Amazing Vegetables and Fruits

I got this email from my mom and I thought it was really interesting! Yay for fresh fruit and vegetables! (Now I really feel like I need to go to the farmer's market in town and snag some of these!)

Email:

A sliced Carrot looks like the human eye. The pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye... and YES, science now shows carrots greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the eyes.

A Tomato has four chambers and is red. The heart has four chambers and is red. All o f the research shows tomatoes are loaded with lycopine and are indeed pure heart and blood food.

Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research today shows grapes are also profound heart and blood vitalizing food.

A Walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles or folds on the nut are just like the neo-cortex. We now know walnuts help develop more than three (3) dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function.

Kidney Beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys.

Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and many more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don't have enough sodium in your diet, the body pulls it from the bones, thus making them weak. These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body.

Avocados, Eggplant and Pears target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female - they look just like these organs. Today's research shows that when a woman eats one avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight, and prevents cervical cancers. And how profound is this? It takes exactly nine (9) months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods (modern science has only studied and named about 141 of them).

Figs are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow. Figs increase the mobility of male sperm and increase the numbers of Sperm as well to overcome male sterility.

Sweet Potatoes look like the pancreas and actually balance the glycemic index of diabetics.

Olives assist the health and function of the ovaries.

Oranges, Grapefruits, and other Citrus fruits look just like the mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts.

Onions look like the body's cells. Today's research shows onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells. They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes. A working companion, Garlic, also helps eliminate waste materials and dangerous free radicals from the body.

"Everything's gonna be alright, rock-a-bye, rock-a-bye..." -Shawn Mullins, Lullaby

Ok...you know you are officially an adult, when a college aged student at the local HEB asks your advise on how to pick out meat! Seriously? I was happy to help this girl understand what a split chicken breast was, but I felt profoundly older and even mother-like as she thanked me and walked away. Of course this was after we looked at her recipe together and talked about what exactly it called for. WOW. Did she scan the various people at the meat counter and I just looked appropriate to ask? Or maybe, I was just approachable. Maybe I smiled. I don't know, but I definitely had a moment in HEB the other day after this occurred. :)


Ok, update on Daisy. I've let some of you know that she came in last Thursday night with a gash in the top of her head. :( IT was bleeding, but not profusely. I proceeded to mildly freak out and Brian proceeded to stay totally calm and clean her cut out. It didn't look too deep, so I just called the vet's office. Since it was 8 pm, they did not answer, but instead offered a number to call their after care service in Killeen..who did NOT return my call, even though I told them how concerned I was on their little message machine.

Anyways, in the morning, the cut had not closed up. Brian thought she would be ok, but I was still concerned. I called the vet and told them the situation and made an appointment to come in and have it looked at after school. Turns out Daisy needed 5 stitches! So sad! She was pretty doped up after her minor surgery and couldn't exactly walk straight. She did a lot of leaning on me. I'm sure it was for comfort sake/so that she could attempt to walk a straight line. Our vet gave us a cone for Daisy to wear so that she would not mess with the stitches...I really didn't want to use it. I was able to hold off until Saturday afternoon, when Daisy finally realized that there was something on top of her head and messed with it.





Daisy on the way home...she couldn't quite figure out how this sitting on the seat thing worked...I had to pull over 2 times to reposition her!
Her sad stitches. The look a LOT better now, three days out from this pic!

Daisy resting after her surgery. She eventually came in and curled up on the couch with me as the drugs started to wear off.

Out of respect for the emotional damage that a picture of Daisy with the cone on her head might do to her, I will refrain from posting that pic. Needless to say, she learned her lesson and has not messed with it since which equals no more cone-wearing for her! :) She is recovering well, and should get her stitches out early next week! I'm sure glad I took her in! My vet did comment and say, "It kinda looks like she lost the fight" with her shaved stitched up head and all!

Some people bring home stray animals...

And others (being Brian) bring home old power tool paraphernalia....I walked out to back my car out of the garage this morning only to find this monstrous new addition to our ever crowded garage...I'm sure Brian has an EXCELLENT use for it. I THINK it might be a huge air compressor. I'll let you know when I find out. Seriously?! Yes, it is a big air compressor- used to do things "like fill up the tires on your car" says Brian. Ha, welcome to our crowded garage, and yay for well-filled car tires!

"It's time to leave the past in the past and lace up a new set of shoe strings...so we can sit together side by side through amazing..." -Blue October

Each year, whether I get the cd out to all my friends or not, I do make a year in the life CD, formally known as "Year in the Life of Bundy". (I always have the goal of getting it to everyone, but sadly these Cd's, like the Christmas Cards I buy each year, don't always make it.) I collect the songs throughout the year as I hear them or am reminded of songs that pertain to my current situation, and at the end of the year I have about 30 or so songs, and I am forced to pick, choose, narrow and refine my year into about 20 reflective songs. I try to give equal credit to joyous and sad occurrences in the year, but they do not always get equal play. They didn't for 2008.

So, January came bringing 2009, and I was going to share the Year in the Life 2008 CD, but just couldn't do it. It was just too much of a downer. Every time I listened to it, I cried. (Therapeutically, but still, cried none the less.) I was feeling reflective and listened to it a few weeks ago when I was folding laundry, and actually didn't cry. WOW. I thought, hey, I can actually share the songs- I really am making it. :) Great feeling! IF you would like a copy, I'd be glad to get it to you, but I didn't want to just blindly send you this CD. I mean, it ends hopefully, but it's pretty sad at some points. The first song gave me the title for this blog. I started the blog, when I was starting to cull through the songs last year. I listened to these songs a LOT this last year. Here's the final list.

Year in the Life 2008:
Walk You Home- Karmina acoustic version (I listened on repeat quite a lot)
Untitled- Simple Plan
Mark's Song- Eastmountainsouth (Credit to Jen for finding this song and getting it to me!)
It is Well With My Soul- Chris Rice (Song I woke up hearing -in my head- the morning after John was born. The link is to the history of the song I had never heard of and discovered while I was choosing songs for John's funeral. Scroll down on the link to read the history.)
Seamless- Christopher Jak (love the strings in this song)
Broken- Lifehouse
Hardtimes- Eastmountainsouth
No Bad News- Patty Griffin
Laugh So You Don't Cry- Andy Davis
Rise Above This- Seether (Good jogging song)
Awakening- Switchfoot (Another song I jogged to)
Crack the Shutters- Snow Patrol
Back to Where I Was- Eric Hutchinson
One of Those Days- Joshua Radin
Picking Up the Pieces- Blue October (actually came out post 2008, but it is too good to not include on the list, so I broke my rules and added it.)
Our Hope Endures- Natalie Grant
Only Hope- Switchfoot
Jesus' Blood- Hillsong United (Heard during communion and it was a strong reminder of the Lord's presence throughout everything and his faithfulness.)
Your Love is Extravagant- Darrell Evans (Have LOVED this song for many years)

So, the neat thing is one of my first songs for Year in the Life 2009 is entitled "Blue Skies". A lot has happened. The passage of time really does help. I really wasn't sure when my Dad told me it would- I couldn't quite believe him, but it does. God is and has been so faithful to me and I hope this CD says that.

Hi, our home is a haven for kittens now...what?

And the two OTHER kittens I found on Sunday...here they are. They have a happy home too- they were adopted by a cat at Mack's house. :) So CRAZY...all these kittens! I felt horrible that I missed Camilla...but she was rather quiet when I first looked on Sunday!

"How long will I be picking up pieces, how long will I be picking up my heart?" -Blue October Picking up the Pieces

The vet answered briskly, "You can treat this cat for $150 or so, or you can realize that this is a very sick kitty and take it to a shelter."

"If I take it to a shelter, will they be able to treat it?"

"Well it will need fluids probably, a fecal, a thorough exam, shots...honestly, if they see that it has parasites, they will euthanize it. Just remember, there is no right decision, so take your time deciding," the vet said as she walked back into her office completely unaffected by the weight of the decision that lay before me.

It was clear that if I wanted to talk to her about this situation any further it would be through appointment and ensuing payment only. (I really thought vets might do a bit of pro-bono work, especially for kittens that just appeared in the back of my husband's truck but evidently not at Petsmart.)

I felt the tears starting to well up in my eyes. I cradled the little grey kitten in one hand and grabbed my cell phone in the other as I turned my face away from the counter.

In my mind I was back on my couch last summer hearing the horrible news about how sick John was, and I was being asked to make an impossible decision. My doctor then had said similar words, "Either decision is a right decision." How could I decide what to do about this little kitten that somehow ended up in the back of my husband's truck? Of COURSE I wanted to spend the $150 dollars or whatever it would take to get this cat well. It could actually GET better.

Thankfully I was quite aware of my feelings (Can you say TRANSFERENCE) and I knew I wanted to help the kitten (yes because it is a living thing) but more because I wasn't able to help John. I dialed Brian's number hoping that he might pick up and tell me, "Of course, help the cat we don't plan on keeping and who might not make it after being starved since Saturday."

I was looking for someone to share in the decision making process.

He did not answer his phone- he was taking interviews all afternoon. At this point I really started to crumble. All the while thinking, "Seriously...I've had these emotions in check for what three months now...why are they so close to the surface? Why am I equating this decision with the one we had to make for John?"

The simple answer is that I will always have these feelings that connect back to John. I understand this, and I'm just ready for the time when it doesn't surprise me that I'm feeling them so deeply. I view my life through the lens of my experiences, and John is a pretty hefty experience. Still someday, I keep thinking I will find it normal that I feel so much.

Back to this kitten (who I named Camilla after Fozzy the Muppet's chicken). When Brian didn't pick up the phone I called Mack, my father-in-law who had helped me out with the other two kittens that I found on Sunday (What's the deal with stray kittens picking our house to come to?). Mack offered to come over and help me with the kitten and take it to his house to a mama cat who would adopt it. I thanked him profusely and turned around to thank the receptionist at the vet section in Petsmart. Since she had heard everything I also was going to tell her that all was taken care of...ie my story of how that occured.

Before I could speak the receptionist, Carrie, leaned forward over the counter casting a furtive look back toward the door the callous vet left through.

"Listen, my sister is a cat person and she rescues them all the time, I know she would want to take this kitten," Carrie said conspiratorially.
"Really, are you sure she would want this one?" I asked hopefully.

"Yes, if she doesn't, I will take him home."

"Ok, well...wow, thank you."

We worked out the details, she explained how I should use the formula bottle I got for Camilla, and how to best get her to eat. We agreed that Carrie would call when she got off work shortly after 8.

I took Camilla home, sniffly from crying, and let Mack know I had found a home for Camilla here in town. He was wonderful about it all.

Well eight o'clock came and went and then 8:20...8:35...8:46...no phone call. I literally flipped my phone open to call Mack and tell him that Carrie must have bailed on me when my phone lit up with an unknown number!

Carrie and I agreed to meet at THE Walmart in town (that THE was for Borrego). I took my purring friend, who was looking quite perky after her substitute mother's milk bottle, and hopped in the car.

We met up with Carrie and she told me how excited she was to take the cat (I didn't tell her I had named her Camilla) home.

"Well, you certainly renewed my belief in the kindness of strangers" I said with a corniness slipping into my voice that I was not expecting.
"I do work for a vet," She laughed, "It kind of goes with my job."

We smiled and parted ways outside of the Walmart. I hope that Camilla likes her new home. I'm thankful that she has someone who will take good care of her and will feel great about investing in her health...probably at a discounted rate since she works at a vet's office. Although, I do hope she takes Camilla to see the other vet that works at Petsmart!

James Avery

Current items I love from James Avery:
(I would love to actually put the pic on the blog...but I don't know how. I'm hoping Erin will give me a tutoring lesson on how to do this!)

Duo Leaf Pendant

Stylized Scroll Pendant

Wavy I Bangle Bracelet

Wavy II Bangle Bracelet

Wavy III Bangle Bracelet

Just to share...I just got the new catalog in the mail and thumbed through it while Brian and I were watching an NCIS re-run and loved these items.