DR SUGAR 's Medical Inspiration: LOVE

A few lessons about LOVE, HAPPINESS & the HEART
But first a little story:
The heart – one of the most important organs in the body – I remember once in medical school – I was doing a cardiothoracic rotation and I was in the middle of open heart surgery assisting the heart surgeons to do a coronary artery bypass graft- or heart bypass – I was standing there at the operating table and watching the surgeons do their work and I became completely overwhelmed with the desire to touch the heart – to feel the heart - so I asked the surgeon if she would allow me to do this. She said, “sure take a feel” – so I touched it on the surface – so smooth – the surgeon said – “Dr. Singleton, don’t just touch it – reach your hand underneath gently and carefully and hold it in your hand” – so I did. I remember that moment like it was yesterday. Holding a human heart in my hand as it continued to beat – lub-dub...lub-dub. That one experience – lasted only a few seconds but I will never forget that day and I will forever be grateful to that surgeon for allowing me the opportunity to experience this. I realized at that moment in time, that the heart – that small organ not much bigger than my hand that it is responsible for life – responsible for keeping your blood circulating and nourishing all the other organs in the body. The heart - without it - who are we - what are we??

So I wanted to share some thoughts about the heart - some of which I learned from a great book by Marci Shimoff called "Happy for no Reason"

THE HEART IS THE CENTER OF OUR SOUL –
THE ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELD AROUND OUR HEART IS 5 TIMES BIGGER THAN THE BRAIN.
THE ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELD OF OUR HEART EXTENDS 8-10 FEET AROUND US AND CAN ACTUALLY BE MEASURED.

HAPPY PEOPLE LET LOVE LEAD –
HAPPY PEOPLE FEEL GRATITUDE –
HAPPY PEOPLE EASILY FORGIVE –
HAPPY PEOPLE WISH OTHERS WELL
Happy people tell the people in their life that they appreciate them.

So my tip for today
To make your heart feel good and to make your heart happy
EVERY DAY - TELL THE PEOPLE AROUND YOU THAT YOU APPRECIATE THEM AND TELL THEM WHY.

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY

Love
Dr. Sugar

I saw a beautiful video about LOVE
I so wanted to share it on this site.

http://www.youarelovemovie.com


I hope you all enjoy!
It is beautiful!

With Love, Wellness & Compassion,
Dr. Sugar

We never know how high we are
Till we are called to rise;
And then, if we are true to plan,
Our statures touch the skies.

~ Emily Dickinson ~

BraveHeart Women,

I just wanted to share how incredibly grateful I am to be a part of this BraveHeart Women Global Community. This is a place where we can come together to inspire each other and become inspired. Where we can encourage each other and be encouraged. Where we can share our dreams and know that our BraveHeart Sisters are out there saying – go for it – you can do this – FLY YOU ARE THE BEST AT THIS! –

This is a place where we can share our passion and our purpose and know that we can develop this and mastermind with a group of purposeful like-minded women who choose to live every day as inspiration in action.

We come together because together we can HAVE more, DO more and BE more - TOGETHER WE CAN!

With Love, Wellness & Compassion,
Dr. Sugar

Hi, I am Dr. Sugar, your Internet Doctor. As Mother's Day nears I am reminded of a woman with a very Brave Heart. She lived a BRAVE life. She lived her life with HEART. She was the most amazing woman I ever knew in my entire life. She was a positive woman who lived her life with passion and a full sense of purpose. She was very good at encouraging people to be more than they ever thought they could be and assisting them to follow their dreams and goals when many of them didn’t believe they could do the things she said they could do. When they didn’t believe in their self, she believed in them. She believed that her people should do more, be more and have more.

She lived the law of attraction and somehow knew that the universe was full of abundance long before that was a popular way of thinking. She very much believed in the power of education and investing in one’s self. She always told me, “Sugar, get your education because that is one thing that can never be lost – you could invest in a fancy house or a nice car or jewels but those things may come and those things may go – your education is something that is yours forever.”

I have lost count of the number of people who went to college because this woman encouraged them to do so and then time after time after time, she not only encouraged them but then actually paid for their tuition and made it possible for them to go to college. And when they succeeded, she celebrated their success. I’ve lost count of the number of ordinary citizens that she encouraged to run for office and have a voice in politics – and when they won, she celebrated their success. I’ve lost count of the number of worthy causes that she donated time and money to and then she celebrated these causes. She was the most giving, loving, selfless woman I ever knew.

She refused to participate in idol gossip or negativity - if you were talking to her, you better not ever start playing the blame, complain, justify game – because she absolutely would not stand for it – She believed that you should have big dreams and big goals and then you should focus on the positive things in life – be grateful for all that you have been given and then take steps every day to achieve your greatness. Never stopping short of your full potential.

She was a wealthy woman with a rags to riches story. She was celebrated on a local and a National level with honors and accolades. She rubbed elbows with Congressman and Presidents and yet, would spend Christmas’ on the Native American Indian Reservation giving toys to tots who had nothing. When she would walk down the street she would hand out hundred dollar bills to homeless people – never wanting recognition – only wanting to make a difference in whatever way she could. Only wanting the best for everyone she came in contact with.

She battled a valiant battle for 10 years when she was given a 2-month deadline on life – I’ll share that story with you tomorrow. If you haven’t guessed by now, I am sharing with you about my beloved mother – the greatest woman I ever knew. A woman I was so proud to call my Mom. My mom was a BRAVEHEART Woman!

Happy Mothers Day to Mothers everywhere!

With Love, Wellness and Compassion,
Dr. Sugar

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Mother’s Day Special Tribute
Hello, I am Dr. Sugar, your internet doctor – with a tribute to all Mother’s everywhere -Today is one of those occasions worthy of being celebrated daily to honor that special woman in our lives who nourished us in the womb and nurtured us through life – our Mother. Now that most of us are Moms (even Grandmas), we realize even more deeply how essential that bond was; and how tenuous when that wonderful person, our very first love is gone from our lives.

Isn’t it amazing how she cajoled, supported, challenged and sometimes even threatened us to be at our best? Mom read stories, kissed our cuts, laughed with us and was our best buddy until we found new, pint-sized best friends in school. She held our hand through various childhood illnesses until the time when it was our turn to comfort with similar ministrations. During our most headstrong moments we swore, “I’ll never be like my Mom” and found out soon enough that we are so like her, and proud of that fact! No matter how big we’ve grown, did she ever, truly let go?

Today, as moms ourselves, we guide our children, show them the myriad wonders the world has to offer, sport teeth marks when they are teething and suffer emotional ‘bruises’ during their angst-driven adolescent stage. We are impatient for them to grow up but bite back tears as we see them off on their first day at school.

The Mom who was always there for us deserves so much more than a perfunctory ‘I love you’ or handsomely-wrapped store-bought presents this Mother’s Day. Our concoctions will never be able to compete with Body Shop or Victoria’s Secret and was never intended to, but who cares? TLC (tender loving care) in strong doses doesn’t carry a price tag! Go ahead, take a break and celebrate this special day together with a sense of Zen-filled bonding. Relax and rejuvenate using common ingredients found at home. Do this with your own little girls and start a family ritual, a loving legacy to be handed down to their own offspring.

Mother’s Day Tips:
1.Before you even open your fridge or light the first scented candle, set the mood by playing music she loves. Nix the regular spa music in favor of the dear and familiar like Gershwin or even the Beatles if this is her cup of tea. Sip a bit of chamomile tea to relax you when visions of how she forbade you to play rock music or date your version of the ‘bad boy’ dare intrude into your consciousness.

2.Drink lots of ‘spa water’, a fruity infusion with a hint of herbs that can be taken hot or cold. Water, Mother Nature’s beauty secret hydrates, detoxifies and refreshes, beautifying you inside and out inexpensively.
1 pitcher of icy or hot water
1 cleaned, unpeeled and deseeded lemon, lime and orange sliced thinly crosswise
1 cucumber sliced thinly
½ thumb garlic gently crushed (remove after 5 minutes) or ginger powder (optional if you want the beneficial effects of a natural anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant agent)

Put a few sprigs of mint and berries when you freeze ice cubes for your icy drinks. The flavor is gradually enhanced and the drink looks even prettier reminding you of spring! This is your sugar-free, almost zero calorie healthy alternative to iced-teas and colas.

3.Exfoliate your way to radiant, supple skin by mixing the following into a smooth, gooey paste:
1 tbsp honey
¼ tsp fine granulated sugar or salt
1 tsp olive oil
Let Mom lie down and tell her to relax her facial muscles – squints, scowls even smiles are not allowed. Pat the mixture gently into her face and lightly massage upwards and outwards to evenly distribute he mixture. Avoid the papery, wrinkly area around the eyes. Leave this to Botox!

Rinse off after 15-30 minutes or before she dozes off. If skin is on the oily side, add 1 tbsp lemon juice to ¼ cup of fresh or evaporated milk to curdle it into yogurt-like consistency before applying as a facial mask. For wrinkle quick fix, stir in a table-spoon of uncooked oats into really cold egg-while and apply as a mask until skin feels taut.

4.For Facial Steaming that soothes sinuses as well as de-clogs skin pores, pour boiling water over
a bowl and add:
5-10 drops mint / eucalyptus oil
1-3 drops vanilla essence and/or lavender oil
You may sprinkle chamomile, basil or sage leaves for added aroma.

Enjoy the scented and decongesting vapors for 10-15 minutes. After steaming, gently pat off the face with cool and moistened washcloth to seal the pores. Finish off with a dollop of moisturizer or olive oil. Please do not do this if there is predisposition to asthma because strong odors can trigger an attack.

Having done all these for Mom on her special day, reward yourself with a good, old, soothing massage the following day!

“There is no need to go to India or anywhere to find peace. You will find that deep place of silence right in your own room, your garden or even your own bath tub.”
Elizabeth Kubler-Ross

I am Doctor Sugar and I want to wish you and your Mom the Best Mother’s Day ever!

To Your Total Wellness,
Dr. Sugar

Your own Community Doctor- Isn’t that Sweet!!

Nurturing Your Spirit

Hello, I am Doctor Sugar, your internet Doctor. I have been very busy with sick patients recently and the whole swine flu frenzy has caused us to remain quite busy. As I was preparing to go home from another busy day in clinic I began thinking of how exhausted I was and thought - "oh -no another day with no time to check in on my BraveHeart Sisters.."... and as I started to pack up my laptop and leave... I thought to myself "NO - I am going to log in just for a second"... and as soon as I did - I realized I must BLOG about NURTURING YOUR SPIRIT.

Where are you? Not right now as you are reading this, but inside, away from the bright lights and the cares and woes of the day – where are you? Where is the you that you really are, the one whose core essence thrives and grows, gives and loves and shares and cares. The very inner You!

This inner you is the bright spark that needs nurturing, replenishing, revamping now and then and revitalizing. You'll recognize this inner you, because it is "she" who speaks to you now and then in encouragement when facing a tough dilemma; the voice of a woman of inspiration in action. While you may have days where the last thing you consider yourself to be is a woman in action, the deep inner you will still prompt you to have the inspiration to move forward.

This is the voice inside that drives you to reach out to yourself when you're in a tough spot, because that voice knows you are tough, resilient and capable of handling anything. It's the inner you, the inspiring spirit of your being that needs a break now and then to recharge her batteries. After all, we can't go gung ho all day, every day and not pay for that kind of energy expenditure.

Ask yourself what empowers you, gives you courage and the inner strength to carry on? If you stop and listen to the answers your inner self gives you, you will be on the right track. So often however, we don't listen, and over ride what intuition tells us and go with the "logic" of it all, only to regret that choice later.

What you need to do is connect with the inner you, not deny "she" is in there hollering for attention. Once she has your attention, you will instinctively "know" what you need to do to revive the "you" that is so vital; this is what that intuition is all about, remember?

And if you don't remember, then one of the things you need to do is connect with gratitude for the things you have in your life. Indulge in prayers of gratitude for all that you have, including your own unique gifts, as you start and end each day. What a peaceful way to begin your daily journey.

Make it a point to learn how to meditate, even if it is only for five minutes. Mediation will ground your spirit and keep you centered and balanced. Understand that there is a solution to every problem and that those pesky problems need to be viewed as lessons to be learned for the future. Know that when you stop to count your blessings, there will always be more than abundant gifts to share with others.

Appreciate the beauty of nature. This isn't to throw out the cliché "Stop and smell the roses," but the point is similar. Appreciating the wild and vital core of Mother Nature and all the things she is capable of, will focus your mind on your own abilities and capabilities to achieve great things.

End each day by telling those whom you love that you love them. It is something that should never go unsaid for there may come a time when you are no longer able to say it to them. Treasure their uniqueness, as irritating as they may be at times, for they are the "other" voices that support and cheer you on. Nurturing the inner you is the best "time out" you could ever take to invest in yourself. ☺

I am Doctor Sugar and I want to wish you the Best Day ever! Take Time to Nurture Your Spirit.

To Your Total Wellness,
Dr. Sugar

Your own Community Doctor- Isn’t that Sweet!!

Hello - I am Dr. Sugar, your Internet Doctor - bringing you just a moment of joy and wisdom on this beautiful Saturday. I am in the process of moving and in so doing have had to go through all my mementos, nic-nacs, and what nots that have been accumulating in my present place for the last seven years.

As I was unpacking and moving stuff into my new office, I came across a packet of SUGAR. Now since "Sugar" is my name, I have been known, on occasion, to save really cool or unusual sugar packets from around the world. But this packet looked to be pretty normal until I turned it over and read the back side.

It said....
"KISS YOUR CHILDREN.... NOT SO THAT THEY WILL KISS YOU BACK, BUT SO THAT THEY WILL KISS THEIR CHILDREN AND THEIR CHILDREN'S CHILDREN."

Now I know why I kept it... what a profound thing to read on the back of a sugar packet. Have a great day BraveHeart Women. Love to you all! When you have a medical question just click on my picture and go to my profile to see numerous blogs and videos on a wide range of medical topics.

With Love, Wellness and Compassion,
Dr. Sugar

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Everyone in the World should be able to sleep without Fear, at least for one Night...
Everyone should be able to Eat to his Fill at least for one Day...
There should be at least One Day when hospitals see no one admitted due to violence...
By doing selfless service for at least one day, everyone should help the poor and needy...
It is AMMA's prayer that at least this small dream be realized.

Mata Amritanandamayi Devi- "Saint Amma" - Embracing The World.

DARSHAN with AMMA

I was very blessed to receive a Hug from AMMA this evening as she visits the United States. My six year old daughter Mariah and I received the most Amazing Embrace - full of Love and Compassion. What a wonderful memory. I am filled with Gratitude for the opportunity to be in her presence! The experience was almost indescribable --- first of all the room was filled with such a presence of Peace and it was so easy to tap into this Incredibly High Vibration - There was time for Meditation and then the Darshan - where individual embraces were given by AMMA. It was such an amazing experience - - this one is definitely going into Cellular Memory on many levels.

So for any of you who are not familiar with who AMMA is, I copy and pasted a bit of information from her website below - but in a nutshell - She is this Amazing woman from India - A Saint - Who goes all over the world spreading her message of Service - and HUGGING - She hugs millions and millions of people and in so doing is Raising the Consciousness and Vibration of Humanity. How cool is that!

So bless yourself and someone else and give away lots of hugs today! Raise the Vibration!

Love to You All - my BraveHeart Sisters. Have a great day. I am Doctor Sugar, your internet doctor and when you have a medical question, just click on my picture and go to my profile to see a wide selection of videos and blogs on many medical topics. To Your Total Wellness!

With Love, Wellness and Compassion,
Dr. Sugar

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Who is Amma?
Learn more at www.amma.org
From her website:
Meeting Amma- Darshan
The Sanskrit term darshan means, "vision", and it is used to describe the meeting with a holy person, especially a Self Realized master. Amma's darshan in unique. As the embodiment of supreme motherhood, she welcomes every person who comes to her, listens to his or her problems, offers advice and guidance, and brings reassurance to a troubled heart.

Over time, Amma's popularity has risen to the point where in India she has been known to individually hug over 50,000 people in one day, sitting sometimes for over 20 hours. Amma travels all around the world to receive all her children around the globe.

Timothy Conway, Ph.D., author of the book Women of Power and Grace, describes Amma as "one of the most glorious lights to appear in the history of religion. Just her stamina - embracing these millions of people one by one, day after day, without a break, all over the world-is some kind of divine gift. No mere human resources could accomplish this."

As Judith Cornell, an internationally acclaimed speaker, and an award winning writer, in her book, "Amma Healing the Heart of the World", says, "for eleven years, I had simply perceived Amma, as a sweet "Hugging Saint." As my limited vision expanded, it was awesome to discover that Amma was one of India's most illustrious sages. She heals on a massive scale - Far beyond that of any saint or healer, I had ever known or read about."

One of Amma's senior disciples says, "Mother is an extraordinary saint, in the number of people she intentionally instills spirituality into - even to extent of hugging every single person who comes to her. Basically, every one is potentially what Mother is. Mother's presence is invoking that reality (of divinity) within that person."

An experimental Prescription for each of You – Hello my BraveHeart Sisters – I am Doctor Sugar and I have a request for you today. Will you assist me by following an experimental prescription?

If you read my post yesterday – you know that I was so very fortunate to have the opportunity to receive an amazing embrace from a Saint. Yes my daughter Mariah and I got to hug AMMA. If you missed it, feel free to click here and check it out for all the details.

AMMA is a Saint – A Sage – A Great Healer from India who goes around the world raising the Consciousness and the Vibration of Humanity by giving away HUGS!

So… We know based on AMMA’s work that giving HUGS raises the Vibration. And furthermore, we know that Raising the Vibration is very Healthy, based on my good Friend Dr. Lana Ford’s work which you can check out in her community – Your Vibration Station –

So if giving Hugs raises the Vibration – AND – Raising the Vibration is healthy on a Physical, Mental, Emotional, & Spiritual Level – then it would seem like I should be Prescribing more HUGS ☺ However, as a physician, I would like to have a little more data ….

So here is where I require your assistance. For the next 48 hours – I would love it if you would give away as many hugs as possible. AND keep track of the results. These could be personal results about how you felt, results about the reaction of the people you blessed with a hug, or something that was said to you about your new affinity for hugs, or anything else you notice during the experiment.

In 48 hours this blog will not be viewable on this page since there are so many Amazing BraveHeart Women posting so many wonderful topics so…I will post this experiment in the topics section of my community – for you to be able to share your results with each other. I am VERY interested in your results – so I would really appreciate you taking the time to post a comment! You are all also welcome to join my Community - while you are there!

Thank You My Sisters – Much Love to Each of You! I am so excited to read your results! Have Fun!

I am Doctor Sugar and when you have a medical question, simply click on my picture and go to my profile to see videos and blogs on a wide variety of medical topics.

To Your Total Wellness!
With Love, Wellness and Compassion,
Dr. Sugar

Would you like to join your Community Doctor?

Hello BraveHeart Sisters - what an amazing visit I am having in Los Angeles! I am filled with gratitude to be backstage on an amazing set in Hollywood - watching all the behind the scenes action that goes on. You'll never guess which set I am on.... it is a secret - but I'll give you a hint - you are all going to get to see what I am seeing very soon - The shows that are being filmed are SO incredible - you absolutely have to watch them - all of them - they are so so so good

So we just had the biggest laugh with one of Ellie's co-hosts CLAUDIA JORDAN. She shared that as a child her family was not a big hugging family and therefore she wasn't really comfortable giving nor receiving hugs. I laughed and shared with her the prescription I just gave out to all my BraveHeart Sisters - .... if you missed the blog click here and read it because it is something I sincerely hope you are all participating in. So I explained the reason for the experiment and Claudia said that despite her discomfort, she would give it a try. Now that is a BraveHeart Woman!

So with 30 hours down - I am anxiously awaiting your results. How are the hugs going? Go to my community and lets all share what results you are getting with the Community Doctors recommendations.

Love to all my BraveHeart Sisters!
Ellie and the co-hosts and guests on the show send their love!

Are you participating in my HUGGING EXPERIMENT?

To Your Total Wellness,
Dr. Sugar

Your own Community Doctor- Isn’t that Sweet!!

I am very blessed to have my wonderful father alive and well at the age of 76. He has been my biggest fan and supporter for as long as I can remember. Always with a smile to share, a hug and kiss, an "I Love You", and a sincere and warm compliment for me.
Lesson: Give and Show Love at every Opportunity

From the time I was very young, my father always encouraged me to be my best and to give my all and to never ever quit. And all my life, I lived to make him proud of me and couldn't even imagine doing something to disappoint him. This unwavering belief that he had in all my dreams has pushed me to achieve far greater things than might otherwise have been possible.
Lesson: Tell your children you believe in all their dreams and that they can do anything, be anything and become anything. Let them know that you stand behind them 100%. Give Encouragement without Pressure.

When I was a little kid, my mom was very busy and rarely (actually never) cooked - - but my dad was a great cook. I remember Sunday mornings - - he would get up early and cook eggs, bacon and cream gravy - - (terrible to think of how unhealthy this was - but absolutely delicious none the less) - - then we would sit around in our jammies and watch cartoons and he would read us the Sunday "funnies"
Lesson: Kids remember the small things -

My parents came from nothing to become self made millionaires - through this came many lessons - - they worked long long hours - when I was little, I remember how the business always came first - that we worked 7 days a week - we only took a day off on Christmas - that if there was work to be done, that you did it before doing anything else.
Lesson: I will do today what others won't so I can live tomorrow like others can't. This is one of my favorite quotes - I learned this first hand by watching my parents.

My dad was a saver. My mom was a spender. He always said as long as he could make it faster than she could spend it then it was all good. He had a great outlook on life and truly enjoyed making money - I say enjoyed - that should actually be in the present tense - enjoys - because even at age 76, he still goes to work every day and loves to tell me about any great deals he makes.
He taught me through example many lessons about wealth: Invest in assets. Have respect for money. Only spend money that you have saved. Never over extend yourself.

When I was in College, the one thing I most looked forward to was my daily talks with my dad. I might go days without talking with my mom, but every night, I would call my dad and I would bring him up to date on my day and my dreams and he would tell me all the latest happenings at home. The conversations always ended with "I love you, I miss you and I am so proud of you!"
Lesson: Listen to your children, Love your children Unconditionally and Tell them how you feel.

My dad is one of the nicest guys you will ever meet - he has never met a stranger and can have an hour long conversation with anybody that happens to stop by or call on the phone. He is a great talker but also a great listener. I can remember times when I would walk into his office with something to tell him and he would be on the phone - - I would wait and wait until finally he would hang up from this in depth conversation... I would say - "who was that?" and his reply "I don't know someone trying to get me to change my long distance carrier or something." unbelievable !! Yes he is quite a conversationalist.
Lesson: Take an interest in all people. Ask people about their lives and their loves and Listen to their reply.

Now I know my intention for this post was to honor my father - and with all my honor and respect, I feel I must share a few things I learned from my dad that aren't things I want to emulate.

My mom and dad argued and fought a lot in front of us. They were married for 49 years when my mom passed away in 2004. They had been in business together since the 1950's and I am sure there was much pressure that came with that - but as a child it was frightening to see my parents fight. As an adult - I just thought it was such a waste of time to argue so much.
Lesson: Never argue in front of the children and never go to bed with unresolved anger.

My dad is a very generous man - somehow I learned how to be a saver like him - to have ambition and have goals and dreams, but unfortunately it seems my siblings only learned that mom & dad would make the money and they could spend it. Neither my brother or sister ever graduated from high school or worked - they just live off of my parents. Certainly this is a point of great contention in our family.
Lesson: Teach children values, Give them love not money,Teach them to earn money so they understand the value of money and the value of a good days work.

My life has been blessed with two wonderful parents. On Father's Day I give Love, Honor, Respect and Great Tribute to my Amazing Dad who is my hero and one of my best friends in life - a man who I absolutely Love and Adore. A man who is a great dad and an even better Papa.

With Love, Wellness and Compassion,
Dr. Sugar

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I think all the Mom's in the community should start a list - we could publish it I am sure - of all the amazing things that come out of the mouths of their children.

I got the biggest laugh out of Crystal Jones blog a few days ago about her children moving to the big city.

These two may not be quite as funny but cute none the less. I was getting ready for work this morning and was in my bathroom. My 1 year old Malaya was playing in the dressing area outside of my bathroom. I could hear her but couldn't see her. I heard her sneeze. Then I heard the sweetest little 1 year old voice say... "Bless you Laya" She was perfectly capable of blessing herself. It was the most darling thing ever.

This evening I wanted to go for a bike ride after my conference call ended but it got very windy and looked like it was going to rain. My husband decided he wanted to watch a movie and the bedroom was calling my name... however I am on a mission of adopting a healthier lifestyle and daily exercise is a part of that goal. So since I had not yet had the opportunity to exercise today, I kissed my husband and youngest baby (who wanted to hang with her daddy) - and headed into our home gym. My two older children decided to come with me to "work out" ... Our gym consists of a treadmill, 2 body by jake thingies that I bought on some occasion when I was watching infomercials at 3:00 am and 7 different kinds of abdominizers - - if only your abs would respond to them being in your home - - like AB-OSMOSIS - - I wish - - I have all the machines - now I just have to use them - - come on six pack - - haha

Ok - so Mariah my six year old is doing much more playing than exercising and I kept getting on to her about being careful and not getting hurt on the machines - - so eventually she trips on the treadmill and gets her hand pinched on the side. Doesn't even break the skin - but does put a little black skid mark on the side of her hand and I am sure hurt quite a bit. I am giving her the "I told you to be careful" line as she is holding her hand - - she looks up totally sincere and says - -
"oh - mom - look you can feel my guts - - it feels like little round balls of guts inside there"
SMILE
kids - you gotta love 'em
I am Dr. Sugar - When you have a medical question, simply click on my picture and go to my profile to see a wide variety of blogs and videos on health and wellness.
With Love, Wellness and Compassion,
Dr. Sugar

Would you like to join your Community Doctor?

When I was 18 years old I fell in love with the nicest guy I had ever met. He was smart, funny, ambitious, sweet, handsome (back then we said “totally hot”) and he made me laugh. After four years of dating through college, he asked me to marry him. He wanted to elope and go to Vegas and I wanted a big church wedding.

“I dreamed of a wedding of elaborate elegance, a church filled with family and friends. I asked him what kind of a wedding he wished for, he said one that would make me his wife.” So on June 26th, 1993, in front of 550 of our closest friends and family members we pledged our love.

I do...promise to love, honor and cherish…in good times and bad…in sickness and in health…until death do us part… for me it was one of the best days of my life. For him, he still gets sweaty palms at the memories of standing up in front of that many people. ☺

Over the last 16 years we have been blessed with so many more good times than bad. The sickness has been few and far between. We have laughed and loved during the best of times. We have been blessed with 3 beautiful-healthy children who give us love and laughter. When I look back at our wedding pictures I smile to think of all the great memories before and since and shed a few tears for so many friends and family members who are no longer with us today. We have cried and grieved together more than a few times.

I could write a book about all that we have been through and someday maybe I will. For now, let me share a couple of my favorite stories about my husband with you.

Many years ago when I first started medical school, I was hit with the biggest blow of my life – as I was one the verge of realizing all of my biggest dreams, my mom was diagnosed with terminal cancer and I had to make a choice between following my dreams or returning home to take care of her and assist my dad in our family owned business. My husband, held my hand through it all. He shares the importance of great family values - and with love in his heart; he was ready to move back home to care for my parents.

Four years later, when I realized that I had to return to medical school or risk living a life filled with the burden of wasted potential, Rick encouraged me to follow my dreams. Despite the fact that the closest medical school was 3 hours away from our home and that our son was 9 months old…. He said “Sugar, if that will make you happy, I will support you in every way possible and we will be fine, go for it!”

For the next 7 years, we lived apart on average 5 nights a week as I commuted to school. He raised our children, ran a very successful business and encouraged my success. That truly is unconditional love and I am so incredibly thankful that he always celebrated my accomplishments and never once tried to hold me back.

I remember our middle child Mariah was born during residency at a very busy time when I was taking call - which included working a 36-hour shift every 4th night. Mariah was a breast-fed baby who was spoiled rotten and would NOT take a bottle. During the first 17months of her life, she commuted back and forth with me to school. I had a long time family friend who lived with me and cared for her while I worked. Unfortunately our caregiver was elderly and didn’t drive so during my 36-hour calls this was a big problem. Solution: every 4th night, Rick would get off of work in a town 3 hours away and drive to the town where I was in school. He would bring Mariah to the hospital and page me to come and nurse her in the ER parking lot. Then for the rest of the night he would take her to my house, sleep, wake up, drive her back to the hospital, page dr. mom, ER parking lot, nurse, go home, sleep, wake up, drive to hospital, page dr. mom, ER parking lot, nurse, go home, sleep, repeat, until 6:00 am for the last feeding, take the baby to the baby-sitter, and then drive 3 hours back to work all day. And he did this every 4th night until she was 17 months old. To tell the story now – he sounds like a saint - it almost seems incomprehensible that a successful man would do such a thing – at the time – it just seemed like the right thing to do.

Today more than ever before I love, honor and cherish my best best friend and soul mate. I realized in doing the math that I have now loved him for more of my life than not and I look forward to all of our tomorrows. We are so much more together than either of our parts.

That to me is a symbol of a great marriage – two partners who come together as equals – who build, encourage and celebrate each other’s successes; who grow stronger and more successful and more in love - together over the years.

With Love, Wellness and Compassion,
Dr. Sugar

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Being a medical doctor - I find that I sometimes have a challenge with living in my head/mind or left brain a great deal. I set an intention many months ago to allow myself to begin opening up my right brain, to tap into the Creativity and Intuition that I had been too busy to listen to over the last few years.

This weekend I had an opportunity to Dance with the Energy of my Soul for hours and hours and hours and the Gifts that I received with that experience are absolutely Priceless.

If there are any logical, over achieving, perfectionists reading this blog - put away the day timer, turn your cell phone off, call your secretary and tell her to hold your appointments...
Breathe
Ground Yourself
Turn on the music (I recommend INTUITION by JEWEL)
Crank it up
and DANCE...
then Listen...
and Feel
your Soul will speak to you and it has so much to tell you...

Loving this Journey!
Dancing with the Energy of my Soul,
Dr. Sugar

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Edited by DrSugar at 07/15/2009 1:21 AM MDT

What kind of lessons are your children learning?

I was at my father’s place yesterday evening. We were having a nice visit when suddenly my 2-year-old daughter picked up a plate of salad that my 6 year old was eating and dumped it all over the floor. I gently told the girls that it was ok and asked them to clean it up as best as they could. AS they tried to please me, they of course proceeded to make an even bigger mess despite their best efforts. At this point the floor was a sticky mess thanks to the salad dressing. I had to laugh and simply said “thank you so much for helping” to my babies and bent over to clean the rest of the salad up.

My father said - "Sugar - you don't have to clean that - one of my assistants/secretaries can come by tomorrow and clean up." I continued cleaning it up and then mopped the floor since the dressing had made everything so sticky.

I then turned to my girls and said..."Girls - whenever you make a mess or a mistake - you must always tell the truth and acknowledge that you made a mess and then YOU must clean up the mess you made. This is called being responsible."

In life, you will find that you will make many mistakes or messes and that is ok – we all make messes sometimes - - just make sure you are always honest about the mistakes and take responsibility for cleaning up the mess - -

I put my girls in the car after they kissed their Papa good night and then I went back in and in private said – “Dad – I love you but PLEASE do not ever teach my children that they don’t have to be responsible for their own actions.”

I know in his heart he meant well by telling me not to clean and mop (what can I say – I am a princess – who has many other talents besides domestic engineering) but when I realized the implication and what my babies were watching – I realized that this was a valuable opportunity to teach a lesson – so mop away I did because children will learn what they watch.

We must all lead by example.

So... did they get it? When I got to the car I said to Mariah - - did you learn anything after the salad spilled? And she said - "yes Mommy - I learned that we have to be responsible and honest and always clean up our messes"... and little Malaya pipes in "Yah mommy - messes"

I am Doctor Sugar and when you have a medical question simply click on my picture and go to my profile to see a variety of blogs and videos on many wellness & self-esteem topics. Have a great day BraveHeart Sisters!

With Love, Wellness and Compassion,
Dr. Sugar

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