Live Happy

Chumley's World

2011-12-04T21:58:00.000-08:00

can be a bit crazy...

Thanksgiving

2011-11-15T09:57:00.000-08:00

This is one of my favorite times of the year. Preparing for Thanksgiving, the menu, shopping, decorating, baking, is more cherished around here than Christmas preparations (don't get me wrong - I love getting the tree and decorating it to the nines but let's face it, it becomes one giant mess of clutter come December 26th).

My mom arrives in less than a week, as this has been our tradition for Thanksgiving since moving away from Chicago nearly 10 years ago. We talk on the phone at least once a day, sharing ideas and fun things we have planned for her visit. It's so easy to feel overwhelmed this time of year, I do, even in my simple, little life so I can only imagine those who work stressful jobs, have young children or have both a full time career and family?? How do they get everything done? And in addition to that, maintain all the social/family obligations without falling asleep in their food? I admire those who can master all things I deem un-masterful because I don't know how they do it. I guess I know my limitations as a human being and have to allow for comfortable boundaries within them. That's why it's going to be a guilt-free holiday this season in terms of commitments and even gift giving.

Thanksgiving is a time to give thanks for all the blessings we are fortunate to have in our lives. Keeping that in the forefront of my mind helps put all the other "stuff" in perspective.

Beware of Dog(s)

2011-11-03T22:21:00.000-07:00

Wrigs and I were on our daily stroll through town when suddenly we hear loud, aggressive barking coming from up ahead. I couldn't spot the dogs, but there were multiple barks and growls - each one louder and more ferocious than the last. We were on a busy street corner and after scanning the sidewalks in all directions I saw a dog's head pop out of the passenger side window of a big truck parked on the street. And then 2 more not so friendly heads appeared. The dogs spotted Wrigley and their barking and stance were just like the dog in the photo above. The window was a little less than half way up but I did not feel comfortable walking by the truck. A man standing next to me on the sidewalk said, "I don't think they're too friendly" and was hesitant to walk by as well. No sooner did his words come out when one of the dogs jumped out of the truck and headed straight for Wrigley. Wrigs and I ran into the vitamin store on the corner, along with the man and a couple other sidewalk dwellers. My heart was beating out of my chest and the people in the store were so concerned as they watched this unfold from the window. The customer at the counter who was about to pay for his items was the owner of the dogs and bolted out of the store to get his dog back in the truck and roll up the window. He came back into the store and apologized profusely saying that he forgot to roll up his window all the way and he hopes that we are ok. I told him it was a bit intimidating and as dog owners know, if your dog is generally friendly or at least "all bark and no bite" you'd respond accordingly, reassuring that your dog(s) just wanted to play. It was clear by his reaction that his dogs had no intention of a play date with Wrigs and I can't stop thinking about how this could have ended in tragedy.

I made up a joke...

2011-11-01T17:51:00.000-07:00

Question:

What do you call a healthy lesbian????

Answer:

A vagitarian.

Really, lady at the bakery???

2011-10-19T14:50:00.000-07:00

a quick venting post then I'll move on...

Woman at bakery informed me that I "...just don't know how hard it is to shop for gluten free foods, because, did you know that gluten is in EVERYTHING???" Really lady??? How about sticking to a diet that restricts:

GLUTEN (oh the horror!)
DAIRY
CORN or any by product of corn
most SUGAR
VINEGAR
PEANUTS
MUSHROOMS (due to mold)
POTATOES and all starchy veggies
VEGGIES with high sugar content (carrots, beets, yams, peas, some beans, this list goes on)
MOST FRUITS (except berries and green apples and a half a banana from time to time!)
ALL BREADS OR ANYTHING MADE WITH YEAST OR YEAST EXTRACT
MEAT
ACIDS
CAFFEINE
ALCOHOL
CARBONATED BEVERAGES
FRUIT JUICE
ARTIFICIAL INGREDIENTS
PRESERVATIVES
And still, there's more...

But obviously I didn't say any of that to this gluten deprived woman, instead I shrugged and said, "Thankfully there are places like this bakery." and smiled and went on my way.

Sometimes I get frustrated with people. While on the topic if I'm invited to someone's home and and I politely decline to eat something that is being served (because I will end up in the bathroom the rest of the night and most of the next day!) or I politely decline a glass of wine (doesn't matter if it's white or red people!) it's not because I'm being picky. And finally when you offer me hot apple pie smothered in vanilla ice cream for dessert and say, "Oh come on! You have to try just a little bit. You can run 10 miles tomorrow!" Don't be surprised if I never step foot into your home again.

Ok, a lot of times I get frustrated.

All done venting.

Happy Birthday, Baba

2011-10-13T12:24:00.000-07:00

Today my Grandmother turned 95 years old.

95 YEARS OLD!

Sorry, I just look at that number and can't really grasp it.

I had a conversation with her recently that's fitting to share today, since it is her birthday, and also because just last night while making dinner, my onions caught fire in the oven requiring a frantic call to 911. Thankfully the dispatcher told me exactly what to do and the fire subsided before any trucks were sent to the house. That being said, here's a snippet of our conversation:

Baba:

"Honey do you remember you used to call the firemen and tell them that the neighbor's house was on fire?"

Me:

"I did? When?"

Baba;

"When you were very young. You said you wanted to see the fire trucks."

Me:

"So I'd call 911?"

Baba:

"Yes, you did this a few times, honey."

Me:

"Ok."

Her memory of the past is amazing.

Remember these???

2011-10-11T21:24:00.000-07:00

Well, guess what...

They're Back!

Who didn't eat these like candy as a kid?? They were soooooo good, everything about them, the flavor, the texture, the way they slowly melted into a syrup coating your throat as you sucked away.

They are available now at CVS drug stores in Honey and Cherry flavors and soon to come Black Licorice and Lemon Citrus! If you don't have a CVS near you, you can order them online here:

PINE BROTHERS SOFTISH THROAT DROPS

They contain sugar, (the bad kind, corn syrup) so I'm in a bit of pickle on whether or not I should indulge in this childhood past time. I'll just sit and stare at the pictures for a bit while I decide...

I think I've made up my mind.

free screening of Food Matters

2011-10-06T10:26:00.000-07:00

A free screening of the documentary "Food Matters" is available online until October 8th. If you care about your health and the health of your loved ones, PLEASE watch this. You can't afford NOT to.

Food Matters

Some things are better left to the spouse/partner who's just better at doing them...

2011-09-27T21:26:00.000-07:00

Like shopping for a refrigerator.

Since Tom was out of town at the time of our great refrigerator blow out, I took it upon myself to replace it.

I was on a quest to purchase a spare fridge for the laundry room and spent half the morning pouring over appliance websites, models, customer reviews, etc. I was very careful to measure the height and width of our current fridge and compare the cubic feet specifications as well. I even called Sears and Home Depot to ask a live person a few questions I couldn't find answers to online and after dissecting all the research I made a decision and went ahead with my purchase. I felt confident, proud and even a bit excited to welcome this new appliance into our home.

When Tom returned from his trip I told him I bought a little something for the house and when I pulled up the link to show him he said squarely, "You did not." I asked, "Why do you not have any faith in me??" Then I proceeded to show him my notebook filled with models, price comparisons and answered questions from my day of research. And he was pretty impressed. Then he asked, "So you measured correctly??" I huffed and puffed and said, "Of course I measured! What do you think I am - a dumbass??" He seemed satisfied with that and said, "It looks great. I think you did a good job." That made me smile.

Cut to...

Fridge arrival day.

So I said I measured the height and the width and even the cubic feet inside the fridge right?? Well, I guess I overlooked one tiny little detail. That, being depth. I understand there are varying degrees of depth-ness to a refrigerator but since this was going into the laundry room I really didn't pay much attention to those.

But apparently, depth matters:

I should point out that our old fridge was counter depth and sat neatly tucked between the wall and the dryer, giving Wrigley full body access to his food and water bowls.

Well now Wrigs has to eat and drink on an angle and let me tell you, he doesn't seem too thrilled with this arrangement.

"WTF am I supposed to do here??"

So obviously I effed up and Tom was right to cross examine my decision to buy this beast without him but I just didn't want to give him that satisfaction and admit defeat quite yet. Instead, my plan was to go along like all was fine and it was exactly what I expected. (Even as I type this now and look up at this picture I realize how ridiculous this must seem.)

He arrived home from work that day as I was in the kitchen preparing dinner so I rushed down the hall -literally hopping on one foot as I turned the corner - when I hear, "OH MY GOD! WHAT THE HELL??"

I casually walk in the laundry room, catch my breath and say, "Oh yes, our new fridge arrived."

His mouth is open so wide I could stick my fist in it as he says, "Are you kidding? It's GIGANTOR!"

I retorted with, "Is that even a word? I don't think it is. And it's not that bad, plus it has more freezer space which we definitely need. Come on, let's eat!" and I turned to head back to the kitchen with what I can only describe as a Skeletor look on my face.

"You didn't measure the DEPTH did you?"

"I measured Tom. It's fine."

"This is most gigantic refrigerator I have ever seen IN MY LIFE and IT'S IN MY HOUSE! LOOK! There's barely any room for Wrigley's bowls."

(*I should make one thing clear, when I use caps it means he's somewhat intense in his delivery but it's not like an episode of Cops. He's definitely not screaming at me. In this case, he even had a sheepish grin on his face, probably because, dare I say it...he was right...again. DAMN IT.)

I head back down the hall and stand at the doorway to the laundry room as he opens the door smacking Wrig's water dish, spilling waves of water onto the floor. I try to remain as serious and convicted in my stance that this is in fact, the most perfect fridge we could ever have. And then...Wrigs walks in. He stands between me and Tom and then does this 3 point-pivot-type of maneuver since he's trapped between the fridge and his bowls. I give him an evil eye willing my thoughts to his doggy brain, "Please exit gracefully NOW!" But he clumsily backs up into my legs and then scampers to run out of the room. Of course Tom says, "See?? The poor dog can't even turn around!" I tell him that "Wrigley is a drama queen who won't even walk down the steps to go out if there's a LEAF in his way. Plus he doesn't like change. This will take some getting used to but he's a dog. He'll adjust. And so will you! Can we please eat now?"

He relents, we have a nice dinner even though every few moments he has some snide comment about the "world's largest refrigerator."

I kindly let him know that his jokes are funny now but in day or even an hour they will be dull. He says he needs to get them out of his system because he's still in shock, I say fine whatever.

The next couple days he doesn't really say much more about it, but then one afternoon he goes to the fridge to get a drink and while opening the door he starts to sing what sounded like a Bob Dylan song, in a Bob Dylan voice. But I couldn't quite recognize the song so I moved down the hall to listen closely to the lyrics:

"Thiiiiiiiiis is the biiiiiiiigest refrigerator in the laaaaaaaaand..."

...and it's insiiiiiiiiiide myyyyyyyyy houuuuuuuuse."

"I haaaaaave the worrrrrrrrld's larrrrrrrrrgest friiiiiiiiiiiidge."

He was trying to mimmick Visions of Johana.

And I must admit, he did a pretty good job.

Plus, I think the fridge helps with the laundry room acoustics.

A panhandling dinosaur...

2011-09-18T18:45:00.000-07:00

Today's "WTF?"

Wrigs was NOT a fan.

I love...

2011-09-01T16:33:00.000-07:00

My animals.

My family.

And sunsets.

(not listed in order of importance.)

Sobering reminders...

2011-08-30T18:54:00.000-07:00

...to never drink and drive.

Air shows

2011-08-06T09:35:00.000-07:00

Whether on land or water, we used to love watching the Air and Water show in Chicago as well as the practices where the jets zoomed right by our office windows taking everyone by surprise in the Sears (or now, Willis) tower.

This just doesn't have the same feel as this. Did you know that they have a special "low ceiling" show here? It looks like it's clearing up so this afternoon's show may not be like last year, but I'm just not into it like I used to be.

This is pretty freaking cool too. I remember as a kid holding my breath during these plane drops because I felt certain they were going to crash into the water below. Still amazes me today.

Oh Chicago, how I miss thee.

Refrigerator man

2011-07-27T14:59:00.000-07:00

The refrigerator repair man came to the house because our fridge died last week. At first I thought I left the freezer drawer open which caused the stuff inside to defrost so I made sure it was shut tight and then a few hours later, opened it up to a sogging, dripping mess. (BTW, freezers with drawers on the bottom are a cluster f*ck. Stuff falls behind the drawer and the ice maker overflows all the time. And you have to Houdini your body to fit inside the drawer while using a mirror to try and put the little hook back into the little stopper hole. Like clockwork one of us working inside the drawer will ask, "Is it in the hole yet??" And the other will say "That's what she said." And then the other will say, "I'm freezing in here will you JUST TELL ME IF IT'S IN THE FRIGGIN' HOLE!?!?" and this happens about 16 times a month.

So anyway the repair man came out to try to fix/diagnose the problem and by that I mean he plugged in the fridge, listened to a hum/click and 3 seconds later pocketed a check for $60. He recommended a family owned appliance store in town and then I told him that we have a back up fridge in the laundry room that we'll just roll into the kitchen (fyi, that task is a lot harder than it sounds). Fridge man's energy level kicked up a notch and he asked, "You have another fridge/freezer in this house??" I told him yes it's down the hall in the laundry r--- and before I could finish talking he spurts out "Can I see it?" (talk about someone who LOVES his job) I let him know that it seems to be working fine so there's really no need and when he asked to see it a second time I finally said, "I have a mean cat who's inside the laundry room because if he gets out, he will bite you." Fridge man looks at me funny and says, "Who? A cat?? You have a biting cat??" I simply say, "Yes." Then he asks, "What would happen if you let the cat out?" I visualize the massacre in my head for a moment or two and then say, "It wouldn't be pleasant." His large appliance fascination has now been replaced by the not so friendly feline and he presses on, "Well, would he run up and just bite or would he approach slowly, like a lion, stalking me like prey?" At this point I'm about ready to lead him down the hall and say, "How about you find out for yourself buddy?" But instead I tell him that it depends on the situation, sometimes it's a run, jump and cling to a body part type of bite and other times it's a more calculated approach, when one least expects it. Of course this sparks more interest so he asks his age, what type of cat he is, how we got him and then in mid sentence notices the 3 litter boxes sitting atop our living room furniture and points to them, "Are those HIS boxes??" I wanted to say no, they're ours - our toilets are broken too but didn't and said "Yes those are his. He also has a bit of a marking problem." A look of horrified curiosity spread over his face and it's obvious he's not going to be satisfied so I figure, what the hell, let's just get this over with. "Do you want to take a quick peek at him?" Apparently that was the million dollar question. "YES! I have to see this cat!"

I told him that I'll quickly open the door just a sliver to make sure Chumley doesn't escape. Refrigerator man stands behind me in anticipation of the viewing and I ask him not to say anything because that will get Chum really worked up. Once the door cracks, I hear Chumley jump off the dryer and meow (which sounded sweet) as he heads to the door. He sniffs the opening and Refrigerator man shouts, "He looks normal! He looks sweet!" (Umm, what part of NOT speaking did you NOT understand?!?) Then he kneels down ever so slightly and CHUM GOES APE SHIT. He screeches/hisses/growls all at the same time and whacks the side of the door like a wind up toy gone bad. I quickly shut the door and say, "So that's Chumley."

He left shaking his head, laughing but I'm guessing also a bit disturbed.

this and that

2011-07-20T21:13:00.000-07:00

Let me just start off by saying DO NOT lick a Target receipt. Take my word for it here, just don't. ever. do it. (I typically don't make a habit of licking receipts but in the process of spitting out my gum, my tongue grazed the paper and oh holy Jeezus did it taste awful.) I'm not sure if it was from the paper, or the freshly printed ink, but this was poison on the tongue. Poison I tell you!

Ok now where was I.

Oh that's right I was shoving these chips into my mouth. Have you ever tried them?? They are insanely addicting so don't come crying to me if you end up hoarding 200 bags in your pantry because you just can't get enough of them. And I am willing to bet my life that most people who love chocolate could finish an entire bag in a 24 hour period.

You know that saying, "Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today?" Well I've realized that doesn't apply to a sun lover in Seattle. Today I had work that I needed to get done that could only be done in the office so as I'm getting my bag and keys to head out the door, I notice the sky starting to lighten a little. I rush to the window and realize it didn't look like much so I headed for the door. When I drove to the top of the hill in our town I notice more breaks in the clouds. I think, "Hmmm ok, well if that sun pops out and I'm stuck inside this will not be good because God know when we'll see it again, yet if I head home and it doesn't pop out I'm screwed because I'm not prepared for tomorrow!" (new class starting up) So what do I do? I say F it and turn around and head home. And the sun is gone. I start to think that this is what being in an abusive relationship must feel like. The false promises, the "I promise I'll change, I swear" these anxiety filled moments make for an exhausting way to live. I went back into my car, received a phone call and while I was chatting the sun started to re-appear so I said F it again, headed back in the house onto the deck to disrobe. I fell asleep in the sun.

We've lived here for 1,016 days. I've probably felt "present" for about 200 of those days. I have lived the past 3 years anticipating summer, or any sort of change from the darkness that loves to settle over this tiny pocket of the world. And during those days it's impossible to live in the present when you're always hoping or waiting for things to change. Motivation and perspective are difficult to find when a sense of hopelessness lingers just beneath the surface. It's true that lots of people suffer from S.A.D. during the winter months but lucky for us, our dark days can last a good 9-10 months so when your serotonin levels are out of whack for that long, it's an open door for the D word.

I am thankful to get my health on track and now understand why the Candida grew like wildfire. I swear all I did was crave carbs and eat sugary starchy meals upon our arrival.

"Recent evidence has also linked light exposure to the production of the neurotransmitter serotonin, which is thought to influence mood. People who are affected by SAD appear to have difficulty regulating serotonin levels in their blood. That these levels can be increased by a diet rich in carbohydrates explains the intense carbohydrate cravings of many SAD patients. This theory also accounts for the success of selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitors, such as Prozac and Zoloft, when administered to patients suffering from depression."

And reading about suggested treatments for S.A.D. makes me even more SAD! But whatever it is what it is...

"The only known way to prevent Seasonal Affective Disorder is to live in a warm, southerly climate. But that doesn't mean that those of us who have chosen the north as our home must suffer endlessly at the hands of winter. Following some of the these suggestions can help alleviate many of the unpleasant symptoms associated with SAD: 1. Get more natural sunlight by doing outdoor chores and keeping windows and blinds open in the home and office. 2. Go outside and walk briskly (even in cold weather) once during the course of the day-particularly effective at midday. 3. Sit near a window, preferably in the sun, whenever possible. 4. Join a support group with other similarly-afflicted people. 5. Try phototherapy. 6. Go south for vacation!"

The support group is key, as I've met and made many friends who also suffer from weather related blues. Some have lived here less time than we have and either moved back to where they came or opted for warm, sunny climates. It makes me happy to see them enjoying life again and I do not consider it a weakness on their part to move away. It takes a strong person to make a change no matter what the situation is and no more justification should be needed.

It sounds like fluff to say that living in a sun filled climate would alleviate stress and worry but some of my most challenging moments in life happened prior to living here and during those times I was able to rationalize and keep perspective of those situations. There was no undercurrent of anxiety since I was mentally motivated to push through. My dad was diagnosed with cancer in 2000 while we were in Chicago and then died in 2006 while we were in California. Those six years were filled with stress, worry, fear, anger all the things that come along with terminal illness. But there was never that sense of hopelessness. I was still able to function and stay present and aware of our blessings. I started this blog shortly after he passed because I recognized the goodness in in my life and wanted to journal my happiness with my family and friends. I CRAVE TO GET THAT BACK. (healthier than craving carbs I guess.)

As I sit here 3 years later, that S.A.D. lingers even as we near the end of July. I tried so hard to mentally prepare myself for this change but until you actually live it, you never know what it's going to be like and how it's going to affect you. But today as I slept in the sun I felt a glimmer of my old self and that gave me some hope.

Vamos a la Playa!

2011-07-12T16:38:00.000-07:00

The good thing about summer in Seattle? We don't have to worry about overcrowded beaches.

I miss the seasons. I really, really miss the seasons, especially long hot summers. Even the harshly bitter extremes of winter and the oppressive humidity of midwest summers, which I'm certain sounds a bit wackdoodle to anyone in 100 degree weather right now. So many people are suffering through heat waves across the country and while that is no picnic whatsoever, the thing is, those waves don't last for 9 or 10 months a year, as our weather tends to. Same with the biting cold of winter. As soon as you're about ready to hit your breaking point from the bitter temps...alas, Spring arrives and the earth as well as your brain begins to thaw. Then there's summer and when you just can't take another day in the 90's or higher, slowly there begins a shift into fall with a much needed reprieve. The reason Seattle's climate can be challenging for people who are used to seasons is because we don't have those extremes (except in the summer, which, we're still waiting for. tick tock tick tock, why did I buy a new bathing suit this year???) Here, each month just sort of spills into the next without much variance from the last and before you know it, it's the middle of July and you find yourself on line looking to replace yet another rain coat. (fyi: North Face jacket zippers SUCK, I got stuck in my jacket again today and refuse to buy another North Face zipper product ever again. Actually had to use a fork to get out of it.) Anyway, the one thing about the Northwest is that the weather is very consistent and predictable which is why many people who do not like those extreme changes and prefer a cold, damp season year round really love it here. And for those who enjoy four distinct seasons, it becomes a bit of a challenge.

Outside of the Northwest and maybe Southern California climates, there is typically quite a difference in temperature within a 6 month span. I'll share a conversation between me and Tom to put this into perspective:

(me) "Tom, what was the name of that restaurant we took your mom to for Christmas?"

(him) "Salty's?"

(me) "No, not that one. The one up in Ballard. Right on the water."

(him) "Oh, Ray's Boathouse?"

(me) "Yes, that's the one!"

(him) "That wasn't Christmas."

(me) "It wasn't? Was it Thanksgiving?"

(him) "No. Mother's Day."

(me) "Oh My."

I seriously thought it was either November or December but nope...it was May. Hmmm.

This October we will have been here 3 years and in that short amount of time we've met others who have lived here less than that come and go. It's hard to say goodbye and I'm starting to understand why people initially are reluctant to make friends with transplants because people new to the NW have a reputation as being "short timers", not to mention those who move from a warm, dry, sunny place.

I am grateful that I've been able to live in 3 of the 4 corners of the US and really feel that moving to a new place breaks you out of your own comfort zone. You either adapt gracefully, resist forcefully or allow things to just be, but hope for a better tomorrow.

Confessions of the Confectionery kind

2011-06-30T12:09:00.000-07:00

I have a confession to make. I was at a birthday party over the weekend and there on the side table sat about 40 cupcakes. Normally, I would walk away but as I got closer and could actually SMELL THE BUTTERCREAM frosting, I couldn't resist. So I ~~ate~~ inhaled one.

In about 7.5 seconds.

BIG MISTAKE.

Not only did I blow up like a balloon but since then have had more sugar cravings and have unfortunately been giving into them. I justified it by making sure the treats remained dairy and gluten free (however that cupcake certainly was not) but I've realized that sugar in anything other than teeny tiny doses, is not something I can digest.

I'm getting back on track and detoxifying my body from the effects of the demon that is sugar by drinking lots of water, detox teas and foods high in alkaline. I used to live by the old adage, "everything in moderation" but when dealing with Candida, even moderate amounts of sugar prove toxic to the system.

So what. There was a brief hiccup in what has been over 3 months of a very clean, natural and toxic free diet. I'm not going to beat myself up over it because my insides are already doing that for me. They've definitely let me know that this was not acceptable and this time, I'm listening.

More than I ever have before.

Oh, Chumley...

2011-06-30T09:51:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I wonder, what it would be like to live in a house without litter boxes on top of the furniture? Somehow, I don't think this is a concern of Chumley's...

Chumley, you know I love you and one day when those litter boxes are no longer there I will wish with all my might that they were. But just sometimes, like right before I'm about to put a bite of food into my mouth or even worse, as I'm chewing and swallowing that bite of food, I really don't appreciate you pinching off a loaf 3 feet from my face.

And in case you forgot Chumley, you have other litter boxes NOT in the living room where you can do that business. The boxes on top of the couch and ottoman were put there for pee pee only (since you take such pleasure in marking those pieces!) but apparently you can't quite grasp that concept.

I am amazed at your resilience and strong will which enable you to bounce back from your many ailments. The past couple years have been especially tough on your little body and to see you maintain your energy makes us all so happy. You definitely make it known what you want when you want it (even at 5:45 am, you early riser you!) and I think that's just flippin' fantastic.

This fall, we will hopefully be celebrating your 17th birthday and I'm pretty much convinced you will outlive all of us in this house.

Just don't forget, we love you.

I love everything about...

2011-06-27T22:37:00.000-07:00

...this video:

The people, the dancing (obvious) and the accompanying music. It's just superb, right up there with Double Dream hands.

...this tea:

It has recently been re-packaged, you might be familiar with the old packaging that looked like this:

They also have an organic line which looks like this:

And their Vanilla white tea is phenomenal:

I ordered 6 boxes each of the Original Caffeine Free and Vanilla White tea through Amazon.com because they offer free shipping on orders of $25 or more and their prices were better. And...I drink a lot of tea. You can also buy the Original teas at Target. It's unlike any tea I've ever had. Has a rich texture and you don't need to add anything else. No cream, sugar, lemon, just drink it straight after brewing. I definitely taste the cinnamon and clove but it's also sweetly spiced or spicy sweet (just like it indicates on the box) and I think that is why it has so much flavor. I made it iced and it tastes good but I much prefer it hot. Try it, you won't be disappointed!

...this chocolate bar bar!

That's right, it's chocolate!!! Since the Candida diagnosis I've had to cut out a lot of stuff. I was never a big fan of dark chocolate before, it tasted disgusting to me, too bitter. Milk chocolate was always my preference, specifically milk chocolate covered sea salt caramels. (Ok 5 seconds to day dream about them and then I'll move on...) BUT! I have found an alternative that I can enjoy in small amounts. Reason being, it's dairy free and very low in sugar. Only 3 grams of sugar per serving in this bar. For comparison sake, the standard milk chocolate bar has 23 grams of sugar so that's off the list (not only because of the sugar but obviously "milk" chocolate contains dairy.

Ok back to more things I love...

...the smell of this candle:

Another Target find, for $6. This wild currant candle smells so inviting you'll just want to stand over the flame and sniff.

...the TV show Portlandia

Some of the characters the lead actors play are so so funny and the scenes can be a bit ridiculous but it adds to the quirkiness of the show.

So now I think it's time to light my candle, sip some tea and nibble on a chocolate square.

My ex-BFF's

2011-06-25T12:50:00.000-07:00

Meet Pepto and Tums, my old travel buddies who never used to leave my side. Until now...

These two fellas were staples in my purse, lap top bag, knapsack, or whatever portable pouch they could squeeze into when I left the confines of home. I've not had a need for them in almost 3 months, 3 MONTHS PEOPLE!! This is a big step and one that I am taking a moment to acknowledge and celebrate. "Ceeeeelebrate no diarrhea! COME ON!!" (Sorry, couldn't help that sing along.)

And if you're wondering why the portable Pepto bottle has the words "HOLY W..." written in red marker, let me explain. I was visiting my mom a few months ago when I had a typical digestive nightmare as I was leaving to catch my flight. I wasn't able to carry the bottle of pepto on the plane due to its size so my mom looked for a smaller airline approved bottle. She searched the bathroom for trial sized bottles which held hairspray, gel, lotions but she didn't want to put something "edible" into something that housed chemical infused liquids (even after they were washed, dried, re-washed, boiled, etc.) So when she stumbled upon her tiny bottle of Holy Water (because doesn't everyone keep a stash handy??) she said, "Here use this!" (Last I checked my mom was not a man of the cloth nor did she regularly perform exorcisms BUT she was ordained as a Catholic minister years ago and would visit hospital rooms and homes of those too sick for church to administer Communion and sprinkle their heads with the water.)

So now we had to find another contraption for the blessed water which felt more like a twisted game of Where's Waldo. After a while I asked, "Can't we just drink it?" That would be a no. Or, "How about watering the plants? Let's make them holy." Again, not acceptable. I was out of ideas so I think she ended up using tupperware or a plastic zip baggie. When I got to the airport and pulled out my bag of liquids at security of course there's no denying or disguising what that shocking pink liquid really is and as it was sliding down the belt you could clearly see the words HOLY WATER on the bottle. It made me laugh because those who saw it, the gentleman behind me and a couple of TSA agents, probably thought my anti-diarrhea juice held that much importance in my life. Which, it actually did.

But, not anymore!!

(I can't part with the bottle so once I dump the pink stuff I'll make sure to refill it with something as equally deserving as the holy water and shit stopper.)

Healthier than day drinking...

2011-06-20T16:03:00.000-07:00

I made this little video from all the photos I've collected on facebook. Tomorrow is the official first day of summer and quite frankly I'd be happy with Spring! I can count on one hand how many times we've woken up to blue skies since Spring started. Getting used to the lack of sun is still an adjustment and I'm not sure I'll ever really not be affected by it, but I think after my 3rd Spring I'm coming to the point where resisting the impossible and hoping for it to change is obviously stupid and futile. I'm trying to accept that this is just part of what comes with the NW territory and I either have to suck it up, move or find healthier ways to cope... hence the video (made during a bout with insomnia this weekend.) We are supposed to have several dry, clear days in a row and yes, that is fantastic but, it's nearing the end of June and we haven't had consistent sun in MONTHS so we darn well deserve it! I'm not going to do flip flops or cartwheels when the sun finally decides to pop out. I think that was just adding to the highs and lows because when it goes away the anxiety for whence it might or might not return was just too much. So if the sun comes out great, it's supposed to, it's called summer. Almost.

Happy day before summer to all of you!!!

Was that what I think it was???

2011-06-09T17:17:00.000-07:00

So this is going to be a personal post. For anyone grossed out or offended by period talk, just stop reading now.

It was the summer of '85. My mom and I were visiting family in North Carolina: my Aunt Janie, Uncle Howdy and my mom's mother (we called her "Meem") who was in a nursing home near my aunt and uncle's house. It was a difficult trip for my mom as Meem's health was declining and it was nearing the end of summer vacation, and in my 13 year old world, visiting a nursing home for hours in a day was not the ideal way to spend it. A few days into the trip I went for a swim in their pool and my mom came out back to tell me it was time to come inside and get ready for another visit to the home. I ignored her and kept swimming. A few minutes went by and out she came again, this time with more force in her voice announcing that we have to leave NOW. Again, I just swam along, not paying much attention. I was definitely entering the "bitchy stage" of my adolescence. The 3rd and final time my mom came outside, she was not happy. She shouted as my head popped in and out of the water and her final shriek was, "LAURA ANNE get out of that pool RIGHT NOW! We are NOT HERE TO HAVE FUN!!" I will never forget that line because up until Aunt Janie's death a couple years ago we still got quite a chuckle out of it.

So begrudgingly I got out of the pool, put on some clothes and off to the home we went. My aunt had a fancy candy dish in the foyer and I had grabbed a handful of cinnamon disks to take along with me as a treat.

Remember these???

I had eaten quite a few of them, my tongue was bright red and started to get those little nubbies on it from eating too much sugar but that didn't do much to stop the binge. As the day went on I started to get a bit of a stomach ache so my mom took the rest of the candy away and said "No more."

We got back to my family's house early in the evening and I remember feeling exhausted, bloated and pissed off at the world. My mom and Aunt Janie were in the kitchen making dinner which I said I didn't want, so I sulked in the living room and watched Remington Steele. Even though my tummy ached, I continued to sneak more candy, carefully opening each one so my mom didn't hear the wrappers crinkle. Next thing I knew, I woke up covered in a blanket, still sitting upright. It was still light outside, maybe 8:00pm but everyone else had gone to bed. As I got up to go to bed my lower back was incredibly sore. Maybe I thought it was from sleeping in the sitting position, or even from too much swimming, but the pain was very different from anything I had felt before. And I remember this, even now some 26 years later.

And the other thing I will never, ever, EVER forget is when I grabbed the blanket off the couch there was a nice big bright red spot on the cushion where I sat. My aunt and uncle had a light blue couch with pale green and white floral designs and believe me when I say that spot stuck out like the Target logo. Immediately I freaked, not quite sure what to do (Google would have been nice) so I went into the kitchen, grabbed a towel and tried to dab it up. It was still very visible and I was almost in tears so I went into my mom's room, woke her up and asked for help. Now, I was not a naive 13 year old. I knew a LOT of things I probably shouldn't know at 13, all thanks to my 21 year old sister and her friends/boyfriends. So when I told my mom what happened, it was not out of ignorance, it was only because it made logical sense, based on the events of the day.

We walked over to the stained couch and I said something like, "Don't get mad, but I ate too much cinnamon candy, even after you said not to, and it's starting to come out of me."

My mom looked at the couch, then back at me with an expression I did not recognize and hugged me tight. With pride? in her voice she said, "Honey...you're becoming a woman!!"

I looked at her like she had seriously lost her mind and thought maybe she thinks I'm growing up because I told the truth about eating more candy but whatever her reasoning, I was convinced the red stuff was from the dye of the cinnamon disks, which continued to pour out of my ass (or so I thought.) I tried explaining this to my mom a second time because it was happening again, with more force.

We grabbed some clean underwear from my room and my mom escorted me into the bathroom. Before leaving she told me to identify the source of the stain and that she'd be outside waiting for me. After a few seconds it was VERY clear which orifice was leaking so I cleaned up as best I could and folded some toilet paper in my panties. My stomach cramps were growing worse by the minute and I started to feel achy all over. I washed my face and brushed my teeth and opened the door only to find my mom and aunt both standing there, with ridiculous grins on their faces. And my aunt was holding a box of gigantic maxi pads with attached belts that wrapped around your waist. This scared me.

I was pissed that my mom woke up Aunt Janie to tell her "my big news" but I was even more embarrassed to tell her about the couch stain, which she casually dismissed with a hand wave. She handed me the pads and said I could use these for the night and tomorrow we'd go shopping for my own supplies. Back into the bathroom I went trying to stick what felt like a twin mattress to my teeny tiny underwear. It was the most uncomfortable feeling and the pad kept shuffling to the sides when I walked not to mention it sounded like a diaper. I was afraid it was going to seep out when I slept so my aunt gave me a soft blue babydoll nightgown (which I still have to this day!) because I didn't want to stain my pajama bottoms. I also put a dark towel on top of the sheet so as not to ruin anymore stuff in their house. Before I went to bed I asked my mom if I could call my sister and she said of course so I did. When I told her what happened she seemed surprised and thrilled and then told me that when we go to the store tomorrow to get slim tampons because pads are a sloppy mess and feel like a diaper. No shit.

The next morning at the drug store my mom fought me tooth and nail when I grabbed a box of tampons but thankfully my aunt intervened and said, "Just let her try them." When we got home I had absolutely NO CLUE how to use them, and ended up with it just sort of sitting in the middle of my lady parts, sort of like a log, not really hidden from sight if you know what I mean. It was even more uncomfortable than the pad, especially when I sat down so I ended up using some smaller Always pads that fit much better than my aunt's surfboard length wonders but were still cold and icky feeling.

From that day forward and every single month that followed I had horrific cycles, several times ending up in the ER starting in high school through my late 20s. A new gyno put me on the Depo-provera shot which alleviated some of the symptoms but after a bout with pre cervical cancer in 2000, I stopped using it. I was taking prescription motrin often up to a week before my period started to help reduce inflammation and get "in front of" the pain. Some months that helped but more often than not I would end up throwing up the pills before they even had a chance to kick in. In 2008 I had surgery to remove endometriosis that had actually grown outside of my uterus, attaching to my bladder and colon. It seemed to help for the first few months but soon was back to square one with severe pain, diarrhea and vomiting, the first day of my period.

Which brings me to the present. I had what I can only describe as a very mild pang of a cramp the morning it started. In fact, I didn't even think it really was a period at all. It lasted only 3 days and aside from minor lower back aches, that was all I got. I took zero medication, prescription or over the counter and even ended up running 5 miles on day 2! In 26+ years of menstruating, that has NEVER happened.

I continue to reap so many rewards of my new diet and lifestyle, that I don't even miss what I thought I'd be missing! (If that makes sense.)

A witness to beauty.

2011-06-05T23:29:00.000-07:00

I love filling jars and vases with freshly cut flowers.

I also love waking up the next morning to find barely any water left in each jar or vase I filled.

It's a sign that life, in many forms, is thriving.

something to think about...

2011-05-26T20:48:00.000-07:00

I'm working on a piece for a woman's health publication and in the midst of writing my notes I came across something interesting.

While writing the word "antibiotic" I stopped and looked at it...that word, for a moment. And of course back in grade school science class we were taught the word biotic refers to life forms or all things pertaining to life.

Just to make sure that hadn't changed, I checked wikipedia:

"Biotic means relating to, produced by, or caused by living organisms. Biotic is a living component of a community; for example organisms, such as plants and animals. Biotic may also refer to: Life, the condition of living organisms."

ANTI-biotic.

ANTI-life.

Yep, that's about as simple as it gets.

Allow me to introduce:

2011-05-26T11:31:00.000-07:00

The shit machines.

Now, I mean that in the most endearing way, really I do. I LOVE my animals and everything about them but OH HOLY HELL I don't think it's possible for them to crap anymore than they do.

While I was listening attentively to a conference call (where others just LOOOOOVE to hear themselves squawk) I decided to have some fun with my calculator and figure out how many poops I've cleaned up between the two of these blessed beasts.

And here's the result:

So let's say on average Wrigley poops two times a day. This is pretty conservative because at times he can poop 3 times on one walk but I'm going to keep it simple with just a 2 poop average per day.

So that's 730 poops a year, and he's been around 5 years and 3 months bringing his grand poop total to: 3830 poops that I (or the husband) have schlepped around in baggies or tossed out with scoopers.

And then...Chumley.

This cat can easily pinch off 3-5 logs a day but some of his turds are little nuggets so I won't count those and stick with an average of 3 times a day for this bomb dropper.

That's 1095 poops a year, he's been around 16 years, 7 months bringing his poop count to 18,780.

Add the two together and we have a whopping total of...

(ok I feel like there needs to be a drum roll here so just imagine one in your mind for the moment)

DRUM ROL SOUNDS... DRUM ROLL SOUNDS... DRUM ROLL SOUNDS... DRUM ROLL SOUNDS...DRUM ROL SOUNDS... DRUM ROLL SOUNDS... DRUM ROLL SOUNDS... DRUM ROLL SOUNDS...DRUM ROL SOUNDS... DRUM ROLL SOUNDS... DRUM ROLL SOUNDS... DRUM ROLL SOUNDS...DRUM ROL SOUNDS... DRUM ROLL SOUNDS... DRUM ROLL SOUNDS... DRUM ROLL SOUNDS...DRUM ROL SOUNDS... DRUM ROLL SOUNDS... DRUM ROLL SOUNDS... DRUM ROLL SOUNDS...DRUM ROL SOUNDS... DRUM ROLL SOUNDS... DRUM ROLL SOUNDS... DRUM ROLL SOUNDS...DRUM ROL SOUNDS... DRUM ROLL SOUNDS... DRUM ROLL SOUNDS... DRUM ROLL SOUNDS...DRUM ROL SOUNDS... DRUM ROLL SOUNDS... DRUM ROLL SOUNDS... DRUM ROLL SOUNDS...

a whopping total of....

22,610 POOPS!!!

AND COUNTING!

Ok so now can you understand why I call them the shit machines!?!? Feeling really sorry for landfills at the moment.

Wrigley makes a new friend

2011-05-26T11:10:00.000-07:00

this is...

2011-05-25T22:51:00.000-07:00

The BEST deodorant of all times.

And, it sells for $12 at Nordstrom yet is $18 everywhere else. It lasts forever, has a subtle light Cashmere Mist scent and makes you feel good. That's really all I have to say.

(I'm just distracting myself from the tornadoes that continue to obliterate our country. Parents searching for children, people buried and injured, animals too. It's just...too much.)

Aha moment of the day...

2011-05-25T18:59:00.000-07:00

Toxic people need to stay the hell out of my energy field. No more patience, tolerance or enabling the behavior. Kindly spread your dysfunction elsewhere. I'm done.

Someone's feeling better!

2011-05-23T19:54:00.000-07:00

Ouch!

2011-05-23T16:54:00.000-07:00

Know why? Because I got sunscreen in my eyeball.

But guess what? I'M NOT COMPLAINING!!

because...

I GOT SUNSCREEN IN MY EYEBALL!!

(which, for those who may be slow, translates to: it's sunny enough to actually wear sunscreen.)

Test photo from phone

2011-05-23T11:50:00.001-07:00

feeling gratitude

2011-05-21T15:37:00.000-07:00

(from my facebook post but it feels good to share on here too)

In the past month, I can count on only ONE hand how many times I've had stomach issues. This has not happened in close to 3 years. Every day, there was pain and every time I took medication to "help" the pain, I was only worsening my condition. Up until a month ago, I pretty much gave up trying and was ready to accept the fact this is just how it has to be. I am grateful to my friend Kendra, who did not allow me to give up and I'm also grateful for my new doctor here in West Seattle who is on the ball with treatment as well as lifestyle/diet modifications. For once it is sooooo nice to be able to eat a meal in a restaurant and actually finish it without bolting to the bathroom or worse yet, throwing up before you make it in there. I never knew I could actually feel this good again and every day I wake up I think "Again? I feel good? I am so lucky!!" So, no matter when our world ends, for all of humanity or for each of us individually, I just wanted to share my gratitude to my friends and family who have been supportive throughout this process. Feeling very blessed and it feels good to express it on here. Thanks for letting me.

plan of attack

2011-05-17T11:49:00.000-07:00

What I'm taking to combat the yeasties:

AM
-Drink a tall glass of filtered water (it's supposed to be warm but that makes me gag so it's refrigerated.)
-Drink one cup of detox tea
-Slowly sip a protein shake with added fiber (I have vanilla or chocolate flavors and can add blueberries, strawberries or blackberries to the mix.)

while sipping the shake I also take:
-2 Ultra flora plus DF probiotics, each capsule contains 15 billion live organisms (lactobacillus acidophilus and bifidobacterium lactis)
-1 or 2 digestive enzymes (Gastri-Gest is the the kind my doctor gave me. It's vegetarian and BPA and Phthalate free, whatever that means and you take this after you've eaten about half of your meal/shake and then slowly finish the rest)
-2 Caprylic Plus Acid tablets which is what is supposed to kill the yeast. (and this is what gives off some weird side effects)

LUNCH
same as above except no Caprylic Acid tablets.

PM
Same as AM routine but can eat a restricted meal of certain veggies, fish, chicken or meat (once a week) and brown rice or quinoa.

Just for comparisons sake my previous doctor had recommended some over the counter probiotics which contained 1.5 billion live organisms and I was taking that only once daily with a meal. (When I remembered.) On average in order for the probiotics to be effective the dosage is typically between 1 to 10 billion units a day. I am now taking 90 billion units a day because I have ZERO healthy bacteria in my system.

Before this protocol can be started it is very important to cut out ALL dairy, sugar, wheat, alcohol, caffeine, all those things I mentioned in an earlier post and maintain a very limited diet for at least 2 weeks before you start to treat the candida. And then once you start taking the pills and capsules you need to maintain that diet throughout the duration of treatment. As little as one glass of wine can set you back to square one in the early stages of treatment. And when I asked why the hell isn't surgery an option to remove it all from the gut for immediate relief!?! The answer is simple. After surgery you need to take antibiotics to prevent or treat possible infections. And antibiotics will bring the candida right back into your system, just as fast as it was removed.

Also here is a very in depth look at the function of our colons and how they are often overlooked as just the "sewer pipe" of our digestive system.

Journey to the Center of your Colon

The article is a bit lengthy but I urge you to read through it all, you'd be surprised to see just how many conditions are tied to an imbalance in our colons and also learn that the average person can have up to 20 pounds of rotted sludge imbedded in the lining of their colons. Don't read this while eating (unless you're trying to lose your appetite.)

Ok, that's all I have for now.

Stay well and feel good!!!

dinner time rants

2011-05-16T20:19:00.000-07:00

If you're going to spray the microwave door with WD-40, then don't come crying to me when your dinner tastes like...WD-40!!!

When dinner is ready I will say, "Dinner is ready." with a smile in my voice once and only once. I won't continue to repeat this 3 or 4 or 15 more times because if someone chooses to ignore the sweet call that their dinner (made with love and tenderness) is in fact hot and ready to be eaten then it's not my problem when it goes cold...and limp (think steamed sugar snapped peas.)

I do appreciate the effort that is made to come on the first dinner call however, stopping along the way to check a knick on the baseboard and then looking for spackle or putty or whatever the flip you need to fix it THAT VERY SECOND kind of throws the whole "well, I got up right after you said it was ready" argument out the window, don't ya think????

I'm a real treat to be around these day.

Can't you tell???

3 weeks: dairy, gluten, caffeine, alcohol and (refined) sugar free

2011-05-16T15:04:00.000-07:00

afternoon update:
My eyes have not stopped tearing all day. It looks like I'm crying non stop. Wondering if immunity is lowered, causing reactions to environmental allergens that may not have had an effect before. As I'm typing this tears are falling on the keyboard. Also learned that the fatigue symptoms (falling asleep while sitting up) are the body's way of shutting down to avoid feeling the extent of the toxicity as the yeast dies off. So while that's a good thing, it's not necessarily the best side effect to have unless you can spend the day sleeping! I wonder if this is what narcolepsy feels like. Drinking my energy booster drink as well as lots and lots of water to flush all these toxins out!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And I was doing really well but today I'm having some weird stuff going on. I'm taking probiotics and digestive enzymes 3 x's a day as well as Caprylic acid twice daily. Apparently reactions to the diet and the treatment is normal as the disgusting yeast cells die off but right now it's none too pleasant. Stomach blew up like a balloon (which is not the unusual part) but I'm EXHAUSTED. While sitting in my office chair I fell asleep holding the phone as I was about to make a call. And my eyes and nose are watering non stop. Not mucus-y stuff just lots of drippage. And I'm freezing- hands, arms, legs, feet, everything is cold to the touch. Originally I was supposed to be done with the cleanse at the end of this month but my doctor has advised that I stick with it another 5 weeks especially while taking the acid pills. That was a punch to the gut but in the long run if that's what has to happen to kill these yeasty sons of bitches I will do it. But I am CRAVING sugar so bad right now. I may or may not have poured a stevia packet onto a teaspoon and slammed that sucker down.

On positive note I am able to have organic decaf coffee beans that are swiss water processed only and thankfully there are a few coffee shops close by who carry those beans. I'm on my second cup today and now that I think of it, maybe that's partly why I'm having some weird reaction right now. I haven't had coffee, even decaf in weeks so maybe my stomach is reacting to the acid or something. Who the flip knows. I was really doing great with all this because I was feeling so much better and I understand that it's going to get worse before all is said and done and it can take YEARS for all this crap to get out of the system so realistically I know there will be days like this but it just sucks when you have to be so regimented about every single thing you put in your mouth and then as a result you still end up feeling like a train wreck.

Just needed to vent about this. I think I'll go sniff a Snicker's bar now.

Coconut Oil

2011-05-05T10:53:00.000-07:00

I'm in love with coconut oil. I started using it a few days ago and am hooked. It is great for cooking because it contains acids that kill bacteria and viruses by breaking down their cell walls which is imperative for healing candida. You can also scoop and eat a spoonful of it a few times a day to put healthy fats back into your body. And?? It's the best skin moisturizer especially for dry hands, cracked heals and elbows. It even says you can use it as conditioner which smells sooo good, not too coconuty, just a light nutty aroma. I just put some on my lips and am sitting here licking it off because it tastes good too! Kind of like butter but with just a hint of coconut.

You can get it at any health food store or natural products grocer. Prices range from about $7 for a small jar up to $25 for larger. I found the jar above on sale for $9 marked down from $16 at Super Supplements. A little goes a long way so it's definitely a great investment.

Here are some more health benefits.

update for those suffering from redundant colon/digestive issues

2011-05-03T11:30:00.000-07:00

So it appears I have some more answers regarding my digestive wars.

In addition to the lovely colon issues, I've also developed candida, aka a yeast takeover.

I won't go into all the specifics right now because I'm still in the process of figuring out the best approach for treatment. I will say, a medical doctor did not diagnose this. It was through the help of a nutritionist friend of mine as well as a naturopath that finally shed light on what has been wreaking havoc on my insides and making my digestive life hell. The one GOOD thing is that I do not have any symptoms outside of the gut (in regards to yeast overgrowth). I have only had one yeast infection *down there* and that was years ago in college. I also don't have skin disorders or athlete's foot (as far as I know?) but I did have a yuck toe a while back so who knows if that's related. But, in addition to the gut, I have a host of other symptoms that are not pretty and I was going out of my mind trying to manage them. It finally became unbearable.

And are you ready for the best part? I have probably been susceptible to this most of my adult life based on my history with antibiotics in the past, (was on them ALL THE TIME in college for strep throat until I finally got my tonsils out) and that is a huge contributing factor to candida growth. However, my body was able to fight it off naturally. It wasn't until moving here that this shit (or yeast) hit the fan and spiraled out of control. And here's one reason why...

"Vitamin D is another nutrient that is essential to healing. The majority of people today are deficient in Vitamin D. The best way to get Vitmain D is through exposure to the sun. Our skin uses the rays from the sun to manufacture Vitamin D.

Most of us work during the day so we are not able to get adequate sun exposure. A fair-skinned Caucasian needs 30 minutes of exposure on half of their body per day in the summer. In the winter, the time needed is increased. The darker your skin tone, the more exposure you need.

The artificial form of Vitamin D added to milk and other foods does not have the same beneficial effects as natural Vitamin D. If you cannot get adequate sun exposure, then you need to supplement with a natural Vitamin D product. I recommend a Vitamin D Spray"

This information above is from this site and while I pop vitamin d pills like candy, it's still not enough. Plus I am cold, like not just "oh I'm a little chilly", I mean my hands and feet and face are ice cold to the touch. In order to help fight the candida attacking the body your body temperature needs to be regulated. I think the reason it has been so bad these past couple months is that we are still coming off a cold, wet winter (moldy environments are really bad for candida) and that is just what it needs to take over. Now people may look at me crazy (this has happened) because I have literally raced home when I see a glimmer of the sun appear and strip down half naked and stand in the rays in my bedroom with the door open. I've been doing this even in the winter months when it's cold, even before I knew about the candida. It's as if my body was telling me GET IN THAT SUN NOW. So hopefully, once it warms up and we have more consistent sunshine (fingers crossed?) that my symptoms will be somewhat alleviated for a while.

I'm also pretty sure this is why I'm still struggling with the adjustments of moving here. It's been very challenging at times, affecting me physically and mentally and after feeling "off" for so long, I felt defeated and was ready to accept this is just hot it's got to be. I am sooooo grateful for those who wouldn't let me give in to this and kept pushing me even though I was being a stubborn beast. And I won't be going back to my medical doctor anytime soon.

Just wanted to pass this along to others who may be trying to figure out what is going on with their own stomach issues. Candida can also lead to a variety of other medical conditions (ADD/ADHD, depression, eye problems, eczema, psoriasis, fibromyalgia, diabetes, and cancer and typically the doctors are treating only those, before discovering the root cause. As I'm still figuring this out, I'll be avoiding all dairy, sugar, gluten and alcohol because it's been 8 days since I've had any and the results are already very positive. Oh and vinegar is another one to avoid. Learned that the hard way after having a little basalmic vinegar on a very bland salad. And one more thing, in an earlier post I mentioned how I would have horrible nausea after drinking the Almond Milk by Silk, and that was because it was reacting to the existing stuff in my gut. Before throwing it out, I waited a few more days and tried it again and was able to tolerate it. The nausea has greatly subsided but as the candida die off there are a host of other side effects. And that's what brings me to the now, trying to manage the best course of action to treat this with the least amount of side effects.

With the support of dear friends, family as well as folks with the knowledge behind this, I'm hopeful to get this under control and start feeling healthy again. And once that happens I know I'll come to embrace everything about living here (fingers crossed again!) I love EVERYTHING else about being here! I really do.

And if anyone has any questions please feel free to let me know. I only hope by posting this, that others may be able to benefit if they are struggling from something unknown too.

Don't give up!

churchy stuff

2011-04-27T22:24:00.000-07:00

I went to church today, it was a Catholic church but unfortunately it was for a funeral. Haven't been inside a church too much lately, unless it's for a wedding, baptism or funeral. I'd been somewhat turned off by religion after high school, and now looking back I'm not so sure it was the religion itself, but more so the fact that I had been in Catholic school since age 3 thru 17 and then having a weekly mass on top of that seemed like overkill. The only part of the mass that I'd pay any attention to (aside from ogling one or two altar boys) was the Homily. The rest of the mass was dull because it was the same structure of readings from the bible, then the hymns were soooo slow and dragged on forever and then the rites and rituals always made me question, why do we have to see this again every week? But I liked the Homily (depending on the priest, some were too preachy) because it was real, not read, and conversational. I also looked forward to giving the sign of peace because that meant church was almost over and the energy was always different since you sat next to new people every week. Sometimes my parents would go to the early mass which left me and my sister having to go to the 11:00 mass alone. My sister would drive us (she's 7 years older so imagine a 16 year old and a 9 year old in this scenario) and we'd be dressed in church clothes and leave the house on time and then we'd pull up to the church, she'd wait in the car, I'd hop out, run up the steps and grab a bulletin from the back table and run back in her car and off we'd go to Dunkin' Donuts. Or if it was warm we'd go to the beach for an hour. We did this off and on, not every time because we would see our parent's friends and then get busted so then we'd have to come in. For a few years this went on until one day during mass with our parents, the priest ended the mass stating that it had been brought to his attention that there have been "bulletin grabbers" aka me and my sister and several other high school aged kids, and they would no longer leave the bulletins in the back of the church. Instead, they would be handed out at the end of mass by a clergy man or woman. My sister's eyes almost popped out of her head as did mine. And I could have sworn the priest was looking right at us when he spoke.

At the church today I found something very interesting. In the pew pockets they had little sheets of paper titled "Pew Art" with pencils as well. On the paper was a message to parents to allow their young children to use this paper to doodle or draw. I thought, how awesome is this?? If we had this growing up I probably would have enjoyed the experience a bit more too. (I also wanted to add a letter "F" to the word "Art".) Back in the day, my sister and I purposely learned sign language (the alphabet and a few other choice phrases) so we could secretly sign dirty words to try and make each other laugh. And something else I remembered today while kneeling in church -when I was little I would make sure I had nail polish on before mass so I could pick it all off (it took about 2 minutes a nail so that killed about twenty minutes) but some of it would sprinkle down on the pew in front of me and so many times the unsuspecting people sitting down had sparkly pink flecks stuck to their rears. My sister and I used to get a kick outta that too. Actually so did my Dad.

I do remember insane laughing fits that we couldn't control because we heard a squeaky shoe or something that sounded like a fart, that probably wasn't or maybe it was, or the token weird people we'd see every week that we had ridiculously nicknamed. There was a guy who looked just like this guy:

That's Chef Barth from the show You can't do that on Television and my sister and I were always on the lookout for Barth sightings at church. When we spotted him we were so excited cause we knew we were in for a treat. He had a few nervous habits, like smoothing the top of his hair but he would do it so suddenly and jerky and we would keep count how many times he did it and then sign language updates. God, if we only had text messaging back then!

And there were ALWAYS those people...large, rotund women mostly, who thought they were opera singers and would BELT OUT THE WORDS to every song and usually, their voices made my head bobble. When one of them sat behind us we would get the worst fits of giggles to the point where we'd have to hide our heads in our hands and make it look like we were deep in prayer as our bodies shook and popped. I remember car rides home where my mom would say, "I can't take you to church anymore, you have serious problems." And I'd be soooo excited because I thought, "Finally I'm free!" But it was always a forgotten statement by the following Sunday. Our church had a sound proof Crying Room for babies and small children and I often thought why not make a laughing room for out of control kids and teens? Probably because it would be packed. With adults too.

So anyway, today's church experience sparked a multitude of memories, so many more still swirling in my head but I'm tired, it's been an emotional day and I think it's time to pray for forgiveness and go to bed.

milks

2011-04-27T21:15:00.000-07:00

I haven't been updating on here much, not for lack of things to say but I just have not been able to find solitude long enough to sit and recap all that has taken place over the last month or so. And quite frankly, I don't have the energy to do so. Instead I'll just with what's on my mind right now.

My lovely digestive issues have finally done me in. It has become a debilitating lifestyle and one that is just not as simple as eating better. For the past 3 days I've eliminated all dairy, most wheat, and processed (or refined) sugar from my diet. It has NOT been easy. But I'm doing this in preparation for a 28 day cleanse to completely rid my body of toxins and then slowly re-introduce certain food groups to see what is triggering these "episodes". I will still be able to eat some solid foods on this cleanse and will also be drinking a couple of protein shakes daily with extra fats to maintain weight, nutrition and energy levels. But for 28 days my diet will be extremely limited, and I will not be able to have any caffeine (KILL ME NOW) or alcohol (which is easier to give up than caffeine!) but in order to do this successfully I need to stick to it. Even after these 3 days of eliminating dairy, and cutting way back on wheat and sugar I'm already feeling better.

I'm substituting a few different kinds of dairy free milks and what I have found is that this kind, Pure Almond by Silk, tastes ok but after about a half hour of drinking it, I get EXTREMELY nauseous. Don't know why this is, I don't have an allergy to almonds but for some reason this does not agree with me. And it's the kind of nausea that lingers and does not go away when you try to lay down and be still. I won't be buying this again.

But on the flip side, I have tried these other milks, Vanilla flavored Rice Milk and Coconut Milk and both are very good on their own or even mixed together. I'm not sure how they would be in cereal since I don't eat cereal anymore but these milks are delicious shaken and poured over a tall glass of ice. I also like to drink them with a straw, for some reason it just tastes better. And I make my morning iced green tea lattes with them.

I'll probably start updating more on here once I officially start the cleanse because I feel this would be a good place to log my progress. We'll see how that goes! Hope you all are well and your tummies are settled.

xoxo

Our Grape Ape

2011-03-28T17:48:00.000-07:00

Last week we had quite a scare with Wrigs. At some point in the early morning hours, Chumley knocked over a 2 pound container of grapes that were sitting on the kitchen counter. Wrigley ate all of them. When I realized what had happened, I immediately called our vet. They weren't open so I left a message. I didn't feed Wrigley breakfast because I thought he would probably need his stomach pumped. I let him outside and while waiting for him to do his business, I googled a bit on grapes and dogs, knowing they were toxic to some, not all, but that's when I really lost it. The vet called back in minutes and said to bring him in ASAP. They gave him IV fluids to flush his kidneys and fed him charcoal bits to absorb all the toxins from the grapes. He spent the whole day at the hospital. I came home and just cried for hours, not knowing what was going to happen to him. I called to check in on him and he was doing well. His kidney levels were elevated but still within normal range so the vet didn't seem too worried about that. He stayed there several more hours so they could monitor him and then I brought him home, early evening. And he was so weak.

He would sit up and whine and then lay down and moan. It was so sad to see him so miserable. At one point he buried his head in my armpit and started breathing really heavy and then ran over to the carpet and threw up EVERYWHERE. Let's just say we'll never have light colored carpet in this house (or any house) ever again. And did I mention they fed him lots and lots of charcoal??? I called the vet to let them know he was vomiting and wondered if I should bring him to the EV (Emergency Vet). They said that the vomiting was probably from drinking water, which he did right when he got home, but if he did it again then to bring him to the EV. I set up camp on the couch that night and stayed up watching him sleep, making sure I could see the puffs of his belly as he took each breath. He wasn't feeling so good that night.

The toxins in grapes may or may not show any signs for up to 48 hours so we were not out of the woods yet. The next morning I brought him back to the vet for more blood work. Before we went, I wanted to stop at our local coffee house first, so he didn't associate every car ride with a vet visit. But he could sense something was up. Especially since people were hugging and loving him and offering treats which he couldn't have and when I explained why they were very concerned. He definitely knew this wasn't our only stop.

After that visit we came home and I was instructed to keep an eye on him and watch for any changes in behavior, appetite, discomfort, etc. I decided I'd use this time to get some Spring cleaning done and when I finished vacuuming I walked in the bedroom and saw the two of them on the bed together. It looked like I interrupted something?? Chumley was very concerned when Wrigley was at the vet the day before, he actually had some sort of an episode, where he flipped out for about a half hour, growling, panting, running and stopping, scratching, biting, it was a bit strange. But he seemed much calmer when Wrigley came home and for the two of them to sit so close together like this, they were definitely communicating.

Saturday morning was the 48 hour mark so we were given the all clear that he should be able to resume normal activity. We were so happy about this. Wrigs rejoiced by grabbing his 2 favorite new toys and posed for this picture. One thing I learned from this experience is if your dog or cat consumes something that is potentially dangerous like grapes (or chocolate, onions, garlic) don't wait for signs to show up. Get them into the vet immediately! By the time symptoms arise, it could be too late.

Where is home?

2011-03-03T20:57:00.000-08:00

When you grow up in a professional baseball family, your life as a child is never really normal.

And I think that's where a lot of my abnormalcies (is that a word?) in my adult life, stem from. (should never end a sentence with a preposition but without the word "from" it just sounded incomplete.)

There was no consistency, no routine, no such thing as "normal" throughout my childhood.

But, at the time I didn't realize this.

It wasn't until later.

MUCH later.

That I figured out our life was a bit outside the norm, so to speak.

Where. To. Even. Begin.

Constantly living in two places. A home, a home base really, nestled in the affluent north shore of Chicago, and another home, a second home? Not really, because we didn't always go as a family. South America, Florida, Canada, all these lovely places were part of the landscape. So is that why I feel so restless when I'm in one place for too long???

Who knows.

Just trying to fit the f*cked up puzzle pieces of my life together so it all makes sense.

Does that make sense?

No.

yucky stuff

2011-02-28T18:43:00.000-08:00

For a while now, I've been meaning to write a follow up from my original posting (almost one year ago!) on my lovely condition called, redundant colon.

And as I sit here now, trying to breathe deeply through the pains of yet another attack, I figure now's a good time to update.

Like most people who have this, there are good days and bad days. I have a hard time sticking to any sort of routine, so I bet if I was better about this, there'd probably be more good days than bad. This past Saturday Tom and I met a friend in town then went to lunch in the city. Since we were over our 5 mile radius from home, I was very careful about what to order. I had some pita bread and veggies and light hummus. Tom had this nasty looking stew that smelled like dog food and some special IPA beer. I sipped my plain iced tea and ate my pita and then Tom asked me to taste his beer. It was a restaurant special that was unfiltered and unpasteurized and it just didn't taste right. I had about 3 sips total, (just to confirm that I really didn't like it) and by the time we left the restaurant I could feel my stomach start to churn. By the time we pulled into the driveway, it had blown up like a balloon. I have no way of knowing if it was from the beer alone or if it was a combo of everything else and the beer just tipped the scale. We had plans that evening with friends and as I was getting ready for the night the sharp, stabbing pains in my ribs and belly began to get worse. I did not want to cancel but I knew it was going to be an uncomfortable night. My stomach was making these alien sounds and it looked like there was a nice sized cantaloupe under my shirt. I changed my clothes and drank some tummy tea and sat for a bit just breathing through the pain (like I'm doing now) and then my husband, who is usually very understanding when these things happen, was growing impatient and says to me, "Would you just go to the bathroom already!?!" I had some choice words for him.

What I'm finding out is that most people with redundant colon have days or even weeks of constipation. That is not typically what happens to me (except when I travel). My norm is that I have these blow up moments and severe pain and then it's like a ticking time bomb as to when the explosion is going to happen. So I can't just "go to the bathroom" on command, but once I start to feel those little spastic sensations I better get to a bathroom quick. It's kind of similar to a roller coaster ride. The car goes through lots of loops and twists and turns (that's where the pain comes in) and then it slows down and climbs uphill, up and up and up at a slow moving pace and then it finally reaches the top and then full speed ahead slams down the tracks with intense force and there's just no stopping it. You get the picture.

As I've mentioned in my previous post the Dr. prescribed Dicyclomine which has pretty much lost its effectiveness. There have been times when I'm out in a public place and the pill doesn't work so then I pop a Zantac, chase it with a Mylanta and then start chewing Tums like candy but at that point, I'm doomed.

I decided to share a list of food items that have triggered some major issues, usually within minutes of consumption. For those of you also suffering through this, maybe you noticed similar reactions to these foods:

-milk and cereal together (separate they are ok, dry cereal and juice is fine, milk alone is fine)

-cooked onions and garlic together in a dish, whether it's pasta, chicken, fish etc.

-warm, drawn butter

-wheat toast and coffee together

-hashbrowns

-soda and popcorn together (think movie theater, NOT GOOD!)

-any type of cream based soup

-any type of artificial or sugar free sweetener

-sushi with a mayonnaise based sauce

-chicken, egg or tuna salad sandwiches

-poultry, pork or meat with seasonings, like Lawry's or Peri Peri rub, anything with spices

It took me a while to put the milk and cereal combo together which looking back now, should have been a no brainer. One would think that it was a lactose/gluten intolerance since but I can have either of them separately without instantaneous issues, it's not the case. I was tested for Celiac back in the summer of 2009 and it came back negative, however, my doctor told me the results are only about 75-80% accurate and you're supposed to consume gobs of gluten for about a 2 week period prior to the blood test so who knows. There could be a bit of intolerance there but the only way to officially find out is to have an endoscopy which I decided was not something I needed to do at this point. Getting roto-rooted from one end is enough for now.

I've tried some different herbs and natural remedies for blow up days and one thing that I wanted to share was this tummy tea. It's specifically formulated for IBS pain, spasms and cramps (accidentally typed craps at first, which is also fitting!) and has brought some relief on the bad days.

So that's my update, thanks for reading and for fellow sufferers please know you are not alone.

another bizarre dream

2011-02-24T18:25:00.000-08:00

Been having quite a few strange dreams lately - I wish I documented all of them but some are just too messed up to put into words. Anyway here's one that I did try to write out in as much detail as I can recall but describing it on paper doesn't do it justice. At least this way it gets out of my head so I'm not thinking about it too much...

My family and I were on a road trip. My Dad was driving, my mom was in the front, I was sitting in the back behind my Dad and my sister was next to me. At parts we were driving through reddish brown mountains, looked like maybe Wyoming and then in parts we were on flat highways. It was summer time, we had the windows down, a breeze kept blowing my hair in my face as I stuck my head out in the sun. I was eating sour candy (like lemon heads) and my hair kept sticking to my lips and cheeks because I had candy all over my face. My parents were acting silly and waving to cars with cute boys in them to embarrass me and my sister. There were a bunch of cyclists on the road and my Dad was going really fast, my mom kept saying, "slow down". They were bickering about his driving and then we hear sirens and my Dad is getting pulled over. We pull into this tube type of thing, almost like a tunnel but it was smooth all around like a cylinder. We weren't even touching the ground, the tires were suspended in air in this tube. The policeman comes to the window and talks to my Dad about sports. They talk about world series, MVP's from years past and their favorite teams. We're all relieved because it didn't look like he would get a ticket and then he tells all of us that we have to get out and push the car out of this tube all the way til the next exit instead of giving us a ticket. He said it's the law because my Dad was going too fast and pushing the car makes people realize they need to slow down and will never want to speed again. We all get out of the car but our feet couldn't touch the ground so we're holding onto the doors and the roof of the car and are pedaling our feet like we're riding a bicycle in mid air. My Dad said we need to paddle so we used our free hand to make swimming motions and then we started moving. When we get out of the tube it's pouring rain and we have 3miles to push the car and I tell them I'm too cold and get back inside the car. My family is still out there pushing and I yell at them saying that Dad should be doing this, he was the one speeding why should we do it! Then my sister hops in the car and after a little bit so does my mom and they are soaking wet, making the seats all wet like sponges and we try to use wet naps to soak up the water but they just break apart and leave white bits everywhere. The rain stops and the horn starts honking on its own which signals that my Dad can get back in the car and drive.

Now the sun is so bright and all at once there are so many cyclists on the road again. They are not off to the side, they are riding in the same lanes as the cars on the highway so cars have to swerve out of the lane to avoid them. My Dad swerved and then ended up in the grass where there was a farmer's/flea market set up and people were everywhere shopping and drinking out of big red cups. My Dad swerved again to avoid hitting the people and then there was a giant tractor type vehicle with HUGE tires just parked on the grass, my Dad swerved to avoid hitting the tractor and now we were spinning out, back on the highway and he screamed HOLD ON and and we kept spinning, avoiding a bunch of cars and to the left a school bus comes speeding towards us and we all scream OH NO OH NO OH NO and then the bus slams into our car. The car felt like it was floating on air and there was no sound of the engine, everything was quiet. We all look around at each other in disbelief because no one is hurt or bloody or scratched. My Mom and Dad turn back to me and my sister and say YOU'RE OK? WE'RE ALL OK?? And we all start saying how we can't believe we made it out of that and we saw the bus and felt the crash but yet we're totally fine.

Now I'm inside a big box style house with dark hardwood floors dark wood all over the windows and doorways. There are white flowy curtains on the windows and they are blowing in the house from the breeze. I walk down the stairs, the stairs are very cold, I'm bare foot and each step seems colder than the next, like a piercing pain of cold through my foot. I hear piano music and I follow it into a big room and there is my mom with her back to me playing the most beautiful piano song. I stand there are watch her, her back flowing and moving in motion with the key strokes. There's a filminess in the air, almost like looking through a vaseline covered lens and the room is so dark but as I get closer I start to see things more clearly. Her hands are very frail and boney and as she continues to play the side of her face, her jaw to her eye socket crashes down on the piano keys. It is just the bone, with half a set of teeth and she continues to play the piano with half of the skull laying across the keys. I realize her hands are just a skeleton and I run out of the room then out of the house screaming. I hear my Dad cutting the grass and it's so bright out my eyes can't adjust and I'm squinting trying to get to him. I keep screaming for him but the noise of the mower is so loud. He finally shuts off the mower I tell him what happened to Mom and he just stares at me. I scream GO INSIDE HELP HER! and he turns away from me and starts walking down the street like a zombie and soon he just disappears into thin air.

Happy Valentine's Day

2011-02-14T10:39:00.000-08:00

You know your husband loves you when he comes home with chocolate and says, "This is for you, I promise I won't eat it. I'm putting it inside your period jar."

(yes I have a "period only" candy jar that I make sure is stocked during that blessed time of the month.)

Happy Valentine's day to all!

I may just have...

2011-02-12T18:31:00.002-08:00

...an unhealthy obsession with the Avocado.

And who knew there were so many different varieties to choose from???

(click to enlarge - if you so desire)

I mainly purchase the Hass but am going to try and sample as many different kinds as I can. Add that to your bucket list and smoke it.

P90x

2011-02-12T15:27:00.000-08:00

Early in the new year we bought the P90X system in order to ~~get~~ stay in shape and I have to say so far the stuff works great...for book ends. The stacks of CD's and work out booklets haven't left the shelf we placed them on since we unpacked the box. A typical Saturday afternoon goes something like this,

Tom: We should get off the couch and put on the P90X dvd.

Laura: (swaddled up in a blanket) I'm too cold.

Tom: Ok, well then we should just put on the intro video to see what we're supposed to do.

Laura: But I'm hungry.

Tom: Ok...then, we should head out to happy hour and get a burger. Half-off beers start in 20 minutes.

Laura: Where are my shoes?

We love P90X.

Double Dream Hands

2011-02-11T10:05:00.001-08:00

In case you haven't seen "Double Dream hands guy" and his videos check this one out:

My idea for a fundraiser at the senior center is to get a group of seniors to learn this dance, of course they'd be dressed in yellow polos and khakis, and we'd have it filmed. Working on this...

In the meantime here's an action shot of me dancing to Saturday Night Fever at last week's dance.

From the looks of this photo, I don't think there'll be a problem recruiting for this video.

Jeopardy

2011-02-09T19:19:00.000-08:00

While watching Jeopardy if I shout out an answer and it's wrong but one of the contestants also guesses the same wrong answer I still feel like a smarty because at least my thought process is in line with a Jeopardy contestant.

Grammar 101

2011-01-24T18:49:00.000-08:00

It is not:

I should of had a V-8.

It is:

I should have had a V-8.

It is not:

I'm not use to being up so early.

It is:

I'm not used to being up so early.

That's the bug up my butt for today.

Today is...

2011-01-22T12:30:00.000-08:00

Tom's Birthday!

Last year was a HORRIBLE birthday for him, so horrible, I thought he died. So really, this birthday can only get better.

I have something special planned for him. Fingers crossed it all goes well.

Happy birthday to the man I love.

Every morning...

2011-01-21T09:31:00.001-08:00

...I make an iced green tea latte (even when it's cold outside) and there are many steps to this process which has become somewhat of a ritual in the mornings. While I prepare the mix and get ready to pour it into my cheerful tumbler, I use this time to reflect on the start of the day, saying blessings for my family and friends and of course, the animals. During those few minutes of time there is a peaceful calm that surrounds me and with each sip, I make an effort to feel at peace (even if I'm doing something unpleasant - like sitting on a conference call where everyone is heated and worked up over some sort of ridiculous insignificance, except me, because I'm sitting here sipping my latte in peace dreaming of a beachside escape where dolphins pop up to say a friendly hello and make those cute little squeak squeak sounds and I squeak back and laugh because I think they can really understand me.) Ahhhh, peace.

I recently received these little heart shaped ice cube trays and the cubes come out so perfect and small and now I've added them to my latte making ritual. 14 little hearts swirling in my cup of peace.

right up there with the word "uber"

2011-01-20T19:30:00.001-08:00

Ok, so my most hated word EVER in the history of the world is UBER. I just can't stand it, even hate typing it, and have always hated it. Not sure why, but I do. I'd have to say my close second to this is when people speak, type, or text the phrase, "I know, right?" Seriously, it is so f*cking overused and annoying and it's a waste of breath (or ink/key space, whatever the medium may be) but yet, it's everywhere! Those I know and love use it quite frequently and a little piece of me cringes inside every time that happens. It's bugged me since its inception, (again not sure why- but it does) and I just had to vent because in the last half hour or so I've seen it no less than 5 times.

While I'm on the topic I also hate the phrase, "Bring it" and shoot, there was one more phrase I can't stand but I forgot it. If I think of it later I'll re-post.

little does Chum know...

2011-01-17T15:04:00.000-08:00

what was about to happen:

2011-01-15T14:52:00.000-08:00

'tis the season

2010-12-23T17:31:00.000-08:00

"May All Your Holiday Wishes Come True"

If Jesus was born...

2010-12-23T16:48:00.000-08:00

...in the digital age

something that bugs me

2010-12-10T13:01:00.000-08:00

-when teachers misspell words.

We are all entitled to spelling mishaps here and there but when you're a role model as well as a conduit to a child's educational success, you should think about spell check if grammar and spelling are not one of your strong points.

Thankful for another year...

2010-11-30T22:01:00.000-08:00

... and all the blessings that have come along with it.

I love my life, my family, my friends, my animals, my world.

Calling all dog lovers!

2010-10-20T15:03:00.000-07:00

And animal lovers too, even if you don't have a dog...

I wanted to share with you CityDog Blog's Halloween post, by yours truly. I've been working at CityDog Magazine (right here in Seattle) for the past several months combining my passion for writing and dogs. I mean, really, what could be better!?! Please share a comment or introduce yourself on the blog. We LOVE hearing from fellow dog lovers and want this to be a place for all of us to come together and share our thoughts and ideas on all things dog!

The magazine itself is available in Seattle, Portland and Northern California and is sold at Borders, Barnes & Noble and independent newsstands. Here's a link to our website: CityDog Magazine so please take a look, poke around and make yourself at home.

I've met so many fun loving, BIG hearted animal lovers through this blog, and am excited to meet many more through CityDog! I'll say it again, I've never met an animal lover I didn't like. And if you're reading this post, odds are, you're one of them.

Happy Halloween to you and your four leggers. xoxo

Halloween is in the air...

2010-10-17T20:19:00.000-07:00

...and the animals are getting excited!

(well, kind of.)

some interesting cat diet info and a Chumley pic

2010-10-03T19:23:00.000-07:00

(Chum falling asleep in some yarn)

The vet came out for a house call today because Chum was starting to take a turn - occasional vomiting and a few dark brown urine spots on the shower curtains but still decent activity levels. I wanted to nip this in the bud before it got much worse so she came out to test his blood and urine and give him some antibiotics. I learned some more valuable information re: cats with kidney disease as well as gastrointestinal issues (which we believe Chum also has).

We were told to keep his protein levels low because a protein rich diet was believed to add stress on the kidneys. My vet said that this is hard to prove but what is a definite must for cats with kidney disease is to feed them canned food (dry can be supplemented throughout the day) and to make sure they get enough omega acids and a low phosphorus count. I had been doing that for close to two years and I think we've been pretty successful at keeping him comfortable and somewhat stable.

When I buy his food, the first thing I search for is the percentage of protein. I try to keep it under 10% and always avoid any sort of fish or shell fish in his food since he has a hard time digesting them. I found a New Zealand brand of canned food made from Lamb that had a decent protein count so I started to feed him some of that because he needs variety otherwise he gets bored and loses his appetite. After a couple times eating the lamb I noticed he would vomit. This is because the lamb (and any type of meat) can inflame the GI tract. I never realized this. So now he has to avoid:

MEAT/BEEF/LAMB
FISH
SHELL FISH
CORN
WHEAT
GRAINS
and
SOY

The best meals for a cat with kidney and GI issues are:

CHICKEN
DUCK
TURKEY
and
RABBIT

and any VEGGIES they will eat.

Thankfully Chum LOVES veggies - I make him soup using low sodium chicken broth, very diluted, filled with carrots, celery and spinach (no onion or garlic though).

I've been buying him the Chicken, Duck and Rabbit cans from Nature's Variety Instinct as well as intermixing Spot's stew which has a very low protein count as well. I used to feed him the chicken variety but it contains soy so now I am switching to turkey.

I just wanted to pass along this information for anyone else who may have a cat with either kidney problems, GI problems or both because you may notice some positive changes with some of these modifications to their diet. I've hit every pet store in a 10 mile radius finding the best combo for his issues and I'm happy to say he's still here with us.

rushing through airports and such...

2010-10-03T08:57:00.000-07:00

I mentioned that we almost missed our flight leaving Columbus because Tom was still on the course a bit later than was expected. When we finally get to the airport we’re rushing through security - Tom goes ahead of me, puts his things on the belt they go right through no problem so he grabs them and starts heading to the gate. My stuff starts going through and the belt stops and the screener yells for a bag check and of course because we’re about to miss our flight, it’s my purse that needs to be checked. Tom’s still walking ahead, thinking I’m following right behind him and turns back to see the screener hold up my purse asking, “Is this yours?” I say yes and Tom looks at me like WTF you got in there. The stone faced agent walks over to a little cubicle and asks me if there’s anything sharp or dangerous that would inflict harm when she opens the bag and I tell her no and she says that I am not to reach in while she is searching. Ok fine. So she opens it up and out pops my giant water bottle that I completely forgot about. She holds it up high, probably to show everyone else in line how much of a dumb ass I am and Tom sees it from the other side of the cube and makes a face to me like, ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? Like this is my first time traveling by plane or something. I mouth to him that I had NO IDEA it was in there and the agent grabs a little vial and pours the water inside and sets it aside. I tell her that I am so sorry, we were running late (I thought about going into the whole golf saga but didn’t think she’d be sympathetic to that story) and all I could do was say again, I’m sorry. She looks at me sternly and says NO LIQUIDS and runs my bag back through the belt. I think because they knew we were running late they purposely took their time so I stand there waiting, Tom’s bugging his eyes out at me and I’m like what the hell am I supposed to do reach in and grab it from the xray machine??? So he waits, I wait and then the bag comes out and I grab it and we run. But not before stopping to check the scores for the Ryder cup on the airport bar TV because you know, that’s really important.

For as much as I complain about Tom and his love affair with golf I have to admit he is pretty darn awesome as a husband outside of that ridiculously annoying addiction. Here’s why…

While on the airplane:

-he lets me eat his warm cookie right off his plate without even saying a word. (I ate mine too but the flight attendant saw me eat his and she got him another one so it’s not like he didn’t get to enjoy a warm cookie too.)

-he gives me the less germ-infested-looking pillow always asks if I’m too hot or too cold and adjusts the air thingy accordingly.

-he holds my ball of yarn and lets out strands while I knit. (Our flight attendant asked if she could take a picture of him doing this, Tom said he would prefer not.)

In the airport:

-he lets me play games on his phone and then when he needs it back to check emails and such it runs out of battery life.

-he always lets me pick the restaurant or carry out place and I’ll say “What do you want to eat?” And he’ll always say “You pick it, I’ll find something I like.” And then most of the time I end up liking the thing he got better than mine so we switch and he never complains about that either.

-he plays along when I make up games while we’re waiting at our gate during a lay over/delay.

update from Denver...

2010-10-02T17:08:00.001-07:00

Wow. Over a month since I've blogged. Ridiculous. Only excuse (although there should be no excuse- surely I can find at least 20 minutes in my day to sit down and type away some nonsense on here) there's been travel, weekend visitors, fun end of summer events, and another freelance job added to the mix. Overall lack of time to just sit still but I want to get back into a groove. We'll see if I can stick to it.

Right now I'm sitting at Denver airport waiting to board our flight back to Seattle. We went to Ohio for a few days of golf related activity. It was fun only because Tom's buddy brought his girlfriend and we palled around together for the 3 days of the tournament. We stayed in Dublin which was really cute and also went to Easton mall and ended up circling the city on highway 270 because the highway system was a giant cluster mess of confusion. Here is an example. We took 270 North from Dublin to get to the mall. We get there, spend time tooling around (actually met up with another friend of mine who lives in Chicago who happened to be in Columbus for work so that was really a bonus) and as we're leaving the mall the GPS tells us to get back on 270 North??? We ignore the GPS woman and realize as we're driving the time and mileage on the unit kept increasing and telling us to turn around and head the other way. I'm like WHAT THE HELL? We took 270 north to get here this cannot be right. My friend was driving and she agreed that we should be heading south as well so I told the stupid GPS lady she was on crack and shut the thing down and we continued to go south. Well I guess the highway system is one giant loop so eventually we notice 270 south turns into 270 north. So what should have taken us 20 minutes to get back to the resort ended up taking almost an hour and a half as we circled around the city. Thank God I wasn't alone. We had a good laugh about it.

This weekend was all about golf. Golf golf golf golf golf. Our flight to Ohio from Chicago was canceled so we had to switch airlines and unfortunately our luggage was not going to arrive until much later in the day. So once we got to Columbus Tom had to stop at a golf store in the airport (can't believe they actually had one) and he bought some shorts, a shirt, socks and a glove. Then he rented clubs once we got to the club. He'd golf all day and come back to the room and put on the golf channel to watch the Ryder cup. At dinner he and his buddy would review the best holes of the day and plan their strategy for the next day. I finally hit a breaking point when we almost missed our flight home because he was still golfing and our flight was leaving in an hour and a half and we still had a half hour drive to the airport. THEN while in the airport rushing to the gate he stops to watch a sports bar tv to check the scores of the Ryder cup. And once we are on the plane he's on his phone checking out the scores. I try to distract him by showing off some pretty yarn I bought at the little yarn store in town. Then I hand him a bag of his favorite candy, sour cherries, I found at this cute little candy shop. He pops a few in his mouth as he stares down at his phone. Enough already.

The thing that amazes me is that we flew in on a red eye to get to Columbus and both of us got zero sleep. The minute he changed into his golf clothes he was like super man, full of strength and vigor, all smiles ready to go. I was dragging like a two toed sloth and could barely stay awake to draw a bath but yet he was so energized to go hit the course and play rounds of golf for 5+ hours. I thought about this and realized I don't think there is anything I love that much that I would willingly lose a whole day's sleep over to participate in and that kind of makes me sad. Later that night I talked to Tom about this and he kept asking me random things to see what my equivalent would be. Sex? No. A knitting competition? No. A bead store blow out sale? No. Wine tasting? No. Wine tasting on a beach? Still no. Finally I came up with something. Wine tasting on a beach surrounded by puppies with their nails trimmed short. Something like this has to exist and I'm on a mission to find it.

Some excitement today in Seattle

2010-08-17T18:49:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Obama's visit to Seattle, western Washington experienced quite a scare today:

Sonic Boom

At the sound of the first boom, my knees buckled and I froze. Then a few seconds later, another one. It felt like a drum banging in my chest. The house shook, windows rattled and then I thought, "Is this an earthquake?? But why the big bangs first?? Maybe that's how they happen here in Washington?!?" Then I thought maybe it was a gas explosion and a neighbor's house just blew. Twice. It was hard to comprehend what could have made that type of intensely loud bang and shudder. Wrigley ran upstairs whining and pawing at the bedroom door so he could run into the closet and hide. Chumley got really low to the ground, almost belly crawling, and his eyes were as big as could be, as he kept looking from side to side. He stopped to hiss a few times and then slithered into the study to pee on the floor.

I grabbed the computer, tried logging on to local online sources and couldn't connect. Then I hopped on facebook and started a shit storm of panic over there. People heard this as far north as Edmonds and south as Olympia (actually I don't really know exactly where these places are but one is really north and one is far south).

Pretty much everyone who heard these booms was in an immediate state of panic. 9-1-1 couldn't handle all the calls - some people armed themselves with weapons thinking it was a terrorist attack while others searched their homes for an intruder. Some thought a small plane crashed in their backyard or even Mount St. Helens was erupting. It was nuts!
Here's a story on our local blog with real time updates. The comments are pretty entertaining to read especially those who were really freaked out (myself included).

Yes, we heard it too

Today, I've decided...

2010-08-16T16:39:00.001-07:00

...I'm going to drastically lower my expectations of people, that way I won't be so disappointed when they turn out to be:

a) inconsiderate

b) self serving

c) manipulative

d) insincere

I will put forth my energies to those who are deserving of what I have to offer.

Thank you Bette, my 89 year old soul sister for your friendship and providing me with a world's worth of wisdom in the last 7 months.

(Bette and I at her art display, July 2010)

Wonder where this guy is now...

2010-08-10T21:59:00.000-07:00

During the summers while in college I worked for my sister, who managed a shared office suite. I answered phones for the various businesses - about 30 of them, some with actual offices, others with just phone access and an address to make it appear they had a physical presence. My sister gave me the low down on who's who and how to treat the incoming calls. There were quite a few clients who only came into the office once or twice a week so I mainly just took messages and passed them along.

I had only been working a week or so when I got a call from a very quiet man asking for a therapist who was out of the office. I told him he was not in and asked for his name and number and if he'd like to leave a message. He became really agitated, almost frantic, and was pausing after every few words then finally blurted out, "I can't stop masturbating!"

I freaked out (can't recall what I said - it was either, Ewww! Oh my GOD! or Pervert!) and hung up on him. I ran into my sister's office and told her about the obscene caller.

After we had a laugh with a couple other co-workers who popped in to see what was so funny, my sister asked whose line the pervert called. I told her it was one of the therapists. She got all serious and asked which one. I said Dr. McKay. Her eyes bugged out and she said "OH NO!! He's a sex therapist!! That wasn't a crank call!"

We still laugh about this now and for all we know the guy's still masturbating because he never called back.

(me answering phones, 1994)

nicknames for Wrigs

2010-08-09T11:38:00.001-07:00

Wringles
Wringo
Wring Leader
Wrigamortis
WringWrings
Wridley
Wrigglesby
Mr. Wrigglesbottom
The Wriddler
Noodle
Big Yellow Dog
and approx. 10,000 more

I also have a song that is sung to the tune of B-I-N-G-O

"There was a dog his name was Wrigs and Wringo was his name O"

"E-I-N-G-O"

"E-I-N-G-O"

"E-I-N-G-O"

"And Wringles was his NAME-O!"

(I know it doesn't make sense singing it with an "E" but it sounds better. I tried it with the "R" and it just doesn't roll off the tongue as easy.)

Psychotic Pet Sitter

2010-08-08T12:21:00.000-07:00

I'm cat sitting for some friends this weekend and their cat, Gracie, is known around town as being somewhat aloof to others and not very friendly. When I went yesterday she was curious but not too interested in getting close and I didn't want to make her uncomfortable so I kept my distance. When I came by this morning she was super sweet and affectionate and after some coaxing even let me snuggle and kiss her. I took some photos to send to my friends and wrote this text, (using predictive text not the keyboard) letting them know all was ok:

"Gracie is so incredibly loving today. Pushed her head into mine and was grunting while I stabbed her ears."

What I tried to type was "rubbed" but accidentally hit an extra "b" key. I quickly shut down my phone while the text was sending and thankfully it didn't go thru. Not exactly the kind of thing you want to read while your animal's in someone else's care.

She's such a little sweetheart.

Posting video

2010-08-05T22:54:00.000-07:00

Is anyone having trouble uploading videos to blogger? I have tried many times over the last few weeks and keep getting an error message. I'm uploading straight from my photo program, not youtube or any other site first. I've tried both Safari and Firefox browsers and I'm on a Mac. Before when I was able to upload, a small window screen with the blogger icon would appear. Now, it shows a small screen with youtube's logo which is strange, unless blogger and youtube merged? If anyone has any info or has had difficulty with this and can offer any suggestions please let me know. There a back log of Chum and Wrigs videos!!!

Thanks!

The House

2010-08-03T21:40:00.001-07:00

Here's a compilation of five songs from Katie Melua's latest album The House.

Definitely worth downloading. Or just buying the album.

And if you want to hear the full length versions of 3 of the songs, here they are. These are my favorites on the album:

I'd love to kill you

The flood

A happy place

And here's another great song and video from a couple years ago:

If you were a sailboat

I know, I know, enough with the links already.

She don't use jelly

2010-08-02T23:34:00.001-07:00

I keep a big tub of vaseline next to the bed because my hands and feet have been really dry so while I'm in bed I can slather it on to my liking and not have to walk from the bathroom to the bed collecting tufts of fur and litter remnants on the bottom of my feet.

So, we had an appraiser come by to take pics of our house including every single room and umm...well, I forgot to remove that big ole tub of vaseline.

I'm sure someone's having a laugh right now.

13 seconds

2010-08-02T16:03:00.000-07:00

of funny

The clip above was from my friend and Doga instructor Brenda's Dog Yoga Blog where, as you can see, Wrigs and I have been spending our Saturday mornings.

The nugget

2010-07-30T14:41:00.000-07:00

After college, I lived the life of a swinging single for a couple years. I definitely enjoyed my freedoms and took full advantage of casual dating because I was not ready for anything serious.

I was dating this guy who was 10-12 years older than me, we'll call him bi-sexual Bill, because well he was bi-sexual, but I didn't realize that until later in the relationship, I'll get to that another time. So anyway bi-sexual Bill was gorgeous, chisled features, always tan, perfect teeth, great smile. One of the first times I went to his condo I was blown away because he had pictures of himself with high ranking politicians, like for example...President Reagan!?! And several other famous sports figures -Payton, Jordan, Ali, Agassi, and famous actors and actresses, Robert Redford and Whoopi Goldberg were two that I recall. He had an adorable tabby named Peanut and part of the reason I loved hanging out with him was because of his cat. Peanut was a LOVER and a lap cat. I would be covered in cat hair after 5 minutes on the couch but it never bothered me. This particular visit was maybe the 3rd time I had been over and we were watching old black and white movies on the couch of course with Peanut purring on my lap. I started to fall asleep, I hadn't been feeling well, had a horrible sore throat and he said I was welcome to stay over. With that, I headed into his bedroom, fully clothed, and crashed. The next morning I felt worse and had a pretty bad stomach ache. He was still asleep so I tip toed into the bathroom. I tried to be as quiet as possible, even blanketed the toilet bowl in lots of tissues so the plops wouldn't kerplunk in the water. I flushed as soon as I could and ran the water, so in case he woke up maybe he thought I was washing my face. When I was done one "nugget" didn't flush so I flushed again. Now I'm praying he didn't wake up because a double flush is a sure sign of a dump. But now the toilet just filled up with with water as the nugget floated to the top of the bowl. I'm sweating with panic thinking the whole thing's about to blow and water and nugget will flood the floor but then the water stopped right at the rim and stayed there. I'm looking all over the bathroom for something to scoop out the nugget but there was nothing useful. I thought about using toilet paper to reach in grab it and wad it up but then where would I put it? In the kitchen down the garbage disposal??? I remembered we had plastic bags from take out the night before so I closed the lid of the toilet and slowly made my way into the kitchen without waking up the bi-sexual. I grabbed a bag out of the garbage and ran back to the bathroom and quietly closed the door. I gagged as I scooped and then shook all the water out of the bag and wrapped it up into wad, knotted it then tossed it into his empty garbage can. As I looked at it I thought, "What if he gets curious and wants to see what it is? Maybe he'll want to know if it's a feminine product to figure out my cycle and when we'll have sex." Again this was before I realized he wasn't really into women in that way but if he had been curious how does one explain this?? I'd be known for the rest of my life as the girl who wadded up a piece of her own poo and threw it in the garbage. So I grabbed it out of the can, and thought I'd bury it in his kitchen garbage which was almost full. That way if he got curious and looked through there maybe he could blame it on someone else. So as I quietly opened the door there he is standing on the other side smiling, holding out a toothbrush. I realize he must have a stash of them on hand so I thank him and go back into the bathroom with the brush and my bag of poo. He yells that he's going to make coffee and I think great, now I can't sneak into the kitchen and dispose of my bag. I thought about throwing it out the window, but what if a neighbor saw me and got suspicious and went to retrieve it and then came knocking on his door? Then a light bulb went off. Peanut! I could toss my nugget into the cat box and no one (aside from Peanut) would ever know. The litter box was in his office so I had to be sly and not appear to be snooping around. I put the poo in my purse and thought while he's in the kitchen I'll just sneak in there, unknot the bag and toss it in. Of course Peanut was right there by my side as I started fumbling with the bag and the stupid knot wouldn't come undone. I hear the beep for the coffee machine and start to freak so I abandon that whole scheme. Bill's walking down the hall holding our coffees as I come out of his office zipping up my purse, looking like I just stole something. I imagined him saying, "What did you put in your purse?" and then I'd say, "Nothing, nothing" and he'd insist on looking inside and then out pops the poo. Thankfully that didn't happen.

After we drank our coffee, we walked to a little breakfast spot in his neighborhood. After my second cup, before our food arrived, I explained that I had the world's smallest bladder and must hit the restroom again.

Crisis averted.

My animals

2010-07-29T21:41:00.000-07:00

LOVE SUMMER!!!

We live on our deck every night. It's pretty fabulous.

stylish and eco-friendly

2010-07-26T08:26:00.001-07:00

I found these adorable reusable water bottles at our local market. There's one for every day of the week which is a great gift idea for a runner/yogi/gym goer, or anyone who still uses disposable water bottles. Or something to get for the office to split up between co-workers. They are a bit feminine but I think that's what I love about them. They have a simple calmness in both color and design, like something you'd see in a spa. They are also very sturdy and dishwasher safe as well as BPA free. I'm drinking out of the sky blue one now and I love looking at it!

Here's a link to check out some other products by Reduce. The measuring spoons and scoops are so cute and would be fun to use.

The site also lists retailers that carry the line which would probably be cheaper because the online shipping is a bit high.

Check it out!

Whitey Herzog

2010-07-25T21:33:00.001-07:00

Tonight while watching the Cub's game, the announcers started talking about Whitey Herzog who was just inducted into the baseball hall of fame this past week. Great honor indeed, but that man pisses me off.

When I was little my mom would take me shoe shopping at this cute little shoe store in Lake Forest called The Forest Bootery. When you got your shoes, the salesperson would give you a big bright helium balloon. Helium balloons always made my mom nervous because when she was little she attended a birthday party and one of the boys bit into a helium balloon and when it popped a piece of the balloon got lodged in his windpipe and he died. It was a horrific freak accident but since then my mom has never been a big fan of balloons and didn't like them in the house. So it was kind of a big deal when I finally got to keep my balloon, of course promising I would NEVER bite it or even put it anywhere near my face. And forget about sucking the helium. Had to sneak out of the house to do that.

So here I come bumbling in from shopping with Mom, no more than 4 or 5 years old. I've got the balloon tied around my wrist squealing as it bounces in the air behind me while running around the house. My Dad had some baseball buddies over, Whitey being one of them, and they were swapping stories drinking manhattans and smoking cigars in the den. I can remember exactly where Whitey was sitting, on the ottoman next to the fireplace, when he called me over.

"Hey you! What you got there?" (pointing to my balloon with his cigar)

"It's my balloon."

"Oh come on over here, let me take a look at that."

As I approached he grabbed the string with one hand pulling the balloon between us and with the other, butted the cigar right up to the side of my balloon - and it popped with the loudest bang. It hurt my ears and made me jump.

Of course I burst into tears and ran to my mom screaming "That mean man popped my balloon!" and she tried to her best to comfort me while sharing some choice words and an evil eye with my Dad. After that I wasn't allowed (nor did I WANT) to step foot in the den when his buddies were over. Although, sometimes I would sneak down and hide just outside the room and listen to them talk. They used "bad words" which fascinated me, and at the innocent age of five, I had the vocabulary of a ship wrecked sailor.

I really miss that fucking balloon.

Parent/Child Dynamic in Adulthood

2010-07-23T11:32:00.000-07:00

Do you ever call your Mom (or Dad) all excited to share good news and as you're doing so this happens...

"Well, did you say this ----?"

or

"Why didn't you ask this ----?"

or my favorite:

"You should have done this ----."

Kind of takes the wind right outta your sails.

I know the role of a parent is to look out for their children no matter what age we grow up to be but sometimes, it's frustrating when you feel judgement or criticism for things you may have done "wrong" in their eyes, when in fact, they aren't wrong at all - maybe just different from what they would have done. Then why do I second guess myself?!?

Sometimes in these conversations, I need to remind myself that I'm an adult. I've managed to live on my own since 17 (tho I did move home for 10 months after college) but guess what, I'm still here. I purchased our first home at the age of 28 completely on my own solely with my income and credit (at that time Tom still had what I'd call "post college credit") and now 5 homes later, feel like I know a thing or two when it comes to that whole process.

But it's really not about that or any specific situation. It's about feeling the need for approval and then second guessing myself when I don't get it.

the food scene

2010-07-19T22:55:00.001-07:00

in 9 1/2 weeks bothers me for 3 reasons:

First, it's messy, especially when she's chugging the milk and it spills all over her face and neck and robe - just gross, and that's got to smell so bad.

Second, though it's a nice effect, it's not good to leave your refrigerator door open that long. Such a waste of energy and the food inside isn't going to stay cold.

And third, anyone who eats all those different random foods would or should have severe stomach issues which would really affect the overall sexiness of the moment.

Anyway, the movie is on now, actually seems to be on quite a bit on indieplex, but whenever I see Mickey I can't help but think that he has plastic surgery remorse. If there is such a thing....

Oh Mickey. You're not so fine.

such and such

2010-07-19T20:10:00.000-07:00

I have a bunch of fun videos to upload but for some sh*t smack reason blogger will not allow me to upload. I've tried a bunch of times using different browsers and I keep getting the same blasted error message. Annoying. But I'll try again later because they are Chum and Wrigs videos and who doesn't want to see those!?!?

So I'm kind of getting sick of having 6 litter boxes in the house for this cat. Actually, no. It's not the amount of litter boxes, it's the fact that 3 of the 6 are placed on top of our living room furniture and you know how sometimes you walk into someone's house and you can just tell they have a cat because you catch a faint whiff of a litter box? Well when you walk into our house it's like we have litter box potpourri simmering on the stove along with litter scented air fresheners plugged into every socket. It's obnoxious and I wish I could take them off the furniture but we know what the repercussions are to that so it's just got to be this way. I love this aging cat, and he's had another scare in the last month actually put him on another round of very strong antibiotics a few weeks ago because he peed on top of the shower curtain on the chair (not even IN the litter box) and the pee was like a thick syrup, rusty brown in color. So the vet called in a prescription to the compounding pharmacy in North Seattle and off we went in rush hour traffic on July 3rd rushing to get there before the pharmacy closed for the weekend. I gave Chum the meds for a few days and then one day he was fighting it soooo bad and I accidentally squirted the liquid on the side of his cheek, thank God it didn't hit him in the eye, because a couple days later all his fur was gone on that side. So that's when I opted not to give him that medicine anymore. Just too potent and I can't even imagine what it's doing to his little esophagus and tummy and intestinal tracts.

Wrigs and I had quite a weekend exploring all sorts of dog friendly events all over town. A new friend of mine owns a yoga studio and actually has developed a class called DOGA where you bring your dog to class. It is not hoky or trendy in a way one would think, or over the top pampering, instead it's about bonding with your dog while you learn to relax and do simple stretches to quiet your mind and heal your body. In fact, she wrote a book about it called Barking Buddha: Simple Soul Stretches for Yogi and Dogi and I recommend it for anyone with a dog who is looking for ways to relax and connect with their pooch on a peaceful level. At the start of class Wrigs was a wild man, running and twisting and sliding all around, he could not control his body, and all the other "dogis" looked at him like, "Who the hell is this maniac?" But by the middle of class he really did settle and there are so many calming movements that relaxed him like the heart to hound pose where you put one hand on your heart and the other on your dog's heart and you breathe together. Wrigs would just stare into my eyes and it was as if our souls were connecting through each breath. It may sound corny to some and that's ok, because if I hadn't experienced the class and just read about it second hand I probably would think the same thing. But for dog lovers it's definitely worth a try. And I'm really not one who enjoys yoga, but incorporating your canine pal makes it a completely different experience and we plan on doing this regularly. Now if only there was something like this to calm kitty cats!

On Sunday Wrigs and I went to a dog friendly wine tasting benefit. How cute is that??? Seattle is the most dog friendly city I've ever lived in and because of that we have met some awesome people through the dogs. Wrigs and I also got our picture taken for the local paper and were interviewed on public access tv about the event.

Here's a pic of Wrigs with his buddy Bailey on the way back from the festival:

There were a ton of local artisans selling their work and I ended up getting a couple great pieces. Of course you'll notice the thing that appealed to me most, based on my purchases:

wall art:

pendant:

And speaking of sunshine our dear friends have returned from spending 7 months in New Zealand and look what they brought back as a souvenir:

Do you think if I wear these 2 pendants together the odds of the sun coming out will double?? I wish. It's been an ok summer, not very consistent in the sunshine department, typically it starts out cloudy and 50 something degrees but then by noon or 1 it burns off and warms up a bit. And so far we've only had 5 days in the 80's or above. And it's not that I prefer it hot hot hot, I'm still just hoping for some back to back days of consistent sunshine because after all, it is summer. At least according to the calendar.

This morning it was so chilly I wore a hat cuz my ears were so cold:

On another note, there are a few stressful situations going on at the senior center. You sort of know going into any type of work with the elderly that there are going to be challenging moments - you expect and prepare yourself for illness, sad stories of loss and the inevitable, death. But I was not prepared for some of the struggles many of these seniors are dealing with now. Stories of abuse from their own family members, mentally ill children who are no longer in their care, cancer and its treatment, a favorite pet who has gone missing - all of these just from last week alone. That's not even including Rose, the homeless woman. It becomes a bit overwhelming because it's hard to hear the stories and not let them emotionally affect you. I'm doing my best to set the boundaries because again, there is not much anyone else can do but listen, and sometimes cry with them and offer a hug. Ok I definitely don't have the mental capacity to delve into all of this right now so I'll stop. On yet another note, Tom's dad is still in the hospital. It's been 6 months now since his stroke and while things have improved from where he was months ago, it's still not great. The diabetes has inhibited the healing process due to the complications around medication and treatment. So that's been a source of stress in Tom's life because we really would have thought that by now things would have been much improved. He hates to see anyone suffer, especially his Dad and it's so hard when there's not much you can do to make things any different.

Ok don't want to end on a heavy note so let me post this pic of Wrigs sleeping.

I love how he gathers all his blankets and favorite things when he sleeps. Sweet little golden hoarder.

Blueberry Crepes

2010-07-19T11:00:00.000-07:00

Had to share this recipe for delicious crepes and home made blueberry syrup. I got the crepe recipe from Julia's cookbook but I tweaked it a little. These are great for breakfast, lunch, or even dinner! And would be delicious as a dessert crepe with a little whipped or ice cream.

Crepe Recipe
-3/4 cup milk
-3/4 cup cold water
-3 egg yolks
-1 Tb granulated sugar
-1 tsp vanilla extract
-1 cup flour
-5 Tb melted butter (or oil)
-An electric mixer

Place the ingredients in a bowl in the order they are listed and then blend using an electric mixer at top speed for 1 minute. If bits of flour get stuck to the sides of the bowl scrape with a spatula and blend a few more seconds. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight. Cook on a non stick pan with a small amount of oil rubbed in with paper towel. Make them as thin as possible!

Blueberry syrup (or jam) recipe
-lots of blueberries
-sugar
-fresh squeezed orange juice from one orange

Wash and unstem the berries then pour into a food processor and puree. Pour into a sauce pan with some sugar and fresh squeezed orange juice and heat over medium heat for about 20 minutes. (can use lemon juice too if you want the syrup tart). Stir together then pour through a strainer into jar. I've made this twice and the second time I didn't strain the sauce so it's a bit more like jam. Either way is really tasty.

Crepe cooking on the skillet:

See how thin they are? I think I see the face of Jesus in this one:

Topped off with some syrup:

Hissing Wrigs

2010-07-13T19:58:00.000-07:00

Wrigley snatched Chum's bear and would not give it up. When I tried to get it from him here's what he did...

I mean really. Where in the world would this dog have learned to make that face???

Anyway.

Doesn't look like he'll be giving him back anytime soon.

remember this???

2010-07-12T23:16:00.001-07:00

1, 2, 3 song

I thought of this song randomly today so I youtubed "sesame street 1 2 3 song" and found the clip.

What sucks is that I haven't been able to get this tune (and the 1, 2, 3's) out of my head.

And as I sit here typing this out, another lovely jingle is now occupying acoustical space between my ears.

Dumb stupid number songs.

1:13 am

2010-06-30T08:52:00.000-07:00

the house alarm goes off as I'm sound asleep. I've often thought about what I would do if it went off in the middle of the night and how I would instantly go into attack/survival mode: call 911, grab my mace in the nightstand, rush the animals out onto the deck, and then grab my cell phone (in case the phone lines were cut) and speed dial my next door neighbors, Frank and Jenny who are always home. Hell I'd probably even call Betty too just to make sure she's safe and on the look out.

But that didn't happen.

The alarm goes off, animals climb on top of me panting (Wrigs) and screeching (Chum) while I just lay frozen in bed, staring at the bedroom door like a deer in headlights.

Turns out all was ok, but I never got out of bed and I never went back to sleep.

Ninja warrior, I am not.

Going to be an interesting day...

Obsessed

2010-06-28T18:24:00.000-07:00

I've seen the preview for this show, Obsessed and it brings back a lot of memories.

When I was in middle school thru jr. high I had OCD. Somehow, by some miracle, not drugs, I grew out of it. And when I watched this preview it's like it all comes back to me. I used to turn on and off light switches 20-40 times. Always had to be an even number. Same with opening and closing the screen door. I remember getting in trouble at school because I turned on and off the light switch in class and my teacher told me it costs 10 cents every time you open and close the circuit. I never forgot that. Maybe that's what helped me to stop because I felt bad that my parents were going to go for broke if I kept doing this at home. But the screen door was another story. My poor dog would be standing outside in the bitter cold, begging to come in and I would open and close the door just an inch or so 20+ times before I could finally fully open it and let her in.

There were other things that I did or things that really bothered me like certain fabrics on my wrists. I would go completely ape shit if the fabric on my wrist was tight and squeaked if I chewed on it. My poor babysitters. They never came back twice. I also did the counting repetition, like in the preview, but I always had to end on an even number. I would never end on number 3, cuz that's just weird. Ok I think I've said enough.

HMO and some kinda cheese

2010-06-27T18:03:00.001-07:00

I was on the phone with my mom today and she was telling me about this preview she saw for a show she thought I should watch. She told me the date it will be on and said, "Make sure you record if it you're not home. It'll be on HMO".

I just replied, "Mom we don't get HBO."

Then later in the conversation she was referring to a situation and meant to use the expression, What am I? Chopped Liver? But of course, she was just a bit off on that one too and said, "What am I? Green cheese??" I said, "MOM! That makes no sense. It's not green cheese..." but before I could finish she said, "I didn't say GREEN cheese. I said CREAM cheese!"

It's like she has her very own language, all to herself.

Remember Me

2010-06-25T20:52:00.000-07:00

Just watched Remember Me. It's pretty good.

Wrigely's butt

2010-06-25T14:02:00.000-07:00

Wrigley sleeps between us at night. It's not very comfortable because Tom and I have to contort our bodies since Wrigs typically stretches to a diagonal position by our legs and feet. The past few nights he's been sleeping closer to our heads, but he lays butt first and positions it right in my face. Last night I tried to move him over towards Tom but Wrigs would not budge. Tom wakes up as I'm grunting, trying with all my might trying to move the dog. He says, "What are you doing?" I tell him I'm trying to move Wrigley. He asks, "Where?" I tell him, "Towards you." He says, "Don't you dare aim that blow out valve in my direction!"

Bottom line:
We need a bigger bed.

First day of summer!

2010-06-21T19:40:00.000-07:00

started like this:

around noon time broke to this:

then a couple hours later went back to this:

It has been 271 days since we've hit 75 degrees. For some I know that sounds like a dream but for those of us who have spent the last 9 months living in what feels like a never ending January of wetness and darkness, it's really not so fun.

A friend sent me this link today and said this pretty much sums up summer in Seattle. Everyone is so ready to pop at this point. At least I'm not alone.

surviving vs. thriving

2010-06-20T22:34:00.000-07:00

that's what it's like.

so
much
energy put into merely
surviving where
thriving used to come naturally.

Do you ever wonder why people don't retire
here and instead go
there? Yeah, me neither.

It's a different ball of wax here folks.

Time to make more t-shirts.

June 20th, 9am

2010-06-20T11:30:00.000-07:00

Temps in the 50's, spitting rain, harassed by a homeless person on my way to a 5k with Wrigley this morning. I ended up turning around and coming home.

HAPPY F@CKING SUMMER!!!

Great Hair Day = Bad Hair Day

2010-06-19T16:52:00.000-07:00

A while back I ordered this product because I was losing my hair. Well I tried it on my receding parts and it looked AWFUL. When Tom saw it for the first time he asked me if I just cleaned the chimney so I decided to chuck it under my sink because, as you know, I never return anything.

So about a week ago I ran out of one of my eye shadows which was just a neutral brown color and I thought why not give this hair stuff a try? So I did. And lately my eye lashes have been growing like mad.

I realize now this stuff is made with propecia which is supposed to prevent hair loss and from what it looks like apparently promotes hair growth? So this probably isn't a good thing to place directly next to my eye ball so needless to say no more great hair day for me. And I've been googling side effects for propecia and can't find anything about affecting vision but I'm guessing that's because most people probably don't stick the pill in their eye before swallowing it.

But wait, you could probably use this on eyebrows and not go blind? Ok I will try that next. And for whatever reason this product smells really delicious.

strange but true

2010-06-19T08:41:00.001-07:00

So last night I had this really messed up dream about a guy I dated off and on back in college for about a year. It was pretty violent and disturbing so this morning I felt the need to check online and see if he is still alive and well. I tried to look him up on facebook (not to friend him just to see if he was there) and nothing. Then I checked google (yes, married women can still google exes, there is no law against this! yet) and I found a police report that cited he was recently arrested for stealing a bottle of Listerine. He put the bottle down his pants and tried to walk out of a Wal-mart.

I dated some winners.

how I wake up every morning

2010-06-19T08:15:00.000-07:00

we've gone through quite a few alarm clocks over the years.

and another...

2010-06-17T18:58:00.001-07:00

I've made no less than 30 shirts today. It's my new obsession. Almost missed a 1:00 meeting because I was online so engrossed in t-shirt making software. T-shirt making is highly addictive.

Another outlet...

2010-06-17T12:23:00.000-07:00

t-shirt design.

I was a mean little sister.

2010-06-16T13:10:00.000-07:00

I'm having the seniors put together a book about their life, something they can pass along to their children, grandchildren, great grandchildren. They're writing about significant moments, people, and memories that have shaped who they are today. This is something we can all start doing now, why wait til our golden years? I'm doing my own book and will share a brief chapter on terrorizing my sister.

I have a sister named Beth who is 7 years older than me - that's a big difference when you're growing up. While I was cutting the hair off my Barbies, she'd come home hammered from a night out with friends and pass out in her bed. My parents would get so upset and my mom would purposely vacuum her room at 7:00 the next morning, slamming the vacuum into her bed while Beth's trying her best not to hurl. Her punishment would be to stay in her room, no TV, no phone and I'd shove graham crackers or saltines under her door, anything that was flat enough to fit because she needed to eat. I can totally remember sliding a graham cracker half way under and then it would disappear in a flash as she swiped it from the other side. Then I'd hear munching and she'd say in a meek voice, "more." I used to torment my sister, not sure why, she was really good to me. She was scared to death of bugs (and of course, still is) and some mornings while she was asleep (hungover) I'd crawl in her room and leave a trail of fake ants across her bedroom floor, marching them into a giant glob under her bed straight down from her pillow. I would even put some food in the middle (like a cracker crumb) to make it look they were falling all over each other trying to feast and then I'd sneak into her room and scream, "OH MY GOD!" and point at the trail. She'd shoot out of bed like the house was on fire and she'd swear at the top of her lungs, "HOLY F*CKING SH*T LAURA!! WHAT IS IT? WHAT IS IT???" I'd burst out laughing then she'd fall back into bed trying to get her breathing under control while telling me I have serious problems. Sometimes I would do this with cockroaches and spiders too. We had a lot of fake bugs around the house, thanks to my Dad. Another time when she was laying out in our front yard (because our back yard was too shaded we were not exhibitionists) I snuck out of the house in my Dad's trench coat, big rubber boots and wore panty hose over my face so it was all distorted and then put on a big black hat with black leather man gloves. She was laying on the lawn chair, eyes closed, listening to music when I suddenly appeared over her with a growl approaching her neck like I was going to strangle her. She let out a blood curdling scream and just froze in place - didn't even try to run away. I fell to the ground in fits of laughter while she tried to catch her breath, again cursing my name and telling me I need to get serious help. That would make me laugh even harder. One of my favorite times though was when she was out way past curfew and my parents were asleep and didn't know. I turned her tv on in the bedroom so there was dim flickering light and put one of my Dad's big outdoor gloves on a bended hanger sticking out of her closet door and then I went to my room and waited. A bit later, I heard her quietly tip toeing up the stairs (we had a couple squeaky steps so you had to go very slow and know just where to put your feet) and then two seconds later, I hear the scream. I hid under my covers laughing and then felt bad because my Dad woke up thinking someone broke in the house and when he realized what happened, my sister got punished for coming home late. I felt bad about that but made it up to her by shoving crackers under the door the next morning.

I'm lucky she still talks to me.

(My Dad looks like a giant in this photo. I think our furniture was just really small. And I'm not so sure about the fit of his pants. Gotta love the 70's!)

update on Rose

2010-06-15T22:01:00.000-07:00

I haven't talked much about the situation at the senior center with "Rose" the woman who has been homeless for almost a year. Reason being, I'm frustrated, mostly with myself because there is nothing I can do (short of moving her into our home.) When I first met with Rose and we talked one on one she seemed comfortable and mentally stable. She shared a lot with me and it started to feel like a therapist/patient relationship which was a bit concerning because a lot of the things she would tell me, I had no idea how to handle. I had done some research on shelters and church based organizations for the homeless, all of which she claimed had already "been there, done that" and would never return. I didn't know what else to do, some of the people at the center advised it would be best to pull back a little because they felt that Rose would get too attached and subsequently upset because I was not offering up my home as an option. So that's what I did and have been doing. And it feels pretty shitty.

The woman who I work for has been keeping me informed on any progress made with the social workers and psychologist and it turns out Rose was diagnosed with Asperger's. The thing about this is that she qualifies for government aid and can live in a state run facility but again she won't go. And now she's been asking a few people if they would let her stay in their homes and when they gently refuse she gets really angry and has had some major meltdowns. After class I used to mill around and visit with people or sit and have lunch but lately I've been nervous because if I see Rose I just don't know what to say anymore. I'm avoiding the situation because I'm afraid she's going to ask to come home with me. I can't blame her for asking people to take her in - homeless shelters and institutions are typically not ideal places to live, but those are the options available to her at this time and if she does not want them then that is her decision and there's not much more to do.

So why do I still feel like a horse's ass?

I always feel like...

2010-06-15T19:32:00.000-07:00

somebody's watching meeeee!

Wrigs at the vet

2010-06-14T23:17:00.000-07:00

This is the moment he realized, "Oh crap, it's this place!"

Poor guy. He had a pretty traumatic experience today. Struggled and fussed as 4 technicians and the doc tried to hold him down for xrays. It just wasn't going to happen. They got 2 somewhat readable ones, but I'll need to bring him back again sometime soon for the rest. The good news is his hips look good so that is a relief. Doesn't mean we can rule out hip dysplasia forever but at least there aren't any tell tale signs at this age. When I picked him up to bring him home he came barreling out of the exam room door almost knocking me over with licks to the face and high pitched cries. Then he made a bee line for the main door and kept pulling me while I tried to pay the bill. He wanted out of there. He's been sleeping a lot and actually now as I type this he is having another nightmare. He's squealing and twitching. Not sure if I should wake him up or let him sleep through it. Oh I can't stand it- he's breathing really heavy now. I'm going to wake him up.

Prayers for my sister

2010-06-14T11:31:00.000-07:00

She's been in surgery since 8 this morning. Procedure was supposed to take 2 hours and it's now been 3.5 and still no update. My mom and brother in law are together waiting at the hospital and I'm sitting by the phone feeling an ulcer develop as I type.

Positive thoughts, vibes, prayers, whatever you can offer are appreciated.

Thank you.