Monday, May 27, 2013

LET'S TALK DEMENTIA - A Caregiver's Guide is a BEST SELLER!


I am so excited!  Over the moon!  Dancing in the streets!
LET'S TALK DEMENTIA - A Caregiver's Guide hit #12 on Amazon's Best Seller list!  It is now available on e-readers  at Amazon.com and Kobo.com.  The paperback is available also at my website -  http://seniorlifejourneys.com/books/
It is my hope you will learn about dementia while you stop and giggle along the way.  Happy reading!

Monday, May 20, 2013

Momma Has Dementia and I'm Pooped



It has been one of "those weeks".  I know you have them, too.  Mine seem to come in groups.  Two or three weeks in a row where I give serious consideration to placing my head between the mattress and box springs and camping out there for a while.  
If you have followed SOMETHING TO PONDER for a while, you know my sweet Momma has Alzheimer's type dementia, and my mother-in-law has dementia from a vitamin B deficiency and an imbalance in her blood sugar.  This week has found both these ladies in the hospital.  I am here to announce, "That is not how I planned to spend my week."  It was suppose to be a week spent mainly in my office catching up on the 3,468 things I needed to get done.  Instead, none of those items left my desktop, and I spent my week caregiving.
You need to know this.  I am not complaining.  I believe we, as Christians, have a calling to care for the elderly and widowed in our world.  Both these women qualify under those categories.  I am pleased and honored to be their caregiver.  However, I was pooped. I needed a break!  So, Michael and I took off Friday night for a little R&R, spent the night in a deluxe hotel suite about an hour from home, ate wonderful vegan food, and just escaped for about 24 hours.  Those 24 hours flew by in a flash, but we are a little more equipped for life.
Caregiving can be tough.  It is better, however, when you turn some of that "caregiving" on yourself.  A 24 hour break may be just what you need to put a spring back in your step and a twinkle in your eye.  Hope that gives you Something To Ponder.
My book, Let's Talk Dementia - A Caregiver's Guide,  is available for e-readers.  http://www.amazon.com/Lets-Talk-Dementia-Caregivers-ebook/dp/B00CTAW7MS/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1369051792&sr=1-1&keywords=let%27s+talk+dementia






Tuesday, May 14, 2013

DEMENTIA AND BREAKFAST SMOOTHIES


Every morning is made better when we start it with vegetables and fruit.  Now stop snarling your nose at the thought of eating vegetables for breakfast.  I have the perfect recipe to make that experience something you totally look forward to indulging in each morning.  It is always my goal to get a ton of fruit and vegetables in my body each and every day.  Starting with Carol's Breakfast Smoothie is a great way to make it happen.  
Promise to try it at least once.  Then write me with your thoughts.  Bet you will like it!
Using a good blender (I am the proud owner of a VitaMix, but I use to own a Ninja Blender), add 1 1/2 cups of your favorite milk.  I highly recommend you avoid dairy products and use soy or almond milk.  Add two frozen bananas cut in half.  Now throw in two very large handfuls of fresh spinach or fresh kale (yes, I said kale) and two carrots washed and cut into pieces.  Prepare yourself for this next part, I now add one or two washed and sliced fresh squash.  
If you have them, add a handful of blueberries, strawberries, or pineapple.  Or, just because you can, add a little of them all.  Throw in an apple or an orange for good measure.  Now to increase your protein for the morning, add a wedge of tofu about an inch thick.  To top it all off, add two tablespoons of local honey.  (Local honey helps build your immune system.  Who doesn't like honey??)
Put the blender on high and process this wonderfulness into a creamy texture.  When it is finished, add about two cups of ice cubes and process on high again.
When you taste this breakfast smoothie, you will notice the bananas take over the taste of the entire mixture.  The tofu is totally unrecognizable, the spinach turns the mixture green, the blueberries change everything to purple, and the squash and carrots lend no flavor whatsoever.  BUT... the entire mixture is full of nutrients you need for the day.
Happy mornings to you.  Remember - eating healthy and exercising reduces the changes of Alzheimer's by 50%!  Hope that gives you Something To Ponder.

Monday, May 6, 2013

Dementia and Physical Activity


“Put your back into it.”  “Use a little elbow grease!”  These are sayings I can remember my Daddy spouting when my sisters and I were growing up.  Daddy really should have had a strapping son amongst his children, but he was “blessed” with three girls.  Not a tomboy among us, either.  It was not unusual for Daddy to instruct  us to lift heavy objects or learn to change the oil in the car. 
I did not enjoy these lessons.  To this day, I don’t have a clue how to change the oil in the car.  Furthermore, I don’t want to know.  I am very much involved, though, in many activities that provide physical movement.
If your loved one with dementia is not involved in physical movement each day, then let’s make a change today.  The individual with Alzheimer’s type dementia is burning calories faster than someone without dementia.  Therefore, they are more likely to be cold.  My mother will hop in the bed, pull the covers over her head and snuggle quicker than jack can jump over the candlestick (whatever the heck that means!).  Instead, I try to get her to go for a walk.  This process of walking helps warm her up more quickly, plus it is so good for her muscles, her heart, her emotions, and her cognitive abilities.
Go for a walk with your loved one.  Ask them to help pull weeds.  Can they dig holes for the new spring plantings?  Spray on the sunscreen and get outside.  The exercise will do them good, and your flower garden just might need the attention.
Hope that gives you Something To Ponder.