Birthday Gift To Me

Maybe I’m selfish.

I like to buy myself a birthday gift as a reminder to be good to oneself.  There’s a particular birthday in high school that has stuck with me, it became clearer since the fog of hormones, exams, and band recitals has vanished.  That memorable day was my sweet sixteen.  Mom made an apple pie and I wanted black forest cake.  Being that age, you don’t see or comprehend all that is happening around you.  I didn’t know how the family finances were not that great.  I didn’t know my parents would be getting divorced.  Heck, could it have happened?  Did she forget my birthday in the super storm of life breaking away from itself?  It was a long time ago.  That day, or the emotional imprint of it, will always stay with me.  Now I have a maelstrom of my own to get through, but a birthday shall not go forgotten, unnoticed, or snuffed out.  This year my gift to me is that divine vanilla in the photo above.  It caught my eye in the virtual Food52 shop window and I thought  Hey, why not?  It’s my birthday!

I feel older.

My body aches.  Bones crack.  I’m tired.  I won’t say “I’m old” because that would just offend those who are older than me.  Let’s just leave it as an incremental step and one more candle on the (black forest) cake.

I feel wiser.

I see what I have done before and learn from it.  I’m more confident in doing what is right, good, truthful, or scary because I know what waits on the other side of those actions.  That’s what life is about for me at 32.

I feel hopeful.

With all the injustices in the world I am hopeful for a better future.  We can’t reverse the entire industrial revolution without massive sacrifices, however if we destroy the only home we have there’s no point.  Pollution.  War.  GMOs.  They all need to go away.  I’m grateful for those of us who sacrifice towards gaining momentum to end what will end us all.  I wish I could hug the world to bring peace, a clean planet, and organic food.  That would be a good start, eh?

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Note: This is not a sponsored post.  The link to the Food52 shop will get you a discounted offer on this vanilla.  That is all.

More Birthday Posts:

Read about my thoughts on turning 30.

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Your (Diet) Soda Is Killing You

Time for another food related rant.  Stick around to the end for my suggested solution (see I’m not just spouting off problems everyone should already be aware of… I can tell y’all how to fix it!)

What’s in soda pop?

(Regular) High fructose corn syrup.  Effects of high fructose corn syrup are fairly simple and devious… it blocks the chemicals in your brain that signal that you are full, medically speaking: “it inhibits leptin secretion and it never shuts off gherin.” says Dr. Oz.  Since your brain is convinced there is room for more, you keep drinking.  If you are not careful, there will be more unnoticed calories entering than you keep track of, which leads to over eating/drinking.  It’s a cheap sugar substitute to keep those Dr. Peppers flowing into your glass on a warm summer day.

(Diet) Artificial sweeteners replace natural sugars with modified substances that resemble sugar in their taste but the molecules are different.  And they are different enough that the digestive system cannot break them down to burn like sugar (this is why diabetics can consume them without adverse affects to blood sugar levels).  Some studies have indicated aspartame, one of the most common soda sweeteners, has caused increased migraines, depression in patience with mood disorders, increased hunger is a possibility but further research is needed.  The new player on this team is sucralose, aka Splenda, nearly zero calories and is not fully absorbed by the digestive system.  This is not a cousin of sugar (sucrose) as many believe, this was a precipitate found while developing an insecticide.  It’s pure chemical, not pure sugar.  Did you know chlorine is found in sucralose?  One cup of Splenda contains 96 calories and 32 grams of carbohydrates, this is due to the other artificial sweeteners added to sucralose to make Splenda.  Sucralose is not free from side-effects either, there are reports of digestive problems, skin irritation, mood swings, chest pains and anxiety.  No wonder I feel wired after a can of Coke Zero.

Fizzy phosphorus carries away calcium.  Less calcium means weaker bones and possibly osteoporosis later on in life.

The acidity eats away on your tooth enamel, causing cavities.

What to do if you are hooked on soda?

I won’t tell you to drop it, you will have to steadily decrease your consumption.  This is especially important if you like caffeinated pop.  Your system will go into caffeine withdrawal and you will most likely end up with a migraine.  While I’m not a health professional, I’ve learned from experience.  I was drinking Pepsi daily at work before I got pregnant with Big Brother.  As soon as I found out I was expecting, I stopped eating all the bad things (at least I thought were bad, not like wine or beer – caffeine!).  I had such terrible head aches!  Instead of a full stop I weaned myself and drank plenty of water.  Surprisingly, water makes you feel full faster than soda.  Well, duh it doesn’t have HFC in it! The sad thing is, soda remains dirt cheap. Not only in the supermarkets but on menus too. And most restaurants refill soda for free.  Water from the tap is free, but might not taste a fresh as say the Columbia Icefield run-off.  You don’t need to buy bottles of water either, keep reading.

Help a pop-crazy friend with a cool gift!

Water is the best thing for your body, we’re made up of a lot of it.  Stay fresh and hydrated with a cool earth-friendly water.org bottle.  I already have a Brita water bottle with filter like this one.

I bought it for Big Brother who started school in the nasty hot weather we had this summer.  In Texas, the water can quickly take on “earthy” properties that are not appealing to my nordic taste buds.  This bottle solved that problem and I knew my little one had clean water while away at school.

And just because Matt Damon is awesome, here is a video:

Matt Damon as Clause for a Cause

Sources:  Medicinenet.com   Cleaner Plate Club  Health Regeneration

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