Reading Lipstick Labels

I much prefer the digital storage of information to the accumulation of magazines, sticky notes and random sheets of paper. It allows me to forgo an organizational system in favour of heavy use of the "search" tool. Of course, if I had a filing system or notice board for such things, this would live there...

Here is a list of ingredients to avoid in your cosmetics, courtesy of David Suzuki's Queen of Green.

• formaldehyde (farmalin or methyl aldehyde; found in imidazolindinyl urea, DMDM hydantoin and quarternium-15)
• cocamide diethanolamine (cocamide, diethanolamine, DEA)
• coal tar
• parabens (methyl, ethyl, butyl and propyl paraben)
• phthalates (dibutyl phthalate (DBP), fragrance)
• sodium lauryl sulfate and/or sodium laureth sulfate (SLS, SLES)
• Ethylenediamine (EDTA)
• proplylene glycol
• toluene
• talc
• petroleum (petrolatum, DEA, MEA, TEA)
• phenylendiamine (PPD, P-diaminobenzene)
• triclosan

Based on the Guide to Less Toxic Products, I plan to check out Aubrey Organics, Burt's Bees, Ecco Bella, Jason, Weleda and Druide for my moisturizer and lip gloss - because let's face it, that's all I've got time for these days!

Maggie G's Product Testing: Teether

I started teething before I had the coordination to hold an object in my mouth, so relief came mostly from Mom or Dad's finger, and a chilled soother or socksicle.

Now that I've gained a little hand-eye control however, Sophie le Giraffe is my best friend. I could chew her head off, I love her so much. Those water-filled drugstore teethers completely miss the mark. Nor do I care for the taste of wooden teethers; they are much too heavy for my little hands at any rate. I do enjoy rubbing my gums on a Raz-Berry teether at times, but something inexplicable draws me to Sophie.

I love her independence (she can stand unassisted). I dig her sound and she's gorgeous. I can't look at her without smiling.

Sophie, je t'aime.

Update: And now I'm 6 months old. I'm much stronger and my tastes are more complex. I'm into chewing on the cold drugstore teethers and my wooden toys now that I can properly hold them in my mouth. I've also recently fallen in love with my Super Yummy Teether - it smells like chocolate!

Mother Beautiful

"Beauty is truth, truth beauty." John Keats






























It's Mother's Day. Let us celebrate motherhood in its entirety.

Thai-riffic Slow Cooker Chicken

I am constantly scouting for easy and delicious dinner ideas and nothing is easier than throwing a wack of ingredients in the slow cooker. I adapted this recipe from that posted by Much More Than a Mom on Rookie Moms. She used chicken breasts. I think I may do so next time because my sauce was very greasy (thighs are higher in fat) and I'd love to freeze half for another time (I've never frozen meat on the bone before - can it be done??).

10-12 skinless chicken thighs (place in cooker)
Mix together:
1 small jar Salsa
Juice from 2 limes
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
4 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
Mix sauce into chicken.
Cook on low for 6 hours. Serve over rice and sprinkle with peanuts. Yum!

Meme this!

Even as a child, I refused to forward chain letters. I spat in the face of superstition and broke chain after chain after chain. I continue the trend with their virtual cousins; refusing to send on emails that promise to make me rich or save the life of some one-legged dog in Alabama. Do I sound righteous? I feel it. These letters are viruses, fashioned by liars and perpetuated by well-meaning innocents.

Howevaaaaaah... When my good friend Sarah sends me a euphemism (I mean a "meme") that claims to be in the interest of literacy, I say chain me in!

















These are the parameters:
1) Pick up the nearest book.
2) Open to page 123.
3) Locate the fifth sentence.
4) Post the next three sentences on your blog and in so doing…
5) Tag five people, and acknowledge who tagged me.

1) The nearest book was Pigs by Robert Munsch (Maggie thinks it's hilarious when I yell, "Hey you dumb pigs!"). I don't think it goes past page 12, and most of those are illustrations. I walked a few feet to find Calculating God by Robert J. Sawyer. Christopher recommended it based on my criteria 1. fun and 2. fictitious. I want to jog my imagination; to be transported to places that don't exist. Yes, Toronto does exist, but this is Toronto + alien! Though I don't generally read sci-fi, I love reading Canadian and I believe in Cylons, so I thought I'd give it a shot. I'm only 17 pages in, but it's mostly amusing thus far.

2) I opened the book to page 123 exactly. EXACTLY. Creepy or coincidental? Both.

3) I wondered if God was happy with the way his game was going.
"And now," said T'kna, through the translator, "reciprocity of interrogatives."
His turn to ask a question.

Wow. Anti-climactic. I don't know what I was expecting. I just feel disappointed that this exercise didn't reveal something meaningful about me or my connection to Sarah or Calculating God. What's the payoff? Do I win a $50 gift certificate to Applebee's??

No More Little Boxes

Well, according to the New York Post, one of my beloved television shows is undergoing drastic changes before it's return on June 16th.

The most difficult change to bear? The nixing of the show's theme song. I apologize for being so stale but I must (avert your eyes if you are sensitive to cliché) - if it ain't broke! I regaled The Sopranos for maintaining its original opener throughout its run. I truly enjoyed watching it as a piece of each episode and still find myself humming "got yourself a gun...."

I adored the song about suburbia written by Malvina Reynolds in 1962. I'll miss Conrad and Heylia too, but most of all, I'll miss the little boxes made of ticky-tacky.