Ups and downs

Brigette's baby shower last night went well. There were probably around 30 people there! There were 2 babies under 2 months old at the shower, Michelle's boy Aiden and Kimmy's son Juan - both so adorable! We played some games including the 'baby name scramble' where you try to make as many words as you can out of the baby's name Gabriel Michael. Michelle won with 22 words! Then there was the 'baby song' game where you list as many songs as you can with the word baby in it. Brigette's dad won that one with 11 songs. I only came up with 4. Then the 'baby animal' game, listing as many baby and adult animal combos as possible, like lion-cub, cat-kitten. Brigette won that one but she cheated, so gave the gift to Elaine. We also played 'pass the paci' where we had to do sort of a relay with a pacifier passing it from person to person using only a straw in our mouths. That was interesting! Then it was food and presents and time to head home.

And now tonight is the memorial service for one of my MIL's brothers. He passed away unexpectedly last Friday at the age of 53. I didn't know him very well, but I always believe it's important to attend the services as support to the close friends and family. Rest in peace Uncle Nick.

Babies

A friend of mine just had her 2nd son on Tuesday and tonight I'm going to my SIL's baby shower; she's due April 1. Babies everywhere! I actually attended my 1st baby shower a couple of months ago for DH's cousin whose baby boy is a month old already! He is just plain adorable! Looking forward to meeting my friend's baby boy - Jackson is his name, isn't that a great name?! One day DH and I will embark on the baby experience, but until then, I can learn from my friends and family. Who knew there was such a thing as a burp cloth?

So, I've got to go to Target to get some extra baby items for the party - how fun does this baby wrap look? No straps or buckles, just swaddling cloth. I think my mom carried me in something similar. I bet she still has it!

And of course the good Johnson and Johnson products. I like this sleeptime line even for me - bet it's great for babies!

As you may recall, the last time DH and I went shopping for baby products, we got lost. There are just so many different products and at both Babies R Us and Target, nothing was where it said it was on the registry. Johnson and Johnson items are useful and always easy to find. Guess we'll go with that and a gift card that can be used toward the big ticket items since this will be SIL's first baby. They're thinking about Gabriel Michael for his name. First they were told it was a girl, then a month later, found out it was a boy - long story there. Anyway, in a couple months, I'll be an aunt again!

Valentine's Day

Saturday was Valentine's Day. As usual, it falls on a race day out at the track, so couldn't go anywhere near the speedway. We went for a haircut and then to MIL's house where our beloved Clifford had just passed away. He had been given 1 month to live about 6 months ago, so I guess he was on borrowed time. He had a serious heart condition and now he's living pain free across the Rainbow Bridge. See our tribute to dear Cliff from Saturday's post.

Then we went to Sam's to get some fixings for Valentine's dinner. We started this tradition a couple years ago after fighting the crowds for dinner out. This way, we spend time together shopping, prepping and cooking the meal and we make sure to get the best quality ingredients available. Since I don't eat red meat, we usually end up with a seafood medley. We found some great fresh shrimp and crab legs from Sam's. Can you believe the size of these shrimp? 4/8 count means 4-8 shrimp make a pound. We got 2 of the big ones and it was about 1/2 pound. Here they are in a QUART size Ziploc bag. Fresh and wild caught, they were more tasty and larger than lobster. We also got HUGE Alaskan king crab legs.

So, here it was, this year's meal - Alaskan king crab legs, HUGE 4/8 count shrimp, lobster tail, baked potato and fresh steamed asparagus. Homemade cheesecake with strawberries for dessert. We couldn't even finish all the crab, so shelled it up and made great crabcakes the next night for dinner. It was all soo delicious. Then we relaxed and watched Made of Honor, and I know DH tried to fall asleep through it, but I don't think he could. Definitely a predictable chick flick. Until next Valentine's Day! For a few more photos, check out flickr

DH's 30th birthday!

Monday was DH's 30th birthday! Can you believe it?! For the second year in a row, we went to Disney's Animal Kingdom and had dinner at Charlie's Steakhouse. Rufus stayed at my MIL's and had a great time with the pups.

AK last year was nice and quiet, even though it was on a Saturday. This year, there were crowds! It was President's day, one of the busiest times of the year. First line was to get in and park. Parking is now $12. We think they raise it by $1 every time we go.
Next line was Will Call to pick up my ticket and get DH's free birthday ticket. It's a promo Disney is doing this year, free admission on your birthday. Then the line to actually get into the park. We went back to get on the Safari, but there was a long wait, so we got the fastpass and took the train out to the Conservation Station which is where the petting area is. Here's DH petting a big sheep.

We went to a few more exhibits then it was time for the Safari. We sat in the first row. They've got these strange trees all over the exhibit. Direct from Africa.

We saw giraffe, okapi, elephants, lions, wildebeest, ostrich, hippos, rhinos, antelope and many more animals native to Africa!We rode a few more rides including the river rapids where we got soaked, ate lunch at Flame Tree BBQ and then it was time for Expedition Everest. This is a pretty cool roller coaster that is partially in the dark and sometimes goes backward. I think I did pretty good, but in the below photo, DH is posing but my scream is real. It was fun!

Then it was off to Charlie's Steakhouse for DH's birthday dinner. Charlie's is a good steakhouse, too bad the closest one is in Orlando. All of their steaks are select U.S. Choice and Prime three-year-old grain-fed beef. Steaks are aged a minimum of 4-6 weeks for tenderness and flavor, then trimmed and seasoned to be flame-broiled on their specialty built open-pit mesquite wood fire.

First is DH's King of the Bone Strips 2 ½ Inches Thick

And I had the Chef's Mixed Grill – Servings of Mahi Mahi and Salmon with Shrimp and Scallop Scampi . And yes, that lemon has a net to catch the seeds. All in all, a great day and we'll probably be back again next year! For more of the photos from our day, check out my flickr site

Speedweeks

Well, the headaches are finally gone and I've got some blogging to catch up on! We've still got plenty of CA vacation photos to go through, so let's start with a weekend recap. Last week was speedweeks here in Daytona. The crowds weren't as big as in past years, most say due to the economy even though the Speedway reduced the 500 tickets to $55/pp, which, for the biggest race of the year, is usually a pretty good deal. They didn't reduce the tickets to the other races though, which would have been nice becuase DH and I enjoy going to the truck races. So Friday was the truck race, Camping World is now the sponsor I think. It was broadcast on Speed TV, which our cable providor Brighthouse still doesn't broadcast in HD (grr). As if being broadcast in 'regular' format wasn't bad enough, Speed TV's coverage is terrible. Let me tell you that probably around 1/3 to 1/2 of the laps weren't broadcast. They always go to commercial when green is on - why not when there's a caution, which there were 6 of that night. They've also got some strange new rule regarding pit stops for the truck series - it's tire or gas, not both. Yes, if the drivers need both, they must get one, do a lap and stop back and get the other. Why?? I don't know, it's just another way for Nascar to regulate the event. Todd Bodine, who doesn't have a major sponsor, won the race, the first repeat winner in the event’s 10-year history. Saturday was Valentine's day, and I'll do a seperate post about that later, but was also the Gatorade Duel races, 150-mile races, and serves as a qualifying race for the Daytona 500 . I didn't watch these races, but DH did. Jeff Gordon and Kyle Busch won the Duels this year.
Sunday brought the 51st running of the Daytona 500 (200-lap, 500 miles). I didn't watch this one either, but from Wikipedia, was called on account of rain with 48 laps remaining. The leader at the time of the red flag, Matt Kenseth, was declared named the winner, his first Daytona 500 win in his ten attempts and the first win for Roush Fenway Racing. Even though the race did not run the full 200 laps, it is a full race as NASCAR rules state that any event can be ruled a complete race once the halfway point plus one lap is reached; in this case, it is 101 laps or 265.5 miles. Next year's race is on Feb. 14.

The world has lost a great spoo

Rest in peace Cliff 06/11/98-02/14/09

You'll greatly be missed

The power of a praying mother! (and every health antidote known to man)

Well, with the help of God, my chriopractor and Dr. Mom, I'm on the way to recovery. My head and neck have been pretty sore all day, but sore is soo much better than the throbbing pain of that headache!


My mom, who constantly prays for our family every day, made sure to pump me with all natural products to help speed up the recovery. She's so sweet. She sliced up grapefruit this morning, gulped it down so fast I forgot to get a pic, then bowls of sliced strawberries and blueberries topped with organic honey, again, so good, no pic to show. But it looked just like this and after is what's left of the blueberries.
Some of the products that have been floating in and out of my body (don't want to get too graphic!) are shown below: Left to right:
Amigo juice is a powdered mix that has acai, mangosteen, and goii - it tastes delicious! http://www.amigojuice.co.uk/

Then there's Digest Gold which is a great digestive aid. After all that eating out and authentic Mexican food we ate during vacation, we need to get our digestive tracts back into wack. www.enzymedica.com/products/Digest_Gold

Feverfew is just an all around good herbal supplement - good for headaches, digestion, arthritis and more.

Organic Triple Fiber - whew this stuff cleans you out! A blend of organic ground flaxseed, organic acacia fiber and organic (gluten-free) oat bran. 1 scoop 1-3x/day (I've only endured 1 scoop/day and that's enough!). It can be kind of thick, so add extra water if you want, or even try the pill form (I used powdered form).

Apple Cider Vinegar is one that's good for everyday use. For health, mix it with water and honey and drink up. Be careful to use 1 tsp at a time, it's an acquired taste.

Ginger Root - good for nausea and upset stomach, also good for motion sickness.

Mucolytic agent is an expectorant, and this is one that we had for backup, but I didn't have any congestion.

And then there's the OTC Excedrin Migraine (which has the same ingredients and amounts as regular Excedrin headache, so watch their marketing ploys folks!) - I just used 2 geltabs yesterday and that seemed to help. The bottle said only 2 tabs/24 hours which was interesting. It only has 250 mg acetaminophen, 250 mg asprin and 65 mg caffeine per tablet which isn't anything too scary.

Last one I forgot in this pic is Mineral Rich plus Aloe drink. It's actually really tasty and good for you too! www.maximumliving.com/vitamin-supplements/mineralrich-aloe.php

And of course the trusty ice pack!

Headaches

Ok, I've the ridiculuous headache for 2 days now and have been having a difficult time focusing on anything else, so lets just discuss headaches today. I'm currently on Excedrin Migraine, and Dr. Mom came over today and filled me with feverfew, ginger, acai berry and other natural remedies, so lets see how that helps. I also went to the chriopractor and she thinks it's a tension headache and re-aligned my whole backside. First reactions, feeling somewhat better, just still pretty sore.

Most of my medical knowledge comes from WebMD. I often find it interesting how little most of us know about our own bodies. WebMD.com is full of articles about almost everything you could ever think of. A lot of todays blog will be cut and paste from their website.

Headache pain results from signals interacting between the brain, blood vessels, and surrounding nerves. During a headache, specific nerves of the blood vessels and head muscles are activated and send pain signals to the brain. It's not clear, however, why these signals are activated in the first place.

There are several types of headaches - 150 diagnostic headache categories have been established! The exact cause of most of these headaches are unknown.

Tension headaches are most common in adults, more common in females. There is no single cause for tension headaches. This type of headache is not an inherited trait that runs in families. In some people, tension headaches are caused by tightened muscles in the back of the neck and scalp. They say it could be from stress. I don't think I've been stressed. I can only think I was stressed last week dealing with all the crazy CA drivers, but I don't think I let that get to me.

Unlike migraine headaches, there are no associated neurological symptoms (such as muscle weakness, or blurred vision) in people with tension headaches. In addition, severe sensitivity to light or noise, stomach pain, nausea and vomiting are not symptoms usually associated with tension headaches. That would be a yes, yes, yes, no for me.

People with tension headaches commonly report these symptoms (I've got all of these):
Mild to moderate pain or pressure affecting the front, top or sides of the head
Headache occurring later in the day
Difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep
Chronic fatigue
Irritability
Disturbed concentration
Mild sensitivity to light or noise
General muscle aching

Now on to Migraines
Again, exact cause unknown, but they are related to blood vessel contractions and other changes in the brain as well as inherited abnormalities in certain areas of the brain. Migraine pain is moderate to severe, often described as pounding, throbbing pain. They can last from 4 hours to 3 days and usually occur 1 to 4 times per month. Migraines are associated with symptoms such as light sensitivity; noise or odors; nausea or vomiting; loss of appetite; and stomach upset or abdominal pain.

For many years, scientists believed that migraines were linked to expanding and constricting blood vessels on the brain's surface. However, it is now believed that migraines are caused by inherited abnormalities in certain areas of the brain.
There is a migraine "pain center" or generator in the brain. A migraine begins when hyperactive nerve cells send out impulses to the blood vessels, causing them to clamp down or constrict, followed by dilation (expanding) and the release of prostaglandins, serotonin, and other inflammatory substances that cause the pulsation to be painful.

Other common types of headaches,
Mixed (Also called transformed migraines) - a combination of migraine and tension headaches.
Cluster - the pain of a cluster headache is intense and may be described as having a burning or piercing quality that is throbbing or constant.
Sinus headaches - deep and constant pain in the cheekbones, forehead or bridge of the nose.
Hormone - Often associated with changing hormone levels that occur during menstruation, pregnancy, and menopause.

We're back

Well, we're back from our trip out west. We actually got back in Saturday night, but we're still trying to get back on EST. I've got to go through photos, get blogs together, not to mention unpack and get our house back in order.

I've had a wicked headache all day, so all you're getting from me today is a photo from our travels. This one is from Wednesday, 02/04, on our drive back down from 5000 ft. elevation in Crestline overlooking San Bernardino, CA. And yes, it really was that beautiful.