Breast Cancer Awareness 2017

"You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face."

~Eleanor Roosevelt

It's almost the middle of October, and I should have done this post on the first of the month, because it so important to do all you can to remind all my friends that it's Breast Cancer Awareness Month! 

I am one of the lucky ones. I have not contracted this vicious disease, despite having a few of the risk factors. For one, I am over 55 and never had children. Also I am Caucasian and studies show that slightly more white women get this type of cancer, and also I was exposed to DES as a child born in 1962, right at the end of the Baby Boomer years. DES exposure, however, took place between 1940 and 1972.

But, while I am relieved that my mammograms continue to come back negative, I think about getting older, and how I have an increased chance of contracting different types of cancers. Life sometimes throws you curve balls you never see coming, I kinda like to fight against that by being diligent about getting that simple test on time, and checking my breasts myself, several times a month! I'm trying to eat better, but find myself slipping into bad habits, since Donald Trump took office!

Shame on me! I should be trying my best, now more than ever to keep my health strong. You never know what's going to happen next, and while I love to put my head in a bag of potato chips, or do what I did  earlier this year, eat four Strawberry Boston cakes in less than a month, I am trying really hard to remember that one day his term in office will end, and a lovely impeachment will begin, and all will be right with the world! Hopefully!

But to my credit... after eating those 4 cakes, somehow I managed to lose 10 pounds! How does that even happen? I don't know but I thank God for it every day!

Now, here is one look at how Stockton

 observes this very important cause!

Lincoln Center is the shopping center closest to where I live, and it did my heart good to see this gentle reminder!

If you haven't had your mammogram yet... GO GET IT NOW!

#10 Leaf Of The Day

October 10th 2017

Stockton, California

 

Mood: Happy/Encouraged

Me :)

 

Happy Valentine's Day

"You have to walk carefully in the beginning of love; the running across fields into your lover's arms can only come later when you are sure they won't laugh if you trip."

-Jonathan Carroll, "Outside The Dog Museum."

I am making a very special dinner tonight, well actually, Alan and I are going to make the dinner together. He enjoys cooking as much as I do, and we have a ton of fun trying new recipes. He is much better in math then I am, and often times I rely on him to help me with cutting down measurements and the preparation, especially if my hands have been giving me difficulties. Today, however, it will just be about the fun! Here is what we are making for dinner...

Appetizer: Chilled Pear Soup

Dinner: Chicken Cordon Bleu / Green Salad w/ Raspberry Vinegrette/ Baked Sweet Potatoes w/ Cinnamon Pecan sauce

Dessert: Chocolate/Strawberry Cupcakes :) Pillsbury Reduced Sugar Cake Mix

And it's all guilt free! :)

Note: Busy, Busy, Busy... I am taking a few days off, see ya one week from today! Thursday, February 21st. :)

-OndineMonet
"Happy Valentine's Day"
Thursday, February 13, 2008
Morning

1 Of 10,000

"Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity."

-Seneca

I Won! Won! I Won! Yes, I did! Are you anxious to know what I won? Are you on the edge of your seat? Are you biting your nails in anticipation? Are you thinking it might be the California Lottery? Maybe Powerball? Or it could be Carly has won the Democratic Nomination in blogging! ROFLMAO! Nah... it's nothing that amazing, really, but it was kind of fun, and it proves something, people have a certain kind of luck in their lives, good, bad, it's all in how you view things.

A few days ago, Alan came in from the mailbox, with a small square brown box, addressed to me. I hadn't ordered anything, so it was a bit of a mystery. What could possibly be in the little box? I looked it over for a return address, and there was one, but it was completely smudged, so I grabbed the scissors and cut the sides away, to find a nifty new OneTouch Ultra Mini glucose meter... in my favorite color... Pink Glow! Just like the one I got a couple week's ago as a free upgrade to my current OneTouch Ultra2 meter! LOL. It seems I had won the OneTouch Ultra 2 Colors contest, back in November, and I had NO idea. I never recieved a letter or email telling me I had won, but sometime around November I was 1 of 10,000 who did. Now I have two mini meters in Pink Glow, and one Ultra2 in the standard Navy Blue and Silver. :)

Alan and I laughed and laughed. It was only a couple week's earlier that I checked for the free upgrade, because I thought I hadn't won. It was still a fun little moment to realize I won, and it brought with it the distinct feeling of Deja vu. See, a similar thing happened back in the 90's. I was in great need of a bedside clock. I didn't want anything too fussy, but I also didn't want one that just BEEEEEEEPED either. I finally settled on a smart little woodgrain clock radio. It was small and sleek and worked really well. It was nice waking up to Sheryl Crow and Sarah McLachlan. :) Music makes me smile.

I was happy with that little clock. About a week after I purchased it, I got a call from my bank, it seems I had won a little contest I had entered to "Choose The Bank's Team Softball Colors." I picked Dark Green/Light Green... you know... like money. :) Well, other's chose that combination also, so there were multiple winners. The grand prize winner was chosen by the time of day the entry was made. But anyway, can you guess what I won? Yep, that's right, I won a nifty new clock radio, the very same clock radio I had purchased just a week earlier! LOL. I loved that clock. Actually, I loved both those clocks. Both were stolen from me, when we stored our belongings temporarily. It made me a little sad, I know it was just a clock, but it was my clock, and it helped me be on time for some important things in my life. Silly, I know, but I come by my sentimentality honestly... I am a Cancer after all.

If you look in the above photo, you will see that I once got a fortune that said, "You will be lucky in autumn." LOL. I got that fortune in the spring of 2006, and I kind of assumed it meant the Autumn of that year, but hey, that was me making an assumption. LOL. It said, "the autumn," it didn't say which autumn. LOL. So now I have a glucose meter that I can carry in both of my purses, and one that will always sit on my desk. The OneTouch company is coming out with even more colors for the OneTouch Ultra Mini, and one of them is a gorgeous purple. I might just pick that one up, when it is made available. I am such a fashion puss, and besides, purple is the hot color for spring this year! :)

-OndineMonet
"You Will Have Luck In Autumn"
Berkeley, California
Spring, 2006
Afternoon

The Politics Of Sustenance

"To say that obesity is caused by merely consuming too many calories is like saying that the only cause of the American Revolution was the Boston Tea Party."

-Adelle Davis

Watch out... another stupid republican is afoot... and he is trying to help us! I can't even believe it's true, but if Mississippi Rep. W.T. Mayhall, Jr. gets his way, a bill will be enacted in his state that will require restaurant patrons to be weighed before being allowed to order food at restaurants. According to Junkfood Science, "Mayhill authored the bill in all seriousness" but even he believes it won't pass. If it is passed, "the bill would require that people who are obese, as defined by the state, be banned from being served in restaurants." You can read the full text of the bill here.

I cannot understand why republican politicians continue to take the, most impractical, and irresponsible approaches to nearly every problem facing America today. There is an obesity epidemic in America, we have all known that for a long time, but real change comes when we raise awareness to such devastating afflictions, potentially caused by obesity, such as heart disease, hypertension and diabetes. Real change comes from practical, proactive approaches like working with a physician and a nutritionist, to find out what each individual's physical and nutritional needs are. Diets don't work, because they try to tell everyone the same information, the truth is, each individual has individual needs according to their blood chemistry and hereditary makeup.Diets don't work, but eating healthy does.

Diets don't work, because more often then not, they are the short cut to a better physical appearance, rather then a healthy lifestyle that will last forever. I have learned so much about nutrition since I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes, and I haven't learned nearly enough, but what I do know is, in the case of Type 2 Diabetes, it doesn't just sit around waiting for an obese person to come along, it is a non-discriminate intruder. It's true, you are at a higher risk for diabetes is you are obese, but that isn't the only risk, there are other factors as well. That's why it's so important to try to lead a healthy lifestyle as early in life as possible.

I have been so impressed with my HMO and it's approach to wellness. I have Kaiser Permanente, and they have some very good resources available for not just taking care of the body but the mind as well. Natural approaches to pain management and real, easy to follow nutrition guides for healthy eating. They offer classes in nutrition, which are well run and sound in their advice. Coming up this spring, are a number of classes available in meditation and YOGA, because leading a healthy life isn't just about the outside, it's about being healthy on the inside too. I know of what I speak. I have completely changed my ideas about health and nutrition since I was diagnosed, and at my last visit, my doctor smiled, shook her head, and said, "Carly, your test results are terrific." And all it took was some dedication and effort on my part.

When Hillary Clinton tried to present a viable health plan to congress, back in the 1990's, Kaiser was one of the HMO's that she used, as an example of a well run system. It is my understanding that a lot of the principles in her health care initiative was based on Kaiser's system. Too bad it was shot down in the senate. Hopefully, if she is given the democratic nomination, we can finally see some real, practical changes in America. Healthy changes. I believe in her approach to bringing health care to all Americans. I believe she will encourage, not discourage. But even her help won't be enough, because the really hard work has to come from each of us, from within. Like with all other challenges, America's problem with obesity must be faced with truth, education, patience, and with a solid approach to a healthy lifestyle. Period. Humiliation simply doesn't have a place.

Read the entire Junkfood Science article here...

No Fat People Allowed: Only The Slim Will Be Allowed To Dine In Public!


NOTE: Earlier "Anonymous" left me the comment that Bill 282 was actually a bi-partisan bill, which is 100 percent correct. The three names on the bill include 2 republicans, W. T Mayhill, John Read, and democrat, Bobby Shows. So I suppose it is more accurate for me to say that "2 stupid republicans and one stupid democrat is afoot and they are trying to help us." Thank you Anonymous!

-OndineMonet
"Bread and Butter"
Santa Cruz, California
October 14th, 2005
Late Afternoon