Sweet Escape ....

OMG ... I leave for Florida in less than 24 hours! For 2 weeks ... and if one more person asks me why I have so much vacation time - I think I will burn them at the stake.

I have vacation time because I have worked my ass off for this company for 10 freaking years. I have not job-hopped and have been rewarded with vacation time. It is one of the only perks with this place!!! SO ...

back off people ... I am vacation!!!!

Snot ... it's time to go!

Still waiting on my nose to stop running and my head to clear up. I know take Vitamin B12, D, C and zinc supplements, as well as Omega 3 and Probiotics that would kick any bacteria's ass.

Let's see if this can all get me healthy ... I am tired of being tired. And my nose feels like someone took a nail file to it (and I use the lotion kleenex!).

On another note ... the boys are healthy. I have them both on Omega 3's and probiotics as well. So far ... so good!!!

Can I feel better, please?

So, I am sick, again. I have been sick pretty much consistently since September 1. I was in the awful office, again, yesterday (weird, maybe its a pattern with that place ... maybe I am allergic... would that be a reason to quit? Could I get worker's comp??? LOL!)

As I sat in my cubicle I felt the sniffles come on. Then, the sneezing. I thought it was last week's lingering illness, but this one started to hit me with all of its might.

By the time I got on the train, my nose was running nonstop and I couldn't stop sneezing. I was with the boys at Taco Tuesday and the body aches kicked in.

I took a nighttime cold medicine, and slept. And slept. I turned the alarm off at 5:30 ... Spin was NOT in my agenda today. Little j woke up at 6:45 and I had to get up. I felt like I was walking around in a cloud of dust. I was exhausted.

I took both boys to school at 8:00 and came back and crashed on the couch for about an hour. Luckily, I didn't have to be at work until 11:00 today. I still feel like crap.

More than likely, its the flu. But, I cannot go get any more antibiotics ... seriously, I think that is what has hurting my body more than help it. SO, I will kick this sucker naturally ... vitamins, supplements, water and sleep (when the kids let me).

I thought long and hard about this flu thing. I have never gotten a flu shot. My kids have never gotten a flu shot. I hate shots ... and I have heard of so many people getting sick right after the shot that I would rather take my chances getting sick on my own.

I also am very wishy washy on what I believe as far as modern medicine and holistic medicine. I see the good aspects of both.

We went to a chiropractor a few years back, when I was preggo with Big J. E loved him ... everything the guy said was like this brilliant hypothesis. I met him and felt like I was drinking the kool aid.

He took a history of me ... and then told me why I have issues. How dare my mother have a C-section, it lead to my weight gain. My mother didn't breast feed ... lead to my ear infections ... blah, blah, blah.

After I had Big J and came back and told him that I had an emergency C-Section, he was appalled. Then I told him that I was bottle feeding! Ha! He didn't believe in vaccines and was one of the ones that gets a waiver signed for his children to not get them. He also claimed that no one in his family gets sick, ever. I say .. hogwash.

But ... even though I found him to be a quack, there were some things that he made me think about. We put so much stuff into our bodies these days. Chemicals from food, pollution, etc ... maybe we need to start taking care of our insides a little better and then we wouldn't need so many vaccines.

Now, I am not one to go on believing that my kids will get autism from a vaccine ... I have my Mommy fears, but I just don't beleive that it is the case. Some of these vaccines are important. An outbreak of measles or mumps could be much more deadly than a flu outbreak. I just don't believe in shooting my babies up with stuff that we just don't know about, or, quite frankly, don't really need!!!!

My girlfriend sent me this letter from her pediatrician that solidified my decision:

SWINE FLU UPDATE
The news media and the Center for Disease Control (CDC) continue to whip the public into a frenzy about H1N1 influenza. Unfortunately we have precious little data available to help us make rational decisions about what we should do. Meanwhile on the news we see lines of people, blocks long, queuing up at clinics for many hours to get the H1N1 vaccine. Most of them are turned away when the supply runs out. Why don’t we just calm down and ponder some facts.

The flu season has ended in the southern hemisphere and we know that the cases of H1N1 there have been relatively mild.

Here in Lake County, only hospitalized patients are being tested for the H1N1 virus. There is no readily available test to specifically diagnose H1N1. Therefore people with influenza like symptoms are assumed to have H1N1, not confirmed by laboratory testing. We can test for influenza A and B in the office, but this test doesn’t specifically identify H1N1. Therefore we don’t really know how many cases there are. The number of cases quoted in the media is probably being greatly overestimated. Running sensational news about H1N1 generates more viewers and readers. This news also satisfies the pharmaceutical industry that is among the media’s largest advertisers. Think about all those “Ask Your Doctor About [DRUG NAME]” ads that run during the news programs.

The deaths that are being reported are mostly a result of bacterial pneumonia, not directly a result of influenza. As always, cases of bacterial pneumonia should be treated swiftly and aggressively.

We in the medical community do not have access to the medical histories of the patients who have become very ill or have died after contracting H1N1. Therefore we are currently unable to identify those individuals who are at the highest risk. We are told that pregnant women and young children are more susceptible to complications, but we know that most pregnant women and children who catch the flu recover without incident.

The H1N1 vaccine was rushed into production and released without the usual clinical testing required of most drugs. Presently the vaccine has been in use for only two weeks. Since it is being administered in schools, public health clinics, and drug stores, there is no vaccine adverse event reporting system to which doctors who administer vaccines are required to report. If adverse events occur, it will take longer for us to hear about them.

Because the government has declared a “public health emergency”, the pharmaceutical companies that manufacture the vaccines have been granted immunity from product liability lawsuits resulting from this vaccine. Then what pressure do they now face to produce a safe product? We know the sales of the H1N1 vaccine alone are expected to top $1.5 billion, in addition to the $1 billion already booked for the seasonal flu vaccine. These vaccines are part of a wider and rapidly growing $20 billion global vaccine market. When that much money is involved there can be political meddling involved in creating medical mandates for the vaccine.

There are two versions of the H1N1 vaccine. The nasal spray contains live viruses that a person will harbor in their nasal passages for weeks after inoculation. These viruses can be passed on to others they contact. The injectable form of the vaccine comes in multiple dose vials and is preserved with thimerosal, which contains mercury, a known neurotoxin.

Some doctors are recommending Tamiflu, an anti-viral drug to be given within 40 hours of the onset of influenza symptoms to lessen the severity or duration of symptoms. Since 99.9% of flu sufferers make an uneventful recovery anyway, the wisdom of using Tamiflu is questionable. A few years after its approval by the FDA, 25 people under the age of 21 were reported to have died while using Tamiflu. Around 600 reports came in about abnormal behavior, hallucinations, and convulsions in people between the ages of 10 and 19 who were taking this oral neuraminidase inhibitor. (Most of these took place in Japan, where these medicines are much more widely used.) In two separate instances, a 12-year-old and a 13-year-old jumped out of a second-floor window after taking Tamiflu; others fell from windows or balconies or ran into traffic.

I am not opposed to all vaccines. During my lifetime I have witnessed vaccines conquer deadly and debilitating diseases such as smallpox, polio, tetanus, and HIB infant meningitis. Just because some is good, doesn’t mean that a lot is better. I question whether immunizations should be promoted for all illnesses regardless of their severity. We do not have adequate information about the long-term effects of mass immunizing against the less serious diseases such as chicken pox, HPV virus, and influenza.
The natural way that healthy people achieve immunity is by being exposed to viruses or bacteria in their environment. The pathogen enters the nose or the mouth. The body then fights the infection by mounting an antibody response. The antibody response is memorized and upon future exposure to that that pathogen, the antibodies respond quickly to prevent a repeat infection. Injecting viral proteins with a needle into the body for the purpose of creating an antibody response is not nature’s original method of creating immunity. We know that vaccine induced antibodies tend to “wear off”; whereas community acquired infections can create lifelong immunity. I predict that those individuals, who get an annual flu shot, have much poorer immunity to new strains of influenza such as H1N1, than those who opt out of annual vaccination.
At the present time I am planning not to carry influenza vaccines in my office. They will be widely available in our community at local drug stores, schools, and county clinics. Those with chronic health problems or suppressed immunity are more at risk for suffering complications from influenza. For these people immunizing may offer a measure of protection. For healthy people, remember the following immunity boosting advice:

Use the neti pot with warm salt-water solution regularly after all public contacts. The neti pot irrigates the nasal passages and removes some of the bacteria and viruses breathed in during the day. This will reduce the viral load with which your immune system has to cope.

Maintain adequate vitamin D levels. Most of us are deficient in vitamin D during the winter due to the lack of sunlight exposure on our skin.

Eat a diet adequate in protein. Avoid sugar, starchy carbohydrates, and omega-6 polyunsaturated vegetable oils from soybeans, corn, and safflower. Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables.

Supplement with a high quality ultra-refined fish oil.

Get adequate sleep. We require more sleep in the winter when the nights are longer.

Get some moderate regular exercise.

Take a probiotic to help maintain a favorable internal microbial balance.

Wash your hands before eating.

What should you do if despite of your excellent health habits, you still feel yourself becoming ill? Here are some suggestions for natural remedies:

Before the discovery of antibiotics, doctors used colloidal silver extensively as an antimicrobial agent. It is still useful, and unlike antibiotics it treats viruses too, without encouraging the growth of resistant microorganisms. Try 1 teaspoon of a 10 ppm solution, three times daily at onset of symptoms.

Echinacea, an herbal remedy.

Oscillococcinum, a homeopathic remedy - take every 4 hours at onset of symptoms.

High doses of vitamin C, starting at 3 grams daily.

Suck on zinc lozenges

Go to bed earlier and get some extra sleep.

You can use your neti pot up to 4 times daily if you feel yourself becoming ill.

Oil of oregano 4 drops, held under the tongue for a few minutes, followed by a glass of water. Repeat several times throughout the day.

For further information about this subject, visit these links:
http://www.virginiahopkinstestkits.com/virusfighters.html a nice list of flu remedies from Virginia Hopkins, the assistant to the late John Lee, M.D.
http://elvovemd.com/december-2004-newsletter.htm#news2 a newsletter article I wrote about strengthening the immune system.
http://swineflu.mercola.com/sites/swineflu/home.aspx an in-depth analysis of swine flu by Dr. Joseph Mercola, a well-known local natural health physician.

I am definitely going to try some of these ideas, and, some, of have already been doing. Maybe, just maybe, I can have an illness free week someday soon!

Attention shoppers ...

To the lady that got all pissy with me the other day while in line Target:
A big EFF YOU! When I have been in line for 15 minutes behind a gazillion people and a new register opens up and they say next customer, you bet your big fat sweet butt that I am moving, since I was the next customer in line. I do not feel that I owe you any apologies for stepping in front of your over-flowing cart that just showed up and tried to butt in front of me and my 3 items. So, your nasty look and your heavy breathing did not make me feel bad. Really, it just made me a bit more thankful that I have manners and would have let you step in front of me if the roles were reversed! Get over it lady .....

To the managers at Dominicks:
I have been shopping at your store for almost ten years now. I tell people that I like your store way better than Jewel, but I do not think I can say that any longer. Is there a reason that you refuse to get your freezers replaced? For 5 weeks straight you have had at least 50% of your freezers cleaned out because they are on the fritz, causing me to have to go to Jewel to finish my shopping. Not so much fun when you have a 4 year old and toddler in tow!!! So, my dear Dominicks managers, get your store fixed before I become a Jewel girl!

To the hiring managers that really do not think:
If I offend someone, sorry (well, no, not sorry ... this is my blog and I will tell you what I think ...period) ... I do not want some gay dude helping me pick out women's underwear, women's skirts ... or anything that touches my body. Are there not enough men's stores to find jobs at? Seriously ... go away. Leave me alone. Let the nice lady help me find lady stuff ...... And, if they aren't gay, why would a dude want to work at Victoria's Secret or The Limited, anyway??

To the men who make the bras:
I know you are men, I know there is not one woman out there who designs these suckers. I went to Victoria's Secret the other day (where I encountered one of the first dudes that was working in a "lady" store) and got measured .... holy boobs batman!!!!! Yeah, VS doesn't make bras that fit my boobs. Ever try and find a freaking 34 DDD (yes, 34 DDD) in a store and not look like you put on your 95 year old grandmother's bra? Ugh. Seriously ladies ... can some creative designer please make a bra that fits and looks good? Is that really to much to ask????

To the marketing world in general:
Honestly, I know we all want to make as much money as we can, but do we really need to have Christmas decorations displayed before we even go trick or treating? I seriously start to feel completely overwhelmed in your stores when I feel like I am two months behind on everything I do. Please RISE UP and become the first store that actually keeps up with the calendar! I bet there would be a few people who would be happy about that!

Happy Halloween!

We took the little guys trick or treating on Saturday.

It is amazing to me the joy that simple acts can bring to your life. It is amazing to me how watching my two guys can bring back a flood of memories from my past.

Remembering the friends I walked with, the Dads that took us ... the weeks that it seemed went by before the last few candy bars were eaten.

Now, I watch as my kids go door to door. As their Dad holds their hands and leads them up stoops and around other kids. I watch as they eat the vegetable soup I cooked all morning, the same way my Mom wouldn't let us leave the house without eating a bowl full of her creation every year.

Little j took right to the whole thing ... walking up to the doors, carrying his own bucket and holding it out to get the goodies. Big J was the voice of the operation, loud "trick or treats" and lots of "thank yous."

We lasted for about and hour and a half before Big J's hands were freezing and little j had so much snot running into his mouth that he probably was no longer hungry for dinner!

We stopped at 2 friends' houses to say hello before heading back to our place for a family Halloween "party." Meatballs, buffalo chicken dip (OMG - my FAVORITE), hot dogs ... and huge spread to show the kids that Mommy really does love them and wants them to remember these things when they take their kids out for Halloween some day!

My little guys waiting to go check out their loot!

Big J - my Cowboy!

Our family: me- the sorority girl, E - the construction worker, Big J - the cowboy and little j - the farmer

Mommy and her Cowboy