The Crackberry

I have often been very critical of the information age; fearing that while bringing wonderful modern conveniences, it is also causing us to lose something as human beings. Causing problems such as causing us to lose personal communication with each other and also causing us to be lazy. I mean, I will admit it. I am a slave to my Tivo. I am well aware of this and it is just something I enjoy. I mean, I am addicted to reality shows...I watch most of the popular ones (Survivor, Dancing the Stars, American Idol). The Tivo only makes it worse, because you never miss an episode. So, I recognize this. Obviously we all know that watching too much television is not good for you. However, it is something that now, even my husband can't imagine watching T.V. without being able to fast forward through commercials or rewind a play in a football game. But, the worst for me has been my husband's Blackberry (a.k.a. the crackberry for its addictive tendancies). He is ALWAYS on it. It is always ringing, buzzing, or chirping at all hours of the day and night. Now, he has a pretty serious job that requires him to be in touch even when he is not at work, which is fine. It is when we are out to dinner having a nice conversation when all of sudden he stops listening to me and is responding to an email - while I'm talking! This has been a topic of much discussion between the two of us over the years. Soooooo, recently I got a new phone....a crack, I mean blackberry. So, now, of course I find myself ALWAYS on it!!!! It is truly addictive. The ability for people to get in contact with you via cell phone, email, and texting is very intrusive! I mean, now I understand why my husband was always on his! However, I do NOT go on it while we are at dinner or talking or whatever. But, I will say that it is too easy for us to be contacted these days. Yes, it has its advantages, being able to reply to an important email immediately, being able to text my hubby while he is in a meeting so as not to disturb the meeting, having a child and needing to be easy to reach in case of an emergency. All good things. But, I do realize that there are some sacrifices to it as well. The lack of personal interaction between others when the PDA is distracting one or both people, as well as the urgency that other people put on you when they know you can respond quickly. Everything doesn't have to be that urgent. Go to voicemail...I'm busy. Thank God for caller id! I guess I do need my technology, huh?

Graves Disease/Hyperthyroidism

Sooo...here we go. We are going to start a conversation that...quite frankly, I'm sick of talking about. However, it is now a part of my life...here to teach me something...so, I feel I should share it with you. Besides, I hope to possibly help someone during this process. This is the deal - I was recently diagnosed with Graves Disease a.k.a. hyperthryoidism. Basically, it is an inflammation of the thyroid gland caused by an overproduction of the thyroid hormone. The risk with Graves is that it can cause a heart attack or other heart problems. The thryroid gland is producing way too much of the hormone and causing many symptoms, such as rapid heart rate, sensitivity to heat, trouble sleeping, hair loss, muscle weakness, bulging eyes, depression, etc. I do not have all of these symptoms, however, I do have many of them. The first four for sure. The rapid heart rate is the worse. Well, maybe the heat sensitivity because I am so sick o being hot and sweaty!!! But, the rapid heart rate is by far the worse. My resting heart rate is approximately 120bpm. To put it in perspective for you, generally speaking, it is ideal to have a resting heart rate under 80bpm. So, if mine is 120bpm RESTING...well, you can just imagine if I do any sort of activity...like, oh I don't know, climb the stairs! I'm completely worn out. It is very scary to be lying completely still in bed and have your heart beating out of your chest. So, where do I go from here? Well, conventional medicine is suggesting that I treat with radioactive iodine. What this does is it basically kills the thyroid, thus resulting in a reduction in the production of the thryoid hormone. However, as you can probably guess, eventually you stop making the thryoid hormone altogether and become HYPOthroid. So guess what happens then? You have to take a medication that basically a thyroid hormone replacement! Does this all make sense? Keep up with me now; I'm moving on. So, I do not want to go with the radioactive iodine(RAI) route. I really do not want to kill off my thyroid only to have to then take medication to mimic the hormone it should have been producing! So, what is my next option? Well, there is a medication that can reduce/stop the production of the thyroid hormone. The downside is the side effects. It can cause problems in the liver in a small percentage of people. My last option is alternative medicine. I'm talking acupuncture, chinese herbs, tai chi, dietary changes, etc. This is the route that suits me. However, I just took more blood work and my results indicated that my levels were very high. Not good. So, I've opted for now, to use the medication that reduces the production of the thyroid in conjunction with alternative medicine. I just feel I need to take a more holistic approach in order to have any hope of putting this thing into remission. Oh, and the doctor did tell me there is a 50/50 chance of that happening. However, my levels are so high that she feels that it is less likely, but still possible. I love acupuncture and I am committed to doing this. I HAVE to do this. Even when I feel very discouraged and I want to just go with the Radioactive iodine and be DONE with this already...I HAVE to do this! I get more blood work in two months so I am going to go all out these two months and see if I have any changes. I have many people praying for me, a supportive husband, and the best bab girl in the whole world for inspiration. I really can't lose.

You gotta fight...for your right...to potty!

Today is the day. Aliyah peed in the potty!!!!!!! Twice today she did it when I sat her on the potty. Oh joy! Oh sweet jubilation! I'm so excited. Now, I'm not having false expectaions...as if she is going to do this constantly. She is only 16mos. so I do consider this to be a HUGE accomplishment! I bought her a potty about two weeks ago because she seemed to show interest in such things...she is very good at copying people. So, I got the potty and sat her there and she thought it was just great. PRETENDING was great. Not the real deal. She would sit and flush and wipe...no pee pee. She didn't want to sit long enough to try. So, two weeks of trying and today....she did it. Grant it I HAD given her a cup of milk to sip on while we waited, but it only took her about 60 seconds to tinkle. When I showed her what she did, she looked at it and said, "WOW!" So, we rejoiced and sang and danced and called everyone. My poor husband had to tell people in a meeting why I interupted and was singing on the phone. Oooops. Well, I just couldn't help it. I was so excited for this milestone. Now, obviously she is not really potty trained. I mean, she doesn't even really tell me when she has to go. However, I feel very good about her being so young and taking this step. So...here's to the potty. Maybe there is some glimmer of hope that I won't be changing diapers too much longer...at least until the next baby comes! Congratulations Aliyah!

Stereotypes

There is nothing like a major publication in the world of journalism printing a cover that can only be categorized as streotypical and some might even call it racist to get my blood boiling- all in the name of satire. Are you kidding me? In a "post 9-11" America, do the editors of the New Yorker magazine really believe that it would be taken as tongue in cheek to print a caricuture of our first and only African-American presidential candidate and his wife (a mother of two children) as muslim terrorists burining an American flag with a picture of Osama Bin Laden on the wall??? This is preying on the greatest fear Americans have right now...and in stead of poking fun at the ridiculous rumors swirling about Obama, it is only fueling those false rumors about Senator Obama. Yes, I contemplated re-printing that horrible and offensive graphic on the cover of the magazine. I decided that I wanted to show how powerful and strong these images are. They will now be in the history of the Senator's campaign forever. I can only hope that it will be a tool used for teaching and raising awareness about the continued existence of prejudice. Regardless of the magazine's claim that this cover was intended to be satirical, it will hurt Obama. There are people in our country who will use this to confirm their fear that he is a Muslima and his wife is a terrorist. I've never heard anything more ridiculous. I hope we get to the point in this country where candidates can debate over their differences in issues. Let's talk about what plans these candidates have to help heal our country when they get into the white house. I mean, stop with the scare tactics and let's get to the issues!

I'm officially a blogger!

Well, its official. I'm here in the world of blogging...and I think I'm going to stay for awhile. It feels great to have a place to put my thoughts and feelings. I can't wait to get started!