Michelle Obama Hugs the Queen

More on Michelle Obama… not only is she stylish, and boy it seems every time I see her on the news she is ever more stylish, but now she’s off hugging the queen. Hug away girl! This is the kind of woman we need more of. (photo from the BBC news 24)

This is not the only hugging this woman has been doing she’s been busy hugging people all over the world. More power to her. I say we all could use more hugging. In fact, hugging is downright good for us. I was looking for a link to a good article on this even though I know of the positive affects from my own scientific experiments here at home. There are just too many out there so I decided to just go right on ahead and put a link to the google search itself. In a nutshell, hugging helps release oxytosin which is a bonding hormone that helps us to feel secure and loved. It actually reduces blood pressure which can reduce the risk of heart disease. I think Michelle is on to something here. I know I don’t hug my kids nearly enough. (Save your allowance girls, you’ll need it for therapy one day!) But seriously, I wonder if Michelle was the president if she would still hug people? Do female presidents hug people, how about male presidents, they only seem to hug babies at election time. This whole hugging thing is no small matter and just another reason I’m liking her as a first lady.(photo news.sky.com)

I hate to be so shallow but isn’t that outfit striking. If I only had one once of her style… I am so amazed at how this woman puts on color. Most women run screaming from color this woman embraces it, no pun here of course. She does wear a fair amount of black also but it seems to be at the more formal events.

(photo chicago tribune)

(photo the huffingtonpost.com)

(photo www.zimbio.com)

On Poverty

My husband was mentioning today that we as a family and our close friends live better than 95% of the world. So though we struggle to pay all our bills and have nothing much left at the end of each pay check, we do in fact have everything we need, most importantly health and dental care. A friend sent me a link to a couple of video clips on the Washington Post website. They are well worth watching and I would advice grabbing a tissue first. These folks are no more than a few hours ride from Washington DC where mulit-millions are being spent to inaugurate our next president. If you are the praying kind, say one for the people of Wise County Virginia and all those who are struggling to provide the basic needs for their families.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/nation/interactives/healingfields/

Mimi

The Napping House

Here is an article which said that a nap a day keeps the doctor away, well not exactly like that but that napping is actually a good thing. I’ve known that for a while. I have napped off and on for most of my life.

When I was pregnant I HAD to nap. I would become comatose if I did not. It was rather difficult with my first two pregnancies as I was working as a teacher. I don’t remember exactly if I did nap every day but I know I made every effort to. After I left my daytime teaching job and began teaching adults in the evening I definitely napped every day, usually with a little one or two beside me. I remember being pregnant with my third daughter and having a four year old and a two year old. By nap time we were all in desperate need of a little rest.

In truth, I have never gotten out of the habit. I don’t nap every single day but every day only every day I am able. I have generally kept this information private because napping is, well, frowned upon in our get up and go modern society. We prize ourselves on how little sleep we can survive on. I am glad that I realized how much better I feel after an hour or so (a little less some days, a little more on other days)

Lo and behold, I can finally come out of the closet or bed in this case. Studies are saying that it is actually good for the brain to take a rest during the day. I must admit I don’t feel my brain is any the better I still can’t do crossword puzzles or Sudoku but my mood certainly is improved. People have napped since the dawn of time. I guess, mostly it comes from keeping away during the hottest part of the day. I wonder if Eskimos nap as they don’t have the hottest part of the day. I was sad to hear that they are doing away with the official siesta in Spain. It is hotter than blazes there in the heat of the day and air conditioning or not I think they should have kept the official break mid day. Who am I to say, though I visited Spain in 1988 I don’t live there.

My children rarely nap and all gave it up rather early. I will continue my habit and at least now I have some research to back me up. Nappers of the world unite!

Mimi

The Heart Speaks

I got a gift certificate for a book store from hubby for Christmas and I decided because I can’t afford a personal trainer I will tweak my fitness program with a couple of good books which I am now awaiting via snail mail. I happened into the book called The Heart Speaks which is written by cardiologist Mimi Guarneri.

In the past year I have dealt with some scary heart palpitations another story for another time so I was drawn to it. Let me tell you I could not put this book down. I read half of it last night and would have finished it but I wanted to get up early so I saved the rest, hopefully for tonight. I couldn’t even wait to finish it before blogging about it. I immediately thought of my favorite blog friend Jelly who is also an MD as the book brought up an issue she had mentioned in a recent blog about having someone ask why she hadn’t become a specialist. Dr.Mimi laments the days gone by when one had a family physician they knew and trusted and who knew them too.

I can hardly begin to describe all the things that moved me in this story even though it is non-fiction. It is full of amazing personal accounts and anecdotes. First and foremost what struck me is how doctors do not have time to really *listen* to their patients. Dr. Mimi talks about being fresh out of med school, number one her class, and having to trail an old timey doc around impatiently while he took time to laugh and joke with his patients and mostly to actually listen to them tell their stories. At the end he told his group of young student doctors, “If you really let patients speak and tell their stories, and you really listen, they’ll give you their diagnosis. But if you keep interrupting them and they don’t get to tell it, you’ll keep ordering tests and lab work and you’ll miss the answer that’s right in front of you.” She gave an amazing true story to illustrate this point.

I have long wondered why we in such an “advanced” society are so disconnected with our own bodies and how to keep them healthy in the first place so we don’t have to heal them. Despite our knowledge, in many cases we have to do a fair amount of guesswork. Our bodies are not cars to be repaired. In fact, in the book she mentions being struck that her car mechanic took longer to explain what was wrong with her transmission and what the options were than she spent on her heart patients who had just had a stent implanted. What she discovered that I have long thought is that our heart (an I’m guessing our other organs) is not just a big pump but intimately connected with our emotional center too.

I have had a couple of recent experiences where I sought out help from a naturopath after being told I was healthy by my doctor who performed all the prescribed tests but did not have time to actually listen to me and my thoughts.  In her defense, she isn’t given the time to sit and talk to me. I think the average a doctor is supposed to spend with a patient is only 17 minutes and sometimes that just isn’t enough to figure out what is really behind the symptoms. I remember years ago when my eldest had a string of ear infections the doctor looked at me dumbfounded when I said pleadingly, “what is causing this”? He said, we really don’t know. In the end I took her off dairy and she never had another ear ache.

Even if she did have the time she doesn’t know me well enough to try and help me figure out what is causing my symptoms. Mostly I find she just wants to give me a prescription as that is what she is trained to do and I don’t take medication unless I really have to so we don’t connect at all. The only time I seemed to connect with her was when I mentioned that I swim early in the mornings with my girls, not sure why she was surprised at this and she was impressed.

The end of my story is good though as I am feeling fantastic apart from the normal fatigue I get when I stay up too late and get up too early but I had to make some changes probably the biggest being saying no to a variety of activities my kids were doing. I had to let go of the stupid idea that I was the source of my children’s happiness. It was liberating. They don’t seem any the worse for wear either.

Back to the book, another point she made was about a study done in 1935-1984 in a small Italian enclave in Pennsylvania. The people there did not eat a particularly healthy diet, eating lots of saturated fats, they smoked, and did hard labor for a living but they had almost no heart disease. They also lived in a tight knit community where everyone knew each other, they celebrated and lived their lives completely interconnected to each other. Not surprisingly when the younger generation decided they wanted bigger houses, bigger cars and lots of possessions and moved away to live in the outskirts of town they immediately began to have the normal rate of heart disease.

She somehow put to words what I experienced when I traveled in Guatemala during the end of their civil war in the late 1980′s. The people only had each other, they were the poorest of the poor but I felt an unbelievable spirit of camaraderie and downright happiness there. They laughed and cried with each other, they were never alone and were always there for each other, they knew exactly what was expected of them. Was it the ideal? Of course not, they didn’t even have the money to buy a simple anti-biotic for a real infection but it did teach me something I’ve thought about ever since.

I often long for simpler days but there just is no going back. We can do what we can though to stay simple and love our kids and spend time doing what is good for the family and with that I better get off the computer.

Read the book!

Mimi (she must be smart she’s got my name!)

Health Thoughts

I went last week for my physical and I am happy to report I am very healthy. The recommendation I received was to keep up the healthy lifestyle. I take no drugs, prescription or otherwise, don’t drink or smoke, eat no red meat though I am not a vegetarian and  work out regularly. I struggle a bit with a few pounds that creep up and when I work hard go down again but I am not even overweight. I have had one partner my whole life to whom I am happily married. I am a naturally both religious and spiritual person which according to research is supposed to make one live longer. I don’t take any of this for granted either, I really appreciate my body and what it has done for me. I see it as a vehicle which allows me to travel through life in so I need to take good care of it.

I used to marvel at my mom when she was alive. She had multiple health problems one of which was high cholesterol so instead of trying to adjust her diet at all she took Lipitor filling up on all manner of horrid foods. She would question the fact that I would eat two eggs for breakfast but I had to remind her that I had very low bad cholesterol, I’m at 150 at the moment. She represented, I think, a great part of our modern society that refuses to see their actions or lifestyle, if you will, as a direct influence on their health. It is getting somewhat better I think as I seem to see more people working out regularly at the gym and I think folks are trying to eat healthier as we are being educated on how to improve our diets and our lives.

I have read two books in the last six months that have helped me immensely. I picked up SuperFoods Rx Fourteen Foods that Will Change Your Life at a thrift store because it looked interesting but when I read it I was fascinated. The author Dr. Steven Pratt goes into detail describing the top fourteen super foods and their “side kicks” and why they are good for us right down to the molecular level. The book can be read on several levels, just the basics, the basics plus some good recipes, or the whole enchilada which explains why we get certain illnesses and what components in these foods help prevent those illnesses. When I added in these naturally delicious super foods I lost a few pounds and felt great.

I have had some health issues such as acid reflux, chronic lower back pain and a garden variety of peri-menopausal symptoms from insomnia to panic attacks. In almost each case I found a book and or got helpful advice from friends and avoided going the drug route. Best of all none of these issues has returned.

The second book I’d like to mention was one I have blogged about before called The Core Program by Peggy Brill. This book was very helpful because when I added the core body exercises into my work out I completely relieved my lower back pain. It only returns if I am not careful and lift extra heavy things.  The last book is a really wonderful one both for women and for men if they want to understand what the peri-menopausal woman may be going through. It is called The Wisdom of Menopause by Dr. Christiane Northrup. It was a wonderful education and helped me to decided what I could do about the various symptoms I was dealing with, each of which was written about in extreme clarity. Amazingly or perhaps not so amazingly I have no symptoms at the moment but am feeling better than I have in years.

In conclusion I would like to quote my very wise Dad who lived to the
ripe old age of 87. He was one who did alter his life to live more
healthy and it definitely gave him  lots more energy and at least a
couple more years. My elder sister and I proudly announced that since
he had become sober, quit smoking and had even given up bacon and
sausage every day, why, he was nearly perfect. To this he replied,
“perfect, yeah, a perfect jerk”. I think I know what he meant though he
was not in any way a jerk, healthy living doesn’t make a person any
better of character.

Mimi

Cranky Pants

Today I had to go in to Kaiser Permanente which is where my family receives all our medical care. I don’t relish the 35 minute drive and that’s with no traffic, if there is traffic it can be over an hour. While this may seem totally unacceptable it was a decision we made with lots of thought. First and foremost I like the care I get there. Again, I hear people all the time complaining about how you can not select your own doctor in an HMO. In Kaiser it is super simple to select your own doctor, I have changed a few times. Luckily at this point I don’t care who I see and I adore my kids doctor. She is lovely, competent, very friendly, respectful of my kids and funny to boot. When they are sick she seems to really feel sorry for them and always gives them a kind pat on the back. To me her bedside manner is very healing in and of itself. Truthfully, though I hate having a sick kid, especially one I can’t heal at home (we don’t go to the doc very often) I look forward to a visit with Dr. Eley.

Secondly, it is the most affordable insurance available to us. There are no deductibles and almost everything is covered. I do not have to do any paper work, we pay our monthly fees and that’s it. Thirdly, we do everything in one building including all the lab work and anything else just about. We do have to travel to see a specialist but so far that has been limited for us. Lastly, the hours are unbelievable so in the last ten years while we have been members of Kaiser we have never had to go to the emergency room because they are almost always open. I even remember them telling me once that they would wait to close until I got there.

Anyway, I had to do blood work for my physical on Wednesday. Amazingly, the traffic was non existent and for the first day back after Thanksgiving that was miraculous in and of itself. When I got there it was quite busy but I waited no more than 20 minutes which I didn’t mind. When I was called to the desk for my paperwork I was greeted by Miss Sour Puss. I  was polite anyway and when I received my slip of paper I quickly headed back to my chair to watch the T.V. and wait, only to be snapped at that I needed more paperwork. I headed back and received my second bit of paperwork and asked politely if I could sit down to which I received a snappy yes.

I sat down happy that no one was hacking up a lung and settled in to watch the mindless television program.  When my number came up I hopped up so as to be efficient and not waste other people’s time. When what to my wondering eyes should appear at my booth but Snappy herself. I am in no way afraid of needles but I thought, “Oh my God she’s going to jam the needle in and tell me to sit still and enjoy me squirm in pain”. I sat down with a  forced smile on saying something stupid like, “Wow, you do it all here, isn’t that something”, to which she replied rather stiffly, “Yes we have to”. I sat down obediently and let her know that they usually can’t find a vein on me and she barked at me to relax and make a fist. I sure was glad it wasn’t one of my kids who hate needles or I think I might have headed for the door. To my surprise she was the quickest and best draw I think I have ever had. She popped one needle in, literally in about one second and within twenty seconds had her two viles full. I thanked her and told her it was the fastest anyone had ever taken blood. She made no comment at all, not even a good bye. Oh well, I’d rather have cranky and quick than the routine I usually have to go through with poking me several times. I wonder why she was so cranky but I guess all’s well that ends well.

Ta Da Duckies.

Mimi

A Week of Appointments

I have lots of deep thoughts and ponderings, but just not when I sit to write a blog, at least at the moment.  I’m tired of looking at The Fairy Godmother so I’m just going to sit here and come up with something. I hate to admit it but in my secret life I have a desire to write a book. I have no idea what to write about but I do want to write a book but that’s in my secret life so I won’t talk about it. How can I write a book when I can’t even put a few words together to write a blog?

Last week was a wonderful week of shopping, lots of cooking, and even more eating. I’m sure I’ve gained at least four pounds and I swear I am not making this up, I can not weigh myself at the YMCA because the scale is broken. I know I weigh between 140 and 150 but that’s not saying much. I should weigh only the 140 but whose obsessing? I just wish I could eat what I want and not have to worry about it. Ok, no more whining. We stopped and had Thanksgiving with 21 of our friends and family and fortunately we did also stop and think about what we were grateful for. For me, I’m just happy I’m alive. Not that I’ve been sick or even unhealthy but each day I have another chance to live in this crazy and wonderful world. I could go on with the thankfulness but I won’t be a bore.

Last week it was nice to be able to take some time off and just sit and read the newspaper all morning over a whole pot of tea, never mind a cup. Yesterday I didn’t even get out of my pajamas until 11 am. What a treat. I like being busy but it sure is nice to have time off. I also got it together to go up and have a visit with my sister who lives only an hour or so away depending on traffic. We don’t get together as often as we should or can but hopefully we can make more effort. She took me out to a Vietnamese restaurant. I had never eating Vietnamese before and was it ever good. Yum, yum. I can’t wait to go again sometime.

This week coming up is a week of driving here and there. I have to go to the doctor three times this week. Once for blood work for my physical, once for the physical, and once for an eye exam for me and my daughter. I just decided that we would make sure everyone is doing well. Hopefully we won’t catch a germ while in for a routine visit as we have been fairly healthy. We are going through a week of mild cold symptoms but nothing much really. So there’s things in a tidy little nutshell.  Here are a couple of nice photos from the youth retreat I attended with my kids and 86 others last weekend.

Never a Dull Moment

Life with four kids is always an adventure. Recently, while performing a fashion show of her latest thrift store finds, Mia broke her foot.  Who would have thought… This is the child who climbs trees, rides a bike, swims, jumps from dangerous locations and lives on the edge. Even the orthopedist said that breaking a foot on the “catwalk” was a first. Life with a wild child on crutches stinks but we’re muddling through. Thank God she is nimble and able bodied other than not being able to walk on her foot for six to eight weeks. She is getting lots of help from her older sister who seems to be mature enough to sympathize with her.

Only hours after Mia got her first cast I went away for four days to a powerful spiritual retreat. This retreat is called The Walk to Emmaus. Words could not even begin to describe what I went through there so I won’t even try and describe it.  I hope my actions will just speak for me. I was able to drop some pretty heavy baggage I’ve been dragging around for a long time.

Just as it seemed we were getting into our routine again Anna and Mia and I packed it in and joined 70 or so teenagers for the annual youth retreat our church participates in. I have gone with them for the last three years and have really enjoyed the experience. It is very unusual for me to be gone for one weekend, never mind two so it was an unusual month. Our speaker was great this year and we all were having a great time. I was all tucked in bed with my cabin of giggling sixth grade girls on Saturday night when the youth directors came to me and said I needed to check out my daughter who was covered in hives, including her nose which was swollen and red. Sooo…. to make a long story short I did not end up going to sleep but taking her and Mia (who managed the retreat on crutches) home. We arrived around 1 am but the good news was the hives were gone by the next day.

We had just begun recovering from our weekend retreat and exciting return home when it was time to begin preparing for Thanksgiving. We were having the family to our house and so I was providing the turkey and ham plus there was just a lot of cooking, cleaning and preparation to work out. We had a wonderful time with our family and really ate well. I sort of wish we could slow down some but looking at the calendar it’s go, go, go from here on out. I will make some time to slow down because it’s important but probably not as much as I’d like. I’m sure one day when the kids are gone I’ll long for the days of business, maybe not but I suspect so. On to Christmas now!

 

Back to Basics

As I reported in my last post my back has been bothering me. I have a rather high tolerance for pain and it is just this little niggling ache that fades as the day wears on.  I do not generally like to take medication either. I figure the body does a very good job of healing all alone. I have had to give in on a couple of occasions and take some Ibuprofen.  In an effort to relieve my pain I have started a new exercise routine.

I used to think I was rather fit; swimming, walking, weight lifting several times a week. I’m not over weight and I am very active. However, I just happened to get a book which has shown me how inflexible my body has become and probably in part  why my back is bothering me. The book is called The Core Program by Peggy Brill.

It has some beginning flexibility tests just to see where your “hot spots” are. Yikes, I’m nothing but a bowl of jelly! I only passed one test. I have been carrying the book around with me for the last couple of days and have started to try the exercises and recommendations for weight training in place of my old program. I wish I could say I’m cured and it only took three days but I still have my back pain.  I do feel somewhat better though and do feel I can get rid of it with some more time and a bit more effort.

This is by the way an excellent book. I would highly recommend it. I sent it to my sister to give it a try and frankly think it would benefit about 95% of the female population of the world. It is specifically geared towards women regardless of age and it deals with all the main issues we deal with. It is challenging but VERY doable. You do not need any special equipment and it takes only 15 minutes to do her daily program. I’m taking longer because I’m a slow learner. I am referring to the book every fifteen seconds. In a day or two I should be able to do it in the recommended 15 minutes.

I am enjoying my new work out way better. She has you doing one set of 25 repetitions releasing very slowly instead of doing two or three sets with fewer reps more quickly. It is easier for me but I can really feel the difference. I’m off to buns of steel,…. NOT but anyway hopefully I will get rid of the dag gone back ache!

Mimi