It is Healthy Snack and Food Month at ButYouDontLookSick.com!

I've made a promise to myself that I would start eating healthier. I feel that the choices we make, with what enters our bodies, is definitely one thing we can do to help us feel better. It feels great to make positive choices. When you are like me and you have a chronic illness, it is so important to eat well. I think many times the reason we do not eat as well as we should is because we are just too tired to cook, or too tired to shop for the healthier choices. I found a great tasting crunchy, sweet snack that I am now officially addicted to. I didn't think it would be possible to be addicted to something healthy, but I am!

Continue reading "Healthy Snack Review: Crunch Dried Snacks from Sensible Foods" »

I am admittedly a diet soda junkie. I drink a few glasses a day and although I know it is not the best thing for me to drink, I enjoy it and miss it when I do not have a diet soda. I do not want the calories of regular soda, so what were my options? When I heard about Zevia I was anxious to try it.

Continue reading "Product Review: ZEVIA® carbonated stevia supplement is THE NATURAL ALTERNATIVE TO DIET SODA®" »

It is Healthy Snack and Food Month at ButYouDontLookSick.com!

As a person with an AI Disease I have to be careful with my diet. Before I got really sick I never thought about what I ate, but now I look for healthier options, not only for me but for my husband. I want to keep him healthy, so he doesn't have to go through this kind of pain.

Continue reading "Product Review: Snackmaster Express Food Dehydrator & Jerky Maker" »

We are focusing on healthy foods and snacks for the month of May!

I am a picky eater at times, and I am always on the go. Eating healthy is hard but Luna Bars and Clif bars have made it easier. Now I have no excuses not to take better care of myself. I have tried numerous nutrition bars, meal replacement bars and granola snack bars, and I found them either not satisfying, not appetizing or they left a bad after-taste in my mouth. I have tried various flavors of both the Luna bar and the Clif bar and I was pleasantly surprised at how good they all taste.

Continue reading "Product Review: Healthy Choices with Luna and Clif brand Nutrition Bars" »

My daughter Christine has had Lupus, with the accompanying vast array of symptoms, since she was 15 years old. During college, in her attempt to explain her illness, she wrote about Lupus and its debilitating effect on her energy, by a comparison to waking up each day with a limited amount of "spoons".

Continue reading "A Mother's View" »

My daughter Christine is my hero and my inspiration. I know every mother loves her daughter and thinks the world of them, but Chris has taught me so much.

Continue reading "10 Lessons My Daughter Has Taught Me" »

Have you ever dreamed of going back in time? Ever wondered what a life in the sixteenth century would be like? How would it feel to lead a double life, one in 1948 and one in 1745?

Continue reading "Book Review: Outlander By Diana Gabaldon" »

I would like to thank my mom for her persistence and her nagging. Persistence for raising a child with chronic complaints. She knew I did not sleep well, she knew I had joint pain and she knew I seemed to catch everything that was going around. She could have thought I was faking it, to get out of school, or exaggerating to get attention. Instead she brought me to the doctors, until the doctors themselves could not deny something was going on, even if they did not know what. Thus my odd blood work was watched bi-annually and I saw more than my fair share of specialists. Many things were ruled out a young age and without this persistence, this understanding, it would have been years before I received the treatment I needed. Just having that one person on my side, fighting for my needs made and makes a great deal of difference. I may have been frustrated with finding a diagnosis, but I never felt like anyone thought I was crazy or a hypochondriac, not with my mom on my side.

Continue reading "Note to my Mom - On Mother's Day" »

Published in the NY Valley Stream Herald, May 1-7, 2008 Author: Andrew Hackmack

Frank, Christine and Olivia Emma Donato at the Lupus Gala Brunch

Continue reading "Lupus can’t stop woman’s big heart" »

After dealing with my own hair loss, due to the medications I am on for Lupus, I am extra sensitive to any hair issues. When I saw my baby daughter with bald spots from lying in her crib on her back, I was upset. Even though she did not know the difference, I noticed and strangers and family members noticed as well. I was looking for something that would help, and I found "The Baby Sharmooz". As always, I love supporting other work at home moms, so when I learned that this was a mom-invented product I was thrilled.

Continue reading "Product Review: The Baby Sharmooz Baby Satin Headrest" »