okay...just a few more.

Here are some tips I forgot to mention in the last post, but that have made a world of difference in my life. I recommend reading the post before this one before.. this one.

1. If you're not a plant person, get yourself a pet. If you can't have a dog or a cat, get a fish. Caring for another living thing is instantaneously rewarding.

2. Act like a kid. Put things in your life that make you feel like a kid and make you happy, and IGNORE the fact that other people will think you're silly for it. I take gummy vitamins every day, still love to color, and every now and then I start a food fight with my girlfriend. Life is too damned short to act like a grownup.

3. Subscribe to magazines (and people!) that make you feel empowered. My current favorites are Do It Yourself (because I can focus on changing what I already have to be more exciting rather than focusing on getting something NEW), Yes! (because it has uplifting stories about people doing good things in this world), and Mother Earth News (because even though I don't own 100 acres, there are lots of little tips that I can use. Plus, when I HAVE my 100 acres, I'll have articles on tractors, solar panels, and the like just waiting for me.).

4. Collect your food scraps and compost them. If you can't compost them yourself because you live in an apartment, ask your local farmer if they can take them (or talk to your renter and see if you can start that community garden with a community composter). Composting your kitchen scraps will give you instantly delicious soil (delicious to your plants anyway) and cut down on how much junk goes into the landfill.

5. Learn about herbs and get yourself some tea. This sounds pathetically simple, but supplementing your diet with herbs can reduce your need for Western medicine. For example, I posted a while back about raspberry leaf tea for cramps. It's easy to make and it helps me to take less ibuprofen, which isn't so great for your organs anyway. If you have a condition, read up on it. Learn about vitamins and minerals; some conditions can be cured by adjusting your intake of these nutrients. Learn about sugar sensitivity if you have alcoholism in your family (which I do); often, instead of alcohol, your body will crave sugar and you'll intake a lot more than you should. I've always had a serious problem with sugar, but when I started experimenting with alternative sweeteners, I discovered agave nectar and have never looked back. Agave doesn't make your blood sugar spike like regular sugar and can be used in all the same applications. It just takes a little research.

Thanks for reading!