One Purpose Driven Mom

Day 101: Moving On Up

2010-09-23T04:34:00.000-07:00

Purpose Driven Mom is moving to a new home, now that I have figured out WordPress enough to keep myself afloat over there. Plus, I’ve got a brand new domain that I’ve been dying to take for a test drive. So, if you follow me here, please come with me to http://www.thepurposedrivenmom.com/ where I will keep up the daily postings and add pages of recipes and charts and whatever else my purpose-driven neurosis calls for. My new look is a bit pre-fab still, but I will be working on that as time progresses.

I’ll keep this site up for a while longer, but all new posts after today will be on the new site. Eventually, Things, Life, What-Not will merge with DomAndLori.net, but I must first wait-out whatever standard duration exists for a seller to hang on to my expired domain. I hate paying late fees.

Today’s change is highly disturbing to me as a mom, but my usually positive outlook will guide me through it. Victoria has been having major conduct issues at school. Grades are fine, but conduct is atrocious. Talking seems to be her favorite pastime. All along, in the back of my mind has lived the memory of the conference with the school counselor where she briefly mentioned at the end “ADHD.” I have spent four months looking for reasons to either believe or dismiss the suggestion, and trying to alter everything at home that might have a positive impact.

Yesterday before Mass I prayed for a sign. I ask for signs all the time, but I hardly ever expect to get them. Let me rephrase that: I hardly ever recognize them. Yesterday I prayed that God would give me a sign if I needed to pursue this ADHD thing. And then Victoria came home with an unprecedented SEVEN marks in conduct. SEV-VEN. It wasn’t until my exhausted and overworked mind and body hit the pillow last night that I remembered my request for a sign.

So, we will be making appointments for evaluations and following up on whatever in the world this is going to lead us to. I am so conflicted right now. I want to cry and punch things all at the same time. And I totally botched sharing the evaluation idea with Vic. She thinks there is an alien life form living in her brain and when I tried to explain it better, she said again and with as much conviction as the first time, “There is nothing wrong with me.”

My heart is heavy, and I pray that we can wrap our heads around the best way to help Vic. And I hope I am posting very soon about the sunny side to all this Mama Drama.

Day 100: Celebration and Fish

2010-09-22T04:39:00.000-07:00

We finally reached Day 100!! I feel like I should have made cupcakes to celebrate such a momentous occasion. Thanks for reading along and offering thoughts for the journey. You’ve helped make it easier.

Now, on to a matter that has been bugging me for a while and I have yet to address it. This will complete the process of bringing all living creatures within the realm of change. At least, here at our house.

We have a fish tank. Correction. I have a fish tank. I fell in love with it at Petsmart (on sale, of course!) and without any knowledge of fish or the care required, I told Dom that I had to have that tank. The kids were still pre-K-ish in age, and Nemo was all the rage. I envisioned a colorful tank full of vivid characters and hours of relaxing entertainment.

More like a pain-in-the-butt tank with egotistical characters and hours of internet research, not to mention wads – I mean WADS – of money.

I’ll drill this down to the short version of all this experience has taught me. Snails need no partner to reproduce with a vengeance. Clown loaches eat snails, but freak-out sensitive little boys in the process. Plecos can grow to over 10 inches in length and scare the heck out of all their tank mates when they swim fast. Plecos are also nocturnal, so you don’t see the torture going on during the day. There is only one brand of algae killer that works fast, but it has an alternate effect on fish (our Molly swam bent in half for three months after I used the product). Cory catfish can survive just about anything. It is possible to suddenly have 19 baby fish born overnight in your tank. Fish mothers sometimes eat their young. A female fish can hold sperm for up to 6 months before releasing it to impregnate herself. That’s how you come home from the pet store with one female fish and four months later you have babies swimming around. And finally, if you cover yourself in OFF earlier in the day and then have to stick your entire arm into the tank later in the evening, you can effectively kill over half of your fish population. It will take you two days to realize what caused the epidemic.

Now, you’re probably wondering what any of this has to do with positive, healthy change. Well, the fish need some positive, healthy changes too…mostly to their water. See, in the last few years I have not been so regular about cleaning their tank. So much so that when I do clean the tank, we lose many fish to their inability to process clean water through their poor polluted gills.

I have a schedule of tank maintenance all set up in my email system so that I get reminders of when to do this or that. Problem is that I ignore them. And the fish. So, the fish tank is going on the chore chart now as a permanent reminder that FISH DESERVE LOVE TOO. I imagine if my fish had cars, their bumper stickers would say as much.

Day 99: Final Exam and a Lack of Other Thoughts

2010-09-21T04:20:00.000-07:00

I apologize, but I am a bit preoccupied this morning with finishing this darn accounting class. My final exam is scheduled for 8am. While this has consumed the majority of my spare time over the last two months, I don’t feel anywhere near ready to take the test. I have a handy-dandy binder ring full of index cards with formulas on them. Formulas that seem Greek when I look at them. This can’t be a good sign…

I will be back on track tomorrow morning, I promise. I wish you all a wonderful day!

Day 98: Study Guide(lines)

2010-09-20T04:14:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow Dom and I will take the final test of Class 1 toward the accounting credits. I have to admit, rushing around at the end like this has done a number on my attitude toward this idea. We have agreed to take a month off and start back up in November with Class #2, still online and at our own pace. We know the strain of a weeknight class will wreak havoc on more than just our attitudes, so in the better interest of all family members we will again forego that option.

For the next class, we have also agreed to have a more concise schedule in order to prevent us from again ending up right where we are now. One lesson a week; no more. One week to study for each test. This will make the class last 15 weeks and still we will finish in just under half the time allotted to the course. Another month off between courses, and I figure we will end up with just about one class per semester, which is all we could do if we were physically sitting in a lecture hall.

We have also agreed to purchase separate books. We shared this first one. (Isn’t that cozy?) Not only did we have to take turns reading, but I was a cheapskate when I bought the book on eBay, and the seller lied when he said the book was coming from a smoke-free environment. Dom couldn’t tell the book smelled, but it bowled me over every time I opened it. I also decided second-hand workbooks are a bad idea. I really didn’t think I would use the workbook, but it turned out to be a great study tool (go figure). But it does me no good to see other people’s incorrect answers scribbled in my study space.

We will both be so relieved when tomorrow’s test is over and the class requirements are fulfilled, regardless the grades. Suffice it to say we have “learned our lesson.”

Day 97: Catching Up and Following Up

2010-09-19T07:55:00.000-07:00

It occurs to me as I establish new routines and try new products that I am frequently offering to follow up with you and let you know how a certain thing is going. It also occurs to me that I haven’t been very good about actually following up.

So, the blog gets a new habit. (See? Nothing is safe from these changes.) I think it would be a good idea to make one post each week dedicated to follow up – letting you know how successful (or not) a particular change has been. Sound good? Let’s get started…

1. The purse situation. I mentioned this earlier in the week as a way to gently let you know I’m failing miserably at condensing my bag of tote-ables. I’m still very much dependent on the oversized bag with lots and lots of gear. However, I am pleased to report that I have vamoosed several items from the purse. I no longer feel the need to carry clear nail polish, three flavors of dental floss, disposable toothbrushes, cuticle cream, or twelve hair clips. (Day 45)

2. The sandwich bread. I have made two loaves of wheat bread, and the kids declared me a gourmet chef! While it is a little more dense than the store-bought bread, they love it and are using it for their sandwiches. I had to make room for my bread machine to stay on the countertop, which in turn sent the bread box to the pantry. So not only are we getting used to homemade bread, we are also retraining ourselves on where to find it. (Day 84)

3. The “Lunch Box” inside the pantry is filled with items that are only to be used for packed lunches. We have yet to run out of anything that the kids view as pertinent to a satisfying lunch since we implemented this tool. This has been a raging success! (Day 78)

4. Graham Cracker. This bunny of ours is on the attitudinal mend! She is a happy bunny once again now that we have allowed her to claim the playroom as her own. No biting, no ugliness, and no chasing her around the room. She even hops over to us to give sniffs and kisses – all at her own pace. Plus, we close her bedroom door at night and we all sleep soundly. (Days 83 and 87)

5. Breakfast. We are eating breakfast as a family every morning. Victoria and I are both doing well now that it has become more of a habit. We don’t dread early morning food anymore. As a result, I find that I now need more menu options. (Days 2, 72 and 81)

6. Coffee. I’m still on one cup of coffee a day, with the exceptions of weekend afternoons with my mom and dad and nights when I have planned grocery shopping. On occasion when Mabel drinks my coffee for me, then I may end up consuming a cup and a half, but that’s all her fault. ;) I have ditched the herbal coffee (which should not even be allowed to bear the name of coffee!!) and Aaron and I are perfectly content to have a café au lait made from our favorite Starbucks Breakfast Blend in the mornings. I have let go of my caffeine paranoia… for now. (Days 73 and 74)

7. Deodorant. Mom convinced me to buy one of those crystal things that you run under water and then apply. There is no scent, no residue, no apparent sign that you have applied anything. But it works. I must say that is the most surprisingly rewarding $3.49 I have ever spent. It takes a little longer to apply, but it is so very worth it! (Day 64)

8. Grocery Shopping. I am still in a proverbial hell on this one. I am stopping at four grocery stores and spending about 33% more than budget. BUT, I am buying all the things we need and use – mostly organic, all of them natural – and I am not over-buying anything. (Except maybe the Newman-O’s. Those sure are good!!!) (Days 17, 61, and 62)

9. Putting the Kitchen to Bed. We were doing okay with this change for a little while, but we relapsed into old habits and before we knew it, the countertop was littered with school papers and junk mail again for days on end. This makes it harder to have a successful breakfast cooking experience, so we will refocus our energy on this one. (Day 23)

10. Mommy and Daddy Chores. I resurrected the chore chart and stuck with it for a little while, but Dom wasn’t feeling it, so I tossed the chore chart in a moment of self-righteous “I-didn’t-post-this-on-the-fridge-for-my-health” tirades. Then I saw Mabel-fur sitting atop a baseboard corner, and grimaced. I printed another chore chart, and decided to shore up my own efforts. (Day 20)

I think I almost caught us up. I’ll try to give each new change about two weeks before reporting on its status, and I’ll reserve my Sunday posts for this purpose.

Have a great purpose-driven week!! :)

Day 96: The Return of Good Hair (‘Bout Time!)

2010-09-18T20:51:00.000-07:00

I am prone to bad hair days as a consequence of my own self-denial. I will get my hair cut three times a year at most. (That’s a really selfish year, people. Twice is usually the limit.) No, I am not proud of this fact. I feel like a ragamuffin most of the time as a result. My hair goes from an almost too-short coif to a perfect length and blend of layers, to a slightly too-long look, and ultimately to a ragged mop which I casually and repeatedly pile into a hair claw. I manage to cut the hairs that annoy me on my own periodically, which drives hairdressers crazy. It is at the point of sheer desperation five to six months after the professional haircut that I will finally relent and plop down $50 for a new ‘do.

Why do I do this? I’m not entirely sure, but I think it has something to do with being Mom and knowing I could more easily buy the kids new socks and books and BPA-free water bottles than schedule two-hours of regular grooming for myself. Perhaps not the healthiest habit, and definitely one of the hardest to break.

So, do I think I’m suddenly going to be able to schedule a standing bi-monthly appointment? Um, no. I can only promise to work on it. But I do have some really good, much-less-expensive news to report on the hair front. I have settled on a shampoo product and sequence. (Yay!!)

I liked the post on Tending the Garden where the author had been successfully using Dr. Bronner’s Castile Soap for shampoo, followed by Apple Cider Vinegar for conditioner. I liked her post so much, I tried it myself for a couple of weeks. It didn’t go as well for me. First of all, some days my hair would be dry, and other days it would seem too oily. During the hair washing, I frequently read the shampoo bottle. Dr. Bronner’s bottles are COVERED in information which makes me curious as to Dr. Bronner’s religion. Anyhoo…I read that the soap is made of all these organic oils.

Dear goodness! We are back to putting oil in my hair. Did I learn NOTHING the first time?!!! So I have relegated Dr. Bronner’s to being body wash which, if you do not dilute it, produces great bubbles. Score one for finding a new soap!

But the hair was still an issue, and the ACV as conditioner was doing nothing for me. And then it hit me. All the ACV I have been reading about related to Bragg’s Organic Apple Cider Vinegar, which I spied at Drug Emporium this week for nearly half-off. What an amazing difference between Bragg’s and any other store brand. It’s thicker, sweeter smelling, and actually LOOKS like apple cider. (No, it doesn’t take too much to impress me these days…it just takes a lot to get my attention.)

I really liked Dom’s organic shampoo by Giovanni, so I bought more of that for both of us to use, and mixed up some Bragg’s ACV in my spray bottle to use as conditioner. Voila! I’ve been doing that for the past three mornings, and I have had great hair each day!

Now, just watch. My hair will decide two days from now that it is too long and I’ll be married to the hair claw and trying to schedule an appointment. I’d better find fifty bucks just in case…

Day 95: Laundry List

2010-09-17T04:29:00.000-07:00

Last night when I returned home from a meeting I fiddled around on the computer for a while, trying to design a cartoon Me and Kim for the masthead of another blog. So, I didn’t get around to making sure that whatever I was going to wear this morning was clean.

Naturally, the only jeans that fit were stuffed into a laundry basket under dirty towels. Grrreat. I huffed as I gathered all the jeans and some stray towels and rushed back downstairs to toss them in the washer. And then it hit me.

Mama’s got a brand new detergent!

Suddenly, this late night laundry idea had some potential. I tried out a new eco-friendly and skin-safe liquid detergent called Ecos. Bought it yesterday on one of the many grocery runs. Kroger on Youree sells it, as does Sunshine Health Foods. I bought the Magnolia and Lily scent. I will keep you posted on the family reaction.

In other news, today Miss Mabelline celebrates her second Barkday (that’s Birthday in dog-speak). So, without further adieu:

Haaaaaapy Birthday to Youuuuuuu
Haaaaaapy Birthday to Youuuuuuu
Haaaaaapy Birthday deeeeeeeear mischievous-evil-doer-yet-totally-adorable-when-she’s-sleepy-and-repentantly-puppy-faced Maaaaaaabel.
Haaaaaaaaaaaappy Birthdaaaaaaaaay to youuuuuuuuuuu

And many more!

Woof-Woof!! (That’s from Mason.) ;)

Day 94: Wish In One Hand...

2010-09-16T04:41:00.000-07:00

I’m sitting at the computer monitor this morning wishing I could remember my drifting-off-to-sleep-thoughts last night where I brainstormed a great blog post. I can’t even remember which blog it was supposed to be for, but I do recall being quite pleased with my mental draft and then rolling over to sleep soundly.

I can’t help that my brain was more active than my body and the resulting decision NOT to go downstairs and type this life-altering thought has now cost the world some seriously good advice. Or laughs. Or whatever I had planned.

And while I’m sitting here wishing I could remember my own thoughts, Mabel is barking at the door. 6:15 in the morning is not the time for her to be barking, so I hoist myself up from the desk and walk through the kitchen and into the garden room to let her in.

I open the door and she looks up at me. Within half a second, she has turned on all four paws, and is sprinting across the yard to attack Mason, who insists on walking the full perimeter of our yard before coming inside.

I close the door and walk away. Back through the garden room, through the kitchen and into the office. I plop down in the chair.

Woof! Woof! Woof-woof-woof!!!!!

I want to call her names. I want to smack her cute little nose and explain to her that asking for something repeatedly and then putting the giver on hold is rude and socially unacceptable.

She does not care.

So today, with last night’s wit and wisdom merely a faint memory, I offer not really a change, but a wish that Mabel would change. Or at least that she would have the decency to come inside when I open the door at her request.

Day 93: Wrestling My Receipts

2010-09-15T04:33:00.000-07:00

Hi. My name is Lori and I am a receipt hoarder.

I don’t mean to hoard them, and I am more than willing to get rid of them once the amount has cleared the bank. BUT… I must admit that I am a bit like PigPen from Peanuts…remember the cloud of funk that followed him around? Imagine that to be a cloud of tiny paper receipts. Now you see me.

A week or so ago I was asking the kids to help me switch between four purses (I’m still trying to get adjusted on the purse situation, and presently alternate between large and small. Why four purses all of a sudden? I really have no answer for that.)

Anyhoo, while emptying one purse Victoria asked, “What do we do with all these little papers?!”

“Stuff them into the little white purse.”

“Oh, Mom. Really??”

I gave her The Look. “Yes, really. That way I’ll know where they are.”

She shrugged and commenced stuffing.

Now, aside from the terrible lesson I just taught my daughter about (im)proper use of purses, I now have a purse I can’t use until I clear it of all the receipts. And the worst part is, it’s a white purse which I likely won’t carry again until next spring. So, I fear the receipts will still be waiting for me in the spring.

You heard me. It’s happened before.

I determined this weekend that I need one of those desktop scanner things that keeps and categorizes all your random papers, receipts included. It looks so nice and compact. I have not researched how much they are, though. Now, the problem would not be the new scanner. The problem is that I already have two perfectly functional flatbed scanners attached to this very computer. Two.

I think I need professional help.

I am going to make an honest effort this week to scan my receipts on my existent flatbeds and see what format is produced in order to determine if it is worth making this a permanent practice. If it takes more effort than stuffing the receipts into some obscure purgatory, then I fear I may not keep up the habit.

And my cloud of tiny paper will continue to follow me.

Day 92: Just a Little Moment of Ahhhhhhh…

2010-09-14T04:13:00.000-07:00

I learned something this weekend. Something I already knew, but just needed a little reminder when things got rough.

As I mentioned on Sunday, I made THE SCHEDULE for our weekends, at which every eye rolled. Great. Mom’s got another idea. It looked for about an hour as if I had made a dreadfully devastating decision to schedule our precious personal free-time, rest-time, whatever-you-want-to-do-this-weekend time. Whatever everyone else thought, I thought I had stepped in it BIG TIME.

While my family rolled their eyes, I rolled out the schedule with my most cheerful, “isn’t-this-a-great-idea” voice. Weekend breakfasts (yes, I’m even giving up sleeping in), a couple of hours of chore time, some game time, lunch time, some reading and relaxing time, a little more game time, more chore time, homework time, dinner time, evening chore time, and - last but not least – a final dose of game time.

So why all the sad faces? Why the betrayed looks that say I just took what little bit of happiness these people had and crushed it into the dirt? Why the misty eyes when I say, “we’re gonna chill on the games for just a bit so we can focus on healthier things…”??

Why? Because we LOVE you. (sing along…)

Despite an hour of gloomy looks and hung heads, despite my cajoling and annoying pep talks, despite my final exasperated OH-I-GIVE-UP!, before the day was over I was reminded why I love these people so much. They really do get it. They may not always like it, but they get it. The importance of these changes is not lost on them.

Shortly after a rather quiet lunch, Aaron eyed the schedule and began looking for a book to read. He settled on Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, which I had recently replaced following Mabel’s attempt to read, er, eat Harry. I loaded up both of their iPods with the audio version so they could follow along, and for the next two hours both kids were engrossed in reading. Did you catch that? EN-GROSSED!!!! After reading, they helped with the laundry and after an hour of well-deserved gaming, they followed up with evening chores and bedtime.

It was at bedtime that I realized what an amazing impact we have on each other in these four walls. Aaron threw his arms around me and said, “I love you Mommy. I had a great day today. Reading was super fun and I like the changes you’re making.”

And all I could muster while blinking REALLY fast was, “Thanks, sweetie. I definitely love you too! SOOOOOOOOO MUCH!!”

Day 91: GEE-mail

2010-09-13T04:24:00.000-07:00

I’m a pretty tidy email user. When actively involved in an email account, such as the one at work, you will find that I limit my inbox messages to only those that I need to deal with currently. Any messages that I need to save get put into handy folders with appropriate follow-up tags. If a message has no further active use, but needs to be saved for potential future reference, it gets PDF’ed and put on the server for access by those who may need it. My inbox usually has 1-15 messages in it. If I top 20, I panic and start cleaning out. This, of course, relates mostly to my email at work.

I am not this good at home. (Jill is smiling right now!!)

My email at home could be renamed OMG-mail because I have so much of it. I have made strides in the last few days to clean up my inbox, which had an atrocious 79 messages in it. The problem (as best I can identify it) is that when I find good sites for natural living and recipes and such, I subscribe! I have subscribed to so much stuff that I now have an inordinate amount of subfolders in order to categorize all of the information I’m receiving. It’s good information. And someday, I’ll have the time to read it.

I need to go through the mailbox and move all recipes into another format. At some point in the near future when this site gets moved over to WordPress and has its own domain (soon to be ThePurposeDrivenMom.com) I will store recipes here. (Won’t that be FUN?!) Then they won’t be taking up room in my mailbox. And seriously, how much good can a recipe do from inside my e-mailbox? Zilch. Zero. Zip.

Movin’ on…I need to clear out all email items from the last two school years. Cheer calendars, teacher correspondence and Accelerated Reader email reports. Seriously? Yes. I have kept them all.

It is now increasingly necessary, as I clear clutter from my everyday life, to clear out the mailbox and get it to a nice trim size once again. It will take some serious dedication to the task. You know what they say about Rome...

Day 90: What About the Weekend?

2010-09-12T10:30:00.000-07:00

It has been relatively easy (with a few bumps along the way) to schedule our weekday chores and changes and make sure they get done. The weekend is another matter. Weekends are supposed to be carefree and relaxing; that is their very nature. For me, weekends are a huge string of pearls – dots of time that I can fill with many more chores and projects than the weekdays can hold.

Or not.

As we tend to leave our weekends “unplanned,” we also tend to get sidetracked very easily and then all the things I wanted to do just fade into the background. Don’t get me wrong, we do manage to accomplish certain tasks and keep things in balance for the most part around the home, but we rarely accomplish all that I have imagined for the two days of “rest.”

I realize that in order to accomplish all that I want to in a weekend, I am going to need three distinct things:

1) A written plan. Believe it or not, I find that if it is written, I am much more likely to follow through. Hence the menus and the chore charts.

2) A set time to rise. This goes against all that I hold dear for the weekend. I spend most of my days waking at 5:00 and convincing myself that it is only X days until the weekend when I will be able to sleep late. Dangling that carrot all week works to get my tired butt out of bed on time. But on the weekend when I sleep late (8-ish) then there seems to be precious little time to accomplish anything and the day slips away before I know what’s hit me. There have been a few Saturdays when I have begrudgingly risen around 6am in order to deal with children – furry and otherwise – and I find that those days are actually my most productive. I rolled out at 8:30 today. Guess what that means…

3) Cooperation of the family members. Mostly, this will take some convincing on the part of the kids. Weekends are their chill time, too. No homework, lots of play time… Too much play time, in fact. We need a kid schedule for the weekends. Time to game, time to read, time to work…but I have to remember to allow some flexibility in there too.

Since Fall is fast approaching, I may start a two-sided schedule. One side for activities and projects outside if weather permits, and the other side for indoor projects if the weather keeps us in. Heh heh heh…just when I thought I’d limit my list-making…

Day 89: The Gaming Gottas

2010-09-12T08:11:00.000-07:00

I do believe I have had my fill of video games. And I don’t even play them. I played once with Aaron and Victoria about three weeks ago. There was a lot of drama over needing two players and Vic was ready to bow out. But Aaron would not be able to save the current “progress” in the game if she quit at that point, and he was MIFFED! Dom, who would normally opt in, was at the office for some weekend work. So I offered. To play. Ugh.

The game was Super Mario Brothers, and I was to be Luigi (always second fiddle!). I knew Vic had played alone earlier and I asked her how she did it. She explained that she just put Luigi in a bubble and dragged him along. If you play Mario at all, this means something to you. If you don’t, then you are wearing the same look on your face that I was wearing on mine. Bubble???

Yes, if one player is in a bubble, he is safe from all harm. But he is not available to assist if the other player gets into trouble, at which point the game is over. So it’s a double-edged sword, this bubble idea. Vic is totally okay with that because she does not put a lot of stock into the points or the winning, she just likes to play. So if she has to start over a million times, no biggie. She’s just having fun. Aaron is more, well, DRIVEN.

We began to play and the phone rang. It was Dom. Vic answered and explained to him with great amusement that “Mommy is playing Super Mario with Aaron!!! It’s so funny!!!” Once I was handed the phone, I could hear Dom laughing as he confirmed, “So, you’re playing the game? How’s that going?” (snicker, snicker)

“We’ve been playing for 45 seconds and I have died twice. I suck at this!”

Dom, on the other hand, loves playing the game with the kids. He’s good at it. They got the short end of the stick when they asked me to play, and it was soon very evident. About twenty minutes into the game, Aaron suggested, “Mommy, maybe you should just get in your bubble!”

And that’s pretty much how it is with me and video games. They’re just not my thing. So I find it hard to understand how my kids can play as long as they can and STILL not want to stop when I make them take a break. Aside from Mario on the Wii, there are iPod games and DSi games, so they are never without some form of competitive entertainment. All good, I’m sure, but I sometimes think I need more structure on game time.

Dom and I stop the games and force the kids outside on pretty days. We stop the games to make them get ready for church. We stop the games to have them bring the laundry down. We stop the games so we can eat a meal as a family. We’re stopping these games a bit too much in my opinion. For the sake of our weekend sanity, which the kids think they have no vested interest in, game time is about to get limited considerably.

Then perhaps I will stop hearing the Mario tune in my dreams.

Day 88: Managing Monkey Ears

2010-09-10T04:37:00.000-07:00

So far, the only one in our home who has not been affected by our recent positive, healthy changes is Mason. Masonite. Monkey. The Monk. The Monk-meister. Monkasaurus Rex. Funky Monkey. Yella Dog. Big Yella. Old Man. Flop Ear.

(He is known by many names. Except "Frank." He never would answer to “Frank.”)

He has been laying low these past 88 days! His changes came way early when he was about 5 and we noticed that he was scratching his nose to pieces as the obvious reaction to an allergy. His food was changed at that point, and he has been happy and healthy ever since.

With one small exception...the ears. Mason has chronic ear infections. Like, every single time it rains! His ears account for most of our trips to the vet. To give you some veterinary insight here, dogs with large, floppy ears often do not get enough air circulation to keep the ear canal dry, especially in very humid or rainy weather and after baths. Dogs whose ears stand straight up do not suffer this problem. And not all floppy-eared dogs suffer, either. Mabel has yet to experience ear drama. But Mason…poor, poor Mason.

We have been through so many kinds of antibiotics that our vet used to send cultures of Mason’s ear dirt to the vet school in Baton Rouge to determine what antibiotic would work best. We have given Mason daily injections at home to clear up infections at times. Now that he is 10 years old, if you even say the word ears, he begins to hang his head and look for an escape. Same reaction if he sees me with a cotton ball in my hand.

The point of all this in light of my project here is that we are going to clean Mason’s ears much more regularly now rather than waiting for an infection to creep up on us. I don’t know that it will prevent an infection, but it can’t hurt. Lately when his ears are infected, one ear canal swells up so badly that I can’t get medicine down into it. So, despite whatever proactive measures we might have taken in the past, we are going to make determined efforts now to keep those ear canals healthy. Weekly cleanings are on the schedule.

Sorry, Monk.

Day 87: Somebunny Sure Is Noisy!

2010-09-09T04:29:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned earlier this week, Graham now lives in the playroom upstairs. She loves the playroom. She’s happy again, so I really hate to find anything wrong with her new surroundings. But her new room shares a wall with my bedroom. And she is not a quiet bunny!

The geniuses who built our home fifty years ago apparently had no regard for insulation. No insulation between rooms; no insulation between us and the outdoors. None. We have added as much insulation as we can. And now, I just wish we had it between the interior walls to act as a noise barrier. Two nights ago, Dom and I were hanging out in the office downstairs when we heard this thump thump thump. Dom looked concerned, and I explained, “It’s just Graham.”

“That can’t be Graham! That was loud!!”

“I know! It’s Graham, trust me. She’s either biting the sides of her cage or trying to rip her water bottle down. She’s loud, I tell ya.”

“But she’s too far away from us right now. That noise can’t be her.”

“She’s technically right over our heads. It’s her.”

Fast forward to last night. I am usually a very sound sleeper. It almost takes a freight train to wake me up now that I’ve known for several years that the kids are breathing all through the night. But last night was different. Last night, Graham decided to wrestle her water bottle – metal on metal on rabbit teeth. ALL. NIGHT. LONG.

I woke up at least four times during the night to Graham’s racket. As they say here in the south, that dog just won’t hunt. I have to make some sort of change, but I’m not sure what exactly, short of banishing Graham to the downstairs at night, which will mean toting her back and forth. That will probably stress her out again and defeat the progress we have made toward rescuing her attitude. At the very least, her bedroom door is getting closed tonight. I may have to investigate an alternative water bottle that she can’t wrestle with. Or a sound-proof cover for her cage. Do they even make such a thing??

If you have any suggestions for solution, just like our wascally wabbits, I’m all ears.

Day 86: EEP! I Get to Have a Garden!!

2010-09-08T04:17:00.000-07:00

Since reading and learning all about foods and our consumption of them, I have nurtured a desire to have my own vegetable garden. But, given my past experience with wilted, non-watered plants (remember Day 75?) and the fact that we have a plethora of other plans for our backyard, I had no idea if this garden idea would even fly with Dom. I pitched it as we sat outside enjoying some cool September shade this weekend (shade which didn’t last long enough, if you ask us!)

Dom was all for the idea of growing our own vegetables. I am so excited about researching ways to make sure my veggies include all the nutrients they are supposed to have. I recently learned that most of our veggies have decreased in nutritional value over the last 60 years…by like, 70%. Is that scary, or what? Broccoli isn’t as healthy as it used to be because mass-producers are just interested in getting a big, pretty crop and they’ll stop at nothing to achieve that which will sell. And of course, we’re going to buy the bigger, redder tomato even though it tastes like cardboard because that’s how we’ve been trained to shop. It’s really just a sad, sad shame.

But back to my veggie garden… Dom suggested where we should plant the garden, based on the sunshine in our yard and our future plans for other portions of our yard. I get to plan a 12x5 garden where I hope to grow tomatoes, green beans, squash, herbs, cucumbers, and whatever else strikes our fancy.

This will make handy use of the extra landscape bricks we have leftover from last summer. Dom agreed with my idea of spending the fall and winter preparing the soil so that we can begin planting for the spring season. We will start removing sod in one section of the yard next month, and I’ll take pictures all along the way. And I want to do it up right! So I’ve asked Santa for a composter and some organic gardening supplies for Christmas.

And yes, I’ll need a decorative fence to keep the Mabel-meister at bay!!

Day 85: Dinner Dilemma

2010-09-07T04:28:00.000-07:00

I’m trying to determine how to make planning the dinner menus a little more exciting. Things will brighten up when the weather snaps and I get to start making stews and chowders and such, but for now, things are pretty ho-hum.

Lasagna lands on my menu religiously. At least every ten days. Portabella mushroom burgers, while totally enjoyable, are becoming a weekend mainstay. And then there’s a casserole of some sort on every month’s menu that I can’t wait to try, and then have way too much of.

I need a fresh plan to get me through the last hot days of summer. Since I found George, I’ve been getting his emails regularly and he has some pretty amazing recipes – easy to prepare and full of good ingredient suggestions. Between Holly Klegg, Health Magazine and Southern Living I can usually find new and interesting recipes. But seeing those yellow page flags sticking out of every book and magazine I own is sometimes overwhelming, and I need a new game plan. While it hasn’t been a determined habit as yet, I think I will settle on one new recipe per week and slip it into my menu amidst my staple recipes. This may spice things up a bit.

I also need to start a new habit of READING A RECIPE ALL THE WAY THROUGH before deciding when to cook it. For instance, I had Pork Tender Wellington on the menu for this week. Thought I’d prepare it early and freeze it until time to eat. So, I pulled the pork tenderloin out of the freezer, got it nice and thawed and then read the recipe to pull all my other ingredients together.

This is the moment I learned that the tenderloin freezes uncooked. Helloooooo. I can’t thaw meat and refreeze it before it’s cooked!! Which means that this recipe is going to have to be prepared fresh from the grocery store. Ugh.

So the tenderloin got smothered in a bottle of Coors Light and tossed back into the fridge to sleep. In a few moments, I’ll throw it in the crock pot where it will become pulled pork for tonight. Talk about improvising!

Day 84: Bread, Bread, and More Bread

2010-09-06T12:54:00.000-07:00

I have too much bread. Bread is expensive. Therefore, I must have too much expensive bread.

I do not buy gourmet bread varieties fresh from my local bakery, lest you get the wrong impression of me here on Day 84. I buy one loaf of whole wheat, and one loaf of white wheat (all Nature’s Own brand) straight off the shelf, and I giggle to myself when I find them on sale at WalMart. Aaron LOVES wheat bread, and Victoria is a white bread kind of girl. However, you may recall from the few days before school started when I referenced the kids using Sandwich Thins for their lunch sandwiches so they wouldn’t have to cut the crust off. I now buy those by the literal dozen.

So I gotta wonder: what all goes into a loaf of bread? How many preservative ingredients are used to keep it fresh on the shelf until I find it on sale? And then, with all that little $2.79 loaf has been through, the cashier stuffs it into a bag with my 59-cent canned goods. Arrrggghhhhhhhh.

I’ve decided to try something new, and I hope it flies. I am going to start making my own bread. I found organic flour last week, and picked up several yeast packets. I have a bread machine, so it’s not like you’ll drop by and find me covered in flour, kneading my little heart out at my kitchen countertop. Bread machine bread makes taller, more square-shaped loaves. I think this will keep the kids’ sandwiches from losing half their size with the cutting of the crust. And two whole bread machine loaves will definitely fit in my bread box.

I am headed into the kitchen now to make the first loaf. Wish me luck.

Day 83: Graham on Probation: Going Once, Going Twice…

2010-09-06T07:37:00.001-07:00

Last Thursday night was ultra traumatic. Aaron and Victoria presented themselves in the office as I was preparing a new post on my other blog, and Victoria announced that Aaron didn’t want Graham anymore.

“She scratched me when I was just trying to feed her!” Aaron protested through tears. And then, sobbing, “I don’t want Graham anymore!” He collapsed into my arms and continued to sob buckets.

Poor boy. Graham has become aggressive to the point of worrying me. I mean, she’s a bunny rabbit, so I could so totally take her, but she would do me some damage first. I reached into her cage about a week ago to pick her up and play with her, and she jumped from my grasp. I reached again, and she scurried around the cage, sending food flying in three directions. Given her aggressive behavior, I did not want to let her win this one, so I reached one more time. Lightning fast, she bit the heck out of my knuckle, striking a blood vessel and causing intense pain to the back of my hand. Although she didn’t really break the skin, there were literal TEETH MARKS in my hand!!! The bruise lasted five days. I was peeved, to say the least.

Two days later, she bit Aaron though she did not leave a mark on him. She hits with her paws, scratches, and generally acts a fool. There’s another word for her attitude. Five letters, starts with a “B” and it ain’t bunny!! I asked Aaron to explain the circumstances of the biting so I would understand Graham’s nature and intent in Aaron’s particular situation. I don’t think the bunnies have much going on upstairs, so I feel all of their reactions are instinctively defensive. But still. The darn thing bit my kid. Yet even when Graham had bitten him, Aaron explained to me, “It’s okay, Mommy. I still love her.”

So I completely understood his enormous heartbreak Thursday over Graham’s (possibly final) betrayal. As I explained to Dom, Aaron has taken care of that rabbit, risked limbs to feed and water her, stood up for her defense, and loved her through every tantrum. And now, here he is, realizing that it is all for nothing. Graham has no intention of giving back to Aaron the love he bestows on her. It’s a one-way street to the heartbreak hotel. I ached for him as his sobs ebbed and flowed. He is grieving the sweet pet that Graham couldn’t be. He painted her portrait in art camp this year, he had plans to write a paper about her in class, and he even considered the possibility of a rabbit science fair project. He did not say as much, but I am certain that each of those thoughts crept through his mind as I held him, and were the catalyst for each new wave of tears.

I assured Aaron that he would not have to make any decisions permanent right then. We would move Graham from his bedroom and determine later how to respond to the situation. I want Aaron to feel that he has control of the situation. He’s been betrayed by a pet, and right now he seems willing to cut his losses. With both kids crying over the thought of sending Graham back to the pet shop (will they take her back?) I wished so badly that we had just stuck with fish and dogs.

But, once again, God bless the Internet! I found the House Rabbit Society who offer advice for rabbit owners. Honing in on the article about aggressive behavior, I learned many things about our Graham Cracker. I learned that most of the things we are doing are triggering a frightened behavior in Graham that CAN be modified. Things like reaching into her cage, with our arms near her face…rabbits are farsighted, and when all they can distinguish is this blurry hand reaching toward them, they might freak out a bit. I guess I would too, really. As long as Graham does not feel safe in our home, she will continue to act out. So we have to alter our behavior in order to impact Graham’s.

More household changes in the works: I have now cleared out the playroom of as much clutter as I could, reorganized the remaining clutter, and barricaded all cords and dangerous chewables. Graham can now play as long as she wants all over the playroom, even enjoying her new favorite: burrowing in a sleeping bag. We have changed the manner in which we feed and water Graham, taking care to clean her cage while she is out of it and enjoying her playtime. Then, when she realizes that there is fresh hay in her cage, she willingly goes back in and the door is shut. No more trying to chase a rabbit all over the room, scaring her and wounding us.

Aaron is thrilled to know this is no longer a lost cause - that we can keep Graham and work toward changing her behavior by first changing our habits. She already seems happier. Here’s to positive change and a happy, healthy Graham Cracker!

Day 82: To-Do’s by the Twos

2010-09-04T18:13:00.000-07:00

If you know me well, then you understand my penchant for over-scheduling myself to the point of becoming overwhelmed by my own ToDo lists. Though not clinically diagnosed, I truly feel that I can combine AR and OCD in such a way that even shrinks would shiver.

Ok, that may be a bit of an exaggeration.

But still. I feel that I may be over-analyzing things and trying to squeeze in so much positive change that the result will be devastatingly negative. So, in keeping with the spirit of the blog, I will make an honest effort to change even that to which I have subscribed in the spirit of change when I see it heading in the wrong direction.

Isn’t having the ability to change your mind – and your direction – a wonderful thing?

I want to go to bed at a decent time in order to get plenty of quality rest, but I have so much to do in the evenings, and I try to schedule and cram as much “work” into my evenings as possible. When the kids were small, I could only do such work after their bedtime. Now that they are relatively self-sufficient, I have about two more hours per evening. It is amazing what I can find to do to fill the time...and still run out of time.

No task ever takes only the amount of time I allot to it. I get submerged, sidetracked, and sucked in to a myriad of other tasks in the simple effort to complete one task. So I have taken stock, and I have noted that each “project” I intend to complete takes about 30 minutes to an hour. If I try to cram three or four projects into an evening, I go to bed late and disappointed that I didn’t finish everything. How helpful is that?

Starting now, I am limiting myself to two projects an evening. Yes, this means that it will take me longer to check off my ToDo lists, but if I was so great at checking them off in the first place, I wouldn’t be sharing this with you now.

When I am faced with dilemmas such as this, I hear my sister-in-law’s voice. At the end of Aaron’s first PreK year, when he was merely 3 years old, I had amassed a laundry basket full – I mean F-U-L-L – of his drawings, coloring papers, and craft projects from the school year. Determined to make it all into a neat little scrapbook, I asked for Kasie’s help. She took one look at my basket and said, “You know this isn’t all going in the book, don’t you?”

Come again????

“Lori, OMG! Half of this doesn’t even reflect HIM. How much imagination did it take to color this picture of a pumpkin? I mean REALLY!”

While I choked back fear, Kasie systematically perused the papers and crafts and pointed out reasons to keep those which were worthy, and reasons to ditch those which were not. She taught me to look for Aaron’s input and imagination in each paper and project, and not save something just because – woo hoo – he used scissors for the fifteenth time. She asked me over and over again, “What is this going to mean to you twenty years from now when you’re going through your attic?”

She taught me more than she realizes. From that single experience, I learned to look for true personal value in the things I want to keep and do. And, as is my nature, I get sidetracked and have to be reminded every once in a while that I’m focusing on the wrong thing.

Which brings me back to my original point. I cannot put true valuable effort into any project if I am spread too thin, especially if I get a bad attitude as a result. I can still impact the areas of my life that I want to impact. But I am going to pace myself. And if my two projects an evening end up consuming only half an hour, then I have an hour and a half left to relax. And I do believe I could use some forced relaxation!

So what is this going to mean to me twenty years from now when I’m going through my attic? Hopefully it will mean that I took enough time on my own well-being, that it allowed me the ability to take better care of the people and things I value.

Day 81: Breaking Morning Bread

2010-09-03T04:47:00.000-07:00

Some things take some tweaking before they start to fall into place. As I mentioned a few days ago, Vic and I have to be better about eating breakfast. Then I started thinking, if breakfast is in fact “the most important meal of the day,” then shouldn’t the entire household be eating breakfast? Not just the kids, or me and the kids, but me AND Dom AND the kids. Ahhhh, something else to plan!! (You know this means another list! (or maybe not. I am discovering that too many lists make me weary. Who’d’a thunk it?))

I’ve decided that our morning routine is open enough to include breakfast for the entire family at 7:00. And I generally mean a cooked breakfast. Tuesday we had pancakes - some with chocolate chips in them. And they were mighty good!! As we sat down to bless our breakfast, Victoria asked why we were blessing it at all. As she explained after seeing our bewildered looks, “We only say the blessing at dinner!”

Well, now you see my shortcomings.

So I explained to my darling daughter that we should say the blessing every time we eat, not just at dinner. I think this breakfast thing will have two benefits: 1) everyone eating a good meal to start the day, and 2) more family time and table-talk. More opportunities to share ritual and routine with these people who mean the very most to me. I have noticed that routine supplies peace and calm to the home. It gives the kids a sense of comfort, and quite frankly it keeps me from sailing head-first off the deep end.

True, this makes for another menu to plan, but I’m up for it. Anything that makes us slow down and enjoy each other is alright by me!

Day 80: Readjusting the 'Tude

2010-09-02T04:34:00.000-07:00

I feel bad for starting out as such a grump yesterday morning. I’m much better now. All it takes is a little focus on all that we have to be grateful for, and then suddenly being over-budget on groceries is really no big deal. I thought I’d post a quick follow-up to share some good news from my grocery trips:

1. Drug Emporium is beginning to stock Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day products. I couldn’t see prices yet, but I’m thrilled that more stores are selling these items. For what it’s worth, I think I have determined that Drug Emporium is less expensive on body and beauty products, and more expensive on food (even though their food selection ROCKS). Just a little “lagniappe FYI.”

2. Kashi’s Mayan Harvest Bake frozen entrée is A-MAZ-ING. Hungry Girl referenced this one day a few weeks ago, so I picked one up at the store shortly thereafter. It sat in my freezer for a while before I decided to dig in. Given the fact that I couldn’t readily identify much besides the sweet potatoes without reading the box, I wasn’t too sure I was going to feel all the love HG had for this entree. I was so wrong. This is a must have!! Go buy it. Now.

3. Mom turned me on to organic oreos. I kid you not. I wasn’t too sure about them myself. I mean, I’m the girl who just tried herbal coffee, and we all know where that got me. But Dom got to try the cookies first, and he came home raving about them. So I bought a couple of packs. I just got to try my first Newman-O at lunch yesterday. OHH. EMM. GEE. These cookies ROCK. (I can’t wait to dip them in milk.)

4. I ended up buying a crate of sorts for the lunchbox items in the pantry. The kids love the idea, and they both think the huge purple crate is way cool.

5. Although not a grocery matter, yesterday was Picture Day at school. For the first time ever, I styled Vic’s hair really cute. There were no tears, no yelling, and no monster tangles. We were done in a record two minutes. I should have thrown a party right then and there.

6. Tying the hair styling to the groceries, I bought Aaron a new spray bottle for his hair. We have misplaced the original bottle. Plain water helps him style his hair and tame the “duck tail” at his crown. Not that he cares, mind you. He’d go to school in PJs with bed-head if we let him!

7. The dogs have a new stock of Milk Bones, so Mabel will once again get a treat for “kenneling” herself. She was starting to take offense at the lack of treats, I think.

8. I scored some Dr. Bronner’s castile soap and apple cider vinegar for my hair. Today is Day 1 of seeing how this new shampoo procedure goes.

All in all, there were more successes than failures with this grocery run, and I must remember to stay focused on what WORKED rather than get mired down in what didn’t. Time to recall The Little Engine that Could and keep on chugging along.

Day 79: Grumble, Grumble, Grrrrrrrrrrr

2010-09-01T04:40:00.000-07:00

I generally like to hang out in the No Whining zone, but I’m making an exception this morning. Yesterday wreaked havoc on my mood, and I haven’t shaken it. I will get past it, don’t get me wrong. It’s just that right now I want to go back to bed and sleep until mid-September. Here’s the scoop on yesterday:

I went to four grocery stores…again. Two of them, I visited during the lunch hour. I bought all kinds of cool things for the kids, like organic gummy bears and organic gummy multi-vitamins. I bought two bars of seriously dark chocolate for me. I managed to bring the chocolate into the office with me so it wouldn’t melt in the car during the afternoon. I was not so wise about the gummies. I came home and unloaded expensive gummy goo from my grocery bags. Blech!

I bought the Teeccino. It sucks as coffee. Seriously, I believe the people who like it must have not been real coffee drinkers beforehand. It is a strong, fruity tea latte at best. And it cost me $7 to find this out. I had such grand hopes for it!! Aaron even wrinkled his nose when he tasted it.

All total, four grocery stores put me $83 OVER the high end of my budget. And I haven’t bought next week’s produce yet. OR my sunless tanner (which finally ran out) OR a facial moisturizer.

Speaking of produce, while I was putting the sweet potatoes in the second fridge, I found a package of mushrooms that had been forgotten. Did you know they will eventually turn to a nasty brown liquid? Did you further know that the plastic wrap on their container will leak at that point? I went to pull the container out of the fridge, barely tilted it, and this foul-smelling brown goo dripped all over me and the carpet (we have a fridge in the office/computer room. No, I would not otherwise carpet around a fridge. For this very reason!!)

We wrote $55 in checks for school fees last night. That was just for 5th grade. I don’t even KNOW what Vic’s fees are.

I wore my Shape-Ups tennys to the store last night, and now my shin is KILLING me!! Just one shin, oddly enough. But it hurts like hell. Not my thighs, which is where I need the workout. No, the shin - the skinniest part of me - is in the most shaped-up pain.

And my right thumb hurts at random. I think it’s from my video-gaming with the kids this weekend. That’s a story that will get me laughing in no time. I am sooooo not cut out for gaming!!

So, today’s positive change? I gotta ditch this funk I’m in!

Day 78: Lockin’ Up the Lunches

2010-08-31T04:23:00.000-07:00

It’s grocery day once again in my personal land of Oz. Because grocery shopping is the precursor to everything else that I do in this house, you will likely hear a lot about it. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

We are completely out of everything we like to eat. We are almost out of bread, but we have enough to last one or two more days in the event of near catastrophe, so we haven’t outright starved. Although, if you ask Aaron and Victoria, they may have a different take on the matter.

As a positive change for all involved, the kids are now responsible for packing their lunchboxes for school the night before, with the exception of the sandwich, which they make themselves the next morning. As they prepared their lunchboxes Thursday night both kids were at a loss once they realized we were out of their lunchtime staples: natural cheetos and organic gummy chews. What’s a kid to do?

“Mommy, when are you going to the grocery store?”

“Tuesday. We will have food again on Tuesday.” (Ever since emptying my pantry in June we have not had real “overstock” of anything. And if the kids find something they like, it goes fast!)

“That doesn’t help us much for tomorrow,” I heard Aaron say as both kids peered into the empty vastness of their lunchboxes.

I couldn’t resist pointing out that I had previously purchased just enough lunch snacks to last until the next grocery visit. But, when they snack on those items during the weekend, that leaves them in a bind later on before the next grocery run. My point finally hit home.

I shared this bit with a co-worker who suggested that I get a large clear plastic bin to keep on the bottom shelf of the pantry, and all the lunch foods can go inside. Then, if it’s in the box, it’s off limits to anything but packing your lunch. Everything outside of the box is fair game for weekends and after school snacks.

I love this idea. I am hoping to implement it this week, and see how we do as the next few weeks go by. Now, to find my stash of Rubbermaid containers…

Day 77: Sharing a New Resource

2010-08-30T04:20:00.000-07:00

I read a term today that I think I am going to adopt. “Food-like products” describes the over-processed, super-sized, nutrient-poor, body-harming stuff we eat every day. Stuff that really doesn’t deserve to be called food. In an open letter to the President, George Mateljan, author of The World’s Healthiest Foods, describes the devastation that our American eating habits have wreaked on our overall health. I stumbled upon the letter while I was googling “When is an eggplant too ripe?” There is nothing the Internet can’t answer. And yes, my eggplant was past its prime.

With all due respect to Mr. Mateljan, I want to share the following blurb, lifted straight off of the World’s Healthiest Foods website. I probably should have sought permission first, but his site has information people need to know, and NOW, and this blurb will better explain what he’s all about. I do hope he will forgive me for any dabbling in his beeswax.

"George Mateljan has been promoting a Healthier Way of Eating since 1970. He was the founder of Health Valley Foods. His not-for-profit George Mateljan Foundation supports the WHFoods website (www.whfoods.org), featuring nutrition education backed by the latest scientific research. Every month, about 1 million people look to the website for nutrition and cooking expertise, which has inspired thousands of readers to improve their health and also lose weight by eating healthier. His latest bestselling book, The World's Healthiest Foods, explains everything you need to know about the Healthier Way of Eating. He created over 500 quick, easy, and delicious recipes, healthiest way of cooking methods and a healthy eating plan that provides all the essential nutrients individuals require each day to help them live a healthier life."

As I read his letter to President Obama, I felt pride and relief that someone with some oomph and wherewithal was trying to make a change at levels far above what I can reach. At the very least, his letter proved to me that I am not crazy, not on some bass-ackwards mission of imminent self-implosion. He addressed the school nutrition programs, the popular lure of unhealthy foods, and the resulting health problems from heart disease to cancer that plague our friends, family and neighbors. I have added a link to this site in the section at the left labeled Links to the Positive. Anything we can all do to promote healthier eating is a step in the right direction. I am not talking about convincing everyone of the benefits of organic produce. I’m talking about the benefits of making better choices about what we consume on an average day. It starts with US spreading the word. I appreciate Mr. Mateljan and his letter to the President. Pass it along.

Day 76: A Wing and a Prayer

2010-08-29T06:57:00.000-07:00

“Yes, Annelle, I pray! Well, I do. There, I said it. I hope you’re satisfied.”

“I have suspected this all along.”

Those lines from Steel Magnolias make me laugh. I suspect most of us pray without others realizing it. And I suppose that is the way it’s supposed to be. But my prayer life, while comfortably casual, seems to be calling me to something more determined. Allow me to explain.

I pray in a VERY casual manner. Casual like I’m talking to my mom, casual. I don’t even start out, “Dear God…” I just bust up in there with, “Hey. You busy? What do you think about this?...” and we proceed to have a conversation. So naturally, this occurs at random several times a day. (You already know I’m odd…just go with it…) I hope I never get asked to pray in public. I assure you, it will be a fiasco of ginormous proportions. I’ll probably default to the dinner blessing and confuse the heck out of everyone present.

In keeping with a previous positive change, I have been attending daily Mass at the office. There is a sweet, elderly gentleman who sits behind me each day. Every once in a while, he brings prayer cards for us, and hands them out as we all file out of the chapel when Mass is over. Most recently, he gave me a tiny pamphlet on The Hour of Divine Mercy.

I’ll get this out of the way right now, confessing my Baptist roots, by saying that I had no idea what this was. I learned, via this brochure, that The Hour of Divine Mercy is – essentially – the 3:00 hour in which Jesus died on the cross. Now it clicks. I have tried off and on over the last few years to implement a prayer time at 3:00 in honor/commemoration/memory of that moment in history. But, let me tell ya... 3:00 in the afternoon is a hard time to put on the brakes. 3:00 in the afternoon is usually right when I’m realizing lunch just wore off and I need a snack. 3:00 in the afternoon usually finds me throwing back a handful of almonds and a strawberry milk box. (Long story on the latter – to clarify, no I’m not usually a milk-box drinkin’ kind of girl.) 3:00 in the afternoon is a busy time. 3:00 in the afternoon is the last “kick it into gear before the work day is over” moment. 3:00 in the afternoon…

Is much more sacred than I have let it be. Perhaps I need a little more formality, perhaps not. I don’t know if I’m fit for praying out of a pamphlet. I like my random, casual conversations with the Man Upstairs. He hears me, and on occasion I hear him. But I will make a point daily to reflect on his Divine Mercy, if only for a few moments. Maybe I should retreat to the chapel briefly, and with my list of prayer intentions place the needs of my family and friends at the foot of the cross…at 3:00 in the afternoon.

Day 75: Purpose-Driven Planting…(Or Not?)

2010-08-29T05:44:00.000-07:00

I think I have said before that I don’t grow potted plants very well. I’m almost positive I have said it out loud. I have thought it numerous times, as proof stares me in the face.

The thing is, I forget about the poor guys until they look, well… dead. And now that I think about it in greater detail, I realize that my plants’ stages of decline closely resemble a human’s stages of dealing with problems.

First, they are in denial that any responsible plant owner would withhold water from them. They are also in denial of the fact that they do not have a responsible plant owner.

They conveniently skip the anger stage and go straight to bargaining. “C’mon. Just a little bit of water…I’m jonesin’ over here, lady! You think this is the Sahara or somethin’?!! I’ll perk up if you could just spare a teaspoon or so…” They start to look a little wilted, hoping I’ll notice their distress. And then…

Acceptance - the final stage. They come to fully realize that I am not paying the least little bit of attention to their pleas and they give up. Drooping down the side of the pot, their little stems shriveled from existing on their own nutrients, they resign themselves to the fact that their demise is imminent and their care-giver is clueless.

In February of this year my co-workers gave me a coffee-cup plant pot and I loved it so much I just had to stick a plant in it. So Margie brought me some jade and we both reveled in the fact that jade is a hardy succulent and that it should have no problem thriving in my office, as it does in her office just two doors down the hall. I think it wasn’t until one of the branches broke completely off and lay on top of my filing cabinet that I noticed the plant looked a little dry. Of course, I immediately flooded it with water but it was apparently too late. I noticed a couple of weeks later that someone (Margie) had stuck a fork in it to help the neglected little sprouts stand upright again. As desperate as the plant looks, I still only manage to water it about every other week, despite its wilted and defeated appearance, which I absentmindedly ignore.

Trying to work a solution here, I have one of those as-seen-on-TV glass watering bulbs that I have put into the jade. Sometimes the water drains right out in a day and other times I don’t see any water leaving the bulb for days on end. I think the darn thing just creates a vacuum of reserved water that the plant has no strength to fight for. In the end I fear it won’t be long before another plant of mine takes a dirt nap.

My grandmother once gave me a fake African Violet, noting - out loud - that a silk plant might be the only kind that could survive my care. She said this because of the year she spent visiting after Aaron was born, where she witnessed firsthand (and commented on often) my plant neglect. I still maintain my view that a houseplant is the absolute worst gift for a new mother. She already has one new living thing that she HAS to keep alive and that is stressful enough. For the love of all that is holy, don’t send her home with MORE things that depend on her care and attention!!

But now that the children are school age and I feel I have successfully established that I can keep them alive, maybe I should try a little harder for the sake of the green leafy children. I so want to have thriving plants. I have made several attempts at an herb garden. Basil remains the only thing I can grow, only outdoors, and only because it appears to be more stubborn than I am. Plus, I want a vegetable garden some day soon. That’s not going to happen if I can’t remember to water the houseplants.

Trouble is, I have no houseplants at the moment. I killed them all in my checkered past. So, I am going to purchase some plants and make a new, honest effort to water and feed them on a regular basis. I'll need to correlate the watering to another chore that I don't forget to do. Perhaps every time I do laundry? That’s three times a week. I'll let you know how this standard of care progresses.

Day 74: Deciphering the Decaf Dilemma

2010-08-27T04:37:00.000-07:00

You’re probably wondering if I can actually make a solid change each day and just move on. The answer, of course, is no. Change is a process, and for me it is a long, sometimes painfully neurotic process. ;)

I was sharing my decaf idea with mom when she so cleverly pointed out that decaffeinating coffee is a detailed chemical process. And – helloooooo – aren’t I trying to avoid chemicals? So I started researching the matter. I am STILL researching.

In addition to finding information on the ill effects of the decaf process, I also came across several sites that essentially dog the heck out of caffeine and coffee itself. By the time I closed my browser, I was all but resigned to give up coffee completely. Since dropping down to one cup a day I have noticed that I can do with less and less, or that I can wait later in the morning. This makes me think that my dependency on the caffeine is somewhat under control, and giving it up wouldn't be that big a deal. (I hope I’m not just in denial.) I mean, if it is something my body shouldn’t have, then I have to keep with my purpose and look for ways to oust it.

I found one glimmer of hope in all my reading yesterday. Teeccino. Don’t laugh. It’s herbal coffee so it is naturally caffeine free. And they say it tastes just like coffee. (Yes, yes, yes…”They” are the people who make it!) It even comes in several flavors and roast strengths. Please stop laughing.

I shared this information with Dom, who quickly responded, “If you’re not going to drink the real thing, why drink anything at all?!” I see his point, but as I explained to him, I LIKE the taste of coffee. I like the smell of coffee. I like the warmth of the cup. I like the ritual of the morning coffee experience. (You’re not alone; he was laughing too.)

I am going to continue to research the matter until I am satisfied with a definite choice. In the meantime, I’m going to Sunshine to buy some Teeccino.

Day 73: Dabbling in Decaf

2010-08-26T05:53:00.000-07:00

Brace yourselves, friends. I think I’m going to have to change my coffee to decaf. Yes, me. The coffee-loving, Starbucks worshipping, have-to-have-it-by-10am-or-else… ME. And the reason really has nothing to do with me. Go figure.

For the past week, sporadically, the kids have wanted coffee in the morning with their breakfast. Granted, the mixture I make for them is about one-fourth coffee and three-fourths milk, but still. It’s coffee. And they are little.

I can remember my PaPa making himself a cup of coffee and telling me as I begged for a cup, “It’ll put hair on your chest.” I loved the milk-coffee so much that it was worth the risk, and I was pretty sure he was joking. But I kept close watch inside my shirt, just in case.

I never gave it much thought on the rare occasions when my kids would ask for a cup, which would end up only half-consumed anyway, even when served in their child-size plastic mugs that match my Christmas china (Isn’t that adorable?! Stop rolling your eyes.) As you all know, this dietary change has really made me reconsider everything that goes into our bodies. Here I am cutting out all the petrochemicals, but I’ll feed my kids a cup full of neurotoxins in the morning and think nothing of it? Au contraire, mes amis!

I find it mildly amusing that I now base my consumption decisions on what it will do to me later, rather than how good it will taste now. What a difference that has made! I don’t want candy, I can easily pass up the leftovers in the kitchen at my office, and even restaurants don’t appeal to me as much because I find myself wondering, “What are they really serving me?”

Along the same lines, I consider the long-term effects on my kids rather than what is quick and easy right now. Which brings us back to the coffee, and the shocking news that I’m going to buy decaf next week when I go to the store.

So if you are one of the individuals who sees me before noon each day, and you notice a little change in my behavior, like say, I take on the persona of the Wicked Witch of the West, please bear with me and know it’s the decaf. I’ll be back to normal after a small adjustment period.

Day 72: Back to Breakfast

2010-08-25T05:43:00.001-07:00

Okay, so I haven’t exactly been doing so great at the breakfast thing. But now that school has started, Victoria doesn’t want to eat breakfast either, which is not such a good idea for a third grader who needs to hit the ground running each day. So she and I have to work on that. Really work on that…

I tried asking her what sorts of foods she might like for breakfast. Personally, I am known for juggling my travel mug of coffee and grabbing a granola bar on the way out the door. Not exactly what one might call a good role model. Sometimes breakfast just creeps me out. Can’t explain it. Whatever it is, Vic shares the feeling.

Vic and I are going to have to take baby steps on this one. Last year (or longer ago?) we were all really good at eating breakfast. I’d get up early and have smoothies and ham & eggs on the table by 7am. I look back on that and wonder why we stopped. Then, I ate breakfast for a little while after I named it as one of the early changes of habit in this blog. But it was a habit that I didn’t hold to very well, and now have to revisit.

Breakfast foods sound really good to me during the day, but not so much early in the morning. Yesterday Vic started out with a half piece of toast, and I had a cup of grits. Baby steps. Maybe we will graduate to something good like egg-white omelets soon. I think we can work back into a good breakfast habit. It’s just gonna take some early-morning effort. ;)

Day 71: Shampoo Suggestion

2010-08-24T04:32:00.000-07:00

I was thumbing through my email yesterday when a new follow-up post on Tending the Garden appeared. I found this blog quite by accident and have enjoyed following Laurie’s progression toward natural, although I think she may be even more into it than I. But I like the spin she puts on matters.

When I was most concerned about preservatives, harmful chemicals and artificial colors in my shampoo, Tending the Garden’s author was concerned with the wasting of resources using too many disposable bottles. I honestly never thought about my shampoo’s packaging. Dang-it! Add one more growing concern to my list.

So, while I have found an acceptable line of hair care products, I love Laurie's follow-up post in which she details a new hair care routine:

"Ok, so I haven't said goodbye to the process of cleaning and conditioning my hair, but I think I have officially given up commercial shampoo and conditioner. It's been about a month since I started, and I have found that a mixture of equal parts Dr. Bronner's liquid castile soap and water works perfectly as shampoo, and about 3 tbsp of apple cider vinegar (ACV) per 1 cup of water works great (in a spray bottle) for conditioner. I only have to wash my hair every third day, or less. Most days I just wet it in the shower, spritz with the ACV mixture, rinse, and have amazing hair the rest of the day. We're talking texture and volume I haven't been able to achieve without really expensive products. Simple. Cheap. Clean. Less Plastic. Awesome hair."

I am quite inclined to give this a try. I will let you know how it goes.

Day 70: Look Who’s Teaching

2010-08-23T04:15:00.000-07:00

One thing I never, ever, ever thought I would do is teach a class. When I was younger and fellow students would ask me to explain the assignments to them, I failed miserably. I never was able to break it down to an understandable level for the other person. I always started out at the level of MY understanding, and that just left the fellow student bewildered. No, for the sake of anyone who would ever know me, I would never be caught teaching.

Have I ever before mentioned my asinine use of the word “never?” It seems almost everything that I verbalize, “Oh, I’ll NEVER do that,” eventually happens. I hate eating my words.

But here I go, entering my second year of teaching the 2nd Grade First Communion class at my church. Contrary to what anyone else says, I view my efforts last year as a complete flop. Oh, I managed to make the best of it and end the year with a genuine feeling of love and pride for twenty-nine children I did not previously know. Not to mention my own daughter was in the class, a situation any sane individual would avoid altogether. So between that, my fall case of shingles, and an emotional breakdown on the Big Day, I really felt like I had somehow botched the whole experience.

As a matter of reconciling myself to the task, I am prepared to make every effort for this year to be 100% better than last year. The first thing I realize I must do is prepare the lessons. (Yeah, that one seems like a no-brainer. But remember the intro to this where I said I was not cut out for teaching? I rest my case.) I am also going to plan some craft activities with the ideas my friend Mickey gave me last year. And, as I realized at the end of last year, I must do a better job of communicating with the parents.

My goal is three-fold here, and these may be fleshed out in later days. For now:

1. I plan to have Dom pick the kids up from PSR so that they can get to bed on time, and I can have a few extra minutes (or thirty) to talk with my co-teacher. This should alleviate the problem of neither teacher knowing what the other is thinking. (Welcome to the plan, honey. Sorry to spring it on you this way.)

2. I need one evening a week to detail the plans of the next lesson, and to prepare any parent communication to be sent with the children. Sunday seems like the best day to do this.

3. At some point soon, I sincerely hope to have the PSR website up and running so that anyone can get information on our program and classes when they need it. I think I will need to update it on Wednesdays after classes so that any new information is immediately available and pertinent.

There it is, folks. The Big Plan. Here’s hoping I can pull it off, and that this year will be better than the last.

Day 69: Doin’ Dishes

2010-08-22T07:46:00.000-07:00

I finally changed my dishwashing detergent. I wasn’t sure how it was going to go, since I have been a Cascade fan since childhood. There were a lot of considerations to make in changing my dishwasher detergent. Remember, I make mountains out of molehills all the time!

First, I really wanted to go back to the individual packets of detergent where all you do is plop this tidy little plastic packet into the soap holder in the dishwasher door and you never have to wonder if you used too much or not enough. But, I had been told that the packets were not completely biodegradable, and the remaining plastic would clog up the dishwasher drain lines and cause mucho problemos. So, I stopped using the cute little packets when I got a brand new dishwasher. I didn’t want to gunk-up my pretty new machine quite so fast.

Second, I wanted to be sure that if I switched to another brand that it was actually going to get my dishes clean. I CANNOT STAND to see streaks and such on my dishes as I’m putting them back into the cabinet.

And, as a natural result of my research, in the last couple of months I’ve felt the need to use something friendlier. We run our dishwasher every-other-day at minimum, twice a day if we’re home for any length of time (like our lovely stay-cation in June). At that rate, if I’m using a product that is essentially poisoning the water supply or leaving any kind of soap behind on my dishes, then I consider that to be problematic. (This excessive use of the dishwasher is on the list of things to be addressed, by the way.) And I may be only one household who is willing to change in favor of an earth-friendly option, but I am one household who is willing to change, nonetheless.

Once again, I turned to Mrs. Meyers Clean Day products for my solution, the largest selection of which is found at Sunshine Health Foods. And no, I don’t get paid for this unabashed promotion of the two, in case you were wondering. I just love the store and the products! Mrs. Meyer’s has BOTH the dishwasher packets and a dishwasher liquid in practically any of their wonderfully herby fragrances. I bought the basil scented packets for the dishwasher. And guess what…they work!!! They’re great! My dishes are squeaky-clean and I’m using a product that is safe and natural. And the basil scent in the products is very mild.

I scoped out the safety of their products on their website. They are very direct about their ingredients and their philosophy in manufacturing them. Aside from being completely biodegradable, “Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day products are safe to use in the presence of children, pets, and expectant women.” What’s not to love?

To quote one of my favorite early ‘90s movies, “Dishes are DONE, man!”

Day 68: Live Deliberately

2010-08-21T05:12:00.000-07:00

Not every day is rosy and fun. We don’t wake up every morning with bluebirds singing at our windowsill and gentle deer waving satin ribbons in our midst.

In fact, some days the dog pukes right before our alarm goes off.

And the day is set in motion.

A horrible, downward spiraling motion.

But the whole way down, I am consistently aware that I am making a choice to continue in the spiral. The entire tirade of “where’s the carpet cleaner?!-why is he puking?!- and why can’t he make it to the %$#$!@ tile?!!” is punctuated by my own inner thought of “why is this such a big damn deal?”

Ultimately, it’s not. It’s a choice to make it a big deal. It’s a choice to view it as an attack on my personal space and time or a minor inconvenience in my morning. And what about poor Mason? Do I think he WANTED to get sick at 6:25 A.M.?

My point, I guess, is that in the midst of anger and blame there is chaos and confusion. There is no room in those emotions for rational thinking. And – I believe – without rational thinking there can be no deliberately chosen response. It’s all improv, and not even very good improv at that. A positive, healthy lifestyle also involves living deliberately. Experiencing each moment for what it offers us, valuing the experience for what we can learn from it. From dog puke to real disasters, I think it’s important to relate kindly to each other so we can get through the situation a little more easily.

Thankfully, we were able to talk and laugh again before the cleanup was complete, and everyone is cheerful in the Mainiero home once more. I recognize that we all made a choice at that moment, and I am grateful for it.

We are not guaranteed a future. We have now. Shouldn’t we make it the best NOW that it can be? Dog puke and all??

Day 67: Studying PG

2010-08-20T04:13:00.000-07:00

One of the ingredients I have been trying to avoid, among all the parabens, aluminum, and preservatives (even in deodorant) is Propylene Glycol. “PG.” As in, NOT the movie rating.

I saw a deodorant labeled as PG-free, and I tried to figure out on my own what the letters stood for. I mean, since I had spent all summer researching, I figured I should know, right? Well, I didn’t. Mostly because I had Propylene Glycol on the safe list. Now here’s my crazy issue with PG and related chemicals…

Back when I had the shingles last year, I also had an odd feeling in my left shoulder. A surface irritation, like a sunburn feeling, where fabric moving against my skin would actually hurt, even though there was no obvious injury. That showed up three months before the shingles, and when I saw my dermatologist while enflamed with the shingles, she suggested that the shoulder was completely unrelated to my more prevalent issue, and that if it persisted she could send me to a neurologist.

A WHO?!!!!

After the shingles and all that great medication they had me on so I would not go stark raving mad, the shoulder pain subsided. I thought I was healed. YAY! No need for the neuro dude.

But, in June after the conference that kicked off what this blog is all about, I suddenly had pain identical to the shingles in my back. I went to my family doctor this time (she also saw me with the shingles…one of four doctors who treated me that crazy week!) Anyhoo…my family doc suggested that this intense back pain I was feeling was not likely to be shingles because of several reasons you are really not interested in, but more interestingly, if the pain continued she could send me to a….

You guessed it… a neurologist!

What is WITH these people?!!

Now, 60+ days later, I have a list of ingredients that cause nerve damage…freaky weird stuff no one can probably explain. These ingredients are called neurotoxins. Nice, huh? Here’s MY take on it: if these ingredients are KNOWN to cause neurological defects, and we use them all the time in all our products every day, sometimes several times a day, can we not expect to see some symptoms? And of course, if we believe our food and our beauty products are safe, would we ever dream of looking at them as the source of our issue? I wouldn’t have. EVER. Seriously, the threat of my child being brain-altered by chemical ingredients was my primary focus. This whole nerve damage from extended use of a certain ingredient I never even knew existed has given me a whole new insight.

OHH!!!! Not to be outdone by the dreadful preservatives, PG can also be found in our foods. I nearly dropped a pre-packaged muffin the other day at work when I read the ingredient list. Ack!!!

PG is not the only neurotoxin I’m looking to avoid. The list is so full of stuff I can’t even pronounce, but I recognized a few of the items, like caffeine, which makes sense. Please note that this does not mean I am cutting out my morning coffee…yet. Acetaminophen…well, it’s a medicine. If it didn’t affect the nerves, it wouldn’t work at all. Duhh.

Do I know for sure that I have nerve damage? No. Do I know for sure that I am suffering from overexposure to PG? No. Do I hurt? Sometimes. Can I learn more about the neurotoxins that might be harming us? Yes.

Will I? That’s a Hell Yes.

Day 66: Making Room for Better Sleep

2010-08-19T04:34:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know I already addressed in another post the hours of sleep needed to feel like our absolute best selves. Some things just bear repeating, and this has a slightly different spin.

Victoria determined earlier this week that she simply was not getting enough sleep. We had already adjusted the bedtime to provide for better sleep during the upcoming school year, but she continued to be a Cranky Franky. And she blamed it on lack of sleep.

While I know my eating and sleeping habits can affect my mood in a New York minute, I was not inclined to allow her to blame a situation for her mood, but rather wanted her to accept responsibility for choosing to be a grumpy bug, and then look for a solution to the situation she found herself in.

Boy, did she find a solution! Victoria announced that she wasn’t sleeping well because Marsha Mallow (the bunny) keeps her awake at night. She reassured us of her love for Marsha, but asked that we PUH-LEEZE remove Marsha from her room at night. She even had a suggestion as to where Marsha could sleep – in the playroom upstairs. “After all,” Vic surmised, “you’re not using that room for anything else!”

She makes an excellent point.

And I can vouch for Marsha being noisy at night. Sometimes in the sleep-state between surrender to the pillow and REM, I can hear the bunnies playing in their individual cages. Last Friday, I slept in Victoria’s bed with her because she woke up in the middle of the night and I went to comfort her and just decided to stay. I tossed and turned all night while Marsha played, tossed her food bowls in the air, and drank rather noisily from her water bottle. When do rabbits sleep, I ask ya???

So Monday night we moved Marsha’s cage into the playroom. But that lasted about 30 minutes, if that long. Aaron and Vic suddenly felt very sad for Marsha having to sleep all alone in a room she wasn’t used to. Aaron declared in a most direct manner that he would rather have Marsha sleep in his room than have to be by herself. (She’s alone all day long, but I guess that’s different because it’s daylight??) Plus, he swears the bunnies don’t keep him awake. So, Marsha’s cage got dragged down the hall to Aaron’s room, where she now sleeps during the night before being dragged back into Victoria’s room in the morning.

All in all, this arrangement seems to be working out. I’m proud of Victoria for offering a solution to her problem. Everyone seems to have adjusted well to the new nighttime habit. And Vic has slept well all week.

May there continue to be peace at night.

Day 65: New Year, New Habits

2010-08-18T04:30:00.000-07:00

There is only one thing on my mind as I write my post this morning. The New School Year. Part of me is looking forward to it – returning to the normal ebb and flow of the school calendar. The other part of me is just praying that all the new things we have begun at home don’t get sideswiped by the school experience. (And praying that Vic has a good year!)

Today I am pleased to report the new habits my kids have sworn to, some of their own free will, but all with an open mind and pleasant attitude. (This is a WOW moment, folks!)

1) Victoria vows to make A’s. I do not insist on A’s…I insist on honest effort, and let the grade be what it will. My questions to the kids when they bring home their report card are 1) Did you do your best? and 2) Did you learn something new? To me, that pretty much sums up the student’s and the teacher’s purpose for being there. But Vic's enthusiasm for the school year is quite refreshing.

2) Victoria will take her lunch this school year. Vic is a school-lunch kid…always has been. And for $1.50 I couldn’t complain, at least until I found out that she was spending $1.50 every day and just eating the roll. Whaaaaa???? She has offered this year to start taking her own lunch each day because, as she puts it, “The cafeteria food might have bad ingredients in it.” Jamie Oliver made an impact on us, I tell ya!

3) Both kids are accepting of the mandate that they are old enough now to make their own sandwiches. I bought them the Sandwich Thins so they don’t have to fiddle with cutting off the crust. (When do they outgrow that, by the way? Just curious.)

4) Both kids got their backpacks ready last night and hung them on the wall. Pencils sharpened, grade-level appropriate book packed for free-time reading, new pink pearl eraser tucked neatly into the pencil pocket. I think I love school supplies almost as much as I love office supplies. Eeep!

5) Both lunchboxes are sitting on my countertop right now, packed with Natural Cheetos, organic gummy bears (well, ok…rabbits) and their BPA-free water bottles. Sandwich boxes are ready to hold the entrée. The kids were troopers about setting everything out last night to save us time in the morning.

6) Uniforms were selected and laid out neatly. (We found Aaron’s belt - abandoned all summer long - with relative ease. That’s pretty major for us.)

7) Both kids are prepared – at least for the moment – to tackle the extra assignments (Accelerated Reading and Math) within the first six weeks of each nine weeks for the reward of a friend sleeping over each quarter. The bribe – that’s all me, baby!!!! I believe it will keep our stress to a minimum if those extra things are out of the way before report card time winds around. And at least this time, I’ve bribed them with play dates and sleep overs. Remember, Marsha Mallow is the result of an AC Math reward from last year. Perhaps I’m getting a little smarter as we go along?

So there it is in a nutshell. Yes, I am prepared to let it go if these things are not checked off military style. My vow for the school year is to gently guide them at home, hold to the routine as much as possible, and make sure everyone eats and sleeps well. Oh, and NOT flip my lid if this doesn’t go as planned. ;)

Happy First Day of School!!!

Day 64: Can We Talk?

2010-08-17T05:01:00.000-07:00

OK, folks. This is where it gets ugly. The gloves are off. I am in an all-out battle with – of all things – are you sitting down? - my deodorant.

Yeah, you heard me. Flip to another bookmark if you don’t think you can handle this conversation. I will keep it as genteel as possible. IF it’s possible.

Natural deodorant. Good freaking grief!!! I swear, it’s all the chemicals that keep us from stinkin’ up the place! The skinny on this is that I have tried three brands of natural deodorant since I trashed my Secret Clear and I am praying this latest brand cuts the muster!

This latest brand, by the way, is for men. I am past the point of caring whether there are horses or halos on the bottle. Just give me something that works! Because Saturday during Mass I had my arm around Victoria when she looked up at me and said, “Um, Mommy, your deodorant isn’t really working that well.”

HORRORS!!!

Granted, it was a 106 degree day and we were in a church with a dying air conditioner. Whose deodorant could withstand that? Really?....

But the fact of the matter is, no matter how unappreciated Victoria’s comment was, she speaks the truth. I immediately assumed the stance: elbows permanently imbedded in my hip bones. And I vowed to find a functional natural deodorant if it is the last thing I do!

So far the Herban Cowboy deodorant is working fine (does that name crack you up, or what?!!), even at my office yesterday where we had faulty A/C and I thought I was experiencing hot flashes. But I have been tipped off to the Jason line as a potential success, so I will be investigating that too.

Changing deodorant is the pits!

Day 63: Back to School

2010-08-16T04:27:00.000-07:00

My kids have two more days of summer, but they will be far from lazy days. We are in high-gear trying to get ready and adjusted to the idea of a brand new school year. Last night I imposed on Dom my mental list of ToDos in an effort to satisfy my need for everyone to be on the same page, more so than for anyone else’s benefit.

Basically, it seems everyone is willing to go with the flow and/or whatever I suggest needs to be done rather than interject their own thoughts or spend these last two days of summer (God forbid) planning the first few weeks of school. I think they all know that I’d rather we all do it my way, and being the sweethearts that they are, everyone plays along.

Maybe this weekend has just been too hectic. Maybe I spread myself too thin, and this is my knee-jerk reaction to feeling pulled in too many different directions. I feel the uncontrollable urge to pre-pack the next two weeks’ lunches or something equally illogical. I feel like I just got the kids on a summer routine, and now I have to switch it all up again. I usually go through this each August, if I recall correctly. And within a week or two, I realize that the school year is actually EASIER than the summer, albeit busier, and everything just falls into place.

My moments of reflection bring me back to some basic understandings: 1) I cannot change people and - sometimes - situations, 2) I can change my attitude toward a situation, and 3) there is no rule that says I have to do it perfectly.

I believe I should make a habit of allowing my inner peace to direct my outer chaos.

Day 62: Planning and Preparing, Preparing and Planning…

2010-08-15T12:21:00.000-07:00

As a reader of this blog, beware that you are about to dive head-first into the depths of my neurosis. But please understand something about me: in order to make something work effectively and efficiently, I have to first make a rotten mess of it. Shotgun-blast-the-hell-out-of-it is always my first step.

I have said on many posts that I am going to need a lot of help with such-and-such, or that a particular change was going to present a particular challenge. Three words sum up this one…

Pray. For. Me.

A residual result of all my changes, this one presents my biggest problem: In order to be a good time-manager, I have to plan the menu. In order to serve good meals, I have to plan the ingredients. In order to plan the ingredients, I have to plan the grocery list. In order to plan the grocery list, I have to know the menu. And in order to plan the menu, I have to know our evening plans.

Can you see my head starting to spin? My goal of preparing a month of menus at a time was manageable before all this natural/organic, oh-my-gosh-will-my-family-actually-eat-that, Holy-Mother-of-Pearl CHANGE was set into motion. I have to get a handle on this, and fast. Yesterday had me spinning so far out of control with my grocery trips, that I started to wonder if I was going to set out to prepare the first meal and have a breakdown over breadcrumbs. Hey, I’ve been hormonally emotional lately. It could happen.

So today, for what little time I can afford to invest in this thought process, I will try to wrap my head around not only what I plan to be doing for the next two weeks, but also for what I need to do next month, so I’m not rushing around like this two weeks from now when I grocery shop. To my credit (what little I am allowed in this experiment), I have identified one source of chaos for myself: After I plan the meals, I forget where I put the recipes. Are they in this book, or that one? Did I rip it out of the Southern Living, or do I need to rifle through the magazine rack?

Here’s my rough outline of a solution: I need more lists. I should have an alphabetical list of all the recipes and where to find them. I should also have four rotating grocery lists, one for each week, so I can buy fresher ingredients and adapt for changing menus and schedules. (Seriously. I used to have two rotating grocery lists and it was a beautiful system, even if not quite so complex.) That’s my starting point. Every project needs a starting point, right? Hear me out…if I have a list for each week, and I know when certain items are going to be consumed, then I can plan when to buy them. Better yet, I can extend this to my non-food consumables and plan when to buy them too. Whoa…I might even be able to predict our consumption so well that I could systematically identify when to go to which store, and lessen the burden on any particular week. For instance, I can get all dry and paper goods on a monthly schedule and only have to deal with Wal Mart on a limited basis.

Time for four new words, my friends: Send. Me. To. Counseling.

Before I can wrap my head around my next move, I have to come to terms with what I did yesterday…I think I’ll re-organize the refrigerators today. That always gives me a fresh perspective. Yeah, I’m odd like that.

But after 62 days, you probably knew that already.

Day 61: Shop ‘Til I Drop

2010-08-15T11:43:00.000-07:00

And that I did! In the spirit of saving money, buying organic, and intentionally driving myself to the brink of insanity, I hit 5 grocery stores yesterday. That is not a typo, people. F-I-V-E.

Now you understand me a little better, don’t you? I’m starting to morph into “That Crazy Lady Who Writes a Blog.” You also understand why this post is a day late. I was tiii-yerd!

Now, let me explain that four of the grocery stores were separate locations of two chains. I have to know if different locations of the same chain will carry the same stuff for the same price. (I told you I overthink things!!) I can manage to plan my grocery days around Bossier and Youree Drive, but I have to be absolutely certain that the trip is worth the extra effort. So, of course, I had to hit ALL of them to see what products were on-hand and if the prices differed. I am pleased to report that the prices were consistent for each chain, and I believe I can narrow down my future grocery trips to only four stores.

Only four stores. That can seem pretty overwhelming if I really think about it, so let’s find something positive to focus on. Hmmmmmm…oh yes…check THIS out:

Kroger on Youree. A literal wall of organic produce. No more guessing…no more looking for the green labels. And right in front of this wall of produce is an organic fruit stand. No more wandering through their acre of produce for all my goods. One stop. Isn’t it beautiful????? I bought things I didn’t even need!!

But I also recognized that for all the wonderful things Kroger on Youree has in natural and organic products, the Kroger by my house carries all the same items that I am actually going to buy. It may not be as big a spread, but it suits me and saves me a trip if I have no other reason to go to Youree Drive.

So even though yesterday nearly killed me, and I managed to miss lunch because of all the shopping, it served the unique purpose of helping me understand my shopping situation so I can plan better next time. Next time, as I reflect on my completed grocery shopping, I won’t be tired, hungry and oh-so cranky (hopefully).

A reminder just popped up that it’s time to inspect the tires on our cars. 10-4. Crazy Lady out…

Day 60: Bean Time

2010-08-13T05:04:00.000-07:00

That’s what my mom calls the dinner hour. Bean time. As in: bean time for the puppies, bean time for the grandkids, “You ready to take a break? It’s bean time!”

As often as I have heard her use that term, I never really mulled it over in my subconscious (um, consciously) until now. I would like to set our bean time.

I’d like for dinner to be served at 6:00 at our house, barring strange or unusual events. 6:00 seems the most reasonable time to assimilate our evening meal, given our work schedules, evening chores and bedtimes. If I shore up my efforts at pre-planning the meals and all that is involved in cooking them, then 6:00 should be totally do-able.

I don’t know, maybe I just like the idea of my kids knowing dinner is at 6:00 regardless of what else is going on….or how old they get. I picture them being all grown-up and just instinctively knowing that if they make it to mom’s by 6:00, there will be dinner served, for them and whomever they bring along.

I like those little glimpses into the future when they hit me out of the blue. Although, I kind of concocted this one, so I don’t know if I can call it a true glimpse. I had the original True-Blue Future Glimpse in college. I looked over at Dom and saw gray in his sideburns. Two blinks, and it was gone. I knew instantly that I would grow old with him.

Maybe there exists an infinitesimal difference between a glimpse and a desire. Something internal, defined somehow by either destiny or hard work. Whatever the nature of my glimpses, I do know that everything I love about this life has taken a lot of work, and has been well worth the effort.

Before I get all philosophical on ya, what say we save this chat for bean time? Y’all drop by around 6. Dinner will be on the table.

Day 59: List Love

2010-08-12T04:29:00.000-07:00

I had some time to kill yesterday while cooking/waiting for Dom to get home, so I had the brilliant idea of making more lists.

I love lists.

I made four lists: Grocery, Googles, Food Inquiries, and Blog ToDo’s. Actually, I made 5 lists, but the fifth list was all about accounting, and no one really wants to hear about that. ;)

My Googles list is all the stuff I want to research, but don’t have time to do it when I think about it, and then I forget what it was I wanted to look up the next time I’m on the Internet. I spend a lot of time in the car in the summers. A LOT of time. So naturally, that’s where I do most of my thinking. And it would be perfect if that’s also where I could do most of my researching and listing, but I don’t have a chauffeur and probably never will, so the time I spend driving will have to remain The Time I Spend Driving. However, if the day ever comes that cars drive themselves, you’ll see me surfing the web from the front seat. Just sayin’.

Some of the things I Googled in my “spare” time yesterday are:

1) “Healthy substitute for Baker's Joy.” This led me, of course, to the Baker’s Joy website where they are NOT going to tell me what I can use INSTEAD of their product, although they do have a handy list of other healthy substitutions that don’t involve their product. (You're wondering why I need this? Baker's Joy has one of the forbidden preservatives in it. Great on my waffle iron, bad on my body. It's gotta go!) My search also led me to Joy the Baker where I was totally amused for an amount of time I should not have spared, but did anyway. (And Dom wonders why I’m at the computer so much…)

2) “Cuisinart griddler.” This took me to the Cuisinart site where I realized I am not likely to find a Belgian waffle maker with removable plates (if you know of one, for the love of all that is holy, speak up!) and that I can’t afford their way-cool food processor. The Panini maker looked do-able and would possibly prevent us from scrubbing down the George Foreman in the sink anymore.

3) “Angel Hair Pasta Toss recipe.” Found a couple of good ones, I suppose. I am a little embarrassed to admit that I actually put out a search on it. The resulting recipes were pretty much no-brainers. Angel hair pasta…olive oil…whatever else you want…toss it all together…duhhhh.

4) “Calories in honey lemon water.” I have begun to drink hot water with lemon and honey stirred into it in the evenings instead of a cup of tea or coffee. We tend to keep our home at arctic chill levels, so sometimes I just want a hot drink. But, I don’t want to sabotage all the good I’ve done with my weight, so I thought I’d search the matter and see what the ‘net had to say about it. Turns out, honey is a good substitute for sugar because you get the natural vitamins, minerals and amino acids from honey, whereas they are all refined out of our sugar. Something to do with chemical composition and such. I’m all, “Yeah, yeah, so it’s good for me. Got it. Diet progress remains intact. Check.” I like the fact that the honey I buy comes from Bossier, and that this particular bee farm is the one I called when my home was a bee hotel one summer, ala the Amityville Horror. The bee dudes were great. See? Product loyalty does still exist.

But more important than my Googles list, my Food Inquiries list will be another continual work in progress. I have decided to contact our favorite food brands and ask them if they have natural substitutes for the foods we like, or if they are planning natural substitutes anytime in the near future. There’s only one way to get the foods we want on the shelves of our stores. We gotta start asking for them.

So, two new lists have been born and I will try to keep them updated, or at least not crumpled at the bottom of my purse. My ever-so-small, too-tiny-to-carry-everything-I-really-need purse. ;)

Day 58: Every Hand Shall Scrub

2010-08-11T04:30:00.000-07:00

It’s not enough that I’m constantly seeing and looking for things to change; my kids are doing it too. This weekend Aaron emerged from the downstairs bathroom with the pump bottle of Softsoap in his hand and asked, “Mommy, are you planning to replace this? It has Yellow 6 in it.”

On one hand I am befuddled by the fact that these ingredients are almost inescapable. I tell you, that crap is everywhere! On the other hand, I am so proud of my kids for 1) taking interest, 2) accepting the change, and 3) expecting more change. What troopers they are!

So yesterday on my lunchtime jaunt to Sunshine Health Foods, where they now know me on sight and can predict my lunch order, I wandered down the cleaning products aisle to price-compare on the countertop spray I wrote about the other day. (Brief side note: I used that spray on my stovetop, an antiquated blast from the past pull-out drawer that contributes to my oven being the bane of my existence. Anyhoo, I sprayed it and then assisted Dom at the sink for a minute or so, grabbed some paper towels and expected to just make the crud on the stovetop a little less nasty. OMG!!! I got the stovetop AS CLEAN as if I had used an SOS pad! And I did this with a PAPER TOWEL, people. Granted, it took a few paper towels because my stovetop was due for a good cleaning. Hey, it’s a 40-year old pull out drawer, okay? I’m sure it looked great in the late 60’s when they built my house around it! All this to say that Mrs. Meyers Clean Day countertop spray ROCKED my oven cleaning!!!!)

Back to Sunshine’s cleaning aisle. See? I’ll get us back on track…

While I was snapping pics of all the products and their corresponding prices so I can enter them into my phone’s grocery app (did I just tip you off to my OCD?) I noticed that Mrs. Meyers has a liquid hand soap in a pump bottle in several scent choices – all natural! Voila!!!! It’s a lot of soap, too. 12.5 ounces for a bargain price of $3.59. I filled one decorative soap dispenser and put the Meyers bottle at the kitchen sink. Now the kids can scrub up with complete confidence.

Day 57: Practicing the Fine Art of Delegation

2010-08-10T04:13:00.000-07:00

A few nights ago Aaron was organizing his Pokemon cards and noted that he had too many of a certain card, and the pile was overstuffing the binder pocket page and causing it to break.

“Looks like you need a Ziploc baggie to put the extra cards in. That way, you can keep them, but you don’t have to have them taking up room in your binder. I’ll grab one from the kitchen for you.“ (Mommy always has a solution.)

“Okay,” replied my sweet boy.

I continued doing whatever-it-is-I-was-doing in his room and then left to get distracted by something else.

It dawned on me the next morning that I never did go get the Ziploc for him. And yes, I actually felt sorry for him, what with having such a useless mom and all.

But wait a minute. Is that really how this should have played out? Wouldn’t it have been much better if I had just said, “Looks like you need a Ziploc baggie…Do you know where they are? Bottom drawer by the dishwasher? Go ahead and get one, sweetie.”

This simple act of delegating would have solved two problems. 1) Aaron would gain more experience in resolving his own issue, and 2) I would not have any reason to beat myself up for forgetting something and letting someone down.

It has always been my habit to see a way to make something better, suggest it, and then offer to do it so that whoever will benefit most will also be inconvenienced the least.

Strangely, that’s how I’ve rolled.

Today I will start making a concentrated effort at delegating for everyone’s own good.

Day 56: A Lean, Mean Kind of Clean

2010-08-09T04:13:00.000-07:00

Once all this natural stuff started infiltrating my brain, I knew I was going to have to do something about my household cleaning products. I had NO idea where to even begin, but I did notice that Sunshine Health Foods had a selection of household products. And then when Jessica turned me on to Kroger’s natural and organic section, I found similar products there. The first one I settled on was Mrs. Meyers Clean Day countertop cleaner. We simply HAVE to have a good countertop cleaner for our kitchen area, since coffee and numerous PB&J’s are made there.

So far I really like the Clean Day cleaner. I have used it for more than just the kitchen. What I like most about it is that you can easily dilute it if necessary without losing any of the cleaning power, AND it’s all natural. (Although the lemon smell is a tad strong at times; I am going to get the lavender refill.) Also, I won’t hesitate to have the kids using these products too. Whenever they grimace at my request for their manual labor, I remind them that they will need to know how to do all this on their own before they go off to college. In the back of my mind I know that when the time comes for them to leave home, they're going to wonder: If she prepared me so well for this adventure, then why is she crying her eyes out?

Anyhoo, the countertop cleaner is a good purchase.

Day 55: Where Are My Shoes?!!

2010-08-08T13:35:00.000-07:00

The kids used to constantly ask me, “Mommy, where are my shooooooooes?” To which I would reply, “I do not wear your shoes, baby. I don’t know where they are.” Or, “Where did you leave them?” Whichever reply I used, the reaction from them was always the same: “Oooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!” followed by a huff and a quick exit.

One day I was in a hurry to leave the house and I asked Aaron if he had seen my shoes anywhere. You know exactly what he said: “I don’t wear your shoes, Mommy. I wouldn’t know where they are. Where do you think you left them?”

Smartie pants.

Today while we were getting ready to go to the pool for Aaron’s birthday party, I was bustling around looking for my shoes. The shoes I keep by the back door in a basket for easy donning and traipsing through the yard. The flip-flops. The I-don’t-care-if-they-get-wet-at-the-pool shoes. I started to ask if anyone had seen them, and I stopped mid-sentence. Aaron really had an impact on me all those years ago. I managed to find one shoe in the appropriate basket by the back door and the other shoe…gasp…in my closet with all my other shoes.

Shoes put away in my closet…the sure sign that Dom has been here.

I have gradually been moving toward better shoe care. And I thought the shoe basket by the backdoor was a great idea. Alas, so did Mabel. It seems that she is the culprit who runs off with my flip flops at random, causing me to lose my ever-loving mind.

I need another shoe system. Not just for the flip flops, but for all shoes in the house. A basket at the bottom of the stairs, perhaps? A nightly routine of everyone grabbing their own shoes from the basket and toting them up the stairs for the night? There has got to be an easy solution to the shoe disorder here.

Or I could just try going barefoot everywhere… I always did like Shoeless Joe.

Day 54: Here We Come A-Counting

2010-08-07T20:19:00.000-07:00

I love a good play on words. Sometimes deciding on a title for my post is more fun than the actual change I am writing about. It’s a perk of sorts…lagniappe…the sprinkles on the chocolate cupcake. Alright, alright…on with it already…

Dom announced last summer that he wanted to get all his accounting credits to sit for the CPA exam. A wonderfully driven and completely pertinent idea, I thought, given that he works at an accounting firm. The kicker was when he said he wanted me to do it with him. After I stopped laughing and listened to what he had to say about it, I was pretty much sold on the idea. One of my biggest regrets has been dropping the accounting minor from my undergrad studies. THAT was one dumb move.

So we gathered our resources, met with a college advisor to determine what hours we lacked, and enrolled in distance learning classes at LSU. We had to re-take Accounting 101 because I was a COMPLETE FRESHMAN DORK WHO SKIPPED THE LAST TWO WEEKS OF 101 and landed myself on the professor’s proverbial S***-List back in 1990. A move like that can drop you from a B to a D very fast, regardless of your test scores. Trust me.

So, we got all enrolled and ready to study and learn, and then bam! I got shingles and didn’t feel like standing upright, much less studying accounting. Then fall turned to winter, we had all the holidays, then the new year, then spring, and before we knew it our time in the class was up. Ahhhhhh, but there is that beautiful extension option whereby you can pay more money and take more time. Lovely concept. And, you can extend your enrollment TWICE.

Which we have now done.

Our deadline – our final deadline – is fast approaching, and we have got some ‘splainin’ to do!! We now have a study schedule all planned out, and we are ready to take our first test next week. (Wish us luck. I haven’t taken a test in fifteen years!!)

So, add a more serious attitude toward my own professional development to my list of healthy changes. With any luck, I will be able to report my final grade very soon.

Day 53: Early To Bed, Early To Rise…

2010-08-06T05:20:00.000-07:00

How does that saying go? “…makes a man healthy and wealthy and wise?” I’ll settle for just healthy. And awake. I am one tired mama.

I realize what is causing this tiredness. I have been going to bed around 11pm and rising at 5am. Six hours of sleep. SIX. That is not nearly enough!! There was a time not so long ago when I managed to get to bed around 9pm in order to wake up at 5:45. It was heavenly. I felt so rested and relaxed when I got up, and I didn’t have to fight getting out of bed. (Although, this was back in the day of the snooze button, and don’t think for a minute that I didn’t use it anyway!)

Oh, how I would love to get to bed at 9:00 every night. Eight solid hours of sleep. Who could ask for more?

Now, I must say that the kids need way more than I do, and we make sure that they get to bed on time during the school year, which is fast approaching. This is the first summer where we were not strict about getting them to bed at any certain time. But, with a 30 minute drive ahead of us on summer mornings in order to get to Grandmama’s house, there was no sleeping in, either. Let me tell you…EVERYONE can tell when my kids have not had enough sleep. THAT’S WHEN THEY ACT LIKE SPAWN OF SATAN!!!!

“Aaron LOOKED at me!”

“Victoria HIT me!”

“Because he LOOKED at me!”

OMG, people, REALLY?????

Yes, starting this past week, we have reinstated the strict 8:00 bedtime to get them back on track for school. And I can’t talk about their bedtime without throwing this in: children who get more than 8 hours of sleep a night (mine get 10) are – statistically speaking – healthier. I have seen it in practice. The school-age children I know who do not have bedtimes have more random illnesses, always seeming to be fighting this cold or that. Worse, some have chronic health issues that I believe are compounded by their bodies not getting enough rest. My munchkins typically battle one modest bug a year.

As for me, I need a strict bedtime. And not just to stay healthy – to stay SANE. I do feel a little like I have over-scheduled my healthy living to the point that it keeps me busy until 11pm. So, I will need to tweak the schedule in order to get more sleep. I can’t have all my desire for positive change actually doing me harm in the end, now can I?

Day 52: The Plague of Pesticides

2010-08-05T05:05:00.000-07:00

Finding a good website that shares a ton of information in all fields related to its main topic seems to be the highlight of my days recently. I was browsing Stonyfield’s website this weekend and came across a lot of interesting information regarding pesticides. Scary information, but interesting nonetheless.

I must admit, had I read this information 10 years ago, I would have made these lifestyle changes then. For whatever reason, I was oblivious. The most astonishing thing I learned is this:

"Young digestive tracts absorb toxins more readily than adult digestive tracts, and young kidneys don’t detoxify as efficiently as adult kidneys. As a result, toxins circulate longer in babies’ bodies, boosting exposure to four times that of adults."

FOUR TIMES! I’m aggravated enough at how I have endangered my own health. Now I discover that I have compounded the problem for my children? Yikes, people!

It is not easy to switch to organic at the drop of a hat. I’ve been slowly moving over for two months now, and I’m not anywhere near where I ultimately want to be on this. But I have stumbled upon a few things that help me when I’m at the grocery store. First off, Kroger has a rockin’ natural and organic section, and I have fallen so much in love with Sunshine Health Foods that I want to pitch a tent in the back of their store. There ARE better options, even in my little ol’ neck of the woods. Even my WalMart has some organic options which are easier on the budget.

A simple starting point for me has been fruit and vegetables. There is a handy-dandy wallet size list on Stonyfield’s site that lists the fruits and veggies which are better for you in organic form, and those which are ok to buy regular. I’ve printed the list to keep with me while I shop. This way, I won’t stress out over not buying organic onions. However, I have noted that organic fruits and vegetables at Kroger have generally cost the same as, and sometimes less than, their non-organic counterparts. Plus, I think buying organic whenever possible tells the store that organic is worth keeping in stock and tells the farmers and producers that we appreciate and support their efforts.

Interesting factoid from the USDA site: Did you know that in order for a producer or handler to be certified organic, their ENTIRE PROPERTY has to be pesticide-free for THREE YEARS before certification? And then they have to provide detailed records of their growing cycles and controls, etc. In a funny way, all the stuff they have to do to keep certification reminds me of all the hoopla involved in Natural Family Planning. Soil tests, crop rotations, you get the picture. (And just incase you're wondering, I was never any good at NFP.)

Whether the organic mission starts in the kitchen or the powder room is up to the individual. There is a lot of room for improvement in my home. But I am pleased to have found two additional websites that offer (angel chorus) ORGANIC SKIN CARE AND COSMETICS, and more information on the ingredients we want to AVOID.

As for all-out intentional pesticides, I may have found something that is sort of okay for the dudes who really want to kill bugs. EcoSmart has a line of pest control products for home, lawn and garden that seem to be okay. They do have trace amounts of Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, which is less than pleasing to me, but the other ingredients appeared to be genuinely natural, even organic, and the Materials Safety Data Sheet was not at all alarming. (I read the MSDS on a different pesticide last week. The pesticide claimed to be “Earth Friendly” and safe for vegetables and fruits. Aside from all the warnings and “in case of contact” instructions, the MSDS listed the transportation category as “Environmentally Hazardous Substance.” It made me laugh out loud, even though crap like that is really not funny.)

Still, I want to find old-fashioned Great-Grandma-Approved methods of controlling pests in my garden, and especially when I grow vegetables. (Hey, I know I don’t have any now, but it could happen!)

I am learning much, and sometimes it’s downright overwhelming. But it is worth it to be informed. I can’t help thinking of the good I’m doing my children by investigating the facts and making healthier choices. Long live the munchkins!!

Day 51: Everybody Was Kung-Fu Fightin’…

2010-08-04T04:52:00.000-07:00

…Those rabbits were fast as lightnin’!!

We went to my grandmother’s house this past weekend for a 24-hour visit, and we left the bunnies, Marsha Mallow and Graham Cracker, with Kasie for care, feeding and some quality kid-time with my niece and nephew. Kasie called Dom’s cell at about 2pm on Saturday.

“Um, the rabbits are fighting. Graham is attacking Marsha. Has this ever happened before?”

“HUH??? WHAT’S happening??? No, they don’t fight.”

“Uh, yeah, they do.”

Apparently, Graham got ticked at Marsha and the cage door was not completely closed, so Kasie suddenly heard this ruckus coming from the cage. The door sprung open and two floppy-eared furballs rolled out fighting! Kasie said fur was flying everywhere and they resembled a cartoon tussle, rolling one on top of the other until they had spanned the length of the hallway. It was enough to freak everyone out, so Kasie put Marsha in a pet carrier to get some peace from Graham. She sent me a text an hour or so later and said she had put them back together, and now they were asleep on top of each other.

Since we got home Saturday night, Dom and I have both been disturbed by the amount of times we have heard the cage rattling. It sounds like they’re about to bust outta there! When we go check on them, they freeze and stare up at us as if to say, “It wasn’t me!!!!” Then we turn our backs, and the tussle starts all over again. The only proof of discontent (aside from the noise) is the tufts of fur laying in the bottom of the cage.

Talk about getting their ears in a twist!

Originally, I thought they just needed a bigger cage – one where they could spread out and chill with each other. Perhaps a nice two-story bunny hutch? Given that I had read how they were such social critters, I figured they would naturally insist on being together. But my phone call to Critter Company yesterday taught me otherwise. Apparently, when rabbits start to reach maturity, they don’t like to be together, and will fight.

Oh, LOVVVVVVVVVVVELY!

So, now healthier living spreads to the bunny rabbits. In the interest of inner peace Graham and Marsha shall henceforth be separated when it is cage time. They can play together each day when the kids let them out to roam their rooms. And, now, Aaron will be solely responsible for the care of Graham, and Vic will only have to worry about Marsha. I’ll be making two bunny care chore charts instead of one now, but it will be for the good of all involved.

Does EVERYONE have to learn these things the hard way, or is it just me?

Day 50: Can You Believe It’s Been Fifty Days???

2010-08-03T04:18:00.000-07:00

If someone had told me a year ago – heck, even four months ago – that I would be making all these lifestyle changes and sharing my successes and non-successes in this mission on the Internet I would have said no freakin’ way. And yet, here I am. It’s funny how things work out, isn’t it?

In February I put myself on a “diet” with the goal of ousting the last pounds of baby fat, plus the extra pounds I found as my children grew. I had no idea that the discipline I inflicted on myself for that endeavor would come in so handy for this one. And I am constantly amazed at what I hear about other people’s experiences in the transition to a healthier lifestyle. I am thrilled beyond belief at the changes I see friends and family making on their own, and it tickles me to learn with them a few more ways to live just a little bit better. To all of you who have made a change in your lives – no matter how big or small – thank you for sharing them with me.

This transformation process is a challenge, to say the least. I am grateful for the not-so-exciting changes like cleaning the hairbrush and removing the junk from the passenger seat of my car each day. Those tasks give me a little more control over something simple, and the reward is instantaneous. The larger challenges, the desire to eat more organic foods for example, while totally worthwhile, are a tad more daunting. Where in all of Shreveport can I find organic rump roast and flank steak? For a price I can afford? And how much energy is reasonable to put into such a search?

I’ll offer just a brief rundown of the successes and near-misses that stand out the most for me:

SUCCESS: I actually found a natural (partially organic) sunless tanner. Voila!! Life is SO good! It’s by Lavera, it’s sold at Target, it’s $20, and it has so far lasted more than a month with only half the bottle empty right now.

NEAR-MISS: I have not gotten to talk to the Mary Kay people yet. They gave me a phone number to call. Keep wishing me luck.

SUCCESS: This weekend’s grocery run resulted in a totally natural and organic basket of goods, including an organic Strawberry Milk box for Aaron. He is on Cloud Nine.

NEAR-MISS: I am doing really well at driving the speed limit, but I occasionally still catch myself going 5 miles over.

SUCCESS: I have risen from the bed ON TIME EACH DAY since Day 1 when I renounced the snooze button and changed my evil ways!

NEAR-MISS: I am still a work-in-progress on the whole breakfast idea.

SUCCESS: One cup of coffee per day has not killed me.

NEAR-MISS: My organic eyeliner runs. I’m back to using the old one, and still on the hunt for a better product.

SUCCESS: I am learning to let myself off the hook for not completing my chores as promised. I am learning instead to be grateful for the extra time with my children as they insist on teaching me about Pokemon characters.

NEAR-MISS: My chemical-free vegetable-based hair color is way too dark. I should be happy that it gave me back my 19-year-old hair, but even at 19 I wanted lighter hair. However, even though it is not my preference, I do not look awful with my hair this dark, seeing as how God planned it that way and all.

SUCCESS: I make eye-contact with more individuals that I pass in stores, parking lots, etc. And I smile at them. Amazingly, they smile back and usually offer a greeting. People aren’t so darn bad after all. ;)

All in all, life is good, and this journey is worth it. Thanks for traveling along. :)

Day 49: Too Hot and Too Tired to Change Anything Today

2010-08-02T04:23:00.000-07:00

Well, I got up earlier, but not to exercise. With only six hours of sleep last night, I'm finding it hard not to crash on my keyboard. At bedtime yesterday I went upstairs and cleaned my brush. Hunched over the bathroom sink until my back hurt, I scrubbed the brush under the hottest water I could stand. And ya know what? My brush is now B-E-A-Utiful!!! Amazing. Mom will be proud.

Next on the agenda is time management. With all these things that I want to change, it’s getting just a little daunting to keep it all in line and on time. Last night as I was kicking myself for not making it to the grocery store (again) and for still needing to wash two loads of clothes, and for the kitchen being a bit of a mess, I had to remember all that stood in my way throughout the day. Air conditioner problems top the list – when the outside is 102 degrees, and the inside hits 80, we’ve got problems! Then there was the moment of sheer joy when I drained the sink water where my basil had been washing, and suddenly found myself in a basil foot bath. The drain pipe had popped loose, so while I struggled to plug the drain to keep the other half of the water from flooding the floor, Dom wiggled under the sink and banged the pipe back into place. Add that project to the ToDo list. Then there’s Victoria, who spent the entire evening in a fit of tears because – well, who really knows why? It was just a rough ol’ day.

All in all, I had an incredibly busy and moderately productive day yesterday. But today I am tired. Tomorrow (YAY! Day 50!) I’ll recap the successes and failures of this project so far. Today, I’m just going to try to keep smiling, and hope I don’t fall asleep in the middle of any conversations.

Day 48: Balancing Act

2010-08-01T19:52:00.000-07:00

I’m on my third re-write of this post because I keep busting myself on all my lame excuses. The gist of this issue is that I need to exercise. Strike that. I need to make exercise a priority. After 6 months of changing my eating habits to lose weight, I’m now the size I want to be. I’m just not the shape I want to be. Make sense? Okay, okay. Some parts just shouldn’t jiggle. There. I said it.

My mom has a saying: “Whenever I feel like exercising, I lay down until the urge passes.” I guess you could say I’ve been laying down a lot.

OK, so, no more excuses. No “I have to fold laundry,” or “the dog just puked,” or “I have to go harvest the overgrown basil.” The old standbys are out the window. Somehow, by hook or by crook, I will get 20 minutes of exercise in. Every day. The best way I can see to fit it in is to get up 20 minutes earlier. Waking up is hard enough; but waking up to exercise?!! Sheesh!!

I will need a lot of support on this one, folks, lest my yin overtakes my yang, and I lay there until the urge passes.

Day 47: Brush-a, Brush-a, Brush-a

2010-08-01T18:59:00.000-07:00

There are some things about my life that I probably should not share. But, I figure that even though some of these changes are real no-brainers, even insignificant to most people, they are pretty huge in my average day. Take my hairbrush, for example. Yes, really.

Several years ago my mom happened to see my hairbrush, for whatever reason, and I vividly recall her reaction: “Oh my goodness, Lori, don’t you EVER clean your brush?!!!!”

Um…

I never really thought about it before, but apparently, my mom grew up cleaning her hairbrush on a regular basis. To this day her hairbrush looks as good as it did on the wall of the store. Let's just say mine does NOT look that good. I just always figured when the brush got too funky, then it was time to buy a new one. To clarify, yes, I do pull excess hair from my brush when the mood strikes me. I just haven’t made it, you know, a habit.

Which is probably why the act of cleaning my round rolly-brush the other day was nothing short of IronMan training.

So, in the interest of healthier living, I’ll be cleaning my hairbrushes more regularly. I mean, it’s the least I can do, right?

Day 46: Spreading the Word

2010-07-30T04:37:00.000-07:00

Please forgive me if you’ve heard me say this already. I have to use the story to illustrate a point. I would never try to force my belief or opinion on another person, and I don’t share much of this venture with those who turn their noses up at the first mention of the word “organic.” But more and more I find myself wanting to help other people, to enlighten them to what I’ve learned, and it’s so hard not to blurt out how I feel when I think this might help somebody. It’s hard, but I don’t do it. To illustrate:

Yesterday while I was sitting at a red light, I saw a man walking down his driveway to get the morning paper. There did not appear to be anything physically wrong with the guy, but when he reached for the paper on the ground, it took him a moment to really reach it. It looked like his back or his knees were stopping him, and it took every ounce of energy he had to reach the paper on the ground via some half-squatting-barely-bent maneuver. He appeared to be about middle age, which I believe is too young to not be able to bend. I wanted so badly to roll down my window and say, “We just need to get the toxins out of your muscles and you’ll be able to bend better!”

NOT that it was any of my business.

Of course you know my window stayed up, and I drove on with the turning of the light. But I thought about this guy all day long, wishing he knew what I have been learning about the crap we eat and how it affects our overall health. But would he care? Maybe not.

But maybe?

So this change, while focused mostly in my home and concentrated on the four humans who reside here, is no longer just about me. I read a friend’s online dilemma with baby eczema, and I chimed in about the chemicals in our body products. I didn’t want to shove it down his throat, but I felt so strongly that the baby would not be having eczema outbreaks if they switched to natural products. My grandma talked about how her allergies have multiplied, and I recalled BachelorGirl’s comment on Day 44 where she relayed information shared by a naturopathic physician that allergies are results of our systems being out of whack. I can see it! I really can!!

I’m feeling a restlessness within. I am more and more compelled to share what I learn. But lifestyles and habits are sensitive subjects, and I always want to respect people’s space and opinions. I am tempering my desire to shout from the rooftops and skywrite messages to the world. So, I’m channeling Bill Murray from the end of Scrooged. Really, while you imagine me standing there spouting these lines, wild-eyed and with hair all askew, think about these movie lines in terms of making better choices for our bodies (with apologies to Mitch Glazer and Michael O'Donoghue):

“It can happen every day! You've just got to want that feeling!
You'll want it every day! It can happen to you!
I believe in it now.
I believe it's gonna happen to me, now. I'm ready for it!
And it's great. It's a good feeling.
It's better than I've felt in a long time.
I'm ready.”

Anyone else ready? :)

Day 45: Managing all the Stuff

2010-07-29T04:30:00.000-07:00

Dom noticed me moving items from my little white purse which I had used this weekend to the big – no, oversized – bag I usually carry and he casually inquired, “You going back to the big purse?” I felt busted. Like I had just been caught indulging an addiction. I explained in a self-justifying way, “Yes, but only because it holds so much more stuff!”

I tried to get by with the little purse. It’s just that, well, I had a really good system in the big bag. I have everything I could possibly need in the big purse: Band-Aids, Neosporin, Motrin, baby aspirin (in case I suddenly have a heart attack, ya know), nail clippers, USB adapters, cuticle cream, flash drives, device chargers, dental floss…you get the picture. Oh dear…I get the picture too now. Oh, I hate when I put a justification in writing and then reading it makes me realize how un-just it is. Damn blog!

Indulge me this interruption, if you will. My dad used to drive an 18-wheeler. For years after he changed jobs, whenever we would be riding down the street on a family outing or on the interstate headed to my grandmother’s house, other “#$%**@ drivers” would haphazardly change lanes or cut us off or drive in the left lane for too long, thereby invoking a litany of un-repeatables from my father. He would always sum up the tirade with “They wouldn’t do that if I was in my truck!” (Never mind that is was ultimately a little pickup who cut Daddy off on an icy interstate and caused the demise of the 18-wheeler. I have since come to believe Daddy must have felt about that rig the same as I felt about my minivan. No other vehicle would ever measure up.)

I share that with you because I have a tendency to hold too tightly to the same mentality: I wouldn’t be in a bind needing (insert item here) if I had my big purse! You know, if you’re going to eat a nice, healthy organic peach at your desk without the benefit of a knife, then you are certainly going to need dental floss afterward. And I can’t tell you how many times over the last few small-purse days I have wanted to plug in my earpiece charger. And just Saturday in Mass, Aaron realized he had a blister on his foot and there I was, with my little purse and no band-aids, offering the only consolation I could: “You’re gonna have to limp ‘til we get home, dude.”

I recall a Cathy cartoon in which she determines she can do without a purse because guys do it all the time and all they use is pockets. So she stuffs her pockets with everything she can’t do without, and the end frame shows her standing there with her pockets so overstuffed she can’t even relax her arms by her side. (Sidenote: The creator of Cathy, Cathy Guisewite, also has a book called Revelations From a 45-Pound Purse. Sounds like a must-have for my bookshelf!)

I truly WANT the simplicity of the smaller purse. I used to get by with one just fine. And I know that in the midst of all this change, lessening my dependency on stuff is ultimately necessary, not to mention better for my shoulders.

I promise to, um, work on downsizing.

Day 44: To Test or Not To Test?

2010-07-28T04:52:00.000-07:00

I love herbal ingredients in my products, but I have to be very careful when choosing herb- and fruit-based products. Why?

Because I am allergic to the healthiest fruit and the most soothing flower. Talk about luck.

When ingested, pomegranate and chamomile can take me down in minutes. So can certain kinds of whipped cream, but that’s another story I’m still trying to research. As for the pom and the cham, well, they are on the Don’t-Dare-Buy-Ever list. Problem is, they are prevalent in many of the natural products I’m finding. So I’m curious: if I am allergic to an ingredient when I consume it, will I also be allergic to the ingredient in body products? I have to admit I’m a little hesitant to find out.

My allergies run parallel to my mother’s, and we are noticing that my son shares our reactions to some of the same triggers. Now granted, these allergic reactions are certainly not life-threatening. Our symptoms typically include scratchy throat, coughing, and the nose going haywire. All the stuff that makes a winter cold so darn miserable happens to us instantly upon consumption of these ingredients. If you have any experience with similar food allergies and related ingredients in body products, please let me know. I’m curious to know if I would be safe buying a pomegranate moisturizer or having chamomile in my body wash. I want to be natural, but I don’t want to mess with Nature, ya know?

Day 43: Pressing On

2010-07-27T04:17:00.000-07:00

Today’s lesson: letting it go is a constant experience. In the midst of yet another setback, or at worst a disappointment really, I’m playing my “Happiness Is A Choice” card and telling myself to suck it up. My first ever drugstore.com order arrived in yesterday’s mail, and I was tickled pink as Aaron carried it into the house for me. I ripped into it immediately to reveal the five products I had purchased with such careful consideration.

First, the natural/organic hair color I bought looks like it might be drastically darker than what I want. But nothing short of gothic black can be darker than my natural color, so I’ll just go with it. I dug further to lay hands on the crown jewel of this shipment, the Burt’s Bees Toffee Lip Shimmer – the Holy Grail of all lip shimmers, the Red Rider BB Gun of this very box. I had read countless rave reviews of this toffee lip gloss. I am a fan of the Radiance lip shimmer, but not quite so crazy about the peppermint oil they use in it. The minty-ness makes my eyes water (finally nailed that trigger!) But ladies online in various sites had touted this toffee color to be the absolute one color they could not live without. “All my girlfriends want to know what color this is when I wear it!” “I keep a tube of this color everywhere I go!” “I get so many compliments on this color! It’s so natural looking.” And of course, it was the one color I couldn’t find in all of Shreveport. So, it made sense to me that everyone was buying it up before I could get to it in my local stores.

With Aaron close on my heels for all the excitement I was generating, I ran up the stairs with all items of my shipment, ripped through the tamper-evident packaging of the lip shimmer, and approached the bathroom mirror to witness sheer cosmetic genius in a tube. One good swipe to the bottom lip, two swipes to the top, and…wait a minute…

(Smacking my lips together) “Aaron, um, what do you think, honey?”

Aaron (wide-eyed and beginning to wrinkle his nose): “I think your lips look blue.” And then two seconds later, “No, wait, they’re gray. Silverish, but mostly gray. Mommy, is it supposed to look like that?”

“No, sweetheart, I don’t think so.” We ran to the other bathroom at my suggestion that maybe it was just bad lighting. As I looked into the mirror again, I was devastated to realize what Aaron was already saying out loud: “Nope, it wasn’t the lighting! That’s definitely gray!”

So I gotta get over the fact that I just paid $5 and waited nearly two weeks to find out what I’ll look like as a corpse. Except that my lips were sparkly gray! So, the up-side of all this nonsense?

At least I now have the perfect accessory to go with my Goth black hair!

Day 42: Pre-Made Dinners and Unrelated Confessions

2010-07-26T04:33:00.000-07:00

My friend Jessica let me borrow three awesome cookbooks by Holly Clegg. One of them was her Freezer Friendly Meals, which I liked so much I bought my own copy. There is another of her cookbooks I have discovered and must have: Too Hot in the Kitchen. Check them out. What I love about Holly's cookbooks is that they contain all health-conscious recipes complete with nutritional information for each serving.

I think there’s a lot to be said for the freezer friendly meals. I mean, you still get to control the ingredients that go into them, and then cooking dinner on a busy weeknight does not have to involve not an hour long process of chopping onions and blending sauces. It’s a win-win situation.

Even though today is Monday, and I didn’t get to do this during the weekend, I think it is a fabulous idea to cook on the weekend for the next two week’s meals. Since I plan a month’s worth of menus ahead of time anyway, I will now put some effort into not only planning the menu, but preparing as much of it as I can. I rather like the idea of cooking all day in a liesurely pace, knowing I'm saving myself time in the long run. This also makes it easy for the hubster to come home first and throw a dish into the oven. Then, voila, we’ve BOTH worked at preparing dinner.

Oh, and speaking of the hubster… honey, if you’re reading this…I forgot to turn the sprinkler off in the backyard last night before we went to bed. Oops…

Day 41: Bottling My Own Water

2010-07-25T07:35:00.000-07:00

Yes, I have been one of those ghastly bottled-water buyers. Even though I did not know it was ghastly to be one. We drink regularly enough from the tap, but I have bought bottled water for years for the purpose of toting a drink, packing a kid’s lunch, etc.

Until now. I just watched The Story of Bottled Water and I must say… eeeww. This, of course, gives me a whole new direction to go with my green efforts, which will naturally include clarifying what is done with our local recycling. I had no idea – no conscious realization, really – of the effects of production at the front end. Oh Emm Gee!!

The reason I started to watch the video in the first place is that I have recently been made aware of the harmful chemicals in our plastics. And yes, I will soon follow a throng of other mothers in rummaging through my plastics cabinet and ousting all those with inappropriate numbers. FYI – the ones to ditch, or at least not use with your food – are 3, 6, and 7. And if you are like me, you have no idea where to find this number. It will be on the bottom of the item, in the middle of the triangle recycling symbol. I learned this two weeks ago. Yeah, I’ve been that clueless.

So I thought the video would set me straight, but it opened so many more avenues for my mind to travel. At least for now, the chemicals are what I am ultimately trying to eliminate. BPA is a chemical found in the polycarbonate of hard plastics which aren’t usually recyclable anyway, and there is MUCH controversy over it. The FDA considers it “reasonably safe” which is enough to make me stay away from it! And, as it turns out, they have agreed to reevaluate BPA’s safety. Palm-strike-to-forehead.

What am I going to do with all this information? My first step is to buy reusable water bottles manufactured without BPA, and eliminate our need for commercially bottled water. Next I will investigate our local recycling processes. It will take a little time, but I will report as I learn.

See ya at the tap!!

Day 40: Doing Something About It

2010-07-24T20:23:00.000-07:00

I received an email message from the Environmental Working Group yesterday and it almost brought tears to my eyes. (I must be hormonal, because everything seems to be making me cry lately.) The Toxic Chemicals Safety Act is being reviewed by Congress. The EWG asks us all to sign a petition to let Congress know how important this is to us. I don’t usually sign petitions, but believe me, I have signed this one!!!! Within the email, Ken Cook, President of the EWG Action Fund states the following, which is probably what affected me the most:

“This reform is long overdue. In May, the President's Cancer Panel released a new report on exposure to chemicals and the risk of developing cancer. While their findings may be nothing new to you and me -- especially that children are more susceptible than adults to carcinogens and endocrine disruptors -- it is a clear call to Congress to take action now.

"The nearly 300 chemicals that EWG found when testing the umbilical cord blood of 10 Americans -- chemicals like BPA, lead, mercury, fire retardants, perchlorate and PCBs -- are increasingly linked to serious long-term health effects, from childhood cancer and autism to ADHD, learning deficits, infertility and heart disease.”

Go back to that last paragraph. Notice the testing of umbilical cord blood from 10 Americans. I know most people will say, “Ten cords. Big deal.” But notice the significance of this. It might not be so staggering if they had tested thousands of cords and identified a hundred or so chemicals. But they tested TEN cords and identified nearly THREE HUNDRED toxic chemicals. We are poisoning ourselves and our children with every product we use.

@ Yahoo! Video

Additionally, on a similar front, the EWG’s website links to an AOL News article about the Safe Cosmetics Act. Mostly, I now understand that this law will give the FDA more power to regulate the cosmetics industry. I’ve been very hard on the FDA in the last two months. I’ve redefined their initials, I’ve scoffed at any reps of the FDA on GMA, and I’ve grown livid over news articles involving the FDA on matters that, quite frankly, don’t even directly concern me. I’ve been a bit of a bi***.

Ultimately, I want Toxics Reform in all areas of our lives. I want people to know what we are doing to ourselves and our children. I want cosmetics companies and food companies and various industries to wake up and realize that it is far more respectable to care for your customers’ health over your own wealth. I want to be a voice for change, not only in our production, but in our mindsets. I want my daughter to be able to grab an item off of a store shelf and not wonder if it’s going to cause cancer later. I want my family members who don’t care about the product ingredients to live fuller, healthier lives as a result of laws that they may not care to read, but will impact them nonetheless. I want a better world. And I believe it is possible.

Day 39: Wassup, MK?

2010-07-23T04:32:00.000-07:00

As I sit here at the keyboard, updating my son’s iPod and wondering what today’s topic will be, so many issues are swimming though my head. I think today’s mission, however, will be to finally send the letter to Mary Kay Cosmetics. I have a draft already, but it’s pretty harsh and finger-pointing, and I come out sounding all Psycho-Crunchy-Girl in it, so imagine the proverbial rip from the typewriter, wadding of the paper, and tossing across the room. Twice.

Ultimately, I am curious to know if they have received requests for safer cosmetics, and if they have any plans in the future to vamoose the parabens, petrochemicals and phthalates, along with the certified artificial colors, formaldehyde, and butyl- preservatives. Yeah, they’re all in there. Scary. I've stopped using all but one eyeshadow color, yet I still have about $300 of product in a box in my dining room. So, while I need to relinquish the unopened stock I have, if they have any plans to address this in the future, then I might not want to cash in my consultant card and related 50% discount, ya know what I mean? So I gotta know. Are they gonna change or what?

I’m sending my letter today, come hell or high water. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Day 38: Empowering YOU

2010-07-22T04:36:00.000-07:00

I suppose the biggest transformation so far lies in the fact that I am now oddly comfortable with airing my laundry list of habits and dependencies. I mean, heck, I’ve brought you right on in to my mousse-dependent, lip gloss-toting, sunless-tanning world, and surprisingly I haven’t been embarrassed about any of it. I have a lot of stuff to change over here at home, and I imagine if you’ve read more than one post and you’re still with me, then you must not think I’m too crazy. Or, you do think I’m crazy, and this is just a way to pass the time waiting on some good spam. Either way, there’s a small chance that something I say will make other people think, and that might just lead to a positive change in someone else’s life. What more could I possibly ask for?

Maggie shared this video with me yesterday, and I just HAVE to share it with you. The Story of Cosmetics: The Ugly Truth of “Toxics In, Toxics Out.” This is a great clip that gives the viewer of any age a little more understanding of how and why we are in this toxic chemical-dependent boat in the first place. I LOVE that the narrator comments on all the beauty products for their toxicity, and follows it up with the fact that we are further teaching our daughters that true beauty REQUIRES all this crap.

OMG, there are soooooooooooooo many reasons to boycott the chemicals!! I hope you watch the video, I hope you share it with others, and I hope you are empowered to make a difference in your corner of the world.

There are more Story of Stuff videos at their website. Good information presented in a cute and understandable way. Check them out, become a member of Wiser Earth...let's make a difference together.

Day 37: Evalutating Commitments

2010-07-21T05:21:00.000-07:00

So I get a call from a fellow Circle member at church who says the church office needs more baptismal bibs, and wasn’t I in charge of that committee, and could I swing some by the office and drop some off at my earliest convenience? First, I wasn’t aware of a committee per se, but I do have the bib box in my possession, so I thought no problem.

But, I gotta give you some history. If you know me, you know new projects excite me, and I love to help a cause (my causes are mostly tee-ninecy, but I’m all in there!) So at my third circle meeting ever with this group, we were sewing baptismal bibs for the babies and Christmas soup bags for our holiday fundraiser. I came armed with my sewing machine in its cute little tapestry rolling cart, thread, bobbins, scissors, and a willing spirit. Apparently, that’s about all one needs. The lady in charge of baptismal bibs somehow declared me “a natural” at sewing them and when she moved a few short months later, asked if I would be responsible for the bibs and handed me a small plastic box with all the supplies I would need. My immediate thoughts were 1) How hard can it be? 2) I can certainly spare a few minutes of my time for the good of the church, and 3) How could I ever tell this sweet lady ‘no’?

Now you’re all caught up. We made more bibs this past January, this time with me toting them home, or so I thought. Turns out, when I went to the box to fetch more bibs for the church office this week, I realized my box was empty. Worse, there was no extra fabric OR lace with which to make more. YIKES!!! A fuzzy memory of me handing a stack of bibs to another lady floated through my wee-little mind, and I prayed that I would not be the reason new little babies would not receive a baptismal bib ever again at St. Mary’s. I sent out an SOS email message to all 60+ circle members, enlightening them to my plight, and begging for anyone with knowledge of the bibs, or the materials I should buy, to please reply ASAP. I ended the email with a truth-in-a-joke question: “Y’all sure you want me in charge of this?!”

The end result is that my circle sisters came through with flying colors: one offered to monogram more bibs post-haste; several offered to go purchase supplies; and one called to say she found 18 bibs at her house, all ready to go. Looks like we’re a committee, after all.

Whew!!

The moral of all this hoopla is that this will teach me to be more careful what I promise, ala Captain Woodrow F. Call when he finally laid Gus to rest in Texas. (If you have no clue who Capt. Call is, watch Lonesome Dove. It’ll be 6 hours well spent!) I’m good – really good – at promising my energy. I feel that I am not so good at delivering the effort. But, I’d rather cut off my right arm than not keep my word, so I go all Tasmanian Devil around the house until the commitment is filled. Perhaps if I carefully consider the requirements of each commitment, and fully own them in an effort to stay abreast of any situation involving said commitment, I will not be so frantic when called upon to do that which I have promised.

Either that, or I gotta learn to say "no." ;)

Day 36: It’s A Bug, Bug, Bug, Bug World

2010-07-20T05:10:00.000-07:00

My green efforts have just extended to the outside. I think I found termites in my chrysanthemums. I decided to move the mums from one spot of my new flowerbed to another because of their size, and when I did, I saw all these creepy-crawly send-me-screaming kind of bugs. My first thought was termites, because they were white and shapely. Blech!!! My internet research says I might be right. But I did notice that they were contained in the area where the mums were planted, centered at the root ball of one plant.

Still…yuck!

So I called my pest control people and asked if they could bring something, preferably organic, to kill the little dudes before they spread further in my flowerbed, and worse, to my home. I am scheduled for a termite inspection today and will decide what needs to be done after that. I cannot imagine or wrap my head around a worst-case scenario right now, so in preparation for best-case scenario, I found out that beneficial nematodes will eat the termites in my dirt. So, if my inspectors don’t find any damage to my home or have a good eco-friendly solution for the ones in the ground, then for the first time in my life I will purchase bugs. Bugs to kill bugs. Go figure.

I did find a good site that hopefully will jumpstart my organic gardening process: GreenMethods.com seems to have all the beginner’s why-you-want-to-do-it-this-way information ready for the taking. I have been wanting to get all “green” in my garden. Maybe this is my starting point.

Wish me bug-free luck!!

Day 35: My Morning Madness

2010-07-19T04:34:00.000-07:00

I swear my mornings would run so much more smoothly if I would just decide what I’m going to wear the night before. You know, actually plan my wardrobe. Perhaps then I wouldn’t be standing at the closet in the dark, trying not to wake up Dom, deciding if this belt goes with these pants, and does my butt look too flat? We’ve been doing really well with the laundry. Everything is clean almost all of the time, so my selection is nice and varied. But some mornings it is just an overwhelming decision.

Take today. I intended to wear a dress. Laying in bed at 5:15 in my alarm-responsive fog, I decided a dress would be easy enough. What I didn’t consider was that the only dress I have that isn’t black and that I haven’t worn in a while is just a tad too low-cut for work. And that leaves me without a dress to wear today. So I ended up standing at the closet, in the dark…

I think I’ll try to start a habit of deciding these matters before I go to bed each night. I have successfully done this in the past, and it was a really good thing. So I know how easy it can make a morning. Besides, I make the kids set out their clothes the night before. Shouldn’t I do the same?

Day 34: Milk Money

2010-07-18T08:07:00.000-07:00

For quite some time now, I have made a point of buying milk from cows who were not treated with the RBST hormone. I had to go to a second grocery store to get a brand I trusted, but it was worth it in my opinion. But once all this other dietary change came about, my cousin Maggie clued me in on the meat dangers, which started me researching meat and dairy while my head nearly spun off my shoulders. I started thinking about not only the hormones, but now the pesticides sprayed on the farm which the cows might ingest, antibiotics they are given, and OMG – some cows are forced to eat their buddies? Whaaaaaaaa????

Suffice it to say I have never been a farm girl. I found and am happy to share the Top 10 Eco-Friendly Reasons to Buy Organic Meat & Dairy by Annie Bond. (I love that her name is Annie, by the way. Makes me feel like my grandma, Annie – who was a farm girl - is tapping me on the shoulder.)

On my previous grocery store run I bought a single gallon of organic milk (at almost twice the price) along with several gallons of our regular milk, assuming no one else in the family would 1) notice if I changed the milk or 2) readily want to change if its cost were disclosed. I figured I’d be the guinea pig, if you will, but I went ahead and opened the organic gallon and slipped it onto the refrigerator shelf.

The result? It’s a hit!! Dom says it tastes better than the regular milk I was buying. In fact, he commented on it twice. See? Healthier, happier cows make a healthier, happier product. So, from now on, it’s organic milk for us. I believe it will be well worth the cost.

Day 33: Meditation on Mass

2010-07-18T07:33:00.000-07:00

In all this calculating of potential improvements to my life, I have been wondering if I could find some meditation time. Maybe some time to study Scripture in depth or simply read a verse and apply it to my day. Or just spend some one-on-one time with the Man Upstairs, chatting about how yesterday went and what my attitude should be for the day ahead. Whatever it is that I truly need, I wasn’t seeing what it was, or where to fit it in.

But during a funeral Mass this past Thursday it finally struck me. This is where I get my time to chill out with God. And it’s the best of both worlds for me…for a while in the beginning, it’s just me and Him. He’s doing the talking and I’m doing the listening. And then toward the end, we all stand and profess our faith. “We believe…” We, this family of imperfect believers, during this very moment demonstrate the significance of “community.” We worship together, and then we leave to serve together. We remain connected to our Creator and to each other, through this Mass, until we join again next week to renew the connection.

How amazingly awesome is that?!!! Equally amazing is the fact that this opportunity has been afforded to me every single day for the last year plus, and I have not seen its gift. Mass is offered at my office every single morning. Dom, the kids and I attend Mass on Saturdays at our church. I am aware that my Mass Euphoria has dwindled considerably by Monday afternoon. Why didn’t I see earlier that I NEED this renewed connection more often than once a week? Um, duhhh..

I know why I haven’t gone to Mass every day that it’s been offered, and it’s the result of pure selfishness and greed for my time. But, like so many of my other excuses, this one is transparent and flimsy and I see right through it now. Only now…I didn’t want to see through it before because it kept everything convenient for me. If I have learned nothing else over the last month, I have learned that convenience is a killer. It’s nice as long as we keep its purpose in our lives short-lived. When convenience becomes the habit, the standard or the norm, we become complacent, sometimes arrogant, and then stuff just starts to fall apart all around us. It sucks, really.

So, to make a long story short (too late!) from now on I am going to go to Mass at the office. Sure, it’s at 8:00 sharp and I don’t usually drag in during the summers until 8:15, but I figure if I’m having to make up the time missed during my day anyway, it needs to be for a better reason than I just didn’t feel like moving any faster today. So, yes, this change, like all others, will be an enormous blessing even though it requires a sacrifice on my part. But I can’t complain. After all, the bigger sacrifice was His.

Day 32: Start to Finish

2010-07-16T11:27:00.000-07:00

You know that book If You Give a Mouse a Cookie? There is a poem called If You Give a Mom a Muffin that runs along the same lines. And it is me to a tee. Speaking of tee, I am thirsty…I should go to the kitchen to get some tea. Oooh, I think I have a frozen lunch in the kitchen freezer. My handy little $2 lunch. Hey, I spent $2 on a deodorant at drugstore.com. It’s my first drugstore.com order, where I also just bought my first natural hair coloring product. I can’t wait to try it. I wonder if it will cover the gray well enough. Haha, at least there’s no gray in accounting. Darn! I need to finish my accounting assignment. I wonder if I’ll get that done before my deadline. What is my deadline, anyway? Speaking of accounting and deadlines, our auditors are here this week. Very nice people, indeed. I tried to buy them Starbucks this morning but they declined. I wish I still had my coffee right now. I’m sure thirsty. Oh, hey, wasn’t I going to get some tea? I think there’s a frozen lunch in the kitchen too…

Yeah, I know what you’re thinking…SQUIRREL!!!!

See, I tend to get a little bit sidetracked. Which is really scary, because I also have a one-track mind, so this basically means that I’m following one track, but I’m just to the left of it most of the time. All this ingredient knowledge and product fascination has me just a tad scatterbrained. I can have a great idea one minute, and be chewing my fingernail the next, wondering where that great thought went, whatever it was. And then I move on to something else that I will eventually screw up. I moved a pile of paper on my desk at work today and uncovered some checks that needed to be deposited and a fax for my boss – received last week. Oops…

I used to pride myself on my multi-tasking abilities. My middle-school teachers used to tell me their To-Do lists because they knew I would remind them on time of what they needed to remember. Admittedly, my mind has not been the same since children came along, but I did have a couple of years of clarity before I recently drifted off the deep end. Maybe my mind is detoxing now that it is not exposed to as many harmful chemicals, and the details of my daily life are just getting thrown out with the bathwater, so to speak.

At any rate, I wish I could finish a complete thought without writing or typing. Granted, my writing is my outlet now, but I can’t do it all day long. I mean, really. I practically have my phone reminding me to breathe.

Breathing – I need to find a Yoga class. That could only help. “Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people don’t shoot their husbands. They just don’t…” I love Reese Witherspoon. I wonder if I could get that movie on demand? Which reminds me…I still need to hook up the DVR to the Internet. Oh yeah, I need to re-work my home network. Wish I had a computer in the kitchen so I could google my recipes right there where I need them. I can’t remember what we’re supposed to have for dinner tonight…

SQUIRREL!!!

Day 31: Hey, FDA! Preserve THIS!!

2010-07-15T04:31:00.000-07:00

Since I spent yesterday attacking food and product synthetic colorings, I’ll hit the next largest culprit this morning: preservatives. I dare say they are as dangerous as the synthetic colors in our foods. According to one of my favorite sources, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, the common food preservative BHA is “reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen.” Isn’t that just lovely?

I gotta hand it to the preservatives, though, specifically BHA, BHT and TBHQ. They are tricky little suckers. Cleverly touting their “antioxidant” properties, consumers naturally file them under the mental “safe” list and move on. But while those antioxidant properties are good at keeping the oils from going rancid, one of my sources says they are also responsible for behavioral issues such as insomnia, depression, and learning disabilities.

They require more of my time. As I prepared to give my two-minute-blog on the dangers of these butyl- preservatives, I decided to refresh my knowledge on them. I learned about them six weeks ago, filed them under “Don’t Go There” and have avoided them ever since. So, as I perused my web haunts for more factual details that I could pass on to you, I uncovered so much more than I remembered. Apparently, because they are antioxidants, they fall under a 5% labeling loophole. Which means that even though I have fought to avoid them, I may have unknowingly purchased products containing them, rendering my efforts – my six weeks’ worth of strip-my-pantry, read-every-label, toss-my-cosmetics and change-my-friggin-shampoo – sabotaged.

Wanna guess how I feel about that?

So now I am left wondering: are the products that sport the “high in antioxidants” claim really just saying, “Hey, look. We have more bad preservatives than the next product on the shelf!” ?? Let's see, taking something bad and making it look good so someone will make a profit...isn’t that in some way, oh I don’t know, fraud?!!

I will continue my research. I will delve into learning about the dangers of certain ingredients and the steps we can take to avoid them and I will report back every last ounce of findings that I possibly can right here.

Listen up, FDA. I am a mamma bear, and you're messin' with my cubs' food supply.

Day 30: Color Me Sane Again

2010-07-14T05:10:00.000-07:00

Ahhhhh…the monsters that started it all. Food colorings. Were it not for these little boogers, this whole venture might not have happened. When we first heard the term “ADHD” from the school counselor, followed by the suggestion that “dietary changes” might have positive impact, I delved into internet research on the topic and learned that Certified Artificial Colors are a hyperactivity trigger in some children. They also have some carcinogenic and endocrine-disrupting properties. And these colors are in every single thing we use and eat commercially. Read the labels on your foods, your cosmetics, your hand soap, your shampoo. Pardon my French, but it’ll start to piss you off.

Victoria and Aaron are fast becoming experts on certified artificial colors, and they avoid them voluntarily because I have explained the risks to them. FYI, “certified” artificial colors are the synthetic tar- or petroleum-based ones with a color name and number like Red 40, Yellow 6, Blue 1. Certified colors are approved by the FDA and must be listed individually by name in the ingredient list. (I’m withholding my personal comments here.) If a food label states simply that it has “artificial colors” in it, then those colors are the ones that are naturally occurring (found already in nature itself – plants, fruits, etc.) There’s your daily dose of Ingredients 101.

Ever since blue jello came out on the market, I have squawked that, “I don’t eat blue food!” And I didn’t even know about synthetic colors then. The Center for Science in the Public Interest has a PDF file on its website entitled Food Dyes: A Rainbow of Risks. This 68-page document gives a world of information on the synthetic food colorings, much more than the average bear is interested in. I don’t understand all the chemical composition details of the ingredients in each color, which are deeply detailed and account for the size of the document, but it has some common language and summarizing information I think everyone should read. Just check out the summaries of colors on Page vii (physical page 7 of the file). The summary is enough to make me want to spit nails.

I can’t help but think that if people KNEW what they were eating, they wouldn’t eat it. How many of us, if we knew a food additive was going to cause harm to our unborn children, changes to our DNA, kidney problems, hyperactivity disorders, thyroid issues or cancer would continue to spoon it in??

I could preach for days on this, but I don’t think my blood pressure can take it. Do yourself and your children a favor…make yourself aware of ingredients. Educate yourself. Read the labels before you put the product in the grocery cart. The food companies and the FDA will only change under consumer pressure. And we all know pressure on the pocketbook effects the greatest change. The people making the money prefer keeping the public in the dark. It’s time for more of us to turn the light on.

Day 29: Letting It Ride

2010-07-13T04:48:00.000-07:00

Do you ever have the feeling that the cosmos are determined to work against you? That karma is a big bully just waiting to trip you on your way to the bathroom? I felt like that last night, and again this morning.

It all started with the simple idea of moving the medicine cabinet. Dom and I used to be really good about taking our daily vitamins and supplements, and then I got shingles and we just haven’t been back on track since. In an effort to renew the former habit, I had to tackle the medicine cabinet. Before yesterday, any time we opened the medicine cabinet (which is a tiny upper kitchen cabinet next to the oven) AT LEAST two bottles would fall out on us, making the whole idea of even opening the cabinet door, much less digging to find the Mylanta, a real burden. In short, with each ailment we had to decide if we wanted a cure badly enough to be attacked by flying ibuprofen.

So I had this all-too-clever idea of moving the cabinet to a larger cabinet, a chore that consumed more of the evening than I had allotted to it, as seems to always be my predicament. In the midst of relocating everything, my countertops were littered with every drug we own, as I scanned for expiration dates and ingredients, determining on a bottle-by-bottle basis if we actually needed to keep them.

At some point I needed a potty break and Mabel (the dog) took that opportunity to help herself to the Zyrtec. By the time I realized she had absconded with something, I could only estimate that she had consumed 10-15 tablets. I spent the next 45 minutes conversing with Animal Poison Control and forcing Mabel to puke. It was a lovely evening.

By the way, I must say that Animal Poison Control operators are truly wonderful. 1-888-426-4435. The call costs $65, and it was worth every penny. They assign you a case number, and they give you time to treat the animal and call them back for follow-up. They told me every detail I needed to know, and said for me to call back if Mabel experienced X, Y, or Z. If you ever need to call them and end up going to the vet too, you just take the case number with you so that your vet can talk to their vets and toxicologists. They rock!

So is it any wonder that I came downstairs this morning to face unfolded laundry and a dishwasher to unload? I started to get aggravated with myself, and then remembered what caused my delay in productivity. I have got to start letting myself off the hook easier. Instead of analyzing the past to see where my mistakes live, I have to accept the present and determine how to move forward with what I have right now. Last night could have ended so much worse – I have to be grateful for the results, and then learn to be grateful for the experience as a whole. Our household will barely notice if the clothes aren’t folded; our household would be devastated without Mabel.

Day 28: Look Out, Honey!

2010-07-12T04:22:00.000-07:00

I went shopping this weekend! I spent two whole hours – alone – browsing natural and organic products. I have fallen in love with Drug Emporium, by the way.

My main goal was to find and purchase the one organic sunless tanner worthy of praise. No, I can’t let it go. Sunlight is starting to ricochet off of my skin as I get my vampire glow back. Anyhoo, when I couldn’t find the sunless tanner in my local stores, I refocused my attention…to Dom’s products. He has been so supportive and understanding through all of this change. Every time I apologize for changing something he was accustomed to, he nods and says, “I know what you’re buying is better for us. It’s okay.”

I came home from my shopping adventure with new shaving cream and shampoo for him. All natural, mostly organic, and not budget-breaking, so I am quite pleased with my finds. Burts Bees has a whole section of men’s items, did you know that? And Giovanni hair care has some good options, plus I don't have to go far to find it. I can’t wait to see what he says when he uses the new shaving cream. Oh! And I also found a non-chemical mousse!!! I have to order it still, but I might just get my hairstyle back!!!

Day 27: Mending Fences

2010-07-11T20:10:00.000-07:00

We have new neighbors. Well, okay so they’re not really new – they’ve lived next door for two years now. But considering that the previous family was there when we bought our house and through the next eight years, the second family is relatively new.

I’ve spoken to them once.

And it wasn’t a very inviting conversation, either. See, before Cheryl and her family sold the house to these new people, I had been wanting a privacy fence in the back yard (long story, but that’s the one side of the yard that didn’t have a privacy fence.) But I hated the idea of blocking out Cheryl, and besides, after so many years go by, how rude is that? So when Cheryl sold the house I said to Dom, “Honey! We HAVE to build that fence before new neighbors move in. Otherwise, if we wait, then they will think we don’t want to be friends when we wall off their yard!” I got The Look.

The new neighbors moved in. I intended to take a pound cake or something equally Southern to welcome them to the neighborhood. But my intentions in that arena usually stagnate. So, no pound cake. A year went by, and I still had not met them. We finally made arrangements to build the fence.

Me: “Honey! We HAVE to tell our neighbors that we’re building a fence.”

Dom: “They don’t care.”

Me: “Of course they care! It will affect the look of their backyard. How could they not care?”

Dom: “It’s a fence. They don’t care.”

Me: “Well, I think the chain link fence actually belongs to them, so we need to ask if they want it taken down or connected to our fence in any way. We can’t just alter what is theirs without asking first.”

Dom: (sighing) “Alright. But you’re doing all the talking.”

We visited them the next time they were in their front yard. We walked over and I introduced myself and Dom. They did not share their names with us. We cheerily told them about the plan to build a fence, and asked their desire for the existing chain link. The man said we could just butt the new fence up to theirs. No need to mess with his fence. We thanked them and went home. I recall feeling glad to be walling off my neighbors.

A year has since passed. Neighbor Lady glares at us. Once, she stepped outside to watch Dom cut a huge tree branch which partially hung over the property line. She didn’t look happy about what we were doing, but she didn’t bother to ask us anything or even offer comments. She just glared. And to be quite honest, I was still peeved over our one conversation, so I didn’t say anything to her either. We just kept working. And when we had cleaned everything up Neighbor Lady went back inside.

All of our encounters since then have run along the same lines. Up to and including tonight, when I stood seven feet away from Neighbor Dude, waved and said “Hi!”

He just looked at me. No hi. No wave. Not even a nod. Is it me???

I am determined to at least be a cheerful neighbor. I have a cross and scripture on a large stone in my flowerbed. They have a large metal cross on the front wall of their house. I think, even on the most basic level, that this signifies we may have the same core belief. Maybe?? If we have this in common, then shouldn’t we speak?

This new venture may never bear fruit, but I will try to do my part. I will keep smiling and waving, and maybe, just maybe, one day Neighbor Dude or Neighbor Lady will smile back, and then I’ll have something to build on.

Day 26: La La La La La

2010-07-10T20:48:00.000-07:00

I’m going to start singing. Yep. Watch out Lady Gaga. If you’ve ever heard me sing, well, first off please accept my apology; secondly, you know I would nevah, evah, evah sing in public where people could hear me.

But, aside from my radio faves, I really love to belt out hymns that I recognize in church, much to the chagrin of the poor people sitting in front of me. I couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket, although I can pretty much hit the keys, some of them anyway, but never as the music is written, or even at a musically appropriate time. I have this uncanny knack for squeaking out some really errant notes.

But I do it with such enthusiasm! Or at least, now I do. I used to just lip-sync the hymns. In my estimation, this was a way of showing respect for those around me. I know I can’t sing; I figured I didn’t need to broadcast it by wounding the eardrums of those who had the misfortune of picking a pew near mine. But then there’s that whole scripture about making a joyful noise. (Yes, I know there’s also one about a clanging symbol and a loud gong, but let’s keep this focused on the positive, how ‘bout it?) As I was saying, I am determined to make a joyful noise. God knows the voice I have – he gave it to me. I imagine he doesn’t cringe when I sing his praises. At least I hope not.

Without any scientific studies to back this up, I’m going to venture to say that singing is good for the heart, mind and soul. Even if I don’t sound good, I feel good when I sing. I sing in the shower (I dance in there too. I pray 9-1-1 is never called because I was doing a bathtime boogie. Now spend the rest of the day getting that out of your head.) I sing in the car. Although, I used to stop singing if it was daylight and I was at a red light, because I didn’t want the people in the next lane watching me make a fool of myself. Invariably, a red light comes up at my favorite part of the song, and trying to save myself from embarrassment really kills the feel-good mood. So about a week ago I decided I was going to sing even through a red light. No fear. I happened to look up at the back of a school bus that was in line with my hood, and noticed that all the students sitting at the back of the bus were looking at me and laughing hysterically. Two of them even waved. Ugh...

But really, should that stop me from singing when it makes me so darn happy? I don’t think so anymore. So, I’m going to sing when I feel like singing. And if you happen to hear me, please know there is a part of me that is sincerely sorry for that pain in your head.

Day 25: Vamoosing the Chemicals

2010-07-09T04:27:00.000-07:00

Many of these changes in this process of living healthier are quite challenging. I find myself sometimes wondering if I’m in over my head, but then a moment of clarity will strike me (imagine that) and I will remember why I’m making all these changes. The rewards come in spurts: Aaron googled the ingredients of Skittles to learn that they are horrific snacks. Both kids read labels with voracity now, and that pleases me immensely because they are learning to make smarter choices in their foods. Victoria declined a lemonade slushee from her aunt last week because “it might contain artificial colors.” As I told Kasie when she relayed the story to me, “The Force is strong with this one.”

Aside from the dietary changes we are all making, the cooking and cleaning and balancing it all are an additional challenge. Tonight I was scrubbing the door frame in the kitchen and Victoria asked if I was okay. Does that tell you the significance of these changes? Three times this week my “perfect plans” for dinner have been way-laid by various shifts in the plan. Although I must say that I am pleased with my ability (concentrated effort, that is) to bounce and refocus, whereas before I would crash and burn and remain ticked off for the rest of the evening because my plan got sidetracked, and probably vow to never cook again, which would only last until the next time I got hungry. I keep reminding myself that making healthy changes is not only about actions, it begins with thoughts, so I’m trying to keep those positive. Hopefully, this change in me will sustain the rest of the family through the other challenges.

As far as my change for today, I must report that I have made the most sweeping alteration thusfar. I cleaned out the bathroom cabinets last night and vamoosed every paraben, phthalate, petroleum and formaldehyde toting product I could find, up to and including my coveted Mary Kay. I literally tossed out about twenty pounds of product, either to be trashed or recycled.

When I began this challenge, I was ready to find replacements for these products, but I wasn’t ready to let them go altogether. Last night I made the choice and took action. I gotta say, it feels damn good.

Day 24: It's Just the Pits

2010-07-08T04:16:00.000-07:00

Victoria presented herself in Mom’s kitchen the other day, elbows pinned to her waist, claiming that she could never raise her arms up again. Mom took the bait. “Why can’t you raise your arms up?”

“Because they stink.”

“Excuse me?”

“They stink. My armpits smell really bad!”

Not believing her, Aaron challenged, “Lemme see!” And so she did. Listening to Mom tell the tale, I was rolling on the floor. She said Aaron took a whiff and pulled away gagging. Curiosity got the best of her, and Mom ventured in to see for herself. And as Mom so eloquently put it, “Lori, she could rival your father!”

The next few moments were spent at the bathroom sink, Mom allowing Victoria a sponge bath in an effort to quell the self-disgust rapidly forming in Victoria’s mind. Vic eluded to needing deodorant for herself. Mom said she just needed to drink more water. I agreed, while in the back of my mind I recalled my co-worker sharing with me the claims of at least one group that the aluminum in our deodorant contributes to breast cancer. Mickey was in treatment for breast cancer at the time she was informed of this, and whether it is true or not, neither she nor I can say. But it has definitely got me thinking…

Days later, Victoria shared her version of the story with me, which included the frequent question, “What is up with my pits, Mommy?!” I wasn’t sure what was up, but I was determined to help her find a healthy solution. As I was perusing Tom’s website and learning all about the toothpaste I had just purchased, I saw that they also manufacture a natural deodorant. And I found it here in my stores! Voila! Gentle enough for my little princess, and I won’t have to worry about the guilt of forcing chemically harmful hygiene products on an 8-year old.

Is 8 years old too early for pit problems? I guess that will be my next research focus.

Day 23: The Kitchen's Bedtime

2010-07-07T04:15:00.000-07:00

My grandmother has a particular habit she has displayed longer than I have been alive. Before she leaves the house, or goes to bed, her kitchen is spotless. I remember as a child staying up late with her after everyone else had gone to bed, then doing the last few straggling dishes and wiping down the countertops before turning in for the night. When she came to our home weekly for the first year of Aaron’s life, she continued her habit in my kitchen. It’s a little quirk she has – not even running to WalMart before emptying the sink of a solitary glass – but I love it and really want to emulate it.

Our kitchen needs a bedtime. Our kitchen, like most I’m sure, is the center of our home, literally and figuratively. I like that, but I recognize that the poor kitchen needs a break sometimes. I’d like to put the kitchen to bed when we put the kids to bed. 8:00 – no more clutter, no more snacking. Dishes put away, the ingredients for the next day’s breakfast and dinner prepared and ready to use. It will take me some time to get used to doing this – probably more time than I am willing to allot at first, but I’m sure it will get easier as it goes along. If I can prevent myself from coming home or waking up to a sink full of dishes, I will consider this habit a success.

Day 22: Carbon Prints

2010-07-06T04:38:00.000-07:00

I’m not exactly sure what my carbon footprint looks like, other than it would have to be a strappy wedge-heel grinding its presence into the ecosystem. I do believe that I am leaving a mark on the environment every time I leave something running. A computer, a television, a lamp…

I like the idea of the Butterfly Effect – that the simple flapping of a butterfly’s wings on one side of the world can affect weather patterns on the other. It’s kind of scary in a way, though, when I wonder if our progress and growth of industry and commercialism, our insatiable “need for speed” perhaps contributes to tsunami and earthquakes in third world countries. No, I haven’t studied it. I’m just sayin’…my SUV is a lot bigger than a butterfly…

At the very least, I should try to do my part to benefit the earth. Oh, don’t get me wrong…I love my computers and the big televisions and my bubbly fish tank, and I wouldn’t put my children in a car smaller than what I have now. But perhaps there are little things I can do along the way to lessen my footprint, like using more eco-friendly bulbs in my fixtures, turning off the computer when I’m finished using it, unplugging things as I go along.

A footprint says we’ve been here, that we stood in this place….we existed. It doesn’t tell much else about us, really. But I’m struck by the fact that a footprint is unintentional, and signifies only the fact that a place was trod. Let me leave a handprint: something that says I worked here, I contributed, I left my small corner of the world better than the way I found it, and I did it for the benefit of more than myself.

Day 21: A Cleaner Car

2010-07-05T19:31:00.000-07:00

My car is The Cherry Bomb, so named because after we picked it out, the dealer had it detailed, and it came to us smelling like cherry kool-aid. I’ve had this vehicle three years this month. I think it just now stopped smelling like cherries.

And because my car is The Cherry Bomb and because it is a rebound car (my favorite ride was totaled, forcing me to get this one) my efforts to care for it have been less than stellar. In fact, this past spring when all the pollen was covering people’s cars in a yellow blanket, someone wrote Wash Me on the hood of my car with her finger. I do believe you can still see the words on my hood if you look really close. I don’t make any great effort to clean out the inside either. (Just ask any co-worker who has had to ride to lunch in my car.) The kids know that when they ride with Daddy, or Grandmama, and especially with Granddaddy, that they are responsible for cleaning out all of their “stuff” upon exiting the vehicle. These three individuals take great pride in their personal surroundings and their vehicles’ appearance. I have not previously been so moved.

But I do detest having to cram five weeks worth of papers, gum wrappers, and water bottles into a WalMart bag just so I can push the seat forward. And it’s not just the kids who clutter up my car. I can make just as big a mess as they can…and there’s only one of me!

Starting today, I will make an effort to take better care of my car. After all, it has to last another two years. The kids and I will clean out our junk at the end of every trip home. No more Legos littering the back floorboard. No more receipts from four months ago wadded up in my console. No more dog hair in the back cargo area from the last time I took the dogs to the vet…in April.

As a sign of my renewed commitment to the usefulness of my vehicle, I found the handy-dandy (albeit sometimes in-the-way) little shelf for the cargo area today. I loaded it up and fully intend to rediscover its usefulness. Maybe I’ll even wash the wording off my hood.

Day 20: The Chore of Making a Chore Chart

2010-07-05T19:14:00.000-07:00

It seems that every time I determine a topic to blog about, and a habit to either change or form anew, my immediate thought is, “I’m really going to have to work at this one!” So far, so good, though. Twenty days in; twenty days of positive change, or at least positive rambling. Twenty days…let’s see, that’s one-nineteenth of the way through. But who’s counting?

I guess it’s time to address the item Dom has tried for years to get me to revisit. The Chore Chart. We used to have a chart...years ago...before kids.

Oh, you thought the chore chart was for the kids? Oh, no, no, no. This one is for the adults.

It sounds crazy, but it worked like a charm. We had a chart of the rooms we would clean – top to bottom – each night of the week. It broke the house down into manageable sections. We knew on Tuesday night we would be focusing on the living room; Wednesday we would scrub the bathrooms, etc. And since every room got hit at least weekly, the rooms were never dirty enough to cost us too much of our evening. We used to rock that little chore chart. I don’t know why we ever stopped using it, unless it was those little humans we popped out that interrupted the chore chart (among other things) and left me uttering four tiny words in my sleep: We need a maid…

Over the last few years, Dom has asked me to put together a chart once again so that we could better manage the clutter and cleanliness of our home. I resisted. I don’t know why I was so reluctant to map it out again. I think deep down I had finally come to understand what it feels like to relax in the evenings with no agenda, and I just didn’t want to give that up. But that’s only positive on a superficial level. The very act of me getting off my duff in the evenings would benefit more than just myself.

And so it goes. We have a new chore chart. And this one is cool. Every room gets cleaned once a week, while once a month the walls and baseboards will get washed in those rooms, conveniently spread out so that we are washing walls and baseboards only once during any week. Also, the garage gets cleaned and organized once a month, as well as the air filters getting replaced and the light fixtures getting washed. Bathrooms get scrubbed twice a week, and laundry has no chance of piling up.

If we stick with it, this should all work out quite nicely. And if you call and we don’t answer the phone, just know we can’t hear it ringing over the vacuum cleaner.

Day 19: Et Tu, Toothpaste?

2010-07-03T07:44:00.000-07:00

Since I began this adventure into naturalness, I have been sharing with Mom about the various ingredients we need to avoid in our skin care products. She is fully on board with the eviction of hazardous ingredients, which should not surprise me at all given that she has always supported my efforts wholeheartedly, no matter how crazy I knew I was being. One day during our discussions on the topic, Mom casually uttered, “Well, don’t even look at your toothpaste box.” I snickered and we went on to trying to find a suitable makeup replacement.

But her words stayed in my head. So yesterday at one of the grocery stores (I did not hit all three on Thursday night as I had planned) I decided to scan the ingredients in toothpaste. OMG! My favorite brands did not even have suitable alternatives. The ingredients I found in every variation included triclosan, sodium lauryl sulfate, Blue 1, Yellow 5, Red 33, Red 40 and saccharin, for Pete’s sake. And I’m brushing my teeth with it twice a day? And not just me, but my kids...the very people for whom I’m doing all this research!!! Enough of that! Out with the Colgates and the Crests; in with something better for us.

WalMart had a small selection, two to be exact, of natural toothpastes: Burt’s Bees (I’m starting to love Burt) and Tom’s. I bought Tom’s just because I haven’t tried their stuff yet. And I do love that these natural products I am finding are made in the good ol’ USA. Both Tom’s and Burt’s have kid versions of their natural toothpastes. My kids have used the adult versions for a couple of years now, so I bought the tube with them in mind. But I only bought one tube. So I’ll be going back today to buy a new tube for me and Dom. By the way, Tom’s also had a mouthwash, which I bought because I have a compulsive desire to complete the set. That’s how I roll.

Day 18: Caramel Calories

2010-07-02T04:36:00.000-07:00

I simply have to find a way to shore up the calories in my weekly Starbucks drink. My Venti Nonfat Carmel Macchiato sits comfortably at 240 calories. Compare this to my usual 90-calorie home-brewed cup, and suddenly the Venti NCM counts for breakfast every Friday.

Dom drinks the nonfat caramel latte. It’s a little sweeter than my drink, so I was shocked to see that his beverage was 70 calories less than mine.

70 calories! How unfair is that?!!! I racked my brain trying to determine where this absurd difference originated. Finally, after days of pondering the matter, it hit me. Our drinks are basically the same except that I get an awesome caramel sauce drizzled over the top of my beverage. Apparently, a 70-calorie caramel sauce. Owie zowie. But I love the sauce because it seeps through the rest of the drink and sweetens it just enough to take the bitterness out of the espresso, without being too sweet.

Oh, the dilemmas of an underworked mind. I should be spending my time in the accounting books or cleaning out the upstairs playroom, or refining my home network...something besides contemplating my coffee purchase as if it were fine furniture.

Well, the accounting and the playroom and the network will just have to wait. It’s Friday, and it is coffee day for me and my co-workers. I think I’ll get the barista’s opinion on the matter. That should make his happy little day. Heh heh…

Day 17: Grocery Madness

2010-07-01T04:37:00.000-07:00

I’m gearing up to go to the grocery store tonight. Ideally, I would have a list of the ingredients I need at the stores I will visit and the prices they will charge, so as to make the absolute most of my time and money. And then I would drive off, coupons in tow, toward wholesome foods and practical prices, hitting two or three stores to get the absolute best deals and best savings.

Not likely to happen in the next ten hours. I detest grocery shopping. Except for that little boost I get when something I have to buy anyway is on sale. Or when I find a cool new nailpolish for $2. It’s the little things…

I go to the store – the big one: Wally World – twice a month. I load up on everything we are going to possibly need for the next two weeks. But then I have to stop at Kroger for my meats, produce and milk. Lately I’ve been overshooting the budget, which tells me I might just need to readjust said budget. Also, I’ve been a little bit on a product rampage lately, in case you haven’t noticed. I don’t want to go to the store tonight and load up on the same old stuff I’ve been buying. I want better products, better foods (and better savings…I can’t let it go…)

But before I can get to the store(s), I have to prepare my list. Ugh. I should have been working on this all week, but I was tiiiiiiiiired, so the need for a grocery list didn’t get addressed. Neither did the month of menus. I actually like to plan out what I’m going to cook for the next month, in an effort to 1) make sure I have all the necessary ingredients on hand and on time, 2) use said ingredients before half a decade passes, 3) prevent me and Dom from asking, “What’s for dinner?” and 4) help us determine what and how much to eat for lunch based on what’s on the evening menu.

I’ve been told I over-think things.

I borrowed a killer cookbook from Jessica yesterday, and now my head is swimming with all the new meals I can prepare. But it’s also swimming with the arduous task of detailing the menu calendar, lining out the ingredients, and knowing what needs to be on tonight’s shopping list. I need to convince myself that the world will not come crashing down if I pay two cents more for a pound of coffee, or if I don’t find organic ginger root. I am bigger than this right? Right! My new habit today will be my calm presence of mind as I navigate three grocery stores tonight. Ohhhhmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Day 16: Finding a Happy Medium

2010-06-30T04:18:00.001-07:00

Today I am back to wearing chemistry class on my face. For two days I have fought watery eyes and under-eye sensitivity. There are a number of things that could be causing this: new eyeliner, new mascara, new tinted moisturizer OR the new eye makeup remover pads. Whatever the culprit, I have to apprehend it. Fast. Today I start the experiment of finding out what is making my eyes water. So I went back to all my previous cosmetics, with the intention being to return my face to a state of “normalcy.” I’ll introduce the newer cosmetics one at a time until I have determined what’s causing the watering and irritation.

Since I feel like I’ve taken a step backward, I have to find something positive to enact today. My Type A personality needs something I can control, focus on, and feel better about. We (Dom and I) have been better about going through the daily mail than we ever were before, but mostly because Dom has made a concentrated effort to rid the kitchen counter of the mail pile and immediately shred what we don’t intend to keep. I, on the other hand, have not been so committed. I believe the kitchen counter is presently cluttered with items that belong to me. Some are the kids’ things, but mostly, well…

I know it sounds like a simple undertaking, and some of my changes will be no-brainers. Just because I should have been doing something a certain way, doesn’t mean I have…

Starting today I will make an effort to keep the kitchen counter free of my personal clutter. And I will join Dom in handling the mail as it comes in, rather than letting it pile up. He will be so pleased.

Day 15: Channeling Frenchy

2010-06-29T04:43:00.000-07:00

Remember Grease? Remember when Frenchy got kicked out of beauty school because she dyed her own hair pink? And then in Grease 2, she went back to high school “to get my chemistry so I can mix my own cosmetics,” and then filled the chemistry lab with smoke?

I’m starting to see similarities between us.

I tried the sunless tanner recipe last night. Never fear, it did not leave me splotchy brown. It didn’t leave me anything. Except frustrated.

This is the second “green” recipe I have tried with none of the desired results. This weekend I made my own bathtub cleaner which did not clean the tub. It cleaned the sink, and made an entertaining fizzing sound, but it did not clean the tub.

I have to be able to clean the tub. I mean, really.

Back to the sunless tanner. Aside from the awesome learning experience this has been (I’m learning that I am commercially dependent) there have been few benefits. The recipe did leave my skin exceptionally soft, a result of the lanolin and sesame oil. It was quite sticky at first, and so liquid that I had to put it in a spray bottle, but after application it dried and left a very soft feel to my skin. I was thinking that if it actually colored my skin at all, I would need to add some essential oil to it for a nice fragrance. But now that point is moot. I woke up whiter than when I went to bed. And I’m growing whiter with each exfoliation.

By the way, for experiment #3, I also tried to color my hair with coffee last night. I don’t think it took.

It’s too early to give up. I must get back to my research and gear up for the next green experiment. Frenchy, we got some work to do.

Day 14: Natural Done Backfired on Da Girl!

2010-06-28T16:56:00.000-07:00

Okay, okay. I should have known this was going to happen. In my quest to try all these new products I’ve found I got a little carried away and paid for it dearly, even though none of my coworkers called me out on it. (Thanks, ladies and gents.)

On weekends lately I have been letting my hair air-dry. Mom and I both noticed that I had quite a bit more body in my hair on these days, and just a tad more frizz than I was accustomed to. Just to catch you up to speed on me: my hair usually lays flat against my wee-little head unless I have a drugstore-army-stock of styling products layered into it. I tend to keep my ‘80s hair in an effort to keep my head from looking like an English pea sitting atop my shoulders. It’s all in my imagination, I’m sure. Yeah…just wait till you see me with a wet head.

…Which almost happened today! I purchased a tiny bottle of jojoba oil this weekend at the health food store, thinking that it would be a good ingredient in my sunless tanner recipe. (Stay tuned for that project!) But, when I read about jojoba oil and learned that it was an excellent hair and scalp conditioner, I decided to just brush a tiny amount into my wet hair on Sunday morning to see if it freaked my hair out. No freaking from the backside of my hair, which is the only place I allowed the oil to go, but I also didn’t see any great benefit. (In retrospect, how could I have seen? It was the bleepin’ back of my head!)

I am now two days into using a new shampoo, and these “natural ingredient” shampoos don’t lather as much as our chemical-ridden concoctions. Less lather and fewer chemicals means my hair isn’t slathered with smoothing agents as I rinse. So, when I towel dried my hair before venturing outside to do my yoga with the dogs, my hair felt a bit harsh. No problem, I thought…I’ll just dab a little jojoba oil into it and I should regain that smooth feel, plus get the benefit of having such a good oil in my hair.

Oil in my hair. Dear God.

While my hair was wet, it felt great. All through my yoga (which is another long story) as I brushed it out of my face, I noticed a softer texture and was completely convinced that it was going to be a good hair day. I was so, so wrong.

When I came back inside to blow-dry my hair it actually dried, but it never looked dry. Ever. I even rolled it, teased it, and sprayed the fire out of it, all to no avail. It limped in heavy, clumpy curls all around my face. Yuck.

I managed to somewhat style it at mom’s house before leaving – late – for work. Mom suggested that I inform our payroll manager that he could be grateful I was still wearing deodorant. (Our payroll manager explicitly laid down the deodorant rule when I began this “natural” adventure. LOL!) By the time I got to work, I could feel my oil-curled bangs drooping into my eyes, and I could stand no more. I ventured to the ladies’ room armed with a heavy-duty hair claw and my sunglasses. (Sunglasses have proven to be an excellent hair accessory, in case you were wondering. The hair claw? Well, it is aptly named.) Turns out I didn’t need the sunglasses. I managed to pouf my bangs up on top of my head and secure them with the claw. Success! I spent the rest of the day watching the minutes crawl by and praying no one would ask what was “up” with my hair. Suffice it to say that I won’t be using the jojoba oil trick again – at least not on a day I plan to see anyone. And I can’t wait to wash my hair tonight.

At the rate I’m going, you might be inclined to place bets on the sunless tanner project. At least there is some measure of comfort in the words of the immortal Scarlett O’Hara: “Tomorrow is another day!”

Day 13: Moving in the Right Direction

2010-06-27T15:54:00.000-07:00

I guess I should spend some time with a little follow-up on all our progress so far. News on the makeup front: Day 2 of wearing the organic cosmetics and no problems to report. I was concerned yesterday when the mascara flaked with each swipe of my finger, and even though it still looked great at the end of the day, I was certain it would never make it through a good cry. Well, as it turns out, I got to test that today. We went to see Toy Story 3.

Yes, I cried.

I cried a lot.

I don’t know if I cried more over the toys’ support of each other as they floated toward an incinerator, or over Andy growing up and going off to college, leaving his childhood behind. No matter, I cried right through it all. A quick pit-stop into the ladies room after the movie confirmed that the eyeliner and mascara both came through the tears unscathed. Victory!!!

Other minor victories in my shopping yesterday afternoon…I found a shampoo (Burt’s Bees Raspberry and Brazil Nut) and also found the organic cosmetic line (Physician’s Formula) in two other stores: ULTA and Sunshine Health Foods. ULTA had a product I couldn’t pass up: PF organic wear eye makeup remover pads!! How cool, huh?? I picked up a new facial cleanser, also Burts Bees, which smelled and felt great when I used it last night. Tally for yesterday and today: instead of using my typical 10 cosmetic products with all the nasty chemical ingredients, I only used three. My next imminent purchase is a facial moisturizer, which will probably also be Burts Bees, and the loose powder in the PF Organic Wear line.

Also purchased yesterday: a Burt’s Bees lip gloss in shimmery pink (shared with me by Victoria, of course) a bottle of lanolin and a bottle of jojoba oil. I needed to purchase sesame oil to make my own sunless tanner, so that project is on hold until at least tomorrow. And we also got some new nail polish. While I don’t believe any nail polish is going to be organic, I understand that OPI brand has made healthy strides to eliminate the most harmful ingredients from their line. So we bought the new Shrek blue. :)

Next on the ToDo List is the task of firing off letters to Mary Kay, Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s in hopes of making some positive change for women and our area. That, in fact, is today’s healthy positive change: Communicating with the big dogs and trying to get positive wheels moving for more than just my family.

Until tomorrow…

Day 12: Vamoosing the Parabens – Sweet Victory

2010-06-26T08:15:00.000-07:00

I read somewhere that the average woman puts 175 chemicals on her face a day. Ouch…that is a more than frightening statistic. I probably apply a lot more than that, given my strict obedience to a Mary Kay beauty regimen for the past 22 years. When I see Victoria wanting to imitate me in my routines, my desire to supply her with healthy habits and quality products is almost overwhelming. Equally overwhelming is the task of identifying those products…

In my quest for healthy cosmetics that don’t result in me slathering my face with cancer-causing and hormone-whacking chemicals, I spent my lunch hour at Drug Emporium yesterday. I started on the shampoo aisle, because Drug Emporium has a ton of products, and I knew I was going to run out of shampoo sometime in the next few days. Surely DE would have a suitable organic shampoo. Bottle after bottle, I grumbled and frowned as I perused the ingredients. Literally, every bottle of shampoo that said “Natural” on the front listed some of the worst ingredients on the back. What in the world???

Deciding not to let myself get discouraged by shampoo when I had trekked across town for cosmetics, I wound my way around to the makeup area. The walls were lined with the major brands. I knew better than to even look their direction. I remembered seeing something online about Physicians Formula and an organic line, so I began to search for their products. In a squatty middle aisle with its back to the nail polish, I spied some PF. I knelt down and began to peruse their ingredients, getting more discouraged by the moment. “Methylparaben,” “Ethylparaben,” “Sodium Lauryl Sulfate,” “DMDM.”

IS NOTHING SACRED??!???!!!!!!!

I shot a tired and defeated glance to my left and almost lost my balance. There, merely eighteen inches away from me, were green and brown boxes of Physicians Formula Organic Wear. They were instantly illuminated by a golden sunbeam shooting through the ceiling of the store, and I could hear angels singing the Hallelujah Chorus. I hopped over to scan their ingredients and LOVED what I read. No parabens. No SLS. No DMDM. Organic ingredients. First Ever ECO-cert cosmetic line in the US. I swear, I think my eyes started to water.

Second in importance to the ingredient list is, of course, cost. But those sweet little vintage DE price tags (the ones that tell you the cashier is going to hand-peck the prices one-by-one into the register) were single and low-double digits. I bought four items: tinted moisturizer, a blush/bronzer combo, eyeliner and mascara for $39.72. This is almost what I pay for MK with my 50% discount. Not too shabby!

Mom and I spent the evening looking up my new makeup in the Cosmetics Database. They rank around “4” overall in the database, largely attributed to the Titanium Dioxide which provides the sunscreen protection in my tinted moisturizer. Given that these new cosmetics don’t contain the most awful offenders and I can pronounce every ingredient on the box, I am satisfied with my purchase.

Now, I am going to enjoy my morning coffee before I shower and “put on my face,” as my grandmother says. If the new makeup is anything less than wonderful, you can be sure I’ll be the first to let you know!

Day 11: Dieting is for the Dogs

2010-06-25T04:24:00.000-07:00

Poor little Mabel. She must feel incredibly picked on. I just changed her dog food to a higher calorie brand. Unintentional higher calories, but it’s a fact nonetheless. She was pretty trim for a while, but the other day I noticed her looking more and more like a, well…like a piano bench.

Funny how this has led here. A few months ago, when my mom’s dog Emma was diagnosed with cancer, I was sharing the news with a co-worker who asked what kind of food Emma ate.

Purina. Why?

“Well, every dog I’ve heard of who had cancer ate Purina brand.”

Now, I’m not trying to “dog” Purina in the least. I always thought them to be a fine brand. Perhaps they have a higher quality food line that I just don’t know about. And canine cancer victims can certainly have eaten other brands of food. But I’m not taking any chances. Plus, now that I have researched product ingredients, I found all the same ingredients in dog food that I am trying to avoid in my pantry.

Mason, our older Lab, has dined for several years on Nature’s Recipe as a direct result of suspected food allergies. So he gets no funky additives, while I get almost no price breaks. After the first puppy year, Mabel was on Beneful’s Healthy Weight food, and looking mighty fine indeed. But even the thought of Purina being culprit to cancer had me scanning the dog food aisles for a more acceptable brand. I didn’t even know what I was looking for, but I chose IAMS because I remembered it being in the vet’s office from time to time.

Two months passed before I noticed the Mabelline looking a little broad across the backside. The only thing I could attribute it to was the food brand change, so I started investigating doggy calories. Turns out, I was feeding Mabel FOUR HUNDRED more calories a day than she was used to eating. No wonder the poor girl plumped up.

Joining the rest of the family, Mabel is now on a diet. Didn’t I say some things I change will affect the entire household? I reduced the quantity of her food to adequately supply an appropriate number of calories for her to burn. I have shared with her all my reasons for this seemingly cruel change, including the fact that she is a large breed dog and extra weight will stress her joints and her heart. I don’t think she really cares about my reasons, but she’s not complaining too much. She has other things to complain about, like squirrels in her yard and birds in her trees. And, as with all my food investigations now, I have confirmed that the food she presently eats contains no harmful or unscrupulous ingredients…just a heck of a lot of calories!

Day 10: Canning My Tan

2010-06-24T04:11:00.000-07:00

I have never been very good at sun tanning. Either I’d get too bored and go back inside, or I’d get too comfy and fall asleep, waking to a horrible burn. It always took considerable effort to get three days’ worth of color, after which it would fade and I’d be back at square one. And square one on me is not pretty. I’m as white as a hotel bathtub.

Add the threat of skin cancer to this already non-productive pastime, and you can count me out altogether! I decided long ago that there simply had to be other ways of getting a great tan without all that risk. Tanning beds were never an option for me because of all the horror stories I heard when they first came into use. Yeah, I’m that old.

Enter the spray tan, and as they say in Texas, “Yaaaah-hooo!” I first tried an airbrush tan at a salon about two years ago. It was a nice little change of pace, except for the part where I had to strip down to half my skivvies and strike embarrassing poses while a stranger sprayed dye all over me. Let’s just say I’ve only done that once. But a nice little airbrush spray that I can handle on my own, costs $8.98 a can, and actually smells pretty decent has me hooked on the spray tan. At least until I started learning about product ingredients.

My dear little tan-in-a-can has everything harmful and then some. What’s a girl to do?!! I have been researching my butt off (see?) to find a suitable organic sunless tanner. There is no shortage of them, be assured. But the prices. Oh, my dear goodness, the prices!! I found a moderately reasonable one for *cough, choke* fifty bucks.

I imagine if I internet-order from California then $50 for a thimble full of sunless tanner should be expected. But I’m in Louisiana, and I do not compute $50 for spray tan into the budget. To satisfy my insane curiosity, and even more insane need for a summer glow, I have GOT to stop by Drug Emporium and check out their selection.

If they don’t have a suitable option, I have found a recipe to make my own. The coloring comes from tea. How ME is that?!! All I need is some organic lanolin…and probably a lot more patience.

I’ll keep you posted on my tan. ;)

Day 9: Clipping My Way to Savings

2010-06-23T04:28:00.000-07:00

I am a bit on the frugal side. Oh, hell, I admit it…I’m downright cheap. It’s not that I don’t like buying things. On the contrary, I could easily become a shopaholic. I just hate checking out and seeing the final tally on my damage. If I’ve bought an item for me, guilt immediately sets in…UNLESS I have saved a considerable amount of money by using coupons on sale items.

But that’s the problem. I hardly ever use coupons. We don’t take the paper, so I miss out on the Sunday circulars. The only coupons I ever have are those for retail shops which are mailed to me, or those for grocery items which someone sees, thinks of me, and clips to give me. And this is the strange part…I will NEVER forget to use a coupon at a retail store, but I can never remember to use them at the grocery store. I carried a coffee coupon around with me for a month, finally using it on the day it expired. I get so aggravated when I get home and realize I still have two or three coupons in my purse that I didn’t use. But I counter that with the fact that the two or three coupons I had might have saved me a whole dollar, and when the grocery ticket tops $300, what’s one more measly buck?

As I venture into organic foods, I see that this is not going to be a frugal undertaking. Although, with the help of my friends I have found some great websites and blogs. Organic On A Dime offers a list of quality organic food companies and links to their online coupons. I have signed up for three companies’ email notifications. (Like I don’t get enough email already…) Perhaps with enough coupons to make a notable savings I will remember to actually use them at the checkout, instead of concentrating only on the bread not getting squashed.

Day 8: Finding Fiber

2010-06-22T04:46:00.000-07:00

A few months ago mom shared with me a news report that stated if you eat 30-40 grams of fiber each day, you can lose 10 pounds within a year. Since I definitely wanted to shed 10 pounds, this idea of eating more of something - anything - and still losing weight sounded like a winner!

Do you know how hard it is to eat 30 grams of fiber in a day? Especially if you’re concerned about calories? OMG! I made it work, but it took a lot of label-reading effort. I did this for a while and it was a really good eating plan. But I got a little out of the habit once summer started, and once I started vamoosing random foods from our pantry. I figure I need to stick to it, though.

You’d be amazed how little fiber we consume on average through the foods that sound very fiber-ish. Once I started tracking fiber consumption on my LoseIt! App, I was disappointed to see that I averaged about 12 grams of fiber a day. So I purposely searched out foods high in fiber, but low in calories. There is almost no such critter. But I do have some suggestions for foods that have been good no-thought-required parts of our meals lately.

Mission Carb Balance whole wheat tortillas. Lifesavers. The burrito size offers 21 grams of fiber for 220 calories. Add a few veggies in there with some Laughing Cow and you have one heck of a wrap! And more than half the day’s fiber requirement is met. They make smaller size tortillas too, with proportionally lower calories and fiber.

Kellogg’s Fiber plus Antioxidant bars are really good. 9 grams of fiber for 130 calories. They are much easier to chew than the Fiber One version, and taste like a candy bar. Yum! The only drawback is the added BHT preservative, which has me now eating fewer and fewer of these. Otherwise, a handy tote-able snack.

I like my newest cereal find, Cascadian Farms Organic nut and honey, even though it only has 3 grams of fiber per cup. I’m still balancing calories with fiber with acceptable ingredients. Now, Fiber One cereal packs a whopping 13 grams in every cup. And it tastes really good if you get the version with the little banana chips in it (Even though it has HFCS).

The new Sandwich Thins by Natures Own and Orowheat have 5 grams in each pair for 100 calories. Also, Holsum’s whole wheat hamburger buns are higher in fiber than the other “healthy” ones I’ve looked at. 5 grams there too, I believe.

For supplements with none of the added ingredient garbage, two Fiber Gummies can give you 4 grams of fiber. I loved Fiber Choice for the same four grams, but learned that it had artificial colors in it, so it got tossed last week.

FYI, my Starbucks mocha powder has half a gram of fiber in a serving. I’m impressed it has any at all, but that’s just one more reason for me to love it! ;)

Day 7: Vamoosing the Parabens - Cosmetics

2010-06-21T04:39:00.000-07:00

I have begun the very painful process of ditching the bad beauty products. I spent considerable time yesterday researching the ingredients in my Mary Kay products. Ouch. Naturally, I discover this a month after purchasing a 6-8 month supply of all cosmetics, moisturizers, lotions and lip balms that I am accustomed to using.

This is a hard thing to change. I have used these products for 22 years. I don’t want to stop using them, but the risk is just too great. Last night, I threw away several items I had been holding onto. Lip balm – out. Eye shadow samples (in some really cool colors) – out. Eye cream and lip gloss – out.

It will be a while before this process is complete. First, I will need suitable replacements for the stuff I use every day. I won’t be heading into work with a bare face, I can guarantee that! But, after learning the ingredients on several different “most unwanted” lists, and then finding those ingredients in EVERY SINGLE product I use on my face, my desire to continue their use is hanging on only by the last thread of vanity. I have stopped using most of my moisturizing products. You know those photo booths that take your picture and show you all the hidden sun damage on your face? I imagine these products doing similar unseen damage to me, and I just can’t bring myself to slather them on my face like I used to. They sit sadly on the tray on my bathroom countertop. They’re like little lepers of my skin care routine now.

I will continue to seek natural products for my face. I have yet to actually find a cosmetic line that does not contain harmful ingredients. When I do, it will be posted here as a side note, with a permanent link to their site at the right.

Inspiration for the day: You must do the thing you think you cannot do. – Eleanor Roosevelt

There's an App for That: Simply Organic

2010-06-20T12:54:00.000-07:00

I am forever looking for easy lifestyle management on-the-go and my plethora of iPhone apps provide some great resources. My latest favorite app find is Simply Organic, a product brand I'm not certain I can find locally. But it's still useful because the app has recipe and shopping list features, coupons and even a "Mix It Up" recipe spinner. Just set a few options and voilà - a fully organic-ready recipe for whatever your occasion. Each recipe shows serving and nutrition information. Best of all, it's free!

Day 6: Speak!

2010-06-20T06:04:00.000-07:00

I’m not so sure I’m going to be any good at this change. But I am determined to try. I have a hard time speaking my mind when I disagree with someone. For me, it’s not a matter of opinion; it’s a matter of courtesy. But when I leave an aggravating situation or conversation and want to vent my frustration to the first person who will listen, I am accutely aware that this kind, listening friend is not the one who needs to hear how I really feel. I should have told it to the person who ticked me off in the first place.

Take Friday. I always go to Starbucks on Friday morning for coffee, and I get drinks for the Starbucks fans at work too. Each of them has a Starbucks card or cash that they send with me, so I make separate payments at the register. And, out of courtesy, I ALWAYS preface my order with, “I need four drinks, but I’m paying for each separately. Is that okay?” As a customer, I realize I do not need their permission, but I think it’s nice to warn them anyway. Hell, I even sweetly smile when I say it! In two years of Friday visits I have never been answered with anything other than, “Of course it’s okay! What’s the first drink?!”

Until this past Friday. At a location I don’t usually frequent on Friday mornings, the barrista looked at me, rolled his eyes ever so slightly, and replied with barely-hidden disgust, “I guess so.”

If you know me AT ALL, you know what I said... “Thank you. The first drink is a grande…”

What I SHOULD have done was politely call him on the attitude right then. It would have saved me the further aggravation at the end of my transactions when the barrista addressed the gentleman behind me and said, “Man, I’m sorry about that.”

WHAAAAA? I was in the middle of apologizing on my own to the guy when I heard the barrista. I felt bad for holding up the line, and always apologize to those behind me when it takes longer than normal. Understand, I apologize out of courtesy, not out of regret. I am gonna get my coffee come hell or high water. I am at least nice enough to not pull that crap in the drive-thru. I walk in if I’m making more than one payment…always! So, I’m thinking that on any weekday at 7:45 a.m., you can generally expect to wait a while at Starbucks. I don’t think I knocked the earth off its axis with my coffee needs.

I left with such a feeling of aggravation, that I wish I had explained to the barrista the importance of service and attitude. But I didn’t. Re-playing the conversation in my head, I have identified the point at which I was first aware of the problem (an important step in any situational review) and I can pin-point that same moment in other problematic situations. It is at that point that I need to speak up. Gently, but firmly speaking my mind in a way that lets the other person know they have crossed a line. Whether they change as a result will not be in my control. But I can only leave it with them if I tell them how I feel.

THIS is going to be my hardest change so far…

Day 5: Slowing It Down A Bit

2010-06-19T09:48:00.001-07:00

Recently I was asked from the backseat, “Mommy, what’s the speed limit?”

“60, darling. Why?”

“Because your thing says 70.”

Sure enough, I was speeding. Nothing like getting busted by your 8-year old. Only slightly less embarrassing than facing a cop - but with far more lasting repercussions. There’s no chance of paying Victoria the fine and being done with it.

I always had a heavy foot as a young adult. I certainly had my share of speeding tickets and frowns from my father. Fortunately - knock on wood - I have not gotten a speeding ticket since the kids have come along. I must admit I slowed down considerably once I had those two precious heartbeats in the backseat. But every once in a while, I will realize how fast I am driving, and I have to remind myself that despite all the reasons I have to hurry, I have many more reasons to slow it down.

The good thing about all this change is that it’s never too late to make a fresh start. So, with a concentrated effort from this point forward, I will drive the speed limit.

So don’t rear-end me!!

Day 4: One Cup of Coffee (ouch!)

2010-06-18T04:26:00.000-07:00

Ugh. This is where it starts to hurt. I need to set an official limit on my coffee consumption. With some infrequent exceptions, of course! For the most part, I only drink coffee, tea and water. Mostly water, which is a plus. But I HAVE to have that morning cup of coffee. Er, I mean cups…

I used to drink three cups of coffee a day. I know that sounds like a lot. (Unless you are my dad, and then I sound like a lightweight. LOL!) Usually two cups in the morning, and one in the afternoon. Or one after dinner. Yes, I can literally drink espresso half an hour before bedtime and still sleep like a baby. Although, I have noticed that as I get closer to 40, some decongestants will keep me awake. Go figure.

Four months ago I put myself on a diet. The goal was to get back to pre-baby weight. Hey, I know it’s been ten years. You counting or something?? Anyhoo, along with the diet came calorie and fiber awareness. And out went at least one cup of coffee. All because right before I started this new eating plan, my co-workers brought me a basket of Starbucks goodies for my birthday, and consequently addicted me to the Mocha Powder at 45 calories a serving. Add that to the sugar and milk I insist on adding to my coffee, and each cup carries 90 calories. So I limited myself to two cups a morning. Only one if I ate breakfast simultaneously. This one cup plus breakfast seems to have more appeal than it used to, so it shall be today’s new habit.

Now, in the past if it happened to work out that I had at least 90 calories to spare at the end of the day, I would gladly make a cup of coffee and enjoy it after dinner. This is a treat Dom and I afford ourselves each Christmas season, as soon as the Starbucks Christmas blend is released. The simple indulgence of an evening cup of coffee with the hubster is one I might not be able to give up completely, but I will try not to overindulge and will do my best to limit it to the holidays.

Oh, and I simply can’t pass up the rare opportunity to enjoy a cappuccino on the back porch with my dad, engaged in conversation over computers or gardening. The same way tea and cookies with mom shall never be turned down. There are just some moments of interpersonal connection we should never avoid, and these fall into such a category.

Otherwise, it’s me and my one cuppa joe.

Day 3: A Smile Worth Showing

2010-06-17T04:19:00.000-07:00

As I face the computer monitor this morning – early - while munching away on my Raisin Bran (Post has the best ingredients, if you’re interested) my head is spinning with all the things I want to change. But I also recognize that there are some pretty basic things that need to change before I can really give full attention to what I want to change. I hope you will bear with me while I deal with the mundane.

I recall the sign in a dentist’s office that read, “You don’t have to floss all your teeth, just the ones you want to keep!” While I have always been proud of my teeth, thanks to the late but still cherished Dr. Cope, I have not always been a good flosser. (Don’t judge! Have you ever looked at me and thought, “Yeesh! That chic seriously needs to floss!”??? Then I rest my case.) I always found it to be a rather hasslesome task: winding the floss around my fingers, cutting off the circulation in the index finger just for the effort of reaching the back teeth. And I have a very small mouth, so it’s doubly difficult to reach everywhere. I would floss, mind you, but not with any degree of regularity. But a year ago I decided to change. After one of my regular dental cleanings, I decided to floss every night until the next cleaning. For six months, I was a flossing ROCK STAR. I found these cool mini-flossers in the grocery store. No more winding string around my fingers or deciding what flavor and wax level to buy. Dr. Plackers Whitening flossers came to my rescue at minimal cost. I asked my hygienist, Sharon, if she noticed a difference at my next visit, and she answered, “I haven’t had to scrape much, have I? Of course I noticed!!!” I beamed with pride.

Within the month following that checkup, I was attacked by the shingles virus, which set up shop in the nerve running above my upper left bicuspid. For the next five months, flossing was painful to the point of tears, so I minimized my efforts. I’d floss about twice a week on average - not quite the “beaming with pride” effort, but an effort nonetheless. And, as is the nature of habit, once flossing became more bearable I was too comfortable with the new routine to change.

Until today. Today I return to the habit of flossing daily. The best way for me to accomplish this is to brush and floss with the kids before their bedtime. That way, they have my example to follow, and I have the added health benefit of establishing 8:00 as my cut-off time for consuming anything other than water. I imagine it will be just a short while before not flossing is simply out of the question. And that’s something to smile about!

Inspiration for the Day: “What lies before us, and what lies behind us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson