What If We Just Did It?

There used to be some shoe company advertising on television - way back when I watched television 'programming.' Said shoe company always had a catchy slogan about 'doing it'. I won't mention the exact slogan or the shoe company (I know I don't have to) - but I could use a new pair of runners....so who knows. Perhaps the universe company will grant me the new shoes. Stay tuned - we'll see.

Either way.....

The slogan really caught me. I loved it. I can't say I ever used it and consciously thought about it but I'm certain it was a stored 'item' that I drew from when I needed to. It was (and still is) meant for consumers to purchase mass quantities of their products, but for me it was more of a kick in the brain. It all starts in the mind, after all. I needed something - a spark. That slogan was a little part of it all.

My biggest 'brick wall' - something I had to get past instead of allowing me to sit down and stop - was myself. My mind. I could think of a bazilliion different ways to get out of something I didn't feel like doing in a moment.

So the question I have that stems from this company slogan is this; What would happen if we attempted to disconnect the wire on the brain that allows the excuses through and we just went ahead and started something we knew (or previously thought) we wanted anyway? Why do we have to dredge up all of those past feelings of yuck - the ones that make us want to crawl under a blanket and chalk the day up to a 'maybe tomorrow?

The fact is - we don't. We are 'dredging up' these things as mechanisms. We learned how to do this and we can learn how to stop. Twenty one times makes a habit....and these habits we form are undone within the same number of repeats. Getting someone to believe it before seeing it is much more task intensive.

I tried a 'me experiment' once. I really didn't want to workout. I had avoided it for almost a week and although my body knew we should get moving, I had less and less energy the more I thought about it. The experiment? Force myself.

What? Force myself? Y'mean....'make me?' I still didn't want to.

I can sit here and think constantly about the things I'm not liking when it comes to my wellness, or I can get up and start moving. I was walking by the DVD player the next day when my brain screamed at me to throw in a DVD workout and get moving. Without thinking, I did - and 50 minutes later I felt incredible and energized!

After the workout, I questioned this whole process - analyzed it. What was the difference this time? Why was it so easy to get started that day? If you go back and re-read the first couple of words in that sentence.....'Without thinking....' is the key you are looking for.

I was just going ahead and getting it done! Before I knew it, I was finished and felt really proud of my accomplishment for that day. Small steps to start off doesn't mean we take one step and then feel good and stop when we should have taken another 6 steps. Keep moving.

Once we find that spark that tells us we are passionate about something (like feeling good and being well) there is still the issue of old habits and reworking thought. It will happen. Be patient and kind with yourself.

Keep moving.

The Truth About The Microwave

I had owned a microwave for as long as I could remember. My work places always had a microwave, and I always used it. It had to be safe.....right?

I have told people my story, ideas and research findings on the microwave - and each time I am giggled at. I then return to research further, attempting to gain some new insight I may have missed as to how the microwave came to be.....how it heats food...and if it hurts the human body.

As I continued to research, I started realizing that although I wanted one thing, I was not willing to know what I knew and still use this contraption.

I wanted to keep my microwave very badly. I can't stress that point enough. I even moved it out of the kitchen at first just in case I needed to heat something up fast. I always did because I knew it was there. Little steps.

My favorite thing to put in that magic box of food creation was bags of microwave popcorn. Heck, I remember being a teenager and not having any good old microwave popcorn, so I would take a brown paper bag, add oil and popcorn - throw it in the 'mike' and pop my own. It worked - not as great, but it did work! I always got popcorn.

I've burnt myself many a time on the micro-horrors I've created. Food is heated from the inside to the outside using water as friction to create heat - so it's no wonder when I put those leftovers in, they turned into fossils due to extreme lack of water.

So microwaves help remove the water from our foods? Don't we need water.....like...badly?

They didn't nickname using a microwave 'nuking' for no reason. Kiss all of your valuable nutrients goodbye when you use one - it eliminates everything our bodies can use. Breast milk (for the new moms) has no nutritional value for a child after it has been microwaved. Convenient, huh?


The first thing you probably noticed when you began microwaving food was how uneven the heating is.

"Hot spots" in microwaved food can be hot enough to cause burns—or build up to a "steam explosion." This has resulted in admonitions to new mothers about NOT using the microwave to heat up baby bottles, since babies have been burned by super-heated formula that went undetected.

Another problem with microwave ovens is that carcinogenic toxins can leach out of your plastic and paper containers/covers, and into your food.


The convenience isn't always worth the consequences. We've been told time and again that standing next to a microwave is really bad for us.

According to Dr. Mercola;

But even if there's nothing wrong with your microwave, keep in mind that standing a foot away from it while it's running can expose you to upwards of 400 milliGauss, and a mere 4 milliGauss has been firmly linked to leukemia. It would certainly be wise to avoid letting your children stand near the microwave when it's running, and avoid it yourself as much as possible—especially if you're pregnant. Also, since your eyes are known to be particularly susceptible to microwave radiation (high microwave exposures are known to cause cataracts), I recommend stepping away from your microwave while it's in use.

So when I hear things about my food, health and potential risks therein, I want to know more. Everything I researched told me (screamed at me) to toss my microwave. Natural News shared this article on the health risks of microwaves and why users are so unhealthy. I tried to justify one point I had read. 'There is only minor amounts of radiation emitting through the glass door.' That was all it took. I had to ask myself what the trade off was in the long run. Was my health at risk? I thought of every meal I could remember.

I tried to recall all of those 'good' microwave moments I had in my life.......I thought of what microwaved cheese looks like. Then I read the article about fake microwave popcorn butter and how the factory workers have to dress in protective gear to handle it. I thought about what was in those TV dinners I loved so much. I thought about all of those cozy winter nights with reheated bowls of soup I thought were good for me. I thought of all of those tongue burns from reheated foods I ate too quickly. Roof of the mouth was worse.....pizza pops.....

The word 'carcinogen' kept leaping off of every page I read and those who already knew about the hazards of the microwave would tell me all about the carcinogens too. So, now I'm telling you. Microwaves create carcinogenic food. Cancer causing food.

Then I thought about my daughter and all of the food I had already given her to eat from this small metal box.

Goodbye, microwave. I figured we'd miss you - turns out we were wrong.

Food Experiment #1: Processed Cheese Stick Terror!!

When cheese sticks first hit the scene, I was very into trying them. Once I did, I was in love. If you've had one, you probably really enjoyed them too. Maybe not.

These little cheese injected tubes of......what the heck are they anyway? Breaded cheese? How do they stay together? Anyway....it has been years since I've laid a finger on one of these bad boys, but the other day an opportunity arose.


I was cleaning out a freezer and stuck way at the back was a small bag containing 5 frozen cheese sticks.

As I've mentioned, I used to love these so it is no wonder how they managed to find their way there.

They were a little freezer burnt, and I was about to toss them out, but instead thought of an excellent experiment! I believe the instructions are to deep fry them - something I wasn't about to do - when a pile of questions arose. I shrugged them off - we weren't eating these - and into the oven they went.

What? They're not made for the oven? I realize that but what happened to them next was enough to turn any cheese stick lover green.

We checked the oven after about 15 minutes. This is what we saw;

Not exactly as pictured above is it? Pale, disgusting looking puffballs of........of....well we still don't know what that stuff really is!

3 of these little...things....contain over 500 mg of sodium, 14g of fat and 25 mg of cholesterol. If that glistening sheen on the overcooked...(is that cheese?)...part of the treat is edible at this point I'd be surprised.

Our dogs wouldn't eat these. Literally. Trashed!