Categories Everyday Life

Agenda-less

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Thanks to a whip-cracking week last week (which unfortunately did not include blogging–sorry, everyone), I currently have no pressing deadlines. Which meant that instead of making a to-do list for today, I went agenda-less. I woke up this morning with only two fixed engagements–work from 8 to noon and Joanna around 7. Everything else was negotiable.

So what did I do today?

If you guessed nothing, you don’t know me quite well enough.

Today, I did things and then wrote them in my planner and crossed them off.

I did my morning routine–and wrote “morning routine” in my planner and crossed it off. I went to work–and wrote “work” in my planner and crossed it off. I made new shelves for my shoes in my closet while waiting for my milk to heat up for yogurt–and wrote “closet-shoes” and “yogurt” in my planner and crossed them off. I decanted and strained some liqueur I started making a while back–and wrote “liquer” (yes, I spelled it wrong) in my planner and crossed it off. I worked some cross-stitch (quite a bit actually) on my sampler–and wrote “cross-stitch” in my planner and crossed it off. I watched Tom Sawyer–and wrote “Tom Sawyer” in my planner and crossed it off. I did dishes…

I think you get the picture.

I love being productive. I love putzing around the house. I love flitting from one thing to the next without a care in the world. These are the joys of being caught up.

So often, I live my life according to a tightly arranged agenda. I must get x, y, and z done by such and such a time. I must be here by then or else I’ll be late to there. I ran my entire undergraduate career–just trying to stay one step ahead. I started my graduate career trying to catch up (Mexico to grad school in 12 hours, remember?) So now it feels nice to finally be ahead.

Now if I can remember to live in what Stephen Covey calls “Quadrant II.” Quadrant II is all about doing the things that are Important but not Urgent. It’s making sure you never get to the place where you’re scrambling to meet deadlines. It’s an awesome place to be, theoretically. I don’t know for reality because I’ve never been there–I’ve always been playing catch-up, or racing the deadlines (Covey’s Quadrant I).

So then–
Today I’m agenda-less
Tomorrow I’m Quadrant II

Categories Health

Housebound Health

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Remember how I told you I was going to do 60 minutes of physical activity this week? I said that equaled out to ten minutes over six days. Well, I didn’t have any problem meeting that on Friday (I parked at the grocery store and walked over to Menards to pick up the space heater that was on sale and back before getting my groceries–20 minutes) or on Saturday (I walked around the block on one of my fifteen minute breaks at work–15 minutes.) But Sunday I forgot all about it and yesterday was rainy. Today has been rainy too.

When I’m motivated and the weather is nice, it’s not that hard for me to get aerobic exercise outdoors. I love to walk–especially if I’m walking somewhere or with someone–and I don’t mind biking–especially if I’m going somewhere (and there are plenty of places that I need to go that are within reasonable biking distance.) But when rain is falling and snow is on the ground and it’s generally mucky outside, I don’t have many options. I don’t have any exercise machines. I am not a gym person. (Besides, who has time to go to a gym and change to get all sweaty and then shower and change again? You’ve got to spend twenty minutes preparing for a twenty minute exercise time. No thank you.) So what am I to do?

Today, I got on YouTube and searched various combinations of “aerobics”, “workout”, “aerobic workout”, “fitness”, and “exercise” until I found a video that was about ten minutes long and looked to be an aerobic workout. I scored a pretty decent one:

I can’t say that there was much “gospel” in this “Gospel Aerobics”, but it was a ten minute aerobic segment with simple choreography that doesn’t take too much room. (I did it in my bedroom, in the 3×5 foot almost clear space between my bed and my computer desk.)

If you find yourself housebound, but in need of a quick aerobic pick-me-up, this might be worth a try.

Categories Health, Politics

Rage against the system

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In case you didn’t know, becoming a health care provider isn’t cheap. The six to fifteen years of school and/or supervised practice isn’t cheap. The professional organization memberships aren’t cheap. The malpractice insurance isn’t cheap. The equipment isn’t cheap. Continuing education and the reading and travel that go along with it aren’t cheap. And that’s just talking direct economic costs.

I wish we could talk health care without having to talk about money. I wish we could all offer our services for free. Unfortunately, if all health care providers offered their services for free, we’d soon have no health care providers. It costs too much to become a health professional and to maintain professional standards as a health professional to not get paid. So somehow, we’ve got to get paid.

The majority of payments that come to health professionals come through insurance companies. They decide what they’re willing to pay for and how much they’re willing to pay for it–sort of. The sort of is because most insurance companies use Medicare and Medicaid as the basis for making their decisions regarding payment. If Medicare or Medicaid covers it, private insurance is sure to follow.

If Medicare/Medicaid covers Medical Nutrition Therapy (MNT) for a disease, then dietitians get paid. If the government isn’t willing to pay a dietitian for Medical Nutrition Therapy–neither will the private sector. So if dietitians want to get paid, they have to convince the government to foot the bill. It’s bad enough that money makes the world go ’round–even worse, too often it’s government money that makes the world go ’round.

I sat through Community Nutrition tonight biting my tongue and swinging my legs and wondering why it felt like I was being told to sell out. Contribute to the ADA-PAC. Sell your vote for support for nutrition-related legislation. Campaign for somebody on the basis of dietetics. Bribe your congressman. Join the lobby. Sell out.

I want dietitians to get paid for what they do. Why? Because they provide an invaluable service to health care. Dietitians have the knowledge and skills to prevent disease rather than just managing it. Medical Nutrition Therapy is incredibly cost effective from a medical standpoint. It prevents the occurence of disease in the well and prevents the development of complications in the diseased. Medical Nutrition Therapy means fewer drugs, fewer diseases, fewer costly medical interventions, and ultimately fewer deaths. That’s a lot of bang for a little buck.

The problem is that if dietitians are going to get paid for what they do, the government is going to have to pay it. Congress is going to have to approve MNT for Medicare/Medicaid patients if MNT providers are going to get paid by anyone for any of the work they do. Which puts me in a very difficult situation.

I’m a fiscal conservative. I’m a true believer in free market. I much prefer the invisible hand to the “Wonderful Wizard of Washington”. I don’t believe that throwing government money around solves anything. The Robin Hood complex is a mental illness, not benevolence. Stealing from the citizen to support the system isn’t my way of going about things.

So what am I to do about dietetics? I want to get paid. I want my profession to get paid for its legitimate work. I just don’t want the government to be doing the paying.

Our economic system depresses me. We’ve messed it up so much that it’ll take a MASSIVE restructuring to return us to free market principles. Unfortunately, when even the conservatives start throwing government money around in an attempt to “save” the economy, how can we hope to ever have a stable economy?

I almost think it’d be best to just never mind the short-term consequences. Knock off all government intervention in the economy and wait for things to equalize. Then, once we’re dealing with a free economy, we can rebuild the way the American economy was first built–on hard work, civic responsibility, and innovation.

Categories Memes

I’ve been tagged

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I have a confession to make–I checked my website from work today. Granted, I was on my break and just trying to get a photo for my desktop background–but still. What makes it even worse is that when I saw that I had a comment on my last post, I looked at it.

That’s when I saw that Becky at Boys Rule My Life had tagged me for a meme. It was a good thing that I only had an hour and a half left at work ’cause I was almost busting. How exciting! How novel! How very blogger-like! Take that, you non-blog reading siblings who assume that just because you don’t want to read my blog that nobody does! Somebody likes my blog enough to TAG ME! But what might the meme be? What does she want to know? Oh, it was too much.

Turns out, the meme is “six random facts about me.” So here goes:

  1. I picked up a walker from freecycle today
    And by walker I mean old-lady-who-can’t-walk-on-her-own-so-she-shuffles-behind-a-metal-cage walker. I have a reputation for going all out on costumes for “spirit” functions at work–and when the social committee announced a Halloween costume contest, they proclaimed an early “Congratulations, Rebekah.” Nothing like putting me on the spot. Unfortunately, my last few are going to be hard to top. (Check out my Super Hero costume and my Nerd costume.) I was thinking old lady–if I could just find a walker–and lo and behold a walker shows up on Freecycle. Absolutely providential.
  2. My life is an open book
    I have actually LOANED some of my journals to a younger friend who was having a hard time with high school romance. I still almost can’t believe I did it. What was I thinking? Oh well.
  3. I just finished The House on the Cliff by Franklin Dixon
    The Hardy Boys aren’t just for kids–I’m reading them as part of my quest to read every book in Eisely Library. Boy, did I have a crush on Frank Hardy when I was younger though. That lucky Callie Shaw!
  4. I have somewhere between two and four hysterical roommates
    The number depends on who exactly is doing rounds in Lincoln–my sister and Casandra are my “real” roommates–the other two are PA classmates of Anna’s who stay with us when they’re in town. It’s a blast!
  5. I know only one joke
    Unfortunately, it’s a little macabre. Here goes: “Why don’t lepers play hockey?”

    Answer: Too many face-offs

    I know. Awful.

  6. I wear my grandma’s clothes
    Certain articles, at least. My favorite is a cream colored gown that she wore at least 50 years ago when she sang in a choir performance in Sioux Falls, Iowa. The performance was being recorded and put on the radio. She was so proud of that performance.

And now it’s my turn to tag some-bodies. I tag all my “in real life” blog friends:
Joshua,
Casandra, Cousin Matt, and Grace Babe

Categories Everyday Life

My Friend

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“Thank you, my friend” she said when I dropped her off at her door.

I thought I’d heard her say the same thing on Wednesday, but then convinced myself that I was dreaming.

Today, there was no doubt in my mind.

I don’t envy Nyayan’s position. She’s a Sudanese refugee working in the dishroom, which is populated primarily by students and mentally challenged individuals. She has a hard time speaking English, the students aren’t interested in talking to her, the special-needs workers don’t really talk that much–and often have communication issues of their own. So Nyayan works 40 hours a week in virtual isolation.

Then we get into the car and chat briefly in the five minutes that it takes to get to her house. I ask about her baby (2 months old right now). She asks me about my car’s mirror and when I’m working next. I ask her if she has plans for her weekend off.

It doesn’t feel like much. I give her a ride. I talk with her. I made her baby a quilt. It’s not much at all.

I feel honored that she considers me a friend.

Categories Thankful Thursday

Thankful Thursday

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I’m going to bet that you saw that last post and thought that I was breaking my “Thankful Thursday” string of posts. No such luck!

Today I’m thankful for…

  • A 5 pm deadline for that paper.
    Dr. Driskell said, “You barely made it before 5pm.” I know. Almost everything today took longer than I expected.
  • C.Y. Thompsen library.
    I really feel like I need more practice with case studies and they had a copy of Clinical Cases in Dietetics. Yipee!
  • Valentinos with my sister.
    It’s so nice to take a break and chat about medical things without my dinner companion getting bored.
  • Auto Playlists
    I just set up a new auto playlist to wake myself up to in the morning–so I’ll get to hear all sorts of new music every morning. (Wake yourself up with your computer by going to Control Panel–>Scheduled Tasks–>Add Scheduled Task. Then search for your playlist–it’s generally in My Documents/My Music/My Playlists. Then set the time you want to wake up and which days–and whether you want it to repeat, etc. At the end, ask to “open advanced properties for this task when I click finish.” In the advanced properties, select the “settings” tab and select “Wake the computer to run this task.” When you go to bed at night, hibernate your computer instead of shutting down (select Shut down, then press shift to see and select the “hibernate” option). Your computer will wake up to wake you up in the morning with your very own playlist.
  • the Journal of the American Dietetic Association
    Thursday is definitely my day for getting good mail. I think I’ve mentioned mail every week since I started–and today was no exception. I got my first issue of JADA. Interesting note from what I’ve read so far–a recent study from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggests that taking fish oil capsules prenatally may decrease asthma risk in children. Fish is definitely a hot topic for pregnancy–with pros and cons alike.
Categories Health

Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans

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Chances are you’ve heard about the Dietary Guidelines for Americans–or if not that, at least you’ve heard of MyPyramid. But you probably haven’t heard of the newest governmental health recommendations: the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans.

The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans were released for the first time ever this last Tuesday, October 7. For adults, the main recommendations are 1) to accumulate 150 to 300 minutes of moderate intensity aerobic exercise in intervals of at least 10 minutes over the course of a week and 2) to perform strengthening activities that impact all parts of the body on two days per week. Children and adolescents should do even more: an hour of moderate intensity physical activity accumulated every day and vigorous and strengthening exercises at least three times a week each.

By meeting the recommendations for physical activity for adults, you can decrease your risk of early death, heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, bad blood cholesterol, metabolic syndrome, and breast and colon cancers. By meeting the recommendations, you can also prevent weight gain, lose weight (if combined with a healthy diet), improve your cardiovascular and muscular fitness, prevent falls, and reduce depression. Evidence also suggests that you can decrease your risk of osteoporosis (and the accompanying risk of hip fractures), improve your sleep, and lower your risk of lung and endometrial cancers. And that’s just the health benefits.

Let me confess right now that I DO NOT meet the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. I don’t even come close. I probably average 30-60 minutes a week in moderate intensity aerobic exercise. But that doesn’t mean that I have to stay that way–and neither do you. Amazingly, health benefits can be obtained from ANY increase in physical activity. So let’s get up and move around.

As for myself, I’m going to set a goal of 60 minutes of moderate activity this week. That means 10 minutes a day on 6 days over the next week. I dare you to join me in setting a goal and going after a healthier life!

Categories Faith, Health

SAD Promise

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Seasonal affective disorder. SAD. The acronym is fitting. SAD happens when light dwindles as winter approaches, causing some people to slump into a depression.

I’ve fought subclinical levels of SAD for a good portion of my life. I remember how awful it was the year I took my PSAT for real. When I got my scores, I was sure SAD had lost me the National Merit Scholarship. In the throes of the worst year yet, my score had dropped eleven points from the previous year. I remember my senior year of high school, suggesting to my roommates and housemom that I should just lay on the floor and die. They were worried–they should have been, and they shouldn’t. I didn’t actually want to die. Not enough to be suicidal. I just didn’t know if I could go on living. I remember college years, when I didn’t emerge from my room for weeks on end except to go to the bathroom. I didn’t want to do anything, just sleep.

Last year, I was officially diagnosed and began medication to treat the depression. I had actually been dealing better than normal. I still went to classes. I still maintained what looked like relationships. I maintained such a good facade that no one even realized that I was depressed. It took an awful, awful day to convince me that I needed treatment.

Treatment began and things improved almost immediately. I could cope. I didn’t feel disconnected. I was living life instead of just watching it pass by. I didn’t like taking medication for it, but the benefits were just too great.

Spring came and I started to discontinue the antidepressant–and suddenly another health problem flared up beyond control. It seems the medication had been doing more than one thing–it wasn’t just treating the SAD, it was controlling my blood volume too. Without it, I was graying out with alarming regularity–several times an hour. My PA and I decided to continue with the medication over the summer.

But now, with winter approaching again, I’m scared. I’m scared for it to start all over. What if the meds don’t handle it this time? I’m starting to gray out again more frequently. The lack of oxygen to my brain producing the grayouts is only a metaphor for what depression does to my soul. The gray begins, I brace myself to keep from falling. Dots swim before my eyes and I see nothing. Nothing but gray. I feel nothing but the queer lack of thought, the inability to reason. Terror. Entrapment. I can’t do anything about it. I can’t fight it. I can only brace myself for it and hope I can pick up the pieces once it’s over.

I’m scared, but by God’s grace I’m hanging on to a promise.

This is Isaiah 60. Check out verse 20: “Your sun shall no longer go down, nor shall your moon withdraw itself; for the Lord will be your everlasting light, and the days of your mourning shall be ended.”

When I read this a couple of months ago, it jumped out to me as a promise for SAD. My sun won’t go down–no winter–God is my light and he doesn’t hide. The days of my mourning will end.

Hope. That’s what this verse is. SAD won’t last forever, because God is my light and He’s going to be my light forever. He doesn’t change with the seasons.

I was sobbing on my bed last night, scared and helpless, when God reminded me of this Scripture. It took me what seemed like forever to find it. I was frantic, hanging on to the very last string of hope. When I found it, it was a floatie for my drowning soul to cling to.

I read the whole chapter. It calmed me a bit. Then I wrote it out, the whole chapter. “Arise, shine….darkness shall cover the earth…but the Lord will arise over you…then you shall see and become radiant and your heart shall swell with joy…”

It’s a promise for me. A promise for SAD. A promise that, really, there is hope. I am not bound for the abyss. I am bound for heaven, a place of unceasing joy, in the presence of my ever-bright Sun.

Categories Everyday Life

I’m ready for winter

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In Laura Ingalls Wilder’s The Long Winter, Pa notices that the muskrats are building very thick walls for their homes. He worries that the coming winter is going to be hard.

Creatures of all sorts do different things in preparation for the winter. Some grow fat in preparation for a long hibernation period. Some store up food in preparation for a long dearth of fresh food. I am one of the latter. When the weather starts getting cool, I start thinking of storing up food. Of course, once the days get too much shorter, I’m going to enter hibernation as well–when my average sleep needed goes from a little less than eight hours to something well over ten. But I digress.

My local grocery store had a sale this weekend–sections of meat for reduced prices. So when I got off work at eight this evening, I went grocery shopping. I got a 14 lb beef bottom and a 10 lb tube of hamburger–oh, and several pounds of beans, a 15 lb bag of potatoes, a five lb bag of carrots…you get the picture.

This meat (and probably the potatoes too) should get our little household through Christmas at least (my sister thinks ’til next spring, but I’m not so sure). As of right now, my mother’s deep freeze (which she is so gracious to let us make use of, our little freezer being STUFFED full) now contains 2 roasts, 2 packs of steaks, about 10 packs of stew/stir fry/bbq beef meat, 8 bags of ground beef, and 2 bags full of meatballs.

Winter can come, my house is ready. We have beef enough to outlast it.

Categories Thankful Thursday

Thankful Thursday

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Today I’m thankful…

For mints in the mail
The kiddos told me I had some mail at Mom and Dad’s. Scandalous mail, they thought. One side showed a woman putting on lipstick in a rearview mirror and said “REKINDLE YOUR INNER GLOW with life’s little luxuries.” The package sorta rattled a bit. Thinking the worst, they came up with the idea that it was condoms. Sorry, scandal seeking siblings, it turned out they were breath mints from Vocalpoint advertising Ford’s new vehicle.

For gas at $3.37/gallon
Yes, I know it still seems high. But remember this summer? We were at or above $4 a gallon when I left for Mexico.

For free admission to the ADA update
I liked not having to pay the $75 normal ADA members had to pay, or even the $25 normal students had to pay. There are some perks to being a dietetics intern.

That I don’t have TB
I skipped out of the update early to get my TB skin test read. I don’t have TB, big surprise. But that means I’ve got my immunizations/tests in order for rotations next semester. While I was back in the nurse’s office, I asked when they’d have the flu shot in–she said they had it now, although they were only giving it to at risk individuals this early. But then she grabbed the medical history I’d just handed her and said, “You’ve got a history of asthma. That counts.” So she pulled out a vial and gave me a flu shot right then and there. Yay for not having to go back and wait in line for a shot! I suppose there are also some advantages to exercise-induced bronchospasm.

That I got to spend an hour chatting with the interns between classes
Shanna invited me back to the grad assistant’s office for the hour between our classes today. I enjoyed chit-chatting about politics and lunch and movies and professors and grading papers. I think I’ve missed out on a bit of bonding because I didn’t get an assistantship–but I know that God has a good plan for what He chose for me. So all is good.

That I caught Dr. Jones
We’ve needed to nail down my project for an age and a half (okay, five weeks), but have only seen each other in passing. Research Methods got out early today and I ran down to Dr. Jones’ office to see if she was around. She was just locking her door to leave. But I caught her, and we set up an appointment. So we’re good.

That my camera is fixed
The LCD screen on my digital camera broke about a week ago and I chose to order a replacement screen instead of throwing out the camera and buying a new one. The screen was dropped off by UPS today and I spent the next several hours attempting to install it. Installation was easy until I put the back of the camera on and started screwing it together. Then the screen got all wavy and kaleidescope-like. But, after fiddling with it for what seemed like forever, it’s all put together and working–and I only lost one screw!

For my roommate who made dinner today
It’s so nice to sit down to a home-cooked meal–especially one that you didn’t prepare. Thanks Casandra.

There’s lots more I can be thankful for, I’ve been blessed enormously. But my post runs long and I’m working towards sleeping a bit more (I know. Imagine that. I’m actually taking up sleeping as a hobby. Thanks, Dan, for continually reminding me to do so.) so I best go.