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!

Happy Holidays! Holy Smoke. It's been a long time since I posted... that's a good sign that it's been crazy busy around here! I need to re-install the google toolbar with its handy Blogger Button ~ that helps keep up with the postings...

Still doing the website thing. My to-do list is no longer a list but rather a notebook. Started marketing my handmade envelopes ~ Recyclopes. Still loving that Mama gig ~ Ayden is so beautiful! and bad! (too much fun!)

ummm updates on me ~

the ebay purse didn't sell but i didn't think it would but now i'm ready to put the ol' Recyclopes up.

Yesterday, I was on the Channel 10 News for the DuBois Freecycling Network I started. Wow, I had no idea I was such a dork until I saw myself on the telly.

And fuck the media. How'a bout I talked on camera for at least 7 minutes and said MANY INTELLIGENT comments, facts figures and do you know what they did?

They blurped me saying the stupidest shit. Do they like making environmentalists look flighty & "out there"? well, if so, lol ~ they did a good job. I'm going to order a copy from the station so I can have a good laugh at my silly ass again.

The Freecycle Group did get 14 new members from the airing so whooppeee!

eBay item 6703442523 %28Ends Aug-31-04 06%3A33%3A15 PDT%29 - Small Buddist Purse from Bali Hey take a peek ~ my first Ebay post ever!

Yes i've been running from ebay forever - cursing them out that their company's made enough money and that they suck. but my personal boycott hasn't shut them down so if you can beat them, ebay with them.

So look at the Purse Listing that I'm "testing out" Ebay!!

Peta Tv is brutal...and so are we.

watch the videos above and feel shitty like i do...

i am feeling guilty for the turkey sub i had yesterday.

not to be an ass, but i'm quitting meat cold turkey.

lol wow, i'm a funny girl.

i didn't even watch all the videos- i couldn't - and i'll never have to watch them again but i'll remember them forever...

duane didn't eat any meat today either. he wants to see some on cows so he can be mentally sickend for resistance from the Big Mac. the pigs break my heart.

so here are some meat alternatives if you're changing teams - check out the freezer section at the grocery store and at the health food store - they make meatless "chic" patties, "grillers", nuggets, sausage, corn dogs, hot dogs, portabella burgers, veggie burgers, Boca Pizzas & burgers - and most of them taste pretty damn good.

My favorite is Boca Spicey Chic Patties - it's good with ketchup or ranch

rice & beans are my dish of choice - together them make a complete protein

at the grocery store them might have ready made indian bean dishes...

a good bean dish is to make a big pot of tomato based thick "stew" of chopped carrots, some green peppers, a few potatoes and a can of kidney beans - be sure to add some salt & pepper - simmer that til veggies are cooked and put over rice.

I remember once when my vegetarian mother cooked Bacon especially for me cuz I wanted it and my vegetarian little sister FReaKed the fuck out and I was a teenage asshole and was oinking when i ate it.....later that night, Betsy drew me a picture of a sad pig and wrote "you killed me"

I still have it somewhere....

My Recycling Addiction

As I'm staring at my counter top full of 25+ rinsed, de-labeled white #2 plastic milk jugs....

It occurs to me that maybe, just maybe, I have a recycling addiction. So I counter~act my thought process with a "but how could I let them just throw them away???" And of course, I reply to myself with an " [sigh] I know...."

So yeah. I lugged home all those "expired" milk jugs from Care Stop so I can drag them to the recycling bin because I can't stand for shit to just be thrown away ~ it's ridiculous.....or am I??

Wow ~ I have been cutting all night ~ go little hands ~ GO hey we all need to be our own personal cheerleaders at times!

Tomorrow's agenda NEEDS to include a sending out a Natural Me Fun Note newsletter, finish gathering the Pro-Breastfeeding propaganda for the WIC open house next week and eating coleslaw.

And a morning walk to the park & carrot juicing & cleaning...

Man ~ the day of rest is going to be busy ~ I'm hitting the sack!

Straub ~ take me away....or at least my headache.

wow. This no sugar, no salt, no preservatives added beer is tasting wonderful. I really need it after my long 4 hr shift. Hey - with a 2 year old ~ it's the equivalant of a 10 hr shift!

Tonite when I was vacuuming (a half of beer and I can't tell if that's spelled right?) I was very appreciative that I had put dried herbs and essential oil of ylang ylang in the sweeper bag ~ It makes for a pleasant chore as the aromatics are expressed along with all the dirty dust mites.

Have a good nite!

BlogHop

So Blog Hop said it so gracefully on their site....

"Swearing is the crutch of inarticulate mother fuckers."

Now that is sweet.

I'm officially a WAHAWAWM!! I'm a Work At Home And Work At Work Mom!!

Care Stop is going good - WE NEED MORE CUSTOMERS - so I can still have a job! lol Ayden's been getting more comfortable there and able to throw more 2yr old fits!!

The b-day party & reunion were totally exhausting ... and fun. The kids loved the pinata & blue's clues favor boxes.

So I took Monday nite off to go to the Raw Milk Class & they cancelled it - reschedualed for next week combo'd with a vegetarian class - but I don't think I'm going to make it. Arrrrgggghhh.

Okay, I"ll quit bitching and get back to work....

Happy Birthday to my little guy ..... He's 2 !! This Sunday we will be celebrating as naturally as we can with a small birthday party! The birthday cake will be made from scratch and no artificial colors or flavors! The Pinata will be filled with toys and "real" candy and these fun crafty pom pom balls that are going to fly everywhere! It will be fun!

Blue's Clues dominates the favor boxes ~ a bouncy ball, a cup, stickers, along with some Cracker jacks and chocolate covered raisens - all natural.

What we do for our kids - of course - my kid is the only one there with the mama who gives a crap but maybe we can help educate!

Cherico Reunion this weekend too! Thank god I took Monday off - I'll need it to re-coop and go to a class on Raw Milk....

Recyclopes ~ Environmentally Inspired Art Envelopes

oohhhh ~ check out MY RECYCLOPES

finally ~ i'm done with this recyclope site - it hasn't been announced yet - so feel special for the sneak peek!!

once again, if you didn't catch the link 2 inches above this one ~ Recyclopes ~ Environmentally Inspired Art Envelopes