Tryin' to Be Cruelty-Free

I am ENGAGED!!!

2008-08-11T19:58:00.001-07:00

Well, I haven't updated this page in AGES. I just got engaged on July 26, it was a month after my birthday. I couldn't be happier! We went to Boston Pizza for supper, it was our first date in a very long time! He dislocated his hip and shattered his pelvis on June 7. He had planned to propose June 26, on my birthday!

New Hobbies!!

2008-03-09T20:11:00.000-07:00

I recently discovered Freecycle (http://www.freecycle.org) and urge everyone to see if there is a group in your area. It is awesome! If you have anything to give away, you can post it... If you're looking for something, you can post it... and it's all FREE. Have something just sitting around the house that someone else might like?

I found a great website, http://www.answer4earth.com and it's basically the same idea as Free Rice, but it is about trees. For every 300 correctly answered questions, a tree gets planted. You do not have to answer 300 questions yourself, any bit helps, and it's multiple choice. A lot of fun!

Some Web Banners

2008-03-04T05:24:00.000-08:00

Something important to me...

2008-02-15T12:57:00.000-08:00

I have been going around unplugging appliances and electronics not in use for as long as I can remember. I started this after hearing that energy is still being used, even when they are not turned on. Everyone who knows me knows about this habit of mine. And before that, I was going around turning lights off that weren't being used at a young age, before I even heard of global warming or climate change. Here is a link I just found and thought I would share, on the topic.

http://www.terrapass.com/blog/posts/energy-tip-10-remove-wall-warts-and-slay-electricity-vampir

American Forests--oops!

2008-02-12T06:48:00.001-08:00

In a earlier post, I mentioned using Goodsearch to support American Forests. I found the following information on http://www.askcarla.com/

You may be unaware that some large "conservation" or "wildlife" organizations actually support hunting and trapping. Although their names and literature may suggest that they protect animals and/or habitats, they often regard animals as resources to be harvested or pests to be eliminated.

U.S. hunters and trappers kill millions of animals every year and leave many others wounded and dying. Hunting disrupts natural wildlife populations and actually stimulates reproduction rates. Programs designed to preserve habitat or reduce the numbers of "overpopulated" animals are often funded by groups that wish to encourage excessive breeding to ensure a supply of "game" animals to hunt.

For more information about hunting, please read through PETA's "Why Sport Hunting Is Cruel and Unnecessary" factsheet.

Below is a partial list of organizations that support the use of hunting, trapping, and/or fishing for "sport" and/or "wildlife management." If you oppose those activities, please let these groups know how you feel:

African Wildlife Foundation
1400 16th St. N.W., Ste. 120
Washington, DC 20036
202-939-3333
www.awf.org

American Forests
P.O. Box 2000
Washington, DC 20013
202-955-4500
www.americanforests.org

American Wildlife Foundation
P.O. Box 1246
Molalla, OR 97038
503-829-9567
www.awildfound.org

Boone & Crockett Club
250 Station Dr.
Missoula, MT 59801
406-542-1888
www.boone-crockett.org

The Conservation Alliance
Casey Sheahan
Kelty Pack, Inc.
6235 Lookout Rd.
Boulder, CO 80301
303-262-3322
www.conservationalliance.com

Defenders of Wildlife
1130 17th St. N.W.
Washington, DC 20030
202-682-9400
www.defenders.org

Ducks Unlimited, Inc.
One Waterfowl Way
Memphis, TN 38120
1-800-453-8257
www.ducks.org

International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies
444 N. Capitol St. N.W., Ste. 544
Washington, DC 20001
202-624-7890
www.iafwa.org

Izaak Walton League of America
707 Conservation Ln.
Gaithersburg, MD 20878
1-800-453-5463
www.iwla.org

Max McGraw Wildlife Foundation
P.O. Box 9
Dundee, IL 60118
847-426-4711
www.mcgrawwildlife.org

National Audubon Society
700 Broadway
New York, NY 10003
212-979-3000
www.audubon.org

National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
1120 Connecticut Ave. N.W. Ste. 900
Washington, DC 20036
202-857-0166
www.nfwf.org

National Wildlife Federation
11100 Wildlife Center Dr.
Reston, VA 20190-5362
1-800-822-9919
www.nwf.org

The Nature Conservancy
4245 N. Fairfax Dr., Ste. 100
Arlington, VA 22203-1606
703-841-5300
www.tnc.org

Outdoor Writers Association of America
121 Hickory St., Ste. 1
Missoula, MT 59801
406-728-7434
www.owaa.org

Safari Club International
4800 W. Gates Pass Rd.
Tucson, AZ 85745-9490
520-620-1220
www.scifirstforhunters.org

The Sierra Club
85 Second St., 2nd Fl.
San Francisco, CA 94105
www.sierraclub.org

U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance
(formerly Wildlife Legislative Fund of America)
801 Kingsmill Pkwy.
Columbus, OH 43229
614-888-4868
www.ussportsmen.org

The Wilderness Society
1615 M St. N.W.
Washington, DC 20036
1-800-843-9453
www.wilderness.org

Wildlife Conservation Fund of America
The Conservation Fund
1800 N. Kent St., Ste. 1120
Arlington, VA 22209-2156
703-525-6300
www.conservationfund.org

The Wildlife Conservation Society
2300 Southern Blvd.
Bronx, NY 10460
www.wcs.org

Wildlife Forever
2700 Freeway Blvd.
Brooklyn Center, MN 55430
763-253-0222
www.wildlifeforever.org

Windstar Wildlife Institute
10072 Vista Ct.
Myersville, MD 21773
301-293-3351
www.windstar.org

The Wildlife Management Institute
1146 19th St. N.W., Ste. 700
Washington, DC 20036
202-371-1808
www.wildlifemanagementinstitute.org

The Wildlife Society
5410 Grosvenor Ln., Ste. 200
Bethesda, MD 20814-2144
301-897-9770
www.wildlife.org

World Wildlife Fund
1250 24th St. N.W.
Washington, DC 20037-1175
202-293-4800
www.wwf.org

If you are interested in an organization that is not included above, please contact the group directly to inquire about its position on hunting, trapping, and/or fishing.

It's February!

2008-02-02T10:14:00.001-08:00

Well, it's now February. Valentine's Day is around the corner, so here is a banner from PETA.

Why not send a PETA e-card to your friends?
http://www.peta.org/ecard/

Still searchin'

2008-01-26T05:23:00.000-08:00

I am still in love with Goodsearch and use it a lot! I love looking for a new non-profit to search for, right now it is American Forests. I've also used Ocean Defenders Alliance (Orange County, California), Los Angeles Bicycle Coalition, and others.

Here is another site I recently found:
http://www.vote4cause.org/allcauses.php

You just click to vote for the organization of your choice.

My Lip Stuff

2008-01-17T16:52:00.000-08:00

I have never used this before, but I just found out about it, and considering it worth sharing. http://www.mylipstuff.com/ They have over 400 types of natural lip balm. They also have some vegan ones:

My Lip Stuff Vegan Lip Balm Flavor Choices:

*Inner Beauty: plain and simple, naturally flavored. No added flavors or sweeteners. (AKA Unflavored).
*Sweet as Sugar: natural vanilla extract sweetened with Stevia. (AKA Vanilla with stevia).
*Hot & Spicy: a kick of cinnamon essential oil with a touch of natural vanilla extract to take the bite off. (AKA Cinnamon Vanilla).
*Cool Under Pressure: cool peppermint essential oil with a touch of natural vanilla extract. (AKA Vanilla Mint).
*Clean Cut: a blend of citrus essential oils with a hint of natural sage. Sweetened with Stevia. (AKA Citrus & Sage).
*Get Fresh: a mix of lime essential oil with a twist of verbena. (AKA Lime Verbena).
*A Little S&M: a little Sorbet(natural vanilla extract) & a little Mandarin orange essential oil. Sweetened with Stevia. (AKA Mandarin Orange Sorbet).

You can even purchase their products and a percentage will be given to PETA. For more information, see http://www.mylipstuff.com/charitabalms.html

First Post of '08

2008-01-13T10:49:00.000-08:00

I thought I posted already this year, but I guess not. So, today's theme is the "click to give" websites, which seem to be increasingly popular so I decided to share a few I know of.

http://www.care2.com/click2donate/

http://www.animalrescuesite.com/

http://www.freerice.com/

Also, wanted to share http://www.vegspace.com/ (a vegetarian community site)

Lessons in Activism

2007-12-30T13:34:00.000-08:00

Taking steps to help animals is easier than you may think, you can become an activist for animals in the comfort of your own home. If you are interested and want to get started: http://www.peta.org/actioncenter/ There are Action Alerts about acts of animal cruelty, simply send an e-mail or submit an online form to express your disapproval to companies and businesses. The link also includes good news, such as Recent Victories for Animals where companies have decided to become more cruelty-free. Resources such as PETA literature, factsheets, photos and videos are also available. Like to chat online? Find a PETA buddy icon to use next time, and show friends you care about animals. Have a website? Spread awareness by adding a PETA banner. The opportunities are endless!

If you are just beginning in your cruelty-free lifestyle, please visit http://www.askcarla.com There are many FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) and lots of helpful information to explain the beliefs of PETA and their supporters.

New way to search...

2007-12-21T08:40:00.002-08:00

I just recently found out about the search engine, Goodsearch. When you use Goodsearch, you can generate money to a charity just by doing web searches. The charities listed are all in the United States, and I have been "searching" for PETA. It's a neat way to support a charity, any little bit helps. http://www.goodsearch.com Give it a try if you like!

Cruelty-Free Pt. 2

2007-12-16T19:21:00.000-08:00

I decided to do a follow-up to my previous entry about animal testing. If you are interested, please see http://www.caringconsumer.com to learn more. The link includes a list of cruelty-free companies and lots of helpful information. That site is part of PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), and their main website is http://www.peta.org I also like http://www.peta2.com which is geared towards mainly university age people. And yet another link, http://www.helpinganimals.com/ is a good source if you have companion animals at home and lots of information including the importance to spay/neuter your pets and puppy mills.

Here are some cruelty-free companies: Almay, Avon, The Body Shop, Bonne Bell, Nivea and Revlon.

First Post!

2007-12-13T15:08:00.000-08:00

Well, this is my first post on my very new blog! I've had others before, as well as websites, but never kept anything up-to-date. I hope to update this page frequently!
Wow. So, I love shampoo (I used to be really addicted/obsessed) and moisturizers... I just found out pretty much every one I use except one particular brand, has animal testing. So, my "New Year's Resolution" is to become more conscious of products I'm buying--it's the least I can do. I encourage you to take a look at companies you buy from regularly, do they have animal testing?