The Beginning of the End

'It' hasn't actually ended yet. What is 'it'?  My life, as it is now.  Read on.

It's been quite a few weeks since my last blog.  All the holiday frivolity and busyness takes up a lot of time, dontcha think?  Even if I wanted to blog (of course I wanted to blog) I was too occupied to hold on to, let alone nurture, a coherent thought that had nothing to do with wrapping paper or red and green sprinkles.

So now that I'm here, sitting in front of the Christmas tree I haven't taken down yet, I'm not really sure what to blog about.  I mean, there are a gazillion subjects I could easily write about, but trying to add that personal twist in is always a challenge.  I decided its finally time to come clean and describe how I came to be...well...me.  How did I get all chemical-paranoid and organically-freaky?  Inquiring minds want to know, right?  I'm hoping so.  This is the first part of an undetermined series of blogs, maybe 2 or 3.  We'll see.


Part I

This is essentially what we call in Shaklee 'My Two-Minute Story'.  When we do a presentation we start out with how we were introduced to healthy living and/or Shaklee products, etc etc.  This is more or less the story I tell.  It's true, by the way.  And it's probably not very funny.

A couple years ago, at about 15 weeks,  I had my 5th miscarriage.  When I came home from the hospital I was an absolute mess.  Besides being physically messed up, I was an emotional wreck.  I had the usual post-tragedy questions...why me?  Why again?  What is wrong with me?  Why can't anyone give me any answers?  WHAT the F*CK?

When you're in the state of mind that I was, you'll desperately search everywhere and anywhere for some closure.  So when your doctor doesn't know the answers, where do you turn?  The all-knowing internet, of course.   I did search after search, looking for information, looking for an answer, finding tons of information and answers that didn't apply to me.  Everyone else HAD an answer, but for me there was none.  I sat at my computer and cried.  Like...Every. Day.  I was told 'try not to think about it', or 'it was meant to be', and no matter how well meaning those words are, they don't help. At all.

One day one of my searches brought me to a website I still frequent - www.ewg.org.  It's the Environmental Working Group website, and it is just chock full of informational goodness about everything that has to do with health and environment and chemicals and their effects on your body and the planet and everything else you can possibly think of.  They even have a sister website - Skin Deep Cosmetics Database - where you can look up your existing products and find out just how bad they really are.  I read.  And I read.  I followed links, searched searches, keyed words.  And I learned SO MUCH.  I've blogged about a lot of what I learned, and am still learning every day, and if I talk to you in person there's no doubt that you've heard it from me over and over again.  I like to beat dead horses, okay?  If I was to start telling you the things that can happen to your body from the products that you use in your home and on your body, we would be here for DAYS.  The chemicals we are exposed to in our daily lives have such a huge impact on our health and our bodies in ways that may never even occur to us! 

Of course fertility is one of them. 

That first day I learned that one of the biggest offenders is household cleaning products.  We are in our homes more than anywhere else, and that is where the majority of our exposure comes from.  We breathe the air, wear the clothes, sleep on the sheets, eat off the dishes.  Within a day or two I had all of our toxic cleaners boxed up and stuffed in a corner of the garage.  I went to the store and replaced them with non-chlorine bleach, laundry detergent without certain ingredients, and $5 bottles of all-purpose cleaner.  It was all shiny and new, and I was ok with it for a while even though it wasn't the most effective stuff in the world. But I was dedicated, so I stuck with it.

Then I learned about body products, too.  Chemical-filled shampoos and soaps and lotions, oh my!  Our skin is the largest organ we have, and it's absorbent.  So when we slather it with chemicals (or sit in a bathtub that was cleaned with toxic chemicals!), those chemicals all get absorbed into us.   

WTF are they doing in there?  Nothing but trouble. 

I dumped all our Herbal Essences and Bath and Body Works and Zest and Lever into a bag and went shopping again and replaced all those items with 'all-natural' options.  I had been having a major skin issue around that time too, and every time I would shampoo my hair, the skin on my shoulders would absolutely be ON FIRE.  When I switched to the natural, non-perfumed, non-chemical stuff, the burning subsided.  Of course, that is a whole different blog you can look forward to about Candida.  (Just check out this list of symptoms!  Candida is horrendous.  Contact me for help on this one.)

Is chemical exposure responsible for my miscarriages?  Who knows.  I'm sure it could never be proven that that is specifically what caused them.  All the chlorine bleach, optical brighteners, preservatives, synthetic scents, and everything else I've been exposed to my whole life... could I have come out completely unscathed?  I doubt any of us have.  Maybe that's why today's cancer rate is 1 in 2.  Ya think? 

I can't say that de-chemicalizing our lives has made a huge difference for ME, but I'm hoping that by keeping their chemical exposure as minimal as is possible, that MY children don't have to go through what I have had to.  That MY daughter doesn't have to deal with the heartbreak of losing baby after baby.  That MY son doesn't get cancer or a brain tumor or Parkinson's disease.  Considering the rate of exposure we all deal with from every direction, the least I can do is make sure they get as little as possible at home.  We are CONSTANTLY inundated with toxins in every shape and form...(don't even get me started on food!)  And if we have the choice we shouldn't have to live with them too. 

This is MY choice, and it is this knowledge and these experiences that have made me who I am today.


To be continued...

This Winter Layer Ain't Cashmere

Brought out your fat pants yet?  I have.  I'm having a real problem, not just in the wardrobe department, but with food.  It just tastes so damn GOOD.  Thanksgiving through New Year's should just be called Food Season.  I even insisted we go with the shorter, wider Christmas tree this year just so I can stand next to it and look lithe and wonderful.  Ha!  Hopeless, I know.

I also fell off the workout wagon.  A couple months ago I sprained my right ankle, then a couple weeks later I sprained my right big toe pretty badly.  Then of course there was the big blistery burn I got when I dropped boiling spaghetti sauce on my right foot, and the possible fracture I sustained when I tried to catch a full *glass* jar of peanut butter with my right foot.  Toes don't like being smashed like that...they're still talking about it.  Sorry, right foot.  I didn't mean it.

It was easy to justify not working out when I couldn't do half the workouts in my classes, but despite my foot's propensity for injury, I haven't gone back now that I'm pretty much healed and fully capable.  At this point it is just laziness, though the couple of pounds I've put on isn't motivating me to go out in public in stretchy pants, either. 

This time of year there is some magical, mystical force that forces us to shove food down our throats when it isn't physiologically necessary.  I have succumbed to the force...even joined the Dark Side.  We're putting on our winter layer.  No, truly, we are putting on a winter layer of fat as insulation, to acclimatize our bodies.  Your body wants you to gain weight.  It's for real science, dude.  Hormone regulation and fat storage are way different in winter than in spring or summer.  Your body's production of Leptin gets all screwed and your body thinks its starving.  I know, right?!  WTF!  So your body produces appetite stimulating hormones so you eat more.

Its a goddam biological conspiracy!

I'm not saying this weight gain is healthy for us, no no.  Let's not get carried away.  I'm just giving an excuse for the lapses in judgement we suffer when standing in front of a table full of luscious, ooey gooey chocolately fruity frosted cream filled desserts.  Science.

With all the holiday gatherings going on, it's easy to load up on all the appetizers, booze, rich foods, booze, desserts, boozy desserts, dessert-y booze... and it's adding up.  FAST.  What's a fatty to do?!

My big idea is to eat healthier at home between all the parties.  I tried not eating at all and ended up binging at the end of the day, so I scratched that plan.  Of course working out at least a little bit would help compensate for the 7,000 (so I heard!) calories I consumed at Thanksgiving, and in leftovers every day thereafter for at least 4 days.  Yesterday at the grocery store I bought the monster pack of salad for $5, hoping the price would inspire me not to let it rot in the produce drawer of my fridge.  We'll have to see about that.

I'm so not going to get all preachy on you and say this is the perfect time to start some insane workout program, but if you're suffering like I am, here's a couple things to think about doing for damage control:

1.  Lighten the f*ck up.  Stress is one of the biggest factors in weight gain.  Need some help?  STRESS RELIEF.  It works.  I take it A LOT.  Also, levels of seratonin drop in the winter, causing you to experience all kinds of bullshit.  Try some Vitamin D!

2.  Take only cash to the grocery store.  This will (hopefully) force you to forego the junky empty calorie snack foods which tend to be kind of pricey.  *Disclaimer:  Do NOT go to the store with 400 bucks in your pocket. 

3.  Go walk around the block.  Just once.

4.  If you're at a food holiday party, have your steak or other main protein course, but go waaaay light on the creamy side dishes.  Load up on the cleanest-looking vegetables on the table. And eat them first.  The veggies will take up some valuable real estate in your stomach and keep you from overeating the bad stuff.

5.  Last but not least, when you're out shopping and get hungry do NOT swing into the nearest fat food joint.  Throw a protein meal bar or snack bar and a bottle of water in your purse.  It's enough to hold you over till you can get home and eat some of that $5 salad.

Don't forget...stuff like B vitamins regulate your blood sugar and keep cravings down and energy up.  My suggestion is to take two every morning.  If you like hot or cold tea, try this...a little caffeine + hunger suppressant = happiness.

Now go get 'em, tigers!

In-Flu...a diet??

I had food poisoning a couple weeks ago, after eating some apparently toxic pizza.  It was not a pleasant experience, of which I am sure many of you are aware.  As I was laying on the bathroom floor, freezing cold and sweating buckets, I had this crazy thought:  'This sucks but at least I'll lose a couple pounds and wake up with a flat stomach'.

Call it sick-brain talking.  Call it delusional.  Call it whatever you want, but don't deny that you haven't thought it yourself.  I'm actually pretty impressed that I was lucid enough to have purposely thought that little bit of genius.

Now that cold and flu season are imminent, people are rushing out all over the place to get shot up with the flu du jour, getting stocked on medicines and fluids and all.  Getting flu shots is totally a personal preference, and though I can site a zillion articles about why flu shots are bad, it's my opinion and a touchy subject and I really don't feel like getting into it.  My family doesn't get them.  Period.

Naturally (no pun intended) we do other things like diet, supplement, exercise, etc. to make sure we have healthy immune systems and when something does come our way we fight it and treat it, and drink our Performance (Shaklee's version of Gatorade), let it run its course, and if anything were to get out of hand there's the urgent care department at the docs office.  We eat good and take our vitamins and probiotics like good little anti-flu shot folks, but no matter what we do, germs will continue to float around like crazy.  Especially for those with kids in school with their sticky hands all touching everything all the time, precautions must be taken.  Hand washing is obviously important, using tissues and your coughing corner, cleaning and disinfecting your surfaces constantly (and safely!), etc. etc.  More common sense stuff that everyone knows.  Or should know.  If you don't, you've got problems.

Considering the candy-binge holiday that is in our very recent history, let me tell you a little tidbit about sugar and your immune system.  They don't get along.  You know how people say Vitamin C helps when you have a cold or flu cause it boosts your immune system?  Then they reach for the orange juice and all their problems are solved, right?  Wrong.  Vitamin C is good, yes.  But do me a favor and stay away from fruit juices.  Why?  Cause sugar puts your immune system right to sleep.  There have been studies done, so I'm not just making this up, specifically with orange juice, that prove this.  So just do yourself a favor and skip the juice, try a Vitamin C supplement and call it a day.

No matter what precautions we take, there is still always the chance that we can (will) contract the flu and spend a minimum of 24 hours barfing and shitting our guts out, not eating anything, laying in bed sweating and being gross and stinky and feeling like poo.

But honestly...how many of you have had the thought that if your kids DO bring home the flu (again) this year and you spend a couple days taking care of them and ultimately yourself doing the above mentioned activities...at least you'll lose a couple pounds?! 

Don't get me wrong, I'm not in any saying that you should purposely go out and get yourself on the flu-diet.  That's just dumb.  But let's look at the bright side.  Hey, there's always a bright side!  There's always an honest side too, so don't try and tell me that its a crazy thought that you'd never even consider.  You know you've thought it.

So good luck, ya'll.  Yeah, I said ya'll.  Whether you get the flu this year or you dodge the bullet, whether you get it or just don't...take care of yourselves!!  And if you want a REAL weight loss program, let me know!

Blowing Hot Air

It's in the upper 40's, windy, very fallish. In fact, it's cold.  Now, now, don't get all 'Are you kidding, just wait' on me, I've lived through 36 upper-midwest winters and I know what the real deal is.  But don't try to tell me that when your alarm goes off in the morning, in the dark, that it's anything close to easy to get out of your nice, warm, snuggly bed.
It's cold, ain' it?  You get the point.

Our heat is currently set to kick on at 62 degrees.  That's not a typo, let me repeat...sixty-two degrees.  YA, we're cheap.   That's all it comes down to.  But don't be alarmed, we handle it very well.

We've got this great wood-burning stove and a large supply of firewood (these trees just drop dead at our feet!), so we've got the stove fired up quite a bit.  Along with the electric blanket and down comforters, we're good.  In fact, when I go to other people's houses who are all 'nothing lower than a perfectly temperature controlled 72 degrees all year long', I absolutely die.  I'm sweating.  Hey look, that's me!

All this cold weather is actually VERY good for family togetherness.  Dog and cats, too.  Everybody piles on.

The other night, I woke up to use the bathroom and found myself so sweat-soaked I started to fear early menopause.  I returned to bed and laid down between my two little people, under the heated blanked, dog between my legs, and landlocked into not being able to expose my feet.  My feet are my thermostats, you see.  So when my shorties revolt and insist on bracketing me at night, my poor feet are trapped and the resulting overheating of this body is nothing short of a hazard.  How it is that I haven't shorted out that electric blanket with my hot body by now is a mystery.  Oh...and I sweat a lot, too.

The point is....wait, what is the point?

Do I tell you all the things you can do to conserve energy?  Turn down the thermostat at night, turn it down when you're at work, turn it down in general...?  Use weatherstripping, patch holes, get better insulation.  Make your home more energy efficient!  Well duh, this stuff is pretty common knowledge, kind of like turning off a light when you leave a room.  You don't need me to tell you this stuff.

Do we discuss how to keep your kids out of your bed?  Honestly I don't mind it that much as long as it's not all the time, nor do I as a parent really know how.  When the kids have a nightmare and come running in at 2 am, I feel bad for them that they're scared, but I also relish the snuggling and comforting and bonding.  As long as I can keep my feet liberated, that is.

So what do I prattle on about?  How about togetherness.  That's not a question.  What better way to inspire some snuggling than to turn down the thermostat and break out the blankets?  This certainly isn't a new concept, though it may be one that people don't typically think of.  Hmmm...snuggling and a lower electric bill?  Something for everyone!  Let's put that in the warm fuzzies category, right next to 'How many babies are born 9 months after cold weather sets in?'. 

There you have it people, more words of wisdom from your green friend.  Now go turn down the thermostat, get out the hot cocoa, get your blankie and a good movie and snuggle with the kids, then put them to bed. Then snuggle with the spouse, boyfriend, girlfriend, whoever you want to snuggle with and turn yourself into something right out of a Donna Summer song.  Who needs heat when you've got each other!!

(Fund)Raising Active Kids - JAK Version

You know how before you had kids everyone would tell you how expensive they are?  I just couldn't wrap my head around it.  I mean, how expensive could they possibly be?  Oh, believe me when I say I've figured it out, but just for kicks let's all get a good laugh at my expense at how clueless I was.

Using just my first as the example, I had myself convinced that kids are no big deal in the financial department.  Here's a bit about how I fooled myself:

• Making babies the traditional way is free.  Hallelujah.  Might have been down a bit for a bottle of wine and a nice dinner, but whatevs.  Insurance paid for most of the doctor visits, hospital stay, etc.  We were out a couple hundred bucks.

• Cutie maternity clothes...I spent a bit.  Had to be a fashionable preggie, right?

• Baby shower.  Everything you could possibly need to feed, clothe, and care for a baby, except the elusive instruction manual of course... all at one happy party.  Cha-ching.  Thanks, everyone!

• Bring baby home.  Diapers, wipes, cream for their little tushies. Let's say $25 at Jewel.  Nursed the baby for quite some time and saved a bundle on formula.

• Picked out some clothes and stuff that I just had to have...couple hundred bucks.  

Considering we just had a kid, this doesn't seem crazy expensive, does it?

• Went back to work and paid for daycare.  Ooof, that's a little painful, but we managed.

Time goes by.

• Preschool - couple hundred for the school year.  
• Clothes - buy a couple things here and there, but boy do we love hand-me-downs.  
• Toys - that's what holidays and generous relatives are for.  
• Elementary school - gym shoes, clothes, school supplies.  Etc. etc.

Ok, so things are really starting to add up, but these are minimal expenses considering the big picture, right?  Is it college tuition these people were talking about?  I mean, that's years down the line!  And anyway, my kid is a bona fide genius who will be loaded with scholarships.  College - bah!  We've got it covered.

Clothes can be a decent expense, especially if you don't have friends or relatives with an older child to pass stuff down.  Boys are tough too, cause they beat the heck out of everything. So every school year we have to shop for new jeans twice, new gym shoes, a couple hoodies, new backpack, blah blah.  Then half way through the school year they decide they won't be caught dead in the $200 of stuff you bought at the beginning of the year.  Or only certain brands, please.  All the other kids have NorthFace winter coats?  Sorry dude, not happening.  What?  A dress outfit for the concert at school?  Wait, he can't wear his old beat up DC gym shoes to that?   Skidded out on the playground and ripped the knees out of another pair of jeans?  So, ya it's adding up, but still seems fairly manageable.  

Then the sports begin.

All you other parents with kids in sports just collectively shuddered, didn't you?  Our boy has been the karate master since he was 3 and got the Tommy Nitro and the Crimson Sausage karate set, so there's never been a question of what he wanted to do.  So, we sign the kid up...$130.  Can't do taekwondo without a taekwondo uniform...sounds reasonable, $50.

180 bucks?  The kid better like it!

A couple months of classes and hi-ya's!  Then belt promotions start - $60 each.  (Ya, that's $60 TWELVE TIMES).  Then they start sparring and need all the gear to protect their body, head, and especially those teeth, cause God forbid anything happens to them, you know how expensive that would be?

Then they need weapons.  More weapons.  Then tournaments at $120 a pop.  Then we travel for tournaments, then he wins and needs a new uniform to tout his prowess.  A shelf!  He needs a shelf to display his trophies and medals!  Special shoes, warm up suits, bags and cases to carry all his stuff around in.  What the heck?  This is definitely an investment. 

I'm sure all parents with kids in sports go through the same thing.  The cost of registration, uniforms and equipment is astronomical.  I've heard that hockey costs are off the wall, ice skating is insane, and friends of ours with three kids in traveling soccer leagues are in for over a grand each season.  Et tu, soccer?

Obviously kids are expensive.  This is the real world, but it seems to me that keeping them out of sports because of cost shouldn't be an issue.  Kids need to be active and learn how to be team players and the discipline and confidence and all that. And besides...if they're not in it now, their chances of getting on the varsity team in high school are nil.  Gasp!  Of course there are cheap and/or free things they can do, but we want what they want, they love the sport, they love playing it and everything else that goes along with it, so we swallow the cost of it all.

Makes a sports-mom (or dad!) want to hold their own fundraiser…you bet I've considered it!

There are always second-hand stores we can check out for gear, namely of the Play It Again brand, but sometimes it seems that even though the items are used they aren’t much of a deal, and places like Goodwill are hit or miss (mostly miss) when you’re looking for one particular item.  

As an alternative I created a Facebook group for parents of kids in sports who may either have an abundance of sports equipment, or may be looking for such items and don’t want to pay (re-)retail price.   Parents can buy, sell, trade, give away, whatever.  In this economy it is all we can do for some of us to just stay afloat.  So check it out… For the Kids: SE Wisconsin: Sports Edition! and feel free to join and post.  

THAT'S using your dojo mojo. 

While we're on the subject of fundraisers – If your sports group/team/organization WOULD like to hold a fundraiser, Shaklee is a righteous choice.  This isn’t your typical fundraiser of hydrogenated chocolates and wrapping paper, and there is definitely something for everyone.  What better products could an organization dedicated to sports and fitness tout than those that are designed to make you healthier and support an active lifestyle!  Check out the entire Shaklee catalog here to see everything there is available - we have well over 300 products!  Contact me for more info!

Raising active kids...it takes a village!

(Fund)Raising Active Kids

You know how before you had kids everyone would tell you how expensive they are?  I just couldn't wrap my head around it.  I mean, how expensive could they possibly be?  Oh, believe me when I say I've figured it out, but just for kicks let's all get a good laugh at my expense at how clueless I was.

Using just my first as the example, I had myself convinced that kids are no big deal in the financial department.  Here's how I fooled myself:

• Making babies the traditional way is free.  Hallelujah.  Might have been down a bit for a bottle of wine and a nice dinner, but whatevs.  Insurance paid for most of the doctor visits, hospital stay, etc.  We were out a couple hundred bucks.

• Cutie maternity clothes...I spent a bit.  Had to be a fashionable preggie, right?

• Baby shower.  Everything you could possibly need to feed, clothe, and care for a baby, except the elusive instruction manual of course... all at one happy party.  Cha-ching.  Thanks, everyone!

• Bring baby home.  Diapers, wipes, cream for their little bee-hind. Let's say $25 at Jewel.  Nursed the baby for quite some time and saved a bundle on formula.

• Picked out some clothes and stuff that I just had to have...couple hundred bucks.  

Considering we just had a kid, this doesn't seem crazy expensive, does it?

• Went back to work and paid for daycare.  Ooof, that's a little painful, but we managed.

Time goes by.

• Preschool - couple hundred for the school year.  
• Clothes - buy a couple things here and there, but boy do we love hand-me-downs.  
• Toys - that's what holidays are for.  
• Elementary school - gym shoes, clothes, school supplies.  Etc. etc.

Ok, so things are really starting to add up, but these are minimal expenses considering the big picture, right?  Is it college tuition these people were talking about?  I mean, that's years down the line!  And anyway, my kid is a goddam genius who will be loaded with scholarships.  College - bah!  We've got it covered.

Clothes can be a decent expense, especially if you don't have friends or relatives with an older child to pass stuff down.  Boys are tough too, cause they beat the hell out of everything. So every school year we have to shop for new jeans twice, new gym shoes, a couple hoodies, new backpack, blah blah.  Then half way through the school year they decide they won't be caught dead in the $200 of stuff you bought at the beginning of the year.  Or only certain brands, please.  All the other kids have North Face winter coats?  Sorry dude, not happening.  What?  A dress outfit for the concert at school? Crap!  He can't wear his old beat up DC gym shoes to that? Crap!  Skidded out on the playground and ripped the knees out of another pair of jeans?  Crap!  Ya it's adding up, but still seems fairly manageable.  

Then the sports begin.

All you other parents with kids in sports just collectively shuddered, didn't you?  Our boy has been the karate master since he was 3 and got Tommy Nitro and the Crimson Sausage karate video, so there's never been a question of what he wanted to do.  So, we sign the kid up...$130.  Can't do taekwondo without a taekwondo uniform...sounds reasonable, $50.
180 bucks?  The kid better flipping like it.

A couple months of classes and hi-ya's!  Then belt promotions start - $60 each.  (Ya, that's $60 TWELVE TIMES).  Then they start sparring and need all the gear to protect their body, head, and especially those teeth, cause God forbid anything happens to them, you know how expensive that would be?

Then they need weapons.  More weapons.  Then tournaments at $120 a pop.  Then we travel for tournaments, then he wins and needs a new uniform to tout his prowess.  A shelf!  He needs a shelf to display his trophies and medals.  Special shoes, warm up suits, bags and cases to carry all his stuff around in.  WTF?  This is one hell of an investment. 

I'm sure all parents with kids in sports go through the same thing.  The cost of registration, uniforms and equipment is astronomical.  I've heard that hockey costs are off the wall, ice skating is insane, and friends of ours with three kids in traveling soccer leagues are in for over a grand each season.  Et tu, soccer?

Obviously kids are expensive.  This is the real world, but it seems to me that keeping them out of sports because of cost shouldn't be an issue.  Kids need to be active and learn how to be team players and the discipline and confidence and all that. And besides...if they're not in it now, their chances of getting on the varsity team in high school are nil.  Gasp!  Of course there are cheap and/or free things they can do, but we want what they want, they love the sport, they love playing it and everything else that goes along with it, so we swallow the cost of it all.

So, I've decided to have a fundraiser.   Sure, why not?  You want my kids to be healthy and active, DON'T YOU??  Here's what you do:
Go to www.greengiraffe.myshaklee.com and look around at all the great healthy products for you, your kids, and your home.  It's a great opportunity to go green with your cleaning supplies, switch out all your personal products to the safe stuff, or get your family on a daily multi-vitamin!  THAT'S using your dojo mojo.

So many options that will help me pay for two kids in taekwondo!  In return, I sincerely thank you, and I will send you a picture of my kids with their trophies.  You'll love it.

As an added bonus, send me an email with your kids sport and annual cost of registration and equipment, and I will send you a lovely rebate.  Don't forget to join membership!

Raising active kids...it takes a village. 

 

Thanks Be To Dog

Ever heard that owning a pet can be good for your health?  It's so true.  There have been actual scientific studies done that prove that having certain pet-friends will actually reduce stress and blood pressure in owners, increase longevity in those who've had heart attacks, and even relax and improve the appetites of Alzheimer's patients.  I've been trying to get numerous family members on the cat bandwagon for years, but they all resist (of course).  Pshaw.

It appears that pretty much any stress-related disorder, or any condition/sickness/disease/whatever that is affected or aggravated by stress can be helped by having a pet.  Isn't that amazing?  It makes so much sense.  If you have a pet, go love it up for a minute...it's a total stress reducer!  And they love you back so unconditionally, you can't help but to feel better.  

More than 57% of American households have pets of some sort.  And many of those have more than one.  That's 57% of people that are benefiting from having animals in their lives.  Personally, our zoo consists of one dog, two cats, a guinea pig, and a rat.  There was a toad, but I liberated him recently. 

Aside from the cleaning of cages, discoveries of chewed items, stepping on cold hairballs first thing in the morning, wretched dog breath, barf, pee, poo, hair, etc., our pets have made a big difference in our house, especially for me.  You may have seen my previous blog about pet products, highlighting the beauty queen that is our dog, Stella.  She makes me happy.  She makes me laugh.  We spoon.  She keeps me warm.  She gives me warm fuzzies.  She knocked me down once and I sprained my ankle.  I can hug her when I'm sad, and when I'm raging one look at her goofy face will always make me crack.

Further proof?  I sure will be sad when she dies. 
See?!  Pet = happy.  No pet = sad.

It's a well known (and glaringly obvious) fact that walking your dog every day will help get you active.  How much more true could that be?  If you don't have the motivation to get up and out by yourself, and as long as you would love and take care of it, why not get a dog?  I suppose you could walk a cat, but really if you know anything about cats you know that won't work.  Cats have their own agenda.  Of course there are those that put their pets in special pet strollers.  Hey, if it gets you out and active, I'll try really hard not to think you're weird.

Getting your pet (and yourself) out the door everyday is helpful in other ways, too.  When you're out walking your dog and getting exercise, you run across others doing the same.  You may socialize with these new folks that you may have never seen before if it wasn't for your walks.  New friends - new outlook - exercise and fresh air - better mood.  Dogs can help socially anxious people break the ice.

If you don't have the schedule, availability, or home available to be a dog owner, then volunteer to walk someone else's!  Or see if your local pound would let you walk dogs daily or weekly!  Hey, 57% of your friends and neighbors are pet owners, you know.

Pets can also prevent loneliness.  The majority people who have pets consider them a companion instead of property, and 97% of those people admitted to talking to their pets.  The other 3% lied, cause they totally do too.  They should just admit it.  I talk to the dog and cats constantly, especially when there's no one else home. It's just as good as talking to yourself.

So, there you have it.  Improve your overall health with a pet.  As long as you're not allergic or terrified of animals.  I don't think having a pet and being terrified of it will help you in any way.  If you're considering a pet for any reason, be sure you have the time, resources, and living conditions to provide the care they need and deserve!