I know —  not your typical thing to chat about.

Specifically,  lets talk about constipation while traveling.

If you put me in a car, train or plane for any length of time, have me drink strange water, or eat foods I normally don’t eat. It’s going to have an affect on my bowel.

Perhaps that happens to you too?

Why do we have a digestive system?

The reason we digest the way we do was stated best by a wonderful nutritionist from Toronto who said, “we have a digestive system simply to sort the good, the bad, and the ugly!”

I love that description!

She said:    the good goes to our blood stream, the bad goes to our liver and the ugly just has to go – thus the reason for the bowel movement. 

well, there ya go…

Many feel accomplished in moving their bowel once a day.  Doing at least that is still a good thing, however if you eat more than once we have to process or digest more than once – therefor eliminating the ugly more than once daily.  This is actually very important.   Something to strive for.

If you are constipated while traveling it’s really no fun.  Consider a natural laxative. I choose a signature product that has a wonderful traditional herb called  Senna in it. Typically when one thinks of a laxative, it’s usually paired with the thought of an emergency “gotta go” , this is not the case with what I use.  This product promises and delivers nothing more than a gentle prompting.

In my natural medicine cabinet and or in my travel bag I keep a natural laxative on hand to help keep me “going ” especially when I travel.

This safe herbal product is also part of a comprehensive detoxification program.

flickr image titled constipated cat – too funny

Sure is a popular topic,  isn’t it?

Have you noticed that  “everyone”  is profiting, touting or advocating their almighty greenness?

I hope I don’t sound pompous.

I  am glad that the wave is catching on.

I just think there’s a LOT of misguided greenness going on.

In my opinion, earth day is the time to see how your doing regarding that green thing.  It’s a chance to reflect greenly!

“Our feverish planet badly needs a cure. Climate Change is caused by lots of things, and it will take a lot of people to fix it.  There’s a role for big thinkers, power players, those with deep pockets —-and the rest of us.”

Time Magazine’s 2007 global warming issue.

What category are you?

I feel like I am part of the “rest of us” category.  I follow my basic reduce-reuse-recycle etiquette.  I make conscientious choices all the time. I use cloth rags and wash them instead of using paper towels, I use cloth napkins every single day, I have an almost virtual office.  Always striving for paperless options.  I reduced my file cabinets by 50%!  When I can I walk instead of drive.  I reuse my paper grocery bags.  I wash full loads of laundry in cold water. I turn off my lights.  I do many of the things that are being touted in all the press right now as the things to do this month, our Earth Day Month.  I do these things everyday and have done them for many years.  Each year I add new green goals to my list. I believe strongly in these choices.

How about you?

I sell a product designed by a man who I believe was a big thinker.

Dr. Forest C. Shaklee was a pioneer.    He said “one household at a time – we can make a difference!” He created the green power I use in my home today to clean.

He  speaks to my  sense of personal and earthly sensibility.  He also wanted to change the planet

Discovering an alternative cleaning product that actually worked for me was like discovering a non-toxic gold mine!!

Basic H2  is the most remarkable green cleaning product ever.

It is a highly concentrated, economical non-toxic, all plant based, extremely effective,  all purpose – 1001 use cleaning product.

How’s that for a testimony!

He created Basic H2 BEFORE before the word biodegradable was even in the dictionary!

He did this in 1960, for gosh sakes!

Why would he do such a thing?

Why in the era of spam, frozen dinners and velveeta cheese was he looking to the earth and nature? I believe he did it  because he had vision,  he predicted the pending issues and I mostly I believe he created Basic H2 because he cared.

In recent years the original already perfect formula was reformulated.

I thought why mess with something so great?

Yet Dr. Shaklee said, “Science never ever stands still”.

The new formulation is even better! Better then it already was !!!

Can you imagine?

Here is a little more about what this company believes:

Safe Clean
We believe home should be the safest place in the whole world.

Powerful Clean
We believe you shouldn’t have to sacrifice powerful convictions for powerful cleaners and vice versa.

Green Clean
We believe cleaning house shouldn’t involve dirtying the earth.

Smart Clean
We believe in saving you money, while we go about saving the earth.

So how about if we get that “green” clean feeling together ?

photographs by Karen Hanrahan

oh my mother earth goodness these blossoms on my tree are turning into leaves in the shape of hearts!

January – The Virgin Tweeter That Could When I first started writing my blog,  I must confess. I had never ever been to a blog. I
had no idea what one was, what one looked like or how my concept fit
into the big picture of the blogosphere. I just knew they drove search
engine traffic somehow to my website and that I had something to say. How’s that for a bloggy business plan?

February – I Believe .  I believe in you dear reader. Readership for
a blogger is what fuels our writings and our messages.  Comments and
customers remind us that what we do brings value.  It’s meaning at a community level!

March – Spring Cleaning  My mother used mainstream cleaning products.  Oh the fumes of Mr.Clean, Pine Sol, and Bleach that permeated  the house.  That  toxic “clean” smell. 

April – Toxic Kids  As a teenager I was diagnosed with topical formaldehyde poisoning after using a sun screen that had been from the season before. The preservatives used in this sunscreen had “pickled” me!  I have had to avoid the sun ever since. These toxic preservatives are in many baby personal care products.

The Plastics Project  I personally got creeped out by plastics 25 years ago. Not because of the phtlalates in them or the outgassing or the fact that they sit in our landfills forever. I got creeped out by plastics because I couldn’t keep them clean.  Plastic containers seemed to take on the smell of whatever I put inside them.  Plastic bags seemed to degrade, or lose their value after time. I thought that was really gross.              

May – Moms Know Best  Moms have a gut instinct that rules the universe. When we are new to motherhood, we have to learn to trust this gut feeling. This
inner mama drive has us know when to hug, when to yell, when to scream
and when to say exactly the right thing at the right time. It’s pretty darn amazing.

Gardening This Mother Earth’s green thumb is more a
beautiful shade of brown. My outdoor gardens over the years have
usually been meager attempts at live vegetation. Truth is I am lazy. I
have in the past planted and then let nature do the rest. Meaning weed
overgrowth or sun scorching. I feel terrible that this has been a
reality for me but I thought I’d be truthful

June – Eco Confessions In the positive way to go green mama category, I am using packing boxes that I have had since 1985. I kid you not, I am packing in boxes that I have had for 24 years!!
 
July – Why Food Matters Please don’t call me a geek, but I believe in the
food guide pyramid.  I also believe in three square meals a day.  I
believe in vegetables and fruits.  I believe in whole grains, meat and
dairy.  I also believe in soy, seeds, legumes and eating raw. It’s
called variety and nature provides us with an abundance of it. I believe food is a gift of nature. I believe in clean food.  Simple food grown locally, without chemicals.  I believe in the seasons. Eating seasonally. I marvel at where food comes from. Seeds planted and nourished.  The sun, the sky, rain, winds and kumbaya. I know.  Kooky. Food. I believe in whole food goodness.

August – Back To School From a parent perspective, when I think of college,  I think of parties, germs – especially in those dorm showers, poor quality eating – can you say iceberg lettuce? Not to mention the likelihood of weight gain,stress and illness. With parents often miles away – what can we do?

September - Conserving Energy. Mine  The beauty of working from home is that my work day can look anyway
that I want it to.  I have been able to design business practices that
work simply and predictably. I think that that working smart
model conserves ones energies — namely MINE.

October – Green Standards And The Consumer  I’m all about going green. The greed of selling green is showing up everywhere. Very often it’s not green at all. The standards are confusing. Often there are no standards. Organic vegetables wrapped in plastic ?? Does that make any sense??

November – Saving Money With Green Means Female purchasing power totally rocks! As a matter of fact one statistic cited that 98% of purchases are made with the female influence.  I have heard quite a few folks say that they think our non-toxic biodegradable cleaning products are expensive. I often think to myself compared to what?  

December – Leaving Less Of A Footprint  Imagine yourself in the woods, surrounded by silence, sprinkled with light as it peeks through the trees.  The hush envelops you, and you are reminded of peace and harmony. Nature does that.  I have such an awe for the way nature speaks to us. It reminds us. It calms us. Nurtures us. Nature nurtures me.  I was taught to respect nature, to leave the campground as we found it as they say, or better. 

Surgery January 2009 - Ulna Shortening – Second of Three Casts

Therapeutic – Putty Thumbs Up July 2009

Progress is incremental, methodical, sometimes painful and frustrating.  I lack hand strength, and still swell alot. I think the swelling is what bugs me the most.  My rehabilitation is self guided. Proudly I haven’t missed a session. I’m determined to get full use of my hand.

arrow flickr image

Robert – You are a constant.  A reliable cheerful, thought provoking man that I am ever so grateful to know.  I love watching the WILF writing project evolve. I also enjoy reading the varied expressions and contributions. Thank you Robert for exampling such remarkable leadership in our online community.

community flickr image credit

Karen Hanrahan ~ Wellness Educator/Nutritional Consultant/Blog Author
708.482.0678 ~ Websites: Nutrition Weight Loss, and Green Clean

The topic this month is adversity.

That the other side of adversity triumphs.

the sock helped reduce the shock air was to the skin – it was hypersensitive for about 2 weeks

I currently wear this to sleep, drive, or when I need lifting support. I am not fond of this thing.

How do you celebrate Earth Day?
If you’re not cleaning green – what’s stopping you? 

^{karen hanrahan | wellness educator and consultant | writer
nutrition ~ green clean ~ inch loss  ~ anti-aging}

Beth is a strident example of someone who has emphatically said no to plastics.

She lives it.

I personally got creeped out by plastics 25 years ago

Not because of the phthalates in them or the other chemicals in them or the fact that they sit in our landfills forever. 

I got creeped out by plastics because I couldn’t keep them clean.  Plastic containers seemed to take on the smell of whatever I put inside them.  Plastic bags seemed to degrade, or lose their value after time. I thought that was really gross.  

Even way back when I was someone who didn’t have a cabinet full of Tupperware for storing leftovers, or things.  I instead collected groovy glass jars or opted for wicker baskets. 

It’s because of the wonderful woman I have met through Green Moms Carnival that my plastic radar has widened.  I am ever grateful for their pioneering, their expertise and their green mom voices.   I sooooo wish I knew them when I was raising my family.

Incrementally I am trying to eliminate more plastic usage.

I am frustrated.  How did plastics take over the universe?  

Plastic is everywhere. The industry of plastic makes me angry.

When I can make a choice …which to me is what alternate living is all about.   Then I do 

For this month’s carnival I wanted to comment on plastics room by room and share and speculate how I might do better in the say no to plastic strides.  I wish  the efforts I’ve made were more monumental – more Fake Plastic Fish-esque. 

The Plastic Project

Bedroom, Den and Studio:  these 3 rooms are combined in one – My TV, CD player and the cords from all my lamps are all plastic – The TV - given to me – will someday be of no use and have to be pitched. This just makes me crazy. I see in my mind a huge pile of TV’s.  Someday that pile will reach the moon.  

Are there better ways to dispose of these electronics so they don’t end up in the landfill ??

I also wonder about plastic in clothing. All that stretchy fabric is not natural.  Can’t we go back to the basics? Like untreated cotton?

Daughter’s Room :  Don’t go there.

Office:  My computer, monitor,telephone, speakers and lampcords are all plastic, as are all my computer cables – many of my office supplies come in plastic or are plastic.  I have worked hard to reduce my paper trail – went from 8 drawers to 4, and could reduce that even more – I began to bank online, to invoice electronically and find we only print school papers now. I am an avid recycler in this space as I use paper over and over getting the most I can out of it. Addtionally I widen my margins. While that really has nothing to do with plastics it’s something I feel good about.

Are their more eco-friendly high performing ( note: I say high performing, because that’s important to me) office supplies?  What are more eco-friendly computers made of?  Do they last longer?

Bathroom:  Of all the personal care I use only two things that come in glass jars – the rest;  things I wash my body, face, hair with are all in plastic bottles.  My hair management products, my dry skin, all of our first aid needs all come in plastic . We still use common pads for our period vs something alternative.  This I admit is cost and convenience and an area I could should really take on

What if the cosmetics industry went back to glass packaging?

Kitchen:  I store and freeze in glass.  I reuse my plastic vegetable bags over and over – I hear there are reusable produce bags but I seem to have a perpetual supply of the other and am of the mindset to use up what I have first. I also admit that  I am concern that my vegetables won’t keep as well. Since I buy organic I want them to keep as well as the can.  What has your experience been with produce bags that aren’t made of plastic?  I buy butcher meat and have it wrapped in paper, I reuse that paper. I make my own salad dressings. Reuse older salad dressing bottles.  While I was recovering from surgery lots of folks brought food and it often came in something disposable – during that time I felt like we were manufacturing garbage!  I could make my own yogurts, cheese, and condiments – just bought mustard and should have made it, the truth is it slipped my mind and my surgery currently limits me from making foods the way I’d like to .  Plastics are still around me in the yogurt, cottage cheese and cheese that I buy, and while I opt for cartons of soy milk etc …why the heck did they add those plastic pourers??  I think I could do way better in the kitchen

Basement: I store on metal shelves in cardboard, with the exception of the christmas decorations which everytime I walk by the neat stacks of bins I say to myself. OK so you collected this stuff for 25 years. Now what? Also each child has a school memory box – just one.  A recent purge had me get rid of, donate and delegate a huge pile of “stuff”  Part of that makes me very happy, the other part of me says there is still so much more to manage.  My laundry soaking is done in plastic, garbage can is plastic, some of my garden supplies are in these nesting plastic organizers.  Otherwise the rest of how I store is wicker, wood or cardboard

What strides are you making to eliminate plastics from your home?

plastic pondering flickr image

^{karen hanrahan | wellness educator and consultant | writer
nutrition ~ green clean ~ inch loss  ~ anti-aging}

This month the topic is What I Learned From A Sidewalk.

The topic may not make sense to you unless you are a regular over at Middle Zone Musings, however I have ever so appreciated Robert’s musings on this “path”  of  his.  

I think it’s a perfect writing topic to explore. 

( I might add that I happened to be there for the Joanna Young  pizza moment described from SobCon08 and it totally cracks me up that this silly instant still comes up)  

My personal sidewalks are collages.

The visual medium of self exploration through collage has been with me for over ten years.  I feel my collage work consistantly captured personal moments in thought, growth and definitely in time.  When Robert mentioned our sidewalks or our daily paths of insight I was struck with how each of my collages hold similar characteristics.  These symbols from my subconscious mind remind me of words like strive on, moving forward, openings ands the strongest message from all of them is hope. 

My affection for the visual celebration is expressed all around me. My home is dripping in my favorite color blue ( as do many of my collages! . I collect local artists work. Everywhere you look there is something appealling to the eye.

I do this because I need to. 

I collage because I need to continue to look inside 

Specifically, my collage work captures my inside thoughts and reminds me or inspires me to move forward in my life. I keep the latest in front of me as inspiration. 

The characteristics seemingly included in most of my collage work are:

nature, growth or things growing, flowers blossoming, trees standing tall, forest paths leading, stairs going up, handles to turn, doors to open, windows to see things through, guiding light shining through a window, things that represent building; bricks, lumber, buttons, vines and an eye as if to look, see and examine ever so much closer…

The collage above is part of a series

 
Do the collages speak for themselves?  Do you see the paths? The journeys of hope?  The inspiration?   More collage samples here

^{karen hanrahan | wellness educator and consultant | writer
nutrition ~ green clean ~ inch loss  ~ anti-aging}