Sunday, October 24, 2010

What if you turned on the faucet and not 1 drop came out.....what else are you taking for granted?

-Waking up in the morning
-Having a job
-Having good health
-Opening your fridge and pantry to a buffet table of food
-Family, friends
-Our God
-Jumping in your car and driving wherever you want to go
-Saying what you want to, when you want to, how you want to

Okay, this isn't a "wish" list....this my friends is my "don't take these precious things for granted" list....

For starters, you get up each day (which in itself is worth a prayer of thanksgiving!!) and turn on the water to brush your teeth, wash your face and then GULP, jump into a nice long HOT shower....That is what we need to think and talk about...

Don't worry, I'm not EVEN suggesting you forego any of the cleansing activities....that would just be WRONG....instead, I want to share a few stats with you....

In the TRUE GREEN book, it reminds you of 100 everyday ways you can contribute to a healthier planet.....and yep, you guessed it, water is listed on several pages....why? because we don't really "get it" and we have definitely started taking the nice flow of H2O from our faucets to mean, the supply is endless - NOT! Read on please....

Showers -
How long is your shower? A family of 4, each taking a 5 minute shower 1 time a day, uses about 700 gallons of water every week! A standard showerhead, uses about 4-6 gallons of water PER MINUTE!!! If this same family of 4 used a "low slow showerhead", they would save up to 20,000 GALLONS of water , not to mention the energy used to heat that water!!! This also reduces greenhouse gas emissions by more than 300 pounds per year! So the message here is, every MINUTE you shorten your shower, you save 4-6 GALLONS of water! Just imagine how many zillions of people are showering each day and if each one of us, cut our shower down a bit, and didn't use such HOT water, we would make a HUGE impact!!!! Next time you take a shower, just time yourself - I think you will be AMAZED at how long (and how unnecessary) your shower is! Come on, scrub a bit faster - do it for the planet!!! Cutting your shower from 10 minutes to 5 mintues, over the course of a year, would provide enough water to fill a backyard swimming pool AND saving an extra 2200 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions just from the energy used to heat the water!!!! That 's over 4200 gallons of water you can save in that simple green effort!!!

Flushing it away - Okay, my sister lives in LA, and years ago, I remember being out there and California was way ahead of the rest of us, with its conservation efforts. I remember during my visit with her she told me, the motto is "if its pee, let it be, if it's brown, flush it down" - sorry, for the graphics, but that is really what the saying was....this was their daily effort at conserving energy and water.....I know, it's a tough idea to swallow and I'm not suggesting you do that, but just be aware...toilets use the most water in the home...Over 4.8 BILLION gallons of water are flushed down toilets EVERY DAY in just the US along, that equates to 9000 gallons of water per person every year! YIKES! Between the shower and the toilets, our "per person usage" is going up quickly!!! Older toilets use more than 3 gallons of water in 1 flush, vs modern reduced flow use a little more than 1 gallon....Keep that in mind during your next "toilet shopping spree" :)

Dishwashers and dishwashing - This accounts for 15 perscent of the household water use, not to mention HUNDREDS of pounds of greenhouse gases in hot water heating! The dishwasher can use more than 10.5 gallons of water per cycle, vs a newer model uses 1/2 that. Sooooooooooooo,
only run it when it is FULL and save 10-20 gallons of water per day! If you are a hand washer, that will likely use less, UNLESS you are one of those LET THE WATER RUN NON STOP people.... Remeber this is sending 2.5 gallons of water PER MINUTE right down the drain!!! And if it is HOT, you are emitting more greenhouse gases by the minute!

Washing machines - The average washing machine produces nearly 200 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions each year, but if you choose HOT water, it gets worse! Over 80 percent of the energy used to wash clothes comes from HEATING the water and a hot water wash generates 5 TIMES MORE in greenhosue gases than a cold wash! Choose cold and save 6.5 pounds in emissions FOR EVERY WASH! Be careful when adding your detergent also - for each 3.5 ounces of detergent, 3 pounds of greenhouse gases are generated!!! So remember, don't wash your clothes because you just didn't hang them up and you don't feel like it (come on, how many of you can relate to this!!) make sure they need washing and then only wash with a full load! I have switched to cold washes 98 percent of the time - and it works just fine! And hats off if you can do the line dry and save on the dryer!!

Water bottles - I know I have talked about this before, but sorry, I am very passionate about this one.....I too got caught up in the INSANE "bottled water" frenzy that caught on several years back! OMG, if we would just stop and think about it, it is insane. Especially considering the fact that many of the bottled waters have been tested and are NO DIFFERENT than our tap water! Buy a nice stainless steel water bottle - you will LOVE it and take it everywhere! Your beverage stays hot or cold for hours!!!! Remember, plastic comes from petroleum, a limited resource (like WATER!) and it takes over 1.5 MILLION BARRELS of oil each year, just to cover America's demand for bottled water!!! Converting this oil to gasoline equates to fueling 500,000 station wagons on coast to coast road trips!!!!! YIKES!!! Come on peeps, we can do this!!! I won't even tell you how many bottles are not recycled and could stretch across the globe and back as they litter our landfills and will be there long after we are "pushing up daisies" as they say :)

So, are you thirsty yet?! Hopefully there is still some water left, to quench your thirst!!!

So just for today, think about what you take for granted?!?!? And think about what you can do to make our planet a little better, a little less "gassy"......

Remember, we need to drink a lot of water every day, so save some from your showers, toilets, washing machines etc - so you can have your 8-10 glasses in your stainless steel mug :). Yikes, I just read that and want to reiterate, I'm not suggesting you drink from the toilet!

Here's to an H2O toast to our planet!

Have a great Sunday!

Saturday, October 16, 2010

I'm not going to tell you again....oops, I mean, I'm not going to tell ME again...

Yesterday was 1 of my old friend's birthday - 57 years old....by "old friend" I don't mean old either...come on peeps, give me a break, 50 is the new 40 and I'm going by that standard, so we aren't old yet.... Anyway, she has been fighting the weight battle for too long and we always try to "encourage" her whether she wants it or not. You know how we are, we WANT help, but then when we get it, we really don't want it so much. On Friday night, when you are eating and drinking, it is easy to talk about what you are going to do come Monday morning!!! Until Monday morning comes....

Anyway, her work has a "weight challenge" and I mean a BIG weight challenge - big contest with big prizes, etc - and I was trying to remind my friend, that she could WIN the whole thing! She lost 9 pounds at the first weigh in, without tremendous effort (she won't like hearing that) and this thing goes to JANUARY! HElllllllllllllllllooooooooooooooooo
January is 2.5 months away!!! She could not only win the contest, but more importantly, win back her healthy life!!! After all, I did say, we are YOUNG,but we aren't getting any younger...and we are like cars at the 50,000 mile check up....parts start needing tune ups and replacements :).

So as she sat there with a beer, I was the cheerleader in her FACE, saying, YOU CAN DO THIS, this is your opportunity, you can change your life!!! Because clearly winning the prize would be great, but the biggest prize would be her new life as a healthy person. I have known this girl since we were in highschool - she WAS the jock, the petite but strong and healthy girl! I want that back so bad for her. But SHE has to want it back too. Most importantly, SHE has to be the one saying "I CAN DO THIS" and we aren't quite there yet......But I do understand why...it's tough - it is a HUGE decision and takes a tremendous amount of effort, courage and determination...I KNOW she can do it and will be praying that she realizes that. Because as Karen told me on the blog recently, and I love this...."NOTHING tastes as good as "Healthy" feels!!!" LOVE THAT ONE!

As I sat chanting "YOU CAN DO THIS" to my friend last night, I realized that I was not only reminding HER but also ME....I was thinking about it on my early drive to Body Pump this morning (I had to say YOU CAN DO THIS to me about 7a as I pulled the old body out of bed on Saturday to go subject it to pain :)).....

Remember that saying that "everything we ever needed to know about life we learned in kindergarten" - well I agree that we have learned so much from infancy on, but for some reason, we have to hear it over and over and over....seems the first 5000 times, just haven't sunk in....let me give you a few examples....

-I'm going to floss daily (RIGHT! That doesn't happen....then when I do, why am I surprised that I get a little bleeding?!?! Helloooooooooooooooooooo, 50,000 mile check up time, floss em while you got em!!!)

-I'm going to set the alarm early so I have more time in the morning ............No thank you, I would prefer to get up everyday and run like a gazelle through the house, trying to get the dogs fed, out, pilled, me showered, teeth brushed (can floss at night :)), and out the door with lunch in hand in time for my conference call.....

-I'm not eating BLANK ANYMORE! Or drinking BLANK ANYMORE? Yes, you are probably laughing at this one, because I'm sure you can relate.....sometimes, I find myself saying that as my spoon is dipping into the bowl :( and then when it is gone, I think, why in the heck did I eat that?!

-I'm not going to procrastinate.....heck I do that with my blog all the time, waiting for the perfect "inspirational" story to pop in my head....sorry, folks, you know that hasn't happened!!! But procrastination just leads to so much stress in our lives.....

-Here's a good one....I'm not going to "judge people" or gossip - Geez, despite your best efforts, this is tough.....so if I do either of them, I'm going to just try to talk with Buster and Charlotte about this (my dogs :)), because let's face it, we shouldn't judge ANYONE except yourself! And gossip is empty energy that is painful and goes nowhere!!!

-I'm going to declutter - Yikes this is painful to even say outloud...although I do continue to chip away at this....even if I get it to 1 room, then I can make myself take 15 minutes a day to work on 1 area.....

So, all of those things, that you find yourself telling yourself OVER and OVER and OVER, what are they!?!?! Come on, share them with the rest of us!? Getting it out there in print is step number 1, plus it reminds us of all the things that we all do and need to face and conquer!!!

So just for today, think of 3 things that you tell yourself over and over and over, for the last "only God knows how many years", and write them down, say them outloud and find a plan to face them head on....we just can't keep using our energy up on recurring issues :)

Enjoy this magnificent weekend...and remember YOU CAN DO THIS (you have to fill in the "THIS" part!)

Friday, October 8, 2010

You have IT...then you lost IT and try to get IT back!!!

Like ding dongs to a Hostess addict.......or dog hair to my ultra suede couch....some things just need each other......some things just stick together.....kind of like IT when you find IT.....

What is IT, you ask?

IT is that drive, commitment, unyielding and unwielding power of powers that you somehow mysteriously FIND and while it remains with you, you are invincible......

-You can fight off chips and ice cream with an easy NO WAY
-You can work through 5 workouts a week with no resistance from the "non exercising other personality in your person"
-You can stay dedicated and on the right track without someone watching your plate for you and asking "do you REALLY want that?"
-You can get on the scale each day, week or month knowing that the number is going down, down, down (without having to say a novena before you get on!)
-You can pass up those "stashes" of danger you have lurking in your house...in the freezer or in the diningroom hutch, without batting an eye..
-You live it, breathe it and LOVE it, WHY!? Because you feel so dang good!!!

BUT

Then as quickly and powerfully as it came, it disappears with a flash of an eye.....you barely remember what IT looked like, sounded like or felt like.....

-The sugar devils start hounding you and filling your thoughts with all kinds of dangerous sugar drugs.....you know what they are
-The exercise fairy is beaten up by the many couch potatoes that lure you to the tube with the remote in hand and put you in a "clicker frenzy" while you sit there instead of heading to the gym
-The waffle top comes back and wraps around your middle so as you sit and type you can feel it falling over onto the rim of your pants, what a lovely feeling that is.....
-You keep looking for IT over and over and can hardly remember what IT looked like, felt like or sounded like....

Do you know what I mean!?!?!

Well, there is 1 more stage to IT and that is.....

I found IT, I lost IT, I found IT, I lost IT, the kind of hide and seek IT mania, I call it.....

-You wake up in the morning, raring to go....only to be taken under by the kind looking, but sneaky pumpkin bread on the counter, calling your name
-You recover from the p bread and just say no to anything for the next few hours and head out for some running
-You try to run, you really do, but you find yourself about 1 tank short of oxygen, so you huff and puff as best you can, even though you really are thinking about the couch potatoes again, but you keep on moving....and feel good when the sweat starts dripping....
-You come home with good intentions as you dig out the fish and veggies for dinner
-You hear the ice cream calling and you justify it because you did some huffing and puffing and also had fish for dinner
-You plan a weekend full of exercise...

Ah yes, the found IT, lost IT syndrome.....you still know what IT is, you still see IT and you definitely don't want to lose IT....but yet there are those times IT slips away.....

So back in January, I started this LAT (Lose a Ton) challenge and managed to drop 30 pounds....
I don't want those pounds back, although I know a few have creeped back on.....I'm fighting it and don't want to lose and don't intend to! I just need to get IT totally back under control. Thank goodness I haven't lost IT totally. I just periodically lose IT and have to find my way back home.

So where do I go from here? It is all up to ME! I am the fool making the decisions, good or bad. I may be blaming this on my imaginary IT figure.....and what a powerful imaginary figure IT is - ha, but the reality is that IT is all in my own brain!!! Mind over matter....we have talked about this before....like when my brain had to tell my feet to keep moving....it was totally up to my brain, not my feet, but I had to realize that too. Just like I have to realize IT now....IT is in my own mind, and up to me to keep IT going!!!

So just for today and for this weekend, I am going to have a long talk with my old friend, IT. What have I got to lose, besides hopefully a few more pounds!!!

Hope you have IT under control!!! Enjoy your weekend!