Simple Randomness

Should You Save Your Baby’s Cord Blood?

So I’ve seen or heard of this idea a couple of times in the last couple of years, especially in the news and other things.  But I’ve honestly never really looked into it.  It does seem pretty interesting though!

So why would you want to save your baby’s cord blood?  What good does it really do?  Well, what it can be used for is later in life if your kid develops a disease like leukemia, cerebral palsy, anemia, lymphoma, or diabetes.  They can use the cord blood and stem cells to help them fight off these and other problems.  Pretty crazy!

But of course, not all of these blood blood banks are created equally.  One that looks really good is Cryo-cell. They’ve been around since 1992 and have already helped over 175,000 families to save cord blood samples.

Their simple challenge is this: compare us! In other words, compare them with a lot of the other cord blood banks out there.

Here are 5 things to consider when choosing a cord blood bank: cost (what value do you get), security, financial stability (will they be around long term), certification, and expert industry leadership.

Cryo-Cell stands out in all 5 of these categories and are worth checking out if you are going to be having any kinds soon. You can check out their current offer at their website and learn more about what they can do for you!

Bought Some Glutamine!

I know I’ve written from time to time on this blog about my health goals, fitness, and all that kind of stuff.  Well, last week I bought some glutamine.  For those of you not familiar with Glutamine here’s the kind of thing it can help you with:

• Supplementing with glutamine can help give your immune system a boost
• Glutamine can help increase growth hormone levels
• Glutamine is used to help maintain cell volume and hydration
• It also helps with digestive health.

Digestive health is actually one of the main reasons why we bought it.  I read on a site somewhere that it can help cure ulcers.  My wife had one of those last year that really messed her up, so we’re hoping that using glutamine mgiht help that whole mess heal a little bit.

Anyway, there’s a random personal update for you.  By the way, if you want to find the best prices on supplements like glutamine, check out SupplementPricing.com.  They compare prices for a supplement from multiple stores so you save money!

Allergies are Not My Friend…

So at some point this week my allergies hit again.  I just have your common seasonal allergies, and they seem to hit me at the beginning and the end of the season.  But this time they decided to turn into a head cold as well!

Honestly, I don’t understand allergies at all.  I don’t believe in evolution really (the whole we came from monkies thing doesn’t work for me), but for those that do believe in this how do they explain allergies?  If we really do evolve, wouldn’t we have gotten used to all the pollen and other stuff in the air by now?

For example, my son is highly allergic to cashews.  Shouldn’t evolution have taken care of that one?  I’d like someone who is an evolutionist to explain this one to me!  I’d love to hear some good ideas on this, cause I’m at a loss.

I also hate it when they turn into a head cold.  I was so stuffed up last night…no wonder my wife didn’t get much sleep!  I had Nyquil to knock me out, but otherwise I’m sure I would have been blowing my nose all night.

Which brings up another question…how in the world does the nose generate that much snot?!  I mean seriously, who turned on that faucet and left it running!

Anyway, this is more of a rant and gripe, but I don’t feel good.   And by the way, no this is not a picture of me up above.

I hope you all have a nice weekend!

Eating the Same Thing Every Day

Do you ever find yourself just eating the same thing all the time?  I’m finding I’m in one of those ruts where I really don’t have much variety in my diet.  Here’s a sample:

• Eggs, Toast, and Cereal
• Oatmeal, Hard-boiled Eggs, Banana
• Hamburger Patty with either rice or bread plus salad
• Some type of sandwich
• Whatever my wife makes for dinner
• Egg Sandwich or Cereal

I need some variety!!!  Granted, right now I’m just tying to eat enough to add a little more meat to my skinny frame, but I could still use some variety.  Any ideas???

New Rankings on Monster and Rockstar Energy Drinks

So for the last couple of weeks I’ve gone away from Rockstar energy drinks and have instead been drinking Monster.  So far the results aren’t too bad and I really like a few of their flavors!

So for fun today, here are the rankings so far for the best flavored Rockstar and Monster energy drinks:

1. Rockstar No Carb - Still the best flavor!  I love this stuff!
2. Monster Khaos - This stuff tastes really really good and is a very close #2.  In fact, who knows I might change my mind in a couple of weeks.
3. Rockstar Guava - Still a really good drink.  Great flavor, that’s why its in the top 3.
4. Monster M-80 - Just had this one for the first time this morning.  Needed a little boost after getting back from BlogWorld last night.  Really good flavor, I like it a lot!
5. Rockstar Mango/Orange/Passionfruit - This one used to be higher on the list, but then I tried the Guava and No Carb.  Still a really good choice for flavor though
6. Regular Rockstar/Monster - I really don’t know which of these I like better.  The regular flavors are ok, but I don’t like one more than the other really.
7. Monster MIXXD - Honestly, I didn’t really like this one.  But it wasn’t the worst that I’ve ever had…
8. Rockstar Pomegranate - This one was very flat and didn’t have a lot of flavor.
9. Rockstar Punched - This one was just nasty.  That’s all I have to say about it.

So there you have it, the new updated rankings for some energy drinks.

Now honestly, I need to ween myself off this stuff.  I’ve been using it more lately just because of my insane schedule but I need to find some alternatives.  I’m sure the caffeine isn’t doing me any good…

Another Cool Thing About Quinoa

So a while back I wrote about the food quinoa.  Since then I’ve had it a couple of times and its really quite good!

The cool thing about quinoa is that it goes with anything.  You can just eat it plain and its good, or even better you can mix it in with stuff and it tastes good as well!

For example, yesterday I mixed it in with some fettucini alfredo.  It was good!  Then, I was going to have a tuna sandwich after going to the gym, but I forgot to bring the bread.  So I just mixed quinoa in with the tuna and it was really good that way!

Gotta love these foods that go good with everything!

Super Food Quinoa!

Ok, so as you probably know I’m trying to eat healthy and actually gain some weight right now.  In some of the material I’ve been reading I had heard about this ancient grain called quinoa.  These sources said it was really good for you, etc.

So over the weekend my wife’s aunt gave her some to try.  We cooked it up and it’s actually pretty good stuff!  Not a very strong flavor, but its just as good warm as it is cold.

And the thing that amazed me is that it’s packed with protein!  Here’s a quick comparison for you on what you get out of a cup of quinoa vs. a cup of brown rice:

Brown Rice:

• Calories - 215
• Fat - 1.7g
• Carbs - 44.4g
• Protein - 5g

Quinoa:

• Calories - 636
• Fat - 9.9g
• Carbs - 117.1g
• Protein - 22.3g

This stuff is packed!  It’s a little bit pricey, but being that I’m trying to increase calories to gain some good weight, this looks like a great food to incorporate into my diet!

The Alzheimer’s Association Memory Walk - Good Idea!

There are a lot of strange and sad diseases that one can develop, and I think one of the saddest is Alzheimer’s.  I mean, seriously, how sad would it be to get to the point where you really can’t remember certain things?

I remember when I was a teenager we ran into an older man on the street that honestly had no idea where he was or where he was going.  We talked to him for a few minutes, and luckily right then someone that knew him came up and helped him get home.  It’s a very sad sad thing to see.

Well, to help increase the awareness of and raise funds for Alzheimer’s care, the Alzheimer’s Association has the Alzheimer’s Memory Walk.  This is the largest event of it’s kind and takes place in over 600 communities.

By going on a walk like this, you can help the Alzheimer’s Association to help us move closer to a world without Alzheimer’s!  If there’s one in your area, I would highly recommend that you consider participating.  Each walk is normally 2-3 miles, so it’s not like it’s something you can’t do!

Workout Still Going Well!

So I realized that I haven’t given any sort of update on my workouts for a while, and I needed a topic to write about today that I guess that one will have to do!

So I recently started a new 4 week phase.  This one is based more on increasing strength, and it’s been pretty interesting so far.  The funny thing is that as I look back and what I used to do in the gym when I first started, I was clueless.  I’ve made more progress in the last 2 months or so than I did in the first 2 years that I went to the gym.  It’s amazing how learning the right ways to do things can make that kind of difference!

The one concern that I have is that in a couple weeks I know that my schedule is going to get even more hectic, so I’ll have to find a way to still get to the gym on top of everything else that I’m doing.  I guess it all comes down to time management and priorities!

Saving Money on Eyewear

In two weeks I get to go in for my yearly eye exam.  I would much rather do this than go to my appointment with the dentist next week, but I guess both are necessary.

I’ve always gone back and forth between eyeglasses and contact, mainly because I don’t always like the price of the eyeglasses or the comfort of them. But in the end, I have to admit that long term the eyeglasses are the cheaper option.

I think the other reason I struggle with eyeglasses is the look. I don’t know that I’ve ever found a pair that I loved, especially for the price I usually end up paying.

That’s where ZenniOptical.com comes in. They have some really stylish glasses for as cheap as $8!!! Think about it, you could get all sorts of frames for that price, one for every occasion if you needed to. And doing so wouldn’t break the bank either!

Others have been catching on to these guys as well.  You might have seen some positive reports about them on Fox News TV, or heard about them on the radio. The popular U.S. talk radio host of the nationally syndicated consumer advocate program The Clark Howard Show, even recommended them. There’s some definite buzz going on about these guys, so if you wear glasses you should definitely check them out!