Six years ago today on Friday the 13th I got the most wonderful gift… my last child, Mr. Parker. For years we called him Parkoo because that is what my then one year old daughter called him. Despite the fact that I was nursing him in tandem with his sister he was still the fattest little breastfed baby ever. Scrumptious! Of all my kids he has been the easiest and he does things in his own time and way. He hated co-sleeping and wanted to sleep in a crib until he hit the ripe old age of three, when HE decided he was ready for the family bed. He sleeps with me still and requires that my hand be touching him in some way before he can fall asleep.

He didn’t talk until four years old, save for a few words and he has this rather odd habit of pacing constantly. He dresses in costume almost every day… Ninja, pirate, superhero, etc. He refuses to have his hair cut but you’d better NOT call him a girl, even if he is wearing a black velvet blouse that he picked out himself from the women’s section of the thrift store. He doesn’t like to kiss on the lips but he is happy to kiss your cheek or arm or give you lots of hugs. He is a total mama’s boy and this mama is CRAZY about him.

Happy Birthday baby!

Quite some time ago I got in the habit of drinking alkalized water as much as I possibly could. I was first introduced to the concept somewhere along my journey with cancer. Even mainstream doctors these days are acknowledging that cancer thrives in an acidic body and acid does a number on our cells in general. How can we expect our our body to remain healthy when we give our cells (the building blocks) an acid bath with acidic foods and water? You can’t… hence the reason behind eating lots of alkaline forming foods and making sure our water is treated so that it is also alkaline. Drinking alkaline water helps boost your immune system, it increases your blood oxygen levels and it helps prevent acid related diseases… cancer, candida, psoriasis, gout, high blood pressure, ulcers… let’s face it LOTS of disorders and diseases stem from an acid body. For more info I discussed this issue in my pH Miracle review and the wonderful book Crazy, Sexy, Diet has good info on it too.

Anyway, I started treating my water with pH booster drops to make it alkaline. You can get systems that work with your tap but those were horrendously pricey and would not allow for me to treat water when away from home. The drops also add up when you consistently buy them and you have lots of plastic bottles to deal with. So it was on my to-do list to look into some sort of portable product that will alkalize water. My mom actually beat me to it and bought one. She had great success with hers and I became convinced I needed one as well. She compared the pH level of the bottled water she was buying to the treated from her tap and she was amazed. The bottled stuff is way acidic! I don’t know why that surprises me but it did.

Lucky me was able to get my hot little hands on an Alkamate from Healthier Living 4 You. It is a spiffy stainless steel, portable alkalizer that has an amazing filter inside it. When you take the filter out and give it a little shake you’ve got a little Maraca thing going on. It has 13 unique minerals including Maifanshi stone, Muyu Jade, special clay, Tourmaline, nano silver, Kaolin earth, and others. It has two filters actually… one that stays in the inside the bottle always and one that needs changing after one year’s use. It does an amazing job of  removing many common contaminants and adding essential minerals to the water. It is definitely a keeper in my book.

Getting started was easy enough. I boiled some water and ran it through the alkalizer, letting it sit for 15 minutes. Then for subsequent use I just pour in some tap water or Brita filtered water and let it process for 15 minutes. When done the water tastes AMAZING. It just is just so tasty I can’t get over it. Way better than tap and even bottled water. I think I have noticed a difference in energy levels to, when I take it to the gym or for a hike/walk.

This past weekend I filtered water for the gym and for a 2.25 mile 10TV Commit to Be Fit hike. It took awhile to filter water for everyone that morning but it is so worth it in my opinion. I also did a test using pH strips to see if it really did the job or if it is hype. The pH strips do not lie. My tap water straight out of the faucet is acidic… although not nearly as bad as the bottled water my mom bought. After treatment in the Alkamate it was in alkaline territory. A+

It comes with a sleek, black carrying bag so that it is easy to take along with you. Just stick it in your purse and then you can filter water at restaurants, drinking fountains, etc. Most times I filter the water and take it with me in one of my other bottles but if I am going to be gone for an extended period of time I will be sure to take it along.

For more info check out Healthier Living 4 You and many thanks to them for sending me the Alkamate to review.

It is that time of year so I  have been posting regularly about greening the upcoming school year. I have been doing this for a couple years so it is habit now but yet even I need reminders and motivation sometimes. Going to Walmart and tossing the cheapest stuff in the cart as fast as you possibly can is certainly tempting when your to-do and  your to-buy list is super long. If it were easy all the time then it wouldn’t be called “making an impact” would it? Even green parents can start to run low on steam and that is why I am loving the Green Your School Year challenge from Recyclebank.

Recyclebank is a community I first discovered a year of so ago. It is a place where a community of 2 million members keep track of their goals and successes while keeping it green. This is facilitated by great information and pledges to do just a little more. For this school year they kicked off a challenge to help parents keep the school experience green. In the first phase you walk through a nifty tutorial for shopping for greener school supplies. Right off the bat they recommended carpooling with another parent or family so you are conserving resources just making the trip to your local store. This was a step that escaped my mind for sure. Pledge to carpool and you get your first 10 points in the challenge!

Next up… pledge to buy green, recyclable, or recycled school supplies for another 10 points. As an added bonus they also have a download for you with a checklist of items to check/consider when researching companies and brands that you may purchase from. I love, love, love that they encourage people to research the ethics, certifications, and integrity of the companies and products you want to purchase.

The next screen had two quiz questions.. which I got right. Ding, ding! No doubt this feature is designed to help educate us on what to look for in these products and also make us aware of trends in family spending. They should turn this into a video game. ;) A link follows this page and and it provides a resource for you to recycle qualifying electronics and they offer up to 200 bonus points in return. I saved this info for future use.

Further on there more polls and informative links for keeping school supplies sustainable, including the wardrobe. It was a VERY fun tutorial and I enjoyed participating. I think I got all the available points could, minus the extra credit recycling points but I may end up finding some stuff to recycle and claim some of those too. When the challenge concludes they will be awarding some great prizes to some lucky winners including Bodhi Electric Bicycles (Yowza!), a solar backpack, gift certificates to department stores and grocers, lunch kits, vitamins, etc.

The next phase, which starts in a couple days is all about the first day of school. So after you join up and claim your points for greening the school shopping experience, make sure to check back with Recyclebank for the first day challenge. Good luck!

This post is part of a campaign sponsored by Recyclebank.

In the past I have been a flip-flop addict of sorts. Years ago it was not uncommon for me to have 10 or more pairs… of JUST flip-flops. In recent years though I curtailed my habit because they are generally so flimsy (lasting only one season) and they are heavy on plastics and foam. They were just a nightmare in the green department. So I tided myself over with sneakers (sniff) that last much longer and eco friendlier shoes when I could swing it.

Anyway when an eco conscious shoe company called Okabashi asked me to take some of their recyclable flip-flops for a test run I agreed to do so. They look just like regular flip-flops but there are several important differences.

For one they are not outsourced to a third world country, thereby paying workers peanuts AND saving resources with local manufacturing. These shoes are made in Buford, Georgia and I have heard you can tour their facility if you want to. The shoes travel only 7% as far as the average imported shoe. Second, they are VERY sturdy shoes, probably the highest quality pair of flip-flops I have ever owned. These babies are going to last years and the company even guarantees them for 2. Buying plastic anything can be a hard sell but when you know that plastic will only last a few months before it becomes completely unusable… that is a deal breaker.

Third, the material used in these shoes is unique in that it is soft, flexible, non-slip, odor-resistant, dishwasher safe, and contains an anti-microbial agent. Who ever heard of shoes you can toss in the dishwasher? Flip-flops especially can get nasty because the foam used so often to make them is porous and holds stains, and odor and cannot be washed effectively. These are going to be perfect for the gym since I can shower in them and wipe them down and make sure nothing nasty from the showers or locker room is going to get a foot hold in my shoes.

Fourth, these shoes are completely recyclable. Most times when you hear that a company is taking back their shoes for “recycling” that usually means they redistribute them. Okabashi believes in closed-loop recycling to reduce the use of virgin material and to keep old shoes from becoming environmental waste. So when you buy a pair of Okabashi shoes you are likely buying shoes that are made with recycled material already and when you are done with them you can send them back to Georgia (their address is on their web site) so they can be made into yet another pair. Their facility is virtually zero waste.. next to no scrap and last year they used 100,000 pounds of scrap material in their shoes. This is pretty amazing to me since I have first hand knowledge of the plastic scrap that get tossed in a local (Ohio) plastic business. It is STAGGERING the amount of plastic scrap that gets tossed out… ahem… like a huge parking lot full.

Fifth, they are vegan! The entire line contains no animal skins or byproducts, and they are not tested on animals. This is important because most sandals and flip flops that contain animal by-products such as leather and adhesives are nearly impossible to recycle and they end up in the landfill.

Sixth, they are affordable. No $50 flip-flops here. The prices are right around $15-$18. Wahoo! They (Okabashi) also have some listed on Amazon. The price on some is a tad higher but they are darn close to qualifying for free shipping.

I ended up getting two pairs of eco friendlier shoes for the summer and happily these Okabashi flip-flops are one of them because I don’t currently own any others (flip-flops, not shoes). We’ve been reunited and it feels so good.

I am a worrier. BIG time. It started when I was a child and I worried about grades, tests, what people thought of me, giving speeches in my ministry school, ect. I think it had a lot to do with the fact that my father was a minister and an elder in our church and my mother was a full time missionary. It was drilled into me that any misstep on my part could mean I stumbled someone else and they would lose their everlasting inheritance. That is a lot of pressure for a kid and I became perpetually anxious. The one only wrinkle I have on my 33 year old face is a line between my eyebrows from frowning… or worrying.

Learning how stop worrying is something many of us wish we could do. And in truth, we can. Worry is inevitable in some situations, but many of us worry far more than we need to. Worry has simply become a habit and, like all habits, it can be broken.

Can Worrying Can Be Productive?

There are two types of worry. The first is the kind of worry that’s good for us, that makes sure we take care of things we need to, like turn off the coffee pot. The second kind of worry is just a waste of time and leads to mental exhaustion and stress – this is the kind of worry over things that we have no control over.

Think carefully about what you’re worrying about. Learning how not to worry means learning how to differentiate between the two types of worry. If it IS something you can do something about, make sure you take steps to do that. If you sit there doing nothing you’ll only keep worrying. If you know you’ve done all that you can, and there’s nothing more you can do, keep telling that to yourself to put it out of your mind. I usually get a burning sensation in my stomach and chest when I am worrying so that is a physical sign that I need to let it go. It also reminds me that worry and stress are bad for my health.

If I am driving downtown for instance and don’t know the place I need to go by memory (which I hate to do) I will feel that burning and I have to breathe deeply for a few moments and remind myself that if I cannot find the place I can turn around and go home. There is no reason I HAVE to be anxious if I can’t find the place.

When I am at home and I feel that sensation I will go in the bathroom, take off my shirt, and let the shower blast me with cold water for a few seconds. It gives me jolt, gets the blood pumping, and immediately snaps me out of my worry mode. Try it!

Catch Yourself When You’re Worrying

Many of us get carried away with worrying without even noticing! Sometimes we can be doing one thing and suddenly find our thoughts wandering, or we start looking up things on the internet related to our worry. Unless this is going to do something to solve a problem, it’s a waste of time.

But how do you catch yourself? It is going to take practice. If you find yourself worrying at work, put a post-it on your computer or your desk. It doesn’t have to say “stop worrying” – it could be as simple as a picture of a smiley face to remind you to take control of your thoughts again. You also need to be actively looking for worrying thoughts. You won’t always catch worry out quickly, but you’ll gradually catch yourself sooner and sooner.

Remember, learning how not to worry takes practice. At first you might not think that these strategies are working, but with practice you’ll find that taking your mind away from your worries is easier and easier.

How do you let go of worry?

Related article: 6 Natural Ways to Beat Stress