I decided to combine two reviews into one because these products go hand in hand in my opinion. I have been using Aveeno products for close to 6 years. Before that I struggled to find something that would keep my skin balanced. Wearing a hard hat all day long really didn't bode well for a clean t-zone! Aveeno worked for me and because it was branded as 'natural' I felt like I was using a good product. There are even leaves on the product so that has to mean it is made from nature RIGHT? WRONG!! 

A few months ago I thought I would branch out and change what I was using on my face. I replaced my Aveeno Foaming Cleanser with Kiss My Face Start Up Exfoliating Face Wash and gradually introduced it to my morning and evening routine. At first I was hella disappointed because it made me break out like a 16 year old. But I kept at it and after about 6 weeks it evened out and now my skin is better than ever. It feels clean and looks great.

A month ago I finished up the last of my Aveeno exfoliating pads and switched to Kiss My Face So Refined Jojoba & Mint Facial Scrub. I use it once a week and it helps to keep my face fresh and renewed. 

Both of the Kiss My Face products are 100% biodegradable and contain no parabens, phthalates, SLS, artificial colours, artificial fragrances or animal ingredients. The boxes they come in are made from acid and elemental chlorine free board with 50% post consumer recycled materials. They are also made using wind power.

Going from a 7 to a 1 is blowing my mind yo. No wonder my skin feels and looks better. And seriously that explains why I was breaking out like crazy during the switch. My skin was probably like 'Come on Jen...give me the good stuff....give me those chemicals. I NEED them!!!'

I was not provided these products for review. I bought and paid for them myself and all opinions expressed are my own. This post contains affiliate links. 

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I have not printed anything since February 18th. I also have substantially reduced the amount of paper I use. I am doing this because I really do not see a need to use all that much paper. It wasn't that big of an adjustment either which I think make it a lot easier and has made me more successful.

So how am I doing it?

I take my computer to almost all my meetings where I need to share something with my colleagues. Whether it is a spreadsheet, word document or presentation I just bring it up on my computer and show it to them. If we aren't in a meeting room I just show them on my laptop screen or I will email it to them and then we review it at their desk.  

I take notes on my BlackBerry. Oh how I love the Note feature. I can access it from my BlackBerry or from my laptop. I keep them organized by person or project and add in notes from meetings. I also use it for my to-do list and for things I want to talk to people about. Basically Notes has become my virtual Post It. I keep my grocery list, blog topic ideas, directions, my weekly 2011 in 2011 list in there. I used to have a notebook that I kept notes in and even though I originally focused on no printing I found it easy to drop using notebooks too.

I don't take handouts at meetings and I ask for it to be sent electronically instead. Yes this means that there is probably extra copies floating around but over time people have learned to not print a copy for me. 

Whenever possible I ask for a receipt to not be printed prior to them asking me if I want my receipt. Because if you say no when they ask you this it doesn't really change your impact. They have already printed it and are just going to throw it away. If I don't have the option for it not to print then I take it home with me and shredded it and put it out with our recycling. EDIT - BPA can be found in some receipts so reduce your exposure as much as possible. Check out this post by Steph from Good Girl Gone Green for more information.

When traveling instead of printing documents I have them easily accessible on my BlackBerry and bring them up for the hotel as required. Sometimes you just have to ask if they will accept this instead of printing tickets, verification etc. You will be surprised how many people say yes!

I bank electronically and always ask if e-transfers are accepted instead of having to write a cheque. I also have signed up for epost and get my pay cheque, T4 and all but 2 bills electronically. When given the option I sign up for electronic newsletters vs a paper newsletter being sent to the house.

I don't do invites. I know this makes me seems like I'm not a cool/fun/whatever Mom but I am okay with that. I don't send paper invites for B's birthday. Instead I make and send an electronic invite. Oh you should see what I have in store for next year (yes I have thought about it already and no I won't forget about it by then - I have a Note about it!).

I don't use paper towels (at home). I made my own reusable towels for cleaning and then use newspaper for windows. I said (at home) because I find that 50% of the time I use paper towel in the washroom at work. I am not sure why when there is a hand dryer right there. I think I feel better about it because it is made from recycled content but I really need to start using the hand dryer more. 

I'm really good at Paint. If someone asks me to drawn something to explain it I can simply just use my awesome Paint skillz and draw it electronically. No seriously.

Has any of this had an impact? Yes I believe it has. Not only am I reducing my impact but I have noticed others following suit. People come to meetings with me with electronic documents far more often than printed paper. Joe also uses the Notes feature on his BlackBerry so we can share lists (groceries, to do).

How much paper do you use? Have you thought about cutting back, if so what can you or do you do?

I asked Joe what I should blog about today and he quickly replied 'your peach'. So here you go...

This is hands down my favourite time of year for food. Corn on the cob that is crispy and sweet, tomatoes that are as red on the inside as they are on the outside, blueberries that make B one happy little clam and peaches. Oh so delicious peaches. They really go with everything. Peach crisp, on ice cream, on cereal, on salad, on yogurt or just stand alone.

Through the power of TV I learned several years ago that peaches should never be kept in the fridge. Best.advice.ever. Leaving them out of the fridge keeps them juicy and tender....because the worst thing is when you bite into a peach and it is as hard as an apple.

Today (like every day this week) I took a peach with me to work. I saved it for later in the day as my treat and really a way to keep me from going to the vending machine when I get my 2PM sugar craving. Now this peach....it delivered. Have you ever bitten into something and instantly your first thought is 'OMG THIS IS THE BEST THING I HAVE EVER EATEN'. That was totally me today. But then about half way through this kickass peach I had to stop. I needed to take a break from it. Not to save it and make it last longer but because it was so sweet that I just couldn't eat anymore. 

We see a lot of different things when we go for walks. Walking trails that are completely covered in old trees and vines, neighbourhood streets filled with kids riding bikes and playing basketball and new homes being built. We also see a lot of litter. Some of it is from the construction site, some of it is pure laziness...actually the rest of it is probably laziness. 

On our walk tonight we found a variety of litter which we picked up to dispose of properly. It is kind of gross when you think about it...picking up someone else's trash but who else is going to do it? So we walked and stopped and picked up random pieces of litter that were scattered amongst the leaves, branches and grass. The plastic bags scared me the most because I didn't want to pick one up and find a hand or something. We laughed at the ridiculousness of what we saw (who drops cabbage on the side of a trail and who on earth eats that many brined mushrooms???). 

We also found a gasoline tank from a car and a tire. The tire didn't surprise me but a gas tank??

The most common litter items include: cigarette butts, small pieces of paper (like receipts), candy bar wrappers, chip bags, coffee cups, fast food containers, glass bottles. We found the following:

1 pop can, 1 juice box, 2 plastic drink cups, 4 plastic coffee/pop lids, 7 coffee/pop cups, 2 large plastic disc type things, 1 pop bottle or water bottle lid, 1 pop bottle, 14 water bottles, 1 bag of soil, 6 plastic bags, 5 ziplock bags, 1 cigarette pack, 1 gum pack, 4 water labels, 4 candy bar wrappers, 3 pieces of styrofoam, 1 wine bottle, 1 beer bottle, 1 whiskey bottle.

There was so much that was either too big for us to grab and there was just way more than our bag could contain. About 5 minutes into the walk when my bag was already overflowing I had to change my game plan and focus only on the items that I knew I could recycle, compost or put into the trash. Anything that I though would compost I tried to leave behind.

While it feels good to pick up litter and make our trail and streets looks better it does not get to the root of the problem.  Why are people littering in the first place? They probably think it doesn't really matter, they are too lazy to carry it back home or that someone will come along and pick it up for them (shit I guess I proved them right on that one didn't I?). Litter isn't just trash sitting innocently on the side of the road. It can negatively impact our wildlife and our health. The majority of cities have litter laws and fines but when was the last time you heard of someone getting a ticket for littering? Yah exactly. 

This post was part of the Change the World Wednesday Challenge. Check it out to see the other bloggers results and what is on tap for next week.

Today Canada lost a great man today. In a world where politicians are known for their lies and games it was always refreshing to hear Jack Layton speak. He was passionate about Canada and strived to make it a better place for all of us. He believed in the youth of Canada and their ability to make a difference. To vote, to influence, to affect change...to be the change. 

I don't think it matters is you are green, red, orange or blue in moments like these. Jack you shaped Canada's past, present and future. Your impact will not be forgotten.

I woke up this morning around 4AM and the TV was on. I guess Joe fell asleep with it on. It was one of those moments where you are too tired to look for the remote but the TV being on annoys the crap out of you. This is why people buy The Clapper isn't it?

When I woke up for real Joe was already up. I joined him downstairs and we had a few minutes together before B woke up. I nursed him and then got him some breakfast. We quickly got ready and headed out the door to the market. We decided to try a new market this week and seriously it was the best decision we made. We used to go to St. Jacobs Farmers Market and while it is fun and there are lots of things for sale it is almost overwhelming on Saturdays. There are just too many people. I follow Herrle's Farm on Twitter so we headed there. We bought beans, corn, tomatoes, peaches, cinnamon buns, onion, blueberries, peppers, broccoli, melon and salsa for $40.

We then headed off to the grocery store to buy the rest of our groceries. Once home I decided to clean out the fridge. As I was taking stuff out to the compost bin I caught myself thinking about how great it is that I compost so much stuff. And it is great but why do I need to compost in the first place? I really need to ensure we eat food before it goes bad so I don't have to compost it!

I pretty much spent the rest of the day playing with B and watching movies during nap time. I made a lovely dinner, cleaned up and did some laundry. Once B was in bed Joe and I settled in to watch a movie (or 2).

Related Posts - Check them Out
The Farmers Market
Green Product Labeling
Mooooo Goes Mommy

What you are looking at here is 2 weeks worth of growth of The Vine. Well half of the growth...the other half is on the other side of the fence.

No doubt you have realized that we have had many an ant problem this year. We are at the end of our fight and I thought I would summarize what worked for us....because we tried nearly everything I think.

When you first find ants you are probably like me, you curse and then you try to kill them all. While this gets immediate satisfaction results it doesn't really solve the problem. We unfortunately did last what we should have done first. The very first thing you need to do is go outside your house and find out where they are coming inside. I found a line of ants going into the house in a crack under the brick. Beside that line was a line of ants coming out of the house. It was like grand central station. We closed up the crack with some spray foam and then searched for the ant hill. We weren't able to find it but if you do you can try these tips to get rid of it. If you don't want to get rid of it then you just need to protect your house from them finding another hole to get in. Try putting cinnamon around the base of your foundation.

We thought that sealing up the outside would solve the problem but it didn't. Ants were now coming into the kitchen from a different direction. So the next step is to find how they are getting into the interior of your home. We pulled out our stove and found a hole between the drywall and the tile floor. The ants were again pouring in and out of that hole. We used the spray foam again to seal the hole.

If you have ants walking around they aren't going to leave easily if you have sealed everything up. We found the easiest way to get rid of them was to vacuum them up.

The last thing you should do is figure out why they were coming into your house in the first place. For us I think it was because of the heat and because I wasn't cleaning up the food B threw on the floor fast enough. I admit that sometimes it would sit there from breakfast until I got home from work. Now I make sure to take those few extra minutes to clean it up each morning because that is far less work than having to deal with ants for weeks and weeks.

Today is Fragrance Free Day. Let's help to spread awareness to the hazards associated with fragrance in cleaning products, candles, air fresheners, lotions and perfumes. Exposure to fragrances can lead to asthma, skin irritation and even cancer.

Fragrance in deodorant (and other products) is to make us think that things are clean so when that fragrance is missing you instantly think OMG I SMELL. Recently I switched deodorants and the new one has no fragrance in it. I noticed it instantly because I didn't smell 'baby powder; or 'fresh ocean' or 'sport clean' all day long. I smelled 'Jen' and it was weird. Not that I smelled bad (ask Joe...I many a time asked him to smell my arm pits) it is that to me I didn't smell 'fresh'. How silly is that?

I think people like having a signature scent. They like smelling like something. But at what cost? Fragrances not only affect our own health but it can have an impact on those around us. That is why you will see so many companies developing Scent Free Policies.

So what can you do today?  Don't wear or use products that have fragrances in them. Spread the word via Facebook and Twitter (hastag #fragrancefreeday). There will also be a live Twitter chat today from 12-1 PM EST where you can have your questions answered by a panel of experts including Quincy Yu, Founder of SeaYu and green living expert, Dr. Patrick Mahaney, Veterinarian, Certified Veterinary Acupuncturist, Dr. Stephen Ziman, organic chemist. 

Join me today and declare that smelling like "YOUR NAME" instead of 'breezy mist' or 'lilac meadow' is awesome!

Last week we celebrated B's 2nd birthday but as the sun tucked behind the horizon B and I quietly celebrated another occasion. We have been nursing for 2 years now. In fact as Joe and I reflected upon it we realized that I have nursed B at least 2 times a day every day of his life except for 1 when I was walking in the Weekend to End Women's Cancers walk.

I don't talk about nursing as much anymore unless it is with family, close friends or fellow breastfeeders. I guess I feel like I have gotten to the point where people just do not understand why I would continue to nurse. I know I am in the minority right now and as each day passes and we continue to nurse I slip further and further into this minority. The thing is I love breastfeeding B. I love that for 2 years I have been able to provide him with the best milk possible. I love how predictable he is as he plays with his feet or laughs when I kiss his toes. I love how when he is done nursing he says 'All done' and gives me a hug. And I know I am lucky that it has mostly been easy for us....that we have not had any complications.

People ask me if I have thought about weaning and it is a hard question to answer. Sure I have thought about it because I know it will happen and I need to prepare myself for that. I have talked to other Mom's about how they ended their breastfeeding journey and I hope that it goes as smoothly for B and I. But for now we continue on....

Every now and again it is important to take a look into the pantry for opportunities to clear the clutter. I sorted through the cans and bottles to find items that were near or past their expiry date. I also looked for items that we could donate to the food bank.  Sorting through your pantry is a great way to make sure you don't over buy at the grocery store too. I often think I am out of something so I pick it up at the store only to get home and see that I had some in behind the cereal or the massive jar of peanut butter. Having an organized pantry does help me to quickly see what I have and what we are out of. In fact this week we didn't even need to buy any 'supplies' for the pantry we just had to buy fresh produce and meat to make our meals and then relied on what was left in the pantry to use.

When I opened the packaging box that came in the mail my first thought was 'holy crap how is there 20 tampons in there'. I was in shock at the size of the box compared to the Tampax that I normally buy.  The reason for the difference in box since is because there is way less filler with the Maxim Hygiene tampons. For the tampons with no applicator there is even less packaging. I could easily fit 6 of the non applicator boxes into the Tampax box. That would be 120 tampons in a box that holds 36. The downside is that they are wrapped in plastic (that is the only reason I am not giving these products 5 leafs).

With regards to performance I found that they had the same absorbency as other brands that I have used. Obviously I found the type with the applicator easier to use but I think I could get used to not having the applicator just based on the fact that it is such a significant reduction in packaging.

These tampons are made from organic and natural cotton and are free from chlorine, dioxin, synthetics and irritants. They are even biodegradable. It is mind boggling the amount of chemicals we are shoving into ourselves each month so having products like Maxim Hygiene on the market gives those who want to use tampons the option to stop putting toxins into our bodies.

There is an easy search tool on the website where you can find a store or online website to buy these products. They don't appear to be available in Canada in stores so that may hinder me from continuing to use them but I am definitely going to look into purchasing them online.

Today a certain little boy turns 2! I started off the year with grand ideas for what his party would be and frankly I was exhausted at the idea of planning it and then having to host it. So we went low key again this year and had a nice party at home with family and good friends. There were no bouncy castles or giant Elmo's running around. Instead there was kids running around, riding plasma cars, throwing balls and having picnics on the floor.

It is possible to have a nice birthday party and still be eco-friendly. One of the easiest ways to achieve this is with the food that you serve. This year we served pulled pork sandwiches, vegetables, potato salad, coleslaw and spinach dip.  The day before the party we ventured out to the St. Jacobs Farmers Market and bought all the vegetables we needed for the veggie tray, potato salad and coleslaw. I also picked up the freshest pumpernickel bread ever. The pork we got from a local butcher (that came from a local farmer). The buns were also made locally.

Dessert was kind of eco-friendly. I mean it would have been if I hadn't had to make a million times more than I needed. I prepared organic chocolate cake batter and started to make ice cream cone cupcakes. The first batch of 12 went into the oven and 20 minutes later came out exploded with half of each over done and the other half raw. I tried again using the last 6 ice cream cones and put less batter in each cone. They came out perfect! Joe went to get more ingredients so I could make more and I thought I had figured out the secret to success. I put the next 12 with the reduced amount of batter into the oven and they came out the same as the first batch! The 4 batch of the last 6 cones went in and they came out perfect.  It took me 36 cones to get 12 that were servable. Maybe by the time he is 18 I will finally have some luck with his birthday cakes.

Today we celebrate the day that our family was complete. As I reflect on the last 2 years with B sitting beside me I feel an overwhelming sense of responsibility to continue to try and make this world a better place for him.