A bit of a new direction :)

Well I haven't been blogging much lately for a number of reasons...
1) The last push from Spring Break into Summer Break is pretty brutal in school.
2) I'm becoming more active in my new church
3) Dave and I are building a beautiful relationship together
4) Between classes, finals, projects, practicum, assessments, work, church, and my dissertation, seriously, is there even time for anything else?
5) I feel like if I'm going to write a blog it should be worth the time and effort and it should be all large and polished and what-not.

So now that some of these things have become less (school stuff) and I'm getting used to other things (church stuff) and I'm letting go of cares about number 5, I've decided to start blogging about my latest kick. Being responsible. And by responsible I mean eco-conscious, environmentally careful, socially aware, ethically and morally convicted, constantly thinking about my own impact on the people and animals and things around me.

The biggest change I've noticed so far is in how I shop. I'm a shopaholic, I mean let's just call a spade a spade. I'm a terrible shopping madwoman. And honestly, that's actually never going to change because I just love it and I don't think it's a problem ('wait, isn't that what addicts say about their addictions?!'). But what I have changed is what I buy, or more aptly said, what I don't buy. I've been reading a lot of books and research websites that analyze all sorts of consumer goods and look at everything that goes into getting an item on a store shelf.

And while it is admittedly a bit more expensive up-front, I've decided that: if I can't afford to buy it correctly than I don't need to buy it at all, the irresponsible decisions cost me more in the long run, and if it's something that I can't find a good option for- would I really be able to enjoy the bad one? what do I really honestly need? is that something that I truly would die without?.

I'm not saying that everyone should do this. I'm not trying to scold or sound self-righteous. This is a choice that I have made based on countless hours of research into just what it is I buy and countless hours of self-analysis regarding why I do what I do and why I buy what I buy. While I would be the first one to encourage people to make steps towards being more green-minded, I'm making absolutely sure that I keep my finger-wagging to a minimum, (because honestly, I'll probably say something if you throw away a soda can when there's a recycling bin ten feet away).

My most recent thing has been to research not just the companies but also the ingredients of my make-up and other skin/hair products. I was absolutely disgusted by what I found out (like I literally almost threw up a little when I thought about what I've been putting on my body for it to soak up). Luckily I was almost out of a couple of things so I just purchased the next ones more responsibly but I did have to part with some fairly full bottles of lotion and some less than half-empty containers of make-up. But I didn't want to waste anything ('cause that would be a little anti-productive too) so I told my friends and family friends that I had this stuff and I told them why I was getting rid of it but then said that if they didn't care they could have it all, and I got rid of almost everything. Kind of a weird feeling- handing this stuff that I deemed too toxic for me over to my loved ones but I gave them the information and most of them said they really didn't care and thought it was silly to worry about 'something so little'. And like I said, I'm not going around telling other people they should do exactly what I'm doing. But anywho, that's the current kick I'm on. And I'm putting the link down here for anyone else who wants to check it out.

I'm going to start posting more often- probably usually on my latest green adventure or eco-discovery or tasty nugget of information.

I love you all!


http://planetgreen.discovery.com/fashion-beauty/care2-toxic-beauty-ingredients.html