I am...

Hmmm...

2009-05-21T10:31:00.002-06:00

I have been a little uninspired and stagnant lately!! But this is what has been going on.

Tile Mosaic table for the wee ones room, celebration of small stuff, passing out random I Love you cards anonymously.

Moon Pads

2009-04-29T11:56:00.003-06:00

I tried the Diva Cup out not too long ago. I have been a tampon wearer for years and the Diva seemed to be a good option but I found that I was always wondering what was going on down there. So I decided to find another option. After doing some homework I found the moon pad.

Sustainable, made from organic cotton, super absorbent, and very inexpensive. I bought them here on Etsy. I haven't worn a pad since I was a kid and didn't know how I was going to like it so I originally only purchased 3 just to see if I liked them. I did, so the next month I bought 3 more. This month I exclusively used my Moon Pads and I love them.

There is nothing to throw away, I soak them in water after use and then use that water to water my plants. Now my plants are super happy. I throw them in the washer and then I am ready for next month. The cost for 6 pads was $40 that's less than I would have spent in an entire year for tampons and I won't buy them ever again so the savings is amazing. When my daughter starts her cycle I will get these for her also.

The trash in my bathroom is almost non-existent now. At this point I can maybe get rid of the trash can in there. :)

Toy society

2009-04-24T16:15:00.003-06:00

My Daughter and I had a ton of fun making and hiding these toys participating in the Toy Society. Check it out and practice some random acts of kindness. We will be doing more of this for sure!

Hello again!!

2009-04-22T12:34:00.003-06:00

I am having a great Earth Day!!!

I finally got my bed!!! I have set up my old bed for my daughter and all her new bed stuff. I have posted her bed on freecycle and it will be picked up shortley and I just bought this on Etsy....

It will be a birthday gift for my daughter. Not till August but it will be here very soon and she will love it.

Happy Earth Day!

Earth Day

2009-04-22T08:35:00.003-06:00

WooHoo!!!! It's Earth Day!! Another holiday I can get down with. But, I have to tell you that even though I am happy there is a day for the Earth, every day should be Earth day... and at my place it is.

My daughter and I recycle and up-cycle. We are about to start composting. We buy most things in bulk and are very aware of our purchases that require packaging. We use re-usable bags when we shop and no longer clean with chemicals. We can do more, will do more and already do more but those are for future posts.

The above pic is something I made about a month ago from an old t-shirt that was just hanging in the closet. It was made into a nice little pouch that I was until the other day using as my purse. Now it is holding all of my knitting stuff. I thought today would be a good day to share this.

Composting was supposed to be my project for today but I think I may have to put it off until tomorrow. My Eco friendly bed is supposed to be delivered today and I have been waiting a month for it. Unfortunately that will trump everything else today.

What will you do for Earth day?

Yummy

2009-04-21T19:04:00.002-06:00

I don't know what I made for dinner tonight but man it was yummy!!!

One potato thinly sliced

one clove garlic diced

diced onion

diced green pepper

salt and pepper

2T oil

I threw it all in a pan, let it crisp turn down the heat and cover for about 15 min until done.

It was soooo goood!

my new love

2009-04-20T09:06:00.003-06:00

It has been many years since I have done any crocheting. I don't think I was very good and so I just stuck to knitting. Zakka life was doing a giveaway for a book called "Crobots" and I thought they were too cute. I entered the drawing and then went to the book store and bought "amigurumi world" (I am hoping to win "crobots") I just fell in love with all the little animals and thought I would give crochet another try.

The top image is a penguin I made for my daughter and the bottom image is Rudy the Rectangle. After buying the book I had to buy some yarn. I love an excuse to buy new yarn! Rudy is a free Lion brand pattern. I made these guys for my pregnant neighbor. One for the soon to be new baby and the other for the son she already has.

My next project will be for the toy society. I wanted to make a couple just to make sure I didn't suck at it.

I had so much fun making them and it seems I am not as bad at crocheting as I thought. I love it when I find new things out about myself.

A journal for my daughter

2009-04-19T09:02:00.002-06:00

I have always wanted to start a journal for my daughter but didn't know how to do it, and didn't know where to start. Would it be random letters that I would write and keep safe over the years or lists of things she should do, or read?

So I have decided finally that it is a simple journal (one for now) that I will write in and keep all of the stories that I hold in my heart for her. It could possibly evolve into something else over time, but for now, just stories.

I think that one of the things most upsetting to me is that I don't have stories from my family I don't know who they are or anything about them. When my daughter is old enough I want her to be able to read them and know who I am, what makes me up as a person. Maybe even be able to learn form some of my mistakes.

Already the pages are filling up, and I am taking a walk down memory lane. I think the process may be therapeutic for me. Maybe, I will learn a thing or two about myself.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

As far as celebrating the small stuff. I had a great opportunity this week and was unable to. As suggested by "Life is a Verb" I was to buy cupcake mix and candles to have on hand for the occasions but I had an angry tooth this week and went to the dentist. The very last thing I wanted was a cupcake so I decided to hold off. I wish I didn't.

My wonderful daughter came home with amazing mid term grades and I was so proud of her! But I had no cupcakes. So I told her what my plan had been and told her that it was time for us to stop being so negative and only focusing on the bad stuff. So I promised her that this week we would celebrate for her great grades. She worked hard and deserves to celebrate!

37 days

2009-04-14T09:31:00.002-06:00

Yesterday I found a very lovely blog called 37 days. I was so taken by the words I read on this blog that I went and bought her book. "Life is a verb" It is wonderful so far and just what I needed. You should go here and check it out.

Celebrating small accomplishments struck a cord with me. Something I don't do and should. So, I pledge that for the next 37 days I will celebrate all of the small things that I see and do. Especially for my daughter. I think I recognize that both she and I need to celebrate more, that even I take life too seriously sometimes. There needs to be less focus on what hasn't been done and more focus on what has been done.

Celebrate life!

My new kitchen scrubbers

2009-04-13T07:06:00.002-06:00

I have done away with paper towels. It has been a little over a month now. I wanted to make sure I could do it before I made any claim to fame. It is easier than I had thought. I don't miss them at all. The top pic is a basket weave wash cloth that I knitted out of cotton. The bottom pic is a small loofah sponge and an Eco friendly paper towel like item that is washable. I purchased it at the Sunflower Market in a package of 3. I love these items because I can just throw them all in the washer. I have managed to collect quite a few rags and when I have time I am going to knit a rag bag to be put in my kitchen to catch all of my used rags for wash day. I also think that I will knit up more of these wash cloths and give them as Christmas gifts this year.

Waste free lunches

2009-04-06T09:03:00.003-06:00

I took Spring Break off with my Daughter last week and we had a lot of little projects to do to keep ourselves busy.

We made fabulous snack and sandwich bags. I wish I could find the inspiration for the sandwich wrap but I can't. So know that it is not my own creation but I did make it and am in love. I used an outside table cloth cut to the size of a 1 gallon zip lock baggie. Sew that together and sew Velcro tabs on the corners. Fold from the points to the inside to attach to one another.

The snack bag is my own creation and I don't know how well it will work just yet, but I will keep you posted. I bought some yarn a few months back that my daughter just loved, I had no idea what I was going to knit out of it. I decided to make a simple pouch with a draw string closure. and lined it with a sandwich bag. It came out really cute. Someone asked me how I would wash it and so now I question the functionality of it. I am hoping that it works. My plan was to wash it by hand and if I need to I could throw it in the washer but not the dryer. I did not knit it of wool so it won't felt, but that may not be a bad thing either.

Anyway they make me happy and my Daughter loves them. The best part... I won't be purchasing any Ziploc baggies any more!

Lotion

2009-04-03T09:05:00.003-06:00

Last night I made lotion! Seriously I am very impressed with myself!

Here's the recipe:

1/4c olive oil

1c water

1/4c vegetable glycerin

1/4c emulsifying wax

24 to 36 drops essential oil

In a double boiler melt wax and olive oil. In a small saucepan bring water and glycerin just to a boil. When the wax is melted and water hot enough add the water/glycerin mix to the wax mix. It will turn a milky white. Let cool for a minute, add essential oil and stir with a chopstick. Pour into your container of choice. I reused some small lotion bottles that I saved and it made 4 bottles.

It was really a much quicker process than I thought it would be and the result is wonderful. I think it is much better than any store bought lotion that I have ever purchased and defiantly cheaper.

The end result is quite nice I can't wait to use it at work. I work in a hospital kitchen and we use hospital soap which is effective but drying and this winter has been dry enough. It doesn't matter how many times I put lotion on I am just dry. Already I can feel and see a difference in my hands and feet. This makes me super happy.

Again, the ingredients are simple and the list short. While becoming greener I become increasingly aware of what I am putting in my body and on my body.

Lip Balm

2009-04-02T09:50:00.002-06:00

I made lip balm last night!

Here is the recipe:

- 2 teaspoons of beeswax
- 2 ¼ tsp of jojoba oil
- grapefruit essential oil
- a small container

Melt it all in a double boiler and poor into containers

The batch I made was times 4 of this and it made 5 tubs. I was unhappy with the final product. I found it to be too hard and too waxy. So this morning I scooped it all back out and added coconut oil to it. I am sorry that I didn't do an exact measurement of how much but it was about two heaping tablespoons. Now I am in love with it. It has a nice smooth texture and I don't feel like I have a pound of wax on my lips. I used old lip balm containers that I have been saving for this happy occasion, is it recycling or up-cycling? No new plastic, nothing in the landfill and I know what is going on my lips.

Earth Day

2009-04-01T15:56:00.001-06:00

The picture my daughter did for the 2009 Earth day Auction.

Happy April!

Freecycle

2009-03-30T08:14:00.002-06:00

Freecycle is a yahoo group where you can post things you have in your home that you no longer want or take items off of other peoples hands. I discovered it a couple of months ago.

I'm a big fan of thrift stores, I usually take my things there. But, I am finding as I go through my stuff there are some things that I don't really want to take to the thrift store. They are nice or heavy and I would rather have someone else come lug these things out. Or maybe someone could benefit from getting an item that they could not really afford, even at a thrift store.

I haven't been lucky enough to receive anything from anyone yet, but I did unload something over the weekend. I decided to drop my home phone line, I was paying $40 a month for solicitors to call me. How nice am I? All my friends call me on my cell. So I had a nice VTech phone with a digital answering machine that I posted and now is in the hands and home of someone who could use it.

As I go through my stuff I find other things to put on there. I still will take much to the thrift store and will continue to do so but I'm liking the Freecycle. Google it in your area and see what you can find.

Earth Hour

2009-03-29T08:28:00.002-06:00

I am a little disappointed in the lack of participation that the Denver area had in Earth Hour. As I drove home from work last night I noticed very few lights out. I knew there wouldn't be a black out but I thought maybe there would be more people interested in it. It is only an hour and it is about the small choices we make.

I was still at work for half of it but, I participated in it. I did it all day though and not for the hour. Before I left for work I unplugged everything and turned off everything. I like to think that because I did it for the whole day that there was some impact however small it may be.

I am already conscious about unplugging my small appliances in the kitchen and things in the bathroom. I have also started to unplug my chargers and hope to go solar with my small gadgets soon. Now I know there is more I can do. I learned from the experience. I realized there is a clock in my kitchen that I don't ever look at but it's always plugged in. It will be going to the thrift store this week. I learned that when my daughter is at her Dad's that I don't watch TV and don't need the TV, DVD player and Direct TV box plugged into a power source. I learned that I am horrible about leaving my laptop on and will not only shut it down when I am not using it, I will also unplug it. I learned that my stereo is always plugged in sucking energy and I hardly ever listen to it since I discovered Pandora. And lastly I learned how horrible store bought candles are to the environment and me. Luckily my daughter was already wise to that and I had some soy candles around that she made for Christmas last year. All of the other candles will also be going to the Thrift store and I think we will make some candles too this year.

So anyway, I am happy with my Earth Hour experience. After all it's about the small choices we make in our lives.

Rosemary Garlic Crackers, No bake cookies

2009-03-27T08:22:00.003-06:00

We are had our blizzard yesterday and still feeling the effects today. School has been canceled for the last two days which never happens in Colorado. I'm not a big fan of snow, but I haven't had to go out in it so I think that it's really beautiful if I can stay inside and look at it. So, my daughter and I took advantage of the day and baked.

Rosemary Garlic Crackers

1c all purpose flour

1c whole wheat pastry flour

2T Nutritional yeast

1t baking powder

1t rosemary

1t rounded garlic powder

3/4t sea salt

1/4t pepper

1/2c water

3T olive oil

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees

Mix dry ingredients together and add liquid. Divide in half and roll thin. Sprinkle with a little more sea salt and use roller to lightly push into dough. Cut with pizza cutter into squares. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Bake 12-15 min.

I love these they have become a staple in my home.

Then we made no bake cookies. A favorite from my childhood. I had a baby sitter that made them.

2c sugar

3T cocoa

1/2c Milk

1/2c margarine

1 pinch salt

3c quick oats

1/2c peanut butter

1t vanilla

In a saucepan bring sugar, cocoa, margarine, milk and salt to a boil for 1 min. Add oats, peanut butter and vanilla. Quickly drop cookies on parchment paper and let cool.

Today I think we will make some bread and granola.

Haiku

2009-03-22T08:44:00.003-06:00

Time is what precious

Be present in your actions

Before it's too late

Homemade purse

2009-03-20T10:39:00.003-06:00

I love scarfs! I see them at thrift stores, buy them and then never know how to use them. So, I was on Martha Stewart's web site a few weeks ago and saw a tutorial for this bag. Tie it up in a few knots and... bam! You have a purse. I have now made all of my scarfs into purses and given them to my friends!

Yogurt parfaits, potato soup and granola

2009-03-19T06:46:00.004-06:00

I am all about food right now in an attempt to lessen my food bill and add some variety to a semi dull vegetarian diet. And just to let you know I am only Vegetarian not vegan. These recipes have milk based products in them. Sorry folks I love my milk, yogurt and cheese too much!

Granola...I love it but it's expensive. I didn't know that you could make it from scratch. Well you can and I did and it's good. This recipe is very basic but you can add anything you want to it.

4c old fashion oats (not quick oats)

1/2c brown sugar

1/2t salt

1/2t cinnamon

1/3c veg oil

1/3c honey

1t vanilla

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a large bowl combine oats, brown sugar, salt and cinnamon. In a small sauce pan heat oil and honey until the honey melts and stir in vanilla. Pour the liquid over the dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon. Spread on baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake 30 min. Cool enough to break into pieces. Put in air tight container and it will be good for a week.

So then I decided to pre-make a fruit and yogurt mix.

2c mandarin oranges (on sale at sunflower market)

3 bananas

2 apples

Vanilla yogurt

Brown sugar

In a large bowl combine all the fruit sectioned or chopped up. Add 3/4 of the Vanilla yogurt mix it up and add brown sugar to taste.

Now add the granola and I have fruit yogurt parfaits for the week at very little cost. I will get at least 7 servings out of it so that breaks down to about $1.50 a serving. Plus we have extra oranges for snacks and the left over yogurt will go with one extra banana for a smoothie for my daughter so it actually breaks down to be less cost but I won't go that far.

Then for dinner last night I made some potato soup. Nothing better than potato soup on a chilly night.

1 medium onion chopped

4 cloves garlic minced

2lbs potatoes

4c veg broth

1c milk

salt and pepper to taste

cheddar cheese

In a large pot over medium heat saute onions and garlic in 2T oil add broth and potatoes. Bring to a boil turn to low to simmer and cover partially cover for 20 min or until potatoes are done. Remove from heat and add the milk. Put soup in blender to puree, add cheese and chives.

I served the soup with homemade crackers but that is for another post. I had everything on hand but potatoes and veg broth. Total cost was $4 and I have soup to eat for a couple of nights.

St Patrick's Day

2009-03-17T10:30:00.000-06:00

May you live as long as you want,

And never want as long as you live.

Happy St Patrick's Day!!!

I Love being Irish!!!

Spring

2009-03-16T09:09:00.004-06:00

It's a strange time of year in Colorado. It's Spring-ish, its not, it's 70 degrees it's 40 degrees. I've lived here about 15 years now and still am not use to it. By the time summer gets here I wonder where Spring went. And even though I don't see any signs of spring outside just yet I do see it in my kitchen! My seeds have sprouted! That makes me happy.

My daughters cactus.. only one sprout right now. She is bummed because she wanted to give some to her teachers and right now it's looking like that may not happen. I'm crossing my fingers.

Baby Hat

2009-03-15T08:12:00.002-06:00

I have to admit that I didn't do very well on the 29 day giving challenge. I think I crapped out about half way through it. It did give me a great feeling to give away random gifts but having to do it every day was was a little too inside the box for me. So, I will continue to give but maybe a wee bit more at my own pace.

Yesterday I gave a co-worker this hat. She just had a baby a little over a month ago and this was the first baby item I have ever made. I got the pattern here. I can't wait to see it on her!

Brown Rice Patties

2009-03-14T10:16:00.002-06:00

Being a vegetarian can often be a frustrating thing. The looks and the questions people give you are just borderline stupid. The thought process being that you can't survive with out meat. I think it may be harder for my daughter than it is for me. Kids only know what their parents teach them and can be unforgiving and mean. But just as difficult is finding variety. I think it sucks that a restaurants only veg choice is a salad. So it's nice when I come across a great recipe that is kid friendly. I found this recipe for Brown Rice Patties here

My daughter and I both loved it and getting her to eat things with onion in them is almost impossible. She devoured it! Here it is....

Brown Rice Patties

3 cups leftover brown rice
1 cup grated carrot grated in food processor
1 medium onion, grated in food processor
2 cloves minced garlic, minced in food processor
1 t salt
½ t pepper
2 eggs
½ cup whole wheat pastry flour

Vegetable oil of your liking for frying

If you do not have a food processor you can use a box grater instead. Just make sure any onion juice makes it into the bowl, lots of flavor there!

Combine all ingredients except the oil. If you have the time to make this in advance and let it sit for a bit the garlic and onion flavors will blend even more, but it's not necessary, just nice. If the patties don’t hold together because they are too dry then add another egg. If they are too wet add a little flour.

Heat a frying pan or griddle on med - med/high heat until hot and add oil. Use a ¼ cup measuring cup to scoop out the rice mixture and gently lay them on the frying pan. Use the back side of the measuring cup to flatten out each patty. Cook until golden brown on each side.

On a side note my daughter did the most amazing, random thing all on her own. She is a girl scout and was selling cookies about a month ago. The lady downstairs had already purchased some and didn't want to buy. A couple of weeks later our neighbor asked if we were still selling cookies. Not door to door but we will be in front of the local Sunflower market in a couple of weeks. So she was a little bummed and asked if we sold again to let her know. Last weekend my daughter had a sale and bought a box of cookies for the neighbor. This morning she wrote a note telling her to have a beautiful day, attached it to the box of Thin Mints and left it at her door.

I LOVE HER!

Bread

2009-03-13T07:25:00.002-06:00

So in an attempt to live more simply and save more money I have decided to start baking my own bread. My Grandparents did it, so can I. My first attempt was a failure and that first loaf of bread cost me more than I would like to admit. But I found another recipe and tried again and I baked a gorgeous loaf of bread and I can pronounce every ingredient in it. It was very easy, here is the recipe.

1 pkg. active dry yeast
1-1/4 cups warm water, 110-115 degrees
2-3/4 to 3 cups bread flour
1 tsp. salt

Dissolve yeast in the warm water and let stand five minutes, until bubbly. By hand, add 1-1/2 cups of the flour and the salt. Beat well for a few minutes. Gradually stir in enough of the remaining flour to make a soft dough.

Knead dough on a floured surface until smooth, springy and elastic, about 10 minutes. Place bread dough in greased bowl, turning to grease top. Cover and let rise until double, 1-2 hours.

Punch down dough. On floured surface, roll dough to a 12x6" rectangle. Roll up dough tightly, starting with 12" side. Thoroughly pinch edges and ends to seal. Roll and stretch dough carefully to shape, making ends thinner than the center. Place the loaf of bread, seam side down, on greased cookie sheet sprinkled with cornmeal. Cover and let rise until doubled, 45 minutes to an hour.

Slash top of bread loaf with very sharp knife in three places, if desired. Bake at 425 degrees for 20-30 minutes, until the bread is deep golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped with fingers. (You can, if desired, spray the loaf with water a few times during baking for a crisper crust.) Remove from cookie sheet and let cool.

I had some trouble with the yeast and did some research and found that in order to get the yeast to activate you need to use some sugar so I added two pinches of sugar to the yeast and water mixture. I also substituted 1 cup flour with one cup whole wheat flour and lastly I baked it in glass loaf pan instead of the cookie sheet. Only because I was making crackers with my sheet pan. It turned out really great and now I will start baking my bread every week or when I need some. My daughter and I don't eat much bread, but at $3 to $5 it is costly and I am looking to save where I can, that's a savings of $12 to $20 a month!