Kitty's No Bummer Summer Hiatus is Over: Celebrate With This Giveaway!

Dehydration during and after exercise can cause muscle cramps, dizziness, and heat exhaustion. Staying hydrated is particularly important for athletes, but pregnant women, children and many patients need to monitor fluid intake as well. Many sports drinks replace electrolytes, but are loaded with sugar and empty calories as well as unnatural food coloring.

     Active people looking for a great natural sports drink will love Ultima Replenisher. Although many athletes and parents opt for plain water to avoid empty calories and harmful chemicals, Ultima provides complex carbs, water-soluble vitamins and antioxidants without artificial colors, flavors or sweeteners. Vegan and gluten-free, Ultima Replenisher speeds fluid absorption and delivers electrolytes, hydrating the body and boosting metabolism.

     Sweetened with natural stevia, Ultima contains far less sugar than most sports drinks on the market, and uses natural sources like beet color rather than chemical food coloring agents. It’s packed with nutrients like calcium, zinc and potassium, and Ester C helps to support the immune system. Other sports drinks are either loaded with calories or formulated with artificial sweeteners; Ultima Replenisher only contains about 10 calories per serving, making it an intelligent choice for children and others concerned about sugar content.

     Ultima Replenisher is also eco-friendly; the powder is easily mixed into your own container (hopefully a nice stainless steel canteen) so you can avoid wasteful and potentially toxic plastic bottles, especially in warm weather, when toxins like BPA from plastic may leach into the drink. Ultima is available in delicious grape, banana berry, kiwi strawberry, lemonade, orange and wild raspberry flavors.

     For the next two weeks, Zen of Homekeeping will be hosting a giveaway for a box of Ultima Replenisher packets. Tested by Kitty herself, and approved with Two Paws Up, you'll love this natural product. All you loyal kittens need to do is head over here to read the review. Follow Kelly on Examiner.com, then come back to Zen of Homekeeping and leave a comment to let us know you're a new subscriber. Five random kittens will be selected to receive the goods. Meantime, if you want to pick some up at your local store, Ultima is available at Wild Oats and Whole Foods stores. Good Luck and Happy Hydrating!

Tiny particles of WHAT, praytell?!?

Just in case you haven't heard, McNeil Consumer Healthcare Announces Voluntary Recall of Certain OTC Infants’ and Children's Products. Apparently, the liquid suspensions of your kids' Tylenol, Motrin, Benadryl and Zyrtec aren't up to par and may contain "particles" they shouldn't. Great.

Clinical Aromatherapy

Hello, Kittens! When I first started blogging, I became an instant fan of Liz on the Fragrant Muse. She has taught me so much about essential oils, which are now a staple of my laundry room, first aid kit, yoga practice, and stay-sane regime. Essential oils are the only permissible perfume in my world, and I even like to re-broadcast what Liz has taught me. Please click here to read my recent Examiner post featuring The Fragrant Muse, who is by far, one of the smartest cats I know. Peace & Love, Kitty.

Earth Day Is Coming: Are You Ready?

Kittens, Earth Day is coming! Are you ready to green up your attitude? Let's start by getting rid of toxic cleaning products in our homes. Save big on Eco-friendly products that help you help the planet.

Here are some easy things you can do now:

• If you aren't recycling yet, start small. Maybe you'll just do plastic. That's very helpful. Although curbside recycling is offered in my community, I just stuff paper grocery bags with cans, bottles, plastic, and the mountain of papers that comes home from school every day. When I have a few bags, I drop them off at the recycling bin.
• Group errands (such as the aforementioned recycling trip) so as not to be driving all over hell's half acre every day.
• Observe Ozone Action days. As the temperature soars, it's better to fuel vehicles and run the lawnmower early or late in the day.
• Turn off everything that's not being used right now. If your microwave or coffeemaker has a digital clock, unplug it.
• Does your pool or hot tub really need to be 90-100 degrees all the time? I cut my electric bill in half this winter by turning down the swim spa to 80. This is a good tip for water heaters as well
• Don't run the tap while you are brushing your teeth.
• Just buy less plastic period. Plastic is hella bad for your health, and for the environment. It's unrealistic to think we can live without it, but all of us can certainly think of ways to cut back on our consumption before even purchasing plastic. See Citizen Green's blog on "Stupid Plastic Crap." It will educate you and make you think twice before buying plastic you don't need!

Taking it to the next level:

• Check the weatherstripping around doors and windows, and replace it if necessary.
• Consider getting a tankless water heater. You'll always have hot water and incur less charges for gas or electricity because you'll be heating on demand.
• Switch to washing most laundry in cold water and buy eco-friendly detergents. Wash large loads, and do the same with the dishwasher (allow dishes and as many clothes as possible to air dry). Go easy on the bleach.
• When it is time to get rid of expired pharmaceuticals, take them back to the pharmacy rather than flushing them or tossing them out so medications don't end up in the waterways.
• Ditto for batteries. Many hardware stores have collection sites for used batteries; switch to rechargeables while you're at it - especially if you blow through them playing Wii and Guitar Hero like we do!
• Buy Energy Star appliances. You may get a tax incentive to do so.
• Consider replacing doors and windows with the more energy-efficient newer models; if you do this for your family home, you may get fat tax breaks.
• Stop accumulating plastic bags already! Take your own to the store!
• Quit drinking so much bottled water; get stainless steel canteens (not lined with plastic so as not to ingest BPA), and refill as you need to rehydrate. Take your own mug to the coffee shop, too!
• Clean up your cleaning products by making your own, or switching to green brands that don't pollute our waterways when they are rinsed down the drain.
• Buy local produce to cut down on shipping emissions.
• Buy organic anything and everything from foods to meats to clothing. Cotton manufacturing incurs many pesticides; organic farming of all agricultural products is best for the Earth and our bodies.
• Green your personal products and cosmetics. Read my blog, Organic Orgy to learn how!

BPA and the EPA

Two things today, kittens. First and foremost, BPA. Bisphenol-A, or BPA is now being taken seriously by the Environmental Protection Agency. BPA is the nasty chemical in plastic that leaches into our food and beverages. How you ask? Canned goods and bevs are lined with a think plastic layer to keep the product from oxidizing. Microwaveable dinners come in plastic containers; baby bottles and sippies are often made of plastic, notably polycarbonate (#7). Heat these things in any way, including leaving water bottles in the sun and you will be ingesting BPA. Gross. This insidious chemical is also in some cosmetics. Read my full post in my column on Examiner.com; please do subscribe! I list some options for getting this toxin out of your life!

     Second, a blogging tip from me to you: ever find yourself cutting and pasting some mobius strip of code? You can easily shorten long URLs by going to bit.ly. No www is necessary. Copy your link into the magic box and you'll get a bit that looks like this: http://bit.ly/chLoja. Presto! No more ridonculously long web addresses!

     Don't forget your sunscreen, kittens. As promised, I will be posting a piece on green and natural sun options. I am still hard at work testing some products for you. (Update: click on the latter link; I just posted a little something for you) Love, Kitty

Vinegar Attacks Hard Water Stains and Scale

Hello Kittens,

As if these 4 Blogger blogs, my yoga blog, and my yoga website weren't enough, I recently began working over on eHow. This evening, I was scrolling through content and came up with this gem:

How to Get Rid of Lime Deposits With Vinegar | eHow.com

Our grandmothers used vinegar for cleaning, and to rid our homes of toxic fumes and save money, we should as well! Vinegar and an old toothbrush are my favorite tools for attacking lime deposits around the faucets. Not only do I avoid scratching the metal finish as I might otherwise using commercial abrasives, but I avoid breathing in harsh chemicals whose residues could potentially contaminate water from the faucet as well. Click on the eHow link above for an excellent tutorial on cleaning with vinegar at home. Be well! Love, Kitty

Swap Your Books and Make Some New Friends

     For years, I operated under the mantra, "No new people," thinking the world was filled with untrustworthy cats who wouldn't like me for me and must be filled with nefarious agendas. I thought I had all the friends I needed: kittens I've kept around since the days of yore, a husband I'd had for 16 years. Then I started blogging and found out the universe is filled to the brim with new people: like-minded souls I may never meet personally who brighten up crappy days and open worlds to me. People from far-flung places whom I wish I could invite over for a cup of coffee, people I would listen to all day long about dharma, aromatherapy, chinoiserie design, travel and funny stuff.
     A few years ago, a neighbor and I moved into our houses the same week. Our boys go to school together, and we'd wave cordially but I didn't really know her. About six months ago, my massage therapist's massage therapist called looking for a new yoga teacher at a new mixed martial arts studio in town. The joint ended up belonging to my aforementioned neighbor across the street! I ended up becoming the in-house yoga instructor and landed a new BFF in the process. Loves dogs, loves to read, and has a wicked sense of humor. I call her Marion the Librarian because she drops off bags full of paperbacks, preternaturally sensing when I've just finished the previous stack.
     Book sharing and book borrowing is the new Borders. My literacy has skyrocketed, and my book budget is practically nil these days. Through her, I've discovered Tom Robbins, the most excellent author of my new favorites, Jitterbug Perfume and Half-Asleep in Frog Pajamas. Weird like Kafka and Camus, literary as hell. As you attack your spring cleaning, why not start a book swap amongst friends? It's the ultimate recycling campaign! Happy reading! Your Kitty.