing. Today I managed to do my cardio, that workouts stretching, meditation, and reading all before 5:30. That was an amazing feeling. Yesterday I was still feeling things out, so I was done closer to 6, but it was still done early. I got to sit back and relax until the moms woke up. I actually fell back asleep. It was glorious.

     One of the other goals about this 30 days, and this is one I will talk about, is getting away from the negativity of social media. February is of course the month with Valentine's Day in it, and also Black History month, so this month is about love, acceptance, diversity, and tolerance. With that in mind during this 30 days, which will stretch into March, every Favorite Song of the Week will have those words as a theme for what I choose. The first one is from Prince off of one of his most incredible albums that was overlooked, because it was later in his career. It is from the 3121 album which you really should give a listen to. It is full of gems are as good if not better than some of the songs off Purple Rain (yeah, it doesn't hurt to say that even though it's still my all time favorite album) and 1999. The two albums he's best known for. This song is full of funk and takes you back before the Minneapolis sound that he made so famous. This almost goes back to the Controversy days, which you should really listen to that album as well. That is a great album. Anyway, my Favorite Song of the Week is Prince's song "Love".



     If that doesn't make you want to dance, then you are better off dead. Go back and listen to it again and wake your body up. Prince brings the funk on this one, and you will love it. Ok, that sounded a little demanding, but seriously give it another listen.

     Thursday I'll tell you about Dolittle which I saw today with the moms. I'm saving it for then, because I may have nothing to write about, and that will guarantee that I have something for you. I guess that is the bad thing about going stress free for a month, it isn't very exciting. Peace in and goodnight.

Exciting News, And Putting In The Work

     This weekend started out horrific. I was full of stress and spent a lot of time thinking about how long I would be left on this planet. It ended quite a bit differently though. I'm not going to dwell on that negativity that started this weekend, instead, I'm focusing on those positive vibes.

     Last night was the big turning point. My buddy let me in on some incredible news. He is getting married. That alone is incredible. It is always an amazing story when two people find each other in this crazy world and make a connection that can last a lifetime, and that is what these two have. I year from now, I will be watching two of the greatest people on this planet unit together as one family and I couldn't be happier about that. Oh yeah, he asked me to be his best man as well. No, I'm not burying the lead on that. I'm truly honored and proud to fulfill this obligation. It will be a pleasure above all others to stand there and watch them get married with best of front row seats. I could spend an entire paragraph or really this whole post telling you about them, but I'm sure I'm going to have to make a best man's speech, so I'm going to save all that for then. I only have a year to get it all together. I'm more than likely going to wing it, but I'm hoping that I write it down, to make sure it covers everything and is truly proper. If I do write it down, I post it here in honor of them, after the wedding of course.

    Ok, I'm going to dwell on a little of the negative, but that is only because it has to do with me and my own body issues. Right before I got that news above, I was taking accountability pictures for what is going to be my next 30 day challenge. It is a challenge of my own doing, and it is another one of those, I need to see if I can do it. The goal is to hit 15% body fat, but the real goal is for overall improvement in everything body and mind. The pictures took me down another notch from the low point I was at. I looked at them and just felt terrible at how I looked. I still posted them, because that is the point of accountability shots. I'm also going to post them here, despite how horrible I think I look. I do happen to like one of them though. I'll put that one up last. So here they are. I know I've come a long way from what I was, but when I see these pictures, I realize I have so much further to go.

     That last one is the one that I like the most, but I'm still very dissatisfied with how I look. I see every flaw that I have, but that is also a positive. It lets me know what I need to focus on, so that I can achieve the way I want to look. The body fat loss is key, but so is the muscle gain. One helps the other. The more lean mass I have, the higher my metabolism gets, and the more fat my body burns. It's all an amazing circle of science. I will achieve the body I want, and regardless of how I feel about these pictures, I truly know now that it is possible. I'm far away from it now, but I get closer each and every day.

     This brings me to my social media shutdown. Starting tomorrow, I'm taking a 30 day break from social media. I will be on Facebook on Tuesday for a few minutes to post pictures for the Pepper in a Can challenge that I'm a part of. The contest starts that day, so I have to break the break for a few minutes, and then be back at it. This is all part of that bettering the mental part of me. Social media is a poison to the mind. It can bring people together, but as it has done in the last few years, tears more people a part. With it being an election year, the negativity out there in the ether is at a red alert level, and I won't go down the rabbit hole that I went down the last election. You can always get ahold of me through the howuketo.com website, or you can email me at counterfeitsquirrel@gmail.com. I will keep writing this through out, and I will post it remotely to Facebook, but I won't be there to see any comments or anything like that until next month. I know this all sounds extreme, but I need this, and I highly suggest that you take a break from it as well, even if it's a day. It will help you clear your head, and that is something I'm in desperate need of right now.

     During this break I will be working my tail off, to get in the best shape of my life. I will continue eating the way I do, which is second nature to me. For example; this weekend, I took off of being strict. All that means to me, is that I'm not eating at certain times. I've been grazing a bit, but it's been on biltong (jerky), nuts, and berries. Not really going outside of the whole keto spectrum there. Oh yeah, I threw caution to the wind and had a few diet sodas today. The horror right. Anyway, tomorrow starts the 30 day. I will weigh in, despite weight not meaning anything to me right now, it's just a satisfying number at this point, measure my body fat, and my waistline. I may even take a few other measurements like, thigh, calf, chest, and upper arm, just for giggles, bur the important numbers to me are the body fat, and waistline. Those are big in my world right now. I'm hoping to reach that .48 on the waist to height ratio, and 15% body fat by the end of this. Anything lower to the numbers tomorrow are a win, but if I hit those specific numbers, it's a freaking party.

     That brings me to my last piece of good news. I received a text today from a friend that I've given some guidance to. She reached out to tell me that she was only 6.5 lbs away from her goal weight, and wanted to thank me for the inspiration. That is one of the greatest compliments I can receive. Just knowing that I was a small part in helping someone reach their goal is more fulfilling than you can imagine. I'm proud of her for putting in the hard work and dedication to get to where she is now, and I'm looking forward to congratulating her one more time when she tells me that goal has been achieved. I know she will do it. I also know that you can reach your goals as well. It just takes putting in the work.

     Starting tomorrow, I go back to work. I got more goals to reach and I'm going to put in some serious overtime in to get it done. Peace in and goodnight.

It's Going To Be A Business

     Baby Girl has what will hopefully be her finally appointment at the vet tomorrow. If things go right, and things are looking like they are, she will have her drain removed. The inflammation in her face is gone, and the drain is down to a modest trickle. It still looks weird with a hose sticking out of her ear and her cheek, but it's all to make her better. I'll give you the update on Sunday.

     The Cherokee Purple plants are so full of tomatoes, that they are collapsing. The last two days, I've had to go out and lift branches up and tie them off to stakes so that they won't be sitting on the ground. It's exciting and frustrating at the same time. I think I have it all under control now, but big storms are supposed to come through tonight, so I'm sure I'll be lifting and tying tomorrow morning as well.

     A little update on this tiny business idea that my buddy and I have. He has done a lot of brain storming and list making with ideas of exactly what and how we are going to do what we have planned. Once again, this is still in the dream phase, so it's too early to say what it is, but we are both pretty excited about it. We think it's an idea that no one is really doing, so we might have a shot at cornering the market on this. I can tell you also, that this is a product that we ourselves enjoy and can't wait to try the different versions of it that we have planned. I'm sure that I'm giving too much away at this point, but that's all I'm going to say for now. We have to figure out a name not only for the company ( I use the word company very loosely) and our product, which will have different names for each variety that we have. We have a couple of working titles, that are kind of fun, gut no name ideas for the company. No, I'm not asking for ideas, because you don't even know what the product is, so you can't possible give is name ideas. This is something we have to figure out ourselves. Whatever happens with this, it's going to be fun.

     I just needed to share a couple of pictures with you. The first is the strawberry plant, and how the strawberries that are 6 months too soon, are doing. I don't think I shared one with you before, but this is what the Junebearing plant looks like right now, and I'm really excited about it.

     Those are some first rate organic berries right there. That big one has light shades of pink in it, so it's going to be ripe soon. I think the count stands at 10 berries on there right now. That should last a few days around here. I do limit berry consumption. I have 2 with my salad, and sometimes have a couple more in the evening, if I feel the need. The other plant, which is the Everbearing, has shoots going everywhere now, and I have it where I want them, so then they take root in the ground, that is where they are going to stay. That will be Porter's Patch, which is named for my Grandfather. One of the few things I remember about him, was his strawberry patch, so I'm bringing it full circle.

     The second picture is my dinner tonight. It just looked so good, that I had to share it with you. Also this is more proof that keto is not stuffy and bland. This meal has maybe 6 carbs, and is packed with vitamins and minerals, with nutrient dense ingredients. It's simply spiced with salt, black pepper, turmeric, and garlic powder. May not seem like much, but that blend has never failed me for full flavor.

     Just look at that. That is riced cauliflower, spinach, campari tomatoes, cubed pork butt, and habanero. I added the habanero after the tomatoes, for that pop of color, and was hoping for that big heat, but it wasn't really there. Either my tolerance is way too high now, or I got a bit of a mild habanero. If you notice, I don't even deseed anymore. I want every bit of the heat that comes from those wonderful peppers. The seeds don't have any heat themselves, but they are covered in the capsaicin oil, which means that they have heat from their cap coating. The only part of the pepper that is missing is the very tip, which I gave to my mom. the tip is the smallest amount of heat in any pepper, and basically has little to no heat, but all the flavor, which for a habanero, is a wonderful fruity citrus flavor. That mixed with the zing of this tomatoes, and the earthy flavor of the turmeric is out of this world good. Yeah, I eat bland boring food now. That's a laugh.

    Oh yeah, I wore that new outfit yesterday for a funeral. Since I'm not going on a date any time soon I figured I would break it out for my neighbors mother's funeral. She passed away earlier this week and it was important for my mom and I to go. I did take a picture, but it's still on the camera, and I don't feel like walking over to it to grab the SD card, and pulling it off, so that picture will have to wait until Sunday. Until then, I'll leave you wanting more. Peace in and goodnight.

A Baby Girl Is A Happy Thing

     Baby Girl was back at the vet today. It wasn't planned, but somehow it was. I'll explain. I got a call yesterday confirming my appointment, which I didn't make, but it was a good idea, since I was having a lot of trouble keeping her face clean. I was aggressive with the neosporin, so the wound was good, but there was still some infection in there. They cleaned it up, took a culture and put her on an extra antibiotic. She will still have to go back on Friday to have her drain removed, and then they will reassess how things are going. They do believe that it is all a result of the surgery and that some infectious material was left inside, which is apparently not uncommon, but still kind of rare. All I know is, that this is costing me an arm and a leg, and could bury me financially if there is much more cost to this whole thing. I just want the Baby Girl to be healthy and happy. She has the happy down, and although this doesn't seem to bother her at all, she still isn't healthy. Hopefully, this will finally get her there.

     I picked the last Scotch Bonnet on the plant this morning, preparing for Taco Tuesday. There is a new pod growing though, and I'm hoping for good things. It's only one though, and will probably be the final pod until spring starts. This last one was hot though. I had left it on the plant ripe, for more than a week and probably two weeks, so it had plenty of time to simmer. The color is more orange than yellow, but still beautiful.

     Just look at that beauty. When I cut it up. I took the very tip and ate it right on the spot. I was a little disappointed, because there was no heat at all, but it had that wonderful fruity flavor. I took another small piece, and found the heat, and it was good, but still not too strong. It was more than a habanero, but not a whole lot. It wasn't until I was eating my taco salad, that I really got the heat. I no longer deseed any of these peppers. The seeds don't have any heat, but they collect some of the capsaicin oil, and I don't want any of that heat going to waste, so it all goes in now. When I got a piece of the placenta in my meal, that is when the heat hit. It gave me a real good throat burn, and my lips and tongue remained burning after my meal for about 15-20 minutes. It was wonderful. I do have photos of the taco salad when I put the peppers on, which were the scotch bonnet and the last orange habanero that I had, and then another with the cheese and tomatoes on top. The only heat that was applied to the peppers was the meat itself after I plated it. Cooking takes a little of that heat away, so this was the pure heat of the pepper on there, and I loved it.

     Yeah, Keto is restrictive and not satisfying? LOL. I don't think so. That is a full keto meal and it was delicious. Spring mix bed, with (on this occasion, pork) seasoned meat, with peppers, hand shredded aged cheddar, and sliced grape tomatoes. I know that you are drooling and that is ok. You can eat this way as well. That reminds me, I added cumin to the season mix this time, and I think it was the final piece to the puzzle. I always had it close to this packaged seasoning mixes, but it was always missing something. I thought it was the sugar. Yes, there is sugar in those taco mix packets, but it turns out, it was cumin. Just in case you want to know how to season your meat for tacos and not buy a packet of garbage, this is what I use. Salt, Black Pepper, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Paprika, Turmeric, Chili Powder, and now Cumin. I never measure this out, I just go by eye, and always seem to get it right. I go heavy on the Turmeric, Paprika, and Chili Powder, and the rest are just a healthy serving of them. It tastes just like you want it to, and there is no bad stuff in there. It's amazing.

     Speaking of my diet. I use diet in terms of what I eat and not that I'm on a diet. Remember this is a lifestyle. I was interviewed about my weight loss yesterday. It was a friend of mine that is doing a project. I'm not completely sure what the project is, but I believe it is a study on weight loss and how it affects people. She wanted people that had lost more than 30 lbs recently, and I fit that bill by losing 65 in the last 10 months. It was a great conversation, and I could legitimately talk about my journey for hours. We only spoke for 45 minutes, but it was a very freeing conversation. I've been wondering what to do with the HowUKeto YouTube channel, and this interview gave me more of an idea. I was thinking about doing a video just talking about how my life has changed, the problems that I've healed and how this whole experience has completely changed my life. We even got into some deep stuff in the interview. I'm not sure she knew about my history with depression and anxiety, but I've always been an open book about that, well once I began writing about it. I will freely talk about what I've been through, and how I'm overcoming it. We even went into the 100 Days of Discipline, and how very small changes can have an enormous impact on your life. She seemed legitimately blown away with the changes I've made, in what amounts to a short time, by making small habits into big healthy ones. That reminds me, I forgot to check in last night, so I need to go do that tonight. That is one small habit I haven't mastered. Part of that is because these habits become so routine, that you don't think of them as something you are doing for a reason, you just do them, which is really the whole goal of 100 Days. Pretty amazing how that works out.

     Ok, I'm out of here for the night. I'm discussing an idea for a pretty epic business with my buddy as I'm writing this. More on that later, it is in the dreamer phase right now, but it could be a fun niche market that would involve something we both love. I'm betting you may have figured out what it involves, but my lips are sealed until more comes of this. Peace in and goodnight.

It's All A Mess

     It's Super Bowl Sunday. You know what that means to me? Absolutely nothing. I gave up watching the NFL years ago, and it was one of the most time freeing decisions I ever made. I used to spend hours on end watching games each Sunday, and would get nothing done. Not any more. I won't go into all the reasons why I don't watch anymore, but lets just say, that I don't approve of the leagues practices. I'll be watching the new Taylor Swift documentary on Netflix while I'm working out, and be in bed by 10 PM. That's how I roll.

     This post is going to be all over the place but let's start with Baby Girl. I did end up taking her to the vet on Friday and it cost me dearly, but it is all worth it. When we got there her ear was draining fluid (blood and clear fluid), and her face was completely swollen on one side so much, that it was pulling her ear down next to her eye. She looked terrible, but it didn't seem to bother her one bit. That's the tough old yard dog in her.

     That picture was taken in the vet room waiting for the doctor. The thought what I thought it was, which was a hematoma of her ear which had gone errant. Turns out we were both wrong, but it wasn't until they took her back for treatment that they found out what it was.

      It took about 4 hours before they called me to pick her up and when I got there I was told what was really going on. It was all a result of her previous surgery that removed her ear canals. It's called an aberration. What happened was that an infection began inside the removed canal area, and created fistula that protruded from the surgical scare in her ear. She did have some fluid, but it was more swelling from inflammation due to the infection. The doctor also found necrotic tissue around the surgical scare in her ear. He removed what he could see and hoped that he got it all, but you won't know for sure until the swelling goes down. She has two drain tubes, one in her ear and one in her cheek to drain all the fluid.

     If you look close you can see the tube protruding from her cheek. She goes back this Friday to have those removed and they can get a look at how she responded to the treatment. She is doing well, but she doesn't like me going near the drains. I have to put Neosporin around the wound each day, and place a warm compress to help with the swelling. She likes neither of them, but I'm getting it done. She still doesn't really seemed bothered by it other than when I mess with it, so from that stand point, things are going great. I do need to find a way to clean her without her getting too upset. The fluid is draining down her cheek and matting her fur, so there is a metallic blood smell to it. Next warm compress, I'm going to get a little aggressive and try cleaning her cheek for her.

     With all that going on, I got a good laugh and a surprise when I came home, this next picture will tell you everything you need to know.

     Take a good look at Morty. That is how he greeted us at the door. Apparently he got into one o the garbage cans and was caught ring necked. I couldn't stop laughing about it, and he acted like it was just normal behavior for him to be walking around with the ring from the top hanging around his neck. It took some work to get it off too. He is a big ol' butthead.

     I made one last attempt at reaching out to my crush. I messaged her to make sure that she had my number, and she once again saw the message, but no reply what so ever. That's what I get for trying to have a love life. It's really just not meant to be. I get reminded of this every few years, and you think I would learn by now, but the hopeless romantic in me, just won't seem to let it go. Oh well, that is my life, or lack of it.
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     Remember that spicy chocolate I made. I believed that it was too much from most people but I really had no reference for it. My mom is not good for that, because she will try to act tough, since she is supposed to like spicy foods, but she really can't handle things that are too hot. She is good at a low habanero level, and that's not nothing, but it is way below where I am now. Being at the level of tolerance I'm at now, I don't know what is too hot for people anymore. I'm not normal. I was able to get a couple of people with normal taste buds to try it and get their reaction. My buddy stopped by to give me a few more plants (tomatoes, peppers, and herbs), and I gave him a piece. He is like me so the tolerance is way high. His wife was with him and she took a very tiny piece and basically licked it and said, "no way". I asked her if it was the bitterness or the heat, and she said it was the heat. My buddy even mentioned that it was hot. So I feel like I'm on the right track with this spicy chocolate, but I still think my buddies wife has a weird tolerant range, so I couldn't be sure. My nephew was over today, so I gave him a piece, and I know for sure what his heat levels are. One piece of the chocolate brought tears to his eyes, so I'm now full stoked that not only did I get it right, but I can get it hotter. Remember, that was only the dust from the powder that I made. If I make it with the powder, it will be insanely hot.

     That reminds me, since my buddy was stopping by, I had to get his, what I'm calling Death Salt, ready for him. I've only tasted the powder on my finger tip, so I had no idea what the salt was going to be like. This morning I was spooning the powder into the small vile with about 40% salt in it, and the dust was burning my nasal passage like crazy. I had a runny nose for 5 straight minutes and it burned. A little of the powder spilled out onto the paper towel where I had everything so I licked my finger and dabbed it up, and cleaned my finger off. It was insane how fast the burn hit my mouth. My lips were burning for a good 15-20 minutes. I still didn't try the salt. I handed it to my buddy when he got to my house and he was the first to partake. He loved it, and said it was much hotter than the moruga salt that I made and hotter than a specialty scorpion salt that his wife bought him. So, today was a stoked kind of day. The only problem is, that I don't have any more super hot peppers to dry out and experiment more with right now, but the grow season is just beginning and I have several plants out there that are going to bring record level heat. I'm real excited about that.

     Last thing, and this one is way off the rails of anything I've talked about tonight, but here it goes. I have someone that is sending me recipes for food alternatives for Keto. I appreciate it, but I don't desire trying any of these recipes at all. One of the things that I got out of Keto was my appreciation for whole foods, and eating them prepared with only spices and herbs. I have no desire to make foods that are like the old garbage processed foods that I used to eat. Yeah it is probably fantastic tasting, but so was all that fried in vegetable oil poison that I used to eat, and I worry that if I ate something that was like it, I would want to just go out and eat the old garbage, and i definitely don't want to go back to that. This also brings up my disgust in all these fake meats that are out there. I'm sure you've seen the Impossible burger at Burger King, and maybe even all the other fake meat items that are popping up on other fast food menus. I have no problem with vegans or you wanting to be vegan. I do have a huge problem with anyone saying that they are vegan and then eating meat substitutes. If you have a desire to eat something like meat, then what you really want is meat. I wanted to try the Impossible burger, before I figured all of this out, and it was around the time I was trying to figure out how to have a vegan breakfast. I wanted to have to something that was like bacon and eggs, but all that meant was that I wanted bacon and eggs. It wasn't until I began looking at things as they were. Vegetables are vegetables and shouldn't be anything but that. I did find a way to have a keto friendly vegan breakfast, but it wasn't anything that would be traditionally breakfast like.  It was more break fast like. You should know what I call my breakfast salad. It is entirely vegan and entirely keto. I of course add my moruga salt to it now, but that doesn't change what it is. I can eat that salad any time, and I have, but I normally have it as a first meal of the day. If you want to go vegan, do yourself a favor and get rid of the idea that you want to have burgers, or sausage patties, or fake bacon. Have good whole vegetables. With a little seasoning, they are amazing. I eat vegetables with just about every meal I eat now, and a lot of my meals are vegetable only, and I don't want any meat or anything that is made to have the appearance of meat. When I want meat, I eat meat, its that simple. You are only fooling yourself and setting yourself up for failure if you try to make replacements for items you used to have. I get that when you are first starting that these things will help you get over the hump, but you have to be committed to changing those desires as soon as you can, otherwise I don't think you will be able to sustain that way of eating. Take it from me, the guy that used to say that veggies were rabbit food. They are good, and you can eat them and not some processed crap that called itself plant based, but it is really lab based. I eat incredibly healthy now, and it is whole foods that aren't made to look like something they aren't, and it is amazing. Peace in and goodnight.