| — | I love you as the plant that never blooms but carries in itself the light of hidden flowers; thanks to your love a certain solid fragrance, risen from the earth, lives darkly in my body. I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where. I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride; so I love you because I know no other way. |
Twitterpated?
Yes. Nearly everybody gets twitterpated in the springtime.
You’re walkin’ along, minding your own business.
You’re looking neither to the left or the right.
When all of a sudden, you run smack into a pretty face. Woo woo!
You begin to get weak in the knees.
Your head’s in a whirl.
And then you feel light as a feather.
And, before you know it, you’re walking on air.
And then you know what? You’re knocked for a loop and you completely lose your head.
And that ain’t all. It can happen to anybody. So you’d better be careful. It could happen to you, and you, and yes it could even happen to you!
The only thing Owl won’t tell you is that when it does happen, IT COULD NOT BE CUTER
A Healthier Lifestyle
Eradicating every guilty pleasure in life is not the end goal here, nor is it a particularly realistic approach to making changes…we all enjoy the occasional cheeseburger, order of fries, or bag of chips. But if we understand the consequences of making what ought to be an occasional treat into the mainstay of our diet, we can begin to make wise choices about how many of these things we are willing to eat. When it comes to avoiding many of the questionable – and possibly deadly – additives contained in processed foods, we’re only human after all, so taking baby steps toward change is usually the best approach. If you can accomplish just one of these 10 steps, you’re moving in the right direction. Try implementing one change a month…
1. As a general rule, if you don’t recognize – or can’t pronounce – the words on a label, don’t buy it, or eat it. Opt instead for the real thing!
2. Avoid products containing:
- Nitrates and nitrites (including sodium nitrite)
- Sulfites (including metabisulfites)
- Sulfur dioxide
- Benzoic acid (aka sodium benzoate)
- BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene)
- BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole)
- Coloring
- Coal tar
- Propylene glycol
- MSG (monosodium glutamate)
- Refined or bleached flour (i.e. whitened using chloride oxide)
3. Don’t eat partially hydrogenated or hydrogenated trans fats
4. Don’t eat products containing sugar substitutes such as saccharine and aspartame.
5. Avoid products with a long shelf life – the better they do on the shelf, the worse they are for your body.
6. Avoid products that have been enriched. They have been completely devitalized during processing.
7. Avoid food that has been genetically modified or engineered. Nearly all processed food contains GMOs.
8. Avoid products made with ingredients euphemistically described as “natural flavoring” or “natural coloring.”
9. Avoid products with added sugar – watch for words with “-ose” endings such as glucose.
10. Incorporate a multi-vitamin into your health regimen.
If you’ve had a history of eating products high in sugar and are concerned about diabetes, incorporate disease-fighting products such as garlic, vitamin E, and aloe vera into your diet. Vitamin E supplements can also protect your body from the harmful effects of eating refined products that have been bleached with chloride oxide.
