Portland, OR

One of my favorite places in the whole world (not that I've seen much of the world, though) is Portland, Oregon. I have some favorite places to go, of course, and if you ever come here you should check them out!

Powell's Books
An entire city block of books in downtown Portland! Who could NOT want to go? Powell's is the number one place to go for everything books, from textbooks to children's books, science fiction to cartoons, even music books.

Saint Honore Boulangerie
Heaven in a brioche! Found in the Northwest part of Portland, Saint Honore's was started by an award-winning Frenchman who adds his own flair to the NW residential area. A must for all people traveling through Portland, or Lake Oswego where they opened a new restaurant in April.

Everyday Music
Two huge rooms packed with new and used CD's and DVD's. A highlight of any Powell's trip, as it is only a couple blocks away. It's best to spend an entire afternoon in there, because you never know when you'll find that one CD you've been looking for all year at a bargain price! Also a great place to sell your CD's that you don't want anymore, leaving room in your CD display case for all the new ones you're about to buy.

OMSI (The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry)
If you only have time for one thing at OMSI, go and see an OMNIMAX movie. Waaay better
than IMAX, which is only a big screen, the OMNIMAX theater actually wraps the screen around the theater, getting you as close to the action as possible! Each frame is 10 times the size of 35mm film. Amazing? I think so!!

Japanese Garden
Located above the Oregon Zoo, the Japanese Garden is an incredibly beautiful place to find your inner whatever or just go and enjoy nature from anything part of the world. All the plants are authentic Japanese plants, arranged is a precise way to be as authentic as possible. Worth it to check out color in the garden to get a feel for what is in the garden at this time.

McMenamins
What is a list of the great spots in Portland without a brew pub on the list? Portland is well known for it's breweries, and McMenamins is one of the best, in my opinion. A place for adults as well as families, McMenamins has over 24 locations around Oregon, and an additional 16 locations in Portland itself. They offer a variety of services: food, hotel rooms, movie theaters, music venues, breweries, wineries, distilleries, roasted coffees, swing lessons, 80's video dance attack, UFO festivals and much more!

The Grotto
Even though I am not Catholic, I've loved going to the Grotto. 62 acres of beautiful garden, and a gorgeous overlook of Portland from their Meditation Chapel captured the spiritual side of nature and life. The actual Grotto is awe inspiring, but the grounds are magnificent. Sunday Mass starts at 10 am.

NW 23rd
My heart will always be in NW 23rd street in Portland. I honestly have no clue why. There are some interesting shops and restaurants, but nothing that isn't found anywhere else. However, there is something about the atmosphere and the people that make it my favorite spot in Portland. If you get the chance, go and see what I mean.

TriMet
Can't find your way around Portland? Have no fear, TriMet is here! Basically, get on the MAX (Metropolitan Area Express), and you can go wherever you want to! Check out the website to learn more about MAX, the streetcar, our bus routes, or plan your trip down to the minute.

Where I stole the idea

Hyperthyroidism

The thyroid is a glad located at the bottom of your neck, and controls pretty much your entire body. Well, that might be an over exaggeration, but your thyroid runs your metabolism, from your heart rate to how fast you burn calories. Essentially everything is affected by your thyroid.

Not to be confused with Hypothyroidism (when the thyroid produces less of the needed hormone), Hyperthyroidism is where the thyroid gland goes crazy and secretes too much hormone. Signs include:

• Sudden weight loss, even when your appetite and food intake remain normal or increase
• Rapid heartbeat (tachycardia) — commonly more than 100 beats a minute — irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia) or pounding of your heart (palpitations)
• Nervousness, anxiety or anxiety attacks, irritability
• Tremor — usually a fine trembling in your hands and fingers
• Sweating
• Changes in menstrual patterns
• Increased sensitivity to heat
• Changes in bowel patterns, especially more frequent bowel movements
• An enlarged thyroid gland (goiter), which may appear as a swelling at the base of your neck
• Fatigue, muscle weakness
• Difficulty sleeping

Some causes are Graves disease, an auto-immune disorder in which your body attacks your thyroid; thyroid nodules that sometimes cause the thyroid to get bigger; or your thyroid can become inflamed.

One way that you can be diagnosed is getting some blood drawn so the amount of the thyroid hormone can get tested, if your blood work comes back with your thyroid secretion increased, there are ways to find out why. One way is to get an ultrasound of your thyroid. This could show a variety of different things, including nodules or an inflamed thyroid. You could take a dose of iodine, and then tested to see how much iodine is taken up by your thyroid, too much absorbed usually indicates hypothyroidism, not enough absorbed usually indicates hyperthyroidism.

Treatment is available in many different forms, from medication to surgery. Radioactive iodine can shrink the size of the thyroid gland; anti-thyroid medications eventually prevent your thyroid from secreting more hormone than necessary; beta blockers, though they are usually used for high blood pressure, they are very helpful in controlling heart problems; and of course, surgery is an option, removing part of your thyroid.

Thyroid problems are more often found in women than men. If you are experiencing many symptoms, you may want to think about getting tested, it could considerably ease what you're going through.

Sources...if you care
mayo clinic
endocrineweb
netdoctor

Book of the Week

This week's book of the week is...

The Entire Works of William Shakespeare!

Congratulations to the bard! Not only is he a marvelous author in his own right, but how can you not go for Shakespeare when it is stolen and re-written for everything? Ever seen She's the Man? (a take on my favorite Shakespeare play, Twelfth Night.) How about West Side Story? (Romeo and Juliet done the right way...with singing, dancing, and "rumbles.") Ever seen 10 Things I Hate About You? (My favorite performance by Allison Janney since the West Wing.) O as Othello? (duh.) And what about Get Over It as A Midsummer Night's Dream? (Sisqo??? What were those people THINKING??? And I might add that it is loosely based on Shakespeare...very loosly)

However, the bard is an amazing guy, so I can think of no better way of rewarding him than to put him on my list of books of the week!! Congrats, Will!



See my favorite interpretation of the complete works of William Shakespeare (abridged), as done by the Reduced Shakespeare Company.
And if you want a killer edition of the entire cannon, check out the Riverside Shakespeare.

Something to Say

I feel like I have something to say, something I need to get out and say out loud, about life and love and hurt and joy and pain...





...but I don't.

Song of the Week

Kristin Chenoweth=Broadway musical genius.

The End.

Go no further.

You might remember her from the revival of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown; Wicked; Annie; the television show The West Wing; and movies Bewitched and Stranger than Fiction.

Kristin Chenoweth is IT.


...So is her song "Taylor the Latte Boy" it is an absolutely charming song that makes caffeine-addicted girls everywhere heave a huge sigh of joy, love and hope. Taylor is the man for us. "Who'd have thought that love could be so caffeinated?" (favorite line in the song!) He buys coffee, gives us an extra shot of espresso, plays guitar...how could life and love get any better than that??

PLEASE! Take the time to listen to this song, it makes me laugh so much! Please check it out on her myspace page. And, of course, I'll let you read the lyrics.

Because I like you all so much, here's a video of it.

A Tribute to John Cage

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Sources...if you care
John Cage

Movie of the Week

This week's movie of the week: Flushed Away (Could it be anything else??). It is the perfect movie for kids and adults alike, bringing in the incredible animation of Aardman (the creators of Wallace and Gromit). It is a charming, uproarious, clever, action-packed, musical, witty movie that everyone and their mom should see. It is very quotable (which is good for me) and the one-liners really add to the movie. And who can forget the singing slugs? They, like the bunnies in Wallace and Gromit make Flushed Away so dang cute.

It has a magnificent cast, including Kate Winslet, Hugh Jackman, Sir Iain McKellen, Bill Nighy, and Andy Serkis. Quite magical.

See it. NOW.

Or live with the consequences. Go here.

Sleep Apnea

Sleep Apnea sucks. While I don't have it, I have heard so much about it. Someone who has sleep apnea repeatedly stop breathing while they sleep.

There are three kinds: Obstructive, where the tissue in the back of the throat closes; Central, where the brain stops telling you to breathe; and third is Mixture, a combination of the two. When the person stops breathing, they wake up to breathe for a moment and fall back asleep, without realizing they have, and because they are always waking up, they don't get very much sleep.

Unfortunately, sleep apnea is as common as adult diabetes; it affects over 12 million Americans. Dang that sucks.

A couple signs of sleep apnea may include snoring, irritability, feeling very tired all the time, talking to people in your sleep and not remembering it later (I have some great stories about this one!). If undiagnosed it can cause high blood pressure, memory problems, weight gain, impotency, and headaches.

Treatment is available (yay!). CPAP (Continuous positive airway pressure) is a machine that fits over your face and covers your nose to create enough steady pressure to keep your throat open the whole night (see picture). For Central Sleep Apnea, you can use an oxygen tank to try and keep you breathing. Also, a BiPAP machine is like the CPAP, but instead of having steady pressure, the BiPAP increases the pressure as you inhale, and decreases the pressure as you exhale.

Obviously there are more options for treatment of sleep apnea, but I don't want to bore you to death (sorry if I already have).

Sources...if you actually care
America Sleep Apnea Association
Mayo Clinic

Apathy

I am getting sick of apathy. From myself and from others. So, I've decided to talk about illnesses and disorders that people I know have to deal with on a regular basis and try to give people the background and enough information to understand a little of what these are like. Not to mention it will help me understand what is going on with my family and friends. So, I hope you enjoy them! Also, start looking for movie of the week, because I might as well, you know?

Song of the Week

So, if I have a book of the week, why not a song? This week's song is "And It Stoned Me" by Van Morrison. A song I'd like to think is not about drugs, but I'm a bit naive. It is an incredible song, so a reason that I can't figure out for the life of me. Why do I like this song so much? Who knows. This song is found on the ever popular CD "Moondance" (if you have not listened to it, you are missing out!). Moondance captures the essence of Van Morrison, and while "And It Stoned Me" is not the definitive Van song, it is one of my favorites. Listen for the simple, yet engaging guitar solo in the middle of the song. And the horns add something to the music that makes it complete.

It is also very easy to play, as you will find from the tabs, though they don't have the right lyrics.

I hope you get a chance to listen to it this week!

Book of the Week

This week's book of the week is All-American Girl by Meg Cabot. I know I should be picking some literary classic for this first book of the week, but, please. I just read this one recently and for whatever reason I love it. It is so cheesy, so horrible and I can't read it too often.

Will Sam ever forgive her parents for putting her into art class? Why did she jump on the guy who was going to shoot the President thus saving the world as we know it? Why does she feel "frission" between her and the first son? And what will happen at Kris Park's party??? Will we ever know???

Well...I guess you'll have to read the book to find out.