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I am just mezmorised by the works of  Ilana Yahav, and how she transforms sand into amazing works of art.  Here, the music is by Yanni - “One Man’s Dream.” I think you will find this both realxing and soothing! See where the cutest ladybugs live!

The following is a post from Jennie Lyon. She is going to be another new writer here, once I get her set up and running. This post was originally published on her site, Sweet Greens. Stay tuned for more from Jennie!

There are so many reasons to eat locally and even more reasons why ... [visit site to read more]

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© Focus Organic for 2009. | Permalink | One comment | Subscribe via Email

Howdy!

Happy Tuesday that feels like a Monday until you realize that Friday is closer than you think. I hope you are filled up from a holiday of delicious eating with delicious people.

This week I’m going to try and focus a little bit on the cost of food– both directly in the store and market as well as the big picture costs affiliated. We’ll see how this goes.

A couple links to help you consider your body’s fuel with as much mindfulness as you do the fuel in your home or your car:

1- The Environmental Working Group has issued a guide to pesticides for shoppers to help make it easier to determine what produce needs to be an organic purchase and where you may be able to buy conventional. It can even be downloaded to your iphone.

Check it out here:
http://www.foodnews.org/walletguide.php

2- Tom Philpott (who has the best name for someone writing about food issues– i could make “Philpott” jokes all day in regards to food in the recession!) wrote a great article for Grist.com that deserves a read. . He illuminates the similarities between the financial collapse and vulnerabilities in the world’s food system. All the more reason to think about how our investments in our sustenance need to have as much thoughtful consideration as the type of socks we invest in to put under our mattresses.  (I prefer a sensible organic wool.)

http://www.grist.org/article/2009-05-22-financial-collapse-food

 

Happy eating!

Most ladybugs are voracious, mighty little predators.  They are often referred to as a “gardener’s best friend.” This is because they can effectively control garden pests that are harmful to both our vegetable and flower gardens. Image via Wikipedia Ladybugs eat mostly aphids, (a small green soft bodied insect that thrives on plant juices), mites and scales.  [...]

Using the cool, new compact fluorescent light bulbs is the easiest way for you to quickly make a difference on this planet. Plus these bulbs save you money by lowering your electric bill.

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Welcome to the May 25th, 2009 edition of All Things Eco.

Be sure to Stumble the posts you like, or submit them to other social bookmarking services. Let's promote each other, as well as this blog carnival.

Happy Memorial ... [visit site to read more]

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© Focus Organic for 2009. | Permalink | 5 comments | Subscribe via Email

Eco-partnership with Sister City Mianzhu, China December 2008 Built in 1915 the S.D. Robinett Building was the only surviving building on Main Street. The Goodmans purchased the Robinett building after losing their antique store of eight years in the tornado. Presently their business is temporarily located 27 miles away in Kensley, Ks. They are renovating [...]

Read the rest on my blog.

Healing Anthropology Rejuvenating Face Cream, www.healinganthropology.com, has a light, earthy scent, is a golden clay color, and it blends easily. In fact, it feels as if it melts into my skin rather than sits on top of it for a few moments like many other creams tend to do. The directions for usage say to start with a small amount and then add more under the eyes or in dry spots as needed. I really like this customizing quality of the cream since I often have problems with creams being too heavy in some areas and too light in others—without finding that they are manageable enough to tweak for the perfect individual coverage the way I am able to do with Healing Anthropology. I was also pleased to be able to use it directly under my eyes without having a negative reaction such as that tender area of skin feeling too weighed down or my eyes watering. I was impressed with the cream right from the start.

The website claims the cream will give skin a succulent look, and it is not exaggerating. My face literally glowed as if touched by the light of the setting sun when in reality I was under the harsh lighting in my bathroom. Just to make sure I wasn’t imagining things due to lack of sleep, I stepped into natural light and rubbed a small amount on the back of my hand. I could see distinctly where the product left off and untreated skin began, the side with the cream having a luminescent quality. Honestly, this is an invaluable result for anyone who doesn’t get their required zzz’s due to, say, having a toddler. I can only imagine how effective their body care products must be. I was not blessed to be born with naturally glowing skin. My friends and neighbors assume I’m sick if I skimp on applying nourishing moisturizer and at the bare minimum a swipe of foundation. However, while using this cream did not eliminate my need for a little help from makeup to even my skin tone, it did lend me a hearty, healthy glow that I do not posses naturally.

The face cream contains all natural, organic ingredients including organic green tea, grape seed oil, shea butter, and the essential oils of lavender, geranium, and ylang ylang (please see the website for a complete list). The products are completely paraben and toxin free. If you don’t immediately move onto the makeup stage of your routine, the light, soothing scent of the essential oils stays with you. I found it to be very calming. Take a moment to peruse the website, paying particular attention to their philosophy. They are definitely on the right track with their line of thinking. The Rejuvenating Face Cream costs $59 for 2 ounces. Obviously, when you want quality, you often have to pay the price, and I would say in this instance it is worth making the investment in Healing Anthropology products if you can manage it because the products definitely live up to the company’s claims. Also, 2 ounces will probably last you just as long as the product you use now that comes in a larger size because a little bit goes a long way. Trust me when I tell you this. I have the kind of dry skin that requires me to take my face cream to the shower with me so I can apply it as soon as I step out, even before I towel dry. The small test sample I received lasted significantly longer than I expected.


The Rejuvenating Vitamin C Serum is basically a miracle in a bottle. Nothing—and I mean absolutely nothing—has effectively camouflaged the dark circles under my eyes that have been a permanent part of my face since giving birth. This serum completely eliminated them—after three days of use. I felt rather than saw a difference after the first use—my under eye skin felt less tender, less bruised, and slightly tighter. And while the product is pricey ($55 for a mere 1 ounce), a little bit really does go a long way. It smells delightful, making it pleasurable to use as well as effective.

On an extra note, besides making a full array of products to pamper and beautify Mama naturally, Healing Anthropology has created a line specifically for baby. This is of particular interest to me since my one year old has extremely sensitive skin. In fact, it was her needs that lead me to begin my journey into all natural skin care. Even the natural soap and shampoo that I use for her now occasionally causes a mild breakout.

Overall, I was not expecting the type of results I experienced with Healing Anthropology products. I opened their products with the mind of a true skeptic as I am prone to be suspicious of pricey products that make strong claims about success since I have purchased products in the past that have been a total crock. I can say with complete confidence that Healing Anthropology’s products back their claims and provide stunning results.

By Allison

The following is a guest post from Jessica

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Over the past few years, since having my children, my tendency to seek out holistic, organic and natural products and practices has grown in intensity. It began with natural bath/body products and baby clothes but quickly transformed into an all encompassing effort, including changes with our food, toys, birthing practices, diapering accoutrements, house cleaning goods, carbon production, etc. I could go on forever it seems.

<img ... [visit site to read more]

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© Focus Organic for 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Subscribe via Email

Epic Change is terrific social enterprise started by social entrepreneurs Stacey Monk and Sanjay Patel. I've been watching and supporting Epic Change in various ways over the past year and a half and am exceedingly impressed with their results-oriented, innovative approach.

Readers of the green skeptic know that stories are important to me; in fact, I've written extensively about the power of stories to change the world and have developed and led workshops to help organizations learn how to tell their stories more effectively.

Epic Change helps hopeful people in need share their stories to acquire resources that will improve their lives. They believe that people's stories are assets that can be used as pathways out of poverty. They help people in need share their "epic," true stories in innovative, creative, and profitable ways to help them acquire the financial resources they need to create positive "change" in their communities.

Stacey and Sanjay's story has been told very well in a variety of places such as here and here. And they are leaders in using social media to spread the word about social change.

Now Epic Change has an opportunity to win USD$10,000 through the IdeaBlob competition currently up at idealblob.com.

But this isn't just about winning the money. As with everything I've seen from Epic Change, it's about OUTCOMES.

Epic Change plans to build a technology lab at a locally led primary school in Tanzania so that children, teachers, and parents in the community can access a whole new world of information and enter global conversations by using social media to share their stories online.

Already, the school's founder, Mama Lucy, is blogging on the Epic Change site (Updates from Mama), and even has a Facebook page where she's already posted a note asking folks to begin voting tomorrow.

According to Stacey, they've had "20 great laptops donated and have procured basic software through TechSoup - now we just need to get the computers to Tanzania, build a facility that will also serve as the school's first library, and imaginatively get this remote classroom access to the web."

So, what are you waiting for, got to IdeaBlob.com and vote for Epic Change.



This blog post is part of Zemanta's "Blogging For a Cause" campaign to raise awareness and funds for worthy causes that bloggers care about.

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