By Alegre Ramos * You are pregnant…congratulations!  Like all moms, I’m sure you want to do everything possible to make sure that your baby is healthy, and going green during your pregnancy is a great way to ensure this.  Here are 6 green living tips that will make a big difference in your life and your pregnancy.  As of the writing of this article, I myself am almost 5-months pregnant and I feel great.  Hopefully my tips will help you feel great too and help ensure that your baby is as healthy and happy as possible! Eat green! You should be eating green both literally and figuratively.  Get as many organic, whole foods into your diet as possible (whole foods mean foods that are as close to their natural state as possible.)  Try and cut out any calories that are not filled with nutrients as they will not nourish the baby but WILL lead to excess weight gain.  Eating healthy is probably the single most important thing you ...

Via Metropolitan Opera ED Broadcast By Angela Rocco DeCarlo, copyright, 2010 There is one more opportunity to experience the thrill of the Metropolitan Opera’s production of George Bizet’s incendiary entertainment, “Carmen,” in a repeat broadcast to movie houses around the world, Wednesday, February 3, 2010, 6:30 p.m. local time. I saw the show in my neighborhood movie theater, Saturday, January 16, 2010, and would have sat through another performance immediately. This presentation is marvelously entertaining with behind-the-scenes interviews and other sidebars at the Metropolitan Opera house. “Carmen,” is one of a handful (others are “Tosca,” “Butterfly,” and “Traviata”) of perfect operas for those who have not yet seen an opera, but think they should. It has everything: iconic characters, memorable music and explosive passions. No novice will be disappointed in this show. Pity Georges Bizet, composer of this blockbuster opera, fourth on the opera “hit parade” of the 20 most performed.  He was hoping for success with the debut of  “Carmen” at the Opera Comique, Paris, March  3, 1875, but audiences were flummoxed by the departure from the usual shows at that venue and completely rejected the opera. It closed soon after opening and sadly Bizet died, at age 37, shortly thereafter, never knowing he ...

By Alegre Ramos Most people can quote the 3Rs: REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE, however, since becoming a mantra of the green movement twenty-plus years ago, much has been lost in their meaning.  In addition to being updated, the 3R’s needed to be expanded in order to make them more relevant to our modern life.  What follows is the Green and Greener 6R’s for green living in the modern day.  The most important thing to keep is mind is that the R’s, both the original version and ours, are hierarchical in their structure, meaning R1, reduce, has the MOST beneficial impact on the planet, and R6 has the “least.” R1: REDUCE: which means reduce use of raw materials and energy by reducing consumption. This is the step that has the most opportunity for reducing your footprint on the planet. In some ways it is the easiest step since it requires no action; however, it does require a mind shift when it comes to shopping. A good way to start on your path to reduced consumption is to give yourself a “consumer time-out” when you find something that you like but don't need. Don't buy the item right away. Instead, go home and give yourself ...

By Angela Rocco DeCarlo Visitors from around the world plan holiday travel with Orange County, Southern California in mind. While wonderful attractions, parades and merriment at Disneyland and Knott’s Berry Farm are major draws to the area, there is a large and loyal audience for the inspirational Broadway-quality production “Glory of Christmas,” at the Crystal Cathedral, Garden Grove, CA. There is still time to enjoy “Glory,” as performances continue through January 3, 2010.  Audiences return year after year, and this season, on the show's 29th anniversary, children are still mesmerized by the spectacle of  Roman centurions on horseback, splendidly robed Wise Men on camels, and townspeople with their wealth of livestock. Mary rides on a little gray donkey to Bethlehem, with Joseph at her side, where a sympathetic innkeeper finds a place for them. The theme parks make merry, but it is the unique “Glory” nativity full-scale musical production which tells the story of Christmas. It is a simple story. Yet, this well-produced little “opera,” with over 150 performers, and 350 volunteers working in various capacities, brings the nativity alive through dance, singing and recorded music by the London Symphony Orchestra, complimented by the Crystal Cathedral’s world-renowned pipe organ.  There are six horses, ...

By Angela Rocco DeCarlo, ©2009 Chicago – like any great city – has to be enjoyed in small bites. I recently revisited my former hometown, where you can sample at one time only a small slice of the great confection that is this beautiful lakeside city. However, there are attractions that are unique or stunningly significant that should be on any traveler’s short list. This is a sort of "Best of"...Some favorite things include: tour of the magnificent Lake Michigan waterfront museum campus of parks; Art Institute’s Impressionist paintings and Thorne Miniature Rooms; Cultural Center’s magnificent Tiffany Dome ceiling, largest in world; Sue, the largest and most complete T-Rex, Field Museum of Natural History; Museum of Science and Industry, 1893 Colombian Exposition building; Lincoln memorabilia/death bed, Chicago History Museum; Chicago’s 38 bascule (meaning see-saw) bridges, including Michigan Avenue Bridge Museum; Sears Tower (tallest building in Western Hemisphere) and Hancock Center observatories; and Chicago Water Tower on Michigan Avenue, a remnant of the Great Chicago Fire, 1871.Yes, I know Sears Tower has been renamed, as has Marshall Field’s, but Chicagoan are loath to let go, hence the names Sears and Marshall Fields reverberate. On my recent trip, my plan was to sample two ...