I've been both frustrated and confused by my own weight loss the last 2 months or so. Fortunately, this week, at least things make sense. My thyroid is still off so my doc is reducing my dosage yet again. This also explains why I wake up rested but feel exhausted by afternoon and have been having headaches. Hopefully this dosage c
In 2004 my wife and I were invited to the Inaugural Ball in Washington DC. With the help of friends we were able to go. We moved back to the Midwest in 2005 and we
started on a new path. This was interrupted by an Injury and Illness in 2006.
In 2007 a NDE (Near death experience) brought about the writing of "Rest in Peace Insiders Tips to the Low Cost Less Stress Funeral"
I had such a laser focus that I thought I was like Frodo the ringbearer in Lord of the Rings. I was told by the nurses in CCU and ICU that the Low Cost Less Stress Funeral was a real zingwhacker idea.
What a concept show folks how to lower the cost and the stress of their funeral so they can concentrate on their health. It works for folks who are in nursing homes or just on their way there. Just a book on Funeral Cost. All this occurred at Edward Hospital in Naperville, Illinois.
Your Funeral Guy, R Brian Burkhardt, Funeral Director, Author, Blogger State of Illinois
We’ve now reached the third and final stage of the transitions process. (My last several posts have dealt with emotional states that an individual typically experiences when going through a major life change.)
Somewhere towards the end of the “pit stage,” the urge to look back, mourn your losses, and remain stuck in the past subsides. At this point, people begin putting the majority of their focus towards the future. They’re eager to move forward and chart a new course in life.
Although this is generally a positive time, filled with hope and anticipation, this period can also present some pitfalls along the way. Sometimes, people are so relieved to have put painful feelings behind them, that they can become overly eager and act impulsively.
If one is conducting job search, something might come along and she’s offered a position. Although her head is telling them to take it, reservations are lurking somewhere in the back of her mind. For such scenarios, it is always best to have created a list of seven or eight “must-haves” before mounting an active search. This provides a benchmark to measure how appropriate the job offer is and how well it will suit your individual goals and needs.
Finally, at the end of the transition process, an individual moves through to her next life stage and onto acceptance and understanding of the experience. Usually, she will gain a new perspective about herself, her strengths, her aspirations and needs, and her own life’s path.
Williams Bridges, author of the book, Transitions, defined the process: an ending followed by a period of distress and confusion leading to a new beginning. And Elisabeth Kübler Ross also wrote of transitions in her book, On Death and Dying. She identified similar transition stages, which she called the five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.
So, when undergoing any major life transition, be it the loss of a job, being faced with a serious illness, or other events that have a significant impact on you, realize that there are certain predictable stages and certain emotional states that are a part of the process. Know also that you will come out the other side having gained a greater knowledge about yourself and the strength of you inner resources.
As Ben Stein, writer, TV personality, and actor said: "It is inevitable that some defeat will enter even the most victorious life. The human spirit is never finished when it is defeated...it is finished only when it surrenders."
Science fiction becomes official policy.
According to this article:
Yesterday the Department of Defense announced the creation of the Armed Forces Institute of Regenerative Medicine, which will go by the happy acronym AFIRM. According to DOD's news service, AFIRM will "harness stem cell research and technology … to reconstruct new skin, muscles and tendons, and even ears, noses and fingers."
"Not another stem cell article", you decry? Among the new developments in medical labs, we have watched with fascination the creation of artificial livers and other tissues. Now, this research is going to be the focus of the US Department of Defense. This could potentially re-arm the amputees of war. This could restore limb function and mobility to those whose spinal cords have got damaged in accidents and bullet injuries. Think of restored vision, too.
Don't underestimate this development. This could change life for ordinary human beings in a way politicians, bombers, terrorists and environmentalists cannot. More strength and more money to AFIRM, I say!
Many people eat their lunch at their computers, leaving crumbs
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Some computer keyboards harbour more harmful bacteria than a toilet seat, research has suggested.
Consumer group Which? said tests at its London offices found equipment carrying bugs that could cause food poisoning.
Out of 33 keyboards swabbed, four were regarded as a potential health hazard and one harbored five times more germs than one of the office's toilet seats.
Microbiologist Dr Peter Wilson said a keyboard was often "a reflection of what is in your nose and in your gut".
During the Which? tests in January this year, a microbiologist deemed one of the office's keyboards to be so dirty he ordered it to be removed, quarantined and cleaned.
It had 150 times the recommended limit for bacteria - five times as filthy as a lavatory seat tested at the same time, the research found.
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 Should somebody have a cold in your office, or even have gastroenteritis, you're very likely to pick it up from a keyboard 
Dr Peter Wilson
Consultant microbiologist |
The equipment was swabbed for bugs, such as those that can cause food poisoning like E.coli and staphylococcus aureus.
Dr Wilson, a consultant microbiologist at University College London Hospital, told BBC Radio 5 Live sharing a keyboard could be passing on illnesses among office workers.
"If you look at what grows on computer keyboards, and hospitals are worse, believe it or not, it's more or less a reflection of what's in your nose and in your gut," he said.
"Should somebody have a cold in your office, or even have gastroenteritis, you're very likely to pick it up from a keyboard."
Which? said one of the causes of dirty keyboards was users eating lunch at their desk, with crumbs encouraging the growth of bacteria.
Poor personal hygiene, such as not washing hands after going to the toilet, could also be to blame, it said.
Cleaning techniques
Which? computing editor Sarah Kidner advised users to give their computer "a spring clean".
"It's quite simple to do and could prevent your computer from becoming a health hazard," she said.
She said dust and food crumbs should be shaken out of keyboards and they should be wiped with a soft, lightly dampened, lint-free cloth. They should also be disinfected with alcohol wipes.
Research by the University of Arizona last year found the average office desktop harbored 400 times more bacteria than the average office toilet seat.
They also found that, compared to men, on average women have three to four times the amount of germs in, on and around their work area.
Here are some simple tips that could be applied to prevent rheumatic (including gout, etc) :
Let's protect ourself from rheumatic with healthy life.
Did you know that having a cat around the house can cut the risk of heart attack by almost 50% and that dog owners tend to have lower blood pressure and cholesterol? Those of us who are animal lovers have known for a long time that animals buffer us against stress and anxiety - it is just good to hear that science has finally caught up with us and "proved it". All this from a recent article in Alternet which quotes a recent study by the University of Minnesota. Interestingly kids who have pets when they are young are less likely to get allergies too. Pets are now not just being used by the blind and disabled to act as eyes, ears and (in the case of diabetics) glucose monitors. They are also being used as therapy in hospitals and hospice care centres. Pets as Therapy is one organization that provides this service. They are not just good for preventing strokes and heart attacks but often assist in people's recovery after these illnesses.
We have several people at our church that train service dogs. I particularly love to see them wagging their tails up at the altar rail for communion. Once a year we do a dog blessing before the dogs are sent out to their service assignments. I think this is a wonderful ministry - another one of God's hidden mustard seeds. Imagine how many people a ministry like this must bless.
So my recommendation for the day - go out and pet your dog or cat - and if you don't have one of your own borrow your neighbour's.
Now that I've got a Facebook profile, I've smacked into one of the beautiful realities of the internet: Age means nothing online. I've always been aware of this on a subconscious level, but Facebook brought it home to me when my daughter's friends started friending me. Me. A mom. In an earlier era, I'd be considered an old can't-have-anything-to-do-with-her fogie. Think of the Codename: Kids Next Door cartoon and you'll know what I'm talking about. Adults were the enemy. Being a teenager was about separating yourself from uncool adults. All that is out the window with the internet. Anyone can contribute to the internet. Anyone can talk to anyone else, regardless of age or nationality or gender.
Of course, I'm not so naive as to believe that there aren't people online who will take advantage of this situation. How many guys have been caught on To Catch a Predator because of soliciting sex from teens online? For that reason, those of us who are responsible adults have to monitor our behavior when it comes to communicating with someone we think may be under the legal age of an adult. I, for one, won't be the one to initiate friending any of my daughter's friends on Facebook. That'd be creepy.
My sister-in-law pointed out another beautiful facet of the internet. It's a great place to find medical information, especially on hard-to-treat and rare disorders. She is suffering from the effects of a long-term Lyme disease infection. It wasn't diagnosed until she'd had it for a year, and if you know anything about Lyme disease, early detection makes treating it far easier. The longer one has the infection, the more likely it will cause neurological problems and the harder it is to get rid of. Another difficulty associated with a long-term Lyme infection is that insurance companies refuse to recognize it as a disease, so they won't cover treatment. (Don't get me started on how crappy health insurance companies are. They just want to take our money and deny anyone ever has any health problems.)
If I remember correctly, my sister-in-law didn't have the tell-tale circular rash associated with early Lyme disease, so she didn't realize she'd been infected. Also delaying the diagnosis was the false negative she received on the first Lyme test she took. Apparently, this particular test is used more often for diagnosis because it is less expensive. The downside is that it returns more false negatives than the more accurate test. The long and the short of it is that my sister-in-law has been able to find information critical to her care online that wasn't available ten years ago. Yay, internet!
In honor of my sister-in-law, here are some links on Lyme disease, how to prevent it, how to tell which ticks might give it to you, and what the rash might look like. Get in the habit of doing regular tick checks if you spend any time outdoors.
I have been a little slow on the posting. My apologies. I took my pills in the morning around 8:45 A.M. My youngest son and I did some exercising at about 9:00. I felt pretty good. I have noticed that when I exercise I feel like I am actually doing something good for myself. Who would of thought that could happen? :P I know that if I actually start eating healthier I would would feel and look 100 times better than I do. I have started the exercising, but I am still slow on starting the healthy eating. It just doesn't sound exciting.
Anyway, I had a cheeseburger at about 2:30 P.M. I was very full. I try to eat when I am feeling just a little hungry, so when I do eat something small, I feel like I am overly stuffed. It's been working for me so far. I don't want to eat for a loooong time after. I thought about taking the diet pills around 3:45, but I was feeling extremely stuffed so I didn't. It wasn't feeling good at all. I wasn't really sure what was going on.
At about 5:45 P.M. I was thinking about taking my Hoodia Prime pills, but I was just not feeling good at all. I finally realized what it was. I have been taking the laxatives and not using the bathroom. I was cramping like crazy because of that. I didn't feel like I had to use the bathroom, but I was in pain. About 6:30 P.M.I finally had to "GO" and OMG!! My tummy felt so much better. Ofcourse about 45 minutes later I had to go again. That felt good too. :)
So needless to say, I didn't eat anything else and I didn't take anymore laxatives in fear of the cramps coming back. I'm not really sure that I like the laxatives trial week. I think I might save some money and try the colon cleanser thing next time. I have never tried that but we will see. :) I feel good again. Thank goodness. :)
Trojan Condoms launched a Evolve America tour last year to encourage Americans to have safer sex since 65 million Americans have an incurable STD and teen pregnancy is on the rise.
