True or False?

This is from MilesPerHour:

You post five things about yourself. Four are true. One is untrue. All are so outlandish, implausible or ridiculous that no one would be inclined to believe that any of them are true. And despite the pleas from your readers, you never divulge which ones are true and which one is false.

1. I shoplifted my way through college.
2. I started driving at 12 years old.
3. I used to hitchhike.
4. As a youngster, I spat on people I didn't like.
5. I was once arrested.

Umm, ok. So, I don't know how you "tag" someone through a blog, so...yeah, um, that's it!

Un-Food for the Month of September: Sugar

Green Ramadan is my friend on Facebook. Green is actually Badr Bakry (I think it's ironic his last name looks like bakery), author of Cleanse Your Life Now. His website describes him as a Mind-Body wellness practitioner, holistic nutrition specialist, international speaker and life coach. Job titles like life coach and mor.tga.ge bro.ker tend to turn me off, but his postings are just too much common sense to turn away.

I've included several postings here today because I want to be able to quickly refer to them when the lure of sugar starts gnawing at me (or me gnawing at it). I've heard all this stuff before, years of knowing better but too lazy to do better. There's no reason I can't be the healthiest I can be. I want that for my kids. Which ultimately means I have to be the model for them. Too much pwesha!!

So to that end, I'll be exploring sugar substitutes, listing foods and beverages I'm reducing to zero consumption. By the end of the month, I'll post where I am in this process. Since I'm allergic to follow-through, I'm setting the bar really low for myself. I'll be happy if I end the month will a suitable substitute for sweetening iced tea. I'll tackle caffeine in another month.

Wish me luck!


From Green Ramadan:

"Natural Sugar Alternatives: Raw honey & Stevia. Stevia is an herb native to South America, is now grown and cultivated throughout the world. Stevia is much sweeter than sugar but does not affect blood sugar levels, can be used for sweetening beve...rages and for baking. Stevia is easily digested, dissolves quickly and it is safe for diabetics. It has no calories or carbohydrates.

95% of people are addicted to sugar to some degree! Refined sugar is a pure chemical. In my opinion, it is like heroin, and even more of a threat because it’s legal and cheap. It’s a chemical that has been stripped through the refining process of all... the natural food nutrition that originally resided in the plant. Heroin and sugar are produced by very similar processes.

Refined sugar has absolutely no nutritional value whatsoever. It also robs the body of enzymes, minerals and vitamins, especially B-vitamins. Symptoms of B-vitamin deficiency include: fatigue, depression, anxiety, inability to concentrate, poor memory, insomnia and irregular heart beat."

I eat books!

PaperBack Swap - Best swap site IMO. Although you won't find everything you want here, the set up is nice and easy to use. No pressure to do more than you want; they don't clog up you're email with useless messages. The best thing is how easy it is to print the wrapping. PBS really helps you contain the mailing costs for books.

Swap Tree
Book Mooch - This site is international. You can't buy credits like you can on PBS.

I don't bother with the sites that charge a swap fee. And I don't do the exclusive academic swaps either. I've been able to find a decent selection of texts from PBS.

You can find me here and here.

Blogs O' The Moment

I've been reading some great blogs on dating. Well, maybe they're really more about living single. Dating (or not dating) would be a subset (eww, I'm at work, so I'm thinking statistically). Here are some links to blogs worth reading:

47 and starting over - Responds to the question, is it possible to still find that "happily ever after?"

Single & Blessed - Discusses dating, parenting & living single

Thunder From A Quiet Storm - Talks about building trust and how it's manifested in relationships with children

One of the things I enjoy about blogging is reading about life from a variety of perspectives. Age, gender, and ethnicity all vary, but the universal connection of love (not in the romantic sense, but in the life giving sense) is what I think speaks to me. I learn alot about myself reading other people's blogs. I think it's helping me make sense of the world I've created in my head. I feel more confident when I make decisions on how I "feel" about something, which for me, is a combination of logic and emotion. When I think about bad/poor decisions I've made in the past about relationships and men, those choices usually came from either logic OR emotion. For me, an effective decision has to include both arenas. And not just about men, but about anything.

I'm learning I don't have to answer to anyone else's standard of living. But I do have to answer to mine. Thanks bloggers for giving me fuel to feed my thoughts and figure out my path.

Update on the Breakfast Song

I must have watched this video at least 10 times when it first crossed my path. Every now and then, I check it out because I just love their commitment and enthusiasm to what has to be the weirdest mash-up gospel song ever.

You Tuber, edearnest, posted this update back in February 2009:

"This song aired on The Mornin' Show, a local program carried by NBC affiliate WTVA in Tupelo, Mississippi. BREAKING NEWS: BREAKFAST SINGERS IDENTIFIED! This from Tom Joyners website www.blackamericaweb.com. The lady singer was interviewed on his March 13th show. In the clip, Minister Cleo Clariet and his fiancé Katherine Lane are shown singing on "The Kay Bain Show" in Tupelo, Mississippi in May or June of 2004. Clariet passed away from congenital heart disease on Dec. 13, 2004. Lane said he would have been thrilled to know his song is now entertaining so many people."

Thanks for Breakfast Cleo..RIP.

T-Shirt of the Moment

I know my kids are glad this shirt wasn't around when they were babies!

August Haiku

Your head's up your ass.

If you pull it out quickly,
you'll see me go by!