Hey Everyone!
I've got a new blog site. Check it out: Jen & Tonic.
Let me know what you think!
Cheers!
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Rain, Wind & More Fun Than We Can Handle in Flemington!
Thought I'd give y'all a brief update of our weekend:
1. Got rain - lots of it. Since our house sits low and all the run off from the homes around us comes through our property, simply stated, we get a lot of freakin' water! Our mack-daddy pump just couldn't handle it all and the situation was not made any better when I plugged in the wet/dry vac and blew the fuse that the pump was hooked up to. I flipped the breaker, but for about 5 min. the pump was out. The water didn't totally cover the basement, but Kev and I both agree that we need to do some grading outside to help with the water run off in some areas. So I got myself a great workout pushing water into the pump
2. Got wind - lots of it. As some of you may know, we've had problems with wind in our neck of the wind tunnel. In the 2.5 years we've lived here we've had to have patching work done 3 times. This time has been the worst. Our cheap builder grade roof (Thanks, Fallone - you guys are the best!) just can't stand up to the 60 mph winds. Couple that with the sun that beats down on the roof all day and you have a disaster waiting to happen. Happen it did. An entire garbage can worth of shingles fell (and I'm talking a huge big blue Raritan Valley Disposal can). Sooooo....now we are thinking just getting the roof replaced with a higher grade product and assessing our ventilation system (also building grade). I just have one question - why is it that the previous owners did not lose shingles? We can tell they didn't b/c the roof did not have any signs of patching - it was faded evenly across the house. Home ownership stinks!
3. Went to Espo's for dinner and got the bracciole. I love their bracciole.
If anyone has any suggestions regarding our landscaping or roof issues, please advise - leave a comment, email or call me.
1. Got rain - lots of it. Since our house sits low and all the run off from the homes around us comes through our property, simply stated, we get a lot of freakin' water! Our mack-daddy pump just couldn't handle it all and the situation was not made any better when I plugged in the wet/dry vac and blew the fuse that the pump was hooked up to. I flipped the breaker, but for about 5 min. the pump was out. The water didn't totally cover the basement, but Kev and I both agree that we need to do some grading outside to help with the water run off in some areas. So I got myself a great workout pushing water into the pump
2. Got wind - lots of it. As some of you may know, we've had problems with wind in our neck of the wind tunnel. In the 2.5 years we've lived here we've had to have patching work done 3 times. This time has been the worst. Our cheap builder grade roof (Thanks, Fallone - you guys are the best!) just can't stand up to the 60 mph winds. Couple that with the sun that beats down on the roof all day and you have a disaster waiting to happen. Happen it did. An entire garbage can worth of shingles fell (and I'm talking a huge big blue Raritan Valley Disposal can). Sooooo....now we are thinking just getting the roof replaced with a higher grade product and assessing our ventilation system (also building grade). I just have one question - why is it that the previous owners did not lose shingles? We can tell they didn't b/c the roof did not have any signs of patching - it was faded evenly across the house. Home ownership stinks!
3. Went to Espo's for dinner and got the bracciole. I love their bracciole.
If anyone has any suggestions regarding our landscaping or roof issues, please advise - leave a comment, email or call me.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
High Fructose Corn Syrup: Is it really so bad?
In January, after receiving round two of my prolotherapy treatment, Dr. Bowen and I were chatting about nutrition & diet and one of the things he said to me underscored what I’ve been telling many of my friends and family for a few years now. He said that the best thing I could do for my body, especially the first few weeks after the shots, was to avoid the dreaded high fructose corn syrup and anything partially hydrogenated (soy bean oil, vegetable oil, etc.).
I’ll focus on partially hydrogenated oils in my next post. Today, let’s start with a little quiz about high fructose corn syrup:
1. What exactly is high fructose corn syrup (HFCS)?
2. Where is it found?
3. Why is it so bad?
Answers:
1. High fructose corn syrup is NOT sugar. It does not come from sugar cane. It comes from chemically engineered corn. The corn is basically turned into glucose which in turn is changed into a lot of fructose. It’s called
From Weston A Price: The process for making the sweetener high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) out of corn was developed in the 1970s. Use of HFCS grew rapidly, from less than three million short tons in 1980 to almost 8 million short tons in 1995. During the late 1990s, use of sugar actually declined as it was eclipsed by HFCS. Today Americans consume more HFCS than sugar.
2. HFCS is in just about everything. When you think you’re doing well for yourself by buying “whole wheat” bread, look at the nutrition label. Most of those healthy “whole wheat” breads have HFCS. Heinz ketchup? Yep. French’s Yellow Mustard? Yep. Capri Sun, Sunny Delight, SoBee drinks, Aunt Jamima syrup, Kraft BBQ sauce, numerous tomato sauces, Nutri- Grain bars, a lot of crackers, jelly…. and the obvious – soda. You get the point. It’s basically everywhere.
3. HFCS is bad for a few reasons. First, it’s not natural. It’s chemically engineered. Second, unlike sugar, it doesn’t make you feel full. So you wind up eating/drinking even more than you would have had you eaten something with sugar. Third, as adults and children consume more and more products with HFCS, weight gain is inevitable and so is the increased chance for Type II Diabetes.
So you tell me? Is high fructose corn syrup really so bad?
I’ll focus on partially hydrogenated oils in my next post. Today, let’s start with a little quiz about high fructose corn syrup:
1. What exactly is high fructose corn syrup (HFCS)?
2. Where is it found?
3. Why is it so bad?
Answers:
1. High fructose corn syrup is NOT sugar. It does not come from sugar cane. It comes from chemically engineered corn. The corn is basically turned into glucose which in turn is changed into a lot of fructose. It’s called
From Weston A Price: The process for making the sweetener high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) out of corn was developed in the 1970s. Use of HFCS grew rapidly, from less than three million short tons in 1980 to almost 8 million short tons in 1995. During the late 1990s, use of sugar actually declined as it was eclipsed by HFCS. Today Americans consume more HFCS than sugar.
2. HFCS is in just about everything. When you think you’re doing well for yourself by buying “whole wheat” bread, look at the nutrition label. Most of those healthy “whole wheat” breads have HFCS. Heinz ketchup? Yep. French’s Yellow Mustard? Yep. Capri Sun, Sunny Delight, SoBee drinks, Aunt Jamima syrup, Kraft BBQ sauce, numerous tomato sauces, Nutri- Grain bars, a lot of crackers, jelly…. and the obvious – soda. You get the point. It’s basically everywhere.
3. HFCS is bad for a few reasons. First, it’s not natural. It’s chemically engineered. Second, unlike sugar, it doesn’t make you feel full. So you wind up eating/drinking even more than you would have had you eaten something with sugar. Third, as adults and children consume more and more products with HFCS, weight gain is inevitable and so is the increased chance for Type II Diabetes.
So you tell me? Is high fructose corn syrup really so bad?
The good news is that there are still plenty of products out there that do NOT contain HFCS. You just have to be diligent in your label reading. Check out the organic section of your grocery store too. I’m not saying that if it’s in the organic section, it won’t have HFCS, but you may find more options. Fresh fruits always a great choice. Canned fruits tend to have a lot of sugar as well so if you’re going to go with canned, look for ones packed in water or some that now use Splenda instead of corn syrup.
If you’re looking for a sugar substitute, may I suggest Stevia. It comes from a plant native to South America (I even saw it on a visit to the Hershey Gardens in Hershey, PA!). It’s not used in food processing simply because the FDA hasn’t said it is OK to be used, but hey - aspartame and HFCS are just fine.
I could go on and on about the dangers of HFCS, but this is a blog and not a novel. What I will do is refer you to additional reading that I’ve come across in my research. Feel free to drop me a line if you’d like more information too.
Other references for you:
http://www.femhealth.com/DangersofHFCS.html
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/high-fructose-corn-syrup/AN01588
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
The Fulmer Cup
I know most of you are not avid football fans like yours truly. However, I do know most of you have a great sense of humor and can appreciate the comedy (ok, maybe the tragedy) in the number of big time college "student-athletes" that are really "student-athlete-criminals".
The Fulmer Cup (a creation of the guys from Every Day Should Be Saturday) follows the happenings in the local police blotters around the world and keeps track of what our favorite football players are doing in the off season.
The Fulmer Cup
As a side note, The Nittany Lions worked hard last year and finished 2007 strong in second place behind the Fightin Illini of Illinois. See, the Big 10 can win something!!!
The Fulmer Cup (a creation of the guys from Every Day Should Be Saturday) follows the happenings in the local police blotters around the world and keeps track of what our favorite football players are doing in the off season.
The Fulmer Cup
As a side note, The Nittany Lions worked hard last year and finished 2007 strong in second place behind the Fightin Illini of Illinois. See, the Big 10 can win something!!!
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