Slightly Obsessed

Minus the mismatched drapes and couch, this is by far the coolest picture we got with Grandma Viola.

Both of Jarid’s Grandmas are in town this week, as well.  I’m not sure what kind of threatening and coercion took place to get his Grandma Mary (dad’s mom) down here, but it worked.  And a big thanks to the person that made it happen!  I think the last time we saw her was before we moved down to Phoenix.  I’m pretty sure she’d sworn off flying forever, but his Grandma Viola (mom’s mom) gently took her hand and dragged her on the plane!  These sweet ladies trekked 1100 miles together, thanks to a non-stop flight via Allegiant Air.  (We look forward to the day Allegiant adds Bozeman to their route, since they already have direct flights to Missoula and Billings!!)

Anyway, we’ve had a wee bit of excitement since they got here, as Grandma Mary started the journey with an infection on her foot.  Once in Sinkler territory, it was determined that she needed to see a doctor for the infection.  For whatever reason, the doc at the urgent care decided to do an ultrasound on her calf where, lo and behold, TWO blood clots showed up.  At the follow up appointment the next day, they suggested she be admitted to the hospital that day, as they felt she was at risk to have a heart attack or stroke at any time.  That was Monday.

Fast forward to today.  Grandma Mary is still in the hospital, still waiting for the results of a battery of tests.  Both Grandmas were scheduled to fly back to North Dakota today, but they were able to change their flights.  If I understand correctly, the travel insurance option was checked on their tickets, so they were able to change the flight with no additional charge.  Grandma Vi was gracious enough to stay longer and help Grandma Mary with the flight home.

I’d say the infection on the foot is a blessing in disguise.  If not for that, the blood clots may not have been discovered until it was too late.  We are so thankful she was here!  Please keep Grandma Mary in your prayers!

Anyway, pictures from their visit so far.  (I see I need to get more pictures of Benjamin and his great-grandmas…those will be coming soon!)

***UPDATE: We would really appreciate your prayers for Grandma Mary.  She will be having surgery on Monday and will be down in Phoenix for at least an additional 2-3 weeks, possibly indefinitely.  The infection in the toe is worse than the doctors originally thought, due to the blood clots, and they may or may not be able to save her big toe!

If you’ve ever been around anyone from North Dakota, you’ve heard that phrase before.  Or you’ve chuckled when they say, “Here are the tah-wools”.  It’s so much fun to have family in town!!

Jarid’s aunt Judy and his cousin Carli were visiting.  On Saturday, we took a short drive to Canyon Lake and Tortilla Flats.  Sadly, Jarid had to work, so I was left to fend for myself with the crazy North Dakotans!  :)

1.  Jarid’s Grandmas (both of them!) are visiting this weekend from North Dakota.  His aunt and cousin also came down from Colorado, so we’ve been enjoying family for the past few days.  Next post will have pictures!

2.  Surprise, surprise.  Three people in the house are sick with colds again.  I’m eagerly waiting my turn for the nastiness to arrive.  I fail to understand how/why we are getting sick so often.  This time around, it doesn’t seem too terrible for the kiddos…just runny noses.  Jarid’s been a little worse, but not completely out of commission.

3.  We have started the non-dairy probiotics.  Have y’all heard of kefir?  If not, I’ll post about it soon.  It’s kind of like yogurt, but with more beneficial bacterias.  Of course, like I said, we aren’t doing dairy kefir, so we have some interesting alternatives.  The desired outcome is a healed gut for Benjamin.  We have a target date of December 1st to try adding a small amount of raw milk.  If it doesn’t work, we’ll still have plenty of time to get it out of his system before we head to Colorado for Christmas.

4.  I continue to marvel at the Lord’s hand and timing in our lives.  Even though it drives me bonkers not to know the plan He has for us, I’m finding it fairly easy to rest in Him.  I take much comfort in knowing that He has a hedge of protection around us…and that everything that happens (or doesn’t, in this case), is in our best interest.

5.  Still getting my tail whooped in our Fantasy Football League.  It’s not pretty.

1.  We are starting week three of yeast-free/sugar-free eating.  It’s rough.  I cheat a little here and there, but the kidlets are doing amazingly well.  If it’s not “working”, it certainly isn’t harming us to be cutting out sugar for a while.  The next phase of fun diet stuff is due to kick in by the end of the week.  It involves probiotics of the non-dairy type.  Kind of like yogurt.  If it works and we see improvement, I will let y’all know.  If not, no harm done and we’ll move on.  But if it does work, we may be on the road toward recovery, so to speak.  Even if I am a complete nut-job and buying into a whole load of hippie garbage, we’re eating pretty stinkin’ well and are pretty healthy.  Again, no harm done.

2.  The weather is cooling off here.  I should have put this one first, because it’s way more exciting!  The past few mornings have been down in the 40’s.  I cannot tell you how much joy that brings me.  The highs are in the 70’s right now, which is (gasp) actually kind of chilly.  That may seem ridiculous to some, but remember the 115 degree summer we just had?  That’s a 40 degree difference!  Yay!!

3.  Even though it’s only the middle of October, I’m beginning to plan for our trip to Colorado for Christmas.  We will probably ship some of our winter clothes.  I would imagine it would be cheaper to ship them than to pay $15/bag when we fly.  We’ll see.  As it is, we will already be paying $15 for each bag we check.  No freebies.  I’m also trying to figure out a rough menu plan.  It’s just not a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants operation when you have food restrictions.

4.  I think that’s all for now.  Exciting stuff, you know.

My dear friend, Sara, wrote a great post detailing her decision not to vote for Obama.  You can (and should) read it here.

In reading the post and subsequent comments, I was reminded again about our critical thinking skills, or perhaps, lack thereof.  We tend to jump on the bandwagon for so many thoughts and ideas without putting the least bit of effort into thoroughly gathering information.

Case in point:  FactCheck.org.  If you are using that as your basis for truth in this election, start shopping for a new fact-checker.  While FC.O appears and claims to be bipartisan, a quick but thorough search reveals they are anything but neutral.  Consider these facts:

• FactCheck.org is a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center.
• The Annenberg Public Policy Center gets its funding from an endowment established by the Annenberg Foundation.
• The Annenberg Foundation launched the Chicago Annenberg Challenge (a public school reform project).

Do you know who co-authored the grant written for the Chicago Annenberg Challenge?

Bill Ayers.

Do you know who sat on the founding (and final) Board of Directors for the CAC at the same time?

Barack Obama.

(The Annenberg Foundation does claim that the CAC has no record of providing salary for Bill Ayers.  Whether they provided salary or not is irrelevant.)

Does this raise any questions for you?  It should.  It should raise questions when Obama deliberately points people to FC.O from his website as a source of “truth”.  It should raise questions when Obama plays down his association with Ayers.

Why aren’t voters giving this serious consideration?  It infuriates me to know that many Americans will head to the polls completely uninformed.  They will exercise their apparent right to vote without giving it any serious consideration.

Should you really vote for a candidate based solely on the color of their skin?

Should you really vote for a candidate just because he served his country in the military?

Should you really vote for a candidate based solely on your own sexual orientation (yes, people do that!)?

Should you really vote for a candidate because you think his VP running mate is hot?

Should you really vote for a candidate because he’s just such a good speaker?

If you honestly answered yes, I urge you to stay home on election night and bang your head on the wall instead.  Really.  You’ll be doing millions of Americans a favor.

If you are undecided in this election, please take the time to research and seriously consider your choices.  Don’t just sit and listen to the candidates throw out numbers and percentages.  Find a neutral source and do some research.

Do you really think Obama was the most liberal Senator in Congress?  Go find out.  Do you really think McCain echoed the Bush administration with his voting record?  Go find out.  Here’s one place to start: Senate.gov.  You can look up any bill that has passed through the Senate, and in many cases, find out exactly how each Senator voted.  I can guarantee to you (without doing any research) that both campaigns have deliberately misquoted or miscalculated statistics to either slam their opponent or further their own campaign.  They will do this with voting records, spending calculations, campaign contributions, etc.

Consider the motives of each candidate.  Consider the company they keep.  Consider the organizations they associate with.  Are there hidden agendas?  Do they have ties to people who might eventually influence the decisions they will make if they get into office?  Ahem…acorn, bill ayers, “big oil”, etc…  Do some research.  Find out where their inspiration comes from.  Find out what these organizations really stand for, what they really do (acorn.org probably isn’t the best place to go for information on ACORN!!!).

Have you stopped to seriously consider the state of the economy and how it got there?  If you just blamed Bush for it, try again.  Better yet, try to name even 5 specific things that his administration has done to get us to this point.  I’d bet that you can’t.  I’d bet you’re echoing the apparent sentiment of many Americans who don’t have a clue.

Why aren’t we taking responsibility for our own actions?  Our own spending habits?  Our own laziness?

Please ask questions.  Take a little time to consider what the next 4 years will hold…

Yes, it’s almost Wednesday.  Fine.  Let’s call it Wednesday Wackiness.

1.  Ben and Kaiya and I are doing a yeast cleanse.  It’s not fun, but I think it’s well worth it.  We are definitely uh, cleansing.  Read about yeast here (but please try to ignore the “Sweet Surprise” advertisement in the sidebar…critical thinking, people!).

2. The weather is finally cooling off.  I actually got a chill when I walked outside this morning!  Although it was probably only down to 65-70, you have to realize that’s a 40-50 degree difference from a month and a half ago!

3. Just found out Jarid’s 401k has lost about 35% of its value.  While I don’t think we should be irresponsible with our finances and throw all caution to the wind, we need to remember to store up our treasure in heaven, not with Lehman Brothers or AIG.  I’m so thankful that God is in control!

4.  These days, I’m pretty weary from a lifestyle of special diets.  When the off days come (as few and far between as they are), I want to throw in the towel.  Sheesh, even on the good days I want to throw in the towel.  My life revolves around food and recovering that little boy’s belly.  I wonder if it will ever end.

5.  But then I steal a few minutes before work to open my Bible and read “He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.  God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.”  I think I’ll make it.

6.  Basketball season is just around the corner.  Jarid’s first JUCO game is November 5th, I think.  I may be more excited than he is!

7.  Buffalo wings aren’t allowed on a yeast-free diet.  How am I going to survive football season!?!?!

I came across this article on Fox news the other day, regarding organic food.  While you read it, I’m going to run down a list of questions you should be asking yourself when you read an article like this (one that quotes studies, statistics, and “experts”).  Come back and run the article through these questions.  Then we’ll talk.

1. Who conducted the study?  Is the laboratory (research center) or company in any way connected to an individual or corporation that will benefit from the outcome?  Where does the lab receive its funding?  For example, ABC Labs is owned by Joe Schmoe who is trying to prove that XYZ is not harmful when taken in small doses.  But oops, Joe Schmoe sits on the board for LMNO Pharmaceuticals, whose company makes XYZ and would like the FDA to approve their product.  Yes, it happens.  All the time.  Additionally, who is interpreting the results?

2.  What controls are being used for the study?   Are random samples truly random?  Do they accurately represent the population being studied?  I know very little about how a study should be conducted, but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that sometimes controls and variables are loosely defined in such a way that it’s passing the test based on a technicality.  For example, if studying the difference between a “naturally” grown product and one, uh, “unnaturally” grown, you should know that the FDA very loosely defines the term “natural”.

3.  Should you trust everything the FDA or USDA says?  Consider where they get their funding.  Consider whose interest they are really protecting.  Let me tell you, friends, it’s not yours.  It’s not the consumer’s.  They are protecting the economy, large corporations, and industries dependent upon subsidies.

4.  In the study, which outcome are they trying to prove?  In many cases, shouldn’t they just be looking for and reporting the results?

Again, I’m not a scientist and I don’t claim to be an expert at conducting research.  But please don’t believe everything you read/hear/see in mainstream media.  My list of questions is not exhaustive, just a place to start.  Ask questions!!!

So, if you take the above article and run it through a few critical thinking questions, here’s what I see:

1.  Most of this article is based on information obtained from the Hudson Institute for Global Food Issues.  A quick search reveals that the Hudson Institute receives its funding via “donations” from large corporations such as:

• Eli Lilly- a pharmaceutical company (we can thank Eli Lilly for developing thimerosal to put in vaccines..do NOT get me started there!)
• Cargill - a large, privately held corporation with their hands in almost every industry: food and fast food (corn products), agriculture (corn), health and pharmaceutical (corn), energy (corn again)
• Proctor & Gamble - a large corporation specializing in consumer goods whose brands include Dawn, Crest, Bounty, Secret, Vicks, and Gillette
• Monsanto - the company that brings us Roundup (um, yep…that’s herbicides and pesticides), as well as genetically engineered seeds and bovine growth hormone (rBGH)

They wouldn’t stand to gain (or lose) anything based on the research done by HI, would they?  I’ve only given you a few.  Honestly, to me, this information alone discredits most of the article.  To further illustrate my point, it is easily revealed that one of Hudson Institute’s former executives worked for Eli Lilly.  He is now the Governor of Indiana, focusing on the state’s agricultural sector.

Are you seeing what I’m seeing?

Should you believe the HI “expert” who says there’s not a lick of evidence to support the benefit of organic food?  Should you believe him when he says organic food is more likely to carry dangerous bacteria because the fertilizer is toxic?

2. Are the samples used in these studies (that don’t provide a lick of evidence) from a large organic corporation (who is using the term “organic” based on a technicality)?  Or are the samples coming from a small sustainable farm who, by the way, may not qualify to be certified organic based on a technicality?  (Now is a good time for me to state that I’m not necessarily endorsing “BIG” organic food, but we’ll get to that in a another post).  Are the studies boosting conventionally grown food based on produce grown in the fields subsidized by the government?  Owned by Cargill or ConAgra?

3. Does the USDA organic standard hold any weight?  Really?  To be considered USDA organic, only 95% of a product’s ingredients has to be organic.  Most pesticides are not allowed, but some are.  An animal only has to have access to the outdoors.  Should we really consider this to be organic?

4.  In reference to organic milk and there not being any difference, while I wasn’t able to immediately find which lab conducted the quoted findings, you can bet there are suspicious ties.  I would imagine they set out to prove there is no difference.

Please just ask questions.  It’s critical thinking and common sense, really.

Now, on the flip side, the article does bring up semi-valid points about food safety and nutrition.  Wash your produce, organic or not.  Realize that buying organic potato chips fried in corn oil is probably not much better than non-organic baked potato chips.

With that said, some day soon I will add a few tips for healthy shopping.  Not necessarily organic.