Weeds

It was a beautiful weekend in my neck of the woods. People in our neighborhood, including us, were outside working in the yard. Between of the rain we’ve had recently and some sunny, warmer weather, that means that weed season is starting. We had some pretty good sized weeds already taking root in planting beds and the lawn. So, what to do? Take out the weed killer and zap them in no time. What’s in that stuff anyway? Is it really such a good idea?

We just assume that something that is widely available in stores and used by so many people on a regular basis must be safe. As I looked into this, I found that although the makers of these products claim the safety of their active ingredients, there are many other undisclosed ingredients that aren’t listed due to “trade secrets.” I looked at a couple of websites that were very enlightening to me. I will let you draw your own conclusions from these sites.

I’ll tell you what we will be doing at my house - pulling weeds the old fashioned way. It’s a good activity to do as a family, its good exercise, and I don’t have to worry about what may or may not be in those spray weed killers.

Eating Seasonally

There are certain fresh fruits and vegetables that I always have in my house. Apples, bananas, grapes, carrots, onion, garlic. I think I am doing pretty good providing my family with the fruits and veggies that they need to be healthy. But, I’ve been thinking, I haven’t seen a banana tree anywhere near me. And, I’m pretty sure that apples are in abundance in the Fall, and this is the end of Winter. So, where do these come from and how do they get to my grocery store?

Once again, off to do some research. Produce that is picked at the peak of ripeness is always the healthiest, not to mention the tastiest. In order to get out-of-season produce to us, it must be grown somewhere else and shipped. This means a couple of things. It must be picked before it is ripe and it must be shipped a long way. Of course, they lose nutritional value during long trips and they don’t taste too good because they are not picked ripe. In fact, many growers have developed varieties of fruits and vegetables that are sturdy and shippable, but not necessarily nutritious or tasty.

So, in order to have healthy fruits and vegetables that aren’t shipped all over the world, it is important to eat both locally and seasonally. Right now in California, every citrus tree is loaded with fruit, including those in my backyard. Right now, I am eating more citrus because it is both in season and local. I wondered what else is in season right now. Because my local farmers market doesn’t start until May, it’s hard to know. I did find a good website that tells which fruits and vegetables are in season. Then you can decide if you want the benefits of eating locally.

Of course, if you want to eat really locally, you could always plant a garden.

Artificial What in My Child's Vitamins?

I have written before about being a label reader when it comes to cleaners. Many of us read the label on our food. Have you ever read the label on your kid’s vitamins? I switched almost a year ago to a kid’s vitamin that I like for lots of reasons. The other day, I took out my old grocery store vitamins my son used to take and read the label. I was expecting to see artificial sweeteners. Here’s what I was not expecting: Blue 2 Lake, Red 40 Lake, and Yellow 6 Lake. What? I did some looking into this. Here’s what I found. In 2008, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) petitioned the Food and Drug Administration to ban many food dyes from being used, something already being done in the UK. In fact, many food companies are already selling food in the UK that contain no artificial colors. The British versions of Starburst Chews, Skittles, and M&M candies contain the full spectrum of artificial colors in the U.S., but not in the U.K., where the company uses natural colorings. In Britain, the color in McDonald's strawberry sauce for sundaes actually comes from strawberries; in the U.S. it comes from Red 40.
So, why is this important? Synthetic food dyes have been suspected of disrupting children's behavior since the 1970s, when Dr. Ben Feingold, a San Francisco allergist, reported that his patients improved when their diets were changed. Numerous controlled studies conducted over the next three decades in the United States, Europe, and Australia proved that some children’s behavior is worsened by artificial dyes.
Aside from the fact that many foods contain artificial colors, why would you want them in the vitamins we give our kids, supposedly to improve their health?
After all of this, it is good to know that the vitamins I have been giving my son for almost a year have no artificial colors. They are colored with vegetable juice, such as beet juice concentrate and red cabbage extract, annatto and turmeric extract. No mysterious names including numbers. No worries of possible chemical side effects. One less thing to worry about.

Here is a link to the vitamins my son takes.

Healthy Home

I just finished doing the dishes and cleaning the counters. Later, I need to do some laundry. I know, its nothing earth-shattering or even very interesting. I mean, don't we all have to do these mundane tasks several times a week? Well, I am telling you this because about 2 1/2 years ago I switched to nontoxic, earth friendly, and family friendly cleaners. Right away I noticed they had almost no smell. But, I wouldn't keep using them just because of that. I still use them because they work great! I can use them to clean everything. I can even enlist the help of my 9 year old son because there is nothing in them that will hurt him. Who doesn't want their kids helping to clean the house? They are also super concentrated. I like this for 2 reasons: First, went I run out of something, I just mix up some more instead of heading to the store, and second, it saves me a lot of money. Now, last week my husband sprayed some other cleaner in the shower. God bless him for helping, but I could smell that stuff for days! I can't believe I used to use that kind of stuff on a regular basis.
But, this post is called Healthy Home and not just Clean Home for a reason. Since I switched to these cleaners, we have been much healthier. Now, we were pretty healthy before this, but when I look back, my son has only been to the doctor for a check-up and flu shots in the last 2 years. He's had a cold here and there and he had a fever for a day and a half this Fall. I know that I talk to lots of moms about how their kids are always sick. I'm thankful that mine is not one of them. My husband and I have been to the doctor for this and that (we're older, you see) but not for any sicknesses. Is this just a coincidence? Could be, but I don't think so. I'll keep using these wonderful cleaners and enjoy my healthy home.
Want to find out about these cleaners for yourself? Click here.

Spring!

So, tomorrow is the first day of Spring. We can now look forward to longer, warmer days, trees coming back to life, and Spring cleaning.(Look for more on Spring cleaning in a future post.) There are 2 things around the house that I really look forward to in the Spring. One is opening up windows and letting the fresh air in. I know that the air inside my house gets a little stale, especially as the winter wears on. Not to mention the bad stuff coming from carpets, paint, and other off-gassing in the average house. So, I enjoy a nice warm day when I can open windows and air out the house. Out with the bad, in with the good.
The other thing I look forward to in Spring is hanging my laundry out to dry. I just came in from hanging my first load. First, I am saving energy by not using my dryer. Second, my clothes will last longer from not spinning around in the dryer. Third, I just like being outside, getting a little fresh air myself. Now, I don't have a big yard and have had to be creative with where I've put my clothesline, but it can be done. I can hang up one load at a time with the space I have.
So, give it a try. Get some fresh air and save a little money, too.

Shocking Statistic

I read a shocking statistic the other day. Now, we all know that Americans don't always lead the healthiest of lifestyles. We are over stressed, we don't exercise like we should, we don't eat like we should, we don't always take our vitamins. And we know that many diseases are preventable with lifestyle changes. We, as adults, get that, but don't always act on it. Okay, here is what I read the other day:
Children born in 2000 or later represent the 1st generation in American history that are not likely to outlive their parents due to poor diet, too little exercise, and future likely lifestyle choices.
What?! I have a son born in 2000. He and his friends are part of that statistic. For many generations we have seen the quality and length of life keep increasing. Now, it seems it is decreasing. Why? Because we are feeding our kids too much junk and they are not exercising like they should. As parents, we should be outraged at this. We should do whatever we can to change this dismal statistic and get our kids back on track.
So, what are you willing to do? Stop driving through for fast food? Make more home-cooked wholesome meals? Use more whole grains? Serve more fruits and vegetables? Look into high quality nutritional supplements? Look into organics? Look at ourselves and our own dietary and exercise habits? We all need to do something. Today. This needs to be a priority in our family's lives.

What are you willing to do?

Be a Label Reader

I want to encourage you all to be label readers. For food, well yes, but that's not what I mean. You should be a label reader with your cleaning products. Yes, really. Have you ever done that? I read the labels on some of the cleaning products in my house. Here's what I found:

Sanitizing Wipes "Hazards to Humans and Domestic Animals" and "Wash hands after use"

Tile Cleaner "Causes substantial but temporary eye injury and can irritate skin" , "Do not get in eyes or clothing" and "If on skin or clothing: Take off contaminated clothing. Rinse skin immediately with plenty of water for 15-20 minutes."

Automatic Dishwasher Detergent "May cause burns to skin and eyes. Harmful if swallowed"

Liquid Lemon Oil Furniture Polish "Harmful or Fatal if Swallowed. Keep out of reach of Children."

Now, I have been using safe, green, nontoxic cleaners for almost 2 years. But, I still have not gotten rid of some of my old cleaners. But, if you still use these grocery store cleaners, make sure you read the labels. Make sure you have a good supply of rubber gloves and breathing masks. Make sure you have adequate ventilation. And, don't clean while your kids are around. It just seems too dangerous. Or, you could do what I did and switch to safe alternatives. Then we can take all those other cleaners to the toxic waste section of our local dump.

Long Weekend in Portland

My son and husband and I, along with about 100 parents and kids from our school, went to Portland, Oregon last week. We went because of LEST, the Lutheran Elementary School Tournament, that takes place at Concordia University in Portland. It is unlike any other tournament you have probably been to. It includes basketball, chess, swimming, knowledge bowl, spelling bees, math and science competitions, dance, cheer, drama, art, choirs, musical ensembles, and individuals singing, and playing musical instruments. All in 3 fun filled days. It really is a great way for kids who have various skills and specialties to get to compete. Someone once commented on the LEST closing ceremonies, that the kids cheer just as loud for the team that wins the knowledge bowl as they do for the team that wins basketball. That pretty much sums up LEST.

Portland also happens to be my husband's home town. So, we are there at least every summer and are sometimes there several times a year. It is a beautiful city with a lot to see and do both in the city and in the surrounding area. I recommend it highly.

Fresh Air!

I remember growing up in Southern California in the late 70's and early 80's, when many days you could see the air. Although I don't have asthma or any other lung issues, I remember that on really smoggy days it hurt to take deep breaths. We even had days at school when we couldn't play outside because the air was so bad. Of course, California now has strict laws about emissions and the gasoline was reformulated to cut down on air pollution. In my 7 year of teaching in Southern California in the 90's, I never once had to keep kids inside because of air pollution. So, we can now breathe easy and not worry about air pollution, right. Well, actually, no. While outdoor air pollution has improved, indoor air pollution has gotten worse. Yes, indoor air pollution. The EPA says that in the average home, levels of organic pollutants are 2 to 5 times higher that outdoors. Most of us spend a good part of our time indoors. What can we do to protect ourselves and our families? One thing is to switch your cleaning supplies to nontoxic alternatives. Don't know where to get them? Click here to find some great nontoxic cleaning supplies that work really well and won't pollute your home. Here's a simple thing you can do-open your windows. When weather allows, open up your house and let the bad air out and the good air in. What about the times that you can't do that because of the weather? Get an air purifier. Here is the one I use in my home. It has made our indoor air fresher and cleaner and now I wouldn't be without it. If you don't have an air purifier in your home, then you are the air purifier.
I hope you can take a few steps to clean up the air in your home so you can breathe easier.

Water Rationing

Well, here in Northern California, water rationing is right around the corner. We have had several dry years in a row and this year is looking to be dry as well. We had maybe 1 or 2 storms in January and nothing for several weeks. Later this week we are expecting a bit of rain, but I'll believe it when I see it. So, the idea of water rationing sets up a bit of a dispute in my house. You see, I was raised in Arizona and Southern California, so I was raised to think about limiting water use. My husband was raised in Portland, Oregon, land of rain and rivers. So, we don't always see eye to eye on the importance of using water wisely. Case in point: We have a toilet that has run almost constantly since we moved in 5 1/2 years ago. This drives me nuts. I can practically see the money going down the toilet. My husband hardly notices it. Another example: When we moved in, there was a low flow shower head in the master bathroom. The first week, he replaced it with a regular shower head. So, getting ready for water rationing should be fairly easy to figure out in our house, once my husband realizes that we have to do this.

1. Buy a new toilet, you know, one that doesn't run constantly.

2. Install low flow shower heads on both showers.

3. Fix leaky spigot outside.

4. Put cover on pool in slow down evaporation.

5. Turn water on lower when brushing teeth and washing dishes.

This is my initial plan. Anyone have other ideas? I will gladly try to get them past my husband.

Good weekend

Well, what a weekend it was. I had my cousin, aunt, and their nutritionist friend come for the weekend. They were in the area for a meeting and tacked a couple of days on to their trip to come up and see us. The first day, the order of the day was...play. When they got to our house on Saturday afternoon, we rushed them back out to our car and out to 3 wineries. You know, when in Rome.... We then went out for a great dinner at one of our favorite restaurants. That about did them in. Then, day two...work. First we went to church (not work, of course), then we began to prepare for a nutrition seminar that my new friend, the nutritionist, was kind enough to do for a group of people I had invited. It was so great to have someone so knowledgeable to listen to and to ask questions of. You think you are doing pretty good in the nutrition realm, and then you learn all kinds of new things. I did find out which fruits and veggies I should buy organic and which I should save my money on. For all of you, here is the list:
USDA DIRTY DOZEN
Most pesticides
1. Nectarines- 97.3% had pesticides
2. Celery- 94.5%
3. Pears- 94.4%
4. Peaches- 93.7%
5. Apples- 91%
6. Cherries- 91%
7. Strawberries- 90%
8. Imported Grapes- 86%
9. Spinach- 83.4%
10. White potatoes- 79.3%
11. Bell peppers- 59%
12. Red raspberries- 59%
Bonus– Buy organic baby carrots
These are things I will try my best to buy organic.

Then, all too soon, my company left. They may be back next year. If so, we have our plan all worked out. Play a little, work a little. I like that plan.

I'm ba-ack!

Well, after several months I've decided to dust off the blog and give it another shot. So, what's my excuse for abandoning my blog. Ah, um, well, not sure. Maybe I was busy at school. Maybe I was busy with the ever taller little boy and his various activities. Or maybe it was a certain social networking site that has taken up my computer time as of late. The important thing is, I'm back. So, here's what's been happening:
-trips to Yosemite in October (it was COLD, we had snow, then went back to being warm after we left) and St. Louis (no snow, some rain, some cold, some warm, weird Midwest weather.)
-learning about the wonderful world of Wii. We got one for Christmas and are learning how much work a video game can be.
-battling ants over and over and over again. They are probably co-habitating with us and think they have kitchen privileges. I learned that they won't go though baby powder and that we have lots of tiny holes in our house. Thank God for caulk!
-Besides teaching part time, I have been working on my business, helping people live greener, healthier, wealthier lives.
Okay, there it is...my life and ways to be green.

Reduce

We've all heard about reduce, reuse, recycle, right? I've taught this to kids many times and it usually goes something like this...We all know how to recycle by putting things in the recycle bin. Can we think about ways to reuse things. Maybe writing on the back side of paper or using an old coffee can to collect pennies or to keep pencils. And reduce, uh, well, maybe buy things with less packaging? That's always the hard one for me, reduce. I was thinking about this again the other day and realized that I am already doing 2 reduce things every day. Who knew? We switched to cloth napkins awhile ago. I thought it would save our napkins from ending up a landfill somewhere. That's reduce. I haven't bought paper napkins in over a year. The other thing I started doing was to stop buying so many bottles of water and start drinking filtered tap water. Here's a great water pitcher to buy. Again, reduce! I guess its easier than I thought. Find your own ways to reduce. Have fun!

Back to School

Well, obviously, I've had a lazy summer as my last post was over a month ago. After our time in Oregon, we had my parents visit for a week and a half. We went to several wineries (its what we do here) played some miniature golf, went to the Charles Schultz Museum, and hung around the house. About a week after they left, my aunt came from Indiana. So, it was back to the wineries (oh, the sacrifices I make) another round of miniature golf, and out to several restaurants. Then we all piled in the minivan for the 7 1/2 hour trip to Long Beach to see my brother and his family. My parents were there, too, and 2 other brothers. We all had a good time, but it was a quick trip, so it was back home for another 7 1/2. Then, it was back to work getting ready for a new school year. Which brings us to today, the first day of school. It was a half day, but the new school year is underway. I am now the mother of a 3rd grader, strange to me because I taught 3rd grade for 6 years and loved it by the way. I have an ever expanding list of computer work to do, and Joel is back to full time principal mode. So, the lazy days of summer are gone, but I think we were ready to get back to the routine of another school year.

This is also harvest time here in the Napa Valley. We have friends who are home winemakers. We help them when they ask and this year the busy time has coincided with the beginning of the school year. So, we will spend a few evenings and several weekends racking, bottling, crushing and pressing wine.

So, that's our life the next few weeks, school and wine. Cheers!

Vacation

We spent our vacation time, as always, in Oregon. It is a beautiful state with no sales tax where you can't pump your own gas. We started out in Lincoln City on the coast. My husband's family has a little house right on the ocean, but up on a cliff. It is very relaxing. We read, take naps, look at the ocean, play games, and listen to Matthew say "I'm bored." So, there were also trips to the beach to play in the waves and build sandcastles, time at the local pool, badminton in the driveway, and a hike. And, as always, a trip to the outlet mall to stock up on clothes. When our time at the beach was done, we went to Portland via the Tillamook cheese factory and, to Matthew's dismay, a couple of wineries. We spent time with Joel's family who live in Portland or where also visiting. While in Portland, we took a trip on Max(light rail) with Grandma and Grandpa to look through shops, hiking in the Columbia River Gorge, saw some friends, went to OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry) and when swimming a couple of times.


I always love my time in Oregon. There is so much natural beauty and Portland is a wonderful city. Here are a few of our vacation pictures.

Matthew at Cascade Head

A view down the coast

King of the sandcastle

The Columbia River Gorge

Fire and Rain

As anyone who reads or watches the news knows, the weather has been reeking havoc on our fair nation. First tornadoes, then the Mississippi and other rivers started to rise with too much rain. Then, it started getting personal when my dad's hometown, Columbus, Indiana went under water. I have an aunt and uncle who still live there as well as other relatives in the general vicinity. After a phone call to make sure they were alright (they were), then my aunt sent some pictures. Here is one of them:

After I found out that my aunt and uncle were okay, the next town I heard was in trouble was Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Well, I know a few people in Cedar Rapids, so back on the phone and on the e-mail to find out how they are. All are fine, but the city is still bad in general. Then I start to hear about St. Louis, then St. Charles and St. Peters, where my parents and grandparents live. Several phone calls later, all is okay with the people I know. Joel then took a trip to Wisconsin and Missouri and saw the Mississippi not far from the Arch. It's crazy!

Then, on Saturday, Northern California started burning. First, a fire on the Napa-Solano county line. It's not near enough to do any harm to us, but first we saw a big plume of smoke, then we couldn't see much of anything as the smoke filled the valley. Its still pretty murky as the fire is not yet out. Then, a freak dry lighting storm started hundreds of smaller fires in the Bay Area and beyond. A couple of big fires were also going in the South Bay, but have since been contained. Joel's flight home to SFO last night was delayed an hour because of smoke. It's crazy!

Hope all is well where you are.

Laundry

As I mentioned in my last entry, the laundry does not take the summer off. However, I approach laundry a little differently in the summer. A while back, I was reading Guideposts magazine, as I do each month. There was an article, written by a doctor who saw how pollution in the environment was affecting the health of people with asthma that he saw in the ER. He suggests many things people can do to cut down on the pollution they are responsible for. The one that stuck with me was hanging the laundry out to dry. Now, I live in an area where outdoor space is at a premium, so I didn't think I had the room to hang clotheslines. But, I do have some hooks outside that I started putting hangers on to air dry a few things. Then, I thought that if I strung some clothesline between some of the hooks, then I could hang some more things out. Well, in my little yard, I now have enough clothesline to put out a whole load of laundry to dry. I sometimes have to be creative, but it works. Now, it does take more effort on my part to lug wet laundry outside and hang it up. But, and this is just me, I could use the exercise. The nice thing is that I can hang things outside and bring them in and fold them when I am ready. No more reponding to a buzzing dryer or dealing with a cold wrinkly load the next day. On a really hot day, it can dry about as quickly as a dryer. On warm day, it will take longer. I have line dryed just about every load I do at one time or another, but I found that towels come off the clothesline very hard and rough. So, I always use the dryer for towels, no matter the season.

Another thing to think about with laundry is what you are using to wash your clothes. A lot of detergents have strong smells and leave residues which can irritate allergies, especially at night. I use safe, non-toxic products that work really well. Check them out here.

Here are some pictures of my clotheslines.

Enjoy your laundry!

Summertime!!!

Well, summer vacation is finally upon us. I know that for many parents, summer can strike fear into their hearts. What will they do with the kids being home all this time? Where will they stay while the parents are at work? But, for a teacher like me, summer still holds the same allure of long lazy days relaxing that it did when I was a kid. You know what they say about the three best things about being a teacher...June, July, and August. So far, my first day of summer looks like this: Sleep in, do a little laundry (yes, the laundry doesn't take the summer off) maybe take Matthew miniature golfing, have some lunch, sit by the pool, have a glass of wine, make dinner, watch some TV, go to bed. That's the life. Other summer highlights so far:
- Matthew will go to Cub Scout camp. Its a day camp that I helped with last year but am taking this year off. It is a great time for little boys. Hiking, crafts, shooting BB guns, telling gross jokes, rolling around in dust and mud, getting sprayed off by a fire engine. What else could they want?
-Our church is having Vacation Bible School, which, coincidentally, is the same week as Cub Scout camp.
-We will make our yearly trek to Oregon. We will spend some time on the coast, some time in Portland with Joel's family, and possibly some time in central Oregon. We are still in negotiations over camping vs. hotel. I like to be in a place that has flush toilets. I don't think that's too much to ask. I'll let you know how that turns out.
-Hopefully, we will get Matthew into swimming lessons again this year. Maybe take him to hit a few golf balls, too.
On a related summer note, I am on a church softball team that plays in a city league. We finally won our first game of the year! Yeah! As many ball players do, we will make sure that next time we play, the same spectators are there and we are considering not washing the clothes we were wearing.
Happy summer everyone!

Gas Prices

Well, today it officially happened. Gas prices went over $4.00 a gallon. Actually, it went from $3.99 yesterday to $4.07 today. Yikes! There is on station I keep my eye on to gauge the prices. Its on the high side for Napa. It right on the highway. I buy my gas at a station off the beaten path that is always about 7 or 8 cents cheaper. That station is probably close, it not over the $4.oo mark. There's just something about paying that much for gas. Now $3.99, that's bad, but $4.oo, that's terrible. So, I will dedicate the remainder of this post to ways to save gas.

-My brother, Seth, owns a Prius. He loves it and he gets great gas mileage. Alas, we don't. But, if you are in the market for a new car, consider a hybrid.

-Check your tire pressure. Ever ride a bike with a low tire? Its hard work. It's the same with your car.

-Drive the speed limit. Traveling at 55 mph give you up to 21% better mileage when compared to speed limits of 65 mph and 70 mph.

-On longer trips, use cruise control if you have it.

-Remove excess weight from your car. Do you really need that case of water in your trunk?

-Combine trips. Have a lot of errands to run? Plan to do them in one trip instead of lots of little trips.

-Cruising. This is my own word for it. I have started to take my foot off of the gas pedal when approaching stops long before I used to. I am surprised with how far my car will go without using extra gas. Didn't Newton make a law about that? I have found areas around town with slight hills where this works very well. Just make sure your parking brake is not on, I say from personal experience.

-Ride a bike or walk. Matthew and I will occasionally ride our bikes to school. It takes us about 20 minutes, so we have to plan ahead, but its a nice ride.

These are just a few ideas. I know there are many more. Anyone have a great idea to share?

Extraction!

So, Matthew had 3 teeth pulled last week. Yes, they are baby teeth. Yes, they would come out anyway. It was still a little hard on me. You see, I had several teeth pulled when I was a child. Too many teeth, not enough room. They said that if they pulled my baby teeth (root and all) then my permanent teeth would come in straight and I wouldn't need braces. Well, I did have braces. Twice. So, fast forward 30 years and my son is in the same situation. Too many teeth, not enough room. He had a tooth that he lost at least 3 month ago that hadn't yet grown in. X-rays showed the problem. It was trying to come it, but the poor thing had no room. So back to the dentist for 3 extractions. Matthew was a trooper. He had never been numbed before, so he went through the alphabet, finding which letters he could and could not say with a "fat" lip. He made it though with just a little discomfort. The dentist was great with him. Even rinsed a drop of blood off his shirt before he knew it was there. We went home, gauze in mouth and three teeth root and all in a cute little container. It took a little time that evening to get back to normal. I had him with a tea bag in his mouth a few hours later to stop the last of the bleeding, something I remembered doing from my childhood and a dentist friend reminded my of. Something about tanic acid for any science people out there. Our dentist even called that evening the check on Matthew. What a guy! The next day, five dollars richer thanks to the Tooth Fairy, he had a couple of Tylenols, when to school, and then was fine. Kids recover so quickly!