100 Things I'd Rather Do Besides Facebook

Back in early January, I made a decision: no more Facebook. I'd had an account for over three years, but more than any other issue I had with the site, I was mostly concerned about privacy. It seemed like every other week, there was some privacy change that always defaulted my account to being as open and public as possible. So I'd had enough. I not only deactivated my account, I spent nearly 2 weeks deleting every post, comment, picture, link, and video one by one, then requested that my account be permanently deleted. So, poof, gone, bye-bye!

Now to be honest, there's been a couple of times since then where I very nearly caved and signed up again. But after less than 2 hours, I remembered all my reasons for deleting it in the first place. So now I'm 100% committed to never having another Facebook account again.

And in honor of this major event in my life (even more major than giving up our cell phone 2 years ago), I am making a list of:

100 Things (at least!) I'd Rather Do Besides Facebook

And since 100 is a rather large number, I'll probably have to break this up into several posts. So in no particular order (other than the order they come to mind), here is installment #1:

1. Go to bed early.

2. Do a whole book of word-finds.

3. Crochet a blanket (this has been lots of fun to learn!!)

4. Work a jigsaw puzzle with my kids.

5. Water the garden.

6. Play with the cat.

7. Go out for ice cream.

8. Pray an extra rosary.

9. Finish reading The Everlasting Man, by GK Chesterton.

10. Write a letter (by hand) to a friend.

11. Learn a new piano piece.

12. Catch up on laundry.

13. Organize my pantry.

14. Refinish a piece of wood furniture.

15. Learn exactly where all the middle east countries are located.

16. Call my cousin in North Carolina.

17. Sew my girls some new dresses.

18. Plant some seeds with the kids.

19. Color a picture in one of my kids coloring books.

20. Practice re-learning Spanish.

More to come! What are some things YOU'D rather do besides Facebook?

Unethical Food Flavorings

We've recently learned about the issue regarding food flavorings, and how those flavorings are being tested in certain companies. There's a lot of confusion out there about what this means, ("Does my food contain fetal cells?" etc...) so I hope to clarify a little bit of this for some folks.

Apparently, a company called Senomyx is using kidney cells from an electively-aborted baby to test the chemical reaction to certain food flavorings. Food manufacturers, namely PepsiCo, Nestle, and Kraft Foods, are contracted with Senomyx to test the flavorings for their food products. At this point, at least with PepsiCo, they are still in a 4-year reasearch and development stage, which began in 2010. So, as far as we know, there are no fetal cells currently in any of our food - we hope! But as early as 2013, that could certainly change.

http://www.lifesitenews.com/blog/confused-about-the-pepsi-fetal-cell-issue-here-are-the-facts

But regardless as to whether the fetal cells are currently in our food is a bit beside the point. The fact that these companies are doing this testing in the first place means that they are currently practicing something immoral, unethical, and downright disgusting!

So as for me and my home, we are immediately going through our pantry to see what products we have that are produced by these companies. We're not going to throw anything out, since it doesn't look like anything questionable is in them currently (we are poor and don't want to waste the money we've already spent), but from this moment on, we will NOT be buying these products again. For some foods, like non-perishables, I should be able to return them to the store where I bought them from to exchange for other food items.

As of today, this is the most up-to-date list I have come across that explains which foods are related to these companies ("NO" foods) and which ones are not related to this horrific, murderous testing ("YES" foods).

The YES foods first - foods that are OK to continue purchasing. They are NOT doing the fetal cell testing:

(Please keep in mind that I am not personally endorsing any of these foods. I am simply listing which ones are not involved in fetal testing. There is no opinion stated or implied in any of these lists. There could also be others that are not involved with Senomyx, but this is all I have at this point.)

Now take a deep breath. This post is a doozy.

ConAgra Foods - YES
*ACT II (popcorn, etc...)
*Alexia
*Andy Capp's
*Banquet
*Blue Bonnet
*Chef Boyardee
*Crunch 'n Munch
*DAVID Seeds
*Dennison's
*Eagle Mills
*Egg Beaters
*Fleischmann's
*Gebhardt
*Gulden's
*Harley Davidson
*Healthy Choice
*Hebrew National
*Hunt's
*Hunt's Manwich
*Hunt's Snack Pack
*Inland Valley
*Jiffy Pop
*Kid Cuisine
*La Choy
*Libby's
*Luck's
*Marie Callender's
*Orville Redenbacher's
*PAM
*Parkay
*Pemmican
*Penrose
*Peter Pan
*Ranch Style
*REAL Brand
*Reddi-wip
*Rosarita
*Ro*Tel
*Slim Jim
*Swiss Miss
*Van Camp's
*Wesson
*Wolf Brand

Hostess Brand Products - YES
*Twinkies
*HoHo's
*Ding Dongs
*Mini Muffins
*Sno Balls
*Cup Cakes
*Suzy Q's
*Donettes
*Fruit Pie
*100-Calorie Packs
*Zingers

Mars, Inc. - YES
*Milky Way
*M&M's
*Snickers
*Twix (in the US only. All other countries, Twix is made by Nestle, which is a big, fat NO!)
*Dove
*3 Musketeers
*American Heritage Chocolate
*Amicelli
*Balisto
*Bounty
*Combos
*Celebrations
*GoodnessKnows
*Galaxy
*Kudos
*Maltesers
*Marathon
*Mars
*5
*Airwaves
*Altoids
*Big Red
*Boomer
*Doublemint
*Eclipse
*Excel
*Extra
*Freedent
*Hubba Bubba
*Juicy Fruit
*Kenman
*Life Savers
*Lockets
*Lucas
*Orbit
*P.K.
*Pim Pom
*Rondo
*Skittles
*Starburst
*Sugus
*Tunes
*Uncle Ben's
*Suzi-Wan
*Winterfresh
*All other Mars, Inc. foods

McKee Foods Corporation - YES
*Little Debbie
*Sunbelt
*Heartland
*Fieldstone Bakery

Other US Brands - YES
*Eagle Brand
*General Foods (May need to double-check this one, but so far, it looks okay)
*General Mills (Yes on some. Regular Cheerios seem to be okay.)
*Log Cabin
*Pillsbury
*Smucker's

Now, we move on to the NO foods. These are the ones we are certain are at least involved in research and development with Senomyx. Some of these, if you decide to take action, will require a significant change in eating habits. It certainly will be for our family. But we're willing to make that change! So here they are:

Heinz and Subsidiaries - NO
*Bagel Bites
*Classico
*Heinz Beanz
*Heinz Ketchup
*Ore-Ida
*Smart Ones
*TGI Friday's
*Weight Watchers

Kraft Brands - NO
*A1 Steak Sauce
*Africana (Romania)
*Air Crisps
*Ali Coffee
*Alpen Gold (chocolate in Hungary and Russia)
*Arrowroot Biscuits
*Back to Nature
*Bagel-Fuls
*Baker's (baking chocolate)
*Balance Bar
*Bassetts Allsorts (sweets in the UK)
*Better Cheddars
*Boca Burger
*Bonox
*Breakstone's
*BullsEye Barbecue Sauce
*Cadbury
*Cafe HAG
*California Pizza Kitchen (grocery store items)
*Calumet Baking Powder
*Cameo (biscuits)
*Capri Sun (juice drink)
*Carte Noire
*Cheesybite
*Charada (Peru)
*Cheese Nips
*Cheez Whiz
*Cheezels (Malaysia)
*Chicken in a Biskit
*Chips Ahoy! (cookies)
*Chipsmore (Malaysia, Singapore)
*Christie (Canadian division of Nabisco)
*Claussen (pickles)
*Clight
*Club Social (crackers)
*Cool Whip (non-dairy whipped cream)
*Corn Nuts
*Coronita (Peru)
*Cote d'Or
*Country Time (powdered drink mix)
*Cracker Barrel
*Crystal Light
*Daim (Sweden)
*Dairylea (Europe)
*Delissio (Canada)
*Easy Cheese
*Eden (processed cheese in the Philippines)
*El Caserio (Spain)
*Estrella (Sweden)
*Field (Peru)
*Fig Newton
*Figaro (chocolate in Slovakia)
*Filipinos (snack food in Spain and Portugal)
*Freia (Norway)
*Fudgee-O (Canada)
*General Foods International (don't confuse with General Foods - GFI is apparently non-US food)
*Gevalia (Sweden)
*Grape-Nuts (breakfast ceral, made by Post, but some Post foods are still owned by Kraft. Not all, though!)
*Green & Blacks (chocolate in the UK)
*Grey Poupon (mustard)
*Handi-Snacks
*Halls (medicated sweets in the UK - not sure about US - might be best to avoid everywhere)
*Harvest Crisps
*Honey Maid (graham crackers)
*Hospitals (I guess this is a food brand?)
*In-A-Biskit (Australia)
*Jack's Pizza
*Jacobs (Europe)
*Jacob's (biscuits)
*Japp (Scandinavia)
*Jell-O (gelatin dessert)
*Jet Puffed Marshmallows
*Kenco (UK)
*Knox (gelatin)
*Kong Haakon (Norway)
*Kool-Aid (flavored drink mix)
*Korona (Ukraine)
*Kraft BBQ Sauce
*Kraft Caramels
*Kraft Macaroni and Cheese
*Kraft Dinner (Canada)
*Kraft Easymac
*Kraft Mayo
*Kraft Bagelfuls
*Kraft Peanut Butter (Canada)
*Kraft Singles (pasteurized prepared cheese product)
*Kraft Sandwich Spread
*Kraft Grated Parmesan Cheese
*Kraker Bran
*Lacta (Brazil)
*Lefevre-Utile
*Lunchables
*Lyuks (potato chips in Ukraine)
*Maarud (potato chips in Norway)
*Marabou (Sweden)
*Maxwell House (coffee)
*Maynards Wine Gums (sweets in the UK)
*Mellow Bird's Coffee (UK)
*Milka (Europe)
*Miracle Whip (salad dressing spread)
*Miracoli (Germany)
*Mostro (Peru)
*Mikado (UK)
*Nabisco
*Nabob (coffee in Canada)
*Natural Confectionery Company ("natural" sweets in Australia and UK)
*Nilla (wafers and other cookies)
*Non-Stop (Scandinavia)
*Nutter Butter
*O'boy (Scandinavia and Estonia)
*Onko (coffee)
*Oreo (cookie)
*Orchard Crisps
*ORO Saiwa
*Oscar Mayer
*Philadelphia Cream Cheese
*Pigrolac
*Planters
*Poiana (Romania)
*Polly-O (cheese)
*Premium (a Nabisco brand of saltine crackers)
*Pretzels
*P'tit Quebec
*Prince Polo
*Pure Kraft Salad Dressings
*Ritz
*Ritz Metro
*Royal baking powder
*Saiwa (Italian division of Nabisco)
*Seven Seas (salad dressings)
*Saimaza (Spain)
*Sanka (decaffeinated coffee)
*Shake 'n Bake
*Simmenthal (canned meat)
*Snackabouts
*SnackWells
*South Beach Living
*Starbucks (grocery store items)
*Stove Top Stuffing
*Suchard
*Svoge (Bulgaria)
*Swiss Crackers
*Sugar Wafers
*Taco Bell (grocery store items)
*Tang
*Tassimo (single-serve coffee machines using pods branded as T-Discs)
*Teddy Grahams
*Terrabusi (Argentina division of Kraft Foods)
*Terry's (chocolates)
*Terry's Chocolate Orange
*Tiger Energy Biscuits (Southeast Asian countries)
*Toasted Chips
*Toblerone (Switzerland division of Kraft Foods)
*Tombstone (frozen pizza)
*Triscuit
*Thinsations
*Trakinas
*Trebor (sweets in the UK)
*Twist
*Twisties (Malaysia)
*Vegemite (Australia)
*Velveeta
*Wheat Thins

Whew! Moving on to...

Nestlé - NO
cereals:
*Cinnamon Toast Crunch
*Cheerios, all varieties (outside the US, Canada, and Australia)
*Cini Minis
*Cookie Crisp cereal
*Crunch (cereal)
*Fitnesse
*Force Flakes
*Chocapic
*Gold Flakes
*Golden Grahams
*Golden Nuggets
*Golden Morn (Nigeria)
*Honey Stars
*Koko Krunch
*Milo Cereals
*Nestlé Corn Flakes
*Shreddies
*Shredded Wheat
*Clusters
*Trix
Yogurt:
*Fruit Selection Yogurt (Philippines)
*Longa Vida (Portugal)
*Molico (Brazil)
*Munch Bunch
*Ski
Coffee:
*Bonka
*Buondi (Portugal)
*Christina (Portugal)
*Dolca (Argentina)
*Ecco (Peru and Chile)
*El Chana (Uruguay)
*International Roast
*Kirma (Peru)
*Loumidis (Greece)
*Nescafe
*Sunrise (India)
*Nespresso
*Partner's Blend
*Ricoffy
*Ristretto
*Ricore
*Sical
*Tofa
*Taster's Choice
*Zoegas
*Shrameet
Water: (yes, they put flavorings in "water")
*Aberfoyle
*Aqua D'Or
*Aqua Pod
*Acqua Panna
*Al Manhal
*Aquapod
*Arrowhead
*Buxton
*Contrex
*Dar Natury (Poland)
*Deer Park
*Deep Spring
*Hepar
*Ice Mountain
*Hidden Spring (Philippines)
*Henniez
*Korpi
*Levissima
*Naleczowianka (Poland)
*Nestle Aquarel
*Nestle Vera
*Ozarka
*Perrier
*Poland Spring
*Powwow
*Pure Life / Pureza Vital
*Minere
*Quezac
*San Pellegrino
*San Bernardo
*Sohat (Lebanon)
*Viladrau
*Vittel
*Zephyrhills
Other Drinks:
*Nestea (Joint-venture with Coca-Cola, Beverage Partners Worldwide)
*Enviga (Joint-venture with Coca-Cola, Beverage Partners Worldwide)
*Milo
*Carnation
*Caro
*Chocolate D'Onofrio (Peru)
*Chuckie Chocolate Drink (Philippines)
*Cocoa D'Onofrio (Peru)
*Nesquick
*Nescao (Argentina, Peru)
*Nescau (Brazil)
*Vascolet (Uruguay)
*Libby's
*Growers Direct Organic Fruit Juices (I guess they consider human tissue to be "organic"?!)
*Good Host
*Juicy Juice
*Ski Up and Go (yogurt and cereal drink)
*Supligen (Caribbean)
Shelf-Stable Foods:
*Bear Brand
*Carnation
*Christie
*Coffee-Mate
*Dancow
*Gloria
*Ideal (Peru)
*Klim
*La Lechera
*Liberty Condensada (Philippines)
*Milkmaid
*Moca (Brazil)
*Molico (now Svelty)
*Nespray
*Nestle
*Nesvita
*Nestle Omega Plus
*Nido
*Svelty
*Emswiss
*Milo
Chilled Foods:
*Chamyto (Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Philippines)
*Chiquitin (Mexico, Chile)
*Club (Mexico)
*Hirz (Switzerland)
*La Laitiere (France, Belgium)
*La Lechera (Spain, Mexico)
*Moca (Brazil)
*Chandelle (Brazil, Chile)
*LC1 (Switzerland)
*Molico
*Nestle
*Ski
*Sollys (Brazil)
*Sveltesse (France)
*Svelty (Mexico)
*Yoco
*Munch Bunch (UK)
*Le Viennois (France, Belgium, Switzerland)
*Nesvita (Philippines, India)
*Ninho (Brazil)
Ice Cream:
*Ahusglass (Sweeden)
*Camy
*D'Onofrio (Peru)
*Δέλτα (Greece)
*Dibs
*Dreyer's
*Edy's
*Frigor (Argentina)
*Frisco
*Haagen-Dazs (North America and the UK)
*Hemglass (Sweden)
*Hjem-IS (Denmark and Norway)
*Kotijaatelo (Finland)
*Kibon (Brazil)
*Kimo (Egypt)
*Maxibon
*Motta
*Movenpick (Switzerland)
*Mivvi
*Nestle
*Nestle Drumstick (The Original Sundae Cone)
*Nestle Princessa (Poland)
*Oreo (Canada)
*Peters (Australia)
*Push-Up
*Savory (Chile)
*Scholler
*Skinny Cow
*Sorbetes (Philippines)
*Underground Ice Cream (Denmark)
*Valiojaatelo (Finland)
Infant Foods:
*Alete
*Alfare
*Beba
*Bona (Finland)
*Cerelac
*Farinha Lactea (Brazil)
*FM 85
*Gerber
*Good Start (by Carnation)
*Guigoz
*Lactogen
*Nan
*NAN HA
*NanSoy
*Neslac
*Nestle
*Nestogen
*Nestum (Portugal)
*Nido
*Piltti (Finland)
*PreNan
Performance Nutrition:
*Musashi
*Neston
*Nesvita
*Power Bar
*Pria
*Supligen
Healthcare Nutrition:
*Boost
*Carnation Instant Breakfast
*Nutren
*Peptamen
*Glytrol
*Crucial
*Impact
*Isosource
*Fibersource
*Diabetisource
*Compleat
*Optifast
*Resource
Seasonings:
*Buitoni
*Maggi
*Carpathia
*CHEF
*Haoji
*Thomy
*Totole
*Winiary
Frozen Foods:
*Maggi (India
*Stouffer's
*Lean Cuisine
*Buitoni
*Hot Pockets
*Lean Pockets
*Papa Guiseppi
*Findus (Sweden)
*La Cocinera (Spain)
*Tombstone Pizza
*Jack's Pizza
*DiGiorno Pizza
*California Pizza Kitchen frozen foods
Refrigerated Products:
*Buitoni
*Herta
*Nestle
*Toll House
*DiGiorno Cheeses
Chocolate, Confectionery, and Baked Goods:
*100 Grand Bar
*Aero
*After Eight
*Allen's
*Animal Bar
*Baby Ruth
*Bertie Beetle (Australia)
*Big Turk (Canada)
*Black Magic
*Boci (Hungary)
*Blue Riband
*Bono (Brazil)
*Breakaway
*Butterfinger (all varieties)
*Bon Pari (Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland, and Hungary)
*Cailler
*Capri (Chile)
*Caramac
*Carlos V (candy bar)
*Charge (Brazil)
*Chips Ahoy!
*Chocolate Surpresa (Brazil)
*Cocosette (Venesuela)
*Coffee Crisp (Canada)
*Chunky
*D'Onofrio (Peru)
*Damak (Turkey)
*Drifter
*Fizzfindle
*Frigor
*Galak/Milkybar
*Goobers
*Heaven
*Hercules Bars (Disney)
*JOJO (Slovakia, Czech Republic, and Poland)
*Icebreakers
*Kit Kat (except in the United States, where it is a Hershey's product - meaning it's okay here in the US)
*Lion
*Matchmakers
*Milky Bar (do not confuse with Milky Way)
*Minties (Australia)
*Mirage
*Joff
*Munchies
*Negrita (Chile)
*Nestle Alpine White
*Nestle with Almonds
*Nestle Crunch
*Nestle Crunch Crisp
*Nestle Crunch with Caramel
*Nestle Crunch with Peanuts
*Nestle Crunch Pieces
*Nestle Crunch White
*Nestle Milk Chocolate
*Nestle Wonder Ball
*Nestle Yes (Germany)
*Nips
*Nuts (Europe)
*Oh Henry (except in the United States)
*Orion (chocolate in Slovakia and Czech Republic)
*Peppermint Crisp
*Perugina Baci
*Polo
*Prestigio (Chile and brazil
*Princessa (Poland)
*Quality Street
*Raisinets
*Rolo (except in the United States where it is made by Hershey's)
*Rowntrees (Fruit Pastilles, Jelly Tots, Pick & Mix, Randoms, Fruit Gums, Tooty Frooties, Juicy Jellies)
*Sahne Nuss (Chile)
*Sensacao (Brazil)
*Snowcaps
*Smarties
*Suflair (Brazil)
*Sundy (France)
*Super 8 (Chile)
*Susy (Venezuela)
*Svitoch (Ukraine)
*Texan Bar
*Toffee Crisp
*Toll House (chocolate morsels and cookies)
*Trencito (Chile)
*Walnut Whip
*Violet Crumble
*Yorkie
*Munch (only in India)
*XXX mints
*Milky Bar (India)
*Wonka Confectionary brands:
-Bottle Caps
-Donutz
-Fizzy Jerks
-FruiTart Chews
-Fun Dip
-Gobstoppers
-Laffy Taffy
-Lik-M-Aid
-Nerds
-Nerds Gumballs
-Nerds Rope
-Oompas
-Pixy Stix
-Rainbow Nerds
-Runts
-SweeTarts
-SweeTarts Rope
-SweeTarts Shockers
-Tart 'n' Tinys
-Thrills
-Wonka Bars
-Wonka Xploders
Food Service Products:
*Chef-Mate
*Davigel
*Minor's
*Santa Rica
Pet Care:
*Alpo
*Beneful
*Fancy Feast
*Felix
*Friskies
*Go Cat
*Butchers
*Bakers
*Winalot
*Gourmet (not sure what this means. I can't find a brand name called "Gourmet". I'll try to investigate.)
*Mighty Dog
*Mon Petit
*Purina Dog and Cat Food (all varieties)
-Purina Cat Chow
-Purina Dog Chow
-Purina ONE
-Purina Pro Plan
*Tidy Cats

PepsiCo - NO (says they are no longer using fetal tissue in testing, but they are still contracted with Senomyx)
The following are the US brands only:
*Quaker Chewy Granola Bars
*Quaker Chewy Granola Cocoa Bars
*Quaker Chewy Smashbars
*Quaker Dipps Granola Bars
*Quaker Oatmeal to Go Bars
*Quaker Stila Bars
*Seattle's Best Coffee
*Starbucks DoubleShot
*Starbucks Frappuccino
*Starbucks Iced Coffee
*AMP Energy Drink
*No Fear Energy Drinks
*Starbucks Refreshers
*Brisk Tea
*Lipton Iced Tea
*Lipton PureLeaf
*SoBe Tea
*Tazo Tea
*AMP Energy Juice
*Dole Plus Fortified Juices
*Dole Sensation Juice Drinks
*IZZE Sparkling Juice
*Ocean Spray Juice and Juice Drinks
*Naked Juice
*Naked Juice Coconut Water
*SoBe Juice Drinks
*SoBe Lean Diet Juice Drink
*Tropicana Trop50 Beverages
*Tropicana Pure Premium Juices
*Tropicana Tropics
*Cap'n Crunch Cereal
*King Vitamin Cereal
*Mother's Ready-to-Eat & Hot Cereals
*Quaker Grits
*Quaker Instant Oatmeal
*Quaker Life Cereal
*Quaker Natural Granola Cereal
*Quaker Oatmeal Squares Ceral
*Quaker Old Fashioned, Quick, and Steel Cut Oats
*Quaker Oh!s Cereal
*Quaker Puffed Rice
*Quaker Real Medleys
*Quaker Whole Hearts Cereal
*Quisp Ceral
*Aunt Jemiama Mixes and Syrups (all varieties)
*Quaker Oatmeal Pancake Mix
*Quaker Large Rice Cakes
*Quaker Mini Delights
*Quaker Multigrain Fiber Crisps
*Quaker Quakes
*Near East Side Dishes
*Pasta Roni Side Dishes
*Rice-A-Roni Side Dishes
*Baked! Cheetos Snacks
*Baked! Doritos Tortilla Chips
*Baked! Lay's Potato Crisps
*Baked! Ruffles Potato Chips
*Baked! Tostitos Tortilla Chips
*Baken-ets Pork Skins and Cracklins
*Cheetos Cheese Flavored Snacks
*Chester's Flavored Fries
*Chester's Popcorn
*Cracker Jack Candy Coated Popcorn
*Doritos Tortilla Chips (all flavors)
*El Isieno Plantain Chips
*Frito-Lay, Fritos and Tostitos Dips and Salsas
*Frito-Lay Nuts and Seeds
*Fritos Corn Chips
*Funyons Onion Flavored Rings
*Gamesa Cookies and Wafers
*Grandma's Cookies
*Hickory Sticks
*Hostess Potato Chips (Hostess desserts are okay, I believe)
*Lay's Kettle Cooked Potato Chips
*Lay's Potato Chips
*Lay's Stax Potato Crisps
*Lay's Wavy Potato Chips
*Matador Meat Snacks
*Maui Style Potato Chips
*Mixx Vicky's Potato Chips
*Munchies Snack Crackers
*Munchies Snack Mix
*Munchos Potato Crisps
*Natural Cheetos ("natural," huh?)
*Natural Lay's
*Natural Ruffles
*Natural Tostitos
*Nut Harvest Nuts
*Quaker Breakfast Cookies
*Quaker Snack Mix
*Quaker Soft Baked Cookies
*Rold Gold Pretzels
*Ruffles Potato Chips
*Sabra hummus, dips, and salsas
*Sabritones Puffed Wheat Snacks
*Santitas Tortilla Chips
*Smartfood Popcorn
*Smartfood Popcorn Clusters
*Spitz Seeds
*Stacy's Pita and Bagel Chips
*SunChips Mulitgrain Snacks
*Tostitos Artisan Recipes Tortilla Chips
*Tostitos Multigrain Tortilla Chips
*Tostitos Tortilla Chips
Soft Drinks:
*Citrus Blast
*Diet Pepsi
*Diet Mountain Dew
*Diet Sierra Mist
*Manzanita Sol
*Mirinda
*Mountain Dew
*Mug Soft Drinks
*Pepsi
*Pepsi Max
*Pepsi Next
*Sierra Mist Natural
Sports Nutrition:
*Gatorade (any and ALL varieties - the list is extensive!)
Water:
*Aquafina (all)
*Propel (all)
*SoBe Lifewater

Other US Brands - NO
*Betty Crocker
*Coca Cola
*General Foods International
*General Mills (Cheerios in the US seem to be okay, but might have to double-check this one)
*Kellogg's
*Merck (Pharmaceuticals - but we already knew this anyway! Check Children of God for Life website!)
*Pfizer
*Post (the ones still owned by Kraft Foods - not sure which ones those are, but Grape Nuts is one)

Recommended Reading:
http://www.cogforlife.org/senomyxproof.htm
http://www.cogforlife.org/senomyxPartnerProof.pdf

If I come up with any new information, I will post edits, and also change the above list. Or if you out there find something that I can add to this list, please let me know. And I know that these don't cover all of the foods out there. I guess it's because we just don't know one way or another if a company is contracted with Senomyx or another company like it. So for now, if a brand does not appear on the NO list above, we should go ahead and assume that they produce their food ethically until more information surfaces that shows us otherwise.

Many blessings!

EDIT

The following companies have discontinued their contracts with Senomyx and are now on the "Yes" list. (As of 5/1/2012, I have not updated the list above, simply giving the edits here below. I'll try to update the list above soon.) And actually, I believe most, if not all, of these foods were on the YES list to begin with.
"YES" foods:
Pennacle Foods Group:
*Armour
*Aunt Jemima Frozen Breakfast
*Birds Eye Vegetables
*Birds Eye Voila!
*CampW
*Celeste
*Comstock-Wilderness
*Duncan Hines
*Hungry Man
*Husman's
*Lender's
*Log Cabin
*Mrs. Butterworth's
*Mrs. Paul's
*Nalley
*Open Pit
*Snyder of Berlin
*Tim's Cascade Snacks
*Van de Kamp's
*Vlassic

Campbell's - Have apparently, and verifiably discontinued their contract with Senomyx. This is what happens when consumers contact them!! We are happy to report that Campbell's is now on the "YES" list! Praise God!
http://www.cogforlife.org/senomyxpartnersrespond.htm

EDIT
As of 5/1/2012, I've been informed that PepsiCo is still contracted with Senomyx, but that they are not using aborted fetal cell lines in their flavor testing. So for the time being, I'm still leaving this under my own "NO" category, so long as they are still contracted with Senomyx. Make your own judgement, however.

Preserving Eggs

Here pretty soon, hopefully, we will be the proud parents of a small flock of chickens. I love the idea of having fresh eggs always on hand for whatever use I can come up with.

I want a flock of these lovely ladies, right here. Buff Orpingtons:

Something I've learned about chickens is that they produce more eggs during certain times of the year, and fewer during others. But our family doesn't eat eggs in that pattern - we like them pretty equally all year long. So I did some reading about how to preserve eggs during the surplus months, so we could enjoy them when the ladies aren't laying as many.

First of all, fresh eggs will keep upwards of 90 days (or even longer) in a refrigerator, so long as they are NOT washed! Yes, they may look a little unappetizing fresh from the hen, but that membrane seals the pores in the shell and prevents the egg from deteriorating. A washed egg, by comparison, will be spoiled in a matter of weeks.

That right there should serve us pretty well for the most part, but I can imagine some times where I won't want my fridge full of egg cartons. And I don't really plan to get into the egg-selling business. I'm terrified of being sued or something. Pretty sad that we live in that kind of world...

But getting back to the point, you're pretty limited to what you can do to retain the properties of an "almost fresh" egg. You can crack the fresh eggs, then separate and freeze the whites and yolks in individual containers, though the yolks will need either some salt or honey beaten into them (don't forget to label which is which!) to keep them stable. This method is also pretty descent, if you don't mind having the egg separated in that way.

I've heard of some type of water glass preserving method, as well as coating the eggs in lard or wax, then storing them at a cool, room temperature, but from what real users have experienced, they don't really keep much longer than refrigerated, unwashed eggs. And they taste funny. I suppose that would be something to consider if we were in a situation where there was no power. But hopefully that won't happen!

My dad pickled some boiled eggs once, and I have to admit, I'd eat them if I was hungry enough and with no other options, but I'd be much more likely to pass on such a thing if there were anything else available to eat. That being said, I just might pickle a few jars of eggs. Their odd taste when pickled just can't outweigh the benefits of how nutritious they are - something we'd need if there were ever a crisis involving food shortage.

But then I started thinking a bit more (and a bit more realistically). I want to be able to crack an egg open (or a dozen) and bake with them. I also want eggs available for hard boiling or scrambling. Freezing separated eggs just isn't going to cut it for me. So here's what I came up with: Bake and freeze!

Such an easy solution, but one I didn't come across in my research. When my fridge becomes full of eggs, but before those eggs are too old, I'll spend a day or two baking up multiple batches of cakes, breads, and other goodies that we enjoy year-round, and simply wrap and freeze those! A batch of 3 banana bread loaves uses 4 eggs. A batch of 3 pumpkin bread loaves uses 6 eggs. Muffins of any kind are loved deeply in our home, and all these things are so easy to prepare and freeze! They're certainly easier to freeze than raw eggs, and this would free up the incoming fresh eggs for hard-boiling and scrambling, or for baked goods that I don't want to freeze, like cookies. And when the laying operation slows down in the winter time, our freezer will be full of baked goods that don't require any more fresh eggs!

And on that note, I'm super excited that next Monday (when Sears has one of their biggest sales all year!), we're finally getting ourselves a chest freezer! Oooh, I just can't wait to stock up on sale meat, sandwich bread, and embark on the wonderful journey of freezer-meal cooking!

Let me know if this egg-saving solution sounds good to you, or what you use for surplus eggs.

Choose What?

Yesterday was the annual March for Life in Washington D.C. There were others elsewhere across the country, too, but the one in D.C. is certainly the largest. Not only is it the largest march in the nation, it's consistently the largest gathering of people in our nation's capital every year! Quite an accomplishment, right?!

But if you read the secular news media, you would think it didn't even happen. Or that just a few rambling religious fanatics showed up for a few hours. Or that the "anti-abortion" and "pro-choice" sides were represented equally in number.

Wait. Pro-choice? What choice are we talking about here? The "choice" of a woman to control her own body? Well, certainly, she can control her own body. She can "choose" to wear a particular outfit. She can "choose" to eat a certain food. She can "choose" sleep around. She can "choose" to do all sorts of things. But the baby isn't part of her body. So when pro-abortionists say that a woman has a "right to choose," what they really mean is that she should have the right to choose for someone else, not just herself. Right?

Speaking of choice, let's apply that argument to any number of things, and decide if we have a right to "choose" those things as well. Do we have the right to choose to beat someone up? Of course not. Do we have the right to choose drunk driving? Of course not. Do we have the right to choose to rape someone? What about choosing murder? Stealing someone's identity?

Do we have the right to choose slavery? Well, guess what? We used to, but it wasn't right. I think almost all of us would agree that slavery was a legally-protected choice that turned out to be the wrong choice. It was legal. It was enforced. It was passionately supported. It was one of the causes of a war. It was absolutely wrong!

All these things are choices that we can make, but each one is an either-or situation. We can make a choice, but we have to choose the right one. Either you steal something or you don't. Either you get behind the wheel drunk or you don't. While a person must certainly make a choice regarding his or her actions, we only have the right to make one of those choices. It's the same with abortion. Which is why I don't understand the logic behind the "pro-choice" argument. You either choose to kill your unborn child or you don't. But only one of those choices can be the right one - so how can you support the right to be able to choose either one? How can the "choice" that kills another human being be the right choice to make?

It's not like choosing where to go on vacation. It's not even like choosing whether or not to go on vacation at all! Travelling from one area to another has no moral connection it it whatsoever. But deciding to rape? Deciding to take something that doesn't belong to you? Deciding to end a life? These are all moral choices that have secular laws regulating them. Abortion is not one of those things that people should be given the right to "choose." Because, just like rape or theft, abortion doesn't just affect the person making the choice - it directly affects another person. Abortion kills another person. That baby doesn't get to choose.

So really, people who say they are pro-"choice" are really just the opposite.

Homemade Laundry Soap

Wow! Why didn't this come to me sooner?! I wish I'd been making my own laundry soap for the last 7-1/2 years of my marriage!

So I started doing this now, making my own laundry soap. I'd heard of doing it before, but I guess I assumed it was too complicated. Boy, was I wrong! At this point, I am just so glad to have found something that really helps out with our regular expenses, as well as being safer for our skin. Who knows what they put into those chemical-laden commercial detergents.

Now, there are lots of recipes out there for this stuff, but they all basically contain the same thing: bar soap, borax, and washing soda. Here's what I did:

1/3 of a bar of Fels Naptha soap, shredded with a cheese grater ($1 per bar, so only $0.33 for this batch)

1/2 cup of Borax (about $4 a box, which should give me about 20 batches in the five-pound box. So only about $0.20 a batch)

1/2 cup Arm & Hammer Washing Soda - not baking soda (also about $4 a box, so again, about $0.20 a batch)

Grand total per 2-gallon batch of soap: less than $0.75! You'll use 1/2 cup of soap per load, so you'll be able to wash about 64 loads. Divide $0.75 by 64 and you get a whopping $0.011 per load!!! Yes, that's barely over ONE CENT per load of laundry! Much better than paying up to $15 for a 2-gallon jug of chemical detergent!
All these things can be found at Wal-Mart or Target or just about any grocery store in the laundry soap section.

Here's how to make it:

Combine the Fels Naptha soap with 6 cups of tap water in a non-aluminum pot (I used enamled cast iron, but you could use stainless steel, too). Heat over medium-low heat, stirring frequentlly until all the soap has dissolved. It will take about 10 minutes or more. Do not let it boil.

When the soap has dissolved, add the Borax and Washing Soda. Stir constantly until they have dissolved. Keep stirring until slightly thickened - a few minutes more. It will look like thin honey. Remove from heat.

Pour 4 cups of HOT tap water into a 5-gallon bucket. Pour in the soap mixture and stir. Add 1 gallon plus 6 more cups of HOT tap water. Stir for a few minutes, then let sit overnight.

After sitting overnight, it will likely form a thick gel on the top. I used my immersion blender to mix it up really well. You can either use it straight out of the bucket (stirring before each load), 1/2 cup at a time per load, or you can pour the mixture into an empty 2-gallon detergent bucket, or some other container with a spout. Like a water dispenser. I'm going to find a 2-gallon water dispenser (the kind that you'd keep in the fridge) and use that. But for now, I'm using some high-quality Ozarka water bottles like this one, that my mother-in-law gave me for free:

Honestly, when I finished, I thought that maybe I'd missed something, because I was done so quickly, and it was just way too easy. I wish I'd been doing this for the last 7-1/2 years of my marriage!

During the initial mixing phase, if you really want scented laundry soap, you can add a few drops of your favorite essential oil scent. The bottles are pretty expensive, but since you're only using a few drops, it shouldn't add too much to the overall cost of each load.

A word of caution: some people like to simply mix the dry ingredients together, and use 1-2 tablespoons of dry powder in their wash. This should be okay for hot-water loads, but people have reported that the bar soap doesn't dissolve in cold water loads, and therefore doesn't rinse well. I'd imagine that means that the soap isn't penetrating the clothing and getting it clean, either. One solution to this is to mix your powder with a few cups of hot water to dissolve it before each load of laundry, then pour it into your washer. I guess I just prefer getting the dissolving over with all at once, and save a step before each load. Whichever works for you is just fine!

Happy laundering!

Been a While!

Whew! What a summer. And fall. And now it's almost winter. Things have just been crazy, but now they're starting to settle down again, so my posts should be a little more frequent again. I'd like to thank everyone that's known us during this entire time (and any people who just so happen to enjoy my posts) for your patience with me. I had to put blogging on hold and take care of more important matters (my family, and my sanity!!).

We shall now return to our regular broadcast...

Trash-ucation

Okay, folks. It's time to pay attention, because I want you to pass this information along to as many people as you can. Today, we're going to learn the difference between:

a trash can:

and NOT a trash can:

So, let's clarify. This, my fellow citizens, is a trash can.

Or you may call it garbage receptical. A wastebasket. File 13. Whatever you want to call it is fine. There's no government or political agenda here. All races, all nations, all religions are able to unite in this one, simple idea.

Confused? That's okay, we'll work through this together. I know it can be difficult to tell the difference at first, but it gets easier with practice. See if you can tell what this is:

Okay, there's trash, yes, but there is no trash can. So trash doesn't belong here.

Now, once again. A trash can:

NOT a trash can:

See the wee little prairie dog? It can't find food very easily if it has to chew through soda cans and cigarette boxes first. And despite what you've heard, these little critters don't need to wipe after doing their business. So there's no need to throw waste papers into the grass.

Trash cans can be fun, too! Just look at this little number right here:

At first glance, you might think the lid will forever prevent any and all trash from entering the recepticle. But look at the bottom.... that little, flat, silver thingy. It's a FOOT PEDAL! If you step on it, the lid will magically flap open, revealing a portal into the trash dimension!!! How exciting is that?!

Oh, look, this model has not one foot pedal, but TWO:

The only trouble you'll have is deciding which one to open. Or you could get creative and try your skill at opening both at the same time!

So you see, friends, with practice and patience, you'll be able to tell the difference between a trash can:

And my back yard:

No, that's not really my back yard, but it's pretty, isn't it? My back yard might look a little bit more like this if everyone didn't keep tossing their stupid fast food, beer, and cigarette trash into it.

Thanks, y'all, for helping spread the word. Together, we can keep trash where it belongs: out of my yard!

Genderless?

Okay, have we all read about the parents raising their third child as "genderless?" I'm not going to link to it, but a simple web search will enlighten you.

I have one thing to say about the whole matter: "ARE YOU KIDDING ME???"

First, these two parents have two older boys whom they allow to wear dresses and grow their hair long. They claim they are letting their sons make these kinds of decisions for themselves, and are not restricting them to culturally-imposed stereotypes. But reading about this family further gives me the distinct impression that those two boys are very confused about who they are, and they seem very uncomfortable with themselves, especially when approached by other children.

Not that bullying should ever be acceptable, but what do you expect when you let your son wear dresses and braid his hair? Of course other children are going to ask if he's a girl, and then tease him relentlessly when they find out he is, in fact, a boy. The parents have claimed that if you want to get to know someone, you don't ask them what's between their legs. Well, you kind of do have to do that, honestly. Not quite so crudely, but we do decide how to approach new people based on their gender. That is exactly what people do. It's how we decide who and how we're going to establish friendships with, and who we're going to form deeper, possibly romantic relationships with.

What really angers me is that people like these are trying to seperate "gender" from "sex." They're trying to convince others that "sex" just determines what type of genitals you have, like it's just a fluke of nature, while "gender" is something a person decides for themselves. Have we gone nuts?? NO, we do NOT decide what gender we are - our chromosomes tell us that. "Gender" and "sex" are one in the same. Yes, there are those rare cases where a person's gender is ambiguous due to a genetic abnormality, but that's just the thing - it's an abnormality. We shouldn't use those cases to automatically treat everyone as if their gender is ambiguous.

I'm raising two daughters and a son at the moment. Six days out of the week, the only kids they play with are each other. Meaning the only real playmates my son has at this point are two little girls. And very girly girls, I might add. I don't feel like we've overly pushed him to act like a boy. We don't have to. He is naturally different than the girls. He does some things that the girls do, like hug a baby doll, or put a string of beads around his neck, but it's very obvious that he's a boy.

Now here's what I think about the whole "genderless" baby. The mother wanted a girl. She got three boys. After the first two boys, she was so disappointed that she didn't have a girl, that she encouraged them to be open to girl's clothes and hairstyles. Maybe the boys ultimately chose those things themselves, but I bet my last dollar it was after the mother encouraged them that way.

And now she has a third boy. Honestly, the baby looks like a boy. She really wanted a girl. She can't purposefully dress him like a girl, because he's too little to "decide for himself." So what's the next best thing? Treat him as though he has no assigned gender, and put him in all-neutral clothing. It'll be obvious in a few years, if not sooner. I hope this woman comes to her senses before she damages her kids further. Want to know what's wrong with our country? It's stuff like this. We've lost all sense of sexual morality, and whether we want to admit it or not, it's sexual immorality that's caused our world to decline. It's the root of most, if not all of our problems.

Pray for people like this, and please, PLEASE don't be fooled and influenced by them!

Not a Baby Anymore

Well, it happened. My firstborn turned 5 years old. And right before that, she lost her first tooth. *Sniffle*

Okay, so Big Girl has been talking for months about what cake she wanted for her birthday party. This time it was a rainbow cake. So a few weeks ago, I did a Google image search for "rainbow cake."

And after filtering through all of the gay pride cakes (grrr), I found a really cool idea. It just uses a white cake mix, divided into 6 bowls, then each bowl of batter gets colored a different color. Then, starting with red, each one gets poured into a bundt pan. Here's what it looks like in the pan:

Amazingly, the colors just sat on top of each other. No blending, pushing, or shoving. Everything just stayed nice and neat. I was impressed.

So, as the cake bakes, the bottom bakes first, meaning the bottom colors got pushed out and up as they baked, leaving blue and purple for last - creating a very cool rainbow effect:

We iced the outside of the cake blue, "like the sky," according to Big Girl's little sister.

And now I feel old...

My Lenten Exercise

Next Wednesday is Ash Wednesday, and thus we begin the Lenten season. This year, I felt like I wanted to do something a bit extra than the usual Lenten fasts and sacrifices that I typically participate in (no Facebook, no soda, extra prayers, etc...), but I was at a loss as to what I could do. It's one thing to come up with activities to do with the kids (read the Stations of the Cross, for example), but I really wanted to have a more private devotion going on in the background - something that didn't involve the kids.

Then just today, I was reading Acts of the Apostasy, a fabulous Catholic blog, and I noticed the Adopt-a-Priestess project. The author of the blog is assigning faithful Catholic volunteers the name of a member of the "Roman Catholic Women Priests" organization (RCWP) in order to pray for that person's re-conversion back into full communion with the Catholic Church. What an amazing opportunity to pray for a specific person and a specific goal!! This organization states that they are "all-inclusive" and do not "discriminate" based on gender. They are most assuredly in grave error, as no one has the authority to ordain women to the Catholic priesthood - even the pope himself cannot do such a thing. By joining this organization, each of these women (and a few men) has incured excommunication upon themselves by the very act of presuming to receive invalid holy orders. They are in grave sin, and their eternal souls are in jeopardy. The entire group needs our prayers.

I was given the name of a gentleman who tried to enter seminary three different times throughout his life, and was rejected each time. He has found welcome in the RCWP, and will be "ordained" a "deacon" this month by a "woman-priest" - sealing his excommunication fate. Members remain a "deacon" for about six months before being "ordained" a "priest." (Sorry for all the quotes. I just feel the need to emphasise that these ordinations are nothing more than make-believe.) I will be praying for him throughout Lent (and probably beyond) for his re-conversion. Please pray for me, that my prayers, and those prayers of the other participants, are answered!

Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle!
Be our safeguard against the wickedness and snares of the devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray;
And do Thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the power of God,
Cast into hell, satan, and all the evil spirits
Who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.