I like variety. I don't know if it's a blood type thing or not, but both the As in my family like predictability, and both the Os like to try new things. My son and I walk into a restaurant and search the menu for something we've never had before. My husband and daughter find something they like and order it over and over.

I like variety in exercise too. Of all the exercise I do, I like running the best. I think that's because as I run there's always something new to see. But I have known several friends who ruined their knees by too much running after they hit middle age, so I only run once or twice a week.

I had already been to the pool once this week. I worked out with weights one day, and mowed the yard another. Yesterday I wanted something different.

My daughter had volunteered to help out with a party for 1st through 4th graders at our church last night. The time she was at the party would be a great time to work out, but what could I do at church? I thought of the stairs. I climbed 60 flights of stairs in 45 minutes. It definitely met the criteria of "intense physical workout". I sweat more than I do when I run! I also used some neglected muscles. My calves are really sore today.

Occasionally, I resist and resent the boundaries put on me by the Blood Type Diet. I miss things I used to eat, or I don't think it's fair that I can't eat wheat. My husband chafes at the boundaries even more than I do. You should hear him when he says, "Why is it that everything that tastes good is bad for you?"

I was thinking this morning about Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." The spiritual lesson is, "Let God put the boundaries on your life. He has a good life for you, not a bad life."

The Blood Type Diet boundaries are a lot like that. They are sometimes hard boundaries to follow. Always checking labels is hard. Ordering food in restaurants is not easy. Finding tasty recipes for little known beneficial foods is trial and error. Turning down an avoid when everyone else is eating it can be disappointing.

But I know that those boundaries are good for me. They are not there to be annoying or bothersome, but to help me have a better life.

There are parallels in the physical and spiritual worlds. When I follow the Type O Diet, my body works better and I enjoy good health. When I trust and obey God, he works out the details of my life according to his good plan.

I found all natural, hormone free beef liver for 99 cents a pound! That meant I got meat for two meals for just 58 cents. What a bargain!

If you have eaten much beef liver, you know the worst part is biting into one of those tough parts that just won't chew up. There is nothing like sitting in a restaurant chewing and chewing on the same bite of liver and wondering whether to take a deep breath and swallow the thing whole like a piece of gum or spit it out in your napkin.

The tough parts are the membranes surrounding the tubes that run through the liver. Some of them are large, some are small, but all are tough. I tried cutting them out with a knife. Impossible! Raw liver is too slippery. I gave up and switched to cooking chicken liver. It's much easier.

After I started the BTD, and realized how beneficial beef liver is to a Type O, I decided to give it another try. In the meantime my mother-in-law had given me a pair of kitchen scissors for Christmas. My mom never used scissors in the kitchen for anything except opening stubborn plastic packages, so this was new to me. I soon learned to use them for skinning poultry, trimming fat off meet, slicing pizza, and cutting dough. I used my Christmas scissors so much that they were often dirty when I wanted them, so I bought a second pair.

When I tried beef liver again, I went after the tubes with my scissors. The slippery raw liver was no match for kitchen scissors! While I was at it I cut the liver into pieces about 1 inch by 1 inch. That made it easy to cook in a skillet coated with cooking spray. The dog, who swallows everything whole anyway, thought the discarded tubes were wonderful.

Today I began by grilling an onion in a little butter in my skillet. When it was about half done I added the liver. I covered the skillet, reduced the heat, and went to get ready for school. When I got back it was all tender, tasty, and very beneficial.

The composer John Cage (who actually composed the world's first piece of music that was entirely silent, titled ‘4:33') was once offered the chance to sit in a completely sound-proofed chamber at one of the large universities.

Cage, who had excellent hearing, entered and almost immediately commented that he heard a low whooshing sound. He was informed that this was the sound of his cardiovascular system. A few minutes later he began to hear a high pitched siren-like sound, and was told that this was the sound of the neurons of his nervous system firing.

After a long period of concentration, he managed to tune out these two sounds and began to hear a chirping sound, like thousands of migrating birds.

This, he was told, was the sound of the Brownian Motion of the atoms forming the oxygen, nitrogen and carbon dioxide molecules in the air of the chamber.

There are many examples of similar types of low-threshold sensitivities. Most people can smell or taste as little as one molecule of an aromatic or flavorful substance. As Cage demonstrated, our powers of deep listening are similarly discreet. Perhaps even more impressive than low-threshold listening is our ability to zone in on certain bandwidths of the auditory spectrum. As any new mother can tell you, they know when they hear the crying sound of a baby whether that baby is their baby. Next time you are in a busy shopping mall or train station, ask a spouse or child to move at least 150 feet away and engage in a conversation at normal volume. Despite all the ambient noise and voices, you should be able to clearly hear their voices above all others.

It is amazing what we can sense when we stop trying to sense it.

Last weekend we went to visit our son at college. We had a wonderful time. The weather was gorgeous and the football team victorious. Our son is excited about his classes; we were delighted with his friends and his church.

We ate out a lot over the weekend. It seems to me there are fewer and fewer vegetables in restaurants. There are plenty of salads. In fact salad was about the only item offered to a Type O. I found myself having three salads during the three-day trip.

Cafeterias were once popular, and they carried a large variety of vegetable choices. Family style restaurants used to be in style where you could order black-eyed peas, okra, or cooked greens. There are a few cafeterias and family style restaurants still around, but the trendy restaurants seem to serve only fancy sandwiches, pasta, or potatoes.

Friday night we ate at a sandwich shop. I ordered a salad with roast beef and topped it with walnuts and olive oil from the snack bag in the car. Saturday lunch would be in the middle of the football game. I knew there would be nothing at the concession stand for me to eat, so I snuck in a bag of trail mix. They quickly searched my purse at security, but fortunately did not dig deep enough to find my food. Saturday night we ate at a really nice Italian restaurant. I had a very tender beef dish topped with grilled onions & green peppers and another salad. Sunday was at a meat and potatoes restaurant. I went with their "low carb" meal, which was meat and salad.

It was all good food. It was all good for me. But I'm sick of salad. Yesterday I cooked collards, onions and ground beef all together. I've had a big bowl two days in a row for lunch. I had more vegetables for dinner: parsnips, black beans, and sweet potato chips.

Trends come and go. I will be glad when vegetables stage a restaurant come back.