what are we supposed to eat??

You can die from eating junk food.  You can die from eating celery.  Both of these were front page stories this week.  They really got me to thinking; what are we, as Americans, putting into our bodies and what can we do to change?   We are a nation of people obsessed with being in a hurry, so much so, that we seldom think twice about what we are using to fuel our own bodies.  We eat food that is outsourced from other countries rather than food that is grown in our own back yard, in the name of convenience.  We gobble up fast food at astonishing rates, seldom without thinking twice about fat content and nutritional value.  What is the point of being in such a hurry, if we don’t maintain our health and our environment, will we even be around to enjoy whatever it is we are in such a rush to get to?

I will start out with the obvious, our nation is unhealthy.  According to the American Diabetes Association, roughly 1 in 10 Americans over the age of 20 have diabetes.  A preventable disease that can be prevented by diet and exercise.  In an article on NPR by April Fulton, one third of our population is expected to be diagnosed with diabetes by the year 2050 if we, literally, don’t shape up.  These are terrifying statistics when you consider that this is far from the most dangerous of the diseases caused by our increasing level of obesity.  According to the center for disease control, the number one killer of Americans is heart disease.  This too, can be prevented and controlled. In many cases with simple diet and exercise.  Yet every day we are bombarded with billboards, commercials, and shameless amounts of advertising all focused on one thing, getting us to fork out more money for unhealthy food.  The statistics are terrifying and the weapons advertisers are using to keep us fat are strong.  They use huge portions to make us think that eating that much is normal.  I can assure you that what you see on the commercial is by no means one serving size.  The Carl’s Jr. Commercials that we see with sexy, size 0 models and actresses indulging in a double bacon cheeseburger is anything but reality.

On the other side of the issue, where is our food coming from?  If we do decide to eat healthy we are still in grave danger. Walking down the aisle of your neighborhood grocer with your eyes open can be, well, eye opening.  Most of the fruits and vegetables you see are from Mexico, China, Puerto Rico, and other outside resources.  This is disgusting when you consider the fact that they do not have the same regulations we have here as far as using pesticides and herbicides.  Who even knows what you are putting into your body along with the food we were intending to eat.  Then there are the lost vitamins and nutrients. Mineral deficient soil, and food picked before it's peak can rob your food of up to 40% of the food's intended nutrients and minerals. At the point it sits on the shelves it is far from fresh, it may have been picked a week or two before it found its way to your grocer. Some produce is wax coated or sprayed with water to look more fresh and appealing than it actually is.   Not to mention the amount of fossil fuels burned to get the food the thousands of miles it takes to reach the grocer, and behind that the ecological impact of the burned fuels.  That is a lot to consider for a cucumber you could have purchased at the farmers market or grown in your own backyard. By buying local you are supporting the local economy, keeping jobs in the US, and knowing first hand who grew your food. With all of the stories you hear about salmonella and e coli out breaks it seems like the option of buying your food from a reliable, local resource just makes sense.


It is time for us to make a move to a healthier existence. We need to think about what we are putting into our bodies, and deciding if it is the right kind of fuel. In order to prevent the devastating outcomes of a nation fed on fast food, we must act now. We need to support educational programs and incentives to teach children and families how to make the right decisions when it comes to food. By teaching our youth the right choices about food, not only what we eat but where it comes from, we will be saving them from a lifetime of sickness and pain.

Pretty defined

How to Make God Giggle- 1st revision

You can plan for a lot of things. You plan a vacation, you plan a party, you can even plan for your pregnancy. That is exactly what I thought I had done for my pregnancy, “plan”. I planned on the sex of my child, the type of childbirth I would have I planned on the midwife that would deliver my baby. I planned on a warm, dark room, with my favorite music playing in the background as I toughed out the birthing pains with no type of pain medicines. Somebody told me once, “Want to make God laugh, tell him your plans!”. On July 24^th I am sure I heard God laugh.

The day started out innocent enough, I rolled body, eight months pregnant and swollen, out of bed. I got dressed and ready and walked down the stairs to meet my cousin, Ali and her son, Silas. I had planned on tagging along with them to a couple of Silas’s doctor appointments. This day was so perfect and beautiful that we had decided to travel the two miles from my house to the hospital on foot. During our walk I started to feel a little funny. The heat that had felt so good in my front yard was suddenly a little too much. We turned back and grabbed the car. We arrived at the hospital and went to the first appointment without incident. On the way through the hospital, to appointment number two, we stopped to use the restroom; this is where I realized something was not right. I went to the bathroom as usual, but I couldn’t stop going to the bathroom. I thought at first something was wrong with my bladder control. It didn’t take long to realize the problem was not my bladder, but, that in fact, my water had broken. I assumed it was normal, being a month early and never having had a child before, I thought perhaps I had just missed this chapter in the book, or maybe this is the false labor I had read about; surely there was a rational explanation. This was where the flood gates opened, I thought I heard a snicker.

While it may have been a great thing to be at a hospital when you go into labor a month early, we were at the wrong hospital. We left the hospital and headed to my house to pack my bags, and head to the right hospital. I was calm at this point, I was ready for anything. I had spent months bonding with this person inside me and I was ready to meet him; I had even fallen in love with him. I had picked out the perfect name and was ready to put a face to this little stranger that I had come to know so well. My best friend, birthing coach, and for all intents and purposes, my temporary husband, Amanda drove me to the hospital. Maybe the timing wasn't perfect, but surely from here out everything would be just as I had planned it.

We arrived at the hospital and headed for the labor and delivery floor. After finding out that, in fact, it was my water that broke, I got the most devastating news thus far in my pregnancy, I had to have a cesarean section. Not only would I be going into surgery, but my midwife was not available for the delivery. What? I had planned on a natural, drug-free, childbirth, under the care of a midwife I had come to know very well over the previous few months. While I had remained calm and resilient thus far, this took me over the edge, I was nearly inconsolable. Amanda, in all of her strength and wisdom, managed to calm me down and remind me that it didn’t matter how he came as long as he was safe healthy. I was prepped for surgery and carried on a gurney to the operating room.

The operating room was cold and sterile, I was terrified, and this was certainly not in the plan. The epidural, that I had vowed not to use, was administered. While waiting for the drugs to take effect they led Amanda into the room, which eased my discomfort and helped me to focus on what was about to take place. The physician was very nice, he spoke to us during the process to let us know what was happening. We became a bit concerned when the doctor stopped peeking his head over the sheet to tell us what was happening. To increase this concern my body, which had no feeling from the neck down, was being jerked rather violently. Something was desperately wrong. After what felt like an eternity, the doctors all left the room with my son’s silent, red, and lifeless body in the lead physician’s arms. I was in absolute panic, I looked to Amanda to offer support, but her calming words couldn’t mask the fear in her voice. This is one scenario no mother even allows into her train of thought when she finds out she is pregnant. Then, sounding like no less than an angel, I heard his cry. The relief was unbelievable, Amanda and I cried, too. I sent Amanda to get him from the doctor’s. In a minute that felt like an eternity, she brought me the angel I had heard. He was perfect. The longer I looked at his tiny hands, his tiny feet, his beautiful, little face, the deeper in love I fell. One thing I had not planned for, was amount of love I felt at that moment. This little life that I had created, that I was responsible for, made me feel as though I was holding my own heart on the outside of my body. Everything else disappeared, the cold sterile room, the doctor’s, the sound of God giggling in the distance, there was only my son and me.

Renewable energy...do I have a say?!?

The future of Green Energy in the US

In the United States it is becoming urgently clear to nearly everyone that our dependency on coal and foreign oil is not only selfish and destructive, it is causing huge, potentially non reversable damage to our country, to the globe, to our atmosphere, and beyond.  It seems as though government has its head in the sand, is quick to take up other causes.  What can we do to make a difference.

In the United states we have access to education and a willing workforce ready to take up the challenge of fixing up our environment before it's too late.  There is solar, wind, and water energy all around us just waiting to be harnessed to run our homes and offices.  We are coming out of the worst recession since the depression and we have startlingly low unemployment rates.  It seems like a match made in heaven.  A willing workforce and the potential to create new technology jobs for dislocated workers.  While there has been talk of moving to a more sustainable future of energy, change is slow and with government so busy with health care reform it seems that little is being done to make this change.  The topic is hot during election times and the Obama administration is quick to bash republicans for not supporting renewable energy resources during that time, but movement in the administration is still slow at best when the voters aren't watching so close.   The damage is happening faster than repairs.

What can we do to help move the process along?  The answer is simple, we have to vote.  While we may not have total control over health care, the environment and where our energy comes from, we do have some say in who makes these decisions.  As the future of our country, we have a lot at stake.  To sit back and let other people make those decisions for us would really be a tragedy.  A little over half of our population actually gets out to vote on election day and that lowers to about a third of the population for mid term elections.  Mid terms is when we vote in about a third of our congress, senate, and local and state representatives.  These are the people who are most likely to share our same concerns and who may actually hear our voices...THEY MAKE OUR DECISIONS.  So, if you share some of the same environmental concerns, and even if you don't, get out to the polls on Nov. 2nd and be heard.


I posted a link to a great website sponsored by Wisconsin public radio.  It is called Wisconsin Vote.org.  It is a great site that will help you get to know the candidates, know where and when to vote, registration procedure and lots of other helpful election day stuff.


 http://wisconsinvote.org/