Jury Duty
I lived my entire life up to the age of 49 without ever being called for jury duty. I've longed for it, and I got all excited last summer when I got a notice that said I might be needed to serve. But when I called on the date, as instructed, I found out I wasn't...
August Hailstorm on Chicago’s Far North Side
Bus shelter laid flat by high winds on Morse Avenue. Yesterday a hailstorm ripped through the Rogers Park area of Chicago. Rogers Park is my neighborhood. For no more than 10 minutes, ferocious winds tore at trees and buildings, and hailstones -- yes, hailstones in...
Uterine Fibroids and Options
So, I've been battling horrible menstrual cramps for months now and I've gone as far as I can with acupuncture, chiropractic, herbal supplements, diet, meditation and exercise. After eight months of drastically changing the way I eat and getting good results, the...
Happy Mutt’s Day
Ozzie, the only dog I ever owned. And ever will. Today is Mutt's Day and I acknowledge it even though I'm neither a dog owner nor a dog lover. It's been proven a few times that I'm not a dog person, but I still like dogs and celebrate Mutt's Day because I dislike the...
Un-American Eating
Last November, I cut out sugar, grains, dairy and caffeine at the suggestion of a doctor who identified those things as contributing to my hormones being out of balance. Having gone on this type of diet a few times in my life, it's felt familiar even though it's also...
Physical vs. Emotional
Previous post on weight & health: The tyranny of sugar is over In my last post I wrote that I believe I could get physically hooked on sugar again, but not emotionally. Those can be hard to distinguish, but what I mean is that when I cut out sugar last November,...
A Birthday Miracle: The Tyranny of Sugar Is Over
49 candles ablaze Previous post on food & fatness: Sweet dreams Now I know I've truly turned a corner on my sugar addiction. On the morning after my birthday party, with a quarter of my birthday cake sitting in my refrigerator, I wasn't even tempted to have cake...
My 49th Birthday
Today I turn 49 years old. I love my birthday. Each year I throw myself a party, and tonight many of my friends are coming over. I'm particularly excited about this party because it falls on my actual birthday. That doesn't always happen. Happy birthday to me! I'm...
Dog Sitting (oh no)
Her tail stayed down like that a LOT. Someone who has a successful little side job with a dogsitting service suggested I try it as a way to make some extra money. You go to the website, sign up as a pet sitter, set your nightly rate and wait for someone to ask you to...
Old Is Good
My hair stylist recently made a comment about her children's definition of "old." She seemed to dislike their idea that she was just a couple of years away from being old, but I disliked her dislike. I said, "I don't think there's anything wrong with being old." She...
A Story about Norco, II
Part I is here. The worst of the sleep disruption went away by the third night after she stopped taking Norco, but her mood plummeted the next day. She woke up feeling anxious, tense and worried. In the mirror she saw an ugly person with a ruined middle aged body. She...
A Story about Norco
It was just five days. Her prescription was for 20 pills to be taken every six hours. After the doctors in the emergency room couldn't figure out what was causing the intense pain in her abdomen, they gave her the prescription and told her to go home. It wasn't...