To Be Fair, Buy Fair Trade!

I was grocery shopping this evenings and when I went to pick up bananas, I noticed there was a sign in the next section that said "Fair Trade Bananas" They were all of twenty cents more expensive per pound. Shouldn't all bananas be Fair Trade? Doesn't every human deserve to be paid at the very least what the minimum wage is for their local area? Why is it even legal to have non-fair-trade bananas? The same thing puzzles me about coffee. I know that buying organic has become sort of a trend in recent years, but people need to be made more aware of what it means to be buying Fair Trade over non-fair-trade and how buying Fair Trade on a regular basis will force the industry to pay the workers fairly. These hard working people are being exploited just so we can have our bananas and coffee at a measly twenty cents cheaper per pound?? It makes no sense to me and it really pisses me off! What is wrong with this world?! It's 2009... it really doesn't need to be this way.

Twenty-Nine Years Ago Today....

Sarah McLachlan is the only person I'd say in the world who should be allowed to cover John Lennon. This version of Happy Christmas makes my heart warm. I grew up listening to John Lennon. He was a part of my childhood and influenced many of the artists who I appreciate now.

It was on this day 29 years ago that I remember my father coming home early from work absolutely horrified by the news of John Lennon's death. He was shot in New York City December 8th, 1980 so I would have been 5 years old at the time and I'll never forget my father's reactions that day.... I'll never forget how sad he was.

R.I.P. Mr. John Lennon

Burn in Hell Mark David Chapman.

“You can take no credit for beauty at sixteen. But if you are beautiful at sixty, it will be your own soul's doing.”
— Marie Stopes

Good Morning, Sunshine!

My Mommy instincts told me at 5:45 this morning that someone was awake and was standing at my bedroom door.

Me: "Morning Sunshine, are you okay?"

Callum: "Good Morning, Mommy, I just wanna have a snuggle with you"

He climbed into my bed and cuddled in close. Oh how this makes a mommy melt! He began telling me about his wiggly tooth, which led to a conversation about the dentist and the Tooth Fairy, which led to talking about Santa and how he must use a jet to get to all the malls and IKEA to have breakfast and pictures with all the kids because he has to go to so many of them... The conversations were delightful. Then, he used his little index finger and started tracing the letters printed on the shirt of my pj's. "Mom, what does this word say?" I told him it said Peace. "Mom, what does peace mean?"

This was it. This was my moment where I had an opportunity to speak to my young son about what peace means.... to me, anyways. He was quite intrigued and asked a lot of questions around the topic. We talked about war & soldiers & anti-violence, we talked about balance, we talked about friendships, unity, karma, behaviour and being good to all of mankind. It was a highly intellectual conversation to be having between a mommy and a five year old especially at that hour in the morning, but it thrilled me. The alarm went off at 6:30am so we got up and got on with our day, but I cannot express in words how much I enjoyed my unexpected little snuggle with Callum today. And I think my Peace pj's have just become my new favourites!

Animal Ingredients in Cosmetics

I've definitely become more "girly" since becoming a Mother. I'm the only female in my house and so I embrace all things girl these days. I like to wear a bit of make up and I feel better with a bit of make up on, but I don't feel like I HAVE to have a face on before leaving the house. (I have been teased by some Preschool Moms before for showing up without make up AND wearing Crocs, but I don't care. Some of those ladies are so fake anyways.) When I do put on some eyes or lips to go out, I'm very careful on which products I use. This is a good link that defines some lingo for animal derived ingredients in cosmetics.... I can't believe people would use this stuff!?!

the vegan society

I Couldn't Agree With You More, Maya Angelou.

“I have found that among its other benefits,
giving liberates the soul of the giver.”
— Maya Angelou

Winter Is Coming & The Days Are Getting Shorter

Tonight at dinner Carter said "Mom, this dinner tastez really good! You're the best!" (It makes me feel so great when the kids say stuff like that to me!) Then he said "So, I guess you'll have to get dinner ready earlier now that the days are getting shorter and we won't be in school as long" He continued, "Now that it's almost winter and it's getting darker earlier, we'll be home from school sooner and you'll have to have dinner ready sooner too!"

I LOVE how kids take things so literally. So very innocent... so very sweet.

30 Reasons

Watch more videos at PETA.org

Anyone who knows me, knows I'm spiritual but not religious. Listening to people saying grace at a dinner table makes me feel awkward but, I'd say Amen to this!

'Grace': PETA's Thanksgiving ad

Don't "Bee" Cruel

We read a lot about animal cruelty but seldom do we come across information about Bees. I've taken this off the PETA site....

"Whether we are stealing honey, royal jelly, pollen, propolis, or wax from bees, these incredible little insects-capable of complicated communication documented in their dances and of a social network compared to which our most carefully designed modern communities pale, suffer and die quite needlessly.

First, smoke is blown into the bees’ hives to make the bees easier to deal with. Next, a “bee brush” is used to crudely sweep away the bees who rush from the hive and succumb to the smoke. In sweeping them aside, the wire tines break off their legs and wings. Bee farmers then remove the honey and the honeycomb, which is, of course, the hive’s main source of nourishment, and replace it with cheap white sugar. Animal wax used in candles (and certain other products, including some polishes, crayons and lip balms) comes from the honeycomb."

The rest of this article can be found on the PETA site.