Happy St. Patrick’s Day

Grab Bag Flight Site:

If a long flight is in your future, maybe SeatGuru.com should be, too. Checking SeatGuru will help you choose the best seats on your flight, and warns you about the hidden discomforts of others.

Width, pitch, recline, and what seat amenities are offered is all there for you to peruse before you use.

Grab Bag Double Cuties:

Grab Bag Loco for Cocoa:

I had saved this little blurb from Time magazine back in February, 2011 for a blog post… and then promptly lost it…. only to be rediscovered today. Never too late to be grateful for dark chocolate, I say!

Good News for Chocolate Lovers; not only can your favorite indulgence improve your overall cholesterol levels, but researchers now know why it works that magic. Japanese investigators have found that polyphenols in cocoa attach to genes in the liver and intestines, activating the ones that produce HDL, or good cholesterol, as well as those that help suppress LDL, or bad cholesterol.

Grab Bag Parkinson’s Prophylaxis:

It appears as if Advil (ibuprofen) has a fairly marked neuroprotective effect against Parkinson’s disease. A large (136,197) study published in 2011 shows that there is a reduced risk of developing Parkinson’s in those who used ibuprofen as their anti-inflammatory of choice. There was no such advantage shown in those who used aspirin, Tylenol, or other NSAIDS.

It is believed that ibuprofen may protect against the loss of cells in the brain that leads to Parkinson’s. The suggestion is that inflammation may play a role in this loss, and ibuprofen seems to be the only inflammatory that produced significant protective results.

If you or someone you know may be at greater risk of Parkinson’s, ibuprofen should perhaps be your choice of anti-inflammatory.

Garb Bag Think Green:

OK… when was the last time you did something meaningful for (y)our environment? We all need to be conscious of increasing our efforts, not just happy in the knowledge that we, say….. recycle. That’s old hat. What have you done for the Earth lately?

Here’s some very doable ideas. We all need to accomplish as much as we can… so give these a go….

1. Switch to digital downloads of movies and music if you haven’t yet.

 

2. Ask for and give consumable or homemade gifts. Think event tickets, dinner reservations and edible treats.

3. Stop junk mail and paper bills, and cancel subscriptions that you don’t read (Use Paperkarma,  this well-rated app to stop the junk mail!)

4. Be picky. By choosing to buy only what you love and know you will wear, you can slim your wardrobe and love it more.

5. Shop vintage.

6. Bring cloth shopping bags of your own … even to the mall.

7. Mend and tailor instead of toss. Take a cue from our grandparents’ generation and work with what you have.

8. Use foam pump bottles and liquid soap.

9. Keep lots of cloth towels on hand instead of paper.

10. As long as it is relatively clean, you can reuse aluminum foil several times.

11. Give old clothes and linens a second life — cut them up and reuse them as cleaning rags.

12. Shop farmer’s markets, produce stands and natural food markets — you will find the freshest and most local food that’s minimally packaged.

13. Avoid buying single-serving packages. Pick the larger containers instead.

 

14. Use real dishes and cloth napkins every day.

15. Try an alternative to plastic wrap. Place a plate on top of a bowl to store leftovers in the fridge or purchase reusable dish covers.

16. Our pets don’t ask for much, but that doesn’t stop us from wanting to buy them all sorts of things. Keep things simple and stick with a few favorite toys and accessories.

17. Buy your most frequently used pet supplies in bulk to cut down on packaging.

18. Simplify your beauty routine — fewer products means less waste.

19. Use microfiber cloths instead of paper towels for cleaning.

20. Buy the biggest packages of toilet paper you can find to reduce packaging.

21. Make friends with your public library. If you haven’t explored your local library lately, consider giving it another look and borrow a book, movie or music CD instead of buying.

22. Rethink leisure time. Relax in your backyard, cook dinner for friends, walk in nature, go for a bike ride, have a picnic or read a book — from the library!

Grab Bag Brain Game:

Type in as many words as you can from the letters provided:

Grab Bag Funny Stuff: