I admit it. I have been having an extended engagement with Jane Austen, which has prevented me from having any desire to post to my blog this week. Okay, there has been a small amount of desire, but not enough to get me to put down Mansfield Park long enough to do it! However, I have put it down long enough to scrapbook a few pages this week. Here is one I did last night that I am particularly happy with. (Click to see more detail.)

(I just wish I could claim actual credit for the idea, instead of owning that I completely scraplifted this page from a Lisa Bearnson layout in Creating Keepsakes magazine.) The kids pictured with mine belong to my dear friend Dawn.

Earlier in the week, I was pleased to see an article on the Newstarget site about the good and bad kinds of milk. In the past, I have been disappointed that Mike Adams has dismissed cow's milk carte blanche, instead of differentiating between what should and shouldn't be consumed, milk-wise. Well, it looks like the man has been educated, and other than his still very pro-vegetarian stance, I think he's pretty on-track as far as what is healthy to put into your body.

For the low-down on processed & raw cow's milk, soy milk, and almond milk, please see the article.

Also, if you would like to skip--or at least minimize--the effects of "cold and flu season," which many just take for granted, please check out this page on Dr. Mercola's website for an education on the benefits of a good probiotic supplement. If you have no really comprehensive probiotic available locally, you can purchase his probiotic, but if you are not on one already, I highly recommend that you get on one, NOW!

I've been consuming a very potent probiotic 2-3 times a day as part of the body-repairing regimen I have been on since April, and have seen a drastic decrease in the amount of yeast in my blood, an increase in energy, and have had only one cold in that time. (This is good, considering that my body was, in times past, so run-down as to be getting a cold fairly frequently, and to almost always have a runny nose.)

I find my kids are much more resistant to the neighbourhood germs when I have them regularly (a few times a week) taking an infant acidopholus supplement, as well as taking Cod Liver Oil daily, especially in the winter. I highly recommend the Garden of Life brand of Cod Liver Oil--the taste is only mildly fishy, as compared to the green toxic goo many cod liver oils seem to resemble. My kids actually ask for it! Getting your kids to regularly consume kefir or live-culture yogurt (minus the sugar!) made from whole milk is another good way to keep those positive intestinal flora thriving.

Anyhoo, in addition to these basic precautions as the "back-to-school" germ-exchange-fest comes on, you may want to consider using Oil of Oregano or Young Living's Thieves blend in a diffuser in your home to minimize air-borne bacteria, viruses, and fungi. While it is good to be exposed to a small amount of that, to keep your immune system up, those of us in northern climes too often find our immune systems not running under optimal conditions as the days get shorter and we spend more time inside, out of direct sunlight.

That's all for now, friends! I hear my craft table calling me. (I am glutting myself on reading and scrapping right now, because I know in two weeks my leisure time will be a rare thing, indeed.)

Hugs to you all!