Ok, if you had a frappacino yesterday, this may not hit the spot, but for someone like me who has never had one, never will, this is a good substitute...

Brew some Raja's Cup herbal coffee substitute, and make it strong. Filter and pour about 1/2 cup of it onto ice cubes (about 2 or 3 cups) in a good blender that can make slush out of ice easily. Add some vegetable glycerine and/or agave, or honey if you can have it. Add a tablespoon of carob powder (or cocoa if you can have it), a bit of milk of choice (rice milk in my case), and blend into a smooth slush.

It's a good way to break up your herbal tea routine.

I also made a winner of a recipe last week from Cook's Illustrated for braised lamb shanks. That was so yummy and fairly easy. I highly recommend their cookbooks. I tried a recipe from another source tonight for cornish game hen that didn't turn out so well and took twice as long to cook as it claimed. I think I'll stick with Cook's Illustrated...anybody need my other cookbooks?

...
I've recovered pretty well from that vacation, and have been feeling pretty good. My compliance improved dramatically, and is still steadily improving. I'm not 100% cheat-free, but getting there quickly.

I've been gardening. We planted snap peas, kohlrabi and green onions in my shared garden area. There are many more rows to go. As small as the garden looks, it sure gets bigger when you start working in it! My own backyard squares are doing pretty well too. The radishes should start maturing soon, the peas are still happily growing, and everything I planted is coming along pretty well. I planted some asparagus in most of the second box I have. I think it will do well. My new elderberry bushes seem to be establishing themselves well enough.

Taekwondo is also going well. I don't know if I'll ever get to the point that it never makes me terribly sore, today I am in such a sore state. My feet and ankles in particular...so many small muscles that I didn't know I had!