Thursday, December 31, 2009

Happy New Year!

I wish you all a safe, happy and healthy new year! 2009 has been an amazing year, and I am so excited to see what this next year brings!

A year in (blog)words from 2009



My goals for 2010

  • Surround myself with positive people!
  • GIVE more!
  • Continue to detox our household
  • Expand our recycling efforts
  • Juice at least once a day
  • Eat 50% of our food raw and 90% Organic
  • Try a vegan diet for at least 30 days
  • Continue to spread the word about the "toxic" issue by writing letters and holding Ava Anderson Non-Toxic seminars
  • Continue with the Dave Ramsey plan and be on Step # 5 by the end of the year

Letter to Snopes.com regarding Sodium Lauryl Sulfate

I read this on the snopes.com website and felt compelled to respond about SLS.

http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/household/shampoo.asp

Here is my comment:


Regarding your response for "Sodium Lauryl Sulfate", I URGE you to reconsider your response and check the following sources:

www.cosmeticsdatabase.com
This site lists this ingredient IS linked with cancer, and gives several sources. The website is run by the Environmental Working Group.
Also, another good source is the book "Not Just a Pretty Face: The Ugly Side of the Beauty Industry", by Stacy Malkan. Or, the book "Toxic Beauty" by Samuel Epstein, MD.

There are numerous other sources on the subject.

The "Environmental Canada Domestic Substance List" needs to be mentioned in your response. Studies done in Canada have linked this ingredient with cancer.

If you research further you will also find that there are still contamination concerns for this ingredient.

Contamination concerns - ETHYLENE OXIDE, 1,4-DIOXANE

1,4-Dioxane is a KNOWN carcinogen

To simply site that the FDA and our government is protecting us from such substances is completely false.
In the US there are absolutely no independent studies being done on ingredients such as Sodium Laryl Sulfate before they hit the market. It is the cosmetic industry itself, not the FDA that makes determinations on ingredients. Cosmetics are a self-policing industry that the FDA does NOT oversee.

Your response gives full trust to our government and FDA, which seems irresponsible. Why does the European Union ban over 1,100 chemicals from their products, and the U.S. only NINE?! Please read the 1938 FDA mandate where industry lobbying succeeded in blocking the FDA from requiring testing of cosmetics.

I have used the snopes.com site for years as a trusted source, I would hate to now view it as being inaccurate. I urge you to look into further studies on the subjects of toxins in products.

Thank you,

Lyndsi

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Shopping Ideas

Were you given any gift cards for Christmas to Amazon or a book store?

Here are three amazing books that I highly recommend.




Toxic Beauty
by Samuel Epstein, MD

Not Just a Pretty Face: The Ugly Side of the Beauty Industry
by Stacy Malkan

Exposed: The Toxic Chemistry of Everyday Products and What's at Stake for American Power by Mark Schapiro




Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Merry Christmas!





Merry Christmas to our friends and family!

We hope you have a great Christmas and safe travels :)


Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Happy Birthday Mom!!




Happy Birthday to my Mom today!!!

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

The TRUE meaning of Christmas



Are you stressed this week and forgetting what this season is all about?

I love the messages in this video clip, it is only 3 minutes long --

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVqqj1v-ZBU&feature=player_embedded



What if we bought fewer gifts and instead gave our time to our family instead?

Spend less on gifts and more on relationships with our God, our Family, our Neighbors!

I pray that my family and friends can truly enjoy these last 10 days before Christmas arrives. I know it is something that I am struggling with!

WORSHIP FULLY, SPEND LESS, GIVE MORE



Monday, December 14, 2009

Less Paper!

On an average day I could use up almost an entire roll of paper towels...

Cleaning the kitchen

Wiping down the table

Sopping up spills

Cleaning off toys

I was feeling like this was one area where we were being pretty wasteful, and I wanted to switch to cloth. I found these great bamboo cloths at Whole Foods, and so far they are working great! I just throw it into the laundry at the end of the day.


I think it's small changes that can add up to making a huge difference!
My next project is to finally finish sewing the cloth napkins I've
been working on...