2009 July | Princess Know It All

Monthly Archive Of July 2009

HEALTHY LIFESTYLES: TIPS TO GREENING YOUR COCINA!

July 8, 2009

Feeling overwhelmed with changing your lifestyle is fo’real a bit scary!
The first character that popped into the my room was “Hi It’s Hard, I Can’t & You Don’t Understand.” The hardest part for her was “This cost’s too much money!” So I heard her complaints and then seized control of the situation. Once every two weeks I buy one green item for the kitchen and attempt to recycle the old.

Here is this weeks first tip:
Wooden Spoons and Cooking Utensils!

This is huge, we all know that plastic melts, leaks and changes when heated. So when we cook our food, we place these plastic utensils directly in the hottest temps! Like boiling water, fired up grease! This plastic is MELTING into our meal! YIKES!!!
Plus wooden spoons are not so expensive, just remember to not put them in the dishwasher.
Use a stainless steel spatula too!

The old plastic items

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Tags: better cooking, clean, Green, healthy living, meals, Mee Tracy, melting plastic contaminates food, PKIA, plastic, princess know it all
Posted in Crohn's Disease, healing, healing foods, health and wellness, health food, Healthy Lifestyles, macrobiotic, Mee Tracy, PKIA, whole foods | No Comments »

WELCOME to the new PKIA Online Magazine!

WELCOME!!!

I’m so excited to bring my blog to its new home! I’ve been in this convent working away for the past few months and this online magazine is just one of the many things we’ve been cooking up! For all you blog readers who have inspired me with all your rockin’ questions and thoughts, this is fo’ you!!

When I was18 years-old and two deadly car accidents (one week apart) stripped me of my mother and best friends, I learned first-hand that life changes in an instant.
I spent the following year keeping my feet moving by rebuilding my world in a new state. Eventually the sadness and grief caught up with my busy feet, leaving me to trip over my broken heart.

I’d had enough with nightmares and late-night tears. I’d tried to find others who had experienced the same degree of loss. Hoping I would find the information I desperately needed to deal with my grief, I hopped in “The Peach” (my orange Chevette) and drove to my first appointment with a psychiatrist.

I walked in the door rockin’ my long red rain coat my mother had bought me just before she died and I poured out my heart in unison with the rain outside. The PHD sat behind her gray table, wearing a gray suit, blending into her gray-painted walls. When I finished downloading I looked to her with my childlike face and aged eyes for compassion and love. She did her job well and kept her face gray.
I then asked her, “Am I crazy?”
“Well, you’re not NORMAL.”

For an 18-year-old girl who longed for a normal life, this was devastating! I then asked her “How long will this take? When will the burn leave me? When will I be NORMAL? Just give me a guess—three months? Three years? Ten years? Just tell me what I need to do to get through this?”
She offered me some pills to calm my nerves and help me sleep. Of course, she thought after a few more sessions she would have a clearer direction for us. I told her, no thanks. I didn’t need pills, I needed a hug. I needed to know that death and loss is normal and part of living.

We wrapped our convo up and headed to my car. As I turned the key I heard my angel say, “Ahh…ahhh…Girl, you are gonna heal this and then go into the world and create a platform for other women and girls to stand on—a platform built from love wrapped in the arms of a community!”

Lucky for me I didn’t stop searching. In the process I have found some AMAZING doctors, therapist, psychiatrists, life coaches and guides that I’m now able to share.

THIS IS MY PLATFORM, THIS IS MY COMMUNITY!

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Posted in PKIA, princess know it all, www.princessknowitall.com | 3 Comments »

DEAR PKIA w/ Carolyn Ross MD

July 7, 2009

Princess Know It All has teamed up with Carolyn Coker Ross, MD, MPH, to answer all your health-related questions. Dr. Ross is an Integrative Medicine physician, who has developed and pioneered the use of integrative medicine in healing food, body image issues and women’s health.

Dear PKIA and Dr. Ross:
I have been over-weight since I was a little girl. I’m now 30-years-old and the mother of three small children and I’m obese. I am 5 feet, 9 inches tall and just under 300 lbs. I have tried everything to lose weight and now I barely eat anything other then chicken, however I can’t seem to drop ANY weight. What’s wrong with me?

Sincerely,
Still Obese and not Eating

Dear Still Obese & Not Eating:
My heart goes out to you. I work with many individuals who have struggled with their weight since childhood. It sounds like you’ve tried a lot of different things. In response to your request for help, I would suggest that you take the following approach:

1. See your family doctor and make sure you have no medical factors that contribute to your –get a thyroid test, get blood sugar and insulin tests.

2. You have to eat MORE not less to lose weight. For more on this, see the blog on my website: http://www.carolynrossmd.com/which gives you 10 tips to jump start your weight loss.

3. Swear off diets. What I mean by this is that you have to find a healthy eating plan that you can stick with rather than looking for the quick-fix, latest, greatest diet. Make small changes in your diet such as using the “adopt a vegetable program,” in which you add new veggies to your diet each week. Just increasing your vegetable intake will help with your weight.

4. Increase your physical activity. I’m not saying that you need to go to a gym or sweat to the oldies with Richard Simmons. Just go to the park with your kids and take a walk. Start with walking or swimming 5 minutes, twice a day and increase by 5 minutes a week. Do an activity that you enjoy and that you can see yourself doing regularly. Yoga, along with more aerobic exercises like walking, will help with weight loss.

5. Make sure to get enough sleep. Lots of studies show that if you sleep less than 7 hours per night you will be more likely to be obese. If you have difficulty sleeping, there are many natural remedies for sleep including Valerian and L-tryptophan.

6. Take care of your emotional health. If you are depressed, you may not know that exercise is the best treatment for depression. You can also take natural supplements to support your mood including omega-3 fatty acids (1-2 grams per day) and a B-complex vitamin. If need be, talk to your doctor about medication.

7. Use the step approach to weight loss that I describe in my blog, in which you work to lose 10% of your weight and then try to maintain that for at least a month before you try to lose more weight. Weight maintenance is very important because yo-yo dieting has a bad effect on your health.

8. Give yourself credit for each and everything you do to improve your health. Don’t be hard on yourself if you don’t lose weight right away. It’s been a lifelong problem so you can’t expect it to go away overnight (although it would be great (smile)).

9. Get support for your efforts. Walk with a friend. Consider going to a 12-step group (they have them online now). Take healthy cooking classes where you can meet others who are interested in their health and learn to cook healthy meals.

10. Most importantly – don’t give up hope! If you’ve given birth to three kids, you can do anything! Examine your life for other areas where you’ve faced difficult challenges and ask yourself what got you through them. How did you approach the problem? You have many more skills than you think. You can apply these skills to your weight loss efforts.

Take one step at a time. Don’t try to do everything at once. You can reach your goals if you work on something that helps with your health a little bit every day.

Sincerely,
Princess Know it All and Dr. Carolyn Ross

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SEEING & HEARING WITH OUR HEARTS..NOT OUR FEAR.

July 5, 2009

Although I’m home from our Florida “Benjamin Button” themed journey, I am still reflecting. Spending time with people who have already finished the greater part of their lives and are now reflecting on who they were and what happened has created a lasting impression in my mind.
I guess a by the time you’re 80 you become wiser- you know you will either survive or not and fighting it just is a waste of the moment.
Sweetness is much more important than confrontation, so what does it matter?
My grandparents and my mother in law and Idora (who is Idora?), are for sure living from a place of sweetness and deciding not to view life with “Hi I Hold On To Things” eyes.

I spent most of my days (in Florida?) sitting at a small table in the kitchen with Idora. Idora was a perfect meal mate; she has to chew 50 times (her teeth are not so good anymore) which led to both chewing and eating in silence.
Every once in a while she would look up and stare out the window, shake her head, giggle to herself and say “I’m Old and I’m Black.”
Soon enough, my daughter, Lola, was walking around the house singing to the music only she could hear in her head: “She’s Old and She’s Black..She’s Old and She’s Black…” Then she’d giggle like Doe… (Who is Doe?- is it Idora?)

What I really wonder is, do we ever really see the person standing in front of us?
Or, do we only see our memories of someone or of a situation that is triggered by that person standing before us?
Let me explain: One of the women that works for my mother-in-law got herself all worked up and in a tizzy. You see, years ago her husband suffered from Cancer. He went on a strict diet and wouldn’t allow her to assist him in any way, and subsequently, he also got very thin. The good news is that whatever ailed him went away and he is now in his 80′s and healthy!
Instead being happy that he was well and alive or being happy watching me take the time to prepare my food and think about the choices I offer my children, my mother-in-law failed to see MEE. Instead she could only see her husband and how he isolated her. She was unable to listen to any of the great conversation I thought we shared because she was all tangled up in her own personal fearful and judgmental memories. She was unable to separate the past from present and passed her past poison onto me…

This happens to everyone all the time; we do it in almost all of our interactions and relationships, especially our male-female relationships.
I just wonder, can we ever really see the person in front of us? hmmmm…

Another example is high school reunions. Mine is coming up soon and I wonder, how many of us will be able to see the people that are actually before us rather than the memory of who they were in high school?
Sure, some folks won’t have changed a bit inside, arrested in their emotional development – but most people have spent the past 10 to 20 years stepping up to the plate and stretching our minds and hearts. This created new people, returning to the old world of high school.

Image is also a very interesting thing; some people never look past the mask that is presented. They form an opinion (opinions are NEVER true- they are always JUDGMENTS) of the mask and then tie it to some memory of another situation so that they can’t even hear whatever “convo” is going on around them… They are set off in another direction by the image, because their relationships are based on their own “IMAGE” that they present to the world – rather than their deeper relationship with life.

The lady who couldn’t hear or see me was so caught up in all of the things she was afraid of that every time she looked at me she could only see fear and hear fear (we twist everything we hear when we hear with fearful ears). She felt so rejected by her husband that this rejection sat inside her, turning to anger and then poison… total bummer dude.

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Tags: cancer, Crohn's disease, digestive trouble, healthy living, high school reunions, Idora, Mee, Mee Tracy, PKIA, princess know it all
Posted in Crohn's Disease, healing, health and wellness, health food, Healthy Lifestyles, high school reunions, Lee Mccormick, macrobiotic, Mee Tracy, PKIA, princess know it all | No Comments »

Fire Crackin’ Pit Bulls…

July 4, 2009

The 4th of July was really perfect!
Lee and I loaded up the rent-a-ride and spent the day at the beach, where the water was warm and the waves were kid-friendly…
In the early evening, Ms.Pauline (who is this? Is this the mother in law), Nella (her dearest friend), Lola, Bella and I all dressed up in pretty girl gear. After all, hanging around my mother in law inspires me to remember a time when women and girls were ladies.
This is one thing I really love this about her. You see, she is 89 years old!
Lee was what they called a “change of life” baby (now known as a “surprise”): his daddy was 50 when he was born.
When I first met Ms. Pauline the two of us knew we were a fit. I hold deep respect for nobility and honor and she was a great and honorable woman for me to learn from – not to mention that she still LOVES high fashion!! (perfect!)

Back to the story: Bella gave us a concert while we ate and Lola played pretend tea party. The air was warm and humid just the way I like it.
Around 8pm, Lee and I loaded the girls once again and headed down the road, or should I say down the river, to visit a friend of his and watch the fireworks.
His friend’s house was seriously slamming: it was on the river with gorgeous yard. Truly the IDEAL place to enjoy the evening and the perfect introduction for Lola and Bella’s first 4th of July fireworks show.
(We’ve always spent the holiday abroad or they were to little to stay up).

If you know my history, you know that I don’t have the smoothest past with animals. In fact, if there is a crazy one around he usually comes for me!
Because of this, I cased the joint looking for dangerous pets!
The two dogs that greeted us upon entrance were really sweet Labs, but down on the dock I spotted trouble!!
I didn’t think those faraway dogs were of concern, so we took our time walking into the house to get a drink. The girls and Lee led the way entering the house and just as I was about to step inside I heard a PANTING, GROWLING, BIG TOOTHED ANIMAL on my heels!
I looked back and yep, a PIT BULL was coming for my sweet little Kate Spade dress!
I stepped in and slammed the door on his teeth!!!
I tried to do my breathing exercises so I would not TERRIFY my youngins. The PIT BULL stood outside of the glass barking with anger that I was inside his house and he was not!

When the host of the party entered the room I said, “Is that your dog?”
“Yep.”
“Well he just scared the dickens out me!”
“Yeah, we’ve had problems with him before – he’s never REALLY bitten any humans, just small dogs, and he might think your kids are small dogs.”
I kindly asked, “do you think we could put him some where?”

They did, up on a balcony overlooking where we were seated!
I found it quite distracting listening to his growls and barking – I had to tell the girls not to look at him!
Bella asked, “Momma, can he jump over that LITTLE railing?”
With absolutely NO confidence I answered, “No, we are fine.”

When I was a kid, the 4th of July was a really big deal. We all (meaning everyone in town) walked to the town’s old water reservoir, which was the safest place to launch them because in Ohio fireworks were illegal for personal use.
The town set off about 12 minutes of fireworks; one at a time, and the grand finale was made up of 4 at once.
The real excitement was being together.

Since leaving Ohio I’ve seen some serious firework displays all over the world, but what went down after that PIT BULL will sit in my memory like a soldier who returns from the war!
There was no warning given: next thing I know this HUGE explosion of lights and flames was over our heads. I quickly covered the girls and ran for cover!
Once at higher ground, the bangs kept coming. Lola was cringing and Bella was shouting in my ear, “Momma I’m not comfortable with this, don’t they know that’s gun powder and we could catch fire?”
Yes, I said, you are right. I gave Lee the “Are you crazy?” face.
In between the dog barking and the bombs of fire works, I kept hearing a female voice, “Hey is there any one over there?”
I looked around and then pinned down that her voice was coming from the other side of the fence behind a row of tropical shrubs and palm trees.
“Yes,” I answered, “Can I help you?”
“I want to know if I can get into that backyard without going through the house.”
I answered, ” I don’t know and I’d be careful. There is a ravaged dog running around here”.
“Yeah I know,” she said, “I spoke to Mr_ _ _ about shooting those things off of here, this is not legal!”
Then I looked at Lee and said “Great, now I am aiding and abetting a criminal!”
I knew it wasn’t legal to have such an ARSENAL of fireworks!
Then, as if things weren’t nuts enough, that PIT BULL jumps from the balcony, runs down to the dock and grabs a firework that is LIT with his mouth. While everyone was yelling at him, I grabbed the girls and jumped up on the table!
Lee says I “squirrled!” ha,ha…
They FINALLY catch the crazy dog, lock him SOMEWHERE else in the house. The problem is that the girls are thirsty and have to pee!
I can’t get a straight answer about where the dogs are, so yes, I made my girls pee in this high – dollar yard! haha….. But I don’t think the lady of the house noticed when she bent down to say hello to the girls and her wine-laden breath almost got them drunk! haha..
I was on a mission. We had to leave this lunacy and the only way to our rented red mini-van was through that house. I mapped out how many steps through the house to the car we had to take and grabbed the girls and made a run for it, PRAYING that the jaws of that mad dog didn’t catch up with us.
We made it!