NO H8

03/27/2013

I try really hard to keep this Blog on topic but we are about to go off topic. I have a lot of things that matter to me that I could be considered passionate about at one point or another. I have always been of the opinion that love is the most important thing. Since I was a little girl all I have wanted was to fall in love, get married, have children, and give my family the world. All I wanted was my life filled with love.

With love being so important to me you all should have guessed by now that I support gay marriage. I don't see how love is a bad thing whether it is between a man and man or a man and a women. My senior year of high school I took speech class and gave a speech on gay rights. Before that speech I supported gay marriage but I didn't really feel like it was a major issue, I never knew how many rights gay couples are denied by being denied the right to marry.

In researching for my speech I came across a story of a gay couple that had been together over 20 years, when one of them wound up in the hospital fatal, that hospital wouldn't allow their partner back to see them because they had a "family only" policy. You can read a similar story here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/19/health/19well.html?_r=0

The Supreme Court is considering Proposition 8 currently which denied gays the right to marry. The Justices have the power to grant sweeping equality and I'm all for that. I'm married to the man of my dreams and I want everyone to be able to marry the person of their dreams man or women.


 Today I did a small photo op for the NO H8 campaign, please if you support equality and gay rights do the same. There are several celebrities, public officials, and others who have taken part and had fun with this, just google it =)
 Show your support, write your senator and congressman, sign petitions, participate in a demonstration.

Yes to Cucumbers Soothing Face Mask Review

03/23/2013


Well I am still a long way from being a super eco chik I have made some changes especially regarding household products to become more eco friendly. One of those changes was with my face masks, an important part of my beauty routine.

Yes to Cucumbers soothing facial mask is not exactly what I'm used to. At no point was there a burning sensation when the mask was on my face and after its removal my face wasn't left with a dried out feeling which I typically get from my facial masks. The Yes to Cucumbers is a soothing line which probably wasn't the best choice for me with my skin type but the only Yes to Line that the Walgreens near me carries. Despite it not being the best choice for my personal skin type, I'm more of a tomato  it is a great product. The  face mask has many naturally occurring calming agents in the formula such as: aloe, cucumbers, vitamin E, and jojoba, it is made from 98% natural products and is free of petroleum, sls, and parabens! My only complaint would be the ingredients aren't listed using vernacular  reading the ingredients list I wouldn't be able to tell that the product is 98% natural. 

About the brand:Yes to has six different lines under the brand. There is yes to cucumbers, carrots, baby carrots, blueberries, tomatoes, and grapefruit! Each line has a different purpose or skin type in mind, which is why I said I am probably more of a tomato. All Yes to products are at least 95% natural and all of their packaging is supposed to be recyclable. They also support local communities and youth with their Yes to Seed Fund which connects children to nature and teaches them how to live a healthier lifestyle. My only disappointment with their brand is I didn't see that they contribute to or use an alternative energy source to make their products.

Ultimately I would recommend this product if you have the right skin type for it. This product is specifically formulated for sensitive skin types, while it won't hurt other skin types it also won't be as effective as the correct yes to product line for your skin type. I paid just $3.74 for my Yes to face mask, again proving that you can be eco friendly on a budget. I also don't go to the stores frequently anymore but I do shop smart, look for sales and clearance. This was on clearance but is originally $15, however if your on a budget I just proved that just because the list price is much more doesn't mean you can't get eco friendly products for much less. 

If you give this or any of the other Yes to brand a try leave your review in the comments section for me and all my viewers! Thank you guys for reading!

Physicians Formula Organic Wear Bronzer Review

March 6, 2013

I recently picked up a physicians formula organic wear bronzing veil powder on clearance at a local store.Although I paid $4.50 for this product but it retails for $14 on drugstore.com.
This product states on the box that it is:
-free of harsh chemicals (define harsh?)
-free of synthetic preservatives
-free of parabens
-free of GMO's
-free of synthetic colors
-all ingredients are derived from nature
-24.9% of ingredients are from organic farming
-eco cert certified
-cruelty free



Since this is a finishing product there isn't to much to say about it. It looks natural, you can't see that you are wearing makeup which is what you want in a finishing powder. It is also light not a heavy product. I like it and see myself repurchasing it in the future. The only downside to this product is the packaging. The packaging it comes in is awful. Reviewers suggested changing the packaging after buying the product. 

Tom Of Maine's Deoderant Review

March 6 2013,

As the title of the post says I am doing a review of Tom Of Maine's antiperspirant deodorant natural dry natural powder. I want to start off by discussing the line. Tom Of Maine's web sight has a lot of information about their practices, ingredients, and contributions to the community. I scanned the sight and found all the information I wanted quickly. The first four tabs: Our Products, Our Company, Good Science, and Giving Back have a vast amount of information about the company and its products.

Despite the very positive vibes I was getting from the web sight which is made to please consumers I am not so happy with reviews posted on their sight under the product that I am reviewing. "I am a Holistic Physician. I am outraged. Alumimun is toxic and this product is a lie. Who are they kidding? "Natural" because it comes from Bauxite-Alunimun ore?? Arsenic is also "Natural" and can be found in toxic amounts in some groundwater. Tom's was once a high integrity natural company but was bought out by a corporation. That means profit before the safety of consumers. Caveat emptor. -Doctor Ken".

While other reviewers claimed that aluminum is perfectly fine for your health the ewg, environmental working group, has some concerns. They list aluminum as a moderate hazard that doesn't have enough data available, meaning that there hasn't been research as to how aluminum in our personal care products affects our health.
Despite the fact that aluminum is used in some of their products I still approve of the line because it is still a vast improvement to many popular brand names.

Now, for the review. I cannot in good faith recommend this product despite my positive feelings for the company. I have used this deodorant for three or four days and it hasn't gotten any better. This deodorant has a sticky texture when applying and makes my underarms feel wet rather than keeping them from feeling wet. A big reason we use deodorant is for odor control. I don't always use it nor do I need it most days but since using this deodorant it has caused an odor rather than preventing one. The combination of my sweat, which is very light, and the smell of the deodorant is not pleasant. In fact its much worse then the smell of my sweat. Other reviews mentioned the same thing. Some reviewers also mentioned a rash, itchiness, wetness, and deodorant marks. I have experienced some itchiness.

The only positive that I can think of is the scent and the brand. It has a very good scent despite the scent not being listed on the label. The brand donates 10% of all profits to help people and the environment, that is huge especially for a company to do.

I do NOT recommend this product but after reading reviews on other Tom of Maine's products then I hope I can find one that comes highly recommended to buy. This might have been on sale but it was not at all a good buy, I doubt I will be using it another week before trashing it.

March shopping trip

March 4, 2013

Hello dear subscribers/readers,

I have made two lucrative store trips in the past two days accompanied by my mother and my dear sweet six month old house guest. Ruby is having plenty of adventure with me while her mommy and daddy and older brother are at a funeral.

Since I have the little delight/nightmare for 4 days and am somewhat sleep deprived I decided now is as good of time as any to catch up with my mom who loves babies. So we went out to eat despite her being on this diet (which has helped my mom lose ALOT of weight, like a lb a day). Since I'm a fan of Walgreens I also like to stay on top of their weekly ads and I found out that they had a buy one get one free sale on their Organix products. When I went in the store not all of the products were marked BOGO so I stuck to those that were. My mom who is in love with the line bought 4 sets of shampoo and conditioner or 8 products. I am also a fan after using the shampoo for the last 4 days and I bought 6 Organix products: 3 shampoo's, 2 conditioners, and a heat protector spray for my flat iron. I paid $24 for the 6 items so they were $4 each with the sale, they are regularly $8 but we got them for $5 our first time purchasing the line. In addition to getting the sale we came for we found clearance at the end of two isles. Marked down for clearance was eco brand "Say Yes to Carrots" face mask which I picked up for only $3.74.

With my husband leaving for his military training for 8-9 months in a month in a half I am in the market for a new rental with a yard for our dogs. Ruby and I called my mom up to go with us to look at one and wouldn't you know it Big Lots was on our way. Naturally we stopped in, for one I was out of doggy rawhide and they sell it for $6 whereas we have to pay $12 to $20 at other stores. At big lots I bought the rawhide and I found physicians formula organic bronzer, and oatrevolution? Raw organic oatmeal. Everything I have bought will of course later be reviewed which is one of the reason I share shopping trips where I pick up eco friendly products with ya'll, the other reason being I like to share prices to let people know that you can get better products on a budget. The oatmeal I bought was $1 for a 5 pack and the bronzer was a sweet $4.50.
Oh I almost forgot a product that I have never seen before that I picked up: GeoDeo, an environmentally friendly deoderant that was $2.30?

You will hear more about all of these products in later reviews =) Sadly as usual I didn't have reusable bags so I got the plastic alternative which I will be reusing or recycling still is not good for the environment but better than using the bags then tossing them. How do you remember your reusable bags? What if its an unplanned store trip? I've thought about keeping them in my car but then when I use them they make there way into my house, I guess I'll have to make it a habit to take them back out immediately after putting the groceries away.

100 Mile Diet Book Review

03/01/2013

Hello Again, two posts in one day. I'm on a role. Unfortunately during the move I lost some important papers, my notes on the book: 100 mile diet. I was hoping to find them to use in the review but it looks like I'm stuck with my memory.

The 100 mile diet was written by two Canadians who are lovers. They have been together for many years and the male decided to try to eat within the confines of 100 miles around them. What inspired this I can't recall however they learned SOO much during their journey.

The Canadians had a small apartment in the city, in addition to their apartment they own a cabin with a orchard out in a ghost town. For maybe three months they stayed in their cabin with no running water. Here they learned to can, preserve, and bake. Of the couple the man is the cook but not the baker so his girlfriend took on the baker role during their year long experiment.

In the ghost town the couple met up with a native American who traded them fish for jars for canning. Fish is free for him because he catches his own but jars are not, those you have to buy in the store. This guy is a total wilderness man not caught up in our rat race and dependent on the things that we are. In addition to talking to this guy and meeting him they also had another visitor: a bear. The man got a taste of nature bathing just upstream from the bear.

Coming back from the ghost town the couple had supplies from the orchard to last them for a while. They did have a hard time getting local wheat to make bread or pasta however. They found some eventually which was loaded with bugs. Then later down the road they found a farm which was in business with their neighbors who were bakers. Fresh bread that they didn't have to make themselves!

 The couple had several fights during this book and I wondered if they would even be together in the end. They made it and their book was enlightening. I had no idea that there were so many types of apples, oranges, bell peppers,etc. There used to be so many more varieties than there are today. The problem with industrialization is that it isn't giving us more its giving us less. Less choice for starters! It is really hard to find things locally! Especially if you don't know where to look.

One of the funniest things in this book was "smuggling". The couple went to a small town in Oregon? and found groceries soo much cheaper than anywhere near them. While one was nervous that the border patrol would catch them with smuggled produce they found a deal that they couldn't refuse. It was comical to me how serious bringing food across the border seems to be.

The female also journeyed to the United States to meet with people here who were doing their own local diet. These people were in an area that is considered more barren and that people had said it was impossible to do a local diet there, however they succeeded and ate staples that we would find odd with our current lifestyles. More impressive than that was these were college students and the women of that area that met with our female writer was the mother of a young child.

I will wrap this up by suggesting you read this book. My review should NOT be taken as a substitute, and I'm sorry for butchering it but my memory a month later is not as good as going off notes of key points that were in the book that I would love to share with all of you.

While I will not be attempting anything like the 100 mile diet I will be shopping at the local farmers markets and a local produce shop. Hopefully eventually I will be eating food that primarily comes from local areas.

FreeCycle

03/01/2013

Hello, fellow bloggers and blog readers. I know its been way to long since I have posted on here but I'm starting again. Its a new month and I'm going to do my best to live it the way I want! I haven't posted on here since moving to my new apartment and sadly not much has changed in my life. I'm still forgetting to bring reusable bags more often then I remember, I'm still a fan of banning those plastic bags or requiring fees for them, I still care about the environment, and I still am not doing enough for it!

One thing I am a fan of and do use however is freecycle. I am a member in my local area on yahoo groups and I do try to list things on freecycle for anyone else out there who might want it before throwing it away. Freecycle is also a way to avoid buying things new, therefore goes along with the idea reduce, reuse, recycle!

Freecycle is more than helping the environment however, it supports our local community. When I did Spring Cleaning I found many pieces of clothing that I rarely if ever wore. Several of these pieces were from nice brands, almost brand new, but didn't flatter me. I had at least six responses asking for the clothes, and at least half of those expressed that they were in need of the clothing. Freecycle isn't comprised of just needy people however, there are often nice things listed as available on there. I personally have never received anything off of freecycle because its so first come first serve but I'm a fan of it. It's a great way to give things away to people in need or receive things whether your in need or not!

I use the freecycle yahoo groups although there is another one with the same idea. The other one has paid ads on it though is what I heard and they will spam you. I'm not sure if that is true or not but I have always been plenty happy with the yahoo groups freecycle.

Whether we want to use freecycle or not it is always great to recycle, reuse, and reduce our consumption. Other alternatives to freecycle that are similar and also great choices are yard sales, ebay, amazon, consignment stores, estate sales, etc. Whether you personally want to buy used or new you can still participate. Participate by giving away your used things even if you feel the need to always buy new.

I prefer to buy certain things new, bad maybe but true. Electronics I prefer new, lingerie obviously will never be bought pre owned, couches, mattresses, etc. However financially its brilliant to buy used cars since they depreciate so fast! I also think its great to buy exercise equipment used, dvds, books, and some baby things since they are used for such a short time period!

Step outside of your box and give something another life to save our resources! My next step outside the box will be revamping an apron which is white and blah that was my husbands to make it cute so I can wear it!