Goose Hunt Anyone?

Canadian Geese have invaded our territory....Husband is on the hunt!

Some facts about geese!

1. They mate for life.
2. They have 6-10 babies each spring.
3. They live 18-20 years.
4. They come back to the same place each spring.

Now, when we moved to our current home almost 7 years ago we liked that it was right next to a pond. There were about 4 or 5 geese then. Ok... looking at the above facts you can see we easily have around 30 geese now.

We bought a Goose Fence...a simple device that has 2 green wires attached to it...hard to see, but does seem to stop the geese from entering our yard (where the fence is). Whoever said that geese aren't very smart will see they have found that at the end of the fence are still some openings (sidewalk, etc) They manage to walk over to those places and then enter our yard. Our yard is full of goose poop as they munch our newly fertilized grass. My husband has been seen chasing them with shovels and even large squirt guns. He is amazed I don't spend my days doing the same!

Yes...spring is a pretty time! We will soon see cute little goslings wandering our yard with their obnoxious parents. (Goslings are cute and little for just a few days...they grow incredibly fast!) And my husband will have new geese to chase!

Happy Spring....

Debbie www.healthy-environments.com

Merry Christmas---oops! It's Spring, isn't it?

Well, today we are getting dumped with over 7 inches of very wet snow. The winter coats and boots were dusted off and worn again. The robins and geese shiver in the snow by our pond. We were amazed that 2 very large white swans appeared on our pond last night. Maybe this was an attempt to scare off the hundreds of geese that litter our yard, which is next to the neighborhood pond. But then it snowed and snowed today, and there are no swans to be seen now. The geese are honking and taking over the pond once again.
I did find a company that sells a Goose Fence, which I ordered. I hope that will keep them from pooping all over our lawn and eating our new grass. I can't tell you how much I DISLIKE geese!
We had a nice Easter...although a bit cold out!
This snow may be holding off seasonal allergies, but I am sure it'll be spring again soon and the allergies will appear.
We have begun to do some spring cleaning including changing the furnace filter. Have you changed yours lately? They should be changed or cleaned about once a month for optimal use of your furnace and for allergy control.
Guess it's time to shovel off the walk and driveway again....
Until next time.... www.healthy-environments.com
Debbie

Robins in the Snow

Hi!
Well...it is Feb. in the Chicago area and anything is possible in regards to weather. Last week at this time we got a foot of snow dumped on us. Now...a week later the temperatures are rising and the back yard consists of melting snow hills and lots of mud. (Mud, that our little bichon loves to dig his feet into as well our 7 yr. old son!)
I was amazed to see 3 robins sitting in our front tree. Even though the snow is melting it is still very WHITE outside! So, I guess spring is coming and soon we will be buying pool passes and signing our kids up for summer activities.
It will also be a time to do some spring cleaning...open the windows and air out the stuffy house from winter.
I do recommend Healthy Environments cleaning products. Why?

• non-toxic
• very concentrated (use very small amounts with water)
• bio-degradable (good for the environment)
• inexpensive (oz. to oz. incredibly cheaper than store brands)

Check it out on our site... www.healthy-environments.com/safe-cleaning-products.asp

Sick of Winter?

Here in the Chicago area we have been spared the usual cold winter...until now. It is 15 degrees out with a couple of inches of snow on the ground as I type this. At least the sun is out and it looks very pretty. We live next to a pond and we are finally seeing ice form on it. It is mid-January but I was rather getting used to mild temperatures, no boots, hats, or gloves! But with a 7 yr. old boy in the house I have found signs of winter (coming in and out the front door!) Dripping boots, soggy snow pants and frozen gloves lay in my front hall. My newly mopped floor is a mess again! (Sigh!)
But now that the temps are low the odds are high that people will start getting colds and flu when they spend a lot of time indoors. Our homes are sealed up tight to be energy efficient but the germs and viruses have no where to go but attach themselves to dust particles in the air...until someone breathes them in. If the immune system is compromised in any way then that person will feel ill later. It is the way it works.
So....Remember to try to have CLEAN indoor air (free of viruses and germs)....
and take nutritional supplements to keep your immune system strong this winter.
To learn more about this go to ..... www.healthy-environments.com

Flat Cookies

Hope your Christmas was a good one!
My sisters were both coming to my home over the holidays. Neither one of them can eat wheat. So I purchased a Gluten-free flour mix so I could make them some cookies. I used a Gluten-free cook book which called for 2 types of special flours but since I already had a 'safe' flour mix I just used that. Little did I know that alternative flours are much more sensitive to changes than regular wheat or white flours that I am used to . The cookies just totally spread out all over the pan and became one huge thin cookie. Of course, it then stuck to the pan unmercifully and became a platter full of crumbs in the end. They did taste pretty good when warm but were a disaster to look at.
Well, dear sisters, it was the thought that counted here!
For those of you that cook for food allergies, more power to you!
Happy New Year!
www.healthy-environments.com
Check out my NEW safe cleaners & laundry products!

Happy Feet Message....

I took the kids to see the new movie, Happy Feet, last night. For those of you who haven't seen this movie, it is about a group of penguins in the Antartic who feel singing is the basis for having a supply of fish to eat. One little penguin cannot sing but he has the gift of dancing. He is considered an outcast in this group. He decides to find out the real reason for the decline in fish...which he learns is 'humans'. It is kind of cute how he gets humans to notice him by dancing. He then works on getting them to learn how they are causing a food shortage for penguins.
Now, my 7 yr. old Alex, who sat next to me didn't seem to get this message as clearly as me but I think it was important for all of us to see that environmental issues are important to everyone.
And the biggest lesson?
One person CAN make a difference!
Stop by and see www.healthy-environments.com

Allergic to Thanksgiving foods?

Happy Thanksgiving!
Well, to most people Thanksgiving means a big meal with all the fixings shared with family and friends. However, more and more people are learning that they have food allergies creating havoc on holidays & feasts.
Our Thanksgiving table usually means gluten-free products being available for certain family members that cannot eat wheat, oats or rye. 10 years ago this was more of a problem, but now there are dozens of books with gluten-free recipes. Our stuffing will be made with alternative flours and grains. Will it taste a little different? Yes. But not in a bad way, mind you.
The pie crusts are a pain to make with alternative flours since it is the gluten that makes dough stick together....otherwise it is rather crumbly. But we have had successful crusts in the past and our gluten free people were very delighted to be able to have traditional foods.
So...if you or people you know have food allergies, don't get stressed!
There is plenty of info out there to help you create a delicious meal!
Here is a great site for those with Food or chemical sensitivities... http://www.livingwithout.com

Happy Thanksgiving from www.healthy-environments.com

Laughter as Medicine?

You heard that laughter is good medicine?

Well...just try to watch this and not smile or laugh!

Enjoy!!

The Great Giggler

Why Take Off Your Shoes?

I have learned that your shoes can carry a ton of allergens into your house. Pet dander, grass, leaves, pollen, mold and more. You may not be able to see it, but it is there.
So...take off your shoes when you enter the house. Never walk across the carpeting with outside shoes on. Those little things just cling to the carpeting fibers creating an irritating environment for those with allergies.
Plus, who wants to lay on the floor to watch TV or play with the kids when the carpeting is holding onto micro-organisms? Ahh...what a visual!

Just another tip from The Allergy Queen!

Cool Car Commercial!

This has nothing to do with allergies...but was sure fun to watch!

The Best Car Commercial You Ever Saw

This amazing commercial from Google Video about the Isuzu Gemini is more than 20 years old and will delight and surprise you. These cars perform amazing crazy stunts and this is not animated. These cars are really flying through the air!
This video should win some type of award. The music has a powerful dance beat that makes you just want to get up and start dancing with the cars. I enjoyed it so much, I played the video several times just to listen to the music and watch how the cars were choreographed.
Google Video

Excited....New Products!

Hey!
I just added some NEW products to my Healthy Environments site! And I must say, they are great additions!

1) Healthy Products for Your Pets - Made fresh before it is shipped to your door, this pet food is nutrient rich and contains NO by-products, corn, wheat or dairy! Also...NO artificial flavors and NO chemical preservatives. Because it lack fillers that store-brand foods have you actually pay less because you can feed your pet less!

2) Reusable Bags - Americans use over 10 Billion plastic bags each year. It costs us millions of dollars ! If we all used bags that were reusable we would be saving LOTS of money... and we'd be helping SAVE THE EARTH!

My little dog Bo, who is allergic to everything actually loves this new dog food and has shown NO signs of skin allergies (he scratches until he bleeds when I introduce a new dog food!)

And...I just ordered two very COOL looking lunch bags for my two youngest kids that they can re-use daily. Plus, they are insulated with recycled plastic soda bottles instead of vinyl (which has been proven to be toxic when mixed with food.)

Please go to my website and read about these terrific products. You'll might learn something new & interesting!
www.healthy-environments.com

Allergies aren't the only reason to use TISSUES - Watch this!

I shared this video on my Blog for Adoptive Parent Support at www.everythingforadoption.com and felt I should share it with you also.
It is a wonderful video of Parental Love. Get your tissues out.

Marathon Dad (click!)

Allergic to Housework?

As the mother of 4 boys, I have to admit most of them seem to have the same affliction. They are allergic to housework. I barely mention the word, 'clean', and immediate moaning sounds begin. It is a painful thing to watch. It is even more painful to see what their idea of 'clean' actually is.
Now, I do have one daughter...but at age 12 she is either being compulsively clean, like cleaning out her closet or she moves into the 'slob' mode and lives with a continual pile of clothes on her bedroom floor.
As someone who is aware that many airborne allergies are stemmed from DUST, it is my opinion that maybe 'piles' and 'stuff' need to be picked up and possibly put somewhere to avoid the DUST issue.
However, having 5 children all at various stages of stubborness (or some call 'development') I have to either get into the 'nagging mode' or just learn to close their bedroom doors more often.
Sigh.....
Yeh...tomorrow our cleaning gal comes (only twice a month) and I will see my house as a house again for at least a few days or so!

Allergic to Outside?

I told my 6 yr. old to stop playing his Nintendo and go outside to get some fresh air.
His comment came back, "But, Mom! You told me that our air purifier is just like fresh mountain air!"
Ok! Why is it that kids have such selective hearing? I don't think he ever hears me talk about the benefits of a clean bedroom. LOL....

How Important is Customer Service?

Well, I learned a very important lesson these past two weeks. If you don't have Customer Service in your business than your business will be suffering. I learned this in a very difficult way.
2 weeks ago I learned that several friends had switched their phone carriers to Vonage and were proud of the savings they were going to have. Without checking into Vonage any further, I made the switch. SBC had been a nightmare to switch to 5 years earlier with them messing up my account multiple times and in multiple ways. Since they had so many hidden fees I felt I would like Vonage without the hidden fees. BIG mistake!!!
As soon as the boxes were added to my computer and phone lines I lost the internet. This took about 4 days to repair. It was a Norton issue who apparently went crazy with this new system attached to the computer. Worse than that, our phone lines did not work properly. One day no incoming calls, next day no dial tone. My only means of talking with customer service was to use my cell phone...which did not work well in my house.
And here is the topic at hand....Customer Service! Now the friends who liked Vonage never had to deal with their customer service department like I did for the next 2 weeks. It was common to dial the number and get the message that your call would be answered in 25-30 min. I waited....and waited....and waited.... Then the customer service rep would answer and it was very obvious that English was not their first language. Most were courteous but after waiting 30 min. I then had to give all my info, address, phone, etc. Then we discussed the problem where I was given a few options to try to fix the phone. It never worked and I was passed onto someone else. Then I began all over again.....wait 30 min....give detailed info on account...explain problem....passed onto someone else.
Days went by....weeks went by....NO phone service! I decided to go with another carrier to get my phone lines operational. I cancelled the Vonage service....and they took my phone numbers. So when the new company tried to set up my phones they could not use my original phone numbers. I had to re-join Vonage to get my numbers back. I spent many hours....actually most of the day for several days to find out how I could get my numbers back. I FINALLY found people on both ends...new carrier & at Vonage who understood what I was trying to do....and are currently working on getting my original numbers back in place
However, this will take several more weeks.
My plan to save more money undoubtly cost me hundreds of dollars and HUGE blocks of time.
I would never go back to Vonage no matter what special deals they offered me because I know when I have a problem I will have to deal with incompetent customer service.
Lesson learned....
Customer Service is the lifeline to a good business.

Loose-Tooth-itis?

I think I am allergic to loose teeth! Our youngest son, Alex, is 7. One by one, his teeth are leaving him! He lost one front tooth a month ago. The last few days his other front tooth is just hanging by a thread and has slowly gravitated to the middle of his mouth. He shows everyone how much it wiggles and yanks and pulls on it to show us! This is as bad as fingernails on a chalkboard for me!
Thankfully, the tooth fell out yesterday...and Alex was overjoyed! He had to call his Papa at work and tell him the good news. The tooth fairy came and delivered $1 for it. My older boys quickly complained they never got that much for a tooth. Inflation?
I am relieved the wiggly front teeth are gone. Alex says he looks like a pumpkin...and he does! Big gaps in his mouth everywhere. It will be a difficult summer for corn on the cob for him!

Until next time....

The Allergy Queen

Allergy Season is Here!

It was noted on the radio the other day that this will be a miserable allergy season this year. We have had quite a bit of rain and early warm temps. Things are blooming like crazy, flowers, grass, weeds! Aaahh-choooo-oo!
So...to all those allergy sufferers out there....try to get some relief by using a good air purifier, some XanGo (to build up your immune system) and some of our allergy relief tips the web site has to offer!

Have an allergy question??

Let me know.

Talk soon.

The Allergy Queen Lives!

When trying to create this blogsite, I had trouble coming up with a decent title for it. However, since my Healthy-Environments site is 90% on living with or controlling your allergies, I decided I must be The Queen of this information. Hence, the name of this blog is now The Allergy Queen.
I am hoping you can remember that and will feel free to come here often as I add bits of wisdom, shared or otherwise, on the topic of Indoor Air Quality & Allergies.
Almost everyone has an allergy or sensitivity to something...or knows someone who suffers a lot with allergies. So....I hope this site will bring helpful information for you and others!