Shop my AVON store!

 

Buy Avon without a hard copy catalog!!

Want to shop for Avon goodies but you don’t have a catalog? Shop my online eCatalog for the hottest Avon and mark products–from Jan. 16-18, and get FREE SHIPPING directly to you on any $10 order. Enter code GARNET2012 at checkout. Awesome! Shop here:

http://bit.ly/wts2oB

 

About.me–a one-stop portal!

As a BzzAgent, I had the opportunity to sign up for About.me, which is a site that allows me to create a digital “calling card” that links up all of my online media. What’s cool about About.me is that not only is it easy to use, but it provides one, graphically-pleasing platform for my internet presence. Through BzzAgent, I received an offer to score 50 business cards from About.me as well, which I will redeem once I format my About.me site in the way I want.

About.me is very easy to use; its simple and interactive design interface allowed me to choose a variety of color schemes, opacity for text boxes, an original background image, and more. I chose to use a background design that About.me shares with the public so that I could advertise my online Avon store. At any time, I can upload an image of my choice to further personalize my page.

I like the feature at the top of About.me that allows me to browse different users’ profiles. There are so many different people using this service–some, like me, who are advertising a business, and others, who use it as a portal to their other online media. I was inspired to design my own About.me after spending some time reviewing other user’s pages–clearly, there is a need for a “one-portal” concept to link up one’s internet presence. On my About.me page, I linked my facebook, twitter, this blog, and my Avon online store page. If I direct people to my About.me link, it’s easy for them to navigate these links from one place.

About.me currently has an email feature as well–I claimed my email name and now I can get free email through the site. It’s another way to drive my potential Avon customers to my facebook business page as well as my Avon online store. I appreciate the opportunity to receive and send mail through the About.me site! I don’t need to rely on personal email accounts; About.me seems to have all avenues covered!

I would recommend About.me to anyone who wants some internet visibility and a place to organize one’s internet life. With an intuitive set-up, About.me doesn’t require that you be a computer programmer to set up your internet “calling card.” You can create a pleasing, clean, and interesting site in minutes–and you can track its traffic through the About.me site stats. Very cool! I’ll keep you posted to see how my About.me is helping me stay organized while also promoting my Avon business!

Here is the link to my About.me page: http://about.me/mrs.morris

Thanks, BzzAgent! 🙂

 

Halloween Luminaries! LOVE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Halloween Luminaries | Pottery Barn Kids.

I am such a sucker for Halloween! Pottery Barn always has the cutest items in the Pottery Barn Kids–and I adore anything paper-mâché!

 

Did the USDA Just Deregulate All GMO Crops…Without Telling Anyone?

Did the USDA Just Deregulate All GMO Crops…Without Telling Anyone?.

How scary is it that American consumers, trying hard to watch what type of toxins, chemicals, genetic disruptors, etc. we ingest–we have to learn about more moves by our USDA to deregulate GMO crops. I guess it’s time to start growing a container garden! : /

 

Dryer Sheets? Hold the Beef Fat.

…or tallow (beef fat). Or “Fatty Acids” (rendered beef fat). Dryer sheets–those static-removing sheets that we put into the dryer to eliminate irritating static cling–seem an unlikely spot to find animal products. Yet, the sheets may be coated with synthetic fragrances and a nasty helping of beef fat that is used to soften our clothes.

UGH.

So, now I have to worry about my dryer sheets as well?

You can choose to make your own dryer sheets; however, currently I am enjoying method’s squeaky clean dryer sheets for baby. These sheets are actually moist (not dry) and they can be reused, which is great, since the package has 40 sheets. I’ve successfully used one sheet three times  and my laundry feels/ smells great.

method eschews animal products and instead uses plant-based ingredients to allow for a soft, dried laundry load. method produces the sheets in different scents, including a fragrance-free option. Yet, I love the smell of the rice milk and mallow scent that is particular to their baby products. It really makes my towels smell fresh, and all of my laundry is static-free, soft, and inviting to the touch. More importantly, the laundry is not coated in unnecessary animal fat. The more opportunities I have to use products that are sustainable, and not derived from animals, the better!

You can check out method’s dryer sheets here: http://www.methodhome.com/product/squeaky-green-dryer-cloths/?free__clear  I purchased a pack of 40 sheets at my local Target. Using a coupon, I spent less than $4.00 on the item.

 

Ketchup, anyone?

In an effort to pare down my ingestion of corn syrup, I went on a mission to upgrade some of my condiments. Behold, Trader Joe’s Organic Ketchup. I absolutely love this ketchup! It has a tart, tomato-vinegar flavor that is fresh and authentic.  Even my picky eaters (two sons) enjoy the flavor. It’s not as sweet as the more popular, mainstream brand that is corn syrup-laden. I also love the fact that the Trader Joe’s  ketchup has its own facebook fan page:

http://www.facebook.com/organicketchup#!/organicketchup?sk=info

With only a few organic ingredients and an affordable price tag, Trader Joe’s ketchup makes it easy to swap out one HFCS condiment in my  family’s diet. I appreciate the opportunity to eat something that is simply what it SHOULD be–which is a tomato-based product, organically produced, without unnecessary additives. Also, the price (less than $3) is competitive to other brands while remaining easy on my wallet.

Check out Trader Joe’s here: http://www.traderjoes.com/index.asp  For the thrifty, note–they DO accept manufacturer coupons! Note–the company accepts coupons for items NOT under the Trader Joe’s label.

*HFCS=high fructose corn syrup.

**Ingredients in Trader Joe’s Organic Ketchup: Organic tomato puree Organic sugar Salt Organic white vinegar Organic onion powder Organic spices

 

Mark Bittman’s blog

I’m a fan of Mark Bittman’s writing in general–especially his writing for The New York Times.  Browsing his blog, though, is also rewarding, especially for me–since my cooking chops are fairly limited without recipes, etc. If you haven’t had a chance to read Bittman’s writing concerning food, check out his blog (since you can’t really browse much of The New York Times anymore without having to pay for a subscription. The food photography is sharp and always motivates me to get to my local farmer’s market–if I can just remember that the farmer’s market is back open!

Bittman’s blog & site: http://markbittman.com/

 

88% “beef in my taco?” I feel so much better now…

Let’s chat for a second about the fact that Taco Bell had to do a recent media blitz and advertising campaign to deal with the exposure from a lawsuit against the company, alleging that their “ground beef mixture” was less than 36% actual beef. Just the thought of that makes me nauseous.

Yet Taco Bell, with the might of any fast-food joint that wants to keep its customers in the (faux) beef, responded with taco shells blazing:

“In response to the lawsuit, Taco Bell took out full-page ads in at least nine major newspapers, aired television spots and launched a YouTube campaign to proclaim its taco filling is 88 percent beef.”

As reported today, and in the CBS news article I quoted above, the Taco Bell lawsuit–originally filed by an Alabama law firm–has been withdrawn. Since the lawsuit happened, Taco Bell responded with the disclosure about its 88% beef. Also, Taco Bell states that it has made no changes in its recipes/ beef products.

Some may say “kudos!” to the law firm that prompted Taco Bell’s recent disclosure about what is in its beef mixture (beef nestled alongside fillers and binders. delicious!). Others may not care what they are eating, as long as it is cheap and tastes good. Yet at the heart of it is the simplicity of believing that meat is actually, well, meat. Consumers are not always aware that a simple order in a fast food restaurant isn’t simple–we don’t plan to order a ground beef taco laced with fillers, chemicals, preservatives, and binders. We expect ground beef to be just that: beef.

I’ll pass on the taco filling for now, thanks.

To read more about the dropped lawsuit, and the amazing amount of money Taco Bell spent to advertise after the “bad beef press,” click the link:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/04/19/national/main20055193.shtml

 

Pay No Attention to the Animal Cruelty Behind the Factory Farm Curtain

Let’s talk about a reality that we all know is true: industrial farming leads to abused, neglected, filthy, inhumanely-treated animals. There is no way around that knowledge, no matter how much factory-farmed food we eat, or how many news articles we purposely avoid in order not to confront this truth. The $7.00 for two strip steaks (USDA choice!) at my local market may seem easy on my wallet–I can instead put the savings to one drip of gasoline for my car–but I know, as so many others do, that the price is much higher. The pollution, the animal welfare, the antibiotics, the health hazards–so much goes into that $7.00 package of meat.

But what really is striking is what The New York Times published this week about states attempting to ban people from publishing photographs or video footage conveying the horrid conditions inside of factory farms.

Journalist A. G. Sulzberger, author of the article “States Look to Ban Efforts to Reveal Farm Abuse” writes:

“A bill before the Iowa legislature would make it a crime to produce, distribute or possess photos and video taken without permission at an agricultural facility. It would also criminalize lying on an application to work at an agriculture facility “with an intent to commit an act not authorized by the owner.

Similar legislation is being considered in Florida and Minnesota, part of a broader effort by large agricultural companies to pre-emptively block the kind of investigations that have left their operations uncomfortably — and unpredictably — open to scrutiny.”

It’s not hard to imagine why “large agricultural companies” would spearhead a campaign to keep their hideous practices from being captured on film and published for the populace. What is disturbing is how easily they dismiss what has been published as “inaccurate” or “misrepresentations” of what is going on in a factory farm. Yet I can’t imagine why any consumer would–rather than exert our power of choice–knowingly purchase any animal products (meat, eggs, milk, etc.) from a business that would support such a Bill. I’m wondering–what is more criminal? The empl0yee who photographs heinous animal cruelty and publishes it, or the company that knowingly allows animal abuse to continue?

Personally, I am disgusted to think that states in this country are more interested in protecting the rights of agribusiness than they are concerned with human and animal welfare. Clearly, experts have proven the detrimental effects of industrial farming–the impact that it has in polluting our environment, decaying our civility and humanity (is it really “funny” to toss live chickens into bins and joke about how their legs “fall off in the process?”), and harming our health is staggering.

So here we are, America. Let’s consider the statement by John P. Kibbie, Democrat of Emmetsburg and president of the Iowa State Senate (also taken from the same article):

“Agriculture is what Iowa is all about,” Mr. Kibbie said. “Our economy would be in the tank, big time, if it wasn’t for agriculture.”

I’ll tell you what is in the tank, Mr. Kibbie. Dead, dying, and injured animals. More animal fecal matter and its methane than can ever be productive. People eating meat that is polluted with antibiotic-resistant bacteria. A respect for nature. A respect for animal welfare.

Perhaps if the government weren’t so entwined with agribusiness, we would have nothing to hide in our factory farms, or our slaughterhouses. In the meantime, Bills like this –which are designed ONLY to perpetuate bad business practices, and keep the money flowing to the agribusiness elite–reveal to consumers that there is something to hide.  And what is behind the factory farm curtain, photographed or not, is still a reality.

You can read the New York Times article HERE: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/14/us/14video.html?_r=2&ref=us