Our almost hike

We had a nice escape to the cooler weather for a day. We had to wait in our car for the storm to clear so we could enjoy it, but once it did we got to run around in a little snow. We had planned to hike but it was too cold for Triton to be in it for a long period of time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urgjpfAI-2c

Little laundry tricks

I get regular updates from Dr Mercola that are mostly health related. Today he had one about how to end laundry chaos that was a fun little read. I had more ideas to add though, especially for those of us who have children.

I have taught my boys to put their own clothes in the laundry basket, and they sort them into the right color section too! This is so easy a 3 year old or even younger can do this I promise. I can't tell you how much easier this made my life.

Then if your children are like mine they love to get into their clothes and change several times a day. That's fine with me as long as they put them back. I have let them know that certain clothes are off limits like the ones hanging up that are hard for them to put back.

I have a shoe rack by my front door. No shoes in my house. That's where my baby crawls, yuck! When we lived in Utah we had a shelf and hooks in the garage before you came into the house, but this house didn't have an area for it. So it may be a bit of an eye sore but it makes our lives functional and provides a clean place to put things. I put two pretty baskets on top of it with the boys names on them, so they can put their clothes in their basket and they can wear them again later. When we come in the door they always strip down to their underwear and you know this if you've seen our videos. That's just how they are comfortable.

Lastly, I get them involved when I fold laundry. They put their own clothes away. Thanks to Kristal for this idea. I don't have cute little tags though. I've taught them what goes where. They have an underwear, sock, shorts drawer, etc. They don't like to put it away, but I give them the speech about how mommy likes to go to the park with them and color with them, and I wash their clothes for them so they can put them away so mommy can do fun things with them. It always works. They just need to be reminded why they are expected to do it. However they do love helping fold dish towels, so I get unsolicited help there.

What do you do to make laundry time easier? We all know it takes up a good portion of our lives. They always come out with those statistics about how long we spend sitting in traffic or using the restroom. I wonder how many years of our lives we spend doing laundry on average.

Red Bull gives you wings?

I am always harping about coffee and other stimulants to the people I love, and it wasn't until recently that I was able to pester them guilt free. I have only had decaf since I've been pregnant and nursing, but it is still full of sugar and other poisonous ingredients, and none of it is organic! For over a month, maybe two I have not had any coffee! My husband just drinks them in front of me while I enjoy my organic tea. I love the comfort of a warm caramel macci-wait make that HOT caramel macciato as much as anybody, and I savor my iced white chocolate mocha's on hot days. We've all been told how a Starbuck's coffee can cost us as much as a thousand of our calories that day, but we try to put it out of our mind while we savor our forbidden treat. Even though I love them I let them go, for the love of my children. Everything I do is for them. I feel sad that my husband used to hate coffee and after sharing mine for so many years he's created his own addiction that has yet to be broken. He used to get very angry if he found out I'd had a coffee at work, and now look how the tables have turned. Now tell me that's not the token of a drug.

So when I read about Red Bull having cocaine in it, I thought of all the people I know who drink it. I used to love Red Bull and even better are Rockstar's. When we would go boating at the lake I would buy us a case to burn through. Forget the beer, I like being hyper!! I was hoping now I would have another fact to tell those loved ones about this high in a can. After reading the article I was a little disappointed. It gave me nothing good to repeat to them to break their addiction, but then I thought about it, and the stuff still sucks. Just because the traces of cocaine are minuscule that doesn't mean they aren't bad, and it doesn't mean that caffeine doesn't increase heart rate and blood pressure and doesn't induce heart attacks, strokes and respiratory illness.

No matter how you put it caffeine wreaks havoc on our bodies. I believe it is just a legal drug. I find it very addictive myself. I hope to never fall into that rut of needing my daily buzz to get through the day again. Besides, since I've been staying away from cooked and processed foods I've been having plenty of energy.

My first post

I think I'll use something old here, just to see how this works:

I thought I'd make a list of some raw foods you may want to try. All can be found at health foods stores unless I notate. Make sure you get everything organic. This list doesn't include all of the yummy greens and produce you should be buying. When I go into a regular grocery store, the food packages all look like toys now. It's a very odd experience, and this is someone who refused to shop at Whole Foods 6 years ago. My husband was so wonderful to provide so well for us and wanted me to buy organic foods there. I wanted my "normal" lifestyle. I hate change, what can I say!

Hempseeds
Raw Agave
Raw Cacao Nibs/Powder/Butter-some in store, online too
Coconut Water
Chlorella nuts
Raw nut butters-cashew, pine nut (almond must be purchased online if you want it TRULY raw, US almonds are gassed)
Raw honey-you may eat honey, why not get raw next time?
Raw herbs and spices instead of dried-parsley, garlic (I go through a bulb every few days)
Dried fruits and veggies-great snack for kids
Dulse flakes-(seaweed)
Himalayan salt
Yacon syrup
Raw Coconut oil
Goji berries
Raw flax crackers
Sundried tomatoes
Ezekiel or Spelt breads
Raw cheeses and milk
PROBIOTICS-buy liquid ones, they're great
Raw revolution bars rock-you can get on amazon
Powdered green drinks for busy days-Berry green by New Chapter Organics
Fresh lemons and limes-throw out that poionous reallemon Stuff
Nuts-make sure they're raw! and soak alomonds and walnuts (some others too) overnight

Some other things to consider for your health are that it's more important what you eliminate, than what you add. This list is substantially longer, but I will list things that come to mind.
High fructose corn syrup
Pesticides-grown into your produce, or the ones you use for critters
Sugar
Gluten-I'm slowly getting rid of this one
Chlorine in your shower, and drinking water-you need to make sure you are drinking as healthy water as possible and showering in it too.

After much research I believe reverse osmosis followed by an ionizer is best. This will cost you around $2200 total, and unfortunately it's the most important.

Fluoride and other toxins need to be filtered out and then alkalized by the ionizer. Look into alkaline vs acidic water. Very important to survive our ever toxic environment. If you start researching and wonder about distilled, it is acidic. No good for your body.

Meat and dairy-okay alot won't like this, but it has been proven that cancers thrive in an environment where the body is consuming these things. Make your own almond milk instead of the traditional kind, and start by eating one meatless meal a week like eggplant parmesean.

Plastic!!! BPA's are dangerous. Throw away all of your children's poisonous cups and plates immediately. BPA's cause early puberty, cancers and many other things. They leach out of all those adorable plastic cups we hand to our babies. Get bamboo and stainless steel for the little ones, and teach them how to use glasses and plates like you as soon as possible. I started my son on glasses at 1 1/2 years old, and he broke his first one tonight at age 3 1/2. Store your foods in mason jars and pyrex. Don't use plastic wrap.

Want to get serious about health??? Juice yourself healthy!!! Get a juicer (I can help if you need to know what's good). You can get enormous amounts of greens this way. Lots of yummy live enzymes to help alkalize your body.

Make smoothies- throw some greens and hempseeds in there

Hygeine products!!-get chemical free ones! Your deodorant is dangerous, storing aluminum deep in your pores, and why?? The healthy stuff works just as well. My favorite is CRYSTAL, but I have other kinds that work too.

Toothpaste, fluoride is the main ingredient in prozac. Throw away your crest. It is doing crazy things to your thyroid and your brain. I like Nature's Gate.

Soaps and shampoos, look at the ingredients, they are crazy!! I use California baby.

Lotions-I use coconut oil. My son and I have eczema. Tamanu oil helps keep his rash under control, but not gone. I still refuse to use steroids on him. A little rash won't hurt him like the steroids will. I cheat sometimes and use Aveeno, but am open to any suggestions!!! PLEASE!! :)

Feed your children this way too! There isn't one thing I listed that my raw babies won't eat! They drink their greens, eat salads, take their probiotics and fish oils-ALL of it! They will want to be like you!

Thank you aunt Faith!! If it weren't for you I would have continued eating organic, but my road to get where I am would have taken alot longer than 7 months. You saved my family's life! I pretty much wrote a book, so there's my dedication.Okay that's it for now. That all came off the top of my head so I'm sure I'll think of more. Whew! Start a trend. Let me know about the healthy things you've found that work. I wish someone would write stuff like this for me. Alot of research has gone into finding all of these products, and I have been the tester! :) We should help each other in our quest for health.