Finally, I got myself a good haircut! It’s been a long time. I have been wearing my hair longer and going in to have it trimmed and shaped, but I have not had a real hairstyle for years. Yikes. I had no idea how out of control it had become.

I have very thick hair. The strands are each quite thin, very fine and silky. I just have a lot of them. A lot. So, I had the hairdresser thin out my hair and you should have seen the pile on the floor. And still, the hair left on my head looks thicker than most people’s.

It helps to find a hairdresser you like. I have a hard time with that. Often, it takes me years after a move to find someone to cut my hair that I feel is skilled and confident enough to meet my expectations. I had a phenomenal hairdresser when I lived in Morgantown, WV (Spa Roma). Here in Florida I have only found one hairdresser I really loved in the 11 years I have been here, and he was up in Gainesville. So, finding Jennifer up at my corner salon was a surprise and a blessing.

I feel like a new woman. Please please please remind me to never neglect having a good stylist on hand ever again.

She fought hard. She had the money to fight hard. She had resources most people will never be able to access, due to money. And still, cancer is relentless. You can fight and use all the money in the world to try and find a way to beat cancer, but in the end you are powerless.

My mother has cancer. She has been fighting hard for over 14 years now. Mom living this long with the sort of cancer she has is a miracle. It is nearly unheard of. And still, if cancer wants to win — it will. I suppose that’s the reality that makes me feel so out of control when it comes to understanding my mother’s illness. She tries every day to live life as though nothing is wrong. After all these years, I have to believe that her ability to keep on living and to not give in to the cancer by giving up onn a normal life is why she is still with us.

I have Farrah’s family in my heart today. I know they must have all had a similar outlook after watching her fight so hard. They must have been focused on life as usual and the reality that we can often beat cancer. In the end, cancer won, but I am convinced that Farrah and everyone around her learned a lot about love and faith along the way.

I do. I miss mascara. And lately, I have been missing eyeliner.

I am so very ready to go back to normal eyes. My eye allergy season generally lasts about a month, but it has been longer this year. I have a hard enough time wearing my contacts when my eyes are swollen from pollen. Adding mascara or eyeliner just makes my yes even worse – and when made to choose, I choose contacts.

My depth perception is way off when I wear my glasses and that just leads to overall mental fogginess. Mental fogginess is decidedly not a good thing when you are working with high school kids all day. They are lovable, but you need to be on your toes at all times.

Somehow, not wearing makeup on my eyes makes me feel more like I blend into the crowd. I have always thought that adding a little eyeliner has quite a dramatic influence on my face. It’s night and day, so to speak.

On top of the makeup issue, my yes just plain hurt. They are sore and sensitive, weepy and red. It’s across the board uncomfortable.

It is SO comforting to finally see science and the media outlets talking about Oral Allergy Syndrome. I have had it since I was a pre-teen and my daughter developed it by age two. I had to learn about it years and years ago by reading obscure allergy journals and other scholarly publications I would find in the moldy stacks of university libraries.

Even when I try to explain to people that I can eat cooked apples, but not raw apples (and peaches, plums, pears, cherries, etc.) I get looks of disbelief. My own family struggled to understand. I went through years of assuming it was due to pesticides. Then, I finally figured out it was due to enzymes in the fruit — or proteins if that makes more sense to you.

 CNN is currently running the most concise explanation I have read to date:

Have you ever experienced itchiness or hives in your mouth area after eating raw fruit or vegetables? Do you also have seasonal allergies?

If so, you may have oral allergy syndrome, whose symptoms occur because the proteins in some fruits and vegetables are similar to proteins in some pollens.

“They’re not identical proteins, but they’re similar enough to confuse the immune system to have these reactions,” said said Dr. Robert Wood, chief of pediatric allergy and immunology at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center.

That’s not to say that everyone with pollen allergies has oral allergy syndrome. A person may sneeze all spring long and not have any obvious food sensitivities.

But oral allergy syndrome may help explain why some people have seemingly mysterious reactions to certain foods — for example, raw apples but not cooked apples. That’s because there are proteins in raw apples that are very similar to the proteins in birch pollen, experts say.

Cooking the offending fruits and vegetables will “denature” or change the shapes of these proteins, so people with oral allergy syndrome will usually be able to eat them without a problem, said Dr. Stanley Fineman, allergist with the Atlanta Allergy and Asthma Clinic.

Some people find that the peel of a fruit has more allergens than the meat, so peeling first helps, Wood said.

Because the reaction is usually localized to the mouth area, including lips, tongue, and throat, some people will choose to ignore the symptoms and continue to eat offending foods, Wood said. For people with reactions confined to the mouth, this is a “reasonable” choice they could make.

“Patients will typically decide on their own, without any discussion with a doctor, whether they enjoy the apple enough to put up with an itchy mouth, or whether they hate the itchy mouth enough to avoid the apple,” he said.

But in rare cases people with oral allergy syndrome experience anaphylaxis, a life-threatening reaction that may include blocked airways, hypertension, anxiety, vomiting and diarrhea. The most severe reactions require the use of an injection of epinephrine to subside, which is why many people with food allergies carry auto-injectors for emergencies.

Over-the-counter antihistamines alleviate symptoms of reactions for some people, experts say.

Studies have shown that some people who undergo allergy shots for pollen allergies will experience relief in oral allergy syndrome, Wood said, but at this point no one should get shots just for that reason, since they don’t work on most people’s food allergies.

“If you are a good candidate for allergy shots otherwise, this may be a side benefit,” he said.

While other kinds of food allergies present in the first two or three years of life, pollen allergies that contribute to oral allergy syndrome develop more slowly, Wood said, peaking in the teenage and young adult years. Some people may develop allergies even later in life, he said.

A person who moves to a new part of the country, having never been exposed to the native pollens there, may become allergic to those pollens and have some spill-over into food allergies, Wood said.

Typically, once people start to react to some foods, they will also react to other foods in the same group. People may find that their allergies to raw fruits and vegetables subside during the season when the associated pollen levels are low. For example, a person may react to raw apples from March to October, but feel fine when eating them from November to February, when birch pollen is low, Wood said.

About half of people with pollen allergies have improvement from puberty through adulthood, which correlates with associated food allergies, Wood said.

“The better the pollen allergy gets, in most people, the less the food allergy will occur,” he said.

An appropriate start to an ominous day. I woke up at 4 a.m. to the sound of my daughter’s voice. She told me she was too hot to sleep and her skin hut. In my half asleep twilight state of mind, I simply turned on her ceiling fan and told her to go back to sleep. When we woke up at 5:30, she was hot to the touch. I took her temperature and found she was 102.4ºF.

I found some flu medicine and fever reducer and talked my mother into staying home with her so that I could still go to work. While the fever reducers kept her temperature down, it shot back up every time the meds were ready to wear off. By the time I got home from work, I could tell I needed to get Gigi in with our pediatrician. It’s never good to start out sick on Friday and have to risk the walk in clinic over the weekend.

When we reached the peds office, my daughter’s temperature was up to 104.4 ºF. The first order of business was to get the temperature down. Once we accomplished that, we were able to rule out a lot of things and settle on either the flu or a sinus infection. I walked out with a lot of good advice and a prescription for a heavy antibiotic.

Also, even though we always use a saline mist before blowing our noses in the morning, the doctor talked to us about full our sinus irrigating. It’s a good idea, really, and I have considered it a lot in the past. We take on a lot of illness that we would not have had to if we could all just maintain a healthy sinus cavity.

Wish us well. On top of the fact that my daughter and I are already pretty physically taxed from fighting off the severe pollen level sin Florida right now; the flu is making rounds in our area. I have a sneaking suspicion that the rest of the family will be sick by Monday.

Today was the first day of finals exams for the first semester at the high school. What a crazy day. I am not sure how I feel about the District allowing students in all grades exempt exams. I understand seniors with good grades and attendance being able to do so, but I think it is a reward you need to earn and giving it to just seniors would make it so much more special. Of course, it’s not my call.

We had a staff meeting and they served pizza and brownies. Pizza and Brownies! Are you kidding me? *sigh* I love pizza and brownies, very much so. But, you will all be happy to hear that I was VERY good. I sat and socialized and did not touch a single bite. I snacked on pumpkin seeds throughout the day, so my hunger was in check. I just had to hold back on the sheer desire to eat such yummy food. It’s getting easier as time goes by, and I have to remind myself that in the first month of my diet I lost 17 pounds. Not bad, huh?

It’s funny that I would look at current headlines and see a peanut butter recall due to a salmonella outbreak that has sickened people in 42 states since September. OK, not Ha Ha Funny, but the kind of funny that makes you grimace uncomfortably.

I was just with one of my students last week as he sat in his Nutrition and Wellness class learning about food borne illnesses. The kids were mostly shocked to hear that you can get salmonella poisoning from tainted peanut butter. They were actually surprised at quite a lot of information contained in that particular lecture.

And so here we are, looking at yet another food recall involving peanut butter. This time it seems to be centered in Ohio and King Nut Companies has recalled two brands of peanut butter after finding that an open jar tested positive for salmonella bacteria: King Nut and Parnell’s Pride with lot codes that begin with the number 8.

Although distributed by King Nut Companies, the product is actually manufactured by Peanut Corporation of America in Lynchburg, Va. The two brands in question are not sold in grocery stores, but rather used in institutional settings, including nursing homes, schools and colleges.

Keep in mind that the tainted contained was discovered in the kitchen of a nursing facility and very well could have been cross contaminated by another food source. That is something all of us should think about more often in our own kitchens.

Just about two years ago we had that big national peanut butter recall. ConAgra recalled all Peter Pan brand peanut butter (which included Wal-Mart’s “Great Value” brand), which caused at least 625 salmonella cases in 47 states.

So, just how does peanut butter become tainted with salmonella? While we know that poor hand washing, poultry, meat, and eggs are the most common source of the bacteria, fruits and vegetables can sometimes be infected if they come into contact with livestock fecal matter. Keep in mind that the FDA does not regulate the safety of produce. In the past, salmonella outbreaks in peanut butter have been most likely due to post-processing contamination with fecal matter.

Salmonella in peanut butter is actually very rare. You face a greater risk, in reality, from aflatoxin, a potent carcinogen. This toxin is produced by a mold that grows on peanuts while they are in the ground. The USDA allows peanuts to be certified and sold as aflatoxin-free as long as they contain less than 25ppb, or below 20ppb in peanut butter.

Well, I woke up this morning with what felt like a bad hangover. Why do say that as if it is an odd thing? I have not had a drink in at least a year, and even when I do drink it is never, ever enough to even feel buzzy.

The woman who owns the house next door had a large party last night and people were out in the yard until about 3:30 a.m. hooting and shouting drunkenly. They were splashing in the pool and wandering the nearby yards. It kept me awake, wondering if anyone was going to drunkenly wander over here and pass out

So, when I woke up with a migraine and a very queasy stomach, the shakes and a feeling of dehydration I laughingly commented to a family member that maybe one of the drunken kids last night had cast their hangover onto me.

That same family member said it was more likely I went to sleep and had a dream about the situation next door, maybe even dreaming I was drunk. She told me it is not so difficult to trick the brain into believing you are sick, or if you are sick you can trick it into believing it is healing.

She has a point. So, I took a little Excedrin Migraine and went back to bed for another sleep cycle. I feel pretty OK now.

Happy New Year!

In a time when more Americans than ever are honestly concerned about the foods we put into our bodies, it is absolutely pathetic that Tyson Foods is spending time and money tyring to navigate the legal system to gain the right to mislead consumers about its chicken products.

I found this on Dr. Mercola’s website:

Tyson Foods, the world’s largest meat processor and the second largest chicken producer in the U.S., has admitted that it injects its chickens with antibiotics before they hatch and then labels them as raised without antibiotics.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has told Tyson to stop using the antibiotic-free label, but the company has sued for the right to keep using it.

Poultry farmers regularly treat chickens and other birds with antibiotics. But scientists have become increasingly concerned that the routine use of antibiotics in animal agriculture may accelerate the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

After Tyson began labeling its chicken antibiotic-free, the USDA warned the company that such labels were not truthful, because Tyson regularly treats its birds’ feed with bacteria-killing ionophores. Tyson argued that ionophores are antimicrobials rather than antibiotics, and are not used on human patients. Tyson suggested a compromise which was eventually accepted by the USDA — they would use a label reading “raised without antibiotics that impact antibiotic resistance in humans.”

Tyson’s competitors: Perdue Farms Inc., Sanderson Farms Inc. and Foster Farms sued, and in May 2008, a federal judge ruled in their favor and told Tyson to stop using the label. Not long after, USDA inspectors discovered that in addition to using ionophores, Tyson was regularly injecting its chicken eggs with gentamicin, an antibiotic that has been used for more than 30 years.

The agency told Tyson that based on the new discovery, it would no longer consider the antibiotic-free label “truthful and accurate.” Tyson objected again, claiming that because the antibiotics are injected before the chickens hatched, the birds can truthfully be said to be “raised without antibiotics.” Tyson has filed a lawsuit against the USDA, claiming that the agency had improperly changed the definition of “raised without antibiotics” to include the treatment of eggs.

Sources:
Natural News November 9, 2008

I know it is a horrifying concept to stomach – going in for a pedicure at your local salon with your leg hair grown out for several days. Oh, the shame. However, it’s an age-old fact that a fresh save can make for a dangerous pedicure.

Well, duh!

CNN would have you think this is news, timely news in fact. Of course, in the age of cable and internet news networks, the sheer volume of “news” it takes to satisfy the hunger of the viewing public is overwhelming to even the most seasoned journalist. So, you’ll often see recycled bit of facts posing as hot news stories.

Anyway, I thought that I would jump on the old bandwagon and remind my readers why hairy legs make for the best pedicures. Basically, you do not want any cuts or scrapes on the skin that you are putting into the tub water when getting a pedicure. Even the smallest abrasion is adding to the risk that you can pick up a nasty infection.

You have no idea who is putting their feet in those tubs before you. Why do you think the pedicure folks wear latex gloves? They know better.

Of course, it is the responsibility of the salon to wash out the tubs with disinfectant between pedicures and let the tub rest for at least 10 minutes between customers. They should also be using a hospital grade sanitizer for their tools.

Tell me, though, when in the last time you actually saw any of that being done? I have quit my patronage to more than a few nail salons over the years due to what I consider to be unsanitary conditions. A pedicurist should never just take their tools out of their cart to use them on you. If they are doing it right, they will prove their worth by getting up and removing the tool from the sanitizer right before using it.

To avoid fungal infections, MRSA, and other nasty outbreaks, make sure you go prepared for your next pedicure. Look to make sure you don’t have cut, scrapes, sores, or bug bites. Wait a few days after shaving or having laser hair removal. It’s the ugly truth.

Max Factor sent me some of their cosmetics to try out (via Buzz Agent) and I liked them all well enough. However, I LOVE the LipFinity lip color.

I received a Color Genius Mineral Blush and Color Genius Brush, Max Factor Lash Perfection, and the LipFinity. The blush was cunning. There are three shades in one compact and they are curved so blending is easy. I liked it, but might not buy it again. The Lash Perfection wears like most any other mascara, but the brush really does coat my lashes a lot more evenly than even some of the Clinique and Lancôme mascaras I have in my makeup kit.

Let me take some time to tell you about the LipFinity. I don’t wear lipstick very well. It looks great on, but it does not STAY on. I lick my lips, bite my lips, and just generally wear my lipstick off in minutes. I get aggravated at having to reapply it so often and I’m not always in the position to do so. Most long-wearing lipsticks or lip stains leave my lips looking very dry. However, the Lipfinity comes with a separate lip gloss. You apply the color, let it set for a few seconds and then put the clear lip gloss over the color. I throw the lip gloss into my purse and leave the house. Since it is clear, I can reapply the lip gloss as often as needed without needing a mirror or even a steady hand. I can work, eat, sweat, talk, lick and bite my lips – and the color stays true for hours and hours.

I love the stuff so much I went out and bought three more colors. This is the first semi-permanent lip color I have found that actually stays on like it promises. I’ve also paired the color with some of the sparkly clear lip glosses I already have on hand it since the initial color application is independent of anything else – it looks great.

If you want to get the most out of LipFinity, make sure to follow the directions. Apply the color and then DO NOT blot of rub your lisp together. You need to allow the color to set in and dry for about a minute first. Then, do as you will. I apply the gloss at this point. If you do it right in the beginning, this lip color will indeed work for you for hours on end. Some people even claim it lasts all day. I’d say for me it lasts about half the day, but that is still amazing.

Has anyone tried the Attune chocolate bars that a have a daily dose of probiotics? I found them in with the yogurt this week and picked up 4 of the dark chocolate bars. They taste pretty great and my daughter liked hers better than some of the tart liquids I have given her in the past.

I have not heard anything about this product outside of the testimonial from the girl stocking the diary shelf at the supermarket, so I am just looking for input from anyone who has tried the Attune bars.

I will say this. I knew there was soy in the product before I even looked back and read the ingredients. I am allergic to soy and my ears and throat and mouth all itch now. It makes me wonder why they needed to use soy in the chocolate.

My grandmother survived breast cancer – twice! My aunt also survived, and not so very long ago. I have had friends who were diagnosed in their mid-30s. It brings the issue so very close to my own life.

So, when I see a story about someone fighting breast cancer, I stop and look – and say a little prayer. The story I saw this morning as I perused the headlines at CNN is that Christina Applegate is currently battling breast cancer.

I just watched The Sweetest Thing last night, so she was on my mind anyway. From all accounts I have heard, she is a sweet and lively person. I have a very close friend who spent a lot of time with her when she was in NYC doing Sweet Charity, and my friend never had a bad word to say about her.

Right now, 36-year-old Applegate is starring in the sit-com “Samantha Who”, but I would wager to say she is best known for her role as Kelly Bundy on “Married with Children”. My college boyfriend’s roommate had a poster of Applegate on his dorm room wall back in the 80s.

I wish her the best and celebrate along with her the miracle of how early her cancer was detected. Modern medical advances are saving more and more lives each year, because are now able to determine when someone has a very early form of some cancers.

For two months now I have been in and out of doctors’ offices trying to get someone to diagnose my daughter’s skin issues. We were told it was nodular eczema by the first dermatologist and her pediatrician agreed. That same dermatologist saw her two more times, increasing the strength of the steroid creams she prescribed.

Things did not get better.

She finally sent us to one of her colleges who immediately said it was scabies. So, my poor kid has had multiple scabies treatments and while her skin continued to get worse, the medications and steroids caused her to break out in massive blood blisters.

She has been miserable. I have been perpetually worried and her itching has kept us up most nights.

Today I finally got desperate. I was unwilling to wait for the follow up visit with the second dermatologist, so my pediatrician got us in with the lead guy at the same dermatology practice we had been using.

He told us that without a doubt it is psoriasis and she has been misdiagnosed in the past. Many of the medications she has taken have only served to make her psoriasis worse.

So, now we are on yet another medical regimen. This one could come with some very serious side effects.

After today’s back-to-back doctor visits, the skin biopsy they did, the procedure to drain her blood blisters and assorted other horrific things, I took my daughter to the store and let her choose a new baby doll.

I just wanted comfort food. So, I just ate home made macaroni and cheese with apple-maple chicken sausages.

Now, if we can just see this skin thing get better before she starts kindergarten.

At my age, I thought I knew pretty much everything about myself, especially about my fears. I know I have an irrational fear of snakes and there is pretty much nothing I can do to put mind over matter when faced with one of those slithering creep shows. However, I had no idea I was claustrophobic. I have been on elevators and airplanes with no problem. I know I cannot get out of those situations until I’m told I can get out, and still I’m not bothered.

Today I went to have an MRI. I went once before to have my kidney stones looked at, but it as an open MRI. Today I needed to wear the TMJ “coil” to they can take pictures of my clicking jaw. Therefore I needed to be in a fully enclosed torture chamber, or so it felt. They got me all situated, explained everything in detail and slid me inside. Immediately I started to hyperventilate and freak out in general. I asked to let out and it took a long time to get calm enough to try again. One of the techs in training needed to stand there the entire time and hold onto my leg for me. For some reason, having another human touching me helped so much.

It took me at least a half hour after I left to get my heart rate back to normal. Now, I did have one indication that I might have claustrophobia. I was watching that episode of Desperate Housewives when Lynette gets locked in the freezer of her restaurant with that chef who had the hots for her. Anyway, the angle of the shot when the door slammed closed and they realized they were trapped was so realistic, so accurate in how it portrayed the small, enclosed space that I found I had to pause the show and get up to walk around until I felt calmer.