The Diva Cup - Tampon alternatives

WARNING  – Men read no further

Reusable menstrual products Part 1 – The Diva Cup

So I’ll be honest on this one. A few years ago, My friend Marie-France told me about the Diva cup and how she swore away tampons and pads because of it. Curious, I spent the $30 bucks and bought it from a health food store. When the time came, i tried folding it like the instructions suggested and yah, it hurt like a bitch. Needless to say, it spent the next 3 years in my bathroom cupboards.

Urban Green Girl feels great!

Hallelujah I feel great; I just completed a liver cleanse!

Let me tell you why. Being an Urban Green Girl is about dealing with issues before they become problems. I feel the same way about health and believe 100% in preventative measures to achieve optimum mental and physical health.

Unlike most adults, I was plagued with acne not as a teenager but as an adult.  After having my dermatologist put me on a wealth of dangerous drugs, namely Accutane (Isotretinoin) and Tetracycline I was put on Diane 35 (Cyproterone), a birth control praised for ridding acne in 99% of adults. And it did, brilliantly.

The Problem-

Ten years later, I decide to go off the pill because I don’t feel it’s right to have something synthetic

Kayaking in the 1000 islands with many mosquitoes

Ah the summer! Finally we can shed our clothes and get out and play in the nature. The main hazard though, besides sunburns, is dealing with those damn mosquitoes. Whether you’re camping, horse back riding, hiking or canoeing, they’re everywhere.

I’ll be honest, I’ve yet to find a deterrent that works. And when it’s hot, the last thing I want to do is cover up. Plus, I hate the feel of mosquito repellents on my skin, especially on my hands.

Thus, here are (5) five natural remedies for mosquito bite itch relief:

1. Baking soda and water (paste)
2. Vinegar
3. Apple cider vinegar
4. Salt and water
5. Crushed aspirin with a few drops of water

Does anybody have any natural mosquito bite prevention tips?

Urban Green Girl on BIXI

So much for being excited by something you end up being screwed by.

$67 dollars later, I realise BIXI wasn’t exactly what I thought it was.

Not ideal for tourists.

Not ideal for ad-hoc bike rides.

Is good for bike taxi needs.

I guess this would have been clear had I read their press releases but silly me, excited by their presence everywhere, I wanted to ride one impatiently. I misread their confusing rental fee stickers on the machine, despite the fact I read them in detail.

Whoever thought green initiatives wouldn’t be cool for urbanites never met BIXI!

BIXI with Montreal skyline

Just over a month ago, the City of Montreal launched BIXI, North America’s first public bike system. It was part of the city’s overall object to improve public transport and reduce the amount of vehicles on the road.

If we were to pick a stereotype about women’s interests, shopping would probably appear. Yet, we know consumerism just contributes to waste and pollution from the production of the goods.

Well, what if I told you you could have your cake and eat it too?

While waiting for my flight home from Reagan National Airport inses Washington DC a few weeks ago, I found the cutest purse in a gift shop that put the biggest smile on my face.

Meet Ecoist -

Ecoist fair-trade purses and clutches from magazine waste and candy-wrappers

Ecoist develops unique gifts and fashion accessories for the eco-minded individuals with recycled candy wrappers, food packages, billboards, and other materials that would otherwise end up in landfills.  In addition to being adorable, Ecoist plants one tree for every bag bought.

As I’ve written before, recycling is not the answer; rather, the focus should be on reducing waste in the first place. However, in certain circumstances, like when you’re travelling in urban centres, it’d be nice to be able to recycle your water bottle rather than throw it out.

I recently made a few trips south of the border to New York, Washington DC and Phoenix and was greatly disappointed by the lack of recycling bins in the downtown areas for glass and plastic bottles.

Absolutely unacceptable - Manhattan garbage

Let’s start off with New York City, an avant-garde city that starts positive trends. Yet, I was horrified by the amount of waste that was thrown out each night in front of boutiques and restaurants, not to mention, the lack of recycling bins throughout Manhattan. I remember asking an employee at Burger King (yes, I ate there but I had the veggie burger) where I could recycle my water bottle and the girl looked at me like I was crazy!

I stayed at an awesome boutique hotel called the Room Mate Grace right in the

Host a clothing exchange party with friends

Have you ever  heard the saying that if you haven’t worn something in the last year, you probably won’t wear it ever again? So why not spring clean your wardrobe?  Clear out those drawers of shirts that pinch under your arms and jeans that hug inappropriately tightly.  Empty the closets of scarves, gloves and jackets that looked great in the store but never worked right when you got them home.  Gather them all up and throw yourself a clothing exchange party.

Ecosexuality: the new trend in dating

What do Leonardo DiCaprio, George Clooney and Brad Pitt have in common? They are all ecosexuals! A new term has been coined on the West Coast that puts metrosexuality to shame, it’s called ecosexuality and describes people who look for mates that share the same environmental concern.

If you think environmentally concerned or socially conscious men are limited to the dirty hippie sterotypes, think again. Ecosexuality combines GQ sexiness with a heart for something more than just a big bank acccount and fancy car.

Take the ecosexuality tour with me learning about my past dating experiences, dating sites now catering to ecosexuality and find out if you’re an ecosexual by taking the quiz on my article Ecosexuality; the new trend in dating hosted on Iamthatgirl.com.

It’s very rare that you’ll find a political leader, from any party, that will actually, publicly announce, that a main source of greenhouse gas comes from farm animals raised for meat.

Well not only did Obama admit this and that meat is  a very inefficient source of protein (referring to the amount of water and grain to get 1lb of meat protein compared to 1lb of plant protein), he also went on to admitting that Americans could benefit from a change in diet.

In his speech, he then went on to talk about how developing nations now eating a more western, “meat based” diet is wreaking havoc on already scare resources (grains, water, farm land).

Finally, a leader that puts two and two together and comments on how medicare costs and illnesses like heart disease and diabetes could be dramatically reduced with a diet lesser in meat, not to mention, reduce environmental pollution.

But if  the environmental or animal ethics side of a vegan diet doesn’t concern you, what about the world’s poor? You see, to truly understand what is at stake in world food production, we’re at the point where we will have to make a choice between feeding the world’s livestock or world’s people,  we won’t be able to feed both. Even if the entire world switched to a vegan diet, we would still run out of food, but at least it would sustain us longer.