The 10 Reasons Why I Stopped Using Plastic Water Bottles!

Are you still buying & drinking from plastic water bottles? Yikes. Good thing you found my blog! I filter regular tap water; it tastes great. If I'm on the go, I use a steel container (not aluminum!!) to drink out of. I will never buy plastic water bottles again & here's the 10 reasons why:

#1: Did you know that about 1/4 of all bottled water is actually TAP water? Dasani and Aquafina both admitted their product is nothing more than filtered TAP water! (You can do that for free at home.)
#2: Plastic water bottles are NOT safer than tap water (Plastic = BPA = Toxic = Cancer.) Advertisements have us brainwashed into thinking bottled water is safer than tap water, more pure, and from the mountains of Spring Water Happy-Land. (It's not.) 1 person from the FDA regulates the entire water bottle industry, aka nothing is really being regulated here.
#3: Water bottle companies (like Nestle, Pepsi, Coke) are taking fresh water from the Earth (for free), contaminating it with plastic, selling it back to us, and getting totally rich. (Who said that water was theirs?)
#4: These water bottle companies are corrupt and only care about power and money. (These guys claim water is "liquid gold" and are capitalizing on it BIG TIME). That pisses me off.
#5: These water bottle companies are barging into places like Maine, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Colorado, (just to name a few) and pumping (stealing) the water, causing lower water levels and throwing off natural ecosystems. (People aren't happy about that.)
#6: The plastic factories are using TONS of oil to make these bottles.
#7: The plastic factories where these billions of bottles come from are posioning the land and the people who live nearby because it is highly toxic.
#8: Americans use (and throw out) approximately 30 million plastic water bottles A DAY! The Earth is being seriously polluted because some of us are so wasteful.
#9: Even the bottles that are being "recycled" aren't actually getting recycled... more like piled up in landfills.
#10: It's a waste of your money! Water should be FREE!


I choose steel water bottles instead! You can purchase them from places like Kleen Kanteen, Reuseit.com, or Whole Foods to name a few. They are the way to go because stainless steel doesn't have those harmful toxins that plastic & aluminum has. I've read that glass is also a good option. Buy a water filtration system and hook it up to your tap. Reverse osmosis and activated alumina systems are great because they help to remove flouride found in tap. (I use Brita filters, but they do not remove flouride.) So there you go! These alternatives are more safe, environmentally friendly, and more affordable!  

So remember, big fat companies will say whatever they need to say to get you to buy their stuff, but don't fall for it! Most people believe everything they see on TV & read in magazines. Most people assume that their government has their best interest in mind. Unfortunately, this isn't the case. (It turns out the government and big companies only have their interests in mind). They've been selling us products that contain harmful toxins in them for years. You didn't think that cancer just "develops randomly," did you? If you put harmful poisons into your body, you'll develop cancer and disease over time. That's just what happens. But hey, don't take my word for it. Do some research yourself & get up to speed!


Check out this awesome video by The Story of Stuff Project that illustrates the truth behind bottled water and the importance of plastic bottle alternatives: 

Also, check out these two fantastic documentaries (that you can watch on Netflix) on bottled water that really spell out what's going on: FLOW and TAPPED. This blogger guy liked it too. Click the link to check out his blog entry/review.

The Lion King - "Oh I Just Can't Wait To Be Queen!"

What is your favorite scene in the Lion King?

I saw the Lion King in 3D this weekend. It was an arm tingly-goosebump experience. I haven't seen this movie since I was a little girl. I went with my bf, brother, & young cousins. Seeing it on the big screen with the music blaring was really incredible & I encourage anyone who's reading this to go out and do the same. (Well, you have until this Thursday to do so.) I felt like a kid again & was tearing up as soon as the movie started! I know some people figured it would be blurry in 3D, however we did not find this to be the case at all! During the raining scenes, it actually looked like it was raining in the theater! (Ok, like cartoon rain, but you know what I mean.) Sharing this great movie from my past with the little ones in my family was awesome too. I forgot how exceptionally well crafted the Lion King really is! The music, by Elton John, is outstanding ... oh it really brought me back to the good old 1990s! Watching the Lion King as an adult is a totally different experience than when I saw it as a kid, too. I get the spiritual message of the movie and the life lessons it teaches, including to respect nature and how we are all connected. I'm not a huge "Disney" cheerleader, but this film sets the bar. As anyone born in the 80's would say, "it's a classic!" If it's been a few years since the last time you've popped this tape in the VCR, I highly recommend getting your hands on a copy and watching it as an adult. You'll have a whole new appreciation for it, I promise. ;)


Mufasa: "Everything you see exists together in a delicate balance. As king, you need to understand that balance and respect all the creatures, from the crawling ant to the leaping antelope. When we die, our bodies become the grass, and the antelope eat the grass. And so we are all connected in the great Circle of Life."

That's what I'm talking about, baby! You know you love it!

xoxo

Taking Pictures of Yourself In the Mirror is _______

What started as a way for self absorbed adults to showcase their supposedly "hawt" bodies online in order to attract attention and get laid, is now a growing epidemic among recently sprouting teens. It seems that every kid online has a picture of themselves, taken by themselves, with their camera phone, in the mirror. Some even have a few "albums" with several photos of pictures they took of themselves making different faces. Cute? No, it's insane. For some reason these kids think it's normal. And that's generation Z (the internet generation) for ya.

Here's my personal theory on how this all originated: Back in the 1990's when the internet was first becoming popular & these kids were just being born, men and women alike realized that if they pile on enough makeup or flex their stomach in the right lighting, they could appear more attractive than usual in a fuzzy, online photo. If they stick socks in their bra and crop half of their face out of the frame, it would be completely artificial, but still pass as "super cute" and they might even score an online date. Woo-hoo! Fast forward a couple years and along come digital cameras and camera phones. Now you can view yourself before you snap the picture and erase the ones where you look totally not cute. If your camera phone doesn't have a screen, you have to look at yourself in a mirror & then snap the pic in order to get something pretty. You don't have to actually be pretty, or know much about anything to get this to work for you. What a great invention!

So the internet is booming and these kids are hitting puberty, so they whip out the web cams and cell phones because they are fascinated with their new "developments." (LOL). All of a sudden, kids are passing for young adults, taking inappropriate pictures, and publicly disgracing themselves. And then Miley Cyrus takes a pic of herself showing her stomach and all goes to hell. It's like these kids are obsessed with doing this. And when you can't think for yourself, you look to others to tell you what's "cool" or "normal." They think that's normal and they also think it makes them look cool. And unfortunately for them, their awkward self discovery years are permanently online for all to see. This generation of kids is proving to me that playing with a cell phone, immediately following the Speak-N-Say, isn't exactly producing independent, well-rounded citizens here. I know I'm being a little harsh, considering they are kids and most kids are immature... but it seems that regular access to the internet at a young age (when your brain is still developing) is making it easier for kids to whore themselves out and choose conformity over individuality. It's like watching a train wreck in slow motion.

If your online profile picture is of you taking a picture of yourself in the mirror, you are more than likely: not creative, a follower, self absorbed, desperate for attention, immature, vain, etc.

Hopefully, they will all grow out of it and prove me wrong! So what do you think? Taking pictures of yourself in the mirror is ____________.

xoxo

Colloidal Silver Cured My Strep Throat (A Natural Antibiotic!)

"Colloidal Silver is a powerful, natural antibiotic, a top quality immune enhancer for good health and is preventative against infections." - www.natrition.com. People have a lot to say about this stuff online, both good and bad, but all I know is that it cured my strep throat right away and it didn't come back.

A month ago I came down with strep throat in the middle of summer! Inflamed tonsils & white spots, ugh! I can't remember the last time I had strep, so I was a little unsure of what to do. I read online that strep is a bacterial infection and needs to be treated, otherwise it will only get worse. Instead of turning to a medical doctor, who I knew would prescribe me a nasty antibiotic (Penicillian), I asked my chiropractor what to do. He suggested Colloidal Silver.

You spray this stuff 4 times a day on the back of your throat 30 sprays each time, hold the liquid under your tongue, and then swallow it down. The very next day I already felt 75% better. By day 2, I was at 100%. This stuff worked wonders!

The best part is, I killed off the strep bacteria without killing off the good bacteria in my body. Everyone's body is equipped with an effective self defense mechanism (your immune system) that is either weak or strong based on your overall health. Even strong immune systems can get caught off guard when a new strand of bacteria or virus comes along, which causes you to get sick. When you take antibiotics from the pharmacy, your body's natural immune system is interrupted. The good bacteria in your body (needed for things like digestion and nutrition absorption) are being killed off! Not to mention, your liver is being damaged in the process. It's like your immune system partied too hard and blacked out. By the time it recovers, it doesn't know what just happened and your body is weaker. The bacteria presents itself again and you get sick.... again. Because when it was supposed to be learning how to fight off this bad bacteria, it was blacked out.

My brother had strep a month before I did and took Penicillian as prescribed by his doctor. The strep throat returned 3 more times before it finally went away. I took Colloidal Silver and I was cured in 2 days. Now my body is stronger and knows how to fight off that particular bacteria.

According to www.naturaltherapypages.com: "Colloidal Silver supports the natural defense system of the body and is powerfully alkaline. It works by acting as a catalyst, disabling the enzyme that single celled bacteria, fungi, and viruses need in order to metabolize oxygen. This suffocates the harmful cell while not harming human enzymes, resulting in the removal of the disease-causing organisms from the body. It is helpful against acne, allergies, arthritis, athlete's foot, boils, burns, candida, cystitis, diabetes, eczema, hay fever, indigestion, parasitic infections, psoriasis, ringworm, warts, and yeast infections." People also take this stuff when they're healthy to give their immune system a boost. Holy crap this stuff is awesome!

You can find Colloidal Silver at health store places like the Better Health Store, which is where I got mine. ;)

xoxo

The Sexiest Musicians - My Top 5

Being a musician is hot. And I don't mean just your average "singer" or "pop star," I mean a real musician, one who writes their own music. A real artist! I love listening to good music.... & I especially love watching a sexy artist perform!

Here's my pick of the 5 sexiest:


#5 Jack White - White Stripes

There's something about Jack White that is unconventionally sexy. He is so talented and writes great music, plus he's from Detroit! Not only that, but he can perform live and still sound great (which is what being a musician is all about.) Jack plays several instruments and his band is known for putting on a great show with only 2 members! That means while Meg is playing the drums, Jack is writing the music, singing, playing the keyboard, slamming on the guitar, working the harmonica, & playing whatever else they use. He makes it look effortless & that's sexy.




#4 Stephan Jenkins - Third Eye Blind

This band has an awesome sound that I absolutely love. Stephan is a sexy rebel who is very opinionated & isn't afraid to speak his mind. He's kind of like, crazy sexy. He probably did too many drugs in his day, he might be gay, and he might look really hit up nowadays, but Stephan writes kick ass songs and has a hot voice. He is sexy without trying.


#3 Mark Hoppus - Blink 182

First of all, Blink 182 is an incredible band that I have loved forever. Mark Hoppus has always been my favorite of the 3. Their songs & music videos showcase their humor and I dig it. If you can make fun of yourself, it shows that you don't really care what others think of you and you're not afraid to be yourself. Similar to Travis & Tom, Mark doesn't take himself too seriously, and that makes him very sexy. He is hysterically funny; it's obvious without knowing him personally. He also has super hot eyes & a tat free bod, which is different in that industry & therefore, yup you guessed it, sexy!


#2 Kurt Cobain - Nirvana

I love Kurt Cobain. Talented, sexy, kind, intelligent, funny, real. He wasn't fooled by the music industry's facade & stayed true to the music. Regardless of the media stories written about his "reckless" lifestyle, he was more productive than most Americans and extremely successful. He loved and respected women. He didn't slut around and flaunt his riches and fame. He stayed extremely loyal to the people who were there from the start. He's sexy because he didn't change himself to fit an image although he was pressured to, daily. A humble, genuinely good guy. ♥


#1 Brandon Boyd - Incubus

This is the type of guy who gets hotter & hotter the more you get to "know" him. It's not just his outer appearance that makes Brandon Boyd sexy, it's seriously everything about him. For being as famous and successful as he his, he carries himself very well and is approachable. I know because I approached him once. He's spiritual, intelligent, kind, humble, creative, and seems like a really down to earth guy! He always has something interesting to say and speaks well, not to mention his voice & talent is phenomenal. So when you combine inner hotness with outer hotness, you end up with superman irresistible! Brandon is my #1 pick for sexiest musician ever, hands down.

Thoughts on TV

It seems like everyone in America watches several hours of TV a day. Most people have TV sets in their bedrooms and watch TV while eating dinner. Some people go to sleep with their TV set on and I think that's insane. Ever stop to think how much control your TV has over you? You might not even realize it, but if you're like most Americans, your TV monopolizes a huge part of your life. Not just by how much time you spend staring at it with your mouth open, but by the ideas it plants in your head. (Ever notice how the TV never asks for YOUR opinion on anything? It's always telling you how it is, where to go, what the buy, what to think. Sounds like a rather unfair, manipulative relationship to me!)

This is an excerpt I pulled from csun.edu: "According to the A.C. Nielsen Co., the average American watches more than 4 hours of TV each day (or 28 hours/week, or 2 months of nonstop TV-watching per year). In a 65-year life, that person will have spent 9 years glued to the tube."

Do you realize what's happening to you when you watch TV? Your brain sort of turns off, and you enter a kind of "sleeping awake" state of mind. This is similar to the state you enter when undergoing hypnosis.

Do you watch commercials on TV? If you answered "yes," ummmmmmm WHY?!?! Seriously, you seriously sit through commercials? Personally, I can't stand them. Even though some are funny, they aren't designed for your entertainment. If you've ever done a little research in marketing you'd discover that commercials are packed full of LIES. They are selling you an image of how they want you to view their product. The models who are "using" the product do not "use" the product in real life. The amazing "anti-aging/reverses wrinkles" cream never works like they suggest or else it'd make the front page of the news. They try and brainwash you with their jingles that get stuck in your head or the colors they use in their advertisement. Companies spend bazillions of dollars on researching how certain colors and sounds affect YOUR brain. The really successful ones are sending messages straight to your subconscious - and you don't even know it's happening!

I admit that every now and then I'll watch a few decent shows that I have on Netflix. I only spend about 1-2 hours watching TV a day total, if that. There are some good, inspiring shows out there and some educational ones as well. The problem is, most people watch crap nonstop instead of doing something productive. I never watch TV if it's nice out & I absolutely do not watch the news or sit through commercials. TV is a distraction, it makes you dumb, it is a time waster. You weren't intended into creation to sit in front of the idiot box. If you are watching several hours of TV a day, you are wasting your life! Go out and create something!

If you want to learn more, visit this fun site: http://www.turnoffyourtv.com/


Books make you smart. Don't be a dummy.


-Cursive L.

7 Steps To Super Skin!

People often compliment me on my skin, so I thought I'd share my silly skin secrets. In the past, I used Proactiv cleanser & astringent. I do not recommend Proactiv (or anything that isn't all natural), despite the $millions$ companies like this one spend on advertising in an effort to make you think it's the best stuff out there. NOW my skin looks better than it ever has & I can tell you how I did it!

Steps to healthy, gorgeous skin:
1. Make a habit of drinking a lot of water, daily! This flushes the toxins out of your body. Add some lemon juice from an organic lemon, even better!

2.Try using a more natural cleanser. I use Alba Pineapple Enzyme Facial Cleanser with Aloe, Jojoba and fruit enzymes. I use this to wash my face only once a day, sometimes every other day. You don't want to be washing your face too much!

3. Switch your astringent to Witch Hazel by T.N. Dickinson's. It's all natural and leaves my skin feeling moisturized! (Proactiv astringent left my skin dry!) I use this twice a day to clean my skin. I always make sure to apply this all over my face before bed to remove the dirt & oil buildup from the day. That's important!

4. Start eating more organic foods and more fruits & veggies. I cut WAY back on junky, processed foods (which is practically everything in the grocery store). I stopped drinking pop/fast food and haven't looked back since. Also, cutting out DAIRY has helped many people. "You are what you eat" - Yup, it's true!

5. Fish Oil Supplements. I take 2 Tuna Omega-3 Fish oils (by Standard Process) with breakfast, and 2 with dinner. They are great for your skin and hair. (When buying any kind of supplement, make sure you are getting them from a place like Whole Foods, Better Health, or your Chiropractor. You can buy cheap supplements @ CVS, Walgreens, etc, but remember that quality counts. You want the high quality supplements made from whole foods!)

6. Stop touching your face! This took awhile to break the habit, but resisting the urge to rest my hand on my cheek or touch my face in any way, has really helped to get sexy skin!

7. No more makeup. As my skin started to clear up, I stopped putting foundation on my face. There's a few reasons why this helps your skin. #1, bacteria can build up on the brushes/sponges if they aren't replaced often. So when you apply a powder foundation (which I did) those old brushes get the gross bacteria on your face. Or if you apply foundation with your fingers... well you know, that's touching your face! No good! #2, makeup clogs your pores. Any day that you can get away without wearing coverup, SKIP the makeup!


So there you go! 7 steps to super, glowing skin!


-Cursive L.

Manifesting Your Desires

This is something that I love doing because it focuses your mind on what you want for yourself and it works (if you do it right)! This is also a great tool to use when you've been in a downer mood and are ready to switch gears. Creating a Vision Board is the easiest thing in the world. Cut out pictures/words/ideas from a magazine and paste them onto poster board. (You can reference that one episode in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia where they totally make fun of this, if that helps.) Fill your board with things that you want for yourself. It can be a picture of a happy couple if you want a romantic relationship, dollar signs if you desire more money, a monkey if you've always wanted a pet monkey, a sandwich if you're hungry, etc. Once you're satisfied with the final result, hang your poster up where you can see it daily.

If you are unfamiliar with "The Law of Attraction" you may not appreciate the significance of doing something like this for yourself. If that's the case, do a little research, baby! The basic ideas behind the law is that 1. it's always working for everyone, no exceptions 2. what you focus on with feeling will always manifest 3. you create your own reality. This means you have to stop playing the victim and steer your life in the direction you truly want to go.

Now you could get all logical about it and try and say it doesn't make sense or whatever because you're cynical like that OR you can just chill out and try to wrap your head around the concept of a universe that is far more intelligent, significant, and meaningful than your tiny, cute little human brain. Turns out it's millionaires, successful entrepreneurs, people like Oprah, etc, that are proclaiming this stuff works. (Come on people, Oprah!) It not only works for them, they say it will work for EVERYONE no exceptions. (And I don't know about you, but I'm going to take these extremely successful peoples' word for it, cause they obviously have it figured it out.)

The most important thing to remember when working with a vision board, especially if you want your desires to manifest quickly, is to FEEL what it would be like to have the things on your board and to do it often. Pretend like you have them. Imagine the feelings that you would feel if you already had them.

You're always manifesting the things that show up in your life. Most people think about things they don't want and spend their whole lives bitching about everything, which is so annoying. Then there's the naturally positive people who think about positive shit and they are considered "lucky." Doesn't matter what you've done in the past, you can change the way you think. The experts recommend at least dedicating 15 minutes a day doing this, with the ultimate goal being to feel good 24/7. The reason you need to feel your dreams coming true is because that is how you communicate what you want to your subconscious. Your silly subconscious is your "powerhouse" and decides what is coming into your life and what isn't. The more dedicated you are to this the better it will work for you.

Yes, I've had success over and over again using these techniques! If you're interested in learning more about this kind of stuff, check out these books:

Excuse Me, Your Life is Waiting by Lynn Grabhorn

The Science of Getting Rich by Wallace D. Wattles

The Vortex by Esther and Jerry Hicks (from the teachings of Abraham)

-Cursive L.