Empower Your Inner Architect: Building a Life of Epic Wellness

My husband and I built a very large home in November of 2019. I tell you this, not to be boastful, but for informational purposes. You see, we have both my mother and father-in-law, and my husband’s aunt and uncle living with us, ages 77, 84, 81, and 84, respectively.  It’s quite the party! All the 80-year-olds go bee-boppin’ around here like they don’t know how old they are; my father-in-law up on a ladder in the garage hanging lights (retired electrician—not retired in THIS house. Ha!) The uncle can be found putting out our flag in the mornings, or watering/fertilizing/weed killing the best-looking lawn in the neighborhood (that would be mine—and not to my credit AT ALL.) The aunt supports his efforts—she picks out and plants all the flowers, giving him more to water. And although my mother-in-law has some mobility issues, she’s always there with her handy dandy sewing machine, ready to sew my many pairs of split scrub pants, or yoga pants (yes, I have split yoga pants before. Ho...

In the Disney movie Aladdin, the evil Jafar, and his equally nefarious, but much ornerier parrot Lago, were attempting to find that “diamond in the rough”—the only person worthy to enter to retrieve the coveted magic lamp from the Cave of Wonders—and live. After witnessing the unsuccessful attempt of their latest “jewel,” Lago stomps around on the shoulders of his master, sarcastically stating, “WELL, now THAT’S a big surprise! I…I...I think I’m gonna have a heart attack and die from NOT SURPRISE.” I truly believe that this is how most of you will feel when you read about this next risk factor for stroke. We’re wrapping up our stroke risk factors, and holy smokes! That means May is almost over! Speaking of smokes…that just happens to be our next topic of discussion. Smoking. For all you Lago’s out there—you may now die of NOT SURPRISE. I mean, what ISN’T smoking a risk factor for? MULTIPLE forms of cancer—not just lung cancer. The one true surprise to me was when I learned that s...

Ladies aaaand gentlemen! In the blogging world—in support of Stroke Awareness Month, there is one stroke risk factor SO prevalent, SO misunderstood, requiring SO much explanation, it doesn’t have to share its blog with any other risk factor. 29.1 million Americans have it, and another 8.1 million Americans carry it around with them every single day and are completely unaware of it. Congratulations, Diabetes! You get your very own blog. Saweeeet. November is American Diabetes Month. I am excited to share lots more information about Diabetes at that time. My goals for today are to 1—Debunk the junk that I hear about this disease that, honestly, is not taken seriously enough, and 2—to again, give you the WHY. I will answer why this is a risk factor for stroke. The American Diabetes Association recognizes four types of Diabetes, but I will only address the two that I think most people are more familiar with—type I and type II. Remember, medical pathology and mechanisms are complica...

Ah, the famous vicious circle. It is defined as “a sequence of reciprocal cause and effect in which two or more elements aggravate each other, leading to a worsening of the situation.” We have all heard of, watched, or have been stuck right in the middle of one. How about the teenager that has to keep telling new lies to cover the old ones? Does anyone have a friend who complains about how tired he is in the morning, consumes countless energy drinks during the day, and cannot sleep at night, just to be exhausted again in the morning? Who has “robbed Peter to pay Paul?” Have you ever had to cash advance from one credit card to pay the debt on another? Who has applied for a new job within your company, only to be turned down because you don’t have experience, yet you cannot get experience unless you are hired for that job? This next one might hit pretty close to home for many of you. For reasons you can’t explain, you are experiencing frustration, or a loss of motivation, which causes th...

I am part of the drink-from-the-garden-hose generation—not a water bottle to be found within miles of my home. I was always so generous; I was happy to hold the hose for my sisters as they took their turn for a drink. I have no idea what would cause my thumb to slip over a portion of the hose tip, spraying my sisters directly in the face, and sometimes up their noses. Geez, I hate it when that happens. (hehe) We are discussing stroke awareness for the entire month of May, and though my childhood deviousness seems to have nothing to do with the topic at hand, know that I have the ability to use bratty little sister behavior to exemplify a stroke risk factor. Hypertension (high blood pressure) is the number one risk factor for stroke and is often referred to as the “silent killer” because there are frequently NO symptoms until other organs are affected (like…the brain!!) Flash back to the garden hose—the water rolled out at a nice even pace…until I put my finger over the tip of it. T...