Yo girls! You might like this.

This is the best nail polish I have yet to find. There is no bottle to deal with, no dipping, no dripping, and you can paint your nails anywhere- if location seems to be a problem for you. Give it a shot. I love it!

These are beautiful and heartbreaking pictures

You Are What You Eat…But What Exactly is that?

When I first heard the phrase “You are what you eat” in 5th grade. It was directed towards me because I was eating Nerds. Well, I shot back at her that if that statement is true then she is a “Cow’s tail” since she was in fact eating a cow tail candy rope. She set herself up for that one.

Nowadays, that statement has a little more to it in my head. It can be boiled down as simply as possible. For example: if you eat fatty foods, you are most likely fat; if you eat lean, healthy foods then you most likely are lean and healthy. I think though, that with the amount of confusion surrounding our diets it is a lot more complex than just healthy vs unhealthy. In the book, “Food Rules” by Michael Pollan, he states that everyone at least has a passing knowledge of the words “antioxidant”, “saturated fat”, “omega-3 fatty acids”, “Polyphenols”, “gluten”, and “probiotics”. You’ve heard of ”good” fats and “bad” fats and super-foods and artificial sweeteners and whether carbs are bad since they make you fat….and so on. So many things to distract us from what we should be eating. Companies seem to be trying to tell us that if a big word is involved it’s healthy and since you don’t know what it means then you should probably just buy it because it might be good for you.

I love nutrition. I have done extensive research on my own to learn about different foods and their uses in the body. That knowledge has helped me overlook those business ploys and marketing schemes that just want my buck in their wallet. I would like to share with you some information and tips that I have found helpful, and hopefully you will too, when it comes to deciding what to eat.

• Rule 1: If you cannot pronounce it, you probably shouldn’t eat it. If the ingredients on the back of your can, bag, or package say things that normal people don’t have in their cupboards then stay away from it. These are a few common items’ ingredients that a lot of people have in their cupboards:

1.        Fiber One granola bars: (first several ingredients are normal grains and sweeteners) maltodextrin, Glycerin, Tricalcium Phosphate, soy lecithin, mixed tocopherols, cocoa processed with alkali. This brand claims that these are healthy because the amount of fiber  is about 35% DV and only contains 4 grams of fat. But what the crud are all those other ingredients doing in there? Click here for a healthy granola bar recipe that contains the same nutrients without the added “stuff”.
2.         Ann’s House “Good Health Energy” mix: contains soybeans, cranberries, almonds, and pumpkin kernels. I thought this stuff was fantastic! There isn’t anything unpronouncable added into it and I thought it tasted good. Cody was of a different opinion.
3.          Lay’s Wavy Original Potato chips: Potatoes, sunflower oil and/or corn oil, and salt. I’m not sure what the “and/or” is about since they are the ones who would determine which oil is used. But I was pleasantly surprised that these chips stick to the basic essentials. Eleven of them have 150 calories and 15% fat. A healthy alternative would be carrot sticks, but I wouldn’t feel bad about eating a small handful of these at a BBQ.
4.          Kraft Macaroni and Cheese: This stuff is horrible. Only one serving (a cup) is 410 calories and there are about 3 cups per box. I don’t know about you but I can eat a whole box by myself. The ingredient list consists of enriched macaroni product, cheese sauce packet (contains a lot of unpronouncable things) and then you add butter and milk. I have made homemade mac and cheese before and it tastes a lot better than the boxed kind. If you are going to eat something fattening, eat it right. Basic ingredients are elbow noodles, lots of cheese, milk and maybe some salt and pepper. I can pronounce all those ingredients.

• Rule 2:  Try to eat as close the natural product as possible. What is better for you? White bread or whole graind bread? Canned peaches in syrup or a fresh peach? The answers are obvious when you look at it in terms of what the product originally started out as. The farther you get from that, the more unnecessary ingredients are added in along with fats, sugar, and salt. Most products that are on the shelf imply that they have fruits or vegetables or whole grains, when actually they have “enriched” or added in vitamins and minerals because there is barely enough natural ingredients left to provide any significant nutrients. Check your bread. You want the first ingredient to be Whole grain wheat. If you like white bread then you’re just eating unnecessary calories.
• Rule 3: If it comes in a bag and is handed to you through a window then it isn’t healthy. If you think about the statement “You are what you eat” in reference to fast food then you might become a little bit depressed. Next time you order out of your car try tracing the ingredients in your fast food back to it originations. Take a cheeseburger. Bun comes from flour, meat comes from a cow, cheese comes from a cow- cows that were most likely not grass fed but fed grains like corn which is just a fattening food with no nutrients for cows. The fried were most likely fried in corn oil. So you are just eating empty calories that came from a corn field in Iowa or somewhere. All that processing, and effort, and labor to get you your $3.00 value meal that is unrecognizable from it’s original product. I’ll admit that it does taste good, though.
• Rule 4: Try to support local farmers by going to farmer’s markets as well as buying organic whenever financially possible. Supporting your local economy by purchasing foods locally helps the environment as well as your health. You are getting the freshest foods that haven’t lost significant vitamins and nutrients. Buying organic also eliminates those pesticides. If you are on a strict budget and can’t afford to go fully organic then only buy organic products where you would eat the outside as well the inside- like apples, carrots, pears. Things like that. Anything with a peel would have most the poisons on the part you wouldn’t eat.
• Rule 5: Cook at home as much as possible. That way you know what’s in your food and can monitor your diet. If you go out to eat a lot, then you are putting someone else in control of what goes into your body. Try interesting recipes with varied ingredients.
• Rule 6: Keep fresh veggies and fruits in stock instead of junk foods. If you don’t have it, you won’t eat it. You cannot eat too many vegetables. If you find it hard to eat them raw, then get a low fat dressing to dip them in or find a happy medium.

I am reading up on baby food and what things to feed my 7 month old, and the “What to Expect” book on the first year offered good advice that everyone can follow- not just your baby. The book said you should feed your baby a variety of foods but nothing with added sugar or salt. So, in short, eat a variety of foods (consisting mostly of fresh produce and whole grains), limit your intake of processed and fatty foods, and enjoy what you eat.

I got most of my information from Michael Pollan’s “Food Rules” and “What to Eat”  by Marion Nestle. Both amazing good books that I would recommend to anyone.

Wives of WoW

I have spoken to many friends lately (they shall remain nameless), who have expressed concern regarding the amount of time their husbands play World of Warcraft. “Concern” is putting it mildly because they are almost to the point of pure outrage. After all, it is just a game…isn’t it? How is this game a replacement for spending time with your wife? Your child? Completing necessary responsibilities and obligations?

Well, allow me to explain this scenario to both guys and gals who may be reading this and who may be affected by either a nagging wife or a zombie husband.

I play WoW. My husband plays WoW. Sometimes we play WoW together. As far as I can tell, WoW is a fun game that allows unheard of freedom in an MMORPG setting. Other games have since tried to recreate this unique world and economy system that carefully balances each race, class, and profession skills so that any person can craft the character they truly identify with. There are other games that have come close, such as Lord of the Rings online which we switched to for about 2 weeks until we heard WoW calling our names again; but no other game has the staying power that World of Warcraft has. It has the first mover advantage, which means that it has a large base of loyal fans and players who won’t switch even for a free MMORPG.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with World of Warcraft, you can click here to download a free trial or learn more about the game: https://us.battle.net/account/creation/wow/signup/

Okay, back to the issue. Wives are mad at their husbands because they are spending ridiculously long hours playing a game instead of partaking in real life. Here is a list of reasons as to why they might be playing excessively:

1. WoW allows a person to interact in a social setting and play with existing friends or make new friends. What this means: He is getting his social interactions for the day and so he doesn’t feel the need to look further than his monitor for more.
2. Guilds (a group of individuals who will help each other out but only if everyone contributes), groups (short term group of individuals coming together to achieve a common goal), and raids (basically a mix of the two that seek to destroy the enemy at all costs) are all depending on him to be the ultimate tank and take down boss after boss quickly and epically. What this means: Since the game cannot be paused, if he is in a dungeon or raid, then he does have people relying on him and will take crap (in the game world) for ditching out or abandoning. Which is why he might be prone to saying “Oh okay, honey. I’ll do that in a sec” as you hear the incessant sound of mouse clicks.
3. The game really never ends. There are always things you can do in this game to stay busy. They range from simple things like working on professions (skills that make money in the game and boost up armor or weapons), to PVP (player vs player mode where you fight other players in the game instead of monsters in the game controlled by the computer), to creating a whole new character and starting the process over. The original goal was to get a character to the highest level attainable. Right now, that level is 80. What this means: This game will never end. If you are waiting for him to get bored and move on to something else, then that won’t really ever happen. He might cancel his account for awhile but he will most likely come back in a month or two.
4. The “Keeping up with the Joneses’” theory is also another driving force of this game. If you can become the best in your class and have all the best armor and weapons and coolest mounts and rarest items then you will be admired and envied by all those who cross your paths. Unfortunately, there will always be new armor to get, items to make, and rares to find. What this means: If your husband is one of those who is envied for his skill and awesomeness, then most likely he is going to enjoy all of that positive attention and want to keep up on his character to make sure it always has the most updated gear. If your husband isn’t anything special in the game, then he will most likely be spending time trying to get to that point.

So those are just few examples of what he is doing and why. It’s easy for any one of us to get caught up in things and lose track of time. Facebook, myspace, blogger, farmville, TV, reading, nintendo, spending too much time with friends, shopping, and many other things can all deter us from what we really should be focusing on. This game isn’t a bad game. It isn’t destructive in itself, but if you don’t budget your time wisely than you can lose yourself in it and it can become destructive to your life, just like any other behavior that is excessive.

 Here are some things to watch out for with your husband:

1.  If he doesn’t acknowledge you when he is playing and you are talking. If you are having a conversation and suddenly he doesn’t stops contributing and you stop talking and he doesn’t notice…then that’s when you let him know that he is putting his game above his wife. Usually they will feel bad and acknowledge the problem. If not…keep reading.
2. If he is grumpy when he is not playing WoW then he is probably going through withdrawals. The only way to get through that is to find something else to do to keep busy. A small “fix” should be harmful but only if it doesn’t exceed a predetermined amount of time.
3. If WoW is an activity that he does when he has down time, then that can turn into an all day event because you don’t have to do anything that you don’t make time for. 
4. If you let him know that you feel neglected or ignored and he still doesn’t change his behaviors then you have a problem. 

Here are some steps you can use to get yourself heard and his level. 

• First off, talk to him about how you are feeling. Make sure you have eye contact and that you are both not distracted by other things, especially warcraft. If he is playing, then tell him something like “In 15 minutes, I am going to need to discuss something very important with you so don’t make plans or commit to a dungeon.” Be sure you give yourself time to calm down and collect yourself and your thoughts because nothing comes from anger, except more anger. Just make sure you have his full attention, that way he knows you are serious and you feel heard.
• If the behavior continues after you talk to him, then determine your next step. You can try talking again, and again, and again. But as many times as you do that the resentment is also building. Perhaps trying a different approach might work.  Try asking him what he gets out of the game and if there are other ways those needs can be met. Perhaps both of you can work out a schedule for playing and make time do other activities that make both of you happy.
• If after numerous attempts to talk things over and the behavior still is happening, that’s when I wait until he is sleeping and hide his computer and/or consoles. Now he has two choices: listen to what you have to say, or get mad and yell and scream like a 3 year old. Eventually he will have to listen to you in order to get his computer back, unless you hid it under the bed or in a closet where he will immediately find it. At this point, I would make it very clear that he is making a choice between you and a stupid game. what you do and say should come from the heart and out of concern for his well-being.

If you just give up and allow him to continue on with his behavior then it is as much your fault as it is his that you feel the way you do. Do not enable him to continue doing things that make you feel bad.

Another thing to consider is to do things that he enjoys. If you haven’t tried Warcraft then don’t dismiss it as stupid game. It is fun. And if you make an effort to try things that he likes then he will do the same for you.

Why You Should Work to be Debt-Free

I have been doing a lot of study regarding debt, investing, and finances. I enjoy this stuff. It makes me feel in control of my environment when I know how to handle my monetary resources. I have heard some conflicting information about debt. Some say that there is good debt and bad debt. Good debt usually means school loans or home mortgages or car payments. Bad debt usually means credit card debt. In my opinion, if your debt isn’t paying you back, then its bad debt.

School loans? I was told they were good debt and that it would be okay to go into debt for school because I would come out on the other end with a secure job. My realizations: There is no such thing as a secure job. Knowledge is important. If I had worked harder I wouldn’t have any school debt.

Aaaw, hindsight.

Any debt just sucks. You are a slave to this debt. Dave Ramsey says this and I rather like it : “What used to be a huge, life-altering event will become a mere inconvenience (when you are debt free)”. Think about this- If you are paying $600.00 a month for a house, $230.00 a month for a car, $100.00 a month on credit card minimums and you are bringing in around $1200.00 and a water heater breaks in your house….well there goes $570.00. Your total expenses for that month (just on debt, not including living expenses like food and energy costs) just bumped up to $1500.00. If you were debt free, this wouldn’t be a huge deal. (The higher amount you bring in, the higher your debt most likely is as well).

I am not against buying a house. I am just against locking into a mortgage too early. A lot of young people today buy houses too early without having their debts paid off and a substantial emergency fund.

How many of you have been here: Newly married, have a little bit of debt in a lot of places (multiple credit cards, school loans, car payments) and no emergency fund, yet you decide to buy that new TV or laptop, game system, four wheeler, bike, Gucci bag….whatever you are interested in….? This is called instant gratification.

I have school debt, yet I was told this was good debt and didn’t feel compelled to pay off large chunks when I had the opportunity. Until I got a statement recently (that I actually read) that said in 19 years we will have only Cody’s debt paid off and will have paid double due to the interest. My jaw dropped. In 19 years I will be 43. There’s no way I will still have school debt when I am in my 40’s. So I decided to step into gear and pay this off with a 6 year plan. In 6 years I will be 30. That seems a lot better to me. I have the means to pay off larger portions of my debt and so I should, instead of spending all of my money on things that I am not entitled to yet. Not until I am debt free.

I am fortunate enough to have learned my credit card mistakes at a young age and get them taken care of before it progressed too badly. No more credit card debt for me. I will never have a car payment because I want to pay cash for that. Here’s a fascinating fact for you:

“Taking on a car payment is one of the dumbest things people do to destroy their chances of building wealth. The car payment is most folks largest payment except for their home mortgage, so it steals more money from the income than virtually anything else. USA Today notes that the average car payment is $464 over sixty-four months. Most people get a car payment and keep it throughout their lives. As soon as a car is paid off, they get another payment because they “need”a new car. If you keep a $464 car payment throughout your life, which is “normal” you miss the opportunity to save that money. If you invested $464 per month from age 25 to 65, a normal working lifetime, in the average mutual fund averaging 12 percent (the seventy-year stock market average), you would have $5,458,854.45 at age sixty-five. Hope you like the car!!!!!!!” ~Dave Ramsey

I would much rather be a millionaire than have had nice looking cars. But that’s just me.

My point is this…being in debt sucks. Get out of it. If you want, I can help you with budgets and managing money if that is what is confusing to you or scary or just plain hard. Let me know…it’s free. :)