UNSEEN (PSYCHOLOGICAL) PROBLEM

UNSEEN PROBLEM

   I have been loosing interest in driving for a while.  The first time I remember a problem was in Denver a couple of years ago.  I was in a foreign place with unfamiliar roads.  There was one highway there that I was afraid to negotiate.  I was constantly hearing about major accidents on that road.  I hated it.

   Then, one day on the way to the office, I lost control of the steering on my truck.  The belt broke.  I had to try to move my truck out of traffic to a secure location and call for help.  Fortunately, my Middle Son was in the truck with me and he basically grabbed onto the steering wheel and moved the truck out of traffic.  My anxiety was very elevated.

   After Denver, I was expected to drive on a highway in Tennessee that always had wrecks on it.  I saw the wrecks there frequently.  Many of the wrecks were caused by people trying to avoid hitting deer.  How many sedans and 18 wheeler trucks have I seen in the median?    It affected me.

   I have noticed that I drive on the right side of the road.  I never drive over the speed limit, but often I drive under the limit.  My gauges on the dashboard show no problem, but the check engine light is often on.  Something is wrong and I have adjusted my driving accordingly.  I am miserable behind the wheel, I had lost confidence in myself to drive.  I just decided that I am too old.  I am looking to work from home or to just retire.

   Then, I am informed that I need a lot of front end work done on the truck.  This is an unseen problem.  My gauges don't show this, so I keep driving for a month or so. 

   Then, one day when I am on my way home, about an hour away, it gets worse than ever.  I have two hands on the steering wheel, driving under the speed limit, having great difficulty keeping the truck in my lane.  I have severe doubts that I will be able to negotiate the truck home without crashing.  My anxiety was elevated, and so was my blood pressure.  Driving was affecting my health!

   I arrived at home and parked the truck.  I will not drive again.  I'm through.  I am no mechanic and I just can't deal with this.  I phoned my friend who told me the front end needed work and asked if he could fix it.  He is so generous with his talents.  He agrees to fix the problem and even replaced my front brake pads.  Then, I had to get the front end aligned.  O.k.

   Let me tell you...I was driving to see my Mother recently and noticed that I had the radio turned up, enjoying my drive.  I was passing those drivers who were driving under the speed limit.  I was no longer driving in the slow lane, listening for new noises that would indicate that I needed to pull over.  I really was enjoying the drive!

   It struck me that sometimes life is like that.  Problems creep up on us and we adjust our lives.  Relationships suffer.  We are miserable, out of control of our emotions.  Life gets difficult to deal with.  The cause of our misery is unseen.  The good news is that you may need your "front end" fixed.  I recommend that you start with God.  He is the answer to all questions.  Ask Him to show you what is causing the problem.  Then, seek professional help.  Christian therapists/counselors can help identify the root cause and help fix it.  Life will be good again.

   If you are using chemicals to deal with daily life, emotions, relationships, it is time to get your "front end" looked at.  Alcohol and street drugs are not used for routine maintenance, but they are an "adjustment" to deal with the problem.  Seek help.   It is good to smile and sing and go places when you want to.

   What do you think?

You are also invited to visit Oma at http://omaswisdom.blogspot.com/, http://omashealth.blogspot.com/, http://omaspolitics.blogspot.com/, and http://tbcspeaks.blogspot.com/.

EDIBLE ARRANGEMENTS

EDIBLE ARRANGEMENTS

   If you follow me on facebook, you know how busy I was on Mother's Day:  I made sugar cookies and delivered them to three people.  I cut out letters for two people that read Happy Mothers Day.  I had no apostrophe.  Then I cut out hearts and flowers, put them on sticks, baked them, and stuck the sticks in foam stuff in a basket for cookie bouquets.  Of course, my Mother received both the letters and the bouquet.  My Step-Mother received the letters, and my Daughter-in-Law received the other bouquet.  My Granddaughter was sick, so she could not assist me in making the cookies.  She loves to bake cookies.

   I must have driven about two hundred miles on Mother's Day.  Then I had business on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday at my house.  On Wednesday, I went to a friend's house to help.  I received a call from my Daughter-in Law who is out of state on Sunday that I had a fruit bouquet at Edible Arrangements for me to pick up.  I got another call on Monday to remind me I needed to pick up the bouquet.   On Wednesday, I received a call from Edible Arrangements.  I had almost forgot about them by then, but said I would come today and get them.

   When I finally arrived at Edible Arrangements, I told the manager, Nikki, who I was and that I was there to pick up my arrangement.  She knew how late I was at picking it up.  She went in the back to assess the bouquet and came back to the front to say that she was not going to allow me to take the order with me the way it was.  I had waited too long. 

   Let me say that Edible Arrangements has no freezer onsite.  All orders are made fresh and placed in their "cooler".  I was informed that when the fruit is dipped in chocolate, it breaks down the fruit.  The fruit is at a disadvantage of retaining freshness at that point.  Compare it to normal fresh fruit, which can stay in the 'fridge for days and still be relatively fresh.

   So I asked Nikki what I should do.  I was at least hoping to take the balloons and the vase with me.  She informed me that she was going to REPLACE the bouquet before she would allow me to walk out of her shop with it.  I asked how much more money that would cost, hoping that it would maybe be half priced.  She said she would replace the whole thing for me at no additional cost.

  Those of you who know how critical I am about businesses that have lost their customer service have to know I was impressed.  Believe me, at my age, you really have to work to positively impress me.  Nikki did not know me from the next guy, I had never seen her before in my life.  I can say this, though, I will come back to her with my business in the future, and I highly recommend Edible Arrangements in Humble, Texas to everyone.  The address is 20669 West Lake Houston Parkway.  You can contact them by phone at:  281-852-1335.

   I also want to say that this bouquet that my Oldest Son sent had so much fruit on it that it fed more that ten people.  I called for help from my S.O.'s sisters and his daughter and three of his grandchildren.  There was plenty for everybody.  It was very tasty as well as pleasing to the eye.

   No one pays me for my opinion on their businesses.  That is probably a good thing, because many fall short of expectations.  When I find a business that is taking care of their customers, I gladly share.

What about you?  Have you recently found a business that favorably impressed you?  Let us hear about your experience.

You are also invited to visit Oma at http://omaswisdom.blogspot.com/, http://omashealth.blogspot.com/, http://omaspolitics.blogspot.com/, and http://tbcspeaks.blogspot.com/.

CUTTING SODIUM FROM DIET

CUTTING SODIUM FROM DIET

   Getting back to the DASH diet, how are you doing on it?  I have taken two blood pressure pills this year.  Not two kinds every day; only two this year.  The diet is working.  Basically, I am off the blood pressure pills and my blood pressure is good.  My target was <140/90.  I monitor it twice daily. Currently, it is 127/88, and there is a lot of stress in my life.

   One of the things we are doing is the addition of fruit juices daily.  In the past, we drank a lot of gatorade, so I kept the bottles.  I clean them out and put the fruit juices in the 12 oz. gatorade bottles for my S.O. to carry to work. 

   In the 20 oz. bottles, I pour freshly brewed tea.  Then I freeze them.  I send them, frozen, in his lunch.  He has sweetened and unsweetened.  In the unsweetened tea, he adds crystal lite, or some kind of flavoring.  He has cut way down on the sodas and gatorade he was drinking.  The sodium in drinks really adds up.

What are you doing to cut the sodium from your diet?  How is it working?

You are also invited to visit Oma at http://omaswisdom.blogspot.com/, http://omashealth.blogspot.com/,  http://omaspolitics.blogspot.com/, and http://tbcspeaks.blogspot.com/.  Just click the names of the site you want to visit.

PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

   When you have to work on the weekend, or are just feeling blue, these cookies are guaranteed to make you feel better (unless you are allergic to peanuts).  You can freeze the dough up to three months.

PEANUT BUTTER COOKIE RECIPE



1/2 C     sugar

1/2 C     packed brown sugar

1/2 C     peanut butter

1/4 C     shortening

1/4 C     margarine or butter, softened

1            egg

1 1/4 C all-purpose flour*

3/4 t      baking soda

1/2 t      baking powder

1/4 t      salt

Mix sugars, peanut butter, shortening, margarine and egg.  stir in remaining ingredients.  Cover and refrigerate at least 3 hours.

Heat oven to 375  degrees.  Shape dough into 1 1/4 inch balls.  Place about 3 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.  Patten in crisscross pattern with fork dipped in flour.  Bake until light brown, 9 - 10 minutes.  Cool 2 minutes:  remove from cookie sheet.  About 3 dozen cookies, 85 calories per cookie.
* If using self-rising flour, omit baking soda, baking powder and salt.

From Betty Crocker Cook Book.  This is a family favorite.

You are also invited to visit Oma at http://omashealth.blogspot.com,%20http//omaswisdom.blogspot.com, http://omaspolitics.blogspot.com/, and http://tbcspeaks.blogspot.com/.  Just click the name of the site you would like to visit.