Flummox and Friends ~ Off-Beat Comedy Teaches Social Skills

"Buddy" and I thoroughly enjoyed Flummox and Friends, a quirky comedy that teaches the "unspoken rules of social interaction".

The show is geared towards quirky kiddos from about 6 to 12 years old. Buddy is now 12 and he got a kick out of it.

In fact... when I asked if he had a quote for the review, he said, "Yes. Just YES. Everyone, Asperger's or not, needs to see it!"

I think he liked it... ;)

I honestly think that most children from about 5 to 10 years old would enjoy it, regardless of any social issues or awkwardness. Those on the spectrum could probably be even several years older and still enjoy it, especially those who are more securely on the Autism Spectrum.

I especially appreciate the abundant memorable resources just one episode provides me in teaching my son with Asperger's Syndrome about several social skills we are continuously needing to go over. We already have discussed this episode quite thoroughly and this has a much higher likelihood of really making a difference!

Buddy is extremely hooked on slapstick comedy and over-the-top funny characters and skits, so this is right up his alley! I enjoyed the little cartoon-like breaks in the action that further discussed what is being taught. As a fan of Dude. I'm An Aspie, I loved seeing an animated cartoon of his featured.

What really topped it off for me, though, was the fact that they also include free, downloadable PDF's for further learning! They have one for parents and one for teachers and professionals. They were both nice, but I especially like the one for teachers and professionals personally.

At this time, the creators are working on generating enthusiasm and therefore investments in developing a whole series. We need to spread the word and help build the excitement about this much needed resource that can be used in homes, therapy offices, and classrooms everywhere.

Buddy and I cannot wait for more episodes to be available! We will be buying a copy of the DVD shortly, I am sure. It's only $10 and we will be able to watch it anytime we want (without waiting for the video to buffer over the Internet).

You can watch the Pilot Episode free yourself here. So, check it out and spread the word!

To learn more about Flummox and Friends, get the free PDF's, subscribe to their mailing list, and more... Check out their site here!

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Disclosure: I did receive compensation in exchange for an honest review. This, however, did not affect this review in any way. I will only post my genuine opinions here at The Journey, regardless of any form of compensation.

Paleo & Primal EBook Bundle ~ 5 EBooks for $7.40! ~ Limited Time

  ~~~ By the way... True Paleo is ALWAYS Gluten Free When Strictly Adhered To~~~
This week's bundle is the perfect companion for a paleo or primal lifestyle!  Whether you're just dipping your toes in or looking for more recipes to add to your rotation, this collection of ebooks is both inspiring and practical, with more than 200 recipes plus inspirational stories from people who have transformed their health through a paleo diet and tips for eating out without cheating. 
Paleo ebooks can be expensive, but this week only you'll get all 5 at a savings of more than 85% off, less than the cost of any one of the ebooks by itself!  The Paleo Miracle by Joe Salama and Christina Lianos  In The Paleo Miracle, Joe shares a compilation of stories from people who have undergone a miraculous transformation in their health thanks to the paleo diet. The people featured in this ebook have eliminated or dramatically improved their symptoms of diseases like diabetes, heart disease, ADHD, Crohn’s, and many others -- and in most cases have become completely medication-free -- by eating real food. And in the process, they've learned that when your body is healthy inside, it will automatically look healthier on the outside to -- losing body fat in the process!  The Paleo Snack Recipe Book by Suzanne Crawt  For those times when you need a snack, Suz's Paleo Snack Recipe Book has more than 75 paleo-compliant snack recipes to help you stick to a paleo diet when hunger strikes! Each recipe includes a full-color photo and step-by-step instructions, with plenty of ideas that don't require any cooking! Eating Out and Traveling on the Paleo Diet by Aglaée Jacobs  In Eating Out and Traveling on the Paleo Diet, Aglaée shares tips and tools to help you avoid non-paleo ingredients away from home, so you can feel at your best at all times. You'll find dozens of meal ideas, snack lists and recipes you can prepare on the road, as well as information about cross-contamination, the use of fasting as a tool while traveling, a paleo-friendly dessert guide and tips for explaining your food preferences in social settings, as well as various printables to help you simplify your travel diet.  Toadally Primal Smoothies by Primal Toad  In Toadally Primal Smoothies, Todd Dosenberry (aka the Primal Toad) shares more than 150 paleo and primal smoothie recipes, complete with substitution ideas and nutrition information! Discover tasty flavors like coconut egg nog and vanilla almond cappuccino and more.  Paleo Ice Cream by Ben Hirshberg  With 31 delicious, healthy and nutrient dense ice cream flavors, Paleo Ice Cream is your guilt-free ice cream handbook. Armed with a love of ice cream, Ben tested and created each flavor combination by replacing the problematic ingredients and chemicals found in conventional ice cream with healthier paleo-friendly options so that you can enjoy your dessert without feeling like you're cheating!  The Paleo & Primal bundle is only available through 8am EST on Monday, 6/17. Get yours today: If this offer has expired, check out the current EBook Bundle below:

Bike Ride Over Longest Concrete Cathedral Arch Bridge in the World ~ Wordless Wednesday

~ Bike ride over the Galena Creek Bridge ~

Hubby (bottom right) road his bike across on the Galena Creek Bridge during the special event on July 2012. People were allowed to walk or ride their bikes across the longest concrete cathedral arch bridge in the world. This was before they constructed the barrier walls (which obstruct some of the amazing view) and opened the new section of I-580 between Reno and Carson City. "Buddy", our dog Isabella, and I drove over on the opposite side of the bridge. We could only go about 5 - 10 mph, but I loved being able to go so slow and enjoy the scenery. The project took well over six years and more than $400 million.

Gluten Free Products I Recommend ~ June 9, 2013 Edition

      

    

     

Udi's Gluten Free Everything Inside Bagel, 4 Bagels per Pack

Kinnikinnick Foods Pizza Crust, 21 Ounce -- 6 boxes of 4 packs per case.

Udis Gluten Free Millet Chia Loaf Bread, 14.2 Ounce -- 8 per case.

Kinnikinnick S'moreables Graham Style Crackers -- 8 oz - You can also buy bigger quantities for more savings on Amazon!

DeBoles Gluten Free, Rice plus Golden Flax, Angel Hair Pasta, 8-Ounce Boxes (Pack of 12)


For more Gluten Free Products I Recommend, click here.

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Disclaimers and Reminders:

Remember to always check to make sure that these and all other products are still Gluten Free when you purchase them.  Check every item for yourself every time!

I personally believe at the time of posting that these items are Gluten Free; however, companies change their recipes/ingredients/processing at times without notice.  I am not responsible or liable for any reactions that may occur from my suggestions.  Each one of us personally have to be proactive in order to prevent getting "Glutened" and/or having any adverse reactions.

I am not a spokesperson for any of the products or companies that I have recommended, nor have I been reimbursed in any way or even requested to mention them on my blog.  I am also not reimbursed in any way from Pinterest.  However, when I include a link to buy some of the products on Amazon, those particular links are affiliate links.  These do not add to your cost when you buy from Amazon, but I do get a very small percentage for referring people.

Ruins at Fort Churchill ~ Nevada

We started our RV boondocking vacation this year at Fort Churchill. It is a wonderful place full of history. We still need to go back and explore some more soon. I especially want to check out Buckland Station. We had planned to check it out the next morning when it opened for the season, but due to my mishap... our vacation was cut short. I  also planned on getting some beautiful pictures of our camp site the next morning. It was such a peaceful location.

You can read about my Post-Concussive Syndrome and BPPV here.

She is 25 Today!!!

My darling daughter is 25 today!  I cannot believe the years have gone by SO quickly.

Happy Birthday Carabeth!  I love you dearly and always will ♥

My Experience with Post-Concussive Syndrome and Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV)

Our vacation did not go quite as planned...

As I was going into our RV while we were at Fort Churchill on the afternoon of May 24th, I stepped up and right into the bottom of a kitchen cabinet.  I hit the cabinet with the top-left part of my head hard enough that I had hubby check to make sure that it was not bleeding.  It wasn't. That evening I was feeling a bit tired, but thought that it was just because we had had a busy day of exploring. I had basically forgotten about hitting my head earlier.

When I woke up the next morning, I had the most extreme case of vertigo ever. I did not really know that is what it was, because I have had vertigo before and it was NOTHING like this. The whole world was spinning and swirling. I had trouble staying upright and was literally laying against the wall when I was trying to stand.

I have had two concussions before and neither one affected me in the same way as this event.

Even though my heart wasn't hurting and my left arm was fine, I began to worry that maybe it was something like a heart attack. It was such an extreme feeling of something obviously being completely wrong that I figured it had to be something really bad.

Hubby drove me back to town and took me to an urgent care facility. After they performed a cat scan on my head, they were completely baffled and sent me directly to the emergency room at the main hospital. They wanted me to go there, because they had the best neurologists on hand. The doctor even called the hospital to tell them I was on my way.

I had to be in a wheelchair, because any movement made me feel like my whole body was spinning uncontrollably and I had extreme bouts of heaving.

The emergency room doctor noticed the way I was heaving (and what it looked like), so he was concerned that maybe I actually had an intestinal blockage of some sort. He then ordered a cat scan of my abdomen. He was concerned that my dizziness was actually being caused by a severe blockage issue. Fortunately, that was not the case.

Because I was quite dehydrated and obviously extremely dizzy, he wanted to keep me overnight. Hubby and I both felt better with me staying overnight to be watched, too. We still had NO idea what I was actually dealing with. The emergency room doctor that replaced the first one was telling me that I just had a case of vertigo and it might be "awhile" before it went away. Since this was NOTHING like the vertigo I have had before, I did not really think she knew what she was talking about. This was not the kind of vertigo where the floor seems to be moving and tilting. This was the whole world spinning, swirling, and dancing around. I did not even need to have my eyes open or really even move at all.

The next morning as I read my menu that came with my breakfast, I saw that I had been diagnosed with Post-Concussive Syndrome. Although I still had no idea what that was, at least I now knew a little more about what I was dealing with.

Another doctor came to see me that morning. He basically just said that I have Post-Concussive Syndrome and that he had it before, too. He then proceeded to tell me that his lasted nine months and he was basically worthless for that time. With that... I could just go ahead and go home. ~ All I could think was, "Thanks for the encouragement..."

While I was getting ready to leave, a Physical Therapist came by and apparently had heard that I was there and what my symptoms were. She said that she could do a simple/quick test to see if I had BPPV and if I did, she could help it go away much sooner... but it would make me extremely miserable going through the test and cure if I did have it. I was miserable, so this little bit of hope (while being scary) was something I had to grab onto.

She was right. It was TERRIBLE! It turns out that I have BPPV and my right side of my head was the side affected. The test for it was literally torturous, but the cure was even worse. It made my spinning and heaving much worse than it even was the day before. My son, "Buddy", actually thought that it was "cool" when he saw my right eye zooming back and forth and basically spinning as she tested me.  Ya... thanks! lol  He also thought that my crying repeatedly, "Where is up?" when she was doing the cure method was quite funny. Ya... I was really feeling the love. So glad I was entertaining everyone.  ;)

If it wasn't for this one Physical Therapist noticing my symptoms and stopping by to see if I wanted her to test me, I still would not know completely what is going on and my symptoms would be much worse.

It did truly make it MUCH better after she was done, but it did not go completely away. It has been two weeks and it is still driving me nuts! I cannot drive, because if I move my head quickly and/or wrong, my brain starts spinning. I have only gone out once since then, too. I was feeling quite a bit better about a week ago and went out to eat and shopping with hubby and buddy. By the time we were on our way home, though, I was worse again. This is why I have been a bit MIA lately, too.

I also still have an extremely sore right hand from the lengthy attempt by the REMSA student trying to put my IV into it. I was very dehydrated and it was more difficult than usual to get my vein. Fortunately, the student promised to try on the next patient and encouraged the RN to do mine. He got it in my arm relatively easily and I was SO relieved. The top of my hand is still almost entirely a sick greenish-purple and super sore.

I have found that it really helps to look over to the left and down when the dizziness sets in. It usually helps it end quicker. This was just discovered by trial and error. I really wish they would have told me to try it to see if it helped. With my BPPV affecting my right side of my head, it actually makes sense that this would help. It also really gets it going bad if I look to my right or tilt my head back and to the right (which is actually part of how the PT discovered that I indeed had BPPV and it was my right side that was affected).

I also have had to research myself to learn more about it. I just discovered today that there is a relatively simple "fix" in Canada for this and that some people who have dealt with it for over 20 years are finding it extremely beneficial when their BPPV reappears about every six months. It is basically a contraption attached to a hat that leads them through some maneuvers with their head as they move this little ball through a tube. It seems to move those little "rocks" that are loose back into place.

Thinking back on it, I am really irritated by one of the assistant nurses in the emergency room. He asked me if it actually helped me to just look out into space like I was? I immediately and calmly said yes and it was true! For some reason it did help when I looked over to the left (which seemed to be "out in space" to him). I did not understand until a few days later why. He was treating me like I was just putting on an act or something until I started heaving uncontrollably again.

I found this video that shows what my eyes do when I move "wrong":  Rotatory Nystagmus - Signs and Symptoms of BPPV  This is definitely one of those times when a picture/video is worth a thousand words.

I am also trying to research if my Parkinson's might be making this worse or in any way affects the BPPV or is affected by it. I cannot find anything, yet.

The good news is:

• I AM getting better
• I am optimistic
• I have a lot of people praying for me
• I plan to look into this therapy from Canada

Thank you everyone for your prayers and encouragement!