THE FUTURE'S SO BRIGHT I GOTTA WEAR SHADES

Today is a sunny glorious day - and the future's so bright I gotta wear shades. Driving my daughter to school - missed the bus again !! - Chris Evans is on the radio playing boppin' music. It's his birthday today. HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHRIS EVANS !!! I don't know him, but I just thought I'd give him a thumbs up. His show is so cheery and I've got it on now. The sun's shining, the angels are singing, and it's a great day to be alive.

Meghan Telpner over at Making Love in the Kitchen is about to release a NEW TUTORIAL called HEALING WITH EVERYDAY SUPERFOODS and I'll be downloading it just as soon as she comes on line. Her others were so good that I'm really excited about it. ( see yesterdays blog ) There'll be a 5 day meal plan and if her other recipes are anything to go by they will be delicious and easy to prepare. There's also a group challenge on April 18th which I want to participate in this time. Meghan uses twitter to coach us from a distance. As she lives in Canada I think this is a great idea. It also gives the opportunity to hear from others doing the challenge, and gives you the feeling of being in a group - not just doing it all on your own. My family aren't quite as committed to healthy lifestyle choices as I am. Let's face it, they don't have the incentive that I do, so it's really comforting and motivating to feel that I'm with others who are trying to reach the same goal. Meghan is extremely positive and motivating. There are other blogs - some really excellent ones that I think I've mentioned before - but Meghan's is special and does offer this extra which I'm feeling quite excited to try. As I said yesterday I signed up for the last challenge of 5 Days Low Glycaemic Eating, but didn't get my act together in time. though I have been using the recipes since , and I'll get other opportunities as the challenges are repeated regularly. I'm hoping that I can get myself organised this time - do the shopping and planning ahead of time.
To have a look at it yourself go to :-

http://wp.me/pNES2-182

That link takes you straight to the Healing With Everyday Superfoods page. The 5 day group challenge on the 18th of April will be followed by a 3 day Green Smoothie Cleanse. You can access Meghans blog from there. I've already downloaded the 3 Day Smoothie Cleanse tutorial and it's very informative and do-able. That's what I like about it. I would have liked to have found Meghan's site when I was initially researching how to help myself. It would have saved me a lot of time and tears. I remember clearly the tears of frustration at not knowing what to buy and cook for dinner. But I may not have been as enthusiastic if I didn't know how spot on Meghan's views and knowledge are. She has come to diet from having had a health challenge of her own. I think this has actually helped her. As I've said about myself, serious challenges concentrate the mind. Anyway, enough advertising for Meghan. ( I don't know her, honestly ! ) But perhaps I can be one of the hundred monkeys who spread her healthy eating ideas.

Have you heard the legend of the hundredth monkey ? I'll blog about it on Tuesday !!


I was gong to write about the pitfalls of having metastatic cancer. I am going to write about one of the difficulties I am struggling with. O.K. I'm fessing up now ! I get emotional. I am known to take things emotionally and personally. I was sent some information about a trial that's going on into the effectiveness of acupuncture on fatigue after chemotherapy. I am really, really tired at the moment and thought it was the heavens calling . Turns out they were calling to someone else. Someone who does not have metastatic cancer. I'm not eligible. Fair enough. They have to have some criteria, but they are clearly cherry picking those who have a good survival chance. Unfortunately, whilst I understood the very nice lady on an intellectual level, my emotions were hearing another story. They heard - You aren't a good bet. You aren't likely to survive long enough to be of any use to us. You are likely to have complications and it's probably the cancer that 's making you tired ( on top of the exhaustion from chemo which can last 5 years ) What I really heard was YOU CAN'T BE HELPED. WE WANT TO HELP PEOPLE WHO WILL LIVE AND GET MORE BENEFIT. YOU'RE A LOST CAUSE. I know no one said this - well, actually, I did to myself !! I'm pretty harsh with myself sometimes. I know it's just a trial and there's no way of knowing whether it would help or not, and whether I would get the acupuncture or not. But I had to pluck up the courage to call - face my situation and prepare to put myself out there - and it feels like a doors closed in my face, and I don't take that well these days. I just wish the people who devise these trials would list who is excluded on their introductory letter so it doesn't get to a stage where it can become personal.

That's got that out of my system. Now I'm going to have a cup of detox tea before I go out and tidy up the garden and perhaps sow some vegetable seeds. The first ones of the year for me. Let's hope it doesn't snow. That's another something to blog about next week. What I'm growing in the garden. I'm enjoying blogging again and it's nice to have something to write about.

Well, it's April tomorrow and I just don't know where the time's gone. What I do know is that I'm in a slightly better place than I was a fortnight ago when my father-in-law was living with us. I still have a teenage daughter who is challenging to say the least, but at least my house is my own again and I can start to breathe and think. To that end I've been trying to sort out my kitchen. I'm a hoarder by nature. Must be something to do with my impoverished, migratory childhood, or then again maybe not. Anyway, I finally emptied my SUGAR cupboard. Yes, I had a cupboard devoted to all things sweet :- golden icing sugar, honey, brown sugars of every stripe, jam,, maple syrup, golden granulated sugar stored in a jar of its own with vanilla beans , icing accoutrement's. What's left is now stored in a plastic tupperware box. I know. But I don't live alone threw most of it away and in fact most of it hadn't been touched in more than 3 years. What a waste of space ! So that freed up a cupboard to use as I wished. I downloaded an ebook ( I am getting more adventurous on the Internet ! ) on eating for 5 days in a low glycaemic way. It included a menu plan, a concise ebook on the reasons to eat with an eye on the glycaemic index, and a shopping list, and a support network on twitter for a 5 day challenge. I didn't get my act together in time sadly- perhaps next time - but I did do the shopping, and I used the cupboard to store all the dry goods I needed. It gave me one cupboard to go to and made it feel more organised, special and fun, and certainly simpler. This cupboard is now my designated healthy eating challenge cupboard, and the sweet stuff left for the family is relegated to a dark, awkward and unused corner of a floor height cupboard.





The 5 day low GI challenge was a great idea and I have been working my way through the recipes. So far they have been terrific, and will become part of my regular repertoire. if you are interested in this challenge it will be run again. Go have a look at it at :-


http://meghantelpnerblog.com/ /




Meghan writes a TERRIFIC blog called Making Love in the Kitchen. She is incredibly generous with her recipes and every time I look at her blog it's like the sun comes out. I have never met her, and unless she fancies a holiday in North Yorkshire or I go over to Canada I have no expectation of ever meeting her, but she comes across as a person who you'd like to have as a friend. Her blog is friendly, warm, very positive, and very generous. I also greatly respect the information she gives. I trust her blog totally. I downloaded all her ebooks and they more than live up to expectations and are incredibly reasonably priced. She is releasing one tomorrow on superfoods, together with a challenge and I'm hoping I'm up for it.





The school's break up tomorrow and I was determined to start blogging again, so that's me for today. The utility room needs a bit of a sort out and is calling to me. I spent some time looking at other people's blogs again today. I think I'll just have to ration myself in future. The problem is that I want to catch up. I haven't really been on the internet in months - since last summer really - and I'm being distracted by all the great blogs and sites out in the blue yonder ! But do take a peek at Meghan Telpner's if you get chance. It's worth it.

Some Cancer Related Blogs

Recently I found a new blog which I think promises to be a great one, and Dennis, who writes it , has included my 'Nothing Tastes As Good As Life '' Blog in his blogroll. ( So thank you Dennis, I feel honoured.) The address is

http://beingcancer.net/

This blog contains many resources and has just started a book club which promises to be stimulating.. Dennis is an oncology nurse who himself has experience of cancer. He is a knowledgeable and articulate man whose writing is life affirming .



It strikes me that I haven't ever gotten around to writing up my own blog favorites. There are many, many times I come to the internet with the intention of blogging only to spend all my time reading other people's blogs. Sometimes I comment, and sometimes I write mini novella's on someone else's comment section instead of getting on with my own. ( I hope if you're one of my target bloggers that you don't mind ! Everyone else seems to make short succinct comments, but I can't seem to distill my thoughts into just a few words. I'm working on it is all I can say. ) There are far too many blogs I like to put them all in one post, so I'll break them down into categories and do a few posts. I'll also add comments about some and not others. There's no reason for this. It doesn't indicate favourites. It's just that I would just keep repeating myself if I made the same comments on them all and that would be very boring to read. So for my first selection I am concentrating on blogs that have some link for me to cancer. The blog I refer to above has a blogroll which is far more comprehensive than mine. Mine is idiosyncratic and suited to my own tastes, and is the product of serendipitous happenstance ! Hours of happy surfing has brought them to my attention. There will be many other excellent blogs that I simply have not come upon - yet ..... I will post about other blogs which amuse, entertain, and delight the eye in a later post when time permits. You can see why I spend more time reading than blogging myself! They all have wonderful voices full of insight, wisdom and information. So - In No Particular Order - here goes :-




http://www.iayork.com/MysteryRays This is a really interesting blog !! Sometimes the information's not so relevant to me and goes over my head. It's about immunology and virology and other stuff. As I'm looking to boost my immune system I think it makes interesting reading and I love the spirit in which it's written. I think his title is fantastic and the reason behind it is, in his own words :- "For years mystery rays from outer space has been my explanation for anything that seems inexplicable- which covers much of immunology and virology. I think I originally saw that as Dave Berry's explanation for Etch - a - Sketch . " I think this could be my new explanation for life, the universe, and everything !! Go have a peek. I feel I could use the illustrations for visualisations.


http://daria-livingwithcancer.blogspot.com/ Daria's blog, called 'Living With Cancer' is all about day to day living with cancer. Daria is a warrior with a very cheerful take on the trials and tribulations of this cancer experience. I love her blog and she is incredibly supportive to me as a fellow blogger. Her positive spirit is infectious and her blog is uplifting and inspiring



http://www.becomingwhole.typepad.com/my-webblog Meg Wolff is a macrobiotic nutritionist who has successfully battled cancer. Her blog is informative and full of recipe's and instruction on the macrobiotic lifestyle. This is a generous blog and well worth a visit.


http://cancerisnotfunny.blogspot.com/ Cancer is Hilarious is written by a young fashion designer with a great eye and a great attitude. I love her eye and I like her blog. There is great imagery and her spirit shines through. It's very inspiring. Her blog may be intended for the younger end, but it's universal


http://cheekylibrarian.blogspot.com/


http://aftercancernowwhat.blogspot.com/ This blog is full of current news items and up to date information on cancer. I don't know how she manages to stay so current. It's slightly political, but that's OK with me. It also has references to celebrities who have had or are fighting cancer, making it a much more visible problem. I find this blog informative and motivational. It's a great read.


http://cyndisadayinalifewithlife.blogspot.com/ The author of this blog is going through breast reconstruction which is a path that I sadly can't follow. This is written by a kind and intelligent woman who generously recounts her experiences with cancer.


http://jillscancerjourney.blogspot.com/ The blog is titled 'Dancing With Cancer Living With Mets.' and I think that tells you a lot about the spirit of this blog.


http://deesupdates.blogspot.com/


http://lesasbreastcancer.blogspot.com/ This blog is titled 'Fighting For a Cure ' This is a very upbeat cancer blog. Lesa is very generous and artistic and makes cards of encouragement for fellow sufferers of cancer. Her blog is a pleasure to visit.


http://korean-cuisine.blogspot.com/ A food blog as well as a cancer blog. The photo's of the food make me drool ! The writer is very generous with her recipes , and although I haven't made any I can dream ! This is a young author whose blog is again a delight to visit and inspiration for the likes of me who doesn't really enjoy cooking but wishes she did.


http://www.assertivepatient.com/ A good blog. Go read it.


http://appendix-cancer.blogspot.com/ Very informative and well written.


http://www.thecancerblog.org/blogs/the-cancer-blog.html A technical blog but could be interesting.


http://kattlovecancerblog.blogspot.com/ This is a blog written by a retired oncologist. Definitely worth having a look at.


http://medicineworld.org/cancer/cancerblog.html A technical blog but could be interesting.


http://blog.dlsrf.org/ This is the Dr. Susan Love Blog and is particularly interested in breast cancer. Informative.


http://doctordavidsblog.blogspot.com/ The musings of a pediatric oncologist. Even if you don't have any interest or need for information on pediatrics this is a must visit blog. It is very earthing. It puts my own experience into perspective and makes me very very grateful for what I have. It's a positive blog. Check out the April 18th 2009 post. It's a guaranteed cheer up call to all adults over the age of 50. ( Perhaps younger, but I don't like to speak for others who are younger than myself, and whose life will be complicated in a different way to myself. )


http://cewilton.blogspot.com/ A Pastor's Cancer Diary. With that title you know it's going to be wise and upbeat.


http://crazysexylife.com/ Kris Carr's website full of information and other bloggers as well as her own great personal blog. If you haven't visited this site before you really must !


http://stage3whome.blogspot.com/


http://notjustaboutcancer.blogspot.com/



http://everydayhealth.com/blog/life-with-breast-cancer



http://everythingchangesbook.com/



http://ruralwomen.wordpress.com/



http://stupidcancerblog.com/