Diet Tip: Eat Mostly Veggies and Fruit, Locally Grown Preferrably

I've lost 83 pounds, 40 in the last 5 months. I've been writing a series of articles on +How-I-lost-weight using Diet recipe of the day and Diet tip of the day tags. Diet wisdom varies on fats, starch, meat, salt, dairy--which are the worst for weight loss. Sometimes dairy is the culprit. Then health gurus say it's starch. From my experience, it's not so much about what you don't eat as what you do. Diet Tip of the Day: Eat Mostly Veggies and Fruit - News
 

Balance is Healthier Parenting Than Health Obsession

Drugs, cleaning products, household items, cosmetics, disposable items, kids products--we try to use natural ingredients as much as possible. Note I said "as possible." It's virtually impossible to avoid all chemicals. M
y naturalista friends are going to gasp, but I say balance is healthier parenting that rigid obsession with health.

Organic, raw foods may be physically healthier, though with the chemical saturation of our environment, I'm not sure. But I know myself. I over think everything. it would make me a crazy (crazier) wreck trying serve perfectly pure foods. Raising four kids, I couldn't afford all natural foods, even if we ate only vegan. That food is super expensive! And even if I had one child, or no kids, I couldn't afford it. We live in the city--I couldn't grow all my own food if I wanted to. Our soil is toxic. I'd feel anxious and guilty that I'm a bad mom.Constantly worrying, makes me nervous and grouchy. And then I'm not a good mom. And THAT is my main priority.  Balance is Healthier Parenting Than Health Obsession

Save Money, Get Best Back to School Prices on College Textbooks

Dwindling federal financial aid means fewer students get money for college tuition, let alone textbooks. College textbook prices can actually rival tuition, they're so high. Not an exaggeration when you factor in that textbooks and materials are generally not tax-deductible. Here are ways to save money on college textbooks and stretch your college textbook dollar. Lady Greenwise says spend smart, not big. Back to School Shopping: How to Save Money and Find Best Prices on College Textbooks

Art or Tagging? Detroit Gets Graffiti Makeover

We've heard the stories of ruin in Detroit till they're coming out of our ears. From the Motown moniker, "blight belt" seems to be the new nickname. But there's one thing about urban decay -- it makes a great backdrop for graffiti, a superb canvas, if you will, for tag art. And it's that juxtaposition that's causing some controversy. At what point does philistine tagging become patrician art? Model D recently explored some new downtown Detroit mural paint-overs that recover old tags with new art. Is this a makeover or urban decay tarted up as art?  Art or Tagging? Detroit Gets Graffiti Makeover 

Daily Deals of the Day: Priceline Travel Booking

I'm Super Frugalista! I pinch pennies so hard the Lincoln Monument walls rumble. Every day, I submit a tightwad tip for you on Bubblews or Yahoo Contributor Network. Today's I use the tag +Dailydealsoftheday. Today's is travel. And the place I find the best deals is Priceline "Name Your Own Price" or daily deals. I started booking book hotels, flights and car rentals through Priceline about 6 years ago. Since then, I've tried Orbitz, Travelocity, Expedia, Cheap Seats, Kayak and just about every site you can name. I've even tried some that use Euros instead of dollars (I'll save in any currency!) Bill Shatner's price compactor wins every time. Daily Deals of the Day: Priceline Travel Booking 

Detroit Mower Gang Reclaiming Abandoned City Parks

A community group, the Detroit Mower Gang, is taking their urban renewal campaign to Detroit's parks. The group's Motown Mowdown event last Saturday, May 25, was a 24-hour marathon of freshening up closed and disused city parks. It's the quintessential "grassroots" effort, as the Detroit Free Press aptly called it. But the mowers don't stop at one day of service (weeds and grass don't stop growing!) They meet bi-weekly to maintain parks. If your community needs a spruce up, and you're fortunate enough to have a mower and truck to haul, this would be a relatively simple give-back.Detroit Mower Gang Reclaiming Abandoned City Parks

How to Remove Wallpaper: Easy, Cheap, Green

In 2000, my husband and I bought a 100+ year-old home. In its long, colorful history, interior walls sported a plethora of coverings--paint, spackle, and wallpaper. Remodeling, we found four themes, the earliest dating back to the 20s. We have become adept at removing wallpaper and treating walls. Here are tricks to remove wallpaper and treat walls, from 13 years of DIY home fix-ups.How to Remove Wallpaper: Easy, Cheap, Green

Perk Up Your Work Space (and Mood) Easy and Cheap

The best and worst part of being a WAHM (work at home mom) is being home. As my second son quipped, "You don't work at home. You live at work." Wherever you work, environment impacts your attitude about your job. Here are easy, cheap, DIY ways to perk up your work space and mood! Take it seriously. Work-at-home folks don't succeed often because they discount their contributions. This is your work space, no less than if you left home for a job. It's where you make money. If you're a home business, you're claiming it on your taxes. Treat it like the professional office space it is. Make everyone else do likewise. Remind them it's your office first and anything else last. Ergo, arrange so it works best for you first, others if possible.  Perk Up Your Work Space (and Mood) Easy and Cheap

For Best Mother's Day Gifts, Save Green, Give Green

With Mother's Day approaching, the buzz is on the best gifts for mom. Mother's Day is one of the top holidays spending-wise; there's a lot of competition for our gift-giving buck. Stores and vendors are ripe with advice about what mom supposedly wants. I say think outside the vase, envelope and box. Give green, save green and reduce waste. For Mother's Day shopping, the best tips I found come from Denver Post $MART columnist Amber Johnson, who surveyed moms about what they wanted most. Essentially, the consensus was to dial down the spending and pay attention to the individual mom's preferences.   Read more

Repurposed Greeting Cards, Valentines, Wrapping Paper--Art Projects, Crafts, Gifts

Greeting cards are a bane of my existence (one of several alas).  I hate to waste money on throw-aways, but seniors in my life love them. So I buy for them. But then I'm stuck with the reciprocal cards. My thrifty, eco-conscious self hates to discard, but my clean freak side doesn't want the clutter. Even neatly organized (which I have no time to do) cards, valentines and such tchotchkis get cumbersome. Here are five cheap, homemade recycled ways to repurpose greeting cards, old wrapping paper, gift tags and kids valentines.  5 Repurposed Uses for Valentines--Art Projects, Crafts, Gifts