A List of Foods I Should Be Eating and Their Pharmaceutical Properties
(Selected from The Cancer Fighting Kitchen by Rebecca Katz)

1. Almonds (anti-inflammatory, fiber, blood sugar regulators) – I have a whole package of these with the skins on.  I really should get on trying to eat more of them.  They are a light enough food to keep down.
2. Apples (anti-inflammatory) – these are particularly yummy with peanut butter, and yet I’m never eating them.  WHY IS THIS??
3. Apricots (anti-inflammatory and full of potassium) – I had no idea on the latter!
4. Asparagus and every green vegetable (seems to have everything…) – I bought some of the former and put it in the fridge earlier .
5. Avocados (same as above) – I’m a HUGE fan, and yet never seem to find any great ways to eat them.
6. Beans and Lentils (protein, minerals, and anti-inflammatory) – So useful!
7. Beets (anti-inflammatory) = Love
8. Chicken (cancer-preventative qualities!) – this is good as I’m a chicken and fish gal.
9. Chocolate (the dark kind) – has 4 times the antioxidants in tea!
10. Edamame (jumpstart the immune system) – yay! I like these for snacks.
11. Eggs (anti-inflammatory) – My protein staple for sure.
12. Garlic and Ginger (and a million other spices – if it’s a spice, it’s probably good for you…) – Spices make everything better.
13. Green Tea (polyphenols keep carcinogens inactive in the body!) – I like all tea.  And coffee.  And hot beverages in general.
14. Honey (antimicrobial and aids liver function) – I’d say add it in the tea but for some reason that combination weirds me out.
15. Onions (antibacterial and anti-inflammatory) – I think these are wonderful but my boyfriend thinks they are the scum of planet Earth.
16. Oranges (Vitamin C baby!) – Orange Juice is a horrible thing to puke.
17. Potatoes (regular and sweet – may have an overall detoxifying effect)  - I feel ambivalent toward my starches.
18. Quinoa, Rice, all basic grains.
19. Salmon (and most fish for the Omega-3s and anti-inflammatory-ness) – I love me some fish
20. Yogurt (probiotics for GI issues and immune system boosting!) – I’m lactose-intolerant too, but a little yogurt has never caused me too many problems.

Feeling a little reflective today…

Over-thinking everything: what I’m doing with my life, who I’m choosing to spend time with, how my illness is switching up into its alternate stage…

I’ve been pretty productive in organizing my projects to be done, and as a result stumbled upon a poem I wrote in 2008 of which I was reasonably fond and thought I’d share:

It’s the end of the week again!

I’m pretty sure my life is flying by and it kind of blows my mind.  I have a lot of things to be thankful for this week though.

• I got to hang out with my sister and Andrew MacDonald (who doesn’t read this blog but should know that I love him anyways!).
• My friends Sarah and Adam like board games!  Finally my dreams of board game nights can become a reality!!!

• My mom and dad come home from Florida tomorrow night!!!  My parents are 300 kinds of awesome so I’m pretty excited about it.
• Having enough energy to do laundry!  I have a month’s worth of it piled up here and it was starting to take over. 
• I’ve kept down a few things that resemble solid food (alas, I’ve given up sleep for this privilege).
• I keep watching Christian Siriano on TV and he makes me laugh so much that I’m pretty sure I have to go our and buy his book on being fierce later!

• I woke up happy for the first time in…probably 3 months!  Isn’t that ridiculous?
• It’s showing the first signs of spring here in PEI and it is making me feel like I might be coming to life again.

A) A closet full of nice, vintage dresses.  Even if I could just wear them around the house, they would still look pretty .

I)  Also, sleep would be good as apparently it’s become impossible again!

Images from WeHeartIt – minus the last, from Rosebud Beads.

xoxo,
Annie

It probably sounds crazy.  Maybe it is.

But if you want to know more about ME/CFS – this is a really striking video that can help others understand the variety of pain and the stigma we are facing.  The last part gets a bit preachy, but it is still understandable depending on the severity of the illness.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0w9-eQ_fKQ

Since that is depressing, I will make the rest of the post more amusing.

I’m still running on a natural high of having the best blog readers/commenters EVER, so it will be tricky to get out all my rants in one go here.  So let me put on my grumpy face and get started! (That sounds absolutely ridiculous, I know).

• The mass amount of pain I’m in tonight!
• Not having any energy!  I don’t think I could do much more laying down if I tried.  I’m like a robot where someone pulled out the plug.  *Error 15 – going into sleep mode…click…click*
• Dragon Age.  It’s on my TV all the time.  Is it wrong that even though I don’t want Jon to go back to work when the weekend is over, I look forward to not having to watch video games?? 
• The fact that there is not a magical food pill yet.
• My flowers are dying…this is why I buy plastic flowers.  I mean I lost my sense of smell anyways, so why not?
• There is a cyst scab on my chin that I have managed to rip open about 882 times and then proceed to cover in a band-aid and Polysporin.  Can anyone say upcoming infection if I don’t cut it out?
• Boredom.  I mean I am pretty good at keeping myself entertained for how often I spend in this apartment.  Alas, I can hardly pay attention to a book or movie long enough to take in any of it.  If I didn’t have the Internet, I would be one depressed girl.
• Not having any Mocha Cappuccino protein drink in the fridge for tomorrow morning.  That stuff tastes so, so yummy.
• Stalking my friends’ blogs and being sad that they have lives and don’t update as often as I do haha.

Skin hypersensitivity sucks.
I can’t even wear a sweater without wanting to scream.
Not looking forward to laying in bed.
Blargh.

That is all.

Today I feel like making a public apology.

To anyone and everyone whose situation I have ever thought I understood.  Those who I attempt to understand and give advice for, at least my heart is in the right place.  But throughout my years, there have been people whose motives I thought I could follow, reasons in my mind of why people would do the things that they do.  Sometimes I still get caught up in thinking like that.  I’m sorry for this.

The sheer number of experiences that mold a single human life are enormous.  I mean, half of my own I can’t even remember!

I have a love/hate relationship with the human brain.  If I thought I could handle going back to school, it would be all I would want to study.  I’m ashamed at what it has managed to do to me, but also amazed at its limitless power.

Sorry for the weird rant but I’ve been really reflective.  Shutter Island is an incredible film (far surpassing the novel) and it has been making me think of my brain non-stop.

Also, a special shout-out to the lovely Sarah and Adam for putting up with my hypo-manic ramblings of last night after seeing the movie haha.  I upped my own meds so that would be my bad (sorry mom!!).  Just tired of being epically depressed.

Anyways, I recommend the not squeamish to go take a look at this.  Maybe it will send you off into over-thinking mode like it has with me.

xoxo,
Annie