September 13, 2008

Virtually me - or you!

Y’all wanna have some fun? I’ve been playing around at My Virtual Model and that’s me over there at the left. Okay, it’s not a perfect replica, but it was created based on my size, shape and coloring. I selected the hairstyle that’s closest to how I actually wear mine, and then each wardrobe item, right down to the slippahs (flip flops) that I wear more than any other shoes. There are no eyeglasses on the site. You’ve never seen me without my glasses (and probably never will,) so just pretend, okay? While no one would mistake my model for the real me, she’s close enough to use for some virtual fitting and shopping. I can dress her in different styles and see how each would look on my body type, a real help when you’re buying clothes online and can’t try them on.

I’ve apparently been to the site before today. I had an identity there that I don’t remember signing up for, so I guess it’s been a while since I visited. I went there today at the prompting of Two Shrinking Sisters, a new blog that just kicked off yesterday. Penny and Tina have decided to unite in sisterhood and weight loss. They’ll chart their progress with weekly weigh-ins and occasional photos. Tina is also using before, progressive and after (goal) virtual models to get her motivation up. Penny will have a noticable weight loss soon - she’s going to be a mom in about a month. She and her sis will share their diet and exercise routines as well as some of what motivates and inspires them. I really admire their determination and their willingness to put themselves out there. They’d appreciate some support and encouragment on their journey, so why don’t you go on over there now and give them each an “Atta girl!”

Technorati Tags: blogs, diet, health, weight loss

September 5, 2008

Creating a comfortable work environment

I told y’all two days ago that using my new laptop has already caused a bad flare of the tendonitis in my hands and wrists. I’ve been gripping tools and using them to bang on the structures I inspect for almost thirty years now. That led to a condition called DeQuerveins, a repetitive motion injury to the thumb. Trying to accommodate the DeQuerveins caused me to grip things awkwardly and I developed carpal tunnel syndrome and tennis elbow. I then tried to work left-handed for a while & the result is that I have all three conditions on both the left and right sides. I work carefully these days and my hands and arms haven’t been giving me trouble until this week. Right now my new laptop is sitting on my desk. I don’t have a wireless setup yet, so I’ve had to place it where I can plug into my cable modem. The top of the desk is too high for keyboard placement, so my hands are giving me fits once again. I bought a wireless mouse and a slant board/cooling fan yesterday, hoping they would help. They haven’t. I need to get myself set up with some truely ergonomic computer accessories that will allow me to return to proper posture and hand positioning. Going wireless will help - I’ll be able to use my laptop at a more comfortable level - but what I’m most concerned with is supporting my wrists and positioning all of my equipment in a way that will reduce risk of injury. I’ve found several solutions at iShopErgonomics.com. That’s the Bakker Elkhuizen Ergo-Q 330 up there at the top of my post. It will pack up and go wherever I take my laptop so I can always have a wrist-friendly ergonomic workstation, no matter where I use my computer. It’s a thing of beauty. I like it. I want it.

You may not have any repetitive motion injuries that require special accomodations. Good for you. Now you need to do something to insure that you stay injury-free and pain-free. Check out iShopErgonomics for all the accessories you need, for your home or office work station and for portable comfort when you’re on the go. It’s the smart thing to do.

Technorati Tags: computer comfort, computers, ergonomics, ergonomic work accessories

August 26, 2008

Lance needs to clean up his act

Y’all know Lance is the light of my life. He’s always been a friendly and fun companion, but more so since our old Buddy died. I can’t imagine how much tougher that would have been if I hadn’t had Lance to help me get through it. He’s become much more outgoing since he adjusted to the loss of his companion, too. You’d need an animal behaviorist to explain it, but my take on it is that he feels like it’s okay to monopolize my time and space now that there’s not another dog around to share me with. I live a pretty solitary life. There’s no one else around to share a laugh or a cuddle with, so Lance is pretty good company to have. Well, most of the time. There’s one thing he does, though, that makes me crazy. I’ve told you about it before, but … wait for it …

And there it is. I managed to dodge just in time on that occasion, but Lance is a face-kisser and manages to plant one on my mouth from time to time. Shall we talk about dog bad breath now? Yes, let’s! Lance was born with a heart condition and can’t go under anesthesia, so he’s never had his teeth professionally cleaned. I do what I can, but the beagle has a major case of halitosis going on. He’s also got that bad doggie habit we don’t like to talk about. If I don’t run outside & grab the pooper-scooper the minute he goes, he cleans it up himself. Yeah, that habit. Then he dares to try to kiss Mom on the mouth? Not happening!

Like I said, I do what I can. I have doggie toothpaste and one of those little doggie toothbrushes, but you’d think I was torturing Lance if you heard him squeal every time I use them. He wiggles and squirms so much that most of the toothpaste ends up on me or on his face instead of in his mouth. I keep trying, though, because he’s got some really ugly plaque build-up and the nastiest mouth odor you can imagine. I picked up his Science Diet today at the pet warehouse place. I cruised the dog care aisle, as usual, looking for something I haven’t tried yet that will help with his nasty breath. Those green chews that everyone loves? They’ve been known to choke dogs to death, so I threw the last batch out and won’t try those again. I did see a new brand of doggie toothpaste, but it’s $19.99 for a small tube. That seemed pretty steep, so I passed on it. When I got home I went online and started looking for something more affordable. Wouldn’t you know that I found my answer at the same place I told you about a couple of months ago when I found my own favorite dental health products at discounted prices. Yep, the very same SmileWarehouse.com that carries my Oral-B toothbrushes for half what the drug store charges also has dog plaque remover for Lance. I feel a “Duh!” moment coming on! I shopped there several times and never noticed that they carry oral care products for pets. It turns out they have a product called Triple Pet Plaque Off that will help eliminate plaque and tarter build-up when I add it to Lance’s drinking water. I’m not saying that I’m going to start letting Lance kiss me on the mouth any time soon, but I think maybe our “in your face” games are going to become a lot more pleasant in the future. Smilewarehouse.com has a whole line of pet oral care products in addition to the stuff we all use for ourselves. You should check them out before the next time you re-stock your toothpaste and tootbrushes, and check out the pet care products while you’re there. Just sayin’.

Technorati Tags: dental care products, dog dental care, doggie bad breath, oral care, pet oral care

August 20, 2008

Support the Alzheimer’s Memory Walk

On September 7, 2008 people from around the island of Oahu will gather in Honolulu for the Alzheimer’s Memory Walk. They are generating funds to support the Alzheimer’s Association’s efforts to provide Alzheimer care, support and research and to help educate people about this devastating disease. They’re walking to help provide support for their own loved ones or for strangers. They’re walking in hope of a cure. Somewhere in a town or city near you others will be doing the same. They need help and would love to have you join them.

The Memory Walk is an easy one - usually two to three miles - and will be happening in over six hundred towns and communities across the US. Is there’s not one near you, you can be the driving force to get one going. There’s probably already one planned, though, so all you have to do is sign up, show up, stimulate folks to pledge and … walk! You can help support this worthy effort by joining an existing team or forming your own team of walkers. Team captains are especially needed. It’s not a difficult task because the website provides you with all of the tools you’ll need to organize a team and generate pledges. If you can’t walk, make a pledge to support someone who can. You can also help by publicizing the Alzheimer’s Memory Walk on your blog. Help get the word out! Alzheimer’s will be conquered. Don’t you want to be a part of that?

Technorati Tags: Alzheimer’s, Alzheimer’s Association, Alzheimer’s Memory Walk, Alzheimer’s support, charities, charity walks

August 3, 2008

A pair and a spare - of eyeglasses

Mrs. Stevenson was my second grade teacher. She had the most amazing silver hair, which she tinted pink or green or blue to help us celebrate holidays throughout the school year. She was also quite perceptive and had a genuine concern for each of the students entrusted to her care. She was the first to notice that I was not seeing well. She moved me to a front-row desk and sent a note home to my folks saying that I needed a vison check. Sure enough, I was nearsighted, and I’ve never been without glasses since then. Figuring a new pair every other year, that means I’ve been though about twenty-five pair of eyeglasses in my life, give or take a spare pair or two. You see my picture every Sunday. You know I’m never without them. The only time I don’t wear them is when I’m in the shower (Trust me - you don’t want to go there with me!) or when I’m swimming (I wear corrective lenses in my dive mask.) I don’t lose glasses like some folks, because they are either on my bedside table or on my face. The only pair I ever lost are probably still endlessly circling in a permanent eddy in the Brazos River. They got ripped from my face when my tube tipped over and I had a miserable, blind ride home with friends that afternoon. That was when I learned that it’s a good idea to always have a spare pair. It’s been my habit since then to keep my last pair each time I get new ones. I didn’t get to do that when I got my current pair, though, because my old ones had a badly scratched lens (darn termites - or maybe the tools I was using to look for them - jumped out and scraped my lens during an inspection.) I find myself, for the first time in years, with a spare pair that is two corrections old instead of one. That’s kind of scary when you’re as dependent on your glasses as I am. I paid over $300 for these glasses at my favorite warehouse/big box store optical center and they didn’t offer a significant discount for a second pair, so I had to pass on that. It’s always possible I could get attacked by termites again, so I need to have a spare pair of eyeglasses with my current prescription that I can carry around with me, just in case. That’s why I was so glad to find out about Zenni Optical and their very reasonable prices. Their glasses start as low as $8.00, and the progressive lenses I need start at only $37.00. They have a huge selection of frames which they sell direct to the consumer, so there’s no middle-man markup (which was probably the biggest part of the price I paid last time.) Zenni Optical has a pair which is almost identical to the ones I’m wearing. They’re $19.00, and that includes the Polarized Magnetic Snap-on Sunlens that I paid $30.00 extra for last time. Anti-Scratch coating, UV protection and Lens edge polishing and beveling? Always free with Zenni Optical, and Shipping and Handling is always just $4.95, no matter how many pair I order. Zenni Optical was recommended by Clark Howard on his nationally syndicated consumer advocate program, The Clark Howard Show, so maybe you already knew that you could get eyeglasses at a fraction of what I’ve been paying. It’s news to me though, and news that I’m glad to have heard. I need my glasses in order to see well enough to drive. I wouldn’t even attempt it without them. It would be disasterous if I broke my glasses while I was all the way across island and couldn’t get home. I’m feeling pretty good about knowing I can get a spare pair to keep handy, just in case. You should check them out, too. You never know when termites might attack!

Technorati Tags: eyeglasses, glasses, Zenni Optical

July 22, 2008

Putting LESS money where my mouth is

If you’ve been reading my blog for very long you know that I have an obsession with dental products. I insist on just the right teeth whitening products, just the right toothbrush, just the right everything. I’m very, very particular about what I put in my mouth. I’ve spent a small fortune on products to help with my dry mouth syndrome and super-sensitive teeth. Can you imagine how I felt when I found out that there’s a place that offers all of my favorite products at warehouse prices, and that I’ve been paying way too much for my oral health care? I’m kicking myself right now because I’ve just found out that Smile Warehouse carries my favorite whitening toothpaste for almost exactly half of what I’ve been paying. My financial situation being a bit wobbly right now, I can’t believe that I never thought to shop for my dental care products online. What can I say? I’m of an earlier generation than most of you and I tend to think of going to the store instead of going to my computer when I need something. Lesson learned! I’ve been paying almost six bucks for my Oral-B Sensitive Advantage toothbrushes when I could have gotten them for $2.95 - half price! I’ve been using a dry-mouth toothpaste for months and it’s helped some, but I’ve only just found out that I can get GC Dry Mouth Gel from Smile Warehouse (for a very reasonable price) and re-moisten my mouth throughout the day. Well, duh! Your favorite dental products are probably there, too, because Smile Warehouse stocks all of the top products at discounted prices - way more than enough to offset shipping costs. On top of that, if you find your product somewhere else for a lower price, they’ll take 5% off of that price so you can still save with them. You have a mouth, right? You spend money keeping it healthy? Get on over to Smile Warehouse and do it for less!

Technorati Tags: dental care, dental products, discount dental products, discount oral health care, Smile Warehouse

June 18, 2008

Oh, the irony!

A couple of weeks ago, in one of my progress reports on de-cluttering my home, I showed you my re-organized hall closet. I included this phrase: “Next time I have a large burn or am bleeding profusely I’ll peek in there and know that I have enough wound dressings to last a week.” As it turns out, I couldn’t peek in there while I was bleeding profusely because I lacked the foresight to do it at home. I was inspecting a vacant house, with no supplies on hand at all. I keep a first aid kit in my car, but wouldn’t you know it - it was gone just when I needed it. I must have left it out of the car the last time I needed a bandaid or an antiseptic wipe, and that was so long ago that I can’t even remember where it was or what I needed the kit for. I scrounged around in the car and came up with a roll of scotch tape and some kleenex and improvised a bandage. The one you see here is the third one - the first two were soaked with blood pretty quickly. The third one stayed on long enough for me to get home, clean the wound properly and put a real bandage on it. I stopped at Walmart on the way home and they had first aid kits on sale, on a special display just inside the front door. Now I’m well equipped again for the next time I give a little too much of myself to the job.

The injury never should have happened. I was opening the hatch to go through the hall ceiling into the attic. I lifted it straight up, then got each hand cupped over an edge. As I moved it a little higher up something gouged a piece of flesh out of my hand. The guy who is selling the house had done some extensive remodeling. He needed to run some cables or wiring in the attic, right beside the entry hatch. He cut a channel for the cable in the framing around the hatch. That would have been fine, but he did a very rough job. It looks like a child hacked out the channel with a screwdriver and hammer. There are rough patches and splinters all along it. In one spot there’s a chunk of wood sticking out right against the hatch cover and that’s what got me. It took a piece of flesh out and there’s a piece that’s “hanging by a thread” and will probably not heal back in place. The guy had to know it was a hazard, but I can imagine his thoughts on that: “The wife and kids will never go up in the attic and I know it’s there and will make sure to avoid the rough spot whenever I need to go up there.” He didn’t think about repair people or termite inspectors or anyone else who might ever have reason to do something in the attic. Mahalo plenty, mister. I left a big old blood stain on your textured ceiling. Nothing I could do to get it out, so I hope it doesn’t screw up the closing for your home sale. And hey - next time? Try think!

I have a picture of my hand without the bandage. Make sure you thank me for not sharing.

Technorati Tags: accidents, bandages, on-the-job injuries, work

June 14, 2008

Eating fruit

I don’t eat fruit. I have a condition called short bowel (or short gut) syndrome. That means that I don’t have enough intestine to process food normally. My food goes through me very quickly and is not in my system long enough to break down so that I can absorb all of the nutritional goodness (or junk) that goes in my mouth. Rough textured and fibrous things are the worst. They don’t break down at all and cause me a lot of cramping and pain. I can handle vegetables that are cooked until soft (thus robbing them of nutrients,) but no raw fruit or vegetables, seeds, nuts, beans - all of those things cause me serious grief. Oh, I cheat sometimes, but only when I know I have at least a half a day I can lose to non-functionality due to pain and frequent bathroom visits. I susbsist mostly on defatted or low-fat meats, starches, soft vegetables and some dairy. I took nutritional supplements and vitamins for years, but apparently don’t absorb them, either, because they didn’t make a bit of difference. They’re expensive and their benefits were wasted on me, so I gave them up. The good news is that I seem to have lost the lactose intolerance that I had for a while after my gut surgery, so I gradually added more cheese other dairy products back into my diet. The bad news is that this has been going on for almost fourteen years and there’s no cure. I’ve lost a lot of teeth, my hair and skin are dry, my nails split and tear off easily and my bones and joints hurt - a lot. The overall state of my health is … well … crappy. Since the lactose intolerance faded, though, I’ve decided to try fruit again. Maybe I’ll be able to eat it and maybe I’ll absorb some of the good stuff. I started yesterday. I ate a half a banana on toast.

I don’t like foods that have a slimy texture. Cooked or canned fruit - bleh! The texture is so disagreeable it makes me gag. Yeah, like I’ve needed another dietary limitation all these years, hm? Seriously, I think it’s a genetic thing. My son has it worse than me - his avoidance extends to things that are creamy. He quit eating anything slimy, creamy or mushy as soon as he was off of strained baby food and rice cereal. He’s never eaten Jello or pudding. I eat those, and cooked cereals and yogurt and lots of other things that he won’t, but slime - no way! I just can’t do it. Bananas are slimy, but if you mix one with peanut butter it becomes creamy instead, with just a hint of slime. Today’s breakfast was much more agreeable than the half a banana I ate yesterday.

So okay, this wasn’t bad at all. I could see myself eating banana and peanut butter on toast every morning. I like it, but wouldn’t say it’s my favorite food. I don’t “love” the slice of dry whole wheat toast I eat right after I get out of bed every morning, but I “like” it okay and it’s part of my routine. It helps with the extreme nausea I have each day when I get up. It’s kinda like having morning sickness for fourteen years without having a baby to look forward to. Nausea is a background feature in my life all the time, but it’s really bad when I first wake up, thus the toast. (Yeah, those are my flabby thighs in the photos. I meant to edit before uploading, but I’m not gonna go back into my photo editor, crop each shot, delete the originals from Flickr and upload the cropped versions so I can switch them out on my post. I’ll live with the humiliation instead!)

Family tradition: Lance gets the last bite of pretty much everything I eat. This is the first time he’s had banana with his peanut butter. I think he likes it.

When I was in the hospital they made me eat papaya with every meal and they encouraged me to drink a lot of papaya juice. Papaya contains a digestive enzyme that is good for everyone and especially recommended for folks with screwed up guts like mine. The ancient Hawaiians knew that and the Western world discovered it with the invention of Adolph’s Meat Tenderizer. The main ingredient is papaya (or it was - Lawry’s owns it now and papaya is not listed on the label anymore.) I resisted the papaya a little at first, but by the time I’d been eating it several times a day for a week it had become a part of my routine - a part I didn’t like at all. I liked the taste okay, but had had enough to last a lifetime, or so I thought. Tomorrow, or maybe tonight with dinner, I’ll have papaya again for the first time in fourteen years. Wish me luck! I hope I love it because it needs to be a part of my life for a while, at least until I find out if I can eat it without (literal) gut-wrenching pain.

And now for a brief editorial statement: Are you opposed to stem cell research? I hope you will look at the issue from as many sources as you can, instead of just what you hear from the pulpit, which might be based on something other than scientific reality. I’m not asking you to abandon religious convictions, just to take a look and see if there is a valid conflict with your beliefs and what actually goes on in stem cell research. No one is getting pregnant just so they can abort and make some money on stem cells. It’s not happening and is not going to happen. The materials needed for stem cell research are readily available though abortions performed for all of the usual dreary reasons, so there is no market to lure anyone into planning pregnancy and abortion to satisfy supply and demand. The supply is already there, but most of it is being discarded as medical waste instead of being used to help people. Is that what you really want?

Why do I care about stem cell research and want to encourage you to take an educated look at your opposition? Because it will some day make all the difference for people like me. Notice I said will, not may. It is inevitable that scientific discovery will go forward, with or without opposition. Opposition just slows it down and makes already-expensive research cost more. Someday, probabaly not in my lifetime, but maybe while my son’s generation is still kicking, people will grow their own new guts from implanted stem cells engineered to grow guts. There will be new spleens for people like my vet, who lost his when he got kicked by a cow and who lives with his own medical nightmare. People on dialysis will get fresh-grown kidneys and no longer need to be tethered to machines and clinic schedules, greatly improving and extending their lives. Organ rejection will no longer be a problem because the new organ will be grown from the body of the person who needs it. I expect to be dead, probably as a result of something related to nutritional deprivation, long before that happens, so I have no vested interest in the state of research today. My support of stem cell research is based on a wish for future generations, that they might have healthier more funcitonal lives even after their bodies throw them a curve ball.

Technorati Tags: diet, food, food and nutrition, fruit, short bowel syndrome, short gut syndrome, stem cell research

May 18, 2008

Arrrrrrrrrrrrrgh!

Could someone please tell me what I’m allergic to this time? This started about a half an hour after I ate my dinner of pork ribs and potatoes. Both dishes were heavily seasoned with garlic, onion, paprika, red pepper and black pepper. The ribs were marinated in balsamic vinegar before seasoning. I am not aware of being allergic to anything I ate. There are three dogs in the house right now, but I treated for fleas about two weeks ago and I don’t think that’s the problem. I’ve had mal-absorption problems for over fourteen years and I’m pretty sure I’ve developed an immune deficiency (along with a whole constellation of other problems) due to nutritional deprivation. New allergies to formerly user-friendly foods and substances have sprung up in the last few years, but I can usually figure out what caused the problem. I’m clueless this time. That’s my left side - I’m holding my muumuu just under the bodice - and the welts and itch extend all the way down to my hip on that side, and all the way to the middle of my back. I tolerated the itch for half an hour or so, then went crazy scratching like a kid with chicken pox. How the heck am I supposed to figure out what did this so I can avoid it in the future? I can’t go for allergy tests: they’re incrediby expensive and I have no medical coverage. The only alternative I can see is to eliminate each of the seasonings from my diet for a while, then bring them back in one at a time to see if something happens again. I’m going to hate it if I have to give up anything on the list.

I’ve taken benadryl and smeared myself with an itch cream. It’s only slightly better about forty-five minutes later. I hope the benadryl will put me to sleep soon. The itch is much too distracting to let me write the new hidden object game review I wanted to post, so I might as well go to bed, but I won’t be able to sleep until this lets up. Arrrrrrrrrrrrrgh!

Well, screaming didn’t help!

Technorati Tags: allergic reactions, allergies, hives, insanity, itch, welts

April 24, 2008

I could really use some good stuff!

Yep, still sick. What is it now? Three weeks? Four? I can’t remember. I guess my immune system was battered and forlorn after the palgue. Now it’s allergies plus a sore throat and a really nasty cough from the vog. I’m better today than yesterday, though, so I’m seeing a little light at the end of the tunnel. I haven’t been watching the news or seeing anyone, so it’s a little difficult for me to find some good stuff to focus on. Maybe you guys could lend a hand? Tell me something good going on in your life, or something you heard on the news or found online that made you smile. You’ll be doing me a world of good, and I’ll write a post tomorrow linking you all up and telling you how much better you’ve made me feel. Just post your news below, with a link to your post if you’ve blogged it. You can do that for me, right? Yeah, I though so! I’ll try to find my own sunshine between now and then, too, because I’m sure there’s some somewhere, hiding behind a cloud just waiting for me to find it.

Technorati Tags: good news