December 18, 2008

LuLu

LuLu, our cat, gets up every morning with two goals.  The first one is to get me to feed her a lot of treats.  She knows that if she nags loud enough or long enough, I will give in.  The second goal is to get Alan, my husband, to play with her.  I have tried real hard to keep the treats down and her weight at the last visit to the vet was good.

Taking care of Yourself

We were honored to be invited to the debut of the documentary Fibromyalgia, Fitting the Pieces Together. We had a fabulous dinner at the Townsend in Birmingham followed by the film.  Sharon Osalecki, Ph.D, was the force behind the film and deserves a lot of credit in making it possible. Sharon and many of the patients shown in the film followed a similar path as Alan in getting the diagnosis. Alan is doing well now.  He has an exercise program that along with medication and message has kept his symptoms in check.

Exploring

We have been in a whirlwind of holiday parties.  The Turner-Dodge house, an historical house in Lansing, is always festive during the Holiday season and has a great party every year.  The Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame celebrates with a potluck for all its supporters.  My Prime Time Exercise group also had a great potluck. Because I volunteer at Governor Granholm’s Constituent office, we get to go to the staff holiday party.  It is always a great party.  Since I love Christmas music and Alan loves Jazz, we went to the MSU Professors of Jazz Holiday Concert. The concert was great.

Giving Back

This time of year, all the groups that provide services to the needy inundate us.  I will go out on a limb here and confess that I do not support “Toys for Tots” or the “Make a Wish” foundation.  Although these are feel good programs they do not attack the long-term problems of the family.  We give to the food bank.  Being a farmer’s daughter and a retired Registered Dietitian, feeding people has always been important to me.  But the long-term problem such as lack of health care and quality education for 21st century jobs needs to be addressed which is why I supported President-elect Obama.