SNOWMAGGEDON!!

So it’s almost March and I do not see the snow clearing up anytime soon.  The sun is helping to melt the ice crystals and form glistening mini streams down driveways, highways and streets, but as long as this temperature keeps staying on the frigid side we are stuck with our lovely white grass!  AND, it looks like this week will be mighty cold!! 

I hope for warmer weather the next few weeks, but even so the ground is frozen and it will take time for spring to arrive with the sight of grass, flowers emerging, and squirrels (as well as us humans) losing their hibernation weight from this long winter.  With that said, you are probably saying thanks for making everyone just a bit more depressed! Well, I am a Michigander and know that “it is what it is”. This is Michigan and we need to come to grips, if we haven’t already with the fickle weather. So instead of us belaboring or complaining about it everyday the way it’s easy to complain about our aches and pains and the meds we are on as we get older, let’s change our perspective on SNOWMAGEDDON!!!

Something that has recently put me in a good mood was seeing the movie FROZEN, and listening to the tracks “Do you want to build a snowman?” and “In Summer”.  The movie almost makes ice and snow seem fun and exciting. What perfect timing for Disney to come out with this film! Also, Olaf the snowman made me once again remember my childhood building a snowman and I laugh every time I hear him sing “In Summer”.  Listen and watch and see what I mean!! Remember, he is a snowman… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFatVn1hP3o

This winter I realized that Michigan is one of the few places where we shovel to make room for more snow!  Haha! This makes me laugh. So I decided to stop shoveling this month. In the beginning of the winter I went crazy with it. Finally the last few snowfalls I gave up, and although it gets a bit messier I figured the sun would eventually melt it the way it’s suppose to. It’s just not worth the time and effort and pain on my body. So I take that extra hour or so to watch a movie and have some cocoa. I have finally for the first time in my life realized how beautiful snow is and that it has a mind of it’s own…it doesn’t wait for an invitation or leave when you ask.  So, the key is to change your perspective and learn how to live happily in it while it’s here.  I now bundle up warmer, have more hot chocolate, play with the dogs in it, and even built a snowman this year!  Coffee with friends around the fireplace also became the new relaxing spot. Our dogs enjoy the fluffy stuff!!

With that said, I’m going someplace warm next week for vacation!! J

What’s your favorite (or least) favorite part about the snow and SNOWMAGEDDON we have had this year!??? Let me know on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/BaggageDrop.

It's a Dog's World…??

What?!!!

Did I just read that correctly??!!

It’s a dog’s world??

What exactly does that mean?

Dogs seem to have it all figured out…and yet seem less stressed than humans.  Here are 13 reasons why our dogs know that it IS their world…

They get to sleep a lot….ALOT! Dogs do not sleep for 5-6 or even 7-8 hours a day. They sleep so much that we wonder how they do it. So they are not cranky, irritable, struggling with weight loss, or tired day in and day out due to the endless hours of zzzzzz’s they are able to accumulate.

They have an abundant amount of energy! Doesn’t it seem overall that most dogs are always running, barking, wagging their tails or excited? Our dogs can over bark, take 2 walks a day, play a ton, and still are always alert, tail wagging, and seem to be high on life.

They are always happy…or so it seems! Our dog Cody does show his defiant side here and there, but overall all of our dogs greet us many times a day with tongues hanging, tails wagging, and millions of licks. No matter what, they continuously do this and unless I hold back on treats or have to discipline them, they are usually exhibiting smiling behavior.  Well, after all what do they have to be sad, stressed or upset about.

Their food is the same everyday with no complaints- As long as they are eating, and for our dogs as much as possible they are content. Our little ones are lucky to have gourmet Dick Van Patton food in many flavors from Venison and Sweet potato to Wild Boar, to Duck and rice.  They get 2 solid meals, a couple treats and are always grateful.

They believe in drinking “8 glasses” of Water-Well it might not be quite 8 glasses, but they drain tat water bowl a few times a day. Diabetes and other medical conditions are not present in them due to no sugary colas, juices, or other fake sweeteners.

They do not judge -Not on looks, brains, money, status, race, religion, culture, color, job, or any other trivial means. That speaks for itself.  They are very Godly.

Their share their beds- or at least our dogs do…I catch them shacking up with each other a lot!! They all have their own beds but our little Chihuahua Rosie loves to sneak in with our Yorkie Cody at night for a rendezvous! J

They are selfless and their main purpose is to love- They know their purpose in life AND they know the true meaning of unconditional love…now how many humans can say they truly get both of those concepts.

They have amazing senses-They can smell if you have cancer, smell their owners from a mile or so away, and smell emotions. Can you imagine if we could do that? We’d be able to tell if our friend’s family or spouse was in a bad mood before we see them.

They make YOU likeable and attractive-Who doesn’t fall all over a guy or gal with a really cute dog…even the not so cute ones get attention.

Their Grooming is overall basic-One cut and clipping once a month or so, a couple baths here and there, brushing as needed and voila!

Vet Care stays the same and they have cheap caregivers-This is extremely important! Forget the Affordable Health Care Act, dogs don’t have to worry about that…their care is always the same….a cash business! Well maybe other forms of payment welcome, but over all the dog insurance business is not ruling any major markets as of yet. If they are sick they go in, you get the expensive bill and they get treatment. Preexisting conditions welcomed! Also, they get top notch care for free until the end!

They helped in our mission to kill Bin Laden! (see picture below) - Now come on, if you cant admit it’s a dog’s world by now then you’re in the wrong business…I mean wrong species kingdom ;)

Do you have dogs that RULE!? Comment below or Facebook me at https://www.facebook.com/BaggageDrop to share your reasons why it’s a Dog’s World!!

Diet fads…or diet "SADS"??

My new years resolutions is……wait for it…. to go on a DIET!!  Again??!! Ahhh… yes it is a vicious revolving circle of always telling ourselves we are going on, are on one, or need to be going on a diet. My husband and I both have been the victims of diet fads or diet "sads" as I call them.  I think they are sad and IT is sad because it seems that the minute our lives go back to normal we gain the weight back. No one can continue to take pills, eat a minimal amount of calories continuously, exercise every day, or even have prepared meals at every sitting. It can last for a while but then once the motivation wears off and results are finally seen, our lives go back to "normal". Well, this is misleading. Losing weight or being healthy is not a diet but a lifestyle. 

So I have thrown the words " to diet" out of the dictionary.  I think that it's important to have a healthy lifestyle.  There are any ways to lose weight and if they are all added to together intermittently over time will cause people to maintain healthy weights and lifestyles.

To start, here is a list of "DON'TS" for a healthy lifestyle…

•   DON'T remove all bad foods from your diet to start (If you do you will crave them even more!!)

•   DON'T take pills that say they'll help you to lose weight, not put further weight on, or decrease your appetite. You can only take these for a period of time and then eventually you'll be back at square one. Also they CAN BE harmful to your heart and body!

•   DON'T eat less than 1200 calories no matter what! We are meant to get fuel from eating.

•   DON’T think that you will keep weight off if you do not exercise

•   DON’T skip breakfast or eat after dinner

•   DON’T eat a lot of processed foods and breads and sugars

•   DON’T replace water with alcohol, pop, or other sugary drinks

A list of DO’S…

• DO eat 5-6 times a day…smaller meals
• DO watch your calories but don’t count everyone!!
• DO exercise and be physically active. Yes it is possible to still move around in many different ways.
• DO breathing exercises...trust me, as a singer, they help in weight lose!
• DO drink a lot of water!
• DO add muscle tone…muscle weighs more than fat and burns faster than fat!
• DO indulge at times…allow yourself to have a cheat meal here and there! (It will actually increase your metabolism)
• DO take your vitamins and minerals!

I use to have an eating disorder and can tell you first hand that it’s not worth it to worry about what you can’t eat all the time, but more so what you can eat. I can eat chocolate cake every now and then because by doing so I won’t crave it as bad. My suggestion though is to replace the really caloric “dangerous” items with substitutes. My husband enjoys 200 calories of plain yogurt with a bit of stevia in it and a couple blackberries and chocolate chips, just as much as he did a 600 calorie piece of cake that caused him to be hungry again an hour later.

So remember, diets “fads” are diet “sads”. They will ultimately make you sad later on when you regain the weight. Also, many people diet for their health, not only the weight. Learn to live a healthy lifestyle with smaller meals, more frequent meals, Dash substitutes for salt, more veggies, less sweets, and lots of exercise and you too can still eat without taking pills and you will lose the weight!!

One last note: I do believe in mixing in a protein supplement as a snack. I give my husband the Lean vanilla protein from Xyngular mixed in a shake with Chia seeds, berries, juice and ice. This is an awesome drink that has amino acids and proteins to help you with your metabolism. However again, the key is to maintain a lifestyle that you can do for the rest of your life with no quick fixes!  

P.S We did eat our whole wedding cake as a treat…but boy did we pay for it!! 

Health SCARES!!!!

It was July 11^th, 2013 and I just returned home from having surgery on my knee. It wasn’t a complicated ordeal, just a minor meniscus tear and small lateral cyst.  I did well waking up, although extremely tired from all of the anesthetic, ate a burger and my husband took me home to rest that day. I was in pain by evening but nothing too unbearable.  I wasn’t that immobile, as I am jumpy by nature, but did enjoy a few extra hours watching TV. A day and a half later on Saturday morning, I awoke to tightness in my calf. By Monday it was really getting worse and becoming achy and annoying. I called my doctor, had an ultrasound and it was told to me that nothing was wrong. I told them that it just didn’t feel right,  please look again, but no one seemed that concerned. So I went about my hobbling way and tried to get through the week. It got worse and worse, and I mentioned this to my doctor, but again they said it’s probably a tight muscle and to elevate and ice it. Something just didn’t site right though. My pain felt like it was everywhere in the calf, but it was in fact localized. My foot was warm. I could barely touch my leg to the recliner and forget walking…it just wasn’t happening. I was now on my crutches for my calf and not my knee.  The funny part is my knee felt great!

The week and weekend came and went with pain, lightheadedness, chest pain, and shortness of breath. My gosh, if I had known it was going to feel like this I just would’ve suffered with the torn meniscus. I was smart though in the midst of all of this, because I knew something was weird I downed a couple of aspirins a night just to help myself, as a little voice in my head kept telling me something wasn’t right. The second week presented with feeling as if someone was now sawing off my leg during the night, only to wake up with a fully swollen leg down to my ankle. The weirdness is that my leg didn’t even feel like it was mine anymore and attached.  I was extremely tired and could not even stay awake to watch TV the past few days. I called my doctor, cried once again, and begged for another ultrasound. My ultrasound appointed was made and I went in that afternoon after acting class only to be told to admit myself to the ER at once. What!? But I thought there was nothing wrong with me?? So, I turned myself in…I had a workup, EKG, and CT scan of my lungs.

***Breaking News*** Young woman has 8 clots (PEs-Pulmonary Embolisms) in her lungs caused by the DVT clot in her calf…caused by surgery, birth control…TBC***

What!? Did I hear you correct? Yes that is what happened. So I asked if I was going to die, and they said they needed to admit me ASAP, I wasn’t allowed to move so a clot didn’t block blood flow from my heart to my lungs, and the rest is history. 9 days in the hospital, Heparin, Coumadin, compression stockings, Morphine, laxatives, lots of flowers, and lots of pain. They say as of right now it was from surgery and medication I was taking (birth control). I was lucky, it was a miracle, and everyone from the ER docs to the physician assistants to the nurse and the techs said I was lucky to be here.  Really!? All I could say was “exactly how lucky was I? A minute…an hour, a day?” In reality, we just never know.  The next few months through the holidays were horrible. My blood was too thin, then too thick, then just right. Sometimes I'd cut myself and bleed without stop, other times bruises popped up and you'd think I was beaten. Coumadin made my body HURT all over and I was always colder than an eskimo without a coat! I couldn't comprehend good and I even forgot my own husbands name for a few minutes here and there! It is a rat poison drug that Coumadin, and my thinning hair proves it to be true, but it also was saving my life.

Read this site http://www.medicinenet.com/blood_clots/article.htm to learn more about clots and remember the signs and symptoms.  God had a plan for me…and it was to hang on. So I am here to tell my story and to scare you enough to listen to your body no matter what anyone else says!! It might seem that people think you’re paranoid at times, but if something isn’t right, just go in…otherwise you could be where I was…or you might not be that lucky!

Tell me your health scares at https://www.facebook.com/BaggageDrop and let me know if you have any advice on my now chronic condition of DVT. I am also here to give you non-expert advice too!! I have at least 15-20% chance for it to come back and I am still healing in my lungs and calf dealing with lung and leg pain, tiredness, and swelling.  Not a day goes by without fear of the unknown and panic, so I just thank God everyday I am still here to fulfill my mission on earth and reevaluate my purpose. Thank you for reading my story! What's yours??