Eco Babies

This morning I was reading an article from Organic Style magazine (the best magazine in the world.) It was about having a baby and not giving in to all of the "stuff" you think you need -- heated baby wipes, 25 different onesies, toys, toys, toys. The writer (whose style I really love) wrote about her experience with baby showers, baby shopping, and overloading herself with information to make herself and her husband eco-conscious while raising their child.

They made excellent efforts -- encouraging hand-me-down toys and clothes for shower gifts, using organic cloth diapers instead of disposables, buying clothes and furniture at second-hand stores. But in the process, she made herself crazy. She feared every plastic toy because of the PVC content, she bought eco-friendly wooden toys then was paranoid about that the paint might contain lead, the list goes on...

Basically, she made two conclusions:
1. When you have a baby, buy only what's necessary. Your child will not go without. People (friends, family) love to buy for babies -- those gifts you receive will be more than adequate for your child. Everyone knows they'll enjoy the boxes and your keys more than they do the new (or used!) toys anyway.

2. It's important to educate yourself, and congratulate yourself on the efforts you ARE making. Don't be discouraged that others aren't in the battle with you -- their efforts don't necessarily cancel yours out, YOU ARE DOING SOMETHING, but you cannot do everything.

She ended her article (I really wish I had it here so that I could at least credit her) telling about her walk with her child a few days prior...she was showing him the trees and the birds and the rocks and the water...all of a sudden a ton of birds flew up from a tree nearby into the sky. Her son got so excited he couldn't contain himself. She thought to herself, "This is why I try...so that my son's children can enjoy this."

What I thought was more important, though, is the example she and her husband are setting for their children. Sure, there are things we can do to take care of our world today, but children learn by example -- teaching them how to care for it 20 years from now needs some focus.

God knows I'm not perfect. But I do try, and I should work harder. What are you doing?

Yummy to my tummy.

fresh spinach
red bell peppers
green peas
green onions
cherry tomatoes
carrots
feta cheese
raspberry walnut vinaigrette dressing

I make a damned good lunch salad.

I AM The Anti-Wax.

I'm not sure how to write about this without grossing you out or giving you a visual of something that is really unnecessary...I'll just put it out there. I had a bikini wax this weekend. As if having a bikini wax isn't awful and painful enough already, I had an allergic reaction to the wax. Let's just say that it was a scary and miserable experience. If someone in the world is going to have a reaction to something, it's me. Ms. Sensitive, I am. You should see the rash on my face right now, I have no idea what it is. I'm convinced that I will have hives on the backs of my legs until I get to Mexico on August 14.

This weekend was very productive for me -- I found fabric for my bridesmaids' dresses, I got about ten more boxes packed for the move, I looked at wedding bands, I cleaned my apartment, did some grocery shopping, did some cooking, saw a movie. Like Jessie, I was checking off boxes with a vengeance.

Speaking of that movie -- while seeing Michael Vartan on the big screen should be reason enough to see the movie "Monster-in-Law", one must not forget that his co-star is J-Lo, even some Jane Fonda can't fix a J-Lo movie.

I steamed some fresh artichokes this weekend. I don't know if I don't like steamed, fresh artichokes, or if I didn't do a good job preparing them. I'll try again and see.

At the end of a day, the very last thing I want to do is go work out, and since it's the last thing I want to do, I rarely do it anymore. But I've started to get it done in the mornings and it's so wonderful. I do still go to yoga in the evenings when the good instructor is teaching...Todd joined me last week and is going to start going with me. But yoga's different -- this class ends with you lying on your back with an aromatherapy scented towel on your face for a good ten minutes. This is the perfect ending to a hard work day.

Speaking of hard work days...Time to get started. Hope everyone had a good weekend.