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Several months ago, I started feeling a little off. I was having “brain fog” – couldn’t think clearly – and I started avoiding reading things that were very long because I just couldn’t focus on them. I was also tired all the time and just not feeling well, in general. I thought perhaps it had to do with my allergies or something which really seemed to be flaring up a lot at the time.

I’d gone to the doctor a couple of times between January and April. During those visits, the nurse checked my blood pressure and found it to be high. Now, since I’ve always had low blood pressure – around 98/65 – we thought perhaps it was just due to some recent stress. But it continued to be high into April so the doctor finally decided we’d better start on some medications.

Well, things are getting much, much better since I’ve been taking the prescription. The brain fog is pretty much gone, I am not feeling dead tired all the time and I find I can focus long enough to resume reading full length books.

So . . . here’s the plea – please, please, please have your blood pressure checked regularly. A lot of stores, especially those with pharmacies, have BP machines and they are quite accurate most of the time. If you don’t have a store nearby with one, stop at your doctors office. Most of them will check your BP for you if you just walk in and ask, even without an appointment.

Now, I’m generally not the kind of person who takes medicines, especially not ones a doctor has to write a prescription for. I do not take them unless it’s absolutely necessary and I try to take natural or homeopathic remedies first, only resorting to prescription medications when nothing else has worked effectively. Often, I can manage to get well taking homeopathic sources first and rarely, rarely resort to anything prescribed by a doctor.

My doctor told me high blood pressure is dubbed “the silent killer” because people think they’re just not feeling well as a result of something else – like allergies. Most people who have high BP, have no idea. And it can go undetected for a long time. But it’s so easy to correct so don’t ignore it.

And that’s all I have to say about that.

In the arena,

Take care of yourself. You owe it to your family to do everything you can to remain healthy. Far too many people die young when they didn’t have to if only they had taken better care of themselves. Don’t be a statistic.

Annie Anderson is a freelance copywriter and graphic designer specializing in the small business and real estate markets. Her tagline “Making your business, my business” means that she’ll take the utmost care when creating words and images for your business – just as if it were her own.

Yay! The latest WordPress upgrade seems to have cured my dashboard issues I wrote about a few days ago, thankfully!

Now that I have that out of the way – LOL- here’s what I really want to say today . . .

I don’t talk much about certain subjects because I was raised to believe that certain things were personal and therefore, nobody else’s business. Chief among those things are subjects such as religion, politics and money.

The other reason I don’t talk much about these issues is because I can be very opinionated (as anyone who knows me well can attest!) and very passionate about things I believe in.

But . . . lately I’ve been thinking that maybe it’s part of my calling – part of my purpose on this earth, to be opinionated and passionate about those things for which I would give my all. Maybe by NOT talking about these things means I’m not fulfilling that aspect of my life here, that by keeping my mouth shut, I am not living to full my potential. And that as a result, I am doing a disservice to my fellow man.

So, I’m going to test the waters and see what happens. Now, don’t worry, though – I’m not about to become the next Bill O’Rielly or Rush Limbaugh or something. I just want to give people another voice and I hope that voice will be able to rise above all the other noise and serve a purpose greater than me.

I do believe we all were sent here for a reason, that our lives do have a greater purpose. And I believe mine is help people. Part of that help is to be a voice to those who cannot speak up for themselves. Those who know me, know that I have always stepped up for the downtrodden.

I’m still working out exactly what all this means for me right now and in the long term but I’m starting somewhere . . . and starting NOW.

In the arena,

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” ~ Martin Luther King Jr

Annie Anderson is a freelance copywriter and graphic designer specializing in the small business and real estate markets. Her tagline “Making your business, my business” means that she’ll take the utmost care when creating words and images for your business – just as if it were her own.

Politics are one of the few things I rarely discuss with anyone. Along with money and religion, politics is just one of those topics which is off-limits.

They’re personal subjects and, frankly, nobody else’s business.

But today I’m going to break my self-imposed no politics rule and give you my opinion. Not that you asked for it. Nonetheless, I’m going out on a limb here. Before I begin, though, let me just say this is purely my own opinion and I do not expect anyone to agree with me. Please feel free to leave a comment if you wish but do be polite and civil or it will either be edited or deleted

I have hinted previously that I am not fond of Barack Obama. If you’ve been around the blog for a while, you may have noticed a banner in the sidebar last year for Ron Paul.

Now, I think it’s incredibly awesome that we have an African American President-elect. I think it’s beyond cool that come January 20th, we will have our very first black President in the United States of America. The only thing any cooler would be a woman in office.

However, that doesn’t mean I *like* Mr. Obama.

In fact, I dislike him a great deal. I do not like his agenda or his policies. I don’t like what his fans say about his potential and how wonderful he is. The problem, as I see it, is that a good number of Obama supporters seem to think he’s some kind of savior.

And in my opinion, that’s the downfall.

It puts so much pressure on one human individual as to make them unsafe. In the event he let it go to his head – which I’m sure would be a totally normal response in this situation – it could create huge problems for the Freedoms and safety of Americans across the globe. To make him out as some messiah is beyond foolish.

And potentially VERY dangerous.

Don’t get me wrong – because what I’m about to say could be taken way out of context. Just know that I am in no way saying Mr. Obama is this sort of person.

However, historically speaking . . .

Look at what happened with Hitler when he was given this sort of power. People looked to him as some sort of savior as well. Look at other famous political figures throughout history and you will see what a potentially hazardous situation it could be if Obama has trouble handling the pressure and stress.

For the sake of himself and for all mankind, I seriously pray that Mr. Obama is capable of handling this position. I seriously pray that he can indeed fill the shoes he’s about to put on.

Because if he can’t, America is in trouble.

On the other side of the coin, I have to agree with what my mom said . . .

She trusts that God knows what He’s doing. She trusts that Mr. Obama is exactly where he is supposed to be.

And so even though I wish we’d elected another man as President of our great country, I will stand beside the one our citizens have elected.

Good luck, Barack Obama! May you stand firm, yet be flexible. May you lead, yet not overshadow. May you be bold, yet gracious.

And may you be blessed.

In the arena,

It is indeed time for change. It’s time for the American people to stand up and take back their government. For the people, by the people.

Annie Anderson is a freelance copywriter and graphic designer specializing in the small business and real estate markets. Her tagline “Making your business, my business” means that she’ll take the utmost care when creating words and images for your business – just as if it were her own.

About this awesome blog I’ve been reading for a couple of weeks now. It’s written by an incredible lady who is 80 something years old who has written a lot of thought-provoking content. Check it out! Her stories are spectacular! She’ll make you think and perhaps even give you some perspective you hadn’t thought of before.

Octogenarians Blog

In the arena,

Did you know I design blog headers and ebook cover graphics, too? Yes, I do. And you can get one now for the introductory price of $55 for a limited time. Just send a payment of $55 to me via PayPal along with a description of what you want. You’ll have a design within 48 hours.

Annie Anderson is a freelance copywriter and graphic designer specializing in the small business and real estate markets. Her tagline “Making your business, my business” means that she’ll take the utmost care when creating words and images for your business – just as if it were her own.