Hepatitis A Information

I live in Louisville, Kentucky. We are currently experiencing an outbreak of Hepatitis A and we are about to have quite large numbers of people visiting (click for Official Kentucky Derby Festival Page for all the fun and excitement). I have looked on the CDC, NIH and NCBI websites to read quite a bit of information on Hep A, its prevention, transmission routes, symptoms and treatments (link posted at end of blog) and what I can surmise is this: Hepatitis A is, generally speaking, preventable, it can take almost a month to show up (incubation period), symptoms are fairly common, it can severely impact the liver and we should all use common sense to contain this outbreak.

I am NOT going to get into the pro vaccination vs. anti vaccination conversation, though according to the CDC Hep A diagnosis decreased by 95% since the vaccination was first introduced and only in the last five years (give or take) have we seen an uptick. Hmmm

But I want to share some links to help keep you and your loved ones safe, in keeping your family safe you're also keeping other families safe. So please consider the following simple steps to help contain, minimize and eradicate this Hep A outbreak:

• Wash your hands: Vigorously, soap and warm/hot water, 30 seconds. Before eating. After eating. ALWAYS before using or touching ANYTHING in the restroom. Close the toilet lid before flushing to prevent minute fecal matter particles from exploding everywhere (y'all know that's a thing, right). 
• If you're sick--STAY HOME. Some of the symptoms are simple cold and flu like symptoms, still nobody wants that either. Stay. Home. 
• Get vaccinated: It's a two-parter and your full vaccination is not complete until parts 1 and 2 are administered and they must be at least six months apart. Getting your shot once today may only slightly decrease your chances, but the full double dose increases likelihood of being safeguarded against the disease. 

For visual folks, I lifted this from the Louisville Department of Public Health & Wellness

Some links for more info: 

Louisville Department of Public Health & Wellness

Informacion in Espanol

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Hep A FAQ

So go out, enjoy the festivities and be safe. Find bathrooms to wash your hands frequently (hand sanitizer does not wash the fecal matter off your hands (gross to think about, but it is the #1 way Hep A is spread!) so WASH VIGOROUSLY and OFTEN. 

That's all for today. 

What Brings You Joy

On occasion, I find it helpful to write down things, activities, etc. that bring me joy and happiness. I find it helpful to write them probably because I'm both visual and tactile, but then writing is also verbal/linguistic, believe it or not! (click here to read more about learning styles: Overview of Learning Styles.)

A few years ago,  my joy-list making was taken to a whole new level: I made a list of the things/activities/etc. in which I actually engaged. 

Finally, I compared the two lists.

Sure, there were some overlaps but not nearly as many as I thought. More often than I'd prefer to admit, I find the two lists are out of alignment: What I DO/ENGAGE in doesn't align with that which brings me joy and happiness. Sometimes (translation: ALL THE TIME) I struggle to balance life...single dad, entrepreneur, fledgling writer, son, uncle, community member, friend...it's hard to balance and juggle all the balls AND still take time for those activities I truly enjoy. 

I don't have a solution and I don't have judgement. Just a simple exercise to give some insight, if you're honest with yourself. This activity will be in my upcoming book of journal prompts with a few more details added. In full disclosure: I am considering launching a campaign through the online service "Buy Me a Coffee" to secure the funding for self-publishing. Exclusive content (journal prompts) will be available ahead of publication. But for now, I am just testing the waters. Writing brings me joy, so I am trying to get back to doing it more regularly and that's my main focus at this moment. 

Make a List of the Things/Activities/Etc. that bring you joy:

Make a List of the Things/Activities/Etc. in which you regularly engage: 

Compare the two lists and observe: 

• Are there similarities? 
• Differences? 
• Overlaps? 
• Gaps? 

What prevents the two lists from being identical? 

Are there things you would like to adjust? 

What is your next step to adjust and align the two lists if you desire? 

What are obstacles to adjusting/aligning the two lists? 

What are supports that will help adjust/align the two lists? 

That's all for today, I hope you find some time for joy and happiness over the next 24 hours! 

Donald

PSA: Perfect Sausage Announcement

So I feel a little like "Hints from Heloise" on this one (I loved reading her column, am I alone in this?) but...

I LOVE sausage, but hate slicing it. I have tried a serrated knife, regular knife, sawing it, slicing it and nothing seemed to work UNTIL I discovered a secret! 

One evening I took my sausage out of the freezer, placing it in the refrigerator so it'd be thawed in the morning (we order our pork and beef from a local family that raises them as organically/naturally as possible). The next morning it wasn't totally thawed but I went ahead and sliced it. This partially frozen sausage, still in it's plastic wrapping/packaging, combined with a gently serrated knife made PERFECT slices of sausage and it didn't get all mashed like normal. 

So now, if I have sausage already thawed out (as I did this morning, having to use store-bought sausage as we're out of our locally sourced sausage. Sad face.), I pop it into the freezer for about 30 minutes before I am ready to cook it. This gives it just enough time for the fats to slightly freeze, allowing for perfectly sliced sausage patties every time! I go ahead and slice the entire package at this optimum slight-frozen-state. Because they are not frozen solid, the cooking time is about the same except with this uniformity they all cook evenly! 

This has been a sausage-for-breakfast game changer for me and I hope you find it helpful, too. Bon apetit ! 

Quinoa for Two

So often I hear "I can't cook homemade meals for just the two of us" or "just me" or whatever reason keeps people out of the kitchen cooking real food from real ingredients. And it's all rubbish excuses! here is how I make a small batch of quinoa just for my son and me (it's actually just for me, he doesn't like it, but it was my original recipe so now it serves me dinner and two lunches):

1 C Chicken broth (or whatever broth you have)
1/2 C quinoa
1 clove garlic
juice from half a lemon

Bring broth to a boil.
Reduce to low.
Add quinoa.
Add lemon and garlic (minced/grated/finely chopped)

Simmer 10-15 minutes, covered, until broth is absorbed.

You can eat it as is (the chicken broth, garlic and lemon juice are delish on its own), or you can jazz it up a little. Here are links to previous quinoa recipes posted: Quinoa Salad and Friend Quinoa.

That's it. Makes a small batch for a small family. Real food. Real ingredients. Real love.

Mindfulness Activities

Hello and good morning (it is currently morning).

I wanted to share with you a few "mindfulness" activities today which I've found helpful for me and my family. But first, I wanted to share with you a little about how I came to find mindfulness activities to begin with.

Picture it...Fort Knox, 1980ish. A young mother with two super young children and a husband overseas. The youngest of the children always bouncing off the walls, running in circles around the coffee table, up super early, unable to stay focused. You guessed it, that child was me! Military doctors diagnosed with severe ADHD (both attention deficit AND hyperactivity, they are different and the diagnosis can be one, the other or both) and suggested...medication! Of course, even in the 80's that was the go to.

My mother, truly an Angel among us, decided to delay medicating me favoring, instead, behavioral interventions as a first line of attack. For me, this approach worked (it may not have the same results for anyone else, I am just sharing my personal story with ADHD). She put me on a strict schedule/routine, researched foods that exacerbated hyperactivity and disrupted typical brain function, learned self-soothing techniques to teach me, coached through impulse control difficulties, etc. There are many areas of ADHD that most people don't realize-we're not *just* bouncing off the walls (click here for a good overview from the NIH: ADHD Summarized).

The two top interventions my mother taught me, coached me, reinforced (and sometimes forced) and gave to me are: meditation and breathing. Sounds simple, right? Well, it is if your brain is functioning typically. But for me, when I get swept up in the moment and begin to act impulsively sometimes I forget to breathe. You read that correctly, sometimes I forget to breathe and certainly I do not breathe deeply. You can imagine the signals of fight, flight or freeze this sends throughout my body. And for me, with severe impulse control issues I almost always fight. Now, some 35+ years later, I can talk myself down, step away and take a few breaths. I have learned to scan my body and read when it is heading towards the edge...my face gets hot, my neck gets red (I can feel it), my pupils change, I can feel the color of my eyes morphing, my shoulders raise up and my chest caves in...these are all signals for me to engage in something or else...well, it rarely ends well. Luckily, I'm not a violent person but I am very vocal.

So I take a few breaths. But it's not just taking breaths, it's taking intentional breaths in a very intentional way:
Breathe in for a count of two, breathe out for a count of two (repeat a few times)
breathe in for a count of three, out for a count of three (repeat a few times)
Breathe in for a count of four, out for a count of four (repeat a few times)

Often many people stop at a four-count breath. See if this works for you. For me, I have to take myself up to a count of six to really get control of my body. I have also learned breathing in for a count of six forces me to use diaphragmatic breathing (more on diaphragmatic breathing from the Cleveland Clinic here: Diaphragmatic Breathing). Sometimes I can actually feel light headed from receiving so much oxygen! It almost always talks me off the ledge and brings me back to reality. The act of counting while breathing also distracts me from the conflict that I may be attempting to resolve, whether real or perceived.

And the second gift my mother gave me was that of meditation. I want to save meditation for an entire post on its own so please return for that one. I am working on compiling some resources, links, and even some videos of me coaching you through some guided meditations.

So, long before "mindfulness" was a field of study, an en vogue catch phrase...well informed and educated parents across the US have been using it to help their children learn to live with and thrive with ADHD...both with and without pharmaceutical interventions. I will put together a more exhaustive list of activities which I've found helpful, for today try some deep breathing and see if it has an effect on you, I know it has on me!

Delayed Awakening

SO it's Spring. But it's also snowing.

We went camping for Spring Break, and it was warmer in the caves we explored than out by the campfire.

My peach trees are fully bloomed out, and covered with snow.

I am ready for the Spring Awakening.

But Mother Nature isn't.

And that got me to thinking back on times in my life when I felt ready for an awakening, but it kept getting delayed. Like I WAS READY DANG IT, let me be rebirthed already! But that winter season kept lingering. One example that comes to mind is I kept falling in love one proverbial winter season. The next guy was so much better than the last, but not as good as the next next one. I just knew my life was taking on a wonderful rebirth when I found The One. I began a dual life of living in two cities...I began to end contracts with clients in one city and explore securing contracts with new clients in another city. I just knew this my Spring was about to burst forth in all kinds of glory!

And then one day I got a phone call that he was breaking up with me. Yea, pretty much like that. We had discussed apartments the day before, deciding on a one bedroom with a small study for my office, even though it was about $3,500/month vs. no study which was about half that. I never saw him again, in fact that was our last phone call. Yes, he broke up with me via  phone call and then communicated via text from that point forth. Bam! Back in the winter season of my life. I was devastated for awhile.

But after going to my favorite beach, or church as I called it, doing lots of meditation at the Thai Temple in Tampa, and probably eating more carrot cake and bacon than I should...I decided this WAS the Spring of my life as God/Source/Mother Nature/whatever-name-you-prefer intended, just not that *I* intended.

So I called my grandma, who was rediagnosed with cancer around that time and told her I was moving back to Kentucky! I came home for a long visit and told my parents on the day I was setting my compass back to Florida, one last time. And my life has, indeed, entered a fruitful spring season these last several years.

Ultimately, my father died suddenly and unexpectedly, followed by my grandmother a few months later. I adopted a child, bought a house and changed careers. Talk about a rebirth! But it took time; Creator's time, not my time. I could not force this to happen anymore than I can force the snow to stop falling as I type this. I just had to sit with it and let it be. (inspiration, : Let It Be)

So whatever you're dealing with, struggling with, enduring please keep going. Sit with it if you must, ponder if you will, meditate if you prefer...but keep going. You breakthrough is coming; your spring is around the corner!