Domestic Geek

In response to "Are you drinking enough water?", a lot of people say yes, I drink Gatorade (or SoBe or the like). The fact is, these types of drinks are being misused. Sports drinks like Gatorade are intended to replace nutrients lost during exercise (meaning you should exercise first). "Health" drinks like SoBe worry me. Quite frankly, the fact that most of them have some type of caffeine and/or manufactured sweeteners such as High Fructose Corn Syrup make them far from healthy. Energy drinks are just bad for you. I'm running across more and more people using them not as an occasional pick-me-up, but as a crutch to overcome lack of sleep and poor eating habits.

Let's start this off by talking about water. I know very few people who actually get enough liquids during the day and when they do, it's usually a sugar and/or caffeinated (and possibly artificial chemical) laden beverage.

The great debate raging now is whether you should be drinking tap or bottled. We use tap here at home that's been run through a Pur water filtration pitcher.

There are many important health benefits of drinking water. First, it aids in weight loss. The body that is not getting enough water will retain fluids. We need to flush fluids to get rid of excess stuff in our systems. The body also needs water or muscles to function correctly and to metabolize food.

Of course the experts all disagree as to how much you should be drinking a day. There's the standard 8 (8 oz.) glasses a day. This is probably meant to be a guide more than anything. Some people tell you to drink only when you're thirsty and then others telling you that if you're thirsty, you're already dehydrated. I'm no expert, so I don't know the answer, but you do need to get a good intake of water into your diet to live a healthier life.

OK, you can tell by the timestamp of my last post that I was up quite late last night. I just couldn't get to sleep. I know I'm going to be regretting that in a few hours. But, here I am now up and wide awake getting reading to get going. Since I have yet to finish my new template, I changed the look of this one. I hope you all like it. Yes, I know the comment page and lost of stuff is still pink. I'll try to change some of that as we go along.

Over the next 24 hours, I've decided to write about health topics. Since the introduction of modern medicine, you'd think we as a society would be getting healthier. The obesity epidemic, cancer, diabetes and a whole slew of other problems show this is not the case. I'll be exploring several different topics (some suggested by some very good online friends of mine) and would appreciate anybody who is visiting's opinion.

Good luck, Blogathonners!

Now that I'm done with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and I am no longer obsessing over it with my every waking moment, I need to get cracking on some other things that were put on the back burner.

Thirteen Things I Am Going to Tackle Now That Harry Potter is Over

1. Stephen King — I've got all those Stephen King books I bought earlier this summer to tackle.
2. Home Inventory — Marcus and I need to do an updated home inventory and get it to a secure, off location spot. You never know when a disaster will strike and it would be a good idea to have our possessions cataloged.
3. Learn to Knit — I've had this on my list for years. I want to learn NOW!
4. Sell Stuff on eBay — I have a huge box of stuff I want to get rid of. Hopefully someone will want it.
5. Wax my Car — I came to the sad realization that I haven't waxed that poor car once since I've had it.
6. Find Another Income Source — I am not getting much OT at work and paid blogging is unpredictable. I need another revenue source so I can make it to Vegas in November and so we can get our house on land.
7. Clean the Carpets — Winter will be here before I know it and I won't be able to have the house opened up to dry them.
8. New Blog Design — hopefully this will happen before Saturday's blogathon. I'm really close to having it finished.
9. Purge More Stuff — It's amazing with everything I've let go of, I still have a ton of stuff. I don't use it, so I need to get rid of it.
10. Find Old College Buddies — I have a few people from college I want to try to locate and see how they turned out.
11. Establish Exercise Routine — Now that my ankles have finally gotten better, it's time to concentrate of getting the old body fit.
12. Get My Hair Done — I haven't had my hair cut professionally since well before my mother passed almost 10 years ago. I'm tired of the long, stringy pony tail.
13. Craft — I started a craft blog, but haven't made time to craft recently.

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

The 2007 Blogathon is quickly approaching. In a little over three days I'm going to be blogging every half hour for 24 hours straight to benefit Livestrong: The Lance Armstrong Foundation beginning at 7 am MDT. Please sponsor me! My goal is to raise at least $500 this year, although every little bit counts.

Pledges are not fulfilled until after the event, are tax deductible and are paid directly to the charity. No pledge is too small! Pledges over $10 will receive a Livestrong wristband from me.

Much gratitude to my Current Sponsors: yoshi, Nina, Mike & Sarah, WebKittyn, Marcus W., Marisa, Tom D (my dad), Colleen.

Total Pledges: $190.00

*To make commenting easier during the Blogathon, why not become a member of my site? You'll also be able to upload your very own avatar for your comments, you won't have to type in captchas or even your info. Please sign up in advance, though. I don't know how much time I'll have to deal with site admin issues once blogging is underway. Hope to see you during the 'thon!