Recycling for Labels

I had a lot of fun last year making my Kahlua labels - I cut out pretty pictures/ads or other images that appealed to me and turned them into labels with a silver pen and a little glue.

I thought they turned out nice, and it was a little recycling to boot!

This year, I decided to cut up the J. Peterman catalog. I don't usually get catalogs, but I have always enjoyed reading this one. It's sort of fantasy and romance, mixed up consumerism...probably not good for me, since I am trying to significantly cut down on the whole consumerism thing! But, I thought the pictures and descriptions would make really fun labels - and they did! It's more fun for me since I get to see them all together and my recipients might not understand the whole fun factor for me. And I tried to match the items with the recipient. A friend who loves jewelry will be getting the label with the over-the-top necklace...

I also wrote a little description for the back label - very tongue in cheek. And again, I don't know if anyone would actually read it or get the jokes...but it was fun for me!

No Self Control

There are a few things in life that I have almost no self control over. Dr. Pepper is one of them. I have tried many times in my life to give it up, mostly because I know it is bad for me and not to mention a budget buster. However, the main problem with giving it up seems to be that I like it. I don't really want to give it up, I just want it not to control me.

But what I have really noticed this year is Girl Scout cookies. Shouldn't be much of a problem since they are only available once a year. This year I bought many boxes. Somewhere around the 8 mark...and I ate them all fairly quickly...as in a week. But, I reasoned with myself I was writing my thesis, my sister was just diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer and she and her family were moving in with me, while I wasn't even home and I was in the middle of the semester from hell...

Well, yesterday we went to Target. Max saw a cookie display next to the register and started the all out adorable campaign to convince me to buy some for me. Yes, the child tries to use my own desires against me to get what he wants, and yes this very much scares me for his future. (Doesn't usually work and we don't have cookies or candy just sitting around our house.) However, this time it worked. Mainly since I was in the mood for something sweet and he was being adorable, not obnoxious.

This was a big mistake. BIG.

Apparently, Keebler has ripped off the Girl Scouts and produces Grasshoppers, which are almost identical to Thin Mints, my cookie nemesis. I think the boys got 4 cookies each before the package was entirely eaten by me. All of them. I couldn't stop. And I want more. What do they put in these things?!

Growing Up

As I dropped off my eldest at school this morning, I leaned over to give him a kiss just like normal...and he said no...

This is a HUGE deal for me. We are a very touchy, feely, kissy family. I expected this to happen, but not so soon. He is only 7 - I thought I had a least another year. And I have repeatedly told myself that my nephew, who is almost 21, never stopped kissing his mother...I really do want to raise a self-sufficient, loving, caring, independent adult...I just want him to still love me...

Christmas Gifts

It's that time of year again, so we spent the weekend making Christmas gifts. I made soap - two kinds of Castille soap (one plain, and one rosemary-mint), and a lavender soap unsing a different recipe. Ryan keeps walking by the rosemary-mint and asking if I can cook something that smells like that!

Ryan helped harvest the mint and we also made tea. Well, more like dried mint leaves, but it makes a wonderfully refreshing tea that helps calm upset tummys. (Which really comes in handy around my house!) The tea came out so good, I think we will harvest as much as we can and that will make a great gift too. While I was researching mint tea, I ran across a couple of recipes with rose hips...that got me thinking. Would my laziness from this summer of not pruning actually turn out a decent Christmas present? Apparantly, rose hips are amazingly nutritious and supposedly taste good to boot! So, sometime this week, I will go harvest my rose hips to add to the mint, for some absolutely delicious, homemade tea.

And of course, no Christmas gift making session would be complete without Kahlua. Lots and lots of kahlua. But, since I haven't been drinking much wine, I don't have the empty wine bottles to fill up! I'm sure I can think of something...

Photos

My nephew came over for Thanksgiving and brought his camera! He has started a photography business and I absolutely love it when he comes over...now I just need to actually get some prints to replace the ones that have been on my wall for over five years...

Hospital

Max had his first trip to the Emergency Room last week. He decided that it would be a good idea to play on top of my car. When I came outside to suggest that it really wasn't a good idea, he slid head first down the hood and landed on his head on the cement. Blood pouring out his nose...

After several hours in the ER, he was pronounced fine and he was pretty much done with sitting and waiting around...

No 'Poo Update

The no 'poo thing is kinda weird. I guess it really goes back to re-defining normal. Apparently, your hair goes through a detox stage after you stop using detergents to strip your hair and then have to add in other nasty stuff to be able to pull a comb through it again.

The first few days were fine. It was a little strange sprinkling baking soda into my scalp and rubbing it in. It didn't feel like I was cleaning my hair. No lather. And my hair didn't have that squeaky clean feeling. The vinegar rinse really helped de-tangle. I have had quite an issue of late trying to brush my hair at all, let alone when wet.

At about day 4, however things started to change. Most of my hair felt like a pile of straw. It was dry. Dry, dry, dry. Yet, strangely also felt greasy. I have no idea how it could be both dry and greasy at the same time, but there it was and I was not happy.

I used more baking soda. Which helped with the greasiness, but made it even more dry. I tried adding a slight amount of coconut oil to the ends. Now it was just dry but looked even greasier. So, after all else, I get online and look for a solution.

One of the problems with going more natural, is the lack of consistency or recipes. Whether this is with hair or cleaning solutions, it seems to be add a little of this and a little of that and there you go.

From what little I could understand, I was using too much baking soda. (And I possibly have hard water.) So, instead of using a paste, I am mixing a tablespoon of soda with a cup of water and pouring over my head rubbing it into my scalp. I also mixed up a solution of honey, apple cider vinegar and water to use as a rinse.

This worked beautifully! (Or my hair is done with detox and anything would have worked...) I went 3 days between washing and my hair didn't look oily until day 4. I washed it again this morning and it feels soft and is much curlier than normal. Maybe I hit on the right solution. I will keep trying it to see if this will be a long range plan...

One unexpected note however. The baking soda has stripped the dye out of my hair. I had no idea how much gray hair I had!!!

Branding for Children

Recent conversation between Max and I:

"Mom, we drive a Honda."

"Yes, we do."

"Dad drives a Honda."

"No, dad drives a Toyota."

Max thinking for a minute. "You mean there are two types of Toyotas?"

Slightly confused I reply, "What do you mean two types?"

"Well, there's the car type like daddy drives. And then there's the toyota from Star Wars."

Once I figured out he was saying toy Yoda, I laughed so hard I cried! It's amazing how their brains work! If I could only climb inside, I would probably be amazed and enthralled with the world all over again...

Boys

Boys are different than girls. I have said that to my boys many times, but I apparently it is more than skin deep.You see, my boys are BOYS. No piece of furniture is safe while they are around. Cushions and pillows are used as weapons, or even better - turned into forts. Comforters, pillows and other assorted soft things, turn into a "safe" landing spot from jumping off of the ledge above their closet. (Doesn't seem to matter that we have wood floors, the pillows will slip out from under them and they will crack their skulls open...)

I have a large mud hole that is growing in the middle of what little lawn I have left. They could have chosen a dirt part of the yard to "dig their new fort." They consistently try to take their playhouse apart, or add on to it, or scale it's heights...

For the most part, I understand and try not to set too many limits on their creativity and imagination, but sometimes I just don't get it. For example, why do they insist on entering and exiting the car from the windows?

Last night, we went to the park. We don't do it very often, because quite frankly they have a park in their back yard. However, I couldn't see any reason not to go, so there we were. I thought I could get a little reading done...yeah, not so much. Every time I looked up they were scaling the play structure from another vantage point in which it was not meant to be scaled. They were urging each other on to new heights and on to new danger. Several times, I heard myself yelling "stop that - I will not be going to the hospital tonight!!!"

The other parents just looked at me like I was was the worst mom ever, as their children were happily being pushed on the swings or going down the little kiddie practice slides...just wait! Some of you had boys. One day, you too will have to take them to the hospital!

Preservation

I spent most of Sunday making strawberry jam. I stopped by the fruit stand next to my house after church, and they had day-old strawberries - a huge box for $8. Score!!! Although after completely filling up my big pot - I started to wonder if this was such a good idea.

I also made strawberry ice cream and dried the rest of them for use in other goodies. It's kind of disheartening however, when three full trays in the dehydrator, only make a very small child's bowl of dried fruit!

And since I already had the dehydrator going, Max and I made some plum fruit leather. The way everything gets eaten so quickly around here, make me wonder how people with large family can preserve enough stuff to actually make it through the winter. And we don't really even have winter here! We live in a valley where we grow food year round. The farmer's market never closes and they are still harvesting strawberries. I would have to be preserving everyday, all day long to store up enough stuff to keep my kids from just devouring everything in site!

I'm not complaining that my kids are good eaters...just thinking how hard it would be to grow and preserve enough food to live on...and they aren't even teenagers yet!!

My kids LOVE pickles. Actually, I'm not sure that word in strong enough. They will go through a huge jar from Sam's Club in a week if I let them. So, I picked up a couple bags of cucumbers and made pickles too. Knowing my kids, this wont last long, so maybe I should pick up some more...

I didn't make my own pickling liquid, but picked up a packet at the store. not sure it was such a good idea, since when I mixed it all together, it was this bright yellow color that completely stained my sink...

End of Summer

Last weekend was over 100 degrees. I didn't think it would be the last weekend of summer, since summer tends to last around here until Thanksgiving. We decided to go up to the lake and go fishing. Well, the fish weren't anywhere around, but the lake was awesome!

Recycling

My youngest son wanted to take yogurt to school for a snack. I still buy the small cups of yogurt for the kids to take to school, especially since Ryan's favorite does not come in a big container. However, the funny part of this story is that when I was putting his yogurt and spoon in his backpack, my little one looks up and says,"I'll have to bring it home."

A little confused, I looked at him and said, "bring what home honey?" (I was thinking the spoon, but he is already really good at bringing the bags and silverware back.)

"My yogurt."

"Umm, if you are just going to bring it home, then why do you want to take it for a snack?"

"Well, they don't have a recycling can for me to put it into."

Oh, I get it now - my brainwashing has worked...No wonder I was confused!

No 'Poo

Strange title. At least it was to me the first time I read it several months ago. But what seems strange to someone when you are first starting a journey has a habit of becoming normal after a while. In fact, I just read a blog entry on re-defining normal.

This got me to thinking about my own life and what I define as normal. I know that to many of my friends and family, I am anything but normal. I have always been the odd man out and quite frankly - that strange tree hugger. As I have gotten older, some of them have come around and even more strange, I have realized that my mom and dad were actually quite revolutionary themselves - just using different words.

After all, I did grow up in the country, where we grew our own food, and raised our own animals. My mom milked the goats twice a day, composted and shot the squirrels over her fruit trees. She timed our showers so we wouldn't waste our water (we had a well and our own septic system). And frequently during the summer, I would wake up and she had already canned a dozen peaches/tomatoes/pears/jams...

I so wanted to be just normal when I was growing up! My mother made a lot of my clothes and we didn't have TV. All I wanted was to have new clothes from the store and watch television like the other kids at school! I guess however, that some of the things have stuck and now that I have my own children, I want to raise them in the country with our own animals and food...

Re-defining normal is also happening on my spiritual journey. What I once considered strange and odd, is something I now desire. I want a deeper, more personal connection with my God. Where I once saw him as a personal kill-joy, I now see as a source of joy, love and contentment.

Okay, those were really deep thoughts considering the topic is supposed to be about shampoo! And that is what the no 'poo experiment is all about. I have been going progressively greener for many years. I believe that what we put in our environment, on and in our bodies makes a difference to our health and well being.

I stopped using commercial cleaners about 8 years ago when I got pregnant with my first son. I couldn't handle the fumes and chemicals. I started making my own cleaners and I absolutely love them! I did take a break and started using Mrs. Myers cleaners because a friend of mine had a store and I wanted to support her. And I loved the way they smelled! But, I did go back to my trusted recipes for household cleaners. (Maybe that's a good future post.)

I started making my own soap. Nothing compares to handmade soap and everybody keeps asking for more. I make my own toothpaste - and love it! So, after reading about all the chemicals in shampoos and conditioners and how they are absorbed into your scalp, I realized this was more than just how ridiculously expensive hair products are. I decided to do the no 'poo experiment.

The theory is that you use baking soda to clean your scalp and hair, followed by a vinegar rinse. I tried it this morning and other than the lack of lather, everything seemed fine. So, I'll keep you updated and let you know how it goes! And if it works I'll give recipes too...

First Day of School

So, I realize that I'm pretty late on these pictures, but I just haven't been in the mood to be on the computer lately...But here are pictures of the first day of school.

Ryan made it to second grade!!

Max started kindergarten...He's in afternoon kindergarten which means he has to eat lunch before he goes to school.

So, I told him we would go to a special lunch...he picked Target. He decided he wanted pizza and a slushy. The differences between my boys are huge! Ryan picks teppan yaki, and Max picks Target - go figure!

Kombucha

I made Kombucha. And before I start my story, you need to know that Kombucha is fermented tea. The theory is fairly similar to vinegar. You start with a strong batch of sweetened tea, add the proper bacteria, cover and let ferment. After a week or so, the little beasties have eaten the sugar and the caffeine and you are left with a carbonated, tangy, slightly sweet drink.

Kombucha is supposed to be very healthy for you, it has been around for thousands of years in Japan and China. Many other cultures have similar drinks based on their local diets. Russians have kvass, and kefir and it is also somewhat related to yogurt and kimchi. In other words the fermentation process and live bacteria are good for digestion and your body.

I started drinking kombucha several months ago when my niece brought be some from Whole Foods. Unbeknownst to her, I had been reading about it, but she gave it me saying this looks like something you would drink…I tried it and was hooked. But, it is expensive!!! $3.99 for a 16 oz bottle. After several months of thinking, I decided to make it myself.

This is actually my second batch… the first one didn’t turn out too well. I ordered a SCOBY (Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria and Yeast) on eBay for the first batch. The SCOBY is the thing that floats on top and looks like a thick pancake – it also has all the necessary beasties to safely make this without mold growing on it. When the SCOBY arrived in the mail, it was a flimsy, barely there floating thingy in some liquid. It didn’t look at all like pictures I had seen online. I followed the instructions anyways, covered it and put it in a dark place. After several days there was mold growing on top. The SCOBY wasn’t growing and I decided that this needed to be thrown out.

Several weeks later, I decided to try again. I didn’t want to buy something online again, so I decided to try to make my own SCOBY from the store bought stuff. Since this is a raw, unpasteurized drink, even though it’s filtered it still has the good organisms in it. I drank about half the bottle, poured the other half into a wide mouth jar, covered with a paper towel and a week later had a nice thick pancake looking SCOBY on top. I made strong tea, sweetened it and put the SCOBY in.

A few days later, my mother came up to visit and kept asking if she could throw everything out – because this was obviously not something edible! This is what it looked like after fermenting for 8 days. I strained it and bottled it to increase the carbonation. (It looks fine from the side...In fact, you can't really tell anything is going on unless you lift the towel as in this photo...)

This batch turned out! I even was brave enough to drink it! And I do have to say, that my very Western trained brain was screaming at me that this would kill me…The real issue for me however was when my oldest son came in and begged to try it.

He loves kombucha and knew that we were making it…After I strained it, I finally let him have a little, just because honestly, this stuff looks gross…He loved it and kept asking for more. Several days have passed and we all seem to be fine, so I guess this was a success! I have a few more batches going on the counter and am now experimenting with adding flavors like dried cranberries. However, Ryan says this stuff tastes better than the stuff we got at the store!

Here is a list of purported health benefits from drinking kombucha:
-strengthens the Immune system

- detoxifies, cleansing the blood

- heals and strengthens the Digestive tract

- plays a vital role in regenerating bowel flora

- lengthens the life span

- is a health remedy against chickenpox and shingles

- reduces the formation of wrinkles

- discourages the formation of cancer

- prevents adverse menopausal symptoms

- restores visual acuity

- heals arthritis

- enhances sexual drive

- heals sweaty feet, constipation, joint and back pains

- heals abscesses

- heals blocked arteries and diabetes

- strengthens kidneys

- heals cataracts and heart disease

- restores the appetite and heals sleeping disorders

- reduces the chance of gall stones and liver problems

- reduces obesity and stops diarrhea

- heals hemorrhoids

- helps to restore color to gray hair and improves baldness

- encourages body rejuvenation

Of course none of these statements have been evaluated by the FDA, but the Chinese have been using this for centuries to maintain or regain health. For me, it’s helping me get away from my addiction to Dr. Pepper and if it helps my digestion well then that's just an added bonus!