Amalgam

I heard about the Organic Diva website a month or more ago and recently took a look at it. It has a lot of useful information about what chemicals should be completely avoided (the ‘dirty dozen’) and is also a source for less toxic cosmetics, skin care products, hair care products, etc. After following a couple links I found the Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database where you can search for products you’re using and see not only what is in them, but how the ingredients affect your health. They also employ a hazard scoring system (it is on a scale from 0-10, where zero is innocuous and ten is considered high hazard) and can generate a list of less hazardous products.
Here’s how my products measure up (scores shown first in bold followed by the product’s rank among like products in italics):
Back to Basics Coconut Mango Shower Gel
not listed
Back to Basics Coconut Mango Body Lotion
7
Crest Baking Soda & Peroxide Whitening with Tartar Protection Fresh Mint toothpaste
6 646/678
Dove Ultimate Clear Cool Essentials anti-perspirant deodorant
5 744/854
Fruit of the Earth Aloe Vera gel
3 45/167
Matrix Curl Life Contouring Milk
not listed
Neutrogena Deep Clean Invigorating Ultra-Foam Cleanser
not listed
Skintimates Signature Scents Moisturizing Shave Gel Raspberry Rain
8 189/192
Softsoap Milk Protein & Honey Moisturizing Hand Soap
5 152/316
Suave Naturals Tropical Coconut conditioner
6 1017/1498
Suave Naturals Tropical Coconut shampoo
6 1373/1602

Yikes.

The CYCA is holding it’s second annual Knit-Out (and Crochet) at the Mall of America this weekend! I need to start a new project before then so I have something to bring along…

Knit-Out Schedule

Yeah! A new release to look forward to! Pinky and the Brain Volume Three is due out on 19 June…

It was great fun to see people knitting and crocheting at the Mall of America and even better to get free yarn, crochet hooks and tons of patterns. The greatest moment though was winning the drawing at the Michael’s booth - a nifty tote full of goodies: really nice knitting needles, crochet hooks, scissors, notions and instructional books (one of them hardcover) - woo-hoo! Thank you, thank you Craft Yarn Council of America and Michael’s!

I’m taking a watercolor course right now and was surprised to see on a recent assignment that we were to ‘do at least 2 sheets of chickens.’ How does one do chickens I wondered…after doing the assigned readings, it was quite clear - with one brush in each hand paint with two different colors, one starting at the chicken head at the left and the other starting with the tail feathers on the right into the center where the colors would then explode! I now see the value of doing assigned readings and am fairly certain I have no future in painting poultry…

One of my sisters has had her artwork displayed at the local government center and was called about a painting that she was going to give to my husband and me. Thankfully, she said it wasn’t available for sale (we’ll still be able to hang it proudly in our living room!) and ended up being commissioned to do a custom piece!

I’ve learned how to make tables and my very first one is on Music on Grey’s Anatomy; it currently lists music from, you guessed it, Grey’s Anatomy.

Maybe now the Gummi Worms will be able to live in peace with the Marshmallow Chicks…Pinky and the Brain is finally coming out on DVD! Volume One is due to be released on 25 July and Volume Two is slated for 6 December. Until then, enjoy some classic Pinky and the Brain banter by going to Pinky’s Ponderings.
The spizzerinctum of the fans has not been in vain!