The list of symptoms associated with ovarian cysts is quite large and includes many of the same symptoms as several other physical problems, such as endometriosis, pelvic inflammatory disease, pregnancy or ovarian cancer. Due to this fact, the appearance of one or two symptoms, depending on their individual severity may or may not be a point for concern. If the symptoms become regular or become worse with time, then it is very important for you to make an appointment with your family doctor in order to be properly diagnosed.

One of the most revealing signs to look for with ovarian cyst symptoms are any type of menstrual changes or irregularities. This can mean many things including pelvic pain that can be constant or intermittent dull ache that may radiate to your lower back and thighs, longer or shorter periods or even the lack of menstruation, abnormal bleeding or even unexplainable weight gain.

Some of the other symptoms include:

o Those that are similar to women during pregnancy, such as nausea, vomiting or breast tenderness.

o Pain during intercourse

o A feeling of fullness in your abdomen

o Feeling as though you can’t empty your bladder completely

o Pressure on your bladder or rectum

o Pain during bowel movements

o Intense exercise during the beginning of your menstrual cycle can produce irritation to an already sensitive ovarian cyst

While ovarian cyst symptoms can be severe and more obvious that there is a problem, sometimes the symptoms are so similar to other physical signs from other conditions it can be hard to tell them apart. This is why it is very important to go to your doctor and be examined.

Leaving an ovarian cyst unchecked it can grow, sometimes very quickly, twist, bleed or even rupture. If you have sudden severe abdominal or pelvic pain or pain with a fever or vomiting, you need to seek immediate medical attention.

Luckily, most times ovarian cysts and the symptoms they bring with them will disappear just as quickly as they showed up. The most common forms of ovarian cyst only require time to heal.

How can I keep my computer clean and tidy?

When we are asked by friends and family how can they keep their computer clean, the one tool we always recommend is CCleaner. CCleaner differs from antivirus tools as it designed to keep your computer tidy – think Jacques from Finding Nemo!

CCleaner will search through your computer and clear out all of the files that have been created when you surf the internet or install software. The majority of these files are benign and pose no threat to you, but they do take up space on your computer so let CCleaner remove them for you. CCleaner will not delete documents and photos from your desktop of the common document folders.

CCleaner will work on Windows; IOS (Apple) and Android mobiles.

Tell me more about CCleaner and what it can do for me!

When you open CCleaner, you will immediately see an ‘Analyse’ button which when pressed, CCleaner will calculate how much space can be recovered from deleting temporary system files. Once you are happy, press the ‘Run Cleaner’ button and all will be removed from your system. NOTE – if you have an internet browser such as Internet Explorer or Chrome open while you run the CCleaner tool, you will be asked to close the browser to allow the files to be removed.

Under the ‘Tools’ button (the spanner icon), you will find some very useful tools that you may, depending on your technical knowledge or confidence,

Uninstall – Click on Uninstall and CCleaner will show you all the different programs that have been installed on your machine and when this was installed. Some of the very common names you may wish to look for and remove include:

Delta Search

MyWebSearch Toolbar

If you do stumble across a program name that you would like to remove, click on the program name and select the ‘Uninstall’ button on the top right of the CCleaner screen.

Startup – This is a great feature, but you will need to understand what it is you are doing before pressing any buttons in here. Startup, as the name suggests, will list all the software that will start when your computer starts; web browser(s) and Scheduled Tasks. It is very likely that when you click on the Windows tab you will see a substantial list of names of software that starts each time your Windows computer starts. You can disable software by selecting it and pressing the ‘Disable’ button. We will not be advising which you should or shouldn’t disable as each computer is very different.

When you click on the ‘Scheduled Tasks’ within Startup, this is where you will get a good feel as to whether or not your computer is running malicious software. The individuals or organisations that produce malicious software often use your computer to schedule the infection to run at certain times, and CCleaner will help you see this. Again we cannot advise you which to disable as each computer will have different tasks running depending on the software you have running. One to look out for though will be listed as just “At1” although the numerical digit may differ from one; if you have this please backup all your precious documents and photos then run antivirus.

We strongly suggest that you do not use the ‘Registry fix’ tool with the CCleaner software unless you are very competent system user and you have a full backup of your data.

Like most software tools, CCleaner also offers a ‘Pro’ version of the software that comes with a charge. The Pro version will offer you support via the Piriform (the people behind CCleaner) and the software will automatically update itself. The free version will notify you when an update is released, but you will need to visit their website and download the latest version.

BIG NOTE – CCleaner is a tried and tested software that is a must have but I would like to say we cannot be held responsible for any system issues or data loss as a result of running this or any other software we recommend.

1. You play hard to get

When your partner wants to talk with you on the phone, you often do not answer the phone. And you do not phone him/her later. The assumption that his/her feelings are getting stronger this way is completely wrong. Why? Because that would push him away.

2. You mention very often whatever about your ex

Let your past stay in the past. It is not a good idea to mention the name of your ex as well as whatever information about him/her. You also need to avoid making a comparison between your ex and your current boyfriend/girlfriend. That will do you no good.

3. You are being silly and dull

It’s a common misconception that it is not advisable to show off your intellect. However, when you try to be just an average person in order not to scare away your partner through your idiosyncrasy, there is a high risk to ruin your relationship.

4. You are being secretive and emotionless

If you are very secretive about your feelings and/or your activities, your partner might feel isolated and even lonely. You might think that it’s really cool not to show your emotions but in fact it can ruin your relationship.

5. The boundaries you set are not healthy or you do not set boundaries at all

Setting boundaries helps to maintain the balance not only at the very beginning of the relationship but also later. And it also prevents power shifting.

6. You do not spend enough time together with your partner

You meet him/her only when it is convenient for you or beneficial to you. If you want your relationship to be a warm, loving and intimate one, you need to be completely committed to each other. And the latter involves spending a lot of time together.

7. You do not let your partner get to know your friends and/or relatives

Your partner needs to fit well in your social circle. And if you do not let him/her do that, it could be catastrophic for your relationship.

8. You are not very interested in the purposes and/or the dreams of your partner.

It is really important to support your partner within the process of achieving his/her purposes and/or dreams. Just be there for him/her whenever it is needed.

9. You succeed in turning every discussion with your partner into a quarrel.

Healthy discussions can actually strengthen a relationship. However, if a discussion turns into a quarrel, it could ruin your relationship.

In Hispanic culture what you wear and how you wear it says a lot about you. A low income family might not be able to afford expensive clothing but their shirts are ironed and their shoes are polished. Middle to high class Hispanics in Latin American countries will save money to come to America for a shopping spree and purchase American brands that ironically, if not made in China were probably made in a Latin American country like Guatemala (my home country.)

No matter their economic status, accessories and jewelry are a must for girls starting from a very young age. Little girls get their ears pierced almost at birth and might let their hair grow to pull it back in a sleek and polished pony tail. Their socks will have ruffles and their outfits will match.

Appearances are very important in Hispanic culture. First impressions hold high value and sometimes are very hard to erase if the outcome is negative. You don’t want to start off on the wrong foot. “El que dirán” (what will they say.)

In America clothes have become a way to express yourself. T-shirts with, “Go Green” or, “Vote for Obama” speak for themselves. Among Hispanics clothes are not to express, but to impress. The reason for this could be that they are worried about being judged and not accepted. And since social circles tend to be very small in Latin countries it is important to give the right impression even though “las aparencias engañan” (appearances can be deceiving.)

I remember the comment of my mother in law (a Harvard Business School grad), when she visited Guatemala for the first time. She said, “Everybody dresses like they are always ready to go to an event.”

© 2009 Sofia E. Keck

It’s very strange to think about how people lived without cell phones a decade ago. Nowadays it seems almost impossible to even leave the house without your cell phone. These gadgets are very useful and they are continuously improving each year. The new models have a better signal, faster data speed, and more applications and so on. But these features mean more money. With every new upgrade you will have to pay more. It’s very hard nowadays to find a cheap cell phone.

The first thing that you need to do when searching for a cheap cell phone is to determine which provider you want. Don’t look over dozens of models if you know that a certain provider won’t satisfy your needs.

The next step is to get online and inform your self about these providers’ offers. Compare the cheapest plans from different providers and decide on the one that is perfect for you and your needs.

If you’ve made your mind you can contact the certain provider or go directly to the store for more details and any questions. Say that you need a cell phone but you are not willing to spend very much. They will certainly try to bargain but you will have to stay on position and not be dazzled by extra features or applications. Make sure that you don’t spend money on things that you don’t actually need.

A good and cheap cell phone plan is not that easy to find but it’s not impossible either. If you pay for unnecessary services you will only throw your money out the window. If you take some time and search the market you will make economies in the long run. So make sure that you find a cell phone plan with the desired features, making sure that you don’t have any useless applications.

There are some fundamental mindsets of the Russian business people. Any person doing business in modern Russia or with Russians would benefit from knowing these as much of business behavior is guided by mindsets.

These five mindsets are

1. How things happen or don’t

2. Decision making – Hierarchy

3. Concept of time

4. Connections – “Blat“

5. Faith in own system

6. Conspicuous consumption

How things happen or don’t

In Russia how things happen or don’t is a mystery very difficult for outsiders to understand. For example, in neighboring Finland things (excluding matters to do with politics) usually happen rather systematically in a bureaucratic fashion and the process is usually rather transparent. In Russia nothing important happens without a crisis or big drama which forces people to act and the forces behind such crises could remain hidden from view. When you are caught up in this “period of inaction” don’t tell the Russians that they are lazy or inefficient. This is a big mistake. They are immensely proud of their culture, their status as a superpower and achievements like space exploration.

Decision-making – Hierarchy

Russia is a very hierarchic society and decision-making processes are very different from western (especially Finnish and Swedish) models. The hierarchical nature of Russian society with very large power distance is very important to remember in business dealings. Who approaches whom in business dealings is crucial to the success. Nowadays, Russian businesspeople pay a lot of attention to how they are dressed. Russian people in general probably spend more money from their family budget on clothing then any other nation in the world. Those who can’t afford to buy top fashion brand clothing (such as Versace, Armani or Hugo Boss) prefer to be dressed in cheaper but still well made clothing. There is an old Russian proverb–“They want to meet you depending on how you’re dressed and they say good bye depending on how wise you seem.”

Concept of time

Many business people in neighboring Finland have started adopting the American concept of time – time is money. This is rather strange to the Russian concept of time. Though he may not appear to be very academic, the Russian businessman is very conscious of how Russia rose from Novgorod days to become a superpower. Russian time does not go in a straight line; it is more like a process of quantum leaps and small circles with no clear line joining the circles. So this concept of long time permeates every action of the Russian businessman. If you lose your nerves when things are not moving fast, you show signs of immaturity.

Connections – “Blat“

In Russia nothing significant moves without “Blat” or connections. People remember and count favors like currency. There is a great emphasis on building and maintaining personal cordial relationships through respect, presents, favors and counter favors.

Faith in own system

The neighboring Finns and Swedes believe that the Finnish or Swedish version of the democratic welfare state is the greatest achievement of the human mind and they are very proud of it. The Russians have a messianic approach to being Russian. For them it is the embodiment of the dream about perfection: nature, the world, man, man’s life, the dream about the Golden Age, about the heavenly city – Modern Rome. They believe that Mankind always goes onward only if the divine light lit the way. Until the fall of communism they seldom doubted this messianic mission. The current state of Russia, with the high prices, insecurity, terrorist attacks and failure of post-communist capitalism to bring heaven on earth has seen the Russian mindset moving towards, “Let’s learn and adopt everything Western!” while never forgetting “Mother Russia knows best.” The fact that people complain about current state of affairs doesn’t erode this basic messianic faith. The following joke highlights this faith.

“A Russian and an American die and they both go to hell. Satan, the manager in charge of hell, asks them, “Which hell do you prefer, the Russian one or the American one?” “What’s the difference?” the Russian asks. “In the American hell, you will be forced to eat one bucket of waste every day; in the Russian, two,” Satan explains. The American decides to go to the American hell. The Russian, being a patriot, chooses the Russian hell. One year later the two men run into one another. “How’s life?” the Russian asks. “Can’t complain,” the American answers. “I eat one bucket of waste every morning, and then I’m free for the rest of the day. What about you?” “It couldn’t be better!” the Russian explains. “Just like back on earth! They’re either late with waste deliveries, or they’re having bucket shortages.”

Conspicuous consumption

The American economist Torstein Veblen first coined the term in his “The Theory of the Leisure Class” back in 1899. Veblen argued that economic life is not driven by notions of utility, but by social vestiges from pre-historic times and much of today’s society is just a variation on early tribal life. This tribal character of Russian life is very central to understanding the stratification of Russian society. Brands and visible symbols of success are priority number one. Here is a nice joke, which is very descriptive about the NRs or Nouveau Riches.

After a car crash a NR is lying on the side of the road, weeping aloud. Oh, my BMW! – He wails, – Oh, my BMW! A passer by is shocked to hear it and asks “How can you cry about your car, when you’ve just lost your entire hand?” The NR evaluates the situation and resumes his cries: Oh, my Rolex! “

With Russians, you cannot separate culture from business. Acquiring cultural know-how and learning the rules of behavior is vital for success. It takes time to earn the trust and respect of Russians. Da (Yes)! Once you earn that they can be good and fun partners to do business with.

We constantly interact with people in our lives. Some associations are a great help while others a great hindrance to our plans. We have to learn and train ourselves to carefully avoid those who hinder and hook up with positive people.

During my life on this planet, I have found the human nature to be most baffling, intricate and confusing. Those who can understand and solve the puzzle of human nature are greatly rewarded through successes in the battle of life. It will be very unwise to lay bare a soul through the wisdom of the stars, though it is quite possible. The purpose of an astrologer should be to help those who seek his advice. Most clients do not heed the counsel given and stick to their bad habits of holding on to those who hurt them most. Indeed it is most painful to change wrong habits created over many incarnations and replace them with right ones. Such a task would require a great sacrifice we are loathe to make. A person may exercise a very potent positive influence on our physical plane (health, business etc) and yet have a very negative effect mentally. This will manifest in an impaired judgment of people or situations. A person who is madly in love with you could prove to be the worst business partner because of vibrational conflict. Most people are totally unaware of this fact. It is rare that any two people are in harmony on all planes, physical, mental and spiritual. A conflict of vibrations on any two planes between two persons creates disharmony, discord and eventual failure of plans made.

The phrase “I like her”, “I have very strong feelings for him”, “I am drawn to her” are mere feelings and thus may not be real. Feelings may be induced by a strong will in a person of a weaker will.

There are people who rarely use their own head before making a decision. Such people seek advice from the experts and let someone else decide upon a certain course of action, thereby transferring all the responsibility on the expert. This may be done consciously or unconsciously. We are fully responsible for all actions performed consciously or unconsciously. A sleep walker who commits murder in a dream state is guilty of murder, whether he/she is aware of it or not, but it does not absolve him/her of the guilt.

Let me elaborate upon various kinds of influences some people have upon us. Some strong personalities have most of their energies focused on a certain plane making him/her a leader. Leaders have a very potent aura extending to a large area exercising a strong influence upon the masses who come within the periphery of it. The influence may be for good or evil. In history some leaders have misused their powers of aura to do great harm to humanity (Hitler, Stalin, Mao Tse Tung)

Even if we associate with a person for 15 or 20 years does not mean that we get to know that person on all the three planes. Only very highly perceptive and developed people on a spiritual plane are aware of the impact of the vibrations of people in their close proximity. Some people are important because of their role in our lives while others because of their negative influence (I mean the nuisance value) or the position they occupy in our orbit. Some persons stay in our lives for a short time, play their part and exit through death, some play a key role and disappear, while others are life-long companions. There are people who are in our orbits for practical reasons while others (from a previous incarnation) are responsible for major events and leave a mark on the pathway of life. Among the various types of people that we come across in our lives I would mention just a few. The following statements are based on a horoscope of a person erected from the birth data. Some people will prove beneficial to you in a financial and worldly way. By their association you will prosper and develop spiritually. The more people you have of this kind, the greater will be your success. Then there will be those who will have a powerful and steadying influence on you and bring to the fore some of your strongest propensities of a practical nature. But their influence will be of a restricting nature and you will not feel so free in their company. There are people of very complex personalities. I have merely touched upon this very absorbing subject but to go very deeply into it may be rather confusing for most people. I am making this exclusive information public for the first time.

Real occultism conceals more than it reveals.

I hardly know of anyone who didn’t complain much about their mother in laws. Only very few women will say that their mother in law is a very nice person who is not imposing and is very easy going. Mother-in-laws who are humble and accepting of their daughter-in-laws are a rare breed. Most of us do not belong to this fortunate group who has mother in laws that are not domineering. It becomes harder to deal with them when we have children. Here are 6 secrets to help mothers deal with their difficult mother-in-laws:

1. First of all, it is very important to know and truly belief that you are the best mother for your child, no matter what other people tell you. Difficult mother-in-laws are very fond of putting you down, and telling you (or hinting to you through their actions) that you are not capable for the job (of a mother), in one way or another. But, do not doubt yourself. Since God has given you this child, He must have known that you are the best mother that your child can ever have, so why should anyone tell you otherwise? So, don’t doubt yourself, ever.
2. It is important for us to be as independent from our mother-in-laws as possible. If your mother-in-law feels that you cannot live without her, she will want to take over. This could mean not asking for their help out of convenience. It could also mean trying to do everything by yourself, or getting help from friends or other relatives (or hire one) instead. It is important that you do not show that you are not confident, or that you are unsure of what you are doing, or that you are not able to cope. I know that we shouldn’t try to be supermoms, but in front of your difficult mother-in-law, you’d better be – because that’s what they expect of you (unfortunately), since they think they are supermoms. So moral of the story is – avoid getting help from your mother-in-law.
3. One of the most effective ways to deal with your difficult mother-in-law is to have your husband to be on your side, and to get him to deal with your mother-in-law. Share with your husband how you feel about the whole situation, and get him to understand what you are going through and empathize with you. Your husband needs to stand up for you, protect you and be the head of your household. He needs to tell his mother to give you a chance to manage your own household and your own children. He needs to help his mother be aware that she already had her turn when her children were young, and now it’s your turn to take care of your children.   
4. At every opportunity that you can, try to be as firm as possible with your difficult mother-in-law and tell her that you can do it, or that you want to take over the children. This is easier said than done, but you just have to pluck up the courage and open your mouth to say no to her, rather than bury everything inside and keep quiet. It is better for you to tell her that you can handle things yourself when you are calm and in control than to do it when you cannot contain all the hurt any longer and have an outburst.
5. It is probably helpful for you to realize that your difficult mother-in-law became difficult not without a reason. She probably has a lot of issues of her own that she doesn’t want to admit and face them. So try not to take it personally. She’s probably not enjoying herself while she makes life difficult for you.  She is probably just spreading her ‘issues’ to you. So, try not to get contaminated and allow her unhappiness to affect you.
6. Lastly, if you are living with your mother-in-law – move out. The more she knows about what is happening in your family, the more she wants to take over. So the best way is to let her know as few things as possible. Even if you have to move just a few houses away from her, it is still better than living in the same house with her. It is really liberating when you don’t have your mother-in-law scrutinize (and criticize) everything that you do, or everything that you have. When she doesn’t see everything that happens, the urge for her to take over will be less, because she will not see so many imperfections that she needs to fix. She will not know exactly how many times your baby cries that day, etc. She might still want to barge in to your house like it is hers, but when that happens, you probably have to work with your husband to find some things to keep her busy in other areas.

I think we should stop dreaming that we will one day have a perfect mother-daughter relationship with our mother-in-laws, because it rarely happens. We come from different backgrounds, values and beliefs and it is very difficult to expect two women who didn’t choose to be together (well, you married your husband, not your mother-in-law) to gel together. If your difficult mother-in-law cannot respect you as a person, then keeping a safe distance from her is the most practical remedy.

Our brains have a strange and very capable way of enabling us to cope with just about everything that is thrown our way. Looking back a month or two prior to being diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia, I now am able to clearly see the signs that were right in front of me. Of course, my very capable brain was able to create a perfectly logical explanation for every one of my symptoms.

Probably one of the very first symptoms that I noticed, and disregarded, was my hugely swollen spleen. I remember lying in bed one night reading; I said to Joe, “You know, things just don’t seem to fit in here like they used to.” I just didn’t feel like I could get comfortable and that “things” were crowded on the left hand side of my abdomen; up under my left rib cage. It felt tight to the touch, but it also just felt thick, like muscle. It didn’t hurt and most of the time I didn’t even notice that it was there.

The second symptom that I noticed was probably the fact that I was just a bit more tired than usual. That symptom was easily discarded since Joe and I are always on the go. Our feet hit the floor running every morning and don’t stop until we go to bed. That coupled with the fact that I was soon to be 52, I just chalked being tired up to, doing too much and “old age”!

The third symptom was that I seemed to become a bit short of breath, when I danced. December was a very busy dance month for us as we were preparing to dance at the UCWDC World’s Championship in Nashville Tennessee, the first week of January. That year was the very first year that I had ever competed in anything in my life. We competed in the Pro/Am division and I was the Am. Dancing was something that I had wanted to do my entire life and I had finally begun to learn to dance a few years prior. Joe and I actually met when I took a class that he was teaching at a dance convention and now we are competing in the pro/am category.

So, back to my windedness; we compete in eight dances and while practicing our routines, it is typical to run through them one right after the other for an hour straight. I started running out of gas during practice several months before World’s. When I was competing, I was wondering what the elevation of Nashville was, as I was a bit winded dancing there. I didn’t know if it was the elevation or my nerves, but I did notice that I was a bit short of breath after every dance. After competing at World’s, we took a short hiatus from practicing; when we resumed, I told Joe that it seemed weird how quickly I became winded. I had to stop between routines to catch my breath. I chalked that up to being out of shape, and for being a slacker for the past three weeks. Of course, now I know that it was a symptom of my leukemia. I did place eighth in my division at World’s; but I just know that if I hadn’t had leukemia, I would have come in first!! And no, there weren’t only eight in my division, there were twenty four competitors.

My fourth symptom was the bruising. Now I must preface this with the fact that I am very clumsy and am always bruised. I never remember where I got them; I just know that they are there. Looking back though, this bruising was different. The bruising on my body, just prior to being diagnosed with CML was a bit odd. I seemed to have more of them and they seemed to last longer. They were also hard to the touch; like a bulge under the skin. (This was from the overabundance of white blood cells.) They popped up with a slighter bump or bang than they used to. I noticed them and reprimanded myself to start being more careful. The odd thing about this symptom is that I KNOW that it is can be a sign of leukemia. When my daughter was only four years old, I took her to the doctor and insisted that he check her for leukemia because she was always covered with bruises. Yes, she was a tomboy and no, I didn’t beat her! It is amazing to me that I never correlated the bruising to leukemia within myself.

The fifth symptom was probably the headaches. I had been having headaches at the back of my head for quite some time. I chalked that up to needing my eye glass prescription updated and changed. The headaches seemed most prevalent at night, while watching TV or reading, or while working on the computer. In other words, while concentrating. Yes, I know, taxing on the brain! I made an appointment to go and see an optometrist on January 13, 2011. During my eye exam, while looking into my eyes with that very bright light, the doctor asked me three questions. “Do you have high blood pressure?” I answered, “No, I have low blood pressure.” “Do you have diabetes?” I answered again, “No, not that I know of.” “Are you anemic?” Once again I answered, “No, not that I am aware of,” “Why?” “You are frightening me, should I be scared?” He replied, “Well, you have a significant amount of blood in your eyes.” Of course, I freaked out a bit and asked him what it could mean. He said that he wasn’t sure, but assured me that I would not go blind, but also said that I should make an appointment to see a retina specialist within the next month or so.

Now you must remember that I have been dealing with Cipro poisoning for the past nine months. My immediate reaction was that this might also be Cipro related. I went directly to the pharmacist and told her what the eye doc had said and asked her what she thought. She agreed that it could very likely be Cirpo related as Cipro not only affects your muscles, joints and tendons; it can also affect your vascular system. That in combination with all of the Ibuprofen that I had been taking for the muscle pain, my vascular system could be compromised and my blood could be thin causing the eye bleeds. I left disgusted and prayed that it would not be Cipro related because if it was, there was nothing that could be done. Moral to that story, be careful what you wish for and be very specific when you are sending out prayers!

The sixth symptom was the night sweats. I had been having night sweats for approximately six weeks and would wake up damp and cold. I was constantly kicking the covers off and then pulling them back on, all night long. This of course I related to hormones. It was a no brainer and I would be talking to my doctor about it at my next appointment.

Number seven was the bite-like rash that I suddenly starting getting on my torso. You know that the first thing I did was wash my sheets and check the bed for bed bugs. I was convinced that we must have them and that I was just sweeter than Joe, because he didn’t have any of the bites! You guessed it, no bed bugs. I hadn’t changed detergent and I hadn’t been camping. My skin is still very sensitive and I really just want to run around naked all of the time as clothing drives me crazy. Let’s hope the phase passes!

The last and final symptom, and probably the one that would have eventually sent me to the doctor, was the extreme fullness I felt when I ate; and my funny blood. It was Super Bowl Sunday and I had a routine doctors’ appointment in two days. Joe and I were viciously trying to get our yard work done before the Super Bowl began. I was mowing the front yard while he mowed the back. I remember finishing one side and looking at the other thinking, I just can’t do it! I was pooped and had to force myself to finish mowing the lawn. I kept thinking what a baby I was being since I had mowed the front and back on previous occasions and never even been tired. I convinced myself to finish mowing and while doing so I pricked my arm on a rose thorn. It started to bleed and I ignored it. Joe had finished the back yard and had come to see how I was doing. I was through mowing and was putting the mower into the garage. Both of us looked at my blood and thought that it looked “weird.” We both said, “That doesn’t look right.” It was sort of an orange color, not really red. I still had not a clue; my brain and common sense in total denial.

Joe started the BBQ and I made a salad and veggies. We sat down to eat and within four bites I was stuffed. I thought that it was strange as I usually eat much more, but figured that my lunch was still with me. Being that Joe works for Anheuser-Busch, we of course had beer on ice. I found it odd that it took me practically an hour to drink just one beer. The Super Bowl was over and I was still miserably full. I wasn’t even able to go to bed until midnight because I felt like a stuffed pig. I was so miserable. Do you think that by now I would have a clue that something was terribly wrong? Looking back, I can hardly believe that I didn’t.

So, as a recap; my symptoms included fullness due to a swollen spleen, eye bleeds due to blocked and burst capillaries from an overabundance of white blood cells, shortness of breath, funny looking blood, tiredness, bruising, night sweats, a skin rash and frequent headaches. All of these I easily explained away and none of them interfered with my everyday life. Duh!

When it comes to planning a perfect holiday that includes sun, surf and getting far away from the cold and damp of the UK weather, consider heading over to Jamaica! Luxury hotel accommodation around the island can set you up to explore the very best beaches of this gorgeous Caribbean island.

Located just south of Cuba, Jamaica is the third largest island in the Caribbean. First occupied by the Spanish, then the English, in 1962 it gained full independence by leaving the Federation of the British West Indies. When you’re planning a holiday in Jamaica, luxury hotel options tend to be concentrated along the best-known stretches of beaches, but can also be found in hidden locations, which can provide a secluded getaway. Depending on what type of beach holiday you prefer, there is one (and more!) for you on this lovely island. For starters, you can consider visit Doctor’s Cave Beach, Boston Bay Beach or the Seven Mile Beach.

Doctor’s Cave Beach

Doctor’s Cave Beach is located on the northern coast, at Montego Bay, Jamaica. Luxury hotel accommodation abounds in the area and will give you access to this lovely beach, which is one of the most famous on the island. With a 200-metre stretch of almost pure white sand and sparkling blue waters, it is no wonder this is the place to “see and be seen”. With every amenity at your fingertips and plenty of activities to tae part in, this is a beach not to be missed. While the small entry fee to get onto the beach may put some people off, it does help to keep the crowds down and maintain it as a peaceful location, even in the high season.

Boston Bay Beach

There are few places in the world with bluer water than Boston Bay Beach. If you are into surfing, you should most definitely head here for a look. The renowned turquoise colour of the water is truly spectacular. As the birthplace of “jerk” spiced foods and flavourings, Boston Bay is an ideal spot to sample the range of traditional and utterly delicious snacks and meals. Jerk shacks (up to a hundred) line the roads in the region and many people end up spending more time tasting the food than in the water!

Seven Mile Beach

On the far west coast of the island, in the region of Negril, Seven Mile Beach is one of the longest (and most popular) in Jamaica. Luxury hotel options available nearby will give you unlimited access to the (almost) seven-mile stretch of white sand and stunning blue waters. One of the real draws of the beach is that it is renowned for its liberal, fun-loving atmosphere. You can sunbath topless if you like, buy almost anything, hit the bars and restaurants nearby, or get a huge array of local foods – all at the tips of your fingers. Seven Mile Beach has been voted the best in the world several times over, and the reasons why are certainly no secret.