Liwovien
LIving WithOut VIolating the ENvironment
Posts in April 2008P90X: Day 3on April 30th, 2008 by Chrissy
Okay, so I know I said I would do an update each week (and I am still working on that post to publish on Sunday), however, I just had to tell you about the improvements already. One of the biggest things I have noticed is the improvement of my knees. I have this habit of when I sit down, I bend my knee and tuck my leg under my body and then I sit on my leg. I don’t know why I do it, but there are lots of people out there who do this. Well, I was sitting on my leg tonight while at the computer, and when I went to get up, my knee didn’t hurt at all – and it always hurts. Again, why I did it before, I don’t know, but it was just a habit I couldn’t break. But now with it not hurting, it is awesome. And, of all things, I have noticed that I have stopped sitting on my leg every time I am at the computer. I wonder if the cause of the habit is actually a weakness in the legs or knees though the process of sitting down. Who knows. All I know is that to see improvements in 3 days with P90X is just amazing!
Tags: fitness, p90x Getting Fit the P90X Wayon April 27th, 2008 by Chrissy
Today we started what is going to be a grueling but rewarding adventure – the P90X extreme home fitness program. We bought the DVDs that outline an exercise and nutrition plan that are guaranteed to get us fit in 90 days provided we follow the program. The beginning of this program – what we did today – is a Fit Test. The designers of the program want to make sure you are already fit enough to do the program. We both passed (just barely), but we passed and that is all that matters. Some of the things we had to do were pull ups, push ups, and jumping jacks and quantity mattered since we both had minimums to meet. There were 8 tests in all. In addition to the fit test, we had to record body fat, weight, heart rate, and lots of measurements of arms, legs, and torso at various points before starting the fit test. Tomorrow, we are going to officially start the program. We probably should wait a few days to allow our bodies to rest from the fit test, but a Monday start is ideal and we really don’t want to wait a whole week to start. Soreness will be inevitable, either now or later it will get us, so we might as well start now. I will keep you updated each week with progress. I know I should include pictures, we will see. Maybe I will go back and add them later or include certain pictures I find interesting per week. I will update with weight, measurements, body fat, and various things like that. It will just be amazing to see how things change week by week. The program has you check you stats at the end of each month, but I want to see how minor the changes can actually be per week. See you in a week with progress.
Tags: fitness, p90x Tribute to Color: Greenon April 21st, 2008 by Chrissy
April 22nd is Earth Day. I consider myself a conservationist and an environmentalist and I would not be doing my duty if I did not mention Earth Day on my blog. Green is the color most associated with Earth Day so I thought I would get a little creative and talk about color. Actually, each week I am going to do a tribute to a different color, so stay tuned and see what color comes next. Green is a beautiful color. The hue alone is vibrant and best describes what we see in nature. That deep true green of the grass and tree leaves after a spring rain like we had today on the mid east coast. Below are some pictures of flowers blooming in the spring from around our yard with their lovely green backgrounds.
Our house has two rooms that are painted green – one bathroom and one bedroom. Both are the same shade of green now (one was originally the color of grass but I needed a change so it became the same color as the green in the bathroom). We have tons of green accents all around our house on pillow covers, comforters, rugs, dishes, art work, and most of all plants – lots of plants.
To come to think of it, we have a lot of green in our house. It does make sense though since my husband and I are both earth signs.
Tags: color, go-green So Much Research, So Little Timeon April 18th, 2008 by Chrissy
This past week has been all about research… so much research… mostly about the things we put in and on our bodies. From clothes to food to personal care products. When I posted my recent article about Earth-Friendly Products, I started thinking that these items are good for the earth (petroleum-free, chlorine-free, toxin-free, cruelty-free, and organic (where the option exists)), and while those things are good for our bodies, there are additional concerns when our personal care is considered. What is the specific toxin levels of the ingredients of these products we use on our bodies? When you start to think about it too deep, your head starts to spin. So when the dizziness stopped for me, I found a company that is all about showing you the details of the ingredients in your personal care products. The company is Environmental Working Group (EWG). The section of their site that I have been using quite frequently recently is EWG’s Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database. I have found many of the products I have looked for, however, they are always updating their database, and some items just aren’t there. When you can’t find an item, look up its individual ingredients. We have come along way in using more healthy products, however, through my research, there is still more work to be done. Some products we use everyday will soon not be in our cabinets because of what I have found out. Replacements will be made soon and I will update my product use list and add explanations and links to why a change was made. I also did a little research to find where you can get a list of companies that really are not testing their products on animals since they can say it on the product and it not be true. PETA is the best place to find this information. PETA’s website has a link to PETA’s Caring Consumer.com who has a list of Companies That Do/That Don’t Test on Animals. I am happy to say that the three main companies that we buy personal care and household cleaners from (JASON, Seventh Generation, and method) are all on the Don’t Test on Animals list. Yea! I am happy that we have the freedom to choose the products that we use. I am also happy that others are out there to help us with the facts that we just don’t see on labels. Earth-friendly Productson April 10th, 2008 by Chrissy
Over the past couple of months, I have been asked a couple of times which earth-friendly products I use, so I thought I would share my knowledge and experience. Most of the earth-friendly products we buy for household and personal care are made by 3 companies: Seventh Generation, method, and JASON. The products are petroleum-free, chlorine-free, toxin-free, cruelty-free, and organic (where the option exists). The reasons we buy these products are many and here are some of them:
Seventh Generation: Laundry, Dishwashing, Household cleaners, Household paper and supplies, For Baby, Feminine Care.
method: Laundry, Dishwashing, Household cleaners, Aircare, Personal care, Cleaning cloths.
JASON: Personal care.
Random Acts of Kindnesson April 9th, 2008 by Chrissy
What would this world be like if each person did one nice thing a day? Just the smallest thing like say hi, hold a door open for someone, or allow someone to merge onto a road properly. I think it would be a much better world. What made me think of this is all the little horrible things I see every time I go go shopping or driving even the shortest of distances – people cutting other drivers off, not using turn signals, people just walking out in traffic or in front of a store (do they not realize that even if you are doing 5 miles an hour that there is a breaking distance), people hurrying to get in front of you at the store even though you have so many items less than them… I could go on forever about these things. My theory on why people aren’t nicer is that they don’t see it fitting in their schedule. It seems like so many people are in such a hurry because so much is asked of them in a short period of time. It wouldn’t be the worse thing if someone gets in front of you or you have to get behind someone else depending on how you are looking at this. Maybe in those few minutes you can take a couple deep breaths and slow your heart rate and de-stress rather than become furious, get angry, and feel the need to hurry even more. If someone slowing you down makes you late for something, then you just need to give yourself more time to get whatever you need to get done. It all comes down to procrastination. All of us are guilty of it – even in the smallest things. Personally, I am a person who runs late. My friends know it. My family knows it. I have improved over the years, but still have more improving to do. I try to do too much in too small of a time period. But what makes me different than many of the people who are running late out there is that they get mean about it. It isn’t someone else’s fault that I am late… no matter how many red lights I encountered that I normally don’t… I am my own undoing. So, to all of those family members and friends out there that I have been late to something, I apologize and I am trying to add “padding” to my plans so that I am either on-time, early, or at the least just a couple minutes late. I can say that my GPS has really helped with the plans when I need to drive a longer distance since I see the arrival time and am more aware of it. I think I got a little off topic of Random Acts of Kindness, but I wanted to tell a story too since the story is what inspired the topic. Try to do something nice for someone else… you will help both of you in the process.
Tags: health Know the Causeon April 2nd, 2008 by Chrissy
This afternoon I talked on the phone with one of my aunts from PA. We don’t talk very often, but when we do, we cover lots of topics including herbs, medicines, and natural remedies. My aunt was so happy to talk with me since she is not able to talk with many people about these types of things. One of the things we talked about is a TV program that she had seen recently. She is without a computer and wanted me to look something up on the internet for her regarding the show. I did some research but wasn’t able to find exactly what she was looking for while we were on the phone, but I did find lots of information that I thought I would share it since it is quite interesting. There is a theory out there that fungus causes cancer. A man named Doug Kaufmann has done extensive research on the effects of fungus on the human system and has written 8 books about the subject. He is in the process of writing and revising more books and has a website: Know the Cause. He has created an Anti-fungal diet which is what my aunt is trying to see if I can find Phase I of without having to buy the book. She wants to see what the “diet” is all about before getting the book. I am going to do some more research for her so I will be adding more as I find it.
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