Money Saving TIP!!

Money Saving Tip of the Week – Ideas that work!!!

How many of you dread it when your printer runs out of ink? Not only do you need to drive to the office supply store (cost of fuel there is enough to make you think twice) but once there you need to dish out anywhere from $29 to $69 dollars to replace that ink cartridge. You know that feeling, when the kids want to print out cool things on the computer, but instead of enjoying their great ideas, you catch yourself trying to explain to the kids do not print everything out, INK COSTS A LOT!

So that feeling is mutual, right? The solution – Well, many of you may have heard about refilling your ink cartridges, but would you believe IT WORKS!!! I have been doing this for about a year now and I can not believe all the money I have wasted by not doing it for the past 10 years.

So here is the 411 – purchase a universal inkjet refill kit. These cost a fraction of the cost of one ink cartridge and one kit will refill that ink cartridge three times or more. Now the honest truth is it is not as easy as simply changing the cartridge but saving money often takes a little more work. (Look at clipping coupons – that can be exhausting) But to save hundreds of dollars a year IT IS WORTH IT. Although it is a little more work it still only takes about 10-15 minutes. Now you do the math: If your ink cartridge normally costs you $39 and the refill kit cost $9.95 which works out to $3.31 per refill then your savings is $35.69. Now you know my motto – saving money is making money! So which one of you would not accept a job where you were getting paid $35.69 every ten minutes!!!! I thought so.

My experience with this refill system is that it got easier the more I did it. The first time was a little intimidating, simply because it was unknown to me exactly what to do. But I figured this is how I make money, by stepping out of my comfort zone! So I am gonna walk you through the process and you are never going to waste money on ink cartridges again!

I recommend putting old newspaper down especially for the first time. Cartridges that run out of ink must be refill right away, otherwise the sponge inside will dry out, making the refill system not work. Remove your cartridge from the printer. Look at the book (included in your universal inkjet refill kit) and find the instructions that pertain to your specific ink cartridge. The way the refill system works is that you are going to simply refill ink into the same “fill hole” that the manufacturer used to fill it the first time! Sometimes these fill holes are hidden under the label on the cartridges and other times they are plugged and in full view. The good news is the booklet will tell you exactly where the fill hole is located on your specific cartridge.

Once you identify the location of the fill hole you must get the ink ready. Using the enclosed syringe you will extract the ink. Simply fill the cartridge and plug the hole (not necessary for all types – refer to your booklet). Then you are done!

I would remind you that the first time is the most difficult but with each passing time it gets easier and easier. Also be sure you do this when you are not rushed – Give yourself plenty of time to read the instructions and reread if you are unsure!

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Vitamin D Deficiency May Factor Into Crohn’s Disease

http://www.suite101.com/content/vitamin-d-deficiency-may-factor-into-crohns-disease-a226398

So here is yet another article about the importance of vitamin D and a likely relationship to Crohn’s disease and it’s symptoms. As a mom to a 16 year old boy with Crohn’s I was completely charged to hear of this connection.

So what we decided to do is check the his vitamin D3 level. Ryan’s doctor ran the simple blood test for D3 and his score came in at 42. They say an acceptable range is 50-80. So from the start he was below acceptable. After reading many articles and talking with the doctors we put him on 10,000 IU per day of vitamin D3. At his next set of labs his vitamin D3 came in at 96 and he was feeling quite good! Doctor’s were concerned about the “high” level and urged me to lower his dose. We agreed and went to 5,000 IU’s per day. His level then dropped to 82 and he had a relapse. Coincidence? I do not think so, but no doctor believes me. Now keep in mind this all happened in the summer months when your body is absorbing vitamin d as well from the sun.

So here we were headed now into winter and his level has dropped and he is not feeling as well. Based on the shorter days, less time in the sun and how he was feeling we again went back to the 10,000 IU’s per day. That is currently where he is at. My gut tells me that he needs to be on this higher level because his body is fighting a disease. Vitamin D3’s acceptable range is 50-80 but that is for the person who is not sick. What if your body needs more when it is fighting disease??? Something to think about….

Blessings,
Tami

PS On a side note based on the articles, research show’s it most likely can prevent Crohn’s in siblings and offspring. Ryan’s older sister’s D3 score was 37. She is now on 10,000 IU’s per day for prevention since June 2010. I will post when her level is done again J

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Vitamin D Physiology

Vitamin D Physiology – More info HERE

I hope you had a chance to read the above article from the vitamin D council. It is filled with so much information, but really it touches on each of the important things you need to really know about vitamin D.

1. What it does and how it works
2. How your body keeps naturally vitamin D from going toxic
3. Finally why are we so deficient now?

As the article explains there are two pathways vitamin takes, the first is priority and gets filled, the second, THE DISEASE FIGHTING path, is what vitamin D does if there is enough left in your body which usually there is not.
I began thinking that perhaps our bodies were made to function perfectly, to fight whatever bad things attack it, but our world today is working against that. We are inside so much more, we wear sunscreen when we are outside – which blocks the sun from penetrating and the skin is unable to produce vitamin D. So we have to work harder and smarter to keep our bodies in perfect balance and allow our bodies to heal themselves as they were meant to do.

Listen – Our bodies’ naturally collect vitamin D by using the biggest human organ to do it, our skin. Vitamin D comes from the largest and most assessable thing in our world, the sun. That can not be a coincidence – That is how important Vitamin D is to our overall well being!

Blessings,
-Tami

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Our Son has Crohn’s Disease, Now What????

Well finally it is time.  I have been thinking about this since the diagnoses day, March 16, 2010.  Wishing then that there was a place I could turn to and ask my questions, big and small – and there were hundreds spinning in my head.  The only thing I knew for sure in that moment was that I would, with God’s guidance, find a way for my son Ryan to have a normal life – somehow.

Today is October 14, 2010 a mere 213 days later, but on many levels it also feels like a lifetime has passed.  Life changing these last 7 months has been – our emotions have run the gamut from fear, confusion, exhaustion, hope, grace, excitement, disappointment, celebration and everything in between.  It is time, time to share our story, our choices and our path.  We will blog about stuff – recipes, remedies, emotions, doctors, and the internet – anything that has been part of our journey.

Of course I have to wonder, will anyone ever read this?  But I know in order to do my part, I must pay it forward.  So here we go…………

Vitamin D – it does the body good – well actually it does the body great.  It heals the body in ways they do not even understand yet.  Most doctors are not at all up to speed on the daily discoveries of the miracle vitamin D.  I was introduced to this concept by a good friend whose daughters were taking 50,000 IU per week, 47,200 IUs more than the “daily recommended amount” on prescription from their personal doctor.  It was intriguing enough for me to want to learn more, not to mention that Ryan was in so much pain and discomfort that I was desperate to help him.

Additionally, as a mother it seemed simple to me.  He did not have this disease before, so something had changed in his body.  Something was out of whack – I just did not know what.  But I believed if I could find out what and restore that balance then he would be better, in theory anyway.  So why not Vitamin D?  First I just googled my way around this for days on end.  I read each and every article I could put my fingers on about vitamin D.  Oh it was so interesting and so confusing.  But as each day passed I began to believe more and more that this was a piece of the puzzle, of Ryan’s healing puzzle.  Could it be this simple – that we are so deficient in vitamin D that our body is attacking itself?  Instead of trying to explain all the details here, I have put the links to a couple of my favorite articles regarding Vitamin D and Crohns.  Read through them, mull it over and then search.  I would love to know what you discover; I would love you to share your success stories.

In the next few days I will blog about each article and the steps we took to get Ryan on the path of healing.  Feel free to comment and/or ask questions – I am so excited about this next step in our journey – my prayer is that you too find healing.

Blessings,
-Tami

Vitamin D Physiology – Click HERE for more info.

Vitamin D Deficiency May Factor Into Crohn’s Disease – Click HERE for more info.

Vitamin D may fight Crohn’s disease: Study – Click HERE for more info.

Posted in The Power of Vitamin D by Tami - Ryan's Mom. 1 Comment