Grab Bag Assumption Check:

Human nature is fascinating. We have each become so flipping specialized in life, we can’t even fix our own cars, make our own clothes, repair own own homes, paint our own nails… you get the picture. We assume we need others to take care of many of our daily tasks.

And I proffer that this “specialization” of our industrialized existence (I raise cows or write books, you grow corn or sell computers, we trade/sell what we want/need) has rendered us far more incompetent than we are designed to be. Granted, industrialization has enabled us to make incredible strides as a society. But individually, we might be losing something important.

Humans in decades past were, by necessity, infinitely more capable in taking ownership of all aspects of their lives. Those “Renaissance men”, the daVinci’s of yore, were certainly inspired by, if not formed from, the need to create, manage and improve their own existence. This “specialist” approach we have developed is, I believe, helping to form limited and narrow opinions of ourselves and our capabilities.

I encourage you and your kids to break out of the mold….  try fixing more stuff, making more stuff, learning more stuff about the stuff in your life. It ain’t brain surgery. For that, we actually might NEED a “specialist”.

Soapbox moment now over 🙂

Grab Bag Not-So-Pretty-Face:

Here’s another assumption:

As long as we can legally buy it, and everyone else is doing it, we assume it’s OK. It’s comforting to assume “someone” is regulating, bouncing the bad guys from our existence before we ever confront them.

And so it goes with using cosmetics. A central focus of this blog has been the lack-of-control status of U.S. cosmetics products, and the absence of truly meaningful oversight in this industry. Am I exaggerating?

To spare you the cosmetic’s industry defense argument, and the nay-sayers’ dismissive cries of “unwarranted alarmist”, let me wrap this concept in a bite-sized morsel, and let us understand these two things:

The European Union Cosmetics Directive has banned 1,100 ingredients from cosmetics sold in the European Union

The FDA has banned just 10 ingredients from cosmetics sold in the U.S.

And that is being generous… the FDA’s own website lists only 8 banned ingredients here… the page was last updated in May….. of 2000. They’re all over cosmetic regulation, as you can see. 😯

What to do? For a start:

• For further edification, here is a good post on the issue.

• Check your products on Cosmeticsdatabase.com. A recent testing of dozens of lipsticks found lead in EVERY SINGLE ONE.

• I also offer this link to a wallet-sized, downloadable and printable guide to the top twelve ingredients you really need to stay away from (and this is a Canadian project… when you see “Parfum”, substitute “Fragrance”)… print and keep in your wallet, for reference next time you go to buy skin care or makeup products.

• For product advice to replace those you may want to dump, check the links in the sidebar here under Products. Most of the offerings found on these sites are not only healthier and more natural, but I have chosen them for their effectiveness as well (it’s a hard argument to win if, for example, a natural shampoo makes your hair look terrible, but these don’t… in fact, I have improved my skin and hair since making these changes… and I changed EVERYTHING in my shower, bath, skin care and cosmetics arsenal).

Bottom line: Don’t assume your health and safety is a cosmetics company’s number one goal. But it should be yours.

And at the recent behest of a good friend and Grab Bag reader, I renew my vow to soon create a separate tab at the top of this page for a page of  “What I’m Using Now”. While not all my choices will be right for all readers,  it may be a good place to start, and the hours of research I have undertaken should be taken advantage of by as many as care to use it 🙂

Lastly, and importantly…. books you might want to read, most available at Amazon:

Grab Bag Health Tips:

Dr. Oz, I love you. I really do.

Dr. Mehmet Oz has captured America and is single handedly improving the quality of lives across the country. I love his practical and well-rounded approach to health and wellness.

Here are four of his top health tips, albeit my choice of words. Study. Practice. More next week.

😆 Laugh. Frequently.

Sleep. Seven hours or more. (I am SO failing on this one.)

Don’t skip breakfast. Doing so will crank up your blood sugar pendulum swing for THE WHOLE DAY.

Check your poop. It’s OK. 😳 Don’t let yourself get constipated. Increase fiber and water until you get that cadillac of all poops, the coveted, smooth, “S” curve.

Grab Bag Marketing Mind:

Just how well have our brains retained the sounds and sights of marketing departments’ efforts to familiarize us with their company name and image? Take this entertaining test to see your marketing IQ:

Many thanks to Pat M. for sending in 🙂

Grab Bag Brain Game:

Scrabble-esque word game… drag the letters around to make words, rearrange to make others, get as many points as you can in the alotted time.

CROSSWORD-SCRAMBLE

Grab Bag Double Funny Stuff:

Part 1: Back in February I profiled some cute and funny Yellow Lab videos here as an hommage to the Labs I love so much in my own home.

As an update, some Golden-Retriever-Labrador-Wannabe has decided to bump it up a notch, adding music, more props and an annoying laugh track.

Golden Retrievers can be perfectionist bitches that way.

However, it is well done, and I offer it here for some smiles:

BREAKFAST AT GINGER’S

Part 2: I saw this clip while watching The Tonight Show and then hunted it down on You Tube… I finally stopped laughing just a little while ago.

Warning for all herpetophobics…  reptiles are involved: