A few years ago I was a several-Coke-a-day gal. I don’t drink coffee, so it was my wake-up drink in the morning. I chugged it throughout the day to stay awake, to quench my thirst, to satisfy my appetite. After a while I switched to caffeine-free Coke, and felt like I had accomplished something.
I had tried Diet Coke a number of times and found it very untasty. After reading that if you tough it out for a week, you get used to Diet Coke, I gave it a try and found that I could subsist on Diet Coke (with an occasional 50/50 with real Coke at a restaurant).
I was feeling pretty good about the switch to Diet Coke and even considering using Splenda in my cooking instead of sugar until I read more about Splenda. Having had cancer, I was concerned to read that Splenda wasn’t as natural as I thought it was (read here, here, and here, for starters). So Splenda is out.
I shared my desire to kick my Diet Coke habit with my friend, Lisa, who is a runner, healthy eater, and breast cancer survivor. She gave me this wonderful info I’m about to share with you.
Stevia
There’s a leaf of the stevia plant that is extremely sweet and can be purchased in powdered or liquid form. Stevia contains no artificial sweeteners, including saccharin, Nutrasweet, aspartame, refined sugar, maltodextrin, or fructose.
What my friend does is take a couple of bags of tea, one regular and one a sweet fruit, and brew them. Add powdered stevia to taste, and keep in your fridge. So this is what I’ve been doing, and it’s been a great replacement for cola. You really have to have a replacement when kicking a habit, or it just won’t stick.
Stevia isn’t cheap (ran me about $10 for 4 ounces), a fact that helps inspire me to try to cut down on the sweetness I need in the tea. I think the best aim is to adjust to desiring less sweetness in food and reduce the use of any added sweeteners since anything (including stevia) in excess is likely to be unsafe, but it’s going to take a while to adjust. A little stevia goes a long way. Also, using a fruity tea as one of the bags really adds some natural sweetness.
The brand I purchased, which can be bought at Kroger and Amazon, is called Stevia Plus by SweetLeaf. Equivalencies: 1/4 teaspoon stevia = 1 teaspoon sugar, 2 tablespoons stevia = 1 cup of sugar. According to the bottle, it has a glycemic index of 0, doesn’t affect blood sugar, has fiber, and nourishes the healthy bacteria in the intestines. Neat stuff!
I also purchased some agave nectar, but haven’t had a chance to try that out yet.
So what to do with all of your white sugar? Here’s how I used up most of my leftovers last night:
Make a sugar scrub: In a container with a lid mix 2 parts sugar with 1 part skin-friendly oil. I used some almond oil that I had on hand, but other good choices would be jojoba or olive. After stirring well, mix in some 100% essential oil to scent as desired. I used rose oil.
Now prepare yourself a bath with warm water, epsom salts, and a few drops of essential oil. In the tub slather on the sugar scrub, massaging it in, working toward your heart.
It felt heavenly. My skin was left very soft, if slightly oily. Afterwards I washed lightly with a castile soap.
One warning—be careful if you do this in the tub. The oil made the tub extremely slippery so much so that I’d rethink how I’d do this in the future. It’s probably a good idea to keep your sugar-scrubbing contained and make sure you have a stable surface. If the tub is oily afterwards, vinegar, lemon, and some hot water should cut through the oil.
This easy sugar scrub recipe would make a great, inexpensive gift for friends. Put it in a glass canning or other jar dressed up with a bow or whatever you have around. Recommend to use a spoon for mixing and dipping out into the hand rather than introducing water into the scrub in order to keep it clean.
Enjoy!
Photo credit: Porcelaingirl
With my second cancerversary (anniversary of the discovery/diagnosis of my cancer) quickly approaching, I’ve been looking for ways that I can improve my environment and my health. As I learned last year, this anniversary evokes anxiety in me, so I’ve also been trying to find physical things I can do to decrease stress.
Cleaning and greening have been my focus. I don’t even remember what set me off—maybe seeing a pile of clutter or a corner that needed to be swept. Ever since, I’ve been enjoying making my home as clean as possible.
During this time I also read a book, Gorgeously Green by Sophie Uliano. While I’m not a fan of the “girlfriend” style of writing, the book did help me get bitten by the green bug. Through the book and reading some web sites, I learned several things about living a greener life, such as:
- Most recycling centers will only take #1 and 2 plastics. Think milk jugs and water bottles. Yogurt cups are typically #5, which means you might have a challenge finding a recycling center that takes them.
- Not all plastics are safe for heating food. In fact, the only plastic I’ve seen recommended for microwaving is #5, and even that recommendation sounds pretty wishy-washy, as in “may be safe.” Take a look at this web site, for example: Microwave-Safe Plastics.
I inspected all of my plastic containers and found that most of them were badly scratched. The surface of some that I used frequently for things like tea had worn away. I ended up bundling up all of these plastics and driving 10 miles to a recycling center that would take plastics other than #1 and 2.
To replace my plastics, I ordered Pyrex containers and this awesome Bormioli Rocco glass pitcher.
With all of this organizing of my cupboards, I found and discarded expired food. I also was cleaning with a mixture of ammonia and water, resulting in my lungs feeling wheezy. That led to my reading up on cleaning supplies.
Do you know that most everything can be cleaned with baking soda, vinegar, and water? Maybe you were like me and had heard something like that before but had never put it to the test. Well, I’m learning that there is really very little you need in the way of cleaners in your home. Nobody needs a separate toilet bowl cleaner. Some sprinkled baking soda works as a great scrubbing agent. Vinegar and water works great on mirrors and inhibits the growth of mold.
Furthermore, so many of the antibacterial cleaners we keep have helped create the so called “superbugs” that are resistant to antibiotics. Bacteria has been overhyped. One of the best things you can do to keep your bathroom free of bacteria is make sure the lid of the toilet is down before flushing. I recall reading an article or seeing a story on TV showing that the spray from the toilet goes several feet if you don’t put the lid down, and I’ve been a closed-lid flusher ever since.
Another wonderful find: Dr. Bronner’s organic liquid castile soaps. These come in a wonderful variety of scents, like citrus orange, rose, lavender and almond (my favorite), and they can be used to clean almost everything–carpets, your body and hair, laundry, general cleaning. They’re free of the bad stuff, and the company has a really rich, impressive history worth reading about; they continue to make a difference through promoting organic farming and fair trade.
As I’m sitting here, wrapping up this article, there’s a gentle scent of almond in the air. A bottle of Dr. Bronner’s arrived earlier, and I had opened the lid to take a whiff. A couple of days ago I cleaned the carpet with a nontoxic cleaner called Ecover. Everything smells fresh and clean, not that suffocating toxic product scent that I used to associate with a clean home.
But what’s really nice is it feels good to have made some changes at home. It feels good to support responsible companies. And it feels good to know I’m doing little things that might make a difference, both for my health and the health of the earth.
Photo credit: miyukiutada
Twitter applications are popping up all over the place. Many are here today, gone tomorrow. While by no means exhaustive, here’s a list of some live ones (as of today!) that have recently caught my eye. You may note some popular names omitted because their sites are frequently down due to bandwidth overages or technical issues.
Do you have any Twitter tools not listed that you’ve tried and love? Please share them in the comments!
Desktop Applications
DestroyTwitter - Mac, Windows, Linux.
Snitter - Mac and Windows.
TweetDeck - Mac and Windows.
Twhirl - Mac and Windows.
Web-Based Management
EasyTweets - Track anything you want, get SMS and email alerts when someone mentions your brand, and more.
HootSuite - Manage multiple twitter profiles, schedule tweets, and measure success.
TweetLater - Scheduled tweets, tracking, automatic following and unfollowing, and many other features.
Blog Integration
Tweetmeme - Has a great Re-Tweet button that’s easy to install.
Twitter Tools - Pull your tweets into your blog and tweet about your blog posts.
Twitterfeed - Automatically tweet your blog posts titles and links.
Outlook Integration
OutTwit - Post tweets from within Outlook.
Blackberry
iPhone and iPod Touch
Firefox Add-Ons
Your Statistics
Twitter Grader - Get your twitter grade as well as see who the top Twitter users are.
Twitterless - Track your followers with graphs.
General Trend Tracking and Search
Favrd - Tracks which tweets are favorited most often.
Retweetist - See which tweets are retweeted most often.
Tweetburner - Track links you share on Twitter.
Tweetchat - Creates rooms based on the topic you wish to chat about, and helps you focus on that one topic for discussion.
Tweetmeme - Tracks the most popular links on Twitter.
TweetScan - Search for tweets containing specific phrases or names.
Twemes - Follow hashtags.
Twitter Search - Twitter’s own search engine.
Twitt(url)y - Track trends.
Twubble - “searches your friend graph and picks out people who you may like to follow.”
WeFollow - “user-powered Twitter directory.” Search by hashtags.
Group Twittering
CoTweet - Specifically for businesses to communicate with each other and their customers.
GroupTweet - Group message broadcasting.
Blogs About Twitter
Other
Dailymile - Post your running, cycling, triathlon or other fitness progress to Twitter.
EasyTweets - “Twitter marketing tool.”
Mr. Tweet - Recommend other Twitter users for improved Twitter experience.
StrawPoll - Mini-polls on Twitter.
Tweepler - Helps you decide whether to follow or ignore a Twitter user.
Tweet2Tweet - See the @replies between two users.
TweetChannel - Create channels in Twitter, including protected channels.
TweetCube - File sharing in Twitter.
TweetGrid - Organize groups and topics into a grid for easy viewing.
Tweetake - Back up your Twitter account.
TweetWheel - See which of your Twitter friends know each other.
Twitter Karma - Monitor who you’re following that’s not following you and vice versa.
TwitterSnooze - Temporarily hush someone who’s being too chatty on Twitter.
Twittervision - Fun real-time geographic visualization of Twitter posts.
Photo credit: respres
If you find this post helpful, I’d appreciate it if you’d spread the word. Try the new Retweet button or your favorite social media application below. Thank you!
Tags: social networking, software, Twitter
How did your financial picture get to be what it is today? Here are several of the best resources to help you examine and transform your relationship with money. These are more than just tips on budgeting and reducing debt and spending. The books, web sites and software will help you understand how your time, money and the environment are related and how to use your life energy wisely.
Books
1. Your Money or Your Life - Classic book by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin. YMOYL will help you understand the value of your time and figure out what your real hourly wage is. Comprehensive and life changing.
2. Do What You Love and the Money Will Follow - If you hate what you’re doing for a living, it’s time to make some changes. This book by Marsha Sinetar will help you find the courage to follow your dream.
3. The Simple Living Guide - by Janet Luhrs. A must-read book on voluntary simplicity and achieving overall balance.
Web Sites
1. Financial Integrity - Established by Joe Dominguez, Vicki Robin and others as The New Roadmap Foundation. This is a nonprofit that offers a detailed program with free downloadable program guides and other materials to help you understand your money and spending and make some changes.
2. The Simple Living Network - A site chock full of resources on simple living, such as study groups, newsletters, SimpleRadio, and discussion groups.
Software
You Need a Budget - I tried Microsoft Money, Quicken, Excel spreadsheets, and other methods for keeping a budget, and they just don’t work. I was delighted when I found YNAB and have been using it since. Rather than trying to estimate what your next month’s income and expenditures are, YNAB uses your last month’s numbers. It’s a system that will give you a buffer and an entire program and forum that will educate and support you. You can read my review of YNAB and the chat I had with its founder over at Lifehack.
Photo credit: FreeWine.
Tags: debt, green, money, software, voluntary simplicity
With more people working longer hours at their computers, I think it’s safe to say that repetitive stress injuries (RSIs) are going to be on the rise. Having suffered from my own RSI, carpal tunnel syndrome, and the ensuing physical therapy and surgery, I can share some of my favorite tools for keeping the numbness at bay. (Disclaimer: This isn’t to be taken as medical advice, of course; these are simply things that have worked for me).
1. Smart Glove - I tried several pairs of gloves and braces before I found these wonderful gloves. They’re quick to put on and remove. The don’t interfere with finger movement like so many gloves and braces do. The padding underneath really supports and cushions my wrists. They’re washable and have held up for years. Highly recommended for use at the computer. Retails for $19.99 on manufacturer’s site.
2. Cat’s Paw - This simple, inexpensive little product mimics several of the movements I did in physical therapy—and physical therapy was infinitely more beneficial to me than surgery was. To use the Cat’s Paw, you insert your fingers and thumb into the holes and spread your fingers. The tension really works your muscles and feels wonderful. Now you could probably find a rubber band or make some device that will mimic what the Cat’s Paw does, but for $14.95 I think it’s a good buy.
3. Logitech Marble Mouse - This isn’t a mouse, but a trackball (it’s not marble, either, for that matter). Switching to a trackball really reduced my symptoms. One of the beautiful things about this trackball is that you can switch it to use on your left or right side. Since I’m right-handed and tend to use my right hand for more activities, I keep the trackball on my left. This also has the benefit of allowing me to simultaneously use my left hand to move the pointer/cursor while writing with my right hand. Retails for just $19.95 on Logitech’s web site.
I have many other things I do, such as take rest breaks, do exercises and stretches, and so on. However, these three things are tools I wouldn’t be without. When they fail (and they’ve all been going strong for years), I’ll be replacing them with the same models.
Photo credit: Ifyr
