Grumpy Green Pepper
Originally uploaded by itchick

Straight from the Catholic Family garden, this green pepper bears a striking resemblence to a ‘Grumpy Old Man’. God must be playing a little joke on us this year, eh? Very funny.

After what seemed like a century in waiting for my latest lab test results to find their way to my mailbox, here goes:

• CBC
• HGB (test for anemia): Normal 13.8
• Blood Glucose (Diabetes test): Normal 90
• Cholesterol
• Total Cholesterol: 244
• Triglycerides: 120
• HDL (good cholesterol): 103
• LDL (bad cholesterol): 117

The first thing that jumped right out and hit me in the forehead was that Total Cholesterol: 244 number. What?! That’s HIGH, isn’t it? So I Googled my way around all kinds of medical sites, the big ones like Mayo Clinic and American Heart Association to find out why Dr. M wasn’t freaking out about my results like I am right now. But after reading up on cholesterol facts online, I’m only left feeling even more confused and wondering… did Dr. M even see my results? When was his last eye exam anyway? Ok, that wasn’t nice - just kidding Dr. M.

All I can figure is that living a healthy lifestyle and having off-the-chart ‘good’ cholesterol levels (HDL) is buying me more time before my arteries get all clogged up with gunk. Regular exercise must be good for something, even if it’s a ‘Get Out of Atherosclerosis Free’ card. But you know, maybe all those salty peanutty snacks aren’t helping the situation in the meantime? Probably not. *sigh*

Looks like I’ve got myself another goal for next year: Lower Cholesterol

The Catholic Girlie turned 11 years old today, and I’m finding myself in a state of, well, I’m not quite sure what state I’m finding myself in right now. Our little family ‘home’ party went better than planned, mostly because I was able to shop for a few party necessities early this morning, and then pre-cook dinner, bake cookies, decorate and bring treats to her classroom all before the school bell rang for the day. All this left me thinking, “Now that’s why being an independent consultant is so incredible!” Amazing.

So CG returned home from school to find the house all decorated in her honor, along with party goodies like cake, presents, music and more. We took pictures, pigged out and enjoyed her presents - it was total fun for all. In fact, the smile on CG’s face indicated that she was on top of the world about the whole 11th birthday thing, the best present of all. Woohoo!

But all the partying is not quite over yet. Oh no, it’s not. Why? you ask? Because turning 11 years old just wouldn’t be quite right without a sleepover with all of your closest 5th grader friends, now would it? Which is exactly why I’ve planned the party of the century to be held right here in the Catholic Homestead, so that exactly 9 people will get absolutely no sleep whatsoever over the weekend and will return completely bleary-eyed to work/school on Monday. That’s exactly what turning 11 is all about.

Party on.

Finally, here we are with our next discussion about the remaining chapters of the 5th Chicken Lit Bookclub selection. So what were your thoughts about how everything went down? Was it a long and winding road for you? And what about the ending - did it end the way you wanted? Is Green’s novel one you would recommend to others? Or are you ready to chuck this one?

Let’s hear what you think.

BTW: Happy Good Friday to all you fellow Catholics out there! I don’t want to see a piece of fish on my plate for at least another year. Tuna included. *blech*