My local health food store carries Tera’swhey, so I bought some cocoa to try. I had been very tired all summer, sluggish even, and felt to just take a walk was a drag on my body. This wasn’t like me and I was getting a bit worried!

Let me tell you first that nobody is paying me for this and I am not writing an affiliate blog.

Now let me tell you that my energy went from about 20 to 100% within 10 minutes! I have felt wonderful all summer ever since starting the whey powder. I have the drink every morning for breakfast, mixed with unsweetened SO Delicious Coconut Milk. Yum. Sometimes I even have half a version at the end of the afternoon if I am having an energy dip as often happens around “tea time.” I am flabbergasted at how well I feel, and how clear headed. I even started Weight Watchers and the combination of one serving of Tera’sWhey and coconut milk is only 4 points. Even better.

I should note that my central nervous system has had quite an assault as those who know my story know that I have had two severe poisonings that damaged my central nervous system. Those who have similar problems take note of my experience with whey? Maybe it will help.

Tera’swhey is organic and one serving results in 22 grams of protein, 120 calories, 1.5g of fat, and 5 g of carbohydrates.

I’ve followed his example and placed a rose quartz at the entrance to my home. Here is a photo of the rose quartz–shaped, fittingly, like a heart–that I have set on the stone wall by the path to my front porch.

Link here for the answer to Green Quest #1:  About Disinfectants

Green Quest is written by Annie B. Bond, bestselling author of Better Basics for the Home, Clean & Green, and three other books about green living. Ask Annie a question by writing to welcome [@] greenchicafe [dot] com

Deepak: By listening to your body and responding to it with awareness, you tap into the field of infinite possibility, where the natural experience is peace, harmony, and joy.

Your first and most reliable guide to happiness is your body. The body is designed to support the mind, and working together they create the state known as happiness. When you’re deciding whether or not to act, ask your body, “How do you feel about this?” If your body sends back a signal of physical or emotional distress, reconsider the action. If your body sends a signal of comfort and eagerness, proceed. Together, mind and body form a single field. It is artificial to separate them as we usually do. Every experience has a physical component…. You cannot have a single thought, sensation, or feeling without your body responding.
–The Ultimate Happiness Prescription, by Deepak Chopra

Annie: Healing the natural world around you offers a life of transformation and renewal in many more ways than just having a healthier body. The healing works deeply for body, mind, and spirit. You feel fully at home.

Our sixth sense, or intuition, is keenly aware of when we are in balance with our surroundings. We know when we are breathing wonderfully clean air, when we drink water that is as sweet as sugar, and when our surroundings feel healing. We know deep down inside what feels right and true—something sings inside of us.

It is your intuitive weathervane that will help you understand how to heal your environment. Even as you learn and research the chemical basis of materials, your intuition is your everyday guide.

Over time, I’ve realized that there are always markers present in a polluted environment and home. Your senses will react—you hear something different, you smell an off-putting odor, you taste metal in your mouth, or you’re repelled by what you touch. Conversely, your spirits are lifted when sixth sense recognizes clean air, beautiful aromas, and harmonious sounds.

–Home Enlightenment, by Annie Bond

Elizabeth Kubler-Ross introduced the five stages of grief as a way to help in the process of recovery from terrible loss. It is quite clear the geyser in the Gulf has me touching all the stages of grief — except acceptance, the fifth stage.

The first stage of grief is denial. This is the “this can’t be happening” stage. I’m right there, every time I think of the photo of the pelican, of the decimation of the Gulf Coast culture, livelihoods and ways of life.

Read the rest at HuffingtonPost.com : http://www.huffingtonpost.com/annie-b-bond/grieving-for-the-gulf_b_603852.html

Another old-fashioned remedy is to take two teaspoons of cider vinegar with two teaspoons of honey in a glass of warm water before bedtime, while traditional Mexican healers have long prescribed a teaspoon of raw honey in a cup of warm chamomile tea. Variations include a teaspoon of honey in a cup of hot water, a teaspoon of honey in a cup of passion flower tea, or simply a smear of honey on a peanut-butter sandwich before bedtime.

Honey, Sleep, and the HYMN Cycle
Scottish pharmacist, researcher, and author Mike McInnes believes that honey improves, facilitates, and lengthens restorative sleep by at least three mechanisms. When taken before bedtime, he teaches that honey:
* Ensures adequate liver-glycogen stores for eight hours of sleep. this prevens or limits the early-morning release of two stress hormones, cortisol and adrenaline.
* Stabilizes blood-sugar levels.
* Contributes to the release of melatonin, the hormone required for both the recoery and rebuilding of body tissues during rest.

The mechanism for this process can be explained by what McInnes calls the Honey-Insulin-Melatonin Cycle, or “HYMN Cycle.” The cycle is described in detail in his revolutionary book The Hibernation Diet, co-authored with his son Stuart.

How does the HYMN Cycle work? In a lecture and poster presentation at the First International Symposium on Honey and Human Health on January 8, 2008, McInnes described this complex process, which begins with the ingestion of one or two tablespoons of honey in the hour prior to bedtime.

The glucose portion of honey is digested and passes into the general blood circulation, producing a mild glucose spike. This mild elevation in blood sugar causes the pancreas to release a small amount of insulin into the bloodstream. This in turn drives tryptophan into the brain, where it is converted to serotonin, a key hormone that promotes relaxation.

There are other functions that honey stimulates, including the production of liver glycogen, to eliminate the release of stress hormones normally released by the adrenal glands to maintain fuel supply to the brain.

McInnes prescribes taking one to two tablespoons of honey an hour before bedtime in order to activate the HYMN Cycle.

Adapted from The Honey Prescription, by Nathaniel Altman (Healing Arts Press, 2010).

I’ve always loved nettle tea because it works on the endocrine system and helps with hormonal balance, for both men and women. It is known to aid the inhibition of prostate activity, and help with both PMS and menopause. It is also known as one of the best tonic herbs for longevity. Chock full of nutrients, this herb might just be the tea that could make a positive difference in your sense of hormonal balance, whether you are a man or a woman.

I like nettle tea, but nettle tinctures are great, too, as are nettle pills!

Nettle Tea
This infusion will last in the refrigerator for about a week.

Ingredients
A handful of dried nettle leaves
A quart mason jar

Place the nettle leaves in the jar, and fill with boiling water. Cover tightly and set overnight. Strain, and either drink the tea cold or heat it up. You can add milk and a sweetener (agave, which is low on the glycemic index, is recommended).

You’ll get the most from your dandelions if you use leaves, flowers, and roots. Dandelion salads made with the greens will bring lots of vitamin C to your plate. Tea made from dandelion roots is a strong tonic.

Dandelion Root Tea Simple

1 teaspoon dandelion root

Steep the root in one cup of boiling water. Cool enough to drink. Herbalists recommend not to sweeten the tea, but drink as it is, in its full bitterness.

Dandelion Tonic Two
Makes 1 1/2 cup
1-cup tomato or V-8 juice
1 teaspoon lemon or lime juice
1/2 cup strong dandelion root tea
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
Worcestershire sauce to taste

Combine ingredients, shake or stir to blend.
Combine all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth

Dandelion Buds and Butter

A large handfull or two of small flower buds

Boil water on the stove and drop the buds into the water until tender. Drain well, then saute in a small amount of butter. Add salt, pepper, and lemon juice to taste.

Yet the negative toll of toxic chemicals and pollution on our bodies is probably as dramatic as emissions are for the planet, or plastics are for the oceans, the direct link is just harder to make. Read the rest on HuffingtonPost>

Dear Cynthia,
I love this question because, happily, the solution is so easy! In your case, it will also do double duty by also neutralizing the smell of the scented enzyme spray.

Cat urine has components to it that are both alkaline and acidic. Vinegar will neutralize the alkaline component, and baking soda the acidic. You did just half of the equation using vinegar: the acidic component will still be there, so you need to add cleaning with baking soda to your arsenal. That’s it! Alternate baking soda and vinegar and you’ll get rid of the smell.

Given that the material being sprayed by the cats is, in your case, brick, you’ll most likely want to use a baking soda spray to start. If it isn’t doing the trick, you’ll want to then scrub with a baking soda soft scrubber paste (with a dab of unscented eco-friendly liquid detergent to make for better rinsing), but that will require more work and rinsing.

Baking Soda Spray
1 cup almost-boiling water
3 tablespoons of baking soda
spray bottle

The best of luck!
Annie
Combine the baking soda and very hot water in a glass measuring cup. Stir to dissolve the baking soda. Cool to lukewarm and then pour into a spray bottle. Spritz the area of concern.