Count Your Blessings- Thanksgiving 2011

HAPPY THANKSGIVING 

Thanksgiving isn't just about the food. Yes, the turkey or Tofurkey and all the fixings, and the pumpkin and apple pies are all yummy, but that's not the only thing we should be celebrating. The true spirit of Thanksgiving is, obviously, about giving thanks for all the blessings we  have in our life. 

Granted, in this economy, some have more than others, but we can all find things in our lives that we can be grateful for.  I don't make much money in the arts, but I am very blessed to have a roof over my head and food on the table, and a generous family that supports and encourages me.  Today is the day to take stock of what you do have, however little that might be and give thanks. 

The above cartoon and the anonymous poem below put everything into perspective.

"Count your blessings instead of your crosses;
Count your gains instead of your losses.
Count your joys instead of your woes;
Count your friends instead of your foes.
 Count your smiles instead of your tears;
Count your courage instead of your fears.
Count your full years instead of your lean;
Count your kind deeds instead of your mean.
Count your health instead of your wealth;
Count on God instead of yourself."

I wish you all a very blessed Thanksgiving!

Congress Rules Pizza Is a Vegetable

Okay, so Congress didn't actually come out and say that pizza was a vegetable, but they might as well have.  Aside from the fact that technically, the tomato is considered a fruit,  tomato sauce on a pizza does not constitute a serving of vegetables.  Although a registered Republican, there are certain issues that I don't  agree with, and our children's nutritional needs are one of them.  Childhood obesity in the U.S. is an ever-growing problem and something needs to be done.  Yes, some of that burden lies with the parents- they need to stop feeding their kids fast food and force them off the sofa and into the backyard to exercise. But since kids spend their days in school, and they are fed there, it is incumbent upon us to ensure they are fed properly. Congress, in efforts to save money is doing it at the expense of our kids.

The controversy boils down to this:

Congress wants pizza and french fries to stay on school lunch lines and is fighting the Obama administration's efforts to take unhealthy foods out of schools.


The final version of a spending bill released late Monday would unravel school lunch standards the Agriculture Department proposed earlier this year. These include limiting the use of potatoes on the lunch line, putting new restrictions on sodium and boosting the use of whole grains. The legislation would block or delay all of those efforts.


The bill also would allow tomato paste on pizzas to be counted as a vegetable, as it is now.

SDA had wanted to only count a half-cup of tomato paste or more as a vegetable, and a serving of pizza has less than that.

Nutritionists say the whole effort is reminiscent of the Reagan administration's much-ridiculed attempt 30 years ago to classify ketchup as a vegetable to cut costs. This time around, food companies that produce frozen pizzas for schools, the salt industry and potato growers requested the changes and lobbied Congress.

School meals that are subsidized by the federal government must include a certain amount of vegetables, and USDA's proposal could have pushed pizza-makers and potato growers out of the school lunch business.

The irony is that an unhealthy, overweight child is going to wind up costing the taxpayer a ton more money, down the line, when the kid gets sick from all that pizza and french fries for lunch.  Yes, Republicans have a point in not wanting government  to dictate what a child eats, but if the school and/or parents are going to skimp, then something needs to be done. Whether its more education or regulation.  Children are far more important than being pawns in political games.

For more on the story, click here.

Video of Man's Best Friend- Dogs Welcoming Home Returning Soldiers

There is nothing like a dog. Dogs truly are man's best friend. Loving and unconditional.  This is a heartwarming video of dogs welcoming home their soldier masters.



Source: WelcomeHomeBlog

Giving People A Chance- Autistic Basketball player Jason McElwain

Here's a feel-good story for today.

Sometimes we just need to give those who are a little different a chance to shine. They inevitably will.

"Letter From Dad and Mom"- or how to deal with our old ones

We often lose patience with our aging ones. This touching, 2-box Kleenex video is a wonderful reminder to be more loving with them.

The original "Letter From Dad and Mom" was written by Rev.  Fr. Ariel F. Robles in Tagalog and translated by various people into English. This version is apparently narrated by Darius Gabriel Bugarin.  Robles is the CWL Spiritual Director of St. Augustine Parish in Baliuag, Bulacan, Philippines.

Watch it and weep, and perhaps it will also inspire you to have more patience with your old ones.

The original version "Ang Sulat Ni Tatay at Nanay".

The Health Benefits Of Tart Cherry Juice

I love cherries. They happen to be one of my favorite fruits, but I had no idea they were also chock full of  wonderful health benefits, at least the tart ones. Montmorency cherries (Prunus Cerasus), most notably used for preserves and pies is full of antioxidants, which some in the medical community claim help slow down the aging process, prevent certain diseases and help neutralize 'free radicals'.

Besides being high in fiber, they also are high in beta carotene, potassium and contain calcium, magnesium, iron, folic acid, Vitamins A, B6, C and E.   And besides being rich in antioxidants,  they also happen to contain natural melatonin, and anthocyanins. Not bad for a small, pitted fruit.

What all this means is that besides being tasty little morsels, tart Montmorency cherries can help with sleep problems (melatonin) and the anthocyanins have anti-inflammatory properties which can help with joint pain from arthritis and gout, and can also help with cardiovascular health. 

For those of us with chronic pain, it's a Godsend. For a long while I had my pain under control with various herbs and supplements, until I was given Procrit for a problem with anemia a few years ago.  The Procrit kicked in the pain and I have struggled ever since trying to find something that will help.  It wasn't until I started to add the tart cherry juice to my old regimen (at the recommendation of my acupuncturist) that I started to feel some relief.  I do notice a difference between the cherry juice concentrate and the pill form, but for travel the supplements are the only alternative. 

DIRECTIONS FOR USE:

I use the recommended dosage of 2 tablespoons, which I love to mix with a glass of sparkling water, and drink it a little before bedtime. But I'm not sure the time really matters.  It helps somewhat with my insomnia, but I'm not sure anything would do the trick. It has a yummy sweet/tart taste, so you don't need any sugar.

There are several farms that manufacture the cherry concentrate, but make sure it's the Montmorency juice.  You can order directly from them, or check out the various online resources.  I just ordered two bottles from Amazon because, with the free shipping included, it was cheaper.  A 32 ounce bottle (which should last a month) will run you anywhere from $15.00 to $30.00 depending on where you buy it.   It might sound expensive but when you think you get approximately 30 glasses or so of juice out of one bottle, that's less than a can of soda, and far more beneficial.

Cherokee Indian Youths' Rite of Passage: Or God Watches Over Us No Matter What

Our email inboxes get inundated with mostly garbage these days, but every once in a while you receive a gem like the following alleged American Indian legend.  The message, while using what is claimed to be a Cherokee Rite of Passage as an example,  is actually all about having faith in God.  Whether it is an actual Rite of Passage or not is debatable (according to various Internet searches), but the message is worth embracing, true or not.  I have posted a YouTube version below. The wording is a little different, but the message is the same: even though we cannot see GOD, HE is still there protecting us during turbulent and fear-inducing times.

Do you know the legend of the Cherokee Indian youths' Rite of Passage?


His father takes him into the forest, blindfolds him and leaves him alone. He is required to sit on a stump the whole night and not remove the blindfold until the rays of the morning sun shine through it. He cannot cry out for help to anyone. Once he survives the night, he is a MAN.


He cannot tell the other boys of this experience, because each lad must come into manhood on his own.


The boy is naturally terrified. He can hear all kinds of noises. Wild beasts must surely be all around him . Maybe even some human might do him harm.


The wind blew the grass and earth, and shook his stump, but he sat stoically, never removing the blindfold. It would be the only way he could become a man!


Finally, after a horrific night the sun appeared and he removed his blindfold.


It was then that he discovered his father sitting on the stump next to him.


He had been at watch the entire night, protecting his son from harm.


We, too, are never alone. Even when we don't know it, God is watching over us, sitting on the stump beside us.

When trouble comes, all we have to do is reach out to Him.

Moral of the story:

Just because you can't see God, doesn't mean He is not there. "For we walk by faith, not by sight."

To Get The Best Prices For Herbs and Supplements Order Online

As someone who has a hefty regimen of herbs and supplements to take for two chronic conditions (Rheumatoid Arthritis and Ulcerative Colitis), I decided that purchasing them at the local health food store or Whole Foods was prohibitive.

Although I was never fond of ordering over the Internet, I succumbed when I discovered that I could get all of my supplements often for far less than I could at brick and mortar stores. I started by googling the products I take and discovered two online venues that consistently had the lowest prices: http://www.vitacost.com/ and http://www.luckyvitamin.com/. I have used both of these for years, depending on which had the lowest prices for the supplements I needed at the time. When they varied by a few cents I would then factor in shipping costs.  Lucky Vitamin has free shipping for orders over $100.00 (my orders are usually well over $100.00 per order) and Vitacost had a flat rate for all orders, but has had a free shipping for orders over $49.00 for a while, though that might end soon. 

If your monthly needs are low, then it's probably not worth ordering online, after you factor in the shipping costs.  Then again, it still might be worth it.   I have saved a ton of money over the years ordering online, and sometimes there is a huge difference in price between ordering online and purchasing a product at a vitamin or health food store.   

Recently, I started checking http://www.amazon.com/ for some of my items, and have found some great prices on there,  as well.  I have ordered a few things, but still find the two above mentioned websites to have the best prices.

For example, I have started using Kal's Cox-2 Control Body Comfort, as a replacement for Zyflamend for pain. Whole Foods sells it for $21.95 or so.  On amazon.com you can get it anywhere from $13.19 to $18.74. I purchased it for $11.10 on luckyvitamin since I bought 4 of them (they give price breaks for larger quantities) and since I ordered more than $100.00 worth of products I paid no shipping.  That's a 50% discount for the exact same item. Vitacost does not carry it.

Now you might think the herbs and supplements that you order from an online vendor are old and possibly expired, or they're a generic brand-  they're not, at least not from the vendors I have ordered from.  These are the exact same brand items.

There might be some new sites that have cropped up since I did my research five or so years ago that have better prices, and perhaps I will do another search, but for the time being I will continue to order from any of the companies that I have mentioned. I will update if an when I do make any changes.

FINDING THE BEST PRICE:

To get the biggest bang for your buck you need to compare prices.  Find out how much it costs you to purchase a product in your local health food store, vitamin shop etc. Then check the prices on any of the places I have mentioned above (I am not an affiliate of any of them) or google the product name and 'discount'. It will give you a list of websites that sell that product and their prices. Then check what their shipping charges are, if any. If there is a charge,  factor that in to figure out the total cost of the item.  More often than not, you will save  yourself a heap of money.  I know I have. 

You do have to make sure you order well in advance, before you run out, or you will wind up having to pay premium prices at retail stores, as I have, until the shipment arrives, and that can vary greatly.