A Blustery Walk

It's the dark time of the year. I always have a hard time adjusting to the shorter daylight hours after the time changes in the fall. Sunset today was at 4:22p.m. and it will continue to set earlier and earlier for another 6 weeks. Then the days will gradually start getting longer again!

This afternoon I went for a walk between 3:30 and 4:00. It was a blustery day, but the sky was beautiful in our neighborhood...

The wind was blowing the clouds around.

Most of the leaves have blown off the trees.

These little guys have managed to hang on, though!

And a few brave little scarlet leaves.

I loved crunching the leaves under foot.

Before it gets too dark, I better hurry home and light some candles!

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Going off sugar...

I've known for many years that I was at-least-borderline hypoglycemic. Ever since I can remember my hands have trembled-- sometimes worse than others. I usually don't notice it, but I've had people ask me if I'm cold, or nervous. "Nope," I cheerfully tell them, "just low blood sugar." When the trembling gets bad enough for me to notice then I know it's time for a high-protein snack. As far as I was concerned that's all there was to it.

A few days ago a friend told me about a friend of hers who was diagnosed with hypoglycemia and changed her diet. Within a month she noticed that she was no longer having migraine headaches. My friend knows I suffer with migraine headaches-- usually several a month-- so she asked for more information which she passed along to me.

I took a quiz at Hypoglycemia.org to "see" if I was "at risk" for hypoglycemia. I already knew I was, but I was interested to see what my results would be. The normal range is 20 or below. I scored a whoppin' 65, which did not surprise me a bit.

What blew me away was that I had never connected low blood sugar with my migraines. I don't know why. I really did think that minor trembling was about all there was to it. I still don't know for sure if they are connected... but you know what? I have decided that changing my diet is definitely worth a try.

That means no sugar, no refined flour... basically nothing white. I have also decided that I want to avoid, whenever possible, artificial sweeteners. Try shopping for groceries with those limitations! Let me tell ya, it ain't easy!

Most products labeled as 100% whole grain still had sugar. The one "mainstream" (i.e. not on the health-food aisle) salty-munchy that I found with whole wheat and no sweetening was Triscuit crackers.

For my (decaf) coffee I discovered flavored liquid stevia at the health food store. I got two flavors: English Toffee and Vanilla Creme. No, it's not as good as caramel sauce... and it's quite expensive... but just 3 or 4 drops with a splash of milk is pretty good for a sugar-free (as well as chemical-free) latte.

So I'm off on a new adventure. Reckon I can convince my family to join me? Nah... I doubt it.

Anybody else have experience with a low-glycemic diet?

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A Love Letter

Dearest Lyle,

Today is Marriage Monday over at Chrysalis... and the assignment is to "write a love letter to my husband." I wasn't going to do it, because I knew it would embarrass you... but since today happens to be the 24th anniversary of our wedding... well, I couldn't just let it pass without writing something, now could I?

I love sharing my life with you. I am so blessed to be married to my best friend. It's hard to realize that it really has been 24 years since we said, "I do." Thank you for having and holding... and loving and cherishing. I never take it for granted... and I'm grateful.

And before I get too mushy, I'll stop.

I love you. Always.

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A Natural Giveaway

I can't believe I'm already telling you about another giveaway contest! Because, see? If you go enter then that narrows my chances of winning. No, that' s okay... in the spirit of helping promote some really neat blogs, I'll do my part!

The Provident Woman is having a drawing for this fun little batch of honey products.
It includes a little bottle of honey, a honeysuckle lotion bar, a honeysuckle lip balm, and an assortment of honey sticks. Wouldn't that be a sweet prize to win? And this one's easy. All you have to do is leave her a comment saying what your favorite flavor of lip balm is.

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Pumpkins & Spice fabric giveaway

No, I haven't finished the quilt I started last winter. To be honest, I haven't picked it back up again yet this fall. I am about half finished quilting it, but had set it aside for the warm season. Now that cool weather is here again, I've been working on a few other projects for Christmas, so it will probably be a few weeks before I get back to it.

Even still, I couldn't resist the opportunity to enter the contest to win this delicious stack of "fat quarters"! I love the muted colors and primitive prints, don't you?
Pumpkin Patch Primitives is giving away a bundle of 27 fat quarters! What a pretty quilt that would make! Head on over for your chance to win! And mention that Karla @ Ramblin' Roads sent you. The contest ends on October 31.

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Harvest of Friends

So I'm getting in on the tail-end of this one... but it looks like too much fun to pass up... Lynnette @ Dancing Barefoot on Weathered Ground is hosting the Harvest of Friends Blog Party this week.

And she provided...

20 Weird Questions
That Will Give a Little Insight Into Who I Am

1. What is your favorite thing to snack on while you're blogging?

• Currently, peanuts.

2. What is one thing you wouldn't want to live without?

• Contact lenses. My glasses prescription is so strong I can't imagine having to wear glasses all the time.

3. Beach, Mountains or Farm? Where would you live if you had a choice?

• Mountains. I love the tall trees, the crisp air, the wildlife, the view...

4. What's your least favorite chore/household duty?

• Vacuuming the floor.

5. Who do people say you remind them of?

• My mother.

6. Prefer parties and socializing or staying at home with the fam?

• Staying home. Definitely. I'm not a big socializer.

7. What's your all time favorite movie?

• Anne of Green Gables

8. Do you sleep in your make up or remove it like a good girl every night?

• I rarely wear make up.

9. Do you have a hidden talent or a deep desire to learn something that you've never had a chance to learn? What is it?

• I have always wanted to learn to spin... but I have far too many hobbies as it is, to justify spending the money to try something new. I would also like to learn to make bobbin lace, but haven't for the same reason.

10. What's one strange thing you're really good at?

• Reading aloud. I don't know. Is that strange? Maybe a little?

11. What first attracted you to your spouse?

• His personality.

12. What is something you love to smell?

• Clean sheets fresh off the clothesline.

13. Tell something about you that you know irritates people.

• Well, now, if I knew it irritated them I wouldn't do, would I?

14. When you have extra money (HA!) what's the first thing you think to do with it?

• Buy books.

15. Are you a silent laugher or a loud laugher? What makes you laugh the hardest?

• I usually just smile. Something has to really strike me funny to make me laugh hard. Odd-ball and quirky things make me laugh.

16. Where is your favorite place to shop?

• Depends on what I'm looking for. Kohl's is probably my favorite department store.

17. What's one thing you'd do more often if you had more time?

• Scrapbooking.

18. Are you a big spender or frugal?

• Definitely frugal.

19. Who is your favorite character of all time (from a movie or book)? (Can't be real)

• Anne Shirley

20. Would you want to be famous?

• No, thank you.

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Just some random off-the-top-of-my-head thoughts...

--1--
I'm considering a merger. I've been finding it a little overwhelming to keep up with 3 blogs: this one, my book review blog (Another Road to Ramble), and my homeschool blog (Roads to Learning). Initially I thought it would make it easier to have the topics separated, but I'm re-thinking that. I'm seriously considering merging them back into one main blog. What do you think? Any opinions?

--2--
Today is "school picture" day. Always such an ordeal to decide on just the right outfit and get the hair fixed. Then drive to the next town where the photographer is set up. But I try to make it a priority every year because I know I'll want those pictures in years to come.

--3--
Music lessons are going great! For years I have wished we could afford music lessons. Several years ago we tried piano lessons and that didn't work out very well for us. This fall I discovered that a very dedicated music teacher in our town offers beginning orchestra classes at different ages levels. Group lessons are less than half of what private lessons would be. Not only that, the girls are loving it and I don't have to nag them to practice. I am so pleased!

--4--
My latest favorite coffee "additive": a splash of whole milk and a little raw sugar. The raw sugar has a caramely flavor without the HFCS that's in caramel sauce (my real favorite).

--5--
I find blogging more fulfilling than Facebooking. However, I have found that the Networked Blogs application makes it easy for me to share my blog posts with my Facebook friends. Best of both worlds! Which do you prefer?

--6--
Our 24th anniversary is coming up next week. We like to take a little weekend trip to celebrate when we can. The last couple of years the children have gone with us. A few days ago I mentioned to Becky that our anniversary was coming up. She said, "Oh! Where are we going?"

--7--
I've spent way too much time trying to decide which random thought should be the 7th one! Instead of sitting here awhile longer musing over my options I think it's time to get this posted and move on to the next thing!

Have a great weekend!

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Slow Cooking Thursday - Taco Soup

I love my Crockpot! It is so convenient to put a meal together in the morning, and then come supper time... well, supper's done! The catch to it is: I have to remember (and take the time) to put the food in the Crockpot in the morning (or right after lunch, depending on the recipe). I'm still trying to get into the habit of working that into my daily planning and routine.

When I ran across the Slow Cooking Thursday meme hosted at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom, I decided to participate, as a motivation to do at least one Crockpot meal a week to share on Thursdays.
Today I'm not going to post a recipe, as such, because you probably already know how to make Taco Soup. (If you don't, just Google for the recipe. It is so easy! Browned ground beef, then add canned beans, canned corn, and canned tomatoes-and-chilis. Top with shredded cheese and sour cream. Serve with chips.)

What I wanted to share this week is a seasoning tip I picked up from my friend Mary Grace: Hidden Valley Ranch Fiesta dip mix. I put a package of this into our Taco Soup yesterday and my family declared it the "best ever"! Who knew? I had always just used plain ol' taco seasoning before... but the spicy ranch dip mix added even more wonderful flavor!

Just thought you'd like to know!

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