I hope everyone is having a wonderful family and friend filled holiday today. 

OK, so this has got to the the nastiest week I ahve ever had.  Let me start from the begining.

Last week, because The Hubby had some day time training to do, and I dind't bothger to plan ahead, I was forced to use our public transportation. Not a bad thing. I actually like to ride the bus from time to time. So, while walking to the stop, I slipped on the icy sidewalk and fell hard on my right side. Thankfully nothing was broke, just my pride, (and I think my cell phone has been dented) So...with the Fibro, that caused all my muscles to stand up and scream (AAAAHHHH) for about 4 days.

Then, I ended up at the hospital one evening, (I forget which) with Chest Pains. Yah, if you ever wanna freak out your Hubby, tell him you're having chest pains and wanna go to the hospital.  Turnes out it was probably left over from the fall, or so THAT doc said.

THEN....... *sigh*  ,,,,,,I came down with a terrible flu virus that is going through town right now. Puking, nasty headaches, explosive direaha, the works. SO I ended up at the hospital for THAT, Being Diabetic and BiPolar, when I can not take my meds for 2 days, nor eat anything for 2 days, it's a big cause for worry.

AND THEN, juts tonight, I honestly thought I was having a heart attack. My heart was pounding in my chet so bad it hurt, I was soaking my pillow with sweat, and my legs, DAMN, did they hurt. So, up we went again. THIS time it turns out it is PROBABLY just medication induced panic attacks.Like I needed or wants any help in that area.

So, all in all, I have 7 puncture wounds from various IV's and blood tests. I look like a junkie. I bruise badly with needles, all purple and green....eeewww.

Now, for the truly scary part. ALL three times at the hospital, I had 3 different doctors, that I have NEVER seen before, tell me that they would NOT have perscribed dome of the meds I am on, that my own doc DID perscribe. (I hope you all understood that one) . So, now......I am starting to wonder if I should be thinking about changing docs?!?

When we had lived here before, I had the same doc as I do now, and he refused to believe that I was BiPolar, just depressed. Needed to "do things to get my mind occupied". Now that I am back, and having been diagnosed with it in Alberta, his attitudes was "Oh well. "

Does that seem a little odd to anyone but me. The doctor tonight, Doctor C, was amazing. He came in, talked to ME, did not rely on JUST the nurses information only, asked MY thoughts, MY feelings, and what I wanted done about all this!  He was strait forward, no nonsense, friendly sorta guy. I was amazed!

So now I want to go into MY doc and ask him aboue a few things to see what he's got to say.

*sigh*

and I STILL feel lousy, and have pain, and the flu, and the sinus infection and......and............and I am so tired of being health impared all the time.  On the Up Swing to this, I lost about 8 pounds not being able to eat for 2 and a half days. Anyway, I guess I have a lot to think about.

If you could grant one wish to someone (not yourself) what would it be and why?
~hhmm~ If I had to pick just one person, I would say that I would live to be able to turn back the clock so that I could change things in my eldest sons life, so that he could grow to be a happy young man instead of the angry young man he is now. I think the reason why is self-evident.

How much cash do you currently have on hand (not in the bank!)?
 ~ I have $18.37. I found the $0.37 in the parking lot of the 7/11 today.

How much (per gallon) did you pay for gasoline the last time you stopped?
 ~ I  have no idea, The Hubby is the one who deals with that one. I’m just along for the ride, so to speak..lol

What is the most unusual food you have ever eaten?
 ~ I once tried chocolate covered grasshoppers. Very crunchy and slightly bitter. And it's only 3 days after payday.  *sigh*

Have you ever done anything with integrity even though you knew no one else would know?
 ~ yes, Although I find it hard to do, as it causes me to face the possibility of “confrontation”, which is a major phobia of mine.

What are you currently wearing?
 ~ My yellow night gown and black fluffy slippers.

What is the best thing you've done this summer?
 ~ Went o visit my folks in Warner,  Alberta. It was the first time that The Hubby and I have ever had a holiday with just the TWO of us where we could do what we wanted when we wanted to. LOVED IT!!

How many countries have you visited? (Which ones?)
 ~ Just Canada and the USA. Does it count if I was born in the US??

The phone rang sometime earlier... who was the last person to call?
 ~ my daughter. She loves me and wanted to say hullo.

Who do you think serves the best cheeseburger in the world?
 ~ hhmmm, not a real big burger fan.

When is the last time you took a bubble bath? ~ was the other night, it was very cold out and was snowing so I enjoyed a warm bubble bath at 3 am (which is about an hour and a half after I get home from work!)

What is the biggest lie you ever told and what was your reason for telling that lie?
 ~ uummm…I don’t really know. Maybe at another time..

What specific song/musician/group, etc. has touched your life at one time or another? Please elaborate.
 ~ oh my, I don’t really know on this one either. I tend to “feel” music rather than just listen to it.

If you could bring one person back from the dead and spend one day with them, who would it be and why?
 ~ well, as my wonderful sis-ion-law Loz said, pointless to bring anyone back from the dead. But if I did have to choose, I think it might be the very first Dalai Lama. Might get some insight in to life, the Universe and everything in general.

What do you think makes someone a "good" person?
 ~ Honesty, integrity, loyalty, sense of humor, compassion, an open mind, someone who is not afraid to love and be loved.  Hhmmm, sounds like The Hubby!!  (G)

Describe one thing in your life that was totally unexpected and how it changed you.
 ~ Falling in love again. When my first marriage ended, I always said that I would never ever ever get married again. I didn’t feel that I could ever trust someone again in that intimate way. Was I ever wrong! I met the Hubby and he changed all of that for me!

What is a decision you made on a quick judgement that you regretted?
 ~ Oh gawd, I have far too many of those to list!

What is the biggest lie that someone has ever told you and how did you react upon finding it out?
~  I had a friend named Maria. Maria had a lot of medical issues and she convinced me to lie to doctors for her, me believing that it was truly helping her because the doctors didn’t understand her. It turned out that Maria was a drug addict that needed me to help con the docs into giving her morphine. When she finally told me, (she did so on her own) I felt totally used and betrayed. I have not seen nor heard from Maria in about 5 years now. I find myself thinking of her from time to time and hoping that she was able to get things figured out.

What has been the happiest memory in your life to date?
 ~ Oh easy!!  The births of each of my three babies! No kidding, despite all the pain involved, and the crappy marriage I had, I wouldn’t give up the memories of giving birth or anything!.

What is something that very people people realize about you?
 ~ I'll take this to mean very *few* people.  Most people never realize that I spend a great deal of my time depressed or struggling with depression. I have this “Filly” persona that I seem to put on so that I don’t have to answer any uncomfortable questions. When folks find out I’m Bi-Polar, they are truly shocked. Am always told that I seem to be a “happy outgoing person”.

When was the last time you romantically kissed someone, and who was it?
~  My wonderful Hubby of course. Daily.

What's one thing you REALLY want for Christmas this year?
 ~ Family friends and everyone healthy and happy. (and baring that, I want a ring!)

Growing up, what pets did you have as a child, and what were their names?
 ~ oh boy, we had so many. I’ll start with the dogs. There was Peewee, Puddles, Babe, Candy, Rusty, Dusty, Rex, Doofus, Timmy and Sandy. The cats were, Big Tom, Little Tom, Spooks, Merlin, Duchess, Sarah, Abby, TomTom, Zipper, Socks and several others I can’t remember. Then there were the Hampsters, Mister and Goldie.

When was the last time you experienced synchronicity in your life?
 I’m not too sure I ever have???!!!

What was the last thing you ate?
 ~ Indian Butter Chicken and Rice. Mmmm….plays havoc with my heartburn but it tastes SSSOOO good!!

Do you have any plans for the next hour? How about the next week? Or perhaps even the next month?
 ~ SLEEP!! It’s 6:50 am and I have only slept an hour.

What's the last thing that made you smile?
 ~ Was at work and when to a “Towne Hall Meeting” for the company I work for and got to see the new advertising commercials for the holiday season this year. They were WAY TOO FUNNY!

What's the last book you read? What was it about? Would you recommend it to anyone else?
 ~  am in the middle of reading a book by Terry Goodkind called “ChainFire”

------------------------------------------

So, there you go Loz. I know I should have done this months ago, as you posted it in September. Better late than never!

So, with Halloween past, the thought of Christmas looms. As someone who has dealt with depression for many years, I know that Christmas can be the hardest time of the year for some people. (like me)  It doesn't seem to matter if you're in a crowd of people you know, or sitting alone somewhere, the "Holiday Spirit" is hard to come by.

For me, it seems as if Christmas has become overwhelmingly commercialized. Everything is now geared to "buying bigger and better than the year before" and the "What can I get THIS year" syndrome!  I always thought that it was a time of your that was meant for families to be together, for caring and sharing. Don't get me wrong, I do understand, (even if I don't agree) with the religious point to this holiday. But people seem to be moving away from the "good will on earth and to your fellow man" ideas.

It's amazing to me to hear children begging and whining for the toys they want this year, or the $150.00 pair of jeans that they JUST HAVE to have or they'll die.

*sigh* 

Myself, I get a great amount of joy out of helping people. For instance. There is a young man I work with who is struggling in life with a young girlfriend, a new baby and some depression. This young man was ill for about two weeks, which caused him to miss one entire pay period. So, as expected, he got no pay check. Now, I know what it's like to struggle like he is. My first marriage was very much full of struggles. So, in speaking to several other people at work, we were able to anonymously donate over $100.00 and some food for him and his family. Doesn’t seem like much, but it helped. This whole thing made me feel GREAT! Didn't want any recognition, (although he knew who had done it and thanked us all)  I didn't care if anyone else know, it just felt great to help someone who needed it. So, am I the only one who feels this way?  Well, to answer my own question, NO, I am not. I was surprised by how many people who wanted to help out.

So...with that being said. How do we go about trying to get more people to feel this way? How can we help others to understand the wonderful feeling of helping those who need it? And then there is the whole "Pay It Forward" thing! (Great movie by the way. See it if you get the chance!!)I help someone, who goes on to help. someone else, who goes on to help someone else, etc, etc.....

Another example.  I was shopping for Thanksgiving supper several weeks ago, when I came across a time little old lady in the freezer section, trying to lift a large frozen turkey out of the freezer. She was having trouble with it cause I’m sure it weighed more than she did, and she seemed to have an issue with her left hand. When I entered the isle I saw several people walk past her without even a glance. And trust me, it was VERY obvious that she was not going to be able to do this on her own no matter how hard she tried. So, I made a bee-line for her and asked her which one she wanted. Her face lit up like a Christmas Tree!!  She pointed to the one she had been struggling with and smiled. I picked it up and placed it in her cart for her and asked if there was anything else she needed. After saying no, that was it, she actually gave me a brief hug and thanked me for helping her.  I have not felt that good in a very very long time! 

*sigh*

Anyway, I am not too sure where I was headed with this ramble, I just felt the need to share it with someone.  I hope that someone out there reads this and gets something out of it that helps to brighten their day.

MSG is a flavor enhancer which has been used effectively for nearly a century to bring out the best flavor of foods. Its principal component is an amino acid called glutamic acid or glutamate. Glutamate is found naturally in protein-containing foods such as meat, vegetables, poultry and milk. The human body also produces glutamate naturally in large amounts. The muscles, brain and other body organs contain about four pounds of glutamate, and human milk is rich in glutamate, compared to cow's milk, for example.


Just look on the ingredient statement. The FDA requires packaged foods to contain an ingredient statement which lists essentially every ingredient in the food. By simply looking on the ingredient statement, you will be able to identify those products that are made with glutamate-rich ingredients.

In addition to the foods listed in our chart, glutamate is also found in some popular and commonly used seasonings and ingredients. Soy sauce, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, autolyzed yeast extract, and of course, monosodium glutamate, are all glutamate-rich ingredients. When used even in very small amounts, these valued ingredients significantly enhance the overall taste of the foods to which they are added, achieving the high-quality flavor that today's sophisticated consumer demands. When trying to determine whether a packaged food contains these glutamate-rich ingredients, all you need to do is look for their names in the ingredient statement.

You may be surprised to know that foods with added MSG do not necessarily contain more glutamate than that found naturally in foods. MSG generally is used at a relatively low percentage in foods, with its common use levels ranging from 0.1 to 0.8 percent. In fact, one study conducted in 1995 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration found that some foods naturally contained higher levels of glutamate than those which had added MSG declared on the label. Glutamate in Parmesan cheese, for example, was found in levels up to ten times that found in chicken broth with added MSG.


MSG, Gelatin, Calcium Caseinate, Monosodium glutamate, Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein, Textured Protein, Monopotassium glutamate, Hydrolyzed Plant Protein, Yeast Extract, Glutamate, Autolyzed Plant Protein, Yeast food or nutrient, Glutamic Acid, Sodium Caseinate, Autolyzed Yeast.


It does not matter whether you select glutamate-rich foods and ingredients like tomatoes, Parmesan cheese, walnuts, MSG or soy sauce, the glutamate in each is the same.

Medical specialists have known for decades that your body does not distinguish between the glutamate found naturally in foods and that in MSG. In fact, even todayÌs state-of-the-art technology canÌt separate them. For example, if you analyzed a plate of spaghetti, you could find out the total amount of glutamate in the dish. However, since glutamate is glutamate, there is no way to determine whether the glutamate came from tomatoes, Parmesan cheese or MSG.



Numbness or paralysis, Mouth lesions, sores, Swelling of hands, feet, face,  Diarrhea, Mitral valve prolapse, Nausea, Arrhythmias or paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (which can lead to stroke), Vomiting, Rise or drop in blood pressure (a fluctuation), Stomach cramps and gas, Tachycardia (rapid heartbeat), Irritable bowel, colitis, and/or constipation, Angina (pain in and around heart and ribs) Swelling of/or painful rectum, Heart palpitations (change in heart beat, or irregularities, such as atrial fibrillation)  Spastic colon, Shuddering, shaking, chills, Extreme thirst, Tendinitis and joint pain, TMJ, Water retention and bloating (stomach swells), Arthritic-like pain Muscle aches - legs, back, shoulders, neck, Abdominal discomfort, Flu-like symptoms, Asthma symptoms, Stiffness - jaw, muscles, Shortness of breath, Heaviness of arms, legs, Chest pain, Mental dullness, Tightness of chest, Depression, Runny nose and sneezing, Dizziness, light headedness     Postnasal drip, Disorientation, mental confusion, bi-polar, Bronchitis-like symptoms, Anxiety or panic attacks, Hoarseness, sore throat, Hyperactivity, especially in children (A.D.H.D.), Chronic cough - sometimes a tickle cough
Attention Deficit Disorder (A.D.D.), Gagging reflex, Behavioral problems - delinquency, rage, and hostility, Skin rash - hives, itching, rosacea-like reaction, Feelings of inebriation, Mouth lesions, small waxy bits in throat, tonsils, Slurred speech, Tingling numbness on face, ears, arms, legs, or feet, Balance problems, Flushing, tingling, burning sensation in face or chest, Aching teeth, Extreme dryness of mouth, "cotton mouth", or irritated tongue
Seizures, tremors, Dark circles or bags under eyes, face swelling, Loss of memory , Urological problems, nocturia, uncontrollable bladder or swelling of prostate, Lethargy, Difficulty focusing, Sleeping disorders - insomnia or drowsiness (chronic fatigue) Pressure behind eyes, Migraine headaches - facial or temporal Eye symptoms - tired or burning eyes to blurry vision, optic neuritis, Seeing shiny lights, Neurological diseases: ALS, Parkinson's, M.S. Burning sinuses, broken sinus capillaries, Prostate, infertility, thyroid problems, Gastro esophgeal reflux, Ear problems - tinnitus or Meniere's Disease, Cartilage, connective tissue damage, Gout-like condition (usually knees)  Gall bladder or gall bladder like problems, Kidney pain - Loin Pain, Hematuria Syndrom.