April's CR Diary

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January 27, 2009

Fear of Flying

I've never been afraid of flying. I started so young that I don't remember, and it's always seemed like a perfectly natural way to get around. In fact, for years I have been mildly afraid of driving, probably as a result of a) driving the New Jersey Turnpike a lot b) working with nurses at Level 1 trauma centers, so having an acute consciousness of the consequences of dangerous driving. I'm very careful about when and how I drive, and I avoid the roads late at night and on holidays to the extent I can. There are just too many drunk people out there, and while I have no objection to drunk people hanging out at the corner bar (in fact, I very much enjoy talking to the local drunks at the corner bar) I prefer my drunks *not* behind the wheel of a car.

I've never been that worried about flying, mostly because a) pilots know what they're doing and take more than a driver's ed course, plus their will lose their entire livlihoods if they drink and fly, so they're most likely stone cold sober b) statistically your chances of dying in a plane crash are extremely low. I fly a whole lot, between work and going home to see my family in North Carolina, and it's never bothered me. But lately I've been a bit more nervous about flying. A bit more careful to tell everyone I love how very much I love them (I'm telling Kieffer right now, which involves nuzzling his ear while he purrs on my lap) before I go, and to set some of my affairs in order. I think that this recent string of deaths in my life has just got me feeling more conscious of how much one should appreciate life, before it could be too late.

I didn't really bother making New Years Resolutions... too busy getting ready for the new campaign (and now there are three new campaigns... remember the Twins? I am wondering about Triplets. Or Quadruplets. Seriously.) But now I'm thinking of how much I want to make sure that I appreciate life and live it to its fullest. Why wait for an illness or plane crash?

So here are a few. If you don't like them, remember, they're mine... you don't have to do any of them!

1. Spend more time in prayer. Lately my meditation practice has taken over some of my prayer time, and while meditation is very valuable, I don't want to shortchange prayer.

2. Take yoga or Pilates five days a week. No matter what. I need it most when I least have time. The time saved in feeling healthy and not slipping on the ice and not being a stressed out maniac is more than worth making the time every day.

3. Do CR the way I know how to do it, but always without guilt or judgment if I don't do it quite right on any given day. I never had those negative feelings until I started doing media related to CR and had heaps of insults piled on me, but these days I've sworn of media for good and am just going about my own happy little CR practice. If other people think I'm too fat, too whatever, I really don't care. It's a waste of my time to do anything but focus on the positive. And we really don't have that kind of time.

4. Always assume that people have the best of intentions, and attempt to pray for them even when they're (apparently) being jerks.

5. Cuddle kitty. I already do a lot of that, but cuddle as much as possible.

In my yoga studio, there's a saying that goes, "If you feel like you want to stop, do it for someone who can't." Now that's a lot of pressure for your Sunday morning vinyasa, and they do hammer home that you should honor your body and not push yourself if it hurts, etc. But I like the idea of pushing beyond and illusory wall of inability to access your inner resources and do the exercise for someone who can't. I never want to take for granted my ability to do downward dog or walk to work or get up in the middle of the night and write with a cat purring on my lap.

That being said, I never want to take for granted the ability to go get back in bed with the love of my life. Which I am about to do now! I have a long flying day ahead of me and should be properly rested so that I can sit in airports all day to the best of my ability!

Posted by april at 1:38 AM | Comments (6) | TrackBack

January 26, 2009

April's Homemade Low Sodium Salsa

(Winter version -- summer version uses only fresh tomatoes and tomatillos)

3 cans no salt added diced tomatoes
1 bunch scallions
4 cloves garlic
about 1 tsp cumin
several shakes No Salt salt substitute
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro
1 jalepeno, minus the seeds

Blend till chunky but fluid.

Revisions to come. This was our first try for a large batch. My summer tomato/tomatillo salsa is legendary, but it's been awhile since we've gotten tomatoes that good.

Posted by april at 6:53 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

A Season of Wake Up Calls

First, there was the medivac helicopter I saw land on the roof of Temple, reminding me of how lucky I am that there were nurses somewhere in the middle of nowhere western Canada who saved MR's life when he was in a near-fatal car accident some 12 or 13 years ago.

Then there was the death of my old friend Judy, way too early, way too young.

Then there was Philomena's death.

And now there's another.

On Saturday night I found out that my uncle Tommy, my father's oldest brother, has died of bile duct cancer.

He had been sick for a little while, but last week was diagnosed with terminal cancer. They said he had three weeks to three months to live. He died three days later.

He didn't want to suffer, I think. He didn't want to have his family wait for months on end while he was on the verge of death.

I am very blessed that I am going to get to go down for the funeral. It's Wednesday, and though I have to take some very non-direct flights to get there, I will make it. I fly out tomorrow morning.

I still can't quite imagine the world without Uncle Tommy. He was the lynchpin of our family, the one who organized the birthday parties. He and his wife never failed to spend Christmas Day with my grandmother, even just a few weeks ago.

Tommy was a very good man. He was a very successful businessman, but he never failed to spend time with his family, especially his four children, and too many grandchildren for me to count. He was extremely active in his church, and frequently went on mission trips to build houses in parts of the world devastated by poverty or disaster. He was a devout Christian in the best sense of the word, the kind of person who lives Christ's example on earth without making a big deal of it.

He'd suffered with diabetes for as long as I can remember. He must have been in his seventies when he died, which for many may seem like old enough, but when I think of the years he could have spent with his loving wife and many children and grandchildren, seventies just seems like way too young.

My grandparents, for me, were the model of what can happen in the years between sixty and ninety. My grandfather said those were the happiest years of their lives. They could do whatever they wanted, they spent day after day in each others' loving company, and they enjoyed the friendship of many wonderful people they had gotten to know over the years. They walked every day, dressed for dinner every night, and went out and had fun. They danced more between sixty and ninety than I probably will in my entire life... unless I can somehow convince MR to learn to salsa. ;)

Even if CR doesn't actually extend lifespan by much, if it can help me to live youthful and happy and healthy from sixty to ninety, that would be more than worth the effort. My grandmother, who is de facto CR'd her entire life, is still living independently with no medications and sprightly and healthy at 92 -- and driving! She never weighed more than 102 in her life, other than when she was pregnant (and she is 5'4"... makes me look like a big fat cow!) My grandfather used to weigh himself daily and if he was up, he'd eat less. They ate a fruit plate with yogurt for breakfast each day, ate no lunch, and at dinner they'd split a piece of fish, eat a salad and a vegetable, and call it a night.

I've been lax in my CR for awhile now (hence all the criticism that I am way too fat for CR... yawn...) and I'm getting more and more serious, but I'd have to say, this has been a season of wake-up calls. Every minute of youthful, healthy life is worth fighting for.

It's not easy to do CR in the real world. Really, it isn't. But I don't have a better idea. I know I am happier in a thinner body, one that doesn't cave in to every passing bug.

I lit a candle last night to wish Tommy's spirit a safe passage into the arms of God. I'll do the same tonight. Tomorrow night my father, step-mother and I will all pray for his spirit, and for his family as they grieve the loss of a wonderful husband, father, and grandfather.

It seems rather trivial to worry about what I will eat during my six hour flights tomorrow (there were no direct flights on such short notice so I'm flying to Atlanta to fly to Greensboro, NC) but I am wondering. I have a megamuffin, my salad, some South Beach Diet bars. It's important, for some reason, to take care of myself as well as I can, out of respect to those who have gone on before me.

I know that the thought of leaving MR alone is too much for me to even really consider... we just get closer with every passing year, and I owe it to him as well as to myself to do everything I can to live as long and well as possible.

I am grateful for all the wonderful people who have touched our lives, especially those who are no longer with us. May they rest in peace, and while we pray for the dead, may we fight like hell for the living!

Posted by april at 5:43 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

January 24, 2009

This Is the Dawning of The Grown-Up Goddess

As Barack Obama and Joe Biden let the world know much they appreciate the beauty of their decidely grown-up, accomplished, sexy wives, I announce the Dawning of the Age of the Grown-Up Goddess.

I was encouraged back in the summer, when Governor Sarah Palin was described as a beauty queen and gorgeous at the age of 45. I disagree with almost every platform of her politics, but I think the woman is very pretty, and I thought to myself, "If a woman of 45 can be dismissed as lacking substance because she's too sexy, then I have a lot of years of sexy left!" (I am 34.) Governor Palin didn't make it to the status of VP, but she blazed a trail for grown-up women who aren't ready to trade in the sexiness that was once the province of those in their twenties.

Now we see the inauguration of Barack Obama and Joe Biden, complete with beautiful wives. Both of these women are substantial people who have accomplished much in their lives. And both are just drop-dead gorgeous. They know how to work it too... while Mrs. Obama's dress looked a bit too much like a wedding cake to me, she rocked that dress with her gorgeous figure and style. And Dr. Biden totally rocked out that red dress inauguration night.

I just found out that Dr. Biden (whom I now love so much that I may resort to referring to her as "my girl Jill") is a teacher! Those of you who have been reading for awhile know that I love teachers almost as much as I love nurses.

I am so excited that women in their forties, fifties, and even late fifties are now recognized as the beautiful, sexy creatures they are. This is good news for all of us. Men have always been considered sexy into their later years, while women were relegated to the status of asexual crone once they had grandchildren. I've always thought this was ridiculous, and looked up to those beautiful, passionate women who blazed a trail for me.

Apparently, we've got a lot of years of hot to go. And many blessings upon the heads of those lucky husbands, Barack Obama and Joe Biden, who are blessed to have such loving wives. I only hope that when I am 57 I will be rocking out a sexy red dress (or maybe pink... the red thing is tough for red heads) and making my life partner very proud to be escorting a grown up goddess.

Posted by april at 1:00 PM | Comments (16) | TrackBack

January 21, 2009

That Puts MR's Morning Salad in Perspective

Anyone who has ever seen MR's breakfast salad remarks upon how huge it is. And how long it takes to eat. Apparently, those CR people eat a lot of food.

Well, it seems like a lot, until you hear that the three giant pandas at the Washington National Zoo consume 400 pounds of bamboo a day.

The zoo has put out a call to everyone in the surrounding area for more bamboo because they're not able to grow enough to feed the giant pandas. The community has responded enthusiastically, and the pandas will get all the bamboo they need.

Puts MR's salad in perspective, doesn't it?

Posted by april at 5:55 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

And You Think You're Hungry

Kieffer has to get his teeth cleaned today, and two teeth extracted. I'm nervous because even though Kieffer is young and very healthy (and no longer overweight, thanks to MR who is very good at controlling Kieffer's calories as well as his own) it always scares me when a kitty has to have surgery. I'll be worried all day.

This morning I can't feed him. He has to have an empty stomach, so he hasn't been able to eat since midnight last night. I wish there was some way I could explain to him what's going on. He's very confused about why we won't give him his breakfast.

I'm glad that MR can eat his breakfast. I hate to think of how much he'd howl if he didn't get fed for no apparent reason.

Posted by april at 2:46 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

January 19, 2009

The No Conference Room Food Pact

We are doing a weird campaign. Really weird.

For one thing, we get to have meetings with nurses *in the hospital.* This is because more than 4000 nurses in the National Nurses' Organizing Committee (NNOC) with which we are affiliated on a national level have negotiated an agreement whereby nurses at certain facilities of a corporation will have the ability to organize without the kind of fear, intimidation, and hassle that most nurses face. These nurses work at various facilities in this corporation (whom I for obvious reasons won't name) made it a contract demand in their contract that other nurses be able to meet with us inside the hospital, instead of having to sneak over to the Denny's or McDonald's or wherever. Those of you who've been reading for awhile have watched me go for months on end, meeting nurses at shift change times at the local pizza shop or diner, and navigating the food challenges there. Of course the company only agreed to it, begrudgingly, because they were afraid of what those 4000 nurses might do if they didn't. Just goes to show the power of nurses standing together... we can make changes far beyond our own hospitals and reaching all the way across the country. It's a tremendous help for nurses to be able to meet on their lunch break, get their questions answered, and still get home in time to get the kids on the bus in the morning.

So this campaign is different. We're meeting them at lunch times in the hospital, and since they don't have time to both meet with us *and* run to the cafeteria (often nurses don't get lunch breaks at all, even in twelve hour shifts) we provide them with some food.

We've been providing Philadelphia hoagies from a company called Primos, which I heartily recommend. Really fresh bread, really good meat, yummy broccoli rabe and eggplant sandwiches for the vegetarians among us. Cut into small sections so it's so easy to just grab one... then another.

We have some organizers visiting with us who've done this kind of campaign before. They say they typically gain ten to fifteen pounds on one of these. We're not going to be doing that here at Parsnip, no matter what they do at Cauli (yes, folks, the unions all have code names that are vegetables. It's a food blog, what did you think was going to happen?) So some of us have gone in on a pact: No eating the conference room food.

We were really strong the first few days, then we got very hungry one day and ate some of the sandwiches. Seeing where this could be headed, we renewed our vows. No conference room food. If you're going to be surrounded by it day in and day out, it's very hard to eat just one bite. For me, it's got to be a case of "Just say no thank you."

No one is under any pressure to participate in the pact. But those of us who are in do feel, I think, a sense of solidarity.

The thing that makes all this harder is that we're working really bizarre hours. Because we're meeting with nurses at lunch times, we're in the hospital 12 noon - 3 pm and 10 pm - 1 am, three days in, then one day off. Between and around all those times, I still have tons of work to do both on this campaign and on another. In fact, I may find myself balancing shift change meetings (7:30 am, 1:30 pm, 3:30 pm and 7:30 pm) with lunch times. Ouch! So my sleep schedule is all messed up, to the point of being almost non-existent. I can't seem to sleep more than five or six hours at a stretch. I've also fallen behind in my yoga practice, which has to get back on track. Some of the other organizers are Pilates enthusiasts, so we're going to check out some studios downtown and see if we can get back into practice. I also taught a combined yoga/Pilates intro class to Davy Arizona, who is going on this campaign and once we've won, he'll be these nurses' full time staff representative and attorney. And he'll be in great shape! I love teaching class, and am still targeting this year for getting my Pilates instructor certification. I promised Susie that I'd help her get back her pre-pregnancy body, and she's due in early March.

The good news is that the campaign is going well. Today we had some wonderful nurses from our largest local, Temple University Hospital, come out to meet with the nurses literally down the street from them at another large urban hospital. The nurses at Temple are both proud of the standards they've won in their contract and shocked by how poorly their colleagues up the block are treated in comparison. It just goes to show: union workers do better.

Union organizers, however, can find their health in danger if they allow the stress and circumstances of the job to override their healthy habits. I've worked way too hard at getting in shape and in CR fighting mode to let it go now that work is nuts again. So onward with the No Conference Room Food Pact!

Solidarity forever!

Posted by april at 11:27 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

January 18, 2009

Stand Up Greens

MR has this way of packing the greens when we leave the grocery store that I used to think was just over the top exacting, but now I see why it really does help keep them fresh. We put them in re-usable plastic bags, leaves first, stems down. Then we pack them in a re-usable cold bag standing up, like little trees. That helps the water drain off them and prevents the water from pooling up around the leaves and making them go yucky faster.

I was packing the groceries this morning at the store and the cashier wondered why I was waiting to pack the cold bag. "I'm waiting for the stand up greens," I said. Stand up greens. Like stand up people? Greens with integrity. Greens with principles. Greens that have high nutritional value and real taste.

Or, greens that need to stand up in the bag.

Posted by april at 8:03 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

January 16, 2009

Flax Oil and Dry Skin

So for years now I've been on a crusade to get the world eating flax oil. If you have dry skin, flax will cure it. Teaspoon morning, teaspoon night.

Now I have even more proof.

Since I've been on this campaign, I've been eating very little, and rarely at home, so I haven't been getting my daily dose of flax. And sure enough, my hands are going red and chapped. I have dry skin. With flax, I never have dry skin. None. I used hand lotion for the first time in four years yesterday.

I wash my hands frequently because I work with nurses, and I am pre-disposed to dry skin. But with flax, my skin is silky smooth.

So I am going back on my flax, even if it means just a shot morning and a shot night.

Dry skin = bad. No dry skin = flax.

Posted by april at 1:56 AM | Comments (7) | TrackBack

January 11, 2009

And I've Known Quite A Few

Sorry for my absence... I've been working literally around the clock on our new campaign. Haven't cooked much, and when I have it's been recycling old favorites. Have barely seen MR, but he's quite well after his very brief migraine episode. Thanks so much to all who missed us!

This week has given me cause to reflect on what it takes to make a good organizer, and why it is that we stay in the movement. I would have to say that I work with the best, most talented people in the labor movement. Their level of commitment and understanding, and their unwillingness to sell out, are quite rare and extremely impressive. Last night I was talking with one of my oldest friends, a guy who was with me in 1996 when we supported the service workers at Yale in their historic strike to guarantee that working people in New Haven could still have decent wages and pensions and health care, and I said, "I have never in my life been so proud to work for a union of independent nurses who stand up for themselves and their patients every day." I started to cry as I re-counted the story of how these nurses liberated themselves from another union and decided to run their own show, winning better and better contracts for themselves and their patients every year. I am so blessed to do the work I do, with the people I do it with.

My staff is stepping up to the plate in an amazing way. Danny California, Asparagus-phobe (who really needs a name... I think I will call him Dave) and Jeannie have all been awesome. Their level of commitment to building a real nurses' movement here in Pennsylvania is remarkable. Jeannie has so much experience organizing, but has made a conscious decision to work for a local union and really commit to building the movement in one place. She's such an asset to the organization... I feel so lucky to have her. And the colleages we have from the union with which we are affiliated on a national level are doing great too. They're young and full of energy, remind me very much of me when I was their age.

Our nurses have also been amazing... taking time out of their busy schedules to meet with other nurses who want to organize. Why do they do it? Because they know that the key to winning improvements for both nurses and patients is nurses joining together, all over the state and all over the nation.

Of course, the other thing about being an organizer is that you have very little time to do anything other than work! So I haven't been home much or writing much! Don't worry... everyone is fine. MR's headache went away very quickly and he's been right as rain ever since, as usual. My cold went away just in time.

I've been eating pretty simply... cottage cheese, yogurt, my salads, etc. There's this restaurant in Philly that has an amazing salad where for the same price as other greens you can use arugula as your salad base and add ingredients from a dizzying array of choices, including artichokes, red peppers, grilled onions, cranberries, walnuts, plum or regular tomatoes, basically everything you can think of to put on a salad. It's a special treat if I get time to get there and have a nice salad. In fact, their salads are so big that I often can't finish one and end up taking it home.

So back to work... well, I actually never stopped working, I just had a day to work from home. More recipes soon! I'm going to spend a lot of time sitting in traffic, and that's a great time to think about cooking!

Posted by april at 5:53 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

January 4, 2009

MR Is Never Sick

Never in the entire four years we've been together has he had even so much as a sniffle. Never sick. Not in eight years. He's never sick.

So last night when he got his first migraine in years, I was a little alarmed.

Before CR, he used to get them once a month, and they were debilitating. Horrible. Extreme pain, lasting more than 24 hours, with nausea, sensory disturbances, etc. His brother and father and sister get them too, but CR pretty much knocked out his. He had gotten only two in the approximately ten years he's practiced CR.

Until last night. At dinner he said he had a headache. Then it got worse and worse and he couldn't finish his food. MR ALWAYS eats all his food. I was scared. I put him to bed and hovered over him more than was helpful but I was freaked out! He never feels ill! And so soon upon Philomena's passing, I was worried he was going to die.

He recovered in record time, and in a few hours got up to finish his dinner do the dishes and go to bed (he did applaud my efforts to put the dishes in the dishwasher -- in our house, I cook and clean but he does dishes.) This morning he was fine, and he slept well.

It occurs to me that normal couples deal with one or the other being ill quite early in a relationship, and it is downright freakish that I had never seen my angel experience even the smallest amount of sickness in four years. CR does that -- it cures everything and what it doesn't cure it prevents. To me, that is worth just as much if not more than life-extension. Enjoying the life you have now, in a healthy body. Even with that one migraine (brought on I think by tremendous stress as I was needing so much support grieving for Philomena) he only felt extreme pain for a few hours, and mild pain for a day. No cold, no flu, nothing of the sort, ever.

More soon on weekend foods...

Posted by april at 11:45 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

January 1, 2009

Happy New Year!

In spite of ongoing sadness over the passing of Philomena, we had a nice New Years. I made one of MR's 2008 favorites: curried pumpkin portabella mushroom pizzas. I also made a salad of collard greens and squash, plus a new creation: eggnog!

MR decided he wanted eggnog, so I synthesized it as best I could. 3/4 cup of kefir, 1/4 cup Eggbeaters (which we rarely use due to synthetic vitamin A but every once in awhile is okay) and a bit of rum extract, plus cinnamon, nutmeg, and a dot of sucralose (you could use Splenda.) It turned out well... he liked it.

This morning MR made us his special Sunday breakfast, even though it's not Sunday. That's our traditional eggwhite vegetable scramble with low-carb pancakes, though I rarely eat the pancakes anymore because the eggwhite scramble is sufficiently filling for my breakfast.

Today for New Years Day I'll be making a dish of collard greens and black eyed peas, to bring prosperity and good luck in the New Year. I'll post the recipe once it's done!

PS If you have a CR-related blog, please do drop me a note or a comment and let me know. I love to follow them!

Posted by april at 6:09 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack