The line between lots of snow and not much snow in Rankin County must have been between my house and my nephew Vance's house, and as the crow flies, that's not but about 2 or 3 miles. We didn't get nearly this much. And what little we got was washed away quickly by the rain. The vacant lot to the left of his house is the one Rick and Mary Ann bought a couple of years ago. How long before we see new construction there? Great pictures, Vance! Thanks. He says it snowed there for 5 hours straight, huge flakes. Here's another shot of the front of his house.I took advantage of the inclement weather to go Christmas shopping. Not much traffic on the roads, not many shoppers in the stores, perfect! I have to be "in the mood" and weather like we had this morning definitely gave me that holiday spirit.

I also got that other birthday gift I promised to myself - a full body massage from my massage therapist friend, total self-indulgent decadence! What a luxury! It's what I would give to everyone I know as a Christmas gift, if I could afford it, but I can't, so do yourself a favor and get one from your favorite masseuse or masseur. The first time I had one, I craved water for hours afterwards (and probably drank a gallon of it) because toxins are released from muscle tissue into the blood stream, then filtered out through the kidneys. It's the body's way of saying, "flush me, flush me."

Massage has the power to restore natural, healing breathing. This may sound like a nice but perhaps superficial benefit, yet look a little deeper: proper breathing is key to good health. Important in easing anxiety and boosting immunity, breathing may also contribute to intestinal health, restorative sleep, and emotional well-being. from massagetherapy.com.

My blood sugar was high when I went to the doctor yesterday, which could very well have been caused by stress. Did you know that the stress hormone, or cortisol, increases blood pressure and blood sugar, and reduces immune responses? Massage therapy breaks a lot of that down and gets it out of the body. I'll bet if I went for a fasting blood test tomorrow morning, my blood sugar would be significantly lower.

The fact that I overdid the desserts at the Red Hat Readers luncheon on Tuesday may also have contributed to the high blood sugar reading. Since my doctor told me to slow down on the weight loss (I've been averaging 5 lbs. per month since starting Adderall), I'm not real concerned about it. The nurse who called said it wasn't high enough to worry about diabetes, so I won't. And with the holidays, I'm sure slowing down on the weight loss will not be a problem. My cholesterol was down to 137, lowest it's ever been.