I’m going to try something new on the blog and I hope you like it! Lately, I’ve discovered and learned about so many new things via bloggers, friends and social media, and I feel compelled to share it with you! Some of it’s interesting, some fun and some down right important. I’ve been posting links on my Facebook page (which you should “like,” by the way. Ain’t to proud to beg!), but I want to share it here, too. Every Friday, I’ll compile all of the things I’ve learned throughout the week. I hope you find it useful! And, if you could help me think of a fun/catchy name for these posts, I’d be forever grateful. (I’ll still be posting a Flash Back Friday posts, too, but I never intended that to be a regular thing, as you can tell by the mere two posts here.)
So, here we go!
Pinners Beware!
Are you a fan of Pinterest? I’ve declared my love of the virtual bulletin board several times, but recently learned that just buy pinning something on the site you could be violating copyright laws and Pinterest’s terms of use (which seems totally and completely contradictory to the aim of Pinterest …so…). You can read more about it here and here. Since reading those two articles, I’m going on a Pinterest strike until they get it all sorted out.
Going Organic?
I think we might. I’ll do some more research, but after rereading Dr. Sears’ thoughts on chemicals and neurological disorders like ADHD, bipolar disorder and autism, I think we might start incorporating more organic foods into our diet, especially meat and poultry. As I mentioned in my post on Wednesday, Owen already drinks organic whole milk. I realize that making the change might be more costly, but I think it’s worth it. Do you eat organic? How did you make the change?
Lead in Children’s Clothing?! No Way!
YES WAY! Christine at More than Mommies wrote a great post about how she found a lead warning in the clothing she was buying her kids. Since then, I’ve been checking the labels of every piece of clothing Owen wears. Lead poisoning is scary stuff, so you can’t be too careful. Check out her post and how she discovered the labels.
Fertility Awareness
My friend Melissa posted a great article on her Facebook page about how little we women know about our fertility and chances of getting pregnant as we age. Here’s a very telling quote from the NPR story done by Jennifer Ludden:
“What’s the chance a 30-year-old can get pregnant in one try? Many thought up to 80 percent, while in reality it’s less than 30 percent. For a 40-year-old, many assumed up to a 40 percent success rate. It’s actually less than 10 percent. And when you keep trying? The survey finds many think you can get pregnant more quickly than it actually happens. It also shows many women underestimate how successful fertility treatments are.
The article also discusses the pros and cons of fertility awareness ad campaigns. Read the article and let me know what you think. Do you feel there needs to be more information out there about age and fertility, or do you think it puts more pressure on women to conceive when they might not be ready to have a child?
Lastly, as a follow up to Wednesday’s post about how I get Owen to eat better, here’s a video of how that’s working out …
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The Pinterest intellectual property issue is so interesting to me. I’ve dorkily done a lot of research about it over the past few weeks and it’ll be interesting to see how everything pans out. Lawyers ruin all the fun!
Last year I made an effort to buy organic when it comes to the Dirty Dozen (http://www.thedailygreen.com/healthy-eating/eat-safe/dirty-dozen-foods#fbIndex1) It’s a little easier in the city with a bunch of Trader Joe’s close by. I’m also glad that it’s almost farmers market season for affordable organic fruits and veggies.
We do as much organic as possible, keeping in mind that we live in middle GA! All our dairy, poultry, beef (we do grass-fed organic as much as possible), anything that has fat (since pesticides bind to fat molecules and then build up in our bodies’ fat stores and then continue to release the chemicals in our body). I have heard that spinach in particular you should buy organic, something about it absorbing more of the chemical based on when they spray it and how it grows… Some people say things with thick skins you don’t need to buy organic, but then I read that bananas usually come from other countries and are required to be sprayed with a fungicide that is able to penetrate the skin. So that makes me wonder about those sorts of suggestions. We- for various reasons- try to eat some of our meals “paleo” as well. I have noticed a definate increase in our grocery bill, but I figure we can take that off of our healthcare bills later (maybe?). And who wants a 6yr old with her period (yeah friend of mine told me about that one!)!?!? Oh and frozen fruit/veg is very easy to buy organic, lots of times cheaper (esp. w/ coupon) and most people think that they have better nutritional content than what we can get fresh in the store. Publix has a lot of “greenwise” products that help with the cost too. In general my thoughts are what’s natural is always better and what’s good for the earth is good for us. Ok…too much writing, guess I’m passionate about this one
Not gonna lie … I spent a good bit of time before falling asleep last night wondering what poisons we’ve been feeding Owen for the last 9 months!
I definitely need to do some more research before we decide how far to go with organics. But I’m sure the more research I do, the further I’ll want to go!
We buy organic milk and try to stick to the “dirty dozen” to buy organic. It is a costly expense and sometimes the organic produce looks horrible because it’s not in season. We just do the best we can. I also try to use a cleaning solution like Fit to clean off every produce we eat.
As far as Pinterest goes, I always click through until I get to the actual page the link is from, just to make sure credit is given but I’m still hesitant about some things.
I credit two things with changing my way of thinking about food: The first is the book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver and the second is viewing the documentary Food Inc. I joined a local organic CSA. Last year we had our own garden. I try to at the very least purchase the “dirty dozen” organically …apples and potatoes top my list because we eat alot of them. I like supporting local farms and do that as much as I can…if you are concerned about the environmental impact of our food you can’t discount the thousands of miles and gallons upon gallons of fuel that is used to get us our strawberries in January(when they are not in season locally) . I can definitely tell the difference between an organic fruit or vegetable because the flavor is fuller IMO. We haven’t made a complete switch because of the expense but little changes here and there can add up!
Thanks, Christine! I bought the book this weekend and started reading it last night. I LOVE Barbara Kingsolver – The Poisonwood Bible is one of my all time favorite books!
Lots of interesting tidbits in this one. How about calling the post, “Friday Fun Facts” or “Friday Free For All”?
I’ve seen a lot of posts about the concern with Pinterest’s Terms of Use (will be in affect April 6th). They sent out an email this weekend (and had an updated one posted online) due to the recent blog posts/concerns. Wanted to point that out if you hadn’t seen it yet!
I like “Friday Free for All!” Amy! Thanks!!
I did see that email, but thanks for posting it here!