Organic, people

Sometimes I have those moments where I forget why organic is the way to go; where I'm lured by cheap prices or uber-perfect fruit. If you need a couple reminders of why you really should be avoiding chemicals, here they are. The second article is particularly alarming to me, as my husband's two fragrances of choice are Acqua di Gio and Eternity. I want to shout out to Eco Salon, whose existence on my blogroll keeps eco-friendly lifestyle front and center in my mind.

http://www.ecosalon.com/women-pesticide-reform-california-central-valley/

http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/may2010/2010-05-13-01.html

Geese are the squirrels of the water

I blogged about switching from an antiperspirant to a deodorant back in January, and I am sorry to say I've switched back. At least for the warm-weather months, I need to have something pretty tough since my office is very warm.

I might describe my style as preppy meets 70s hippie-chic, and today I am definitely more hippie. Pink patterned tunic, white flared jeans and gladiator heals with a stacked wooden heel is rather hippie looking in my opinion. But I'm happy, and my looks says I'm happy, so it's all good. Look, Zen me.

Photo: thevintagesociety.com

If health care isn't a right, is dying?

A supervisor sent me an email asking me if it was going to just be me on my insurance policy, or if my husband will be on the policy as well. I let her know that he is already insured through his employer. I was going to make a joke about it just being me and the dog needing insurance, but then I remembered that our dog IS insured. I live in a home where the only uninsured
individual, including pets, is me.

So, how does that happen? When we moved and my husband switched jobs, his new plan was cost prohibitive for me to join. It would have cost me two unemployment checks just to be added to his policy. That is how someone becomes uninsured.

I feel like there's a myth in this country that the uninsured are crackheads, criminals, drug-dealers, lazy people, women with eight different kids by eight different baby daddies, or people who are just generally working the welfare system. I've heard a lot of rhetoric lately about the uninsured, and I find a lot of it offensive. In fact, the uninsured are people like me. I am one. You could meet me anywhere - neighborhood association meeting, dog park, the Gap, church...pretty much any normal place except on a corner making drug deals. I'm hard-working, educated, and don't want to be uninsured or underinsured.

So what would I like? Standards put in place for medical costs. Everyone has coverage. If there's a fear that universal, government-run heath care will create over-usage of the system, fine, keep co-pays in place. But I don't deserve to die, and another to live, simply because of the type of job I have or don't have. That's crazy. This is America, people.