I love my reusable bags. I use them often. I love stores that give a little incentive to customers that reuse bags, like Giant. Target is now jumping on board! Yay! (I love Target!)

The program begins on November 1st for all stores. For each bag you bring in and use, you get 5-cents. The program was tested in 100 stores and resulted in a reduction of 58% of plastic bags used. That’s a lot of bags not ending up in the landfill!

Of lesser excitement is CVS’s new reusable incentive. Customers will be required to purchase a 99-cent tag to be scanned with their rewards card. Customers will get $1 cash bonuses on their CVS cards every four times they buy something but don’t request plastic bags. I guess it’s comparable to buying a 99-cent reusable bag, but the whole scan a tag card, wait 4 purchases for a reward just isn’t as exciting.

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Believe it or not, I’m really not anti-vax. I’m actually “pro-inform yourself”. The more I inform myself, the less I feel that vaccines are the best thing to put into our children. I’ve never really been on the “must get the Gardasil” train and after reading this article, I’m very much against it. I think this vaccine is doing more harm than good and my girls will not be getting this one.

Basically, this vaccine has caused more problems than it will ever prevent. Cervical cancer rates are already declining. Cervical cancer is one of the most treatable forms of cancer. This vaccine was never tested in girls younger than 15 so there is no reason at all to be giving it to anyone younger than 15. It’s suspected that a booster would be needed if a girl were to get her first vax at 15, however no one seems to know just when that booster should be given!

Here’s a few articles for your reading pleasure:

• Gardasil Researcher Speaks Out
• Merck Researcher Admits: Gardasil Guards Against Almost Nothing
• Natural News: Who Got to Dr. Dianne Harper

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In the past several years, no one in my family has gotten a flu shot. This year will be no different. In fact, if anything, I am even more against the shots, especially the swine flu shot. Please, before you allow yourself or your kids to get the shot, do some research. Here are a few Youtube videos worth watching.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4L_uswfKh4 UK nurses refuse the flu shot.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1z7KSEnyxw Dr admits vaccine is not safe and will not give it to his children.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9m79mGZyjqo Not enough study done.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48PjnaDEIPU It’s not for everyone! Makers of smallpox vaccine are not taking this vaccine and encouraging others not to take it either.

Dr. Mercola’s 9 reasons not to get the Flu Vaccine

Regardless of what “they” say, my husband has always gotten very sick after getting the flu shot. Since he stopped getting it (or rather stopped having it forced on him by the military), he has been much healthier during flu season. We’re going to rely on our body’s natural immune system instead of injecting chemicals in and hoping for the best. We have upped our daily intake of vitamins C and D as well as echinacea. We are constantly using hand sanitizer as well as a Thieve’s Oil Blend. Take a look at my Flu Fighters list and rethink both that yearly flu shot and that swine flu shot!

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I am deeply saddened. I love my Sigg bottle. I use it constantly. Each of family members own a Sigg (except for the little one that lost hers). When the dangers of BPA hit the airwaves, Sigg and Kleen Kanteen were touted to be the best, safest water bottles. I invested in Sigg believing I was doing the right thing.

Basically, Sigg is saying that they never claimed to not contain BPA, but only that no BPA was leached from their bottles. The truth is that no one could ever get Sigg to admit whether or not they used BPA, they were always very careful in the wording they used, we trusted that they did not. Since their liner was “proprietary” information, they were not forced to disclose to us just what they used. Their liner did not leach nearly as much BPA as other bottles, but those tests seem to have been done on NEW bottles. I wonder how dented bottles would have held up to the testing. How does age affect the testing?

In 2006 Sigg began developing a new BPA free liner. So now they can claim loudly to be BPA Free. How do you know which liner you have? Check in inside of your bottle. Pale yellow means you have the new EcoCare BPA free liner. Shiny copper bronze indicates the old liner.

So, let’s look at some dates. Sigg began using it’s new liner in August of 2008. It is only now, a year later, that they are finally admitting to the use of BPA in the old liner. There are tons of bottles with that old liner still sitting on shelves and still be shipped by online retailers. Wouldn’t it have been great of Sigg to pull them from retailers a year ago?! Wouldn’t it be great if you could order a Sigg and be certain you’re getting the newer, safer liner? It would be, but it’s not.

In addition to that, Zrecommends has gotten information from one of their readers who owns a new bottle that has the liner flaking off. How safe could that possibly be? This new liner might be safe, but it certainly doesn’t seem to be holding up.

The bottom line is that the trust that Sigg once had is now broken. They lied to us. They now seem to have an inferior product that they claim to be safer. I simply can not support a company after learning all of this. The Sigg bottles will be replaced, but NOT with newer BPA free Siggs.

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I’m compiling a list of things you can do to help get through the flu season. We all know that this year will be pretty bad, but there are things you can do to possibly make the season a bit more bearable for you and your family. This will be constantly changing and updating list, so check often. Now, on to the list!

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I’m not a big fan of immunizations. I feel our kids are too over-immunized. Natural immunity is so much better! What ever happened to “Chicken Pox Parties”?! With kids headed back to school, there’s a new vaccine being pushed, the H1N1 or Swine Flu Vaccine. Should you rush out and get it? NO!

First, I looked to Dr. Sears for advice. Dr. Sears is great for letting us know exactly what is in each vaccine and the risks associated with each one. He does not yet know what is in the vaccine or what side effects to expect. That alone has me putting off the vaccine. If I were to inject anything into my children, I want to know what’s in it. The regular flu vaccine does contain thimerisol and so the chances are high that the H1N1 will also contain it.

Today, I read an article from Dr. Mercola. All manufacturers of Swine Flu Vaccine have been granted legal immunity. If you suffer any side effects, no matter the scale, you have no recourse against the vaccine manufacturer. Previously, if your child suffers effects after an immunization, you could file with the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (NVICP). Even though the manufacturers weren’t held liable, you still had some chance of retribution. Now, you don’t even have that! Dr. Mercola goes on to point out how little testing has been done on these vaccines and how it is in the manufacturers favor to know as little as possible about the vaccine’s side effects.

As of now, there will be about 120 million doses of H1N1 vaccine available. Pregnant women, people who live with or care for children younger than 6 months of age, health care and emergency medical services personnel with direct patient contact, children 6 months through 4 years of age, and children 5 through 18 years of age who have chronic medical conditions are at the top of the list to get the first vaccines.

The CDC states that approximately 5% to 20% of the population contract the season flu each year. There are about 200,000 hospitalized and 36,000 deaths. The swine flu has only hospitalized 7,983 people and so far only 522 deaths. This is far below the regular, seasonal flu.

What can you do? Frequent hand washing. Make sure you’re getting the recommended daily allowance of vitamin E and other antioxidants like A, C and B-complex vitamins and minerals. Carry and use hand sanitzer. (We love EO’s Hand Sanitizer, buy lots of little bottles and keep them all over the place!) The swine flu is a bit harsher than the regular flu, but if you’re healthy, you shouldn’t worry. If you feel sick, stay home. Don’t risk infecting others. Relax, it’s just another flu season with an extra flu strain going around that just might hit you a little harder.

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