When the world is hot as a sauna, treat it like a free detox!

IF YOU'D LIKE TO RECEIVE AN EMAIL COPY OF MY MONTHLY NEWSLETTER, JUST WRITE TO ME AT ANARRESHEALTH@GMAIL.COM.

1. Upcoming Workshops and Events: Eco Excursion Aug 1 - 4, DIY Face Masks & Facials, Island Getaway Aug 8-10, Bug and Sun Protection, DIY Cleaning LAB

2. Specials for August, 2008: Summer Wholesale Specials, Custom Incense and Sun and Bug Product Packages, Un-Spa offer, Friendship Offers and more!

3. Testimonials of The Month: Loving It Daily!

4. News: Ion Cleanse Foot Spa, EMF Radiation Shields

5. Bonus Article: Every Day Spa Routines: Your To DO List

6. Be the Change You Want To See in the World Action Alert: Feds Review 200 Chemicals

1. Upcoming Workshops and Events

Join me as I lead early morning yoga meditation, a non toxic living workshop and offer eco spa services.

What: Queer Biosphere Eco-Excursion (for Lesbians) http://queerbiosphere.com

When: August 1 - 4, 4 days, 3 nights, 9 meals all included $225 per person

Where: 7 secluded riverside acres in the Haliburton Highlands, 2 hrs N of Toronto.

This eco-excursion offers a unique combination of camping and comfort including catered meals, plus optional workshops and spa services. Meet new friends. Take a walk in the forest, a dip in the river, or explore the unspoiled area by canoe or bicycle. Try one of the many free activities. In the evenings, gather around the riverstone firepit and enjoy the roaring fire as you relax and socialize. Anarres Natural Health will be offering The Eco Spa: I will be available to provide reflexology, massage, polarity therapy, natural health counselling and relaxation therapy by the river.
For complete details and to register: http://www.queerbiosphere.com

By request...

What: DIY Mask and Facial

When: Thursday, August 14, 6:30 to 8:30 pm

Where: Anarres Natural Health Clinic, College & Ossington OPTION Ward's Island beach 7 - 9 pm!!!

Cost: $50 day of, $30 pre paid, plus $3 per bottle or jar if you don't bring these

Catching yourself mocking Oil of Olay commercials less, and secretly paying attention? Beauty School drop out? Punk Princess with wrinkles around her pucker? Can't prance with those pimples? This hands on workshop will have you getting down and dirty with clays, flower waters and other natural ingredients. You'll learn what damages your skin, what to never, ever do again, and why various natural ingredients work. You'll learn how to identify your skin's needs, and choose the ingredients that will work best for you, or a lucky gift recipient. You'll create a custom mask and experience giving and receiving a simple mask and face massage. You'll come away with a mask mix to take home or give as a gift, a spa experience and a skill that can serve you for a lifetime for a fraction of the cost of a spa facial!

What: Stop Sunburn and Bug Bites Non Toxically

When: Thursday, August 21, 6:30 to 8:30 pm

Where: Anarres Natural Health Clinic, College & Ossington OPTION Ward's Island beach 7 - 9 pm!!!

Cost: $50 day of, $30 pre paid, plus $3 per bottle or jar if you don't bring these

What's worse? The sun, or the toxins in the sunscreens? It's not an either/or situation. Regular exposure to the sun lets your skin adapt to defend itself against harmful rays, all the while making vitamin D. So tanning is a healthy response, and those who get regular exposure to the sun lower their skin cancer risk. Burning is absolutely not healthy – it clearly increases your risk of deadly skin cancer. So what to do? What's worse? The bugs, or the toxins in the insect repellants? In short, the toxins in your average insect repellant are far worse than the bites in the long run. DEET, permethrin and other common insect repellants are actually insecticides that you put directly on your skin! Added to these "chemical name" ingredients are the usual toxins found in lotions and creams: parabens and so forth, adding cancer risk to the potential for neurological damage. If it can kill a bug, it can harm you. So what do do?

You'll learn everything you need to know to stay safe and select safe products for you and your loved ones, and come home with 25 ml of custom bug repellant and 30 ml of your favourite sun protecting butter.

What: DIY Natural Cleaning LAB

When: Thursday, August 28, 6:30 to 8:30 pm

Where: Anarres Natural Health Clinic, College & Ossington

Cost: By donation, plus $5 per item you make and take home.

A Do-It-Yourself green cleaning lab in partnership with Women's Voices for the Earth, an inspiring women's environmental health organization working to educate consumers about chemicals in cleaning products. You can create your very own set of easy-to-make cleaning products (plus recipes) that have been tested for effectiveness and are good for your health and the environment! Bring empty spritzer and squeeze bottles for yourself and to share.

Anarres in-Clinic Workshops are also offered by request:
BOOK A PARTY (5 friends!), CLASS OR WORKSHOP Call for more info: 416 535 9620

Anarres' workshops are relaxing and fun and take place at Anarres Natural Health Clinic, College & Ossington. Classes are limited to six participants so that everyone gets a semi private lesson experience. There's fruit, veggies and dip to snack on, and, as always, a choice of cool crystal water or refreshing tea. There are always goodies to take home, as well as new found knowledge and skills.

The following is a course my colleague Tarek Bibi is teaching. I am always looking for new ways to help Anarres clients, so I'll be there! If you are interested, please let Tarek know you saw it announced in my newsletter.

What: Professional Hypnotherapy Diploma Course
When: Friday August 15th, 16th, 22nd 23rd, 29th 30th, 5th and 6th of April. From 9am till 5pm each day.
Where: Ontario Street and Carlton
Who: Tarek Bibi, NGH Certified Hypnotist, NGH Certified Hypnosis Instructor
Rise and Shine Hypnosis "Changing the Universe One Mind at a Time"
647-340-5774 riseandshinehypnotherapy@gmail.com www.riseandshinehypnosis.com

If you enjoy helping people and would like to learn techniques to permanently create lasting changes in other peoples lives using holistic methods while earning a new stream of income, then hypnotherapy might be for you. Learn hypnosis by an instructor who has developed easy and efficient techniques to get to the root of the problem and to completely heal it. Become a certified NGH Hypnotherapist. As a bonus, we will do a group hypnosis session to clear any blockages to your success as a hypnotherapist. You will be accredited by the largest, most respected international organization, The National Guild of Hypnotists. Learn to use the powerful tool of hypnosis to enable your clients in smoking cessation, weight control, stress management, self esteem, pain management and goal setting techniques, letting go of fears and phobias and other motivational modalities. For full details go to: http://www.riseandshinehypnosis.com/hclasses.aspx

One of my colleagues, Christina Demeester, Certified Life Coach and Master in Transpersonal Psychology, is conducting the following retreats:

What: Muskoka Island Getaway with New Empowering Ways
When: Men, Women and Couples: August 8-10
Where: North of Bracebridge and South of Huntsville. Take the bus or train and catch a ride, or carpool!

Relax, rejuvenate and have some fun while learning some effective skills on how to create more balance, harmony and fulfillment in your life and relationships. Check out N.E.W. (New Empowering Ways- New Ways that Empower You!)) @ www.newempoweringways.com
N.E.W. offers two Muskoka Getaways this summer at a reasonable and all inclusive rate. To find out more, go to: http://www.newempoweringways.com/Muskoka_Retreats/What_They_Are.htm For pictures, please go to: http://www.newempoweringways.com/Muskoka_Retreats/Location_And_Pictures/...

2. Specials for August, 2008:

Summer Un-Spa Special Packages:

August: Book 10 hours of sessions in August for $100 + off the price of ten hours.

Anarres Natural Health is an Un-Spa - you pay for one-to-one attention that's completely and knowledgeably customized. You don't pay for sumptuous lobbies, administrators, marble fountains, white fluffy bathrobes, or pet sitting. That's why body and energy work at Anarres is half the price of the same services at a spa. And because I want to work with a few people this summer who want to experience a radical and permanent improvement in health, I am offering the most affordable package rates ever!

Full sessions begin in the FAR Infrared Sauna, sipping tea or crystal water made just for you, while we check in. You'll receive 5 or 10 hours of customized health coaching, body and energy work geared to the kind of detoxification, rejuvenation, balancing or relaxation program that suits your body and needs, plus useful reports and email guidance. Packages normally cost $550, and individual ten sessions cost $600-$750. The cost for ten hours of treatment if you buy the package upfront in July or August is $500 non taxable ($250 for the 5 hour package). What a deal! Experiment with any of eleven different modalities, and emerge like the butterfly you are, with supple skin, a radiant face and a spring in your footstep...

Two-for-the-Price-of-One Friendship Offer:

Book yourself and a friend back-to-back appointments on any weekday between 10 and 4 pm and receive both treatments for the price of one. Choose from Chakra Balancing, massage, reflexology, FAR Infrared sauna, an aroma facial, Reiki or Polarity Therapy treatment, or ask for a mix of what you need. Your friend can make different choices. Long lunch? Sneak your favourite work mate out for foot spa and reflexology together - both of you only $45 for half an hour, or $60 for an hour! Want to learn how to help each other relax and release? Come with that someone special, watch and learn - two hours for only $60! Want to give an extra special happy birthday gift that you can enjoy, too? That's what the Two-For-One Friendship Offer is for!

Pre-order any 2 products for 10% off, any 3 products for 15% off, or 4 or more products for 20% off!

Skin-healthy, kid-safe, people attracting insect repellants available at QueerBiosphere:
(Don't) Bite Me, using essential oils of cajeput, lavender, lemon eucalyptus, lemongrass and dark patchouli in a base witch hazel, vodka and organically grown jojoba oil. 25 ml refillable apothecary glass atomizer bottle $5
Bite Be-gone after bite reliever. 25 ml refillable apothecary glass atomizer bottle $5

Naturally SPF 15 butters and hand made moisturizing creams that are free of artificial preservatives, parabens and hydantoin (formaldehydes):
SPF 15: coconut oil, avocado butter, or shea butter 100g in refillable apothecary glass jar $10
SPF 15: TRUE Sun Cream. A nourishing cream made from filtered water, lavender flower water, cocoa butter*, avocado butter**, coconut oil, almond butter, lanette wax, gum benjamin essential oil and grapefruit seed extract. *Fair Trade Certified **Certified Organically Grown
Unbreakable, Refillable Pump Bottle 150 ml $16
SPF 15: Cocoa Sun Cream a rich delicious cream made from filtered water, lavender flower water, cocoa butter*, sesame oil**, coconut oil, lanette wax, beeswax, vitamin E, gum benjamin essential oil and grapefruit seed extract. *Fair Trade Certified **Certified Organically Grown

Environmentally friendly hair care and soaps that are free of detergents and harmful chemicals:
Liquid Hand and Body Soap: made from organically grown oils, with insect repelling, human attracting patchouli or lavender essential oils Unbreakable, Refillable Pump Bottle 150 ml $12
Shampoo: made from filtered water, betaine, cornacopa, lavender flower water, xanthan gum, vegetable glycerine, wheat protein, aloe vera gel juice, citric acid and grapefruit seed extract, basil essential oil Refillable Pump Bottle 150 ml $13
Conditioner: This all natural conditioner can be rinsed out or left in - a little goes a long way! Made from filtered water, rosewater, fractionated coconut oil, lanette wax, aloe vera gel juice, grapefruit seed extract and rosemary essential oil. Refillable Pump Bottle 150 ml $12

MENTION THAT YOU READ IT IN THE ANARRES NEWSLETTER AND RECEIVE:

A Chico Reusable shopping bag that fits in a pocket: Buy $50 worth of Gifts, Products, Gift Certificates or Services and get one FREE: It's useful! It's colourful! It's pretty! It's strong!

FREE 30 minute consultation for your first appointment when you tell me you saw it here.

Come in just for the FREE consultation (I am a Natural Health Consultant, after all!)

or enjoy a treatment with the first half hour free. That's a $30 value either way!

Referrals: Refer a friend for body or energy work and you will both get 10% off any Anarres service. PLEASE REMIND ME!!!

3. Testimonials of The Month: Loving it Daily!

hi tracey! i just want you to know that the lavender incense is a big hit in this house! and i love the rose water, i can't wait to do a store scent with you! and my skin has never been more hydrated. I LOVE AVOCADO BUTTER....... i look forward to the little grainy things and letting them seep in........ i love it. and the lube...well the lube smell started to bug me (It's an "acquired scent", I love it! - ED) .... almost all scents do... except rose jasmine and lavender and peppermint.... so we used the massage oil instead and love it...even gg loves it...he even gave me a massage... so we may not use the thing we came to make but we are using every other thing daily! thanks tracey
Alyssa Rushton
owner of Norma W, 256d augusta ave
www.normaw.ca

Did you know that all my custom products are Satisfaction Guaranteed? If it doesn't work for you, I'll keep working for you! Just bring back your original product and I'll reformulate it with you until it does what I said it would!

If you have a testimonial you'd be willing to share, please send it to: anarreshealth@gmail.com If I use it in my promotions, I'll thank you with a free half hour treatment for your time and effort.

4. News

NEW!!! Introducing my new professional Ion Cleanse Detox Foot Spa

I now offer ion cleanse foot spas, as well as whirlpool foot spa and reflexology sessions. Clients who have enjoyed reflexology, detox treatments or the whirlpool foot spa asked me about the ion cleanse, and I did some research and decided to buy the one developed by detoxification pioneer Dr. Mary Staggs.

Cleansing the body of toxins is a critical step on one's path to wellness. Many people with pain, edema, gout and swollen or deteriorating joints find immediate relief after a session. Even if you are completely healthy, you can expect to feel lighter and "better" after a session. The ion foot detox technology is used for increasing vital energy, relieving arthritis, joint pain, and HIV/AIDS, diabetes, skin disorders, removing numerous toxins from the body, and improving sleep, mental focus, and the immune system.

How does it work? I use dead sea salts dissolved in warm water. You soak your feet in a tub of warm water for 30 min. During the session negative and positive ions are generated and absorbed and discharged through the feet. You can read a book, listen to a CD of your choice, or chat with me. The toxins drawn out of your body through your feet will gradually discolour the water, and I will be able to read the ions removed through the monitor.

In August, you can come in to try a session of ion foot detoxification for $30 per half hour instead of $45! If you'd like a half hour of detoxification followed by a half hour of foot reflexology, you can have a whole hour of bliss for $60 and receive a bonus set of fizzing tub truffles - a $78 value!

To find out more about how it works, go to http://www.marystaggsdetoxcanada.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=20

NEW!!! SAR Shields for your cell phone and other things that emit EMF Radiation

Protect yourself from the cell phone radiation emitted from the antenna of your mobile phone with the SAR Shield radiation shield. Electromagnetic radiation EMF has been proven to be harmful. SAR Shield is the only cellular radiation shield to be tested using FCC SAR testing protocols. Safety is accomplished by dissipating deadly cancer causing electromagnetic radiation by up to 89%. Eliminate the dangers today! Available for phones with and without antennas. I've priced each at $18 - normally retailing for $20 - and I will make you a deal for multiple purchases.

Incense Incense is in the Air!

I've finally gotten around to making incense using bamboo sticks and cones. These are made ethically with sandalwood powder, wood powders and natural glue. Incense is NEVER manufactured with 100% essential oils - until I came along that is! Most incenses use perfumes and dangerous fixatives. The best on the market are made with a blend of resins, gums and powders, or dipped in a solution of 67% alcohol and 33% essential oils. My incense is made with 100% essential oil blends, with all ingredients declared upfront, and burn for more than an hour per stick or cone! I have created a stick blend for TRUE Human Rights Action Centre, and a cone blend to clear the air and mind of all sorts of bugs. While I'm on a roll, this is your opportunity to request a blend of your favourite scents. I'll make a batch, sell you some, and sell the rest from the clinic! Or Try the (Don't) Bite Me cones - 20 for $5.50. And don't forget that I sell pure frankincense resin for those who like to incense using charcoal brickettes.

Naturally SPF 15 products for summer skin!!!

Anarres made lotions are especially formulated for the body or face, and contains no MDM hydantoin, parabens or harmful additives.

~ Shea Intensive Healing Cream

~ Cocoa Sun Body Cream: 15 ml $4, 250 ml $20, 150 ml metal pump bottle $13. Refills for $1-4 discount!
~ Tree of Life Body Butter, 15 g in a beautiful apothecary jars. $4, any three sample sizes for $10.
~ Sun Healing Lip Balms, 5 g in a beautiful refillable cobalt blue apothecary jar. $3, any four 5 g jars for $10
~ Natural Shea Butter, 100 g in a beautiful refillable cobalt blue apothecary jar. $10. Refills for $6!
~ Natural Coconut Oil, 150 g in a beautiful refillable cobalt blue apothecary jar. $10. Refills for $6!
~ Avocado Butter, 100 g in a beautiful refillable cobalt blue apothecary jar. $10. Refills for $7!

~ Sweet Almond Butter, 100 g in a beautiful refillable cobalt blue apothecary jar. $10. Refills for $7!

~ Cocoa Butter Face Cream, 120 g in a beautiful refillable cobalt blue apothecary jar. $10. Refills for $7!

Exfoliating Scrub: 15 ml $4, 60 ml $10, 120 ml $13. Refills for $1-3 discount!
Made with dead sea salts, evaporated cane juice, Anarres' own lotion, and essential oils of grapefruit,lemon and cypress, this gentle scrub smooths skin, stimulates repair of capillaries and skin cells. Just scrub in circles at night and gently rinse! I ADORE making custom scrubs! Just ask...

Summer Sale: Ingredients plus new essential oils at wholesale prices

This summer, I will be charging wholesale prices to my Clinic customers and to crafters who want to get their soap on. Come fall, I will need to align my prices with my products now out on retail shelves, but for now, I'll offer you anything I have in stock for the same wholesale price I charge stores and practitioner retailers. This includes all oils, butters, clays, soap, lotion and cream bases - everything!

10 or 30 ml quantities decanted into amber glass bottles, yours or mine:

Cinnamon Leaf: spicy, fresh and fruity, from an eco farmer in Madagascar

Clove Bud: a zesty water distilled oil that ages like fine wine, and grows addictive!

Lavender Bulgarian: sweet with a balsamic woody undertone, Bulgarian oil is the best!

Cypress: this ancient African cosmetic oil helps our skin and psyches cope with change

Orange: this expressed oil replaces stagnant energy and frustration with joy and positivity.

Roman chamomile: fresh, extra sweet apple scented chamomile soothes... everything.

Patchouli: artfully fermented, and distilled, this aphrodisiac essential oil attracts prosperity
Peppermint (North American): All-In-One wake me up, headache and food poisoning cure
Tea Tree: this warm, fresh and spicy tea tree oil stimulates the immune system
Lemon: expressed from the peels, this lemon is light, fresh, sweet and uplifting

Ecologically grown and fairly traded:

Cedarwood Himalayan: used like frankincense in Tibet, it steadies and clarifies the mind

Rose Maroc: 10% in jojoba, this deep rich rose is anti depressant and centering

Niaouli: this meleleuca is sweeter and gentler than eucalyptus, perfect for young ones

Thanks to Baby Mind and Spirit for inviting me to write be a regular columnist for the Straight Talk section of this online Green parenting resource. Irene Lau, founder of BMS, selected Anarres to present a Featured Product - Mamalicious Baby Balm. I mailed samples to mothers who applied to be reviewers. See the reviews to date: http://www.babymindandspirit.com/likedcomments.php?id=15

I loved it! It worked wonders on my dry, cracked heels, they were to the point where they were starting to bleed and in a few days of using this cream it was almost healed. I would recommend this to anyone who has sensitive skin or has a child with sensitive skin. I thought the refill program was a great idea, saving money for sending back the empty container just makes sense!
Posted By: Amanda

I love this stuff! I use it for my son's diaper rash all the time. It works great and smells nice. I love how its nourishing to the skin and healthy.
Posted By: Suzanne

We loved this product. I used for my daughter's diaper rash and it cleard up very quickly. I also like the idea of all natural and refill program. I will recommend this product to anyone for sure.
Posted By: keiko

Amazing!!! I have psoriasis on my legs and about 7 mo. ago got a nasty patch on my left elbow. It has been red and looks like a scar. I tried everything...as a photographer I was worried about how my clients would react to this skin disease. 3 days after using the cream....gone...event the red scar like colour! Thank you Tracey!
Posted By: suzanne

I tried it on my burn first, then on my son. It works and smells great! I put it on my son who was starting to get a diaper rash before he went to bed and it wasn't red anymore when he woke up this morning. A more creamy texture would make it easier to apply, but even now I would definitely recommend it to anyone!
Posted By: Sophie

I loved this product! My son has extremely sensitive skin, so I am very careful about what I put on him. I also tested it on myself first (a slight rash on my face) & the rash was gone in the morning. The following day I used it on my son (for prevention purposes). We've been using it at every diaper change for the past week & no rashes! The best part is, you don't need to use a lot. A little goes a long way. I also really appreciate Tracey's commitment to the environment. Not only is the product all natural & healthy - her refill program is a very smart idea. When you're finished with the container you can send it back to be refilled for a lesser price. I highly recommend this product for anyone who prefers natural & socially conscious products, that won't cost you a fortune!
Posted By: Nicole

I tried the cream on my sons diaper rash and the rash was gone the next day. I appreciate that this product is all natural and has a very pleasant smell. It proved to be safe on my babies sensitive skin. I will be reccomending this product to my mom friends and to anyone who wants organic products at a very reasonable cost.
Posted By: Kathy

5. Bonus Article: Make The World Your Day Spa This Summer

In my July Anarres newsletter, I headlined with When The World is Hot As A Sauna, Treat It Like a Free Detox! I mean it! As the mother of a teenager and a toddler, I know the hassles and opportunities that school's out sunshine season brings, and I want to share a few things I've decided to do for myself, without a budget!

Every Day Spa Routines: Your To DO List

Drink 2 to 3 litres of water a day!!! You don't need a $20 stainless steel bottle, either. Wonderfully washable, grip-able, re-closable, recyclable glass bottles are available for the price of the juice. Water helps every system of your body. Aim for nearly colourless urine, and drink before you get thirsty. It can take 10 years off your looks.

Get 20 minutes to two hours of sunshine a day!!! Walk, read in a park, mind the kids playing, or grab a few minutes like a lizard on a rock. We need our sunshine, especially in Northern climates, where the body stores extra Vitamin D in preparation for the winter shortage. Vitamin D helps your cardiovascular system, prevents diabetes, and cancer and elevates your mood. All for free!

Sweat, perspire, whatever it takes to detoxify. Use summer's heat, sunshine and ability to spend time outdoors to get the juices flowing. The skin has an important role in helping the body rid itself of toxins through the skin. Do not use anti perspirants, ever. Anti perspirants and arm pit shaving are now associated with breast cancer. Perspire deliciously with a deodorant that uses essential oils and does not contain propylene glycol or parabens. I make a Detoxifying Cream Deodorant that not only stops bad odours, but actually smells nice from sunshine to moon shine. Remember that exercising in the summer, whether it be on land or in water, uses up a lot of the body's water, so drink up before and after exercising.

Feast on fresh foods. Eat a fresh fruit breakfast. Try the 100 mile diet. Go to your weekly farmer's market. Order the Good Food Box from FoodShare. Grow tomatoes. Aim to eat raw foods with every meal. Summer is the best time to prepare raw, fresh foods. Shred a beet, a carrot, a turnip, add some dressing and munch. Add marinated tofu or raw nuts for kicks.

Get away on a bike, or take a hike. Nothing restores my sense of individuality and freedom more than cycling, even though I often cycle with my baby towed behind me in a trailer, and my teenager hopefully waiting for me still around the bend. Walking on a summer evening, in a city park, through a familiar or new neighbourhood, or on the waterfront is one of life's greatest pleasures. Go for a walk every day – with a friend, with your child, with a loved one, by yourself. See where the TTC can take you – check out new parks or conservation areas for a day's hike. The healthiest people in North America are New Yorkers! Why? Probably because they walk more than other North Americans.

Wash it all away. Make your bathing or showering routines into a joyful, sensuous and pampering experience. Don't just take a utilitarian bath. Add three spoonfuls of good vegetable oil, almond for itchy skin, sesame for irritable skin, walnut for oily skin, and 6 drops of essential oil to your bath. Light vege, palm or beeswax candles all around the bathroom. Make a scrub with cane sugar or sea salt, moistening it with a good vegetable oil, and scent it with an essential oil such as refreshing grapefruit, lime or basil, or sensual palmarosa, patchouli or rose.

Once a week, picnic in the park. Haggle with your kids over what to buy for the picnic at the grocery store. If they are old enough give them a department (fruits) and a budget. Corral them into preparing and packing their picks in the kitchen, maybe keeping their contribution a secret. Wrangle them over to a different park every week, or make a favourite spot in your local park. But get out there! One summer, we picnicked several times a week in our local Trinity Bellwoods park while our daughter alternated between munching and swinging. Although I worked outside of the home far too many hours, these picnics felt like summer was really here, and that I was a part of it. And did we eat crustless cucumber and watercress sandwiches? No! Often we brought whatever we could get our hands on – fruit, crackers, spreads, breads, salads hastily prepared from mayo, leftover pasta or grains and frozen vegetables. Everything tastes better in the great outdoors! Nothing beats lying on a sun-warmed blanket with a friend or partner while the children play or the baby snoozes.

Schedule a weekly sleep-in date with yourself. Sleep is restorative. The adult immune system needs an average of 9 hours of sleep a night to replenish itself. At least once a week, arrange for someone – a friend you take turns with, your partner or a relative - to get the children out of your place while you sleep in. All the better if they take the kids out to breakfast, or to the park. Even better if they come home and make you breakfast in bed.

Enjoy making the world your day spa this summer!

6. Be the Change You Want To See in the World Action Alerts:

FEDS REVIEWING 200 CHEMICALS
As part of the Government of Canada's Chemicals Management Plan they are finally reviewing 200 chemicals to determine whether they pose a risk to human health and/or the environment, and hence,
should be more closely regulated. Yet some of these chemicals are already banned or strictly limited
elsewhere in the world (eg, Europe). The review will take place over a three-year timeframe
with a group of 15-30 substances being released every three months for a 6-month comment period – our
chance for input. The Government will then decide what actions should be taken. www.chemicalsubstances.gc.ca Reported in www.womenshealthyenvironments.ca