For YEARS I have been a terrible sleeper.  I could never get to sleep.  It was like my brain lost the ability to "turn off" at night.  

At first, I turned to sleep drugs... and they worked.  In fact, they worked a little too well.  I looked up one day and realized that I had been taking them for 6 months.  Yikes!

Then, after being diagnosed with some stress related illnesses, my Dr. asked me about my sleep patterns.  After hearing my struggles she mentioned something to me that I had heard a dozen times before... but for some reason I finally decided to try MELATONIN.

LIFE CHANGER!  For me... to be able to take a VERY small amount of a natural hormone that my body was already producing (under producing) and actually falling asleep, AMAZING!

And... as my stress levels come down, I exercise more, and treat my body better... I am taking less and less of it.

Stress and sleep feed into each other creating a viscious cycle.  I finally feel like I have broken this cycle for me.

If you are having trouble sleeping... ask your Dr about melatonin. For me, it worls.

Find out more through THIS LINK to WEBMD

A couple of tips for a better work place "vibe."

1. Reduce your EMFS.  EMFS are Electromagnetic Frequencies and they DO effect your body. EMFS lower melatonin, a hormone that controls your mood and ability to sleep.  Think about this... is your computer tower just under your desk, right by your leg?  This is TOO CLOSE.  Do what you can to move all electronics away from you.

2.   Don't sit in the LINE OF FIRE.  Do you face directly out of your office door?  Change that if you can... The energy from the office is coming right at you. If you can sit off center or with yor back to a wall, this is best.

Hey... you never know. Try these tips.  They just may work.  

I have had the opportunity to talk with a lot of great musicians.  And once my daughter came along I liked to ask them... at what age did they know they were destined to be in music.  For many, it was early on.  And I have always been told that if my daughter shows any kind of love for music at all, to expose her to as much of it as I can.  That shouldn't be too hard given my profession. 

This weekend we went to a party at a friend's house where my daughter proceeded to play the piano as much as we would let her.  And you know what... she kept a pretty good rhythm.  Piano lessons may be in her future.  But then I came across ths article which solidified that.  Music lessons make kids smarter.

From the article on Yahoo: 8 Proven Ways to make kids smarter, check out #4:

Strike up a tune.
This will be music to most parents' ears. A University of Toronto study found that music lessons boost brain power among six to eleven year olds. The researchers gave kids either music or drama lessons, or no lessons at all, and measured their IQ before and after the sessions. Children in the music group had the biggest IQ jump, possibly because music lessons expose kids to experiences that can help them in many different areas, explain the researchers. Any kind of music lessons is good, so if your kid won't touch her trumpet, there's always chorus.

To read the entire article: CLICK HERE.

Have you seen this yet?  LOVE the new song... and adore this video.

Thanks to Hayley for calling into today and giving us the scoop!  Listen to the full interview here. CLICK THIS LINK

Eco friendly is germ friendly too. Oh goodie.

So...when was the last time you washed your reusable grocery bags?  if you're like most of us... um, never.  Hopefully this will change that.

In a recent study... 90% of shoppers admitting to never washing them. And of those surveryed all but ONE bag had high levels of bacteria in the bags.  ...Which touches your food.  It gets even worse... 12% of those bags tested positive for E Coli.  Yum.

Good news is... you can keep them bacteria free by washing them in your washing machine once a week.  Use warm soapy water... and enjoy being germ free.

Last week my husband happened to be on board a flight that was the last flight for a retiring pilot.  Andy had a front row seat to one of the coolest things in aviation... a water salute.

The pilot had his family on board the plane with him.  Everyone was cheering and clapping.  It must have been a wonderful and proud moment for all. 

My father is a retired pilot... What these men and women do every day should be applauded, often.  I love this tradition... and I hope you all get to witness it one day.