Mrs Fussypants

Slackin' Ain't Easy...

I have warned y'all I am a type B slacker. Sure, I'm driven when it comes to some things. I keep building websites and making jewelry like a crazed woman but seriously, that is my job. After last year, when we lost the dream house and the outrageously high paying job, we have learned to live on less. Which is fine, and in many ways I am grateful for our new scaled back life, the last thing I want is for my sons to grow up wealthy with an attitude of entitlement. I want to raise strong, down to earth, God loving men and indulging them would ruin all my efforts.

Ok, this wasn't what I wanted to even talk about today. I wanted to discuss how I have got to be less of a slacker in my personal life. Seriously, I take slacking to new heights. I do everything I shouldn't do: I don't sleep enough, I drink too much wine and coffee, I don't exercise and I haven't done a daily devotional and prayer time in months. I suck.

Soooo, I decided to start doing all these things. Can a chick who likes to sit around on twitter drinking cabernet and eating Honeycomb cereal out of the bag do everything deferently overnight?

Beats me.

But, I'm gonna give it a try. Except for the wine and coffee thing. Let's not go crazy.

As I logged on I checked my friend's blog and she had a post up that was written like she wrote it for me. Well, except if she wrote it for me it would say, "Hey Alli, we will have our picture taken 68,987 times at BlissDom. Get your Blogging Butt on the elliptical machine. STAT." Tsh was nice enough to leave that part out.

So go read Tsh's article because she says it all way better than I could, and next week I'll let you all know how I do with all the overnight impossible miraculous {never-have-the-willpower-in-a-million-years} life changes.

xoxo, alli

Fight the Frump- Baby fat & blogging butt!

I have a problem. Not the mold (hey, we move home this weekend!), not my ongoing war with the laundry pile, this is serious. I have a problem. It is a double whammy of trouble- baby fat & blogging butt.

That is right. I have left over baby fat from having bebe #5 in May, combined with a bad case of blogger butt. Apparently me wishing the pounds away is not working. Ignoring the problem seems not to be paying off.

During the day I try to eat healthily, but then the evenings... Yeah, you know where this is going... hubs pulls out the chips, the boys eat Hershey's kisses and I pour that lovely glass of red wine. My problem with wine isn't the calories, it is that after I have a glass, I'm all happy go lucky & the world is fabulous. I do not care that those chips & chocolate are bad for me.

So, it's up to you, I need to drop some serious poundage. Tell me how you do it? I need your tips, tricks and secrets.

Do not tell me to join a gym & here is why- the baby gets sick from nursery & they never have childcare for school age kids during the day. Plus, I can't drop any coin on a membership right now.

Also, can you not suggest eating less & exercising more? That is really boring and I won't do it. I know, I live with me.

Share your thoughts. Do you have weight troubles, too? How do you manage it. What do you recommend eating? And OK, just for the funny factor, what do you recommend doing for exercise with the 5 boys in tow?

Seriously, do you think attendees of the BlissDom conference will mind if I confiscate their cameras just to make sure no shots of my behind are accidentally in the background? Oh, won't work? Bummer.

Love you, Alli

PS. I send out evites today to pick the lucky 75 women who will get to attend the BlissDom conference! Email me if you would love an evite.

If you are Fighting the Frump with me, please leave your link in the comments! Sorry for my lack of Mr. Linky. It's on my list of things to fix! {grrrrrr} xoxo, A.

Oprah, Dr. Oz & Fussy say Stop Poisoning Yourselves!

My homeboy, Dr. Mehmet Oz and his amazing eyebrows, were back on Oprah to teach us how to stop poisoning ourselves.

The show started with two supa-unhealthy people. They followed Dr.Ozzie's instructions on how to stop killing themselves get healthy. Voila, now they are healthier and happier. ~Yawn~ It wasn't exactly titillating, hence the lack of photos for ya'.

The good part was when he gave great tips that we can do immediately to stop killing ourselves! Excited? Good, because this was a good episode after all.

Take Your Shoes Off Inside!

     Mothers of the world- pump your fists in the air! Whoop, Whoop! Let's do an 'I told you so' dance.

I always worried about dog poop in the house, but apparently all the toxic lawn care products are even worse. Yikes! Ozzie said that the chemicals get trapped in our carpet. Babies will ingest them, and they become airborne when we walk over them. Dog poop- OK. ChemLawn- Not so much.

Never Heat &/or Microwave In Plastic-

 

  Oh, Sweet Redemption, I've been annoying people informing the masses forever. Plastic wrap over food and heating plastic containers releases chemicals. These plasticizers and PBas are endocrine disruptors. They mimic Estrogen in our bodies.

Only nuke your food in glass! Use a plate to cover the top. Melty plastic wrap that touches your hot food? Yikes, you are just begging for breast cancer. Stop it, now! California just passed a law banning toxic plastics in children's products. Good Job! Hopefully, more will be done to stand up for our health.

Have y'all read my post about plastics? "Exposure in even small amounts (plastic) has been linked in some studies to early puberty in girls, genital defects and reduced testosterone production in boys and impaired sperm quality in men, although the chemical industry disputes the strength of the studies.

Under the new law, any product made for young children that contains more than one-tenth of 1% of phthalates (pronounced "THA-lates") cannot be made, sold or distributed in California beginning in 2009."

Clean Without Poisoning Yourself-

Most cleaning products are full of toxic chemicals that build up in our homes and cause serious damage to our health. Have you seen commercials for Clorox Spray Disinfectant? We are lead to believe spraying that chemical gumbo on our kid's highchair and toys is a good idea? Not only do the chemicals we clean with build up on hard surfaces, but they become airborne.

Dr. Oz also mentioned how it is the teeny tiny airborne particles that do the most damage. Our homes are built airtight and these toxins just build up in the air we breath! We should open up our windows for a bit everyday to release the chemicals and particles we are breathing.

I have found White Vinegar works on my hardwood floors. I also love rubbing alcohol to clean with. Toxic? Don't drink it, but the inhalation of a bit of alcohol fumes aren't carcinogens like you have in household cleaners. Unless you are sniffing it in a closet, you should be OK.  If you have been sniffing it in a closet, you have worse issues, go get some help.

Check Your Basement.

Do the smell check. If it smells, then you probably have mold. Toxic mold is some nasty stuff. Go buy a dehumidifier and keep it going.

Also, keeping cans of paint, varnishes, et cetera- are supa-dangerous. If flammability doesn't give you pause, the fact that, even when closed, the toxins leak out into the air- should scare your pants off! If you keep them, then store them in a well-ventilated area, like your garage. Now, go put your pants back on. Yes, you too!

Dry Cleaning Doesn't Have To Kill You-

Normal dry cleaning solvent is a carcinogen. Bring it in your home, hanging it in the closet, and then taking the bags off is the worst thing to do. The out-gassing release of the chemical solvents will just build up in your supa-energy efficient home. Then we breathe in the chemicals for 6 8 hours every night!

I found a "Natural" Nontoxic chemical using cleaner for hubby's shirts. It is no more expensive and he can't tell a difference. Trust me, if it were any different, Mr. Smartypants would know. A quick peek in the yellow pages should show who goes "green" when dry cleaning.

Because I'm avoiding laundry duty of my high journalistic standards, I wanted to show y'all what I discovered in my fridge....

Unsafe plastics-

#3- PVC

#6-PS

#7-Polycarbonate

Look for-

#1-PETE

#2-HDPE

#4-LDPE

#5-PP

Love to all y'all,

Fussy

Be Happy About Something Darnit!

Gratitude, happiness, smellin' the roses- there are a million different ways to say it. The point is that we need more of it. Oprah has been commanding her viewers to do a dopey-sounding "gratitude journal" for a decade. But lately I am beginning to think there is something to that.Yep, "the Oprah" has won me over.

So I am definitely starting a new Linky. One day a week we gotta stay positive, be grateful, at least pretend to be happy. C'mon, you can do it! If you don't Tom Cruise will kidnap Oprah. Just look at his maniacal smile and crazy eyes looking at her. It's up to you friends of Fussy!

"But Fussy, it would be so boring!"

Pshaw! You don't have to make a list of happy moments with Aunt Mabel on the farm. Maybe you did something exciting that you never shared before.

Like your days with the dancing ninjas.

Or did you go see a movie? Even if it stank up the screen, you were out of the house without the toddler right? That is good stuff right there!

Or maybe you just want to show off some pictures from your life that make you happy that week.

You have a week to gather some happy thoughts. My post will go up next Wednesday evening for Thursday.

What shall we call it?

"Stop yer whinin' Thursdays?"

"The Oprah Made Me do it Thursdays?"

"Life doesn't Suck too Bad Thursdays?"

Ok, your turn- let me know if you are in on the fun and think up some great names. I'll pick my favorite & have a graphic for us to use next week.

Love, Fussy

PS- You could just post about your astounding awesomeness. Like how you've lost weight lately. Yes, I do notice. You look great. ;)

Fussy's Secret to Staying Wrinkle Free

I love Wednesdays! Some weeks I give you decorating ideas, or maybe a quick how to ruin your life tutorial, but let's keep it shallow and superficial this Wednesday!

Some of you know that I am a pasty Irish girl a delicate flower who should stay out of the sun. Seriously, my skin has no business seeing daylight. Without massive coverage, I would end up a wrinkled mess.

Maybe you have noticed that I have an affinity for hats?

I also love me some sunglasses. You need year-round sunglasses, Friends of Fussy. They can be barely tinted for Winter and dark for Summer days.

Combine a great hat and some sunglasses and your skin will thank you! I dug up this horrid picture I took during a long boring miserable family car trip last summer.

Isn't my life exciting?

So there ya have it, Friends of Fussy! Bad hair day? Out of make-up? Raging case of pink-eye?

A hat, some snazzy sunglasses and your trusty lip-gloss -you are good to go!

Love. Fussy

Fussy, Dr. Oz & The Power of Calcium

My best friend, personal physician, favorite doctor was on The Oprah Fussy Show again. I always know I will learn quite a bit and have tons of entertaining (I hope!) posts for you. Dr. Oz delivered a fact-filled show, my wonderful Friends of Fussy, I have three posts in the works. Whoo-hoo!

Dr. Oz taught us how to make our bodies burn twice as much fat as they normally do.

Exercise? Nope.  Crack? Nada.  Herbal Body Wraps? No, but sounds relaxing.

It is calcium! Yep, ol' Betsy the Cow has the secret to burning the excess pounds off!

Here is a snippet from the show-

"Volunteers spent one week on a diet high in dairy-based calcium—milk, cheese and yogurt. The next week they ate a diet low in dairy and calcium. Both diets contained exactly the same amount of calories and fat.

They also collected their stool samples and sent them off to a lab where scientists analyzed how much fat their bodies were absorbing and how much was passing through—a complicated process that took three months to finish.

The results of the calcium experiment are clear. "The answer is if you have a high calcium diet you [could] … double your fat excretion," Dr. Oz says. "You can actually get rid of twice as much of that fat if you have calcium, adequate amounts of calcium, at least a gram, in your diet. … What happens is the calcium meets up with the fat and it forms a soap. That soap gets pushed through your bowel."

Are you getting rid of the fat in your diet by getting enough calcium? For the answer, you're going to have to look in the toilet bowl. "You'll have poop that actually floats in there, which reflects the fact that you've been able to excrete fat and not reabsorb it through your intestinal tract," Dr. Oz says."

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When you have enough Calcium in your body...

The calcium will bind with the fat in your diet and form a soap...

And you can burn up to 6 pounds of additional fat per year.!

And, um, yeah, he said your poop will float because of all the fat. No, I am not going to supply a graphic. Bleech!

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Here is Dr. Oz's advice on how much Calcium we should have in our diet.

"While the average American gets about 250 milligrams of calcium from non-dairy, non-fortified foods a day, they should be getting more like 1,200 milligrams. If you do that, you could get rid of as much as six and a half pounds of fat a year! ... "Usually we recommend folks take about 1,200 milligrams of calcium and somewhere between 600 and 800 milligrams of magnesium," Dr. Oz says. "The combination actually allows you to be loose enough to go to the bathroom."

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Now, go eat a big bowl of fiber-rich cereal, Adkins be-darned!

Love, Fussy

Dr. Oz Teaches Fussy Things She Never Wanted To Know

Well, Hi there, you supa-fab Friend of Fussypants. I'm so happy to see ya today. You are lookin' lovely as usual.

You know that I strive to serve up good stuff everyday for ya. I'm not sure if this one will be appreciated or not. ~crosses fingers~ Here goes...

I love it when Dr. Oz visits 'The-Oprah' to answer questions! This segment shall be known as the 'things I did not know I wanted to know' edition.

Welcome back, Dr. Ozzie. You look so calm. I wonder if you will get excited and let your crazy eyebrows take over this week?

Let's start with this viewer email from Anonymous. Better be anonymous!

Where do I begin? I am rendered speechless. Good thing Dr. Oz had some handy video of what pinworms look like on a colon. Please excuse me while I go find the pepto.

Boy, these pictures are terrible. Maybe if I had a fancy plasma TV & a fancy new camera....Do you hear me fancy electronics companies? I'll do a review. Ten, maybe twenty people, will read it! C'mon, just a thought.

Dr. Oz was so excited to describe how common and prevalent worms are that his scary eyebrows took over. Yay, I love it when that happens!

Much to my horror, Dr. Oz said that 20% of American children have pinworms. It is so nightmarishly scary that I'll spare you the details. However, if your kiddo gets an itchy bottom at night every 3 or 4 weeks, read this. ~bleech~

Tapeworms grow to be 30 feet long and live for 20 years. The main symptom of having a tapeworm? Extreme weight loss.

Extreme weight loss isn't so bad. Tiddley seems harmless enough.

(photo from kisreal.com)

Too bad they have been eliminated in most western countries. I'm kidding, I don't really want to have a tapeworm.

Ok, maybe not. Who wants to split a cheesecake or 5?

I have nothing of value in showing the above scene, just sheer shock at the brilliant Dr. Oz's choice of words.

The Oprah has taught Dr. Oz, the Vice-Chair and Professor of Surgery at Columbia University, who directs the Cardiovascular Institute and Complementary Medicine Program at New York Presbyterian Hospital, to use the term "va-jay-jay". Poor Ozzie mispronounced it. He said, "Va-ga-ga." Big O had to step in and say, "It's Va-jay-jay, Dr. Oz."  The Queen of Shake-Shake must be so proud.

So there ya go, everything you ever wanted to know about worms, but were too horrified to ask.

Love, Fussy

ps.- anyone know where to get a neatly packages germfree tapeworm? ;)

Fussy's Linkapalooza- Merry Christmas!

I found these little presents on my reader this week! Check these out-

Absolutely Bananas brilliant ode to photoshop. Blogging brilliance.

Karla writes so beautifully about realizing, through her daily struggles, the true meaning of Christmas.

Love me some Casey!

Kathryn & her kids can spot Jesus everywhere this year!

Melody is such a brilliant writer. Her son surprised her with self-wrapped love.

I'm still concerned about Lotus' taint!

Does your little man love some Thomas the Train? Go see Jennifer.

Jessica perfectly explains the horror that is Christmas shopping at Ross.

Chris taught me how to take a decent picture in low light. Yay.

Pioneer Woman Cooks answered reader questions. Ree- are you reading me, yet? Give in, Ree, you so want to be a loyal Friend of Fussy.

If I were a wonderful writer like Ann, I would wax poetic about the joy of Christ's birth. I'm no Ann, I realize! :) What? You don't read her? Get over there!

This week, if you have not seen the movie -Nativity Story, please rent it. I think it is on HBO on demand, too! It is wonderfully done, and I think kids 8 & up will enjoy. My 6yr. old gets a wee-tad bored when we watch.

If you haven't seen the movie, and watch this Christmas, let me know what you think.

I would love to hear your thoughts.

Enjoy these links-

Hey, Health Myths Busted. No more chugging water. I'm so using my cell in the hospital when I have this baby! Send your numbers, Internetz!

Do you make the bed everyday?

Stop making your beds. See? I'm not a slacker, I'm healthy! So, pat yourself on the back. You are so healthy! Next time your Momma asks why you are a slob, just tell her about the dust mites! ;)

Oh, Yeah, the contest-

Who Won?

The winner is my supa-fab homegirl, Lotus the Sarcastic Mom.

"El Chicito The Flying Dog narrowly escapes the wrath of yet another mistress's husband...."

Lotus will get some of my supa-fine jewelry during a playdate at my house next week. She ya' there, Hawt Mamma.

Next Week's Caption Contest

OK, Get ready for it.....

Here it comes...

Make 'em good! Top five captions, as chosen by Mr. Smartypants, will go up for a vote on Wednesday. Good luck!

ps-Lotus, don't enter! ;)

Merry Christmas Everyone. I Love You!

Fussy

Fussy's Linkapalooza -MWAH!

We have a winnah!

The Winnah is..drumroll, please... Keri.

I asked Partyboy to pick a number between 1 & 28. He is a huge Peyton Manning fan, and Peyton wears #18. Keri was lucky enough to enter right at Peyton's number. Congrats, Babe!

I will have another wonderful jewelry giveaway in January.

Bossy's Daughter & Bossy need prayers and love. A dog needs to go. down. hard.

The Moosh turns three this week. Prepare to fall in love.

Christine has the supa-funny video of Obama's verbal smackdown of Hilary in the debate last week.

The always wonderful Melissa at Here in the Bonny Glen is the day planner queen. I always buy one, and then forget to use it. I am a slacky-slacky-slacker at heart.

The always hilarious Lindsey at Suburban Turmoil brings Bad Santa 2007.(Mine is at the bottom of this post!)

This is from last month, but so darn funny! Beta-Mom's Bad Cookies. Holla, Lil' Rhody!

White Trash Mom has a funny list of things NOT to waste your cash on this year.

Oldy-But-Goody- How to Properly Hug a Baby. If you are a dog.

Happy Chanukah! Who doesn't just adore Adam Sandler & his Chanukah Song?

Adam Sandler The Chanukah Song | Funny Jokes at JibJab

Some of you have yet to join in at Twitter. How can this be? No, you don't have to IM on the go. I use it to keep up with people during the day. I can check in and see who's cooking dinner, a new post at Problogger, and all sorts of neat daily oddities. Come and join in, won't ya'? Here is my profile.

I Want Sandy.com -A most adorable FREE online personal assistant. Sweet! I just signed up. Who knows? Maybe I'll be organized one day! Realistically, no.

BeFunky is in the Beta phase (I'm still not sure what all that means) and by invite only, but Oh, Mam, it looks cool. Anyone in? Send me an invite. Pretty please.

I should rename this part -Ann's Section. Just read everything she writes. :)

MintheGap wrote a wonderful post about salvation.

LOST returns to TV January 31st! Whoo-hoo.

Karla has a great way to protect our little monkeys online.

Scribbit has a great list (oh, I love lists) of things to do with the kiddos over Christmas break.

I had a nice selection of complaining email this week. I know I'm a famous Blogger when I get my first "I hate Fussy" site. A gal can dream.

Anyhoo, the two complaints that are worth answering are about my lack of discussing homeschooling and my marriage series -The Gentle Art of Ruling your Husband series.

• About the Homeschooling-  Most of my readers are not homeschoolers and I do not want to bore people. Starting early next year, I'll be editing a new blog about Homeschooling that will be a collaborative work.I am also working on a Ning social network for Homeschool Moms. More info soon.
• About my Marriage Series- I know you guys love it! I'll still cross post occaisionally, but I think it would be better served in it's own blog format. Hopefully that one will be up by February.

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Last week's Photo Caption Contest was so much fun. Congrats to Heather! She will soon be the owner of some original Fussypants Designs earrings!

"Ancient proverb: Bear who go to sleep with itchy butt wake up with stinky claw".

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Here it is the new caption contest photo!

I'll choose the top five captions. Make 'em good!

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Because I love y'all and enjoy sharing my pain embarassment life, I give you my first try at a christmas card photo. The infamous Santa photo-

Love to you, you, you, you over there, and, of course you,

Fussy

PS- Yes, I meant you, too!

True Success in Life Can't be Found at the Mall

What is Success?

"To laugh often and love much;

To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;

To earn the approval of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;

To appreciate beauty;

To find the best in other;

To give of oneself;

To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition;

To have played and laughed with enthusiasm and sung with exultation;

To know even one has breathed easier because you have lived...

This is to have succeeded."

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

As I prayed yesterday, feeling quite sorry for myself -one of those days, OK?, I felt lead to this quote from Emerson. Seems I had forgotten that all-important sense of perspective and gratitude. Perspective on my life: my beautifully wild boys, a husband I adore -most of the time ;), our health, our happily crazed days together. Seems so trite, but when one of those things is askew -the importance becomes clear.

In this season of overspending, overscheduling and over-stress take a moment to relax and gain a new perspective. If you, Friends of Fussy, are anything like me -it will make all the difference.

What are your blessings that get overlooked in the busyness of life?

Have a wonderful day!

Love & Blessings, Fussy

Need More Fuss-tastic-ness?

Fight the Frump- Christmas Sweater Nightmare

Cute Christmas Gifts & Caption Contest

5 Eay Ways to Be Miserable

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