Yoga has been one of my favorite workouts since I discovered it with P90X. If you think that yoga is not a workout, clearly you haven’t attended a class…let alone a bikrim yoga class. I love how yoga keeps me lean, flexible and cool as a cucumber. By that I mean that I am total centered, calm, relaxed and energized. Something about shutting your brain off to the world is amazing, all while hyper-focusing on balance and strength. Centering your chi is like any other action, having the proper tools is essential, Aurorae Yoga helps inspire and illuminate your experience. Continue reading “Aurorae Yoga Mats and More”
As a mom who is extremely health conscious of sugar intake in my kids diet I am always on the look out for healthy alternatives. Plant based sweeteners and naturally occurring sweeteners like honey, agave, and maple syrup are a go to with my recipes. I recently signed up to review Monk Fruit in the Raw sweetener as an alternative to sugar.
I really had no expectations for the product. To be honest I am out of touch with a good portion of mainstream so I was okay going into this totally blind. More so were my guests who were also blind to the fact I was having a party featuring the product. We held a dinner party where Monk Fruit in the Raw was the guest of honor, showcased without a tremendous production, that’s how we roll.
My honest opinion was that it resembled Splenda. Light, fluffy, not very sugar like, with the exception of the white color of standard bleached sugar and I didn’t get that feeling that this was a solid sugar alternative. While the packaging indicates that it is a plant based, my opinion wasn’t that this was “all that” for plant based sweeteners. The ingredients are monk fruit extract and dextrose which is grape sugar.
Even though this is not a “Splenda” or sugar alternative like saccharin, the overall consistency reminded me of Splenda, saccharin, not anything I would probably use on a consistent basis. I am a texture person and if the texture looks processed and unnatural I just cannot get behind it.
The product overall was great and easy to use. Measuring spoon for spoon like sugar.
My guests were ever gracious and asked the same questions I did about the Monk Fruit and were willing to give it a go. The packaging was great and the men had a blast tossing it around like a football. The Monk Fruit in the Raw branded bags were also a hit for my party goers to take home with their sample, recipe cards and coupons.
Overall the party and product was a hit and definitely room for conversation with the fact this is a plant based product that resembles Splenda. I want to thank In The Raw for the great samples of Monk Fruit In the Raw to share with my party guests and family.
Disclaimer: The Five Fish was not compensated for this post, while product was received opinions shared here are my own or were obtained at the permission of those who attended the event. This event is not administered, sponsored, endorsed by, or associated with, Facebook, Twitter, Google, Pinterest. Contact karie@thefivefish.com if you have additional questions or concerns.
Tis the season for regret. We know all too well that come January we will all be griping, complaining, belly-aching and carrying on about holiday weight. Not to mention overall health and wellness. As if we didn’t learn the January prior to that or the New Year’s resolution prior to that.
For the past five years I have taken control of my health WAY before the holidays and even the New Year. I tell you, its a daily affirmation to live this way and not give in. Health, fitness, proper diet, these are all a lifestyle. By lifestyle I mean truly a way of living. Craving the life. Feeling cranky if you can’t live this life. But taking everything in stride and knowing, hey, there is tomorrow to reboot and actually acting on those desires; not putting tomorrow off for days, weeks, months and sometimes years. You see I kicked so many bad habits and incorporated some of the smallest ones to make the largest impact. The smallest habit was a daily multi-vitamin. Easy breezy, but what a difference when I don’t take my vitamins.
Let’s say though that you have ridden that “lifestyle” train before and found it didn’t work for you. Nod your head.
Maybe you bought some vitamins with the guarantee they would make an impact, but the only impact you felt was to your wallet. Nod your head.
Well you can put an end to that uninspiring and unhelpful way of living with Bulu Box.
What is Bulu Box you ask? I’m glad you asked! Bulu Box is the best thing since sliced bread to discovering your health, nutrition and weight loss products. Even more so are the added bonuses for money saving coupons and subscriber only offers hidden inside each box. All you do is subscribe for $10 per month and you receive a great Bulu Box like mine, chock full of great full size samples, a few trial sizes, and money saving coupons for products. The beauty of the Bulu Box is just the small monthly subscription fee and you are provided great products to try out before you go and invest all your hard earned money on something that might not be right for you. Or worse yet, you buy a product and
NEVER. USE. IT!
Bulu Box is more than a monthly subscription. They are a retailer that offers you the most premium health, wellness, fitness and nutrition items on the market. No gimmicks. Just honest reviews and feedback from consumers like you and I on products that work. Products that stand by their name. Products that are worth the investment after your initial testing.
I love my Bulu Box for the items I would have never thought to try before. I had seen them and thought, “Well I would like to try that but I don’t want to invest X amount of dollars and find it doesn’t work for me.” Bulu Box allows me to find what works for me and not invest a fortune.
Bulu Box is a great and affordable gift idea for that person who is health minded and conscious of what they are looking to put in their body or for the person who might be on the fence about jump starting their health, wellness and fitness goals. What better way to help them get a good start to the new year than with a subscription to Bulu Box. You can choose from the many different payment plans in one month, three, six or a full year subscription where each box holds something new. Additionally you can earn points to use towards full size purchases and other goodies. Who wouldn’t love those perks?
So I mentioned to you the money saving coupons. In my Bulu Box I received a $100 off coupon of $160 or more purchase of wine. Wait…what!? So I spend $160, get $100 off and basically I just order a stink load of wine for that little? We go through a lot of wine in our house so this was HUGE! My Bulu Box also had a great vegan protein shake, organic snack bar, and a guide for how the items in my Bulu Box combined with other items would be a recipe for success. I like those kinds of suggestions. Plus, I can try them out to see how they work for me and if they do, then I am sure to purchase the full size samples and continue making those same purchases to come. You see….healthy habit.
Here’s the best part as loyal Five Fish readers, you can receive a three-month subscription to Bulu Box for the low price of just one month! That’s right! Use BULUFISH as your code to receive a three month Bulu Box subscription for just $10. Talk about huge savings for the New Years resolution and for a fabulous holiday gift. Don’t wait another day. Grab that inner procrastinator by the horns and start improving your health today.
Disclaimer: Participating Blogs were not compensated for this post. This event is in not administered, sponsored, endorsed by, or associated with, Facebook, Twitter, Google, Pinterest. Contact karie@thefivefish.com if you have additional questions or concerns.
Taking care of my family is a number one priority. One of the ways I care for them is by creating amazing meals. I love to cook those amazing meals and I take great pride in the time I put into them, but the time can take a toll. Three kids all involved in some activity, weekends with friends, serving with church, and a husband who travels creates a very hectic schedule. With all of that I am not one to skimp on meals and or breakdown and get fast food or takeout. Slow cookers are great if I planned ahead, but sometimes I just forgot to pre-plan resulting in last minute scrambling for meal prep. My life saver has been the Fagor Cayenne Pressure cooker, this awesome kitchen tool cuts cooking time for hours into mere minutes.
The Cayenne pressure cooker spices up my kitchen in the gorgeous red. Made of durable stainless steel, equipped with a veggie steamer basket and convenient cook book to get you started on your culinary adventures. Pot roast will never be the same again as you slave and wait hours for the roast to cook; in less than an hour your entire meal is complete and table ready.
Pressure cookers are great, old fashioned green technology. Good old stainless steel, no coatings or plastics. Energy is saved as pressure cookers are able cook an entire meal, dessert, whatever you wish, in a fraction of the time.
Fagor’s mission is to use resources efficiently and preserve the environment by developing quality products that consume less energy and water. Fagor is a notable partner in the Energy Star program. Fagor has manufacturing systems established to minimize environmental impact on soil, water, and air during the production process. There is also proper waste management and recycling procedures in place after manufacturing process is completed.
The 6-quart pressure cooker has a 10-inch diameter base for better browning and searing, a max fill line to notify you when you have reached capacity, two pressure settings: 2 for 15 psi and 1 for 8 psi of cooking pressure, a self-locking mechanism safely secures the pressure cooker, and an easy, automatic pressure release setting.
One of my favorite recipes and one you might not believe or think to make in a pressure cooker is cheesecake. Yes, you read that correctly, cheesecake!
Simply wrap foil in the basket and sprinkle with bread or cookie crumbs.(1 TBSP butter and 4 TBSP cookie or bread crumbs)
Blend together the following ingredients:
2 – 8 ounce packages of cream cheese
3/4 c. of sugar
1/4 c heavy cream
2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp grated lemon zest (or 1/4 tsp lemon juice)
2 TBSP flour
6 TBSP sour cream
2 eggs and 2 egg yolks
2 c. water
Pour water into the cooker. Pour the mixed ingredients into the basket and lower into the cooker. Close the lid, bring to pressure and cook; then let the pressure lower naturally. (Cook for 30 minutes on High pressure or 56 minutes on Low pressure.) Once the pressure is lowered, remove the lid and take out the cheese cake, loosen the foil, cool and then chill overnight. Serve with fresh fruit or preserves.
Now you can gift this amazing appliance and piece of cookware to chef in your life. Here are the details: a Rafflecopter giveaway
Disclaimer: Participating Blogs were not compensated for this post. No purchase is necessary to enter. One entrant per household, per address. Void where prohibited by law. Winner(s) will be contacted by email and have 48 hours to respond before a new winner is chosen. Earth Easy will be responsible for processing product to the winner of this sweepstakes. This event is in not administered, sponsored, endorsed by, or associated with, Facebook, Twitter, Google, Pinterest. Contact karie@thefivefish.com if you have additional questions or concerns.
As the seasons have officially changed and the rest of the world has fallen back for daylight savings, the rest of us here in Arizona are still enduring spring and early summer type weather. While I long for hot coffee and tea to enjoy on cool fall days, I am still drinking up all the water I can stand in order to stay cool this summer November.
However the water in Arizona is less than desirable. Harsh, desert water tastes like liquified sand, not really, but it tastes heavy and a bit dirty. The water is laden with chlorine, fluoride and other non-natural occurring ingredients. I grew up on tap water and my kids drink tap water, but the taste is something to be desired and if you are like me, you tend to not drink enough water based on taste.
Bottled water is an expensive purchase and the left over bottles leave waste if not recycled properly. Reverse osmosis systems offer similar options but they still maintain levels of chlorine in the system in order to filter properly within the system.
Clearly Filtered offers an in fridge pitcher to filter out the chlorine and harsh chemicals that adversely affect your water. The pitcher is a BPA free, non-leaching Tritan plastic which can hold up to about 2.5 liters of water. Additionally the filter has a 300 fill, 200 gallon life span, which is five times greater than any competitor. The water is clean and clear, removed of the majority of heavy metals including lead, mercury and chromium.
Why is Clearly Filtered different?
We aren’t satisfied with the options people have when it comes to water. That is why we are committed to coming up with better solutions that will keep you healthy and wont hurt the environment in the process. The truth is bottled water isn’t good for our bodies, our wallets or for the planet. The faster we get people to realize this the sooner we can start considering better alternatives. Clearly Filtered can help make a positive impact on your health, your finances and our ecosystem. It’s not the only choice, it’s the best choice. We are passionate about helping others achieve a healthy lifestyle by ensuring that the water they drink is clean and pure. Our mission is to provide clean, safe drinking water to people all over the world. We believe that clean water is a basic human right and we intend on doing everything that we can to make sure that people don’t go thirsty.
I received their Pure Filtered Water Pitcher for review. The water pitcher is an excellent choice for someone who is savvy about their health, has made an affirmation to drink more water and appreciates functional gifts. Clearly Filtered sent the pitcher in their attractive packaging with limited plastic cello wrap. The initial use was very simple with the faucet attachment to blow out the filter before use. Simply pop into the pitcher, attach the filling reservoir, apply the lid and fill. The water filters swiftly and cleanly. We were ready to use within minutes. Of which I immediately partook in large glasses of the water. Clean, clear and devoid of the scent you often experience from tap water. My water intake has increased with better tasting water where I formerly was adding lemon to my tap water experience in order to tolerate.
My kids and husband are also big water drinkers and have preferred a fruit additive to the water in order to enhance the flavor and easy the taste. The Pure Filtered Water Pitcher has really been tremendous in our household and the pitcher is friendly enough for the kids to handle.
Clearly Filtered wants to share their mission with you by giving away one of their water pitchers.
Pure Filtered Water Pitcher
Clearly Filtered brings you a filtered pitcher you can put in the fridge! Now you can have cold, truly filtered water at your fingertips. Just fill up, let the water filter and pour! Never has getting clean, great tasting tap water been any easier. $69.95
Disclaimer: Participating Blogs were not compensated for this post. No purchase is necessary to enter. One entrant per household, per address. Void where prohibited by law. Winner(s) will be contacted by email and have 48 hours to respond before a new winner is chosen. Clearly Filtered will be responsible for processing product to the winner of this sweepstakes. This event is in not administered, sponsored, endorsed by, or associated with, Facebook, Twitter, Google, Pinterest. Contact karie@thefivefish.com if you have additional questions or concerns.
We have all been lied to. A world where everything we eat, drink, sleep and breathe is completely fine. Fukushima, well that was ionizing radiation as a cancer preventative. Genetically modified (GMO) foods are completely fine and have no negative lasting impact on our bodies. For years, farmers have been cross breeding plants for hardiness and for food variety so the splicing of genomes in a laboratory to create a new tomato that is immune to Roundup is no different. Organic, its a scam. The new bottled water fad and sure to die a slow and painful death much like global warming.
Dinner’s New Tomato
Angry yet? You should be. For the second time in a month I have had a troll Scandinavian dwarf strongly suggest to me on Facebook how ridiculously wrong I was for supporting the organic movement and opposing GMO’s.
Let me be clear though on my stance with GMO food products; I AM in favor of a farmers agricultural tactic to cross breed plants in a field (nature does this on her own too), I AM NOT in favor of Dr. Kevorkian playing test tube roulette with a new breed of tomato for my dinner. I support the organic movement because I was educated about organic. I did not hop on some fad toting, band wagon of the newfangled fashion called organic. I did not wake up one day and make the Laissez-Faire decision to just up and rid my pantry and fridge of conventionally farmed, GMO laced foods. Did I clean out my pantry of the majority of those products? Absolutely, maybe not all at once, but I eventually did.
Why you ask?
In 2008 I delivered my twins and found a support group later that year for mothers of multiples. Among our group was a very well educated woman who yielded a fancy science degree, I will spare you her details, however she explained the facts and science of genetic modification (present state), organic foods, farming, how you become USDA organic certified, blah, blah blah. I soaked up every minute. Why? Because why not? I had nothing to gain or lose from her sharing her knowledge, or did I? What I had not mentioned to this point is this amazing woman’s journey defeating breast cancer. She defeated her progressive breast cancer and has been cancer free during the time I have been honored to call her friend. Her battle also included a diet rich in organic fruits, vegetables and meat and dairy products free of hormones or additives. While I am not a doctor and make no claim of the science, I did apply common sense and hear a truly moving situation.I also applied this new found knowledge to another friend who also had breast cancer. A survivor or Stage IV, double mastectomy, reconstruction and lymph removal. She DOES NOT eat an organic rich diet, staying her course she still frequents all fast food joints, drinks large quantities of diet soft drinks, and just 18 months ago underwent another round of cancer treatment for a form of oral cancer found in her mouth and lymph nodes. She has continued failing health including joint inflammation, thyroid, diabetes, and a gamut of other ailments.
Which path would common sense direct you to choose?
Imagine my surprise when in 2011 I receive a phone call from my physician alerting me to an abnormal pap. Her phone call included “biopsy”, “cancerous cells of the cervix”, “advancing cancerous tissue.” I was in a panic. While my family had integrated organic into our diet, we still fancied some fast food and I still partook in an occasional Starbucks; I had not completely overhauled my lifestyle. November of that year, while undergoing a very painful surgical procedure to remove the cancerous cells and tissue I vowed to change my life for the complete good. My family went full organic. While we already had integrated the fruits and vegetables and milk, meat purchases were still from traditional farming, until that day.While nothing is wrong with traditional farming I could not support this mode of food production. The chemicals, the hormones, the pesticides, none of it seemed right or natural to me as someone who had been touched by cancer and as a mother. From that day forward I have been cancer free and my paps have all been normal every six months.
A little over a year ago my mother-in-law was diagnosed with Stage III ovarian cancer. Her treatment was and is aggressive. When we spoke shortly after her diagnosis she mentioned how doctors said if she was going to eat certain foods they had to be organic due to the pesticide interaction with her chemotherapy. I found great irony in that statement. So I went further and researched chemotherapy and an organic diet. At best I found the naturopathic and alternative healing methods like the Gerson Institute and the Breville Method, all supported an organic rich diet of fruits, vegetables and pesticide free proteins. Nowhere did any of the well known cancer sites indicate that cancer patients should be eating a diet rich in organic fruits and vegetables, in spite of the fact that each of these people I know, all strangers to one another shared the same simple fact of eating an organic diet during their cancer treatment. For the conservatives out there I beg the question, what does a doctor gain from making this medical suggestion? If organic is purely a ploy for higher taxation and a fascist movement towards primitivism then why not exploit this venture, especially when physicians and the medical field are supported so heavily by big Pharm and the liberals?
Quite alright, we can save the Ayn Rand style debate for another day.
Do I dream of one day a world where we are free of harmful chemicals in our foods? Positively yes. My Rogerian beliefs is that we are all inherently good, so I favor for optimism in any outcome. Do I claim any health benefits that organic foods are more nutritious? Absolutely not. I am merely making an educated decision for myself and my family based on the research and real life experience of the effects of a diet with conventional farming versus organic farming; cancer or no cancer. I am a protagonist for a diet free of laboratory created, genetically modified foods and substances. When science tinkers around in the genomes and the DNA structure of plants for “improved” purposes I wonder what happens when that DNA is introduced into our environment outside of a lab. My personal research found that children with food allergies, autism, digestive disorders, chronic illnesses and cancer increased dramatically with the introduction of GMO foods. Here is the timeline:
1980 the first GMO was patented for the use to “gobble up oil spills,” because you know that has been a HUGE success
1982 an insulin produced by genetically modifying E.coli bacteria is on the market
1994 the Flavr Savr tomato is approved by the FDA for sale on grocery shelves and promoted for its delayed ripening and longer shelf life than conventional tomatoes
1996 the GMO resistant super weeds appear, weeds are found to be resistant to the herbicide glyphosate
1999 over 100 million acres worldwide are dominated by GMO
2011 Bt toxins (a soil bacteria GMO, engineered to be kill insects such as moths, butterflies, caterpillars) found in humans, specifically the blood of pregnant women being transferred to the fetuses.
From 1997 to 2011 the CDC reported that children with food allergies, digestive problems, chronic illness and skin disorders increased by 50%. Based on the above timeline, I can correlate that negative effects of GMO to our health. The FDA approves drugs on a daily basis that have a side-effect list as long as an ingredient list on a processed food box laden with GMO. Proven fact, Prozac which was and is the most highly prescribed anti-depressant starting in the late 80s has had the longest clinical study, spanning 20 years and is still being studied, continues to releases new and harmful side-effect which include the following: suicidal thoughts and behavior, birth defects, premature labor, severe skin reaction, insomnia, stuffy nose, sneezing, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, tremors, dry mouth, low libido, dizziness. Oh and my personal favorites: heart defects in newborns, lung problems in newborns resulting in improper adaptation to breathing outside the womb, and last but not least, an increased risk of the baby developing AN AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER.
Argue that GMO is perfectly safe, despite the fact we do not have enough research, hence the Prozac reference. Argue that organic may be more expensive and it’s a scam. But when adults result to insults, personal attack, and the “if you don’t listen to what I am saying” since I think “I am right” attitude, I just stop responding. Now this is about you and your feelings, not respecting my choice of which I respect yours. I have no problem with anyone’s choice regarding organic, and I am not opposed to hearing their side, especially if new information of some compelling nature is shared. Maybe I am wrong. I am okay with that, but for now, until I have concrete scientific proof that the long term effects of GMO, herbicides, pesticides and hormones are safe and the whole ban GMO is bullshit, organic is always my choice.
I hate cliches. Nothing pisses me off more than a sappy, true to the heart cliche. Well, unless I am that cliche. A walking, living, breathing, truism in life. You see, for the last twelve months much of my life has been happening for a reason. Even more so, my faith in humanity and the just good of people makes my heart swell with joy.
You see just three short weeks ago corporate America tried to break my spirit. I worked for a misogynist. He feared my greater success over his, due to the fact that he had capped out his career based on his competency level. Plain English, he was a dumb ass. Bless his heart. With that being said, what actions do intellectually inept female hating bosses take? They seek to eliminate a threat. So he did, and I was fired for not lying in an email. But that’s another story. A rather good one to share as well. I digress, back to the story of why things happen for a reason.
The moment I was delivered the news of my termination I had a sense of calm, a relief rather and I knew that everything was going to be alright. Despite the fact that all the cells in my body were screaming, “Fuck!!! This is a mess…”
For weeks the cosmos were sending me signs, much like this one. Actually, my husband sent me this sign, but it is one that is forever changing our lives.
As I mentioned, over the last year things have been happening for a reason to lead up to where we are today. So during this time I have been talking endlessly about my dreams. You know? The dreams kids have. The dreams of what they want to be when they grow up. I have been dreaming big. I love to cook. I love to write. I love to serve people. I love to help. I wanted a restaurant, bistro, cafe. All mine with my own menu, flair, panache and to take in ego boosting, voyeurism of watching people eat and enjoy my food. But I kept thinking not yet; now is not the time. In the meantime, what’s a girl to do with all of these passions? Apparently you are suppose to get fired from a decent paying corporate job and go opening a freaking juice bar is what you are suppose to do! God had plans for me and I was not going about his plans the way I was intended so he was making destiny happen.
I was at a crossroads when I was leaving my former employer. Shaking, trembling, crying, grieving, cursing. What a horrible process to experience for anyone, is the grief of being fired by a dolt. Then the process of attempting to find other employment all while your dream is staring you in the face. So here I am. Writing this post to share with each of you that dreams do come true. Dreams are attainable. Never sell yourself short! Go for the goal. Reach for the stars. Get out of your comfort zone. My faith has tested me more in the last three weeks about my level of comfort than in the years I have been alive.
Please do not get me wrong. I am scared shitless! I am hopeful with my love of God and his sweet son Jesus that this project is going to pull through. A part of me is saying, “just suck it up Kar and go get an eight to five job and grind it out and maybe we can build the dream on the side.” But the divine infused part of me is telling me to grab the bull by the horns, slap it’s ass and serve him up for dinner! YE HAW!
With all this being said, please take a moment to check out what we are doing on Kickstarter. It’s a quick blip. We are doing what we love. I love God. I love people. I love to serve. I love to cook. I love my family and by golly I am going to do STUFF! So help us do some stuff. We are already seeing support. I watched Facebook explode when I posted this. Sadly I felt a bit of shame at first.
I was battling with myself to hit the big green SUBMIT button that was looking at me in the face. My divinely infused brain was yelling at my right hand to click the mouse while my scared shitless self was being a punk. In between my ears all I heard was shame. Beggar. Mooch. Scrounger. Bullshit. God took hold because I hit submit and within minutes a childhood friend from kindergarten kick-started my movement. My eyes welled and burned from the tears. The muscles in my jaw were contracting as my cheeks tightened to fight back all the emotion of love, joy, and HOLY SHIT this is happening feeling that was rushing over me in waves. Notifications were going off in my feed. I saw my photo in my Facebook stream as my friends liked and shared my story. My thanksgiving cannot be fully placed into words how He is working. How my friends are helping me to go make a difference, to make my mark.
Come share in our joy and successes. Help us to make a difference in this world, even if it is the smallest difference, that one small difference could be someone’s entire world that they are paying forward. Won’t you pay it forward. Share our Kickstarter. Just passing on the word is payment enough. Thank you friends for all your support as we go on our new adventure with food!
If one phrase could sum up 2013 and 2014 I think it would be gluten free. Whilst seems to be the latest fad and trend among the clean, healthy, organic living movement, a small population of folks actually suffer from a condition known as Celiacs disease that reeks havoc on ones GI tract. With that being said, I have a dear friend who is borderline. Quite frankly, if she has any gluten foods, she could clear a radius like Hiroshima and that is being mild. Continue reading “Easy Gluten Free Pizza”
The most permanent trend among parents and kids these days is healthy! Healthy habits such as eating, drinking and going green with foods and food delivery products. These habits are fostered by the parents with their children from the beginning to culminate a healthy lifestyle throughout generations. Not only are these life choices a clean way of life but they help to keep our planet clean and reduce the overall carbon footprint.
Brita® is a company that is listening to parents and the way they want to teach their kids healthy habits. Brita® has developed the Brita® Bottle designed just for kids. The filtration company known for water filter pitchers and water filtration for the home has developed a fun, affordable, and convenient solution for kids to drink great tasting water on the go.
No more purchased bottles of water.
No more worries about lead leeching water bottles.
No more worries about plastic leeching water bottles containing BPA.
Brita® offers three fun, bright colors in kid-friendly styles. 13 ounces of water can be refilled time and time again without having to replace the filter until you hit the 40 gallon mark, or every two months if your child drinks the recommended amount of water per day. Sadly, only 15% of school-age children drink the recommended amount of water the body needs to refuel and replenish (i). An even more pathetic and striking fact is that on average, school-age children consume six sodas per week (ii).
Why not promote a fun and easy way to drink water that is portable, green, and saves you money?
The water bottles are dishwasher safe, are fully recyclable, and can replace over purchased plastic water bottles a year. Fill up the Brita® Bottle anywhere and on the go because the filter is built inside. Don’t fill up our landfills with all that plastic and think about all the good we are doing by not allowing that plastic to leach into our ground water and water systems.
But the benefits do not end there! With every purchases of a Brita® Bottle for kids receive a free children’s book. Hurry though this awesome offer wont last long, so be sure to head to your local Meijer or Meijer brand store to pick up your Brita® Bottle and be sure to visit http://www.scholastic.com/brita/ for more details.
i. Hudson, William (2011, April 18). “For Children, Where’s the Water?†Accessed from: http://www.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/04/18/water.school.children/index.html
ii. Strum R, Powell LM, Chriqui JF, Chaloupka FJ. Soda Taxes, Soft Drink Consumption and Children’s Body Mass Index. Health Affairs. 2010;5:1052-1058 http://www.kickthecan.info/sugary-drink-consumption
Going about dinner with my family tonight, I realized how much I have been able to enjoy my children outside of my blog. For the years leading up to this moment I shared almost the two full years of my children’s lives, the first two years of which were for my twins and before were the months leading up to their birth. The fodder of their lives and daily isms is what has driven this blog, making this mostly about parenthood, parenting, being a mother, their antics. All roles and life experiences to revel in, but I am realizing more and more how much I have enjoyed the privacy of my children growing up in front of me, my memories, my moments; our moments.
My little blog will now be evolving and growing as my children have. Visually recognizing that our relationship is truly about parenthood and parenting, mother and child, our values as parents withstanding the test of time, societal pressures, growing pains, individuality, fitting inside the box. Am I fulfilling my children’s lives with cultural enrichment, worldly values and acceptances, and ensuring blinding and bigoted boundaries are eliminated from their being? Call their experience enlightenment or a sense of ascension but I want my children to be just that, children.
Children of their own pace and world away from PR influence, marketing, and main stream of the best and greatest toy, gadget, gizmo, and whatchamajig. Full of wonder and imagination. Encouraged. Loved. Cherished. Appreciated. Supported. I think with a “mommy” or parent blog we are too busy touting our “look at me and look at my kid” that we forget to teach, encourage, cherish, educate. A blog is too much of a public parenthood platform that we are too busy sharing that awesome moment that we forget to live in that moment. Fantastic to put that moment forever into electronic history, but what about just living in the moment. Living with our children. Seeing what we can learn as parents, teaching our children the power of responsibility, ownership, love, respect, values, regret, and the lessons to be learned from these moments.
I watched the other day as a parent went on a tirade about soda served to her young child. While I do not like my children to have soda or other processed drinks including bottled fruit juices (grape, apple, etc), I also know that I can educate them at a young age the affects of these beverages can wreak on their overall health from teeth to how it affects their overall being, thwarting any outside influence to peer pressure them into the sea of wasted humanity. But with watching this parent’s tirade I watched her never take ownership to share or educate her child about soda, any soda, nor did she educate others about her beliefs for her children and that they are her own and to be respected regardless of general society and despite what others believed to be socially okay. In part, her parenthood was so public she forgot to parent her own child and self. We all fuck up, we make mistakes, but evermore, a part of making those mistakes is owning them and teaching our children that we make mistakes, own them, learn from these errors, grow!
Now that my twins have reached the exact age of their oldest sibling when this blog was erected, my eldest son was just about four when I started this blog, I am seeing another turning point to talk about what I do to be a responsible parent. How my children will interact in the unknown future world and hope that my small influence on them  to be righteous, fierce, honest, modest, and simplistic will be contagious. My hope is that this contagion to spread among the masses that being a parent and a public parent means to be held accountable and not inflict some executive order of power that we lack education toward our children in values, decision making and critical thinking. That we value our privacy and publicity as parents and these are in sync with one another.These characteristics should not be left to the institutionalized educators, the education should begin with parenthood. Basic parenting, basic adulthood, and simple humanity.
I only hope that my children know that each human puts their pants on the same each day, and by no means will they ever think themselves more superior, and that my most basic love and adoration for them will be enough to fill their hearts as they have filled mine for dozens of lifetimes.
Yoga has been one of my favorite workouts since I discovered it with P90X. If you think that yoga is not a workout, clearly you haven’t attended a class…let alone a bikrim yoga class. I love how yoga keeps me lean, flexible and cool as a cucumber. By that I mean that I am total centered, calm, relaxed and energized. Something about shutting your brain off to the world is amazing, all while hyper-focusing on balance and strength. Centering your chi is like any other action, having the proper tools is essential, Aurorae Yoga helps inspire and illuminate your experience. Continue reading “Aurorae Yoga Mats and More”
Quite alright, we can save the Ayn Rand style debate for another day.
With all this being said, please take a moment to check out what we are doing on Kickstarter. It’s a quick blip. We are doing what we love. I love God. I love people. I love to serve. I love to cook. I love my family and by golly I am going to do STUFF! So help us do some stuff. We are already seeing support. I watched Facebook explode when I posted this. Sadly I felt a bit of shame at first.
