Gun Control Now!

Since the horrendous massacre in Newtown, CT the press has been more open and aware about talking  gun control in America. What took so long? Why did it take so many massacres to bring this to light and even now, there is not enough being done. Slowly but surely I have noticed the topic is being swept under the carpet.

 Being British, I have never understood quiet frankly, the American gun culture and probably never will. It is not in my DNA. If American’s use guns to protect themselves, or use them for recreational purposes such as hunting or going to a gun range just for the sake of it, I just don’t get it.

War is a time when families have to worry about relatives being in foreign lands (including myself) with weapons that can kill, but at least we can, to an extent, make sense of it however,  why must we worry on our own doorsteps? Why should we have to worry for our children when we send them to school? Or walk down the block in a gang related shooting such as the latest one in Chicago which the First Lady attended the funeral.

Back in 1996, in Dunblane, 16 children were killed in a massacre in the UK, BUT UNLIKE the United States, something was done about it. John Major who was the Prime minister at the time immediately set up a public a  inquiry. Within one year there was a ban on all hand guns. That, was and is progress and currently there are very few gun shootings a year in the UK.

Back round checks have been suggested, as well as mental health checks. Honestly America, will that be enough to stop the massacres? It will definitely help, but more needs to be done. Something more dramatic.

Gun Control Now!

From 150lbs to 122lbs B4 & After :))

Twitterverse!!

Hi everyone, I hope you are all having a fantastic day!

No doubt, most of you tuned into the debate last night and have your opinions, I am in no way going to get political, for some reason I never win a political debate even though I know who I stand by! hint: he is African-American and has been around for four years doing a great job! It doesn’t really make a difference anyway since I cannot vote, being British!

So as the two debaters were going on at each other, I decided to check out the Twitterverse and boy was that place busy! From celebs to ‘nobodies’ having their say about each and every line that came out of Obama and Mitt’s mouth, but one quote got me laughing, and that was the one on if there was an attack on Israel… someone wrote ‘an attack on Israel would be like an attack on Zabars’. So I decided to check out who this person was… why? I loved his humour!

Not to be a stalker, I found him on LinkedIn, and sent him a request to add him. Surprisingly he accepted rather quickly! This morning, I sent him a note, after realising he is a big executive for a Media company we all know, but I will keep him anonymous out of respect. I told him that I found his comment last night rather humourous and went on to tell him about myself! I told him I had been working as a PA for the past ten years and am looking to get into something different… he wrote back immediately and said he would love to meet to see what he could do!

I am so excited to hear back for an exact date from his pa…but wish me luck, you never know who you can meet on Twitter!!! As someone once told me, always think out of the box! :))

Out Of The Zone

After having a seizure a week and half ago I was completely ‘out of it’. For those who are not familiar, having a seizure for me personally is not the difficult part because to be honest, I am unconscious and well, you could hit me over the head with a baseball bat and I wouldn’t know the difference! (However if you ever do witness someone having a seizure just turn them to their side and make sure they are in a safe place and don’t ever put anything in their mouth!)

The troublesome part is the recovery. I have found that over the years it gets longer to recover from a seizure. It used to be, that after a seizure I slept for a couple of hours and that was it, I was ready to get on with my day. After a few years it started to take a day or two after a seizure to recover. Now it is taking up to four or five days.

The exact time of the seizure happened in the middle of the night (Friday night) which is actually a first for me since I was diagnosed with Epilepsy in my teens. It was confirmed by my husband. I had my usual symptoms of nausea and extreme tiredness that day. The following week, literally Monday to Friday, I was very ‘lazy’ – I didn’t feel like going out much, I was very lethargic, didn’t feel like cooking, almost a depression, but not having depression, I can’t say it is. I know this will only last a few days and I will snap out of it at the right time.

On Friday, we were invited to friends for a weekend away, I went and got a manicure and pedicure, and spent a lovely weekend away… I was back to myself over the weekend, as I mentioned, I knew I would ‘snap out of it’. However, that feeling of losing yourself during that week is so scary and awful. I am not someone who believes in taking medication just for the sake of it.

So I can only hope and pray that I don’t get them and a cure or at least my medications I do take for them keeps the seizures at bay.

Living With Epilepsy / Seizures

I woke up at about 5am Saturday morning and did not feel myself, I felt rather nauseous. This feeling was familiar but not too recently, not since last December. It was the feeling after a Seizure. Not again, I thought. I can’t deal with this now, not that there is ever a good time, why can’t this just ever go away! It gets me so frustrated sometimes but there is nothing one can do about it. I just have to deal with it. I got Epilepsy when I was an early teenager when in London at just 13 years old. In the very early stages, I was not getting seizures at first, just little ‘shakes’. My parents and brothers thought I was doing it for attention! It was awful… the doctors too.

Weeks after I finally had a ‘Grand Mal’ Seizure, I was almost relieved that I proved them wrong. One Saturday morning, my brother called the ambulance and explained to the paramedics what they had seen. My entire body had been convulsing, shaking, they were terrified. I was unconscious. The doctors said to always leave someone with Epilepsy to have their seizure…always make sure they are safe, turn them on their side but NEVER PUT ANYTHING IN THEIR MOUTH. I recovered quickly and was put on anti seizure medication. The side effect was weight gain, but it kept the seizures at bay.

Unfortunately, here and there I still get some seizures and over the years the medications have changed. The types of seizures have also changed with age and amazingly I was able to still have a baby! She is my miracle baby! She is completely healthy thank Gd!

What was unusual for the seizure I had last Friday night was that it was in the middle of the night and I was not sure I had one, but my husband had confirmed that I did. I still feel a little exhausted from it, and it is Wednesday today. It is very hard for other people to understand what I go through, I don’t really try and explain to anyone else. This is the first time I have actually written about it.

I don’t find many people around me are understanding about it, especially my husband. He does what he needs to do to be helpful. The fact that we are getting divorced does not help…he tells me it is stressful for him and I am sure it is. I guess the fact that he keeps telling me how stressful it is doesn’t make me feel any better!

Do you know anyone who has a seizure disorder?

My Day Of Sin – Magnolia Bakery

After a very strict (I would say) regimen I went to Manhattan last Friday for a Doctor’s appointment and walked around the city. I decided to to treat myself to a chocolate vanilla cupcake from the one and only Magnolia’s Bakery and it was heavenly! Don’t worry I did not eat the second one, I got it for my husband. I love that I have so much self control and I am able to get so easily back into my healthily way of eating without feeling guilty that I had a delicious cupcake. While I did walk a little more the next day and when I weighed myself on Monday, I was down to 141lbs down another 2lbs. It is all about counting the calories, not obsessively but knowing approximately how many you should eat a day for your healthy weight as well as allowing yourself to have a treat here and there. Lots of fruit and vegetables is a MUST as well as water water water!!! I cannot say this enough.

5 Things To Do By The Time Your In Your 30’S

As I drink my morning coffee, I put on the Today Show, and they have 5 things you should be able to do by the time your in your 30’s

• The ability to fall in love without losing yourself
• The confidence to quit your job
• The comfort of living alone
• The knowledge your body is beautiful
• The belief you deserve it!

As for the ability to fall in love I learned the very hard way. For those who have been following my journey since day one you will know my hardships. I fell in love with my husband and totally lost myself, I was blind to who he was, and unfortunately only when I was 5 months pregnant did I find out he was being unfaithful. But that is not what I want to focus on. It is moving on with my life, the lessons learned and as one must never do, lose ones self in love as the results can be devastating!

The confidence to quit a job –  if one is unhappy in a job you should be able to to leave in a mature manner rather then storm out, one never wants to burn bridges as you never know when they may be useful to  you.

The comfort of living alone – this is best to learn all about yourself, your strengths, your weaknesses. What you enjoy doing in your down time…do not think about this as a negative, it is not!

The knowledge your body is beautiful – while I am on a journey to be healthy and lose weight, there was one thing my mother always says to me and that is I am always beautiful. I just have to believe it. This is a constant fight I have with myself, there are parts of myself I like / love and other I hate. I hate my tree trunk legs, and do my best to hide them. Then I have a tiny little waste, so how can I complain? Why can’t we just be happy little campers and appreciate what we have!!! We have such nerve to complain about our bodies when others have far worse to complain about!

The belief you deserve it – This is the hardest for me as I have not left my husband just yet. I am still in the stages of trying to figure out HOW to do it. It is really not that easy with a child. If it was just me, I would of been out a year ago! If you knew me personally you would know I am an adventurer, I came to the States when I was just 18 with no money, and travelled around, those are for other posts 🙂 I know I deserve it, I know my daughter deserves better and I am in the midst of preparing a much better life for the both of us, it is just a matter of time. When I figure it out…I’ll post it!

Positivity and faith is what keeps me going,  and watching The Today show really made me think this morning :))

Dissapointed In Myself…

Looking at the date today, April 23rd, I am realising that it is just three months away to my cousins wedding, my goal, and I am not losing the weight as quickly as I wanted to. While on a positive note, I have not put on any weight and I have lost a simple pound in the past week and a half. I am now 144lbs from 145lbs.

While I have been excellent at eating healthy, (lots of raw veggies, fruits, salads, grilled chicken, and salmon). What has been lacking in my life is a great exercise routine! The first common problem that so many people have before trying to lose weight (or any issue / obstacle they want to get over) is getting over the excuses we all come up with. In my case they are as follows: I cannot afford it, I am unemployed, I hate working out alone, all my friends are at work etc etc etc. The last time I had a successful exercise routine was when I went to the gym and had a great trainer, sadly that is not happening because I don’t have the finances at the moment. If you are rich and want to donate feel free, JUST KIDDING!

The first motivation killer is a lack of confidence, I’ll be the first to admit that. One needs to focus on what you have already accomplished and in my case, it is the weight I have already lost. If you focus on the negative, then your mind starts to come up with explanations and excuses. The way to get out of this mess is to think positive and start making realistic lists. Once again, in my case just walking around the neighborhood is just moving and therefore exercise. When you truly believe you deserve success your mind will find a way to achieve it.

What are your goals? Have you accomplished them? Share your story…

Enjoying The Tulips

I have not shown any personal pictures yet, so here is a treat for you 🙂 this is my princess enjoying a beautiful day with the flowers. Have a beautiful day everyone!

The Story About Lemons

Good morning all!

I definitely try to change my diet and life up in some way so that it does not get boring each week. This week I did a little research and added something so simple to my current habits and those are lemons, or lemon water!

I have always liked a little lemon with water occasionally and been served it when I go to a restaurant but I would never buy them in bulk (other then for cooking purposes). So I thought it would be a great ‘add in’ with all this water I have been ‘downing’ since I started my journey. Then I figured if I am going to do this, I might as well do this correctly, and read up about lemons, and yes there is so much more to lemons than their beautiful color and scent.

It is better to have lemons with warmer water or even one or two glasses of hot water with lemon a day which works fine with me as I don’t like ice cold water anyway. The most exciting part of the research that I find out was that due to the pectin fiber the lemons  help fight hunger cravings. Brilliant!! They are also very high in vitamin C as well as potassium which stimulates nerve and brain function. Having Epilepsy, I thought this was particularly useful information however don’t we all want good brain function?!! 🙂

Lemons are amazing when it comes to controlling blood pressure as they are high in potassium, a chemical element that can be used to help control high blood pressure. Treating urinary tract infections, lemons increase the rate of urination which helps purify the body, toxins are therefore released at a faster rate, which keeps your urinary tract healthy. I believe from articles I have read lemons can be used in aid for treating respiratory issues such as asthma, and  treating wounds (as lemons are an antiseptic).

One of my favorites were the positive effects on the skin that lemons have. As they are very high in vitamin C it helps to keep wrinkles and blemishes at bay. Lemon water purges toxins from the blood which helps keep skin clear as well.

The one caution I must add is that the citric acid can erode tooth enamel, so I personally drink my water using a straw 🙂

So what do you think about lemons?? Whats your favorite fruit??  I love that such an easy, cheap fruit has so many  health benefits.

Sources:

Livestrong.com

Webmd.com