White sugar, raw sugar, corn syrup, sugar substitutes, and now corn sugar? Ugh.

Let's see, there's regular sugar (that's the white, "refined" variety), then brown sugar for baking special stuff, and "raw" brown sugar -- because that makes me feel better about things, substitutes (which I have used in the past but I haven't bought for years -- have you read about saccharin, aspartame or the others?), high-fructose corn syrup, "healthy" stuff like brown rice syrup and agave, and now, apparently, we will soon have corn sugar.

Come on...is plain, old sugar really that bad for us? And chocolate...what about chocolate?!?!

What is a sweet-a-holic to do? It's bad enough, the guilt associated with wanting, having and then enjoying treats. But then the consequences of a sweet tooth are reported to be damaging and lifelong. Well, that sure takes the fun out of things.

Ever the investigator, I do my homework and then I do my best to help spread the word. Like in my article from this morning about high-fructose corn syrup being called "corn sugar," because that new name makes it all better -- right?

On the other hand, ever the overwhelmed and busy stay-at-home-and-work-at-home-and-homeschooling mom, I sometimes fail miserably at implementing what I learn and avoiding things that are bad for me.

I love Dr. Joseph Mercola's Web site and his evaluations and recommendations. I even love and buy a few of his products (the krill oil, for one). It is my understanding that inflammation is the underlying cause of disease and illness, and since I struggle with a few things and our DD was born brain injured and with lots of medical issues, and now has an autoimmune disease, I pay attention to these things.

Nutritional supplementation, avoiding toxins and refined foods, and eating organic foods, and as much raw organic produce as possible, just makes sense to me. Then again, so does the PACE workout and the Six-Week Body Makeover program, but I have trouble consistently applying those things to my life as well.

I'll keep learning. And trying. And likely struggling and failing. How about you? What do you do to keep healthy? Are you even healthy to begin with? What are your struggles and what do you find helps? I'd love to hear about it.

For me, for now, it's radiation and non-stick cookware health-related issues be damned! DH finally fixed the microwave and I bought a new big Teflon-type pan. (We still use the hot-air popper and the enamel-coated pots, though. Bonus points for that, I figure.)

And I'm going to put forth every effort to spend some time on myself. That's not easily done. (You men may scoff, but you women/mothers totally understand, don't you? I knew it.) After Seminary ends at about 7AM, I'll have to remember to eat (also not easily done -- amazingly), and then exercise before I head to my cave (otherwise known as our school room/office). Cooking ahead is another necessary to-do item. I'm hopeful...we'll see.

The kicker is:  I don't even really like most of the treats and sweets and the quick-let-me-grab-something-because-I'm-now-starving food that I eat. It's apparently a sugar addiction. That's another thing I've learned recently. I'll have to remember to post on my reading list the name of the book I read. It was kind of new-age-thinking, but parts of it really clicked with me. The biggest point being that you have to eat in a "present" state -- no mindless eating. Take the time to eat, eat whatever you want, but then pay attention to what you're eating, what you're doing (don't drive or watch TV, for example), and to how your food tastes. Most importantly, pay attention to how you feel -- do you like it, are you even hungry, are you now full and can stop? -- stuff like that. Interesting. I'll update this when I come back with more information to share. Soon.

In the meantime, I have to step away from my computer and get some other things done today. Though I've thoroughly enjoyed my time here, it's definitely time to move on.

Enjoy your weekend. I'll do the same.

Take care.

Disclaimer:  Because I'm not a doctor or a lawyer, and because the FDA (or is it the FTC?) now makes it a crime to state that anything other than prescription pharmaceuticals cure, treat, or prevent disease, and because everything now is classified as a "disease" for that very financially-lucrative reason, I emphatically state that I do not here, or in any of my online or other formats, attempt or intend to offer professional advice in an effort to cure, treat or prevent any illness or disease. I also don't offer advice about things like how to perform brain surgery, fly a helicopter or parasail. In all things, I offer my opinion and I expect others to do their own homework and to make their own decisions about what's right and legal and appropriate for themselves and their dependents.

The one productive thing I've done this morning

In doing homework about writing as a job and blogging for fun, or just cruising the Web in general, I come across all types of sites.

Sometimes my visit is brief -- the site's not applicable, not interesting, or not appropriate at all (yowza!) for me, my target audience and those I love -- so I move on.

Sometimes, though, I post. Like this morning.

Now, however, at this very moment I vow to immediately upon publishing this post turn off my computer so that I may accomplish at least one or two other productive things today. Clearly I'm addicted and I need to take drastic measures. (After I check my email real quick.)  ;o)

WordPress defined: Yet another thing for me to learn

For the um-teenth time this week, someone has just regaled the wonders of WordPress. I mean, I've heard of it before -- I don't live under a rock, after all. I'm curious by nature, so when I'm on a Web site I look everywhere -- and I mean everywhere -- and I do see "WordPress" listed a lot of the time.

OK, so I have yet another thing to study. Not merely read, but stuuuuu-deeee. Yay, me!

DS#1 will enjoy that, though. I know that he secretly enjoys when others (namely me) suffer the torment of studying, note taking, etc. Misery loves company, you know.

I'm actually looking forward to learning WordPress. I don't know when or how I'll do it, but I did anticipate this. I had already picked up my copy of WordPress for Dummies from the library; it's been on my coffee table for about three weeks now. Clearly it moves to the top of the pile -- soon.

BTW, "um-teenth" is, in fact, a word. I know this because my mom used it all the time when my rotten brothers and I were kids. As in, "I've told you for the um-teenth time:  Clean Up Your ROOM or I will come in there and Do It FOR YOU -- and You WON'T Like It!" (Note: Mom sounds intense here, but she was -- and still is -- a total pushover with a sweet spirit. She had to try to scare us, though -- it's in the Mom Rule Book.) FYI, the number umteen comes somewhere between 19 and a bazillion.

If I were as weird as The Artist Formerly Known as Prince, what symbol would I be?

A smiling question mark.

That's it. That's all I wanted to say.

(Yes, I do, regularly, think about nonsense like this.)

Business, writing, marketing, and other ideas

Some alternative titles that I considered for this post are:

• Tropical storms and brain storms in the wee hours of the morning
• Things I do when I should be sleeping
• Why my eyes are bloodshot this morning (totally G-rated), and
• Oh, craaaaap...it's already time to get up?!

Well Tropical Storm something-or-other began to roll into town yesterday. For me, it climaxed at about 2:30 this morning with all of the telltale sounds of, what else, a summertime tropical storm, compounded by the oh-so-poorly-placed plastic storage bin (with lid -- that's the important point) directly underneath the rain gutter's outlet, which is perched about 2' above the ground and just outside my bedroom window. The overall effect was that of being awakened by the pervasive and not-at-all-pleasant sound of fairly loud drumming combined with Chinese water torture that is being dispensed in a fashion similar to a waterfall.

(Note: I say "climaxed" totally anticipating that this storm will be a non-event and will move on to points far away from me and anyone else, leaving no real damage in its wake.)

(Another note:  I just checked -- in the spirit of accuracy and being quasi-anally retentive -- and according to the National Hurricane Center this is Atlantic Tropical Depression 16. I'll update this post should good 'ole 16 get a more proper name.)*

So, here I sit at almost 6AM, I'm about to begin teaching my early-morning Seminary class and I've been up for 3 1/2 hours (with many more hours still to go today).

On the upside, I have come up with some great ideas for a friend's product she hopes to market (yes, I've already emailed her) and, thanks to the notepad and pen I keep beside my bed, I have about 30 potential titles for List My Five articles. Not so much on the upside is that I realize how much I've left undone lately -- in my best Winnie the Pooh: Oh, bother.

(Note to self:  Find and buy another pen that lights up when I write, so that I may, once again, write clearly and then eventually read legible notes-to-self written in the wee hours of my mornings.)

Happily, I see a nap in my near future. YAY!, yet again, for homeschooling.

Happy Wednesday, all.

*Update 9/30/2010:  The storm later officially, sadly, became Tropical Storm Nicole and went on to cause damage, injury and death. My heart goes out...

Happy Friday!

Good morning.

Today we have enrichment classes with our homeschooling friends. The kids love this day of the week. Truthfully, so do I. Although I haven't been able to visit with my friends, since my youngest (DS#2) is going through some anxiety-type issues. On the upside, I'm learning about drama, beginning Spanish, and arts & crafts alongside him and 15 other very energetic 8- and 9-year olds. My daughter (DD) helps in the "snack shop" for a while and then joins in on classes with us while my oldest son (DS#1) attends his classes. Bonus:  it's Pizza Day, so no lunches to pack! It's a great way to spend a Friday.

After that, DS#1 has his chemistry labs with some more homeschool friends. One of the brave moms in the group graciously offered her home (and back patio when necessary) as the place for this group of teenagers to experiment and potentially blow things up. They're certainly hopeful...

Who knows what the afternoon and evening will bring. DS#1 most definitely has plans in the works -- I've picked up on snippets like "gym" and [youth group] while he's been plotting on the phone with friends and Facebook. Translation:  driving. That's fine. Hubby (DH) and I love that DS#1's mature and responsible enough to have earned these freedoms as he gets older. DS#1 has a great group of friends. It's fun to watch.

This all comes after my and DS#1's day begins at 5:30 for an early morning scripture class-slash-youth group called "Seminary." Happily, it's held in our home so we get to sleep in the longest of any of the attendees. It's fun. Really. Kicker:  Friday is "breakfast potluck" day while we work on scripture memorization. Food usually perks teenagers right up.

All in all, a grand Friday.

New writing gig with List My Five

I've had a very exciting, yet stressful, past few weeks. I'm learning so much -- literally daily; but the fact that there's so much more that I want and need to learn, and that I feel I need to know it yesterday, sometimes overwhelms and frustrates me.

For today, though, I'm excited to say that I have just published my first article on List My Five. What fun that was! I may already be hooked.

I spent some time this afternoon looking up stats, song lyrics, videos, etc. about and by Michael Jackson. (The songs are still swirling around my head and playing in my ears. Luckily, since I'm sooooo not a dancer, I haven't yet broken out into a moonwalk across the kitchen floor.)

I included much more in the article than was required -- I tend to be wordy -- and I enjoyed every moment of it. I'm looking forward to doing more.

Here it is -- my article about the top five Michael Jackson songs. Let me know what you think.