Sunday, October 28, 2012

Liquid Castille soap: You are the love of my life!

We humans are pretty crafty beings, aren't we? Why use what works and has worked fairly well for centuries when we can make NEW and "better" items using massive amounts of chemicals and toxins to cleanse ourselves with, all in the quest for bouncing and behaving hair!

Okay...that's a bit harsh. There are good reasons why we as a society switched over to shampoos and cleanliness has been greatly improved in the past 100 years or so, with reduction in diseases being the result. But we've also created massive ecological problems in the process....it's a vicious world isn't it?

So that being said, I am falling in love with liquid castille soaps, a part of my quest for more natural cleansers. I discovered when making laundry soap that you could buy my favorite Dr. Bonner's bar soaps in liquid form...in HUGE bottles if you so wish. Of course I didn't want to start out with a huge bottle so I bought the small size and I've been experimenting.

1. It makes a great hand cleaner! I put some in a used out "foaming" hand soap dispenser. I put in about 2 tbsps of soap and then filled the rest of it up with water. What you get is this fantastic foam to wash with that is sharply scented with peppermint (Since that's the scent I picked) that doesn't leave your hands dry AND that cleans paint brushes nicely....(Hey, you have to wash your brushes out SOMEWHERE...)

2. It can be used all over the house to clean. Mix it with some baking soda to make a paste that is great for cleaning the kitchen sink, bath tub or toilet (non-abrasive too!), Mix it with hot water to make a great wash for the counters, floors, sinks and mirrors. Use some to make some liquid laundry soap...I haven't tried this yet but I'm sure you can!

3. Wash your hair with it. Oh...I'm still mostly "No-poo" but curiosity and the longing for lather lead me to try this a while back. My hair came out nicely clean but not stripped of it's oils. Now I wash once per week week with lavender castille soap and "no-poo" the rest of the time. It's been fantastic!

4. Wash your body with it. A tiny bit on one of those loofah sponges goes a LONG way to creating lots of lathery goodness!

5. Wash your doggy with it. My dog...is ITCHY. I grabbed a bottle of lavender castille soap and added a tiny bit of tea tree oil to the mix and it seemed to help. (we're also making changes to her diet since she's itchy all over). The lavender and tea tree scents also will help to repel fleas and ticks and it left her coat nice and soft and shiny all over.

I am sure there are about a million other uses for it, but these are ones I've tried and tested myself and they all work very well! I bought my soap at wegmans but it is also available on amazon.com. Go ahead...get the BIG bottle. But a little of this stuff goes a long ways, no matter how you are using it!

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Crunching on squirrels is NOT the kind of Crunchy I want going on in this house!

Okay..maybe eating squirrels is acceptable to some of you. I know hunters and such who are all to happy to bag a cute little critter. But that's not what I'm writing about today...

I'm writing about the puppy dog and her new found NEED to eat EVERYTHING SHE FINDS ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. We've been going for these lovely walks and lately she's been coming up with some interesting finds: Dead frogs, squirrells and possums. Bugs, grass and bits of corn that have blown off from the crops. It all goes in her mouth and I have NO idea how to break her from this disturbing habit. I know, I know...she's a dog and it's what dogs do. They roll and frolic in dead things in order to stink themselves up. I understand it on an intellectual level but as we're walking along...all that logic flies out the door and is replaced by the immediate need to scream and leap away from the dead thing my sweetie has discovered.

So..any thoughts or tips? I love my girl and I love our walks together but I'd like to be able to get home without having to repeatedly gag at what she eats before I can stop her.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

But...why not beans??!!

Beans are one of those foods that FEEL and look hearty and wholesome to eat. One of my favorite cook book authors once said "people who live close to the earth depend on beans...." and this is true. Beans offer a rich source of proteins and minerals, fiber and carbohydrates. They are easy to keep, store for huge amounts of time when properly dried and they are relatively easy to cook. They are cheap, readily available and filling.
So when I started down the path of the Paleo diet I was surprised and a little bit...shall I say..MIFFED that beans were on the NO NO VERY NAUGHTY list. Beans? Really? They are good for your heart after all and the more you eat the more you....

Okay, never mind.

So why no beans? Why exclude this pretty little packet of nutrients from our diets? What is the reasoning? I did some digging and I'm still trying to come to an understanding with this elimination.

The first reason: Beans have to be processed before you can eat them. I guess that this means green beans, which you can eat in their raw form, are okay? Dried beans though, you definitely can't eat them raw, in fact doing so would involve a great deal of distress to your system. Hmmm..okay...I can see that. The paleo diet is meant to closely mimic our hunter/gatherer ancestors and to walk around trying to munch on some hard beans while on the hunt for boar would not fit into that lifestyle.

So why else? This is according to livingpaleo.com: Legumes also have similar traits to grains in their make-up; they contain phytates which inhibit nutrient absorption and cause inflammation. They also contain lectins and play with healthy hormonal functions.

Part of the rational for the paleo diet is to restore proper levels of blood sugars and hormones, something that modern diets have thrown WAY out of whack. I understand this on a health care worker level as I've seen the absolute pandemonium a plate of beans and rice can play upon a diabetics body, even when appropriately portioned. Maintaining blood sugar balance is a game of balance and beans, while full of fiber, are also full of starchy carbs. Soy beans for certain have issues with hormone disruption as they can mimic estrogen.

All of this is good stuff but by far the best article on the topic of beans is here: http://whole9life.com/2012/09/the-legume-manifesto/

Look it over and...decide what you think! I adore a big pot of pintos beans made from soaked beans cooked low and slow with a bit of ham. I don't know if I'm ready to completely exclude it...YET but the thought is an interesting one, especially as I move on in my weight loss journey.


Thursday, October 11, 2012

Ten Uses for Lavender Essential Oil

Lavender happens to be one of my favorite scents of all time, right next to Lilac. I love the stuff but I hadn't really given much thought to it's usage beyond scenting items. So I thought I'd look some up. I was surprised by what I found! So here are ten uses for my FAVORITE of essential oils: 

1. A drop of lavender  on a bug bite or bee sting will stop itching and reduce swelling. 

2. Lavender has been used forever for insomnia. Drop several drops into your palm then rub it over your pillow for deeper sleep. 

3.To reduce or minimize the formation of scar tissue, massage lavender oil on and around the affected area.

4. Place a few drops of lavender oil on a wet cloth and throw into the dryer which will deodorize and freshen your laundry.

5. Diffuse lavender oil to alleviate the symptoms of allergies.

6. A drop of lavender oil on a cold sore will reduce swelling. 

7. Rub lavender oil on the back of your neck, chest, and in between your eyes to alleviate sinuses, sinusitis, allergies. This is also very helpful for a headache. 

8. Place a few drops of lavender oil on a wet cloth and throw into the dryer which will deodorize and freshen your laundry.

9. Massage a few drops of lavender oil into your lower abdomen or apply a hot compress onto the area, which a little lavender oil has been sprinkled.

10. Add 8 drops of lavender oil and 4 drops of peppermint oil to a teaspoon of jojoba oil. Pour it into a cool-to-lukewarm bath and soak for 10 minutes to reduce the pain of a sunburn. 

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

The laundry debate: What is the cost of homemade laundry soap?

A while back, I shared with you my recipe for homemade laundry detergent. Today, as we made a new batch (Our 4th batch in 1 year) I decided to take a look at how the laundry soap is working out for us.

First batch I made, I used borax. Borax is a mined mineral and does a good job with laundry. It's marketed in fact as a "Laundry  booster". The Duggars, famously of "19 Kids and Counting" have made the recipe for borax based laundry soap popular amongst the cheapskate/DIY internet world. I have to say, the borax based laundry soap worked really well! Your clothes come out fresh and clean, with no scent excepting the tiniest trace of whatever bar soap you used in the mix. If you are interested in using borax in your soap try out the Duggar's recipe:

Duggar family soap

But....I did some more digging and decided that I did not want to use Borax any longer, or Fels Naptha for that matter. Why? Because they are both harsh on the environment and my reason for making my own soap was to be greener as well as cheaper. Read more about it here: http://www.enviroblog.org/2011/02/borax-not-the-green-alternative-its-cracked-up-to-be.html

So..I looked around and finally came up with this recipe:

Borax free laundry soap:
1 cup arm & hammer super washing powder
1/2 cup baking soda
1 bar dr. bonner castile soap grated

Mix together and use 1 tbsp (heaping if your laundry is really dirty) per load. Works for front loading washers AND top loading)

Now, this makes a small batch of soap. I make it in HUGE batches because we are a large family and I don't like grating up soap very often...it's messy business! (though MUCH easier thanks to our stand mixer with grater attachment!)

This recipe works really well! My clothes are clean (but not softened) and again, no smell on the. The baking soda especially gets rid of the odors and the washing soda (NOT the same thing as baking soda) dissolves dirt. Plus there is little impact on the gray water that comes from the wash as the castille soap, baking soda and washing powder are all green. Yay!!

So what does it cost to use this soap? The most expensive ingredient is the bar castille soap which I get either from Wegman's or Amazon.com in a pack of 6 for $21 or $3.50 a bar. Yes..wow. It's pricey! But..remember that you're grating up a bar and then only using 1 Tbsp per load of your wash. The baking soda I found at Aldi's the other day for $.48/box. Yes!! Under a dollar! And a box has two cups in it so you only need 1/4 of the box to make this small batch! (But trust me...make a large batch! It's worth it!) Washing soda comes in a box of 55oz for about $10 or less. So...if you use all 6 bars of your castille soap you got from Amazon you'd need 6 cups of washing soda (less than one box) and three cups of baking soda (1.5 boxes). You'll be able to do this for about $32 for the big batch. You'll get about 400 loads of laundry, which comes out to.....*Drumroll please*.........$.15/load.

$.15/load!

So, is this worth it? Heck yes!! How much do you pay per load to use Tide? About $.50/load. But remember you're also adding toxins into the enviroment AND onto your body as they soak in through your skin....

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/26/tide-detergent-1-4-dioxane_n_1455575.html

So, think about it. Is it worth it to YOU to go through the soap grinding effort to have clean clothes?




Monday, October 8, 2012

Food Co-op: Some thoughts

Our experience with our local food Co-op is drawing near to a close. I have mixed feelings about the entire process and I wanted to ruminate about them some here. Overall, it was a positive experience. That being said however..I won't be signing up again next season. There were some things that I had trouble with:

1. We signed up for a full share of veggies each week. Now this was supposed to be enough to feed a family of four, and most times, it was. But we would get sometimes just one small turnip, or four small beets. I would be okay with this number, but I know that our co-op also holds a weekly farmers market which means they are selling all of their "surplus"...stuff that was technically already paid for by the co-op  members prior to being grown.

2. We got a few things that we wouldn't have bought for ourselves, over and over again. Like basil. I love basil but I also have some growing outside my door. I received a big handful of basil each week from the co-op and it's not something I would have purchased for myself..which means it got thrown away every single week. This is a waste and also...a waste of money. Not getting to pick what you get each week can equal more waste if your family simply won't eat it.

3. Often times what we got...seemed like seconds. I can't say for sure if this was the case or not, but for example, we got a sweet potato that had clearly been hacked in half by a blade. Still edible, yes, but since we only got one sweet potato (for a "family of four?") half of it had to be thrown out...this means we only got 1/2 of a sweet potato. We also got some extremely tiny carrots that were...not quite big enough for rabbit food (One or two bites per carrot). This was very disappointing.

So, the positives:

1. I loved getting farm fresh eggs weekly. If it didn't require such a drive down to the farm, I would consider doing only an egg share.

2. The chickens, always sold as extras, while expensive were definately delicious. Pasture raised birds that you know lead happy, grub eating lives.

3. I loved the IDEA of the co-op. Of farm fresh veggies each week, and I got just that. It just had enough flaws that I think for our family it'd be better to take our money down to the local organic farmer's market...and buy exactly what we want each week (and enough for all of us to have some).

Just my thoughts, I still think the idea is a good one and worth investigating! I still think eating locally and organically is important, but we will have to find another way to do it.

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Gray water? What is it anyway and does it matter?

This is definitely a crunchy topic. See, it's not something I'd previously given a lot of thought to, but lately it's been crossing my mind more and more. Gray water....you know? The water that you flush away but not in contact with your sewage? The water from the kitchen, the bathroom sink, the bath tub, the washing machine....the water that's dirty but not....DIRTY. Added up, it becomes a LOT of water. Water that we here in the US take for granted.

But we shouldn't.

The recent draughting here in the U.S. should be a HUGE wake up sign to us that our water is not in infinite supply. We consume an excessive amount of freshwater and then spend a huge amount of energy (and money) in treating it to return it back into the water system. (though a lot of it never returns....)

I've recently watched a few documentaries on the water systems in the North American Continent and they definitely give you pause to think about just what our water is going to. (Frontline's: Poisoned Waters, Blue Gold: The Worlds Water Wars are a couple I recommend). In fact, did you know each American uses about 1 Olympic sized swimming pools worth of water...a YEAR? We use more than twice the worlds average.

So what is grey water got to do with any of this? Well, there's a lot of ways you can reuse your gray water, particularly if you are a gardener or landscaper. I've looked into this possibility before, but never gave it much further thought. Now that our garden is closing up, and we had more than enough rainfall here in PA to keep it producing without much extra watering, it's not something we'll be taking to immediately. But I will definitely be investigating it more for the future, and it's something I think that the drought plagued regions West of here should definitely be considering.

Many people say we are fast approaching a water crisis in this country. I'm inclined to think that may be very likely. If this is the case, do I really want to flush down gallons and gallons of water? Yes...I LOVE my baths, but I know I need to seriously reconsider this particular love of mine. Along with many other habits that  I know we all fall into.

Any thoughts?

Friday, September 28, 2012

Looking at the piles of dirty laundry

We all have them right? Troubles and woes, things in our life that are less than polished and less than perfect? But that is seldom what we put out there for the world to see. That's something I have to remember when I'm  reading other peoples blogs, thtey are not the perfect representation of themself that they post. They have piles of dirty laundry SOMEWHERE in that perfectly organized house with the cute home made ribbon curtain ties.

I try to be pretty honest here, and have come out with SOME of my own dirty laundry. The fact That I struggle with depression, for instance, often leaves me less than organized and drained from an internal battle you couldn't begin to fathom (unless you are a depressive yourself).

So what is some of my "dirty laundry" issues? Let's see....

 I am the MOST unorganized person. Call it being a creative. Call it ADD (very likely). Don't call it lazy. I think of myself as ANYTHING BUT lazy. I'm constantly in motion...in my head. I have a million things I want to do, but don't. Mostly because I'm overwhelmed with the ideas and then can't start (perfectionism?) This leads to a heap of unstarted projects, none of them sorted or put away into any manner that makes sense.

Trickle the organization down and as you can imagine, my finances are a mess. I do okay. I make good money, right? But it's the odds and ends that don't get tied up in a timely manner. They end up making me sink or swim in a paycheck to paycheck manner. Does anybody else struggle with this?

I'm passive agressive. Yes...I'll admit it. No, I don't WANT to be but it's the way it comes out. I'm to non-confrontational to be fully agressive, but I still want to try to enact a change in people I'm dealing with so it comes out passively. It's frustrating to me because often I don't realize I'm doing it until well later. I try to work on this, but it means I have to be aware of doing it at the time and stop it then.

I am not always a good friend. This is hard to admit, right? But it's true. Sometimes, part of being sick, or working so hard on your illness means that you dont' see what is going on with the people around you, you are to focused on yourself and what is going on inside. This is a horribly selfish thing to do, but it's something I'm willing to be that a LOT of us who are struggling with issues like trauma, depression and physical illness are guilty of. I'm extremely greatful for my friends, those who have been with me through all kinds of hardships, and to my family who also falls under this category of being put on the "back burner" to my own needs. Thank you for sticking by me and know...please know..that I love you!

So, that's some of my dirty laundry. Yes, I hung it out for the world to see, all in the name of catharcism and being REAL with you, so that you don't perceive me as one of those perfect bloggers without a single scratch. I'm not perfect. I'm just trying to get by and to do it in a way that is less harmful to myself, my family and others around me.


Thursday, September 27, 2012

"Writers write"

I've taken some coaching classes recently from a friend of mine: http://www.myvoiceoftruthcoaching.com/index.html. We did five sessions and started a process I hope to continue later on down the line. Something she said to me though, stuck in my head and I wanted to muse on it some more.

We were talking about taking time for yourself, "me time" and pursuing dreams. Now, I've mentioned in this blog here before how I've always held fast to the dream of maybe one day being a "writer". I shared this with her and she pointed out that it didn't really matter what my degree was in "writers write", that the goal of being a writer was a simple as....writing. I had to really think about that some.

I write, this dinky little blog is writing. I write out stories with a good friend of mine OL in role playing situations. I write ideas. I write in journals. I make character sketches of just about everybody I meet as a potential story character. I have pages and pages of ideas. I write charts for work. I write letters. But...am I a "writer"?

I guess this goes into the same vein of thought as "am I an artist?" when I have no formal art training, and paint girls I learned to draw online from other untrained artsy folk, using craft paint and scrap book stencils. Does this make me an "artist"?

Some would say "HELL NO." I don't sell art, thereby making my living by my trade. I don't sell my writing, therefore professionally I am not a 'writer'. But...aren't I? In my heart I'd still say that is my dream, the ultimate "What I want to be when I grow up". So where does that leave me now? How do you define yourself  by dreams?

Just something to muse about.

Monday, September 24, 2012

What do you consider to be "Me time"?

"Me time": that proverbial quest of mothers everywhere. A few precious moments to carve out of a day to indulge in something for you and you ALONE. No caregiving to kids or other family members (including hyperactive puppy dogs), no tending to chores, no...expectations. But what do you consider to be "me time"?

For me, "Me time" is any time I have to myself that is unstructured. No working on blogging, no working on school..this all has some level of "obligation" attached to it, and therefore, it's not relaxing. "Me time" has to be free of obligation. "Me time" also can not included taking another person along with you. Yes, it's fun to go to the library over in the college town near us, but bringing along my sisters and son, this makes it an outing, not time to myself to be alone with my thoughts and therefore, not "Me time" (but definately still an outing I enjoy!)

"Me time" has to be totally selfish. It means locking the kids out of the bathroom so you're not interrupted twenty times during your bath, or putting a "DO NOT DISTURB" sign on your bedroom door if you wish to indulge in a nap. "Me time" is the time to squander, to sneak and steal if you have to. It's not "borrowed time" because you should have no intention of giving it back.

"Me time" is more valuable than gold to mose mothers. What do you do for yours?

Saturday, September 22, 2012

Me, in motion

Carsickness is all in your head. Really, it is. Carsickness results in your inner ear not being able to tell that you are stable when you are in motion in a vehicle. This happens on planes, boats and anywhere else that moves for about 33% of the population. I am one of those people. I suffer from carsickness/motion sickness routinely. I have to fight my siblings and son on family outings for seats in the van that are less likely to produce these symptoms. I have to plead sometimes for less scenic "curvy" routes home in favor of straight shots on a boring free way. I have to have people stop the car so I can get out and breath. I have to make people ride with the windows down in the middle of winter so I can have cold air blowing on my face. Reading in the car? FORGET IT! On long trips I try to sleep and or keep my eyes closed to try to keep my brain oriented. One time, when we were at Disney World, after riding on one of their rides I became so dizzy with motion sickness I had to sit for about 20 minutes on the bench right outside of the ride and beg people to just "LEAVE ME ALONE" until it settled down. I often times get a horrible headache right after the motion sickness, which will usually last the remainder of the day. Needless to say, I am not a pleasant passenger to have along.

So what can be done to help combat these episodes? Here are some things I find helpful:

Try to be the driver, if you can. I rarely get motion sick when I'm driving (but it does happen). This works but for one thing, I hate driving when there are others available to do it for me. My dad also hates to be the passenger. So this is not always an option.

Eat in the car. Yes, it seems counter intuitive but for me the act of nibbling on something seems to help. A lot. Usually dry starchy things like crackers or pretzels are extremely helpful.

Drink something warm. Coffee for me or some ginger tea help. Again, it's the act of taking something into my stomach that seems to settle down the nausea that helps.

Don't ride on an empty stomach. Skipping breakfast then riding out on a long car trip, for me, are the WORST things I can do. I'm nauseated quickly when my stomach is empty and my blood sugar is down. I try to eat something light before I go then nibble some more while riding.

Don't try to read or knit or play video games or anything like that...EVER. If you're like me it takes just moments of looking down at something to become nauseated and once that starts, it's hard to go back!

Make sure your driver understands that you will not be a good "co-pilot". My mom will ask for things as we are driving a long. Some of them I can do, like handing her a drink or changing the air setting. Others, I can not. I can't dig to the bottom of her purse for change for the toll unless we are stopped at the booth, otherwise, the act of looking down will be my undoing. Talk to the people you are going with ahead of time and make them aware of this. Let somebody else do the kind of stuff  that involves looking down or backwards. (Minding the children in the back seat?)

Bring along some ginger. Candied ginger is a bit hot on the palate but it really does help. There is ginger gum that you can find in the pharmacy for morning sickness and cancer patients. It works, but it is expensive. Also you could brew up a cup of ginger tea or try some ginger capsules before you go. I don't have a lot of luck with ginger capsules but others do.

Mint is also very helpful for once the nausea has begun. Mint gum, mint tea or hard candies can help. Suck them slowly and keep your eyes closed if you can't stop immediately.

Breathing. Focus on breathing deep breaths in through your nose and out through your mouth. Crack down the window or blow the A/C right on you to get fresh air. Cold air for me is most helpful. Keep your eyes closed until the waves pass.

Put a cold cloth on your neck or over your eyes. This helps to draw the blood away from your stomach, where it rushes to "help" you're distressed system. It can also be helpful if, like me, you get a raging headache from motion sickness.

These are just some of the things I have found to be helpful. They may also work for other incidences of nausea like morning sickness. I know that there have been entire days ruined (for me) by becoming carsick at the start of the day and not having it go away even after the car is in motion, so for me "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

Friday, September 21, 2012

10 uses for tea tree oil

I am a relative newbie to the world of essential oils, I'll admit. I know that there are dangers to using some of them (can't be used topically or internally) and I don't think I know enough to go monkeying about experimenting without knowing more. That being said, there are a few I have in my arsenal that I am definately wondering how I ever lived without.

One of those is tea tree oil.

For those of you who don't know, tea tree oil is also called melaluca oil. It is from a plant that is unique to Australia. It has a wonderfully clean fragrance and has been used in aroma therapy for bringing relief to cold/flu symptoms and persistant coughs. I have added it to my tooth powder/paste* and deodorant. But what else can I use it for? Here are ten neat ways to try this nifty oil.

*Tea tree can not be used internally so if you are using it for tooth powder/paste, don't swallow it!

1. Add a few drops to a vaporizer to help relieve congestion.

2. Use to treat danruff and dry scalp.

3. Add a few drops to your bath water. This helps with body odor and has a mild anti-bacterial effect.

4. Use a dab to treat acne

5. mix 15 drops into a quart of water to use as an insect repellant (spray on your body)

6. Put a few drops into a load of laundry to help clothes smell fresher

7. Use it to treat athletes foot: Keep foot clean and dry. Add Tea Tree Oil directly to the affected area as needed until fungus is completely healed. If the oil is makes the skin sensitive, dilute in a carrier oil like Almond, Olive or Grape seed oil.

8. Make a germ killing cleaner by adding several drops to a spray bottle filled with water.

9. For fleas on dogs dilute 8-10 drops of oil into a cup of water and spray onto the pet's coat. (Dogs only please, cats do to much licking to use essential oils on).

 10. For dry skin mix 6-7 drops of tea tree oil per oz. of almond oil or jojoba oil and apply the mixture to affected area.

Thursday, September 20, 2012

The cost of going "no 'poo"

So, have any of you gone "no 'poo" yet? Given it a try? I am still at it, nearly 6 months in now! It takes some definite adjustment time but boy, is it working. I even managed to go on a mini-vacation and remain shampoo free in a hotel room! (I premeasured backing soda and vinegar into little containers, planning to wash my hair every other day like I do at home.) I still have a few "kinks" to figure out. Like my scalp tends to be a little itchy, which I think means I need to cut back a little more on the baking soda or add a little tea tree oil into the mix. Maybe in the final rinse? I don't know. But I'm pleased with it! My scalp feels clean, my hair is nice and soft on wash days and not gross and greasy on the days between. I've even been able to go (on days I don't exercised and sweat) for three days between washings without having a major grease ball head! I don't know if my hair has stopped thinning, but it seems to be thinning...less than before. It's hard to say though, it's so thin already and I still pull quite a bit of hair out of my brush. Still....I know I'm not putting a bunch of garbage into my hair, so that's good!

So, still need a little incentive to give it a try yourself? Well, let's look at it from a different angle, shall we? Yes, it's a natural way to keep your hair clean. Yes it reduces the amount of "grey water" in the environment and pulls a lot of detergents out of the system. But have you thought about the cost? I mean really broken it down? I have, just for you!

So, you go to the store and buy a box of baking soda. Let's say you're feeling REALLY cheap that day and you buy a box of Walmart Brand. (I don't know how you feel about Walmart, where I live, it's really hard to get away from shopping there since it has effectively driven out local business.) You pay between $1 and $.50 a box for it here. So let's assume you pay $1. For that you get 1 lb of baking soda. If you use that soda for nothing else, you will get over 100 hair washes out of it. More if you use less than 1 tbsp per wash (less if you use more..). So, are you doing this math with me? 100 hair washes for $1 comes out to under a penny per wash. So, now we need to condition, so we go and buy a big ol' jug of apple cider vinegar or white distilled vinegar (*I used the distilled because it helps significantly with my extra oily hair. Others use Cider vinegar with good results). For a 1 gallon jug of apple cider vinegar you pay around $3. If all you do is condition your hair with this, you'll get 256 hair washings. That also comes out to about one penny per wash.

Which means if you go the basic route, you are spending two cents a hair wash. Washing every other day, that box of baking soda will last you for over three months. Three months of hair washing for under just about a dollar. So you shouldn't feel guilty for adding to your routine a little honey (for moisture) or a little tea tree oil (for growth and soothing) or rosemary (for growth). You'll still be saving a TON of money over washing with shampoo. And you will be putting less gunk onto your body and into the environment.

Think again about giving it a try, huh?

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

How much is to much? Video games and the autistic child

My son LOVES video games. He has an Xbox, an Xbox 360, a Wii, a Nintendo 3DS and a Kindle Fire that I lovingly bought him to read on....(good job, mom. Get him another gaming device!) Not to mention the multitude of computers around this house...the kid is more wired than R2D2!

I know many of us out there struggle as parents to set limits to the amount of TV time our kids consume. But I find the harder struggle for myself and our family is the amount of game time in general. Being a nurse, I have read a lot of literature on the subject of television for young children. It floats across my desk on a fairly regular basis. (I subscribe to several publications on pediactrics). But they usually limit their researching to just that, young children and Television. Not kids and video games. So I did a bit of Internet researching to see what I could find on the old net.

There is actually a lot of research out there on this topic. I was surprised at some of it. As a parent, I KNOW that video games aren't always good for kids. It's inactive activity for one thing (sitting on your duff and staring at the TV) and it doesn't lend itself to using your own imagination. But what I read in these studies goes beyond that: Video games can create a temporary state of "mental unbalance". Whoa. That doesn't sound good, does it? Let's look at that further shall we?

So what happened in the brain to create this unbalance? Once researcher found: ...his three hundred participants into three separate groups: people who seldom play; players logging just a few hours each week and heavy gamers, who played several hours a day. Alpha waves appear when the brain is in repose. Beta brain waves, on the other hand, signal animation and stress in the prefrontal region of the brain. The study exposed a larger reduction in beta waves correlated with more time spent playing video games. The players in the heavy gamer group showed a near constant absence of beta brainwave activity.

So, what does that mean? The brain is not reacting as it should to the stimulation of the game activity. In fact, this reduction of beta activity continued even after the game was turned off in heavy gamers (people who play several hours a day). They still don't know what this will mean for long term but this portion of your brain largely works on your autonomic nervous system (where your heart rate and breathing are regulated.) This sort of long term/ongoing study of gamers is just beginning and will need to go on for years, but the initial findings are definitely something to consider!

It has also been found that playing video games can affect your child's sleep patterns, putting causing them to not be able to fall into those deeper levels of sleep that are needed or to stay in them as long as needed. It also has an adverse effect on verbal cognitive performance. (This is also been found true of television.)

So, wow. None if this is good news, is it? So what are we to do? My son is 12 years old and all  his friends friends and their grandmothers play video games...you know that argument right? We here have decided that cutting the games out entirely is just not practical. (Though trust me, I'd LOVE to.) So we set some hard limits on the amount of game time that can happen during the week. Our rules are: No gaming during the school week. Games can happen from Friday evening after school and supper until Sunday afternoon and only for 1 hour at a time on those days. No gaming can happen after 7pm (he needs a "wind down" time.) I stuck to the "no gaming on school days" rule through the summer, keeping the games only through the weekend and the TV off until after dinner. (MOST days..I do relax the rules SOMETIMES).

For my son, this seems to be an "okay" balance. With his autism, he tends to obsess heavily on video games so knowing exactly when and for how long he can play them cuts out a lot of the stress. I also didn't make playing them contingent on some completion of an act (like chores or reading) because it was just to stressful for him. He would melt down when he thought me might lose game time and this didn't help his behavior any at all. The game time is just part of the routine. It happens and then it's done until next weekend.

I do wonder, all the time, if even this amount of playing might be to much for him, but as it's something he obsesses over, it's not something I can at this time take away. He got his game systems and games all from relatives and all as presents and it's just one of those things kids these days have all over. It's hard to have your child be the "only" one not participating. Still, I think heavy monitoring and strict rules and limits is a must. What are your thoughts on this? I know many parents relish game/TV time as it affords them a few moments of quiet, a few precious moments of a totally engaged kid who is not wandering off acting on impulses. Still, kids, especially kids who are already struggling with something like autism, just don't need anything else working against their growth and development. It's a hard line to walk! It's one we struggle with here and I know there are others out there facing these same decisions. What do you do? What are your rules and limits on video games and/or TV time and/or computer time? What are your thoughts on this? I'd love to know!

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Re-Charging

A good friend of our family recently wrote a post in her wonderful blog on recharging. I love the post and the idea, but I always hesitate to reply to people on stuff like this.
You see, I'm not a Christian, in a family of devout followers. My mother, brother, Grandparents and sisters...my son even, are all church followers and church attenders. They are absolutely confident in their faith that their way is THE way. And I find in reading stuff they post or read, that a lot of times Christians view anybody who is not a Christian as....less. Or wrong. (Wrong comes up a lot, even here amongst family...) And nobody likes to be told they are wrong..over and over again. I never set out to start an argument of faith...just to express my beliefs and opinions. But I've found so often that the best thing to do is just...not reply. Stay quiet and keep my faith to myself.

I'm not a Christian, but I'm very spiritual. I do like to take time to "recharge" that spirituality, that connection with the Divine that is around us all. I need that time just as well as anybody else. Maybe the manner I do it in is a little different (no bible) but I still spend plenty of daytime hours in prayer. I even answer the "prayer chain" calls that my mom gets from her church, but often guiltily wondering if the people I'm praying for will be offended that I'm praying for them to MY God (Or God, as I see Him..) Perhaps so. The trouble is, that this comes dangerously close to breaking one of the cardinal rules of my religion, doing something for somebody without their knowledge or asking.

So, how do I, the non-christian woman, recharge? God is everywhere, as I believe, in all things, moving in the spaces between matter. The druids had a saying that "All that is not matter is God" and I believe that, His breath is in everything, the spark that keeps worlds in motions, the force of air and light and water. The thing that makes it all "click". To worship is to be around all that is. Outdoors, indoors. The fundamental elements are earth, air, fire and water. Each with a cardinal point on the compass, each with a list of symbolisms and meanings to go with them spirtually. But it's no more complicated than being in the presence of each, aware of each and the power that inheritantly lies within. Each is useless without the other, it's a cycle of dependance where life would not exist if everything didn't come together. Nothing more is needed for "worship" in my mind that reflecting on that, on the Divine spark. The breath of life.

There's more to it if you wanted to delve deeper, but I won't go into it, or into the nitty gritty details of my religion/faith here. I just wanted to reply, feeling I guess a bit torn in this world surrounded by a feeling of "not belonging" amongst friends and family.

Friday, September 14, 2012

Ten Uses for Coconut Oil

Hi guys! Just a quickie today! I thought since we've been using so much coconut oil around here I'd explore some of the other uses. I'm loving the stuff!

1. Use it as a moisturize. This can be for the body and feet or even the face (lightly).
2. Use it to cook with instead of butter or vegetable oil. For this, I personally prefer the refined coconut oil. YES, I know virgin is better, less processed and all...but virgin has a very distinct COCONUT taste and it's off putting to me in a lot of cooking.
3. Add a tablespoon to your coffee.
4. Spread it on toast and then sprinkle with cinnamon for what is (reportedly since I am off bread) the BEST cinnamon toast in the world!
5. Add a tbsp to your smoothies to help you feel fool and help keep your blood sugar even.
6. Use it plain as deodorant. Just rub a little under your armpits and off you go!
7. Use it to treat minor cuts and bruises. Just a little like you would use neosporin. The oil has a mild antibiotic property.
8. Use it as a hair conditioner. Either rub it in and rinse out while in the shower or do a hot oil treatment with it, pouring warmed coconut oil onto your hair and letting it sit for 30 mins before rinsing.
9. Use it for Oil Pulling. I was going to try this but heard it can be rough if you have fillings in your teeth so I opted out, as my mouth is full of fillings, sadly.
10. Use it instead of shaving cream.

Okay, these are ones I knew about. I did a quick search and found THIS blog post with an amazing 122 uses for coconut oil! Check it out!

Thursday, September 13, 2012

A history of crunchy hygiene

Whether you know it or not, I'm a bit of a history buff. Amateur of course. I have loved studying ancient civilizations and medieval history as a kid and that only grew as an adult, when I realized just how MUCH history they don't teach you in school. It's amazing, how truly sophisticated some of the ancient societies actually were, for example. The Romans had nearly aspect of our very modern life, from policemen to politicians, from construction workers to elite fighting forces. They even had apartments and parking systems, running hot/cold water (if you were rich) a sewer system and waterways to bring fresh clean water to the masses. Of course they also had slavery and a tendency to love blood sports and violent deaths as a form of entertainment...but who's judging?

Why am I telling you this? I thought it might be fun today to look at some of the older societies approach to bathing and hygiene, since we've focused on 'natural beauty' here on Crunch Away. So let's see how truly "natural" bathing and hygiene can be, shall we?

In ancient Egypt most people bathed daily in the river or out of a water basin at home. Wealthy homes had a bathroom where servants would pour jugs of water over their master (equivalent to a modern day shower). A cleansing cream made of animal or vegetable oil mixed with powered lime and perfume was used instead of soap. People rubbed themselves daily with a perfumed unguent oil that had soaked in scented wood. The mixture was left in a pot until the oil absorbed the wood scent. Perfumed oil was used to prevent the skin from drying out in the harsh climate.

Everybody, I'm sure, has heard of the famous Roman Baths. They were fed by a system of underground furnaces so the bath water was hot then progressively cooler. The baths were segregated by gender and it was a social event, the business meeting of the day for many roman males. During their peak a Roman citizen could get a meal, have some lively conversation, do a bit of exercises and move from a hot pool, to a warm pool, to a cool pool to cleanse his body. Bath slaves were available to do the washing for a fee and even to remove unwanted and unsightly body hair if desired. Romans would often spend an entire afternoon at the baths during it's peak, mingling and chatting up his friends while lounging naked in the warm water. They had soap, a skill learned maybe from ancient Germanic tribes, but they would cleanse the body by scraping off dirt and sweat using scented oils and a tool called a strigil. The Romans had some standards of cleanliness as baths were built everywhere the Roman army went, where possible.

Greece was also known for use of the bath house. They would engage in similar pursuits as their Roman neighbors, of exercising and fitness while in the bath houses, which is where the word Gymnasium comes from (Gymnos-naked).

In Ancient Jewish society ritual baths were done in a Mikvah.

"A mikveh must hold at least 40 seahs of water (approximately 60 gallons). The whole body of the person or vessel to be purified must be totally immersed. And, most significant for our purposes, the water must be "living" water. That is, it must come directly from a river or a spring or from rainwater that flows into the pool; it may not be drawn. To meet this latter requirement, the rabbis permitted the use of an otter, a pool of living water that was connected by a plugged pipe to the main immersion pool. The main pool could be filled with drawn water (not qualified for use in ritual immersion), and when needed, the pipe between the otter and the main pool was unplugged, allowing the qualified, living water from the otter to come into contact with the water in the main pool, rendering it fit for immersions."
Eshel, Hanan."The pools of Sepphoris: ritual baths or bathtubs? They're not ritual baths." Biblical Archaeology Review, July-August 2000; 26:4 p.42-45

Say "Vikings" and you probably think of a hoard of hairy men dressed in furs and swinging humongous axes at their enemies head while raiding and raping villages. And you'd be right, mostly. But did you know the Vikings who settled in England were actually known for "excessive cleanliness"? They would bath once per week, with soap (made from rendered fats and ash and scented with herbs). The would also use tweezers to groom their facial hair, ear cups to clean out their ears and willow branches and mint to clean and groom their teeth. Nice to know that your friendly viking raider would have better breath that you.

During the Middle Ages bathing occurred more that you would think. People in castles had greatest access to heated water, would bath in wooden tubs. In decent weather this might be done outdoors in the garden. Many lords even employed a servant just for the preparation of family baths. Public baths were available still until around the 1200s when they began to decline due to the costs of fueling the fires and deforestation for crops. After the decline of the public baths the general population at large began to bathe less frequently, having to rely on a barrel of water that the family would share, unheated as many could not afford the extra fire wood needed to heat the water. After the horrible rise of the black plague, bathing became controversial as bathing was believed, by some, to open the pores to noxious vapors, allowing for infection to enter into the body.

During the Renaissance, perfumes and cosmetics were all the rage amongst the Royals, and the masked a multitude of scents and aromas from unwashed bodies as bathing again started a decline (you were thought to bring the devil into your body if you submerged fully into water) Glass mirrors were coming in fashion and women were drawn to makeups to rouge their cheeks, redden their lips and cover pock marks. Lead was used in face powders to give ladies a radiant pale hue to the skin and they even took drops of belladonna to 'widen their eyes' (belladonna is a hallucinogen and would also cause hallucinations, blurry vision and intoxication. What we do for beauty...) Hair dying was all the rage, using bleaching agents, saffron, henna powders brought back from the east and other various substances and herbals. Vanity was in vogue!

The Regency period of England is a time period often used in romance novels as a time of wild passions and steamy affairs with rakish handsome lords and delicate beautiful women. Think of Jane Austen and you'll know which time I'm talking of. But were these handsome rouges clean? Well..maybe not. Most people had taken up the habit of daily washing of hands, neck and face. But full bathing was still not done on a daily basis. Ladies of great wealth and distinction would often spend hours getting dressed, writing letters during this time, getting their hair done by their maids after a quick sponge bath, applying make-up and perfumes and even gossiping with friends as many times other women would stay over in the grand ladies houses. A hip bath done was used in private for a more thorough cleaning.

During the early parts of the Victorian era, bathing still was largely not done frequently by the general population. Outbreaks of cholera, influenza and typhoid began to urge on investigations into the cleanliness of public water, which was largely polluted in Europe with sewage. Public health bills were passed to ensure proper drainage of water to new homes and that the water supply would be clean and dependable.
In the states during the peak of the civil war, soldiers were going weeks without bathing of any kind or even clean changes of clothes. Diseasse was again running rampant and war spurred on the spread of infections. This didn't change as America pushed west. Ranchers and cowboys and pioneers simply did not have the resources or time for a full daily bath, and often would wash just their faces and maybe hands daily and employ a full bath once a week. You could pay for a bath in a hotel if you wished, where hot water was available, though you probably would not be bathing alone, but rather in a room with other men who could afford the luxury. In 1884 the first soap to be pre-cut and wrapped was launched: it was called Sunlight. After that, other brands were developed and soap advertising began to reflect the changing social values attached to cleanliness.

During the 1920s and 30s life expectancy rose sharply. Hygeine in general was much improved and antibiotics were being used to treat infections. Great understanding of diseases lead to greater emphasis on cleanliness in general.

I hope you enjoyed my little brief tour of history. In todays modern world we have an obsession with soaps, lathers, pastes, shampoos, powders, creams, lotions salves and foams. We put emphasis on chemical beauty and take it so far as to rub antibacterial agents all over our skin to rid ourselves of all germs, good and bad. It's intersting to see how the tables have turned in our world. Men and women got together for thousands of years and made babies, all without modern breath mints, tooth paste or deodorant. As we move back (some of us) to more "crunchy" natural methods of cleaing our bodies, eschewing the toxins that are all around us, it's good to know that it can be done, with a little modern science, research and common sense it can be done in a healthy and pleasant way!

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

A CRUNCHY review: Going Against the Grain by Melissa Smith

It's no secret, I've been a cavewoman for a while now (Not well, mind you...but I've been trying!) I've been following a paleo/primal plan and trying to cut out certain food groups from my diet. One of those food groups is grains and for a while I wasn't sure I understood exactly WHY the paleo community frowned on them so completely (even in their whole sprouted form).

Then I found this book, Going Against The Grain by Melissa Smith. Boy, was this a great find. Melissa, a registered dietician, goes into great but UNDERSTANDABLE details about grains, their effects on our body, blood sugar, joins, immune system and so on, and gives fantastic alternataives to use instead. I loved how easy she made it all to understand, because even though I'm a nurse and consider myself a fairly smart person...even I struggle with nutrition and all the confusion surrounding it. (Low carb? Low fat? Low bacon?) If, like me, you are looking to go for a more "primal" diet, definately check this book out! No, it's not paleo specific but the information in there is important!

Monday, September 10, 2012

Yoga for the obese:Does it exist?

I love Yoga. Okay...I love the IDEA of yoga. But you see, I'm a short, round, unflexible and unbalanced woman who weighs...well ahem. (You didn't really think I'd share that did you?!) So what's a gal to do to get some yoga around here?

I purchased several 'at home' options and so far I'm liking them. I like the idea of doing it at home for several reasons:
1. Self conscious
2. not having to leave the house in unflattering work out clothes
3. Eh...did I mention being self conscious?

Here is what I got:

Yoga for inflexible people: This one is cool because it comes with THREE DVD's, all meant for people who are...well..inflexible. My favorite so far is "Gentle yoga for every body" which is just what it says..gentle! Gentle is important to me because as much as I want to do it, I don't want to suffer for my ambitions. I just want to loosen up some!

Yoga for Beginners: Another one that is basic. I'm finding some aspects of this one to be more challenging than the other DVDs. Maybe it's because I am SOO out of shape and this one assumes you have some level of fitness. Still, not a bad option!

Yoga for Back Care: I got this for my mom who has bad scoliosis, but I've used it a couple of times because well, as it turns out I have scoliosis too and I need to look after that, right? It's gentle. The teacher is careful and explains everything fairly well also.

Now, even though I'm doing this at home, I did invest in a couple of supplies: A mat, a yoga belt and a set of foam blocks. I also keep with me a small pillow for my head/neck since laying down tends to hurt my neck or low back a lot without them. If you are "plus sized" like me...I suggest you really look for a yoga belt that is longer than normal. The belt helps a lot with some of the exercises for improving flexibility but if you can't get your hands to reach each end, what's the point? Longer is better to start with...again, if you are "plus sized".

Maybe some day I'll get up the courage to take one of the classes taught here locally but until then...Namaste from my house!

Now, if anybody has any tips on how to do yoga without the puppy climbing all over you, chewing on your mat, ears, hair, blocks and socks...I'd appreciate them!

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Another not so crunchy review: Flowertown by S.G. Redling

This book was one of those impulse amazon purchases that I'm guilty of (FAR to often...ahem). You know them? You see the cover, read just a little then CLICK it's on your device before you have time to think about it? You know you do that....okay, maybe it's just me (I do have over SIX HUNDRED books on my kindle devices for a reason.)

I am extremely glad I purchased this one. It was one of those surprising reads that you sometimes stumble across. The books takes place in middle of nowhere midwest America (Iowa I believe) in a small bit of land that was the subject of an accidental spill of a highly toxic pesticide. Now all the residents of what they call "Flowertown" are in quarintine, maintained by both the military and the company that is responsible for the chemical that they were infected with. The quarintine has lasted over six years when we enter the story and things are definately falling apart. Everything has to be kept isolated so water, food supplies...everything is balancing on a delicate edge. The book goes on to have a component of psycological warfare that is terrifying when you really think about how close to the truth it could be.

Part of why I enjoyed the book so much is, as you may have noticed in my blog, the issues hit close to my own fears, contaminated food and water and a system that is run more by big corporations than government. The book takes a hard look at what might happen in this very possible scenario, and the most striking was the apathy of the world outside of Flowertown to the suffering of the people with in. But knowing what happens in our world now, it's not that shocking afterall....(Remember how long the people of Katrina suffered? And the story was less and less "news worthy"? This is a seriously plausible scenario.)

The author of this book is new on the scene and I love that as well. I know the book had it's faults and flaws, but I think that overall it was an amazing start to her carreer as an author and I'm looking forward to seeing more works from her, including hopefully a second installment to Flowertown itself!

Saturday, September 8, 2012

Stressed out!

So, I started back to school. That's right, momma's getting herself edumacated! I'm in a bridge program, RN to MSN, which means I'm on a fast track to my masters in nursing using an online college. Classes started on Aug. 27th and I'm already feeling the STRESS of another bit commitment in my already pretty committed life! I'm happy that I'm not alone in this. Most of us these days are chronically stressed right? We work to much, we sign up for to many bake sales, we put our kids in a gazillion and two classes we then have to drive them to, we spend to much....it all takes a toll on our system!

So how do you counteract the effects of stress on your body? Take some advice from a friendly nurse...take it seriously! Stress can cause a lot of damage in ways you may not be aware of, including to your heart, your liver, your immune system, your circulation, your sleep, your sex drive...(Oh, that got your attention, right?)

This site here has some great tips for not only dealing with stress at it happens, but also avoiding it in the future: http://www.helpguide.org/mental/stress_management_relief_coping.htm

My plan for myself?
Work on organization. I'm chronically disorganized in a lot of ways. Hopefully, working on this slowly (being kind to myself) and methocially will help to reduce the general overall stress that comes from always being ten steps behind.

Keeping a journal: This is a practice I'm already working on pretty reguarly with "art journaling" and from taking courses like Soul Garden with Suzi Blu and Lifebook with Tamara Laporte. I need to focus on written journaling, especially as I move into this phase of my education, as well as the artistic portion. Art and writing are both nourishing to your soul and should not be neglected in your "self care"!

Taking long walks: Remember that hyper puppy I have? Well I need the walks as much as she does. Right now we're going 1-2 times a day around our block. I know we'll have to increase the amount as she gets bigger and I'm getting mentally (and physcially) ready for that. Walking helps with a lot of tension. It's not an outlet I'd turned to in the past, but I'm finding it to be really helpful now, for the most part anyway. It doesn't hurt to be walking along with the worlds cutest puppy....

Taking time to NOT DO SCHOOL: Time to read, to make art, to take a bath. (I so love baths...) I need to remember to do these things for my own sanity and the safety of those who live with me.

So that's my stress plan, what's yours?

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Coconut oil for Fido?

So, as you know we recently adopted a puppy. She's a happy girl, wriggly and floppy and nearly four months old now! She's also itchy. VERY VERY itchy. Poor girl has to stop and itch while we're walking, while she's playing, while she's eating, in the night when she's sleeping...it's got to me miserable!

I looked around at some options for itchy skin and was surprised by what I found. Did you know coconut oil is good for dogs?  That it can help cure and heal itchy skin? I didn't! It was studied at Toronto University: http://naturalhealthychoices.weebly.com/coconut-oil-for-dogs.html

Of course, since I had a good bit on hand (thanks to Elaine for sharing an order with us!) I started adding some to their food. So far..it's just been a few days but I'm optimistic! I will try to remember to keep you posted! I added it to both dogs foods since both dogs suffer from allergies and itching. (Our Daschunt mix, Dottie gets red skin all over and watery red eyes).

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

A (not so crunchy) book review: The Wool Omnibus

I am deeply and completely in LOVE with my Kindle from Amazon. I know other people are just as passionate about their e-readers, regardless of what the brand. I recieved a kindle as a gift and I've been hooked ever since. One of the most fascinating things to me though, is that with the rise in popularity of the E-reader comes a new era of self publishing. Browse through a "Free kindle book" search on amazon.com and you will be riddled with short stories, addtions to series and other offerings from authors who are trying to build up their self published presence. It's a wonderful thing...most of the time. I have found that many of these offerings lack basic editing and are at times...abysmally written. But still, I will click download time and time again if I come across something that even remotely catches my eye.

Sadly, I'll do the same for books in the 99 cent to $5 range as well. This has lead to the purchase of some pretty bad pieces of writing.

But every once in a while you come across an incredible gem. That was the case when I purchased "Wool" by Hugh Howey. Wool was written as a stand alone short story, but reader demand prompted Hugh to turn the first offering into 5 more installments, which are now available as a complete package. And trust me, it's worth every red cent! I devoured all five stories in a few days time and am starting the next bit of the series. I've even purchased a few other titles by the author and am looking forward to those as Hugh has shown and amazing depth of skill with the wool series. The stories are science fiction, but it's "subtle". Each one is filled with beautiful agony and characterization and an edge of your seat rhythm of handing out just enough information to keep you engagued and enthralled. There's VERY good reason that the first story sat at the number one slot for science fiction downloads on Amazon. Spend the money on the Omnibus edition, you'll have a novels length of incredible ready to go!

Monday, September 3, 2012

Picking out a dog food - not as easy as it would seem

Recently I wrote about how we've gotten a new addition to our family, a complete MUTT dog we've named Sophie. Since she's come I've been bitten by a definate case of hyperactive puppy mom syndrome. I enrolled her into puppy school at Manner's and More. She's done now with puppy kindergarten class and is ready to move on to Novice/CGC classes, which I'm really excited about! I'm also dreaming of her one day maybe taking some of the agility classes....but that's down the road!
See, it would appear our little angel may have some cattle dog in the mix. Which makes her a very smart, VERY BUSY little girl! Much more curious that our daschund/beagle mix who is perfectly content to sleep 20 hours a day and nap the other four.

Which leads us to our  next problem. How do we feed one overweight dog and one growing puppy who will be an active adult? How do we do it without breaking the bank? How do we do it without purchasing different "special diet" foods. I talked briefly before about my desire for a "natural" dog food for our pup also, but I'd like to expand a little bit more on the why of that as well.

So, I've hit the books and have been doing some research into dog foods. I've decided that for us and our mixed bag of needs, that a basic dry kibble food is the way to go. But there are hundreds if not THOUSANDS of varieties of that on the market. So...let's break it down a little bit more shall we?

Our local store offers all different kinds of dog foods, of the big  box variety. Kibbles and Bits, Beneful, even Iams. But they don't get much more "specialized" than that. So what is wrong with kibbles and bits? Or even...Iams? Iams is fairly decent as far as foods go, right? It actually offers a good natural selection of foods that is limited in it's fillers (corn, wheat and other products). But did you know they are also on PETA's major hit list for animal cruelty? They have not committed to humane animal testing standards. Add to that that in independant studies, their foods have been found time and time again to be deficient in REGULATED and mandatory levels of nutrients (like magnesium in cat food). You may or may not be a supporter of PETA. I am in some ways, but I'm not a vegan. I do strongly support the ethical treatment of all animals but I also, being a member of the medical community, understand the need for labratory testing. But there is a limit to that testing, and there is always a level of "humane" that needs to be a standard. Read more about it here and decide for yourself: http://www.iamscruelty.com/FAQ.asp. I'm just stating my own feelings here.

But that's not the only concern I have with "big box" brand dog foods. Rendered meal is another concern of mine. Rendered..that's just boiling down the excess to get to the protiens, right? Well....yes and..no. There's a deep dark secret to the rendering of protiens....in that it can and a lot of times DOES include "Meat and bone meal" from euthanized animals. Meaning...euthanized cats and dogs. Meaning...you might be feeding your pets other cats and dog rendered down in the plant and mixed in along with the listed ingredients. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rendering_(animals) (Read where it lists animals from animal shelters. This is not an illegal practice and it provides a cheap easy source of protein for dog food manufacturers.)

So how do you know if you're dogs food has been rendered? Comes from a whole source? You read the label. It's a little trickier than reading the label on your own food items but it can be sorted out. Look for trigger words like "By-Products or By-Product Meal". Look for corn as a major ingredient and avoid it. Look for foods that specify what animal source the protien came from. If it's listed as "whole" then it legally can NOT be a rendered product. Grains listed should also be whole: brown rice, barley, rye or whole wheat.

There's more, dry food vs. canned? Canned by nature will supply more meat than dry food. We haven't in the past ever given our dogs canned because they have tended to give them upset bellies. But maybe with a better brand?

For now, I've settled on Nature Selects brand. It was cheaper at the store I was at than Blue Buffalo, which is the food I sought out to buy. It's a "limited ingredient" food, which means you get one protien (lamb in our case) and one grain (brown rice). It's also organic, which is nice, but I didn't set out to look for that. It was just an added bonus.

So far, both dogs LOVE the change from Iams to this. They showed their appreciation by licking the box the food is stored in, after they'd eaten every single bit and crumb. (Dottie the fat daschund had hers mixed with green beans, a tip both our dog trainer and a good friend of mine suggested since she's got to slim down her plump girlish figure). So...it was pricier than Iams yes, but I feel good about our choice.

I know there are many  many out there in support of a raw food diet for dogs. I'd be on board with that...IF I didn't feel squeamish about chasing down the remains of a raw chicken outside. Maybe some day but for now, we'lls stick to our kibble and people food supplemented regimen.

Friday, August 31, 2012

Snacking on the primal diet and pickled beet eggs

I recently posted some snack options that I use for my son. But they're not good choices for me since right now I'm trying to keep myself off gluten and most dairy.

(I would be doing this with my son too, but we live with so many people, some of whom are grandpa types who aren't on board with trying it so I'm opting not to rather than cause family strife. He's doing more or less good as it is! I'm happy to be getting more protien into him as that seems to help a lot! Family living is all about give and take.)

But for myself, I'm trying to keep off the grains and dairy. So what can I snack on myself? Well, I love the fact that I can have a bit of fruit on this eating plan. I can't go overboard because I have a definate craving response to carbs, but I do let myself have a piece of fruit or so a day. Mostly lately, it's been in the form of smoothies as a meal.  But a piece of fruit for a snack is always good! Especially when I combine it with some nut butter (cashew or almond).

Cheese was my go-to option when I was on atkins. I LOVE cheese. Here on this, I've decided to cut it out to a RARE treat. (There is some raw milk cheese that our CSA sells that is phenomenal!) By rare though I mean..maybe once a week I sneak a bit off the end of the block and let the family eat up the rest.

We're swamped with veggies from our CSA and farmers market right now so that's also a good way to go. Raw zucchini, green peppers, cauliflower or broccoli sprinkled with a little salt...and just crunch away! Add some protein in the form of a boiled egg and you're good to go!

Speaking of boiled eggs, pickled eggs! Now, this is a new phenomenon to me, since I didn't grow up here in Amish country but came as an adult, but they make some amazing "Beet eggs" or eggs pickled in beet juice around here. Of course, the recipe needs some tweaking to be made primal" (mostly to get rid of the sugar!) but boy do I love having these in the fridge as a go-to snack!

Beet Pickled Eggs

Primal Beet Pickled Eggs:

1/2 cup vinegar
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup honey or sugar substitute (Splenda- it's not primal or paleo with this though but it makes it so my diabetic dad can enjoy)
1/2 tsp. allspice
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
juice from large can (15 oz) red beets

12 hard boiled eggs
Beets left over from the can

Boil first seven ingrediants for 10 minutes (full boil). Pour over the 12 hard boiled eggs and red beets.Place in container with tight lid. Refrigerate. Lightly shake jar every few minutes to evenly coat all the eggs.

These are best if they are left sit in the fridge for 1-2 days so the eggs can really absorb the mixture. They don't last long in our house but they do keep for a while in the fridge.


Thursday, August 30, 2012

Hurting inside?

I've talked before about my struggles with depression, in a  post to give some insight as to what natural depression "remedies" are out there, what I've tried myself and how well it worked. But let's think about depression now in larger picture mode?

Depression is a proven chemical imbalance, brain malfunction that many people experience. It can come about naturally or it can be "nurtured" through traumatic experiences. Mine comes from both. I won't go into the trauma in my life here, but I will say that there is depression firmly rooted on both sides of my genetic pool.

But it's still so stigmatized. Even now I hear solutions to the problem being thrown out like "working will solve anything" and "just eat right and exercise and you'll be fine." Depression reaches it's tentacles into every facet of one's life and it's not as easily dismissed as going to work and eating a balanced diet. Not for many people, and mine is documented as MEDICATION RESISTANT and long term. It will never simply go away.

Some things to think about when it comes to dealing with depression.
1. It often manifests itself into very physical forms. Aches and pains that are non-specific and generalized. Headaches, belly aches, muscle aches.
2. It can present itself as irritability, anger and anxiety.
3. It can seriously affect your sleep cycles and your circadian rhythm, making you wake up early, struggle with falling asleep and excessively tired during the day.
4. Anhedonia or the complete loss of joy in all things is a SERIOUS and debilitating side effect of ongoing/chronic depression.
5. There are intense and sort lived depressions and ones that last a life time. It's more than just having a 'morose' personality, it's an ongoing struggle.
6. People who are depressed do NOT want it. They are not creating in on purpose or keeping it up for attention, though attention may be part of what is needed to break the cycle and some of the behaviors may indeed be a "cry for help". These people want to work and be productive, want to be happy and fulfilled in life, want to keep on top of things and be joyful. But it's an honest struggle.
7. People with depression are not lazy. Laziness is something else entirely.
8. Depression, even mild depression, can cause seriously disabling effects on a persons life.
9. There is no magic bullet or pill or therapy that will work for everybody. The cause of depression is so varied and widespread, so naturally so are the things that help.
10. Depression is not just a mental illness, but a physical one. It should be considered as such.

My own struggles are ongoing and will probably always be so. I have come to the realization that the more I talk about it, the more I share, the more empowered I am over it myself. It's not a deep dark or shameful secret, but a hard fact of life. It's not a stigma and shouldn't be anymore uncomfortable or shocking to people than saying "I have a cold" or "I have a heart condition". It's a disease that I have. No more than that, and it affects every single thing I do, the same as that heart condition would.

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

No Coffee Creamer? WHAT WILL YOU DO???

I've been trying to follow a paleo/primal lifestyle lately, which is not as hard as it sounds (or extremely hard....depending on the day!) One of the big changes that seems to always happen for me when I take on a new diet, is trying to sort out my beverage selections for the morning. I LOVE my coffee, and coffee is on the 'unclear' list in the paleo/primal community so I've had to give this some serious thought. My pre-primal days (eat what you want and get really fat) my coffee sported non-dairy creamer and plenty of good ol' sugar. Then I went to my atkins diet phase, where my coffee went to real cream and splenda. Now that I'm doing primal....what should I do??

I've explored several options and I think maybe I've found a workable solution: Full fat coconut milk and stevia. Yes, stevia is also on the "questionable" list. Yes, I should probably learn to take my coffee without the sweet but...all things in time, right now I have enough changes in my diet life to want to let go of this small thing. I am REALLY liking the coconut milk as creamer though. I found an organic brand that doesn't have any added sugar or strangeness that I've been using. (But...it does come in a can, which makes me wonder if I should be worrying about BPA...) It's creamy and sweetish and coconut and coffee marry really well together. YUM.

Another option I've tried is grass fed butter, BLENDED into the coffee. (If you don't blend, it won't mix in well.) This is...interesting. I like it, it's definately creamy and froths up beautifully when I whir it through our blendtec. But butter...dairy. I guess it's better than most dairy, being grass fed and all (and I'm still sneaking in bits of RAW heavy cream when I can find it at the farmers market. What WILL I do when the season is over?)

If you are unfamiliar with the paleo or primal diet, I reccomend you start with Mark's Daily Apple (Primal) and The Paleo Diet (paleo). I lovingly refer to both as the "caveman diet" which amuses my kids to no end. By the way, they are not the same, just...similar...I'm not sure yet which one I'll be following religiously since I'm still considering how addicted I am to my coffee.

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Cozi or Google Calendar?

We have a large family all trying to function and live under one roof. Recently it became very clear that we needed a better way to organize our family schedule (we missed a vital appointment...or two). So I started looking into the world of Apps for help electronically.

We are not technologically advanced here at the Crunch Away house, but we aren't in the dark ages either. In this house are four kindle fires, two ipads, three lap top computers and two desk tops. And two smart phones. (Neither of which are mine, I use the extremely basic but FREE cell phone my work provides me). So with all this technology at our finger tips, it should be easy to find a calendar we can all share and use, right?

Well, it actually hasn't been that easy. The first one I chose was Cozi Family Calendar.
What I liked about it:
There's a family log in and then you can all log in using your own email. This allows for appointments for yourself to be sent only to your email if you want, nice for the adults in the house who don't want to bombard everybody else with their stuff.
It's free!
It includes a family shopping list, to do list and journal, handy for keeping notes on the day to day events.
What is hard about it:
My mom has trouble with her eyes and the App only has one view, a scroll of days. It made it impossible for her to see and follow in her smart phone.
You only get one reminder for your appointments unless you pay for an upgrade. Not something we wanted to do at this time.

So I switched us to google calendar:
So far, it works for all three adults (I can only use it n the computer)
You can see your calendar in weekly, monthly or daily format which is very nice
You can color code each persons events
You can link multiple calendars fairly easily by "sharing" your calendar with them.

What I don't like:
I can't use it on my Kindle Fire since there's not an App for google on the fire (and from what I read, not likely to ever  be one since the Fire is a "forked" android.)
The kids can't see it because they only use their fires for Internet access. (We have pretty strict Internet rules around here...and the fire keeps them off chatting since it's not easy to chat on it).

So, what kind of calendar do you use to keep yourselves organized? Any tips or suggestions for our family?

Monday, August 27, 2012

High protein snacks and meals for the ADHD/asperger's child

My son does best when he has a good amount of protein (and a very limited sugar) with each meal and snack. This seems to help him to focus better and get through the day with less frustration. Here are some things we like. It's only what has worked for us, many will find dairy and/or wheat/gluten aggravate symptoms, so these may not be helpful for you:

5 high protein snacks:

1. Cheese and apples. Apples with peanut butter or cashew butter to dip in (add a little flax or chia seed for a boost of omega 3s!) Apples with yogurt to dip in.

2. Raw Cashew butter (sweetened with a little honey if needed) spread onto a banana. Top with raisins and you have "Ants on a raft". Or spread the cashew butter and honey on a whole wheat tortilla and wrap it around the sliced banana.

3. Chicken tenders, breaded with a little Parmesan cheese and baked through. Dunked in BBQ sauce. A small portion makes an awesome snack. Great to make ahead and reheat when your kiddo is hungry.

4. Cottage Cheese mixed with a little bit of apple butter.

5. Greek Yogurt (home made is awesome!) mixed with a little bit of honey and some blueberries.

Five high protein lunches:

1. Bean soup with ham, sausage or bacon.

2. Cuts of turkey or ham with honey mustard sauce for dipping. Carrot sticks and an apple an with peanut butter to dip in.

3. Spread cottage cheese on a whole wheat tortilla: add shredded carrots or broccoli slaw, salt and pepper and a little Italian dressing to taste for a crunchy wrap.

4. Make tuna or salmon salad: Drain a can of tuna or salmon and mix with 1/4 cup mayo, 4-5 cut up baby dill pickles, one stalk of celery sliced in half long ways then diced, and 1/4 of an onion chopped fine. Put a scoop on top of a bed of lettuce and let them mix it in. We also love TACO salads. Brown hamburger or turkey meat, season with taco seasoning. Serve over lettuce and top with sour cream, shredded cheese and salsa.

5. Make a big pot of chili for lunches through out the week. Beans and meat along with tomatoes and veggies kept warm in a thermos (if your kids are heading off to school). Send along also some apple slices and yogurt to dip them in.

Five high protein breakfasts:

1. Breakfast burritos: spoon scrambled eggs into a whole wheat tortilla and sprinkle with cheese. Add a bit of salsa and wrap it up.

2. Egg muffins: http://www.kalynskitchen.com/2006/10/egg-muffins-revisited-again.html  Make these ahead and pop them into the fridge to be reheated. Makes a nice little snack too! Warm one up, top with a little salsa and snack away!

3. Fry and egg in a little butter and put onto a toasted whole wheat english muffin. Add a slice of cheese and eat as a sandwich.

4. Make a breakfast protein smooth. 1/2-1 cup of cold milk, mixed with 1/4-1/2 cup of frozen fruit blend (we loved mixed berries) 1/2 of a frozen banana (all the sweetener you'll likely need!) and a scoop of protein powder. Blend away and enjoy!

5. Make a coffee protein smoothie...this may be helpful with ADHD symptoms IF your kid is not already on a stimulant (to much stimulation...to much of a good thing!)
Blend 1 cup cold mild, 2 tbsp of general mills french vanilla instant coffee mix (the powered presweetened kind), a big hand full of ice cubes and a scoop of vanilla protein powder.

Sunday, August 26, 2012

A few of my favorite things: Music

I'm into folk music. I love a guitar and a string of lyrics that tells a story with poetry. I tend to avoid mass produced music like pop and popular country but it does occaisionally sneak into the mix.It's really hard to pinpoint exactly what makes you love an artist, sometimes. Sometimes you develop an obsession with a voice, with alyrical style or message that an artist develops. Sometimes it's just simply an undefinable..SOMETHING.

I thought I'd share a few of my favorite artists:

Joe Purdy: I found him a few years ago and continue to obsess over his catalogue. He's one of those lyricists that haunt you with lines of poetry mixed with a hard message. His voice is amazing, tender and gravelly all at once. Some of his albums it's just him and his guitar, some it's a full band. He borders on old school at times then pushes into folk rock. I am always delighted and surprised by his offerings. Check out his website, they have the option to listen to most of his catalogue online. The complete songs even.

Damian Rice: I admit, I liked Damien a whole lot better when he was with back up vocalist, Lisa Hannigan. But still, he's one of my go to artists when I want something deep, a bit dark and definately folksy. His lyrics are sometimes hard and sometimes soft, always filled with layers of meanings so that each listener can gain what they wish from them.

Kate Tucker: I'm obsessed with her voice! Kate snuck into my Ipod through the back door after I purchased a song "you may also like...". I didn't listen to the song for some time and suddenly it came across on shuffle. I was blown away by how sweet and simple her voice is. Her lyrics are pure and honest, sometimes raw and sometimes guarded. I immediately went and downloaded her entire albums and love every selection.

Chris Pureka: Raw lyrics about life and love and heartbreak mixed with some amazing guitar playing and vocals. That's what Chris is. She's simple and outstanding.

Chris Knight: I imagine Chris Knight as country the way Country SHOULD be. Hardcore, raw and completely honest. Not the sugar coated "honey bee" pop stuff that comes out today. Not the country/rock mix. But deep cutting words about the real hardships of life.

The Indigo Girls: They are a long time favorite and continue to be so! I love that they'll face some of the under appreciated controversial topics of our day and do it with style. Their harmonies are amazing, as so is their collaborations with other artists. Always always will be a favorite on my list!

Ani Difranco: She's grown up, but then so have I. I grew up with her in the 1990s, with her raw feminist ideals and wild hair. Now she's a mother, a wife and continues to crank out the controversy. Well so do I...so Rock on, Ani! Always a favorite.

Ben Harper: He's close to perfection in a lot of ways. I am so in love with his lyrics, of the way he can turn a phrase and a chord at the same time.

Rufus Wainwright: His voice is incredible and so are his words. I have been a fan of his for a few years now and I just continue to love his work. Twangy at times and soulful at others, he's got a little something for everybody in the folk/rock world.

Tracy Chapman: No folk/rock list is every complete without Tracy. She's been a driving force in the genre for years now. She's a powerful lyricist and story teller and an amazing woman.


These are just a few but I do hope you'll look into them. Music is so much a part of our soul and helps to shape our lives and identity. It should be genuine and real!

Friday, August 24, 2012

The "High Energy" dog

Okay, so the new puppy may not be exactly "high energy" by most peoples standards, but she's certainly a lot more high energy that we're used to, being the owners of small snuggley dogs like daschunds. So now that she's come to live with us, we've found that we need to walk her...sometimes more than twice a day. Now, this is NOT at all in my routine. (GASP! I know right..you'd think I'd be all over exercising! As tall and thin as I am...) Well, it's true. I hate to exercise. So maybe getting this dog was the best thing for me?

It forces me to get out with her and walk. She's a puppy now so we can go at a slow pace, which is good. It allows for my over 250+ body to get used to the motion. I've been giving her two walks a day, just around the block. But as she grows I know we'll need to increase this somewhat. Which will be good for me as well. And for the kids since I've forced them into this new routine with me...ahem. It's also good for our overweight daschund/beagle mix who has been joining us on one out of the two walks. (This gives me some one on one time with the puppy to work on our walking manners...which disappear entirely when the other dog joins in.)

Would you consider adopting a "high energy dog" as part of adopting a healthy lifestyle? I don't think it's a bad idea at all. It does keep you accountable to your routine, since the dog needs the exercise in order not to be a destructive hurricane of terror....er... I mean..."bored" dog. What do you do to exercise your dogs?

Thursday, August 23, 2012

BACK TO SCHOOL FLING!

It's back to school time! Let's have a little fun, shall we?

I know that spring cleaning is the thing to do, but can we do a little now? Oh yes..I think so! Let's do some de-cluttering!

Here is my challenge to you. Let's go into each room of our house and grab up ten....yes TEN items that we don't need. Ten items. In EACH room. Bathrooms too! Get a big bag and just chuck them in. Don't over think don't hesitate just grab items you know you'll  not use, never used, are just collecting dust...and pitch them into the bag! We can sort them out later into "trash" or "donate" piles. Spend less than 5 minutes in each room. This is NOT the time to plan or ponder, this is the time to make de-clutter, to detach ourselves from material things and to bring some order to our chaos. Who is with me on this?

Let me know what all you got rid of and I'll show you mine!

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Deus ex Machina

I've always wanted to be a writer. When I was ten years old my parents got me software for the computer just for writing and creative writing. I'll never forget that, it was quite the thing back then (1990) to get software for a gift. When I was 18, I went into college with the hopes of fulfilling my writing dream, going in under a "Liberal Arts" major. But life happened. Suddenly I had a baby and we moved away from Cincinnati to Columbus. I needed to rethink my plan and going into Nursing seemed like the way to go. The school I looked into, Hocking College out of Nelsonville Ohio (Shout out to my alma mater) had a program where I could get my ADN (associates degree in nursing) in just two years. And if I wanted I could stop after just one year with my LPN liscence. That meant I could be working and supporting myself and my kiddo in fairly rapid time. It was never ever my first career choice, but it's certainly been a surprising and at times extremely rewarding one.

Recently I made the decision to go back to school. I'm enrolled in an RN to MSN program, which will bridge the gap from associates degree to Masters degree and allow me to be more...marketable. (At least I hope so).

But does this mean I've given up hopes of becoming a writer? Well, it's hard to do it all, isn't it? I dabble around with being an artist. I journal. I'm trying to be a good mother, student and blogger....but my heart has always been in creative/fiction writing. Can I pursue it amongst all this as well? I'd like to keep trying to. Who knows, maybe one day I'll be the next Charlaine Harris or J.K. Rowling?