Another Day in Limbo

No Room for Christian Cliques

2011-08-03T06:29:00.001-07:00

Years ago my friend, Diane, and I took our children to the kick-off meeting for a Christian homeschool group in south central Florida. It would be our first year homeschooling and our daughters were just kindergarten age. Games were being formed for the children of various ages so that they could get to know each other - kickball for the older kids and a game of duck-duck-goose for the younger. Diane and I happily brought our girls over to the duck-duck-goose circle, looking forward to watching our girls have some fun and play with the many children their age.

Four families that seemed to know each other well were there and were organizing the game. Their children already knew each other well and took seats near each other in the circle. (It turned out they all held positions of leadership at the same church). Our girls sat side by side, eager to be a part of the fun. It was not to be.

As the game progressed, it was apparent that the children who knew each other would only pick their friends. Over and over they kept picking from amongst themselves. The parents watching laughed and cheered them on. No regard was paid to our little girls or the few others that were new to the group. One of the children from those four families yelled, “Mommy, you play, too!” and with that two of the mothers joined the circle. We watched as these mothers also picked from amongst their own children. Kids were being picked, two, three, four, five times. The mothers were repeatedly being picked by the children. Not one of the adults running the game suggested that only children who hadn’t had a turn could be chosen so that everyone would have a chance to play. Needless to say we were shocked. Sorry to say, our dealings with this particular group of “Christian” homeschoolers never got much better.

When I was little my parents enforced various rules rather strictly. One of those rules was that you never went outside with a snack unless you had something to share with everyone. Another rule was that you never handed out birthday invitations in a group setting unless everyone present was being invited. You didn't make plans with one friend in front of another unless you were inviting that friend, too. My mother used to tell me, "The more, the merrier. You wouldn't want to be left behind, would you?" If you saw someone sitting alone, you were to make sure that person did not feel alone. You didn’t ditch one friend for another friend but made the situation inclusive, not exclusive. Do not, absolutely, do not leave anyone out. In short, you were to treat other people the way you wanted to be treated: “…thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” Leviticus 19:18

I’ve seen the bad behavior above many times over the years. Too often it was delivered at the hands of “Christian” children and parents. I had a friend who became very disillusioned when time after time, she tried to get her children involved in church activities – youth group, kids clubs, etc., only to have them left out, excluded not warmly welcomed into the fold. Mother and daughters alike were made to feel of no importance, not worth getting to know. It wasn't for wont of trying to be friendly. The mom eventually turned to rec league sports feeling that there was more actual kindness and exclusiveness. I have to add that her girls didn’t have six eyes or big green horns. They were sweet, pretty little girls and after years of this treatment, the mother and children developed a cynical attitude toward the church. A "friendly" church or group where the friendships are insular repels newcomers.

However, instead of illustrating only bad behaviors - it is important to recognize the good behavior as well. I have seen particular groups of believers who are not only loving and welcoming, but expect it of their offspring. I remember the welcome, the patience and the kindness extended to one girl who arrived to attend a weekly kids’ club. She was not an easy child but that group showed so much love to her. She didn’t a family willing to drive her places and so a few parents in the church took it upon themselves to make sure she had rides and did not miss the opportunities available to the other children. This child, who had been bullied at school for years, had new-found confidence. The efforts of parents and children who were taught to be inclusive gave her church kids who stuck by her at school – a support system. She was no longer alone and easy pickings. She was transformed.

In 1 Peter 5:8 the Bible teaches that the devil is on the prowl like a lion, seeking out someone to devour. Who is more vulnerable than those not protected by the group? It's the weak or the stragglers that are easy prey. As believers, we should be edifying one another. Walls crumble, not just from the battering onslaught of an enemy; walls crumble due to the erosion of neglect.

Friendliness is a gift. I like to think of my Uncle Gene who “Never Met a Stranger,” my friend’s father, John, and Pastor Rick, who never failed to make a person feel welcome. None of these men stopped at the first meet and greet with their welcoming – they made a point of always recognizing the people around them. I also think of youth pastor, Mark, who never allowed a child in his presence to feel left out. Even if a child stopped coming to youth group, he made it clear that that child was a person worthy of his continued care. He called. He went to games. The Bible says that “He who has friends must show himself friendly,” and it has been warming to know that there are those who recognize the shyness and uncertainty of others and take the first steps….and often the second and the third…in order to bring others into the fold, into a sense of unity and belonging.

We all need role models like this – and we should follow their lead. Being imperfect humans, we will fail. However, we need to correct ourselves. We need to look around, open our eyes to those around us. Is anyone sick? Lonely? Having a difficult time fitting in? There will be those people that it is harder to get to know or more difficult to understand. Many people are not outgoing or just simply feel awkward in social situations. Not everyone is a kindred spirit; yet everyone is of value. No amount of youth retreats, mission trips, etc. will teach this - and what good is it to teach ourselves or our children to reach out into the unknown, if it is second-nature to neglect those in our own circles? It is our responsibility to show kindness, compassion and welcome. Not pity – for it is we that are pitiable if we neglect the potential friends that God has placed in our path.

James 2:1 – 4 My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

1 Corinthians 10 Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment.

Luke 10:27 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.
Romans 13:8 Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.

Romans 13:10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor, therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

Romans 12:13 Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.

Hebrews 13: 1 Let mutual love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.

Matthew 25: 35 I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me.

Matt. 25:40 Truly I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of my brethren you did it to me.

Day 2 in Vibram FiveFingers

2010-09-25T19:03:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Rhianna and I took our new Vibrams for a spin around our normal cemetery route. I was amazed by how different it felt to run with this barefooting feel. It seemed to "open up" my calves. My calves are notoriously tight and well, I don't have a problem with shape or muscle there. Running in these shoes made it feel like I was elongating everything. Also, it felt good the way the toes grip the ground.

I was anxious to see how this good feeling translated to cross-training so we wore them to Body Boot Camp. You get so used to the idea of shoes with shock absorption and cushioning that the thought of plyometrics without that is a little curious. Well, there is a lot to be said for no cushioning and shock absorption except the God-given kind. It was AWESOME. Rhianna was so impressed by how she felt - she said it made her feel like she could jump even higher (and that would be impressive, indeed, because she is like a Tigger). Plyometrics felt great; everything did. The balance benefits were noticeable immediately, but particularly with the single legged deadlifts. Also, they made all of the yoga stretching feel more natural.

It was as if someone had dropped off a black suitcase with a superhero suit (like in Greatest American Hero). We felt injected with energy. So torqued were we, that even after the 65 minute kick-butt class I had put together, we still felt like running. We head out for a 55 minute trail run, cell phone cams ready for the beautiful scenery. I got to experience stubbing my foot on a big root - almost wiped out - but it DID NOT hurt more than when I do it in standard running shoes. Rocks were no problem. Now there were some acorns on steroids that did feel uncomfortable, but I'm pretty sure they would have felt uncomfortable in any shoe. Running on the trails - which have experienced a bit of erosion since our last run there - gave our feet an amazing sensory buffet of different textures. Rocky ground, sandy ground, pine needles, grass, roots and clay, stubbly who-knows-what. Rhianna likened it to a massage. And hills - running up hills felt good. Actually good. Really! And I usually am not a fan of hills.

I can't imagine going back to regular Asics or Sauconys. The freedom to feel the ground beneath you like never before is just too wonderful. Then there is the way it seems makes all my muscles feel more fluid. The Vibram site talks about the biomechanical advantages of barefooting running...well, now I'm a believer.

And...I really don't mind if my feet look funny! Rhianna plans on getting a pair of hot pink ones for in the gym. I wouldn't mind going with grey or khaki.

Obsessed or Dedicated?

2010-01-24T19:54:00.001-08:00

Obsessed or Committed?

“Probably millions of Americans got up this morning with a cup of coffee, a cigarette and a donut. No wonder they are sick and fouled up.” Jack LaLanne

I saw a great quote a few weeks back: “Obsessed is just a word the lazy use to describe the dedicated.” As a fitness enthusiast I have been called obsessed to my face a few times and I’m sure behind my back many more. Other fitness fanatics that I know have received the same scorn from those firmly planted on the couch. The above quote explains in a nutshell just how I feel about the label.

The dictionary definition of obsessed reads:

–verb (used with object)
1. to dominate or preoccupy the thoughts, feelings, or desires of (a person); beset, trouble, or haunt persistently or abnormally: Suspicion obsessed him.
–verb (used without object)
2. to think about something unceasingly or persistently; dwell obsessively upon something.

The connotation is negative. However, the definition for “dedicated” is quite positive.

–adjective
1. wholly committed to something, as to an ideal, political cause, or personal goal: a dedicated artist.
2. set apart or reserved for a specific use or purpose: We don't need a computer but a dedicated word processor.

Michelangelo said it well when he stated, “The great danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.”

Ever since I can remember I loved the feeling of movement. The wind in my face, the spring in my step, the stretch of a limb. As a young girl I was always flipping around on gymnastic mats, running around the block, swirling around on a frozen pond. One of my earliest memories is of watching Jack LaLanne and his exercise show, I had pulled up a chair and was following along doing chair squats along with Jack. I think I was age 3 at the time. My friend, Michele, and I spent hours creating gymnastic routines so we could do what Nadia and Olga before her had done. On the pond, we were Dorothy Hamil and Peggy Fleming. My parents never supported me doing any school athletics; although in elementary school I was in rec league softball. However, I read all the fitness tips in Glamour and Mademoiselle and after the high school day was done, Michele and I walked and we ran together. As a teenager I discovered yoga and then at age 17, aerobics. Around that time I also purchased my first copy of Runner’s World and quietly dreamed of running a marathon someday. By age 18 and 19, I had discovered Rachel McLish and “Flex Appeal,” Gladys Portugues’ “Hard Bodies.” I was hooked.

At that time I was working at a Department of Defense facility outside my hometown. There I had my first experience pumping iron. I loved the gym facility and happily got up extra early to start my day lifting and running. I would hit the gym for some weight training and then run around the back roads that were encased in the Army facility. A quick shower, a long time blow drying and off to my office. It was wonderful and I *felt* wonderful.

Eventually, I moved away and to another state – New Mexico. There I hiked and walked, did body weight exercises at home. The money wasn’t flowing freely and there was no affording a health club. When I moved to FL just after the birth of my first child I availed myself of the sunny weather to walk and run some more…and it was there that I discovered step aerobics. I especially loved the dance step videos created by Victoria Johnson. She was an inspiration!

Three children came along and I still worked out in whatever way I could. Walking – a lot, step aerobics, light weights. Fitness was a part of my life and never left. It was as much a part of me as were my hazel eyes.

Sometime around 1999 I discovered Oxygen fitness magazine and Muscle & Fitness Hers. Gone were the magazines I considered “fluffy.” This was *real* meat and potatoes fitness advice. Bill Philips published “Body for Life” and it seemed the world was learning how to pump iron. I wanted badly to get back to the lifting days and around that time we bought a Weider home gym and some free weights.

Time passed and I joined a gym, I began to run in 5K races with my friend, Julie. I was never Speedy Gonzales, but if the turnout for my age group was low I sometimes ended up with an age group award. I didn’t matter – I did for the T-shirt and for the sheer joy of movement and fellowship with others who enjoyed it the way I did. I ran a 10K, then a 15K and eventually I ran that marathon I always dreamed about.

There were definitely trials and tribulations along the way. I suffered from Graves’ disease in 1996 and that slammed me back a bit. When training for the marathon, I *gained* weight and found that my thyroid had gone the other way – hypo. I had to go through the whole slow, arduous process of getting my thyroid back in order (and that is another story entirely)…but I kept at it. Even when my legs felt like they were made of wood, I ran. I lifted. I moved....and it helped me.

I’ve explained how fitness was such a part of my life – and at first glance you might say, “Okay, so maybe she IS obsessed with it.” BUT hold your horses! During that time my life was full of so many other things – fitness was just a part, a dearly loved part, but not the whole. During those years, I worked, I had babies, I taught Sunday school, children’s church, AWANA club – I wrote poems, published a few articles, homeschooled my children, taught Shakespeare appreciation from a Christian perspective, became an outreach childbirth educator, volunteered for a presidential campaign…I had a very rich life, a life of many facets.

And here’s where I make my stand take issue with “obsessed” and say a resounding “NO!” to that misnomer and “YES!” to the adjective of choice, DEDICATED.

Through thick and thin, ups and downs, busy seasons, dry seasons, regardless of what was going on in my life – I made fitness and movement a PRIORITY. As necessary to my life as the air I breathe, I made a commitment to serving my body well, with doing my utmost best to take care of my physical health. I’d been to the scary side of disease and had been forced to lay low after surgeries and thyrotoxicosis. I knew my body wanted to be well and to function at its best, so I fought back for fitness and health.

My hero, Jack LaLanne said this, “By exercise. I'll tell you one thing, you don't always have to be on the go. I sit around a lot, I read a lot, and I do watch television. But I also work out for two hours every day of my life, even when I'm on the road.” It’s not an obsession – it’s a dedicated part of each day. It’s about DISCIPLINE. Accountability to the only body you have, to take care of it and help it to function at it’s best.

Another quote from Jack, “I do it as a therapy. I do it as something to keep me alive. We all need a little discipline. Exercise is my discipline.”

Isn’t that the truth? Discipline is not a popular concept nowadays, but I believe we need it just as much as ever – if not more. I’m glad I have it – that discipline that allows me to keep a regular exercise program also serves me in other areas. It helps me to do what needs to be done, it helps me to be organized and productive. It just plain helps (and that is another blog, as well).

To the folks that have called me obsessed, I’m sorry for you. I’m sorry that you haven’t discovered the joy of purpose and of a healthy habit. I’m sorry that you are blind to the difference between obsession and commitment – oh, that you would receive your sight! It’s my wish for you that you find the exuberance of movement and you work to make it a regular part of your life. I hope that you are never satisfied with just the status quo, but that you find the exhilaration that comes from pushing harder, going further, doing more. May you find peace, love and fitness.

Frosty Friday Five

2009-01-16T06:30:00.000-08:00

A sprinkling of the stuff on my mind this morning:

1. I caught up on my workout blogging - Sweat Report. At the gym today I heard an old favorite by Van Morrison. Gotta love Van Morrison!

Wild Nights - Van Morrison

When I headed out to the gym this morning the windchill was -27F. Now that is COLD.

2. Researchers studying how hormones influence behavior reported this week that women with higher levels not only feel prettier, but they appear more attractive to others. Earlier this week, U.S. and British researchers showed that male financial traders whose finger lengths indicate high testosterone levels in the womb made more money.

3. I always wonder who is it who wants to be hired to be a sniffer for sweat studies? This week a report was released about a pheromone study done by Rice University psychologist Denise Chen and her colleagues. 20 heterosexual males were asked to stop wearing deodorant and scented products for a few days. Cotton pads were placed in their armpits and they watched some arousing fare. Those sweaty pads were removed and new pads were put in place to be worn while the men weren't stimulated. 19 courageous women were recruited to sniff the pads while simultaneously undergoing brain scans. According to the study, "Sure enough, the women's brains responded very differently depending on which sweat they sniffed. (And no, none of them passed out.) The sexual sweat, but not the normal sweat, activated the right orbitofrontal cortex and the right fusiform cortex, brain areas that help us recognize emotions and perceive things, respectively."

Basically, the gist of it is that you can probably smell someone is interested/in the mood whether it is something he wants to divulge or not.

Interesting factoid: A quarter of all people with smell disorders find that their sex drive disappears. To me that says that not all people with smell disorders have their pheromone receptor damaged. Definitely an fascinating science to explore.

I wonder how much sweat sniffers get paid? It's a pretty stinky job!

4. According to the Associated Press, booze sales are not recession proof. As the economy has slumped, so have beer sales.

5. I am reading a wonderful book: "A Stroke of Insight" by Jill Bolte Taylor, PHd. At age 37 this neuroanatomitist had a hemorrhage in her left brain. Being a brain scientist, she knew what was happening to her and was amazingly able to keep it together to get help. Within just a few hours she could no longer walk, talk, read or write. The book chronicles what it was like over the next 8 years - and what incredible lessons she learned. Turns out the Oprah did a piece about her and you can view it here.

Thoughts on a piece by John MacArthur, etc.

2009-01-13T11:44:00.000-08:00

I'm planning on writing about false unity in the church, but this article by John MacArthur entitled "Raising the Error Alert" caught my attention today. Here is a snippet (click on the link for the full article):

Bible teaching, even in the best of venues today, has been deliberately dumbed-down, made as broad and as shallow as possible, oversimplified, adapted to the lowest common denominator-- and then tailored to appeal to people with short attention spans.

Sermons are almost always brief, simplistic, overlaid with as many references to pop culture as possible, and laden with anecdotes and illustrations. (Jokes and funny stories drawn from personal experience are favored over cross-references and analogies borrowed from Scripture itself.) Typical sermon topics are heavily weighted in favor of man-centered issues (such as personal relationships, successful living, self-esteem, how-to lists, and so on)--to the exclusion of the many Christ-exalting doctrinal themes of Scripture. In other words, what most contemporary preachers do is virtually the opposite of what Paul was describing when he said he sought "to declare . . . the whole counsel of God" (Acts 20:27).

Not only that, but here's how Paul explained his own approach to gospel ministry, even among unchurched pagans in the most debauched Roman culture:

I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. (1 Corinthians 2:1-5)

Notice that Paul deliberately refused to customize his message or adjust his delivery to suit the Corinthians' philosophical bent or their cultural tastes. When he says later in the epistle, "To the Jews I became as a Jew . . . to those who are without law, as without law . . . to the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some" (1 Corinthians 9:20-22), he was describing how he made himself a servant to all (v. 19) and the fellow of those whom he was trying to reach. In other words, he avoided making himself a stumbling block. He was not saying he adapted the gospel message (which he plainly said is a stumbling block--1:23). He did not adopt methods to suit the tastes of a worldly culture.

Paul had no thought of catering to a particular generation's preferences, and he used no gimmicks as attention-getters. Whatever antonym you can think of for the word showmanship would probably be a good description of Paul's style of public ministry. He wanted to make it clear to everyone (including the Corinthian converts themselves) that lives and hearts are renewed by means of the Word of God and nothing else. That way they would begin to understand and appreciate the power of the gospel message.

--I've heard some try to say in his Mars Hill discourse that Paul was appealing to the culture by adapting to it yet he was not. He used a piece of their culture to point the way to God. That false understanding is often used to justify "seeker friendly" churches where outsiders can feel comfortable about all this Jesus stuff. Guess what? It's not comfort that leads us to Christ - it's stumbling. It's falling headlong into Him and denying ourselves. He's a stumbling stone and a rock of offense according 1o 1 Peter 2:8.

Itching ears crave to be tickled, so easy listening from the pulpit is trendy and hearing the "whole counsel of God" is not. Here's what John MacArthur says about "seeker friendly" churches in this article taken from his book "Ashamed of the Gospel."

-o-

And on another note -

People are frail. People trip up, they fall, they sin. What happened to grace? What happened to mercy? And what happened to standing up for what is right and true? What happened to bearing with one another, forgiving one another as God in Christ forgave us? It seems like Colossians 3:13 and Ephesians 4:32 are too often tossed out like yesterday's news.

A friend called the other day hoping for help finding a good church in the area. Recently their pastor was forced into resignation by a board that has done this before. From all accounts this man's service really turned around that church after a very low time - and yet a group of power members under the banner of "church leadership" did not consult the rest of the Body or ask them for prayer about this decision (feeling they did not have to) and made a decision that has emptied their church. The rest of the body was expected to accept that decision and show unity...or leave. Most chose to leave. I definitely understood what she was going through - I told her we must live in parallel universes.

It gets very disheartening to hear once again of a church stabbing its own. It's shameful really - and so often it is done in the name of "church unity" and "obeying the leadership." How often do we see something done to someone else, something that seems terribly unjust and no matter how the Scriptures are bent and twisted, it just doesn't seem quite right. And yet we stick around - for all the wrong reasons. For fellowship, out of obligation, etc. Chances are that the discernment which screamed "This is wrong" will still be inside, crying out until you find out in the hardest way possible that you should have listened. Or worse yet, you might become numb to that voice. That deafness, I believe is, far, far worse.

If you do stick around, yet make your feelings known that you are not in agreement and don't want to be party to that sort of bogus Christianity, then guess what? You can expect to be an entertaining source of gossip. You will be called "poison" and other things. Unless you're willing to sit back and see injustice and all its ill fruits, you can expect a target drawn neatly on your back. It shouldn't come as a shock, after all Christians have a reputation for shooting their own wounded.

The - for want of a better word - cool thing about that is that when you find yourself being persecuted, there can be an amazing peace. What an opportunity it is to identify even in the slightest way with the mockery and suffering that Christ was up against! When you find yourself betrayed by those you thought were friends, who led you to trust them...you can rejoice knowing that it was a friend that betrayed the Lord. As the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 8:18 "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us."

Porpoise Driven Life?

2009-01-10T19:16:00.000-08:00

I couldn't resist. There's nothing like well-done satire.

Snow, dreams, etc.

2009-01-10T11:58:00.000-08:00

I love shoveling snow. I shoveled mid-morning and we had a good 7". I wanted to get the driveway cleared for Pat so it would be nice for him when he got home from the doctor. When he did come home he grabbed a shovel and helped me clear the sidewalks plus made a path for the garbage cans. I'm about ready to go out and do another round of it.

While I was shoveling I was thinking about the book I picked up from the library - "You Can Do It! The Merit Badge Handbook for Grown-up Girls" by Lauren Catuzzi Grandcolas. As the back cover says it "offers all the practical information, how-to-support and kick-in-the-pants encouragement you need to accomplish your dreams."

I started to think about some of the things I already have done and the things I might want to do.

Done:

Running - Run a marathon. 26.2 miles between Akron and Cleveland on the Towpath Trail (turned out to be more after Julie & I took the wrong fork in the trail). Thanks to autoimmune disease my doctor doesn't think that running another marathon would be a good idea for my immune system. It might just wig out again - and that is *not* a pleasant thing.

Dance - I took lyrical ballet with my daughter for a couple of years and also a tap class. I even performed in the recital. I would like to get back into that.

I would also like to continue in belly-dancing training. I think, should finances allow, that I'll sign up for an intermediate class up at the college. I had been doing it regularly and somehow got out of the habit. I came across one of my coin skirts today while cleaning and thought...yeah, I should dance later.

Public speaking - I was a guest speaker at NEOUCOM's M-1 orientation for three years in a row. I also put on a "Get started in homeschooling" seminar twice with my friend, Jan.

Personal training - I always wanted to earn my personal training certification and after completing 500 hours of coursework, I passed my exam with flying colors. I just need to go get my CPR/First Aid re-certification before I "do" much of anything with it.

So those are some of the things I've always wanted to do and have done. So what about the things in this book that are sparking an interest in me?

Dream possibilities:

Hiking - Pat & I have both always wanted to hike the Appalachian Trail. It doesn't have to be the whole thing, just bits and pieces. I'd also like for us to climb "X" number of mountain peaks.

Gardening - That is something which requires patience and that would be a good virtue to cultivate. I've been able to grow one absolutely perfect pumpkin and keep some flowers alive. That's the extent of my gardening at this time.

Cooking - I like to cook and am a pretty good cook. I wouldn't mind learning to be extra creative. With the food allergies around here, it would be great to have the confidence to be creative with the foods that are safe.

Acting - I love to act and actually do sporadically at the medical school. I've casted/directed/produced half a dozen Christmas plays - and made the sets. Not to mention the sets I've made and the skits I've written/performed for vacation Bible school over the years. I keep telling myself that I'll take the step toward getting involved in community theater. I really enjoy building sets and making things "work" with whatever I find at hand.

Martial Arts - I would love to kick some butt! However, I'm a bit unsure about being thrown to the ground. This is one I'll have to think over a bit better - and consult my chiropractor about.

Figure competition - Right now Jenna and I are training to burn off the remnants of body fat and show all the muscle we've built underneath. Figure is softer than bodybuilding and doesn't require the gymnastics ability that fitness competition requires.

Volunteering - This is something I do all the time. However, I've always wanted to help at a crisis pregnancy center. I would like to learn the ins and outs and how to really, truly help someone get the hand-up that they need.

I can definitely say there are things in this book that DO NOT interest me. If I dreamed of these things, it would be in nightmares.

Definite No-s:

Car care - Ick. I have no interest and no mechanical ability to speak of. If there is a man available to do it, let him have at it. I'm blessed with Pat who is AMAZINGLY skilled.

Skydiving - Uhm, that would be a resounding "NO" on that one.

Wine appreciation - Laughable - I don't drink and don't want to.

Do-It-Yourself Handyman - Another one that is most decidedly not up my alley. Again, I'm blessed with a husband who can do pretty much anything.

Scrapbooking and Stamping - I'm lumping those together. I despise them both and will refrain from getting on my soapbox about how much I dislike them.

There are all sorts of "badges" and a world of things to dream about. "You Can Do It!" is certainly an inspiring book. It's nice to look at these possibilities and realize, "I'm not too old to do this! I'm not too old to have fun and to explore life."

The other day I read a poem where the writer was capturing the essence of mid-life depression - it was about all the beautiful things that were past as if they were never to be experienced again - from the romantic like kissing in the dark, lying on the beach staring in each others eyes, to the walking not running, etc. I say, "WAIT!" It's not over. You can still make out in a dark alley or run under a sprinkler. You can lay under the stars and dream; you can splash through puddles. I think we become old when we decide we're too old to do these things.

I'm at a place in my life where I know that the empty nest is just over the horizon. I don't want to be mourning my lost youth thinking that the good old days are all behind me. I want to be able to look back with fondness, but yet still look ahead with expectation.

Maybe I'll go out and make a snow angel now, before I shovel...

A Friday Five

2009-01-09T10:02:00.000-08:00

1. Josh Hillis has posted a little blog about the ridiculousness of a crazy spiked hula hoop that is supposedly a new fitness fad. Ouch!

2. And on the topic of fitness fads, I keep seeing advertisements that say, "Flat abs guaranteed! No crunches necessary!" Well, of course I know that crunches aren't the be-all and end-all of abdominal exercises. There is an "abs-travaganza" of other things that you can do. But, please...crunches aren't that bad. There are things far worse than crunches. In fact, I bet I could turn a crunch-hater into someone who would scream for relief, "Just let me do crunches instead!" by just making them do a couple of my favorite ab exercises.

Anyhow - just because an ab workout is advertised as "crunchless" don't be silly enough to think it will be easy. If it does turn out to be easy, I'm 99.9% sure you won't be seeing results. That's because results take E - F - F - O - R - T...effort.

3. Anne Hathaway (The Princess Diaries, etc) will be wearing a ribbon at Obama's inauguration. That ribbon signifies her protest against Rick Warren (Saddleback Church, author of "The Purpose Driven Life") who Obama has chosen as he clergy of choice to give the invocation. Heck, I'd protest Warren, too - but it would be for entirely different reasons. Hathaway finds Warren's views too conservative (laughing, coughing sputtering over here as I type this). She thinks Rick Warren represents (a chuckle here) the religious right. HA. I think evangelicals are far more critical of Warren than the left - because of his watered down gospel, faulty handling of Scripture in "The Purpose Driven Life," etc. (The PDL claims from the get go that "it's not about you, it's about Him" but the more you read the book you find he thinks, yep, it's all about you). Great book recommendation: Decieved on Purpose by Warren Smith.

I actually think he's a great choice for a liberal president to pick. Obama tries to walk a fence between liberalism and conservatism, as does Rick Warren. He's got the ability to be a bit of a bridge. And really, did anyone think with all of the Hollywood liberal posse in town that he was going to pick someone like Franklin Graham or John MacArthur?

4. A read a scary article at Fox News about anti-psychotic Alzheimer's meds and death. While the two drugs the VA psych doc has given my father are not mentioned in the studies, there certainly have given my father trouble. Too much trouble.

5. We're under a winter weather warning and are expecting 6 - 10" of snow tonight. I'm happy it's happening on the weekend and that we have no place we really need to go. I'm hoping we can get bundled up and head out to our favorite sledding hill and actually enjoy this round of the white stuff.

~o~

I drove Caren to her appointment today and I am happy to say she doesn't have to get a hard cast. Of course, she's still in the sling and she's not allowed to do anything...but praise God that she doesn't have to have an itchy cast on her arm for weeks!

The grace in disgrace...etc.

2009-01-07T18:29:00.000-08:00

We are not necessarily doubting that God will do the best for us; we are wondering how painful the best will turn out to be. -- C. S. Lewis

The quote above sums up right where the human mind heads when God directs you in an unexpected way. Change is hard. I think most of us cling to the good old status quo simply because of cowardice. We just don't know where God is going with us and if the process is going to hurt or not.

My own personal experience has taught me (and is currently teaching me) that if you don't go the direction God wants you to go that He will find a way to make you go the right way. If it involves using a weak moment or a personal flaw, so be it. And, well...ouch. Chances are that listening and following through at the get-go would still have been painful, but possibly less humiliating.

"FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES." Hebrews 12:6 Good to know! I believe it was David who said, "It was good for me that I had been afflicted." "Chastisement yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness", especially if you know how to be thankful for it. Because, "All things happen for the good to those who love the Lord."

"Let the righteous strike me; it shall be a kindness. Let him rebuke me; it shall be an excellent oil; let my heart not refuse it." Psalms 141:5

I'm still in the wound-care department of this current self-inflicted injury but I am already catching glimpses of the grace in the disgrace. I feel like Eustace in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader - he was in the form of a dragon because of all the greedy, dragonish thoughts. To become a boy again, he has to allow Aslan to pull away that dragon skin, layer by painful layer. In the end of it, he was fresh and new - transformed.

Here's how the character of Eustace describes it:

"The very first tear he made was so deep that I thought it had gone right into my heart. And when he began pulling the skin off, it hurt worse than anything I've ever felt. The only thing that made me able to bear it was just the pleasure of feeling the stuff peel off. You know - if you've ever picked the scab of a sore place. It hurts like the billy-oh but it is such fun to see it coming away."

A blessing worth mentioning: My husband's awesome support. Not only is he incredibly gorgeous, he a rock. :)

~o~

An interesting quote from a theses I read:

"The object of faith is no longer Christ, but our self-esteem; the goal of faith is no longer holiness, but our happiness; and the source of faith is no longer the Scriptures, but our experience. Christian music currently reflects this. We are producing a generation of people that "feel" their God, but do not know their God." Steven John Camp

While Mr. Camp was writing this on the topic of music ministry, it is too often seen within another area of the worship service: the message. People complain if the message is too harsh, if the preacher doesn't have any easy to follow outline, and a number of other things. As a people we've come to want to be entertained - we want the sermon-giver to be likable, personable, to say the things our itchy ears want to be tickled with. Make us laugh. Give us something not too deep, but enough that we can feel like we did our duty in our 45 minutes of pew-warming. The trend says certainly don't make us uncomfortable.

So what happens when the object of our faith is something else? Be it our children's socialization or our own friendships, position, prestige, or perhaps just not wanting to budge from our comfort zone? Nowadays sports is the god of choice in many circles - how many church ministry meetings cancelled or changed because "My kid has football practice on Wednesday night and if he's not there, he can't play."

I'm going to digress a little here - but the moment we start telling our kids that *any secular/recreational activity* trumps a scheduled activity with other believers, young or old, (excluding random, occasional imminent need type things or a once in a blue moon tournament) - then we're giving them the wrong message. If we're doing it ourselves, then woe to us. In our house there was always a rule when the girls played rec league sports and attended dance classes: Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights were reserved for church. Period. If we were told our child couldn't be on a team unless they attended something during one of those times, then tough-luck - no team. Maybe in this God's best is painful, but that instruction and fellowship will have eternal rewards. Basketball or acrobatics won't. Maybe that's the another good thing about homeschooling or being in a small, private Christian school - you aren't subject to as much adult peer pressure to choose sports over church.

~o~

A delicious combination: quinoa and natural (no sugar added) apple butter. Delicious!

~o~

If you happen upon this posting and are in a praying frame of mind, lift up my dear BFF, Caren. The icy conditions were just plain treacherous yesterday afternoon and she broke her lower arm. It is painful and restricting.

Checking off those resolutions...

2009-01-06T03:02:00.000-08:00

The New Year is starting off with a bang. Yesterday was the first day of our 16 week diet/fitness program - I think that my daughter and I are off to a good start. We were definitely sweating!

I resigned from the board of the figure skating club knowing that I do not have enough time to give it the attention it merits.

A decision Pat and I have been wanting to make since October has been made for us, thanks to God and my own faux pas. It is wonderful how we humans can screw up royally and yet the Father uses it for our good. This is one of those situations where I can see right away the blessing in the end result. That's much easier than when it takes longer to have the "Aha!" moment. The sin of me voicing my opinion in the wrong forum has brought about what we delayed by the sin of not listening to what God wanted us to do in a timely manner months ago. I find myself in the midst of mortification feeling a deep sense of relief.

My resolution reading list is awaiting me at the library. All I need to do is go pick up the books.

I also had resolved to spend more time with friends and developing friendships. I'm excited to begin working out with my friend, Caren, in the morning again. I very much missed the times we had together, sweating and shooting the breeze. Plans have also been made with two other friends to get together for coffee and conversation more frequently.

I trust that the Lord will put everything else in order.

An interesting point I'm pondering: Guilt by association. Barack Obama received a great deal of criticism for sitting under the teachings of Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Wright's inflammatory statements haunted Obama's campaign and the connection was expounded upon in the media. Okay, that's a public figure. What about me? If I knowingly choose to sit under preaching from a public pulpit that is irreverent and disrespectful, making light of such an important part of my faith (as in the Christ, the incarnate Deity)...then am I guilty by that association? If I continued under it, wouldn't I be as guilty as Obama has been portrayed? How do we know that Obama never spoke privately to Rev. Wright to express his discouragement or dismay? Perhaps he did - but the world wanted a public denial or nothing. I"m prayerfully mulling over my own actions and inaction over the past few months. I know my guilt as far as out of place vocalization, but what about my guilt by association and my failure to speak out where/when it mattered?

2009, already?

2009-01-01T16:19:00.000-08:00

"Already" said very tongue in cheek as I've been writing "2009" on things for ages and had to convince myself by looking at everyone else's calendars, etc, that it is not now going to be 2010. I don't know when I fast-forwarded the year...but I'm glad I didn't lose 2008 somewhere along the way.

This is the time of year for goals and resolutions. I wasn't going to make any - except for my friend, Becky's, which is "to treat myself better this year." I like that one, it can encompass an awful lot...but without the pressure of specifics. Suddenly, however, the whole resolution/goal thing started spiraling out of control and I'm consumed with the adrenalin-rush of planning.

To start with, there is the figure competitor challenge program that I designed for my daughter and I to complete in 16 weeks. It's going to be tough, but I'm ready for the challenge. It makes it so much easier to have her doing it with me - that support and accountability is priceless. We start on Monday and will complete the program on April 26, 2009. The reward? Besides the obvious, I'm going to get us each an awesome Otomix workout outfit. During this time she should be studying up for her personal trainer certification - I received mine last summer. When she gets her certification and we both get our first aid/CPR cards updated, we'll be launching our personal training business together.

I also have been developing some resolve to tighten our budget. Oh heck, we don't even follow a "budget" per se - at least not on paper. But this time, for the first in our 25 year marriage, we're going to attempt tracking all of our expenses and following a real, honest-to-goodness budget plan. The spreadsheet is ready (free at pearbudget.com).

As part of this battening-down-the-hatches financially resolution, I've reserved all three volumes of The Tightwad Gazette and two books by Christian finance guru, Larry Burkett. In honor of tightening the budget, I resisted the urge to order them on Amazon.

And now in the arena of personal development, I'm thinking of joining Project Wonder Woman, which I read about on Maggie Wang's blog. I have reserved the book "You Can Do It! The Merit Badge Handbook for Grown Up Girls" by Lauren Catuzzi Grandcolas. It reminds me a bit of trying to be an "accomplished woman" as discussed by Mr. Darcy and Caroline Bingley in "Pride and Prejudice." It's a book about pursuing your dreams, not putting them on the shelf, while you're balancing wife-dom, parenthood, home and career. Sadly, the author died aboard United Flight 93 on 9/11. Somehow working for badges, virtually or not, is just the sort of inspiration I need to finally do some of the things I've thought about...like growing a garden, for instance. And who knows? If I manage to get our budget under control and through thriftiness save some extra money, I might be able to try the ones that aren't free or next-to-nothing!

As for spiritual development, once again I will be following Discipleship Journal's excellent Bible Reading Plan. I try to go through it every couple of years. It is the best, easiest to follow plan that I have ever used. You read from four portions of the Bible each day, 25 days of the month (giving you days off, days to catch up if you missed a day, etc). Reading from different areas helps me not to feel bogged down, like in Leviticus.

I am also resolving to finish working my way through the Bible study for "Lies Women Believe." I started it months ago and then life just snow-balled, leaving it collecting dust.

Dust...that's another area where I have goals for 2009. I have got to do some purging. Of course, I have to have cooperation for that and Pat isn't too keen on getting rid of anything. However, things will need to be sorted through and cleared out, some way, some how. I'd like to lean a teensy bit toward "voluntary simplicity." A teensy bit - I don't know how far I could really go that way. I like gadgets, books and such too much to do away with semi-necessities.

I'm sure there are other fledging goals waiting to take flight, but those are enough for now. I'm enjoying the spirit of it all - I love the plan stage as much as I love the attack phase. Within the next few days, a stack of books will be awaiting me at the library and I'll jump into this all gung ho. Until then, however, I can start on the "treat myself better" resolve. A way to be nice to myself, I decided, is to cut out some of the excess busy-ness, starting with the skate club board position.

Human fat as fuel? Right or Wrong?

2008-12-28T19:03:00.001-08:00

My sister sent me a link to this article about a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon who is currently being investigated for turning human fat (medical waste from 7,000 liposuction procedures he performed) into bio-fuel. Yes, bio-fuel. Supposedly he fueled his Ford Explorer with it and his fiance's car. His clinic has been shut down, as has his internet site "lipodiesel.com." Apparently there is a law on the books in the United States which says that you cannot turn human medical waste into fuel. WOW. Who would have ever thought such a law would be necessary? And is that particular use of human fat a bad thing?

I can understand us never wanting to see life become like Logan's Run where the citizens thought they were eating fish, plankton and protein from the sea but really ended up eating the people who were killed off when their time clocks ran out:

Or Soylent Green where those little green wafers that everyone subsisted on were actually made from people:

Now if someone donates their excess fat to be turned into bio-fuel - what is the wrong in that? Fat *is* meant to provide energy. On your thighs or in your car, where would you rather have it? (Tongue firmly in cheek). As it is human "medical waste" gets appropriated to other uses whether we make that decision ourselves or not. For instance, when you have a baby many hospitals take the umbilical cord and sell it. They don't ask the mother and they certainly don't deduct the profit they receive from her bill. I remember when my daughter, Rhianna, was born - I was laying there during my C-section listening to the doctor and nurses have an interesting conversation about how long, thick and healthy her cord was and it would be "worth a lot." No one asked me!

Some women have to fight to keep their placenta - whether they want it to plant in their yard or to eat (some cultures believe this strengthens the mother). That should be the decision of the mother. It is a product of her body and I don't think anyone has any business making a law about it.

In Canada human aborted fetuses are used for the development of vaccinations. Now THAT is unethical. It is disgusting and horrible - and yet it happens. It is a wonder to me that a law can be on the books preventing excess human fat from being used to propel vehicles or warm houses, but the cells, lungs and other body parts of murdered babies can be used in research and development. Go figure. :(

I read an article the other day about people involved in the "Voluntary Simplicity" movement who felt strongly about using humanure to fertilize their gardens. They received some resistance from those who found it distasteful, but seriously - what is so different about using that as opposed to chicken manure?

So back to Dr. Craig Bittner, the doctor who was "recycling" human fat to run his automobiles... The Auto Blog says: "We’re all for recycling, alternative fuels, and that general green kind of thing — but we draw the line at human waist waste, which is why we wonder whether he really did it. In other words, we’re flabbergasted by his outrageous story." I wonder if they're as shocked by tissue from murdered human babies (we call them aborted fetuses to take some of the shock value off, I think) being used to develop vaccinations and beauty treatments?

What sort of twisted society do we live in, anyhow?

A horrifying piece by Dr. Olga Fairfax, PhD: 101 Uses for a Dead (or Live) Baby. She researched what happens to the bodies of aborted babies and has documentation to back it up. Her organization will supply that documentation upon request.

People donate their bodies "to science" and instead of being used for med students to practice upon, their bodies can wind up plasticized and on circus-like display --- or wind up being used as a crash test dummy.

~o~

Before this stuff weighed heavily on my brain, I did have a very nice Sunday. An excellent Sunday school class, a challenging sermon, leftover turkey-spinach baked zita (gluten-free with homemade tomato sauce that had none of Rhianna's allergens in it), a long, long nap. The beautiful little Layla to cuddle. Movies on the sofa with dh. (We watched "Thunderheart" which is an old favorite of ours). Today was a rest day, but I did catch up blogging my workouts on my sweat blog.

Friday Five - Gym Mistakes

2008-12-26T06:57:00.001-08:00

Today's Friday Five is devoted solely to mistakes that people make at the gym - most of which I saw this morning. There is a group of three women that have been coming for a few months. They never improve even though losing weight and "getting in shape" are their professed goals.

1. Not working hard enough. Effort is required. If you lolly-gag from one machine to the next, you are wasting time. If you are counting lolly-gagging time as part of your workout and telling people, "I work out for an hour a day and I get no results!" well then you are deceiving yourself and others.

If you are a young, healthy (although perhaps overweight) adult, there isn't a reason that you should still be having the treadmill on 0% incline and 3.0 mph after several months. 3.0 mph isn't even a brisk walk. It's a stroll. It's a 20 min. mile. Chances are if you aren't breaking a sweat, then guess what? You're not exerting any effort. Don't expect success without effort.

2. Using itty bitty light weights. If it feels too easy, then it IS too easy. 15 reps with a 3 lb dumbbell isn't going to firm up your triceps or biceps. If you are using the thigh machine and it's banging and clanging together because the weight is so light that your thighs are flinging the parts around like you're tossing pancakes, USE MORE WEIGHT.

Using momentum can fit here, too, sort of as a sub-category. I see people using momentum to even lift teensy weensy weights. Lift slower (not that you have to lift at snail's pace) and make sure it is your muscle moving the weight, not just the momentum you've created by swinging it around quickly. (Exception: Many kettlebell exercises are designed with momentum in mind. Know which exercises use momentum and which exercises don't. Hint: Those thigh machines DON'T require momentum).

3. POOR FORM. It doesn't just look funny, it can hurt you. For instance, when doing a front raise, don't lift your arms higher than shoulder level.

When doing squats and lunges, knees should never go over the toes. While you are performing the exercise, look down occasionally and make sure you can still see the tip of your toes. Pressing your heel firmly into the floor can help with this - and also help you maintain balance.

Poor form can happen on cardio equipment, too. Don't lean or slouch over a machine. Stand up tall. Don't hold on too tightly. And really, it's not the place to catch up on your reading. If you can focus on a book or magazine, chances are pretty darn good that you're not exerting the amount of effort that you should be in order to attain your goals.

4. Neglecting body parts. Yes, doing back extensions is boring but you need to make sure all of the muscles are getting a balanced workout. You can do this in a split routine and not have to hit the same muscles in a given workout...but make sure you do even the things you hate doing on a regular basis. Don't pick a part of your body that you think you need to work on and focus on that alone. If you develop strong quadriceps, unless you balance out those hamstrings and glutes to match them, you will wind up with knee injuries.

5. Poor gym etiquette. Wipe down ALL equipment when you're done using it. This means wiping down dumbbells, barbells, mats, benches, medicine balls, bands, cable machine attachments, weight machines, cardio equipment, etc, etc, etc. No one wants your germs and you shouldn't want anyone else's. It is wise to wipe things down before you use them, as well, just in case some clod didn't do it before you.

Don't change the radio station unless you make sure that no one else is listening to that. Don't put it on screamo music unless you've gotten the "okay" from other patrons.

~o~

Bonus peeves: I really hate when people say "I ran on the treadmill for 'X' minutes" - when the truth of the matter is they walked, and even that usually at turtle speed. Running is running; walking is walking. One is high impact, the other low.

I also freak a bit (inside, of course) when people talking about 5ks and 10ks and call them marathons. A marathon is 26.2 miles. Period. Anything else has another name.

Mixed Wednesday Ramble

2008-12-03T07:19:00.000-08:00

Poor, Poor Pitiful Me - Terri ClarkPoor, Poor Pitiful Me (2007 Remastered Live LP Version) - Warren Zevon

I needed some Warren Zevon this morning, but I also like Terri Clark's version of this song. I heard Werewolves of London this morning and can't get it out of my head. Since I already put that up a while back, I didn't want to be redundant. However, I am sitting here singing, "I saw Lon Chaney walking with the Queen, doing the werewolves of London again..."

~o~

In the interest of not limiting myself to one topic (insert big grin here), guess what I made for dinner last night?

Bison meatballs (ground buffalo, sweet potato, green onions, flaxseed & one egg white)
Brown rice pasta with peas and a white sauce (fat free sour cream, butter, garlic, black pepper, sea salt)

It was GOOD.

~o~

Dunkin' Donuts Coffee, I am soooooooooo over you! Not only do your employees keep giving me caffeine and aspartame when I specifically say "decaf" and "sweet n' low" or "sugar", but I've found better coffee.

SHEETZ. My sister told me that they had a "made to order" coffee bar and that it was way better than Dunkin'. After the last screw up kept me from sleeping well (and I love my sleep), I was ready to try. Rhianna and I stoppedat a nearby Sheetz after her skating lesson on Monday. WONDERFUL. Jenna and I went to a different Sheetz after Layla's appointment yesterday. PERFECT. I called Pat and told him to bring me a decaf skim milk latte home when he passed yet another Sheetz last night. SUPERB. Yep, I don't think I'll be darkening Dunkin's drive through anymore. :D

You can also order smoothies with a shot of protein and meal-replacement shakes. They use whey protein shots. I was very happy. The employee handed me the bottle and let me read it.

~o~

This morning as I was putting on moisturizer, I was thinking about words of advice and wisdom my mother had given me. I was thinking of this because last night I was making Erin take her selenium and chewable vitamin and she was dragging it out, turning it into a torture session. I said, "Buck up! Get it over with, NOW! Don't prolong the agony!" And I realized that is something I say ALL THE TIME whenever someone has to do something unpleasant. (I've been told that I can say this with a very mean and stern voice, making Erin want to cry). The kids also informed me that I always say, "Just do it because it is GOOD FOR YOU." I've been also known to say, "Life is full of things you don't like. Tough. Get used to it."

I'm sure I repeat things to them that my mother told me. Here are some of her gems which I know I have passed on:

Always make sure you are wearing nice underwear in case you are in an accident. (Think they don't care? My friend, Jim, is an EMT and they *do* notice underwear, maybe not in the thick of the emergency, but at some point it registers).

Moisturize. You're never too young to moisturize.

Never sleep with make up on. Always wash your face well with Noxzema before bed. It's just as good as expensive cleansers. (I totally agree).

If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.

Don't ever let anyone feel left out. If you see someone alone, include them. Period. It doesn't matter if you want to hang out with your friends or your friends don't like them.

Rapists should be castrated and have their parts jammed down their throats so they choke to death on them.

Never wear a black bra with a light colored shirt or a white bra under a black shirt.

Corn is *not* a vegetable it is a starch. A proper meal has a main dish (protein), a starch and a vegetable.

Don't go outside with a snack unless you have enough to share with everyone.

One of Mom's which I don't use: Men think with their zipper. I always hated this one because I don't like limited or boxing anyone into some stereotypical existence.

~o~

I think I might be done walking to the gym for the winter. The icy sidewalks have become treacherous. I like my head to be in the clouds, thinking away about "stuff" but I've been forced to watch my steps very carefully. On the way home there was a bitter wind that was freezing my forehead. Thanks to the glassy texture of the terrain, it took me far longer to get there and back than my usual brisk 6 minute walk. There is no "brisk" when you're in danger of wiping out.

I've got to go blog my workout at my: Sweat Report

Tuesday Ten - vaccinations & health care

2008-12-03T07:18:00.000-08:00

1. We took Layla to her 2 mos check up today. She is 9 lbs 12 1/2 oz. and 22 inches long.

2. Those idiots have a list of five shots and one oral vaccination that they want to give babies at that appointment. Are they insane? Obviously medical professionals are often in the back pocket of the drug companies. Combining too many vaccinations over too short a period of time can compromise the child's immune system. (A recent court case was won regarding a child who became autistic due to the vaccines).

Dr. Russell Blaylock, a prominent neurosurgeon in the United States is one of the first to warn against the dangers of too many vaccines given simultaneously. He says, “Vaccine complications increase dramatically when given close together. To give the immune system time to settle down, vaccines should be separated by six months in children and perhaps longer in adults.” He continues, “The number of vaccinations that can be given safely in a lifetime is not unlimited. Many of these vaccinations need to be abandoned.”

Autoimmune diseases, asthma and chronic allergies are rising at alarming rates with the increase of the number of childhood vaccinations given. Put two and two together: it's not about the children's health, it's about the money trail.

This is the two month old list: DTP, Polio, HiB, HepB, Pneomoccal, and Rotavirus. Layla's mommy only agreed to the DTP & Polio. The doctor wasn't pushy about it, but he did ask why. He actually has not heard of the horrible reports about the Rotavirus vaccination. We did a little bit of talking about how Merck was using that vaccination and Gardasil to refill their pockets after the lawsuits against them for Fosamax and Vioxx. A good website to check out: NVIC - Vaccination Decisions.

Pushing the rotavirus vaccination is ridiculous in Western civilization where infant diarhhea is readily treated with rehydration therapy and the virus dos not cause widespread death. The vaccine's efficacy is only between 41 - 91%. There is a good chance that you will give your child the vaccination only to have it have little positive effect.

In 1998 Barbara Loe Fisher, NVIC co-founder and president, said, "Yesterday’s announcement concerning rotavirus vaccine and bowel obstruction is a sobering reminder of the need to apply very high standards to licensing new vaccines and making policy for mass vaccination of our children. It also highlights the importance of paying close attention to data coming out of The Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS). The data from VAERS shows persistent reports of vomiting and diarrhea following receipt of rotavirus vaccine and there has been at least one death reported in a premature infant who received rotavirus in combination with other vaccines.

What is the biological mechanism at work to induce the bowel to fold in on itself? Could it be associated with the fact that this vaccine is introducing a newly created monkey-human hybrid live virus into young infants or that there is a negative effect when the vaccine is given in combination with other vaccines to infants with immature immune systems? And what is the justification for universal vaccination for a common infection which most children get and recover from in the US without permanent injury or death?"

3. Don't get me started on the Hep B vaccination. It's not highly contagious. It's not common in childhood. It's low in the US and it's not a killer disease for the most part. The efficacy has been questioned as well - 30 - 50% of the people who develop adequate antibodies after the 3rd dose will lose detectable antibody within 7 years.

4. Shall I mention HiB? Look it up. Too few studies have ever been done on the vaccination to say whether it is carcinogenic, whether it may cause infertility or not. It's efficacy rate isn't great either. In a 1995 study of HiB cases, 41 - 55% of the cases were immunized individuals.

5. People just don't think. They say, "Oh my doctor said we need this shot" or "I read in a pamphlet at the doctor's office that these were the required immunizations at this age." (Yeah, and those are supplied by the pharmaceutical company). And then they just do it.

It's mindless. Mind-numbingly mindless. Why would you inject a potential pathogen into your innocent little child without doing your homework??? Why would you not make certain that there is actually a darned good reason for doing it? Why would you not weigh the potential risks against the potential (or often overrated) benefits?

6. Why do people do anything just because they were told to?

7. It also bugs me when people just take any old pill their doctor prescribes without asking a lot of questions first. Why am I receiving this medication? What led you to prescribe it for me? What will it do in my body (i.e. how does it actually work)? What side effects might there be? Are there alternatives, i.e. lifestyle changes, which would provide similar positive results? How can I proactively work to improve my health?

8. Generally it's because A) people are lazy and B) people like to pass the buck and assume that doctors are god-like. Let the gods make the decisions.

A) Laziness - people just don't like to have to DO anything. Popping a pill seems easy, complaining about the side effects is even easier still because people love, LOVE to complain. We have a society that despises the thought of personal effort.

B) Guess what? Doctors are human. Doctors can be "bought" by pharmaceutical gifts and perks. Doctors don't all read up on everything. I can't even count how many doctors I have met who knew NOTHING about the new TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) guidelines issued by the AACE in 2003. Nor did they know that the National Academy of Clinical Biochemistry (governing body over all labs in the US) suggested those guidelines be tightened even further. Nope, these doctors were still looking at lab results and under-diagnosing and under treating patients.

9. Recent situation related to the humanity of doctors and the ease in which they are able to overlook things and treat a symptom or two, but not look at the "whole": My poor niece was recently diagnosed with Graves' Disease. Apparently, she has been sick for a long, long time. (I've been saying for years and years that she needed her thyroid checked, but alas, no one was listening to me). The endocrinologist who saw her was quite stunned by the size of her goiter and the fact that no one had noticed and checked her sooner. She had a whole bunch of symptoms that practically sang and danced "Graves' Disease." Instead, guess what? She was being treated for Bipolar. All that racing heart, excess energy, the mood swings...she was given a big honking dose of Seroquel. Bigger and bigger because it wasn't taking care of the situation. Well, now that she's being treated for Graves', she won't need it. But did anyone tell her clearly that you can't go off of that cold turkey...it can kill you? NO. She's in the hospital right now and thank God she didn't die.

I don't want to dis all doctors here. It's just that these men/women are regular people to. They breath, they eat, they have stress, romance, hunger pangs, headaches, lousy relationships, etc, etc... in short, distractions. They have differing personalities. Some are go-getters, some are laid-back. Some are just like the other lazy people who come to see them and choose the easiest and most convenient treatment.

10. All I can say is "Don't be stupid. Be aggressive about your health." It's your health, your body. Take care of it. Ask questions. Don't be a fool and blindly accept any old direction the media, the drug companies or a doctor tells you. Make certain it is the BEST you can do for yourself.

And if you are the caretaker of another human being - your child, your aged parent - then exercise all caution and all earnestness in any health decisions you make for them. Take that responsibility very seriously.

~o~

I've got to get in some cardio and some yoga today. I slept in which felt wonderful. I guess right now I should be eating lunch and thinking about exercising after I have some fuel to run on.

What's on my mind this Monday morning...

2008-11-24T06:41:00.001-08:00

Spit. Researchers at the Academic Centre for Dentistry Amsterdam have concluded that human saliva made into a solution of 30% saliva (to what else, I don't know) helps heal wounds 50% faster. Researcher Menno Oudhoff says that saliva protein may trigger healthy skin to cover damaged areas. They want to develop a medical cream that harnesses these benefits.

My first thought was to remember how hard it was to fill one stinking vile of spit for my saliva test earlier this year. It's going to have to be a high paying job, this spitting for medical cream production. It's frustrating as heck.

Second thought: Whose spit? Would you buy cream with someone else's spit in it? What about the spread of diseases? Would the sterilization of the spit knock out the wound-healing properties?

I think that if I really, REALLY want spit to help speed my wound healing, I'll spit on my own boo-boos, thank you.

~o~

I was cold and having a hard time getting warm, so Pat sent one of the girls upstairs to get his special "when he's sick" sweater for me to wear. It comes down to my knees and I have to roll the sleeves up. It was wonderful. I ended up sleeping in it.

I returned the gesture of thoughtfulness by smearing special heel-crack healing foot balm all over his hands while he was napping. His hands are chapping and cracking badly - probably from fixing our son-in-laws car in the freezing weather - and if this stuff is magical for heels, it should be magical for hands, too. Since he hates to touch slimy stuff himself, I massaged it in while he was asleep. I also put it on him before he left for work this morning. He was like, "Oh, yuk, this stuff is so tacky feeling!" Perhaps I should have spit on his hands and rubbed that in? LOL.

~o~

Icicles are falling and the sound is pretty startling.

~o~

I got stuck in a sports bra dressing in the dark again. This time I put my head and my right arm through one armhole. It was not fun to get out of.

I then went to the bathroom to put on my contact lenses. I put BOTH in one eye.

~o~

Today's workout (and a fine workout it was) is at: Sweat Report

If money were no object...

2008-11-16T18:26:00.000-08:00

I had to answer this question when it was put to me by the Avon District Sales Manager during our meeting the other day. She guides you through a cheesy "Say Hello to a New Tomorrow" packet and this is on page 15. She waits and expects you to check off boxes and then dream aloud.

Some boxes to check:

Buy my own home
Financial independence
Send my children to college
Travel abroad
Swim with the dolphins
Go back to school
Make new friends
Buy a red sports car
Learn to ski
Be recognized by others
Retire early
Show my kids the world

I sat there, stumped. I couldn't imagine that I *really* had to go through this. Yet, there was Lisa, the DSM, saying, "Go ahead. Start checking boxes...and tell me about it."

We already own our home. I checked off "Send my kids to college" and "Financial independence" then put my pen down. She looked at me with that "You're not done already" look so I checked off "Make new friends," but seriously...do you make "friends" by selling stuff to them?

Lisa looked at me quizzically and said, "What else? Surely there is more!"

Rhianna was with me because she had to be dropped off for her youth event and this woman had called me for a spur of the moment sort of meeting. I looked at Rhianna with a "Help me out here" plea.

Rhianna: "Well you wouldn't travel abroad but you do want to go to those waterfalls that go backwards.

Me: "Oh, the Reversing Falls of St. John! I also want to go to Lake Okanagan, British Columbia." I checked off "Travel abroad" but then qualified it with, "In continental North America." Flying and big ships don't thrill me.

Rhianna: "You want to cross country ski, remember?"

Me: "Oh, yeah" and so I checked it off.

Lisa waits.

Me: "Actually, I'm really very content. I just want more money for Christmas and to pay for Rhianna's large skating bills. She could use more coaching time."

I realized at that moment: I am content. I don't have major dreams of a life full of material advantages. Those things don't thrill me. While I do have some kettlebell lust going on (and had a moment of fear this week that Butch would say kettlebells were off limits), in all honesty, I don't want much. I like things that come my way - no doubt.

I started to wonder if maybe I'm a bit weird. I don't dream about new cars - but if one came my way, I wouldn't mind it. If someone felt like dropping a Nautilus Treadclimber on my front step, I wouldn't refuse.

Material ambitions/goals must not be my thing. I tend to dream about running a certain distance, amazing grandma things that I can one day do, where I'd like to hike, going to the park for free contra dancing lessons, seeing my kids "do things," stuff like that. I guess that I probably dream about being able to afford the kind of wedding that they want... but I also hope that I've taught them well enough to be practical and not "throw money away" on a one day event when it could be used more wisely for a lifelong endeavor.

When we made the choice that I would stay home with our kids and then stay home longer and homeschool them, we through luxury and cushy sorts of extras out the window. I'm okay with that. I never realized just "how okay" until Lisa was sitting there, expectantly waiting for a lengthy want list that I just didn't have.

"Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with such things as you have, because God has said—Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." (Hebrews 13:5)

"I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know both how to have a little, and I know how to have a lot. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being content--—whether well-fed or hungry, whether in abundance or in need. I am able to do all things through Him who strengthens me." (Philippians 4:11-13)

"But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we certainly can't carry anything out. But having food and clothing, we will be content with that." (1 Timothy 6:6-8)\

I found this neat definition of contentment by William S. Plummer at gracegems.org:

It is the disposition of mind in which we rest satisfied with the will of God respecting our temporal affairs, without hard thoughts or hard speeches concerning his allotments, and without any sinful desire for a change. It submissively receives what is given.

For the most part, any discontent I have usually arrives with thoughts of things I feel my children need or want. I'm most likely to become stressed about things I want to provide for them. God has never let us down and they have never truly lacked. They have also always understood the difference between what is important and what can be done without.

Truth be told, I still want kettlebells for Christmas. :) And I did ask Pat tonight, "Hey did you ever think about what kind of car you would like to drive when the kids are all on their own and we can afford it?" He was like, "Uh, no." So we both thought and thought for a few minutes, talked about German cars and then decided..."Maybe we should get matching Chevys." End of story.

~o~

On another note entirely, at the gym on Saturday I saw a woman and her husband who I have seen the last two weeks. She was watching me and Rhianna work out, taking quick furtive glances our way whenever we started a new circuit. I found the opportunity to say a few cheery words to her, break the ice and all. She seemed like she didn't know her way around the equipment or machines very well. Her husband tried to show her how to do a triceps press-down and then went about doing his own workout.

She kept sneaking looks our way and then asked me if something we were doing was hard...so I invited her to join us next week. She then told me how she had been noticing our routines, how she wants to lose weight, how clueless she was about it all. Rhianna told her I was a personal trainer. I told her how I had just been doing it for free for some friends and hadn't made my business cards yet - and that's when I offered to help her. For free. That's me - Free n' Breezy. (Bonus points for her: She couldn't believe I was old enough to be Rhianna's mother, she thought we were "friends." Whoo-hoo. It's probably good that I wasn't doing my hunchbacked old woman walk from earlier in the week, that would've been a dead giveaway).

You know what? I still felt really good about it. She was so excited. We made plans to meet next weekend. Her name is Michelle - and I'm looking forward to getting to know her. I can't come the other times she works out - she goes at night when the gym is crowded. I don't like mayhem, plus that's family time for me. I will teach her some things that she could do for her other two workouts so that she doesn't feel lost in the gym.

Maybe it's a ministry of sorts for me. God has given me some skills that I can use to help people - I feel that I'd be negligent if I wasn't giving that help when it was in my power to do so. I'm usually there on Saturdays working on Rhianna's upper body strength, so the more the merrier.

Tuesday Ten November 11

2008-11-11T14:11:00.001-08:00

1. I'm trying out Safari as my browser. I think I like it. Firefox kept giving me grief. I hate IE.

2. My back still hurts. My hips have this strange ache. I've been told it is also a symptom of this bug that is going around. I am annoyed. I don't have time for this back ache stuff.

3. Rhianna and Erin were sick all day yesterday. Vomiting, fevers, body aches, weakness. Too sick to even watch TV much. They just laid around, feeling miserable. I think that Pat might possibly come home today and join in the misery. He did *not* sound good this morning.

4. The back ache did help me get out of the dull board meeting early. I had to stay for the fundraising/budget crisis discussion but since everyone saw me hobble in there, they were pretty gracious about letting me leave. There is this one pit-bull woman who is *not* usually nice (to anyone) and she really doesn't like me since the closed-session ice thing. She's the type of person that scares people and no one has ever "taken her on before" except me. (And I won because right is right and her idea was sheer lunacy. So my winning makes her dislike me even more). Any how, I think she was happy to see me leave early.

5. A study done by the University of Hertfordshire revealed that the overall fitness of ballet dancers was great than that of international level swimmers. I think that has to do with the buoyancy situation. Swimming is easier on the joints, which in turn is easier on the ligaments and tendons. Of ten factors considered such as strength, flexibility, balance, endurance, ballet dancers scored 25% higher. Let's all get a pair of slippers and start plieing and pirouetting!

6. This chair is not doing anything good for my back...but I'm talking to a friend on IM right now and I can't get up.

7. Isn't it great the way women multitask? And they can do it while they're in pain.

8. In fact, an Arizona jogger was attacked by a rabid fox. She ran a mile with the beast locked to her arm because she wanted it tested for rabies. She got to her car, yanked it off, shoved it in her trunk and drove to the Prescott, AZ hospital. A commenter on the article said, "Good thing this didn't happen here in California. The woman would be charged with animal abuse and local homeowners would demand that local government do something to protect them from the wildlife."

9. Maybe we should all be like Gretchen Wilson and say about Victoria's Secret "I can buy the same damn stuff on a Walmart shelf half price and still feel sexy, just as sexy, as the models on TV, I don't need designer tags to make my man want me." Why? Because there is a lawsuit against Victoria's Secret. Angels Secret Embrace and Very Sexy Extreme Me Push-up bras contain formaldehyde. Yes, formaldehyde. The company has admitted it and is extremely sorry that some woman are experiencing itching, hives, welts and inflammation.

Now what reason could there be for putting formaldehyde in a bra?

10. If you don't want the "girls" to sag, then do:

dumbbell flys

dumbbell chest presses

--incline varieties of the above

pushups

more pushups (wide stance, narrow, incline, decline, military style)

Actually, studies have shown that letting the twins have some freedom from constricting bras (like Victoria's Secret types that do crazy things) actually helps the ligaments and tendons strengthen

Proper nutrition also helps maintain elasticity of the ligaments and skin.

(Resources: Pierrot L., Evolution du sein après l'arrêt du port du soutien gorge, étude préliminaire longitudinale sur 33 sportives volontaires, Thèse présentée le 19 décembre 2003 devant la Faculté de Médecine et de Pharmacie de Besançon.
[The development of the breasts after discontinuing wearing bras. Preliminary longitudinal study of 33 volunteer sportswomen. Thesis presented December 19th, 2003, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Besancon, France.]

Bonus thought: I am sick of fundraisers. With the economy the way it is, it is ridiculous to keep asking people to sell cookie dough, candy, candles, subscriptions, etc. I don't like the idea of gambling, but I've been asked to check into these big charity poker nights to raise the $26,000 that the club needs to pay for the uncontracted (yet) reserved ice. Ice time is ridiculously expensive. On one hand, I don't like the idea of preying upon someone gambling away their money on card games - on the other hand, if they are going to do it anyway, it does seem slightly 'better' that the money go to a non-profit group that needs a boost. I said I'd research it. :(

Ooo-ooo That Smell!

2008-11-07T18:33:00.000-08:00

That Smell - Lynyrd Skynyrd

This blog is much enhanced with the accompanying mood music.

In parts of southeastern Ohio, down to West Virginia and Kentucky, they have a lot of recipes for squirrel. The thought of cooking and eating squirrel doesn't sound very appetizing to me. However, according to SeriousEats.com, squirrel meat is becoming very haute cuisine.

Yesterday, I threw in a load of towels and went about cleaning the house. I was in the living room and smelled something much like burning eggs in a frying pan. I know this smell well...my husband and my youngest daughter get a bit crazy cooking eggs on Saturday mornings. Sometimes in their hunger to eat their creations, they put the skillet right back on the still-hot burner and the unpleasant aroma of burning omelet pervades the house. I wrinkled up my nose, but didn't think too much of it as it didn't last too long. Odd snack to be making after I had made a pork roast with onions and apples, but hey...I'm not going to be the diet watch dog.

Early this afternoon I turned the dishwasher on and went about cleaning the house. Darned if I didn't smell that yukky smell wafting around. Later Jenna was sitting on the sofa nursing Layla and said she smelled it, too. I knew no one was cooking anything, so I had the kids start looking around. Would burning wiring smell that way? I had no idea.

We traced the smell to the bottom of the basement staircase. It did not seem to spread any further back. Odd. It seemed strongest not far from the landing. (When you open the door to the basement there are three steps down, a landing and a door to the outside, then the rest of the flight of stairs. Some duct work passes nearby and the water heater is stationed in this area). I began to suspect that something had gotten into the walls and was dying there. But why wasn't the smell constant? I sent Pat a text message and we went back and forth about it for a while.

By the time I had gotten back from the mall with Rhianna, the smell was pretty much gone. I then wondered if maybe it it was just drifting in from somewhere outside. We patrolled the property looking for stinky things. Found none.

I made eggplant parmigiana for dinner and once again loaded the dishwasher up to clean up the dinner mess. I threw some more laundry in the wash. Erin's friend came by to spend the night and I chatted with her mom for a bit in the kitchen. The dishwasher cycle takes about two hours. About an hour into it, I lugged some laundry out into the living room to fold.

That smell. That horrid smell. It was back. I called Pat. He said his nose was too stuffed to smell it. I said, "Baloney. This will open it for sure, it's THAT bad." I made him wait. "Ugffft," I said, "There is a waft of it again." This time he smelled it. Remembering how I said it was very bad on the basement steps, he headed there.

BINGO. He knew the answer. He tapped the exhaust pipes leading from the water heater to the chimney. One spot was not so hollow sounding. He made me turn off the dishwasher and the washing machine, grabbed some tools and set out to take down that exhaust pipe.

Stuck right in a joint was a small, roasted (or roasting) squirrel. Let me tell you, I don't know if they "taste like chicken" but they sure don't smell like it cooking in an exhaust vent! It smelled like burnt eggs in a skillet. Not quite rotten, but not quite right either. It seems that whenever I turned on anything that used the hot water heater (gas) for any period of time it sent hot exhaust through that pipe, roasting the little furry beast.

Unfortunately, I got a look at his little black, burnt face. It was a young black squirrel, much like this one. And no, I was not inclined to take a picture of all its gruesomeness.

Pat then had to figure out what to do with it. It smell pretty badly once out of the pipe. I think he buried it in one of the trash cans out back. We could quite possibly end up smelling more of him before trash pick up next week.

Now I know that the recipes linked to above aren't for a squirrel still wearing its furry little coat. I'm still not interested. From henceforth, whenever Pat and Erin burn a skillet of eggs, I'm going to wonder: Is it eggs or squirrel?

On legislating morality...

2008-11-05T19:06:00.000-08:00

Morality -

1.	conformity to the rules of right conduct; moral or virtuous conduct.

2.	moral quality or character.

3.	virtue in sexual matters; chastity.

4.	a doctrine or system of morals.

5.	moral instruction; a moral lesson, precept, discourse, or utterance.

1.	concern with the distinction between good and evil or right and wrong; right or good conduct [ant: immorality]
2.	motivation based on ideas of right and wrong [syn: ethical motive]

Someone commented on my other blog likening legislating morality to communism. (Since communism is a theory or system of social organization based on the holding of all property in common, actual ownership being ascribed to the community as a whole or to the state, I thought that was a really silly comparison) . I was thinking about this while chatting with a friend at the skating rink and what follows are my thoughts.

We legislate morality all the time...yes, it is called LAW. Without law, we would have anarchy and no one and no thing would be safe.

We legislate morality when we say DO NOT STEAL, that taking what does not belong to us is wrong. We make laws that protect us from theft. We legislate morality when we say DO NOT KILL and make laws to protect ourselves from acts of violence. We legislate morality when we say that it is wrong to force sexual intercourse on another person and we make laws to punish rapists. We legislate morality when we say if you have a blood alcohol content of over 0.08, you had darn sure better not operate a motor vehicle. We have made laws to protect the innocent from people who drink too much and won't control themselves.

There is Right and there is Wrong. There is no escaping from that fact. There will always be people who try to violate other people by behaving wrongly towards them - and that is why we have government and why we have laws.

Just because it is now trendy and progressive to deny that a human life exists in the womb, we can hear people fuss and bluster about "How dare we try to legislate morality! It is a woman's right to choose!" The same people, I'm banking, would be outraged and horrified if they knew their neighbor put some kittens in a sack of stones and threw them off a bridge to drown. Those people exercise a morality of convenience.

A morality of convenience says that if something like an unwanted pregnancy puts me out in any way, I can throw out my conscience and start declaring that the laws which say "DO NOT KILL" to protect innocent victims no longer matter. I can make morality expendable IF it is to my personal benefit to do so.

It's not too far fetched to imagine how this expendable morality can progress... if the elderly are too tedious and tiresome for us to care for, let's decided they are "post-mature human tissue" and end their lives prematurely. Let us tell ourselves that we're doing them a favor and us as well, as it would be too taxing on our resources to support them. Let's then decide that the disabled are not just different, they're inconvenient - perhaps euthanize them while we are at it. At least the concept would be euthanasia "mercy killing" as opposed to the blood-thirsty ripping of immature human beings from the womb.

Here's a step by step diagram of partial birth abortion... oh yeah, it's the woman's right to choose. Unfortunately, the unborn woman ( or man) child gets to be born by forceps delivery then brutally knifed in the head, brains suctioned out.

Whenever a woman wants to have a baby and she rushes out to get an at home pregnancy test, even if that baby is only a week or two in utero, upon receiving a positive result she happily declares, "I am having a baby!" She begins to dream of the name for this child. She makes plans.

Make it an unplanned or unwanted pregnancy and suddenly it isn't "my baby!" - it is fetal tissue or embryonic materials. This is DELUSIONAL morality. If it is a baby when you want it, it is still a baby when you don't. Period.

It seems that the people I've met in my life that believe that are also generally the ones who think "I have a right to smoke!" and don't care if they are polluting and destroying other peoples' lungs. I've seen this type - driving in the car with their children being forced to breathe in clouds of nicotine and tar. Many times their teenagers end up smoking themselves, thanks to Mom & Dad's great love and pumping them filled with chemicals for so many years. THANK GOD that some places like Bangor, Maine *are* legislating morality in this area. If you get caught driving around smoking with your kids in the car there, expect a hefty fine.

(Many of the above folks are the ones we'll see clamoring for free health care - to pay for the kids they have given asthma to, or to get themselves through their bouts of bronchitis and probably later lung cancer. They want freedom to kill themselves slowly, but don't want the rest of us to have freedom from paying for their stupidity).

I might as well add - if we shouldn't legislate morality, then why are we prosecuting pedophiles? Are we going to let them have "the right to choose" their sexual partner regardless of age? Shall we welcome NAMBLA with open arms? Oh wait, is that too progressive? Maybe after this next presidency or the next, as our country declines even further into its immoral cesspool.

I could go on and on, but I won't. Like it or not, morality has been legislated for years. That's where laws come from - legislating morality for the protection of the people, the property of the people and the livelihood of the people.

Just one more day of it

2008-11-03T14:30:00.001-08:00

I can't bear to hear any more about this election. I just want it to be over with. I want the phone to stop ringing and I want liberal junk mail to stopping finding its way to my mailbox.

Tomorrow I will do my civic duty and I will vote. All day I will be sending up prayers that our country doesn't get handed over to a socialist. I will try not to turn on the TV or go to my favorite internet news websites.

When I wake up on Wednesday morning, no matter who wins...I will survive. Even if I completely disagree, it'll be okay because God is in charge. Perhaps we need a few years of another idiot like Bill Clinton. Perhaps we need someone who plans on destroying the economies of West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania and sending our electricity prices skyrocketing, driving us deeper into recession. It'll be okay in the long run because:

Psalm 46

For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. According to Alamoth. A song. ^[a]

1 God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.

2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,

3 though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.
Selah

4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.

5 God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.

6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
he lifts his voice, the earth melts.

7 The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Selah

8 Come and see the works of the LORD,
the desolations he has brought on the earth.

9 He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth;
he breaks the bow and shatters the spear,
he burns the shields ^[b] with fire.

10 "Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth."

11 The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Selah

I think I'll tape "Don't Panic" on my Bible cover in large, friendly letters. (I'd say it's the original HHG2G).

Friday Five

2008-10-31T14:21:00.000-07:00

I'm making up my own rules. :) This is just my Friday Five as in half of a Tuesday Ten.

1. I'm still lusting after Kettlebells. Think I might get some for Christmas? I found a very reasonable place to buy them - The Fitness Factory Outlet. I think that if I got a 15 lb one and a 30 lb one that I would be quite happy for a while.

2. Of course, then I'd have to buy Kettlebelle Body which Skwigg reviewed on her blog so that I would know what the heck to do with the things.

3. I got my father $200 on Tuesday afternoon. He doesn't go anywhere, yet he only had $40 left this morning when we went out for his blood work. Someone, obviously, is taking money from him. They are not supposed to. He offers it all the time - trying to bribe people into giving him extra care. He is at an expensive assisted living, so it shouldn't be necessary. I'm afraid he may have found some unscrupulous person who is willing to give favors of a more sensual nature... I reported it.

4. I went for a nice run last night and still have to either go to the gym or lift weights at home today. The workout I have planned I could do either home or at the gym. It is also beautiful outside which tempts me to say, "Forget that! Time for a track workout!" I guess I ought to make up my mind soon.

5. This song came on the radio this morning and now it has fully taken over my brain. Well, a couple of parts of it have. Particularly,
Bum bum be-dum bum bum be-dum bum
Bum bum be-dum bum bum be-dum bum
Bum bum be-dum bum bum be-dum bum
Bum bum be-dum bum bum be-dum bum

Thursday Thinker

2008-10-30T11:17:00.001-07:00

turned around

2008-10-29T07:10:00.001-07:00

Blogged today's workout here: Sweat Report

I almost wrote a cranky, complaining blog about stuff that annoys me. It was going around in my head this morning while I was working out ... and then I had an attitude adjustment. It's not that anything particular happened. It's was just one of those nudges from God where He reminds you gently, "Rejoice always!" and "Who are you to judge?", 'Be completely humble and gentle," etc. You get the idea.

Psalm 51:10 says, "Create in me a clean heart, O God; And renew a right spirit within me." That verse came to my mind and I thought about what direction I'd like to see my day go. A downward spiral that starts with crabby judgmentalism, disgust with the weather, being annoyed, etc... OR an upward gaze that is grateful for all the blessings of this new day.

So, I'm just going to make a random list of things I'm grateful for right now:

Being safe and warm.

Having a husband who loves me & didn't give up when I wanted to.

Beautiful, kind, creative, intelligent, utterly wonderful daughters.

A cat that wants to sit on my lap.

Dogs that adore me.

Being able to stay home and homeschool my children, cook healthy meals for my family and be a traditional wife/mom.

A good hair day.

My cold may be slightly better.

That gas is $1.97 in Cleveland.

For Layla liking to sleep in my arms.

That God blessed Wendy & Jenna with good husbands.

The new Super Wal-mart nearby that will give Giant Eagle competition.

Oh - that Rhianna has gotten a modeling job with Giant Eagle and will s
oon appear in print ads all over OH & western PA.

That God got my attention with a nudge this time instead of having to use disaster. I hate when it takes big, bad things to get my attention.

A great workout this morning.

That He created me with a desire to do things that are good for me, even when I don't like them (instead of giving up). I would hate to be a slacker or a quitter.

For the concert my dh is taking me to next month.

For my dad's doctor telling me yesterday that he thought I was dad's granddaughter. That always feels good. :)

For hot chocolate with a scoop of chocolate whey protein powder post workout.

That God really does make things new. That His mercies are new every morning and His faithfulness is GREAT, even when ours sucks.

That's just a random sampling, not in any particular order.

A favorite Rich Mullin's song of mine - "Sometimes by Step". I rock and sing babies to sleep with this song. In fact, Layla has had it sung to her a few times already. I love, love, LOVE this line: "And on this road to righteousness, Sometimes the climb can be so steep, I may falter in my steps, But never beyond Your reach"

Sometimes By Step - Rich Mullins

Sometimes the night was beautiful
Sometimes the sky was so far away
Sometimes it seemed to stoop so close
You could touch it but your heart would break
Sometimes the morning came too soon
Sometimes the day could be so hot
There was so much work left to do
But so much You'd already done

CHORUS:
Oh God, You are my God
And I will ever praise You
Oh God, You are my God
And I will ever praise You
I will seek You in the morning
And I will learn to walk in Your ways
And step by step You'll lead me
And I will follow You all of my days

Sometimes I think of Abraham
How one star he saw had been lit for me
He was a stranger in this land
And I am that, no less than he
And on this road to righteousness
Sometimes the climb can be so steep
I may falter in my steps
But never beyond Your reach

CHORUS

And I will follow You all of my days
And I will follow You all of my days
And step by step You'll lead me
And I will follow You all of my days
And I will follow You all of my days
(Sometimes the night was beautiful)
And I will follow You all of my days

The events of the day so far...

2008-10-23T11:45:00.000-07:00

I woke up at 3:30am and could not go back to sleep. I know it is because I slept a good bit on Sunday, slept in late on Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday and went to bed early last night. My body simply did not want to sleep anymore.

I got up and paid bills. Had a cup of decaf tea. Spent time with Pat when he got up. ;) Let the dogs out. I finally tried to go back to sleep and it just wasn't happening, so I went to the gym bright and early. When I walked there the temperature was only 32F.

Lo & behold, He Who Wears Regular Pants to workout came in WITH a workout buddy. The love-interest does not come in on Thursdays, so the soap opera didn't unfold any more. However, this guy actually did a DIFFERENT workout. This amazed me. I felt like history was being made.

I had a good workout and then walked home...it was still cold. I actually had to scrape ice off the back window of the van.

Got cleaned up, rushed to pick Dad up for fasting lab work and...drum roll...the idiots gave him breakfast. This is after they called and woke me up yesterday morning, getting him ready on the wrong day. They had assured me that not only were they sorry for screwing up, but that he would be ready today. He was not. Not only was he not ready and had eaten, but he had to use the bathroom which is *not* a speedy task for him. I did not know he hadn't eaten until we were out in the car and on the way. He then told me that he had had scrambled eggs. I had to call them, make sure he wasn't dreaming it, go to the VA anyway to cancel and make a new appointment. GRRRRR. And we pay $750 extra month for special "Level 4" care. Ha ha.

He still wanted to go out to Cracker Barrel, so we picked up Jenna & the baby. That turned out nice. I was using that for my post workout feeding but I didn't reallyuntil I got home. My cold makes it impossible to taste anything, so I was holding Layla so her mommy could eat and I had more fun. :) I did eat it at home and couldn't taste a darn thing.

We were busy doing school and such when I made this impulsive decision to get my hair trimmed. I was starting to look very triangle-headed and we're having company for the weekend. I didn't want to be the walking example of a wedge. So I decided to run up to the cheapo hair place nearby. I then ended up freaking out as she instantly began to cut it shorter than I told her to. Shorter and short the back went and I was flipping and freaking - inside, because I still felt compelled to carry on polite conversation. I'm already pale and ghostly white, but I think I became almost translucent in fear. I wouldn't let her dry it because I don't blow dry this curly hair to avoid frizz. I rushed home to deal with it, whined to the kids who told me it looked fine. Jenna whooshed the back up for me to show me how it should go. About an hour into it, I calmed down and realized it looks just like it did when I first got it cut. HOWEVER, I *was* trying to have it a longer version of the same cut. I guess that is not to be.

I took a picture and sent it to Pat for his opinion. It's my icon picture now. He assured me it was fine. We'll see. I'll probably be okay as long as I don't look in a mirror or touch the back of my head. There will be no stubby little ponytails now.

So now it is mid-afternoon. I've got to get dinner started, run some errands and then finish cleaning the house like a crazy woman. Wendy, Dan and little Chase & Nyla will be here for the weekend. I need to pick up some "spoil the grandkids" odds and ends to keep them busy. Rhianna has to mail a package to College Boy. She baked cookies and bought his favorite candy.

~o~

I mentioned yesterday or not, but Erin was part of a living Ohio flag at the McCain/Palin rally yesterday. She was only 4 rows behind the podium and we got to see a glimpse of her, her friend & my friend who took them on the news today. She had a BLAST. Got to hear Gretchen Wilson & Lee Greenwood right up close & personal. She said that Sarah Palin is "paper thin" and the John McCain is a "teeny guy with skinny legs." She loved the whole thing, walked about 3 miles and cheered/screamed herself hoarse.

Blogged Tuesdays and today's workouts here: Sweat Report

I have a cold...

2008-10-22T14:16:00.001-07:00

and it annoys me. I don't have time to get sick or stay sick. Things to do, places to go.

I did have a great workout yesterday - NROLW Stage 4, workout B. However, I didn't blog it yet. I eventually will.

I had great plans for today. I meant to go for a chilly run and then do some yoga. Somehow hanging upside down and doing vinyasa after vinyasa with a runny/stuffy nose doesn't seem very do-able. Neither does sneezing my way through Wheel and Plough. Perhaps I should just listen to my body and do nothing.

Nothing involves neglected housework. I cleaned out the cabinet in the pantry and the fridge. There are other things waiting to be done, but I guess they can wait.

~o~

Watched the Biggest Loser last night. I've decided that Vicky & Heba must go. Both are Not Nice Women. I think it is possible to "play the game" and still be a decent human being. Vicky is a lazy whiner. Heba is pushy and obnoxious. I want Phil to kick their *sses. And I hope that come finale time that his very sweet wife Amy P. has lost much more than they do and looks way better. Looking good can be the best revenge.

~o~

Yesterday Rhianna and I had a weird experience. Two young 20-ish guys were watching us as we left the NY Style Grill & Deli with Grandpa's veal parmigaiana. They watched us cross the street and approach the van. As we were about to get in, one yelled in a crazy, deep scream-o voice, "I SEE BEANS!!!!" We jumped into the car and Rhianna had the doors locked before I could even find the button.

It left us wondering: Were there beans lurking just out of our vision? Is this a code for something we don't understand like "perfect mugging victims"? OR perhaps they are like Hannibal Lechter and have a craving for beans. Didn't he eat someone's liver with fava beans and a nice chianti? (I did not watch that movie; I stay away from horror movies).

~o~

Erin was part of a living Ohio flag at the McCain/Palin rally today. Homeschoolers from all over the state came to be a part of it. She was only 4 rows behind the podium - and got to see them up close. She also had a great seat for Gretchen Wilson's performance. I'm not sure if John Rich was there, but I'm sure she'll tell me when she gets home.

In defense of variety

2008-10-20T08:23:00.001-07:00

I spent the whole day yesterday lounging around and being sick. I watched a bit of Band of Brothers (an all-time favorite) and still cried at the end when all the real people whose clips have been shown all along are revealed with their names. I then watched two or three episodes of House. Yep, that's me when I'm sick. I did manage to get up and make a huge pot of homemade chicken soup because that's the only thing that sounded appealing and the family still had to eat. For some reason I assumed that since Pat slept all day that he would be the one to put the soup away. I was wrong. No one did. I woke up to 1/2 a pot of good homemade soup wasted, sitting on the stove. Yuk.

Now it's time for... my mini-soapbox. More than just annoyed about being sick and missing the great workout I had planned for today.

In Defense of Variety.

I do like Craig Ballantyne and his Turbulence Training, but it's not the be-all, end-all of fitness to me. He advertises it like this, " Lose fat and gain muscle without cardio. Discover the cardio free fat loss workouts using weight training exercise and interval training to burn fat, get rid of stubborn belly fat, and build muscle. " He's all about having 3 short 45 minute workouts a week. (Although if you follow him on iSweat you will see that he works out more than 3X per week to get the ripped body he is showing you on his page). He also makes great videos and shares them on YouTube.

I have Turbulence Training and there are many, many workouts. But - I quickly lost interest because it was boring to me. Very guy-like in nature. Deadlifts, squats, pushups. Nothing flashy and crazy. I like flashy and crazy, that spices things up. I felt the same way about Afterburn by Cosgrove. Guys who just want to get-it-done will love these plans, women who don't like variety would probably do well. I can imagine anyone would do well...but love it? I like to love my workouts...even by adding stuff I hate, it makes me love them more.

So yesterday on Craig's blog he wrote out about working out at the YMCA and then got catty about some of the things he saw there. One that he didn't like was a "40 yo girl doing cable chest flyes on a stability ball." He said "Seriously, you can't find a better exercise to do? You've been reading too much Muscle & Fitness Hers magazine."

I ended up commenting reminding him of how when she did that exercise she was not only working out her chest but working out her core and her body's proprioception. He dismissed my defense of her. Oh well... I still think he's wrong. His defense was wrong, too. He said that lower body strength is what you need not to be fumbling/stumbling in your old age. I beg to differ. You need to work on balance. You also need upper body strength because if you are stooped and leaning that will still make you tipsy. The body is a full package - got to take care of the whole thing. I decided not to argue with him any further. Why bother?

But in defense of her some more... her exercise sounded way more fun than doing just another round of pushups or dumbbell flys! Yep, it sounded *much* better than doing the same ol' same ol' all the time.

He also said about another patron he saw, " Another fit young girl was doing lying cable biceps curls on the seated row bench. And again I say, couldn't you find something better to do? Do a set of chinups for more results in less time."

Who says we want "more results in less time"? Who says we hate being in the gym and want to get out speedily? Maybe we want muscle confusion, maybe we are addicted to feeling our bodies move and *like* spending an hour or two in the gym. Maybe variety IS the spice of life. It's not inconceivable.

I believe everyone should exercise and care for their bodies. But I do realize that there are some people who just want to get it over with - and I say, "Thank God! At least they are doing something!" I like the fact that people like Craig have made compact programs that will get the fitness job done for them. I applaud that.

However, there are also others (like myself) who love the act of being active. We like variety. Programs like Jillian Michael's "Making the Cut" are up our alley. Or, one that I love, love, LOVE...Tony Horton's P90X. (Somehow I cannot imagine Tony Horton & Craig Ballantyne getting along. I think that would be an interesting meeting). Both of these programs have an ever-changing variety of moves. They are boredom-busting sweat fests!

There are women who like being active but don't want to be "too muscular" - for them there are workouts like Valerie Water's Red Carpet Ready. She keeps the variety going, but the weights low.

I think before I'd send a woman to Turbulence Training, I'd send her to Marci Lall. He has so much information on his blog - and puts up some great workout videos with lots of variety. You get the picture - I like variety.

Another thing that Craig Ballantyne is against is lots of cardio. He wrote the report "The Dark Side of Cardio." Some people happen to like their cardio. I do. I like a long, long run. I like a killer interval workout that is *more*than 15 - 20 minutes long. Even the great Tom Venuto has conceded that some people *need* more cardio in order to lose weight. (His Burn the Fat Blog is great). Every body is different. And some of us need more cardio just because it makes us feel alive.

As for me, one of my all time greatest heroes is John Bingham, you know, the guy with the "courage to start." He's a columnist from Runner's World, aka the Penguin. Once upon a time he was an overweight, cigarette smoking couch potato. He got up off that couch and started running. He's competed in more than 40 marathons and countless smaller races. He is the author of numerous *real* books, not just eBooks (okay, that was a stab at a certain someone just selling their program in 'e' format). He's got a new one , "Running for Mortals." I followed "Marathoning for Mortals" when I ran my marathon to celebrate turning 40. (Unfortunately, my immunologist says that marathons are no longer in my future, because it does a whammy to my whacked out hyper-active immune system. Makes my body feel like attacking itself). He also is the author of "The Courage to Start" and "No Need for Speed." This guy is a REAL inspiration.

Okay, I'm stepping off now.

Research news

2008-10-19T06:47:00.001-07:00

Ick. I woke up sick. Sore throat, stuffy head, feeling blah. Playing hooky from church as it is not nice to spread my germs about.

Great strides in the science of boobs and abdominal fat loss!

First off, a tweet from theDailyblonde led me to a Swedish study which has shown that drinking coffee can make women's breasts smaller. Now I wonder, who funds these things?? It apparently doesn't work in my family of busty women who drink copious amounts of coffee, but according to the study only 1/2 of all women have the gene that links the two. Does it matter if it is regular or decaf? Does it matter when you start drinking it? I would think that drinking it during puberty would have the great effect. What about obese women who gain weight in "the girls" as part of the distribution of excess fat - do they gain less in the boob department due to coffee? What a silly waste of research dollars! Must be a bunch of bored men funding this one.

Second, HA HA! I always get sick when I hear people still believe that low intensity cardio is the way to go to lose weight. Well, Alwyn Cosgrove reviews a study on his blog which yet again dispells that myths. Here is what Alwyn reports:

"The researchers split the subjects into three groups - a control group (no exercise), a low intensity cardio group (performed five days per week), and a high intensity group (performed high intensity three times per week and low intensity twice a week). The study was 16 weeks in length. The only difference between the exercising grops was the three high intensity sessions per week.

The interesting thing was the researchers controlled the groups for total calories burned -- so they adjusted the duration of the high intensity group's workouts so that they didn't burn any more calories than the lower intensity group. So both groups burned the exact same number of calories (400 calories per session) - and obviously the higher intensity group exercised for a shorter period of time on those days.

This is where the results are interesting. Despite burning the exact same amount of calories over the sixteen weeks - the low intensity group did not see any changes in abdominal fat. The exercise program did not do anything. However the high intensity group saw a significant reduction in abdominal fat.

Why? They burned the same calories in training - so they should see the same results.
Because something happens in the post workout period following high intensity exercise that doesn't happen after low intensity exercise. Is it an increase in metabolism, an increase in fat burning enzymes or simply a decrease in appetite as a result of the exercise?"

A thought for the day:

Philippians 4:6-7 (New American Standard Bible)

6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Saturday - Good Stuff!

2008-10-18T16:53:00.001-07:00

Blogged today's workout here: Sweat Report

Greek God's Yogurt - I went to the Mustard Seed the other day. I was so annoyed that an itsy bitsy 8 oz container of Oikos Greek yogurt was $2.19 and the Fage brand was even more. I was about to walk away in disgust instead of succumbing to my craving, when Jenna noticed that on the top shelf there was a third brand of Greek-style yogurt. It was $1.79 and besides coming in plain (which is good all by itself) it also came in flavors. I purchased the Vanilla Cinnamon Orange and it is DELICIOUS. If you have not yet tried Greek-style yogurt, you simply must. The texture is completely different from regular yogurt. It's smooth, creamy and tastes awesome. Even the plain is good all by its lonesome, no fruit or sweetening required.

Max Factor Lash Lift Waterproof Mascara - This mascara is GREAT. No clumping. Comes off easily with a little baby oil. Definitely makes my lashes stand out. I had been using another brand that did the tarantula leg effect. This product is a major improvement!

The Love Dare - This is a devotional book that was inspired by the movie "Fireproof." In fact, the book is a part of the movie and during production, the authors were inspired by the need to write this book. Instead of doing it separately, Pat and I are doing it together for our devotional. We've only done two days so far, but IT WORKS. LOL - we're doing "projects" today - painting, cleaning, etc. Someone didn't make his plans clear nor did he tell everyone else what he expected of them. He then began to be very cranky and unpleasant. By remembering the dare of the day (which was a carry-over from yesterday), I kept myself from saying anything negative in response and diffused WWIII. So the world can be grateful that we read this, because things could have gone nuclear because of someone's irritability combined with someone else's hormones.

~o~

I am working on purging my closet once again. Things must be multiply and breeding in there. When they do, they have ugly offspring. Seriously! Things I wonder "where did that come from and, whoa! I certainly never wear that!" There are also things that have seen better times - those garments that are much loved and unfortunately, it shows. These things are going, going, gone.

On the passage of time...

2008-10-15T06:58:00.001-07:00

Landslide (live) - Stevie Nicks (Fleetwood Mac)

Maybe it's the grey, maybe it is because it is already October 15th, I'm not sure...but I'm amazed and a bit saddened by how quickly time is flying.

I was walking home from the gym, trying to stomp on especially crunchy leaves, seeing particularly bright ones and wanting to pick them up and carry them home. I was thinking about autumns past, taking my little girls out to collect leaves and press them between sheets of wax paper. And I was remembering being a little girl myself, excitedly finding just the "right" leaves and hovering around the ironing board while my big sister pressed them for me.

At the park yesterday, doing a field workout, the girls were saying, "Remember when we used to come here and look for leaves and stuff?" That's when I took this picture of a lovely burning bush. I got a bit caught up inside remembering all the times we went there, hunting wild flowers, fungus, nuts, whatever...making a field trip out of it. I was remembering all the long hikes in other parks that we went on as a family - in all four seasons. I remember talking with them about how skunk cabbage comes up so early (February) and makes its own heat, about maple sap rising during January thaws. I can still see each little girl with birdseed in her hand waiting for the little birds to land on her while she stood perfectly still.

Rhianna was nostalgic yesterday, too. She remembered playing softball at that very same park and always getting hit in the face! We found a softball in some bramble during our cool down trail hike.

When did time get so crazy and busy that we stopped doing things like this regularly? One of the last times we went on a "family hike" all five of us was at least 3 or 4 years ago. I remember a sullen teenager who absolutely did *not* want to be spending the day that way. We drove out to a park that we had never been to, near the Pennsylvania border. We brought a picnic. We had a close encounter with sleeping bats. Skipped rocks in a stream.

Now everyone is older and life consists of running this way and that. Figure skating, football games, youth group, meetings, shopping, friends, etc. It seems that time is so compressed, that there is too much that we have to fit in to every 7 days that we're not taking the time any more to enjoy being outside together, playing with leaves and picking up cool rocks.

Oh, there have been some hikes here and there, but not all of us. We did spend a lot of time with Erin at a nice little park and nature center over last winter. Maybe now that Layla is here, we can do some of these things as a group of 7. There is just something about being together. All of us. Before we're too old to enjoy it. And in spite of teenagers who get sullen about it, there is always the hope that they'll have fond memories, too.

I think it's time to prioritize hiking together and things that involve just enjoying the world again. I'm a bit tired of hustling and bustling all the time. Time to just say "no," and organize a bit so that there is time.

Just for the fun of it, here is a picture of me and Pat, back in the day. We used to spend hours hiking and exploring the woods. I'm making such a goofy grin...I wish I remembered what it was about. He looked sort of like Chachi back then. (Notice: Somehow back then my hair was going straighter than it did after having children. I was a curly baby, but in teens/early 20s it was just very wavy).

Blogged today's workout at my Sweat Report.

A sweet note: Last night while watching The Biggest Loser, he came and sat with me on the chair-and-a-half and held my hand for most of an hour while we watched.

Ta-da! Tuesday Ten

2008-10-14T06:40:00.000-07:00

1. I finally went to the doctor to review my spit test results - it was a female hormone panel done on day 21 of my cycle. I remember that filling that vial of spit was much harder than I thought, especially since spit repulses me. It was spit, gag, spit, gag for what seemed like eternity.

Anyhow, apparently I have the hormones of a woman still very much in her prime. So THANK GOD we have things taken care of with Pat because I can't even imagine what having a baby at this age would be like!!! I'm all about looking young, feeling young and living young ... but I've raised my babies. No need to go another round of that part of my life! I have a wonderful granddaughter to spoil! Plus, the two from NJ will be here at the end of the month and I'm going to have so much fun with them!

From the looks of things, peri-menopause and menopause aren't going to be knocking on my door for quite some time.

2. Every fall my thyroid med, Armour, has to be bumped up. I had my blood drawn last week...everything was fine but my free T4 started to swing down. That happens whenever the days get shorter. Fortunately, we caught it before I became symptomatic and I started on my fall/winter dosage yesterday.

3. I can't believe people fall for Detoxifying Foot Pads. I saw them for sale at CVS and they were not cheap. 20/20 did an expose' on them and it was such a joke. The manufacturers claim that they turn brown after use because of toxins drawn from your body. DUH! They turn brown as a natural reaction to heat and the ingredients of the pads. Placing the pads over a bowl of steaming water will produce the same foul results.

Tests on the pads showed they removed NOTHING from the body.

4. I like my doctor. :) We had a great chat about selenium and its role in thyroid health. I had brought him a couple of reports, including the followup on the Turkish study I had been intrigued by, and we had some geeky moments talking about biochemistry. When we got back to the business at hand - my health - he advised me to make sure I'm taking Vitamin E with it.

5. I was able to recommend him to yet another friend. My Avon lady called yesterday afternoon. She had finally had enough with her doctor (who was once mine). Double-billing, crazy policies which involve just spending more and more money there, etc.

6. My sister gave me a GORGEOUS pashmina for my birthday. (She had an appointment with the doctor, too, so I drove us there). Anyhow, it is beautiful, rich, tapestry tones.

7. I kept having crazy dreams last night and waking for 2 minutes or so, falling back asleep and then have more crazy dreaming...repeat...repeat. UGH.

8. I made chicken and broccoli stir-fry last night with brown rice. It was really good and I'm wishing for leftovers but there are none. :(

9. Marci Lall made a comment on "iSweat.com" a few days ago about eating an egg salad sandwich. I have not been able to stop craving egg salad ever since! I have no choice but to make it today. (P.S. Check out Marci's site - he has some great blogs and workout videos of circuits that anyone can do with little or no equipment).

10. Today is a track workout day. I should be training my friend and her daughter, but the daughter is sick. (So many people are coming down with nasty colds over the past week, 'tis the season!) That means I'll just be out there with my kids putting them through the ever popular Frankenstein Walk, high knees, butt kicks and bleacher running. It will be blogged at my Sweat Report.

I have another person to train on Thursday and I'm starting her at the track, too, while the weather is nice.

About my birthday

2008-10-12T10:35:00.001-07:00

First, I was greeted by a couple of party animals on Saturday morning.

Whiskers is just a baby bunny, so remember to read that with a baby bunny accent. :) Dexter was not to outdone, so he had to wear the party hat for a bit, too. Virginia would have no part of it; the dogs wanted to eat it. Party items must seem tasty. Pat had gotten me some flowers and the cats were interested in eating those.

After staying up way, way too late, I was up by 8am anyway...with the intent to take the dogs on a long walk. Unfortunately, I got distracted by email, by laundry, by dishes. By the time the other sleepyheads woke up, it was time to think about getting ready to go out to lunch.

We picked up my dad and went to our favorite local Mexican restaurant. Jenna, Josiah and little Layla joined us. It was Layla's first restaurant outing and she was a doll. For a while, she was transfixed by a toucan on the back of the chair her seat was on. I had been running behind all morning and had just drunk my protein smoothie at around 10:30 or so. I wasn't even hungry. I'm pretty sure my leftovers are in the fridge.

We came home and ate the massive cheesecake that I made. It was NY style cheesecake made with 40 oz of cream cheese, sour cream, heavy cream and 5 eggs. Fattening as heck! Covered with blackberries. Yum!

The mail came early and hurray! My new Asics Gel Enduro 4 running shoes arrived. Jenna is impressed that I can order shoes online and they fit me. It's because I buy the same brand, same model - it just gets updated, year after year. Size 7 in Asics is the perfect fit for me. I like shoes slightly loose, but snug in the heel. Saucony fits this way as well.

There was a gorgeous picture of Layla that the kids took which I admired. They had it blown up into an 8X10 for me and framed it. She is now proudly displayed in the living room. There was also an adorable one with her arms up over her head, it makes me think she's playing Simon Says.

After a bit, it was time to go up to Little Italy in Cleveland. Rhianna had a promotional modeling job for Gusto Ristorante Italiano. There was an art festival going on, so we decided to hang out, walk and eat. Everyone came and Layla got her second meal out, lol. And she sure did have a meal out, she woke up hungry right when the food came. We ate at La Dolce Vita, down the road, because Gusto's was packed and even pricier. La Dolce Vita was pretty pricey anyway. Packed and busy - it took forever to get seated (outdoors, no less) and forever for the food to come.

Here's the comparison...7 of us ate at the nice Mexican restaurant by home. My father and Pat had shrimp specialties, the rest of us had chicken fajitas and one giant burrito California. My father had beer, Pat had iced tea, the rest of us drank water. The servings were HUGE. The bill, including a generous tip, was $65.00. At La Dolce Vita, we each had tiny personal pizzas, only 5 of us eating and the bill was $65 before the tip.

Little Italy is a nice neighborhood with beautiful old structures. We walked around, looking at art, going into little vintage shops. The smell of grapes was heavy in the air. Many backyards had trellises filled with grapes, it was delicious. It was a gorgeous evening to stroll around and dine outdoors.

By the time we came home, I was exhausted. BUT my new issue of Oxygen Fitness magazine arrived, so I had to at least scan through it for a few minutes before hitting the sack.

I have a Barnes & Nobles giftcard that needs spending, new running shoes and Pat picked out a little black dress for me and then thought maybe I'd better go see it and make sure I like it first. He wanted to do that yesterday afternoon but there was no time.

I think I'm going to blog about this last orbit around the sun of mine, but not now.

~o~

This morning I was up before the sun and took my new Asics for their break-in run. 45 minutes hitting the hilly neighborhood spots. It was very chilly out this morning. Hard to believe it's supposed to be 80F out there this afternoon.

The plan is to do P90X yoga this afternoon - when Rhianna gets off the elliptical and I have room. She's parked in front of the TV. I also have to make some brownies and goodies for Parent Night tonight at AWANA.

FIREPROOF - a review

2008-10-11T06:10:00.000-07:00

One of the first things I read about "Fireproof" was how actor Kirk Cameron will *not* kiss a woman other than his wife, even for work. Since the movie is the story of the disintegration and rescue of a marriage, it seemed a hard thing to do. For the big kissing scene, elaborate work was done to dress his real wife, Chelsea, exactly like the female lead and then shoot from angles so that she would be indistinguishable from the lead actress. (I can say it worked very well). His reason, "I have a commitment not to kiss any other woman." Simple...a man who keeps his commitments. I find that very honorable, indeed. This movie was also very important to him - here is what he says, The reason this movie was important to me personally is because I love my wife dearly,” he said. “We’ve been married for 17 years … and we have six children. So marriage is a very special and sacred thing to us. In a day and age where marriage is falling apart, we want to make movies and projects that really uphold and have a high view of that which is beautiful and wonderful in our culture.”

What is the movie about? In the words of one of the writers: "It doesn't mean when something is fireproof that fire will never come, but when fire comes, it can withstand it," Alex Kendrick said. "Every marriage will go through trials, or fire, as we say, and what's going to happen on the other side of that fire? Will your marriage survive?"

The movie is about a firefighter, Caleb Holt, who is a hero at work, but doesn't feel respected at home. At work, he lives by the motto,"Never leave your partner behind" but at home, it's a different story - after 7 years of marriage husband and wife have lost track and live separate lives.

I was intrigued and had already heard from a couple of people - our male friends, no less - who said it was a great movie. AND THEN, CNN had an article about the movie "The Surprise Film Hit of the Fall." In fact, the article is still in CNN's ten most popular stories list, staying between 4 and 6. The movie was made with a teensy budget of $500,000 and yet grossed $13.6 million last weekend. I suspect much more this weekend, it was packed even at the late show we went to.

Here's a shocker: The cast and crew worked mostly for free. Most were church volunteers. Kirk Cameron worked for free, too.

We went to see it last night, to the 9:45pm show because we had to pick our daughter and her friend up from a football game first. That's late for us. We like to be in bed by 10pm. It was also not playing at the closest movie theater which many times makes us say, "We'll wait for video." We did have coupons from an entertainment book, so knowing we weren't paying a fortune to get in sweetened it.

There were tons of people coming out of the movie talking about how great it was. You could overhear conversations from every side...and this was a 18 movie multi-plex, so one would expect to be hearing comments mostly about the 17 other movies, mainstream Hollywood films. Not so. When we got into our theater, we were also surprised that it began to fill up and there were many young couples coming to see it, which was nice.

During the first 5 to 10 minutes, the acting worried me. I didn't think the female lead (Erin Bethea) was going to be able to carry it. Fortunately, she warmed up to the role and I won't even take a star away. Realizing that she was a church volunteer, not a seasoned actress, I then really respected the job she did. Her other acting experience? "Facing the Giants" another stand-out production by Sherwood Pictures that made Hollywood sit up and take notice.

I cannot recommend this picture more. My husband and I both were crying - and you could hear the sniffles from others all over the audience (just like when we saw The Notebook in theaters a few years ago). In fact, if you liked the Notebook, you will *love* this movie.

One of the premises of the story is that while this firefighter is putting out fires all over the city, his own marriage is going up in flames. His father asks him if he really wants to give up and he is unsure. His father then gives him a 40-day "love dare" and sends him a book with a special instruction for each of 40 days. This book didn't exist until the movie was in production, it was fictional...but during the production the writers realized how important it was for such a book to exist and prayed to God for helping writing it. It is now on Amazon.com's best seller's list.

To find out about resources related to this movie, go to: http://fireproofmymarriage.com

Purely trivial: Pat and I were commenting how now that Kirk Cameron has aged (he turns 38 tomorrow), he looks surprisingly like a young Mel Gibson. In many of the shots, he was caught from angles where it was like, "Whoa! That's Mel in Braveheart! Yikes! Mel in Bird on a Wire!"

Thoughts on this week's Biggest Loser

2008-10-09T16:50:00.000-07:00

But first, I blogged today's crazy soccer field sweat fest here: http://tinyurl.com/4ble9a

Now on to the subject at hand. This week's episode was a two-parter thanks to the debate on Tuesday night. Both parts seemed to focus on Jillian and her team, which annoyed me. I used to really respect her and want to emulate her. Not any more. There is a Bible verse in James that talks about how blessing and cursing cannot stream from the same fountain. (James 3:11 "A spring cannot pour both fresh and brackish water from the same opening, can it?") On one hand this woman is fouly cursing at these people and on the other hand she's all psycho-babble pseudo caring get-at-your-inner-feelings buddy-buddy.

I do not think it is necessary to use obscenities in order to push anyone. You can be hardcore and tougher than nails without being demeaning and disrespectful. I'm getting quite disgusted with this. It's probably some ratings ploy, "Look, we have an evil she-devil cutting loose!"

I was getting quite annoyed about her "no hands on the treadmill" rule. While I understand that YES, YOU DO BURN MORE CALORIES if you keep your hands off, I also understand that many obese people have serious balance problems. Balance is not built in a day. Balance takes time to acquire. Give them a bit of space, they'll still be burning far more than they were back at home, sitting on the sofa, eating fast food. I don't think it is necessary to stress someone to the point of tears. Feeling like you are going to fall is a horrible sensation.

Now on Jillian's side, I can imagine how frustrated she was. Her team seems to be made up of mostly unmotivated people. At least unmotivated in comparison to teams and individuals of past seasons. When you consider how very many people wanted to be where those ladies are now, it is an insult that they are making the most of every single moment.

One of my favorite couples, Heba & Brady, was split up this week, as the husband did not lose any weight and that put them under the yellow line. Brady did INCREDIBLE at home and has lost 85 lbs. The transformation was crazy-wonderful. He & his wife were on Bob's team - I was hoping that no one from Bob's team would go home, but that's the way it goes. I thought Jillian deserved to lose team members to prove at some level that sailor-tongues aren't the key to success.

~o~

Precision Nutrition had a neat forum post - The Amanda Graydon Project. This was a fit, healthy girl who wanted to take her fitness to the next level and become "figure competitor fit."

Tuesday Ten Once Again

2008-10-07T08:28:00.000-07:00

1. Carp pedicures? How gross! I cannot believe that people pay to have dead skin nibbled off their feet as part of receiving a pedicure. No thank you! Washington State is banning carp pedicures because they are unsanitary. The state law is that all pedicure tools be sanitized and how do you sanitize live fish? No boiling! LOL.

2. There have now been more than 9,700 reports of adverse effects caused by the Gardasil vaccine. Deadly blood clots, acute respiratory failure, cardiac arrest and “sudden death due to unknown causes” have all occurred in girls shortly after they’ve received the Gardasil vaccine. The vaccine is still *unproven* as to preventing any forms of cancer.

3. Want to cut your risk of cancer? Quit smoking. Start exercising. Eat healthier foods. Limit sugar and processed foods. Get regular screenings. Get the right amount of sleep. Get enough vitamin D. Reduce your exposure to environmental toxins.

4. More evidence that soy is "not soy good." It inhibits iron absorption, is linked to peanut allergy and increased risk of asthma, provides no benefits with respect to heart disease, may cause bladder cancer, the list goes on. Here's a small blurb from the American Heart Association.

5. Since 2007 I've had 76 signatures in my Classmate's guest book and 361 visitors. Wouldn't it be nice if everyone signed the guestbook? The last two are guys I don't remember, two grades above me. Before them was an old friend with a disabled sister who had the best attitude, she was very inspiring.

6. Took Layla to her first appointment with the pediatrician. She has recovered her weight within just 2 oz shy of her birth weight. Formula-fed babies lose less than breast-fed babies BUT this is not actually good for them. Normally babies get back up to their birth weight by their two week checkup, so Layla is doing awesome.

7. For great Christian satire, go here: The Wittenburg Door.

8. I ruined my breakfast protein smoothie today by adding a packet of Super Fruits Plus. I cannot begin to tell you how disgusting it was and yet I did manage to get it down.

9. Queen Helene Mud Pack Masque. Inexpensive and awesome. The Mint Julep Masque is also terrific. The lack of sleep and craziness of late had my skin rebelling. I was not very happy with its behavior. I packed on the mud last night for about 30 minutes, washed up, went to bed and woke up with happy, blemish-free skin.

10. Very funny blog. Craig Ballantyne Wanted Dead by Fat Cells! From the spokescell from Dan's fat cells who are very unhappy with what Turbulence Training is doing to them.

Going to the track this afternoon - first to work out myself, then to train a friend and her daughter. It will be blogged at: Sweat Report

Always an Adventure

2008-10-03T18:31:00.000-07:00

Today started around 2am when I went with Jenna and her husband to the ER. She was having incredible abdominal pain. When she's in enough pain to agree going to the hospital, she's really in pain. As usual, there are idiots working at our local hospital. We arrive and the triage nurse is off somewhere and will "be there shortly." She comes lollygagging in with a big cup of coffee which she is trying not to spill and takes her sweet old time positioning her self and starting vitals. I got the distinct feeling that unless you were decapitated and handed her your head personally that nothing was that urgent to her. Working in the Emergency room always meant to me that the nurses there should act with a sense of urgency. Ha. She attempted to ever so slowly lead my daughter to yet another empty desk to wait indeterminably for another employee in order to be registered before being brought into an examination room. Bull crap. That wasn't happening, not on my watch. A few words about reporting to the administration her lazy demeanor and shoddy service and she was bringing us to a room a bit more quickly.

Hours later - but shorter than most ER visits at this hospital - the verdict was renal colic and a UTI with the distinct possibility that she had passed a kidney stone. This was after a full bag of IV fluids, a CT scan and an abdominal ultrasound. I was pleasantly surprised that all this was done between 2:45 and 6am. Record breaking for this place. Passing kidney stones is supposed to feel worse than childbirth - since she just went through that ordeal a mere five days ago this makes it especially rotten.

There were moments of comic relief as she started to feel better. Josiah probably scared the daylights out of the woman in the next room when he leaned in to kiss Layla and bumped the huge rolling medical cabinet. This sent this giant 8 ft wide, 6 ft high cabinet sailing into the curtain dividing the "rooms" and rolling towards this woman's bed at quite a speed. Being draped in the curtain she could not see that it was a cabinet not the wall moving towards her. She was having some mental issues and I imagine she must have thought the walls were closing in on her. I'm sure it wasn't funny to her, but we were tired and it brought tears to our eyes. There was also the incredibly funny at the time "your yams are always overgrown" comment. I think we were getting giddy and silly from lack of sleep.

Little Layla slept through most of it, waking up for a snack mid-hospital visit. She is just such a cutie.

And to close, here is a picture of wee Layla in the arms of giant Poppa.

That Three Thursday Confession Thing

2008-10-02T10:43:00.000-07:00

1. I'm exhausted but I'm still so happy about my granddaughter that it is hard to take a nap. Steve wrote in his TCT about being in love with his daughter and I identify with that. My daughter is just a naturally amazing mom and I still can't get over the gift she gave me in having me there to help with the birth, my granddaughter is wondrous. She was such a fighter and such a trooper during the birth - and it was a hard one. She maintained composure even when under insane amounts of stress from some stupid nurses. My other two daughters are precious and are so "into" being aunties. Everything Layla does captivates them; Layla captivates all of us. It's just a big love fest around here. Add to that how sweet my husband was, tears in his eyes over the birth of his granddaughter and that look of joy whenever he sees her, how he melts when he holds her - I'm overcome with warm fuzzy feelings. My son-in-law, well, he's just plain adorable with his daughter and a sweetie with my daughter. He was so strong and sensitive during the birth.

Love, love, love! I love my family.

2. I'm amazed at how I can feel all this tenderness and still be so riled up about what is being done to my pastor. He's been on sabbatical this summer and the preaching has been a desert wasteland. The preaching this summer seems like some messages came out of a dusty file cabinet, "This one was good back in 1991, I think I'll use it again and throw in a few football jokes." I hate football. I'm being sarcastic and I probably shouldn't be. I'm confused, upset and yes..angry. I want to be challenged. I want to be exhorted. I want someone preaching to me who wants to set me straight and isn't afraid to do it. I don't need to be coddled and I don't want someone to make me feel good, like I'm such a good girl for coming to church. Tell me how to live a Christ-like life, don't give me some canned message. Tell me where I am wrong, where I've screwed up, and inspire me to open myself to the Lord for change.

3. I slept wonderfully last night in my own bed and would have loved to stay in that warm bed longer to catch up on sleep, but I confess... I got up and made sure I was at the gym at 6:30am. I blogged my workout here: http://tinyurl.com/4ofajh It was still dark out while I was walking there. This shortening of days sure happened fast!

Sunday's Child Is Full of Grace

2008-09-28T18:17:00.000-07:00

The beautiful Layla Amelie entered the world at 4:23am, September 28, 2008. She weighed in at 8 lbs 1.6 oz and was 19 1/2 inches long. Gorgeous little Layla has her mommy's fingers & toes and her daddy's ears. She's looks so much like her mommy and aunts when they were born!

The birth was incredible. Being able to be present was the most wonderful gift I have ever been given in my entire life.

Seeing Layla in her mommy's arms and that unmistakable recognition in her eyes, "This is MY mommy!" The tender look in my daughter's eyes as she cradles her newborn made me melt. Little Layla was so very alert - she *knew* her daddy's voice and was craning her neck around to search him out.

I'm so tired - although not as tired as my daughter who did all the work! - and I need to get some sleep. We're all just in awe right now. Such a miracle, such a wonder, such a blessing from God.

about that debate

2008-09-27T05:08:00.001-07:00

Watching the debate last night, I was in amazement that anyone could find Obama as a suitable candidate for president. I honestly was trying to look at it with as much of a non-partisan eye as possible. Originally, I wasn't fond of either candidate...I wanted Mike Huckabee to get in there! Anyhow, Obama stammered and scrambled his way through the debate whilst McCain held command of every conversation. Obama came off like an ignorant schoolboy.

I'm still amazed that he keeps trying to spin the thing of McCain giving "tax breaks to big corporations" as if it is bad. As McCain explained yet again, it's simple economics. You make it worthwhile for companies to stay here and keep the jobs here; if you don't, they will take those jobs overseas where they get the breaks. Doing that *helps* Americans by keeping jobs home. They do it in localaities all across our country. Just north of me, in the town where my husband works, they have attracted scores of companies and made several huge industrial parks. How? By offering tax breaks!

McCain presented himself as a seasoned and well-versed candidate, one who appeared very presidential. Obama appeared...political. For the most part, he didn't present real information regarding the "how" of any of his plans, just a bunch of pretty talk (when he could manage to get the words out smoothly). He showed no real knowledge or experience in military matters or in foreign relations ("I would 'take out' Pakistan," for instance). He showed no economic understanding. He could not and did not even try to explain his pork-filled "plan." I also felt that Obama was RUDE to keep calling McCain "John" instead of "Senator McCain" as was proper in that situation. He didn't realize his goof until the second half of the debate when he finally corrected his lack of courtesy. I felt that he was trying to appear condescending in the only way he could since he was facing superior knowledge and experience.

I was seriously shocked hearing that commentators at CNN were mocking McCain's speech and mannerisms while their golden boy was going, "Uhh, uhhh, uhhhh, uuhhh" every time his mouth opened. And once he got the words going, he was still stammering over them. It was pathetic.

What I think I enjoyed most was that after McCain spoke Obama kept saying himself that John McCain was RIGHT.

Fungus Among Us

2008-09-26T07:06:00.000-07:00

I walked with Jenna this morning (I think she's in early labor, she was very crampy feeling). We saw this big fungus ball thing on the side of the road. The picture does not do justice to how big this thing was; it was the size of a slightly deflated volleyball. In other words, HUGE. I'm not sure if it was the puffball sort. I certainly wasn't going to step on it and send spores flying just to find out. There was also a softball sized one nearby.

This morning I tormented still sleepy Erin and Rhianna as they began their school work wrapped in blankets. I'm not putting the heat on until mid-late October unless it snows! And yes, that is an artificial Christmas tree in the background beside the over-stuffed bookshelves. We used it for background for the plays at VBS and then hung a Ringmaster guy that I picked up at Arabica Coffee House on it. It is our "seasonal" tree.

Yesterday at the graveyard, Rhianna had Jenna take this picture so she could send it to her boyfriend who is away at college. She's going to homecoming with friends and wanted him to know that the only guys she's in contact with are cold and lifeless to her. :) This particular monument is rather eerie in the twilight. The statue appears to be gliding down the steps. Very ethereal, which I'm sure it was meant to be.

Men and Food

2008-09-25T07:22:00.000-07:00

In reading Tosca Reno's new expanded edition of the Eat Clean Diet, I found the new chapter, "Men Can Eat Clean, Too." She feels, through her experiences, that most men don't make as much of a fuss about food as women and generally eat what is placed before them at home and what is "easiest" when out of the home. I think the idea might be that women reading the chapter should feel comfortable changing the household fare to cleaner meals because "Someone prepares the food in question, puts it on a plate and sets in in front of said man. The food is consumed, the meal is over and that is the end of it."

Not at this household. I try to serve healthy meals and Pat is used to it. He may eat the meal, but he'll be sneaking around the kitchen at 10pm frying up some greasy concoction to "make up" for whatever he had to suffer through. Should I dare serve something out of the ordinary, a quinoa casserole perhaps, he will suddenly be "too tired to eat" and will "have some later." Later never comes for the food exotic to his palate, but later does come for a dripping cheeseburger cooked after I am in bed. This has been going on for decades.

Long, long ago when we were first married...Pat would run with me and go to the gym with me. He would also seemingly happily eat the healthy fare that I set before him. Little did I know that he was stopping at his mom's house daily to fill up on the daily fried feasts he was accustomed to before heading home. I later heard from a relative that she thought I was "starving her poor boy."

I just can't agree with the idea that if you serve it they will eat it. If they've been conditioned for years to eat slime and filth, they will crave that slime and filth. They will need to embrace clean eating of their own accord. Either the waist band will have to get too tight or the doctor's report be too frightening before some men will ever adopt a healthier eating lifestyle. Some might even require alien inhabitation of their bodies!

Most of the chapter is very good though - convincing men that they can start eating clean and that their health depends on it. She brings up that it was male body builders who first introduced the concept of clean-eating and avoiding processed foods, at a time when processed foods were becoming marketing favorites. She likens cleaning eating to high octane fuel for a treasured vehicle. Thrown in is the perk that clean eating will improve their sexual health.

Review - Great Lakes Theater Company Macbeth

2008-09-24T12:50:00.001-07:00

I had the privilege of seeing the very first performance of this classic in the newly renovated Hanna Theater. Dougfred Miller was superb in the title role of Macbeth. The character at first "to full of the milk of human kindness" (yet able to split the foe from chaps to nave) is transformed before our eyes into the hardened man who believes himself invincible. Miller is amazing as Macbeth evolves from loyal subject to bloodthirsty scourge. Laura Pernotta plays Lady Macbeth as a seductress, tempting and cajoling her husband into forcing the witches predictions into being. This is the first time I've seen Lady Macbeth played this way, usually she is done as a shrew who shames her husband into slaying Duncan.

The witches were used more fully than in any production I have seen. The costuming was fabulous, giving them a look that was part bat (or bird), part mime. The results was eerie. Combined with the war-like beating drums and gongs, it was truly unearthly.

The casting of Banquo and Macduff were also right on. These men (Lynn Robert Berg and David Anthony Smith, respectively) gave commanding performances - and were spectacular in the sword-fighting scenes.

Scenic designer Gage Williams is SUBLIME. This guy is incredible. I want his job! I would love, love, love to apprentice with someone like this. It would be a dream job. The beautiful metaphor of red ribbon for blood added color and an intensity to the drama.

Particularly great scene: When Banquo's ghost shows up at the banquet, driving Macbeth nutty.

Kudos: To the porter - he does a great job providing the comic relief. :) Who did his hair? lol

Only glitches: There were a couple of scenes that we just didn't see. The witches talking about the sailor whose boat they hit with a tempest because his wife refused one chestnuts. Not sure if they did away with that one entirely or just ditched it for this matinee performance. Also, the part of Malcom - while the actor did a very good job (Phil Carroll), he seemed to young and "pretty" for the part. It didn't surprise me to learn that he plays the part of Rapunzel's prince in "Into the Woods."

Tuesday Ten 9.23.08

2008-09-23T04:33:00.001-07:00

1. We're going to see Macbeth today!

2. I need to write a review of the Eat Clean Diet Expanded Edition. It has some great additions and a chapter on men that cracked me up. (I don't think it was supposed to). One thing about it that was great: new gluten-free meal planning and shopping lists.

3. The latest issue of Allure magazine is full of little samples.

4. Every month they follow three women who are supposedly getting a total makeover...mostly losing weight and making over their exercise/eating habits. Every year the first couple of months are okay and the rest of the year they stop losing weight and get lazy. Usually there are no amazing successes. It is happening again. I think they need to hire better trainers and work more on motivating these women to CHANGE.

5. You always hear about gradual changes and baby-steps for getting fit. Most of the time I don't buy it. Sometimes it is absolutely necessary to do a complete 180, realize that what you're currently doing *does not work for health, self-esteem, beauty* and CHANGE. They say it takes 21 days to form a new habit - and that 21 days can be brutal, especially if you're going to revamp your life. I would far rather see someone take a plunge, start getting radical changes that will really inspire them to succeed, then take baby steps that often never turn into running leaps...and seem to generally lead to failure.

6. That's how they succeed on the Biggest Loser. Radical change. I can't tell you how many kids I've seen go off to join the Armed Forces and also experience radical change - change that lasts and lasts.

7. I loved this quote about the damage done by tanning and tanning beds from Jean Krutmann, director of the Institute for Environmental Health Research at Heinrich Heine University, Dusseldorf, Germany. He pointed out that while people go to tanning salons with the intent to look better, "What you end up with is more wrinkles. So you don't increase but decrease your own beauty by doing that."

8. And that is seriously true. Recently I've seen girls as young as 20 with wrinkles and leathery skin. I've said it before...being tan does not make you look prettier...it just makes you look darker. It does not make you look thinner...just the same size tan. What it *does* do is make your skin look dry, damaged and highlight every fine line and wrinkle. Add smoking to that and you have DISASTER.

9. Back to something I mentioned weeks ago, Clairol's Perfect Ten hair color. Allure magazine reviewed it again and gave it a nod as one of the best new innovations. No crazy minerals or anything. Hair chemists are excited about this one because it is a dye with a lower Ph which leaves the protective lipid layer of the hair intact and allows the product not to smell awful like regular hair dyes. Hydrogen peroxide is combined with ammonium carbonate that creates a molecule that changes the hair pigment while leaving keratin intact. Glycine, a natural amino acid that functions as an antioxidant was also added - this challenges free radicals created in the dyeing process which can damage hair, adding further protection. I've been using this stuff for a few months now and must say that my hair is MUCH healthier and much softer. It takes only 10 minutes but for resistant greys Clairol suggests 15 minutes. Sure beats 25 - 40 minutes, smelly dye and major damage!

10. Back to...we're going to see Macbeth! I need to finish getting ready.

When our actions do not,
Our fears do make us traitors.

Lady Macduff

a different sort of cattiness

2008-09-22T09:50:00.000-07:00

The evil Virginia isn't quite so evil any more. Since Camille moved out, she's been ecstatically happy and it shows. While she spends most the day napping leisurely in the best spots, she does have another favorite activity.

Virginia perches on this part of the kitchen counter every evening when it becomes dark outside. She then waits eagerly for cars to drive past, I think on the next street over. A reflection of that light causes window-pane shaped light to dance across the wall near the counter. She likes to attack it. I should say she *lives* to attack it. I used to have a calendar hanging on the wall and when she would stare at it during the day, we thought she was obsessed with the animal pictured thereon. However, when the month changed and new wildlife was up for viewing, Virginia still stared at it just as intently. There is no longer a calendar hanging in that spot. She ripped it down while attacking the light.

In the morning, after a long night of waiting and light-chasing. she is in the mood for affection. When Virginia wants attention, she is not to be denied. Try to move past her and she will swat...and her claws will be out. Last week she wanted Moogie to accept some attention from her and when he backed away from her loving rub and tail-swish, she turned and went after him, swatting and hissing the whole way, thoroughly enjoying it as he ran from the room.

She's gotten obnoxious in the morning. She wants to see every part of my breakfast making. I've been trying to get out of my protein shake every day rut and get up a little early to make egg white omelets, etc. Virginia won't stay out of my way. No matter how many times I remove her from the counter, she's right back trying to look into my dish or cup, taste my coffee (she loves coffee), find out what is in the cabinet I am opening and if she can sneak in.

Camille was the math cat. Whenever we started to work on math, Camille would come from out of no where to lounge across the math books and beg to be pet...with pencils. Preferably mechanical pencils. She didn't really like to be pet unless it was with a writing implement. Not sure why, she was a weird cat (and a bad, stinky cat). Virginia has now taken to coming and sprawling across schoolwork as well - but only for a little while. After a long night of waiting for lights to chase, she is tried and heads off to find a nice, cozy nook to sleep in.

While it does seem like she is becoming a nicer cat, she drew blood from Pat yesterday. She was perched on the banister in the hallway upstairs yesterday afternoon and decided she wanted attention. He pet her for a bit, but then wanted to go take a nap. She got ticked at him for attempting to leave and as he moved past, she reached out and sliced into his hand. When she does things like that we always call Moogie to discipline her. He *loves* that job. He chases her off somewhere to think over the wisdom in whacking humans.

I don't even like cats, but I find myself doing what she wants. I carry her around the kitchen in the morning and we look out the window together for birds. She leans back and kisses my face, all the while purring like an engine.

~o~

Rhianna is exhausted and run down from the youth retreat she attended this weekend. She ended up calling her coach and cancelling her lesson today. We have to make it up tomorrow. She's got a lot of sleep to catch up on. I was glad not to have to go out and sit at the rink for two hours. I have some stuff to do around the house and then I need to run a couple of errands.

Bending

2008-09-21T14:19:00.000-07:00

Learning How To Bend - Gary Allan

Sometimes it's good to be stubborn, sometimes it's not. Sometimes sticking by your guns truly matters and other times it just doesn't make a huge difference in the big scheme of things.

I've been annoyed by something lately; it has to do with illogical decisions, decision that are in many ways inconsiderate of others. Yet these decisions were made in good faith, by someone wanting to "do something great" and make a difference. I've been frustrating by some of it (costly gas expenses, time crunching, etc) because I'm one of those getting effected by the inconsideration.

I hate being The One to Complain, the spokesperson for other people who are annoyed but won't do the complaining themselves. Yeah, it is great when everyone is happy and the situation gets rectified...but not when you're the "one" who is always speaking up. I'm going to stand back and see if someone else opens their mouth or that the folks involved just come to their senses on their own.

So I've decided I'm just going to bend for a while. Work on being flexible and dealing with what I'm dealing with...provided it doesn't get to the point where my bending becomes snapping.

On another bending note, I've been lazy about doing my long P90X yoga. I've been doing lots of 10 to 20 minute spurts of yoga, even a 36 minute workout -- but avoiding this long 1 hr and 25 min. yoga that my body needs so very badly.

I forced myself to do it today and am very grateful for it. My body bent and stretched, balanced and reached. I discovered that because of only doing the bare minimum lately, some of my balance postures were fairly rough. I could not stay in Crane for very long and Warrior 3 was uncharacteristically shaky. Side arm balance was tougher, especially on my wrists. I was able to do Wheel but I felt it - I normally make myself do that once a week no matter what, just to make sure that I can. (I know an 83 year old woman who did cartwheels every week until only a couple of years ago, just to make sure she still could).

~o~

Looking forward to the week ahead. These are some things on my calendar:

Macbeth
Nights in Rodanthe
Corn Maze & my friend's band performing
And you never know, maybe little Layla will finally be born!

catty saturday

2008-09-20T13:05:00.000-07:00

Had a great workout this morning and I also took the dogs for a walk in the graveyard while Erin rode her bike. Filled up on Dunkin Donuts Decaf Iced Coffee and checked Skwigg's latest blog. A fair warning: hormonal cattiness has arrived. It'll blow over and I'll be a nice girl again in a few days. :)

Before I even talk about the interesting blog... I have to say, "HA HA HA" to the folks at CERN. I can't help but enjoy that their proton smashing extravaganza will be delayed at least two months. Yes, that's right... headlines say that "The Big Bang Machine Damage Forces 2-Month Halt." According to the article: "It's too early to say precisely what happened, but it seems to be a faulty electrical connection between two magnets that stopped superconducting, melted and led to a mechanical failure and let the helium out," Gillies told The Associated Press. I have no faith in their "project" since they can't even protect their computer system from being hacked or apparently understand the mechanics of their own machinery. I find it amusing that they made such of big deal of trying to embarrass the physicists who think their project is potentially dangerous while stupidly causing their own delays and hold-ups. If they aren't dotting all the "i's" and crossing all the "t's" now, we're really going to trust them with exploring anti-matter? Yeah, right.

Okay, now onto the above mentioned blog. Apparently Oprah had Gwyneth Paltrow on her show and Gwyneth's crazy trainer said that women should never use weights over 3-lbs. There was a caption, "How Gwyneth Got That Body!" below the video. Clearly, that would *not* be advice I would want to follow. Her posture is *terrible*. Her boobs sag (she never wears a bra and could obviously use a few good back & pec moves). I did a little check...she wasn't on Maxim's Hot 100. I don't think scrawny chicks make that list. I don't think I've ever, EVER heard any woman say, "Oh, I wish I had a body like Gwyneth Paltrow's!" Madonna, Rihanna, Jessica Biel, Halle Berry, Jennifer Garner, those I've heard. Paltrow? Never.

My amusement does not end there, I discovered that she is going to be releasing a fitness DVD. Now if Jessica Biel was going to release a fitness DVD, *that* would make sense!

The trainer for Paltrow is also Madonna's trainer, Tracy Anderson. The idea seems to be to become emaciated...very, very skinny...and then you don't have to use much more than 3 lb weights to show what looks like "muscle." So skinny that the lines in the collar bone show through (that grosses me out). That's not "fit" to me...that's just starvation scrawny. That's not functional haul your own 50 lb bags of dog food fit.

Oh and BTW, those 3 lb weights she recommends? She makes Madonna do 100 reps of most exercises with them. Why waste your time when you could use a heavier weight, get better results, and not spend your life counting away? I get bored too easily to stand there and curl my biceps 100X a piece with a rinky dink little weight.

Okay, like I said, there is hormonal cattiness afoot today.
My workout report is at: http://glynis-sweats.blogspot.com

Friday: the good and the bad

2008-09-19T13:25:00.000-07:00

I found this in the bottom of my gym bag yesterday morning. It is a radish. I have no idea how it got in there, but I reached in to get my weight gloves from the bottom of the bag and felt an odd rolly-polly-ness. I thought, "Hmmmm, did the kids drop a bouncy ball?" However, the little nub on the end ruled out bouncy ball. Out I pulled it and found it to be a rather soft, overly ripe radish.

The Bad and the Good of the past couple of days:

Bad - the water heater went on Wednesday and it cost $500 for a new one (plus fittings and such).

Good - Pat is Mr. Fix-it and he was able to take out the old water heater and install the new one. Praise God that he still has plenty of vacation time and was able to take the day off. We had hot water by 8pm that night - even though he ran around all over the place comparing prices, etc. The cost for installation from the vendor: starting at $389.

Bad - Erin pulled a muscle in her neck & shoulder region badly this morning. We don't even know how exactly it happened. She is a tough one - she hates going to the doctor so she'll downplay pain to avoid it. It hurt badly enough that she wanted to go right away.

Good - I had called the doctor's office to issue the order for her thyroid panel to be done and was supposed to go up there anyway to pick it up.

Bad - Her regular doctor wasn't in that office today.

Good - His partner was and it turned out that she likes him better. AND he was very pro-active feeling about her thyroid. The other doctor hadn't gotten around to writing the order. This one read the ultrasound report, her old test, checked her over, and said if it was him he would have her on treatment now. He wrote the order for the blood work; I'll be taking her to have it drawn on Monday morning.

Bad - There was an outdoor event that I was supposed to attend and give the devotional at tonight - after it is dark out. I'm feeling frazzled and fried, not feeling like I could do a good job.

Good - Finding more good in it, Erin's injury makes it impossible for me to attend. I have no choice but to stay at home and REST. Poor Erin has some medicine to take at night that is going to knock her out, but she has been in enough pain that she wouldn't be able to sleep like this. Therefore, I sent my planned devotional over to the hosts.

Bad - The weather has made my curly hair even more uncontrollable.

Good - A couple of bad hair days in a row may be just what I needed to push me into trying some new strategies for managing my wild mane. The Curly Girl Method for Curly Hair. Shockingly, it involves not shampooing your hair. (Yeah, I have a hard time getting over that, after all I've been a shampoo-rinse-repeat girl my whole life). Instead if you "shampoo" you are supposed to do it with the conditioner.

Persuade me, please don't pressure me

2008-09-18T07:42:00.000-07:00

"Naggers always know what they are doing. They weigh up the risks, then they go on and on and on until they get what they want or until they get punched." Jools Holland

persuade - to prevail on (a person) to do something, as by advising or urging; to induce to believe by appealing to reason or understanding; convince

coerce - to compel by force, intimidation, or authority, esp. without regard for individual desire or volition; to bring about through the use of force or other forms of compulsion; to dominate or control, esp. by exploiting fear, anxiety, etc.

pressure - to force (someone) toward a particular end; influence

nag - to annoy by persistent faultfinding, complaints, or demands

There is always someone out there who wants you to do something you don't want to do or simply wants you to let them have their way. I would far rather be persuaded to take up a cause, an activity, an obligation than I would to be coerced or nagged into it.

Where do some people learn to nag and whine to get their way? How is it that their parents let them get away with it? It doesn't fly around here. My children learned early on that "No" means "no." If you ask for something and are told you can't have it, you are also generally told why the answer was "no." Whining doesn't change the outcome, the reason behind the negative
response is still there. If you are to begin to beg or fuss to get your way, you will soon see disciplinary action.

My youngest daughter has a friend who was not taught this. She is 12 years old and behaves like a toddler when it comes to fussing in order to get her way. She quickly discovered that it does not work with me. Because of that I can tolerate her - many others can't. She is finding out that my own 12 year old is not responsive to nagging either. The other day, Erin was at her house and "S" wanted her to stay another 30 minutes. Erin said she could not. "S" began to plead, she began to cry, she brought the phone to Erin and pushed it towards her. Erin would not budge - she is determined to teach this girl that she won't be bullied into anything or frustrated into anything. I was proud of her because it is very, very hard to resist a peer.

I know this. Here I am, 44 years old and I have a friend who attempts to pressure me into things I don't want to do or don't have time for. She doesn't "hear" when I say "no." She doesn't hear the reasons that I give...she just keeps going. I've gotten to wear if I say "no" and she doesn't pull back, I go into a litany of stresses that I'm dealing with. I figure that I'll suffocate her with my overwhelming response to her trying to place another straw on this camel's back. It's been moderately effective. She may soon get tired of hearing a deluge of tragedy every time to she tries to get past one of my "no" answers. She attempted to get my husband to do something last week and he was firm in his answer. He even told her, "Nagging won't work with me."

She replied, "It always works with X." (Her husband). He looked her in the eye and said, "I'm not X."

I know that my attempts to nag my husband to care about his health have failed miserably. I've worked various ways to pressure him and to coerce him into eating a clean diet and working on his physical fitness. Failures every time. I'm working on the persuasion angle. After all, as the old saying goes, "You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink." That horse has to be thirsty. You simply cannot make someone else thirsty.

Not that I haven't tried my darndest. I think we all do occasionally. We want something so badly that we try all sorts of tactics to get it. Perhaps we will attempt some friendly persuasion, but if that is unsuccessful we may try to negotiate agreement. Often we just head down the nagging trail...and then sometimes into full fledged coercion. "Do this, or else."

Persuasion *is* an art form - but not everyone appreciates the same art. You cannot convince or convict everyone, regardless of whether your aim as simple as getting that person to accept a small task or as difficult as getting them to see your political point of view.

Hopefully as we mature we get better and better at restraining our inner two year old. I'm hoping that as I'm getting older and more grown up (and we just keep growing up, don't we?) that I'm getting better at the art of persuasion and less apt to fall into the trap of contentious nagging. I also hope that I have the grace to accept "no" for an answer even when I don't like it.

~o~
Today's workout is posted: http://glynis-sweats.blogspot.com

Summertime (6.02.07)

2008-09-17T19:23:00.014-07:00

Do what we can, summer will have its flies. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Lazy, hazy days of summer? Who is kidding who? Looking at my calendar for June, there will be no laziness and that is certain.

Although summer doesn't officially astronomically start until June 21st, convention says that summer begins Memorial Day weekend. And even though it doesn' t end on the calendar until late September, Labor Day weekend is when we say our farewells and start unpacking sweaters and pencils.

In my location, two days of the year will actually be the longest - June 21st and 22nd will both see the sunrise at 5:54am and set at 9:02pm. I wonder how much I can pack in to those days.

I remember when I was a kid growing up in New Jersey. My father was a school teacher - and also director of the summer school. Back then, summer school wasn't remedial, consisting of classes for the students who couldn't pass during the regular school term. No, summer school was fun; it was enrichment activities. Because he was the director, his children were required to go. Thankfully, it was just in the mornings - still, you did so very much want to sleep late. Any way, the first six weeks of every summer morning of my elementary and middle school years was filled with gymnastics, cooking and sewing classes, art, poetry readings, even typing.

The afternoons - now that was the when the real fun began. Until it was closed, we spent most afternoons at a lake along the Rockaway River called Oak Ridge Lake. If my father didn't bring us, my oldest sister, CeCe did. We swam for hours, caught tadpoles, and made friends. When that lake closed down due to the building of a development which polluted its waters, we began going to Morski Oko, which was walking distance from my house.

Every summer we purchased a membership pass - as did my best friend's family. Many mornings we would be there and we'd be the only ones swimming. There were two diving boards, a high dive and a low dive. My brother, my friend, Michele, and I would pretend to be Olympic divers. My father sat in a lawn chair, laden with books (he was forever going after new degrees - Masters in mathematics & English, Bachelor's in Accounting & Philosopy, Associates in accounting, and probaby something I'm forgetting). "Watch this, Dad!" and he'd pretend to look up for a minute.

We rarely went to the lake on weekends. Weekends were when all the Polish immigrants from around Jersey City drove the 40 - 50 miles out to the lake. Vodka was flowing freely as early as 10am. Many of the immigrants did not speak English, so the signs in the snack bar were in both languages. I can't imagine many other beachside snack bars that sold pierogis, but they did. In the early 80s, political activists came with tables of information promoting Solidarity in the home country. Not too many other kids knew who Lech Walesa was, but we did. That was a name we heard often, playing in the sand and swimming at Morski Oko. We even found that it was named after Morskie Oko, a beautiful lake in Poland.

Morski Oko was about a mile or two from my house. If one could cut across the golf course without getting caught, I think it was closer. As it was, it was a walk down Schoolhouse Rd, a turn, a walk past a horse farm, past two beautiful ponds, around a bend where wild roses grew thick and their heady smell filled the air, through a wooded area, over a bridge and then... the entrance. The road was a rough, bumpy dirt and rock road. Very narrow, it would up a steep hill, higher and higher. You always hoped that no cars were coming down when you were driving up - and walking, you worried more because it kicked all the dust into your eyes. The sides of the road were no use for escape because one side was like a wall of dirt, rock, trees and shrubs, and the other side was a precipitous drop. When you rounded the last steep bend, the lake lay before you, almost a perfect circle. The road continued all the way around the lake, but the beach was to the left. Picnic tables were scattered throughout the woods which surrounded the lake, picnic shelters were located on the far side - near a set of bathrooms.

If you went on the weekend, you also got to see a lot of them swimming in their underwear. Back at that time Maidenform had an advertising campaign running in Glamour, Mademoisselle, and Cosmopolitan that showed a woman in their undergarments, posing in an unexpected place, with the caption, "The Maidenform Woman, you never know where she'll turn up." Well, we used to joke "The Playtex 18 hour woman, we know EXACTLY where she'll show up!" We're not talking women in Victoria's Secret type bras and panties - this was heavy duty, over-the-shoulder-boulder-holder territory and thick girdles. As for the men, well, we saw more Speedos than I care to recall! Speedos are flattering on very, very few people. :(

When I was a teenager, my friend, Michele, became a lifeguard at the beach. This meant that Dad didn't bother coming anymore and we could walk to the lake. Polish boys from the cities would come and try to flirt with all of us local girls and try to get us to join the Miss Morski Oko pageant, and walk the dock in our bikinis. It didn't happen, but...we did meet some very cute guys.

So it's summertime and I'm all grown up --- and my calendar is packed! When is there going to be time for lazing around? Every single weekend in June there are birthday parties, graduation parties, and bridal or baby showers. During the week, there are vacation Bible school meetings, skating camp, doctor and dentist appointments. Oh and always, bills to pay. Thanks to the Lord for our pool, because the way the price of gas has gone up, I don't foresee any long trips anywhere - nor do I see any do-able weekends any time soon.

Yesterday, while out buying a shower gift, we had to go through one of the most dreadful summertime rituals -- I had to take the girls out to get new swimsuits. No one likes shopping for swimsuits - no matter how buff you might be, there is always a problem. Fitting room mirrors are not kind - and there is that age when their bodies are awkward, gearing up for growth spurts and it's usually a source of tears and frustration. I can happily say that we all left with great swimsuits with little or no angst this time! Better yet, I can say that we all ended up with wonderful stuff from the clearance rack and saved a fortune. (I also got three cute shirts and a belt on clearance, hurray!)

This is good because my pool was open on Memorial Day and there have been kids in it every day since. The girls and I just returned from a bridal shower - they were swimming before we left and they're swimming again.

Robert Herrick wrote this poem in the 1600s to remind young women that their beauty wouldn't last forever - but it reminds me that some how, there has to be time to ENJOY life, to use the summer wisely - but not miss out on the opportunity to have some lazy, hazy, crazy days.

To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time

Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,
Old Time is still a-flying:
And this same flower that smiles to-day
To-morrow will be dying.

The glorious lamp of heaven, the sun,
The higher he's a-getting,
The sooner will his race be run,
And nearer he's to setting.

That age is best which is the first,
When youth and blood are warmer;
But being spent, the worse, and worst
Times still succeed the former.

Then be not coy, but use your time,
And while ye may, go marry:
For having lost but once your prime,
You may for ever tarry.

Stevia Wonder (8.14.07)

2008-09-17T19:23:00.013-07:00

Stevia rebaudiana bertoni, also known simply as "stevia" and as "sweetleaf" whose extracts have up to 300 times the sweetness of sugar. It is slowly becoming a popular sugar alternative in the US (it already is widely used in Japan), although the FDA has not approved it as such - here it can only be sold as a "nutritional supplement." It is also banned for use as a "food" in Singapore and Hong Kong.

The Coca Cola Company is hoping to change that. Coca Cola Company working jointly with Cargill is developing a sweetner called Rebiana with the intention of gaining FDA approval in the US and marketing it in our country and throughout the European Union. What grassroots groups have been trying to do for year (legalize stevia as a sweetner), these two companies probably have the political muscle to get the job done.

For centuries, the herb as been used in Paraguay and Brazil by the Guarani tribes as a sweetner in their yerba mate and for medicinal purposes. As for the latter, promising studies have been done showing the usefulness of stevia in treating obesity and high blood pressure, as well as enhancing glucose tolerance.

In Japan, stevia has been widely used since the 70s and can be found in Coca Cola and other soft drinks purchased in that country, as well as packaged for table use.

Once upon a time, a 1985 study indicated that a mutagen causing liver damage could occure from the breakdown of two of the sweet steviol glycosides BUT that study was criticzed for mishandling of data in such away that even distilled water could appear as mutagenic. Newer studies have shown no saftey issues. Recent data compiled by the World Health Organization suggested that policies to ban stevia as a food were obsolete.

I personally think the biggest hurdle that stevia has had towards acceptance in the US is that it is NATURALLY occurring. Therefore, no patent is required to produce it and no one saw the potential for their pockets to be handsomely lined. Enter, Cargill, a multinational corporation whose business activities include purchasing, processing, and distributing grain and other agricultural commodities, and the manufacture and sale of livestock feed and ingredients for processed foods and pharmaceuticals. With more and more people worried about the effects of aspartame and unsure of Splenda, the sweet smell of monetary incentive must've opened their eyes to limitless possibilities. After all if you can label something "natural" there is a huge demographic that you will be reaching.

Currently, stevia is cultivated and used for food in South America, much of east Asia (including China, Tawain, Malaysia, Korea and Thailand), and Israel. In Ontario, Canada it has been grown on an experimental basis to test its feasibility as a large scale commercial crop.

An interesting tidbit of information: Purdue University's Dental Science Research Group has concluded that Stevioside is both fluo-ride compatible and "significantly" inhibits the development of plaque, thus Stevia may actually help to prevent cavities.

Another tidbit: Stevia doesn't work too well in meringues because it does not carmelize as sugar does.

As for me, I use stevia in small amounts. I'm trying to avoid Splenda as much as possible. I already avoid Aspartame like the plague. I *have* to have Sweet n' Low in my decaf coffee...nothing else tastes right. Putting stevia in there is utterly horrible. For some reason, mixed with coffee, it takes on a licorice-like flavor. ICK. Bleech. Yuk. It seems to be fine in iced tea and is also great in my protein shakes. I'm currently buying a whey protein powder that is sweetened with stevia. I've also had a protein bars by Bio-Chem that use stevia and found them to be very good.

I'd be concerned to use anything in large amounts... I'm sure the original users of stevia were not such sweet-toothed pigs as consumers are today. Guzzling down massive quantities of the stuff in soft drinks may be telling as far as safety is concerned.

Reverse Aging (5.25.07)

2008-09-17T19:23:00.012-07:00

John Bingham, aka the Penguin says, ""Age is no longer an excuse for inactivity, and inactivity is no longer the reward for getting old."

We all know that exercise makes you look better, some of us will admit that it makes us feel a heck of a lot better, but studies are pouring in proving that resistance training actually REVERSES the aging process in muscle tissue.

A report released online on May 23rd from McMaster University in Ontario detailed a study that involved the before and after analysis of gene expression profiles in tissue samples taken from 25 healthy older men and women. "The gene expression profiles involved age-specific mitochondrial function; mitochondria act as the "powerhouse" of cells. Multiple studies have suggested that mitochondrial dysfunction is involved in the loss of muscle mass and functional impairment commonly seen in older people. The study was the first to examine the gene expression profile, or the molecular "fingerprint", of aging in healthy disease-free humans."

As we age, our mitochondria start to malfunction - this causes, Sarcopenia - the degenerative loss of skeletal muscle and strength seen in the elderly. As Jon Benson puts it, "Sarcopenia is just the wasting away of muscle
due to age and under-use." It is linked to poor gait, poor balance, falls and fractures. Add osteoporosis to that and you have certain frailty of old age.

Think: Resistance training strengthens the bones. http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/women/a/osteoporosis.htm
Resistance training strengthens the muscle.

There is a decline in mitochondrial function as we age. Mitochondria are our "cellular power plants," they generate most of the cell's supply of ATP which is used as a source of chemical energy.

The study showed this decline present in the subjects. However, exercise resulted in a "remarkable reversal of the genetic fingerprint back to levels similar to those seen in the younger adults. The study also measured muscle strength. Before exercise training, the older adults were 59% weaker than the younger adults, but after the training the strength of the older adults improved by about 50%, such that they were only 38% weaker than the young adults."

With age and no resistance training, researchers found 596 genes expressing themselves with "aging", or decreased mitochondrial function.

But when subjects engaged in resistance training, in this case simple weight training, look what happened --

-- Their strength increased by over 20%;
-- And their genes literally "reverted back" to the
same markers as "younger" genes after only
six months of exercise

We don't *have* to be old and frail, faltering in our steps, too weak to carry our own loads. We chose to become that way by being too lazy to take care of our bodies. You only get one body - why not take care of it in the best way possible so that it is useful for a long, long time? Why maintain it the way you would maintain your most prized possessions?

(Chances are, if you take care of your skin the way you should, your body will not only function like it is younger, you'll look like you're younger. This is where my anti-tanning speech comes out: Tanning does not make one look younger. It does not make one look thinner. It dries your skin. It ages your skin. There is no such thing as "safe" tanning. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/tanning/HQ01487 When you feel the urge to bake yourself in the sun or in a tanning bed, think of how stupid George Hamilton looks. Think of the last over-tanned, hard-looking 50 something you saw that was wrinkled before her time. Don't do it - and don't smoke either!)

Rant on Aging

2008-09-17T19:23:00.011-07:00

Why is it that so many people think it is okay/necessary/important to take care of their motor vehicle, but not so their own bodies? They change the oil, rotate the tires, take it to the car wash, have it tuned up regularly, etc and so forth...to keep it running as well as it can for as long as it can. How is it that some of the same people can not see their bodies as their most important vehicle, a vehicle that also requires maintenance and special care?

You would not pour sugar in your gas tank because your car needs gasoline. The human body isn't as specific and can take a variety of fuels, but they must be balanced. If you fill your body with junk, its performance will diminish.

When a vehicle sits unused for a period of time, bad things happen. Parts rust. Gaskets crack. Gunk builds up in places you don't want gunk to build up. The same thing happens with the human body. You may be able to trade your vehicle in for a new one, but you only get ONE body.

All you have to do is go to a car show to see that old vehicles can still be beautiful and well running. They may not have the latest gadgets and technology, but they can be reliable and enjoyable just the same.

People make a choice to take care of their vehicle ... or not. Whether they drive a rust bucket or a clean ride depends on the time they are willing to put in for the required care and maintenance.

In his book, "Chasing Life" CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta makes an important case for taking care of our bodies to not only live longer, but to live better. The same goes with "You: Staying Young, The Owner's Manual for Extending Your Warranty" by Michael Rozien and Mehmet Oz. Both books examine what works. I like what a review of You: Staying Young says, "You--as mayor, resident and street cleaner -- have the power to balance your biological budget to ensure a life that's both healthy and strong. Thankfully, just as cities can invest in renewal and improving their repair processes, so can you."

So basically, what I'm saying - and prepare to be ticked off at me - is that anyone could look good and feel good at 50 and beyond IF they are willing to put out some effort. I really have a bad attitude about people who want everything to be easy or they don't want to do it. Cory Everson (like her or not) does not have to be an exception to the rule. Plenty of people do it without money, without plastic surgery. I see them at 5K races all the time, I see them at the gym. You don't even need a gym membership - bodyweightculture.com show just how fit one can be with just using your own body for exercise.

Alright, so to play devil's advocate...what if your car has something wrong with it, like the Dodge Grand Caravan I used to have? The serpentine belt went on that stupid thing every 12 - 18 months. The only vehicle I ever had that had a serpentine belt problem. Well, if you know that your car is prone to something like that you prepare in advance. You know of the problem and you make the proper adjustments (in this case, to the budget - being prepared to have it replaced). So if we are talking about your personal human body and you know you are pre-disposed to certain ailments --- you can prepare accordingly, you can make the proper concessions...and you can still attain fitness and your best health. Just look at America's Athletes with Disabilities for inspiration. http://www.americasathletes.org/

If your life is busy with things you like to do - reading, crossword puzzles, etc.... be aware that physical exercise IMPROVES brain function and has been shown to protect your brain from cognitive decline associated with aging. If you like to do these things and want to enjoy them when you are elderly, then perhaps you had better consider physical exercise NOW. Exercise causes the release of growth factors, proteins that increase the number of connections between neurons, and the birth of neurons in the hippocampus, a brain region important for memory.

Why do some so easily try to separate the brain from the rest of the body? It's all one unit - and the poor health of any part can effect the whole. If you enjoy brain-oriented activities, then you had better take care of your muscles and cardiovascular system if you want it to keep functioning properly. If your car's carburetor is clogged, the radio may work...but without the whole car running to charge that alternator, you are going to run the battery out and there goes listening to the radio!

I wrote a blog on stability, on those little proprioceptor cells that are stimulated when we perform activities requiring balance. I'm not going into the whole thing, just follow the tag that says "stability." I'm pretty sure it was imported over here, if not...then it is lost forever and I'll have to think up all of that stuff again.

I've hardly mentioned the whole vanity aspect of looking good as one ages, but I might as well now. According to Cynthia Dermody surveys were done regarding weight loss and sex. 80% of women said they felt sexiest when they weighed less. In obese women, the number jumped to 95%. Women weren't alone in their insecurities - 70% of men felt that being thinner would lead to better sex. 42% said they would only go shirtless in front of their partner. When asked to rate themselves as "yuck, " "ok" or "hot" only 14% of women and 20% of men chose "hot." 25% of women and 13% of men chose "yuck." Low self-esteem can lead to or be a part of depression. Depression hurts - not just the depressed, but those around them.

Feeling good about yourself is nothing to be ashamed of because there are obvious perks - like better sex. And sex is a good deal - meaningful sex induces the release of the hormone oxytocin which is involved in social recognition and bonding - it makes us feel happy and loved. Sex also can lower blood pressure and it tells your stomach not to send signals to the brain to eat. So lots of good, healthy sex can lead to weight loss. Sex is wonderful and certainly doesn't have to die off with age. We're human beings - we're wired to like looking good for the opposite sex. Nothing wrong with that - at any age!

Confidence is another plus that comes with feeling good about yourself. Confidence happens to be a powerful aphrodisiac.

35% of men surveyed wished they had a body like Brad Pitt's. Well, I'm not into the idea of looking like other people - I think being happy with who you are is important. The whole Hollywood ideal of what is good looking or what isn't is very lopsided as far as I'm concerned. There's more to be said for an intelligent face, a face that reveals the personality behind it. Brad Pitt is nothing ... Tom Hanks totally rips him as far as sexy is concerned.

I think of women I know and everyone of them has those days where they get dressed and can "find nothing to wear." Days where they look in the mirror and call themselves a cow or complain about the roll around their waist, that their buttocks has dropped midway down their thigh, etc. That stuff sucks - and the way women talk to themselves sucks. In order to avoid berating oneself like that, doesn't it make sense to do something about it? Healthy self-esteem assesses the problems realistically, accepts them and decides on a course of action (either stay that way and stop beating yourself up OR make the effort to change).

That, ladies and gentlemen, is my rant for the day. I still think Cory Everson looks AMAZING. I'm also pretty darned impressed with Chuck Norris. AND Jack Lalanne will forever be inspiring to me. :)

Not Soy Good (12.12.07)

2008-09-17T19:23:00.009-07:00

Soy has been promoted so much in recent years as a wonder food, wonder supplement and all around health good guy. I say...hold your horses! I think part of it was a marketing scheme to help the agricultural community out -- as the studies come in, soy is turning out to be a bit on the dangerous side.

First some personal experience. I had some blood work done...thyroid stimulating hormone My test came back a nasty 3.65 (It should be .3 to 2.0, preferrably for me under 1.0). For some reason I was drinking a bunch of soy protein that I'd gotten on sale and tried some soy yogurt. I had another blood test 3 weeks into my soy binge. My TSH had risen to 4.85. I pulled out all the soy and started on thyroid hormone...and it went down accordingly. Soy is a goitregen. It blocks your thyroid from using iodine to create necessary thyroid hormones. Anyone with a thyroid problem should stay far, far away from soy. It can even be a problem with people with healthy thyroids, so if you're having a hard time losing weight in spite of watching your diet and exercising, ditch the soy and see if that helps.

Supposedly soy is good for the heart, there is some report that consuming soy instead of other proteins adds in lowering consumption of heart-damaging saturated and trans fats, just by replacement. HOWEVER< there is absolutely NOT a shred of scientific basis to believe that the phytoestrogens in soy are heart protective.

In some studies, dietary soy has been shown to INCREASE the risk of breast cancer. The phytoestrogens in soy appear to promote cell growth and division, which is not so good when you're talking about cancerous cells.

It takes LARGE amounts of soy to lower LDL cholesterol. It also takes large amounts to have an effect on slowing bone loss. The amount of soy necessary means a great bombardment of the body with phytoestrogens and the goitregenic effects. Not a good trade off. Soy beans are high in phytic acid, which in large amounts can blockt he uptake of essential minerals in the intestinal track.

According to Dr. James Mercola: "One study of close to 4,000 elderly Japanese-American men found that those who ate the most tofu during midlife had more than double the risk of later developing Alzheimer's disease."

Some more insight from Dr. Mercola's site, from an article written by Dr. Mary G Enig and Sally Fallon:

"In 1997, researchers from the FDA's National Center for Toxicological Research made the embarrassing discovery that the goitrogenic components of soy were the very same isoflavones.50

Twenty-five grams of soy protein isolate, the minimum amount PTI claimed to have cholesterol-lowering effects, contains from 50 to 70 mg of isoflavones. It took only 45 mg of isoflavones in premenopausal women to exert significant biological effects, including a reduction in hormones needed for adequate thyroid function. These effects lingered for three months after soy consumption was discontinued.51

One hundred grams of soy protein - the maximum suggested cholesterol-lowering dose, and the amount recommended by Protein Technologies International - can contain almost 600 mg of isoflavones,52 an amount that is undeniably toxic. In 1992, the Swiss health service estimated that 100 grams of soy protein provided the estrogenic equivalent of the Pill.53

In vitro studies suggest that isoflavones inhibit synthesis of estradiol and other steroid hormones.54 Reproductive problems, infertility, thyroid disease and liver disease due to dietary intake of isoflavones have been observed for several species of animals including mice, cheetah, quail, pigs, rats, sturgeon and sheep.55

It is the isoflavones in soy that are said to have a favorable effect on postmenopausal symptoms, including hot flushes, and protection from osteoporosis. Quantification of discomfort from hot flushes is extremely subjective, and most studies show that control subjects report reduction in discomfort in amounts equal to subjects given soy.56 The claim that soy prevents osteoporosis is extraordinary, given that soy foods block calcium and cause vitamin D deficiencies. 50. Divi, R.L. et al., "Anti-thyroid isoflavones from the soybean", Biochemical Pharmacology (1997) 54:1087-1096.
51. Cassidy, A. et al., "Biological Effects of a Diet of Soy Protein Rich in Isoflavones on the Menstrual Cycle of Premenopausal Women", American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (1994) 60:333-340.
52. Murphy, P.A., "Phytoestrogen Content of Processed Soybean Foods", Food Technology, January 1982, pp. 60-64.
53. Bulletin de L'Office Fédéral de la Santé Publique, no. 28, July 20, 1992.
54. Keung, W.M., "Dietary oestrogenic isoflavones are potent inhibitors of B-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase of P. testosteronii", Biochemical and Biophysical Research Committee (1995) 215:1137-1144; Makela, S.I. et al., "Estrogen-specific 12 B-hydroxysteroid oxidoreductase type 1 (E.C. 1.1.1.62) as a possible target for the action of phytoestrogens", PSEBM (1995) 208:51-59.
55. Setchell, K.D.R. et al., "Dietary oestrogens - a probable cause of infertility and liver disease in captive cheetahs", Gastroenterology (1987) 93:225-233; Leopald, A.S., "Phytoestrogens: Adverse effects on reproduction in California Quail," Science (1976) 191:98-100; Drane, H.M. et al., "Oestrogenic activity of soya-bean products", Food, Cosmetics and Technology (1980) 18:425-427; Kimura, S. et al., "Development of malignant goiter by defatted soybean with iodine-free diet in rats", Gann. (1976) 67:763-765; Pelissero, C. et al., "Oestrogenic effect of dietary soybean meal on vitellogenesis in cultured Siberian Sturgeon Acipenser baeri", Gen. Comp. End. (1991) 83:447-457; Braden et al., "The oestrogenic activity and metabolism of certain isoflavones in sheep", Australian J. Agricultural Research (1967) 18:335-348.
56. Ginsburg, Jean and Giordana M. Prelevic, "Is there a proven place for phytoestrogens in the menopause?", Climacteric (1999) 2:75-78."

A good book to read is The Whole Soy Story: The Dark Side of America's Favorite Health Food by Dr. Kaayla Daniel. Some insight the books shares:

Soy impedes the sexual maturation of boys (p. 335)
Soy accelerates the sexual maturation of girls (p. 339)
In newborns, the hormonal effects of soy may be irreversible (p. 333)
The average daily dose of soy estrogens in soy formula (38mg) is higher than the amounts that cause thyroid problems and endocrine disruption in adults (p. 334)

Of Mice and Men (6.15.07)

2008-09-17T19:23:00.008-07:00

There's supposedly a "new" fat gene that's been discovered...Lipin. It's been found in mice, of course. Don't they find everything in mice. Maybe that's because if you've read Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, mice created the planet. ;) According to Jon Benson, "Lipin, the new gene on the block, is now reported as the "gene that regulates how the body stores and burns bodyfat." In mice, that is. It's a start. This could mean there is a treatment in the near future. Or this could be another bust...just like leptin."

Leptin, "the great fat hope," was debunked in January 2007, ten years after it was announced and five years everyone thought it was their miracle answer to the fat they had.

So now that they've found lipin in mice, they're going to look for the magic "gene turner-off-er" and some infomercial is going to jump on the bus and start hawking lipin control pills, promising overnight weight-loss WHOOSH. In the long run, it'll probably all turn out to be so much bunk. Tsk, tsk.

I was looking for a new magazine yesterday and noticed that while the Women's Fitness Rx wasn't new, there was a new men's issue. The cover read, "14 Best lifts for killer ABS, BICEPS, TRICEPS, CHEST, SHOULDERS, BACK, QUADS, CALVES"...gee, that about covers everything. I thought, "What the heck?" I'd check it out.

In reading the magazine I discovered a few things. For starters, men are really worried about erectile dysfunction, both inability and lack of staying power. If this magazine is right, you guys really do think with your pants. :)

Some tidbits on that from Men's Fitness RX:

--Smoking damages penile blood vessels (which can make things difficult or impossible). SO DON'T SMOKE!
--There is some anethetic spray to increase staying power for guys with PE, which (WOW!) effects 30% of all men. The spray isn't very user friendly - one of the effects is creating the same sensation down there as you get in your coms following a Novocain shot at the dentist's office. Doesn't sound like fun.
--Lack of exercises makes men go limp. Regular endurance exercise is just as effective as Viagra.
--ED is one of the best predictors of heart attacks and strokes. Exercise, a balanced diet and weight loss are the best defenses.

I loved this one: "Male Sweat Makes Women Hot - Don't cover up your natural body odor with overpowering colognes and aftershaves. Scientists from the University of California, Berkley found that male sweat contains chemicals that trigger sexual arousal and excitement in women. The sweat increases production of the adrenal hormone androstenedione, which triggers physiological and psychological changes in women." WELL, DUH! We could've told you we can't stand it when you're overpowering us with your cologne! Also, remember...eat your celery, as I mentioned before, it contains androstenedione and if you work up a good sweat after eating it, you'll pump out more pheromones. :)

Another great one was a piece that warned about wearing the stylishly baggy pants during yoga class. It said, "When in yoga class, flashing the woman next to you in down-dog should not happen." Advice was included on proper yoga-wear. Thank you, Men's Fitness Rx! I have been flashed and it's not often a pretty sight.

What cracked me up the most was an article about "Better Sex: The Roadmap to the Big O" -- are you guys still in the dark ages? There was all kinds of Victorian propoganda malarkey in there. "Women need 20 - 30 minutes to become aroused." Science as disproved that, you nerds! Omigosh, then there was so much absolute silly crap and nonsense, I cannot even go into here. Suffice it to say, I was totally laughing my *ss off.

This magazine was hysterically funny - and I feel that it was written at a very dumbed down level. Guys, you'd be better off reading Muscle & Fitness or Flex. I was also VERY disappointed... those 14 Best Lifts - well, they were nothing new, nothing amazing or earth-shattering.

Lateness (5.30.07)

2008-09-17T19:23:00.007-07:00

Nothing is too late,
Until a tired heart shall cease to palpitate.
~ Henry W. Longfellow

I live in an area where lateness is the way of life. I've learned over the years not to get in a dither about someone being late. Living in my neck of the woods, you realize that if you schedule a party or a meeting or whatever at say, 10am... expect people to start filtering in between 10:05 and 10:15. That's just the way it is.

Growing up, I was always taught to be a few minutes early. A few - not too many. In my part of Ohio, showing up early can mean that you're waiting around extra long for anything to begin because all of the majority of other people are always a few minutes late. There can be a ghastly feeling when you pull into the parking lot and you're the only car there, thinking, "Is it the wrong date? Have I the wrong time entirely?"

In some passing reading, I noticed a column where a person raged about lateness - this person felt that it was a sign of disrespect, a sign that the late person did not "honor" the occasion or the person enough to be on time. I think they are wrong. I think that most mild lateness is due to the fact that we are such a rushed and time-consumed people that we try to squeeze every available minute we can for one more wink of sleep, for extra preparation time, for sanity - and some times we miss the mark, don't account for traffic delays or urgent phone calls. Oscar Wilde once said, "He was always late on principle, his principle being that punctuality is the thief of time."

Sadly enough, I've found that over the past 10 years of this I'm slowly being assimilated into this late way of life by no longer being early. I usually manage "right on time" nowadays. There's an attitude that develops, a "why bother" being prompt when no one else is?

My sister was scheduled for a biopsy on Friday. She's an early bird, so besides the extra time before her scheduled appointment, she was in the waiting room an hour past that appointed time...and two others in the waiting room were queued ahead of her. A big sign was posted "if you are more than 20 minutes late for your appointment, you must be rescheduled." I guess that doesn't apply to the doctor?! She was looking at at least another hour, hour and a half wait...minimum, so she approached the desk, got a bit testy and said she would call back to reschedule.

Some things it is never too late for:

To ask forgiveness
To extend forgiveness
To say "I love you"
To say a prayer

I have to add here that I've always HATED when people show up too early. Say you invite them to come for dinner at 7pm... and they arrive between 6:30 and 6:45pm. Those last few minutes are for a quick swish of the toilet brush, a fast makeup check, a quick counter-clearing, refrigerator wiping, or even a momentary collapse on the sofa.

A Hard Pill to Swallow (8.16.07)

2008-09-17T19:23:00.006-07:00

Literally. I have to take these enormous antibiotics for my ear/sinus infections and it has been a great source of consternation for me. I can relax in the fact that I'm not only. Apparently 40% of all American adults share in my anguish. Too bad that doesn't relax me enough to get the pill down faster!

According to a 2004 poll by Harris Interactive, "To facilitate swallowing, more than half (55%) of those who have had difficulty swallowing pills drink lots of liquids, 48% drink water in big gulps, 43% tilt their heads back, and 31% place the pill on the back of their tongue. Some of the other coping strategies are trying more than once to swallow the pill (30%), splitting the pill in two (17%), and taking a deep breath before taking the pill to minimize the gag reflex (13%).

About twice as many women (51%) as men (27%) experienced pill-swallowing problems, and interestingly, more people between ages 18 and 64 reported having these problems (44%) than those age 65 and older (26%).

Most people that had problems taking pills described the sensations as having a pill stuck in their throat (80%), having a bad after taste in their mouth (48%), or gagging (32%)."

It's not about phagophobia, the general fear of swallowing... no, it has more to do with a sensitive gag relfex and the tightening of the throat muscles.

I'm not sure when my problem developed, but I think it may have stemmed from choking on London broil when I was 10 and having to have the Heimlich maneuver performed on me. It was not a pleasant experience and all I could think about at the time was that I hadn't finished reading "Prince Caspian and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" while I was gasping for air. Since that time, pills bigger than a small tablet of aspirin have been an issue for me.

For the most part, I handle it by chewing pills or cutting them into pieces. It usually doesn't bother me if there is an icky taste, although prenatal vitamins tested the limits of my ability to withstand the assault on my tastebuds. Often after trying to chew a prenatal vitamin, I'd wind up worshipping at the porcelain altar...so much for those extra nutrients.

My super-wonderful doctor in Florida used to give me such a hard time about this, saying "For Pete's sake, don't you swallow beans?" How silly, of course I do... I chew them. I bet he didn't realize 40% of his patients probably had issues, they just weren't brave enough to admit it. Me? I always asked for liquids, for itty bitty pills, or things that I could break, crush or chew.

For the past week, I've been taking Erythromycin 333 mg, 3X a day. It is a large, hard tablet. A big warning label on the side of the bottle reads: DO NOT CRUSH OR CHEW. SWALLOW WHOLE. This sucks, it just plain sucks. So for a week, I wrestled with the dang things and ended up waterlogged. Every night it would seriously take me 32 oz of water and 20 - 30 minutes to get one stinking pill down. That meant, of course, that I was waking up at least twice in the middle of the night to pee. Not fun. Amazingly, first thing in the morning was only a 3 - 5 minute, 8 - 10 oz problem. I called the pharmacy after a week of torment to see if I could cut the dang things in half (I actually did it a few times before asking). The response? NO, absolutely not! They are time-released, chopping them up is a big no-no. (Oh well, I'd done it and hadn't died in the process).

I felt defeated by the pharmacist's words. I'd hoped that I could cut them and then I would have done so in fourths. She worried me enough about it that I haven't cut them since she said it was taboo. So I thought...why is it that my morning dosage only takes 3 - 5 minutes? It dawned on me that I was so thirsty that I wasn't tensing up as much because my body wanted liquid, quickly please. Therefore, I let myself get feeling almost dehydrated for my afternoon dosage and BINGO! Down went the pill. It wasn't as easy at the bedtime dose, but it didn't take 20 minutes either.

I've read that drinking your water from a soda bottle will help. It has to do with the sucking action of pursed lips triggering the swallowing reflex and I guess that trumps the gag reflex. Supposedly bubbly things make that trick work even better. Putting things in applesauce or peanut butter never helped me...that only meant "more" that I was having to get down with the pill.

I was listening to Brad Paisley's new single, "Online" and part of the chorus goes, "I'm so much cooler online." I have to laugh - not me! I repeatedly expose my nerdiness and/or wimpiness on a regular basis.

Creature of Habit (7.14.07)

2008-09-17T19:23:00.005-07:00

Habit

1. an acquired behavior pattern regularly followed until it has become almost involuntary: the habit of looking both ways before crossing the street.
2. customary practice or use: Daily bathing is an American habit.
3. a particular practice, custom, or usage: the habit of shaking hands.
4. a dominant or regular disposition or tendency; prevailing character or quality

My phone rang this morning, too early it seemed. I groggily fumbled for it and instantly woke up to my friend, Julie asking, "Glynis, where are you?" That was easy, I was curled up in bed getting some much needed, stress-relieving shuteye. Where I was supposed to be was completely different. I had totally and utterly forgotten that she was expecting me to meet her at her favorite new running location at 7am. It was 7:20 and she'd finally decided she'd better call and find out why I wasn't at the agreed upon starting point.

We had made this plan last Saturday, but it had slipped my mind faster than a greased hog at the county fair. My cranial cavity had been so overloaded with the chaotic week that I had gone to bed telling myself that a 9am run in the graveyard was in order. After all, that was my habit since Julie hadn't been able to run with me much since she had some health problems last year. She hadn't called to remind me about our plan for this morning, so my body just expected to sleep in until 8am. I'd gotten accustomed to the habit of running alone on Saturdays, just as it had once been habitual to meet Julie at 7am.

There was no way that I could get ready and drive out to where she was, so after filling her in on my crazed week and getting her feedback on the doctor my dad was seeing, I fell back asleep for another 1/2 hour. When I got up, all I could think of was getting to the graveyard to run - but that I needed to make Dirt Cake for 25 for today's community picnic that our church was holding.

Instead of my habitual protein shake, I reached for some cold Lake Tong Ting Chicken in the fridge. That stuff is delicious - chicken in a light white sauce (kind of like the sauce for Moo Goo Gai Pan) and cooked with snow pea pods, broccoli, baby corn, carrots, celery and water chestnuts.

I decided that before I headed out for that run, I'd better make the Dirt Cake. Sure enough, the only milk in the house was sour -- no one really drinks milk here and I forgot to buy milk when I bought the other ingredients. (Mind you, I felt baaaad about the stuff in my cart when I went shopping for Dirt Cake ingredients. Four packages of reduced-fat Oreos, a bag of confectioner's sugar, 2 packages vanilla pudding mix, gummy worms, Cool-whip, light cream cheese. That's probably why buying fresh milk slipped my mind, my conscience was winching at the crap my cart was overloaded with and I just wanted to get out of the grocery store!)

There went my morning run. Every bit of time was gone. I had to get dressed, look presentable, get milk, make the Dirt Cake, start some laundry, etc, etc, until it was suddenly 10:30 and I had to be up at the church by 11 for skit practice.

Meanwhile, I hadn't drunk my habitual morning protein shake and felt miserable without it. So at 10:30, I whipped out the blender, gathered my whey, flaxseed and other ingredients and made myself the proper meal I needed.

Samuel Johnson once said, "The chains of habit are too weak to be felt until they are too strong to be broken." This got me to thinking about just how many things have become habits in my life. From brushing and flossing, right down to how I fold the towels, I am most definitely a creature of habit.

For the most part, I have developed lots of very good habits over the course of my lifetime. Daily exercise, healthy eating habits, all those nice hygenic things that make a person a bit more pleasant to be around :) Of course, there are the habits that we develop which are more like idiosyncracies; for instance, I alternate two pairs of running shoes. There was a good, scientific reason behind it when I started, something from Runner's World - but I've long since forgotten why. I just do it, almost without fail. Nervous little habits can form as well. My family knows that when I feel anxious or tense, I tend to rub the side of my neck. Even if I swear up and down that I'm fine, they know I'm full of crap when they see my hand move to my neck.

As far as bad habits go, they become just as second nature to us as the good ones do. Unfortunately, bad habits are very hard to break. I tend to say, "yes" to any project without considering first all the other things on my plate. Habitually being 5 minutes late has become part of how I am. I realize that this developed by most of the people around me always being 10 - 15 minutes late for meetings, parties, etc. I went from being a few minutes early, to leaving my house with just enough time to get to an event 5 minutes after the scheduled start. I hate it, but it has become a hard habit to break. Thomas Jefferson wisely said, "He who permits himself to tell a lie once, finds it much easier to do it a second and third time, till at length it becomes habitual." Any thing we do, which we know is not right but do it anyway, can become habit-forming. We let down our guard, we make excuses, we justify, we validate. Just as in Jefferson's illustration with lying, bad habits break our moral fiber. I'm determined to follow the advice of Benjamin Franklin who said, "Each year, one vicious habit rooted out, in time ought to make the worst man good." I need to attack the bad habits I'm developing head on and root them out with ferocity.

Shamefully, I've also begun a habit of breaking good habits. 10 o'clock had been my bedtime for ages up on ages, except on weekends. 10 o'clock saw me tucked in, lights out - because I value a good night's sleep and with a hard workout planned in the morning, I know that I need it. For the past three or four months, I've been pushing the limits of bed time, hitting my workout without the required sleep and feeling zonked by mid-afternoon. Because of this lapse, I'm now breaking another good habit I once had - I used to always wake up and read my Bible before I did anything else. Now I find myself trying to catch every last wink of sleep possible before hitting the gym, and tell myself "don't worry, I'll get to it later." Some days "later" never comes. According to Aristotle, "Moral excellence comes about as a result of habit. We become just by doing just acts, temperate by doing temperate acts, brave by doing brave acts." If I want to do the good things I plan on doing, I must do them and do them and do them. Things like getting to bed on time, reading my Bible at the start of my day, etc, should be as imporant as drinking that darn shake and heading to the gym on time.

The picture at the top is a too bright cell phone shot of the wonderful set we created for vacation Bible school. Buddy Davis will be preaching from our outdoor scene tomorrow morning. :) We were thinking of standing him in the river with a ducky tube around his waist. I wonder what sort of sense of humor he has...

Now it is time for me to catch the run that I missed this morning - then I need to clean out the refrigerator. On top of all the activities of the week, the youth group is coming to our tomorrow for their monthly hangout. Once a month they hang out at someone's home, either a kid in youth group's or just a family that wants to open up their house to the group. It's our turn, so we've been trying to get things in order. I realized the volley ball has a leak, so tomorrow after church I need to run out and get a new one - plus a couple of more lawn chairs.

Fluorescent Lighting Part 2

2008-09-17T19:23:00.004-07:00

In reading the comments to my first blog on this, a comment was posted regarding the "small amount of mercury" hit hard... that small amount can be deadly. Just the amount of mercury in a normal size fluorescent tube can contaminate 30,000 liters of water beyond a safe level for drinking...that's approximately 7917 gallons. I was horrified to read that she and others just dumped them in the dumpsters at work or with their regular trash. Yikes! Think of the magnitude of the damage if everyone is so nonchalant about this!!!

It was also mentioned that the fluorescent light was brighter. Well, there are issues with that: Over-illumination is a health hazard. "Health effects of over-illumination or improper spectral composition of light may include: increased headache incidence, worker fatigue, medically defined stress, decrease in sexual function and increase in anxiety." Also, the common levels of flourescent lighting in offices are sufficient to elevate blood pressure by EIGHT POINTS. Evidence has been gathered that suggests, again, that daily exposure to moderately high levels of light screw with sexual performance (that means diminish it, folks) as well as lead to increased stress and worker error. The part about decrease in sexual function should scare everyone. :) (Mmmm, brighter lights or better sex...which would you choose?)

Susan L. Burks, Managing your Migraine, Humana Press, New Jersey (1994) ISBN 0-89603-277-9
^ Cambridge Handbook of Psychology, Health and Medicine, edited by Andrew Baum, Robert West, John Weinman, Stanton Newman, Chris McManus, Cambridge University Press (1997) ISBN 0-521-43686-9
^ L. Pijnenburg, M. Camps and G. Jongmans-Liedekerken, Looking closer at assimilation lighting, Venlo, GGD, Noord-Limburg (1991)
^ Igor Knez, Effects of colour of light on nonvisual psychological processes, Journal of Environmental Psychology, Volume 21, Issue 2, June 2001, Pages 201-208
Craig DiLouie, Advanced Lighting Controls: Energy Savings, Productivity, Technology and Applications The Fairmont Press, Inc., (2006) ISBN 0-88173-510-8

AND on the vain side of things, putting on your make up in flourescent lighting SUCKS. People with blue eyes tend to have ruddier skin, which will be accentuated under the blue light that is emitted. However, people with brown eyes tend to see that their skin appears more yellow or green. Most people will concur that it washes them out or makes them look pasty. Many women compensate by applying extra blush or going heavier on their eye makeup, but wait until you get outside in natural light - you'll look garish or clown-like. The flourescent lighting also accentuates lines and shadowing, making under-eye circles appear to be more pronounced. Nice warm incandescent lighting is generally yellow or red, both of which have a softening effect on all colors. If you get a portrait done, either have it done in natural light or incandescent.

Need I even mention what fluorescent lighting in fitting rooms does? ICK! Think the mirrors are bad? It's mainly the lighting that is the problem. Let's just wash out the color in your whole body and accentuate things that you'd rather were left alone.

Al Gore once said, "``Third World nations are producing too many children too fast... it is time to ignore the controversy over family planning and cut out-of-control population growth...''. When asked how to go about this he suggested expanding birth control and abortion programs in developing countries. He also says, ""Clearly, it is time for a global effort to create everywhere on earth the conditions conducive to stabilizing population." - Al Gore, Earth in the Balance Explains why he is so hepped up about compact fluorescent lighting... diminished sex drive, less children. Ugly women in clownish makeup walking the streets with men whose daily exposure to over-illumination by florescent has led to erectile dysfunction, yeah, that ought to reduce the population. Think they'll go for it in the Third World? :)

Fluorescent Lighting

2008-09-17T19:23:00.003-07:00

Is it "greener" to switch to flourescents? NO!!!

I watched a bit of the Live Earth snoozefest and was right away hit with the crap about how everyone should switch from incandescent light bulbs to "energy saving, money saving compact fluorescent lamps." In seeing this, my first thought was "How incredibly stupid? What about the dangers of disposing them?" You see they contain mercury and there are precious few disposal or recycling programs for them.

CF bulbs contain about 4 milligrams of mercury sealed in the glass tubing of the bulb (roughly equivalent to the tip of a ball-point pen). Mercury vapor converts electricity into light. Mercury is most toxic when it leaches from landfills into the water and then into fish. Therefore, compact fluorescent (CF) bulbs or fluorescent tubes must NOT be thrown away with your regular garbage.

Read this lovely article about one woman's horrible experience when a fluorescent bulb broke in her daughter's room. Ready for the Hazmat team to come in? http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=55213

Aside from that, fluorescent lighting has been reported FOR DECADES to cause and/or aggravate migraine headaches, eye strain and seizures. http://www.emedicinehealth.com/migraine_headaches_vision_effects/page2_em.htm

Dr. Alan Gaby, medical editor of the Townsend Letter for Doctors and Holistic Medicine reports, "Time-lapse cinematography studies have shown that first-grade children sitting under fluorescent lights become hyperactive, compared to those exposed to standard lighting.

"The radiation emanating from television sets (not to mention the questionable programming) may also have an adverse effect on behavior. In one study, rats were placed in a cage fifteen feet away from a television set. Although the sound was turned off and all visible light from the screen was shielded by a piece of black cardboard, the rats became hyperactive and aggressive. However, if a lead shield was placed over the black cardboard, the rats behaved normally."

From experience: I had a daughter tested for epilepsy a few years ago. One of the tests involves blind-folding the child and holding strobe lighting over their face. Even with their eyes shielded, the brain can sense the flickering/strobing and this shows on the EEG. It has been shown that the strobe effect of fluorescent lights can cause similar reactions in the brain.

I'll add another bit from life experience around me. Two boys I know started out in public school - filled with fluorescent lighting, of course. Both boys were determined to be ADHD by the time they finished first grade. Both boys were taken out of school to be homeschooled - yep, they sat at home in natural and incandescent lighting for the rest of their learning. SURPRISE! Neither of them ever exhibited any more symptoms of ADHD. Both are now in high school, brilliant young men, calm, great to hang around. (FYI they have plenty of friends and social outlets).

Some quickies:

Flicker can be unhealthy. It causes seizures in about 4% of patients with epilepsy
Jeavons, P.M. and Harding, G.F.A. (1972). Photosensitive Epilepsy. A Review of the Literature and a Study of 460 patients. William Heinemann Books, London. 121pp.
The rapid imperceptible flicker from visual display terminals and fluorescent lighting affects eye movements.
Wilkins, A.J. (1986). Intermittent illumination from visual display units and fluorescent lighting affects movements of the eyes across text. Human Factors, 28(1), 75-81.
Fluorescent lighting causes eye-strain and headaches.
Wilkins, A.J., Nimmo-Smith, I.M., Slater, A. and Bedocs, L. (1989). Fluorescent lighting, headaches and eye-strain. Lighting Research and Technology, 21(1), 11-18.
People with agoraphobia can be sensitive to light. Their heart rate is increased when fluorescent lighting flickers imperceptibly.
Watts, F.N. and Wilkins, A.J. (1989). The role of provocative visual stimuli in agoraphobia. Psychological Medicine, 19, 875-885.
Hazell, J. and Wilkins A.J. (1990). A contribution of fluorescent lighting to agoraphobia. Psychological Medicine 20, 591-596.

I think Al Gore is one of the biggest buffoons to ever walk the planet. I think that a lot of this "think green" business is a bunch of malarkey. By all means should we take care of our earth and stop polluting and poisoning our environment - but let's think up some reasonable responses and not push the first crappy idea that comes to the top of our head like flourescent lighting. How silly and how

We have been in a period of increased solar activity, apparently it has been increasing for the last century but particularly in the last 20 years. The amount of greenhouses gases produced by this increase in solar activity dwarves any amount caused by human stupid (which does not mean I advocate continued human stupidity). Any radioactive output by the Sun effects the energy balance of the Earth's surface, atmosphere and climate. Was anyone aware that Venus has been heating up due to increased greenhouse gases caused by solar activity.

In this report, Scafetta, N. and West, B.J. 2006. Phenomenological solar contribution to the 1900-2000 global surface warming. Geophysical Research Letters 33: 10.1029/2005GL025539. , it is summarized that: "The two researchers determined that the sun contributed some 46-49% of the 1900-2000 global warming of the earth; and considering that there may have been uncertainties of 20-30% in their sensitivity parameters, they suggest that the sun may possibly have been responsible for as much as 60% of the 20th-century temperature increase." Later researchers have indicated that "that some of these phenomena may to some degree be independent of, and thereby add to, the simple TSI forcing Scafetta and West employed, which suggests that the totality of solar activity effects on climate may be even greater than what they calculated." CO2Science.com

It'll be a cold day in hell before I switch to fluorescent lighting in my home. It makes me feel sick, gives me headaches and is a VERY annoying light to read by.

Effort

2008-09-17T19:23:00.002-07:00

ef·fort: The use of physical or mental energy to do something; exertion;
A difficult exertion of the strength or will; A usually earnest attempt

It is no use saying, 'We are doing our best.' You have got to succeed in doing what is necessary. Winston Churchill

As a society we are spoiled rotten. We want life served to us on a silver platter. We want results without effort, we want success without paying our dues. We want enjoyment without challenge. We don't want to exert ourselves... we migrate toward flashing signs that say EASY, FAST, , SIMPLE, EFFORTLESS. "What is written without effort is in general read without pleasure." Samuel Johnson

It's amazing how a seemingly innocuous comment someone made can send my mind steamrolling. No offense intended, just my mind flying off on a tangent! The comment was regarding exercise and someone needing to enjoy things, needing to like things, needing not to get bored in order to stick with it. I could be wrong (but I don't think I am), but that will usually get you the bare minimum of results. Bare minimum results lead to disappointment, disappointment leads to abandonment of a program, abandonment leads to failure.

When did we, as a society, evolve this attitude that we need to like things in order to apply ourselves to them? I feel this attitude is largely responsible for the epidemic of credit card debt and obesity in this country. Think debt and obesity have nothing in common? You see it, you like it, you want it, you get it or eat it ... no thought to the effects on your health or your economic condition. Why? Because you like it, because it provides temporary pleasure. The marketing machine has picked up on this and we are bombarded with temptations at every turn.

I always tell my kids (and myself) that some things must be done because they are right. Some things must be done because they are good for you. Some things must be done because they simply must be done. It's called discipline and we all need it.

dis·ci·pline: Training expected to produce a specific character or pattern of behavior, especially training that produces moral or mental improvement;
Controlled behavior resulting from disciplinary training; self-control.

It always amazes me when I hear parents talking about what their kids will not eat. Will not? Wow. You eat what is set before you. Period. As a parent, one should be making mature food choices for their children's health, not catering to taste buds that scream for sugar and starch. If your kids start from the get-go knowing that there are no "ifs," "ands" or "buts," they'll eat the broccoli, they'll eat the whole wheat pasta. Maybe they won't like it, maybe they will learn to like it. Start teaching them that every meal is all about enjoyment and that food is entertainment, see what happens... (I loved the show on TLC, "Honey, We're Killing Our Kids" - too bad it's all too true for many families).

The spoiling goes on when we feel we have to gratify every little want and desire. Who hasn't heard the kids screaming in Wal-mart and the parents who placate them by giving them what they want? When my kids used to do this, we'd break out into song, "You can't always get what you want, no, you can't always get what you want... but you get what you need..." That shut them up fast. :) My kids are all turning out to be nice, practical, non-spoiled young ladies with level heads, praise God.

We need to ditch this pattern of thinking that says, "I'll follow this exercise program if I'm not bored, if it's not too hard, if I enjoy it." "I'll follow this diet if the recipes are good, if I can have substitutes that taste like ice cream and pudding." How many fad diets are out there that promise this and don't deliver? How many namby-pamby exercise programs that just don't deliver? We have to stop coddling ourselves and get realistic.

Regarding a healthy diet & exercise: You do it because it is good. You do it because it is right. You do it because it must be done. You do it because you only get ONE body, one life on this earth. You do it because that body should not be taken for granted, it is a prized possession to be treated with respect and love. Sure you have a choice, life is full of choices - live a quality existence in a body that is as healthy as possible, or grind to a feeble halt in a body that has been abused and fed the wrong fuels.

Effort isn't fun, it's work. The results, however, the results are worth that element of struggle. Nothing tastes better than the sense of accomplishment that comes when hard work pays off.

At the gym today, the guy who trains his friend had them over by the free weights doing barbell curls to muscle fatigue. He had that weight loaded on there and the pain was evident on his face. His arms were shaking, his face was in grimace and his buddy was saying, "Just one more, one more, one more..." He did it. Dropped the weight and groaned, "That sucks! That sucks so bad, it sucks." BUT...he was smiling. He was willing to suffer for the tennis ball sized peaks that he wants on his biceps. He was willing to expend effort doing something that he didn't like because that something would provide maximum results.

In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years. Abraham Lincoln

Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Automated Stress (7.17.07)

2008-09-17T19:23:00.001-07:00

gauntlet: A form of punishment or torture in which people armed with sticks or other weapons arrange themselves in two lines facing each other and beat the person forced to run between them. The lines of people so arranged.

Have you had to call your insurance company, your mortgage company, customer service of most any company lately? Then I bet you, too, have had to run the gauntlet of either button-pressing or voice recognition. Sometimes when you are enduring this, you have to remind yourself of what Nietsche said: "What doesn't kill us makes us stronger."

Yesterday, I had to run two separate gauntlets - one for medical insurance claims and one for my mortgage company because I've gotten a better home owner's insurance deal. One was voice recognition and it makes you wait until it is done giving you all 23 options for each leg of the gauntlet before it lets you say anything. The other involved the button pressing gauntlet - and that one, pfff, after you've put in your member ID, your social security number, your child's number, the president of Mozambique's number, when you finally get a real person you have to repeat all of that information anyway.

If you do know the secret for getting to a real live honest-to-goodness sensient life form, you end up getting put on hold for indeterminate lengths of time.

I have to go through this with my medical insurance company every couple of months when my daughter sees her allergist. Her bill is from a doctor with a very unique first and last name. However, when he billed the insurance, of which he is a covered provider - his billing agency does not add his middle initial. He is registered with the initial. So, although his name is on the bill (sans initial), his ID number is on the bill, the address - street, suite, city, state, zip - are all the same, the lovely automated system spits out the bill every day. The insurance company does not pay the claim in full, instead they pay out (or not) as an out-of-network provider. EVERY TIME. Even though we have been through this over and over again for the past 8 months, it still happens. Why, I asked today - after going through a long, long, LONG button pressing gauntlet and enduring two holds - the first one 7 minutes, the second 25 minutes. Why do they consistently screw up my daughter's medical claims? Because the claims are processed through an AUTOMATED system for the most part and do not go through a real human being every time.

The claim form arrives. It is scanned into the system. The system sees Dr. Johnzki Doebrowski and not Johnszki I Doebrowski. The "I" is missing. The system doesn't recognize the same medical group, the same office address, the same office phone number, the same tax ID number as the doctor they have in their file with the letter "I" as a middle initial. The system then says, "Not a network provider" and sends it off to not get paid properly. When the refusal reaches me a month later, a human being looks at it after my ordeal with said phone gauntlet and promises to "send it for review" and have it fixed. This generally takes one - two months, when means I begin to get bills and late notices.

When you finally do get flesh and blood, you know in your heart it is not that poor person's fault but by the time you reach them, you're pumped. Deep breath in, deep breath out. You try to be civil, but it is hard...very, very hard. Speaking through clenched teeth, you explain as politely as you can manage, the situation. AND ... drum roll ... they can't help you and must patch you through to a supervisor. This means another long session listening to elevator music with occasional sprinkles of, "Our company loves you. We honor our customers. We will be with you as soon as possible. Blah, blah, blah."

I've got a theory - aside from the almighty dollar the the "profit" that comes from having less human bodies to pay salaries to - these companies are all probably tied in to big drug companies. This way, they can drive you batty with their automated systems AND then make a profit when you have to be put on Prozac or Xanax because of all the stress they cause you!

Aberrancy

2008-09-17T19:23:00.000-07:00

A science project involved classifying local animals, so when my daughter asked me, "Hey, Mom, help me think of some animals from around here," the first ones I thought of was our black squirrels.

First of all, let me point out that black squirrels are really just Eastern Grey squirrels with melanin issues. Melanism is the opposite of albinism. The black squirrels simply have a change in the agouti gene which controls the banding of black and light areas on the hair shaft. They are not a different species of squirrel, any more than an albino human is a different species of human. Some of our black squirrels have auburn tails, quite stylish. :)

Local legend says that the black squirrel came to these parts when it was artifically introduced at Kent State University. Said to occur naturally in southern Ontario (which isn't far from Ohio) and southern Quebec, ten black squirrels were said to have been imported from Canada and set loose upon the university grounds in February 1961. A huge population now exists in Kent, Ohio and at Mount Union College about 20 miles southeast.

Most of the squirrels in my yard are of the black variety. I have plenty of them. Right now there are some pinecone bird feeders that the kids made out back and I'm sure the squirrels will carry them off before the day is out. Some people hate them - I don't. I find them fun to watch and some of them are downright friendly.

It's interesting how such a benign creature as a squirrel can suddenly change and become a fiersome thing. In the midst of daughter's project, we discovered an article about black squirrels in far-eastern Russia (near the Chinese border) who did a rather unexpectedly un-squirrel-like thing: they took down a large stray dog and killed it.

Apparently, there had been a pinecone shortage in the area during the fall/winter of 2005. A "big" stray dog was seen nosing around and barking at squirrels when suddenly a pack of them lept from the trees and attacked. "They literally gutted the dog," local journalist Anastasia Trubitsina told Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper. "When they saw the men, they scattered in different directions, taking pieces of their kill away with them."

In a previous incident that same autumn, chipmunks had been observed terrorizing local cats.

Here's a rather twisted squirrel site I found: Scary Squirrel World.
http://www.scarysquirrel.org/page1.html Be warned, on the pages about what squirrels eat there is a picture of one eating bunny brains.

Okay, so who can imagine squirrels working as a pack, taking down a dog? I couldn't. I often wonder what it is that makes an animal or a person "snap." In the case of the Russian black squirrels, it was obviously starvation and the need for protein to survive.

What about people? On the news today was the horrible story of a young mother who drowned her two children in a bathtub. The 22 year old mother called the children's father at work and told him that the children were "at peace." Of course, no one ever thought this mommy had anything like that in her.

In other news, a once-respected local principal has pleaded guilty to molesting a 9 yo while serving as principal in the 1990s. He's already serving time for molesting two others, charges which he plead guilty to 3 years ago. A county commissioner who was in that school system while this man was principal says, "He wasn't a bad guy as far as personality goes, but obviously behind closed doors he had some serious issues. Those issues came out in court today and he's been punished accordingly." From all accounts, on the surface he appeared to be a great guy, very well liked, in short...benign. Like black squirrels are seemingly benign, that is until something pushes the wrong button.

Today is also the anniversary of the Amish schoolhouse massacre. No one who knew the gunman ever thought in their wildest dreams that he was capable of something like that.

Melancholy thoughts, I know. I think it was the sadness on the face of the daddy of the children who were drowned that set my mind on this tangent. Feeling a bit disturbed about the uncertainty of animals and even people.

Vive Las Vagus! (11.20.07)

2008-09-17T15:31:00.012-07:00

Vagus, baby. The vagus nerve that is. The vagus nerve is the only nerve that starts at the brain stem and extends down through the abdomen. Vagus is Latin for "wandering." This wandering nerve is responsible for a heckuva lot: tasks like heart rate, gastrointestinal peristalsis, sweating, and quite a few muscle movements in the mouth, including speech and keeping the larynx open for breathing. It also controls a few skeletal muscles.

So why am I writing about the vagus nerve? It seems that scientists are unwrapping a few mysteries about this baby lately and there is quite a lot of good information out there regarding it's role in controlling the aging process (or actually how controlling it can help control aging).

Ever see those wild guys who walk across burning coals? Or Tibetan monks who generate enough body heat, on command, to dry a moist blanket on their shoulders in frigid temperatures? They aren't magicians and there is nothing supernatural going on: they have learned, somehow through meditation, to control their vagus nerve. The idea is, according to Michael Roizen, MD is this: "if you can regulate your vagus nerve, you can block some of the bad stuff that you're feeling, whether it is caused by stress, infection, or sun-hot coals. Those fire walkers, for instance, figured out a way of meditating to change how the vagus and other nerves interpret the world around them to bock not just the pain but also the blisters and other bad stuff that would happen if we mere mortals attempted the same thing."

The suggestion isn't that we begin trying this to perform super-human feats. The idea is that we learn to meditate properly in order to calm the things that hurt our immune system - like high-level inflammation and immunity challenges. We're all under so much stress today and it's wreaking havoc on our immune systems. Learned to somehow quiet our responses should strengthen our battle-weary bodies so that hopefully we can live long, enjoyable lives. (The idea is not to live exceedingly long in a broken-down body, but in a body that is fit to serve).

(I also find this interesting because my 19 yo daughter has vasovagal syncope with a component of AV block. After failing tilt tests miserably, she narrowly missed the installation of a pacemaker due to her amazing 16 minute feat on the treadmill stress-test after her heart had stopped on the tilt table. She spent a year on vasoconstrictors. Now, she's on a high protein, high sodium diet).

Vagus nerve stimulation is also a promising new treatment for depression. A device called a pulse generator is surgically implanted in the upper left side of the chest. Electrical signals travel from the pulse generator, through the lead wire and to the vagus nerve. The vagus nerve delivers those signals to the brain. But precisely how stimulation of the vagus nerve may improve depression remains unknown.

Similar treatment is also being experimented with to control epileptic seizures.

So what can we do? Meditation and deep breathing seem to be the beginning. Deep breathing tells your body that you are not in a state of alarm. That's why it's a good thing when you are alarmed to stop and take a few deep breaths to calm yourself down.

Here's an easy breathing exercise:

Sit cross-legged on the floor. Close the right nostril with the right thumb and inhale very, very slowly through the left nostril. Then with the little and ring fingers of the right hands close the left nostril. Retain breath as long as you can. Then exhale very slowly after removing the thumb. This stage constitutes one process.

Again, inhale through the right nostril, retain the breath and exhale through the left nostril. This ends the process. One can do 20 in the morning and 20 in the evening.

If You Lay Down with Dogs...

2008-09-17T15:31:00.011-07:00

...you get up in the company of friends. I know the adage goes, "...you get up with fleas" but I completely disagree. (Not about the possibility of fleas, of course, but with the derogatory perception that accompanies the proverb). Cohabitation with dogs means you are in constant company with ardent admirers, faithful followers, loving kin. Friends - those who view us with ardent affection, with great personal regard. Comrades who *like* us, even when we aren't particularly likable.

I have never understood non-dog people or people who profess to be dog people but their dogs live in pens on chains in backyards. While they might appreciate the animal, I don't know if they truly comprehend the relationship that can form in closer quarters. Never mind the constant appearance of dog hair on your clothing, the companionship is more than worth extra vacuuming and a goodly supply of lint brushes.

Watching the news the other day at the gym, I was struck by a story of two golden retrievers, Merry and Pippin, who stayed by their owner's dead body for three weeks in the wilderness until he was found. Both dogs suffered dehydration, but they stayed by his side, fighting off predators and protecting the body of their beloved master who apparently died from hypothermia and dehydration. He had developed Alzheimer's and had had a hard time communicating with friends and family, yet never failed to communicate clearly with those dearest of buddies.

Faithful. Loyal. True. Elizabeth Marshall Thomas write about the "grace of canine companionship." It truly is grace, unmerited favor. Sometimes I'm in awe of how much my dogs love me.

Each morning I wake up to loving eyes blinking at me in the dark room. Moogie, who sleeps on my feet, crawls up my body to give me a hug and then he moves over to allow me to get up. He's gotten smart - he stays in bed until I get out of the bathroom and have my contacts on. Freckles, on the other hand, feels compelled to follow me out into the hallway and then station herself at the top of the stairs. Usually Virginia, Queen of Demon-spawn, will position herself on the banister to await the procession downstairs. Camile will slink down when she is good and ready.

Moogie and Freckles sleep in my room each night. Moogie, curled up on top of my feet and legs; Freckles, in her "beddie bye basket." She needs her own personal space, too. :) Freckles will turn 10 next March, Moogie will then turn 8. Freckles is a cocker spaniel with quite a weight problem; she gets most of her exercise following me up and down the stairs all day. It's no struggle for Moogie, who is long and lean. All day long whenever I go upstairs, they follow me. When I go down, they go down. In her old age, Freckles is now trying to anticipate if I really plan to stay up there for a while or not. She tends to lag behind, sometimes several minutes, hoping that she doesn't waste a trip. More often than not, by the time she gets up the stairs I am almost ready to head back down. Moogie, on the other hand, is always hot on my heels. Over time they have learned that I will shut them out of the bathroom, so they usually wait patiently just outside the door.

When I go out on an errand, I am sure to be greeted by a course of yips and howls when I return. You would not believe there were only two dogs waiting behind the door - it sounds like I have a full kennel. When I open the door, I am greeted by unspeakable joy. Oh, sometimes looks of disgust come after the initial joy - I occasionally get chastised for being away too long.

When I come home and am not greeted by the cacophony of the canine chorus, I don't need to guess what's going on. A joyless greeting means that Moogie has been in the trash and both dogs know it won't be a happy reunion. Moogie often watches me drive away by standing at the backdoor watching me get into the van in leave. Sometimes he looks like "Oh, no. There she goes, I wish she'd stay." Other times I can tell that he's thinking, "Alright, when she gets to the end of the driveway that garbage can is MINE."

When we go away, we used to send the dogs to separate houses. Moogie went over to our friend, George's house. Staying at George's was like putting Moogie up at a brothel. The female dogs there took a liking to him. :) Freckles was never that easy. She tries to escape and get back to us. Last time we left her at a friend's house a block away and she broke down their screen door...TWICE...and ran back to our house where they found her quivering on the steps. The day we returned she heard the sound of our vehicle and she made some sort of amazing escape through a fence and as we pulled in the driveway we could see her barrelling down the road, ears flying, her fat body using every ounce of power she could pull together to get home to us. Now we leave them at home and have someone come in at least three times a day to take them out, walk them, play with them, etc.

Sharing my life with dogs has enriched it - all gain and limited loss. Oh, Moogie #1 chewed through a set of living room furniture, amongst other things. Moogie #2 became adept at opening doors and letting himself in and out, even into someone else's porch to chase their cat. My current crew is getting older, so there is a lot of snoring at night. Moogie likes to try to take up more space on the bed that he is allotted, if at all possible. He also likes a good rotisserie chicken or a pizza if one is left unattended on a counter-top. There has been consternation and there has been aggravation, but material things aren't all that important to me and annoyances fade with time. It's all been worth it.

Now for my controversial little soapbox. Bob Barker has a point when he preaches to have our pets spayed and neutered...HOWEVER, I disagree with the way it is done. When a female dog is spayed, everything is removed. Everything. When you think of women you know who have had complete hysterectomies, you know that there is major hormonal upheaval. I find it wrong to do that to a defenseless animal. Tubal ligation is a kinder alternative - leaving the ovaries intact. Many vets won't take the time to do that.

Male dogs are basically castrated - I feel it would be much more humane to perform a vasectomy. The personality would not be altered, hormone production would still be possible - and yet one could still help control the population of unwanted canines. Sadly, only a few vets will perform this procedure. In spite of common mythology, neutering a male dog has NO proven effect on aggression.

While I agree that it is a necessity to prevent unwanted litters, I think it is wrong to infringe on the natural state of animals that we profess to love. Some disadvantages to the current popular methods of sterilization are: obesity in both genders, urinary in continence in females, increase risk of prostrate cancer in mails, hormone-responsive alopecia, a twofold excess risk of osteosarcoma, severe geriatric cognitive impairment in males -- and more. I have recently seen osteosarcoma in two female animals I know, young dogs, who were spayed at a young age. It's sad and it's sick. We wouldn't do that to humans knowing the risks... but we do it to the defenseless. The way the world is going these days, I wouldn't be surprised if it becomes increasing commonplace to commit this brutality on humans who cannot speak for themselves.

~o~

Great dog books that everyone should read. Keep tissues handy for some of these:

Lad: A Dog by Albert Terhune
The Hidden Lives of Dogs by Elizabeth Marshall Thomas
The Social Lives of Dogs by Elizabeth Marshall Thomas
Marley and Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog by John Grogan
Mostly Bob by Tom Corwin
A Good Dog: The Story of Orson, Who Changed My Life by Jon Katz
The Intelligence of Dogs: A Guide to the Thoughts, Emotions, and Inner Lives of Our Canine Companions by Stanley Coren
Amos: The Story of an Old Dog and His Couch by Susan Seligson and Howie Schneider (This is a kid's book but it is THE BEST).

Stick Your Neck Out! (1.27.07)

2008-09-17T15:31:00.010-07:00

This month is Thyroid Awareness Month and I highly recommend going to the Thyroid Awareness Website for information on how to do a neck check and to assess your risk for thyroid disease. Nearly 5% of all Americans suffer from thyroid disease, 4% from hypothyroidism. As many as 8 million Americans are probably undiagnosed, living in discomfort and pain. A study in the 2003 "Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism" it was suggested that 1 in 3 thyroid patients is NOT receiving adequate treatment.

I've personally experienced two forms of thyroid disease - hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism. In 1993 I was diagnosed with Graves' Disease, an autoimmune thyroid disorder. My story can be found at Dianne Wiley's Graves' Disease Resource page. If you're experiencing symptoms that might indicate hyperthyroidism, I strongly suggest getting to the doctor and having some tests run.

Nervousness, anxiety, or an irritable and quarrelsome feeling
Trembling hands
Weight loss, despite eating the same amount or even more than usual
Intolerance of warm temperatures and increased likelihood to perspire
Loss of scalp hair
Rapid growth of fingernails and tendency of fingernails to separate from the nail bed
Muscle weakness, especially of the upper arms and thighs
Loose and frequent bowel movements
Thin and delicate skin
Change in menstrual pattern
Increased likelihood for miscarriage
Prominent bulging of the eyes
Protrusion of the eyes, with or without double vision (in patients with GravesÃ¢ÂÂ disease)
Irregular heart rhythm, especially in patients older than 60 years of age
Accelerated loss of calcium from bones, which increases the risk of osteoporosis and fractures.

I also have had the "joy" of experiencing hypothyroidism. Apparently, I have the antibodies for both autoimmune diseases (Graves' and Hashmito's hypothyroidism). In 2003 I began training for a marathon and as I trained and the months progressed, I gained weight and got slower and slower. After the marathon, my times got even slower. I went from a normal 9 minute mile (I'm no Speedy Gonzalez) to where 12 - 13 minutes a mile was a painful struggle. My jeans no longer fit, my face was puffy, I had bizarre aches and pains, a foggy head and basically felt like crap. I went to the doctor and had my thyroid tested - and was sent on my way, told that I was fine. On the way out the door, I asked for a copy of the blood test. When I got home, I looked at it -- my TSH was 4.65... this was NOT normal. The American Association of Clinical Endocrinology had changed the standards (with VERY good reason). The reference range for "normal" TSH was changed from 0.5 to 5.0 to 0.3 to 3.0, with anything over 2.0 suspect if symptoms were present. I went back with medical reports, the AACE press release, the National Association of Clinical Biochemistry's press release and a demand for treatment. It took a long, long time to feel well again - and a switch from synthetic hormone (Synthroid) to the natural (Armour) before I truly felt good again. The symptoms of hypothyroidism can include (but are definitely not limited to):

Fatigue
Drowsiness
Forgetfulness
Difficulty with learning
Dry, brittle hair and nails
Dry, itchy skin
Puffy face
Constipation
Sore muscles
Weight gain
Heavy menstrual flow
Increased frequency of miscarriages
Increased sensitivity to many medications

By opinion - and the opinion of several thyroid organizations - is that all women over the age of 35 should have a thyroid test run as part of their annual exam. I also strongly believe that every pregnant woman should have thyroid testing as part of her prenatal and postnatal care. As many as 20% of all women experience postpartum thyroiditis.

AND if you get your thyroid tested, always ALWAYS get a copy of the blood work. Check what your level is, check to see if the lab is using the NEW normal range. Don't ever accept "you're fine" as an answer when you feel like crap. Many labs in this country are NOT using the new standards. Many doctors aren't even aware, even though it has been published in everything from national news magazines to Ladies' Home Journal. (I'm using the term "new" loosely, it has now been several years since the standards were changed). I recommend visiting Mary Shomon's site on About.com for some valuable information - for instance, you can find copies of press releases to bring with you to the doctor.

Make sure you find a doctor that will TALK to you. A doctor that won't try to hand you anti-depressants and run you out the door. Remember always that doctors are not gods, they are in a service industry. If you don't like the way the service is being provided, move on. You should be treated with respect. Your questions should be addressed in terms that you can understand. Your symptoms should never, ever be made light of.

Research using reputable sources. There are no "natural" cures for thyroid disease. You can't take some herbs and feel "all better." The thyroid and its function affect your entire body, so don't mess around!

Here is a short, informative piece by Drs. Richard and Karilee Shames talking about restoring thyroid and adrenal health.

Books that are helpful:

Living Well with Hypothyroidism, Living Well with Autoimmune Disease, The Thyroid Diet - all three by Mary Shomon

Graves' Disease: A Practical Approach by Elaine Moore

If you have any questions, feel free to send me a message. I'm always ready to listen and help. I used to have a Graves' Disease web site which received a few million hits, but as I felt better I became lazy about maintaining it. It did, however, get me noticed by a local medical school who used me as their M1 orientation keynote speaker for three years - which then got me a great job as an actress in their Center for Clinical Studies.

The blog about sex (6.8.08)

2008-09-17T15:31:00.009-07:00

Once again, the theme in our Adult Bible Fellowship is marriage. That’s a very good topic because marriages are under attack by the enemy and it’s good to be on your guard. However, once again the mythology starts flying. Right in the beginning of the class when talking about main sources of attack on marriage and sexual purity, the leaders chimed in about how “men are visually stimulated and women are emotionally stimulated” so sure as the sun rises, the conversation turns to how the men have such a struggle with the media, with pornography, with keeping their eyes from wandering. It’s almost boastful, like you are more “manly” if you can chuckle and nod along with the others. And the women? Pfffff, it gets treated as if women don’t even have a problem in this area. That my friends, is a lie… a lie that women even believe themselves.

I feel that this ridiculous, tenacious grasp to cultural mythology is harmful. It still has men feeling like randy studs and gives them a false sense of security about the temptation factor for their wives in the area of sexual sin. Both sides are hurt.

In the past, if I opened my mouth and say anything, you should see the looks of horror. Me, I am not good at keeping my mouth shut, although my husband is usually kicking my leg under the table. (Perhaps because he, too, has bought into the myth? Or just because he doesn't want other guys thinking his wife is less than chaste? Whatever! If the men can sit there and proclaim struggles with visual stimulation, why shouldn't the women admit it is a danger for them as well?). This time around, however, there are younger women in the class...younger women who are being raised in a time where the tide of cultural conditioning has turned. They are opening their mouths, too.

Since the Victorian era, females have been conditioned that “nice girls don’t think about sex” so they learn to quash the thoughts that pop up or else feel guilty. Even if they don’t squash the thoughts, they sure as heck don’t admit to them! They then spread the mythology. Males are conditioned to believe that “that’s what guys think about” so they feel free to entertain these thoughts. If we go back before that time to the middle ages, women were thought to be the more sexed-up partner – whose lusts were wanton, who, unless controlled couldn’t keep their skirts down. Men were perceived as being the stable, logical sex, able to control the baser instincts.

Aside from the ideal of the chaste, virtuous woman, there also might be the secret instruction for women to be an "angel in the kitchen and a devil in the bedroom" ... but don't ever admit to the bedroom part. That part has to be hush-hush because heaven knows what someone might think!

Looking at the Bible, in Proverbs young men are warned to stay away from seductresses. Israel was likened to harlot because of her tendency to roam. Hosea’s wife, Gomer, wouldn’t stop her bed wandering. No where in Scripture are men built up as the lustier partner, instead they are warned of being seduced. Young widows are instructed to get remarried because their sensual desires could impede their commitment to serving Christ.

Yet come the last couple of centuries, the beliefs on female sexual response have been rewritten. Women have been silenced and confined to a warped sexual double standard. Women are expected to be chaste, not "think such things" or else you're a bad girl. A dirty girl. Unclean. Immoral. Women are the ones to get headaches to avoid sex, who “submit” to their marital “duties," and that recalcitrance regarding sex is considered acceptable! Ridiculous! Men are portrayed as sex robots whose insatiable appetites cause them to think and breathe sex.

This mythology is further fed by the fact that women tend to lie about their sexual thoughts and desires so that they can appear to be “good girls” and not (insert negative gender slander here). http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/stories/s896698.htm

Since the sexual revolution of the 60s and 70s, women have been slowly becoming liberated from cultural bondage to this sexual mythology and admitting: they like sex. They think about sex. A lot. Even if they won’t openly admit it, studies have been done to prove that their response is as great as men’s to visual stimulation.

Enter marketing… the advertising geniuses of the last few years are up on recent studies – and it shows in the media. Remember the Diet Coke commercial with the sexy construction worker drinking his soda and the women gathering at the window to watch him? Do you think they were imagining him coming home while they greet him in June Cleaver pearls and heels, or fantasizing about holding hands with him? Not quite! More and more commercials exploit the truth – women like to look at men’s bodies and it turns them on. We all know the marketing truth that Sex Sells.

Television shows know that truth and they use it. For years soap operas have pushed the limits with racy sex scenes and contrary to what men might think, for women it is NOT all about the romance and cuddling. I remember seeing Guiding Light with my mother once, waiting to go somewhere... there was a scene where Blake Marler finally couldn't resist the sexual tension between herself and her husband's brother. WHOA! It's been years and years and I still remember it. It wasn't about him winning her over with this emotional supportiveness or romantic gestures either. It was all about raw, animal passion. And yeah, women like that and the television moguls know it. Shows like “Sex and the City,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” and “Men in Trees” show that women aren’t just all about romance – they can just as easily do it to scratch the itch, too. Dancing with the Stars has a disproportionately female audience and they know how to work it by making sure the hot young male dancers remove as much clothing as possible.

Some interesting info:

According to a study done by researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine (as well as many other studies), women are JUST as stimulated by sexual images as men. Researchers in this particular study measured the brain activity of 264 women while they viewed 55 color slides of either sexual or nonsexual images. The erotic images lit up specific parts of the brain about 20% faster than the others did – the SAME RATE found in men. Other studies hooked women up to temperature, pulse and other indicators and found that their temperature rose, their skin flushed, their pulse pounded at the same rate of increase as men for the same type of images. Female sexuality researcher Meredith Chivers, Phd, studies female sexual arousal patterns and discovered women respond to sexual imagery by increased genital blood flow WITHIN SECONDS. (So much for that “women are crock-pots” baloney).

Studies have also shown that men need that emotional bonding just as much as women do. The myth of “women are emotional, men are visual” gets the sex experts really riled up. Dr. Goldstein, editor-in-chief of the Journal of Sexual Medicine says that it is a combination of biological and psychological factors that gets both men and women aroused. Clinical psychologist Patricia Aletky, PhdD reports, “women have said over and over they are turned on by looking at a hot bod.”

Kansas State University researchers discovered that men ACTUALLY like romantic movies, too. So take some advice from a study done in the Journal of Media psychology and rent a good “chick flick” to watch with your guy.

And while I’m on the trend of things to watch – in these Christian relationship books men’s “struggle” with pornography is always covered. But what about women’s addictions to romance novels? Only a fool believes those are all about “romance!” The imagination is a powerful tool – and the words in those books paint some pretty steamy erotic pictures. Soft core porn, definitely – sometimes pretty hard core. In case you didn’t know, the romance novel industry rakes in more than $1.6 BILLION dollars a year. Over half of all paperback novels sold are romance novels. Pick one up sometime – it won’t take long until the swarthy pirate and his throbbing manhood enter the scene.

A poll by Cosmopolitan magazine showed that 39% of female readers had boyfriends/spouses who wanted sex less often than they did. Other studies have shown that sexual desire dysfunction is pretty close to equal in men and women. Recent statistics show that it has been found that around one-third of women suffer with female sexual dysfunction - this compares with 31% percent of the male population suffering male sexual dysfunction. Folks, that’s pretty even.

Recent studies and surveys show that sexual disinterest due to stress and lack of sleep is a problem that BOTH sexes suffer from.

A 2005 Men’s Health survey showed that men wanted foreplay as much as women. Only 3% of men surveyed said they would curtail it to get to the act faster.

A recent study of subliminal exposure to sexual stimuli reported in the Journal of Sex Research showed that women actually responded FASTER than men.

http://www.redbookmag.com/love/female-sex-secrets-ll

http://www.sexscience.org/uploads/media/Gillath.pdf

http://www.sexscience.org/uploads/media/JSR_43-3_Wood.pdf

http://www.sexscience.org/uploads/media/JSR_43-4_Birnbaum.pdf

http://www.sexscience.org/uploads/media/JSR_43-4_Shulman.pdf

http://elyong.blogspot.com/2008/02/women-are-stronger-than-men.html

(This last one is just an interesting perspective on the topic).

Just a thought while I’m getting ready to hop off my soap box. I get sick and tired of seeing guys on TV or writing into magazines how their wives have gotten lazy and don’t stay attractive for them. They complain about their women wearing frumpy clothing, getting fat, etc… and then you look at the guys complaining? HELLO! While I do believe that a woman should do her best to be attractive to her husband, I believe he should do the same. And let there be some grace involved here, people! We all grow old, things happen to our bodies. She may not be the a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model, but chances are high that he's no Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom or (insert name of hot celebrity).

Drat Those Darn Physicists! (3.13.07)

2008-09-17T15:31:00.008-07:00

They have to go and try to spoil everything and declare that time travel is more than likely impossible. "There are a handful of scenarios that theorists have suggested for how one might travel to the past, said Brian Greene, author of the bestseller, The Elegant Universe and a physicist at Columbia University. “And almost all of them, if you look at them closely, brush up right at the edge of physics as we understand it. Most of us think that almost all of them can be ruled out.”"

Lest a dream be lost - I think that next to last sentence is the key here: "brush up right at the edge of physics AS WE UNDERSTAND IT." Our minds are so infintesimally small compared to the Universe and the Mighty God who created it. The fact that we can conceptualize a tesseract now, at this time in our feeble mental development, should give us hope in the future of somehow understanding ways to use that concept. Imagination is the key to exploration - as long as we can imagine that there are possibilities too big for our little minds to grasp - and yet reach beyond limitation anyway - we may find that the impossible turns out not to be so impossible after all.

(Einstein was so far ahead of his time with his unified field theory - believing that the two forces he understood at that time, Magnetism and Gravity, were not separate at all but part of a grander underlying principle - that he felt lonely and isolated from his colleagues. And yet, whose concepts does String Theory substantiate decades later? Einstein's, of course).

Until them, we can continue to dream, can't we? My favorite time travel books are: The Doomsday Book by Connie Willis, Outlander & Dragonfly in Amber by Dianna Gabaldon (the rest of the books in the series suck), Time's Last Gift by Philip Jose Farmer, Timeline by Michael Crichton, Enchantment by Orson Scott Card (love this because it is also an updated fairy tale), and of course, Mark Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court.

Just for fun: Who wouldn't love to have a "time turner" like Hermione uses in one of the Harry Potter books? Think of everything we could get done by being in two places at the same time!

I could lump The Chronicles of Narnia in the list above because the children *are* able to pass into another world where time is traveling at a different rate than it does in our own world. Perhaps via a tesseract? Nah, Aslan doesn't have to explain anything with science - after all He's not a tame lion.

As far as books about passing into another world where time is traveling at a different pace than our own: The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant by Stephen R. Donaldson are INCREDIBLE. Six books in the first two chronicles, another one in a third chronicle written and one being published in October. Donaldson's Mordant's Need is also great - two books The Mirror of Her Dreams and A Man Rides Through. The Song of Albion triology by Stephen R. Lawhead is wonderful, I read it again and again and again.

Regardless - today is today and it has enough troubles of its own. To quote a great line from Star Trek: TNG

"Seize the time, Meribor. Live now; make now always the most precious time. Now will never come again" -- Picard (The Inner Light)

That NOVA program on String Theory is fascinating. Here's the opener - the rest (all three hours worth) can be viewed here.

Hug a Theoretical Physicist Today! (8,22.07)

2008-09-17T15:31:00.007-07:00

In particular, look for Amos Ori at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa and
plant a wet one on his cheek. Back on the 13th of March I wrote in "Drat! Those Darn Physicists! " how a Brian Greene, author of the Elegant Universe, took all the fun out of the one-day hope of time travel. Wincing at the idea of a guy with a pocket-protector harpooning that dream and slaughtering it, I thought, "Oh well... at least there is still Dickens!" and included a list of some of my favorite time travel books.

While I don't have the mind of a scientist, merely that of a dreamer, I had a very hard time
accepting he and his cronies were correct. On that day I wrote, "Lest a dream be lost - I
think that next to last sentence is the key here: "brush up right at the edge of physics AS
WE UNDERSTAND IT." Our minds are so infinitesimally small compared to the Universe and
the Mighty God who created it. The fact that we can conceptualize a tesseract now, at
this time in our feeble mental development, should give us hope in the future of somehow understanding ways to use that concept. Imagination is the key to exploration - as long as we can imagine that there are possibilities too big for our little minds to grasp - and yet reach beyond limitation anyway - we may find that the impossible turns out not to be so impossible after all."

Apparently some physicists ARE still dreamers... and Amos Ori believes he has found a
cosmic loop hole. Our understanding is so very small, but growing all the time. I'm glad
that someone "saw" that time travel doesn't necessarily require some exotic matter as an ingredient. According to LiveScience's review of Ori's article for the prestigious Physical Review:

Ori's latest research suggests time machines are possible without exotic matter,
eliminating a barrier to time travel. His work begins with a donut-shaped hole enveloped
within a sphere of normal matter.

"We're talking about these closed loops of time, and the simplest kind of closed loops are
circles, which is why we have this ring-shaped hole," Ori explained.
Inside this donut-shaped vacuum, space-time could get bent upon itself using focused
gravitational fields to form a closed time-like curve. To go back in time, a traveler would
race around inside the donut, going further back into the past with each lap.

"The machine is space-time itself," Ori said. "If we were to create an area with a warp like
this in space that would enable time lines to close on themselves, it might enable future
generations to return to visit our time."

For an interesting little read, check out this article entitled, "A Guide to The Realm Of
Temporal Physics" By Alastair Roberts. It's from a site, Fluid Link, that is based on UK's Dr. Who. :) Don't you just love sci-fi?

Albert Einstein said, "Imagination is more important than knowledge..." and in some ways
he is right. Imagination stretches us, imagination is what leads to progress and enthuses us to work toward creating that which we have dreamed up.

George Bernard Shaw in his wisdom declared, "Imagination is the beginning of creation.
You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine and at last you create what you
will." He also said this, which I particularly like, ""You see things; and you say, "Why?" But
I dream things that never were; and I say, "Why not?""

In honor of physicists with imagination... "Star Trek - Time Warp"

And later, I will toast Ori with a glass of non-alcoholic White Zinfandel for not letting
dreams die. :)

Pretty is as Pretty Does (6.1.07)

2008-09-17T15:31:00.006-07:00

First - a blanket apology to any blondes out there. You're not all bad, LOL. This isn't an anti-blonde blog, it's a "false stereotypes" blog.

Yesterday, I was talking to a woman who was complaining about her child being a huge discipline problem. It became such a challenge to her that when she went to the doctor last week she spoke to him about it and told him some of the little girl's antics over the previous two weeks. The doctor looked at her and told her, "You're a very pretty little girl, but you have to be nice." This nine year old looked the doctor square in the eye and said with complete seriousness, "I am blonde. I have blue eyes. I am beautiful. I DON'T HAVE TO BE NICE!"

Without even addressing the issues of brattiness, where did this child get the notion that blondes are somehow better, and somehow by virtue of blondeness not accountable to common standards of proper behavior? And at such an early age! Who pumped her full of this crap?

If you go into the how "blondes have more fun" phenomenon got started, it can be traced directly to 20th century advertising. Yes, that phrase was coined as part of a marketing campaign in order to get women to buy hair dye. No factual basis, just trying to sell a product. Shirley Polykoff, who was born in 1908 and died in 1998, was one of only five women in history who was ever inducted into the Advertising Hall of Fame. We can thank her for such slogans as "Does she or doesn't she, only her hairdresser knows for sure," "If I have only one life . . . let me live it as a blonde," and the one we'll never, ever forget, "Is it true that blondes have more fun?"

Apparently, the answer to that question is a resounding "NO." Repeatedly through the years studies have been done to indicate that, in fact, gentlemen prefer brunettes. A 1971 study appearing on pages 311 and 312 in the February issue of Psychological Reports noted that "dark men clearly preferred brunette women; blond men were equally divided in preference for blondes and brunettes; blond, brunette, and red-headed women clearly preferred dark men; and artificial blondes preferred dark and blonde men." In a recent magazine poll 62% of men preferred brunettes, 32% strawberry blondes, and only 6% blondes. But seriously, preference is in the eye of the beholder and there are many people who thought they were attracted to only women/men of one hair color, to find themselves happily married to someone that doesn't fit that bill.

The stereotyping that has attached itself to hair color is in itself ridiculous. Blondes - ditzy, airheaded. Brunettes, brainy and mysterious. Redheads - fiery tempered and passionate. Let me tell you, I know some very intelligent blondes, some dumb-as-dirt brunettes, and some couch-potato redheads that seem to exist without adrenalin. It is all a bunch of bunk!

My brunette daughters have on more than one occasion been in the presence of blonde teenage girls who bragged that just because they had blonde hair that all the boys liked them. Not true. One of the biggest bragging offenders had her come uppance when bragging in front of a group and the boys said, "No way! The hottest girls in the group are 'x' and 'y' and they have dark brown hair!" In my own experience, I've heard women say on more than one occasion that by virtue of blondeness that they didn't even have to take care of themselves in other ways (makeup, clothing, etc) because they were "already blonde and that's everything." Pffffff.

I am horrified to think that people are still going at it, teaching little girls that because they are blonde they are more attractive and somehow better than little girls who aren't. It's disgusting. As if there isn't already an abundance of obnoxious brats out there!

I have always taught my daughters, "Pretty is as pretty does." Beauty is only skin deep - you might meet someone and find them very attractive, but if, as you get to know them, you find they are mean-spirited, greedy, rude,conceited and arrogant you will find that their appearance starts taking a nosedive. Before you know it, when you look at them you will wonder how you ever thought them attractive to begin with. The warning was that - their own behavior mattered and that pretty was just as much of an inside quality as an outside quality.

We're all humans (right?) - which means we are chemically wired to find certain things very attractive and certain things unappealing. We should never make blanket statements about what is and what is not more attractive to society as a whole as if we have a right.

Two interesting stories on the subject of beauty and the beholder. "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison and Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story, "The Birthmark." A while back, I posted Audrey Hepburn's Beauty Tips, well worth taking to heart. (Plus, there is a great butt blaster on that blog!)

For the record, I have medium-dark Auburn hair and hazel eyes. Sometimes olive green, sometimes golden, sometimes a mix that resembles pond scum. :)

Life is Worthy of Effort (6.12.07)

2008-09-17T15:31:00.005-07:00

effort: The use of physical or mental energy to do something; exertion;
A difficult exertion of the strength or will; A usually earnest attempt

It is no use saying, 'We are doing our best.' You have got to succeed in doing what is necessary. Winston Churchill

As a society we are spoiled rotten. We want life served to us on a silver platter. We want results without effort, we want success without paying our dues. We want enjoyment without challenge. We don't want to exert ourselves... we migrate toward flashing signs that say EASY, FAST, SIMPLE, EFFORTLESS. "What is written without effort is in general read without pleasure." Sam

Publish Post

uel Johnson

It's amazing how a seemingly innocuous comment someone made can send my mind steamrolling. No offense intended, just my mind flying off on a tangent! The comment was regarding exercise and someone needing to enjoy things, needing to like things, needing not to get bored in order to stick with it. I could be wrong (but I don't think I am), but that will usually get you the bare minimum of results. Bare minimum results lead to disappointment, disappointment leads to abandonment of a program, abandonment leads to failure.

When did we, as a society, evolve this attitude that we need to like things in order to apply ourselves to them? I feel this attitude is largely responsible for the epidemic of credit card debt and obesity in this country. Think debt and obesity have nothing in common? You see it, you like it, you want it, you get it or eat it ... no thought to the effects on your health or your economic condition. Why? Because you like it, because it provides temporary pleasure. The marketing machine has picked up on this and we are bombarded with temptations at every turn..and lack the discipline to resist them.

I always tell my kids (and myself) that some things must be done because they are right. Some things must be done because they are good for you. Some things must be done because they simply must be done. It's called discipline and we all need it.

discipline: Training expected to produce a specific character or pattern of behavior, especially training that produces moral or mental improvement; Controlled behavior resulting from disciplinary training; self-control.

It always amazes me when I hear parents talking about what their kids will not eat. Will not? Wow. You eat what is set before you. Period. As a parent, one should be making mature food choices for their children's health, not catering to taste buds that scream for sugar and starch. If your kids start from the get-go knowing that there are no "ifs," "ands" or "buts," they'll eat the broccoli, they'll eat the whole wheat pasta. Maybe they won't like it, maybe they will learn to like it. Start teaching them that every meal is all about enjoyment and that food is entertainment, see what happens... (I loved the show on TLC, "Honey, We're Killing Our Kids" - too bad it's all too true for many families).

The spoiling goes on when we feel we have to gratify every little want and desire. Who hasn't heard the kids screaming in Wal-mart and the parents who placate them by giving them what they want? When my kids used to do this, we'd break out into song, "You can't always get what you want, no, you can't always get what you want... but you get what you need..." That shut them up fast. :) My kids are all turning out to be nice, practical, non-spoiled young ladies with level heads, praise God.

We need to ditch this pattern of thinking that says, "I'll follow this exercise program if I'm not bored, if it's not too hard, if I enjoy it." "I'll follow this diet if the recipes are good, if I can have substitutes that taste like ice cream and pudding." How many fad diets are out there that promise this and don't deliver? How many namby-pamby exercise programs that just don't deliver? We have to stop coddling ourselves and get realistic.

Regarding a healthy diet & exercise: You do it because it is good. You do it because it is right. You do it because it must be done. You do it because you only get ONE body, one life on this earth. You do it because that body should not be taken for granted, it is a prized possession to be treated with respect and love. Sure you have a choice, life is full of choices - live a quality existence in a body that is as healthy as possible, or grind to a feeble halt in a body that has been abused and fed the wrong fuels.

Effort isn't fun, it's work. The results, however, the results are worth that element of struggle. Nothing tastes better than the sense of accomplishment that comes when hard work pays off.

At the gym today, the guy who trains his friend had them over by the free weights doing barbell curls to muscle fatigue. He had that weight loaded on there and the pain was evident on his face. His arms were shaking, his face was in grimace and his buddy was saying, "Just one more, one more, one more..." He did it. Dropped the weight and groaned, "That sucks! That sucks so bad, it sucks." BUT...he was smiling. He was willing to suffer for the tennis ball sized peaks that he wants on his biceps. He was willing to expend effort doing something that he didn't like because that something would provide maximum results.

In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years. Abraham Lincoln

Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Discipline, effort, self-control... these things apply to every area of our lives. I don't think we ever "arrive" at a place of completeness, there is always work to be done, somewhere, on something.

Phil 3:12- 14 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Stepping off my soap box. :)