health

My shoulder says I need a day off.

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thMaybe two days, even. A recurring pain in my shoulder and arm was exacerbated due to, well, stubbornness: I was determined to make candy to give away for Christmas.

One batch of sea-salt caramels and one batch of Scotch brittle later and I am hurtin’ for certain. I underestimated the impact that constant stirring (followed by cutting, rolling and wrapping) would have on my already-sore body parts.

Thus for the next few days I might put up nothing but the weekly giveaway plus a multi-blogger promotion that’s to be announced Monday. It’s not because I don’t have anything to say, but rather that I’m concerned about these aches.

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Snowbound, on purpose.

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thSnow finally fell in Anchorage and we’ve had 24 hours of bliss. Not because we’re avid skiers or because we plow driveways as a side hustle. It’s because we intentionally stranded ourselves.

Only about six inches of snow fell here in West Anchorage, starting on Sunday afternoon. But each year the streets (and highway medians) fill up with people who forgot how to drive in the winter.

Thus we decided to stay home and let everyone else play bumper-cars. Although DF did have a work-related assignment that afternoon, he managed to keep it between the ditches coming and going.

Once he got home we stoked up the fireplace insert and turned off the computers. We enjoyed a long evening of piano playing (him), a New York Times crossword puzzle (me), sharing the meal prep and cleanup, listening to music, reading and talking. For a time we turned on the outside light and shut off the inside ones, the better to watch the snowflakes swirl.

He’d once mentioned the John Greenleaf Whittier poem, “Snow-Bound,” a memory of how the poet’s family endured – and enjoyed – a particularly harsh spell of winter weather. It seemed appropriate to our situation so I asked if he would read it to me. Since he couldn’t find the book that contained it, my computer got switched back on.

We discovered the actual title is “Snow-Bound: A Winter Idyl.” We also discovered that a room lit mostly by firelight and perfumed with supper fragrances is a perfect place for a recitation of that particular poem.

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Sick? Please stay home.

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thBack in 1980 I was a single mom and “permanent part-time” employee at The Philadelphia Inquirer. Like many working parents I feared illness because it meant using up sick days – which God had clearly intended to be used when your kid got sick.

Plenty of people still feel the same way – and quite a few workers come to work when they’re sick because they feel the place would collapse without them.  A new study from Kimberly-Clark says 59% of employees come in sick, either because they’re too “essential” to stay home or because they’ve got too much work to do to miss a day.

Trouble is, their co-workers may wind up missing days if they catch whatever cooties Typhoid Mary/Marty is spewing into their shared breathing space.

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Giveaway: The cold and flu package.

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th-1If you’ve been in the cold/flu medicine aisle of the drugstore lately you were probably as shocked as I was by  the high cost of cold medications.

I hope none of you actually get sick this winter. But we’re indoors with a lot of other people and rhinoviruses spread faster than nasty rumors. So why not be prepared? And why not let me help?

These cold-and-flu packages are invariably popular, and probably not just because they save you money. I think a lot of people simply don’t want to keep cold medications on hand because, well, you don’t need them.

Until you do — at which point ayou might feel too miserable to make the trip to the pharmacy. And if you thought this stuff costs a lot at the pharmacy, wait until you price them at a convenience store.

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9 frugal mood enhancers.

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9 frugal mood enhancers.Autumn is coming, sooner than I’d like to acknowledge. Although the days are still mild (50 to 60 degrees) the angle of the sun has changed, making its rays seem tentative and transitory. That is, when the sun can be seen – it’s been raining a lot, too.

Where you live might still feel summery right now, but you know the change in seasons is coming. Those of you who live in places where the seasons don’t alter that much can go ahead and feel supremely lucky, or downright smug if you like. The rest of us will come up with such coping mechanisms as are necessary to get us through the transition.

Or through the season itself: Winter can be challenging both physically and emotionally. I’ll be pulling out the seasonal affective disorder light box eventually. Right now we’re leaning on a handful of things that make us feel better and don’t cost very much. In fact, some of them cost nothing at all.

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2 reasons to get a colonoscopy.

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thEarly this afternoon I had my camera-up-the-windward-passage exam. After having given up seedy foods for a week (including, alas, popcorn) and having spent a day and a half doing the not-fun (but not unbearable) prep, I am good for another five years.

I also have 11 little thumbnail photos of my colon’s various twists and turns. In color. Thanks, doc.

The release paperwork also instructed that for the next 12 hours I should not “perform any activity that requires you to be mentally alert with normal reflexes.” I figured that clears me for blogging.

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9 cheap (and non-toxic!) “convenience” foods.

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groceriesNobody ever went broke underestimating consumers’ willingness to pay a premium for convenience. Spending extra to get on the plane before everyone else.

Picking up milk and bread at the 7-Eleven to dodge the supermarket hordes. Ordering takeout because they’re too tired to cook. Buying a one-ounce “toddler pack” of Cheerios to carry in the diaper bag.

Really? That grab-and-go pack of cereal works out to as much as $27.50 a pound! Fill up your own container, already.

Convenience food does have its place, especially if a $5.99 rotisserie chicken keeps you from ordering $40 worth of Thai food. (Or if ordering a strategic pizza allows you to spend time with family and/or taking better care of yourself.)

But if you keep certain frugal convenience foods on hand, you won’t have to resort to takeout as often (if ever).

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Free health screenings, two chances at gift cards.

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Checked your cortisol levels lately? On Saturday, May 11, all Sam’s Club stores with pharmacies will offer several basic medical screenings for free, including one for the “stress hormone,” to get a reading on how well your adrenal or pituitary glands are working.

(This Mayo Clinic page explains what can happen if your cortisol goes haywire.)

You don’t have to be a member to take advantage of these screenings, so stop in.

And the gift cards?I’ll get to them in a minute. Don’t stress out.

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Get in shape for summer with some yoga. (And get a $50 head start on gear.)

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thAlthough the light is returning to Anchorage, summer is still quite some time off. That’s just as well, since I am sadly out of shape after far too many hours in front of the computer.

Maybe you’re as creakified as I am after a long winter. One possible answer: yoga. Yep, yoga, which provides gentle stretches of deskbound muscles and also de-stresses minds tied in knots about the tasks performed at those desks.

I took several yoga classes in Seattle and I really, really need to get back to it. Podcasts to start, maybe, and a class at the YMCA or some other Anchorage location.

Whoever wins this week’s giveaway can get a $50 head start on yoga gear, thanks to the Sports Authority. 

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