Nans is chillin at one of his favourite places of all time!
Burger King
Nans and his auntie Fathead at IHOP
Sunday, November 8, 2009
A Visit with Nans
Nans is chillin at one of his favourite places of all time!
Burger King
Nans and his auntie Fathead at IHOP
Out with the old and in with the NEW floors!
Good bye old stained Carpet
Hello new beautiful made out of recylced materials plush crpet
This is the old Kitchen Floor.
Good bye Old icky stained floor!
Hello beautiful new floors!!!
I love my new kitchen floors!
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Life without Nuva ring
On October 22nd I was driving to work when I started having pain in my chest. At first it was annoying so I kept on driving to work, my plan was to take some Tylenol and work through the pain. A few miles later it felt like someone was jabbing a knife into my chest, my left arm was going numb and I could barely breath. I realized that I was in trouble and needed help fast! So I took the next exit and headed to Wood Winds hospital.
I have no idea how I made it to the hospital, but I did. The security guard saw I was in distress, put me in a wheel chair and started shouting for the nurses. The nurse acted quickly he asked either you can take your clothes of yourself with my help or I can cut them off you! I chose to take them off myself with his help. He hooked me up to a monitor to view my heart. Thank God it wasn't a heart attack!
The Dr came in and said I wasn't having a heart attack but we had to find out why I was in pain, he said most likely its an infection in your lung or worse a blood clot. He ordered all sorts of tests and an x-ray. On my way to x-ray the Dr told the x-ray girl to bring me back to my room and he'd explain why I didn't need an x-ray. I thought good its nothing I can go home. Not so the dr came in and said that my blood levels were elevated and that signified a possible blood clot. He ordered a CT scan.
So off to CT I went. The lady explained the dangers of the dye I said there is no other way to find out right and she said nope, so I signed the forms, she got the dye ready and into the donought I went. The scan took about 15 minutes to complete. She brought me back to the ER and told me it would be 30 minutes for the results. so I waited. During this time the Husband wasn't with me. So I was hoping he would get the ERs voice mail and come to the hospital.
30 minutes came and went, soon I heard a recording in the hall that my results were in from the CT scan.
The dr came running down the hall and said you have a blood clot in your lung and you will be staying with us for a while. He told me that if I hadn't got there when I did I would of died. The clot sits in my lung tree and it cut off blood flow to some of the sacks that oxygenate the blood. I asked if he could try my husband again, just then the receptionist ran in I have her husband on the phone. I told him what was going on and he came to the hospital. The er dr started me on a heparin drip and some other medications to prevent the loss of more lung tissue. I was monitored around the clock and had my blood INR level tested every hour.
I was perfectly healthy up until this moment. The main cause of my pulmonary embolism is the Nuva ring, the attending physician handed me a cup and said you take that ring out now and give it to me. No more nuva ring for you, she was telling me that the nuva ring is the deadliest birth control on the market.
I have been injecting myself with Lovenox a blood thinner and taking warfarin sodium, for the next couple of months I have to have my INR level checked twice a week. I will have another CT scan in January to make sure the blood clot is breaking down, they same it takes 6 months for a clot to fully break down. For now birth control pills are out of the question. If only I had known how dangerous the ring was, I would have never of listened to my OBGYN and switched to it.
I have no idea how I made it to the hospital, but I did. The security guard saw I was in distress, put me in a wheel chair and started shouting for the nurses. The nurse acted quickly he asked either you can take your clothes of yourself with my help or I can cut them off you! I chose to take them off myself with his help. He hooked me up to a monitor to view my heart. Thank God it wasn't a heart attack!
The Dr came in and said I wasn't having a heart attack but we had to find out why I was in pain, he said most likely its an infection in your lung or worse a blood clot. He ordered all sorts of tests and an x-ray. On my way to x-ray the Dr told the x-ray girl to bring me back to my room and he'd explain why I didn't need an x-ray. I thought good its nothing I can go home. Not so the dr came in and said that my blood levels were elevated and that signified a possible blood clot. He ordered a CT scan.
So off to CT I went. The lady explained the dangers of the dye I said there is no other way to find out right and she said nope, so I signed the forms, she got the dye ready and into the donought I went. The scan took about 15 minutes to complete. She brought me back to the ER and told me it would be 30 minutes for the results. so I waited. During this time the Husband wasn't with me. So I was hoping he would get the ERs voice mail and come to the hospital.
30 minutes came and went, soon I heard a recording in the hall that my results were in from the CT scan.
The dr came running down the hall and said you have a blood clot in your lung and you will be staying with us for a while. He told me that if I hadn't got there when I did I would of died. The clot sits in my lung tree and it cut off blood flow to some of the sacks that oxygenate the blood. I asked if he could try my husband again, just then the receptionist ran in I have her husband on the phone. I told him what was going on and he came to the hospital. The er dr started me on a heparin drip and some other medications to prevent the loss of more lung tissue. I was monitored around the clock and had my blood INR level tested every hour.
I was perfectly healthy up until this moment. The main cause of my pulmonary embolism is the Nuva ring, the attending physician handed me a cup and said you take that ring out now and give it to me. No more nuva ring for you, she was telling me that the nuva ring is the deadliest birth control on the market.
I have been injecting myself with Lovenox a blood thinner and taking warfarin sodium, for the next couple of months I have to have my INR level checked twice a week. I will have another CT scan in January to make sure the blood clot is breaking down, they same it takes 6 months for a clot to fully break down. For now birth control pills are out of the question. If only I had known how dangerous the ring was, I would have never of listened to my OBGYN and switched to it.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Allina Clinic in Woodbury
Yesterday I went to Allina Clinic in Woodbury for my annual Ladies appointment. The first thing out of the nurses mouth wasn't hello, it was " Will your insurance pay for this visit, are you sure your insurance will pay. Are you sure you want to see the doctor. She left me in the room for about 5 minutes so I could decied whether or not to go through my appointment.
When she came back I said yes I need this appointment I am almost out of my perscription and I am leaving my current employer. She took my vitals and then I waited for the doctor.
When Dr. Callanan came in she asked me the same question will your insurance pay are you sure you want me to do the exam. She asked me if I had any concerns and I told her that I had been retaining water and that my sides have been hurting and I've been really tired lately. Her answer was um your to young to retain water and you don't have high blood presure, go see your primary care provider. Hello i came to you for help. She completely blew me off, ignored the fact that I only have one fully functioning kidney and well retaining water isnt a good sign. My visit was less than 5 minutes and i left her office very angry and upset.
I called the clinic to make a complaint against her, you can't treat people that way, it was like they were affraid to help me because my insurance might not pay for the exam. The lady i made the complaint with didn't take me very seriously stating she would never treat a patient like that. Um hello I am telling you she treated me this way don't stand up for her, you are only making yourself part of the problem. It takes 3 weeks for the complaint to be processed. I doubt anything will happen because she will probably lie to her boss. Well at least I stood up for myself.
I am going to try to get into the Mayo today, at least I know they will help me figure out whats wrong
When she came back I said yes I need this appointment I am almost out of my perscription and I am leaving my current employer. She took my vitals and then I waited for the doctor.
When Dr. Callanan came in she asked me the same question will your insurance pay are you sure you want me to do the exam. She asked me if I had any concerns and I told her that I had been retaining water and that my sides have been hurting and I've been really tired lately. Her answer was um your to young to retain water and you don't have high blood presure, go see your primary care provider. Hello i came to you for help. She completely blew me off, ignored the fact that I only have one fully functioning kidney and well retaining water isnt a good sign. My visit was less than 5 minutes and i left her office very angry and upset.
I called the clinic to make a complaint against her, you can't treat people that way, it was like they were affraid to help me because my insurance might not pay for the exam. The lady i made the complaint with didn't take me very seriously stating she would never treat a patient like that. Um hello I am telling you she treated me this way don't stand up for her, you are only making yourself part of the problem. It takes 3 weeks for the complaint to be processed. I doubt anything will happen because she will probably lie to her boss. Well at least I stood up for myself.
I am going to try to get into the Mayo today, at least I know they will help me figure out whats wrong
Monday, October 5, 2009
Bears have Fire!
When we moved into our new home in march of 2008 only one fire place worked. After our fence was built we tried using that fire place, but it didn't work anymore. A light bulb went off when they build our fence they turned the gas off and when construction was complete they turned it back on. Jerry our contractor had to relight the pilot light to our furnace. Hmmm I thought if the furnaces pilot light needed to be relit, maybe the pilot in the gas fireplace needs to be relit. So with this idea in mind I googled Fireside Hearth&home, low and behold they had directions with pictures on just how to relight a light.
So on Saturday night the husband decided to take a whack at it, i showed him the site and its directions. With in minutes we had fire in the basement. Feeling brave and knowing what to do now he tackled the upstairs fireplace too. He wasn't having any luck with finding the pilot light. Babes why don't you move the fake logs, I bet its under there some where. Oh I love being right there was the pilot light and he lit it. We have fire in our living room too. Yay the husband and I make a great team.
So on Saturday night the husband decided to take a whack at it, i showed him the site and its directions. With in minutes we had fire in the basement. Feeling brave and knowing what to do now he tackled the upstairs fireplace too. He wasn't having any luck with finding the pilot light. Babes why don't you move the fake logs, I bet its under there some where. Oh I love being right there was the pilot light and he lit it. We have fire in our living room too. Yay the husband and I make a great team.
Three Bears & Three Pups Live Green
I am a firm believer in living green and making less of an impact on our planet. Native people see them selves as custodians of the land and preserve it in the best way they know how. Growing up my family ate organic before it was cool and conserved our resources. To this day I practice what my parents taught me don't use chemicals, by local, and have little impact on the environment around you.
In the bear house hold I use natural cleaning products. There are some awesome brands out on the market today. I even use organic floor cleaner. Before at our old house I would use Lysol floor cleaner the rescue pups would walk on the wet floor, lick there paws, and throw up on my carpet. I put two & two together and bought the J.R Watkins floor cleaner the pups walked on the wet floor, licked there paws, and hey no barf on my floor. Ever since then that is what I have used.
Also when you think about it how good can chemicals before you any ways. Not good at all my friend. I love the Target's Method all purpose cleaner, I use it on everything in my kitchen. Yes. i use green cleaners in my kitchen. Some people don't because they are afraid of bacteria. When you think about it, before our modern time ladies used vinegar and water to clean there homes, and well they didn't get sick from bacteria. I admit that after I cut up meat or chicken I do wipe my counters down with a mild bleach solution.
We are even green in our bath room, I love cleaning with Target's Method all purpose bathroom cleaner, the scent is awesome eucalyptus mint. it makes my bathroom sparkle. For the Mirrors I use Green Works Glass Cleaner, it is streak free and doesn't leave a film on the glass. Method works great on soap scum, trust me I do not miss the harsh smell of Scrubbing bubbles nor do i miss what it did to my hands.
I even live green outside of my home. The Husband bought my a 2002 Toyota Prius back in 2008. Man oh man do I love my Prius. I decided that unlike everyone else if I was going to have less impact on our environment I was going to buy a used Prius instead of a new one. As it does take energy to build a new one and well why buy new when slightly used will do. The Prius even has a name, yes I named my car, he is lovingly known as Bert. Bert does a great job getting me around in the Minnesota winters. Well sometimes he has a hard time getting up those icy hills and has ended up in the ditch a few times.
The only thing is when you buy a Prius they don't tell you that in the winter he's just like a regular car he only gets 32mph gallon in the winter months and when summer rolls around he gets a cool 47 mph gallon.
We also buy local. You can find me at the farmers market in the summer, buying from a cheese factory and other local grocers. There is nothing like fresh right out of the creamery cheese, fresh from the mold dark chocolate, and fresh from the field fruits & veggies.
The Bear's favorite Green Cleaning Pproducts:
Target's Method all purpose surface cleaner in Lavender or Sea mineral
Target's Method all purpose bathroom cleaner in Eucalyptus mint
Green Works Glass cleaner
J. R. Watkins Lemon all purpose cleaner
J.R. Watkins Aloe floor cleaner concentrate
Green in the Home:
HE Washer and Dryer
Fireplace, cuts down on the heating bills
Energy saving appliances in our kitchen, including the Refrigerator and Stove
Energy saving light bulbs are a must.
We only turn on our air conditioner when it is super hot and humid.
Even our Christmas lights are energy saving LED bulbs.
Bert the Prius.
We buy in bulk to reduce packaging and look for packaging that is made from recycled materials.
The bears have an over flowing recycling bin every week and only one bag of trash.
Instead of buying bottled water, we use a Britta water filter and fill up our own reusable water bottles.
We just bought new carpet. It is completely green and made out of recycled materials
Bear's Favorite Organic and fair trade products for people and dogs:
The rescue pups love Trader Joe's Organic beef dog jerky and chicken sticks
Mystra loves Trader Joe's Organic Hip and Joint peanut butter dog biscuits
Organic fruits and veggies from the local farmers market
Organically grown flowers are a must:)
Trader Joe's organic shredded wheat squares with maple
Trader Joe's organic cheese sandwich crackers
Nan's likes Trader Joe's organic alphabet cookies
Chihuahua Chocolate's truffles
Bass Lake Cheese Factory Cheese
Organic flour and sugar make the best cookies
Fair trade chocolate chips
Fair trade coffee
Fair Trade spices
Local Organic chicken and Pork, straight from the farm taste oh so good
I hope this inspires everyone to try a natural cleaning product or their local organic growers. Be happy, live green, and enjoy the taste of organics:)!!
In the bear house hold I use natural cleaning products. There are some awesome brands out on the market today. I even use organic floor cleaner. Before at our old house I would use Lysol floor cleaner the rescue pups would walk on the wet floor, lick there paws, and throw up on my carpet. I put two & two together and bought the J.R Watkins floor cleaner the pups walked on the wet floor, licked there paws, and hey no barf on my floor. Ever since then that is what I have used.
Also when you think about it how good can chemicals before you any ways. Not good at all my friend. I love the Target's Method all purpose cleaner, I use it on everything in my kitchen. Yes. i use green cleaners in my kitchen. Some people don't because they are afraid of bacteria. When you think about it, before our modern time ladies used vinegar and water to clean there homes, and well they didn't get sick from bacteria. I admit that after I cut up meat or chicken I do wipe my counters down with a mild bleach solution.
We are even green in our bath room, I love cleaning with Target's Method all purpose bathroom cleaner, the scent is awesome eucalyptus mint. it makes my bathroom sparkle. For the Mirrors I use Green Works Glass Cleaner, it is streak free and doesn't leave a film on the glass. Method works great on soap scum, trust me I do not miss the harsh smell of Scrubbing bubbles nor do i miss what it did to my hands.
I even live green outside of my home. The Husband bought my a 2002 Toyota Prius back in 2008. Man oh man do I love my Prius. I decided that unlike everyone else if I was going to have less impact on our environment I was going to buy a used Prius instead of a new one. As it does take energy to build a new one and well why buy new when slightly used will do. The Prius even has a name, yes I named my car, he is lovingly known as Bert. Bert does a great job getting me around in the Minnesota winters. Well sometimes he has a hard time getting up those icy hills and has ended up in the ditch a few times.
The only thing is when you buy a Prius they don't tell you that in the winter he's just like a regular car he only gets 32mph gallon in the winter months and when summer rolls around he gets a cool 47 mph gallon.
We also buy local. You can find me at the farmers market in the summer, buying from a cheese factory and other local grocers. There is nothing like fresh right out of the creamery cheese, fresh from the mold dark chocolate, and fresh from the field fruits & veggies.
The Bear's favorite Green Cleaning Pproducts:
Target's Method all purpose surface cleaner in Lavender or Sea mineral
Target's Method all purpose bathroom cleaner in Eucalyptus mint
Green Works Glass cleaner
J. R. Watkins Lemon all purpose cleaner
J.R. Watkins Aloe floor cleaner concentrate
Green in the Home:
HE Washer and Dryer
Fireplace, cuts down on the heating bills
Energy saving appliances in our kitchen, including the Refrigerator and Stove
Energy saving light bulbs are a must.
We only turn on our air conditioner when it is super hot and humid.
Even our Christmas lights are energy saving LED bulbs.
Bert the Prius.
We buy in bulk to reduce packaging and look for packaging that is made from recycled materials.
The bears have an over flowing recycling bin every week and only one bag of trash.
Instead of buying bottled water, we use a Britta water filter and fill up our own reusable water bottles.
We just bought new carpet. It is completely green and made out of recycled materials
Bear's Favorite Organic and fair trade products for people and dogs:
The rescue pups love Trader Joe's Organic beef dog jerky and chicken sticks
Mystra loves Trader Joe's Organic Hip and Joint peanut butter dog biscuits
Organic fruits and veggies from the local farmers market
Organically grown flowers are a must:)
Trader Joe's organic shredded wheat squares with maple
Trader Joe's organic cheese sandwich crackers
Nan's likes Trader Joe's organic alphabet cookies
Chihuahua Chocolate's truffles
Bass Lake Cheese Factory Cheese
Organic flour and sugar make the best cookies
Fair trade chocolate chips
Fair trade coffee
Fair Trade spices
Local Organic chicken and Pork, straight from the farm taste oh so good
I hope this inspires everyone to try a natural cleaning product or their local organic growers. Be happy, live green, and enjoy the taste of organics:)!!
Saturday, October 3, 2009
GRACE
When I was in college I got the chance to travel to different conferences and share my Families story. Below is a piece that I wrote about and for my Great Grandma Grace and my Grandfather.
Grace
Up stairs in my Grandma's house there is a picture of a woman.
Her skin has been kissed by the sun and her face weathered by the wind.
She has the saddest eyes you've ever seen, when you look into them they pull at your soul.
Daddy who is the lady in the picture, why does she look different from you and me, why is she sad?
My Daddy scooped me up and said: baby girl meet my Grandma Grace.
She lived during a dark and sad time, a time where it wasn't cool to be an Indian.
Where she couldn't dance, where she couldn't speak Ojibwa, or pray to the spirits.
Grace is the reason that we're free today.
She suffered and endured.
She was relocated, assimilated, they took her lad, they stole her children.
In an attempt to break her down, to make her conform to their way.
They beat her and knocked her down, they tried to break her spirit.
But there's one thing the white man under estimated and that was the power of the Ojibwa soul.
So Grace stood up, dried her tears and dusted herself off and walked on.
She knew there had to be a better day, where she would be free.
Grace is the reason I'm free today.
Grandpa, Daddy told me about your mama and I don't understand.
Grandpa sat me on his lap and said: Handy Mandy my mama and I lived during a time when it wasn't cool to be an Indian.
They took me away from her when I was your age. Brought me to the city.
They cut my hair, took my buck skins away and put me in a uniform.
They told me that I was a white boy now.
They said if I spoke my native tongue they would beat me down, if I didn't pray to Jesus, i was going straight to hell. Hell, I didn't even know what hell was.
Back then it was wrong for an Indian man to marry an Irish woman like your Grandma Irene, they would of beat me, possible killed me back then.
Baby Grace is the reason we are free today.
She suffered and endured.
She was assimilated, relocated, they took her land, and stole her children
In an attempt to break her down, to make her conform to there ways
They beat her and knocked her down, they tried to break her spirit
But there's one thing the white man under estimated and that was the power of the Ojibwa soul.
So Grace stood up, dried her tears, dusted her self off, and marched on.
She knew there had to be a better day where her people would be free.
Where she would be free, where her children and grandchildren, could be free.
Free to speak Ojibwa
Free to pray to the spirits or Jesus if they chose
Free to follow the teachings of our people or the message of the Bible.
Free to choose, free to live, free to be an Ojibwa
Free to dance around the drum and practice our past.
Grace is the reason that we are free today.
Grace and my Grandpa are the reason we are free today.
All Indian people who suffered and endured are the reason that I am free today.
Grace
Up stairs in my Grandma's house there is a picture of a woman.
Her skin has been kissed by the sun and her face weathered by the wind.
She has the saddest eyes you've ever seen, when you look into them they pull at your soul.
Daddy who is the lady in the picture, why does she look different from you and me, why is she sad?
My Daddy scooped me up and said: baby girl meet my Grandma Grace.
She lived during a dark and sad time, a time where it wasn't cool to be an Indian.
Where she couldn't dance, where she couldn't speak Ojibwa, or pray to the spirits.
Grace is the reason that we're free today.
She suffered and endured.
She was relocated, assimilated, they took her lad, they stole her children.
In an attempt to break her down, to make her conform to their way.
They beat her and knocked her down, they tried to break her spirit.
But there's one thing the white man under estimated and that was the power of the Ojibwa soul.
So Grace stood up, dried her tears and dusted herself off and walked on.
She knew there had to be a better day, where she would be free.
Grace is the reason I'm free today.
Grandpa, Daddy told me about your mama and I don't understand.
Grandpa sat me on his lap and said: Handy Mandy my mama and I lived during a time when it wasn't cool to be an Indian.
They took me away from her when I was your age. Brought me to the city.
They cut my hair, took my buck skins away and put me in a uniform.
They told me that I was a white boy now.
They said if I spoke my native tongue they would beat me down, if I didn't pray to Jesus, i was going straight to hell. Hell, I didn't even know what hell was.
Back then it was wrong for an Indian man to marry an Irish woman like your Grandma Irene, they would of beat me, possible killed me back then.
Baby Grace is the reason we are free today.
She suffered and endured.
She was assimilated, relocated, they took her land, and stole her children
In an attempt to break her down, to make her conform to there ways
They beat her and knocked her down, they tried to break her spirit
But there's one thing the white man under estimated and that was the power of the Ojibwa soul.
So Grace stood up, dried her tears, dusted her self off, and marched on.
She knew there had to be a better day where her people would be free.
Where she would be free, where her children and grandchildren, could be free.
Free to speak Ojibwa
Free to pray to the spirits or Jesus if they chose
Free to follow the teachings of our people or the message of the Bible.
Free to choose, free to live, free to be an Ojibwa
Free to dance around the drum and practice our past.
Grace is the reason that we are free today.
Grace and my Grandpa are the reason we are free today.
All Indian people who suffered and endured are the reason that I am free today.
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