tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33141225161528891592024-03-05T06:39:52.669-06:00Life in the Slow LaneAmyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13197805393703582708noreply@blogger.comBlogger229125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3314122516152889159.post-50971933978157906992010-12-13T20:21:00.001-06:002010-12-13T20:27:38.056-06:00Christmas Shopping FunOkay, so I started posting some of these on my Facebook and realized there were just too many not to go ahead and make a full fledged blog post for them. So here are some of the fun, unique, and unusual items that you could wrap up and put under someone's tree this season - if you dare! (and if you really must have them, each picture links to where you can purchase one)<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Knock-Dont-Other-Babysitter-Basics/dp/B000VIDTJ0"><img border="0" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCFrpjumofY5tPhx4E5etRvuHADMEvlnJ2Mp8vbfI45GWzhFm-90KjjuZhqO0ce-Wx2UhE5oPwvA4Uim8WPmcZKvJ8LtIWLaX4ghuky4-SjB_SvrdteGKV6NaD4yjEDAxiH2Q_nZnXw_rY/s1600/dont+kill+kids.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">You won't forget the most basic instruction for your babysitter when it is printed right on the notepad!</div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img height="390" id="il_fi" src="http://www.kitchencritic.co.uk/upload/2006/12/voodoo-knife-block.jpg" style="padding-bottom: 8px; padding-right: 8px; padding-top: 8px;" width="390" /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">Nothing says I love you like a voo-doo doll knife holder.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="http://www.uncommongoods.com/product/sumo-ornament"><img height="248" id="il_fi" src="http://www.uncommongoods.com/images/product/19815_sm.jpg" style="padding-bottom: 8px; padding-right: 8px; padding-top: 8px;" width="210" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">Everyone needs one of these on their Christmas tree. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="http://farfetchedgifts.com/catalog/schnozz-tissue-dispenser-green-p-391.html"><img alt="Schnozz Tissue Dispenser ~ Green" border="0" height="320" src="http://farfetchedgifts.com/catalog/images/schnozz-Green.jpg" title=" Schnozz Tissue Dispenser ~ Green " width="267" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">For that person who has everything... everything but this!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="http://farfetchedgifts.com/catalog/thumb-wrestling-arena-p-496.html"><img alt="Pro Thumb Wrestling Arena" border="0" height="320" src="http://farfetchedgifts.com/catalog/images/thumb_wrestle.jpg" title=" Pro Thumb Wrestling Arena " width="320" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">Let's not leave the kids out.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="http://farfetchedgifts.com/catalog/freshener-bacon-scented-p-906.html"><img alt="Air Freshener ~ Bacon Scented" border="0" height="320" src="http://farfetchedgifts.com/catalog/images/Air%20Freshener%20~%20Bacon.jpg" title=" Air Freshener ~ Bacon Scented " width="299" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">For his man cave - bacon scented air freshener.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="http://farfetchedgifts.com/catalog/emergency-underpants-p-909.html"><img alt="Emergency Underpants" border="0" height="400" hspace="5" src="http://farfetchedgifts.com/catalog/images/Emergency%20Underpants.jpg" title=" Emergency Underpants " vspace="5" width="287" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">...and wait, it gets better - they are unisex!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="http://www.whatonearthcatalog.com/whatonearth/Whats-New_1AA/To-Entertain_1BE/Item_Dog-Toilet-Water-Bowl_AX0892_ps_cti-1BE.html"><img alt="Dog Toilet Water Bowl" border="0" height="460" src="http://www.whatonearthcatalog.com/cgi-bin/graphics/products/large/AX0892.jpg" width="321" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">Finally a toilet that you don't yell at the dog for drinking out of.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img height="367" src="http://ny-image2.etsy.com/il_fullxfull.45421526.jpg" width="400" /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">For that special redneck gal of yours, squirrel feet earrings.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.findgift.com/gift-ideas/pid-253528/"><img alt="Wine Glass Holder Necklace" height="320" src="http://images.findgift.com/Graphics/Gifts/250/PR_253528.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Here's a great one for that friend of yours that just can't hold their liquor!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.findgift.com/gift-ideas/pid-224729/"><img alt="Remote Control Snack and Drink Pool Float" height="250" src="http://images.findgift.com/Graphics/Gifts/250/PR_224729.jpg" width="250" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">A remote control snack and drink float, because there is no such thing as too lazy!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.findgift.com/gift-ideas/pid-118586/"><img alt="Breakfast Cereal Necklace" height="250" src="http://images.findgift.com/Graphics/Gifts/250/PR_118586.jpg" width="250" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Giving diamonds is highly over rated. Who really wants one of those when you can have a sterling silver Cheerio on a necklace? (if you want to call that a necklace - believe it or not you'll pay $50 bucks for this high quality gift!)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.findgift.com/gift-ideas/pid-113674/"><img alt="Flowerhead Vase" height="250" src="http://images.findgift.com/Graphics/Gifts/250/PR_113674.jpg" width="250" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Move over Chia pet - the Flower head vase is here!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img alt="alien abduction dog tags" height="180" src="http://www.earthbounddog.com/dogtagimage2.jpg" width="360" /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">And who doesn't need one of these? This is a "Location Earth Dog Tag" guaranteed to get you returned to earth after an alien abduction or your money back - and that's no joke!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></span></div><br />
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Have you seen any crazy gift ideas this year while you've been doing your shopping? Go ahead and send me the link - I'd love to see them!<br />
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<div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizYuZOGMVf2vvVF6AOi44Imm4cssZTCrGFhlZ1fxaHZ4VDTltnEk6KlNigzLEqOhfsXiq6jJjJKfE8VWr79LR31nd1YCybUhv75bnvyWeqMh6x9OZtzJ_fm3istJrNgtGZq0nLdmzUSbVW/s1600/blog+signature.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="84" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizYuZOGMVf2vvVF6AOi44Imm4cssZTCrGFhlZ1fxaHZ4VDTltnEk6KlNigzLEqOhfsXiq6jJjJKfE8VWr79LR31nd1YCybUhv75bnvyWeqMh6x9OZtzJ_fm3istJrNgtGZq0nLdmzUSbVW/s200/blog+signature.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13197805393703582708noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3314122516152889159.post-65923982294119552522010-12-12T21:27:00.000-06:002010-12-12T21:27:25.105-06:00From No Poo to Deoderant - The Wonders of Baking SodaA little over a year ago, September of 2009 to be exact, I first began my challenge to go without shampoo and use only baking soda and water to clean my hair. (followed by an apple cider vinegar rinse) That experiment I deemed a success and today I am still shampoo free. But that was not to be my only experiment with baking soda. I had read of using baking soda in place of deoderants. Now, if you look it up, (i.e. google) you will find all sorts of formulas and recipes for ways to create your own baking soda based deoderant. But for me, I went for simple. Straight baking soda.<br />
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What I do is keep a 3 oz squeeze bottle (the type you would think of putting hand cream in) filled with baking soda. I just squeeze out a little in my hand and pat it under my arm. Quick and easy. I started doing this last winter, and found it to work great. But I didn't want to post anything about it at that time because, heck, it was winter after all. Not exactly the sweatiest time of year. I wanted to go through a summer and see how it held out. <br />
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I can tell you that we had a lovely hot summer here in Maryland. Plus I was still doing Insanity workouts. So there was sweat happening. However, the baking soda worked like a champ. No odor problems at all. I even tried using my mom's deoderant one day just to see if I would prefer the old 'tried and true' to the 'new and up and coming.' When I did sweat, I did not smell like sweat with the deoderant. But I did smell like deoderant and I found it quite repulsive. I much prefer no odor! <br />
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Now, I have read that some people find straight baking soda to be slightly irritating. So an alternative is to mix 1 part baking soda with 6 parts corn starch. Corn starch is supposed to have a bit of an anti-perspirant effect, so it makes for a good combo. Me... I'm sticking with simple: straight baking soda. Plus then I can use the same container for my "shampoo" and "deoderant." Makes for easy traveling or overnights.<br />
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Wonder what I will be trying next. Hmmmmmmm.....<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDbEO5jzXN1CP4aJdG6SsikkI0046ke6-C-9d3DJscRGD9KtNGXl25fMx0ynlDCWQvpHE_1uvyboExOZR_KjnfwzJT8e6-txR5KlSj6c4b46ZeUWo3_rWq6H5EBWNrCrc6DyNtiUNwcn_t/s1600/blog+signature.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="84" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDbEO5jzXN1CP4aJdG6SsikkI0046ke6-C-9d3DJscRGD9KtNGXl25fMx0ynlDCWQvpHE_1uvyboExOZR_KjnfwzJT8e6-txR5KlSj6c4b46ZeUWo3_rWq6H5EBWNrCrc6DyNtiUNwcn_t/s200/blog+signature.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13197805393703582708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3314122516152889159.post-52217952991255087572010-11-22T13:37:00.001-06:002010-11-22T13:50:07.348-06:00Life Isn't So Slow Anymore....... otherwise known as "Why I Haven't Posted in Four Months."<br />
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My girls and I moved in with their Grandma and Pop pop at the end of June. So we went from our isolated country life in Iowa, to Bowie, Maryland - a suburb of Washington DC. Bowie is where I grew up, so there was some sense of familiarity to it all. However, it was a bit shocking to hit the capital beltway again after three years of back road, country driving. I believe I saw more cars on the first trip down 270 and around the beltway than I had in the entire three years in Iowa!<br />
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Here is a quick recap of our summer:<br />
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The girls have been enjoying getting to know Alison and Melissa, their new best friends. This is actually really cool for me because of the history involved. My mom's best friend was Barbara and I grew up with Barbara's family being like second family to me. She had a daughter Denise, and we have been friends since she was 7 and I was 10. Alison and Melissa are her daughters. It is really fun to see them all play together - like carrying on a legacy of sorts. :) Here are a couple pictures from when I took them all to the Montgomery County fair.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-o3AUDWYfkgNQLDrHDcZpuIFBB0_nS7s31ECkSehem5scpUo0Lx-R6iBfG_NEr0Am07j4vAXADPYtdHt_MRU48S-02OrcKhBfy1brDBnOFOcQksIh9RQuP_ppTMA6eBzxQ3FhwyaUkVgJ/s1600/girls+on+horses.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="275" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-o3AUDWYfkgNQLDrHDcZpuIFBB0_nS7s31ECkSehem5scpUo0Lx-R6iBfG_NEr0Am07j4vAXADPYtdHt_MRU48S-02OrcKhBfy1brDBnOFOcQksIh9RQuP_ppTMA6eBzxQ3FhwyaUkVgJ/s400/girls+on+horses.bmp" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">From left to right is Alison, Melissa, Trinity and Angelina.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqAyzKWH5U0f2zz3F79vit8LEgOtLLWdnSEFWCyiuMIhH-4c8To2WhoGlDH6LaW6Wod_zZK26K1hYc9vByd6t3j1uHPEbnnFI-Uq_bUURpb83l2ZQXkRpXYOzznJsGFkRpfGHn_Mu2-_iz/s1600/girls+w+bunny.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqAyzKWH5U0f2zz3F79vit8LEgOtLLWdnSEFWCyiuMIhH-4c8To2WhoGlDH6LaW6Wod_zZK26K1hYc9vByd6t3j1uHPEbnnFI-Uq_bUURpb83l2ZQXkRpXYOzznJsGFkRpfGHn_Mu2-_iz/s400/girls+w+bunny.bmp" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" style="text-align: center;">(to see all the pictures from our fair day, <a href="http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=60976&id=1626218297&l=f966253e97">click here</a>)</div><div align="left" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Since meeting Alison, Trinity decided to grow out her bangs. She also has developed a crush on Justin Bieber. (geesh!) We didn't even know who Justin Bieber was when we lived in Iowa! But then again, the girls have also learned how to swim this summer as we spent most days in our neighbors pool. They went from not knowing how to swim to doing somersaults under water and cannonballs into the pool!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">We also spent an afternoon at the Maryland Renaissance Festival. I firmly believe that Maryland has one of the best Ren Fest's ever, and they have only gotten better in the years I have been gone.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUtR-dIx4VJ5hEvp1U6x_CnTNJ5wvH5u679otOMcgp4qUiidfBRVXbkXaB6Bu6ZP0UL34QYX4wzWC-OB7jFg5eXSydnJrDQBDBXBo9cE1gyGJtR0X_4q10ShIjPmN8l1b28QpaVEzifnfK/s1600/me+and+girls.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUtR-dIx4VJ5hEvp1U6x_CnTNJ5wvH5u679otOMcgp4qUiidfBRVXbkXaB6Bu6ZP0UL34QYX4wzWC-OB7jFg5eXSydnJrDQBDBXBo9cE1gyGJtR0X_4q10ShIjPmN8l1b28QpaVEzifnfK/s400/me+and+girls.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Me and the girls at the beginning of our visit.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTpxQ3nWnWoVpG6QR9uv1-GcJDhi8b0hMRvBwP6dbQ35nl2YrntJC47VvVIiZKNPKp8fG42IDT-dhhBERogvY6t3Ebjr3HvVde2L194iGBLzyb5fnw6ReMwGgFiNGCGN0V_QmIFK-Sx1QI/s1600/girls+at+ren+fest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTpxQ3nWnWoVpG6QR9uv1-GcJDhi8b0hMRvBwP6dbQ35nl2YrntJC47VvVIiZKNPKp8fG42IDT-dhhBERogvY6t3Ebjr3HvVde2L194iGBLzyb5fnw6ReMwGgFiNGCGN0V_QmIFK-Sx1QI/s400/girls+at+ren+fest.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"> The girls showing their colored tongues from eating their treats.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtSI_IJO7utuOkCiQiTL2-mkoIASbk9qvVuBBvCYaDMmWHbvFTZ8cod1lKvTXDmDHLABwWcdkb8naCn2Fii4KjehdSiveLx5O30h5uFn9DLx6pZNEMckbmmw64RrQAacIY_FS-Eby0gdzy/s1600/girls+sleep+at+ren+fest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtSI_IJO7utuOkCiQiTL2-mkoIASbk9qvVuBBvCYaDMmWHbvFTZ8cod1lKvTXDmDHLABwWcdkb8naCn2Fii4KjehdSiveLx5O30h5uFn9DLx6pZNEMckbmmw64RrQAacIY_FS-Eby0gdzy/s400/girls+sleep+at+ren+fest.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">The girls after a long afternoon at the fair! Luckily, I had an awesome Scottish bagpipe band to listen to while they rested. :)</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">(for all the pics <a href="http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=78501&id=1626218297&l=3af984d2e0">click here</a>)</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;">A lot more excitement has been going on including the Warrior Dash, Bradley Reborn, and a new business venture with Denise, but each of those need their own post. Which I promise, is coming soon! </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"><div style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="83" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-xqvryLftYbHQatZfiO1B8zTkyVATl9gKuxg61ZKHGzNdQGw7n_GmMcwgjxZQIOffr2ZoifDr84xEs01j9T6JzBPgMwuiBbFyHgIEC2bNtum0dypuhdsZoKDx2hBGSfbGXBuLycyCGYP2/s200/blog+signature.jpg" width="200" /></div></div>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13197805393703582708noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3314122516152889159.post-25077762761338253182010-06-06T07:39:00.003-05:002010-06-06T07:46:37.123-05:00Dance VideosOkay, grandparents, here are the girls dancing. :) The girls are on the front row, on the left. Don't forget to go pause the music player before trying to watch the videos. If we had a better video camera, you could see the look on Angelina's face when the audience applauded. You see her head pops up, and she was just beaming. They weren't used to getting applause when they finished dancing!<br />
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The girls are on the back row, far right in this one.<br />
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David was taping this one as I promised the girls I would stay backstage and be there on the sides while they danced. I should have told him to just tape the whole song, but he tried just taping the girls. Anyway, the 2 year olds went out first, and for some reason, Trinity went out on stage during their part. We got her to come off stage to us, but by the time she got around backstage, her group was already on stage. Thus, there goes Trinity, coming in late and having to run all the way across the stage! This time they are on the back row, far right again.<br />
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There was another bit they were in where everyone was on stage, but it is too hard to pick them out on the video, so I'm not uploading that one.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-xqvryLftYbHQatZfiO1B8zTkyVATl9gKuxg61ZKHGzNdQGw7n_GmMcwgjxZQIOffr2ZoifDr84xEs01j9T6JzBPgMwuiBbFyHgIEC2bNtum0dypuhdsZoKDx2hBGSfbGXBuLycyCGYP2/s1600/blog+signature.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="84" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-xqvryLftYbHQatZfiO1B8zTkyVATl9gKuxg61ZKHGzNdQGw7n_GmMcwgjxZQIOffr2ZoifDr84xEs01j9T6JzBPgMwuiBbFyHgIEC2bNtum0dypuhdsZoKDx2hBGSfbGXBuLycyCGYP2/s200/blog+signature.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13197805393703582708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3314122516152889159.post-38924601346480739422010-06-05T22:26:00.000-05:002010-06-05T22:26:52.665-05:00Dance PicturesThanks mom for treating the girls to dance lessons this year! Here are pics from the recital. Having trouble uploading the video, but that will be coming soon. :)<div><br />
</div><div><div style="text-align: center;">They were so excited that they got to wear makeup today.</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9Ip7SO_QS0srXfnzvSxqbvqsM4MoGYOQEHo2-bsI0KOv1bc-SOz6lsaYw91TgSwsbMOEc3GEVo_xFqUcHr7flA9S1CwjiM83nSA-QvXgsl_wSKHyrbm87_cus5s4_D0tA1d4glrkDYt0m/s1600/P1010003a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9Ip7SO_QS0srXfnzvSxqbvqsM4MoGYOQEHo2-bsI0KOv1bc-SOz6lsaYw91TgSwsbMOEc3GEVo_xFqUcHr7flA9S1CwjiM83nSA-QvXgsl_wSKHyrbm87_cus5s4_D0tA1d4glrkDYt0m/s400/P1010003a.JPG" width="296" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Lined up to go on stage.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_wyXmsiPhF5fi5zaBIaaC4XhyoT53z4uZqsGfjY0XFOO-kAtIOxg2I_quUJmxVC3tTufSQkq_Zc9btpvpY6MrROzM8K6NhXxX_XKHfU-SoFHEdZVdsqnLcAEcMmmclW-kylqfZ19PC7kV/s1600/P1010004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_wyXmsiPhF5fi5zaBIaaC4XhyoT53z4uZqsGfjY0XFOO-kAtIOxg2I_quUJmxVC3tTufSQkq_Zc9btpvpY6MrROzM8K6NhXxX_XKHfU-SoFHEdZVdsqnLcAEcMmmclW-kylqfZ19PC7kV/s400/P1010004.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">They are in the front row, first two on the left. David took these pictures while I ran out to find light and figure out how to delete videos to make space on the FULL camera. (should have checked that <i>before</i> they got on stage! duh!) I taped the end of this dance and the others are also on video.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9a8dMuUHvCjJlbfUkZ8bZZTVibnLUbz46JYhK4vKOOzMn8qeFJHluuYBrCr8IdHLnNoVN59oi7rQdtRzRUz-_yxMliQfCqLI9PjlXbjHb3ffmk8E5XDzVCuELDWzj6_4hPB43U2envf_5/s1600/P1010006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9a8dMuUHvCjJlbfUkZ8bZZTVibnLUbz46JYhK4vKOOzMn8qeFJHluuYBrCr8IdHLnNoVN59oi7rQdtRzRUz-_yxMliQfCqLI9PjlXbjHb3ffmk8E5XDzVCuELDWzj6_4hPB43U2envf_5/s400/P1010006.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe0BPVcWEDCAa4Cuo9xfiLLWmH53JbgAmkT1_e10N3LBqfVV_TLaofwim2usBXxoBbOpBbFaIqoeQA7lD85iXLiRl4uTvZI53FruzUD9tk7uuWm3M18Zt7tqEbHDxX9_L-MPdtTLsRgmrb/s1600/P1010008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe0BPVcWEDCAa4Cuo9xfiLLWmH53JbgAmkT1_e10N3LBqfVV_TLaofwim2usBXxoBbOpBbFaIqoeQA7lD85iXLiRl4uTvZI53FruzUD9tk7uuWm3M18Zt7tqEbHDxX9_L-MPdtTLsRgmrb/s400/P1010008.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir0w0QF0a799Z3sW7jxleRNOhh0WPaXJ-C0djIDLs6I5QWx1UwmpabpVZHQ92NCGWFFUdyc1LvL9Jj3fNoE-lFr1G3yil2xcxM8osFPmlfNk1K5Brk4SOSSQg0Y_Joh-DiivXovWGZiAcK/s1600/P1010007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir0w0QF0a799Z3sW7jxleRNOhh0WPaXJ-C0djIDLs6I5QWx1UwmpabpVZHQ92NCGWFFUdyc1LvL9Jj3fNoE-lFr1G3yil2xcxM8osFPmlfNk1K5Brk4SOSSQg0Y_Joh-DiivXovWGZiAcK/s400/P1010007.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Ready for their next number. I was not a fan of the pink headbands. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLo4RCZSPpq0NG29G_gv3K-ARfG7G3SMTtHMjr5_fM5h3vD5eSNO97OVkpOrOlG10_Wz1x4bwua4IqEBMcuRB-tUo5AvnsWY9OhJdzpXbpQAzzuCN0o5EpSN4lBOqxI05wgo1Dpw7Qeu1W/s1600/P1010009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLo4RCZSPpq0NG29G_gv3K-ARfG7G3SMTtHMjr5_fM5h3vD5eSNO97OVkpOrOlG10_Wz1x4bwua4IqEBMcuRB-tUo5AvnsWY9OhJdzpXbpQAzzuCN0o5EpSN4lBOqxI05wgo1Dpw7Qeu1W/s400/P1010009.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbVZl-sqeRk4Qj34EIaG_g9cFRrNoo40MtgZ8u9YgBOcw1twcQJGf1736gv6zzMYc80_sgzqj-hzNkUahW2QyynAO-ggqTexizTl80CCIJvwN7tmDIlIiRreQH_tvu4s0C_rqwFJe8TJcq/s1600/P1010011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbVZl-sqeRk4Qj34EIaG_g9cFRrNoo40MtgZ8u9YgBOcw1twcQJGf1736gv6zzMYc80_sgzqj-hzNkUahW2QyynAO-ggqTexizTl80CCIJvwN7tmDIlIiRreQH_tvu4s0C_rqwFJe8TJcq/s400/P1010011.JPG" width="215" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">No headbands - much nicer. Now if only I could get them to smile!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyfVYuPdXgk0WJMOKWaU_KpcihyUT6f-MxnwTzgYBKYLyu5yV2U-ABLoIiLvHw0cG64KvRzVItCpl6cANhLKXtzpteyYRHB5S7UVHICSrNMv4jOz03m4CZ6pRxq04te3gtJ6fLfsjcA8bJ/s1600/P1010012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyfVYuPdXgk0WJMOKWaU_KpcihyUT6f-MxnwTzgYBKYLyu5yV2U-ABLoIiLvHw0cG64KvRzVItCpl6cANhLKXtzpteyYRHB5S7UVHICSrNMv4jOz03m4CZ6pRxq04te3gtJ6fLfsjcA8bJ/s400/P1010012.JPG" width="291" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtokxtV0u_VnyFgTKeBo8rQvRRuzQ1DpA2YNerr1-CAi-q3ERpRKoUmCartMW0ynuItCONp7y0a-6N-xxTkujkJtIHMkk4qUL7T9G4eOmVkchyl51wjKMC4eGQe8e7BrFIZ5hHU0s9KYPJ/s1600/P1010013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtokxtV0u_VnyFgTKeBo8rQvRRuzQ1DpA2YNerr1-CAi-q3ERpRKoUmCartMW0ynuItCONp7y0a-6N-xxTkujkJtIHMkk4qUL7T9G4eOmVkchyl51wjKMC4eGQe8e7BrFIZ5hHU0s9KYPJ/s400/P1010013.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTlmN5_FDHR1jx37NAuP9uQGwMMpanx5u2T3__KxuEmTKNdpVvcLQoJQQL2NdZcdwsPtyvmYHOqL4lr_-yU_04cb70Ql5vEeLkPl_vNapsHUq9KUnWlzAyZFKeaZUE9cw31jxkSToFgYa2/s1600/P1010014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTlmN5_FDHR1jx37NAuP9uQGwMMpanx5u2T3__KxuEmTKNdpVvcLQoJQQL2NdZcdwsPtyvmYHOqL4lr_-yU_04cb70Ql5vEeLkPl_vNapsHUq9KUnWlzAyZFKeaZUE9cw31jxkSToFgYa2/s400/P1010014.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Trinity was not in a smiling mood and when bribed with ice cream gave me this goof ball look.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjday3m9uAMdaW3aKkPo-R2gn-OZ9fm5taOSgbVngPlnfPwgZ7P0q0yAJ8TAN8QvfEhFMTJQlIqs-Yt1BmPzB1x1k0c0_VgIhO-Tq5Wdp2DOx9aez95AcNV6GONYMUIIEfaXncVLnan-Sih/s1600/P1010016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjday3m9uAMdaW3aKkPo-R2gn-OZ9fm5taOSgbVngPlnfPwgZ7P0q0yAJ8TAN8QvfEhFMTJQlIqs-Yt1BmPzB1x1k0c0_VgIhO-Tq5Wdp2DOx9aez95AcNV6GONYMUIIEfaXncVLnan-Sih/s400/P1010016.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Angelina took a turn taking pictures. I'm actually in the frame - miracle!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwoiTmbHOqsUOMwyhqRtr-3sC7jIDeIx7FoRYsPOjB8C7jcELm5eONYk04ZBWthWokd0pu-OwI5HM-DjrHnUK8bHorJRkU3RoAiOMMH_PH99RXgxBfIqyNhKwr1M20J5wHZPGlwB9_LKOU/s1600/P1010018.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwoiTmbHOqsUOMwyhqRtr-3sC7jIDeIx7FoRYsPOjB8C7jcELm5eONYk04ZBWthWokd0pu-OwI5HM-DjrHnUK8bHorJRkU3RoAiOMMH_PH99RXgxBfIqyNhKwr1M20J5wHZPGlwB9_LKOU/s400/P1010018.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3AgpE1dJGgpmFkId8sn30j1Pxowmh4IpF87eEvolrrXn7fhK8z7VBte4rPaCkm-R5zkP8PSOXW7MAYKkO4rZzOL8v6Y9bpoGKk-rp8PiSrerPlqDmYI5BRyhIsaY07ns8zmZ04ayPLFRv/s1600/blog+signature.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="84" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3AgpE1dJGgpmFkId8sn30j1Pxowmh4IpF87eEvolrrXn7fhK8z7VBte4rPaCkm-R5zkP8PSOXW7MAYKkO4rZzOL8v6Y9bpoGKk-rp8PiSrerPlqDmYI5BRyhIsaY07ns8zmZ04ayPLFRv/s200/blog+signature.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />
</div></div>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13197805393703582708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3314122516152889159.post-13313822258762004332010-06-04T05:00:00.006-05:002010-06-04T05:00:03.776-05:00For Women OnlyIf you have been reading my blog for awhile, you know a few things about me. For instance, I am not afraid to do things a little differently than most people. Examples: dumpster dive for food, using family wipes instead of toilet paper, using baking soda instead of shampoo, and using baking soda instead of deodorant. (did I mention that on my blog?? I don't think I did...) So you might think you wouldn't be surprised by anything I post after all that. But here's the latest experiment:<br />
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I'm burning my bras.<br />
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Ok, just kidding! I'm not burning them, just not wearing them anymore... well, that's not entirely true either. I am definitely not wearing them at home anymore and depending on my mood/weather/outfit may not wear them out either.<br />
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Now here's why. It's something I have been thinking about for awhile as I have come across information on the topic. I had read some information on Dr. Mercola's site about how underwire bras in particular are like wearing antenna to attract electromagnetic fields. This can increase your risk of breast cancer. You can eliminate this issue by pulling out your wire underwires and put in plastic ones. Kind of a pain, but if it is going to protect your health, then surely worth the little bit of effort.<br />
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The other issue is the lymph system. Wearing constricting clothing, which a bra typically is, restricts your lymph system from draining properly. Again, this can contribute to breast cancer. Your lymph system needs to drain off the toxins that are in your system. Part of this can be eliminated by wearing the proper size bra. Want to know if you are in the correct size? Step into the <a href="http://www.lindasonline.com/bra-fitting-room.html">Bra Fitting Room</a> and get into the right size - it will make a huge difference in your comfort! Most women will have swelling in their breasts during their period, so make sure you do your measuring at another time of the month to get your accurate size. <br />
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So I have this information kind of rattling around in my brain and then <a href="http://renegadehealth.com/blog/">Renegade Health show</a> does this video. I love this couple, btw. They have awesome information on health and nutrition on their show. (and a FREE downloadable book on eating raw - excellent!)<br />
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So how great is the risk of cancer from wearing your bra? Well, according to the book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Dressed-Kill-between-Breast-Cancer/dp/1930858051?ie=UTF8&tag=lifei00-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Dressed To Kill: The Link between Breast Cancer and Bras</a>, here is how it goes:<br />
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Women who wear bras 24 hours a day have a 3 out of 4 chance of developing breast cancer.<br />
Women who wear bras more than 12 hours a day, but not to bed, have a 1 out of 7 risk.<br />
Women who wear bras less than 12 hours a day, have a 1 out of 52 risk.<br />
Women who wear bras rarely or never, have a 1 out of 168 risk.<br />
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That's a big difference from 3 out of 4 chance to only 1 in 168 chance.<br />
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So I know what you are thinking. Won't I sag more? Won't it be uncomfortable? Won't people stare if I go out braless?<br />
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<b>Sag</b><br />
According to everything I have read, how much you sag has everything to do with your genetics and nothing to do with your bra. I have read comments where people say something like, "Yeah, but my grandmother never wore a bra and she sagged terribly. No way I'm doing that!" But the reality is "to sag or not to sag" will happen with or without wearing a bra. That grandmother would have sagged just as much even if she wore a bra everyday. Other people can never wear a bra and have less sag than those wearing one 24 hours a day. In fact the very act of not wearing a bra may improve your sag. The ligaments that hold up your breasts will get exercised, which they don't get in a bra, and will be more effective at their job. Part of the problem is the unrealistic image that the media put out as to what a normal breast should look like. Perky just isn't normal for a grown woman, and especially after having children.<br />
<br />
<b>Uncomfortable</b><br />
Uncomfortable? I guess that is a personal one. I went from being a B cup pre-kids, to a D cup after kids. I know when I was smaller, I could go without a bra - no problem. But, I wasn't at all sure that it would be comfortable in my larger size. But guess what. I've been running around the house without one and have never felt so good! I don't think we realize just how uncomfortable bras are - even when properly sized. We are trained to wear them - literally, we have training bras for when we are girls! And I think we just accept the pressure on our shoulders and the snugness around the torso as normal.<br />
<br />
<b>Staring</b><br />
As for people staring, you can be discreet and braless. It probably won't even be a concern in cold weather when you are layered up and wearing bulkier sweaters. In the summer, you can wear a camisole under your shirt or even layer tank tops. Nothing is going to stop the natural movement when you are braless, but that same movement is going to help the lymph system clean out toxins and strengthen your ligaments. A fair trade in my opinion. But if it really bothers you, there are also sports bras and exercise tops that will give you more support similar to a bra. You just have to look at the design and be sure to pick something that isn't binding. If it has tight elastic bands around your torso, you might as well be wearing a bra.<br />
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So give it a try. Go ahead. Just stop wearing bras at home and see how you feel after a few days. :)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgij_1tKD2hNMbHBvjEiT_UeoYlbb2JTiUSjG40PfKuYzKbfv44Mv9UGI7aHF-1hIODFzw7ANlg3GbCdjSwf5VF-jECvwPm3Dg3YO-Yt9jLcNcOfGw9suwhxpdijJg0eLr1Up47_IzTPzx9/s1600/blog+signature.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="84" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgij_1tKD2hNMbHBvjEiT_UeoYlbb2JTiUSjG40PfKuYzKbfv44Mv9UGI7aHF-1hIODFzw7ANlg3GbCdjSwf5VF-jECvwPm3Dg3YO-Yt9jLcNcOfGw9suwhxpdijJg0eLr1Up47_IzTPzx9/s200/blog+signature.jpg" width="200" /></a>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13197805393703582708noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3314122516152889159.post-59729073322329185392010-06-03T11:13:00.000-05:002010-06-03T11:13:07.553-05:00Raw ExerciseOkay, so just yesterday I posted my update on how I was going to see if eating all raw made any difference in my workouts this time through month one of Insanity. I didn't expect to have anything to report so soon, but man, did I have a great workout this morning! It was Cardio recovery, which means you get a break from the high intensity cardio, but you trade it for intense muscle work and stretching. I was blown away at how much easier this workout was for me today than it was before. <br />
<br />
I took a screen shot of this exercise, because I didn't think I could describe it and make any sense. These are similar to your basic leg lifts where your leg is straight out behind you in your start position. From there you lift your leg and lower back to start. Shaun T's version you get on your hands and knees first, then you lift your knees off the ground, <i>then</i> you put your leg back and start doing lifts. 16 on each side. Followed by....<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeFKBOY8BHckufozEkS17zDl8nWlNHCkWsWkZCO7WZdC7FXq_AL5Y4Wu1KTB_-AEygluUrDxcLmtRnBG-snjqHJZpeWE2lWdZFejP7w8MxIMfAEti90xZtFBWSk4ux5xTbuVM8hmC7TXy3/s1600/P1010001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeFKBOY8BHckufozEkS17zDl8nWlNHCkWsWkZCO7WZdC7FXq_AL5Y4Wu1KTB_-AEygluUrDxcLmtRnBG-snjqHJZpeWE2lWdZFejP7w8MxIMfAEti90xZtFBWSk4ux5xTbuVM8hmC7TXy3/s400/P1010001.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
...this exercise. Same starting position, hands and knees, knees off the floor, leg back, but this time you bring your knee to your shoulder to work your obliques. 16 each leg of these.<br />
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</div><div>I have not been able to do these at all. I had to keep my knees on the ground before. Today, I did them with my knees off the floor - unbelievable! I did crash and burn early on the last leg of the oblique work, but I did all but 5 before I dropped. Excellent results!</div><div><br />
</div><div>This encourages me to keep up the raw. I can't wait to see how I'm doing in a couple weeks!</div><div><br />
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</div>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13197805393703582708noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3314122516152889159.post-5988417243893674142010-06-02T13:00:00.000-05:002010-06-02T13:00:22.776-05:00Insanity UpdateI completed month one and started month two. Here are some lessons I have learned along the way:<br />
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<b>It is hard to do push-ups with two little girls laying their heads on the floor under your face and saying "hi mommy!" </b><br />
This is a basic lesson - trying to stick to any exercise regimen with little kids can be difficult. Sometimes they want to do it with mommy, so then they completely get in the way. Other times they are off entertaining themselves. (i.e. destroying something valuable or messing up the house) You have to make up your mind that taking care of your health is more important than any challenge that comes up and just do it.<br />
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<b>Kids can also be great motivators.</b><br />
Insanity has the fit test so you can see your improvement along the way. There is also the scale and taking measurements - all things that you can use to monitor how successful your health plan is at accomplishing your goals. But for me, nothing is as motivating as hearing my daughter say, "Mom, your butt is getting smaller!"<br />
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<b>Headbands and towels are not optional.</b><br />
This is especially true if you are doing Insanity. I have NEVER sweat as much during a workout in my life as I do with Insanity. And it is only getting worse as the morning temperatures are getting warmer. Trying to keep pushing it with Shaun T. while you have sweat running into your eyes is not a pretty picture. Neither is trying to do moving push-ups through pools of sweat on a wood floor. (that picture on the Insanity dvd is NOT an exaggeration!)<br />
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">After completing month one, and attempting month two, I have made the decision to start over at the beginning of month one. I believe this is a good decision as the point of doing Insanity was to get healthy. For me, that's going to take a little longer since I was living a pretty sedentary lifestyle going into this. But I am not in any way discouraged. At least now I know the complete insaneness (is that a word?) that comes with the month 2 workouts, so I know what I am working up to.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">I also made the decision to go all raw during the next 60 days. There is a reason for this madness. Back when I was working with <a href="http://optimalhealthsystems.com/">Optimal Health Systems</a>, I decided to go on a 100% raw food diet. My boss had just the year before set the Guinness World record for the most push-ups in one minute. The background on that happening was that he was the team nutritionist for the Phoenix Suns. He was telling the coaches about a better training method for their players. They weren't convinced enough to try it but challenged him to train using his method for one month and then attempt to break the world record for the most push-ups in a minute. (during half-time at one of the games, no less!) If he could do that, then they would use his training methods. With Guinness record officials on site and tapes rolling, he landed himself as a new world record holder. Sorry, I can't remember now how many he did - 118?? 123?? Not sure. Somewhere in that ballpark. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">But there was actually more to this story than his training method. He also went 100% raw food for that month he was training to set the record. He had noticed that when he was on an all raw diet, his strength improved. Every night before bed he would do sit-ups and push-ups. During the raw food diet, he could do them effortlessly, and even increased how many he was doing. He shared this tip with me one day because I was questioning whether there was really any benefit to going all raw or if you could just eat healthy and supplement with enzymes. (He also told me about the more complex issue of levorotatory cells and dextrorotatory cells - counter clockwise spinning cells and clockwise spinning cells - and how your bodies cells spin one direction as does live food, but cooked food cells spin the opposite direction, etc.) I was thinking about him sharing that tidbit of info with me and thought that it would be interesting to experiment for myself.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Since I am starting over on the 60 day Insanity program, it makes it easy for me to track 60 days of raw simultaneously. I am looking forward to seeing if I can feel a difference and sharing it with you here on the blog. Plus I will have the accountability of reporting my findings, so that will help me stay on track. :) </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Now, to catch up on some pics of the girls. Since I had received my first deposit from a couple for my Bradley class, I splurged and let the girls each pick out a dress from Costco. They had a hard time choosing, but eventually decided on this one. They HAD to have the same one. Love those girls! :)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ8em9qQMN3BiVCZzJEk6VRn1dXqn8FFTekdQ6pVRwH1qPvauCH-RBhn1uzskGC0eT4s8Yr2pbrmoiwkJjoamLx-AJtSh-Pcf5LXASo-ba7GcPF95O7RGAGFI40QpiNVZZrRpcn1ptmLLd/s1600/P1010001+(3).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ8em9qQMN3BiVCZzJEk6VRn1dXqn8FFTekdQ6pVRwH1qPvauCH-RBhn1uzskGC0eT4s8Yr2pbrmoiwkJjoamLx-AJtSh-Pcf5LXASo-ba7GcPF95O7RGAGFI40QpiNVZZrRpcn1ptmLLd/s400/P1010001+(3).JPG" width="312" /></a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">Trinity was trying to be pouty because I was going to be helping in Angelina's Sunday school room that morning.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1C84HSAn9nVzZyshv66alFwyAFDUgxhGevx_iCdvxU8g0cWL8S7Jcq_KBhBE9FPzuxEi7LUIFPt9_TciHYKTzxGcvPguXP1YPSBFelJOtDg9OR4gc4toT3uyoL7iO-MW9Heoe9Lye2EB5/s1600/girls2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1C84HSAn9nVzZyshv66alFwyAFDUgxhGevx_iCdvxU8g0cWL8S7Jcq_KBhBE9FPzuxEi7LUIFPt9_TciHYKTzxGcvPguXP1YPSBFelJOtDg9OR4gc4toT3uyoL7iO-MW9Heoe9Lye2EB5/s400/girls2.JPG" width="273" /></a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">David started being silly to get Trinity to smile. She's trying hard to stay pouty. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg37zRWgJD4-6Z3pntSRh49IAkxx0agfbNfQXbx_hx7gWWHKqcrhG2diU5K__nILU9De_Fy3IPeGjoS5LKKhDRX8tznEzmiJk-bGgst7HXgeA35niGQSqgL8rzWjKkShdBKvdeo2bZnespK/s1600/girls3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg37zRWgJD4-6Z3pntSRh49IAkxx0agfbNfQXbx_hx7gWWHKqcrhG2diU5K__nILU9De_Fy3IPeGjoS5LKKhDRX8tznEzmiJk-bGgst7HXgeA35niGQSqgL8rzWjKkShdBKvdeo2bZnespK/s400/girls3.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">I think they picked out a nice dress - very cute. :) Trinity actually has quite the eye for fashion. She decided a few weeks ago that I didn't need to dress her or Angelina anymore - that she was going to do it herself. I have been constantly impressed with her ability to match up really nice looking outfits from all our second hand clothes. I think I'm going to have her start picking out my outfits!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13197805393703582708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3314122516152889159.post-34187963132082741672010-05-27T19:39:00.000-05:002010-05-27T19:39:03.889-05:00Preventing Cancer<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Thanks to my friend Anthony who sent me the link, (thank you, Anthony!) I finally have the answer I have been waiting/searching for. ('for which I have been waiting/searching' for the grammatical freaks out there) Anthony linked me up to the <a href="http://www.dietandcancerreport.org/">Diet and Cancer Report</a>. Why is this what I have been waiting for? Since reading <a href="http://www.amazon.com/China-Study-Comprehensive-Nutrition-Implications/dp/1932100660?ie=UTF8&tag=lifei00-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">The China Study by Campbell</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=lifei00-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=1932100660" style="border-bottom-style: none !important; border-color: initial !important; border-left-style: none !important; border-right-style: none !important; border-top-style: none !important; border-width: initial !important; margin-bottom: 0px !important; margin-left: 0px !important; margin-right: 0px !important; margin-top: 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px !important; padding-left: 0px !important; padding-right: 0px !important; padding-top: 0px !important;" width="1" /> last fall, I have been trying to find someway to verify his conclusions. If you aren't familiar with his study, his basic finding is a direct link between animal protein and cancer. His recommendation is to limit animal protein in your diet to 10% or less of your total dietary intake. I haven't found any credible source that would disprove his findings, but haven't found anything that would support it either. Until now...</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">In comes the report from this organization. The two main organizations behind this report are the World Cancer Research Fund and the American Institute for Cancer Research. But the WCRF has many organizations in countries around the world under its umbrella. The point being, that this is a credible source.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">What they have put out is a report entitled "Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity, and the Prevention of Cancer: A Global Perspective." This report is the culmination of a five year study involving over 100 scientists from 30 countries. The content was "<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;"><a href="http://www.dietandcancerreport.org/?p=expert_panel">driven by an independent panel of 21 world renowned scientists</a>." </span>This is critical to know because if you have ever dealt with research, you can almost always find some research out there that will support the conclusion you want. This group was able to do what most of us can not do on our own - look at ALL the research available, compare the studies, sort out the conclusions, and determine final recommendations based on the whole body of science. On their website you can download the report and read it in full or download the summary. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Here are the <a href="http://www.dietandcancerreport.org/downloads/chapters/chapter_12.pdf">eight general recommendations </a> for preventing cancer:</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>1. Body Fatness</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Be as lean as possible within the normal range of body weight.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">-<i>keep adult body mass index (BMI) between 21-23</i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>2. Physical Activity</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Be physically active as part of everyday life.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i>-start with 30 minutes moderate activity daily, working up to 60 minutes or more moderate or 30 minutes vigorous activity</i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>3. Foods and Drinks That Promote Weight Gain</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Limit consumption of energy-dense foods. Avoid sugary drinks.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">- <i>This one has quite a few clarifications: energy-dense foods are defined as having more than 225-275calories per 100g with a recommendation to get your food density down to about 125kcal per 100g; relatively unprocessed nuts and seeds, while energy-dense, are not considered to be of concern in promoting weight gain and provide valuable nutrients.</i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i>- sugary drinks also includes fruit juices which should be limited</i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i>- consume 'fast foods' sparingly, if at all </i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i><br />
</i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>4. Plant Foods</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Eat mostly foods of plant origin.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i>- eat at least five servings of non-starchy vegetables and fruits daily </i>(remember anything with seeds is a fruit - tomato, cucumber, peppers, etc.); <i>eat relatively unprocessed grains or legumes with every meal; limit refined starchy foods </i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><b></b></span></i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i><b></b></i></div><i><b><div style="display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i>"It is likely that there is further protective </i></div></div></b></i><i><b><div style="display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i><b><div style="display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i><b><i><b><b><div style="display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="display: inline !important;"><div style="display: inline !important;"><div style="display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i>benefit from consuming more than five portions</i>/</div></div></div></div></b></b></i></b></i></div></b></i></div></b></i><i><b><div style="display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><i><b><div style="display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><i><b><i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><b><div style="display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="display: inline !important;"><div style="display: inline !important;"><div style="display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">servings of non-starchy vegetables and fruits."</div></div></div></div></b></span></b></i></b></i></span></div></b></i></span></div></b></i><br />
<i><b><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><i><b><div style="display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></div></div></b></i></span><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></div></div></b></i><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i><b></b></i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i><br />
</i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>5. Animal Foods</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Limit intake of red meat and avoid processed meat.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i>- consume less than 18 oz/week of beef, pork, lamb, or goat and very little of it processed; processing is defined as meat preserved by smoking, curing or salting, or addition of chemical preservatives</i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Interestingly enough they emphasize that they are not recommending diets with no meat, or no foods of animal origin.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>6. Alcoholic Drinks</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Limit alcoholic drinks.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i>- if alcohol is consumed, limit consumption to no more than 2 drinks per day for men and 1 drink per day for women</i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i></i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">They do say the following: "The evidence on cancer justifies a recommendation not to </span></i><i><i></i></i></div><i><i><div style="display: inline !important;"><div style="display: inline !important;"><div style="display: inline !important;"><div style="display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">drink alcoholic drinks. Other evidence shows that modest </span></div></div></div></div></i></i><i><i><div style="display: inline !important;"><i><i><i><div style="display: inline !important;"><div style="display: inline !important;"><div style="display: inline !important;"><div style="display: inline !important;"><div style="display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">amounts of alcoholic drinks are likely to reduce risk of coronary </span></div></div></div></div></div></i></i></i></div></i></i><i><i><div style="display: inline !important;"><i><i><div style="display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><i><i></i></i></span></div><i><i><div style="display: inline !important;"><i><i><i><i><div style="display: inline !important;"><i><i><i><i><div style="display: inline !important;"><i><i><i><i><i><div style="display: inline !important;"><div style="display: inline !important;"><div style="display: inline !important;"><div style="display: inline !important;"><div style="display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">heart disease." So, even though they are supposed to be reporting on how to reduce your risk of cancer, they don't come right out and say no alcohol even though by their own admission, the evidence justifies it. I'm shaking my head over that one. </span></div></div></div></div></div></i></i></i></i></i></div></i></i></i></i></div></i></i></i></i></div></i></i></i></i></div></i></i><br />
<i><i><div style="display: inline !important;"><i><i><i><i><div style="display: inline !important;"><i><i><i><i><div style="display: inline !important;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></div></div></i></i></i></i><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></div></div></i></i></i></i><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></div></div></i></i><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i><i></i></i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i><i></i></i></div><i><i><div style="display: inline !important;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i><i><i><i></i></i></i></i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i><i><i><i></i></i></i></i></div><i><i><i><i><div style="display: inline !important;"></div></i></i></i></i><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></div></div></i></i><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i><i></i></i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i><i></i></i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i><i></i></i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i><i></i></i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i><i></i></i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i><i></i></i></div><i><i><div style="display: inline !important;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i><i><i><i></i></i></i></i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i><i><i><i></i></i></i></i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i><i><i><i></i></i></i></i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i><i><i><i></i></i></i></i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i><i><i><i></i></i></i></i></div><i><i><i><i><div style="display: inline !important;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i><i><i><i><i></i></i></i></i></i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i><i><i><i><i></i></i></i></i></i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i><i><i><i><i></i></i></i></i></i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i><i><i><i><i></i></i></i></i></i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i><i><i><i><i></i></i></i></i></i></div><i><i><i><i><i><div style="display: inline !important;"><div style="display: inline !important;"><div style="display: inline !important;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><br />
</span></div></div></div></div></i></i></i></i></i><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></div></div></i></i></i></i><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></div></div></i></i><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i><i></i></i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i><i></i></i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i><i></i></i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i><i></i></i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i><i></i></i></div><i><i><div style="display: inline !important;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i><i><i><i><i></i></i></i></i></i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i><i><i><i><i></i></i></i></i></i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i><i><i><i><i></i></i></i></i></i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i><i><i><i><i></i></i></i></i></i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i><i><i><i><i></i></i></i></i></i></div><i><i><i><i><i><div style="display: inline !important;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i><i><i></i></i></i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i><i><i></i></i></i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i><i><i></i></i></i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i><i><i></i></i></i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i><i><i></i></i></i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i><i><i></i></i></i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i><i><i></i></i></i></div><i><i><i><div style="display: inline !important;"><div style="display: inline !important;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">In other words, if you prefer, you can keep drinking and know that you are </span>likely<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"> to reduce your risk of coronary heart disease with that glass of wine or beer, but you are trading that risk for the opportunity to get cancer of the mouth, pharynx and larynx, oesophagus, or breast, or for men, colorectal cancer - all of which the evidence is <b>convincing</b>. (oh, and let's not forget it's a <b>probable</b> cause of liver and colorectal cancer in women)</span></div></div></div></i></i></i><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></div></div></i></i></i></i></i><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i><i></i></i></div></div></i></i><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><i><i><i></i></i></i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><b>7. Preservation, Processing, Preparation</b></span></i></i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><b></b></span></i></i>Limit consumption of salt. Avoid moldy grains or legumes.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i>- average consumption of salt from all sources to be less than 5 grams (2 g sodium) a day</i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i><br />
</i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i><b>8. Dietary Supplements</b></i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Aim to meet nutritional needs through diet alone.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i>- dietary supplements are not recommended for cancer prevention</i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i><br />
</i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">So, that sums up the recommendations. Now they didn't come right out and say that there is a direct link between cancer and consumption of animal protein. But if you follow their recommendations, you will be eating a mostly plant based diet, a flexitarian diet, just like I adopted after reading Campbell's work. This is enough confirmation for me, to continue to limit the amount of animal protein in my diet and for my family.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i><br />
</i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Now, before I end this post, I want to also point out the two special recommendations that they made - and remember this is in relation to preventing cancer.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>1. Breastfeeding</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Women to breastfeed; children to be breastfed.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i>-aim to breastfeed exclusively for six months and with complementary feeding thereafter</i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">(hmmm... they didn't say "babies" to be breastfed, they said "children"...)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i><br />
</i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>2. Cancer Survivors</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Follow the recommendations for cancer prevention.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i>-all cancer survivors to receive nutritional care from an appropriately trained professional</i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">I don't know about you, but a lot of the recommendations were things I would have related to people dieting - you know, eat right, exercise, ya-da, ya-da, ya-da. I was not aware that so many of these lifestyle choices directly affected our risk for getting cancer. Very enlightening report, indeed.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">I hope that what you can take away from this is not discouragement - focusing on changes you may need to make that could be difficult, (<i>no more Mike's Hard Lemonade?!?) </i>but rather encouragement - we don't have to live in fear of getting a cancer diagnosis. We can take proactive steps to prevent cancer.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Can I recommend a green smoothie for your first step?! ;)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY6a2121WrISa7qeNlmOqmDNG0_jptjbCtZQNSRvzXMlhfp38yGGp9Ivv9YN_Hg93I8rweiNgaLQrHaeaChCcUzzsXerN31nKGmaecxDwYDkj8HRqassTUxNSrjjN77vFxcDH0B5zhnYEO/s1600/blog+signature.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="84" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY6a2121WrISa7qeNlmOqmDNG0_jptjbCtZQNSRvzXMlhfp38yGGp9Ivv9YN_Hg93I8rweiNgaLQrHaeaChCcUzzsXerN31nKGmaecxDwYDkj8HRqassTUxNSrjjN77vFxcDH0B5zhnYEO/s200/blog+signature.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13197805393703582708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3314122516152889159.post-40711672714397249872010-05-20T09:56:00.004-05:002010-05-20T12:35:37.463-05:00How Now Brown CowWell, we are seriously shopping for a new member to our family here on our little country acre. We are going to get a milk cow. Seems like a crazy idea for a family that doesn't even go through a gallon of milk a week. But part of that is because I don't like giving pasteurized milk from factory farms to my children to drink, and here in Iowa it is illegal to sell raw milk. I personally feel they are healthier without it. But if I could give them fresh milk from our own pastured cow - now that's another story entirely. I still think they are better off drinking water, and they now ask for it instead of juice all the time - hooray! (in fact they usually say it like this: "Mom, can I have some healthy water?") But having some fresh milk, home-made butter and cheese, I'm totally up for that. :)<br />
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So I started researching milk cows. The more I read up on them, the more I fell in love with the idea of a mini breed. Mini breeds are ideal for someone in our situation where we just have one acre. They eat and drink a lot less than their larger counterparts and are easier on the pasture. Maintenance of fences and structure is easier too as they are not as destructive as full size cattle. Some people don't even use a lot of fencing. With a mini-cow you can put them on a lead tied to a tire and let them graze in your yard. When you are ready to move them to another section you just roll the tire to another area. Our lawn tractor may get a lot less use once we get a cow!<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Dexters are the breed we are leaning towards. I have absolutely fallen in love with a little Jersey, but her price tag is prohibitive - $1000! I think I could probably talk them down some on the price, but we also are set to go look at a Dexter that is only $400. Hard to justify the adorable, picture perfect Jersey when you can pick up a Dexter for that price. Plus, the Dexter has been running with a mini bull and most likely already with calf. That means that by July we could have a calf and all the fresh milk we can handle. That pretty much seals the deal with the Dexter.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">A Momma Dexter and calf</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB8iQIwMwaGfI3LbQxDmvk80Dhor-rL2_TZ6Fqg22gpf8dV7RRlrYsMp1NPBAh_u-FuWhRadU9uAXg97HW_AlmFQTsEx0bC1BTgXSXXWoFyM0Pvk0nmbIc70CfvfjSH_NFC7j4oQ1CqlRs/s1600/dexter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB8iQIwMwaGfI3LbQxDmvk80Dhor-rL2_TZ6Fqg22gpf8dV7RRlrYsMp1NPBAh_u-FuWhRadU9uAXg97HW_AlmFQTsEx0bC1BTgXSXXWoFyM0Pvk0nmbIc70CfvfjSH_NFC7j4oQ1CqlRs/s400/dexter.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
But aside from the great price, Dexters have quite a few qualities that make them a great choice for us:<br />
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Temperament - they are known for being docile and friendly, making them easy to handle and train. They are really great for kids to work with.<br />
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Hardy - Dexters thrive in all climates, which is good since we can have hot, humid summers followed by sub-zero winters. They also are easy calvers with little need for human intervention.<br />
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Thrifty - they are a good dual purpose cow, being good milkers and good beef. They also are considered very efficient at turning feed into milk and beef. They put out 1-2 gallons of milk a day that is 4% butterfat. (comparable to Jersey's) They dress out at 55-60% and have a high quality, nicely marbled meat.<br />
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If you want more information on Dexters, there is a great article on <a href="http://www.motherearthnews.com/Sustainable-Farming/2001-12-01/Ideal-Small-Farm-Cows-Dexter-Cattle.aspx">Mother Earth News</a>.<br />
And here is a great little informational video about mini cows.<br />
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(scroll down and pause player at bottom of page to view video)<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyWKxz9uWhywrsp3meITJTb0ViZxTcQK7mFZGRycICybdTZNXIYenL1ndYNpJ4sWMKuf5i9jaZZWGy21DFKu3FxRFu1DfiDVgMUJXt3Du6fRlfrhs8lJUyNfr0W9DmBVBd2vA5pdc8HGXg/s1600/blog+signature.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="84" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyWKxz9uWhywrsp3meITJTb0ViZxTcQK7mFZGRycICybdTZNXIYenL1ndYNpJ4sWMKuf5i9jaZZWGy21DFKu3FxRFu1DfiDVgMUJXt3Du6fRlfrhs8lJUyNfr0W9DmBVBd2vA5pdc8HGXg/s200/blog+signature.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13197805393703582708noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3314122516152889159.post-14135413324699251172010-05-18T23:37:00.004-05:002010-05-18T23:48:13.197-05:00Westfield Farm RevisitedToday was the day. Finally. After waiting a year!<br />
The annual end of school year field trip with <a href="http://www.homeschool-life.com/ia/hugs/">HUGS</a>, one of our homeschooling groups. The girls had such a great time last year, that this was a much anticipated day. I could have asked them to eat breakfast while standing on their heads and they would have done it so we could go.<br />
Without any further ado, here are the pics from today.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">Kittens were the highlight of today.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_rQIy82VlQTkFD7N_X7oXXRI0eEXe1A7xMkVLjKuBGIEhzvpgLabLWfYPFqgx1xgSi1QKZDBu651X4dRNFBVAZBq_0r97khsPPJ8_JLt-kNWyuNmmAcNQH9SUQT59YL3d2B1m74KLEau6/s1600/P1010001a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_rQIy82VlQTkFD7N_X7oXXRI0eEXe1A7xMkVLjKuBGIEhzvpgLabLWfYPFqgx1xgSi1QKZDBu651X4dRNFBVAZBq_0r97khsPPJ8_JLt-kNWyuNmmAcNQH9SUQT59YL3d2B1m74KLEau6/s400/P1010001a.JPG" width="288" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: left;">These next pics are inside the barn where they have a hayloft jump into piles of shredded paper. Apparently, this kicks up a lot of small particles into the air, which are completely undetectable until you take a picture with a flash. Then it looks like it is snowing - crazy!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6rnSTsmGwvB9IwgEv7IyYRHOtNrSBv4e8VPkhtJvBMG-wmRWOH9XTcUjci-UqTenp9-xK8eA2NZv6EOhkDkgzldfx39PfoJ9qWP13pon6TeZ8w9H5Lwxgct7uTOjBXwQHTwp4xu71AwnX/s1600/P1010010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6rnSTsmGwvB9IwgEv7IyYRHOtNrSBv4e8VPkhtJvBMG-wmRWOH9XTcUjci-UqTenp9-xK8eA2NZv6EOhkDkgzldfx39PfoJ9qWP13pon6TeZ8w9H5Lwxgct7uTOjBXwQHTwp4xu71AwnX/s400/P1010010.JPG" width="251" /></a></div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Time to get a pony ride before we head off for lunch.</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLetHXq67sCJexB2OXmkMbIcbU-M7z_2SN-g7EiD2iHt-WGGI-zukmUJSZM8Q2UngTuMSHWNyrvY81qnSiZkX63Rcp7SYO3S0kMKxmUzOfSUMa_Xam7Yu-yFjgJQ_pS4fernopj7QY-Q5c/s1600/P1010014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLetHXq67sCJexB2OXmkMbIcbU-M7z_2SN-g7EiD2iHt-WGGI-zukmUJSZM8Q2UngTuMSHWNyrvY81qnSiZkX63Rcp7SYO3S0kMKxmUzOfSUMa_Xam7Yu-yFjgJQ_pS4fernopj7QY-Q5c/s400/P1010014.JPG" width="253" /></a><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL1mSiH4_FgcH33RgDjahWF-j6RiXM9PgaoPijxJOMqc2omvphqW5l6Y9IeYQaiMUy-0Tql-KtSupGYCUQLOV7587jYpk67pgrlnzvHaK7UaNU2EC99IaIWhtPjQ4TS0ql26jiSRTXBFwh/s1600/P1010019.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL1mSiH4_FgcH33RgDjahWF-j6RiXM9PgaoPijxJOMqc2omvphqW5l6Y9IeYQaiMUy-0Tql-KtSupGYCUQLOV7587jYpk67pgrlnzvHaK7UaNU2EC99IaIWhtPjQ4TS0ql26jiSRTXBFwh/s400/P1010019.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Waiting for everyone to pile on the hayride.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_oBZqHRFSKwFp9bnkLqOnbpde6OS5zs-r2jaZaGczWV2LbLhHHVzrqoKKTTJJZ7spsGamuQFpJ7OFIXH07aeBCa6-WxjfPcxL0zFfBEiLVD61eLnAEDrN5nktPgX4qWSxMbyX2Ox0li49/s1600/P1010021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_oBZqHRFSKwFp9bnkLqOnbpde6OS5zs-r2jaZaGczWV2LbLhHHVzrqoKKTTJJZ7spsGamuQFpJ7OFIXH07aeBCa6-WxjfPcxL0zFfBEiLVD61eLnAEDrN5nktPgX4qWSxMbyX2Ox0li49/s400/P1010021.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I actually remembered to ask someone to get a pic of me with the girls - a rarity as I'm always the one snapping pics!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPMpIJ20sJ0nFMaHWcLWolT6ezwzoLz4J8ysV7as1ehhunNL7_A8NsjL1FKfSdA0DuuMXnM3EMS8wShyphenhyphenjCDMX_uuInnBV3lxMqNfdmErRdzVvCaCVMd5_Vugul-0h-6Fm5BT4VjNk1NKzS/s1600/mom+w+girls.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="321" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPMpIJ20sJ0nFMaHWcLWolT6ezwzoLz4J8ysV7as1ehhunNL7_A8NsjL1FKfSdA0DuuMXnM3EMS8wShyphenhyphenjCDMX_uuInnBV3lxMqNfdmErRdzVvCaCVMd5_Vugul-0h-6Fm5BT4VjNk1NKzS/s400/mom+w+girls.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcIcXQx935986Vj9U9xSyvmF5VWa-j2CjIor67dQdIsMaumDnT07IZY8o8t4PVt4rGG0_hGV7EOPzbQonqGPmJGdlT-WobNQWvY-KI5pYcKoFNgThBxGprdlfJItCwlYkwuTj7sRyVWhCC/s1600/P1010023.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcIcXQx935986Vj9U9xSyvmF5VWa-j2CjIor67dQdIsMaumDnT07IZY8o8t4PVt4rGG0_hGV7EOPzbQonqGPmJGdlT-WobNQWvY-KI5pYcKoFNgThBxGprdlfJItCwlYkwuTj7sRyVWhCC/s400/P1010023.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Smores for dessert.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx8p47M70ysgbFvGK5EgAMMEcUiIWgxO5aTUGrkq9ugqco6q9H62wCEvC-O7gLawr0NH-CdZGow0aXCDUf8e74paFCBCWYCW88NzvDRiLPaoyXLcQBVyxT7P7gprerxJ1vORP0sXcYLtwD/s1600/P1010026.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx8p47M70ysgbFvGK5EgAMMEcUiIWgxO5aTUGrkq9ugqco6q9H62wCEvC-O7gLawr0NH-CdZGow0aXCDUf8e74paFCBCWYCW88NzvDRiLPaoyXLcQBVyxT7P7gprerxJ1vORP0sXcYLtwD/s400/P1010026.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Getting ready to head back...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx2ingzZ2qrndBdZ3hFURZOg6mnnm157r-q6Oy4h7MNVPGvpWWguxW2C0HLs_vejXWjZawT4AaqY2Ijo2AND1nSAH9NSb1tJ7hL5gU9DGW1vEn-ucNq3DbjwY2lM1sYYYsCmHvJ4v9wIuF/s1600/P1010031.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx2ingzZ2qrndBdZ3hFURZOg6mnnm157r-q6Oy4h7MNVPGvpWWguxW2C0HLs_vejXWjZawT4AaqY2Ijo2AND1nSAH9NSb1tJ7hL5gU9DGW1vEn-ucNq3DbjwY2lM1sYYYsCmHvJ4v9wIuF/s400/P1010031.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Playing on haystack mountain.</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVWBZxp4_sqWhTLr4zAGEWA5fuoHOb87tfaVsB_rX5iqC0dDsrm808HsQR9m_o3jmQOHI92HdPNhQwJncGeAyfI-K2DdykuzM-imTeCmHjMui8Tx6M8YXPv4i2F0omRA4Hvu1yhD8Rvsp-/s1600/P1010033.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVWBZxp4_sqWhTLr4zAGEWA5fuoHOb87tfaVsB_rX5iqC0dDsrm808HsQR9m_o3jmQOHI92HdPNhQwJncGeAyfI-K2DdykuzM-imTeCmHjMui8Tx6M8YXPv4i2F0omRA4Hvu1yhD8Rvsp-/s400/P1010033.JPG" width="300" /></a><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGnLSbEntqwJUCwfH3yimcH7akRdKbU-NI6o59P55uh5x_1my6Boipssm0jWrq2BdWRwtXUMDtH-qes1B2prdp_sEwPOX2Bwgpv1gwwWSNBXVVd6JmqTuJiufIaJU_u9ckMtz5L_BUdW2E/s1600/P1010036.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGnLSbEntqwJUCwfH3yimcH7akRdKbU-NI6o59P55uh5x_1my6Boipssm0jWrq2BdWRwtXUMDtH-qes1B2prdp_sEwPOX2Bwgpv1gwwWSNBXVVd6JmqTuJiufIaJU_u9ckMtz5L_BUdW2E/s400/P1010036.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>That was a big drop for her, but she didn't bat an eyelash. Just slid right off, then ran around and did it again!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6f20xBnZG-WJ5y2OglUL_CZvPRRUbDoZE7tgulSD5um6fLhhYshS-ZkngWCnR85WqP4tx964-fs1JbSgcxJJ7f9NIhnkB9FFuQAUHRctufRvodI3bEf1ktZeVaOSdDO0aCQ1tCalZmV4L/s1600/blog+signature.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="84" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6f20xBnZG-WJ5y2OglUL_CZvPRRUbDoZE7tgulSD5um6fLhhYshS-ZkngWCnR85WqP4tx964-fs1JbSgcxJJ7f9NIhnkB9FFuQAUHRctufRvodI3bEf1ktZeVaOSdDO0aCQ1tCalZmV4L/s200/blog+signature.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13197805393703582708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3314122516152889159.post-72425854053383071732010-05-14T09:02:00.008-05:002010-05-18T22:50:47.697-05:00Does Food Matter?<object height="385" width="640"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/r4DOQ6Xhqss&rel=0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xd0d0d0&hl=en_GB&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/r4DOQ6Xhqss&rel=0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xd0d0d0&hl=en_GB&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="640" height="385"></embed></object><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">(<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">scroll down and pause player to view video)</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></span></div>I was hooked after watching this trailer and did my usual search for the title at the library. Not there. Then I checked with Blockbuster and they had it. Luckily, I looked around the site a little longer because I found that on the <a href="http://www.foodmatters.tv/"></a><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Foodmatters-Andrew-W-Saul/dp/B001B3XZAW?ie=UTF8&tag=lifei00-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Food Matters</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=lifei00-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B001B3XZAW" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /> website under the movie section, you can order and watch this documentary right on your computer for the same price as driving to Blockbuster and renting it. Score! Not only that, but there are some movies that are free to watch - titles such as "The World According to Monsanto" and "Homegrown." Check it out! <a href="http://www.foodmatters.tv/_webapp/Movie_Store">Link to online movies</a><br />
<br />
So I ordered the online movie and <i>really</i> enjoyed watching this documentary. I feel it is well done with good nutritional information and a good look into the problem with our current health care system as it relates to nutrition. Anyone wanting to understand a little more about why to eat more raw foods in your diet should get their questions answered in this movie. They go into a wide arrange of connected issues: nutrient loss in our produce, vitamin supplementation, pharmaceuticals, our health care system, and government regulation.<br />
<br />
Here is some information that you are probably not aware of:<br />
<a href="http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/lcod.htm">LEADING CAUSES OF DEATH </a><br />
#1. Heart Disease 631,636<br />
#2. Cancer 559,888<br />
#3. Modern Medicine 225,000<br />
<br />
Now you aren't going to see number three on the chart with the center for disease control, but that number represents the number of deaths each year from unnecessary surgery and other hospital errors, infections obtained at the hospital, and medications. (and that is only medication that is prescribed by a doctor and taken as directed) It comes in number three - isn't that really a staggering reality? It comes in above stroke, chronic lower respiratory disease, accidents, and diabetes. That number should cause concern.<br />
<br />
On a more positive note, David Wolfe gave some great information about raw cacao beans and their nutritive quality. Raw cacao are the highest natural source of magnesium, chromium, zinc, and copper. It is likely the highest natural source of iron and manganese, has all the cofactors necessary for a healthy metabolism, is high in vitamin C and has the highest antioxidant content of known foods. Ever heard commercials touting the high antioxidants in blueberries? Here is how they stack up:<br />
<br />
ORAC values per 100g<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Navitas-Naturals-Chocolate-Superfood-16-Ounce/dp/B001E5E0Y2?ie=UTF8&tag=lifei00-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Raw Cacao</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=lifei00-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B001E5E0Y2" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /> 26,000<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Navitas-Naturals-Organic-Superfruit-8-Ounce/dp/B001CGX3ZK?ie=UTF8&tag=lifei00-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Acai Berry</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=lifei00-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B001CGX3ZK" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /> 18,500<br />
Prunes 5,770<br />
Raisins 2,830 <br />
Blueberries 2,400<br />
Blackberries 2,036<br />
Strawberries 1,540<br />
Spinach, raw 1,260<br />
Broccoli florets 890<br />
Red grapes 739 <br />
<br />
And can I say, I just love David Wolfe in this show?! He talks about things no one wants to talk about in polite society, but he is right on. :) For those of you who aren't familiar with <a href="http://www.davidwolfe.com/">David Wolfe</a>, he is a leader in the raw food movement and wrote one of the classics, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sunfood-Diet-Success-System/dp/1556437498?ie=UTF8&tag=lifei00-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">The Sunfood Diet</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=lifei00-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=1556437498" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />. Just listening to him and all the speakers in this documentary really inspires me to keep eating lots of raw food. I have slacked off in the last couple of weeks and have been eating more cooked food. (the cold weather didn't help!) And just so you know, in this film he highlights eating at least 51% raw food, not all raw, so there is no excuse not to try.<br />
<br />
What this movie really has done for me is bring me full circle to the initial thought - you are what you eat. Americans have gotten away from eating based on what your body needs to function and be healthy, and moved to eating what tastes good. Unfortunately, with MSG, high-fructose corn syrup, caffeine, and lots of salt, we have learned to create desire for foods that are extremely nutritionally deficient. We are a society that is fat and happy, but slowly starving our bodies to death and we see this playing out in the increase of disease and death due to our lifestyle choices. <br />
<br />
And since you will learn that you need to be supplementing your healthy diet with vitamins, I want to recommend a source of really good ones - <a href="http://www.optimalhealthsystems.com/">Optimal Health Systems</a>. I used to work for this company and I know that their products are of the highest quality. You can get a great <a href="http://protease.optimalhealthsystems.com/oasiscrm/Shopping~Directive~InvDetails~Parent~~Category~ALL~Selection~384.htm">wholefood vitamin</a> from them. Here is the ingredient list:<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-family: Calibri;"><strong><span style="color: #3399ff;"><br />
</span></strong></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-family: Calibri;"><strong><span style="color: #3399ff;">Whole Food Vitamin Blend Includes:</span></strong></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-family: Calibri;">Carrot, Green Peppers, Oranges, Alfalfa, Nutritional Yeast, Acerola Cherry, Broccoli,<br />
Wild Yam, Rice Bran, Spinach, Wheat Germ, Cranberry, Garlic, Papaya, Soybeans,<br />
Molasses, and Beet Fiber.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong><span style="color: #3399ff;">Antioxidant Blend Includes:</span></strong><br />
Grape Seed Extract, Grape Skin Extract, and Pine Bark Extract</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong><span style="color: #3399ff;">Opti-Blend (tm) Delivery System Includes:</span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Amylase</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">, Protease I, Protease II, Lipase, Invertase, Maltase, Cellulase, Lactase, Hemiseb,<br />
Zinc Amino Acid Chelete, Copper Amino Acid Chelete, Manganese Amino Acid Chelete, and Molasses.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
Take time to read the research/education information on their site. It is a great resource.<br />
<br />
Now, watch the movie and go eat something raw! ;)<br />
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<div></div>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13197805393703582708noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3314122516152889159.post-52073200709427039792010-05-13T09:38:00.000-05:002010-05-13T09:38:53.798-05:00My Morning in Pictures<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13197805393703582708noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3314122516152889159.post-52749640487387459962010-05-12T17:22:00.000-05:002010-05-12T17:22:21.344-05:00Grow, Baby, Grow!It's kombucha time at our house again. <br />
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So here is a little bit about kombucha if you haven't heard of or seen the stuff before. This is an empty bottle of GT's Organic Raw Kombucha in original flavor. (i.e. unflavored) You can actually use the store bought to start your own culture, but if you can get an already grown scoby, I recommend that for beginners.<br />
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Scoby? What's that?<br />
Glad you asked. I originally learned that it stood for symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast, but have also seen it as symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast. You will also find the scoby called a pancake, mushroom, or baby. The scoby feeds off the sugar in the tea and it slowly ferments the tea, giving off probiotics, organic acids, enzymes, and vitamins. It is a conglomeration of good stuff for you - especially for intestinal health. After the tea is ready, if you bottle it, it will get fizzy and is a great substitute for fizzy pop which has NOTHING good in it for you. (just a little passionate about that - as an ex-Mt. Dew addict!)<br />
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You can look it up on the internet and find people claiming that it has done all sorts of miraculous things for their health. The thing that jazzes me the most, besides being a great source of probiotics, is one of the organic acids it produces - glucuronic acid. In a day when we are getting all sorts of toxins in our system, whether it be pesticides in foods we eat or BPA residue from plastic containers and commercially canned foods, this is one powerhouse little acid you don't want to be without. It's main claim to fame is it's ability to grab those toxins in the liver and take them out of your body. This stuff will keep you clean!<br />
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Now I have heard that you should start in small doses, like 2 oz. a day, and let your system get used to it. But I didn't read that until I had been downing 16 oz. a day for quite awhile. I didn't have any problems with it, but don't say I didn't warn you!<br />
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Now here is the great part. Instead of paying roughly $4 a bottle for this stuff, you can make it at home. We started brewing kombucha back before we moved to Iowa. We drank so much we purchase a giant 5 gallon glass container with a spigot at the bottom from Costco. The box it came in pictured lemonade, but I knew it was the perfect kombucha brewer. :)<br />
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To make kombucha you heat 3 quarts of water (purified - you don't want to use chlorinated water) til it is hot but not quite boiling. Then you steep 5-7 teabags in the water for 15 minutes.<br />
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I use generic black tea. Green tea is also supposed to be really good. There are a couple other varieties of tea you can use, but these two are the basics. After you remove the teabags, dissolve 1 cup of sugar in the water. Now put the lid on the pan and let it come to room temperature. I like to do this before going to bed and let it sit on the stove all night. In the morning you are ready to proceed and don't have to worry about it still being too hot.<br />
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You preferably want to use a glass container that will hold 1 gallon. (unless you are kombucha junkies like we are and then you can trade up to the 5 gallon jar!) Again, there are other types of containers that can be used, but glass is the best, and you can easily see how your scoby baby is doing. Make sure that both your hands and the container are clean. Pour the tea in the fermenting container and add your scoby and 2 cups of starter. (previous kombucha tea) Now cover the container with a paper towel, coffee filter, or clean towel. Secure it with a rubber band and find it a spot out of direct sunlight where it can sit undisturbed.<br />
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Here is our little baby that I just started today. We haven't had kombucha since we had a batch grow mold on it, which means you have to throw it out and start over. Unfortunately, I didn't have the recommended back up scoby and starter hanging out in the fridge for just such emergencies. So we have been without because I couldn't find anyone local who would give me a starter. (like I was able to find in AZ)<br />
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But I bought the previously pictured bottle of plain organic kombucha and have let it sit in the fridge for awhile. It already started growing a little baby inside the bottle. I made up a mini batch of tea (2 cups, 2 teabags, and 2 Tbs. sugar) and combined the room temperature bottle of kombucha with the tea. I will post pictures of the process as it grows. Once this scoby has grown, I will have enough starter to make a full batch of kombucha. We like it flavored with an ounce or two of grape juice (that includes the kiddos!) and have saved a bunch of bottles so we can make our own delicious fizzy kombucha drinks.<br />
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Now I'm getting impatient. Grow, baby, grow!!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQJSMWIIm0D2T-m-cHKN-HzSIlHwzpajTKwMtXDfICHFX9nj1YqkCepKWKnBhJ11I0ah4i-G0OGXPtrwSJH9TCC5nBBGAUa8bVQIbEAB-9u993JSUqWjL0mtX1VQ593xNnWeYTUSERrPOx/s1600/blog+signature.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="84" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQJSMWIIm0D2T-m-cHKN-HzSIlHwzpajTKwMtXDfICHFX9nj1YqkCepKWKnBhJ11I0ah4i-G0OGXPtrwSJH9TCC5nBBGAUa8bVQIbEAB-9u993JSUqWjL0mtX1VQ593xNnWeYTUSERrPOx/s200/blog+signature.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13197805393703582708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3314122516152889159.post-83875640313073556952010-05-01T22:59:00.004-05:002010-05-01T23:09:21.406-05:00Curbside ShoppingToday was one of those serendipitous days that you just couldn't have foreseen. I've been working on cleaning, organizing, and decorating the girls' rooms upstairs. I have my heart set on finding an old beat up chandelier, making it beautiful again, and hanging it in their bedroom. The weather was supposed to be nice so I thought we should go yard sale shopping. I told the girls they could each have $1 to spend and they were pretty excited to get shopping this morning. I did a quick check on craigslist to see if there were any hot spots we should hit. Looked like Norwalk would be the city we would check out - another nice little town (although much bigger than our town!) south of Des Moines. If it really bombed we could just head north into Des Moines.<br />
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There is nothing worse than heading out with anticipation of that great find, and coming home empty handed. But no fear of bombing today. What I didn't realize (only because I hadn't checked my list from Des Moines ReUseIt group) was that April 30-May 1 are the spring clean-up dates for Norwalk. That means you can pretty much put anything out on the curb, and they will come haul it away, saving you a trip to the dump. It also means a lot of great curbside shopping. Plus, to take advantage of the clean up, a ton of households were having yard sales, and by late afternoon, what hadn't sold was now sitting in the pile on the curb. <br />
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Here are some of our free finds today. We will start with the biggie... a lovely new grill just in time for Mother's day....hmmmm....okay, a month early for Father's Day! (I don't grill!) The grill we have we paid $10 for at a yard sale three years ago when we moved here. It was pretty old and ugly, and we had to replace some parts, but it has gotten the job done. This one is definitely an improvement and even has a rotisserie attachment. I'm pretty excited about that!<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Chairs! We got these two chairs, plus 3 basic white plastic outdoor chairs. I won't spend money on outdoor chairs so I was so glad to pick up some for free. They will come in handy for when we have our small group over later this month for a b.b.q. and bonfire. (grill will come in handy too!)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRm6aU38PgQ1lm-JV4xgGHGkfsk12iiZ373q0Shiph-06ThdWrcUVBdAWowZfu_V1teUo6NFuvqAgp48YDrV0T-Z4fpvt-yh3ZCoLea3RqU3p1Y-mfT8GyyIzHJgWzMH51z57GlchwdmrF/s1600/P1010007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRm6aU38PgQ1lm-JV4xgGHGkfsk12iiZ373q0Shiph-06ThdWrcUVBdAWowZfu_V1teUo6NFuvqAgp48YDrV0T-Z4fpvt-yh3ZCoLea3RqU3p1Y-mfT8GyyIzHJgWzMH51z57GlchwdmrF/s400/P1010007.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Oh, and the stroller - free!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">See the t.v. on the right? That would be the one David wants for our bedroom but has been upstairs in the girls room. See the t.v. on the left? That would be one we picked off the curb and the table to put it on was also picked up from another curb. Perfect size for the girls and has a built in vcr that actually works. We actually picked up two small t.v./vcr combo's. David is going to carry the other one, which is smaller, with him for work so he has a t.v. to show customers when it isn't the satellite that is the issue, but their television set. There were so many television sets on the curb it was pathetic. David was drooling. He actually picked up a really nice set, which I had no idea what we were going to do with, but he had to leave it in order to fit the grill in the back of the van. (shwew! saved by limited space!)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFTwC8uqY1vyIIH36gpQlD-cNG0YCzOolxvic3A__lyIJu_YOIgTp6HDO27hUb82SSxWgAxNnXIV9D9dWrC00aRBaZRRSRD832KWFZVVzQYgb9dQZ2yJGDvsyU0m-Qr_jI8NsgEP7IMujk/s1600/P1010009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFTwC8uqY1vyIIH36gpQlD-cNG0YCzOolxvic3A__lyIJu_YOIgTp6HDO27hUb82SSxWgAxNnXIV9D9dWrC00aRBaZRRSRD832KWFZVVzQYgb9dQZ2yJGDvsyU0m-Qr_jI8NsgEP7IMujk/s400/P1010009.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;">A lovely curbside find - a Princess kitchen. I told the girls we could get this one if their mostly broken, dirty, bulkier kitchen set goes out on our curb. They agreed. I'm liking this trend of <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">smaller</span>. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPE1VS7zoRaQzEeuBa_0vZDf_NVdBi0pavsqfzV5J6G8Q3_mTAz3mWt_YZsIQVag3oCQA_O0DRuQDpYZW2FZWR_LbNovntDq-M46ktN4Rbse1IymUMi0bRYjIoOBWmUhnZNsgXoDQqVzbY/s1600/P1010010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPE1VS7zoRaQzEeuBa_0vZDf_NVdBi0pavsqfzV5J6G8Q3_mTAz3mWt_YZsIQVag3oCQA_O0DRuQDpYZW2FZWR_LbNovntDq-M46ktN4Rbse1IymUMi0bRYjIoOBWmUhnZNsgXoDQqVzbY/s400/P1010010.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Yes, that is one of too many free animals that found their way home with us today, but so is the little chair she is sitting on. Loving the chair!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhstd2jZbTGSGKC0mWj7By2rEnAt1XnQIgtwuyiYUwupyDtCVhDBTcP9TC41KKCZolsXlHQ48D6HXePQPzYxwfywefXQu6arba08wm7-0JJ9aw8JM67eNcAGk-EUJ_PzSxPgK6zWUAPE3Ac/s1600/P1010018.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhstd2jZbTGSGKC0mWj7By2rEnAt1XnQIgtwuyiYUwupyDtCVhDBTcP9TC41KKCZolsXlHQ48D6HXePQPzYxwfywefXQu6arba08wm7-0JJ9aw8JM67eNcAGk-EUJ_PzSxPgK6zWUAPE3Ac/s400/P1010018.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I spotted a bit of pink fluff sticking out of a bag so decided to check it out. That curiosity netted me three dress up outfits - a princess, a queen, and a ballerina.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXGKp1CGN4pDvKPzHe79THzJ2BCTKtD7JZlivZstW1zdakgLusoT4Sl_xmicgxRB-7YdvaDQkTiTJfe7VMQu2O6fLOXaStBnn8jXMJxkfFQCFnC71sDvqUibNwsSRcrElqhG4pqo3fgh2d/s1600/P1010022.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXGKp1CGN4pDvKPzHe79THzJ2BCTKtD7JZlivZstW1zdakgLusoT4Sl_xmicgxRB-7YdvaDQkTiTJfe7VMQu2O6fLOXaStBnn8jXMJxkfFQCFnC71sDvqUibNwsSRcrElqhG4pqo3fgh2d/s400/P1010022.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR-HfOdgXQpZEgjx2zpBf_YMj_CVVDln4pbAm9fLtfYUUjKgubo78AU4inNLl0ySbAZGacE85BZetfPMYBRdMWJRoerO2mol-hOI_QnzVL9N0Hc9qZQoWo9Q1XRbqzh9LJX37pmlOGp86S/s1600/P1010023.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR-HfOdgXQpZEgjx2zpBf_YMj_CVVDln4pbAm9fLtfYUUjKgubo78AU4inNLl0ySbAZGacE85BZetfPMYBRdMWJRoerO2mol-hOI_QnzVL9N0Hc9qZQoWo9Q1XRbqzh9LJX37pmlOGp86S/s400/P1010023.JPG" width="281" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibP-kMJreZHsr0pgUZxkA-7qO2u9Me3mmF24UKfu27_wxD25swjOqelI1td3eRNiug9oiZnL4Uo4qBHiCTK6k-twomwpEfo3nCTXbiG_HompvrvCe2xfAHP-5OXKMHlqwN6TMA17hHYdyr/s1600/P1010024.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibP-kMJreZHsr0pgUZxkA-7qO2u9Me3mmF24UKfu27_wxD25swjOqelI1td3eRNiug9oiZnL4Uo4qBHiCTK6k-twomwpEfo3nCTXbiG_HompvrvCe2xfAHP-5OXKMHlqwN6TMA17hHYdyr/s400/P1010024.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: left;">I also picked up some other miscellaneous items. But, alas, no chandelier. I am not fretting. Yard sale season has only begun!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13197805393703582708noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3314122516152889159.post-25316705468515341642010-04-20T10:51:00.002-05:002010-04-20T11:11:05.652-05:00The Bradley MethodI am home again after leaving last Wednesday to head to Orlando, Florida for a training workshop to become a <a href="http://www.bradleybirth.com/">Bradley Method birth instructor</a>. This method of natural childbirth was named after <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Husband-Coached-Childbirth-Fifth-Bradley-Natural/dp/055338516X?ie=UTF8&tag=lifei00-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Dr. Bradley</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=lifei00-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=055338516X" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /> who was responsible for getting husbands allowed back in the labor/delivery room with their wives. For women, he gave them a chance to be free of the influence of drugs which makes the delivery process harder and more likely to need medical intervention. Women learned how to relax and work with their bodies so that they and their babies could be alert at the birth and start bonding and breast feeding immediately.<br />
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I still have to finish up my academic requirements, but should be sending in my completed course work by the end of the week. I am excited to start teaching, especially because I think many men take a back seat to the mom once she becomes pregnant. Mom gets all the attention. But with Dr. Bradley's approach, the husband gets trained as the coach. The husband becomes a vital partner in the process. Personally, I don't know how I would have gotten through my first birth without David's help. He provided counter pressure for my back labor and helped me relax muscles I hadn't realized I had tensed up. But with his help coaching me, I was able to <i>labor</i> rather than be in pain. It was absolutely hard work, but not painful. Through the thorough education on the birth process given in Bradley classes, David never had to worry or wonder what was going on. He could recognize the emotional signposts of each stage and be prepared for what lay ahead.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I remember this very short conversation with David. I was in transition and I said, "This is really hard," and he told me what a great job I was doing.</span></div><br />
We watched many, many birth videos over the weekend and it was very frustrating to realize that the majority of women don't realize that their birth will be much less painful if they choose to have a natural childbirth. (preparing for it, of course! You would take swimming lessons before you jumped into a swimming pool, so you should equally prepare to give birth!) On my plane home yesterday, I was talking with the passenger next to me. He and his wife are expecting their second baby next month. His wife had an epidural with the first and had to have her pancreas removed due to complications from the epidural. He said that afterwards, they researched it and it turns out that it is not that unusual, but "they don't tell you that before you have it." So I asked him what they were going to do with this birth. He said she was planning on having the epidural again.<br />
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HUH?!?<br />
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Jamie Oliver may be having a "Food Revolution" but we need to have a "Natural Childbirth Revolution." What most women know about giving birth is what you see on t.v. or in the movies and that is mostly women screaming in pain and wanting their drugs NOW! Those of us who have had unmedicated natural births need to get the word out that there is an alternative to drugs and elective cesareans. If you see a pregnant mom, be sure to share your story with her. If they don't know, they can't choose. And last time I checked, a lot of people in this country are very concerned with women having a choice when it comes to their reproductive health. That choice should be between natural birth and medicated, not just which cocktail of medications will they be taking during labor.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguAMzQOZ7TMBl-s5OFY-eeN2FIr2GfaY5Ieb-B2b20zxHUR03hyphenhyphen9pp4R-sqeUO_7BVAjJBA9v1c6Zix-WLW7XgFFEasawGf5JnSV11blD-T_zYk-dGX-qy_t7bbLgw6yRhQTy3eszU4zDk/s1600/blog+signature.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="84" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguAMzQOZ7TMBl-s5OFY-eeN2FIr2GfaY5Ieb-B2b20zxHUR03hyphenhyphen9pp4R-sqeUO_7BVAjJBA9v1c6Zix-WLW7XgFFEasawGf5JnSV11blD-T_zYk-dGX-qy_t7bbLgw6yRhQTy3eszU4zDk/s200/blog+signature.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13197805393703582708noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3314122516152889159.post-87730005689472649082010-04-10T04:00:00.002-05:002010-04-11T15:35:54.724-05:00To School or Not to School<div style="text-align: center;">(<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">scroll down to bottom of page and pause player to view video)</span></div><object height="405" width="500"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Bx4pN-aiofw&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Bx4pN-aiofw&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="500" height="405"></embed></object>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13197805393703582708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3314122516152889159.post-3001739899280728882010-04-08T09:18:00.001-05:002010-04-08T09:25:08.712-05:00Don't Go There Shaun T!Okay, I just did day 5 on the Insanity program. I keep going back and forth on my motivation on this program. I was reading on the message boards for Insanity that month one is just a warm up for month two. The workouts get longer and harder. Say what?! So I really procrastinated doing the routine this morning. I have been getting up and just getting right to it. Today I didn't start until almost 8:30... dragging my heels as I was worried about the intensity that a workout titled "Pure Cardio" might entail.<br />
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But when I got into the warm up (that is <i>really</i> a loose term when applied to Insanity!) I could already see that it was easier for me than on day 2. I could push harder and last longer on each exercise. So I was feeling pretty good about that and it gave me the motivation to keep going.<br />
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But then... during the stretches Shaun T starts talking about how nervous he is about today's workout. Can I just say that having Shaun T saying that he is nervous does not instill courage in us struggling beginners?! lol...<br />
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But not to fear. Yes, the workout kicked my posterior, but I was also encouraged again by my ability to keep going and it felt better than day two. I also did noticeable better with the push up jacks. A push up jack is where your feet go apart when you lower your chest, as if you were doing a jumping jack with your feet I didn't have to do my "girl version" of push-ups with my knees on the ground. I did full on push up jacks. Now THAT is motivating! I am truly amazed at the results I am already seeing in just five days. Oh, and most of the intense soreness has moved out as well. I guess I really can do this!<br />
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One more day and then a day off.<br />
Bring it on!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHzYsay9EPblii3yLhUTEDz8YzlMUy30-fY63V-c7b1IB-cvEoE-y4LTKgsyp4qe5YIzQYT2hF2ne-d7htT9ydqEGMmvrBYGV40tAAK4Uz_eQ47IaL0GhFDc1PfGEYaiXcAM0ydr8mvVOM/s1600/blog+signature.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="84" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHzYsay9EPblii3yLhUTEDz8YzlMUy30-fY63V-c7b1IB-cvEoE-y4LTKgsyp4qe5YIzQYT2hF2ne-d7htT9ydqEGMmvrBYGV40tAAK4Uz_eQ47IaL0GhFDc1PfGEYaiXcAM0ydr8mvVOM/s200/blog+signature.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13197805393703582708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3314122516152889159.post-88244621539623105552010-04-06T04:00:00.003-05:002010-04-08T10:26:07.833-05:002 Days of InsanityThe <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Insanity-Ultimate-Workout-Fitness-Program/dp/B002QZ1RS6?ie=UTF8&tag=lifei00-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Insanity workout dvd's</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=lifei00-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B002QZ1RS6" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /> arrived here on Saturday.<br />
Sunday I did day one which is the fit test. This gives you a baseline for yourself so you can keep track of how you are improving. Today was Cardio Plyometrics.<br />
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Oh. My. Gosh.<br />
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The warm-up on this workout is a better workout than any other cardio routine I have ever done - live or dvd! I downed 24oz of water and had to refill my bottle during the workout. By the time he went straight from the suicide drills into the next set without a water break, I knew I was going to get in the best shape of my life by the time the 60 days are up. Either that, or I'll be dead!<br />
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Here's hoping I can move tomorrow!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRGYbnlgBP8Tt3CsaXZgiXgAfCSotqMSkowXjXTVfvOCdBshvlbsorAnBdHZHsIdG3ZH6jZaz1dQrrYRlocfq4zcVMpFFETlocPu1KtY3Csi057nUv0HCyX2wT9UVpPd4XqY8xQT-vn9Ao/s1600/blog+signature.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="84" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRGYbnlgBP8Tt3CsaXZgiXgAfCSotqMSkowXjXTVfvOCdBshvlbsorAnBdHZHsIdG3ZH6jZaz1dQrrYRlocfq4zcVMpFFETlocPu1KtY3Csi057nUv0HCyX2wT9UVpPd4XqY8xQT-vn9Ao/s200/blog+signature.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13197805393703582708noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3314122516152889159.post-61630858998102371262010-04-05T04:00:00.001-05:002010-04-05T04:00:04.375-05:00You Know You're a Redneck if......you take your kids on an Easter egg hunt in the Bass Pro Shop.<br />
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Yup. I did it.<br />
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The kids had a blast. We got there a little late, so a lot of the eggs had been found already. But some nice guys back in the hunting section had a stash and kept hiding a few more out for my girls to find. Yeah, it does a mother's heart proud to watch her girls searching scrupulously among the ammo and camo tents for easter eggs. :)<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">They even had free pictures with the Easter Bunny. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And crafts.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ9piCi6Nszv86fyTB9CNWPMzhDutIqOw9uouC209fQa6MZ1fnXbAkuQHAMD5j9XtxAVDIuWqVo7j0LAKZSc26lDBj_KISz6Y-JuS5O2yAwM4lKfkrBPayjvaJ1ZpsM2RXw3Zup9flV3ad/s1600/P1010002+(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ9piCi6Nszv86fyTB9CNWPMzhDutIqOw9uouC209fQa6MZ1fnXbAkuQHAMD5j9XtxAVDIuWqVo7j0LAKZSc26lDBj_KISz6Y-JuS5O2yAwM4lKfkrBPayjvaJ1ZpsM2RXw3Zup9flV3ad/s400/P1010002+(2).JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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Definitely not your traditional Easter day, but it worked for us!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGk2aRkQIRCDWnyuDTSPWs7gImMYj7xwAVSmGveYwqkAaVBX0hZoPpdMdWQF-iBPXwpE2L2bj3GwxtADJAQflRsW8u5o3NRLw_cl2_0pSmkTedxXAollPI20w4sj1OWxdmXchLELsRzqqu/s1600/blog+signature.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="84" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGk2aRkQIRCDWnyuDTSPWs7gImMYj7xwAVSmGveYwqkAaVBX0hZoPpdMdWQF-iBPXwpE2L2bj3GwxtADJAQflRsW8u5o3NRLw_cl2_0pSmkTedxXAollPI20w4sj1OWxdmXchLELsRzqqu/s200/blog+signature.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13197805393703582708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3314122516152889159.post-66843714494628319322010-04-04T04:00:00.001-05:002010-04-04T04:32:21.642-05:00Happy Resurrection Day!<div style="text-align: center;">(<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">scroll down and pause player to view video)</span></div><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/5qqt1rfBrGg&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x402061&color2=0x9461ca"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/5qqt1rfBrGg&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x402061&color2=0x9461ca" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-IaUh-9M0e5nEuP1M1rDqDuO15HwveMesmSh5TVt-L4bG9VLMVsKyGb9Qly1JjKeTFY_lfQ4aJU5m70Hk71-fTNJ_LvD_tukOBTMllNTM43SJ8kyJmki6_K8Jlb_D1WtdyEiKomOQXxof/s1600/blog+signature.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="84" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-IaUh-9M0e5nEuP1M1rDqDuO15HwveMesmSh5TVt-L4bG9VLMVsKyGb9Qly1JjKeTFY_lfQ4aJU5m70Hk71-fTNJ_LvD_tukOBTMllNTM43SJ8kyJmki6_K8Jlb_D1WtdyEiKomOQXxof/s200/blog+signature.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13197805393703582708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3314122516152889159.post-36020758895828431322010-04-03T04:00:00.074-05:002010-04-03T08:17:00.831-05:00InsanityI'm one of those crazy people that really likes to push myself and be challenged. <br />
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For instance, I remember back in the days when I was hitting the gym twice a day. Before work I would run on the track. After work I would do weight training, working a different muscle group each day. My normal routine in the morning was to run for 1/2 hour. But if I was late, I did a 12 minute routine called Guerilla Cardio. This workout called for a 4 minute warm up jog, 4 minutes of interval sprinting, and a 4 minute cool down jog. The interval sprinting is 20 seconds of full on sprinting followed by 10 seconds of rest. Eight sets and you have done your 4 minutes. It may not sound like a big deal, but according to <a href="http://www.cs.unm.edu/~wneumann/files/guerilla_cardio.pdf">Muscle Media</a>:<br />
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<i>Before you get too bright-eyed and <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><i>bushy-tailed at the prospect of doing <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><i>“only” four minutes of cardio a day, I <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><i>need to warn you—this ain’t as easy <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><i>as it seems. In fact, Dr. Tabata notes <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><i>that even the Japanese speed <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><i>skaters—who, remember, are Olympic caliber <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><i>athletes—had to “lay down on <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><i>the floor after the training.”</i></span></i></span></i></span></i></span></i></span></i></span></i></span></i></span></i><br />
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The first time I did it, it literally brought tears to my eyes! That was back in the day when I took my vacation at what was then called <a href="http://www.redmountainspa.com/">Red Mountain Adventure Spa</a> in St. George, Utah.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">Mornings started with a vigorous hike into the mountains.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtxsbORBPQIuHzgUaBCKIdjGdklnbE3jpaWls9VmYZMhTSYr6id7o8U_ThwLZOxUUM4fDspCgTRnTFOkbQdEPYp_K8vQiD49a6Nd2bERQW43C5FTTmECPG8M1-fmBUv1YpMSxgDQgKqbG-/s1600/hiking.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtxsbORBPQIuHzgUaBCKIdjGdklnbE3jpaWls9VmYZMhTSYr6id7o8U_ThwLZOxUUM4fDspCgTRnTFOkbQdEPYp_K8vQiD49a6Nd2bERQW43C5FTTmECPG8M1-fmBUv1YpMSxgDQgKqbG-/s400/hiking.jpg" width="267" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">A little mountain climbing for leisure activity.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRYt-lUSinPtBkZh_YOljtVjfnPwtrwtmskWULzARr7keMvM8_Mr5e-GpAcZEpc4u2m1JGjI4kA56NJqPF6wPxTrhhXrZNyz1xEu-J4thXCR-nYJojd3cQafTXvWkTH3AXqq_gJSUX5U_P/s1600/rockclimbing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRYt-lUSinPtBkZh_YOljtVjfnPwtrwtmskWULzARr7keMvM8_Mr5e-GpAcZEpc4u2m1JGjI4kA56NJqPF6wPxTrhhXrZNyz1xEu-J4thXCR-nYJojd3cQafTXvWkTH3AXqq_gJSUX5U_P/s400/rockclimbing.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">(yup, that is me up there)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So you see that I am not one to shy away from a physical challenge. It's probably why natural childbirth appealed to me too. Anyway, this winter I bought a mini-trampoline so I could start getting some exercise while it was too cold to get outside. It was a nice little warm up for me. But then I saw this:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">(scroll down and pause player at bottom of page to view the video)</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><object height="405" width="500"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZLK28BHJDd8&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZLK28BHJDd8&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="500" height="405"></embed></object></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Now that's what I'm talking about! Guerrilla Cardio taken to a whole new level. The dvd's have been ordered. Game on!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
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</div>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13197805393703582708noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3314122516152889159.post-80648955361465559622010-04-02T05:00:00.001-05:002010-04-02T05:00:12.007-05:00Think Outside the Bun<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtPzA7_3OsmRtnZdMhfzKeLhFbzep0_lprbKMuqOVHX1Q7y0WVDb89wk5dgNwQ2V58h3OgLefkk1hVWFZ7N-GZH2CPqJtcyXak1E5FarxmsFALZs781ckBOefLBKxkQtqCpGDVgM-SqO2C/s1600/P1010003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtPzA7_3OsmRtnZdMhfzKeLhFbzep0_lprbKMuqOVHX1Q7y0WVDb89wk5dgNwQ2V58h3OgLefkk1hVWFZ7N-GZH2CPqJtcyXak1E5FarxmsFALZs781ckBOefLBKxkQtqCpGDVgM-SqO2C/s400/P1010003.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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Another quick and easy meal. A high raw sandwich. These are romaine leaves layered with guacamole, raw cheese, mustard, grape tomatoes, shredded carrots, and raw sunflower seeds. Delicious! These are really filling and easy to customize with your own favorite raw toppings.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHeZIx5k1ryn2YshdYID3UxMOJWIgP6ohYlDw3ajBO_qey-RWdwwPW7UVoZdX4KPG0Brue5JUw989upm2-IiFpq7Hsi_yW1uyVDLI-GhxEjaZq-RuXcWrwdpuINn0WUXBZ46Y0NCErkMQK/s1600/blog+signature.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="84" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHeZIx5k1ryn2YshdYID3UxMOJWIgP6ohYlDw3ajBO_qey-RWdwwPW7UVoZdX4KPG0Brue5JUw989upm2-IiFpq7Hsi_yW1uyVDLI-GhxEjaZq-RuXcWrwdpuINn0WUXBZ46Y0NCErkMQK/s200/blog+signature.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13197805393703582708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3314122516152889159.post-31173533921679861492010-04-01T08:49:00.000-05:002010-04-01T08:49:35.571-05:00Happy Healthy Breakfast Recipe<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Let me start by saying that I am very picky about my raw food recipes. They must be easy to make and delicious or I am just not going to bother. (except for <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Raw-Uncook-Book-Vegetarian-Food/dp/0060392622/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1270127049&sr=1-3">Juliano's</a> raw carrot cake recipe, which is time consuming but soooo worth it!)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I finally have a raw breakfast cereal that fits my standards. I love it!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So do the girls...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibqLRwtLfsCXV4iiX8BTh0gVsCKsfZA0H6gC6xElkpUvDWZbWtlWfvpIY2eSzuFXPjrYIHTPUFTSuuS6nT_5xvwzcTmnKQ6OGc9ooPdPSc-s7E9ToX3LO6JWnM6zl70Tv-NHYLKvIU47eL/s1600/P1010001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibqLRwtLfsCXV4iiX8BTh0gVsCKsfZA0H6gC6xElkpUvDWZbWtlWfvpIY2eSzuFXPjrYIHTPUFTSuuS6nT_5xvwzcTmnKQ6OGc9ooPdPSc-s7E9ToX3LO6JWnM6zl70Tv-NHYLKvIU47eL/s400/P1010001.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">She took the whole mixing bowl and finished it off!<br />
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I call this easy breakfast Blueberry Cereal. This is an adaptation of Marvelous Muesli from <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1578261945/ref=s9_simh_gw_p14_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=1DER4ZM7JK523PV7DATT&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846">The Complete Book of Raw Food</a>. Here is how I make it. Bear in mind, I don't typically measure anything - I eyeball it!<br />
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In mixing bowl, dice 1 apple and 1 banana. Mix in about 1/4 - 1/3 cup fresh or frozen blueberries. (the frozen turn the cereal a nice purple color as they defrost, which the girls enjoy) <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Add 1 or 2 handfuls of raisins. </span></b>In food processor or high power blender chop 1 handful almonds and 1 handful walnuts. T<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">he almonds come out in small chunks and the walnuts come out finely chopped which makes a nice blend for the cereal. Stir well.</span></b><br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">This makes enough for me and the girls for breakfast. For the whole family to enjoy for breakfast, I just add another 1/2 apple and banana and go a little heavier on the other ingredients. You could easily substitute other nuts or berries. Yummy and filling! </span></b><br />
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</span></b></div>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13197805393703582708noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3314122516152889159.post-58030065641646633482010-03-28T08:01:00.002-05:002010-03-28T08:08:44.206-05:00Born AgainI was listening to the radio and this Third Day song came on. I love Third Day, and I love this song. It takes me back to my early thirties, those first giddy, heady years in love with the Lord. I remember clearly the first verse I ever highlighted in my Bible:<br />
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"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" - 2 Corinthians 5:17<br />
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You can see by the joy on the faces of all these people being baptized, that as the song suggests, they feel like they are living for the very first time!<br />
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(scroll to bottom of page and pause the player to view the video)<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5lu5f03heoifhGt3kzSxA4WvPgCmS-T_QVXPmAUyJhBFNv-bns7adRQ9zJx8trBczcVfYK5B0xCHLyl_0ae1ildtsOhxVqiB5SEAQ_JDn6SKS0zNLa877iO0Dp_jEggBCLcQshlxvgwR2/s1600/blog+signature.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="84" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5lu5f03heoifhGt3kzSxA4WvPgCmS-T_QVXPmAUyJhBFNv-bns7adRQ9zJx8trBczcVfYK5B0xCHLyl_0ae1ildtsOhxVqiB5SEAQ_JDn6SKS0zNLa877iO0Dp_jEggBCLcQshlxvgwR2/s200/blog+signature.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13197805393703582708noreply@blogger.com0