Road Trip Season

It's summer. School is out and a lot of people are taking time off work to spend time with family and friends or do some traveling. So I would like to share some tips and I hope you keep these in mind if you're planning a road trip. And please, please, pass these along to your friends and family.

Let's start with planning your route. You've picked a destination and researched things to do once you arrive. But getting there is half the battle. You're out on the road only to discover the road you want to take is closed. It could be for construction, weather delay, or a collision. DO NOT call 9-1-1 and complain that your plans have been ruined because of someone else. Instead...before leaving home, check for road conditions. Again, DO NOT call law enforcement for this. In this day and age just about everyone has access to the internet from their phone. Or at least at their house. So check online. Every state has 511. You can enter it into your web browser and it will come up with different ways to check road conditions. Sometimes it's just the state's abbreviation with 511. Such as...az511.gov, or 511wi.gov. Sometimes you have to go through the DMV website. However it's listed, check out the page. It has great information on it. You can see where the construction is being done, if roads are closed and what the detours are. This will save you from frustration and wasting time. What? You seriously don't have internet access? That's ok, you can dial 511 in any state and get road conditions for that state.

Before hittin the open road make sure your vehicle is in tip top shape. Have it checked out by your mechanic before you leave on your trip. Make sure all fluid levels are topped off and your tires are in good condition. And make sure you have a spare. Know where it is and how to get it out of the vehicle. Also make sure you have the necessary tools to change the tire if need be. And I know you know how to change a tire...right? Practice it before you go. Teach the rest of the family how to do it. 

 

 So what happens if you're on the road and something happens that stops you in your tracks? A sudden monsoon floods the roadway or a collision blocks it completely. You, unfortunately, could be stuck for hours. But that doesn't ruffle you. No indeed. Because you are a responsible driver and have packed well. In your vehicle you have everything you need to while away the hours parked on a highway. Wait...you don't? Then you had no business leaving home. In your vehicle you should have an emergency kit. It doesn't matter if you're driving hundreds of miles cross country or 27 miles to work. You never know what's going to happen. All you need is a cheap backpack or duffel bag. You could even use a plastic bin if you like. In that bag you should have a flashlight, poncho, reflective blanket, first aid kit, gloves, a battery operated radio, extra batteries, snacks and plenty of water. Those are the basics. I also pack a deck of cards and a book. If you have kids, make sure you pack things that will keep them occupied so that time will seem to pass quickly. 

Let's say you've done all your pre-departure checks and you are confident that your car is road worthy. Things happen. What do you do? Try to get the vehicle off the highway. If that just isn't possible then at least try to get to the RIGHT side of the road. Not the left. The right. If it's a flat tire, you're in luck because you made sure you had a good spare and tools before you left and you practiced changing the tire. But if something else is wrong with your bucket of bolts then you need to call your roadside assistance. Most of us have it with our auto insurance. After you call them you can call law enforcement and let them know you are out there and you have help on the way. If you don't have help on the way then you can ask law enforcement if they can give you a number for a tow truck. Whichever way you do it, there is a very important piece of information you are going to have to give them. Your location. Always, always, always know where you are. Know what highway or street you are on. Know what direction you are heading. Do not rely on GPS. You need to know where you are. I play a game with my kids where I will randomly ask where we are. They have to me the direction of travel, highway name or number and milepost. You can offer prizes, like a small bag of chips, or a dollar to whoever answers correctly the fastest. But you have to know where you are to know if they're right. So pay attention!

Don't forget to use your tripometer. It's with your odometer. You can track how many miles you've gone. And you can keep track of when you should get gas without relying on your gas gauge. I know my car can go about 400 miles on a tank of gas. So around mile 300 I start looking for a gas station. There is absolutely no reason to ever run out of gas on a highway. Some law enforcement agencies will not bring you gas. You will have to contact a tow company who will charge you just to start up their truck. They will also charge you per mile and the price of 2 gallons of gas. I know of a guy who had to pay almost $200 for 2 gallons of gas because he ran out of gas in the middle of the night. He had passed a gas station 20 miles ago. The most expensive 2 gallons of gas ever. Don't be that guy!

Road trips can be fun. As long you're prepared, then nothing is unexpected. Have fun. Don't drive tired or distracted. Move over for law enforcement. And if you do have to call 9-1-1, be nice to the dispatcher.

Market on the Move

Like a lot of people, I am trying to eat better, save money, be more organized, etc... One of the ways I try to do that is by buying fresh fruits and veggies and finding the cheapest price. I found Market on the Move. Their main warehouse is in Phoenix but if you go to their website Market on the Move you can find all their other locations and learn more about this wonderful group.

This group was started in 2010 and does a lot of charity work for those in need. In a nutshell though, they are helping to feed Arizona by distributing food that otherwise would be dumped into a landfill. The food is picked up in Nogales and taken to Tucson and Phoenix. Now here's the best part. They have tables full of fruits and vegetables in boxes. It looks just like a Farmer's Market. And for $10, they will hand you a large box, and you get to fill with whatever fruits and vegetables you like. Up to 60lbs worth! For $10!

Yes, this food was destined for the landfill. But as you can see from my picture above, it is still very good produce. You never know what they're going to have. But you can pretty much always count on bell peppers and zucchini. 

I happened upon them by accident when they set up shop at a local air show. I saw a crowd of people milling around a semi-truck trailer and walking away with beautiful vegetables. When I asked what was going on, a woman told me I could fill a box for $10. Bargain! The thing was, I just happened to have that day off. It was a Saturday. One of MoM's biggest distribution days. And for those who know me,I work weekends. They also have a midweek distribution. But guess what! I work on Wednesdays too. It seemed like this was going to be a fluke and I was not going to be able to partake of this deal for quite a while. Until just recently. I went to their website to see what was going on in their world and lo and behold I saw that they have a new MoM Express! It's as if they had heard my prayers. You can get a pre-packed box of food for $10 or 2 boxes for $15. Then you get to choose your pick-up location. Either Phoenix or Tucson. AND you get to pick the time you want to pick it up! So now I can get it when it's convenient for me. Summer is upon us, so they are cutting back. Not a lot of god excess veggies in the summer. So I picked up a couple of boxes last Monday. There was no waiting in line. I just drove up to the warehouse doors and they loaded it in my car. 

It was like Christmas when I got home. Like I said, you don't always know what they're going to have. On this haul I got 2 seedless watermelons that were quickly cut up for easy eatin, and 2 Fonzy melons. Now I had never heard of a Fonzy melon. But it was a melon, so I just cut into it, scooped the seeds out and cut it up as well. Fonzy melons are delicious. They are almost like a cross between a Honeydew and Cantaloup. Very sweet. I got 4 butternut squashes and 2 grocery bags of cherry tomatoes. My family will never eat them all, so I'm sharing those with friends. Since there was also several red bell peppers and tomatoes on the vine, I'll be sharing those too. But the zucchini is all mine!

Another thing they have are cooking lessons. If you are in Phoenix or Tucson, check this group out. And eat your veggies!

Moneymoneymoney

I have a beef with Dave Ramsey. Or maybe the beef should be with my friends. Mr. Ramsey has really great information. He doles out that information on his radio show, his many books and he promises to get you out of debt if you follow his course. You have to buy the books and the course.  He wants you to spend money to get out of debt. Apparently I am the only person who finds this amusing. 

You see, I have been giving the same advice and information for years...for free! And yet I still have friends who would rather spend money for this information. Soooo...I am going to keep giving out my free advice. And if you like, you can try out some of my tips for a year. Or maybe even just for 6 months. See what happens. You just might find yourself a little better off financially than you were before.

Every once in a while we get news of some financial institution or major retail chain whose customer information has been compromised and now all their banking information is up for grabs. Target is the most recent. So it's important to stay on top of your account activity. There is a very easy remedy for this.

Take a money minute. Make time every day check your accounts. You can do it first thing in the morning or in the evening. I don't have time in the mornings, so I do it after dinner. It seriously only takes a minute. I log on, check the balance and see what has cleared that day. It gives me a better idea of where my money is going and I know if there are still any outstanding charges and there are no surprises. There is nothing worse than trying to pay for something with a debit card only to be told there is not enough money to cover it. 

Some people are uncomfortable with checking their accounts. It can be hard to face the fact that there isn't as much money as you would like in your account. But by checking it every day you will begin to feel more in control of your money. It might be a little depressing in the beginning, but you will become more comfortable with it. And eventually you may see your balance begin to grow.

Take charge of your finances. Take a money minute. Every day.

 

For the love of tea

I love tea. I was raised on it. My family is from the South. Georgia. So I was raised on what people now call Sweet Tea. When I was growing up nobody called it sweet tea. It was just tea. It's what we drank. I honestly didn't know that tea came any other way. That is, not until I was about 16 years old. I was at a restaurant with my mother. Hard to believe but until that day I had not ever ordered tea in a restaurant. So imagine my surprise when I took that first sip... I guess the look on my face said it all. My mother giggled and pushed the bowl of lemon slices and the sugar toward me. She told me, "You have to add the flavor."  

I don't add sugar to my tea. I don't know what the deal is on that. But no tea has ever come close to my grandmother's tea. So, ever since she passed away, which has been a very long time, I drink my tea plain. People tease me for drinking brown water. 

For most of my life I've drunk black tea. Again, I wasn't aware of any other type of tea. My tea world was small. But about 5 years ago I discovered green tea. It's a lighter tea. A lighter taste. It tastes fabulous hot or cold. And it is a wonder beverage.

Researchers believe that the high level of polyphenols in green tea help kill cancerous cells and stop them from growing. In countries where green tea consumption is high cancer rates tend to be lower and according to the National Cancer Institute, the polyphenols in tea have been shown to decrease tumor growth in laboratory and animal studies and may protect against damage caused by ultraviolet UVB radiation.

It is also believed green tea helps lower cholesterol. But you have to drink 10 cups a day. That may seem like a lot, but for us tea drinkers, it's a drop in the bucket. 

They say 5 cups a day can help cut your risk of dying of heart disease. I think I saw this one put to the test. My grandfather's wife drank green tea every day all day long. And she outlived him by 10 years. She passed away at the ripe old age of 98. And she looked great! 

I truly enjoy the taste of green tea all on it's own. However, when you drink tea, your body's digestive enzymes may actually destroy as much as 80% of tea's good-for-you catechins. But adding a squeeze of lemon can counteract that. They say the citrus works to preserve some of those powerful disease-fighting compounds. Researchers think that when the phytochemicals in citrus are in your digestive tract, they work some kind of stabilizing magic on the catechins.

So here is my starting point for making 2014 my healthiest year ever. Green tea with lemon every day. Happy New Year!

Holly Beth Organics: Citrus All Over Cream

So, I have been trying out new organic items. I have chosen GeoDeo as a deodorant that I really like. Who knew it would be that easy? Body lotion on the other hand has been difficult. But I have been working my way through a line that is very promising.

HollyBeth Organics is a company that uses all organic ingredients and is USDA certified organic. Holly Beth is a Southern girl who has travelled the world and has brought back knowledge of healing plants and essential oils. The fragrances are simply wonderful.

I have been using the Citrus All Over Cream. It's $25.00 for 2 oz. It might seem a little pricey, but you really don't use much. A little goes a long way. The smell is absolutely heavenly.  Lemon, lime, orange, bergamot and litsea essential oils combine to energize as well as calm you. It smells like something you would get in a high end spa. And it leaves your skin feeling amazing!  Fifteen years after leaving the coast for a "dry heat" my skin is beginning to feel the effects. HB Citrus All Over Cream makes my skin look younger and feel like satin. I slather it on my feet before bed and put my little booties on. That keeps my feet soft as a baby's bottom.

Over all I really love this product. It can feel a bit greasy. And I do have to let it soak in a bit before I put on clothes or sit on any furniture. But I like the fact that I know what the ingredients are and they are gluten and cruelty free. What I really love, but haven't confirmed yet, is that I heard this product may actually repel mosquitoes. And y'all know how much I loooove those.

Check out their website at http://www.hollybethorganics.com. They even have great gift sets.

Don't Sweat It!

For as long as I can remember there have been rumors going around about the dangers of using antiperspirants. They are made with aluminum salts and active ingredients as well as inactive ingredients. These claims have said that these products can cause breast cancer and kidney failure. But who wants to go around sweaty and stinky? So most of us toss aside these claims in order to appear fresh and unflappable.

No one seems to be able to agree on the cancer claims. But from what I can tell, most of the research points to nothing more than unsightly buildup as being the most unfavorable result. According to Web MD, these cancer claims have been around for a while and seemed to make sense. After all, the aluminum in antiperspirants works by mixing with sweat to form a plug and clog the pores under the arms. And with breast cancer developing mostly in the upper and outer part of the breast, the part closest to the armpit, then it seems safe to assume that antiperspirant could be the culprit. However, there have been no conclusive studies linking cancer to these products.

Back in the 1960's they found that Alzheimer's patients had large amounts of aluminum in their brains causing people to think that maybe Alzheimer's was caused by household items like antiperspirants, antacids and drinking from aluminum cans. But again, in recent studies, they were unable to find a link.

However, as some of you may know, I have not been in the best of health lately. For several years now my health has been declining. And after seeing several doctors, most of whom told me to just learn to handle my stress and lose weight, I have found a doctor who may just save my life. I have lived a life of excess and without care for my environment. And I use environment to include not only the world around me, but my physical being as well. I have consumed nothing but chemicals to the point that my body will no longer absorb the nutrients it needs to be healthy. So I'm trying to clean up my act. Get rid of the parabens and phthalates and a host of other things I could never pronounce. One of the things I have found with a long list of chemicals is antiperspirant. But what do you replace it with?  GeoDeo.

GeoDeo is an all natural deodorant/antiperspirant. I have been using it now for weeks and I love it! It comes in two delicious fragrances as well as unscented, glides on clear and easy and lasts all day long. I even taught a class the other day to a room full of police officers and as nervous I was you couldn't see me sweat. And you know how some stick deodorants can leave that unsightly residue that looks so chalky when you lift your arm? Not GeoDeo. You just look fresh and clean.

GeoDeo is made up of volcanic minerals, aloe vera, bamboo, kelp and coconut oil. I used the Ocean fragrance. Next time I'm going to try Island. If your looking to simplify your life and get rid of things you can't pronounce give this product a try. I found mine at Sprouts. Visit their website at http://www.mygeodeo.com

Did you know...

STICKER SHOCK

Do you know what those little oval stickers on your produce mean? Besides saying what type of fruit you are purchasing, it also has a bar code that helps track inventory and when read by a bar code scanner, will give you the price, location, etc...

But there is another little number on that sticker.  Sometimes a four digit number, sometimes a five digit number.  You can tell a lot about your produce from that little piece of information.

These little numbers reveal if your fruit is organic, or...has been genetically modified! (Gasp!)  

This nectarine has four digits on the sticker. That means it has been grown using conventional methods. Conventional. Sounds safe. After all, conventional means normal. Or conforming to accepted standards. But wait. Accepted standards. Have you looked around at our world lately?  Look closely at your surroundings and the things that you have come to accept as standard. This piece of fruit has been grown using conventional methods. That means that this unassuming little nectarine has been grown using fertilizers and pesticides.

There are many different types of fertilizers. Including organic. But none of them are without their problems. Sometimes they can hurt the soil and groundwater while they're helping to grow bigger and more fruit. What's really disturbing to me is what it can do to bugs.  Those of you who know me know just how much I loooove the creepy crawlers. (If you didn't recognize the sarcasm, trust me it was there.) Fertilizer not only helps to grow bigger plants, but it also increases the birth rate, longevity and overall fitness of some agriculture pests. Which brings me to...

Pesticides. Pesticides are chemical or biological agents that deter or kill those darling little pests. But you have to wonder...if these pesticides can kill these bugs, what will it do to me?  Now, I'm not going to go into all the different kinds of pesticides. I just don't have that kind of time. If you'd like to devote an afternoon to that, be my guest. I will tell you that right now, there are 1,055 active ingredients registered as pesticides. When put together they produce over 20,000 pesticide products that are marketed here in the United States. 

I'm sure you're telling yourself, "Well, there has to be some type of regulation." Well, yes, sort of. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) limits the amount of each pesticide that can be on a food item.  However, there is no limit of how many different pesticides you can use. Oh those darn loopholes. 

When you have billions of people to feed, using fertilizers and pesticides makes good cents sense. For every $1 spent on these things yields $4 of crops saved.

All this information from a four digit number on your produce sticker. But wait...there's more!

Some fruit have five digit numbers. And if that number starts with 8 then look out. That food is genetically modified. Lately it seems everyone has been up in arms over genetically modified foods (GMOs). But again, look at the hordes of people we're looking to feed. And the gmo foods can help to do that. They're bigger, have a longer shelf life, like a Twinkie.  They have even come up with a banana that will produce human vaccines that can guard against infectious diseases. They're not in use yet. But they've made them. Even your favorite t-shirt could be gmo. Yep, cotton is genetically modified. So all the PETA people saying you shouldn't wear leather, well, their cotton might not be as pure as they thought.

So what's a person to do? Conventional growing doesn't sound very tasty, with fertilizers and pesticides. Genetically modified sounds like you're eating a science experiment, which in effect you are.  What's left?

Check that number closely on that sticker the next time you're at the store. Five digits. But wait...it starts with a 9. Hooray! That means that it is Certified Organic. GMO and pesticide free!

If you're brave enough, go ahead and take a bite out of a piece of fruit with a four digit sticker. Then eat one with a five digit sticker beginning with a 9. Oh yes, you can taste the difference. And yes, organic foods do cost more. But you can pay now...or you can pay later. 

I love summer fruits. Get out and enjoy the sunshine. Go to a Farmer's Market. Meet your local farmers. And enjoy food the way it is meant to be.

To find your local Farmer's Market, go to www.farmersmarket.com