thisnthatwithatwist

This might sound a bit gross but you waste a lot of water flushing a toilet. Now I’m suggesting that you stop using that bathroom or that you start using the backyard like an animal. Remember these are supposed to be easy changes that can be made. That being said, there are two things that we do in the bathroom and when doing the first you do not need to flush.

If you are a female you only use a tiny bit of paper and males use none therefore if you do this body function two or three times (depending on your water power)  without flushing there will not be any clogging and you save water which translates into less water waste and a cheaper water bill.

So in my quest to become a valid and profitable blog I was thinking that I would give every month (or week depending on length) a theme. In the Spirit of this, I’m going to start by making February all about eco-friendly tips.

We all need to conserve to protect our planet and there are some really easy things that every single person can do every day to help achieve this. The bonus is that many times these tips will lead to you saving money as well, which in this economy is always a good idea.

So I hope you all enjoy ECO-FEB starting tomorrow.

It has been rather well documented on this blog that I have a B. A. in journalism but still haven’t gotten a job in the field do to the economy. I have said many times (both here and in my life) that I am luckier than most in this world, however, because I have my babysitting to sustain me and my parents to protect and provide. That is jeopardized now however.

My father as lost his job. It’s all very political and underhanded as of now I’m not getting into the details about the actual firing. What I will say is that based on my mother’s salary we can’t live, we can’t even cover rent so if he doesn’t get a job (preferably his old one back) they will be dipping into limited savings very shortly.

There really isn’t anything anyone can do here, unless you have a journalism lead for me, I just needed to vent. Thanks for listening.

So I saw something on The Food Network last week. I don’t remember the theme of this particular episode but I think it was Unwrapped and they said how the ancient Greeks used Pomegranates as their antibiotics. Now I am well aware that we are a more technologically and medically advanced civilization but there could be something to this. I mean we did steal the idea of Democracy from them, among other things.  

On top of this, they do have a ton of antioxidants so I’ve decided to drink 4 oz a day. I figure without actual medical insurance it’s worth trying. I’ll let you know if I get healthier.  

According to new studies drinking can actually help you keep your belly thin. The studies suggest that light drinking protects against weight gain around the waistline in women. Data reviewed by the National Center for Health Statistics points to one 4-ounce glass of wine most days as the best bet. However all alcohol has antioxidants so, therefore, any drink should be able to help.  

However it is important when drinking to remember the less is more philosophy. While one glass has great health benefits, having too many is just going to add inches to your waist and nobody likes a beer- belly.

Happy New Year Everyone, I hope 2009 is a good one for all of you out there, especially everyone who may have had a less than stellar 2008. I, for one, am looking forward to a new year and new things.

2008 was a very interesting year for me.  In some ways it was one of the best years of my life. I graduated College, which after 17 straight years of schooling was a nice accomplishment. I also came to really love (and live through) music through David Cook who I was lucky enough to meet. I also voted for president for the second time but this time it was different. For one I really believed in the candidate, rather than when in ’04 I voted for the lesser of two idiots. Also, this year my candidate one.

 I’ve done so many fun and interesting things this year that I definitely broadened my horizons and had fun doing it. However there was also a flip side. I lost my Aunt to cancer. I’ve been unemployed since May and have worried constantly that my parents would lose their jobs since they are my lifeline right now.

I also experience a crushing loss of one of my cousins. Though he’s still alive, it’s complicated. In 2007, after always being separated by over a 10 year age gap (which isn’t big now but is huge when you are growing up) the two of us became very close. He was the older brother I always wanted and I, at least, thought that it completed both of us in a way. However, he was just around and close to me because of an infatuation with one of my friends and when that ended, he returned to the occasional guest starring role in my life.

So that was 2008, but now it is 2009. a time to start fresh- so once again good luck to all of you.

So I went to the doctor today and I found out I have a sinus infection.

I feel so miserable!

My nose is stuffed and I think the mucus (gook or whatever you want to call it) leaked into my throat because it burns so bad. My only other thought is maybe I also have a cold on top of the infection.

 While I was at the doctor he said that zinc drps don’t cure or speed up recovery but I’m pretty sure this is wrong, does anyone have an opinion on this or better yet facts to back up my theory?

I’m just putting it out there, if anyone has any ideas on how to solve my problem please let me know ASAP. I’ve been losing weight since the beginning of summer or late spring and everything was going ok. By that I mean that it has been a struggle of walking, going to the gym, and doing weight watchers but the scale went down (slowly but still).

This month I’ve lost 10 pound which is great because I said five weeks ago that I wanted to lose ten pounds by the time I went to the David Wright Do the Wright Thing gala next Wednesday. The problem is it has been the same 2 pounds 5 times. I am dealing with a plateau and don’t know how to start going continually down again.

My head feels weird today. I think maybe I didn’t drink enough water. I always thought that the idea that you need eight glasses of water a day- though it is heavily debated and often written off as BS- is completely accurate, if not on the light side.

If I don’t get enough water I get headaches and dizzy spells and I’m tired and irritable. It also is a great aid in losing weight apparently, though since I’ve always been a water junkie I can’t really say if it does.

Something that I’m also obsessed with is Vitamin water. It came about around the time that I entered college and I think it is the greatest invention ever. Vitamins make me gag at times, and I can’t take chewable but drinking a dragon fruit flavored vitamin water is just delightful.

Some days are just hard. I’m not talking days that are imperfect; I mean the ones where you just fell helpless. Days where you want to throw diet out the window, you don’t want to get out of bed, and you can’t bear to watch the news show you watch religiously.

Well I’m having one of those “nothing helps” days. I was doing my daily search for jobs, with about as much luck as always, when I decided to look into temp agencies. I found out that temp places don’t have a section for any form of journalism which for me was, obviously, very disheartening. Then the phone rang and the wind was knocked out of me.

You may or may not recall that I wrote my aunt has brain cancer. Things were looking up, or so we thought, as she passed the sixth month since her diagnosis (she was given 3-6 months to live 7 ½ months ago). The call was from my uncle and he informed us that my aunt is dying. She’s in and out of consciousness and the doctors said to be prepared.

I can’t breathe.