First and foremost, is the birth of a granddaughter coming up in March of this year. I am thrilled, of course, and can't wait.

Secondly, a new chapter begun in my life. This has to do with the fact that in the last couple of weeks, I have discovered my true 'lost' sister. Or, I should say, her son found me by googling my mother's name which brought him to my photo album "Doris Jane: A tribute". He joined Opera and sent me a nice long message telling his story. I knew right away it was not a hoax, sent him my email address plus a couple of photos I had that were not in my Opera album. In my album, there is a high school photo of my mom. It is the same photo his mom was given of her birth mother. Plus, the two additional photos I sent him, he had seen in his mom's possession. My newly found sister and I have now exchanged some emails. Someday soon we shall meet.

I know I have spoken before of having found my sister a few years ago. The state in which she was born was the same as well as the year, plus a few other small similarities. We met and, initially, things went well. Not that the the next meeting didn't go well, but it was then she told me she didn't feel a connection and didn't think we were sisters. She felt she had just made a new friend. This saddened me, of course, because I was still trying to hang on to the fact that my two and half year search brought me a sister. That was not the case.

In any event, the search is now over for certain this time.

Thirdly, I've never been overly concerned with my health until now. Except for the smoking, I'd always thought I was doing quite well. With some recent blood work, I have discovered my cholesterol and triglycerides are too high. These were the only two things that ruined my results for good health. Well, not ruined, but I'd always had excellent results in everything. My weight, blood pressure, heart rate are excellent as well.

Even though I eat healthy and am much more active than my parents were, I inherited their genes. So, I need to do even more, or less with certain things to keep up my good health. I must take a pill for the next three months, then be tested again to see what the levels are.

I rarely eat sweets, except for an occasional piece of chocolate cake. For the past 25 years or more I only drink skim milk. Plus, I rarely eat ice cream, candy or drink alcohol. My transgressions are always in moderation, but they need to be even less.

My Occasional Trangressions

cheese – I love it. It’s great with fruit in the morning for breakfast. Part skim mozzarella may be the substitute.

potato chips – I love them with a sandwich for lunch. I will switch to Sun Chips which have no cholesterol. I must have something crunchy.

eggs – I love them. What more can I say. I have now bought Eggbeaters.

bacon – Real bacon. (Not turkey bacon which tastes and has the texture of shoe leather.) There’s nothing like a homemade BLT. Will do without those for now.

French fries – I don’t have these often enough to cut out completely. There’s only once place I get them and that’s at a Greek cafe called Crazy Jim’s I go to about once a month. I get fries with their steak gyro. Oh, that’s red meat. I’ll switch to a chicken or veggie one. It’s the cucumber sauce I love on the gyro anyway.

red meat – I love homemade hamburgers and steak. I have it twice a week. Will reduce it to once or even less and will replace it with more fish such as salmon or cod.

crackers – What goes better with cheese and fruit? Crackers. There is no substitute to Ritz. I will have to do some checking.

I have decided to add tofu to the other healthy things I eat. This is something I didn't like some 15 years ago when I first tasted it because it's very bland. However, I'm getting quite used to it and even like it. It is delicious in Asian soups I've had in restaurants. Haven't found a good soup recipe yet but here's one recipe I found on the net. I have every single ingredient and will be making it soon. It looks pretty darn good.

If any of you have a tofu recipe you'd like to share, I'd really appreciate it.

Broccoli And Tofu Bake

Recipe By : Vegetarian Cooking for Healthy Living, page 62
Serving Size : 4

1 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic — minced
2 cups broccoli flowerets
1 cup chopped mushrooms
1 tablespoon water
1/4 cup nonfat cholesterol-free egg substitute
2 egg whites
10 ounces soft silken tofu — (such as Mori Nu)
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons nonfat Parmesan cheese
red pepper rings — for garnish
Nonfat cooking spray

8 X 8" BAKING DISH 4 PORTIONS

Silken tofu has a smooth texture and a sweetness resembling fresh cream

Saute onion and garlic in a skilled sprayed with a nonfat cooking spray
Add broccoli, mushrooms, and 1 tablespoon water or nonfat broth. Cover,
reduce heat and steam until broccoli and mushrooms are just tender. Place
in an 8 x 8-inch baking dish sprayed with nonfat cooking spray.

In a blender, combine egg substitute, whites, tofu, seasonings and cheese.
Blend for 2 minutes, scraping down the sides, until mixture is smooth.
Pour over broccoli mixture. Garnish each corner with a red pepper ring and
bake at 350F for 35 minutes or until center is firm.