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Did you celebrate Mother’s Day with a big brunch? Take in a little too much vino, BBQ ribs, Mimosa’s, chocolate candy? I will admit that I certainly did and ate leftovers for lunch today too. Then I took the dog on a 3 mile walk.

Big celebrations and the special meals that accompanying them are all right-some of the time, but unless we stick to ‘sometimes,’ we may be headed for some health problems.

I know we don’t like to talk about women’s health, much less hear about it-especially if we’re still full from yesterday’s celebration. But we’re going to talk about it especially today because this is the start of National Women’s Health Week. The theme for 2012 is “It’s Our Time.”

Women often serve as caregivers for their families, putting the needs of their spouses, partners, children, and parents before their own. It’s our time to remind our friends, sisters, aunts, mother, daughters-every woman-that we have the power to improve our physical and mental health. I know I heard an “Amen” from one of you. If not, say it now.

As a result, women’s health and well-being becomes secondary. As a community, we have a
responsibility to support the important women we know and do everything we can to help them take steps for longer, healthier, and happier lives.

I know that sometimes we just don’t want to hear it,
or we hear it and don’t stop to do anything about it, or
we jot down a reminder to schedule an exam and lose the paper we jotted the reminder on, in our ever growing To Do list.

So for the next 7 days commit to yourself. That’s right, it’s all about you.

This is what we can do to get physically and mentally healthier and lower our risks of certain diseases:

Visit a health care professional to receive regular checkups and preventive screenings:

Pick up the phone to make an appointment for your annual preventive services. Thanks to the Affordable Care Act of 2010 we have a greater choice and better control over our own health care. New plans cover vital preventive services, including mammograms, colon cancer screenings, and well-woman visits with no out-of-pocket costs. It also ensures women can see an OB-GYN without a referral.*

2. Get active:
Find your tennis shoes, put on comfortable pants, grab the dog and/or your iPod, and walk around the block for 15 minutes. Stop and return home. While you walk take in the scenery, clear your mind, breath and relax. You can do this during lunch break too.

3. Eat healthy:
Try vegetarian meals three times this week. Eat more berries, apples, oranges. Drink a couple of glasses of water or green tea in place of your second or third cup of coffee.See here or visit here for cheap and easy ways to eat better.

4. Pay attention to mental health, including getting enough sleep and managing stress:
Number #2 is worth another look for this area. Watch a comedy for some laughs. Look into low cost Yoga or mediation dvd’s. If you need professional help, talk to someone. Improve your sleep by listening to mellow music half hour before bed, or light a scented candle and shower before you sink into bed. Visit here for more information.

5. Avoid unhealthy behaviors, such as smoking and not wearing a seat belt or bicycle helmet.
Add, “NO TEXTING” in your car, to this list.

Now, go out for a walk, have a healthy dinner or snack, phone a friend, and have a great sleep.

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If you have any ideas to share, please use the comment section.
I’m committed to post my own progress on Twitter, under the hashtag #NWHW

*To learn more about the law, your health insurance options, and what services are listed as ‘preventive,’ visit this site.

Aztec by Colin Falconer: Book Review.

I read my fair share of books. If I took a photo of my bedroom (and I won’t because the camera on my iPhone 3GS is crappy) you’d see two to three deep rows of books lined up back to back in my tall bookshelf. There are smaller books on top of those rows, only one book deep because I may be messy but i don’t want to squash the books on the bottom.
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Books totter on an end table, hold up a lamp, crowd on a footstool, and fill a magazine holder meant for, yes, skinny magazines not chunky books. I won’t take you on a tour of the family room or my bathroom. At least my Kindle Fire is dust free and orderly.

Most of the time I don’t write a review about books that I’ve read. If I had to guess, I’d say I write one long review for every 15 or so books. The rest of the time, and if I remember, I rate the books I read on my Goodreads page or on Amazon.

Today I felt compelled to review the book “Aztec” by Colin Falconer because it was one of the historical fiction books that left an impression on me, much like Michener’s “Hawaii,” and Villasenor’s “Rain of Gold.”

“Aztec,” is the story of Hernan Cortes’ invasion and conquest of the Mexica (pronounced Meh-she-ca) natives in the early 16th Century. Falconer tells this enthralling story via several narrators. Cortes and Malinali are the main characters but this is primarily Malinali Tepenal’s (commonly called Malinche) story.

The main reason for loving this book is because it is told primarily through her perspective. This gives us an understanding of her motivations for doing what she did.The book tells the story of her life, role, and motives as Cortés’ translator of Chontal Mayan and Nahautl, the Aztec language. She became baptized, his concubine and renamed Doña Marina. (Doña is a title like My Lady).

Whether Malinali was a traitor or harlot has been debated for centuries. Historians agree that she was the daughter of a noble Aztec family. Upon the death of her father, a chief, her mother remarried and gave birth to a son. Deciding that he rather than Marina, should rule, she turned her young daughter over to some passing traders and thereafter proclaimed her dead. She wound up as a slave of the Cacique (the military chief) of Tabasco.

from Codex of Txlacala-Mexico 1519

The Aztecs called Malinali, Malinche. Even today, the word malinchista is a deadly insult, meaning traitor to the Mexican people. This name is also used to say a woman is someone’s mistress or a harlot.

By the time Cortes arrived, Malinali had learned the Mayan dialects used in the Yucatan while still understanding Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs and most Non-Mayan Indians. She soon learned Spanish. What is not debated in history is a letter preserved in the Spanish archives, from Cortés, which states, “After God we owe this conquest of New Spain to Doña Marina.”

The other facts that arise from this book and history are that Malinali Tenepal was an intelligent, loyal, and fearless woman. She loved Cortés, remained faithful to him, and bore his son, Martín Cortés, who became the first Mexican (a mixture of Spanish and Aztec or native blood).

I enjoyed the way this book was written but it did take a little readjustment in the beginning, especially with the different points of view. It does work, especially since the headings list who is telling the story. This provided for a 360-degree view of the characters motives. I agree with a previous reviewer: there are some typos, but not enough to make me stop reading.

Settings are vivid, descriptive, and in keeping with the landscape, customs, and clothing of the era. The lush imagery and authentic dialogue places one into the setting, giving us an understanding of the motives for the main characters.

Although some of the imagery is gruesome, it is necessary to tell the story. The themes of religion, culture, oppression, ambition, greed, good, evil and love are all explored. The historical facts seem accurate, as well as the use of the native language, description of dress, customs, music, and food.

This book would make for a fascinating screenplay and movie. Colin Falconer is a darn good storyteller.

Just so you know, I did not receive any compensation for this review.

5 Things You Can Do for Women’s Health Week

La Malinche: Heroine or Traitor?

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