To my Beloved, my mother, father, sisters, brothers, lovers and friends,

I have known you for many years we are connected by birth or love. I have things I want to tell you but we never seem to get to them. I have seen how you watch self help on TV or read self help books. You sometimes share what you have learned from these things, with me. I have listened to you tell me about your latest diet or life change you are making, I have kept silent, I have been patient, waiting for you to ask me about myself and why I live the way I do.

You have seen the changes in me in my face, in my hips in the way I deal with stress. Yet you never ask me what it is that has caused me to make these changes.

We share a common heritage our humanity yet we are different.

We each have our own set of ideas about the world but if we are confronted with the truth are we willing to change? What if those ideas are different then our old belief systems? Are we willing to adjust ourselves to a new set of ideas to really change? I have no hidden agenda.

I want to share my secrets with you. I want to enter my old age with you by my side. I want you to know the things I know so you and I can live happily ever after. Does it sound like a fairy tale? Maybe it is, or maybe you and I could make it a reality.

Have you read Eat Right for Your Type, or Live Right for Your Type? I mean really read it and tested it. I'll bet if Oprah had it on her show you might take a look. Oprah has a hidden agenda, Dr. Oz. I have none.

I remember when we thought mom was dying and we stood beside her bed in the CCU you asked her "Is there anything you would like to tell us?" Hoping for some sort of loving words. I know exactly what I would say to you if you posed the same question of me, I would ask you to try for 3 months the ER way of life. I know in that short period of time you would never want to return to your old eating habits. I know you would lose the weight that you have been struggling with, I know your cholesterol would come down, your digestion would improve, your energy level would increase and your allergies would diminish. How do I know these things? Because I have lived them, I have been down the road you are now traveling.

I will always love you for our bond is stronger then a few words. I am here waiting for the day when you decide that you want me to tell you. I know that day may never come, but like the groom that waits for his bride, I will be ready.

I love you, Andrea

My BTD class is going well. I have two men in my class and am hoping for a third, but he has not shown up yet.

Jack, is 76 years old and struggling with weight and health issues. He is BT O and
what a surprise he has been. Initially he told me he would come for a few weeks to just see what I had to say, and was not sure if he would actually do anything. The first week I gave him the list of O foods (which my mentor LarryC recommended) but, I didn't talk about the lists much. I just figured it was good for him to see what he was stepping into. To my pleasure and surprise he arrived the next week, proclaiming that he had stopped drinking coffee. He told me he had been drinking a pot or two a day. Needless to say his friends were amazed, because his coffee habit is legendary. He had even purchased himself a counter top tea pot to make a quick cup of tea. He also had his book in hand and recitied along with me "Highly Benefcial acts like medicine, Neutral acts like food, Avoid is posion"

Jack is retired and single both have there advantages. He does all his own shopping and cooking and can run his kitchen any way he likes. In addition he has been able to take his time in the supermarket and read labels carefully. After taking the bread he had and throwing it away, (which was another amazing thing he did) he noticed rye on his list. He thought,"Gee,"I'll just pick up some pumpernickel bread, that is made with rye, so I should be able to eat it" he was very surprised to find that true pumpernickel bread does not exist. It is loaded with carmel colors and wheat, so he didn't buy any. He did find something that was 100% rye, but it did not resemble traditional bread.

Mac also a BT O is young and single, his goal is to join the military and have them pay for law school. He too cooks just for himself. He has spent his life struggling with his weight and bouncing between diets. Finally he lost a great deal of weight with Herbalife. Then realized that he can't live on the stuff forever so was looking for a new way to keep the weight off. I spent some time last week with him individually going over the list of foods. He told me that 90% of the food he eats is on the avoid side of the page. He described a cereal made from cornstartch and milk that is a staple of his diet plus the gallon of milk a day he drinks, that is one bad blood transfusion. He too has made great progress in chosing foods from his HB and neutral lists. He has even begun to do some cooking for himself.

I am very excited about my two guys. I can't wait to see what this week brings.

Names have been changed.

I like to listen to NPR radio. They often have little stories that are compelling in nature.

Just this morning the show included a blurb about militiary mothers and the diffuculties they face with long deployments overseas away from their children. They keep in touch with videos, letters and phone calls but the distance still takes its toll on the memory of the child.
The military mothers shared tips on things that have helped them stay in touch with their children. One tip I really liked was the use of scent with perfume or soap. By wearing the scent while they are home with the child they create a strong memory for the child of the mother. Scent is the strongest of the memory triggers. So while they are away the child can relive the memories of the mothers love with a whiff of scent. It comforts both the child and the mother.

I have two great kids.

My oldest daughter is 19 and recently graduated from community college with a 4.0. She received a merit scholarship to CW Post College for $14,000 where she will be studying acconting. An intense profession but one I think she will be well suited for. She is 5'2", only 95 lbs, BT A and a Geno Type Teacher. She has always enjoyed her BT foods and now eats as much as possible by her Geno Type. She is creative in the kitchen given her food choices and will mix unexpected flavors to come up with a unique taste. I will often find her sitting at the kitchen counter savoring some such thing she has made. A big smile on her face. I know that she feels better when she eats well. She loves food in context with the Blood type/Geno Type lifestyle.

My son is 15 blood type O and I believe a Gatherer, he is tall and muscular. He is passionate about skateboarding and cooking TV shows. He will spend hours working on skateboarding tricks till he perfects them. He is my biggest food critic. No matter what I make he has some comment about how to make it better. I often ask him for advice on how to cook a piece of meat. When he doesn't feel well or is paricularly tired he will always ask for meat. He too like my daughter loves his Blood Type food.

I am so glad that I have been able to comunicate a love of the Blood type lifestyle to my children.

Their happiness is my joy.

It wasn't till I was 18 that I started to wear glasses. I probably needed them alot sooner, but didn't realize till I started to drive. When I drove I would veer to the right like a "drunk driver". It was one of my sisters who noticed the problem and told my mom to get my eyes checked. After not passing my drivers test 2 times. My mom finally took me to a vision center.

I can clearly recall that day. It was just one of those quickie mart eyeglass places with the thousand frames on the wall. My mother was a reluctant visitor of doctors so this was a very big deal for her. My father never had health insurance so we just never went to the doctor. If we were sick we went to bed and my mom worried over us.

I had the quickie mart eye exam and got my glasses within an hour. I remember putting them on and walking outside, it was a beautiful spring day with all the trees in bloom, I was amazed at the intensity of the colors. I could now read the street signs and I finally passed my drivers test. I was missing so much of life by not being able to see clearly.

The world is a better place when you can see things clearly.

I visit the BTD forum just about everyday to see the goings on of all my friends.

I particularly like when we get new people who have embraced the BTD. Just about once a month someone will post some study from a health "Guru" that they admire. One in particular that people always seem to come back to is the controversy about soy. Soy like eggs and beef has gotten its fair share of negative publicity. Dr. D'Adamo has addressed this controversy many times in his books and on the internet. He always says that for A's soy is a good thing, just as beef is good for O's. Dr. D'Adamo has special BTD glasses.

I like to tell these people that they need new glasses. They need ones that filter out the one size fits all health studies and commentaries. These glasses will help them see the world differently. They will see more clearly, the world will be a better place once they put on their glasses.

I really like my BTD glasses they give me focus, they help we weed out the information that does not apply to me. I can then keep my attention on what matters for my blood type.

I am what my sister calls a "peeker". She came up with this recently at a family dinner to describe the way I always looked for the Christmas presents my mother had hidden. It is true, I was the one to sneak into my mom's room climb on a chair and search the top of her closet for the presents. I just couldn't resist. My sister on the other hand would cover her ears as I yelled what the presents were. Other holidays were similar, at Easter I always ate my chocolate bunny within a day or so and on my sixteenth birthday I some how knew I was having a surprise party.

Maturity has not changed this, as an adult I still display this behavior. I will read the last chapter of a book to see what happens next and I have even fast forwarded movies to see the end. I always look in the oven before the food is done.

I have always been a peeker I want to see the end.

On Wednesday I start teaching my first BTD class. I am so excited to see who attends and why they decide to come. The blurb about the class was posted on Sunday and on Monday morning I received a call from a gentleman inquiring about the class.

He stated his name and told me that he is 76 years old and has been overweight for over 10 years, could this blood type diet help him? He wasn't sure what his blood type was, would that be a problem? I reassured him that I could test his blood for about $10.00, as for his age and weight being an issue I confidently stated the facts," No, it will not be a problem".

The whole time I am on the phone with him, I am thinking about the future of this overweight 76 year old man who has failed to be able to lose weight, with all the conventional diets. I am trying to read the last chapter of the book and peek into the top of the closet, I want to eat the Easter bunny all in one day. I want to see what he will become given the right tools for his body, I want to peek.