Gingerale

I just took a swig of the gingerale I (rarely) have in the fridge. It says, "Made with real ginger" and "made with 100% real flavours, including real ginger". So I look at the ingredients. As follows...

Carbonated water, sugar/glucose-fructose, citric acid, natural flavour, sodium benzdate, colour.

....Where's the ginger? In the "natural flavours"? Why don't they, then, say.. I don't know.. GINGER.

*sigh*

Mondays

It could have been a mix of it being a Monday after having the weekend off. It could have been a mix of a moon mid-cycle. It could have been a mix of being tired from getting up 50,000 times last night. Whatever it was, made today challenging.

I haven't been this clumsy, in, I don't know how long. I dropped milk on the floor *splat*. I bumped into things, into people. This clumsiness has been building for a while, so I can't say it's just today, but it didn't help any. And I was busy later in the day. That didn't help, either.

That's all. My griping is done.

Time Flies, Things Change

I woke up early this morning because my body said it's had its 8 hours of sleep and wasn't having anymore (you understand this means I was up at 0800, which is rare for me). I putter around, I come online and I see that my cousin has had a baby. My cousin. A baby. What... just happened?? I literally froze, I was so much in shock. Then anger. Why didn't he tell me when we spoke on the phone a couple months ago? Where is all of this coming from?!?!?

*sigh* Let me give you a quick background where this shock/anger is coming from. S. and I grew up together as kids out in the country. We were very close. We even hung out a lot into our teens, 20's. Then time and distance grew us apart. We'd talk on the phone a bit here and there; we'd often counsel each other. But he stayed in our home town, I didn't (and I very rarely traveled there). I've always missed my cousin; we were great friends growing up.

So to hear he's had something major and wonderful happen in his life, something I know he's always wanted, I'm saddened that I wasn't there to share it with him. It's like I'm 15 again and taking it personally that he hasn't told me. But we're not 15, we haven't been speaking, and he's owed me nothing. So, I 'manned up' and wrote him a congrats and said how adorable his son is (he really is... you just wanna squish him), and every letter I typed hurt. But, I have to wish him the best, walk away and deal with my sadness on my own.

I'll call him sometime when my shock/anger subsides (so I can say, "How have you been??" instead of, "What the hell??". A little kinder, wouldn't you say?). It seems in not going home and avoiding my parents, I've avoided everyone else as well.

Website

For my fellow photography-enthusiast friends (is that proper grammar?), I present you with a website I came across tonight; Out Of Bounds Photos. These really threw me for a loop. They're fantastic. Talk about taking your photography to the next level...

The Word of the Day..

Today's word of the day is.... chaste.

That is all.

Health and Venting

I'll get the easiest thing off my mind first.

I'm looking at alternatives for breakfast. Instead of the usual cereal, I mean. I'll have to look for the same carbohydrate count, if not slightly more (and include more protein). I usually just have milk, cereal (Special K) with a banana cut into it. I'd like to incorporate more variety, but I've always feared I won't feel as full. Really, cereal doesn't do much either, but for the sake of argument. Anyways, if you have any suggestions, it's appreciated.

Next..

I found out from a co-worker that if we develop the flu, we're forced 7 days off. SEVEN DAYS. Who the hell can afford 7 days? Some of us can't even save for that. I don't know that there's a clause signed for such events but I know they want you to get your flu shot. This is a hell of a way of making you get it. But even if one gets the flu shot, and one gets the flu, is one protected from the 7 days off? Are they still mandated to 'police' you? Even after the 7 days they still have to 'clear' you, and that may take longer than the original 7. I stay away from vaccine's like the plague. I don't believe in them. It's bad enough they practically forced me to get some a couple years back when I started (my second MMR, tetanus and hepatitis, I believe). Ugh! I'm just.. livid!

*sigh*

A.W.O.L...and Babble

The plague of death has kept me from posting anything as of late. Okay, it hasn't been *that* bad, but it has taken me out for a couple days (which means missing a day of work..sigh). I really should be napping right now, but I'm too fidgety. I'm keeping my energy level to a minimum, though. It tires me out to do much anyways, right now.

I'm going to back up my co-worker about what she said about if an unfamiliar ingredient is in what she's consuming, she probably doesn't want it anyways. It's not an ignorant comment. It's coming from a mentality of having a whole foods/raw foods diet. When you go to the store, is there an ingredient list for broccoli? No.

House had a good premiere on the other night. I thoroughly enjoyed that.

I'm a little upset Dancing With the Stars is on on Tuesdays, now. It interferes with Hell's Kitchen. I forgot all about The F Word. Damn. Well, Hell's Kitchen is almost over (or is it completely over? I missed the last half of last night's show). I don't watch a lot of TV but I do have my favourites.

Studies are going well. I've gone from consistencies of diets (dysphagia, pureed, soft, DAT's, etc) and now I'm on allergies/intolerances (discussing the differences of each, reactions, etc). People usually have intolerances, not allergies (when they think they do) and allergies are an immune reaction, where intolerances are a non-immune reaction. There's your lesson for today :)

Well, not much else to say today. I had a shower which was refreshing and let up some of the congestion. But I hate being alone and sick. I'd like, for one day, someone to take care of me. Ah well, that's a thought best saved for offline.

Hope y'all are having a good week.

More Carrageenan...

Well, this has started a whirlwind, hasn't it?

I did more research; carrageenan is based in Neilson's *chocolate* milk products only. I've tried linking to ingredients of white and chocolate milk, but they have the same website. So, go to Neilson's Dairy website - Products -> Milk (you'll get a listing for all 4 types). Then, on the right-hand side, you can select chocolate milk to see that ingredient list. Yeah. A bit of a difference.

I perused the site some more and found it's in items such as sour cream, but not in (most) yogurts. I found the lower the fat content in yogurt, the more presence of carrageenan. Interesting.

Blue Diamond Almond Milk has a much higher nutritional content than 'regular' milk, but like I said, unfortunately has our friend (as mentioned, 7th ingredient).

For the fun of it, I took a look at another favourite dairy brand, Organic Meadow. Their chocolate milk also has it in it, but no other dairy products do. So there's something about chocolate milk that requires this thickening agent (aside from other products, we agree, but this all started with chocolate milk, so..). As a bonus, their sour cream doesn't contain it, nor their yogurt, though sadly their ice cream does (but it's the very last ingredient).

So, if we're deciding what we're putting into our bodies when it comes to dairy and dairy ingredients, what wins? Choosing one product over another because it has an ingredient we're trying to avoid? Should we always choose organic? Should we look at other options for calcium and vitamin alternatives?

Carrageenan and Milk

I couldn't pass this up. I don't think I'll ever drink milk, or at least chocolate milk, again.

I was sitting with a co-worker at break tonight, discussing Nutrition (we're both studying it). She has been slowly taking on an... elimination diet, if you will (elimination from processed foods, etc). I'd bought a chocolate milk. She mentions how she doesn't drink milk anymore, but almond milk instead (which I tried tonight, and it's quite tasty, btw). She looks at the ingredients and aside from sugar being the second ingredient, carrageenan was the third. She says, "I don't even know what carrgeenan is, but I'm sure I don't want it if it's in my milk". I'd heard of it before but forgot what it was.

Oh. My. God. Well, thanks to good 'ol Wiki, I looked it up. See the page here. Go ahead, I'll wait until you read it. Take your time. Oh, you might want to read all of it, including the bottom where they say it's used as a personal lubricant.

I can't look at chocolate milk the same anymore. Thoughts? Discussions? I might have to wait a day to even comment, myself. I'm still sort of... in disgust.

What Do *You* Want?

Today's theme, I think, is what we want. Or in a manner, what we think we want.

We don't always know what we want. We think we do. We think we've got life all planned out sometimes. But God (or the Universe, for the non-believers) will come along, throw a wrench in the plans and will force us into a situation repeatedly until we deal with it adequately (read: learned, so it doesn't keep happening).

I thought I knew what I wanted. I don't (with this one thing, not with *everything*..heh..just so we're clear). Today was another example of proving that wrong. I learned, so the situation won't be happening again (if I have anything to do with it). At least, not for a while.

Humans are funny; we're stubborn, we like to control things. We can't just... let go; and that's the one thing we need to do most. Things actually come to us *more* when we let go.

I've always been guided by the phrase, "Let go and let God". Not everyone follows this. I'm even trying to think when I was Athiest or Agnostic, what I believed. Well, even then, I tried to control things; it was as foolish then as it is now. But now I'm rambling....

I hate that I have to be in such a damn rush for things sometimes. Part of me likes waiting, part of me wants things yesterday. I guess this lesson will also be repeated until we learn, give in and let go.