Honey Love Dust Shea Butter

All Natural Moisturizer With The Aroma Of Honey, Cocoa Butter and Chocolate

The beauty of organic body care products is that they are just as good on the outside as they are on the inside. Think about it. Everything you put on your skin is absorbed into your body. Have you ever read a bottle of lotion or shampoo? How many words can you actually pronounce or how many times do you see the word acid listed in the ingredients?

Between wanting younger and more supple skin, shiny and lustrous hair and to eliminate dark spots, freckles or stretch marks, we are contaminating our bodies with harmful chemicals. It’s bad enough that the foods we eat and water we drink can be hazardous to our health…but you can’t stop at being mindful of what you eat. Everything you slather on your skin can be just as dangerous, if not more.

With that in mind, there is an ever growing trend to buy organic body care products. Some items may cost a little more, however, just how much is you family’s health and safety worth? It’s convenient and inexpensive to pick up toothpaste at the drug store, but when it says FLUORIDE TOOTHPASTE right across the front of the label, you had better think twice.

It used to be that you could just trust that the toiletries you were buying would be safe, but today, that just is not the case. You need to read labels and be particular about what you use on your skin and read the labels. If the items you buy are full of preservatives, that means they are not fresh.

It’s time to be aware of what your body consumes, skin and all. The best organic body care products are made fresh in small batches with all natural ingredients. Honey Love Essentials, LLC offers products that are created from only the freshest and most pure ingredients.

Coconut Shea Butter  is one of their most luxurious body butters. You will love how soft and silky it leaves your skin and even protects it in harsh environments.

Funny Scene From Movie Barefoot In The Park

Kino Video Editor

I use Linux Ubuntu as my operating system. (Love it!) I have been using it for quite some time.

Kino is my favorite video editor because it is so simple to use. After I updated my system to the newest version of Ubuntu, my Kino was not working properly. When I added the video into the program, it was running fast, like 10 times faster than normal and there was no sound.

I searched high and low for the answer. Finally, I found it… Type “padsp kino” into the terminal and kino will open.

When I add my video after starting the program this way, it runs perfectly normal!! What a relief. If you have never tried Kino, I highly recommend it. There are plenty of videos on YouTube about how to use it and best of all, it is free!!

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These are the top 8 SEO strategies that I make sure are done properly to ensure my website is easy to use and understood by both people and the search engine spiders who crawl it. Google is quick to announce changes in how it indexes websites, so the best bet is to be as natural in your content writing as possible.  Be human, because you are.

# 1

Add a WordPress blog to your website. When Google comes to scan your website, they want to see fresh, original content. Your blog should NOT be a place that chokes it’s readers with advertisement overkill. Providing informative, interesting, funny or enticing articles with compelling information is the best way to catch your readers attention and get leads or interest.

While writing keyword rich articles that best pertain to your niche, engage and relate to your potential client or customer with appeal. You need to add quality pages that offer something substantial to the value of your website.

In essence, Google and others want to see that you have something to give that no one else does. Fresh blog posts make you individual, so be sure that you are careful not to duplicate someone else’s material. Also, each post adds a page to your website and Google LOVES big websites that are active.

I find that WordPress blog posts rank quickly in the search engine when using SEO strategies. Create a blog if you don’t have one.

# 2

Title tags begin with your keyword phrase and need to be less than 66 characters. When naming your article, it better be about what the title says it is. (I am using this post for my example.)

The URL should be the same as the title; short and to the point.

# 3

Choose just 1-3 keyword phrases that best describe your article. (One should be the same as the title.) Overdoing and keyword cramming will not give you any advantage, trust me. When writing your article, you do not have to focus on keyword density. Just write naturally and use your keyword 3-6 times, the paragraphs have to make sense.  If it is mumbled ramblings in print, it is better just to use the keyword once or twice and write in proper sentences, rather than creating nonsense just to squeeze words in.

# 4

On page link building should also be a natural process that is consistent with flow. The first keyword set should be within the first 100 words of your article. Typically, I bold the first occurrence of the keyword phrase and use the second as my link. However sometimes, I link the first occurrence instead. Other links can be added and it is good to link to a reliable source to validate information, but in the best SEO strategy, the first and last link should be the keyword phrase that matches the title.

Build your links on interior pages and not the home page. When linking to your website from an exterior source, link to interior pages which are relevant, (I stress) NOT JUST TO YOUR HOME PAGE.

# 5

Images with “alt tags” add interest to your content.

<a href=”http://www.nothingbutjane.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/top-8.jpg”><img title=”top 8″ src=”http://www.nothingbutjane.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/top-8.jpg” alt=”top 8 seo strategies” width=”291″ height=”95″ /></a>

In your html code, be sure you are telling the bots crawling your website what your image is about using your keyword phrase.

# 6

Do make social media part of your integral SEO campaign. Without social media, you are not going to be as trusted and liked by Google. Create facebook, linkdin, twitter, youtube profiles and link to and from your site. Maintain regular activity in these social media campaigns to promote your site by linking your accounts to it. Increasing your fans, likes and members give a signal to search engines that your site is popular.

# 7

Do not use paid linking services that create mass links, homepage backlinks, site-wide links or any links that look unnatural and spammy. Google doesn’t appreciate paid links as they compete with Google Adsense. Stay away from automated backlinking software, blog networks, link juicers, automatic article submitters, spun or unoriginal content, etc.

# 8

When building links off-site, use a variations in your anchor text so they look organic. Google is penalizing those who are using identical anchor text in all of their backlinks. It is very unnatural if the majority of sites linking to you are using the same anchor text. Create links with various anchor text and again, DO NOT just link to your home page.

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750 South Old Woodward, Birmingham

I have been super excited about working on web design with a fantastic group of people! The Be Well LifeStyle Center is a place that can help one to make the necessary changes in life, for not just better health, but for a better way of living.

In order to help others find joy and peace within, while building physical resistance to the aches and pains of our ever aging bodies, Silvio Cozzetto and his best friend and ex-wife, (oddly enough), Elaine Chefan, have sailed into uncharted territory with the opening of doors to the public at the Be Well LifeStyle Center in Birmingham, Michigan. There is no other place like it and hopefully, it is the first of many to come so others, who are not local to Birmingham, can share in the same benefits.

For being a divorced couple, Silvio and Elaine treat each other with great respect and are able to laugh and work with one another, not only in raising their thoughtful and well rounded son, but they have pulled together a great team of professionals that each excel in their fields and are able to offer an enthusiastic and inspiring place to seek mental and physical wellness. I am grateful for the path my life has taken; to have been blessed with meeting such a passionate group of individuals.

The Be Well LifeStyle Center is unique and offers massage, chiropractic therapy, acupuncture, colonic hydrotherapy, life coaching, yoga classes and even has a raw bar where you can enjoy fresh vegan smoothies and delicious, unprocessed gourmet foods. The café, Liquid Lunch,  is the perfect place to stop before or after a hard workout at the gym or just to relax and enjoy great food to fuel the body, in good company.

Birmingham, Michigan is well known for being a great town and with the first Be Well LifeStyle Center, it is just that much better. If you get the chance, be sure to stop in and say hello. There is no doubt, you will appreciate their hospitality and zest for life as much as I do.

There are some people that you meet in this world who can make you a better person just by knowing them and experiencing all the gifts they have to give and that is how I feel about Silvio Cozzetto and all the smiling faces at the Be Well LifeStyle Center. For me, it’s not just about their web design, it’s about working with people who make a difference.

Liquid Lunch Café

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More and more, people are returning to grass fed animal meat, which, by far, is healthier for everyone…..

by Katelin Moreen

When we think of farms we typically think of waking up to the rooster crowing at dawn, family owned and run, hand tilled fields filled with hand planted crops and cows grazing in open pastures. This fairytale farm story is far from the reality of what is really going on in today’s farming industry. In the early 1920′s farmers discovered when vitamins A and D are added to the animal feed, they would no longer require exercise and sunlight in order to grow (idausa.com). This made farmers realize there was no need for room to graze, and from this point on farmers began keeping more and more animals on that same plot of land, slowly eliminating any space outside for grazing. As time has gone on, farmers have cultivated numerous ways (many inhumanly) of producing more animals, in a shorter amount of time, while also finding ways to make them even meatier. This concept of merging the farm with the factory has appropriately been dubbed ‘factory farming.’

Factory farming is defined as a system of rearing livestock using intensive methods, by which poultry, pigs, or cattle are confined indoors under strictly controlled conditions as well as the process in which animals are no longer treated as animals but as food producing machines, produced for the soul purpose of revenue (dictionary.com). By no means am I a vegetarian, but the idea of forcing animals to live like this makes me consider the idea. Since the dawn of time people have killed and eaten animals, but these are living beings. How dare we treat another living thing in such a manner. Killing something for consumption is one thing, but is treating animals in such a way even ethical?

For any topic like this there will always be a debate for the pro as well as the con. Around the world this clashing of opinions produces many different views on what is the right, the moral or the most ethical approach to this topic. The farming industry believes in their process of large-scale farming or big business production. In their defense, there is a larger population on our earth, with more starvation than ever before. They look at is as simply doing their best to produce as much as they possibly can, and at a faster rate. Large farms have become one of the world’s largest industries. According to Dr. Joseph Mercola, “farming has grown into a $15.6 billion dollar industry world wide.” Though it is on the decline, there is still an estimated 1.91 million farms in the United States alone (mercola.com). Many of the small mom and pop farms have found it nearly impossible to compete with these large farms. That is until recently, the U.S. public has begun to take notice to these injustices and promote the idea of organic and sustainable farming. Though this helps, taking on these mega industries will prove to be nearly impossible, a modern day David and Goliath (hopefully with an ending just as triumphant). To this date, 90% of the nation’s poultry production is controlled by 10 companies (mercola.com)so we still have a ways to go.

Another debate for the pro is the regulations the FDIC is able to put on this industry’s product. Meat and poultry qualities are graded on a scale of A through D, grade A being the highest quality possible. Having so few companies involved in the nations poultry production, as well as in all other types of meat production, makes it much easier to regulate the quality of the product. It is much easier to regulate a small group of farming companies, rather than thousands of small family farms. In turn with such a limited number of farms supplying the entire nation, you can be sure of what exactly you are getting. Beyond knowing what you’re getting, you are also able to get it at a cheaper price. “Large farms receive nearly twice as much in government payments [subsidies] as do small farms” (mercola.com), this means they can charge less for their product. This obviously, however comes at a price, which is essentially taking that money out of the small-scale farmers pocket. So this point could be considered both good and bad, almost any person in the United States can find it possible to eat a steak if he or she chooses. This is not the case around the world. In fact, in some countries it is nearly impossible to eat meat at all.

Another argument for (or against) factory farming is the support a large scale farm can bring to a communities economy. When a large farm moves into an area, the benefits can be seen immediately. “Farms are vital to the economy,” explains Rosset. From the time a large farm begins jobs are available. When establishing a large farming industry in a rural community you need workers from day one. Whether it is to build the barns, silos, prepare the fields or design plans for the building, jobs are created from the start. Not to mention in most cases these industries develop a new town, which can potentially create hundreds of jobs due to the lack of supply and increased demand. A community begins to develop in all aspects as a result of one company needing hundreds of employees. However, this new mega farm can very easily drive the other local smaller mom and pop farms out of business. Family farmers are being forced out of business at an alarming rate. According to Farm Aid, every week 330 farmers leave their land. As a result, there are now nearly five million fewer farms in the U.S. than there were in the 1930′s. Of the two million remaining farms, only 565,000 are family operations (Sustainable Table).

There are benefits that can come from large-scale farming. Supporters place their values in supporting the global economy, quality regulation, dependability and the creation of jobs in areas where there are none. However like I stated earlier, for every pro, there is a con. Activists of factory farming have quite different values. They value animal rights, human safety and environmental conservation. With these values in mind, people and organizations that are opposed to large-scale farming believe factory farming should not continue.

As society’s view of what is “appropriate” changes, so does the idea of what is politically correct. Animal rights is one of the “hot topics” of today’s culture, especially now with the Green initiative becoming more and more vital to our planet. The opponents of factory farming feel that one of the most important reasons why this needs to stop is because the animals in these factory farms are being treated in such an inhumane manner. Rather than the farms we are conditioned to expect, these animals are being raised in metal cages stacked to the ceilings. Numerous chickens are kept in cages with dimensions no larger than a sheet of paper. Pigs and calves are kept in pins so small they are unable to turn around, sometimes for their whole lives. These animals are living in conditions unsuitable for any living thing, and denied the essentials that they need most like fresh water and sunshine.

The problems only worsen when you take hygiene into consideration. When such a high volume of animals are confined to a small space, it becomes nearly impossible to keep the space clean. Beyond the removal of carcasses, these places aren’t cleaned in their entirety, more than once every few years! Eventually the build up of feces and other bodily waste can, produce extreme levels of ammonia and other hazardous gases. The methane emitted when they chew their cud and belch, and nitrous oxide and ammonia their manure gives off is one of the top “two or three” most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems we face today (abcnews.com, 2006).

To put the tremendous amount of waste produced by these animals, into perspective; large-scale commercial livestock and poultry operations produce an estimated 500 million tons of manure each year, this is more than three times the sewage produced by the entire U.S. human population. Factory farm waste is stored in manure pits or lagoons, and ultimately it is applied to farm fields as fertilizer. However, being that they produce so much waste in a concentrated area, it must be applied to the land in quantities that exceed the soil’s ability to incorporate it. The vast quantities of manure can – and do – make their way into the local environment where they pollute the air and water (Food & Water Watch, 2010).

To make matters worse, studies have found that much of the meat on grocery store shelves today is contaminated with different types of bacteria, which cannot be killed with conventional antibiotics. That means that if you eat meat tainted with these super-germs and become ill, many antibiotics that doctors rely on to treat infections will be less effective or even useless (PETA). In this country, roughly 29 million pounds of antibiotics, about 80% of the nation’s antibiotics use in total, are added to animal feed every year to speed livestock growth (NRDC, 2011).

Through this over-crowding, unnecessary antibiotics and other foreign chemicals and gases, these animals are not only contracting diseases much easier, but in some cases to spreading them to humans through consumption. An example of this is documented in the movie Food.inc. Kevin, a 2-year-old boy, contracted E coli O157:H7 from simply eating a cheeseburger on a family vacation. He was diagnosed with hemolytic-uremic syndrome, and died just days later (Kenner, 2008). If it seems like epidemics like this are becoming more and more prevalent, that’s because they are, the first cases weren’t reported until 1991.

The problem we face in defeating this issue is that factory farms are designed to make money, not to raise healthy and happy animals. Through crowding as many animals into one space, while feeding them as inexpensively as possible, the farm should have no trouble making a profit. And when something can be profitable by [legally] cutting corners, persuading them to doing the right thing isn’t going to be easy if that means spending more money. That’s why we have to do our part.

Many of the activists opposed to factory farming, continuously lobby congress in an attempt to provoke change. The Humane Society of the United States has an extensive website devoted to factory farming (HSUSA). They have made it one of their [many] missions to do everything in their power to stop this cruel abuse and help to educate others on how they can get involved. There are small ways you can do your part to make a difference. By eating local, organic, sustainable foods you are making sure that you are eating meet from an animal raised on a local self-sufficient farm that was never fed any sorts of harsh chemicals or antibiotics. Though the terms “local, sustainable and organic” have become related to new age hippy jargon, it is really doing things the old fashioned way. More and more grocery stores are offering food guaranteed to be all three of these things, and it has become easier than ever to know what you are getting, guilt free.

Bibliography

abcnews.com. (2006, 12 13). Global Warming Culprits: Cars and … Cows. Retrieved 04 26, 2012, from abcnews.com: http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/GlobalWarming/story?id=2723201&page=1#.T5nrl-0lbFI
dictionary.com. (n.d.). factory farming. Retrieved 04 12, 2012, from dictionary.com: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/factory+farming?s=t
Food & Water Watch. (2010). How Factory Farms Impact You. Retrieved 04 25, 2012, from Factory Farm Map: http://www.factoryfarmmap.org/problems/
HSUSA. (n.d.). Working to reduce the suffering of animals raised for meat, eggs, and milk. Retrieved 04 20, 2012, from Farm Animal Protection: http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/campaigns/factory_farming
idausa.com. (n.d.). Factory Farming Facts. Retrieved 04 20, 2012, from In Defense of Animals: http://www.idausa.org/facts/factoryfarmfacts.html
Pearlstein, E. (Producer), & Kenner, R. (Director). (2008). Food, Inc. [Motion Picture].
mercola.com. (n.d.). Waste Pollution and the Environment. Retrieved 04 25, 2012, from Benefits of Grass Fed Beef: http://www.mercola.com/beef/benefits.htm
NRDC. (2011, 1 13). Facts about Pollution from Livestock Farms. Retrieved 04 26, 2012, from nrdc.org: http://www.nrdc.org/water/pollution/ffarms.asp
PETA. (n.d.). Meat Contamination. Retrieved 04 20, 2012, from Vegetarian Living: http://www.peta.org/living/vegetarian-living/meat-contamination.aspx
Sustainable Table. (n.d.). The Issues – Family Farms. Retrieved 04 23, 2012, from sistainable.org: http://www.sustainabletable.org/issues/familyfarms/

Super Yummy!

Ingredients:
1/4 cup peanut butter, no-stir type preferred (I used Jiff Natural)
2 tablespoons non-hydrogenated shortening, unsalted butter, or coconut oil (I used coconut oil)
2 teaspoons honey
1 tablespoon heavy cream OR coconut milk (I Used Coconut Milk)
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
sugar-free sweetener, to taste (I use Liquid Vanilla Flavored Stevia)
pinch of sea salt
1/2 cup dry roasted peanuts
1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum- optional (I did not use)

Preparation:
Add peanut butter, honey, and butter to a microwave safe dish. Microwave on high for one minute. Remove and immediately whisk in vanilla extract and heavy cream or coconut milk. Stir in sweetener, xanthan gum (if using), and pinch of salt. Taste and adjust if necessary. Fold in peanuts and drop in globs on to a pan lined with wax paper. Chill in freezer until firm, then transfer to refrigerator.

MMMMmmm GOOD!!

The problem I had is that the liquidy or soft ingredients run on the pan. I am still trying to perfect a good method of doing this. However, it had no effect on how delicious they are….and seem to be more of a cookie than bar. Either way, really good in my mouth!!

I tried using and egg plate…

But, I had difficulty removing them from the dish once cooled.

Next time, I will try a candy mold and frozen cookie sheet...

I will perfect the technique. Trust me, I will be making them again!

3 Ingredients

These are the 3 ingredients used to make this chocolate. I have heard agave is a more natural sweetener than sugar, but I am not convinced of this. I did have it available so this time I am using it. However, next time, I am going to use liquid Stevia.

I am sold though on the health benefits of coconut oil and cocoa. I want to incorporate more coconut oil into my diet (mouth), but I do not fry foods often and I tried it right off the spoon~ not so much… There is an abundance of information available about coconut oil on the Internet, which I will not get into here.

Cocoa has also proved to be of great benefit to the human body. (Thank goodness!) It is helpful in reducing blood pressure, improving blood vessel health and increasing good HDL cholesterol. Yeah for cocoa! : )

~ 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
~ 4 tablespoons unrefined coconut oil (melted)
~ 1/4 cup agave or use NuNatural vanilla stevia drops
~ optional: nuts, extracts, cocoa nibs, or other add-ins

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon cocoa powder

Add the cocoa to a large bowl and set aside.

4 tablespoons unrefined coconut oil (melted)

I have read time and time again not to microwave coconut oil, so I put the coconut oil into a pan and melt it on a very low heat.

Once melted, put it in a medium sized mixing bowl

1/4 cup agave or use NuNatural vanilla stevia drops

The recipe calls for agave or stevia, if you use stevia, 15-30 drops. The less drops will make a more bitter chocolate.

Add this to the melted coconut oil in medium bowl.

Combine the two.

The agave is much heavier than the oil, so mix well.

Stir the mixture into the cocoa.

Mix well, until chocolate is nice and thick.

That’s it…all you have to do now is pour it into the molds.

Spoon the chocolate into the molds and level it out.

Put the molds into the fridge or freezer until firm.

Now these bars made with the agave are more brownie-ish…gooier and chewier…

More of a chocolate brownie.

Those below are made with the stevia and are a more traditional candy bar. I needed to use 25 drops of it to get the taste I desire.

mmm, now that's what I'm talkin' bout...

If you are looking for a great, light meal that will fill you up and not lay you out, give it a whirl.

I bought the Eden brand. You can find it at most grocery stores.

INGREDIENTS

2 teaspoons grated lime zest
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (I also made it w/ lemon zest and juice and it was good, too)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 tablespoon vegetable oil (I use Olive Oil)
1 teaspoon sugar (Or sugar substitute)
1 cup quinoa
1 (14- to 15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 medium tomatoes, diced
4 scallions, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Whisk together lime zest and juice, butter, oil, sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4teaspoon pepper in a large bowl.

Prepare these items while the quinoa cooks.

Wash quinoa in 3 changes of cold water in a bowl, draining in a sieve each time.

Cook quinoa in a medium pot of boiling salted water (1 tablespoon salt for 2 quarts water), uncovered, until almost tender, about 10 minutes. Drain in sieve, then set sieve in same pot with 1 inch of simmering water (water should not touch bottom of sieve). Cover quinoa with a folded kitchen towel, then cover sieve with a lid (don’t worry if lid doesn’t fit tightly) and steam over medium heat until tender, fluffy, and dry, about 10 minutes. Remove pot from heat and remove lid. Let stand, still covered with towel, 5 minutes.

If the Quinoa is crunchy, let it steam a bit longer.

Add quinoa to dressing and toss until dressing is absorbed, then stir in remaining ingredients and salt and pepper to taste, if need be.

Yummers.