Mother’s Got A Dot Com

Hubby’s bought a new alarm clock.

It’s electric, battery operated, and it’s got all of one ringtone to choose from. I’ll give you a hint:

Remember these? If not, look at the little hammer and the little bells, and imagine this little beast jumping up and down as the hammer pounds back and forth… That’s the sound of our new alarm clock. It wakes you up. In fact, you’re likely to wake up as your head hits the ceiling… Efficient bugger, I can tell you!

Speaking of clocks - I haven’t worn a watch in years, neither has hubby. I’m usually here, which means I have a clock on the kitchen wall (Hmmm… that sounded rather pathetic. Correction: I do get out once in a while!), and hubby uses his cell to tell time.
If we were to buy wristwatches now, it would have to be some really nice ones. I know hubby would absolutely love a Rolex Submariner. That, however, is way above our budget, so we’ll just have to wait until the kids have left the nest and we’re too old and senile to operate the high-tech cell phones of days to come…
If not, we’ll always have the clock on the wall in the kitchen. If we can see it.

Hubbys tummy is getting smaller. The main reason is that his new line of work takes more out of him, physically. So he wins on two accounts - less mental stress and a more active lifestyle.

I’m slowly shrinking too, without cheap diet pills (and without expensive ones, for that matter). I haven’t even started on a diet yet. It will stabilize itself, I’m sure, and then will be a good time to start on a sensible diet, for both of us. If we could cut out the extras (sodas, crisps, chocolate), I’m sure it would go a long way. Not to mention the finishing off of dinner leftovers late at night. Hm.
I know. There’s no time like the present. I can tell you though, just being able to finish a meal in peace in the evening is (almost) worth the extra pounds…

#3 Brat has had a checkup by a herbalist to see if natural medicine can help him with his acne, and she said his values indicated that he’s on a varied, wholesome diet… Which goes for all of us. Makes me (the chef) think I must be doing something right!

I had an appointment with the monster today - the monster being an MRI machine.
Although I was prepared for it not being very pleasant, I was in no way prepared for full on claustrophobia… It hit me like a hurricane as soon as I got my head and chest in there, so they had to pull me out again.
Luckily, I had a very understanding radiographer, who assured me I wasn’t the first one, and who allowed me a few minutes to collect myself. He then suggested to turn everything around, and “put me in” feet first. He assured me that my head would be just inside the opening, and that he’d pull me out as soon as I pressed the button, if need be.
I managed. It wasn’t too bad, actually - I could see outside just by tilting my head slightly, and the angst didn’t come back. Well, it would have if I’d let it, but I was prepared this time, and was able to concentrate enough to keep it away for the duration.

I hope I never have to have the full on examination - I’ll have to be medicated. Heavily.

I don’t know the first thing about weight loss products. I fact, I don’t even believe in them much. I’m sure there are products out there that deliver to a degree, but all the sharks who’ve marketed sugar pills as miracle cures for obesity have ruined the genuine market for me - and for many others, I’m sure.

There is a site that reviews these products though. Sybervision.com claims to be unbiased - I’m in no position to comment on that. If you look at some of their product reviews though, like this one on Hydroxycut (a supposed fatburner), I’m enclined to think that their opinion is at least informed, and possibly even honest.

Whenever I’m tempted to buy a miracle cure, I’ll be sure to see if they’ve got something to say about it. I may become a little bit wiser…

We’re a family of 8, and we interact with people, as people do, exposing ourselves to bacteria and virus on a daily basis. We catch colds and stomach bugs, but in the 4 years since we moved here, no one has had a proper influenza.

We don’t feel we’re either old or frail enough to justify having the flu shot every year, so that’s not it, either. It just hasn’t caught up with us - knock on wood!

Now - some might say that knocking on wood isn’t enough. There is a preventive drug on the market, that will also lessen the symptoms of influenza if you’ve got it. The vaccine is a gamble - the virus strain varies every year, and although the doctors and researchers usually manage to make a vaccine that hits the right one, there’s no guarantee. Tamiflu is effective regardless. If used correctly, it has a double effect: it both prevents and fights an influenza infection.

I first heard of Tamiflu a few years ago, during the Avian flu scare. My father, who is a medical doctor, came along with prescriptions for all of us. He said Tamiflu was the only effective drug against the Avian flu, and that there would be a tragic shortage of it in case of an epidemic/pandemic situation. There just wasn’t enough to go around. He wanted me to buy it for us all, so that we’d be prepared.
A lot of people did - I didn’t.

I don’t know what I’ll do when it happens again, which I’m sure it will. It depends on the gravity of the situation, I guess. What if affected people die because you and I hang on to the drug - just in case? Difficult, and tragically simple: you save your family first…

As for “normal” Influenza… If I were an elderly person, or suffering from any illness that weakens the autoimmune system, I wouldn’t hesitate to use Tamiflu preventively during every “flu season”.
Normal, healthy people have more of a choice. I tend to think that “whatever doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger”, and a bout of the flu won’t kill you. I’d more than likely ask our doctor for a prescription if anyone was affected, though. If it can help whoever is sick to feel better quickly, of course I’d use it.

Am I an emotional eater? I think maybe I am. According to Dr. Roger Gould, the main reason that people fail in their dieting is emotional eating. Stress, depression or boredom are the top three reasons for diet failure…
I know I eat when I’m tired. (If at all possible, chocolate will then be my “food” of choice…) I’m not easily bored, nor depressed, but if I think about it, I’m sure I use food as a stress relief…

The Shrink Yourself method, founded by Dr. Gould, focuses on the psychology of eating. Even though it’s about weight loss and helping people reclaim their power over food, the psychological approach uncovers larger issues and blockages, and helps resolve them.

The website - www.ShrinkYourself.com - features an Emotional Eating Center with free articles, interactive tools and tips. There’s a supportive, active community to join there as well. If you sign up for their mobile program, you can also get tips straight to your cell.

It makes sense, really. If your psychological issues are what make you overeat, resolving those might help you lose weight as well.
I know I eat because I like it, but if some of my less than healthy eating habits stem from unresolved issues, I might become a healthier person by tackling them - both physically and mentally.

I saw part of a documentary the other night about a bunch of people going through a detox program. Not the drug detox type, mind, but to rid their bodies of accumulated toxins for their overall health and weight.

One of the regimes they took was a colon cleanse. Now, I missed the actual treatment (it wasn’t irrigation), but the result was rather yucky… However, the thought of what we’re actually carrying around in our bowels is worse! They said that 2-4 kgs of slag and residue is quite normal in a person who’s had an average diet.

I’m not a health fanatic, but that sort of info makes me shiver, and every time my stomach gives a twinge, I think: “ooh, poor thing, I know what’s wrong with you…” I feel the need to start investigating what detox methods there are, and go for a mild, uninvasive solution. At 44, I think it may be time…

My trousers are getting bigger. It’s not something I’m imagining - I keep having to hoist them, which hasn’t been a problem in the past, you might say…

I don’t know why - maybe it’s the antibiotics, or maybe my doctor has sneaked some top diet pills into my prescriptions… I haven’t made any changes in my eating habits - come to think about it, I have been less peckish lately. Wonder if I should ask my doctor…

Naah. I’ll just see it as a bonus and hope it lasts!

I went to see my doctor yesterday. When I say my doctor… I’d never met the fellow before, to be honest, but he was all right, and looked like a keeper!

I came out of there with a whole booklet of prescriptions, and strarted popping pills right away.

Now, for the last month, I’ve been sleeping with all my aching joints propped up by pillows, and it’s been an uneasy sleep, to put it mildly. Last night, after the first popping of pills, I felt things easing up almost right away, and I had a good night’s sleep. Yay! I’ve been reluctant to take too much medicine - reading about possible side-effects does that to me - but enough is enough.

Excuse me while I just sit here and enjoy my (almost) painless existence for a while… And then I’ll see if I can do this:

We used to get an American show called Extreme Makeover over here - I happened to watch it from time to time, and it left me with a feeling that there’s hope for everyone when it comes to looks.

The closest I’ve been to cosmetic surgery was in my youth (I was about 18…), when I worked as an assistant for my father, who was then running a small private surgical clinic. He removed moles, performed vasectomies (now, that was fun for an 18-year old girl, and probably for the poor lads too!), an he also performed breast reductions. It left me knowing that I’d never have anything done to mine, but the girls and women who had it done were oh, so happy when they left.

I also have a very dear friend who was born with a cleft palate. She’s my age, and she was patched up as an infant, but very little if any corrective surgery was done afterwards. This left her with a nose that she was extremely unhappy with, all through her youth. I never thought of it - to me, people are who they are. To her, though, her nose was a huge problem. Eventually, at around 25, she had rhinoplasty performed. It took forever, there were complications, but when they took the bandages off, hers was the happiest face I’ve ever seen. It was swollen and blue, but after a while it became just like any other nose… which was what she needed.

Is there a point to this? Yes, sort of. I may not even see the “flaw” in someone, but to them it may be a huge and debilitating problem. Your nose is in the middle of your face, and if you hate the way it looks, it will affect the way you see yourself, and the way you think others see you.
The same goes for any part of your body (well, except for the “middle of your face” part). I see plenty of flaws in myself. Still, I’m not in the market for any kind of surgery. I’ve seen enough to know that I would never judge those who are though - but I do reserve the right to think that some extreme celebrity cases are deeply tragic…