Recipe List

Exercise on a Block Schedule

Our local school system, WCPSS, has decided that every-other 9 weeks of physical activity has the same results as daily exercise. I sure wish that really worked because I would get my 40 hours of exercise over with in a week, then sit comfortably for the next 40 days.

Never mind that the NC State Board of Educators mandates daily physical activity in their Healthy Living policy. Wake County Public Schools never followed any rules anyway. They do as they please - making their own rules up as they go along.

The upcoming school board election will be interesting!

Fresh Start for 2011

It's been too long since I've written. I've decided to start the first Monday of the new year by cleaning up after 2010.

I've started my 7-day detox cleanse. I've done the Master Cleanse before, but it's tough. I'm not sure it's so good for the body. I've decided to try Gwyneth Paltrow's detox plan. We'll see how it goes. http://goop.com/newsletter/15/

• Christmas is being put away
  
• 2010 paperwork is being filed
  
• Returning library books
  

I'm looking ahead to 2011.

Annoying Little Fruit Flies

With all the summer bounty, we've been having fruit flies in our kitchen. I put some apple vinegar (to attract them) and a drop of liquid soap (to trap them) in a tiny glass and covered it with plastic wrap. I poked some large holes in the plastic wrap. It works!

Next, I'm going to try something similar for the mosquitoes in the backyard.

Everything

Network of Love

I believe in the power of positive energy. I happen to call that energy, God. Being an engineer, I look at it as a huge network system with nodes and connections. That's all we are - connections of God's loving energy. The positive connections are our love (that we can only get through God) which pushes through the network. The negative energies stay stagnant and die because they can't grow in the network. Prayer is like a push of that energy (God's love) that forces it out further into the network. I know it's weird, but it works for me.

When we hear the expression, "burning bridges," it is important to understand that we are cauterizing that relationship. A new link/node has to be built to re-create that bond/relationship through amends. I wish I had understood this earlier in life. I share my mistakes with you so that you don't have to make them.

This does not mean we have to link-up with all nodes. If it isn't a healthy relationship, we bypass that node to a positive one. It's that simple. We don't have to damage it, we just move like a magnet to the closest positive node to keep the positive life-force alive. It's like a beating heart - your network of love. It needs love to stay alive.

Remember your chemistry class? I know, it's painful for me to remember, too. My dad was a chemistry teacher. I remember as a little girl him tutoring students with these red balls and sticks that he'd put together to make a 3D visual. I was always fascinated with that. I wish he had been my chemistry teacher. The water molecular structure I've shown is how I picture the love network.

Recycling Your Used Coffee Grinds

This blog is from Huddler's Green Home Community

Did you know that the average American consumes about 3 cups of coffee a day? That’s a lot of used coffee grinds going into the trash.

There are actually many ways you can recycle and reuse your old coffee grinds to help preserve the environment and maintain your health. And for other ways to green your caffeine, check out the wiki all about having an eco-cup o' joe or maybe even look into drinking organic coffee!

A Cup of Joe Goes a Long Way

You’d be surprised at just how many different methods have worked for people:

• Touch up furniture and other wood scratches with grounds and a Q-tip.
• Sprinkle around areas where pesky insects, slugs and snails dwell to drive them away.
• Mix with soil as a natural fertilizer for plants.
• Dye clothing or paper.
• Rub into your dog as an organic flea dip.
• Fill old nylons and hang in your closet or fridge to repel odors.
• Use to fill old pin cushions.
• Scrub away grease and grime from pots and pans.
• Throw on ashes before cleaning out the fireplace to reduce dust from spreading.
• Feed to worms to help with your garden.
• Rub on your hands to eliminate odors.
• Mix ¼ grinds with one egg white and massage onto face like a mud pack.
  

If you’re not an avid coffee drinker but you live near a coffee shop or cafe, you can always ask them for the old grinds. Places like Starbucks actually give bags of used grinds away to people who use them for their home and gardens.

Recycling is just one way that we can help maintain the natural beauty of our environment, so next time you drink a cup of coffee save those coffee grinds for future use.