“Go Loco” Really Isn’t Crazy–It’s Just Good Green Sense

The “greening” of America is finally catching on…and I love it!  Recently, I stumbled across a neat idea for transportation…an online community where you can hook up with others for similar destinations and share the cost.  You can carpool to school, to church, to sports games, or even find someone to share longer distance travel across the U.S.!  It’s a great concept. The GoLoco (www.GoLoco.org) folks make their money by charging 10% of the travel costs, so if 3 people (2+ the driver) decide to go see the Mavericks play, the mileage is determined and then a cost of 50 cents per mile is calculated. If two riders participate, then 1/3 of the trip is charged to each of them, with 10% of the trip cost going to the GoLoco folks.  I think it’s a great idea.  And I bet more of these communities will be popping up.  If you know of some other  GREEN ideas like this, please share them!

And in the meantime, Live Fit, Live Strong, Laugh Often.  Happy Monday!

Recently I was reading an article on www.Beliefnet.com regarding 10 ways to be your own self coach.  The questions the author encouraged  readers to ask themselves were good, so I thought I would share the highlights below.  When faced with a decision or direction to go, ask yourself these questions:

1.) Is this good for me?

2.) What does my body have to say about this? (in other words, LISTEN, there are often clues)

3.) What are my values?

4.) What would Jesus do? (or Buddha, Sai Baba, your grandmother/father, etc.)

5.) What am I not seeing?

6.) What really matters here?

7.) What should I act and where should I step back?

8.) What would make me genuinely happy?

9.) Who has some guidance for me right now?

10.) What is the divine intention for my life today?

For more information, www.vitctoriamoran.com is the author of the book, “Creating a Charmed Life”.

ENJOY today.  Happy Monday!

Get this, according to the editors at “Best Life Magazine“, a typical jack o’ lantern bucket will hold approximately 250 small chocolate bars, OR about 9000 calories. Gulp!  I don’t consider that much of a treat, my friends.  So, what’s a parent to do?  Well, a couple years ago, I started handing out “tricks”–little toys and games versus the junk stuff.  There wasn’t too much of a difference in cost.  It works pretty well and many of the parents actually sighed in relief and smiled when they saw there was no candy distributed.

My son’s orthodontist has a great idea this year, as well. He is offering $2 per pound of candy turned in to him. He is giving $1 to charity and $1 back to the child who brought the candy in. He is sending the candy overseas to the soldiers.  Troops, charity, and kids’ dental health all in one swoop.  I think it’s a grand idea. It seems my kids have more fun obtaining the candy than actually eating it, anyway. I usually let my kids pick out a few to eat Halloween night and then add some to lunch boxes for the next week. But after that….bye, bye candy.

If you have to go the candy route, the folks at Best Life have come up with their suggestions for the Top 10 BEST (?) candies vs. the Worst 10:. My favorites, of course, are all on the “worst” list.

Check it out and good luck.

Happy Halloween!

This weekend iHealthchic will help sponsor a youth triathlon put on locally by the Girls in Motion organization. Girls in Motion has the following mission:

“Girls in Motion is a not-for-profit organization that trains college age women to mentor preadolescent girls with the goal of promoting positive body image and preventing obesity and eating disorders.”

At iHealthchic.com, we support this important mission and think this group is doing a tremendous job in making a difference in the lives of Dallas area youth, one person at a time. That’s why we’re looking forward to volunteering at their “Trick or Treat” youth triathlon this weekend, October 26, 2008, at Greenhill School in Addison, Texas. 

Exercising together with your children and training for a race is a wonderful family activity that gets you moving, enjoying the outdoors and setting/achieving goals.  This weekend, my friends and I participated in a youth and adult triathlon. There were close to 500 children and over 500 adults who participated–in all shapes and sizes!  It was loads of fun and the camaraderie and support was contagious.

My 13 year old recently did some research for a school project on the obesity epidemic in America. What he learned is that in 20-30 years, it is estimated that only 10% of our population will be at normal weight. The remaining 90% will be split between overweight and obese. It isn’t too late to turn this epidemic around, however it will take a united effort at the family level, the school level, and at the government level. For more information and ideas on healthy eating, school lunches and family fitness, you can visit these sites: 

• Experience Life Magazine-A Better Bag Lunch

• Experience Life Magazine-Tracking Childhood Obesity

• Mayo Clinic- Childhood Obesity

• KidSource-Childhood Obesity

• ShapeUp-Tips for Family Fitness

According to the Mayo Clinic, one of the best ways to positively impact your family’s health is to be a positive role model yourself. Here are their “Cliff Note” recommendations:

• Eat nutritious foods.
• Don’t bring junk food into the house.
• Control your portion sizes.
• Save treats and high-calorie snacks for special occasions.
• Turn off the TV.
• Be physically active every day.
• Stress the importance of healthy lifestyle choices, rather than a number on the scale.

That’s it, short and simple. This is what our local Girls In Motion organization is trying to achieve through their mentoring program. There are programs like this all over the US. Search online to find a similar organization nearby–or better yet–lead by example at home and in your neighborhoods. The statistics are astounding. It’s time to make a difference NOW.

Be the change you want to see.  And, have a GREAT week.

By now you know that “serendipity” is one of my favorite words…and that a great day is one that begins with no alarm clock, a cup of green tea sipped leisurely, followed by a nice long run with my ipod. 

I am really enjoying the new “genius” feature on itunes which puts together songs I haven’t listened to in a while. I enjoy music. All kinds of it. It can be so moving and powerful.  Today’s compilation was  “serendipitous”! I THOUGHT I had selected one of the saved “genius” compilations.  By mistake I had pressed songs to play in alpha order begining with  “O’s”…what I heard for that hour or so was a wonderful, odd mix! Usually I pick moods or certain tempo music. Today was one surprise after another and ALL “perfect” for various reasons.  Right in the middle of my run, I even heard a version of Pachelbel Canon with the sound of ocean waves in the background. It was beautiful fall morning. I almost felt like I was getting my beach fix!   Then, as I headed down the last stretch into my neighborhood, “Perfect Day” (Josh Bates) came on. It was a perfect end to a perfect run. 

Here are a few of the “P” songs I heard:

Pachelbel Canon 

Paradise (Ana Serrano)

Peaches & Cream (John Butler Trio)

Perfect Day (Josh Bates)

And the “O” song I started with?  Jason Castro’s version of “Over the Rainbow” with his ukulele.

Happy Saturday. Stay strong.

If you are able, then TRY. 

That’s it.  Just a thought to ponder the next time you are tempted to pass on an opportunity before you.   These wonderful moments of serendipity, opportunity, coincidence or fate–ask yourself, “Why not?” And then enjoy the ride. 

And while experiencing your life journey, don’t forget to look up, give thanks, and view the beauty of the sun setting each day.

As I sit here typing, I am thankful for so much in this life…at the top of the list are my friends and family.

Happy Friday!

Ok, well maybe not exactly…although I do often find other “pearls of wisdom” and humor in the FeMail Creations catalog (www.femailcreations.com ) .  Here are a couple more of my favorites:

“I only have a kitchen because it came with the house!”  (That one resonates with me!)

“The time to be happy is now.”

“Some days are not even worth chewing through the restraints!”

“You have everything you need to be everything you want.”

“Unattended children will be given an espresso and a puppy!”

“Where there is great love, there are great miracles.”

“If you stumble, make it part of your dance.”

But back to the subject at hand…I came across a CCN article about why some women stay well.  For everyone who appreciates “Cliff-Note” versions, it boils down to these 7 things:

1.) Get a massage. (I got one last night…mmmmmmm…even better than chocolate!)

2.) Take a cold shower.  (OK, I tried the whole 10 minutes thing and it was a tad too long –and cold–for me but I was able to do the 2 minutes at the END of my shower and hope it reaps similar benefits!)

3.) Treat your GI problems “gingerly”.

4.) Lather up…a lot. (See last week’s post!)

5.) Try a cold-blasting cocktail. (I was hoping this was where the wine came in…)

6.) Eat more garlic.

7.) Stay positive.

Have a wonderful weekend. I know I will. My son becomes an “official” teen this weekend.

P.S. Good luck to my tri-chicas racing this weekend.  JA, no more dark runs for you. T, see you next week.

And, to the most important man in my life….HAPPY BIRTHDAY, son!  You make me proud.  I love who you are and the man you are becoming.

Seriously, it is. And brought to you by the Soap & Detergents Association, of course…!  Kidding aside, their bottom line message is important– especially as we roll into cooler weather, more time spent indoors and the the advent of the cold and flu season.  According to the SDA telephone study, Americans get a C- on their hygiene.  Yuck.  Close to 40% of Americans don’t wash their hands after coughing or sneezing into them. And fewer of us THIS year are washing our hands after we use the restroom. Seriously, yuck.   Don’t you think? Except for teachers who understand the importance and proper “protocol” for maximum results.  Figures the teachers get an “A”–I’m glad they will be reminding our youth!  So, just to brush up on your “Hygiene IQ” here is what the SDA suggests:

The SDA outlined how to wash hands to effectively remove germs:

• • Wet hands with warm running water before applying soap.
  • Rub hands together to make a lather. Do this away from running water so the lather isn’t washed away.
  • Wash the front and back of your hands, between your fingers and under the nails. Wash for at least 15 to 20 seconds.
  • Rinse hands well under warm running water.
  • Dry hands thoroughly with a clean towel or air dryer.
  • Hand sanitizers or hand wipes are useful alternatives if soap and water aren’t available for washing your hands.

If you’d like to share this info with a youngster, they even have a site available: http://www.cleaning101.com/sdakids/ !  And if you are really, REALLY interested in all the facts about how and why washing makes good health sense, you can learn more at the Center for Disease & Control.

Just remember wash well, dry thoroughly, cover your mouth when you cough and STAY HOME when you are sick!  Add in a good night’s rest, a nutritious diet filled with real food iwith a variety of color, good fats, and lean protein and you are SET!

Have a wonderful weekend and happy hand washing!