Wait, See, Blog...

 

We're still waiting on a plumber.  It'll be nice when this handled.  For now, we wait.  The only other thing happening here this morning is an annoying Windows update. 

For those of you that didn't know, HIV.gov has a blog on youtube, HIV.gov.  They post videos a few times a week.  Give it a look for current info & situation reports.

That's about it for now.  Take care.

Cya...

Distractions...

 

Do you ever wonder why people who you think are in poor situations do things you find strange or unproductive?   May be the issue isn't with them, but with your understanding of the way of their lives.   

When you're poor or in undesirable situations, sometimes the best you can do is wade your way through it all.  Distractions make the effort easier.  You get to focus on something else instead of the crap zone that is your life.  

We all do it, some more than others.  Some dive into music, videos, reading.  The worse off people dive into dangerous areas like drugs, religion, politics, violence...   The problem is these distractions are like drugs.  Sometimes you have to dive in headfirst to get any relief.  Other times they no longer provide the relief they once did & you need something else, different, stronger, more distracting.

I listen to a lot of music, play games on my computer & so on.  Still, sometimes I can't face another game, read another comic & the music has the opposite effect.   Then I'm floundering for a bit.

If the time of year is right, I can look out my window & see little birds, tiny flowers, squirrels, dragons or hummers.   Right now there isn't much of any of that to get my attention.  At the moment, I have few distractions, little TV & a heap load of things adding stress in my life.  I'm pretty frazzled.  Will this get better?  Hopefully, but then more crap will happen & I'll need more distractions.

I saw a late dandelion.  It was in full puff phase.  I found myself a little jealous.  It had a full time of growing & being a pretty, blitz of yellow, now it was readying for its next phase.   Soon, it's little selves will fly off.  It won't board a train to Marrakesh, some might not leave my yard.  But maybe, just possibly, some of them could catch the wind & fly around the world seeing beautiful things before they land & start again.  Dandelions don't end, they just pack their bags & move on down the road a bit.  Yeah, I'm a bit jealous.

Cya...

1st Sunday Of November...

The 1st weekend of the month is almost over.  Tomorrow will be busy for us with shopping & getting bills paid.   We raided the half price candy yesterday at Walmart.   Unfortunately, some non-candy things didn't make into the cart.  I had to go back & get them.

I was irritated about this.  I really didn't want to have to go back to Walmart.   But I did.

On the way back I heard 3 songs I hadn't heard before, from 3 different genres.  They aren't all new, 1 of them's over 10 years old.  If I hadn't gone back to the store, I may not have ever heard them.  It's the little things.

Cya...

Holiday Encroachment...

There are encroachers upon us.  I went to the store in mid October & there were already displays for Thanksgiving & Christmas starting to arrive.  It bothers me that we can't just enjoy one holiday at a time.  Let the pumpkins, ghost & goblins have their day, then the turkey & pilgrims, then the winter festivities.

Some one recently posted on Facebook how much it upset her that people take the Christ out Christmas by saying Happy Holidays.  So sorry to hear that, guess what, "Happy Holidays."  The winter season has a ton of holidays in it, many based off of one religion or another.  There's Saturnalia, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, a couple of Muslim Holidays, a whole host of celebrations/recognitions for Catholics/Orthodox, Yule, Solstice & a myriad of others.   So Happy Holidays would seem far more appropriate & inclusive than just Merry Christmas.  What I am supposed to say Happy Advent?  Or maybe the real Christian point is to be exclusive to the rest of the world like Mr. Garrison from Southpark.

I guess we won't even be able to enjoy Thanksgiving without Christmas butting in.  The stores have already started blasting us with holiday music.  These are a few that I got hit with today.   

Cya

Seasonal Cleaning...

We received a letter for my roomie's gran today.  It was a reminder to service the gas heaters.  The first thing I thought, "Was great, there's another expense."  I was sure they probably needed cleaning. So, I went to Youtube & look at any video I could find about cleaning ventless gas heaters.  It seemed easy enough. 

1. Make sure everything is turned off
2. Find the screws holding the facing on the heater
3. Remove the screws & the facing/grill
4. Using a small brush & a cool hair dryer remove the dust
5. Wipe the open areas
6. Remount the face & refasten the screws
7. Test the heater

Viola.  Easy enough.  Hah!  No screw in any wall heater ever wants to come out or go back in without major drama.  With the constant temperature change these heaters go through, the thin metal casing does a subtle warping.  Hardly noticeable when attached.  Stands out like a elephant when you try to refit the facing.

It's done, cussing & all.   It needed to be done.  I think there was at least one cat's worth of fur & numerous bunnies worth of dust in the heater.  That fails to mention all the other debris that had somehow gotten through the vents.  I am amazed the thing didn't burst into flames.

Well, it's done.  Here's hoping I don't gas us all to death,

Cya

Cinnamon...

Cinnamon is a spice derived from the bark of a tree with numerous uses from cooking to repelling pests to medicinal.   The medicinal value of cinnamon is diverse from aiding in smoking cessation to digestive issues.  But I tend to take it for other reasons.  Besides being a good sources of various nutrients cinnamon has three benefits that got my attention. 

The first is that it helps control cholesterol.  After I went on my HIV meds I gained a lot of weight from being on steroids for my breathing.  Luckily I am no longer on them, but the weight remained & my metabolism was shot.  Any one even a little over weight needs to be concerned about higher cholesterol levels.  Not that weight & cholesterol levels always correlate, but they often do.  Cinnamon can aid in lowering LDL cholesterol levels.

In addition to cholesterol, any one overweight, especially if they have any Native American blood in their heritage, needs to be concerned about their sugar levels.  Sugar levels can be associated with diabetes.  Cinnamon has been shown to aid in regulating insulin levels.  Some people combine their cinnamon intake with apple cider vinegar to aid in weight loss.

Another reason I take cinnamon is for aches, especially joint aches.  Many of my meds list aches as a possible reaction to the medication.  Cinnamon can aid with lessening these aches for me & for people with arthritis.  It doesn't completely take away the big aches, but it does dull them considerably.  Which results in me taking fewer pain medications.

Cinnamon can be taken via pills/capsules or via the spice itself.  You need about 1000 mg. daily or about a good solid teaspoon.   If you can get this much uncooked cinnamon into your diet daily, then go for it.  Do yourself a favor & don't try & take it by the spoonful, you'll regret it.  Cinnamon absorbs water & will close your throat if you don't drink a lot of water with it.  Even if you take the capsules remember to drink a lot of water with the pills.  If you don't you can get a cinnamon burp & imitate a dragon.  Trust me, it isn't pleasant.

You have to remember, as with any supplement, the effect isn't instantaneous.  It took about a month for me to really start noticing the effects of the cinnamon.  However, I have to say after that time I deal with far less aches & the ones I have are nowhere as bad as they used to be.  The swings in my sugar level are drastically lessened.   In addition, between this & apple cider vinegar I've had good results from my cholesterol tests.

Before you start taking cinnamon or really any supplement you should research it & check for any possible side effects that might affect you. You also need to check to see if any supplement your interested in taking might interact with any medication that you may be on at the time.  Many supplements do interact with each other & medications.   Google it or ask your pharmacist.

Here's to cinnamon...

The Next Day...

This is not going to be long post, matter of fact it's going to be a short one.  This has been a frustrating week.  Things keep breaking & quite frankly I'm fed up.  Used to I would've just gone for a drive, but gas is so damn expensive, that really isn't an option any more.  So I'll just post some road trip music today.

Hope your day is going well...

Rainy Easter

If you're a kid then the weather today sucked.  Its raining on Easter.  But so it goes in April in Oklahoma.

I've talked about Easter quite a bit already.  So, I'll opt for other things instead that still sort of related to the holiday.  First off with a musical.

Then will try something for the kids.



This is a bit adult.

In other words...

Still Blah, But I Have Videos

The weather is still crapping out here today.  Not sure how long it's going to last, but I hope it goes away soon.  I feel very lethargic & disinterested in most things.  This isn't a good scene for me .  Not much to write about today.  This atmospheric crap plays hell with my coughing & aches.  I feel twice my age & like I never stopped smoking.  I feel that when I don't have anything good to say I should probably look & see if I have anything informative to say & if not I'll move on to the next thing.

So, this is me moving on to the next thing...

This is a song I heard a couple of seasons ago on CSI & have never managed to track down.  Love the song.

A video I like.

I'll end with a woman I love.  Joan is the bomb.  Here's to a great song.

Hope these songs will help you get who I am & put you in a happy place.

The News

The news isn't that great today.  Whether you're talking about the quake in New Zealand or all the strange politicians trying to wage war on women, gays & anything else that crosses their paths, the news is bleak.  It seems like the situation has been this way for a while.

It doesn't seem like there is a lot of fixing going on, just a lot of blaming.  It would seem that there was plenty of blame to hit everyone involved, but no one wants to take their fair share.  I could sit here & type about evil republicans or useless democrats, but that's been done.

I can't say I have any answers, but I can say the blame game & negativity won't solve anything.  This post will be a short one.  I'm tired & my writing would just turn to rambles if I continued.  I'll leave you with a few vids Ive liked lately.  Hope you like...