Monday, September 28, 2009

My Movie Review of the Week- FAME

We saw Fame yesterday. I never saw the original Fame and I thought that we were seeing the same thing, same songs. We didn't like the acting. Never heard of any of the young people in the movie. The known actors had bit parts. Not worth seeing. The singing was terrible and they sang awful songs. I'll give it a 2.

Regular Shows Are Returning!

It's about time we get to watch some good TV! House is back! Dexter is back! Curb Your Enthusiasm is back! Gray's Anatomy is back! Now a few more shows to return and I can start watching TV again.

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Cinnamon and Your Health

Cinnamon: Help for Insulin Resistance and Weight Loss
Popular and Flavorful Spice is New Aid in the Battle Against Buddha Belly/Belly Fat

If you think cinnamon is simply something to sprinkle on your cookies or cappuccino, think again. The popular spice, once considered more precious than gold, has medicinal value that is making even pharmaceutical companies take notice.

Cinnamon, it turns out, has long been used to cure everything from athlete’s foot to indigestion. Early civilizations recognized its ability to stop bacterial growth. The Egyptians used it in embalming. During the Middle Ages, it was mixed with cloves and warm water, and placed in the sick rooms of victims of the Bubonic Plague.

Recent research indicates that cinnamon can have favorable effects on brain function. Participants in a study chewed cinnamon gum or smelled the sweet spice. Cognitive tests revealed that subjects who used cinnamon had better memory functions and could process information more quickly. Encouraged by these findings, scientists will now conduct studies to see if cinnamon will improve mental skills in the elderly and those prone to anxiety before testing.

That antiseptic power of the spice could also account for a couple of other medical applications for cinnamon. A Japanese study suggests it can not only soothe the stomach, it may even help prevent ulcers. German research claims cinnamon “suppresses completely” the bacteria that causes urinary tract infections and the fungus associated with yeast infections as well.

But few could have predicted its current high profile. Recent headlines about cinnamon are the result of an accidental finding in a Maryland USDA research center. Incredibly, the catalyst was as American as good old apple pie, flavored with -- what else -- cinnamon. Scientists were testing the effects of various foods on blood sugar (glucose) levels. They expected the classic pie to have an adverse effect, but instead they found it actually helped lower blood glucose levels.
The researchers then took their surprising discovery and tested it in a small 60 patient study conducted in Pakistan, reporting in the journal Diabetes Care. All the patients had been treated for type 2, adult onset diabetes for several years and were taking anti-diabetic drugs to increase their insulin output. But they were not yet taking insulin to help process their blood glucose. The subjects were given small doses of cinnamon ranging from as little as a quarter teaspoon to less than 2 teaspoons a day for 40 days.

The results: Not only did the cinnamon reduce their blood sugar levels and increase their natural production of insulin, it lowered their blood cholesterol as well. Even 20 days after the cinnamon treatment had ended, the patients continued to see beneficial effects.

This is good news for the more than 50 million Americans who suffer from diabetes and/or heart disease. All the patients in the study showed better glucose metabolism and natural insulin production when they took cinnamon capsules that delivered less than two teaspoons a day of the spice.

Specifically, their blood cholesterol levels were lowered in the range of 10 to 26 percent, affecting overall cholesterol levels and reducing the LDL (known as the “bad” cholesterol) but not reducing levels of HDL, the “good” cholesterol.

This is also potentially good news for the many millions more of us who suffer from insulin resistance, sometimes known as “prediabetes,” or the “Metabolic Syndrome.” Lowering blood sugar levels, and improving cholesterol ratios can help reverse prediabetes and Metabolic Syndrome, and in fact may actually prevent the worsening of health to full diabetes.

In addition, addressing elevated blood sugar levels and helping to combat insulin resistance may be a successful factor in helping you lose weight. The fat cells in your abdomen are particularly sensitive to high insulin levels, and are very effective at storing energy – far more so that fat cells you’d find in other areas such as the lower body (i.e. hips, rear end, thighs). Because abdominal fat cells are so close to your digestive organs, and there is an extensive network of blood vessels circulating in the abdominal area, it’s even easier for fat cells to store excess glucose there. So tactics that help to reduce

If you suffer from elevated cholesterol or diabetes you will want to consult your physician before beginning to use cinnamon in large quantities. And if you are already taking a diabetes medication, you should talk to your physician before trying cinnamon for medicinal uses, because cinnamon may have an impact on your blood sugar.

Saturday, September 19, 2009

A friend that I knew in Michigan, Maria VanderMolen, an artist and her husband, Scott, also an artist live in Las Vegas and have displayed beautiful artwork there. I was so impressed by her artwork that I asked for her permission to put her artwork on my blog. I hope you enjoy it.










Friday, September 18, 2009

Man and His Dog

A man and his dog were walking along a road. The man was enjoying the scenery, when it suddenly occurred to him that he was dead.He remembered dying, and that the dog walking beside him had been dead for years. He wondered where the road was leading them.

After a while, they came to a high, white stone wall along one side of the road. It looked like fine marble. At the top of a long hill, it was broken by a tall arch that glowed in the sunlight. When he was standing before it he saw a magnificent gate in the arch that looked like mother-of-pearl, and the street that led to the gate looked like pure gold. He and the dog walked toward the gate, and as he got closer, he saw a man at a desk to one side.

When he was close enough, he called out, "Excuse me, where are we?"
This is Heaven, sir," the man answered.
"Wow! Would you happen to have some water?" the man asked.
"Of course, sir. Come right in, and I'll have some ice water brought right up."
The man gestured, and the gate began to open.
"Can my friend," gesturing toward his dog, "come in, too?" the traveler asked.
"I'm sorry, sir, but we don't accept pets."

The man thought a moment and then turned back toward the road and continued the way he had been going with his dog.After another long walk, and at the top of another long hill, he came to a dirt road leading through a farm gate that looked as if it had never been closed. There was no fence As he approached the gate, he saw a man inside, leaning against a tree and reading a book.
"Excuse me!" he called to the man. "Do you have any water?"
"Yeah, sure, there's a pump over there, come on in."
"How about my friend here?" the traveler gestured to the dog.
"There should be a bowl by the pump."
They went through the gate, and sure enough, there was an old-fashioned hand pump with a bowl beside it.
The traveler filled the water bowl and took a long drink himself, then he gave some to the dog.
When they were full, he and the dog walked back toward the man who was standing by the tree.
"What do you call this place?" the traveler asked.
"This is Heaven," he answered.
"We ll, that's confusing," the traveler said. "The man down the road said that was Heaven, too."
"Oh, you mean the place with the gold street and pearly gates? Nope. That's hell."
"Doesn't it make you mad for them to use your name like that?"
"No, we're just happy that they screen out the folks who would leave their best friends behind."

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Way to Get Out of Debt

It is a slow day in the East Texas town of Madisonville. It is raining, and the little town looks totally deserted. Times are tough, everybody is in debt and everybody lives on credit. On this particular day a rich tourist from the East is driving through town. He enters the only hotel in the sleepy town and lays a $100 bill on the desk stating he wants to inspect the rooms upstairs in order to pick one to spend the night. As soon as the man walks up the stairs, the hotel proprietor takes the hundred dollar bill and runs next door to pay his debt to the butcher.

The butcher takes the $100 and runs down the street to pay his debt to the pig farmer. The pig farmer then takes the $100 and heads off to pay his debt to the supplier of feed and fuel. The guy at the Farmer’s Co-op takes the $100 and runs to pay his debt to the local prostitute, who has also been facing hard times and has lately had to offer her “services” on credit. The hooker runs to the hotel and pays off her debt with the $100 to the hotel proprietor, paying for the rooms that she had rented when she brought clients to that establishment. The hotel proprietor then lays the $100 bill back on the counter so the rich traveler will not suspect anything.

At that moment the traveler from the East walks back down the stairs, after inspecting the rooms. He picks up the $100 bill and states that the rooms are not satisfactory…… Pockets the money and walks out the door and leaves town. No one earned anything. However the whole town is now out of debt, and looks to the future with a lot of optimism.

Nice Note from the Netherlands

One of the people that I sent a post card to received my card yesterday and sent me a nice note back. She's a young lady that is studying Pharmacy at the University of Utrecht and lives in Odijk. Here is her note:
Hi There! Thank for your nice card. I like your blog a lot! It's really
funny. Thanks for the music you 'send' me.

The ladybugs are really great! In dutch they are called Lieveheersbeestjes,
which is english for lovely-lord-animals haha.

Bye!
Meike

To see the cards I've received, please check out my other blog: goblepostcrossing.blogspot.com

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Dallas and Her Artwork




I guess artists run in our family genes. Jordan is a great artist and now Dallas is becoming one. Her pictures have progressed just in the last week since she learned how to make a circle. Here are a few of her pictures: The first one only had the head, arms and legs. Then she started to add hair and grass. Today she made the picture of our cat, Willow!

Strawberries



They don't look good enough to eat but they won't get overripe.

Peace Signs and Tie Dye Shirts



I heard that the peace sign is coming back. Did anyone save their shirts with the peace sign on it? I wrote on Facebook for everyone to put a picture of their tie-dye shirts if they still have one. Scott VanderMolen put a shirt on and it's just beautiful. He's an artist so it had to be pretty.
Another tie-dye from Maria. I have to see if I have any pictures with tie-dye. I must have one somewhere.

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Vampires, Would They Bite Me?

Since mosquitoes don't bite me, am I exempt from getting bit by a vampire? We discussed that on Facebook. Now today we discussed if vampires are vegetarians. It's a good debate. I figured that they are not vegetarians but it doesn't matter because they drink the blood of humans and not animals. So, maybe they're vegetarians. Who can say anything on the subject of vampires.

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

What Mosquitoes?


I never get bit by mosquitoes. Everyone is slapping and hitting and the next day scratching. Not me. I don't know why but I guess they don't like me. Not scientists are showing that people who are 'stressed' don't get bitten. Well, I don't know about that. I know a lot of stressed people that get bit! But I believe them when they say that it could be a combination of the body chemicals that the mosquitoes may not like the taste of on some people's skin and blood. Whatever the reason, I'm glad I have that chemical. I don't sweat like a lot of people do but evern when I do sweat, I don't get bit. I've watched them land on my arm, walk around and fly away. I'd be a happy camper, for sure.

Plastic Continent


I just learned about the Plastic Continent. In the middle of the Pacific Ocean, it contains 3.5 million tons of trash, 80 percent of it plastic, and is more than 2 times the size of Texas. Instead of clear waters, there is nothing but a sea of plastic, bottles, fridges, furniture, cigarette lighters, lightbulbs, fishing nets and garbage. Unbelievable and unbearable.

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Jamie Makes Associate of the Month at Kohl's



Click on the article and you'll be able to read it.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Angie has her baby





Denny wasn't too far off from the weight. I'd say closer than the doctor's prediction on the weight. Of course, I was right. Angie and Mike have a 10 lb 1 oz baby girl! So cute. Grandma Sue Bronson is really excited. Now she has two grandchildren, Brady and Izzy. The baby's name is Izabell Sue. All the luck and love to the Gallagher family.

Dallas Turns Three!

Dallas is three years old now. Time for a two wheel bike with training wheels. Wow, I was still riding a three wheel when I was ten...well, maybe not that old! We didn't have knee pads or helmets back then. Probably should have. That's probably why there are so many goofy people in the world now...falling with no helmets! Anyway, she had a good birthday. Besides the bike, she got a Tinkertoy Set and a few other things. Dallas, Jamie, Sue, Denny and I went to Chuck E Cheese for her birthday and we celebrated with pizza. Dallas had Sue running all over the place. I think Sue was having a great time. When we got home, Dallas got a call from Kayla wishing her a happy birthday, she blew out her candles on the first try, and opened her presents. She had a lot of fun. Sue made a butterfly out of the tinkertoys. I wondered why she was so quiet! Real concentration. So now Dallas started her 4th year! I can't wait to see what new things and what new conversations she's going to have with us. So smart.

Here's a picture of Sue's butterfly.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Boy, was Denny wrong that time!

Denny told me that Angie's baby weighed 11 1/2 pounds! Sue, (grandma) read it and commented! The baby is around 8 lbs, 11 oz. Isn't that just like a man to get it backwards?

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Linda and Sue



We visited with Linda and Sue, who are daughters of Bob and Betty Bronson one day at the Bronson trailer. Jennifer, Linda's daughter and her children were there. Linda is like her dad, she never changes. Still skinny, lucky girl.

Annette, Roger, Dylan and Kayla





Annette and Roger are our dear friends that we hang out with. I should say that we're at their trailer most of the time. Annette and Roger make all the meals. Roger at the grill, Annette in her kitchen. Kayla spent the whole week playing with Dallas. She said that she wanted to keep her. Kayla is really good with children. Dylan hangs around with Denny when he isn't with his friends. He helps Denny at the flea markets, which, by the way, was a waste of time for Denny this year. The economy is so bad in Michigan that no one spends money. Annette left for three days while we were at Sandy Pines. She went on the 60 mile cancer walk in memory of her sister Tammy. She came home with blisters on her feet but she made it. We're really proud of her. They have two dogs, Duka and Copper. Cute little dogs!
We had lots of laughs with the family.

Our visit with Bob and Betty



Bob and Betty Bronson were our neighbors on Charlesgate Ave for 37 years. Her kids were like our kids and vise versa. We were really close. Neighbors aren't like that anymore! Then one weekend, we went to Sandy Pines with Bob and Betty and ended up buying a trailer the same weekend! So we called ourselves 'neighbor, neighbors'. Bob and Betty are the nicest people to have as neighbors and friends. Randy used to call Betty "Betty Tippytoes". I don't really remember why. He'd sing "Hey Betty Bronson, Tippy Toes, Tippy Toes". Bob has never changed in looks! We can't believe it. He still has all of his hair and it didn't turn gray! We went camping with the Bronson family one time at a lake. Betty babysat for me, I babysat for her,then her kids babysat for me and I babysat for the granddaughter! So funny. Betty had lukemia at least twenty years ago but she beat it! I knew she would.
We went to their house to visit them last week. It's always so enjoyable to talk to them.

Dallas and Brady





Sue and Angie came over to our trailer with Brady while we were at Sandy Pines. Angie is pregnant with her second baby. I think it's going to be a girl. I even did the 'ring test' and it circled around for a girl. The doctor told her today that the baby is 11 1/2 lbs so I'm wondering if maybe there are two girls. That would be something! Brady is a little doll. We went to the waterpark and he played with Dallas. He's two years old. Dallas took some pictures and, wouldn't you know it, she took a picture of Angie's big belly! Of course, she didn't do it on purpose.
The pictures are of Angie, Dallas and little Brady.

Tom and Terri Bernott





I was able to visit with Tom and Terri while at Sandy Pines. I'm sure some of you remember the story of what happened to Terri. It's been four years now and she's done remarkably well since that fateful day that she went in for minor surgery and, because of hospital error, ended up in a coma for three weeks and has the biggest change in her life that anyone could ever fanthom. I saw her on a good day. She ran to me and threw her arms around me and said "I missed you". Those were the only words she said to me that day. We sat at our trailer for awhile. Pam, Terri's daytime caretaker was with Tom and Terri. After Pam's shift, Tom does all the care for Terri. He also takes care of her on weekends. He's a saint. It has to be so hard to take care of her. He told me that there are days when she doesn't even know who he is. She smiled when Tom told her to smile for me. And she threw him a kiss. It seems that she understands what we said to her and wants to communicate but Tom said that we'd never know if she did or didn't. Tom was told that she would always be bedridden but she walks without a cane or walker and doesn't use a wheelchair. We went back to their new trailer and visited for a few minutes. Then Tom took us on a boat ride. He said that she enjoys sitting on the deck overlooking the lake and loves to ride in the boat. It was a nice ride. Terri got upset once when Tom went a little faster. I think it was because she was cold. I got cold when he speeded up.
I'm putting some pictures that we took that day. I saw Tom, Terri and Pam a couple of days later riding on their golf cart. I went to say hi to them. Terri never responded to me that time like she didn't recognize me. She laid her head on Pam's shoulder as Tom drove away.

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Third Day in MI

Well, it's not cold here anymore. Now it's so humid. We're having a good time. Dallas likes it here. Sue, Angie and Brady came over yesterday. We'll see them again today. Hopefully, all of the Bronson family. We'll go into town to see our dear friends, Betty and Bob, since she isn't able to get out here. Dallas took pictures and she snapped a picture of Angie's belly. We laughed at that. It's a pretty cool picture. Angie is due to have her little 'girl' this month. I did the 'ring test' over her belly with my gold ring and it showed 'girl'. I used to do the ring test all the time and was always right. Anyone else ever do that? Ihat the ring spins, it's a girl, back and forth, it's a boy. We'll see if I still have the touch! Today we're going to the water park here. Sandy Pines has changed a little. The play area is really nice here. Pictures will be added when I get back to TX.

Saturday, August 8, 2009

We'rrreeeee Here!

We made it to MI. Dallas kept saying 'Here we go!" over and over when the plane was getting ready to take off. When it took off, she fell asleep. Today is Saturday and it's been pouring rain since last night. Man o' man!
Dallas loves Kayla. She's so good with Dally! She actually got her to pee in the toilet once. We went to the pool today and they had a lot of fun. I'll give more updates later!

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

August 4 and 5

Randy had the filter removed that was implanted by his lung after he had the accident. He had to have it to prevent a bloodclot from reaching his lung. The bloodclots are gone and, now, so is the filter.

Jordan was here today but can't sit down. He had a cyst removed by his tailbone. Not to worry. He's fine.

Tomorrow we go to Michigan. It's finally warming up there, so they say! It's only 102° here today. Hot, hot hot. But, it doesn't bother me at all.

I have to take Willow over to LB's house tonight. They're going to watch him while we're gone. I hope he gets along with her three cats. He's pretty good with other cats so I'm not worried.

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Plato

I ordered a book by Plato on Amazon yesterday. I've never read anything written by him but after my grandson showed me some of his work, I decided that I'd better expand my reading horizons. I never hear anyone talk about Plato. Have you ever read his works?

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Did you know that...

I love cats.
I like dogs.
I like to keep busy.
I knit chemo caps for cancer patients.
I paint rocks like ladybugs.
I read every day.
I like Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Anne Rice.
I like Brad Pitt and Johnny Depp and both have double
letter last names.
I send postcards all over the world and receive them too.
I'm in Facebook.
I list the books I've read on this blog.
I hate mushrooms.
I hate raw fish.
I like John Malkovitch movies.
I like horror movies.
I wonder what happens to scrap metal. Where does it go?
I'd like to be a vegetarian but can't quit eating meat.
I listen to audio books when I drive.
I had a cat named Elvis once.
My favorite car is a 1953 two toned green Plymouth.
My first car was a 1953 two toned gren Plymouth.
My favorite tv shows are True Blood, House, Lost and Grey's Anatomy.
My favorite shows only have one or two words in the title.
I like books about Alzheimer's Disease and Sevants.
I do not want to ever live in a nursing home.
I want to be cremated.
I do not want to be buried.
My cat O'Ley has his own garden. He's in it.
I hate snow.
I'm allergic to contrast dye.
I love dark cherries.
I've been to Europe once.
I've never been to California.
I do not want to go on a cruise.
I hate it when my husband does something big without my input.
I love gardening.

Ladybugs


I've been so busy painting Ladybugs! I got the stones from a stone company. They gave me the stones, actually. I've been painting about 10 a day. All different sizes and shapes. I've given quite a few of them away already. They're good in yards or as a paperweight for those who don't have gardens.

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Trip to Michigan coming soon.





We'll be going to Sandy Pines in about three weeks. Good thing we weren't there last week. They had a big storm there and a lot of trees were knocked down. Some fell on trailers. I wonder if it wasn't a small tornado. Denny is doing ok there. Here is Annette's trailer where Denny spends most of his time.
The three stooges on the golf cart are Russ, Roger and Dylan. Denny couldn't fit on the golf cart so he wasn't there. A picture of one of the trees down and a picture of Dylan out on the lake.