Holiday Giving To Those Who Support Us

Having the day off tomorrow, I thought it might be a great day to go thrifting! Tonight I planned our route, doing a Google search of places near to the place we just moved into a month ago. In doing this, I stumbled upon some information about where to not give my money this holiday season.

I had somehow been thinking that Goodwill Industries were anti-gay. From what I could find, the company itself doesn't have anti-gay policies, but individual branches may have their own issues. I found reports of stores harassing or firing out, gay employees. But I also found reports of other locations hiring transgender employees and being very supportive of transgender and gay people in their community.

I did, however, find that the Salvation Army is very anti-gay. Their policy states they will help those in need regardless of their sexual orientation, but from what I've read, they are against having gay employees. Their position is clearly stated on their web page.

We are getting to that time of year when the Salvation Army's red kettles and bell ringers will be out in front of stores and public places. Boycotts of the Salvation Army have been encouraged by LGBT groups for years. Bell ringers are not allowed in front of Target stores, not specifically because of their anti-LGBT policy, but because they don't want any solicitors in front of their doors. So, if you want to avoid them altogether, going to Target is a way to start. Although, if you're still boycotting Target for their big donation to the pro-business organization, MN Forward, which supported the anti-gay gubernatorial candidate in Minnesota, you have other options for making a statement...

1) Talk to the bell ringer and explain why you won't donate. But realize that this is a volunteer who is trying to do a good deed, and please show them respect.

2) Write a note explaining why you won't donate to the Sal. Army and put that in the kettle. You could even print these up ahead of time to keep in your wallet or purse.

3) Print up a batch of these fantastic fake dollars to put into the kettle!

Give your holiday donations, instead, to a group that supports all people equally. Try Big Brothers, Big Sisters, The Trevor Project, The MN AIDS Project, or find an organization in your community that supports the well-being of ALL the members of the community.

120 Film Respooled = 620 Film!

When I was visiting my hometown this past weekend, my mom and I were talking about old cameras-- I was explaining to her how I'm planning to do some TTL experiments with my digital SLR and and old TLR camera. And she mentioned how much she'd like to actually shoot with her TLR camera. It's been probably 5 years since she did, and the thing worked really well then, surprisingly! Her boyfriend had procured some faux-620 film on ebay for her. It cost at least $10 a roll, I believe. As much as she wanted to experiment with that camera again, she couldn't justify that cost.

I told her I would try to track down some for her. Maybe since I work at a camera store, I'd be able to find somewhere to get it cheaper. After a couple minutes of researching, I realized that almost everything out there is actually respooled 120 film. Well, I have a pack of Kodak color 120 at home. If I could get my hands on a 120 spool or two, I might be able to make it work!

I found a great tutorial online at:
http://www.brownie-camera.com/respool/respool.shtml

Yes, they misspelled Congratulations, at the end... ;) But the step-by-step instructions and clear pictures gave me all the information I needed. After 2 read-throughs and a quick skim, I was pretty sure I had it down. I searched through a few of my store's display and recycle-bin oldie cameras and was able to come up with a few spools! Grabbed our dark-box, which we use to take film out of stuck cameras.


I had the first roll almost done, when I realized I had done it backwards. Oops! Don't know if it would've made a difference, but I started over anyway. I suppose this way the numbers on the paper backing will be in order! Sent a quick text to my mom to see if she'd like to have a roll of black & white along with the color roll, which she was really excited about. Bought a roll of Ilford 120 400-speed B&W film which can be processed C-41. That will enable me to take it to our store's lab for processing, instead of sending it out, and then I can make sure that I hang on to these somewhat-rare spools!


This is my finished product. The first 2 of maybe many! I know the processing and printing will run us a bit, but at least this part was pretty cheap and painless. Now she won't have to worry about being stingy with the film.

I need to take my own advice and get my Holgas out again!!

Ode To My Mom

Who would've ever thought...
Certainly not me at age 15, just realizing I was at least half gay and being terrified that my mother would find out. Knowing full well her thoughts on the matter, her having been raised with the Catholic belief that being gay was a horrible sin and that it was so wrong that she didn't want her children to even watch a television show with gay characters. Her attitude shocked me and made me feel like she would reject my real self, and so I hid huge parts of my life from her for 12 years. She was who I was most afraid to come out to. I couldn't even do it in person I was so afraid.

Who would've ever thought that 15 years later, my mother would be posting one of those goofy pre-written Facebook statuses (kind of like the modern equivalent of a chain letter!), updating her status with the same message as so many of my friends are doing today. --A message that starts out "‎1 of every 10 people born is gay" and goes on to decry the attitude toward gay people in this country, how it's causing a rash of suicides among gay teenagers. A poorly written, badly punctuated little paragraph that aims to spread the message to teens and closeted gays everywhere that life "will get better."

My mom posted this as her Facebook status 4 minutes ago.

I can't explain what that means to me, or even why it does mean so much to me. It's Facebook. Really, it's just silly. My mom has been so supportive of me and my girlfriend in the past 3 years since I came out to her, it's just been incredible. I've been so lucky.

Maybe it's because it's so public that I'm so touched?? A lot of her extended family is connected to her on Facebook, old friends, co-workers. It's a public acknowledgment to anyone who may read it, that her feelings have completely changed. She loves her gay daughter and no longer sees this trait, this "lifestyle," as a terrible sin. She knows I'm living my true life and it's helped to change her attitude. We gays are just regular people now.

She had a period of adjustment, for sure, and of course that's to be expected-- it was a shock to her because I'd tried very hard all those years to keep the truth from her. But now, it's just no thing. My girl and I are as valid a couple and as accepted in her home and at family events as my sister and her fiance. Actually, gf and I have been together longer, even. Every phone-call with Mom ends with a "Say hi to Kristy for me" and an "I love you."

I love you, too, Mom!!

June 2010 Playlist

My June 2010 playlist:

1) Kate Nash - Do-Wah Doo
2) Goldfrapp - Rocket
3) The Little Ones - Lovers Who Uncover
4) Cut Off Your Hands - Happy As Can Be
5) M.I.A. - Xxxo
6) Lissy Trullie - Don't To Do
7) The Big Pink - Velvet
8) Florence And The Machine - Cosmic Love
9) Dum Dum Girls - Lines Her Eyes
10) Bettie Serveert - Deny All
11) Gin Wigmore - Oh My
12) MGMT - It's Working
13) Goldfrapp - Alive
14) The Big Pink - Dominoes
15) Class Actress - Careful What You Say
16) Grace Potter And The Nocturnals - Tiny Light
17) White Rabbits - I Used To Complain Now I Don't
18) Vivian Girls - Lake House
19) Black Kids - Hurricane Jane
20) Telepathe - So Fine
21) The Big Pink - Stop The World

Greening our home, however temporary it may be...

So, my gf and I are still in our apartment, which both of us are definitely sick of. We're SO anxious to get a house and to make it ours, it's kind of hard to bear. Once we do have our place, we'll both be trying to save money, big time, and I believe that we'll also be doing a lot of things to save energy, which often go hand-in-hand.

I've been making a conscious effort, which is quickly becoming more and more unconscious, to use more "green," earth-friendly products, to spend my money more wisely on things that I hope will make a tiny impact on how much strain I add to the earth, while improving my own well-being. Once I got that baby gift together for my friend a couple months ago, that was really an inspiration to how much these things matter and how easily they can be done. Even just little steps.

So far, I've been buying as much organic food as possible, within my budget constraints. I'm buying only recycled napkins and TP, usually from Marcal Small Steps. Their napkins and TP are great! Very high quality, good strength and softness, 100% recycled, and not chlorine-bleached. They are sold at the chain grocery store near my work, and they're just about as cheap as the stuff made from virgin forests!

I've been printing coupons online, for organic brands, because they are rarely in the coupon books that come in the newspaper. I set up a gmail account to subscribe to the newsletters of all sorts of organic and eco-conscious brands, so that they wouldn't clog up my regular email and so they'd be all in one place!

Since researching all that baby stuff on the Cosmetics Database, I've switched some of my cosmetics to organic brands. My shampoo and conditioner are EO, and my body wash is Dr. Bronner's soap. I tell you, that shit cleans everything!! My skin feels great, and I've used the other scents to clean our grimy front stairs, and all over our house. I've ordered the Baby Mild kind, and I plan to use that exclusively in the shower, and keep the tingly Peppermint for cleaning the house! I also bought Seventh Generation's all-purpose spray cleaner, so that when my gf goes on her cleaning binges on Saturday mornings, she can use something not-scary!

My latest step, today, was starting to switch us over to compact fluorescent light bulbs. I had 4 bulbs, purchased from Big Lots and from Target, using a coupon for GE's Energy Smart bulbs. Today the forecast was for 90 degrees and humid. Time to turn our AC units on. And I figured, if these bulbs can help us save a little bit of money and energy, hopefully that will help us offset some of what we're using with our air conditioners! So I put them in the lights that we use most, and honestly, the light is really nice. Not gross and green-looking like I thought it might be. So as soon as I can, I plan to get more of these to replace even more in our home! And once we get a house, I want us to only use these bulbs. Sure they're more pricey at the beginning, but they're not terrible! And the Energy Smart bulbs are supposed to last for 8 years! Quite a smart investment, in my opinion.

I'm hoping that we'll see only a slight increase in next month's electric bills, despite having the AC turned on here and there. Here's hoping!

Shows I've been watching for inspiration:
Sundance Channel's:
Eco Trip: The Real Cost of Living
Big Ideas for a Small Planet
The Lazy Environmentalist

Everyone needs to see this movie:
Food, Inc. (It's available to stream on Netflix!)

A Basket of Safe Things To Welcome Baby

One of my dear friends will be having a baby in a month or so. Her shower was a few days ago, and I was so excited to give her the present I put together for her! Now, really, this is so nerdy, you're going to think I must have all the time in the world. Well, that's not true. I just thought about it well in advance, so I had the time to do researching (and also to spread out the cost)!

My friend is a lot like me, and I thought, "What would I want for my baby shower?" I quickly realized that articles I've read about toxic ingredients in food, BPA in baby bottles, pesticides being found in breast milk, etc.-- all that stuff had stayed filed away in my brain. I realized I would want the gifts my friend's give me to enable me to take good care of my baby, and to do that in as safe a way as possible. I just feel like babies and kids nowadays are exposed to a lot more dangerous chemicals than I was as a child, and a lot more early!

What tripped the whole machine in motion, was seeing a gorgeous, wooden baby rattle on etsy.com. Handmade, dyed with fruit juices, and treated with beeswax and flax seed oil. Incredible. I would feel safe letting my teething baby chomp on this!

And so, off I went, to research products for this big gift project. My main reference site was Skin Deep's Cosmetics Database, which rates commercial products on a scale of 0 to 9, with 9 being the worst for you, by looking at whether or not it contains harmful ingredients (i.e. ingredients which are known to be cancer-causing, or cause neurological and/or reproductive damage), and if so, in what concentration. My goal was to put together a basket of baby products that all scored 0 or 1, to give the mamma-to-be another option besides the normal Baby Magic that we all grew up with (which, btw, scores a 6 in the database!)

Some of the products with the best scores were harder to find. I was glad I had the time to deal with orders that were canceled due to no stock. I also had time to shop around for price. And, even though these particular products were obviously not rated by Skin Deep, I was able to find homemade products on etsy which contained the same ingredients as some of the best-scoring items on Skin Deep.

Here is the result:
Here is what the basket contained:

Aveeno Baby Soothing Bath Treatments (available at Target and lots of places)
Dr. Bronner's Castile Liquid Soap - Baby Mild
Poofy Organics Baby Poof Baby Lotion score: 0 And it actually has an expiration date! (UPDATE: Now that the baby is here, mama swears by this lotion to soothe her brand-new baby's peely skin.)
All Natural Creations Baby Bottom Salve score: 0 And cheap! I ordered two. ;)
Baby Powder from Rainwater Botanicals Talcum powder is really bad for baby's developing lungs!
Kiddopotamous Organic Cotton Swaddler (from Target)
Organic Cotton Crib Sheets (from Amazon)
Organic Cotton Receiving Blanket from Lovely Lou Organics
Pacifier Clips (3) from Bare Bebe (Gorgeous! And packaged so prettily!)
Book: "Organic Baby: Simple Steps For Healthy Living" (I found it, randomly, at Tuesday Morning! Bought one for myself, too.)

For the house:
Dr. Bronner's Sal Suds Liquid Soap
Seventh Generation All-Purpose Cleaner, Free & Clear
All Free detergent (there was a definite consensus among the natural mommy blogs that this detergent was by far the best!)

For Mama:
Earth Mama Angel Baby Bottom Balm (I thought I was buying the kind for baby! Oops! Oh, well.)
Pregnancy Tea and Sitz Bath from Flying Bird Botanicals (UPDATE: The mama was amazed at the pregnancy tea. It had ALL of the herbs that her doula had recommended to her to help with the pregnancy.) (UPDATE: Now that the baby is here, mama told me that the sitz bath was just the thing to soothe her new baby and her own body, in the bath together.)

And the wood rattle, of course. :)

What Makes a Family

"What Makes a Family" is available to watch streaming on Netflix! Yay!
This 2001 Lifetime movie stars Brooke Shields and Cherry Jones as lesbian partners who eventually have a child together. But when the biological mother of the child becomes ill and dies, her grandparents take the child away from her remaining mother. That woman appeals the court decision, challenging Florida state law, in order to become the guardian of their child, as she and her partner intended.

The movie is "based on a true story," but while I couldn't find any specific story that would have been cited by the movie, I imagine there are thousands of similar stories across the U.S. and world-wide.

I watched the movie tonight, and of course it has gotten me thinking about the legal discrepancies for GLBT parents in the U.S. My partner and I are beginning to plan for a future that would include children - biological and adopted, hopefully. It's stunning, and frightening, to think that even if she and I were to write wills, draw up every legal document possible to provide for the future of our children, that those documents just might not matter-- at least not in every state. It varies so greatly! I know the woman in the movie didn't even have a will at all, but it still makes me question the validity and strength of our future wills and legal plans.

Same-sex marriage is a huge debate right now in the U.S., and I just can't even fathom why some people are so threatened by it. Providing structure and security for family units, no matter how many moms or dads are in that unit-- why is that so scary? And how the fuck is that your business anyway? When I have children, you had better believe I'm going to do everything in my power to ensure the stability and security of their future with their intended parents. Ahhh, and now I'm ranting on my soap-box. ;)

Anyway, the movie is just lovely. Watch it if you haven't seen it yet. Beautifully acted by Brooke Shields, Cherry Jones, Whoopi Goldberg, and a few other people you will recognize. Be sure to have a tissue nearby-- seeing Brooke lose her partner and then her daughter will break your heart!

Cougar Town Lesbian Dream

Wow, this made me laugh just now! I was catching up on the latest episode of "Cougar Town" online tonite... It's a cute show, there are usually a few moments that make me laugh, and it's just silly entertainment.

I can remember having similar conversations with friends, back when I still had boyfriends. ;)



I just love Ellie's reaction at the end! She SO wanted to see what was going to happen!!