My Blog Is Carbon Neutral, . . . Yours Can Be Too!

How cool is this? Click on the "my blog is carbon neutral button" in the column to the right and follow the steps to offset your blogs carbon footprint! I got this from a fellow blogger's website and I thought it was a wonderful way to spread the green. I've done it, . . . now it's your turn!

What a fabulous way of getting rid of some of those carbon eating points. Plant a tree! Just think, if we all planted a tree the world would be so much more lush, have better air quality, there would be more habitats for the animals, more trees to hug! In fact, don't just plant one! Plant two! Or three!

"Change Starts With Your Underwear!"

Isn't that exciting?? Who would have thought?

In our house we eat probably 95% organically, use organic products for our body and use all natural house cleaners. Living organically is a big commitment. It feels good knowing that I spend my money where I believe I am not only making a difference to the health of my family, but to the health of our planet.

Since I don't really foresee myself buying and wearing ALL organic clothing, a very expensive feat, why not wear organic clothes where it counts. Where does it count you ask?? It counts where my clothes are closest to my skin and where they rest near my sacred reproductive organs. Yes, that's right! I am promoting the use of organic underwear!

A few weeks ago, I was in Nordstrom (cringe) trying to find something to purchase using a gift certificate I got last December. I went and asked a sales clerk about organic underwear. Her eyes looked to one corner, her mouth scrunched to one side, "hmmm, I don't think we have a huge selection." I followed her and she led me to a rack of hideous looking granny underpants. Since I'm not 70 yet, I decided to forgo the granny underwear and continue my shopping. I continued to peruse the racks where I did find another style of organic underwear, only these were of the type that give you the "forever wedgie", yes, the thong--again, not really my thing. I wanted normal, comfortable, cute looking organic underwear.

I got home and started to look on the internet. After a little while I came across a San Francisco based company called PACT. Needless to say, I was very excited. Here is a picture of my purchase!



Aside from having cute organic underwear, 10% of the money from your purchase goes to one of the various causes that they support. They support a broad range of organizations, to name a few;

ForestEthics-helping to protect and preserve our precious forests and wildlife

Global Green USA-promoting and encouraging the global shift to sustainability for our future and the future of our kids
826 National-an organization that encourages and mentors young writers

This was it! Excitedly, I made my order. When the underwear arrived, a few days later, it was packaged in a compostable shipping bag (as seen below) and each pair of undie had it's own little cloth bag which can be re-used to hold other precious goodies.


I inspected my new garments carefully and noticed another cool factor, printed on the inside lining of the underwear was the organization that you had supported, in my case, "Oceana"--an organization committed to protecting our beautiful oceans. It couldn't have been more fitting (no pun intended) considering the gushing wound that continues to spew forth oil in the gulf.

So people, it is possible to find cute organic underwear! PACT also does undies for men! My next mission now is to get my hubby into a pair! To visit PACT, go to www.wearpact.com/

As a final note, I am reminded of a quote from Eva Longoria, . . .

"It's shapely and has served me well [on her butt]"

For Her Eyes Only, . . .

Sorry guys, but do you really want to hear about periods and menstrual pads? If so, kudos to you, but don't say I didn't warn you!





Aren't these beautiful (I've posted a link below)?? I've talked about cloth diapering and how important I think it is to use re-usable materials on my darling daughter, so why would it be any different when it comes to me and my yoni? Well guess what, . . . it's not! During my moon cycle, I wear only organic cloth pads. Although wearing cloth pads is a little more "work" compared to wearing, say, a tampon, I can think of quite a few reasons why cloth pads are better.

1. Cloth pads are obviously better for the planet! They are made out of natural materials so when they eventually do get tossed, they won't be sitting in our landfills for hundreds of years. Can you imagine 12 billion pads and 7 million tampons being thrown into the landfills each year (a rough estimate according to Menstruation.com)? Yuck! Cloth pads also only have to travel from the manufacturer to your house once, instead of once a month for 30 years.

2. Cloth pads are better for your yoni! Why put synthetic, bleached fibers near your yoni when you can use organic natural fibers? Even though you can find chlorine free, unbleached pads, they still have some petroleum based product in them. They need to in order to be water resistant. Wool is a natural water repellent which lined on some of my cloth pads. Not only are they soft, but doubled up with the right kind of liner, I rarely have leaks!

3. They are cheaper! You don't need to buy cloth pads very often. I bought my first set of cloth pads about 4 years ago and they are still in good condition, mind you, I take very good care of them and have my cleaning system down pat.

4. They are WAY more comfortable. No more sticky tape pulling on those yoni hairs! Isn't that the worst? Cloth pads snap around your underwear with a button. They are soooooo much more comfortable. Wouldn't you rather have soft cotton or wool next to your sensitive skin rather than a crinkly, bulky disposable pad?

5. They are pretty and more fun! Why stick with boring old white when you can have bright colors and pretty prints (i.e. the cloth pads above)? When my daughter grows up we will celebrate her moon cycle by letting her choose her own set of pretty moon cycle pads.

6. They are easy to clean. Despite the myth, cloth pads are simple to care for. There are a couple of ways you can do it. Personally, I believe the easiest way is to do a wet soak. When you are finished with you pad, soak it in water. When you are ready to do a load of laundry, drain the water and throw them in with whatever you are washing. I soak mine in a watering can so that I can drain the water onto my house-plants which LOVE moon water (not for everybody, I know). You can also rinse them out with soap and water immediately after use and hang to dry.

7. I feel more connected to my body. I can actually track my blood flow now. When I used to just put a tampon in, I couldn't even really tell whether I had a light, medium or heavy flow. It was almost like I used a tampon so I wouldn't be inconvenienced by a completely natural and beautiful cycle my body goes through. So cloth pads may inhibit me from going to the local swimming pool or do some heavy duty exercise, but to be honest, I like to use this time for a little R & R considering it is a time when my body is losing blood and expelling toxins.

8. I feel more connected to the earth. Our menstrual cycles are supposed to be aligned with the lunar calendar, hence the term "moon cycle". Our world today is functioning at a very high frequency and a lot of our conscious connection with the earth gets misplaced by our love for TV, computers, cars, work, . . . the buzz of our lives. Being more connected with my body and flow has in turn allowed me to have more of a connection with mother nature, after all, our cycles ebb and flow just as the tides do.

9. My overall yoni health is so much better! I used to have chronic yeast infections. I even had grade III cervical dysplasia. I do the best to care for myself and keep my health strong. Wearing organic cloth pads is one way I can help. Knock on wood, so far so good. I haven't had a yeast infection in years and my cervical dysplasia has not been a problem since.

10. They are fun to collect! I don't know why, bug I enjoy trying a few different types out and seeing which ones work best for me. It's like trying on a bra, or new underwear. If you're going to do it, why not experiment and have a little fun with it?

So there you have it! 10 good reasons to try out cloth pads. I love mine and will never go back to the "old ways". I'm a better person because of my cloth pads! If you want, click on the link below to see some fun pads to start out your collection.

For the gorgeous pads pictured above (who knew pads could be gorgeous?), try out this etsy shop, they are also very well made and shipping is fast:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/epicerma

These ones are also a favorite of mine, very soft hemp/cotton fleece with an outer layer of wool:
http://organicgrace.com/node/151

Have fun celebrating your moon cycle!

What's going on??

So people, . . . it has been a long long LONG month and a half. Time moves very differently when you are faced with intense emotional "stuff". I have been feeling a few articles brewing in my head, especially since the BP oil spill (my god, don't get me started just yet!). I can tell I'm finding some sort of equilibrium amidst the hardship of dealing with the loss of my sweet mom. I just wanted to give an update.

For all those that are wondering, I am doing ok. It's amazing the amount of support and love that has been pouring out from friends and family. Thank you all. Losing my mom has definitely been one, if not THE, hardest thing I've had to face. I am just in the beginning of comprehending what life will be like without her. The shock has worn off. She is not here. I have moments where I just want to sit down and bawl. Then other moments where I relish in the beauty of life's cycles. I recognize that in my moments of pain, that this too shall pass, and that there is also beauty in feeling and accepting that pain. Life is beautiful. It's amazing how I really do feel my mom's essence all around me.

Serafin has been a little speed demon! In a good way of course. She is crawling all over the place, climbing steps, figuring out how to charm us all, as well as yell and scream to get what she wants. It has been a completely new phase and needless to say, I am EXHAUSTED! In fact, I don't think I have EVER been this tired. But we are getting through it one day at a time and when my little munchkin looks at me and smiles my heart warms and I forget how tired I am.

Once this month is over there will be less on my mind and also a little less to do--after my mom's memorial on May 30th. We are expecting somewhere between 150 and 200 people at the party. We don't really know actually. My mom had a lot of people that loved her. I am looking forward to seeing people that I haven't seen in ages. The food is all planned out. We are going to have some good wine and just have a lovely day. On a side note, of course I bought all biodegradable plates, cups and utensils! Gotta keep with the green! I also ordered 150 lavender saches to give away as a little gift in memory of her. She would have loved that.

Three weeks after my mom's memorial is Serafin's first birthday. It makes me feel so alive to really celebrate birth and death so close to each other. In fact, this lesson has showed me that birth and death, should, in fact, be celebrated every day! To truly live, we must be in the moment!

On the home front, despite the fact that this has been an exhausting time, we have been quite productive. Weeded the entire garden. Planted some Echinacea, sage, purple and orange plants. Cleaned out our hot tub. Got a new tattoo (in honor of my ma)! Cooked, cleaned, laundry, bla bla bla. One of these days I will get to writing a bit more, when I'm ready.

Love you all and that's all for now!

PS
I picked the picture above because I really loved being surrounded by all those flowers, they were in my mom's garden in Napa. I felt I wanted to share the love with you!

In Memory of my Loving Mother

8/23/1948-4/6/2010


Rest in Peace my sweet mother, you are forever in my heart.
You taught me so much and now I take with me all the wisdom and strength you gave me.
You were the head of my woman clan!
The stronghold of the triple Goddess!
Our sweet Serafin will know you through me, I promise that.

Thank you for your strength and courage.
Thank you for holding my hand.
Thank you for taking care of me when I was sick.
Thank you for taking care of me when I was not sick!
Thank you for being here.
Thank you for your love and kindness.
Thank you for understanding!

I will miss the calls.
I will miss the hugs.
I will miss the dinners.

The shared looks of understanding.
The laughs.
The stupid baby voices.
The beeps, the snarls, the funny faces.

Now, I speak out loud to you, . . .
or I write to you in my journal, . . .
I pull a medicine card, . . .
or I talk to the pendulum and ask you questions, . . .

I know you are still here.

You are all around me, . . .
inside and out.
You are not here, . . .
but you are everywhere!

My beautiful mother!

Thank you for giving me this precious life!
Thank you for teaching me the most valuable lesson, . . .
to LIVE!
You will always be in my heart.
Love and light.

Craigslist = BFF

Want to get rid of a door? Or maybe some old pillow stuffing? How about a kitchenaid mixer that's been around since the 40s? I may be exaggerating just a bit with the above title, but I do think Craigslist can be handy. In the past year I have made close to $700 just trying to get rid of stuff that's been sitting around our house for ages. Not bad eh? I've posted everything from books, to cloth diapers, to much larger items such as a stroller and the kitchenaid mixer mentioned above. It's amazing what people will take. While I'm mentioning craigslist, I may as well plug my latest item "for sale", . . . does anybody want this stinky baby butt? It poops and smells a whole lot!



Just kidding Serafin, Mommy loves you no matter how much aroma comes from that big old diaper butt of yours!

"Bye bye VHS tapes, I hope you become something new and exciting!"

Ok, so I'm really starting to see the difference between certain recycling facilities. In an attempt to get rid of two boxes of old VHS tapes I made a bunch of calls and was referred to this place by Waste Management. This facility, which shall remain nameless, was in East Oakland, and although they seemed to be doing their job, I wasn't very impressed-- I should have taken the hint when their web-link popped up a warning for Malware on my computer.

That morning, I was all excited to learn about a new place. I packed the car full with the VHS tapes and some other items that hadn't made it out of the house during the first round of E-cycling. First of all, to put a damper on the experience, I got totally lost going down there, and for all of you Bay Area natives, you know East Oakland isn't the best place to get lost in. I ended up parking the car at International and 92nd and calling the hubby to map it out for me and give me directions. Finally, after 45 minutes of driving around, I made it, but admittedly, was kind of cranky at that point, nothing to do with them, but more due to the fact that my butt was sore from all that driving.

Anyway, back to the story, this was another lot, but 10 times bigger than the last, and for good reason, they recycle so much more; plastics, cardboard, metals, . . . I found myself wondering if maybe this is where my recycled goods went to when they get thrown in the bin at our house. There was a huge fork driving around the lot, lifting pallets around, I'm sure there was a method to the madness, but it all looked like a big mess to me, which made me kind of uncomfortable at the thought of leaving my stuff there. There did appear to be some organization of cardboard and plastics, however most of it appeared to look like one huge junk yard, almost like a landfill, everything mixed in with eachother! Do they really go through and organize all that stuff? Unfortunately, although I brought my camera, it was a bit drizzly out and the guy that I spoke to didn't speak very good English, so I felt kind of awkward making too much conversation with him, plus, I had Serafin in the car and didn't want to subject her to the rain by wandering around and taking photos.

After a brief interaction with him, however, I did learn that the "goods" do get organized and then get shipped over-seas, probably to somewhere in Asia, an assumption I am making considering the company has Chinese characters all over there website, again, that's just an assumption. So that was about all I managed to get out of the guy. He did help me unload the car which was nice because one of the boxes must have weighed about 50 pounds. Although I gave them the VHS tapes, I kept the other stuff. I will be going back to the ACCRC for that, I would prefer to do my best to keep my trash in California.