Selflessly Sacrificing My Bejewled Blitz Time

At least I donate blood.  There are times I feel guilty when I read or hear about people who do so much: they work fulltime, raising five kids, and yet have time to keep fit as well as do volunteer work.  As they say, if you want something done, give it to a busy person.  Shame on me, I have a flexible schedule working at home and yet I don't do volunteer work and "keeping fit" means bouncing my BodyBlade six minutes a day.  I count vacuuming as part of my exercise time---ok so that adds another whole ten minutes a week, wheeee!

So to help alleviate my guilt, I donate blood a couple times a year and write this blog.  I have very small veins, so hey, it's a big deal to get gouged and bruised twice a year.  [I've learned, however, to ask for the "expert" and 99% of the time they're able to hit the mark on their first try---thank goodness.]

As for my other public service obligation, here are some of the latest tips I'd like to share:

1) If you're worried about home invasions, today I received an email that suggests using your car remote's horn button as a security device.  Leave your car keys by your bed at night and if you hear a suspicious noise outside or someone breaking into your house, hit the horn button on the remote to start your horn beeping.  Chances are the burglar won't stick around to see if anyone in the neighborhood noticed the annoying blaring in the middle of the night.  Additionally, when you're out, be sure to carry your remote car keys in your hand while walking to your parked car to use as an alarm if you're threatened.

2) The latest quick tips gleaned from Dr. Oz's shows and Dr. Mercola's site:

•  Choose salmon over tuna, and smaller/younger fish (sardines, iriko) over bigger/older fish to lessen your mercury exposure.
• Eat these foods for longevity: jicama, kale, sweet potatoes (esp. the purple ones!), teff, amaranth, millet, mangos, dates, and apples (organic if possible).
• Interesting and hopeful news: the AMA (American Medical Association) Journal will have a regular feature looking into the massive overuse of medication and treatments that patients don't need.  Hel-lo!? Is the Medical world finally acknowledging what the Naturopathic world has been saying all along?  The 2012 Paradigm Shift is going to happen, I tell you!

3) Hopefully you recycle plastics, whether or not you get paid.  Don't forget that besides the usual juice, shampoo, and vitamin bottles, you can also toss into the plastic bin any container with the #1 and #2 symbol, such as those big rectangular containers from Costco that you get vegetables or baked goods in, tofu containers, or those ridiculously hard-to-open blister packs that batteries and electronic devices are sold in.  I'm telling you this because I only recently realized these are recyclable...duh!!

4) News Flash!!  Ok, so it's old news from a few months ago, but I just heard that finally Stephanie Plum will be immortalized on film!!  Although I've been hoping for years for a Plum television series, I heard today that Janet Evanovich's beloved Jersey Girl, Stephanie the Bounty Hunter, will be played by Katherine Heigl in "One For the Money," based on the first Stephanie Plum book (there are now sixteen plus a few "in betweens").  I'm not so thrilled with Katherine Heigl getting the part, but will reserve judgment until after the movie comes out.  Stephanie's fans, from what I see on various message boards, are not happy with her casting either.  We'll soon find out if Heigl can act or not.  Meanwhile, the casting of Ranger is oh-so-perfect in Daniel Sunjata (on the left) who appeared in a Sex and the City episode as a sailor.  Wow, I was hoping I'd see him again!  Morelli will be played by Jason O'Mara.  The big question now is who will play Grandma Mazur and Lula?  Showing my age, I always picture Estelle Getty "Golden Girls" and Jackee Harry (see photo below) "227"--I swear she IS Lula--when I read the books.  I also imagined Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as Ranger and Chris Noth as Morelli.  Oddly, I could never picture Stephanie, but someone mentioned Debra Messing and yeh, she plays "bungling" well.  Unfortunately these actors are all too old--or in Ms. Getty's case, gone--for the parts.

Ok, I've done my good deed so now I can go back to Bejeweled Blitz.  Oh shoots I just remembered I have a report due...oh yeh, Monday....hmmmm....lots of time.   Hey, at least I give blood!

Things That Make You Go "What?!"

First of all, I've gotta tell someone about the great deal I found on eBay and hopefully one of you can benefit.  I'm sure thousands of people have purchased the iPod Nano 5th generation because Costco's got it featured right at their entrance for months.  We bought one for Jordan for her birthday.  The deal I found is an accessory pack from RDStore on eBay.  OMG!!!  For $9.99 plus $3 shipping, we got a ridiculous 22-piece set of iPod covers (leather, silicone skins, hard clear plastic--about 10 in all?), USB cord with nifty retractable device, car charger, AC charger, 2 screen protectors, earphones, earphone SPLITTER (so two people can listen at once!), armband that fits some of the covers, and wriststrap.  Seriously, now Leonard wants an iPod and is using this set as his excuse, "Hey, why waste all those covers?!"  The quality is good, by the way.  Ordinarily you'd pay about $15 for a leather case alone at a retail store, or the same for a charger.  Even if you don't have a Nano 5th generation, check out the RDStore for other values.  Nope, I don't get commission.

Next I want to give you some good news from Dr. Mercola (usually the bearer of bad health news).  According to this article, pharmaceutical drug trials are inadvertently revealing a phenomenon: We may not need pharmaceutical drugs!  They've been finding the placebos becoming more and more effective.  In other words, more and more patients than ever are healing themselves taking a sugar pill, thinking they're taking the real thing. This made me laugh---score one for natural healing! 

Speaking of things unexplained, Jordan has been to Vegas just twice and twice she spun the $1000 on the Wheel of Fortune (both times on the first night!).  Meanwhile I've been playing slot machines for over 30 years and the most I've won at one pull was $750.  I wonder if slot machines are like our bodies?  Probably Jordan believes she can win so she does and I subconsciously don't believe I can win so I don't?  I guess my placebo frogs and clover keyring aren't working?!  *LOL*

By the way, check out the Society of Seven and Jasmine Trias at the Gold Coast.  We enjoyed their show.  It was reasonably priced plus we got "upgraded" to a better table just minutes before the show.  This was about the fifth time I've been to see SOS and they're always entertaining.  Seeing Jasmine perform was a bonus.  She's really grown as a performer since her AI days!

Lastly, I would like to give this public service suggestion: Snopes.com.   I get forwarded emails every day and have learned to check Snopes.com to confirm even those emails which state "confirmed by Snopes".   Or if you don't believe Snopes, there are other sites which investigate the astounding "facts" we learn every day online.  The reason I'm telling you this is because not only are we doing a disservice to others by perpetuating false info, but I find myself wanting to tell the sender that the info is false.  I often do tell them, but in some cases I hesitate because I hate to burst their bubble.  Take for instance the email about treating heart attacks by coughing.  I was happy that the sender cared enough to send me that information, but when I checked Snopes and another source, found that the info was wrong and may harm instead of help.  I debated whether or not to inform the sender, because maybe next time he won't send me helpful information.  Of course I had to let him know since I didn't want him to use false information. 

So please check everything you find online that seems too wonderful to be true.  Sometimes it IS true, sometimes it's partly true, and sometimes just plain old wrong.  By the way, the bar of soap in your sheets does work to prevent leg cramps! 

Lucky We Live Kauai!

My cousin Al read my "Soap on the Ground" post and commented that apparently nothing much is happening on Kauai.  He added that possibly the homeless soap bandit, after using our hose to shower, stole our newspaper and made a clean getaway.  [Well if so, the guy hopefully read the newspaper want ads and found a job and a place to live, far far away from us.] 

Getting back to "not much happening on Kauai":  Funny enough, I opened today's Garden Island newspaper and on the front page there were five stories.  Out of the five, one was about McGruff the Crime Dog---tracking down soap thieves, no doubt---and another was about a chicken roosting in some band's tip bowl at the beach. 

Now you non-Kauaians may be snickering out there, but I say "Wow!  Lucky we live Kauai!"  As they say, "No news is good news!"  

Because of my very mellow life here, I'm able to bring to my three readers bits of info you may have missed as you live your fast-paced lives.

Check out these 3D photos taken in the early 1900's in Japan. To see more of them in 3D, click here.  Pretty darn cool!  Remember the Viewmasters we used to look at as kids?  Well these photos were done with the same "stereoview" method.

Next, FYI, KITV news is having a segment tonight on Facebook Games.  I'm mentioning this because possibly you haven't seen the promo since you've been busy playing Facebook Games instead of doing the more important thing: watching TV.   I have a Facebook account, but I mostly just use it to tell my friends that I've posted to my blog.  My farm has gone to weeds, sadly. 

And now, potatoes!  Check out this video about an easier way to peel potatoes.  Try it!  It seems to work, but I had a few duds for some reason.  This should help when you try the potato salad recipe I posted earlier. 

Lastly, some health alerts from Dr. Oz, Dr. Mercola, et al (not my cousin):

1)  It's a myth that you can catch up on sleep.  Sleep lost during the week is just that, lost and gone forever, and it's not good for your health.  Dr. Oz recommends 7 1/2 hours a night.  Our ayurvedic doctor was more specific:  Be sure you're asleep during the hours from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. because this is when your body is best able to heal itself.  Also, from Dr. Mercola:  Make sure the room is DARK.

2)  A study has linked drinking 2 or more soft drinks a week to pancreatic cancer.  Uh oh!!!  Looks like we have to go back to hard drinks then!

Remember, everyone, if you have a health issue that you're struggling with, try consulting a naturopathic doctor.  In my experience, although naturopathic services aren't covered by our insurance, it usually just takes one visit.  [We still see our medical docs, too.]  I think if more of us went this route we wouldn't be having the healthcare crisis we're experiencing now. 

Movies, Books, and Food and Food

This will be the first time since I moved to Kauai in 1978 that we haven't gone to Honolulu for either Christmas or New Year's. Blame the economy which caused the car rental companies to reduce their fleet of cars and my refusal to pay $100/day for a car. We did manage to go for Thanksgiving, though, so as not to totally neglect our families. Ok truthfully we also didn't want to neglect our need for the amenities of Honolulu (restaurants, stadium-seating movie theaters, Krazy Karaoke, Ross, Rumors, etc.).

Thanks to Wes and Trinette Kaui again for their fabulous annual Christmas Eve party! Unfortunately it rained this year, but that did not prevent everyone from having a good time and it certainly did not detract from the huge ono buffet or fun entertainment.

Then on Christmas morning Cousin Rose called to ask us to an early dinner. Rose is incredible at preparing a fabulous and healthy spread in record time. She can prepare 4-5 dishes to my 2 in less time. Imagine we decided at 9 a.m. to have this get together at 4 p.m. and we managed to prepare: grilled pork with tomatoes and onions (ok we have to credit Errol for that!), prime rib roast, baked potato seafood salad, black cod with cabbage, mussels fettucine, Kauai greens salad (There were probably 10 fresh ingredients in it, from spinach to avocado to fennel!) and lau lau. Everything was made fresh except for the lau lau.

We had been planning on going to a hotel buffet, but no problem, we had a dessert buffet that was just as delicious. Just nine of us and yet with Aunties Helen and Lucy contributing, we prepared six different desserts: Apple Crisp, Lemon Pound Cake, Cancanin (I see it spelled "kakanin" online) coconut mochi rice, Haupia Cake (ok, this was from Safeway), Double Chocolate Cookies, and Peach Pie. I still feel guilty 3 days later...not to mention I'm still eating the leftovers we brought home.

To make things worse, a kind soul gave Leonard a whole box of Omaha Steak's Apple Tartlettes. We haven't tried them yet, but they look irresistible! The Breyer's Vanilla Ice Cream is waiting patiently to accompany them. And then that darned Costco just had to put Haagen Daz vanilla/almond bars on sale. I mean come on, you can't pass up a sale like that. (I just had this vision of Richard Simmons looking into our freezer--yikes!)

Omigod, I've been eating too much these past few weeks and put back the few pounds I lost since October. Ugh! I have something interesting to share that I read: When you don't get enough sleep, you feel hungrier and eat more.

I seem to be proving this true because I've been getting less sleep the past few weeks and do notice that I'm constantly hungry. For instance, last night we went to see "Sherlock Holmes" and got home late. I got to bed at 12:30 a.m. and for some reason (the Pepsi I drank?) I took a long time to fall asleep and woke up groggy at 6 a.m. I was hungry all day today and I'm still hungry now at 10:30 p.m. so I'm eating Doritos. This isn't something I normally do.

By the way, "Sherlock Holmes" was great except I had a hard time understanding what they were saying at times for the first half of the movie. Either it was the English accents or my hearing is bad, or both. By the second half, however, I didn't have as much of a problem.

One reason I'm getting less sleep these days is I'm reading more books. My current read is "Harvest" by Tess Gerritsen. I love medical thrillers and I'm loving this one! I'm thrilled to have "found" Dr. Gerritsen because I ran out of Robin Cook and Michael Palmer books.

And lastly, another "health alert"--the first being get enough sleep to decrease food cravings--comes from the latest Dr. Mercola newsletter. To read the details, click here. This is a summary of "Avoid These 7 Foods and You're Off to a Healthier New Year":

1) Canned tomatoes--the acidity of the tomatoes causes the BPA's in the can's lining to leach into the tomatoes. Canned foods as a whole should be avoided when possible for this reason. I'm bummed because we like to make our own salsa with canned diced tomatoes.

2) Corn-fed beef--Grass-fed beef is much healthier.

3) Microwave Popcorn--again, you're ingesting the toxic BPA's from the plastic-lined bags. An Air Popper is very inexpensive, by the way!

4) Non-organic Potatoes--oh my goodness, not only do potatoes absorb all the toxins from pesticides already in the soil, but the vines are sprayed again before harvest and the potatoes are sprayed AGAIN to prevent sprouting. Chew on THAT when you're eating your McFries (my favorite...Leonard prefers BK's fries).

5) Farm-raised salmon--I did NOT want to know that farmed salmon are fed soy, poultry litter and CHICKEN FEATHERS. Whaaat?!!? Consequently they're full of contaminants and carcinogens. Dr. Mercola adds that most fish, even "wild" are full of mercury or contaminants, so he doesn't recommend a fish-heavy diet.

6) Milk produced with artificial hormones--which can cause breast, prostate, and colon cancer.

7) Non-organic apples---apples win the "most-doused with pesticides" award and are linked to Parkinson's Disease.

This list was prepared by various food experts and appeared in the "mass media" and Dr. Mercola agrees with it. He does recommend adding the following:

8) Unfermented soy--Americans are under the impression that soy is good, but on the contrary, it's considered an "anti-nutrient"!

If like me you're unable or unwilling to buy everything organic, Dr. Mercola prioritizes them for us. He recommends "...looking for organic meats, eggs and dairy products before anything else."

Ok, I've done my good deed for the day...except that I apologize for listing the desserts, that can't be helpful!! *LOL*

Things That Make You Go Whoa!

I got nothing...

but I feel an obligation to write SOMETHING because this week I had a record number of readers (meaning double digits instead of just my usual three readers). It could be those robot things looking for a place to drop their links, but I think not because I invited a lot of people to read about my mom's antibiotic "attack."

Come to think of it, that's exactly what it was. The antibiotic thought she was a huge bacteria and tried to disable her. It really makes me wonder what would've happened if she continued the whole course. Scary.

I'm just happy that I was able to warn a lot of people of the possibility of antibiotics (or other prescribed meds) turning on you because most people don't know this can happen. Obviously it never occurred to my mom since she kept taking them for a couple of days after becoming so sick she could barely rise out of bed.

I'm going to take a sharp turn here and stop the health chat. Even Dr. Mercola knows to "lighten up" occasionally because he posted the video below in his recent newsletter. Perhaps you've already seen it because it's an old video, but I've been on the internet almost every day since August 1996 and this is the first time I've seen it!

Jordan said, "It's computerized!" and that was my first thought too, the first time I saw it. But nope, this commercial was made in 1985 and it is totally the result of human talent and probably 100 badly damaged cars *LOL* Watching this I couldn't help but wonder if a lot of stunt drivers are now out of work because of computer animation...what a pity!

Digging For Gold

I hesitate to mention this, but what the heck, we deserve every bit of enjoyment we can find. I'm talking about a game I found called Gold Rush Treasure Hunt. I had a trial version on my HP laptop and if you like "click click" games, it's a winner!! It's similar to Bejeweled, but a thousand times better because there's much more to it...not to mention I'm a GOLD lover. It's an easy and fun game. It's good to exercise our brains by learning and playing new games. That's my reasoning and I'm sticking to it!

So I played the Gold Rush as long as I was allowed to for free and then it asked me to buy "coins" to play longer or to pay $19.95 to own the game. Hmmmm, did I want to spend $20 on something that would ultimately cost me a lot more in lost time when I should be either sewing or working on my online projects? Hmmmmm....so instead I googled "Gold Rush Treasure Hunt" and found another trial version... which I downloaded... and got an additional hour's play... hmmmm....I was really beginning to love this game. I googled again and found yet another trial.. and on this site, I noticed that instead of $19.95, they were only asking for $9.95!! Whaaaat?!

Gee, now you know how I love a bargain and $10 for a fun albeit addictive game is totally worth it! So I paid the $9.95 and have been playing this darned thing every day. I know eventually my addiction will level off like it did for Luxor, but until then I'm a happy camper camping in front of the computer.

Jordan noticed me playing and started hanging around so I stood up and let her play a few rounds. After a while I had to chase her back to the other computer. "Go back to your YouTubes, Jordan." "Okay Mom." About 15 minutes later she was hanging by me again. I said, "Uh oh, you like this game huh?" I couldn't believe my ears when she said, "I'm jealous of you Mom!" This was the first time she ever expressed "jealousy" and I was actually proud of her. We had a good laugh and I went over to the Dell desktop to download the game for her. I had my doubts as to whether it'd perform ok on the "old lady" computer. It's seven years old, and in Computer Years that's like 70 years old! Happily, it works fine and I was able to use the same registration key.

Jordan's still occasionally coming to watch me, but this time she says, "I'm beating you Mom."

Speaking of Moms, my Mom is doing better, but still feeling very weak. It's scary that this was caused by something that was supposed to heal her (read blog entry below). I received an email from a woman who took this antibiotic THREE MONTHS AGO and is still unable to go to work due to the effects of Bactrim. My mom, meanwhile, told her doctor to "put it on my charts" that she does not want any more antibiotics! He told her, "but what if you're dying!?" She replied, "Well I felt like I was dying after taking that antibiotic!" [Note, if this happens to you or anyone you know, I strongly advise you to seek naturopathic assistance to recover.]

Next, I know it's a real downer to hear this stuff--it's like "Oh no NOW what?!"--, but if you want to have a healthy thyroid gland, read the latest warning from Dr. Mercola. He's warning us to avoid bromides and to make sure you get some iodide in your diet. Bromides are found in a wide variety of sources from bread (dough softeners) to new car interiors. Yikes!! What next!?

Just remember, I feel compelled to pass on these warnings in case you care! My intention is to take good care of my three readers! *group hug*

Lastly, I want to mention that a neighbor of my mom's, Mrs. Flora Paik, passed away in August. Although I unfortunately never had the opportunity to express my fondness for her, she played a big part in my life because she babysat me as a baby and toddler. I have nothing but good memories of those ancient times and the Paiks are a family that I have always admired. Mrs. Paik was a cheerful and friendly soul, a good mother, hard worker and good cook. Although I never got to eat any since my childhood, I fondly remember her Seaweed Soup. How unusual for a little girl to fondly remember seaweed soup, huh, so it must've been wonderful! I also remember eating "ice cake" wrapped in waxed paper sitting in her yard. It's weird but when I eat anything from waxed paper (not often, obviously), I get a flashback of eating strawberry ice cake in the Paiks' yard.

I received a very touching thank you card from the Paik family the other day and it really made me wish I had taken the time to say more than "hi" the times I had seen Mrs. Paik across the street when I visited Honolulu these past few years. So if there's anyone in your life that you want to thank, do it now!

It's Bad For Ya!

Reading Dr. Mercola's newsletter is something I enjoy yet hate. It makes me hope the 2012 theory is true. Imagine if the world really is going to end in 2012, we wouldn't have to worry about our health today! We could eat all the Krispy Kremes, Angus Burgers, and cheesecake we want! We could go to Vegas every month, grocery shop at regular price, or heck, eat out every night!

Ok well, as much as I not discount those 2012 theories, I don't think we should spend all of our money in the next couple of years juuuuust in case, nor should we abandon our healthful ways (whatever few we may have). Let me therefore pass along Dr. Mercola's latest downers and directives. Remember, I'm just passing this info on as I understand it and you really really should subscribe to his newsletter to read the real deal just in case I misunderstand, misquote, or misinform. Click this to subscribe to my favorite newsletter.

1) According to Dr. Mercola, the vast majority of patients on statin drugs are doing themselves more harm than good. Statins are prescribed mainly for cholesterol reduction, but can cause muscle deterioration, polyneuropathy, and heart failure. You really should be lowering your cholesterol naturally by changing your diet or taking healthy supplements. (See blog below on how to take pills.)

2) Vitamin D, Vitamin D, Vitamin D!!! Vitamin D seems to be the key to good health and beneficial for so many ailments, from many different cancers to multiple sclerosis to osteoporosis. What's wonderful is simple sun exposure (not overexposure) produces Vitamin D in your body for free! For hermits like me who rarely leave the cave, Vitamin D is a relatively inexpensive supplement.

3) We are being bombarded by EMF's even while we sleep and this is very unhealthy. Think of it: not only do we get it from the electrical wires in our homes, but now with wireless internet, cellphones, and cordless phones, there is more "stuff" in the air than ever. Just because you can't see it doesn't mean it's not affecting our health. Although much of it is unavoidable, you can reduce your exposure by moving cordless phones farther away from your bed, turning off wireless routers when not in use, and using a battery or old-fashioned wind-up (do they still make these!?) alarm clock.

Click on the links to read the actual articles. What's great about Dr. Mercola's articles is that many of them are accompanied by a video of him delivering the same information, so you can be doing something else while listening. Like playing Tetris and eating Crunch 'n Munch.

And for those of you who don't like hearing all of this "it's bad for ya" news, you may disregard this post and perhaps hope to get the last laugh in 2012. I sometimes think that's the best solution!

Divas and Kidney Stones

As I got some positive feedback regarding my blog about health tips, I thought I'd pass on more interesting and EASY tips. Consider yourself fortunate if you don't like to wade through a lot of health articles that will make you feel doomed and raise your blood pressure. You can read my blog and at least get some info. Better than sitting there playing Tetris eating Krispy Kremes. Hmm...or is it?

Today I read Dr. Mercola's article on the dreaded Kidney Stone. Click that link to read the article or if you prefer, you can go the page and see/hear him talk about it. Although you really should read it yourself for details, for the lazy readers, here's the short story: drink more water, less soda/beer, more exercise, less soy/oxalate foods (sorry, you'll have to look those up). Following the article, readers have submitted some helpful suggestions. Believe me, if you ever get a kidney stone, you'll be scouring the earth and internet for helpful suggestions. Click the link or someday you may be screaming in pain "Why oh why didn't I click the liiiiinnnnk?!"

I would also like to recommend a few invaluable supplements: tumeric + green tea (take them together); resveratrol; ubiquinol. There are a lot of other supplements that most of us should take, but I think those are the "must takes", especially the latter two for us midlifers. I recommend ordering online from Swanson Health.

Enough about health, I want to discuss divas. I've been reading Madonna's biography for lack of a better read. It's strange, I recently borrowed books by two of my favorite authors: Dean Koontz and Dick Francis, both of whom I've been reading for years. Why is it I couldn't get past two chapters of either books??? Is it my imagination or has their writing morphed into prose so overly descriptive that my reading time doubled? Dick Francis' sentences seem to be anti-sentences, as if he were writing backwards. Meanwhile, Dean Koontz feels he has to over-describe every single scene, every single character, every single step each character takes. Please, I haven't got all day!

Again, TGFI (Thank Gore For Internet)! I just now opened Amazon.com in another window and looked up Dick Francis' "Second Wind" and I quote the consensus of 81 "reviewers":

"I am a die hard Dick Francis fan - I have reread most of his books several times. This one I won't. It's disjointed and extremely slow to get to the plot ( which is so convoluted that even at the end it didn't make sense). I had to force myself to finish it in the hopes that it would get better, it didn't. There was very little character development, far too many of the pages were taken up by descriptions ..."

Hallelujah! I wasn't imagining things! And so what about the Dean Koontz "One Door Away From Heaven:??? Just 3 1/2 stars, which is low compared to his other books! And here's the favored critique:

"The plot of "One Door" is so bloated and rambling that at times I found myself skipping ahead in frustration. A good editor would have ripped away entire chapters of meandering description..."

YES!! I feel totally vindicated now. I have to admit I felt puzzled and guilty for giving up on these two favorites after two chapters. I've never done that and was worried that in my older age I was losing my reading skills. It also occurred to me that I was becoming overly critical and wanting fast-moving reads because let's face it, time goes faster as we get older (I explained this phenomena in an earlier blog).

So back to Divas! Jordan had picked out the Madonna biography at the library, but she doesn't read books. I've always had a love-hate thing for Madonna so did not care to read about her. But for lack of anything better, I flipped through the book and ended up reading it. Unlike Celine Dion, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, or Barbra Streisand, Madonna has no easily identifiable talent, so I'm sure many people like myself are attracted to her yet dislike her for seeming to be undeserving of her success. Reading this biography validated my ambivalence: while I'm now able to understand she is deserving of her success, I'm still not a fan. Nothing's changed since the time I watched her for the first time in the 80's in her "Burning Up" video. I recognized that she was going to be "big", but at the same time didn't like her.

Meanwhile, this morning I have an important mission: securing two seats to a rare Mariah Carey "intimate" performance in Las Vegas. Yes, intimate...meaning "only" 2500 seats in the theater. I tried to tell Jordan that we could buy 30 CD's instead of 2 tickets, but nope, no deal. I remember also my first sight of Mariah Carey in her "Vision of Love" video. Another easy call that this singer was special. I worry somewhat about Mariah, though. She seems to be struggling with the fact that she's getting older, but it just goes to show that even the most successful have their insecurities.

How on earth we "middling" folk make it through each day is truly a miracle! Could it have something to do with tumeric, resveratrol, and ubiquinol?

Dedicated to Keeping My Three Readers Healthy!

Usually this blog may appear to be merely self-indulgent yattering, but today it will be clearly contributing to the common good of my three (or so) readers. Not that my posts have been totally self-serving, nooooo. For those who have not realized my purpose, besides enjoying writing about the mundane and occasionally not-so-mundane aspects of my life, I sincerely want to convey and share my perspective in hopes that it helps others in one way or another, whether it's helping to choose a movie, or sparking interest in music, or relieving their stress by reading middle school level writing.

Today, however, you need not read between the lines. I'm writing to extoll the virtues of naturopathy and pass on a couple of suggestions that are relatively easy to get/do. I myself love EASY, so I'm not about to ask anyone to convert to veganism or take up Qi Gong, etc. (I'd do these myself if someone cooked for me, or if I lived in Lihue, respectively, by the way).

Today's advice is to look for GFSE--Grapefruit Seed Extract (not to be confused with Grape Seed Extract). You can find it online, or at the health food stores. It's a powerful anti-microbial that comes in tablet form (great for food poisoning, killing yeast in your stomach, etc.), and liquid drops. The drops are especially versatile and I have it diluted with water in spray bottles in the kitchen and bathrooms. We use it to disinfect counters, for washing produce, as a mouth/throat rinse, etc. I recommend googling it for more information. It's a "wonder drug" IMHO. In light of the worsening Swine Flu epidemic, I think it won't hurt to have this handy germ killer as part of your arsenal.

I'm also attaching Dr. Mercola's video on a simple breathing exercise that I'm trying. He sends out a great newsletter that I enjoy and dread reading at the same time. In fact, his is the only email newsletter that I bother reading. I don't always follow his advice, but it doesn't mean it's not valuable advice. It's just good to be AWARE, even though there are some things I'm not willing to give up...like eating fast food or staying up late at night.

If you have serious health problems, I highly recommend seeing a naturopathic doctor as a supplement to your medical doctor. Following the advice of our ND, Dr. Leia Melead (Kapaa, Kauai), has helped us tremendously and over the past years my confidence in naturopathic methods has grown. For example, when I was diagnosed with osteoporosis, my medical doctor prescribed Fosamax, but Dr. Melead advised against taking the drug, and recommended MCH calcium/magnesium and Vitamin D3. I agreed and did not get the Fosamax. Well, less than a year later, Fosamax was in the news, reportedly causing jaw bone decay. Eek! When I had my second bone scan two years later, my medical doctor told me, "Looks good, just keep doing what you've been doing!" I refrained from saying, "Meaning follow the naturopathic advice as opposed to the medical one, huh!" *wink*

I will occasionally pass on more EASY health tips in future blog posts. After all, if you're reading my blog, I want to keep you healthy because I need every one of you!