KILZ primer now without VOC's

Hooray!!! The best primer now has a ZERO VOC formula. Looks like Ace Hardware is carrying it for around $31 a gallon. That compared to $15 a gallon for regular water-based KILZ. KILZ also has their original oil-based low VOC formula for around $17. I hate oil-based paint though, so I think I'd rather drop the money on the zero voc paint :)

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the summer of my eco-discontent

Yeah, I'm going there. Listen, I'm not all shiny happy greenie all time. This summer has been really hard on me physically, mentally and emotionally. Being knocked up really takes away some of the beloved summer activities that keep me happy and more connected to the environment like surfing, diving and biking. And since I break into a sweat just by looking at the sun, I've been sorta a homebody. You think all this time at home would have allowed me to blog more, but then that dang baby is all busy sucking my brain cells. All my creative energy goes into creating her.

So the only surfing i'm doing this summer is online. And all the reports coming out about our environmental future are pretty damn terrifying. I won't share the links and perpetuate the horror of it all, but needless to say, this is my summer of eco-discontent.

As all parents do , we fear what kind of future our children will have. What kind of state are we leaving their planet in when we leave them? That's when the sadness takes over my normally positive outlook. I feel this crazy desire to show her all these amazing places before they dissapear. Since reefs are bleaching out at an alarming rate due to the increased acidity of our oceans, I better book that trip to Austrailia now. I should also consider moving out of Florida since it might be underwater soon or taken out by an insane hurricane.

Am I being irrational or realistic? Should I just sit back and tell myself that the general world population as we know it is going to remove their heads from their asses and prevent any of this from happening? Should I just chalk it all up to the media loving to spread gloom and doom? Are the only people who have any power to make real change happen in the government?

So what the hell do we do? We are all obviously on drugs we can't get off of and we are fully aware of what we are doing to ourselves. Our current excuse for not quiting is the economy, which has had a positive and negative impact on our environmental outlook and practices. The economy has made us tighten our belts by using less, but it has also driven us to make the cheaper purchase which isn't always the best for the environment. I'm definitely guilty of the latter. I just can't afford to buy all organic or always choose the product that is the most eco-friendly. Our greatest power right now is how we spend the little dollars and time we have.

So in an effort to turn this sinking ship around that is my super ranty blog post, I think I should lighten things up a bit. Lets take a little dance break. Yeah, right now, just dance it out a bit. No music you say, just put a little Pump up the Jam in your brain. "Pump up the jam, pump it up, while your feat are stompin, and the jam is pumpin, look at here the crowd is jumpin.....

ok, I totally blame the baby for that. She is constantly seeding my brain with classic 90's dance songs. But i'm not sorry about it, you totally just pumped up the jam and took your mind off the fact that the world is falling apart. Now the REM song, " it's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine" is breaking through....ahhhh baby, please I need to write a damn blog post before my brain turns to oatmeal...mmm oatmeal..

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Green Baby Shower Loot

I had my baby shower a couple weeks ago, and got some awesome loot. Lily is gonna have enough cloths to have at least 3 outfit changes a day.

Check out some of the green loot Lily gets to rock thanks to all my family and friends.

• bamboo baby leggings for Lily to get her crawl on and maybe do a little "flash dancing"
  
• plates made out of corn not plastic, must remember to not put in dishwasher...
• Dozy Dolphin, which is made from bamboo fabric. It provides a little ocean themed white noise to put mommy and baby to bed.
• Born Free baby bottles as well as some glass bottles. Kinda nervous about the glass bottles though, can the baby smash her face with them?
• organic crib pad, which is waterproof and super soft
• toys & books made out of recycled materials
• some organic cotton onesies
• angel baby bottom balm
• sophie the giraffe natual teether made from natural rubber and food paint, it's also crazy soft
  

I am really luck to have soo many generous friends and family!!! The amount of stuff that comes along with the baby is completely insane. I'm reading "Trees Make the Best Mobiles: Simple Ways to Raise your Child in a Complex World" and so far, it's helping me break through the noise.

Speaking of books, I bought Lily her first book when I first found out I was pregnant. "The Giving Tree" by Shel Silverstein. Memba' him??? I love love love that book and can't wait until I can read it to Lily.

"Every day the boy would come to the tree to eat her apples, swing from her branches, or slide down her trunk . . . and the tree was happy. But as the boy grew older he began to want more from the tree, and the tree gave and gave"

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