so i'm a litttttle behind....

ok I admit, I have not sent out most of my Christmas cards yet. Yes I know it's a day after Christmas, but what can I say? I have them sitting on my coffee table, I wrote my yearly newsletter and printed it out and everyone's card is labeled and stamped - but I need to write each card still. I like to add something personal inside each one. I also did not buy any Christmas presents this year except for the kids, I boycotted Christmas! I did make gifts with the kids for their grandparents this year but again... we're a wee bit late on getting them out. Ah well, we had a good one!

This year, I did not put any gifts under the tree before Christmas as I normally do. Sam had expressed how cool it was in movies when the kids wake up and all of a sudden there are all these presents under the tree and the tree is all lit up, so I decided I'd do that for the kids this year. Their presents happened to be fairly large this year so they awoke to a lit-up tree and lots of shiny big presents under the tree. It was fun. They do not believe in Santa Claus - in fact we never told them about Santa Claus because I would rather keep it real. Christmas to me is about Jesus Christ's birth, and although Christmas is also very much a cultural tradition, I don't like the idea of telling my kids something untrue as true that I know they will lose faith in. I think it's hard enough to have faith in God on this planet for many people, so I don't want my kids to think that the story of Jesus is - like some do say - like believing in Santa Claus.

So on Christmas Eve I made a big dinner then we went to church, and on Christmas day we opened presents and then I made whole wheat banana-walnut-carob chip pancakes with maple syrup and we made a gingerbread house, created beaded snowflake ornaments, then later went to see the movie Cheaper by the Dozen 2.

In line with my recent foray to New Mexico and my thinking about making purchasing and lifestyle choices in line with my true goals and priorities (environmental and personal impacts of daily choices), and also for concern over my future health as I head into the second half of my thirties, I have decided to change to use more natural products and organic or natural foods. I've started the big switch - I got natural deodorant, Tom's Toothpaste (I used this as a kid at my dad's!), castille soap body wash, and bought some Burt's Bees natural facial products.

I've been off coffee and Diet Coke for 2 days now - switched to sea salt, organic turbinado sugar, and bought a bunch of bulk foods: buckwheat, spices, flax seed, psyllium husks, dried fruit, pumpkin seeds, Brewer's yeast, whole wheat flour, as well as some organic chicken and free-range eggs. I am going to try the Ayurvedic Master Cleanse which is a lemonade with lemon juice, maple syrup and cayenne pepper and after that do a general detox diet that consists of a lot of veggies and whole grains. Lucky for me, I actually like a lot of this kind of food - thanks to my dad's cooking when I was a kid - and just need to do it. I bought glass jars and love the way my cabinet looks with all the bulk food items lined up. I'm trying to buy organic wherever I can, but just going as natural as possible because organic is expensive...

I haven't yet gotten natural cleaners but that is a next step. I also want to get fluorescent lightbulbs - saves energy and better lighting - and install a reverse osmosis water filter. I plan to get E Magazine's Guide to Green Living from my Christmas present money! It feels good to see these more natural products around me - knowing that the products I put in and on my body are more natural than the ones I was using before, and the companies more aligned with my belief systems and priorities. I will upload some holiday photos soon!