Turning Paranoia into Pampering

Image credit: Precious Life Wellness Village

Like many of my favorite bloggers, I hesitated to write about H1N1, but I wanted to say a few things, and then no more!

Many of us in the education field, or healthcare field have experienced the complete paranoia about H1N1. As a substitute teacher, I find myself surrounded by other teachers who say, at every introduction, “Wow, you’re still standing? Well, not for long.”

With the children, there are constant reminders to wash their hands, sneeze into their sleeves, don’t touch the other kids, and please don’t touch the teachers. At my last job, I was excited, as a local nutritionist was scheduled to give a 45 minute lecture to my class, as the beginning of a six-week nutrition course. I’m sorry to say that the discussion was almost entirely about germs. The woman began by washing all the desks down with bleach (yuck!), and then having the kids go through hand washing drills to see how fast they could wash up as a class, while still doing a thorough job. It wasn’t what I thought it was going to be.

And hand sanitizer – it is prized at schools these days. There are usually at least 20 jumbo bottles in every teacher’s closet, and the kids are expected to use these about every ten to twenty minutes.

I’ll leave my comments about bleach and hand sanitizer unspoken – for now – and focus on what I really want to discuss: this paranoia.

With the constant media attention, and the kind of attention it gets at work, it is impossible not to have this on your mind ALL THE TIME. And yes. I’m scared. I’m not scared of getting H1N1. I haven’t gotten the “regular” flu since I was 7 or so. I always get colds – and bad ones. If I get H1N1, okay, I’ll deal with it. But I’m scared of getting sick, in general – cold, flu, whatever. Substitute teachers don’t have sick days. Every time we have to cancel a job for an illness, we lose that paycheck. It is scary, especially at this time of year, when we have three weeks of holiday breaks coming up – and we don’t get paid during those times, either. So illness is a major financial problem for subs.

It is hard to be at work where kids want to hug you and hold your hand, and all you can think is: “What germs am I going to end up with because of this?” I hate it that I feel dirty and “contaminated” just from touching a desk or a pencil from the teacher’s desk that has probably been used by countless students. I hate it that I feel the need to wash my hands every 15 minutes.

And did I mention the vaccination frenzy? The past month or so, our schools have been offering both flu vaccinations, and almost all the kids have been getting them. It is “HIGHLY recommended” by the school district, as, understandably, they don’t want anyone to get sick. There is a weird attitude about it, though – the belief that one cannot get sick now that they’ve been vaccinated. However, the paranoia about illness still remains. Hmmm.

Vaccinations are another discussion, one I don’t intend to have, but just to let you know, I have chosen NOT to get vaccinated. I do not get the regular flu shot, either, as I had some weird side effects from it when I used to get it in my early twenties. I don’t feel the need to get the H1N1 vaccination, and I have my worries about it. However, that means I have to be super careful and vigilant about it, as I do not want to bring any illness to the kids I teach.

So back to that paranoia. What to do? I have become so sick of it that I tried to think of a way to frame it in a positive light. How about we take this flu scare and turn it into an excuse to pamper ourselves? (Though one should never need an excuse for that!) I have been realizing how addicted I get to stress, and how I store that stress in my body. I realized how much sugar I really eat (which seriously depresses the immune system). I realized that I keep telling myself to GO GO GO, even when I’m tired and need to rest.

This has to stop. If I want to stay healthy, I have to start taking care of myself. I can’t believe how much I have cleaned up my diet in the past two weeks! I no longer take more than a bite of traditional, processed candies or chocolates (if that) per day. No more sugar or processed/refined foods! I compensate by making raw desserts a lot – full of dates, raw cacao, coconut, and other sweet treats that won’t send your body into a sugar frenzy! I eat ginger and garlic several times a day (in juices, smoothies, nut pates, etc.). I eat fresh veggies or fruit at EVERY meal. I work out nearly every day (sometimes yoga, sometimes walking), and I get as much sleep as I can.

It seems so simple, but these are really the basic building blocks for keeping our immune system working well. Funnily enough, it is often hard to do this because it just isn’t part of our culture. We are taught to go faster, work harder, don’t rest, and eat food that comes in a cardboard box. This also requires us to say no a lot more often, and to cancel social events or other commitments from time to time so we can rest. But this is like the oxygen mask in the airplane – if we don’t take care of ourselves first (despite our instincts to tend to others first), then we won’t be physically ABLE to take care of others.

Anyway, I would like to share with your three posts that I have found helpful about this subject:

1. EcoYogini’s discussion on H1N1 vaccinations
2. Another take on vaccinations and immunity boosters on Open-Ended Question
3. Meghan Telpner’s vaccination opinion, and links to her other great posts on keeping healthy

When it comes to vaccinations, do what feels right for you, based on your risk group, your career, and your personal gut instincts. Beyond that, let’s lay this panic down. I don’t mean to say that H1N1 isn’t a serious and dangerous issue – it is. But I believe that our fear of it will cause it to thrive. I believe that our mental immunity is as (or maybe more) important as our physical immunity. I believe we create what we think. If we walk around in constant fear, then we will manifest greater and greater numbers of affliction. We need to take control NOW, tell the fear to sit down and be quiet, and start promoting health and wellness, rather than talking about how scary the flu is.

Now it is time to be peaceful, inside and out – that’s the best immune system boost we can give ourselves AND the world.

Copyright: A Green Spell
http://greenspell.wordpress.com

When the Veil is Thin

Here we are, at the Celtic New Year, and I don’t know about you, but I love to start things out fresh. Get rid of the old and ring in the new. This is also a weekend to honor the dead, in the tradition of Samhain (though I believe the astrological date of Samhain this year is November 8^th), and Dio de los Muertos (today).

In honor of this, I thought I would post some pictures of my adventures in Parisian cemeteries. I’ve been really itching to revisit my trip (I went in May) through pictures and sharing stories with others, for some reason, so this is a perfect time!

While in Paris, I dragged sweetly accommodating Brian with me to three of their most famous cemeteries: Montmartre Cemetery, Montparnasse Cemetery, and Pere Lachaise Cemetery. Many famous people are buried in these places, and for some reason, it was very important for me to see them. I wanted to see Edgar Degas (the painter) in Montmartre, Simone de Beauvoir and Guy de Maupassant in Montparnasse, and Gertrude Stein, Alice B. Toklas, and Oscar Wilde in Pere Lachaise. (No, I didn’t have any desire to see Jim Morrison’s grave, which is also in Pere Lachaise.

We went to Montmartre with my cousins who flew down from Scotland to spend the first few days of our trip with us. I was surprised to find that many interesting people had been buried there, including the director of the Folies Bergere (below). I was also moved by some of the tombstones, which wordlessly expressed deep grief, and/or which told stories of the people inside the crypts.

We were on our own for the second two cemeteries. We walked to the Montparnasse Cemetery all the way from le Jardin du Luxembourg. In pouring rain. We were both soaking wet, tired, sore, and cranky, and we had just had a huge fight. We barely spoke to each other for the many miles we walked, but we made a temporary truce when we entered the cemetery. The rain had just stopped, and we walked to de Beauvoir’s grave and left a metro ticket on top of it with our names and the date written on it, as many others had done before us. We passed several groups of young people who were hanging out at the benches in the cemetery (how interesting), and finally had a long talk and made amends.

We then crossed the street that cuts through the cemetery and spent half an hour looking for de Maupassant’s grave. I remember that half hour very vividly. We had split up and were walking between the gravestones, our shoes sinking in the mud. The sun was just peeking out, the air smelled fresh and clean, and the birds sang softly. I was suddenly enveloped in peace, and felt so lucky to be there in Paris doing something as absurd as searching for a French author that most of my friends (including Brian) had never even heard of! Finally, Brian found the grave – which is just how I imagined it would look – and we took pictures, and left, walking quickly, as we were quite hungry for lunch by that point.

We visited Pere Lachaise on our last day in Paris. We had a strict schedule to keep that day – we wanted to visit the Louvre as soon as it opened. So we woke up at 6AM to catch the metro that goes to the northeast part of Paris.

This cemetery seemed a lot bigger than the other two and it was in a part of town that wasn’t really….savory. It was the only part of Paris we visited that reminded me of my hometown of Los Angeles. It was covered in spray paint, and odd characters running around on the sidewalks. We weren’t scared, or anything – it was just dirty and I certainly wouldn’t have wanted to stay there long. But I digress…

We entered the cemetery at the furthest entrance from the graves we sought, of course! We literally had to walk all the way to the other end (which was quite far). Along the way, we passed some eerie headstones, and some haunting WWII memorials. We found Stein’s grave easily as it was on the outer edge of the cemetery. It took us a few minutes to realize that Toklas was buried there, as well, and her name was on the OTHER side of the gravestone. (Typical.)

We turned the corner, as instructed by the map, to find Wilde’s grave…and it only took a moment to see it. Wow. It is the ugliest gravestone I ever saw, and I couldn’t imagine Wilde having picked such a monstrosity (though come to think of it…I can). In any case, we found out that it was chosen and bought by a fan (with terrible taste…?). If you know of this grave, then you know that it is COVERED in lipstick kisses. I had heard about this myself, but wasn’t prepared for the sight of it. It also had some messages written in lipstick on it, some of them in reference to Wilde’s sexuality. I’d write them here, but I try to keep this a PG-rated blog!

Anyway, there was a sign on the gravestone asking people to refrain from defacing it any further (though it doesn’t seem to be doing much good). We left without kissing it, as I have no desire to put my mouth on something that’s been kissed by hundreds of other people. Not my cup of tea. Oscar probably enjoys it, though.

So, I hope you enjoy these pictures, and know that I post them with the greatest of respect for the souls buried in those cemeteries, and for the families and loved ones who lost them. And please ask permission if you would like to use one or more of these photographs for your own use. I did not have time to “tag” them with my blog’s name, so I hope people will be respectful with them. Thank you!

Remember to give a prayer to those you have lost tonight.

Copyright: A Green Spell
http://greenspell.wordpress.com

Happy Halloween 2009!

Happy Halloween/Samhain, everyone! I hope you have a great day today!

Last night, Brian and I prepared our jack-o-lanterns. It was our first time doing it alone (we usually do this with my parents) and in our new digs. It was wonderful. We watched Wallace and Grommit and the Curse of the Were-Rabbit, and carved away!

Remember to compost the pumpkin waste, and make Sweet and Spicy Pumpkin Seeds from the seeds! I already dried mine out, and will be picking up some ginger from the store this weekend to make them! Yum! And after Halloween, don’t throw away your jack-o-lantern. Be sure to compost that, too!

And remember to ring in the Celtic New Year by throwing away the old garbage from the past. Try a ritual coffin burning, like they did on Eastwick this week. Or, keep it simple. My sister, mother, and I often gather at this time of year with a bowl of pumpkin seeds and a fire. We each take a seed, and silently think about what we want to let go…then we throw the seed into the fire. We do this as often as we feel necessary to get rid of old, dusty mojo. Give it a try!

BTW, we “borrowed” these amazing jack-o-lantern designs from the internet. Aren’t they cute faces?!

Happy Halloween and Samhain Blessings!

Don’t forget to check out the October Blog Party for some excellent October inspiration, and Mrs. B.’s 31 Days of Halloween for unbelievable giveaways!!

Copyright: A Green Spell
http://greenspell.wordpress.com

Safe Halloween Make-Up

Please be aware this year that many face paints on the market (including those sold for use on children) contain lead, nickel, cobalt, and chromium. The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics did a study on these, using 10 popular brands (click here to see the full report, which lists the ten brands). Here’s a sample of what they found:

• All 10 products contained lead, ranging from .054 parts per million (ppm) to .65 ppm.

• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and many other experts agree that
lead exposure is not safe at any level, and exposure to lead adds up in the body.11
Lead primarily enters the body through ingestion or inhalation. There is limited evidence
that lead can be absorbed through the skin, though this is less understood than other
routes of exposure.

• Lead exposures during prenatal development, infancy and childhood can cause attention
deficits, hyperactivity, impulsive behavior, IQ deficits, reduced school performance,
aggression and delinquent behavior.

• Lead is banned from cosmetics in Canada18 and Europe.  It is legal for cosmetics sold in
the U.S. to contain lead in any amount.

This isn’t surprising, as recent studies have found lead in popular brands of women’s lipsticks. As unbelievable as it sounds, lead in cosmetics is still a danger. Label reading will not help, either. These products do not list the heavy metals in them, and many say “safe,” hypoallergenic,” and/or “FDA compliant.” None of these claims means you are safe from lead or other toxins.

Click here for some easy DIY makeup recipes. If you choose to buy Halloween makeup, check out www.safecosmetics.org for a “toxin rating.” Also, stay away from those awful aerosol hair dyes! They are FULL of toxins both for you and the environment. Here’s what Campaign for Safe Cosmetics has to say:

While all the products tested for this report contain lead, it does not mean that all face paints
on the market contain lead. On the flip side, just because the products we analyzed did not
test postitive for mercury or arsenic does not mean we know for certain that face paints never
contain mercury or arsenic, which were both found in a Canadian study. Unfortunately, this
leaves parents in a difficult place when deciding how to help children dress up for Halloween.

For Halloween this year, using costumes that do not include face paint may be the best option.

Moving forward, parents should urge their elected officials to ban harmful ingredients and
contaminants from face paints and other cosmetics and enact comprehensive federal “safe
cosmetics” legislation that gives the FDA the authority and resources it needs to regulate
the cosmetics industry and ensure cosmetic safety.

Parents should also contact the manufacturer of their favorite face paint and insist they remove
lead, nickel, cobalt, chromium and other toxic ingredients and contaminants from face paint
immediately. The use of harmful chemicals by face paint and other cosmetics manufacturers is
unacceptable and avoidable. Safer ingredients must be identified and used.

Be safe this year and avoid those toxic makeups, both for yourself and your children. And sorry for the formatting issues with my quotations! I copied them off of the PDF file, so they are a little wonky.

Don’t forget to check out the October Blog Party for some excellent October inspiration, and Mrs. B.’s 31 Days of Halloween for unbelievable giveaways!!

Copyright: A Green Spell
http://greenspell.wordpress.com

Halloween Advent Calendars

Last year, my mother, sister, and I made these amazing advent calendars. I’ve tried to look online for the directions we used (which came from a magazine, I believe), but I had no luck with that. So I’ll have to give you a general idea of what we did and hope you can run with it.

We started out by buying the frames (the kinds without backs – in other words, they are just frames that you can stick your hand through) we wanted from Michael’s (each one of us got a different one). We also purchased boards that would fit inside the frames (though you can cut them yourself, if you are that handy).

Before I go on, let me say that this didn’t turn out to be the most eco-friendly project. There were a couple things that are questionable and/or downright bad and I have to admit that up front. I did not take the time to research more eco-friendly alternatives. I will talk about that a little more at the end of this post, however.

You will need super powerful magnets, which Brian was kind enough to procure for us, and 31 embellishments of your choice. We used Halloween buttons and pins, and removed the backing on them to make them flat. Glue those super powerful magnets on your embellishments (but be aware that some magnets, like the ones we used are so powerful that moving them on and off the board may rip the magnet right off the embellishment).

As for the board, you will be painting that with at least three (I think we used six) layers of magnetic paint. You can find this at Home Depot. Make sure you test your magnets before deciding you are finished – this paint isn’t strongly magnetic, so you really need to make sure you put enough layers on it.

Once your magnetic paint is dry, you will be gluing a paper/calendar design to it. Now this is where you really get creative. We simply created a grid on MS Publisher to use for the calendar (you can do this any way you like – and even make one landscape-style if you don’t want it portrait-style). This was then printed out on regular cardstock paper. We then glued our calendars onto the magnetic-painted board along with strategically and artfully placed pieces of decorative scrapbook paper (the kind that comes in those big blocks). Again, this is where we got really creative and each of us used a different set of colors, and designs. My mother went for a retro look, my sister for a rustic look, and I went for a spooky look. This is where I was most offensive to Mother Nature, however, because I used spray-on glue. I’m still feeling guilty about that one.

Anyway, once you have that together, you simply embellish as you like. We used letter stickers for the days of the week (remember NOT to number your calendar, as each year the numbers will fall on different days of the week – so just label the days of the week, and leave it at that). Then we used die-cuts for the lettering at the top. What will you call yours? My sister used the title Samhain, while my mother used October, and I used Hallowmas. Mom even made one for my sister-in-law that says Halloween. It is entirely up to you.

You can use stamps and glitter to embellish, as well, which is what I did. You can leave the magnet “holding area” (where the magnets sit at the side of the calendar waiting to be placed on the calendar, itself) plain, or you can add something more to it. I added a Samhain poem by Silver Ravenwolf on mine, printed on vellum so you can still see the dark paper behind it.

Now, if I were to make this calendar again this year, you can bet I would try a lot harder to make it more eco-friendly. There are probably many glues you can find that are safer than the ones we used. I also found ideas that are similar but easier and more eco-friendly. For instance, using a cookie sheet as your background would work well. You would have to embellish the sides pretty well to hide the lip and handles, but that might not be so difficult. You can glue the calendar grid and decorations onto the back or front of the sheet, and the magnets will easily stick without using the magnetic paint.

This is a great time to make these, while you still have access to Halloween items (for the next week, anyway). Or, better yet, collect your ideas and supplies and start making yours in September 2010, so it will be ready for action next Halloween!

Feel free to add any other eco-friendly options here in the comments section, or let me know if you have seen or created something similar.

Don’t forget to check out the October Blog Party for some excellent October inspiration, and Mrs. B.’s 31 Days of Halloween for unbelievable giveaways!!

Copyright: A Green Spell
http://greenspell.wordpress.com

Pumpkin Patchin’

This past weekend was (for me) the last of the pumpkin patches. All of the local pumpkin patches close on October 31st. And since I’ll be busy that day, this was my last chance to go on a weekend.

Several family members got together on Friday, my youngest nephew’s first birthday, to drive up to Hood River and take one of their trains to a pumpkin patch that turned out to be bizarrely small. And sadly, it rained heavily, so we retreated back to the train and waited nearly two hours for the return trip. It wasn’t the greatest of days, and I only have a few pictures with which to document it.

My newly one-year-old nephew enjoying the train ride!

My folks and nephew at the Hood River Pumpkin Patch

On Sunday, we were supposed to go to the Terrebonne pumpkin patches (Central Oregon Pumpkin Co. and DD Ranch) as a family, but my mom fell ill. So Brian and I went alone. It was a short trip, as we just wanted to walk around, but it was definitely fun (despite more rain!). Here are a few pictures of the lovely day:

Don’t forget to check out the October Blog Party for some excellent October inspiration, and Mrs. B.’s 31 Days of Halloween for unbelievable giveaways!!

Copyright: A Green Spell
http://greenspell.wordpress.com

The Annual Halloween Party – 2009

I’m happy to report that we had a great time at the annual Halloween party. And my friend K.’s niece and nephews were indeed able to come, which made it all the more special. One of the greatest joys of this party is setting up a “haunted walk” out on my parents’ 40 acres for the kids to walk through. We usually make it really scary, but this year, we had three toddlers, as well as K.’s niece and nephews (who range in age from 9 to 13), so we mellowed it out a little bit.

Here are a few pictures of the haunted walk that my brother, C., brilliantly constructed with scrap wood, and several other Halloween supplies that my mother keeps on hand. And lastly, a picture of me (dressed as Madeline), and Brian (as a cat burglar).

Don’t forget to check out the October Blog Party for some excellent October inspiration, and Mrs. B.’s 31 Days of Halloween for unbelievable giveaways!!

Copyright: A Green Spell
http://greenspell.wordpress.com

Green Trick-or-Treating

Image credit: Natural Candy Store

Trick-or-treating is a fun tradition, but let’s face it: It’s toxic to your kids and to Mother Earth. Millions of individual wrappers going into the landfills, and god knows what ingredients (dyes, sugars, chemicals) going into your babies’ tummies. Yuck! How can you be an eco-friendly and/or health-conscious participant?

1. Stock up on “responsible” candy. If you can’t bear not to pass out candy, try the Natural Candy Store. Yes, there are still a million wrappers, but at least you can choose the kinds of candy you want to give out. Gluten free? No problem. Made in the USA? You got it! Organic? Definitely! You can find all of these at this store, and more (though not ALL products fall under these categories – make sure you check the key).

Image credit: UNICEF

2. Spread the UNICEF word. You can have your children ask for UNICEF donations instead of candy, which is a great way to help kids realize that they can make a difference!

3. Give out pennies instead of candy. If you feel confident that you won’t get TP’ed during the night by angry trick-or-treaters who wanted candy, instead, then give out pennies and other coins. It’s a great way to get rid of all that pesky pocket change, and the kids can spend it, or donate it.

4. Make or buy reusable trick-or-treat bags. Google “eco-friendly trick-or-treating” and you will find a million ways to make trick-or-treat bags from pillowcases! Remember: think fabric or metal (avoid plastic if you can). And make sure it is not too “young looking” so your kids can use them year after year without feeling silly when they are older.

Image credit: Planet Green, discovery.com

5. Use chocolate to help endangered species. All you chocolate connoseirs already know how good the Endangered Species Chocolates are. Hand out the individually packaged chocolate squares and some of the profits from your purchase will go toward helping endangered species.

Don’t forget to check out the October Blog Party for some excellent October inspiration, and Mrs. B.’s 31 Days of Halloween for unbelievable giveaways!!

Copyright: A Green Spell
http://greenspell.wordpress.com

Wasps in the Compost Bin!

Well, I tried. Posting every day for the month of October was not a requirement of the October Blog Party, but I thought it would be a neat experiment to see if I could keep up with it. I couldn’t. When I started posting about TV show updates…I knew I was in trouble. So I took the weekend off to refresh myself and I’m doing a little better now…though I probably won’t be posting every day anymore!

On to my scary weekend news: Wasps have taken up residence in my compost bin. (Well, really, it’s my parents’ compost bin, but since I drive out to the ranch every weekend to take care of it – add to it, turn it, water it, etc. – I consider it “mine.”) It started out with just two. Then I opened the bin on Saturday and found around 25 crawling around on the apple cores, getting drunk off the fermenting fruit juices!

Apparently, this is a fairly common problem. It didn’t happen last year, however, presumably because my dad was adding chicken waste to the bin on a fairly regular basis. I’m guessing that the wet sawdust and smell of chicken droppings deterred the wasps. So he’ll be adding some chicken waste this week, if all goes well.

Image credit: askanddiscuss.com

I also heard that wasps are often attracted to your bin if the pile gets too dry. So with Brian’s help, we put the hose in the bin, weighted down the top, and turned on the hose. I expected to have an angry cloud of wasps pour out of the holes in the side of the bin, but none came out. (They were probably too drunk on those apple cores.) Hopefully, the extra moisture will help.

Eventually, they will retreat from the winter cold. My concern, though, is whether or not they have built a nest in there. I’ll just have to wait and see. I suspect, though, that the chicken waste will really help get things back to normal in there.

If you are experiencing a wasp invasion, please let me know if you have found any solutions! Later this week, I’ll be back to tell you about the amazing time I had with my mother and sister at the Fall Femme Fair in Bend, where we had a pretty amazing tarot reading…

Don’t forget to check out the October Blog Party for some excellent October inspiration, and Mrs. B.’s 31 Days of Halloween for unbelievable giveaways!!

Copyright: A Green Spell
http://greenspell.wordpress.com

More Eastwick

Hulu is a terrible addiction. I need an intervention.

The new episode of Eastwick is now out and it was great fun. Check it out. And just for the record, I don’t plan on regularly blogging about TV shows! But since this is the October Blog Party, I’m trying to post every day for October, just to see if I can keep up the discipline to do it. I’ll be back to more serious topics (well, most of the time) in November!

Don’t forget to check out the October Blog Party for some excellent October inspiration, and Mrs. B.’s 31 Days of Halloween for unbelievable giveaways!!

Copyright: A Green Spell
http://greenspell.wordpress.com