Greetings and blessings to you all! My thanks to so many of you for your prayers, cards, offers to help with my broken thumb (and loved Les' card with the chicken noodle soup!)! I am starting to heal after 3 weeks in a splint and hope I do not need a pin. I see my orthopedist Dr. Frank Wilson (who gave me the idea of the Pass It On cards in our office) again in 3 weeks. I certainly have a MUCH deeper appreciation of the many needs of my thumbs now!
Our family so appreciated my Mom staying with us last weekend - I certainly look nothing like her?...! If you want to know where I am very often when not at my practice site, think of me sitting here in my sunny computer room, with the puppies, my great husband Bruce and my children around.
I wanted to share a picture of one of God's creations that I had never seen before - the Luna Moth. It flew in front of us on our deck last week and we were able to get a picture of it. They are about 4-5 inches in wingspan, found only in Eastern North America, are on the endangered species list, and only live for one week as an adult.
Plastics Hazards and Safe Water Bottles - Please do not drink out of warm plastic bottles, especially with the warm weather here!
Many scientific reports over the past several years are starting to show the potential hazards and danger of toxic chemicals from the plastics we use. Biphenal-A (BPA) is one such toxin that is still in some plastic bottles and mimics estrogen in the body. BPA and other toxins in plastics are linked to reproductive problems, breast cancer and other cancers, and even behavioral problems. Check the recycle number on your plastics. The recycle numbers 3, 6, and 7 are being associated with increased toxin risk.
When you cannot drink out of your real glass at home, stainless steel bottles are the best for cold beverages and water. They are guaranteed not to leach any chemicals, are durable, and water tastes great in them. (Aluminum is not as safe, because aluminum has been associated development of Alzheimer's.) If you do drink out of a thin plastic bottle, please only do so once (and then recycle), and never drink from a plastic bottle that is warm.
Eric's Tips - Lisa and Eric demonstrate his body weight cardio workout
Proper Steaming Guide for Vegetables - from my great over age 80 patient David!
The following vegetables steam perfectly in 8 minutes: asparagus, beet greens, broccoli, broccolini, cauliflower, zucchini, summer squash, kale, mushrooms, spinach, red Swiss chard, mustard greens, and Brussels sprouts
- Carrots (sliced 1/4 in. or 7mm thick)-12 minutes
- String beans (green, yellow, or mottled)-12 minutes
- Corn on the cob-5 minutes (when cooked perfectly like this it does not require butter and salt-it'll be tasty plain)
- Potato (sliced 1/4 in. or 7mm thick)-10 minutes
- Sweet potato, Yams (sliced 1/4 in. or 7mm thick)-12 minutes
- Onion (sweet Vidalia type)-no need to peel; cut in half through stem; cut half into 4 servings; steam 7 minutes, peel slips off easily
- Green peppers slices, cherry tomatoes-3minutes
- Red pepper slices-12 minutes (for best digestibility)
- Buttercup, butternut, and acorn squash-24 minutes
- Parsnips-6minutes
- Beets (sliced 1/4 in. or 7mm thick)-12 minutes
- Turnip-30 minutes (may be a bit firm after cooking, but this retains flavor)
- Eggplant (sliced 1/4 in. or 7mm thick)-10 minutes
Parenting Tip
One of my so many wonderful patients, Kendel, gave me a quick help with parenting boys at a well child visit last week. She said that boys do not respond to "don't"s very well. Rather than saying "don't hit your baby sister," tell them instead "that hurts so let's give kisses or tickle her feet." Kendall says she has learned a lot of good parenting tips for parenting each gender specifically by the book "Gender Matters" by Leonard Sax.
Marriage Tip
Last week my minister Aaron asked how much training and continuing we had for our jobs. Then he asked how much training and education we are doing for our marriages? I am really proud of you because by reading this you are furthering your marriage education :) To continue working on you marriage education and enrichment here are some more things you can do:
1. Sign up for a great marriage seminar in downtown Indianapolis June 4-6 weekend called "A Weekend to Remember." They are offering a buy one person get your spouse free right now online at www.familylife.com. My husband Bruce and I attended last year and loved it. It continued to deepen our love and relationship. We are going to the same conference in St. Louis this fall because I will be celebrating my Mom's 80th birthday when the conference is in Indianapolis. We also wanted to experience a different city as something fun and new to do as a couple. You can read my review and summary of last year's summary in my June 2009 blog (click on June 2009 on the left side of this page).
2. You can also do your own marriage seminar at home by listening to the 5 part marriage sermon series "The Knot" online from my church website at www.tpcc.org. I gave a quick summary of it in my last blog.
From "Experiencing God" by Henry Blackaby
"One of the most exciting things you can do is to look to see where god is working in your spouse's life and join Him! You can do this in several ways:"
1. Regularly pray for and with your spouse
2. Regularly ask your spouse spiritual questions-such as what has God been showing you in your quiet times lately? or Where have you seen God's activity?
3. Review your spiritual markers as a couple-key moments when God clearly has spoken and you have seen God's activity in your lives.
4. Minister together as a couple-there are many ways God wants to work uniquely through you.
5. Give together-jointly determine where God leads you to invest the money He has given you, storing up treasures in heaven.
With my prayers for you and healing of my thumb!
Dr. Lisa
