What Is It Called, Update, and Chocolate

I know my tagline is at the beginning of my blog. What is the "Nothing is impossible with determination." at the end of my blog called?

Is it a tagline also? I've been wrecking my brain for two days trying to remember what is called. Or is it a tag line also?

In other news, I'm busy knitting scarves for the family. All the shawls are done. All the caps and scarves are done for my grandkids. Now I'm working on the male adult versions. Ten sets to do and got three done all in their favorite football teams colors. Currently working on the Pittsburgh Steelers set. Go Black and Gold.

My therapy is going well. I finally hit one of six goals for the past eight week session. It was only a three inch reach by straightening my elbow more, BUT I did it! It took about three minutes of hard concentration to do it too. By practicing at home, I've gotten it down to two minutes.
Yes, I've got this cross stitch over my desk ---> where I can see it to remind myself to rejoice in the small victories.

I got my hubby up on the scales again. He has lost what he gained during his bout with pneumonia. Now working on putting the pounds back on him. For lunch today, he ate two
small steak fingers, two onion rings and a tiny salad with black beans and corn. He ate all but three bites.

While in the grocery store this week, I picked up some Fat Boys Mini ice cream sandwiches. They were part of a meal deal at my grocers and free. I'm trying a new tact of offering him something good every three hours or so. These are about two-inch square loaded with ice cream. They are surprisingly yummy!

110 calories doesn't sound like much, but every little bit helps. When your daily intake is about 600 calories a day, 110 calories is an 1/6th increase. He loves them. Granted, by feeding him milk products it does make the phlegm he has to cough up thicker. But then, so does the Ensure. He enjoys the sandwiches a lot more. Do I worry about it not being nutritionally sound? Nope. When he burns six-ten calories a minute just in breathing efforts, just getting enough calories in him to compensate for that is enough.  I'd give him a ten sandwich box a day if he's eat it. He has maxed out at two a day.

Now for a serious laugh...

I thought my chocolate addiction was bad; Six Peanut M&M's a day while writing. My husband has got it worse. He actually has a prescription for chocolate as part of his wellness plan under hospice! It reads "Take as often as needed. Refill: Unlimited." The exact brand is not given and left up to his preference. The reason this prescription was written--so I could take the cost off my income tax as a tax deduction for medical expenses. I kid you not. It actually is not a cost covered under hospice so it comes out of my pocket.

So you might wonder what is his preference in chocolate: Hershey Kisses, Hershey dark chocolate bars, Three Musketeers, Reese's Peanut butter cups, and Godiva Dark chocolate bars. He now chokes on nuts of any kind.

The Godiva bars are sold at Books-A-Million so I pick it up once a week during my knitting/spinning group meeting. At $3 a bar, Godiva isn't wallet friendly. He's limited to one bar a week, but I buy one bag of miniature versions of the rest each month for him.

Luckily it's nearly Halloween and most of these are on sale so I'm stocking up. No, this amount of chocolate each month isn't healthy on my wallet either, but I'd gladly buy him whatever he wants to eat so long as he's eating and smiling.

A shame you have to be dying to get a prescription like this, but what a way to go. I can see it now. He'll be greeted at the Pearly Gates with a tell-tale chocolate smile.

This Just in~ Choclate is Good for You

I was browsing my e-mails and ran across this from my great <cough> Stroke Association. In Stroke Smart this month was an article, "Chocolate: Go Ahead and Indulge." Well Doh! I already knew that, but it's nice to have permission. Having a degree in naturopathic medicine aside.

The article talks about flavanols which reduce your blood pressure and the antioxidant qualities of the cocoa bean. It can even reduce the bad cholesterol. It says dark chocolate is the best. For years I spent a great amount of money on dark chocolate. My chocolate of choice is Ghiradelli's because it is between 60% to 86% cocoa. But watch the sugar and fat content on what you pick. Those two things will do more harm than good for your body.

My main reason was the endorphin kick I get from chocolate. Yeah I'm heavily dependent on it to offset the constant pain due to my fibromyalgia. Chocolate helps boosts the effects of my husband's morphine too for when there is break through pain. It's a comfort food with the benefit of being actually good for you too. I used to keep Peanut M&Ms at my desk for those times I'd get stumped while writing. Yes, I was an insulin dependent diabetic, but I'd limit my intake to six of my creative cycle enhancements...a bad thirty point rise on my glucometer for thirty minutes, but worth it.

I was spending a tremendous amount of money on those little packages of instant hot cocoa mix in the grocery stores until I got smart and started blending my own.

Recipe

2 cups nonfat dry milk

2/3 cup cocoa powder

1 cup Splenda sugar substitute

1 cup nondairy fat free sugar free creamer (if you can find it)

A pinch of salt

I triple the recipe and place it in a gallon glass jar. 1/4 cup of cocoa mix to 3/4 cups of boiling water.  If you are not watching your sugar or fat try Ghiradelli's Dutch Processed Cocoa. The cocoa powder is less but OMG delicious. There isn't a day when the weather is cooler that I don't have a cup of cocoa or Earl Grey Tea in my hand. This comes out a lot cheaper. I usually make a jug of powdered cocoa each season when most of the ingredients are cheaper around Halloween.

Thought I'd pass this along. Honestly there is not much I take that the Great <cough> Stroke Association or Stroke Smart magazine worth mentioning but found this interesting. Mostly the emails are deleted because it is begging for donations. Like I really have enough money to tithe and donate to them post stroke. They would do better asking for funds from non strokees.

Have a great Christmas y'all