Monthly Archives: February 2009

It seems as though they are coming up with more and more eco terms every time you turn around.  Ever heard of precycling?  It’s a way to cut down on what ends up in landfills or even recycling piles by carefully choosing what you bring into your home.  Precycling involves buying products with less packaging or less waste.  This sort of lifestyle choice can really make a huge change on the environment as well as how things are sold.

Try sending a letter or e-mail off to manufacturer’s who are really wasteful in their packaging.  You’d be surprised what a difference a few people’s suggestions can make.  Over packaging is wasteful on a global scale and also costs more to produce.  Manufacturer’s are always looking for ways to cut down on production costs.  When they notice that things with less packaging and less waste are selling more, they may think twice as to the way their company is run…well, okay, maybe.  What’s more important to companies, of course, is the bottom line.  Less packaging equals less production costs and more profits!

My favorite eco term that I’ve heard lately is ecosexual…but I’ll leave that topic for another day! lol

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It can be hard to “feel beautiful” during pregnancy as your body expands and your hormones surge. I know that self-esteem and self-image sometimes take a major hit during this, the most beautiful time of your life. Celebrity moms to be always make it look so easy, glowing on the red carpet looking as though they are loving every minute of it and look gorgeous doing it too! I’ve always found that a trip to the hair dressers for a new do and make-over is an essential perker upper by the second trimester. The problem is that I’ve always been a little afraid of just exactly what is in those beauty products and whether or not they are safe for use during pregnancy.  If you look at what those celebrity moms to be are doing, you will discover Beaute de Maman which is a new beauty line design by an obstetrician specifically for moms to be and their babes in waiting. The name translated literally means “Beauty of Mother”. Not only are these products safe for pregnant women, but they are designed specifically to treat some of the problems that may occur during a pregnancy.  Any women who’s been pregnant knows that stretch-marks are almost unavoidable or that their skin sometimes becomes unusually dry or oily. This line of beauty products might have just the thing for that! As I start planning another pregnancy I’m tempted to order now before my forgetful “baby-brain” sets in!

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I was watching the on-going (and horrific) coverage of Nadya Suleman, more infamously known as the Octumom, on CNN last night.  They were estimating that the costs for her eight newborns would be in the $135,000 per month mark!!!  All this by a single Mom, with no job and on the verge of having her home foreclosed on.

I too was a single Mom at one point in my life so I really know what it is to have to stretch a dollar.  At nineteen, I found myself pregnant and single.  I had unending support from my family, friends and community though which is something that Ms. Suleman cannot count on.  I went to school full time while raising my son and graduated University when he was 3.

Saving money and going green really do go hand in hand as both issues have the same major cause — that of over consumption.  Living beyond your means, whether that’s on an individual scale or on a global scale.  Kids do really cost a bundle although there are many ways that you can go green and save money at the same time while raising healthy, happy, financially responsible and globally aware children.  Here’s a few tips to get you started:

1.  Buy Used!!  Whether that means buying used equipment such as a crib, stroller, or clothes buying used can save money and help save the environmental costs of endlessly producing new products.  Kids grow so fast it seems as though they hardly get any use out of them at all.  Good places to buy used equipment are at garage sales, consignment stores and online websites such as usedeverywhere, Kijiji or craigslist.  Ensure that the products you are buying meet all current safety regulations though!

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The internet is teeming with information. Most of the time it’s total information overload trying to find what you’re looking for or even just something interesting, weird, offbeat or new. tweetmeme can help you sort through it all by aggregating twitter links to determine which are the most popular. It updates every 5 minutes so it’s constantly got something new. It is constantly figuring out what are the most popular links and sorting them into four categories of blog, video, audio or image so that the updates are even neatly organized! It’s simple to put the “tweet” widget on your page like at the top of this post by using a copy and paste java script or even installing a world press plug in. There’s also a tweetmeme iphone application so you can easily follow it on the go. They’ve got a blog about their service, latest updates and interesting tidbits at http://blog.tweetmeme.com/. This is a pretty new site that just launched but it does look pretty promising. You can sign up for their RSS feed at the site or through twitter. Definitely at least worth checking out!

This is a sponsored post with 100% real opinions.

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The weight loss industry is one of those that seems to be virtually recession proof. People are always looking for diet pills that work, a new exercise machine, new sporting wear, another yoga class, etc. etc. etc.  Our culture seems to be obsessed with weight loss while at the same over run with fast food restaurants offering up bigger and bigger portion sizes of greasy, calorie laden food.  What at first seems like a contradiction starts to make sense upon further reflection.  The more crap we eat, the more weight we have to lose!  The western world is suffering from over consumption on every level — more food, more weight loss, buying more, having bigger houses, more babies (Octumom), more and more of everying.  All this while so many suffer in other countries barely eatting enough to survive and living in poverty.  And all we can think of is buying another toy for our kids, a newer car, saving more, getting more.

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With the economy and the environment in rough shape, people need to come up with creative ideas of consuming less. Why not try giving your furniture a make over instead of buying all new? A dresser can be quite easily modernized by taking off those eighties style handles and replacing them with some industrial knobs.  The exterior of the dresser can be changed up quite easily simply by sanding it down and refinishing it with stain or paint.  If you’ve got the tools and the know-how, you can even disassemble some pieces of furniture and redesign new pieces from the old.  Entertainment stands, in particular, can be taken apart in sections sometimes and reconfigured.  Try to consider alternatives to buying new products such as re-design or buying used.  Think of the savings both in your bank account and on a more global scale.

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I’m not sure why men seem to have such a hard time buying gifts for the women in their lives. A night out for dinner to one of her favourite restaurants is always a good idea. Or how about a gift certificate to a spa? Gift certificates in general can be a good gift idea instead of buying clothes or lingerie that is the wrong style, colour or worse, wrong size!  Most women love flowers as a gift or really anything romantic at all.  All you have to remember is a few simple things.  Women, generally speaking, love things that are soft, pretty, smell good or that are shoes!  Shoes, in my humble opinion, might be the best of all gift ideas.  Make sure you hold onto the receipt so that she can exchange them if they’re uncomfortable.  Even little girls love shoes — we’re just born that way!

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Environmental awareness is finally “popular”. What better way to spread the word than by plastering our kids with our messages? Everyone checks out cute kids…why not make their shirt something worth reading rather than another ad for Dora the Explorer or Disney? Many of the shirts available for sale have part of the proceeds go to various projects such as reforestation, environmental education for children, or expansion of recycling programs. Green is the new black, or pink as my daughter’s shirt reads.

Read On…

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We’ve been working on trying to get out toddler to give up her binky (pacificer). She’s a true addict and the only thing that seems to work is bribery. Yesterday I promised a trip to the toy store if she napped without a binky. After a few hours, she finally fell asleep without it and woke up pretty happy and ready to head to the toy store. We had to look at everything, I mean EVERYTHING that they had!

What I noticed was that many of the bigger names like Little Tikes are coming out with green-er toys.

This is the toy that I specifically noticed.  It’s a tile matching game for ages 3 and up.  Not only is it made from bamboo, which is a much more sustainable and green product than other woods, it uses soy based inks!  This toy is rated “G” for Green!  Even the handle is made from a piece of bamboo.  This is not one of the toys my daughter picked but it is one of the toys we bought.  The toy companies are finally starting to pick up what the parents are saying — less packaging, better quality, more environmentally friendly practices and products!  This is a great way to role model being green-er to your kids.  It provides not only a new toy but an opportunity to talk about the planet and our impact on it.  Get out there and buy!  This isn’t a specialty store item.  I bought it from Wal-Mart so I’m sure it’s available pretty much everywhere.

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Some may argue that plastic surgery can improve a patient’s well being but others firmly believe that it is true. Many people are born with disfigurements or imperfections that greatly reduce their happiness over time. When the part of the body that is bothering a person is the female breast, people tend to get really worked up about whether or not surgery should be an option. A woman’s sense of identity is related to her breasts which are one of the most outward ways of conveying one’s womanhood. Plastic surgery can help to increase women’s well being, breast augmentation can truly help some women to feel better about themselves and their bodies. The kind of surgery that I’m referring to here is not incredibly ridiculous breast enhancements but surgeries done by professionals who have examined the woman and her mental health. These professionals question why a woman would want plastic surgery and what kind of results they are hoping to achieve. For some women, breast surgery is almost a necessity because of misshapen or unevenly sized breasts. Other women wish to have breast reductions to reduce their natural breast size to a more average size. And others wish to have breast enlargements to help them feel more at ease with themselves and their bodies. All of these surgeries are capable of improving self confidence and emotional well being.

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