When I married I had no idea that I had married into a family of hoarders because they called themselves “collectors”. The problem is that they collect everything! I am lucky because my spouse and one sister see this and know it is a problem. They both struggle against the compulsion to hoard some things but being aware and having each other to talk to about it has been a life and marriage saving activity. The other sister and brother as well as mother and step-father are another story.

When my mother-in-law came to our home and realized we had given away a chair, I thought she was going to cry. She asked my wife why she wasn’t called first because she would have taken the chair even though we know she has no where to put it. We just don’t tell her about anything that we throw away because she would be aghast to know the cards and letters have been recycled as well as baby clothes, etc. We simply tell her that they are stored in the shed out back as it tends to make her physically ill if we tell her we have thrown them out. I hope she never figures out that our little shed has no way of holding everything we have told her is out there.

Spring has sprung. Birds are chirping. Flowers are blooming. What a perfect time to be outside! Whether your choice of outdoor activities is tending a garden, walking the dog, or riding a bike – it’s a beautiful time of year to spend as much time outdoors as possible. Recently my wife and I bought ourselves bicycles to get some exercise and enjoy the sunshine. Nashville, the city where we live, has a greenway system. The greenways improve environmental quality by protecting plant and animal habitats. Greenways also help clean our water and air through dedication of sensitive areas like wetlands, forests, and flood plains. They also facilitate alternative travel. By providing bicycle and walking routes between homes, work, and other destinations, the greenways become part of the infrastructure necessary for an integrated approach to transportation planning.

The city has also been working on adding bike lanes in multiple areas of the city. Biking is not only great exercise, but is also a very “green” mode of travel. One of the benefits of living in an urban area is that many of the businesses in which we encounter in our day-to-day lives – grocery stores, post office, banks, are conveniently available in a relatively small radius. With the cost of oil back at over eighty dollars a barrel, sending gas prices up, riding a bike not only helps your waist line but your bottom line as well. Trips via the bicycle versus your vehicle saves not only the gas it takes to go there and back, but also the gas for the air conditioner and the wasted gas it takes to idle at the stop light. Bike riding is as efficient as it is fun.

I love homemade foods. I love homemade cake and pizza. Homemade soup is one of my favorites. But my favorite of all is homemade bread. I should say dough because that is the more accurate. With homemade dough you can make pies, pizza, and many others things; bread included. Bread is something that you never really stop and realize how much you eat of it. I didn’t realize that my family eats at least a loaf a day. We eat sandwiches in our lunch. We use it for dipping in our soup or pasta. We use it in stuffing and meatloaf. My family eats a very large amount of bread so we make a lot of it to accommodate our taste buds..

That’s one reason we have lost our taste for store bought bread. Since we can make our own dough now, we make homemade bread all of the time and it is truly delicious. The kind we make still has the soft inside but the crust is not soft like store bought bread. Our homemade bread has a very crisp, almost crunchy, crust that really adds some enjoyment to simple sandwiches. Homemade foods really are better, especially bread.

Everyone wants to be healthier. Some try to be healthier by exercising and some simply eat healthier. One way to improve the way you eat is to eat fresh fruits. Believe it or not fresh fruit can be as satisfying of a snack food as chips and dip. The trouble is getting kids to eat it.

One good way of getting kids to eat more fruit is to put it out in front of them. Place a big bowl of fruits on the dining room table or in the living room if your family is allowed to eat in there. The kids will most likely be attracted to the convenience of just grabbing a fruit and taking a bite.

The best way to get kids to eat fruit instead of starchy snacks is to not give them the option. Do not buy chips. They will scream and yell about it of course but they will eventually learn to accept it. And they will also learn to enjoy it. Fruit is sweet and yummy after all.

If you have a bad habit of staying inside all day long and getting no fresh air for days, it’s time to change. You may not realize how much damage you are doing to yourself both mentally and physically. It’s a little like smoking before it was widely known that it is bad for your health. There have been enough studies to show you that it is not only important to get some fresh air everyday but some much needed sunshine as well.

When you stay inside all day you are not getting fresh air. The only alternative is to leave every window and door open, which I doubt most people do. So all that skin and hair that you have been shedding is now in your home and those dirty hair and skin particles are going into the air that you have been breathing for the past few days.

After reading this I am sure that going outside and getting some fresh air sounds like a really good idea. Though the air isn’t exactly squeaky clean outside, it beats what you are breathing in your home most of the time. If you can, take a trip out to the country and away from the urban areas and roll the windows down. Once you get a good deep breath of fresh air you will understand just how good it can be.

My wife and I recently saw Food, Inc., a documentary by Robert Kenner. We were stunned to find out the lengths to which the public is kept in the dark about the food we eat. This is an even more important issue given that we are in a national obesity crisis.

One thing that I found particularly disturbing was the ways that food companies like Tyson, Perdue and Smithfield keep the farmers under their thumb. The farmers must continually buy expensive new equipment or face termination of their contracts with the companies. This keeps them heavily and constantly in debt.

Since most people love white meat, the food companies have genetically modified chicken so they have bigger breasts. This is achieved by injecting them with hormones. Naturally these hormones make it into our bodies, causing any number of health problems for us.

Our beef has also been tainted because cows have been taught to eat corn feed instead of grass. This deprives the beef of the natural nutrients that grass fed cows have long provided. In turn, it affects our bodies in a negative way.

What we took from the film was the need to know what is in our food. We cannot assume that our best interests are being looked after. Knowledge is the best weapon.

I am one of the growing numbers of nameless Americans that cannot afford health insurance. I consider myself a self-insured person. I see the doctor at least once a year for an overall checkup. Years ago, I was diagnosed with gout and have been living with this easily treatable affliction for as long as ten years now.

Health is a wonder, especially when the news comes that health is also fleeting if taken for granted. I have recently been informed that I am a borderline diabetic. I am amused at this diagnosis because it seems much like being borderline pregnant. It seems to me that one is either a diabetic or not a diabetic. But alas, I won’t allow my cynicism to belittle the very dangerous news of my condition.

And since I am an American with no health insurance and now am in possession of a pre-existing condition, my chances of gaining affordable health insurance seem to be near impossible. I am forced to take responsibility for my health and work to possibly reverse the condition since I am still diagnosed as “borderline”. I am looking forward to an increased health awareness and responsible and healthy life choices to reduce the need for expensive healthcare treatment. Carpe diem!

Don’t pretend that you don’t know what I am talking about. It has happened to almost everyone I know; you eat too much food all at one time on Thanksgiving and can barely move the rest of the day. You tell yourself that you are not going to do it again this year and you end up doing it anyway. Well, I have found a way to beat the bulge and feel great about it. I call it spooning.

It’s really quite simple, I get to have one spoon full of anything and everything I want and no more. What I find is a spoon full is about one serving and when you put one serving of the things you like on the plate, there is plenty of food, room for all of it, which used to be a large problem, and once you are done you are satisfied and full. The key is not to go back for seconds and thirds. Drinking water or tea will help you tackle going back to the trough for more and if you need some additional help; go into the bathroom, close the door and raise your shirt and take a real long look at your gut. That should do it!

I have several friends who think I am nuts and they may be right. However, I don’t feel like I am nuts when I get to go out into my backyard, anytime I want, and pick some, if not all, of what I am eating for the day. It beats spending another $50.00 on groceries this week and the only way I can do that is by having my own greenhouse. However, if you are not a gardener, you can still get some of the advantages of a greenhouse growing by finding local farms and farmers markets that you can frequent.

Yes, you will have to hand over cash for the items you purchase, but you will also get fresh produce that you can use throughout the week. While some of these farms simply grow what they can in the given season, others utilize greenhouses to provide their customers with the best they can grow. On the other hand, if you love to garden, greenhouses are just the next level of being able to garden on a year round basis. You can always start small with a cold frame or mini greenhouse and work up from there. If you fall in love with it, you will grow for a lifetime!