Girlfriends Are Cheaper Than Therapists & A Lot More Fun…!

Or so the saying goes…but I have to say I certainly agree!  This weekend I raced in a sprint triathlon with 6 other girlfriends. Some I work with, some I work out with, and some I just met.  Regardless, we entered this race with different aspirations and goals–to win, to place, to better our last time, to finish, to conquer and overcome….but most of all to have fun and celebrate life.  We met at Jayne Ann’s at 4:45 for last minute prep and our “before” shot. We were excited, anxious, tired (me…yawn) and ready to take on this experience.  We couldn’t have had better weather. The pool was comfortable–not too hot and not too cold.  The weather warmed up enough so that no additional layers were needed after the swim. The bike route was hilly and beautiful. And the run was off road, through some woods, on trails and along side a small lake.

You know the poem that talks about friends who come and go. Some are for a lifetime and some for a period of time. No matter how long, each brings a special gift.

My Saturday morning friends are amazing. One has a fear of water…and yet, that does not stop her from swimming several times a week and racing.  One of them has never run before, yet she put everything she had into this race, finished it and did fantastic. Another one I want to be like when I grown up. She runs a 6 minute mile and has a rock hard little bod.  Several of these ladies beat their best times and set personal records. Another one still looks like an amazing beauty after an hour and a half of strenuous racing!  These ladies are so motivating, so encouraging, so STRONG!

Here’s to a great weekend, a lot of fun, girlfriends who rock & more PRs!

Last week, I came home from work to find a couple of plastic bags containing two huge phone books. Typically I recycle the bags, then bring in the latest books inside and swap them out for whatever ones are in the house.  I throw the older versions into my recycle can.  This time, I stopped. I never use the things. Between the internet and 411 Free Info. (If you are not familiar with this resource, RIGHT now enter 411-FREE into your cell phones 1-800-373-3411.  After a brief commercial from the sponsor of the day, you get a free directory assistance. It works about 90% of the time and you can have them tell you the info, get details like phone # and address, or have that same info texted to your phone!  We rarely use our phone books–yellow pages or residential.) So back to the yellow pages, I decided to do a little research and was pleasantly surprised to find the Yellow Pages gang is on top of it.  You can go to www.yellopagesgoesgreen.org and get your name removed from future telephone books. Sweeeeeeet!! They’ve got a pretty nifty little site set up and they also have an option to opt out of catelogs, as well.  See how simple it is to make a difference?  Just one small act, every day. Tell your friends. Together, we CAN make a difference!

I love the fact that there is a Jamba Juice on all my normal run-around-town-routes so I can get a shot or two of “green gold” or “pure liquid sunshine” as Jamba Juice calls it. According to our JJ friends and many other wheat grass fans, the reasons are numerous and all good. Here’s a few proported from our JJ neighbors about its benefits:

1.) Wheat grass helps cleanse & detoxify your blood

2.) Wheat grass helps make your skin look great

3. ) Wheat grass aids in digestion

4.) Wheat grass helps metabolize energy and fat

5.) Wheat grass helps bolster your immune system (it’s full of amino acids, vitamins, iron and vitamin K–necessray for clotting and studies show the green stuff fights free radicals, promotes better circulation, and gives you energy)

Now, I don’t always have the luxury of my fave shot o’ green, so if I am on the run from the house, I’ll make up my own little concoction added to a bottle of water, usually Now Chlorella 1000mg or Barley Grass, or Berry Green 360 grams. I’ll add a drop or two of green tea concentrate with stevia, shake it all up and do my body some good.  It’s not as good as the fresh stuff, but I swear I can tell which days I don’t do the “green”…seriously.  Aside from how it makes me feel, just knowing what wonderful goodness I am ingesting makes me happy.  Do you body good and go GREEN!    

You’ve seen the articles, the research, etc. Eating organic definitely has its positives…along with a bigger piece of your paycheck! About 3/4 of traditionally grown produce show pesticides. But you don’t have to fork over your paycheck, just narrow your splurge to organic produce with soft skin or skin that you eat and save your $$ on foods that are usually free of pesticides due to their tougher, thicker outter layers. So go organic on apples, peaches, bell peppers, strawberries, pears and lettuce.  And go for conventionally grown bananas, kiwis, onions, mangoes (my personal fave!), pineapples and broccoli. How do you tell the difference? If you see a 5 digit number starting with 9, that means it is organic. A 4 digit number means conventional. And regardless of whether you purchase organic or conventional fruits and veggies, wash all of them with soap, water and a brush.

Then, to do triple duty–help the environment and your pocket book AND your body–shop nearby farmers’ markets which means less shipping, fresher produce, fewer greenhouse gases and lower costs.

On the dairy side, I personally opt for organic milks and free range eggs and meats in order to avoid antibiotics sometimes used and added hormones.  Is it worth it? You BETCHA!  

Supposedly, if no one were fat, we’d save…. the earth? That might be a stretch, but it is a great idea, don’t you think? The guys over at Men’s Health have shared that we’d save “$5 billion in fueling our lighter cars and planes, spend $10 billion less on clothes, and be so productive at work that the nation would see a $257 billion boost!” Apparently, some guy actually put a pencil to this and found that an America without obesity would save $487 billion dollars each year—enough to give every one of us $4,270 in gas money. Certainly the kind of thing that makes you go, “Hmmmmm!”

The moral to this story? Start exercising and get everyone you know to join you. I normally ask, “What have you got to GAIN?” However according to this article, it’s a bunch o’ money, plus health benefits galore….so get GOING! And be FIT!

Invest in your workouts; it will do you and America some good. Gotta love it!

For one, we can change our lightbulbs. CFLs (compact fluorescent lightbulbs) reduce pollution by using 75%LESS energy than reguarl lightbulbs! If we each replaced ONE, we’d save $60 mil in energy costs. I bought a bunch of these and then as my regular bulbs went out, I replaced them with CFLs one by one. Now I have a complete CFL household! For starters, try GE Energy Smart Spiral (26 watts but = 100 watts of the old kind), costs about $5 and you can get it at Home Depot or try www.gelighting.com for a list of stores. Another one to try is Sylvania Supermini with 13 watts (= 60 watt regular bulb). This one costs about $8 for three and you can get it at Amazon.com. Then there is Westinghouse’s “mini-globe” which is 9 watts (= 40 watt bulb) for about $16 at www.servicelighting.com .

Be a friend to a farmer and get local, organic produce delivered to your table weekly (or maybe you pick up). Either way, join a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) and you can help cut down on energy used to transport food across the world AND use of pesticides and dangerous chemicals used for conventional farming.

Next time you invest, consider a company that is committed to using less energy. Money speaks volumes, folks. With so many choices out there, the power has shifted from the COMPANIES to the consumer. Let’s make our voices heard. We can make a difference.

Another thought–kudos to everyone recycling your water bottles. I require my kids to always bring them back home to recycle when they are out and about. BUT, there is a better way. Sipping water from a safely reusable metal bottle. I put a filter on my tap water. Whole Foods has a special plastic bottle made from a material that won’t break down during washing so it can be used multiple times AND recycled.

If you have some other good ideas, I’d love to hear them. Remember every conscious effort DOES make a difference. Commit to the change, one action at a time. We can make a better earth.