I give opinions on all sort of random stuff EXCEPT religion and politics...two of the most divisive topics on the planet. I give advice and answer questions (like an advice column), and I love the topics of all things spiritual and metaphysical, parenting and general life issues. I'll review products, movies, books, you name it.
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OK, we've been talking a lot about soap nuts (a natural product, the fruit of a tree that contains a soap-like agent that can be used in any number of healthier home-made cleaning products). I found this blog post about how to grow them from a blog called Exeterra. I'm including his link so he get's all the glory instead of me reposting. And every blogger needs a little love.
Keep in mind these trees are grown in warm regions (typically India, China) so will not stand up to harsh conditions like we get here in northeast Oregon. However, I'm still going to use his instructions and see if I can grow one. I can try to keep it indoors. It will be 100 years before it was big enough to worry about. And if you have a greenhouse that could work, or if you live in India or China, or live in a similar climate. Let me know if you grow any, and what made for a successful sprouting/growing.
FYI, it appears that many of the companies selling soap nuts for soap making use, remove the seeds before sending them to you. I purchase mine from Mountain Rose Herbs online and to my knowledge, so far, there is a seed in every one. So I remove them (using a nutcracker) and set them aside for other uses and use the hulls for soap making. MRH also has some of the better prices I've seen. They charge around $6 a pound (plus shipping) and a pound is quite a few soap nuts, I would guess about a quart. Each one is a bit smaller than a cherry.
A friend of mine sent this to me today. It's an 8 minute or so video clip of some girls giving a jump rope performance. Watch all the way because they keep outdoing themselves. And I love the crowd support. Somehow, they just make you feel good.
Wow, I have really been out of my comfort zone with way more people-contact than my norm. Between two exercise classes a day, and then it seems there have been a few more clients, trades, favors, and, well, just people.
I had my two classes today, then spent 3+ hours with a friend helping them make brochures and service menus for their business, and then another person called for a two hour energy session, and here it is time to make dinner already.
I bow before the many people who somehow manage to work full time and keep hearth and home in order. I question the health and wisdom and balance of it, and I've done it, but it frazzles every nerve I have, and now that I have a choice (meaning we have decided as a couple that we will have less in the way of extras and more cohesion of balance in our lives by me staying home and taking care of everything BUT work/income. If I can't lift it, that's the only exception), I don't think I would ever choose to go back to the insanity of trying to pretend I can do it all. I can't. It isn't healthy for me. I'm sure things would be different if there was just me and somebody had to bring in some money. But we have trimmed way back and are probably considered lower middle class, if that.
Sometimes I have the existential woes, and the challenges of wondering if I'm knuckling under to old gender rolls and giving up my identity and bla bla, and sometimes I feel I have less power without my own money, and sometimes I wonder if there isn't more in life I should be doing with myself, but I had those crises no matter what I was doing...those things just happen. That's how we stop and reassess.
I really am a contemplative hermit at my roots. It isn't that I don't like to have fun, or that I don't like people or don't have friends, or am an anxiety ridden agoraphobe, it's just that I prefer it quiet and with very limited human contact. Apparently much less than everybody else. Heck, hermit crabs reproduce so they must have SOME fun when nobody is looking!
So I haven't forgotten about my blog and I have ideas, but stuff has just been in the way of sitting down to write. And the sunshine calls me into the garden...Oh how I love spring.
So get this...I had a dream about a discussion I had with the lead guy (David Boreanaz, aka Seely Booth) from Bones. You'll have no idea what this means if you don't ever watch this series.
Anyway, in the dream I am telling him that the sexual tension that has been building in the series between he and his leading lady really needs to stay, just that. I told him that while everyone wishes they would just hurry up and "do the deed", it will be the kiss of death for the series.
Flash back, (to those of you who are old enough to remember), the hit TV series Moonlighting with Sybil Sheppard and Bruce Willis. The same sort of building sexual tension existed between them. And once they succumbed, there was no place to take the characters and the show ended shortly thereafter.
This is what I was explaining to him...in the dream. And he's nodding and saying "yeah, I know you're right".
Perhaps there is some weird symbolism in this dream I'm missing. Perhaps my underlying knowledge that anytime in my life I succumbed to a fantasy relationship, it always feel short. My imagination is ALWAYS better than reality...that and there are often consequences. That's what younger years full of mistakes in judgment taught me anyway. Or perhaps it was a prediction...you watch and see...if they end up having a sexual relationship on the series, let's take bets on how long it takes before the series folds. We're all fickle...we hang on and tune in wondering if and when it will happen...and then, afterward, when we've had our cigarette, we never call again.
Spring is in the air and it seems I always have something going on. For a "stay at home", "kept woman", I sure seem to fill my time! I'm much better and much more loyal to my writing in the long dark winter months.
I received an email from the Maggie's Pure Land Soap Nuts people apologizing for somehow losing my samples and they say they are trying again and they should be on the way within a week or so. I'll post my experience using them when they arrive. I'm looking forward to it. I hate to bitch about not getting them when they were FREE to begin with...but it IS sort of hard to review them if I don't have them, right? My other two winners received theirs in a very timely manner and I've posted their experiences, so I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt and not be concerned that processing of orders is an issue...I'm sure it was just a fluke thing.
If my knees will hold up, I'll try another Zumba class tomorrow morning. I really did enjoy it, but my knees really did not. They've been hurting quite a bit this week for no good reason. Ah well, such is middle age and onward, eh?
Is there anything you would like to see me include in this blog? What would make it more fun to read or to recommend to others? I can always use good ideas...or heck...bad ideas...just something. A spark for my creativity to feed off of.
Has anybody but me been watching this show? I think it's pretty amazing. The season finale is Friday (April 23, 2010). If you've missed it, catch some of the clips on Youtube or look to buy or rent it later. Don't miss it!
This mini series sees Jamie going to a town in Virginia where the CDC has named the "fattest city in America". The health problems, death rates, child diabetes rates etc are through the roof. And this town doesn't WANT to change. They want Jamie to go away. Jamie's efforts to improve the school lunch program is met with antagonism at every turn. Wait till you meat school lunch lady "Alice"
And there are very real barriers besides people being resistive; fresh foods costs more, kids have become accustomed to crappy, good tasting foods, the FDA sets the school lunch guidelines and the guidelines are appalling. French fries count as a vegetable serving. A stir fry with 10 different veggies in it, may not even count as one serving...unless you add fries to it, or salad as an option, that kids don't choose...but it counts. He has had quite a battle. And his heart is truly in the right place and he sincerely cares. He has worked hard to address similar issues in England and has come here to help fight his "food revolution".
I'm updating this post for the second time, now that I've viewed this program.
This program was aired on OPB (Oregon's Public Broadcasting). Check listings in your area or rent/buy it. I heard so much buzz about it and was really interested to see it. We taped it and it was a while before my husband and I got around to watching it.
Oh WOW. I'm not sure how else to describe it. I'm saddened, angered, disgusted, and totally overwhelmed right now. I will need time and to view this program a few more times to fully process it.
This film, is a documentary expose' about the way our food is produced and processed. It is about how big corporations, and our demand for more, bigger, better, cheaper has shaped American farming, American eating and purchasing habits. And then there are the animals and the ethical questions.
Now I'm not a bleeding heart vegetarian, in fact, I've only recently decided to try being a vegetarian as an experiment and as of this writing (updated April 28th 2009), I've been one for all of not quite two months. BUT, I DO care that animals are raised, cared for and slaughtered as humanely as possible. There was a time in the not to distant past that while I sort of cared, I just didn't want to really know. And as you'll see in this film, we are far from humane treatment. It broke my heart.
Even HUMANELY treated feed animals (which none of factory farming animals are); if I were the one who had to kill my own animal protein to survive, I would be a vegetarian...I simply could not do it. So I really need to think long and hard about this. I'm a hypocrite. There are so many things that this program opened my eyes to and now there is no going back. I have to find new ways to do things differently. Fast Food Nation, and even the fiction book "Toxin" were also eye openers for me. I can't control what other people do. All I can do is make the best choices I can for my household given the information I have and continue to make adjustments as new information comes in. There just really aren't any words today. I'm overwhelmed.
The program interviews some farmers (those who were not afraid to talk) about their experiences with the huge corporations and loss of contracts, pressure for debt, pressure for GMO and inhumane treatment of animals...it is hard to believe this is happening. But happening it is. There are lawsuits by corporations against farmers who do not comply or who are "hold-outs" to the new way of doing business, and it reminds me of old footage I saw of the McCarthy trials and black-listing.
Please please please, find this program and watch it. Purchase it, borrow it, download it, whatever it takes. I would love to have discussions on this blog about what you feel about it and for us to share ways that we can, individually begin to turn this train wreck around.
Some of the ideas presented in the program are: SHOP FARMER'S MARKETS, BUY LOCALLY, BUY ORGANIC, BUY those foods that are actually in season and not the ones that are being forced and ripened with gasses, boycott any companies you discover to be practicing in ways that do not match your value system (and that will be different for each person). And please please share other ways. I want to know. After watching this, there was a part of me that felt so overwhelmed I felt like "Hell, I can't eat ANYTHING.", but in time as I calm, I want to discover the ways that slowly, over time, I can make changes for my family that are healthier, wiser, and that do not support the new way of providing food to the masses.
One of the points made in the program was that our way of producing food, and eating has changed more in the past 50 years than it has in the last 10,000 (and not for the better). So, inside, something says "If it took us 50 years to get this far down the wrong road, out of 10,000, then it isn't too late to turn it back around.
Consumers are the ones with the power to drive this back into a healthier direction.
About a year ago, before even seeing this, and for purely health reasons, we began to make some changes in what we do at home. I won't say it has been very economical, but I'm hoping it will pay off in lower health care costs. I have really yet to fully embrace the farmer's markets because I don't like the social aspect of it and I don't like multiple purchases and having to interface with many vendors for each thing I buy. Wouldn't it be cool if farmer's markets had some sort of one-stop purchase design? However, I did purchase veggie, fruit and egg shares which will be picked up in a box at the farmer's market. I'm new to this idea, so I don't know how it will work. You can look at the one I am trying which you'll find at Val's Veggies. You can look to see if there is something similar in your area.
I'm reading labels like crazy. If I don't know what the ingredients are, for the most part I try not to buy it and keep looking for better options. I'm buying more organic products both in my local Safeway and at the health food stores. We have reduced our animal protein consumption and are buying more organic meats/chickens (however, this does NOT guarantee they are raised humanely or killed humanely), and I want to do more checking about local options. I've been making my own shampoo, conditioner and laundry detergent, I'm baking bread and rolls and biscuits from scratch with all organic ingredients. I try to buy organic canned goods and am always looking for organic products as I run out of one of my old things.
I make medicinal tinctures that we take on a regular basis for maintaining good health vs treating disease when it comes. In this way, so far, neither one of us has needed a doctor in the last year, or had a cold or the flu. So far so good. And we do not get flu shots. Read up on the issue by someone other than traditional medical practitioners/agencies. For more info on making your own tinctures, see a previous post about that.
We both exercise, and try to eat well and take supplements to support health along with tinctures. We are not big on food gardening, but are talking about what we can raise ourselves. Each time I run out of one product, I look for a healthier option (cleaners, yard care products, etc...I read every stinking label now).
I'm not the lobbying or sign waving type, but if you are, do it. And please, if you educate others about better choices, do so with compassion, not with a holier-than-thou, riotous attitude. Allow each person their journey. Had someone talked to me earlier about some of the choices I am making today, I would have told them they were radical nut-jobs and laughed at them. I wasn't ready. Each person awakens to different things at different times. Live by example, not by beating people over the head with your ideas. That's probably good advice for MOST if not ALL of our well-intentioned opinions about how others ought to be more like us.
If you watch this program, tell me what you think. It really moved me and impacted me. I need some creative brainstorming about our choices. We are a creative people. Surely we can make a difference. One person, one decision at a time, making small steps until they begin to add up. Share with me ways that you are making changes. Let's learn from each other in respectful, supportive dialogue.
This is our second review from one of our winners of the free soap nuts giveaway. I can't do a review yet because mine never arrived.
I have used them, so here is what I found –
They seemed to work really well! My clothes were clean and had a very mild “vinegar” scent. I am allergic to LOTS of things, both manufactured and “natural”. I tested my clothes cautiously, and found that I did not react to the soap nuts! Yippee! I DID fish the bag of nut shells out at the start of the rinse cycle, however. I just couldn’t see the logic in not rinsing the stuff out.
I did need to use a fabric softener sheet (first load, I didn’t, and everything stuck to me like glue…)
A few weeks ago, Maggies Pure Land Soap Nuts company offered a giveaway of soap nuts samples for myself and two readers. This is the first review from one of the winners:
About a week ago, Maggie’s Pure Land sent me a trial batch of soap nuts (the soap that grows on trees!). I was anxious to try them because they are a natural product, compostable and consist of only a single ingredient. If they worked as advertised, I would no longer have to purchase harsh laundry soap, which is easier on the environment, easier on our skin and one less thing to recycle.
In addition, my husband is constantly suffering from eczema on his hands, and he’s been told to avoid soap products. Hopefully, these soap nuts would help alleviate his suffering.
According to Maggie’s Pure Land’s brochure, soap nuts are the only laundry soap that grows on trees. They are the dried fruit of the Chinese Soapberry tree, which grows in tropical regions around the world. They are 100% natural and they contain saponin, a natural cleaner that has been used for centuries in other parts of the world. The brochure also states they are completely safe for sensitive skin. Everything sounds great so far.
I read the instructions, which say to simply put a handful of soap nuts in the enclosed cotton sack, tie a knot and drop it in your laundry. My five sample soap nuts are in a plastic bag, so I snip it open. They are very sticky and are stuck on the plastic. I had to pick them off individually and take off the torn plastic from each nut.
I put the five soap nuts in the cotton bag and add it to a large load of clothes. Two things to note: I wash our clothes in cold water, and we have extremely hard water in our area.
The first thing I notice is that they have little to no sudsing, and little to no scent. About halfway through the wash cycle, I fish out the bag and open it to see what’s happening inside. Again, there is no noticeable sudsing, and the nuts only look wet to me. I drop them back into the wash.
I take the bag out of the wash again right before the rinse cycle to deactivate the (nonexistent!) suds. When the washing machine finishes, I put all the clothes in the dryer along with two dryer balls. I didn’t use any man-made cleansers or fabric softeners in this load.
At this point, I did some searching on the Internet and found that some sites recommend to make a soap nut liquid for the wash, since cold water doesn’t release the saponin from the nuts. My brochure didn’t mention that. Now I see why I also received a 4 oz. concentrated laundry liquid sample, although nowhere on the label does it say anything about water temperature recommendations.
I am excited to say that my laundry came out clean and smelling fresh, despite the fact that I doubted whether the soap nuts were “activated” by the cold water. I put some tough stuff in the laundry, too, to give it a good trial: sweaty garden clothes, equally sweaty workout wear, and some towels that tend to develop a “musty” odor after use. I only put them through one rinse cycle, too, because of the low-sudsing. The clothes came out of the dryer with no real smell and a soft feel. That deserves kudos from me. Now the test will be how they feel against the skin.
Only time will tell how my husband’s sensitive skin will react. I’ll provide a follow-up review in a few weeks and address that issue. Also, I’ll try the liquid and note the differences between that and the soap nuts in a bag.
The bottom line is I like them! They are simple, compostable and natural, and they work well in the laundry. They are a great addition in my bid to simplify my ingredient life. Now, I look forward to trying them in other applications.
I took my first ZUMBA class yesterday morning. OMG...did it ever hurt my crappy knees, but OMG it was so fun, the time flew by, and I sweated like a pig. It is Latin dance moves and Latin music in a reasonably easy to follow format. If they continue the Saturday class past the introductory period, I might do it once a week. I don't think my knees could take more. Have you guys tried it???
I also worked in the yard for 5 hours solid, so got my work out in for the day I think. Today will be a little lower key. I got groceries, will wax my unruly eyebrows, make some shampoo and if the fog lifts and it dries out from last nights showers, I may dabble in some yard work later. We'll see.
A few years ago, I was having one of my cyclic existential/spiritual flounderings. One of those spaces where I was fidgeting in my own skin, looking for my purpose, seeking my connection to my spirit. I was having one of those times where nothing seems to fit and you just wonder why you are here and what your calling is.
I decided to take a two week retreat to a monastery, and chose the Monastery of St. Gertrude in Cottonwood Idaho. I had heard of La Grande locals going there and enjoying their time. AND, low and behold, I didn't have to be a Catholic...they would still let me in. I don't think I had EVER been away on my own for that long in my life.
So go, I did. I had lost my "song" and I went in search of it. I took walks daily, read inspirational works, met with a retreat counselor daily, attended chapel, and sat in silence...waiting for inspiration. Waiting to be struck with a sudden and clear realization of my purpose. As you may have guessed, that rarely actually happens. It is rather like the Wizard of Oz; you head out looking for something fantastical, only to find that you had everything you needed right in your own back yard and within your own two hands. Spiritual journeys are funny that way. Not "ha ha funny"; sometimes "peculiar funny".
One day, the sister who was my retreat counselor, handed me a book with a look of knowing and a twinkle in her eye that seemed to say "Click your heels Dorothy, you've always known the way home." It looked like a children's book. My love affair with this book began and continues to this day.
I actually hesitated to share this book with you. It is so special and so personal to me. It would seem that I should be chomping at the bit to share it. But, have you ever noticed that sometimes others don't, even to a small degree, see something in the same way that you do? A favorite movie, a favorite song, a special place? And somehow sharing something deeply personal and intensely spiritual felt like, if others didn't love it, it would somehow be diminished on my "special-meter". After reading it again today, it's a risk I just have to take. Looking for the Song by Joan Saalfeld, SNJM is written by a sister of, and is only available from, the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary Monastery in Marylhurst, Oregon (and can be ordered by clicking on the link above). The book was published in 2004 and with postage, will cost $25.
I have an electric feeling every time I read this book, that I am reading a work that was Divinely inspired and purely magical. It is one of those books that was EXACTLY what I needed to read at EXACTLY the right time in my life (and many times hence). There is a character, a guide, in the book named Erac who personifies the magic of the book: "His voice bristled with vitality and his eyes got bluer. The short white hair around his ears seemed to crackle with electricity." (p 8). This book has that type of crackling electricity and vitality when I read it. It reaches out, grabs my spirit and says "Listen...there is something here for you."
This book is written and arranged like a child's book. It has beautiful torn paper illustrations by Sister Mary Bertoli, SNJM and is a soft bound, picture book of only 38 pages in length. However, there is much text on these pages. I think a child would LOVE the story, but you could not easily read it aloud to a young child in a single sitting. They would miss much of the symbolism but could grow with the story just as I have each time I read it. It really is a book primarily geared to the spiritual seeker who feels they have "lost their song" and must go in search of it.
Every time I read it, something, somewhere in it brings me to tears. It speaks to that deep part of me that longs to know, with certainty where my place in the universe is. Here's an excerpt:
The Song was astonishing and golden and haunting, bigger than the stars. BIG. Full of tenderness, laughter, beauty and knowing. Completely comfortable and completely new. It seemed to be singing from inside and outside Reza at the same time. It filled her up and became part of herself for a whole day or more, making her want to sing all the time. The Song made her feel as if she were shining and beautiful and important. It made her love everybody and everything. She knew that as long as she could hear the Song, nothing could ever hurt her and she would never be afraid. But now Reza was afraid. For many nights she had been coming out to look and look at the stars and to hear the Song, but only darkness and silence surrounded her. She waited. She hoped. She cried out to the stars, but they did not come. She drained her eyes with looking, but no star showed itself. They had gone away and they had taken the Song with them. Reza lay as she always did, but now she hated the prickles and the coolness. Everything seemed against her, making her lost and lonely here in her own backyard! She jumped up and brushed herself off, going inside her cottage to get away from the dark that had been so friendly before. But it did not help to light a lamp or huddle in her bed. She had done that every night. The dark was everywhere, even in the lamplight. Even in the daytime. It wasn't friendly. Just dark. Inside and outside. Layer upon layer of darkness. DARK. Without the Song every part of her life became gloom. Everything seemed drab and uninteresting. She did not care about anything. Nothing made sense.
Have you ever felt like this? I know I sure have! The beautiful, simple AND complex story unfolds in a journey for Reza. Enjoy.
We all have them. Those old bits of baggage from our childhood, relationships, physical traumas, even past life baggage. Have you ever noticed how with some wounds, no matter how hard you try, they are resistant to a "cure"? Have you ever noticed how something seemingly inert can trigger a full-blown emotional reaction related to an old wound and you wonder "Where the heck did that come from?". Well, I sure have.
I'll outline some steps that have been helpful to me in clearing away some of the wounds of my past:
First of all recognizing them is crucial. We humans have a tendency to be triggered by an old wound and then once the trigger is diffused, we just return to business as usual. And that wound lies in wait for the next trigger to set it off.
The desire and awareness that you want this wound to heal, that you are even aware of it and what it may be connected to is a huge beginning step. I'm not certain if a "cure" is possible or reasonable in all cases, but perhaps a reduction and a softening over time is a better expectation. Just like a surgical scar, it may always be there but can fade with time.
Decide that you no longer wish to receive attention for or cling to your scars as the calling cards you use in social settings. This indicates you need your wounds in order to relate to others and to try to gain comfort from others for them. This is reasonable in the early phases following an emotional or physical wound, but 20 years later? Trust me...people are tired of hearing about it. You have to be willing and ready to let it go. For some this can be frightening. Who am I without this wound, or topic of conversation?
Talk therapy is an excellent step if you have not before attempted it, or if a new layer of an old wound presents itself. Like an onion, sometimes old wounds present layers for us to revisit from time to time. Try not to think of therapy as "I did that and am fixed". Life continues to give us new things to work on. Think of therapy as ongoing, episodic maintenance. Once you notice a trigger is still there, consider getting more help to see if there are more things to explore.
Try energy healing. People will frequently find me and in the course of our healing work together, they will say "I've had years and years of therapy but this is still here." Some physical and emotional wounds will actually lodge in our cells, or in specific places in our bodies and be resistant to "talking them out". This is where energy healing can be really useful. Energy healing assists the body in releasing stored wound energy. There are many forms of energy healing. Find one that you like. La Grande is coming around to the idea and more and more healers are appearing. You can check out my website for a bit more info on energy healing. I discuss Reiki but that is just one of many forms and I primarily follow an intuitional style. In the Portland area, you will find a vast array. Perhaps take a look at and consider Brighthill Healing Center.
Develop a mindfulness practice: Centering prayer, meditation, and/or just sitting in stillness quieting the mind and focusing on the in and out of your breath. Against the backdrop of this practice, over time, and in general, the nervous system is less reactive. But it has to be a lifelong thing, not just do it when you're agitated. When one is highly agitated, it can be the most difficult of times to try to sit still. Through such regular practice, the limbic system will become less reactive. And as Rev. Master Meido Tuttle from the Wallowa Buddhist Temple tells me "Never underestimate the value of sitting still for 5 minutes, or even a single moment." I will be writing more on meditation in future articles, but don't get caught up in thinking you must sit for a specified amount of time with a rigid posture...start where you are and do what you can.
Consider the purchase of Robin Rose's Book "Shifting Gears" which gives some truly simple strategies for calming emotional triggers. Old wounds and their triggers (or at least the very traumatic ones), initiate our low-brain, reptilian brain, limbic system, or fight or flight responses; whatever you want to call it. It just flips that survival switch and thinking is hard to do in that space and we just aren't reasonable. Their will be triggers and people need tools.
Find and stay in "the gap" between trigger and reactivity. Be with what you are feeling without responding, speaking or acting. Notice it rise up within you and just NOTICE it. Become the awareness in a third-person sort of way: "Oh, my heart is racing, I feel nauseated, I feel scared, I want to run, I want to lash out at the person in front of me..." Whatever the feelings are, notice them. There is often a split second of opportunity between the onset of a trigger and the action you may take (striking out, fleeing, mouthing off, whatever your reactionary action typically manifests as).
Study the works of Eckhart Tolle with such works as: The Power of Now, Stillness Speaks, A New Earth and others. Learn to BE...RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW. During a trigger you can remind yourself "...This is from the PAST...but RIGHT NOW, I am safe and nobody is trying to harm me." I'm quite liberal in my spirituality, and for many people, the work of Eckhart Tolle is very maliable to whatever religious or spiritual practice you currently have. His work is of a psychological and spiritual blend that transcends religion.
Stay tuned for upcoming articles on the basics of meditation. Seriously, if I can do it...anybody can.
This is my new(est) guilty pleasure. The Greek Gods Traditional Greek Yogurt is not going to be on the list of sissy, low cal diet trends. I've tried the Honey flavored variety and to me, it is close to eating cheesecake. This stuff has a whopping 10 grams of fat per 1/2 cup serving, so I use it as a treat, like I would ice cream. It is thick as you can see from the picture, and due to all that yummy fat, it is really REALLY creamy.
The ingredients are very basic: Pasteurized Grade A Milk, Cream, Pure Cane Sugar, Honey, Pectin and Active Cultures (S. Thermophilius, L. Bulgaricus, L. Acidophilus, Bifidobacterium, L. Casei). So you do get all that good gut bacteria. Within reason, fat is not your enemy as the press and the fad low fat diet industry has made it out to be. It's all about balance in ALL things in your life.
So far, I've only found two flavors in the larger 24 oz containers at my local health food store. It is expensive there...perhaps between $3.50 and $4. I'm sure in larger areas, it may be carried at more local supermarkets in all flavors and maybe even at a lower price. Have you tried it? Do you like it?
The weird thing is, that typically, I don't like yogurt...something about the texture (perhaps a cross between too thick and too loose) almost makes me gag. I buy it for a little while and then quit. This could be my new love though. Best not to overdue since it is high in fat and calories and sugar, but there are some good things in it too. Moderation, moderation, moderation.
On the company website there is a store locator. I wish we had more flavors at better prices here locally. The last time I tried to buy it, the health food store had it on sale...know why? They were putting the yogurt on sale that was past it's pull date...I didn't even know that was legal...so all of the dates were past...needless to say, even at the sale price, I didn't want it. I wish we had a big Whole Foods Market or something where I live. We need some competition and greater variety in whole/organic/health foods. The time has come!
This day has gotten away from me. I prefer it when I just get to be home. After having a couple of exercise classes and running a plethora of errands and meeting a friend to do some healing trade/computer work, I'm about to embark on making an all vege, not fried spring roll.
I saw them making these on a cooking show on OPB one day and then saw them making them on The Ellen Show. Here is the link to the recipe. I got all the ingredients and then found I could not find two of the ingredients I needed which stinks. Those TV recipes assume you always have access to the ingredients they use. Not so in small, rural areas. I cannot find RICE spring roll wraps (that just need to be reconstituted in warm water) so am using wheat pastry ones and I'll have to cook those somehow or it will be like raw pie dough probably. AND, we don't have any black bean noodles to be found. I'm having to substitute buckwheat soba noodles but I wanted the black bean noodles. I have a friend who is willing to mail me these two ingredients from her area but they probably won't get here before my fresh ingredients rot...so I'll have to make do this time. She how the ones in the photo above are translucent and super thin and not fried? THAT's what I'm aiming for...eventually.
I need to do a bit more researching on the risk/benefit of the ingredients because I've learned to not take a label's word for "safety". These are the claims of this product:
Description
Revolutionary 100% Natural Origin formula contains the purest ingredients and provides 5x Lash Boosting for lash length, volume & definition naturally.
100% Recyclable Eco-Brush defines each lash with ultra-soft plastic bristles.
They also claim that 47% of the ingredients are from organic farm sources and those ingredients with an asterisk by them are those items. Here's the ingredient list. Let me know if you've heard anything bad about these ingredients before I have a chance to research them a bit further:
INGREDIENTS: CITRUS AURANTIUM DULCIS (ORANGE) FRUIT WATER*, GLYCERIN, IRON OXIDE, MICROCRYSTALLINE CELLULOSE, GLYCERYL STEARATE, WATER, BEESWAX*, JOJOBA ESTERS, TAPIOCA STARCH*, COPERNICIA CERIFERA (CARNAUBA) WAX*, STEARIC ACID, GLYCERYL CAPRYLATE, ALOE BARBADENSIS LEAF JUICE*, CELLULOSE GUM, CUCUMIS SATIVUS (CUCUMBER) FRUIT EXTRACT*, GLYCINE SOYA (SOYBEAN) OIL*, HYDROLYZED ORYZA SATIVA (RICE) PROTEIN, LEUCONOSTOC/RADISH ROOT FERMENT FILTRATE, MAGNESIUM ALUMINUM SILICATE, OLEA EUROPAEA (OLIVE) LEAF EXTRACT*. MAY CONTAIN: TITANIUM DIOXIDE *PRODUCED FROM ORGANIC FARMING.
As for performance I find it goes on smoothly and isn't very clumpy (nothing seems to be totally non clumpy). I think I wore it for about a half day yesterday and even with moisturizer under my eyes (the face butter I mentioned), it didn't smudge, which was impressive. It is not waterproof. Claims to be smudge proof. Time will tell. I'll update. I ALWAYS get smudges from most mascaras and it is a pet peeve. If I forgot I was wearing it and rubbed my eyes at all, it smudged...if I left it alone, so far, it stays put...unless you get any water on it. I haven't tried crying in it yet.
I tend to be one of those lazy people who fails to remove make-up at night (good thing I try to use all natural products, huh?). When I woke up this morning I had the dreaded "raccoon eyes"...so while I can't expect it to, it didn't "sleep" well like the Revlon Double Extend does.
When I went to water aerobics this morning (and I don't put my face in the water), just from the limited splashing on my face my eyes started to burn and it was running down my face. So...that's not a plus...but then again, it isn't waterproof. What was left of it rinsed off easily with soap and water in the shower.
As always, if you try this product, share what your experience with it is. It is really pretty hard to find a very natural mascara that performs. They just don't seem to perform as well as the nasty chemical ones do. *sigh*...keep working on it companies! And...just as an aside...don't you wish the brush really was all clean and colored like all the commercials show? Why do I hope it is, only to find that DUH, it is covered in black mascara :-) The price at Wal-Mart was right around $10 but Amazon, as usual, has it cheaper (not with shipping, but remember, if you spend $25 the shipping is free)
I thought I would take a second and state that with all of my preaching about health, natural ingredients, natural cleansers etc, I don't in any way mean to imply that people are less than, or "bad" for how they currently do things and for what they buy or eat. That just isn't my style. I hope it doesn't ever come across that I'm trying to be all uppity and snooty.
I would make a healthy person cringe sometimes. I still use pesticides outdoors, and still buy cleaning products that are harmful to me and to the environment and I shop at all the non-PC places that aware people shun. I don't enjoy recycling, and I wish I had a composter but I don't yet...lots of things. Oh, and those geneticly modified McDonald's fries I so dearly love!
I'm a work in progress. I'm reading and learning and new information comes my way all the time. I have a lot of time to play with these things since I am a full-time homemaker. I respect each person's journey. I'm sharing what I find along the way so that maybe if somebody is looking for alternatives, they can save themselves a little grunt work researching. I'm also a tight-wad, so I'm not about to throw away things I spent money on that still work. What I am trying to do is that when I have an empty container (or before it is empty) I spend some time researching what might be a better choice for next time. I replace one product here and there.
Anyway, I don't ever want to come across like I'm preaching at anybody because I hate it when people preach at me. I know people won't always agree with what I blog about, and that's fine...hopefully they can find a blog that meets their style. I can't be all things to all people. I'm super good at some things, super crappy at others...just like most people.
Have you heard of these? Have you used them? I'm going to admit that I have been resistant to them because I've never been one that liked greasy, oily creams/lotions etc. I just don't.
My friend owns Whispering Pines Bed and Bath in La Grande and she makes tons of products. Among them are face and body butters and she sells them like they are going out of style. She gave me a sample of her face butter (scroll down towards the end of the page) AND I asked her to show me how to use it. Seems like that would be a no-brainer, right? Well, not for me. I'm pretty sure what I was doing with face and body butters was using WAY too much and then complaining about the oiliness. So as in a previous post, this is how you use it on your face:
Put about half a pea size or less on the tip of your index finger and then gently swipe it over the other three fingertips (no need to put it on your thumbs) and then take the opposite hand and rub 8 fingertips together. Make sense? This melts the product onto your fingertips and it becomes liquid like. Then GENTLY tap in a gentle typewriter fashion all over your face and neck and perhaps upper chest. This will put a tiny dab in many areas (vs having it all land in one clump on your skin and then having a hard time distributing it). THEN gently rub it around as you would a lotion. Give it a few minutes and it should absorb rather nicely.
I notice that since I've been using her face butter, my skin quality has improved. Dryness gone, no blemishes, no clogged pores, pores seem smaller and overall, my skin just feels better.
Now it isn't rocket science to make this stuff and you can find recipes and tutorials on YouTube, but I don't own a high powered mixer and it can fling a bit of oil around. It involved melting various butters (shea, cocoa etc), and then whipping their liquid form for something like 45 minutes or longer...and there is such a thing as too much whipping and too little whipping that would require practice and trial and error. Julie at Whispering Pines sells hers at VERY reasonable prices with ALL Natural Ingredients that are safe enough to eat if you really wanted to do such a thing. Some places sell this stuff at really high prices or put chemicals in it that are cheaper and not healthy. Julie's prices are so reasonable it just doesn't make sense to do all that work myself. Even the sample she gave me is lasting forever.
She sells body butters too and the same application process would hold true: Put a SMALL amount in your hand and melt it between your hands and then tap it around and then rub it in. You'll learn the exact right amount that you need for your skin for whatever area you are putting it on. Julie gives you a little paddle to dip out just the right amount.
The Whispering Pines website may still be under construction, but if the shopping carts are not yet operational, email her or call her and place your order. She will also customize orders to your scent and ingredient preferences whenever possible.
Body butters are VERY sensitive to heat (as you'll notice how fast they melt on your skin) and so don't ever leave them in the sun, or in your car or you will have wasted it all. People with tattoos say that their skin and tats drinks this stuff right up and it helps heal the skin (when you buy the kind with all natural ingredients).
Try them and let me know what you think? As Julie taught me, if it feels too slippery, you used too much. And it may seem a little bit oily right at first but it should absorb (unlike mineral oils that will sit on the skin and clog it) in a few minutes. You may want to wait just a few minutes before applying make-up to let it fully absorb....got get a cookie or something while you wait.
If you didn't already know, buying deodorants with antiperspirants is not a healthy choice. The body must sweat, it is one of the magical ways we release toxins through our skin. When you impede this process, toxins are held in longer, AND many of the ingredients that are part of antiperspirants, are harmful. So begin to look for natural deodorants WITHOUT antiperspirants and read and research your ingredients carefully.
I've tried Tom's of Maine and their ingredient lists are very good. My husband uses their brand. What I found for me was, for some weird reason, they do not control MY particular brand of stench. They don't keep me from smelling like B.O. We use their toothpaste and mouthwash with good results.
The kind of deodorant that I've used for years is the crystal type. No particular brand, I think they are all about the same. It allows me to sweat, and it keeps me from stinking. I prefer the spray and I add a few drops of my favorite essential oil to the bottle and shake it up.
I mentioned that I prefer the spray and here's why. The solid comes in a roll up type container and you have to run the tip under some water to get it to apply (it's a dry block otherwise). So that can be a little drippy, and you need to be near a water source to use it, AND, over time that tiny bit of water can run down the inside of the block and leave a little crystally ring under the container. I would keep it in a cup or with a folded paper towel underneath it.
But, here's the thing, the spray is MOSTLY water and is not the most economical choice of the two. So I figured out a plan and it has worked wonderfully for years! Buy one of each...the spray and the solid (and there is a link included here for just such a set). Begin to use the spray (adding essential oil for scent if you wish). Take the solid, and remove the crystal from the container and discard the container. Place the solid into a pint jar and fill the pint jar with pure/filtered/or sterile water and just put it away in a cupboard.
By the time you have used the spray, you may (with a really small funnel) refill the spray bottle from the jar. You'll notice that there is a LOT of crystal still left, and you can, for an experiment, because it won't hurt you...taste what is in the bottle and taste what is in the jar. You may actually find that what has been brewing in the jar is even more concentrated than what is in your spray bottle. Refill your jar with water and keep doing it until the crystal lump is all gone...this could take over a year or more of refills. Yeah, I know...I'm a thrifty brainiac.
I just bought a pair of these boots from The Hunger Site. I think they maybe only have size 9 left as the sale has been on for a few days. They were on sale for $19.95, only one penny for shipping (not that cheap usually) AND with purchase they donate a pair of shoes, AND 50 cups of food. Granted, these are faux suede and faux shearling and are all man made so they are not going to be like UGGS. The size 9 I bought is a little snug at the toe, but I'm going to make them work. I'm wearing them in the house right now...and they are warm.
With every purchase at The Hunger Site, a donation of food is made. And they have really cool products that are fair trade...for gifts or for ME!
If you visit the site every day, you can click on their icon and food is donated. It has something to do with advertisers or sponsors donating depending on website traffic. So at least go and click, and then look around at their cool stuff. They seem to ship really promptly, have frequent specials, can be followed on facebook, and I've enjoyed everything I've purchased there so far.
A friend of mine told me about these. I think I had heard of them before but didn't pay attention. They are small balls (they come in a set of two) that are bigger than ping-pong balls, and smaller than tennis balls, and are sort of hard rubber or plastic. They look like a dog chew toy or a foot massage ball.
They are said to eliminate static, soften clothes, and reduce drying time. How? Well, by sort of beating your clothes a bit. Sort of like the suggestion that you place tennis balls in the dryer when you dry washable down to fluff up the down so it doesn't clump. If the clothes don't clump, air gets between the articles easier and the drying time is reduced. Because the balls sort of beat or "massage" the clothes when they move around, they soften the clothes. Static is reduced or eliminated for the same reason...the layers of fabric don't lie stuck together.
Best part? Zero chemicals. If you are sensitive to scents (even "unscented"), that issue is taken care of as well. And nothing to keep buying. One set of balls can last 1-2 years or more. The ones I bought were Wal_Mart's Mainstays brand and they cost only $5 for the pair. As you can see, you can get them from Amazon for about that same price. Originally, they were sold "As Seen On TV" and as you can see from the link, from them, they cost $9.95 plus $6.95 Shipping and Handling. Remember, if you make a purchase from Amazon of $25 or more (on most qualifying purchases), the shipping is free. And who can't find a product or a book they want from Amazon??
I don't know how these escaped my notice before. I'm really grateful to my friend for telling me about them. She has been using her same set for 2 years and really likes them. I love finding new ways to go chemical free AND save money. Have any of you used them? What do you think?
I looked on line and there are a bunch of people saying they are a rip off...however, none of these people seem to have tried them. They just don't understand how they could work. Also, there are complaints that they are noisy. Really? Who cares? I've dried plenty of noisier things! And I noticed that mine when "kawhamp kawamp" for just a little bit and then when they mixed in with the clothing, it wasn't very noisy. But I tend to do large loads. And what's a little noise. I don't get that complaint.
We spend an outrageous amount of money on skin softeners, skin oils, lotions, creams etc. And most of them have ingredients that are dangerous. It needn't be so. You could, very easily, go right to your kitchen cupboard and take out your cooking oil and use it on your skin. The trick is, not to use a lot. And to make it smell nice, pick out your favorite essential oil and add some. Get yourself a little travel sized shampoo bottle and fill it with oil (I prefer organic), then add just a couple of drops of your fave essential oil and viola! You've saved yourself a fortune.
The women of Greece have long used olive oil for both cleansing and moisturizing. And I'm told they have great, young looking skin. Maybe someday I will get to go look for myself!
Not all oils are equal weight however and olive oil may seem too heavy (thick) for you. Experiment with other natural oils. Even if you spend more for a bottle of a lighter oil like almond oil or sesame oil, you can mix a little essential oil in and have a large bottle of oil that will last a long time. The problem with mineral oils (like what you find in many commercial skin oils...even baby oil), is that they do not penetrate and nourish the skin. They sit on top. They may help skin in that they create a barrier, and they may prevent moisture from escaping but they have a tendency to clog the skin's pores. There are also health risks associate with any petroleum, paraben, or mineral oil based products. If you can't pronounce the name of the ingredient and don't know what it is...don't buy it.
Check out the various oils in your local grocery store. Compare and contrast with oils available online. As I've mentioned, I'm partial to Mountain Rose Herbs and they have some great oils (click on that MRH link). Experiment with the heavyness or lightness of the various oils, their natural smells and how they perform on your skin. Buy the smallest bottle you can find until you know for sure which one you like best. Sesame and almond are nice ones to start with and are fairly thin and light. I just bought some sesame oil at Safeway and then found that it is much cheaper at MRH.
If you use an oil on your face, this is how I apply it (learned it the hard way): Take about one drop of oil...not kidding...in fact, you may want to get yourself an eyedropper bottle...dab this drop onto each of your 10 fingertips. Lightly rub your fingertips together. Now gently tap like raindrops all over your face and neck...THEN gently rub it in. You can always add a little more if you need to. This allows the oil to warm and thin even more and to distribute easier so you don't end up with a glop of it in one place and none in another. Try this if you use body/face butters too (I'll write more on those later). Melt them first in a TINY quantity (about half a pea size for face use), melt on all 10 fingertips, then tap as described above.
Natural oils will actually absorb into the skin and allow their various nutritional properties to do their thing. You may want to wait just a few minutes before applying your make-up to allow it to absorb more fully. If you purchase organic oils, they will double for food use and you can experiment with them in salad dressings etc. Just pay attention to what temps they are recommended for. Some oils do not do well at high temps.
Also check out Mountain Rose Herbs varieties of natural butters which can be melted in a tiny quantity in your hand and used on skin, or melted and used in a variety of skin products you can make.
I've been using this brand of Nail file for "bigger jobs" for years and I love it. You know, when I was a kid, my grandmother had this deep ridges in her fingernails...to me they looked like corduroy. Of course MINE would never look like that. Wrong. Age has this way of sticking it to you sometimes. Now, both my fingernails AND toenails have ridges like Grandma's used to. Oh Joy and Rapture!
The Revlon Shape-n-Buff (Pack of 6) has 6 different grit surfaces and I use them all! I don't find it very useful for shaping the edges of nails. For this, the old fashioned emery board is still my go-to tool. But for smoothing the surface of the nail, this six-sided wonder is the best ever.
Even though it recommends using just the 4 surface smoothing sides for the ridge buffing, I use all six...it makes a bit quicker work of it. But go gently with that black surface...it is a rough grit and will grind down to the bone if you go heavy handed with it. The cool thing about it is that even though this can be a project, you only need to do it after your nail grows out completely again which can be months. Or, if you're more like me, you do it when you feel like it or when the ridges start getting on your nerves again and you feel particularly groomish.
Here's how I do it: First I get an old hand towel and lay it from chin to lap and sit comfortably in my favorite chair. Then I begin and first work on all 10 nails (typically I don't do both fingernails and toenails on the same day but you certainly can) with the black side or the roughest grit. Go easy...this will quickly grind down the deep ridges. Then I hit all 10 nails with the white flip side, and then go through the 1-4 (they are numbered on the file) grits until the final buff. You'll get the hang of how to do it with practice, but ideally, at the end of buff side 4 (or the 6th grit), your nails will be really smooth and have a nice shine to them...not quite as shiny as if you had used clear polish, but close enough.
With smooth surfaces, you'll also have an easier time of applying nail polish, removing nail polish etc. And, if you typically use colored nail polish, over time you may notice that the nails get yellowed. This file will buff all that away.
Have any of you been watching this new program? It has really inspired my husband and myself to do some genealogy research on our families. Last night I attended a free class put on by our local LDS church family resource library. The show airs Friday nights at 8 p.m. and there have already been 4 episodes. It's fascinating. I just wish I had someone to do all the work for me and to jump on planes and travel to different sites like they do. THAT would be AMAZING!
The Mormon's are meticulous about their record keeping to trace their church genealogy. They have some of the most comple research data bases available to them, and knowledgeable people to help you search. Their resource libraries are free to the public (you may just have to pay for photo copies of records). I'm told that they MAY ask me if I want to trace my LDS roots (and I might, the records might be richer. I already just discovered today while making photocopies that my great grandfather's family had and LDS number). I'm not particularly interested in my LDS roots but there may be a richness of history and everything is a part of my history, right? I suspect there may be slave-owners in Kentucky if I go back far enough. I'm also curious about my German ancestry, or the immigration from other countries into the U.S. And I want to learn some STORIES. Not just names and dates, but to flesh out who these people are. As I learn this, it can lead to greater understanding of the people who raised me, of the people who raised THEM, and so on and so forth and scooby-dooby-dooby.
So today, I've gotten this far: I took a notebook of family history stuff that my mom had and photocopied it (nearly 300 pages of stuff), and I have another notebook of stuff my sister had. And last night, I attended one of the classes that was on the topic of organizing your family history stuff.
I'm also told that on the LDS Family Search site, you can download free software called Free PAF Personal History Software (Personal Ancestral File) to enter pedigree info and create charts and keep the information. I can also save this to a thumb-drive and take that to the LDS family resource center to get help with my searching. Perhaps not all, but our local LDS family resource library also has a subscription to Ancestry.com (which normally costs the individual $150 per year to subscribe to) that the public can use for free. So if this interests you, and you aren't afraid to have a Mormon ask you about being a Mormon (or not), this is a really fantastic way to get started for little to no money.
I bought some fat, heavy duty three ring binders, some dividers and some sheet protectors. If anybody has done this sort of work and wants to help us out with tips they've learned along the way, I'm all ears..or is that...all eyes? Now I'm going to download that software. That maybe all I do for today. After spending 2.5 hours photocopying records (I was afraid I would lose or mess up Mom's system, so decided to make my own), I'm pooped.
I had this sandwich today. OK, it didn't look like this picture but this was the closest picture of a veggie sub I could find. Perhaps it was due to the fact I had been running errands since 8:00 and had not eaten anything for the day when I picked this up at 2:30, about to chew the paint off the walls, but I really rather enjoyed it.
I think they said it was typically served hot with a different type of bread than I chose, but I wanted it cold, and I chose multi-grain bread. Let me see if I can remember what was on it...there were about three sauces...a honey mustard mayo stuff, some sort of Italian herb dressing, vinegar/oil dressing, lettuce, this mixed olive spread (also in oil), provolone cheese, artichoke hearts (which of course are usually packed in oil), green peppers, tomatoes...that may be all...quite strong on the Italian style dressing flavor (think Italian salad dressing).
This is NOT a sandwich I would recommend for weight loss (lots of oil, olives, cheese), nor would it be wise to eat it in the car or on a picnic. It is drippy and messy. Oil everywhere. I know that doesn't sound good, but sometimes vegetable oils are not as gross as say, a dripping oily meat sandwich. You open this paper up, and LEAN OVER, because it will be everywhere.
But, like I said...today anyway, I dug it. I'm not much of a sandwich person ordinarily. If you try one, let me know what you think.
has 6 different grit surfaces and I use them all! I don't find it very useful for shaping the edges of nails. For this, the old fashioned emery board is still my go-to tool. But for smoothing the surface of the nail, this six-sided wonder is the best ever.