makeup; or, i might as well apply a thick layer of lead to my face

I don't have nice skin. I think I maybe did, pre-eleven-years-old, but definitely not since then. I would like to hide behind makeup, but, geez, makeup can be scary. I only own powder foundation. (I'm so ill-versed in makeup that I'm not even sure that's what it's called. I always have to look it up.) And, I only wear it days I work outside of my home, which means rarely ever.

For the last several years, I've been using Bare Minerals. One container of powder lasts me a good, long while, so I don't have to worry about buying new makeup often. As my little container is almost empty, though, I have to worry about it now. I thought I'd be an informed consumer/user, so I turned to Environmental Working Group's cosmetics database to perhaps find a less expensive, but not terrifying, makeup. First, what I'm currently using has a moderately high overall hazard, including occupational hazards (what the what?!). Second, yes, makeup is scarier than I thought. I'm glad I don't wear it much more often. Why do we poison ourselves for vanity's sake. (I don't even know how the manufacture of all of this stuff affects those doing the manufacturing or how it affects the environment.)

I might go with Physician's Formula (this specific powder), which I know I can buy at nearby stores (as in, I don't have to buy my makeup online). Still, reading even those stats kind of freaks me out.

If anyone has feedback regarding makeup that won't cause my face to fall off, I'd love to hear it, please.

baking soda! and other stuff

Okay, so this post will probably not be exclusively about good ol' bicarbonate of soda, but it will play a starring role.

I've been working for a very long time on gradually making more things at home that I might once have purchased ready-made. This coincided with becoming a bit quietly tree-hugger-ish/crunchy/whatever. This started when Pic was really a wee one. I was thinking about all of the things we used that might end up harming her: toilet cleaners, floor cleaners, surface cleaners, ecc.

A while after that, I also started thinking about the items that I use that might have a negative impact on my body and on the earth.

I started out very simply by stopping use of disposable cleaners (those toilet bowl scrubbers or whatever they were, disinfectant wipes, so on), plug-in air fresheners (we went through a weird phase of being somewhat obsessed with these...why?) and fabric softener sheets.

I switched from bottled window cleaners and surface cleaners to white vinegar and water solutions. Much later, I began adding baking soda in as a scrubbing agent. I switched us to "green" laundry detergent and dish detergent. I bought us some reusable bags (which I still forget to bring sometimes) and reusable water bottles. I started collecting canning jars and then buying glass storage containers for our food storage needs.

More recently, I've focused more on myself. 2009 seemed to be a year of change for me. I stopped using shampoo and I started using cloth pads. As for shampoo, I started using shampoo bars. In May of that year, I tried to go the no 'poo route (please note the placement of my apostrophe). The article I read indicated that it might take anywhere between two and eight weeks to adjust to that. I waited five before I got really tired of my hair being constantly greasy and gross and switched back to shampoo bars. At some point, I stopped worrying about buying specifically-marked shampoo bars and started using whatever bar of soap looked good to me.

I restarted my no 'poo affair in May of this year. I have a much better (for me) system now. I use one of Pic's old shampoo bottles (I still use Burt's Bees baby shampoo/body wash for her...when she deigns to bathe herself). I put some baking soda (really, this is how I measure...if I had to guess, I'd say I use about a tablespoon, maybe a bit more because I have a big head) in the bottle and then add warm water when I get in the shower (I don't enjoy mixing it beforehand and having it waiting because then it's too cold). I shake up the bottle, turn off the water and squirt the solution over my scalp. I rub the solution onto my head for a good while and let it sit until I'm finished washing and rinsing the rest of my body. After my shower, and after I get the excess water out of my hair, I spray an apple cider vinegar and water mixture onto my head in nice big puffs. (I tried using straight apple cider vinegar, but I'm pretty sure that ruined two spray bottles. Either that, or I bought really cheap bottles. Now, I use about two parts vinegar to one part water.) Then, I comb my hair and think about doing something with it. And, seriously, for the first time I can remember, I can wait a day (or maybe even two!) before I wash my hair again. This, coming from a person who used to sometimes use industrial cleaner on my hair. (Oy with the poodles. I really do try to block that out.) This, coming from a person who used to wash her hair twice a day because it was so greasy.

As for my cloth pads: I love them. I know the very idea freaks some people out, but, well, obviously not me. I bought twelve pads from an etsy shop two years ago and have been very happy with them ever since. I would like to have some cloth pantyliners also, but I keep telling myself I'll learn to sew and I'll make those myself. Recently, I bought a Diva Cup. I was very nervous about using it, but it worked for me. Seriously, though, for either of these, you have to not be squeamish about what your own body produces (and then rejects when it realizes there's nothing growing in your uterus). (Oh, and there're instructions for "women's cloth" in Handmade Home if you're interested in making your own.)

Last May, I also started using baking soda to wash my face. I keep a little jar of it in the shower and a jar of it on my bathroom counter. I just pour a little in my hand and add a teeny bit of water to form a paste and scrub that on. About a year ago, I started using witch hazel as an astringent, thanks to the recommendation of some friends. Recently, I started trying to use coconut oil on my face also, but I'm still undecided on whether that is doing any good. And, I can't use it during the day because, although it supposedly is absorbed into your skin in fifteen minutes, my skin refuses to absorb it in anything less than four thousand hours (or something).

This May, I also finally got around to making my own deodorant. I stopped using antiperspirant a little more than three years ago because I got all paranoid about its ingredients. I was mainly using Tom's of Maine's deodorant, sometimes Trader Joe's. However, with both, I still had to carry deodorant around with me because I was seriously stinky. The homemade deodorant? I freaking love. So much. Definitely. It is not antiperspirant, but I'm already used to my sweat. But, oh. my. gracious. I don't smell. The first few days I used the deodorant, I kept sniffing my underarms, constantly reminding myself of Otto.

A couple of notes on this deodorant: while I didn't smell unpleasant, I did smell chocolately; it's weird to smell chocolately from my underarms. Here's a big duh statement: have a short jar or container handy. I didn't have one the first time I made this and ended up putting it in a jar that was too tall for me to easily get to my deodorant. Pain in my butt. Cardo made his first deodorant recently and he poured the liquid into his old deodorant container and that's worked for him. I use two little jars now. I divide the liquid into the jars and keep one in the bathroom and one in the refrigerator until I need it. (My deodorant has tangerine essential oil and Cardo's has lavender essential oil.)

The deodorant has baking soda, among five other ingredients.

I also make our laundry detergent. It's been something close to two years since I started that. I am happy with the results. I would like, however, to make a small amount of liquid detergent for when I handwash (which, um, I kind of never get around to). I also occasionally make air freshener. I just started doing that because we already have the essential oils for the deodorant. I pour a bit of baking soda on a saucer and add a few drops of whichever essential oil (the lavender is stronger).

I also use baking soda and vinegar for cleaning just about everything in our home: toilets, counters, the oven. I occasionally get around to using vinegar as a fabric softener, but I can almost never remember to add it to the rinse cycle. I use vinegar and water to clean mirrors and the non-carpeted floors. Oh, I have also used baking soda on the carpet if it smells (sprinkle on before vacuuming).

So, I'm pretty sure I've mentioned baking soda about a lot of times here. (Oh, yeah, I've also used baking soda paste to soothe sunburn. And, I've used it to brush my teeth, although it tastes awful and I'm still not sure if I need fluoride so I haven't yet moved to making my own toothpaste.) So, yes, when Cardo asks if I really need that much baking soda, I do. I even use it to bake once in a while.

All of this seems like a lot, but really, I started making these changes almost seven years ago. I'm all about gradual change, letting myself ease into new things. And, there's so much more I'd like to do, so much more I'd like to make here and so many different ways I'd like to use less new and/or disposable stuff.

In my dreams, I cook and bake much more and I make our clothes (sometimes out of the clothes and other materials we already have on hand). Maybe I'll work on that over the next seven years.

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A couple of notes: I have been meaning to post on some of this for quite some time, so I crammed it all here in one post because otherwise I'll never get to it. But, geez, this post is long and took me forever to slog through. Also, can you tell who does most of the cleaning around here? At some point, I hope to be able to replace a lot of those "I"s with "we"s.

danny tanner cleaning

Every time I clean something like the bottle of dish soap, I think of Danny Tanner. There was the time he used the hand-held vacuum to clean the regular vacuum. And, there was the time he was washing his cleaning gloves (which I do not use, much to the chagrin of everyone who has had to fingerprint me in the past several years) and Joey, I think, came in and said something like, "Danny's finally done it: he's cleaning soap!" (There's no way that's an accurate quote; that's just what I'm remembering.)

So, what has been "Danny Tanner" cleaned around here in the past couple of days?
* the dish soap bottle (of course)
* the kitchen sink stopper
* the trash cans
* the dust pan

Right now, the refrigerator is pulled out so I can attempt to clean the coils. I keep reading these articles about cleaning the coils, but it turns out I have no idea where the coils are and I'm kind of wishing I had never tried to clean that. Oh, geez, it's disgustingly fuzzy back there. And, it wasn't until after I washed the back plate thing that I realized it's cardboard. It's outside right now, where I hope it'll dry enough for me to replace. Please don't disintegrate!

I have about one more day of this intense cleaning left in me (lots more cleaning has been going on, not just the above) and then I'm resorting to shoving stuff in closets to get me through mid-next week.

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Now I'm off to read the imdb trivia on Full House.

cooking up some cleanliness

[I wrote this post yesterday, but then I hadn't uploaded my (wonderfully crappy) pictures, so I waited to post. I have done my second load of laundry. Clothes look clean and are soft.]

Okay, so there wasn't actually any cooking involved in this recipe.

I've finally made it through the end of my bulk laundry detergent. We have been using Kirkland eco-friendly (or "eco-friendly"...I never know how much to believe that products like cleaners are eco-friendly) laundry soap and it has taken us forever to get through it. I can't even remember how many months ago I found the detergent recipe I wanted to try out (five? six?), but I've finally gotten around to it. First off, shredding a block of soap is somewhat akin to shredding a block of frozen cheddar cheese.



The detergent didn't come out exactly as I thought it would. The shredded soap didn't mix with the powdered ingredients the way I thought it would (based on the pictures from the recipe I was using). I stirred the soap for about fifteen minutes. Then, after I put the soap in an old, glass, pickle jar, I shook it up some. I can't tell if mine just looks different because the soap I used is something of a bright yellow color. I used the Fels-Naphta*, one of the suggested soaps. Next time I'll probably just use the soap we have on hand, but I get very nervous about playing around with a recipe on my first attempt. I'll just shake my jar before measuring out each load's worth of soap.



Anyhow, I've done exactly one load of laundry with this soap (and I'm about to do another). I can't tell if our clothes are cleaner or not. I've never taken my clothes from the washing machine and thought, "Wow, my clothes are dirty." My clothes have always at least looked clean. Without access to some kind of a laboratory, I'm not sure how I'd be sure how clean different soaps are making our clothes. I do know, though, that our clothes are so much softer than they were before. The only change I made was the soap.

And, because the world seems to revolve around me (I jest), I found an article, "Do-It-Yourself Laundry Detergent", on Yahoo! just this morning. This article linked to another article, "The Great American Soap Overdose", in the Wall Street Journal. I love that the WSJ article ends on that throw-away line from the Seventh Generation co-founder, Jeffrey Hollender, about not even needing soap most of the time. Could he be a bit more specific? (Neither of the authors were specific enough for me regarding this issue.) And, I wonder how others in his business, including in his own company, respond to statements like that. Are they all kicking him, or wanting to, in hopes that he'll keep quiet about stuff like that?

I also once read that to test if you are using too much detergent, you can run some loads of towels through the washing machine. Throw your towels in, add no detergent, and check at some point (sorry, I can't remember exactly when...when the basin is full of water?) to see if there are suds. If you see suds, you know that you use too much detergent in your wash. The person who suggested this experiment claimed that most people who do this have to do this rinsing seven or eight times to get the soap out. I am carefully measuring my new detergent.

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* I was somewhat nervous about using the Fels-Naphtha because of others' concerns (this is just one bit of reading I did). (Also, it's got "naphta" in it's name. I wonder where that originated?) I think next time, I'll use an olive oil soap, as suggested in the comments on that linked post. I just saw some at a nearby grocery store. We'll see how this goes for now.

Also, I cut off part of the soap bar, considering the recipe calls for 4.5 ounces of soap and the bar was 5.5 ounces. We have a kitchen scale and I used that to weigh the soap.

I held the soap by the wrapper while I was shredding it. Also, a while back, I bought a shredder at Goodwill to use only for shredding soap. I use an old coffee scoop for measuring out my soap. I made sure that the scoop measured one tablespoon.

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Happy Earth Day tomorrow!

recycling-bin diving?

Cardo just brought home a big trash can so we can start composting. (Right now, we've been saving our foodstuffs in a bag hanging from the grill on the back patio.) We're completely new at this, so we'll see how it goes. I've been reading enough about it lately that I just can't not give it a try.

So, we were out for a walk today and the area we were in is having their garbage and recycling picked up tomorrow. Many had already set out their trash cans and recycling bins. In front of a couple of houses we passed, piles of black garbage bags were lined up. I'm guessing these were full of lawn clippings, but I wasn't adventurous enough to peek. In front of a couple of more houses were recycling bins full of newspapers and paper bags. I really wanted those newspapers, or brown waste (I'm trying to learn the jargon). I didn't take them.

What I am wondering: Is it okay to take stuff from someone's recycling? The person who put it there obviously didn't have any further need for it. Should I go knock on the door and ask? What do you think?

waste...and the waste that accompanies it

I hate to buy things just to throw them away. I think that I become more aware of things like this as the years go by. It's not that I didn't think about how wasteful I was when I was younger, I just think about it more and more now.

I've just gotten over a cold that kept me in my bed for almost all of Wednesday. I think I used about a roll of toilet paper to blow my nose. (We don't buy facial tissues. Cardo used to use paper towels as tissues, but we haven't bought paper towels in something like a year and we finally ran out of them completely many months ago. I swear that man would use sandpaper on his nose if it was readily available.) I hate opening a new roll of toilet paper -- and that's another thing: we buy toilet paper in bulk from Costco and each roll is (wastefully) individually wrapped in a waxy kind of paper -- and I hate having to replace it less than three days later.

I know that some people think the use of handkerchiefs is revolting, and I know that many, many, many people think the use of cloth toilet paper (also sometimes called family cloth, family wipes or cloth wipes, as it isn't paper, of course) is beyond revolting, but what do you, my handful of readers, think?

I really do hate the idea of flushing all of that money down the drain (ha!...yeah, I know).

I've been hearing about toilet cloth (as I would like to call it) for quite some time. I like to think that most people have, but then I have to remember that not everyone is into the same reading/listening that I am (duh).

The Organic Sister has a kind of how-to post, "TMI Alert: Cloth Toilet Paper." When I say "how-to," I don't mean anything graphic. I just mean she discusses how they use toilet cloth in their home (actually, their previous home, as they are now traveling in Benny the Brave). I have this blog post bookmarked...just in case.

I've also heard talk about it in an NPR interview of the family from the movie No Impact Man (I still haven't seen the movie). When Neal Conan asks Michelle Beavan about the issue most people seemed to want to focus on, the no-toilet-paper issue, she seemed to be so over the topic as something, well, scandalous. Her tone, her acceptance of cloth wipes, makes me question my own hesitation about trying cloth wipes.

Oh, yes, and I just (as I was typing this) read this relatively dated (I'm talking in interweb time here) post on The Green Daily: "Could you give up your toilet paper?" I thought the comments would be interesting and would represent mature thought and debate. Mainly not, though. I am so tired of the argument that using things like cloth napkins or cloth toilet paper will use up tons of water because then you have to wash those too. Um, yes, you throw that stuff in with the rest of your laundry. How big do some people imagine cloth napkins to be? (This is the first time I've seen the argument regarding cloth wipes, but my counter remains the same. I don't think anyone is suggesting we use beach towels as toilet cloth.) As far as I know, producing paper also uses water.

Actually, go read that very short blog post and skim through the comments. Many of the commenters seem to be very angry and vehement about wanting to continue to use toilet paper (which is what Mayville-Cox, the writer, says she plans to continue doing, although she does use recycled toilet paper). Who would have thought this would be such a heated issue? I've never read anyone talk about their cloth-wipe use as a means of absolute salvation for the planet.

I'm always disappointed when I read something really interesting online, something that has the potential to generate some great discussions and the comments spiral off into ugliness and disrespect. Wow.

I haven't read the article Mayville-Cox references and I'm unable to pull it up, but I'm interested in what the writer of that article had to say.

Anyhow, I've spent entirely too long on this post and browsing around for information on this post. I'll leave you with a couple of browsing links: cloth wipes and handkerchiefs. (I'm gathering from my reading that cotton flannel is a good option for both cloth wipes and for handkerchiefs.)

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Of course, before I took off, I had to at least look up "how toilet paper is made." Here's a quick video.


"How Toilet Paper is Made"
[Videos like this are strangely enthralling to me. I'm not sure if YouTube has changed a bit or if I just clicked on a strange video. I can't find the little bit of information on the video that usually shows up on the right side of the video for me. I'm not sure what this television show is, but I'm going to guess it's from the Discovery Channel. :)]

secret ingredients

Okay, so there's nothing secret about baking soda and vinegar. I know, I know, could I possibly go on any more about these ordinary kitchen staples (they're definitely staples in my home)? Um, yes. I could. And, I will.

Shampoo tends to build up in my hair. I've always had this problem. Perhaps all shampoo-users have this problem. I don't know. Anyhow, I apparently still have this problem with shampoo bars. (Why would it be any different?, I suppose.) There's been so much build-up in my hair that combing my hair after washing and toweling it dry has felt like my comb is a little hand attached to a very strong arm -- a little hand that is trying to yank every one of my hairs out. Ow.

I've been switching back and forth between my two shampoo bars, but that hasn't been helping of late. Finally, last night, I went back to washing my hair with baking soda. Then, I rinsed it with a ton (okay, a cup) of apple cider vinegar. And, oh geez, was that cider unpleasantly cold running down my back. After I got out of the shower and toweled my hair dry, I got out my comb and combing my hair was like cutting through room-temperature butter with a hot knife. So nice.

Okay, so I smelled like I was dying Easter eggs in the shower, but it worked. (I haven't dyed Easter eggs for over a decade, but that scent memory came back to me immediately.)

I'm going to try using a half-and-half water and vinegar solution as detangler from here on out and see how that goes. Pic's not a fan, she let me know tonight. The smell was too overwhelming for her. (She told me it smelled too salty. Mmm-kay.) The smell goes away. I like being able to comb my hair, even if it sometimes looks as if I never actually do comb it.

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And, so, before I head off to bed, let me just note that I just finished mopping the bathroom floors with a water and white vinegar solution. Yes, I'm addicted.

homemades/handmades

I have been meaning to post forever and forever about a few handmade items I’ve acquired in the last eight months. (Why, yes, I do procrastinate.)

First, about the whole not washing my hair for five weeks over the summer. This has to do with that. Before that experiment, I switched over from regular, liquid shampoo to bar shampoo. I read about Blue House Soaps on nature moms blog and started ordering shampoo bars and face soap from them. I was very wary about the shampoo bars because I was convinced they wouldn’t really clean my hair. However, I LOVE them. And, the owners send the soaps wrapped in cute little bits of fabric. Right now, the owners are moving to a new house and they aren’t taking any new orders. I’m not sure when they will begin again, but I hope it’s soon. I have been using Dr Bronner’s All-in-One soap as shampoo for the last few months. I get that over at Whole Foods. I use both the plain one and the rose one. The face soap, though? I love the Blue House Soaps face saver soap. It’s the best face soap I’ve ever used and I’ll be sad if they don’t start making their soaps again.


I was so excited when I got these in the mail all those months ago. Also, I ordered that little wooden soap holder and they sent a free sample of soap.



This picture is from when we went to visit Poke and her family in August. I had just gotten a new order of soap. This time, I also ordered some soap for Pic. I got another free sample, but I don't have a picture.

As for the five weeks over the summer: I went no ‘poo. I used a baking soda paste on my hair, which actually did clean it, but it never felt clean enough. The instructions said it would take between two and eight weeks for my hair/scalp to get used to me no longer using shampoo. I almost made it six. I think I might try it again next summer and see if I can go until my hair feels normal to me again.

More handmade: my new pads. I’ve had them for a few months now, but I’ve had a few weird periods (which I’m sure everyone needs to know), so I still wasn’t sure if the pads were going to work out. Now I know, though, that I love them. I bought them from Crea8tiveMama on etsy, per Poke's suggestion. I’d like to get some more. I bought a starter set and a Pad My Stash set. If only I knew how to sew so much better than I do. I’m trying to talk my mom into opening an etsy shop and I keep giving her ideas about what to sell. I have no plans of ever going back to disposable pads.


(Not to worry: This is a pre-use picture. I just wanted to show off the fun designs.)


Now, just to gross you out (in case you aren’t already grossed out by the thought of cloth pads…because, believe me, Cardo is grossed out), I’m thinking about switching us over to handkerchiefs. I’m not sure how grossed out I myself will be about this prospect, but I’ll give it a go. However, what material are handkerchiefs made from? Cotton, I’m guessing, but there’s every possibility that I’m totally off on this.


Other ideas or suggestions for me?

surfin' the crimson wave

I just ordered my first set of cloth pads from a seller on etsy. Poke* sent me a couple of links and I finally decided to just order them already. I've been wanting to, but the price thing always holds me up. I know that this reason is completely illogical because, really, the price of regular pads adds up much more quickly. If I like them, I'll share the name of the seller here. (If I don't, I'm sure it'll probably just be a me issue, so I won't go blaming other people.)

So, why cloth pads? Several reasons, in no particular order:
- I'm not a big fan of tampons, but I'm not sure that I really want to try any of the various menstrual cups out there. Maybe one day.
- I would really like to have something reusable. I hate throwing away that much plastic. One of my biggest guilt issues in raising Pic (there aren't many of these issues) is not cloth diapering. Cardo refused to go along with it no matter the reassurances that no, we wouldn't be using something akin to giant cloth napkins affixed with giant safety pins. I tried to get him to agree to cloth diapers, but I still feel I could have done more. Ah, well. She's long out of diapers now, so I should just let it go, right? Anyhow, I plan on having my period for the next several decades at least, so I can at least stop using disposable products.
- I loathe regular disposable pads. I hate feeling like I'm wearing a diaper.
- My living/money situation is most likely soon to change and I'd like to save money where I can. It's funny how so often doing something that is (at least supposed to be) good for the environment can seem so expensive at first until I look a little further. I don't want to buy expensive cleaning products, for instance, so I use vinegar and baking soda. I don't have the money to buy any of the organic cotton or bamboo clothing I've so far found (I really can't get over that sticker shock), so we buy used clothes. I'm hoping that I'll soon get it through my head that buying a set of reusable pads will very quickly prove to be less costly than monthly buying disposable ones.

So, anyhow, I'll let you know.

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* Poke will very soon be (might already be) cloth diapering Baby B. (Baby B has to be big enough to fit into the diapers, but then they'll last throughout her diapered days.)

tomorrow's resort?

Can I just begin this by saying I love me some Marlon Brando (even when his Brother Sky* so irritatingly refers to women as 'dolls'). Yes, I can? Okay, then.

So, how about the next time Cardo and I celebrate an anniversary (and the next time we're millionaires), we stay at The Brando? (You have to click on the press release, at least at the time I'm posting this. I'm not sure when the site will be updated.)


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* Or, perhaps, Damon Runyon's Sky Masterson. Whoever...the words come out of Brando's mouth in the movie version I've seen countless times.

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P. S. I have never seen any of the Godfather films. :gasp!:

window shopping

I finally bought some organic Earl Grey tea leaves on clearance at Target a few weeks ago. I have yet to brew my tea, though, as I have no strainer-thingie and no nylons to attempt to use instead. So, I was just looking over at Nubius Organics and I found some reusable hemp tea bags. I might buy one of those. I also found this tea mug with a strainer built in so I could brew the tea right in the travel mug. Let's see how long it takes me to give in to this temptation. I only wish it came in green.



By the way, I love Nubius Organics.

Light of Day Organics, which was recommended to me by Kate quite a while back has some wonderfully tasty-sounding tea, but I kind of wanted to try some out before I bought some online. If I like the loose-leaf enough, I'm looking at the cacao mint and the orange assam to start. Mmm.

blister in the sun

It's time to buy new sunscreen again. I recently went to a nearby drugstore and earned a somewhat strange look from the clerk because, after she informed me they no longer carried the sunscreen I used last year (Kiss My Face...and it smelled so good), I told her I was looking for a physical blocker -- zinc oxide or titanium dioxide. She looked at me like I was stepping out of a different era and told me, 'Well, they're not really making those anymore.' I left without buying any new sunscreen (we're using up some Waterbabies we have here at home) and without asking, 'Who exactly is 'they'?'

As far as I can tell (I've done very little reading on this since that day about a month ago), there are still companies making sunscreen with physical blockers. Am I living in my very own little out-of-touch world?

Anyhow, I've decided to order some of this online. It's TruKids Sunny Days SPF 30 sunscreen. I always use Pic's sunscreen anyway, so we'll share. This contains titanium dioxide. The reviews I've read are very positive. I might go check out Whole Foods, though, to see if they carry the Kiss My Face line and if I still want to go that route.

I know that I seem to obsess about weird things, but I'm a lifetime sunscreen junkie. When your skin is as pale and burn-inviting as mine is, you just have to be (or, stay inside during all daylight hours but I'm incapable of that). I'm hoping to get Pic hooked on sunscreen also. We're both still working on Cardo. I think I've finally convinced him that it doesn't matter how dark his skin is, he still needs to wear sunscreen. However, I haven't yet actually convinced him to actually slather the stuff on. I do worry about the random ingredients in sunscreen and how the lotion itself could be potentially harmful, but I consider it a necessary product.

As I know I've mentioned here before, I have a perhaps exaggerated fear of one day being diagnosed with cancer. I try to take care against this happening, but I'm frustrated (and frightened) to know that at some point, it doesn't matter what I do because cancer is something we face and develop and die from. I'll not dwell on this thought here, though.

So, what about you guys -- what sunscreens are you using? Does anyone obsess about this as much as I do? (Probably not, I know.)

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Oh, one more note: Earth Day Festival this Sunday at Idlewild park. Earth Day is one of the few days I celebrate, so we plan on being there. I don't think we'll be there long enough for the worm-bucket composting presentation, though, which makes me a little blue.

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[Violent Femmes and John Cusack...ah.]

undomestic ungoddess

Yesterday, I slipped into a nice, fitted dress, some stockings and a pair of pumps. I applied a quick swipe of lip gloss and a dusting of blush* after I primped my hair. I tied an apron around my waist, snapped on some rubber gloves, hauled out the industrial strength chemicals and sang a happy tune as I cleaned the bathrooms.

Or, back on Earth...

I took a shower and donned a t-shirt and woefully holey pair of pants. I wrapped my hair up in a towel so I could apply a face mask without getting too much in my hair. Because I had the face mask on (shouldn't I not have acne anymore? didn't I pay my dues in junior high and high school? no?), I didn't put my glasses on. This means I can't see anything clearly if it's more than about four inches from my face. Pic was watching The Little Mermaid in the living room (we have about three or four different packagings of that movie, because, you know, why not?), so I figured I'd finally (partially) clean the bathrooms while she was distracted.

Anyhow, I was blindly making my way around my apartment, my face slightly burning under the clay and other crap in the face mask (I was concerned, but not enough to wash it off), and I decided this was the opportune time to make toilet cleaner. I figured, 'Hey, I have to clean both toilets, I'll just make a double batch of cleaner.' Um, yeah. When I added the vinegar to the baking soda, the whole thing bubbled over all over the counter and onto the floor. Well, not the whole thing. I stirred up what remained, fumbled my way to both bathrooms and poured the cleaner in the toilets. I finally wiped away the face mask, put on my glasses and the scrubbed and flushed the toilets. Although the making of the toilet cleaner was somewhat messy and not unlike a second-grade volcano science project, the result was successful. I swept the kitchen and bathrooms and then mixed up some floor cleaner (I say this as if I have a lab and a complicated process, but really, vinegar + water = cheap and easy floor cleaner), and mopped for the first time in my recent memory. (We're immune to our very own grossness, but you might not want to come over without building up your immune system first.)

So, now, there are clean bits in my apartment. For now.

More fun with cleaning.


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* You know this can't be a true story when it took me an embarrassingly long time to remember the term for that colorful stuff some apply to their cheeks.

things that make you go "hmm"...

I totally can't get behind this concept. Taxidermy creeps me out. I don't know exactly what else I'd have done with the animals' bodies, but stuffing them and hanging them as lighting for my home is not even making the list.

[I got the image from the article linked above.]

This does, though, make me want to reread Flight Maps. Perhaps this summer.

tp or not tp, that is the question...

So sorry, dear Will.

Anyhow, I just read this really small snippet on American toilet paper. Here at La Casa B, we use 2-ply Kirkland Signature (Costco's brand). It's inexpensive, but on top of all the other considerations, each roll is individually wrapped.

I've been thinking about toilet paper a lot lately because of the comments on this post (an earlier one of my posts).

Oh, and I just checked out that Bathroom Sprayers website that David mentioned in the comments and the sprayers are not as expensive or as invasive as I was thinking (I was thinking something along the lines of installing a new toilet fixture). Actually, they are like our flosser, which is hooked up to our showerhead.

chocoholic

Pilates makes me crave chocolate. I swear, every day when I finish my pilates routine, I want chocolate. This is so counterintuitive...I guess my body's just not thinking, there is some miscommunication between my reasoning (which rarely wins out in conscious debates) and my impulses. What is that about?

Speaking of chocolate, though (mmm). I recently bought Safeway's O (organic line) Hot Chocolate mix. Actually, because I am wooed by Safeway's sales, I bought two (it was a two for $5 deal). I was thinking along these lines, "Hey, Safeway's really close to here so I could buy hot chocolate mix often. Hey, this is cheaper than the hot chocolate mix I get at Trader Joe's [if only it were possible to have a love affair with a place...].' Guess what, though. I don't like the Safeway O (oh, no!) hot chocolate. It's too weirdly creamy with too much of a vanilla flavor. I get the fair-trade dark hot chocolate mix and the organic mint hot chocolate mix at Trader Joe's and the flavors of both are so...clean? crisp? I can't define it exactly, but they are not thick. So, now I have a whole big bunch of Safeway brand hot chocolate mix left over, unless...

So, this seems like one of those times when someone says, "Blech*, this tastes like dead people's feet....Taste it!" But, I contest that it's not one of those moments. If you like creamier hot chocolate (and if you live very near me or if I will be seeing you in the somewhat near future), the unopened container is yours. Let me know.

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* I don't know that anyone actually says 'blech,' but there you have it. I have scripted it as such.

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P.S. Speaking of chocolate (I just capitalized that, and I suppose it is deserving, so...Chocolate), there is a kid's book, The Chocolate Touch, in which the author, Patrick Skene Catling, uses description fabulously. I'd bring it in for teaching 'show, don't tell' in one of my classes except I don't think my students would take well to me bringing in a book I read to Pic when she was three-and-a-half. [We have an older edition of this book...and this is where ISBNs come in handy for quickly identifying the exact book (I knew I had a reason...except if the book is too old, there might not be an ISBN, but I digress).]

reusable bags

Okay, because I obviously have nothing better to be doing with my time (oh, wait, that's not true), I was checking through my inbox and came across this



I think I'm in love. I'm strangely addicted to reusable bags. I wonder if they will have these newer Chico Bags at the Earth Day festival this month. I'm hoping yes.

shampoo bars

Hello, all. Long time no post. (Yes, I understand how incredibly unfunny I am.)

Anyhow, I'm going to order a shampoo bar (my very first!) from Blue House Soaps. I'm planning to get the Sunshine shampoo (orange scent...I absolutely love citrus scents). I e-mailed Melissa (one half of the owning couple) to ask whether my hair length is an issue and she e-mailed me back very quickly with personal recommendations.

Would anyone (near me) like to add anything to my order? Please let me know and we can just order it all at once and save on shipping. I'll probably give this a week or so. I have plenty of shampoo right now to get me through about a month or so.

Okay, so check it out and let me know please.

...Now, I'm really off to do some more reading.