I know I'm random...LOL

Every time I hear Josh Turner's song, "Why Don't We Just Dance," it takes me to a scene in one of my new favorite movies, "My Life In Ruins"...and I just gotta laugh...and DANCE...just because.

If you haven't seen "My Life In Ruins" yet, it's a definite must see for your viewing pleasure. Unless, of course, you are a guy who just don't dig Chick Flicks. However, if you wanna make your lady happy, rent it and watch it with her....and suck it up, buttercup! :P

Anyway, the particular scene in this movie is when Tour Guide Georgia (Nia Vardalos) is forced to take several flights of stairs because the elevator in her crappy hotel broke down. Georgia originally came to Greece to teach at a University...but unfortunately, the job fell through...so she took a job as a tour guide in a seedy company. In this scene, Georgia so fed up with her job and Greece that she goes on a mini rant as she's climbing all of the stairs.

In the movie Zorba the Greek, the scene where Alan Bates and Anthony Quinn have just lost all their life savings.
What do they do? They dance.

That's the way this whole country works. Or doesn't.

If the shower doesn't work...

(SCREAMS)

I'm sorry.

...they dance.


Or you want a little privacy,

(SCREAM)

they dance.

I'm very sorry. I'm very sorry.
Not that sorry.


Or, God forbid, the toilet breaks...


Oh, flapjacks.


...you get the Greek philosophy.


(IN GREEK ACCENT) "Relax, pee outside.


"Maybe it is your destiny
to write a poem about the sky."


And then they dance.


You know, Greece was
a happening place 2,500 years ago.


It was the birthplace of art
and democracy and philosophy.


And then they discovered the nap.


(PANTING)


This country's disregard for rules
and order is just sloppy.


What is with this hair? Is it a full moon?


You know, you've all just got to get
your act together and stop dancing.

My Life In Ruins Trailer

Now I think I wanna watch it again!

Til next time,
Karen

Minute 6 - 2010

Five years flew by in a fraction of an instant...and still, I'm wondering why it happened. The difference between then and now is, I'm finally REALLY taking her advice. Not just touching upon "Minute 6", or saying out loud what my blessings are, but actually doing it and believing it.

One thing that was missing from my previous practices with Minute 6 was the strength not to obsess with the "what could have beens." If I had done more, prayed more, stood up more, would it have made a difference? I obsessed over how I SHOULD feel about many situations in my life...and not how I really felt and how to deal with it properly. I'm convinced that this kind thinking is what eventually made me physically ill. I had so many symptoms, saw many specialists, treated with so many prescription medications...I wasn't me anymore. Minute 6 was no longer working for me. Karen was dead and gone.

My thyroid eventually whacked out. I felt and looked like hell. I really didn't believe I was going to pull out of it. I've seen people who have been battling it for years and still not well. I've read every Mary Shomon book available, only to become more depressed with the news that few doctors will take me seriously and REALLY want to help me. And the ones who do will cost more than I can afford.

My last Minute 6 before the change was more of a 5 minute cry to God. Then Minute 6 was the decision to change. I believe things began to move in my direction after that 5 minute prayer. A co-worker of mine forwarded an email titled "Life Handbook 2010." I don't like email forwards and generally delete them. I can't tell you why I opened this one, but I'm glad I did. This list helped me find myself again. For those who have been asking me how I lost weight, read Health number 3.

LIFE HANDBOOK 2010

Health:
1. Drink plenty of water.
2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants..
4. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy
5. Make time to pray.
6. Play more games
7. Read more books than you did in 2009.
8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day
9. Sleep for 7 hours.
10. Take a 10-30 minutes walk daily. And while you walk, smile.
Personality:
11. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
12. Don't have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
13. Don't over do. Keep your limits.
14. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
15. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip.
16. Dream more while you are awake
17. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need..
18. Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner with His/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others.
20. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
22. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
23. Smile and laugh more.
24. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree...
Society:
25. Call your family often.
26. Each day give something good to others.
27. Forgive everyone for everything.
28. Spend time w/ people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.
29. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
30. What other people think of you is none of your business.
31. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.
Life:
32. Do the right thing!
33. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
34. GOD heals everything.
35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change..
36. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
37. The best is yet to come..
38. When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.
39. Your Inner most is always happy. So, be happy.

I printed up this email and started living by it. I figured, it couldn't hurt. Before long, I was eating whole foods and dropped junk. Later, I found a naturopathic doctor and took a chance that she could help me fill in the gaps with my new lifestyle change. I began taking better supplements and stopped Gluten. Some people may call it quackery, but after going to so many specialists who couldn't begin to do anything but raise the dosage of synthroid, plus put me on other meds, it was a last ditch effort. Long story short, I lost 30 lbs, my exercise tolerance is back! I love to walk...my mind is clear, and I feel the best I have felt in years. The only med I am on now is half of the smallest dose of Synthroid. My family doctor said whatever I was doing, to keep doing...because it's working. I don't think it was just one thing that started the healing process, but I DO believe that changing the way I think was the key to it all.

So now, Minute 6 is quite different for me. When I feel the emptiness of losing Ginni and Claus...or find myself reliving past failures, I allow myself exactly 5 minutes to grieve...but I don't beat myself up anymore. I know I did everything I could do. I don't allow myself the opportunity to obsess over things I cannot change. I use the grief time to cry tears of love...constructive tears, because they deserve to know how much I love them...wherever they are. I say what's in my heart, and it's no longer self defeating. When I do, I can feel the love come back to me, if that makes any sense...and it makes it much easier to finally make it to Minute 6, where I need to get over myself. LOL.

This morning, I had a wonderful Minute 6 moment. I felt as though she were right here with me. And today, I am good. :)

Ginni, on this 5th anniversary, I hope I am doing you proud as you have done me.

I love you,
Sis

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If you could become any fictional character, who would you be?

Allie Hamilton Calhoun

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If you could rid the world of one thing, what would it be?

Cancer.

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What is your cure for SNOWKILL???

Some beach.

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I need to cry for a bit...feel free to ignore my rant...

I need a thyroid doctor who listens to me. I don't feel well, and it has gone on long enough. I've read about so many people who have found doctors who are willing to work with the patient to get the right combination of medications, lifestyle and supplement adjustments to get them well faster. I'm dealing with the same old thing that hasn't worked for decades. Prescribed a synthetic T4 for the fourth time now, and I'm just over this. Not one of the many doctors I have paid want to try anything different.

I've had several episodes of atrial fibrillation. My heart is fine. Numerous expensive and uncomfortable tests confirm that. One doc says it's thyroid disease fueled. Another says it's anxiety...and a third says it's allergy related. Because of this problem, no one will consider me for T3 replacement. Be patient...give it time, they say. It's been way over a year and I say I've been the lab rat for all of the so-called "tried and true" therapies and clearly they are NOT working. This is not fair.

I've had sensitivities to Levothyroxine three times now. I'm on a low dose of the brand name Synthroid to see if that will make a difference. I'm still sick. I want to exercise, but it makes me sick to do so. This makes me sad. I want be active! I have the will, but I cannot get physically ill because of my intolerance to exercise. (Another symptom of hypothyroidism.)

I eat only whole foods now. I drink only water and the occasional chamomile tea. I don't drink, quit smoking...I take whole food multi-vitamins. I've been doing this for awhile...and as I said earlier, I'm still sick.

I'm tired of reading websites about patients who have found an open minded doctor to help them heal. Frankly, in this large area that I live in, there isn't one within a hundred miles of me who will take my insurance. Those docs are way out of my price range. I'm jealous. If Mary Shomon is such the patient activist, come to MY area! Unless they're wealthy, our thyroid patients are suffering. And specialists are a dying breed.

I've read every book cover to cover and have tossed them out of frustration. I can stand up, be proactive, put my foot down, cry my eyes out to ALL of my docs and nothing. I feel like I'm branded as a complainer. I was good in the beginning, trust me. I came in with my symptoms and looked for help. I was given help...I've been given the same OLD help. After a year of my suffering and a year of the old-school thyroid treatment, you'd think someone would want to explore another avenue?

I want all of my money back.

I'm done crying now. Maybe venting here will help me find some newfound courage to continue to kick thyroid disease ass. I don't know.

Until next time,

Karen