I wanted to share these images of a pair of cedar benches (natural) my husband made for a friend.

These benches were made from the slabs (usually used as firewood) of a cedar log, which were left over from a log that he sawed into boards. Here’s a video on YouTube of him using his trusty chainsaw to quickly cut down stock on a bench leg.

Here’s another one he made from a Red Gum tree (not from slabs). The grain is amazing.

He’s not quite finished with this one yet. I haven’t seen him enjoy anything this much in a long time. I think he’s found a new hobby!

Do you put things off such as folding clothes or paying the bills? We’ve all been guilty of procrastination  but when it happens daily, unhappiness can settle in, making you miserable . You know you should take care of this thing that you need to do but you don’t. Those bills are still sitting there unpaid, the laundry both clean and dirty is piling higher.

Well, get up, get moving! Work until there’s nothing else you need to do! Then you can relax, enjoy the rest of your day, and tomorrow will be better.  You’ll find you are happier, healthier and more organized.

If you haven’t been motivated yet, read this one of  Ten Things to Know about………

Procrastinators from Psychology Today:

“There are big costs to procrastination. Health is one. Just over the course of a single academic term, procrastinating college students had such evidence of compromised immune systems as more colds and flu, more gastrointestinal problems. And they had insomnia. In addition, procrastination has a high cost to others as well as oneself; it shifts the burden of responsibilities onto others, who become resentful. Procrastination destroys teamwork in the workplace and private relationships.”

Try not procrastinating for one week. When something comes up you need to do, take care of it right away. If after a week of doing this you don’t find that you, your family and your employer are happier, then I’ll be surprised!

This story just blows my mind. While I’m struggling to lose weight, here’s a woman who wants to be the worlds fattest.

Her name is Donna. She’s 42 years old and weighs 600 pounds. Her goal is to weigh 1,000 pounds. Does this woman not understand she will die, leaving her young daughter without a mother? What about when her daughter is old enough to realize what her mother did? The poor girl. That will follow her around throughout her life.

That’s really sad. I’ve read some comments by people who think her daughter should be removed from the home for her own good. Now, I’ve always thought that if there’s any way possible, a child should be with its mother but I’m a little surprised her daughter hasn’t been taken away from her already. Her mother is killing herself, slowly. Instead of  cocaine or alcohol, she’s using food as her drug. What’s the difference? The little girl is watching this, so she’s learning that making a glutton out of yourself is okay. That really shouldn’t be okay.

Donna has a web site where people can pay to watch her eat and bathe herself. The money from this site goes toward feeding her. I hope there’s not actually people who do this.

Maybe she’s secretly trying to help people lose weight because…..watching her eat her way to 1,000 pounds would be a guaranteed appetite suppressant for me!

I have come to a decision; I have got to lose weight, some how, some way. I have lost weight in the past and kept it off for a while. I have tried several different diets. The most successful of them was The South Beach Diet.

No matter which diet I choose, at almost 46, I’ll never have a shot at looking like the woman in the image above. However, I can do much better than I have been.

After much internal deliberation, I’ve decided my weapon of choice will be…….(drum roll please)…….The Rosedale Diet!

What? You’ve never heard of the Rosedale Diet?

I know this diet works because I have a friend that’s lost around forty pounds on this diet and she feels fantastic. Here’s three of her blog posts about her weightloss:

http://marieannesmissives.blogspot.com/2010/01/weight-loss-update-journey-downward.html

http://marieannesmissives.blogspot.com/2010/01/yee-haw-they-fit.html

http://marieannesmissives.blogspot.com/2010/01/ive-lost-30-pounds-without-pills.html

This diet corrects not only the insulin resistance I know I have but the leptin resistance I’m fairly sure I have. I have PCOS and I’m hypothyroid. The Rosedale Diet book addresses insulin resistance in PCOS. The book has a lot of info about the thyroid.

I’m gonna get started soon. I’m looking forward to it…..sorta. I’m definitely ready to feel better and have more energy.

What I have learned about dieting over the years, is that keeping a food journal works. I intend to use this blog as my food journal. I think blogging about this journey will be fun and will motivate me to stay with it.

On Fox News yesterday morning they were talking about Aspirin use and breast cancer survival/recurrence. What it seems to boil down to is that inflammation in your body can wreak all kinds of havoc.

Dr. Mercola wrote this article, ‘What you need to know about inflammation‘, that explains how inflammation can cause breast cancer and cancer in general. Inflammation has been described as the ‘new plague of our times‘.

It’s not surprising that aspirin use is prescribed by doctors for women who have breast cancer since it is an anti-inflammatory medicine.

But……as Mr. Monk would say, ‘Here’s the thing’…..

In 2005, Dr. Mercola posted this article, ‘Using Aspirin & Ibuprofen Can Increase Your Breast Cancer Risk by 50%‘.

And this one in particular, from 2003, Daily Aspirin Use Increases Risk of Pancreatic Cancer, caused me to stop taking aspirin.

Dr. Mercola wrote this about pancreatic cancer:

“The cause behind pancreatic cancer remains unknown, however a previous study found that taking aspirin regularly may cause an inflammation of the pancreas known as pancreatitis, which sometimes leads to pancreatic cancer.”

Okay, so a medicine that is suppose to reduce inflammation in the body can actually cause inflammation in the pancreas? Are you confused too?

In the Fox News piece, there was no mention of aspirin use putting women at more risk for other cancers or dangerous side effects such as pancreatitis. Is it because the Mercola articles are outdated or the research inaccurate?

I’m just not sold on how great aspirin is, are you?

If you just can’t seem to get rid of the blahs but don’t know why, try talking to someone you trust. A ‘go to guy’ is a popular term these days. Dictionary.com defines a ‘go-to guy’ this way:

-a person to whom one turns for help or support; also called go-to person.

Everyone needs that person in whom they can trust and confide. I’m lucky, I have more than one go-to guy: my amazing Mom and my Brother. They are always there for me no matter what it is I need to talk about. They are awesome.

If you just don’t have the luxury of someone to talk to, get a notebook, write down what’s bothering you. Just getting it out of your brain is sometimes enough.

Another option is finding a blog or forum specific to what’s bothering you, if you can put a label on it. If it’s depression, there’s actually a forum for people who are depressed at DepressionForums.org. As of this writing, there are 36,600 registered members!  It’s a very active forum as well.

One thing about the internet that can come in handy sometimes is anonymity. Especially when that something that’s bothering you is not something you can go to friends or family with. There’s a good chance someone somewhere is going through the same thing. Just knowing you’re not alone can help you get a foothold on the road back to your former happy self.

We live in a time when we don’t really know what tomorrow will bring. If things are good for you now, be thankful, because there’s someone, maybe even someone you know, that’s going through a tough time. Tomorrow it could be you. Be thankful for everything, large and small.

Use that notebook to write down everything you’re thankful for. You might be amazed at the length of your list!

If all else fails, start a blog! Sometimes focusing on a new project; getting out of the same old routine, will help to brighten your day.

When I found out I was pregnant, it wasn’t long before I had to make a decision about breastfeeding. I read the usual books on pregnancy, complete with the benefits of breastfeeding.  I was one of those new mothers who was determined to breastfeed no matter what. I had been told and often read that if I went the formula route, I wasn’t doing the absolute best for my baby. As a mother, I wanted my baby to have all the advantages that my wonderful, natural, life giving milk would provide:

1. Stronger immune system
2. Sleep better at night
3. More intelligent
4. Ingredients designed specifically for babies

When my baby was born, I found out breastfeeding was not always easy. I know women that were born to breastfeed. They must have been a milk cow in another life. I wasn’t one of them. I had a love/hate relationship with it for about three months, then I gave up because I stopped producing enough milk, regardless of everything I tried to improve my output (thyroid malfunction). Devastated, I turned to formula.

It was definitely easier and involved no pain whatsoever. After a while I accepted this was my only option because I simply could not breastfeed. My daughter lived through being fed formula and is now six years old.

One of the breastfeeding benefits is supposed to be a lowered risk of breast cancer for the mother. Did you ever really think about why your risk is lowered after breast feeding? When I realized that I had been passing on my accumulated toxins to my  child in the early months of her life, I felt ill. Formula didn’t look so bad after all. Yes, natural is preferred to processed but not everything natural is best; poison ivy is natural too.

We live in a different time now with toxins found in almost everything we touch, including the air we breathe. The woman who is breast feeding is not sitting on a porch in a rocking chair while watching her husband plow a garden with a mule and her four other kids happily playing with sticks. Back in that day, breast milk was the precious, life giving baby food that God intended it to be.

The breast feeding woman of today is at work,  sucking down her fourth cup of coffee by noon because she feels exhausted already (probably from toxin overload), while she uses her handy dandy breast pump behind locked doors, so her child can have the advantage of her special mixture of hair spray, lotion, makeup, deodorant and mercury (just to name a few things we absorb) milk.

In every form of media you will find news and warnings about toxins in our environment. Sixty percent of everythingyou put on your skin is absorbed. Think about that…….60% of everything! We were blessed with our beautiful daughter the year of my fortieth birthday. Think of the toxins I had accumulated by that age!

Sometimes deciding what’s best is not easy and we don’t always get it right even with the best of intentions. I’m beginning to think the best choice for my daughter was not the natural thing but the lesser of two evils: formula.

The New Breastfeeding Diet Plan: Breakthrough Ways to Reduce Toxins and Give Your Baby the Best Start in Life

My daughters sixth birthday party was the most fun yet. She loves cheetahs with their cheetah spots, so we had a cheetah themed birthday party for her. I was a little afraid it wouldn’t appear obvious that it was cheetah themed but it turned out great.

I finally found people at a local cake shop who would make the cake according to my daughters specifications. She wanted it to be cheetah spotted with a stream down the middle, trees on both sides and cheetahs drinking out of the stream. The women at The Corner Coffeehouse, were enthusiastic about making the cake and I appreciated that. Here’s the cake…….

I searched for cheetah themed party supplies and found these here:

They were perfect!

Then I went to Ebay and searched for cheetah print balloons:

I really didn’t have to buy that many things to present a cheetah themed birthday party.

Here’s what it looked like all put together:

We tied a cheetah print balloon to each goody bag for the party guests.

Those balloons are big, sturdy and nice. We only lost one of the fifteen we had inflated.

The colors of this theme are nice too. I’m sure there are many more ways to decorate for a cheetah themed birthday party but this was the least expensive option.

Have you heard the saying, “smell the roses along the way?”
Drop what you are doing, after you read this post of course, go outside, look up into the sky, whether it’s the stars, clouds or pure blue sky.
Really look at it. Look at the trees, their color, how tall they are. Think about the natural world around you. You’ll be happier and less stressed. It’s better than Lexapro any day.

Take a walk if you live in an area where that’s possible. If that’s not an option, find a park, which is even better. In our local park, there squirrels are practically pets. Sitting on a park bench watching the squirrels is enjoyable.

Train your mind to be clear of worries and work while you are outdoors. You’ll be getting exercise for your body and a vacation for your brain.

You could take care of ‘Happy Thing #1 and #3′ by becoming a bird watcher while you are taking a relaxing walk!

Happy bird watching!

The Backyard Bird Lover’s Field Guide: Secrets to Attracting, Identifying, and Enjoying Birds of Your Region