 For the past two days, I have been posting about my experiences with the medical community and autoimmune diseases. I am hoping that it reaches one person who can use it in their search for answers. Today is the last post on this subject and I will get back to normal stuff!! If you will remember, I ended the last post on a good note, thinking that all was cured and life was going to go back to normal. One might think that would have been the end of it. But no – there was much more to come. Within three months, my heart was racing, I was nervous, I chattered like a Magpie (I only chatter like a Mockingbird, normally) and I could leap tall buildings in a single bound, without the cape! I was hyperthyroid and getting more and more hyper by the day. A second endocrinologist took one look and said, “I’ve never seen anything like this. I don’t know that much about Hashimoto’s, but I’ve never seen anything like this!” That gave me great confidence in how my dollars were being spent and I opted for a third opinion. Endo number three determined that Endo number one had misdiagnosed me and that I actually had Graves Disease and not Hashimoto’s. I asked if one could have both. I have to admit here that I had done enough internet research to know that in rare cases, it is possible. This doctor declared, “Impossible!! They are mutually exclusive!!” He never called me to set up tests and never returned my calls to attempt to set up tests and so I figured that was another copay down the drain and that I didn’t want him either! It was at this point that I suppose I needed abuse to go on top of everything because I made an appointment with my cardiologist, in hopes that he would refer me to a young woman at OU Medical Center whose research on hyperthyroidism had intrigued me. I found her on the internet. Yes I did. In big, blue letters next to her name, the website indicated that she had only been in practice for 8 YEARS, like a warning to run from this sweet, young doctor wannabe. I was not deterred. My visit with the cardiologist began with the normal salutations and he asked me to give a synopsis of my concerns. I synopted and then made the mistake of saying, “I have been doing some of my own research on the internet and have read the book, “Hope For Hashimoto’s” when he looked at the ceiling and said – I kid you not – “Oh God help us!!” He lit into me like the Tasmanian Devil on Bugs Bunny only with gray hair and a stethoscope. Evidently, according to him, I am the kind of patient who wants to treat myself and looks things up on the internet to tell doctors what they need to be doing instead of just trusting them to take care of everything. According to him, I am a doctor hopper who doesn’t get the diagnosis I want and just goes to the next one because I have already determined my treatment. So what if the doctor is inappropriate, or admits ignorance or doesn’t even bother to set up tests? I should have just been satisfied to accept things as they are. He ended his tirade with, “STAY OFF THE INTERNET!!!” I reacted in the way that most women react. I’d like to tell you that I stood up, put my hands on my hips and told him that he was a jerk. I’d like to say that I grabbed my belongings and told him to take a flying leap. But I didn’t. I did what so many women do when they are mad – I cried. And I didn’t just cry. I hiccup cried. I sobbed. I told him that he didn’t know what he was talking about and that sometimes patients have really good reasons for seeking multiple opinions. He blew me off. He told me my heart would be fine, in spite of the high thyroid numbers, that I have Hashimoto’s Disease and that it is not possible to have both Hashi’s and Graves. He assumed that I was wanting a new endocrinologist and hinted that his desire was for me to see his friend of 30 years. I requested the sweet, young thing at OU and he balked. He explained that she had not been a doctor very long. I said that was fine. He said that his friend had been a doctor for very long. I said I didn’t care. He sighed and made the appointment. Then he walked out the door with a last, “Stay off the internet” admonition. I might add here that a few days later I wound up at the ER with Afib and a heart rate of 165 beats per minute, requiring Cardioversion which is basically shocking your heart back into reality. So he was wrong on that count too. I was sorely tempted for the ER doctor to add a note at the bottom of the charts to my cardiologist that said, “She checked on the internet and determined that her heart rate was too fast!!” But that would have been disrespectful….. I have now seen the young doctorette. She is awesome. She is kind, soft-spoken, well-educated and decisive in her observations. She explains in detail and lays out a plan. And she follows through! She even called me at home one morning to give me an update. Her diagnosis? That I have the autoimmune disease that presents itself as BOTH Hashimoto’s and Graves Diseases with both types of antibodies. I’m not nuts after all!!! So, bam, bam, bam, she has set up a million tests that have been taken, meds have been prescribed and I will also be doing a 10 day radiation treatment on my eyes for Thyroid Eye Disease in hopes of nipping that in the bud. It has been a long, long trip, but I feel like I’ve reached a destination point. This will be a life-long battle with my body, but I feel like I now have an advocate who will join with me in the fight. So don’t be afraid to take responsibility for your own health. Nobody cares about you as much as you do – except for God and He has given you the tools to make good decisions that lead you to better care. A great doctor is amazing, but, as in every profession, there are some not so great ones and you don’t have to be satisfied with not so great. I hope that you can gain something from my experiences. It will have been well worth it, then!! And I promise to do a demonstration post next!!  |
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Archive for the ‘Encouraging Words’ Category
The Final Episode
Thursday, June 21st, 2012
And The Beat Goes On
Wednesday, June 20th, 2012
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Yesterday, I started you onto a short version of my seven year journey into weird diseases. Today is a continuation of that explanation in hopes that someone out there has a lightbulb go off with their own symptoms and is able to get help. I’ll just give you a glimpse of some of the hurdles that have had to be overcome, especially in the medical community, and what led me to write this post. In 2005, my hair began falling out. Shockingly, prior to that, in one year my hair had gone from reddish brown to silvery platinum. (notice I do not say, “gray”!!) My hairdresser was astounded. My doctor was resolute – “Hormones,” he said. But despite replacement therapy and lots of money, my hair kept falling out in handfuls and the next year a dermatologist rendered the verdict that I had male pattern baldness. Rogain was in my forever future, according to this man. As you will see, he was wrong. In the meantime, I had a lump in my throat. Swallowing was difficult and annoying. Our family doctor did blood tests, but I was told that I was fine. No worries. All in my head. This continued for years with my occasional plea for more tests and normal results that indicated I was a hypochondriatic fruitcake. And then…in 2010 the weight gain began. I have always been pretty mindful of my diet and exercise and I have never really had much of a weight problem, but all of a sudden, on minimal calories, I started packing on the pounds. Now, we women have been accused of being overly conscious of our appearance, but the fact is, the men who make that accusation are pretty durned picky about how they want us to look!! And so, it is a natural dismay that surrounds a woman who watches the needle on the scales start ticking more and more to the right for no reason at all!! Mr. Fix-It has been the unusual man who has wisely kept his mouth shut about such things and I appreciate it. It was in May of 2011 that I gave up on our family physician and went to a Naturopath/Nurse Practitioner who actually felt my throat when I complained of pills getting stuck. Lo and behold, there were nodules on my thyroid and I had confirmation that I am only partially off my rocker!! Many tests, including a biopsy on the nodules, later confirmed that my thyroid was a wasteland of holes and lumps, with autoimmune disease-style antibodies present and the diagnosis (by an extremely inappropriate if not downright vulgar endocrinologist) of Hashimoto’s disease. I made the decision not to go back to this doctor because the red flags were waving all over the place. I found out later that I wasn’t the only one with that complaint. But I was put on desicated thyroid and felt good for the first time in a long time. I thought we had conquered the beast. Little did I know…. And stay tuned tomorrow for the rest of the story. |
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In Hopes This Helps Someone!!
Tuesday, June 19th, 2012
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I’ve been debating how to approach occurrences of the last few weeks for you all. Life has been a bit strange in that time frame and I feel like I should explain in the hopes of possibly helping someone else who might be in the same boat as I. That boat seems to be a bit rickety and is letting in water, but it is the boat in which I find myself, none-the-less. I have been diagnosed with an unusual form of autoimmune disease that exhibits itself as both Graves and Hashimoto’s diseases. In other words, my white cells really hate the rest of me! Most people have one or the other of these diseases, but I am one of those people who is termed, “unlucky,” as I have both. You might surmise that there is more than one reason why I don’t play poker or go to the casinos!! Over the past couple of years, I have done a LOT of internet searching for information on my various symptoms, as doctors seemed to want to diagnose me as “a little crazy.” It has been a long journey from 2005 to the present accurate diagnosis and I have a few things to say to anyone out there who is having a health struggle of their own. (1) Trust your instincts: If you think something is wrong, then act on it. Seek help and don’t stop until you have a doctor who takes you seriously, who acts responsibly and who treats you with respect. (2) Do not be satisfied with anything less than the best in care, follow-up and scheduling. You are paying for services. Therefore, YOU are the customer and the doctor and his cohorts are serving YOU. Don’t be intimidated and don’t accept abusive behavior from anyone! (3) Be willing to change doctors and hospitals until you have accurate answers and top-notch care. (4) Educate yourself. The National Library of Medicine is an excellent source for research, etc. as is The Mayo Clinic site. For my particular issues, I was delighted to get information at the University of Michigan’s site. Many of the university medical schools have sites where one may research any disease. Read books. And don’t let ANYONE discourage you from educating yourself. (5) Be willing to look at alternative forms of treatment. There are natural approaches that far outweigh traditional medicine in many cases. For example: A year ago, I was told that I would have to have regular epidurals in my back for pain and eventually a rod placed in my spine for curvature of the spine. THAT sounded fun. (sarcasm there, folks) I am now under the care of a chiropractor who has succeeded in ridding me of any back pain and who has actually been able to straighten my spine significantly, without medication or surgery. (6) Pray for discernment and direction: My son made a comment to me one day when I was very discouraged with the progression of my disease. He reminded me, “Mom. There is a healer so much greater than any of these doctors!” He is so right. Healing can come in spite of doctors. Healing can come as God uses doctors. And healing may never come. But one thing is certain, healing of the spirit is more important than anything else. With that peace is acceptance and an ability to overcome in the midst of disease. I am going to make this a three day soap opera for you! Tomorrow, I’ll add the next installment. Will Dr. Moan find spots? Will Nurse Jane be able to draw blood on the first attempt? Stay tuned, as the world turns!! |
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When People Care
Monday, March 26th, 2012
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I realize that I am supposed to be continuing my series on cooking from the 1930’s, but one of our readers, Lacey, pointed something out to me that I just couldn’t pass up sharing with you. Lacey is from a little town in Texas which all of a sudden got thrust into the national spotlight and, for once, for a good story of hope and love. I am just going to post here the story as posted by BeliefNet.com It is an amazing story and a lesson to all of us about loving our enemies. And by the way, everything started because of Lacey’s friend’s giving heart and wonderful idea. Posted by Rob Kerby, Senior Editor Turning the other cheek seems to be working in little Athens, Texas. It seems a big-city atheist heard that they had a nativity scene on the courthouse lawn last winter, according to MSNBC News. So, he called Athens officials five hours away to threaten that if they did it again, he would sue. The result was outrage. Nationwide, America has gotten used to such outsiders forcing anything Christian out of public view – so much that it is almost assumed by some that it’s just a matter of time until every symbol of faith is obliterated from the American landscape. Nevertheless, when such an intruder shows up and proclaims the star has to come down off of the water tower or that the crosses in the cemetery offend him or that your children have to quit reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, the sense of helplessness is overpowering. In the courts, the demand of one seems to supersede the wishes of the vast majority – never mind that there is nothing in the U.S. Constitution guaranteeing a right not to be offended by somebody else’s faith. So, it was that taxi driver Patrick Greene alerted the Athens officials 297 miles from his San Antonio, Texas, home that he was offended by the town’s nativity scene – and would launch a costly lawsuit if they ever put it on display again. The locals were livid that he would stick his nose into their town’s traditions and faith.  Then, the story takes an ironic turn. He called a news conference and told reporters he had learned he is going blind. He was going to have quit his job — and he did not have health insurance. The 63-year-old learned he had a detached retina, writes reporter Rich Flowers of the Athens Daily Review newspaper. “Greene was forced to give up driving his Yellow Cab. Eye surgery would cost $20,000 he said, and he didn’t even have the money to pay bills or buy groceries.” Enter Jessica Crye, a member of Sand Springs Baptist Church in Athens. She “ felt compelled to help. Why not turn this into something else?” she told the Tyler Morning Telegraph newspaper. “This is a great opportunity to turn the other cheek and show God’s love.” Erick Graham, her pastor, said they didn’t have time to think or pray about the decision. “We don’t discriminate on who we help, whether they are Christians or non-Christians, church members or not,” Graham told the Morning Telegraph. “We just help those with a need.” Graham contacted Greene to find out more.  “I said first of all, I don’t want $20,000,” recalls Greene. “That would be ridiculous, because there’s a chance the surgery would fail. On top of that, there’s a chance it could become detached again.” Instead, Greene told Graham he had a more immediate need. “I said, if you really want to contribute something to help, we need groceries” – at least until he is able to start collecting Social Security. Greene hung up and told his wife about the phone call. “They’re going to help us?” Karen asked. Greene scoffed aloud. He’d heard empty promises before from Christians. But then he got a check for $400 in the mail. “I said I can’t believe it,” Greene said. “I thought I was in the Twilight Zone.” The money went to help pay the rent, and provide necessities from the grocery store. The contributions didn’t stop at $400 either, Cry said. More money is coming in. Greene says he was “flabbergasted.” His past experience with Christians was of narrow-minded individuals who had treated him unkindly throughout his life. “My wife and I had never had a Christian do anything nice for us,” Greene said. “Just the opposite.” Since then, he has learned that he also has glaucoma. Blindness seems a certainty. But, he is grateful. His cat, Big Boy,“ now has enough food until our social security checks arrive,” Greene recently wrote by e-mail. “We also have enough food until then. We did not spend any of it on beer or liquor. We did not spend any of it on sports, because all three of us hate sports. Me, my wife and our cat. Our cat is very much into bird watching.” A rental property manager has suggested he move to Henderson County, where rates are cheaper and Greene and his wife could live within walking distance of the grocery store, a good thing because now they don’t have a car. Greene is so amazed by the generosity of the believers in Athens that rather than suing to remove their manger scene, he says he’d like to add his contribution. “I have decided to show my appreciation to the Christian community for all their help, and I am going to buy a star for the top of the Nativity scene. You people can figure out how to plug it in.” And he’s thinking about writing a book. “I’m going to call it the real ‘Christians of Henderson County, Texas,’” Greene said. “These people are acting like what the Bible says a Christian does.” And now I’ll get back to some of my grandmother’s recipes next post! |
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A Tasty Bisque
Thursday, February 9th, 2012
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Remember!! Comment at the end (below the blog box where it says in little blue letters, “comments” click on that and it takes you to comments and a comment box) in order to enter our giveaway. Drawing is Feb 13th. This time TWO people win one of the two identical packages – Pie tin set and First Out Pie Spatula. So comment early and comment often because every single time you comment, your name goes into the pot!!  In my last post, I was waxing a bit philosophical and I discussed my understanding about finding joy in the mundane stuff even when things don’t seem all that great. I told you that I had discovered that joy is an attitude of choice. And as I have been contemplating that state of being for the past few months, I have also discovered another attitude of choice: Contentment. Now, I looked up that word and there are a number of definitions with lots of educated descriptions, but as I have been thinking about it, I’ve come up with my own explanation of the state of “contentment”. As I see it, a life of contentment is a life without resentment. Heh..that kinda rhymes, doesn’t it?! It means gracefully allowing the stupid driver who cuts in front of you to be wrong or the store manager trying to stiff you out of a return to be dumb or a lady with a fur and fancy car to be rich or a long-haired youth, marching with a sign to be vocal. In other words, it means, “being satisfied with one’s self and one’s situation, not comparing one’s self to anyone else or expecting others to live up to one’s perception of fairness.” It hasn’t been that long ago that I was in a state of poverty according to that government definition. That’s a whole ‘nother story in itself, but the gist of it is that we had very, very little money. The strange thing is that I never felt poor. I honestly felt blessed and it could have been that I was in a very small town with other people in the same boat, but some of my friends were very wealthy too and so I should have felt like maybe life was lacking something. But I didn’t. And I think that it is because I had discovered the verse in Phillipians 4:12 that says, “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” I had lived in abundance and then I was poor but that state only dealt with money and contentment deals with the heart. Now, today, I am not rich by any stretch of the imagination, according to those government definitions, either, but I am richer than I was in those days now past. And I have found that more money does not give more contentment. There is always more money than one has at any given time. And it isn’t because the world or the people around me are all behaving themselves and living right lives. That just doesn’t happen. There are people who cheat and steal and even kill, but those people can’t steal my contentment. We are told in Psalm 37:1, “Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong;…Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.” The greatest desire of our heart is to be content in God. No need to be angry that others have made more money or that others have more skills or that others say things hurtful. Contentment means to just relax in that with which God has blessed us and to remember that each of us is so special that we are not like nobody else! And of course, one way I relax in what God has blessed me with is to cook it! There is one way toward a contented tummy and that is with a comforting soup on a cold day like today. This recipe is one that a friend and I made up from top to bottom and has been a secret since the late 70’s (except that the original is in the cookbook at the shopping page!), but I have decided to share it today and I hope you find it to be a blessing! The story behind it is that this friend and I used to treat ourselves on special grocery days in the big city (from the country) by going to a particular restaurant. That was in the days before children. This restaurant was very expensive and since neither of us, being farmer’s wives, had much money, we would order the only thing we could afford – soup and salad. But that was all we wanted because that soup was incredible. Finally, she and I decided to try to figure out how to make the soup. We would eat there and discuss the flavors that we were getting in each bite. We went home and started experimenting and the base of this soup was developed. Then, in later years, I added more ingredients that I thought were missing and the following recipe is the end result. I usually make it with fresh crab, but the canned baby clams work just as well and in the off-season are best used anyway. If you want to use crab, just get some snowcrab, steam it and remove from the shells and chop. I sure hope you enjoy it!! 4 Tbsp butter 1 Tbsp onion, grated 3 Tbsp flour 3/4 tsp salt 1/8 tsp mace 1/8 tsp nutmeg dash of pepper 1/2 tsp. fresh chopped parsley 1 cup canned milk 1 chicken bouillon cube or 1 tsp granulated bouillon 2 cups shredded crab meat or 1 10oz can of baby clams 1 1/4 cup half and half 1/4 cup sherry (if you are using cooking sherry, cut back on the salt) 1/2 tsp lemon zest 1/2 cup finely diced tomatoes  In a large sauce pan on medium heat, melt butter  Add onions and saute for 30 seconds  Add flour  Stir to blend and make a bubbling roue  Add nutmeg and mace together and stir  Add canned milk and bouillon. Stir until bouillon is dissolved  Add half and half and continue stirring on medium heat. Do not bring to a boil. Lower heat if the soup is getting too hot.  And crab, or in this case a can of baby clams with the juice.  Add sherry and stir to mix well  Put in lemon zest  And add tomatoes and stir. Simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring occassionally.  Serve hot and garnished with parsley and black pepper. Yuuuuuummmmmy!! This post is linked at Deborah Jean’s Dandelion House Friday Blog Hop |
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German Cooking
Monday, February 6th, 2012
 Remember!! Comment at the end (below the blog box where it says in little blue letters, “comments” click on that and it takes you to comments and a comment box) in order to enter our giveaway. Drawing is Feb 13th. This time TWO people win one of the two identical packages – Pie tin set and First Out Pie Spatula. So comment early and comment often because every single time you comment, your name goes into the pot!! Have you ever had one of those days where washing the dishes is such a chore you just want to walk away and pretend they don’t exist?! Today started out as one of those days for me. I was tired when I got up today. Have no clue why – just tired. However, this morning, as I walked into the bedroom and contemplated the as yet unmade bed, a thought swept over me and I had to smile. “Consider it pure joy, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” James 1:2-4 4 boneless pork chops or 1 lb boneless pork roast sliced to 1/2″ slices or pork cutlets that have been tenderized at the store 1/4 cup flour 1/2 tsp garlic powder 1/8 tsp thyme 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper 1 egg, beaten 2 Tbsp milk 3/4 cup fine dry bread crumbs – make your own with a couple of slices of bread toasted and ground in the blender 1 teaspoon ground paprika 2 Tbsp canola oil or olive oil + 1 Tbsp butter 3/4 cup chicken stock 1/2 teaspoon dried dill or 1 Tbsp fresh chopped dill 1/2 tsp salt 2 tsp corn starch 1/2 cup sour cream or 1/4 cup sour cream + 1/4 cup yogurt 1/4 tsp onion powder 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms (optional)  Trim fat from chops. Using a meat hammer, pound the pork chops to about 1/4″ thickness. Make sure edges are hammered nice and flat.  Mix egg and milk in a shallow dish and beat. In a separate shallow dish, mix bread crumbs and paprika and stir to blend.  In a third shallow dish (I use pie and cake pans), add garlic to flour  Add salt  And thyme..mix to blend  Meanwhile, in a sauce pan or skillet, mix chicken stock and cornstarch and bring to a slow simmer. Add sour cream and onion powder and whisk until creamy. Add mushrooms and stir (if using) Continue simmering.  Add dill  Stir until mixture is thickened to a gravy. Cover and leave on warm  Working with one piece of meat at a time, dredge cutlets in the flour mixture to coat both sides.  Dip into the egg mixture on both sides  And coat with the bread crumbs to cover  In a skillet, melt the butter with the olive oil or canola oil and heat on medium high heat. When oil is nice and hot, add cutlets. Brown and allow to cook about 3-4 minutes.  Turn cutlets and brown on the other side and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes.  Place Schnitzel onto plates and drizzle gravy down the center. Add a lemon wedge for squeezing juice over the schnitzel. Serve with German potato salad and warm kraut. Of course, a homemade roll on the side isn’t anything to sneeze at!! |
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Merry Christmas!!
Saturday, December 24th, 2011
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It’s a little nippy in Okie Land and the wood stove is keeping us toasty warm….actually, it’s running us out of the house…the tree is decorated, stockings are hung and the tables are swathed in red damask. I love this time of year. It has been so gratifying to see the smiling faces and hear the laughter, this year, that I have experienced while shopping. Everyone has been so pleasant. No grinching or growling. It’s been good.  And so, from our house to yours, “Merry Christmas and may this next year be blessed for you and your loved ones.” Love on your family and friends and cook like there’s no tomorrow!! You know that cold temps make you lose all those calories anyway, right?! Yeah, I thought so. Stay safe all!!   |
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Facing Change
Monday, September 19th, 2011
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I just got back yesterday evening from my quick trip to Walland, TN. It was gruelling – four days on the road with no down time. Mr. Fix-It and I left on Thursday, got there Friday at 4 pm, helped my parents and loaded the little truck that they gave Mr. Fix-It. Then we left on Saturday morning and drove until 4:30 Sunday afternoon, with a hotel in between. My body is too old for this.  The purpose of the trip made it even tougher. My parents have sold their house, are giving away practically everything and are moving into a retirement community. It is a smart move on their part because the house and the property is just too big and too labor intensive for two people. But knowing the wisdom of this move does not make it any easier on all of us kids.  Tennessee was our stomping ground as children. It was where we all attended Girl Scouts, high school and college and took many “field trips” or camping trips to the Smokey Mountains. It was where some of us had our children. It was where those children spent their early years. It is where we have visited our parents, after we all moved out-of-state, at their lovely home with a view of the mountains right outside a bedroom window. It has been trout streams, cool mornings and evenings, wild turkeys, deer and other assorted wildlife, quiet and private communing with nature, long walks and a big house where lots of us could congregate in laughter and love.  Change is tough. We all hold onto our memories like gold and we expect things to stay the same forever and ever. But nothing ever does. We all grow older, we lose jobs, we get illnesses, we get married, we have children, we move, we lose love ones. And in all the changes that we experience through life, there is only one constant – God. It is so wonderful to know that in all of the upheaval that we know as “life” that there is One who is never-changing, in control and full of love and compassion. He sees our tears and lets us cry and then encourages in the most amazing ways. And believe me, I have cried some tears. But already I see the blessings of the changes that are coming. So, I am just taking this moment to encourage you if there are changes in your life right now. We don’t like change. It makes us uncomfortable. But in everything that comes our way, there is always a lesson and a blessing if we are open to allowing God to do His thing. It’s in the looking back, that we see how change always makes us stronger, more compassionate and more faithful.  So congratulations, Mom and Dad, for being willing to face change with eagerness, faith and joy. You are a blessing to all of us and witness to many. |
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Be Prepared
Saturday, August 27th, 2011
 I’m going to kinda rant here. I heard something that just made me cringe. It had to do with Irene, the hurricane that has everyone plastered to their television sets, radios and Twitter accounts. I’ve seen news hounds doing really good impressions of Chicken Little with an umbrella, warning viewers that the sky is falling in torrents. I’ve heard weathermen and women trying to offer reassurance, advice and pictures of what could happen if the storm tightens like storms did in the ’50’s, even though they had different names and were on the other side of the world from New York City. And then of course, there are the crazy surfers sticking their tongues out at the New Jersey governor who is using the “H” word to order them off the beach. In short, pandemonium, chaos and a general sense of mental instability is racing up and down the eastern seaboard, while those of us in the rest of the country observe with a puzzled frown.  As I’ve said before, I was raised in the Girl Scouts. The Girl Scout Motto is “Be Prepared”. Back in the ’60’s and ’70’s that meant to learn to “Be Prepared”!! For any scenario. Of course, back then, we were dealing with the Cuban Missile Crisis (remember walking home as fast as you could?), Nikita Khrushchev and the invasion of the Beatles, but we have issues equally serious today. (Justin Bieber comes to mind.) “Be Prepared” is a motto that is timeless and fits all geographies. It requires a moment of reflection on the fact that, at any moment, circumstances can change and your local convenient store may not be open or, as in the case near me, may have disappeared altogether in a flash of twirling wind and rain. It means remembering that banks can close, electricity can cease, water can be shut off and food can spoil in a powerless frig. “Be Prepared” is a call to think about what you would need in an emergency. And I don’t mean yogurt and some bowls of wilty lettuce.  I learned that “Be Prepared” involves putting one’s self on a budget (GS Law # 9: A Girl Scout is Thrifty). The best way to do that is to gather a list of all of your expenses for a month, including all the little stuff like every pack of chewing gum you buy or your daily Starbucks Macchiato Grande Mocha Vanilla Chocolate Cupcake Latte Frappuccino with whipped cream and sprinkles. Divide your expenses into categories (include a category for savings) and add up how much goes into each category for a month. Multiply each category total by 12 months and then divide by 52 weeks. That total is how much you should be spending out of a weekly paycheck into your categories in order to be able to pay the bills and miscellaneous expenses on time. Begin with one month ahead and then start adding in for the next month. That way you are always prepared a month in advance. You’ll even start saving money! It’s actually pretty simple.  |
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Cookies and Counsel
Thursday, August 11th, 2011
 This post is going to be a little different. I’ve been thinking and that is always dangerous. I tend to wax a little philosophical when I think and that’s not always a good thing. However, it’s possible this time I might have stumbled onto something that I can actually pass along. I have discovered that I am WOMAN and that all other ladies are too. You may be asking at this moment whatever prompted me to this absolutely astounding discovery. And of course, you KNOW I’m going to tell you. Well, it started like this: Yesterday, I had the pleasure of entertaining some friends from Tennessee who were passing through on their way home from dropping off a military son at our nearby Army base. These are friends from wayyyy back and we’ve shared many jokes, hijinks and dinners over the years. The wife is mucho talented in sewing, embroidery and interior design. Her sense of color is just amazing. I’ve always been in awe of her seamstress abilities and have learned so much from her to apply to my own sewing projects.  This husband and wife entered the OPC™ digs and immediately noticed the row of freshly canned beef stew and dog food lined up on a towel from the soapy washing I had just put them through before storage. The first question was, “What’s that?” and then the second was, “Why?” I explained how I make stew and soup for the winter, as well as other tasty concoctions (this does NOT include the dog food) and we began talking canning and dehydrating which then led into grain grinding and bread baking. The long and the short of it is that, while my little group then visited with another friend on the same topics, the friend commented that I can do anything and my two friends from Tennessee nodded their heads in serious agreement, as if they could not. Now I know..I take that as a compliment. HOWEVER, I don’t do everything and the truth is that all of them and all of you can do anything you put your energies toward. The secret is having the desire to try. I have to say that it is so gratifying to hear this desire in so many of you readers and it excites me to no end. When I have an email from you with questions or with excited descriptions of your successes, it just makes me grin. You teach me too and I am discovering all kinds of wonderful projects compliments of readers. Each of us has unique talents, but all of us also have the ability to learn new things. When we branch out into new and out-of-our-comfort-zone adventures in homemaking, we add a whole new dimension to what others try to paint as “hum-drum”. To me, there is nothing more exciting than learning how to do things that provide for family and friends. And for me, in my walk with God, it is one of the ways that I can honor Him – by honoring other people through homemaking skills. There are two scriptures that are the basis of this particular desire in my life and those are Titus 2 and Proverbs 31. Titus 2:3-5 is easier for me because I’m older (check), I love to talk and teach (check), although I am quick to give my not-so-important opinion even when it isn’t wanted (not an attribute sanctioned by that particular scripture!), and I truly want to do for younger women what older women did for me when I was young. Proverbs 31, however, used to make me feel like the worst female on earth. The Proverbs 31 woman is Superwoman. Then I realized that I was looking at her the way my friends were looking at me the other day. I have all the makings of a Proverbs 31 woman and just have to be willing to let God guide me in trying all of those things that will make me His Proverbs 31 woman. I may not sell “purple” but I can paint a purple flower and sell it!! She is a guide – a map – not a checklist. So, put on those aprons, or pearls, or overalls or dresses and dive into something new. And be sure that after you learn to do that something new, pass the knowlege on to someone else. Teach, encourage and lift up! I am WOMAN! Hear me roar! I can hear you roaring too!! 🙂  And now I am going to do a shameless commercial. I’d like to introduce you to what can be done with my Aberdeen Shortbread Cookie Mix! You can find it at the shopping page.  All you add is melted butter to the mix  And mix it  I’m using ceramic molds here and have liberally oiled them. You can use cookie cutters or plastic molds to shape your cookies.  Then the ceramic molds are floured and the cookie dough is pressed into each one  After baking, the cookies are cooled and the edges gently smoothed  Decorate and give as gifts. Or purchase a bag of our Aberdeen Shortbreak Cookie Mix and tie a cookie cutter with a ribbon to it and give that as a cute gift. |
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