Return to My Inner Bitch

Wow ~ My last half 'a dozen posts have been so positive and happy - it was like I had forgotten how to point out all the BAD and NASTY CRAP.

Well, I have awaken at 3 am just to release....

This Week's Biggest Bitchings!!

New things that confirm we ARE in the age of darkness:

1. Our local pharmacist....And probably all pharmacies.

My man has not been feeling so great so he decided in suggestion of his doctor, to try a conventional prescription. I said "okay honey" but thought, "you aint gonna like them fool" and so as the story goes, he tried them and the Rx did NOT agree with him at all.

So he went back to the pharmacy with his minus one pill bottle of 30 pills to see if they would take them back or what he should do with them and do you know what that pharmacy lady told him to do?

"Just flush them down the toilet."

???? Just flush them ???? Down the damn toilet ???? Are you serious? These pills practically made my man hallucinate and just Flush Them Down?

Oh. Okay. Fuck the water supply.


2. Schools getting rid of chalk boards.

Someone sneezed and now the blackboards have to go. Schools everywhere are "upgrading" to dry erase white boards instead of the old school chalk 'n blackboard combo.

Schools without chalk and erasers..... so sad. I remember volunteering in grade school to go outside with the classrooms chalk board erasers and *slap* them together to get all the chalk dust out. We'd bang them all the sidewalk and the brick wall too under the breeze way at the little catholic school.

But that was before the new breed of kids came into the population who are allergic and asthmatic to everything in the air. Now as the overly-sensitive *outta control histamine* crew continues to grow, the chalk boards have to go.

So that all sounds "better" doesn't it. Well, as an environmentalists - no - it isn't. For a quick comparison: Chalkboards can be reused again and again with very little waste ~ erasers last forever, chalk is packaged in little cardboard boxes and the board itself can be washed off with plain water.

Dry Erase on the other hand although reusable has more negative features ~ the markers are chemical, packaged and created with plastic and the white boards must be cleaned with a chemical cleaner to get the marker off and keep the board looking fresh.

Great. We're removing a little dust from the school but adding more chemicals. That's educated.


3. L'oreal Sponsors Ovarian Cancer Research.

I happened to catch a glimpse of Extra today (you know the show that's up celebrity's asses all the time). Well, they were covering a story about L'Oreal and some chics from Desperate Housewives and some other models that were being so commended for their support in sponsoring more research in the avenue of women's cancer particularly ovarian cancer.

Oh wow. What great people. And what a good laugh too.

Honestly, dozens and dozens of studies are coming out on the connection of phthalates and cancer and it's estrogen disrupting factors and L'Oreal!?! is sponsoring ovarian cancer research? (i literally can't stop shaking my head) Now if you're not shaking yours, it's because you're not up on the knowledge that phthalates are not only found in plastics but COSMETICS as well.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm thinking L'Oreal is NOT on the phthalate-free list of chemical-free beauty companies. I'm pretty sure they are not so I guess I'll just have to be sickly amused by the irony of it all. Nothing like good un-biased research taking place.



4. Don't Worry - I'm done. Really, isn't that enough for one day? I've been doing so good not screaming at everything....


Breathing in, I am feeling calm.

Exhaling.... I smile.

Who is Isabella??

Aren't craft shows fun?


Last weekend I did a little craft show & sold a handful of lotion bars, Recyclopes, aroma inhalers, blemish take out kits and some handmade tote bags ~ aren't they cute?



So how about I only snapped a few pictures before my digital camera totally wimped out on me and it's still not working!!! Bad time of the year too because pictures need to be taken daily ~ blog, store, products and I can't forget to snap some of the kid!! So I'm going to try to get some good batteries like NOT ones from dollar tree...



I'm almost at the point that I really need to rent two tables to fit all the Natural Me stuff on ~ the Karma Kards, freebie bags, info packets and I always like to take some consignment items too ~ if there's room :o) yep. next time I think we're gonna move up to a two table production!

Eco-Day in PA

Yesterday, I was so excited to get out and have a 1/2 day to myself ~ I drove up to St. Marys, PA to attend a women's workshop in environmental health...Very interesting. They had awesome speakers with great information! I wish I could've taken you with me - seriously - because today, I am having trouble recalling all the cool things I wanted to tell you about! And I didn't take a notepad with me because I am compulsive know-it-all and don't think I'll ever learn anything new. Ha!

Meet Mr. Terry Collins

Terry's into Green Chemistry and I learned a few new things about phthalates from this cool dude from Carnegie Mellon. In particular, he was talking about some interesting studies on the higher amounts of phthalates a pregnant woman is exposed to in relation to the size of her son's penis size. The more phthalates - the smaller the size.

Phthalates are found in cosmetics, perfume, plastics, bottles, hair spray and nail polish ~ ALL of the things I've avoided for years! So I'm sure my son will thank me for being an organic health natzi when he's older!

For more phthalate info - visit:

NotToPretty.org

ChemicalBodyBurden.org


Penn Future was well represented in Elk County on Saturday with Heather Sage & Steffi Domike - Both of their presentations were very powerful and brought it home ~ literally.

First is that we need to buy GREEN POWER! In Pennsylvania, we can choose where we want our electric company to buy our electricity. We DO NOT WANT our electricity to come from coal-fired power plants as they are dirty bastards and release MAJOR amounts of Mercury into the air which then goes into our streams, fish and water supply.

So plug into CLEAN electricity! You can do it online ~ Super Easy!

Just visit CleanYourAir.org and make the switch to green energy today! You'll be surprised at all the companies you can choose from! And my props to Heather for reminding us that the cleanest watt of energy is the one we don't use! So turn off some lights and that damn TV!!

Steffi is also the CHE-Penn Coordinator and she recommends the CHE website:
HealthandEnvironment.org





Other great highlights from the workshop include research from a doctor on certain chemicals that basically *F* with estrogen - plastics, phthlates, pesticides and artificial colors - and how they mimic or elevate estrogen and can all be factors in creating cancer and particularly breast cancer.

Representative Dan Surra ended the morning of lecture with a very fiery and fun speech. I have to say - I like this guy! He's an environmentalist and does his part at home with recycling and also pushes the eco-envelope down in D.C.
Dan didn't beat around the bush at all - he covered many interesting and controversial topics mentioning fluoride in drinking water, pesticides being sprayed around our water supply and what the heck was our problem with dandelions!?! He even dropped a plug about immunizations and the outrageous rage of autism today.

I love it when people get fired up - it means they are paying attention!



Live Clean ~ Live Green ~
Live as a Natural Me!!

Happy Halloween!!

I found my favorite Jack-o-latern!!!



Just Brilliant!!

Stop in the Name of Love!!

Before you break my heart.....


Wow! Look at that hair.
Look at that skin tone.
Oh - so - not - very -
um... Natural Me!!

Apparently, these pictures were taken long before I became the editor of the Natural Me Fun Note Ezine. Check out the Halloween issue!!



Oh my god ~ these pictures are so funny to me! I was dressing up to go work at a smokey lung clogging bar and I remember running late because I didn't realize how long it would take to get the brown makeup all over my face, chest, back, arms and even my hands! My permanently intoxicated boss was so impressed with my "Diana Ross" get-up that she didn't even mind that I was late and that I didn't wash any dishes all night in fear that my hands would come off!




You know even though I was covered in phthalates, I was still looking so incredibly HOT that night that I even got an Amish guy to hook up with me!!

Whoo hooo!
Happy Halloween!

Loving My Sister!!

Betsy!

Today my little sister & I finally got to hang out!

We chilled at her house and did a little Feng Shui Rearrange at her house. It was the longest amount of time we've spent together in a long time ~ the boys played nice and so did we.... Amazing!

That picture was taken when I was pregnant at our grandparents 50th Anniversary Party!

My Grandpa Tony passed away just a few months later.

Missing You Chico!

My Mom and Dad.




Ayden took pictures of his mom and dad!

Amazing what his parents look like from
his 3 foot 3 inch eye-view!

I think we look great without heads!

Starting a Sticker Chart for Good/Bad Behavior

Well, the time has come to start a chart. I guess I realized something new needed to be incorporated into our daily routine when his first day at the new semester of Story Time was a ...ummm ....disaster. Really, he did laps around the room, avoiding me and my "be quiet" requests and then he kicked the teacher during the monkey/alligator song when the alligator goes SNAP. It was crazy for both of us.

I think it's normal for a 3 year old to be somewhat oblivious to his mother at times but, for his own safety when we are out, Ayden needs to start listening a little better so Dad & I came up with this chart....


There are 4 columns: Clean Up, Eat, Listen, Out and the Out column is divided into when we are outside, out at the store or out at storytime/playgroup.

The concept of the chart is to reward Ayden's good behavior with stickers and many words of praise and to work towards a weekly goal of being good and then we celebrate on Sunday when he gets to pick a prize out of the Prize Bag! This is also a great opportunity to learn the days of the week.

To address the negative behaviors of not listening and running off, we were just giving him some Time-Outs but now along with the Time-Out, he'll also get an X on his sticker chart so he can SEE his bad behavior.

Ayden is responding SO WELL to the chart! I've seen a major improvement at Story Time and overall listening. He is eating better which means he is playing less with his food - he's always eaten good, but when he was done eating, he would start massaging the food onto his face or throw it on the floor. Sometimes I would let it go, I mean, I DO KNOW how good yogurt can feel on your cheeks! But it is time to be a little less rude at the table as far as throwing food at your mum. grrrr...

Other things I did to help our outings to the library & Story Time were to talk with him right before we go in and I have him sit on my lap as we sit on the floor. Yes all the other moms are in their chairs as I am on the floor with my little guy but that's what works for us. We just went yesterday and his teacher commented on how great he is doing. Sigh of relief! Although during the monkey/alligator song, she did look "prepared" to block any 3yr old kung fu kicks - just in case.

We also dropped out of a few other things because we really need more time at home and a much more relaxed schedule.

This gives us more time for independent play like making homemade play dough with flour, salt and water. Just mix the 3 together until it feels like clay.

In this picture we added turmeric for a nice yellow color! Next time I think we will try to make green with kelp or spirulina!

Great Day at Parker Dam!!


Mommy, Daddy & Ayden spent the afternoon at our local state park and WE HAD A BLAST ~ a nice quiet relaxing outdoor and full of negative ions to rejuvenate our souls kind of blast!!

We took a nature hike and collected acorns, colorful leaves, little pine cones and say many dragon flies and a really big spider. We took home the goodies from the woods and made a collage. Ayden also discovered moss!

Sissy Salsa!!!



The fans love it but personally I think it's a little weak ~ too sweet ;o)
Pretty proud of myself for successfully canning for the first time!
I think I over-boiled the jars though, I was waiting for them to seal in the water but they don't seal until they come out of the water and start to cool and then ~ pop ~ they seal and you have canned :o)

Whatcha Eatin'??



Just went shopping and I'm stocked up on all of my favorite things:
Ginger Brew
Organic Applesauce & Yogurt
Smart Bacon!!!
Lots of fruits & veggies

There are lots of essentials too:
Rice bran for Ayden
Fresh stock of homemade salsa (on top of Brita water)
Ready to eat cut-up watermelon
and did I mention Smart Bacon!!!

I'm IN LOVE ~ the salty greasy fake meat ~ so sinful ~ so wonderful to indulge in... I know, I know....processed soy foods are a poor excuse for getting your protein but what's a Veggie to do??

NO WAY am I eating this...

Huh. Canned Hunting in my back yard. Rathmel Run
Who knew? Well actually my girl Jan from the DTEGC ~ she told me about it a long time ago when I feature the Stop Canned Hunting website in a Fun Note Ezine. I didn't even know this place existed even though I had passed a sign for it a hundred times....

Hunting is serious business in western PA ~ just ask my uncles.
I think if you do eat meat, wild meat is typically healthier
than factory farmed flesh. I guess. Of course, I'm not sure if hunting preserves use antibiotics or hormones. I bet they use some hormones ~ to get those Big Racks that the guys & gals pay Big Bucks to shoot. Seriously, check out the prices!

If you've never heard of canned hunting or hunting preserves,
here's a website with more info on why they suck.

So, to end this post with something that doesn't suck at all and is quite wonderful,
check out my newest, most favorite musicians:
Follow No Trends

Be sure to listen to their music stream from the website.
They are AWESOME!!!!

Can I just get the shits and Get it over with?

That was my mantra yesterday as I enjoyed nasty intestinal cramps all day! I'm feeling so much better today because last night I DID have the grand finale to virus or bug my body was fighting off. Pleasant. I know...but I felt the need to share.

Now my next health hurdle to overcome is figuring out if my body is harboring WAY TOO MUCH YEAST. I just did a saliva test and it's looking like I'm yeasty. Weird because I don't get coochie infections but I have a lot of other yeast symptoms ~ coating on tongue, build-up on scalp, itchy butt, lack of energy, sensitivity to chemical smells and I am prone to getting fungal skin infections.

Yeast Overgrowth will be this weeks'
Fun Note Ezine if I ever get it started!

Auuuggghhh. I'm sick. I feel awful. I have this
icky thing going on inside of me ~ with major cramping plus a sinus/throat thing. The plan is to shake it by noon today. I have way to much stuff to do like getting the weekly ezine out and then recording a few posts in the Natural Me Fun Notes Audio Blog ~ Ezine Article Archive

I just want to skip everything and hide in bed but a Mama just can't do that with an ambitious 3 year old running around. So anyways, yesterday Ayden got his picture taken and he was SUCH A HAM ~ over posing and really having a good time with the camera. He was so cute! I gave him a haircut the night before and he looks so grown up without all his wild curls ~ I'm hoping they come back!

Ayden & Mommy MISS Daddy!!



Aren't they just too damn cute? I love it how Ayden closes his eyes just like his Mama ~ dang flash! So Daddy started working on the road back in July and it's been hard on everyone. It's tough not getting to see eachother and I know it's killing Daddy not to see his little guy everyday. Ayden's adjusting to only having a weekend dad and I'm impressed with his understanding of the concept of "daddy going to work". When daddy comes home, Ayden get so excited & overwhelmed with happiness sometimes he gets tears in his eyes from smiling so hard. It's sweet.

CNN.com - Harrowing tales of loss emerge in Katrina's wake - Aug 31, 2005

Katrina ~ Katrina!! What did you do?

I am overwhelmed with sorrow. Oh my god - this is so aweful.
Why isn't there more help? These poor people....

I was watching some video clips on CNN since I don't get cable
& haven't seen anything and this man who lost his wife Tanya because
their house split in two and he couldn't hold on to her....

And the reporter asked him where was he was going and he answered
"I'm just lost....so lost". My heart just broke ~

Why do we have so much stuff??

I have been freecycle'n my butt off trying to
get rid of all the stuff I have in my little place.

In the idea of Fung Shui ~

Everyday I walk around my home thinking
"what can I give away? what don't I need anymore?
what doesn't make me happy? do I really want that?"

Sometimes my place just seems INSANE to me!

WHY DO WE HAVE SO MUCH STUFF?

I have a 3 year old, a messy man, a website biz and my
natural clutter tendencies to *fight* with on a daily basis.

So a few month's ago I borrowed a book from my local LLL group
called the Flylady (?) on how to get organized & declutter.
it was sorta a over the top housewife book but it
did have several good ideas that have
helped me get more motivated and aware of my "hot spots"
(areas that clutter up fast) and how to defuse them.

and then I started to read a bit up on Fung Shui,
moved everything around and
now my place is looking pretty good but I am still
actively trying to attain simplicity, organization &
just have less stuff.

this week I went threw my shoes and I have 6 pairs
waiting to find new homes via Freecycle.
it's crazy ~ i'm literally scared to go threw my clothes.

What is it about us that we cannot part with our stuff?

I've narrowed myself down to a few *excuses*:

~ I think I'll need that at some point
~ I can reuse that and create a ______ with it!
~ So & so gave that to me.... isn't it special?
~ I'm saving that stack of papers for reference....
~ I should really save that for my kids.
~ It still works - I can't just toss it.
~ That was expensive.


Man ~ WE NEED HELP.

And I really need some wisdom & insight on my clothing issues.

I live in western PA and we have all 4 seasons to the extreme
so every few months, the weather requires a different dress code!

but seriously folks, please motivate me to downsize.....


Loving You Urban Environmentalist!


Sadie from Natural Me

What a beautiful day to discover a measuring tape. It's been a great week for independent play ~ sometimes we get too busy running errands and participating in playgroups that Ayden doesn't get enough down time to get a chance for creative play to kick in.
When we are at the Natural Me Play group or at a friend's house, there is so much stimulation that it's just a wild *fun* time and sometimes the craziness turns Ayden into a wild boy who gets a little too rough and doesn't listen to his momma.

My son does well with lots of quiet playtime, educational activities and structure. I need to get us back into our routine so that he can blossom & be sweet and start listening to me! I'm going to try to do all the errands after our Natural Me Playgroup on wednesdays ~ which will now be known as WILD WEDNESDAYS. I think we will do better and get more accomplished to have one all out crazy day than to do over stimulating errands & playdates everyday which throws off the entire day & thus the entire week!

Yum Yum. Mum's in the kitchen again...

Wow do I love to make bread! It fulfills my need to create, to provide healthy food for my family and I love the stress relief that 8 to 10 minutes of kneading does for me!!

Someday I'd like to try an Italian bread recipe but it requires almost 20 minutes of kneading so I will save that bread for a day that I'm really pissed off at the un-natural world!

Ha ha ~ who me angry? Never!!

How do you like my kitchen table?
I love growing plants in water ~ self sufficient!
I'm not sure what is that white spot on the bread? Who knows...I must've ate it.
This loaf didn't last long!

Happy Birthday My Little Extended Nurser!!

Today is my son's birthday ~ He's three!! We have been celebrating ALL weekend. His party with all his little friends went well ~ and my ALL NATURAL fudgey chocolate cake was awesome and tasted pretty good for breakfast too!

Ayden got lots of educational toys from his friends & family: guitar, power touch, bongo drums, penny flute, workbooks and LOTS OF LOVE!!

Archive "Natural Me Fun Notes" ~ check 'em out!

Damn. What a crazy day! I'm not even sure where to begin! The emotions were just running high today ~ I laughed, I cried, I burned with fury and I even found some cool stuff at G.W.!

By the way, G.W. is my fancy way of saying Goodwill.

So my fury... Today I went to Sarvey Insurance in DuBois to pay my auto insurance for the Natural Me Shuttle and as I am handing the lady my check I see my son playing with something on the floor ~ now this is just right beside the chair in the waiting area.

"Stickies" he says. "What's sticky baby?" I ask.

Here my son, my ALL NATURAL ME CHILD, is sticking his fingers in a chemical ant killer and pressing this goo between his pointer & thumb looking perplexed at the way his little fingers stick together and the look of anguish on my face.

My heart sinks - You know how hard I try to keep the chemical exposure down to a minimum - We are an organic family - I am a Natural Mama and this is a HUGE deal to me. Not cool.

So I grab Ayden away from this sticky thing on the floor and firmly ask the office people IF that was an ant trap and they reply with a dull "Yeah."

In response to their lack of interest in the goo all over my son's fingers, I loudly spout off "Do you always leave chemical pesticides laying around for children to play with??" and I barge my way to the back of the workers area without asking to
use the break room to thoroughly wash his hands.

I am so mad at this point for their careless placement of insecticide that I storm out after I slam-grabbed my receipt from the counter. (You know what a slam-grab is right?)

I tried to continue on with my scheduled errands but I was so over-whelmed with feelings of anger and violation of my child's health that the emotional tears drove me back to the insurance office.

I was furious. I didn't want to have to deal with these negative emotions all day and I needed some closure so I made another apperance in the office that was not so happy to see me again.

I felt they needed to see an upset mother and to realize we are not all kosher with chemicals everywhere for our kids to be exposed to and I wanted to SEE THE BOX. I wanted to know what actually got on Ayden's skin and if I should be worried or not.

Well I can report that they were fairly attentive to my needs at that moment and found the box for me to inspect and actually made a copy of it and let me inspect the ingredient list.

Which I am HAPPY to say (for their ass & also my son's) that it was mostly borax based. Now I say happy because it could have been A LOT WORSE. I'm just trying to be positive here.

I'm sure they thought I over reacted but I am SO SICK of local business owners filling their offices with chemicals and you don't even know it. Is it right for their consumers to be exposed without them knowing it?

I remember working across an H&R Block tax place and watching the Eulrich Pesticide Professional Poisoner go in there almost every week! (another reason i'll keep doing my own taxes!)


Anyways, My tears today.... Well besides crying after I left Sarvey Insurance, a sad thing happened to my best friend today ~ She was in a car accident where a guy on a motorcycle smashed into the back of her van. It was aweful!
I know since I was coincidentally 1/4 mile away when it happened and was able to get there to be with her.

My friend is really sore with an inflammed disc & whip lash and the motorcycle man (with a history of speeding & reckless driving) was life-flighted to Pittsburgh. We are all hoping he is going to be okay. I am so glad my best mama friend is okay and did not have her kids with her in the van when this all happened.

For all you motorcyclists ~ WEAR YOUR STINK'n HELMETS!!
They really do make a difference. (okay mom! keep yours on when you are riding that hog!)


And believe it or not, in between all the crazy shit, I saw a lot of beauty and grace today and kept my sense of humor threw it all.

Lovin You.

HELLO!! Just a quickie to say I'm still alive ~ crazy weekend so far!

I was planning to attend the WV Rainbow Gathering this week but I bailed out from lack of funds and a uneasy feeling in the gut.

Turns out when we listened to our *guts* ~ sometimes it works out for the best. I'm glad I stayed....

I love you Duane & I hope you feel better soon!

Join me on Friendster!

What's the point of this blog??

Hmmm? Good question. I can't remember......

Here's what's new in my world:

~ Natural Me is sponsering a free clothing drive the 1st weekend in march. So I've been on the phone and passing out fliers & press releases like I was getting paid for it. It should be fun and I'm looking forward to passing on my clothes.

~ Doing a few Recycled Envelope Making Classes locally

~ Working on developing a local natural kids playgroup (un natural kids are invited too)

~ Trying to get Ayden to start thinking about getting on the potty and off the boob.

~ Always searching for admirable companies for the Karma Kards

That's about it. Wish I would put house cleaning or sleeping regularly on my to-do list but Natural Me, Freecycle and the new Natural Me Living website is keeping me busy always! :o)

What day is it??

Check out KindWeb.com for a sweet
Natural Me drawing for a free goodie pack!