{TSSN} Week 2: Hold the Hail, please.

So, after pore strips, I was ready to conquer something more. Everyone knows less sugar in your life, the better it is for you. Er...right.

I suffer from migraines, so I figured it might prove healthy to try being off sugar for one week and see how it felt.

HA HA FAIL.

Before the week started, on Sunday, I made a big batch of peanut butter brownies (I ate 4...) and drank lots of raspberry lemonade. (The raspberry was actually coffee syrup, which proved to be...rather eccentric in lemonade). I figured if I was going off sugar I might as well LIVE IT UP! Which only resulted in a headache that night and regrets about that fourth brownie. Darn.

Monday, I woke up refreshed (strangely) and ready to tackle my work schedule. Needless to say, the day went horribly... sugar-wise. I succumbed to two more brownies, some leftover lemonade and, horror of horrors, I found a twizzler to devour. Insert tears and another headache and I flunked the first day off sugar. >.<

Tuesday was definitely a better day. But only because I skipped breakfast and just had green tea with my Japanese cuisine for lunch. I managed to only put one packet in the two cups of tea I drank. A feat since green tea is of course, rather bitter. Wednesday I tried oatmeal without brown sugar, and drank lots of water and ate sugar-free jello. Thursday told me that the jello wasn't sugar free and I got a headache, and today, Friday, was strangely uneventful. I still had a headache, but I figured it was from my awesome sparkly silver headband.

Experience: No sugar for....6-ish days.

Lesson Learned: If there's one thing I've learned, it's....AH, FORGET IT. Considering the fact I'm already completely off all--and any--forms of dairy and shellfish, adding sugar on top of that was literally wayyyy too much.

Conclusion: I resolve to work on downsizing my sugar intake; but not completely eliminating it. Otherwise, I'll just be eating carrots, whole bread, and water for the rest of my life.


For you,

Dirty Roses

   Valentine's Day is a holiday celebrated with special evenings out, boxes of delicious chocolates and bouquets of seductively sweet roses. But people rarely realize that our romanticized day of love isn't as untainted as it seems. 

   I've tried, I really have, but I can't seem to completely stop buying things at Wal-Mart. I mean, for crying out loud, sometimes they are the only people who sell an item I need without paying an arm and a leg for it. I don't shop there exclusively, but I do find myself visiting our local Wal-Mart frequently even though I hate it. Some people have tried boycotting Wal-Mart because of their policies for supporting gay rights in recent years. Personally, after shopping last Thursday at my local Wal-Mart, the gay rights issue seemed really small...when you compared it to a $2.50 single cut rose.

   My friend and I were in Wal-Mart last week when I happened to see several boxes of single roses (ironic, really) for sale, displayed right out in the center aisle, tempting you with their cheap price tags. Selecting a cream rose with pink tipped petals, I stuck it under my arm to carry and finished my shopping. After purchasing the rose, throwing the bag in my car, we set off to do other things. Normal scenario, right? Wrong. When I got home, I stuck the rose in a vase, hid it in my closet to give to my sister for her birthday later, and checked my email. I get a daily "dose of good" by the Good people, a subscription for a website that reports "good" or interesting news and I subscribed to their feed. Surprisingly, I received an article from them talking about violent labor abuse in the flower industry in Ecuador and Colombia. Interested, I clicked on the link and read the article. Immediately, my journalist’s curiosity got the best of me, and I started researching. I glanced at the rose I bought, and the tag said it was from Ecuador. Somehow, I knew, this rose had a story to tell.

  Ecuador is one of the largest exporters of flowers. Mainly, hothouse roses are distributed to larger nations like the US during holidays or to mass retailers like Wal-Mart. 84.5% of school age children in Ecuador work jobs in the flower industry. Some children work in exchange for a lunch and their shifts can be several hours long. The safety and health conditions of the flower factories are deficient, causing more risk for health problems in the young workers. It is estimated that 80% of the flower industry work force consists of minors, largely being younger than 18 years of age. In a report on the conditions of child labor in Ecuador by the UN, "Ecuadorian legislation states that fifteen years old is the legal age for a teenager to start working for a maximum of six hours a day ...but this is far from the reality of the labor market." 

   The fact that there are thousands of kids working these dangerous jobs is disturbing as it is. But it's also very disturbing that many of the young female workers are being sexually exploited as well. Forced prostitution is a serious problem in Ecuador. The government is trying to crack down on factories and industry tycoons to eliminate forced prostitution and improve working conditions but Ecuador's shattered economy is what is forcing the minors to work...just to stay alive. A report analysis by International Confederation of Free Trade Unions stated that, 
 “Child labor is widespread in Ecuador, with estimates of half of the children between 10 and 17 being employed. Many of the children work in agriculture, including for exports, whereas many others are involved in domestic work, work in family businesses and in commercial

activities such as vending. The worst forms of child labor are also prevalent including begging

and child prostitution.”

   So, when I looked at the rose I bought, something stirred inside me. Flowers are one of the most beautiful things on earth; they are like little rays of sunshine given to people to signify affection and love. And yet here they are being grown and cut by little kids not much older than my younger brother and sold in a Wal-Mart, the very image of how little we realize, as Americans, that we are so fortunate to live as prosperously as we do. But my question is how unsighted has America become? So blind that we don't even care where our products come from or how they got there, but just that they have the cheap enough price for us? Are we sacrificing frugality over ethics? I will never look at hothouse flowers the same, ever again. True, this doesn’t just happen with flowers. Even the clothes on my back could have been made in a sweatshop; but flowers? Ross Wehner of the Organic Consumers Association wrote, “Although the symbol of romance for Valentine's Day is the rose, Ecuadorans say it is their source of misery and illness. Behind the beauty of the estimated 110 million roses that Americans will give their loved ones [are] flower workers who suffer serious health problems from pesticide poisoning, according to local doctors and the United Nations.”

   The very symbol of beauty and affection propagated by such pitiful—and often devastating—means is something too heartbreaking to ignore. I literally lost sleep after finding out about Ecuador’s flower industry. But all I can do is save the rose’s petals as a reminder that sometimes the cheapest bargain may not be the best bargain. To hold that rose, and know that some little enslaved kid held it, even just for a moment, really changes your worldview. I hope this article has touched you in some way, because even though I’ve tried, words cannot amply describe my grief for buying that rose, and the very high possibility of it coming from a factory with thousands of impoverished children working there. I can’t explain why the rose made my heart saddened. I can only tell others the roses’ heartrending origins.  

To avoid this problem in the future, look for flowers that are “fair-trade certified” such as One World Flowers, World Flowers, or the Inbloom Group.

If you would like to learn more about products sold around the world made by forced/child labor, I highly recommend visiting this website.

Always for you,

Some {Important} Things Guys Should Know About Girls

 {A big thank you goes out to all the ladies that helped contribute to this!}

Easy Read for Men: The important parts are in bold.

"Please?"

Everyone knows there's a big difference between waffles and spaghetti. And everyone knows the major differences between female and male humans. But just how big are we talking?

Thanks to some (female) friends, I've collected some heartfelt information directed towards our male acquaintances that could very well make guys better understand females, or not. Best of luck at trying to figure us out, bub! But seriously. Being completely ignorant of how women work will just lead to further pain and mortifying embarrassment. Well, not really, but you get the point.

So, let's get to it!

 " 'I don't wanna talk about it', means we do want to talk about it."

Ladies are complex creatures, obviously. Heck, I'm female and I will gladly tell y'all that first off! Everyone should know that females generally like to converse in words more than men do. So, when the girl says she doesn't want to continue talking about a certain issue, what she's really saying is, "Prove to me you care by getting me to open up. That shows me you care about my feelings, and that you want to help me."
But remember, don't push her, encourage her. And if she throws a book at you after you've asked several times if she wants to talk about it, let her cool down a bit before expressing your concern again. Remember, we're complex, but completely lovable. ;)

"When a female has a problem and tells you about it, she just wants you to listen to her and pray for her. She does not want you, the male, to express your opinion on how to fix the situation. She knows how to fix the situation. She just wants your sympathy, an open ear, and encouragement. Males skip the listening part a lot of times. They should learn to just listen."

This is also very true. PLEASE PAY ATTENTION HERE! Yes, getting her to open up by expressing an interest is very good but don't immediately jump into a "Problem Solving" mode. This just makes her feel less worthy, like the problem takes more importance than she does. It's like telling someone who's depressed to snap out of it, or telling a rape victim that oh, it happens to a lot of people. And yes, sometimes it is that serious to us more so-called "delicate" females.

"Guys should know it's kind of hard for us to know what's going on inside their heads/hearts if they don't say anything!"

luv ♥

It baffled me how each one of these things that our ladies expressed all went hand in hand. Guys, make the effort to not just get her to talk, and to listen, but to also share your own feelings, which is what a woman really needs. She needs acceptance, understanding, and more importantly love. And nothing says "I love you" more than risking your reputation/ego/pride/etc by opening your own heart to her. I think a big reason why people have communication problems is because men won't open up, and women assume things because of the lack of input. Make it your goal to listen and share, and it will help bridge the gender-gap that so many of us have a hard time understanding.

"My eyes are literally up here dude! I think all chicks hate it when that happens."

Visual. Yes, we know y'all are visual. But guys, c'mon. Man up and start respecting the ladies. Sometimes I just wanna smack some of you, because even though you were created for...well, sex, it's not that hard to make the effort to respect a woman. Look her in the eye. If you strive to be respected by the ladies, do the same for them. Be careful of her feelings, share your thoughts when she's talking seriously, admit it when you're wrong, and above all, love her. That doesn't mean just saying it, it means being it. Contrary to popular belief, you don't have to prove you love her, you've already done that if she wants to be with you. You just have to be there for her. Show her that she means so much more than anything else in the world to you. It isn't weakness, it's love. 

Lastly, I would like to share something a dear friend of mine wrote:

Except her, love her, want her, exactly the way she is.

Girls are not all alike. Some see things from a completely different viewpoint than others and react in equally unique ways. For instance, I do not tend to know how to "fix" a certain situation; therefore, my goal in explaining it to someone else (male or female) may be seeking wisdom or suggestions from them. I don't always just want someone to listen to me, I tend to want some type of input. I agree that there are times when I really don't want anything other than encouragement and prayer. I think that's probably true for most people, including guys, but I wouldn't really know, would I? ;) 

Personally, I enjoy the opportunity to be the one who listens and know that a guy friend has enough trust/confidence in you that they want to talk you.

Also, speaking for myself and perhaps not all girls, I do not like classification. When a guy dismisses something that I say, merely because they feel that I, as a girl, don't understand, I am not amused. Not to say there aren't boundaries...because it's true, I won't understand certain things due to my gender. ["You didn't like that hopelessly romantic MOVIE?!?!??!? WHAT?!"] It's a FACT that women think almost entirely different than men. I suppose that's like guys and their egos, many girls have a certain amount of pride....pride that can be hurt. Even when it is said in fun or joking, most girls that I know do not like to hear themselves classified or (do I dare say it) stereotyped ; whether it's "blonde," "preppy," "know-it-all," "sensitive," etc etc. Granted, we shouldn't act in a way that would cause anyone to give us those labels, but sometimes we slip up, and it happens.

Last thing, again speaking mainly for myself, girls(this one, at least) have a very hard time "summing-up" or explaining anything in a small amount of words. Thus, we tend to be confusing/boring/ "wait, what? you were still talking... oh...." There are few things I appreciate more than for another individual (again, guy or girl) to actually take the time and consideration to everything that I said and give me input. Few things hurt more than to find out they really weren't listening or just pretended to be interested.

On the that note, guys stop being sarcastic. It's not appealing. Girls are hurt many times by unknowing males simply because they were sarcastic in conversation. Don't treat your girl friends like your guy friends. They deserve a much higher level of treatment. There is a place and time for sarcasm, but use it minimally. Trust me on this.

Well mon amies, that about sums it up. I have a feeling the "Some {Important} Things Girls Should Know About Guys" is going to be much shorter. ;) If any of you gentlemen read through this, it must be because you either like my blog way too much, or you're actually interested in being a better man when it comes to interacting with us conniving women. x]
Remember, the more you are actively involved in a woman's life, the more it requires you to love and respect her. And she then will respect you, because you respected her first.

For you,

Dumster Bags, Petrified Roosters, My Music Slump, and Rubix Cubes

Just throw it in the Bag...

You have to hand it the eco-friendly people, they are pretty creative. Finding ways to use less or re-use, or use up what you have to me seems like it would be tricky, but worth it. Recently at Lowe's I noticed a new eco-item for construction projects. Dumpster bags! You just fill the green (of course) large recyclable Bagster© by Waster Management with your construction leftovers and the company comes and takes it away for a reasonable collection fee (compared to the price of renting and using a regular dumpster). It's made out of canvas that's completely reusable and is large enough to accommodate a small dumpster size's worth of trash, or around 3,300 lbs of debris.You can fill it concrete, or landscaping scraps, or whatever other construction type of trash you'd wish to throw away. Talk about cool :] The two only problems I could find with this method of eco-trash removal is that the Bagster© is not waterproof and the collection fee in some rural areas can be up to $129. Other than that, I'd say it's a pretty nifty idea...

Ewwww.

Chickens. Blah. Don't get me wrong, I adore a chicken in the form of edible food, but not in "real life." I can take Gen Tso's Chicken, chicken strips, Arroz con Pollo, cold chicken salad. Just not, for the love of bagels, a real live Americana hen! I think it's the chicken doo, squawking, and yellow beady eyes that get to me. Urgh, those eyes! It's like they can SEE into my soul. Hideous things, but fascinating when around little kids. My parents' neighbors down the lane recently adopted two Ukrainian brothers, ages being about 3 and 5, and they stopped over on one hot afternoon as the family was out of a lark of walk. A hot one, but they are avid walkers! At the house my mother has a few mobile pens with various breeds of chickens. Young chicks, year-old roosters, mother hens and the top rooster, stray roosters, the Big Huge Ugly laying hens, and more. The little boys were extremely fascinated with the roosters--namely, gently tormenting them in a young child-like fashion. Alexsander, the younger one, immediately ran over to the young roosters pen squealing in delight about the chickens in a language I assume was Ukraine. He poked his little fingers through the pen and that near about did for the frisky rooster boys. POW- SQUAWK- FLOOF! The roosters exploded into a pile of feathers, running to the other side of the pen for their dear skinny-necked lives, screaming protests. They were more skiddish than a pair of little girls finding a snake! Quickly rebuked for scaring the chickens, Alexsander was swooshed back into his mother's arms, but he craned his neck to watch and laugh at the roosters, who were squealing their protests and fluffing their rusty feathers in annoyance. I stood a few feet away, grinning, as I watched the whole scene play out. I have an idea me and Alex are going to be real, real good friends.

Hilariously idiotic? Heck yes.

What is it with music these days? I wish we could all go back to the days where songs were complicated stories.  All these modern boppy tunes of repeated choruses with alotta bass seem to be geared toward teenage audiences that are assumed idiots with no musical taste whatsoever. Just whatever is catchy and fast, cool and fun sounding right? Who cares about the lyrics, the distasteful use of explicit words, and ridiculous beating background noise? Or worse, the trashy lives of the singers. Well, I'll admit it, pop songs, soft rock, techno, punk etc...I do enjoy it when I'm out driving with the sun shining and the world is moving fast. Heck, even the beat goes with the road bumps sometimes! But try listening to Katy Perry's Teenage Dream, Timbaland's If We Ever Meet Again, or Mike Posner's Cooler than Me while trying to read a book...nearly impossible. But what's the solution? Beethoven?  Hymn songs? Folk lore strumming? Or worse, ethereal notes of New Age? No thanks. There just doesn't seem to be a neutral area. Either it's too plunky, too poppy, too rockish, too classical for my taste. I guess I shall dub this condition I have a ''Music Slump''.

WOWzers. DA-Huuuude. Geewilikers.

 4x4 Rubix Cube

I met this 12 year old kid at a neuro clinic today that could solve a 5x5 Rubix cube in less than 5 minutes. You could hear the rattling of the cube as he worked it with his slim agile fingers all the way across from the room, where his mother sat unfazed. She calmly explained to me that he could do a 3x3 Rubix in less than 30 seconds....I probably couldn't even solve one in 30 years. He showed me all his other ones that he had toted along in a reusable grocery bag (6x6, 5x5, 7x7, and a 9x9) and commented on who he hasn't quite figured out a 7x7 since he just got it yesterday for his birthday. The boy then carefully explained that the key is practice, but also a high quality Rubix that can shift easily, aiding in quick time to solve the cube. He looked like a nerdy genius and man, he sure could solve that cube fast! The things you learn while waiting in a reception lobby...




Sincerely Yours, Lizzie ♥

Crapple Pies, Bruises, and Paper Wasps

    Alright, I promised my friend Candi I'd blog about them...so here goes :) You know, McDonald's right? Heck who doesn't. Well, through careful observation, taste-testing, and studious thought, I think I'm finally ready to write to McDonald's and suggest a unique and wonderfully descriptive name for their so-called "apple pies". Call 'em Crapple Pies! LOL! Yeah? Oh c'mon, you know I'm right. It's a disgrace to even say they're pies at all. Have you ever compared those squared stamps molten hot with foreign objects in them thingys to the REAL thing? You'd probably get a taste score of negative -50. I do admit, I used to eat them alot...late night, pick up a small fry, a coke, and pie right? Wrong. No more. Nuh-uh. Not doing that anymore. Bleah, the last one I had was a partially burnt one in a remote Oregon town that I ate anyway because I was so starved. (It was like 10:30pm at night, you see.) It not only burnt my tongue into oblivion, but it also lost my appreciation for McD's tasty CRAPPLE pies. So, I abstain from them....unfortunately, I'm too much of a good person to actually go and do suggest the name Crapple Pies to the McDonald's Admissions Office (or whatever fancy name they call it) so just be satisified about laughing at it here.
Wait, why am I frequently mentioning McDonald's in my posts?! This is sick. I hate McDonalds. Oh heck, who doesn't.

Bruises. Funny, weird marks on your body that show up in the most annoying places with no memory usually of where they came from. Hunh. I'm pretty sure they've ended up on my Nature's Mysteries list by now. recently I walked into my mom's kitchen, looking for a snack to pass me off til she finished dinner, and all of a sudden she cried out, "Woah! What is THAT?" and pointed at my leg. Innocently, I looked down at the spot whilst she was pointing, and cried out, "Woah-h-h-h! What is that?" Strangest bruise mark I've ever seen. Usually when I get bruise its a small, darkish red spotch. This one was a perfectly and brilliantly blue SPOT. No kidding. I do not remember backing up into a metal pipe, or knocking a hammer smack-dab (cool term, eh?) on my leg so this was all very strange. I gingerly touched the area and WOOOOO man, it hurt. Normally bruises for me just have that achy sensation, never the big, honking neon sign saying "OUCH" type of pain, lol. After that little bit, I finished scrounging for my snack and basically forgot about it. Later, while I was on a camping trip with my friend Kate and her grandparents, I noticed it again.

A week had gone by and the bruise had now turned into a dark purple ring. Funny thing was that were was in the dead center of the bruise ring, a freckle! Katie and I laughed at the weirdness of it and then went body surfing in the river, at which I hit a huge sharp rock dead on my butt and have a large butt bruise from it. Anyway, on the ride homewards, a 5 hour drive, Gramma noticed me looking at the back of my leg and asked me what I was doing. I showed her the bruise and she said, "Oh my! Look at that mole in the middle of it! I think you better get that checked out." And went on for another 15 minutes or so talking about various nephews or nieces that had had cancer in different areas. Katie and I looked at each other and burst into silent laughter. The very thought of my little bruise and freckle being cancer drove us over the edge. We were sitting there laughing without making any noise, and I still laugh at remembering Gramma saying, "Look at that MOLE!" lol :) The bruise is gone now, and I still have a freckle....and yes, my butt still hurts too. But body surfing is SOOOOO worth it!!!

So...paper wasps. While taking a jolly ride around the yard in Karl, my sister's ex-car, I noticed a HUGE honking paper wasp nest in one of our planted cypress trees. I think maybe I'll go check it out tomorrow. JUST KIDDING. lol :) I know better than that, despite the rumors of me being blonde. There IS a difference between dumb and blonde, right? Right? lol :)




Sincerely, Lizzie ♥