Blog ketchup........

Wait, no I mean catch up. Ha ha. But it was cute right? Or just silly. Whatever....

Every day is a struggle. I mean psychologically about this "journey" I'm taking for three months. It shouldn't be this big of a deal. It's only three months. And all in all, even if I just sit on my ass in one spot the whole time (not a chance....I've got too many stars in my eyes....I want to see everything) I'm STILL saving money and getting away for awhile. Nevertheless, I'm going to miss my family, my friends, my cats, my plants, my bed, my apartment, the food I can just go to the store and get, my stupid car, and my city......among other familiarities. So that is at the forefront of my mind daily. On the other hand, I am getting excited doing research about being able to work in exchange for places to stay at some really beautiful ecological conservation projects.....some in the Caribbean, some in the cloud forest, some near Osa Peninsula......I really want to stay on a dairy farm. Is that weird? It's been a nice fantasy of mine to want to stay on a farm for a few days. I am from the Midwest you know. lol.

Some summertime events coming up in the Chi that you might be innerested in (yes I intentionally spelled that wrong).

* Femi Kuti is playing at Ravinia next Wednesday! Get your tix. We have a large group going and we plan to get there when the gates open at like 4 p.m.

* My general neighborhood (meaning Logan Square, Humboldt Park, Palmer Square) is getting more and more attention. On July 11th the Tour de Fat Chicago will be in Palmer Square (two blocks from my house) in honor of........FAT TIRE!!! For all of you saying "huh"? Fat Tire is a delicious yummy best beer in the world (in my opinion) that is brewed in Colorado but is a Belgian Ale. The fest features Mucca Pazza

and Sean Hayes, Squirm Burpee Circus, The Daredevil Chicken Club and The Sprockets. I'm not sure who the rest of these are, you could probably google it but in any event, it's free, and it's outdoors and it's in honor of Fat Tire. What more could you ask for? It's a fund raiser for West Town Bikes and you can register at 9-10 and then there is a bike parade from 10-11 and the ad says "commence revivalation" from 11-4. Get out there all you bike people!

And now a photo to share with you the shits and giggles of Chicago summertime fun. Every once in awhile, the OE 40 oz. MUST be busted out. To all my homies that love to indulge in the 40 oz. OE, the wife especially.

Sugar.......and I don't mean it as a term of endearment.......

Argh. I know I know...I don't blog for a week and now I've got about twenty things to blog about. This will be a recurring theme. Get used to it. My nature is erratic. I've learned to come to terms with this.

Anyway...my dentist told me to stop drinking beverages with sugar in them. She clued me in to the fact that ALL (yes, all) beverages on the consumer market, save for the flavored waters or plain water itself, have RIDICULOUS amounts of sugar in them. She urged me for the health of my teeth. However, there are MANY other health benefits of kicking the sugar habit. I don't think people really realize HOW MUCH sugar is in EVERYTHING you buy to drink from the store.

Fact: There are TWELVE (12) grams of sugar in a tablespoon.

If you are like me, and believe me, I haven't ruled out the possibility (in my hypochoncriatic mind) of being pre-diabetic or something.....I don't think I can live ENTIRELY without sugar. I gave up the Lipton Tea, the Sprite, Pepsi, even freakin APPLE JUICE, those 16 oz. bottles have like 40 grams of sugar in them. BUT....when I drink my tea or coffee, I usually use TWO (2) tablespoons of sugar. That's 24 grams of sugar! Just think how much sugar is in KOOL-AID. One cup of sugar......well 8 oz. is one cup. Sixteen (16) tablespoons are in one cup. You are going to have to sit down for this one. If there are 12 grams of sugar in one tablespoon and there are 16 tablespoons in one cup.....yep....do the math....I can't even believe it myself. There are 192 grams in one cup of sugar. It's enough to make you keel over now.

Check out the labels of the beverages you buy at the store. A can of Pepsi has like 50 some grams of sugar. That's FOUR tablespoons of sugar in that little ass can of soda. Even Gatorade has too much sugar in it!

Drink Propel or flavored water. Propel only has 6 grams of sugar in it.

I hate to freak people out, but you should take it as informational, a precaution, something to think about, and this is just some information I pulled from the internet:

Diabetes - "Diabetes is due to the body's inability to maintain a constant level of sugar in the blood, as it should. (If you drink a lot of alcoholic beverages....there's massive amounts of sugar in those too). People with diabetes are more likely to have a heart attack or stroke at a younger age. In addition, they may be at a greater risk for a decline in mental function - brain decay or dementia. Full Article at www.neurology.org/cgi/content/full/63/4/E9

Not only is sugar found in high levels in beverages, but check your food labels too! A research found that people consume (depending on what they eat) upwards of 207 grams a day, that's 52 spoonfuls and four times the recommended daily limit. If you eat packaged and processed foods, check the labels! Sugar may be addictive, withdrawal occurs. Sugar also causes cancer. Women with the highest blood sugar levels increased their chances of pancreas, skin, womb and urinary tract cancer. Also leads to premature aging.....messing up your skin.

Last for now....eating too much sugar can also contribute to arterial damage. High blood sugar causes LDL cholesterol to oxidize. When oxidised it encourages plaque deposits in our arterial linging causing the blood vessels to clog leading to heart disease, the number one killer. (2nd article www.netdoctor.co.uk/dietandnutrition/toomuchsugar.htm)

I'm only 33 I swear. But thinking about my family's health history (pardon my French) freaks me the fuck out.

Ok that's enough for now. I've got more happy things to talk about. Just thought you should pay attention to the sugar you intake. If anything, knowing what you are putting into your body is never a bad thing.