Eat, Drink & Be Merry

Good morning folks. Gosh it is so good to have Dear Hubby back home. Healthy and on the mend. You should see him, his color is good and he can breath again. Makes me smile so much. So I thought today I would share with you so many ways to help take good care of yourself.  I have quite a line up of goodies that are able to help out in so many ways.  I hope you find something here you like.  I know we did.

So let's get started.  First I will tell you (and you already know it) we have to hydrate.  Water is the most important drink we can consume.  And there are tons of them on the market now.  Gosh, if you had told me as a kid that we would pay for water I would have said you was nuts.  I mean buy a soda, sure!  Buy bottled water, NO WAY!  But we do.  I can understand why even.  Have you ever tasted the water where I live?  Unlimited lake water and sure taste just like it.  YUCK!  But I do not need the extras either.  I mean flavor yes, sugar no, caffeine no.  I love the taste of HINT water.  You can get it at Starbucks around here.  They have great fruit flavors with my favorite being Strawberry Kiwi.  It is funny because right now that is the Yogi bottle.  You know, Yogi and Boo-Boo!  Loved that cartoon when I was young.  There is a new 3 D movie coming out for Yogi on December 13th and you can win free tickets from HINT.  Just go to www.drinkhint.com/yogi.

Speaking of no added caffeine there is a new energy drink on the horizon too.  College Girl loves it chilled and has been carrying it to campus with her.  MODJO 4LIFE is made with natural flavors and organic cane juice.  It also has Resveratrol in it which comes from the skin of red grapes....good for your heart folks.  Add in the antioxidants, electrolytes and vitamins and you have a winning combination.  CG says the flavor is great and she seems to be thriving on it during this busy season of plays, class work and projects she is currently working on.  There is also a Modjo Life Natural Energy shot that is caffeine free.  CG says it works but does not care for the heavy taste.  Of course she is not a energy shot kinda girl.  She thought it would have been better if she had it chilled too.

I was happy to have some snacks while I was waiting in the hospital for Dear Hubby.  I felt worried and drained.   I did not have much of an appetite but knew I needed to keep up my energy too.  Thankfully I had some of the bars from Wings of Nature.  They are organic health bars that are not heated when being made.  So none of the ingredients loose their raw potential.  I also love that they were gluten free, cholesterol free, no trans fats, vegetarian and low in sodium.  Gosh, I did wonder if they were so "free" of  things how would they taste?  But I do have to say I loved two of them very much.  Of course if you know me you would know that the Espresso Coffee Bar had my name all over it.  Great flavor and a true feeling of indulgence when I ate it.  My other fav was the Cranberry Crunch Bar.  I love cranberries and we all know this is the season for them.  I was not as thrilled with the Almond Raisin Bar even though I love almonds and raisins.  But the lil sesame seeds where not to my taste.

One more thing that I really loved using while I was away from home.  It is the Bryton Pick.  This is a great lil jewel.  It is a way to floss your teeth but not have all that string to carry with you.  This took up the same amount of space as my debit card does in my wallet.  But I can pull it out and floss (I did go to the bathroom to do it!) after my meals and snacks.  I was not having to feel bad about not being able to take care of my teeth while I was away from home.  And since it is my own lil pick, I just rinse it, dry it and store it for reuse.  Great idea!

So what have you found lately that seems to be a go to for replenishing your thirst or hunger?  I keep trying to find different things that I will enjoy to take away my guilty pleasures of candy and sodas.  I am not horrid on them but I do enjoy them very much.  I will say that with this season of parties, meals and get togethers we are having to find the good things to fill our bodies with.

All of these products were sent to me to review.  No financial compensation was given.
I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. Tomoson Product review & giveaway Disclosure.

Help Balancing Work and Sleep

You are aware how much Dear Hubby works.  At an almost never home pace between the two jobs.  I am sure you may wonder if we ever see each other.  Well we do.  When he is getting ready in the morning, changing in the late afternoon and crawling into bed in the evening.  Yes, it can be that bad for weeks at a time.

So how does he keep going?  Some days I am unsure.  He drinks lots of water to keep hydrated.  He knows he has to do this to support his children too.  But he has to have some help.  You know those lil energy shots?  Yeah those....the ones that promise 5 hours of get up and go without the crash?  Well eventually you always crash.  But, we have found a better alternative to them.  Instead of massive amounts of caffeine and sugar there is a healthy alternative.   Honestly....and they work too. 

We tried Wheatgrass BOOST first.  This last week Dear Hubby had to be at job #1 early so that was waking up an hour earlier than normal.  So he hit the alarm clock at 5 a.m. and I help drag him out of bed.  Shower, shave and his various assundries while he was getting dressed.  Then out the door.  He had to do a store order and bank run at lunch time so there was not rest for the weary there.  But he did eat lunch on the run.  After job #1 he dashed home.  Took time to drink down his Wheatgrass BOOST and then jumped into the shower.  Changed into uniform for job #2 and dashed back out the door.   I popped up to the job site with dinner for him so he is still getting his nutrition.  But sad to say it was 12:30 a.m. before he could drag him self home.  What was different?  Well, he told me he had energy to get through a full shift of job 2.  And so far had not experienced a crash like before.  Great! 

We went another couple of days with the back and forth til he ended up with the I am tired but too tired to sleep.  You have been there haven't you?  Where you have gone so much that you have hit your second, third and fourth wind already.  That is not good when you have only so many hours to sleep.  Thankfully there was at least 8 hours for him to rest this time.  But he had to get in bed and go to sleep.  It did not look like that was going to happen at all.  This time we tried the all natural Peaceful Sleep shot.  Yep, one to go and one to stop.  He was not too sure this would work, but guess what.  I was laughing because in 15 minutes he was sound out.  And he did sleep all night.  The next morning I was ready for the sleep hangover.  But no!  He woke, stretched and was happy to have had one of the best nights he could remember in a very long time.  Wow!

I am now looking at our local health food stores for these two products.  I know I can order them online.  Just trying to see if we can get them any easier.  I promise he will not be doing those other energy shots anymore.  And I hope he gets a good nights sleep at least once a week.  I am going to say a great big thank you to AgroLabs for sending me the two samples.  Wonder if they want to send a case next time?  Ha Ha!

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Staying Green All Year Long

How Green is your home? How about the habits your teaching your children? Or the effect we all have on those around us. Of course we want to preserve the Earth but sometimes we are not sure just what to do. Or are aware of home much lil things help.

Well here is a great everyday hint. The Green Year provides 365 simple and inexpensive eco-friendly ideas for each day of the year. Organized by date, the green living tips suggest small changes and environmentally friendly ideas that make a big green impact. The Green Year is more than a calendar. It offers practical, affordable and engaging activities that help make going green a blessing rather than a burden. Jodi Helmer, the author, is a freelance writer who specializes in writing about eco-friendly topics. She is the co-author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Green Careers and a professional speaker who offers workshops on green issues.

For today the daily hint is to check you pilot lights. Letting us remember that gas appliances have pilot lights that need to be working efficiently. You will save energy and money by making sure the pilot light is not clogged up. And tomorrows hint is one I practice all year long. By keeping my freezer filled with fresh vegetables purchased during season I save money. The other news is that when your freezer is full it runs more efficiently.

In addition to these easy green suggestions, readers will find:

• The reasons for each activity—what makes it good for the environment and the reader?
• A quick how-to for any activity that requires it.
• Room for readers to write in their own creative alternatives.

Now the great news is that I have 5 copies of The Green Year to share with you. If you would like to win a copy then please share on of your green ideas here on my comments. (This is mandatory to enter.) You can also have extra entries too. Additional entries can all be done with a separate comment for each for following, having my button, twittering, links on face book, sending others to the giveaway (they have to credit you) and blogging about this great giveaway. Make sure that I can contact you some how in order to let you know if your the winner.

WHEW! WHEW! WHEW!

Here is another quickie.

Never thought you would get a quickie out of me huh? LOL!

Ok, diet, exercise, clean and more.
Cousin made it to a room out of ICU last night and bullied his way home today? I don't know how!

Tomorrow, kids to school, roommate to work, check on cousin, then....
some how work out,
keep diet,
see if cuz needs to go to Temple to VA doctor?
Finish laundry for Mary's B & B.
Do more laundry here,
Still need to put up all of CG's stuff from dorm room.

Juls, pray for me to have energy please.
Nessa thanks for helping me stay on track.
CG thanks for helping me out so much.

READERS, THANK YOU for sticking around when I am so behind in checking out everyone's blogs!!!!!!!!!!!

Well I think I am ok?

Today is doing better. Actually have some energy. Even if it is nervous energy. Living with a breath that is half taken, waiting for a call that will allow me to take all the air in. I have spent most of my life feeling that I just don't deserve air. That alone is more than I can have, a full breath of air. Do you have any idea what it is like to have to convince yourself that air is allowed to all. No wonder that when I feel like not living I choose to suffocate. Refuse to have air. I remember as a small child how I hid in corners, under tables and behind furniture. Holding my breath so that no one will notice me there. And the longer I held it the safer I was. But of course at some time I had to breath out. So I would crouch there, listening to my family, and try and take the shallowest of breathes and hold on to them. Then slowly let the air out. I could not make noise. They would find me. And then all the pain would start again. At 3, 4 or 5 years old you do not understand that you should feel safe. You just know what life has given you. Pain is what you see, feel, eat and breath then pain is what life is. I still fight the urge to find somewhere to crouch down at where no one can see me. To breath the shallowest of breathes and hold on to it for all time. I have a loving husband and a wonderful daughter who want me to be happy. To know I can breath all the air I want. To not hide or disappear. I am lucky. I am healing and continue to see that life is not what you know it to be as a child. That as an adult you can choose what course in life you want. Today is doing better. Today I breath.