Hey, Boo Boo!

Dustin and I decided to play hooky and go on a picnic, then to look at houses in Ulster and Orange counties. So, I made us lunches to pack into our lunchboxes…

I had turkey on olive ciabatta bread with fresh spinach, red onion and hummus spread on both sides of the bread:

On the side: 1/2 cup Friendship 1% cottage cheese (90 cal) with half serving Del Monte 100% juice cling peaches (30 cal)

For dessert I had a miniature black & white cookie. And yes, that one is miniature compared to the full-sized ones, if you know what I am talking about lol.

All packed up and ready to go! Dustin was excited to get to use his “Gir” lunchbox that I got him for his birthday.

We went to the park down the road from our house to eat…

But we decided to eat in the car; we’re not fond of swatting bugs while we eat.

Yum! Totally loved the sandwich. The hummus was a nice change and it actually almost tasted as if it were a tangy mayo because it was sooo creamy. Definitely going to have this on my sandwiches more often. Not sure why it always slips my mind, it’s delicious!

After we ate, we headed to Ulster county around 4:00PM to stalk some houses and properties for sale. We ended up at the same house that we fell in love with a few weeks back during its “open house.” It’s still our #1 choice, but who knows, maybe we’ll find one that we love even more! If not, we’d be very happy with this one.

We got home around 9:00PM, then found out about the passing of Michael Jackson and was devastated. I cried all night. I’ve been a fan all of my life and I feel like a piece of my childhood has died. What’s even more upsetting is the speculation surrounding the cause of his death being related to prescription drugs. That hits home with me; my father and my aunt both died from cardiac arrhythmia due to being over-medicated. My father went into the hospital in 1990 for a slipped disk in his back and died at the age of 41, less than 2 years later, from heart failure. At the time of his death, only 13% of his heart was working. It all stemmed from negligent doctors and nurses pumping him full of pain killers and steroids that didn’t help and ultimately killed him. The medication enlarged his liver, he became diabetic, and one by one, all of his vital organs shut down, including his bladder. He suffered terribly and yet, the day that he died, he was moved from ICU to PCU (progressive care) and scheduled to be released to go home. At the time, we trusted doctors and the care he was receiving. We didn’t know any better. Then the hospital “lost” his medical records when they were requested for review. Right.

My aunt, my mom’s sister, died 5 years ago, at the age of 49 from accidentally overdosing on a lethal cocktail of antidepressants and pain killers that were prescribed by her doctors. The autopsy couldn’t explain why she died, until the toxicology report came back as having the wrong combination of prescription drugs in her system at the same time. In a country where we are obsessed with diet and exercise; gaining and losing weight; street drugs and guns, we often ignore the wolf in sheep’s clothing when it comes to prescription drugs. I implore everyone to know what your doctor is prescribing for you or your loved ones. Most doctors in this country are not in the business of healing people, they are in the business of medicating. Take charge of your health and don’t rely on anyone to do it for you.

We just woke up a little while ago. We’re not sure what’s on our agenda for today or the weekend yet. It’s beautiful out right now, I’d love to go for a walk to the park. We’ll see what the day brings.

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