This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of NMEDA. All opinions are 100% mine.

Working in the medical field you see all sorts of disabilities whether physical or mental. What some of us do not realize is how the physical affects the mental and how difficult it is to do day to day outings such as grocery shopping when you may not have the access to transportation that you or I would normally never even think about.

Take my boss for instance. He is in a wheelchair. His only mode for transportation to and from anywhere is a customized van to load and unload his wheelchair. Recently he had some issues with the wheelchair battery not holding a proper charge and then the lift in the van broke. What irked me and totally ticked off his wife the most about the situation was the fact that the company who installed the lift tried to push him off saying they could not fix it anymore because the original installer was no longer with the company. Apparently this company absorbed the smaller company as they were only on contract at one point. Now how can a company say that when this is vital for him to get around? I won’t even get into when his elevator broke at the house and his house is elevated.

We seem to have an NMEDA dealer in the area and I will have to mention it to them in case they want to look for another company. It looks like this store is one of the Quality Assurance Program dealers as they offer structural vehicle modifiers and mobility equipment installers which is what they would need as their lift is already installed. Plus if/when the need arises and they buy a new van they can to go them for the installation of a new lift and not have to worry about the original installers being bought out.

Yes folks one can have too much sun at any given time. I was outside yesterday in the pool for HOURS. Normally this is not an issue for me but when you forget to reapply sunscreen from getting in and out of the pool you pay for it and boy am I paying for it. I’m almost purple in some spots from all that damn sun. I must have used enough sunscreen on my tattoos though because those didn’t get any sun at all as I was using the SPF 50. Sun will fade tattoos in case you did not know.

Anywhoo, just thought I’d share and hopefully the pain will go away soon. I’m all lotioned up in the meantime and will stay that way for a few days.

On an aside: Who’s ready to watch Iron Man 2 this Friday? I AM and will be off to do just that lol I have to take the dogs to get their puppy jail shots before the movie first though. Gonna sneak in some twizzlers to eat too maybe.

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Incendia Health. All opinions are 100% mine.

If you happen to be some of the lucky few, you have no need for contacts or eyeglasses. However, I’m sure there are plenty of people like me who have to have these in order just to see a foot in front of your face. Quite annoying if you ask me. I’ve been wearing glasses since I was in the 2nd/3rd grade and contacts starting in the 5th grade. Lucky me right? Ha. It is more of a pain in the butt. What gets me though is sometimes I’ll fall asleep with my contacts in and wake up thinking holy crap I can see and then after blinking a few times I’m like ewww my contacts are all gummy now and have to remove them to clean them and then put them back in.

Recently Abbott Medical Optics Inc had an iLASIK Video Contest which I wish I had known about. The grand prize of $5,000 is the approximate amount for the iLASIK procedure. The cost is the only thing that hinders me from obtaining it because I am a candidate for it. I would love to be able to wake up and be able to see everything without having to worry about contacts or glasses. I’m actually scared traveling because I can’t afford to lose any of that and keep it with me in a backpack with all of my electronic equipment and accessories because, lets face it, your baggage may not make it with you to your destination.

You can go to the iLASIK Video Contest page to see the entire list of winners which included 1 grand prize winner of the $5,000, first and second prize winners for 3 separate categories. The prizes varied from HDTV packages to camcorders. Either of which I would have been happy with as well.

I’ll admit it, I’ve been really lucky with my teeth in the sense that there is nothing horribly wrong with them with regards to cavities or needing any sort of root canals, etc. The only thing I had was crooked teeth and had braces and an overbite to fix that when I was a teenager but I refused to wear the mouth guard at night and so my overbite did not correct fully as well as one of my bottom teeth now slightly overlap. Do I care? Not in the slightest. I just need to get them a bit whiter since there is so much calcium in them they are not as bright as they could be as my orthodontist keeps telling me.

So anywhos, I go to my twice yearly teeth cleaning and get my goody bag like I always do with a toothbrush, floss, and mouthwash. This time though she put in an extra toothbrush. She said that since I have such a small mouth that maybe a kids toothbrush might do me better than a big girls. Now I’ve known about the lack of space in there for some time because I had extra teeth before my permanent ones came in and then had to have permanent ones taken out because there was no room for them. Still have two more upper molars that have not come in and I don’t think they ever will but I could be wrong because my bottom ones came in wrapped around some nerves in my late 20s that got surgically removed.

So there you have it folks, I now brush my teeth with a kids dinosaur toothbrush. I do have to agree though in that I can get better access to my back teeth with the smaller brush. I still have the green big girl one as back up just in case though.

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Cryo-Cell International. All opinions are 100% mine.

Cryo-Cell has been open since 1992 preserving newborns umbilical cord blood for potential uses in fighting diseases later on in life whether it is the person it came from or a sibling. Until recently it has always been discarded. We did not know that there was a need for it until research scientists discovered it was a source for stem cells which can be a substitute to bone marrow (which is a painful process to harvest if needed). Stem cells are a perfect match because it essentially was part of that person in utero. Now it might not be useful in all diseases so it will all depend on the situation. If you choose to harvest this blood, you can rest assured that there is a facility that will keep it which is Cryo-Cell.

If you enroll now with Cryo-Cell they will donate $25.00 from each enrollment to the “Save the Children: Haiti Relief Fund”. I’m sure you have been hearing the news about the devastating earthquake that struck Haiti and this is another way of helping out. Every little bit that can be gained is worth it so that they can rebuild for a better and brighter future. This is only going on through February with Cryo-Cell but you can always donate to the fund.

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
1 teaspoon peppered seasoned salt
2 medium unpeeled red potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (2 cups)
2 medium carrots, sliced (1 cup)
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped (1/2 cup)
2 cans (14 ounces each) chicken broth
2 cups small broccoli flowerets
1 medium yellow summer squash, coarsely chopped (1 1/2 cups)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves

1. Spray 10-inch nonstick skillet with cooking spray; heat over medium-high heat. Add chicken to skillet; sprinkle with peppered seasoned salt. Cook 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until brown.
2. Mix chicken and remaining ingredients except broccoli, squash and basil in 3 1/2- to 4-quart slow cooker.
3. Cover and cook on Low heat setting 7 to 8 hours.
4. Stir in broccoli, squash and basil. Increase heat setting to High. Cover and cook 15 to 20 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Substitution
In place of fresh broccoli, you can use 2 cups Green Giant Select® frozen broccoli florets. Thaw them before adding to the slow cooker.

I grabbed this off of the Betty Crocker website and thought you guys might like it. It’s beyond easy and tasty.