Oral health, continued...

Click on the below article link for background information to this blog post:

Examiner article

http://www.examiner.com/list/oral-health

As I sat in the Oral Surgeon’s office yesterday, I created my article. My youngest son had to get his wisdom teeth removed. You might think I’d be used to this since I once had mine removed, his brother had his removed and my boyfriend’s son also went through the procedure just a couple of months ago.

I, as most mothers do, get anxious when my kids have to go through any medical procedure and especially surgery. My stomach felt sick as I sat and awaited the news that he was in recovery.

I’m sure this is a standard practice but no one wants to see his or her child go through this kind of pain and suffering. It was a tough recovery yesterday but he is getting through it and I’m sure he’ll bounce back quickly just like the others. I’ll be happy to put it behind us. I just can’t wait!

I’ve been pretty lucky that my kids have taken care of their teeth quite well. I had them to the dentist before they went to Kindergarten.

I was an adult, paying for my own bill, during my first dental visit and, because of this, dental health was a top priority while raising my kids.

The visit to the surgeon inspired my article.

How do you cope with this type of stuff? Drop me a note and let me know about it!

Explaining unhappiness, continued...

Photo of Peter provided by Peter Spinogatti

Click on the below article link to obtain background information to this blog post:

Examiner article

Peter Spinogatti continued, “Think deeply about the following universal fictions: Fiction: The goal of therapy is to raise consciousness. Dissolution: Start by not putting yourself down, and your consciousness will have been raised in every way that matters. Fiction: Learning how to cope is the touchstone of successful therapy. Dissolution: Learning how to cope can only happen when we start to feel better about what troubles us. The interesting question is why feeling only better and not feeling good? Isn’t that because better is necessarily perceived as good, but good is not perceived as better? Fiction: What we learned to believe in the past enabled us to be unhappy in the present. Dissolution: That is only half the story. What we learned was originally designed to do the opposite. It was learned at that earlier time to protect us from the future which has now become the present.”

His message, “Believe that there is nothing wrong with you. We really are children of God. You can believe this literally or metaphorically - the psychological result will be the same.”

Peter’s closing words, “Talking to unhappy people for thirty years as a therapist has taught me that all unhappiness is reducible to self-loathing which is, as it turns out, to be a demonstrable paradox and paradoxes cannot be solved by anything we do. It can only be dissolved.”

You may contact Peter via email or phone: Peterspinogatti@yahoo.com or (631) 424-0202

Assessment, continued...

Lifetime Art Impressions, LLC drawing

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Examiner article

When I read an assessment recently I discovered that my family and I have went through a series of losses over the past couple of years. When you can check 3 or 4 life changing hardships on the form, it can shift your psyche and either gift you the satisfaction of, “Look how far I’ve come,” or “No wonder I feel like I do!”

Had I not had a loving support system and my artwork, I think I would have gone crazy by now.  It is really important to have a positive outlet for your pain otherwise during this vulnerable time it is easy to take on unhealthy activities such as drinking, overeating or other obsessions in an attempt to ease the pain.

Have you been to counseling in the past? If so, was it a bad or good experience?

I went to marriage counseling for a short while but my spouse wasn’t really taking the process seriously so we didn’t pursue it for long. I believe it can help if you apply yourself whole-heartily and you are ready for a positive change.

What are your thoughts? Leave me a note.    

Prayer and the Bible, continued...

Click on the below article link to obtain background information to this blog post:

Examiner article

I am truly awed by prayer. I do believe it creates miracles. This quiet time between you and whomever you believe to be listening, is spiritual. It can change even the worst of circumstances sometimes by just getting you to think about what really is going on. It calms the nerves by gifting a great coping tool.

Without getting to far from the topic, I have to admit that I love the link I shared in today's article. To be able to go to a search window and enter any word with the results including all entries from the Bible that include this word, is absolutely amazing.

It gives you insight in a matter of moments!

What I've realized is the older I get the more I'm praying for others and giving thanks for my world as it is. Yes, I still put in requests but my prayers have evolved with my age.

What are you praying about these days? Leave me a note

Healing through humor, continued...

Photo of Annette provided by Annette Langer

Click on the below article link to obtain background information to this blog post:

Examiner article


When Annette Langer was asked what has helped her persevere in her darkest hour, she replied, “I'll preface the answer to your question by saying, first of all, I won’t elaborate on the various sprains, cuts and bruises we all face while negotiating this occasionally perilous life. But I guess it would be appropriate to set the stage by enumerating the medical challenges I've faced:

• Two separate head-on automobile accidents (almost losing my life in one)

• A broken arm twice

• A broken ankle

• A dislocated shoulder 

• Surgery on both feet a total of nine times

• Gallbladder surgery 

• Knee surgery twice 

• Carpal tunnel surgery on my wrists three times

• Breast cancer surgery

• Spinal fusion surgery      

• Stitches to my head on three separate occasions 
after I split it open (not counting brain surgery following that first automobile accident).

In fact, during one three-and-a-half year period, I had eleven surgical procedures.  (I’m running out of original body parts that haven’t been patched up somehow!) But, I’m still smiling. I’ve come to realize that most things are made terrible just by your naming them so. I realized that there's no lasting benefit to feeling sorry for yourself or dwelling on your predicament. Sometimes, the only control we have over a situation is the manner in which we respond to it. You can cling to your circumstances and wallow in your suffering or you can alter your attitude and change your outlook. Is the glass half full, half empty, or is the glass twice as big as it needs to be? Perspective is probably the most important lesson I've learned from how I coped with my various medical challenges.”


Her advice to others suffering illness, “It doesn't help your healing to expend energy worrying and wailing over your situation. In fact, it may even slow down the healing process. You need all your strength and wits in order to speed your recovery. In this regard, I wholeheartedly believe that while you may not be able to control your pain, you can control your suffering, which is entirely different. You have to make the decision as to how you're going to cope with your challenge. While others may be there to help you for a time (medical personnel, family, friends, etc.), it is you ultimately who is responsible for how you deal with it. Sometimes this can be accomplished by simply refocusing your concentration on things other than medical. This gives you a break from your current dilemma, helps put things into perspective (seeing the bigger picture), which in turn frees up your energy to speed the healing process. Outside help may be available for a time, but letting your illness or injury define you becomes off-putting to others and eventually may chase them away entirely.”


Annette talked about her current life, “My life today is full and rewarding, even without a complete return to health. In addition to family, I have many close friends who became so during my various medical challenges when they stepped up and helped me both physically and emotionally. Since my medical mishaps and maladies have not been continuous, I've been able to resume a normal life, even traveling to the far reaches of the globe. In fact, my second book deals with just this subject matter. In A Funny Thing Happened on My Way to the World: Diary of a Fearless Travel Agent, I detail many of the funny, strange, and even scary things that have happened during my lifetime of travels to all seven continents.


This just underscores my point that life is what you make it, and many things are possible after illness or injury. Even if your situation sidelines you permanently, you can still be an armchair traveler and continue to learn about your world, if not an actual world explorer anymore. Focusing on something that interests you (such as travel does me) can deflect the focus from your medical situation in order to uplift you and strengthen you mentally.


Not only do I write and speak to groups about my books, but I also spend a lot of my time volunteering; this is another activity that refocuses my energy. I work in the gift shop of the local senior center where my books are sold; I usher at various live-performance theaters in the area, allowing me to see many plays and musicals to keep culture in my life while providing a service to the community; and I volunteer for my local police department in a multitude of functions, from driving a patrol car with another volunteer partner to assisting detectives with the juvenile offender hearings to assembling evidence in complex financial fraud cases.”


She described her book, “My message is simple and it is conveyed right in the title of my first book, Healing through Humor: Change Your Focus, Change Your Life! If you can see the upside or the less serious side to any medical challenge and then focus on something else rather than dwelling on your current medical predicament, you can assist greatly in your healing process. You are not your illness. By changing your focus, you can change your life. This is the message I have endeavored to convey. All of the stories in my book demonstrate mild to medium to severe medical challenges, all of which I have personally coped with by concentrating on the positives, which I discovered during the healing process. I decided that by sharing my own story, this would be the best way to illustrate the power of finding humor in even the darkest of places.”  Annette credits her faith and mindset to her success. She shared, “I have a strong faith that things happen for a reason. I believe that I am in charge of how I respond to events that happen to me. I believe that something positive can always result from a negative event. You may not see it at first; you may not even believe it's possible. Who knew I'd ever become a published author? Who knew that someone would buy my book as a gift for a cancer patient and that the book would help her through her struggle? I am surprised daily over how something I wrote affects others and how others affect me. This is one of life's greatest gifts.


As I've mentioned, your body needs a mental vacation from medical challenges in order to help you heal. Your energy has to be directed outward, outside of yourself, and your focus on medical issues so that you may gain perspective to strengthen your resolve. It's not a question of, Why did this happen to me? But rather, now that this has happened, what am I going to do about it? Take back your life. You're in charge, even if only a little bit at first. Baby steps!”


Visit the contact section of Annette’s website to get in touch with her, www.AnnetteLanger.com.

She welcomes local (San Francisco Bay Area) opportunities to speak before your groups.Her closing words, “My books are available in both paperback and e-book versions from brick-and mortar bookstores as well as from online vendors such as Amazon.com, Smashwords.com, Barnes and Noble.com and Apple.com. For a personally-autographed first edition copy of either book, contact me directly through my website.”

A beating heart, continued...

Click on the below article link to obtain background information to this blog post:

Examiner article

Are you open to life or do you feel stuck? Does you heart ache or is it warm and beating? After and during my divorce, I was shut down, closed to the world. It seemed like everything went black and white. Without color the world seems lifeless. My body ached, my heart hurt; I couldn't feel anything but anger and bitterness.

It is not the way to live. I gave myself 1 year to live on my own, without the warmth of another in my life. I had my children and I'm sure they kept my heart flowing focused towards them but outwardly the world looked grim. This was more than 10 years ago.

I did learn during this time that I had to find love for myself before I could really have love for another person, at least genuine love. Today, I've come full circle. I have love in my heart and in my world. Once I was able to open myself again, I found true love. My heart beats manifesting true happiness.

I can't imagine going back to the way it was. And I can't imagine anyone else suffering this way long-term. Feel your heart, let it flow and light your world.

We've all had heartache, move past it, free yourself. Feel the love!

Carbs and sugar, continued...

Click on the below article link to obtain background information to this blog post:

Examiner article

Tomorrow (or actually tonight since it is after midnight), I will start my summer healthier living diet. Yes, if you follow my blog, you've read about my many adventures of diet fads. But, I must admit, as of late, something from each endeavor has stuck with me and trended me in the right direction.

Each time I fall off of the wagon, I fall less hard. Each diet, I may lose more than I keep off but I maintain some portion of the loss long term.

June 1, 2013, I will, when I start craving junk food, attempt the substitutions offered in the article. I will be honest and forthcoming with my feed back. It is my hope, at least 1, will be tasty treat for me.

Try, try and try again; this seems to be my modo!

Do you have any healthy alternatives you love to substitute for sweets? If so, share them!