Thursday, June 28, 2012

Animal Awareness Week isn't just June 24-30, 2012


I'm not going to go into all the ugliness of Animal Abuse.  You can find that all over the Internet and develop your own opinion about it.  What I'm trying to present here is that parents need to share this information with their children and help them develop a healthy attitude towards animals from a very young age.


How young do you think you should be teaching animal appreciation to children? 



Touch and Feel Tank
Have you ever taken your child to a touch and feel tank?  These are tremendous one on one experiences for children.  Allowing them to touch animals and listen to appreciation and educational messages teaches them healthy relationships with animals.


A sea touch and feel tank at an aqaurium


How do we create a positive attitude for children to learn to protect animals and not abuse them?






If you don't have resources at home, I would highly suggest getting the free resources for parents and educators in the above link.  It's so very important to teach your children at home this relationship with them and animals.  

Have you learned anything new?  Are you presently teaching or planning to teach your children about how to have an appreciation for animals.  Is your child presently caring for an animal(s)?

Peaceful Passages (book review intro)


Peaceful Passage by Kim West
Kim West / Peaceful Passage
ISBN-10: 0984052666  ISBN-13: 978-0984052660 | List Price: $16.99 | Format: Softcover | Page Count: 240

"When your loved one is dying at home you need emotional support and guidance, caregiving help and lessons, organization assistance, an expert adviser and a cherished friend. Peaceful Passage is all of this and more.
From first hearing the news to well beyond the funeral you will keep this resource close by you to give you answers at three in the morning, for encouragement every day and for detailed information on what to do, how to do it and when to do it. Here is guide for you to care well for yourself, your dying loved one, your family, marriage, career and in your spiritual life. 
This book is a labor of love from a professional counselor who cared for her own mother in her final days. One hospice described the book as, “An exceptional tool and resource for anyone assisting a loved one going through their final journey. A delightful, heartfelt, open discussion of processes, tips and things to ponder when traveling with them. Well done, and I applaud you. Thank you from all of us.”

Author, Kim West
About the Author:
Kim West holds a PhD in Clinical Pastoral Counseling and a M.Div. in Counseling and Family, but when her own mother became ill with terminal cancer she found that she had no hands-on knowledge of how to take care of her.
As a counselor she knew to journal her own experience to help her process her grief at losing her mother and she knew how to help her mother finish her life well and be prepared for the life to come. But the day-to-day of taking care of her mother as she died would require learning a whole new set of caring skills. And learn she did.
After completing her own journey with her mother she knew she had to help others who would travel this same path. Peaceful Passage is a merging of her years of counseling experience and the new skills she learned caring for her mother combined with her heart to help and to heal."

"Authors note: Peaceful Passage is not only for those under hospice care with a terminal illness or for those caregiving a loved one who is dying at home. It is also the essential resouce for coping with any long-term illness, whether it be grandma or grandpa, mother or father, a child, sister or brother or self.
With Peaceful Passage you have immediate help any time you need it right at home. Whether you want a quick answer or detailed instructions on handling the many physical, emotional, and spiritual issues that arise you can find answers immediately in this resource.
Doctors, nurses, caregivers, hospice workers, hospital and nursing home staff and family members alike will find this an indispensible guide to understanding what is needed in times of illness or palliative care and exactly how to help. Included is also extensive information on grief and the grieving process in order to cope with the losses that come along the way.
Peaceful Passage is a comforting and supportive expert friend when you need it most."


Personal Note:  My husband's mom is 89 years old and had colon cancer surgery a couple of years ago and we could not take care of her in our home (after she had one year of in-home care around the clock right after her surgery and my husband was still working and I cannot physically meet her needs).  So we made the decision with HOSPICE to have her cared for at a nursing home that is about 5 miles from our home.  She has been there for a year now and they are just wonderful with her care and needs.  We take homemade treats and beautiful homemade items and used to scrapbook and make cards when her hands were more steady.  We now read to her a Christian book that is very comforting with a daily reading for every day of the year.  A Hospice "friend" comes to visit her weekly and a Hospice volunteer musician comes once a week and they sing hymns and folk songs... things that she knows and makes her happy.  

In November she will be 90 and it's imperative that we prepare ourselves for losing her at any time.  We finally took a week off for vacation this year because they told us that we needed time to ourselves to have fun and we were only 1 1/2 hours from her and that they would call us if they needed anything.  Everything went well and we were energized.  I will read this book and do a review on it for a Christian review group that I'm in and then my husband will read it or we may read it together during the day or night.   

The nursing facility is just incredible and the Hospice people are the best.  We're so happy that we made this choice with her (we all talked about it before we did it) and even though I had feelings of guilt for not bringing her here (she's been my best friend and "mom" for 18 years now) I learned from Hospice that we just couldn't do for her what she needed.  I'm at peace now.  I haven't lost anyone in my family yet (since I was in high school and lost my grandparents) so this book will definitely prepare both of us as my parents are in their 80's.  Both are quite healthy, praise God! 

FOIE GRAS FINALLY ILLEGAL ON JULY 1, 2012 IN CALIF

From this atrocity
To this freedom!




On July 21, 2012 it will now be illegal to serve foie gras in California!  Yay!  California has become the first state to ban foie gras, the delicacy made from fatty duck or goose liver. As most of you probably know, the process for making foie gras involves grossly overfeeding geese through a funnel so their livers enlarge to such a degree they can’t even walk or breathe properly.


"Foie gras (play /fwɑːˈɡrɑː/; French: [fwa ɡʁɑ]); French for "fat liver") is a food product made of the liver of a duck or goose that has been specially fattened. This fattening is typically achieved through gavage (force-feeding corn), according to French law,[1] though outside of France it is occasionally produced using natural feeding. A pastry containing pâté de foie gras and bacon, or pâté de foie gras tout court, was formerly known as "Strasbourg pie" (or "Strasburg pie"[2]) in English on account of that city's being a major producer of foie gras.[3]
Foie gras is a popular and well-known delicacy in French cuisine. Its flavor is described as rich, buttery, and delicate, unlike that of an ordinary duck or goose liver. Foie gras is sold whole, or is prepared into mousse, parfait, or pâté (the lowest quality), and may also be served as an accompaniment to another food item, such as steak. French law states that "Foie gras belongs to the protected cultural and gastronomical heritage of France."[4]
The technique of gavage dates as far back as 2500 BC, when the ancient Egyptians began keeping birds for food and deliberately fattened the birds through force-feeding.[5] Today, France is by far the largest producer and consumer of foie gras, though it is produced and consumed worldwide, particularly in other European nations, the United States, and China.[6]
Gavage-based foie gras production is controversial due to the force feeding procedure used. A number of countries and other jurisdictions have laws against force feeding or the sale of foie gras."
 (The above is from Wikipedia.)


I personally wrote an informative scrapbook with pictures and information for Chef Wolfgang Puck and he gave it up in his restaurants! 

This is a hot button issue here in California.  Here are some articles that you can read if you are interested in learning more about this topic.


 




  • Foie gras lovers scrambling as California ban nears

    Foie gras lovers scrambling as California ban nears

    June 29, 2012 This weekend, foie gras ? fattened duck or goose liver ? will...has sent Sean Jordan on a one-man "foie gras bender." The Hollywood television... restaurant in Hollywood for a $25 foie gras appetizer. "The ban is sneaking...
  • With foie gras ban, chefs say state is force-feeding morality

    With foie gras ban, chefs say state is force-feeding morality

    June 27, 2012 If you want to eat foie gras in California before July 1, especially at a...oddly subdued restaurant, between bites of foie gras-topped salmon and spoonfuls of foie gras mousse, diners at the benefit for the pro...
  • Farewell to foie gras

    Farewell to foie gras

    June 27, 2012 ...will become the delicacy known as foie gras by force-feeding them several times...feeding of birds and the sale of foie gras produced by that method. (Any farmer who can replicate the "ethical" foie gras produced in Spain could do so here...


Have you ever heard about foie gras before now?  Have you ever tried it?  If you have, how was it?  I have not and will not ever it, not even the immitation foie gras that is made because it's just something that sounds so inhumane and disgusting in my personal and researched opinion.

The NEW Super Woman or Man on Adderall

This is not a new topic "Super Woman on drugs" but the new drug of choice...  Adderall.   Last night Nightline did a story on the SuperMoms (not the exact title of the piece) but it was about the mommy of today who needs to work outside of the home, take care of children, clean, cook, blog, outside activities, and still be a good wife, etc...  I did not want to single out "moms."

The mom topics are all over tv as being "Mommy's Little Helper" and such phrases and here are some reads online:


Dr. Oz: Adderall | New Weight Loss Drug Craze
(he may be covering weight loss but he clearly speaks out against this abuse of adderall for people who are not ADHD.)

"Mom's New Little Helper": Mothers Abusing Adderall
(my own local tv station did a story on it and I have never seen a woman or man to know that they are on it but I wonder where some of these super men and women get all their energy to do all that they do)

EXPERIENCES:  Is Binging on Adderall Noticeable?
 SWIM is a single Mom and in last year of nursing school. SWIM discovered the pleasure of Adderall a few months ago. SWIM has a child who has been on Adderall for 8 years and never thought about taking one. SWIM's friend in nursing school gave details about their experience binging on Adderall so SWIM took one to see what it was like. Took a few more and cleaned the house. Month later SWIM thought about trying it again but ended up taking the whole 30-day supply in one weekend (on semester break from school). Happened again the following month. SWIM told self that when back in school, this could not happen. A month ago SWIM started popping a few on Friday night but bought a bottle of wine to go with it. Thought this would help SWIM go to sleep since SWIM had clinical rotation at the hospital at 5:30 am Monday. SWIM binged all weekend and couldn't sleep at all Sunday night. SWIM was absolutely panicked about going to clinicals because of their appearance. Jaw clenching and moving side-to-side, constantly licking lips, very red eyes with dilated pupils. SWIM used tons of Visine but it didn't help. SWIM had to meet with the group at hospital with SWIM's instructor, who is a nurse. SWIM just knew that everyone knew because they are in the medical profession. First SWIM avoided looking instructor in the eye but then looked instructor in the eye but kept looking down. SWIM would have given anything to have called in sick but was told if a clinical day was missed, then the student is out of the program. No one ever said anything but SWIM went home and hugged their pillow. So SWIM's question is this, how obvious is it to others when someone has been binging? Any ways to hide it? SWIM is too afraid to try it again even though it enables SWIM to accomplish so much that wouldn't notmally get done because of nursing school and being single parent. SWIM's kids are with their grandmother on weekends when this happens.

Mother's New Little Helper - ADHD Pills?

 Meet Betsy Franco, Manic Pixie Dream Mom And/Or The Spirit Of Mother’s Day


Seeking Super Mom: More Mothers Are Becoming Addicted to Adderall

BusySuperMom Seeking Super Mom: More Mothers Are Becoming Addicted to Adderall
Are the demands of motherhood leading to even more addicted mothers?





So this definitely went the way of Super Mom but that's what most of the topic is about.  I'm sorry to the Mom's who this might offend but this is information for women now who might need help:

Drugs.com
MedHelp

and most important:  See your medical doctor to discuss this and I would suggest a therapist to discuss the reasons that you are abusing adderall! 




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