Watercress & Wunder Runners

Recently, a fellow brain tumor fighter sent me all kinds of information on Artemisinin, sulforaphane and sweet wormwood. The research is incredibly promising, and it looks like I will be starting an alternative treatment based on the research. The best part, according to the research though, is that I had already been including a lot of the main foods that cause the death of the brain tumor cells. A lot of the research is relating to sulforaphane in the brassica family, and sweet wormwood. Although I have not been taking any supplements, I have been eating a diet highly enriched with the brassica family. In fact, I just ate my breakfast of an Omega 3 organic free range egg (it gets the extra omegas from flax in the diet), sprinkled with turmeric (a healthy teaspoon), placed on a slice of sprouted bread which was stacked high with watercress leaves (brassica family) and sprinkled with a clove of diced raw garlic. Needless to say my breath is ripe, but my macha green tea is helping calm it down.

My Little Watercresss Plant

I bought a living watercress at my PCC the other day. I've been picking off the leaves of the poor plant every time I walk past it. It's delicious! It's spicy, and helps disguise the garlic, which is a plus.

I don't always eat so wonderfully, for the record. I have to be honest. Last weekend was our third annual Oktoberfest Marathon Relay, and it happened to fall on a double birthday weekend. The birthday girls were Meghan, and Jenny. So, of course, I brought two dozen organic cupcakes (gotta love that it's all organic ingredients, it makes it sound healthier, but the truth is that they were loaded with scrumptious mind altering SUGAR. Yum!). I didn't make them, which is probably good because I would have eaten my weight in icing. As it was, I ate all kinds of delicious crap. It was fun! And then on Sunday night Danny and I realized, that once you get the taste of blood it's really hard to stop. The cravings are tricky, and it's so easy to go get crapy food. Crapy food melts in your mouth then hits your stomach like a rock. Healthy food has crunch and within moments you have more energy and you feel better about yourself. Even knowing that, it can be really hard to forgo the instant gratification that my tongue is pleading for.

Here's a photo of our group. I'm so proud of everyone. This marathon relay was my dream, it's my little baby. I always wanted to get a group to celebrate running and friendship. It's just a very, very happy thing for me. I've got a great group, and I can't wait for next year!! I guess you could say that my only long term goal right now is to be healthy for next year's race! Is that weird? Maybe I should have a different goal. I guess it's the only long term goal that I have because I'm always afraid to plan too far out. It's also the only thing on my calendar that's a year away. I can train for it too, which keeps it easy to use as a long term goal. It's concrete, and I like that. Anyway, here's the fabulous crew......

Operation Grab-A-Stein III

"Hope"

A very good friend, Meghan (you may remember her from other posts, or her parents who housed Danny while he was training in Portland), has a non-profit philanthropy called WPIG. She knows I love to paint, and although I didn't have the energy to do it last year, this year, I created! It's not the masterpiece I envisioned, but it definitely depicts my personality.

There's an art auction in Fremont, at the Fremont Abby Arts Center, on Friday November 4th at 7:00pm. If you're going to be in the area, buy tickets and come! I guarantee that with this crew of WPIG members, and WPIG supporters, you will have an unforgettable night filled with laughter, smiles, hugs, handshakes and beauty. If you can't attend, and you're interested, there's several different options to donate on the WPIG website.

"Hope"

The art auction is a fundraiser for Ryther. I highly recommend you check out their website; my favorite tab is, Ryther Voice. It's incredibly inspirational and moving. I think the best virtue in humanity, is kindness, and Ryther is full of volunteers and workers that are forging to make our world a better place. There are so many kids that need help getting on their feet, and at the risk of sounding preachy, I believe that when people strive to meet their potential, we all succeed.

About Ryther:
"We serve children and adolescents referred by parents, physicians, state agencies, courts, schools and other providers working with children. We have expanded our services to include programs and solutions for families with children who have challenges stemming from trauma, mental illness, substance abuse, Autism Spectrum Disorders, or adjustment issues with school, peers or parents." - http://www.ryther.org/

I know that there are a million, or actually billions of places where people can donate their time or money, so please don't get overwhelmed. Wherever you can donate, to any cause that's dear to you, just do it. Even if it's $20 or old books that your children don't read. There's always a place for reused things. Over the past year and a half, since the original diagnosis, I've received financial gifts in the mail, money in a donation account, cash stuffed in my hand, and I'm telling you, $20 melds into $100 and all of a sudden a payment on a bill is paid. It has all been out of the goodness of people's hearts, too. I've cried multiple times from the generosity. It's just overwhelming. I like to think that money has a life of its own. It passes from hand to hand, and to me it represents kindness, generosity, piece of mind, well wishes, and wherever I donate, or pass on my money, I hope it sends love around the world, weaving its beautiful little way on the path that it takes. I am in a great position to give to the Ryther organization. I might have medical bills, and a crazy brain tumor which requires expensive alternative treatments, but I can still give a small amount. A little bit goes a long way. I challenge you, next time you see something you believe in, donate $10 or $20 dollars. I guarantee you won't even know it was gone.