The Beauty Denominator

Everyone is trying to be kinder to their body because everyone wants to live longer in this stress driven world and I must say it is getting harder all the time. We are desperate to relieve the stress and there are many things we can use like massage therapy, a basic stress free diet and simply learning how to simplify our lives. Getting rid of all the clutter and possessions that we think we just can’t live without, I need this and I have to have that needs to go.

Below is a list of supplements that we may use to help combat stress. So to make sure that we aren’t deficient in any of these vitamins and minerals the easiest way is to take a daily multivitamin and mineral supplement. You don’t have to buy the most expensive, but if you buy the cheaper ones you may need to buy extra vitamin C because the generics usually have a lower dosage. Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is a natural stress-reliever.

Fish oil is a source of good fat (EFAs) and I hate to recommend it because as children my aunt got a perverse pleasure in making us take a tablespoon of cod liver oil every morning and I always got sick. After leaving that hateful woman I didn’t eat fish till I was a grown woman and it had to be a very mild fish then…Yuck I still taste that horrible oil, but as I found out later it was actually good for us. Your skin will be smoother and it has been reported as helping maintain a more stable mood.

Many people find St. John’s wort helpful in dealing with stress, however I can’t endorse or swear by it myself because I really didn’t see a difference when I took it.  We all need to be sure we’re getting enough fiber in our diet because anyone can tell you that the results of not getting fiber are enough to cause stress for any of us. I personally like benefiber because you can’t taste it and it doesn’t get thick and you can add it to coffee or tea or your food, but it’s expensive.

Detoxing by fasting every once in awhile is not only good for the soul, but it will help clear out all those nasty toxins that build up in our system.

Choline — is a natural sedative.

Vitamin E (dry form, alpha-tocopherol) — helps get oxygen to the brain, vital for maintaining a stable mood.

Vitamin B1 (thiamine) — can help alleviate depression and anxiety attacks.

Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) — dopamine and norepinephrine which are natural antidepressants can be produced by taking this supplement.

Tyrosine and Phenylalanine– speeds up the production of the natural antidepressants dopamine and norepinephrine.

Tryptophan — in conjunction with vitamin B6, niacin, and magnesium, produces
the neurotransmitter serotonin, the big daddy of natural anti-stress chemicals.

Pantothenic acid — is a natural stress-reliever.

Vitamin B12 (cobalamin) — helps maintain a healthy nervous system, improves concentration, increases energy levels, and helps relieve stress and irritability.

Folic acid — deficiencies can contribute to a number of different mental illnesses.

Zinc — healthy brain.

Magnesium — a mineral that combats stress and its negative effects on the body.

Manganese — reduces stress and irritability.

Niacin — needed for a healthy nervous system.

Calcium — alleviates stress and has a calming effect.

I remember when I was young and going steady which is not a good idea as far as I’m concerned because at that age you should be having fun with a group and not try to tie yourself down to one person. However we always seem to form attachments at an early age and turn into couples. Our emotions are clearly unstable during those teenager years.

It’s hard enough even when you are in a loving family environment, but if you live in an orphanage and everyone comes from broken homes then there are a lot of needy young people looking for love. I was one of those needy young people and of course I thought I was in love. I was told that it was puppy love and I’d grow out of it, but to me it was real love.

Unfortunately for myself I ended up pregnant at 16 and of course the father didn’t want me or the baby so we went our separate ways. I was advised to put him up for adoption, but I couldn’t part with him. Sometimes I think I was very selfish because maybe he would have had a great home, but I was very needy and needed that baby to love so I struggled through life with this child.

I admit I made a lot of mistakes in my life and looking back I realize that even though the love I had at that early age was considered puppy love it was very real to me and it never went away, but I managed to put it into perspective with each passing year. I will never know if it might have worked out and matured with age.

I do know when I happen to see a picture my heart still skips a beat for that young girl that loved that young boy. I also know that I went through life comparing every man I met to my puppy love and they all came up short until I met my partner now and comparisons ceased so I finally got over my puppy love when I was 50 and grew up.

I have the worse luck in the world and that is especially so with my eyeglasses the best pair I ever had cost me way over 400 dollars and my dog when he was a puppy got them off the coffee table and chewed them up. I was devastated because I worked very hard waitressing to pay for them not to mention the cost I had paid for him several months earlier which was slightly more than my glasses.

So I relied on magnified reading glasses for years after that, but I was afraid I was ruining my eyes so I had them rechecked and I have had my newer glasses now for 3 years and they also cost over 400 dollars. With my bad eyes and what I have expected in my glasses that is way too much money and I keep losing the screw out of the part that connects the ear piece with the lens. Well I have see Zenni advertised all over the Internet and now I know why, because they are very affordable.

The way the economy is and the cost of glasses it makes it very difficult to afford new glasses when I need them and I find that the older I get the quicker my eyes change so no way can I afford 400 dollars every 2 years and I don’t have insurance so from now on I will have the examination and order the cheaper glasses online from Zenni Optical and since we ride a Harley I need shades so I found these which would be perfect with the clip ons.

Price – Lens & Frame: $23.95
Lens Width 49mm, Height 28mm, Bridge 19mm
Frame Width 134mm, TempleArm Length 139mm
Frame Weight with 1.57 index lens 17 grams
Frame Color Choices: Silver w Dark Grey clip-on, Grey w Dark Grey clip-on, or Purple w Dark Grey clip-on.
A medium narrow size half-rim frame matching polarized, snap-on magnetic sunshade included.

The above photo and description was taken from the site, but I gave them a link back. They have so many styles to choose from and the prices are ridiculously low and that’s because they cut out the middle man and produce their own frames so they make it a no brainer for me at my age and how fast my eyes change. They start at 8 dollars for complete single vision eyeglasses and go up for bifocals and progressives and the Photochromics are only 39 which I have now for 400.

Children are forever breaking their glasses so this would be a great option for them also and at those prices you can afford backup.

It is getting so cold it almost feels like snow and my dwarf burning bush is turning a bright red which I love seeing that color mixed in with my shrubs which I am growing for privacy because I don’t have the luxury of living out in the country which I would love. When I planted them they were only about 8 inches high now they are over 5 feet.

Everyone is decorating for the holidays except me I just can’t get into the spirit this year although some kids decided I needed a pumpkin on my front porch so they threw one on it which busted all over the place thankfully it was a small one. I hope the kids in your neighborhood aren’t as rambunctious and I hope you all have a lot of safe fun this Halloween.

We are going to a Halloween surprise birthday party so I guess that will be as festive as we will get this year. As far as the other holidays I will probably put up a small Christmas tree, but even then I’m afraid I don’t plan to go all out and decorate the whole house inside and out. Bill always cooks a big family dinner for Thanksgiving and Christmas and that’s always nice.

The older I get and without the kids it just doesn’t have the same meaning of course the grandkids are important, but they always decorate at their homes and we will see them there. Everyone is so busy with their lives that we really don’t get that festive any more since it’s only the two of us, but we always enjoy our time together and are grateful for each day.

I still love going out and seeing all the decorations and lights though. Most of the families around us have children so of course they get very festive and I remember lots of good times we had, but like I said when you get older somethings just aren’t the same and things you did when you were young with your families change.

I know many older people that still feel like a little kid when holidays roll around, but dread the though of pulling out all those decorations, the spirit might be willing, but the flesh gets weak.

August 1920 that’s when women finally won the right to vote, but do we exercise that right? Many do, but I know many that don’t bother. Do you know how hard that right was fought for? Many of those women  lost their life and their freedom and we take everything for granted. Sometimes we are so blase about everything.What about the American Indian are they the least represented groups at the polls?  Yes they are! They weren’t even given the federal vote until 1924. I think they are considered less and they are the most as far as I’m concerned. It wasn’t until 1965 that a voting rights act where blacks could vote was enacted and did democracy truly begin then?

My son and I have had many ups and downs in our life and as I mentioned before I thought when the baby came we could mend some of our fences so to speak and maybe become closer. I know he adores that baby and wants everyone else to feel the same way he does. The first night he met his wife he came home and told me that he had met the future wife of my grandchildren and after losing one baby in the beginning, here he finally is 5 years later.

Since they live 12 hours away from me it will make it very difficult to form a bond with my new grandchild. I have always thought of my son as a bit of a tyrant even when he was small he wanted to be the ruler and of course we clashed many times over the years. He has a tendency to think his way is the only way and of course now that he is the ruler what he says goes in his home and I have found myself biting my tongue many times because I don’t agree with him.

In order to even try to forge a bond I have to keep my mouth shut and simply agree with everything he says when we visit and believe me that’s not an easy thing for me to do. When he was growing up I refused to take up for him when he was wrong or did something he wasn’t suppose to be doing. I have known Mothers that blindly take up for their children even when they were wrong and it just didn’t sit right with me so of course we clashed.

My son is bipolar so life was never a picnic for either one of us. Anyone ever diagnosed as manic depressive will certainly understand. I love my son very much and I’m not perfect and I try to admit my mistakes and move on, but he can’t seem to let go of the past history of our clashes and everytime we are together it manages to come between us so we are like strangers and I end up walking on egg shells just so I can avoid arguments and try to mend those fences so I can get to know my grandchild.

He will probably take that anger to the grave with him and that makes me very sad, but other than prayer it’s out of my hands.

This joke seems to be making the circuit, but this is the first I saw it today. A cousin thought it was hilarious so she forwarded it to me and I thought I would share it since it is almost election time. I don’t know where it comes from so I don’t know who to give credit to, if you know please leave a comment so I can add a link.

Politically Correct!!
 
While walking down the street one day a US senator is tragically hit by a  truck and dies.
 
His soul arrives in heaven and is met by St. Peter at the entrance.  ”Welcome to heaven,” says St. Peter.  ”Before you settle in, it seems there is a problem. We seldom see a high official around these  parts, you see, so we’re not sure what to do with  you.”
 
  “No problem, just let me in,” says the man.
 

“Well, I’d like to, but I have orders from  higher up. What we’ll do is have you spend one day in hell and one in heaven.  Then you  can choose where to spend eternity.”
 
 ”Really, I’ve made up my mind. I want to be in  heaven,” says  the senator.
 
  “I’m sorry, but we have our rules.”
 
And with that, St . Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to hell. The doors open and he finds  himself  in the middle of a green golf course. In the distance is a clubhouse and  standing in front of  it are all his friends and other politicians who had worked  with him.
 
Everyone is very happy and in evening dress. They run to  greet him,  shake his hand, and reminisce about the good times they  had  while  getting rich  at the expense of the people. They play a friendly game  of golf and then  dine on lobster, caviar and champagne.
 
Also present is the devil, who really is a very friendly guy who has a good time dancing and telling jokes. They are having such a good time that before he realizes it, it is time to go.
 
Everyone gives him a hearty farewell and waves while the elevator  rises…  The elevator goes up, up, up and the door reopens on  heaven where St. Peter is waiting for him.
 
“Now it’s time to visit heaven.”
 
So, 24 hours pass with the senator joining a group of contented souls moving from cloud to cloud, playing the harp and singing. They have a  good time and, before he realizes it, the 24 hours have gone by and St. Peter  returns.
 
“Well, then, you’ve spent a day in hell and another in heaven. Now choose your eternity.”
 
The senator reflects for a minute, then he answers:  “Well, I would  never have said it before, I mean  heaven has been delightful, but I think I would be better off in  hell.”
 
 So St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to hell.
 
Now the doors of the elevator open and he’s in the middle of a barren land covered with waste and garbage. 
 
He sees all his friends, dressed in rags, picking up the trash and putting it in black bags as more trash falls from above.
 
The devil comes over to him and puts his arm around his shoulder.  ”I don’t understand,” stammers the senator. ”Yesterday I was here and there was a golf course and clubhouse, and we ate lobster and caviar, drank champagne, and danced and had a great time. Now  there’s just a  wasteland full of  garbage and my friends look  miserable. What happened?”
 
The devil looks at him, smiles and says, “Yesterday we were campaigning…   Today you voted.”