Donna in Hollywoodland

Dinner and Conversation

Dinner with friends at Mel's Diner on Highland.

I got a meatloaf dinner. And then we had berry pie for dessert.
Enough food to bring take half home for lunch tomorrow.
Not the best choice. But maybe the berries in the pie will kill all the bad things in the red meat.

Interesting conversation. You know, its kind of strange looking back on 2005 and my cancer surgery.
And its kind of strange how I pick and choose what I do and don't do.
I did the radiation. I refused the chemo.
I won't use plastic utensils or Styrofoam if possible. And I have been known to educate a restaurant or two about their dangers.
I won't drink artificial sweeteners or eat processed meats.
I take a long list of vitamins a supplements, like Co-Q10 , Flax seed , Fish Oil, Mushroom Extract and Curcumin extract .
I even tried "Cats Claw" herbal tea, though I didn't like it very much.
Every so often I do the Budwig thing with cottage cheese and flax seed.
I drink organic green tea, and Trader Joes Organic Decaf Chai Tea, which contains organic cinnamon and organic ginger.
And I try to buy Organic whenever possible. (Except of course eating out.)

Every morning I have a bowl of slow-cooked oatmeal, with fresh berries, cinnamon and ginger and ground flaxseed, along with an organic hard boiled egg. (Thats a big change from the bagel with cream cheese that I used to have every morning..)

Yet...I still have one or two glasses of wine per month - which I still think is to often.
I keep trying to quit high-fructose soft drinks. (I'm down to one a day, or less - which is still to many.)
I use the microwave about twice a week - which I also think is to often.
I wanted to quit dairy products, but that was next to impossible, so I try to limit them.
I still drink coffee.
I still need to lose weight, and exercise more.
And I dye my hair. Which pretty much makes most of my friends freak completely out.

I guess it comes down to the fact that you can't stop living your life even though you have had a terrible disease.
You still have to do, whatever it is you have to do.

This all came from the part of the conversation where my friends noticed my hair.
The last time they saw me, I was blond.
Now I am such a dark brown, its almost black.
But it is closer to my natural color, and I prefer how it covers up my grey hairs.

I told them that after the cancer, I was pretty much committed to becoming an "Earth Mother", not even polishing my nails. But thats not me, and there was no way I could stick to it.
I had to keep living my life, and adjusting what I could, and accepting what I can't.
And I laughed about my hair and said "I'm surprised you even recognized me !"

---
More info:
Johanna Budwig books on Amazon.com
and
Natural Approaches to Cancer Treatment books on Amazon.com

Labels: doctor, food, health, restaurant