Vitamin D

At my semi-annual appointment last week, my endocrinologist said that more and more research is showing the vital role of Vitamin D, so she was going to check my level of that, along with my thyroid level. She called today to say that I was very low and she's prescribing a megadose for a few weeks and then I should take an over-the-counter supplement. Further reading, like this article from WebMD, and this one from NIH, reveals that adequate Vitamin D helps prevent colon cancer (the one that Celiacs are at greater risk for!) as well as osteoporosis. I'm on board, and super grateful to my doc for checking on this! Side note: best source by far is cod liver oil. And, yes, if you were wondering, this makes me feel OLD!

WebMD: Scientists have known for some time about vitamin D's role in helping the body absorb calcium, in maintaining bone density, and in preventing osteoporosis. But new research suggests it may also help protect against chronic diseases such as cancer, type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and autoimmune diseases.

NIH: Strong biological and mechanistic bases indicate that vitamin D plays a role in the prevention of colon, prostate, and breast cancers. Emerging epidemiologic data suggest that vitamin D has a protective effect against colon cancer, but the data are not as strong for a protective effect against prostate and breast cancer, and are variable for cancers at other sites.

Sun exposure
Most people meet their vitamin D needs through exposure to sunlight [6,27]. Ultraviolet (UV) B radiation with a wavelength of 290-315 nanometers penetrates uncovered skin and converts cutaneous 7-dehydrocholesterol to previtamin D3, which in turn becomes vitamin D3 [11,27-28]. Season, geographic latitude, time of day, cloud cover, smog, skin melanin content, and sunscreen are among the factors that affect UV radiation exposure and vitamin D synthesis [28]. The UV energy above 42 degrees north latitude (a line approximately between the northern border of California and Boston) is insufficient for cutaneous vitamin D synthesis from November through February [6]; in far northern latitudes, this reduced intensity lasts for up to 6 months.

Girls Day Out

Larry took Matt and Caleb to see the Transformer movie and Alana and I had lunch, some ice cream at the mall - she got Cotton Candy with white chocolate chips and strawberries (gag).

Then we went to Feats of Clay to paint pottery.

Van Buren pool

The weather was iffy, and the kids complained about how cold the water was, but we still had fun.

Caleb rescued the tiniest frog I've ever seen from the pool and let it go in our backyard.

Dad's gravestone

My friend Diane, in Flagstaff, put sunflowers on our fathers' graves in honor of Father's Day. She had to tidy up dad's marker a bit - it was very neglected (no one to take care of it).

Evening at the beach

Caleb spent the whole hour we were at Oneida Shores in the water as usual. Alana played on the sand, also as usual.

Wasted time?

I stopped at Target on the way home, even though it's a bit out of my way. But things have been so hectic, and will be until next week, so I thought I better take care of - I need to get more tights for Alana, who will ONLY wear dresses. Despite this girlie preference, she's still very active, and she's pretty hard on tights and she goes through them.

So, later we were talking in the car, and Caleb was rhapsodizing about summer - camp and ice cream and so on. And Alana said, "You know what my favorite thing about summer is? No tights!"

Watertown rocks!

Larry's restaurant hit $26000 in sales on Father's Day, blowing away the other stores in the region and topping his own sales from last year by 20%. They even beat their Mother's Day (usually the best day of the year) sales. WOW!

Performers

Alana and Nikki performing for their moms.

Father's Day (on Saturday)

Terrific if soggy day. Started in Stella's diner for breakfast.



Then drove down to Cooperstown and went to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Had lunch at the Doubleday Cafe (just o.k.) and then went to the Thomson's house for Croc's BD party.

Kindergarten Fun Day

It was soggy and drizzling much of the time, but the kids had a blast (Alana with Logan and Emily - all part of the yellow team).

Letter to Dept of Environmental Conservation

Sent to Commissioner, Asst Commissioner for Natural Resources, District Commissioner, my State Assemblyman (Al Stirpe) and my State Senator (John DeFrancisco).

Dear Sir,

I am writing to you today to express my serious concern about the recent elimination of bridges in the Clay Marsh recreation area. I recently spoke with Gary Pratt, the wildlife biologist for the northern wildlife areas. I understand that the deterioration of the bridges has created liability concerns, and I understand that maintaining the bridges is not financially viable. What I don’t understand is how the DEC arrived at the conclusion that Clay Marsh is not utilized by the public. Mr. Pratt informed me that removing the bridges would have no impact because “no one” uses the area. That is patently and demonstrably untrue. I use the area almost daily to walk my dog and I see other people year around - walking their dogs, skiing, hunting, etc. I also see ample evidence of other use, including fire pits, beer bottles, and used condoms.

I respect the department’s need to make a judgment call about public use, but I’m troubled by the method utilized to come to this conclusion. I never saw any official personnel in the park assessing usage. I never heard of any public hearing on the topic of usage. I never received any correspondence regarding usage. I never even saw a sign informing the public that the bridges would be removed and not replaced.

As a concerned citizen who took the time to inquire about public space, I was taken aback to be blithely informed by a public official that “no one” uses the area. I’m not “no one” - I’m a voter and a tax payer. As such, I am not out of line requesting a more thorough explanation.

Kinder Kids Play

Adorable performance of Stone Soup for the year-end celebration at the YMCA afterschool program. Each child had a puppet that they had made, and each put an item in the big pot in the middle of the room. Alana's big line was "My peppers will be delicious."

Climbing

Matt climbing on an old structure in the park. Alana is helping.

Slip n Slide

The weather was finally warm enough to get out this classic item for water play.

Beach day

We went early because the weather was supposed to get bad later. But it stayed nice, so we stayed longer than we planned at the beach, and we all got SUNBURNED.




Caleb stayed in the water almost the entire time (as he always does) while Alana played mostly on the beach (as always). Here she's set up a picnic with her two small stuffed animals.



Here she's enjoying a snack.

Family Day

Larry was off, but Matt was at a training session for his new job, so it was family day with just the 4 of us. We had breakfast at Stella's, then went to the mall to spend Caleb's BD gift card at Border's (everybody got something). We checked out the DS options at Best Buy (Larry has reward points that Caleb will be able to combine with his BD money to get the DS Lite system, but not until next week). Then we saw Night at the Museum: Battle for the Smithsonian. Then we had a late lunch at New Century Vietnamese Restaurant. Later we took Roxy for a walk in the park and Matt and Larry finished the day by seeing Pelham 123. In this photo, Caleb is reading one of the Magic Treehouse books that he got.

Birthday party

Caleb invited four friends - Jonah, Joey, Jake and Phillip. While they waited for Phillip, they sang along to a music video (Hope it Gives you Hell).



They played laser tag and games at Fun Junction.

Then had pizza (Alana is hidden behind Phillip - in the striped shirt).

Birthday party, part 2

After laser tag, we went back to our house for cake (a Carvel ice cream cake shaped like an ice cream cone!).



Caleb opened his presents (Jonah & Phillip).

The boys played basketball on the brand new hoop that we got.

Larry and Matt spent most of the morning assembling it.

Alana entertained herself.

Mani-pedi

I told Alana I would take her for a manicure while Caleb played laser tag, but she preferred a pedicure. When we got there, they gave her both!

Evening in the park

Matt and Caleb played basketball.



Roxy and I took a walk, passing this adorable field of daisies.

Music festival

We had free ice cream at Friendly's on our way to this small local music festival, though I forgot to take a photo. At the festival, I listened to music with my friend Rachel while the kids played games. Alana is wearing a new dress, pink with rhinestones.

Taste of Syracuse

Yum!

Allen Rd Elem School Carnival

I volunteered to help, but Matt took my assigned job - running the blow-up basketball game.


Snip-Its was doing hair for free. Mohawks for boys . . .




. . . braids for girls.




Alana won this polar bear as a prize for one of the games.

Alana climbing in the bouncy castle.

Alana and Matt

On more photo from the carnival.

Reading time

Rosie the killer

Rosie has taken up Casey's hunting mantle - she left this baby mole on our welcome mat.



Afterwards, she rested on the bed.