* If It Weren't For The Ladies, You Wouldn't Exist

For very long that is.  If it weren't for the bees, over 95% of the food we eat would cease to exist.  Scientists have tried to replicate the pollenating process without success.  The crop dusting/pesticide application is killing them off rapidly.  Bees are so important to our existence and for that we are doing our best to aid them in their process.  Mr. J has been instrumental in getting those around him excited about this hobby of his.  He's even motivated several friends to purchasing hives with him.  Currently we have 5 hives in our backyard.  Only one will stay here year round, the others are being relocated to different areas in the state once the weather warms up.  We called some friends and family over to witness the "Setting of the Bees" (A process of delivering "loose" bees into their hive).  Some were afraid of getting stung, others showed little interest but we did end up with a little gathering and they thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon.  This is Mr. J and a friend of his setting and documenting the process.

Honey Bees -

• There are three types of bees in the hive – Queen, Worker and Drone.
• The queen may lay 600-800 or even 1,500 eggs each day during her 3 or 4 year lifetime. This daily egg production may equal her own weight. She is constantly fed and groomed by attendant worker bees.
• Honey bees fly at 15 miles per hour.
• Honey bees' wings stroke 11,400 times per minute, thus making their distinctive buzz.
• Honeybees are the only insect that produce food for humans.
• Honeybees will usually travel approximately 3 miles from their hive.
• Honeybees are the only bees that die after they sting.
• Honeybees are responsible for pollinating approx 80% of all fruit, vegetable and seed crops in the U.S.
• Honeybees have five eyes, 3 small ones on top of the head and two big ones in front.  They also have hair on their eyes!
• Bees communicate with each other by dancing and by using pheromones (scents).
• Honeybees never sleep!

Honey

• Honey is 80% sugars and 20% water.
• To make one pound of honey, the bees in the colony must visit 2 million flowers, fly over 55,000 miles and will be the lifetime work of approximately 300 bees.
• A single honeybee will only produce approximately 1/12 teaspoon of honey in her lifetime.
• A single honey bee will visit 50-100 flowers on a single trip out of the hive.
• Bees produce honey as food stores for the hive during the long months of winter when flowers aren't blooming and therefore little or no nectar is available to them.
• Honey is the ONLY food that includes all the substances necessary to sustain life, including water.
• A typical beehive can make up to 400 pounds of honey per year.
• Honey never spoils.
• It would take about 1 ounce of honey to fuel a honeybee's flight around the world.
• Flowers and other blossoming plants have nectarines that produce sugary nectar. Worker bees suck up the nectar and water and store it in a special honey stomach. When the stomach is full the bee returns to the hive and puts the nectar in an empty honeycomb. Natural chemicals from the bee's head glands and the evaporation of the water from the nectar change the nectar into honey.
• Out of 20,000 species of bees, only 4 make honey.
• Although Utah enjoys the title "The Beehive State," the top honey-producing states include California, Florida, and South Dakota.

Beehives

• A populous colony may contain 40,000 to 60,000 bees during the late spring or early summer.
• A honeycomb cell has six sides.
• Bees maintain a temperature of 92-93 degrees Fahrenheit in their central brood nest regardless of whether the outside temperature is 110 or -40 degrees.

IN HONOR OF MY LOVE FOR BEES, I thought i'd share with you some of my fun bee finds on Etsy.

 Steampunk Bijoux

The Full Spectrum

Lazy Day Cottage

Tallulahs Soaps

* We Don't Swim In Your Toilet...

So this is the direction of my blog because it's naturally the topics that interest me the most.  Topics that are environmentally conscious and reviews that have your health and family's well being in mind... which leads me to today's post.  Reusable diapers.  Don't worry, i'm not going to over load you with info on the best reusable diapers or the many brands and techniques out there for protecting your baby's behind, not today anyway.  As summer approaches i'm shopping for clothing with UV protection built in so my child will be happy and healthy in the sun.  With this came the need for the proper swim diaper for Violet.  I hate those swim diapers that make you think they are absorbing but you don't know if they really work, you just trust the maker.  Well here's the fact. They don't hold urine, they only hold solid matter.   There has never been a disposable swim diaper made with a waterproof lining.  YUCK, all those times swimming with a bunch of infants, we were swimming in their pee.  So rather than tell you all the problems with disposable diapers I thought i'd tell you the solution!  IN HONOR OF EARTH DAY, ha, I didn't even plan that.
Here are some great options so you can check them out and find just the right one for you and your little babe.

Iplay
$10.99

Bummis
$13.00

Imse Vimse

$15.95

One Step Ahead

$12.95

Monkey Doodlez (My Personal Favorite!)

$20

Screamin Deal!!

Have you signed up yet??  You should!  Click HERE to sign up!  There are a ton of deals that are all over the board for activities and services offering HUGE discounts.  Today's really stuck out to me as i've been thinking about getting feathers for some time now.  HERE I GO!!

Imaj Design 480 East 6th Avenue Salt Lake City, UT 84103 (801) 674-5276

If you're up on fashion, you know that Bohemian chic is in. Channel your inner flower child with a fun new hair extension that puts other hair accessories to shame with today's Screamin Daily Deal. For only $25, normally $55, get a unique feather bundle extension and add some flare to your do from Imaj Hair Design.

A trendy and creative full-service salon, Imaj Hair Design provides their dedicated clientele with anything from fabulous haircuts to fun hair feathering to soothing facials for the full gambit of beauty services. Friendly, comfortable, and causal, Imaj Hair Design is known for their experienced and talented staff who simply make you feel at home the second you walk in the door.

Feather Hair Extensions are all the rage in the world of hair fashion. Coming in a variety of fun and flirty colors from natural shades that blend in with your hair to bright wisps that accent your fabulous cut, feather extensions are a completely unique type of hair extension. Acting as real hair would, your feathers can be washed, blow dried, heat styled, and more for up to 2 months of funky, fun style. Get your bundle, consisting of 7 long, flowy, feathers, gently attached to the base of your hair and walk out with fabulous new style.

If chic is the name of your game, let your inner Pocahontas let loose with some fine feather accessories with today's Screamin Deal. It's all about a style and fun at Imaj Hair Design.

* Crazy or Genius

Tell me what you think, Crazy or Brilliant??

This is a post from one of my favorite sites for inspiration www.cynthiaoccelli.com

Years ago, I started practicing yoga.  I am, by nature, very flexible, but somewhat weak in my upper body.  I recall watching with self satisfaction as my classmates struggled and suffered while trying to slide into a split that I could drop into effortlessly.  Yet, I felt envious when someone balanced their entire body on one hand and I couldn't do it on two.

Class after class, I measured myself against everyone else.  On some days, I was more capable than anyone and that meant I was successful.  Other days, I was the only one in class who couldn't do an arm balance and that meant I'd failed.  This competition, existing only in my mind, lasted months.

Then, I discovered a book about the mental and spiritual aspects of yoga.  It said that yoga done while focused on anyone other than the self wasn't yoga at all; it was ego.  Since then, I've worked to "stay on my own mat", concentrating all my attention on my own practice.  No matter how full the class is, I am alone.

As I reclaimed my attention and focus, I became even more flexible and my ability to lift myself with my arms quickly developed.  Soon, I was taking advanced classes and feeling better than I'd ever felt.  My whole practice, body and sense of self changed.

This lesson applies to life.  There will always be someone richer, poorer, older, younger, prettier, less attractive etc. Measuring oneself against others, causes perpetual vacillation between feelings of superiority and inadequacy.  It's pointless and detrimental because the energy spent on comparing isn't spent on bettering oneself.

There is only one competition and competitor, life and you.  

How to stay on your own mat:

1) When you feel small because you're comparing your accomplishments to someone else's, acknowledge it and note that you are participating in your own defeat.  Remind yourself that 100% of your power lies within and to access it you must, stay on your own mat.  Redirect your focus to loving, improving and pushing yourself to the heights of your potential.

2) Know that there is no door closed to you.  This applies to authentic desires, not ego based cravings.  (Authentic desires endure and don't require anyone else to see them in order for you to be fulfilled.  By contrast, ego based desires generally want to prove or show something to someone else.  You are the center of your universe, there is no one more worthy of seeing your fulfilled desires than you.)  Authentic desires are hardwired into you because they are the purpose of your life; they are always capable of achievement.  Only you can close the doors to your dreams.  Consciously work in the mind to keep them open. 

3) When you find yourself feeling superior to others, shake yourself out of that delirium.  Pride comes before the fall.  Imagine pasting a bulls eye to your forehead and running around an archery range.  Self aggrandizement draws negative attention from the universe and world because it is an act of separation. Life, science, spirituality and babies teach us that all suffering is borne of separation.  When you have much more than others, share your wisdom, assets and love.

It is wonderful and just that those who stay on their own mats, competing only with themselves, are among the most successful and giving people on the planet.

Photo credit: Shunpikie

* I'm Still Here!!

I'm still here I swear, i'm just finalizing all my tax info for my accountant.  My goal was to post EVERY day and I haven't been able to do that.  My brain seems to be full of tax stuff anyway so I wouldn't be very fun to read.  Stick with me, i'll post in the next few days.  We have an amazing giveaway lined up that you won't want to miss.  This one could save your life!

* A Favorite On Etsy

Ruffled Begonia

This shop is such a fun one.  She sells patterns for these darling items.  Her material is to die for as well.  I need to quit sharing these ideas and show you what i've made.  For now i'll just sigh and wish for my magic genie to whip one up for me.

P.S  I LOVE wearing aprons!  I may have to make this for all the girls in my family for Christmas, cute right?!!