The Knitting Factory

No, no, this isn’t about a club in New York. Rather, it is the quip of a woman trying to go crafty.

I have always wanted to knit. Sure, I could turn a few charms on the crochet needles (and my mother can produce animated figures while yelling ‘I can’t remember how to do this! I can’t remember how to do this!) but I have never been able to master the double needles. Knitting, the elusive frontier.

In 2000, I brought back umpteen skeins of lovely Merino wool in shades of black, grey and taupe from my trip to New Zealand. I also garnered an autograph from the man I was named after, Sir Edmund Hillary. But every year I open the wool bag and look at it rather forlornly. “This year,” I tell myself, “this year I will make something exquisite”.

It hasn’t happened yet.

I had almost given up on even producing something like a patchwork blanket, consisting of multi-colored squares, when I found this:
We’re talking tiny knitting looms that allow for flat edged squares, and no coordination needed for the pointy sticks. One kit comes with the loom and needle, yarn, cd and written instructions. Although my son has now disposed of the written instructions, I at least have the cd, and was perusing the website to make sure I do this right. A friend, who is a knitting fiend and makes tons of infant hats for a preemie charity every year, took a look at this and told me: “It looks harder than regular knitting.” Then, in an attempt to not discourage me, she qualified it with “Providing you are any good at regular knitting.” That was quickly followed by a “Good luck with that!”.

My husband echoed with “He needs a scarf? Buy one!”.

My son, none the wiser, believes the board is where all hats, gloves and scarves come from, and already tells people I’ve made everything he wears. haha, let’s hope he can’t distinguish storebought from mom’s hands.

Knittingboard.com

Powtered Milk – Stop the Madness!

Last week I was having a conversation with someone who has a niece who has started her period at age 10. We bantered about how the ‘joys’ of experiencing womanhood used to be reserved for 11 – 14 year olds (around the time you would start giggling and whispering about boys), but now is showing up in girls as young as eight. We talked about how regular milk is one suspect in advancing the years of children due to the high hormone content from feeding hormones and antibiotics to cattle.

Later that day I was having my mani/pedi done when the nail tech mentioned her 7-year-old niece was having her period. Seven years old! Now,this story emerges of a girl who started with cramps and body odor on a regular cycle starting at age 3. Although the article is a bit misleading, it appears she did not actually have menses until age 8. Still, this is madness.

The article only suggests stress, stepdad pheramones and ‘calorie rich’ diet to blame, but again, hormones in conventional milk have been suggested for years to be altering growth in humans. Organic can get expensive, no doubt, but erring on the side of caution is worthwhile for your health. A great organic cow milk is Horizon. Another option is soymilk. For diabetics, soy milk is processed differently and is considered a different carbohydrate, so is better for your diet. In Taiwan, soy is made into wonderful warm and cold morning drinks for breakfast. Here in the states, my favorite is Silk Soy. This is a company that does not use genetically modified soybeans, which is really important. The outcome of genetically modified foods, even if listed as organic, have still not been deteremined in humans but has been detrimental to growth and life for unexpected groups such as the monarch butterfly. Genetically modified foods were initially developed to be heartier, easier growing strains, but as scientists continue to play with our food, they are finding that mixing and mingling plant dna could cause severe and deadly reactions in humans. It already has in lab animals.

Organic milks – they do a body good!

Another fierce family now official – Christina & Jordan

Christina Aguilera’s Gift – Max Liron Bratman…and a video!

“Dear fans,

Today is a very joyful and special day for Jordan and I as we welcome our first son into this world.

In honor of our love for each other and our growing family, I have put together a special video for the song “Save Me From Myself” off my Back to Basics album. This video is very dear to me as it includes actual footage from our personal wedding video!

Just a little something to say “thank you” for your undying love and support. It is in no small part because of you that I live such a blessed and wonderful life!

Please download and enjoy…

With all my love,

Christina”

Open Your Mouth And Say "Ack!"

I’m ever on the quest for a good toothpaste. There is nothing greater in life than a clean feeling mouth and tongue (yes, tongue – since wee high to a grasshopper I’ve just scraped using my brush bristles, but you can buy one of these yuppie tools) Clay is a wonderful cleanser, so a lot of times I just whip a few things up when the regular toothpaste doesn’t seem to be cutting it. I just wish there was a really great natural toothpaste.

The other day though, I was running low and saw what was described on the package as Cherry Gel NATURAL TOOTHPASTE (their caps, not mine) with fluoride. It was from a company I had seen at natural markets (this was a standard grocery store, but in the organic section). I would have checked the box but I was in a rush and the name seemed to imply I was standing at the gate of just grown freshness.

I could not wait to get home and use it. I did, and it was good. Nice texture, it seemed to wick away the bad taste, and the cherry was pleasant. When I woke the next morning, I was surprised at how clean my mouth still felt. This doesn’t happen with too many types of toothpaste. I was in love! All of my feelings were crushed to oblivion when I read the label to find methylparaben as the main preservative, and the somewhat more benign sodim lauryl sulfate (almost in all toothpastes, used for foaming, it can cause mouth ulcers) as the fifth ingredient in.

There is a very aggressive movement in health food stores to remove all parabens from shelves, as they were somewhat linked to breast cancer. So why is it showing up in a natural company toothpaste? Alternatives replacing parabens get a little dicey when using formaldehyde/formaldehyde donors, which are positively known carcinogens. And recently it was confirmed that sodium benzoate (which has always been rumored as dangerous but is the preservative in soft drinks, foods and many cosmetics raw materials) could damage mitochondria in DNA. Your very life links.

I don’t know about you, but these three items are the last things I want to see in anything I eat or put on my body, let alone brush my teeth with. None of the above ingredients are in Solessence products. If I don’t want to apply it to my skin, why do I want it swishing against sensitive gum tissue and possibly sliding down my throat?

Check out your toothpaste and let me know what you find. This is not meant to bash, just a bit of shock and awe, self-awareness exercise. We may all be in for a bit of a show. What do you use? Help me find a great alternative!