So a couple of months ago I got hooked on Pinterest (no, this isn't an intervention although I probably need it). I have been joyously pinning a ton of cute things on my board (you can follow me if you want the 'follow me on pinterest' is on this page). Anyway, I found this great clock on pinterest and wanted it for my kitchen. There was an active link and everything. Unfortunately it was too large for my small kitchen. Rats. So plan B was formed. Make it myself. So this past weekend I went for it - after some planning and some coupon buying at my local craft store, my clock was born.
Cute, right :) I love it.
I used a 12 x 12 canvas with really thick sides. Painted it white with regular acrylic paints. Did some softening of the edge with my old stenciling brush and a gold and green color combination. I transferred the letters the old fashioned way by printing the words on my printer then rubbing a pencil on the back of the paper then traced the letters onto the clock front and the carbon from the pencil transferred enough for me to see the basic lettering. Painted numbers and my phrase with a very small brush. After it dried I sealed the whole thing with an acrylic gloss sealer. Then came the challenge of putting on the clock works - I bought the clock works with the shortest stem possible 1/4" and then put a piece of cardboard between the clock works and the back of the canvas. Cut the small hole with an razor blade and inserted the post through the canvas. Worked like a dream and the clock works weren't too heavy on the back. Oh, and I couldn't find black hands so I used black finger nail polish. Now the only challenge is learning how to read it - whatever, I'm always late anyway. Enjoy!
Whole Wheat is a Mormon mantra. We store it. We grind it. We cook with it. At least that's the hope or why else would our garages be full of it :) Wheat stores incredibly well in it's grain form. They actually had grains of wheat in the pyramids in Egypt that they planted and grew wheat from. Incredible grain. Unfortunately the modern world has processed it into a white, fine powder and has taken away most of its nutrition so it ends up being mostly starch. If you are looking for truly whole wheat bread you either have to make it yourself or it has to have the words 'whole' or 'sprouted' or 'malted' before the word wheat to let you know that the whole wheat has been used. It also needs to be the first ingredient.
I just wanted to throw in a video here from www.everydayfoodstorage.net. I think this will help your decision to use whole wheat more! Thank you Crystal!
Of course wheat isn't the only awesome grain out there so I'm going to change horses here just a bit (or at least add more passengers to it) and throw in the term 'Whole Grains' of which wheat is a big part but whole grains brings in a lot of other really good things for me. Whole grains included rice, barley, corn, quinoa, sorghum, spelt, rye and bunch of other things.
So what does it do for me? Well whole grains will digest slower than the processed stuff so it stays with you longer and it helps to regulate your blood sugar (no spiking with whole grains). Since it has bulk it helps with those that are 'intestinal challenged' or have diverticulitis like Crystal mentioned in the Video. It has been shown that is may help with DNA damage (that's the B vitamins in it) and in suppressing cancer cell growth (I just quoted this out of the 'Food for Thought' book put out by UCSD, Moore Cancer Center). Part of that is tied up in Ligans (same stuff that is in Flax). They think it may help suppress hormonally motivated cancers (like mine).
I've been pondering lately how can I make wheat a bigger, better part of my diet? And what can I do with what I am already eating to increase the 'Wow' factor in getting the good stuff out of it?
Haven't a clue that's why I write this silly blog :) Okay, Okay, I eat whole wheat in a cracked format in cracked wheat cereal. I tried cooking it in a crock pot and it turned into mush (and if mush is what you are looking for great but for me - not so much). So I got out on the Internet and looked at alternatives to cooking. You're gonna love this one. The night before I want it, I take 2 cups of water and boil it in the microwave. I pour it into the 'unplugged' crock pot add 1/4 tsp of salt and 1 cup of cracked wheat. Put on the lid. Then cover it with a kitchen towel and go to bed. The next morning, voila, cracked wheat cereal enough for 2 to 3 people. You can actually refrigerate the left overs to be used the next day. I usually have to drain any excess water off it and then microwave till hot but it's ready to go. You can put the same stuff on it that you add to oatmeal except don't add the ground flax. The flax turns into this gelatinous substance that make the cereal nasty. Not on my list.
Oh and the easiest way to get cracked wheat is to crack your own. I got this hand grinder that I can hook onto my kitchen counter. In just 5 minutes I can hand grind about 6 or 7 cups of cracked wheat. I put it in a sealed container and put it in the refrigerator so the oils in the wheat don't go rancid and the vitamins stay longer. I try not to do more than my family will eat in 2 weeks time.
And just a quick note - if your body is not used to cracked wheat is can be pretty rough on your insides. Maybe start with small amounts spaced over several days and work your way up. We have it about 3 times a week. Please note too the texture is different that probably anything you have ever eaten and may take some getting used to but I really like it.
What else do I eat that has whole wheat in it? Bread. I can make this but usually I buy it from some big box store. I actually don't by whole wheat bread, I usually buy whole grain bread. The one with all the lumps in it (that was a serious issue with my kids when they were small and texture is everything). I try too, if I am buying any other bread product (buns, English muffins, tortillas, dinner rolls, etc.), to pay more attention to the ingredients on the package. If whole wheat isn't listed as the first ingredient (whole, sprouted or malted) then I go back to see if there is anything better. Unfortunately this is usually a higher cost item so I have to weigh my options. Sometimes I pick the lesser quality just because the cost is so prohibitive.
So to continue on with Bread comes butter. I probably mentioned this before but I eat butter not margarine. There are several reasons. One is taste, butter just tastes better. Two is it's natural - it comes from a cow, nothing else added (except maybe salt) so my body has a better chance of processing it. And finally my cancer is estrogen positive and soy products are a question mark item for estrogen positive. Do they or do they not make my cancer grow? So the next time you are at the grocery store look at margarine's. What it the first ingredient? Soy Oils. Bad. So it's butter for me :)
You know another option on bread is cinnamon and a sugar substitute for flavor. I put a mix of cinnamon and splenda in a small glass shaker so I can have it on cereal and toast. Works great. And cinnamon is good for your blood sugar - 1/4 tsp a day is suggested. What better way is there to get that than on toast with butter.
Sorry, a lot of postings today on health issues - must be January. Diet season :)
So how many times do we hear about Omega 3 fatty acids and how important they are for us in our diets. Well Omega 3 fatty acids are an unsaturated fat (this is the good kind of fat) and is great for you. Our body doesn't produce it so we have to look at outside sources to get it. The discovery of it all started with the Greenland Inuit tribe who ate a diet high in fish and had a wonderfully low incident of heart disease (thank you Wikipedia).
Omega 3 fatty acids come in 3 varieties. I refuse to give you the long scientific names but they are known as ALA, EPA and DHA. ALA is from primarily plant sources (like flax). EPA and DHA are primarily from fatty fish like salmon, albacore tuna, sardines, etc. There are tons of lists on the Internet if you are interested in finding out all the foods that have Omega 3 fatty acids in them. The biggest difference between them all is that the body processes the EPA and DHA version better than the ALA version so you get the biggest benefits from them.
So why is it good for you? Well according to all the different research sites that I looked at it lowers triglycerides. My doctor has me taking supplements (via fish oil) to help with this since my cancer drug raises my triglycerides. If you have a bad reaction to fish oil (like it constantly coming back to haunt you) my Doctor suggested that you freeze the pill. Weird. The recommended dosage is 500 mg per day (make sure you include whatever you eat in that 500mg).
Omega 3 fatty acids also increase your HDL (this is the good cholesterol - I always remember this by the fact that the LDL needs to be low and the HDL needs to be high). It's great for your heart and some researchers say that it helps lower high blood pressure. It also shows promise in helping fight off Alzheimer's disease and cancer.
If eat a lot of fish or have flax in your oatmeal every day :) then you shouldn't need to take any supplements. If you take supplements make sure you run it by your Doctor first (especially if you are a heart patient). Better safe than sorry.
Whenever I read a health blog there are always terms that go way over my head. So recently I was studying about Antioxidants, Phytoestrogens and Folic Acid. And I decided that what I needed was an english translation of that those things mean so what I hope to accomplish today is exactly that. All of this information is from my research on the internet and in books. Again I'm just a passer on of information.
Antioxidants - apparently oxidation occurs in our bodies all the time, even the act of breathing creates oxidation (really? breathing oxygen causes oxidation, who would have thought). When oxidation occurs a 'free radical' can be formed. Free radical molecules can contribute to some of the diseases of old age, cancer, arthritis and Alzheimer's. The idea is to give your body enough antioxidants to stop or slow the effects of oxidation by overwhelming the free radicals. When your body doesn't have enough antioxidants then the free radicals run wild. So antioxidants are good.
Phytoestrogens - for this one I need to give you some specifics about my cancer. I was diagnosed with an estrogen positive cancer. This means that being female is killing me. The cancer I have battled in the past LOVES estrogen. This is why so many women take meds for years after having cancer in hopes of blocking estrogen to their cancer. Ditto myself as well. There are several different types of phytoestrogens, some are better at helping battle estrogen positive cancers than others. Soy is a phytoestrogen but studies have shown that it may actually cause estrogen positive cancers to grow. So for now this is on my 'no no' list. Most phytoestrogens help by attaching themselves to the receptors on cancer cells that usually an estrogen would attach to, thereby blocking the cancer cell from getting what it loves most. This is the kind of phytoestrogens we want. Phytoestrogens = good!
Folic Acid (or Vitamin B9) - this is the one you want to repair the damage to yourself (it repairs damaged cells) or if your pregnant (helps protect against birth defects). It builds and maintains strong cells and is necessary for the production of red blood cells (if your anemic this may be something to look into). It also helps keep our DNA in line so that it doesn't morph into something bad (like cancer). It's also water soluble, which means your body can't store it. You need to get more each day. I've always heard that it helps with your mental health too (but I think that includes all the B Vitamin category). Just one more thing - probably an old wives tale (but then I am an old wife) high doses of a B complex will help keep the mosquitoes away. I have actually used this, I start it about 2 weeks before I go camping and dose myself heavy on it till camp is done. Seems to work for me. So Folic Acid is in the plus category too.
Just a reminder that all these items need to be eaten in food (not taken in pills). There are things in your food that combine with the vitamins and nutrients so your body can absorb them and get the most benefits from them. Careful too overdosing on some things may actually come back and bite you in the behind.
I have been reading a lot recently about inflammation and it's effect on our health. Apparently chronic inflammation actually leads to other serious health issues. An example would be arthritis (chronic inflammation) can bring on early Alzheimer's or heart disease. How many times have you had an ache or pain somewhere that is relentless and you end up feeling tired or in pain all over? Doctors think that by reducing inflammation in your body you actually can delay or remove the threat of having some of the more serious health issues (heart disease, diabetes, etc.).
There are several anti-inflammatory diets on the market but basically this is how you eat (This is specifically from Web Md but I have seen this on several web sites):
1. Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables. Some of the sites specifically mention Green, Orange and Yellow Veggies. 2. Minimize saturated and trans fats. There is talk on the Internet specifically about Omega-6 fatty acids and the need to decrease them. I think I need a blog on that. 3. Eat a good source of omega-3 fatty acids, such as fish or fish oil supplements and walnuts. Try having Tuna (albacore) for lunch and remember to talk to your Doctor before starting any supplements. 4. Watch your intake of refined carbohydrates such as pasta and white rice. Again avoid the starches that have no good nutritional value in them. 5. Eat plenty of whole grains such as brown rice and Bulgar wheat. Thereis so much good in whole grains you just have to look. I think I need a blog on whole wheat and whole grains. 6. Eat lean protein sources such as chicken; cut back on red meat and full-fat dairy foods. This means no hot dogs, processed meats or salami. And watch your red meats. I recently read to get the lean meats you need to look for the words 'loin' or 'round' in the title of the meat. Actually these are usually the cheaper cuts of beef and pork. 7. Avoid refined foods and processed foods. Back to my donuts . . . 8. Spice it up. Ginger, curry, and other spices can have an anti-inflammatory effect. Cinnamon is also on this list.
You know the more that I look at this diet the more it reminds me of the 'how to eat if you want to avoid cancer' diet I talked about last month in a blog. Seems to me if you watch what you eat. Eat more whole foods rather than processed stuff. Watch your fats and salt then you will have it made.
Just one more bit of information that I found - believe it or not flossing your teeth can help to curb inflammation. When you have stuff trapped between your teeth it can actually cause an inflammatory reaction in your body. So get in there and floss. Enjoy!
I left off on my blog last week with my core biopsy. For those of you who have never had the joy (sarcasm intended) of having one of these - they actually aren't too bad. They drug up the area with a local put a small cut in your skin and 'shoot' this gun like thing that has small tubes in it for collecting tissue samples in it into the cut. Then they butterfly you, give you an ice pack and some ibuprofen and send you home. . . To wait. . . And Wait. . . And WAIT. . . for the results. The core biopsy took place on Monday and Thursday afternoon I got the official call. Cancer. Stage as yet unknown (further biopsies were scheduled) but it was DCIS, Ductal Carcinoma In Situ. The 'kindergarten' of all the breast cancers according to everything I had read and the most treatable. Wooohooo!
I will share with you at this point that all the books are right. When they call you about the cancer have a pencil and paper handy because you will hear nothing after the word 'Cancer'. Trust me on this one. Even though I knew what was coming my brain took a vacation. Fortunately my Doctor called me back just minutes after we spoke the first time - after I had gathered my thoughts - and this time I wrote everything down. 'The Book' (Dr. Susan Love's Breast Book) had warned me that most people do this but did I listen - nope.
Then came the hard part. Telling my extended family and my Mom. I have to tell you that I didn't cry at all when the doctor told me but telling my Mom was a whole different story. At that time my Mom was in her late 60's and very poor health. I didn't know what to say. I just started crying and upset her even more. Graceful was obviously never my middle name. Fortunately my Brother (who at that time lived with my Mom and took care of her) called me back and got the unblubbering straight story and calmed my Mom down. My In-laws were wonderful and hugely supportive. All Jeffery's siblings were too. I felt immensely loved.
My Sister-in-law, Debora, who had just lost her daughter, helped me through the next of my tests. God bless her for reaching out in her time of need and helping me. She kept saying I was helping her but truly she helped me enormously that day. (Love you Debora) She drove me to the Biopsy where they took a chunk (and I do mean a chunk) of the area where the cancer was for extensive testing. Again home with an ice pack and this time prescription pain pills (which I seriously needed for about 24 hours).
This time something odd happened - instead of days, it was weeks before the final results came in on the biopsy and I truly didn't find out why till months later. I will share more on that later but to continue on with the diagnosis change to Stage 1 Invasive Ductal Carsinoma, still good . . . next was surgery and a ton of decisions to make. Lumpectomy or Mastectomy. Reconstruction or inserts. Way too much on my plate :)
When I had seen the mammogram, back in January, I noted that there were white dots all over my left breast with a concentration where the cancer was at. I had asked the nurse what these were, thinking that these were the Doctor's markings, only to find out these were microcalcification which were sometimes (and I do mean sometimes) a warning that something bad is happening. I noted that even though most of the dots were right around the cancer that there were several that were spread through out my breast as well. So when they said you can have a lumpectomy I said nope - take it all - I don't want one of those little white dots to come back and haunt me later. So I opted for a Modified Radical Mastectomy. One of my Priesthood blessings (see my first blog on cancer for more on this) had stated that I could be confident in the council from the Doctors and Surgeons. So when I asked the surgeon (a female) what she would do if it were her she said 'I'd to the mastectomy and then have reconstruction'. Sounded good to me and it put a positive stamp on my decision.
Now for the reconstruction - there are a lot of ways to get your breast back. Some opt not to have the reconstruction done at all but since I was loosing one (which would make me lopsided) I opted for a Tram Flap reconstruction. Basically they take your tummy (which I had plenty of at that time) and use it to build the breast and you get a tummy tuck in the process. There is, of course, more involved that but that is just a simple explanation of what they do.
So in mid March, after a ton of prep, which included watching videos on breast reconstruction (don't have lunch first) and giving up my blood so they would have it if necessary. I went under the knife for 8 hours and came out with a new breast (way bigger than the other), my tummy strapped so tight that I could hardly breath and a smile. I had made it :) Wooohooo!
Next blog - healing, posting boards, UCSF and the tumor board. Link here :) Part 3 Enjoy!
So my office at work has been really slooooowww last week and so I brought in some yarn to fill my time. I decided that I needed some new wash cloths since my old one's are getting smelly after being left too many times in the sink. Why does my family do that? A whole 'nuther' blog here. Anyway, so I tried to find my old pattern and couldn't and thought 'it can't be that difficult' so the following is the easiest, simplest crocheted washcloth pattern you will find anywhere.
First you need a really nice cotton yarn - I chose Lily brand 'Sugar'n Cream' I have used it in the past and have been really impressed by how easily it absorbs water and how easily it washes. I like variegated since it doesn't show the dirt as easily.
I started with a one 2 oz skein ( I only used about 2/3 of it for one washcloth)
Size K crochet hook
1 large tapestry needle
And I was good to go!
I chained 33 loose chains.
Turned and dc in the 4th chain from the hook (skipping 3 chains)
Then dc in the rest of the chains. Works out to be 30 dc plus the 3 chain start.
When I reached the end I chained 3 and turned.
Skipping the first space at the base of the chain (since the chain is basically making up for that dc that would be there) and dc in the next space I continued across again. At the end I made sure that I dc in the top of the 3 chains on the previous row. If you don't do this your wash cloth will get slowly smaller and smaller. Chain the three. And repeat over and over again till your washcloth forms a square.
I then used the tapestry needle to weave in the loose ends of the yarn. One trick that did learn after the first washcloth was that you need to start on the neutral color of the variegated yarn when you begin your chain. Mine started on the red and when I tried to weave in the rest of the red it looked pretty tacky. Enjoy!
How do I start something like this? What can I tell you that might give you hope or might teach you something? What can my words do to help you understand what it is like to battle cancer? I am a SURVIVOR! Why? I have absolutely no idea. Truly. I just thank God for another day each and everyday that I wake up on this side of the veil that separates this life from the next. And yes, I truly do believe that there is a next life - a better life. Without pain and fear and cancer. Where I can live in joy with my family and friends and my Savior. And that is the only thing that has kept me together over the years.
I guess I will start back in 1999 when I was the ripe old age of 42 with an odd shaped breast lump in my left breast. Whenever they taught us in school about breast cancer the lumps were always hard and round. Well I'm here to tell you that that is a lie. My cancer was about two inches long and less than a 1/2 inch wide and I could put my fingers around it and pull it up easily away from my chest wall. As a matter of fact I dismissed it from my head totally since I was sure that it could in no way be breast cancer. I was wrong. Fortunately I had a mammogram scheduled for the first week of January so they immediately caught it. I had my regular Mammogram on Tuesday and on Thursday they called and invited me back. On Friday I was back for the worst mammogram I had ever had - bruises lasted for weeks. My OB/Gyn who had asked for the mammogram tried to reassure me that 90% of all breast lumps are nothing and not to freak out. Well I am the Queen of freak out :)
I was no sooner in my car on the way home when I burst into tears and cried pretty much all the 45 minutes home. I had one child in middle school and one in college and was just sure that I was going to die and leave them. I talked a lot to God on the way home. Bargaining for a bit more time. Asking for a personal strength that I was seriously lacking.
I made two decisions on that trip home. One, that I would tell no one but my immediate family what was going on. Down playing anything bad. My niece was deathly ill (she passed on Saturday AM) and I felt that was enough for the family to carry for awhile. And two, have a Priesthood blessing. Now if you are not a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints (Mormon) then this will mean nothing to you but to me it was everything. We believe that through the power of the Priesthood we can find out what God's plan is for us, we can get counsel and comfort and even be healed. Of course all of that is predicated on our faith and the will of God.
So I had the 'talk' with my family, which actually went pretty well and then that evening I had a Priesthood blessing (one of many I would have over the next few months). My Husband, Jeffery and a dear friend, Tom, came and I was told a ton of things that night. First off I was told that I had cancer. Period. But that I would survive (woohoo). And then I was given the blessing of peace. That part of the blessing kicked in immediately and NEVER left during all that followed that year. Not once did I worry about the cancer for the rest of the year as I traveled through surgeries and chemo.
You're probably wondering why in the world I would be told that I had cancer before the Doctors would tell me that same thing 2 weeks later. Well my Heavenly Father knows me really well and knew that I would deal with everything better if I was informed. I just function better with a bit of knowledge and understanding. So the next day I was off to the book store and bought Dr. Susan Love's Breast Book - the bible for women with Breast Cancer. I can't tell you how it helped in the weeks and months that followed.
So what was my next step - we'll it was a core biopsy. And with that I will work on part two next.
Since I am unable to do internal links in my blog (or at least I don't know how to) just click on Labels on the side for Cancer to find the next blog - there are 11 in all :) Enjoy!
Several years ago I bought a red barked manzanita branch that had been sprayed white and had a plywood bottom screwed onto it. Actually I traded some of my crafts for it but that is neither here nor there. When I first brought it home I used it only for Christmas. I have snow flakes and crystals that I put on it. I found that if I added white stringed lights that it gave it a real punch. Usually people admire it way more than my regular tree which isn't to shabby. Anyway every time I put it away it got damaged. I was loosing more and more little branches. So one year I decided no more - it's going to stay out all year long. So the 'seasonal tree' was born. Today Valentines Day. Really need a better Camera :) Enjoy!
So I have been having trouble with silverware taking a dump in my disposal in the sink. So I pondered what to do to stop the madness. Also I really hate having silverware everywhere in my sink so . . .
So I found this flower pot at the local 'shop for less' place and put it in the sink. It has no hole in the bottom so that the water will soak the silverware. It's also the color of the sink and it's glazed really well so that it will repel water (some pots soak it in) which will keep mold, as an issue, at bay.
Please ignore the dishes. But look all the silverware in the pot. Worked! Enjoy!
We have way to many projects and my sweet husband, Jeffery, is always saying what can I get done today. We have tried various lists to keep ourselves on task but they just get lost in the shuffle. So I came up with an idea. It's a 'What Can I Do Today' list using post it notes. That way we can add and subtract from our list without any mess. Sorry the photo is a bit dark (I may have to replace that). The little square at the bottom says 'Projects of the Day'. It helps keep us on task. The whole thing is on a piece of poster board and thumb tacked to a door. I even glued a post it note pad to the bottom corner for easy adds to the list. Enjoy!
Several years ago I realized that those tiny little bulletin boards they sell at the store were totally too small for all the things I wanted to post. So with the help of my family we came up with a design that fills the hallway with a bulletin board. It's made with a piece of masonite, 12 x 12 cork boards, fabric and glue.
It really wasn't that hard but it wasn't a weekend project either. We started out with a piece of masonite that measured 4' x 6'. Which my husband screwed to the wall - into the studs. We decided to first put a piece of masonite on the wall so that if we ever decided to remove the bulletin board then it would be a simple matter of tearing off the squares and then unscrewing the board from the wall. A quick patch of the holes and the wall would be good as new.
Then the kids and I did various drawings with the idea that we would be using 12" x 12" cork boards from Walmart to create the pattern. I didn't want sheets of cork. I wanted the ability to make it 'art work' in my hall and Walmart had the cheapest 12" x 12" cork pieces (they sell them in packages of 4).
Once the pattern was decided on it was off to our local fabric store to see what we could come up with. The decision was blue, orange, brown and neutrals. The fabric squares had to be 16" x 16" so I would have enough edge to wrap around behind the cork square. And since some of the design was on an angle I had to sew some of the squares so that they were half one color and half another. Then everything was ironed and I got out the spray glue.
Now you really have to glue in an open area. Trust me on this one. Don't try this in your home. Take it outside on a clear, windless day. Each Cork board was sprayed with spray glue. Then with two people work together, we lifted each fabric square by the corners and slowly lowered it to the cork. Then I pushed out any wrinkles and we were good to go.
After everything dried I then hand glued the extra fabric around the back using tacky glue. This took a lot of time. Once everything was dried then it was time for the mounting on the masonite. I spread a LOT of tacky glue on the masonite and then we applied the squares. Yes, they do have a tendency to try and fall off at first. So we used masking tape and taped from the wall under the board to the wall over the board. And then one of us just stood there for the better part of 1/2 an hour pushing each square firmly against the wall.
Finally after all this dried we are 'supposed' to put a piece of quarter round trim around the board (still on my list). But I think it looks great and is finally big enough. Enjoy!
