As I explained before we have less income than less year and the same expenses. We have been trying to cut on food and home products but we still are short in money. Over the last few months we used our payday loan and credit card. As soon as the tax refund arrived in our account the payday loan was automatically paid and I already made a transfer to pay some amount of the credit credit card. Even so, we still owe some credit card money and I really want to pay it as soon as possible and get rid of the debt presence.

I know some important bloggers write about how to manage tax refund and how much to use of it to pay off debt but if I keep an extra money for daily living I know the money will disappear so I prefer to pay for everything I owe.

There isn’t much we can reduce while shopping although certain “luxuries” could be avoided like buying a happy meal for the kids at least twice a week or going drink a coffee in a café. I also think that I work 40 hours a week for what? To stay at home and not being able to drink a coffee away from home? I don’t spend money in live music concerts or New York Yankees tickets so a coffee isn’t too much.

I know that sacrifices have to be done but we have to live our life although sometimes I think we don’t live…we survive.

I’m trying to have a healthy and green life. I can’t say each day but each month I try to improve something in the way we live to have a green life.

I think it’s very important to show our kids what we can do to save the environment, save money and therefore have a better life. We are an example for our kids, they pay attention to what we do and say so, if we do our best to have a better life they tend to do the same.

My goal for May is to start composting. Next week I will be attending a meeting in a nearby town where instructions will be given on composting and a composter will be offered to the people attending the meeting. I’m really excited about this new step and my kids are very interested in knowing how it works and how the final product will appear.

What about other moms? Are they teaching their children to be green?

The online community MomsLikeMe.com ran a poll on their site to know if moms are teaching their kids to save the environment. This community was created by moms and it’s a huge source of information for moms, so this poll was very important to realize if moms are aware of the importance of teaching our children to save the environment and if they are working on that.

The results were excellent.  69% of moms think it is important to teach their children about protecting the environment.

What about you? Are you teaching your children?

As you probably have already noticed I love salads. They are fresh, healthy, full of vitamins and easy to make. The recipe I bring here today is very, very easy to prepare and it’s delicious.

Greens and Apple Salad

Original kaboose.com recipe, developed by Wendy Kalen

Ingredients

• 6 ounces pecans, coarsely chopped
• 1½ pounds mixed greens
• 3 Gala apples, coarsely chopped
• 1 red onion, coarsely chopped

Cooking Instructions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Toast pecans on baking sheet 5 minutes, or until fragrant and lightly toasted.
2. In large serving bowl combine greens, pecans, apples and red onion. Toss to combine.

Substitution(s)

• Almonds, walnuts or your favorite nut can be substituted for the pecans
• Any apple may be used in place of Galas. Galas have a tendency not to brown like other apples. If you use a different apple, you may want to toss them in a little acid such as lemon or orange juice to keep them from browning
• White, yellow, or sweet onion may be used in place of the red onion

This is a green salad that can be served as an entrance, side dish or even a main dish. With such a fresh, low fat salad, who need nuphedra to lose weight?

Earth Day 2009, April 22, will mark the beginning of the Green Generation Campaign!

Stop, think, take action…because today…it is Earth Day.

Stop:

• polluting
• fumes
• chemical products

Think:

• environment
• forest
• animals
• air
• soil
• water
• children
• plants
• people

Take Action:

• recycle
• save energy
• save water
• use friendly products
• use friendly cars
• protect the environment
• don’t pollute

I just found out that a local association is distributing one Garden Composter to all the interested families and at the same time given detailed information about composting.

As I have a big backyard, with a small garden, fruits and vegetables I’m really interested in having free fertilizer and at the same time protect the environment. I already contacted the associating and now I just have to wait for a meeting in my residence area to get my garden composter.

I’m really interested in becoming greener and I want my kids to be aware of that and become green themselves.

So, today’s Earth Day suggestion is a Garden Composter. If you have a garden even if it is really small you should get a garden composter and get your own natural fertilizer. You can put it anywhere in the garden. Lighting is important so if you have a sunny spot it will be great because the composting process will be faster.

Protect the environment and your garden!!

I bought it!! I bought a Massage Cushion.

I got really fed up with all my back pain and I decided to give it a try. I tried to import it from Amazon.com but I couldn’t  because I’m in Europe, than I tried to buy it in England and again Portugal was not an authorized destination so I bought it in Portugal for almost the double of the price.

The model is almost the same of the Homedics QRM-400H Therapist Select Quad-Roller Massaging Cushion with Heat from Amazon.com. There aren’t many models available here so, there were not many choices.

My massage cushion has three functions, massage, kneading and heat. The massage is done on the base and has two intensities (normal and high) and two modes (normal and pulse). The kneading is done through 4 rollers that go up and down our spine, from the neck to the lower back.  The heats works on the sides of the back. All 3 functions work separately and can be all combined, I can have all three at the same time or only one if I wish. The only option not available is the Shiatsu function (circular kneading function).

The great feature of the Roller Massaging Cushion with Heat
is that I can use it in almost every chair and couch I have at home and I can take advantage of the massage no matter I am in my pajama, breeches or underwear. It works no matter what I dress.

I only started using it last Thursday so I don’t see much results yet but I really believe it will help me with my back pain, if not I have to return to physiotherapy.

These last few months I’ve been dealing with a lot of emotional problems and I’ve done a lot of research online about how to deal with them.

Most of our current emotional problems are due to hurting experiences we had growing up. If left untreated, our emotional responses and bad feelings can ruin our lives and relationships. As emotional problems faded, both physical health and personal performance improved (often dramatically).

If you are trouble by emotional distress, and is looking for a good aid to mental activity that not only stimulates emotional and mental capacity, but at the same time promoting calmness and balance of the inner self, you are on the right page.

Emotional Freedom Techniques or EFT, which is a energy psychology technique, has been used successfully on a wide range of emotional as well as physical conditions, including anxiety, addictive cravings, depression, traumatic memories, phobias, pain control, stress and disease. It is a technique used for healing emotional pain.

It is an emotional version of acupuncture, except that needles aren’t necessary. It uses the Meridian Points by tapping them with your fingers instead of inserting needles.

The basic EFT technique involves tapping (with one’s fingers) through a series of specific acupressure points (that are understood to be related with emotions) while focusing and maintaining attention on a particular (and currently active) emotion, feeling or problem. Firstly, the basic EFT tapping technique is fairly simple and can be learned in less than an hour. Secondly, this EFT tapping technique can be easily self-applied. It doesn’t take long to do a single application of the tapping technique (minutes), after which there are usually observable changes or shifts in the intensity of the selected feeling/emotion. In practice, clients often comment on feeling “energy shifts” inside their body while doing the technique and many mentions a feeling of calmness as a result of doing it. The EFT tapping technique is simple, elegant and easy to learn and use.

EFT is at the forefront of the new healing emotional damage. It serves to balance the body’s subtle energies which, in turn, bring both emotional relaxation and pain relief to the body. It is unbelievably useful for all emotional issues and mental health problems including: stress and anxiety, fears and phobias, depression, low self esteem, relationship problems, abuse, and trauma (past and present). It has proved effective for a wide range of physical issues including: breathing problems, weight problems, addictive cravings, allergies and sensitivities, asthma, insomnia, headaches, lingering pain from injuries, and the effects of chronic illness.

In rundown, EFT can not only help to resolve emotional issues, it can also be used to help us achieve our goals and dreams (by removing what’s getting in the way) and is a powerful tool for personal and spiritual growth. Some people may find EFT a rather strange technique to at first, but if they are already familiar with acupressure, acupuncture or kinesiology, they will appreciate the benefits of EFT as it partly based on the same principles as acupuncture (but does not involve the use of needles) and is believed to re-balance the body’s energy system.