My Dad's book (I am the editor): Into the Vortex of War - A Korean Interpreter's Close Encounter with the Enemy

http://www.amazon.com/Into-Vortex-War-Interpreters-Encounter/dp/1434322610/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1221697544&sr=1-1

Obama's birth certificate and the health care debate

I'm listening to the news (msnbc) and I don't see why there is still a debate about Obama not being born in America. It's already been substantiated that he was born in HI. It's ridiculous. Let it go people. And who cares about the beer summit and what kinds of beer they drank. I think all the republicans who are complaining need to get over it and accept Obama won the election fair and square and get on board to try to find some middle ground.

Chiming in on the health care debate - glad to hear there has been some compromise on the ideas for reform and hopeful they will figure out a win/win solution. I think offering a public option in addition to private insurance is a smart idea. If you like your private insurance you can keep it. If you don't you can go to the public option. They have to figure out how everything will be paid for, but I am hopeful and confident they can come with some solutions.

The dow is up, we are losing jobs slower than six months ago, the recession is slowly coming around. I think we are headed in the right direction.

surgery update

I can't wait to have my ankle fixed on Monday. Got the great news today that whatever I did to my good knee yesterday - it's not torn, so they don't need to do anything to it...thank GOD! So just a few more days and I'll be getting my ankle ligament repaired and can start healing. No more high kicks for me - and no more playing soccer. I will be careful and stick to the bike and the pool for exercise.

Thursday

It started with a big fat thunderstorm. Loved it. Then it got worse when I hurt my good knee and am now facing surgery on both legs. Getting an mri tomorrow to find out about the knee...keep your fingers crossed it is not torn, and it will get better on its own so I can focus on fixing the ankle. That will be bad enough - talked to the doctor today and found out I shouldn't drive for 6 weeks. That's not going to be easy.

Sierra is still in VT, talked to her again today. Zoe went to gymnastics. Thomas played w/ a friend. I am loving the break from the heat. The cloudy, rainy weather makes it better to be staying inside and resting my limbs.

Rainy days and Mondays

Finally, we got some rain and a decent thunder/lightening storm. I am a big fan of storms, especially those that are loud and last a long time. These hot Texas summers beg for rainstorms to quench the parched grass and all the bushes and flowers we put so much care into planting in our backyard.

Figures after weeks of 100+ degree heat and relentless sunshine, today it storms, when Sierra had to take a flight to CT (and poor Sierra is already scared of flying). The storms delayed her flight a few hours, and thank goodness she called a little while ago to tell me she made it there safely. I hate it when she is gone. I just want this week to go by fast.

Besides the fact Sierra will return on Monday Aug 3, I also have ankle surgery scheduled that day. So, this week stinks for two reasons. One, my first born child whom I adore and enjoy being around is not here. Two, I am supposed to stay off my ankle. Do you know how hard it is to stay off your ankle? Thank god I work from home, but being a mommy and homemaker requires a certain amount of walking around to feed everybody and do all the chores, no to mention the task of entertaining the kids.

Zoe and Thomas did their homework this morning and then played imagination for a while, painted with watercolors after lunch, and now Zoe is at her friend's house while Thomas plays Wii upstairs. I guess I better take this opportunity to take a shower.

Joe has a late (and very important) meeting tonight, so it will just be me and the little kids home for dinner. I think I'll keep it simple.

Keeping my kids busy in the summer

Yes I am one of those 'mean' moms who makes her kids do homework in the summer. I have always heard the schools say to READ, READ, READ over the summer, but what about math? What about spelling and writing? When I used to be a teacher, I was chair of the math committee one year and implemented a summer math program to run alongside the summer reading program. Each grade level made up packets that reviewed the key objectives from that year. I am now a private math tutor, and I highly recommend that all kids study through the summer months. They should review what they learned last year and preview what they will learn next year. When school starts they can hit the ground running, and teachers don't lose precious weeks reviewing and reviewing because kids forgot what they learned last year. Every June, I go to the teacher store and buy "Summer Bridge" workbooks for my kids that span all subjects from one grade level to the next. My kids have to work for atleast an hour a day Monday through Friday in their books before they can watch TV or play Wii. The summer bridge workbooks stop after 8th grade. My teenager, who is a rising junior, works on PSAT instead. After all, knowledge is power, and after working for an hour or so a day they are free to do whatever they want and play around and/or be lazy for the rest of the long summer days. It's good for them. Knowledge is power!

Food Allergies

Can I say I am amazed at how many things I can no longer eat without the risk of being rashy? I'm not talking just any rash. I get rashy (eczema) on my lips, cheeks, eyes, forehead (basically my whole face) and neck. Upon the advice of my allergy shot nurse I started an elimination diet and took wheat and then corn out of my diet for two weeks at a time only to discover that the rashes magically went away. This is after an entire lifetime of symptoms. When I was growing up, my friends called me "Susie Chap Stick" because I always used chap stick on my itchy rashy lips. Only now do I also know that I was also allergic to the chemicals in the chap stick I was using. From several chemical patch tests it became apparent I am allergic to fragrances as well as several pages worth of chemicals that are found in fragrance free products.



So far here is a list of things I can't eat anymore:



Wheat Products:

bread

tortillas

pasta

crackers

soy sauce

beef jerky (wheat starch)

beer

whiskey (not that I was a big fan or anything)

anything with Modified Food Starch, which is wheat based (like alot of lunchmeats)

most gravies

MorningStar Farm Products (which I love) like soy sausages, blackbean/veggie burgers, and taco salad crumbles (fake ground beef)...I have been eating these products all the time for years thinking they are a healthy cholesterol alternative to meat.

vinegar





Corn Products:

Corn (duh)

corn tortillas

corn chips

anything w/ corn syrup (like sodas, gatorade, salad dressings, condiments like ketchup and mayo)

anything w/ corn starch (including some lunchmeats, enchilada sauce, hot dogs, canned chili)

popcorn





So far I have found some good alternatives thank God. If I eat at home, I can cook things like pizza with rice crust, rice noodles, potatoes, and just today I baked my first successful loaf of ric bread. It doesn't taste exactly the same but it's not bad, much better than the store bought stuff.