The AH Coffee Shop and Reading Room 09

[iwatchus]

Currently, the sequel has only 5 actual favorites, while the original has 53 (it was my Nude Day entry, as one might have guessed).

I don't have 53 favorites on any of my stories. Definitely jealous.

 

[TheLobster]

I don't have 53 favorites on any of my stories. Definitely jealous.

Did you take part in any contests? Other than writing T/I, it's probably the best way to raise the profile of your work.

 

[iwatchus]

I finished second in Nude Day this year, the first contest that was active after I was really writing. That is my second most favorited story (after my lone LW story).

Most of my stuff is in very sleepy categories. Romance gets good numbers of favorites per view. But non of my contributions there were as good. Still working on improving my quality.

 

[TheLobster]

finished second in Nude Day this year, the first contest that was active after I was really writing.

Geez! I submitted stories to like half a dozen contests and my best was like maybe top 10 if we're generous. You're already doing great in my book

Most of my stuff is in very sleepy categories.

Yeah, First Time is not very active at all. My Summer Lovin submission is there and I have a grant total of 15 favs on it, despite decent rating (4.74-ish). It's rather long though, as is your silver medalist; both are just shy of 30k.

The two stories which I screenshotted, on the other hand, are basically 6k word strokers. Length definitely affects the bounce rate.

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

Place out of feel, much very.

 

[MillieDynamite]

Yes, Ms Yoda.

Place out of feel, much very.

 

[Candy_Kane54]

It's another beautiful morning. The trip to the cemetery went without a hitch and I spent some time walking around and looking at all of the different gravestones, wondering what those peoples' lives were all about. There were a lot of flowers so there are still people (other than me) who go to cemeteries to remember their lost ones. Being close to a major Air Force base and a VA hospital, a lot of the residents were former Air Force and I wonder if I'll put my rank on my gravestone or not when I shuffle off this mortal coil. I really wore myself out and I actually considered giving in and going back on the Meloxicam but I decided not to. Once day at a time I suppose ...

Anyway, there's a fresh pot of coffee going and the teapot is hot. There are cinnamon rolls and donuts on the counter.

I'll be over in the corner working on my story. I finally figured out how I could get out of the dead end I thought I had written myself into, realizing that I had actually placed the breadcrumbs all the way back in the first installment. Sometimes I just amaze myself ...

 

[NuclearFairy]

The sky opened up just as the kids were getting on the bus this morning. o.o

 

[MrPixel]

Anyway, there's a fresh pot of coffee going and the teapot is hot. There are cinnamon rolls and donuts on the counter.

Thank you. On one shoulder, the cinnamon rolls are Sirens calling my name, my doctor is on the other is shaking her head, "We just talked about this."

What I didn't say two weeks ago about my blood tests is that, just like my long-late father, T2 diabetes is now a matter of record. Shit piss fuck... dookie! ...sigh... Numbers aren't horrible, just a smidge over the threshold, but I need to curb a few indulgences such as high-carb sweets. So for the time being I'm hitting the majors I'm pretty sure were spiking my blood glucose. Then there's the being surprised in researching that some of the "bad boys" are common side dishes like potatoes. Those are easy... mostly... to avoid.

Wish me luck. My objective is to push A1C back below the threshold by November with easy-ish diet tweaks. If successful, it won't undo the diagnosis, but it will delay needing medication assistance. The doc did say I'm nowhere close to needing insulin therapy, so I'll take it while I can get it.

So CK, thank you so much for your generosity, but I need to be a good doobie for the foreseeable.

 

[NuclearFairy]

What I didn't say two weeks ago about my blood tests is that, just like my long-late father, T2 diabetes is now a matter of record. Shit piss fuck... dookie! ...sigh... Numbers aren't horrible, just a smidge over the threshold, but I need to curb a few indulgences such as high-carb sweets. So for the time being I'm hitting the majors I'm pretty sure were spiking my blood glucose. Then there's the being surprised in researching that some of the "bad boys" are common side dishes like potatoes. Those are easy... mostly... to avoid.

Wish me luck. My objective is to push A1C back below the threshold by November with easy-ish diet tweaks. If successful, it won't undo the diagnosis, but it will delay needing medication assistance. The doc did say I'm nowhere close to needing insulin therapy, so I'll take it while I can get it.

Last year while getting checked out for blind spots in my eyes. I got diagnosed with diabetes. The doctor gave me some pills to take and tried to tell me to cut out all carbs from my diet. I asked for a referral to a dietitian who could help me do that in a healthy way, and didn't get it. So I decided to just eat what I can afford, because I don't have the money to cut out all carbs. Meat and veggies are expensive, ya know? Mostly, it's just been drinks that I've cut out. I no longer drink juice or soda unless they've been cut by cream, and even then it's not very often. And when I have some cocoa or milk it's a four ounce cup. I've also cut the size of my desserts. It's much easier to turn down that huge cinnamon roll if you cut yourself off just two bites and give the rest to your SO. But my doctor is proud of my numbers, so I must be doing something right?

 

[MrPixel]

Mostly, it's just been drinks that I've cut out. I no longer drink juice or soda...

This is what goads me. Never had a soda habit, and had to completely cut fruit juices two years ago due to a new-to-me propensity for gout. That solved the foot problem. So I've limited sugars for a while and still test out of range. Emphasize proteins, she said. But meat? I have alpha-gal syndrome, a red meat allergy brought on by a tick bite a while back. So... limit carbs, limit sugars, no red meat, no juices. You know, one restrictive thing right after another. It's possible, but not easy. One week of salads trigger an insatiable craving for pizza, a huge carbs no-no.

Adding insult, neither of us cook (nor want to), so all of this makes eating out a big, big challenge, especially in a rural community, where red meat and carbs are king. Fried fish or fried chicken? Takes care of the protein part, but the breading is extra-nasty on the carbs front.

We'll manage through moderation, which might not make doc happy. (I mentioned the coleslaw at a mutually-favorite eatery. She scolded, "There's sugar in that dressing!" I can't win, it seems. I had the coleslaw, anyway, when I used to get potato salad.)

 

[NuclearFairy]

This is what goads me. Never had a soda habit, and had to completely cut fruit juices two years ago due to a new-to-me propensity for gout. That solved the foot problem. So I've limited sugars for a while and still test out of range. Emphasize proteins, she said. But meat? I have alpha-gal syndrome, a red meat allergy brought on by a tick bite a while back. So... limit carbs, limit sugars, no red meat, no juices. You know, one restrictive thing right after another. It's possible, but not easy. One week of salads trigger an insatiable craving for pizza, a huge carbs no-no.

Adding insult, neither of us cook (nor want to), so all of this makes eating out a big, big challenge, especially in a rural community, where red meat and carbs are king. Fried fish or fried chicken? Takes care of the protein part, but the breading is extra-nasty on the carbs front.

We'll manage through moderation, which might not make doc happy. (I mentioned the coleslaw at a mutually-favorite eatery. She scolded, "There's sugar in that dressing!" I can't win, it seems. I had the coleslaw, anyway, when I used to get potato salad.)

Cream and half and half have been a huge life saver. They have a negligible amount of sugar and a sufficient amount of protein and fat to be used as a substitute for milk in all sorts of recipes. I found this out when I was pregnant with the youngest and got hit with the worst case of gestational diabetes.

But yeah, even though I haven't truly eaten out in years, we still get deli food from time to time, and my plate is always covered in discarded breading. So I get it, and sometimes you just gotta go for the lesser of the evils offered. And other times, you gotta talk your SO into ordering the thing you really want so you can have just a couple of bites and get over that craving.

 

[iwatchus]

I pushed over into a full blow T2 diagnosis when I couldn't do anything for about a year after my concussion 6 years ago. I cut out orange juice and a dish of ice cream in the evening (and took Metformin) and my A1C came down nicely. Below the clinical level, at least until I stopped being able to do anything because of my knee.

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

If I'm gonna die, why not do it with a bowl of ice cream?

 

[TheRedLantern]

After 8 weeks, 6 drafts, and a week of workshopping my character, it's time to declare failure on this story and recycle it for parts.

 

[SerenaSteeleMonroe]

Hello all, I've been playing hooky from LitWorld for some time.

 

[MrPixel]

...a dish of ice cream in the evening...

I hope what you're saying holds true for my situation. The two months prior to the blood test I was on a bit of an ice cream binge, worsened by taking my heart meds with a glass of chocolate milk. That many pills go down a lot easier with something slightly thick. So NF's trick with the half-and-half might just be the ticket there.

Kicking those two habits, eliminating potatoes altogether, and making that low-glycemic/high-protein rice (mentioned upstream) a bigger component of my everyday diet is my strategy at the moment. This most recent A1C was a 0.6-point jump over the previous, which had been holding steady over the prior five years. We'll see.

 

[iwatchus]

This most recent A1C was a 0.6-point jump over the previous, which had been holding steady over the prior five years.

Have your had any changes in your level of exercise? Both times injuries made me stopped moving much I saw a spike in my A1C. This said, I am due for my quarterly check sometime in the next few weeks, so we will see how it is holding on.

 

[MrPixel]

Have your had any changes in your level of exercise?

Not appreciable. I hired the lawn mowing at our studio property this summer (1 acre), but I had been doing it on a rider. But a little more exercise is part of the new plan, getting back on the treadmill again.

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

Been a long time since I had A1 sauce

 

[theWollstonecraftWoman]

Got a good report from my doctor today. He said, if I wanted to, I could have a little sugar now and then. NO, not going to do that!

 

[NotWise]

After 8 weeks, 6 drafts, and a week of workshopping my character, it's time to declare failure on this story and recycle it for parts.

They could be Ferrari parts, but they won't fix a Ford.

 

[NotWise]

Hello all, I've been playing hooky from LitWorld for some time.

Have you missed anything? Sometimes this feels like the same conversation over and over.

 

[TheRedLantern]

They could be Ferrari parts, but they won't fix a Ford.

That's exactly it. I have some good stuff, but it wasn't feeling like a "whole is more than the sum of the parts" type of thing. It's actually energizing to have that realization. No matter how much work I put into it, it was never going to be a Ferrari. This next draft can maybe start off with a Ferrari frame and some tires (okay, we're now WELL outside my knowledge of cars).

 

[iwatchus]

What story was this?