This week's Etsy find has a Halloween theme -- old x-rays repurposed into notebooks!  Super ghoulish for Halloween or any time of year.  I was thinking that these recycled x-ray and recycled paper notebooks would make great gifts for medical students, nurses, EMT's, doctors or anyone in a health related profession.  Christmas here we come!

They are made by Etsy seller momerath who besides being quite witty in her listings, makes items notebooks from a variety of pieces of trash.  And stick figure men.  She and stick figure men seem to have a thing...  She likes to take pics of stick figure signs and use them in a variety of ways I'd never think of -- magnetic stick figure men picking up stick figure dog poop, framed stick family photos, etc.  She tends towards papers that are used on one side and blank on the other.  Unique papers that show their previous lives off well.

These x-ray notebooks are available in a selection of shots with a foot (get it -- foot notes?), leg bones,arm bones, spinal x-rays and even a skull!  She describes the books as being "quietly macabre".  They're subtle enough to use in a conservative office yet you'll secretly know that you're a rebel down deep inside.  Maybe way, way down deep beneath your pocket protector but still slightly edgy.

You can be an edgy office worker or medical enthusiast on a budget too because these books are really quite affordable with a set of two being $20 - $25.  Super cute and great gift for Christmas.  Or you could buy them to jot down suspicious looking trick or treaters this year as you make your rounds.  That would surely make people nervous!

She has crafted one set of the notebooks out of papers used on one side with a particularly spooky theme -- Edgar Allan Poe short stories, paperwork from researching lesson plans for a class on classic horror films and other papers on this theme!

There are other notebooks as well that are really cool -- twinkie covers, macaroni box covers and a toddler's favorite foodgroups theme of notebooks (juice, cheerios and granola bars).  Super cute, witty and eco-conscious...definitely some of my favorite things!

She has another Etsy shop as well called Uffish that sells vintage items.  Both shops are fantastic and full of great Christmas shopping ideas!

If you are in Chicago or plan on visiting sometime soon, I'd definitely recommend a trip to the Tiffani Kim spa.  They offer a huge range of services that would entice eco-enthusiasts.  They use a combination of medical procedures such as the restylane treatment Chicago loves which involves injecting natural fillers into the face to smooth and plump and more natural and organic treatments such as aromatherapy infused massages using specially blended essential oils.

For expecting mothers, a pregnancy massage is available to relieve sciatica, water retention, fatigue and lower back pain.  These massages are recommended for women in the second and third trimesters and require a doctor's note allowing participation.  A nice relaxing massage is just what a pregnant woman really needs to perk up and relieve stress, anxiety and achiness.

They also offer an all natural fertility boot camp that gives you the advice of a team of experts in many fields to help you fulfill your dreams of parenthood.  Advice is given by experts in accupuncture, psychotherapy, nutrition, yoga, bodywork and reproductive endocrinology.  The bootcamp will give you tips on how you should think, eat, feel, exercise, communicate and even copulate!  Definitely worth a try (or maybe even two -- lol!).  As a mother and a woman trying to conceive, I definitely respect professionals who go out of their way to provide natural services to those who want it.  Many products are filled with a variety of chemicals that people are questioning.  A spa like this one could really help you find the way to natural health and beauty!

This is a sponsored post with 100% real opinions.

Looking for a great eco-friendly gift for a music lover on your list?  Check out the site Wear Your Music.  It's a really cool project that reuses old guitar strings that would normally be headed for the trash and makes jewelry out of them.  Even better, a lot of the proceeds from these bracelets go to charity!

The fashion bracelets like the one shown above from pink guitar string, come in a huge range of colors.  They're available for only $10 each or 10 bracelets for $70.  They are made from used guitar strings and a portion of the proceeds go to charities that support music.  These would make great gifts or stocking stuffers for friends (or yourself).  You could buy the 10 pack and give everyone one or two each.  They look great with a couple stacked on top of each other on the wrist and fit all sizes.  This bracelet supports music, charity and the environment.

Even cooler are the artist bracelets.  These bracelets are hand made out of recycled silver and used guitar strings donated by dozens and dozens of different artists of every genre.  100% of the profits of these bracelets are donated to an artist chosen charity and are listed on the site.  There's some great charities benefiting from these sales though -- Unicef, Rock against Cancer, Peta, Michael J. Fox Parkinson's Research Foundation, 1% for the Planet, Rock the Earth and many other great causes.

They have some great artists available in a huge variety of price ranges.  The silver bracelet shown above is one of James Hetfield's strings.  His charity of choice is Music Cares.  At $250 for each bracelet, it's a very cool Metallica souvenir that benefits charity and the planet.  Kinda expensive but I do love Metallica!!

There's lots of other artists like Carrie Underwood, Avril Lavigne, Dolly Parton, Ziggy Marley, Pete Townsend and even the Naked Cowboy!  Many of the artists I've heard of before and many I haven't.  There's a big price range difference...The least expensive is a $50 string bracelet from Yuto Miyazawa who is the world's youngest professional guitar player in the Guinness Book of World Records.  The most expensive is Eric Clapton's silver bracelet at $500.  Very, very cool!  Worth checking this site out.  It's full of big names, little names and everything in between with the money going to a host of great causes.

I remember one of the Dads at our childbirth education class asking the teacher how we'd make sure we got the right baby back if we put them all down in a line to take pictures of!  Once the babies came and we lined them up to take this shot, I think that new and tired Daddy finally realized that baby's are all completely different from one another.  Mine's the one in the red shoes.  That way I'd recognize her -- lol!

Just as babies are all different from each other, so are their births.  No two births are the same, even for the same mother.  I've had my children 12 years apart from each other.  The first birth was nearly completely natural.  The only interference I allowed the doctors was some laughing gas to help me relax and finish dilating.  The second birth was full of interventions.  I was put on pitocin to help induce labor, my water was broken and eventually after many hours, I had an epidural.  The birthing process for my second child was very hard and did not live up to my expectations of having a natural childbirth like my first labor and delivery experience.

It's important to keep your options open when you are pregnant so that you do not feel disappointed and disillusioned about birth once your new baby finally arrives.  Realize that every birth is different so comparing them is only as valuable as comparing apples and oranges to one another.  There are some similarities but some glaring and obvious differences as well.

If I get to experience another live labor and childbirth myself, I hope to have the birth be as natural as possible with as little medical interference as necessary.  Women have been having babies for as long as there has been babies.  We are capable of doing it regardless of how your doctor or hospital may make you feel.  I personally am a little worried about home births or any births without a doctor because an emergency situation may arise.  Women have been having babies for thousands of years but they've also been dying during the process for just as long!  On the other hand, the amount of interventions during births in the western world are astounding.  The C-section rate, number of epidurals and amount of drugs pumped into birthing women are especially concerning.

The one really important thing to remember is to make sure that you have a doctor and support people who understand your needs and opinions.  Many doctors let their own opinions and feelings get in the way of providing proper health care during labor and delivery.  This is where your support people need to be able to step in and advocate for you as you may not be able to.  Midwives and doulas are great to have for support throughout the entire pregnancy and, in my opinion, crucial during labor and delivery.  They can help you come up with a birth plan before the big day that will set out your goals in the best case scenario as well as alternatives you can feel comfortable with if things get too tough.

I'd highly recommend reading up about the different methods of natural childbirth (or as natural as possible childbirth).  This link has a ton of great information about doulas, midwives, aromatherapy for delivery, flower essence therapy for delivery, hypotherapy, accupuncture, homeopathy, childbirth educators, etc. etc.  They have many great articles about the huge range of options available for births and an online forum to ask questions that you can't find the answers to.  They cover a lot of topics that I've never even heard of and explain things from both the doctor and patient angles.  Definitely a website to check out even if you are not planning a natural childbirth.