Food #6 Learning From Young Pros

Sometimes amazing opportunities just land in your lap. As a substitute teacher, I usually work a classroom one or two days in a row and then move on. This year I was given the opportunity to do a long term substitute job at a local high school. I am loving it! I have been able to teach Child Development (one of my college majors) and cooking. Yes, cooking! I have two classes of Cooking 1 and then the Pro Start Restaurant class.  My units to teach in Child Development are on genetics and the reproductive system. They even have the simulator babies to start taking home including a car seat!

It didn't take long to get caught up to speed in the Child Development or Cooking 1 classes, but the Pro Start was way beyond me.  These are high school students who really know how to cook in a restaurant kitchen. Once or twice a month, they run a cafe in the school for teachers to eat lunch at. The students are responsible for management and running the front of the cafe as well as running the kitchen in the back. 

 

This is the front of the house or the cafe. It is small and very nice. I am standing by the cash register and the door to enter. Teachers pay to come eat at the cafe. Each student has to run one cafe a year where they are the manager, plan the menu, and then assign the rest of the students jobs. One day we do a run through and cook a small amount. Then the students give me the grocery list depending on how many teachers sign up. I get to do the shopping! Then they do the real thing for about 30 teachers. It has been really fun. 

We did the unit on salads and garnishes and they made some really good food and some fun garnishes. I get paid to teach, sample food, grade, test, and go shopping. This has been one of the best sub jobs so far. They even gave me a lap top and trusted me in Skyward. That is the student system that I just happen to have worked in for over 14 years so I didn't need any training there.

Needless to say, these amazing students have taught me a few things. There are some great students out there that have a passion for learning, who are well disciplined, and who appreciate a substitute teach that is studying at home so that their time in class is not wasted.  On top of that, I am learning some great cooking skills and I have a great kitchen to work in. Just look at this place! Teaching doesn't get any better than this.

 

 

 

Just some of the fun garnishes they made with whatever they could find in the kitchen. 

Medications AND Alternative Choices (Healthy Habits #7)

As I have grown older, I have felt that everything we need to heal the body is found somewhere on this earth. Heavenly Father planned it that way. Now we need to find the cures. This leads me to say that I am a skeptical about some things, but lately I believe more and more that the medical field is going the wrong direction in many areas and that alternative medicine has some really good options.

When I moved to Utah, I was on one medication for high blood pressure. High blood pressure for me is hereditary. I have tried so many natural things including loosing weight and the blood pressure does not change. I am okay with that. I had an MD/ND in Washington and he worked with me trying things.  In one year of living in Utah, which is a proactive/preventive medical state in many ways, I am on 4 prescriptions.  My doctor freaked out that I wasn’t on something for my high cholesterol. He also felt I needed potassium and thyroid medication. So I don’t want to add more medication!

Now my important main medical issues to me are my bursitis in my hips and the osteoarthritis in my legs. Occasionally I have issues with my lower back and left shoulder. All of these issues are due to the 2002 roll over car accident I was in or just old age. Years of physical therapy and chiropractic work have helped some but often not completely. When you get older, you will try just about anything to see if it will work, especially when it comes to relieving pain.

I would guess most of my friends and family don’t even know I am in pain or when I am in pain. After awhile it is just part of life and we adapt to the pain and live with it. It doesn’t help that I have a higher tolerance to some pain than most people. I have been at levels 8-10 of pain and still out doing what needs to get done. A bit slower, but most the time I don’t say anything.

So when I found a new natural direction to go that has been working, I have been shouting to everyone that I have been pain free for 6 weeks! Like I said, most people didn’t know I was even in pain. I do not understand how energy works. I do not understand how pressure points, reflexology, or essential oils work, but I know in many cases they work. I chose to try Bowenwork. Like I said, I don’t get it but, during my first appointment with Andrea, a Alternative Medicine Practitioner, she picked up on a high school knee injury that no doctor has ever noticed. This is a description of Bowenwork:

“Bowenwork is a dynamic system of muscle and connective tissue therapy that was developed by the late Tom Bowen in Australia. It utilizes small but measured inputs to the body stimulating the body to heal itself, often profoundly.Bowenwork usually results in the relief of many specific injuries and other health problems, both acute and chronic. Signals are delivered to the nervous system at specific locations (on muscles, tendons, ligaments, or nerves) and the body does the rest.”

At my first appointment I laid on the bed wondering how it was even going to work. It was definitely new to me, but it made a few differences immediately and some over time. 

It has helped with my bursitis, osteoarthritis, digestive track, and amazingly my ear that has never popped well with elevation change. I just took a trip and my ear popped on its own for the first time since…I can even remember! 

Now this is not a one time cure all. It is a process. I had 6 weeks pain free then went on a road trip to Seattle where I slept on the floor, worked cleaning my aunts 1 acre property, demossed the roof, cleaned the gutters, and sat in a non-reclining seat for hours. My lower back is in excruciating pain as I write and I am going to see if my miracle practitioner can help.

So I will admit that I don’t understand the how and why, but I believe the body and mind are powerful. Instead of being skeptical about alternative medical choices, I am becoming a believer more and more every day and feel that medicine and alternative choices can work hand in hand.  And as I lay there on the table, I am learning to meditate for the first time in my life. That is an added bonus! 

 Andrea Jones Bowenwork in Lehi

One of the Quickest Ways to Start to Heal is Through Forgiveness (Healthy Habits #6)

One of the hardest things in the world to do is forgive, especially when you didn’t do anything wrong. Our mind and even the world communicates to us there is no need to forgive. I was right or I was the victim. When we hang on to what someone has done to us, it causes bitterness, anger, and resentment in our hearts. When we don’t let go our heart becomes darker. Here are three personal examples that I hope will explain what I mean.

When I was a young mom, there were two men at my church that held leadership positions that I had a difficult time with. They had said several things that really hurt my feelings. One day I walked into the church and one of the men said, “Hey you pregnant again or just getting fatter.” Now I don’t know how you would feel, but for me not being pregnant, that was a huge insult. I could go on and on and list the things that were said over the course of a few years that were so out of line. It made me angry. I had such feelings of bitterness and hatred towards these two men. What were they thinking?

Did they treat me like that every time I saw them? No. But the bitterness was already in me and it festered. I went on hating them for almost five years. Every time I was around them my mind and heart were filled with animosity. One day I noticed that they really had no idea I was angry at them. They were clueless and I was filled with bitterness. That is one of the first times I realized how this principle works. It is like I was drinking poison and expecting them to die. One day I saw them alone in a room together. I went in and told them I wanted to apologize to them for having negative thoughts toward them. They both looked surprised and asked me what they had done. I told them it didn’t matter and that I was sorry. It was like someone took a weight and lifted it off my back. This is a simple example that I allowed to last much longer than necessary and in the end it really only damage me.

Another example is when my daughter had a boyfriend who turned into a stalker. It put our family in an upheaval when I had to have her in hiding for seven weeks in another state. During that time I was angry at him for what he did and I did everything I could to protect my daughter, but I also prayed for him. He was messed up and really needed help from somewhere. Although I hated his actions, I tried to remember he was also a child of God. A messed up one, but one none the less. It took a lot of work, but it kept my heart from becoming bitter with hatred toward him.

Finally, after my mother died at 85, I went to her home to collect her belongs. She had been living with her elderly boyfriend for the last 13 years of her life. I knew him well and I had stayed at their home on several occasions with my children. He would dote over my mother and loved her very much but was very distraught at her death. That night I woke up to the horror of him naked in my bed. I won’t go into detail about what all happened and how things ended, but I was angry, violated, and disgusted. I drove the moving van the five hours home breaking down in tears and anguish as to why he would attempt to do what he did. I had always felt safe there or I would never had gone alone.

The feelings of anger, violation, and disgust did not last long this time. I went to an ecclesiastical leader of my church the next day and we talked and I cried. He assured me that it was not my fault and I did nothing wrong. Then he gave me a blessing and told me everything would be alright and to find forgiveness in my heart. It was easier this time. I was not asked to forget or to let him back into my life, I was asked to forgive him for his sins. When we forgive, we aren’t expected to forget. We often need to remember to keep ourselves safe from the situation repeating itself.

The lesson here is that when we are the victim, we are continuing to allow them to win when we become bitter and angry. We are giving them power over us. When we forgive, our hearts are softened and our healing can begin.

Author’s Note: If you are in a violent abusive relationship. Don’t remain in it. Get to a safe place. Even if you forgive a hundred times, the abuser will continue their abuse unless they get help and learn to truly change. Remember forgiveness is to help in your healing. It does not mean to continue to allow the abusive behavior of others to hurt you. (GMC)

Healthy Habits #5 Taking Control of My Life...Again

 Degenerative or Osteoarthritis

I have now been to three doctors in the last few weeks and have one more appointment in June. Things are progressing forward as I work to take my life back from pain. My family doctor diagnosed me with Osteoarthritis. Yesterday, I saw the orthopedic doctor who gave me an arthritis steroid shot in my hip. I have had cortisone shots in my hip for bursitis, but not steroid shots for arthritis. The pain was easily cut in half, but some still exists. According to the physical therapist  today, the pain that is left is being caused by the bursitis.

These shots are band-aids that can last for months or a year. They do not fix the problem. Degenerative or Osteoarthritis is a condition that involves the chronic breakdown of cartilage in the joints leading to painful joint inflammation. It is common with old age, but even more common if you have had issues caused from car accidents, improper cheer leading, and some of my other falls and injuries. 

The bursa is a fluid-filled sac that functions as a gliding surface to reduce friction between moving tissues of the body. There are two major bursae in the hip. Bursitis, or inflammation of a bursa, is usually not infectious, but the bursa can become infected. Unfortunately, both of my hip bursae are inflamed.

I was given the all clear to go do my 5K walks. The first one is tomorrow. I am not doing any permanent damage to the bursa or the arthritis by working it, but I am making it really mad so that it inflames or causes pain. The physical therapist said that cold or hot compresses are fine. So use what feels the best. They would like to see me do some swimming since that is the least impact on the area, but my elliptical and bike are also fine. 


Although the actual cause of osteoarthritis and bursitis are unknown and incurable, there are a lot of things you can do to ease the pain. The low impact exercise is one area to focus on. Another is to strengthen the core and the muscles around the area. Finally lose weight and take omega 3's. These will all help, but in the end when the pain gets too unbearable it will be hip replacement time. 

At least I know I am not causing more damage when I down the ibuprofen and push through the pain. So now I have 1 stretch and 3 exercises to do at home until my appointment next week. I am also going to see someone that is a Certified Bowenwork Practitioner. It is a unique form of neuromuscular re-patterning. It works primarily through the nervous system on both structural and energetic levels.

By taking control I am hoping to be able to alleviate some of the pain I have.  Especially the pain at night that causes havoc and keeps me awake. My advice to the younger generation: take care of yourself now so you don't have to go through what I am!

Fun Food #5

Beating Mindless Eating

I found this report absolutely fascinating and true. So how do we stop this overeating spiral that we are all caught in?

For me the best thing is not to have food in the house that I don't want to eat. I also try asking myself "Why am I really eating this?"  The answer is usually, "because it is there."  Every time I walk by the candy dish with M&M's leftover from a baby shower, I grab a handful for no reason. I go to the kitchen because I am hungry, find nothing worth eating, and then grab something that is all carbs.

This process is really a total relearning of how we were raised eating and it is hard!

Healthy Habits #3 - Life, Love, and Laughter

Yesterday had some bitter sweet moments. I was at Costco and did some people watching as I shopped. It must have been 'date' time because there were a lot of couples walking around and several families. It touched my heart to see these sweet couples taking care of each others needs. It was also sad to know I didn't have that in my life. Then I saw a spouse tell their partner to go get something. When they came back with the wrong thing a little anger came through. I observed another person shake their head and give their spouse a disgusting look over something. It was sad.

Then I turned my attention to some families. An adorable family was picking up dog food and the dad was having the five year old 'help' him put it in the cart. We all know how much help a five year old would be at that. Another family was deciding together which cheese to buy. Then there was the parent who got mad at their child for taking an extra sample. They picked them up and threw them in the cart and started yelling at them.

My point is we have all had moments like these parents. Sometimes we respond the right way and sometimes we respond the wrong way. Whenever  I responded to my children or spouse the wrong way, I usually felt bad afterwards but I wasn't always sure what to do to change what happened. I have worked years on teaching myself to smile, worry more about the child then the situation, and to try and release the tension with kind words or laughter. It isn't easy and it doesn't always work out that way, but I try. My kids can tell you that if you just make me laugh, I cannot discipline or get angry!

Now that my children are grown and married, I am trying to do the same with my grandchildren and I hope that my example rubs off on everyone around me. The sad part is now that my spouse is deceased, it saddens me to see how spouses sometimes treat each other. If I could go back in time, I would put his needs before mine more often, I would listen better, be slower to judge or get angry, and find more ways to spend quality time with him so he knew he was needed.

Life is to short. Be careful  with your words because the tongue can be as sharp as a knife. Don't leave 'I love you' unsaid, your kids not hugged, or your spouse not kissed. If you are raising your voice because you are angry, you are not raising it for the right reason. Raise your voice in praise and love. When they are still in your life it is hard to sometimes understand this, but when they are suddenly gone, you will.

To stay young and healthier longer, I suggest laughter, love, and happiness.