clean greener

I didn't want to keep this sheet lying around the house, so putting it on the blog to remember forever and ever is the next best thing! Got it from my mom, not sure where she clipped it from, but I find it fascinating that you can clean your entire home to a sparkling shine with just lemons, vinegar and baking soda. It's hard to imagine not using toxic chemicals to 'clean' your home - but you'd be surprised at what you used to think 'clean' was when you make some changes with your most common household cleaning products! Try one today!

Cleaning with Lemons

Drains: Grind some lemon rinds in the garbage disposal to freshen up the drain. Pouring some lemon juice and hot water down a drain will give similar results.

Stains: Lemon juice is a natural bleach, use it to whiten whites or bleach stains. Always test on an inconspicuous area before use.

Cleaning with Vinegar

Multi-purpose Cleaner: Mixed 1:1 with water, vinegar is an effective multi-purpose cleaner. Mix the solution in a spray bottle for ease of use and storage. Add some lemon juice to the mixture to neutralize the vinegar smell.

Tip: When I cleaned houses with my sister for a summer, we used vinegar for e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g. It was cheap, absolutely non-toxic, really easy to use, although it would smell like pickled eggs for a few minutes but that quickly dissipates after use. We even used a vinegar/water mixture to wipe down mirrors, windows, stainless steel etc. and got the same streak-less shine or better than a chemical mixture like Windex.

Deodorizer: Vinegar is a natural deodorizer. Use it to wipe out lunch boxes, garbage cans or containers. The acid in the vinegar should wipe out any odours.

Stains: Vinegar is also a stain remover. It is an acid so test on an inconspicuous area of the fabric first.

Cleaning with Baking Soda

Deodorize: Baking Soda has fantastic absorbent properties and will neutralize most odours. Place in a box in the fridge, freezer or anywhere else you need deodorizing. You can also sprinkle it on carpets, in shoes or in laundry hampers. It will absorb any smells and is easy to vacuum up.

Pots and Pans: Baking soda is a good abrasive cleaner. Use it as a stain remover in enameled pans, sprinkle on roasting pans to clean out anything burnt on, sprinkle on copper pots and use 1/2 a lemon to scrub restoring shine.

Paste: Use a baking soda paste to clean out the inside of your dishwasher, your bath tub or anywhere you would use an abrasive cleaner.

savasana chakrasana

I guess I haven't been writing much this summer, so I've got to make up for it now! Last night as I was trying to fall asleep, I couldn't get my mind to calm down. I felt like my heart was beating too fast, there were a million thoughts all jumbled up and I couldn't focus on any one for a length of time. I've been getting headaches daily, around the same time every day (today too without fail) so bad that I have to lie down for them to get better. And generally I've just been feeling out of sorts and not myself...and this is summer for goodness sakes! I should be more like myself than ever before!

So I decided to lay flat on my back in Savasana. It's been SO long that I've done yoga, that I chalked a lot of the way I've been feeling up to missing it dearly. I took long, deep breaths and really tried to get inside my own head. I made myself focus on just me, only me. Trying to figure out what it was that was bothering me, and all I could see was black (I can hear Noel saying: Open your eyes! haha) But seriously. It was like I was looking into a toxic black hole. I couldn't find anything to pick out, it was just all dark, weak and sick feeling. Then I became worried about my mental and physical well-being. This couldn't be healthy. But even in those 15 or so minutes of lying there, I already started to feel better. I tried to pull out the toxic darkness that resided in my head, and began releasing whatever it was that was dragging me down.

Firstly, I'm starting to realize that I need to stop putting a price on my health and well-being. Even when I'm not working summers, I need to do what it takes to make sure that I'm exersizing the body and mind. Whether that's saving up during the year, or creating something I can do from home. It's got to be something, and it's got to include Yoga.

My flute teacher used to talk about Chakra's (aalll the time) and I thought it was so cool, but I had never done extensive research on the subject. I always knew that it was something important to learn about and understand, but never got around to it. Basically, there are 7 centers of energy, or chakras, in the body that reside in different levels vertically along your mid-line. And if any one of these chakras are out of balance, it puts the whole thing off kilter and you just don't function the way you should.

I put chakra in google, and found this test (don't worry - I'm not stopping here. This is just fun and preliminary) here.

Already this says a lot about the way I've been feeling. Check out the meaning here. Clearly my root and crown chakras have been suffering, and I didn't need a quiz to help me figure that out. But I'm about to delve in the wonderful and beautiful world of chakras and figure out how to balance myself back to normal.

I should also point out something really interesting. Just over a month ago I had a Chakra Massage in Canmore. They started it off by having you choose 3 out of 7 cards (chakra cards) based on the symbol, colour, word or general feeling you get just by looking at them. I chose heart, third eye and crown. All of which are out of balance...then again it looks like almost all of me is out of balance.

I'll be sure to post any updates in my chakra adventures! Tonight I'm chanting "Lam" as I sit touching my thumbs and forefingers together.

at home getaway

After treating myself to a glorious few days with my best girlfriends, I'm finding myself searching for more ways to keep this calm and collected feeling without having to leave the city or spend a lot of cash! I came across this "4-Day Spa Getaway at Home" article at Martha Stewart - some wonderful, relaxing ideas!

You can also condense this 4-Day routine into 2 days, if you skip a few steps and choose your favourites instead. And why not plan it for when the guys are out of town so we can stay over at someone's place? Maybe even sleep over outdoors, breathing in the fresh air all night. There's nothing better than experiencing this with your buds, so while you're preparing the healthy food or massaging your own face with home-made serum, you can catch up on the latest gossip and build more on the friendships you already have.

Maybe I can incorporate this into my extra-outdoor-seating building party...or into my outdoor-planter-painting party...mix a little work into the relaxation. hee hee Still SO fun of course!

and i was worried about losing my job

Oh My God.

I had no idea. This is even more terrifying than my last blog post. Looks like there's a bigger fish to fry out there, and I thought I was starting to do my part to help...boy was I wrong. I haven't even started, and there is an entire mountain to climb. I wish that somehow I'd never, ever have to buy anything else, ever again.

If you care about you, your health, your family, the planet, the air you breath, the food you eat, the food your children eat, your future generations...watch this. Even if you don't, watch this anyway. It's unbelievable what we've been made to think, when this has so obviously been going on for years.

"The Story of Stuff"

my hair, my skin, and me - face accomplished!

I am so in love with this Avocado Facial Bar from "Rocky Mountain Soap Company". It's absolutely phenomenal on your skin - the first time I used it was over a week ago, and the first thing I noticed was that my skin had never, not ever felt that clean. It wasn't just devoid of grease and dirt, but it was cleeeaaan. No left over chemically residue. This bar is 100% made of natural and 'good-for-you' ingredients. And what I love almost the most is that it's locally made just next door in Canmore, AB. So not only am I supporting my own health and the environment, but I'm supporting local and Canadian business. This makes me so happy! I've also noticed significant change in my skin in just over a week. I didn't have problems with my skin in the first place, but the skin tone is so much more even than before, I don't have little spots on my nose or forehead anymore. My skin feels fresh and bright all day long!

I love it so much that I'm going to buy all my girlfriends a bar to try - also awesome - it's only $4.99 per bar. You can't find face wash anywhere for that price, never mind made of natural ingredients, and this bar will last forever. It's good for guys too - Noel loves it - and it barely smells of anything, just a hint of something spa-esque...the smelly ingredients are: chamomile, grapefruit and lavender. But really, you can barely tell that it carries a scent at all.

The coolest ingredients have to be the avocados to sooth and regenerate skin, and the green clay to detoxify congested pores and balance oiliness.

Go and get some. At this price and quality, you simply cannot go wrong...just don't get it in your eyes.

my body will thank me...one day

Yikes...I can barley lift my arms enough to reach the keyboard, let alone hold them there to type this out! I had my first class at the community centre this morning, it's called "Long and Strong" and basically it's an hour of non-stop aerobics, mixed with tonnes of weights, stretchy bands and balance balls - not one muscle left un-touched. I have never done so many push-ups in my life...no wait, never attempted to do so many push-ups in my life. I pretty much took the easy route the whole class, but even that was almost too much for me. Thank God I'm doing this now and not when I'm older...the whole class I was thinking, "if I can't hold these 5lb weights, how the hell am I going to hold my own baby". Like I said, thank God. I did however, feel incredibly out of place being the youngest by far, the weakest out of all of them, and the only one that didn't have kids. But I can't wait to go back next week!

So after the class, I took my ruined and shaky body to get the most delicious London Fog Latte I've ever had. And I've never deserved it more...although I felt like the biggest idiot trying to figure out how to use my arms and legs again after they'd been brutalized like that. But I feel great!! I know that as the day passes I will be increasingly more unable to move certain muscles in my body, and by tomorrow I'm fairly certain that I will be a log and bed ridden. But it's well worth it.

Until next Monday!

my hair, my skin, and me - another eye opener

I just washed my hair...Burt's Bees already feels fantastic, even while wet!!

I'm driving myself a little bit crazy with this ingredient checking fetish, but I realized I hadn't checked my body lotion that I'd been using for the past few months. I bought it because it looked clean, didn't have fragrance, it was hypoallergenic, it was Vaseline (been around for ages) and it was 2-for-1 (yep, I'm guilty).

Take a look at this link: VASELINE INTENSIVE RESCUE

And really read through. It has 'freaky' written all over it. I have a strong desire to discontinue use of these immediately...but I'm afraid of breaking the bank by going out and buying even more body care products...
Hazard Risk: 6/10

Remember how I mentioned it was 2-for-1? Well, the other Vaseline product I purchased was even worse. How much worse? This one isn't only freaky - there are cancer risks ALL over this product: VASELINE COCOA BUTTER DEEP CONDITIONING
Hazard Risk: 9/10

I haven't opened the bottle, nor will I. I can't believe I was actually looking forward to using this product. My God...DEEP conditioning...the word 'deep' freaks me out the most, especially considering the cancer risks. I'm not letting this one anywhere close enough to my skin that it can get 'deep' into it. But now what the hell do I do with it?? I can't give it away without feeling like I'm poisoning someone else (how can Vaseline do it, not to mention make a profit off of it, too????)

That Avalon Organics Lavender body lotion I have is looking better and better....I might just use that till it's done and move onto something better for me.
Hazard Risk: 3/10

Note to my Hubbie:

Maybe it's a good thing you're not here, I'd be driving you absolutely crazy with all of this!! Although I know you're going through the blog and probably saying, "My God woman...get a hold of yourself!!" (Seinfeld styles) Too bad you're not here to help me, I will have to find the will-power on my own to stop this madness! But then there's the returning for refund/purchasing new products dilemma...that's going to be hard to get out of my head. You know better than anyone (especially as of recently) how I take hours debating on things like smell, ingredients, packaging, brands, and the list goes on...I miss you!

my hair, my skin, and me - the first step

Yoga is so nurturing for all aspects of your mind, body and spirit. So incredibly nurturing in fact, that I can somehow not feel awful about spending almost $50.00 on face wash, shampoo, and conditioner, that are actually good for you. After my rant yesterday, I decided that I will not use the closest thing to healthy that I could find at the grocery store this one last time, and I went out after yoga today and invested in some Burt's Bees products, just like I said I would. I'm sure the store will take my un-used products back...at least I sure hope they do.

It was a little unsettling to pass by products that would have totalled $7.00 for the same items I bought for almost $50.00 (they were bad for you of course), but I have to say that it's sort of fun investing your money in your own health and body. I don't mind it at all. It's totally worth the extra cost to not cringe in the shower as you put the toxic shampoo in your hand and lather it all over your scalp.

There were some other really interesting things that I discovered after last night. For one, there were ingredients in my all time favourite face wash that are damaging to your eyes (amongst other things). I must admit that I was never careful about this face wash and my eyes before this discovery, because I'd get it in my eyes all the time and it wouldn't hurt. So I thought, "Oh! How wonderful! This must be so wonderfully pure and gentle on my skin, because it doesn't hurt my eyes". Wrong! I wonder if this is the reason my eye doctor thinks I have a chronic lid infection...after I started using my contacts properly, they were still red and inflamed. I now blame face wash. This is the only thing I can think of that touches my eyes besides my freshly clean fingers and a Kleenex from time to time.

Second amazing discovery, Sodium Lauryl/Laureth Sulfate DRYS OUT YOUR HAIR! For the past year I'd been blaming my stylists for giving me bad hair cuts that just didn't sit properly, so I lived with my fuzzy, splitted-looking ends and used products to try and calm the dryness. I thought back, and just this past year I switched shampoos to one containing "certified organic botanicals", thinking it would be good for my hair. Also wrong! This particular combination of ingredients must be even more drying than the traditional Pantene Pro-V I'd been using for almost the whole of my previous life. Wow, right?

So...we'll see if I can get Burt's Bees to correct these issues. I have new face wash, and new shampoo and conditioner. I'm SO excited to use them.

my hair, my skin, and me - the mission

As I'm sitting here, sipping at my 'Sleepy Time' tea, I'm beginning to realize that this is going to be a long 5 nights without my dear husband! Even blogging isn't as much fun when he's not around, strangely enough, but I'm trying to enjoy my 'me-night-in' as much as I can. I did hours' worth of grocery shopping, organized our pantry for what feels like the 50th time, I made a simple dinner and had a glass of red wine...which hit me harder than expected - and let me repeat myself, not as much fun when Noel isn't around - but it's effects are wearing off now. Then I watched multiple 'home' shows, after catching just the tail end of a brand new episode of 'John and Kate + 8" (sniffle) which I hadn't recorded, and now I'm getting ready for bed at 9:00pm and can't wait to snuggle in with my book and have my 'electric sundown' early enough to get a wicked nights' sleep before hot yoga in the morning.

Hmm...I just burnt my tongue.

So earlier this afternoon, in between work and errands, I spent a lot of time on the Internet researching different ingredients in the body care products that I use (like shampoo, body wash, body lotion, etc.). Although this wasn't my first time researching, it was definitely the first time I went in depth and really alarmed myself, as the information I found today was incredibly frightening! Not only that, but very upsetting because I led myself to believe that when things say "organic", that it meant these products were safer and healthier than regular products to use on my scalp, and my skin.

Much to my chagrin, this is not so!!

These "organic" products, or products containing "certified organic botanicals", absolutely still contain deadly ingredients found in other more generic brands. And all this time I thought I was helping myself and the environment to become healthier by buying these products. I was speechless after reading some of these things...skin, eye and lung irritants, ingredients that affect estrogen and testosterone levels, ingredients that mess with your reproductive organs...ingredients that are linked to cancer. ALL of these ingredients...found in the 'organic' products that I use everyday. In the past year, I have made conscious efforts to avoid these chemicals and ingredients in hopes of a healthier lifestyle, so I went out and bought shampoos, etc. that made themselves sound safer, much safer than the average. Turns out that you actually need to put forth hours of research before hand, to ensure that what you're purchasing is actually healthy for you...

On a positive note, I realized all of this just as I was about to run out and stock up on things like shampoo and lotion - at least whatever I had was already used and I couldn't do anything about it, nor did I need to throw it out.

Here's the kicker!

I found NOTHING, in the 3 grocery stores I visited today, that even resembled something healthy to put on your skin...and I really tried. Like, really. I passed by a plethora of 'organic' and 'natural' products with the lethal ingredients. Even my beloved "Avalon Organics" hand lotion, that I divulged about earlier, is contaminated with toxic ingredients; of which I was completely unaware.

How anyone in their right mind could sell this to human beings and still sleep at night is completely beyond me.

Don't they know that they're creating unhealthy bodily changes, unbalanced hormone levels? And possibly causing cancer?? In a 'right' world, these products would be kept OFF the shelves, UNTIL they were proven to be 100% safe for use. So I bought what I thought was 'safest' just because I don't want to walk around with greasy hair and dry skin. But I'm on a mission to find the healthiest products, preferably Canadian made, that I can buy locally (purchasing online is a real downer...smell is very important to me).

The first thing on my list is "Burt's Bees" products...click here to check out Burt's Bees, and how I'm not the only one to have fallen into this trap...how it's a very likely thing to do if you don't know any better. I've been loyally using their lip balm since high school, but had never branched out to their other products because of the lack of selection in local grocery stores.

I have a feeling this is a never-ending journey, time consuming and money draining...luckily I only have so much money to spare. You can do some light reading yourself at the links below. Beware, once you start, you'll be so offended that you can't stop.

Bubble and Bee - Chemical Database

And on this page, you can do all the research you've dreamed of, and even sign a petition to get these products off of our shelves until they are proven safe for use.

Skin Deep - Cosmetic Safety Database

aaaahhhh

What a lovely day I just had with my dearest friend, Kristi!! My mind and body feel so relaxed and happy right now, I tend to forget that you can't just keep going, that you need to rejuvenate every now and then. Today was definitely one of those days, and in a very productive way!

We started off with hot yoga at the Bodhi Tree. My all-time favourite yoga destination, and even more fun when you share the whole experience with a close friend who's into it too. I've never sweat SO much in a yoga class - the slimy kind of sweat - this one was somehow much more humid, but I love how stretchy the heat can make you if you let it. An hour and a half of breathing and stretching and twisting does wonders for your entire being - your mind, body, soul, innards. Oh yes...GOOD! (Kristi, we really should try to do this every Sunday)

Afterwards we treated ourselves to some fruity, healthy shakes. Delicious and cold, which I continued to drink during my shower. Acai berry shakes are amazing!! We then snacked on freshly home-made chili (thanks Cam!) with loads of cheese on top (super healthy...right? Just make believe and it will be...)

When our tummy's were full and happy, we took a nice walk with her dogs (Roxy and Baxter...see below) to Starbucks where we enjoyed warm beverages in the crisp outdoors and caught up. I must say, I don't remember ever just sitting in chilly weather like that, drinking something warm and delicious - a London Fog Latte to be specific. It was the BEST! I could use more fresh air. And definitely more face time with my bud (we must do more summer-time planning!). Here's an OLD puppy picture of one of those dogs (of which one you ask? Good question), along with a more 'recent' one of me making a face at Roxy. More recent being...last fall sometime - make that early fall, it was still warm.


It was a wonderfully, quiet day. I promised myself that we'd have more days like this. And this makes myself very happy.

the best ever lotion

I tried this lotion at my sisters' house once, and was instantly hooked. Avalon Organics people, it's a miracle lotion. My hands had never felt that moisturized, sealed, healthy - and in a winter this dry, I'd been having problems like you wouldn't believe. My hands never looked so old and cracky! I never have dry skin issues. Probably due to a lotion OCD. But even with all the lotions I could get my hands on, they just wouldn't cure my dry hands. These were the only kind that worked.

As I'm typing this out, I realized I could have just asked my sister where she got hers from. Well...I didn't. I'm not sure why now. But regardless - I've been looking high and low for these since Christmas. Multiple stores had shampoos, but nobody carried the lotion line. I was devestated, and so I bought other 'organic' and earth friendly lotions instead, only to be severely disappointed.

FINALLY, today just by accident I found these lotions at a small drugstore nearby. I hadn't thought to look there because the place was so small, and other drug stores like it didn't carry the lotion line either. Needless to say, I promptly bought the 'Lavender' Lotion and my hands are the silkiest they've been in months. If you haven't tried this yet, it's an absolute must. You wouldn't believe the results, not to mention the incredible smell - all natural, of course.

Hooray for organic, earth friendly products!! Good for you AND our planet.