One thing I would absolutely love to have done that will contribute to my quest of become a “Hot Mommy”, is Lasik eye surgery.  Some of you that have seen photos of me, are probably thinking, “I’ve never seen her wearing glasses?”  But yes, at the age of 25, I discovered that I was nearsighted, and so for the past 12 years I’ve been wearing prescription eyeglasses.  I just hate taking pictures with them on.  Unfortunately, Lasik eye surgery is very expensive, so I’ll probably have to put that on hold for a while longer.

In the meantime, I am in desperate need of a new prescription and just a complete set of new eyeglasses.  In the past, I would take advantage of our vision insurance, but since my husband just started a new job, we won’t have any health coverage for about 3 months.  We could COBRA our previoius insurance, but since it is so expensive, we’ve decided to do without it.  I know, pretty risky huh?  Unfortunately, we really don’t have a choice.

So today, I was browsing the internet for some good deals on eyeglasses and I came across Zenni Optical.  What caught my eye is that they boast $ 8 Zenni Optical Rx Eyeglasses. I was thinking to myself, “This is too good to be true.” Then I browsed around their website and found out why their glasses are so inexpensive.

“Using the latest modern materials, manufacturing and marketing systems we bring our product direct from our factories to you. No middlemen, no retail overhead, and practically no advertising budget,(we leave it to you, our satisfied customers to spread the word), we do not pay for or sell expensive, or even inexpensive, brand names, but only our own manufactured brand ZENNI.

Eyeglasses are definitely a personal fashion and style item, and to that end we strive to provide a fashionable and stylish product. More importantly, we feel prescription eyeglasses are a health item necessity for most wearers, and to that end we take considerable pride in being able to bring to all a very high quality product of great durability, safety and comfort at truly reasonable and affordable prices.”

So I was like, this seems like a company I can trust.  After browsing around some more, I realized that they really have a huge selection and many different styles and colors to choose from.  Although, the picture above is an example of one of their $8 styles, the following is my favorite, which is around $45.  They are hingeless and rimless.  I’m definitely thinking of getting some and I’ll let you guys know how they turn out.

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Technorati Tags: 8 dollar eyeglasses, eyeglasses prescription, hingeless eyeglasses

I have posted these previously, but I feel like I need a reminder as to why I need to lose weight and what inspires me to do it.  Here are 5 things that inspire me to lose weight.

1. First and foremost, my kids. I’m no “spring chicken” (having my first born when I was 30), and being the weight I am, I find it very difficult and exhausting to keep up with them. I have dreams of being able to run around and play with them, without getting breathless and tired. I want to take them to Disney World in the very near future, and when I go, I want to be able to enjoy myself with them, and not constantly be worried about where I can find a bench to sit down.
2. I’m tired of not “loving” myself. I’m very self conscious about my weight and how I look to myself and my husband (even though he tells me he loves me the way that I am…I know…I’m blessed). I’m ready to feel good about myself, and not become nauseated every time I look at myself in the mirror.
3. And I’ve mentioned this before, but heart disease, stroke and diabetes runs rampant in my family, and I absolutely REFUSE succumb to it.
4. I have really enjoyed Weight Watchers and plan to get back on it. When I’m on it, I’m able to eat a lot of the things that I used to, but just in moderation. Now don’t get me wrong, with WW I definitely eat a lot healthier that I did before, but I love how I’m able to indulge (not overindulge) in some of the things I like without going off my diet.
5. And last, this blog! I am having such a blast sharing my progress with my new found readers! I refuse to start something and not finish it, and having this blog has definitely helped with that.

Technorati Tags: Inspiration, lose weight, motivation, weight loss, Weight Watchers

Coming from a family that has a history of heart disease, I am very aware of the many problems that being overweight can cause.  Although hypertension and diabetes are on my priority list of concerns, I am most concerned with the heart conditions associated with my obesity.

Today I came across the website, TheHeart.org.  The first thing that stood out when I visited TheHeart.org was that it was associated with WebMD.  Just that association alone led me to believe that this was most definitely a website I could trust, and from there I decided to browse around.  At TheHeart.org, their purpose is to basically provide information to cardiologists, referring physicians, and other health care professionals such as nurses and lab technicians on how to care for people with heart and circulation disorders.  They also provide information on prevention, which is very important to me.

Although, this website requires membership (free for health care professionals who are members of recognized professional associations), it provides a plethora of information regarding Acute Coronary Syndrome, Hypertension, Heart Failure to name a few.  Not only is it composed of articles from HeartWire, but you will also find features such as informative videos and polls.

I would definitely recommend this website for health professionals in the cardiology field.  With membership, they will have access to unique continuous medical education content, be able to join in conversations in the blogs and discussion forums, and receive exclusive newsletters related to their field of interest.

What?  “Stop drinking bottled water?!!”, you ask.  I came across this great article that really got me to thinking about all of the bottled water everyone consumes, and how damaging it could be to our environment.  Definitely something to be concerned about.  Here’s the article from Nubella:
Americans’ addiction to bottled water has exploded. In 1976, only 350,000 bottles of water were sold. Today, more than 9.4 billion bottles are sold each year, equaling more than $12 billion in sales. However, more people are beginning to question the need for and benefits of bottled water. In fact, certain groups, like Think Outside the Bottle, say our country needs to break its bottled water addiction. Here, ten reasons why you should kick the plastic habit.

1. Water and oil do mix. Although these two liquids may not get along in the kitchen, oil powers the bottled water industry. The Earth Policy Institute estimates that it takes up to 1.5 million barrels of oil to power the plants that make the plastic for the bottles-that’s enough to power 100,000 cars for a year.

2. Natural spring water? The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) estimates that as much as 25 percent of bottled water comes from municipal sources, a.k.a. tap water. Be sure to check the label and cap of the bottle. If it says “from a community water system” or “from a municipal source,” it originates from tap. What’s more, the water doesn’t always come from the branded source. For example, the water bottled for the Deer Park brand (which originated in Deer Park, Maryland) is taken from counties in Florida and Pennsylvania.

3. Bottled water doesn’t go green. The interesting paradox that exists in bottle water consumption is the image it portrays as being healthy and clean, but it is anything but good for the environment. In California alone, approximately a billion plastic bottles are not recycled, according to the California Department of Conservation (CDOC). What’s even more troubling, the Container Recycling Institute (CRI) says that plastic water bottles have a litter rate of about 30 million a day.

4. Bottled water gets a pass. Despite astronomical sales, bottled water plants go relatively unchecked. The FDA, which is responsible for regulating bottled water, admits that “bottled water plants generally are assigned low priority for inspection.” The FDA does not require disinfection of bottled water, nor does it have a confirmed E. Coli and fecal coliform ban, which means, unlike tap water, bottled water is permitted to have small amounts of these two potentially harmful bacteria.

5. There’s something in the water. The water you’re drinking may not be as clean as you think it is. In 2007, the FDA recalled Jermuk bottled water sold in California after finding trace amounts of arsenic, a naturally occurring chemical that can be toxic at very high levels. Furthermore, controversial chemicals called phthalates, which may disrupt the production of testosterone and other hormones, can seep into bottled water over time, according to research conducted by the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC).

6. Support for the tap. Contrary to popular opinion, bottled water isn’t necessarily healthier than tap water. After conducting an extensive, four-year review of the bottled water industry, the NRDC concluded that bottled water is not any safer or cleaner than tap water. If taste is the issue, opt for home filters. Depending on your needs, you can choose to install one on your refrigerator or on your faucet or you can simply store a pitcher of filtered water in the fridge. Ultimately, filtering your own tap water can save you money and help the environment.

Technorati Tags: bottled water vs tap water, is bottled water healthier than tap water, is bottled water safe for the environment

Just wanted to post a quick update about what has been going on.  Monday night, we lost power to our home around 9PM, and didn’t get it back on until Wednesday around 8PM.  In the meantime, I was suffering from a mental breakdown, and told Steven that I wanted to get out of this godforsaken town.  So we loaded all four kids up and headed up to northeast Mississippi to visit our old college town.  You can read more about all of that here.

We got back home around 8PM last night after my dad called us to let us know that our power had been restored.  Read more about that here.  Sorry, for all of the links to my posts on my other blog, just trying to simplify things.  I have tons of things to do, and unfortunately haven’t had any time to even think about my diet, so there is no telling what I weigh now.  For all I know, I could have lost weight, because I had to go buy some new clothes while we were out of town, and the pants I got, which was my normal size, were wayyyy too big.  So that was very encouraging.  I can officially say that I have dropped a size, and will updating that in my stats ASAP.  Hip, hip hooray!!!

Will be posting more next week, as things continue to inch closer to normalcy.  Until then….I’m out!!!