LOWERING MY CHOLESTEROL

On my last blog entry Sonya asked what I need to do to lower my cholesterol. This question led me to do some much needed research. After a very quick look here is what I have discovered:- I have to be careful which foods I eat because I don't want to lower my good cholesterol. - Extra virgin olive oil is a great choice. (At least I already have that one under control)- Lots of garlic is also great.- A tablespoon of organic flax seed oil every day provides Omega 3 fatty acids.- Reduce intake of refined and processed foods (Yay! Another one that shouldn't be too much of a change for me.)- These tidbits of food advice should also help:
Soluable fiber which is in oatmeal and other whole grain type cereals is good.Don’t get too fancy, just eat right: grains, vegs, fruits, etc.
Avoid cheese, fatty meats, dairy high in fat, etc.Also, niacin (non-flush), cinnamon, red wine/concord grape juice and olive oil are believed to help.
(http://www.43things.com/entries/view/496859)
Here is my question - can the cinnamon be that found in things like french toast??? LOL! Just joking - I cut those things out of my diet a while back. Seriously I have a lot more to learn about cholesterol reduction. I guess it will all come in time. I will be speaking to the nurse again on Monday and hopefully learn more.
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A FEW OF MY FAVOURITE THINGS

O.K., so maybe not a few of my favourite things - just one! I absolutely love the auditions for American Idol. Naomi and I sit on the couch and howl with laughter. We had a few favourites so far. These include the woman that kept adding a lion roar into the song, the urban-amish man,
and the woman with blond hair who brought her Mom and sang "Don't Cha" by Pussy Cat Dolls. Now, don't you wish your girlfriend was hot like her? (Try singing that in a monotone!)
Do these people honestly think they can sing????? Brian thinks they just want their two minutes of fame. O.K. I admit that I can sing, but by no means do I even begin to think I am the next American (or Canadian) Idol.
The best part is the look on the judges faces. Half the time Paula is turned around in her chair trying very hard not to laugh. Here are a few pictures to bring back the memories - I was laughing (again) as I looked through the photos. You can check them all out yourself at American Idol.
This is the "Man of many talents". Apparently these include stick twirling and dancing, although one is left hoping he didn't spend too much on lessons because they weren't too helpful.
One of the best is this Taylor Hicks look alike. He is a hair dresser who couldn't sing a note, but he was priceless when after his performance he brought a jar of pomade out of his pocket and headed towards Simon. I guess he figured Simon needed some help with his 'do. Needless to say, the body guards were on him like butter on toast! No one was going to mess with Simon's hair!
This is one of my favourites - she is seriously good! I think she is only 16. I can't wait to see how she fares in the competition.
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THE LANGUAGE OF TEENAGERS

It continually amazes me how kids change when they hit their teenage years. Suddenly responses that used to be even something as mundane as "yes" or "good" become grunts like "uh". You may ask them something like "Did you have a good day at school?" Inevitably the answer is "uh" as they walk past you to their room. Josh has now hit this stage. Let's just say conversations in our house tend to be short and a little one sided at this point. I think Naomi has now come out on the other side of this, so I guess there is hope for all of them. If this has not yet become a phenomena in your family just wait - it's on its way.
Incidently, I just came across this picture of Oscar celebrating New Year's. I think he overdid it a little - maybe he overdid the present opening!

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SHOWERING MYSELF WITH PRESENTS

I decided that it was time to give myself a present. So, since my set of pots is really showing wear and tear (you know how it is - broken lid handles, loose handles, missing lids) I ordered myself a new set. I love Lagostina, so I picked the ones I wanted. Also Sears is having a half-price sale so I couldn't resist.
They should be here this week. How lame is my life that I am so excited about this????
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WAITING FOR MORE RESULTS

Naomi finally got back to see the doctor today. We went in mid-November because she has been getting headaches every day. While he was examining her he discovered that her spine was curved and he ordered a scoliosis series of x-rays, but he never found a cause for her headaches. So, today we went to see him again. It turns out she does have scoliosis. She has about a 19% curvature of her spine. He said it is not too serious, but to keep an eye on it because it can quickly move to about 30% which is a problem. He will send her x-rays to BC Children's Hospital and a specialist will have a look at it. The doctor here thinks they will probably order another x-ray to see if her curvature has gotten worse and then go from there. He also said not to expect to hear from them before late spring. In the meantime there is nothing to worry about. However, we still have no cause for her headaches. He did another complete physical and said there is no inter cranial pressure - what a relief! She will have some blood work done next week and we will see if that shows anything. He is reluctant to order a CT scan because of the level of radiation. Brian and I have the final say in the CT scan. I am kind of unsure about exposing her to that. At this point he is putting it down to stress, even though she leads a fairly stress-free life. Sometimes being a parent certainly can cause a lot of worry.
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