Dukan – Day 1 Attack Phase

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Wow… I got through Day 1 of the Attack Phase and I ate so much food I thought I would burst! I didn’t even eat all of the food prescribed!

Breakfast:
2 eggs, pot of yogurt, coffee

Mid-Morning snack:
1 egg, Dukan mayo, 1/2 liter of water

Lunch:
Pepper steak (with yummy gravy made with the Dukan mayo… no carbs or fat!), 1/2 liter of water.

Mid-Afternoon snack:
Pot of yogurt, diet coke, water

Dinner:
Fresh baked fish (yummy, even if the head was still on!), some yogurt with fresh lime squeezed on it, a Dukan oat bran pancake (not too impressed, but gotta do it!).

Watched Blackballs (a British comedy) while eating dinner, then did my prescribed 20 minutes fast walk. Came back, drank lots of water, now writing my blog.

A couple things… 1. Lucy wants me to make sure I give her credit for finding the Dukan Diet book… LOL. She is the one who told me about it, so I’m giving credit where credit is due! and 2. I want to thank all of you for the support you are giving me. There are a couple of really good reasons to surround yourself with support… it makes you feel good to have people rooting for you AND it lends to accountability. Thanks for following me on this journey!

Peace!

Wt loss from 1st weigh on 8/19/11 to 8/22/11 = 3.5 pounds (that’s before starting the program!) I’ll check in tomorrow night with the first official weigh in of the program!

I CAN DUKAN T-1 and counting

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I’m starting the Ducan program tomorrow and finished up writing out my 2 week menu, shopping list and recipes. I’ve decided to do the Attack Phase for 7 days and then do 2 days of pure protien/1 day of protein + veg for the first week of the Cruise Phase.  Let’s see if I can cut and paste the 2 week menu in here.

ATTACK PHASE WEEK 1

MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
BREAKFAST 7AM
COFFEE
8 OZ NON-FAT YOGURT
1 BOILED EGG
COFFEE
8 OZ NON-FAT COTTAGE CHEESE
DUKAN GALETTE
COFFEE
8 OZ NON-FAT YOGURT
2 SL GRLD CHIX
COFFEE
8 OZ NON-FAT COTTAGE CHEESE
DUKAN GALETTE
COFFEE
8 OZ NON-FAT YOGURT
1 BOILED EGG
COFFEE
8 OZ NON-FAT
COTTAGE CHEESE
DUKAN GALETTE
COFFEE
8 OZ NON-FAT YOGURT
1 BOILED EGG
SNACK 10AM
BOILED EGG
YOGURT
BOILED EGG
YOGURT
BOILED EGG
YOGURT
BOILED EGG
LUNCH 1PM
BOILED EGG W/ DUKAN MAYO
PEPPER STEAK
FROMAGE FRAIS
TROUT WITH HERBS
LUC LAC BEEF
YOGURT
CHIX BREAST
DUKAN GALETTE
YOGURT
SMOKED SALMON
VEAL CHOP
FROMAGE FRAISE
VIETMANESE BEEF
YOGURT
GRILLED CHIX BREAST
FROMAGE FRAISE
DUKAN GALETTE
SMOKED SALMON
COTTAGE CHEESE
SNACK 4PM
YOGURT
BOILED EGG
YOGURT
BOILED EGG
YOGURT
BOILED EGG
YOGURT
DINNER 7PM
SHRIMP IN HERBS
TANDOORI CHIX ESCAOLOPES
DUKAN GALLETTE
SIRLOIN
BOILED EGG
FROMAGE FRAIS
WHITE FISH
SHRIMP
COTTAGE CHEESE
GARLIC TIGER PRAWNS
GARLIC CHICKEN SLICES, YOGURT
SALMON SOUP
DUKAN GALETTE
2 BOILED EGGS
ROAST CHIX BREAST
CHICKEN CURRY
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
BREAKFAST 7AM
COFFEE
8 OZ NON-FAT YOGURT
1 BOILED EGG
COFFEE
8 OZ NON-FAT COTTAGE CHEESE
DUKAN GALETTE
COFFEE
8 OZ NON-FAT YOGURT
2 SL GRLD CHIX
COFFEE
8 OZ NON-FAT COTTAGE CHEESE
DUKAN GALETTE
COFFEE
8 OZ NON-FAT YOGURT
1 BOILED EGG
COFFEE
8 OZ NON-FAT
COTTAGE CHEESE
DUKAN GALETTE
COFFEE
8 OZ NON-FAT YOGURT
1 BOILED EGG
SNACK 10AM
BOILED EGG
YOGURT
BOILED EGG
YOGURT
BOILED EGG
YOGURT
BOILED EGG
LUNCH 1PM
BOILED EGG W/ DUKAN MAYO
SALAD OF CELERY MUSHROOM, BROCOLI
TROUT WITH HERBS
LUC LAC BEEF
YOGURT
SMOKED SALMON
VEAL CHOP
FROMAGE FRAISE
CHIX BREAST
BROCOLLI
VIETMANESE BEEF
YOGURT
GRILLED CHIX BREAST
FROMAGE FRAISE
SMOKED SALMON
COTTAGE CHEESE
PUMPKIN SOUP
SNACK 4PM
YOGURT
BOILED EGG
BOILED EGG
YOGURT
YOGURT
BOILED EGG
COTTAGE CHEESE
DINNER 7PM
SIRLOIN
ASPARAGUS
COTTAGE CHEESE
SIRLOIN
BOILED EGG
FROMAGE FRAIS
GARLIC TIGER PRAWNS
GARLIC CHICKEN SLICES, YOGURT
SIRLOIN
ASPARAGUS
COTTAGE CHEESE
SALMON SOUP
DUKAN GALETTE
2 BOILED EGGS
ROAST CHIX BREAST
SIRLOIN
ASPARAGUS
FROMAGE FRAIS

Now, before everyone has a heart attack (pun intended), I love eggs. They make a quick snack and believe it or not, they don’t raise MY cholesterol. My cholesterol is 190 right now. I’ll draw it again at the end of 4 weeks and report it… I can guarantee it will have gone down.

So, off to grocery shop I go. I listened to John’s DVD once again for some motivation and tomorrow is Day 1… Will check in then!


I CAN DUKAN

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Here we go!!!

Prior to going on holiday to the States, Lucy and I went to the book shop in the Al Jimi Mall and I discovered the Dukan Diet book, written by Dr. Pierre Dukan. I’m not fond of the word DIEt, since the 1st 3 letters spell “DIE”, so I’m going to call it the Dukan Program 🙂

I threw the book in my carry on luggage and boarded my flight and read my other novels while flying home to see family and friends. I ignored the book, purposefully while I was on my holiday.

On my first Friday in Florida I had a lovely, inspiring and motivating lunch with John Geraghty, who I went to high school with. His vocation is a life coach, and he’s awesome at it! His business is Courageous Authenticity. And we chatted for over 2 hours… me even admitting to John how much I weighed. Two things came to my mind at that point… 1. I just admitted how much I weighed to a guy and 2. Was I too comfortable with my weight? The answer to question number 2 made me think real hard about how I needed to get back in to control. John gave me some great tools for working towards my goals… THANKS JOHN… YOU ROCK!

The second thing that made me realize I needed to really get back on track with my weight was a picture that my dear Aleisha posted from our class reunion pics… my ass, well… you can see:

So… when I got on the plane in Miami and headed back the sand pit I live in, I dug that book out and started reading. I didn’t gloss over or speed read. I took my time, and read every single word on every single page. I wanted to understand why this program was going to be different than all the others. Why is it different from Atkins… well, let me tell you. Even though it is a high protein, low carb diet, it isn’t a free for all of eating whatever you want. Dr. Dukan makes sure that you understand from the get go that you aren’t going to be eating bacon burgers! This program is high protein and low FAT and low carb. I also like that he counts all fluids towards your daily count, not just water.

So… I am starting the program on Monday (why do we always start on Mondays?). I will be walking 20 minutes a day, as prescribed by Dr. Dukan… he tells you that you MUST do this and I will be starting back to seeing a personal trainer 2 times a week. Part of this program is to weigh yourself daily. I will write a daily blog with my previous days diet and morning weight loss.

On a side note… I am planning a 50th birthday cruise for my school mates in 2013. One of the places we are planning on visiting is Belize and zip line. There isn’t a weight limit but a WAIST limit. My waist today is the MAXIMUM waist circumference to use the equipment! That just isn’t acceptable 🙂 So I’m doing something about it!

So, say a little prayer for me. I look forward to all of you supporting me and cheering me on. I’ll keep you posted on my progress.

I resisted putting this on… I think they are cheesy, but I think it’s a good weigh to keep track of the goals!


					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
It gets better every year!

			
						

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I am home for 2 weeks to visit my family and to celebrate Martin County High School’s Class of 1981 30th reunion. What a blast we’ve had. Our motto through high school was “beer, sex, tequila and rum we’re the Class of 81″… We continue to live by that credo… LOL We have so much fun when we’re all together!


The reunion committee and a few others, including my mom, got together on Thursday evening to do last minute planning in Jensen Beach. Jammin’ Jensen is held every Thursday night and brings vendors and locals together. Here’s a pic from that night… Cindy, Leslie and Denise.




Friday night was the pub crawl… we started at Sailor’s Return, then walked under the bridge to Pelican Cafe then crawled to Mulligan’s… it was a huge success!!!


This is me, Debbie and Denise…




Saturday night was our dinner night at The Dolphin Bar & Shrimp House. We had a great time! You can see more pics of this fun night at the site that our amazing photographer, Aleisha Garcia, created here.






We even had some crazy planking going on!




Sunday was our traditional picnic day, but we had it at Indian Riverside Park instead of Stuart Beach. Thank goodness we had the picnic in the morning, because by 1 pm, the thunderbusters were rolling in!


Two of my favorite people in the world! Denise and Julia!




Me and Lisa Pantzer… Lisa and I grew up in the same neighborhood.




I think a good time was had by all!


One of the things that I notice as we get older and approach (gasp!) 50, is that we are getting so much cooler. So much more relaxed and comfortable with ourselves… who we are, what we do, our pasts and our futures. I know that I enjoy myself and all my former classmates more and more each reunion. Why is that? Is it just us growing up? Maturing?


Thanks again Class of 81 for a great weekend! I look forward to planning the cruise for our 50th birthdays in 2013!

					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
For the Love & Justice of Caylee Marie

			
						

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I’ll just put it out there from the start… I’m obsessed with the Casey Anthony trial. For those of you from another planet, Casey Anthony is on trial for 1st degree murder of her 2 year old daughter Caylee Marie. You can find the history here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caylee_Anthony.


I have been following this case since July 2008, months before I left to come to Abu Dhabi… it seems so long ago. It seems a lifetime ago… how is it that someone can be accused of murdering their child and not be brought to trial for THREE YEARS! She has been incarcerated for most of that time, but for goodness sake where is the JUSTICE FOR CAYLEE?


I am following the trial on Orlando ABC affiliate WFTV on their web site. There is good coverage and a lawyer named Bill that gives commentary while there are side bars and breaks. Apparently on their site they hit a record 100,000 people watching online at the same time today. I believe it’s so irresistible to me because I can’t accept the notion that a mother would willingly kill her child out of convenience. The Prosecution states, as does Casey’s behavior the month Caylee was dead and she didn’t tell anyone, that Casey killed Caylee because she wanted to live a party life style. That Caylee was getting in Casey’s way of being able to go out and live her life. So then I ask, why didn’t she just leave Caylee with her mom. Well, a witnesses stated that Casey was jealous of her mom’s relationship with Caylee…. JEALOUS of the relationship between a grandma and a grandbaby…. yeah, this is a good excuse to kill your kid. So that leaves only one answer, Casey is a sociopath. Having watched her during this trial and seeing her behaviors during the time that Caylee was decomposing in the woods and her grandma and grandpa were worried about why Casey wouldn’t bring her home, I wholeheartedly believe this is the case. I’ve met two, diagnosable sociopaths in my life, and both of them exhibit the same characteristics as Casey, as defined here Hare Psychopathy Checklist.


I am also following it on Facebook here: Casey Anthony Trial and in email exchanges with my buddy Cathy. It’s pretty cool to be half way around the world and watching a live trial with one of your best buddies in the States. I consider myself luckier than Cathy because the trial starts at 430 p.m. here, on most days. The downside is that it usually wraps up around 130 a.m. here, as well. I usually go to bed around midnight and watch the video I missed in the morning when I get up and have my cup of coffee before work. Like I said… I’m obsessed, more so than the OJ case… which I still remember 16 years later where I was when the verdict came in… driving north on the Florida turnpike between Stuart and Williston.


Is she guilty… my opinion: AS SIN! She is a sociopathic bitch and I hope she rots in jail. This is just a week after the last time Caylee’s grandparents saw her… Casey out partying:




At a 4th of July party, 2 weeks after she murdered Caylee:




Evil personified… booking photo:




Is there reasonable doubt, not in my mind. This girl didn’t shed a single tear when her dad was up on the stand yesterday sobbing, sobbing at the loss of his grandchild, sobbing at the loss of his normal life, and I’m sure, sobbing over the loss of his child, who murdered his precious grandchild. My heart broke for him, from a human point of view, from a grandmother point of view, from the point of a feeling human being. George… on the stand:




Casey has NO feeling. The only time she gets upset is when it suits her. I pray, from the bottom of my soul that the jury feels the same way. I can’t imagine this girl going free… but OJ did, and we all know he was guilty.


I just can’t understand on any level at all how someone could wrap duct tape around this child’s nose and mouth and leave her for dead in the swamp 1/4 mile from your home… I.just.can’t.wrap.my.head.around.it!


I am watching the trial live as I type this. Casey has just stood up to state that she won’t get on the stand. I don’t blame her. She would be eviscerated by the Prosecution. This is her right. The best thing this girl has going for her is she has a clown for a lead attorney… Jose Baez, fondly known as Bozo in the blogs. If she is found guilty next week, she will most likely get another trial based on ineffective counsel. This guy can’t even complete a sentence. He calls witnesses for the defense, that end up benefiting the Prosecution.


The Prosecution are amazing. I would hate to be on the wrong side of the table against Linda Drane Burdick and Jeff Ashton. They are Caylee’s heroes. They are doing a great job prosecuting this case. They appear to me to be utmost professionals. I pray for their strength every night. Yesterday during testimony from a grief counselor Ms. Burdick cried at the end of the testimony when the grief counselor talked of an unassociated case of a mother who’s 3 year old died, and how she went to the cemetery with the mother in a thunder storm because the little boy had never been alone in a storm before. Touching, to most of us. To Casey… NOTHING, no emotion, NOTHING. The only time she reacted to the grief counselor’s testimony was when HER attorney asked the witness to presume a story of a little girl and her amazing mother (referring to Casey)… Casey started wiping her eyes (never actually saw tears) and I nearly snorted soda on the key board. So obviously a sociopath.


So, we’ll know the results of this case in the next 5 days or so… I pray this young woman never gets out of prison. EVER, for the safety of our society. Sociopaths walk among us, folks. Casey is one of them. I pray we see JUSTICE for Caylee!

					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
For the Love of Children

			
						

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Few things in life totally gobsmack me anymore. I have come to the cynical conclusion that there are just some really horrible people out there in this world and you deal with it and move on. Until this afternoon, while reading my daily dose of my favorite blog Rage Against the Minivan, and came across a post from an adult who was in the foster care system. She mentioned two names, one of them Angellika Arndt. So I googled the name and and found this A Search For Survivors – In Memorium. Here’s a picture of this sweet child, who’s life was taken at just 7 years old:




Those of you who know me, know that I instantly thought of my precious Sadie Rose when I saw this picture. The resemblance is striking and even though I was shocked by what I had read about the deaths of the 14 children in the story above her, I lost the plot when her picture scrolled up on my screen.


We have an EPIDEMIC in this country and we all must help do something about it. I had previously heard of RAD (Reactive Attachment Disorder) I didn’t realize there were actually people out there doing crazy therapies to “cure” it and often times, killing kids in the process! Children have died at or because of therapies taught at the Attachment Center at Evergreen, yet they are still open and have a web site showing happy families. How can this be? There are people out there trying to make people aware of places like this, such as QuackWatch and this is the outcome of a law that has passed called Candace’s Law, named after a 10 year old girl who died at the hands of 2 therapists at the above named “Center”. They were found guilty and sent to prison.


My question is this… how can this STILL be going on. How can this STILL be an acceptable type of therapy? And when you read the stories at A Search for Survivors, many of these kids died at the hands of the foster/adoptive parents that were supposedly “saving” them from their alleged horrible biological parents. Most of them had learned this Attachment Therapy from therapists or from books like this one: Martha Welch’s Holding Time and Ronald Federici’s Help for the Hopeless Child. The only holding a parent should do is hugging, with love and intention and with the PERMISSION of the child.


I was wondering what I was going to do when I came back to the States. I think I may have found what it is. Working with families to learn ATTACHMENT PARENTING not ATTACHMENT THERAPY. I have no idea where to begin, but I’m going to start working on it now.


I recognize that kids that have been in the system, abused, ignored, neglected, thrown away have BIG problems, but I can’t even begin to see where traumatizing them even more can have any positive effect, whatsoever.


Thanks for reading!


One more picture of Angellika:




And here’s one of Sadie Rose:



					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
Traveling Girl

			
						

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So, off I go again on another adventure. This one proves to be challenging and fun… How my week went:


10 days ago Barbara Harper (www.waterbirth.org) asked me if I’d like to do a waterbirth training in Shanghai, China. Um, duh… of COURSE I WOULD! I love Barbara, I have loved her from the first time I read her book, Gentle Birth Choices. I used to show the video to every single childbirth class I taught. Then I met her and she’s even better in person (LOL). Her energy, her vision, her everything is amazing.


So, next step was to get the time off from work… which I managed to do without a hitch! We made plans and the plane tickets were purchased and off I would go on Saturday, April 30th to Shanghai.


Then, off to get a visa to visit China… ROADBLOCK AHEAD! Because my current employer hasn’t managed to obtain a Residency Visa for the UAE yet, the Chinese Embassy could not issue me a visa to travel to Shanghai… PANIC MODE. What to do? Will I have to fly to the States to get a visa? Call off the trip? As I’m hyperventilating, trying not to cry and basically yelling on the phone at the PRO from my job, the Chinese embassy man is tapping on the glass to get my attention.


I walk back to him, people part ways because the crazy lady is coming through, and he proceeds to tell me he has a solution for me… you do??? You can give me the visa? Um, no, but you can FLY TO HONG KONG to get it. LOL… my laugh cracks me up. Living in Abu Dhabi is like livin’ la vida loco… seriously. Now this is Sunday, I’m suppose to go to Shanghai on Saturday… SIX DAYS AWAY! and now this guy is telling me that to get into Shanghai, I’ll have to go to Hong Kong…. how to do.


Next stop… Emirates Airlines. I drive over to their office which is on the Corniche:


Abu Dhabi Corniche


Instead of going into the office, I walk over to the water and sit for a few minutes, collect myself, have a little chat with the BIG GUY upstairs and beg him for just one little thing to go right… just one, let’s not make this day too difficult for me, ya hear? I’m fragile… LOL


I then proceed to go over to the office and find the nicest Iranian girl in the world, who helped me, got me a GREAT seat and didn’t charge me a change fee for my flight. She booked me to Hong Kong, then HK to Shanghai and left my return flight the same. The good news… I get to fly on the A380… biggest plane in the sky… two stories of luxury at it’s finest. Even the cheap seats recline!


So, then back to work the next day to tell the boss that now I need 3 more days off from work! But, simple as pie, maafi mushkala! Now I have less than 24 hours to pack for a 2 week trip… I can DO this!


Packing itself was a challenge, but I am so happy that I did all that laundry on Saturday! Why was packing a challenge, because I think the cats KNOW when I’m leaving… this is the kind of games that they play:


Marina trying to sneak her way in to the suitcase!


And this is what her brother Oyster did when I told him I was leaving for 2 1/2 weeks:


Oh no, Mom, not again!


But quick packing I did! Arranged for a ride to the airport with my friend, Laura, which meant GETTING UP AT 355 a.m. to go! But, ride beggars can’t be choosy! So we got up very early and headed out to Dubai.


I got to the airport with more than 4 hours to spare, which was nice, because those of you that know me well, know what travel anxiety I have. Nope… it’s not about flying… I have NO fear of flying because I have NO fear of dying. I just have general anxiety of making sure that I’ve got everything packed (I didn’t… I forgot the HK hotel vouchers on my desk at work and it was the FIRST thing they asked for!!!) and about getting to the airport on time. So, no problem there, given that I was there so early. I had a lovely breakfast and then sat and read for a few hours. Nice and relaxed. And then the plane pulled in… WOW! I hadn’t seen the A380 in person… just pictures and she is impressive… take a look:


My Ride!


After much anticipation, we were ready to board. I lucked out and had a flight attendant sitting two seats over, no one between us. She was on holiday and flying to meet her boyfriend in China. Awesome chick, very helpful and we have something in common… we both love playing…


ZUMA!!!!


OMG… I was so happy to see that they had something fun to do while flying! Jenni… I know you are just jealous as all get out now! 🙂 We had a great time playing and chatting.


Barbara made my reservation and requested vegetarian… which was fine, but I’M A MEAT EATER BARBARA! LOL! The meal was actually quite awesome:


Lunch on the Emirates A380


It was a pasta filled to the gills with yummy veggies (one I have no idea what it was, but it was yummy!) and a large, fresh roll, real butter and an interesting pudding like dessert. I watched Social Network while eating and it was a pretty decent movie, even though they portray Sean Parker as one of the founders of Napster…. which he was not.


I read my James Patterson novel, Fang, and then settled in for a very comfortable nap. The cheap seats on the A380 RECLINE! Yup, they do. And I didn’t have a seat in front of me, so I had tons of leg room (I tried a regular seat and it was more roomy than British Airways and Etihad). I slept without awaking for the 1 hour I had set my alarm to. I awoke to this charming young lady doing stretches in front of me:


Charming Young Lady


Later, she left her sunglasses and something odd (not sure what it was, honestly!) in the bathroom, after what I (and many others) suspect was attaining another notch in her mile high club belt… and I found it. She just about squeezed me to death for giving them back to her… too funny. I did, however, feel like I needed to be decontaminated!


All in all, a great flight. The service on the Emirates A380 was excellent! The food was pretty good and the flight was smooth, with only a couple of bouts of turbulence.


On the hotel transfer bus I sat in the front row to avoid motion sickness. They had 80’s/90’s music on the radio. The third song was “We Are the World” and by the end, I think everyone on the bus was singing it… even though the seats were high and none of us could see each other… on 2nd thought, maybe that’s why we were all singing… we were anonymous! The 2nd song we all sang together was Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World”… Fun ride, I love singing… even if it is off-key!


So… just a couple of more pics to wrap things up… this is what the line looked like at the Visa office this morning:


Visa Line at the Chinese Consulate


I thought I would be there all day, but alas, I was there less than 2 hours! When I finally made it inside, through security and up to the 7th floor, I was #214… the number on the board was 145! Ack 69 people ahead of me, but it went very quickly. Now I just have to wait to pick it up tomorrow morning.


I decided to walk back to the hotel and stopped at a little specialty store to pick up some lunch… I got a Coca-Cola Light with lemon (something I can’t get in Abu Dhabi… the lemon part that is) and some sushi and my favorite chips in the whole wide world that I can’t find anywhere but HK.. Curry Chips. Next to the curry chips were these chips:


Kyushu Seaweed Flavored Lay's Potato Chips... who knew!


I was tempted, but I so wanted the Curry Chips more… shucks! So, now I’ve been hanging at the hotel all day. Started reading A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini. Catching up on some stuff on the computer, doing some competencies for my real job, reviewing work sent to me by my girls back at the hospital and playing Mahjongg Dimensions, which is, for some crazy reason, blocked by Etisalat, my sucky internet provider!


I hope ya’ll have enjoyed my update… more later in the week, after I’m in Shanghai, unless something earth shattering happens here in HK in the meantime… Ciao!

					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
An email to my friend Michele… Breasts

			
						

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Sent this evening…


So… on Saturday night I was lying in bed and decided to do a breast exam. Found a slightly larger than edamame size lump in the outer aspect of the left breast. I laid there TERRIFIED! I kept palpating it in every conceivable position. When I sat up, it was barely palpable, because it was deep. I pretended it wasn’t there… all day Sunday, Sunday night, palpated… damn thing, still there… same on Monday and Tuesday. This afternoon I decided being in denial wasn’t a good thing and for God’s sake, I’m a WOMEN’S HEALTHCARE PRACTITIONER! So I asked our head OB to do a breast exam on me, she took me right in the office, and looked worried… this of course, freaked me out. So, across the atrium we go to the radiologist, Dr. Peter… he turns on the U/S machine, palpates my breast and wants to know why I didn’t feel this sooner… OK, people, I touch my breasts ALL THE FRIGGIN’ TIME, I just found it on Saturday, cross my heart, hope to die… well no, I hope not to die… anyway… he scans it and it is perfectly round, and he and Nazek, the OB and the U/S tech, all breathe a sigh of relief… it seems it’s just globular tissue and by george, I have very dense breasts for a 47 year old who had a hysterectomy at 21. Um… thanks? Anyway, I wanted to share it with you. Saturday night, when I palpated it, I rolled over, grabbed my iPhone, and started to write you an email, then I discarded it… if I didn’t TALK ABOUT IT, it wasn’t real. I’m glad to share good news with you… as much as I love you, I didn’t want to be a breast CA sister with you 🙂 xoxoxoxox


Sandi


Lesson… prayer works (I prayed ALOT these past 4 days) and sleepless nights AND it’s stupid to be in denial. As a woman’s healthcare practitioner I should practice what I preach…. I vow to be better at this in the future!

					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
What do you mean there are no addresses?

			
						

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Argh! I’m on a war path this morning. Having a difficult morning at work and ordered food to be delivered from Chili’s at the Al Jimi Mall (yes, the same Chili’s that is in malls all over the U.S…. the orderly country I’m really missing this morning!). Anyway, we have NO ADDRESSES in this country. Yup… I know, I know… you’re saying, “What do you mean there are no addresses in your country”… but they really don’t have them.


All of your mail goes through a PO Box number that is assigned to your EMPLOYER.


So this is how the conversation went with Chili’s….

Me: Hi, I’d like to order food for delivery.

Them: OK, Mum (this is what the Filipinos call women), what would you like?

Me: A grilled chicken salad, dressing on side, no cheese.

Them: Great, Mum… what is your address.

Me: LAUGHING MY ASS OFF, SNORT, SNORT… breathe…. we don’t have addresses.

Them: Yeah, I know, Mum, I meant what is your location?

Me: Ah yes, my location… Cromwell Hospital, I am behind the Adnoc (gas station here), next to the Iranian mosque (there are hundreds, literally), just behind your  mall, about 3 blocks behind you.

Them: OK, Mum, I got it. Phone number? … I give it to them.


45 minutes later they call me, where you at? I tell them again, hold on, let me get someone who understands you, mum. OK… next guy, same thing, 3rd guy, what is your address? I LMAO once again… I say, somewhat sarcastically, how long have you lived here, you know we don’t have addresses! I give him explicit instructions, once again. Then… then… he says… WHAT IS YOUR PHONE NUMBER? What is my phone number??!?!?!?!? You CALLED ME! Argh !(*&$#(#(#&!!!


Anyway, food just came while writing this and of course, the Chicken Salad minus dairy products is wrong, so now I await the delivery and dream of a day that this 3rd world country with more money than they know what to do with, comes up with street addresses, so people could actually find you.


 


 

					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
Leading a Legendary Life

			
						

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I’ve embarked on a new direction in life. I am taking an amazing class online called Leading a Legendary Life. It is hosted by the Cosmic Cowgirl University http://www.cosmiccowgirlsuniversity.com/ and it’s simply going to be AMAZING! Shiloh Sophia McCloud is an artist who’s work I’ve purchased and have proudly hanging at my friend Tammy’s house (didn’t want to ship them here to Abu Dhabi). I met her back in 2005 when I flew to California to spend a few days with Charity before flying to Hong Kong for a private delivery. She was in a very cool studio in Mendocino then. Now, here we are 6 years later, reconnected via the internet and I am in the Middle East, but feeling very connected to the States.


So… I will pick up a paint brush for the first time in my life and express myself through color. This program will also improve my writing skills and perhaps I’ll write that book that everyone tells me I should write… LOL


I am so excited about this new direction in my life. This afternoon I am going to the paint store to gather the supplies I will need to begin and will upload pictures then and will blog at least weekly about my progress… I welcome you to walk with me on this journey!