Water, Water Everywhere

It’s supposed to be a rainy day here in the Panhandle and some health emails I get keep telling me to drink more water. But I can’t stand outside with my mouth wide open to get water to drink—it’s rather hard on one’s neck. And since regular water bores me, I made a more interesting version yesterday before the rain moves in—yet again.

So, I’m giving the Skinny Fiber Fat Flush and Detox drink a try. I’m avoiding soft drinks—don’t drink them all that often anyway—but I am a big sweet tea drinker as a born-and-bred southern girl.

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I made two big batches of this purportedly-healthy beverage from a recipe found on Pinterest. It involves merely slicing up 1 cucumber, 1 lemon, 2 limes, and 1 bunch of fresh mint. After dividing the ingredients between two large pitchers, I filled the pitchers with water and put them in the fridge to get cold. Super simple and tastes pretty good.

A small tea strainer works to filter out all the bits and pieces when pouring in my glass. While I probably will never give up my sacred southern sweet tea, I still need to drink more water for my health and this recipe makes for a less boring refresher than say … water.

Oops!

Sometimes you are just not supposed to get out of bed.

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At 5 a.m. today, I was jerked awake by super bad leg cramps and tried to leap out of bed to stretch my muscles. I got a little more than you would expect with this maneuver. I became tangled in my sheets and fell—a leg going in one direction, a leg in the opposite direction, and my right foot stubbornly tried yet another point of view.

My mother-in-law managed to get me to the hospital and we’ve just returned home. My impromptu fall caused broken bones, damaged tissues, and the opportunity to forge a relationship with a new orthopedic surgeon.

Next time, I’ll just stay in bed.

Sea Salt Sinus Pillow

Anyone who’s read my blog for any length of time knows I enjoy trying the many helpful tutorials offered by other bloggers. A recent tutorial for making a sinus pillow is proving truly useful.

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My sinuses are driving me crazy lately so I gave EvaForeva’s project a try using a scrap piece of starfish fabric. After making the little pillow, you put it in your microwave for a few seconds then place it over the sinus areas bothering you. Ah, relief!

There are so many bloggers nowadays that keeping up with everyone is problematic. Rachel at One Pretty Thing posts daily aggregates of tutorials—which is how I found the sinus pillow tutorial.

A Chicken in Every Pot

In the 17^th century, King Henry IV stated he wished his hungry peasants could have “a chicken in his pot every Sunday." That phrase was appropriated for political use in American history and used by the Republican party in a 1928 campaign praising their efforts towards the country’s prosperity. Often forgotten, the additional line included “and a car in every back yard”.

Source: “A Chicken in Every Pot” political ad and rebuttal article in New York Times, 10/30/1928 (National Archives)

While I do have a car (in the garage, not the back yard) and can have chicken every Sunday if I so choose, the only prosperity surrounding me is my proclivity to voluptuousity—I’m very prosperous there.

I’ve decided to make healthier meals to get my curves under control but don’t want to join in any official dieting group. Instead, I’ve opted to seek out recipes used by Weight Watchers members. A good source was found here at the Laa Loosh blog.

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Last night I gave the Chicken Pot Pie recipe found here a try.

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The recipe was easy to make and we enjoyed it. I was very careful, however, when presenting it to my husband by leaving out the words Weight Watchers. Otherwise, he’d have balked at the whole idea and not tried it. Men are just plain weird.

For any of you who are Weight Watchers members, this meal counts as 4 points. It’s not an official Weight Watchers recipe, but it is tasty and serves its purpose.

Save Our Skin

May is Skin Cancer Awareness Month. We’re very well aware of this in my family.

Source: NC Department of Health and Human Resources

This morning as I post this, my sister Connie is undergoing surgery for invasive skin cancer. The surgeon will slice a bit, do the pathology to be sure he has clean margins and, if not, go back in and slice another sliver and so on until they have clean, cancer-free margins. The pathology itself takes 45 minutes at least each time. We already know her cancer is pretty deep.

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I’ve had my own bouts of skin cancer. One was a large malignant squamous cell carcinoma that grew on my arm above my wrist. It started as a small itchy patch on my skin I thought was merely the result of Arizona’s dry climate. But it wasn’t and grew into an alien tumor super fast. A chunk of my arm was removed until they found cancer-free margins.

The resulting scar is my reminder to take appropriate precautions and always wear sunscreen along with performing regular screening checks via self-checks as well as by my doctor.

Please think good thoughts for Connie today—and then arrange a preventative screening appointment to protect yourself. I want you to live and be happy.

Resources

• American Cancer Society
• CancerConnect
• Skin Cancer Awareness Foundation
• Skin Cancer Foundation
• SOS—Save Our Skin
• Women’s Health

Pink Glove Dance

Source: Allegro Medical Supplies Inc.

Medline and the Providence St. Vincent Medical Center in Portland, OR put together this awesome Pink Glove Dance video to promote breast cancer awareness. I love the positive approach to a serious issue.



Inspired by the hospital’s Pink Glove Dance, 17,200 people in Chicago last December participated in a concert/dance with Jay Sean. You can read more about this here as well as view that video.

Source: Medline Industries, Inc.

Besides raising awareness about breast cancer, an impressive aspect of the hospital video are the actual hospital workers, no matter what job position is held. These are real people, not actors or professional dancers. The same people who probably diagnosed a woman with breast cancer earlier in the day or gently closed the eyes of someone who lost their cancer battle. It humanizes an otherwise amorphous medical framework in which breast cancer victims find themselves during their fight to survive.

Breast cancer touches all our lives—it’s a real issue about real people just like you and me. So put on your pink gloves, turn on the music, and dance through your day.

Nike + iPod Walking/Running/Workout Tools

I have a new personal trainer to help me in my Wellness Journey program—but my trainer isn’t human. Instead, techie tools are helping me.


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My new tools:

• iPod Nano
• Nike + iPod Sport Kit
• iPod arm band
• Skullcandy headphones

Inside the Sport Kit is a little sensor and a receiver. You put the sensor in your shoe and attach the receiver to your iPod. It tracks your time, distance, pace, and calories burned. It can also give you real-time voice feedback. You can listen to your favorite music or workout programs downloaded via iTunes.

It is designed to work with an iPod Nano, iPod Touch, or iPhone 3GS. It won’t work with my iPod Classic or Blackberry Curve, so a new iPod Nano was needed.


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The system is meant to be used with Nike shoes. I needed a way to make this system work with my New Balance shoes, so I bought Grantwood Technology’s neoprene pouch which you tie on your shoe with the laces. It holds the little sensor and protects it at the same time.

Another great feature is that you can plug your iPod in to your computer and the data will synchronize automatically to nikeplus.com. This gives you a record of your progress. You can customize everything.

You can also connect your iPod to a Nike + iPod-compatible cardio machine at your gym to track your progress from one workout to the next. I don’t do gyms so this isn’t an option that really interests me.

And lest you think I’m getting any kind of financial recompense for telling you about all this—I’m not. I just wanted to share my new fitness tools with you in case you’re interested.

Resources

You can buy everything except the shoe pouch at Target, but here are the resources for learning more about each of the components.

• Grantwood Technology web site
• Grantwood Technology’s neoprene pouch at Amazon.com
• Nike + iPod at Apple
• Skullcandy headphones

My Wellness Journey Project

The end of December was actually the start of a wonderful new project for me—a Wellness Journey class at Big Picture Scrapbooking. December 31 was the first day of this 8-week class. There’s still time to join if you’re interested.

Class members are documenting their wellness journey through scrapbooking. Marrying the creative with physical exercise is a brilliant concept and enables me to be crafty to mediate something I really don’t enjoy—exercise.


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My class journal/scrapbook is an American Crafts chipboard binder with 6”-square pages (purchased from Scrapbooks.com) and a black cloth spine. I covered the chipboard parts with paper purchased at Making Memories Unforgettable. The cover title is framed with a decorative metal plate found at Jo-Ann’s.


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The first page is my signed wellness contract witnessed by my husband. You can also see my tabs, one for each week of class, made using Melstampz’s template and adding numbers. Thoughts of coloring in the tabs with colored pencils are flitting through my head.


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I decorated a small clipboard from Office Max to hold exercise checklists I created in Microsoft Word, using categories personalized for me.

Walking is my main thing, Tai Chi is for balance/strength/and various good things, and the Other category is so I can switch-up activities such as biking, working with weights, yoga, or whatever I choose to do on any given day.


Source: Goddess Guidebook

Sundays, by the way, are sacrosanct. On my checklist, I put a graphic from the Goddess Guidebook site that says Switch Off Sundays as it’s a truly excellent idea.

Resources

• Big Picture Scrapbooking
• Goddess Guidebook
• Making Memories Unforgettable
• Scrapbook.com
• Tabs template from Melstampz blog

Blessings Friday

As always, I greatly appreciate the comments you leave for me. Thank you, Michele, Clarice, Pat, Kim, Kristie, and Rohanknitter for your kind comments about the Halloween pillow I posted yesterday—you are all so very encouraging! And thank you, Winding Ways (no link was left), for letting me know I’d inadvertently misspelled Crabapple Hill Studio’s name yesterday. You didn’t mention whether or not you like the pillow I labored on so intensively, but I hope you do. I corrected the spelling this morning.

Volkssporting

After finally managing to make it to walking 3 miles early in the mornings, the time came to try something more challenging. I joined the Tucson Volkssport Walking Klub, parented by the American Volkssport Association (AVA) which, in turn, is part of the Internationaler Volkssport Verband (IVV) headquartered in Germany.

IVV’s purpose is to promote noncompetitive popular sports events, such as biking, skiing, snowshoeing, swimming, and walking. Trail routes are always interesting, some have literary associations, most are historical, and all are fun.

Source: Tucson Volkssport Walking Klub

Last Saturday was my first official 11K walk (was initially supposed to be 10K). I wended my way through The Pecan Farm in Sahuarita, AZ amidst about 110,000 trees covering 4,500 acres. It was so peaceful walking the paths between the heavily-laden trees which will be harvested in mid-to-late November through the end of January.

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Here’s the patch I earned. This walk also qualifies for AVA's American Authors and Literary Landmarks Special Award Program as well as for the letter "S" for AVA's Walking the USA, A–Z Special Award Program.

Who knew trying to get healthier could be so much fun?

Special Gifts

On Wednesday I received a wonderful package from Sarah (Sassy Priscilla blog) and her son Aidan.

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Inside was protective hand cream and Burt’s Bees lip shimmer—perfect for my walking kit. The Penzeys spices went into immediate use for my Halloween baking project (I’ll share tomorrow). And then there are the mermaids—I so love mermaids and Sarah managed to find lengths of mermaid-themed ribbon webbing.

© Aidan, All Rights Reserved

Aidan created this gorgeous artwork thanking me for the U.S. Ranger Doll, U.S. Parks Passport, and candy I sent him. Isn’t this the sweetest thank-you package ever?

Adventures 1

I love adventures—and there’s an adventure around every corner if you only look for it.

Today my adventure is hiking in Sabino Canyon in the Coronado National Forest. Many people think Tucson (or Arizona in general) must be like the Sahara Desert—miles and miles of nothing but sand. This is very far from the truth and visitors are quite surprised to discover we have plants of all sorts (besides the ubiquitous cacti). Sabino Canyon is in the mountainous area of Tucson and a beautiful creek feeds a plethora of trees and wildlife; it’s a wonderful introduction to the Sonoran Desert.

Hiking is part of my walking program which I’ve been sharing with you lately. To keep myself from getting bored and abandoning my getting-healthy plan, I seek a new trail every other day to explore.

Yesterday afternoon, my friend and neighbor Cindy stopped by and surprised me with gifts to help on my adventures.

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She brought me a new waist bag for hiking with water bottles in compartments on the side. There’s plenty of room for my binoculars, field guide, mini-first aid kit, emergency food, and other supplies. There’s even a pocket for my iPOD with a little opening in which to insert my headphones cord—this will come in handy.

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Inside the bag I found two books about hiking, trail maps and safety information, along with a lanyard for lip balm. Hiking in the desert is much different than other places and has safety issues that must be addressed. This is such a delightful gift and I’m grateful for Cindy’s thoughtfulness. She’s joining me on the Sabino Canyon expedition.

It’s time for me to leave for my hike. Tomorrow I’ll share how to find adventures and happiness on a world-wide scale along with resources for exploring via your home computer. Maybe what you discover will inspire an adventure of your own.

Hiking Around

There are certain times of the year I have difficulty dealing with emotionally—since 2004, the interim of Aug. 1 and 9 is a bad one for me. So I try to find something positive and constructive to do at this time.

Right now I’m working on getting healthier so I’ve been walking a lot. This has led to an interest in hiking, and I’ve been trying out a new trail every other day. Today it’s the Mica View Trail at Saguaro National Park East, a relatively short trail but I’m working up to more strenuous hikes.


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My husband took me shopping for new hiking boots on Tuesday as he said my sneakers aren’t good for Arizona’s trail challenges: rocks, cacti, flash floods, and rattlesnakes (we call them buzz worms). I can also use the boots to practice ninja moves for warding off hungry mountain lions should they decide I look tasty. I’m sure I’m not tasty at all, silly animals.

I checked the Letterboxing North America site last night and found there’s a webbox to be found on the very trail I’ll be following this morning. You cannot plant an actual letterbox in a national park, hence a webbox. You follow the clues, make note of certain information, and then log it into the applicable web link indicated by the person who created the box.

It’s a beautiful morning in Tucson and I get to be outside—blessings that ease my heart somewhat. I have to leave now as I’m picking up a neighbor who is joining me on my hiking adventure.

Travel First Aid Kit

We’re traveling again soon; we have three trips scheduled—one each for October, November, and December. A post on Maya Made last week reminded me about the necessity of including a first aid kit in our packing.


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I’m not a doctor and, therefore, am not making recommendations on what should be in your first aid kit. Maya Made’s choices gave me a good list to consider; from that I made my own shopping list to supplement what’s already in my medicine cabinet.

• Arnica Spray: external use for muscle aches and pains, as well as bruises from falls
• Arnica Montana Pellets: dissolves in the mouth for reducing pain, swelling, and discoloration from bruises
• Burt’s Bees Res-Q Ointment: aids in healing wounds, cuts, burns and bruises
• Rescue Remedy: for relief of occasional stress or anxiety
• EcoGuard Bandages: latex-free
• Desert Essence Towelettes: contains lavender, tea tree, and palmarosa
• Neosporin: antibiotic ointment
• Tylenol
• Aloe Vera Ointment: for minor cuts, burns, insect bites, irritations, and sunburn

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Maya Made provides a tutorial for making a first-aid envelope, including an adaptation for using it with a belt. I have a small bag previously made using a pattern from Amy Karol’s book Bend the Rules and am using that instead. Everything tucks quite neatly inside.

Do It Yourself Hot Stone Massage

I love massages, but they’re not cheap. So I’ve figured out a way to get what I need in a more affordable way. My husband and I decided we’ll learn some massage techniques and then treat each other.

To supplement regular massages for our aching muscles and joints, a hot stone massage makes for a blissful experience. I’ve collected what we need--basalt river rocks, a book about massage techniques, and a stone warmer.


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You need approximately 33 stones: 8 large, 6 medium, 10 small, and 8 very small ones to put between your toes. You can buy the rocks or find them in a riverbed. My sister and I drove up to Apache Junction on Monday and spent the day floating down the Salt River on inner tubes to escape Arizona’s heat. There were gazillions of lovely smooth river stones—gifts of nature.

You can buy a stone warmer at beauty supply stores, but you can also just use an old crock-pot, just be careful you can control the temperature appropriately. Put in your stones and water, making sure the stones are completely submerged, but don’t overfill your pot. In addition to stones, the warmer heats mud, algae and other massage products for varying type therapies.

We’re going to give our new do-it-yourself tools a try this weekend. First I’ll make a bottle of homemade massage oil to use with a recipe found at Pioneer Thinking for a massage oil called “Muscular Aches Pain”.

Resources

• A Step-By-Step Guide To The Hot Stone Massage at LifeScript
• Create Your Own Home Spa Experience at LifeScript
• 5 Simple Steps to Create Your Own Hot Stone Kit for Massages at The Free Library
• Herbal Magic: Customize Your Massage Oil at The Herb Companion
• Hot Stone Massage And Other Relaxation Techniques at Relaxation
• Hot Stone Massage Therapy videos on YouTube
• How to Give a Hot Stone Massage at How to Do Things

Summer Walking Program

All the cooking, partying, and vacationing going on this summer are not helping me meet my health goal set at the beginning of the year. It’s my own fault. More active movement is needed in my life, plain and simple.

Since I’m not young and am definitely out of any semblance of shape, walking is a good activity with which to start. Following advice from Active.com, I’m trying their beginner Summer Walking Program.

Summer is deadly here in Tucson, so I’ll have to go out very early in the morning. That’s a good idea anyway as there’s something motivating about a fresh new day ahead.





While picking up a prescription at Albertson’s recently, I saw a walking program card on their counter as a giveaway which contains a number of helpful tips. Click on each picture to enlarge and print if you’d like to use their program.


© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved (from September 2007 post)

I can track my progress with this fitness calendar printed from HP Creative Studio.


© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved

Here’s another great tool recently featured on One Pretty Thing, a free printable Healthy Living Goals List created by Baca Creative.

I’ve got to figure out how to keep this stuff on my computer to avoid actually handling paper considering my allergy issue. Some things can’t be avoided, I guess.


© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved

An active person is supposed to be able to walk 10,000 steps per day. Doesn’t that sound daunting? Sitting here writing about it isn’t going to get me anywhere, so I’m clipping on my little pedometer and heading out the door.

Resources

• Healthy Living Goals List from Baca Creative
• HP Creative Studio printable fitness calendar
• Summer Walking Program from Active.com
• “Your Anti-Aging Checklist” from Oprah
• Zen Habits blog offers health tips on Fridays

Blessings Friday: Celebrate Life

My husband and I are greatly appreciative of all the comments you’ve left for us—your thoughts, prayers, and kindness this past week have lifted our hearts and spirits. Thank you, dear Kristie, for letting everyone know.

My husband’s lung collapsed in the middle of the night last week. At the emergency room, the doctors inserted a chest tube while I tightly held his hand. There were some difficulties over the next couple of days getting his lung to inflate and stay where it should be. Although he has some residual problems, the emergency is over and my beloved husband is home again.

The night of his emergency, I had just finished reading The Lace Reader: A Novel. Before bed, I set aside the things I’d need to try knitting a lace towel edging which I planned to begin after my morning housework. Instead, it’s one of the things I grabbed on the way to the hospital emergency room.

While my husband was getting various CT scans and other assorted tests/treatments performed, I tried to knit my lace to occupy myself. At first I couldn’t remember how to cast on, then I couldn’t remember what YO meant, and every stitch was a challenge in concentration. I started and stopped my lace making over and over again. Each failure ending up in the hospital’s trash can. Why is this so hard, I kept asking myself?

And then I remembered what I read in The Lace Reader: A Novel, lace is an echo of life: past, present, future. Maybe I was experiencing all these simultaneously in my terror over what was happening to my husband. Maybe, like him, I just needed to breathe.

I took a deep, cleaning and calming breath and began again. Each stitch became easier and when mistakes appeared, I just kept going. Mistakes are part of life. Dub’s lung collapsing is a mistake, too. A lace pattern slowly emerged, small but something I could see—something I could count on, each lacy hole a breath my husband was taking to live and one I was echoing.


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My result is a tiny piece of lace which may never be finished. The mistakes in it are important and meant to be, I think. I may save this tiny piece as a reminder of the importance of breathing.


© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved

Today I celebrate each breathe we take: mine, my husband’s, and yours. May the lace of your life always have space for breathing.