I've had several comments about Monday's blog. Two of them lead me to write this clarification. One wrote, "I get very sick when I eat most avoids. I get a migraine which means that someone else must help me take care of my son…I'd rather stick to my health than to eat to appease someone." Another wrote, "Last night at dinner with friends I had apple, cheese and vinegar in my salad, a small oatmeal chocolate chip cookie, and a clementine…I had low level heartburn most of the night."

I do NOT think you should eat something that will make you sick just to please someone else. I break out in hives very rapidly if I eat chocolate. I do not eat chocolate at all, no matter what the occasion. If some bakes a chocolate cake in my honor, I say "no thank you." The last time I ate chocolate (1974) I got frighteningly close to a trip to the emergency room. I will not take that chance. My son gets migraines if he eats MSG. I have been known to dig through the trash at someone's house to read the ingredient label. Good manners do not doom him to 24 hours of pain and nausea.

Most healthy people can eat a few avoids without noticeable side effects. My point was that we value relationships and not use rigid rules to hurt someone who is trying to be gracious.

Let me paint you a word picture. Some of this has really happened to me, some is fantasy.

I am at a friend's house and she says, "I thought we'd have sandwiches for lunch."

I say, "I'm Type O and I don't eat wheat."

Friend: Oh, I have some rye bread.

Me: Commercial rye bread is mostly wheat, so I can't eat it.

Friend: What do you usually eat for lunch?

Me: Usually meat and vegetables

Friend: Oh, I have some potatoes; I'll pop one in the microwave.

Me: Well, potatoes are one of the vegetables I don't eat.

Friend: OK, I'll open a can of ranch beans, every one else will enjoy them too.

Me: If they are black beans, that's good, but I don't eat pinto beans.

Friend: You eat fruit don't you, I'll slice some oranges.

Me: I eat most fruits, but have you read what oranges do to you intestinal tract? Yuk.

Friend: I'll just cut up some extra lettuce and you can have a salad. Look in the refrigerator for some dressing, I have 3-4 kinds.

Me: Did you know that iceburg lettuce has no nutritional value at all, and that bottled salad dressing contains artificial ingredients? Do you have any olive oil? Extra virgin cold pressed would be best.

Friend: What kind of meat do you want? I have ham and smoked turkey.

Me: Ham is avoid for all blood types, and smoked turkey contains nitrites.

At some point in this imaginary conversation, I would lose a friend. You will have to decide for yourself. What avoids do you really have to avoid, or you will pay the consequences tomorrow? Politely say no to those avoids.

However, if you know that you can eat an avoid without noticing much difference, why offend someone? In particular, don't say no to an avoid at a friend's house, and later sneak the same avoid when you are alone.

That brings us back again to Romans: "For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,…Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food."

I keep coming back in my mind to Sante J's blog about "Think like a B". I totally agree. The Blood Type Diet became easy and natural when I stopped looking for substitutions and grieving for avoids and ate like an O. Once I was willing to give it up, I found it remarkably easy to "think like an O." When I plan meal, I decide on the meat, then I decide on 2-3 vegetables that would go with it. The little grain I eat is an afternoon snack, not part of a meal. Truly, I don't miss it.

Here is my problem. I am cooking for two As, and I don't know how to "think like an A." Back when Taswolf was blogging, he helped me get inside my husband's Type A head. Now I flounder. Does a Type A decide on a legume, and plan a meal around it? When I was trying to be a vegetarian, I was told to find complementary proteins and build meals around them. Is that how an A thinks? My husband and daughter seem to be different types of As. She can make an entire meal off of salad. He would rather have bread or pasta.

How did we come to have so many culturally acceptable foods that aren't good for any Type? Sandwiches, pizza, lasagna…if our ancestors were thinking like their Type, how did things get so mixed up? This question I think I can answer. Almost every couple we know is a mixed blood Type marriage - usually one A and one O. They prepare traditional foods because they are trying to get along and fix food that they both like.

I can picture it in my mind. An ancient type O wife is happily eating a chunk of meat and offers some to her Type A husband. He puts a little meat between two pieces of bread. He is not completely happy, but he's happier than he was with just the meat. She doesn't see why he spoiled his meat with bread, but it does keep her hands cleaner, and it is easier if they are eating the same thing. So they both eat what is not ideal for either - sandwiches.

Or Type A wife prepares a nice pasta or rice bowl with a sauce. Type O husband comes in looks at the dish and knows it won't work for him. He suggests adding meat. She doesn't really want to ruin her lovely dish with nasty meat, but if it makes him happy, ok. So they both eat casseroles. Add cheese to an A/0 casserole, and the Bs have a little something to look forward to.

To truly think like your type, you will first have to see most popular foods as compromises that didn't come into being because they built health, but because they made life easier. Not because they really satisfied anyone, but because they kept everyone from being completely unsatisfied.

I'm pretty good at thinking like an O. If my husband is going to have better health, and my daughter is going to learn to be a good cook, I'm going to have to figure out how to think like an A as well.

Last week I read a chapter in Romans that took on new meaning for me in light of the Blood Type Diet. I know that when Paul wrote this letter, blood types hadn't been discovered. He didn't know about ABO types or transfusions, much less eating right for your type, so clearly he was not directly dealing with the diet. However, there are principles here about food and getting long with people that relate to the BTD.

"One man's faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him." Romans 14:2 When I read that I get so many mental pictures. I think about Rachel's vegetarian friends who viciously turned on her when she began to eat meat. I think of my daughter's classmates who think she is a kook because she does not eat hamburgers or bacon.

Though Paul doesn't know about Blood Types, he anticipates that different people will eat different things, and warns against judging people who don't eat the same way.

A little later in the same chapter Paul writes, "I am fully convinced that no food is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean. If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ died."

There are very few natural foods that are avoid for everyone. Certain highly processed foods and chemical substitutes for food are good for nothing and no one. But food as God created it, is good. Dairy may not be good for a Type O, but it is beneficial for Bs. The beef that is so beneficial for me, is bad for Type As. It's not that the food is good or bad, but whether it is good or bad for my Type. How did Paul anticipate that so many hundreds of years before science proved it?

Yet today, people are still doing the same things that they did in Bible times. Bookstore shelves are full of books written by people who found that one food was really, really good or really, really bad for them. They create a whole program based on what worked for them and condemn anyone who dares to disagree.

My favorite part of the chapter is verses 17 -19: "For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,…Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food.

I want to encourage people not tear them down. If I can share information about the Blood Type Diet and help someone have better health that is great! If I tell someone about the BTD and they reject the information, I let it go.

If I am a guest in someone's home, I don't overindulge in avoids, but neither do I ask them to change their menu just for me. When someone prepares a special meal, to reject their food (even if it is avoid) is to reject them. My relationship with people is more important than what I eat.

I did not blog much about exercise over the holidays, but that does not mean I neglected it. When I first read that Type Os thrive on "intense physical exercise" it explained so many things about me. (I've blogged about that adventure on previous occasions.) Weight control, muscle tone, cardio vascular health - those are all good reasons to exercise, but I exercise because it makes me feel better. I have more energy and less stress; more enthusiasm and fewer moods when I exercise like a Type O.

There were two weeks right at the end of the semester that were so busy I just ran out of time. However once school was out, I got in 30 - 40 minutes of Type O exercise 6 days a week. Especially when we were traveling, I made sure I ran or climbed stairs or walked briskly. I felt like exercise was especially important because my ratio of beneficials, neutrals, and avoids was not as ideal as it is at home.

Today I swam at the local high school pool. The pool is reserved for students early in the morning and after school. But in the middle of the day anyone can swim for as long as they want to for $3.00. For those committed to exercise (as we Type Os ought to be) they have a $40 card that is good for 20 swims.

I don't have to count repetitions when I swim, like I do when I work with weights. It's just all-out back and forth for 30 - 40 minutes. So it is a good time to think. I make lots of lessons plans and solve lots of problems as I swim back and forth.

Today there was a bonus. My favorite health food market is between my house and the pool. I stopped to pick up a few favorites to send with my son when he goes back to college and saw a sign that all supplements were 25% off. This is good! I stocked up on calcium, magnesium, bladderwrack, soy protein, egg white protein, brewer's yeast, and other items we use frequently.

I've been catching up on my mail this evening. Someone wrote this to me: I read in your blog that the BTD helped with your heartburn. I am battling with digestive problems and heartburn. The thing that is difficult for me now is the healing of the tissue in my esophagus after the acid has leaked in. What do you do for immediate relief and healing?

This was my answer:

I've been faithful to the BTD for 2 ½ years now, and I rarely have stomach symptoms any more. When I do, I have four remedies.

1. Peppermint. Sometimes I brew peppermint tea. Sometimes I eat a piece of peppermint candy.

2. Ginger. I juice ginger root (available in any grocery store). If the discomfort is mild, I mix a teaspoon of ginger juice in water and drink it like tea. I find it very refreshing. If the discomfort is more severe, I take a teaspoon of ginger juice straight. It is hot, and makes me gasp, but it heals the inflammation.

3. Licorice I buy DGL licorice at the health food store and take the chewable tablets with me when I travel. It is great for when I eat unexpected wheat.

4. Olive oil. If I need quick relief I take a teaspoon of olive oil. It seems to coat the inflammation and make the pain go away until I can get my diet back where it ought to be.

My husband and I are an A/O couple. He is Type A and I am Type O. Interestingly our New Year's Eve guests are also A/O couples. When we talk about the Blood Type Diet, each of them acknowledges that it has worked great for me. They have no other explanation for how I got rid of my indigestion without medication. They can see for themselves that I wear clothes that are two sizes smaller, and that I have more energy. But they have issues that keep them from trying the BTD for themselves.

One A has had a serious wheat allergy for more than 20 years. The smallest amount of wheat gives her both physical and emotional symptoms. Even eating food that has touched wheat can cause her to react. By trial and error she came up with a way of eating that prevents the allergic reaction. Unfortunately rather than beneficial Type A foods like legumes, she turned to meat and candy. She is reluctant to try a new way of eating, when what she is eating now keeps the allergy away.

One O was trained as a scientist. She has struggles with her weight and has scientifically investigated all of the popular weight loss diets. She believes the answer is a low fat diet. She even tried to keep her children on low fat diets when they were little. She does not believe I can possibly be healthy when I eat so much meat and oil.

The A husband is an MD. He enjoys good tasting food. He is content in the knowledge that if he develops health problems, he can take medication. The idea of taking a drug every day for the rest of his life is not as repugnant to him as it is to me.

The O husband is married to the A with the wheat allergy. This has benefited him because they don't keep wheat in their house. He loves meat and eats a lot of it. He does not like vegetables, and teases me for eating so many of them

Please understand, I'm not making fun of my friends. When I ask myself honestly if I would have radically changed to the Blood Type Diet if I hadn't had chronic indigestion I have to say, "No, I wouldn't have." It takes some kind of unresolved problem to motivate people to change.

I have another Type A friend who is frustrated by a health issue. She said to me last week, "I have tried everything! I smiled and said, "Those were my exact words the day before I went on the Blood Type Diet."

Both our kids had plans for New Year's Eve. Our son was going to a fireworks display with friends from high school. Our daughter was spending the night with a friend from church. Rather spontaneously, my husband and I decided to have a small party. We invited three couples who have been friends for many years, and two of them could come.

This was going to be a very informal party, so I decided to serve finger food. One of our friends was bringing their 17-year-old son who was recently diagnosed as a diabetic. His mom was concerned that he not be tempted with too much starch and sugar. I assured her that I didn't want to eat starch or sugar myself, but for different reasons.

I served shrimp and deviled eggs. I had a big vegetable tray. I also fixed mini eggrolls and mini pizzas for my husband. One of our friends brought a tray of chicken wings and homemade salsa with chips. The other brought two desserts. I served both apple cider and soda. There were lots of choices - healthy and unhealthy.

Chicken wings have become a popular appetizer and party food, but I had never eaten them. These were not breaded, and there were no other obvious avoids, so I tried them. The seasoning was delicious, but they were more skin than meat. My opinion - wings have too much of the wrong kind of fat and not enough valuable nutrients.

I had thought that we would watch football and play cards, but there was too much to talk about. We never turned on the TV or got out the cards. In fact we lost track of time, and didn't even notice when the clock passed midnight.

We talked briefly about the Blood Type Diet. More about that tomorrow. But tonight, I wish each of you a blessed 2006.

When I woke up I thought I knew what I was going to blog about. However I spent all morning working on advertising invoices for the yearbook. Then the kids and I had lunch and went to see "The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe." When we got home, it was time to fix dinner, and I still hadn't blogged.

I had the radio on while I was cooking (chicken legs, Cajun rice, broccoli, parsnips, stuffed celery and grapefruit). I was not paying close attention when suddenly I heard Michael Savage say, "He told me that I wasn't likely to have a heart attack because I was Type O and less like likely to…."My ears perked up - was a national talk show host really mentioning the Blood Type Diet?

He went on about a doctor, who he described as brilliant, who had explained it to him. He never called it the Blood Type Diet, but it was clear that was what he was talking about. Then he was off on another topic. If you listen to his show, you know that it is fast paced and he never stays on one issue for long.

I don't often hear the BTD seriously discussed in the national media. I was glad to hear this very positive reference today. Maybe it will get someone to thinking and asking questions.

When we got home this afternoon the report from my blood test was waiting.

I've been reading about secretors and non-secretors and trying to guess which I would be.

I do not have the health problems commonly associated with non-secretors. I've had one yeast infection and two urinary tract infections in my entire life, and those responded quickly to treatment. I had a skin based autoimmune problem that reoccurred, but it responded immediately to treatment each time. I have never had a serious problem with my weight.

One the other hand, when I look at the portion charts I eat like a non-secretor. Not just in a few areas. I eat non-secretor portions of meats, nuts, grains, and oils. The only category where I eat like a secretor is fruit.

I looked at foods I would miss. If I were a secretor I would miss avocados and pinto beans. If I were a non-secretor I would miss apricots, apples, and feta cheese. Personally I wouldn't miss soy, but it would make cooking with two As a bit more difficult. I eat tons of carrots, which are beneficial for non-secretors but neutral for secretors. I eat very little grain*, which also made me think of myself as a non-secretor.

Someone on the Forum found out she was a non-secretor and was surprised because, like me, she didn't have urinary and yeast problems. However, she said she had always had a lot of mucus. So have I; less so since I've been on the BTD, but I have more post nasal drip than most people I know.

Then last week I read the post by Peppermint Twist that she thought non-secretors liked sour things more than secretors. I like salty a lot, and I like sweet. I don't care for bitter, and I can do without sour. My husband loves lemon juice in his water, but I prefer lemon oil. I like the lemon aroma, but can do without the tang.

So I opened the envelope today with really mixed messages. I read A- B+. I'm a secretor.

* No longer grain free. click here for more info

Christmas Eve dinner was at my husband's sister's house. She broke tradition and served Mexican food buffet style. It was great for me and my daughter. She chose fajita chicken strips and made soft tacos. I made a beef taco salad. It was easy to skip pork tamales and other avoids.

Christmas dinner was at my parent's house. They served steak. It was delicious and ideal for me and my son. My daughter ate salad and peanut butter. My parents are wonderful and let her do as she pleased.

The difficult thing about Christmas is all of the sweets. We have visited three different houses and everywhere there are cookies, pies, candy, and snacks. I have successfully avoided most of the wheat, but have eaten too much sugar. I enjoy sugar while I am eating it, but it doesn't have the addictive pull that wheat does. When I eat wheat all I can think of is "I want more and I want it now!" Sugar is fun, but back at my house I don't crave it.

I had fruit cake cookies. There was probably a little wheat holding them together, but they were mostly nuts and dried fruit. I had a mix of popcorn and pecans held together by a caramel glaze. Corn is avoid, but it doesn't bother me as much as wheat. The pecan pie was delicious, and I left a lot of the crust on my plate. I've also had divinity and pralines, again both high sugar but no wheat.

My husband has not tried to eat for Type A at all. If it tastes good, he has eaten it. That's OK. When I send him back to work, I will pack lentil soup and rye crackers.

I'll share one final Christmas card: "Who would have thought of placing a king in a manger, or having wise men follow a star to a baby's side? This Christmas let us celebrate a God who still delivers gifts in the most perfect and unique ways."

One of our nephews took the family out to eat tonight. Being a single young man who does not like to shop, this is his Christmas gift to his grandmother, aunts, uncles and cousins. He selected an upscale Italian restaurant and ordered for all of us.

They brought three appetizers: bread with olive oil, pizza squares and stuffed mushrooms. I took one mushroom and removed the breading. Underneath was a layer of spinach, which was very tasty with the mushroom. Next came two salads. I ate a lot of salad, not knowing what else he had ordered.

I shouldn't have worried. We had spaghetti with marinara sauce, fettuccini Alfredo with broccoli, chicken Parmesan, and a grilled chicken with spinach. I passed on the spaghetti and picked several stems of broccoli out of the fettuccini. Both chicken dishes were excellent, especially the one served with spinach. At the end were two desserts, one chocolate and one apple. I chose apple.

By any culinary standards it was an excellent meal. By BTD standards, I did remarkably well. I'm not sure what kind of mushroom I ate, it might have been neutral or it might have been avoid. There was a little breading on the chicken Parmesan, and a little Alfredo sauce on the broccoli. There was wheat in the apple dessert, but I didn't eat enough to cause concern.

From one of my favorite Christmas cards: The best present of all is the presence of Jesus.

(update added in mid-February) I regret to say I am still dealing with the same shoulder injury. Clearly the things I was doing in December did not solve the problem. Something is missing. When I identify it, I will blog about it.

This has been a difficult season for shoulders. I strained my right latissimus dorsi last August moving a box a yearbooks. It healed in about 3 weeks, but before I got the strength back in the muscles I wound up in the hospital following a colonoscopy. That kept me from exercising for another three weeks. When I finally felt good again, I was in way to much of a hurry to get back to normal. One night I picked up two 5-pound weights and started doing repetitions of an exercise that would have been easy a few months earlier. I felt something pop in my right shoulder.

It wasn't my lat this time; it was probably my deltoid. I waited patiently for it to heal. It got better, but then seemed to plateau. It felt fine most of the time. But if I reached behind me I felt a sharp pain. I was scared to exercise.

About that time Victoria started a thread on her torn rotator cuff. I have found the information in that thread to be extremely helpful.

First I started stretching and exercising the muscle again. There seemed to be a theme from those contributing to the thread that after a period of healing, therapists started their patients on exercises. I had a sheet of shoulder exercises in my file from a long ago car accident. As I gently worked through them the first time, I could do all the exercises except one. I had no strength to move my shoulder in that one way, and it hurt - a lot!

However, knowing what I could and couldn't do, gave me confidence to start exercising the surrounding muscles. I could swim without pain, though my arms get tired faster than they did last summer. Yesterday I swam ¾ mile with my fins so my legs got the brunt of the workout. I can also do pushups without hurting.

Second, I started looking for pressure points. I found two that are related to the injured muscle. If I move it in the wrong way and get a sharp pain, I massage those two pressure points. It gives immediate relief from the pain, and seems to have sped up healing.

I also noticed that my muscles seemed tight in general. I increased my magnesium to the point that it upset my stomach, then backed off a bit. The increased magnesium has noticeably relaxed the injured muscle.

When I started the Blood Type Diet nearly 3 years ago, I had been dealing with an ongoing joint problem in my shoulder. After about three months on the BTD, I realized I had no more joint pain. Though I feel sure this is a muscle strain, I asked myself if there was anything I did back then that I had stopped. Yes, I was taking bladderwrack and DGL Licorice regularly for my stomach. Neither of those supplements are commonly used for muscle/skeletal problems, but I started taking them again.

Since I started doing those four things, I have seen a major improvement. I am sleeping easier at night. The one shoulder exercise that I could not do, I can now do at about half the level I can in my uninjured arm. My arm is a little sore, but it is more of a tired, healthy sore than a hurt, damaged sore.

I thank all of the contributors to Victoria's thread. You have really helped me.

The year my husband and I married, we met another couple who were also newly weds. They have remained dear friends for all these years. Their Christmas card said, "May your Christmas be blessed in a multitude of ways by Him who is worthy of all our praise!

I had blood drawn for a Lewis test two weeks ago today. I called the doctor's office today to see why I hadn't received the results. The nurse called me back and said the lab needed more information in order to do the test. When I called the lab I found out they had thrown my blood away. Why? Because I'm a woman!

Here is the story I eventually got from the lab. The only reason traditional doctors order a Lewis Blood Type test is when a woman who wants to have a baby has repeated miscarriages. There is something about her husband's Lewis Blood Type that may cause the miscarriages. They do not test the woman, only her husband. So when they saw an order for a Lewis Type test on a woman, they assumed it was an error and threw my blood away.

My initial response was irritation. Why didn't they call me? Why did they second-guess the doctor's orders? Why do I have to get poked with another needle and wait 3 more days to get the results? However I believe Romans 8:28 which says "All things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose." (Note it doesn't say all things are good. It says all things work together for good. Also note this promise isn't for everyone, but for those who love God and are serving him)

I started wondering what Lewis Type has to do with the ability to carry a baby to term. Of all the reading I've done about diet and nutrition, I don't ever recall seeing anything about that. It occurred to me that this might be very valuable news to an infertile couple. If one of you knows the details about how this works, I would encourage you to share it on the forum.

If a couple, longing for a baby, reads a piece of information in my blog that will help them hold a baby in their arms by next Christmas, I will gladly endure another needle stick!

A friend at school sent me a Christmas card with this greeting, "Jesus is our everlasting light. Like a candle burning brightly His light of hope shines in a darkened world."

We had Christmas party at our house last night for my husband's and my Bible Study group. Several members of the group will be spending the Christmas holidays on a medical mission trip to Mexico. The trip is an annual event, and they always take cookies to give away at the clinic. So last night's party was a cookie party. Everyone who came brought a small plate of cookies to eat at the party and a large tin of cookies to send on the mission trip.

I was responsible for drinks. A norther blew through yesterday bringing with it cold, damp weather. No one would want cold drinks! I fixed hot apple cider, using the simplest of recipes. Instead of the three cans of water normally recommended to reconstitute frozen apple juice, I used four. For every can of juice I put in 1 stick of cinnamon and 5 whole cloves. I left it simmering on the front burner of the stove, and served it with a soup ladle. I just love it when people say "How did you make this, it is so good," to something so easy.

I also served hot tea. Celestial Seasonings has four tea blends just for the holidays. I bought Candy Cane Lane and Gingerbread Spice at the health food market. Candy Cane Lane is peppermint and green tea with flavors and herbs. Oranges are avoid for Type O, and this tea has a bit of orange peel for flavor. I don't know if orange peel is also avoid, but even if it is the amount is so small that I'm not worrying about it. Gingerbread Spice has ginger and chicory, both Type O beneficials. Near the bottom of the ingredient list is roasted barley, a Type O avoid. Again, the amount would be negligible for a healthy person. It was fun to watch my guests try to choose between two unfamiliar teas.

Everyone had a good time talking and visiting. I did not eat cookies! It was a wheat free night for me. My daughter's piano keyboard is in living room. We gathered around the keyboard and sang Christmas carols. That may sound old fashioned to you, but it was so much fun.

One of the ladies had on a sweatshirt that I will buy if I ever see it for sale. It was dark blue with a gold silhouette of three men on camels under a star. The words said, "Wise men still seek him."

I was at a party and the conversation turned to the fishy dilemma. By "fishy dilemma" I mean that we are urged to eat more fish to get the much needed Omega-3 fatty acids, but we are also urged to eat less fish because of the danger of mercury poisoning.

One lady said that she had read that cilantro removed heavy metals from the body. She said that when she fixes tuna or other large fish associated with heavy metal toxicity, she sprinkles on cilantro. It adds a nice flavor and offers protection from mercury and other metals.

I thought it was an interesting idea, so the next time I was at the store I bought cilantro. I didn't have time to do anything with it until today. Being from Texas I associate cilantro with Tex-Mex cuisine and hot sauce. While I love many Tex-Mex dishes, I really don't care for hot sauce. I think it is the raw onions that turn me off.

I Googled cilantro, and found several sites that confirm my friend's information. I found a recipe for a cilantro pesto that has some avoids, but looks easy to adjust for Os and As. I'm going to try it when my son gets home for Christmas break.

Today I was having eggs for lunch (along with leftover broccoli, sweet potatoes and carrots). I sprinkled cilantro on the eggs, and really liked the flavor. I often put seasoned salt on canned tuna. It will be so easy to mix a little cilantro with the other seasoning. I think I need to leave the bottle out on the counter until I get into the habit of using it.

Poems like this keep me in the Christmas mood:

If we could hear like angels hear or do the things they do;

If we could see like angels see and have their point of view;

We would understand their wonder as they spoke of Jesus' birth,

For they knew that God left heaven to become a man on earth.

(By R. Lessin)

One last note: Today's blog is about one conversation and its result. It is not intended to cover the whole "fishy dilemma" subject. I've blogged about this before, and it has been a topic on the forum.

It's not that I haven't had anything to blog about the past several days. On the contrary, I must have written half a dozen blogs in my head. I just haven't had time to sit down at the computer. My Journalism class put out the final newspaper of the year. I had to finalize the layout and get it printed. I had to be at the elementary Christmas concert because my camera is the only one capable of getting yearbook quality pictures in a darkened auditorium. The yearbook cover is due at the publishers, and grades are due in the registrar's office.

I was a college girl in the early days of the feminist movement. We were told that women could have it all - a career, a husband, children, and position in society. It didn't take me long to see that the promises were a lie. Women in my office couldn't do it all. They either sacrificed their marriages, their health, their children, or their self-development. Most of them didn't see it coming until divorce papers were filed or the school called them in for a conference. I have been blessed that in the 29 years of our marriage my husband has put home ahead of so many other goals.

I love my journalism career. It is mentally stimulating and emotionally satisfying. But when I have a week where I am working 8 - 10 hours at school instead of my usual 2-3, I see what I would have to sacrifice for a full time career.

There is no time to cook. Ha. There was not even time to wash the produce I bought. We have eaten fast food twice in the past week. I know why people eat fast food. When the hour is late and everyone is hungry, it is fast. Preparing natural, healthy food is not hard, but it does take time.

There is no time for exercise. I squeezed in a run yesterday, and rode my bike to do errands on Monday. But there have been days this past week where at bed time I didn't have energy left to do sit ups, much less 30 minutes of intense physical exercise.

There is not time for rest. I get home from school late, and play catch up with the laundry, the dishes, and all of the other tasks necessary to keep a home functioning. My daughter has finals and wants me to help her review. My husband wants to talk about family business. Last night I really needed a few minutes alone to think. That time for reflection meant I didn't crawl into bed until after 1:00. Five hours of sleep is not enough to build health.

I come away from a week like this with a renewed awareness that I must fight the demands that culture tries to put on my time. This is especially true in the Christmas shopping season where advertisers spend millions of dollars to make me want a bunch of stuff I don't really need. My priorities are worshiping God, caring for my family, and maintaining my health. If I don't have those three, of what use is anything else?

One of our local department stores announced that they would be open until midnight Friday and Saturday nights. Not to be outdone, surrounding stores in the mall decided to stay open until 10 or 11. This seemed to me to be a great time to shop. Some people would be at parties, some people wouldn't want to be out so late. I left my husband and daughter at home with a movie, and drove to the mall a little after 8:00.

It was wonderful. No crowds! The sales people were restocking shelves emptied by frantic shoppers earlier in the day. It was easy to get help and easy to check out. I left the mall and went across the highway to Wal-Mart. I found a close parking place and got two more gifts off my Christmas list. This is the way for me to shop. I didn't get home until 12:45, but I accomplished so much.

What does this have to do with the BTD…lower stress. As much as I love Christmas, it can be a frantic time of the year. I don't like being jostled by crowds, and not being able to find a parking place. I don't like to feel rushed when I am trying to compare prices and features. During December there are too many impatient people in the stores, and sometimes their impatience is contagious. This, by contrast, was a fun, easy, and productive shopping trip.

OK, if you must have something more closely related to the BTD; sweet potatoes were on sale for 44 cents a pound. I bought lots. Fresh spinach, Romaine lettuce, and broccoli were also on sale. Tomorrow we will feast. But right now I'm starting to feel the effects of the late hour plus 4 ½ hours of shopping.

On the way home from Wal-Mart, I passed a church. The sign out front read. Without Christ it wouldn't be Christmas. Too true.

I had jury duty yesterday. I was called for a DWI case, and was rejected because I do not drink alcohol. I guess the attorney felt that someone who didn't drink couldn't fairly judge someone who thought nothing of consuming alcohol and then getting behind the wheel of a car.

I went to the courthouse knowing that I wouldn't find any healthy food close by and prepared for a long day of sitting. My panel was called mid-morning for questioning. When the judge released us for lunch I declined the invitation by fellow jurors to eat at a nearby greasy spoon. The company would have been nice, but I had packed salmon, black beans and okra.

I thought I would eat on one of the benches outside, and afterward go for a walk around the courthouse to stretch my legs. However the weather had turned nasty. It was cold and misty. I found a cozy booth in the courthouse cafeteria, and I found something even more interesting - signs indicating an indoor walking path.

After lunch I followed the signs and walked a mile and a quarter at a brisk pace. Then I climbed the stairs to the top floor of the courthouse. I returned to the jury room well satisfied after a Type O lunch and some moderately strenuous exercise. Shortly afterward they released me - my duty was completed.

On the way home the radio was playing Christmas music. A line from Handel's Messiah grabbed my attention, "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." The Bible follows those words with these, "Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end…to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever."

It sometimes seems that there is no justice in this world, but a time is coming when Christ will establish justice and peace for all. That is one of the wonderful messages of Christmas.

I've been putting up Christmas decorations, so I haven't been cooking creatively. When I get busy, I fall back to basic meals: beef patties, canned salmon, cooked greens, fresh spinach, carrots, parsnips, sweet potatoes, broccoli and such.

Last night it was getting late and I hadn't started dinner. I asked my daughter what I should fix, and she said spaghetti. The last time I wrote about spaghetti, someone wrote and asked for my Type A spaghetti sauce recipe. I'll confess - it is not tomato free. My husband follows the BTD 70 - 75%. He loves tomatoes and eats them. My daughter follows the diet almost as seriously as I do. However, tomatoes are the one avoid food she eats on a consistent basis.

While not tomato free, my sauce is sugar free, thick, and simple. Perhaps it is worth sharing. Put a 14.5 oz can of whole tomatoes and a 12 oz can of tomato paste in the food processor. Add 4 - 6 ounces of water - I use the tomato paste can to measure. Add ½ tsp garlic powder (I could use real garlic, but this is the simple version) and 1 tsp Italian seasoning. Whirl it all together for a minute in the food processor and warm it up.

I served this sauce with ground turkey over noodles for my Type As. I didn't want the noodles, so I soaked a tablespoon of seaweed flakes in water while I was cooking the turkey and sauce. I drained the seaweed and topped it with half a grilled onion, turkey and sauce.

If I hadn't been putting up Christmas decorations, I probably wouldn't have noticed that it was a red and green dinner. Very seasonally appropriate!

I'm rereading all of last years Christmas cards before the new ones start arriving. I found this note from some friends in Alabama. It is a quote from Robert Louis Stevenson. "Loving Father, help us remember the birth of Jesus that we may share in the song of the angels, the gladness of the shepherds, and the wisdom of the wise men. May the Christmas morning make us happy to be your children and the Christmas evening bring us to our beds with grateful thoughts. Forgiving and forgiven, for Jesus' sake."

After my swim Wednesday I stopped by my local health food market. They were giving away samples of cranberry blueberry juice. It had a decidedly blueberry flavor that was delicious. I checked the label, and there were no avoids. It is bottled by Ocean Spray Organics.

That night my husband and daughter enjoyed it for dinner. Thursday night we went to an event called "Dickens Christmas" at a local shopping center. It was a chilly night and when we got home I wanted something warm to drink. I brewed a mug ¾ full of green tea, then filled the rest of the mug with cranberry blueberry juice. Warm and wonderful!

The highlight of the Dickens Christmas was singing Christmas carols around a huge outdoor tree. Each of us held a lighted candle. I had goosebumps as we sang "Silent night, Holy night. Wondrous star lend thy light. With the angels let us sing, alleluia to our king. Christ the savior is born, Christ the savior is born."