‘Blog’

When you put on your lip gloss or lipstick, do you think about what’s in it or just if it looks nice? How much of your lip products do you think you ingest? According to a 2002 study, the average American woman will inadvertently eat 4 pounds of lipstick in their lifetime. So let me ask you again. Do you think about what is in your lipstick?

A great company called Intelligent Nutrients has thought about it, and has worked to create a large array of products that are food grade and very effective. Specifically their Lip Delivery Antioxidant Gloss which is USDA organic, not tested on animals, created with renewable energy, and gluten free has caught my eye. This lip gloss is not only cute and moisturizing for your lips, it is also safe to be ingested. Intelligent Nutrients understands that many products like this are accidentally consumed, so they have made certain that no harm can be caused by this consumption. They also have flavored their lip gloss, so that it is more delicious to eat.

Not only has this company offered safe lip gloss and other beauty products, they also offer information on the importance of organic agriculture and consuming foods with high ORAC (oxygen radical absorption capacity) values. Inside the box for their Certified Organic Lip Delivery Antioxidant Gloss that I opened I found a little insert with the following information:

Seven Reasons to Support Organic Agriculture

-provides food with higher nutritional value, better taste and truer flavor

-prevents water and soil contamination

-doesn’t use harmful pesticides, herbicides, fungicides and insecticides

-protects future generations from toxins

-preserves and builds healthier soil

-supports small family farmers

-promotes biodiversity

They also included chart of some of their ingredients and corresponding ORAC values to help their customers know more about the kind of things this company is passionate about.

I don’t know about you, but all of the information that I have learned from this company has definitely caused me to think twice about what I put on my lips or in my hair on a daily basis. I hope to support organic farmers more to secure a safer future for my kids to come and generations after that.

The iPhone and iPod Touch have tons of applications designed to accommodate just about any workout you can imagine. Here are a few examples:

RUNMATE- ($3.99) Designed for newbies who want to learn how to run their first 5K, as well as intermediate joggers who can design their own speed work drills, RunMate creates a training schedule and intervals for warm-ups and hills.

iPUMPPILATES- ($1.99) Tap your way through 60 images and three progressive levels (beginner to advanced) to create the ultimate workkout with talented instructor Kristin McGee. Press “pause” if you need a break…and you will!

iFITNESS- ($1.99) Rev your metabolism with this easy-to-navigate interface that helps you be more productive during weight-lifting workouts at home and at the gym. The 100-plus exercise listings are organized by body parts and include step-by-step descriptions.

GOLFLINK GAME TRACKER & GPS SUPPORT -($14.99) Locate thousands of golf courses around the country, track your own golf game, keep score, and calculate the efficiency of every single stroke! For real techies, there’s an automatic handicapping capability and the GPS link provides aerial hole views. Fore!

(Organic Spa Magazine, July 2010)

Formaldehyde!

Glue, Nail Polish, Facial Powder and many building materials contain Formaldehyde!  Formaldehyde can work as an adhesive or preservative (did I mention embalming fluid?)

But why is it in our personal care and beauty products? What can it do to us when exposed? Formaldehyde can cause breathing problems, especially in people with asthma or other respiratory conditions. I also causes rashes and eye irritation. In animals, it has been found to cause CANCER, and it may pose the same risk to humans!

What is really scary is this chemical may be referred to by different names or not listed on product labels at all!  Want to be safe or sorry?  To be safe always read labels and if still not convinced the product is safe refer to the Safe Cosmetics website for more information. Products in the Skin Deep Database have been tested often revealing ingredients/chemicals that were NOT listed on the label.

The good news is there are safe, chemical and formaldehyde alternatives out there for us to use.  Don’t freak out….knowledge is power and playing offense when it comes to a serious or life threatening illness is a game I would like to win! How about you?

Horst Rechelbacher sold Aveda to Estee Lauder in 1997 and founded Intelligent Nutrients, a personal care line based on organic food-grade ingredients, in 2008.(organic spa magazine, May-June 2012)

Before opening the doors at One Green Street I thought Aveda was the purest personal care and cosmetics line out there. The packaging, smells, branding and Oh the price….I thought this must be the best there is!  Well…..I am not going to bad mouth Aveda but instead encourage you to visit www.safecosmetics.org and see for yourself how SAFE the line, now in the hands of Estee Lauder really is!

It took me a year and a half to find a haircare line I felt comfortable putting on my shelves or my head for that matter.  Then finally…I read about Intelligent Nutrients. Horst is a man of his time, after he sold Aveda he shifted focus to Intelligent Nutrients, a health and beauty company that lives to the highest standards of 100% food-based, safe, non-toxic and organic ingredients.

They say at the launch of Intelligent Nutrients, Horst drank his hair spray out of a champagne glass! He and I are both big believers that if you wouldn’t eat it you should not put it on your skin!

I highly recommend you give Intelligent Nutrients a try and doing my part to encourage you if you mention this post I will take 20% off your entire Intelligent Nutrients purchase!

The rhythm of her hula hoop put me in a trance….her dreadlocks swaying in concert with her hips and the hoop. Hairy armpits and legs, a not so firm belly exposed for all to see, see moved to the music with such confidence and joy I couldn’t keep my eyes off of her!

I experienced so many feelings and emotions that day…Houston, Texas, the Energy Capital of the world hosting a Sustainable Living Fest! Individuals coming together to demonstrate that living a sustainable lifestyle can be fun, sexy, functional and life changing.

What I learned this day is that any city in the world can move towards sustainability if it’s people…it’s soldiers….it’s eco-warriors come together with the same passion and determination to make a difference in their community, city, state and world.

It was HOT! but it could have been 30 degrees…people laughing, smiling, dancing, making new friends and connecting with old ones. I don’t mean to be dramatic but I really don’t think Houston will ever be the same after this unbelievable event! I am so proud and honored to have been part of it all.

The leaders, partners and collaborators of this event showed Houstonians they mean business. The movement to make Houston a more sustainable city is here to stay! Those that will join hands and run with us will grow and prosper in ways they never thought possible. Those that say “This doesn’t affect me..” or “I don’t believe in this stuff” will sooner or later join us as the movement continues to grow.

There will be another Sustainable Living Fest in 2013 and I for one plan on being involved on many levels. No turning back now…the word is out! Houston is not just the Energy Capital of the World but a city on the brink of being one of the most Sustainable this country has ever known and that’s something I want to be part of…..

I’ll admit it…I am addicted to Agave Nectar. I add it to my coffee, tea, cereal, cookies and muffin mixes. When I start to run low, I panic!  The things I know about Agave are; It has a lower glycemic index than sugar, it comes from the same plant that produces Tequila…and I love it! That’s about all I know but Sara Snow has a great article with more info. I will share with you now. Ahhhhh Agave!

http://www.sarasnow.com/b/Sweeten-Up-Naturally:-Agave-Syrup/477224827972709929.html?dest=/pg/jsp/community/blog/articlesdetail.jsp

I was taken by Thomas Friedman’s Hot, Flat and Crowded. I am an avid reader but this book was not an easy read. With that said it was profound on so many levels that when my friend Steve Stelzer let me borrow Thomas’ new book “That Used To Be Us” I couldn’t wait to get started! Once again he provides me with a tough read and once again this book is so profound I just had to share a few points that hit me in the gut!

Point #1

“One of the most wrongheaded movies we can imagine came out in late 2010. It was called Race to Nowhere, and its theme was that suburban American students are under too much pressure. They have to juggle homework, soccer, Facebook, wrestling practice, the school play, the prom, SAT prep, and Advanced Placement exams. Some would call that stress. We would call it misplaced priorities

Stress? Stress is what you’ll feel when you can’t understand the thick Chinese accent of your first boss out of college-in the only job you are offered.

That will be stress.”

Point #2

“I kill jobs! says John Jazwiec. He goes on to say that anytime a job can be eliminated, outsourced,or replaced by technologies he does it, therefore, killing jobs. He continues saying that over the years the landscape of what is a sustainable job has changed. What, then, is a sustainable job? Jazwiec asks.

The best way I can articulate what is a sustainable job is to tell you, as a job killer, sustainable jobs are jobs I can’t kill. I can’t kill creative people. There is no productivity solution or outsourcing strategy that I can sell to eliminate a creative person. I can’t kill unique value creators. A unique value creator is , well, unique. They might be someone with a relationship with a client. They might be someone who is a great salesman. They might be someone who has spent so much time mastering a market that they are subject matter experts….”

Point #3

“…We can opt for living with the vicious energy-climate cycles set off in 1979 and 2010 that are making us less secure, less healthy, less wealthy, and more exposed than ever to the whims of the two most brutal forces on the planet-the market and Mother Nature. Or we can set in motion our own virtuous cylce that makes us healthier, more prosperous, more secure, and more resilient in today’s hyper-connectd world.

Given the dangers and disruptions posed by the first choice and the economic and strategic benefits offered by the second, we consider the proper alternative to be obvious. We hope that a majority of Americans will soon see it that way as well. It is not at all an exaggeration to say that our future and the plane’ts future are depending on it.”

How do you spell love to a sick or aging parent?

The same way you spell love to a child…TIME!

I recently spent a week in the house where I grew up. My mission was to visit my mother whom had been hospitalized on and off for months. She just wasn’t getting better in between visits, so I thought I would swoop in and take charge.

Mom is 72, with emphysema, on oxygen, taking 10+ different meds a day, no energy, weighing more than she ever has due to prescription side effects. I am the oldest of three children, a strong take charge kind of women, someone who takes care of business…a doer. But, I am also someone who loves her mother and remembers a time when she was healthy and strong like I am now.

I discovered some things about mom and myself during this week long visit that I would like to share with you now.

1. Our parents want to be independent as long as they possibly can, and you should allow them to do so. They deserve it!

2. Even though we think our parents are strong and can do anything they still need you to hold their hand for no reason, hug them often and kiss their forehead in reassurance.

3. Ask them questions you might think you know the answer to but you really don’t. Like: “what are your favorite foods?” and “which room in your house do you most like to spend time in?” and even, “on a scale from 1-10 how willing are you to do the things necessary to live longer and happier.” (make them think)

4. Take what you have learned from your little Q and A and do something with it! Bring them or prepare their favorite foods. Take the time to clean up and out their favorite space or room. When you get a number to the last question prepare your own health and wellness plan, custom made just for that parent. A plan you know they can succeed in doing.

5. When you visit with your parent/s leave your computer at home, turn your cell phone off and just be there 100%

6. If you are like me and have a parent still living in the home you grew up in or in a house they have lived in for a while, you probably notice it is not as clean as it used to be, things are breaking down, papers and the wash are stacking up and their personal hygiene isn’t quite what it used to be….Your first thought might be to fix everything! STOP! You can’t fix everything and if you try you will only upset yourself and the one you love. Do what you can when you can but please, the most important thing you can and will ever do for your parent is to love them, unconditionally just like they have done for you all your life.

7. Everyone is so busy, working, going to school, cleaning, shopping, but when our parents leave this earth I am quite sure all those things will seem very meaningless. Spend time with your parent/s. If you live out of state like I do, call often, write, exchange emails and when you can travel for a visit and make your TIME count…I just did and neither I nor she will ever forget our visit. I couldn’t fix everything in a week or cure her emphysema but I left her healthy and happy by doing all that I just shared with you.

I hope this blogpost helps you in some wonderful way.

One Green Street is much more than just a retail store, a brick & mortar space. One Green Street is in every fiber, cell, and joint of my body! I live and breathe One Green Street 24/7. It is who I am now, few people find their purpose in life and I have found mine. A business with meaning…..name three retail stores whose mission is based on helping people, healing people and changing the world one person at a time. I want to do maximum good in the world and One Green Street is my vehicle. I believe we are all here for a reason, and we all have the seed of potential. Many people take their gifts and talents with them to the grave, not me! Oprah Winfrey says “I Don’t Believe in Failure” and I agree, it simply is NOT an option! So follow me down One Green Street as my path unfolds, lives are changed and the world becomes a better place. There is plenty of room on this street for you to walk beside me, so let’s do it….together.

A Childhood AuditI heard the term “Childhood Audit” while listening to the great Jim Rohn and it struck a cord with me. I am a longtime student of personal development which has allowed me to accept the success that I have today and will help me to enjoy future successes as well. I would say that I live with a prosperity mindset. Others are not so lucky…. I grew up in a family that lived with a scarcity mindset, we had alot of love and laughter but also alot of struggles. Dad was a drinker and a cheater, a blue collar worker that was satisfied with the status quo while Mom was a loyal, hardworking stay at home mom with frugal ways and a lack of confidence in herself, also satisfied with the status quo. When they eventually divorced things truly did get scarce, only allowed a half a glass of milk, generic gifts arriving on our doorstep at Xmas (donations from strangers) could have had me accepting the scarcity mindset of my parents as well as acceptance of the status quo. However, that would not be the case!

When I look back now and perform a childhood audit, I realize that it was the conversation I had with  myself that set a path for me very different from my parents. I would tell myself when the yelling got far too loud for my little ears that I didn’t like the way it sounded or the way it made me feel, vowing to never be with a man that made me feel this way. When boys tried to push me further than I was ready to go, I would say “NO”  telling myself that I am worth more than just a “freebie” moment in the dark.  How did I know that I was meant to be so much more and to do great things in the world? I am not sure but I do know that I have been married to a wonderful man, nothing like my father for almost 25 years!  I have told both of my grown children since they were very small that they are beautiful and instead of always telling them ” I am proud of you!” I asked them the question “Aren’t you proud of yourself?”  I still talk to myself and sometimes even say aloud “Sherry Eichberger, you are Badass!”

In summary, no matter what kind of childhood you may have had, do an audit, then start telling yourself how awesome you are, that you are special and meant to do great things with your life! You have greatness within you! Don’t look for outside approval, at the end of the day you only have yourself and are responsible for every choice you make and don’t make. Your best thinking has got you where you are today, so to grow past this point you must grow your mind and continue to work on yourself so that you will be able to accept all the prosperity coming your way. If you do not do this you will self sabbotage and end up back where you started often with a scarcity mindset!  What are you saying to yourself?

Love and Joy, Sherry