Eye Test

I have had glasses for long distance since I was a teenager.  I hardly every wear them.  It's only a one eye problem and the other eye seems to balance out the problem.  My prescription for my glasses hasn't changed since I was a teenager as it's due to the shape of my eye.  I can still see, even at long distance, it's just a little better with the glasses on, for long distance.  I can't wear them for typing on the computer or reading as they are not designed for that so make that a big blurry.

Recently I have noticed it was harder to read things.  Close up things.  Well to be honest, I did not actually think I had a problem reading things.  I was getting irritated at companies for making the font on their labels smaller and making it hard to read.  I have a severe peanut and tree nut allergy so I don't eat anything without reading labels.  It is a habit I have adopted over my lifetime of living with a potentially fatal food allergy.   Checking labels has become second nature to me, I actually do it without realising it.  So the fact that so many companies are now putting their ingredients in a font so small it's impossible to read, was becoming a problem and something that was really annoying me.   One of the supplier of my business, I could no longer read the fax number on their order form, causing me to, every time I placed an order, curse them for making the font so small these days.  Why they didn't keep the font the size they did years ago baffled and annoyed me.

Now the above paragraph is really quite funny.  Here I have been getting upset with companies and my suppliers, truly believing they were changing things... but in reality I was the one changing things!  My eye sight, my short range vision, was getting so bad and I was blaming these poor companies when it was not them at all, IT WAS ME!  LOL.

So last week, on reading a label I thought.... mmmm, maybe I should get my eyes checked and off I went that afternoon.  To my horror, I do have a vision problem.  My long sight is the same, still the same after the last 25 years.  But my short sight, well that is a different story.  I have just been back to the optometrist to pick up my new glasses and am sitting her typing in absolute shock!  I just can not believe how clear this screen is!  I have a mac, so I always make the screen bigger, so I can see the font well and I have always thought that my computer screen and my ipad screen and my phone screens, were very very dirty making things not clear.  Yes I would clean them, but I would then blame the cleaner for blurring up the screen and leaving streaks!

Now I haven't been completely brave.  The optometrist did say I can get one pair that has both the long and short lenses in them, but I would have to wear them all the time.  I don't like the feeling on my nose all the time, that's why I don't wear my long vision glasses very often.   So for now, I have two pairs of glasses to take on and off, some to wear now for computer, reading and then another pair for watching tv and driving at night.  A bit ridiculous and I guess if I get sick of that I will end up with a pair for both problems.

But for now,  I have new glasses.  I can see the computer screen without it being "dirty" all the time, I can read the labels on the food packages clearly and I can also see the fax number on my suppliers order forms!  I didn't realise there was such a bright, crisp clear world out there!  Funny what we put up with and just live with because we don't know any better!

Instagram

I have finally found the world of instagram and I have to say that I'm becoming rather addicted!

If you are on instagram.... my name is ABusyMother if you would like to follow me :)

If you are on instagram, I would love to follow you so leave your name in the comment box and I will try and find you and follow back.

Visit To The Dentist

After cracking my tooth, my back tooth at the top, the very back tooth, on Christmas Day and living on smoothies and scrambled eggs for almost two weeks, I had a call from the Dentist.  I left an emergency message on their machine on Boxing day (day after Christmas) but I knew I wouldn't hear from them as it said they were closed until 3rd January.

I have been nursing my sore, broken, loose tooth for so long.  I really really dislike going to the dentist.  I don't know what it is.  I don't really have any horror dentist stories.  I have been seeing the same dentist all my life.  Well that's not entirely true, my old dentist retired about 20 years ago and my current dentist is the dentist that took over his practice.

At 7.30am yesterday morning I had a call from the dentist.  I had an appointment at 10.00am.  In I drove.  So nervous that I was going to lose the tooth.  I knew it was cracked badly, I heard the massive crack on Christmas day.  I then felt the wobble and if I ate something that was too hard, I would feel a crunch, like the tooth came out and then was pushed right back in to my gums, it was very sore.  Fortunately I had a root canal in that tooth years ago, so it wasn't sore from the nerve, it was the gum, it was throbbing and stinging, from the movement of the tooth.  That's why I was trying to stick to smoothies and soft things, like scrambled eggs, things I didn't have to chew.  I was so nervous the whole tooth would fall out or that the dentist would not be able to save the tooth.

So I arrived at the dentist.  The nurse on the front desk asked what happened.  I told her the story of the Christmas day crack, then being loose and the feeling that the tooth kept coming in and out.
I am called in...... I said to my dentist "I really mean no offense, but I really don't like coming to see you". LOL.  He laughed, he knew I didn't mean that I didn't like seeing him, personally.  He is a lovely man.

I sat down in the chair, the seat reclined and I was given the glasses to put on (to stop the glare of the light they shine into your mouth).  He looked in and said "Oh Boy, how on earth did you manage to keep that in there for that long?".  I said, I have been nursing that tooth like a baby.  He told me that I have cracked half of my tooth, cracked it right in half.  So he numbed me up with a needle.  Oh doesn't that needle hurt!  I have to say I think that's the worst part!  Before I knew it, he had pulled it out.  Not the whole tooth, just the half that had broken off.

The gum is so swollen, red and "angry" as the dentist said.  That they are leaving it for a week, then I am to go back, have an xray and see if they will just fill the hole, crown it or have to remove the rest of the tooth.  The dentist did say that he would like to try to save the tooth, but until they get the xray, he will not know what is the best option.

So I left the dentist.  With a numb mouth.  With that feeling that your lip is the size of a basketball!  You smile and your mouth doesn't move, you have a drink and it runs out, LOL.

After a couple of hours the anesthetic had worn off and I was in a lot of pain,  more pain than before.  It is still sore today, but has settled down a bit.  But I am still on soft food and smoothies, I'm worried about the hole at the back and it being so tender.  He said it will start to settle down in a couple of days.  In the mean time, I will just continue to feel sorry for myself.

Upside of all of this.  As I have been living on just smoothies and scrambled egg for almost two weeks now..... I have now lost a total of 2kg (4.4lbs) since Christmas Day!  Woo Hoo.    It's always good to try and find a positive in a negative situation and this is mine, LOL.

I'm Now Overweight

Why on earth would I be celebrating being overweight you may ask!

Well the reason I am celebrating being overweight is because until last week I was classed as "OBESE".  I really didn't feel obese, friends would say that was ridiculous, that I wasn't obese.  But according to my height and weight on the BMI calculator I was in the obese category.  As I have been losing weight over the last 4 months, I have been dropping to the lower end of the obese category.

Well I have not weighed myself for a couple of weeks.  I weighed myself when we came back from vacation to make sure I hadn't put any weight on after my months on the transformation challenge, and found I had lost 1kg (2.2lbs).

So I weighed myself this morning, to make sure I hadn't put on any weight over Christmas and I have lost another kilo (2.2lbs).  I'm thrilled!  Mind you, I have been living on protein shakes and scrambled eggs thanks to my sore, cracked and now loose tooth.

I just entered my new weight into the BMI calculator and there it is.... 29.5  I am now "OVERWEIGHT" and I'm no longer classed as obese!  Woo Hoo!  That was a small, silent goal I had, to get out of the obese category.  Now my next silent secret goal is to get in the "NORMAL" weight range (a secret that I have now shared with all of my blogging cyber friends, LOL).

BMI
Obese is over 30
Overweight is 25 to 29.9
Normal is 18.5 to 24.9

So for me to get into the "normal" range I need to get down to 65kgs (143.3 lbs).  That's 12kgs (54 lbs) to go.  That is my next goal.

I do want to lose more than that, but that is the next goal.  Just baby steps.  I have lost about that so far, in the last 4 months, so I figure by mid year, if I keep on my current path, I will get to my finished goal and in about another 4 months, I hope to be at my next goal, which is in the "normal" weight category.

I Need A Dentist

A few days before Christmas I was chewing something hard and heard a crack in my mouth.  I felt around, looked in the mirror and couldn't feel or see anything so just ignored it.  I wasn't having any pain so I figured it was not actually a tooth cracking.

So by Christmas day I was feeling a little pain in my top back tooth only when I ate, but from the gum, not the tooth (as I have had a root canal on that tooth years ago).  I also, the day before Christmas started having a sore jaw, like the bone in my jaw was sore.  Christmas night I was around at a friends, the kids were all out in the pool playing and the adults were having cocktails and nibbles inside.  I bit into something and again heard a big crack sound.  This did not sound good and they pain shooting in my gums was agony!  I knew that Monday and Tuesday were public holidays so I thought I just had to make it to Wednesday (today) to see the dentist.  From Christmas night I have not been able to eat solid food, I just can't chew at all on my left side as if I do it crunches and really hurts, so I have been living on smoothies (fruit, protein powder in the blender), scrambled eggs as they are soft.  I can chew a little on my right side but if I get it in the wrong spot, it crunches and hurts my left side, so I just have to be really careful and try to stick to liquids or melt in my mouth foods.

Yesterday I had a look in the mirror and realised that the crunching on my gums is the tooth, really lose and when I move it it pushes the tooth up into the gums.  I am SO upset, I am obviously going to lose the tooth!  It is only loose on one side, the inside, obviously the crunch I felt last week, cracked the tooth, then the 2nd big crunch on Christmas day has obviously just cracked the tooth almost out.

Now for the really bad part.  My dentist is closed until next Tuesday, the 3rd January.  So I have another 6 days to put up with this, eat soft foods and hopefully not have the tooth fall out in case the dentist can save the tooth.

I now have a sore throat, a really sore throat (my mother had a terrible flu last week that started with a sore throat) and now I'm worried I'm getting this horrendous flu!  My mums cough is SO bad, she has been so sick.

So great!  I've got a sore tooth & mouth, I can hardly eat, now I can hardly swallow.

I'm miserable and feeling sorry for myself! :(

Wishing Everybody

Great Christmas Cookbook

I just bought the best cookbook.

It's the 4 Ingredients Christmas cookbook.  It has so many yummy looking and easy to make dishes, that can actually be cooked all year round and every recipe has just 4 ingredients!

The book is available at bookstores and also stores like Myer, Target, Big W.  You can also buy it direct from 4 Ingredients and the more you buy the cheaper it is   Here's the link.  http://www.4ingredients.com.au/store/category/large-print-books/

Unlike the other 4 ingredients books, this one has pictures and it's a larger size.  There are so many yummy things in it.  

Some of the recipes are... 

Bacon & Avocado Bruschetta

Breakfast Trifle

Eggs with Smoked Salmon Fingers

Grilled Fruit and Ricotta Stack

Skewer Duo

Crispy Salmon Salad

Mango, Avocado and Prawn Salad

Apple Cambert & Potato Terrine (looks divine)

Maple & Pepper Glazed Turkey

Salmon Terrine

Wild Mushroom Beef Wellington

Vegetable Dishes

and many more nibbles, mains, side dishes.

Lots of Christmas Desserts, like Trifle, Plum Pudding, Christmas Cake, White Christmas Cheesecake and more

Lots of Gift edibles, like Lime & Macadamia Fudge, Reindeer Bark and many more

There are also a number of cocktails and other Christmas drinks.