I didn't even realize it was Sweetest Day. I don't pay much attention to such things anyway. The only way I knew was that TJ came home from school yesterday grinning ear to ear holding a rose. This girl in his class had bought it at lunch time and given it to him. He gives her a ride home from school, when he's there, and he has told how pretty she is (but not much between the ears). It certainly helped him feel better! Luckily, he had bought her one too. She handed him the rose and he handed her one back. He says he's not sure how to take it, tho. She could have bought him for him becuz she feels bad that he's been sick. At this point I don't think he cares what the reason really is. It made him feel good.

Bethany spent the night at a GS sleepover. TJ was at Steve's, she was gone...and it was WEIRD! No kids in the house. I could get used to that!

Even though I don't get into this stuff...

HAPPY SWEETEST DAY everybody!

Here's the thing....

The doctors have dealt with TJ's initial problem...his major constipation. That is better. BUT, the thing that is causing the constipation...the inflammation...they haven't done anything about. He is in pain ALL the time. I feel so badly for him. I really don't know what to do for it. I am trying to keep him on a strict diet to help him (I caught him drinking a coca cola the other night! ) but I am not really sure what is and is not good. I mean, some things are common sense but I have been trying to research it on the internet and there is so much conflicting information I am not sure if I am doing the right thing.

I want to be able to help him feel better...he is so pale and in pain all the time. Sending him off to school this morning was not happy.

So...if anyone knows anything about getting rid of inflammation please tell me! My mother tells me to make him drink rice water. She swears it works...not so sure he'll be thrilled with it.

I appreciate anything you can give me on this subject. AND if you know of a natural remedy that is even better!

Margarine was originally manufactured to fatten turkeys. When it killed the turkeys, the people who had put all the money into the research wanted a payback so they put their heads together to figure out what to do with this product to get their money back. It was a white substance with no food appeal so they added the yellow coloring and sold it to people to use in place of butter. How do you like it? They have come out with some clever new flavorings.

DO YOU KNOW.. the difference between margarine and butter?

Both have the same amount of calories.

Butter is slightly higher in saturated fats at 8 grams compared to 5 grams.

Eating margarine can increase heart disease in women by 53% over eating the same amount of butter, according to a recent Harvard Medical Study.

Eating butter increases the absorption of many other nutrients in other foods.

Butter has many nutritional benefits where margarine has a few  only because they are added!

Butter tastes much better than margarine and it can enhance the flavors of other foods.

Butter has been around for centuries where margarine has been around for less than 100 years.

And now, for Margarine..

Very high in trans fatty acids.

Triple risk of coronary heart disease.
Increases total cholesterol and LDL (this is the bad cholesterol) and lowers HDL cholesterol, (the good cholesterol)

Increases the risk of cancers up to five fold.

Lowers quality of breast milk.

Decreases immune response.

Decreases insulin response.

And here's the most disturbing fact....

Margarine is but ONE  MOLECULE away from being PLASTIC..
This fact alone was enough to have me avoiding margarine for life and anything else that is hydrogenated (this means hydrogen is added, changing the molecular structure of the substance).

You can try this yourself:
Purchase a tub of margarine and leave it in your garage or shaded area. Within a couple of days you will note a couple of things:
* no flies, not even those pesky fruit flies will go near it (that should tell you something)
* it does not rot or smell differently because it has no nutritional value; nothing will grow on it. Even those teeny weeny microorganisms will not  find a home to grow. Why?  Because it is nearly plastic. Would you melt your Tupperware and spread that on your toast?

 

I AM FULL OF PLASTIC!!!  No more MARGARINE!!! BLECH!

Old fashioned remedies work good. Just ask TJ.
No one needs anymore info about that.

I was checking out my posted grade reports on my college board. Not too bad after all. I've been driving myself insane over my work and grades, etc. The online class I have...the WORST class...the one that has been really giving me fits...I'm 0.21 points away from a B. I can fix THAT! Everything else I either have an A or at the least I'm a point away from an A. So...it's going well, I guess. Not easy keeping up with all of that AND TJ's problem. All I know is...the boy has to get going. He has a lot of ground to cover next week...this weekend.

Next week he has Ohio Graduation Tests. If he doesn't pass it this time, he has another chance in March.

I overslept this morning...thus didn't get Bethany up in time for school becuz, even tho they both have these really nice projection alarm clocks, she did not set her alarm either...as usual. I told her I was sorry she was missing classes. She shrugged and rolled her eyes and twirled her finger. It is difficult to keep a kid interested in school when she is bored out of her gourd. She is on top of her work and needs something a wee bit more challenging. Just like having to take that math test over that she was accused of cheating on. She aced it. I'm not surprised. BUT she has to be there on paper.

Did you see the big announcement? This is HUGE! Social Security checks will have an extra $24 per month in them! WOW!!! Now Grandma can take that cruise she has been wanting! Live it up!

Also, becuz of all the antibiotics and lysol and antibacterial soap, etc...we now have superbugs...flesh eating bacteria that is spreading from staph infections. Three cases of it have been found at a high school in the next town in the last week. My father had it on his arm...he wasn't paying any attention to it...well, he noticed it spreading. He got it from an injury while putting the siding on the house. I told him to go get it taken care of! His doctor gave him some antibiotics that started to take care of it but didn't get rid of it totally. So, my dad cut his arm half off with a cutter of some sort...went and got it all sown up and bandaged and the sling thingy...and the doctor that did that noticed the infection on my dad's arm. My dad explained about the antibiotics and this doctor gave him something stronger that worked and killed it.

You HAVE to be aware! If you get an infection that seems to get worse...spread...isn't going away...GO SEE A DOCTOR...go to a clinic. This stuff is not anything to mess with. There was a girl that got a flu shot...got a staph infection...it got worse, spread and she ended up losing her whole arm! Be aware and pay attention. Don't wait for it to go away!

You had better believe I was constantly checking on my son's legs where he got those antibiotic shots. We certainly didn't need anymore problems!