Clay cooker

Thomas and I were out and about yesterday so I decided to walk through a thrift store and see if there were any new treasures that needed my attention. I always find pretty good books for Thomas and usually he finds a couple for himself (typically nothing I would have picked). I always concede seeing how the books are only a few cents each, and since he is always really good about letting mommy look around, I figure why not.

Well, I came out yesterday with a pile of books and one item that at the time I was pretty stoked about. It is a (drum roll please) ... clay cooker. Looks like it has never been used and is sort of uniquely pretty. I have never actually cooked out of a clay cooker before and didn't/don't know much about the process.

After we got home I started google-ing (aah, my favorite invention of all times!) clay cookers. There are quit a few sites out there that explained how to use these cookers and how to take care of them. Apparently this form of cooking is a very old method. Not surprised by that, seeing how non-stick is nasty little creation from my life time (or there about.) Basically these cookers are used for cooking one pot meals. They are the right size to put a full chicken or small hen in and several veggies. Oh, and one thing I discovered that I was really excited about is the fact that you can cook bread in these cookers, just imagine how pretty that would look!

The one thing I kept reading was that if you owned a clay cooker that has been glazed on the inside bottom to watch out. So of course I quickly got up, removed the lid from my cooker and to my dismay, there was a shiny glossy bottom glaring up at me. Bummer! The sites had pointed out that the glaze may in fact leach lead (if the glaze has lead in it) into our food.

You know me I am not a friend of heavy metals or any other toxic thing out there. But who is really? So sadly I placed my cooker on the shelf till I could find out more about this specific brand. I am of course keeping my fingers crossed that I can find proof some where that this one is indeed safe. Although I am a bit jaded at this point and may just return it to the thrift store and get my four dollars back. I could of course apply that four dollars to the purchase of a brand new clay cooker that is indeed glaze (thus: lead) free. They are relatively inexpensive brand new. Now that I have done all this research on clay cookers I must say I am dying to try it out. No pun intended!!!

So here is where I stand in closing: On the top of my clay cooker it reads, Cordon Bleu Clay Cooker. On the bottom there is a faded blue stamp that says BIA Cordon Bleu Clay Cooker, Portugal. So I have contacted some very friendly ladies at BIA and they are going to try and help me solve this mystery. They are pretty sure this is a very vintage piece, since none of them had ever seen or heard of such a piece. Hopefully after reviewing a few pictures of the cooker some one there will be able to give me a little direction. But I have this gut feeling that if I even have to question it I should probably just let it go.

Never fear gals, I am addicted to cooking gadgets and finds so I will update again on how it is cooking with a clay cooker, one way or another...

Mercury filling removal...

There is a very interesting video on youtube that any one with silver (ie MERCURY) fillings in their mouth must watch. This video is called Smoking Tooth and you will understand why it is named so after you watch this film. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ylnQ-T7oiA

Pat and I have been talking about getting our mercury taken out for a long time now. Mercury in teeth is associated with Alzheimer's disease, Multiple Sclerosis, and a whole range of "auto-immune" illnesses. In fact my dentists wife said her migraine headaches stopped once she had her fillings removed. Now come to think about it I haven't had the slightest headache since having mine removed.

I had talked to my LAST (and by this I mean, no more, no longer, never again!) dentist about her removing our mercury fillings. When I asked her what precautions she took in their removal she was very (well for lack of a better word) RUDE. Stating that she has done this every day for the past ten years. And gave no further details. Well after hearing that response I was ok with just leaving my fillings right where they were for the time being. I had heard one too many times if they aren't taken out properly its safer to leave them in. (P.S. there was WAY more to her no longer being my dentist then the mercury issue, but all that would be another story!)

As the stars aligned for us I found a website called the Holistic Dental Association http://www.holisticdental.org/membersearch All you do is enter your zip code and dentists in your area who are a part of the HDA will appear. There were only three in our gigantic city. Then again our city may be large but it isn't exactly known for being a healthy city. Ha! So after looking over their websites I decided on one and Patrick and I set up our appointments.

I suppose I should add that I spent forty five minutes on the phone with the wife of the dentist when I was scheduling our appointments. It was beyond fantastic to finally be speaking to someone who shared my concerns. She and I were on the same wave length with so many health points. I was thrilled for once in my life to be going to the dentist.

Patrick had his appointment first and only had one mercury filling in his mouth. He came home and assured me that everything would be great...I get so nervous about dental appointments. Then a couple days later it was my turn. From the second I got there to the second I left everything was explained to me and everything was in my hands. Usually when I go to the dentist I feel like I am being strapped into a chair and have zero control. This experience was completely the opposite.

The equipment they used and the extra precautions they took at every turn were over the top and absolutely wonderful. One of their dental assistance told me in private that if this dentist ever retired or for some reason fired him that he would stop working in the dental field all together, because he felt like there was no one else out there practicing at this level. Wow, that's enough to ease your mind!

I could type on and on about what all they did, but just to keep it short here are a few things he did specifically during my mercury removal: Fancy air filtration system right next to my chair, eye goggles, special apron to protect my body, oxygen mask to insure I was breathing clean air, a special guard in my mouth to prevent me from ingesting any mercury, the dentist and assistant also wore special gear and wore special gloves (non-latex) to prevent themselves from absorbing mercury.

After it was all said and done I bought us some special supplements, pills and powders to help detox our bodies of all heavy metals. When I got home and mixed up the first shake and popped open the pill bottles the smell was over whelming. I almost got sick. Things that smell bad are impossible for me to take, I would have gaged and been sick. So lucky Pat gets to detox alone, I wish I could have done it as well but I will just have to find another way to do that.

Well I hope I have inspired you to look into mercury removal and remember don't do it unless you are sure they are practicing safe methods. I realize I didn't post a ton of facts here. I figure there are plenty of well documented sites, and books where you can get that info, this was just the story of my mercury removal.

EMF gone mad???

How do you know when you have offically lost it??? I am sitting here with a giant wad of tin foil under a base ball cap. I am thinking the emfs are giving me a monster headache so rather then turning off this stupid computer I wrap my head in foil???... It just dawned on me what a quack I may in fact be...I had to take a picture and show you. ps. my headache is lessening but now I have a funny metal taste in my mouth...no I havent been drinking and no I havent been chewing on foil....LOL! (not that drinking would cause the taste just this odd behavior.) Oh and I found a neat website for my fellow nuts: http://www.lessemf.com/personal.html check out the canopy for your bed....

Who needs to know?

Here is another creative catalyst from: http://www.danetterelic.com/drawingboard/

This Week's Creative Catalyst: Who Needs to Know?
This week is a creative writing prompt, but should you feel inspired to take this idea and bloom it out into some other form, I say follow that inspiration!
What do the following people or things need to know about you?

your dentist
your bed
your custom shoe maker
your garden
your new neighbour
your pet
your therapist or coach
the person next to you on a bus or plane
your bartender

Ahh my DENTIST what should you know about me??? Well I only just today (the day of my visit) started flossing on a regular basis, and I am most definitely worried about what you see in my nose as you gaze down at me. BUT I am also worried about what might be in your nose and fall into my wide open mouth!

BED you are my best friend, I day dream of you all day.

Well if I was so fortunate to have a CUSTOM SHOE MAKER you would need to know that I wear the same two shoes (my left shoe and right shoe) all year long. So please use your toughest, strongest materials to make my sandals. You might consider charging me a pretty penny because you will only be seeing my feet every few years. Ahh how I love my sandals!

Dear GARDEN, I just wanted to apologize to you! I didn't mean for your growth to be stunted and your roots to go dry. I loved you more then you can imagine in the early days. If the wind, the heat and the bugs didn't bother you so much (and lack of fertilizer) I just know you could have been so much more then a shriveled up stick in the ground. I morn you every visit to the market when I am forced to pay exorbitant amounts of money for my veggies! Maybe next year we can try our friendship out again...what do you say?

NEW NEIGHBOR please don't eat the cookies I brought you. My three year old helped me make them and I am not sure he washed his hands (or feet,)opps!

Dear sweet PETS I am sorry you may never gain the love and respect that my one true love of a pet once received. You will never be the best pet on the planet for in my mind my sweet Mimi girl holds that spot! I love you Mimi and miss you so much. RIP Mimi!!!

Oh dear THERAPIST, please stop asking me how I feel and just offer me a drink already!

Hello guy sitting next to me on the plane! I just thought I would warn you that airport food and lack of movement may induce a rumble followed by slight...well that's all, you have been warned!

BARTENDER, make it a triple and note that I haven't had a drink in almost four years...I might get a little rowdy!

PS. I do love my pets and I have no plans of drinking any time soon...this was just for fun!

I ♥ faces: Completely Candid

I was looking at my friend Lisa's blog: http://www.whatfeedsmysoul.com/2009/09/photo-wishes.html and she was taking part in yet another cool web contest. This contest is taking place over at http://www.iheartfaces.blogspot.com/

I love taking pictures and am especially fond of taking candid pictures. So I thought I would go ahead and try this out as well. I am sort of bummed because I have several awesome pictures I took overseas of people, people not quite like you see here. I have an amazing picture of a gypsy women and her baby and beautiful picture of a group of very old men hashing it out on the streets of Italy, but alas I am a computer failure and have no idea how to scan them into my computer (these were taken pre-digital.)

Here is a picture I took just a few weeks ago, and has quickly become one of my favorite pictures. We were on vacation in Dana Point, California. Thomas found this great tree and decided to explore all of its potential. I just love the look of pure joy and satisfaction on his sweet little face! I think if you click on the picture (and any picture on my blog) that it will blow it up so you can see it better, enjoy!

Mercury Fillings

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ylnQ-T7oiA

If you have any fillings in your teeth you MUST watch this video!!! I have two, which I already have scheduled to be removed. Pat also is scheduled to have his one removed. The tooth they show in this video is over 25 years old, so don't assume just because you have had your fillings in your mouth for a long time that they are not effecting you! Please click on this link and watch this short clip so you can be aware of what is happening inside your body. You must be aware of how your filling are removed. Just going into a regular dentist could be dangerous to your health.

We have been planing on getting our mercury fillings removed for a while now but after talking briefly to a "regular" dentist I decided to wait and find a better option. When I asked this dentist about her experience she was overly smug about the whole thing, saying that she has been doing it daily for years. Which was not the response I was looking for. Perhaps if she had mentioned what precautions she took to insure mine and her own safety I would have been a little more open to using her.

Here is a link to the Holistic Dental Association http://www.holisticdental.org/membersearch

You simply type in your city and state and a list of Holistic Dentists will pop up. There were three listed in our city and I went with a wonderful man who's wife I spent nearly an hour talking with on the phone. She was passionate to say the least, and that my friends is what you should be looking for!

Wow, I just realized I might have gotten a bit ahead of myself with this post. Some of you reading this might not have any idea why you would want to get rid of your pretty silver fillings. Let me just add a list of issues that can arise from having these in your mouth. I will put my list at the end. I also just want to say that the wife of the dentist I will be seeing told me how after her mercury fillings were removed she stopped having migraines which had plagued her for most of her life. OK here is the list, I am copying this from a friend off face book (thanks, April!)

Alzheimer’s disease, Asthma, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD,) Learning Disabilities, Cancer, Multiple Sclerosis (MS,) Parkinson’s disease, Lou Gehrig’s disease, Chronic Fatigue syndrome... the list goes on!!!

This Week's Creative Catalyst: Imagination

Danette @ http://www.danetterelic.com/drawingboard/2009/09/launching-you-fascinate-me-express-yourself-.html has invited her readers to share in weekly Self-Expression Springboards. She says: "Every Thursday I will provide a creative catalyst, a springboard to get you inspired. My catalysts will invite your imagination, creativity and curiosity to find new ways of expressing yourself - and maybe discovering new things about yourself you didn't even know you knew!"

"This Week's Creative Catalyst: Imagination
Imagine you at your most powerful. You rock. You are a freaking champion, and everyone knows it. We are filling a stadium to the brim, voices cheering and hearts splashing in anticipation of you making your entrance. We all know what song is going to blast through the speakers as you walk into the ring. It suits this moment perfectly. It makes you feel so good, to step into the light with this song playing...
What is the song? Oh I'm dying to know! What is it about this song? How does it make you feel? Who are you being when you walk out to this song?"

Lately I have been pulled in by this song called Gitchi Manidoo off the Sacred Spirit CD. We just took a little day trip to St. George UT, I added pictures we took along the way to go with the music. Enjoy!