Cell Phones: Luxury or Need?

We are changing cell phone plans and I had this great idea... close the first and post pone the second as long as I can to see how long we can go.

Yes, my primary motive was saving money... We are still recouping from hubby being out of work for 6 months after being downsized right before the holidays.

But, as I thought about it, I started wondering if the controversial frequencies they emit really affect our health & well-being and do they pollute our air & environment? As you know these are the thoughts that keep me up at night.

Then I started wondering, if the cell phone tower or the "phone company" building that was next to the building I worked when pregnant with Sahara, could have contributed to the infantile autism? Purely based on the energy model... it most certainly is probable.

Of course there is also my consideration that the age of industrialization is doing more global harm then good. And I am talking on a spiritual, physical and emotional level.

Industrialization has introduced more pollutants in our environment than ever before (BP oil spill case in point). It has torn families apart as they moved away from family farming to the city life. We have left our elders who helped us raise and guide our young children... now strangers turned childcare providers are caring for our kids.

I could go on... but you get the point.

Back to the cell-phone issue... My big question was can we do without this modern day luxury that is now viewed as a need?? Is it possible in the 21st century to forfeit something that we have created the construct of necessity for?

After all, this is precisely the experiment I did with cable TV 5 years ago. And, yes, we still are cable free... Instead of television, we now play games, go to parks, read books, and nurture our bodies, minds and relationships naturally.

Well, 4 weeks is a far cry from 5 years... but, we are on week 4 of no cell phones and I don't miss it (other than the Long Distance calling). I miss calling my mom anytime. Especially since I can't just hop in the car and drive to her house... she lives 3 hours away.

Of course my IT hubby is probably going insane. He has had phones attached to the hip for years... I would think not being at the beckon call of others would be refreshing to him. He says he misses not being in touch with me and the girls. That is valid. If there is an emergency we are no longer connected like we were with the phone.

I presume that that is our biggest hurdle. What if Sahara gets lost in a crowd or what if there is an emergency when we are in the community... what do I do?

And now that we are in the height of tween-dom with Emily, we have promised her that when we order our new phones, she is to get her own. Not because we want her to be hip, but for the same reasons I think we need one. Remember the dime our mothers used to give us when we went out with our friends, "If you need anything call me!"

Have you noticed phone booths are a thing of the past?

So, I am on the line... now pun intended. Do we go another 4 weeks of my experiment or do we bite the bullet of the industrialization age and buy the new phones and plans.?

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Oil Spill, Meditation and Eradication

The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is going to impact our planet, children and grandchildren, ecology, economy, etc. for centuries to come... that is if we survive it at all!! I watch videos, view pictures and read story after story; and my heart aches for our planet and mankind. I can’t help but worry about what devastation this will behind. I pray, but I am not sure that is enough.

I try not to focus on the obvious detriment of the situation. I firmly believe in the law of attraction and know my thoughts can and do create my reality. So, I try to meditate and focus on purified waters, a healthy marine habitat and a repaired oil tank. I figure that if the scientists and engineers who are armed with technology cannot fix the massive oil rig tank, then surely our thoughts can.

Well, I have to admit that is even hard for me to ascertain. I try, but I keep returning to thoughts of destruction and greed. I cannot help but to beg the power and money hungry individuals in charge to get off their duff and do something about this before it kills not only the planet, but the people who inhabit her too!! Stop defending Big Oil and take action!!

I feel like my pleas are met on deaf ears. I contemplate that if the powers to be can make vulgar statements about the oil spill and not take proper action to remedy the situation, and then it is very possible that the same greedy bastards could be making vulgar statements to discredit concerned parents and deny vaccine injury while continuing to pump that toxicity into our bodies? Sadly, this makes me feel validated. Sadly, this is probably close to the truth.

We live in a corrupt society where money and power make us do things that are incomprehensible. We turn the cheek when it doesn’t directly affect us or when we are seemingly removed. But, I have to say that we are not removed from either of these scenarios. Our children are being vaccine damaged as well as poisoned by toxins and pesticides in their foods as well as in their toys. Just this week alone 2 children’s items were recalled for containing cadmium… Miley Cyrus brand Jewelry at Walmart and Shrek glassware at Mc Donald’s.

And yet, we think it to be so farfetched that vaccines might contain harmful ingredients? Another story surfaced this week about a congressional committee that is investigating what they are calling a ‘phantom recall’ on Johnson and Johnson division, Mc Neil’s, Motrin. Apparently, the company outsourced contractors to have individuals go into stores and buy the entire product on the shelf to prevent a nationwide recall.

There are some tainted business practices occurring and it is mankind that is paying. Of course, Sarah Palin would like to blame the ‘Radical Environmentalists’ for the recent Oil Spill, but we know better. It is a world full of greed and this too shall bite us in the ass. This spill will effect far more than the Gulf. It will affect the entire mother earth and her inhabitants. You know I think she will survive… but not without causalities. Mankind has been eradicated before, and we are not too far from it again. We are but a mere virus on her and her immune system is about to eliminate us.

I pray that I am wrong for our sake, for our children's sake, and for the sake of this planet that gives us life.

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The ABC's of Innis Woods Metro Park (by Emily and Mommy)

Today we went to Innis Woods Metro Park in Westerville, Ohio... if you live in the Central Ohio region, you have a bounty of free parks awaiting your exploration... turn off the tv and take the kids outside. Our children learn through interacting with their environment. If you live elsewhere, you need to research what is in your backyard... you may be surprised at what you discover. Parks give families an excellant opportunity to bond and great lasting memories while learning more about nature. Here is a list of things that the girls and I saw or experienced today...

Amazing Adventure

Bridges

Chipmunks

Deer

Ebbing water

Families

Grey squirrel

Hills

Investigation

Joggers

Kalology (study of beauty)

Labyrinth

Meadow

Nature

Oobambulate (to wander about)

Pine Trees

Quality time

Red Cardinal

Spider

Toads

Uliginoud (a swampy, slimy place)

Violets

Windmill

Xenial (hospitality towards guests… from ranger.)

Yellow Daisies

Zeta (a small room with nature displays)

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Grandma's Garden

We packed the girls up Saturday morning for an impromptu visit to Grandma’s house; she hadn’t seen them in over a year, I wonder who was more excited. Daddy got out of bed way too early, the girls asked the whole way (2 ½ hours), "Are we there yet?" and Grandmother must have awakened at the crack of dawn—when we arrived the aroma of baking permeated the walkway.

If you walk away from my husband’s childhood house hungry it would be your own fault—Emily doesn’t call her the "Cooker Grandma" for no reason. For lunch Grandma prepared fried chicken, homemade mac-n-cheese, macaroni salad, mashed potatoes, gravy and zucchini bread. For desert she made us a fruit pudding with zucchini… I hesitated, but, once I tasted it I discovered it really was to die for. I suppose I aspire to be like my mother-in-law in the kitchen; basking in the nurturance of her children through her many kitchen creations.

After we finished this magnificent bounty, we went out to Grandma’s garden. Don’t let the concept of a grandmother gardening fool you. We harvested lettuce, red cabbage, white cabbage, red potatoes, red tomatoes, green tomatoes, green beans, sugar snap peas, green peppers, and cucumbers… the harvest was luscious and plenty. My husband jumped right in and started obeying the instructions his mother gave while Emily followed every move her grandmother made.

Sahara didn’t have much interest in the garden, but did find complete pleasure in running through an acre of land without anyone barking at her to stop or constantly reminding her of her boundaries. Her spirit was free and the land fed her soul! (The city girls still have the country innately in them that is for sure.) I think one of the things I miss about the country is the sense of freedom it offers.

I found quiet pleasure watching my husband not have a care in the world; for a day the autism seemed obsolete, computers did not need fixed, employees did not demand his time, and money was not a concern. The country air enveloped him as he educated his girls about his childhood stomping ground, including the cemetery down the lane where is father was laid to rest. The girls carefully pranced around his headstone telling their grandfather stories of a life he missed.

It was sad to leave and head back to the city. But, I presume, that if we didn’t we wouldn’t appreciate it as much as we do.

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Homestead Park

A poem by Emily and Mommy about our visit to the park today.

Horse
Outdoors
Moss
Enormous Dragonflies
Sand Volleyball Pit
Trees
Emily Helping
Amphibian Frog
Dozens of Cattails


Pond
A Mommy Duck
Running Sahara
Kids

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It’s June!

June brings an explosion of festivities; the kids are out of school, summer greets graduates who are preparing for their next adventure, June brides have their marriages commenced, expectant mothers are pampered with baby showers, and father’s honored with a day of rest and relaxation.

June is referred to as the “door of the year”; a gateway to transformation. All of life assembles to create new opportunities and abundance. Not only do people experience colossal changes, but the earth as well; vegetation thickens, trees stand tall, and the sky glistens above.

June the month of many things:

Adopt a shelter-cat month
Children’s awareness month
Fireworks safety month
Gay & lesbian pride month
International men’s month
People skills month
Perennial gardening month
Accordion awareness month
Rose month
Rebuild your life month
Student safety month
Vision research month
Bless-a-Child month
Dairy month
Skin cancer awareness month
Entrepreneurs marketing month
Turkey lover’s month

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Hydrating Your Body Without Draining Your Wallet: Money Saving Tip #5

The best water of choice is artesian— complete with salts and minerals of the earth.

Lourdes (natural artesian water from France) is considered a miraculous water source and widely recognized as Holy Water among Catholics. This Holy Water has been known to cure sicknesses… I assume this is in relation to artesian water having all the electrolytes the body needs to maintain health. The chemical compounds of artesian water are most conducive with the chemistry of the human body. No wonder it is deemed miraculous.

However, when you are on a budget (and most families these days are), artesian water can be costly. If you ordered Lourdes water online it would cost approximately $132 per 1 1/3 gallon! (OUCH!)

Other artesian water sources that most people are familiar with are Fiji, Evian, and Perrier. You can expect to pay well over $1.00 for a 12 ounce bottle. However, some may argue that obtaining clean water with all the vital electrolytes necessary for the human body may be worth the extra cost.

We consume, as a family of four ,over 15 gallons of drinking water per week. That is over $150 per month just for water… again, if you are on a budget, this is difficult to manage.

If you opt out of the artesian water industry and go for spring water you can expect to pay near $1.00 per gallon. Although, that seems to be a more reasonable price, I do not think you are paying for quality. In order for a label to read ‘spring water’ it only needs to contain 10% spring water. As for the other 90% my best guess is it is probably from a municipal source.

But, even if you make this compromise you are still spending nearly $60 per month for 10% spring water. You end up paying 100% more than the water is really worth. If you read some labels closely the will even say ‘from a municipal source’. In this instance, you end up paying almost $.75 per gallon for something you could get straight from the tap. (That doesn’t make logical sense.)

While depriving the body of the essential electrolytes found naturally in the water extracted from deep within the earth, we compromise our health. Is that really worth it? I cannot answer that question for you— that is a personal decision you will need to make. I do know that in our current economy many families are faced with financial cut backs and unfortunately sometimes that means eliminating things that are good for us.

Another option is to purchase a filtration system for your home. This will purify the water from harsh chemicals like Chlorine which is commonly found in home drinking water. When we moved into our current home, we went from well water to city water. I was astonished that our water straight from the tap smelled like a pool.

Your body absorbs during a 10-15 minute shower the same amount of chlorine you would consume in 8 – 8 ounce glasses of city water. Prolonged exposure to chlorine has been said to cause skin and eye irritation, lung disease, and even cancer.

Other contaminants removed through a filtration system are mercury, lead, and pesticides. Although a whole house filtration system is ideal it, too, can be costly— costing thousands of dollars. A quick cool shower is the best way to reduce toxic exposure without a filteration system.

A filter on the kitchen faucet or even a Britta Picture Filteration System can be well worth the investment. You can economically purchase a 10 cup picture for $21.99 after a $10 coupon from Bed Bath and Beyond. Each filter is good for 100 gallons and is less than $8.00 to replace. With the cost of city water averaging .02 cents per gallon our family can safely consume and cook with filtered water for $1.20 per month plus filter costs.

I am currently looking into how to replace those electrolytes we are missing from true artisian water. I am sure that maybe even supplementing this charcoal filtered water with a bottle of Evian would help... But this seems to be the best economic choice and a step in the right direction towards clean drinking water.

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People of the Earth; Arise!

People of the Earth;
Arise!
The Mother Earth
Is calling upon you.

Awaken to the cause;
Stand
Shout
Respond.

The winds of the sky are agitated—
The floods have revolted—
And the fires are intensifying.

People of the Earth;
Arise!
The Mother Earth
Is rumbling for us to take action.

Awaken to possibilities;
Reusability
Restoration
Responsibility.

The icecaps vanish—
The creatures die—
And the greed continues on.

People of the Earth;
Arise!
The Mother Earth
Has taken care of her own.

Awaken to her touch;
Respond
Nurture
Repair.

The reconstruction takes time—
The resources appear—
And the Earth regenerates.

People of the Earth;
Arise!
The Mother Earth
Is grateful towards her children.

Awaken to tomorrow;
Harmony
Integrity
Balance.

The accountability gives hope—
The healing takes place—
And the utopia trickles in.

People of the Earth;
Arise!
The mother Earth has healed.

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Will You Wake Up This Earth Day?

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