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For anybody looking for additional reasoning as to “why in the world would you leave Microsoft and the Redmond-area” here is an answer…

(Reuters) – Vitamin D is vital in activating human defences and low levels suffered by around half the world’s population may mean their immune systems’ killer T cells are poor at fighting infection, scientists said on Sunday.

The findings by Danish researchers could help the fight against infectious diseases and global epidemics, they said, and could be particularly useful in the search for new vaccines.

The researchers found that immune systems’ killer cells, known as T cells, rely on vitamin D to become active and remain dormant and unaware of the possibility of threat from an infection or pathogen if vitamin D is lacking in the blood.

“When a T cell is exposed to a foreign pathogen, it extends a signaling device or ‘antenna’ known as a vitamin D receptor, with which it searches for vitamin D,” said Carsten Geisler of Copenhagen University’s department of international health, immunology and microbiology, who led the study.

“This means the T cell must have vitamin D or activation of the cell will cease. If the T cells cannot find enough vitamin D in the blood, they won’t even begin to mobilize.”

Scientists have known for a long time that vitamin D is important for calcium absorption, and that there is a link between levels of the vitamin and diseases such as cancer and multiple sclerosis.

“What we didn’t realize is how crucial vitamin D is for actually activating the immune system — which we know now,” Geisler wrote in the study in the journal Nature Immunology.

Most Vitamin D is made by the body as a natural by-product of the skin’s exposure to sunlight. It can also be found in fish liver oil, eggs and fatty fish such as salmon, herring and mackerel, or taken as a supplement.

Almost half of the world’s population has lower than optimal levels of vitamin D and scientists say the problem is getting worse as people spend more time indoors.

Geisler and his research team said the findings offered much needed information about the immune system and would be of particular use when developing new vaccines.

“This is important not only in fighting disease but also in dealing with anti-immune reactions of the body and the rejection of transplanted organs,” they wrote.

Active T cells multiply at an explosive rate and as well as fighting infection, can also mistakenly attack the body itself.

After and an organ transplant, for example, T cells can attack the new organ as a “foreign invader,” and in autoimmune disease, hypersensitive T cells mistake parts of the body’s own cells as threats, prompting the body to attack itself.

Geisler said there were no definitive studies on the optimal daily vitamin D dose but experts recommend 25 to 50 micrograms.

Not that we were overtly sick or anything, but you definitely feel the difference.  Synthesized vitamins will only do so much, you need actual sun.  And from October to May, you don’t actually get any Vitamin D from the amount (or lack thereof) of sunlight up there.  Nothing like the real thing, which we’ll get plenty of down here.

If Microsoft had something larger a little more southernly, we’d be having a different conversation right now.  :)  Of course we’ve had rainstorms down here the past few days, and it’s interesting to see how much more difficult it has been to get out of bed and feel energized.

A few blog related things:

-I came late to the google reader party (well, a while ago, now), and I felt like it revolutionized my internet use. Yeah, I know, I need a more exciting life. Anyway, do you remember those old Rubbermaid commercials where the family would clean up the disaster of a room with the help of stacks of plastic containers and then announce, “We need more stuff!”? I felt like that. So now I’ve amassed more blogs to read, but it’s all so easy! Hehe.

-We know this blog is a little slow, though we’re not sure why. Adrian cleaned up a few widgets and it seems a little smoother. Or you could just use the aforementioned google reader and that would solve that issue.

-We’re eventually going to discontinue the old domain and the forwarding, so please please PLEASE update your little blog rolls with the proper blog address. And then if it’s the kind that updates when we post it should actually work now, too, so that’s an added bonus.

Merci!

Last week I had a bit of renewed desire to appreciate smaller things. It helps me to enjoy life more, which is always a good thing! There are some rose bushes in our front yard, and one of them happens to be my very favorite color–the yellow/orange kind. I was so excited when they started blooming. Of course the bushes look like they haven’t been pruned in years and there’s a ton of dead growth on them, so I really need to get out there with some clippers and go to town. I wouldn’t care, really, except that if I do the work I’ll have the reward of more of my favorite roses. Convenient how that works out!

[The overgrown bushes are sort of a good example of the house where we're living--nice but maybe a little neglected in some areas. We're still not feeling emotionally settled in it, even if we're "moved in". I would need to do some serious work to get it feeling right, and honestly I don't know if I want to bother since we're renting it and who knows how long we'll be here. I just don't see it as my job to clean up years' worth of dirt in the sliding glass door track, and I can't even get the kitchen window open. Okay, back to appreciating things. Hehehe.]

This week it’s daffodils from Trader Joe’s. $1.29 for eight or so blooms… yeah, that’s worth it! They’re so cheerful!

I was super excited to put together these laundry sorter carts. I’ve been wanting something like this for quite a while. So I opened them up and Morgan and I listened to a little Louis Armstrong while putting them together. She likes the music, which makes me so happy. She danced a little, very carefully touched the light…

…then suddenly lunged forward. I guess the temptation was too much. That’s okay, she’s learning, and I’m just glad she likes listening to good music!

What things, small or large, are you appreciating?

Lately Morgan has been really into eating entire foods, as in the big versions instead of cut up or mashed up versions. Yes, I realize it may not be the wisest thing, but we are always right there with her while she’s doing it so I don’t really fear her choking or anything. If I see her get a too-large chunk I take the piece away. Anyway, if she sees something she’s interested in she’ll reach for it and shout for it, then hold it dearly when she gets it. And then scream when for whatever reason it needs to be taken away (like how yesterday as we drove home from the store she wailed the entire way because I wouldn’t let her keep eating a banana–the peels are really not for eating, and when she’s rear facing in the car I don’t feel comfortable with her gnawing on something like that). It’s neat to see her so interested in things, and as much as possible I say yes and give her the opportunity to explore. She’s learning texture, taste, and color, all things that make food so interesting to all of us.

(The above picture was a few days after we moved in, hence all the boxes and paper. She practically leaped out of my arms onto the counter and dove for the apple.)

She picked the cabbage at the store. I paused in front of the display and she most definitely wanted one. So we bought it and I reminded her how she picked it when we then made a slaw salad deal out of it. She wasn’t so sure about eating it, though. Greens are hard to chew without any molars.

She absolutely insisted that I share my celery and peanut butter with her. I think she liked the peanut butter more than the celery. Then again, let’s be honest here: so do I!

We made soup while I had her in the sling. She held the vegetables for me while I chopped, then later helped me stir. She very much liked this leek. Kind of an odd choice I felt, but again I do try and encourage her to try and explore. So I let her go to town…

…and of course had to take a picture of all her handiwork. I cut everything else up and only had the leek left, so I really needed to take it. She was not happy. I cut off the dark green tops and gave a few back to her and she was as happy as can be.

The kid will eat just about anything (though of course not dairy! and it seems maybe not eggs either–we’re still trying to figure that one out so being cautious in the meantime). We had Persian food for our anniversary and she at the hummus, koubideh, and of course the cherry rice. Oh, and nan. She enjoyed it just about as much as we did, I think. I love that she’ll join us in our eating adventures. Hopefully she’ll grow up used to different flavors. Spice doesn’t seem to bother her at all.

Similar to her fascination with food is her interest in everyday objects. She loves tubes of toothpaste, for example. The funny thing is that when she’ll settle in to nurse, she’ll often stop and sit up, find whatever interesting object she can, and then come back to nurse while clutching it. Some kids have blankies or stuffed animals, and Morgan has tubes of toothpaste and pens.

UPDATE: I actually wrote this post yesterday, and then today, just to prove everything I said above, she fell asleep for her nap nursing and clutching a lemon. I personally think she’s quite hilarious.

No pictures in this post, sorry picture liking people. This will be just words, and probably boring words, maybe upsetting to many people.

I can eat whatever I want (see, I told you it would be upsetting). I have always been able to. I can’t gain weight (more upsetting). I’m glad I can’t. I used to want to weigh more when I was little, but now I’m fine with it. I am happy with the skinny lot I was granted.

However, I should probably eat better. It’s not that we don’t eat well, we do. We eat organic mostly, red meat sparingly, some meals entirely veggie. But when I eat, I EAT. And if I’m done eating and I will be hungry again in 3 hours, I will eat again. I do this all the time. By all the time I mean practically on a daily basis. I find myself going out at 9pm to grab more food.

And therein is where the problem lies. Going out to eat. There aren’t a ton of healthy options when you want to grab something quick, even less later in the evening. It’s not that I get junk (to me, junk is McDonalds or an equivalent), but still, it’s not as good as it could be. I could still go out to get my 2nd dinner but get something a little healthier. Or maybe not as much. I don’t seem to have a very timely “I’m full” mechanism. Then I’ll eat and eat and eat and at the end feel like I want to puke. It happened once. By happened I mean puke. It was for a birthday dinner (mine) and I ate 2 appetizers, a main course and 2 pieces of cheesecake (courtesy of my friends and The Cheesecake Factory). The cheesecake made a return engagement before we left the restaurant.

But then I was fine and we proceeded to watch a forgettable movie.

So I guess what I’m saying is I should be wiser. I could do many things. I’ll choose to do a few for now. I could only eat my 1 dinner and not a 2nd. I’ll choose to continue eating when I’m hungry. I could eat only at home for my 2nd dinner. I’ll choose to try and find quicker things to make at home, frozen perhaps, from Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods, but I’ll also choose to continue to get my 2nd dinner food out as well. I’ll also choose to try and cut out the unhealthier options I may choose (choose pun) for my 2nd dinner.

You can choose to hate me because I am choosing to do this rather than having to, but maybe if I don’t choose to do this now, I’ll have to when I get a heart attack.