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Thursday, November 07, 2013

The HEADACHE Update

Since I have been getting a lot of questions about my headaches I thought I would give an update.  A HAPPY update I am HAPPY to say! I finally found a hormone specialist who took a lot of  blood.  A LOT of blood.  On our first meeting she quickly surmised that I had Estrogen dominance.  I started progesterone immediately.  Progesterone is an anti-inflammatory.  HELLO!  Headaches are inflammation in the blood vessels in the brain.   I also was having muscle burning especially in my chest muscles.   The progesterone decreased my inflammation therefore decreasing my headaches and muscle pain.  Hallelujah!  Can I get an Amen?

In addition she check my blood work and although I was on thyroid medicine the T3 was still low so she changed the thyroid meds.  Finally I felt my energy come back. She also said my adrenal glands were that of an 80 year olds.  This was great since I felt like I was 80 years old.  Magnesium, vitamin D, Ashwagandha and a prescription vitamin B pill should help restore the adrenal function.  The best thing is that I have had a four to five day headache in months.  I haven't been bed bound even one day in months.  I can bend over without throbbing in my head.  My neck pain has lessened considerably and my friend said I was way more social.  I have even made it to book club and when I hike I walk faster!  I am also teaching yoga again at a local herb store.  I wish I had found the hormone nurse practitioner about 3 years ago but better late than never.  I am glad I don't have to revisit the neurologist or local doctor who put me on meds that made me feel worse and didn't help!


I found this awesome little story that I think was written by Dr. Wayne Tompkins of Tompkins Wellness Center.
The Twisted Sisters: The Female Hormone Saga
Once upon a time there were two sisters who had to live together and get along. One of the sisters was very bossy and had a domineering nature. Her name was ‘Estrogen’. The other sister was quiet and submissive and named ‘Progesterone’. Estrogen tried to run the show and didn’t know her boundaries. Unfortunately, she had all the connections and received a lot of help and support from outside the house. She hooked up with her evil friends like Toxin, Stress, and Pollution. With supervision, Estrogen really shined, but left alone, she made poor choices in choosing her friends which upset the restful order in the home.
Progesterone, on the other hand, was pretty smart, but she needed lots of help. When Estrogen and her evil friends ruled the roost, she tended to shut down and not stand her ground. However; she knew what it took to create an environment that was inviting and safe for new little inhabitants in the house. With some support from her friends, Rest, Nutrition, and Purification, she harmonized marvelously and stood her ground with her often dominant sibling.
Now you’ve probably figured out this house is your body and the story is not a fairy tale from ages past. It is present day reality and describes a condition commonly known as ‘estrogen dominance’ ... when estrogen has the upper hand. Estrogen’s friends are what are known as, or false estrogens. They are toxins, food dyes, preservatives and noxious chemicals. They are very good imitators of actual estrogen and easily latch on to its receptor sites. The result is hormone imbalance and a dominance of estrogen in the body.

Wednesday, November 06, 2013

Christmas Shopping on Etsy


Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Mouses, Dogs, Kids and Pizza


Addy (behind the IPad) and Opal on Sunday Morning

I want to keep it Mom

Saved from the claws of Bindi


Mom was sick so the dogs comforted me

The Mouse in the Fairy Garden
homemade pizza crust - artichokes and sun dried tomatoes

Addy cheese and Daron Pepporoni

Cute girl going to school

Addy did a dinner dance performance for Kim and Chuck

These grew by our house in MI and I just saw them here in UT

Opal and the girls

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Fall and my closest friends moves away! ACK!

Addy and her shadows

Fall Hiking with the dogs



My BFF Kim leaving for North Carolina

The boy who stole her away

Happy for her!

Sad to see her leave though!

Sunday, October 20, 2013

Walking to Kindergarten.


Addy walking to school. Just kidding. Just a hike near our house. We have roads here. Paved roads.


 Addy and Daron trying out our new mastication juicer.  Kale and apple and carrot juice.  Daron and Addy created a juice called PARROT juice - pears and carrots.  Brilliant!




 Sunday morning.  Daron made Addyson and I egg and cheese biscuits.  yum

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Fall - our FAVORITE time of year

old sliding door with a cat door insert

new energy saving doors whoot whoot

old kitchen window
new kitchen window


Doors open and fire in the fireplace.  Ahhh Daron

movie night at home

road runner painting for a friend.

Monday, September 30, 2013

Zion/Springdale Music Festival



The Springdale Music Festival was a hoot!  Just the backdrop alone was worth the trip.  Not to mention a BOUNCE HOUSE!  Addy had a blast, and even scaled a rock wall for the first time I think.  Only problem was the 1.5 hour line to get her face painted.  She was very patient though and goter done.  I think we'll be back next year.

Sunday, September 29, 2013

Mainlining Pesticides and other fun stuff ;)

I have wanted a juicer for a long time but I am too cheap to buy a good juicer.  I talked to my doctor who has balanced my hormones and increased certain vitamins to get my adrenal glands working and she uses a juicer.  She said a masticating juicer is the best because it keeps more of the nutrients.  I looked it up and it says that the masticating juicer operates by using a single gear or auger that literally chews up the fruit into pulp. Unlike the centrifugal juicer, a masticating juicer operates at a much lower speed at about 80 ~ 120 RPM, producing minimal heat and least air oxidation which does not disrupt the cellular structure of the fruits and vegetables. This eliminates oxidation to the juices, therefore, preserving most the precious enzymes and nutrients. Some models can even be used for vegetable juicing , thus making it a good kitchen companion.

I have been trying to increase the  amount of vegetables we eat as a family.  I have grown increasingly more frustrated as much of what I make is not eaten because of the vegetables. This has caused me to stop cooking all together since I walk in circles around the grocery store going "WHAT THE HELL SHOULD I BUY?"

I don't want processed foods so that takes out all the middle isle of the store.
I don't want to eat factory farmed meat so that takes care of the back isle.
I don't want to eat fish that maybe has mercury or destroys the ocean environment.
I don't want to eat vegetables with pesticides.
I am the only one that will eat certain vegetables.
I leave with white bread which has no nutritional value, lunch meat for Daron's sandwhich which is probably full of nitrites - The preservative sodium nitrite fights harmful bacteria in ham, salami and other processed and cured meats and also lends them their pink coloration. However, under certain conditions in the human body, nitrite can damage cells and also morph into molecules that cause cancer. YUM.
I leave with lots of cheese because all of us will eat this.  I try not to think about the cows that produce the milk for the cheese and how they have to stay pregnant so that they continue to produce milk and then there are stories like this - An investigation of a farm tied to the producer of Cabot cheese found that calves' heads were burned and that cows were electro-shocked in the face. Double Yum.

I buy buffalo meat  from a local farmer and I picture the buffalo grazing just outside of Zion National Park although I am not sure if that farm is the farm they are from.

I buy apples, carrots, corn and other veggies wondering if they are genetically modified. 
A genetically modified organism (GMO) is an organism whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques. Organisms that have been genetically modified include micro-organisms such as bacteria and yeast, insects, plants, fish, and mammals. GMOs are the source of genetically modified foods, and are also widely used in scientific research and to produce goods other than food.

I have only read a little about GMO foods.
As evidence for this assertion, he points to an independent 2011 study by a team of doctors at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Sherbrooke Hospital Centre in Quebec, Canada.
The study looked at the prevalence of Bt toxins in female patients, finding that the chemicals -- which are often implanted into GMO crops including corn -- were found in the majority of those who were surveyed.
The study looked at a small sample of Canadian women and determined that of those who were pregnant at the time of the survey, 93 percent of them had traces of Bt toxin in their blood, and 80 percent of their umbilical cords contained the chemical.

Most of the world’s advanced nations -- from the European Union to China and Russia to Saudi Arabia and Peru -- require that products containing GMOs be labeled as such, while the United States, Mexico, Canada and others have failed to institute such a requirement on manufacturers.


I think like anything there are good and bad so both sides.  I don't like the fact that you can't plant a seed and have a plant grow in many cases due to genetic modifications.  I think God had a pretty good system in place. 

Hopefully our bodies are adapting to all these environmental changes and toxins but I would think it would take a couple of lifetimes for that to happen.  Any substance that is in our food, environment, shampoo, lotion etc. can affect our hormones.  A hormone is a chemical released by a cell, a gland, or an organ in one part of the body that affects cells in other parts of the organism.
 A variety of exogenous chemical compounds, both natural and synthetic, have hormone-like effects on both humans and wildlife. Their interference with the synthesis, secretion, transport, binding, action, or elimination of natural hormones in the body can change the homeostasis, reproduction, development, and/or behavior, just as endogenously produced hormones do.

SO THIS IS THE CRAP THAT GOES THROUGH MY HEAD WHILE SHOPPING.  NOT. FUN.  Even if you say we can't help it and eat a little of everything it still in my head.  Besides if you know me I eat the same thing for about 3 months and then switch to something else.  Addy only eats noodles, cheese, green beans, corn and eggs.

Then I saw this commercial and looked up the website.


All of us decided a juicer will help us get our nutrients and I figured what the hell it is a great way to mainline those pesticides, toxins, chemicals and listeria. 

We will simultaneously get healthier and unhealthier.





Thursday, September 26, 2013

Possible Battle Creek series

‘Breaking Bad’ Creator Gilligan in Deal for CBS Show, ‘Battle Creek’

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Vince Gilligan, the creator and producer of one of the most-talked-about series in recent years, “Breaking Bad,” is the hottest name in television. “Breaking Bad” is fresh off an Emmy win for best drama and drawing huge audiences as it builds toward the final episode of its five-season run on AMC on Sunday.

Chris Pizzello/Invision, via Associated Press

Vince Gilligan, the creator of “Breaking Bad,” with its star, Bryan Cranston, right, and other show members on Sunday at the Emmy Awards, where it was named the best drama series.

Now Mr. Gilligan has concluded a deal that will bring another series he created to the more lucrative side of the business, broadcast TV.

Sony Pictures Television, the studio that has an exclusive contract with Mr. Gilligan, announced on Wednesday that it had concluded a rich deal with CBS to produce a new series created by Mr. Gilligan, with a guarantee that it will go onto the network’s prime-time schedule next fall.

The show, a police drama called “Battle Creek,” comes with an added layer of elite television pedigree. Based on Mr. Gilligan’s script, which he originally wrote for CBS 10 years ago, before he created “Breaking Bad,” the show’s production will be led by David Shore, another celebrated television producer, who created and produced the longtime Fox hit drama “House.”

The deal reflects the status Mr. Gilligan has reached, largely on the strength of the success of “Bad.”

CBS has promised to produce 13 episodes and put them all on the air. Most show deals begin with a script payment, and the next stage is limited to the making of a pilot. In this case, CBS has committed to paying for all 13 episodes before they are even produced.

Neither Sony nor CBS would reveal the specific financial terms of the deal, though Zack Van Amburg, the president of programming for Sony, said CBS would pay “a premium license fee.” Based on the typical costs of a pilot and an additional 12 episodes for an expensive, hourlong drama with top-tier producers attached, it is probably worth $35 million to $45 million.

“In the Hollywood development community, Vince is the hottest name in the business,” Mr. Van Amburg said. “If I went somewhere with the phone book with Vince’s name on it, I could sell it.”

Mr. Van Amburg credited Nina Tassler, the president of CBS Entertainment, with pushing for “Battle Creek.” Ms. Tassler visited the Sony studio in mid-August, bearing two bottles of cheap wine (the best she could find in the neighborhood). In the midst of discussions about prospective shows, she brought up the “Battle Creek” script she had worked on when she was head of CBS drama a decade ago. (It was a “cast-contingent” deal, and a suitable cast could not be found.)

“If Vince would rewrite it, and direct it, I would give you a pilot order,” Ms. Tassler told Mr. Van Amburg.

At the time, Mr. Gilligan was then entirely consumed with finishing off “Breaking Bad,” so the studio held off bringing up the “Battle Creek” offer until a short time later, when Mr. Van Amburg and his Sony partner, Jamie Erlicht, traveled with Mr. Gilligan to the Edinburgh television festival. “After a couple of pints in a pub from the 1700s,” Mr. Van Amburg said, they broached the idea of resurrecting the series.

They told Mr. Gilligan they had a great show-runner, Mr. Shore, under contract, and suggested the two of them could team up on “Battle Creek.” Mr. Gilligan liked the idea.

Mr. Van Amburg said Sony pitched the pair to CBS as if they were “the equivalent of the Dream Team.” Sony was demanding that CBS commit to more than the conventional pilot, citing the fact that other content outlets — Netflix was mentioned — would most likely offer a deal for a full season to secure a team like Mr. Gilligan and Mr. Shore. CBS agreed to the terms, which were completed on Wednesday.

For now, Mr. Van Amburg said, the intention is for Mr. Gilligan to direct the initial episode of the show.

“Battle Creek” is a drama about two detectives in Battle Creek, Mich. One is a trusting naïf, the other a cynic who relies on guile and deception. They find themselves in competition with an F.B.I. agent whom they see as the epitome of a crime-fighter, though he is far from that.

Mr. Gilligan’s reputation has soared in recent weeks, as “Breaking Bad” hurtles toward its finale, accompanied by critical praise and obsessive devotion on social media. The show won the Emmy Award for Best Drama last Sunday. “Breaking Bad” has repeatedly broken its own record for ratings over the final run of eight episodes. But its high of 6.6 million viewers last week does not approach the level of viewers a hit network series can reach. “NCIS” on CBS routinely attracts 20 million viewers.

The commitment for “Battle Creek” is the second full-series deal Sony and Mr. Gilligan have signed this month. AMC concluded a deal with him and one of his “Breaking Bad” writers, Peter Gould, for a spinoff series called “Better Call Saul,” based on the corrupt lawyer character Saul Goodman, created for “Breaking Bad.”

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Andrews Grandparents Visit

Addy had a shopping spree with the Andrews Grandparents

Phot bombing Addy


Grammy brought all the fixins for a fairy garden.  

Real plants! 

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Florida Nagle update

Mary Nagle wrote: Please find pics of Dad and I and your 2nd cousin Zach, wife Christine and son Jasper.  They just moved here from Denver, Colorado three weeks ago.   Our mutual friend WIlma (my cousin Maureen's good friend who moved here 2 years ago from Scottsdale) joined us for dinner at Deck 84 in Delray.  We wanted to show them what Palm Beach County
has to offer.  
Christine is an attorney from Finland who specializes in International Law.  They moved to Family friendly
Wellington, the Polo Capital of the World in winter.  We are soooo excited to have family here once again.  

Zach's mom is my cousin Maureen
(her mother Mary and my mom were sisters.  Aunt Mary is -still going strong at 93!!! 





Sunday, September 08, 2013