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	<title>Natural as Possible Mom &#187; Favorite Things Friday</title>
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	<link>http://naturalaspossiblemom.com</link>
	<description>Because natural isn&#039;t always possible -- or easy.</description>
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		<title>Favorite Things Friday: I&#8217;m Adding Reviews!</title>
		<link>http://naturalaspossiblemom.com/2010/favorite-things-friday-were-getting-reviews</link>
		<comments>http://naturalaspossiblemom.com/2010/favorite-things-friday-were-getting-reviews#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 25 Jun 2010 13:16:02 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>kb</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Consumer Packaged Goods]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cool sites]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Favorite Things Friday]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reviews]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Shopping]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://naturalaspossiblemom.com/?p=1928</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I started my career writing about technology and business. I was on staff at several computer pubs including PC Magazine where I wrote one or two product reviews daily. When I left to finish my master&#8217;s and freelance (on October 16, 1999) I was extremely lucky. I continued writing reviews and product-related stories, seeing my [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I started my career writing about technology and business. I was on staff at several computer pubs including <em>PC Magazine</em> where I wrote one or two product <a href="http://www.pcmag.com/search_redirect/?qry=Karen+Bannan&#038;x=0&#038;y=0&#038;searchSection=0&#038;site=3">reviews</a> daily. When I left to finish my master&#8217;s and freelance (on October 16, 1999) I was extremely lucky. I continued writing reviews and product-related stories, seeing my byline in places like <em>The New York Times</em> (some of my stories even made it into a Circuits book, which I have on my desk), <em>The Wall Street Journal</em>, <em>BusinessWeek Online</em> (where I had my own tech and consumer electronics column &#8212; here&#8217;s <a href="http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/may2000/nf00526e.htm">an example</a>), <em>Family Circle</em>, Meredith Corp.&#8217;s <em>Shoponline123</em>, <em>Shape</em>, <em>Woman&#8217;s Day</em>, Consumer Reports&#8217; <em>ShopSmart</em>&#8211; I had a ball. </p>
<p>Over the years I&#8217;ve kept my toe (okay, right now it&#8217;s an entire leg) in the technology waters writing and editing for business and trade pubs, but the reviews slowed down. And yes, I&#8217;ve also kept writing for women&#8217;s magazines, but the stories are more likely to be about <a href="http://www.parents.com/toddlers-preschoolers/development/behavioral/toddler-no-no-no/">weird toddler habits</a> than which sippy cup is best. Yes, I&#8217;ll admit it: I miss the rush of writing a review. </p>
<p>There&#8217;s nothing like being able to dissect a product, explain why I like it and what missed the mark. This is why &#8212; next week &#8212; I will launch reviews. I am committing to at least one review a week, although knowing myself that will balloon up quickly. I&#8217;ll have themes, of course. We&#8217;ll have Mommy Mondays for toys, baby- and kid-related items, Tech Tuesdays for &#8212; what else &#8212; technology and consumer electronics reviews &#8212; Whatever Wednesdays, which is my catch-all category and Foodie Fridays for food-related items. My first review will be for a reusable diaper. And now on to this week&#8217;s Favorite Things&#8230;</p>
<p><a href="http://www.yummly.com/">Yummly.com</a>. This site sounds amazing. (And I intend on reviewing it, actually.) It&#8217;s a recipe site that, like Netflix, &#8220;learns&#8221; the types of recipes you like and makes suggestions based on past usage. With more than 500,000 recipes and a Universal Recipe Box that helps you tweak ingredients, this site may become the answer to this week&#8217;s blog post <a href="http://naturalaspossiblemom.com/2010/slow-cooking-for-health">question</a>: What&#8217;s for dinner? </p>
<p>Sunnygram.com. This is another one I can&#8217;t wait to review. So my mom is okay when it comes to technology. Okay, but not great. She&#8217;s not on Snapfish or anything like that. This site lets you upload all your photos and create &#8212; get this &#8212; a printed color newsletter that features all your pictures. I think it will be amazing for anyone who likes to write Christmas letters or someone who, for example, might be getting married and want to keep everyone up-to-date on the planning. </p>
<p>StorySnoops.com. I really, really love this idea. And yes, I will be reviewing it. So my Big Girl is only in first grade. (Gulp, second now, I guess!) But she&#8217;s reading on a fifth grade level. Finding books that challenge her but don&#8217;t introduce topics and subjects that I am just not ready to discuss is a chore. This site provides book reviews from a parent&#8217;s perspective. Will I, as I learned on the fly when we were reading <em>Superfudge</em>, have to skip an entire chapter about Santa Claus? (Thank goodness we were reading that one together!) I never knew. This site will help me answer that question, I hope! </p>
<p><em>Hope you have a great weekend! As usual we have ten parties and five events to run to. But I still plan on relaxing a bit. How about you?</em></p>
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		<title>Favorite Things Friday: Recycling Rocks</title>
		<link>http://naturalaspossiblemom.com/2010/favorite-things-friday-recycling-rocks</link>
		<comments>http://naturalaspossiblemom.com/2010/favorite-things-friday-recycling-rocks#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 18 Jun 2010 21:23:48 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>kb</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Cool sites]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Favorite Things Friday]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Going Green]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Recycle]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cool websites]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[plastic]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[recycling]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reducing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://naturalaspossiblemom.com/?p=1901</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I have a big problem with plastic. It&#8217;s everywhere. Everything we buy &#8212; even at environmentally-conscious stores &#8212; is wrapped in it. Bread comes in plastic bags. Cereal is in a box. Inside the box: a plastic bag. Most cheese is wrapped in plastic. Even the paper milk cartons we use are lined with plastic. [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div id="attachment_1904" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 310px"><a href="http://naturalaspossiblemom.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/ICleanWellLOCK2.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1904" title="ICleanWellLOCK2" src="http://naturalaspossiblemom.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/ICleanWellLOCK2-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Kenneth Cole sells shirts to support the Gulf cleanup efforts. </p></div>
<p>I have a big problem with plastic. It&#8217;s everywhere. Everything we buy &#8212; even at environmentally-conscious stores &#8212; is wrapped in it. Bread comes in plastic bags. Cereal is in a box. Inside the box: a plastic bag. Most cheese is wrapped in plastic. Even the paper milk cartons we use are lined with plastic. Very disheartening. It was making me really sick. With everything going on in the world today couldn&#8217;t I find a way to reduce my plastic use? Which brings me to my first Favorite:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.plasticbagrecycling.org/plasticbag/s01_consumers.html">PlasticBagRecycling.org</a>. This site is where I found out I could recycle, &#8220;grocery bags, retail bags (hard plastic and string handles removed), paper towel and toilet paper plastic wrap, plastic newspaper bags, plastic dry cleaning bags and all clean, clear bags labeled with a #2 or #4.&#8221; Oh, and bread bags, Ziplock bags, potato bags, and others. Sweet. I was able to search for drop-off locations in my area, too.</p>
<p>Of course, there are other types of plastic that weren&#8217;t covered on the above site, which led me to my next Favorite:</p>
<p><a href="http://1800recycling.com">1-800-RECYCLING.com</a>. This site is wonderful. You click on the type of plastic (using the number on the bottle or packaging) you want to get rid of, enter your Zip code and receive a list of where you can take your junk. And it&#8217;s not just for plastic, either. You can also search and find drop off locations for electronics, paper, glass, metal, automotive, yard, household and hazardous waste, too. (Who knew <a href="http://www.target.com">Target</a> takes Plastic #2?!?)</p>
<p>Once I get rid of all the plastic in my house I&#8217;ll need to tackle all the piles and piles of clothing I have. Especially since my little girl is outgrowing stuff and my husband is tossing a lot of his unwanted work clothes. I needed a place to get rid of everything in an eco-friendly way. Enter my next Favorite:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.Bigwardrobe.com">Bigwardrobe.com</a> The site, which is finally making its way to the U.S., is part Craigslist and part eBay. Dedicated to clothing as well as a limited number of household items, you set a price, upload photos and sell. You can also find really nice stuff to buy. Right now most of the items are located in Europe, but it&#8217;s worth browsing around. Buying on the site is free; it will cost you one euro to sell, however.</p>
<p>And speaking of clothing: my last Favorite is from a press release I got via e-mail. Kenneth Cole is raising money for Gulf cleanup by selling t-shirts. All of the net profits will go directly to AWEARNESS, The Kenneth Cole Foundation, which is committed to supporting the Gulf efforts. They come in 14 colors and 12 slogans. (Cute and poignant: &#8220;We Can All Clean Up Well,&#8221; and &#8220;I Clean Up Well,&#8221; are two of the 12.) They are a little pricey at $35, but worth taking a look at. Oh, you can only buy them on the company&#8217;s <a href="http://www.facebook.com/KennethColeProductions?v=app_10467688569&amp;ref=ts">Facebook page</a>. Just thought you should know&#8230;</p>
<p><em>Hope you have a great weekend. By the way: Are you following me on Twitter? Find me <a href="http://twitter.com/NaturalasPosMom">@NaturalAsPosMom</a>. I tweet pretty regularly throughout the day. Also, see the little brown button to the right? The one that says Top Mommy Blogs? (You might have to scroll down a bit.) Well, can you click on it and then click to vote for me? I&#8217;ve fallen out of the top 100 and I&#8217;d like to move back in. You can vote once a day&#8230;</em></p>
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		<title>Favorite Things Friday: Yo Gabba Gabba! Edition</title>
		<link>http://naturalaspossiblemom.com/2010/favorite-things-friday-yo-gabba-gabba-edition</link>
		<comments>http://naturalaspossiblemom.com/2010/favorite-things-friday-yo-gabba-gabba-edition#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 21 May 2010 19:32:59 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>kb</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Cool sites]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Environment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Favorite Things Friday]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pop Culture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reduce]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Shopping]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sustainable]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[books]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Brooklyn Bowl]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[DJ Lance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[eco]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Green]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Yo Gabba Gabba!]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://naturalaspossiblemom.com/?p=1755</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This week we spent the early evening at Brooklyn Bowl, which, to me, is really just a club that happens to also have bowling lanes. It was a launch party event for Yo Gabba Gabba&#8217;s live show. My big girl has watched the show. My baby, who won&#8217;t turn two until the end of June, [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div id="attachment_1759" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 310px"><a href="http://naturalaspossiblemom.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/djlancespinning1.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1759" title="djlancespinning" src="http://naturalaspossiblemom.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/djlancespinning1-300x258.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="258" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">DJ Lance spins for the babies! </p></div>
<p>This week we spent the early evening at Brooklyn Bowl, which, to me, is really just a club that happens to also have bowling lanes. It was a launch party event for Yo Gabba Gabba&#8217;s live show. My big girl has watched the show. My baby, who won&#8217;t turn two until the end of June, hasn&#8217;t.</p>
<p>We went inside and saw throngs of people &#8212; kids, moms, dads and babies &#8212; milling around. All the characters were there, too, as was DJ Lance, who was actually using a turntable and spinning records. (Yes, actual vinyl! Each one encased in its sleeve and the sleeve encased in plastic.)</p>
<p>My big girl was excited to be there. The little one was a little scared. The noise, the darkness, the flashing lights. Once she settled down, however, she loved the music. Only ten minutes after we arrived, she stopped clinging to my shoulder and started dancing. Then she started clapping her hands.</p>
<p>It was a fun even even though I had to snag a bracelet from someone leaving (I was told at the front door they had no more to give) so we could get onto the dance floor. Once we stepped down onto the floor we participated in the meet and greets with everyone. I think my husband, who I am technically not allowed to write about anymore, was most excited. He really wanted to meet DJ Lance, who turned out to be one of the nicest, most down-to-earth people I&#8217;ve ever met. I asked him to do a video intro for the blog. Not only did he do it, but he did it twice since he didn&#8217;t get the name right the first time. The video will go up over the weekend or on Monday. (Have to let hubby work his technical editing magic on it.) In the meantime enjoy the photo, the following Favorites and the rest of your Friday!</p>
<p><a href="http://www.leaf-ware.com/">Leafware</a> = I have a new compost bin. I entertain a fair amount during the summer. I hate plastic. </p>
<p>I&#8217;m hoping this statement &#8212; if I was doing a truth table &#8212; would come out all true. (I&#8217;m expecting a sample some time soon, so I will let you know.) Leafware, as the company says is  &#8220;leaves of  specific trees and vines, sewn together with bits of stem&#8221; to form plates, bowls, and trays. If you buy them in bulk they come out to about $.50 each. I&#8217;m personally willing to give it a try, especially since I can throw it into my compost when I&#8217;m done. Again, I&#8217;ll let you know what I think.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.betterworldbooks.com">BetterWorldBooks</a>. I am a reader. I&#8217;m also someone who writes stuff that goes into newspapers and magazines. And yet I hate the thought of how many trees I&#8217;ve probably killed doing what I do for a living. This is why this site may be one of my favorite new haunts. Every book it sells ships free in the U.S. (the international shipping fee is $3.97), and the company offsets its shipping by buying carbon offsets from Carbonfund.org. It also collects old, unwanted books and sells them to support literacy efforts. To date, the company says it has diverted 33,082,876 books from landfills. Not bad. Now do they have my next book club book? </p>
<p><a href="http://www.letsgochipper.com/">Let&#8217;s Go Chipper</a>! app. I got a press release about this one. Sounded pretty neat, so I checked it out. It&#8217;s an educational storyline (books, movies, activities and iTunes downloads) for kids ages 2 to 6 that teaches them about ecology. With the summer coming up &#8212; at least here in the northern hemisphere &#8212; the stories explain how to keep the environment the way you left it. A plus: Chipper, who is a chipmunk, is pretty cute, too. </p>
<p><em>That&#8217;s it for now. I&#8217;m back to work. Another few interviews to do today and then we&#8217;ve got a birthday party and I have a flip-flop party to go to. Whoohoo! What are you up to this Friday night? p.s. See that little brown box over to the right? The one that says Top Mommy Blogs? I am trying to move up in the rankings. Would you pretty please click on it and then click to vote for my blog once you get to the landing page? Thanks in advance! I only need 30 clicks through to move into the top 10 in the Eco category.</em></p>
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		<title>Favorite Things Friday: Memory Lane</title>
		<link>http://naturalaspossiblemom.com/2010/favorite-things-friday-memory-lane</link>
		<comments>http://naturalaspossiblemom.com/2010/favorite-things-friday-memory-lane#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 14 May 2010 13:22:47 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>kb</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Cool sites]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Favorite Things Friday]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[kids]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[memories]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[video]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://naturalaspossiblemom.com/?p=1718</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Yawn. I am exhausted today. I was up late last night because we started looking at old videos and didn&#8217;t turn the camera off until the week hours of the night. There was a lot to go through. (We got our first video camera in August of 2003. We stopped using it early 2009 when [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Yawn. I am exhausted today. I was up late last night because we started looking at old videos and didn&#8217;t turn the camera off until the week hours of the night. There was a lot to go through. (We got our first video camera in August of 2003. We stopped using it early 2009 when we got a digital recorder. The tapes are the history of our life with kids.) It was the best few hours I&#8217;ve had in front of a TV in a long time. </p>
<p>Watching the videos, I found myself crying a lot. Happy tears. Tears of disbelief. Sad, where-did-the-time-go tears. Watching myself pregnant. Seeing all three of our pets, our first babies but now long gone, walking around the house. Seeing Katelyn as a tiny baby with pin-straight red hair. (Her hair is now the same beautiful red, but a mass of curls.) Watching her first bath. Seeing Keira only a few days old. Watching <em>her</em> first bath. Watching six years worth of Christmas mornings. (WHY didn&#8217;t I put my contact lenses on and change into something decent-looking?) Listening to Katelyn&#8217;s language and emotional development. Watching my belly bounce around with first Katelyn and then Keira inside. Watching Katelyn get on the kindergarten bus for the first time. So innocent, so sweet. </p>
<p>The people on the video tapes seemed like they were here only yesterday and yet, at times, it seemed like a lifetime ago. Oh, and they were a little clueless. (&#8220;Look, she&#8217;s trying to lick the water!&#8221; Umm. No, that baby is nine-days-old. She&#8217;s not trying to do anything, dumbass new mommy and daddy.) And a little rude. I won&#8217;t even go there, but I will say that I had MUCH less of a filter back then, and wasn&#8217;t always the nicest person. My husband and I had a few laughs over those parts. </p>
<p>After we turned off the television at 2 a.m. and came upstairs I truly wanted to keep Katelyn home today and spend the day playing hooky. Maybe a little Barbie fun. Or a ride out to the aquarium. I see how fast it&#8217;s all slipping by. My little baby is growing into a big kid. My littlest one will soon follow her sister into big kid world, too. Everything is always changing, and it&#8217;s up to me to make sure I enjoy the ride. I didn&#8217;t keep her home, though. I have an immovable work thing today between 9:30 and noon. I did let her break the rules and eat her cereal in the den. I turned on the video of her second Christmas &#8212; she was only 14 months or so &#8212; and let her see how adorable she was. </p>
<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s not me!&#8221; she said. Yes, I told her. It is. And she sat there with the same goofy smile on her face that I had last night as I watched in rapt attention, staring at the video of the beautiful little girl I fell in love with so long ago. </p>
<p>I&#8217;m not picking Favorite sites today. Nothing compares with the favorites I am still going over in my head. Maybe, since I am blogging all weekend, I&#8217;ll post the sites and services I&#8217;ve got in my &#8220;Blog Fodder&#8221; folder. Or maybe I&#8217;ll just moon over my kids some more. Hope you&#8217;ll check in and find out. </p>
<p><em>Happy Friday, folks. Do you take a lot of videos? How do you store them for safekeeping? We&#8217;re going to be digitizing all those old video tapes. Maybe I will throw some up online.</em></p>
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		<item>
		<title>Favorite Things Friday: Dads Get a Bad Rep, Too</title>
		<link>http://naturalaspossiblemom.com/2010/favorite-things-friday-dads-get-a-bad-rep-too</link>
		<comments>http://naturalaspossiblemom.com/2010/favorite-things-friday-dads-get-a-bad-rep-too#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 07 May 2010 20:48:29 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>kb</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Cool sites]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Favorite Things Friday]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[parenting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[employment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[job interview]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[prejudice]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[recession]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[websites]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://naturalaspossiblemom.com/?p=1662</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I&#8217;ve got some great sites, but I had to catch you all up on one of my non-favorite things this Friday afternoon: The job that got away. My husband got sick back in August. Those of you who have been reading for a while know that. At the time he had his own business. As [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I&#8217;ve got some great sites, but I had to catch you all up on one of my non-favorite things this Friday afternoon: The job that got away.</p>
<p>My husband <a href="http://naturalaspossiblemom.com/2010/east-meets-west-meets-my-husbands-butt">got sick </a>back in August. Those of you who have been reading for a while know that. At the time he had his own business. As soon as he got sick he stopped working. He didn&#8217;t have disability, so that was that. It&#8217;s been all me. Four operations later he&#8217;s finally feeling well enough to work again so he&#8217;s out on job interviews. He&#8217;s been on seven or eight &#8212; I&#8217;ve lost count. (Quick aside: I&#8217;m thinking, based on activity around here, that the recession seems to be waning.)</p>
<p>Anyway, the one I wanted him to get is close to our house. (The others are in New York City, which would mean a train ride and a very slim possibility of being home before the girls go to bed.) While on the last interview at the close-to-our-home place my husband brought up my kids. He said he liked seeing them in the morning. Today he found out he didn&#8217;t get the job because they need someone who is available all the time. &#8220;A 24/7 employee.&#8221; They never said that having kids was a problem; I am reading between the lines. He was told he was the best candidate and yet I&#8217;m pretty sure that one mention of kids crushed his chances. Bah.</p>
<p>This proves that once again no matter what anyone says, parents &#8212; moms and dads &#8212; are often looked down upon on in the workplace. We&#8217;ll  hear how he did on another of his interviews next week. Fingers crossed, people. And now onto the Favorites&#8230;</p>
<p><a href="http://blog.oyster.com/green-not-green-washed-oysters-leed-certified-hotels-9500/">Oyster.com</a>: There are plenty of websites that rate hotels and give people the skinny on travel spots. This one, however, is building in details about how green those locations are, too. For example, whether it is LEED-certified or making efforts to conserve energy and water. I like it.<br />
<a href="http://www.worldvisiongifts.org"><br />
World Vision Gift Catalog</a>. Wait, Mother&#8217;s Day (another made-up holiday I don&#8217;t really love) is Sunday? And you haven&#8217;t bought your mom anything yet? Why not buy something that will help others? The World Vision people (I checked them out on CharityNavigator.com and they do excellent work) have a gift catalog that lets you buy things like medical supplies, building and farming supplies and food for impoverished or displaced people. There&#8217;s even a section for victims of the Haitian earthquake.  Prices range from $16 to $39,000. Great idea &#8212; definitely.<br />
<a href="http://www.Entrepreneur.com/greenoffice"><br />
Green Your Small Business Challenge</a>. I get a lot of contest pitches. I usually skip them. I hate posting stuff that doesn&#8217;t apply to more than a handful of people. However, with so many people out there working for or starting their own businesses I figured this one was worth it. A 100-word essay will net some small business owner a $10,000 green office makeover. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.aquasana.com/product_detail.php?product_id=45">Glass Water Bottles</a>. I love my stainless steel water bottle, but I am afraid to put anything but water in it. These Aquasana bottles are made of glass. You have to buy the AquaKoozy (sort of like a padded bottle cover) to make sure it doesn&#8217;t break and shatter, but it looks like it&#8217;s something worth trying out, right? </p>
<p><em>I&#8217;m still <a href="http://naturalaspossiblemom.com/2010/2010-blogathon">participating </a>in the WordCount Blogathon, so I&#8217;ll be here all weekend, folks! Hope you stop by and say hi.</em></p>
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		<title>Favorite Things Friday: Late Edition</title>
		<link>http://naturalaspossiblemom.com/2010/friday-favorites-late-edition</link>
		<comments>http://naturalaspossiblemom.com/2010/friday-favorites-late-edition#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 30 Apr 2010 20:24:23 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>kb</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Favorite Things Friday]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Play]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Siblings]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[books]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cyberbullies]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[online safety]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[playgrounds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reading]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[websites]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://naturalaspossiblemom.com/?p=1613</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Seems like I am always late to post on Friday. End of the week catch-up, I guess. No theme today. Just some sites, services and stuff I&#8217;ve found in the past week. BookSwim. Last week I bought The Red Tent. It was our book club selection. I wanted to take it out of the library [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Seems like I am always late to post on Friday. End of the week catch-up, I guess. No theme today. Just some sites, services and stuff I&#8217;ve found in the past week. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.bookswim.com/plans.html">BookSwim</a>. Last week I bought <em>The Red Tent</em>. It was our book club selection. I wanted to take it out of the library or nab it on BookMooch, but after waiting patiently I finally gave up. Wish I would have known about BookSwim before I made my purchase. The service, which charges you between $9.95 and $59.95 per month depending on how many books you want to borrow per month, will mail books directly to you and take them back when you&#8217;re done. </p>
<p>Safety Assessments for playgrounds. How safe is your school&#8217;s playground? How about the one at your park? The University of Alabama at Birmingham has created playground safety checklists that can be downloaded <a href="http://www.ed.uab.edu/cea/playground_gym_assessment.htm">here</a>. (Click on Supporting Documents at the bottom of the page.) A wonderful free resource for any parent or grandparent. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.bitdefender.com/files/News/file/ChildOnlineSafetyGuide.pdf">Child Online Safety Guide</a>. With accounts of cyberbullying and cyberstalking making the news all the time I decided I would pass along this resource, which a PR person passed along to me. Good list of dos and don&#8217;ts related to online safety for kids. (I plan on using it next year as the basis for a a Girl Scout Brownie Try-it patch.) </p>
<p>Open Center Online Learning. The New York Open Center is a holistic learning center located in &#8212; where else?&#8211; New York. So if you want to attend one of the more than 500 programs it runs you need to come this way. Until now. This month the Center launched an online repository of downloadable podcasts that include subjects like Reiki, meditation, reflexology, Feng Shui and Chinese Medicine, among other topics. Some are free; others require payment. (I&#8217;m planning on downloading some to my iPod the next time I have to go into the city.) </p>
<p><em>That&#8217;s it for now. Hope everyone has a good weekend. I plan on blogging over the weekend since I am starting WordCount&#8217;s<a href="http://michellerafter.com/the-wordcount-blogathon/"> Blogathon 2010</a>, which requires daily blogging from May 1 to May 31. Not sure how coherent my weekend posts will be &#8212; my weekends are crazy with more events and chores than time to do them &#8212; but we&#8217;ll see! Hope you&#8217;ll stop by to check it out.</em></p>
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		<title>Favorite Things Friday: Short Version</title>
		<link>http://naturalaspossiblemom.com/2010/favorite-things-friday-short-version</link>
		<comments>http://naturalaspossiblemom.com/2010/favorite-things-friday-short-version#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 16 Apr 2010 13:24:16 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>kb</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Favorite Things Friday]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Going Green]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reduce]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reuse]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[clothing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[eco]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Green]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[oil spills]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Shopping]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[web sites]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://naturalaspossiblemom.com/?p=1527</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Anyone who has been reading for a while knows that when I get hurt it&#8217;s usually in some weird, obscure way. Something that prompts an insurance letter being sent out. The letters always want to know if someone else is responsible for the injury. Because hey, how else could you get a black eye and [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div id="attachment_1528" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 310px"><a href="http://naturalaspossiblemom.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/finger.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1528" title="finger" src="http://naturalaspossiblemom.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/finger-300x225.jpg" alt="My thumb -- with liquid stitches" width="300" height="225" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Why do I always get weird injuries?</p></div>
<p>Anyone who has been reading for a while knows that when I get hurt it&#8217;s usually in some weird, obscure way. Something that prompts an insurance letter being sent out. The letters always want to know if someone else is responsible for the injury. Because hey, how else could you get a <a href="http://naturalaspossiblemom.com/2009/saturday-stupidity102409">black eye and contusions</a> or a cut on your chin unless someone actually hurt you? I had another wacky accident yesterday, one that will probably result in another letter.</p>
<p>I have been working non-stop so I decided I would go to half of a class with Keira. The class is right up the block. I could hang out for 30 minutes and make it back in time for my noon conference call. I got there and we were doing circle time sitting on the floor. Keira, like most of the kids, was getting on and off my lap. At one point she was walking back to me when she tripped. I put my arms out to catch her and her two front teeth met my thumb. I knew instantly we had a problem. Her teeth sliced my thumb open. Blood gushed. I picked Keira up and carried her out while holding my thumb airborne as not to drip and blood on the kid. Keira was fine, thank goodness, and was able to go right back into the class with my mom, who was in the waiting room. But I was a different story. I ended up in front of a doctor getting liquid stitches and steristrips. So today&#8217;s Favorite Things is going to be short and sweet. My thumb is still throbbing. I can&#8217;t use it to type, and I have three more conference calls today. Sigh. So here, in an abbreviated format, are my favorite things of the week.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.clifbar.com/">Clif Z Bar for Kids</a>. I won a prize in a Twitter party. (Thanks, <a href="http://twitter.com/healthy_child">@Healthy_Child</a>) Part of it: 20 of the chocolate chip variety. Yum. Katelyn loves them, too, so it&#8217;s given me another snack option for her lunch box.</p>
<p><a href="http://kids.thredup.com/seed">ThredUP</a>. I hate throwing clothing away. I hate buying it new, too, especially for the kids. This new site is part eBay, part Craigslist, part Freecycle. You go on, put a &#8220;box&#8221; of clothing up, and someone will claim it. And you can do the same. All you pay is the shipping on the clothing you&#8217;re claiming. Everyone wins. Clothing is reused. You don&#8217;t spend a fortune. Love, love, LOVE this, and plan on trying it out this weekend.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.matteroftrust.org ">MatterofTrust.org</a> I love using surplus in an innovative way. Who knew that human hair from the floors of salons could be reclaimed and reused for oil spills and oil slicks? But it can. This organization helps collect human hair and get it out in the field when there is an oil spill. They also do a ton of eco-education. Ask your salon if they are participating in the program. It&#8217;s worth it.</p>
<p><em>That&#8217;s it for now. I&#8217;m going to try and add two more things by late Friday. Have a great weekend in the meantime!</em></p>
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		<title>Favorite Things Friday: Let&#8217;s Get Moving</title>
		<link>http://naturalaspossiblemom.com/2010/favorite-things-friday</link>
		<comments>http://naturalaspossiblemom.com/2010/favorite-things-friday#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 09 Apr 2010 14:38:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>kb</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Consumer Packaged Goods]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Favorite Things Friday]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Shopping]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bicycle]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BPA-free]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[exercise]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ice pops]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ipod]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[music]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[summer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yoga]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://naturalaspossiblemom.com/?p=1471</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Busy week, busy day. Lots of work to do. Still, can&#8217;t let Friday pass without a few good things and an update on my spend less challenge. This week I purchased the following items (things I could touch): groceries (milk, bread, hummus, berries, the usual stuff), a subway ride card, and a pack of gum. [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Busy week, busy day. Lots of work to do. Still, can&#8217;t let Friday pass without a few good things and an update on my spend less challenge. </p>
<p>This week I purchased the following items (things I could touch): groceries (milk, bread, hummus, berries, the usual stuff), a subway ride card, and a pack of gum. I feel most guilty about the pack of gum. I needed cash and didn&#8217;t want to pay an ATM fee so I went to Kmart in Penn Station. There I bought the gum with my ATM card so I could take cash back. The gum has a lot of packaging and it was blue. Not good for me or the environment. Next time I will plan ahead better. </p>
<p>And now on to the Favorite Things&#8230;</p>
<p><a href="http://www.thetickletrunk.com/products.php?id=205&#038;name=Popsicle_mold">Stainless steel ice pop makers</a>. When I was little one of my most favorite things to eat in the summer were the homemade ice pops that we made using our ice trays, tooth picks, and orange juice. Yum. I wanted to do the same with the girls, but hate the whole plastic/BPA/wasted toothpicks scenario. The SafeMama <a href="http://safemama.com/2010/03/08/found-stainless-steel-popsicle-molds-giveaway/">tipped me off</a>. I&#8217;m passing the tip along to you. Yes, they still require Popsicle sticks, but I intend on washing them and reusing.  </p>
<p><a href="http://www.recycleyourmat.com ">RecycleYourMat.com</a> I have three yoga mats sitting in my trunk. One sitting in the house. This organization wants to help me lighten my yoga mat load. They take old yoga mats and upcycle or recycle them. You can search for a drop off location or, if you&#8217;re so inclined, ask your favorite yoga teacher to get involved with his or her own yoga recycling program. Studios that get involved have a chance to earn free yoga blankets &#8212; a nice thing to have during shavasana. </p>
<p>Great workout music. I love spinning. I love any exercise, really. Still, I dream of the day when I can buy my own spin bike and create my own 60 minute routines. Right now, I am making do with my treadmill, and it&#8217;s often difficult to find the right music to work out to. That&#8217;s why I really liked <a href="http://www.isweat2thebeat.com">ISweat2theBeat.com</a>. The site helps you figure out how many beats-per-minute your favorite songs have so you can create your own exercise mix on your iPod or MP3 player. I will be using this a lot when I get my Spin bike&#8230;someday&#8230;</p>
<p>Child bike seats. No, I don&#8217;t have a spin bike, but I do have my own bicycle, which I&#8217;ve been using quite a bit. Now that Katelyn can ride we can all go out together. Right now I have to use my husband&#8217;s bike since his is the only one that allows attachment of a rear child seat. I was pretty excited when I found something that would let me ride with Keira on my bike, too. (Hubby is six feet tall. I am 5&#8242; 8&#8243;. His bigger bike makes me nervous.) WeeRide&#8217;s <a href="http://www.weeride.com/Kangaroo-LTD-Special-Edition">Kangaroo LTD</a> puts the seat in front without impeding your movement &#8212; at least that&#8217;s what the Web site says. I&#8217;m hoping to try it out to review it. I&#8217;ll keep you posted. </p>
<p><em>Have a great weekend, everyone. It&#8217;s been a long, often-difficult week. I am so glad it&#8217;s over. How about you? How was your week?</em></p>
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		<title>Favorite Things Friday: Out of Sites</title>
		<link>http://naturalaspossiblemom.com/2010/favorite-things-friday-out-of-sites</link>
		<comments>http://naturalaspossiblemom.com/2010/favorite-things-friday-out-of-sites#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 02 Apr 2010 15:09:29 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>kb</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Environment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Favorite Things Friday]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Going Green]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[energy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[climate change]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[humor]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[kids]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[water]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[websites]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://naturalaspossiblemom.com/?p=1447</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Busy today. Stories to edit. Stories to research. Story to write. Still, couldn&#8217;t let Friday go by without a fun Favorite Things column. I&#8217;ve gathered up some interesting new Web sites. Hope you enjoy! And since I love recounting my own Favorite Things: Keira went from three word sentences to ten word sentences this week. [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Busy today. Stories to edit. Stories to research. Story to write. Still, couldn&#8217;t let Friday go by without a fun Favorite Things column. I&#8217;ve gathered up some interesting new Web sites. Hope you enjoy! </p>
<p>And since I love recounting my own Favorite Things: Keira went from three word sentences to ten word sentences this week. She&#8217;s so funny. This morning one of my big girl&#8217;s friends came by. Her mom works, too, so she was dropped off at 8:30. When there&#8217;s no school we&#8217;re all just getting up around that time, which is why Keira was still in her crib when Christina got here. I let the little girl in and got her and Katelyn settled in the kitchen to eat breakfast. Then I ran upstairs to get Keira. She was so excited to discover that we had company. As soon as she sat down in her seat and she just started talking. For some reason (probably because she has a 6-year-old sister) she thinks poop is really funny. Really funny. So the first thing she said when she sat down was, &#8220;Hi-low (her way of saying &#8216;hello&#8217;). I have cereal, too. Cereal is poop. Eww. Stinky poop cereal. Ewww.&#8221; And then she laughed hysterically. She continued: &#8220;I eat poop now. See, see, cereal is poop.&#8221; The girls thought it was funny. And as much as I know I should have chastised her, I thought it was funny, too. (And yes, I definitely told her not to be a potty mouth.)</p>
<p>Enjoy the weekend, and here&#8217;s your Favorite Things Friday! </p>
<p><a href="http://www.truuconfessions.com/channels/Mom">Truu Mom Confessions</a>. How many times have you said or done something with your husband, your friends, your kid, and been too embarrassed to tell anyone? This site wants to help everyone who falls into this category, letting anyone post anything they want to say. Some of it is fairly boring. (&#8220;I hate sweating. It makes my [butt] crack itch.&#8221;) But there are some interesting and me-too moments on here as well. </p>
<p><a href="http://identitytheft911.org/home.htm">IdentityTheft911.com</a>. I write about identity theft a lot. It freaks me out because I know the statistics and I know how easy it is for someone to fall prey to such a crime. (My big tip: Don&#8217;t EVER give your Social Security number to ANYONE &#8212; not doctors, not dentists, not your child&#8217;s school. Only people who provide credit to you need your Social Security number.) If you want to know more, check out this great online guide that I am not affiliated with whatsoever. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.ul.com/saveyourwater">UL&#8217;s Save Your Water</a>. Earth Day is this month. Do you know how much water you waste every month? This neat resource, from the Underwriters Laboratories, helps you estimate how much water you use, and how you can reduce your family&#8217;s consumption. The best part: For each person who uses the calculator and pledges to conserve water, UL says it will donate one dollar to Water for People, a charity organization focused on providing clean water to those who can&#8217;t get access. </p>
<p><a href="www.xool.tv/climatetv">ClimateTV</a>. I got an email from the managing editor of DeSmogBlog, one of the sites I read frequently and tweet about every so often. He wanted to let me know about a great new climate-related Web site, ClimateTV. I took a look. Lots of interesting content with a twist: People can chat with each other while they&#8217;re watching and reading. Nice.   </p>
<p><a href="http://www.makemebabies.com/">MakeMeBabies.com</a>. I am including this because it&#8217;s a fun way to waste some time on a Friday. The site lets you upload photos of yourself and someone else. It creates a representation of the baby the two of you might produce. (I wonder how long it will be before someone uses a resulting photo as their Facebook profile picture?)</p>
<p><em>Know a cool site or product? Feel free to suggest it. I&#8217;m always looking for interesting diversions to pass along. Also, is this one of your favorite blogs? See that little brown ad towards the top right of the page? Could you click it for me, and then click the voting icon on the page it takes you to? I&#8217;d like to move up in the standings. I&#8217;m in the 200s right now.</em></p>
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		<title>Favorite Things Friday: Teeth, Feet, and Back</title>
		<link>http://naturalaspossiblemom.com/2010/favorite-things-friday-teeth-feet-and-back</link>
		<comments>http://naturalaspossiblemom.com/2010/favorite-things-friday-teeth-feet-and-back#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 05 Mar 2010 14:38:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>kb</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Consumer Packaged Goods]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cool sites]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dental care]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Environment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[eco]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Favorite Things Friday]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Green]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nails]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[recycled]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[shoes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[toothbrush]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://naturalaspossiblemom.com/?p=1316</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I&#8217;m starting to think about Keira&#8217;s second birthday. It&#8217;s only three-and-a-half months away. I need to figure out what kind of party I am having &#8212; if anything &#8212; get invitations, figure out favors, decide on the guest list (do I invite her friends&#8217; older siblings), and pick a date and time. I am probably [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I&#8217;m starting to think about Keira&#8217;s second birthday. It&#8217;s only three-and-a-half months away. I need to figure out what kind of party I am having &#8212; if anything &#8212; get invitations, figure out favors, decide on the guest list (do I invite her friends&#8217; older siblings), and pick a date and time. I am probably the biggest bah-humbug, but the whole process is just overwhelming. I used to love it, but the amount of waste that goes into a kid party &#8212; the wrapping paper, the gifts, the invitations, the postal process &#8212; is just staggering. Do I let her get gifts, or do a charity birthday like I did with her sister last year? Do I have a small house playdate or book something at a place? What to do, what to do.</p>
<p>Anyway, it&#8217;s Friday, and this week&#8217;s Friday Favorites has nothing to do with the above thinking-out-loud, but it was on my mind. Figured I&#8217;d ask everyone what you did for your child&#8217;s second birthday. Keep in mind that Katelyn had a giant second birthday party complete with a gorgeous dress, tiara, and about 25 of her closest friends. And now on to the things I really liked this week. A lot of these things are stuff I came across in my journalist life. I&#8217;m getting some really interesting press releases these days. The blog has made it into a few databases, which makes my life easier. Please note: I did not get any freebies. I have to buy everything I like below &#8212; and probably will be. Just wanted to provide full disclosure. I just liked &#8216;em, so I am writing about them. </p>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.chewyloudesigns.com/shop/long-sleeve/green.asp">This cool t-shirt</a>.</strong> Again, no, I didn&#8217;t get a free one. I&#8217;m just writing about it because it&#8217;s cute. I&#8217;m not really a slogan kinda gal. My clothing is writing-free, but this t-shirt, which makes GREEN into an anagram is just really cute. A little expensive for my taste, but cute, so I thought I would write about it.</p>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.radiustoothbrush.com">A green toothbrush</a></strong>. I brush twice a day like the rest of the world. I have switched over to a eco-minded toothpaste &#8212; finally &#8212; but I was still brushing with the same plastic-going-to-end-up-in-a-landfill toothbrush that I always used. Then I found Radius and its eco-friendly toothbrushes. Cellulose (made from wood pulp) handle. Nylon bristles. Cool design. The fact that you pick whether you want a lefty brush or a righty brush sealed the deal for me. (Yes, the entire family falls into the lefty category.) </p>
<p><strong><a href="www.pocketflops.com ">Shoes for my pedis</a></strong>. I get pedicures. I got a really nice spa package for my birthday this year that entitles me to one every other month. Anyway, I usually drag a set of red flip-flops with me. They are big and annoying and dirty, so when I saw these foldable flip-flops that are also made of 90 percent recycled materials I was intrigued. And at $15 they don&#8217;t break the bank. Seems like a nice addition to my manicure kit. (I bring all my own supplies including eco-based top and base coat as well as files, cuticle nippers, and a pumice stone. Too freaked out about germs to do anything else.) </p>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.trycovermate.com/">Non-plastic wrap wrapping</a></strong>. We have no plastic wrap in my kitchen. At all. Or plastic bags for that matter. Drives the husband crazy. I tend to put stuff in the covered Corningware I have or in a Pyrex bowl that also comes with a cover. When those are in use I put a glass plate over a regular bowl to keep food fresh. Works, but not the safest option. Which is why I will be ordering CoverMate Food Covers this weekend. These are reusable, washable hair-net-looking things that stretch over plates, bowls, and other food serving dishes. The nice part is that the ones I will be ordering are sort of free, too. The company&#8217;s PR woman sent me a nice offer for my readers, and you know I am getting in on it. CoverMate is currently running a special promotion. Pay $3.95 shipping and handling and you get a sample pack of all four CoverMate sizes along with a $1.00 off retail coupon in case you want to buy more. They are BPA-free, dishwasher-safe, and reusable. I plan on getting one set and hand-washing them so they last for a long time. I will still use my Pyrex and Corningware first since CoverMates are plastic, but they will be nice to have when everything is in use. </p>
<p><em>Have a great weekend, everyone. I&#8217;ve already written Monday&#8217;s post &#8212; a story about toddlers and dieting. Also, Tuesday should be about food allergies. And don&#8217;t forget about the Celestial Seasonings give-away. Check out <a href="http://naturalaspossiblemom.com/2010/a-cold-try-a-little-tea">Tuesday&#8217;s post</a> and then scroll down a bit to enter to win a nice, big basket o&#8217; tea. Finally, see that little brown button to your right? A little ways up the page? The one that says Top Mommy Blogs? Can you click on it? I need to move up in the rankings a bit. I&#8217;d like to be closer to 100. Right now I am close to 200. You can click once a day, which I did not know!</em> </p>
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		</item>
	</channel>
</rss>
