The Sunday Salon – November 30th Edition

Happy Sunday! I am going on my fifth glorious non-working day and finally feel psyched to head into the beginning of my busiest season. We headed down to my parents’ house for a Thanksgiving Turkey Trot 5K (Jim and Connor) and for the big dinner. The rest of the time has seen us puttering around the house, putting up Christmas decorations, doing chores, watching movies and football, and just relaxing. Jim made his first batch of shortbread, and I’ve done some purging. It has been glorious. Even better, my holiday cards arrived on Wednesday ready for addressing, and I am waiting for the delivery of one final present, and I am done with holiday shopping. I love being organized at this time of year!

Thanksgiving was crazy. Six adults, four kids ages 14 to 7 and 5 dogs. Yes. 5 dogs. My brother recently added a great dane pup to his household, so it was our first time meeting him. He is nine weeks old and already weighs 2o pounds, gaining weight at an average of 1 pound a day. It is going to be fun to see him grow (and grow and grow), but we might have to rearrange furniture each time they come to visit!

At my annual physical this year, I discovered my cholesterol was 350. I was shocked. I knew it was high thanks to crappy genetics, but it has never been that high. When the doctor tells you she has never seen someone’s levels so high, it tends to become a bit of a wake-up call.I’ve already lost almost 20 pounds since my diagnosis, and I have much more to go. Also, my doctor immediately put me on statins, which worked wonders but I also found out I do not react well to them.My doctor gave me a three-week reprieve on the statins, but I am going to see if I cannot lower my levels through diet, weight loss, and exercise. I swore I would never give up dairy or eggs, but I am living proof to never say never. I could stay on the statins, have nightmares every night and feel like an arthritic old woman because my muscles and bones ache so badly, or else I can give up my milk and cheese, feel better, and get healthier. So, in an effort to take control of my health, I made the conscious decision to become a vegetarian, leaning towards veganism. I started it on Friday, as I wasn’t giving up turkey and stuffing and gravy. This is going to be an interesting journey, especially since I’m taking the family with me on it, but one for which I have high hopes. Now, if anyone has any really great vegetarian/vegan recipes to try, I’m all ears!!

That’s all the news from the Shannon household this week. We are all hanging out, putting up the last of the decorations, finishing some laundry, and relaxing as much as possible before we dive back into the week. I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving, if you celebrate it, and is having a peaceful Sunday. Have a great week, everyone!