Tuesday, July 27, 2010

I BELIEVE!

I BELIEVE:

1. that a person doesn't need to spend the rest of their life in pain, on meds, tired, grumpy, diseased, sleepless, and in constant need of a doctor's advice.

2. that karma is a real presence and whatever energy you send out comes right back to you.

3. a healthy diet takes care of all the problems listed in #1.

4. the crippled stool is the cadillac of the pooping stool! -- Sorry! I stole that one from Larry The Cable Guy. But I do think of that every time I go into the restroom anymore. :)

5. that when you need something, you just have to ask for it, believe you will get it and you really will. I've tested this theory out repeatedly myself. It really works!!!

6. prayer works

7. the government can't fix all our personal problems, nor should it attempt to do so. If a person is struggling, they need to pray for an answer. When the answer presents itself in the form of an opportunity, the person should jump on it. I've found that prayers are usually answered in that way. You have to put forth a little effort.

8. nothing is free

9. people should make the Golden Rule, the rule they govern their lives around.

10. family is more important than ANYTHING else and all activities and endeavors should be simply to make a better life for the family.

11. marriage is a lifelong commitment, not a mate du jour!

12. raising a child is a commitment, not something to make you feel fulfilled until you get a job!!

13. more people should pay attention to their own health and stop eating artificial food like substances.

14. everyone needs a little slack sometimes.

15. everyone needs to sit still and be quiet sometimes and just listen.  Lets start right now!!! shhhhhhhhh.......



 Peace and Joy be with you now!     : v )

Monday, July 19, 2010

Dangerous Energy!




 People, especially children, are drinking more energy drinks than ever.  In fact, now millions of children are drinking Monster, RockStar, RedBull, 5 Hour Energy Shots, etc. I know my son used to drink the heck out these things. I allowed him to have one a day because I figured they have vitamins in them so they were at least better than a Coke.

However, I've since learned some things. Number One, they are not only loaded with sugar, they are also loaded up with high fructose corn syrup, sugar, and aspartame. Do Not even get me started on aspartame. I wrote another article on sweeteners so look that up if you want to know more about that dangerous little ingredient. Both High Fructose Corn Syrup and Aspartame are extremely dangerous to one's health. It should not be consumed by anyone and in particular, our children!

Next, Its full of caffeine!! We don't allow our children to drink coffee because we know how bad it is for them. So, why on earth would we allow them to load up on it in other forms??

They are also full of artificial colors and preservatives. It's my belief (just common sense if you have a basic understanding of how the body works) that your body can't process artificial ingredients. Food is the building block for every tissue in our bodies. Our bodies break down the food into small particles of sugars or amino acids, vitamins, minerals, etc and then uses it to build and repair tissue. So, when you put artificial ingredients into your body, it has to try and figure out what to do with it. Your body doesn't know what it is. It knows that it's similar to the things it needs and so it tries to use them in place of real nutrients. That just jacks up your body on a cellular level.

AND, did you know that RedBull is banned in Europe because they are so bad for you?

They cause irreparable heart damage.



IRREPARABLE. HEART. DAMAGE!!!


 Maybe you should read that again.

I only make such a big deal about this because MILLIONS of parents are letting their children have them. If you love your child, do not let them have one!

Teenagers are passing out with heart palpitations after drinking energy drinks. I would rather see my teenage son walking around with a beer in his hand than one of those energy drinks. In fact, having an energy drink is a sure-fired way to get grounded and yelled at in our home. My son absolutely loves a Monster. He would go to the store and get the big giant can because I only allowed one. The big giant can is 4 servings. *sigh*

When I learned how dangerous they are, I no longer allowed him to have them. Much wailing, begging, and gnashing of teeth occurred after that. But, as a good mom, I stood firm. The same thing happened when I banned Pop-Tarts but that's a story for another day! I was actually going to try to make Pop-Tarts from scratch. Luckily for me, I found organic toaster pastries at the health food store. Oh, Happy Day!!!!!!

Okay, back to the energy drinks! What else is lucky for my son, me and you as well, because I'm about to hook you up, is that there is a healthy alternative. It's very exciting!

Monavie's EMV is not just healthier than all those other nasty drinks, they actually taste better too!! I wouldn't lie to you about something as important as our children's health.

It has no artificial ANYTHING in it. No added sugar. No added caffeine. It is also 80% fruit juice. One can is one serving and has an anti-oxidant equivalent to 4 servings of fruit!! That's fantastic because you know your kids are not eating as much fruit as they should. The energy comes from a patented, slow release carbohydrate, green tea, and yerba mate extract. I'll tell you what Yerba Mate is because most people have never heard of it. I drink Yerba Mate tea every day. I love it and it's super healthy. I read about it first in my Yoga Journal magazine as an alternative to coffee. It has more anti-oxidants than green tea and we all know how beneficial green tea is.

And even better, for parents who are looking to cut calories, there is a light version with fewer calories and is sweetened with Stevia. I should warn you, however, that the light version is lighter because they cut out some of the fruit. So, it's only 20% fruit juice. My family drinks the original.

Also, you may be reading this and thinking to yourself 'Well, she sells it, so of course she's going to say it's good!' No! I wouldn't do that and put our children's health at risk for a buck. The reason I sell it, is BECAUSE its so good. Not the other way around.

So, in summary, DON'T ALLOW your children to buy energy drinks. Heart Disease is already on the rise. There was a study done years ago done on teens. They predict that this generation of kids won't outlive their parents! They expect them to die of heart disease. They expect them to die of heart disease before we die of anything else. So, why, why, why would we hasten the process and give them something else to kill themselves with. It seems that we are allowing our children to kill themselves. But, I will save that for another blog post.

If you want to allow them a healthy alternative let them have some Monavie Emv. Its great for adults too! My husband and I absolutely love them and have one every afternoon. I miss them when we run out. We're out now and fixing to order a bulk of them for the best price. You can learn more at my Monavie website on the left. Check it out!!









Saturday, July 10, 2010

Sugar Free No Bake Cheesecake Pie!!

Last weekend was 4th of July and some family friends, my son, and I all headed over the river to Winstar Casino to have a pre-fireworks tailgate party. It was immensely fun!! We all brought food. We had a little wine, hung out, chatted, and laughed. The food was excellent. Sue brought a little grill and some sausages. Monty and Mel brought some homemade hummus and venison burgers and tomatoes from their garden. YUMMMM! and I brought chicken salad, a gingery jicama salad, and a sugar free, no bake cheesecake pie. The pie was absolutely delicious!!! I would show you a picture of it, but we ate it too fast!!!! It's basically pretty healthy and even better, quick and easy! So, I'm sharing it with you here.

Here's what you need:

1 cup finely ground graham cracker crumbs


1 cup pecan sandies cookies

3 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons xylitol

8 ounces cream cheese

1/3 cup xylitol

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream, whipped

Here's what you do with all that stuff:

1.In a bowl, mix together crushed cookies and graham crackers with melted butter and the 3 tablespoons xylitol.


2.Press into a 9 inch pie pan. Place in refrigerator until ready for use.

3.In another bowl, beat cream cheese, 1/3 cup of xylitol and lemon juice.

4.Whip cream, and fold into cream cheese mixture.

5.Spread into pie crust.

6.Freeze for 1 hour, covered with foil.

7.Place in refrigerator 30 minutes before serving.
 
It went fast cuz it was goooooood!!!! I have to say that it's not TOTALLY  sugar free because there is sugar in the graham crackers and cookies for the crust. You could probably substitute ground nuts in place ot the cookies to make it even healthier. I may try that next time I make it. Its a great, summery dessert that's not quite as heavy as a regular, baked cheesecake. Do yourself a favor and make one tonight. If you do, let me know how you liked it!!

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Mushrooms!! Who knew??

This is CRAZY!!!! and very interesting! Well, for me anyway, because I'm all about how food can be used to heal the body. I'm of the opinion that nature provides everything we need to be healthy. With the onset of fast and convenient foods we have lost the ability to use food to maintain health. So, now we have to continually search out these foods. Here's one for ya!! Guess what it is.... Go on, Guess!!!

It's a mushroom!! Wait, you cheated! It was in the title. Its called Lion's Mane mushroom.


The cool thing about this mushroom, besides the way it looks, is that it is super nutritious!

Did you know that a mushroom has a DNA profile more similar to humans than plants??? Isn't that amazing?
Mushrooms, as you probably know, are a fungus. But what prompted me to write this is I was reading my Well Being Journal yesterday in between bouts of manic housecleaning. And I found an article about this mushroom. It's being studied right now with positive results in people with Alzheimer's and Dementia. It's shown to work just as well and sometimes even better than the prescription drugs currently being used to treat these diseases. And there are no side effects.

Basically, this mushroom actually grows nerve cells. That's pretty big news!

This mushroom has been used for years in traditional Chinese medicine. In 2005 a study on rats showed that compounds in the mushroom have antioxidant properties, may lower blood lipid levels, and even reduce blood glucose levels. It also showed to stimulate nerve growth and myelination.

In case you don't know, the myelin is the sheath that covers the nerves. Think of an extension cord. The electrical wires (your nerves) are wrapped in a rubber, insulating sheath (myelin). People with Multiple Sclerosis usually have lesions in the myelin. When there is a gap in the myelin the signal from the brain to the muscles get "lost" making it difficult for people with MS to use their muscles properly. I know this because my husband has MS. We're treating it naturally without drugs too by the way. More effectively than the drugs I might add!!

So, the mushroom thing is very exciting news!!

We'll need to keep an eye on this. I know a lot people are super skeptical of natural methods and will want to talk to their doctors first. I say, from a safety standpoint and advice giver go ahead, that's a good idea. I, however, will just jump in and try it. It's a mushroom, for goodness' sake!! It's food. I never consult my doctor before eating food, because my doctor doesn't know jack diddly about food matters. He knows drugs.
My husband's neurologist told him that aspartame was very safe because its FDA approved. Are you kidding me?? We almost broke out into a fist fight over that little argument. Everyone in the know, knows that aspartame is absolutely not safe!!! A neurologist should know better.

Okay, enough ranting!! Doesn't it seem like every post I submit has a rant? Sorry, I try to contain myself. I just can't seem to help myself.

Back to the good news!! They sell the mushroom extract in a pill form. You can order it from amazon.com at the top of this post. You can also get it from iherb.com. I get tea from there. Its a reputable company.

If you try it, let me know how it works for you! 

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Holiday Weekend


Happy Independence Day!!!!!!!


It's 4th of July weekend and guess what I'm doing? Well, of course, right now I'm blogging. But, I'm just taking a break from what I was doing earlier, which was working!!! I'm a little cranky and bitter about that.

I know there are lots of other people working today and not complaining about it. But, the difference is that they got a day off during the week. I didn't. I'm not blaming anyone for it and I really have no one to be cranky AT. I'm just very tired. No one is making me work. I chose to do it, because I own my business. That is what this post is about, really. It's not about me complaining about being exhausted and working anyway. However, if you want to feel a little sorry for me while you're swimming and cooking out that would be appreciated! :) Just a little "awwwwww".

It's about those of us who own our businesses. We scrimp. We save. We re-invest our money and work sometimes seven days a week, 12 hours a day to build a business and a better life for ourselves and our families. Here's a little history about my work schedule.

We used to live northeast of McKinney, Texas where I was the fitness coordinator for the McKinney Family YMCA. I loved it. We moved to Gainesville, Texas where the only place to workout was Bosco's Gym. I taught aerobics, did a little personal training, and homeschooled our son. I loved it! We then decided to start our own company, Pearson Pools, a swimming pool service business. This is where the real work begins!!

We started by running an ad in the local newspaper advertising our service and bought about $300 in supplies. That was the start of our company. I learned how to do all the service work and over the years hired a few people to help us out, mostly in the summer as you can imagine. Melanie has been with us since about year 2 and is truly a God-send! Our business has steadily grown over the years and at our 5 year anniversary we opened a retail store. That was exciting and scary all at the same time. I had been telling my husband for years that the store would do well. He is very cautious and conservative and was a little afraid to quit his job and jump in. He lost his job last year selling cars for GM (Government Motors) and that was the perfect time to open the store. It's time to sink or swim! Ha! funny, huh? Get it, a swimming pool business.....sink or swim.....? Oh well, never mind!

So, we've now had the store open for a little over a year and it's been fantastically busy. The winter was a little skinny but we've been able to keep food on the table and a roof over our head. So, our business continues to grow and bank account is starting to look a little better and we are working ourselves ragged to keep it going. The ultimate goal is to grow it big enough to hire more people to take over some of our responsibilities so we can have regular days off. But, right now, a lot of our money goes into savings.

Okay, so that's where we are in the business. We are saving money because at home, all 1200 sq ft of it, my son's bathroom needs to be re-modeled. The tub leaks and there is mold growing in his walls. The flooring in the whole house needs to be replaced. The kitchen sports some old linoleum while the living room is just plywood at the moment. There is carpet in the bedrooms but it really needs to go as well. The back door has fallen off and has to stay shut and locked so we don't have a huge, gaping hole in the wall where there is supposed to be a door. The siding is literally eroding away and every single tree on our 9 acre property needs to be trimmed. AND..... and... to top it all off we are watching an old tv that really belongs to my son (we commandered it from his room. I think I'll get him a nice one for his birthday coming up). The tv was free and is old and the picture is now completely washed out and we have no more tivo!!! Oh, the humanity!!!!!

We haven't taken time off or a vacation since we started the business, either.

I know lots of entrepreneurs are in the same boat as us. That is just part of it. You have to work really hard now so you can take a little break later. We're still in the work really hard phase. But, it seems like we're getting close to being able to take a break and get help repairing the house. We are even talking about booking a cruise in February!!!!

Isn't that the American Dream?? Save, work hard, and reward yourself???

It seems there's been a shift in our country. People are living on credit cards, taking the vacation first, and then working for it. The problem with that is when you reward yourself first, you have no incentive to work for it anymore......It's gone! You are left paying for nothing.

Millions of people are doing that very thing. They play and buy nice things for their homes. Build bigger and better homes and THEN pay for it. They have a hard time paying for these things and then expect the government to pay for those things for them. It's sad, because more and more people are falling into that trap.
They fall into that trap and then people like me (working on a holiday) are left holding the bag and have to pay for it.
So many, in fact, that a president who believes that "those who can, should pay for those that can't" gets elected to ruin  run our country. I submit that it should be phrased differently. It should be phrased "those who will and those who won't". Not everyone today is going to get up, get dressed, leave the lake or the grill and go do some work.!

There's real hope though!!! There is a movement that wants to take back America and all that she stands for! The Tea Party movement is a massive group of Americans that believe in the Constitution and the Pledge of Allegiance. We, who work and save, are called radicals to those that believe "they can't". We are not radicals. We are the backbone of this nation.  We love our country. We love the principles that this country was founded on and we are willing to fight for it. God Bless America!!

Now, I have to go back to work.