Ain't No Reason

Brett Dennen is our latest obsession (thanks Jeff and Kim!). Check him out...so gritty and folky, with a good message.

Ain't No Reason There ain't no reasons things are this way Its how they've always been and they intend to stay I can't explain why we live this way We do it everyday Preachers on the podiums speaking to saints Prophets on the sidewalks begging for change Old ladies laughing from the fire escape, cursing my name I got a basket full of lemons and they all taste the same A window and a pigeon with a broken wing You can spend your whole life working for something Just to have it taken away People walk around pushing back their desks Wearing pay checks like necklaces and bracelets Talking 'bout nothing, not thinking about their Every little heart beat, every little breath People walk a tight rope on a razor's edge Carrying their hurt and hatred and weapons It could be a bomb or a bullet or a pin Or a thought or a word or a sentence. There ain't no reasons things are this way Its how they've always been and they intend to stay I don't know why i say the things i say, But i say them anyway. But love will come set me free Love will come set me free I do believe Love will come set me free I know it will Love will come set me free Yes Prison walls still standing tall Some things never change at all Keep on building prisons, Gonna fill them all. Keep on building bombs Gonna drop them all Working your fingers bare to the bone Breaking your back, make you sell your soul Like a lung is filled with coal, suffocating slow The wind blows wild and i may move But politicians lie and i'm not fooled You don't need no reason or a 3 piece suit To argue the truth The air in my skin and the world under my toes Labor is stitched into the fabric of my toes Chaos and commotion wherever i go Love, i try to follow But love will come set me free Love will come set me free I do believe Love will come set me free I know it will Love will come set me free Yes There ain't no reasons things are this way Its how they've always been and they intend to stay I can't explain why we live this way; We do it everyday.

Beauty Products: Make The Change

Your skin is an organ. It sucks up every little bit of lotion and lather you put on it...and it goes straight into your blood stream. For those of you who haven't made the change to "healthy" soaps, lotions, lip balms, etc...please re-think your choice. I just cannot urge you enough to make these changes! It might be hard to switch out an item you've been using since Jr. High...but you just can't afford to continue using these products. Why? The U.S. has a beauty industry that is largely unregulated. Don't believe it? Check out "Not Just a Pretty Face" by Stacy Malkan. Here is a snippet from the book:

Lead in lipstick? 1,4 dioxane in baby soap? Coal tar in shampoo? How is this possible?Simple. The $35 billion cosmetics industry is so powerful that they've kept themselves unregulated for decades.Not one cosmetic product has to be approved by the US Food and Drug Administration before hitting the market. Incredible? Consider this:

• The European Union has banned more than 1,100 chemicals from cosmetics. The United States has banned just 10.
• Only 11% of chemicals used in cosmetics in the US have been assessed for health and safety – leaving a staggering 89% with unknown or undisclosed effects.
• More than 70% of all personal care products may contain phthalates, which are linked to birth defects and infertility.
• Many baby soaps are contaminated with the cancer-causing chemical 1,4 dioxane.

Go to Skin Deep before you purchase anything. Don't assume that just because it's on the shelf at the Target and it has a really cool "organic looking" package that it's good for you and your children. Packaging is meant to be mesmerizing...they want you to buy their products. But don't be fooled. Be a label reader! Look past the pretty bottle and really examine what you are buying.

I was looking for something tonight on the site and came across a few of these "favorites". They might not be your favorites after you read on...

Bath and Body Works Cucumber Melon Anti-Bacterial Soap

Suave Men's Shampoo

Blixtex Lip Balm

Johnson & Johnson Baby Shampoo

Do your research and choose items that have very few ingredients and that you can pronounce. That will narrow it down to just a few lines of products...so now your choices are much easier! :) Go for Aubrey Organics, or a line of locally homemade items (one of my favorites is Prairieland Herbs...check out their Cheek Gloss!). Better yet...learn how to make your own products and you'll save money too!

Photo credit: Auntie P/Flickr Creative Commons

A Must Read

I am having so much fun reading Rae's blog that I just had to share it with everyone. You MUST add it to your list...Rachel, Chinua, and their children have moved to India from the U.S. and are blogging about it at Journey Mama and also in more detailed form at Fly Fishes Fly! Journey Mama is Rachel's blog and her writing is honest, uplifting, raw, inspiring...you will love it. Chinua is also writing on the Fly Fishes Fly blog and he has a captivating style as well. Can't wait to see their India adventure unfold. We missed meeting them in Sacramento by just a few weeks...but had the chance to hang out with many of their friends (in different cities...how weird is the bloggy world?!).

Chinua is also a crazy amazing photographer. Check his photos out here.