Lifestyle Changes
I went grocery shopping with my mom today and it was a pain. Because of her condition she has to watch her sodium intake. It is hard to find products that aren't loaded with salt. Light and fat free products are no good because they replace the fat with salt. And forget about soups. Campell's makes a cream of mushroom that has 30% less sodium than the original. That's true and it sounds good, but for a little perspective is needed. The original has between 800 and 900 mg of salt. That's almost a full gram. The reduced sodium soup contains about 430 mg. That's just terrible. Can foods, most cheeses, salad dressing and even bread have high sodium. It is hard to find stuff to correspond to her new diet. And don't think a place like Whole Foods offers anything better. They are just as bad. Their only saving grace is that their products are lower in chemical preservatives. But this is made up for by increasing the amount of salt to improve shelf life. But we are finding alternatives, even though they are few and far between.

On a good note, Mom did return to work for a few hours today. She went in for the Republican caucus meeting and left after that. It was more of a visit than a return to work. I think it did her good, plus it boosted moral at the Senate office seeing her.

On a strange note, we received a copy of the Wall Street Journal today. This is bizarre since no one subscribes to it. I was told to throw it out. So I was taking it out of the plastic bag when it fell open to reveal a story about implanted defibrilators. This story said that these devises are responsible for extending life for up to three years. But the one she has extends life even longer than that. The other weird thing about this article is it talks about a drug that she was given while in the hospital. She had a bad reaction to it and its use was discontinued. According to the study, this drug does absolutely nothing to prolong life and in fact it may have a detrimental effect. So its a good thing that she reacted against it.

Drink of the Week
For those of you who are trying to use up Chambord, try this one.

Raspberry Smash

1 oz. Absolut Vodka
0.5 oz. Chambord
2 oz. Pineapple Juice

1. Fill mixing glass with ice
2. Add Absolut, Chambord and pineapple juice
3. Shake
4. Strain into a rocks glass filled with ice