Health problems and personal care products. Those two should not equate. Yet there’s no shortage of information about how many of the products we use on a daily basis actually contain ingredients that hurt instead of help.

I see you. You’re craving a healthy snack and reading food labels on different packages, trying to make a wise choice. Makes total sense. That’s what I do too. What you might not realize is that sneaky tactics are at play undermining your best efforts.

Many times in life we find ourselves in situations that feel challenging. You may feel a sense of not having control over a situation, and it is jarring. While the truth is that we are actually never in control over what happens to us on a daily basis, being reminded of this can really take its toll.

Here in my part of the world, we are gearing up for spring. I'm ready! Winter seemed longer than usual this year, and whether it's my low tolerance for cold and gray, or whether it's just my eagerness to see what will bloom -- both literally and metaphorically -- I'm looking forward to seeing what the upcoming season will bring.

The term “self-care” has been discussed much in all kinds of communities. No longer just for those who are focused on being conscious of their health, it seems to me that there's a much wider circle of people who are discussing how to take care of themselves. Could it be that our many years of focusing on producing and output are starting to take its toll?

You still consider yourself to be “young” in the grand scheme of what you hope will be a long life. But you weren’t born yesterday. You suspect there’s more to life than what you’re living right now, although you’re not necessarily unhappy. You feel like you “get it” when it comes to a healthy lifestyle. You shop at Whole Foods and farmer’s markets, and you have nothing to learn from a nutritionist or a personal trainer.

I meant to do this a long time ago. Really, I did. 3 years (actually almost 3.5 at this point) without an update on my phone-free status seems pretty excessive. But honestly, I've been so busy enjoying my interruption-free life that it just slipped my mind.

I’ve been getting a lot of questions lately about my lifestyle. All areas of it. In particular, my choice to be car-free has been a popular topic. Besides the popular, “How can you do that and live?”, there’s also the, “But what do you do if you want to leave town?”, as well as the always fun, “How do you do your grocery shopping?”

After years of hearing how people would love to have ongoing access to my class on how to avoid toxins in their products, I’ve finally created an online, self-paced course.

I've been meaning to do this review for a long time. I found Meow Meow Tweet several years ago, back when I was looking for a safe deodorant that did not have baking soda in it. My old standby wasn't working anymore, so I researched what my (slim number of) options were that didn't have toxins. I found an article that rated the top 10 best safe deodorants for that year. Meow Meow Tweet had one on the list with magnesium hydroxide as the active ingredient, so I ordered a sample size and I was hooked.