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Twitter Tweeting: What's the Point?

Twitter is a brand new frontier that a lot of people are excited about. I admit it took me a while to see the point. Now I get it. It's fun and very interesting, even revolutionary, like when the people of Iran used it to communicate with the world about what was on after their elections. I'm not addicted to it, though. I can't be, because I'm already addicted to blogging and I can't handle more than one addiction at a time. Some people can be really annoying on Twitter. Here's a message for people who tweet over three times a day:

Get - a - life!

If you don't people will un-follow you so cut it out.

Here are a few links if you are curious about Twitter, new to Twitter or wondering what it's all about and would like to try it out. 

How Twitter Will Change the Way We Live

12 Great Things About Twitter

Nearby Tweets: Find People Close to You Who Tweet

Fourteen Ways to Use Twitter Politely

How to Retweet: A Simple Guide

How Do You "Fire" A Doctor?

A Question for the Chronic Illness Wrangler

From Donia Schloot:

How do you “fire” a doctor. Is it simply going to another doctor, or is it with an explanation before leaving? Craziest thing is that I’ve had to shop around for docs a lot. My medical records are like everywhere. Sometimes, the offices simply cannot manage sending copies of records….. Drives me mad. I’ve had doctors who were not only jerks, but also inconsiderate of my needs in terms of communication. I am deaf and need the doc to speak slowly and clearly so I can speech-read them, and I am quite upfront about my needs. And some even think a person with a myriad of problems are simply cuckoo……..

Dear Donia,

How do you fire a doctor? Simply by not scheduling more appointments with them. You do not owe anyone an explanation unless you feel compelled by the nature of your particular relationship to provide feedback. In that case, if a face to face conversation is uncomfortable for you, write your reasons in a thoughtful letter. In the same letter you can request copies of your medical records or at a minimum a medical summary that you can keep for your records.

Best wishes and warmest regards,
Dr. Aletta

via 5 Rules for Living with Chronic Illness

The Appeal of Nancy Drew? Not Such A Mystery

Nancy Drew was so cool. I devoured her stories and re-read a bunch when I read all of them. Who didn't want her roadster and her wardrobe?

"O'Conner, Ginsberg and now Sotomayor loved Nancy Drew."

Me, too! What did Nancy mean to you?

Nancy and the Secret of the Three Black Robes

The No-Diet Way from Our Lady of Weight Loss

It is not a good idea to weigh yourself while on vacation. In fact I will go so far as to say, to weigh oneself on vacation is to shoot oneself in the foot. Not smart. Instead I will call out to Our Lady of Weight Loss for a bit of fun and wisdom.

Set Your Table for Change!
Here are some great fat melting tips from Our Lady of Weight Loss's Arsenal for Mass Reduction ... and an excellent excuse (or reason) to go shopping!

A Note From Caregiver Land

I love how the Internet introduces you to the most interesting people. Because Therese Borchard published an interview with me on Psych Central, 5 Rules for Living With Chronic Illness: An Interview with Dr. Aletta, Anne Watson Barber wrote this comment:

"A very common-sensical interview! The advice can also be appropriate for caregivers of the chronically ill: we are struggling with issues of grief and insufficient support circles as well. I hope Elvira’s book addresses the issue of caregiver depression as well. Thank you!"

The book I'm writing on living with chronic illness will have a companion piece specifically intended to be helpful to family and friends of the chronically ill. It's interesting that my editor suggested doing just that soon after I got underway with this project. I've been both 'caree' and caregiver and Anne is right. The same self-care advice is good for both sides of the sickbed.

To learn more about Anne I clicked on her name and this wonderful blog came up, Caregiverland. Don't you just love that name? Anne describes herself as a, "Former journalist in Brooklyn who ended up in the suburbs, as a caregiver to my ailing parents. Kept lots of journals and devotional entries to help me deal with caregiver depression and stress; I share these entries in this blog. Avid gardener and geek."

Caregiverland has a lot to offer anyone taking care of someone they love. Just a quick peak displayed a wealth of thoughtfulness, kindness, frustration, stress and heavenly inspiration. If you are caring for elderly parents, dependent children or any other charge, visit Caregiverland for some honest nurturing for the nurturer or at least a reality check.

Road Trip Prep: Keep Your Sanity In The Car

Six Tips For Road Trip Munchies

The Price of a Staycation

Road Trip Munchies Re-Visited

More Road Trip 101: Home Re-Entry

Recession Proof So Easy Vegetable Soup

Soups are so easy to make and so great for a easy healthy meal all year round. As a poor college student it was hard to come up with a healthy alternative to mac and cheese. Salads got boring by Friday. Luckily I had a clever roommate who introduced me to this classic. You can mix, delete, add ingredients, there are no rules here! Use a big pot; I have no idea how much this recipe makes maybe eight bowls, or more. You can freeze what you can't eat for a quick meal later.

• olive oil
  
• one onion chopped up
• two-three medium carrots, chopped up
  
• celery same goes
  
• half cup red pepper chopped
  
• half cup green pepper also chopped

Put a couple of Tablespoons of olive oil in the pot. Warm it up. Then dump all the above ingredients in. Stir as it cooks for about five minutes until the onions get transparent looking. Then add:

• One big can (36 oz) of tomato sauce (or puree)
  
• Fill the can with water and add that
  
• Small (15 oz) can of your favorite beans (kidney, great northern, garbanzo)

Stir this as it heats up over medium heat. Now the fun starts. Select seasonings to your taste. Some of my favorites:

• Black pepper
  
• Red pepper flakes, if you like the heat
• Salt
• Freshly chopped garlic or garlic powder
  

Herbs and enhancements:

• sage
  
• thyme
  
• herbes de Provence
  
• rosemary
  
• bay leaf
  
• a dash of red wine vinegar
• A few spoonfuls of sugar
• A few spoonfuls of lemon juice

 Add anything else you like:

• Half a cup each of frozen or canned, peas, green beans, corn, mushrooms

• Half a cup of rice or dried pasta like orzo or little elbow macaroni

Check the consistency, add more water if it's too thick. Let simmer for about an hour.

Grab some crackers, sprinkle a bit of shredded cheese on top or a dollop of sour cream and you're good to go!

My Medication Is Making Me Fat!

Last week I lost a pound which is very good. While on vacation I just hope I stay steady. Thank God, food is not the focus of our vacations, activity is. That will help a lot.

Today I thought taking a look at weight gain due to the medications we take might be helpful. When I had nephrotic syndrome (an inflammation of the kidneys) the only medication that fixed it was predisone. That was a mixed blessing because predisone is one of those drugs that if you take it for a long time at high doses the side effects are pretty bad. While it literally saved my life it also made me hungry all the time!

The last time I had to take predisone I gained thirty pounds and I'm still trying to lose fifteen of them. Not that I blame the medication, not after being off of it for at least two years now (knock on wood fast!). It could be I'd have gained fifteen pounds anyway, who knows. Blaming the meds is more satisfying but that still leaves me with the responsibility.

I feel for my patients who take medication that they swear is causing them to blow up. This side effect is common in many anti-depressants. Therese Borchard knows about this frustration first hand and shares her ideas to get a grip on weight, which are all very sound, medication or no medicaiton.

10 Ways to Manage Your Weight On Psych Meds

Taking A Vacation When I Love My Job

The last time I took a vacation for two whole weeks was... I don't remember when. What I do remember is feeling like I needed a week to get relaxed, then the second week I actually relaxed. It was wonderful.

Starting on Monday I'll be on vacation for two weeks. Not a staycation (we did that last year). We are actually getting on a plane and flying away. The big difference between this two weeker and the last one? Way back then I was working for 'the man', today I'm my own boss. Last time I was stressed out because I felt trapped. Now I'm stressed out because there aren't enough hours in the day to write, blog, converse with my peeps (I mean, my blogosphere community), give seminars and see my clients.

If you love your job is it really necessary to go on vacation? Yes, I think so. Can you cheat and bring work along? No, I don't think so.

It will be a test to see if I can live for two weeks without my laptop, without an Internet connection, without going into my blog account and checking for comments (please comment!) and the stats too many times a day. (Hold on while I take a look...) Can I not Tweet or update my Facebook status for that long? Since I can update from my phone, will I be able to resist? I don't know, I think so, I hope so, I'd like to try. Geez, it's like going on the South Beach diet or something!

Here's the plan. For the next two weeks there will be new posts that I will set up to be published on a handy dandy timer. While away I might do some reading, hiking in the mountains and, OK, some writing – the old fashioned way, with paper and pencil. I will vacate the old brain, commune with nature and my family. Why am I doing this? I think it's good for me, for everyone I care about and I try to not just give good advice but to take it, too. That's the best I can do. Right now I'm too wound up to make better sense of it.

I need a vacation. Hope you all get one too.

50 Going On 13: Michael Jackson's Legacy

It's hard to know how thoroughly Michael Jackson dominated our lives during the 80's unless you lived through it. The movie 13 Going On 30 does a good job showing just how much Michael meant to millions of people and he's not anywhere on the screen. I hope you enjoy this clip.