First of all, Yoreganics should win an award for the coolest name.  “In the days of yore…life was simple and cleaning was natural”.  That’s there motto, but I think it should be:  “In the days of yore… products had to actually work and so that’s what we do.”  Not as catchy, but oh-so-true.

In order to do a better laundry product review, I did some true product testing.  Ok, my home isn’t sterile like a lab should be… in fact I can’t think of anything sterile within these walls.  However, I received a sample of the Yoreganics products and I put them through the ringer!  Here are my deep thoughts:

(Click Read More for product review & giveaway) 

Here are a few things up the LGM sleeve:
1.  new GIVEAWAY will be posted THIS SATURDAY... and EVERY saturday in August!
2.  GFC followers will be getting an email with a special GFC only entry in the upcoming giveaway.
3.  Those who "LIKE" Lazy Green Mama on facebook will be automatically entered into a FACEBOOK ONLY giveaway on the 1st of September.
4.  Loyal and interactive readers are rewarded for leaving comments.  I choose posts related to my giveaway (or not) and give anyone who had commented on that post an extra entry. 

Thanks for reading!

This is the email my sister sent me today:

Check out this site:
http://www.uddercovers.com/
When you type in the promo code 'cushy2' the hooter hiders are free! (You pay only shipping!)
Breasfeeding= green mama.
Not making your own hooter hider= lazy

Does she know me well or WHAT?  I have many crafty friends who have made their own or purchased a Hooter Hider/ Udder Cover/ Tata Tent and they LOVE them.  So, if you're interested in trying it or buying one as a gift... now is a great time!  Leave a comment if you do buy an udder cover :)

I’ve mentioned before that we hung a clothesline from the bathroom window (next to the washer/dryer) to a far-off tree.  I think it’s SO cool… yup I’m bragging about my clothesline… I have low standards on coolness.  It IS on a pulley.  When I lean out the window to hang my ‘goods’, I feel like I’m living in the squalor of London in 1901.  I pretend that I’m a washer woman about to be swept off my feet by the rich man I work for.  It’s going to rock the town. 

I think I’ve let you see too much of the innards of me brain…

I’d like to take this moment to tell my husband that I think he’s cool.

Back to bragging about my clothesline.  No, I’m done bragging and now I want to share some LGM truths:

·         I used to do TWO loads of laundry a week.  One mostly lights and one mostly darks.  The arrival of Zel with her cloth dipes, a smaller washing machine, and an increase in using cloth products over disposable have blown that number out of the water.  Now, I do LIKE doing laundry, I like to spend a day reading a novel, pausing every 40 minutes to switch loads and then expound to my hubby how much work I did at the end of the day.  This whole clothesline is throwing off my laundry mo-jo!  If I’m lucky, I can hang two SMALL loads on the line at the same time.  Then I have to wait HOURS for them to dry.  Then I forget about them.  Then it rains.  Then I decide to let them stay on the line to dry.  Then I forget about them.  Then… need I continue?

·         We bought a cotton/polyester blend clothesline.  I am married to a knot expert rock climber.  One would think that we would have the tautest line this side of Everest.  We don’t.  He’s tightened it a few times, but once I hang a few wet towels… SAG… aaa n d now they’re drying on the grass.  Oi Vey!

·         I drop at least one item and a handful of clothes pins every time I hang.  When that happens, I’m SO glad that I’m not living out my London washer woman fantasy because then my brassieres would be lying on the streets.  Thank goodness for country living!

This weekend I will be posting another laundry product review and giveaway.  Ever hear of soap nuts?  You will!  See you this weekend (if not before!). 

Ok, anyone who gets to snuggle with this human every day should be a very happy person.  I am very happy.  But sometimes I stay up too late and Zel wakes up too early and the morning prospects look BLEAK!

That was today.  Until I logged online.  Oh how I love my cyber community (not that it replaces human-to-human interaction).  Liz sent me a sneak peek from our family photo shoot last week.  I'm spell bound with this photo.  My daughter is gorgeous and this photo really captures her.  I'm so in love.

Then I had an email from ScooterBees and I'm uber excited about parterning with this childrens shoe line.  Stories, eco-friendly, socially responsible, shoes... could a product appeal to me any more?  Intrigued?

THEN I walked into the bathroom and about fell over when I glanced at my project from yesterday:  product testing YoreGanics Whitener...  umm... holy canoly!  I didn't expect such drastic results!  If you think OxyClean is a good laundry booster... just wait till you read/see pics of my product testing.  I repeat, holy canoly!

Things are lookin' up and it's gonna be a wonderful day!

This morning I strolled over to visit Pioneer Woman (leave a "howdy" if you're also addicted!) and she has a fabulous idea that I am going to borrow.  I'm sure she won't mind because it's a green idea and it's a generous idea... the essence of my ideal me (green and generous as opposed to lazy and stingy).

PW is going through her closet and finding gorgeous pieces of clothing that she no longer wears.  Leave a comment, and she might just send it to you!  If there's anything BETTER THAN RECYCLING... it's REUSING/REPURPOSING! 

I will post my item later today... after I dig and dig and dig through my house in search of some non-embarrassing item that y'all might actually want and that I don't use.  That is unless anyone wants a flowery flowy skirt from the '90s... got quite a few of those ;)

ANYONE ELSE CARE TO SHARE?  Come on ladies and gents... it's mid-July... prime time to purge our houses of belongings that are weighing us down!  Leave a comment with a link to your closet challenge... Don't have a blog?  email me your item and I'll post it here (lazygreenmama[gmail]com

I admit that I sometimes avoid knowledge because it complicates life.  It's not noble, but sometimes a line needs to be drawn in order to save sanity.

This week I read a great article by Mommy Made Green about FARM RAISED FISH.  Her blog post didn't make me feel guilty for eating farm raised fish, just a bit alarmed and surprised that I had avoided really understanding the importance of wild fish for so long. 

I'm smart enough to buy wild fish when presented with an obvious choice, but I've never sought it out or hesitated to buy fish in a restaurant.  Now all that has changed! 

Once we deplete our current supply in the freezer, I'm committing to only feeding my family WILD CAUGHT FISH!

Now that I live inland, this will be much harder, but I don't eat fish all that often, so I think we'll be able to find/afford it often enough.  When we lived in Oregon, we bought A LOT of tuna right off a fisherman's boat and canned it.  We still have a few dozen jars of our fresh, wild tuna... YUM!

Here's our favorite tuna dinner recipe:  (ahem...I wrote about my first go-round with this recipe when I first started blogging over 2 years ago.  You are welcome to read that post here... and now I'm going to go lie down under my car while you all laugh at me ;)

Adapted from Betty Crocker's Good and Easy Cookbook
TUNA SALAD ORIENTAL
1/4 c vege oil
3 T sugar
2 T red wine or seasoned rice vinegar
1 T soy sauce
1/4 lb Chinese pea pods, strings removed (1 cup), cut diagonally... or whatever pea is fresh from your garden or the market
3 c coleslaw mix (or just chopped cabbage... we have an abundance right now from our CSA!)
1 can (10 ounce) tuna (original recipe is for chunk light chicken), drained
1/2 c sliced almonds, toasted.

Mix oil, sugar, vinegar and soy sauce in large bowl.  Add remaining ingredients, toss to coat.  YUM!

If you're like me, the answer to that question is NO!  I cannot keep up with the blogs I already love.  However, I do need more inspiration to stay green and so when I'm looking for new material... this blog hop is the place to start!

ENJOY and sorry about fueling your addiction to awesome blogs ;)

Of course, everyone who entered one of these giveaways is a WINNER... mother earth told me so (I heart being corny).  I was RIDICULOUSLY excited each time I pressed "generate" on the random number generator!  I will be contacting these winners shortly (note to winners:  if you read this before I get ahold of you, feel free to email your address to lazygreenmama[at]gmail[dot]com and save me the trouble of finding your email.)

Note:  I had to hand write out the numbers because I encouraged people to be {lazy} and use one comment to list all of their entries.  If you'd like to see my chicken-scratch system, I'll be happy to scan it and email it to you!

Tymptome Tom-Tom:  #7 Mary Beth (mandatory entry- loves ALL the designs)
Thirsties:  #27 Jackie @ 3 Little Ones (for blogging about event)
*i allowed Mary Beth and Jackie to switch because Jackie has little ones in diapers and Mary Beth runs a Day Care.
Nellie's All-Natural Landry Products:  #31 Mary Anne (mandatory- would like to try oxy brightner)
Dad's Wooden Toys:  #20 Michelle Murphy @ Cheap and Creative (mandatory entry- loves the turtle teether)
Reusies:  #44 Kalyn @ Spits and Giggles (mandatory entry- Reusies are from Seattle!)
Babo Botanicals:  #25 Annie (mandatory entry- her babe would benefit from the Oatmilk Calendula Wash)

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE WINNERS!  Thanks to all who participated and who are now loyal readers.  I'm pleased as punch to let you know that I've been busy researching some really awesome products... stay tuned!

Ok, I'll save the gory details for another day (or another blog)... but one year ago today, I went into labor 5 weeks early.  It was awesome, earth shattering, natural, scary, naive, on the yoga mat & ball, painful, exhilarating. 

Today I made the afore mentioned chocolate zucchini cake.  I'm quite pleased with myself, I humbly admit it!  I also made 24 cupcakes and now fear that I didn't invite enough guests to eat them all.  Whatever will I do? (gulp!)

Also, I learned never to pack a bag of cake decorating supplies (made the cake in my parents' air conditioned house!), set it on the ground, and finish washing dishes.  Guess tomorrow won't be Zel's first taste of chocolate icing!  OOPS!

The BIRTHDAY EXTRAVAGANZA ends tomorrow at midnight.  However, I'll be busy with a family photo shoot (won it in a blog giveaway from www.lizandersonphotography.com) and a weekend wedding.  So, I might get to posting the winners this weekend, but they'll be announced on Monday at the latest!  Thanks for playing!  LGM has some AWESOME giveaways planned for the upcoming months...