I admit that I remember the 70’s- the gasoline lines, the will-work-for-food signs, the high mortgage interest rates.  I also remember Mean Joe Green’s coke and a smile and Dave Thomas was making it big with his restaurant business and turning it into an adoption awareness foundation.  Could it be that when times are tough- and we’re at a 26-year low mile marker according to Meridith Levinson at Computerworld/Careers- the tough get nicer?

If you want good karma for your career, you certainly will tap into your nice side.  Here at HealthPatio, we have miracles rolling around under the picnic table every day, but out there in the work-a-day world, it couldn’t hurt to take this advice from Heather Gardener with 360jobinterview.com :

Doing good deeds by putting yourself out there for a good cause is an excellent way to at least provide a perspective hiring manager something positive about you. If you get heavily involved this might even prompt someone to talk “nice” about you and your working efforts to help others and provide a solid reference alternative.

My sky:

I fly.

Shoes and feet

for my street.

Sunshine?

All mine.

Dirt and waters

Wild critters

If all this

I possess

It’s all mine-

for zero time.

The land, the world, earth, loam, these words are a few that we use to talk about where we live. Of course our existence is much more than simply physical, but today of all days it is brought home to me that it is no bad thing to celebrate a simple life.

I get the bulk of my opinions and attitudes about ecology from Tolkein, and I use the quotation above from Bilbo Baggins to express my own sentiments. Thanks for indulging me, BB old friend.

As expected by fans of Health Patio, I found out about an event that melded the physical and spiritual, however, as reported by Episcopal Life Online.  (I’m a long time reader of Bishop Spong, as a pertinent aside.)   “[L]eaders from ten faith traditions including the Episcopal Diocese of Northern Michigan on April 22 planted the first of 12,000 trees during an Earth Day ceremony on the shores of Lake Superior.”  It seems 20+ inches of snow could not hold back the EarthKeepers from loving their mother.  (I don’t know what is keeping them from getting their own domain name, but accolade none-the-less.)

“Our interfaith tree planting effort is more than another conservation project,” said Rev. Jon Magnuson, CTI executive director and EarthKeeper Initiative co-founder. “With prayers, hymns and the blessing of 12,000 seedlings, it’s a gentle proclamation of a new consciousness and commitment among our faith communities to care for G-d’s creation.”

An annual Jewish holiday celebrates the blossoming of the almond trees in Israel at the start of spring, said Dr. Constance Arnold, president of the board for Temple Beth Sholom.  Dr. Arnold participated in the tree planting and represented the faith tradition of Jews at the event.  “Tu B’Shvat is a very ancient holiday we observe yearly - this year it fell on February 9,” said Arnold. “This is a reminder of the importance of trees.” The holiday marks the “New Year of Trees”and customs include tree planting and eating dried fruits and nuts during an evening meal. “We get together on that day and have something to eat from as many of the fruits of the tree as you can come up with,” Arnold said. “We bring apricots, cherries, olives, dates, pomegranates and cinnamon.”

• Chemical free diapers Seventh generation diapers are available at most grocery stores (you may have to look in your health foods aisle) and run at almost the same price as most name-brand diapers, such as Pampers.  They come in seven sizes and, most importantly, are chlorine-free, latex-free and completely hypo-allergenic.  The down-side to these diapers is that without the chemical AGM, they don’t absorb as well as your name-brand diapers and some people may not like the light brown shade they come in.
• Bio-degradable disposable diapers Tushies Disposable Diapers, Nature Babycare Diapers, and Nature Boy and Girl are all happily bio-degradable and free of any harmful chemicals.  They’re great for eco-chic parents who have enough money to support their habit.  Depending on the brand, these diapers can be up to around twice the price of name-brand diapers and four times the price of your generic (ie Wal-mart) diaper.  Another downside is that while these diapers may biodegrade well in your compost-bin, nothing biodegrades easily in an airtight landfill.
• Bio-liners Bio-liners are an improvement on your regular old cloth diapers.  These diapers come with bio-degradeable, flushable liners in small and large sizes.
• Old and Improved Cloth Diapers Not unlike the above bio-liners, cloth diapers now-a-days are sold with liners, only these are made with a washable cloth (come in terry cloth, hemp, you name it).  Unlike cloth diapers of old, new cloth diapers come in a variety of really fun, water-proof colors and close by means of buttons, velcro, zippers and more.  Check out Fuzzi Bunz.  These diapers are an investment. They run from ten to thirty dollars per diaper (including a reusable insert), but usually last for three years!  That means even if you buy the most expensive cloth diapers, spending a whopping $300, you’ll still be saving yourself a few thousand dollars compared to the cost of name-brand disposable diapers.  Even at a great deal, say $10 for 20 diapers, that’s still at least $1500 on diapers alone if you’re baby only goes through 3000 diapers from birth until age 3.

Think about it!  You’re baby will likely go through between 3000 and 5000 diapers from until age three (depending on your source).  That’s a lot of contact with your baby and a lot of poop to pawn off on the earth!  Now to address wipes…

Let’s focus.  I know, multi-tasking is appealing because the duties of life grow heavy.  But I have come to a place and time where l simply feel like I need to simply be.  While I’m being, I call that “focus.” Some people call it “prayer” or “meditation” or “watching basketball.”

Maren Schmidt calls it deep spontaneous concentration. 

Ms. Schmidt founded a Montessori school and holds a Masters of Education from Loyola College in Maryland. She has over twenty-five years experience working with children and holds teaching credentials from the Association Montessori Internationale. Contact her at maren@kidstalknews.com or visit www.KidsTalkNews.com

Today, in NWANews, Ms. Schmidt continued her series on childhood-development issues and applied this week’s topic to both adults and kids…kids of all ages, perhaps?  :-)  Let’s come to an intense self-generated ability to focus attention, which is the main point of the article.  In part:

My childhood environment made it easy to develop deep self-generated concentration. I was given quiet, uninterrupted time, and the objects in my environment were appropriate. The adults in my environment - my parents and grandparents - created structure by keeping regular meal times, snack times and bed times. This protected my time and attention needed to develop concentration.

Importantly, according to the article, there is a consequence associated with neglecting appropriate concentration.  When these opportunities are not available to a child (and to adults, also) frustration builds. Reactions to not being involved with interesting activities because of environmental and time constraints fall within the spectrum of anger on one end and apathy on the other.

I appreciated reading this article, I am glad I concentrated on reading it.  I even printed it out so l could read it later when l am afk (away from keyboard.)  I hope to put more attention into it and carry out what l learned into my home environment.

I think a kitchen should be painted yellow.  This is mostly because my favorite color is yellow.

What color is your kitchen?  and why do/don’t you like it?  For those who want to make an immediate change but are on a budget, Sue Bennett, an interior designer and CEO of Bennett Design said to CTV.ca today: new paint is the key.

The Detroit News agrees with me: “There’s no need to stick to the pale shades of yellow most often used in kitchens,” she [Margaret Walch, director of the Color Association of the United States] says.  “Instead, try Spanish bloom yellow, such as Benjamin Moore’s Banana Yellow (2002-2). “People like their kitchens to wake them up a bit in the morning. A deep, bright color helps make the kitchen more eye-opening.”

I like tall ceilings but my little rambling rambler ranch has 8 foot ceilings throughout.  So I am going to have the walls in the front room repainted, and I will bring that color 4 inches up onto the ceiling, and then paint the rest of the ceiling a light arctic blue/white.  To bring the yellow (again, my favorite color!) from the kitchen, at the back of the house, into the front room, l think l will add white to my bucket of yellow paint and ask the hardware store paint department to shake it for me in the shakey-machine.  That will keep the hue but change the tone (?? I think!)  Since the yellow l picked is called Behr brand ‘manila tint’ it is very yellow, don’t let the ‘tint’ fool you!  I like that.

I’m a little embarrassed to say that I have been an irresponsible user of my thermostat.  Granted, this is the first year I have used gas heating and that I actually have to pay my own utility bill and have lived in a place where snow sticks to the ground.  Still, our invoice this month was a little ridiculous.  Recalling my college professor’s numerous lectures on the subjected, I frantically rushed my husband to to the thermostat, which is thankfully programmable, and completely readjusted it.  Eager to do this as efficiently as possible, I turned to the EPA’s Energy Star program for guidance.  Along with simple table (seen below) and some useful pointers, I feel I am way on my way to utility bill that is at least less than $150!

While readjusting your thermostat is probably the easiest and cheapest way to save money on heating this winter there are other options!

1. Check and change your filters.  Air filters should be changed at least once every three months.  The dirtier your filters are, the harder your system has to work and it increases the chances of early system failure. (note: the same goes for your fridge’s filter too)
2. Seal your ducts. A more invasive project, but insulating your ducts and sealing all seams and connections could dramatically increase the efficiency of your heating and cooling system.
3. Wrap your water heater. Insulating blankets for your water heater cost anywhere from $15 to $40, but increases your energy efficiency by 10%.  You’ll probably make back the money in savings in a few months.

If you’re planning on changing your HVAC system system anyway, watch out for the Energy Star logo whether your buying a boiler, a furnace, a heat pump or you’re going solar.

After the Swiffer Mop and Before the Vinegar

After the vinegar!

So I’m cleaning my apartment for the in-laws’ holiday visit and my kitchen’s tile grout looks filthy.  I use my Swiffer mop and then scrub with Clorox (the new Green Works version available in stores) to no avail.  In desperation, I seek google’s sound advice.  The solution (literally)?  One part vinegar one part water or a little baking soda paste.  It sounds homey and environmentally friendly and inexpensive, but does it really work?  Just look at the before and after pictures above!

When picking out cleaning products I try to moderate between price and environmental efficacy, so I have an assortment of ‘green’ cleaning products in my apartment.  Some work, some don’t.  But what seems to be most puzzling as peruse my way through all of the cleaning products I own is why have cleaning products in the first place?  Nearly everything I clean, as I think about it, could be easily cleaned with three fully biodegradable, non-toxic household items: lemon juice, vinegar, and baking soda.  The Do-it-yourself website, has a new Going Green topic on its side menu, has a great article called How to Clean Green which lists several recipes for green cleaners. Here are two easy and useful examples:

Carpet Spot Remover
•Cornstarch or baking soda
•Club soda
Blot the spot and apply baking soda or cornstarch immediately. When dry, blot with club soda and vacuum.

Glass Cleaner
•1 cup rubbing alcohol (optional)
•1 cup water
•1 tablespoon vinegar
Combine in a spray bottle and wipe clean with a newspaper. Alcohol hastens evaporation to prevent streaking.

And now, what about everything else.  Hand, dish and laundry soap, for example, isn’t as easy to make from scratch.  I personally suggest buying these products, unless you’re exceptionally handy, crafty an organized. Here are a few of my personal favorites and professional suggestions:

•Method brand soaps, as cliche as they sound, are easy to buy anywhere, use biodegradable ingredients, do not test on animals, use recycled and recyclable packaging materials and make use of government issued carbon-credits for their employee’s transportation and manufacturing process.  Plus, they’re smell great and come in cool-looking bottles!
•I use Green Works dishwashing liquid (water lily scent). It carries the Design for the Environment (DfE) certification, meaning the EPA screens all the ingredients put into the product and markets with the Sierra Club to endorse the ideas of preserving and protecting the planet. You want to hear the kicker? Green Works was created by Clorox! Proof that you don’t have to be anti-institution in order to be an environmentalist.
•For my wood flooring, I use Murphy’s soap; its biodegradable, kosher, cheap, and the bottles are recyclable.

•And finally, I suggested ECOS All Natural Laundry Detergent.  Its HE compatible, smells great, has a soy-based built-in fabric softener, and is grey-water safe (meaning you could use the left over water for your vegetable garden).  All this and it was on sale at Kroger’s!

As for my kitchen cleaning, my in-laws arrive tomorrow and I’m feeling pleased with my greening and cleaning! Word to the wise, you may want to use these cleaning solutions barefoot - its more comfortable and the grime from your shoes won’t be washed onto your newly cleaned tile!  Happy green cleaning!

While doctors have been saying for quite sometime that breastfeeding your baby has a gazillion and one health benefits for your baby, many doctors agree that breastmilk could also help with common ailments - colds, ear infections, scrapes, you name it!  According to Dr. Basil Bruno, a pediatrician in New Jersey, breast milk offers cures to several maladies.  Feeling a little stuffy lately?  Drop two drops of breast milk into each nostril and then blow (or use an aspirator).  Have a kid with a scrape?  Breast milk is naturally antibacterial and antiviral, so rub it on the abrasion instead of Neosporin.  A drop of breast milk in each eye twice a day can even, apparently, alleviate pink eye!

Even patients with more invasive conditions are trying breast milk as a remedy.  Some cancer patients drink breast milk regularly to increase their immune system and for its nourishing qualities.  “We’re noticing an increase in the number of patients who are adults and children who have a variety of types of cancer who are using human milk,” said Pauline Sakamoto of Mothers’ Milk Bank.  Mother’s Milk Bank provides breast milk to over 60 cancer patients, each with a doctor’s prescription.  All this milk donated to adults, however, gives some milk donation advocates a startle.  According to Dr. Pamela Berens with the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine, there is already a shortage of breast milk as it is. Yet another precious, natural resource to be appreciated!  Still, before trying breast milk as a remedy, contact your doctor to be sure its the best option for you.

Weight and mass. Pounds and kilograms. The most important thing is that your bathroom scale is useful for you as an individual user. From my clicking around online, l have found various digital and analog and combination scales which are similar but not all the same.

My family has had the benefit of the services of a professional nutrionist for 2 separate stints over the years, for 2 of our children who needed help in this area. Actually when the nutritionist’s client is a child, she works with the food preparer/server of the household. l’m the “food lady” at my house and l had the opportunity to have these 2 positive experiences with nutritionists. We talked about all sorts of things and in our case the topic was not weight reduction. When the child was weighed bi-weekly or monthly what the nutritionist looked for was using the same scale, in the same way, consistently over time. Weigh ins at the pediatrition were also part of the overall plan however we didn’t compare number to number from the doctor’s office with the nutritionist’s scale’s results like apples to apples. We did look at trends and percentiles to get the real picture of how much progress was being made at the time if any. A few ounces got us jumping for joy at this stage in our lives. Again, thankfully we met with very good success with hard work, moral support and proper use of a tool called a scale. This brings us back to the topic of useful bathroom scales.

What do you want to do with your bathroom scale? Let it be a conscious, proactive reason that you can keep consistently in your mind over a period of time. Then look online for types of scales. Talk to friends and family, too. Give away or trade your scale with them if you are ready for a new scale in your bathroom. Oh and here is an idea, you don’t have to keep your scale in your bathroom if you want to shake it up a little bit at home. But where ever you put it, use it in the same place, the same way, to get a useful number.

Considering the human factors in actual use vs. perfect use of bathroom scales, this tip of consistent circumstances during the use of your scale is the best advice l can think of to help you make your scale useful even if it doesn’t have expensive bells and whistles and electronics.

Another side note is to realize that, even outside the laboratory, IRL “in real life”, mass and weight are different concepts. So if you expect your body composition to change due to the changes you are making in lifestyle (increase muscle mass or release fat deposits) please consider this when you look at adding a new scale to your routine.

Prevention Magazine, Moshe Morris, and apartmenttherapy.com have done some homework for us on brands of scales for your perusal.