Isn't It Ironic ?

How ironic are these pictures ???? LOL !

Banana's , Does A Body Good

A professor at CCNY for a physiological psych class told his class about bananas..  He said the expression "going bananas" is from the effects of bananas on the brain.  Read on:

Bananas contain three natural sugars - sucrose, fructose and glucose combined with fiber. A banana gives an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy.

Research has proven that just two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute workout. No wonder the banana is the number one fruit with the world's leading athletes.

But energy isn't the only way a banana can help us keep fit. It can also help overcome or prevent a substantial number of illnesses and conditions, making it a must to add to our daily diet.. 

Depression: According to a recent survey undertaken by MIND amongst people suffering from depression, many felt much better after eating a banana. This is because bananas contain tryptophan, a type of protein that the body converts into serotonin, known to make you relax, improve your mood and generally make you feel happier.

PMS: Forget the pills - eat a banana. The vitamin B6 it contains regulates blood glucose levels, which can affect your mood.

Anemia : High in iron, bananas can stimulate the production of hemoglobin in the blood and so helps in cases of anemia.

Blood Pressure: This unique tropical fruit is extremely high in potassium yet low in salt, making it perfect to beat blood pressure. So much so, the US Food and Drug Administration has just allowed the banana industry to make official claims for the fruit's ability to reduce the risk of blood pressure and stroke.
Brain Power: 200 students at a Twickenham (Middlesex) school ( England ) were helped through their exams this year by eating bananas at breakfast, break, and lunch in a bid to boost their brain power. Research has shown that the potassium-packed fruit can assist learning by making pupils more alert.

Constipation: High in fiber, including bananas in the diet can help restore normal bowel action, helping to overcome the problem without resorting to laxatives.

Hangovers: One of the quickest ways of curing a hangover is to make a banana milkshake, sweetened with honey. The banana calms the stomach and, with the help of the honey, builds up depleted blood sugar levels, while the milk soothes and re-hydrates your system.
Heartburn: Bananas have a natural antacid effect in the body, so if you suffer from heartburn, try eating a banana for soothing relief.

Morning Sickness: Snacking on bananas between meals helps to keep blood sugar levels up and avoid morning sickness

Mosquito bites: Before reaching for the insect bite cream, try rubbing the affected area with the inside of a banana skin. Many people find it amazingly successful at reducing swelling and irritation.

Nerves: Bananas are high in B vitamins that help calm the nervous system. 

Overweight and at work? Studies at the Institute of Psychology in Austria found pressure at work leads to gorging on comfort food like chocolate and chips. Looking at 5,000 hospital patients, researchers found the most obese were more likely to be in high-pressure jobs. The report concluded that, to avoid panic-induced food cravings, we need to control our blood sugar levels by snacking on high carbohydrate foods every two hours to keep levels steady.

Ulcers: The banana is used as the dietary food against intestinal disorders because of its soft texture and smoothness. It is the only raw fruit that can be eaten without distress in over-chronicler cases. It also neutralizes over-acidity and reduces irritation by coating the lining of the stomach.

Temperature control: Many other cultures see bananas as a "cooling" fruit that can lower both the physical and emotional temperature of expectant mothers.. In Thailand , for example, pregnant women eat bananas to ensure their baby is born with a cool temperature.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): Bananas can help SAD sufferers because they contain the natural mood enhancer tryptophan.

Smoking &Tobacco Use: Bananas can also help people trying to give up smoking. The B6, B12 they contain, as well as the potassium and magnesium found in them, help the body recover from the effects of nicotine withdrawal.

Stress: Potassium is a vital mineral, which helps normalize the heartbeat, sends oxygen to the brain and regulates your body's water balance.. When we are stressed, our metabolic rate rises, thereby reducing our potassium levels. These can be rebalanced with the help of a high-potassium banana snack.

Strokes: According to research in The New England Journal of Medicine, eating bananas as part of a regular diet can cut the risk of death by stroke by as much as 40%!

Warts: Those keen on natural alternatives swear that if you want to kill off a wart, take a piece of banana skin and place it on the wart, with the yellow side out. Carefully hold the skin in place with a plaster or surgical tape!

So, a banana really is a natural remedy for many ills. When you compare it to an apple, it has four times the protein, twice the carbohydrate, three times the phosphorus, five times the vitamin A and iron, and twice the other vitamins and minerals. It is also rich in potassium and is one of the best value foods around So maybe its time to change that well-known phrase so that we say, "A banana a day keeps the doctor away!"

Stevie Ray

Stevie Ray  Vaughan, or as he is more commonly known , Stevie Ray , was probably one of the worlds greatest guitarist . His brand of rock-blues hit you where you lived when you listened to him.He played with some of the biggest people in the music industry .People like Muddy Waters , David Bowie , Jackson Browne , B.B.King, Stevie Wonder,Eric Clapton ,and the one and only Joe Cocker . If you like blues , you'll love him. Click here to go to YouTube  to listen to Stevie Ray play " Midnight Hour " ! Fantastic !!!

painting by Debra Hurd

Haroun's Big Adventure

This picture was taken of Haroun when he was less than 2 years old . Now he is a big boy almost 3 years old , so you can imagine how much bigger he is now .Last Friday his dad , mom , and little brother Yousef all went on a picnic way out in the country side .His parents cooked Bar BBQ while Haroun enjoyed just running around all over the place freely investigating this and that . He was having a good ole time . No one telling him no don't do that , come here , sit down , behave yourself , stop doing that !A little boy's dream day .

This is until ....... a camel comes running up to him from now where .There weren't any farms near where they were picnicking . No buildings that could be seen . But here was this camel , galloping toward Haroun as fast as he could . You know camel can run pretty fast !So , what does Haroun do ???? He starts to yell at the camel , stands his ground and ready to do battle if necessary with this tall monster . He wasn't afraid either , my son said .

My son and his wife , who up until this moment hadn't really paid much attention to what Haroun was doing as long as he was in eye sight , heard the commotion Haroun was raising at this fast approaching camel , turned to see why he was yelling  .My son said that before he could get to Haroun's side , the camel had rushed up to Haroun and skidded to a stop , like in a cartoon . The camel just stood there towering over Haroun, making growling camel noises towards Haroun .Haroun on his side was waving his arms in the air yelling who knows what at the camel, unafraid .

My son not wanting to frighten Haroun, slowly walked up to them with a stick in his hands to throw at the camel if he needed to ,or to frighten the camel away when he got Haroun safely out of the way .But before any of this could happened , a man came running like a bat outta hell, from NO WHERE, yelling for my son to grab the rope around the camels neck .He said to hold the camel until he could get to them .

When the man reached Haroun and my son standing with the camel firmly held by the rope , the man told my son that the camel had exscaped from a wedding party that was just over the hill from where they were picincking .The camel was one of the main attractions of the wedding .... he was gonna be the meat for the main meal ! The man thanked my son for saving the wedding meal. Kissed Haroun and told him  what a brave little boy he was for standing up to the camel .He then invited them all to the wedding .My son thanked him for the invitation , but said they had enough adventures for the day !

Special Days In March

You might want to mark your March calendar for the following very special days :

March 1st

• Peanut Butter Lover's Day
  Check out my page for this special day!
• Saint David's Day
  Celebrated in Wales, UK.
• Share a Smile Day

March 2nd

Dr. Seuss's Birthday
Born in 1904.

March 5th

Multiple Personalities Day    This is a very important one on my calander ! LOL !

 

 
March 9th
Panic Day  Personally , I think this is another underrated day !


March 14th
Potato Chip Day  How in the world is this NOT a national holiday ????


March 16th

Everything You Do Is Right Day  

Here is another prime example of a perfectly great day to celebrate !


March 17th
St. Patrick's Day    Now WHO doesn't celebrate this one ???


March 20th

Big Bird's Birthday  Can't forget Big Bird for heavens sake !!!

March 22nd
Goof Off Day  One more over looked national holiday ! Who is in charge of this department anyway ????




March 26th

Make Up Your Own Holiday Day   Ok ! Now we are talking !!! I think I will name mine .... Daydream Day and Eating All The Chocolate You Want Without Gaining A Pound Day !

March 27th

National "Joe" Day
Everyone who hates their name can be called Joe this day.   Summer ... this one is for you honey !

March 28th

Something On a Stick Day  Now people here in Libya will like this since Sheshkabob falls in this category !

I guess I have covered the most important days here. Any I left out ?

painting by Joy Argento "Tribute to Green Eggs and Ham" 

Galveston Island

Growing up in Houston , Texas meant that you spent a lot of fun times all year around on Galveston Island , but especially in the summer time . Galveston was about 1 hours ride from almost anywhere in Houston , no matter where you lived ... back then ,lol . Houston was a little bit smaller in the 50's and 60's , than now .

I can remember camping out on the wild beaches when I was small . That was soo cool .There were sand dunes to explore , waves to jump over in the surf  as they rolled in from the Gulf of Mexico .Walked miles looking for sand dollars , sea shells , bird feathers ; drift wood washed up on the beaches , weathered grey and smooth .Building sand castles with moats that filled with water from waves that flooded into them .Fishing for speckled trout , red snapper ,shark ( well , not me ,lol ) catching crabs , shrimp , and getting fresh oysters to eat . OMG !!! If  you didn't want to go to all that trouble just pick a restaurant , they were all good .Still are , lol !

A special treat would be to drive through the historical district and gaze at Victorian mansions that survived the 1900 hurricane that almost wiped Galveston Island off the map.They have a genuine palace that I would daydream about living in , no matter that it belonged to the Bishop of  Galveston-Houston Catholic Archdiocese , lol . Small matter to a little girl .

No trip to the Island would be complete without a ride on the Bolivar ferry . Dolphins racing along side the ferry as the sea gulls made foraging attacks on any unsuspecting person having the audacity to try to eat while out side the protection of their car ! What an adventure it was to watch sea going ships making their way to Houston up the ship channel .

As I grew older , a teenager , if you weren't at the POOL( where ever that might be in Houston ) then you were at the beach in Galveston as soon as it was warm enough to go in the water .Then later, as a older person , ah hum,  a group of us would drive down to the Island to swim in the full moon light , have breakfast as we watched the sun rise over the Island , and count it a great end to a fabulous night ! That of course was pre-Jaws ! No way would you get me back in the water after that movie came out .

Moe and I had a few adventures with our friends there when we dated .When the kids came a long they were introduced to all that the Island had to offer, also .We had nighttime picnics on the beach , rode the ferry , feed the sea gulls , watched the ships. We had the beach all to ourselves once as a storm moved in to shore off the Gulf of Mexico .The other people  left the beach thinking it would rain all day . It didn't,only a half hour, but what a sight that was to see as the clouds roiled above us , the waves pounded the shore line , the roar of the surf deafening to our ears . The rain slammed into our car so hard , we thought there might be dents in the roof when it was all over , but there wasn't any .How cool was that ?

All this was brought back to mind when a good friend sent me a email abut Galveston Island .It really made me home sick thinking of all the good times I had there in my life . I thought I would share the email with you too , so you might make this trip with me . Click here to see a little of Galveston .Enjoy !

Story Of My Life

In case you ever wondered about the story of my life ... well , here it is, in a poster .

Fun Quiz For Ya

Here is something that is intersting and fun.....try this little quizzy thingy  and see how well you do . I did great the second time around , lol !