Colin does Kwanza

We Won--We Won!!

OK-- it probably really isn't a very big deal, but I am one of those people who cries. " I never win anything!". This time I did. I submitted a brief paragraph on why I should win a Mimobot flash drive from Mimoco's new Star Wars 2 series. I just got an email, saying I had won. How cool. Here is their page with info.

This says so much about our education system

Click on this link and then on the purple rectangle to watch a very touching video.

Wood Betony -- An Herb for what ails ya!

I was just reading a newsletter by Dr. Colleen Huber, a Naturopath, and the information she was presenting on the herb Wood Betony.

This is an herb that is new to me, but I like what I am reading. This herb is reported to have an amazing effect on headaches. Jim McDonald, an herbalist states, "Its material properties of astringency and mild bitterness have long made it a valued wound and digestive remedy, but paramount among its virtues is its unique efficacy in treating tension, pain and disorganization centered in the head and mind (which is to say both the physical and energetic).

Since I have been known to have some disorganization centered in the head and mind... I might give this a try!!

Top Five Plants that clean toxins from the air

Plants that top the clean-air list include peace lily, bamboo palm, English ivy, mums, and gerbera daisies by removing chemicals such as formaldehyde, benzene, and carbon monoxide.

Keith Olbermann tells it like it is!

Olbermann:
‘Mr. Bush you are a bald faced liar!’

Opus in Salon Today

Just plain cool

My son asked me why we don't use dryer sheets.

Dryer sheets entered my son's awareness when he went to college and saw all his peers whipping their fragrant white squares from their containers and tossing them in the dryers. And so, on home for Thanksgiving break, he asked me if we used dryer sheets. I haven't used them for over a decade, after I learned how many toxic chemical were embedded in them. Why would I want those embedded in the clothes that I wear, in the sheets and pillowcases we put our heads on, and spewing out into our atmosphere from our dryer vent?!! Seems like a better idea to just skip them and so we do. Want to know what is in a dryer sheet?
A list of just some of the chemicals found in popular fabric softeners and dryer sheets:

• Benzyl Acetate: Linked to pancreatic cancer

• Benzyl Alcohol: Upper respiratory tract irritant

• Ethanol: On the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Hazardous Waste list and can cause central nervous system disorders

• A-Terpineol: Can cause respiratory problems, including fatal edema, and central nervous system damage

• Ethyl Acetate: A narcotic on the EPA's Hazardous Waste list

• Camphor: Causes central nervous system disorders

• Chloroform: Neurotoxic, anesthetic and carcinogenic

• Linalool: A narcotic that causes central nervous system disorders

• Pentane: A chemical known to be harmful if inhaled

Not sure? Google Dryer sheet toxic ingredients.
There are other options to soften clothes and eliminate static cling.
Vinegar, Baking Soda, Several new products that tout non-toxic ingredients, and last, a tiny safety pin on the hem of the static laden garment.

Love this poster

I have often thought about how we make a difference with a word, a sentence, a look, when working with children and that difference can be a good one or a bad one. Either way, it is not necessarily measurable, and yet it can have impact enough to throw the switch on the tracks that the child is traveling, making a child aware of their own goodness and strengths, keeping them in school, giving them the strength to continue.

The other part of this-- Exams not measuring the creativity, heart, and talents of our children when they fall outside of the realms of standardized testing.