Mini-Drawing, More on Flu Vac's, and Sweet Baby Emmet

I'm so excited to share with you a new gluten-free, vegan, product line, Clean Cravings, who were gracious enough to send me some samples. Their JUST CRUST MINIS and PERFECTLY PESTO PIZZA just arrived on my doorstep, so tonight, the kids and I are going to have a pizza party!

And good news, MINI-DRAWING!

The good people at Clean Cravings, sent me an extra package of the JUST CRUST MINIS, so I'll be sending that on to one lucky blogreader. If you'd like to be the recipient of these JUST CRUST MINIS, make a comment at the end of this post and tell me your favorite autumn-time tradition. I will draw the winner after 24-48 hours of posting this.

Next,

Dr. Popper continues part 2 of flu in volume 7, issue 40 of her newsletter, so check it out if you are so inclined. For those of you concerned with her presentation of opinions with facts, you might find the following interesting. When questioned about the objectivity of her newsletter, Dr. Popper, in an email to me, responded with this:

People subscribe to my newsletter specifically because they are interested in my
opinions on a variety of topics. My opinions are based on my research,
which I generally supply unless it is clear that I am writing an editorial about
a particular topic. An individual who is not interested in my opinion is
probably not a good candidate for this particular newsletter and may be better
off getting information from another source.

One, last thing I'd like to share with you, on a more sober note.

My brother (I'm lucky to have four of them!) and his wife, have a darling little baby, about 8 months old, named Emmet (yes, thank you Stephanie Meyers). He is chubby, and cuddly, good-natured and happy nearly all of the time. He has a contagious smile that stretches from ear to ear. He is a special little guy. Two days ago however, he became very cranky, lethargic, clearly not feeling or doing well. They took him to the E.R. then later flew him to hospital in the Seattle area for better medical diagnosis and treatment because of his worsening condition. What the doctors there concluded is that he has ADEM disease, and autoimmune disorder that potentially could cause irreversible neurological damage. There is no medication for this is it viral, not bacterial (kind of like how antibiotics don't cure the flu virus). Read more about ADEM disease here.

If you are a religious/spiritual person, please pray for this little guy. I know this isn't a faith-based blog per se, but it would really mean a lot to all those who are connected to this family and little boy to have the prayers and thoughts of you good people. Even though you don't know my brother or this sweet little boy personally, please, if you have the time, send my brother, Loren [LorenAnderson(at)hotmail(dot)com] a line or two (let him know you read my blog) letting him know that you're thinking/praying for his little boy.

Thank you, it means the world to me and to them to know that people care.