In My Psyche

How to Stay Healthy During Cold Season

peppermayo — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 22:30:55 +0000

While spring is in the air, we’re still not totally out of cold-and-flu season yet. For me, it seems like I always catch something near the end of spring which can last for weeks because I haven’t been paying attention to my body. In my quest to usher in spring and summer right this year, I’ve been researching ways to stay healthy despite the spread of germs. Here’s what I’ve found:

Drink – Staying hydrated is very important for preventing colds and for shortening their duration if you do get one. Your immune system can’t do its job properly if you’re chronically dehydrated. Although you might not feel thirsty, the cold outside and the winter climate control in homes and offices can lead to dehydration.
Eat Your Produce – Fruits and vegetables are key for keeping your entire body functioning properly, including your immune system. Fruits and vegetables are packed with antioxidants, the chemicals that destroy the free radicals which degrade your general health and bodily function. Whole grains are another important part of a balanced diet.
Wash Your Hands – Wash them all the time, even if you don’t think you need to. A great way to be nice to your body is to expose it to fewer germs. If you go the soap-and-water route, sing “Happy Birthday” to yourself twice while washing; you can also use an alcohol-based sanitizer.
Don’t Smoke – I know this isn’t exactly an easy switch to make if you’re a long-time smoker, but cigarette smoke is packed with free radicals. These little buggers weaken your cell walls and preoccupy your immune function so that it can’t deal with other invaders (like bacteria and viruses). My favorite nurse practitioner finally convinced me to quit and helped me get the support I needed. Check out Best Nursing Schools if you’re interested in becoming a nurse or learning more about advanced practice nurses.
Relax – While the connection between particular vitamins or supplements and immune health may be shaky at times, there is no doubt about the connection between ill health and stress. If you are having trouble dealing with stress in your life, consider taking up hobbies known to reduce stress, such as cardiovascular exercise and mindfulness meditation.
Get Your Vitamins – The jury is still out on the science behind the way many vitamins affect our immune response. What the jury does know is that several vitamins are key to healthy bodily function and that some may directly affect our immune system. Selenium, zinc and vitamins A, B2, B6, C, D, and E can all be good to take regularly and to combat a cold. Consult your doctor or nurse practitioner about any supplements you’re considering taking, especially if you’re on other medications. For those interested, www.onlinerntobsn.net/ has information about nursing degree programs and credentials.
Supplement When Necessary – Some non-vitamin supplements are also speculated to have immune boosting properties. Garlic, ginseng, licorice root, and probiotics are all shown in some scientific studies to have immune boosting properties. Make sure to research any supplements yourself before adding them to your diet.

Sources

Harvard Medical School: Harvard Health Publications (2012)

Drexel University (2012)

All Sizes

peppermayo — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 07:00:46 +0000

Last weekend, due to bad weather, we decided to have my husband’s family sleep over: Nanay, my mom-in-law and my sis-in-law stayed for the night. And since it was a spur-of-the-moment thing, I had to lend them some of my clothes for them to sleep in. I wasn’t just making fun of myself when I said that I have clothes in all sizes, I certainly do have clothes from XS to XL. That’s what happens when you get new clothes and don’t get rid of old ones. But I’m glad I’ve kept some of them still.

I accumulated those clothes in a span of, more or less, 4 years. I came to the US a skinny person, ready to get photographed on my wedding day, gained weight over time, got pregnant, lost weight during pregnancy and lost even more weight while breastfeeding. So just imagine, I had to keep all my petite clothes while I was pregnant, not expecting to need them so soon after giving birth. I’m back to wearing the exact pair of skinny jeans that I wore on arrival here some 4 years ago.

Right now I’m wondering if I kept those white linen trousers which would be perfect to wear by the pool side or on our upcoming vacation to our home town this summer. I’ll have to find time to rummage through those boxes in the laundry room and see which clothes I have to pull out. Hopefully, I can minimize my clutter as part of my long-running spring cleaning this year as well.

Having this house

peppermayo — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 05:57:50 +0000

Contribution by Kennith Griffin

Having Hughes Internet has been such a blessing out here. I wouldn’t have really thought about how hard it would be to not have internet at home but these last few months without it has been really tough for me. I love that there are so few choices out here because it made my decision really easy! I have had to get online a lot to try and buy stuff for the renovation – stuff like period doorknobs and custom made stained glass windows and whatnot. You know you’re really into renovations when you’re buying custom made stain glass windows! Anyway, I’ve been having a lot of fun learning how to redo all these things in the house and I feel much better equipped to do something handy than I ever have which is fun. I love being a homeowner and I love specifically owning THIS home so I can’t wait to see where the next few years take us. Hopefully I can add some value to this place once and for all!

Country Life

peppermayo — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 22:37:05 +0000

Guest post from: Bruno Smith

I absolutely love living in the serene country. It is so nice to be away from the hustle and bustle of the city. We have a lot of land so our kids and dogs have plenty of room to roam. The only thing I miss about living in a neighborhood is the neighborhood watch program. Our neighbors would watch after our house when we were gone and they knew if someone was there who wasn’t supposed to be. I had a certain sense of security living in such close community with other people. In order to ease my mind, my husband recently purchased an ADT Brinks Security system. It is not the same as having neighbors but it helps me to feel safer. I think just the fact that I have a security sign in my front yard will help to deter someone who wishes to snoop around our property. Our dogs also serve as a good theft deterrent. Although the look menacing, they really are just big teddy bears, but strangers don’t know that.

peppermayo — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 22:05:04 +0000

Yesterday, while my in-laws were visiting, the hubby impulsively wanted to go to the store with his grandma and sister, leaving me, our sleeping baby and my MIL alone in the house. I appreciated the chance to talk to her again about random things, from my husband’s childhood, to Franklin migraine health problems, to household chores. It would have been a more meaningful and longer chat if we weren’t interrupted by our baby waking up. Oh well, this is how we roll now…

peppermayo — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 22:01:04 +0000

Not in my wildest dreams did I fantasize about getting back to shape, much less be skinny again, after giving birth this soon. I am so skinny, that if I didn’t have ugly stretch marks and sagging in my lower tummy, I would take pictures of me in a bikini in the middle of winter or in lingerie bodystockings that the hubby might fancy. Haha!

Ooops! Sorry if that’s TMI. You know I’m just blabbing away with whatever’s in my head.

Sunday Funday

peppermayo — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 09:24:59 +0000

My Sunday didn’t quite start out right because I woke up with a splitting headache, clogged nose & some sort of cough. But thanks to Motrin, some Japanese food & the hubby’s patience and parenting skills, I was able to get some rest and come night time, we were able to make up for what would have been a very boring day. Hubby and I got to watch a movie while baby played with her new toys – watching movies through Netflix is great; we’ve tried to download videos from the net but haven’t found much luck in it. Then we read and sang with baby. We’re all set for bed now, tomorrow’s another day… Good night!

When You Are Little

peppermayo — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 22:29:29 +0000

The Author of this post is Velma Baird

When you are little the last thing on your mind is feeling safe in your home. It is your parent’s responsibility to make sure that you feel safe and comfortable at all times. Kids don’t need to worry about these things do they? That is why I was so taken aback when my five year old recently asked if we have deadbolts on our doors. I asked him why he would ask such a question and he said, “well, Mommy, my teachersaid it is important to be safe in your house and that we need to have deadbolts.” This of course surprised me but, to be fair, his teacher wasn’t all wrong. I’m not too sure why they would need to discuss deadbolts in their kindergarten class but hey at least my kid was paying attention for once. This whole discussion got me thinking that maybe I can do more to make sure my family feels same at home. I found besthomesecurity.com and started looking at different options for a home alarm system. I found lots of good things and I think you will too.

Shopping Challenge

peppermayo — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 22:00:54 +0000

People shop for a number of reasons. Some people only shop to buy necessities while some do it as a recreational activity, to pass time, as some sort of entertainment. Some people find it therapeutic to shop for themselves while other people simply love to buy stuff for loved ones, family and friends. Some shoppers are constantly hunting for bargains and just can’t pass up a good deal. I think it’s probably because of this variety of reasons that stores are also presented in different manners and services are altered to cater to their customers’ different and ever-changing shopping needs.

It’s nice to know that this diversity can also be found online where a lot of people shop alternatively today or when going to the store is just not practical anymore. I was fortunate to have time to surf the net today and was mesmerized to find an online store that is unique from all the others that I’ve seen before. I bet those who love shopping for random items at great bargains would sign up for this store that puts some thrill into shopping, it’s nomorerack!

An awesome combination of so many things make nomorerack.com truly unique that I have to enumerate them:

Daily deals - Everyday, the store features random items at huge discounts. What’s featured is always a surprise!
Free deals - One of the daily items is offered to members for free. But shoppers should be quick because of the limited supplies that run out fast
Charity deals - Part of the proceeds of these items go to charity. It’s always good to give back.
Insanity deals - It’s not named like that for no reason. These are the most exciting items – signature clothes, shoes and accessories, hi-tech gadgets and more. In short, high end products with incredibly low-end price tags! Can you imagine getting an iPad for less than a hundred bucks? Right! Insane!
Reward points - Being a member has perks. Recruiting other members has even better perks! You get rewarded for getting as many friends to join the community.
$2 shipping - No explanation needed here. What’s $2 when you got an amazing discount?
PayPal verified - Gotta love stores that accept PayPal. Helps us grab our coveted items even faster!

OK! I just sold this idea to myself. I’m gonna sign up later and maybe I can still catch a good deal though I seldom have time to surf and stay online. Be posting my referral code later! ;p

Growing Marbles

peppermayo — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 03:14:50 +0000

When I was a kid, I used to collect those tiny toy dinosaurs that came in free from a children’s snack. Some would glow in the dark, others would stick on walls but there was a particular one that was special. It grows in water! I would give it a “bath” before placing it in a pail. I remember being too excited to watch it grow. I couldn’t keep myself from checking the bathroom to see how big it was getting.
I stumbled upon Orbeez Magic Maker on-line and was just amazed by this toy. It has these absorbent polymer beads that grow in size with water. What a smart and fun way to include everyone in the family for an afternoon activity! I’m pretty sure that children around the ages of 6 and up would love this. I mean, it’s almost like making your very own toy. It also comes in 9 different colors, and includes spiral ramps and hoops for the Orbeez.
I, now, honestly wish my nephew is a little older so I can buy him one of these. I just think it is amazing for children to see things “grow.” Heck, I’m even wishing for one of these myself.