A 'lil HooHaa

Messing with the blogging world since 2005

Photo Blogging Challenge: December 2019’s theme is …

And so we’ve reached December.

As I get older, I wonder if the years sometimes go on speed-dial. You blink and the summer is here. Then Christmas. Then the spring. Then the fall. All in different years. Alas, we do what we do, right?

PBC logo

So, off we go with another month in this little challenge. And if you have been with us for any amount of time, you probably have a good idea of this month’s overall theme. While the “theme” itself will be a change of a name, it’s all involving this time of year.

It’s the time of the year to hopefully spread some cheer, be happy and get into the holiday spirit! I know I’ve gotten into the holiday spirit myself, and am looking forward to the month ahead.

Here’s wishing everybody an amazing holiday season. I wish you and yours the best!

Before we get to this month’s theme, let’s do our monthly “group” challenges:

Challenge 1: Tell others about this photo blogging challenge and get some friends to come join us.  Let’s see if we can get people interested in the challenge again.

Challenge 2: Make friends with your camera and see what you can come up with. Have fun!

Challenge 3 is at the end of this post (the theme!).

Before this, here’s some housekeeping items. For those who might be new to the challenge, here’s how it works.

  • See the theme (first day of the month);
  • Take photos throughout the month (don’t use old ones!);
  • Select five photos and create a blog post;
  • Come back here and link up on the final day of the month;
  • Use the official hashtag — #Photoblogchal — on social media posts;
  • Hopefully go visit and comment on other blogs.

That’s it. There’s no rules on equipment or anything else. Blog posts can be short and to the point, or in-depth. Interpret the themes as you see fit.

The one big rule?

Have fun!

This month’s theme? Jingle All the Way? This is a pretty broad stroke, so hopefully you can have fun with it and find some great images!! Please make sure your blog post publishes Tuesday, December 31. Then come back here and link up.

If you think you are going to take part in this, drop a comment below so we can see who all might be trying to tackle this challenge!

There is also a Facebook group for those who are interested.

If you would like to visit the history of the challenge, which started in 2013, please go to the Photo Blogging Challenge page for more!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!



Photo Blogging Challenge (November 2019): Whatcha eatin’?

Nom nom nom.

In this world of social media and quick photos, food has become part of that. I’m as guilty as the next as I love food photography. I’d like to get better at aspects and eventually do a lot more with setting things up.

I didn’t quite do that this month. But food.. yes, there is food!

With food photography, I find there is a lot of ways to attack an image. You can get close up. Show full plates. Get different angles. You can do from above or down low. The best part is showing all the difference in hoping you can really captures how good whatever you are eating is. Now, I realize not everybody likes food photography — and that’s fine. But it’s definitely a growing genre.

So, get ready to nom nom nom!

Let’s get hungry and see what you are all eatin’!

Here are my five!

1. Pizza

I love pizza. I mean … I really LOVE pizza. Unfortunately, I have to be really smart when I eat it and how much. The amount of carbs in just one slice isn’t always a good thing for my blood sugar!

pizza

2. Garlic knots

Yes, please! When having pizza… one must think about these as well!

garlic knots

3. Corned beef

I was back to where I went to graduate school to watch my alma mater in a hockey game. So before going, we stopped at this Irish pub/restaurant that was across the street from my old apartment. This was delicious!

4. Dessert

Something else I rarely do. Couldn’t resist on this night!

dessert

5. And finally …

It may not be the best of all photos, but … Happy Thanksgiving!

And there are my five for the month!

If you took part in this month’s challenge, make sure to link up below.

And for those of you who participated, make sure you try and get to other people’s blogs and comment (here, too!).

Let’s continue to grow this challenge and have a strong community. Come back and check out the others who link later on, too! NOTE: I set up a Facebook group for those who participate in the challenge and are interested. I’ll post any announcements there and hopefully it can be a place where things are discussed and some interaction etc. You can access it here.

A ‘lil HooHaa: November 2019 linkup

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!



Living with Diabetes: Awareness

Today is International Diabetes Day.

It’s a day for awareness. And it’s a day those living with the disease really can reflect (though, to be fair, that is something one should do daily). For me, it’s a day to look back over the past few months to see where I’ve come since my last bout of “rock bottom.”

The last A1C reading I had went up quite a bit to the point where my primary physician said I need to start figuring this out or I might have to think about the “I” word. And that is not somewhere I want to go – now or ever. On another note, there are things now that can work in lieu of it, but I don’t even want to do that. I need to work on improving this without adding more medication.

In a perfect world, I’d like to subtract.

One thing he noted at my last checkup was that as we get older, sometimes it’s not what you do – it’s just your body. Still, I know there’s a lot I can do before that is the decision that has to be made. For one, taking care of myself better and I think I am doing just that. 

Since that last checkup in August, I’ve done a lot more:

Watching numbers: I’ve been diligent about checking my blood sugars, and have made a Google Sheets setup to be able to keep everything together. I have color-coded number so I know when I’ve been in range, closely out of it, and way out of it. This is something I’ll be able to print out and bring to my next appointment. 

I know I have to do better with keeping a food journal as I think that will help me look back and reflect on why my numbers may have gone up or down.

Exercise: I’ve kept up with walking. Though my goal is to do a couple of dedicated walks each day, that doesn’t always happen. I always get one and always make sure to get at least 30 minutes of exercise. The Apple Watch has been a huge addition to me. To some it may sound silly, but closing those three rings each day is big to me and I am doing what I can to keep it up. That has helped immensely.

With this, I also keep several Google Sheet files so I can track my walking and steps each month and see where I’ve gone up and down.

Eating habits: This is still an area to keep improving, but I’m getting better. I watch my portions. I watch what goes into my body. From the end of July until the end of October I didn’t have a piece of candy, and even since then, I’ve only had a couple. When I do it, I make sure it’s small, and that I haven’t already been eating a ton of carbs. I usually also try and do it when I am going for a walk right after.

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The thing is – these items I have worked on have shown improvements. My numbers have come down over time. I still have some numbers that go up , but now I can usually figure out what made my blood sugar jump. Don’t get me wrong, I’m by no means perfect. But I do think I’m truly moving in the right direction and hopefully it will continue.

Speaking of that, what kind of things can I do to keep moving in the right direction?

Things to keep working on:

Exercise. I can’t lax off, even when it gets cold. If I stop, that’s when things go wonky. It takes time to get yourself going right and I can’t lose my months-long work over laziness. And hey, I know I’m not getting any younger. I have aches and pains like anybody else. But, eventually. I want to jog/run a bit more. I know I can get down to a 13-15 minute mile (I’m at 18-19 when I’m just walking) if I push myself and that’s my goal. I’d like to actually run in a few 5Ks and know I didn’t walk it all. The couch-to-5K program is something I am looking into. 

Food journal: Now that I feel I have gotten things better in regard to eating habits, it’s probably time to keep a food journal. But here’s the thing – I’m not sure how I will be with watching calories and things like that. Some things are hard to find the nutritional info, so I just need to be smart. But, a general food journal (this is what I had for dinner etc.) will be helpful with different things.

Apple Health: Being an iPhone and Apple Watch user, I’ve really gotten into the Apple Health things. But the main app is pretty in-depth and intense and I want to do more with it. There are other apps I looked into, but some just didn’t have what I wanted to see. There are a few I want to revisit as I continue along this journey to become healthier and I think they will help. As I check them out, I might blog about them as well.

Apple, at their stores, hold free classes to help with some of these items. I might look to see if I can get into one or two of them over the holiday season when I have some time off. I always have said I want to try and find a way to keep things on one app.

Start utilizing other apps: This seems like so 2019 – but I have several apps that I think can work well with my battle. The key is getting my glucose reader to actually sync up with my phone (which, for some reason, it’s not doing even though my Bluetooth says it’s connected). One of the apps I want to use is mySugr, which helps you keep track of your sugars, which might allow me to get rid of the spread sheets eventually. Again, it would be nice if these apps all connect to one spot (a lot can connect with Apple Health) so I can see things in one spot.

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I like the direction I am heading. My next blood test will be done the weekend before Thanksgiving, and I’ll have my next appointment a couple of days before Thanksgiving. Though I don’t know if my A1C will be a drastic improvement, I am confident it will be going down and an improvement. I’m excited to see it though and hope I can stay on the right path.

Thing is, when I was using that reader that stuck in my arm for 10 or so days, I did well because I had constant feedback. I’ve found with the Google Sheets I can check and see the color coordination to know where I’ve been and where I still need to go. 

It’s a battle I continue to work at and hopefully I will keep going in the right direction!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!

Photo Blogging Challenge: November 2019’s theme is …

Another month gone by.

Seriously, where has 2019 gone? Before we know it, we’ll be ringing in the new year. Though, to be fair, 2020 is kind of an exciting time. We’ll get to have a double number which, of course, happens but once a century.

PBC logo

But! We are still in 2019 and we have lots more photos to take. I thought I had scheduled a post, but apparently not. I should probably just schedule December’s now, while I’m at it!

So it’s November. In the States (I know not everybody in the challenge is in the US), it’s the month of Thanksgiving. Our neighbors to the north, of course, have already celebrated theirs!

I feel I have a lot to be thankful for. This challenge has been wonderful and I’m glad I’ve gotten a bit back into the blogging world as it’s been fun. I’ll be checking out everybody’s posts from September this week as the linkup should be almost closed so I know I can hit up everybody’s posts.

Before we get to this month’s theme, let’s do our monthly “group” challenges:

Challenge 1: Tell others about this photo blogging challenge and get some friends to come join us.  Let’s see if we can get people interested in the challenge again.

Challenge 2: Make friends with your camera and see what you can come up with. Have fun!

Challenge 3 is at the end of this post (the theme!).

Before this, here’s some housekeeping items. For those who might be new to the challenge, here’s how it works.

  • See the theme (first day of the month);
  • Take photos throughout the month (don’t use old ones!);
  • Select five photos and create a blog post;
  • Come back here and link up on the final day of the month;
  • Use the official hashtag — #Photoblogchal — on social media posts;
  • Hopefully go visit and comment on other blogs.

That’s it. There’s no rules on equipment or anything else. Blog posts can be short and to the point, or in-depth. Interpret the themes as you see fit.

The one big rule?

Have fun!

This month’s theme? Whatcha eatin’? This is a pretty broad stroke, so hopefully you can have fun with it and find some great images!! Please make sure your blog post publishes Saturday, November 30. Then come back here and link up.

If you think you are going to take part in this, drop a comment below so we can see who all might be trying to tackle this challenge!

There is also a Facebook group for those who are interested.

If you would like to visit the history of the challenge, which started in 2013, please go to the Photo Blogging Challenge page for more!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!



Photo Blogging Challenge (October 2019): Liquid

Liquid.

This is one of those themes that can be taken in many different ways. For me, I had some ideas. And I got a bunch of different things. But something kept drawing me back for a different take.

So I did it.

Every year for Columbus Day weekend I head to the Jersey Shore to meet with some family and such. It’s a nice time to get away and just be able to relax. Some of the time is spent by myself and I really do enjoy the aspect of being near the ocean in the fall when not many people are on the beach.

So, my liquid is coming in a different form.

I spent a lot of time on the beach. And a lot of it was just looking out over the water. I know if I ever won a lotto, I’d have a house close to a good beach. Life would be good. I was relaxed the whole time I was down there.

As you will see below, my liquid is a large quantity. I hope you enjoy and I hope you had as much fun this month as I did!

Here are my five!

1. Sunrise

The two mornings I was there, I got up early and walked to the beach to see a sunrise. Both days I got lucky enough to see one, so that’s pretty awesome. This was my favorite.

2. Peaceful  

I can stand here watching this scene for hours. So much liquid!

3. Liquid reflection

How about a little reflection on the liquid?

4. The pier

In the morning.

5. Morning glory

I think I lived near a beach, my morning walk would always include this.

And there are my five for the month!

If you took part in this month’s challenge, make sure to link up below.

And for those of you who participated, make sure you try and get to other people’s blogs and comment (here, too!).

Let’s continue to grow this challenge and have a strong community. Come back and check out the others who link later on, too! NOTE: I set up a Facebook group for those who participate in the challenge and are interested. I’ll post any announcements there and hopefully it can be a place where things are discussed and some interaction etc. You can access it here.

A ‘lil HooHaa: October 2019 linkup

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!