Are you a light sleeper? You might want to consider getting a white noise machine.

I’m a light sleeper. My husband can simply walk into the room and I’ll jump up in bed going “WHAT?!?” Poor thing. Scares him half to death. I can trace it back to bringing my first baby home and listening anxiously to hear if she stirred or if she needed me. My kids are both out of the house now, but that “on guard” posture can sometimes still remain. I’ve found a great deal of help with my white noise machine. 

It’s a smallish device, about the size of a small clock radio, that makes “white noise”.  A dull, quiet “roar” that can mask other bothersome noises like barking dogs, noisy birds, or snoring partners.  There are some that can make the sound of oceans or rainforests. I prefer the simple “white noise” version. I really find I sleep more soundly when I use it. Here’s a link to the one I use: Dohm-SS Single Speed Sound Conditioner by Marpac (formerly known as the Sleepmate/Sound Screen 580A)

So, are you a light sleeper? Or are you one of those types who can sleep through anything?

     Spirit is the part of you that exists as a part of a greater, external whole.  For some it can take the shape of religious worship, for others, meditating or communing with nature. At times it can even be as simple as being a part of a community like a book club or music appreciation group. But that part of us that lights up and feels belonging needs tending, just like any other part of our health.
     Paying attention to our breath is one of the easiest and most accessible ways to connect with our spirit. Indeed, that air we breathe in is a part of us that is also part of the greater whole. In many languages, the words for breath and spirit are the same (Latin: spiritus.  Hebrew: ruach  Greek: pneuma). Consistently taking even five minutes a day to sit in a quiet spot and pay attention to our breath can make a world of difference in how we respond/react to our world and its challenges. It’s a simple and powerful form of meditation that can be done virtually anywhere.

Probably the Weirdest Explanation You’ll Ever Read on Why You Should Drink More Water

We’ve all heard we should drink more water.  Here’s a new way to think about why:

Though they can serve highly different purposes, every cell in your body has the same basic construction and the same function: they need to take in nutrients and eliminate waste. (When you get right down to it that’s what all organisms do, right?) Picture a balloon filled with water. Now imagine that balloon has a mouth, and an anus. (Yes, I just asked you to imagine a balloon with an anus, welcome to Leslie’s World.) Now inside that water balloon imagine a few little charms floating around. Maybe one looks like a monkey, one is a car, one looks like a fish. Each of those charms has a job to do. The monkey’s job is to eat all the carbs that come into the cell, the car’s job is to create energy and go, the fish’s job is to eat up the protein that comes into the cell.  They need to swim all around in that water balloon to do their job.

Now imagine the water balloon, instead of being filled with nice clear water, was filled with pudding.

It would be MUCH harder for the charms to swim around and do what they needed to do, right? It would also be harder for the cell, I mean WATER BALLOON to take in the nutrients it needed through it’s mouth and probably harder to flush out the wastes. Things would just be all sluggish.

This is what every cell in your body does. It’s like a water balloon that needs to eat and excrete, and the “charms” are the organelles that utilize fuel and create energy. If they don’t have a well-hydrated medium to float around in, it’s harder for them to do their job.  The result is dehydration, and it can manifest in all sorts of ways: headaches, thirst, constipation, fatigue, dizziness and more.

So, make sure you drink lots of water. Those balloons need to poop!

Until next time.

Leslie

A devastating storm struck the midwest here in the USA yesterday, and destroyed entire neighborhoods in the state of Oklahoma.  As of this writing at least 24 people are confirmed dead.

This is where ShelterBox comes in.  They bring shelter, warmth, and other non-food necessities to people in disaster-stricken areas around the world. A typical shelterbox contains a tent, blankets, ground cover, a cookstove, tools, and more.

As I’ve mentioned before, I am a ShelterBox ambassador. And it’s times like this when I am extra-proud to be a part of this wonderful and important organization.

Please consider making a donation to ShelterBox in honor of the stricken communities in Oklahoma. One of the cool things that ShelterBox does is they track your donation to an actual box, so you will get to see where yours ends up.  Shelterboxes can take weeks to assemble, so your donation today will be used to make materials ready and available for a disaster that strikes down the road.

I’m the “Peeling Mom Off the Ceiling” lady, right? So my ShelterBox donation page is called “Ceilings for Healing”, because how can you peel mom off the ceiling when she no longer has one?

You can click on any of the photos in this post to be taken to the donation page. Thank you.

Leslie, you are such a charming and sophisticated woman. How can I be more like you today?

Dear Reader, I am flattered. You are too kind. I have attached some simple instructions in how to have an up-to-the-minute Leslie Irish Evans experience.

Step 1: Take your dog outside. Let her off her leash even though you know damn well that she’s old and deaf and can’t be trusted to follow your commands anymore.

Step 2: Watch as dog once again meanders into neighbor’s yard, a place she’s lately become obsessed with.

Step 3: Get dog back and bring her into house.

Step 4: Wonder what smells like chicken shit.

Step 5: Begin to examine dog to see what she rolled in.

Step 6: After dog’s entire body proves clean, hold her face and look into her eyes. Ask her: “Why do you smell like chicken shit?”

Step 7: [This is the dog's part. It's her only part, but it's crucial.] Lick Leslie in the dead center of her face.

Step 8: Reel backwards, groaning and swatting at your nose, realizing that a tiny portion of the bag on your neighbor’s porch that reads “chicken manure” is now embedded in your right nostril.

Step 9: Consider becoming a cat person.

MamaCon is in 9 days! I’m MC’ing the events, and I’m super excited to be doing so. Got your tickets? If not, you’re in luck. Read below for a great offer from the MamaCon founders (be sure to follow the directions carefully):

An amazing mom who attended last year’s MamaCon believes so strongly in what the event can do for moms like you that she wants to make it possible for more moms to come this year. Wahoo!

This awesome anonymous mom is making it possible for 25 other moms to attend for FREE. Be one of the first 25 to use the code BOGO24 when you register this Friday and you can bring a friend for FREE! (If you think MamaCon is fun on your own, just wait til you come with a friend.)

Here’s how to make it happen:

1) Find your buddy – post on Facebook or send an email telling your friends the first to get back to you can join you at MamaCon for FREE! (You can, of course, split the cost of one ticket making this a super duper affordable day of relaxing and refueling. Just a thought!)

2) Deal with your kids – enlist your baby daddy, significant sidekick, mom, neighbor, whoever to wrangle the kids for a day. Arrange an “extendo-playdate” and promise to return the favor – you’ll be so re-energized after MamaCon that you’ll be up for hosting multiple playdates!

3) Register for MamaCon this FRIDAY, May 10 starting at 5:00 AM for 24 hours only!

1) Register yourself. Use code BOGO24 and put your buddy’s name in the “How did you hear about us” section.
2) Register your buddy. Use code BOGO24 and put your name in the “How did you hear about us” section.
3) You must pay for each ticket via PayPal or credit card or it won’t work!
4) Your buddy’s name must be on your registration form or both tickets will be rejected.

There’s a limited amount and time so act fast! Mark your calendar and be ready to register at 5:00 AM on Friday.

Love,

Amy & Kim

PS If you join us at MamaCon and you have a horrible experience, we will give you your money back. Seriously.

Pretty great, huh? I hope you are one of the lucky 25 and I hope to see you there!

But we already knew that, right? Applied to the nearest handy cloth-type device and applied to human skin, it can remove even the most awful stains. Applied ever so lightly with the lips it can heal all boo-boos. Turns out science is backing this up. Check out this blog post from Stacie Lewis:

Clean Your Baby’s Pacifier with Your Mouth

I love it. It’s becoming more and more obvious that this whole antibacterial/triclosan/keep-everything-germ-free life is making us MORE prone to illness, not less. Your immune system needs exposure to germs and bacteria so it can learn to recognize and fight them as needed.

My kids are in college, so I can’t exactly clean their pacifiers with my mouth anymore.

I know: I’ll go to their apartments and lick their plates and glasses. Each and every one. Because I care.

I bought it on Amazon. Free shipping with my Prime membership. NICE! It’s very easy to put together, I was able to do almost all of it by myself, but it’s VERY HEAVY, so you’ll probably need a second pair of hands for the last step (putting the desktop onto the posts).  Here’s a link to it below, in case you’re ready to take the plunge.  As far as treadmill desks go, it’s very affordable (there are much more expensive ones on the market).

I’d love to know your thoughts on this. Questions? Comments? Post ‘em below.

For more info on the teleseminar: JuicyJumpStart.eventbrite.com

To sign up as an affiliate for this event: bit.ly/jjfriends

“There are three things the human race has to do to survive: eat, breathe, and have sex. Aren’t you glad they picked the one they did to do in private?” – Leslie’s mom.