Contest Ends: May 17, 2009 11:59 PM PST

Giveaway: Zah Organics Kimono Set, Zah Organics Portofino Baby Set, Natural & Fair Trade Basket, Natural Wooden Rattle handmade by American artisans (Earnest Efforts), and Debra Lynn Dadd’s book, Really Green

Value: $123.00 (aprox.)

Winner chooses sizes (3m-24m) of the baby sets and color of the organic kimono set (pink or blue). Please note the basket may vary in shape and color from those in the picture.

Sponsor: Go Natural Baby- Bringing your family quality, natural, and organic products. Please check out our new website (click on any button on your left). We now offer free shipping to the lower 48 states on every product.

Enter By:

1. tell us about a product you like in our store and why (via comment below)

and/or

2. Join our email list & then leave comment stating that you joined (please note we do not send out many emails, but when we do it is for exclusive discounts & specials.)

Extra Entries: Please enter by visiting sponsor first. Thank you.

***When you enter an extra entry you must post a *separate comment* for each entry, sorry but we can’t keep track of extra entries unless you do this. ***

1 digg and/or 1 stumble  (one for each that you do)

1 become a fan of go natural baby on facebook

1 blog about this giveaway

Thank you and Good Luck!

 An Interview with Doug and Amanda Fine

by Justyn LeDrew

Bio: We live on a remote ranch in New Mexico with our three-month-old son, three goats, two dozen chickens and ducks, three dogs, two cats, and assorted owls and bats.  Most of the ranch is solar-powered, we drive on vegetable oil, and we try to raise (or eat) as much food locally as we can.  We are in our 30’s. We love reading to each other, hiking and floating rivers. 

One Green Wish: 

Amanda: that you won’t have to read labels anymore to see if your food is real, or manufactured poison.  Organic won’t b a special label.  Artificial coloring and flavoring won’t be considered part of a normal diet. 

Doug: All humanity will have learned to conduct individual life and society  in a sustainable manner – forest and coral reef cover will increase, water flows and quality will be restored world-wide, climate issues will be resolved, and yet humans will still be able to thrive.

 One life lesson learned:  

Doug and Amanda: In the words of Kingsley Amis, there is no end to the ways that nice things are nicer than nasty ones.  We prefer being happy, have learned that no one else need to be sad for us to be happy, and that worry almost never does any good.  In short, we feel like we are at our best when we’re full of joy. 

Justyn: How has living off the grid changed who you are? For example your relationship with self, the sacred, politics?

Doug and Amanda: Having more say over the basics in our life, like power, transportation, and food, carries over and proves empowering in all aspects in life.  For example, we laugh at what radio and television commercials try to sell us these days.  We don’t need much of it.

Justyn: Have you been inspired to find new interests?

Doug and Amanda: It all ties in.  We’ve started to think more about water collection and permaculture since it can have real and positive impacts on our lives.  Greenhousing is another new interest.  The internet (solar-powered) helps us research new interests. 

 Justyn: Many, I am sure, have asked you what the difficulties of living off the grid are, what I want to know is how has dealing with these difficulties deepened your compassion for yourselves?

Doug and Amanda: We hardly notice any difficulties.  Sure, there are tweaks like making sure the solar panels on our water pump get us enough water on rainy days, or that monsoon rains don’t take out our driveway (again), but the most significant impact of living remote and locally is  that we are so delightfully tied into home space.  We hardly need to or want to leave the ranch.

Justyn:  How has it changed your relationship with each other?

Doug and Amanda: We’re best friends and we’re starting a family now, but that would probably have happened wherever we lived.   We get to spend much more time together than if we had to commute.  We operate as a team in nearly everything, but then probably many couples do.

Justyn:  In June 2008 you welcomed Quinn into your lives. Has having had a baby made being green more complicated? 

Doug and Amanda: I’m writing a lot about this right now.  We think about green house paints, unfinished wood crib and toys, organic cloth diapers and clothes, and amanda’s diet so that her milk is the healthiest it can be.  

Justyn: Since having Quinn have you in anyway questioned how you are living?

Doug and Amanda: Quinn just makes us realize how important sustainable living is. 

Justyn: Do you feel your child might not be prepared to deal with american culture?

Doug and Amanda: American culture can mean a lot of things.  I think we feel proud and lucky to live in a place that is probably more free than any other society ever.  But we are also part of one planet, and unless everyone starts living sustainably everywhere, it doesn’t matter where you’re from – we won’t survive.  As far as the less desireable consumer-based aspects of digital age life, we’ll try to raise our kids to be independent conscious beings who are resistent to advertising, and realize from their upbringing that if they have health and love and home, they don’t need many consumer products like scented chemicals to make them smell good or brand name clothes to be cool.  I think any parents can raise their kids this way.  Also we hope to balance natural and digital age inputs so that our kids learn to enjoy being a member of the animal kingdom and treasure the earth, while also taking an inerest in the wider world around them.  So we’ll plant gardens and milk goats, but we’ll also surf the ‘net for info about the malian music. 

Justyn:  What initial changes would you suggest someone in the mainstream make who wants to be more eco-conscious?

Doug and Amanda: Try to live locally – in food especially.  This is possible anywhere.  Read labels on food and fabrics.  Don’t eat, clean with, wash with or put anything on your body that you don’t understand.  Try to wean from fossil fuels. 

Justyn: What non-green things (products, activities etc) are  still really tempting?

Doug and Amanda: Exotic food and airplane travel (hopefully the world airplane sleet will go solar).

Justyn: How has living off the grid transformed your global views? Your connection with humanity?

Doug and Amanda: The digital age as a whole makes us realize this is one small planet.  Everything is interconnected from the microbes in soil to the companies that harvest resources on a large scale.  At the same time, we realize that we want to be as responsible as possible for our own well-being, not relying on government or a heealth care system or any food companies.  Living remote also makes us very conscious of our own energy use and our carbon and waste production.  We want to harvest the methane from a composting toilet to cook with, for example.

Justyn: What do you hope to see change in Quinn’s lifetime?

Doug and Amanda: World peace, of course. 

Learn more about Doug and Amanda’s life living off the grid in rural New Mexico at their website: Doug Fine. You can also purchase a signed copy of Doug’s latest book, Farewell My Subaru, at their website. Doug has written several books, is an adventure journalist, and contributes to NPR.

©2009 by Justyn LeDrew

Contest Ends: February 27, 2009 11:59 PM PST                                                                              

Winners: 2                                                                                                                                      

Giveaway: Handmade Organic Cotton Washcloth and Scrubbie                                            

Value: $16.50

A Message from Our Giveaway Sponsor:  My name is Jennifer Cirka and I am the designer behind Jaybird Designs. I specialize in unique crocheted clothing and accessories along with original crochet patterns. I am a SAHM in beautiful Western Colorado and started my business as a way to supplement my income from quitting my job and staying home to raise my daughter. I have always been a crafty person, and crocheting just came naturally to me!

I am excited to announce that my first crochet pattern booklet was just released by Leisure Arts. It is a booklet of 5 crocheted tops for girls sizes 2-10 and called Top-sy Turvy. I have also been published in major crochet magazines such as Crochet Today and Crochet World. 

I enjoy crocheting items with my customers needs in mind! I am always happy to create the perfect item for you weather we need to work on your exact measurements for those of you who are hard to fit, or if you only want a different color combination. I am always happy to make your items one of a kind!!

Enter By: Please visit our sponsor Jaybird Designs and tell us what your favorite design is and why you like it  (please visit the site). Post your answer in our comments section. Please note we moderate comments so they do not appear immediately : ) AND/OR follow Jaybird on twitter

** Please be sure to visit our giveaway section to enter all of our giveaways. We choose a winner, via random.org. Please see our rules page. **

Extra Entries: Please enter by visiting sponsor first. Thank you.

***When you enter an extra entry you must post a *separate comment* for each entry, sorry but we can’t keep track of extra entries unless you do this. ***

1 digg and/or 1 stumble  (one for each that you do)

1 become a fan of go natural baby on facebook

1 blog about this giveaway 

Thank you and good luck to you all!

Our friends at BabyLegs created a pair of pink ribbon baby legs to help raise awareness for and support the Susan G Komen Foundation. October is the official month of Breast Cancer Awareness, but let’s face it ladies every month should be awareness month (women should be doing self exames every month). BabyLegs is donating 10% of the sale of the pink ribbon design goes to the Pugent Sound Affiliate Susan G Komen for the Cure.

“BabyLegs is a company deeply committed to aiding great organizations, such as Susan G. Komen for the Cure” said Nicole Donnelly, “mompreneur” and BabyLegs founder. “Our new pink ribbon design will help fund research to find a cure for breast cancer.” BabyLegs is a company committed to charitable causes. Since 2007 an estimated 25,000 pairs of BabyLegs have been donated throughout the world.

 Do you know someone who is fighting breast cancer or a breast cancer survivor? A sweet idea:  take a picture of your daughter wearing these  Pink Ribbon BabyLegs and send the photo and a note letting your friend know you are thinking of her.

About Susan G. Komen for the Cure

Susan G. Komen for the Cure was founded on a promise made between two sisters – Susan G. Komen and Nancy Brinker. Suzy was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1978, when it was rarely discussed in public and little was known about the disease. Before she died at the age of 36, Suzy asked her sister to do everything possible to bring an end to breast cancer. Nancy kept her promise by establishing the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation in 1982 in Suzy’s memory.Twenty years later, the Komen Foundation is a global leader in the fight against breast cancer through its support of innovative research and community-based outreach programs. Working through a network of U.S. and international Affiliates and events like the Komen Race for the Cure®, the Komen Foundation is fighting to eradicate breast cancer as a life-threatening disease by funding research grants, supporting education, screening and treatment projects in communities around the world.Today, The Komen Foundation celebrates the power of a promise and how a single person’s vision can make a difference in the lives of millions. (Read their beautiful story here)

Pink Ribbon BabyLegs are available for a very reasonable $7.00!