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Archive for the ‘Health’ Category

Down with the Sickness

August 27th, 2010

Ok, that’s a dramantic title and the name of a song, but it’s what popped in my head. I can’t remember if I mentioned it in yesterday’s soup entry, but I have come down with a cold. It wasn’t bad yesterday so I thought it was one of those things that was going to come and go without any problems, but this morning I found out that wasn’t the case. I’ve been sniffling and sneezing and have a general achy feeling that is less than pleasant.

Marcel is also working today which has meant I have to tend to JJ, although he did offer to call his mom so she could come get him so I wouldn’t have to. I didn’t want do to that, so I walked him myself. I ran into two men who were smoking cigars and they both happen to have dogs that JJ loves. I could tell that he wanted to play and they wanted to chat but I just smiled and said something about not feeling well and continued on. I don’t think JJ was happy about having to leave his playmates, but I think he’ll survive.

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(On Locstion) From the Train

August 25th, 2010

I just stepped on the train and thought I would make the most of my travel time by updating this little space.

I’m happy to say that even though there were a few dark clouds this morning, that the skies cleared, the winds calmed and we are back to somewhat “normal” weather. (whatever normal is).

In my travels today, I found some almond flour that I plan to use in a recipe I’m plotting. It is something that is great for those suffering from Celiac disease and those who want baked goodies without the excess carbs.

I don’t really fall into either category. I heard about it from a friend and decided I wanted to try it. I love almonds and my plan is to mix it with whole wheat flour and oats. I only bought a little so if I don’t care for it I am not stuck with 2 pounds.

I’m excited about it, mostly because I love trying new things. I’ll keep you posted.

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Blueberries, Blueberries and More Blueberries

August 17th, 2010

This past Saturday Marcel, Bobbi and I went on a blueberry picking adventure. There aren’t any farms in our immediate area, so we drove an hour and fifteen minutes so we could pick until our heart is content. I ended up picking a little over 9 pounds and Bobbi went home with a little over 10. We did all that in a little over an hour.

We weren’t the only ones there picking, but there were enough to go around for everyone. I brought them home, washed and packaged them and stuck them in the freezer. I plan to use them in my yogurt and also in muffins throughout the rest of the year.

After I shared about our adventure on my Facebook account, I made a mention to someone that I was going to look for a whole-wheat blueberry muffin recipe and probably make some in the near future. Oddly, no sooner than I posted that, I looked on the News Feed and saw that Betty Crocker had posted a great recipe for just that.

Some may consider it a coincidence, but not me. I was thrilled with the recipe and decided to share it with y’all today. I haven’t made them yet, and I’ll probably make some changes (like using Agave instead of honey and applesauce instead of the oil), but they really look great on their own.

Enjoy- At the end of this entry, you can find the link to the original recipe.

Whole Wheat-Blueberry Muffins

Whole wheat flour, a touch of honey and frozen organic blueberries star in classic blueberry muffins.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¾ cup fat-free (skim) milk
¼ cup vegetable oil
¼ cup honey
1 egg
1 cup Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
1 cup Gold Medal® whole wheat flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup Cascadian Farm® frozen organic blueberries (from 8-oz bag), do not thaw

Directions

Heat oven to 400°F. Spray 12 regular-size muffin cups with cooking spray, or place paper baking cup in each muffin cup. In small bowl, mix brown sugar and cinnamon; set aside.
In large bowl, beat milk, oil, honey and egg with spoon. Stir in flours, baking powder and salt just until flours are moistened (batter will be lumpy). Gently fold in blueberries.
Divide batter evenly among muffin cups (cups will be full). Sprinkle with brown sugar mixture. Bake about 20 minutes or until golden brown. Immediately remove from pan.

Nutritional Information

1 Serving :

Calories :

Total Fat :

Cholesterol : 20mg

Sodium : 230mg

Total Carbohydrate : 27g (Dietary Fiber: 2g, Sugars: 11g)

Protein : 3g

Recipe courtesy of Betty Crocker

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Absence

July 31st, 2010

I’ve been mostly absent in my little blogging world for the past week and I’m sorry about that. As you know, I’ve been dealing with the vertigo and I’ve been so tired on top of it that when I’m not working, I’m resting.

Unfortunately that has also meant that I’ve fallen behind on so much that my blogs have suffered, along with the housework. I’m still very tired and dizzy, but I’m trying to push through and do a little catching up. I tend to feel stressed when all my proverbial ducks aren’t in a row, so I’m trying to catch up before the new week begins.

I do have much to talk about, so hopefully this coming week will find me much more productive.

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Eczema and Vertigo

July 26th, 2010

I went to the doc today after having some dizziness issues and an ugly rash on my neck that seemed to be getting worse and not better. I knew that the dizziness was vertigo, but the doc wanted to check my blood pressure and such to make sure it wasn’t anything heart related. My BP was 130/80 or something, which he said was great, plus my pulse was normal, and not skipping any beats, so that’s another good thing.

He did some tests and said he could see that I was having some inner ear issues that affected my balance, plus he looked at the rash and said that I have eczema. I’ve been very tired from the dizziness but hope that in the next few days that I start feeling better. He said if it lasted longer than 3 weeks then I would need to have tests to make sure that it wasn’t neurological. He also told me that people who have had this before are more than likely to get it again, but it has been quite some time since I had it last time.

Now, I guess I’ll just rest as much as I can and hopefully in the next day or so the medications will kick in and I’ll feel like doing something other than sleeping. It has been highly frustrating to me because this has affected work and also my exercise routine. I can’t do much about it, so I’m going to have to roll with it til things get better- This too shall pass and I hope it’s sooner rather than later.

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How Could You Not?

July 9th, 2010

A while back I was talking to someone about health insurance. Marcel and I both have private health insurance and we can’t imagine actually not having it. I guess the thing I have a difficult time understanding is why everyone doesn’t see the benefits of having insurance. I know that some people contend that they can’t afford it, but yet I tend to ask the question to myself, how can you not afford it?

I know that if I get ill, having the additional insurance will keep us from having to pay out of pocket for all the extra expenses of not having insurance, plus in the long run the premiums more than pay for themselves. The friend I was talking to said they would rather spend the money on eating out an excessive number of times in a month as opposed to having private health care. I gave her my opinion on the subject when she asked and explained that if they ever became ill, they would wish they had the coverage and sure enough, less than a month later, she had some stomach problems and they now are paying through the nose out of pocket. In this case, the insurance would have picked up a large portion of the total cost, and now, instead, they are stuck to pay most of it themselves.

I ask again- how can you not afford private insurance? The benefits are endless.

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Live from the Operating Room

July 4th, 2010

I mentioned a few days ago that Desere and I had an interesting day. She was invited to go to a very prominent theater in the area and watch a live gastric bypass surgery. Since she had the sugery several years ago and almost died; it was something she really wanted to see, so I went along with her. The theater was packed and in addition to us seeing it live as it was happening, we were also connected live to the doctors in the hospital, so if we had questions about the procedure, they could respond from the operating room. The surgery went great and I hope it will make a huge difference in the life of the person who had the surgery. I was happy to be able to share in that experience, since it isn’t every day that you get to see something like that.

When we left the theater we noticed that the streets were getting crowded. We saw someone walking around in breeches and wondered if they’d just came from horseback riding and popped in to the city to pick up a few things. We never did see what store she went in, but it was definitely a day for interesting things. We had a blast, and I’m ready for the next adventure.

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To Do Notes

July 4th, 2010

I have a busy week on the horizon and I am finding more and more that I need to write myself notes to make sure that we take care of certain little things. I hate having to remind Marcel about everything, such as the paper that he’s had sitting on the table for two weeks about a life insurance lead. He’s signed all the paperwork but it needs to be sent in.

Maybe it I write my to do notes here in this space, they’ll actually get done.

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Busy Days

July 2nd, 2010

It has been yet another busy morning and I have about a half hour before I have to start work for today. It is one of those mornings when the cat won’t stop meowing and the dog won’t stop whimpering, and I’m thinking pulling my hair out strand by strand is an option at this point.

I’m definitely going to move my work location to the guest bedroom where I can shut the door and have no inturruptions. I still have so much to say, yet I’m finding it difficult to gather my thoughts. There was a package delivery this morning and I wondered who was sending something since I knew I hadn’t ordered anything, but it was a portable oxygen concentrator for my neighbor. She was gone to the doctor and wasn’t home, so they asked if they could leave it with us. I was more than happy to sign for it and Marcel dropped it off at her place a little while ago.

He just went out with JJ to play ball and walk, so I think I should take advangate of this time and get the floors vacuumed while all is quiet. JJ hates the vacuum (or loves it), and barks out of control when I do it.

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Don’t forget the Sunscreen

June 24th, 2010

A few days ago my skin became really dry and started itching. I was not sure what was happening, but Marcel suggested that maybe I had eczema. It’s something that his sister and niece both struggle with from time to time and even he’s had his share of problems with it in the past. I was just starting to think that maybe he was on to something, when it struck me that the places that were itching and dry were the same places where I’d gotten just a little too much sun the other day. Sure enough, I started peelling and the itching has almost ceased. I’ll remember my sunscreen next time.