Me and birthday girl 2 years ago.
My first-born will be an 8 year-old in a week, which brings me to a tiny change that I hope will count for something. The invitations to her party noted *no gifts please, but handmade cards will be appreciated*. I did this for a couple of reasons, and the main one is that she does not need anymore STUFF
! I cleaned their bedroom yesterday (my two daughters share a room) because it has been a disaster for a while, and I could take it no more. I think it is almost impossible to keep a room clean when toy boxes are overflowing, and there is not a place in the room for every thing. The last thing I need, or she needs is another game, figure, stuffed animal, book, or plastic piece of junk made in China
. The other reason is that I want her to understand that the whole point of a birthday party 
is to celebrate her life, and to share it with her friends. It is not about getting something, whether it's a toy or money. Time
is one of the most precious of commodities, and spending time having fun with friends is the gift. Time will be spent rollerskating with her best friends. And guess what? She is totally okay with it! Of course, there will still be cake
. :)So this tiny change will save the gas of people driving to stores to purchase a product that was made in China, the wrapping and such that goes with it, and it will also save the guess work and frustration of the parents in figuring out what the heck do you get an 8 year-old girl that you don't really know that would probably end up being something that she doesn't like or even need anyway. I think this is a nice tradition, but I wonder if it's sustainable.
So as far as the rest of March, I guess the one thing that I could improve on is driving less and reducing consumption overall. Sometimes I like to get out of the house so I'll say I need something, just to go to Target
. I'll start combining my trips to the store and only go that one time, and not back again because I sometimes a rationalize a need for an item that I don't really need. Guess it's time to practice what I preach to my daughters. And to think all I had to do was blog
to figure out my next change! It's almost Spring, which means back to composting! Peace
.
creme sandwich cookies coated in dark chocolate, and they are to die for! And I don't even have a sweet tooth! Another favorite of mine is the Colossal Chocolate Chip Cookie by 
was my excuse for today's cookie purchase.
food store, 
)! Oh well. The owner, Linda, is super nice and very informative, and if I'm lucky she'll have her cute dog at the store. I'm so in love with 
when I see them in person, but that's another post for another day. Have a Happy Valentine's Day, and look 
diet I am also 
more which leads to sore muscles, which leads to me wanting to stand in the piping hot shower for many minutes. Some days I shut the 
off anyway, but other days I allow myself the indulgence of a 7 minute shower. Next month my vow is even less plastic, and like the eager student I have always been, I started a little early. My bags had come in the mail last week, and I needed to go grocery 
anyway so off I went to Big Y with my regular 
, and my new veggie bags. They have a tare tag on them that says deduct 1.41 oz (.09 lb), so I was concerned at first that the cashier might not know how to deduct the tare weight....but all was well and I worried for nothing (yay for registers that figure all the math for you). The bags are great! They hold a lot, and they're very sturdy which makes me glad that I spent the money. At first I thought I might just reuse the plastic 
from the store, but they don't last more than 2-3 uses. I was very happy too when the lady behind me asked where I had gotten them! When I first started using re-usable 
, I was the only one...that I noticed anyway. Today, I notice at least half dozen others that use them. I'd like to think that people seeing me use these veggie bags will make people 
, and perhaps do the same thing. Isn't that how change happens? Now comes the question of what to change next...but at least I have a month to ponder.
bury the placenta in ritual (
, to control the bleeding. Regardless of belief held, it was understood that the placenta was not something to be tossed like waste, without honor....like it is done today. This is an extension of today's mainstream birthing culture that gives birth in a hospital setting, with a highly skilled surgeon known as an obstetrician that intervenes too much with the birthing process, and where women often give away their autonomy with the belief that the doctor knows best. The majority of today's births are induced, with epidurals in place, and one-third of those births are a 
delivery. But let me not digress....
(certified nurse midwife), or CPM (certified professional midwife), she will ask the mother what she would like to do with her placenta. Sometimes women will bury it under a tree, some will consume it raw, as a smoothie, in a stew, or have it encapsulated -in pill form, while others choose nothing at all. If a woman is lucky enough to give birth in a free-standing birth center (which are few and far between) she will also get to choose what to do with her placenta. If a woman gives birth in a hospital, she will have to voice her wish to keep it, then maybe sign a waiver, but will be allowed to take her placenta home......if she is lucky. This is where it gets tricky, because hospitals have policies, hospitals have procedures, hospitals have a "
" department that worries of litigation, hospitals have state laws to abide by, and hospitals have incinerators that destroy bio-medical waste. There was a case in Nevada where a woman fought the hospital to keep her placenta, and won (
in our back yard, and planted it under a baby sugar maple. We did the same thing when I gave birth again in 2004. I gave birth in 
, and didn't even have to sign a waiver back then. They simply triple bagged it, and handed it over. Today this same hospital holds the placenta in a cold fridge for 24 hours, but releases it with a signed religious waiver. Now that I am a 
and a little bit of 
that's been re-hydrated 
then mixed it!
to form them, and I made patties out of the rest
