January 2011 – Page 3 – Write From Karen

Ah, young love.

Which is really slang for "impulsive, stupid and possessing the ability to obsess over another human being to the point that one becomes irrational and borderline unstable."

Not that I'm speaking from experience, mind you. *ahem*

I've been in love twice, er, three times … no wait, one time wasn't love, it was lust, so I guess only twice.

I think.

That answers the question, right?

Okay fine, twist my arm. Here's the story …

The first time I was a senior in high school. I fell hard for this skinny dude who worked as a manager at the local hot spot – the skating rink. (Not that I really skated, mind you. I put on skates and then just embraced the wall because I couldn't skate to save my life. Not to mention, falling and cracking one's skull is not exactly sexy, though definitely a way to get noticed, I guess). He had a truck and a cherry red Camaro and was a wee bit shorter than I was, even when he wore his cowboy boots.

He was a regular cruiser (that's what we did for entertainment back in the '80's, which dates me but whatever) and was considered hot property.

Which of course only made him challenging because if I could date him? Then I was the IT girl, you know?

I nabbed him and we dated. I was QUEEN of the drag strip. And I honestly thought I loved him even though he treated me like crap, and I knew it, but I was willing to put up with his attitude because DUDE, all of the other girls envied me. ME!

I remember acting really pathetic in that "relationship." I followed him around, in fact, some might say I stalked him. (Though that could never be proven). And it was during one of those, erhm, "just happened to be in the same part of town as him" episodes that I discovered, I wasn't his only girlfriend. He was hanging out with some other chick, from a different school and you would have had to torture me at the time to admit it at the time but that I can freely admit now, was much prettier than me.

Side note: Me and this girl ended up working at the same bank years later (small world) and I was quite surprised to learn, she was actually nice and I actually liked her. Which was shocking considering I hated her for YEARS.

I was heartbroken. I mean, CRUSHED. I had put my heart on display and not only had this boy smashed it into a million little pieces, he put an ad in the paper and invited everyone who was anyone (in my small, self-imposed world) to come by and ridicule my vulnerability.

I went into self-preservation mode. I built a wall and I never again allowed a boy/man anywhere close to that wall. I had relationships, but I was the one in control. I was the one who did the dumping. And I didn't get hurt.

And then years later I met my husband. I started my career at the bank as a lobby teller, he was a drive-thru teller and we immediately hit it off. I knew, at once, that he was different. I knew, at once, that he was someone I could fall in love with.

Lucky for me, he felt the same way about me.

I've been married to this man for over 20 years now. And looking back on that first "love" I can see now that I didn't really love that skinny skating rink manager but rather I loved his popularity and did I mention he had a hot cherry red Camaro?

This post was in answer to a Plinky prompt.

VideoPlay

Update on Life – Vlog Style

January 20, 2011 Karen

How is technology changing the way families interact?

January 20, 2011January 20, 2011 Karen

No Technology in Brighton

I know that a lot of "experts" say that technology is actually ripping families apart, and though that may be true on some level (more distractions means less face-to-face time), in some ways, I think it's brought our family closer.

I have two teenage boys (for those that don't know) and I'm lucky if I get grunts, let alone actual words. And trying to get them to talk about their days? Is nearly impossible. And I try, believe me. In fact, I do some of the silliest things in an effort to make them laugh and open up. Once in a while, I'm successful, but most times, they just roll their eyes at me. I'm afraid I only reinforce their opinion of me – lame-ass mom.

But the boys got new phones for Christmas. These phones have pop-out keyboards which make texting easier. And we text back and forth. Not a lot, they are teenage boys after all (which basically means teenage boys aren't typically chatty to begin with), but I feel like I talk to them more now because of the texting feature.

We also watch YouTube videos together. ("Hey mom! You have to watch this funny video!") And of course, there's Facebook (sometimes reading their statuses is the only way I know what is going on in their lives).

I honestly think I would know a lot less about my boys without today's technology to fall back on.

It's certainly easy to get distracted by technology. When I think about making the boys give up their technology in favor of real life I have to think, "how would I feel if someone asked me to give up my favorite gadgets?" I'd resent it.

We have come to accept that that is what our boys like. They enjoy their computers, they love playing their games with their buddies online. Texting is crack to teenagers – our children have grown up with technology, it's what they know, it's what they enjoy. Sure, we teach our boys to take breaks, to come back to "reality," but as with anything, using technology comes with responsibilities and too much of anything is never a good idea.

Do I wish our boys had more one-on-one social skills? Yes. And I daresay they're going to learn those skills pretty fast when they get jobs and/or go to college, but they're also learning skills with technology, too; skills that I daresay will come in handy in our technology-saturated world.

I mean come on, can you imagine your world without your cell phone and your computer?

Okay fine, I can imagine it too, but the REAL question is, do we WANT to?

This post was in answer to a Plinky prompt.

Food

Fasting Facts

January 20, 2011January 20, 2011 Karen

Fasting is a natural practice done to promote healing. Taking a break from food allows for a re-balancing within the body.

So I read more about fasting …

I’ll admit, some of it sounds a little hocus-pocus to me, but I think there are definite benefits from fasting. Here is a bit of the information that I found (you can find a lot more information at allaboutfasting.com).

What are the benefits of fasting:

When we cease the over-indulgence that has become so common in our modern world, even for a short while, our lives and our priorities become clearer.

Fasting will:

1. rest the digestive system (BINGO! And the biggest reason I would even consider fasting).
2. allow for cleansing and detoxification of the body (!!)
3. create a break in eating patterns, while shining a spotlight on them
4. promote greater mental clarity (I have my doubts about this)
5. cleanse and heal “stuck” emotional patterns (sounds a little new age to me – however, if you feel better physically, I’m sure the emotional is not far behind)
6. lead to a feeling of physical lightness, increasing energy level (I could definitely use more energy)
7. promote an inner stillness, enhancing spiritual connection

Apparently, fasting initiates the body’s own healing mechanisms. In fact, this site claims that when someone fasts, they can often times experience flu-like symptoms because the body works overtime to rid itself of toxins. I can buy this because your body goes through something similar when you start an exercise program. Have you ever exercised after a long period of being lazy and felt more sick than good? It’s because your body is burning fat, which traps viruses and when it burns, the toxins release thereby causing your body to go into protective mode, fighting off the released viruses. I’m sure fasting does something similar, at least, that makes sense to me.

When we overindulge, our bodies are overwhelmed and it creates a burden on the body. When this happens, the body goes into survival mode and concentrates on the areas of the body that need attention first, shoving less important issues to the side. When you fast, the body can concentrate on those less important issues and work on healing/fixing them.

Interesting.

During fasting, we rest our system from the constant onslaught of food stuffs. We usually think of food as giving us energy, so it can be a new way of thinking to understand how the food we eat actually requires energy. Digesting, assimilating and metabolizing–these activities require a great deal of energy. It is estimated that 65% of the body’s energy must be directed to the digestive organs after a heavy meal.

Free up this energy and it can be diverted to healing and recuperation. It can detox and repair cells, tissues and organs, eliminating foreign toxins as well as the natural metabolic wastes (which are also toxins) produced even by our healthy cells.

And this is what the body will do during a fast. It will take advantage of that time and energy to do some housecleaning. The overloaded, overworked system, unable to properly handle all the toxins, has been storing any excesses in the tissues where they can be dealt with later. This is one of the great health benefits of fasting in that it offers this opportunity to play “catch up”.

Fasting itself isn’t necessarily a “cure” for anything. What it does is “set the stage” or create the environment in which healing can occur. Our bodies know how to heal themselves. We just have to “get out of the way”, and this means on all levels of our being. Fasting has a way of rebalancing us on all those levels.

Interesting. Oh wait, I already said that.

It warns that people who are anemic should not fast. Hmm … I am anemic, but not severely. I think if I build up my iron reserves before starting the fast I should be okay. I will also have to wean myself off caffeine before starting as well to save myself from the killer caffeine-withdrawal headache. (Which are pretty killer for me).

Oops. Just read that people recovering from surgeries should not fast. Rats. That would be me. I’ll have to wait a few more weeks at least before I attempt this. But that’s okay, that will give me more time to properly prepare myself. Because a person who is prepared to fast will often suffer less than a person who hasn’t prepared.

There are different types of fasting:

Fruit Fasting – A popular form of fasting is fruit fasting, ingesting only fresh, raw fruits. This is a good fast for beginners, especially the one-day fruit fast. It offers some choices as to the fruit to use, and like all fasts, you can create your own specific routine.

A fruit fast, like any of the fasting methods, will create an environment for your body to heal. You will experience an internal cleansing as the body’s systems begin the housekeeping they’ve been unable to do before. Toxins stored in the tissues will have an opportunity to be flushed out.

This detox will come with symptoms resembling the flu. Headaches, nausea, diarrhea, sore throat, coughing, fatigue, body odor, body aches, and sinus discharge are all considered normal reactions during a fast. If you find yourself with any of these side effects, take heart! and know they are a sign that your body is healing.

Does the sugar content of fruit concern you? Don’t let it. Fructose, the sugar in fruit, is slowly broken down and converted by the body through several complex processes, into sucrose and glycogen, supplying energy over a long period of time. Fruit is actually recommended for many with sugar-metabolizing disorders, such as hypoglycemia.

A fruit fast is actually what they recommend for one-day fasters and/or beginners. I’d probably stick with apples, though there are many more fruits you could choose from. They recommend four apples for the day – one for each meal and one for a snack. I could easily do this for one day and this is probably the one I’ll start first. I’d then like to go on and try the juice fast. You can read more about the healing effects of a juice fast here. (This will also give me some time to shop deals on juicers).

There’s a rice fast, I’ve never heard of this one. (Who am I kidding, I’ve never heard of 95% of this stuff) and “a brown rice fast can alleviate many digestive troubles.” Hmmm, I may have to try this one, too.

There is also a water fast and a master cleanse fast, but I’m not really that interested in those.

I think I’m going to have to try this over the weekend as I will have the time to simply rest, which is what is recommended. (They actually recommend taking naps – I can do that!) I’ll try a one-day fast to begin with and possibly work my way up to a two, or even a three day fast, but we’ll see how it goes. I’m really curious to find out how my body reacts to eating nothing but apples and drinking two quarts of lemon-flavored water.

Be careful not to fast too frequently; allow your body sufficient time to rebuild nutritional reserves. Two days per week is too frequent, as is one week every month. Recommended fasting times for regular, occasional “maintenance” and rebalancing are one day per week and/or 3 days per month and/or 10 days yearly.

I’m thinking two days per month might be better for me, but again, we’ll just have to see how my body reacts.

I’m excited to try this. I’m not looking forward to the detox symptoms, but I’ll prepare and hopefully it won’t be that bad. I’m most excited to see how this affects my digestive tract. If I can keep it cleaned out, then I shouldn’t have any problems. Right? At least, in theory. We’ll see how it works out when I actually start one.

In the meantime, hide your candy. 😉

P.S. By the way, things are quietening down again. I think it was just gas yesterday. I just picked at my food all day so my intestines wouldn’t have to work as hard. There is definitely a learning curve to this experience.

Politics

Greatest Moments of Liberal History

January 19, 2011 Karen

Oh come on, it’s funny.

To a Conservative. *wink*

Life

Preparing to Fast

January 19, 2011January 19, 2011 Karen

I’ve been reading about fasting.

Don’t worry, I’m not developing an eating disorder and though I’d like to lose about thirty more pounds, I’m not leaning toward fasting to obtain that goal, either.

No, I think fasting would be a good thing for me to do, once in a while, to give my intestines a rest.

Before we go any further, I’m fine. In fact, I’m more than fine, I’m feeling pretty great, quite honestly. I’m so excited to have regular BM’s again that I proudly tell my family whenever it happens because I’m so overjoyed with getting back to normal. (Though funny at first, my family is getting quite sick of my little “announcements”. I’ll have to celebrate on my own in the future, I think).

I even lost weight from this whole ordeal, which is a nice little side perk from having my guts surgically removed from my bloated body. A few days before I finally threw in the white towel and went to the emergency room, I weighed myself.

I never weigh myself. One, it’s useless. I’m a big woman and I have some poundage under the best circumstances and two, I keep track of my body mass by how tight my clothes are fitting. But something felt off … I was bloated, my fingers were sausages, my face looked like someone stuffed walnuts into my cheeks. The thing was, I wasn’t eating. I felt too full/bloated/uncomfortable to eat anything and yet, my body kept expanding.

Out of curiosity, I weighed myself. And nearly had a heart attack. The number was NOT flattering. In fact, it was quite shocking.

Of course NOW I know that that was largely due to the fact that I was carrying an extra three feet of intestine inside my body and had weeks worth of fecal matter impacted in my intestinal walls.

A few weeks after my surgery (can you believe it’ll be a MONTH since my surgery on Thursday??), after the swelling had gone down and my poochy belly wasn’t so poochy, I weighed myself again.

I had to get my glasses because I was convinced I wasn’t reading it correctly.

I had lost FIFTEEN POUNDS!!

Wow. (By the way, I would NOT recommend having your guts removed as a weight loss option. Just saying).

So … NICE. Fifteen pounds lighter. I’ll take it. In fact, I was able to finally fit into a pair of jeans that I couldn’t even button shortly after my surgery. They’re still tight, but not to the point where I can’t breathe.

I wore them the past few days and I felt GOOD about myself. I plan on keeping that poundage off so I can continue to wear them. (Remember? Don’t buy bigger clothes – that just gets you into trouble).

However, last night, I started feeling … weird. My insides were sore and tender. They’re still a bit on the tender side today, but not as bad. And I think that’s because I wore my tight jeans the past few days and the pressure just squeezed them too much. I’m giving them a little more breathing room today.

Also, my insides have started grumbling again. Not like they were before my surgery, but like they were waaay back before any of this became an issue (about five years ago).

So I’m wondering, is this normal? I’m guessing it’s trapped gas – I’m passing gas, so I’m not worried about that, but the rumbling is happening in different areas, deeper areas.

Some of that grumbling could be because I”m hungry. I’ve been trying not to eat as much as I have been, mainly because I figured it’s easier for my body to process and then dump, but it’s got me thinking …

What if my problem comes back? I mean, don’t laugh, but what if I start growing extra intestine again? Which begs the question, how the heck did that extra intestine even get there to begin with? (A question I plan on asking my doctor when I go back and see him in a couple of weeks). I mean, I was born with it, so my doctor says. Did it grow with me? I mean, if I’ve had it my entire life, why hasn’t it given me problems before now? Or, did my body just produce extra intestine over time and … is it possible for that to happen again??

I know it sounds bizarre, but the fact is, I had three feet of extra intestine … this is not usual. I even tried Googling it and came up empty. Now, if the Internet doesn’t even acknowledge a person having extra intestine then you KNOW it must be something weird and out of the ordinary.

I guess I’m wondering … is the grumbling I’m having causing my intestine to stretch and grow? I know this sounds a bit alien-ish, but honestly, we’re in science fiction territory here: I don’t have an alien in my body, but I DO have extra organs.

Tell me that’s not weird.

At any rate, I’m relearning my body once again. I’ve been paying close attention to how it’s working and I’ve been eating all of the foods that I avoided before all of this craziness even began. I’ve been eating fruits, peanuts, ice cream, brans, oats and so far … everything seems to be working just fine, though I do wonder if some of these foods are causing me excess gas, which would explain the grumbling.

I’m also thinking about scar tissue … a lot.

I was reading a blog the other day, and the gal had had to go to the hospital because her small intestine stopped working. They suggested she not eat anything for a few days and walk. (Walking encourages your bowels to move) and to my knowledge, that did the trick.

The doctors suggested she fast because doing so gives your intestines a break. Things quieten down in there and they have a chance to naturally discharge anything that’s built up – they have a chance to “catch up”, if you will.

When you’re in the hospital, they will often put patients on NPO (nothing by mouth) to give your body a rest and make sure your stomach is empty before surgery, etc.

So I’m wondering, should I be fasting once in a while to help heal my intestines? Will that help prevent build-ups around my incision and will that prevent future problems? I’m thinking, what can it hurt?

I mentioned that I’ve been reading about fasting and wow. There are of course, all sorts of fads and weird rituals you can supposedly do to cleanse your colon, but I don’t want to jump on any fad wagon, I just want to cleanse my body as naturally as possible.

The question is, how? And for how long? I’m still doing some research, I’ll let you know what I end up doing and how it goes. But I feel like I should try this if for no other reason than to give my body a rest and hopefully prevent any future complications from developing from scar tissue.

My steri-strips have nearly all fallen off. My scar has been itching like crazy, which is a good sign, I guess, it’s healing. I’m still not supposed to do any sort of exercising for another two weeks (save for walking), but other than that, I seem to be getting back to normal. I wasn’t able to walk very fast for a few weeks (whenever Kevin and I went shopping, he would have to slow down to wait for me to catch up. It’s funny, our situations are completely reversed than what they were when he was recovering from his motorcycle accident), and coughing and sneezing nearly killed me. But now, none of that stuff bothers me anymore and I’m back to waiting for Kevin to catch up with me. I still have some pretty significant pressure and pain if I push too much, so I’m taking it easy in that regard, but otherwise, things are getting back to normal.

I FEEL normal again. Now I’m on a mission to keep it that way. I don’t want to obsess about having scar tissue complications down the road, but it’s hard not to think about it when it’s a very real concern.

Updated: So, I spoke too soon, apparently. I’m feeling uncomfortable today, but I don’t know if it’s gas, tenderness or what. I also have what looks like a blister around my incision. Of course I Googled it and incisional hernia came up. I don’t think that’s what this is, I think it’s a blister as the area is precisely under where the zipper of my jeans would rub. I’ve put some gauze on it to protect it and I will definitely keep an eye on it, but I don’t think there is anything to worry about at this point. It’s so weird, I felt fine until today. But like I said, I’ve been eating foods I’ve been avoiding up to this point so it might be a gassy reaction from something I ate. But again, I’ll pay close attention and bring it to my doctor’s attention when I see him in a few weeks. Don’t worry (mom). 🙂

Abundant Life

Audio Teaching: Financial Stewardship – God’s Heart Concerning Money And Possessions

January 19, 2011January 1, 2011 Karen

by Dan Gallagher
What is God’s heart concerning man’s relationship to money and material possessions? If you’ve ever desired freedom in the area of finances and material possessions, this teaching is for you. Dan Gallagher develops the concept of Stewardship as the biblical balance between the Poverty and Prosperity extremes taught by some Christians. He also looks at the biblical concept of ownership and property rights. This most practical teaching sets forth nine principles of godly financial stewardship by which you can really get a handle on this critical area of life.

Click the arrow to listen.