THIS is what it's all about!: July 2013

Wednesday, July 31, 2013

You friggin' Einstein!

Paula's Place wants to know what one person from history would you most like to spend the day with and why.

My list is long. My reasons are plenty. Here is a brief snapshot, however.

I would LOVE to meet with Leonardo di Vinci... his works were so far beyond anything ever even imagined for his day. There are even groups of scientists that believe he was abducted by aliens because during a hiatus he wasn't heard from... and when he returned, he seemed to be renewed with a vigor... and a lot of ideas and concepts of such vastly different sciences, they don't believe it is possible he could just BE that smart. Must there always be some stupid conspiracy?

Thomas Edison... can you imagine the idea of inventing a light bulb...and then mass producing it? The business-minded man would certainly have strategies to share.

George Washington... I would love to know about his resolve, integrity, strategy...

Sigmund Freud... I've read so many of his works... he intrigues me.

Benjamin Franklin... I mean, he invented electricity... and the odometer! He was an accomplished writer as well. A politician... a postmaster... the man was a little bit of everything. Although, he really needed a haircut. That mop is just inexcusable for a man of such dignity!

William Shakespeare... he was such a brilliant writer. Who wouldn't want to share a moment of time for the writer of the ultimate love story?

Elvis... because, who wouldn't want to spend a day with him? I mean, he's ELVIS!

But if I have to pick JUST ONE (which I already really didn't do because I listed some others anyway), I would say Albert Einstein. He was personable, he was brilliant, he wasn't one who threw around credentials to make himself important. He was on a journey of discovery... always. I mean, he was the reason people CALL people "Einstein." I would just love to pick his brain for a day... and take a picture with him doing this!

Want to play along? Link up here!

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

H20 baby!

Today's topic: What is one thing you can't live without in your kitchen?

I would have to say running water. H20 baby! I can't really elaborate more than it's the source of life... without water, you're just... not.

What do you think? Link up here.

Monday, July 29, 2013

Smoothies!

Question of the day: What is the last thing you bought just for yourself?

This is really hard because I typically don't buy things for me. I buy for the boys... and the dogs. I did, however, buy me a blender! I love me some smoothies!

What about you? Link up here

Sunday, July 28, 2013

Always be Batman!

It's time for Stealing Sunday. This week's questions come from a defunct blog called Tense Teacher. Massive Alphabet Meme, part one. Link up here.

The Letter A
Are you agnostic? More often than not.
What is your age? 40
What annoys you? Laziness (That's today. It varies.)

The Letter B
Do you like bacon? I don't dislike bacon but I prefer not to eat it since it's not the healthiest of foods.
When is your birthday? December 20
Who is your best friend? You know, I don't really have a best friend (singular), but I do have some great FRIENDS! April, Tamara, Elizabeth, Cristy (she's new but just love her to pieces!), Michelle, Kathryn, Shannon.

Kevin Bacon out of bacon. Photo Credit

The Letter C
What is your favorite candy? Dove dark chocolate
Who is your crush? Why? Are you going to text him to see if he likes me? LOL I'm beyond the age of crushes. It's just full on love baby!
When was the last time you cried? I don't know... I'm sure it was from some YouTube video of a soldier's homecoming or some rescued dog or something.

The Letter D
Do you daydream? Not really
What is your favorite kind of dog? Boston Terrier
What day of the week is it? Sunday

The Letter E
How do you like your eggs? Scrambled, loaded with veggies and covered with avocado and salsa
Have you ever been in the emergency room? Yes
What’s the easiest thing to ever do? That's completely relative. I could say breathe...but others struggle. Probably... just be "me."

The Letter F
Have you ever flown in a plane? Yes. I don't enjoy it, however.
Do you use fly swatters? Yes. As does Benji, he thinks if he is outside in the back yard, he must be holding one.
Have you ever used a foghorn? No. However, you say "foghorn" and this was the first thing that popped into my mind. If you don't know who this is, I'm not sure your childhood was adequate.

The Letter G
Do you chew gum? Yes.
Ever tried gazpacho? Yes. I make a fantastic gazpacho!
Are you a giver or taker? Giver, definitely.

The Letter H
How are you? I've been better.
What’s your height? 5'2"
What color is your hair? brown

The Letter I
What is your favorite ice-cream? Blue Bell Vanilla
Have you ever ice-skated? Yes
Do you play an instrument? No

The Letter J
What is your favorite jelly bean? Jelly Belly cream soda... so vanilla-y
Do you wear jewelry? No
Have you heard a really hilarious joke? Yes, but I never remember them.

The Letter K
Whom do you want to kill? I can't tell you.... I'd go to jail.
Do you want kids? I have them so it's a little late to ask if I want them now, now isn't it?
Where did you go to kindergarten? M.C. Lively Elementary in Irving, TX

The Letter L
Are you laid-back? I like to think so.
Do you lie? No, me? BWAHAHAHAHAHA
Do you love anyone? Indeed.

The Letter M
What is your favorite movie? I don't have one.
Do you still watch Disney movies? You betcha!
Do you like mangoes? I have three in my refrigerator. I'm going to make some mango salsa to go on some tilapia.

Saturday, July 27, 2013

So Much To Say

1) The lyrics refer to a baby's "one year of crying." When was the last time you cried ... felt weepy ... or at least teared up? Today... I've had a horrible headache for the last two days. It's getting quite old.

2) Let's lighten it up a little. When was the last time you laughed really hard? Today when I heard a funny joke. I'll have to post it. You see, I'm a huge fan of Batman... so this just resonated with my sense of Bat humor.

Photo: Lol

3) Do you have "so much to say" that hasn't been said yet? Tell us if you owe someone a phone call, note, email or text. I'm sure I owe all of the above. But... I don't care.

4) Earlier this summer, Dave took a bike ride before a show and his tire blew out. He didn't have a cell phone with him and was afraid of missing that night's performance. Fortunately two fans -- driving to see Dave Matthews Band in concert -- recognized him by the side of the road and gave him a ride to the show. Share a recent act of kindness you either did, or received. I let my children live. I think that is huge considering their behavior as of late.

5) Before he hit it big, Dave Matthews was a bartender. What job did you have right before the one you have now? I was a paralegal. I miss it.

6) The Dave Matthews Band recorded an album live at the Red Rocks Amphitheater, in the mountains near Denver. Is there a trip to the mountains in your future? No, unfortunately. But I plan to go back at the first available opportunity. Red Rocks is an AWESOME place to see a show! I saw Van Halen there during a freak snow storm when I lived there.

7) Do you suffer from hay fever or allergies? No, thankfully not.

8) What's in your pocket right now? Nothing. I'm not wearing anything with pockets.

9) American Express promotes "Small Business Saturday," and encourages us to shop at local, independent retailers. Is there a shop, boutique or restaurant in your town that you're particularly fond of? I love Funky Baha Cantina's fish tacos.

Want to play along? Link up here.

Friday, July 26, 2013

Health Transparency

In a moment of transparency and a need for clarity, I'm divulging that I'm about to embark on a journey of sorts. I met with my doctors on Wednesday and after an evaluation, discussion and a few prescriptions, I was advised to do a Whole30 and then remain on a gluten free diet. I wanted to document the journey not only for myself but so that in the event my journey could somehow help someone else possibly suffering the same symptoms and/or ailments.

I tend to be much like a man in that I greatly dislike going to the doctor. I am not one to run to the white coats at the sign of a sniffle. I like to let my body heal itself. I tend to lean much more towards a holistic approach than a pharmaceutical one.

However, in my attempts to avoid prescriptions, it is thought that I have somewhat eroded and/or damaged the lining to my stomach by overdoing it on the ibuprofen. I get frequent cluster headaches. A couple of times a month, they DO lead to migraines, but more often than not, I try everything I can to head them off at the pass. The problem lies in that I'm a mom. I don't have time to be shut down in a a dark, cool room in a fetal position wearing sunglasses in the house... even when I'm "down" with a migraine or cluster headaches, I am carpooling, cooking dinner, shopping, keeping my house running.

Yet, I'm not supermom. I have to take care of me first. I have to take care of my body so that it allows me to take care of my family.

I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease at a young age... something akin to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. A couple of years back, a rheumatologist declared it was RA without the RA signal in my blood (my grandmother didn't have it either but had RA as well). My bloodwork, however, showed inflammation. Fun, right?

Couple this with the other plethora of symptoms (insomnia, IBS, headaches, migraines, swelling, boating, yadda, yadda, yadda), the PA smiled, laughed and said we have SO many similarities and so here is my suggestion. Beyond the medical necessity for a baseline reading on my bloodwork, she suggested that I do a Whole30 diet and then remain gluten free.

You see, she also has an auto immune disease with chronic inflammation. She, too, has had bloating, etc. She, too, has had migraines. And, she, too, has done a Whole30 and remained gluten free... she no longer has any symptoms... or headaches... or bloating...or migraines.

And, frankly, I totally love the idea of a diet change, body reset and a holistic approach rather than going for an upper and lower GI scope. Not that I'm afraid of doing it, I just really don't want to be put "under."

So, I'm about to embark up on a Whole30. What exactly IS a Whole30? A whole 30 is an opportunity for your body to naturally reset itself. You're removing dairy. You're removing sugar (natural, chemical, all sweeteners -- no sugar, no honey, no agave, nothing). You're removing grains (from their website: This includes (but is not limited to) wheat, rye, barley, oats, corn, rice, millet, bulgur, sorghum, amaranth, buckwheat, sprouted grains and all of those gluten-free pseudo-grains like quinoa. Yes, we said corn… for the purposes of this program, corn is a grain! This also includes all the ways we add wheat, corn and rice into our foods in the form of bran, germ, starch and so on. Again, read your labels. ). You're removing alcohol (this will be REALLY easy for me.) You're removing beans and peanuts (THIS... THIS will be hard!)

You're also removing the scale. You're not to step on the scale during the thirty days of the system nor are you to take measurements. BOO!

Once you remain gluten free, it's kind of like what they call a "Paleo" diet. I really was quite skeptic about "Paleo" because I am NOT a fan of ANY fad diet. I've never done Adkins. I didn't do the cabbage soup diet. I never bought into any of that nonsense. And I wasn't "sold" on this, that was UNTIL I started to read and watch the testimonials of people who ARE gluten free or who have done the Whole30 (people that I KNOW). There has to be some truth in what they're saying. Especially becuase they weren't doing this in an effort to lose weight, they were doing this in an effort to gain HEALTH. The testimonials also really makes me keenly suspicious of the whole GMO issue. Saving Dinner (one of my go-to sites for meal planning) gives a Paleo plan for her subscribers, because she too went Paleo to gain health. Here is her testimonial.

So, I will be posting my meal plans. I will be posting my thoughts on the process. I will be posting my struggles. I will be posting my daily journey. It all starts Monday. I'm really ready to take back my health.

Yellow

Today's request at Paula's Place is to post a picture of something yellow.

:)

I'm too predictable aren't I?

Who cares? Not me!

1. What is your best secret cleaning tip? Don't have children.... or dogs...

If I have to list something to help those who already have ruined that notion, I'd say that using Cascade dishwashing detergent to clean the ring around the sink works heavenly. You know the sink drain ring that is attached to the garbage disposal? The silver one with the embossed lettering that always seems to fill with disgusting gunk that you can't ever get silvery and shiny again? Yes, that one. Dry your sink. Put a rink of Cascade gel and push it forward a little with your finger. It will sit and start to slowly creep down the sides of the drain. After a little while, rinse it clean. It's shiny and gunk free. You're welcome.

2. What is your favorite food to snack on during movie night? Cheese, crackers and grapes.

3. If it was up to you, what would you have named the royal baby? I wouldn't have... nor do I give a flying flip about a royal ANYTHING. Who cares? Not me!

4. If you could be any Disney character who would you choose? Hmmmm well, let's see...

Sleeping beauty has to grow up without her parents... pass.

Fiona is fat, and green... and has to live with... Shrek... who is fat... and green... pass.

Jasmine has to live in the desert... pass

Ariel has to give up her family and her entire life to live on land... pass

Cinderella has to endure quite a hardship living with her step monster and two wicked, evil stepsisters. But then she meets her Prince Charming and lives happily ever after in a palace. Sounds like a fun gig. I mean, she'll have a cook, maid, tailor, chauffeur.... Sounds pretty awesome.

Minnie Mouse has the most annoying voice so I'd literally be forced to shoot myself... pass.

Daisy Duck has to put up with Donald and his temper... pass

Should I consider the non-female Disney characters? Cheshire cat? Goofy? Pete? .. naah...

However, Belle, learns to love someone for his heart... in an enchanted castle. And then let's not forget that HUGE library... plus, she's not a blonde. (No offense blondes, I'm just not a fan of blonde.) I'll take Belle!

5. What's the most important part of a healthy relationship? Being able to communicate your wants and needs and then, more importantly, know that they're not only heard but acted upon. Part of loving someone is doing what you need to do to make them happy... because THAT should make YOU happy in return.

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