Category: HEALTH

Day 3 this week…

New waiting room, new puzzle, but I learned from a fellow patient that there is a devious volunteer out there (who in my opinion should be asked to leave) who has taken a piece from each puzzle, or added in extra pieces from other puzzles so that it becomes confusing.  See up there on the left middle?  There were 3 extra pieces to this puzzle!

Day 1 this week

Every waiting room has chairs, couches, recliners, foot stools, tables and lots of puzzles in various forms of completion.  I thought this was a cool addition, especially if you have a long wait.

IDIOMS~NO RHYME OR REASON

If there is no rhyme or reason why something happens, there is no obvious explanation for it without any reasonable explanation or purpose.
Here at THE Motivation Station we are all striving to find the motivation to get our lives, families, jobs, clutter, homes, etc… under control. One of the things I am learning personally, is that despite our best intentions, life sometimes creeps up on us and hits over the head no matter how prepared and in control we think we are, just to show us that we are NOT in complete control!

While I’m not ready to delve into it publicly yet, I do want to leave you with this thought by Erma Bombeck.  Please remember to enjoy your life, your family and all you have – the power of positive thought can work.  By taking care of you, you can be there for your family and friends. 

 IF I HAD MY LIFE TO LIVE OVER – by Erma Bombeck
(Written after she found out she was dying from cancer.)
I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren’t there for the day.

I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.

I would have talked less and listened more.

I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained, or the sofa faded.

I would have eaten the popcorn in the ‘good’ living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace.

I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.

I would have shared more of the responsibility carried by my husband.

I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.

I would have sat on the lawn with my grass stains.

I would have cried and laughed less while watching television and more while watching life.

I would never have bought anything just because it was practical, wouldn’t show soil, or was guaranteed to last a lifetime.

Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I’d have cherished every moment and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle.

When my kids kissed me impetuously, I would never have said, ‘Later. Now go get washed up for dinner.’ There would have been more ‘I love you’s’ – More ‘I’m sorry’s.’

But mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute. Look at it and really see it.  Live it and never give it back. STOP SWEATING THE SMALL STUFF!

Don’t worry about who doesn’t like you, who has more, or who’s doing what.  Instead, let’s cherish the relationships we have with those who do love us.

ARE YOU WHAT YOU EAT?

When I was a little kid I thought vegetables came from cans and sauces came from packages.  You know, just add water and voile you have spaghetti sauce.   I thought it was pretty cool that we ate like the astronauts – we also drank gallons of Tang. Back then, “original” Tang was still made without artificial sweeteners.  Then I turned 10 and dad cooked for a Thanksgiving dinner with these funny looking green stalks called celery and orange ones called carrots and these big round yellow things called onions and this big pot full of homemade broth and voile I was in love with scratch cooking.  Obviously there was a difference between my mom’s cooking and my dad’s cooking.
From then on I became the family cook since mom worked full time and I learned that I preferred scratch cooking with real food to the cans and packages. This was when I also became interested in nutrition and eating well and began reading labels.
Years later all this knowledge paid off when I became sick and my doctor asked me to not use certain things – things like preservatives and “fake” or diet foods.
ASPARTAME: is an artificial, non-saccharide sweetener used as a sugar substitute in some foods and beverages. The most notable name brand of aspartame is Nutra-sweet.
SACCHARIN:  is an artificial sweetener. The basic substance, benzoic sulfilimine, has effectively no food energy and is much sweeter than sucrose, but has an unpleasant bitter or metallic aftertaste, especially at high concentrations. It is used to sweeten products such as drinks, candies, biscuits, medicines, and toothpaste.

There have been studies trying to link aspartame and saccharin to carcinogens.  Some say they are successful, others say they are not – you know all the bureaucratic red tape arguing back and forth for FDA approval type BS.  You are never sure who to believe, but as my rheumatologist asked, which receptors in your body are geared for accepting these things?  Since the answer is none, then all of these go straight to your liver and kidneys for filtering them out of your body as toxins.  I have even read recently that there is a theory that they never leave your body and just keep recirculating.

CARCINOGEN:  is any substance, radionuclide or radiation, that is an agent directly involved in causing cancer. This may be due to the ability to damage the genome or to the disruption of cellular metabolic processes.  Common examples of carcinogens are inhaled asbestos, certain dioxins, and tobacco smoke. Cancer is a disease in which damaged cells do not undergo programmed cell death. Carcinogens may increase the risk of cancer by altering cellular metabolism or damaging DNA directly in cells, which interferes with biological processes, and induces the uncontrolled, malignant division, ultimately leading to the formation of tumors. Usually DNA damage, if too severe to repair, leads to programmed cell death, but if the programmed cell death pathway is damaged, then the cell cannot prevent itself from becoming a cancer cell.”

While the world is on this ever faster spinning merry-go-round, does that mean that you or I have to be too?  NO it does not. I have had this major discussion going on recently with some friends about cooking.  They have young children at home and feel that their lives are too busy to cook from scratch.  They also say that they don’t believe that “fast” foods and “package” cooking is all that bad.

Let me leave you with this excerpt from this article: Increased Cancer Risks – Hazards of Genetically Engineered foods so that you can draw your own conclusions.  Think about this and do more research on your own if you like, but remember it the next time you say you are too busy to read a label, know your ingredients or cook from scratch.

“This Brave New World of Frankenfoods is frightening. There are currently more than four dozen GE foods and crops being grown or sold in the US. These foods and crops are widely dispersed into the food chain and the environment. Over 80 million acres of GE (genetically engineered) crops are presently under cultivation in the US, while up to 750,000 dairy cows are being injected regularly with Monsanto’s recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH). Most supermarket processed food items now “test positive” for the presence of GE ingredients. In addition, several dozen more GE crops are in the final stages of development and will soon be released into the environment and sold in the marketplace. The “hidden menu” of these unlabeled GE foods and food ingredients in the US now includes soybeans, soy oil, corn, potatoes, squash, canola oil, cottonseed oil, papaya, tomatoes, and dairy products.

GE food and fiber products are inherently unpredictable and dangerous-for humans, for animals, the environment, and for the future of sustainable and organic agriculture. As Dr. Michael Antoniou, a British molecular scientist points out, gene-splicing has already resulted in the “unexpected production of toxic substances… in genetically engineered bacteria, yeast, plants, and animals with the problem remaining undetected until a major health hazard has arisen”. The hazards of GE foods and crops fall into three categories: human health hazards, environmental hazards, and socio-economic hazards. A brief look at the already-proven and likely hazards of GE products provides a convincing argument for why we need a global moratorium on all GE foods and crops.

In 1994, the FDA approved the sale of Monsanto’s controversial rBGH. This GE hormone is injected into dairy cows to force them to produce more milk. Scientists have warned that significantly higher levels (400-500% or more) of a potent chemical hormone, Insulin-Like Growth Factor (IGF-1), in the milk and dairy products of rBGH injected cows, could pose serious hazards such as human breast, prostate, and colon cancer. A number of studies have shown that humans with elevated levels of IGF-1 in their bodies are much more likely to get cancer. The US Congressional watchdog agency, the GAO, told the FDA not to approve rBGH. They argued that injecting the cows with rBGH caused higher rates of udder infections requiring increased antibiotic treatment. The increased use of antibiotics poses an unacceptable risk for public health. In 1998, Monsanto/FDA documents that had previously been withheld, were released by government scientists in Canada showing damage to laboratory rats fed dosages of rBGH. Significant infiltration of rBGH into the prostate of the rats as well as thyroid cysts indicated potential cancer hazards from the drug. Subsequently, the government of Canada banned rBGH in early 1999. The European Union (EU) has had a ban in place since 1994. Although rBGH continues to be injected into 10% of all US dairy cows, no other industrialized country has legalized its use. The GATT Codex Alimentarius, a United Nations food standards body, has refused to certify that rBGH is safe.

All that said, I love this newer style food pyramid, it really shows you how important each food group really is – see what you think.

CARING for the CARETAKER

Many of you know that Martha (MM) and myself have both been embroiled in care taking situations for loved ones for quite some time now.  We do it out of love and a bit of obligation, but we do it well with compassion, patience and tolerance.  To say that it is stressful is the WORLD’S GREATEST UNDERSTATEMENT. 
Most evenings we spend a few minutes emailing back and forth commiserating over the days troubles and surprises.  Often it makes us chuckle and laugh which by my standards is soooooooooooooo necessary to help US with the stress.  For me, just knowing that my friend knows what I’m going through relieves a lot of stress and reminds me that there is always tomorrow.  We’re both Virgos and about the same age so there are enough similarities that I honestly believe we think alike.  I know I sometimes receive an email just after I have hit send on one to her which is a relief as I know we were in the same “place” at the same time.  Many times we could have even written each other’s emails because our days were so similar.
These days the difference comes because I am now helping to care for an aunt who has been placed in a care home while I’m also caring for her husband in their home who had triple bypass surgery and Martha is caring for her mother in her mother’s home while taking care of her family in her own home.  We are both basically caring for 2 homes, but I can walk away from my aunt at the end of the day and know that there are at least 2 caregivers on staff for the night in the event my aunt needs help.  This should bring relief. Instead it brings grief.  Many times MUCH grief.  
We have all heard about the horror stories in the news of abuse by caregivers to the elderly and infirm.  For every story we have heard I guarantee you there are a hundred times more stories we haven’t heard.  My aunt has been complaining for some time about the manager of the house she lives in as well as one of the nighttime aides.  Many times we were inclined to believe much of it to be exaggeration. There are so many examples to choose from, but right now many of those cannot be spoken of while resolutions are pending. 

Most of the residents of the home are there through guardianship and don’t have many visitors and while I have no actual proof, I believe that the “manager” (and boy do I use that term loosely) does not like family around because she can’t do things her way and in her time.  She’s loud, rude and downright mean.  She treats family members like they work for her and demands “respect” in “her facility”.  Yep, you heard me right!  This though is yet another story.

The man that owns the house is going through financial difficulties and has cut back on many things, one of which is the cook.  The manager of the house is now doing all the cooking (well supposedly, but that’s another story). She cooks by her terms “Louisiana style”.  From what I can tell, “Louisiana” style is a euphemism for lazy. The food is now being served with all the bones and gristle.  My aunt is sight impaired and has severe dyskinesia, involuntary muscle movements, that makes her dexterity difficult.  She cannot cut meat from a bone or detect it in a bowl of soup or stew. There is a serious choking hazard here. Personally I see not removing the bones before serving it to patients as pure laziness and neglect.
Martha and I  of all people do understand how difficult this type of work can be physically and emotionally.  But, I personally believe that anyone entering a paid position caring for patients should have a patience and tolerance that is reflected by their words and actions as well as the necessary knowledge of the disease(s) to understand the nature of the symptoms and side affects.  If they cannot offer any one of those criteria then perhaps they should be looking for different work.  If they cannot or will not follow the prescribed protocol for caring for patients as I suspect is the case in certain instances with my aunt (i.e. removing her night time meds without consulting the Dr.) then they should not be in this position either.   

I know my horror stories have left Martha feeling a little queasy about getting her mother into an assisted living situation.  But the moral, yes there is a moral! is that the family needs to stay involved, ask questions and not be afraid to follow through with governing agencies as we are doing now concerning my aunt and her care.

The biggest moral is that the caretaker MUST take care of themselves or they are of no good to anyone! The caretaker being stressed only creates stress in the patient that becomes a vicious cycle.
Now for something fun.  The holidays are coming much faster than many of us would like so I offer you this easy and fun recipe that will thrill the kids for Christmas.

Now for something fun.  The holidays are coming much faster than many of us would like so I offer you this easy and fun recipe that will thrill the kids for Christmas.

My great aunt who I only got to see a couple times a year used to make these every year special for me and I would wait out on the front steps for her to arrive just to see them and know they were there. Oh and her too! She always made them soooooooooo pretty and perfect!

HOLIDAY WREATHS

(these are better when they are made a few days ahead)
30 large marshmallows (or 1 jar marshmallow cream)
1/2 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoon green food color
3 1/2 cups cornflakes
Red Hots
  • Combine marshmallows, butter, vanilla and food color in top of double boiler. Heat and stir frequently until well blended.
  • Gradually stir in cornflakes until well blended.
  • Drop onto wax paper and arrange into wreath shapes. I plop them onto the wax paper and then push out from the center to form the wreaths.
  • Decorate with red hots.
  • Let cool.
  • If your house is warm – chill in refrigerator until set.

Attitude Adjustment~It’s easier than you think!

Many of you know that these past few years have been all about “others” needs and that very soon I will be stepping down from that caretaker role to take care of myself. One of the things I have learned most is that everyone has a different attitude AND that attitude can and will define you, if you let it. I recently saw a plaque somewhere (sure wish I could remember where) but I found it here on the internet. I thought it would be nice to share as a motivational tool. Have a wonderful summer weekend! Me, I’m hoping to hit some garage sales and maybe take in a movie.
Instead of a recipe this week I leave you with the
For many people, dieting is like a death sentence as it symbolizes the end of their love affair with food. Gone are the weeklong – or even month-long – binges that are replaced by a strict regimen of healthy eating and exercise.
Nobody’s perfect, especially when it comes to what they eat. If you try to do things exactly by the book and consume every meal on plan, you’re setting yourself up for failure. The time will come when you want to enjoy a small piece of cake to celebrate your son’s birthday. Maybe you just want to feast on a bowl of lobster bisque at your favorite restaurant that you only go to once a year.
Take heart – you can indulge and still stay on a healthy meal plan. A good rule of thumb is to try and stay on track 90% of the time and feel comfortable straying no more than 10% of the time. No weight loss program will succeed if you feel like you’re being deprived. Today show nutritionist Joy Bauer is a big proponent of consuming 90 percent of your diet from healthy foods and 10 percent from fun foods.
For 90 percent of your food, follow these guidelines. Consume three servings of whole wheat starches a day. Eat at least two servings of fresh fruit. Eat as many fresh vegetables as you like. Have a lean protein with each meal. Limit the amount of fats at each meal.
The other 10 percent of the foods you eat should come from those fun foods. Bauer even has a list that includes one ounce dark chocolate, ½ cup low-fat ice cream, 1 ounce pretzels, 1 ounce baked chips, 7 cups light popcorn, 4 licorice sticks and more.
By enjoying your favorite treats in moderation, you won’t be saddled with feelings of deprivation, which will make it far easier to lose.

5 stages of acceptance is all relative…to how you CHOOSE to deal with them…

Hi, Tamy here from OUR KrAzY kitchen, Always Eat On the Good China, 3 Sides of Crazy where life hasn’t been normal in quite some time and Tackle it Tuesday on Saturday here at The Motivation Station. 

Martha talked about the stages of change on Wednesday.  I swear we are on the same page as I was already writing about the stages of grief and acceptance.

One of the things that we all have in common here at The Motivation Station and in life is that nothing ever stays the same and we are always presented with something new to learn to conquer.

My ex-husband used to ALWAYS say, “I HATE change, quit changing everything.”  Most people do hate change, but wake up people, change is inevitable.  It’s called life and it is ever changing.  When I was young I’d say, “but it’s not fair”.  My dad’s favorite response was, “where is it written that life is fair?  Fix it or learn to adapt to it and move on.”  I do believe that is where I learned my positive attitude.  It really is easier to adapt and be happy, try to see the positive in any given situation than it is to moan about it and be miserable.  I miss my dad.  He’s been gone 17 years now, but I try to remember his little one liners and the happy times.  They always make me smile through my tears. 

Anyway, I believe life is all about change and that learning to cope with it as it happens will help you through life. I believe in Murphy’s Law, the Domino Effect, Payback’s a Bitch, and Karma. I also believe that Pay It Forward and living by the Golden Rule go a long way to keep the former from happening to begin with. I believe everything happens for a reason and that life is one big adventure.

Now despite these beliefs this brings me to my current situation, my aunt Sharon who is also my godmother and was a great role model in my life.  She has end stage Parkinsons disease and I am currently living with my uncle to try and help.

Parkinson’s disease (also known as Parkinson’s, Parkinson disease or PD) is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that often impairs the sufferer’s motor skills, speech, and other functions.  Parkinson’s disease belongs to a group of conditions called movement disorders. It is characterized by muscle rigidity, tremor, a slowing of physical movement (bradykinesia) and a loss of physical movement (akinesia) in extreme cases. The primary symptoms are the results of decreased stimulation of the motor cortex by the basal ganglia, normally caused by the insufficient formation and action of dopamine, which is produced in the dopaminergic neurons of the brain (specifically the substantia nigra). Secondary symptoms may include high level cognitive dysfunction and subtle language problems. PD is both chronic and progressive. PD is the most common cause of chronic progressive parkinsonism, a term which refers to the syndrome of tremor, rigidity, bradykinesia and postural instability. PD is also called “primary parkinsonism” or “idiopathic PD” (classically meaning having no known cause). While many forms of parkinsonism are idiopathic, “secondary” cases may result from toxicity most notably of drugs, head trauma, or other medical disorders. The term Parkinsonism is used for symptoms of tremor, stiffness, and slowing of movement caused by loss of dopamine.  It is possible for a patient to be initially diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease but then to develop additional features, requiring revision of the diagnosis.
So knowing all this about how and what I believe about life, the type of illness she has and the fact that I too have a chronic illness* that does at times limit my abilities, I have trouble understanding where my aunt, the god fearing, rock to many in life, fun, positive, adaptable woman went.  At one time she was a candidate for the brain surgery, but refused it.  She now says she wants it, but the window has closed on that opportunity.  Personally I would have jumped at that chance if for no other reason than I wouldn’t want my family to have to wait on me hand and foot 24/7.  After 20 years her care was killing my uncle.  Long story short she is now in assisted living, placed there by the state because she refused to do the things necessary to attend to her situation.  I pray that I have the grace to make the “right” decision for my family as a whole if ever that situation presents itself to me.
She has serious control issues.  She wants to manage this disease and make it conform to her narrow minded ways.  She was presented just this week with new medications and a new regimen that should give her 50% more “good/on” times.  If only she’d stay open minded enough to try it.  Traditionally she’ll take one dose, say it doesn’t work and demand to be back on her “safety net” meds. The doctor has told her it is useless to make an appointment with her if she refuses to try what the doctor suggests.  Her normal way of dealing with this is to change doctors until she finds one that agrees with her.  Like I said there are serious control issues which brings me to my main point, The 5 stages of grief or acceptance.  Knowing these and living by them can make any life easier, yours AND your families.
The 5 stages of grief or acceptance:
DENIAL – “this can’t be happening to me”. Not accepting or even acknowledging the loss.
ANGER – “why me?”, feelings of wanting to fight back or get even with spouse of divorce, for death, anger at the deceased, blaming them for leaving.
BARGAINING – bargaining often takes place before the loss. Attempting to make deals with the spouse who is leaving, or attempting to make deals with God to stop or change the loss. Begging, wishing, praying for them to come back.
DEPRESSION – overwhelming feelings of hopelessness, frustration, bitterness, self pity, mourning loss of person as well as the hopes, dreams and plans for the future. Feeling lack of control, feeling numb. Perhaps feeling suicidal.
ACCEPTANCE – there is a difference between resignation and acceptance. You have to accept the change or loss, not just try to bear it quietly. Realization that it takes two to make or break a marriage. Realization that the person is gone (in death) that it is not their fault, they didn’t leave you on purpose. (even in cases of suicide, often the deceased person, was not in their right frame of mind) Finding the good that can come out of the pain of loss, finding comfort and healing. Our goals should turn toward personal growth.

Get help. You will survive. You will heal (at least emotionally), even if you cannot believe that now, just know that it is true. To feel pain after loss (loss can also be a chronic illness or even a situation where we do not have control) is normal. It proves that we are alive, human. But we can’t stop living. We have to become stronger. Helping others through something we have experienced is a wonderful way to facilitate our healing and bring good out of something tragic. 

*I have Systemic Lupus, but as my Rheumatologist is proud of saying, “you’d never know it, because I refuse to let it show.”  I belief that is my cross to bare/bear and I refuse to let it affect my life when I can.  Because of that attitude though many people, family members included tend to say you look fine so you must be fine and they heap more and more on my plate to deal with as the family caretaker, sometimes for both mine and hubby’s families.  Still don’t know where I got that job, but am trying to empty that plate!

SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE

As many of you know I have spent the last 7 1/2 months helping out various  family members around the country.  First it was my elderly in-laws  who begged us to come help them sell everything including the house and move them closer to family (we all know how that went – FIL is still trying to assign sentimental prices to everything in sight) and now it is my aunt & uncle.  My aunt has end stage Parkinsons disease, such a sad disease.  My aunt is extremely artistic and a beautiful painter – or at least she was.  The Dyskinesia from the Parkinsons disease has robbed her of that ability. 

My uncle recently saw the Oprah episode on hoaders and has decided that my aunt is one.  Trust me, she isn’t.  I once worked for a real estate company as a stager for homes and they would send me in to work on homes that were similar to those on the Oprah show – those were horrible.  So ask yourself, what is my (your) happy medium on the stuff I’ve (you’ve) accumulated?  My theory?  If you have a place for each item and it’s in its place, you’re NOT a pack rat or a hoarder.  I do offer you the definitions below.


She does have a LARGE collection of art supplies and empty tins for storing those items in, but in her defense men do think in simpler terms and this is just a meeting of the minds discussion.  And in his defense they should be getting rid of most of this as she is now in a assisted living home and will not be able to use these items again.  Donating them to the church or a school while they are still usable would be best, but can’t be forced.  I pray that I will have more grace regarding these type of decisions if I reach that point and give up things more willingly, but none of us can ever be in one another’s shoes and truly know what we would do.


  • Also called trade rat. a large, bushy-tailed rodent, Neotoma cinerea, of North America, noted for carrying off small articles to store in its nest.
  • A person who collects, saves, or hoards useless small items or an old prospector or guide.

HOARD 

  • a supply or accumulation that is hidden or carefully guarded for preservation, future use, etc…  
  • to accumulate money, food, or the like, in a hidden or carefully guarded place for preservation, future use, etc…

NOW FOR A LIGHTER TOPIC:JELL-O TRICKS

I think most everyone knows this trick by now, but it always amazes me how much better it makes a bowl of Jell-O so I thought it was worth mentioning again.Around our house we usually put canned fruit (peaches or pears usually) in the Jell-O for a little bit of extra OOMPH! When you drain those canned fruits, use a sieve and drain them into the measuring cup for the cold water first. Then just add enough water to bring the level to where you need it. I usually get about 1 1/4 cup of fruit juice. Doing this will make for a better, more substantial flavor to any Jell-O.

Just after I pour in the Jell-o I use a small salad fork to stir up the fruit in each bowl. The fruit is usually well distributed in the Jell-O.

We also don’t like the film that forms on the top. And I hated trying to stack all the bowls in the refrigerator, so I started using my Pampered Chef prep bowls for making Jell-O. Once you’ve made it, put the lids on and you can easily stack them in the frig.

If I keep this made, we both tend to eat this at night when the munchies strike and stay away from the chips and ice cream.