Help The Dungan Kids Sell Pet Treats To Raise Money For The 4-H Club

Help some darling kids raise money for their 4-H Club

When Christine and I bought our first home in Spartanburg, South Carolina in January 2001, one of the most memorable and rewarding things we did almost immediately was go out and adopt a pet. Christine REALLY had her hopes set on a puppy dog, but I wanted a kitty cat. When we got to the animal shelter place to look at the animals, there was one little cat that stuck her paw out of the cage at Christine. She was hooked!

Seven years later we still have that kitten who has grown up to be a very big cat weighing in at around 17 pounds right now. Her name is Muffin. Here she is:



Since then, we've adopted SEVERAL more kittens to help brighten our lives over the years with endless hours of entertainment, cat-fighting, and overall feline stupidity (isn't that redundant?! LOL!). Here are Ginger, Smokey, and Peaches (our little terror!):



We LOVE our animals and they are our babies since we're not able to have any children of our own right now. It was really upsetting a couple of years ago when we had to put our 10-month old kitty Millie Jo down because she had feline leukemia. But we got Peaches in her stead and she has been a bundle of joy for the entire household since she arrived in 2006. Never a dull moment in the Moore household!

Why am I telling you about my cats today? Well, it just so happens that two very special kids in my life decided to join the 4-H Club this year and their group is selling dog, cat and horse treats to raise money. Matthew and Rachel Dungan, whose momma is fellow low-carb blogger and friend Amy Dungan, are asking for your donation of $4 plus $1 shipping for a 5-ounce bag of gourmet pet treats from a Louisville, KY-based company called Best In Show Pet Treats. Made in America and helping out a good cause make this fundraiser one I enthusiastically support!


Matthew and Rachel are BEGGING you to help them out!

In fact, I just bought five bags of the treats for my cats today by checking out the treats I wanted and clicking on the DONATE button at the bottom of this web site Amy set up for her children. If you have a horse, dog or cat, then why not check this out and show some love for these kids trying to raise funds for their 4-H organization in Marion, Illinois.

Their chapter gets 50 percent of the sales, but I like what they're doing as a community project, too. They're taking 10 percent of the proceeds they make from the pet treats sales and donating that to a local animal shelter. SWEET! That's such a worthy cause since Christine and I have strongly supported our local animal shelter and giving a good home to four very happy cats (aren't you happy, girls? They're nodding...oh, wait a minute, they're just ignoring me as usual right now. HA!).

If you wanna help out Matthew and Rachel, then you must hurry. They'll only be taking orders through Monday, March 17, 2008 and the shipments will begin going out by the end of the month. Amy will give you a status report when the treats will be headed your way.

Incidentally, even if you don't have any pets, you can still help out these precious children by donating money to purchase treats for homeless animals at the local shelter or you can donate cash to go straight to their 4-H Club. I know it would mean the world to them if you could spare just a few bucks to help out with this worthwhile cause.

You can pay by PayPal or by check, so CLICK HERE to find out more about how you can help with this. If you have any questions about this fundraiser, then please send an email to amydungan@gmail.com. She'll be happy to answer your questions and personally thank you for your generosity in supporting her kids in this endeavor. THANKS so much everyone and get your orders in TODAY! :D

'Healthy Low-Carb Living' Blog Celebrates 2008 With A Giveaway Contest

In case you haven't noticed, I LOVE to do contests here at my blog because YOU deserve it for coming back here and blessing me with you presence each day. I have worked hard to make this blog interesting enough for you to make it a daily stop as you travel around the Internet. THANK YOU for your continued support! :)

Today I wanted to share with you about an exciting giveaway contest from my fellow low-carb blogging friend Amy Dungan at the "Healthy Low-Carb Living" blog today. She's celebrating the brand new year by giving her readers a chance to win some neat prizes while having some fun, too!

Here are the awesome low-carb prizes you can win:

1 copy of Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution by Robert C. Atkins

1 copy of The Protein Power Lifeplan by Drs. Michael and Mary Dan Eades

1 copy of Carb Wars: Sugar Is The New Fat by Judy Barnes Baker

1 copy of 500 Low-Carb Recipes by Dana Carpender

3 gift packages of ChocoPerfection bars from Low Carb Specialties (each winner will get an assortment of Dark, Milk and the new Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Raspberry Dark Chocolate)

1 Cal-Carb Clicker

1 4 oz. Bottle of Fiberfit Sweetener and 8 page color recipe guide from Truly Low Carb

1 $50 gift certificate from CarbSmart.com

WOO HOO! That's an impressive list of prizes, Amy, and I KNOW you'll be getting flooded with people wanting to enter your contest. So, how do you enter?

Go to this blog post and try to guess what the pictures are. Right and wrong answers will not impact your ability to win a prize, but this should be fun! Take your best guess at what those photographs are, send your name and mailing address to healthylowcarbliving@gmail.com using the subject line "Great Start Giveaway."

YOU MUST ENTER THIS CONTEST NO LATER THAN JANUARY 24, 2008.

Go show your support for Amy and her giveaway contest and GOOD LUCK in the drawing!

'Healthy Low-Carb Living' Blog Spreading The Message On YouTube

First it was Kent Altena last year with his educational recipes and how-to-do-Atkins videos. Then my wife Christine and I jumped on the bandwagon a couple of months ago sharing livin' la vida low-carb on your computer screen. Now there's a new kid on the block spreading the message on YouTube: Amy Dungan from "The Healthy Low-Carb Living" Blog.

Be sure to subscribe to these videos so you'll never miss a single episode! In case you've missed the first two, then allow me to share them with you now.

Her debut video was a review of the popular Frankenfoods Amy likes:



This video with a cool new theme song features some low-carb snack ideas:



Let's support Amy Dungan with this new low-carb video series which she plans on recording on a regular basis. With Kent slacking off on his videos, the more the merrier to help fill in the gaps to impact the YouTube world about livin' la vida low-carb. Sign up and subscribe to Amy's videos by clicking here so you'll never miss a single episode!

Low-Carb Footprints All Over The Internet

Have you seen all the references to livin' la vida low-carb on the Internet lately? The popularity of this supposedly "dead" diet just keeps getting stronger and stronger as those who advocate this healthy nutritional approach keep spreading the word boldly and proudly more than ever before.

And even those who disparage low-carb are only making themselves look foolish in light of the latest scientific evidence that is coming out about this miraculous way of eating. These people hope to get low-carb supporters down, but it ain't happening! :)

Here are seven tidbits about low-carb I've found online:

1. JUDY BARNES BAKER APPEARS ON KABC RADIO

Friend and fellow low-carb author Judy Barnes Baker, who wrote that fantastic low-carb cookbook called CARB WARS: Sugar Is The New Fat, was a guest on the major radio show "McIntyre In The Morning" in Los Angeles, California back in July. She did a FANTASTIC job talking about livin' la vida low-carb and you can hear the audio of the interviewat her CarbWarsCookbook.com web site. GREAT JOB, Judy!!!

2. AUSTRALIAN LOW-CARBER RAY KELLY CLIMBS BEN NEVIS

My Aussie low-carb fitness friend Ray Kelly, who you will recall trained the winner of the first season of The Biggest Loser Australia Adro Sarnelli with a low-carb regimen, was privileged to do something I've always wanted to do--reach the summit of a mountain! You can watch his climb up Ben Nevis on YouTube and ENJOY! CONGRATULATIONS, Ray!

3. FELLOW LOW-CARB BLOGGER AMY DUNGAN TRIES HER HAND AT YOUTUBE

After trying my hand at recording videos for YouTube about the low-carb lifestyle, friend and fellow low-carb blogger Amy Dungan from the "Healthy Low-Carb Living" blog decided it was time to get in on the action. You can watch her first episode on YouTube where she takes on the Frankenfoods that have helped her with her low-carb lifestyle. You did VERY well for your first time, Amy! Get those adorable kids of yours in the next video you make! :D

4. SEE INTO THE FUTURE OF YOUR WEIGHT LOSS WITH WEIGHTVIEW.COM

When you first start out on your low-carb weight loss journey, it may be difficult for you to visualize what will be different about you once you reach your goal weight. That's why I was glad to find a new FREE service at WeightView.com that gives people a picture of how they will look after they have lost unwanted pounds by utilizing technology. It easy to do this: go to the web site, fill out basic information, and upload a current picture of yourself. Within 48 hours, you will receive your picture back in your inbox with what you will look like once you reach your goal weight. COOL! It's FREE for a limited time, so take advantage of this while it lasts. This might be just the thing you've needed to kick your plan into high gear! YOU CAN DO IT!!!

5. OBAID KARKI DECLARES ATKINS IS "CRAP" AND IS GLAD DR. ATKINS IS DEAD

Just when you think the nut cases are at bay, along comes something like this to remind you they're still out there...in more ways than one! This Obaid Karki fella must really love hearing himself talk on just about any subject, but he obviously has no idea about what livin' la vida low-carb is all about. He blame it for the obesity epidemic and made some rather nasty comments about the Atkins diet and its late founder. Both my fellow low-carb weight loss success Kent Altena and I have left comments about this video with a rather intriguing response from Obaid himself. Check it out!

6. "MALE PATTERN FITNESS" BLOGGER LOU SCHULER FEATURES MY STORY

I previously blogged about an excellent blog by Lou Schuler called "Male Pattern Fitness" and he cited me and my weight loss success on the low-carb lifestyle in a post about the obesity crisis last week. He said my weight loss story goes against the popular notion that obesity is simply based on genetics. A worthy read! THANKS, Lou!

7. SIGN THE KIMKINS INVESTIGATION PETITION AND WRITE THE BBB

Finally, in light of all the revelations about the true identity of the woman behind the controversial Kimkins diet in recent days, I'd like to point your attention to two things. First is a Kimkins Investigation Petition to look into the individual who is promoting a diet causing some rather unpleasant side effects in those who are following it by the book. Second is a link to the Better Business Bureau in California where Kimkins is headquartered. If you are as concerned about this low-carb imposter diet as I am, then sign the petition and share your concerns with the BBB.

That's about it for now, but I'm sure there'll be lots more low-carb footprints happening all over the Internet. Whether the media and those so-called health "experts" like it or not, livin' la vida low-carb is here to stay, baby! ;)

If you see something related to low-carb living that's worthy of a mention here at my blog, then please feel free to pass it along to me at livinlowcarbman@charter.net. I'm always happy to hear from YOU!

Low-Carb Meetup In St. Louis On July 21st

Get ready, St. Louis, "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Man" is coming!

I'm pleased to announce to fans of the "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" blog that my wife Christine and I will be visiting the great city of St. Louis, Missouri on Saturday, July 21, 2007 at 12:00pm at the Ryan's Steakhouse located at 3579 Pennridge Drive in Bridgeton. If you live in or around this area, then you are cordially invited to come hang out with us and some special guests for a couple of hours.

We've never been to St. Louis before and know there are quite a few regular readers and podcast listeners from that area. I'll be happy to talk with you about the low-carb lifestyle and share my experiences over these past few years since beginning this amazing journey from morbidly obese to fabulously fit.

But I won't be the only blogger there. Check out who else may show up:

- Amy Dungan from the "Healthy Low-Carb Living" blog
- Regina Wilshire from the "Weight of the Evidence" blog
- Julia Havey from the "Take It Off with Julia" blog
- And anyone else who decides to drop in!

Mark your calendars now for this special "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" meetup in St. Louis, MO on Saturday July 21, 2007 at noon! We're looking forward to visiting with you and would love to know in advance if you are coming. If you're planning on being there, then please drop me an e-mail at livinlowcarbman@charter.net.

Help Support A Low-Carb Blogger In Upcoming March Of Dimes WalkAmerica

The March of Dimes sponsors WalkAmerica to combat birth defects

There are only a handful of truly remarkable non-profit organizations in the United States today that are doing an outstanding job of raising money for absolutely needy causes. One such organization is the March of Dimes and their amazing work to help save premature babies from being taken from this world as quickly as they entered it.

This is a rather personal issue for me because of my beautiful wife Christine. You see, she was born three months premature and weighed less than 2 pounds at birth back in the early 1970s. The doctors were trying so desperately to keep her alive in the early days of her life that they even gave her too much oxygen causing her to lose her eyesight completely in her left eye and some of her right eye before they caught it. But thank God she survived and would later become Mrs. Jimmy Moore. :)

Premature births is described by the March of Dimes as "the silent crisis" and the more attention we can draw to this worthy cause the better. That's why I am absolutely thrilled to tell you about one of my fellow low-carb bloggers who will be participating in the upcoming WalkAmerica event in her hometown of St. Louis, Missouri on April 28, 2007 beginning at 8:00am.

It's 33-year old Amy Dungan (aka "Sparky's Girl") from the "Healthy Low-Carb Living" blog. This mother of two beautiful gifts from God had she calls "the biggest scare of our lives" with her daughter Rachel's birth back in 1998.

Here's the agony and pain that Amy shared about that experience:

"Her heart was not beating correctly. Many times the doctors feared it would stop completely. We spent six heartwrenching days in the hospital while they performed an EKG on her twice a day as well as many other tests. Wires from monitors were connected to Rachel's tiny little body and they seemed to be coming and going from everywhere. The doctors had no answers for us. I firmly believe in prayer and we believe that whatever the problem with Rachel's body was, God healed it."

WOW! Reading about Amy's living nightmare during Rachel's birth that could have ended tragically can certainly bring a tear to your eyes. But the sad reality is this scenario keeps happening day after day and sometimes these newborn babies are unable to receive any of the delicate and necessary tests that Rachel received. That's why what the March of Dimes is doing with their WalkAmerica campaign is so vitally important.

Amy and her sister Lana will be walking the six-mile hike in The Muny-St. Louis Forest Park in late April and they NEED YOUR HELP to raise money. While she has only set a modest goal of $200 to raise, I think the readers at the "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" blog can quite literally blow that number out of the water--by a long shot!

With nearly 200,000 visitors expected to visit my blog between now and the time Amy walks in this event, there's absolutely no reason why we couldn't raise $2,000, $20,000, or even $200,000 as our show of support behind what she is doing to help raise money for this noble endeavor to save these innocent children. It's well within our reach and I publicly challenge my readers to give generously.

Amy says she realizes Rachel's birth was a gift from God.

"But many are not so fortunate. I'm sure it was the research and funding from organizations like the March of Dimes that made the treatments and tests my daughter recieved possible. Please help us raise money for this very worthy cause. The very lives of many children will depend on it."

So here is the challenge. Go to Amy Dungan's WalkAmerica page and sponsor her with the best possible gift you can afford. If you can give $100 or more, then I know Amy will appreciate it so much. But even if the most you can afford is $1, $5, or $10, all of those gifts can and will add up.

It's mindboggling to think about, but if everyone who visits "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" in the next two months simply gave $1 towards this effort, then we will have together raised around $200,000! WHOA that's some serious dough people! Can you imagine the possibilities if we all just band together behind this as a show of support for a fellow low-carb blogger?

I'm a big believer in miracles because I have experienced two of the best ones that have ever happened in my life--my 180+ pound weight loss and that gorgeous woman who I now call my wife. Will we see another miracle take place by the time April 28th rolls around? I sincerely hope so and urge you to give from the heart so that the Rachels and Christines of this world have a fighting chance to live.