Fighting back gently.

Our sponsor, BlogHer (which you may or may not see over here ---> ), has been pretty good to us. It pays us a very few dollars every month to put its own sponsored ads on the page. It's run by real women who answer real emails about real questions. Their policies let me opt out of topics I don't want to advertise and places I don't want to go (e.g. politics, diet aids, junk food, animal products, etc.).

In fact, BlogHer is too good to us, and here's the dilemma. Sort of. It's not a huge dilemma. It's a dilemmette. For example, a few days ago they offered me $150 to write one review about an alcoholic beverage that I would probably love hard. I would slurp it up like a cat slurps milk (don't give a cat milk). Plus, they'd buy me my booze. 

To a couple of gals without jobs, $150 and a six-pack is a sweet deal. But, we opt-out of alcohol ads on purpose. If you drink alcohol, you already know it's available. It's not like I'd be advertising the end of Prohibition, which I would do in BOLD PRINT for free as a public service. If you don't drink, there's a good reason, and you don't need me to tell you about some awesome new kind of alcohol that you also won't drink. We turned that offer down.

Today, there's an offer for  generous commissions on sales of a huge, mainstream health-and-beauty corporation. You probably already buy their products every week. I only have to tell you which of their products I use and love, love, LOVE!  [None of them.] We turned that offer down.

So, I'm going to tell you what I actually love and feel good about promoting. It's the only way I can think of to push back against corporate deep-pocketed advertising, and products that aren't really in our best interests. Irony alert: these links go to Amazon pages, because they also treat us well.

• Method laundry detergent. We don't do much laundry, but we do it all with Method. It comes super-concentrated, so it's not weighed down with water and then shipped, heavy and bloated, to its destination. It is cruelty-free: no animal testing, no animal products. It's made in the US. It's perfectly sized for RVs. It smells good.

• Dr. Bronner's castile soaps. We don't wash ourselves much...wait, that's not what I meant to say. It's super-duper-concentrated (don't try to wash with it straight! It's powerful!). Cruelty-free (no animal testing, no animal products, vegetable oil based). Organic. Smells awesome, whichever scent you choose. We bought a big bottle last Thanksgiving in Florida, and we're still using it (I'm tired of peppermint now, by the way, and can't wait to crack open the lavender we just bought). Bonus feature: Dr. Bronner wrote lots of crazy stuff on his products, and they're still there. Fun to read in the shower with your glasses on.

• NOW vegetable glycerin. You can buy glycerin at Walmart, but it's most likely animal-derived. I use this when I make lotion and moisturizer, along with organic aloe vera gel. I got tired of paying lots of money for a decent moisturizer, only to find that it was held together with parabens. I use this vegan facial moisturizer recipe. 

• Nature's Miracle. Animal lovers, don't travel without this. In my time with Annie, we have sheltered ten cats, and this is our must-have. Always. No kidding. This becomes even more crucial as animals age. Now I'm really not kidding.

There's my promo. If you don't buy these things on my say-so, I won't feel bad. More importantly, if you do buy them, I won't feel bad.