The "I-can't-relax-must-do-something" disease, coming to a Mommy near you.

Apparently this disease plagues the best-of-intentions Mommy, who wants to do everything and anything to spare some time for herself. We set out to relax, and instead get a full day's worth of running around.

As an example, here was my Saturday. My intention was to have a full day with Adam, as I've been running around for the past two months with last minute birthday party invitations, brunches, shopping, holiday schtuff, etc. etc.

Instead of playing some games with Adam, I...

1) trekked with him to the Verizon store to exchange my set top box in the snow!(so that he could watch Spongebob on demand)

2) Went to Dunkin Donuts (to avert impending disaster after I declined his invitation to go to Chuck E Cheese)

3) Went grocery shopping (to feed his hungry soul and tummy)

4) Cooked said groceries into a delicious Porcini Spare Rib Stew and Basil infused Mashed Potatoes (to feed my hungry tummy and soul too)

5) Spent an hour hooking up the Verizon box (of course, things don't activate as planned)

6) Sat down to watch Spongebob for 1 hour before it was bedtime.


Here's what I should have been doing all Saturday:
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) Relaxing.


Inspiration for this post came from Raine, another "must do everything" mommy. Read her blog at http://trueconfessionsofasinglemother.blogspot.com/2010/02/what-now.html

WIRED Throwing Biometric Super Bowl Party

WIRED Throwing Biometric Super Bowl Party

Awesome post from Roger Dooley of the Neuroscience Marketing Blog on Wired's attempt at understanding your biometric response to each Superbowl Ad.

I didn't need a scan to know that the KGB commercial got my heart rate up. Even Momma Dukes sitting next to me was laughing by the end of that Sumo commercial! What is KGB anyway?

Watch the commercial here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4T2LH1yEbAQ

Social Media Technographics

After tons of user interviews, self-reports, panels, and analytics, Forrester has segmented its Social Media Webosphere into 6 main categories.

Creators – You represent the pinnacle of the social media experience. You are on online consumer who regularly publish blogs or articles online, maintains a web page, uploads video, and engages in microblogging (Twitter and such). You and your peers are the most active participants and posters of content on the web.

Critics – You typically react to content posted online that you did not create. You post comments on blogs and forums, post ratings and reviews, or edit wikis. One in four American adults is an online critic.

Collectors – You are an elite content consumer of social media sites. You may not actively participate in forums, but will monitor and follow conversations throughout a variety of sites using tools that aggregate them for you. You thrive on information and use such tools as RSS to aggregate important content, tag pages or photos for organization and ease of finding, use social bookmarking such as Del.ic.io.us, and participate in low intensity social activities, such as voting on Digg or Reddit.

Joiners – You primarily participate in or maintain a profile on a social networking site. You may just join to see other profiles, but rarely, if ever, participate. Most of your activity on social network sites is prompted by your peers after long periods of inactivity.

Spectators – This group consumes what the other produce. This includes blogs, online videos, podcasts, forums, and reviews. Almost half of online Americans comprise this group.

Inactives – These are non-participants. As of 2007, 41% of Americans are non-participants.

Which group best describes YOU?

Hereditary High Cholesterol - My Cheat Sheet

I started this cheat sheet after realizing how little I knew about LDL and its cause and effect on the body, and what types of natural methods a person could use to combat a hereditary condition.

3 types of drugs with goal to decrease LDL (bad cholesterol)
Statins
This drug works in the liver to prevent the formation of cholesterol. Side effects usually are mild and go away as your body adjusts.
Statins available include:
Lipitor/Atorvastatin
Lescol/Fluvastatin
Mevacor/Lovastatin
Pravachol/Pravastatin
Crestor/Rosuvastatin
Zocor/Simvastatin

Selective Cholesterol Absorption Inhibitors
New class of medication works by preventing the absorption of cholesterol from the intestines.
Available medication: first of its class, ezetimibe: Zetia, was approved by FDA in 2002 for “treatment of high cholesterol an dcertain inherited lipid abnormalities”
Resins (Bile Acid Sequestrant or Acid-Binding drug)
This medicine works in the intestines by promoting increased disposal of cholesterol. Your body uses cholesterol to make bile. This medicine binds to bile so it can’t be used in digestion. Your liver responds by making more bile. The more bile it makes the more cholesterol it uses. This means there is less cholesterol circulating through your bloodstream.
Resins currently available:
Questran, Prevalite, Locholest
Cholestyramine
Colestid
Colestipol
WelChol
Colesevlam HCL


Natural Foods that will help lower your cholesterol:
I read that these five are recommended by the American Heart Association to lower your LDL
1. Eat two delicious servings of fish per week. The best are the ones that have high Omega-3 content, such as mackerel, sardines, salmon, trout, herring. Baked and Grilled are the best! The greek know how to make a mean baked and grilled fish, so look for greek restaurants near you and try them out!
2. They say that skim milk and skim products are the best for you. Except for the occasional mozzarella bomb here and there, which are necessary evils to combat hunger and cravings, try to stick to non-fat or low-fat dairy products.
3. Try to avoid foods that say they are made from “Partially Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil”
a. This list is a “safe bet” list of types of foods that usually do not contain the PHVO.
i. All fruits and vegetables
ii. Dairy products (milk, cheese, ice cream, yogurt)
iii. Meat, poultry, fish
iv. Sugar, flour
v. Spices, condiments, pickles, salad dressings and mayonnaise
vi. Jams and jellies
vii. Beans, grains, nuts and seeds
viii. Plain popcorn (not microwave)
ix. Pretzels, rice crackers
x. Candies and chocolate (except cocoa mixes)
xi. Cooking oils
xii. Most soups and instant soups (except noodle soup cups)
xiii. Coffee, tea, soft drinks, juices
xiv. Frozen fruits & vegetables
xv. Canned fruits & vegetables

4. Eggs are great for you! But try to go for a 2:1 ratio of whites:yolks when you do have them.
5. Oatmeal, Fiber, and Whole Wheat are easy and natural LDL-lowering foods. Mmm, love me some sautéed broccoli with garlic at night, or a big bad bowl of blueberry oatmeal in the morning.
6. The American Heart Association has made it easy to spot “heart healthy foods”. I got this from their website:
“The American Heart Association established its -->Food Certification Program --> to provide consumers a quick, easy way to identify heart-healthy foods that can be part of a healthful eating plan. Products certified by the American Heart Association contain the heart-check mark and state that the product "Meets American Heart Association criteria for saturated fat and cholesterol for healthy people over age 2." While shopping, look for foods with the heart-check mark symbol on their label. These foods are approved to be part of a healthy diet. “

dedicated to JSS

Trajectories of Thought this week

Tiesto
Mozart
Excel processing
My ex left for florida yesterday, want to make sure Adam has everything he needs for this transition.
I apologized to my mom for being a jerk to her this past week
I had beef noodle soup yesterday that was yummy
I have gained at least 5 pounds over the holidays
My feet hurt from these new shoes I bought
New shoes
New jeans
Neuromarketing as my masters
Meeting up with some friends this weekend for a birthday party
Getting back in touch with some of my friends.
I haven’t gotten my paycheck from last week. Down to my last 300
I need a credit card.

Moving beyond the norm

In the next six months I will get into the best shape of my life. I mean in all aspects beyond the obvious physical "shape" - emotional, spiritual, educational, and professional.

There will be no stopping me! I will allow no one to put me into the dark place I was yesterday.

While I search for my sunrise

a good friend told me that the sky is always darkest right before sunrise breaks over the horizon. I am in the midst of  searching for this sunrise. And it in fact is dark...hope is all I have right now. I feel a bit like an empty ship floating on a huge dark ocean. Waiting in vain? Never. 

I will continue this quest. I do it for me. I do it for my son. And I do it because this is only the beginning of what life has in store for me. The destined chain of events that I will encounter cannot be in my control, but I only have the guy upthere and myself to thank for things that happen.