Recent emails, calls and web chats coming into the National Contact Center (NCC) have me thinking about the R.E.M. song, "It's The End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)." Of course most of the people sending these inquiries don't feel fine about the idea of the apocalypse.

If you are not aware, the ancient Mayan "Long Count" calendar ends in December 2012 and according to some Mayan and popular myths, the end of this calendar marks the end of the world. There are many books out now that explore the way the world could end and the John Cusack movie 2012's plot plays out doomsday and a government plan to get people to safety.

Most inquiries the NCC receives allude to this movie and people want to know if the government has identified a credible threat in 2012 and if so, are there any plans to avoid it? I looked around and actually found that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration has a whole website devoted to the 2012 topic. There, NASA explains why the various doomsday scenarios are not scientifically feasible and, when asked about the claims of the pending doomsday, they specifically state:

"For any claims of disaster or dramatic changes in 2012, where is the science? Where is the evidence? There is none, and for all the fictional assertions, whether they are made in books, movies, documentaries or over the Internet, we cannot change that simple fact. There is no credible evidence for any of the assertions made in support of unusual events taking place in December 2012."

Read over the NASA Doomsday webpage. Do you agree with NASA about 2012?

I used to hate to cook. In fact, the word “hate” may not accurately describe my old feelings towards cooking. On my “Least Favorite Things in the World” list, I considered cooking ranked right between explosive diarrhea and having my eyeballs fried in oil.  Not that I have ever had my eyeballs fried in oil, but a girl can imagine.

The only things that I could cook were spaghetti and tater tot casserole. We ate these things a lot. I used to joke that we ate so much tater tot casserole that my husband had nightmares about giant tater tots chasing him. The other thing we did was eat out a lot and I confess, we ate way too much fast food.

Then I was diagnosed with type 2 Diabetes. After a period of denial, I got a grip. I realized that I had to alter my old habits. I began watching cooking shows and browsing through cookbooks. Inch by inch and culinary misstep after misstep, I taught myself to cook. It started out that I was doing this to learn to help manage my diabetes, but now, I also do it because I really LOVE to cook! And, I think it must be said, compared to my old cooking skills, I am a total rock star in the kitchen!

I used to dread cooking for holidays, but not anymore. Every year I try a few new recipes. I try lots of new ingredients and new ways of making dishes. Anyone who cooks for the holidays has to think about and plan a balanced menu. Being a diabetic means you do the same, but diabetics really have to pay attention to carbohydrates, fats, and sugars.

Fortunately, there are so many holiday tips, recipes, and resources out there to help:

• A Diabetic at the Thanksgiving Table
• Diabetes: Navigating the Holidays both Happy and Healthy
• Diabetes Diet #5: A Sweet Thanksgiving
• Elegant Holiday Recipes That Are Healthy, Too
• Healthy Thanksgiving Dinner with Diabetes
• Holiday Meal Planning
• How to Cook Thanksgiving for a Diabetic

The government offers these resources to help diabetics year round with recipes and tips:

• Diabetic Diet
• Diabetes Meal Planner
• FCIC: Diabetes Recipes
• South Dakota: Healthy Diabetes Recipes and More
• Tasty Recipes for People with Diabetes and Their Families
• USA.gov search results page

Now, if I could only make myself LOVE housework. Oddly enough, I really do enjoy cleaning toilets... I'm sure Freud would have something to say about that! LOL! Anyway, if you cook for a diabetic and have any comments, tips, or recipes to share, I would love to hear from you!

I was shocked last week when I heard the report that a cat in the U.S. was sick with the H1N1 (swine) flu. Poor kitty. The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) website confirms that there was a cat with H1N1, and the kitty required medical care, but recovered. They also say that some ferrets were infected with the virus.

The good news is that the CDC thinks you won’t get the H1N1 flu from your pet. The bad news is that they think that your pet can get the flu from you.

If you get the flu, how do you protect your pet? You protect your pet the same way you protect your family and friends: cover your coughs and sneezes, wash, wash, wash your hands, and try to minimize contact until 24 hours after your fever is gone.

If your pet gets the flu, what should you do? If a person in your home has flu-like symptoms, and your pet becomes sick with coughing, sneezing or other respiratory symptoms, contact your veterinarian. Oh, and tell your kitty to sneeze into her paw.

My husband and I were visiting my 80-year-old mother-in-law, Eileen, in the hospital the other day after her open-heart surgery. She showed me the incision running down her chest and looked at me ruefully. She said, “I guess I need to throw out all of those bikini tops I have.” I said, “No way! We can sew some padding in to the cups. When we go visit my family this Christmas, we can tie them around our heads and wear them as ear muffs to keep our ears warm. If anyone gives us odd looks, we will just tell them all of the top models on the runways of Milan are wearing them this year!” Eileen said, “Well, I have always been a bit of a fashion trend setter amongst my friends!” The image of all of us wearing bikini tops on our heads in the middle of a Midwest winter made us laugh, but only a few days earlier, we were really anxious and scared for her.

Last week, Eileen came to our house and told us that her throat was tingling. She thought she was having an allergic reaction to something she ate. My husband took her to an urgent care clinic. At the clinic, the tingly feeling was moving down into her chest, so the doctor performed an EKG. The electrocardiogram looked a little abnormal and her blood pressure was really high, so the clinic staff gave her some aspirin, nitroglycerin, and called an ambulance to take her to the hospital.

At the hospital the tingling sensation went away, but she kept having episodes of very high blood pressure. Over several days, the doctors ordered a cardiac MRI, stress test, cardiac catheterization, and some other tests. Eileen had previously undergone a stent procedure to open up a blockage, but the doctors determined that she would need a quadruple bypass and an aortic heart valve repair/replacement.

Last Friday she went into surgery. Eileen isn't just my mother-in-law, she is my very dear friend, so when the doctor came to tell us it was over and that she had done well, I was so relieved that I wanted to cry. Eileen still has a long road to a full recovery, but I have confidence that she is a strong lady and will do well.

If you or a loved one are suffering from heart disease, you may find these additional resources helpful:

• Gender Differences in Diagnosis and Management of Heart Disease
• The Healthy Heart Handbook for Women
• Heart Disease in Women
• Heart Healthy Eating
• USA.gov

P.S. I'd like to thank the doctors, nurses, and staff of the Northeast Methodist Hospital in San Antonio for taking good care of Eileen. Also, a big shout out to Eileen's posse, the Wild Bunch. Y'all are the funniest, rowdiest bunch of gals I've ever met, and you have all been wonderful friends to Eileen. Thank-you for your support during this time. Beading party at my house when Eileen is feeling up to it!

The men's bathroom here at the Federal Citizen Information Center has two signs reminding guys to wash their hands. The sign hangers probably should read the recent study that found men aren't as vigilant about hand washing after going to the bathroom as women are, even with signs.

Since I religiously wash my hands after going I ignored the signs until someone pointed out some inconsistencies. For instance one simple sign says wash your hand for 20 seconds and the other says you  need 40 seconds to complete a 12 step hand washing process. The second sign also states that if you don't have any visible dirt on your hands, you should use an alcohol based hand sanitizer. There are now two large bottles of hand sanitizer in our bathroom for this purpose.

Unless you are a doctor, I'm not sure if a 12 step hand washing process is necessary. I did find the part about the hand sanitizer intriguing. I checked to see what the U.S. Centers for Disease Control says and they suggest the 20 seconds of hand washing but they agreed that if your hands aren't visibly dirty, you can use hand sanitizer.

I find this surprising since I've had bad experiences with hand sanitizer. One winter when I was working in a restaurant the owner thought it would be a good idea to have a big hand sanitizer dispenser for the kitchen and waitstaff to use. It worked fine for a while but my and some of my co-workers hands started to break out. I still use hand sanitizer if nothing else is available, but given the choice I will always use old fashioned soap and water.

 How do you clean your hands? Do you use soap and water or sanitizer?