Friday, November 11, 2011

A Healthy Post

The first wealth is health.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Smart guy that Ralph. I seem to quote him a lot.

I'm perusing through my latest Natural Health magazine and you know what I like to do when I read interesting stuff. I get on blogspot and talk about it.

I didn't drink enough water yesterday. In fact, I didn't drink ANY water yesterday. Shame shame on me. I drank part of a fountain soda, ate crap and also had a caramel latte with soy... at least I had soy. Oh, and a beer. By 8:00 I had a headache. I'm actually surprised I didn't have one earlier but the coffee probably helped with that. .. When I was in college I did a 'research' project on drinking water. It wasn't the most scientific study ever done by a student but it was interesting. It was about how you feel when you drink water, and if you tried to drink more water throughout the day did you end up wanting more and feeling better about yourself for the accomplishement. I believe that this is true. I can't remember when my findings were though. I know that when I drink water I don't get headaches and I also feel better. That's reason enough for me.

Here's an interesting product, since we're talking about water... Vapur foldable reusable water bottles. How friggin' cool is that!? Only $10 a pop. Fold them up in your purse after drinking all your water. Easy to carry around. However, don't fill it with bottled water. Bottled water is usually just tap water and can still be distributed even if it doesn't even meet the municipal tapwater standards!!! and only 1 in 5 plastic water bottles are recycled.



Moving on...

The Natural Health magazine sometimes prints little facts here and there throughout... I'm not sure sometimes where they get their information for some of their little blurbs but here's an interesting one... physical and social warmth are interchangeable to some degree... so you could take a bath or drink a hot drink or sip soup to dispel feelings of isolation and exclusion. Interesting!

Winter is close at hand and you know that that means... vitamin D deficiency! So pop those D3 pills and eat your shitake mushrooms. And read about the 10 foods highest in Vitamin D!

Ok I'm gonna be annoying and talk about vegetarians and cancer. I know, I know. There is a lot of controversy about cancer; a lot of studies that people say don't prove anything. Regardless, I believe that eating less meat, more veggies and getting more exercise will decrease our risk of developing cancer. Sure, healthy people get cancer too... that's not the point. I don't understand why people put so much effort into disagreeing and disproving studies when you could just try to be more healthy. Where's the harm in that?

And no, drinking a V8 Fusion does NOT count as eating your veggies. Do you know how much sugar is in that? Just eat some darn broccoli for goodness sakes!


"A cheerful heart is good medicine." Proverbs 17:22

Well people, I hope I wasn't too incredibly annoying with my health post. I can do better and so can you. Let's make this world a healthier place. And feed your kids some spinach for dinner.

Thursday, November 10, 2011

for the love of art

Have you ever heard of Art Star Philly? I found them because a friend introduced me to Kurt Halsey, whose artwork I love. I have a few of his things, including a cute little firefly necklace. What I love about Art Star is finding new artists and styles. I enjoy finding oddball artwork that you wouldn't usually find in your everyday store or art gallery. It's like my love of music and 'discovering' musicians who aren't well known. (Tony Lucca for example... I've mentioned him before.)

Tony Lucca - Dirty Work by Rock Ridge Music

So without further adieu I will introduce a few artists that I've got my eye on...

CrystalBrilliance - is actually an acquaintance of mine. She makes her own jewelry and it's pretty interesting and unique stuff. She's got some new stuff coming out soon. It's nice to see your friends following their dreams and doing what they love.

Overdue Industries - repurposes books and gives them a new life as journals and planners, ect.. Everything is made by hand. You can also send in your own book for them to repurpose for you. Check out their About section to find out more. It's a pretty interesting concept.

James Singlewald Photography - James lives in Baltimore Maryland and photographs the downtown area. It was pretty interesting to stumble across him because I used to live in Maryland and I went to Baltimore fairly regularly and saw some of these places that he photographed. His goal is to improve the area that has fallen apart.

Diamond Tooth Taxidermy - Here's an interesting idea! I can't say that this is really my style but it's a fascinating idea. If I were a taxidermist I would totally go this route. They make fancy hats out of animals... chicken feet and feathers and what not... The feather-only ones are actually quite pretty.. I'm not so sure about the chicken feet...

Figs & Ginger - Earth Friendly and recycled material jewelry. I have a pair of their earrings; they are excellent quality and very cute.  Their stuff is made individually so their all vary slightly.

Bright Lights Little City - This might be my favorite. Glow in the dark lamp shade made out of those little party umbrellas that you put in your drink. Adorable and affordable.

Recycle My Dress - Here's a genius idea! Recycle that dress you wore once! I love it!

Here's a list of Art Star Philly's vendors for 2011. I couldn't list them all and haven't even looked at them all. But if you like oddball art check them out and see what you think.

Ever heard of Pinterest? My friend Nicole introduced me to it and it's so addicting! Here's my page. I've found so many amazing and creative ideas on it. Check it out. I recommend!

I will end this post with a quote about peace :)


He that would live in peace and at ease must not speak all he knows or all he sees. - Benjamin Franklin