Hello, my friend!

I hope your week is going great so far! We’ve enjoyed unseasonably warm temps here in Corpus Christi…until early yesterday morning, at which point a spectacular thunderstorm brought in a cold front and relentless winds! Granted, “cold fronts” here by the beach are defined as temps below 60 degrees, so ya know, it’s not that bad. But I was so ready for summer apparel (cue tiny violins…)

Well, with yesterday’s cold-weather lemons, I made some lemonade. I decided it was high time I purged our home of toys and organized all that remained. I spent a few hours going around the play room, garage, and my son’s bedroom with a giant trash bag in hand, and, as coolly and reasonably as possible, discarding what I call “junk food toys,” as well as respectable toys, some even educational ones, that have needed to go for some time. Some of these will be stored in the attic until my three-month-old is ready for them, some will be donated, and others will go to Grouchland (if you know, you know…).

The remainder of the toys were placed into labeled bins (e.g., “Trains,” “Cars and Superheroes,” “Play-Doh,” “Large Vehicles,” “Outdoor Toys,” “Balls,” etc.) and placed in a closet (I also had to organize said closet and relocate its contents, namely extra paper towels and toilet paper, to another location, but it worked out!) Our playroom is now infinitely tidier; the bookshelves are now for – get ready for – books, and homeschool materials and supplies.

I can’t tell you how much joy this little project brought me and how much I’m looking forward to receiving these zip bags from Amazon so I can tackle Part 2, which is using them to store all our puzzle pieces and some games, when possible, and disposing of the easily broken, space-swallowing boxes!

It only makes sense that item numero uno for this week’s Top 6 (I send out my Top 6 Saturday email each Saturday, so be sure to Subscribe here to receive them all!) would be related to my caffeinated clean-up spree, so here it is:

I. Quote by Jules Renard

“Oh! Old rubbish! Old letters, old clothes, old objects that one does not want to throw away. How well nature has understood that, every year, she must change her leaves, her flowers, her fruit and her vegetables, and make manure out of the mementos of her year!”

II. Eliminate Erythritol

I subscribe to consumerlab.com (I highly recommend it!) and they recently published an article titled, “What are the health benefits of stevia and other natural sweeteners? Are they safe?”

I’ve known of the dangers of sweeteners like Sucralose (Splenda), aspartame, and acesulfame potassium), but I’m still in the process of educating myself on the newer so-called “natural” or “substitute” sweeteners.

Erythritol, a low- or no-calorie sugar alcohol, is an ingredient that pops up on a number of the drinks and snacks in my house, like my Roar electrolyte drinks and No Cow protein bars. I was disturbed to learn this out about it:

“Data from laboratory studies has linked high concentrations of erythritol with increased clot risk. Exposing blood from humans to high concentrations of erythritol increased platelet aggregation and platelet adhesion (an early step in clot formation).”

“Just how much erythritol might be problematic? It’s too soon to know, but erythritol is well absorbed from the gut into the blood and a study in healthy adults found that consuming just 30 grams of erythritol increased the amount of erythritol in the blood to levels that, for about two days, were above thresholds associated with heightened platelet reactivity and thrombosis potential in the lab studies.”

“If erythritol is the only sugar alcohol in the Ingredients list (which is typically below the Nutrition Facts panel), you can assume that the full, listed amount of ‘Sugar Alcohol’ is erythritol. If more than one sugar alcohol is listed but erythritol is listed first, then most of the sugar alcohol is erythritol, since the Ingredients list must be in order of weight.”

For now, I’m sticking with stevia! This is also from Consumer Lab:

“Stevia extract is generally well tolerated. It can help reduce calorie intake as it seems to satisfy hunger like sugar; however, there is little evidence to support use in improving blood sugar or blood pressure control, or treating Lyme disease. Many stevia products that are allowed to be used in foods by the FDA are stevia extracts that include additional sweetening agents.”

III. My Current-Read Quote of the Week (Anne of Green Gables)

“Anne came dancing home in the purple winter twilight across the snowy places. Afar in the southwest was the great shimmering, pearl-like sparkle of an evening star in a sky that was pale golden and ethereal rose over gleaming white spaces and dark glens of spruce. The tinkles of sleigh bells among the snowy hills came like elfin chimes through the frosty air, but their music was not sweeter than the song in Anne’s heart and on her lips.”

Just makes you wanna go, “Ahhhhh…..” doesn’t it? Also makes me want to visit Prince Edward Island!!!

IV. Just Start! (Quote from James Clear)

“It’s rarely doing the work that is hard. It’s starting the work. Once you begin, it’s often less painful to continue working. This is why – in the beginning – it is often more important to build the habit of getting started than it is to worry about whether or not you are doing enough.”

V. The Drug of Learning (Quote from Dr. Andrew Huberman)

“Much of our feel-good neurochemistry is wired for release only after a mental struggle to arrive at some answer or insight. Learning (and applying knowledge) is the ultimate drug.”

VI. Funnies of the Week (sent to me in same 24-hour period by two friends who know my sense of humor all too well!)

Diana Anderson-Tyler

Novelist, Blogger, and Caffeinator

6 Quick Tips!: Getting Organized, A Sneaky Sweetener, The BEST Drug, & MORE!