8/14/2026. Diet Lesson

           Breakfast time.  So the Doc says I'm pre- diabetic. Initially when I got stopped in a neighboring town by 2 cops. For a bad plate. One of them told me are you diabetic, I told him no. Now, I have to do something about it. Went to the doc and she said I'm pre- diabetic. I was over weight already. Then I put on some more weight, these last 10 months. I am 40 to 50 pounds overweight. I cut way down on the ice cream , cookies and candy bars. During this time I found at Wallmart these cookies that are by Vortman. 4 bucks. Fudge brownie chocolate chip  zero sugar is my go to now. They make other flavors as well. I eat 1 of these per day. My ice cream sandwiches are done but I saw at wallmart they make a sugar free sandwich bar so I got that. Not as good as a real bar. I used to get Neapolitan bars which were real good. But this will have to suffice. My snack pack chocolate puddings I replaced with sugar free as well. So after dinner I eat 1 pudding and 1 cookie. Or 1 cookie and 1 ice cream bar. Edit: I cut out the ice cream bar as of 2 months ago. Start of diet I was at 242.

           Today marks 6 weeks of the diet. I am now at 225 pounds. So I lost 17 pounds so far. When I started, I cut back on the food amt. Smaller portions of meat. One slice of bread a day. Also stopped buying peanut butter. Which I ate everyday for decades.  Now I drink one soda per week. I Got down to 230 pounds. Then I  plateaued there.

          So, to get started. I got a knife from Wallmart. I got it with the orange handle. It's a 3 1/4in blade. Opens from the side and locks in place. I use it for a lot of things. I sharpen it on Sundays. I also use it during meals. I have a teaspoon,fork and my lock blade. Also I have a metal knife that is about 3/4 in wide. It has a rounded tip and a serrated side for cutting bread. I used to have a plastic spatula but I switched it out for 2 silicone ones. One is wide and the other is less wide. I did this to cut down on exposure to plastics, namely micro plastics. I kept 1  plastic one with slits in it because I haven't seen them in silicone as of yet. Recently at the Dollar Tree I saw bamboo hardwood cutting boards for 1.25 I bought 4 of them. They are 7in x 10 inches. I kept the small cutting board in plastic for other things just in case. But for cutting down I use the bamboo. I've seen them in stores and a bigger board is 20 dollars. My plate is small 8 in. diameter. My bowl is 6 in diameter and 3 in deep. I have a coffee cup that holds 2 cups.  I take a sleeve of decaf coffee everyday. I add 1/2 teaspoon of sugar and  2 teaspoons of half & half. My pans are teflon 10in dia and an 11 in a copper looking inside one. I use the former for meat and frying potatoes. The latter is for my egg. After I eat I clean up the dishes.

              I used to eat a blueberry pop tart no icing, everyday. Did this for years. Recently I switched to every other day. I toast them careful not to burn them. So as I lose weight , I look to see how I can adjust my diet.    For breakfast I do cereal, I use a corn or rice checks which has 290mg of salt. I will be getting rid of the rice checks due to this higher salt content  I fill a small bowl halfway then I use a raisen bran cereal  or almond cereal at Wallmart for less than 3 bucks.  Wheat checks I put in, no sugar on the checks. This cereal has way less salt and no sugar. I use to do a full bowl then 6 weeks ago I went to 3/4 full bowl for a month and recently I cut it to a 1/2 bowl  of dry cereal. I spill  2 tablespoons of Wallmart frozen blueberries on top. Then 3 slices of no sugar added peach slices from Wallmart.  Then I cut them up smaller with my 3 in folding knife. I sharpen it twice a week. Then I cut up half a banana. I cut off the stem then make narrow slices through the skin but not all the way through the skin. I hold one end over bowl and push out a disk of banana with my knife then in cereal I slice the disk in half. Then I add 1 % or 2 % milk to the mix.  Then I add pecan pieces,dates, small bag from Wallmart. The second day breakfast is one extra large or jumbo egg. I cook 1 slice of beef bacon in pan ,careful not to burn it. My pan for the bacon is a Teflon pan, about 10 dollars from Wallmart. Toss the pan out after a year or so. And get another one. I don't trust the Teflon. Use only a silicone spatula on it With bacon I add 3 mini or 4 if real small potatoes. They are sold as mini potatoes at Wallmart. I slice narrow pieces and put them in the pan. As bacon cooks I use half a paper towel to mop up excess grease.  I brown the potato then flip the disks with my knife.  I put 5 snap peas in the egg. I cut them in 4 pieces . Then same with  the jalapeno pepper, a small amt. A little Cole slaw and cut up 1 small slice of portabella mushrooms. I get them from Walmart, they last longer than those smaller mushrooms. They  are 2 large mushrooms per package. I got a 3/4 slice of mushroom then chop 1/4 in pieces. I also cut up into small pieces cauliflower.  I Add a little half and half some water and a heaping tablespoon of corn starch. I put this into my copper looking pan. This pan doesn't cook the bacon the way I like it so I use the 2 pans. I like my bacon well done but not burnt. I do 1 slice of bacon. Brown the small potatoes with the bacon in the Teflon pan. I use hot sauce on my plate with ketchup. Put potatoes down first then egg on top with more ketchup on top. Eating the bacon I just nibble off small pieces with my front teeth. That's it for breakfast. Next blog will be about lunch.

8/10/2026. The Diet

           Started 6 weeks ago. Cut my portion sizes  down. After 6 weeks went from 242 doctor's scale, to now 230. Me 5ft 10. Went to 229 but I stopped at a Pretzel Stop fast food joint. No prices on food at the drive through. Pictures of food though. The surprise comes when they ring you up. 11 bucks. I'm used to paying around 4 bucks at a fast food joint. I usually go to a Taco Bell. In US they pulled the Taylor Farm lettuce from Mexico. Due to salmonella. So, I had a reg size pretzel dog and a bag of pretzel bites no salt. It was a good size bag. I thought the bag would be way smaller. I had a couple bites and the dog. Next day I saw,  I went from 229 to 230. Yep , that one  day was a reverse diet. You do this 12 days in a row and I'm back up to 242.  Not happening.

          Last week I cut out the 1 pop tart. But I still plateaued at 230 all week. Last night for dinner I had a handful of cherries and a handful of grapes and 4 tablespoons of cottage cheese with a heaping teaspoon of grape jelly mixed up. Never did this for dinner. I got an analog scale from Wallmart (10 bucks) last week. Stepped on scale this morning  228. Yeah. More cottage cheese for me. I eat 3 times a day. For a snack I'll do a 1 yogurt or banana. 

         My goal weight is 199. Because I haven't hit that number since I was  23. Long time ago. By cutting my portions a little more 6 weeks ago, I find that it is reducing my stomach. It has gotten used to the smaller amount.  I don't get hunger pains. I'm motivated by the declining numbers on the scale.

8/9/2026 What You Say & Think

           Of others, is a reflection on you. For real growth in your life, you start here. Correcting behaviors is what we're about. It is very hard work. We don't like to look at ourselves. Well, on the spiritual path, this is what you do. And I'll tell you something, it is Not pleasant. What you see in others or say to others is a self own. In some way you are addressing something that is lacking in you. Am I guilty. You betcha. This can be very subtle.  It goes under the radar. You can work on this by looking at the last fight you had with someone. Look for that which you accused someone of, for that trait that is within you. And it most certainly is.

          I told this story before. A woman and me at kitchen table. She was telling me how her fiance  was nice but he was a cheapskate.  I said so are you.  She was shocked. She said she donates all the time.  I said it is not tit for tat. You are stingy with your love that you show  him.  She said nothing. I could see she was processing that statement. Whether it worked for her relationship, I have no idea. To make it stick you have to write it down and read it everyday. Then incorporate it into your life.  It's work,   but you're showing the higher power that you are making strides.  And he does watch you. He knows you inside and out. The spiritual path is what you're suppose to be on. It helps you most of all and others as well. You put out love and kindness, and guess what you get that back 10 fold, if you look for it. Then when you recognize it you give thanks. 

                This blog is the most important of all of them, that I have written.

7/30/2026. Stupid Is...as Stupid Does

           My car  I got off my wife a year and a half ago. Her grandson was using it. It had damage on trunk and front bumper and hood. I fixed the head lamp and rear tail light as well as the exhaust pipe brackets. I fixed other things under the hood as parts failed. The car had 200,000 mi on it. I decided to keep it because the motor and transmission were ok I believed. The engine light was always on. Took it to Advance Auto. It was the purge valve. I thought that was in the motor. This is where I made a big mistake. I should've looked it up on my phone first. Didn't do that. Went to the service station and he put one in for 250 dollars. The light went out but came back on the next day. Take it back, this time he said it's the gas cap. Can't use an after market gas cap. So I go to Hyundai and get the last cap they have for 25 dollars. The light still stays on. Go back to the service station, they didn't have an answer. I was going to have to leave it. But my life sped up and I had to put it on hold. Plus I didn't trust them as much. Couldn't get it registered in my name because it had to pass emissions first. So I drove it with a bad plate. Got caught tree times. One ticket. The other cops let me slide. Each cop snuck up on me. After that I kept an eye out constantly and didn't get stopped.

          Every once in awhile, I would try to talk to service stations about my problem. It would be 200 dollars just  for a diagnosis. No way I was paying that. So  I would say to them, what if I put 1000 dollars into it and it still failed. They say well it would cost even more money. So none of the service stations would give me a price. In my mind I was not going to give up til I had my plate. And I was not going to put a lot of money into it as well. I looked into getting it inspected in a county that didn't have the emission requirement. Spent a couple months fiddling around with that. Couldn't make it work. Back to square one. I had more time to try and find a better mechanic. Finally found a guy. I let him inspect it. He says it's the purge valve. And the alternator is putting out too much voltage. Fails on those two things. He fixed the engine light by swapping out the led bulb with another bulb that was working another light function that I didn't need. Back to the alternator, I had my first mechanic put in a new alternator 10 months ago. There is a warranty. I found out what auto parts store he used. I call them up. They don't have the part. Two days to have it transfered from another store. Give him my mechanic's name.  Make the appointment with the mechanic. On way there I stop and buy oil for car at Dollar General. 5.59 per quart, cheaper than the auto parts store. Like 3.00. per quart. Go to auto parts store for filter. At a Jiffy lube It would be 80 dollars.. ten years ago for my pickup it was $25.00 to have someone change the oil. So I get to the mechanics, he's an hr and a half late. Have him change the oil as well as swap out the alternator. Hour later he's done. Cost me $125. The alternator is free but I had to repay the labor cost. So I got the oil changed in that cost. So I had a new purge valve and a new alternator put in and they both failed. Unbelievable!

           Now I'm good with the alternator, he shows me on meter I'm under 15 volts. Wish I knew this earlier. But now you know to make sure to see for yourself that your under 15 volts with your new alternator. I look in the phone about the purge valve. My new mechanic would charge a little over a hundred. I see in the Internet where that valve is, not in the motor but behind it. I look at discount auto parts on the web.  I get one shipped out for 29 dollars. OEM part is what you want. I checked at Advance Auto, they wanted 75 dollars. I use online part sellers as well as the auto part stores. Like for the alternator it is going to be an auto parts store. I put the purge valve in myself and it takes 30 minutes. That first service guy charged me 250f dollars. Got ripped off and it didn't work anyways.

          Back to my new mechanic for the ,2 tests on the car. I saw yesterday that the check engine light was on again. I told the mechanic. He went out to check on car and said light was out. Great I say. Half hour later the car passes. Man I was so happy. I high fived the mechanic. Finally got my plates. A week later that damn check engine light comes on again and has stayed on. Doesn't matter now though. So I was thinking that DS had a hand in getting me through the emission test. The more I think on it the more I believe it. My plates are good for 2 years before it has to get inspected again. Thank-you DS. This was a struggle. I just focused on getting this done and not having to pay a whole lot of money for. Same no matter what is going on in your life. FOCUS on your desired outcome and take action. I was going to get it done no matter how long it was going to take. Now, my car has 208,000 miles on it. Here's a tip as your car gets older get oil changed every 3,000 mi.

7/27/2026 Update

          I waited a week to resume with the dumbbell. This time I do 20 lifts with each arm, 25 pounder. Then I do  lift over head to a count of 30 each arm. That's one rep. Then do again for the second rep. So far so good. For you you do the weight that is comfortable to you even if it's a 2 pounder wt. So a couple months ago I was thinking to going to 30 pounder in October. Now that is put off. I still do dips into an open doorway for my back by holding on to the door frame and leaning into the open door way.

           Yesterday marked one month since I started my diet. I don't have a scale yet. Will get one soon. So I lost my love handles. Happy about that. My guess I lost close to 20 lbs. I will soon give an update on what I eat to make this diet work. So, I've been on diets in the past. Eventually they fail. But it is I that failed. These failures make you stronger. You are not the same as you were. You're a wee bit smarter. Those little smarts are like ladder rungs up to get where you want to be. Eventually, one day you will rely on these little footholds to get you over the top. It comes down to, how bad do you really want it. It's like with everything else. How bad do you want a new car or how bad do you want God. It's time for me to get over the top this time. And I'm going to get er done. Up until 23 I could eat anything drink beer and not gain weight. Those were great times because I was a foody. Well around 23 things started to change. It started to stick. Not so good. But I continued with my ways. My first diet started because I walked by a mirror in my house and saw how fat I was. I wasn't wearing a shirt. I saw it out of the corner of my eye. I walked back holy cow I'm a cow. Went to the bathroom got on the scale. 260 holy molly. Diet started that night. Next day down to 258.  After months I got down to 240. Then I stayed between 240 & 250 lbs plateaued here a couple decades. Once I got down to 220 but eventually 240 again. It's been many years that I was in the 190s. This year though for sure.

          Finally got the car registered after 18 mos. That will be another blog.

          The last place I was going to move to fell through, so still dealing with this issue as well.

          I am greatful for everything too. Always be greatful. It's good to look back on what we have to be greatful for.

7/23)2026. Nick. Bostick

            Four years ago Nick was driving nighttime in Lafayette IN, after a fight with his girlfriend. He usually delivers pizza. He was driving to clear his head after the fight. 

             Now,  that fight was for a reason. A negative event set the stage for Nick. He's coming down the road and is passing what appears to be a campfire in the front yard of a house. He backs up to get a better looksie. That's not a campfire. The house is on fire. He parks and runs into the house. In the first floor An 18 yr old girl is bringing the girls downstairs. He ushers them out to the yard. The 18 yr old says there is still one more. Back up to the second floor he goes. Pulling closet doors and looking under beds. Nothing, he runs back to the first floor. He puts shirt in front of his face, the smoke is thick. He uses his hands to feel around . Nothing, he's moving faster as the fire ramps it up. Poking and poking and hits pay dirt. The  6 year old girl he grabs but front door is blocked with fire and smoke . He remembers the window when he first went up. He tried to break it, his arm bounces off it. Second time he breaks it. As he is trying to get the girl out her foot and leg gets caught up in the blind cord. Has to set her down to fix it. He grabs her and holds her tight to his left side jumps out and lands on his left side. This is his last remembrance  The cops tell him that he brought the kid to the street and handed her off.  She only had a minor wound. Then he collapsed on the curb. They treated him for hand and arm injuries and burns and smoke inhalation. When he was upstairs at first he thought he just might not survive this one.

          This happened around this time 4 years ago. He recuperated. Once he got out of the hospital. And he also got the Carnegie Medal of Honor. Excellent actions Nick,! Kudos, a genuine hero. 

           So, it starts off as a negative event with his fight with his gal. He's stewing and driving. And he his right where DS wants him to be. Nick does the rest.  When Nick is downstairs talking to the 18 yr old about the missing child. He could of asked God where she is. Say something like is she on the first or second floor. The first answer in your head you go with. This probably would of saved him the real bad Injuries. He did good though. No one knows God's plan but we can get a heads up to a part of that plan. It can and does bleed through. With dreams and the waking dream we can privy ourselves into knowing a wee bit, what that plan is. In my opinion it is better with the heads up. Try to stay calm when chaos is about. It is through the calm that DS will reveal to you what the best course of action is. It is harder for DS to come through when the mind is jumbled up. Like looking into a shallow pond with calm waters. You can clearly see the bottom. Drop a 5 pound rock in there and you can't see the bottom anymore. Keep clarity of mind and you will see clearly. Do this in all aspects of your life.

           The father who was not home at the time was talking to a reporter and said the family lost everything except each other. And,  then he said one real good thing though, was we gained another member of the family.

7/21/2026 Exercise Injury

           About 2 days ago I felt a little dime size  ache in the right shoulder. Where the arm intersects the shoulder. In an hour I forgot about it. Now 2 days later in the afternoon, the ache is stronger. I didn't do anything, like lift anything. So I screwed up. Not thinking that dime size ache could get worse. Now,  I will lay off the exercise for a week. So don't do what I did. Which is ignore it. I think it was the 55 pushups I do on the bathroom sink. Should have stuck to 25 pushups instead. So you have to make adjustments with your exercises. 

          I adjusted to 25 lifts with the dumbbell instead of 50 lifts for 1 rep. This I find works better. In 1 sitting I do 25lifts of 25 lb dumbbell on one arm. Then I lift that weight over my head and hold it the for 50 count. Same for the other arm. I do that exercise twice in under 15 minutes.  So take a week off if you feel that dime size ache in your workouts.