Apparently Dying 5.2 Meters of Wool is Very Different Than One Pair of Pants

Before pictures of the Natibaby 40% Wool 60% Cotten Grey Ispir.

1 large stainless steel pot, gloves, Dharma Acid Dye in Sapphire, citric acid, candy thermometer, wooden spoons.

Never ask a husband to take action shots...

The dying process took 30 minutes to get to temperature and then 30 mins at temperature... stirring constantly.

Followed by about 2 hours of washing and rinsing until the water ran clear.

Finished product wet.

Finished product dry and in natural light.

There are a lot of professional dyers out there in the woven wrap world and as my husband said when I was 3 hours in on the product, they EARN their money and are worth every penny. That being said, a lot of them don’t like to work with wool because it can felt so easily. Felted wool may be good in the world of cloth diapering, but for woven wraps, a felted wrap means that the wool fibres are brittle and not safe to carry the weight of a baby. I spoke with professionals in the wool business about how to properly dye the wool without felting it. The key is to pre-dissolve your dye in tepid water and the place the wool in the water and allow it to warm slowly up to the desired heat and then allow it to cool naturally. The wrap dried to be a beautiful, rich colour, soft and not brittle at all. I felt confident that it was not felted and completely happy to sell this wrap to a sweet mama as her first woven wrap. All in all, it was a challenging process, but a fun one nonetheless!!

Product Review: Metamorphosis Custom Wrap Conversion Mei Tai

I first contacted Shannon from Metamorphosis on February 1st of this year. Her reputation far proceeded her and, as always, I had a keen interest in using, reviewing and promoting Canadian products and businesses. Wrap conversions have become as big in the baby-wearing community as hybrid fitteds are in the cloth diapering community or, for my non-natural parenting friends, like yoga pants are to moms. With a wrap conversion, a customer will go purchase a woven wrap (ranging anywhere from $100 to $1000+ new) and then... wait for it... send that wrap to somebody to cut it up. That’s where Shannon and her company Metamorphosis come in. Shannon takes these beloved wraps and carefully lines up patterns, talks with the customers and designs custom baby carriers from the wraps.

Once Shannon had received my selected wrap, she maintained communication with me up until my spot approached. We then started discussing exactly what I wanted out of the wrap conversion, what size I needed and what size my child was. As I started making custom requests, I was informed that things that other businesses charge for, such as seat darts, padded legs, a hood, were included in the $125 cost of a Deluxe Conversion. I then selected butterfly padded shoulder straps and a padded ring waist at an additional cost of $20 each. Shannon helped me make these decisions based on my needs and my new diagnosis of arthritis in my low back. I wrote to her questioning whether or not I should even still be wearing my nearly thirty pound son, and she was supportive and re-assuring and took me from second guessing wearing my toddler at all, to being excited to have him in my custom carrier by her design. She also listened as I told her why I chose my wrap, a Natibaby Linen Blend Collabri, for the significance of the hummingbird to my mother and I and took care to make sure the birds could line up on the body and the hood AND the carrier is REVERSIBLE!!!

I was pretty excited when the carrier arrived on Friday. I tried it on quickly and took some standard selfies...

I then took it to a Cloth Diaper/Babywearing Meet Up and wore it for a while, showed it off, let other people try it on and just generally marvelled at its beauty. I waited patiently all weekend for the weather to clear so that I could take it for a walk, really test it out, and get some good action pictures. I waited... and waited... and waited... but THIS is all we got this weekend...

And so, Collabri Metamorphosis Custom Wrap Conversion Mei Tai got to go... TO THE GROCERY STORE!!

I found the shoulder straps to be exceptionally comfortable as I loaded the shopping cart.

R alternated between arms in and arms out, but fit this “in between” size very well at 34” tall.

R’s a sucker for the gossip at the check out...

With the ring waist, I was even able to get it on and off at the wagon without getting the straps wet!! SCORE!

All in all, of the four different brands I have tried, our new custom Metamorphosis wrap conversion mei tai is by far my favourite. The craftsmanship is superior, as is the attention to detail. The padding in the waist and shoulders makes my 30 pound boy feel weightless, despite my condition and, it is absolutely stunning. To top it all off, Shannon offers very competitive pricing and amazing customer service and, did I mention SHE’S CANADIAN??!! For more information, please visit the Metamorphosis Website or Facebook Page.

So this is 30...

This is me at the beginning of my 20s. I had long blond hair and weighed 135lbs at 5 foot 8 inches. I was attending Simon Fraser University, pursuing a Bachelor of Education and I was in such a rush to get on with adult life in my career. I had set some loose goals, originally to achieve by the age of 25 and then as my mid-twenties approached, I decided to revise. I decided I wanted to achieve the following before I turned 30. 

1. Complete my Bachelor of Education (well it certainly wasn’t with honours... CHECK).
2. Get a permanent teaching contract (well, I’m currently 40% of the way there with an additional 50% temporary... one day... one day...).
3. Own a home ( I have actually owned 2 condos and a house).
4. Get married and have a baby (initially I had hoped for this sequence, but I found that having the baby and then getting married still achieved this goal).
5. Complete my Masters degree before having children (accomplished with 2 weeks to spare).
6. Be as fit as I was at 20 when I turned 30 (sigh... still working... very hard...).
7. Travel (this became a goal a bit late in life and while I managed a tour of the UK and Portugal and a quick trip to Mexico to watch my sister get married in 2008, lived in Quebec in 2009 and Oregon in 2010 and visited Hawaii a few times, I still have a few trips on my list transferring over to my Before I Turn 40 List ;-)
8. Find myself. 

The last goal is a big one and I truly believed it when somebody once told me that your 20s are for finding yourself and your 30s are for your family. I’m not sure if the person I found in my 29th year is the person I’m going to be in my 39th or even my 49th year, but I definitely feel, that at least for now, I pretty much know who I am. 

That being said, I guess it’s time for a new list, because, that is WHO I AM. I am an overachiever and I do not like NOT having goals to attain. I am learning to find balance between sitting back and enjoying life AND achieve goals in a non-obsessive manner, but I still feel the want to have some goals. So here they are. Before I turn 40 I would like to achieve the following:

1. Have a happy marriage and two children (please do not ask me if I’m knocked up, I’m not).
2. Advance my carrier (I’m not sure what direction yet, but my Masters Degree says Administration and Leadership and my heart says Counselling... time will tell).
3. Purchase, build and mould our family home. Sadly, when I met my husband, I was already a home owner who had bought at peak time. It is our 4-6 year goal to purchase a house together to be able to build a home together, for our family, from scratch. This means a lot to him.
4. Travel. My remaining dream trips are to Portugal and then follow the Mediterranean to Turkey, a trip involving Australia, New Zealand and Fiji and Alaska. We would also like to do trips every 1-2 years to Hawaii as a family... perhaps one or more of those above trips will be without ALL our family... just sayin’.
5. LEARN TO BE HAPPY WITH MY BODY IN THE HEALTHIEST FORM I CAN ACHIEVE, NO MATTER WHAT THE SCALE OR THE TAPE MEASURE SAY (man is this a stinkin’ toughie!!!).
6. On that note, learn to really manage and be in control of my health issues, primarily my arthritis and my anxiety, but also my weight and eating habits.
7. Have a raging party for my 40th and not be out of the country when it takes place because turning 30 was also kind of one of the most anti-climactic events of my life.

Here’s a few more random pics (that I feel safe sharing on the world wide interwebs) from throughout my last decade!

White girl with braided extensions alert circa 2002

Sooo my GPA for my BEd was a full 1.0 lower than my MSc, but I still made this LOOK GOOD!!

My one and only motorcycle, a Suzuki GS 500 - The Yellow Hornet

Cancun, November 2008.

Quebec Parliament Buildings, July 2009.

University of Oregon, July 2010.

A Post About Health From Hawaii

So it dawned on me that I never really shared some medical news with many people in my life. Two weeks ago I was diagnosed with arthritis in my low back. I have suffered from chronic back pain and inflammation in my low back since a car accident in 2004, weeks before my 21st birthday. Shortly after my car accident, my mom flew me to Hawaii with her as my 21st birthday present. Now, nine years later, here I am again, in Hawaii, wrapping my mind around this diagnosis and what it means. I’m not even 30 yet (I have 6 more days in my 20s).

Most people who know me know that I have always been committed to a healthy lifestyle and this has never been more true since I had R. Now, I realize just how important this lifestyle is going to be to manage my pain and the deterioration of my joints. It dawned on me on the airplane yesterday: being healthy is expensive. I asked if it was possible, for future flights, with a doctor’s note, to reserve the bulk head seats. The very kind West Jet flight attendants informed me that it was, but like anyone else, I would have to pay a premium. I would have to pay to help reduce or avoid pain on my flight.

While running this morning, the same route I run every time I come to Hawaii, I realized how ridiculous this is. I have to pay to see my trainer (Kat, you’re worth every penny, I swear), I pay to eat healthier, mostly Paleo  foods, I pay to maintain the alignment of my joints, I pay to seek natural health remedies: health costs. In our Canadian Universal Healthcare System, I alone have the potential to cost the system MILLIONS of dollars. So much of this money could be saved by helping me invest in a healthy lifestyle that would keep me out of specialists offices, emergency rooms, surgery rooms and so on. My husband and I watched a documentary film last week on Netflix called Food Matters and although we see some perspectives in the film as a bit extreme, it makes sense. With healthy diet and exercise, so many chronic and life threatening illnesses could be avoided or at least managed, and yet little to no money is invested in these fields. Health doesn’t make money.

Wordless Wednesday: Some of My New Paleo Favourites

Whipped coconut cream, cocoa powder and strawberries

Fresh strawberries and cocoa powder.

Kale chips glazed with oil, baked at 300 for 20 mins, with salt, garlic and curry powder. 

Frozen banana pureed with cocoa powder and almond butter.

Fresh grape tomatoes, avocado and basil with balsamic reduction.

Finds from my local Winners (Canadian TJ Maxx).

So I’m Opening a Store!!

I must hereby renounce my lack of bias in terms of cloth diaper products and EMBRACE being a small business owner. Remember my review of Bumby Wool ? The one where I basically raved about the product, the company and the owner? Well, I’m now a retailer. That’s right, I’m hoping to bring Bumby to BC. It all started with me slowly building networks in the cloth diapering community. Despite spanning the continent and even the globe, when it comes to products like wool, the community really isn’t that big. Since I fell in love with Bumby, I have been spreading the love by literally packing my PPB Boxy Backpack full of my child’s wool bottoms and taking them to various locations to have people touch, feel and even try it on their babies. It’s that good. That’s when the owner, and now good friend said, “Hey, you like it so much and you’ve built such a good network in the Fraser Valley, why don’t you just sell it?”

WHY DON’T I?!!!

So I downloaded the BC Small Business Information Package and the Small Business Name Approval Form and started to get to work!! It is a bit time consuming, hence my lack of posts of late. Eventually, my goal is to have my own domain with my blog AND a small little online store of AMAZING natural parenting products available for pre-order and in stock purchase. My target audience is the Fraser Valley, British Columbia, but shipping can be arranged as well. I’m hoping to have all this set up within the next month or two. I’m starting with a Bumby Pre-Order right now on my Facebook Page and will grow from there as the paperwork gets processed. So bear with me if I’m a bit absent right now, but there are BIG THINGS IN THE WORKS WITH MAMA TENCH!!

Product Review: Stoneworks Jewellery

I must start this post with a preface: my mother is the creator of this company and makes this product with her husband, BUT, my review will still be honest and integral. Scout’s honour.

I remember when my mom made her first piece of jewellery. I assumed, like many people no longer occupying their time with work every day, that this was a new “hobby,” much like golf, or knitting. As she started building more and more pieces and extended her clientele beyond just friends and family, it became clear that this was more of a calling than a hobby. For as long as I can remember by mother has always loved jewellery... like a lot... more than most people. I never really understood why, being a tom boy and everything. It wasn’t until she started crafting her own that everything clicked for me. This was her passion, a way to express herself and wow, along with partner Bob, they make some gorgeous stuff!!

Their company is called Stoneworks Jewellery and they hand craft their unique, guaranteed one of a kind pieces from only the finest metals and genuine gem stones. Initially, Jane only worked with sterling silver, but since meeting Bob, they’re jumped head first in to using copper and brass as well and the copper pieces are stunning. The two source on the finest of rare and top quality gem stones to incorporate in to their artwork. Not only is each piece guaranteed one of a kind, but they offer a lifetime warranty on their work as well. My favourite aspect of their company is that they will do custom designs. I described to them last spring what I envisioned for my bridesmaid’s and they nailed it!!

The final point I would like to make about Stoneworks Jewellery is the price. Somehow, Jane and Bob have managed to maintain reasonable pricing as their business grew. You can always find pieces starting at $10.00 (which I always appreciated as I shopped for friends on a student or mat. leave budget) right up to their elaborate pieces that are still offered at a fraction of what you would pay from a jewellery store or high end boutique; and yet, the pieces are made from the same high quality materials and are also completely unique.

Too see more of what Stoneworks has available, check them out on their website or their Facebook page.