I ain’t down yet.

so says Molly Brown, the unsinkable. But I did have a tiny setback.

The chest pains started during the game last night. They steadily got worse and worse. I finally said to Mr. Bumbles, “I think it’s time we got this checked out.”

“You are fine,” said the doctor in my house.

I called downstairs where Jonathan was practicing. “Hey, come up here.”

“What’s wrong?” Funny that he knew. Maybe I was whining.

“I’ve been having chest pains.”

“Have you called Emily?”

Emily is the sage in our family. If she doesn’t know what to do, I think she has  a direct line to God and in minutes she has the answer.

He called Emily and within minutes I was off to the ER.

They took me right in and began taking blood, monitoring my heart, taking a cardiogram and a chest x-ray. They ruled out a heart attack and blood clot in my lungs, thank God. I have a note in my chart to follow up with my doctor to have a stress test in case it’s angina.

Now I will pay a little more attention to those 11 healthy habits that could save my life. I guess they aren’t kidding.

Health Habits-11 that could save your life (says Woman’s Day)

Let’s examine some ways that could save my life.

1. Eat a colorful salad and 2 pieces of fruit. OK, more produce is good for us. Got it.

2. Take a 30 minute walk. Ouch. Moving. Pavement. Oh, problem. Says take a 30 min. walk on your lunch break. How long of a lunch break do they think teachers have? Maybe they mean, skip lunch. Not sure.

3. Have oatmeal for breakfast. Says that this will help you lose weight and not eat as much during the day. Sounds good.

4. Keep tabs on portions. Yes, this is huge. Don’t let them supersize it for you! And say no thanks to seconds. Hard to do sometimes…especially when I finally cook something good!

5. Wear your seat belt. I confess, I don’t do this all the time. I know, it is dangerous and stupid, not to mention lazy. I will continue to work on this one.

6. Eat fish. YES! I eat fish. I love fish. It’s kind of expensive, even here on the NH seacoast, but I do eat it.

7. Call a close friend. Loneliness and social isolation can negatively affect your “systems.” I am lucky. I have a supportive social system. My family and friends will listen to me if I am in the mood to share. Just gotta make sure that I let them in….when I am really down I like to sleep.

8. Relax for 10 minutes. This one is to help you regroup to handle the next round of stress, or life, or work, which is surely coming around the corner.

9. Sleep! Oh this is my favorite! Getting under the covers at night is the best. Says most people need between 7 1/2 and 8 1/2 hours a night. Let’s see, last night I went to bed at 8:30 and woke up at 9:30. I could nap now. Not good. It also says that a good mattress is key. I have great mattresses at home and at camp. I still sometimes need to take a sleeping pill though.

10. Stay smoke-free. This is easy for me. I have asthma so smoke instantly triggers coughing. Camp smoke isn’t so bad, oddly enough. But if someone comes to the campfire and lights up, I usually have to leave or move my chair. Weird.

11. And finally, have a glass of wine. Oh I can do this. But it says two glasses are bad for you. Geez, what’s the fun in that?

Final advice from Woman’s Day: In 21 days a change becomes habit. Try one of these every three weeks.

Stay tuned!

Naturalization Self-Test

Hey I am doing great on this test. Check it out!

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/

Which Walter Reed are we talkin’ here?

I don’t know if I dare put my slanted liberal view out there. It seems if I do, I have to hear all the stuff from the right wingers. I wonder if it’s worth it? I have been subjected to so many emails that are incorrect and ridiculous about the Democrats (is Democrats capitalized?). Practically all have been mean-spirited. So I know that if I put something “out there” that shows my views I am opening up myself for more of that.

It seems that no matter what I say in retort, or to defend my position, I am bullied into just ending the conversation. I am not allowed to speak. I am not allowed my opinion. There is only ONE opinion and it ain’t mine. Let there be no mistake about that. It is ok to bash Barack Obama for his name, his heritage, his very FACE. But, God forbid, I comment on ANY Republican anything (such as, Bush can’t say “nuclear” correctly) I am virtually pummeled for talking badly about THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.

I know who has the political freedom to say what they want-it’s the Republicans. They, and they alone, are the true Americans. Since I have been called un-American for talking against the president, I have been told I’d be better off living in another country and then I’d appreciate what we have here.

I wonder why that is? Why is it that the conservatives are the only true Americans, according to the conservatives? Why am I a “commie?” I don’t think that my views are that ridiculous. I am a teacher. I see kids who live in the homeless shelter. I see the forms from families who have written where you put in your insurance info “no insurance.” Employers names ARE listed, the parents are working, but cannot get insurance. There are many, many examples that I could use to defend my position but I’d be told that I drank the Kool-Aid so what’s the point.

Anyhow, sorry for the tirade.

So this link is kinda funny. http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/09/school_raps_mccain_for_using_i.php. It’s not really mean-spirited. It IS opinionated. That’s ok, I think, to have an opinion.

The No Good Very Bad Day

If my grandson hasn’t had that book read to him, he needs to read it now.

Yesterday, first of all, my daughter drank a small amount of hydrogen peroxide, mistaking it for a glass of water, which was left on the kitchen counter from using it to induce vomiting in their dog Dobby. Dobby, being a very clever little feller, smelled chocolate and jumped onto the table in the night and ate a bagful. This is not recommended for dogs, much less chihuahuas. So Dobby and Emily were not feeling so hot.

Then later on that day, their German Shepard made a bad choice (is it a choice for animals or is it instinct?) and hurt Dobby. It seemed to be intentional. It was a heartbreaking moment-chaos, tears, Dobby being rushed to the veterinary hospital for surgery, the German Shepard rushed to a local kennel to be housed while cooler heads prevail.

As just the grandmother of the people in this situation, I can only stand by and try to be wise and kind and give support. But when it’s your kid, it’s you, too.

Not MY best day, either.

A Wonderful Story

I got this link from Andy Carvin. It’s a wonderful story about…well, just read it and you tell me what you think.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/15/AR2008081502356_2.html

Biden? You ARE kidding me.

I cannot believe that we waited to hear that Joe Biden is Obama’s choice for veep. He is such a joke. Maybe some people think of him as a man of integrity but I think of him as a total loose cannon.

Now we just wait and see who Wrinkled White Hair Dude chooses. This could be the first year as long as I have been eligible to vote that I don’t. And trust me, that is not like me.

Missing and Presumed Busy

I spent this past week in math workshops for 3 full, long days. I learned a lot about teaching math but the time spent with the teachers in other buildings was really quite valuable also. So three days for math, three days for professional learning communities, five days for building learning communities, three days for Scratch at MIT (I had to throw that in), seven days at camp, two days for tech curriculum work, three days for medical stuff, a great day with my sister at the Isles of Shoals,  a couple of days shopping with my daughter and grandson for weddings, a day with my son and granddaughter at the beach, a couple of lazy Sundays with my husband…and all the rest I guess were just vegging. Not so bad, really!

I like being busy. I remember an old Leave it to Beaver show when Clark or whatever his name was, took the Beav and his older brother (Wally?) out for the day. June said, “Oh, don’t worry about me. I have these cupboards to clean!” Yikes. I don’t know about you, but there has never been day that has gone by that any of my friends or relatives have EVER said that to me!

Maybe they are closet cupboard cleaners?

From my local newspaper

Last night I was checking the Letters to the Editor section of our local paper. I find this is the best way to find out the local scuttlebutt on the area towns.

The letter that caught my eye first was this one:
Same penalty for video pirates as for terrorist?

Aug. 8 — To the Editor:

I’ve been wondering if the sentence Bin Laden’s driver received was fair — 5½ years for driving around terrorists, aiding terrorists, carrying around missiles and who knows what else.

To get my mind off that, I popped a Netflix movie into the DVD player. The first message I saw told me that if I copied the movie I would get five years in prison and a $250,000 fine! I don’t know, but it just doesn’t seem like the same crime to me.

Jack xxxxx

This one had me scratching my head. Is something messed up here or what?

But this line was my favorite. You tell me what you think.

This letter is from someone who wants us all to vote for a certain representative in Congress with this argument: We need a representative in Congress who supports the things that are important to me and my family.

Manny being Manny

Well, there you have it. Somehow the tongue devil got a hold of Manny and made him say really, really stupid things. I, personally, am furious. I am a Red Sox fan. I have been a Sox fan for about 50 years, give or take. I like a team that works together, and a player who keeps his mouth shut if he’s in for the money. Hell, we KNOW it, we just don’t want to HEAR it splashed over the airwaves. “The Red Sox don’t deserve a player like me.” WHAT?

No, Manny-you have it wrong. We no longer need you or want you. You deserve to go. And high five Damon on your way to LA, will ya?

Soon this will say CALIFORNIA on it!