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Monday, March 29, 2010

Going green

So in this going green area of my life I find somethings are very easy to do.

-gardening. I love to garden and know that its better for the earth and my health plus it gives me some really great bonding time with my daughter so no problem there! Then there are things that I have a hard time with.

-cleaning supplies. There are tons of safe for the environment and safe for me ready made products as well as recipes to make my own. No problem there. (Well, except for paper towels. I'd like to cut down my paper towel usage)

-Trying to cut down my electricity and water usage. Pretty self explainatory! :)

Then there are some areas that I just am not doing so well in. Such as:

- makeup. I love makeup. I used to wear it everyday and I do feel better when I do wear it. That said I haven't found any organic makeup that I'm will to pitch all my other stuff for. Now my one steadfast rule is that I will not wear makeup that is any way, shape or form associated with animal testing.

-clothing. I'm a plus sized gal. I'm trying to slim down but for now I am were I am. I have a child that is in a size 8. These are both area that are very hard to find organic clothing. Then when you find it its usually cost prohibative. I'd love to have this turn around.

-recycling. Now I know this is easy. Unfortunately, at this time my living situation is somewhat prohibiting this. My daughter & I live with my parents & room is tight. I have got some plans in the works for building a recycle center on our side porch area where our garbage cans are. If I get this off the ground I will definitely let you know how it goes!

So, what areas of going green are easy for you? What areas are you trying to work on?

Sarah

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Zehn Naturals Tee Shirt giveaway!

I’m so excited! Its time for the first giveaway here at Sarah Simplifies! I’ve had a lot of fun contacting companies and shops and met some wonderful people in the process! I have a lot of great stuff in store for more readers that I’m sure you’re going to love so let’s get this party started!

I was given the opportunity to review a shirt from Zehn Naturals. I was really excited about this company from the beginning because they carry 2 size groups that you don’t find often in Organic Tees- Women’s Plus Sizes and Children’s (past a size 4T or 6 it’s really hard to find organic tee’s and clothing for kids).

Just a few things about Zehn Naturals that I feel are well worth mentioning:
-all the shirts are 100% Certified Organic Cotton Printed with Earth Friendly Inks
-For every tee Shirt sold Zehn Naturals plants a tree- Really how cool is that?
- 10% Pre-tax profit donation policy that includes donations for Education, Arts, Healthcare and the Environment
-The tag that accompanies the tee is on Seed paper. (I love this concept!)

As for the actual tee Shirt that was sent to me it absolutely meets every expectation I could have and then a few more! The shirt is as soft as all get out which is usual with organic cotton but you really do need to feel it to experience it! The printing on the shirt is nice and clear and looks like it will most definitely hold up in the washing process. Something that the Princess loved is that the shirt is tagless. I think I’ve mentioned that my daughter is a special needs child and one of her issues is sensory integration disorder. I have spent A LOT of time removing tags from clothing. Zehn Naturals tee Shirts are tagless with the pertinent information printed instead so this made me a very happy mom! I’ve got to say that based on my experience with Zehn Naturals that I will not only buy from them in the future but I can also wholeheartedly recommend them to others! So, you’re asking yourself how you can check out Zehn Naturals? Well here are the important links!
Website
Facebook
Twitter

Now are you ready for the good stuff? Zehn Naturals is going to give one Sarah Simplifies reader a tee shirt of their choice! Yep! One lucky reader is going to get to pop over to Zehn Naturals and pick their favorite tee shirt and in a few days it will be in their mailbox.

Awesome huh? So how do you get to participate in this giveaway? Its easy I tell you! Below are the requirements and there are plenty of opportunities for extra entries! Please make sure you use an email address on your entry or that it is available on your blog!
Mandatory Entry: (This has to be done or all other entries are invalid)
Go to Zehn Naturals and tell me what your favorite tee shirt is. Leave a comment telling me which you’d pick. I told you it was easy!

Extra Entries:
-Become a PUBLIC follower of Sarah Simplifies worth 8 entries (leave 8 comments)
-Blog about this contest and leave a link worth 5 entries (leave 5 comments)
-Follow Sarah Simplifies on Facebook HERE worth 3 entries (leave 3 comments)
-Follow Sarah Simplifies on Twitter HERE worth 3 entries (leave 3 comments)
-Follow Zehn Naturals on Facebook HERE worth 3 entries (leave 3 comments)
-Follow Zehn Naturals on Twitter HERE worth 3 entries (leave 3 comments)
-Buy something from Zehn Naturals. Use the code blog25 for a discount! And let them now you came from Sarah Simplifies! Worth 5 entries (leave 5 comments)

Now for the fine print:
The giveaway will last one week. Any comments left after Saturday April 3rd 11:59PM CST will not be counted
Winner will randomly be chosen from all entries
Winner will be notified on April 5th of their lucky win! They will have 72 hours in which to claim their prize. If the prize in not claimed within that timeframe another winner is chosen.

-I was given a free shirt from Zehn Naturals in order to conduct my review of the shirt.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Safe Seed Pledge

Hi! I hope y'all didn't think I'd forgotten about you! I've actually had a crazy amount of correspondence regarding the blog- honestly you guys are going to love the reviews & giveaways coming up! Also, my dad was hospitalized this past weekend. What should have been a fairly simple procedure has landed him in the hospital with an infection that isn't responding to antibiotics. Its been a bit crazy and scary here lately. That said I will try to post as much as I can. That said I doubt there will be a Giveaway Roundup this week because I just don't have the time to check those out- so how about a giveaway instead?

No without further ado, the real post for today! I'm relatively new to the world of gardening but it truly has become an all consuming passion. Last year was the first year the I had my own veggie garden and we also belonged to a CSA. The gardening adventures began when I won a Money Garden set of seeds. From there I went crazy and bought a ton of other seeds. At one point last spring I had over 1500 seedlings on my dining room table! The basic reason for me getting into gardening is that I wanted to be sure of what was going into my daughters body and there is no better way than growing the food yourself. As I've become more acclimated to gardening and its finer points I stumbled upon something called the Safe Seed Pledge. Here is a copy of the pledge:

The Safe Seed Pledge:
"Agriculture and seeds provide the basis upon which our lives depend. We must protect this foundation as a safe and genetically stable source for future generations. For the benefit of all farmers, gardeners and consumers who want an alternative,

We pledge that we do not knowingly buy or sell genetically engineered seeds or plants.
The mechanical transfer of genetic material outside of natural reproductive methods and between genera, families or kingdoms, poses great biological risks as well as economic, political, and cultural threats. We feel that genetically engineered varieties have been insufficiently tested prior to public release. More research and testing is necessary to further assess the potential risks of genetically engineered seeds. Further, we wish to support agricultural progress that leads to healthier soils, genetically diverse agricultural ecosystems and ultimately healthy people and communities."


Now I will be the first to say that there is a rather obvious loophole in the pledge if you want to be a naysayer. That out of the way, if you want to give the benefit of the doubt there are a lot of companies that have signed the Safe Seed Pledge. Here is a list that I found when I Googled Safe Seed Pledge Companies. The list is broken down by state- what a great way of being able to buy close to home so you can keep it green in that aspect as well!

ARIZONA:

Native Seeds/SEARCH
526 North 4th Ave.
Tucson, AZ 85705
Tel: 520-622-5561
Fax: 520-622-5591
www.nativeseeds.org

Old Pueblo Plant & Seed Company
P.O. Box 86441
Tucson, AZ 85745-6441
Tel: 520-201-2136
Fax: 623-201-2136
www.oldpueblocompany.com

Westwind Seeds and Gardenscapes LLC
6336 N. Oracle #326-246
Tucson, AZ 85704
Tel: 520-887-2106
reggie@westwindseeds.com
www.westwindseeds.com

CALIFORNIA :

Bountiful Gardens
18001 Shafer Ranch Rd
Willits , CA 95490
Tel: 707-459-6410
Fax:707-459-1925
Email: bountiful@sonic.net
www.bountifulgardens.org

Environmental Seed Producers
PO Box 2709
Lompoc, CA 93438
Tel: 805-735-8888
Fax: 805-735-8798
www.espseeds.com

Harmony Farm Supply and Nursery
PO Box 460
Graton, CA 95444
Tel: 707-823-9125
Fax: 707-823-1734
Email: info@harmonyfarm.com
www.harmonyfarm.com

KUSA Seed Research Foundation
PO Box 761
Ojai , CA 93024

The Natural Gardening Company
541 King Road
Petaluma, CA 94952
Tel: 707-766-9303
Fax: 707-766-9747
www.naturalgardening.com

Peaceful Valley Farm Supply
PO Box 2209
Grass Valley, CA 95945
Tel: 888-784-1722
Fax: 530-272-4769
Email: contact@groworganic.com
www.groworganic.com

Redwood City Seed Company
Box 361
Redwood City, CA 94064
Tel: 650-325-7333
www.redwoodcityseed.com

Renee’s Garden
7359 West Zayante Road
Felton, CA 95018
Tel: 831-335-7228
Fax: 831-335-7227
www.reneesgarden.com

Seed Dreams
PO Box 1476
Santa Cruz, CA 95061
Tel: 831-234-8668

COLORADO:

2BSEEDS
5023 W. 120th Ave. #312
Broomfield, CO 80020
www.2BSEEDS.com

Botanical Interests, Inc.
660 Compton Street,
Broomfield, CO 80020
Tel: 303-464-6464
Fax: 303-464-6468
Email: inform@botanicalinterests.com
www.botanicalinterests.com

Golden Harvest Organics LLC
404 North Impala Drive
Fort Collins, CO 80521
Fax: 413-383-2836
www.ghorganics.com

Grant's Plants, Seeds & Such
7048 S. Fairifax Street
Centennial, CO 80122
Tel: 303-263-5840
email: grant@grantsplants.com

Sourcepoint Organic Seeds
1452 2900 Road
Hotchkiss, CO 81419
Tel: 970-250-0951

CONNECTICUT:

Butterbrooke Farm
78 Barry Rd
Oxford, CT 06478
Tel: 203-888-2000

Comstock Ferre & Co.
263 Main St.
Wethersfield, CT 06109
Tel: 860-571-6950
Fax: 860-571-6595
www.comstockferre.com

John Scheepers Kitchen Garden Seeds
23 Tulip Drive
Bantam, CT 06750
Tel: 860-567-6086
Fax: 860-567-5323
www.kitchengardenseeds.com

New England Seed Company
3580 Main Street, Bldg 10
Hartford, CT 06120
Tel: 800-783-7891 or 860-724-1240
Fax: 860-724-1273
Email: newenglsee@aol.com
www.neseed.com

Select Seeds Company
180 Stickney Hill Road
Union, CT 06076
Tel: 860-684-9310
Fax: 860-684-9224
Email: info@selectseeds.com
www.selectseeds.com

FLORIDA:

E.O.N.S., Inc.
P.O. Box 4604
Hallandale, FL 33009
Tel: 954-454-6186
Fax: 954-458-5976
www.eonseed.com

Florida Mycology Research Center
P.O. Box 18105
Pensacola, FL 32523
Tel: 850-327-4378
www.mushroomsfmrc.com

The Pepper Gal
P.O. Box 23006
Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33307
Tel: 954-537-5540
Fax: 954-566-2208
Email: peppergal@mindspring.com

IDAHO:

High Altitude Gardens and Seeds Trust
4150 Black Oak Drive
Hailey, ID 83333
Tel: 208-788-4363
Fax: 208-788-3452
Email: mcdorman@seedsave.org
http://www.seedstrust.com

ILLINOIS:

Borries Open Pollinated Seed Corn Farm
16293 E. 1400th Ave
Teutopolis, IL 62467
Tel: 217 857-3377

Underwood Gardens
1414 Zimmerman Road
Woodstock, IL 60098
Email: info@underwoodgardens.com
www.underwoodgardens.com

IOWA:

Sand Hill Preservation Center
1878 230th St
Calamus, IA 52729
Tel: 319-246-2299

Seed Savers Exchange
3094 North Winn Road
Decorah, IA 52101
Tel: 608-382-5990
Fax: 608-382-5872
www.seedsavers.org

KANSAS:

Skyfire Garden Seeds
1313 23rd Road
Kanopolis, KS 67454
Email: seedsaver@myvine.com
www.grapevine.net/~mctaylor

KENTUCKY:

Ferry Morse Seed Company
600 Stephen Beale Drive
P.O. Box 1620
Fulton, KY 42041
Tel: 800-626-3392
Fax: 502-472-0566

MAINE:

FedCo Seeds
PO Box 520A
Waterville, ME 04903
Tel: 207-873-7333
Fax: 207-872-8317
www.fedcoseeds.com

Johnny's Selected Seeds
955 Benton Avenue
Winslow, ME 04901
Tel: 207-861-3900
Fax: 800-738-6314
Email: homegarden@johnnyseeds.com
www.johnnyseeds.com

The Heirloom Garden of Maine
512 North Ridge Road
Montville, ME 04941
Tel: 207-342-2116
Fax: 207-342-3407
Email: info@theheirloomgarden.com
www.theheirloomgarden.com

Wood Prairie Farm Organic Seed Potatoes
49 Kinney Rd
Bridgewater, ME 04735
Tel: 800-829-9765
Fax: 800-300-6494
www.woodprarie.com

MINNESOTA:

Melissa's Seeds
PO Box 242
Hastings, MN 55033

MISSOURI:

Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds
2278 Baker Creek Road
Mansfield, MO 65704
Tel: 417-924-8917
www.rareseeds.com

Barney's Ginseng Patch
433 SSE Highway B
Montgomery City, MO 63361
Tel: 573-564-2575

Gardeners Choice Heirloom Seeds
P.O. Box 642
Bolivar, MO 65613
www.gardenerschoiceheirloomseeds.com

Granny's Heirloom Seeds
P.O Box 264
Humansville, MO 65674
Tel: 417-350-7065
www.grannysheirloomseeds.com

Green Thumb Seeds
17011 West 280th Street
Bethany, MO 64424

Morgan County Wholesale
18761 Kelsay Road
Barnett, MO 65011
Tel: 573-378-2655

NEW HAMPSHIRE:

BLM Enterprises/Markham Farm
283 Turnpike Road
New Ipswich, NH 03071
Tel: 603-878-4509
Fax: 603-878-5990
www.markhamfarm.com


NEW MEXICO:

Creekside Garden
PO Box 707
Reserve, NM 87830
Tel: 575-533-6768
Fax: 575-533-6768

Gourmet Seed International, LLC
HC12 Box 510
Tatum, NM 88267-9700
Tel: 505-398-6111
Fax: 505-398-6151
Email: customerservice@gourmetseed.com
www.gourmetseed.com

Italian Seed and Tool
HC12 Box 510
Tatum, NM 88267-9700
Tel: 505-398-6111
Fax: 505-398-6151
Email: customerservice@italianseedandtool.com
www.italianseedandtool.com

Plants of the Southwest
Aqua Fria Rt 6 Box 11A
Santa Fe, NM 87201
Tel: 505-438-8888
Fax: 505-438-8800
www.plantsofthesouthwest.com

NEW YORK:

Ommas - Aarden
3059 ST. RT. 12D
Boonville, NY 13309
Tel: 315-348-6033
Fax: 315-348-5593 (Please call ahead)
Email: kc@ommas-aarden.net

NORTH CAROLINA:

Christopher Weeks Peppers
PO Box 3207
Kill Devil Hills, NC 27948
Email: peppers@pinn.net

Sow True Seed
P.O. Box 18508
Asheville, NC 28814
www.sowtrue.com

OHIO:

Companion Plants, Inc.
7247 N. Coolville Ridge
Athens, OH 45701
Tel: 740-592-4643
Fax: 740-593-3092
Email: complants@frognet.net
www.companionplants.com

OKLAHOMA:

Red Sky Farm
35545 EW1170
Seminole, OK 74868
Tel: 405-382-9883
Email: redskyfarm@rsib.net

OREGON:

Anioleka Seeds
1475 SunGlo Drive
Grants Pass, OR 97527
www.seedfest.co.uk

Goodwin Creek Gardens
PO Box 83
Williams, OR 97544
Tel: 800-846-7359
Fax: 541-846-7357
www.goodwincreekgardens.com

Horizon Herbs
PO Box 69
Williams, OR 97544
Tel: 541-846-6704
Fax: 541-846-6233
Email: herbseed@chatlink.com

Nichol's Garden Nursery
1190 Old Salem Road, NE
Albany, OR 97321
Tel: 541-928-9280 or 800-422-3985
Fax: 541-967-8406
Email: nichols@gardennursery.com
www.nicholsgardennursery.com

Siskiyou Seeds
3220 East Fork Rd.
Williams, OR 97544

Sow Organic Seed
Box 527
1130 Tetherow Road
Williams, OR 97544
www.organicseed.com

Territorial Seed Company
PO Box 158
Cottage Grove, OR 97424
Tel: 541-942-9547
Fax: 541-942-9881
Email: tsc@ordata.com
www.territorial-seed.com

Thyme Garden – Herb Seed Company
20546 Alsea Highway
Alsea, OR 97324
Tel & Fax: 541-487-8671
Email: herbs@thymegarden.com
www.thymegarden.com

Victory Seed Company
PO Box 192
Molalla, OR 97038
Tel/Fax: 503-829-3126
Email: safeseed@victoryseeds.com
www.victoryseeds.com

Wild Garden Seed and Shoulder to Shoulder Farm
PO Box 1509
Philomath, OR 97370
Tel: 541-929-4068
Email: frank@wildgardenseed.com
www.wildgardenseed.com

PENNSYLVANIA:

ContainerSeeds.com
64 Greenwood Street
Wellsboro, PA 16901
Tel: 570-724-5172
Email: pat@containerseeds.com
www.containerseeds.com

Heirloom Seed Project
Landis Valley Museum
2451 Kissel Hill Road
Lancaster, PA 17601
Tel: 717-569-0401 ext: 202
Fax: 717-560-3545

Heirloom Seeds
PO Box 245
West Elizabeth, PA 15088
Tel/Fax: 415-384-0852
Email: mail@heirloomseeds.com
www.heirloomseeds.com

SOUTH CAROLINA:

Seeds for the South
410 Whaley Pond Rd
Graniteville, SC 29829
Tel: 803-232-1119
www.seedsforthesouth.com

TENNESSEE:

New Hope Seed Company
P.O. Box 443
Bon Aqua, TN 37025
Email: farmergrass@newhopeseed.com

UTAH:

Hometown Seeds.com
507 N. 1500 W.
Orem, UT 84057
www.hometownseeds.com

VERMONT:

The Cook's Garden
PO Box 535
Londonderry, VT 05148
Tel: 800-457-9703
Fax: 802-824-9556
Email: catalog@cooksgarden.com
www.cooksgarden.com

Dirt Works
1195 Dog Team Road
New Haven, VT 05472-4000
Tel: 877-213-3828 (Toll Free)
www.dirtworks.net

Ladybug Herbs of Vermont
943 Richard Woolcutt Road
Wolcott, VT 05680
Tel/Fax: 802-888-5940
Email: vtherbs@pover.net
www.ladybugherbsofvermont.com

Weed Farm Herbs
613 Quaker St.
Lincoln, VT 05443
Tel: 802-453-7395
Email: weedfarm@gmavt.net

VIRGINIA:

Garden Medicinals and Culinaries
PO Box 320
Earlysville, VA 22936
Tel: 804-964-9113
Fax: 804-973-8717
www.gardenmedicinals.com

Thomas Jefferson Center for Historic Plants
PO Box 316, Monticello
Charlottesville, VA 22902
Tel: 804-984-9821
Fax: 804-984-0358
www.monticello.org/shop

WASHINGTON:

Frosty Hollow Ecological Restoration
Box 53
Langley, WA 98260
Tel: 360-579-2332
Fax: 360-579-4080
Email: wean@whidbey.net

Garlicsmiths
967 Mingo Mountain Road
Kettle Falls, WA 99141
Tel: 509-738-4470

I hope this gives you some great ideas for your garden this year!

Sarah

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Um, hello....Mother Nature?

Ok- we'd been having BEAUTIFUL weather here for the past week! I even bought the Princess some summer type clothes! I was ready to dig into my garden & have a wonderful time.....today we had mad crazy snow! What is up with that???? Personally, I must confess that I was more than happy to be done with the white stuff so this is raining on my parade a bit. Anybody else having weird weather patterns?

In random other musings I have made some great contacts & have some absolutely fabulous reviews & giveaways coming up! I'm so excited & hope you are too! Have a great weekend!

Sarah

Friday, March 19, 2010

Giveaway Roundup!

Well I hope you find a few contests worth entering! Honestly, I love entering these because there is such a high from getting something in the mailbox that you won! Its a nice easy thrill to take part in! Enjoy!

Sarah


Glimpse Reviews Loads of Loot Giveaway

Glimpse Reviews A Little Extra Love Giveaway

Glimpse Reviews Easy Daysies Giveaway

Glimpse Reviews Keeping it Healthy Giveaway

Glimpse Reviews Just Like Me Giveaway

Mamabuzz Exergen Temporal Scan Thermometer giveaway

MamaBzz Soopsori Ecowooden Toy Giveaway

Home Grown Families Money Savvy Pig Giveaway

Stay At Home Mom Toxic Friendships Book review & giveaway

Stay At Home Mom Three Cups Review & Giveaway

The Adventures of Paul & Natalie Me Time Positive Day Peaceful Night CD giveaway

Heavenly Savings Peace Nights Review & Giveaway

Frugal Mommy of 2 Girls Envirosax Giveaway

Frugal Mommy of 2 Girls Baby Bunch Giveaway

Frugal Mommy of 2 Girls Stubby Pencil Studio Giveaway

Frugal Mommy of 2 Girls Girlie Bows Giveaway

Frugal Mommy of 2 Girls ladesign giveaway

Frugal Mommy of 2 Girls Crazy Husky Craft Giveaway

Frugal Mommy of 2 Girls Oh Sew Sweet Boutique Giveaway

As They Grow Up Jumping Jack Shoes Giveaway

Helene’s Dream London Blue Topaz Earring giveaway

Funky Monkey Tomat Giveaway

Wild & Precious Life Bonnybee Designs Pearl Giveaway
http://www.etsy.com/shop/bonnybeedesigns?page=1

The Coupon High Alexas Angels cross necklace giveaway

Leslie Loves Veggies Fill in The Blankie Giveaway

That’s IT Mom Random House Ugly Doll books giveaway

My Four Monkeys God Never Blinks Book giveaway

The Shopping Mama Kia Sorenta got a Makeover Makeup Giveaway!

Trapped Between a Scream and a hug Earrings giveaway

Green Mama’s Pad Plum Organics Revolution Foods Giveaway

Moody Maria Skin Actives Dream Cream Giveaway

Three Peas in a Pod Zippity Doo's Giveaway

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Something to check out!

I've been making some contacts while trying to get some great giveaways & reviews set up for Sarah Simplifies. In that search I was told about a coupon combination effort from Crunchy Clean and zJayne HERE

Now in full disclosure I have to say that I have not used products from either site but they both are in line with my principals of using green items in the home. So if you have a minute head over HERE and take a peek! If you order from either place please let me know what you think!

Happy St. Patricks Day!

Well, I must confess that I don't have a drop of Irish blood in me, nope I'm 50% Polish and 50% Lithuaian, but St. Patricks is a fun way to break up a week & you've got to love its color! I sent my daughter to school with a Flashing Shamrock necklace- how long do you think that it will last before driving the teacher totally batty?!!?

I've still been working on my gardening journal and figuring out the best route in succession planting to take within a square foot garden. Since I have such a limited space to dedicate to my garden, 8' x 20', I figure this is my best option for optimum harvest results. I did have to tell my daughter that we weren't going to plant corn this year. She wasn't exactly a happy camper. Unfortunately corn takes a fair amount of space since you have to plant 4 rows for proper pollination. Then there is the great corn incident of last year. Our corn was still going strong in early October when we had to go out of town for a wedding. I promised my daughter that we would harvest the corn when we got home. Well, upon getting home we discovered that our corn had been decimated by some critters! Now I have no problem sharing some of my harvest with the critters that roam around but I do have a problem with "donating" the entire harvest! We have some wooden flower boxes near our garden and lined up, all neat in a row were the eaten clean corncobs! It was very disappointing! That said I'm going to try a few other things this year instead of corn. Eggplant and garbonzo beans are topping the list.

What are you planning on planting in your garden this year? Do you have any tips for keeping critters at bay? (Please keep tips non harmful!) Have you already started planting?

Monday, March 15, 2010

Where do you buy books?

I'm a bookworm- I admit it! I love reading & usually have a stack of magazines & shelves of books to pick through. Since I'm still on the mend from my staph infection I've been doing more "junk" reading than usual. Last week I read the latest Joanne Fluke & Fern Michaels books. Both were great. I decided that I wanted to indulge a bit more so I was browsing books at Target today. There was absolutely NOTHING there that grabbed my eye! I was so disappointed! Short of going to Borders or Barnes & Noble I've noticed a trend in stores condensing their book sections. What a bummer. Where do you go for books? What is your favorite genre? What is the best book you've read lately? Drop a comment & let me know!

Friday, March 12, 2010

Giveaway Roundup!

This weeks Giveaway Roundup is better than last weeks! I hope y'all take a peek at these giveaways. Most of them are pretty easy to enter (ie leave a comment!) and its such a thrill to find out you've won something! It does great things for your state of mind! So without further ado here is this weeks list of giveaways!

Mom Start Swag Bag giveaway

Mom Start PhotoWorks $50.00 giftcard giveaway

Mom Start Chicken Soup for the Soul Teacher Tales

Mom Start Yoplait Nourish Your Inner Goddess spa giveaway

Mom Start Chicken Soup for the Soul Nascar book giveaway

Mom Start My Princess To Go Party Giveaway

Thank, Mail Carrier Randomline Fun on the Go Giveaway
http://randomline.com/

Leslie Loves Veggies Our little Books Giveaway

Got A Lot to Give Uprint 500 business card giveaway

Piece of Me Dr. Bloom Chewable Jewels giveaway

StL Family Life Aveeno baby care basket giveaway

Katydid and Kid Random Line on the go giveaway

Blessings Abound Mommy Misikko Corioliss Flat Iron Giveaway

All Things Bloggy RosyHandbags $25 giftcard giveaway

Glimpse Wysi Cloth giveaway

Guard Wife Mr. Furry Fur Fur DVD Giveaway

The Life of a Coast Guard Wife Magnapod giveaway

Frugal Housewife Protect a Bed giveaway

Got a Lot to Give Pocket Scarf Giveaway

Got a Lot to Give Pansy Hairclip giveaway

Moms Wear Your Tshirts Premades for a Purpose Giveaway

Moms Wear Your Tshirts Circle of Friends giveaway

Leslie Loves Veggies Fibers I Heart shirt giveaway

In the know mom Smart Girls Who Surf Giveaway

Not Just Baby Brain

Leslie Loves Veggies Tallulah Jane Natural perfume giveaway

My Four Monkeys TagLine Designs Giveaway

My Four Monkeys Fibers.com $25 giveaway

Simple Traditions Lip Balm Giveaway

Dealafina Meditation CD giveaway

Real Heart Prints Slow Cooker giveaway

Through Green Colored Glasses Espadrille Store Giveaway

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Spring Fever & Spring Cleaning!

So in the Midwest we've finally started to thaw out & see the light at the end of the tunnel- Spring is coming! A few mornings ago I just sat in my living room listening to the birds- what a welcome sound! Along with spring and the desire to get outside is the feeling of renewal. Somehow part of that always seems to be a big Spring cleaning. Now I'll be honest- I'm not big on cleaning but once I get going I do enjoy it if for nothing else the end result. One thing that has helped make cleaner easier is my switch to earth friendly people friendly cleaners. My daughter loves to clean and now she can without me worrying that the cleaners might harm her. Its a win win situation! She loves doing it & I get a hand! A few Christmases ago my sister gave me the book Clean House Clean Planet by Karen Logan. I love this book! Its Karen sharing her recipes for housecleaning and different solutions for cleaning in a healthy way. The recipes are very easy & work well. (A side note I did find it a bit irritating that Karen pushed the sales of her own bottles but I guess everyone has to make a living!) If you take a peek at Amazon they have used copies staring at $3.23- its definitely worth checking out!

If you don't have the time or inclination to read an entire book doing a simple google search of natural cleaning recipes will yield big results. Here are just a few to check out.

Earth Easy Nontoxic Home Cleaning HERE

Care2 How to Make a Non-Toxic Cleaning Kit HERE
It includes a creamy scrub cleaner and its written by Annie B. Bond who is someone well worth taking the time to read. Her website is HERE

Water & Sewerage Dept. of Detroit Guide to Non-Toxic Cleaners Recipes for a Clean Home and a Cleaner Environment. This is a 22 page booklet in PDF format. You can find it HERE

I hope this gives you a good jumping off point for natural Spring cleaning!

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Staph Infection

Ok- hopefully this doesn't cross the bounds into too much information but I thought since this happened to me & someone else I know that maybe a good general warning might be worthwhile! As I mentioned last friday I have been dealing with a staph infection. Let me tell you- it is NOT fun and it is REALLY painful! The amazing thing was that I had been at the Dr. with the staph infection and didn't mention because I thought it was a pimple! Yes you heard me right- I thought it was a pimple. Nothing more than an annoying little zit so I didn't mention it to her and consequently treatment wasn't started until 4 days later. In retrospect I could have saved myself so much time and agony if I knew the warning signs of a staph infection! Now this entire post is just from my personal experience and by no means am I a Dr but if you have something that looks like a pimple but is painful you might want to mention it to your Dr. Here is a bit of what the timeline looked like for me. Everytime I tell this to a different Dr I wonder if it would have progressed this much if I would have mentioned it the friday before.

Feb 26- Saw Dr. about a sinus infection. Didn't mention pimple like thing on my stomach.
Feb 27 & 28- was irritated by thing so I tried warm compresses
March 1- decided I was as smart as a Dr and tried performing surgery on myself (clearly never a good idea!) By the evening I was in very bad pain & called the Dr. after hours line. An appointment was made for the next morning.
March 2- Congrats you have a staph infection. Started Bactrim and told to apply warm compresses & come back on Thurs.
March 4- Returned for follow up. At that point my Dr. prescribed a second antibiotic to be taken with the Bactrim and a painkiller. A follow up appointment was made for Monday.
March 5- The infection had changed so much in 24 hours I didn't feel comfortable going into the weekend without my Dr. checking it again. Dr. agreed that the medical intervention was necessary but not quite yet (there wasn't enough infection centralized to cut into- gross I know!) An appointment was made with a surgeon for Monday afternoon. I was told if the wound opened over the weekend to get to the hospital as it would need to be professionally cleaned & packed.
March 6- still in a lot of pain and would was weeping but not open. The infection was very centralized by this point in time.
March 7- Again gross I'm sorry but the wound went from weeping to oozing and I began to fear that healthy tissue would get infected so I went to the ER. Dr. said I was very close to it breaking opening and would have been in before morning anyway. The Dr. gave me a local which is a horror story all its own but I won't share that! Then it was surgically opened, a sample taken in case the antibiotics don't finish clearing it up. The the wound was cleaned, irrigated and dead tissue was taken off. After that it was packed and I was told to keep my appointment with my regular Dr. and the surgeon.
March 8- My primary care told me to continue antibiotics and make a follow up appointment to have the wound repack depending on what the surgeon did that afternoon. Surgeon had no bedside manner whatsoever and yanked packed out without even warning me- grrrrrrrrrrr! After that he said it looked good & to follow up in a week.

All of this because it looked like I had a zit on my stomach and thought it wasn't worth mentioning to the Dr. Moral of the story- if you're not sure have it checked!

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Who says its not easy being green?

I absolutely love doing crafts using recyclables & was so excited to see that Family Fun had a section dedicated to the topic! Hooray for them! To check it out click HERE