Today we received a bag of hand-me-down clothes. It was very fun. The kids love to go through and see what’s what and try things on. B got some much needed snow boots and C got a great winter jacket and some snow pants that he should be able to use next year.
It reminded me of a conversation I had with a friend a while back about feelings of guilt associated with hand-me-downs. I personally have no problem with gently used passed on items but this friend was feeling guilty at not being able to buy new items for her children.

It got me thinking… my kids are not disappointed with used things, in fact they seem to be quite happy just to receive something that they perceive as new. So why do we as adults assume guilt? If someone is happy why should we project our feelings onto them and make them doubt themselves?

Isn’t this outlook exactly what has gotten us into this financial mess. Why do we need to get our internal value from what we own/have? Why do people spend more than they make and live beyond their means in order to “look good” but feel owned by their stuff? I know more than a few people who work so much to pay for their things that they don’t have a chance to enjoy themselves.

So from now on I’m going to make more of an effort not to project these values and feelings onto my children or others. I want my children to learn to appreciate all that they can without comparing what they have and themselves to others. My wish is for them is to grow up loving themselves and valuing other people and their experiences over their possessions.

On a side note in the process of writing this post I found a great flickr group, Recycle Remake Redesign Re-craft Reuse Recreate Reclaim Reduce. Great inspiration for using old stuff!

BedZED

Originally uploaded by telex4

This is another interesting series from Big Ideas That Changed The World. A very interesting look at Consumerism.

Here’s a link to BedZed information too.

This is a must see. I myself was shocked and had no idea the extent of this problem. We are all human and deserve the basics of life. I can’t believe how naive I am about this subject.

Please pass this information on to anyone you can.

This is a great tasting Maple Syrup. My kids love it. They also make maple candy. My kids fought over the candy.

Please leave a comment if you are interested in recieving a bottle of Coombs Organic Maple Syrup.

If you live here is Santa Fe you can buy Coombs Family Farm Syrup at La Montanita Coop. Good Luck.

So every woman want’s to look young and beautiful right? So when I agreeded to try out Sustainable Youth’s Total Immune Performance™ Regimen I didn’t relize I would be showing the world my clean naked face up close. Well hear it is even cleaner and closer than I’m used to seeing it.

So I started out with Sustainable Youth’s products in June and have now finished a 4 week trial. I have to say looking at the pictures I can’t see a whole lot of difference but I can feel it on my face. My skin feels soft, firm and elastic. The supply of vitamins was gone at the end of the trail 30 days but the bottles of serum and cream still have 1/3 to 1/4 left.

I have very sensitive skin and many products leave my skin either too dry or too oily and I break out. I even occasionlly get rashes from things. I did not however experience any of those problems with this product line.

I cannot for this trail say what long term benifits someone will reciev from this product but I can say that I would recommend this system as an alternative to other chemical youth serums and creams. For more information about Sustainable Youth and there products please visit their website.