Favorite photos of Kristie

These 3 are a few of my favorite photos of Kristie.

The first is when she was "Inspector Gadget" in the play she did with her social group in Renton a couple of years ago.

The second is with Reece Witherspoon, oops, I mean my niece Alicia Irgens taken at Alicia's graduation party in June.

The third is Kristie with my nephew Soren who rules the Irgens' household!

I LOVE
Nieces & Nephews
Little kids dressed up in costumes (although I don't necessarily enjoy Halloween..sigh)

I HATE
Calls from doctors in the middle of the day - its never good news
Learning about potassium

Please pray that Kristie's potassium levels decrease dramatically right now. Thanks to all you believers who pray continuously for Kristie! I love you all!

Have you tried corn dogs made with a meat substitute? They are GOOD! Find them in the frozen section. Kristie and I love them. Had them for dinner. Yummy.

Lovely Fall Colors

I love our new neighborhood, especially with its vibrant colors from the past few weeks. The leaves are falling and the cute deer are hanging out in our back yard!


Okay, today Nigel and I had a tuna salad (no mayo) for lunch; very healthy. Kristie decided to opt out on the tuna and, instead, had a peanut butter (Adams, no salt added) and honey sandwich - her favorite in the whole world.


Tonight we're having roasted vegie salad with fresh mozzerella balls and salmon. Hmmm, guess its fish day.


I LOVE
Jerry Maguire - that Tom Cruise is soooooo cute in that movie!
Calla's little face


I HATE
Hurting feet
The pharmacy


If you're into it, you can check out my Cookie Lee Team blog at http://www.tidbitsandtraining.blogspot.com/ I love this blogging thing!


We watched Dancing with the Stars last night - too fun! We even voted for Mel and Max. She's a Spice Girl, not that I'm into the Spice Girls, but its a fun name.


Have a Great Day!

Eggplant & Mushrooms

This was our friend in Australia - cute!

Okay, I really like eggplant and mushrooms! I always liked mushrooms but I think I like eggplant just as much! We had an eggplant and mushroom marinara sauce over polenta tonight - was soooo yummy!

Last night we had Sweet and Sour Tofu with pinapple and brown rice. We all loved it! I know what you're thinking - tofu? Tofu is really good because it takes on the flavor of whatever you're cooking. Kristie loves Sweet and Sour Pork so this was a great substitute for her!

I found out that Kasha is really buckwheat - thank you Katie - and QFC did not have buckwheat so I am on the search for that so I can make my mini-non-meatballs.

Personal Note to Nicholas and Cathie: I had a spinach salad with pears, walnuts, and blue cheese today for lunch with a cup of tomato soup! I think you two are rubbing off on me!

I LOVE

Dancing with the Stars - Nigel and I are hooked on it! Marie needs to go home! Please!

My new house

The Food Network

I HATE

Blue things - yes, the color - one exception: a blue sky

The Dentist - nothing personal, just not my cup of tea

Nigel's sneaking Halloween candy so gotta to!

Love, Julia

The Quest for Healthy Eating

Oh the never ending quest to eat healthier! Since our family is now dealing with Kristie's kidney disease we are on another quest to eat more vegies and cut down on protein. Did you know that if you are a meat eater in the U.S. you are probably consuming too much protein. For those who know me, you know that I always say I don't like vegies. But, I'm changing my tune and instead of saying "I don't like vegies", I'm saying, "I'm finding vegies I like." And, in reviewing my Vegetarian Cookbook (which I have always loved), I'm starting to pay more attention to how I can prepare vegies that I know I already like and have more of them that way.

I also love cheese so will now start exploring the world of lower fat cheeses and maybe soy cheeses and perhaps if that doesn't work, then just cutting down on the quantity of the full fat variety will probably do the trick.

In addition, there is a world of grains that look yummy. I'm going to try this week a grain called Kasha and make mini-balls with onion gravy. Sounds great!

Oh and the world of sodium is now a consideration - drats!

Favorite Cookbooks
New Vegetarian Cuisine
Everyday Italian by Giada DeLaurentis

Update on Kristie's kidney disease
Went to the doctor last Thursday and her blood pressure is still too high so started her on another blood pressure medication. This morning's blood pressure was 117/76 so its working. Your blood pressure should be 120/80 or within 10 points (up or down) of these numbers. She will need to take EPO shots each month because she's very anemic and needs more red blood cells (your kidneys produce a hormone called EPO that help produce red blood cells). She was a trooper and had her first shot and was very brave. Also has to have her blood drawn each month to check for creatinine levels. If that level climbs to a 4, she will have to go on dialysis. right now, its at a 2.5.

The goal is to keep her kidneys functioning at its 25% current level for as long as possible. So keep those prayers coming that her kidneys remain at this level forever!

Kristie's kidney disease is linked to her Leber's Congenital Amarousis (which is a rare genetic disease which caused her developmental delay and blindness) and has now just appeared. She was just diagnosed about 6 weeks ago.

This blog is about enjoying life and love while also managing an annoying kidney disease. We will not give it power by focusing on it but we will be smart about managing the effects it may have on our lives.

I LOVE
Friends that care - you know who you are
Family that is supportive - you know who you are

I HATE
Non-friendly people at event booths
Greed

FUN SITES
Shutterfly.com has fantastic Christmas cards that are easy to drag and drop your own photos into to customize your own card. I spent a few hours last Sunday creating the card - although it would take more computer saavy people MUCH less time - and it only took 3 days for them to ship the cards to me. Very inexpensive too! Check it out - you'll love it!

Love, Julia
P.S. The photo is Kristie at her happiest - Disneyland!

Yay! I did it!

I actually created this blog in about 10 minutes; for a non-techie like me, its truly an amazing accomplishment.

Life and Love - I chose this title because I'll be writing about those topics; Life mostly and love too.

My life involves many people. Most importantly are family and friends.

Katie and Kristie bring light to my life and, thus, love.
Calla Suzanna means newness and sunshine (especially when life becomes routine and dull.)

I LOVE
Calla's nicknames like Callamazoo and Miss Mazoo - so cute!
Five Little Monkeys - especially singing it to Calla

I HATE
Kidney disease
Doctors who are smug

Kristie will be featured as a guest writer soon! She doesn't know it yet though; will inform her later.

This is fun!