GSE, or Grapefruit Seed Extract has been around and used worldwide for over 25 years.

Grapefruit Seed Extract was originally developed by German physicist Jacob Harich in 1972. After moving to the United States in 1957 Harich focused his studies on the grapefruit seed extract and he was able to demonstrate its abilities to protect produce, fish, and poultry from bacteria, fungi, and parasites. The extract he obtained was effectively used to prevent the growth of mold on fruits and vegetables.

Soon farmers were using the grapefruit seed extract to prevent mold growth on their equipment. Even cosmetic companies used grapefruit seed extract as a natural preservative.

Grapefruit Seed Extract has been used as a dietary supplement since the 1980s because of the naturally occurring infection-fighting properties known as proanthocyanidins. As its use became even more accepted, it was learned that grapefruit seed extract can be used to control viruses in humans.

Even the flu virus has reportedly been effectively helped by using
grapefruit seed extract. Additional ailments treated with grapefruit seed extract include strep throat, staph infections, salmonella poisoning, salmonella, herpes simplex viruses and many more.

A few ways that I personally use grapefruit seed extract:
* 3 – 5 drops in a glass of orange juice, 1 or 2 times a day at the first sign of feeling “under the weather.”
* 3 -5 drops in 1/2 cup of warm water, gargle several times a day to ease the symptoms of a sore throat.
* 4 – 6 drops to every gallon of water added to my humidifier. I have NO mold growth!
* 20 drops in a sink full of cold water, to cleanse fruits and vegetables of toxins and pests (especially the LIVE, crawling ones!). Soak produce in water for 3 minutes.
* 60 drops in a 1-quart spray bottle filled with water, to cleanse and sanitize counter tops, tables, windows, bed frames, bathrooms and so much more!

The possibilities are virtually endless. When you purchase a bottle you should see a list of recommended uses. One little bottle will most likely last you for a few years.

If YOU have a use for grapefruit seed extract that I haven’t listed I would love to share it with others.

To your health!

IF you have been following the news about the H1N1 (Swine flu) then you are well aware of the risks associated with taking the new experimental shot.

What you may NOT know is that there are many ways to protect yourself from getting the swine flu. Taking the shot is probably not one of them. Even manufacturers of this shot are publicly stating that they will not be taking the shot right here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4SmFxyust0&feature=player_embedded

And, if the video wasn’t convincing enough, I learned that ALL rats tested with the H1N1 vaccine developed an MS-like disease that left them crippled. Read more here: http://hubpages.com/hub/New-Swine-Flu-Vaccine-Is-it-Safe

The CDC (Center for Disease Control) has been representing this vaccine as “safe” despite the fact that the list of ingredients includes several known neurotoxins…

Their plan is to convince people to take this vaccine and test their blood later (for reactions)… For those who react catastrophically – it will be TOO LATE because the laws absolving the vaccine manufacturers of any and all responsibilities have already been put into place. There will be NO recourse for the unfortunate.

The NVIC (National Vaccine Information Center) has been fighting for our protection and our rights. They are one of the best locations for accurate information that you will find anywhere. Learn more here: NVIC.org// Recommend reading: the Vaccine Law Information.

Fortunately, several years ago I also stumbled upon Dr. Joseph Mercola. He is one of many who contributes to the NVIC’s outreach. I have followed his teaching and learned countless natural approaches to achieving and maintaining good health.

While I would love to write an eloquent article about ways to protect yourself against the onslaught of the flu season upon us… I am going to refer you to the best article I have read thus far. Here is the link: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/09/22/Low-Vitamin-D-Increases-Flu-Death-Risk-in-Kids.aspx

While you are there – subscribe to Dr. Mercola’s newsletter. Get in touch, get informed and get healthy!

As always, I appreciate your thoughts, comments and questions.

The Rides and Rods event to benefit Autism Speaks this weekend will be remembered for a long time. Friday night, the setting for the black tie event was magical… the sparkling guests who arrived at the Mile High Station could have easily been mistaken for Hollywood celebrities.

And, speaking of Hollywood celebrities… more than a few were in attendance. Jennifer Wilde, award winning radio personality turned actress, graced the party with her attendance. I was lucky enough to grab her for a few minutes to learn more about her upcoming hit movie: Section B. THIS movie will change the lives of everyone who sees it! The script will change the way you see other people and Jennifer’s songs will change the way you see yourself! Her friend, Dave Otto, local radio celebrity with 98.3 KXBX-FM came along for the food and fun. Inside tip: he’s even more fun in person than he is on the air!

Jeff Olson, 2-time Downhill Skiing Champion, also on hand, shared his thoughts and support for a great cause. He is the President of Well Nourished Worldwide and frequently speaks to health, physician and athletic communities. Click here to learn more about Jeff Olson.

Local celebrity Betty Lehman, Executive Directory of Autism Society of Colorado, shared several success stories. She has been an integral part of the Autism Society of Colorado for the last 18 years and she continues to move proverbial mountains with her knowledge and abilities. To learn more about upcoming events and ways to help click here: AutismColorado.org/

My special friends, Eugene Ebner and James Armstrong, owners and founders of Spirit Media Network, were also part of the elite group of guests. They brought so much to the event and truly, they were the life of the party (at least on the dance floor)… Lucky me, because I love to dance and they are both wonderful dancers! Eugene did, however, make me cry… when he sang I think he stopped all local traffic. The talented Eugene and James are well-known in media circuits. If you aren’t in the know, you will be soon!

And, among the many wonderful people who attended, one special guest stopped traffic like no one that I’ve ever met before…Tina LeGrand, a.k.a. Todd Barnes, appeared-at first glance-to be a beautiful and well dressed woman. And, at well over six foot tall, “she” caught everyone’s eye. After a few minutes my friend Susan Lynn Perry and I ventured over to acquaint ourselves with this interesting guest. We were blown away by our conversation – one highlighted by humor and honestly. We had our pictures taken together and we spent a great deal of the evening sharing true life stories. Tina is one of the most interesting people I’ve met in a very long time.

Not to be missed: Tina’s true life story put to music: Life As a Fabulous Disappointment at Lannie’s Clocktower Cabaret on October 4th at 7:30. I heard Tina sing and I would suggest a kleenex or two… I’m taking an entire box! Get your tickets while there are still a few available here: Fabulous Disappointment or by calling 303-293.0075. I’ll see YOU there!

A future celebrity wrapped up the evening with one of the most memorable moments that I have ever seen. Organizer, Mikayla Houser’s son Jason is destined to become a household name. When he decided to dance to Michael Jackson’s Thriller many attempted to keep up with him on the dance floor.

I cried all the way through his dance and, following the dance, told him that he was absolutely amazing. His response,

“I really love Michael Jackson and the song, Thriller. I knew the dance so it just had to come out!”

Watch his magical performance here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZjwFI85VUA

Joshua School teachers, Bret Saunders, Brooke Hauser and many more Autism advocates and heroes were in attendance and every single one was there in support of MY son, YOUR daughter, MY neighbor, YOUR friend and OUR future generation!

I believe that Autism should be (and one day WILL be) recognized for what it really is: A highly evolved way of seeing life… one that is free of pride and prejudice and that is full of honesty and heroism.

We who are a part of this community are among the chosen few who can really see the gifts that people with Autism have. It is up to US to share the magic with others because The World We Change Could Be Our Own!

As always, I welcome your thoughts, comments and feedback!

Friday, September 11th is the kickoff event for the Rides and Rods event to benefit Autism Speaks!

Please join us for this black tie & leather gala to kick off the Rides and Rods Weekend in style TONIGHT at the Mile High Station, 2027 W. Lower Colfax, Denver CO 80204.

There will be free shuttle service from our hotel partner for the 6 pm-8 pm reception and from 8 pm-12 am for the general admission.

Betty Lehman, Jennifer Wilde, Eugene Ebner, Jeff Olson, Bret Saunders, Christi Coors-Ficelli, The Joshua School, Brooke Houser, Dave Otto and I will work together–along with many others–to ensure that your evening is a grand one!

Saturday, September 12th, register/check in at Invesco Field @ Mile High Lot M (south of Colfax) 8am – 10am for the fun scavenger hunt on wheels that will lead you around Denver, through the foothills, to finally ending at the site of our huge after party on Main Street in historic Central City!

At registration, get your packet pointing you towards the first of several stops. This is not a group start, so you are free to go after registering/checking in anytime after 8:30!

Don’t want to participate in the Run, but still want to meet us in Central City? That’s Great!!! Come on up after 11am and register! We’ll save room for ya!

Families are welcome and there will be a sensory area for our autistic friends sponsored by the Joshua school! REGISTER ONLINE or just head straight to Invesco or Central City.

Either way, we will see you there!
All Motorcycles Welcome
All Hot Rods & Vintage Cars Welcome

RAIN OR SHINE!

TONS OF COVERED PARKING AVAILABLE!

PARTY WILL BE MOVED ABOVE

DOC HOLLIDAY’S IF THE WEATHER TURNS!

I was looking over the appendixes in my upcoming book, The Journey, Home from Autism, now in layout, today.

In my book, Appendix E includes the following wonderful sites that we love and enjoy. My book, now available for a discounted pre-order (free $7 shipping) is only $20 – delivered anywhere in the United States. Order your copy and copies for your doctor and friends while you can take advantage of the savings!
And – enjoy the following sites today!

123greetings.com. This website has hundreds of free delightful e-cards to send when you just don’t have time to make one or run to the post office. My boys have had fun adding their own creative messages and the recipients have always been delighted.

Apples4theteacher.com. Bookmark this website right now! Crossword puzzles, word games and puzzles, money games, and SO much more! Categories include Creative Arts, Foreign Languages, Literacy, Math, Science, Social Studies, Articles, Parents and Teachers. You and your children will love this website! It is designed for children, pre-k through 6th grade.

ArtistsHelpingChildren.org/. This is an amazing website filled with enough craft ideas for a lifetime (maybe several lifetimes)! The art projects are fun and educational and they are cleverly listed so that you are able to find just the right craft with ease. This website also includes countless links for even more great ideas!

AskKids.com/. This site is terrific for many reasons. I like that the main categories: Science, Language Arts, Math and World Events; all include numerous links to further your learning. You can access learning by age groups and interest levels. There are also several fun games.

APlusMath.com/. If you want to improve your math skills you will find everything from flash cards that you can print out to math sheets and games. Your children will love this site even more than you do!

Canon.com/C-park. We absolutely love the Canon Creative Park website because they have an unlimited supply of paper craft ideas. We have made many of the crafts including decoupage, origami, 3-D penguins, cards, calendars and more. During this summer we spent a few days making the Structure of the Sun recently, found on this website. It was one of the more difficult crafts. It requires a lot of cutting but the craft is very cool and one they want to keep “forever.”

ColoradoKids.com. If you live in Colorado you should know about this website that serves as a Colorado Family Guide. There are great coupons to many locations that we enjoy on a regular basis. Even more great deals are listed under the After School Activities.

Coloring.ws. If you want some quick and easy coloring pages this site has a good selection. The dot-to-dot pages are very cute (one of Oliver’s favorites) and the games are pretty good, too. Try Sudoku or, better yet, teach your children. It’s a great game.

CoolCosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/. This astronomy website was created by NASA and it is absolutely wonderful. Anything and everything you could possibly want to know about the solar system will be found here. The Cosmic Classroom is really educational. You’ll want to click on the Cool Cosmos logo in the upper left.

EnchantedLearning.com. This website costs $20 to join and it is well worth it! There are over 20,000 web pages on this site and an amazing amount of educational and fun information. From early childhood learning and printable sheets to illustrated dictionaries in multiple languages, you’ll find it hard to pull yourself away from this site!

Familyfun.go.com. This website has wonderful how-to videos, crafts, party planning ideas, recipes, travel tips, print outs and great back to school topics. The Games link has quite a few craft ideas that we have enjoyed making.

Funschool.kaboose.com. Some websites must have been created by children themselves—if so—this is surely one of them! There are simply way too many possibilities on this site to mention them all! Terrific online games, crafts, experiments and much more!

KidzGames.com. The name pretty much says it all. Unlimited links to games in every subject you can imagine! This website is loads of fun for everyone. I personally like the Mom’s Homeroom—found by clicking on the Educational Games link.

HomeSchoolFreebieOfTheDay.com—subscribe for free right now! You will not be sorry that you did. The producer, Jim Erskine, works tirelessly to provide great tips, games, websites and so much more. If you’re like me, you’ll want to do everything that he suggests. The following website is only one of many that he recommended.

LearningPage.com/. Directly from their site: LearningPage.com provides a huge collection of professionally produced instructional materials you can download and print. Lesson plans, books, worksheets, and much more can be found here. Sign up to get all this and more for free! I really love the theme sheets, the cursive writing sheets and the e-books.

Kids.NationalGgeographic.com. This is an amazing website. There is SO much here—from videos to crafts to contests and much more. You will want to visit this site often!
Printfree.com. This is a small but growing website with great cards, calendars, office forms and many printable ideas.

Starfall.com. This is a “must bookmark” website for pre-kindergarten through second graders! Everything—from learning their ABC’s to reading great books can be found here.

SteveSpanglerScience.com. On this website you will find many fun science experiments and vides as well as the locations to order science project supplies. There are many really fun and educational ideas here. We have had a lot of fun with crafts that require nothing more than simple kitchen ingredients. Many a cold winter day has become a magical memory because of ideas we found on this site!

Tlsbooks.com. This website is loaded with free educational worksheets for early childhood through fifth grade. This is a fantastic website—one you should share with your teachers and all of your friends! The age appropriate printable pages and the craft ideas are really great.

If you have a site that YOU really like, please share the link and I will add it to this list, soon to become it’s own page!

Thank you,
And, as always, your questions and comments are always appreciated!
~Rhonda

The Swine flu vaccine contains Thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative (and known neurotoxin).

Mercury poisoning mirrors Autism characteristics. Scientists and medical staff making the flu vaccine are refusing to take it. Should you? Watching this video could help you to decide.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4SmFxyust0&feature=player_embedded

From my own personal experience I am not willing to take a chance… yet again. We took a chance with vaccinations when my boys were very young. Tanner was mercury poisoned, developing a temperature of 105 within two hours after receiving the shot. He was virtually non-verbal for the next 2 1/2 years (after being verbal and “normal” prior to the shot).

Watch the video, do your research and decide for yourself. Your thoughts and questions are always appreciated.