Sunday, September 21, 2008

Mother's going GREEN - Organic Make Up

I have been using my make up for a while now and rather than rush out and buy all natural and green products I figured I would only replace finished items with the new and improved greener versions.

I do not and have never spent large sums of money on make up - drug store brands have pretty much sufficed for me. I do not wear that much and never bought into the claims the more expensive companies make about me looking and staying younger.

The other day my blush accidentally fell on the floor smashing it and leaving me with none. A perfect opportunity to head to the drugstore to see what I could replace it with. My drugstore carried a brand called "Organic Wear" by Physicians Formula and I picked up a new blush and I figured I would try out a lip colour too.

It states that it is 100% of the total ingredients are of a natural origin - but in researching it a bit further I discovered that some of the ingredients are not so natural and according to this site (Cosmetic Data Base) one of the ingredients rates a 4 out of 10 (10 being not natural at all). Considering when I enter my old brand of make up the results came up a 7 or greater I think this is a great difference and price is not bad too.

What I really enjoyed too about this new product is the packaging. The lip colour is a corn based bio-plastic - which is good. Most impressive was the compact for the blush. It is made out of cardboard pretty much. The packaging states 93% less plastic than conventional compacts. I like it and I am looking forward to weather it holds up as well as the plastic counter part does.

So while it is not totally rank at 0 out of 10 it is:

-- 100% Free of Harsh Chemicals
-- 100% Free of Parabens
-- 100% Free of Genetically Modified Organisms
-- 100% Free of Synthetic Colours and Fragrances
-- 100% Cruelty Free

For now I will give this brand a try, it suits my wallet and is 'greener' than most.

Friday, September 19, 2008

Mother's going GREEN - Taking some time off to smell the flowers

My apologies to all my regular blog readers and followers. I have not posted for some time. This does not mean that I have given up on "Green" - more like I have been more caught up in it than ever.

My baby is almost 6 months old now and requiring much more of my time and attention. My son is also enjoying his days at kindergarten which leaves my 21/2 year old without a 'friend' so to speak and I am required to fill in the gaps.

Our walks to and from school are also taking up about an hour and a bit a day - although it is just a 10 minute walk each way - with a toddler that 10 minute walk takes much much longer. If you have ever forgotten how to stop and take time to smell the flowers - take a walk with a 2 year old.

I also want to get myself onto the schools Parent Advisory Council and see if I can get some green initiatives started at the school - and I will need some time for that. While the school already has a no idling policy it is still handing out plastic bags to children for their library books. (A no no in my books!!).

Life has suddenly gotten busier or should I say 'fuller'. I will post from time to time but no regular schedule has been determined at this point. I will take each day as it comes.... I do feel though that there is enough here in my blog to get everyone started on a greener path and the basics have pretty much been covered.

Stay tuned....Thanks

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Mother's going GREEN Day 110 - Colds, Colds, Colds... and Flu

Well it would seem that it is not cold or even flu season yet. But this morning I woke up with a cold. In the old days I would grab the Contact C and what ever cold medicine I could get my hands on to help alleviate the symptoms. IN the past I have found that while they alleviate the symptoms - they also make the cold or flu seem to last longer.

This time I figured I was not going to do that and try and cope with the cold naturally - which means rest and drinking fluids. Thankfully my husband was home today and I got to do just that. REST. I slept most of the day and drank hot lemon and honey water - which does wonders. Not too mention the good old Chicken Noodle Soup. I must say I feel 80% better and I feel the cold is almost over.

It would also be great and natural to prevent the cold from ever happening to begin with and that requires a nutritious diet, sufficient sleep and exercise. Being a mom it is not always possible to get the rest I need. I try eat healthy and do some exercise. But I will admit leading up to the cold I did feel very tired - I was not getting enough sleep. While am not about to trade in my infant for sleep - I will just deal with the cold naturally and get on with it.

No more over the counter or prescription drugs for my colds or my families colds. (Excluding my husband of course - I am sure he will still fill his body with the anti cold drugs - but hopefully I have shown him the alternative way to deal with them.)

I will though take tomorrow off from blogging - just to give me some extra rest. Until Tuesday - I will rest well.

Saturday, September 13, 2008

Mother's going GREEN Day 109 - Bear Aware

Yesterday (Friday) when I went to pick up my son from kindergarten at lunch time there was a bear (a black bear they are most common here) at the far end of the field near the playground. Yes, we live in bear country. I my heart raced about a mile a minute when I heard this and I rushed to get my daughter off the swings she was playing on.

This whole episode got me to thinking about those bears. I have lived before in an area full of bears (Banff National Park) and in the year I lived there I personally only came across 2of them. Each time I was not too afraid and never gave them a second thought. That being said I was not a mother then.

How motherhood changes us. This recent close encounter made me realize too what a mother bear feels when she sees a human near her cubs - more likely to be defensive in order to protect them. We have a lot in common. Mothers and Mother Bears. Wanting to protect our young.

I respect bears and I realise too that we as humans have encroached on their land and we need to be mindful of them more so than they of us. I no longer go for walks in the woods at the back of our house. It is getting cooler and they are out gathering food and now it is there time to explore the woods. I had the summer to do this and they can have the fall. I want to avoid the bears encounter with humans and the only way that I know how to do this is to allow them their space. The more encounters they have with humans the more likely that one day they will be destroyed.

I have researched to on what to do should I encounter a bear in my daily outings. My first instinct would be to run. This is probably the worst thing to do as the bear will run after you.


-- Stand still, perhaps with your hands over your head to appear bigger

-- Talk to the bear in a monotone voice

-- Watch the bear but DO NOT make eye contact, never turn your back on a bear.

-- The bear make a "pretend" charge or get on its hind legs and make loud grunting noises. It is important to stand your ground - he is just testing the situation.

-- If the bear seems uninterested in you slowly back away - still facing the bear, still talking. If he moves closer stop and hold your ground.

-- Once the bear has decided that you are not a threat to the bear and walks away - it is then safe to do so. Always keep the bear in view and DO NOT RUN.

DO NOT FEED BEARS

DO NOT APPROACH BEARS

GIVE BEARS THEIR SPACE

Armed with this information I feel a little more comfortable out and about in 'Bear Country'. I am more BEAR AWARE.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Mother's going GREEN Day 107 - Mixed Greens - Not the Salad

Thought I would take the opportunity today to do some updates:

Cleaning with my 'green' cleaning products is proving to be most successful. I find that it stays cleaner than before (now that could be because I am cleaning better since I do not mind it now - no fumes and no headaches) But I am finding that soap scum comes off the shower door easier with Borax and then a rinse of vinegar. The toilet stays clean now for up to 2 weeks using borax to clean it - with the other stuff it was a weekly job. So I will say I am very happy with that.

Our vegetable garden is doing fantastically well - so well that we are struggling to eat it all. I am hinting that next year we get a table at our local farmers market and sell the produce we do not /can not consume. This green thing can bring in some money. I must say want I enjoy the most is planning a dinner and then heading up to the garden to pick the fresh peas and pull out some fresh carrots which we eat immediately. Talk about "fresh" - no fresher than that. We have only one pumpkin growing which is a little disappointing - but I guess we only need one for our Halloween Jack-o-Lantern - hopefully it continues to grow well.

My gas tank a month is growing great. In fact I am hardly aware of gas prices now since I am rarely at the gas station now. But when I do go I must say I get a big surprise as it has usually gone up significantly since my last visit.
My 3 minute shower is still going well - although the weather is get cooler and I am often tempted to leave it on while I soap up. I have yet to give in and it is not soooo bad.

Still struggling with the husband in regards to those awful plastic bags - but soon I hope he will get the idea. I still find one or two making their way into our home.

But all in all going green is going great.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Mother's going GREEN Day 106 - Halloween Treats

Okay, so we still have over a month to go until Halloween, but I have noticed the stores are starting to promote Halloween so I figured so can I.

In South Africa where I grew up we did not celebrate Halloween and it was not until I came to Canada in my late teen years that I had the opportunity to dress up and attend Halloween parties. The first time my son went 'trick or treating' was my first time too - what fun. Needless to say I enjoy Halloween. Love the costumes...the kids....and the candy especially the chocolate. (or should I say DID love the chocolate).

In a previous post I wrote about Fair Trade chocolate and how I was only going to buy and support fair trade chocolate, now let me tell you Halloween is not going to change this for me. And no, I will not be handing out Organic apples to the trick or treaters knocking at my door.

I am going Fair Trade Halloween Chocolates... and so should you. Visit Sweet Earth Chocolates to order yours today or perhaps your local store will carry smaller fair trade chocolates that you can purchase. Since I will order mine on line - I will order them soon to avoid disappointment.

In case you are wondering - I will be letting my children eat some of the candy that they gather from their trick or treating - it would be just plain cruel to take candy from a child. I will though attach somehow a message to the chocolate that I give out making note that it is fair trade and list the benefits of fair trade chocolate so that in Halloweens to come hopefully more and more parents will hand out the "good stuff".
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Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Mother's going GREEN Day 105 - What is in your milk?

I was prompted to write about this when I visited the grocery store by myself and picked up some organic milk. Since starting to live a greener lifestyle we have yet to switch over to organic milk. My husband has not been prepared to pay the $6+ for a 2 litre jug when you can buy a 4 litre jug for just over $4.

Let me explain our families milk consumption and perhaps you will appreciate where my husband is coming from. We go through 4 litres of milk in two days sometimes two days and a bit. I have always loved milk and will have a very large glass of it a day. My son will have 1 sometimes 2 small glasses a day and then my 2 year old daughter well she LOVES her milk and drinks a lot of it almost a litre a day. Perhaps this is too much for her and we should cut it down some but for now this is how it is. Then there is the milk on the cereal and milk in coffee and you can easily see how this all adds up. On average we spend $65.00 on milk a month. If we went strictly organic this would be $190.00 a month.

I also more recently noted that milk may contain antibiotics and growth hormones specifically Bovine somatotropin - rBST (rBST is a synthetic version of the cow's own growth hormone) Growth hormones are injected into cows to increase their milk supply thereby increasing the milk produced by farmers to meet the demand for milk. This made me feel a little uncomfortable considering the amount of milk our family consumes. And what scared me even more is that for all my pregnancies I craved milk so our household demand for milk increased to 4 litres a day. Could I have exposed all my children to these hormones and antibiotics in the milk? - this had me quite concerned.

Thankfully, after some research I found out that Canada has banned rBST and antibiotics in milk. But this is not the case in many US states and other countries. In Canada cows are not given any synthetic hormones and if a cow is ill and does require antibiotics it is separated from the milked cows.

From this video I learned that rBST causes up to 16 adverse health affects in cows which in turn then require the use of antibiotics and all eventually land up in the milk being consumed by humans. This video may be of interest to all my US blog readers. Check it out.

I did learn from this web posting that for us Canadians the only difference between organic milk and the 'regular' milk is what the cows have been eating in order to produce the milk. Are they eating organic grains and grass? If yes the milk they produce is organic and if not then the milk is not organic. Organic milk also means that the cows have had some freedom to graze, rather than being a "factory" cow.

What is a Mom to do? If I lived in the US the answer would be simple. Organic Milk and/or rBST free milk. In Canada I am not sure - The cost is a lot for our family.

My goal though would be to reduce our demand on milk and use it in moderation. Perhaps then we could afford the Organic milk, if we had less demand for milk as a whole. Which I guess is were these kind of problems stem from - over demand for a product weather it be fruits, vegetables, milk, chocolate, meats etc... the list goes on.

So whats in your milk?

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Monday, September 8, 2008

Mother's going GREEN Day 104 - Garbage and Recycling

I am really excited about an article I read in our local newspaper. The district has decided to only pick up our garbage every 2nd week. Why am I excited, well, people will have to create less garbage. On garbage pick up day, every week, I see garbage cans filled to the brim and now if we have pick up every 2 weeks this will have to be halved which forces people to consider what they are throwing away as garbage.

At the same time they will be implementing curb side recycling (currently we have to drop off our recycling at various depots in town). Now every other week they will pick up our recycling they will give a large tote to put our recyclables in - I know our recycling bin will be close to over flowing and I hope other's recycling totes will be too.

I am so thrilled about this new decision although I have read about many complaints too. Many seem to be concerned that their is just too much garbage and pick up every 2 weeks is not sufficient enough. To them I say: Just recycle more - If I can reduce my garbage to a can a month then you can do it too.

Click here to read the full article as it appeared in our local paper

Sunday, September 7, 2008

Mother's going GREEN Day 103 - Tree Planting

Tree planting or in this case tree rescue. My husbands place of work was getting rid of some of their potted trees. Apparently they were going to be replaced with different more attractive trees. These trees were headed for the garbage.

Now trees are very important to the environment just in case you did not know here are some interesting fun facts:

-- Trees keep our air supply fresh by absorbing carbon dioxide and producing oxygen.

-- In one year, an acre of trees can absorb as much carbon as is produced by a car driven up to 8700 miles.

-- they provide shade and shelter, reducing yearly heating and cooling costs by 2.1 billion dollars.

-- A tree does not reach its most productive stage of carbon storage for about 10 years.

-- Trees cut down noise pollution by acting as sound barriers.

-- Tree roots stabilize the soil and prevent erosion.

-- The death of one 70-year old tree would return over three tons of carbon to the atmosphere.

any for many more facts on trees visit this site.

Because of this, my husband took the opportunity to rescue a couple of these trees and we have planted them in our garden.

In my opinion we should not be replacing trees but just growing more and more.

Saturday, September 6, 2008

Mother's going GREEN Day 102 - Beavers and Cubs

In Canada, Scouts has brought outdoor adventure to young children for over 100 years. As their brochure says: "Entering our second century... the philosophy is more relevant and valuable than ever before to Canadian families." and considering the environmental state of our world I could not agree with them more.

Today, I enrolled my son into Beavers (the level just before cub scouts). He is very excited about going and participating in the nature walks, camping and all around outdoor fun.

The Environment section of their mission statement is as follows: youth learn to become caretakers of the environment.

I am so excited for him - it will further instill the values that we are implementing at home and it is my hope that he can gain a greater understanding and appreciation of the natural world surrounding him and how fragile it can be.

Go get 'em my little tree hugger to be...

Friday, September 5, 2008

Mother's going GREEN Day 101 - Children's Eco-Craft

For today's craft was inspired by a science experiment that I did way back in high school - making sugar crystals. Taking this a step further we are going to make the crystals on sticks to form a sugar stir stick or rock candy. The picture shown is not the end result of my personal craft today as it will take 2 to 3 weeks to get large crystals.

Sugar Crystal Stir Stick

You will need:

-- 1 cup of granulated sugar (ours sugar is a light caramel colour as it is organic sugar, but regular white granulated sugar will do.)

-- 1/2 a cup of tap water

-- 2 sticks (I used a wood skewer cut into 2)

-- string

-- pot to boil sugar and water

-- container to grow the crystals (I used an old jam jar - choose a container that you can see through so you can monitor the progress of your crystals without disturbing them)

Directions (with an adults help if required):

-- Soak the sticks in tap water remove from water.

-- Cover the lower 2/3 of the stick with a light coating of granulated sugar.

-- Allow to dry (this will help the crystallized sugar to stick better to the stick).

-- In a pot boil your 1/2 cup of water and your cup of sugar, until the sugar is dissolved.

-- Once dissolved pour mixture into your container where you will 'grow' the crystals.

-- Allow the liquid to cool until it reaches room temperature.

-- Suspend the 'sugar coated' sticks into the sugar/water mixture (I tied strings around the top of the sticks and hung them in the water, taping the ends of the string to the side of the jar).

-- It is important that the sticks do not touch the bottom of the container and should be about 1 inch to 2 inches apart (again our liquid is a caramel colour because of the organic sugar being used).

-- Cover the container with a paper towel (we opted to use a cloth napkin).

-- Place the container in a secure place where it will not get disturbed.

-- After 24 hours who will see small crystals start to form and after 2 to 3 weeks you will see the larger crystals appear.

-- Once your crystals have reached the desired size, remove them from the liquid and allow to dry.

You can then loosely wrap them in cellophane wrap with a pretty bow and give it as a gift to someone. They can use it as a sugar stir stick in their coffee.

Better yet just keep it and eat it. Rock Candy.

If you would like to make colour crystals just add food colouring to the warm mixture before it cools. We chose to keep ours natural.

I will post a picture of our "actual results" - once our crystals have formed.

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Mother's going GREEN Day 100 - Green Party

Today's post will be short and brief... As it is day 100 since that day, which seems so long ago, that I decided to green our family, I have decided to join the Green Party of Canada. With talk of a national fall election I thought it only fitting. In the past I have never been consistent with my voting but now I will vote "GREEN" . There are green parties worldwide - be sure to join the one in your area. In going green try and support the green politics in your country/nation.

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Mother's going GREEN Day 99 - Temptations......

I have been pretty darn good on my path and journey to becoming more green in mine and my families everyday lifestyle. But every now and again you are tempted to do an ungreen act.

The other day I went out to the store to pick up some things one of them being measuring spoons. Now I did not have any preconceived idea of what kind of measuring spoon I was going to get as measuring spoons, well are just measuring spoons.

My dilemma started when I found them in the store. They had some nice colour plastic spoons for $2.95 and then they had some stainless steel ones for $4.95. I was drawn to the plastic. Colourful, earth tones to match my kitchen and each measuring size spoon a different colour. They were pretty and I liked them. I wanted them.

The stainless steel ones well pretty boring - stainless steel.

I must have stood in the aisle for about 15 minutes, oblivious to my kids who now were fighting over a pot holder, trying to decide which to buy. Did I mention the colourful plastic ones where so pretty...... Would anyone know or even care if I bought these plastics ones.... No, not really. Okay, I decided if they are a safe plastic I will get them. I then looked for some sign or description of the plastic but none to be found. But they are so pretty.... Then I thought about how much more energy and future pollution this plastic ones would create and who knows after a year or two they would be showing signs of wear and that is not good for plastic and I would have to get rid of them and get some new ones.... but the colours go so well with my kitchen....

Okay so you get the picture. I ended up buying the stainless steal ones and could not be happier. I mean was I really going to put the spoons on display to ensure everyone who came into my house would see how well they matched with the kitchen... No.. They are safely tucked in a drawer for when I need them, and will probably last longer than me and my daughters will be able to use them with fond memories of us baking together.

The point I am getting at is that sometimes we are tempted to engage in not so green activities.... and I think that is okay. We are not perfect as much as we would like to be. Changing our lifestyles to better the environment can sometimes be a challenge. But we are up for the challenge and the occasional lapse is just fine.... Think Big Picture, Think Green.

The image for today's post is: "Growing Through Temptation." And I feel that it sums my post for today. Day 99 on this sometimes challenging endeavour of living greener.

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Mother's going GREEN Day 98 - Laptop Lunches

Pretty much every mom who is writing a green blog has blogged about Laptop Lunches. So you know that they must be pretty darn good.

My story starts in my search for a 'green' lunch container. Back in the day when I only had one child and worked while he attended daycare - I prepared the best lunches. I had searched out these plastic containers with dividers as I liked to send several items in one container and when I found them a t a dollar store stocked up on many of then. Being from a dollar I doubt very much that they were produced from a safe plastic. But live and learn.

Anyway in my greenness I again went on a search. My preferred lunch box would have been stainless steel but I could not find any that was compartmentalized (is there even such a word). I kept running into laptop lunch boxes. I then started looking at them much more seriously and decided to purchase one for my son and his going to school. Let me tell you I am excited. It is though made from plastic - but safe plastic. I am not so crazy about the bottle it comes with, but my son will be taking his Klean Kanteen to school with his beverage.

I have always been and will always be for packing a healthy lunch. Fruits, vegetables, grains, etc. and with the laptop lunch box system it just makes it so much easier and not to mention fun.

This mother who is going green definitely recommends this system and I think everyone should have it. Even adults who take their lunch to work.

If you get a complete system as I did it comes with a handy little book with some fun ideas for lunches as well as some interesting facts on the amount of garbage produced by traditional school lunch systems:

-- The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation estimates that one student taking a disposable lunch to school every day will create 45 - 90 pounds of garbage per year.
That figure is not hard to believe considering the plastic wrap or bag that the sandwich is packed in. What about all those snacked size items that you can buy to put in lunches - juice boxes, paper napkins, plastic cutlery and straws. Well starting with us that is all about to stop with the laptop lunch system. I love it.
To truly appreciate this product and all that it offers be sure to check out the website: http://www.laptoplunches.com/

Monday, September 1, 2008

Mother's going GREEN Day 97 - Maple Flavoured Sugar Water

Every once in a while my children love pancakes for breakfast. We now use an organic wholewheat pancake mix and my son loves the syrup on it.

His dad will often shout from the kitchen: "Hey Josh, want some Maple Syrup on those pancakes?"

I so often interject, "It is not Maple Syrup!!"

Josh looks at us a little confused and response with "Of course, I want Maple Syrup."

Me again "It is not Maple Syrup!!"

"Dad, What is it then?" his enquiring mind wants to know.

"Well son, it is Maple Flavoured Sugar Water."

And pretty much that is what it is. On my husbands last grocery expedition (that is what it is as he will be gone a good 2 sometimes 3 hours to buy 2 weeks worth of groceries) he brought back some real Maple Syrup.

Lets for a moment just compare the ingredients:

Bottle #1: Glucose; Liquid Sugar, Liquid Invert Sugar (whatever that is), Water, Natural and Artificial Flavour, Caramel Colour, Sodium Benzoate, Sorbic Acid, Malitol and last but not least Sulphites

Bottle #2: Pure Organic Maple Syrup

Now when my husband offers Maple Syrup for the pancakes, he is offering the real deal!