Absence in Blogville

Family and Friends who may be reading this...
I know it has been a very long time since I have posted anything on my blog.

{Confession time}
I have not even been keeping up with reading your blogs if you have one.

 There are many reasons or excuses for my 'disappearance' that I will not post here, but just wanted ya'll to know that I am fine, and family is doing well.

My plan is to begin posting  again, but don't hold your breath.
 

Arthritis

These are notes to myself that I took while studying the  Jack McDougall health topics and want to record them here. Please take anything you question to your own study, and make your own conclusions. I may not have complete notes.

Rheumatoid Arthritis and Meat
Dietary factors for the development of inflammatory polyarthritis by Dorothy Pattison in the December 2004 issue ofArthritis & Rheumatism found people with a high consumption of meat and meat products have more than twice the risk of inflammatory arthritis than do people who consume less.  High intake of dairy products also meant almost twice the risk, and high total protein intake was associated with three times the risk of inflammatory arthritis.   Not surprisingly, less fruit intake also means more arthritis.  This was a study of 23,630 people from Norfolk, England.
Comment:  This study adds to the convincing body of evidence that educates people on how to keep their joints healthy and how to cure serious forms of arthritis by changing their diet.  Rheumatoid, psoriatic, Lupus, ankylosing spondylitis, and non-specific arthritis are found commonly in populations that eat the rich Western diet.  Most importantly, multiple studies have demonstrated that these kinds of inflammatory arthritis can be cured with a change to a low-fat, vegan diet. (Read "Diet: Only Hope for Arthritis" and "Star McDougallers" - Jean Brown, Vanessa, Sabrina, Mayra, Rolling Back Dermatitis...and Phyllis Heaphy. These are found on my web site at www.drmcdougall.com.)
The patient suffering with painful, swollen joints is anxious for the doctor to make a diagnosis – hoping this will lead to a cause for the arthritis and an effective treatment.  The truth is, what you call the problem (the diagnosis) fails to help the patient in any real way.  Regardless of whether the doctor calls your troubles rheumatoid arthritis, polyarthritis, non-specific arthritis, Lupus or psoriatic arthritis, the facts remain the same: your trusted health professional has no idea of the cause or cure and the same drugs are offered to you regardless of what you call your aching joints: aspirin, NSAIDs, steroids, Plaquenil, cancer chemotherapy, or other “disease modifying drugs.”
Pattison DJ, Symmons DP, Lunt M, Welch A, Luben R, Bingham SA, Khaw KT, Day NE, Silman AJ.   Dietary risk factors for the development of inflammatory polyarthritis: Evidence for a role of high level of red meat consumption.  Arthritis Rheum.2004 Dec;50(12):3804-12.
taken from: http://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2004nl/041200pufavoritefive.htm

Arthritis is caused by a  "leaky gut".

Need Vegan diet:
1.)Changes fecal flora and improves on  arthritic activity
2.)Needs to be low in fats~NO oils~they damage intestinal integrity
Vegetable oils, including those of the omega 3 and omega 6 variety are particularly strong suppressors of the immune system.

Proper foods:
Whole starches
Vegetables
Fruits

Diet must be low in fat of all kinds.

Eliminate wheat and corn

Need  B12 supplement
Carbohydrates fuel the CNS

Unprocessed plant foods high in carboydrates:
brown rice, potatoes, squash, broccoli, apples

****Oriental noodles  are mostly made from highly 

refined flours~need to play small role in diet****

a)bean threads  b)somen   c)buckwheat soba   d)udon   e)rice noodles

Starch Staples: 
Oats
Brown Rice
Wild Rice
Quinoa

Unrefined Flour:
rice
corn
soy
garbanzo
lima bean
potato

Pasta:
rice
corn
artichoke
spinach
tomato

Roots:
burdock
sweet potatoes
celery root
tapioca
Jerusalem artichoke

           
To heal leaky gut:  For 12 days no:
tofu          oils
mayo        butter
eggs          sour cream
yogurt       coconut

Blood Test Results:
cholesterol < 150 mg/dl            triglyceride levels 50-200 mg/dl
glucose   70-120                        BUN <15mg dl="" p="">Uric Acid:<7mg dl="" p="">

Special Picture Memories

Music  from a favorite mens choir

Ladies trio with awesome harmony

Meeting a bloggy friend along with her husband

Visiting a church, and running into old friends

Uncle and niece having a Sabbath snooze together

First time in scrubs

Cut a ripe papaya, and see seeds that are sprouting

A fun breakfast treat with college girlfriends

A shout out to the facility that helped save my sons life

Summer~is GONE!

Eichelburg twins play and sing at their Grandmas Memorial Service
(I babysat them when they were small)

A niece is added to the family~I spent many hours holding her while her mamma took an on line class.

A little washed out photo, but shows the awesome smiles of the proud parents just as they were getting ready to leave the hospital.

Reminiscing of days gone by as  I see these prints in the cement on our driveway

A medi~vac chopper lands just behind our house to pick up an injured construction worker from a home being built.  We could not see the action, but suppose that someone must have fallen off the roof.  The Ambulance on the scene was not able to handle the injuries.

 

N was home for 2 weeks, and we packed in as many activities as we could.  This was at a local ranchers property.  He took us on a tour

Bonding time with the newest cousin

Heading out to enjoy the waves together at the beach~unfortunately the waves were quiet that day, but the water was wonderful

Helping load the car for the 'bound for college' daughter

The first time at church~listening to the childrens story~and bonding with her uncle.

Our son chose to be baptized while his sisters were home

Our camping spot~our usual August getaway became R's send off party.

We rented a canoe for the day

Our kids+1 of R's good friends

Campfire food~always a must!

Having fun at the original Sclitterbahn in New Braunfels, TX

Our last meal together at IHOP before we parted ways~we brought R's friend home with us. N&R started their journey towards school.

A beautiful and peaceful sunset while camping...
A perfect way to end the summer.

The Cruise

My husband and I were privileged to go on an Alaskan Cruise with another couple who have done this cruise before.  They led us to the best places to go...

Beautiful Scenery

Our Cruise Ship

Visited Glacier Bay

We rode the train to the Canadian Border

Juneau  gave us a view of a whole field of Bald Eagles with their baby eaglets

Yummy Salmon berries!

Stunning Sunsets

and soo much more!

Why? Where?

Why have i been absent from the bloggy world?  Where have i been?  Can you tell from this picture??

To My Daddy

Thank you for gifting me with
 ~life~
~love~
~protection~
~support~
~encouragement~
~and so much more~

You helped instill the "I can do it" attitude that has permeated my life.
Love you daddy!
Happy Fathers Day!
(fyi~those are my girls in the pictures with a proud grandpa)

Birthday Camping

Our Supreme Diamond left her teenage years behind as we celebrated at a favorite State Park. It was a blessed R&R that we all needed. There were worship times, hikes, geocaching, swinging from a rope swing  into the water, campfire cooking, floating on tubes down the river,  reading or sleeping in the hammock, soaking up the sun, and 'air-soft' gun target practice.

The weather was perfect! The predicted thunderstorm had just passed when we arrived, and it was clear to partly cloudy the rest of the time.

Finding a geocache~upper left

signing a geocache log~lower right

Someday you just might see me taking this picture on street view google maps~ lol
They even drive through the 'camp sight roads'. That little red ball on top is the camera.

*Wheat Free*

A few years ago I discovered a sensitivity to wheat products, so am always in search of new and varied alternatives. Recently I was in a health food store searching for some -I don't remember- item, and came across these Qrunch burgers.  I had never seen nor heard of anything like them before.  So I snatched a few boxes, and am so glad I did!  They are made as patties that can be used in sandwiches, but I crumble them and put them into a casserole in place of  other vegetarian meat that a recipe might call for. These are quite expensive so I use them prudently.  I really like the flavor though, so will continue to use them when I want to perk up a recipe.  I guess there are others who like them too, for the last two times I was in the store, these have been out of stock. Maybe it is because they are free of most common allergens. 

I am not getting paid for this review~just sharing a discovery. 

In reality, unprocessed foods are the healthiest diets to adopt...that is always my goal...

Today I Sing and Claim Promises

Click on the links for the words to the songs and texts in the Bible.  These are a comfort for me today.

God brings comfort and peace 

Lift Up The Trumpet

Blessings

We Have This Hope

Great is Thy Faithfulness

Revelation 21:4

1 Thessalonians 4:14-18

1 Corinthians 15:51-53

Revelation 22:12

Today I Cried

I can't take credit~this pic was taken a year before we met the family

Empowered Living Family Camp where we got acquainted...and our friendship budded

Today was the funeral.

We live miles apart, so attending the funeral was impossible.

I am so grateful we saw her in March at her daughters wedding.

Our children bonded quickly. Both our oldest daughters are the same age, born in the same month, and we drove 15 hours to their home to celebrate their birthdays the first year we met.

During the next few years~ almost every time we took a road trip~if we were passing through their neighborhood, we would pause in our journey to visit a few minutes, or to spend a night or two. 

Birthday celebration with kids~and other special occasions

                     I can't take credit~this was a Christmas photo~

On a hike during one of our visits

Beautiful mother of the bride

Always in my heart~I will never forget you Caroline!!!

In Memory of Caroline

In memory of  a good friend who died today from cancer~tears flow freely.

She was an inspiration to me all the time I knew her.

So glad that she knew Jesus, and that *We Have This Hope*!!

My Mothers Day Panorama

What I woke to~a surprise from my daughter who knows just what I like!

The rose from the walk a thon

The clock is ready to begin

The day began with a 5k run/walk for a local organization that is raising funds. They go on a mission trip to Haiti each year.

Registration was very disorganized~next year will be better...

Energetic aerobics to get warmed up 

Lining up for the signal~allowing the runners get in the front of the pack

These were my walking buddies~ keeping my pace 

The water station at the half way mark

I took this picture a minute + after walking across the finish line

Mothers got a rose as we crossed the finish line.