psa

So, we have family health and wellness plans for the summer. Cardo has finally, finally, finally come around to the idea of practicing yoga with me. His proposal is alternating Wing Chun with yoga and I'm all for that. Of course, for us all to be able to practice, we'll have to learn routines well enough to not have to be confined to small spaces in front of screens. We're thinking once we know what we're doing well enough, we'll practice in the park. (I'm attempting not to cringe at the thought of practicing out in a very public place, but I'm also looking forward to practicing in a place outside, a place I love so much.) Really, though, Pic and I end up kicking each other when we practice pilates here in the living room and adding another full-grown adult into the mix just isn't going to work all that well.

Okay, I realize I've gone on and one and that definitely wasn't the PSA part. Barefoot Yoga is holding a 20%-off sale for everything until the 27th, in honor of Earth Day (actually, Earth Month). I just ordered Cardo and Pic their first mats. I know mats can be had for much less at places like Ross, but I find it a bit contradictory to practice yoga or pilates on a mat that's rife with phthalates and formaldehyde and PCBs and such. (However, we're still working on our own budgeting, so I ordered them the least expensive mats available. Pic chose the color of hers and I guessed on Cardo's. When he got home, he confirmed my guess.)

What more? Just a quick reminder that the Earth Day celebration at Idlewild will be held this coming Sunday from 11-4. (I'm guess EcoNet decided to defer to the Easter-celebrants?)

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And, on a more personal note, as long as I'm mentioning ordering stuff: I've ordered a phone battery and it should be here by Tuesday. I hope. I have been without a cell for over two weeks now. It hasn't been terrible and the longer I don't have it, the more I don't feel I need it (imagine that). All the same, I would like to have the convenience back in time for this summer, which is when Pic and I plan to do much wandering.

I apologize if you've called my cell and haven't heard back from me. I've had my phone for a good long time (in cell years) and I really didn't want a new one. I think I've had it about five years now? The battery finally decided to get all weird and puffy and the phone completely stopped working. I'm hoping that replacing the battery will do the trick. We'll see.

psa: earth day

So, Earth Day is April 22nd, but EcoNet is hosting their celebration on Sunday, May 1st at Idlewild. I'm not entirely sure why the lapse, but there it is. Not sure what I'll be looking for this year (other than the kids' booth, certo). Live music? Yes. I'm having some difficulty with the EcoNet site so I can't scope out what else there'll be.

(I just typed "scope out" which makes me feel, for whatever reason, like I'm invoking Pauly Shore. Oy.)

Usually, I'm a bit overwhelmed by the event and I don't really allow myself to absorb much. I'll try to work on that this year. (I feel like I say that about so much. How often can I avoid typing, "I'm a work in progress"?)

in negotiation

Cardo and another co-worker are currently trying to sort out who is going to have which holiday off. His co-worker asked for Easter and Mother's Day. Cardo balked a bit at this, so I had to talk some sense into him [read that phrase lightly].

We don't celebrate Easter and I don't plan on celebrating Mother's Day. I don't mind if Cardo has to work that day. If we're going to do anything, we can do it the day before, or something.

Today, as we were walking, though, I came up with a compromise for them. I suggested to Cardo that he agree his co-worker gets Easter and Mother's Day off if he can have Earth Day and Father's Day off. Co-worker agreed.

I figure that most people would hear that suggestion and think, "Um, okay. Earth Day, Schmearth Day." Or something. This is one holiday I can really get behind, though. And, usually Cardo has to rush off to work. This year, I'd like to be able to linger at the Earth Day festival if we choose. I'm looking forward to it!

(As for Father's Day, I'm still trying to figure something out. Our fall-back gift is a framed picture of Cardo and Pic together. Ideas?)

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.]

in which i whine...and the earth weeps

[It was really hard for me to kill the alliteration there, but I really didn't want to use 'world.']

To appropriate some wonderfully famous words: It’s not easy being green.

I’m trying to cut down on the amount of paper I use, I am trying to do more and more on my computer (which uses power…ah, dilemmas, fun stuff). However, I have a hard time reading things on the computer screen, so I have printed about about a billion pages worth of reading this semester. I like pages to turn and margins to scribble in. I like the materiality of paper. I love paper, in fact. And books. And I have many, many books and much paper. I’m only somewhat decent at this game.

This aside, we are continually making strides here at La Casa B to be a bit more friendly to our little rock. And, you know what, Costco is our friend.

Recently, I have been whining (ah, with this whining) to Cardo that I want glass storage bowls instead of plastic. Costco delivered. The lids are still plastic, but the bowls are nice, thick glass. Costco also sells in bulk, of course, which is nice. We've been using Method soap since I decided to take us off antibacterial soap here and Dooce so nicely provided me with an alternative when she featured a container of Method on her 'Daily Style' feature. Costco so nicely offers huge refill containers of Method so we still have the original small containers which we periodically refill (when I get around to it). We also have Kirkland Signature (Costco's brand) environmentally-friendly laundry detergent and their environmentally-friendly dishwashing liquid. And, tonight, we bought Pic some more reusable cups (yeah!). Fifteen dollars for four and they are BPA-free.





I still have the little plastic containers to put Pic's lunch in (the glass containers are a bit on the big side for our lunch bags and I have to include a freezer-pack in her bag for school) and most of our travelmug things are plastic, but other than that, the plastic has largely been banished from our kitchen. I send Pic to school with actual metal and wood flatware. We both still have our Mimi the Sardine lunchbags and I've switched us over to cloth napkins (except Cardo, who kind of refuses to use the cloth napkins).

Oh, and I use things like Trader Joe's Citrus Shampoo and their Tea Tree Oil Face Wash, but until recently I've just been using Johnson and Johnson's regular yellow baby wash/shampoo for Pic. We bought this at Costco and it takes us about a freaking year to use up a whole bottle. I've wanted to get Pic something a bit friendlier, so I finally just went and bought her some Method baby wash.



[The babywash is Rice Milk + Mallow (as in marshmallow...as it says on the container). Pic smells yummy, but every time I see 'mallow,' I think 'tallow,' and I wonder why I would want my child to smell like rendered animal fat.]

These are small steps, I know, but I'm making an effort here. The nice thing is that Cardo goes along with me in most of this. At the beginning of our relationship, I was afraid that he would think I was some kind of total freak for doing all of this, but he's pretty supportive.

So, yes, we're making strides, but I still drive way more often than I should. Often I have four or more lights burning here because I have to dispel the gloom at twilight. We've got countless electronic gadgets that need to be plugged in (okay, so not really 'countless,' I'm sure I could count them if I tried, but I don't want to). We buy way too much crap that we don't need. I use Google. I sometimes still get plastic bags and paper to-go cups. And, have I mentioned my little book obsession? I'd take some pictures of our bookshelves but it's a freaking wreck in my apartment right now and I can't subject you to that. And, for the rest of my life, I'll be buying more books, printing out more articles, making more copies, ecc. Also, I'll have to be writing some articles, traveling for work, publishing at least one book, ecc. I'm surprised there are trees left. Perhaps I should look into a tree-planting program to start replacing some of these. (Are there such programs?)

So, I'm interested in hearing what other suggestions you all have, please, for keeping us alive and cancer-free for at least a little while. (I haven't mentioned lately, but I'm pretty sure that at some point in my life, I'll be told I have cancer and I am beyond terrified of this moment.)

For instance, Poke and Mr Poke are looking into cloth diapers. This is something I wish I would have been more forceful about. Cardo said that if we used cloth diapers, he'd never change a diaper, but, geez, we threw away a lot of plasticky-badness full of baby surprises.

What else have you all to offer me in the way of suggestions?

Earth Day...Festival

Okay, so yes, when I'm not completely sleep deprived, I realize that Earth Day is always April 22nd...duh.

So, we went to the festival today, had a blast, took some pictures and bought my red and Earth Chico Bags!!



Pic and Cardo waiting for the train.










Pic and the rock she made.










Pic and me, on the train.











Pic and her MASSIVE caramel/mini m&m apple.





Pic and the pig, gettin' down!