I started doing yoga eight years ago as a way of staying strong and limber while coping with a chronic pain condition. Doing "yoga off the mat" is an expression I have heard frequently since then. It means carrying the lessons of your yoga practice into your daily life. Until recently, the only meaning this concept had for me was a reminder to keep breathing, both in and out.

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("Stop, Drop, and Roll" recipes!)

As soon as February passes by it seems that there's a thousand events we end up hosting: St. Patrick's Day, Easter, Passover, spring birthdays. It just never stops. When you have to host parties all Spring it can get very harrowing when you have to decide what to serve. You want something that not only tastes good and looks good, but are easy to make and versatile enough for any occasion. I'm a self-proclaimed cook, but baker, I am not...yet, when I made these cookies I was so impressed with myself! These are the George Clooney of cookies: they look fine! With a little help from a cookie mix (and maybe some little helping hands!) you'll quickly turn these simple cookies into what I promise will become the cookie-talk of the town.

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I used to travel a lot for work back in the day and now we still do several trips a year - so I have a bunch of tips that make traveling more bearable for me.

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I’m a voracious reader, but don’t always have a lot of time to read, so I’ve developed some ways to get my reading in without giving up my working time. I read a lot of short stories. First off, I love short stories because they tell the whole tale in a few pages and often have ironic endings that stick in my mind much longer than a novel does.

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After recently getting involved with "Grand Rounds" (The weekly round up of the best medical blogs on the web) I wanted to take the opportunity to get to know Dr. Nicholas Genes, the founder and maintainer of Grand rounds and Blogborygmi a bit more.

Nicholas Genes, MD, PhD, is a resident in the Emergency Medicine program at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. He received a bachelor's degree in science from Brown University, where he first developed his interests in medicine, research, and writing. After college, he enrolled in the MD/PhD program at the University of Massachusetts, pursuing a medical degree while studying chondrocyte mechanotransduction in Dr. Charles Vacanti's laboratory for tissue engineering. In the course of writing a freelance article, he discovered the world of medical Weblogs, and he has been active in this nascent community ever since.

Thanks to Nick for answering some of our questions!

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As St. Patrick’s Day rolls around, I find myself thinking of all the things I cannot do to celebrate this so-called “holiday”. Usually, I would still be here in Santa Barbara studying for a million finals, but I “lucked out”. I will be home this year. Sounds great, right? WRONG. All of my friends’ spring breaks are next week, and my boyfriend can’t get enough of his “Irish roots” on this joyous occasion. So I will sit at home, once again unable to partake in the festivities. So much for being twenty-one in two weeks.

Continue reading "Personal Essay: Your Lucky Charm" »

Linus Van Pelt, the security blanket donning Peanuts character was once known to say, “I know there is a lesson to be learned here somewhere, but I don't know what it is.” Linus obviously didn’t know how right he was when he uttered that remark while clutching his blankie, thumb in mouth. Life is full of lessons; every moment we live we experience and every experience is full of lessons to be learned, things to be taught, and mistakes to be made. When you’re someone who is sick or has been sick you spend your time on earth searching for answers to all your questions, especially the looming question of why me? We search high and low, left and right for the answers. We ask our priests, rabbis, spiritual leaders, family and friends for answers to all of our questions. We seek out old values and new traditions. Sometimes we even type our problems into the search box and let Google reveal the answer (or at least, the most clicked on answer). But maybe we’re searching in the wrong places, asking the wrong people, and combing the wrong books. Maybe to obtain the answer to our question, why me? it should really be phrased as, what will be the lesson I learn from this experience? Perhaps then our answers may be more clearly revealed to us. Perhaps then our answers will come in the form of fabric, thread, batting, and love. It’s no wonder that Project Linus, the nonprofit organization which hands out quilts to children of all ages in hospitals, was named for the philosophizing Linus Van Pelt. Linus had it right: it all leads back to the blankie.

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Story Time felts are a wonderful, new creative way of telling stories and encouraging imagination with your child. There is a felt back board with a scene on it and then felt "puppets" to help tell the story. The fabric is great for younger children to learn textures and free play, while older children will love making up stories with these unique play toys.

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I know many of us have those days/weeks/months, maybe even years, when we do not even get out of bed. I know I have watched friends live life while I simply let it pass me by. For this reason, being chronically ill is one of the worst feelings in the world for a college student, and there is no worse time to be under the weather than "Spring Break". I don’t know about the rest of you, but I live in constant fear of traveling. Unfortunately, my colitis comes with rather disgusting symptoms, and foreign food is the last thing I want to be eating. As a result, I will spend my Spring Break in the familiarity of San Diego, eating non-diary, non-beef, non-nut, and non-wheat foods, while the rest of my posse is living it up “foreign country” style. However, there are ways to enjoy Spring Break in the comfort of your own hometown. So forget your best friend who is spending Spring Break in Mexico, drowning in margaritas, and do one of the following:

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I recently watched Definitely, Maybe, starring Ryan Reynolds (Van Wilder) and Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine). While it was quite obviously a chick flick, the theater seemed to hold more men than women. Ironically, I did not hear any male complaints after it was over. The entire movie is a story between father and daughter. Reynolds is a recently divorced father with a young daughter curious about her father’s past. The entire movie is the daughter’s quest to figure out which, of three past girlfriends, is her mother. In the end, her prediction is correct, and the movie has a happy ending.

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Author: Mari Florence
This was the first book I ever read on fibromyalgia. I was diagnosed with it in November of 2004, then later with lupus SLE in 2005. I had never heard of fibromyalgia before and when my rhuematologist told me it was causing all my symptoms, I didn't know what to think. I googled a search for some helpful books and came across this one- First Year Fibromyalgia.

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I had heard about these Vitalicious snacks from Weight Watchers and a few TV shows like the Rosie O'Donnell show. I thought of them as diet foods and not just healthy good tasting choices. Before I tell you about these healthy snacks from Vitalicious, I need to take a moment to express how I used to feel about healthy snacks. I thought that for something to be healthy, it couldn't possibly taste good. I used to think that if a food was labeled "diet" or good for you, it had to have a gross, yucky after taste that made you never want to eat it again. Vitalicious seriously changed my mind about healthy snacks. I am now a convert!

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As a person with arthritis and fibromyalgia, I know regular exercise is a must. I also know how difficult it is to find something appropriate that doesn't cause too much stress on already painful muscles and joints.

Continue reading "Product Review: Tony Little's Gazelle Exercise Machine" »

I tried the silk eye pillow from lavendermeadows.com and the first thing I noticed about this product was the beautiful silk fabric it was made out of. Then as soon as I put it on my eyes, I breathed in the intoxicating lavender scent.

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The Checklist presents itself as a manual or guideline to a healthy lifestyle; just follow the steps using the “Decade by Decade Health Maintenance Plan”, and you will stay as healthy as possible. Though the concept brought out the skeptic in me, as I read through the chapters, which are organized by decade, I found Dr. Alvarez to be informative and friendly to those who do not have a medical background.

Continue reading "Book Review: The Checklist By: Manny Alvarez, M.D" »

I thought I would share the Relaxation Techniques that I have learned, in hope that they will help some of you. Relaxation can help lower blood pressure, promote a feeling of wellness, and hopefully can help bring on
a restful sleep.

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I had another great shopping experience with our friends at OliveKids.com. Olive Kids designs kids bedding , kids lamps, borders, kids clocks, kids rugs, kids bedroom accessories and personalized kids products to help create a fun and creative room for kids. No TV characters, just fun, colorful kids bedding for boys and girls at a great price! I love that they do not cater only to the "mainstream cartoons" for bedroom decor. I feel like the way fads come and go... why not go with something that might last a bit more time, and that might encourage creativity and fun. I know from personal experience that it can be very costly to find quality items for a child's bedroom. So I think it is a smart financial choice to buy something with a theme they can grow with, rather then be stifled by the limitations of one character. They have some really cute design themes and some of my personal favorites are flowerland, tea party and Happily Ever for girls. Or how about out of this world, something fishy, or Dinosaur land for your boy's room.

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A Poem submitted by one of our readers.

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A Poem submitted by one of our readers.

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The holidays are over. We will celebrate the New Year. If you’re like me, this isn’t your favorite time of year. But, to look at the positive side of things, it’s a clean slate and time to begin anew. And with that clean slate is another block of 365+ days to stay on top of things and keep our complex lives organized.

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Author: David A. Morton III, M.D.
If you have found yourself no longer able to work due to chronic illness, it is likely that you have had to either apply for disability benefits, via Social Security, or at least consider doing so. The various stages in the process and the question of whether you qualify for federal or state funds or both, can be quite confusing. What is meant by a "severe" impairment? And what do you do if you apply, but are denied benefits?

Continue reading "Book Review: Nolo's Guide to Social Security Disability:Getting and Keeping Your Benefits, 2nd Edition" »

I was going away to Mexico this summer and I was concerned about the sun- not only because of sunburn, but because of my Lupus. I find that I am more sun sensitive than most, so I wanted to find sun protection clothing which was both functional and fashionable, without spending a ton of money. I did not want to alter any part of my vacation, because I couldn't be in the sun. Naturally, I wanted to do the same activities as everyone else.

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What’s better than chocolate on Valentine’s Day? Chocolate spoons! These fun and easy to make gifts are perfect presents for friends, lovers, teachers, neighbors—and anyone who needs some spoons! You can also use season-appropriate candy and colors and give these all year long. They’re also a no-bake food-craft so they’re perfect for kids of practically any age to make! Use them in coffee or hot cocoa, or eat them like a lollipop! It’s a Valentine’s Day treat that any Spoonie will love!

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Many "Spoonies" acknowledge the benefits that fresh air, relaxation and being around nature can bring, but how many of us think that gardening is not for us, not with our conditions? However, this negative view is so wrong. Gardening as a Spoonie, requires re-evaluation of priorities and sometimes alot of sideways thinking, but it is very possible and can be so beneficial. And this time of year, as the winter starts to draw for a close, is the perfect time to decide to make this year the year you enjoy gardening as a Spoonie!

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I had thought that I had a lot of experience being an "advocate" for a sick person. After all, I unfortunately had a lot of practice with doctors and hospitals, as a result of my daughter Christine's decade long struggle with Lupus.

Continue reading "The Importance of Keeping a Medical Journal" »

I’m not an expert. And one thing I am sure of is that everyone is unique, one’s body reacts to things in her own way, and that there is no predictability of what’s going to happen. Having a 15-month-old son, I think back on the whirlwind of pregnancy, remembering things I wish I had known just so I could prepare and know what I might be up against. I’m sharing these thoughts in hopes that someone out there will be able to make the pregnancy trip just a bit more smoothly. Just to be clear, having my baby is a lifelong dream. I want to have many more as soon as I can! But, for me, knowledge is power and hopefully I can be of some service to those out there who were in the same position as me: desperately wanting children, already having made that choice to build a family, but have no clue what might come with this new transition in life.

Continue reading "Pregnancy & Fibromyalgia: Lessons Learned and Other Random Thoughts" »

Sometimes I have to compare politics to sex. Politics can be confusing and scary, but when I look at it from a biological point of view, somehow everything seems to fall into place. Therefore, if this ongoing debate between Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama is one romp in the sack, then Thursday’s Democratic debate was when my hormones began pumping for the final goal: a woman to get on top and win.

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A Poem submitted by one of our readers.

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