Just Massage it Right into Your Brain

When I lived in Toledo, Ohio I faithfully had my hair cut by Bill at Creative Headlines.  Having Bill cut my hair meant having Bill wash my hair and believe me when I say: you will never regret nor forget having Bill wash your hair.  First he would ever so gently recline your chair and put up the footrest.  Then he would work the warm water all through your hair.  Already you are feeling 5 years younger and kind of forgetting you ever had troubles.  Just when you're thinking "could this get better?" It does.  Bill lathers up with some wonderful smelling salon shampoo and begins to massage your head.   Your neck.  Your temples.  He works the lather all through your hair, kneading, massaging...whooo, is it getting hot in here?  Then he would rinse.  Then he would take conditioner and start the whole sensual process over again.  By the time he was finally done you are 10 years younger and in love with the world.  Don't worry if you are too relaxed and limp to walk under your own power to Bill's chair, he's very strong and will carry you to his station if need be.  He's used to that response.  Finally he will place a fresh towel around your neck, cover you with a cape and he's ready to begin the cut.  He gives a good haircut, but really?  Who cares?  Just let him wash your hair and you'd forgive him a terrible cut.  If you're ever in the greater Toledo area give yourself a treat, book a haircut with Bill.

I tell you all this to emphasize the importance of a fantastic hair washing experience.  Though I frequently practice Speed Bathing, I do make sure that once or twice a week I really take time to pamper myself and that means warm water, yummy smelling shampoo, and fluffy towels.  I do love me a good lather, and that used to mean sodium lauryl sulfate which irritates the skin, reduces the skin's immune system capabilities, and can enhance tumor growth.  Do any of those things sound good?  Then I found Nature's Gate Organics.

This shampoo smells fantastic, lathers beautifully, contains no harmful, irritating, or carcinogenic ingredients, is not tested on animals, and can be bought at almost any grocery or drug store.  Buy it at the grocery store and you may feel a little sticker shock (it costs $7.99 here in Massachusetts) or save a little money and buy it from here  for $4.91. 

I don't use this shampoo all the time.  When I shower at the gym I carry plain ol' Pantene 2-in-1 shampoo+conditioner in my bag.  If I run out of organic shampoo I keep an emergency bottle of Pantene in the linen closet, just in case.  (Pantene doesn't have any health benefits to my knowledge, I just like it.) 

I try to reduce my exposure to chemicals and acknowledge that I will still have some exposure, sometimes a lot.  Sometimes I use Pantene, Secret deodorant, and eat Doritos all on the same day.

Just not every day. 

My challenge to you: perhaps you could occasionally use an organic shampoo or conditioner.  Maybe you could try using a baking soda paste as a remedy to product buildup instead of a harsh clarifying shampoo.  If you don't want to switch your shampoo then try turning down the temperature of your water.  The cooler the water temperature the more 'closed' the hair shaft and the pores in your scalp, the more protected you are from chemicals.  Bonus: your hair will be shinier and you reduce your carbon footprint.

Oh, eat some Omega-3s and green leafy veggies too.  And have a great hair day.

Would you rub that on your kidney?

As a teenager in the '80s I never met a tanning booth I didn't love.  I religiously went outside every day during the summer between the hours of 11a.m. and 2p.m. with my bottle of baby oil and my Walkman.  I chose sunscreen by its smell, not by SPF (Mmmm, Hawaiian Tropics Coconut Oil....yumm!).  I thought Secret deodorant (baby powder scent) was THE underarm scent to have.   My skin was always broken out so I used anything I could find that promised to reduce breakouts.

As a young adult in the '90s I had less time for sun and tanning because I was working full time.  Instead to abuse my skin I slathered on foundation, pressed powder, and blush.  I was still breaking out so I used harsh benzoyl peroxide and alcohol based products to reduce breakouts.  I loved the new lines of body gels and liquid soaps and used them all liberally.

As a young mother in the '00s I had no time for make up or sunscreen so my skin was always exposed to something, though very little was rubbed into it.

As an almost forty-something looking in her new 10x optical mirror in the '10s I can see the thirty years of abuse, even without my glasses on.  Ooops, looks like somehow I forgot to take care of my skin.

Luckily I am smarter now, and have been for a few years.  Gone are the tanning beds, the lack of sunscreen, and the harsh chemicals.  I now read skin product labels as if I were going to eat them because guess what?  Everything you slather on the outside actually ends up on the inside.  I guess I knew this on some level, I mean after all the nicotine patches and birth control patches have been around for years and they all rely on putting something on the skin and getting it into the bloodstream.  What I didn't realize for 25 years was that products designed to go on the skin could be so...dangerous!

The first culprits are the parabens.  These chemicals are used as a preservative to extend the shelf-life of the product.  They are cheap to make but dangerous because our bodies can't properly metabolize them so they get stored in fat deposits.  Breast cancer tumors frequently contain parabens. 

Next are the sulfates.  We all love the sulfates because of the rich, foamy lather they create in shampoos and soaps.  Unfortunately all that lather comes with a cost:  our poor livers weren't made to handle this chemical so a lot of it is stored in the liver and that causes liver toxicity, or it ends up roaming around the body and causing all sorts of cancers.

Our next contenders are the perfumes and dyes that make our shampoos, lotions, toothpastes, and soaps look so pretty and smell so good.  The problem is that a lot of different dyes and perfumes are usually used to create that 'ocean breeze' smell and that means dangerous levels and combinations can occur.

The truth is that one little paraben never hurt anyone.  It's massaging them daily into your scalp in the form of shampoos, rubbing them into your gums in the form of toothpastes, layering them onto your skin in the form of deodorants, lotions, and make up that causes the problem.    We don't get exposed to one chemical one time, we get exposed to hundreds of different chemicals in thousands of combinations over a lifetime.  The good news is that there are alternatives, they are cheap, they are easy to buy or make, and they work just as well or better.  The even better news is that our bodies are so amazing at detoxing themselves that they'll get rid of all the junk we put in them if we just stop putting it in.

For the rest of this week I'll focus on the natural product alternatives to some of my favorite products.  Today I'll start with deodorant.  First things first: I currently do own and occasionally use Secret deodorant/antipersperant.  It works, it smells good, and there are times when I know I'm going to be nervous or sweating a lot and I want the extra chemicals to stop the sweat.

For daily use I use Tom's Of Maine Natural Deodorant.  I like the calendula scent.  Steve is more of a woodspice man.  Our daughter occasionally uses the lavender.  It is not an anti-persperant.  If you are sweating a lot, you will have wet marks on your underarms.  It is a good deodorant, you may smell your deodorant, but you won't smell sweat.  For most days I am not doing something so strenuous that I need an antipersperant.  When I work out I use the deodorant, but I figure I'm supposed to sweat so wetness isn't a concern.  Another alternative: use a powder puff to apply baking soda directly to your underarms.  Then spray on some tea tree oil (about a TBSP) diluted with 1/4 c. water.  Tea tree oil contains antibacterial properties and it's the bacteria that makes sweat smell bad.

Tomorrow I'll focus on shampoos and conditioners.  Friday I'll blog about lotions and toothpaste.  We'll all be so healthy we won't be able to stand ourselves!

Green Tip Tuesday: Online Bill Pay

As I've mentioned before, I'm not a big fan of mailing stuff.  Like most people prone to procrastination having to do something that takes effort, planning, and stamps, all of which are in short supply in my household, is to be avoided at all costs.   Online bill pay was designed for people like me.  Bonus: it's Green too!

I do all my online bill paying through my bank's website.  I've been doing this for about 10 years, though I will admit that when we moved to Massachusetts and had to switch banks and get a new email address it was a little daunting to set up all the bill paying details again.  Still, it was worth it because it really does make my life so easy.  

A lot of companies with whom I do business have graciously offered to simply suck the money they need right out of my checking account with no effort from me at all.  This method is great for all your super-organized-and-have-a-lot-of-money-in-your-checking-account people, but it would never work for me.  I need to see in one place all the money that is going to be paid out versus the current balance.  I like to move pay dates around sometimes to match up with Steve's every-other-week pay cycle.  I like to move whatever money is "left over" to savings as soon as possible.  Inevitably I would forget about that one little car payment and have no money in the account when they went to make the online transfer.  It's good to know your personality type when choosing a bill-paying method.  Especially if you've decided to live "paycheck to paycheck."

Did you know that most banks will even write a check and mail it for you at no charge?  I don't know how or why they do it, I am just glad they do.  Clearly bankers either 1. always have stamps on hand or 2. don't mind mailing stuff.

I like not having to find an envelope, line up the mailing address in the little window, find a stamp, get my bills out in time for delivery, remember my federal holidays when no mail is delivered, and wait for a check to clear.  I like the simplicity of clicking my mouse a few times and BAM, the bill is paid. 

No environmental impacts from mail trucks, envelopes, checks, or stamps.  And good credit because your bills are always on time.  What could be simpler?

Things that are good for your heart (Diet Coke is not one of them)

Happy Valentine's Day!  On a day devoted to wearing red, exchanging heart shaped boxes of chocolates, and receiving glittery heart cards I thought I'd mention a few things that really are good for your heart.  (And just like Pepsi, Diet Coke will not escape my wrath for their latest marketing trick).

Take a deep breath.  Let all that oxygen fill your lungs and enrich your blood.  Cancer cannot live in an oxygenated environment, so get as much oxygen into your body as possible.  Take a walk outside.  Breathe deeply and turn your face toward the sun.  Soak in some vitamin D for about 20 minutes because a vitamin D deficiency raises your risk for heart disease.

Tell someone you love them.  Connect with friends or family.  Join a club.  Be active in your community.  Studies show that isolated people have a higher rate of heart attacks than those who are connected.

Eat a piece rf two of that dark chocolate from the heart-shaped box.  Dark chocolate contains antioxidants that can lower blood pressure through the production of nitric oxide.  Better yet, dip an organic strawberry into dark chocolate and your whole body will smile.

Drink plenty of water.  Being dehydrated causes the heart to have to pump harder due to decreased blood volume, which increases your risk of heart attack.

Read a good book (or blog!) the relaxed state you enter while reading lowers your blood pressure.  Watch a funny movie because laughing is a fantastic abdominal workout and causes you to breathe harder, thus taking in more oxygen.  Take a nap, just 20 minutes can lower your blood pressure and reduce stress.  Have great sex...do you really need a reason to have great sex???

Your heart will thank you.

Pepsi Refresh? Shame on you!

You may remember my Pink Ribbon Rant where I expressed my frustration with products that contain carcinogens on the inside yet bear a pink ribbon on the outside packaging.  Pepsi's new Refresh campaign is inspiring the same frustration.  At its core, Pepsi's idea to give money to support ideas that will "Refresh" the planet, ideas such as recycling T-shirts into reusable bags, sending Girl Scout cookies to overseas troops, improving living conditions for children living in poverty -- are all good ideas.  I don't have any problem with the ideas put forth to fulfill the campaign. 

My problem is with the campaign.

Pepsi, how dare you spend money on this campaign while saving money by using inferior, unhealthy,and carcinogenic sweeteners such as high fructose corn syrup as the main ingredient in your product?  You want to Refresh the Planet?  Start with your own product.  You want to make a sweetened cola?  Fantastic, make it with organic cane sugar.  Bottle it in recyclable glass bottles, not cans made with aluminum that 1. leach toxic aluminum into our soil when they are not recycled, and 2.  are made from bauxite which is not mined responsibly and is devastating lives in India and the rainforests in Brazil.

How does contributing to obesity, heavy metal poisoning, and environmental destruction Refresh our world?  But the slogan is catchy, it gets celebrities behind it, people feel good buying Pepsi and sales go up.  So it's all good, right?

No.  Pepsi, you should be ashamed of yourself.

Census 2010: Are you represented in your house?

A couple of years ago I was reading a feng shui book that mentioned the placement of photographs in your home.  According to the book there are certain areas in the Chinese Ba Gua, such as Family, Children, Helpful People, or Relationships/Marriage, that naturally invite photos of those people.  The book also talked about balance: making sure that all people living in the house were represented equally in number or proportion.  For example you may have four 5x7 photos of your children in small frames and only one 10x13 wedding photo that is matted and framed.  The photos are still in balance because proportionally you are represented equal to your children because of your bigger picture and more elaborate frame.

I started looking around my house to see how balanced we were.  I was shocked to discover that no picture of me existed in the house!  There were plenty of pictures of my daughter, many of them with my husband too, but none of me.  I knew I was responsible for this absence because I am the one who makes 99% of the decorating decisions and 100% of the photo placement decisions.  I also knew how it happened: over the years as my taste in frames changed and we moved and our daughter was born and pictures were put up and taken down and frames reused and I'm usually the one who takes the pictures which means I'm not in a lot of them so the next thing you know: I've disappeared from the displayed photos.

I immediately went through a box of photos, picked out 3 that I was in and re-did the photo display.  There!  Problem solved.  But then when we moved to our current house and I was putting out the family pictures I noticed something else.  There was not a single picture of Steve and me together.  We've been married for almost 19 years and yet there was no photographic evidence that we had ever been in the same room together!  I remedied that situation as well.

Look around your house.  Are you represented?  Is it a priority for there to be beautifully framed pictures of you as well as the spouse, children, even pets?  If not, why not?  For your inspiration, here are some of the photos that now reside in my house:

Speed Bathing

  This may come as a surprise to some of you, but I will not be featured as an Olympic athlete in the 2010 Winter Games.  I should be though, because my friends, I could take the Gold in Speed Bathing.

I have been training for 11 years.  Ever since my darling infant baby girl first began going into apoplectic shock the second I stepped foot into the shower, I took up the art of Speed Bathing.  And I'm finding that it's a hard habit to break.

What began as a sanity-saving-get-in-and-get-out-before-that-child-bursts-a-blood-vessel necessity has morphed into a reckless-do-I-really-need-to-shave-those-legs-today race that is fueled primarily by procrastination with a healthy dose of poor planning thrown in for good measure.

I don't tend to leisurely enjoy my toilette.

I intend to.  I really do.  I have purchased fluffy towels, yummy-smelling-soaps, a PVC-free shower curtain liner, decadent shampoos, and expensive razors.  I have my Burt's Bees Royal Jelly Body Lotion strategically positioned on the counter so after my shower I can take a moment and moisturize.  I have my razor blade suction-cupped to the shower stall where it won't get wet.  I even bought the girlie shaving cream.  I go into the shower with all good intentions to pamper, primp, exfoliate, shave, and condition.  That is, I go into the shower with those intentions oh, about once a week.  The problem is that the rest of the week I go into the shower with T minus 31 minutes until I have to: 1. pick up my daughter from school or 2.  be at an appointment that why I didn't just schedule it 15 minutes later I don't know, but that's poor planning for you or 3.  Steve is about to burst a blood vessel because instead of showering (like he thought I was doing) I was reading blogs and/or searching for Google Images, so now I have to get showered, blown dry, and dressed before he finishes eating toast.

Here is how it usually happens: I get home from the gym.  I intend to immediately shower so my back doesn't break out from contact with my sweaty sports bra.  I turn on the water.  The phone rings.  I have to look to see who is calling because it could be my daughter's school and therefore an emergency.  It's Debbie.  Or Chellie.  I decide to talk for a minute while the water heats up.  (These are very interesting women and if you talked to them you wouldn't be able to talk for a minute either, so no judging please).  I realize bathroom is filled with steam.  I feel guilty and turn water off.  I decide to unload/reload dishwasher while chatting, thus being productive.  I fold laundry.  I make beds.  I hang up coats.  I straighten cushions and throw pillows.  Conversation ends.  I really need to shower but look, there is my computer!  I'll just quickly check to see if I have any comments on my blog then I'll take my shower.  Hey, someone commented!  I'll write back so they know I appreciate them.  Oh look, one of the blogs I follow has a new entry. I read.  I follow links.  I find funny youtube video.  I email funny youtube video to friends and family.  I remember I haven't sent any e-cards lately.  I begin perusing e-cards.  I send some out.  Wait, don't I have a new bill in my email?  I read emails.  I pay bills.  I glance at clock on computer: 2:15!!!  I have to pick up my daughter at 2:45!!!  I race upstairs, turn on water while pulling off now-stiff-with-dried-sweat sports bra.  I jump in shower with water still cold.  I shampoo quickly.  No time to rinse and repeat!!  I mash some conditioner around and soap up.  Yes I really need to shave my legs but I don't have time!!!  I dry off.  Yes I really need to moisturize my alligator skin but I don't have time!!!  I blast my hair with a blow dryer while brushing my teeth.  I slap mineral make-up on with one hand while pulling out clean clothes with the other.  I throw on clothes, grab keys, phone, and coat and run out the door with 2 minutes to spare.

Gold medal caliber I tell you, Gold medal...

Green Tip Tuesday - Shopping Bags

Reusable shopping bags are everywhere!  Look near the checkout counter of almost any store and there will be a shopping bag for sale.  It used to be that I would get paper bags and bring them with me to the grocery store.  I would usually get about a year's worth of use out of a paper bag before it was too thin to be reliably used again.  Now, the options for reusuable bags are endless.  Here are some of my favorites:

My great-grandmother carried a string bag with her when she walked to the neighborhood market to buy Lorna Doone cookies.  I remember walking with her, though I couldn't have been more than 4 years old, because it was the first time I had ever walked to the grocery store and because she let me choose the cookies.  String bags are nice because they can be stuffed in your coat pocket, purse, or another bag and they don't take up much room.  Warning: small items like lipsticks can sometimes slip out of string bags (I learned this the hard way after losing my brand new $4.99 Burt's Bees Lip Shimmer).

This bag from target is a classic.  Easily found at every Target checkout, inexpensive, sturdy, and you get to go to Target to pick it up -- what could be better?  (Mmmmm, Target...)

A good example of the very stylish bags you can find nowadays.  Reusable bags don't have to have store logos, be plastic, or even be big.  Any bag is a good candidate, as long as it has sturdy handles, strong seams, and you'll remember to carry it.  I like these bags because they are so cute to carry that you don't feel like it's a chore being environmentally responsible.

This is the bag I carry in my purse.  I am great at remembering to bring my bags to the grocery store, but I was always forgetting to bring bags to every other store so I was forever growing my collection of plastic bags.  Once I found this canvas bag that zips up into a small carrying case ($10 Whole Foods Market), I slipped it in my purse and now I always have a reusable bag with me.  Bonus: the $10 cost is donated to feeding children in need.

I don't always have a reusable bag with me.  I try.  I succeed about 90% of the time.  I find it is actually easier for me to find things quickly because my bags are different and I can think "oh I remember putting that in my flowered bag" as opposed to sifting through a mountain of plastic-look-alikes.  I like the sturdiness of my bags.  I like reducing my dependance on petroleum whilst reducing waste.  Look around the house, chances are good you have all the reusable shopping bags you need without spending a penny.  Tuck one in your purse or in the pocket in your car door.

Breathe easy, you're part of the solution, not the problem.

There's no way I'm touching that...

Is there any household chore that you just hate to do?  Anything you put off doing until the board of health your conscience tells you that you must do it?

For me it's cleaning the bathrooms.  It's my dirty little secret (ha ha ha) how much I hate cleaning bathrooms.  I'm sure it's a holdover from my childhood when I responsible for cleaning the "kids" bath every Saturday before I could watch cartoons.  Plagued by 2 brothers with bad aim, a sister with a penchant for bubble baths, hard water, and a very picky mother, I would procrastinate, cry, and try to bargain to get out of that chore.  It didn't work.  Every Saturday, armed with Comet and Lysol, I cleaned the bathroom.

I have tried everything to make the chore more enjoyable:  I have a steamer that blasts steam, sprays steam, or mists steam.  I like it, but it's noisy and has to be refilled a lot.  I tried using all natural cleaners thinking that perhaps my smug "well aren't I just a Nobel-prize-winning-friend-of-Al-Gore-planet-saving-little-housewife?" attitude would make the chore more bearable.  It didn't.  I tried using the harshest-but-allegedly-fastest-working-chemicals on the market thinking if all I had to do was spray some toxins around and walk away that perhaps it would be worth sacrificing a little ozone.  I don't know how well the ozone faired, but they didn't really work without scrubbing despite what the bottle says.  I tried just swiping around with a Clorox wipe a couple of times a week thinking that if I didn't really clean then maybe I wouldn't feel like I was cleaning.  After a few weeks of sticky sinks, toilet handles, and faucets I decided that the germs were just sticking to the Clorox residue and besides the guilt from creating all that waste was getting to me, so I stopped.

After living on my own for over 20 years I have finally found the two items necessary to make bathroom cleaning bearable: rubber gloves and my apron with the big center pocket. 

It turns out that I'm not adverse to the cleaning part, it's touching what needs to be cleaned that grossed me out.  I can clean anything if I just don't have to touch it with my bare hands.  Also having spare rags, baking soda, vinegar, and borax (yes, I really am that 'out there') stuffed in my big center pocket means that I have all my supplies readily at hand.  And I don't get burned from the steam as much.  And my hands are no longer scary-dry and cracked.

Am I alone in this bathroom-touching-aversion?  What do you do to make it bearable?

Green Tip Tuesday: Using Vinegar in the Laundry

I really like doing the laundry.  I like sorting the clothing by colors, it appeals to my sense of order.  I like remembering to rescue all of my favorite fitted T's or comfy sweaters from the dryer because it makes me feel like I am top of my chores.  I love the warm, clean smell of clothes fresh from the dryer.  My laundry "room" is really just a closet in my daughter's bathroom.  I don't have any fancy shelving or cabinets.  My washer and dryer are serviceable 11 year old Maytags.  I have absolutely no lighting in the closet, and almost no storage.  I always say that someday my laundry room will look this one, but right now, not so much.  I even love putting away all the fresh laundry because we (finally) bought a dresser last year and there is enough room to put everything away properly.

I began investigating "greener" laundry detergents about  5 years ago when my friend Chellie bought her new front-load washer and dryer.  The purchase came with a few years of free servicing and Chellie, who is good at remembering that kind of stuff, scheduled the visits.  The woman (!) who came to service the appliances complimented her on how clean her machine was after a year of constant usage.  The technician attributed the condition of the appliances to Chellie's commitment to not using petroleum-based detergents.  I am embarrassed to say that I honestly didn't realize that my old favorite Tide was a petroleum-based detergent!  I like to reduce our exposure to (and dependency upon) petroleum so I started using the Seventh Generation line of laundry products.   I still do use the laundry detergent, but let's face it, those products are

expensive and not always widely available, so I searched for something else to use as a fabric softener.  That's when I discovered vinegar. 

Vinegar is the perfect fabric softener.  It removes soap residue, freshens the load, brightens colors, whitens whites, and causes no harm to the environment.  My washing machine has a large center cup for adding fabric softener so I add 1/2 cup of white vinegar and about 8-10 drops of lavendar essential oil to each load.   The clothes smell great, they are soft (even the towels and jeans) and it costs about half of what Downy costs.  I buy Heinz white vinegar at the warehouse club in a 1.32 gallon jug for $3.99 and it lasts about 36 loads of laundry. 

The great thing about vinegar is it's versatility.  I can spray it directly on my workout clothes to remove sweat stains and odors.  I can run it through my machine with hot water to remove any musty smells in the washer.  I can spray it on stains to help them dissolve.  I can combine it with baking soda and really whiten socks. 

Perhaps if you have some vinegar in your pantry you could try adding it to just one rinse cycle, just to see if you like it?  Or put some in a small spray bottle and very lightly mist shirts you are about to iron.   I like using products with which I can create dressing for salad, scour my coffee pot, and clean my clothes.

Be green, your socks will get whiter.

Orange Julius: revisiting a classic

Last week Steve was home from work feeling tired, achey, with a sore throat and a stuffy nose.  Today it's my daughter's turn to lay on the couch moaning a bit and unable to get comfortable.  The trajectory of my day is certainly going in a different direction than planned: my gym workout will have to be squeezed in at home in between bringing cups of crushed ice and washing bed linens.  My chats with friends will have to be shorter and edited due to the presence of an audience.  The television will be on at times that would ordinarily be marked by blessed silence or my song choices.  The reverberations of today will be felt for the next few days as homework is made up, undone errands are caught up, and missed workouts are doubled up or left behind.  With all this change you wouldn't think I'd be very happy, would you?

I am happy.  Our lives have been busy lately: extra band practices get ready for a big multi-school concert, sleepovers, dinner parties, and all of the hustle and bustle that accompanies a new year, burgeoning tax season, and the 2nd half of the school year.   I decided this morning that I would take today to (briefly) air out the house, wash all the bedding, and make an Orange Julius smoothie for my daughter.  She's never had an Orange Julius because I've never purchased concentrated  orange juice and didn't know you could make one without it.  Last night when Steve made an emergency run for more children's medicine he brought home orange juice concentrate and the idea was born.  I loved an Orange Julius when I was a child, a rare treat at a time when smoothies were unknown and "wasting" 6 ounces of orange juice concentrate was unheard of!  Today when I searched online for the recipe I found that I could make substitutions that would make the drink healthier and still maintain that yummy taste.  Here is what I did:

Recipe online which I believe is the one used by my mom (found on this blog)

6 oz. frozen orange juice concentrate

1 cup milk
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
8-9  ice cubes

1. Combine all ingredients except ice cubes in blender.
2. Blend for about 1-2 minutes, adding ice cubes one at a time.

I know, that’s a lot of sugar, right? Yeah, no wonder it’s so good
Update: A reader emailed me a suggestion to use powdered sugar to make the drink a bit creamier. I’ve been using 1/4 cup regular sugar and 1/4 powdered sugar and it’s fantastic!

My changes:

6 oz. frozen orange juice concentrate

1 cup soy milk
1 cup water
1 TBSP organic pure cane sugar
2 TBSP vanilla whey protein
1 TBSP psyllium husk
2 TBSP orange-flavored Omega-3 supplement
1 tsp. vanilla extract
8-9 ice cubes

1. Combine all ingredients except ice cubes in blender.
2. Blend for about 1-2 minutes, adding ice cubes one at a time.

I am pretty sure I don't even need the orange juice concentrate.  I am thinking I will try it again this afternoon or tomorrow with fresh squeezed orange juice and perhaps add more whey protein or perhaps some kefir for probiotics and bulk.

My daughter loved the drink and I loved giving her something packed with vitamins, protein, Omega-3, and fiber that didn't contain 1/2 cup of sugar (although keep in mind that any kind of fruit juice concentrate is concentrated sugar!)  I love smoothies but unfortunately my daughter doesn't like most of them, so this was a good find for me.

Do you have any recipe makeovers that you like?  I'd love to read about them.

Simplicity, Life at its Best

Years ago I came across a book called Simple Abundance by Sarah Ban Breathnach which contains daily meditations on the principles of order, simplicity, beauty, and gratitude.  I have read and re-read this book many times, frequently starting it in the middle of the year, reading ahead or catching up, but always finishing it feeling rejuvenated.  Refreshed.  Revived.

I have been thinking a lot about simplicity lately as I have been reviewing some of my favorite feng shui books, visiting one of my favorite blogs Strictly Simple Style, reading back issues of Guideposts magazine (from the library, of course!) about simplifying life, and gearing up for a new year.

One of my goals this year is to simplify.  I want to simplify my body: simplifying what I eat, smoothing and toning so that my appearance is uncluttered, slender, and healthy.  I want to simplify my home: take all those boxes to the Salvation Army that I have been putting in my storage room "to take later", get in the habit of addressing paperwork immediately rather than putting it on my desk "for later", and organizing closets and drawers rather than tossing items in "to deal with later."  Later appears to be cluttering my life.

I found it interesting that when I search Google Images for Simplicity a lot of the images returned were of nature.  I agree.  Even a forest strewn with leaves, branches, stones, flora and fauna appears simple.  Soothing.  Uncomplicated.  I notice the same thing about my daughter: she is still young enough that her body is simple, her attitude is straight forward.  Her life, while certainly becoming busy and more complicated, is still uncluttered.

Being a huge admirer of (anything) Pottery Barn I always tend to picture one the rooms they feature online, in their catalog, or in their stores as the image of simplicity.  Like if I lived in a room like that: flooded with natural light, adorned with furnishings and fabrics that have clean lines, beautiful textures, soft colors, and sturdy construction,  that I too would become a person with clean lines, enough texture to be interesting,  a soft forgiving heart, and a sturdy character.

Image from Potterybarn.com

Luckily I don't believe for a minute that I have to invest in a $10,000 room makeover (as enticing as that would be!) to achieve those qualities.  I simply need to simplify.

Smells Like Home

I always find it amazing how powerful a 'scent memory' can be.  Every December I make Chex Mix for my family.  My mother always made it during the holidays and I guess the tradition just stuck.  Everytime I smell that mixture of Worcestershire sauce, seasoned salt, butter, and garlic it transports me back 30 years to childhood and smelling that same smell.

It happened last night when I opened a tube of AIM toothpaste.  My mom was a Crest-woman and only very, very occasionally did she buy anything else.  My brothers and I were always clamoring for her to buy AIM because we thought it tasted soooooo good.  Trying to bring a little more enthusiasm to my daughter's lackluster brushing I bought some AIM toothpaste, convinced I had hit upon the magic solution.  She didn't like the taste (!) but last night I used some, just feeling nostalgic.  The moment I took the cap off the tube I smelled that AIM toothpaste smell.  I could almost feel the scratchy lace of my old flannel nightgowns; almost hear my brothers arguing in the background; almost see my old brown and yellow bathroom of childhood.

I use vinegar a lot for cleaning (more on that next Tuesday!) and everytime I open the bottle I think of dying Easter eggs.   I had graham crackers and milk almost every day for after school snack for 12 years, so the smell of graham crackers makes me feel a little uptight - like maybe I have homework still to do...

And finally Bubble Gum Lip Smackers Gloss.  Junior High my friends, Junior High.

What scent memories do you have?

The January Doldrums

Our household is feeling the January doldrums.  The blahs.  Steve is home sick from work.  I am having to talk myself into going to the gym, folding that last load of laundry, and/or cooking dinner.  Our daughter is trying to fry her brain with too many The Suite Life of Zach and Cody reruns.

Yep, it's the end of January all right.

I read a feng shui book that had a lot of information about stale energy.  If I have any energy at all right now it is certainly stale, so I thought I'd get the book out again and brush up on the cures.  It turns out the cure to stale energy is to get moving.  sigh.  I don't want to get moving, but okay, I'll play along.  The book said to move 21 items in your home.  Unfortunately cleaning up, while extremely good, doesn't count as moving items.  I think I'll give it a try.  That candle on the mantle that has been collecting dust could be (dusted) moved upstairs to my bedroom.  The picture frames that I keep meaning to fill could be filled and hung up.  Maybe the throw pillows on the couch in the living room could be switched with the ones on the couch in the basement?  Perhaps I can recycle a pretty glass jar I received at Christmas as a new pen holder on my desk.  Maybe I'll even add a ribbon to it.  Or add a fun label to the jar.  Heck maybe I'll print out a collection of black & white toile labels and give my desk a coordinated French country look.

Okay, maybe there is something to moving 21 items.  Just thinking about moving the items I feel more energetic.  I'll start with moving the biggest item: myself, and then see where it goes from there.

Happy January!

Green Tip Tuesday: Digital Music

I am married to a techie.  Not only is it Steve's job to be on the technical cutting edge, it is his passion.  We had mp3s, iPods, and iPhones in their first generations while they still had some "bugs" but lots of potential.    As a teen I loved music and spent hours listening to records and the radio.  Then tapes.  Then CDs.  Then my mp3 player.  Now my iPod and iPhone.

The advent of digitized music has made it possible to carry thousands of motivating, uplifting, encouraging, and happy songs with you everywhere you go without creating a lot of waste or toting heavy equipment (remember the 'boom boxes' of the '80s?).

Having music in your life is good for your body because it gets you moving.  It's good for your mind because listening to music is proven to increase intelligence.  It's good for your soul because (depending upon your song choices) music can be so uplifting.

Go green.  Digitize your current CDs then donate them to the library.  Commit to buying your music online thus eliminating packaging and shipping impacts on the environment.  Reduce the electro-magnetic footprint in your home, and your carbon footprint by unplugging those CD and tape players.  Donate them to charity and happily take the deduction on your taxes.

Dance.  Sing in your car.  In the shower.  Everywhere you go.  You'll be healthier.  So will the planet.

What month is it?

Today is Monday, January 25.  I know this for sure because my computer tells me so and my computer never lies.  My daughter has a dentist appointment on Monday.  In January.  On the 25th.  I know this because the dentist sent me a reminder card with the date clearly printed on it.

So I take my daughter to the dentist.  It is raining so hard it's like being in the shower.  The wind blows my umbrella inside out as I attempt to walk from her school to the car.  It actually hails a little bit at some point in the short 15 minute trip between my daughter's school and the dentist's office.  But we make it.  Wet.  Glasses fogged.  Umbrella broken.  But safe. And on time.

The receptionist looked a little surprised when we walked in but was very professional: asking my name.  Asking my daughter's name.  Flipping through her appointment book (book?  They are still using a book?) with a small, professional smile on her face.  Flipping.  Still flipping.  Why is she flipping through so many pages?  How many pages does it take to show an appointment that starts in 5 minutes.  I decide to make a little small talk: chatting about how awful it is outside and how I wouldn't be out at all on such a nasty day if we didn't have this appointment.  The receptionist looks up, raises her eyebrows, smiles and says:

"Ummm, ma'am?  I think you may be a little early for your appointment..."
"Oh, I thought it was 1:30.  Did I look at it wrong, is it at 4:30?"
"No ma'am, it's at 1:30.  It's at 1:30 on Monday, February 22." (smirk, small giggle)
"You're kidding!  But I have an appointment confirmation card right here!  It clearly states my appointment is on January 25!"  (I pull out card to wave my proof under her smirking nose.)
"Yes ma'am, I see where you may have gotten confused.  You were looking at the 'Mail by' date.  The appointment date is down here.  Highlighted." (lots more smirking, patient and hygenist in first room off reception are openly laughing but I'm sure they're laughing about something else.)
"Oh."

I admit I am completely deflated.  She's right, the date is clearly written and highlighted.  It's embarrassing!  I took my daughter out of school early!  I broke a perfectly good umbrella!  Even my socks are wet!  And why did I have to sound so indignant and actually wave the appointment card at the receptionist? 

Does this kind of thing ever happen to you?

You Fed Her What????

My daughter's tuition bill came in the mail yesterday.  No sticker shock, the tuition has gone up but I expected that.  I like her school, I believe she is receiving a quality education with enough extras to make the tuition money worthwhile.  I picked her up from school feeling like such a good mommy making the budgetary prioritzations necesssary to pay for her education.  "How was your day sweetie?" I ask, still basking a bit in my aren't-I-just-a-Nobel-prize-winning-self-sacrificer glory.  "Fine."  (I was reduced to one-word answers a few months ago..the tween years are fully upon us).  "What did you have for lunch?" I ask, not at all dissuaded by her monosyllable.  Her face lights up a bit, I smile in anticipatory see-even-the-lunches-are-worth-the-money joy..."Mozzarella sticks!" she answers.  "Mozzarella sticks, canned peaches, and carrot sticks!" My child is overjoyed at what she considers to be a culinary masterpiece. 

Mozzarella sticks as an entree?  At my pricey-little-bastion-of-education?

Let's face it: as a society we don't prioritize teachers highly enough to pay them well enough to get consistently high quality teaching.  (Especially our substitute kindergarten teachers, but that's another post...)We don't prioritize nutrition enough to make it imperative that under no circumstances would mozzarella sticks be considered anything more than an occasional addition to an otherwise healthy meal.

My daughter's school generally does really well with meal planning.  She has an amazing salad bar available to her every day, fresh fruit and vegetables are always plentiful and fairly varied (especially considering they are catering to an audience of 5-13 year olds), and most of the entrees reflect an attempt to keep lunch interesting as well as nutritious.  And, as in any job, some days the lunch crew drops the ball.

I don't blame the school, per se, I hold our society responsible for letting things get to the lowest common denominator where lunches like this are even considered.  Our children will (eventually) eat what they are given.  If we give them junk, well...what do we expect?  Of course they will want more junk!

Moderation.  Perspective.  I don't think mozzarella sticks for lunch are a great choice but that is one meal one time.  I am in charge of what she eats for breakfast, morning snack, afternoon snack, and dinner.  She is still young enough that I control most of what she eats.  It is my job to ensure that even when the school drops the ball, I don't.

It's my job to be a parent.

Buying Organic: Healthful Choice or Yuppie Trend?

Well, both.  I had never even heard the term "organic food" before 1999.  I'm sure there were a handful of "hippie" commune farmers who had always grown their own vegetables before then.  And I'm sure there were always the "crackpot" environmentalists who believed in using sustainable farming methods.  But until the last decade or so, those people were on the fringe. Well that's all changed now and almost overnight mom-and-pop-organic-farms have become a staple in the pantry of the health-conscious, environmentally aware, and the trendy.

It all started for me when my daughter had a diaper rash that just wouldn't go away.    I had also recently watched Oprah where her guest, Dr. Andrew Weil, had spoken about a wide-spread but mostly unknown allergy to dairy that plagued many children and adults.  He mentioned that for some people it may be the protein lactose which they don't digest very well, but for others it may be the amount of hormones, antibiotics, and pesticides present in the dairy that made them sick.  I decided to go dairy free to see if it would help my constant hay-fever-like-allergies (they went away within 2 weeks) and to buy organic milk for my daughter to see if it helped her rash.  The rash went away.  Completely.  Within days.  A few weeks later I bought regular old milk again (thinking I had cured her and could return to regular habits) and her rash came back immediately.  Curious.  We have had organic dairy products since then.

It's fairly common knowledge nowadays that a lot more than milk  is in our milk.  That's true of many foods.  I am all for buying whatever organic products your budget can accomodate, but if you're like most me, you're going to have to pick and choose what you buy organic because it is so expensive.

I opt for organic dairy products first, followed by organic frozen fruit (because I eat a smoothie every day).  Next I'll go for antibiotic-free, hormone-free meat.  Then organic eggs.  Then organic vegetables.  Finally, if I'm feeling really rich I'll buy organic shampoo and conditioner.  I try to prioritize based upon our consumption, availability, and my ability to make natural substitutions that while not organic, may at least be less processed.  Our family doesn't eat a lot of meat or dairy, but we do eat a lot of fruit, eggs, and veggies.  I can afford to be all-organic on the dairy and meat because I don't have to buy very much.  I make the fruit and eggs a priority because we consume a lot of them.  I can find a lot of veggies at farmers' markets or locally grown so I don't worry about organic as much with them.  Personal care products are a minefield of chemicals but they are also easy to make yourself from stuff in the kitchen (but that's another post...).

Organic is healthy.  It's also very trendy.  Be both:  choose one item you consume a lot and see if you can switch to organic.  There, don't you feel better already? 

Green Tip Tuesday

It's Green Tip Tuesday!  Most of my friends and all of my family live a thousand miles away.  Due to my "strained" relationship with the US Postal service and my basic procrastination I am notorious for being late, (sometimes very late), sending out cards and gifts.  I have found the answer to my prayers and it's made even better because it's environmentally friendly.

Send e-cards and e-gifts.

I know, e-cards have existed for years, but they weren't always that great.  Recently though, while looking for a way to connect with my 3 year old niece and celebrate her potty victory, I re-examined http://www.hallmark.com/.  Their website has completely changed in the past couple of years.  No longer are you stuck with just a few designs with dicey clip-art that appears on the screen while tinny background music plays too loudly or softly in the background.  Gone are the days of e-cards that look like a 6 year old got hold of PowerPoint.  Now there are many e-cards available, many of them are hilarious, that contain animation, music, and dialogue that will have your recipients laughing and sharing the e-card with others.  I went ahead and bought a subscription for $9.95/year.  I have already sent about 15 e-cards (which would have cost $.99 each) and plan to send many, many more.  I am even considering sending e-cards for Christmas to all my friends and family who have email.  I don't know if I can go quite that "green" yet, but I am considering it.

And the e-gift-card options are endless.  You no longer have to send a gift card that may get lost in the mail, or not have a proper activation code, or that just ends up in a landfill when the credit has been used.  It is a procrastinating environmentalist's dream, I tell you.

Now if only I could convince my puppy-wanting-daughter to get an e-pet instead...

I love my George Foreman Grill, I hate my George Foreman Grill

Good ol' George Foreman.  I once read that Hulk Hogan had been offered the "grill deal" before George Foreman but that he had turned it down in favor of an energy drink or something that he thought would be more profitable.  Probably not a decision he is proud of today.  I have had my George Foreman Grill for about 9 years.   At first heralded as the answer to the 'we have no grill but that's okay because we have no backyard area in which to grill' dilemma, the grill has been both one of my biggest culinary blessings and also responsible for some of my biggest culinary disasters.

On the plus side: the grill works as advertised.  It evenly grills foods on both sides and does it more quickly than conventional grills.  I use my grill a lot.  I probably wouldn't grill mushrooms, peppers, onions, and other veggies nearly so frequently if it weren't for my George Foreman.  When we lived in a rental when we first moved to Massachusetts my GF was in use almost every night because I only had 2 burners and an 18" wide oven.  I even made (flat) grilled cheese sandwiches on it!  The angled design truly does cut down on grease and fat and the recipe book that comes with it has some truly handy and healthy recipes.  It's all good, right?  Well....

...On the negative side: you have to be very careful about how you prepare the outside of whatever you are grilling.  A thick chicken breast will be char-broiled on the outside before you can get the inside done because, at least on my model, I can't control the temp.  You must never ever forget to spray (heavily) the grill with non-stick spray or whatever you are grilling will become one with the alleged non-stick surface and look like hash by the time you scrape it off.  Even with heavy non-stick spray usage clean-up is not for the faint of heart.  I even have specially designed contact grill scrubbies that aren't supposed to damage the non-stick surface because cleaning the grill can be so difficult.  Which of course brings me to the non-stick coating.  I, who once spent $300 on non-stick Calphalon, have become a stainless steel cookware advocate.  I still use my grill, but with trepidation about what unintended coatings my food may be receiving.  And finally, every time I preheat the grill I am treated to the smell of the fish that I cooked on it, oh say 8 years ago.  I have scrubbed the grill, rubbed it with lemon juice, grilled hundreds of bulbs of garlic on it, and yet I still smell fish!

And yet, when my daughter wanted hamburgers for dinner on a cold January night, it's the first tool for which I reached.

(And I'll admit, I may have just a tad bit of envy for George's snappy apron, though I can't tell if it has the appropriately big center pocket or not...)

How did I go from JailBait to Cougar?

I was checking out a fun blog about turning 40.  Then I was chatting with Debbie this morning and she mentions a fun new show on ABC called Cougar Town starring Courtney Cox.  Courtney Cox is a Cougar?  No way!  Courtney Cox is that adorable girl from the Bruce Springsteen video.  Courtney Cox is the super-hip young urbanite on Friends.  If Courtney Cox is a Cougar, then ...then...so am I!  I turn 40 in less than 5 months!

I have achieved Cougar status.

You know I have noticed lately that many of the women in the gym are younger than me.  And come to think of it, that woman on the Pilates mat next to me yesterday may not have wanted to strike up a conversation with me because she may have looked at it as talking to someone who could be her mom.  Just because my daughter happens to be 10 doesn't mean I couldn't easily have a child who is 20.  When did this happen?  I'm still buying acne cream and yet I really do need some wrinkle cream (especially under my eyes, dear Lord it's not pretty).  I remember being in my 20s.  And in my 30s.  But I don't remember aging!

I am looking forward to 40.  I don't feel it's old, though it continually surprises me when other people do.  I have made a commitment to myself to be in the best shape of my life at 40.  (Thus the Pilates, sigh)  As Steve and I celebrate our 19th Anniversary this year (child bride, what can I say?) I certainly feel like our marriage is better than ever.  I'm certainly better equipped to handle my verging-on-teenage-hood-daughter than I would have been 10 years ago.  I'm even better at making (and most importantly, keeping) friends than I was 10 years ago.

Still, realizing that to the young men at the gym I'm the scary Cougar is quite an eye-opener.  Don't worry boys, you have nothing to fear from me, I'm old enough to appreciate what I have, live my life in the present, and not create any drama for my future.  Grrrrrrrowl.