A Cautionary Tale That Could Save Your Life (or the Life of Someone You Love)

I feel compelled to share some information with all my readers. First let me provide a bit of background. March 3rd was my mother's birthday. She would have been 67 years old. She was a vibrant, active, Christian woman who went to be with the Lord last year less than a month after her 66th birthday. She got up one morning and was getting dressed to come pick me up to do our weekly shopping. She told her husband that she was really tired and didn't feel good and was having trouble breathing. She said she was going to lay down for a few minutes while he showered. By the time he got out of the shower, she was gone. I cannot overstate the shock and devastation this caused for our family.

It was determined that she had a heart attack. She didn't have heart disease or high blood pressure or anything like that. She was, like many of us, overweight and under stress. Like most women, she had no idea that the symptoms she was experiencing were classic symptoms of a heart attack, for a woman. Symptoms like fatigue, shortness of breath, indigestion and back pain are so easy to overlook or dismiss and this is the very reason so many women don't survive a heart attack. Everyone knows that severe chest pressure and pains down the arm are warning signs, but most people don't know that that women frequently don't experience either of those.

There are many locations online with information about how to prevent or detect heart attacks in women. One popular site is http://www.goredforwomen.org/. Please take a moment to check into this further. Being informed could save your life or the life of someone you love.

When Life Happens

I thought I had it all planned out. I was putting together my new housecleaning/organizing plan. I was making menus with new recipes. I was making plans for reading and plans for projects. All of it was supposed to start March 1. Then life happened. I spent the entire weekend dealing with a feverish and very clingy baby. She was still feverish this morning, so the housekeeping plan was put on hold. The menu is being simplified. I am now doing new recipes for supper every night with some new breakfast, lunch, snack, treat, and side dishes thrown in. However, all non-supper recipes will not necessarily be new ones. It was just too much to do all new recipes. I will still try to fit in as many as I can. I think I may have do pick a different meal to focus new recipes on each month or something. Anyway, this is supposed to be fun, not maddening. Right? Sigh.