Thursday, August 27, 2015

Summer's End


Wow! I feel as if I have been on a roller coaster since May. It is always a busy time for us...between May and July we had four trips with the Board of Governors. I'm not complaining...just playing catch-up with life.


I wanted to share with you a few pics from our travels. One of our stays was at The Biltmore in Coral Gables...basically, it's a suburb of Miami. Coral Gables is home to the University of Miami and it is beautiful! Lots of "old" Florida homes with red tiled roofs and jacarandas blooming in the yard. 

Our favorite sight at the Biltmore...the two large bird cages in the lobby. 


They are inhabited by many finches. The bright colors of these birds, and their antics at feeding time are well worth watching. Annie and I watched them for a long while one afternoon.


Sleeping Beauty


Annie, with a couple of guy pals. The young fellow on her right is her cousin. He is a member of the Young Lawyers Board. He was elected last year and it's been fun getting to see him at a few meetings. The two boards have one combined meeting once a year. The fellow on her left is the next President of the Florida Bar, Bill Schifino....a Tampa attorney...yeah! Can you tell Annie enjoys seeing all her pals?

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The next week, we were in Palm Beach at The Breakers. This is my favorite hotel in south Florida. It's where Mr. MW and I went on our honeymoon thirty three years ago. Of course, it has been redone several times since then. We love the old world elegance of the place...but the informal family tone makes it fun...not stuffy. 

I thought you might like to see our color-coordinated digs. Don't mind the mess. Our rooms look lived in in short order. 

The sitting area above matches the...


sleeping area..that matches...


...the room service table...that matches...


...the box of chocolates they put on your pillow as part of the nightly turn down service. Love it! Everything has an ocean theme...and the same colors! 

Like I said, it's my favorite! 

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Thanks for all the kind comments left on my last post. It was good medicine! 

As I have mentioned in a past post, I have been struggling with some auto-immune issues. I have researched and read everything I can get my hands on about these debilitating maladies that seem to come in multiples. Once you get one...it snowballs and before long you have many. 

My big wake up came with my "frozen shoulder". Researching causes and cures, I realized I had to make changes. Stress has a major impact...as does diet and lifestyle. 

I am now gluten free...no bread, pasta, pizza...anything with wheat. I am caffeine free...though once in a while I will have a little green tea. I was sugar free for a few months and then slipped. I'm working on it, but it's the hardest for me. I eat a little chocolate here and there. My husband is plant based diet all the way, and I was never a meat eater, but I do eat fish and shellfish, and a bit of chicken. I try to walk thirty minutes everyday. I drink chicken bone broth in the morning rather than tea or coffee...an acquired taste to be sure, but now I love it! I know it sounds crazy, but I feel so much better than I did this time last year. My frozen shoulder is almost totally gone, with most of my range of motion back to normal. But, mainly, I can function again. I have more energy. I can get off the couch!

Auto immune disease starts with your "gut". A leaky gut allows food particles to move into places in your body where it is perceived as a foreign substance and your body attacks it as such. This sets off a whole series of mishaps that present as auto immune disease...adrenal fatigue, Sjorgen's disease, arthritis, thyroid malfunction...check, had them all. All sorts of bad things happen when your gut is unhealthy. Heal your gut, and a lot of problems resolve themselves. 

I know...you think I'm crazy. But...my husband and I are of the school that believes...food is medicine. Eat right and it can help...eat wrong and it can hurt.

So...that's what I have been up to this summer. It feels good to have my shoulder (almost) pain free...to have some energy back...to be able take care of my home and family again.

Have a great weekend...and thanks so much for all your lovely comments...they really do make a difference!

Enjoy the day,
Robyn









7 comments:

  1. I am so glad you are feeling so much better. I just happened in today. Your life sounds just like the journey my husband and I are now on too. His started with a frozen shoulder in Jan. We have come to the same conclusions that you have just written. I find it to be so wonderful, because people look at us sideways now. I hope you continue to heal. It has been since April and every month I feel better and better. I can't wait to see how much better we are in a year. Blessings to you.

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  2. I'm so glad you're feeling better Robyn. You are right, the food we eat really has an effect on how we feel because a lot of unhealthy additive and toxin in the food adds stress on our immune system. I've made a habit of reading ingredients labels on all the food that I buy.

    I love that sleeping beauty in her white beddings. Annie always looks like a ray of sunshine.

    Take care and I hope that you continue to feel better and better.
    Hugs,
    JB


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  3. Robyn, I don't think you're crazy. I've gone completely sugar-free again--no grain, nearly no fruits, definitely no straight sugars. Currently, I'm working on rennovating my gut as well. It was messed up with a little parting "gift" I picked up in a foreign country almost 25 years ago. The medical est. did their best, but most didn't know what some do now.

    What wonderful pictures of Annie. They make my heart smile. :-)

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  4. Annie does look like sleeping beauty, and her smiles with her pals, she is precious!
    Loved your photos.
    I need to switch off on much you discussed.
    So thankful, you are healing.
    Bless you!

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  5. Wow...it sounds like you have had quite a time...My son and his girl friend are gluten free. I'm a person who bakes bread almost every day, so I've been experimenting with alternative flours. It's a process, but I love almond flour and have been very successful making thumb cookies! I'm what I like to think of as a 6 day vegan! On Sunday all bets are off an I tear into a chicken. Oh yes, and several restaurants in Chicago serve chicken broth with pop overs while you are deciding on your order!

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  6. So sorry to hear about your auto immune issues but happy that with some lifestyle changes (though not easy by any means) you are doing better.
    Sweet pics of sweet Annie.
    Hugs :)
    Lauren

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