4 sisters

4_sisters

This is a picture of my three sisters and I. I am the blonde in the middle. We had a great weekend together in Las Vegas celebrating my baby sister's 21st birthday 2 years ago. I can't believe she is going to be having a baby soon!

I am so lucky to have such gorgeous and smart and talented sisters!!!

I wear my detox foot pads only on the weekends

I have been wearing my detox foot pads only on the weekends. Since I workout and shower before bed, (thanks to the time it takes to dry my hair, I don't bother with it and just let it air dry overnight), I don't have time in the mornings to stick my feet in the tub and scrub the goo off them. So on weekends that is what I do. I wear 3 on each foot for 2 nights a week.

I can tell when I haven't worn them for awhile. There is a big difference in how I feel, and how I sleep. I know I am recovering from 2 shoulder surgeries, so sleeping is difficult as it is, but it is a bit easier when I wear the foot pads, which is nice, since the weekends are my only available times to sleep in.

Every person is different. Some parents use them for their kids, for the sole purpose of helping them sleep better. They make a huge difference! Other parents use them for their kids because their kids are showing signs of ADHD. The detox pads help these kids by pulling the toxins out of their bodies. As a result, they are acting like normal kids vs. hyperactive, no attention span sugar-junkies. I believe diet plays a role as well. The more you can get your kids off of high fructose corn syrup, the better!

Right now I am offering 40 free detox foot pads with the order of 200. So for only $190, you get 240 detox foot pads, which is enough for 1 person for 4 months. That is a crazy good deal.

Check them out if you haven't. I give away free samples if you email me.


Week 12 bicep tenodesis post op left shoulder and week 7 SAD/DCE right shoulder

I am crazy. Well, those who know me already know that. It is those little quirks that make each of us so lovable (yeah, right!)

Why am I crazy? Well, I had my shoulder surgeries only 5 weeks apart. Looking back on that, I can't believe I did it.

I have gotten to my 12 week post op on my left shoulder. This is a big deal because it takes about 12 weeks to heal the bone where the screws were screwed in. Now, my chances of pulling out the screws are almost nil (well, probably 100% nil because the screws disintegrate and become part of the bone). I can, however, still injure the bicep muscle or what's left of the LH bicep tendon. I don't think I will, they say I really have to TRY and do something drastic to do it. But at least now I can start doing arm curls and strengthening the muscle (slowly).

But... here is the bad news. I went to my post op appt on Monday and got some bad news. My shoulder capsule is very tight (the beginning of frozen shoulder!!) Very painful. I don't know if the pain I am experience now from certain stretches is the worst I have had since my surgery, since the pain I have had in the past was pretty bad, but it is up there. I don't even know how to explain it. The bone beneath my tricep and deltoid muscles is just extremely painful, deep inside. And, my range of motion is much more limited than it was a week ago. So I am extremely worried about that.

My thoughts as to what happened are, after I injured my arm in my sleep last Wednesday night (8 days ago), that when I did my stretches, I overcompensated, not stretching that area like I should have. I don't know how to explain without physically showing someone, but imagine your shoulder in a shrug. I can lift my arm up without limitations if I do the shrug. And inadvertently I have been doing that the past week, vs. having my shoulder blade down while I do my exercises, causing the shoulder capsule to tighten. Oh boy that is painful. So, I am working diligently on my stretches so I don't get a frozen shoulder.

Sleeping is still very painful. I didn't like them telling me that my shoulder will probably be painful during the night for the next 6-12 months. Who wants to hear that!! Yikes!

It definitely is harder than I thought it would be.

But I will keep going. Keep trudging on. I am not afraid of hard work.

11 weeks post op today!! Bicep Tenodesis, SAD and DCE

Today marks 11 weeks since my bicep tenodesis surgery.

Since this past Monday (and I don't know whether it was the new stretches I got assigned from the physical therapist, or whether it was the magic "10.5 weeks since surgery") I have seen a tremendous improvement. It was like a light switch just flipped on. I have such an amazing amount of range of motion (passive), and am slowly regaining the strength.

Except for one thing. Last night I tweaked my arm while I was sleeping. I was laying on my back with my arm around a pillow near the side of the bed, and it fell off (my arm -- not off my body, but off the pillow) and overextended as it fell toward the floor, jarring me awake with a cry.

I am going to assume I just tweaked some muscles and that in a day or two it will be all better.

The time it takes (approximately) for the bicep tenodesis to heal, is 12 weeks. Then, the next 12 weeks after that is focusing on strengthening and completely getting my range of motion and strength back. I understand I won't be able to be as strong as I was in my heyday (in my bicep muscle) but no worries on that.

One more week until I hit that magical 12 week mark!

I am so excited. I am still having trouble sleeping, it is very painful, but I am off all my painkillers, and only take Aleve or Advil when necessary (about 1x every two days it seems now).

My range of motion is about the same as it was before surgery now, so that is something. The pain may also be about the same, but of course it is a different kind of pain -- soreness vs. pain with movements. And it gets better every day!

I am still pretty cautious about what I do, but I am slowly doing more. Starting to lift things with both hands vs. only using my right hand, starting to maybe lift a pot or pan in the kitchen with only my left hand. Things like that.

And, I am very serious about my physical therapy. I do stretches every morning, and evening, and I do strengthening like I am supposed to do, every other day. It does seem like a long time, and patience is an issue with me, but I have to keep on keeping on, and focus on the long term effects, vs. what I want NOW.

My right shoulder is now 6 weeks post op on the subacromial decompression (SAD) and Distal Clavicle Excision (DCE). I have full range of motion and am doing weights up to 3lbs on my strengthening (not the rotator cuff muscles, that is set at 2 lbs, no need to ever go more than that -- but the arm curls I am at 3lbs now, and hope to move up to 5 lbs within a week). I have a lot of tenderness on the top of the shoulder, where the acromium and clavicle meet. But as I mentioned before in previous posts, that was to be expected and it may take a few months more to have that fully be gone. And, other than that, the pain is completely gone in my right shoulder, which is great.

My fears? Yes, I still have them. I fear still that I will get a frozen shoulder. I know that is a silly thing to fear, as I am very active and consistently do my stretching and physical therapy. But I still worry.

I also worry that the numbness in my left arm near one of the incisions will never go away, and it will stay like that forever.

My left elbow hurts, too, as a result of all the stretching that I am doing, it is carrying the brunt of the weight from over compensating for my shoulder. So the tendons around my elbow are very sore and right now, it hurts more than my shoulders!! But I have been told that once I regain my strength in my shoulder and the elbow stops overcompensating, then it will go away. Let's hope! It would be sad to fix one problem only to cause another.

So, my goal of being at full range of motion by the end of the month... I actually still may be able to achieve it, I am almost there now! (Passively, which means when I use the wand for range of motion exercises, I guide the stretch with my other hand). I cannot do the stretches actively yet, at least most of them. But who knows, at the rate I have progressed these past 3 days, I just might! I can put my arm straight over my head perfectly now, but not hold it there long because it is still weak... with the wand I can hold it there forever! And I can now get it behind my back, but not up to my shoulder blades yet, unless I use a door handle or something to help. So that is cool.

My ultimate goal is to have everything "back to normal" by Thanksgiving. I have a lot of cooking to do! This includes strength and range of motion. I understand it will take months to achieve my max strength, what I mean is so that I can perform my daily tasks with ease.

I can do it!!

I also understand it will probably take 6 months to a year before I can sleep without pain. Of course I would like it to be closer to 6 months, so I will pray for that!

Comcast and the idiots that they hire

I have a story to tell you about Comcast -- this is from back in 2005.

I signed a purchasing agreement to buy a house, and was going to close on it on a specific date. I went to Comcast.com to get their phone number to call to schedule an appointment so they could be sure to hook up my internet access the day I move in. Everyone who knows me knows that I just cannot survive with this internet connection. I have a side business to run, and without internet access, I cannot run it.

So, on their website I noticed a place where I could schedule an appointment, and even choose my 4-hour window. So I decided to do that. I hate being on hold and talking on the phone anyway. And, it just irks me that I have to press 1 for English.

A few days before my closing date, I decided to call and confirm my appointment, after all, I really have no faith in appointments set up via the internet.

I got someone from India (from his accent), and asked for confirmation of my appointment. He looked up my account and said there was no appointment scheduled. Of course that ticked me off already, but then I went on to try and be calm about it. Instead of biting his head off, I said to just make an appointment for that allotted time. He told me they didn't have any available appointments, and could I do it the day before? (This was Tues I called, I was closing on a Friday, and he suggested having them come out on Thursday).

I explained that I didn't own the house until Friday and that I couldn't do that, and Friday was the day for me.

He INSISTED that I do it on Thursday instead. And I asked him straight out if he thought I could just go into a strangers house and hook up internet there. He said no, that is not allowed. Then I asked him why he is telling me to do that? It went on and on for a while, and I couldn't believe the idiocy of this guy. I then asked to speak to someone from America who understood that we can't just install internet access into a home we didn't own yet. Finally, I got to a manager here in the U.S. and she was able to juggle things around and get me scheduled. But this was after over 20 minutes of discussing it with this guy from India.

I am so frustrated with customer service these days. Granted, this was over 5 years ago, but I remember it fresh in my head as if it was yesterday. He was so insistent that I take the Thursday appointment, even after explaining that the house didn't belong to me and I was buying it on Friday.

I want to talk to a customer service person who works for the company I am calling. I want to speak with someone from the U.S. if it is a U.S.-based company I am calling. I don't want to have to press any number to get English. I don't want an automated system. I don't want to be referred to the website for my needs. I LOVE using websites, but if I know I won't be able to find what I need on the website, I am going to call. I tried the website first, so don't refer me back there.

I will be much more loyal to a company who provides me good customer service. And loyalty is what it is all about these days.

Healthy Foods--pretty interesting...

Haven't verified all these claims, but some of them are common knowledge.


 lt's been said that God first separated the salt water from the fresh, made dry land, planted a garden, made animals and  fish... All before making a human. He made and  provided what we'd need before we were born. These  are best & more powerful when eaten raw.   We're such slow learners... 
God left us a great clue as to what foods help what part of our body!
 
God's Pharmacy!  Amazing!
 
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A sliced Carrot looks like the human eye. The pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye... And YES, science now shows carrots greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the eyes.  
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A Tomato has four chambers and is red. The heart has four chambers and is red. All of the research shows tomatoes are loaded with lycopine and are indeed pure heart and blood food. 
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Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research today shows grapes are also profound  heart and blood vitalizing food. 
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A  Walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums.  Even the wrinkles or folds on the nut are just like the neo-cortex. We now know walnuts help develop more than three (3) dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function. 
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Kidney Beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys. 
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Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and many more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don't have enough sodium in your diet, the body pulls it from the bones, thus making them weak.  These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body. 
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Avocadoes,  Eggplant and Pears target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female - they look just like these organs. Today's research shows that when a woman eats one avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight, and prevents cervical cancers. And how profound is this?  It takes exactly nine (9) months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods (modern science has only studied and named about 141 of them).  
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Figs are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow.  Figs increase the mobility of male sperm and increase the numbers of Sperm as well to overcome male sterility. 
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Sweet Potatoes  look like the pancreas and actually balance the glycemic index of diabetics. 
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Olives assist the health and function of the ovaries 
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OrangesGrapefruits, and other Citrus fruits look just like the mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts. 
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Onions  look like the body's cells. Today's research shows onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells. They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes. A working companion, Garlic, also helps eliminate waste materials and dangerous free radicals from the body. 
   
 

Week 10 bicep tenodesis and subacromial decompression (shoulder surgery) recovery

I was traveling for business this week and it wreaked havoc on my physical therapy routine. I love having a set protocol each day, when  I wake up, I have a routine. Before bed, I have a routine. But being away from home and having weird hours throws that routine off kilter.

I have to say that I was able to reach full range of motion for one specific stretch I am doing, last weekend. And every day I stretch and stretch to make sure I can still reach that full range of motion for that one. So far, so good.

My goal to get full range of motion back by the end of this month will not be attainable. That is sad for me, but I have to be realistic.

I also have been in a lot of pain lately. My right shoulder is very tender, I would have to say it is more tender than it has been since right after the surgery. My left shoulder is also sore -- my tricep (the back side of my arm) and my deltoid muscles are very sore. I know it is because I am working them out, after so long without working out, and I was hauling around luggage, etc which I probably shouldn't have been doing. I just don't see why we have to have the farthest gate at the most inconvenient terminal, when we travel. Hah!! So a lot of walking, pulling luggage and carrying a backpack over my shoulder.

Sleeping is still very hard. I don't want to take any more narcotics unless my pain gets worse, and then maybe only on the weekends. This whole week I only took 1 vicodin, when I was in  Montreal, and it didn't do anything for me. It doesn't even make me drowsy anymore, which tells me that my body's tolerance for it is rising. Which scares me, of course. So, I will stick with Aleve or Advil when I remember to take them. So the pain must not be that bad if I don't always remember to take the anti-inflammatories.

I don't mean to complain about the pain. I AM healing. It is a long, drawn out process, and at 10 weeks post op for my bicep tenodesis, I think I am doing fairly well. I still have some concerns. Mainly, the range of motion. The stretches still hurt pretty bad, and I have tenderness and soreness and tightness of muscles. But the pain is there. It is no walk in the park, and I get frustrated now that it is starting to be jacket weather -- it is very hard to put on jackets when both your shoulders are not fully healed!

My goals are still to get my range of motion back, but I think I should be realistic and change the goal to Thanksgiving. I see my physical therapist again on Monday, first time in 25 days, so that will be good, he may give me new stretches to do, and then he can assess where I am at. Then, I will see my doctor for another post op visit on November 1st, a week later.

I am nearing the finish line. I can feel it. Give me a few more weeks and I think I will reporting much better news!! Until then, I will still give my weekly updates and continue trudging along on my physical therapy.

Pet Sitting in the metro area

Here is a new company in the metro area (north metro mostly) offering pet care, pet sitting, etc... If you are looking for someone to take care of your beloved animals when you are traveling, remember All God's Creatures Pet Sitting 

I have copied some information from their website here:

-Rebecca

Welcome ...

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        "There's no place like home, no place like Home, no  place  like  H O M E ..."

No matter how hard they may try, boarding kennels can never be home. They may try to be "just like home ", but somehow it is still never quite the same. Avoid the noise (imagine over 50 dogs in the same room!), smell of disinfectant (and other "stuff "), risk of illness or injury, and those lonely concrete cells ... choose in-home pet care for your beloved pet companions instead!

In-home care by All God's Creatures Pet Services offers the best of both worlds. Your pet stays in their own safe and secure home ... snuggled in their own warm comfy bed, surrounded by the familiar sights, sounds & smells of their own home. A professional pet sitter, whom your pet knows, will come to your home and care for your beloved pet ... providing fresh water, food, potty breaks, playtime, exercise,
LOTS of belly rubs, cuddles and tender loving care.

In addition to pet sitting, we also provide dog walks, pet taxi (for those vet or grooming appointments), horse turn-out, litter care, egg collection, lock-out & home check services, and much more!

Also, as our name suggests, we offer care for ALL kinds of pets (well, almost all) ... not just dogs & cats. Horses, backyard farm animals (chickens, ducks, rabbits, and goats), pond fish, pocket pets (hamsters, guinea pigs, etc.), aquarium fish, and small caged birds (parakeets, canaries, etc.) are all welcome too!

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Detox Your Body with
Purify Your Body Foot Pads!
www.purifyyourbody.com

Minnesota Boxer Rescue
www.mnboxerrescue.org
Adopt a Boxer Today!

Christian-inspired apparel
www.faithhopecharitees.com
Keep the light of Christ with you!

Procrastination

Here it is, almost 7pm... dinner is done. Laundry is waiting to be started. I need to pack for my trip to Montreal, and I need to do physical therapy, work out, and do a sauna. I have to fill my orders for my detox foot pads. Yet I don't want to do anything but be lazy.

But I know I have limited time. I gotta do it!

But I also want to procrastinate.

Still a lot of things on my mind. I am thinking of my truck, I need new wheel bearings that run about $350 a piece (including labor). I am thinking of the inspection of my rental properties this Friday and worrying about whether they will pass so I can renew my landlord license. I am thinking of my condo, where the homeowners association is billing me for their lawyers fees because my tenant got upset and wants to sue them for towing her truck. I hired a lawyer (another $500) to write a letter to them telling them I am not going to pay the $1150. What if they hire their lawyer AGAIN, and try to get me to pay THOSE fees, as well? It is a vicious cycle.

I need to take a breather. I wish I didn't have so much going on.

New numbers reveal more Gardasil deaths

(This article was sent to me via email from W.C. Douglass, MD. I wish he would include a link to a website so I could include a URL, but instead, he just sends them out via email, and the links in his emails are to ads only).

New numbers reveal more Gardasil deaths

Exposed!

Newly uncovered documents reveal that the world's most tragic and dangerous public health experiment has claimed more young victims.

Gardasil, Merck's horrifically bad HPV vaccine being pushed on little girls around the world, has been linked to 16 more deaths -- including four suicides -- and thousands of other terrifying side effects.

Even more outrageous, the feds have been busy trying to cover it up -- because instead of immediately warning the public and ending the program, they tried to hide all the damning evidence.

The FDA only came clean when forced to by the law after Judicial Watch filed a demand for the data under the Freedom of Information Act.

And in addition to the dozens of deaths already linked to this vaccine, FDA documents obtained by Judicial Watch revealed 16 new deaths between May 2009 and last month.

That's one young life needlessly cut short every month.

The FDA papers also revealed 3,589 new cases of adverse events after Gardasil vaccinations, including 789 "serious" cases, 213 that led to permanent disability, and 25 diagnoses of the debilitating and paralyzing nervous system disorder Guillain-Barre Syndrome.

And for what? For nothing!

Despite its poorly chosen nickname, all this "cervical cancer vaccine" really offers is very limited protection from some of the strains of HPV that can cause the disease -- and researchers say even that can wear off in just a few years.

It's a clear case of "all risk and no benefit," but that hasn't stopped Big Pharma from pushing to have Gardasil added to the list of required vaccinations for school.

Virginia has even made it a law. But if you happen to live in that state, don't be intimidated by these bully tactics: You can spare your own daughter by simply refusing to let them stick her with this poison.

Just stick to your guns. One parent named in the new report said she initially declined the vaccination for her daughter, but was talked into it by the doctor.

Five weeks later, her 13-year-old girl was dead.