A week or so ago, I mentioned on my main blog that my sister was an eco chick – in fact, she’s going “green” for Christmas by only sending out recycled cards, which are harder to find than you might think. She’s into recycling and she takes canvas bags to the grocery store, and she’s also always blogging about other ideas on how to conserve energy and resources.

For once, I get to show HER something about going green that I found, and it’s an online carbon and green lifestyle calculator that gives you a GreenIQ- How Green Are You? I took the short test and answered questions about my driving habits, how much gas I bought, and what kind of other traveling I did. (I’m sure it helps me that I only drive to the office once or twice a week, so even though I have an SUV, it’s not used much. Aside from the drive to work, I only drive too and from school for the kids, and that’s 2 miles way.)

I also answered questions about my utility bill, and that’s another area we’re probably conserving some energy in. When we built our home in 2006, we added some extra measures to insure that our home would be well insulated and protected from the sun’s heat, and our electricity bills have reflected that. After that, it was on to questions about using organic and eco-friendly products, and we’re definitely deficient on that!

The end result was a GreenIQ of 27 – which isn’t terribly good, but it’s not terribly bad either:

You are aware of the environment and how your lifestyle affects it. If you don’t, you sure hide it well, as you are naturally making decisions and choices that promote the longevity of this planet. But there is still a lot more that you can do, and we think you know that. Our product suggestions and tips can help increase your GreenIQ and reduce your carbon and environmental footprint.

We’ve got some work to do in this house. What’s your GreenIQ?

Are we gearing up for another recall? First was peanut butter, than dog food, and then blue Listertine. Now a new report on Yahoo says that there are hogs who have eaten the contaminated pet food, and some of the hogs have already gone to slaughter, and may be consumed by humans. Thankfully, the risk to human health posed by the chemical in the tainted pet food is considered very low.

Rising drug costs are a big concern for most Americans – especially those on a fixed income. Can you imagine having to make a choice between your medication and eating? Or keeping your electric on? Or putting gas in your card? No wonder so many Americans are turning to Canadian drug stores to lower their prescription medication costs. If you don’t have insurance, you’re paying a lot more than you need to. Some stores have lowered their costs on generic drugs, but you can’t always choose generic. A prescription drug card may be a big help for some – it’s free, and can be used at over 50,000 US pharmacies to get discounts up of to 75% on any FDA approved drug. Unlike a prescription drug plan through your insurance company, you won’t have to pay any deductible, and your savings are instant – no waiting periods.

I’m curious to see if we can get a better rate using that card for our medication, as compared to our insurance plan. Right now we pay a big upfront deductible and if you don’t get medications monthly, you really don’t see any savings.

Today Bausch & Lomb announced a huge recall (over 1 million bottles) of contact lens solution. If you want to find out if you are affected by the ReNu contact lens solution recall, you can visit that link and find out more about the lot numbers of the bottles being recalled. Free replacement of your contact lens solution may be available. The reason for the recall was a trace iron contaminant that could reduce the effectiveness of the solution. I hate to hear about things like this, because I know all too well about the problems that can occur if something goes screwy with your contacts. It’s something I hope people never have to go through! (I’m happy I wear glasses right now…when I hear about things like this! I’d be happier if I had lasik though…LOL)

Do you remember a magazine called “Rosie” that was published a few years ago? It was some kind of tie in with Rosie O’Donnell, and it was one of my favorites, while it was still being published. I was on vacation with my kids in a beach house on the Jersey shore, and there were a few issues of Rosie in the house, so I started reading it. The very first issue I picked up was all about Rosie O’ Donnell’s hospital stay, and a nasty staph infection she caught in the hospital. I hadn’t ever heard of such a thing, and I read with great interest how this staph infection caused Rosie to almost lose her HAND!

Staph infections are big deal, because they are resistant and hard to cure. It used to be that you found them in hospitals, but they moved out of hospitals and recently, some pro football players have been found to be infected by staph. Ick! There’s a new over the counter wound care treatment called StaphAseptic, which can be used to prevent community acquired staph infections. You can find it at most major drug stores and online as well.

I’ve blogged a bit about USAEyes on 3DayMom in the past. If you want to read my past blog entries about their lasik information, you can find those entries here and here. They’re a unique site because they’re so big on putting patients first, rather than promoting a doctor or a type of surgery. Apparently I’m not the only one with a high opinion of USAEyes, because recently, Glenn Hagele, the founder of USAEyes was featured in a cover story in US News & World Report. Glenn is also the Executive Director of the Council for Refractive Surgery Quality Assurance.

The article quoted Glenn Hagele on the importance of choosing the right surgery for Lasik, as well as any eye surgery. Glenn is very frank and open when he discusses lasik – he’s not afraid to put bad surgeons in their place, and actually said that “No amount of technology can make up for an inferior surgeon.” His site features “50 Tough Questions For Your Lasik Doctor”, and anyone considering Lasik should test their own doctor to see how he or she rates. Because USAEyes bases their ratings of Lasik surgeons on patient outcome, they’re an excellent resource for anyone considering the surgery.

I’m not ashamed to admit I’ve gone to see a counselor or therapist. Sometimes, when you’re struggling with issues, and life, seeing a professional can really put a whole new spin on things for you, or at least give you some tips on coping with things. I found that it really helped me to talk it out with someone, especially when that someone was a professional who wouldn’t judge me or attempt to promote their own agenda. I found my therapist by asking my mom – she’s a registered nurse, and has worked in the area we live in since before I was born, so 30+ years. That makes her pretty qualified to recommend someone to me. However, I realize not everyone has a mom in nursing, or a relative in the medical field to ask for advice. Or, even if you do, you may not want mom to know you’re seeking a therapists help. If that’s the case, you can use this searchable directory of mental health professionals. They’re sorted by treatment area, or area of specialty, language spoken (ideal for areas with a high immigrant population), gender (sometimes, you want someone of the same sex. Or not), location (self explanatory!), mode of treatment (talk therapy? Or something else), and the type of care, e.g. managed or insurance coverage. This site actually invented and perfected the therapist finder concept, and it’s been rebuilt and relaunched with a more powerful search function. It’s definitely easier to use than asking around for referrals, because let’s face it – most people probably don’t want to admit they see a therapist. And it’s certainly better than staring at ads in the yellow pages.

In addition to finding a therapist, you can also view all of the resources on the site, from psychology news and research briefs. I just finished reading an article there on the Autism genome project – two possible sites have been linked to the development of autism though the project. I have a good friend who has a son with autism, so I always find it interesting (and exciting) to read about new finds relating to autism.

I was curled up in bed last night with my latest edition of Reader’s Digest – yes, I am a 95 year old women inside the body of a 30 year old. I read an article about a woman not much older than me, having a stroke. A stroke! I always thought that was something that happened to older people, not healthy women in their 30’s. She recovered due to new clot busting therapy that was delivered to her within 8 hours, but she still had to relearn how to speak and write. Can you imagine? Scary stuff there.

I know a little something about being pregnant. After all, I’ve been through it three times. Mention pregnancy and it’s things like Morning sickness, stretch marks, bed rest, labor, delivery that come to mind. For me, health insurance comes to mind as well. You see, when I got pregnant with my oldest, I wasn’t married to my husband, so I had no coverage on his insurance. I was covered on my mom’s insurance (I was 18, but living at home and a student) but it didn’t cover pregnancy. Suddenly, this middle class college student was an uninsured pregnant woman. I had never dreamed I’d need to know about choosing pregnancy insurance at the age of 18, but happy accidents do happen! According to this article on choosing pregnancy insurance, I was one of the 13% of women without insurance. The article has some great tips on what to do if you find yourself in the same situation, such as, applying for Medicaid. I did, and while I did have to jump through a few hoops (including taking a leave of absense from my job so I wouldn’t have an income), I got coverage and found a fantastic doctor. The financial coverage at HealthAdel.com has lots of other tips on insurance as well – worthwhile reading for anyone, pregnant or not.

I always knew that naps were good for me. I fought them off when I was 4 or 5 and too young to know better, but now I crave naps. I’ve snuggled up with my children and dozed off on a Sunday afternoon, and I’ve caught a mid morning cat nap at home on a weekday.

Researchers in Greece have found that those who regularly take midday naps lower their risk of dying from heart disease – by more than a third!

I think we should make a siesta a way of life here in the good ole’ US of A and enjoy the benefits!