Survival After Seventy-Five

     My Blogspot mission is to share my story as candid and authentic as time and memory allows.  As a mother, I am dedicated to my family.  As I strive to make my dreams and ambitions become reality, I hope to be an inspiration to others who are approaching their senior years and/or those whom are already over the hill and sliding down the other side too.

     This is my spring herb and flower garden I have been tending.  It is florishing even though we have had less rain this spring.  I water it lightly every few days and I'm not sure how much water it needs here in South East Texas.

      I spent today taking care of my two years old grand-daughter, Evelyn.  Her two big sisters, Olivia, eight, and Brianna, eleven-tween, are away at summer camp this week.  My son, Paul was home today taking the day off.  I was there by 7:15 a.m., to find Evelyn up and sitting all alone on the sofa.  She was happy to see me as I walked in through the back door.  We let Paul sleep-in while we sat watching Coco Melon on Netflix.  Evelyn has her own special TV package called "Kids" so it's easy to find all her favorite cartoons.      I came home a little while ago, about 7:30 p.m.  It's been a long day and I need to go over there again tomorrow at 7:15 a.m., to watch more cartoons with little Evelyn while her daddy goes off to work.      Her sisters Brianna and Olivia will be back home next week and Evelyn will go back to preschool on the days their mother, Rebekah is scheduled to work.  And then, I wil...

"Where flowers bloom so does hope."               --Lady Bird Johnson      

     Yesterday, two air-conditioning technicians came to inspect our outside AC unit which is a 2008 model.  It has not been cooling up to standard because we have a Freon leak in the system, and it has been slowly seeping out for a long time.  I'm afraid our old AC unit needs to be replaceed.  I was told air-conditioners generally lose their efficiency after 12 years.      I would like to have a new, energy efficient air-conditioner installed; but, need to wait until I have enough money or find a way to get the job done.      Therefore, we had three pounds of Freon added, plus, the capacitor replaced on our old AC unit.  There goes the money I've been saving to buy a new Dell laptop.      The AC is cooling the house and it seems to go on less often now.  We have been keeping the thermostat at 78 degrees Fahrenheit for the most part because the temperature outside is rising as summer approaches.   ...

Groceries for my Mayo Clinic Diet plan are mainly vegetables and fruit, whole wheat bread, less meat and dairy products, and few condiments.

     Carbohydrates, also known as carbs, are a healthy source of food energy.  In case you don't know much about carbs, there are two kinds: Simple and complex carbohydrates.  Simple carbs consists of sugar and/or sugar based syrups found in many processed foods at supermarkets these days.  Complex carbohydrates are plant based foods.      Carbohydrate foods includes grain products, such as breads, cereals, and pasta; also, starchy vegetables, such as potatoes and corn.      The Mayo Clinic Diet book emphasize choosing whole grain foods in limited amounts.  On my diet plan, for example, I should only eat four servings of carbs per day.  One serving could be 1/2 cup of rice or one slice of bread, etc.  At times, I find this difficult during meal planning because I am used to eating plenty of carbs.        However, eating carbs at breakfast works out better for me because I do most of my ph...