Common Sense Living

I have to admit, the grocery sale papers weren’t very inspiring this week. But there’s one really yummy thing that is totally abundant this time of year, and cheap.

Watermelon. Cool, sweet, juicy…

Now I don’t want to spoil the fun or anything, but did you realize how healthy watermelon is? Yep, watermelon is a super-food.

Ø       High in Vitamin C (1 cup gives you 25% of your daily vitamin C), Vitamin A, potassium and carotenoids

Ø       Watermelon is low in calories.

Ø       It has high water content, but it’s a diuretic- helps your body remove excess fluids.

Ø       Helps relieve constipation.

Ø       Has 60% more lycopene than tomatoes, helping you keep a healthy heart – and you don’t have to cook it to release the lycopene like you do tomatoes. Lycopene is also toxic to cancer cells.

Ø       Watermelon helps you keep cool and avoid heatstroke in hot summer weather.

Ø       Melons also contain silicon - which stimulates collagen production for healthy bones and great looking skin.

Ø       And it just plain tastes good!

Eat up!

Carole

P.S. If you always wanted to be that thin and healthy person who has tons of energy and is always having more fun than you >>>

At work yesterday, I was reading one of those celebrity gossip magazines. In it there was a picture of Oprah in Italy. It seems that again, her dieting has failed.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Oprah. I remember when she first came to Chicago. I remember when she had the Klu-Klux-Klan on her show. I think she’s inspirational – except when it comes to diet and health. There she loses all credibility. Yet every year she’s pushing some new diet plan.

If you want to be thin and healthy for life – eat a balanced diet of real foods and get some exercise. It’s really as simple as that.

Here are 7 things you can start doing today -

Ø Get rid of packaged food.

Ø Limit your restaurant and fast foods – and when you do eat them, make healthier choices.

Ø Cut out pop, even diet pop. Just one can of pop a day equals 10 pounds over a year.

Ø Add more fresh fruits and vegetables everyday, even if you don’t cut out anything else.

Ø Walk 30 minutes a day.

Ø Get enough sleep.

Ø Take your vitamins.

Go ahead, dip your toe in the water and just try these 7 simple things for a couple of weeks and see what happens for yourself. You might be surprised to find that living a thin and healthy lifestyle is not as boring and gross as you thought. 

You might actually find that what’s really gross is eating the way most people eat. And it makes you look and feel gross on top of it.  

Won’t if feel great to start feeling better, look better, and have more energy?

I’m off to buy more vegetables. How about you?

Carole

P.S. If you always wanted to be that thin and healthy person who has tons of energy and is always having more fun than you >>>

Personally, when I do remodel this house, energy conservation is top on the list. Energy efficient windows, a whole house fan, solar panels and such are all on the list.

It’s become apparent to me that each one of us has to do whatever we can to become as self sufficient as possible - whether it be energy conservation, or taking care of our health, or growing our own vegetables, or supporting local farmers, or creating our own income.

I was directed to a recent Al Gore speech that gave me hope that we may be able to overcome some of the tremendous challenges that now face us.

If I messed up and the video doesn’t work - you can view it here >>>

Do you think it can be done?

Hey, I’m not all that convinced about global warming, but I do think something can be done to make us more self sufficient and not relying on terrorist countries to supply our huge energy appetite.

I never thought about the fact that it could create jobs. After all, telecom gave us the incredibly prosperous times we had in the 90s. That’s the most positive thing I’ve heard in a very long time. This should be fast tracked, don’t you think?

Al Gore has come a long way - don’t you think? Passion goes a long way.

Anyway - signing off for today…

Carole

P.S.  

I am exhausted! I’ve been sort of zombie like this morning.

I just fit 2 weekends into one. I worked Friday night and Saturday night, and still managed to get in too much fun in the sun!

My abs hurt from paddling around on the raft again. Then we got picked up on a boat driven by the association president and spent a hour on the boat, so I’m a little crispy – even though I actually used sunscreen. The pres. had an ulterior motive – he wants us to volunteer at the upcoming pig-roast – which is a whole lake party event. And if we can alter our schedules, we certainly will. My daughter likes volunteering. I think it gives her a little more celebrity status. 

I also got to discuss the condition of the lakeshore. We cannot go into the water directly from the beach. It’s a losing battle, and one that I have grown weary of. You have to go in from a pier or a boat to get over the muck.

Of course, I got a lot of political answers – yes, we did a carp kill, but there was this article in the Chicago Tribune that said that the carp are dying in all lakes in this county because they are essentially spawning themselves to death. I have to look for that article. I’ve never heard of such at thing. And he had a couple of ‘nothing we can do – we didn’t cause it’ reasons for some of the other muck.

But today, I’m too tired to deal with any of it. The house is clean and I have to go to work. That’s the best I can do today.

Remember, that’s the most anyone can expect of you – that you have done the best you could today. That’s all you should expect of yourself.

Carole

P.S. If you always wanted to be that thin, healthy, energietic person who’s always having more fun than you >>>

You know I’ve been working my little rump off trying to get the beach fit for a human being. It’s been awful. On top of tearing the beaver dams down, which apparently filtered out a lot of stuff – we’re guessing that they did a carp kill without telling anyone. I’ve had boo-coo dead fish. I’ve been burying 10-15 a day. It’s slowed down finally. Probably only 6 or 7 today.

And I’ve been literally shoveling duck crap. What fun that’s been!

It was so bad that the geese wouldn’t even cross it. When I looked out this morning and saw the yard full of geese again, I knew the beach must be in better shape.

We got the rafts out and we were paddling ourselves around looking at some of the neighbor’s houses planning for when we can finally remodel ours. She asked why we never see some of these people. Why live on a lake if you’re never going to come out of the house? Good question, ey?

Want to talk about feeling some muscles you haven’t used in a while? Whew! My abs are definitely feeling tighter.

I put a bathing suit on, which is unusual for me. You know, as we get older, we get funny about silly things I guess. But I was looking pretty hot. I joked with my daughter that if you cut off my head, I could pass for 25.

She complained because I’m skinnier than her. Hey, I was the one out shoveling duck crap. Of course I’m skinnier! Don’t get me wrong, she’s skinny too.

We ate a great lunch – turkey sandwiches with cheese and lettuce and tomato, with some cantaloupe - and then went back out and played some more.

And then came in and ate a great dinner of spaghetti with tomato-pesto-basil sauce, a salad, and garlic bread. We took the dog on his 2-mile walk, came back and cleaned up, and now vacation is over. I have to go back to work tomorrow Bummer…

But there will be more days of fun in the sun.

My daughter was complaining (that’s what 16 yr. olds do…) that at her dad’s they’re always too tired to do anything. Around here, we don’t run out of steam until midnight or later – and the days go sooo fast.

Are you a couch slouch? Or are you getting out and living life? 

Life is too short. Use it or lose it!

Go ahead, cancel cable. I dare ya!

Carole

P.S. Find the basis for a high energy life here >>>