Lunapads

Calling all Facebook fans…
Most of us here at Lunapads enjoy using Facebook.com as a way to stay connected with current friends, not to mention finding long-lost old ones, joining groups that matter to us or that just make us laugh - in short, it’s fun. So much fun that we decided to make our very own “I heart my Lunapads” group!
My personal favorite thing about it so far is simply seeing the photos of our sister Lunagals, but we’re also excited about its other applications: activist alerts, talking with other Lunapads and DivaCup users to share tips and suggest new products, and best of all getting access to Facebook friends special deals at lunapads.com!
So if you’re not already on Facebook, check it out. And for all you Facebooking gals out there, join us: we’ll be sending out our first Facebook-only special offer before the end of October!

Anyone who has spent any amount of time working with Lunapads has heard some creative and often funny ideas for alternate uses for them: pot holders, eye pillows and barbie bedding are some top suggestions. Well, my daughter just introduced me to a new one: training pants for toddlers.
As followers of this blog are already aware, Suzanne and I have been reporting recently about our journeys with diapering (cloth, otherwise and skipping them altogether!) and toilet training. In a recent post I was lamenting that I was caving on using disposables at night, and have good news to report: we’re not doing it anymore, thanks to my daughter and Lunapads!
As a classic two-year-old (so I’m told), Gigi is all about helping with all manner of tasks, insisting on doing things herself, and has recently acquired her very own “big girl” bed.
We were spending the afternoon at home a few days ago when I discovered that I had started my period. We duly went to my Lunapads basket to choose the right one (Gigi is fond of sorting them according to size and colour). Later that evening when it was time for bed, she was adamant: no diaper, she’s a big girl now. I was stressed: what if she peed the bed? And yet - she needs to learn, and it’s my job to help her, not worry about laundry. We found a compromise: “How about you wear one of Mommy’s Lunapads, just in case?” To my surprise, she went for it immediately, and back to the basket we went. That night she was pretty restless, but summoned me in time to help her to her potty, therefore giving her a dry night. The subsequent nights have been a mixed bag, but we’re getting there, happily in a diaper-free way. I am so proud of her!

Please share with us your artwork or poetry that reflects your experiences as a woman with The Red Moon, menstruation.

Prize: Lunapads Intro Kit

Contains: 1 Maxi Pad, 1 Maxi Liner, 1 Maxi Wing Liner, 1 Mini Pad, 1 Mini Liner, 1 Mini Wing Liner, 1 Mini Pantyliner and 1 Teeny Pantyliner, all conveniently packaged in a small mesh laundry bag. Includes one washable Nylon carrying pouch.

Submission Guidelines: Submit up to three (3) pieces of artwork and/or poetry by email as a jpeg or word document to ncarere@gmail.com Subject line: Red Moon Contest Or Mail to: Re:Connection Magazine P.O. Box 57 South Slocan V0G 2G0. Please inform us if you wish for your artwork or poetry to be returned.

Contest Deadline: EXTENDED To… November 1st, 2007

Questions: ncarere@gmail.com or 250-509-0593
—
Re:Connnection
a grassroots mindset magazine
www.reconnectionmagazine.ca
Fall/Winter 2007-08
SPACE & TIME
ONLINE Mid-October

We have a few new fun bits and pieces to share with you from Lunapads! For starters, our gorgeous new stickers, which are free with every order. Choose from “I (heart) my period” or “ditch the disposables!”, depending on your mood. The stickers are a great way to adorn your car, skateboard or bike (see image), notebooks or anywhere that you feel like spreading the Lunapads message. Note to those who don’t necessarily (heart) their period all the time - this message is intended as a statement about honoring one’s body’s natural rhythms in a world which encourages us to deny or suppress them. As for “ditch the disposables!”, I think that we can pretty much all get on board with that one! Any suggestions for the next round of messages will be gratefully welcomed. Send us your pictures of where you’ve placed your Lunapads stickers, and we’ll start an album.

Next up are the scrumptious Luna(tic) chocolate bars. At Lunapads we stock a pretty healthy supply of organic chocolate, so we know a good thing when we taste it - these babies rock! Organic, fair trade and replete with medicinal herbs for “women’s monthly madness”, we cannot recommend them highly enough. So between gorgeous pads, cheeky stickers and deluxe girlnip, having your period is more of a party than ever at Lunapads!

As if I’m not busy enough working full-time, trying to maintain a social life, and balancing other weekly commitments, I’ve recently started volunteering every Sunday afternoon. I’m working for Battered Women’s Support Services, this amazing feminist organization which “provides counselling and advocacy for women survivors of violence in relationships, childhood sexual abuse and adult sexual assault” as well as for survivors of foster care and the residential school system. They also provide education and training on violence against women to high school students and other groups, and offer various services for women survivors of violence including legal advocacy, support groups, a crisis line, referrals, as well as support and outreach specific to First Nations women.

And it doesn`t stop there. They also have a really fabulous thrift store called My Sister’s Closet – where I volunteer – that provides redeemable store vouchers and hampers of household goods to women who are leaving violent situations. The store gives all its revenue to BWSS, providing some much-needed funding for the organization (especially since the BC Liberal government recently cut all funding from women’s organizations…). What is especially amazing though, I think, is that My Sister`s Closet makes a point of only selling high quality, stylish, and seriously hip clothes at affordable prices. The women who run the organization believe that women who are in dire financial situations or those who face economic barriers (as a result of a various factors such as chronic poverty, abuse, violence, ethnicity, etc.) should still have the option of buying stylish and high quality clothes. I couldn`t agree more!

(more…)

Now for those of you who don’t know me - I’m a big music fan and tend to go to a lot of concerts…and this long weekend was no exception! It also happened to be my boyfriend’s birthday on Friday, so there was much to celebrate!

We started the weekend off with a lovely hike to Dog Mountain, get some fresh air before cramming ourselves in to the sweaty crowds. It’s become a birthday ritual of Dave’s and this is our view from the top, right at the edge of Suicide Bluffs - yikes!

More photos on Dave’s Flickr page.

Saturday night was a date with Devendra Banhart – a young musician with an old soul. He was raised in the woods by hippies and you can tell – long hair, long beard, and a folk-y mellowness to his tunes. We’ve been waiting for years to see him perform anywhere near Vancouver and so this concert was highly anticipated. Being in Vancouver means we are often the start of a band’s tour, or the end. In Devendra’s case it was the very start and I think he wasn’t yet in to the groove. He seemed somehow distracted and it took a long time for him to get in to his set. Once in, he mostly played new songs from his album that has yet to be released…so we couldn’t even hum along, let alone sing along. I wanted more of his familiar classics and so walked out feeling somewhat disappointed that one of my favourite musicians didn’t wow my socks off as I’d expected him to…but all the same I’m glad I got to experience him live.

(more…)