Category: Lifestyle

Gift Ideas for a Healthy Dad

June is Men’s Health Month so here are some gift ideas to keep those men in your life healthy.

In case you haven’t stopped in before, I typically write about life with fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) and strategies for coping with it naturally. As June is Men’s Health Month and Father’s Day is coming up, I wanted to offer some gift ideas for keeping the men in your life – dad, husband, brother, friend – healthy and happy.

Click through for gift ideas to keep your man healthy

Men’s Health

Men typically live 5 years fewer than women.

Men are more likely to have heart disease than women.

Men are more likely to use tobacco and drink.

And men make up less than 10% of the millions of people diagnosed with fibromyalgia. Continue reading “Gift Ideas for a Healthy Dad”

The Correlation between Caffeine and Pain

There’s nothing like smelling coffee first thing in the morning, and holding that cup of steaming, hot, luscious, black elixir.

I considered naming this post “For the Love of Coffee” or “To Coffee with Love.” To say I love coffee is an understatement. I love the smell of coffee. I love the taste of coffee. I love the act of brewing coffee: I own an automatic drip coffee maker, a french press, a cappuccino machine, a pour over coffee dripper, and a coffee grinder for grinding my own beans. I like coffee hot, iced, black, lattes, cappuccinos, espressos, and sometimes I make bulletproof coffee or even splurge with an Almond milk White Mocha or Vietnamese style coffee. Tiramisu is one of my favorite desserts, and mocha almond fudge is one of my favorite ice cream flavors. So suffice it to say, I love coffee. Not to discriminate against tea. I am a fan of tea as well, and have a well stocked supply of flavors and teas with different therapeutic benefits, but coffee is my morning jam. ❤ So cutting back on how much I drink hasn’t been easy.Caffeine and pain

Continue reading “The Correlation between Caffeine and Pain”

Clean Eating: Almond Butter-Banana Smoothie

I have embraced a “clean eating” philosophy, to keep my fibromyalgia symptoms at bay.

When I was a kid, my father used to come home from work and snack on a handful of nuts or a spoonful of peanut butter, to hold him over until dinner. The protein and fiber helped curb that hunger just enough. I always loved peanut butter growing up, too. Peanut butter with jelly, ice cream, chocolate, and bananas! PB&B may have been Elvis’ favorite sandwich, but this combination makes a great smoothie too!

Continue reading “Clean Eating: Almond Butter-Banana Smoothie”

My Skin Cancer Scare

I always thought it was unfair to still be experiencing wrinkles AND acne into my 40s and 50s.

As May comes to a close and we celebrate Memorial Day here in the United States, it is the unofficial start of summer. With BBQs and trips to the lake or beach upon us, I wanted to write about something other than fibromyalgia, but still something near and dear to my heart. May is Skin Cancer Awareness month. I became aware of this disease as a little girl, since it has plagued my mom’s side of the family. She grew up in a beach town back in the days when they used baby oil on their skin in the summer. Fair skin + no protection + summers in the sun = Disaster.

My first recollection of skin cancer was when I was about 8 years old at one of my ballet recitals. My mom had to wear a big floppy hat to protect her face. She had just had surgery to remove skin cancer, which took part of an eyebrow and had she waited any longer for treatment, she was told she would have lost her eye. Since then she’s had multiple surgeries – nose, scalp, ear. And she is facing two more surgeries in the next few weeks. My aunt, grandmother, and my oldest brother have all had a few removed. We are the fair-skinned ones in the family. Because of this my mother instilled in me at that very early age to take care of my skin. I think of using sunscreen as one of those things that everyone knows they should do, but often don’t take the time. SPF is your friend!

Continue reading “My Skin Cancer Scare”