Join in on B.A.D. 2010: Water

Blog Action Day is an annual event held every October 15th that unites the world’s bloggers in posting about the same issue on the same day with the aim of sparking a global discussion and driving collective action. 



Blog Action Day 2010: Water from Blog Action Day on Vimeo.

Please join the global discussion on water, tomorrow October 15th.

Wannabe Runner

When I woke up this morning, I laid in bed trying to decide wether to close my eyes and go back to sleep, or get up and go for a run. I've been out of the habit of running for a while, since I rolled my ankle hiking Mt. Bierstadt. It's hard to get back to the point where it's easy to get up and go. Or well, to the point that it's easier to get out of bed to go running. I had to give myself a pep talk, or rather debate with myself. It went something like this...

You know you want to run a 5K before the end of the year...

But I was sleeping so well, I could get at least another half hour...

You'll sleep better tonight if you run this morning.

Maybe.

You know you'll feel great the rest of the day if you go. 

The bedroom is cold, it'll be colder outside.

Perfect temperature for running!

Hmph.

You can wear your Slacker long sleeve shirt!

Great, I probably won't be able to fall back asleep now.

Your Nike+ mini (screen saver) will stop whining.

Who cares, I'm deleting the stupid Nike+ mini

It will be awesomeness, the weather is perfect.

You won't meet your goals if you stay here.

Ugh. OK. 

So, I did the hardest part and got up and got dressed. I ran. I didn't get a runner's high like I did last time, but it was a good run. It was the longest I've run in over a year - 25 minutes of running (or jogging depending on how you define it) straight. I feel good about it :). I'm so glad I got my butt in gear this morning and just DID IT.

When I went to sync up my iPhone with Nike+ afterwards, I saw this video posted on my friend's wall on facebook. I'm still thinking about it hours later, so I thought I'd share it here.

Talk about inspiring! The body is such an amazing thing. I love watching people learn this for themselves. Learn that they can do ANYTHING with determination. You can also check out his blog, Ben Does Life.

I'm a wannabe runner.

I couldn't run a mile until I was 29 years old. I never had the desire to.... and when I was younger I'd laugh at the idea of people running to run, and not because they were being chased. I have friends that are runners, and I'm not sure how it happened but they must have rubbed off on me. Or maybe I just wanted to defy turning 30, but I got the bug. I completed the Couch to 5K (C25K) training program, and then I ran my first 5K in January of 2008.

I'd like to say that I've been an avid runner ever since, but unfortunately, no. Though I had fallen in love with running, which for me become a therapy of sorts... I had some issues with my right knee after starting the One Hour Runner program, which I started because I wanted to run a faster 5K, and eventually a 10K. However, every time I hit about 4 miles, something funky happened to my knee and it made me back off... Then summer came with temperatures in the 90s/100s, I found some more excuses, and I pretty much stopped running altogether except for the occasional short run. I missed it. Really missed it. Then we moved to Colorado, and being so close to trails, I was excited to get back into running again. I wanted to try to strengthen up my knee, and go to a doctor if necessary to figure it out.

I thought I was gonna die on my first run. My heart was going to burst out of my chest. Darn altitude. Eventually I decided I should just re-do the C25K program and gradually work back up to running. It was all going great, and I was scoping out my next 5K when I rolled my ankle about a month ago. That was a huge bummer. I have a weak right ankle (which is most likely related to the knee issue I have), but it had been doing so well for a long time.

Earlier this week I returned to the program since I felt more confident about my ankle. I started where I left off, by repeating week 6 day 2 and was shocked by how awesome I felt. First of all I ran further (which means faster) than I had the last time, and I didn't feel like I was dying, in fact, I felt great! This was shocking to me since a) I hadn't ran in almost a month, and b) I had been expecting to struggle since I'd heard (from multiple sources) that stopping for more than a week and starting again, at altitude, you have to adjust again. All I can think of is that my hiking has kept me in better shape than I had thought. I have been hiking at around 8-10,000 ft so I'm guessing it helped keep me in some sort of condition, making running at ~5,500 ft not as difficult as it would have been... had I done nothing. Seriously, the body is amazing in how it is constantly adapting, and able to change. All we have to do is push ourselves.

Wow, this got long! Sorry for the rambling if you made it this far :). I guess that's what an inspiring video that makes me cry does to me!

The Cove

We've had the Academy Award winning documentary, The Cove, from Netflix for almost 2 months... and last night I finally had the courage to watch it (I knew it would upset me). I'm not sure what to say except to urge all of you to watch this movie. It is powerful. It is captivating, and worth watching! You may recognize actress Hayden Panettiere (Heroes) from the peaceful protest footage (part of it is in this trailer), which is only briefly mentioned/shown in this documentary... but if you're interested you can learn more about it here and here. There was (or is still?) a warrant for her arrest in Japan. 



Here is an excerpt from The Cove's Take Part website.

The Secret Is Out. Spread the Word.

The Cove exposes the slaughter of more than 20,000 dolphins and porpoises off the coast of Japan every year, and how their meat, containing toxic levels of mercury, is being sold as food in Japan and other parts of Asia, often labeled as whale meat. The majority of the world is not aware this is happening.  The focus of the Social Action Campaign for The Cove is to create worldwide awareness of this annual practice as well as the dangers of eating seafood contaminated with mercury and to pressure those in power to put an end to the slaughter.

And it’s been working. The film has been making waves since it premiered last year. Critical praise and audience awards worldwide have focused international attention on Taiji and the annual dolphin drives off the coast of Japan.  Under intense pressure, Taiji called for a temporary ban on killing bottlenose dolphins. The film, which was originally rejected, was shown at the Tokyo Film Festival due to public outcry. Residents in Taiji are being tested for mercury poisoning, and for the first time Japanese media are covering the issue.


Close to a million people have signed on to the campaign, but this is just the beginning. The fisherman are clearly rattled, but haven’t stopped killing dolphins.

TakePart now to help shut down the cove for good.

Please check out www.takepart.com/thecove to see how you can take action.

JO's TED Prize Wish

Jamie Oliver's TED Prize Award Speech:

"I wish for everyone to help create a strong, sustainable movement to educate every child about food, inspire families to cook again and empower people everywhere to fight obesity." 

~ Jamie Oliver, TED 2010

If you share this wish, please sign Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution Petition here.

Some other TED talks that I have found fascinating and inspiring are:

• Sylvia Earle's TED Prize wish to protect the oceans
• Jill Bolte Taylor's "Stroke of Insight"

TIME's "The Perils of Plastic"

After a get away to Florida to visit friends and family for almost 2 weeks - I am on my way home (can you hear my sigh of relief?). I arrived at the airport early so I browsed the stores and my eye caught Steve Jobs staring at me from the cover of TIME Magazine and the words "Inside Steve's Pad" (I'm dying to try the iPad).


When I was trying to decide if it was worthy of buying, I noticed across the top "Environmental Special: The Perils of Plastic". Yup, I had to buy it...



Our government is catching on, finally, after a recent biomonitoring survey by the CDC. The survey found traces of 212 environmental chemicals in Americans, including toxic ones too many to list here as I'm typing this entry on my iPhone, on the plane (will not publish till we land and I can turn off airplane mode).

I'm thrilled to see this article in TIME. I know some people are rolling their eyes about this controversal topic... But to me, it all makes sense and a bunch of nay-sayers are starting to back pedal, including the FDA. Wonder why obesity, diabetes, autism, AD/HD, and auto-immune disorders are on the rise? They could be linked to plastics, specifically BPA (which is found in more than just your water bottles, try soda cans and canned foods) and phthalates (in cosmetics to IV bags). The scary part is that babies are already born with chemicals in their systems and then their bodies act like sponges mainly because they eat and drink more relative to their body weight.

I don't believe in the methodology that, "Chemicals are deemed safe until the EPA can prove that they are dangerous". Especially since the EPA has limited information from industry and like everything else, has limited funds and a bunch of red tape which makes the process take years.

I could go on and on about this... If you are interested in reading this article, email me (click envelope on the right side of this page) and I will email it to you once I scan it. Also, I have a bunch of other resources I've collected over the past couple of years that I could share, like a guide to the numbered plastics (what's in them, which are safest, etc.).

Check it out, but really I think it's only a matter of time until it's in front of everyone's faces. America seems to finally be catching on! The sad part is that the government, the way the regulation system works, fails to protect us. From the article, it sounds like proposals for regulation reform are coming soon. However, implementing change will take years. Reading this at least makes me think that maybe all these petitions I'm signing and letters to legislation are being read...

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Time for Lunch Campaign

I'm not a mother (yet), but as a girl who grew up having to participate in the "Free Lunch" program, this issue hits close to home for me. My school lunches in grade school were typically pizza, hamburgers, chicken nuggets (not breast meat), and french fries. On the days I had breakfast at school there were donuts, muffins (not homemade), french toast dippers (pre-packaged frozen variety), biscuits with gravy... you get the picture. Just thinking of these foods make me shudder, and my stomach hurt. The sad part is, many years later nothing has changed for the better, it's worse.

I recently signed a petition for the Child Nutrition Act Reauthorization after watching the movie Food, Inc.. I was so moved by the movie - which I highly recommend - that I signed up to Take Part for this cause. So when I received an email from Slow Food USA a couple of days ago about the Time for Lunch Campaign, I didn't hesitate to check them out and email my legislators to voice my support.

Here’s their key message (taken directly from the campaign website):

It’s time to give America’s kids a healthy future.

• Child obesity is spiraling out of control, and our kids, our economy, our health care system and our quality of life are at risk.
• Our best opportunity for fighting obesity is to ensure that every child has access to fresh, wholesome food every school day.
• Right now, Congress gives schools $2.68 per lunch, about $1.00 of which goes towards buying ingredients. As a result, schools have to rely on the cheap processed foods that are fueling the obesity and diabetes epidemics.
• With an additional $1.00 per lunch, schools would be able to serve real food, buy whole ingredients and cook meals from scratch.
• President Obama’s budget adds $1 billion per year to child nutrition programs. That’s an important step forward, but it’s not enough to give America’s kids a healthy future. Not when Congress spends over $13 billion per year subsidizing processed foods, and when obesity costs our nation $147 billion per year. Congress should add at least $1 billion to child nutrition programs, and recognize that until we give schools $1.00 more per lunch, we’re putting the health of America’s children at risk.
• Congress should also pass mandatory funding for Farm-to-School programs, which link schools to local farms, create jobs in local economies and give schools the resources to update their kitchens and plant school gardens.
• Finally, Congress should strengthen the nutrition standards for all the food sold at school, including the food sold in school vending machines and as “a la carte” items in the cafeteria.

Learn more about the campaign at www.slowfoodusa.org/timeforlunch. Also, from this website you can easily email your legislators to tell them you support schools serving real food. Please take less than 30 seconds to voice your support!

Another supporter for this cause is Jaime Oliver who is starting a food revolution to be aired on ABC starting Friday, March 26th at 8 PM EDT. His show is called Jaime Oliver's Food Revolution. The first episode will also be shown as a sneak preview tomorrow night, Sunday March 21st at 10 PM EDT.



You can also sign Jaime's Food Revolution Petition by clicking the image below.

 Check it out, voice your support, get involved, or donate!

Exercise TV

I signed up for the 2010 SELF Challenge again this year, which started today. For the month 1 strength workout they have you download the video clip of all the moves from Exercise TV. What a find! They have free online workout videos, it's like FitTV but online! I looked them up on Hulu and they have episodes on there as well. WOOT! I used to record shows off of FitTV but since we moved and gave up cable/satellite TV I havn't found anything to replace them. It's actually one of the only things I missed about paying for cable/satellite (thanks to over the air HD, Netflix, and Hulu). Well not anymore!

Anyone else doing the SELF Challenge this year? It's not too late to start!

The Power of H2O2

Great helpful video about household uses for Hydrogen Peroxide. My favorite use I discovered from watching this is #1, cleaning mold. It WORKS, I tried it yesterday and was amazed! I also like the idea of using it to clean cutting boards and disinfecting other surfaces (I'm thinking doorknobs, light switches, etc.).

I love finding safe (for my family and the planet), effective, and CHEAP alternatives to toxic household cleaners. Like err... Tilex - do you know how toxic the ingredients are? No? Do some research, you'll be shocked.

Curry, my new found love...

A few months ago, I was re-introduced to curry... I first tried it a couple of years ago, and I have to say I wasn't too impressed. It wasn't bad, just OK... I didn't understand my friends who raved about it, so I stuck with my favorite Thai dish - Pad Thai. Turns out, I wasn't trying good curry. Now I LOVE it! My husband and I got on a kick this past spring and just couldn't get enough. I think in one week we had it 3 days in a row. So now I will try any dish that has the word curry in the name!

Last week, my friend N mentioned a Curried Spinach-Potato Soup she made, and I begged for the recipe. She thankfully shared the recipe, and now I have a double batch in my fridge! Some people may scoff at the idea of eating hot soup in the summer, and I might agree... if I wasn't working the night shift in a room that might as well be a meat freezer this week! It really has been the perfect meal to take to work, and I have enough to last several days (I'm going on day 3 and I haven't gotten sick of it yet). I wish the soup had a slightly thicker consistency (I'll hold back on the broth next time), but other than that I really am enjoying every cup. The recipe was easy and consists of leeks, potatoes, spinach, veggie broth, milk, and curry (of course) - very simple ingredients, healthy (clean), and tasty! I'm not sure where the recipe is from, so I'm hesitant to post it here... but if you're interested, email me and I will send it to you.

If you haven't tried curry, give it a try... or a second try! It might surprise you.

Healthy Babies & Kids!

Today Shaklee opened orders for their new Shakleebaby and Shakleekids product lines! I'm so excited about these new products and already plan to gift these to some of my friends who are having baby showers (sorry, now you know what you're getting!). The new Shakleebaby products are pictured below (left to right) - Soothing Lotion, Gentle Wash, Massage Oil, Diaper Rash Cream, and a Multivitamin & Multimineral Power.

Did you know that babies' skin is 5 times thinner than adult skin, making them more susceptible to toxins? Or that out of 81,000 chemicals registered with the EPA in the past 30 YEARS, fewer than 20% have been tested for toxicity? Makes you feel all warm and fuzzy... or not. One thing you can know for sure is that Shaklee (a leading natural nutrition company for over 50 years) is -

Always safe:

• Clinically tested
• No parabens, 1,4-dioxane, sodium lauryl sulfate, formaldehyde, or phthalates

Always gentle:

• Pediatrician tested
• 99% natural ingredients
• 76%–99% organic ingredients
• Hypoallergenic
• pH balanced

Always healthy:

• No synthetic fragrances
• No artificial colors
• Packaging is free of bisphenol-A, phthalates, and toxic inks

Supersmart:

• Mighty Smart™: World’s best 100% natural, ultra-pure DHA for brainPOWer!
• helps support concentration, memory, and vision
  

Supersafe:

• No artificial flavors, sweeteners, or preservatives
• Naturally sweetened with xylitol, which does not promote cavities
  
• Gluten free
• Packaging is free of bisphenol-A, phthalates, and toxic inks

Supernutritious:

• First kids’ chewable multi in the U.S. with immune-supporting power of lactoferrin!—Helps kids’ immune systems stay supercharged
• 23 Essential Nutrients—Needed for proper growth and development
• Vitamin POWer!—100% of vitamins C and E, plus all eight B vitamins
• 600 IU of Vitamin D3, plus calcium, vitamin K, and more!—Support for strong bones and teeth
  

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions, or would like more information! You can order here.

Mercury & Fish Debate

I just read this article and browsed some of the links within the post. It contains interesting information about the controversy between the FDA and EPA on how much fish is safe to eat, and if the hazards of mercury content is outweighed by the benefits of Omega-3 fats and other nutrients.  Did you know,

"the EWG recommends that women of childbearing age and children under 5 not eat albacore tuna at all, because a significant portion of albacore tuna has very high mercury levels. People eating this tuna will exceed safe exposure levels by a wide margin." 

Granted I think they mean Albacore and not Light Tuna but it makes you go hmmm... The funny part for me is that I just started liking canned tuna... for years I couldn't eat it without gagging!  Do you know how much you can safely eat in a week? Check out the EWG tuna calculator here. They also have a safe fish list for women.

OK, mercury or not, I'm craving sushi!

Calling all Moms!

I am so excited about Shaklee's new line specifically for babies and kids! These new products will be available May 1st, and you can check out their online brochure here! I should be getting more information about Shakleebaby and Shakleekids soon... let me know if you're interested and I will pass it along. Ordering is easy through my Shaklee Independent Distributor website.

Granny's recipe for Sore Throat

I've been sick with a cold the past few days... it started with a sore throat that kept getting worse. No one likes being sick, but I dread having a cold or sinus infection because I can not take anything that contains Pseudoephedrine, and just about every cold/flu medicine has it as an active ingredient (Sudafed, NyQuil, cough syrups, etc.). Pseudoephedrine makes my heart pound/race and keeps me awake. It's what I would guess taking speed would be like... I didn't figure out this sensitivity until a few years ago, and then I had to start looking into other options for finding relief - there aren't many! I always try to head off a cold by taking Zicam at the first signs of getting sick which works most of the time. Not this time...

Surprisingly what works best for me, to heal a sore throat is a gargle recipe that my Granny used to make for me. It really does do wonders, though it took a couple of decades for me to catch on that it really does work. Here's the recipe, though I never measure it out so these amounts are guesstimates.

Salt Gargle
1/4 cup warm-hot water (microwave 35 seconds)
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp honey

The salt helps reduce inflammation, and the honey soothes. I make roughly this amount and gargle it (don't swallow) until it's gone. I do this a few times a day - usually in the morning, right before bed, and in the middle of the night if needed.

News!

I am now an Independent Distributor for Shaklee!

Why? Because I am a huge fan of their products (specifically their "Get Clean" line) and want to share them with my friends and family! Their philosophy - which I love and believe in is,

"It is always safe. It always works. And it is always green."

A link to my distributor website will be posted on this page as soon as I get it up and running! I am already taking orders, so please let me know if you're interested in any of their products, or have any questions.

Back to Eating Clean & SLEEP

This year I'm back to eating clean, and after a few weeks I am feeling so much better. OK, so I am currently getting over some kind of crud... I think my entire office has been out sick at some point the last couple of weeks. I tried to avoid it, even denied it, but got sick anyway. But besides the sniffles, sneezing, coughing, headaches, and fever... I feel great! :)

I set off the new year by getting back to clean eating - which means I cut out processed foods, ditch the sugar (except for some treats here and there), balance my carbs and protein, and have been getting back in the habit of taking vitamins. The result? I FEEL better! It's hard to explain, I just feel like my body is back in balance. The best part? For the past 3 or 4 nights I've actually had really good full nights of glorious SLEEP - which is a rare celebratory event for me. Sad I know, but you have no idea how important sleep is, until you are not able to... I really think I got sick last week because I wasn't sleeping well while I was waiting for the clean eating/vitamins to take effect (it had only been a couple of weeks) and being stubborn about not taking a sleeping aid.

I credit my improvement in sleep mostly to taking a Calcium/Magnesium/D supplement. I had no idea how important magnesium is for you until I read YOU: The Owner's Manual, Updated and Expanded Edition: An Insider's Guide to the Body that Will Make You Healthier and Younger and You: Staying Young: The Owner's Manual for Extending Your Warranty by Dr. Roizen and Dr. Oz which led me to look more into this mineral.

Here is a list of the vitamins I take:

• Alive Multi-Vitamin by Nature's Way
• Calcium, Mag, & D Complex by Nature's Way
• Fisol Enteric-Coated Fish Oil by Nature's Way
• Iron 28 mg

Most of them recommend taking them 3 times a day. I am lucky if I remember to take them twice! Better than not taking them at all! Plus, eating clean, I don't feel like I have to take them so often... I see them more as an insurance policy. Except for the Cal/Mag/D complex which I know I need everyday.

If you're curious about what eating clean is about and other stuff I mentioned above... check out the list of resources below (though a lot of these are listed on the right hand side of this page too). A simple explanation of clean eating, directly from the Clean Eating Magazine website is,

Clean Eating? It's simple, really. Consuming food in it's most natural state -- or as close as possible to it -- is the soul of clean eating. It's not a diet; it's a lifestyle approach to food and its preparation, leading to health, well-being and a lean look.

The Eat Clean Diet (I swear it's not a fad diet, not matter what this website makes it look like)
Tosca Reno's Eat Clean Diet Blog
Eating Clean Works Blog
Clean Eating Magazine
Health Benifits of Magnesium
What's your Real Age?

Bye Bye Bottled Water

Another great ZapRoot video... I don't always agree with what they say, but this one was on the mark for me.

Java - the good and bad

So I get a newsletter from www.realage.com once a week in my inbox. This morning's edition tells me that a recent study claims that drinking coffee can make you live longer. This is great news to me, but it also listed some caveats... Here is the article:

Healthy or Not, Here I Come!
Over the years, research has produced mixed results on the health benefits of coffee. But a recent study was a win for the earthy brew. Heavy java drinkers (2 or more cups per day) experienced a modest decrease in all-cause mortality, including death from heart disease. We can probably credit the antioxidant-rich beans used to brew the stuff. In fact, Americans drink so much coffee that it’s one of our top sources of antioxidants. Here’s more good news about coffee.

Reality Check
So what are the caveats for coffee drinking? There are only a few. If you are sensitive to caffeine, you don’t need to be told not to be a java junkie. And unfiltered coffee can raise blood fats, so use paper filters and ditch the French press. Although it remains to be seen if coffee has a long-term impact on blood pressure, we know it can cause a temporary spike, so go easy if you have high blood pressure. And -- as always -- do everything in moderation. A pot-a-day habit probably doesn’t do anyone any favors. Check this RealAge article for more benefits of the brew.

Is anyone else bummed about the advice to ditch the French press? I just got mine about 6 months ago and I love it! I no longer have a coffee machine sitting out on my counter (replaced by an espresso machine - mmhmm!) and I like that I can easily tuck it away in a cabinet. So what are blood fats anyway? I wiki'd the term and here is what I got...

Blood lipids (or blood fats) are lipids in the blood, either free or bound to other molecules. They are mostly transported in a protein capsule^{[citation needed]}, and the density of the lipids and type of protein determines the fate of the particle and its influence on metabolism. The concentration of blood lipids depends on intake and excretion from the intestine, and uptake and secretion from cells. Blood lipids are mainly fatty acids and cholesterol. Hyperlipidemia is the presence of elevated or abnormal levels of lipids and/or lipoproteins in the blood, and is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease.

Well crap. Now I'm thinking maybe I should dig out my coffee maker from the donation pile... at least for the times that I'm on a coffee kick (vs. espresso).

Sustainable Kitchen

I stumbled across a blog post by Kelby Carr titled Sustainable Kitchen Project, and was inspired to start my own... or really continue the "project" I started back in May. Somehow life going-ons (mainly work and travel) have gotten me off track - and I need to re-focus! Below is a list of my own goals for a sustainable kitchen. I think these goals are realistic for me, and a good start...

1. Make my own yogurt
2. Start a compost - stop talking about it and DO it!
3. Buy MORE local produce and products
4. Make more kinds of breads

I'll let you know how it goes! What are you doing to have a more sustainable kitchen?

Gasp!

Yesterday and today my WeatherBug widget for my zip code has had a red weather alert message that says -

ALERT 1 - Air Quality Alert
Ozone Watch. Atmospheric Conditions Are Expected To Be Favorable For Producing High Levels Of Ozone Pollution...

Nice. This would be reason #4 of why I'm taking a break from running. But I really am missing it... and I was going to go yesterday but after being at war with myself about sleep vs. run, in my hazy dreamy sleepiness the run lost. Now I'm glad I didn't go suck down a bunch of pollution. Maybe tomorrow? I will have to check the air quality first... GRRR.

Strange Days on Planet Earth

This video is an excerpt of the episode Plastic Plague from National Geographic's Strange Days on Planet Earth 2. We have watched all of the episodes from season 1 and 2 over the past month... and wow, talk about eye opening information! The first season has four 1 hour episodes covering invasive species, climate change, the role of predators, and rivers/oceans. The second season has 2 episodes and investigates what is happening to all the fish, our water sources, the impacts of plastic in our oceans.

I highly recommend this docu-series, I found each episode fascinating (not boring). I think everyone should watch them - really they should be handing these DVDs out for free. We rented them from Netflix, since we missed when they aired on PBS. You can read more about this series, and what you can do at the Strange Days website.