Thursday, May 27, 2010

The Real Cost of Living

Would you be scared if you read this about a medication you were taking???

As with any medication, Armour Thyroid can also cause allergic reactions. In fact, it may have a higher risk for allergic reactions, since it contains ground-up pig thyroid glands. Seek medical attention immediately if you develop signs of an allergic reaction, including:

•An unexplained rash
•Hives
•Itching
•Wheezing or difficulty breathing
•Unexplained swelling (especially of the lips, mouth, or throat).


It is the comment about the pig thyroids that REALLY freaks me out. Poor pigs. Wtf? I have been taking this medication for about two months and the last few days I have been feeling so itchy and my skin feels abnormally dry and tight. I looked up "Armour Thyroid" side effects on the web and saw the above statement. (Side note: I tried taking synthetic thyroid, Synthroid, last summer and had a bad reaction to it...)

I have an appointment with a nurse practitioner next week, who was recommended to me as being open to holistic medicine, among other things, by an ayurvedic practitioner I recently saw. So I’m going to get someone else’s opinion on this whole hypothyroidism thing. In the meantime, I will try and keep taking the medication since pigs were slaughtered and their thyroids were ground up for it. I’d hate to have had them die in vain. How horrifying.

It just reminds me that we always need to ask questions about where our every day products come from and what is the social and environmental cost of producing them? Who and what had to suffer and what are the alternatives? That’s why I really enjoyed EcoTrip, produced by the Sundance Channel and available via DVD or streaming on Netflix. It is truly shocking to discover the true environmental impact of every day products like cell phones, bottled water, salmon, gold, light bulbs, and more…


Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Crepes Class

I enjoyed the mediterranean cooking class I talked about in a previous post so much that we attended another class that focused on dessert and dinner crepes. It was fabulous!


Biloxi, Mississippi and Orange Beach, Alabama

Here are the pictures from our April trip to Biloxi and Orange Beach. Orange Beach was so beautiful, it breaks my heart to think of all that oil destroying such a beautiful coast. I think we all agreed that the Crawdad Festival in Biloxi was alot of fun. It was so strange for us Wisconsinites to see people of all ages devouring massive piles of those very unappealling looking crawfish. I guess we prefer cheesecurds, although we did try the crawdads, as you'll see in the photos. We were surprised to learn that Biloxi is still rebuilding from Hurricane Katrina, and that many southern cities besides New Orleans were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.


Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Always More Work to Be Done...

Since last week’s article in the Spectator about equal rights for limited term employees, I’ve received an inquiry from someone at UW-Madison who is the “convener for the UW-Madison LTE Advisory Committee” and the “chair of Wisconsin State Employees Union (WSEU) LTE Committee.” She said the article was forwarded to her by the President of AFSCME, WSEU Local 1914. She shared some information about the process and steps taken at UW-Madison to address the concerns of LTEs and their working conditions.

She has also offered to come to our campus in June to talk with us about how they got where they are with their landmark LTE Reform Plan! Madison, as far as I know, is the only UW-System school to take a stand on LTE positions, and to recognize the work of their long term LTEs by setting up a system for converting their positions to permanent status and organizing a committee to oversee LTE grievances, among other things.

I am tremendously excited about this opportunity and all that will result from our information sharing with those who have been through this process. This is all great news but an event this week reminded me that just when you think you’re making progress there’s more to be done!

There is an LTE on campus whose position was converted to permanent status, so this person took the Civil Service exam, scored high enough to get an interview for the permanent position, interviewed twice for the permanent position, and yet a “failed search” was declared by the hiring supervisor and no one was hired. This LTE had worked in the position for several months, so she knew the job and the responsibilities involved. This is an example of the discrimination LTEs face, and the true difficulty of advancing into permanent positions. This person did all the right things, as dictated by the system, and yet a failed search was declared for her position. This also shows the lack of support for advancing LTEs into permanent, equitable positions. The education and awareness needs to start, first and foremost, with hiring managers and supervisors who--whether they realize it or not--take advantage of the fact that people who work long term in "limited term" positions have no rights or protections.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

I Won the WQOW Mother's Day Contest for My Mom

So my previous post said that I submitted an essay to the Mother's Day Contest at a local TV station, WQOW....and I won!!!! My mom received a $450 prize package, including a fountain/birdbath from Bobolink nursery, 12 rounds of golf at Hickory Hills, and $100 worth of meat from Sailer's meats. She had alot of fun picking out her merchandise. Here are a few snapshots of her birdbath/fountain and her freezer full of meat...

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Happy Mother's Day

I entered the following into a Mother's Day Contest at a local TV station...guidelines were to submit a 250 word essay on why your mom is the best...

“Do you know what the secret to life is?” my mom asked, squeezing my hand and towering above me as a large, strange dog rapidly approached. “Don’t ever let them know you’re afraid.”

Even in one of my earliest memories, my mother spoke courageously, giving me this secret weapon that I would always carry with me. My mother acted courageously even through the greatest challenge of her life. In November of 2005, just a few months after she turned 60, my mom suffered a massive stroke, enduring several brain surgeries, four months in the hospital, and extensive rehabilitation.

Learning to swallow, walk, talk, and live with the use of one arm were only a few of her challenges. This strong, independent woman, who was the first of five children in her family to earn a college degree, had to let my dad, two sisters, and I learn to take care of her, and much earlier in life than she ever expected. We all learned to reinvent ourselves, taking on new roles, especially my mom, and she did so with grace, courage, and strength.

My parents just celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary. They enjoy traveling, gardening, reading, and catching up with friends and family—especially their eight-year-old grandson. Their commitment to each other and to their family is my cornerstone.

My mom is the best because her life is a model of what it really means to be courageous. Because of her I know that I can do anything.
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