Pot O' Nose

Here I am. Sick again.

This has been a long winter (now spring) and I am at the end of my rope. I have been eating well (pizza contains all of the food groups. right?). Exercise has been on the schedule regularly. Besides moving to someplace warm and tropical, I don't know what else to do.

I've heard a ton about the Netti pot and all of it's wonders. The Netti pot looks enough like Aladdin's lamp that it must be magical.




Basically you buy one of these simply-designed Netti pots. Add a saline solution packet and warm tap water. Then it gets weird....

Put the tip of the pot up to one nostril. Tip your head. Breathe through your mouth and pour.

The sensation is a bit like jumping in the water without plugging your nose.

The even weirder part is that there are a few seconds between when you pour the saline water in one nostril and when it streams out of the other nostril. Where does it go? My squeamish self doesn't really want to know.

Lots of people swear by the Netti pot, but it didn't do anything for my stuffy head and throbbing sinuses....Although I haven't given up on the pot yet. When the next cold rolls around, I'll give it another whirl.

The Savvy Source

Looking for the perfect nursery school for your little one? How about an education toy to give to your favorite kid? Camps? Books? Activities? Green parenting advice?

Look no further than the Savvy Source!

The friendly people at The Savvy Source for Parents have asked me to be a guest blogger today!

I dusted off and tweaked an old post about safe household cleaning. Don't get me wrong, by no means do I clean often. But when I do, I don't want to put my family's health in danger.

The blog idea was first conceived back when I was pregnant with Girlie...My sense of smell got a little sharper and my mummy lion instinct kicked in. How could I clean the house with all of those stinky, toxic chemicals and grow a healthy little person?

When you get a minute, please check out my blogger post and Savvy Source.

Burn Baby Burn

I am cursed. We have only had something like three beach-weather days in Connecticut and I already look like a flaming tomato.

Every year...sunburn.

As a kid I burned while my tougher-skinned parents shook their heads in disbelief. What were those crazy water-filled blisters?

As a teenager, I truly believed that I might tan if I used a lower number sunblock. With that effort I still got a sunburn while adding even more freckles. On one occasion I even got burned in the shape of a handprint. Never could wrap my brain around that one.

As an adult (an I an adult already?) I should have smartened up by now. I wear sunblock by the barrel. Still, I ALWAYS forget one body part. Two days ago it was my arms. Today it was my chest.

Damn you turtleneck in the 80 degree heat!

A few years ago I bought some easy, new-fangled spray on sunscreen. I sprayed Little guy thinking that I was keeping his sweet skin safe. Instead, he screamed in pain. "It hurts my skin mummy!' That's all I needed to look onto how safe sunscreens really are.

Wow! Are sunscreens scary! Apparently sunscreens break-down in the sun. They can release free radicals into your blood. Sunscreens can disrupt your hormones and then stick around in your body. Developmental toxicity. Cancer. Neurotoxicity.

There are NO mandatory standards for the safety of sunscreen. No one is watching. No one is squeaking.

In looking at the Skin Safe database and their list of the most effective and most safe sunscreens, the only company name that I recognize in California Baby. In looking at the least safe sunscreens, I recognize most of the names; Rite Aid, Aveeno, Bull Frog, Walgreens, Bain De Soleil, Avon...the list goes on and on.

Jasons Natural is also on the naughty list. Chalk another one up to greenwashing.

What is a fair-skinned family to do? Moving to Siberia is so out of the question. Drawing the shades and spending the summer watching TV is a no go. Moving to a happy bubble in the middle of the woods somewhere...that could happen. Until then, we need to stand-up and fight for safe sunscreens.

Earth Day Celebration

Happy Earth Day!

Today the family celebrated our own low-key version of Earth Day.

We began the day joining the neighborhood kids and skipping the school bus. We all took advantage of the weather and walked to school together.

Little Guy played soccer.

Both kids spent lots of time outside with friends. (I got a surprise sunburn)

Chatted with a neighbor about the meaning of my new flag. These seniors wanted me to know that they now line dry their laundry for the good of the earth and their piggy bank.

In the afternoon, the family walked to dance class. Grilie gave her teachers indoor plants to improve the air quality of their homes.

The lights, TV and heat all spent the day in the off position. (How I love April sun)

Basically, we spent the day enjoying what we already have.

Car in The Garage

Way back when I was a second grade teacher and my stomach was flat, I taught my students to create goals for themselves. Learning goals, sports goals, family goals...whatever they wanted to become more proficient in. Successful people like Michael Jordan have become successful by constantly setting goals. Why couldn't second graders set goals?

Do as I say, not as I do.

Personally, I am seriously stinky at following through with goals.

Take the goal I set back in December. "Cut back on sugar." (feel free to snicker)

Lunch today consisted of peanut butter pretzels coated in milk chocolate. For dessert, the kids and I had frozen yogurt. Bye, bye goal.

In honor of Earth Day and in response to my new found hatred for the Mass Pike and driving in general, I have made a five-day goal.

No driving.

"For the five days during the work week I solemnly swear to keep my car in the garage."

Today has been good. Two round trips to the school. One trip downtown for frozen yogurt and a stroll by the river.

Healthier earth. Healthier pocketbook. Healthier Gruppie.
Leg cramp Gruppie...Sunburned Gruppie...

(Let's hope this goal sticks)

Hospital Life

Have you ever been in a hospital? I mean like really IN the hospital. Lost for hours at a time? Wandering through every hallway? Eating in every Au Bon Pain?

Between Hubby's back surgery and Mummy's appendix cancer I have been lost in quite a few of the best hospitals in New England.

My path into the hospital usually looks something like this;

Mapquest directions and pray that the Big Dig hasn't rerouted the street.
Eventually find the parking garage.
Squeeze in a spot that would be too tight for your average Yugo.
Enter the building and ask directions.
Travel down snaking hallways to find the Red Building.
Wave at the Au Bon Pain.
Take the Red Building elevators to the mezzanine level.
Ask for directions again.
Walk down another maze of hallways to find the Tower elevators.
Take the Tower elevator to the eleventh level.
Find the 11B tower.
Finally, I am free to look for the room number which is in a pattern that I cannot understand.

I could write for hours about my experiences navigating through hospitals....

There was the time during my husband's surgery when I read a poster that urged everyone to use the stairs. Better for your health it said. How come when I used the stairs I popped out in a recovery room?

Or how about the time when my mummy had a surgery and I couldn't find a place to pay for my parking. The security guard sent me to the valet stand. The valet sent me to the wrong building. Forty-five minutes later I was able to find the hospital parking garage office. Turns out I parked in the garage next door to the hospital.

I like to think of myself as a fairly intelligent person, but is there anyone out there who can actually navigate through a hospital? What happens when you add on feeling sick and tired like many a hospital patient.

Here's to walking around the block one more time and eating all of my green beans. I'm done with hospitals.

Take Back Your Filters!

We all want and deserve clean water. Right?

In my quest for clean, good tasting water my uses a water filter installed in the fridge. For years before we had a fridge unit we used a filter attached to the faucet. Back in college I had a Brtia pitcher with a filter inside. Those plasticy filters are not recyclable in the US, There are directions and how to refill the cartridges, but apparently they involve some sort of power drill.

The earth warrior blogger Fake Plastic Fish is spearheading a campaign to ask Clorox to take back and recycle Brita water filter cartridges. Apparently these filters are recyclable in Europe but not in North America. Hmmmm....and Clorox is totting itself as a "green" company with it's new line of household cleaners. Wouldn't this be a great time for Clorox to really go green?


Want to help? Here are the directions according to Fake Plastic Fish;

The Take Back the Filter Campaign has officially begun. Join us in asking Clorox to:

1) Redesign its Brita filter cartridges so that the plastic housing can be refilled rather than discarded each time the filter is changed.

2) Provide a take-back program, such as the one that exists in Europe, so that used cartridges can be returned to the company for recycling.

3) Create a system for the cartridges to be dismantled and the components recycled/reused domestically rather than landfilled, incinerated, or shipped overseas.Please visit the new web site: http://www.takebackthefilter.org/ for complete background information and to take action.

What are we asking you to do?

1) Sign the petition at http://www.takebackthefilter.org/.

2) Send me your used Brita filter cartridges. I have set up a mailbox specifically for this purpose. Or, if you live in the Bay Area, you can email me to arrange pickup. Instructions are at http://www.takebackthefilter.org/. At some point, we'll deliver them all to Clorox (whose corporate office is just down the street from me in Oakland) to make a strong, visual statement.

3) If you're feeling really motivated, please write a letter to Clorox. A sample letter is also included at http://www.takebackthefilter.org/, of course.

4) And finally, spread the word. Tell everyone you know. Collect their used cartridges and ask them to sign the petition. We even have a sample e-mail at at http://www.takebackthefilter.org/ for you to cut and paste.


Thanks for getting involved and signing the petition!