01/27/15
Depression

The Long Dark of Depression

Depression – Let’s Talk about it

Tomorrow, Bell is sponsoring “Let’s Talk”- an initiative designed to create discussions about mental health.  In recent years several celebrities have come forward to talk about their battles with depression and mental illness.

Unfortunately Robin Williams lost his battle with his dark depression demons.

The Dark

In the dark of winter on the damp coast, it’s easy to feel depressed.  The dark grey is all around you.   It’s dark in the morning when you get up and it’s dark in the afternoon when you go home from work.

Everyone has experience being depressed at some point in her life.  Most of the time you can pull out of it by going out into the sun or doing something you love to do.

But what if nothing helps?  What if you simply cannot bring yourself to do the things you love to do any more? Continue reading

11/4/14
Maxine on Fat

Fit and Healthy 12 week Experiment

If you’re wise exercise all the fat off,
Take it off – off of here, off of there!
Annie Lennox, Keep young and Beautiful

The Fit and Healthy Experiment Begins

My Fit and Healthy experiment all started with my finding a very cool tracking book called The Fit Book.  It was just lying around the mail room and Agent K said I could have it.  It was the ultimate food and fitness tracking book, all in a moderately small and neat package.

The Log Book

Every weight loss book or program always insists that you have to log your food intake and exercise if you want to be successful at losing weight.  Over the years I’ve just logged my progress in a boring old notebook.  This notebook was sexy.  It had colour, it had columns and tick boxes, it had food and exercise tracking all in one spread.  I got excited just looking at it.

So I decided that this little book showing up at this time was a sign that I needed to get on with my health regime. Continue reading

04/30/14
Big Bang Theory Flash

Hot Flash!

I’m hot blooded –check it and see
Got a fever of 103.
Foreigner

“I think I’m having a hot flash,” I casually said. “Does it feel like your face is on fire,” inquired Agent I. “Yes”. “Well then, that might very well be a hot flash.” She replied.

And so it begins

Yikes, a hot flash! Could this be my official entry into menopause? Continue reading

03/21/14
Love is not having to hold in your farts

Unmentionable Body Functions

Ya gotta talk about them!

It is a social convention that you don’t talk about body functions in polite society.  Unfortunately that means a lot of important information doesn’t get passed on.

With all the medical issues I’ve had, there have been some uncomfortable side effects that affect one bodily function or another.  These side effects can be frustrating to deal with.  But every now and then someone will drop an informational tidbit about unmentionable body functions to me that actually helps.  Continue reading

03/11/14

Ditching the Diet Books

Ditching the Books

If you’re wise, exercise all the fat off – take it off , off of here off of there.

 Annie Lennox – Keep young and beautiful

I’m ditching all my diet books.  Why?  Because they depress me.  They mock me from my bookshelf, throwing my lack of success with the bulge in my face. Also, they don’t tell me anything I don’t already know.   Continue reading

01/16/14
Kermit the Frog Lego

She Ain’t Heavy, She’s my Mother

A Child’s Perspective

“You’re not heavy, you’re my mom.”

With these simple words, my son put everything into perspective for me.

As I approached my half century mark, I guess I was lamenting, more than usual, about my weight.  Not that I was doing anything about it, mind you, but lament I did none-the-less. Continue reading