Disclaimer......this is more of a rant today and an apology than a blog per-say! ( and not about anything green)

A little background info to "set the mood'. I am a HORRIBLE shopper!!! Seriously the worst girly girl ever!! For most of my life I was the fat kid, there were not a lot of clothing options....you took what ever you could get that didn't have cute baby animals and glitter and tried to make it into something similar to what your friends were wearing. This was the way of the world!

These days I wear "regular sized " clothes. I remember longing for the days where I could walk into any store and have so many cute options available to me! Now....I DRED it!!! No Seriously! I hate shopping!! This was proven in spades for 5 hours yesterday while trying to find respectable business attire! Let me give you a few reasons why:

1. I am not "slim" through the hips and thighs.....what woman is??

2. I would like a pair of pants that covers my WHOLE butt area!! ( not having to make sure my underwear are not sticking out when I sit down seems reasonable to me!)

3. I don't want to worry when I bend over that someone can look down my shirt!

4. People shouldn't be able to see through the shirt I am wearing to work!

5. A waist length blazer/jacket on some who is 5'11" looks like I stole it from the kids department!

6. If the pants fit my thighs...they do not fit my waist.

7. Either my arms are REALLY long or all the sleeves are suppose to be 3/4 length.

8. Since when does a standard shoe have a 3-4 inch heel??? ( again I am 5'11" I really don't need heels)

9. Oh yeah.....after 4 shoe stores I found 1...yes 1 pair of size 11 shoes that weren't 3-4 inch heels! (I must amend this statement....today I happen to be brave and try the whole shoe thing again. Thanks to a wonderful lady at a shoe store I was able to find 2 pairs of shoes and 1 of the pairs is actually a 3 in heel that is about as comfortable as my sneakers....so I guess comfy heels do exist....but they do come at a price!!)

10. Just so happens to be my luck that I am an "in between size". For comfort I moved up to the next size after thinking to myself...this would be really uncomfortable to wear all day who would subject themselves to this?? Well the lady we saw getting a bite to eat did! Ladies....GO UP A SIZE... maybe 2! She had a nice outfit but lord it looked like 2 pigs fighting under a blanket as she walked away! ( oh and I love anytime I can quote Steel Magnolias!!)

I have a few ideas to make this a little easier.....

Designers.....could you all have some sort of meeting and decide what a size 12, 14, 6 or what ever is?? It would make it way easier on us to be able to get the same sizes no matter what name is on the label. Should I really have to have clothes that have 4 different sizes in my closet??

Stores.....could we have a few more Mani-quins?? No really I am serious! Us fashion challenged ladies get ideas about how to put outfits together from what is on display!

Back to designers.....I know my size 11 feet are not the norm....but I would like cute shoes too!! And it is a pretty safe bet if I have size 11 feet I am rather tall....a few more options in a small heel would be really nice! ( I look pretty intimidating wearing 3 in heels...it makes me taller than most men!)

SO now for the apologies:

First to my husband......he was great the whole 5 hours! Honest, if it didn't look good he told me! And he even put up with my almost meltdown with in the first 30 minutes of our excursion!

Second to the young ladies out there.....I am sorry that these are the options you have to choose from while trying to look professional!!! Please do not be fooled it is NOT ok to wear see through shirts to the office!! If you happen to be over a size 6, I again apologize that your selection will be limited and DO NOT feel bad...this is not your fault....this is bias!! No, the clothes will not look the same on you as they do on the display....so not let this discourage you! ( in 38 years I have met NO ONE that has a body like the mani-qiuns!)

Hopefully I won't have to go shopping like that again for a while!!!

I wish we could could stop the insanity!!!


What is this insanity I speak of? Food Labels!! They are driving me crazy!!

Fat Free, Natural, Organic, Low fat, Low Sugar, Sugar free, Gluten free, nut free, blah blah blah!!!

I truly believe that all these labels are just a ruse to charge us more money! Now I understand that some people have allergies and it is very important that they know what is in their food but I think most of the time we go way too overboard !!

Let me give you an example.....Licorice that is labeled "Fat Free".....REALLY??? People have been misinformed that if you eat fat you will get fat...certain fats are needed and are key to certain body functions you DO need fat in your diet....yes licorice may be fat free but it still have sugar in it.

Sugar free labels really get my goat!!! I had a person in a store trying to get me to purchase their latest and greatest "sugar free" energy drink. But, when I turned over the product there on the ingredient list was those 3 little letters....ose.... which indicate sugar. ( glucose, lactose, fructose, maltose, dextrose.....all sugar)  and the sneakiest part is the sugar alcohols put in the products these days.....still have the ose in them which means they are still sugar!!! ( But to do some crazy label regulations the product can be listed sugar free even with the sugar alcohols in them!!)

Gluten free...ok this one I get....kinda. I understand some people are gluten intolerant...but we are labeling products gluten free that NEVER had gluten in them to begin with. Gluten is a product from wheat ...if something does't contain wheat it can't have gluten. So those strawberries or milk or steak doesn't have to be labeled gluten free because it always has been gluten free!! ( and if you are concerned that animals are eating wheat in their feed.....wheat is not used in animal feed because....well until recently...it has been to expensive of a feed source for animals...they eat corn and soy)

These little labels are why I spend so much darn time in the grocery store! Instead of making food with real ingredients we are filling them with all sorts of chemicals. Now granted....with all these chemicals these foods can sit on the shelf for years upon years. Why are we willing to eat food that can sit on self for years and years???  Unfortunately these days.....the processed foods are the most affordable food...sad but true that some families don't have an option it is the only food they can afford!

This conundrum has no simple solution....there are many spokes in the wheel that would need to be changed. However the most powerful weapon is knowledge ...the more we know the better decisions we can make.

" As the world turns blue"

Ok I haven't written in a while to give the illusion of time.........and I have been super busy the past few weeks raking in all my millions of dollars from blue apples!!

After a few "years" my blue apples have been popping up EVERYWHERE....in applesauce, apple juice, apple pie, baby food etc.etc.etc

Now some strange things have been happening.....people have started to turn blue...could this be because of my apples??? I researched them for a whole 90 days and nothing turned blue....this could not be true absolutely not true!!! My blue apples are feeding the world ...we need these apples....my apples will save the world!!! ( and I need my millions and millions of dollars!!) 

What I am really trying to get at is there are just things we don't know about GMOs ( genetically modified organisms). There have been no long term studies done on the effects of them in the human body. NONE!

With out "geeking out" too much there is much we do not know about what goes on with DNA. Now we all learn that DNA replicates, DNA can mutate but..... there are other things that can happen that most people are unaware of. Such as cross linking and trans-location. We also know that there are "good" mutations ( these things can lead to certain immunity) and "bad" mutations ( that can cause certain diseases). Why do these things happen....how do they happen???  Well we don't exactly know everything about the human genome. Much of it has been mapped and we have found genes that dictate many things. HOWEVER.... these genes can mutate....they can get crossed with other genes..... some of our genes are "silent" and don't get "turned on" with out having other chemical present. To say the least....there is A LOT of room for error!!

So what happens when we eat things that have genes implanted into them ??? Can these genes cause our genes to mutate??? Could these genes act as activators to some of our silent genes??? WE DON"T KNOW....let me say that again....WE DON"T KNOW. There have been no studies done on this. ( most have the studies that have been done on GMO crops by independent scientists have been discredited. I understand the passion that people have on these subject but the research MUST be kept credible!!) ( And it is very possible that with enough money people can be persuaded to find certain things in their research....this makes me shutter!!)

Is it possible that eating blue apples could turn people blue?? I have no idea....but many things are possible. Are GMOs safe? I can't say for certainty yes or no, but we should all have the choice to decide if we want to eat them or feed them to our families. 

So I forgot to tell you.............

OK so it has been a couple of years and my blue apples are selling like hotcakes!! Everyone wants to eat and grow blue apples!! But they can't.....well they can... it is just going to cost them!!

A little dirty secret of the GMO world is patents! And I sure got a patent for my blue apples! But I didn't invent apples? No I did not however, I did make them blue so I can patent them. What does this mean?? If anyone, I mean anyone wants to grow blue apples they have to pay me!!

For example:

"my child brought home apple seeds from school we planted them"....I don't care....Pay me!

" I saved the seeds from the apple I bought and planted them"... I don't care ....Pay me!

"my apple tree was inadvertently pollinated by the neighbors tree and my apples just turned blue"... I don't care ...Pay me!

No matter who or where  in the world a blue apple tree grows it is MINE... ALL MINE!!!!

" But, But, But, you didn't invent the apple....it is nature...a living thing!!"

The above statement doesn't matter... I, and only I, made the blue apple and patented it so technically the "process" I used to make it blue is what the patent is on but the people who want to grow these apple MUST pay me a technology fee to use my product!! And if you don't..... I will sue!! Yes I don't care if you meant to do it or not! And besides how can you prove you didn't mean to do it?? So I don't care....Pay me!!

Now my million dollar corporation is no match for these "little" people I sue, not only are my blue apples selling like mad I am getting "extra cash" from lawsuits...Life is good! Or is it?

Stay tuned for the next installment......" As  the world turns....Blue"???

So I have been thinking about how to approach this ....I don't even know what to call it.....piece of writing? I am going to try my hardest to give you facts and unbiased information. But, please note I am very passionate about this subject so this is going to be tough for me!

I am sure many of you have recently heard all the news surrounding GMOs and you may be wondering what is all the fuss about? First lets tackle what a GMO is.  GMO stands for genetically modified organism. This organism can be plant or animal.  Well what does genetically modified mean? These organisms have certain genes forced into them, this means that every single cell of the plant or animal has this gene in it. Why does this matter? Let me give you an example.....without trying to use specific names to protect the guilty.

 Lets use an apple....and let's say blue apples sell best so I want to create a crop of all blue apples.So how do I make my new blue apples?? Well first I am going to find the gene that makes blueberries blue. Found it! Now I am going to take that gene along with a gene from a bacteria and a gene from an antibiotic and insert these genes into a cell from an apple. Why do I need a bacteria gene? Well the bacteria gene will "turn on" the blue gene in the apple. Why do I need an antibiotic gene? Well the antibiotic gene will be a "marker" gene so I can find the blue gene later on.

So now my blue apples are growing and selling like crazy and everyone is eating blue apples ( don't forget in EVERY cell of this apple, there is antibiotics, bacteria and a foreign gene)! This is GREAT!! Or is it??

Now I did my 90 day research on my blue apples and submitted it accordingly and they were approved for human consumption. There was nothing wrong with my blue apples...no ill effects at all in 90 days. Now there are A LOT of things we can eat for 90 days and there will be no long term ill effects. I can eat ice cream everyday for 90 days and yeah I may gain weight, my cholesterol may rise but, these symptoms will probably go away after I stop eating the ice cream every day. Now if you eat ice cream every day for 10 years what will happen? Has this ever been studied?

One of my biggest problems with GMOs is that whatever company is producing them is the SAME company that does the research on the safety of these products. A little conflict of interest one might say! The second problem is there are NO, I repeat NO, long term studies done on these products before they are approved for consumption! ( As you read above I did all the research and only for 90 days!)

Ok I am going to have to continue my "story" of my GMO blue apples in another blog because I have to go earn some dough and I have to figure out how to approach the next part of this continuing saga!!

I'm Back!!!!! ( cue creepy 1980's slasher movie music!!!)

So it has been a while since my last blog and many things have been going on! The last year and some change has been a long and windy road......okay lets be honest ...it has been filled with mountains to climb, valleys to cross and treacherous rivers that almost swept us away but, alas, we have survived!!

I have been spending most of my time in school...again....not sure why I thought this was a good idea. However, following my passion, I am working on my master's degree in plant science. So far it has been very rewarding! I have learned a great deal and learned a great deal more of how much I don't know! Mistakes....let's just say I have made a few....hundred! I have never found anything that gives a greater satisfaction than learning from your mistakes. I am not ashamed of making the mistakes...maybe a little embarrassed but never ashamed! I have had the great fortune of being surrounded by people willing to help me not only personally but professionally!

There have been two HUGE life altering events in the past year that have changed and hopefully improved the way I think about certain things, how I try to live my life and treat people in my life! The first was having a loved one diagnosed with 2 different forms of cancer. This news can shake anyone to the core, I find it makes me question lots of things I have never thought about before, like the foods I put in to my body and my surrounding environment. ( These questions will be addressed in several upcoming blogs!!) The second was being rushed to the hospital to have emergency surgery for a ruptured bleeding peptic ulcer. A very scary day to say the least! It was the first time I was ever really faced with my own mortality. Thankfully, I am almost to 100% again! The occasional bout of tiredness from pushing myself to hard is a warning I have learned to listen to the hard way!! If I had learned to listen to my body before hand, it may have not have been so serious....mistake....lesson learned!!!

Both of the events listed above have made me appreciate the many wonderful things I have in my life! I still have my loved one with me and looking forward to getting back closer to home to share more time and make more memories. I am learning (slowly) that I and I alone can not do everything, it is okay to ask for help. Back in high school  teacher told me..."don't sweat the small stuff....it's all small stuff" I am trying to remember and practice these words but, it is easier said than done....tomorrow is another day!

Now that you have been caught up on what has been going on in my "blog absence", I will start to write more frequently about things more important and more exciting than me!