the guessing game.

Since last year I have been telling people (typically guys, but sometimes ladies) how inconsiderate it is to play the guessing game. You know the one--she did/didn't do this/that, she must/must not be expecting. I've told my brother about 17 times--this guessing game goes one of two ways. One-the gal isn't actually expecting and you made her feel self-conscious, and if you REALLY hit the mark, you also made her want to cry by reminding her. Two-it's too soon to tell, either because of where she is in her cycle or because it's still early in the pregnancy. Again, awkward-ness, making people self-conscious and a reminder of how things don't go as planned. Also, yet another time you might make the girl cry.

Seriously, people, STOP IT.

Anyhoo--this is not the guessing game I actually meant to write about. Sorry for the tangent.

I meant to talk about the guessing game of what to/not to eat. And use to clean your house. Or to clean your hair/face/body. My friends Jennifer and Christy and I have been talking about it a lot and it. is. complicated. I've mentioned this awesome website before--it's a great resource for many cosmetic products. But it doesn't tell you about everything, and even if you're someone highly educated in organic chemistry (org I and II and four years of research in it), it still doesn't all make sense.

Take, for instance, Polyethylene Glycol. Reading about it makes me nervous even though the ratings aren't complete. And if you google elsewhere, you find out it's not awesome stuff. But what happens when it's a polymer? (and there are MANY versions of it that are polymers) I know that changes the chemical makeup--but how much?

I mean, I'm going to have to admit that there's no way I'm going whole hog and ditching everything that isn't made from, like, water, vinegar, baking soda and essential oils. That just isn't happening any time soon--primarily because I would be ditching an awful lot of stuff that cost good money. So instead I'm trying to re-evaluate what I have, look for huge no-nos and also identify the things that are good and I should keep. And buy more stuff from Burt's Bees since they are local and awesome and even though some people complain that they are owned by a big scary corporate giant, I still think it's putting my money where my mouth is. :)

Next post will have pictures, for sure!