i'm back!

howdy folks.
i'm recovering well, thank you! outside of isaac's foot spurring my stomach, while he rides around on my hip, things are good.
well, then there are those moments in the morning that i stretch without thinking and wonder if my stomach muscles just ripped. otherwise we're golden!

given i had infinite amounts of time to spent happily drugged while surfing the web, i'd like to say i'm now going to eat my words. i hope they're organic.

remember back when i declared i'm only going organic with my FOOD?! well....strike that.

given my operation failed to find much WRONG with my system, i've been left to wonder what else could cause my irregular cycles and horrific periods. if it's not endometriosis, and if i don't have cysts or adhesions or scar tissue....then WHAT!?

one evening while drifting around in outter space (hola to the cat at the farm! this shout out will make no sense to 99.99% of you.) while drugged on my laptop, i stumbled across a blog written by a women who has PCOS. many of you are aware that i have PCOS and obviously it's impeding upon my cycle regularity more than i gave it credit for. (how soon we forget those wretched years of counting cycle days...)

nevertheless, this blog drew my attention to environmental factors that exacerbated her PCOS. i lingered on the website and was redirected to a site called The Cosmetic Database. wow. essentially, it's a site that analyzes over 30,000 skin care, cosmetic, hair care products and tells you exactly what ingredients are in each one, and rates it on a scale from 1-10 based on toxicity. apparently, and i had no idea, since skin care/hair care/cosmetics aren't ingested, the FDA cares very little about what goes into them. shocker. but there you go. then they proceed to tell you which ingredients are scientifically known to cause certain physical ailments. cancer. allergies. organ deficiency. reproductive toxicity. the list goes on. with my mouth hanging open, i slowly entered the Cover Girl powder that i've been using since i was 14 years old. i am astonished to tell you it ranked as a EIGHT on the 10-point toxicity spectrum.

this is what the webpage discloses about this particular cosmetic, click to enlarge:



cancer, check.
reproductive toxicity, check.
violations, check.

then they list the incriminating ingredients.


parabens, check.
lead, check.
ingredients outlawed in Europe, check.

wanna hear something worse?

i decided to brave the bad news, and enter in Vasoline Intensive Care Lotion with Aloe. i've sworn by this stuff for YEARS. i slather it ALL OVER my body on a daily basis. and isaac's. so it was imperative for me to know what it ranks.

are you ready?



NINE.
it ranks NIIIIINE.



again: cancer.
again: neurotoxicity.
again: reproductive toxicity.

i am truly in shock. appalled!

with all of this said, my point in this lies with overall health. why switch my diet to organic when i allow all of these toxic ingredients to penetrate my skin and thwart my efforts? why negate it all?

it's hard to apply makeup this week, knowing what i'm doing....

what's even CRAZIER is i went to Whole Foods and bought this lotion, thinking it was all-natural and organic. heh.

i come home and enter it into the database:
score of FIVE, based on the 'neurotoxicity evaluated in the fragrance."

if you can't get a true organic lotion at WHOLE FOODS, what gives?! and i paid far too much for it, to have me settle on a FIVE. i guess i'll print out the low toxicity list and drag it with me when i return to WF. it appears there are varying degrees of 'organic' and that's just annoying.

i'm still not on board with energy efficient light bulbs (HATE!) or canvas shopping bags (always forget them!) but i can now say i'm working to become organic is ways i least expected....

funny how life takes a turn when you recognize the small things that could have large negative effects on your baby....

this whole organic inspiration has really opened Pandoras Box......