Our bodies are made up mostly of water.  Our earth is made up mostly of water.  Water is good, and necessary, and we’ve been drinking a lot of it.  We see people carrying around the bottles like they’re a fashion accessory.  We’re healthy and hydrated.  Unfortunately, we’ve created another problem for ourselves with all of these disposable plastic water bottles.  Turns out we use more than 70 million of these bottles each day in the U.S.  To recycle the bottles requires a lot of oil, which is bad for the environment.  22 billion bottles are not recycled each year, and end up in landfills or incinerators.  It takes 1000 years for one plastic bottle to decompose.  When burned, the melting plastic releases toxic fumes that attack the ozone layer.  What’s the solution?  Drink tap water.  If you don’t like the taste of your tap water, then add a water filter.  Get a sports water bottle that can be refilled and use it when you’re driving around.  Just like with the canvas grocery bags, it’s just a matter of us getting into a new, good habit.

www.mysigg.com

When I was little I entered a poster contest.  The theme was “pollution” and we could choose any kind of pollution we wanted to protest.  I chose Noise Pollution.  It was bad back then, but it’s really bad now.  The Center for Disease Control estimates that 5.2 million children ages 6 to 19 have some degree of hearing loss in at least one ear, caused by noise.  50 million adults (like me!) suffer from tinnitus, a ringing in the ears that is often caused by loud or excessive noise.  Noise also ups our anxiety levels, raises our blood pressure, and disturbs our sleep.  Here are some things we can do about reducing the noise in our lives:

Listen at 50% volume.  Don’t turn it all the way up!  Especially when you have ear buds or ear phone that are directing the sound right into your ear you just don’t need to hear it that loud.

2.  Keep noisy toys away from baby’s sensitive ears.

3.  At the movies, or even in the gym, position yourself near the back-middle of the room, away from the speakers.  At a concert, wear ear protection.  Foam ear buds can cut out a lot of the volume and you can still hear the music.

4.  When using power tools, or a lawn mower, protect your ears with foam ear plugs or ear muffs.  Don’t listen to music while using the vacuum, that only doubles your exposure to noise.

5.  When flying, use noise-canceling headphones.  I bring mine on every flight, it makes a huge difference!

In a relationship, you have a chance to see each other’s quirks and idiosyncrasies.  And as you spend more time together, those same quirks that you thought were so charming in the beginning may start to get on your nerves.  When you say something about it, or try to change something about your partner, it only makes things worse.  Or if you don’t say something, and just stew about it, resentment builds up.  So what do you do?  Here are some ideas:

Remember that whatever you pay attention to increases.  Instead of focusing on the things you don’t like, or have a problem with, focus on all the things you love, those good qualities.

2.  Practice acceptance.  When you switch off judgment and instead accept your partner “as is,” then you grow closer, and more intimate.

3.  De-stress.  Take a deep breath.  Usually you’ll find that what’s really bothering you is not your partner but the stress you’ve built up throughout the day.  Meditate together, stretch, take a walk.  To remind myself of this I made a T-shirt that says: “Less Moaning, More Om-ing.”

4.  Mind your manners.  Remember that you love this person.  Be kind.  Say “please,” and “thank you.”  Give hugs and say “I love you,” often!

Olive oil is nothing short of amazing.  It offers all of the benefits of the olive fruit, including the vitamins, flavor, and aroma.  Olive oil is used in massage because it is readily absorbed into the skin.  Research has shown that olive oil is good for our health, too, in that it can lower the incidence of gallstones, and may help prevent color cancer.  A recent study from the University Hospital of Valme in Seville, Spain, showed that olive oil has some strong antibacterial properties, which could be helpful in preventing peptic ulcers or even stomach cancer.  Olive oil should be stored in a cool, dark place to keep it fresh.  Here’s an explanation of the different varieties of olive oil:

-Extra virgin: considered the best, least processed, from the first pressing of the olives.

-Virgin: from the second pressing.

-Pure: undergoes some processing, such as filtering and refining.

-Extra light: undergoes considerable processing and retains a very mild olive flavor.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0345479246?tag=brightideaspr-20&camp=0&creative=0&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=0345479246&adid=19WT4FSJDC7PACSSBQNH&

The statistics are staggering.  Kids today spend 7 hours more on homework and academics and 2 hours less on sports and outdoor play per week than they did 20 years ago.  The traditional family summer vacation has fallen by the wayside, 28% fewer families take that time away.  And national park attendance is way down.  If you need a reason to get outside, here’s a good one.  We all know that spending time in nature is good for us.  Well, now scientists have proven it scientifically!  Recent studies at the University of Illinois show that the more time people spend outdoors, in parks, gardens and other green environments, the better they are able to pay attention, focus, and remember.  The theory is that when we have to struggle to maintain attention on a task like writing, or computer work, neurotransmitters in the front part of the brain become depleted.  Our brains basically get tired.  Being in a natural environment allows the brain to replenish itself.  Call it “Vitamin G, for Green”, it lowers stress levels, improves rates of success in school, and decreases the symptoms of ADHD.  Makes sense, doesn’t it?  Before I write my next article I’m going outside for a walk!

Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder by Richard Louv

on amazon

It’s no secret that I love the movies.  Greg and I go every week, usually twice a week, and I have movie reviews up on the coffeytalk site.  One thing I appreciate about really good movies is the writing.  When I can take away a memorable quote (and you know how I love quotes!) then I feel like I spent my time and money well.  It’s a bonus when the quote has a spiritual message!  Here are examples of some of my favorites:

-“Anything you do could have serious repercussions on future events.” From Back to the Future

-“See what’s on the other side.” From Lost Horizon

-“Go with the flow.”   From Fantastic Voyage

-“Revel in your time.” From Blade Runner

-“Go the distance.”  From Rocky

These quotes and many more are now on organic tee-shirts, canvas grocery bags, sweatshirts and more in our cafe press shop!

http://www.cafepress.com/coffey_talk/3057196

If there is a perfect food it has to be the beautiful banana.  Because bananas contain fiber, plus three natural sugars, sucrose, fructose and glucose, they provide an instant boost of energy.  Here are some other benefits of the banana:

-Tryptophan is a protein that the body converts into serotonin, which helps you to relax and feel happier

-Vitamin B6 regulates blood glucose levels, so it helps stabilize your mood.

-Iron helps to stimulate the production of hemoglobin in the blood, so it helps in cases of anemia.

-Potassium helps to reduce the risk of high blood pressure.  It also makes you more alert, so you can learn more efficiently.

And when you’¢re done eating your banana, don’t throw out the skin!  The inside skin of the banana will soothe mosquito bites.  And some say that you can get rid of a wart by taping a piece of banana skin over the wart.

Save paper, and save money, by sending electronic greeting cards rather than printed ones that you buy at the store.  There are many sites that have a huge selection of cards available that you can send out as part of your nominal yearly membership fee.  And there are other sites, like coffeytalk and familyeveryday, that offer a variety of e-cards that you can e-mail to anyone you want to absolutely free of charge.

I don’t know how this happened, but somehow over the years I seem to have gotten on every mailing list for every 4-color glossy printed catalog in existence!  They would go straight in the recycling bin, until I realized that wasn’t enough.  I started calling the companies and requested to be taken off their lists.  Most would comply, until they bought my name again from someone else and there they would be again!  All that changed once I found greendimes.com.  I have seen a significant reduction in the amount of junk mail that we receive, and I know that the trend will continue because greendimes keeps on top of it for me.  There’s a small fee to join, and just $1./month to maintain the membership, but to me it’s totally worth it.  I think about how many trees I’m saving, and it’s a small price to pay.  I hope that all of these catalog companies will end up going to online-only catalogs.  But until that happens, we have to do what we can do.

I have been making a conscious effort to do everything I can to get “green.”   This is not just a trend we’re seeing now, I really think that it’s a lifestyle change.  And it’s about time!  There are so many simple things that we can do, we just need to change our bad habits into good ones.  For example, look at the benefits of just switching to re-useable canvas bags at the grocery story.  Plastic bags, like the ones they pack our groceries in, are made from nonrenewable petroleum resources and require the use of toxic chemicals during production and processing.  Few facilities collect and recycle plastic bags, and they end up mostly as littler or in landfills, where they can last for several lifetimes.  They blow away, are unsightly and can harm wildlife.  Paper bags aren’t great, either.  Grocery stores use about 10 BILLION brown paper bags a year in the U.S. alone.  Pulp and paper mills cause pollution to the air, water, and land, and almost 900 MILLION trees are cut down to provide raw materials for American paper products.

The practical solution: cloth bags.  They’re sturdy, durable, and easy to carry.  They are washable, and can be used for just about anything.  The only thing is that you have to remember to take them with you when you go shopping.  I solved that issue; I keep them in the trunk of my car.  After I finish unloading the groceries at home, they go right back in the trunk so they’re ready for next time.  I absolutely LOVE taking my canvas bags with me when I shop, and I love it when I see other people doing it, too!  Some markets are giving customers an incentive for using their own cloth bags, Whole Foods will give you 5 cents off for every paper or plastic bag of theirs you don’t use.  I think it might be more effective for companies to charge customers 5 cents for every plastic or paper bag that is used instead, and put that money towards a program where cloth bags become a requirement — it all adds up.  I have designed some totally cute canvas bags, and they’re all up in the coffeytalk store.  I use 5 bags to do my week’s worth of shopping, and they all have different designs with great messages on them  the baggers and checkers smile when they read them!  So, the next time you are asked: “Paper or plastic?answer with a resounding: “Neither, I brought my own!”

By now we’re all familiar with The Law of Attraction as it has been explained in “The Secret” and before that, classic books like Napoleon Hill’s “Think and Grow Rich.”  Deepak Chopra originally wrote The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success in 1995.  Now that book has been made into a really beautiful DVD featuring Olivia Newton-John and her songs.  I like that by having these messages in a multi-media format, we can experience them more fully.  The seven spiritual laws are these:

1. The Law of Pure Potential
2. The Law of Giving
3. The Law of Karma
4. The Law of Least Effort
5. The Law of Intention and Desire
6. The Law of Detachment
7. The Law of Dharma

When we understand just how life works, it is easier for us to work with it, and help it to work for us.  There’s no secret about that!