A few weeks ago, our Michelle ( brand new mom of the adorable baby jack ) called. She was distressed by two opposing opinions about nursing. One book said to do it this way, the other book said to do  it another. Now she felt like she was nursing the wrong way. I hate when books do that.  The question I asked Michelle is what does she think? Best yet, what's the worst thing that could happen if she woke her child up to nurse it, vs not. Or whatever her nursing point of view might be. I told her to trust herself.  

Moms have a gut instinct that rules the universe. When we are new to motherhood, although I personally believe it's about being female, not just about being maternal, we have to learn to trust this gut feeling. This inner drive has us know when to hug, when to yell, when to scream and when to say just the exact right thing at the right time. It's pretty darn amazing.

My home life growing up was a bit of a farce, my parents really faked their way through alot of things family. They just were too self absorbed to get it. I understand that they had their problems to solve, their who they were  to master. They did all of that at the expense of what could have been a great family.

I remember one rather human moment when my dad was gone ( he was gone alot ) and I got injured. My hands got caught in the bend of the garage door. My skin on all my knuckles curled up like clams, this description doesn't even do justice to how weird this injury was.  We were in the hall bathroom - my mom and I,  and she burst into tears. She said she didn't know what to do. I remember how frightened that made me feel, moms are supposed to know what to do in every situation no matter what. I also remember thinking  how cool it was that she actually said that and thought to myself gosh neither do I. Somehow we got through it.  In that instance though  - that potential mother and daughter moment it wasn't a shared experience. I felt really isolated from her and I felt she really didn't appreciate this dilemna I had put her in. Fault, nuisance, annoyance. Thus my world as I knew it growing up.  I was always a problem for my mom.

If this happened between my daughter and I, or my son for that matter. I would have cried, and shared how I felt but they would have cried too, and we would have been scared together. Hugs and more tears would be exchanged - heart to heart and it would have felt like we were in this crisis together. It would feel like noone was to blame - yeah this is scary -  I'm scared too.  

This morning, the phone rang and it was my son. The kid was riding his bike in the pouring rain and hit a pot hole. His bike was trashed, he - thank goodness was fine.  He said the incident had him roaring with laughter. Phone calls like that make my mother earth heart palpitate. So we go - my Kate and I, and we pick him up. He's soaked, his bike is mangled and he's laughing. I am filled with so much love I can hardly stand it.  He got scraped up. He lets me get the ole cotton balls out and the hydrogen peroxide that I have had for 20 years - just in case. I was flooded with memories, other moments in the bathroom - scrapes to tend to, Batman band-aids to the rescue - major deja-vu.  We have been here before.

The logical part of me said what are you nuts riding in the rain 13 miles, I could have picked you up! The proud part of me told him that I think his determination and his affection for riding his bike is way darn cool. The mom in me, the one that no kid really wants to hear from -  thought of about 4 other horrific scenarios of " things that could have happen" and I quickly told myself - don't go there.  The part of me I am becoming and the current mom learning curve I am on simply said - mother earth - let it go. Be there for him now - be what he needs you to be now.

I had to trust this thought process, this deep inside gut instinct and remind myself of my mom knows best radar. 


bikekill flickr image credit

Karen Hanrahan ~ Wellness Educator/Nutritional Consultant/Blog Author
708.482.0678 ~ Websites: Nutrition Weight Loss, and Green Clean

        

Thank you Robert Hruzek from Middle Zone Musings for the opportunity to participate in yet another WILF writing project with you.

The topic this time had to do with a mash up of ideas, meaning more than one topic.  For me the idea of what I learned from my automobiles spoke to me loudest, so that is what I decided to write about.  

Thanks goes to Lill of News from Hawkhill Acres, who's wonderful silly stories had me initially leave this as a comment - she is the one who encouraged me to write it as a post..

Once upon a time, long ago and oh so far away, a car named JOEY, my very first car,  blew up on the highway in between Tucson and Phoenix on Hwy10.  Because I was on a mission to return to Chicago to hook up with my high school sweetheart, I bought BEATER BUD. His lovely alternator died 150 miles after I purchased it. Yes, deep in the dark and in the thick of the Phoenix mountains - merely 2 hours after purchasing it - I had to spend more money. The car was dead.  That car actually nickle and dimed me all the way home to Chicago.  During the bitter cold Chicago winters BEATER BUD would stamp his excuse me - I am a 1967 Oldsmobile from warm and sunny Arizona feet, and ignite little bonfires in its carburetor -  you know back in the old days where you actually knew where the carburetors were.  The phrase know the anatomy of your car engine, comes to mind.  This car had a multitude of problems.  One day, on a dare actually, I painted it with daisies and let it get completely trampled in a local smash em up derby. 

Once married the cars my husband drove were company cars, he drove 3000 plus miles a month so he'd go through a car pretty darn fast, I have never known anyone to grind the carpet down to the metal with his heel. He was a master at road rage. He also set the seat really far back, he was tall, but if you looked at him from the outside the seat was so far back you could barely see him driving. Very strange.

While pregnant with my second child, I was driving the Cordoba - you know,  the car that Ricardo Montalban touted for it's corinthian leather?  The hinge was falling apart on the drivers side door.  The door opened fine, but then it would kerplunk itself down and hang by a thread.  Do you have any idea how big those doors are ? One would have to straddle it to lift and align it to close. I was 9 months pregnant and straddling that damn door.  Or I would roll out the passenger door instead. When I think about this. It makes me really angry

When the door of the Cordoba finally fell off and gee since I was carting children around and all, my husband and his father went car shopping and bought this inexpensive stick shift thing, I have blocked this car from my memory because it was a god awful car. First of all it was a 2 door. I had 2 kids in car seats. Secondly I didn't drive a stick shift. Seriously what were they thinking.  I was supposed to be grateful, but I wasn't.  Not sure what happened to that vehicle, it's the kindof car I would have loved to have found a way to leave in the path of a roaring semi 

I briefly then had a little Ford Probe, it was a way darling sporty dusty blue thing who's little head lights popped up and down when you turned on the ignition. I was so delighted by those headlights I would turn my car on an off just to watch her blink, in my mind she really needed a set of false eyelashes on those headlights. This car also had a kick butt stereo in it - I felt very very cool in this car.  It was definitely not a mommy mobile. It  amazed me how it could make me feel so darn spiffy.  Unfortunately this car got totaled in my first and most horrific car accident, just weeks after getting her. I never got to name her.   

The car I had after that I never named. It was  a cheap, very ugly, I am doing you a favor by providing you with a car. It had huge oil stains on the carpet in the back. My husband said,  oh honey just cover that with a mat.  Don't get me started. When I sold it to my brother for a sum of which he never paid, its wheels fell off and it went pigeon toed.  It's actually a miracle that we didn't all die driving around in that car. The daughter of a so called friend, had poked a hole in the ceiling fabric, she then proceed to pull at the hole tearing the entire length of the fabric from the rear of the car to the rear view mirror, that ceiling fabric flapped in the wind as I drove. No, I am not a hillbilly and no I did not kill the little girl.

The PRIDE MOBILE was a car I earned for free when I tripled my income while building my nutrition consulting business, it replaced the HICK MOBILE and was a huge shift for me. I had earned it. Worked hard for it. I was deserving.  I had surpassed the used car syndrome. When the brand new car arrived, the dealer called me and said "your ride with pride has arrived "  I got to drive that car for free for 3 years. That was new car heaven and a very sweet smooth ride, the paint was this deep burgundy with flecks of gold. A real beauty

I currently drive a little compact pretty blue Chevy. Blue is my favorite color  When the lease was up on the pride mobile, my second husband and I decided to buy two compact cars.  Mine, I never named as it was supposed to go to my kids.   My thinking was first husband wasn’t on the fast track to making a decent living ( thus to pay less support ) therefore how would he provide cars?? Not knowing what the first ex would do to provide vehicles for our children.  I thought I should be prepared.  As it turns out each kid was provided a vehicle, so I am stuck with the pretty blue compact car.  My son's car  has a zillion trillion miles on it and scares me. He uses it maybe once a week. Otherwise he rides his bike - and prefers that - god bless his earthy soul.  My daugher drives a Lincoln Town Car of all things.  I told her father he has to provide the gas for that beast - and it is beasty. I am astounded by the expense to fill the tank. Thankfully, her driving is a blessing. If I had to commute her I’d never have a life.

I called my second husbands compact car the SILVER FOX ( as he, my husband, had silver hair and was foxy - and his car was silver just like him ), until of course, he became my ex.  His car is still a silver fox.

My next car needs to be a vehicle that is more conducive to having a dog and hauling a college kid forth and back. Right now only 2 people - meaning humans, can sit in my compact car that has no name.  I have my eye on a Honda CRV - it's got that back section that would be perfect for the dog, and still allows for  humans to sit in the back seat without getting covered with dog hair.  My Honda will be called Helen. Somehow I know this.

What have I learned from my automobiles ? Nothing really, they are a real pain and it's fun to give them a name. I never realized I had so many! I had no idea how funny my escapades with vehicles were.

Do you have a car character from the many chapters of your life? I'd love to hear about it


serious smash up derby flickr image credit

Karen Hanrahan ~ Wellness Educator/Nutritional Consultant/Blog Author
708.482.0678 ~ Websites: Nutrition Weight Loss, and Green Clean

        

Why fall in love with a company?

Ever hear of a new local restraunt that became the hot spot in town simply because someone said to someone else hey they have the best taco's ever - you have to go there. Which would you rather support ? The local mom and pop place or the Taco Bell?

Can you imagine how loyalty feels to a family owned business? How it feels to be loved and adored? Does Taco Bell know it's you that loves it when you eat there ?

I personally prefer to support a person or a family or someone I trust, someone trying to feed their family by doing great work, vs a large corporation. 

Do you have a favorite brand? What fosters that? Is it because it's a name that is well known, trendy or popular, or is it because it's a company that's tried and true - consistant and reliable? What if a company targets woman, or helps woman, or kids, or better yets support a cause with real dollars and shares an accountabilty about that. - does that appeal to you? It appeals to me.  

I remember meeting a fellow teenager from Toronto, I don't know if it was because she was a city girl or what, but she spoke brand forked tongue.  She only wore adidas, levi's, and jockey's. Me ? I wore gym shoes, jeans and whatever underware was on sale...I never thought about brand names before. She didn't say see that semi truck she said wow check out that Mac - it was as if she was speaking a different language. I remember feeling rather uncool when I was with her, my clothing wasn't some hot label - gosh at that time it was probably from Zayre's ( there's a name and blast from the past ) or Sears. To the dismay of my mother I wanted to buy name brands just so I could be cool.

What kindof consumer are you?  Do you shop for cheap no matter what or do you shop for quality at the best price? Perhaps you shop to further cause, fueling the organic market for example - the more who buy organic the more organics will become available, the more who buy organics the lower the prices will get.  I tend to shop for quality and cause. I also shop with little patience. I hate the whole shop forever to find the lowest price on something that's manufactured by one company, but distributed by 6 stores who all have it for a different price. That just drives me crazy. I'd prefer to buy direct from the company. Save on time and on gasoline. Thank goodness for the internet!

Nowadays, buying green or from companies that foster greenness is also becoming part of the marketing message. For me I don't have a full and proper perspective on this.  I am fascinated by the go green message and horrified. Many of us right now are riding this green learning curve together. I am horrified by mixed messages, and by companies taking advantage or making money off the green movement.  I feel I have to learn more to understand. When it gets global, which duh, it's way more global than I ever knew. This is when I get overwhelmed and where I think many people get confused. I do feel your purchasing sends a message.  I personally have very limited purchasing power.  I can't switch over to everything green. If I could upgrade to a hybrid vehicle and invest in solar wind power, I would. Those are industries I'd like to support. Will I make changes in the way I purchase or do things and have it have a positive vs a negative impact on the environment? I'm there. I want to.

How about you?

Does a company ever let you down? Enough to have you say forget it I am not buying from them anymore? This happened to me very recently with Natural Ovens ( More about that in a post to follow ) Being in love with a company is one thing, can that love with stand a loss of trust.  If I feel cheated, no - you will lose my business. Period. I will dump you. This is where branding and imaging is vital. If a brand shifts to a green message all of a sudden,  it makes me wonder - are they doing this going green thing to posture themselves to make money or do they really care? I want to support companies that really care. If it appears shifty to me - I will pause and re-evalauate.

Mary Hunt of In Woman We Trust says, "we fall in and out of love, but we don't fall in an out of trust, when trust is gone, it's gone for a very long time."

I fell in love with the # 1 Nutritional Company in the US in 1993. So much so I decided to champion their products as my way to earn my living.  I fell in love with them because 3 nutritional products gave me my life back, they gave me my health.  I was altered forever, simply by adding nutritional supplements to my diet. Who knew I was so nutritionally deficient. Best yet, who knew that so many felt the same way as I. Sick, tired, crabby, unable to cope. The more I learned about the differences these products offered, not only from a philosophy perpective, but also from a product line up perspective, the more enchanted I became.  I fell in love with every single product this company had to offer. They were green way before their time, way way before anyone else was, another layer to it's 50 plus year history and integrity - both of which - speak loudly to where I want to spend my dollars. 

I guess you could say we've been married now, this company and I, for 15 years!! Ha! I even remember our anniversary date. April 13th. I trust them, I believe in their message and they have yet to let me down.  I treasure our relationship and am very proud to advocate others to use their products.

As a distributor for them, we have guidelines we adhere to re: our business practices. I am not allowed to say their company name or their trademarked product names in a blog post. Yet, I can redirect to my personal business website, and you will find that any chance I get, I do! 

I say this as some commenters here have felt that I could be more upfront about the fact that I sell products  through my blog.  If I could,  I would.

Respectively, I am following the guidelines set up by my parent company.

I blog informatively and offer a wealth of quality, resourced perspectives as a way to have you befriend the person behind the company. Me. I sell the brand, not a marketing slick or a commercial on TV. 

Why fall in love with a company?  Why not ? 

Legacy, Making a Difference, Purity, Safety, Nature, Science, Climate Neutral, A Million Trees, Healthy; You, Home, Planet


titled purple haze flickr image credit - love it

Karen Hanrahan ~ Wellness Educator/Nutritional Consultant/Blog Author
708.482.0678 ~ Websites: Nutrition Weight Loss, and Green Clean

        

This E - Newsletter comes to you on or around the 5th of each month because you either requested it, gave me permission to send it to you, or I thought you might find it of interest.

If for any reason you'd like to no longer receive this communication - please reply accordingly.

I have great regard for your time - thank you for allowing me to be a resource for you.

Health-E NEWS May 2008

Announcements

Our nutritional company is seeking to identify which of our high quality nutritional supplements are gluten free to better serve the needs of clients that have those concerns. Love that about us! Look for more detailed information about that soon.

As of June, there will be a 2% product price increase - the last across the board increase in product pricing was 10 years ago. Additionally there will be a shipping increase, last year there was a small shipping increase, prior to that it had been 5 years. Gas prices this year have doubled, some raw material pricing have increased by 100%, packaging prices continue to climb and carrier costs have risen 3%. Tricks to saving money re: shipping is to order heavy, you get up to 10lbs with one shipping charge. Plan your purchases. Let me know how I can help. Ordering in May will save you some shopping costs too.

Topic of the Month - The Stress of Being a Mom Affects Their Health - resourced from from our company monthly email - thank you health sciences bulletin - ask me for full pdf file.

Moms do it all don't they? They work, they cook, they clean, they juggle, they shuttle, they worry. It shows up in stress which takes it's toll on the body, and it's now showing up more than ever before. Moms are tired, maxed out, they can't sleep, they are overweight. Woman according to a 2008 survery by the American Pysycholigical Association, are more affected by stress than men. Unhealthy behaviors like comfort eating, poor food choices, smoking and inactivity now shows upin their physical health. Stressed woman are at risk for serious health concerns down the road

The stress response, also known as flight or flight is a very automatic function of the nervous system. It's one thing to have it kick in and give you the ability to run like heck when you need it. Yet if the response becomes chronic it can really goof up our hormonal and physical chemistry. This can show up in your heart rate, your blood pressure and your blood sugar. It can actually effect major systems of the body like the immune system, the digestive system, and our reproductive and growth processes.

Normally the stress response is self regulating. Example: a child gets lost - we go into a full alert panic as we try to find him or her, yet once we find resolve ( and the child ) our bodies become calm again. Balance. However nowadays everything has become full alert, the body never gets a chance to chill out - it never gets to recharge.

Which are the areas of the body that feel it most?

Digestion - when digestion shuts down it manifests itself physically; a stomach ache, diarrhea, or constipation - if you are stressed and shutting down digestion due to fight or flight responses you are creating a chronic concern. Our digestive system was not meant to be in constant stress. Woman experience Irritable Bowel Syndrome 3 times more than men

Immune Response - suppressed immunity occurs after repeated call to action. The immune system is a very complex balancing act, when it's in full working order it's pretty darn miraculous. Yet our full and rigorous lives have us increasing our immunity risk not only to infections but to more serious disorders. Auto-immune diseases are more prevalant in woman.

Cardiovascular Health - if you are constantly stressed you actually raise your heart rate altering your personal chemistry - this chronic acceleration increases risk for heart attack and stroke. Constant fight or flight response can cause an overproduction of cortisol and may have you feeling anxious and depressed

Nervous System - brain cells lose their ability to function and structure when stressed. This shows up in memory function. I thought my classic where is my car parked syndrome was a function of getting older!

Sleep Deprivation - chronic stress and anxiety contributes to sleepless nights, while normally this was thought to be a new mom syndrome, it is now is found in all stages of their lives - woman aren't getting enough sleep more than ever before. Woman tend to have more insomnia than men. Sleep is what recharges the cortisol connection.

Obesity - the collection of central obesity or the accumulation of abdominal fat is seemingly a direct corrulation to the levels of cortisol in the body, this apple type body shape increases the risk of heart disease dramatically.

SIX Ways to Manage MOM Stress

Being a single mom of two has had it's moments, however parenting by far has been the most rewarding thing I have ever done. Some of my very roughest times were managed simply by taking care of me first, being a better me - created me as a much better mom

ONE - Identify the stressors, we can not fix what we haven't identified. Strive to find solutions. Be determined. Besides creating less stress, strident problem solving is a great example for our families

TWO - Schedule personal relaxation times - simply pausing several times a day to breathe, collect and organize your thoughts can recharge even the busiests of moms. Additionally actually scheduling something, anything outside the home regularly can provide just the right relief valve, don't have the money? A walk with a friend is free. Just do it.

THREE - Eat right. We all know this. I have personally had success with being mindful, eating a variety of foods, and not buying the junk- if it's around - I'll eat it!

FOUR - When is bed time? We establish that routine for our kids perhaps it would benefit us as moms too. If our child doesn't get their nap are they cranky? fatigued? Why would we think anything less for us as moms - go to bed!

FIVE - Movement stimulates all the systems of the body. 10 minutes each and every day is better than nothing. Start with 10 minutes of anything after a big glass of water each and every day and see what a difference that makes for you

SIX - Oh my goodness -- Take your vitamins!! Nutritional gaps are inevitable, a really good multi-vitamin is a great start, yet often we need more. Not sure what you need ? I'd love to help.

Choose high quality nutritional supplements that can assist your stress free path.

Below are some specific and targeted solutions:

Stress

Immune Function

Heart Health

Sleep Assistance

Weight Loss


retro flickr image credit

Let's not forget that a sense of humor goes a long way too!

Karen Hanrahan ~ Wellness Educator/Nutritional Consultant/Blog Author
708.482.0678 ~ Websites: Nutrition Weight Loss, and Green Clean

        

Yesterday I got an MRI.

Between that and SOBCon08, I feel like I am in this warped time zone where I am moving at one speed and the rest of the world is at another

I am so behind.

In December of 06 I was rear ended.  It was a low impact accident in that nothing happened to my car, yet my glasses flew off my head and I was thrown forward enough to sprain my back and neck. Enough to still be dealing with that issue today.

Additionally I slammed my wrist on the steering wheel.  I have had wrist issues before, but this was very different, the pain was indescribable.  I couldn't pick up a glass of water, I couldn't comb my hair. Today I can use my wrist generally, but I am in constant pain. The alternative paths I chose to rebuild my hand have taken me far, however something is still wrong - thus the MRI.

I had to go to Cook County Hospital, as I don't have health insurance. What a place that is - what a process! The first time I went my very dear cop friend went with me.  I was there 6 hours to get a referral for the MRI. 6 Hours! I was only there 5 hours yesterday. 5 hours for a 45 minute procedure, in which I had an appointment for at 2. They took me at 4:30. I had to get there 90 minutes early. The small waiting room had one other individual that was an outpatient. He was snoring so loud - he could have opened and closed doors. If you want to know something about me, my tolerance for snoring is nill, private snoring - have at it, but public snoring?  I thought I'd lose my mind.  At one point I pulled a chair over to the other side near the receptionist... could I sit here? I am going to otherwise ring that guy's neck.

 
This is the old building, quite the place flickr image credit

They only imaged my wrist, but in order to be positioned correctly I had to lie on my stomach, my right arm stretched out super-hero style, my neck turned to the left. My neck today is tweaked, and the pain that position caused during the procedure had me silently weep - you have got to be kidding.

The tech shoved me in this tube and said almost as an afterthought close your eyes and relax - yeah right.

I tried to find a pattern in the noises I heard, some of the noises were very loud - the ear plugs they provided were a good thing - some noises just by the mere nature of them made my heart palpatate and some of the noises, formed words I thought that sounded like ...get me out, get me out, get me out.  Besides palpatating I found myself a bit panic stricken.   I didn't know what to think about, or my thoughts would be interrupted by the get me out chant. It was a real head trip. I did find that I eventually chilled. Proudly I got through it.

Turns out during the procedure there was a major fire drill, the hospital has these very very very long hallways, so when you are walking down you can see from one end to the other. The drill has all the doors along this long hallway close automatically, so what used to be a long hallway became a bit like alice and wonderland, VERY disorienting.
 
I never heard the fire drill

When I left the MRI department I couldn't figure out where I was. I have to tell you that the staffing at Cook County are very very helpful.  You'd have to be to work in a place like that. The parking lot is remote and we shuttle to the hospital on a bus, on the way home this HUGE woman, like a 4 seats wide woman - struck up a conversation with me. I could have talked with her all day. If she would have let me curl up in her lap I would have. 

These are the kind of experiences where a husband or a mom would have come in handy.


MRI flickr image credit

Karen Hanrahan ~ Wellness Educator/Nutritional Consultant/Blog Author
708.482.0678 ~ Websites: Nutrition Weight Loss, and Green Clean

        

A gathering of like minded individuals is a beautiful thing, a gathering of like minded bloggers gathered to learn about the business of blogging is even more of a beautiful thing. 

That was a mouthful.

The good thing about attending a weekend conference is that you get to go somewhere and be away and immerse.  The bad thing about attending a conference is you have to get back to the reality of your world.  Reality on Monday hits hard and fast. I always try and plan a re-entry day or at least a period of time to take what it is that I have absorbed and process it. Otherwise what's the point?  

Bear with me as I think out loud

Friday - The 3 Hour Cruise:

Friday night we all met in front of a hotel near the Chicago river.  There was a parade - hundreds of us, which visually was pretty darn cool as we headed to a river cruise across the bridge

Despite the rain, and boy did it ever rain, we went about meeting each other for the first time. I had a particular yearning to meet Robert Hruzek who is the creator of the What I Learned From writing projects I participate in. I so wanted to meet Wendy Piersall, who I admit I am a groupie of.  Wendy and her work in building networks of blog authors and her income producing blogs just blows me away - gosh - she has the most genuine smile.

I really REALLY wanted to meet and hear the performer and blogger Christine Kane. She and I have the collaging gene in common.  Her comparison of the blogging world vs the music world just cracked me up. She performed stunningly despite the poor acoustics - we were in the bowels of a boat for gosh sakes, her stage was constantly rocking! I am very drawn to her thoughty quirky prose and her voice just made me cry, she sings with heart.

Liz Strauss brought to life her famous open mic night complete with Klondike Bars which tasted really great, especially when it's been forever since you've had one!  When asked who were you your first blog post vs who you are now, my first post being about a year ago - 6 days before my divorce, I thought to myself - man oh man I was completely hanging by a thread a year ago. 

I wanted to meet Terry Starbucker (oh my gosh the man speaks in lyrics from songs!) and the ever dynamic and sassy Lorelle VonFossen, BOTH of which were a huge part of pulling this conference together - boy were they warm and welcoming to me! I ran into Brad Shorr, I had attended his workshop last June and turns out we had a lot more in common than either of us knew. I see us doing some work together which I am very excited about. Of course it wasn't hard to find Phil Gerbyshak, who looks exactly like his logo, gives a mean bear hug, he graciously posted about my B Happy Attitude Vitamin right before the conference. Liz Strauss posted the same post in her SOB Cafe this past Saturday - wow was that ever cool.

Timothy Johnson ( gave me a signed copy of his book; Gust: the Tale Wind of Office Politics, and graciously made sure I got to my car) and Joanna Young (from Scotland, provided me this weekend with a wonderful listening, loads of laughter, a few tears and great hugs ) They both were two others whom I had befriended and could hardly wait to meet.

I spent the better part post the cruise chatting with Derrek Semmler, who somehow seemed painfully shy. He is one of Wendy's blog authors and speaks to being a dad and a husband.  I found myself leaving comments in his section.  He has the most intoxicating wonderful laugh. A sweet, inquisitive man and a true gentleman in that he too made sure I safely got to my car.

All these amazing SOBCon 08 bloggers are people with remarkably diverse expressions. They use blogging as their medium to move their messages or businesses forward. It's positively astounding.

Saturday - Models and Masterminds:

On Saturday we culminated in this very downtown Chicago-esque facility known as The Summit Executive Center,  I have to compliment Liz Strauss for sticking with her idea of creating a city - our city - experience, I thought the Summit Center was way cool.  I have never been in a room with so many lap tops and the 10th floor views were breathtaking! I happen to know that Louise and staff from the Summit Executive Center were especially attentive to the needs of our group, as I bet as they are for all of their patrons.  The breakfast and lunch buffets were awesome and healthy ( oh my gosh it's so refreshing to see healthy food at these things ) 

Each table was a Mastermind Group for the agenda on Saturday.  Thank you to Amy L ( who as small as this world is had the same choral teacher in her HS as my daughter does at camp!!) Andrew Dubber ( who came all the way from the UK and could meet my son when he comes back to Chicago to teach for a week at Columbia), Mark Carter (who attended a blogging conference without having a blog) and David.  We tackled together the task of saying what it is we do in 10 words or less. I actually didn't find my 10 words right away.  Creating Healthier Lives is what I came up with later.  What do you think guys? Damn - if that isn't just 3 words!! Not to mention it encompasses all that I believe in. Do you like it?

The line up on Saturday was impressive - some pretty gosh darn big names in the blogoshere. Some of which I had never heard of.  Each brought a very unique perspective to biz school for bloggers or the theme for the weekend - I again applaud Liz Strauss, Terry Starbucker and Lorrelle Von Fossen - the programming was wonderfully intentional 

In conferences I have attended in the past we give handwritten notes to the speaker - having been a speaker - there is nothing quite like having something to say and then having a flurry of scraps of paper with comments affirming HOW what you said made a difference for them.

I know that in bloggy fashion, we send link love instead, and I will do that , but each of you had an impact on me that surpasses just linking to you. 

Here is my virtual scrap of paper acknowledgment flurry: 

Anita Bruzzese- I value sourced materials, as a matter of fact that is what my reputation is built on, so I truly appreciate you speaking to that. I also appreciated hearing the grace in which someone should correct something they may have missourced or misspoken. Having something like that to deal with on the table right now,  I now have an approach that I can utilize. Perhaps it was me,  but I sensed that you were new to blogging. If that's so welcome - we all have been new. 

Brian Clark - I loved the triple "A" Model! I give particular attention to the design of my nutritional consulting practice.  I could definitely be more practiced with my blog posts and the way I affiliate to my nutrition site. I have to be more clear that I am in business. You drove that message home for me. I appreciated the comment you made about paying attention to what it is that people say - people will tell you what it is they need. I know I can listen more intentionally. Especially if it makes me a stronger blogger. 

Lorelle VanFossen - You, my dear are a bundle of colorful energy, your enthusiasm for teaching and sharing touched me in many ways - your simple lesson in helping us say what we mean in 10 words or less, and the struggle that I had in initially doing that was very insightful. You will be getting a little package in the mail from me (and you know what I am talking about!) Thank you for your warmth, your fabulous hugs and for being such a dynamic presence this weekend. 

Chris Garrett - Anyone with a British accent is someone I want to bottle up and have whisper in my ear forever. You shared tangible real action tools that yes parallel a business process, yet also something applicable to blogging.  I have not  put my blog into a "get more bang from your blog" model. I appreciated the gentle prodding. You shared sensible tools that speak to the way I already choose to organize my business, like your calendar, your moleskin and telling stories. Why do we make these things so hard?  I am so awed by your breadth of knowledge. Thank you so much for the few hrs we spoke on Saturday night about everything and anything BUT blogging. Ha! I hope you add to your planning the most perfect day and why. 

David Bullock - I think it's the coolest thing that you came to our weekend with such little understanding of blogging and that you GOT, its value, its hum and its heart.  Having you say that outloud just completely blew me away.  Seeing the engineer in you sharing your flow charts really appealed to the visual need I have to understand flow, especially in how it applies to our work and to the way we parallel our work with our blogs. Several times you spoke to sharing the future a client might want to have. If they see the impact on themselves they will want it, will it and will afford it.  That's a pitch I can definitely apply to my writing.  P.S. Not sure if you're really into selling fish goo, but gosh if a quality sourced fish goo is of interest to you or those you know perhaps we should talk! 

Chris Brogan - You spoke to belief, being human, about people and about love. You spoke about it in a way that was enrolling, captivating and captures the way I love to write and do business - based solely on what one believes in. I work in an industry that often people don't trust, yet I want them to trust me. I want to strike the pose that not only is different, but that leads with example. I was inspired.  Most of all, I can get rid of those doubts or maybe I should do things differently. I am completely on track.  Thank you for using stunning colorful and personal pictures, expressive languaging with warning ( ha!) and lastly for the gesture of your suit coat to keep me warm Saturday night. That was positively the coolest thing ever.  

Wendy Piersall- I experience you through your blog as one passionate lady.  To have you attach heart to the weekend could not have been more perfect. Thank you. You will have to explain to me sometime why you switched from a single blogger to the multi-author model, and now it's newest format. I am not sure why you're doing that and am insanely curious. I totally meant to ask you that.

Sunday Challenge and Commercials:  

On Sunday morning there were a series of 5 minute speakers from the group who prepared 20 slides to either share their ideas about blogging or their work. I was very impressed with how much can be shared in 5 minutes and in how many different ways - it was an excellent way to get to know someone in depth AND an excellent example - It made me wonder what I'd do in 20 slide show way to share my message.

We also got to vote on those who entered the "Get My Message" Contest.  What an eclectic collection of entries. The woman who won Jen Knoedl,  had left a sour taste in my mouth with something she said earlier in the conference - I know I can be like any other woman and pre-judge.  I judged her and based on that comment I decided I didn't like her. I'm embarrassed to say that I was caddy, but it's true - She changed my mind when she did her 5 minute slide presentation without slides - that took guts.  She compared blogging to dancing, hmmmmm something she and I have in common and I thought it was wonderfully clever and creative. In her commercial she completely changed my mind and I was enchanted. Within her character which I originally categorized in my mind as bitchy, she shared sweetly, enthusiastically and with great humor, her journey to happily ever after.  Wow - her commercial was priceless and original - just like she is! Something can always be learned by first impressions. Like don't go there.  I'm sorry I did that.

Sims from Utterz was a doll helping me get my collage live for the contest, how cool to meet him. ( Thank you!)

Rick Mahn  who was recommended by the dear Jon Swanson ( it was so great to meet you! When Liz shared you originally she said you were dear and I have to agree ) Rick is going to teach/help me back up my blog - after losing 7 years of outlook files recently I need to protect this blog. He was so eager to help me. A stranger.

Sunday afternoon after lunch - I hung out for sometime with Stephen Smith aka @stephen ( thats a twitter thing right?), who is eagerly building a business on the getting things done aspect of multi-media - I love this quote. "The future is here, it's just not widely distributed yet" which can be found on his business card. He helped me with some back end strategies on my blog. We too digressed into multiple layers of conversations about all kinds of things and laughed like crazy.

As Liz Strauss would say, People are cool. That's all I can say. People are just cool.

I met Liz Strauss through my bloggy mentors Derrick Sorles and Michael Snell. She took me under her bloggy wing as she does with so many others and makes us not only feel welcome,  she makes us feel special. That is what she does.

I don't know why I felt I had to say all of this, but I did. I expected many things from SOBCon08, yet I didn't expect it to feel this way - so meaningful.  I didn't expect that from blogging either

P.S. Randomly I met many MANY other impressive bloggers; all of which I want to get to know better; Kristen King,Tammy Lenski, Karen Putz, Stephen Hopson, Ruth Marie Sylte, Michelle Vandepas, Dawud Miracle, Vicky H., Sandy Renshaw, Barbara Rozgonyi, Clay - Gosh I sure hope I don't insult someone by not mentioning or linking to all of them.

P.S.S.  From a business perspective this weekend, many were interested in my services.  Imagine that! Silly me didn't expect that either


very nice capture of this view which is what I looked at throughout the conference by wendy piersall

Karen Hanrahan ~ Wellness Educator/Nutritional Consultant/Blog Author
708.482.0678 ~ Websites: Nutrition Weight Loss, and Green Clean

        

This is H1

This is H2

This is H3

This is H4

This is H5

        

I was a white knuckle email-er. Deathly afraid of this unknown cyber space thing.

Yup - prior to 1997, I had nothing to do with computers.  I was a terrible typist, dyslexic queen of america and had no understanding of the internet.   That was all geek stuff. I can thank my ex for introducing me to computers, and the internet and the potential it would bring for my work. I had always known that I learned and processed things differently. I was challenged my whole life because of it but email and computers really helped me actually SEE this. I was 37 yrs old before I understood the depth of which my dyslexia hindered me.

What does this have to do with the SOBCon 08 commercial contest? 

The contest seemed really techy to me, so much so, that I wasn't going to participate.  I felt in over my head.

Yet in my head all these ideas kept popping up.

Creatively I had to find a way to participate that was me.

Thus this post about the 4 collages that I did on Sunday.

Collaging for me is a very tactile, creative outlet.  It's remarkably visual, pleasing, simple to create and always insightful. Plus the collages I made brought to life the ideas I had about what blogging has meant to me. 

I then decided that I needed  to add text to the collages. Originally I thought this scrapbooking software  could help me.  Turns out it was too complicated, plus the files were not easily duplicatable

Then Liz Strauss, the dear, suggested that I create a power point slide show with inserted text

(Oh yeah !!  I did that once! )  

She then suggested, as only Liz can,  oh just convert the power point to video using free software 

(thats a handy dandy thought! )

and sooooo I did!!  Is that techy of me or what?? 

Except when I uploaded my video to utterz, the images were really fuzzy and too small.

Drat. 

So I re- created larger images in power point - reconverted it to video and now the darn thing wouldn't upload  at all - perhaps it's too large ?

I even thought proudly and in such a resourceful way, that maybe I could upload it to Flickr.  I do that when my picture files are too big, but alas utterz wouldn't nibble on that either. 

So I really do have a video entry to the Get My Message SOBCON08 Contest...you can view it here  

I even have some music to go with it, how to insert that of course is a whole different conundrum
 
Maybe I'll win that nokia phone!! Of course if I did, I'd have to figure out how to use the darn thing.



where are the tech geeks when you need them flickr image credit


Karen Hanrahan ~ Wellness Educator/Nutritional Consultant/Blog Author
708.482.0678 ~ Websites: Nutrition Weight Loss, and Green Clean

        

It's the last day of April, a month that begins with a fools joke and lot's of really bad weather, at least here in Chicago,  and ends with a huge whew.... I got my taxes done and more bad weather!! 

I have been setting aside my nutritional supplemental advocacy for green awareness throughout the month of April now since 1997. This year I noticed that Earth Day in some circles has turned into Earth Month, and that makes me wonderfully happy.

From a business perspective selling and sharing green clean is a different beat, a different focus and truthfully not nearly as lucrative as the nutritional side of my consulting. See, I work for points. One bottle of remarkable all purpose cleaner that has 1001 uses and will last you approx 4 years gives me about 5 points.  My bonus and profit = something like $6. It's not going to feed my family, provide a vacation, or prepare me for retirement. Heck it can barely buy me 2 Starbucks latte's. With the turn around or potential for a repeat sale of 4 years, now that the products has been remarkably doubled in it's concentration, it means my follow up has to be pretty darn superb. ( not to worry, I am darn good at follow up!) I vow to continue to introduce the line, one person and one household at a time - just like the founder of our very fine company did when he created this product in 1956  

In my world we've been celebrating earth day every day for some time, the flux of eco friendly, green marketing this and that, green washing has me very frustrated, the message is mixed and the trends arising and misconception make me wish we could just go back to being hippies and sing kumbaya 

At the same time the awareness is rising and the messages are perculating and people are beginning to shift their ideas about what it means to really be green. For that I am also happy.

I tried to share as much information as I could this month to offer you a breadth of ideas to assist you with your very own greenness - I admit that the pile of " to write " in my green file is still bursting and so I will continue to share when I can. In the meantime I thought a great way to bring closure to April would be to provide you with a recap:


Five Ways to Go Green

Vinegar vs Organic Green Cleaner

Rachel Ray Says...

The Self Cleaning Bathtub

Gatorade or Pine Sol

Illinois Green Clean Schools Act

Green Fundraising

All Things Bridal - Green Gifting

Thank You for Our Trees

How Green is Your Village?

Natural Pest Control Rocks

Scour Naturally and Phosphate Free Dishwasher Powder


I am also would like to mention a group of green bloggers that I have befriended. This mention is long overdue, especially as we have continued to get to know each other.

Through an initial invitation from La Marguerite, one of my first bloggy friends, we are now all working together to share the green message.  Each of us has a different approach, message or style.  I am deeply privledged to say that I am part of this think tank and devoted green messengers.  I am incredibly proud of all of them. I am also very clear that the reach would not be nearly as viral if it weren't for the blogging medium. Most of us started blogging as a hobby are completely hooked!!  Besides being huge advocates for the planet we are all part of pioneering this 21st Century method of communicating. 

In Woman We Trust
Green Talk
Talk Climate Change
Greenadine's Weblog
Organic Mania
Scream to be Green
Philly Eco City

* note my dear green friends that there is a section now in my blog role that will highlight just you...soon. I promise.
( Did I miss anyone? )


ME .... writing green 

Karen Hanrahan ~ Wellness Educator/Nutritional Consultant/Blog Author
708.482.0678 ~ Websites: Nutrition Weight Loss, and Green Clean
 
How do you celebrate Earth Day?
If you're not cleaning green - what's stopping you?
 

        

Today this very fine April day...you know spring in Chicago and all --  it was snowing when I took the dog for a walk. I was wearing a hat, gloves and my winter coat. Excuse me? The term brisk walk had new meaning. Snow and flowers - does that make ANY sense to you?

Short Post.

I adore beets. I have never had much luck making them, seemingly they don't taste very good when I have tried, usually undercooked, not seasoned well. Something. I don't have a beets 101 booklet or anything.

Nutrient rich in betalains or naturally deep ruby red pigment, their antioxidant value is just superb. Carotonoids and Flavanoids are also a dynamic nutrient combo also derived from the strong pigmented foods they are derived from.

I thought I'd do some experimenting. This week I bought golden beets and got 4 huge organic ones for just $2.00. I have been grating them raw in my salads - love that and boy is the color lovely.

I made a roasted one tonight while baking a turkey breast.  I rubbed the beet with balsamic vinegar, sea salt and olive oil and wrapped it in parchment. It roasted a good hour.

It was positively delicious!  

I found two recipes here I'd absolutely love to try, I'll do that when I get some ruby ones!


sunny beet flickr image credit

Karen Hanrahan ~ Wellness Educator/Nutritional Consultant/Blog Author
708.482.0678 ~ Websites: Nutrition Weight Loss, and Green Clean
 
How do you celebrate Earth Day?
If you're not cleaning green - what's stopping you?

        

With this earthy green-centric focus this month coming to a close I decided to share two products of the week this time

I remember once I was cleaning the bathtub using an ordinary scouring powder, somehow I got some in my nose and about lost my mind with how much it burned, I thought to myself how much damage did I just do to myself.

I have mentioned before that when I decided to go green, one of the things that frustrated me was the fact that the natural methods;the lemon, vinegar, baking soda approach required alot of muscle power to get things clean - I felt I had to suffer to be green. Not to mention my house smelled a lot like a salad!  I thought gosh there has to be a more efficient non-smelly way to clean green

Phosphates are what had me originally search for a green alternative. I wanted to say no to detergents that would foster the overgrowth of foul-smelling algae from choking lakes and rivers. I could not find a phosphate free or chlorine free automatic dish detergent anywhere.

The automatic dishwasher powder I use now has absolutely no chlorine. 

One container of our product equals 2 - 1/2 boxes of Cascade! Wow!! 

AND it was the only thing on the market at the time that I could use in my dishwasher that was phospate free.

Got something really tough to scour off ?? Try a cleaning paste that smells a little like something between bubble gum and cherry Kool-Aid. Gentle in that it won't scratch, but mighty in that it works really well! Every single person I know who I have shared this product with is equally astounded by it.  You need a very small amount to get the job done. Pick your very toughest stain and let this green alternative scouring paste take it on!!

It even cleans burnt - on food in your oven yet doesn't burn off your nose hairs in the process

Need to review why we are avoiding these nasty chemicals in the first place ? Here are so