Took this one from a Generous Savings blog.......
I did one of these money makers last week and my husband was amazed  ;-)
Hop on the money saving train with me, why don't you!

Coupon Class Tip: How to get FREE MILK…..

Posted on May 19, 2012 by Steph

 

…..or free produce or something else free that you want….

So, I wanted to break some things down for you and help you see how you can save and get even things like a gallon of milk for free!

In my coupon classes I recommend that you save all your coupons. Why?  Well, what if that coupon for that product that you don’t use would help you make a few bucks?

How is that possible you might ask..

Well, sometimes, there are amazing rewards deals or catalina deals at your local store.  This means that when you buy x you get a coupon for a certain amount of money off of your next purchase of anything in the store. Many times, when you add a coupon into this rewards deal, you can make it a freebie or a money-maker
Even if you don’t get coupons, there are times when you can print a coupon to make a deal a money-maker
AND even if you don’t use coupons at all, sometimes, there are just amazing deals that are a money maker all on their own

I want to break down 2 examples of these money-makers and how it can get you free milk.

These deals happened just this week.  Deals like this don’t happen all the time, but they do happen frequently, and I love to feature them on Generous Savings.

This week at Rite Aid there was this deal:
Buy 2 Jergens Ultra Healing Lotion 1 oz. -$0.79 each (bogo50%)
Pay $1.26 (includes tax)
Get a $3 +Up Reward when you buy 2 (limit 2)
FREE + $1.74 moneymaker!

You were allowed to do this deal twice, which  means you could have walked away with 4 little lotions and the store paying you $3.48!!  Yes, you read me right.  The store paid you to take them out of the store!
Now the store, wants you to forget about your +UP rewards or buy something expensive overpriced item that you don’t need with those rewards.

What do I want you to do?  Well, you can either a) save them for next week when you buy more items that will trigger +UP rewards or b) go buy an item you need that you don’t have coupons for with them, like MILK!!!

Here is another deal that occurred at Shoprite this week (this catalina deal is good through 7/8):
Buy 3 Kikkoman meat marinade packets 3/$2
use 3 $1/1 Kikkoman Marinade or $0.50/1 Kikkoman Marinades, pg. 85 All You, May 2012 (exp 10/31/2012) or $1/1 Kikkoman Marinade
pay 0
get $2 catalina
Free + $2 money maker after coupons and catalina!

Now, if you did the money-maker deal twice, you would have $4 in catalina’s!  Enough to buy a gallon of milk!  How cool is that?

You could also use those catalina’s on produce and get free broccoli or even free organic produce!
So, sometimes, it takes a little creative thinking to figure out how to save on essentials like produce (even organic produce) and milk, but it IS possible to save on such things!

Even if you are not a die hard couponer, you could do a money-maker deal or two each week and save a few bucks.  If you were able to do 1 $3 money maker deal a week, that would be $156 you saved in 1 year! (plus all the free stuff you got).

So, who could use some free milk or extra money?

If you have any questions, or need any help understanding the deals, please don’t hesitate to ask a question in the comments!

Stay tuned to Generous Savings and the freebies tab for more great deals like this!
Remember, even if you don’t use these money-maker items, you can donate them to someone who will use them!

Leah's Response, Donations, iMentor & more.....

I just received an email from my mentee and while she has many obstacles to overcome in life, she reminds me a lot of myself in where she is determined to succeed no matter what.  She previously told me that she had an argument with her dad two years ago, where he was treating her like something she was not.  She was upset and hung up on him…..and has not heard from him since.  So, some of her email is in response to that because she is very hurt about the situation, but her pride is keeping her from making the first move and contacting him.  Anyways, I thought her email was inspiring and wanted to share it.  J 

For those who care to help, she was accepted into a leadership program at Brown University for the summer and needed help affording it.  A link to her fundraising site is: http://wishbone.org/students/view/17

Also, if you live and/or work in New York, consider becoming a mentor through the iMentor program, which matches college-educated mentors with high school students in low-income communities in New York City to help them graduate ready for college. To learn more about the program, visit their website at http://www.imentor.org/about-imentor

If you’d like to sign up now, please complete iMentor’s online application and then iMentor will invite you to attend a helpful mentor training session. It’s a great opportunity to meet other interesting and like-minded professionals who are also becoming mentors.

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Hi Faunya,

I'm really glad that you can come! I believe the show starts around 5 ish so you wont miss much. Things with Brown are going great so far. I found out a couple of days ago that I was fully funded for the entire trip! That is a big stress off of my shoulders. I am really looking forward to those two weeks. Also, about the situation with my dad, his current girlfriend actually has a problem with my mom and I. I've never seen before, and I kinda don't want to because in reality, she is very rude to my mom and there's just a whole bunch of problems there. However, the mother of my sister has always taken care of me and has always been respectful and I would call her but I also haven't talked to her in two years and I wouldn't really know what to say. It is my dad's birthday on Friday so i'm thinking of sending him a card just to wish him a happy birthday. I hope this problem gets resolved before senior year. I don't want him to miss out on important college stuff. I think that both of my parents should be present for that.

Speaking about the topic, I think that self-advocacy is very important especially for a young adult. High school is the time when a teen figures out who they are and what they want to accomplish in life. It is also the time when the teenager gets the most freedom. There is no longer a teacher telling them to stand straight in line on their way to their next class. In highschool, it is their responsibilty to get themselves to the places they need to be. If they don't speak for themselves, one, college will be extremely hard for them, and two, they won't get the opporutnities other students will get. For example, if I hadn't looked up Brown for myself, I probably would have never found out about the program and I would probably be doing nothing this summer. High school is when a person begins to mold their life. This is probably the most important stepping stone in life. Important people come to my school all of the tis my responsibility alone to present myself in the best way possible to begin making myself stand out. No one is going to hand me a full-ride scholarship for no reason. I have to earn it. I have to go out and do my research, schedule interviews, write papers and do everything possible to make sure that I am fulfilling my own needs. Tomorrow, representatives from the POSSE program are coming to talk to us at lunch. I have to make sure that I am being charismatic, catching their attention, advoacating myself and telling them all of the good things I can offer so that I can be nominated for that scholarship. It is important for every young adult to realize that neither our parents nor our teachers are going to sign us up for things that will get us ready for college and after college, we have to do it ourselves.

I am shy around people I don't know, but when my future is in question, I suck it up and put that all away becasue I refuse to let that jepardize my future. So, tomorrow, I am going to be as outgoing as possible because personality and character is something the POSSE program looks for. I am not going to act shy at first becasue theres a chance I won't know them long enough for them to get to know the real me.

I am really excited for the June barbeque. Although it is going to be a busy day, I will get to see you! Also, I am happy that you're coming to the musical!  See you on thursday!

Regards, Leah.

Too sexy, too laid back, too independent... Why some women just AREN'T marriage material

So, I came across the below article and knew I HAD to post it.  The topic of dating and dating that leads to marriage comes up constantly in conversations with both family and friends.  I recently asked my husband what it was about me that attracted him to be 1) my boyfriend and 2) my husband 3 1/2 years later.....and I must say that some of the things written in this adds up.  Also, I look at the other married couples that I know of......same thing.  Hmm....maybe they have a point here.  Thoughts?

By Frances Childs
21 November 2011

We’ve all heard — or perhaps experienced — a version of this story: man meets woman, they fall in love, date for a while, move in together. They frame photos, arrange them on the walls, pick out furniture, make a nest.

A few years on, marriage is on her mind. But she puts no pressure on him — he’ll ask when he’s ready, right? He doesn’t. She doesn’t push it. The relationship stagnates. Man leaves woman. Man swiftly marries subsequent girlfriend, leaving ex mystified and heartbroken.

This is what happened to Laura Hall, a 34-year-old financial adviser from London. Laura had been living with Douglas for four years when he walked out. ‘I just let the relationship drift on, hoping he’d pop the question in his own time. But he never did. I was devastated when he left.’
 

John Molloy, author of Why Men Marry Some Women And Not Others, says that many women simply do not push hard enough for marriage

And she was even more devastated when she heard he’d proposed to his next girlfriend within a matter of months. But why her and not Laura? Does it mean there are some women who are acceptable as a girlfriend, but not really quite the ticket when it comes to getting hitched?
A recent celebrity example that comes to mind is Pippa Middleton. With her long, luscious hair and legs to die for, Pippa is one of the most eligible women on the planet. The sister-in-law to the future King of England possesses an undeniable sex appeal, not to mention perhaps the most lusted-after derriere in the world.

Yet, according to reports, Pippa’s 18-month romance with Old Etonian Alex Loudon recently ended because his family considered her not quite ‘wife material’ — a phrase guaranteed to make female hackles rise. In this supposedly egalitarian age, is there really such a thing as ‘wife material’?

 Well, yes, according to John Molloy, author of Why Men Marry Some Women And Not Others. Molloy claims there are definite types of women that men marry — and, equally definitely, women they do not.

Molloy interviewed more than 3,500 people in his quest to discover exactly why men pop the question to some of us and not others. When he asked men who were about to be married to describe their fiancees, only 20 per cent said ‘gorgeous’ or ‘sexy’. The others focused on their future wives’ personalities.

According to reports, Pippa Middleton's 18-month romance with Old Etonian Alex Loudon ended because his family considered her not quite 'wife material'

One man summed up his future bride as ‘the kind of woman you can take anywhere and be proud of’ — a sentiment echoed by many other men in the course of Molloy’s research. More than 30 per cent of the men Molloy interviewed who were about to get married said their family’s positive opinion of their future bride had helped them decide she was ‘the one’ — and most parents aren’t looking for an incredibly sexy or very attention-seeking spouse for their son.

There’s another good reason why men eschew sexiness in favour of other qualities when they look for a wife. ‘Men don’t look for very sexy wives, because — at a very basic animal level — they want to be sure the children they are raising are their own,’ explains psychologist Dr Jane McCartney, an expert in human behaviour and relationships. ‘Men are attracted to qualities such as loyalty, discretion and kindness when they look for a wife. Feisty and flirty is fine for a girlfriend. It’s just not what men want in life partners.

Frances says Pippa may well be rueing the day she allowed herself to be photographed being hoisted in the air by her ex-boyfriend Charlie Astor

Just look at feisty, flirty, gorgeous Cameron Diaz. Men fall for her in their droves, yet she always ends up single again. If we believe Molloy’s thesis, Cameron’s just too sexy — on some deep, evolutionary level, the men she dates don’t believe she’ll stick around.

But while men apparently don’t want sexy wives, they do want women who take care of themselves. Molloy found women who are slim and well-groomed with nice hair and nails are prized, although those who wear revealing, attention-grabbing clothes are not.
It all sounds a bit schizophrenic: men want to marry women who are sexy and fit, but not too sexy and fit.
 Another reason women find themselves without a ring on their finger, Molloy says, is that many simply do not push hard enough for it. He found 73 per cent of the wives-to-be he spoke to had forced the issue themselves rather than waiting for a romantic proposal.
 This rings true for Laura Hall. ‘I should have been clear about how much marriage meant to me,’ she says now. ‘I was living with him, doing all the things a wife does, but without a ring on my finger. He could just walk out and in the end that’s exactly what he did.’

While she concedes things had become stale between them, she says it happened precisely because the relationship had lost its momentum — the explicit acknowledgement of commitment that typically leads to engagement, then marriage, then children.

Experts say this is common when couples live together. According to Dr Joel Block, psychologist and author of the book The Real Reasons Men Commit, women need to be wary of serial co-habiters. If a man has had more than one live-in relationship, he is less likely to marry than a man who hasn’t or who is in his first co-habiting relationship.

'Lukewarm': Loudon's parents James and Jane Loudon didn't see Pippa as wife material for their son

If you are with a man who has lived with someone before and you want to get married, you need to say so and stick to your guns early on in the relationship. Make your wishes known. It worked for Gemma Jones, 30, a childminder from Kent. ‘I lived with Mark for a year and then I told him I wanted to get married. He was a bit fazed at first and came out with lines like “it’s only a bit of paper” but I explained that marriage was important to me and to my family, who are Roman Catholics.’

‘Mark agreed to set a date when he understood that I really wanted to get married and that I wouldn’t be happy if the relationship just carried on,’ she explains.
 Research also demonstrates that men prize women who don’t cook and clean for them as a matter of course. As one man in the survey ungallantly put it: ‘No one marries a servant.’ It seems that men are attracted to women who are aware of their own self-worth. But nowadays isn’t co-habiting merely a sensible step to take before vowing to spend the rest of your life together?

Psychologists agree that moving in together is fine — as long as both people are clear about where they think it will lead. ‘Simply put, most men place marriage on a higher level of commitment than just living together,’ explains Block. ‘While women might think that living together is a step towards marriage, many men view it as a way of buying time — or worse, a good option until they find their future wife.

Too sexy? Cameron Diaz dated Justin Timberlake for three years, but ended up single again

John Molloy is equally blunt. ‘The statistics say most men propose after 22 months. For the next three-and-a-half years, the prospects of marriage gradually diminish. After seven years, the likelihood you’ll get married is virtually nil,’ he says. ‘If you want to get married, statistically speaking, you should start to look seriously for a husband at 28.’
Molloy also advises a little lowering of standards. Some women never get married, he says, because they are simply too fussy. Of the women he interviewed who were about to get married, 20 per cent admitted disliking their future husbands when they first met them. ‘Of course, you should have standards, but it sometimes pays to give men a second or even third chance,’ Molloy advises.
 Web designer Nicki Carter from Reading, who at 41 has never been married, worries that now she never will. She ruefully admits: ‘I was probably too picky. I finished with one boyfriend because I thought he wasn’t focused enough on his career. And I finished with another one because I decided he was too possessive.

‘In fact, he was madly in love with me, handsome, funny, well-educated and kind. He wanted to marry me but I wasn’t interested. I always thought I could do better and now I wonder if I was wrong.’Joel Block argues that there is no such thing as perfect. ‘I think that women who are growing older as they search for Mr Right should reconsider. Would finding Mr “Almost Right” be better than a single life?’ he asks. For some it wouldn’t. ‘Some women just don’t want to get married. They aren’t the marrying type,’ Molloy says.

Whether Pippa is or isn’t remains to be seen. Certainly, she will have no shortage of eligible suitors queuing up to replace Alex Loudon and, at 28, she’s hardly left on the shelf. However, she may well be rueing the day that, dressed in that plunging, cleavage-enhancing scarlet dress, she allowed herself to be photographed being hoisted in the air by her ex-boyfriend Charlie Astor on the dance floor at the Boodles ball.

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How To Be More Interesting (In 10 Simple Steps) - Forbes

How to be interesting (in 10 stupid-simple steps): (another little article I found to be interesting!  enjoy!)

1.Go exploring.Explore ideas, places, and opinions. The inside of the echo chamber is where all the boring people hang out.

2. Share what you discover.And be generous when you do. Not everybody went exploring with you. Let them live vicariously through your adventures.

3. Do something. Anything.
Dance. Talk. Build. Network. Play. Help. Create. It doesn’t matter what you do, as long as you’re doing it. Sitting around and complaining is not an acceptable form of ‘something,’ in case you were wondering.

4. Embrace your innate weirdness.
No one is normal. Everyone has quirks and insights unique to themselves. Don’t hide these things—they are what make you interesting.

5. Have a cause.
If you don’t give a damn about anything, no one will give a damn about you.

6. Minimize the swagger.
Egos get in the way of ideas. If your arrogance is more obvious than your expertise, you are someone other people avoid.

7. Give it a shot.
Try it out. Play around with a new idea. Do something strange. If you never leave your comfort zone, you won’t grow.

8. Hop off the bandwagon.
If everyone else is doing it, you’re already late to the party.  Do your own thing, and others will hop onto the spiffy wagon you built yourself. Besides, it’s more fun to drive than it is to get pulled around.

9. Grow a pair.Bravery is needed to have contrary opinions and to take unexpected paths. If you’re not courageous, you’re going to be hanging around the water cooler, talking about the guy who actually is.

10. Ignore the scolds.
Boring is safe, and you will be told to behave yourself. The scolds could have, would have, should have. But they didn’t. And they resent you for your adventures.

The Six Enemies of Greatness (and Happiness) - Forbes

The Six Enemies of Greatness (and Happiness)These six factors can erode the grandest of plans and the noblest of intentions. They can turn visionaries into paper-pushers and wide-eyed dreamers into shivering, weeping balls of regret. Beware!

 1) Availability
We often settle for what’s available, and what’s available isn’t always great. “Because it was there,” is an okay reason to climb a mountain, but not a very good reason to take a job or a free sample at the supermarket.

 2) Ignorance
If we don’t know how to make something great, we simply won’t. If we don’t know that greatness is possible, we won’t bother attempting it. All too often, we literally do not know any better than good enough.

 3) Committees
Nothing destroys a good idea faster than a mandatory consensus. The lowest common denominator is never a high standard.

 4) Comfort
Why pursue greatness when you’ve already got 324 channels and a recliner? Pass the dip and forget about your grand designs.

5) Momentum
If you’ve been doing what you’re doing for years and it’s not-so-great, you are in a rut. Many people refer to these ruts as careers.

6) Passivity

There’s a difference between being agreeable and agreeing to everything. Trust the little internal voice that tells you, “this is a bad idea.”

Getting More Sleep Naturally…For Beauty and Weight-Loss

Here's another little re-blog from my favorite celebrity nutritionist, Kimberly Snyder.  This re-blog was inspired by my sister, Frankela's sleeping problems and her need for valium to regulate them.  :-)  I rarely have trouble sleeping, but my lover does, so hopefully this will help him, as well.  Peace & Love!!!  ~Faunya

 

So as a little reminder, the low-down on sleep is that getting a consistent amount of good sleep makes you LOOK good, FEEL good, and keeps you SLIMMER and your ideal weight. Yay sleep!!

Our bodies are governed by a biological clock, and we rely on it for the regualation of our metabolic processes, such as our hormone levels, blood sugar levels, body temperatures, metabolism, immunity, etc. Faulty sleep patterns could impede surges of growth hormone, that promotes lean muscle tissue and the burning of body fat. Inadequate sleep also forces cortisol levels to rise, which can quicken fat storage, especially around the belly area! So not getting enough rest, unfortunately, can definitely make you fat and look more FLABBY. Eeeek. (Now THERE IS some motivation to cut back on your late night web surfing hmmmmmm??????).

Everything suffers if we don’t get adequate sleep! You’ll feel crabby and sloth-like during the day, and won’t have as much energy to achieve your goals. To help combat the energy slumps you will also be more apt to reach for snacks and more food— even though it is more sleep that you need, NOT more food!

How much sleep do we really need? Well I’m sure you’ve always heard that scientists insist that we need 8 hours of sleep a night. I think that it is more individual than that, depending on our lifestyle and diet. If you are eating mostly raw food you should require less sleep, since you have so much more energy freed up from the processes of digestion. I need about 6 hours of sleep a night to feel amazing and fully energized! Be intuitive with your own sleep patterns and understand your own body to know how much sleep your really need.

Then be responsible for your health and get to bed at the time you need to get those necessary beauty sleep hours!

All of us have trouble falling asleep sometimes- or for some of us it is a chronic problem. We live in such a fast-paced world, with so many sensory elements pulling us this way and that, it is no wonder that it difficult for us to shut everything off at the end of the day and immediately pass out! So we must be conscious of the root causes of our sleep problems and work to correct them- rather than put a bandaid (and an unnatural and liver-harming one at that!) on the issue and resort immediately to the multiple varieties of sleep pills available to us today!!! Sleeping pills should be a very last resort.

Here are some easy, natural sleep tips:

-    Eat dinner 2-4 hours before bedtime. Do your best, and eat as early as is feasible for you. Be sure your dinners are of the best food combining possible (more on that later). As a general rule, avoiding eating complex starches with heavy proteins. We want our digestion to be as easy as possible and not impede our sleep or rest at all!

-    Avoid drinking any caffeine (a stimulant)- even green tea- in the evenings. Remember raw cacao has some caffeine, so if you are having your raw cacao truffles or raw vegan hot chocolate for desert, just be sensible in limiting the amounts and again, have dinner as early as possible.

-    Avoid eating “Rajastic” (stimulating activity) foods at dinner. This would include excessive spicy chilies, lots of garlic and onion, and a large amount of animal flesh foods.

-    A cup of warm almond milk (see Megan’s Almond Milk recipe to make it truly raw or buy the unsweetened kind at the store) before bedtime is very soothing and contains magnesium and calcium, which can be helpful for falling asleep.

-    Try to avoid taking naps after 4:00 PM.

-    Take a hot shower before bed. There is a signal to your body that it is bedtime, created by the rise in body temperature followed by the decline in the core temperature. I take one every night! And I find it immensely helpful. I like to imagine the stream of water also as white light flushing away the stress and other peoples’ energy from the day, off my body and down the drain. It soothes my muscles, which are always sore from yoga and makes me feel fresh and restored.

-    Try to get to establish a (somewhat) consistent pattern of going to bed and waking up around the same time. I know, I know, the weekends are when things go a bit awry in this area, and you deserve to kick back and hang out with your friends or stay up late watching  movies etc on your weekends (!) but like I said, just do your best!

-    Make sure your bedroom is cool- a warmer temperature creates a harder sleep environment. I sleep with my air filter on “turbo mode” which makes a pleasant white sound and produces cool air!

-    Make sure you don’t have any electrical appliances plugged in in in your bedroom. That includes plugged-in alarm clocks, etc. These appliances have subtle radiation currents which can interfere with our body’s natural sleep clocks and REM sleep!  So buy a $10 battery-operated alarm clock instead!

-    Drink a cup of Kava Tea, which is a tea derived from a root from the South Pacific, and has been shown to reduce anxiety. When I was in Fiji, at night and whenever I met some locals, they would always invite me to a cup of Kava. They would put the root in a cloth and use their hands to rub the essence into a bucket of water for over 10 mins., then ladle it out into cups. Of course I tried not to focus on the level of everyone’s hand cleanliness , but it sure did make me feel relaxed! You can get Kava Tea at the health food store with several popular brands.

-    Don’t watch TV in your bedroom or right before you fall asleep. The TV is a lightbox of sounds and images meant to stimulate your senses. How can we be expected to instantly rest peacefully when we have just watched the imagery of all the drama shows they have one, or even worse…the nightly NEWS??? Which is often about doom and gloom and fear-based things and not really peaceful sleep material we want on our mind as we are drifting off!

-    Lastly and most importantly: Be sure to arrange your schedule for a nightly meditation practice. Even more importantly in our busy, busy lives, we need a barrier between the craziness of our days and our sojourn into peaceful sleep. We need some time to reconnect back. Allow yourself at least a few minutes (1/2 hour would be blissful!) to go into meditation. It will make all the difference! If you have no definite technique, do some deep yogic breathing techniques and focus on being still. It will really help you calm down. There are some breathing techniques in my blog, “A Little Discussed Weight Loss Tip.


Happy rest dear ones. ☺
xx Kimberly

Click below to find out more about the author's bestselling books.
Books by Kimberly Snyder

Quick and Easy Tips to Prevent Acid Reflux and Heart Burn

 

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If you've ever experienced burning in the chest and throat, belching, nausea after eating, difficulty swallowing, hoarseness, coughing, hiccups, or pain with lying down, bending, and stooping – particularly after a large meal, there's a good chance you are suffering from a very common health problem. Acid reflux, also known as gastroesophageal reflux disease or GERD, the condition affects approximately 1/3 of the people in the United States. That's a scarily significant portion of the population, and costs for evaluation and treatment of GERD are more than $10 billion per year!

What Causes GERD?

GERD is a little more than occasional heartburn. People with occasional heartburn experience it less than once a week, while GERD affects people two times a week or more. In some cases, GERD may even cause significant discomfort every day, leading people suffering from the condition to try just about every type of medication they can.
So what causes GERD? Food passes through your digestive system via the lower esophageal sphincter (LES), which sits at the bottom of your esophagus just before your stomach. This passage is supposed to be one-way only. Unfortunately, a number of things can cause the LES to not close properly, or to open at inappropriate times, allowing stomach acid to flow upwards through the LES, carrying stomach acids into the esophagus and mouth. While many people experience occasional bouts of heartburn, when this begins to occur regularly, doctors diagnose GERD.

What factors contribute to GERD?

• Eating large meals
• Eating foods that irritate the stomach
• Constipation or poor elimination
• Excess belly fat
• Excess intake of acidic foods
• A high fat diet

Natural Ways to Eliminate Acid Reflux

While the common response to GERD is to reach for an antacid or the latest anti-GERD miracle medicine such as Zantac or Prilosec, this only treats the symptoms and does not eliminate the cause. In some cases, even medications aren't enough to fully eliminate symptoms. In others, you are forced to take more and more medicine in order to get the same level of relief. And even if you have relieved the symptoms through medicine, have you eliminated the cause? Of course not!
Fortunately, you can control the symptoms of GERD naturally, and even help your body heal so you never need to reach for that roll of Tums again! By making lifestyle changes that support good health, you can start feeling relief without medicine.

1. The Glowing Green Smoothie: I really do believe the GGS is a miracle in a glass. Starting your day with one can do so many positive things for your health. Here's how it helps with GERD. Since one of the leading causes of GERD is constipation (straining to eliminate hardened stool can widen the LES over time, allowing acids to back up through the esophagus), all of the beneficial fiber from a daily GGS will help bulk up your stool and eliminate constipation. Another reason the GGS is so powerful in your fight against GERD and acid reflux is that you are starting your day with a powerfully alkaline drink that can neutralize any acids in your system and help maintain your body's pH levels.
2. Eat a plant-based diet: Plants are full of wonderful nutrients, fibers, and active enzymes. Additionally, plants are alkaline, which can help create an internal environment that inhibits acids from building up. Plants are easy to digest, so your stomach doesn't need to work nearly as hard or produce nearly as much acid as it would with other foods.
3. Avoid or minimize all animal products: On the other hand, animal products (including dairy, meat, fish, eggs, and poultry) are very difficult to digest. They require tremendous effort (and acid release) on the part of your stomach. Likewise, animal products create an acidic environment in which conditions like acid reflux thrive.
4. Minimize acid-forming beverages: Coffee, soda, and energy drinks all create tons of acid in your body – and your stomach. They can also irritate your stomach lining. Carbonation may also contribute to GERD symptoms. Switch to herbal tea, pure water, or a water with a squeeze of lemon.
5. Avoid gluten grains: Wheat, rye, barley, and some processed oats all contain gluten, which is a protein that is very hard for the digestive system to process. Instead, switch to healthy, non-GMO grains like millet and quinoa. These not only add beneficial fiber to your diet, but the are much easier on digestion.
6. Minimize fats: While your body needs some fat to survive, minimizing your intake of super fatty foods like fried foods and animal products can make a big difference in GERD.
7. If you are overweight, lose weight: Belly fat can contribute to GERD, so losing weight can ease the pressure on the LES.
8. Stop eating before you are stuffed: Eat your meals slowly, chewing fully, and stop when you start to feel full – not when you feel so full you can't move. Huge meals overextend the stomach, which can cause – you guessed it – acid reflux.
9. Eliminate foods that may irritate your stomach: Certain foods can really be irritating to the stomach, including things like onions and peppers. If you notice a certain food irritates your stomach, cut it out.
10. Wait an hour after eating: Before you lie down or get all excited about bending, stooping, and other actions, wait an hour after a meal. This helps keep the acid right where it belongs – in your stomach. If you allow gravity to aid stomach acid by bending or lying and you have a weakened or widened LES, it's going to wind up in your esophagus and mouth.
11. Sleep with your upper body in an elevated position. If acid reflux gets you at night, defy gravity by lying in bed with your upper body raised to keep acids where they belong.
12. Avoid antacids: While these chalky pills temporarily relieve symptoms of acid reflux, they also cause the stomach to produce more acid to overcome the alkalinity they create. This creates a downward spiral where you take more antacids to combat the increased acid, and your stomach produces more acid to combat the increased number of antacids. Before long, you'll be going through a Costco-sized Tums in just a few days. Nobody wants to live that way!
13. Stop smoking.

 

Natural Acid Reflux Treatment

I can see you saying, "But I have acid reflux right now. These things will take time. How can I relieve my symptoms now?"

Here are a few suggestions.

1. Have some licorice root tea. This tea soothes and can coat the lining of your esophagus. If you have high blood pressure, talk to your doctor before trying licorice root, which can elevate blood pressure.
2. Chew a fresh basil leaf. This Ayurvedic remedy can sooth your digestive tract.
3. Suck on a slippery elm lozenge. Available at the health food store, these lozenges will protect your digestive tract and relive coughing or pain.
4. Take digestive enzymes. This can help encourage digestion to occur more quickly.
5. Try some organic raw honey. This will neutralize the pH in your stomach, reducing acids that can come back up.
6. Have some chamomile tea. Chamomile can soothe and neutralize stomach acids.

*Please note that the above is a repost from Kimberly Snyder's blog on April 19th, 2012
Kimberly Snyder is a nutritionist and author of three books, which appeared on the New York Times Best Seller list.
Click on the below links to find out more about these books and/or make a purchase:
Beauty Detox Solution: Eat Your Way to Radiant Skin, Renewed Energy and the Body You've Always Wanted
The Beauty Detox Foods: Discover the Top 50 Beauty Foods That Will Transform Your Body and Reveal a More Beautiful You
The Beauty Detox Power: Nourish Your Mind and Body for Weight Loss and Discover True Joy

The Top 5 Beauty Detox & Cleansing Secrets

Welcome to This is me…..Then!  If you like what you see, subscribe here for free updates, or you can “like” my Facebook page here and receive new posts in your news stream.  Once you like my page, you can choose to see posts in your newsfeed first or receive a notification for each post made.  Thanks for visiting!

......as outlined in Kimberly Snyder's book called, "The Beauty Detox Solution."

On going cleansing is one of the most important ways to reach our highest goals of health and beauty, reverse aging and lose weight.

Cleansing is how our body rids itself of waste, toxins and the sludge that is trapped inside and is constantly accumulating.  When we are not cleansing properly, we can drive the toxins deeper into our body, where they continue to weaken us, steal our beauty energy, make us look old and tired, and eventually cause disease.

We cannot rebuild, heal or maintain our weight easily without cleansing.  Cleansing rebalances us and cleans out the sludge and mucus in our bodies so we can adequately absorb nutrients.  If you change your diet but don't properly cleanse on an ongoing basis, you will not get the results you desire, no matter how strictly you adhere to the program.

Beauty Detox Secret #1: PROBIOTICS
Probiotics help preserve a healthy digestive environment and play a critical role in our immune system.
Probiotics can also help restore our internal balance and will increase our overall health.

Beauty Detox Secret #2: PLANT-BASED DIGESTIVE ENZYMES
Poorly digested food ferments and putrifies in the digestive tract, stimulating the growth of unfriendly bacterua and the creation of their toxic, acidic by-products and waste, which then become absorbed into the blood and deposited in tissues all around the body, especially soft-tissue areas, such as the joints.  Toxins in the blood also negatively affect our skin and our physical appearance.
Digestive enzymes are therefore a critical aid to us.  They can be taken daily and right before meals and should be ingested before any meal that contains cooked food.  They give our bodies an extra boost of lipase, amylase and protease to help efficiently digest fats, starches and proteins.

Beauty Detox Secret #3: PROBIOTIC & ENZYME SALAD
Probiotic & Enzyme Salad is composed of raw, cultured vegetables that have been chopped and left in airtight glass containers at room temperature for several days.  This allows the beneficial lactobacilli and enzymes already naturally present in the vegetables to flourish, creating food that is extremely rich in probiotics (friendly bacteria), enzymes and minerals. It is really raw sauerkraut.
Consuming 1/2 to 1 cup with dinner at least five nights a week would be ideal.

Beauty Detox Secret #4: MAGNESIUM-OXYGEN SUPPLEMENT
This powerful cleanser combines magnesium oxide compounds that have been ozonated and stabilized to release monatomic, or nascent, oxygen over twelve hours or more throughout the entire digestive system.
Unlike synthetic laxatives, or even harsh natural herbs with laxative properties, like senna, good-quality magnesium-oxygen supplements are non-habit-forming and promote the strength of all the organs' functions, making them safe for regular use.

Beauty Detox Secret #5: GRAVITY-CENTERED COLONICS AND ENEMAS
Our colon is the sewer system of the body and encases a large amount of aging sludge.  When our colon becomes overloaded, toxicity builds in the rest of our digestive tract, including our liver, kidneys, etc.  When we clean the colon, we start a chain reaction of cleansing in other organs throughout the whole body.
Gravity-centered colonics also work with gravity and your body's energy to release waste, so you'll actually strengthen peristalsis and your body's natural bowel movements, not weaken them.

BUY HERE: The Beauty Detox Solution: Eat Your Way to Radiant Skin, Renewed Energy and the Body You've Always Wanted

DIET & DETOX UPDATE - April 2012

So, it's been about two months since I started this whole diet & detox kick and I must say that I have been doing pretty well.  I am proud of myself!

 

Last month, I brought a blender, which helped me to kick it up another notch with fruit and vegetable smoothies on a regular basis.  The benefit of these smoothies, which I think I mentioned in an earlier post, is that it allows you to have several servings of fruit and vegetables in a single cup. 

 

Anyways, here is the daily routine I follow to date.  I am entering times as a guideline, but it all depends on when I wake up and what I have to do/go that day.

 

5:00am                 Drink hot water with ¼ lemon

8:00am                 Drink 1 cup of water with daily vitamins and supplements (includes One-A-Day, Fish Oil, Iron and Probiotic)

8:30am                 Drink a cup of my Glowing Green Smoothie or eat some fruit (if smoothie isn't available)

9:30am                 Eat breakfast (After drinking the smoothie or eating fruit, I wait at least ½ hour and eat only if/when I am hungry)

10:30am               Drink a cup of water or tea or other nutritious drink, followed by a small nutritious snack if I'm hungry (anytime between 10:30am-12:00pm)

12:00pm               Eat lunch (Salad or other raw veggies, followed by the remaining portions of my meal)              

2:00pm                 Drink a cup of water or tea or other nutritious drink, followed by a small nutritious snack if I'm hungry (anytime between 2:00pm-7:00pm)

7:00pm                 Dinner (Salad or other raw veggies, followed by the remaining portions of my meal)

9:00pm                 Drink a cup of water or tea or other nutritious drink, followed by a small nutritious snack if I'm hungry

 

Some of the rules I follow are:

·         Do not drink during your meals.  Drink at least ½ hour before and/or 1 hour after your meal.

·         Listen to your body and only eat when hungry.

·         Begin each meal with a fruit or raw vegetable.

·         To help the flow of digestion eat from light to heavy (raw fruit à raw greens/vegetables à cooked greens/vegetables à starch à meat à desserts/other).

·         Cut artificial sweeteners and sodas from your diet (or decrease them dramatically).

·         Do not eat at least 2 hours before going to bed.

 

I am still working to perfect and improve on these.  In addition, I'm trying to discipline myself to work out at least 4 days a week.  I'm going away to a resort with my job in June and travelling to the beautiful island of Sal, Cape Verde in September.  I've got quite a bit of work to do!!!!! 

parenthood

When to cut the financial cord on your kids

By Naomi Mannino • Bankrate.com

Highlights

• Start kids on their financial independence early by having them save for items they want.
• One poll found 40 percent of adults 18 to 39 either live with their parents or have done so recently.
• Get teenagers on the right track with a part-time job and by having them pay part of the bills.

You or someone you know probably has an adult child living at home, according the latest "60 Minutes" and Vanity Fair poll. More than half, 54 percent, of today's parents say there's no set time when kids should stop living at home -- not when they graduate from college, get a full-time job or even when they get married. More and more college-age and post-college-age children are taking advantage of this and living at home.

How old is too old?

Forty percent of American adults ages 18 to 39 either live at home or have done so recently, according to one poll for the National Endowment for Financial Education. That's alarming, as the findings exclude students and include "kids" up to the age of 39. The same survey found that these adult children are having a financial impact on their parents, too. Of surveyed parents with adult children living at home, 26 percent have taken on debt to support their kids, and 7 percent have delayed retirement.
This begs the question for the 46 percent of parents who think kids should live their own lives at some point: When should you cut the financial cord?

Start early

Children should begin earning for themselves at an early age by contributing to household chores and taking on extra tasks to earn cash, says family finance expert Ellie Kay. Make sure children understand their responsibilities, and contributions will increase as they get older.
"If you set a precedent that you will just hand over cash every time kids ask, the problem can exacerbate as adult financial responsibilities and mistakes take over," she says.
David Bakke, a personal finance reporter, says his parents gave him the rule that if he wanted to buy something, he had to earn the money to pay for it. Today, he says it's "one of the best things my parents did for me."
This system also applied to Andrew Schrage, one of Bakke's reporting colleagues. Schrage's parents made him save up for a car as a teen. "Although, they did sell me one of their old cars at a significantly reduced rate and (paid) for my auto insurance into my late teens," he says.
Kay agrees that if a teen wants to drive, he or she should pay for his or her own car. She also thinks teens should be required to pay for a portion of their auto insurance, so they appreciate what it costs.

The entitlement generation

Entitlement is especially prevalent in kids today who did not earn their own way in and have no idea what items cost, Kay says.
"As parents, we owe our children food, clothing, health care and shelter, not fun with friends, designer clothing, cellphones with data plans, a car or a party-school college experience," Kay says. "If kids want those things, they need to earn it for themselves. Otherwise, they feel entitled instead of appreciative."
She emphasizes that when kids work for things, they value them more. And this includes a college education.
Students who choose to work a moderate amount toward their college expenses often do better academically, according to the nonprofit College Board. Two-thirds of full-time undergraduate college students receive some type of financial aid. About 61 percent of that aid is in the form of grants, scholarships, federal work-study, tax credits and deductions that do not have to be repaid. The remaining 39 percent of financial aid dollars are in the form of loans.

Start cutting the cord on college financing early. Kay says to let teenagers know a portion of their time must be spent earning money for college, whether it be from a higher GPA or excelling in extracurricular activities. Kay says researching local, affordable schools; applying for state scholarships, grants and work-study programs; or joining the military are all ways to reduce college costs and earn money for college tuition and living expenses.

She adds that raising adults who take responsibility is the goal because that time period between ages 18 and 22 is when you should be cutting the cord on most financial responsibilities.

Credit concerns

"Giving teenagers access to your credit card sounds counterintuitive, but avoiding the topic is a horribly misguided approach to teaching kids how to use credit and achieve a good credit score," says John Ulzheimer, president of consumer education at SmartCredit.com. "You have to assume they will use a credit card, so teach them how to use it sooner rather than later. Adding your older teen to your credit card account is the equivalent of driver's ed and a learner's permit when it comes to credit usage," he says.
Ulzheimer and Kay agree on never co-signing for loans or credit cards for your kids, no matter what age. "If you co-sign, they control the card or loan but you have equal debt liability if an account defaults. It puts your own debt-to-income ratio and credit score at risk," says Ulzheimer.
Kay says, "The baby boomer trend is to bail out their adult kids repeatedly, which deteriorates parents' own wealth and retirement."

When to cut the cord

A "boomerang kid" is an adult child who returns to live at home again later in life."When a boomerang fails to launch or refuses to leave home, you've got to cut that cord," says Kay. "Make it as uncomfortable as possible for that adult child to live at home. Instead of feathering the nest, add a few pine cones to make leaving the nest seem more attractive -- and then they will fly."

When to start cutting the financial cord:

• Start cutting the financial cord early. If your young child wants designer duds or a fancy gaming system, have him or her earn it by doing chores around the house and saving money from birthdays and events.
• By age 16, expect your kid to work for you with chores or at a part-time job. He or she can use this money to pay for a cellphone bill, a portion of car insurance and gas on your car, and as savings for his or her own car if he or she is driving.
• If kids are living at home at age 18 and older and are not in school, they should be paying rent -- barring a tragedy or extenuating circumstances. Try to make the situation temporary by increasing the rent every three months or so they're still living at home. A written, well-planned exit strategy is your best friend when it comes to a grown child asking to live at home.

When to stay connected a little while longer:

• If a college student wants his own credit card, keep him as an authorized user on your card while teaching him sound credit principles until he is 21. New credit card rules make it difficult for those younger than 21 to get their own credit cards without their own income or assets.
• If your adult child needs help with health insurance, keep him or her on your plan as long as it's financially feasible for you. President Barack Obama's Health Care Reform/Affordable Care Act allows children to remain covered under a parent's health insurance until age 26.

Posted:March 2, 2012

The Easiest Weight Loss/Maintenance Tip Ever

I found the following on Kimberly Snyder's blog and thought it was a great tip to share.....

The Easiest Weight Loss/Maintenance Tip Ever

With a title like that, you’re probably expecting something really profound. Well, they say the most profound things in life are really simple. And so is this tip: Drink as little water and other liquids as possible during your meals. Why???

Well I remember reading the yogi Master Paramanhansa Yogananda say that if you need to gain weight, drink lots of water with your meals, and when you want to lose or maintain weight, of course do the opposite…drink less with meals. Hmmmmm. In college and for a few years after I always used to down water with my meals, thinking that I would get more full and therefore eat less. But I started researching this idea deeper, especially after my travels to India.

There is scientific theory to back up the idea of drinking less with meals. Large amounts of water and liquids impede the digestive process by diluting gastric juices, such as hydrochloric acid. Many people are already deficient in digestive acids to start, due to their diet. You also dilute the digestive enzymes your body needs for the effective digestion of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. Yes, so much of easy weight loss has to do with ease of digestion and properly breaking down foods! When these juices, acids, and enzymes are diluted, you can experience bloating, abdominal distension after meals (NOT pleasant! And not particularly attractive- especially if you are having dinner before going out!), and can have a hard time losing weight and/or maintaining your ideal weight.

Water is a truly a miracle from nature. We are so blessed to have access to clean drinking water that keeps our bodies and its fluids functioning optimally and removes toxins and waste products. But try to drink large quantities of this miracle liquid at least 20 minutes on either side of a meal, and sip only during meals. Cheers! Here’s to your healthy and more effortlessly slimmed down body!

(For the science nerds like me, here is a supportive study: In 1910, a study was done on people that drank 3 liters of water with meals for five days in a row. The findings showed: An increase in body weight of an average of two pounds in the five days; increased amount of excretion of urinary nitrogen; increased output of ammonia, due to an increased output of gastric juice; and a decrease in the quantity of bacteria excreted daily.)