Sunday Morning

The Moon
by Emily Dickinson
The moon was but a chin of gold
A night or two ago,
And now she turns her perfect face
Upon the world below.
Her forehead is of amplest blond;
Her cheek like beryl stone;
Her eye unto the summer dew
The likest I have known.
Her lips of amber never part;
But what must be the smile
Upon her friend she could bestow
Were such her silver will!
And what a privilege to be
But the remotest star!
For certainly her way might pass
Beside your twinkling door.
Her bonnet is the firmament,
The universe her shoe,
The stars the trinkets at her belt,
Her dimities of blue.

Shrinking Jeans - Weigh In Wednesday (x2)

Wednesday is almost over and this is the first chance that I've had to jump on and post my weigh in. I totally missed last Wednesday (hence the x2 in the title) so I really didn't want to miss today too.

Weigh in for last Wednesday: a gain of 2 pounds. Yes there was much wining and complaining and scale bashing. But I quickly pulled myself together and regrouped.

Weigh in for this Wednesday: I lost those 2 pounds plus another one. I think that 2 pound weight gain was a fluke and maybe some water weight, but I'll definitely own the the actual pound I lost this week.

I've been religious about logging in my food on fitday.com (except for today because things have been crazy busy) and I've knocked the work outs up a notch so I think that has helped.

Hopefully the jeans are on the shrinking side of things :)

Dr. Oz talked about food allergies today

Dr. Oz gave the 3 "warning signs" that you are having an allergic reaction to food. The first was hives, the second was a tingling in the mouth and the third was difficulty breathing. These are not huge revelations for anyone who suffers from food allergies, but I thought his explanations of the "tingling of the mouth" and the "difficulty breathing" were particularly helpful for people who don't suffer from food allergies. He likened the tingling of the mouth to the fizziness in soda water. The lady he pulled from the audience said "Itching in the mouth?" and he had her open a bottle of club soda and told her to look at the bubbles and that's how it feels in your mouth. He then put a nose clamp on her and had her breath through plastic tubing. Then he clamped the tubing half way shut to show what if feels like and sounds like when the breathing is affected. Then he clamped it shut even more to show her the full effect. I thought these were great tools for someone new to food allergies.
He then had her use an EPI Pen. She first literally stabbed at the practice "skin" and almost took off Dr. Oz's finger. Good thing the needle didn't eject or she just might have. He then showed her the correct way to use the EPI Pen without taking off someone's body part. Again, very helpful for someone new to using the EPI Pen.

People seem to think they literally need to "stab" the food allergic person with it. This is not so people!! Yes, you can use some force, but place the pen on the outer part of the thigh and give it a push and the needle will deploy. Trust me. I'm not a Dr. (and I don't play one on TV) but I'm a mother who has used the EPI Pen in real life.

Everyone seems to love Dr. Oz so it would be great to share the video with those who may need a little extra education.




(Sometimes the embedded video works and sometimes it doesn't. Click on the link below to go to the site and see it for sure)

You can also find it here.

Another video on how to use the EPI Pen:



My number one suggestion for training others on how to use the EPI Pen:

Save your expired EPI Pens and train others to use them on fruit (oranges, grapefruit, etc). This lets them see exactly how much force is needed and they won't "stab" you or your child like the lady on the Dr. Oz show. It also shows them how long the needle actually is so they won't be afraid of it if the time should arise when they need to use the EPI Pen for real.

Food Allergies and the NFL

My son was complaining today about his food allergies. "Why did God give me these food allergies?" he asked. I tried to explain to him that God didn't give him food allergies, that was just the way he was born. I tried to explain to him that everybody has SOMETHING that they struggle with or that they have to deal with. He's five, so he wasn't quite buying it. Then I ran across an article that talked about The Saints quarterback Drew Brees having food allergies. His allergies are similar to my sons so it made it even easier for my son to relate to it. He's already aware that one of my favorite (now ex)players has asthma. When he struggles with his asthma and starts getting frustrated he'll ask "Do you think that Jerome Bettis has to go through this too"? And it seems easier for him to know that he's not alone in his struggles. It's also nice for him to know that neither his food allergies nor his asthma need to hold him back from whatever he chooses to do in life. I'm not one for making sports stars "roll models", but in these cases, I think I'll make an exception. It gives him a sense of "belonging" and a sense that his allergies/asthma don't need to hold him back.

Other famous people with asthma

Some famous people with food allergies

How Health Activists Can Help in Haiti

Sent over from WEGO Health. Just one way you can help.

How Health Activists Can Help in Haiti

Posted using ShareThis

Weigh in Wednesday

Is it that time again already?? I guess it is. I always dread weigh in day.



And this week I didn't lose anything. Well the scale technically said -.2 but really that doesn't count. But I didn't gain anything either. So I guess that's something. Right? RIGHT? Ok, it still stinks that I didn't lose anything but looking on the bright side I'm down 6 pounds from Christmas and I'm at my "stuck" weight.

Positives:
*I'm exercising regularly (thanks to Soap Net and Dr. Oz my treadmill is actually not a torture tool anymore).
*I'm eating healthier and I've stopped snacking at night.
*I feel better.
*I'm eating breakfast, which I never do.
*I can do the 30 Day Shred without actually yelling nasty things at Jillian Michaels during the video.

Changes that still need to be done:
*More exercise.
*Better journaling to make sure that I'm not over eating the good stuff.
*Find a way to break through my "stuck" weight.

So there you have it. A not so good, yet not so bad W.I.W.

Tune in next week same time same bat channel for another thrilling addition of Weigh In Wednesday.

Saturday Hoops

How I spent my Saturday (and will be spending my Saturdays for the next few months):







Aunt Dani, any pointers you can give would be much appreciated!!! This is his first time of playing basketball on a team and he's a little unsure of himself. But he had fun and that's all that matters.

Weigh In Wednesday

No, I promise this won't turn into a weight loss blog. But like I said over at WEGO Health, this is a family blog and we are all trying to be healthy too. We've fallen into some bad habits and we are all making some healthy lifestyle changes in 2010. So I'm holding myself accountable here. No one wants to fail in front of the entire blogosphere. E.M.B.A.R.R.A.S.S.I.N.G.

So today's weigh in: -1 pound.

Not earth shattering, but I'll take it. That actually makes -5 pounds since Christmas so I'm back to where I started before the gluttony of the holiday.

If you too are making healthy changes and are interested in joining, it's not too late.

And look for healthy, allergy friendly recipes to come. And some cook book reviews.

Happy, Healthy Wednesday!!

Got Snow?

We do. Around 26 inches and still falling. The boys got an extra day of Christmas break today. They are hoping for another tomorrow, but I think the snow is slowing down and they should have school tomorrow.
I'm ready for spring...






The bushes in my front yard. They're under there somewhere.


The front walk


Sitting on the front porch looks less than inviting.

It's 2010

Resolutions? We don't need no stinking resolutions.

OK, maybe one.....




A new decade, a new me!!