Bombs Away And Miserable Carbless Existence

 The Son had Q and even Mando {whose looking for some Redemption with me}, look at his Car with him and they determined this last issue might have just been a series of unfortunate events, random, and nothing to do with what had been fixed before?  It seems something on the Freeway Home from James' House where they did the repairs, blew a hole thru his Transmission Pan!   So, it wasn't internal, but an external force that played into the current problem, which, was actually Good News.  So, this Morning we went to Auto Zone and bought a new Transmission Pan which they'll install Today.  He'd cancelled his Insurance since he wasn't driving, so on Payday will renew it if he can get it roadworthy again and not need a Ride anymore?  All Body Parts now Crossed I won't have to be an Unpaid Mom Uber then?  *LOL*

The Daughter has a Housecleaning Job in Chandler this Morning and Afternoon, The Man wants to tag along, which is okay.  We do plan to eat at my fav Mediterranean Restaurant since my choice there is Restrictive Diet Friendly.  I only cannot eat the Pita Bread, which is Fine... I'll abstain.  I'm already a Quarter of the way thru my Gallon of Water intake for the Day and it's not even 9:30 a.m. yet.   So, the hydration Goals are easy peasy for me, I like Water and I drink a lot of it anyway, just never set a Gallon a Day Goal before.   Turns out drinking a lot of Water also replaces me drinking Coke Zero since I'm not Thirsty when I'm so hydrated.  Have to Pee a lot, but, I'm Okay with more Bathroom breaks.  Especially if all this eventually helps me Feel better?

I will be Bitchy for the first couple Weeks, that's a Given when you make any drastic changes, within a Fortnite tho' you'll adapt and no longer have it Feeling like deprivation or hardship to you.   So, I just gotta White Knuckle it for Two Weeks and I should be Golden then for the other Four she is asking me to do this for to see if it makes any difference at all to my Numbers/Labs?   We've tried Dietary changes before and it never helped, so, I'm not even Guardedly Optimistic this will either, but, I'll try anything Once, Twice if I Like it.  *LOL*  If my Pancreas is taking a shit coz it's just not a good one, there's not a whole lot I can do to Change that Hand Dealt me.   Quality of Life is far more important to me than Quantity of it.

And so I Woke this Morning with the Uplifting {I'm being facetious} News that Draft Dodger Donnie has Bombed the Shit out of Iran without Congressional Approval and started a War with them, Splendid!  Of coarse his Cabal of Vulgarians claim we're not starting a War with "All" of Iran... WTF, you can't Bomb the Shit out of any Country, dropping Dozens of New 30,000 Bombs on them that have never been used in a War before, and not start a War with ALL of that Country, what Moron came up with that Spin and Moronic Logic of it?!   So, I beg to differ, what Iranian Nationals WON'T think the United States has declared War on them, pray tell?  Let us assume if they had dropped Dozens of Big Bombs on some of our Soil, what part of America would think we aren't then at War with that Country?  Exactly.  {Above is one of my Dad's Older Brothers... and my Dad... when they were Younger Military Recruits.}

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I have always said this Psychopath is spoiling for a Fight, any Fight, even with his own People, let alone Foreign Actors.  He enjoys provoking violence and unrest, sowing chaos and profiting off it by lining his own Pockets with the Spoils.   There is likely some angle to this which makes him financially gaining from it, coz he's just that Transactional about everything, with no regard for any Human Life or suffering caused by his Actions and lack of basic Humanity or Compassion.  He has none, that's part and parcel of being a Psychopath, and one with no Guard Rails or Limits and nobody stopping him, makes him the most Dangerous of Humans on Earth and exceedingly unpredictable.  {Above is that same Uncle's Three Children, who I kept in touch with over the Years.  My Male Cousin in that Pix with his Sisters, and Pix Below that when he was 70 in full Pow Wow Regalia, Passed away earlier this Year.}

The mockery of saying Iran now has to be Diplomatic and come to the Table for some Diplomacy would be a Joke if the Regime here weren't so Serious.  Diplomacy isn't possible when you freely admit you Lied to and Tricked another Nation, they'll never Trust you now, nor should they, your Word is meaningless and your Actions spoke Volumes of your True Intentions all along.   Trust and Believe it will be Retaliation from them you'll only get now, and heated Extremist driven Hatred, in the form of Terrorism against us... wait and see, it's coming now, for SURE.  {Above and Below is me with one of my Besties from High School... they called us Sparrow and Stork, coz I was so little and only 5'2" and Debbie was also thin but 6'3".}   Pix Below that is my High School Mug Shot ID Pix... I was wearing my Love Beads and a Dashiki.  *LOL*

 And every Nation around them knows this too and is preparing for the fallout of what he's done, the E.U. is holding an Emergency Meeting to Scale Up Defense, all the Arabic Countries, the same.  The Shifting Stance of the U.S. under this Leadership has nobody feeling we're Allies or can be Trusted, not even to do the Right thing anymore.   Europe is telling their Citizens to store up at least 72 Hours of Emergency Supplies, I strong suggest we do the same here in America, just sayin'.   We've Bought the Ticket so now we're on for the whole fucking Wild Ride this deranged Lunatic is taking us all on.   Fun Times.

Other than all that, everything is Swell.  *Bwahahahaha*   I'm Happy to be heading to the Far East Valley this Morning coz I don't get over that way very often and they have places I like to go, so, Blog Fodder Imagery will be forthcoming.  In the meantime I got all Dolled Up, Accessorized, putting on Real Clothes and everything.   So, I'm not slumming around in an obvious Funk, I've got the whole Facade going on.  *Bwahahahaha*   I attempted a couple of Faceless Selfies, which, I suck at taking, Forgive me, it's the best I could do to show off my Accessories and Batik Ensemble I'm wearing.   My Neck is in need of a Plastic Surgeon at this juncture, I look like a Shar Pei Dog there, but, a complete overhaul to make this Rose look like it's not Fading Fast would cost a Fortune, so, forget about it.  *LMAO*

Trying not to get my Shar Pei Neck in Frame proved to be even harder, but made for a hilarious Frame of out of focus Mister T worthy array of Turquoise Necklaces and me Off Center, but you get the gist of it.  I'm TRYING to climb out of a Deep Funk, actually get out of Bed and Dressed each day, and look halfway presentable and "Normal" in Public.  You know, so that nobody calls Adult Protective Services, or the Police, thinking I'm a Danger to Self and/or Others?!  *Bwahahaha and Winks*   I'm not making any Promises, but, I Attempt to Pass for Normal, and a Harmless, Sweet Little Old Lady, Okay?  I'm doing my Best, sometimes I even Succeed... or so The Family tell me, so that I'll stay on the Right Trajectory and not go all Dark Dawn and do a deep dive down into The Abyss.  *Winks*

One of our Great Granddaughter's just turned One and had her 1st Birthday Party.  She looked a little overwhelmed.  *LOL*  But it was a Cute Bee Themed Party and her Cousins were there, it's great that they live so close to grow up together.   It seems that the Granddaughter's Ex did show up for his Daughter's Party, tho' we haven't heard he's doing much in the way of providing anything Positive Post-Divorce.   I felt some kind of way about him before they Married and haven't changed my Mind or Opinion about him.  Don't need to meet someone to sense Loser and Player, his Track Record spoke volumes for itself.   Anyway, she's keeping it together and holding it down admirably as a Single Parent and it's beneficial for the Kiddos to have the responsible and most supportive Parent around primarily anyway.

I was glad to see the Party went so well, I know the Granddaughter is juggling a LOT and is a great Mom.   Her Older Sister is too, the difference being she Married a Childhood Sweetheart who is also a great Dad, Husband and SIL, and that makes all the difference when Raising a Family.  I remember all the Birthday Parties we Hosted for Two Generations of Raising Kiddos, it's a lot of Work and Expense to pull off, but Creates some Memorable Moments, no matter how humble or elaborate, the Kiddos always enjoy themselves and the being of the Center of Attention on their Special Day.   I remember The Young Prince, being our legitimate Genius Child, would make his Guest List and only wanna Invite his Uncle, Aunts and Dad's Friends, plus any of our Friends, instead of his own.

 

Okay, so One Year, when he was about 7, and had kept this Practice every Birthday since he was a Toddler, of not having Kids he knew and were his Friends or Classmates or Day Care Friends, on his Birthday Party Guest List, I hadda ask.   His response floored me and told me exactly how Intellectual, far beyond his Years, he's always been.  "Becoz my Friends don't have Jobs..."   *Bwahahahahaha*   He looked at me as tho' I was The Clueless Child by not figuring this tactic out and hadda ask!   Since, clearly all the Family Adult's and their Friends had Jobs/Careers and would spend a Fortune on him for his Birthday, and on the Video Games etcetera at the Venues we'd Host them at!!!   And, most served Alcohol, so he knew once the Drinkers got a bit tipsy, they'd be much more Free with their Money and he milked the Hell outta that, like Casinos do when they Liquor Up the Gamblers!  *LMAOROTF*

 

Yeah, I have Raised some little Hustlers, and Princess T's Hustle was a bit different than her Brother's was, since she does not like Peopling and never has.   So, she would ask if she could just have mebbe ONE Guest and I spend the Money I wouldda on a bigger Party, on just her and this Friend?   Hey, you didn't have to threaten me with a good time, so it was a Done Deal almost every Birthday she requested this, which was most of them!  *LOL*   And usually they'd have a Sleepover too, and the Two Gals would be indulged more than Hosting a bunch of Kids.   And the Special Friend's Family always bought a really nice Special Gift for her, knowing it was just the Two of them and I'd keep their Kiddos for the Night and most of the next Day.  *Winks*   Win-Win.   And by the time you're Raising Grandkids, Trust and Believe that attending or Hosting Children's Parties is not something you'd rather be doing.  *Smiles* 

But, when you're a Young Parent, well, its different and Yes, we threw the bigger Kid's Parties, sure.   Some of them were over-the-top and usually included more of our Friends and their Children, that our Kiddos grew up with.   I wasn't one to Invite a lot of Families I didn't know just coz their Kid was in my Kid's Class.  Becoz usually that meant some Strangers dumping their Kid or Kids off and not staying and sometimes not picking them up on time either, forget about it.  *LOL*   I remember one Mom we had to literally hunt down when she didn't show up to pick up her Daughter, she'd gone out of Town!!!   Who fucking does that?!  I told her if she didn't get her Ass back STAT, I was calling CPS to come get her Child and say she'd abandoned said Kid.   Even tho' our Kids were still Friends, no further Invites ever happened with that Kid's flaky and irresponsible Parent.   And their Friendship was relegated to playtime on the School Playground, not at our House!

You're probably wondering how our Meal Out went while we waited for The Daughter to finish her Housecleaning Job?   Excellent, in fact, the Owner, Anthony, comped us a Meal for our Daughter to bring to her when she got off Work, Bless his Heart, a Lovely unexpected generous Surprise!   We'd talked with him while we enjoyed our Meal and complimented he and his Staff on what excellent Mediterranean Fare they offer.  He knew he'd seen us there before and we explained how far West we live, where they don't have any location, but we always come now when our Daughter has a Job in the East Valley.  So, she got a lovely Chicken Gyro for her Lunch when she got finished with her Job.  The Man orders from the Children's Menu since Above is the very ample Children's Portion.  They have many Selections for Children to choose from and don't mind Seniors ordering off that Menu, no restrictions.

 

This is the Lamb Kabob selection with Lemon Greek Potatoes, Greek Salad and Tzatziki with fresh Pita Triangles.   I always have the Mezza Plate which has Spanakopita, Greek Salad, Dolmades, Falafel, Tzatziki, Hummus and Pita Triangles.  Anything I shouldn't have I saved for The Daughter, not realizing she'd have a whole Comped Meal compliments of the Owner before we left.    Sure, the Filo Pastry of the Spanakopita is probably a Carb, but it's light and not thick, and the Spinach Pie filling is on my restrictive new Diet.   Same with their Dolmades, which are heavy on the Protein Ground Lamb filling and very light on the amount of Rice with the filling, wrapped tightly in delicious Grape Leaves.   The Falafel is a Carb, but there were just the Two and Yes, I ate them.   Chickpeas of the Hummus and Falafel rate about 2.1 Grams, I felt was permissible?  *Imagines Doc Clutches Pearls ~ LOL*   

 

Listen, I'm really, really trying to behave and do this, I'm Googling Carb content of every fucking food on the Planet now, it's Insane that almost everything does have Carb content my Friends, so, whaddya gonna do?  I think a Low Carb Diet is completely possible, but a No-Carb Diet, not so much.   Google claims it's possible, but, that it's not the most Convenient nor necessarily the Healthiest approach for most people, I thought as much.   While it's possible to Survive without Dietary Carbs, it requires a significant shift in how the Body gets it's Energy and I'm already feeling that Energy Drain just a couple Days in.   So, I'm not Game for this long term at all and plan to discuss it with my Doc, coz it's not sustainable and not Healthy, so, Why???   Why would I risk it, even as experimental to see what it does for The Numbers, if it's not sustainable???  Or Healthy???

Ergo, I'm going very Light on my Carb intake, but I am not really that Interested in attempting NO Carbs even if I could manage it.  Could be more detrimental to my overall Health and Energy Levels, which already are both depleted anyway, so don't need to worsen doing something extreme that probably won't be effective.   The Benefits of a Low Carb Diet over time aren't very large.   The Body uses Carbs as it's main Energy Source.   I'm already experiencing the Unpleasant Negatives of a very Low Carb or No Carb Diet, such as Headaches, Fatigue and Weakness.   It could cause digestive issues and Bad Breath... so, I'm weighing the Negs carefully since I don't feel so good doing this actually and may call the Doc on Monday when I set up my Six Week Follow-Up to complain about my concerns for this Regimen.   I don't need to complicate things.

  

So, anyway, other than the immediate Neg Side Effects from trying to eliminate Carbs, everything is Swell.  *Bwahahahaha*   Stay Tuned.  *Winks*   Good Food Porn of my one Meal out since going on this shit Diet I HATE.  *LOL*   But, drinking my Gallon of Water is proving to be so easy and eliminates Hunger, so, since I HATE the Diet, I don't mind eating less of it.  *Smiles*   I did eat some Celery Sticks with Peanut Butter and some Carrot Sticks as a late Snack instead of a Dinner.  I have no hunger for a Dinner, and especially not an appetite for a Carbless one.

I haven't yet Downloaded the Pixs I took with my Old School Camera Today for Blog Fodder, my Camera Battery went Low so I had to recharge it once we got back Home and it's still on the Charger.   But, we did visit "Ivy & Sage" again, Love that Store, did Buy a couple of Jams.  The Cashier told me her Sister makes the Prickly Pear Jelly I bought and owns a Mini Farm too.   The other Jam was one I wanted to Buy last time I was there, didn't, and knew when I went back I'd get some of it to try.  It's "Lime N Da Coconut" Flavor by Pepperheads.  I am a total Jam and Jelly Geek and tho' I eat Jams and Jellies sparingly, they are nice to have a dab of with a Breakfast or Lunch for additional Flavor.   I learned to use a dab on a Poached Egg Breakfast from having it done at a fav Gourmet Restaurant on their Bennies.    And, they often use some Peppery Jams/Jellies on Gourmet Bacon too.

I like trying new Flavor Profiles too and the number of Jam and Jelly Flavors of those products is pretty vast and interesting combos and ingredients.   The Man's Family used to Can their own Jams and Jellies that his Mom, Sisters and Sisters-In-Laws would get together and make after harvesting Fruits and finding different ways to preserve them to use thruout the Year.   I've never tried it myself, but follow some Blogs where the Bloggers do Can their own Foods.   I admire those folks who are Domestic Goddesses and Culinary Jedis, it never was my strength to be either.   So, I didn't inherit those traits from either of my Parents, Mom being a Domestic Goddess and Dad being a Culinary Jedi.  My Younger Brother however is a Culinary Jedi and loves to Cook and is very good at it.   The Man too was an excellent Cook before he had the Traumatic Brain Injury.  Now he can't be Unsupervised in a Kitchen setting.

He and I did split some Baklava Ice-Cream, which, yeah, a Forbidden Dairy for my new shitty Diet, but, is probably the only Ice-Cream I'll have for the next Six Weeks.   It's a flavor I can't get anywhere else and I just wasn't passing up getting some while we were way over there.  Bad Dawn.  *LOL*   I'd had the No Carb Headache for Two straight Days and it wasn't subsiding until I ate something that did have some Carbs in it, and I moderated how much I ate, and it was worth it to get rid of that Killer Headache.  It's akin to a Migraine and renders you almost unable to Function, so I had been miserable with it and only got some Relief if I could manage to Sleep.  But, the Pain even kept me up.   I'm not thrilled with having these No Carb Diet Side Effects already and didn't expect to.  The lack of Energy, Fatigue and Weakness is pretty bad too.  Of coarse I Dr. Googled it to see if I should be concerned?  And, I am enuf to call my Doc in the Morning and discuss it.

My Brother, the Retired Hollywood Photographer, is Covering the Renaissance Festival in Cali, he got in front of the Lens a couple times and sent them to me.   Since he's Press he knows everyone there that are the Participants.   Sometimes he dresses in Period Costume too, but this time I see he didn't.    My Friend Kendra {Below, the Pretty Blonde 3rd from the Left in the Pix} is also at an Event.   I don't know the other Three Women, tho' I've heard of some of them.   It seemed to be some kind of White Party, since everyone is wearing White present, even in the background.   Kendra is an ahhhmazing Designer and one of the few people I'd Trust to Decorate my Home FOR me if I wanted someone else to do it.   Her Aesthetic is and has always been one of my Favorites of all my Designer Friends.

Kendra Shared the Below Meme with me knowing I'd Luv it!  *LOL*   She and I are probably the most Outspoken Militants of our group of Friends.  You don't have to Ask how we REALLY Feel.  *Winks*

And the Quote Below I found for myself to Share:

In case you're not familiar with Michael Franti, he's an American Singer, Songwriter and Musician.  {Below}

Michael was Adopted by White Finnish American Parents, his Bio Mom was of Irish, Belgian and German Ancestry, his Bio Dad was of African American and Native American Ancestry.   He grew up in a multi ethnic Household with other Adoptive Siblings.   He lives in Bali, Indonesia with his Family.   They live at the Soulshine Bali Hotel which they built together with Soulshine Bali.  {See Below Pixs}

That looks like an Ideal Vacay spot for my own Bucket List.   And what a Beautiful Slice of Paradise to Raise your Family and make your Art Form of Music.   The Room prices there per Night are surprisingly affordable, around $159 a Night, with complimentary Breakfast, for a Luxury Vacation in a gorgeous Tropical setting and the Musician Owns the Resort.   Reviews are quite Positive and give it Five Stars overall saying it's truly Magical and often Sharing their Pixs on their Ratings.   That bottom Pix, for example, was taken by a Guest and Shared on their Review and Five out of Five Star Rating of their Experience.   I can picture myself Vacationing there, Yes I can.  *Winks*

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Enduring Carbless Misery...  Dawn... The Bohemian