I apologize that so much time has gone by since my last post. My Mom, who is 79 years of age, just had a shoulder replacement. She fell on uneven pavement while in Virginia during Christmas holiday. When she was taken to the emergency room at Mary Washington Hospital, she had an x-ray and was told that she would not need any surgery. It would heal.

When she got back to Castle Rock where she lives, we took her to the doctor who did her hip replacement two years ago. We really like him and trust his opinion. He was out with his own surgery and healing whatever he had done on himself. So, the shoulder specialist in his office saw my Mom and said she needed surgery on that arm right away. He said her shoulder was broken in four places. Of course, he did many more x-rays than just one so that he could see the whole picture.

We felt like we wanted to get a 2nd opinion so a dear friend of the family recommended an orthopedic surgeon her son had used when he had a terrrible biking accident. We made an appointment and found out she did need surgery as soon as it was possible. Dr David Schneider did the surgery and we were very pleased with him.

Our family friend and I were in the hospital with her since she had the surgery and only left to go home to sleep. I had to leave once to take care of an emergency with my granddaughter being sick at school.

As you know, there are those who are great at their jobs in every profession. If someone were not there with my Mom, we really aren't sure how it would have turned out. She was in pain and had asked for pain meds every four hours as the doctor had told her to. The nurses also said it is easier to stay on top of the pain than to catch up.

Well, there were times when we had to chase down a nurse (her nurse) to remind her of how much time had elapsed since the request of the medication. We also had to remind the nurse to come back with ice as Mom was told to use the ice as much as possible over the incision.This seemed to be standard procedure for this particular nurse, everytime she was on duty.

This hospital is supposed to have the best standards in the US for an orthopedic ward. Can you imagine one that is average?

I just want to tell you not to assume that your loved ones will be taken care of if they are in the hospital. Overall, the treatment was good but as much as we want to believe they are all great at their jobs and love what they are doing, it isn't always the case.

We have found that because my Mom is so healthy as a 79-year old lady and not on a bunch of prescription meds, that she is not the "normal" person her age. They all want to make her into their profile of someone who just listens and does everything the doctor says, whether it is good for her or not.

This has been a trying time for me but I am thankful I was able to drop everything to be with her and see to her recovery. Our parents deserve the best we can do.

One inarguable fact of aging—the older we get, the fuzzier our brains get. Whether it’s from hormonal imbalances, years of multi-tasking, or just plain being tired, our memory fades and we find it harder to concentrate on the smallest tasks.

We enter a room and wonder “why did I come in here?” We forget to put on our mascara before going out, and we can’t remember the names of people we’ve known for years.

To keep our brains healthy, we are encouraged to “exercise” them regularly. Things like learning a new language, doing crossword puzzles or playing scrabble, painting, or even reading will strengthen our brain muscle fibers and keep those neurotransmitters healthy.

An interesting exercise to stimulate your senses and give your brain a good workout is called “non-dominant handwriting,” and it is a great way to really stretch your mind and challenge it to be creative in new ways. You might even be surprised at how your subconscious mind directs your answers and gives you new insight into your “inner self.”

To read more about how to keep your brain working as you age, CLICK HERE



I know you have heard for many years how meditation can help everyone in so many ways. It seems like an easy thing to do until you try to sit quietly and just let your thoughts come in and go out. For some of us, it is not easy to quiet those thoughts. Fortunately, there is more than one way to meditate, so use whatever works for you.

Read this article to see what anti-aging benefits you can achieve by doing meditation.

(NaturalNews) According to the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine, 90% of all adult illness is due to the degenerative processes of aging. Anti-aging medicine, aiming for longevity and optimal health, is most certainly the 'specialty' of the future and is based on the early detection, prevention and reversal of age-related disease. While science continues to search for answers, research has already revealed that meditation is a potent anti-aging practice that can take years off your physiological age.

STRESS = AGING

Aging is most certainly a complex issue with many factors coming into play, but one thing that researchers do agree on is that stress (mental, emotional, and physical) causes us to age.

Eva Selhub, MD, Medical Director of the Mind/Body Medical Institute says, "If we can affect the stress response, we can affect the aging process." She says "There`s a reason why experienced meditators live so long and look so young." (The Anti-Aging Effects of Meditation; http://www.more.com/2025/2674-the-a...)

Read the rest of the story by Angela who has www.thesoulroom.com 

Here's a story about the mammography industry that sounds almost too crazy -- and too greedy -- to be true. But the facts are documented in a new study by University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) researchers. It turns out that unneeded, expensive mammograms are being pushed on elderly women who are incapacitated from Alzheimer's disease or other forms of dementia, especially if the women have savings or assets of $100,000 or more.

The study, which was just published in the January edition of American Journal of Public Health, used 2002 data from the Health and Retirement Study, an ongoing national prospective study sponsored by the National Institute on Aging that is investigating the relationship between health, income, and wealth over time. The researchers were able to document screening mammography rates by compiling information from Medicare claims.

READ THE WHOLE STORY from Natural News

Indoor living is bad for your eyes because it doesn't give your eyes practice focusing on long-range objects. To keep your vision sharp, you need to practice looking at the horizon, then looking back at something close. The problem is that in most cities these days, the horizon can't even be found! Many people who are diagnosed with "bad vision" simply need more eye exercise.

Living in Colorado makes it easy to do this eye exercise. We are so fortunate to be able to see the horizon anyway we turn.

 ~  Natural News

Here is an interesting site I came across and wanted to share with you. The foods we eat, may not be as healthy as we think they are.

There are more than 3000 different food additives that are purposefully added to our food supply. Some of them are known to cause cancer!

How is this possible?
Even though the Delaney Clause of the 1958 Food Additives Amendment states that any additives shown to cause cancer in humans or animals are not permitted to be added to our food, political pressure has caused the FDA to relax these standards and allow “small amounts” of cancer causing substances to be used in foods.

But that’s not the worst of it…
Not only are known carcinogens allowed in your food, but certain food additives can cause allergic reactions in some people. Other additives may be harmful to certain groups of people such as pregnant women, infants, people with high blood pressure and people with kidney problems.

There’s even more bad news…visit this site - Healthy Eating Advisor to read more about food additives.



Since 1997, the  bestseller The Four Agreements has transformed the lives of millions of people around the world with a simple but profound message. Now author don Miguel Ruiz and his son, don Jose Ruiz, collaborate with this powerful best-selling sequel The Fifth Agreement: A Practical Guide to Self-Mastery.

I read the The Four Agreements years ago and really enjoyed it. I am planning to read this new book too.

The Five Agreements:

BE IMPECCABLE WITH YOUR WORD Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love. DON'T TAKE ANYTHING PERSONALLY Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won't be the victim of needless suffering. DON'T MAKE ASSUMPTIONS Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness, and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life. ALWAYS DO YOUR BEST Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are tired as opposed to well rested. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse, and regret. BE SKEPTICAL, BUT LEARN TO LISTEN Don't believe yourself or anybody else. Use the power of doubt to question everything you hear: Is it really the truth? Listen to the intent behind the words, and you will understand the real message.

The Four Agreements slowly helps you to recover your authentic self, and the real you starts to awaken. With The Fifth Agreement comes the complete acceptance of yourself just the way you are, and the complete acceptance of everybody else just the way they are. The reward is your eternal happiness. The Fifth Agreement is made with words, of course, but its meaning and intent is beyond the words. The Fifth Agreement is ultimately about seeing your whole reality with the eyes of truth, without words.

Make the Five Agreements your way of life — love yourself, enjoy life, and make your personal world a dream of heaven. And, by changing your world, you are changing the world.

Watch video by don Miguel Ruiz

(NaturalNews) Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer among women and almost 4,000 cases were fatal just last year.

Conventional treatments for cervical cancer such as chemotherapy, radiation, surgery, hysterectomy, or the removal of lymph nodes and ovaries can often leave the woman infertile.

However, alternatives exist for women who seek a more holistic approach to improving their bodies' responses to cancer. Cervical cancer can be remedied in ways alternative to conventional, damaging treatments.

Instead of harsh treatments that can wreak havoc on the body, a combination of yoga, meditation, and a raw vegan diet can be a much more gentle and beneficial method for healing.

The author of this article on Natural News, Allison Biggar is a writer and filmmaker who believes in using the media to empower people to make a difference.

After losing both her parents to cancer at a young age, Allison became passionate about natural, organic health issues and learned that every disease is curable by natural methods.

Read the rest of the story

There is nothing like the smell of a real pine or spruce Christmas tree. What do you do if you have an artificial tree? What is the best way to get the aroma of a real tree in your house?

Of course there are tons of products with artificial spray made up of chemicals to smell like the real thing.

What I prefer to use instead of the fake stuff is essential oils.

There are several ways to burn them to get that nice aroma along with the benefits too. I have a little diffuser that I place a few drops on a piece of felt material, and that fits into the diffuser. It burns and gives the room such a pleasant aroma.

Which ones give you the best memories of Christmas's past?

There are many to choose from. My favorite is what smells like a Christmas tree. Probably pine or evergreen. I prefer these to the ones that smell like desserts baking in the oven or hot apple cider on the stove, although those seem to be pretty popular.

Read about the benefits and/or the effects they on the body. They are fun to play with. Try to use a high quality essential oil. The links under Resources at the bottom of the article will help you decide where to find good ones.

Christmas has always been a special time of year for me in my heart. People seem to come together to help those less fortunate.

I came across something very interesting. Actually my sister pointed it out to me. It is an old Hawaiin tradition called Ho'oponopono. They say it may go back as far as 35,000 years.

“Hoʻoponopono” is defined in the Hawaiin dictionary as “mental cleansing: family conferences in which relationships were set right through prayer, discussion, confession, repentance, and mutual restitution and forgiveness.”

Literally, hoʻo means “to”. Pono is defined as “goodness, uprightness, morality, moral qualities, correct or proper procedure, excellence, well-being, prosperity, welfare, benefit, true condition or nature, duty; moral, fitting, proper, righteous, right, upright, just, virtuous, fair, beneficial, successful, in perfect order, accurate, correct, eased, relieved; should, ought, must, necessary.”

Ponopono is defined as “to put to rights; to put in order or shape, correct, revise, adjust, amend, regulate, arrange, rectify, tidy up, make orderly or neat.”

It can be a practice that is simple to do and can have profound effects. It is based on the principle that one creates one's own life and is responsible for what shows up.

By repeating constantly the mantra, “I love you. Please forgive me. I'm sorry. Thank you.” When we forgive others, we are also forgiving ourselves.

Remember the song, Peace begins with me? By changing yourself and creating peace within, it will eventually affect those around you in a healing way also.

Find out more about this amazing practice which is simple to do.

Have a wonderful, relaxing and peaceful holiday!