Hey everyone, I have a favor to ask. The feline rescue I work with, Chesapeake Cats and Dogs, is having financial difficulties. The truth is that it costs a lot of money to care for 50+ cats and a dozen or so dogs, never-mind the rent we pay for our adoption center building ( Read more... )

For many years, I've been participating in the Arthritis Walk to raise money for the Arthritis Foundation. You all know about my Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis and the many reasons that I do that walk. This year, I'm also participating in a walk to raise money for the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of AmericaLast October after battling a stomach bug ( Read more... )

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As I do every year, I am participating in the Arthritis Walk, which raises money for the Arthritis Foundation. I've been very fortunate that this year I'll be doing the walk with only one bionic hip. Because of the kinds of research the Arthritis Foundation supports, I was able to get my right hip replaced in 2011. Having a functional right hip has ( Read more... )

So, on Mondays when I leave the house, I have to carry 3 bags: my purse, a bag with a change of clothes (I get a massage, so I just change out of my center clothes after), and my bag of stuff I use at Chesapeake Cats and Dogs. I had a brilliant idea to leave my purse in the car last night, so I'd only have to carry 2 bags out to the car today ( Read more... )

It’s very ironic, and somewhat sad, that in my entire post about my “center”-the feline rescue I volunteer at-I forgot to mention one thing, the most important thing about my time there.

Love.And it’s appropriate to focus on this during Lent, even though as a Quaker I’m not “supposed” to celebrate Lent. But I do, because I was raised Catholic, and ( Read more... )

I wrote a blog post on "Light & Lotus". You should read it. Well, I'd like you to read it, anyways. Here are two excerpts from it:

My Immune System is an Over-Achiever:It was the 1st week of January. I had just finished recovering from the flu and was finishing a preventative course of antibiotics when I began having diarrhea again. This time, ( Read more... )

There is a false divide in the American health care system (and our culture as well) between mental and physical health. Mental health care services are less funded, less available, and less covered by insurance (both private and federal). There is an added stigma to mental illness. The phrase "it's all in your head" is taken to mean that the one ( Read more... )

I keep meaning to post The Whole Story ™ of what happened with my pancreas, but in the meantime, here's a quick update ( Read more... )

Unusually relevant questions from The Friday Five, given that I was hospitalized for pancreatitis last week and couldn't eat or drink anything for 3 days and am still very limited in what I can eat and drink!

1. What is your favorite beverage?
   I enjoy a good cup of tea, a smoky glass of shiraz or chianti, and a sweet glass of orange juice.
   
2. If you had ( Read more... )