Having recently attended a Bar Mitzvah, I was prepared to give gifts for the children.  But to to my surprise, my friends chose a local Goodwill for each of the guests to make a donate. I am finding that this type of "Green Gifting" is happening quite a lot these days, especially for those who are financially secure. As part of my research, I located an exciting website that can help you with your Green Gifts this year.  The NRDC, the Natural Resources Defense Council, has a wonderful and easy way to give original Green Gifts. Choices include: Saving Wildlife, Protecting Wild Places, Reviving Oceans, Educating Kids, Fighting Pollution, Helping Low-Income Communities. You can help protect polar bear cubs, adopt a wolf in Yellowstone, plant a tree in Costa Rica, end commercial whaling, keep a baby buffalo safe from hazing and support many other great causes.  Let's all do our small part to effect the bigger change!

For more info:

https://secure.nrdconline.org/site/Ecommerce?store_id=2661

This past summer I was fortunate enough to travel for three months. I spent a month in Newport, Rhode Island and two months in Austria and Italy. I had a fabulous trip eating and drinking my way through these cities and countries. I was doing what the Romans do, especially in Italy. My trip through Italy went well for about two weeks, until I started suffering from hypoglycemia. I wasn’t used to the diet in Italy, and I was getting sicker and weaker after eating meals and drinking coffee and wine. I couldn't even hike after awhile—one of my great passions. When I left Italy for Austria, I met a waitress at my hotel, and she recommended a local ayurvedic resort to help me get my health back. I was so desperate that I went and checked in later that day.

In the past generation we’ve seen the amount of sugar we consume grow exponentially. Until recently, we had been eating sugar mainly found naturally in foods. It was used as a treat or in small quantities and was never a problem. But today, over a third of the calories we consume come from sugar or white flour, which is highly refined and acts just like sugar in our system. Our bodies cannot cope with such an enormous load. Sugar gives you an initial high, then you crash, then you crave more, so you consume more sugar. It’s this series of highs and lows that provoke unnecessary stress on your adrenals. You get anxious, moody (sugar is a mood-altering drug) and eventually you feel exhausted.

Sugar is also associated with many chronic problems that include decreased immunity, some chronic infections, autoimmune diseases, heart disease, diabetes, pain syndromes, irritable bowel syndrome, ADD, chronic fatigue, and candida. Research suggests that one of the main causes for decreased immunity is that sugars inhibit the entrance of Vitamin C into white blood cells, which then inhibits immunity. The more sugar, the less productive your white blood cells are and thus, the less immune you are. Furthermore, sugars stimulate insulin secretion in the pancreas, which in turn stimulates the liver’s triglyceride production. Triglycerides are linked to stroke, heart disease and obesity. The list goes on and on. This week, Dr. Frank Lipman provides us with all the info on how to curb a sugar addiction.

Love,
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APP, short for application, refers to an Internet program developed specifically for use on mobile electronic devices such as an iPhone or iPad.Its like a window, or access point to a software program or Web site that's been optimized to run on a smaller screen and use less computing power. For example, if you regularly log onto Facebook from a computer but want to get there on a mobile device like on Iphone or Droid, theres no need to use the Web browser.

Just download the Facebook app, and with the tap of a finger, access a version of Facebook that's designed to fit the smaller screen, use  less battery power, and offer features better suited to uses on the go.

Interior Design Apps are on the go now. Some are free but most you have to pay for, usually around .99-4.99. Some of the Apps tested from Traditional Home are: