~~~

In other news, hey look! Does something seem a bit different to you? That’s right, we spent the weekend cleaning up and making improvements, and I really hope you like them! I already adored the overall look of the site, so I really didn’t want to change a whole lot. Just a few tweaks for the better, like:

1. The content area has widened from 475 pixels to 600 pixels. Yay, bigger pictures!

2. Our tagline – “Socially Conscious, Totally Fabulous” – has been added to the header. I love love love this!

3. The side bar has widened to match the content area (and to accomodate having two ads side-by-side, which is the most unobtrusive way to include two ads)

4. The side bar has been polished up: social media links are all easy to find (omg who knew I was such a social media whore??), Bonzai Store/Amazon Store/Wish List/Tip Jar links have been streamlined, & basically it just looks so much mo’ betta!

5. The fonts for the navigation buttons, and for post titles, have been updated. I think they’re so much prettier this way.

I hope you like the new Bonzai, but I’m also totally open to your feedback or constructive criticism. Please let me know what you think!

~~~

MMM # 23 Round-Up

Last month I took on the challenge of tackling my inbox. It’s pretty much the bane of my existence, and a constant source of stress. So I made a plan: each night, I wouldn’t go to bed until the inbox was dealt with.

And how did I do?

Well, at first it went very well. I started the month with a deficit, an enormous backlog of unanswered comments and emails left over from Vegan MoFo. But for the first few weeks I was able to stay on top of new comments/emails, AND I began to slowly chip away at the mountain.

Then, I went on vacation. And . . . it all sort of went to hell. Damn!

In California I was focused on seeing friends and family, and really allowing myself to relax. And though I totally thought I would be able to get my work done, I failed . . . miserably!

That’s okay. I learned!

I learned that prioritizing email-answering as the first thing I do right after Waits goes to bed, is not as much of an imposition as it seems. I learned that cleaning out my inbox never takes as much time or as much emotional energy (this is the hard part for me, honestly, since I really try to make sure that my answers are the best and most thoughtful that they can be) as I expect. And most importantly, for a few weeks there, I learned how great it feels to have a clean inbox.

So I’ll try again. It fits with my New Year’s plan this year, which is all about communication (more on that another time), and I hope to have really made it a habit within the next few months.

Alas, for now, I still have that whole backlog to deal with. Oi!

~~~

DIY December

I’m not going to host a book club this month, or an organized mission either. It’s the holidays, and people are already busy and stressed-out enough! However, I encourage you to look through the MMM archive, or choose something totally unique, and try out a little mini-mission of your own! It’s a great way to catch up on a mission you may have missed, or to finally find the time to start that one thing you’ve been meaning to do.

Me? I’m attacking my teeth. Oral care, baby! Dedicated flossing, oil pulling, natural whitening techniques, and I’ll be investigating the concept of remineralization (ahhh Sarah!!!!!!!!). I look forward to sharing all my results and finding with you guys!

So what about you guys? What will you be doing for this DIY December?

And now, I’m off to address my inbox. BONZAI!

~~~

In other news, we’re having a party! It’s “ask me anything” week over on the Bonzai Facebook page, so pop on over and join the fun. Nothing is off limits! (though I do reserve the right to pass)

Let’s party!

This month we took on a mission that seemed, on the surface, to be pretty simple: find those little eco-unfriendly things in your life, and “green” them. But sometimes the little things prove to be bigger hurdles than we’d imagined, and finding solutions can take some creativity!

I don’t know about you, but I had a lot of fun with this mission. I replaced my paper coffee filters with a hemp reusable version (LOVE!). I looked into replacing my razor, since the enormous pack that I bought at Costco like 5 years ago, is about to finally run out. I’m considering going the Preserve route (same as my toothbrushes! this company is pretty spectacular). I also noticed that when I get little sample coffees at Trader Joe’s, I absent-mindedly (ALWAYS-GAH!) grab a little stir stick to mix in my agave. Otherwise the sweetness just sits at the bottom! So, I started keeping a little stir stick in my Ergo baby carrier (which is what I’m always wearing when I’m there), and now I re-use the same little stir stick over and over and over. Um, talk about little things, right!? But you know, that’s the sort of stuff that adds up. I’m also going to try keeping and reusing the sample cup itself!

Mostly, I spent the month recommitting myself to some of my old intentions that have fallen by the wayside. I’m back to line drying lots of my laundry. I’m totally back on family cloth, and I feel really good about that one. And now I’m biking everywhere . . .

I think this was a really great Mission with so much adaptability and room for interpretation, which is why I can’t wait to hear what you guys did with it! So tell me tell me, what little things did you address in your life this month? Leave it in the comments!

~~~

Just a reminder that next Monday we kick off our very first Bonzai Book Club, instead of another Monday Monthly Mission. We’ll be reading Just Food: Where Locavores Get It Wrong And How We Can Truly Eat Responsibly, so make sure to pick up your copy this weekend! I’m so excited!!!

It’s really all about the little things, ya know?

At the end of our last mission, our 20th mission, I reached out to you guys for some feedback. I wasn’t sure we should continue forging forward in the same fashion, with a new mission each month. To be honest, coming up with new tasks has become increasingly difficult – we’ve done a lot already! We’ve covered dietary choices and health, we’ve become activists, we’ve become exercisers, we’ve worked internally on our growth, we’ve taken on environmental challenges, and so much more.

You know, I’m really proud of us.

But we can still push ourselves farther, can’t we? I really wanted to focus on an eco-friendly theme this month, but after the composting, the line-dried laundry, the reusable femenine products, the secondhand shopping, the driving less, and omg we mustn’t forget the cloth toilet paper for great hippie’s sake. What was left?


Last week I was making my coffee at midnight (I make it the night before and refrigerate it for iced morning java) and I came across the last of my paper coffee filter. And, maybe since it was midnight and I have a wandering mind, it put me to thinking. Do I really need to keep buying paper for my coffee, even unbleached, “natural” paper? Between my daily imbibing and Damian’s morning drip and on the weekend, our afternoon refills, we can go through as many as 3 or 4 of these filters a day. That can really add up! Is there an alternative?

And what else can we replace, or live without?


I remember how much I used to adore lotion. I would slather it over every inch of my body, every single morning. I even wrote about it, a review of all the most “natural” brands. It was the last non-homemade item I held onto, because I couldn’t imagine living without it, and because every time I tried to go off it, my skin dried out.

Well, then I had a baby, and my hormones got all wonky-like, and my skin got suuuuper sensitive, and also, I was really really really busy. There was no luxurious lotioning for me anymore. And when I did manage to get some on, my lovely lotion was giving me rashes, eek! One day I ran out and I just didn’t bother replacing it. No time! And my skin was dry for about a week, and then it balanced out. Now I never use body lotion and my skin is supple and fantastic and NOT addicted to added moisturizers. In the end, it’s so much better this way.

The same thing happened with Q-Tips. I’m not even kidding you, I was working my way through a Q-Tip collection the was 5 years old (Cosco, baby). I always said when it ran out is when I’d go off the Tips, but the truth was that I secretly dreaded it. I hated the feeling of water in my ears! I never felt like I was completely “clean” until I’d wiped my ears out. True story, I’m a weirdo.

Anyway, I’m sure you can see where this is going. I ran out of Q-Tips, I felt yucky and soggy-eared for about a week, and then I got used to it and now I don’t even notice anymore. Except that I’m no longer throwing away sticks of chemically-treated bleached cotton that I’ve shoved into my ears everyday. Q-Tips are really bad for you, anyways.


The point is, sometimes you just have to take the plunge and kick those old wasteful habits to the curb. Think you can’t function without paper towels in your kitchen? You can, I promise. Cut up an old bath towel and keep cloth rags in the cabinet. We’ve been paper-free in our kitchen for years.

You could replace paper napkins with pretty cloth ones (sewing project!)

You could replace disposable bathroom cotton balls with soft washable hemp pads.

You could switch from bagged tea to looseleaf, and use a metal strainer.

There are a million little things all around your house than can be replaced or done away with completely. These little things really add up, and over time it’s the little things that can actually do the most damage. So let’s not overlook them anymore!

Me, I’m starting with my coffee filters, and getting myself a metal mesh insert. I’ll also be keeping my eyes out all throughout my life, watching for ways to tweak and tame the wasteful beast.

What will you do? Do you accept this mission? Share your ideas in the comments so we can all benefit – I’m sure you guys will have some great ones!

~~~

Next month will be the first installment of our Bonzai Book Club, which will switch off with the Monday Monthly Mission, every other month. I’m so excited! But I know that reading can be time-intensive, and we’re a very busy bunch of movers and shakes around here. So I’ll always give you the reading assignment a month ahead, at the end of the MMM post, in case you want to get a head start.

For our very first BBC we will be reading James McWilliams’ Just Food: Where Locavores Get It Wrong and How We Can Truly Eat Responsibly. I can’t wait!

All you had to do was go to Amazon, search for a stranger’s wish list, and send them something they wanted. Just a little bit of unsolicited-entirely-random-and-absolutely-delightful affection. I don’t know about you, but I had SO much fun perusing wish lists, peeking into lives and imagining the people that would possess such interests. And the exciting sense of connection upon finding a list full of things I also love!

I’d say this mission was a resounding success! We had multiple gift recipients come find Bonzai Aphrodite to say hello. Wonderful! So, a huge warm welcome to all of you!

I loved this mission. Love Love LOVED. And what about you, my dear? Did you play along? Did you have fun??

This little site has done a lot of changing since her last birthday. And like all things, she will continue to evolve. In that evolution, I feel like a lot of my stricter boundaries are breaking down, with a loss of formality that I find liberating. I see a transformation from a mostly professional endeavor, to a more personal, shared experience. I imagine less structure. I imagine more intimacy. I’ll probably post less frequently. I know we’ll have a lot of fun!

And speaking of that, I had so much fun putting together my 20s retrospective, that I thought I’d do the same for this last year here on Bonzai. So without further ado, here are some of the highlights from our second year:

February

In February I finally found my vegan White Whale – the perfect rich and creamy Alfredo sauce. I shared my carpet cleaning recipe and my liquid dishwasher detergent recipe, both of which are superstars in the DIY home cleaning repertoire. We learned how to make newspaper seed pots for the upcoming planting season, and I was nominated for the rikrak Handmade Olympics. At the end of the month, 9+ months pregnant, I put the site on baby watch!

March

At the very beginning of March I went into labor. (!!!) A few days later I introduced you to my first son, Waits Rebhal. I took a few weeks off from blogging, popping in at the end of the month to say hello and welcome in the spring with the first Farmer’s Market!


April

I pretty much disappeared into motherhood – and who can blame me?! However, I did post an important Mini Mission that’s really worth a visit if you’re a relatively new reader.


May

In May I returned to the blogosphere refreshed and impassioned anew! I posted a kombucha hack for growing your own mother, just in the nick of time before the elixir was pulled from store shelves all across America. I shared my new natural hair regimen and my new favorite green beverage. And somehow, despite my sleep deprivation and a newborn to cuddle, I managed to start the 2010 [micro] garden!


June

In June we took on our toughest MMM yet – facing our demons – and I was awed by the bravery of so many readers who met this challenge with complete self-awareness and honesty. On the lighter side, Waits became a super model and I concocted the weirdest spaghetti sauce ever (delicious!). At the end of the month, due to reader demand, I posted my very first baby-related article, on low-impact child rearing.


July

With summer in full swing the micro garden was chugging along and I also introduced my potted herb garden. I wrote an epic two-part piece on my adventures with cloth diapers (part I and part II). Finally, and most importantly, I shared my latest (and current) passion for probiotics, in an article entitled “Eat Your Beasties!”


August

August 1st marked my joyful 2-year Veganniversary, which we celebrated with a picnic. In the kitchen, I explained the importance of soaking nuts, grains, and legumes, and I posted a tutorial on how to make DIY alt milk. Inspired by the Farmer’s Market I began my RAW 101 series with a post on pasta, and I continued the cultured love with a recipe for homemade vegan yogurt. At the very end of the month I asked you to tell me 3 random things that made you happy, and thus the Love List was born! (still going strong ever since!)


September

September was official “Get Out The Bonzai Month” – we had our first annual shareholder’s meeting, I updated my commenting policy, and the Bonzai Aphrodite Amazon Store was born! I continued my culinary alchemy with recipes for sauerkraut and fermented pickles. I took you on a tour of the henhouse and I wrote a love letter to autumn. Also, Waits dressed up like a duck.


October

In October I finally formally introduced my dogs, and then I introduced our first merchandise – the Mini Mission Wall Calendar! I grew my very first pumpkin, and played with it all sorts. Waits started crawling so I made some baby knee-pads/leg warmers, then at the urging of readers I added a big kids version of leg warmers (and arm warmers!) too. And with clothing on the brain, I defined my style direction for fall 2010.


November

November marked Vegan MoFo, and I eased up on my blogging [or I tried to, pretty unsuccessfully] as I took on a new big project. Waits and I squared off with a spaghetti squash. I pondered people’s relationship with food and I cleared up some confusion on icky-sounding ingredients. At the end of the month I was honored to offer my perspective as a work-at-home mom at galadarling.com.


December

In December I said goodbye to my garden and welcomed in the winter. My vegan taxidermy was received with mixed reviews, but everybody loved my overnight oats in a jar. The end of the month was all holidays and hiatus, but I did offer a sneak peak at healthy vegan travel days.


January

In January I presented my definitive vegan cheese report – a post that was 2 years in the making. I said goodbye to the Farmer’s Market (sad!). I pledged to share more of myself, and in true Sayward fashion I jumped in feet first with an in-depth portrait of my 20s. Last week I turned 30, and celebrated in part by sharing 30 of my most favorite little things.

~~~

Last night I spent an hour and a half tediously composing this post (a billion links, blargh!), and then come 1130pm, completely out of nowhere, my computer up and shut down. Almost all my work disappeared! It was gone, lost into the ether (which is why you’re getting this post this evening instead of first thing birthday morning). All I have to say is . . . Welcome to the Terrible Twos???

Ha!

It’s getting harder and harder for me to come up with compelling MMMs . . . I guess that’s a good thing? Less areas of life that need extreme tweaking? (Im always open to suggestions!!!)

I’d been half-heartedly toying with a “no eating out” challenge for February, but Damian was none too keen (imagine a supersad frown and a whispered “but I take great pleasure in eating out”, *heart melt*), and to be honest I couldn’t blame him. This is about doing right by ourselves and doing right by the world – not about exercises in needless sacrifice!

I was drawing a blank as the new month was drawing near. Then – such perfect timing – reader Kathryn left this comment on the MMM16 wrap-up :

“Mine is to decide to be happy and not let the unhappiness of others, or circumstances, take that away from me so easily. As part of that mission, I decided I need to do more random acts of kindness, because this reminds me that I do have control over the energy I’m putting into the world. This month, I picked 3 random strangers with recently updated Amazon wishlists and sent each person a gift from their wish list with a note of explanation and a request that they pay it forward by doing something nice for someone else.”

Isn’t that beautiful? I adore the idea – bravo Kathryn! What a way to impact the world . . . imagine the ‘love ripple’ that will spread from this single sweet gesture! Kathryn explains the details :

“A good way to go about this, in case anyone else wants to try it: To search for wishlists on Amazon, you have to enter a name, email address, etc. I decided to pick first names of friends (e.g. “Bill) to use as search terms and pick strangers from the results. The search results come back with wishlists that have been updated recently at the top of the list. I picked from these since a recently updated wishlist is more likely to be accurate.”

So that’s it, our February MMM! Do it once in the month or do it once a week, as often (or not) as you want. Spend as little or as much as you want. Do it anonymously or include your info, but please do offer an explanation and ask that they pay it forward. We want that ripple to grow into a tidal wave of love!

So my dears, do you accept this mission?
Thanks again Kathryn!

Your mission was simple: to outline an ass-kicking agenda for 2011. To designate an overall theme, then add a few bullet points – aims or ambitions or general direction.

Mine was simple: Quality Over Quantity, for the first time in my life. I have a number of bullet points too, ranging from the likes of - send more postcards all the way to - happiness über alles. And many more in between!

So what about you, my dears? What dreams are contained in your Yearly Manifesto?

Happy New Year!

What’s your plan for seizing 2011 and making it yours? You know, it’s positioned to be the best year of your life. So how are you going to dive in and dance? What are you doing to manifest the best version of yourself? How will you live your truth out loud in 2011?

Each year I set intentions for the 365 days ahead. I’ve done this for the past three years – before that I was an “anti-resolution” sort of person. But the problem with resolutions is that they tend to be too vague . . . people say things like “I’ll lose weight” or “I’ll find a meaningful relationship”. If you’re going to make your life exactly what you want it to be – and you can! – then you’re going to need a clear strategy. You’ll need measurable benchmarks and you’ll need to be specific.

Draw up a plan of attack. Yes, attack. Be a happiness warrior. Be proactive! Me, I like to make lists . . .

Each year in December I begin a new Word doc. I title it with the upcoming year (so this one was ‘2011’) and it lives on my desktop for 365 days. In this word doc I’ll formulate my action plan. I’ll draft a list of ambitious, achievable goals. I’ll jot down general themes that I’d like to incorporate. I keep a running list of every book I read, and each year I try to read more than the one before (always successful as long as I’ve been tracking!) Under the current year’s goals, I’ll copy-and-paste the previous doc, which also includes copy-and-pastes from the years before. This way I can scroll through and see my growth in the bigger picture. A running list of my personal development. It’s very encouraging! Revisiting success always motivates me to keep striving.

More often than not the doc is topped with some short phrase to sum up my approach to the coming year. For example, 2009 was entitled “Living The Dream” and included such goals as “get pregnant” and “never get a ‘real’ job”. And for 2011?

Quality Over Quantity

I’ve spent pretty much my entire adult life prioritizing productivity – measuring myself in terms of ‘success’ and forgoing pleasure in favor of purpose. Now it’s certainly good to be driven, and I’d much rather be a doer than a talk-about-doing-er. But I think it’s unhealthy to focus so much on compiling accomplishments. It can come at a cost. For me, it has.

So 2011 is all about enjoying my life. For once, I’m in it for the fun of it. It’s not what get’s done, but how the getting done is *experienced*. And less will get done . . . (that’s okay!)

I’m giving it a year. It kind of goes against everything I’ve trained myself to be . . . but I’m going to give it an honest go. We’ll see where it gets me in 365 days. I can always go back to my high-powered production in 2012!

I’ve got an assortment of bullet-pointed action items to guide me into my new modus operandi. YOUR mission, should you choose to accept it, is to do the same. Set a theme for 2011 and then outline some specific goals to get you there.

As a side note, I may be going a little lighter on the blogging in the coming year. I’M NOT GOING ANYWHERE! But, I need to take some pressure off of myself. So instead of spending my nights working until midnight, I may just take a bubble bath instead. I do hope you know how much this site means to me; I hope you’ll understand and I hope you’ll continue on with me in the new year and beyond.

But I grew up in California, where “seasons” meant a change of 20º in either direction. Here in the pacific northwest the summer really means something, and the winter is all-consuming. My life is guided by “light” in a way that that I’d never understood before. And for every blissful moment of sundown-at-ten midsummer madness, there’s a difficult, up-before-dawn and wind-in-your-bones winter counterpart.

Damian and I celebrating our first Winter Solstice together, circa 2006.

Tomorrow, 21 December, is the shortest day of the year. Ever since the Autumn Equinox, the days have been shorter than the nights – and getting shorter, shorter, shorter. Tomorrow marks the height of darkness. The following day the light begins to grow again.

The Winter Solstice is celebrated worldwide and across all cultures. We are all tied to the earth and her seasons; we are all affected by light. And this shortest day of the year offers a unique opportunity for reflection. It’s a chance to examine our own relationship with the darknesses of the world. A time to hold space for our own dark thoughts.

Back home the Solstice was a favorite holiday. It meant reuniting with lifelong companions, it was deeply steeped in tradition. There was a shared and sacred sunset, and the ritual making of fire. There was the rock labyrinth; there was feast and drink. There was always the circle for sharing. And, there was always the reading of this poem:

“WILD GEESE”
by Mary Oliver

You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
For a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about your despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting –
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.

Blessings for your Solstice,