Discovering the Dance of Life, One Step at a Time

Butternut Veggie Medley Soup

2012-02-08T20:42:00.000-05:00

Last night, I made a divinely delicious soup and I just had to share the 'recipe'. I just made it up as I went along, from what I had on hand. Feel free to alter it for your own tastes as you see fit. I'm not really good at following a recipe- I have a tendency to take out spices I don't like- tarragon, bay, oregano, and add the ones I love- basil, dill, & rosemary. Lately, I've been putting chili flakes in everything, which is new, because I've never liked hot food before. I also don't measure unless I'm baking (even then it's never exact) so feel free to play with the amounts.

(Here is a printable version, so you don't have to decipher the recipe from my explanation.)

I started with 2 butternut squash, which I've been meaning to cook for weeks and have not remembered. I decided I must cook them today. I threw an onion & a few tbsps of garlic puree into a big pot with some olive oil. I browned them up and then through in the diced squash. I looked around & decided to add a jumbo sweet potato to fill it out a bit and an apple for flavor & sweetness. Then, celery & carrots just begged to be added (in the printable version, I suggest you add them before the squash, since you know you'll be using them). I used the center of the celery stalk with the leaves included, since it's the flavorful part.

I pulled out a jar of chicken stock from the freezer & added it, with enough water to cover everything. I also pulled out some frozen collard greens and added a cup of them for added nutritional value. Then I opened up my spice cabinet and added chili flakes, cinnamon, rosemary, nutmeg, and ginger. If I had molasses, I would have used that, but instead I threw in a few spoonfuls of brown sugar. I know it sounds crazy to have sugar & cinnamon with onions & garlic & chili flakes, but it's a perfect balance of spicy/sweet/savory. I brought it to a boil and then let it simmer for about 40 minutes until everything was cooked & the flavors had mingled. Once it was cooked, I blended it up with my immersion blender. Then I added salt & pepper and tweaked the spices to the perfect taste. Finally, I added a package of cream cheese and blended it again.

I served it with some chopped pecans I had on hand and had to stop myself from getting a third bowlful because it was that good. I just had it again tonight for dinner and it's even better after sitting in the fridge overnight. If you wanted to make it vegan, you could use veg broth & silken tofu instead of the cream cheese. If you had cauliflower or bell peppers, they would also be good in here. Basically, follow your own tastebuds. The basics of this recipe are squash, onion & garlic, sugar, and cinnamon. Everything else is up to you & your pantry. If you find a particularly delicious addition, please do let me know in the comments. Bon appetite!

Vices, Virtues, & Superpowers!

2011-12-04T15:42:00.000-05:00

The last three prompts of Resound 11 all are related, so I’ll just cover them all together here.

the devil.

Day 2: What are your Vices?

My biggest vice is that I’m an all-or-nothing girl. If I like a TV show, I prefer to watch it all at once, if possible, preferably on Hulu. (This generally means I do nothing else productive all weekend or weeknights too, if it takes that long, until the show is over.) I tend to read late into the night when I should be sleeping, if I’m within 100 pages of the end, since it feels so close. When I’m eating healthy, it’s green smoothies for breakfast & lots of veggies. When I’m not, it’s soda & chocolates & pizza all day. Food is a big weakness for me, especially sugar, so I’m working on that. But when I fall off, I do it well. A jar of nutella (that stuff is the Devil!) or a bag of chocolates or a cake. This also means if I love you, I’ll do anything for you and if I don’t like you, well, you won’t get much out of me unless I’m contractually obligated to provide it.

Photo credit

Day 3: What are your Virtues?

My vices are also sometimes my virtues. My all-out attitude means I’m an excellent caregiver & good at nurturing those who need it. And because I get so gung-ho about things, I often inspire others to make good changes too. When I switched to all natural cleaning products, my mom & several close friends all followed me over, eventually. Not because I nagged them or insisted, but because I spoke with so much excitement & passion about what I was learning and doing.

Photo credit

Day 4: What is your Superpower?

Well, besides fluency in sarcasm, I also have the ability to translate between two viewpoints to give clarity in an argument. I cannot count how many times I’ve watched two people say the same thing over & over but not realize they were actually agreeing. It’s like one says “I told you there are 6 of those!” and the other says “I swear to you there are only half a dozen!”. I can hear that it’s the same thing & they can’t. But I have the ability to explain to both sides so that they can move on. It’s been a very helpful skill many times. It just doesn’t work when I know my husband & I are doing it, because it’s me he can’t understand so my explanations fall on deaf ears.

Also, I can walk into a second-hand store and automatically find a great deal (yesterday I found 2 gorgeous dresses for holiday parties for $4 each) or pick the best item on a menu at a new restaurant (my boss actually always orders what I order because of this skill).

So, what about you? Do you have a superpower?

An Insider's Look at the Home Mortgage Process

2011-12-03T10:28:00.001-05:00

This is an inside look at dealing with a lender for a home mortgage.

First, They ask for every single piece of paper you own that might have numbers on it that relate to money- bank statements, pay stubs, bills, credit statement, receipts, etc. They want to know about every single trip to Walmart and McDonalds that you've made in the last 2 years and exactly how much you spent.

Next, They call back & say that’s great- we just need a few more things to finish your application. Please send us:

Page 3 (and only page 3) of your mother’s tax return from 1993.
Page 74 of your father’s 3^rd favorite book.
A lock of hair from a teenage virgin.
A full DNA profile of both applicants, your dog, and your paternal grandmother.
A stool sample from a female Burmese unicorn. (Send a check for $567 for processing this information)

Photo Credit

So, you think to yourself- how on earth am I going to find a teenage virgin?!? But you manage to do it (geek squad to the rescue!). Then you trek into the Burmese jungle to locate the unicorn & collect the sample. (It looks remarkably like Skittles.) You submit it all to the lender, with your check.

Then, they call back & say, “Actually, we need a sample from a MALE unicorn, not a female. Sorry about the typo. Please also send another $567 for processing a second sample.”

And suddenly you’re starting to understand how people ‘go postal’ because this is making you crazy.

One Word- Expansion

2011-12-01T20:32:00.003-05:00

I tried to participate in reverb10 but I quit somewhere around day 4. I'm not really good with daily challenges, but the end of the year always makes me very reflective and determined to write. I'm trying Resound11 and today's prompt was to sum up this year with one word.

The word I chose for 2011 was balance. And so much of this year has been leading to more balance and feeling more centered in my own life. However, the word I’d use to sum up this year is expansion, because there has been even more of that. I know that the expansion has been necessary to move towards balance. Emotionally, spiritually, mentally, even locationally, I have expanded in all aspects this year in amazing ways. I was feeling very small and stuck and yucky last fall. Just a zombie- go to work, come home, sleep, repeat. Not much joy or sense of purpose. That had a lot to do with my job, which is mind-numbingly boring and still stressful at the same time. It’s not something I enjoy and I know it doesn’t fulfill my soul’s purpose. Also, our living situation made me feel small because we are cramped in the small space. I was losing my sense of me, because my husband & I didn’t have any space to be apart and practice our separate hobbies.

Space by Sweetie 187

I felt desperate to break out of those chains. My mental breakout came first and allowed my emotions to float back up to joy and happiness. I started blogging, which gave me an outlet & it encouraged me to do more cooking & crafts- things I love. I also read blogs and found amazing communities of art and kindness and sharing. I discovered life coaching, which I had never even heard of. And the more I learned, the more I knew it was for me. I found a great course, through one of those online connections, and started my training. I learned so much and found myself opening up again emotionally. I was practicing silence, writing, making art, celebrating rituals, dancing, and exploring the world again. Now, at the end of the year, I am in a much better place in my head & in life. I am feeling like myself again, but a wiser and better version, constantly evolving. Our marriage is even better now that I’m being creative again. I’m so much happier.

But I still have that job and we still haven’t moved- the mental clarity came even though I haven’t resolved those problems yet. Just knowing that I have plans and goals and a timeline was all I really needed to get out of my funk- I needed to know I could expand and that the limits were imaginary. We’re buying a house & will be moving soon. I’m incredibly excited to have a whole room just for an office and crafts room! And a real, full sized kitchen! And a porch & a man cave space in the garage! I also know that I will be leaving my job soon- as soon as I get my life coaching business fully established. (Having an office space will help that tremendously as well.)

Yes, expansion is definitely the word to sum up 2011.

Magic Readalong

2011-07-03T12:58:00.000-04:00

I am participating in a Read-along of the Time Traveler's Wife. I wrote a post on the blog of my new website, which you can check out here and check out the rest of the site while you're there ;). I'll still be blogging here as well as there, depending on my mood.

I hope everyone is well and has a fantastic US Independence Day!

Big Announcement: Regiving Ebook

2011-06-14T22:04:00.000-04:00

Remember a few months back when I had a sort-of guest post on Kind Over Matter with a funny story in her Seven-Souls-One-Musing series? Well, Amanda decided to turn the concept into an amazing ebook with 30 contributors, including me. (I'm actually published-yay!!!) She used those funny stories and also stories of kindness and each of us gave her 2 stories, so there are 60 altogether, along with 5 great downloadable artworks. It's an incredible collection of laughter and heartfelt kindness, from some amazing people from all over the interwebz. I cracked into my copy already & I have laughed & cried & thoroughly enjoyed sharing these experiences.

Here's a few quotes from the book, just a taste of what it holds:

I finished my business, walked calmly out the door and then ran for the car. Then I laughed so hard I almost threw up. - Fabeku Fatunmise

I'll always remember what it felt like to be so invincible: to have someone believe in me with their whole, fumbling, translucently lovely heart. - Goddess Leonie
I felt so special, so important. I didn’t just learn how to ride that day. I learned how to fly. - Jamie Ridler
This was the only instance where I laughed so hard that I peed a little... which made me laugh even more. - Ev`Yan Nasman
So Brian suggested I take off the tights. But (I can’t believe I’m telling you this) - they were the kind with the panties already built in. Catch my drift? - Connie Hozvicka

There's even space for you to add your own stories to the book. If you're interested, you can download your own copy here (Full disclosure- as a contributor, I am also an affiliate, so I will earn a percentage if you buy from here. I'd still recommend it even if I didn't).

Also, in REALLY BIG personal news, I have launched my own website for my new life coaching business. I will do another longer post soon about why I've become a life coach, but for now, please check it out & let me know what you think.

Wonder (Day 2 BGBL)

2011-06-09T22:48:00.001-04:00

Light peeks through

"We need a renaissance of wonder. We need to renew, in our hearts and in our souls, the deathless dream, the eternal poetry, the perennial sense that life is miracle and magic.” -E. Merrill Root

The second virtue in the Be Gentle, Be Love ecourse is wonder. This brought to mind a recent walk in the woods that my sister & I shared. I have a tendency to stop & take photos often, especially now that I have a great camera phone with a flash. (Side note- a camera that I always have with me is absolutely amazing to me. I know many people have had these for awhile, but this is my first and I love always being able to get that perfect photo when it presents itself.)

This knothole reminded me of Grandmother Willow from Pocahontas. I could see telling your secrets to this tree.

Anyway, we were walking in a section near our home that I hadn't been through recently & I was absolutely captivated with all the lovely things we saw. I pointed out how pretty the moss on a tree stump was & my sister said "You find the weirdest things beautiful." I paused, thought for a moment, & said "Thank you." She said "I actually did mean it as a compliment" and I said "I really did take it as one." (We share a fluency in sarcasm, so we both had to make it clear this was not a sarcastic moment.) See, I love that I haven't lost that childlike wonder & I also love that my family notices this wonder. And I think that they enjoy the little reminders I offer them that the world is a wondrous place. Sometimes I misplace my wonder, but I never lose it completely.

I love found hearts. This is actually a deer print.

I also think it's no coincidence that wonder & wander sound the same. Wandering around will increase your sense of wonder if you just pay attention. The world is a beautiful, amazing miracle every day. Wander through your world & recapture your sense of wonder. Enjoy the flowers, the clouds, the grass, the birds chirping, etc. Or, if you're in the city, enjoy the sounds & sites & people there.

Even this falling barn is beautiful in its own way.

Blessed Wanderings & Wonderings to all!

Joy & Laughter

2011-06-02T13:28:00.000-04:00

I was in need of inspiration for writing, so I decided today that I needed to go back through my Be Gentle, Be Love prompts & actually blog them this time. Day one is Joyfulness & Amanda says "Let your eyes radiate Joy. Be a magnet of magnificence." I love alliteration & magnet of magnificence just made me smile all by itself.

She suggested to focus on smiling & let your eyes smile. I also pulled my daily affirmation (there's a button in the sidebar) and it said "Today may I recognize joy where it happens", so today is clearly meant to be about joy. At lunchtime, I went home like I always do, had my lunch & a few moments of quiet & came back to the office.

Now, you should know that I am a barefoot babe. When I walk in the door, I kick my shoes off right away. When I'm sitting at my desk, I mostly have my shoes off. Even my shoe choices are mostly flip flops, if I can get away with them. So, naturally, I took my shoes off when I got home for lunch & grabbed them again on my way out. Except....

I failed a bit on the grabbing them at the door bit. I wasn't paying much attention & both pairs must have been right there. I drove back over, came in & while I was talking to my coworker, I noticed my shoes felt odd. The pink pair are very soft & molded to my feet, while the brown ones are all leather & not as soft. I looked down & burst out laughing. My coworker laughed too. I'm still laughing. I guess I was determined to make today about laughter & joy, no matter what it took. Luckily, I don't have an official meeting or anything that would make this really embarrassing. My coworkers will all laugh with me & no harm will come of it.

So, have a nice belly laugh at my expense (this one's on the house) and recognize the joy in your day, wherever you find it!

Mother's Day

2011-05-08T20:57:00.001-04:00

"There is an instinct in a woman to love most her own child - and an instinct to make any child who needs her love, her own." ~Robert Brault

Mama, Me, & Grandma at my wedding

My mother is an amazing woman. She is truly the most generous and caring and loving person I've ever met. Any person who walks into her home is immediately hugged and welcomed to the family (and well fed- we're definitely Southern). She has always taken in any child, especially young women, who are in need of a good role model and a strong shoulder to lean on. She is a survivor and she helps other young women heal their scars in the safety of her understanding wings.

She is the example I've always followed, even the reason I joined the Peace Corps. (She wasn't exactly thrilled with how far away my service was taking me, but she was supportive of my reasons for going.) We don't see eye to eye on politics or religion, but she always listens to my point of view and loves me anyway. (That doesn't mean she won't call me a bleeding heart liberal every once in a while. ;) ) I inherited her sense of humor along with her green eyes (and my sisters tell me I got the control freak genes, too).

Recently, she has found the perfect place for her using passion to serve other women. STAFF House Maternity Home is a home for pregnant women with no home and nowhere to go. They may be teen mothers whose parents have kicked them out or women who are escaping violence in their home. My mom is the Program Director for STAFF House & she has spent the last several weeks getting their website together (she's got pretty awesome computer skills, too) and today is the official launch. Please check out their site & consider making a donation to help out a young mother without a bed to receive breakfast in today. It's the best way to honor my mother, and yours.

Love you Mama!!! Happy Mother's Day to you & all mothers out there!

Daddy, Me, Mama, around 1983

Mayhem in Mansa

2011-04-21T22:09:00.001-04:00

I had a post I wanted to share this week, but it will have to be written this weekend. I'm emotionally exhausted this week because of bigger events. Mansa, the town in Zambia nearest to my village where I lived as a Peace Corps Volunteer, has been in utter chaos all week. There were riots and stores and homes were burned and several people have been killed. My mother-in-law and brother-in-law, with his wife and children, live in this town, as well as many dear friends of mine and my husbands. I spent 3 years in this town and I know the streets and stores and people well. It is one of the many places I call home. So, knowing it is a place of great pain & strife is hurting me. The idea of burning buildings and dead people is difficult to handle.

Our nephew, Joshua, who lives in Mansa

Rumors of witchcraft and jealousy have always been issues in Zambia. Many people have absolutely nothing- barely even enough to eat or keep their children alive, so they are easily jealous of those who obviously have wealth to spare. Then the rumors start that the successful person must have used witchcraft to obtain their wealth. This weekend the rumors got out of control and mobs formed and riots broke out. There is an Indian family that owns most of the businesses in the town and they are not very well liked. All of their businesses were looted & burned & their house was burned as well. They managed to get out alive, but the man of the family was injured in the escape. Some of the other business owners were killed (horrific stories I won't share), as well as some of the rioters and some policemen were injured.

Our niece Grace, Joshua's big sister

The town is shut down- all roads are closed and the military has moved in. Food is scarce and most people are staying in their homes out of fear. Our family is safe, for now, but the situation is very poor in the town. It's been extremely stressful for us to hear this news and feel so completely helpless. We can't even send money to our family to help them leave, because the banks are shut down and the buses are not running. It sounds like the situation is calming down and I hope that is true. The news came completely out of the blue for us. Zambians are primarily very peaceful and Mansa is a small, sleepy little town, where you would not expect these huge stories to come from. This has made the rest of our week seem unimportant and has made work difficult for us.

Me & Loveness, a wonderful friend who runs an orphanage out of her own home- in Mansa, near the Milling Company

My facebook status yesterday was a hymn that has been a comfort and mantra for me this week:
Make us instruments of peace;
Where there is hatred, let our love increase;
Walls of pride and prejudice shall cease;
When we are instruments of peace.
Where there is blindness, we will pray for sight;
where there is darkness, we will shine light;
Where there is sadness, we will bear their grief;
To the millions crying for relief,
We will be the instruments of peace.
(hymn based on the prayer of St. Francis)

Please send love & light to Zambia, if you are so inclined, as well as all the other areas of strife and hurt in our world. Tomorrow is Earth Day, so do your part to help out the planet, but also spend a moment thinking of all the people who live on this great ball of love and send prayers out for us all.
In Peace, Love, & Gratitude...Blessed Be!

Don't Wait, Dance!!!

2011-04-13T20:59:00.000-04:00

I stumbled across Poem A Day for Poem Month on this site through a Be Gentle, Be Love classmate. I added it to my blogroll, but I haven't actually used the prompts, just read them. Until last night, while I was doodling- I suddenly had a poem in about 10 minutes. It just came out without any planning or overthinking. Here it is:

Don't wait, Dance!

The music isn't quite perfect-

Dance anyway.

People may laugh at you-

Dance anyway.

You'll feel childish & silly-

Dance anyway.

You don't know the steps-

Dance anyway.

Our time on this journey is short.

Don't wait, dance now.

Dance wildly, with joy and abandon

And let your feet

remind your soul how to boogie.

I'm not the new Emily Dickinson, but it means that my inner muse is back in the game. She was hibernating for a while, but now she's back. And I'm going to listen to my wise words and dance more. Enjoy more. Live more.

Then this afternoon, I really let the muse run loose. I came home, put my ipod on shuffle and had a wonderful evening. I'm one of those people who has 5,000 songs & listens to the same 200 over & over because I'm a creature of habit. The shuffle was a wonderful way to break the chains and hear great music I forgot I had- everything from Natalie Merchant to Johnny Cash to Bob to my favorite Zambian artist, Exile. I danced while I washed my dishes and finished my dinner prep. (We're having pot roast & baked sweet potatoes- LOVE the crockpot.)

Messy hands, happy heart!

Then, I got out my foam board & my paints & I fingerpainted. See, I bought a bunch of paints and canvases over a month ago, but they're just sitting there. My fears of not doing it right or being a good enough artist have kept me from even putting the paint on anything. So I got really messy & ran my hands all over the surface & smeared a bunch of paint on it. And I LOVED it!! It was so liberating and glorious to make a mess and not have hang-ups about the lines being in the wrong place. And a messy me is a happy me. The swirlies actually look like dancing people or flying birds or jumping hearts, depending on how I turn the board. Now my goal is to keep that playfulness when I use brushes. (And I WILL be using them.)

This little birdie just appeared & then I added some details- she was a fun bonus of the activity!

The very center says "color your life with joy." Words to live by....

Hope you're coloring your world with joy!!

Blessings, R

Glorious Day!

2011-04-06T21:50:00.000-04:00

These past few days I've been waking up singing "Oh, What a Beautiful Morning" from Oklahoma. (Factoid about me: I grew up watching musicals because my mom loves them and I was in love with Gene Kelly & Howard Keel when I was little. My favorites are Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Brigadoon, Finian's Rainbow, & Fiddler on the Roof.)

"Oh, what a beautiful Mornin'
Oh, what a beautiful day.
I've got a beautiful feelin'
Everything's goin' my way.

All the sounds of the earth are like music
All the sounds of the earth are like music"

The sunshine & spring blossoms have me very excited and the last few days have been wonderful. Sunday was so beautiful that Joshua & I decided to blow all our chores and run off to the beach. It was gorgeous. I had lots of fun playing around with my camera and he made a new friend with a soccer ball.

The two most important things to remember. Love is all there is and we should be grateful for it all. I wrote it out in sand and let the ocean take it out to the universe for me.

I had so much fun with my reflection in his shades because they're extremely mirrored. I put the camera on top of my head for this shot. This is my new Facebook photo- and there's two of me!

Happy toes in the sand!

Happy hubbie wheneve there's a soccer ball to kick around.

Joshua grabbed the camera, which is good because I didn't have any recent photos of me.

He's pretty cute, huh? ;)

It was a glorious, wonderful day. Hope you're enjoying your days as well! Listen to the music of the earth and know that the point is to dance and enjoy!

Blessed Be!

Detox Complete

2011-04-03T20:35:00.000-04:00

I finished my 21 days of detox last Monday. I had no dairy, red meat, corn, soy, sugar, wheat, tomatoes, or potatoes for the entire time. And, now I've lost 10 pounds, 10 inches, and my allergies. Yes, I lost my allergies. Normally, I had to take Zyrtec daily to keep my eyes & nose from running constantly. I was sporadic about taking it, but you could always tell if I'd missed a pill. I thought I should buy stock in Kleenex because I used so much tissue. Now, while the world turns yellow from the pollen, I haven't taken my Zyrtec in a month and I haven't needed the tissues. I feel really good. I'm still allergic to my sister's cat, but it takes a longer time to bother me. I'm absolutely blown away by this development- my body is clearer and my allergies will no longer weigh me down.

Now that my 21 days are over, the foods I'm eating are still mostly the same as during the cleanse. I ate dairy on Tuesday to test for an allergy, since it's my favorite, but I didn't have an adverse reaction. This weekend I tested wheat and had no reaction. I've had a little sugar, but probably less than 2 tablespoons the entire week. It was mixed in with other items, such as bread or the small amount of dark chocolate I ate. My dairy intake is also greatly reduced and spaced out, in order to keep my risk of reaction down. I am enjoying having solid foods at dinner time again, as I missed the actual act of eating. I haven't had much red meat, either. I'm eating grain carbs only at lunchtime and vegetable carbs at dinner, for lighter digestion at night. And I'm still having the smoothies at breakfast because I enjoy them and they're a fast, easy way to get lots of nutrients in a fresh, liquid state.

My friend in the pink was the one who ran it in 36 minutes. She's the one who got us all organized to go in honor of her daughter and she made us all shirts with Cala's picture. (She really rocks, in case you didn't guess.)

Yesterday, I did a 5k walk for the Greenville Autism Society with my friend in honor of her daughter, who is autistic. My friend ran it in 36 minutes, which was absolutely amazing- I'm so proud of her!! I didn't run, because I am not a runner unless I'm being chased, but I had a lovely walk through a beautiful neighborhood on a gorgeous spring day. I even managed to take a few photos. :) I hope you are all making better choices as spring begins as well! And a blessed April new moon to all!!

Our shoe chips for the race

Guest Post (sort of) @ KOM

2011-03-29T11:24:00.000-04:00

I'm one of the contributors for the Seven Souls One Musing post today over at Kind Over Matter!!! It's a great topic, about funny stories and laughter, so go check it out!

It's so exciting to be on a wonderful blog that I read daily and to get to share a story that I love to tell. It's inspired me to finally write down one of my best Zambia stories, so stay tuned this week for a fun new post.

Photo Credit

Abuzz

2011-03-28T22:33:00.001-04:00

I am completely abuzz with spring energy lately. I have signed up for every ecourse on creativity that I could possibly manage. I'm listening to several telecourses on renewal and connection and spirituality as well. I'm suddenly trying to pack my brain as full as I possibly can. I'm trying to come out of my hibernation that I went into when I was feeling down & ignoring my need to feed my creativity. And I'm not one to creep out of the cave slowly- I'm running out at full speed ahead and claiming my life back! This cleanse has helped to lighten up my body (in a metaphorical as well as literal sense), which has turned my attention back to my mind & soul. (I apologize if this post seems to bounce around- that's all this energy that's bouncing me around.)

Choosing balance as my word of the year has set me off with a clear focus. I'm rekindling my connection to myself and I'm loving it. I'm currently feeling very much off-balance by the way the energy has me buzzing, but I can see and feel that I'm on the path that will bring me back into balance. I'm paying attention to my inner voice and honoring my body. And I feel like 30 is going to be a wonderful year for me.

If you are also looking for creative outlets and inspiration, I highly recommend all the courses I'm doing. I didn't intend to do them all at once, but they kept being available and I just couldn't resist. First, Jamie Ridler, whose blog I enjoy, has a course called Sparkles: Bring Your Creativity to Life, which is designed to help you Sparkle with creativity in just 5 minutes a day. It's 31 daily emails of fun ideas that truly only take 5 minutes. We're on day 6 and we've had 2 art projects, 2 photo prompts, & 2 writing ideas. Very fun so far.

Then, Amanda, of Kind Over Matter, launched her course. Amanda is a beautiful, kind artist who shares beautiful inspirations on her blog several times a day. (I'm actually part of tomorrow's post, which is SUPER exciting. I'll link to it here when it comes out.) Her course is Be Gentle, Be Love and you receive a printable pack of awesome resources and every day for 30 days, an inspirational email centered around one virtue. So far we've covered joy, wonder, kindness, & a few others. I am enjoying it. Lots of laughter, support in the online group, & wonderful thought-provoking ideas.

Both courses started at the same time & they're working really well together, actually. My aim is to do them now as they run and then go through them again for another month to explore more. I recommend either and they're both very affordable.

Then, I found out about a free course by another amazing woman, so I jumped on that ship as well. Dani, from Wild Precious, is leading a WONDERFUL course on women & art: The Sovereignty of a Woman: a six week artistic journey into a woman’s heart. Dani has a wonderful skill with words and encouraging women to get in touch with their inner queen. The workshop doesn't officially start until April 25th, which is perfect timing for me to get a little more time and expand from the other two. But, we've got a lovely community building on the site already.  A terrific circle of women & I would love to see you there.

Also, Wild Precious is a free online art community I mentioned before and there are many free workshops running through there as well, including the mandala group I posted about before. So, if you're looking for creative inspiration and kindred spirits, here are some wonderful opportunities I've found. I've gained tremendous insights and joy from them.

Happy Spring!! Blessings & joyful creating!

Cleanse Update

2011-03-20T22:04:00.000-04:00

So, after 2 weeks on my cleanse, I'm feeling really good. I have really enjoyed my food and feel very healthy. I'm not tired or hungry and I have energy. I'm actually having trouble getting enough sleep because I'm too energized to sleep early enough and I wake up by 6:30 automatically. I took my measurements on Friday and I've lost 5 inches all around. It's all the inflamation and built up excess that's leaving my system.
I thought I would share two of my favorite soup recipes that I've had for dinners. They're both good enough that I'll eat them after the cleanse is over. They are based on recipes from cleanprogram.com, but of course I made changes and made them mine. Both are full of flavor and lovely.

Chilled Cucumber Dill Soup

3 cucumbers, peeled
1 lemon, peeled
½ cup almonds or cashews
¼ cup fresh dill (or 1/8 cup dried)
¼ cup fresh cilantro (or 1/8 cup dried)
1 avocado
½ cup chopped kale
4 cups pure filtered water
salt
Blend and eat chilled.

Carrot-Ginger Soup
1 medium onion, diced
4-6 large carrots, chopped
1 tsp garlic, minced
½ inch fresh ginger, peeled & grated (or 2 tsp powder)
1 cup coconut milk
4 cups pure filtered water
Olive oil
dill or cilantro for garnish
salt
Saute onion & garlic in olive oil. Add carrots, ginger, water & boil until carrots are cooked. (If you’re not on the cleanse, adding chopped sweet potatoes would be a great idea. Also, I wouldn’t blend it if not on the cleanse.) Blend up and add coconut milk, heat through. Salt to taste & garnish with dill or cilantro.

I made a pdf of the recipes for you here. Please let me know if you try them out. :)

Wordless Wednesday- Spring Blossoms

2011-03-16T22:30:00.001-04:00

Well, you know I can't go completely wordless. This is our plum tree and it smells absolutely divine right now. It's such a beautiful pink color that I had to run over and take some photos. And, thanks to reading Vivienne McMaster, I feel like I should try more self-portraits, so there it is. Hope you're all enjoying the blossoming of spring!

Spring Cleaning

2011-03-09T22:30:00.001-05:00

As spring is beginning, I have taken the clue to really focus on my health and do some spring cleaning for my body. I read this post about a detox cleanse back in January. She did daily posts through the whole 21-day process and by the end, she had convinced me to get the book and check it out. I ordered Clean and Dr. Junger convinced me even more that this was what I needed to do for my body.

Photo Credit

The basic premise is that our bodies have the capacity to detox through our digestive system, but we are so overwhelmed by all the toxins in our food and environment that they can’t fully do their jobs. The cleanse eliminates most of the excess and stresses on our system so that our body can process all those stored toxins and clean them out. You cut out all the major allergy causing foods so that even if you only have a slight allergy, it won’t get in your way for detox. Those foods are: corn, soy, dairy, gluten, eggs, red meat, & refined sugar. After the cleanse if over, your body is free of those foods, so you have the opportunity to do your own allergy test to see if you have a reaction to any of them. Breakfast & dinner are liquid- either smoothies or soups, but blended up, and lunch is solid foods. There are many, many options that avoid those 7 key foods and the others that are not allowed on this program.

I started the program yesterday and so far, I haven’t been hungry other than at mealtimes. I was a bit concerned that I would be, since it seems like a lot less than I normally eat, but I’ve been fine. For yesterday’s breakfast, had a blueberry, mango, kale, & almond milk smoothie. Lunch was grilled salmon with a fresh salad and quinoa. Dinner was a cold cucumber dill soup. Today I had a blackberry, mango, spinach, almond milk, & chia seed smoothie for breakfast and the rest of the soup for dinner. Lunch was grilled chicken breast, salad with avocado, & quinoa. I made several chicken breasts and a large batch of quinoa, so the next few lunches will be variations of that. Breakfast tomorrow will be blueberry, almond, chia, kale, & maybe a dash of cocoa or avocado, depending on my mood. I think dinner will be carrot/ginger soup. I’m certainly not suffering with tastes or flavors. I love these foods, but I don’t always take the time to make them, or combine them in these ways, so this is also a chance to treat myself to foods I love that are really good for me.

Photo Credit

The only downside so far is that I cannot stop thinking about dairy foods. Chocolate, cheese, milk, etc. are all favorites. And I miss them. A lot. But, I’ve heard that the cravings get smaller after a few days, so I hope that is true. Drinking enough water and enjoying the flavors I’m having does help me know I’m not hungry and I’m just wanting foods I don’t need. I just remind myself that my body is not in the optimal shape that I want it to be and that avoiding dairy will help.

If you’re interested or just intrigued, the Clean website has many resources and all the recipes from the book as well, to download. And stay tuned for more updates on my progress. I’m excited about the possibilities and hope it helps me feel better all around. I’ve also been doing my daily morning pages writing (from The Artist’s Way) and meditations, so I feel like I’m taking better care of me. Still enjoying my mandala group as well. Lots of fun new techniques and ideas, so I’ll post those photos soon.

Mandala Mania

2011-02-16T22:55:00.000-05:00

Through Wild Precious, where I'm in The Artist's Way group, I also found a mandala drawing group. When I made my intentions, I also made a list of the things I want to draw this year and mandalas were first on the list, so I was very excited.

This was my first and it turned into a picture of a Hurricane, at least that's what I see.

In case you don't know, mandala means circle in Sanskrit and it is an artform of drawing within a circle. In both the Hindu and Buddhist traditions, mandalas are often used for sacred practice and as part of meditation or prayer. They are an excellent way to practice concentration and sit in silence without feeling overwhelmed by it. The earth is also viewed as a mandala, since it is a circle, so mandalas are a practice of grounding and connecting to the earth as well. Many Celtic knot designs are also mandalas, especially the famous Tree of Life. This article has more info and some beautiful photos, if you're interested. Mandala drawings are also used in therapy, based on Carl Jung's view that they are a view into the patient's unconscious and they also serve to calm the patient. There are many benefits from drawing them and they are often very beautiful.

I didn't like this one at all when I drew it, but I loved it after I colored it. Metallic markers are loads of fun!

This is our first week and the technique for this week was one I haven't seen before. Instead of drawing the circle first and drawing within it, we started with a single dot in the center and added repeating patterns around the center to build the mandala. If you're interested, please join the site- it's been fabulous so far. I've already drawn three and it's only day 2.

This was today's. I'm getting more comfortable with the technique and exploring more ideas and colors.

Me Date

2011-02-06T18:47:00.001-05:00

One of the things I have started to help me on my journey toward balance is reading and participating in The Artist's Way. For years I've heard about the book and the wonderful things it can do. I recently decided to buy the book and see what the fuss was about. At the same time, I joined Wild Precious, a free online artist's group, just to have some focus and inspiration. This week they started a group for The Artist's Way, which will hopefully hold me accountable and keep me in it. (If you're interested, it's all free, so check it out.)

The main 2 tasks of The Artist's Way are the Morning Pages & the Artist Date. The Morning Pages are a journal where you get rid of all the extra stuff in your head that gets in the way of your creativity. The Artist Date is where you treat yourself special and let the inner artist celebrate.

How could anyone not feel joyful in this place?

This morning I decided to treat myself to whole day of me time. I drove down to the beach and enjoyed the warm sunshine that showed up today. It was just magical to feel the sand under my feet and listen to the roar of the waves. I have needed to feel the ocean's power for a while and haven't made the time to go.

Then I stopped by the Dollar General for a special treat on the way home.

64 brand new crayons: $2.50

1 Brand New Coloring Book: $1

A joyful afternoon of choosing colors and filling in these happy critters: PRICELESS

The happy turtle made me happy too!

Balance - 2011

2011-02-03T21:40:00.000-05:00

It’s taken me awhile to figure out my word for 2011. Isn’t it appropriate that the Chinese New Year is the day I finally get it posted on here?

I didn't realize until I'd written it that it was pink on one side and blue on the other, so I probably need to balance my masculine & feminine energies as well.

Balance is my word for 2011. I truly believe that we are threefold beings- mind, body, & spirit. I am a very cerebral and scholastic person, so I am constantly reading and learning. My mind is active, but my body has been neglected. I haven’t been exercising for several months and my eating is wacky as well. It is more difficult to get local vegetables in winter, so I have been lazy about making sure I get them.

I haven’t nourished my soul either. I have said many times that I need to create and write to connect to myself. And I haven’t honored that need, even though I know I have it. I get tired from work or sidetracked by reality TV (those housewives are like a trainwreck- I don’t want to watch, but I can’t look away.) I have been feeling out of sorts and off balance for months.

This year will be one of rediscovering what balance means to me.

Wilmington riverfront- water always feeds my soul

One element of that is to spend time with good friends, none of whom live nearby anymore. This weekend I got to see many wonderful friends and to celebrate Imbolc, the mid-point between winter and spring. Imbolc is a celebration of the Goddess Brigid, who is the goddess of healing, fire, water, poetry, & smithery. She is a goddess of many faces and of opposites, so it is a time to celebrate the many facets of ourselves and especially to remember our creativity. (Obviously this was wonderful for me, as I needed these reminders and friends to share them with.)

My friend Tasha & I had a lovely day wandering through the downtown shops and laughing at the riverfront.

I also got to have lunch with my friend Sherry, who lives far away in the mountains. I blogged about visiting her here.

Another element that I need for balance is to write and share with my blogging community, which has become so important to me these past few months. That means I won't be neglecting the blog like I did last month. This writing is a healing outlet for me and I hope it's good for my readers as well. I've missed you lovelies!

Happy Year of the Rabbit & Blessed Be!

Adventures in Wonderland

2011-01-06T22:48:00.001-05:00

I celebrated the new moon on Tuesday by reading my intentions out loud and setting them out into the universe. That helped to really get me on track. I washed away the old year and started out with new goals for this one.

Sunrise on Wednesday

So far, I've avoided sugar all week. No sweets, no sodas, no candy, etc. I haven't had sugar added to anything I've eaten. I realize it's only 4 days so far, but that's longer than I've ever gone without sugary treats before. I have no intention of going without sugar forever, but I'm an addict who has to just cut it out cold turkey. Then, after I've broken my habit, I can have the occasional cake or chocolate, and hopefully it won't be as much of an urge to have more. I have decided that soda is over completely. Luckily my mom never kept it in the house, so I didn't grow up drinking it all the time.

A jewelry project that my sister Rebecca & I did on Sunday. I set up the design I wanted
and then she did the magic.

I've managed to do my daily meditation and writing and I'm really enjoying it. I have been putting together some exercise equipment that my mom bought, so soon I'll have an elliptical to work out on. (We live in a separate apartment next to my parent's house, so that means I get to use it. I just have to put it together first.) The assembly part is something that I actually enjoy, so that's been fun as well. It's another form of creating and it will help us all be more healthy and fit.

My sea angel, whose wings are made of seashells. She was just so beautiful by candlelight
that I had to take the photo.

I started reading the Alice in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass books and I'm really enjoying the wisdom hidden amongst the whimsy. My facebook status today is perfect for this: ‎'Alice came to a fork in the road. "Would you tell me please, which way I ought to go from here?" "That depends a good deal on where you want to get to." responded the Cheshire cat. "I don't know," Alice answered. "Then," said the cat, "it doesn't matter." If you don't know where you're going, how will you know when you've gotten there? I feel more productive this week, just because I've had a plan and intention. I am moving with purpose.

Coincidentally, I'm reading the books on my kindle app on my new phone. This is my first digital book and I was skeptical about it, but I've really enjoyed it. I haven't felt strange or like I couldn't read as well. And it's a free book, since it's a classic, so it's a wonderful treat when I'm in a waiting room. I don't need anything more than my phone to entertain myself.

Intentions for 2011

2011-01-03T20:31:00.000-05:00

I set intentions for the year. They're a way of choosing the path and guiding my year. I sat down yesterday and wrote out 31 of them. I thought that was cool, since I didn't preset the number, but 31 was the number that I ended up with and this is my 31st year.

I got myself a new phone for my birthday. I had my other one for 4 years and it was starting to drop calls. It's so old that it didn't even have a camera. I decided to go for it and got a Droid, which I love. Anyway, the point of that is that I've decided to try to take a daily photo, since I have a handy little camera I can carry with me easily. I have several friends who have done something like that and it was cool to see the daily events we wouldn't normally think to photograph. These are the moments of life.

Another one of my intentions is to turn off the auto function of my SLR camera and finally learn how to use it. There is so much fear in not getting it right, so I just need to jump out and do it.

Take better care of my body. My body is all I have and I need to honor it by treating it better. Eat better, exercise, etc.  I am overweight and I've finally hit the wall where I feel bad enough to do something about it. I don't eat much processed food, but extras- sweets & snacks- are my issue. I signed up for a sugar detox group, because I have a terrible sugar addiction. I am worse than an alcoholic and I need to cut it out.  Today I have avoided soda, chocolate, cheesecake, pralines, and several other sweets that lurk in my office. It's a day to day battle, but I'm serious about it this time.  (Sodas and chocolates are always free at work. It's a cruel, cruel world.)

I have declared that I will write for 15 minutes and sit in quiet meditation for 10-15 minutes daily. And begin creating again- painting, weaving, sewing, etc.

Mostly, my intention is to continue growing my creative side, which nourishes my soul, and to take better care of my body, so I'm able to really enjoy life for a long time.

I also set some eco-living goals. I will start carrying my own tupperware to restaurants to avoid stryrofoam. I also want to learn to make soap and lotion. Maybe they won't be things I'll make regularly, but I at least want to try. I plan to try out batch cooking and freezing, which might free up more time and reduce food waste. And, by the end of the year, I will eat only local, grassfed, toxin free meat. It's an expensive switch, but it will be worth it.

So, those are some of the major intentions I've set. The rest are more specific and I won't bother you with them. So, what are your intentions/resolutions/goals for this year? Or what is your reason for not making them?

Birthday/New Year's

2011-01-02T21:59:00.000-05:00

Happy 2011!!! (My fingers keep trying to put 2 zeros in the year. I'm definitely not used to it yet.)

My birthday is New Year's Eve and this year was my 30th, so I was busy having a wonderful birthday weekend. (Today is also the anniversary of our US wedding, so someday this week I'll do a post on it and some photos.)

My birthday started off with a lunch with the family. They made fried chicken, mac n cheese, broccoli, beans, & key lime cheese cake.

Then, Joshua and I checked into a hotel on the river in our nearby town. We enjoyed the sunset on the river and the beautiful view.

Then, we walked over to my favorite restaurant, which I blogged about here. I hadn't been able to get a reservation, but they let us sit at the bar. I had the reconstructed Beef Wellington, which was absolutely wonderful. A couple sat down next to us and through a few moments of chatting, we discovered she was the daughter of a friend of my aunt's. She'd heard all about us and had wanted to meet us but didn't know how. It was a serendipitous moment, certainly. They're moving near us this month, so I'm sure we'll hang out with them again soon.

After we left the restaurant, we were joined by another couple to watch the fireworks from our balcony.

After the show, we walked over to the Hilton for their party. We danced the night away! We both love to dance and we haven't been out dancing in awhile, so it was great.

New Year's morning! Wish this was always our view...

After a lazy morning, we came home. I went to visit several good friends and enjoy sushi (another treat I don't get often, as Joshua won't even try it :( )!!!! It was a lovely way to start off the year. Today I've been doing things around the house and writing out my intentions for this new year. Tomorrow I'll post more on that.

Cranberry Recipes

2010-12-30T22:00:00.000-05:00

I've made a couple yummy Cranberry recipes lately for the holidays that I thought I'd share with you. I don't normally write it down as I cook (or measure, so these are approximations), but I really enjoyed these, so I made sure to write them down quickly.

Cranberries are one of my favorite holiday foods and they're so good for you it'd be a crime not to eat them as much as possible. The Cranberry sauce is a mixture of several recipes I've found online & it was very good. I even put some cranberries in the freezer to make it again after the season is over.

I've been making cobblers since I was 9 years old and I made a blueberry one in my 4-H cooking contest. I have always considered cobbler a summer dish, because peaches and blueberries are summer fruits. But, I thought a holiday version with cranberries would be good. I experimented with one and it turned out wonderfully. My office coworkers were my guinea pigs and they all loved it. Here's the Cranberry Cobbler Recipe. I forgot to do it and didn't put it in the recipe, but I thought it would also be good with 1/2 cup of chopped pecans, so you may want to try it that way!

Hope you have a wonderful New Year's Eve!!! Happy 2011!

Small Gift for 2011

2010-12-29T09:56:00.000-05:00

I have been overwhelmed by life for the last few weeks, but I'm back. And I come bearing a gift. :)

For my coworker's Christmas presents, I made them cute little desk calendars that use CD cases for frames. I used my own photos and quotes that I thought were appropriate. I like them so much that I'm uploading them here for you.

This is not my calendar, but it shows how the stand works. You'll have to click the link to see mine. :)

You can find the Calendar here and the Instructions here. In google docs, the pictures are very pixelated, but if you download it and then print, they seem to be the quality I saved them as. Let me know if you have trouble & I'll try to find another solution.

Happy New Year!!

Quick Update

2010-12-09T19:46:00.001-05:00

I know I haven’t posted lately. I’ve been extremely busy at work and that has made me too tired to write in the evenings. I have been doing some offline paper-art collages, which has been a joy to my soul. It feels so good to create, even if it’s just cutting up magazines and gluing them on paper.

I had an upper endoscopy yesterday to check out why I have a random weird gag reflex sometimes when I talk loudly. That took me out all day, as the effects of the sedation take forever to wear off. Don’t worry- they didn’t find anything wrong. I’m completely healthy, although I wish I knew why I have that reflex sometimes.

I have a plan to do some writing and creating this weekend, so I will be sure to post at least once. I also have to get out our holiday cards, as Shutterfly came through for me and delivered them yesterday!! Hope everyone is experiencing the joy of the season and not the stress. Remember it’s about family and friends, not buying and things. Blessed Be!

Retrospection

2010-12-02T22:17:00.001-05:00

This last month of the year is always a year review for me, as it is for many. Especially since my birthday is also the last day of the year, so both my birth year & calendar year start together. And this year I’ll be thirty, so there’s the extra reflection that comes with major life milestones. I’m certainly looking back at where I’ve come from and forward to my future. I wanted to do some special project for the 30 days til my 30th, but I couldn’t come up with anything. I’m open to suggestions if anyone has any.

Me, around age 3, with my parents

I’ll certainly be writing as much as possible and trying to do more creative and artistic projects as well. I miss making things with my hands. Photography gives me some outlet, but it’s not quite as messy as paint or clay and I need to get messy. I’ll be posting some reflection on the year and my goals and excitement for 2011. Hope you’re all enjoying this winter nesting time as well!

Shutterfly Holiday Cards

2010-12-01T21:46:00.001-05:00

I have been a Shutterfly member for 3 years now. I am very pleased with their site, their options, and their products. I upload all my photos to my account so that I’ll have a backup and so that I can print them more easily. I even have a prepaid plan so that I can save money on prints. After our Zambian wedding, I made up a beautiful photo book with our pictures. It is professional quality and one of our favorite keepsakes.

I plan to make one for our American wedding, too, but I haven’t made it yet. (Yes, I know that it was in January and it’s almost January again.) I also made soft cover ones for my sisters and each of Joshua’s siblings as well. They were a perfect Thank You for the important people who helped us make it happen and they weren’t that expensive. Cheaper than printing the photos and scrapbooking it by hand and nicer, too.

I also made our holiday cards that year with Shutterfly. They have many different options and designs, from very simple to elaborate. I plan to make some this year as well. Here is one of my options, although I think I’ll go with a different one:

Shutterfly saves all your designs for you, that’s how I still have the book and card from 2007. That means you can easily order more of anything and remember what you did last time if you want this year to be similar. It’s extremely helpful.

Another feature that I love about Shutterfly is the share sites that you can set up. I set one up for our wedding photos and also one for the retreat photos that I took. You just choose the album that you already uploaded and add it to the site. You can set up a password so that only your invited friends can see them. And you can send email invitations directly from the share site. It’s a great way to share event photos with the event group without clogging up emails or sending CDs.

I highly recommend Shutterfly to you for photo sharing online and for ordering photo products, especially your holiday cards.

**In exchange for writing this post I will receive 50 free cards from Shutterfly. This promotion is open to any and all bloggers.**

Let's Talk about Sex, Baby!!

2010-12-01T08:55:00.001-05:00

OK, so not exactly, but I did get your attention, didn't I? Today is World AIDS Day.

Since 1981 over 25 million people have died due to an AIDS related illness. Currently, 33.4 million people are living with HIV worldwide, with 1.1 million in the US. Most people in the US seem to think that the AIDS crisis is over, because we're not faced with it daily. In Zambia, it was different. I could see the damage it was doing to families and communities every day. Here in the US, we've become complacent. "Oh, all it takes is a pill and you keep living for a long time." Not exactly. The treatments for HIV can be more than 40 pills a day and the complications (diarrhea, low appetite, exhaustion, difficulty sleeping, etc) can make life very difficult.

Please educate yourself on the facts of HIV and AIDS. The Body is a terrific website and World AIDS Campaign has lots of info as well. Get tested and know your status. I get tested every year during my yearly physical. It's just standard practice for me and most of my friends who are also HIV educators do the same. Unless you're certain you're in a faithful relationship with only one partner, use condoms to protect yourself, even the Pope thinks so. Speak openly with your partner(s) about HIV. It is important, even if it's scary.

Most importantly, please know that hugs, handshakes, and sharing do not transmit HIV. If you happen to know someone who is positive (you probably do, but you just don't know their status), make sure you don't avoid them. Emotional support is as important as medical treatment. Make sure you let them know that someone cares and loves them.

And, if you recognized my title reference to Salt'N'Pepa's "Let's Talk about Sex", check out the re-release lyrics they did called "Let's Talk about AIDS". They intended the first release to get people to talk about safer sex and then they decided it wasn't direct enough, so they edited it to talk specifically about AIDS and get people's attention. They really covered the info pretty well in just a few minutes. Way to go ladies!! Someone needs to bring it up again in pop culture, as we seem to have forgotten.

Steel (I mean Steal!!) Cookware Set

2010-11-30T23:06:00.001-05:00

During my research into chemicals and safer, more environmental living, I’ve decided that I want stainless steel pots instead of nonstick. The nonstick ones I currently have were cheap and it was time to finally upgrade to a really good set. I found a great deal by accident!! I’m a big Food Network fan and I was on their website and just checked into the store. I found this set- 15 pieces of All Clad (!!!!) for $299. And there are 3 bonus gifts, 2 more pans and a local foods cookbook by Emeril. AND if you use Bill Me Later, it’s 6 months without interest, so it’s only $50 a month to pay off. It was a deal I simply could not pass up. It goes in and out of stock quickly, so I had to wait 2 weeks for them to re-stock, but it was worth it. (They’re also out of stock right now, but keep checking back.) The bonuses are only available until December 31, 2010, but I have no idea how long the price is good for. They even have free shipping right now on orders over $99, which is another bonus I missed. (Bed, Bath, Beyond has them for the same price, but without all the bonuses and interest free rate.)

Thanksgiving was my first real trial of using most of the pieces, since with only two of us I’d used mostly the smaller pots previously. I love them. They have a tri-layer bottom, with aluminum and copper for heat distribution and stainless on the inside near the food. They clean up easily, they cook faster and so much better than my old ones. I can use metal utensils, too, without freaking out about the coating. And there is no weird taste of the nonstick starting to peel off. I feel safer and more like a professional when I use them.

If you are considering a new set of cookware or switching to stainless, I highly recommend that you check out this deal!!

**PS. I don’t get any benefit from the link, although I wish I knew how to get free stuff from them. **

Heroes…

2010-11-25T22:33:00.001-05:00

We just watched CNN’s Heroes 2010 special. If you don’t know anything about it, please check out their website or Facebook page. 10 ordinary people doing extraordinary things for their communities and the world. Ending hunger, rehabilitating former prisoners, removing land mines, helping sex trafficking victims, providing bridges and lights for people without, building homes for vets, fighting obesity, and providing health care for those in need. These people saw a need in their community and they did something to change the world.

This TV special was a definite reminder to me that we must all do whatever we can to make the world a better place, no matter how small it seems. As Mother Theresa said, “We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop.” I certainly haven’t been as involved in my community’s programs as I would like and it is a reminder to get back into involvement.

Even though tomorrow is all about consumerism and fighting for the cheapest price on the newest gadget and gift, I hope that we all can take a minute to give some of our holiday spending to spread good. That doesn’t have to mean to a charity- it can be buying some groceries for your neighbor who is struggling, or to your local food bank, or Toys for Tots, or one of those 10 organizations that CNN put the spotlight on. Just try to share something, even if it’s only $10 (if you wrap your gifts in newspaper, which is greener, you can save that much).

Happy Thanksgiving!! I am so thankful that I am in a position where I don’t need the services of those Heroes and I am blessed enough that I can contribute something to their cause. And I am thankful to CNN for the reminder. Blessings!

PS. If you saw the special and you liked the Sugarland song, their whole album is only $4.99 right now on Amazon. If you didn’t see it, check out Stand Up- it’s got a beautiful and powerful message.

PPS. If you were interested in Aunt Nancy’s soap, she’s having a Black Friday sale this weekend on her website- 20% with the code black.

Wordless Wednesday: Autumn

2010-11-24T21:17:00.001-05:00

I’m thankful for…

2010-11-23T22:35:00.001-05:00

· My husband, who makes me laugh all the time, and is magical with kids.

· My parents, who are truly the most loving and generous people I’ve ever known.

· My sisters- while we don’t always see eye-to-eye, they are the best huggers and they share my weird sense of humor.

· Grandma, who’s still going strong at 73, and is a wealth of knowledge. I don’t have to google “how to can peaches”, I just ask Grandma.

· My incredibly supportive and wonderful family-in-law, who completely accepted me from day 1 and have taught me so much about community and sharing.

· My nieces and nephews (all 19 of them) who I miss so much and who are so much fun to dance and play with.

· My friends, though scattered all over the planet, who enrich my life with their presence and perspective, even from afar.

· Skype and Facebook, which bring those friends and family closer to me.

· My circle of fabulous women friends, who help me to celebrate the divine feminine in all of us and especially in myself.

· Blogging, which has introduced me to new friends and given me a platform for exercising my creativity.

· The Farmer’s Market- where I find local, fresh, organic produce to eat and support my community. It’s such a fun event every week!

· My job- I know how stressful it is not to have one, especially these days.

· Crafting and art, which keep me centered and connected to the universe.

· Photography, which gives me a new vision of the world.

· Having a terrific camera (thanks RT!)

· Terrific books in endless supply- I’d be completely lost if I had nothing to read. Right now I’m about to re-read Harry Potter 6 & 7, since I saw the movie this weekend and need to refresh.

· Access to so much information online and in books- I love learning new things.

· The mini-whirlwinds that happen in the back of my truck when I park under a tree in the fall.

· The autumn colors painted all over the world- my favorite time of year.

· The beauty of the sky when I come home everyday (although I hate that I can’t really capture it in a photo, but this is about gratitude).

· The gift of travel, that has taken me so far over the last decade. I am so grateful to all the people who shared their corner of the world with me and taught me so much.

· Fun jewelry and a sister who can help me design new ones when I want.

· Living near(ish) the ocean and still not so far from the mountains.

· Lovely holiday foods that only come once a year, like cranberry relish and pecan pie.

· Pandora.com for hearing new music and keeping me going at work. And buying the songs I like instantly on my computer.

· Clean water and electricity- I know for sure that they are gifts, not rights.

· A multitude of other gifts, large and small, that I didn’t think to list, but I know my blessings and gifts are too numerous to count.

“Gratitude is the heart's memory.”-Proverb

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.” -Melody Beattie

I hope that you all have more blessings than you can count and that you will take some time this season to count them anyway, as you’ll find more each time you count. Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Wordless Wednesday: Tropical Flowers

2010-11-17T22:59:00.000-05:00

World Kindness Day

2010-11-12T22:17:00.000-05:00

"What this world needs is a new kind of army- an army of the kind." -Cleveland Amory

Tomorrow is World Kindness Day. It's not very well known day, but I think it's a great reminder that small acts of kindness are so important. I posted here and here about my fun with adding little cards or extra tips and how good it makes me feel. I still have those cards and give them with all tips, to cashiers, and whenever I feel someone needs one. I've had a cashier come around the counter to give me a hug, even though we'd never met before. I love these little moments, because I know that if I've made someone else's day even slightly better, then I've been successful today. So, here are a few sites with ideas of ways you can celebrate the day.

Operation Nice has a lovely download for free Happiness Day cards to pass out, if you'd like. Kind Over Matter has a bunch of free quotes and other downloads you can use as well, like the ones I currently have in my wallet. Both blogs have great, cheerful reminders of kindness and ways to be nice to others and cool artwork, as well. The World Kindness Movement has an A-Z list of fun things you can do to spread kindness. At the very least, call your friends and family and tell them something nice that they need to hear. Or give them a hug if you can see them in person. I plan to take some cards with me to town when I go to the Farmer's Market and bake my friendship bread to share. Plus, whatever little acts of kindness strike me as the day goes on. I think I'll send some notes to friends I haven't seen in a while and make some calls as well. How will you celebrate World Kindness Day?

"Kindness is the golden chain by which society is bound together." -Johann von Goethe

Wordless Wednesday

2010-11-10T20:53:00.000-05:00

“Wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving.” —Kahlil Gibran

**These are all photos that I took on our trip to India in May 2010.**

Skin Care Deals

2010-11-08T20:18:00.000-05:00

One of the many blogs that I follow is Chic & Green.  Karley used to have her own natural, nontoxic skin care company, but she decided it was taking her time away from her family so she shut it down. However, she still educates the rest of us on what ingredients are safe and which are not. I grately appreciate her expertise, as I'm just learning to read the labels and am still confused by all the details.

She also reviews products and makes recommendations. I love her input, because it's open and honest. She will blast out the $100 a bottle item and support the $3 one if that's her true review. One of the latest items she reviewed was L'Bri. You can read her review here. They have a free sample for just the cost of shipping, $6.75, so I got the trial. Since I'm turning 30 this year, I've finally realized that I need to take better care of my face if I don't want to look older than I am. I really love the feel of my skin with this line and I'm considering purchasing it. It's a bit more expensive than I would normally consider, but it lasts longer than I'd thought it would, as well.  And truly nontoxic skin care is hard to find these days and is never cheap. The best thing is that she has a giveaway this month for L'Bri products, so you have a chance to win if you go here.

Another product that Karley has raved about that I have just tried for myself is Aunt Nancy's soaps. I've been wanting to try soaps that didn't have all the harmful chemicals in them. I ordered 5 bars and so far I've only used 2. They last about 3-4 weeks each (for the 2 of us). I love the feel of the soaps and the way they suds up. My skin feels so much softer and less dry.  The scents are great as well. I have the chocolate pumpkin and while it smells terrific, I wouldn't recommend it unless you really want the seasonal scent. It has real cocoa in it and it leaves a brown trail down the shower wall. It doesn't stain, but I'm just not crazy about the way it looks. It also makes me hungry. :) However, the Apple & Currants was great and next up I'm trying out the Island Coconut. If you've been looking for a nice soap that supports a small business owner, check out Aunt Nancy.  Her soap won't disappoint you.

**I don't know Karley or Aunt Nancy, other than as a blogger and etsy seller. I won't benefit whether or not you click these links or buy these products, I just wanted to share the deals.**

Claiming Home

2010-11-07T22:55:00.000-05:00

"Nature has been for me, for as long as I remember, a source of solace, inspiration, adventure, and delight; a home, a teacher, a companion." -Lorraine Anderson

Okay, so I won't be winning any NaBlogPoMo prizes for posting every day, because I missed yesterday. However, I had a marvelous day, away from the computer, that was a prize in itself.

I was at a women's retreat in a beautiful nature preserve with some of my dearest friends. I know that all people, and especially women, need these experiences of coming together and creating circles of support and love. We need to remember that we are all divine and the earth provides all we need, if we just take notice and give thanks. We made clay bowls and walked in the woods and had a drum circle and just enjoyed each other's company. It was pure magic. I was both exhausted and fully rejuvenated from the day.

The CroneWorks Retreat Planning Committee- An AMAZING circle of women and I am so blessed to be among them.

Then, when I got home around 7pm, I had a date! My hubbie has been working evenings for the last few weeks, so we literally only saw each other during my 1/2 lunch break and at midnight when he got home, just before we slept. It's been a rough period. His schedule is going back to normal tomorrow and since he was off last night, we went to see some friends and had a lovely night out together.

Quite a wonderful day!! Here are some of my favorite photos of my day in the woods:

Playing with clay!

Rebecca & Me

My bowl

Twisty vines and curvy shapes kept catching my eye

We spoke of acorns growing into mighty oaks and this little guy caught my attention as he's just starting out.

This incredible web just demanded that I take notice. Weavers of dreams and fate....

"Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair." -Kahlil Gibran

Village Peanut Butter

2010-11-05T13:43:00.000-04:00

I've had lots of positive responses and questions on my posts about my life in Zambia, so I will take that as a sign to do more of them. My problem has been in trying to figure out how to start, so I think I’ll just jump into the middle and work my way on from there. Last night I was eating a peanut butter sandwich and I realized that I needed to write about the village peanut butter.

In my Dancing in the Moonlight post, I spoke a little about my life living in a Zambian village. My best friends in the village were 4 little girls, who were sisters and lived next door to me: Forster, Ellen, Eliza, and Mwelwa. They were always at my house when they didn’t have chores or school. None of them spoke English and they certainly helped me to learn Bemba. Eliza, who was 9, loved to tell stories. It became a game between us to start with some silly idea and it’d just keep getting bigger and bigger. Her favorite was to tell me that she was making bread to sell in town (16km away). She didn’t have the ingredients, know-how, or oven to bake bread, but she’d tell me the prices. And her prices were always 4-5 times the actual price of bread. When I’d act shocked and tell her no one would buy it, she’d give me the list of all the people who would buy it- any Peace Corps volunteers she’d ever met would be on the list. She thought this game was hilarious and it did help me practice my language skills. She also was missing her front teeth on one side, which added an element of mischief to her grin.

L-R: Forster, Me, Mwelwa (on my lap), Chabby, Ellen, Eliza on my front stoop. Chabby is the youngest sister and she was afraid of me up until a few months before I left. She was only 4.) Our feet are all dusty from the dancing that had been going on. (Sorry the photo is not great quality- I didn't have a digital camera back then and most of my photos from the village haven't been scanned in yet.)

Mwelwa was 8 and she is the best dancer I’ve ever met. She taught me all the Zambian moves I know and we had hours and hours of fun impromptu dance parties. She’d always get everyone started. We also spent an afternoon going around the village church, which had murals of the life of Jesus, with Bemba titles. I would read the titles out loud and then she’d tell me what it meant, in the baby Bemba words I understood. (Bemba is easy to read- it’s always phonetic, but not as easy to understand.)

Mwelwa & Chabby down at the river. I will probably post more about this, as the river was where everything happened in the lives of the women. I spent a lot of time there, too.

Forster was 14 years old and she actually lived with her grandmother, about 3 houses down from the others. She worked very hard and I only saw her occasionally, but she came over with the others whenever she could.

Ellen was 12, with the face and bone structure of a model. She is truly breathtakingly beautiful. She took care of all the younger kids and me. If I had food to share with the kids, I knew I could always trust Ellen to distribute it fairly and keep the little ones included. She taught me how to make my charcoal burn properly and how to cook local foods, including peanut butter. Peanut butter is a simple food, but it has never tasted as good as it did warm and fresh in the village. We’d take local groundnuts (their word for peanuts- same thing) and roast them in the frying pan. Then, we’d pound them in the mortar that was used for making cornmeal. The pounding was hard work, so the bigger girls and I would take turns, just like the women do when cooking. Just before the end, we’d throw in a little salt and a dash of sugar. The end product was a warm, chunky, sweet and salty treat, full of protein and love. And a sense of making something together in a community. Nothing beats it from the grocery store, that’s for sure.

This woman is actually pounding soya beans here, but the mortar is the same, for corn meal or peanut butter as well.

Remember these girls, as they will most certainly appear again in my tales of Zambian life. I don’t have any communication with them now, as they don’t have a phone or money for stamps. I have tried to ask some of my friends from town about them, but I don’t really know how they’re doing. That’s the downside of leaving the village- it’s hard to keep in touch with America if you barely have money for food.

Thrifty Finds

2010-11-04T20:21:00.001-04:00

Monday I decided that I needed to go to Goodwill for two things: more drinking glasses (many casualties have occured in the past few months) and more button up sweaters to wear to work.

I realized that last time I got very thin glasses that were more prone towards breaking, so this time I got 6 thick glass ones that should last a bit longer. $.69 each. I also found two adorable ramekins for baking small desserts or individual pot pies. They have butterflies on the inside bottom that will show up after you eat whatever is in them.

I like to layer my tops, especially at work, because the temperature changes so quickly in our building. No matter the season, I wear a short/no sleeve top with sweater over it, because sometimes it's chilly and sometimes it's hot in there. My cardigans are getting worn out, so I needed some reinforcements. In the sweater section, I found 5 new choices. My best deal was a red cashmere cardigan that was probably at least $75 when it was new. It feels divine! I also found a soft red zip-up with a pattern around the collar in fall colors, a blue and a gray knitted one, each with cool buttons, and a red pullover that feels like a cloud. (Yes, I do wear lots of red. Why do you ask?) I was hoping for a turquoise, but there wasn't anything this time around. And I finally found a decent black tank top to wear under my open-weave sweaters!

Unplanned bonus items that I found: 10 photo insert cards that I'll use for Christmas, a pin for my grandma, and a nice sweater for my mom. My sister went with me and it was a lovely and successful shopping venture that ended with Chinese food!

With these 3 Rings...

2010-11-03T20:26:00.000-04:00

So, yesterday I told the story of some of my favorite pieces of jewelry. Today I thought I'd continue it by telling about how I ended up with 3 different wedding rings and only one husband. If you read this or this, then you already know that we had an outrageous wedding in Zambia and then another in America 2.5 years later.

Our first wedding in Zambia was originally only going to be a reception for our family there and we were going to wait for the wedding until America.  However, we changed our minds about 3 weeks before I went back for it and decided we'd just go ahead and do a simple legal ceremony, with the big reception. That meant getting rings and not a lot of time to get them. I am a bargain hunter, so I found some simple silver bands at Target.com that included engraving on the inside for just $30 each. You probably gathered from my lack of diamonds & gold in yesterday's post that I didn't have an engagement ring, so there was nothing to match or fit together. The bands were good enough for us and we wore them for over a year with no problems. However, it seems they were really just silver plated, because after about a year, mine started to flake off. It started when I was peeling a boiled egg and the ring just turned yellow and a layer peeled off. It looked really rough for a few weeks, but then it sort of all came off and it looked fine again. This cycle repeated constantly.

We finally decided that we wanted to get new rings from Zambia before we came back to the US, so they'd be made of Zambian gold. We went to the jewelry store and picked out a design we both liked in white gold and ordered them. It was very simple- a raised band with a Celtic knot design cut into it that looks like continuous infinity symbols interlinked.  My silver ring is a size 9.5 (yes I have big hands) but they didn't have half sizes and the jeweler convinced me that it's a bit big so I should get the 9 instead. (I should not have listened to him, but he acted like an expert.)

They arrived just before we left the country. When the rings came in, the design wasn't quite what we expected, but it was acceptable. And mine fit more snugly, but it still fit and I could get it on & off easily, so we took them and continued with travel preparations. However, after just 1 hour of wearing my ring, my finger underneath it had broken out in a rash and was itching badly. It appears that not only do I not like gold, but it doesn't like me either. I'm allergic. And if the ring was bigger, it wouldn't have had quite so much contact and been so bad. But the tight fit meant there was no room at all.

So after a few trials of wearing my new ring for only a couple hours at a time, I went back to my silver ring. I went to an American jeweler to see if they could stretch the gold one. They said they couldn't, because of the cut-in design. I asked if they had any suggestions to help me with the allergy.  They actually suggested that I coat the inside of it with clear fingernail polish. I did that and it worked a bit, but then I had another incident with a sharp edge of the design sticking out. I haven't been very proactive about getting it fixed and I've just been wearing my silver one.  Joshua's gold one fits well and has no issues- it's just me.

We also weren't very good about taking the ring photos that people normally do at weddings, so this is all I've got of our gold rings. No photos of the trusty old silver ones.

Fast forward to the Heritage Festival this September. We found a vendor with stainless steel rings while we were just looking for fun new things. I found a worry ring (the ones with two layers and the top one spins, so you can play with it, or "worry" it) with exactly the Celtic knot design that I wanted. And I've always wanted one of those worry rings. So I found a new wedding ring for only $5 and it's just what I wanted. It's a bit bulkier than I like, so I wear it for a few days and then switch back to the good old silver one for a few.

Guess it just goes to show that I should just stay away from the gold and stick to what works...

Traveling Stones

2010-11-02T23:36:00.000-04:00

Today's NaBloPoMo prompt is about a piece of jewelry with a story. This is may actually turn into several posts for me, as jewelry is such a crucial portion of my wardrobe.

Just to clarify, though, I don't have any pieces with real monetary value. I have a friend who pronounces jew-el-er-ey with four syllables and she has some serious stuff that she keeps in a safe deposit box. That's not me at all. I don't like yellow gold at all, it's just never been my style, and white gold is rare in my collection as well. After 5 years in Africa, I am unable to wear diamonds. Too many wars have been fueled by them and lives destroyed by those little rocks. (No judgement on those who wear them- I just can't do it.) I would like an emerald from Zambia someday, but I don't currently have one.

This means my jewelry is mostly beaded, handmade, bone & bamboo, steel, or sterling silver with semi-precious stones. (I have a cool necklace made of hippo tooth beads and bamboo beads died with motor oil.)  My sister also makes jewelry, so I have many custom made pieces that she and I designed together. Both of my weddings had her jewelry for myself and my bridesmaids. I love having key accessories that represent me and show my fun side. I wear bangle bracelets often and big, bright earrings and necklaces. Without jewelry, I feel like I'm naked. I try to pick up new jewelry when I travel, so most of my pieces have a story.

One of my favorite sets, which is my moonstone set, is from 3 continents and took 5 years to collect all the pieces. It started with my first international trip, when my aunt took me to Italy for high school graduation. (She is probably to blame for getting my traveling bug activated.) We took a day trip into Slovenia to see a famous cave. While there, I saw a beautiful oval-shaped moonstone pendant in a very simple silver setting, about the size of a quarter. It was only $10 and I was smitten. I got the necklace and wore it often. This was 1999.

A few years later I was in the NC mountains with a friend and found some marquise-shaped earrings. They looked great with my necklace and my friend agreed that I should get them. Then, in 2004, I traveled to Zanzibar for Christmas break with several of my fellow Peace Corps volunteers. I found an oval-shaped ring that was a perfect match for my necklace.  The shop didn't take credit cards and I had to go to the currency exchange to get more money before I could buy it. My birthday was during this trip and my friends collaborated with the shop owner to trick me. One of them kept me busy shopping elsewhere (not hard to get me to shop) while the others bought my ring. Then, when I went back to get it, the owner told me an elaborate story about the couple that had bought it and how happy they were with it. I was so sad that I'd missed it. That night they presented it to me at my birthday party. It was a terrific surprise- I didn't suspect a thing. I wear the pieces often, especially as a set, and they always remind me of the people and places involved in getting them.

I was actually wearing them yesterday and the stone fell out of my necklace. Luckily, I saw it immediately and was able to gorilla glue it right back in.  Those pieces are part of me now and I won't let them go just yet.

Maybe soon I'll post about our 3 sets of wedding rings, as that is another interesting story. And I'll try to get some photos of my moonstones to share.  How about you?  Do your accessories tell interesting tales?

Back in the Saddle

2010-11-01T21:51:00.000-04:00

Apparently I've been hibernating since fall began, because I have not been keeping up with writing on here. I've decided a challenge might help, so I've signed up for NaBloPoMo, the National Blog Posting Month. The challenge is to post every day for the month of November and we'll see how I do.

The good thing is that they have prompts to help me out with topics. And I've got several things I've been thinking of that I just haven't written yet.

I've enjoyed reading stories and photos of people's halloween excitement, but we didn't do anything this year, so I have nothing to share. Today is almost over and I just found out about the challenge, so I'll cheat for today and let this be it. I'll try to make up for it by double posting later in the week.

An Event to Remember (FOREVER!!) Part 2

2010-10-19T10:34:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I posted the first half of this story about our wedding in Zambia 3 years ago. Check it out here if you missed it. (I accidentally posted yesterday's without the pictures, so if you want to see them, click back over- they're included now.)

THE ACTUAL EVENT: Now that I’ve explained the individual components, I’ll try to give you a picture of the whole event. We were already married in a legal ceremony, so we just had the reception. The event was scheduled to start at 5 pm, which of course means 6 or 6:30 in Zambian time. We were supposed to leave by 5:30, take pictures, and then arrive by 6.

We were all dressed and ready, but our ride didn’t show up until 6. Then, we drove off in a caravan of 6 cars, all honking and flashing lights. They purposefully drove around the roundabout with all that noise 3 times and then went to the photo location. After 20 minutes of pictures, we got in the cars, went back around the roundabout and went to the reception.

Our ride, all decorated for the wedding.

The bridal party then did their entrance dance and came back out. The junior bridal party danced in, and then the bridal party danced back in to wait for us. The matron danced in, leading the flower girl and then Joshua and I. Several women joined ahead of us and danced in front of me. They were so close I could barely move. We were seated and the MC started the program by introducing the head table.

Wedding party entrance dance. They had to learn 5 choreographed dances and we had rehearsals all week for it before the wedding. Most bridal parties actually rehearse for 3-4 months.

The junior wedding party dancing in. Natasha is only 8 in this photo, but she is an incredible dancer.

After the introductions, we had speeches from each family. Of course, each family was asked to dance before speaking, and all the Peace Corps Volunteers joined my mom so she wasn’t dancing alone. (My sisters REFUSED). Joshua’s Dad spoke in Luvale with a translator and it was very sweet. My mom made me cry (and several bridemaids/guests as well). Then, we had a short message about marriage, a prayer, and began dinner.

All evening, it had been cool and cloudy, like it was about to rain. So, just as people were starting to eat, it started pouring down rain. All the venues in Zambia are outdoors, so it wasn’t good. People crowded under the few shelters that were available. Joshua and I decided to stay at our table and eat in the rain. Someone brought us an umbrella. (Later the DJ played Rihanna's song “under my umber-ella-ella-ella”.) It continued to rain on and off for the next 2 hours. We were soaked through. The bridesmaids and I all took the jackets from the groom and his groomsmen. My flower girl had to go inside because she was so cold. The MC and matron discussed ending the event early but the rain did stop just as we were about to give up.

Then, came the commercials. (Yes, commercials.) The MC announced the decorator lady and had her come up and tell people where to contact her for their events. She even had the audacity to say she would do anything they asked for. Then, the caterer was called up for the same thing. And the DJ and the matron and even where the MC’s clothes were from.

After the commercial break, we cut the cake (refer to that section) and the bridal party danced out with it. Then, we had our first dance. After we finished, our bridal party surrounded us and did a cool salsa dance around us. We even warmed up enough to give the guys back their jackets. The dancing started and lasted about 20 minutes. We went around to say hello to everyone and then the MC called for everyone to come to say goodbye and bring us our gifts. It started raining again. We ended the evening by 10:30.

The Families: My mom and sisters were real troopers. They handled all the cultural confusion in stride and my sisters even wore citenge dresses that his sisters had gotten made for them. (They were new citenges, so after the hours of rain, my sisters actually turned blue just for me.) His family was awesome as usual and worked all week to make it as good an event as possible. His sisters were busy all week feeding and taking care of my family and friends and were working behind the scenes all night. The two families were really brought together during the event and that is, of course, the real reason behind all the hoop-la anyway. (The Bride never likes to be told it’s not about her, though.)

Rebecca, Mama, Robin. My mom & sisters. The bright blue dresses are the ones that Joshua's sisters gave them as gifts.

Like I said, despite all the stress and difficulties and rain, it was still a really fun event. All the décor was beautiful and everyone enjoyed themselves. The rain was just what I needed to make me give up all my hopes of control and just enjoy.

Most of the family. Some had already gone home by then, but this was the closest we came to a full group photo.

An Event To Remember (FOREVER!) Part 1

2010-10-18T17:59:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was our 3-year wedding anniversary, so I thought that I'd repost a write-up that I made our event. We got married in Zambia and my mom & sisters came over with me for the event, their first international trip. It's a long one, so I'll post the other half tomorrow.

October 17, 2007
OK, this is a l-o-n-g one ‘cause there is just SOOO much to say about this reception EVENT. There was plenty of cultural confusion and I learned a lot about giving up my NEED to be in control.

First of all, every girl does dream about her wedding and plans it in her head. I love to plan things and of course, I have tons of ideas about what I want. For those of you who don’t know this, Zambia NEVER lets you have what you want, because African logistics are just too difficult. Still, despite all my frustrations, it was actually a fun event and I’ll still get to have the wedding I want here in America (We did finally have that fantastic wedding January 2, 2010). In the hope of making some sense out of all the info I have to share, I have used various topic headings for your assistance.

The Matron: A Zambian tradition entirely foreign to the US. This is an older lady whose main job is to boss you around before and during the event and pretend like it’s all about her. Ours was a friend of Joshua’s family and was very good at the bossy part of her job. She didn’t like a lot of my choices and was very vocal about it.

1. I couldn’t find any decent white shoes, so I got some adorable ballet flats with strips of ribbons in many colors. I thought they were cute and fun and Joshua loved them. She told both me and my mom separately how inappropriate my shoes were. (I liked those shoes so much that when they fell apart from rain damage, I got a second pair.)

2. I had my bridesmaids wear dresses made of citenge (traditional) cloths because I think they’re beautiful, they’re Zambian, they’re more affordable for the girls, and they’re more re-wearable than Satin. She said “I thought since it’s an evening wedding, you’d have the PROPER evening gowns, not citenges.” She repeated that sentiment more than once. However, my sister-in-law, who is in many weddings, said she was glad she finally had a wedding dress she could wear again. And I've seen her wear it since, so it was true. She also insulted my sister's dresses, which were a gift from Joshua's sisters and that they wore to honor their new sisters.

Lea, Natalie, Janet, & Liz. I thought the dresses were beautiful, regardless of the matron's opinion.

3. She and the cake lady actually sat together in front of me and laughed about the idea of putting purple and green together. They didn’t even pretend to humor me on that one.

She also decided to wear white at the reception. (In Zambia, that’s not insulting to the bride, but it sure took a lot of effort not to be mad on my part. And, I had to take my mom in another room to explain it, since there was steam coming out of her ears.)

Here's the whole wedding party. The woman in the front in white is the Matron. The kids are nieces & nephews of ours. The bridesmaid to the far left is Janet, my sister in law and the others were fellow Peace Corps volunteers.

The cake: Zambia’s baking is extremely different from America. Wedding cakes are made to last for several months in extreme heat without refrigeration. They also have the 1st anniversary cake tradition, but can't always refrigerate it. They are fruit cakes (that’s from UK tradition) and are iced with royal icing (the same stuff they use to make the HAPPY BIRTHDAY letters you can buy at the grocery). The cake was made and iced on Monday before our Saturday event.

I’ve been to a couple Zambian weddings and I wondered why they always precut the cake for the couple at the reception. Now I know- it was solid as a rock. Even with the precut section, we had to struggle just to break off 2 tiny pieces to eat for show. I had to choke it down with a smile on my face, which was NOT easy. Now I know why Zambian couples don’t shove the cake in each other’s faces- it’s not because it’s immature, but because they might cut each other on the icing.

After we “cut” the cake, the bridal party danced it out and the catering staff chiseled it apart into small chunks. The chunks then get brought back out in baskets for the guests to taste. Another part of the cake tradition is giving one layer to each family. We had to skip that because of the pouring rain, so we had 4 layers left the day after. Luckily, lots of people came over to eat it and I didn’t have to worry about disposing of the cement chunks. We didn't bother trying to save the top for a year, since it was not good when it was new. Out of curiosity, I actually punched the cake on top just to see if I could dent it. I scratched my hand, but the cake was fine.

The cake wasn’t even the way I wanted it to look- it was supposed to be white and purple, but she couldn’t make purple, so it was white and gray with PINK and yellow flowers. And, there was a cake topper with 2 white people on it that I DEFINITELY did not choose. I gave them a nice topper with a picture of us in it, but that was on the bottom while the weird topper was put on top. (It certainly wasn't because our topper was too heavy- the cake was certainly solid enough.)

The photo frame with our photo is the topper I gave. The one on top was a surprise to me.

The Flowers: This lady was the best decorator in town. She did all the floral arrangements, table décor, and even decorated the cars. We were limited to roses as our flowers, so purple was not an option. I discussed with my bridesmaids and decided that white and yellow roses would complement the purple very well. She thought red and white would be better. It took a lot of discussing, but I got her to agree to go with yellow. (Or so I thought. I didn’t see a single yellow rose, but I saw lots of red.) She also neglected to make bouquets because no one specifically asked for them. I had thought that it's automatically assumed that wedding flowers include bouquets. She had buckets of flowers left over and took back all my flowers at the end, too. Her arrangements were beautiful, but not at all what I asked for.

The Food: The one highlight of the services provided. We had lots of great food, including mini-quiches, baked macaroni, 2 kinds of chicken, and lots more. They did a wonderful job and did everything as they were asked.

Check Here for the rest of the details!

Update on Baking Soda Experiments

2010-10-07T18:14:00.000-04:00

An update on my previous post about using Baking Soda to make my own toothpaste and shampoo.

Toothpaste:

The second recipe I posted, which is a 4 to 1 ratio, lasted me 2 whole months. I made another batch last night and I'm still really pleased with it. I was a bit late (lazy) on mixing up a new batch, so I was using my husband's storebought toothpaste for a few days (he thinks my chemistry experiments are strange & won't try mine). That actually worked for a good comparison study. My teeth didn't feel as clean or fresh with the storebought version.

Shampoo-less:
I've found that I'm actually washing my hair less often now that I'm using the baking soda rinse and vinegar. I have oily hair and I was washing it daily with shampoo because it would get really greasy in just one day. Now I'm washing it every other day, or even every third day if I'm feeling lazy. I generally don't even have to do a ponytail when I'm stretching it to 3 days. And my hair is feeling thicker. It tangles a bit more at night, but not in a bad way. I think it was over conditioned before and didn't have enough texture to even tangle. Overall, I am extremely pleased with the way it's turned out. And going from a bottle each of organic shampoo and conditioner every 3 weeks to a box of baking soda that lasts more than a month has certainly helped my budget.

Scrubbing:
I actually used the first version of toothpaste as a softscrub for our bathroom sink. It was the right consistency and was already there on the sink & I didn't quite like it in my mouth. It worked great. After I used it up, I made up a scrub without the glycerin and with some castile soap instead. It is terrific, just like the SoftScrub I used to use.

Goodwill Price Removal:
If you've read any of my blog, you know I LOVE thrift store shopping. Goodwill likes to write the prices on the item with a Sharpie marker. I have found that a simple scrub with straight baking soda will take the price right off. It also degreased all the canisters that I found for my kitchen. (I got 20 canisters of various sizes and shapes for less than $30, which is the price for a new set of 3.)
Deodorant:
I read on One Green Generation that I could use plain baking soda mixed with cornstarch as a deodorant. It's a 6-1 ratio with more cornstarch than baking soda. You use the cornstarch because apparently baking soda makes most people break out when you use it straight. It didn't work out for me. I guess I'm just stinky, but by the end of the day I needed real deodorant. I'm waiting on a shipment of some shea butter & cocoa butter to try a new recipe that might work.

Toilet:
I sprinkle baking soda around the toilet & let it sit for about 10 minutes. Then I spray white vinegar over it and leave it for another 10 minutes. It bubbles up (just like the volcanos you made in elementary school) and cleans and kills germs.  That's about all it takes.

I'm constantly finding new uses for this very affordable and easy to use product. It's so exciting to cut down the budget and chemicals at the same time.

Waterlogged

2010-09-30T15:04:00.000-04:00

I haven't been able to think about much this week but water. We're having record levels of rain- higher than the historic rains of Hurricane Floyd, which caused flooding in the 500-year flood plain. In the last four days, we've gotten around 20 inches of rain, which has caused yards and houses to flood and the rivers are rising.

We are on high enough ground that our house probably won't flood, but there is a lake across the street that used to be a field. And the ditches are now a river flowing across the highway. We're all sort of holding our breath to see what will happen next, as the rivers won't crest for several days and there's a good chance of rain next week.

This is the field across from our house that is now a lake. Thankfully our yard is still green, which means that the water isn't too high, but most of the houses on this road don't have that luck.

The traffic going through the deep water in front of our house. There were 3 other spots like this between my house and work, which is less than 2 miles.

Hope you're all staying dry & warm. And that the rain stops soon.

Pillowcase to Aprons Project

2010-09-24T09:55:00.000-04:00

I've been saving this little project for a few weeks, waiting so I wouldn't spoil the surprise. As a thank you gift for my friends in the mountains who hosted us, I made them aprons from a pillowcase. It was a very simple project and I thought I'd share it. Sorry- I didn't take any progress photos, but it's so simple that I think you can follow it without.

Pillowcases are only about $0.25- $0.50 at most thrift shops and are a great source for reusable materials.  I've seen patterns for a little girl's pillowcase dress circulating on the interwebz for a while now. I also have a stack that I intend to turn into napkins whenever I get white thread for my mom's serger. They're already soft and worn, instead of stiff like new material can be.  And, for dresses or apron projects, they don't need to be hemmed, because the hem is already there for you. I found a queen sized pillowcase in a lovely peach striped pattern that, when I held it up in front of me, came down to my knees. I knew it would be perfect for making aprons.

My mom, grandma, & I all collect odds & ends for sewing projects. Mine are mostly in storage now, but I plundered their supplies and came back quite successful. My grandma makes baby quilts (they're beautiful- maybe soon I'll do a post on her & her projects) so she had some blanket binding, which is like double-wide ribbon. I chose a nice purple to contrast with the peach. My mom had some plain white binding tape, which was perfect for the edges.

I ripped out the side seams and cut across the top, to separate it into 2 pieces.  The one for Sherry (the mom) I just left the width it was, but for SeAnna, I cut about 4-5 inches off the side to make it more narrow for her, since she's still small. She's very tall for her age, so I left the length on both the same. The steps are the same for both- just making everything twice. I folded each one in half and cut an angle out from the top to about 10 inches down, for the arms. I folded it so that both sides would be the same. Otherwise, there's no telling how I'd have cut them. :)

Next, I took the blanket binding and put it over the top edge to finish it. (Binding is an easy way to finish edges. No turning down a seam. You just put the binding over the edge and stitch it down.) I had fun with the fancy stitches on the machine and did three different topstitches on each for a little design. Then, the sides. I had 2 packages of the white binding, which was 3 yards long. I just cut it in half for each one. I started at the bottom on each side and continued off the top until the binding ran out. That gave me top straps.

Almost done! The final step was the waist straps. I used the blanket binding again. I just stitched it together at the bottom and finished the edges with an angle.  Then I attached them to each side, just where my arm hole angles ended.

And, voila! A simple afternoon's project and an upcycled gift.

Sherry & SeAnna were kind enough to send me a photo, since I totally forgot to take one.

Changes in Gratitude, Changes in Attitude

2010-09-21T22:43:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow night is the full moon, which in her fullness always reminds us to be grateful for the abundant fullness in our own lives. Living fully in gratitude and joy is a goal that I have been working on recently and it has truly altered my reality and made my life better.

Hibiscus is one of my favorite flowers. I wear them in my hair when I can and they
make a great tea. This photo is from our trip to India in May.

I started keeping a gratitude journal at the end of July. Each night (at least when I remember) I write down all the things I'm grateful for. Some days it's a bit more difficult, but I always find something to write down. And once I start writing, I often find that I fill up the whole page. There are so many moments and gifts each day that we can be thankful for. And the more we give thanks, the more there is to be thankful for.

Another practice that has given me great joy is the nice notes that I blogged about back in July. I have kept the notes in my purse and I give them out with tips, during checkouts at stores, and any other situation when I think of it. I have had really positive responses from most poeple who receive them and it makes me happy to know that I have made someone else's day a little brighter. Recently, at the Salvation Army, I gave one that said "You are Beautiful" to the cashier, a lady who was probably in her mid-fifties. She came around the counter to give me a big hug. I think it made her day and it certainly made mine.

One last gift I've experienced lately is an idea I had to share my own (albeit meager) abundance with others. Whenever I go out to eat, I tend to order water to drink, since it's healthier than soda. I have decided that the money I would have spent on a drink will be added to my tip. That means on the monthly girl's night out with my coworkers, I can leave about a $10 tip, since I don't really drink alcohol most of the time. That small act, and knowing that it will show appreciation to the server (more than the calories of a soda would have helped my thighs) has made me enjoy my meals more.

This photo is one that I took in Airlie Gardens, one of the community gems that we have access to.

These are just a few of the ways I'm adding joy and gratitude into my life. What about you? Please share any other ideas you have. One of the things I'm most thankful for lately is the community I have discovered through blogging. And the multitude of ways that the internet helps me to keep in touch with my friends from real life as well.

Might As Well!! (Intuitive Cooking)

2010-09-15T22:47:00.000-04:00

My cooking style has always been “should I add some of this?- might as well.” On the rare occasions when I have a recipe, I never follow it exactly and I often don’t even read the quantities unless I’m baking. Even with baking, I’m not totally rigid or strict on the amounts. If I don’t have a cup measure, I’ll use a coffee mug and just adjust it ‘til it looks or feels right. That’s the way my mom & grandma cook & it’s just the way I’ve always known things were done. My grandma always called it “dump cooking” because you just dump it in until it’s right. I have recently learned that the Food Network term, which sounds much better, is intuitive cooking.

One of my roommates from college has taught me that not everyone has that same theory and fearlessness about cooking. She is too scared to cook anything for the fear that she’ll mess it up. I tried to explain to her that she probably won’t die and that eating a few bad tasting things or throwing something away (the shame!) is worth the risk of finding out new and wonderful things. I’ve certainly made some messes, but mostly I enjoy what I create. I know my tastebuds and as long as I only try 1-2 new things at a time (so I can clearly taste them) I won’t mess things up too badly.

My friend took this photo in India in the market. I would never use a drop of those peppers-
can't take that much heat.

Yesterday I had no idea what to eat for dinner. I started with a pound of ground beef and then looked in the pantry to see what might work with it. I found a can of corn, a can of diced tomatoes, and a can of black beans. Obviously that was leading in a Mexican direction. In the fridge I had 2 zucchinis & a half bunch of spinach that needed to get eaten, plus some shredded cheese. I browned the beef & shredded the zucchini & threw it in with the beef. Then I added the canned items and tossed in the spinach to wilt down. I seasoned it with garlic, cumin, chili powder, cilantro, roasted coriander, a tiny dash of nutmeg & crushed red pepper flakes (I don’t like much hot at all, so it was a tiny dash). I served it over brown rice with shredded cheese and it was DE-licious!! It was thicker than a chili but saucier than taco meat. Lots of good flavor and just enough kick at the end. I was a little bit unsure of the zucchini & spinach, but they added a nice flavor. My husband even said he liked it and he’s not always a fan of my ‘throw-it-all-in’ attitude. It’d probably be a great way to get kids to eat more veggies.

Tonight I got started with a pound of local shrimp. I had a bag of frozen broccoli and I wanted to try out the polenta that I just got. There was an opened can of cream of mushroom soup in the fridge. (Sidenote: I don’t normally have “cream of” soups, because I prefer to do it fresh, but my hubbie wanted some plain soup without any solids, and plain broth didn’t suit him. I got the cream of mushroom as the best compromise I could find. I guess he opened it today and it wasn’t what he was expecting.) I decided it would be good with the broccoli & shrimp. I boiled up the polenta, steamed the broccoli & shrimp, threw in the soup & voila- another yummy dinner. It was just really comforting and tasty.

So, I give you permission to get in your kitchen and throw everything into a pot. Just find things that excite you and toss them together. Your tastebuds will thank you!

Mountain Magic

2010-09-07T22:32:00.000-04:00

This weekend, Joshua and I both had 4 days off. We took the opportunity to visit our friends, the Lovetts, who moved to the NC mountains back in April. They live in an absolutely breathtaking spot and it was wonderful to see them again and to have them share their piece of heaven with us. I've always been a beach girl, but the mountains have a special place in my heart as well. The mountain air was a wonderful treat for us and the weather was perfect, especially coming from the hot hot coast. It was a great time of talking and sharing and exploring. The only problem was that it was just too short a visit.

Sherry

A spot on our hike down to Linville Gorge

SeAnna with Savannah, Kitty, & Vicky

Joshua & SeAnna had a blast posing for pictures on this rock

Linville Falls

SeAnna actually got this beauty to land in her hand, but of course I didn't manage to take a picture of it.

My artsy photos of SeAnna with the kudzu flowers. I've seen lots of kudzu over the years, but never the flowers. They smell like grapes and look beautiful, even if kudzu is bad for everything else. She has such beautiful blue eyes, doesn't she?

SeAnna, Sherry, & Joshua waiting to get into Linville Caverns

Thought it might help to prove I was actually there. I'm rarely in the pictures, since I'm always taking them.

Thank you Sherry, SeAnna, & David for hosting us and sharing your new home with us. We had a blast & can't wait to see you again soon!

BEST Sandwich

2010-08-31T16:07:00.001-04:00

I have been craving a BLT for a few weeks now. I don’t buy bacon regularly (it’s not a health thing- I believe in real butter & bacon & whole milk- bacon has just never been something I ate that often) and so I had to wait a bit to satisfy this craving. The longer I waited, the more it got built up in my mind. I went to the grocery store on Sunday, so last night I finally got my sandwich.

I had big plans to make it on homemade bread, but my bread maker seems to be trying to make me crazy these days. I keep using the same EXACT recipe and sometimes it does work and sometimes it doesn’t. My yeast is not expired, my water is not too hot, etc. Just when I decide I’m throwing out the machine, everything works perfectly & calms me down. So, sadly my bread was from the store. It was a simple whole wheat that I had to beg from my mom, since I quit buying bread once I was making it myself, but I was desperate to eat it now that I got the bacon.

I got the nitrate free bacon from Hormel and used spinach instead of lettuce. I’m a bit of a lettuce snob. I won’t buy iceberg lettuce, because it just bores me in flavor & nutritional value. Spinach, however, is one of my favorites in a salad or a cooked meal. I also don’t end up throwing it away, because even if I forget to eat enough salads it will still get eaten in other ways.

I like to add eggs to my BLTs, so I normally have BELTs. However, with the Spinach instead of lettuce, it became a BEST sandwich. It was pretty darn tasty, too. I made spicy mayo (mayo, a splash of mustard, dill, cilantro, chili powder) and used local eggs & tomatoes (not ours, though, since they didn’t do so well and have now quit for good). Just fried the eggs up while I cooked the bacon in the oven (no mess!!) thanks to a tip from a blog I was reading lately but can’t remember which one. Check the sidebar, as there are lots of lovely options that might get you there but will all be great reads.

Sorry I have no photos, but I certainly enjoyed my twist on the classic. Any other new ideas on an old theme that I should try?

Divine Dining

2010-08-24T22:10:00.000-04:00

On Friday night, I had the glorious opportunity to try out our newest restaurant in the area, Persimmons. The wonderful thing about Persimmons is that all of their food is locally sourced, from the same vendors I shop with at the farmer's market. Their menu changes every few weeks, based on the availability of the season. That may sound like a fairly simple concept in a large city, but in this rural area it's revolutionary. No one else does it this way around here.

The dinner prices are no higher than other comparable restaurants in the area and their lunch menu is also available all day, which means sandwiches, salads, and burgers for just $8-10. For local grassfed meat and seafood, that is an incredible deal.

I was with a group of coworkers before we saw another coworker's play. My college roommate was with me & we were excited about sharing so that we could taste more of the multitude of options. We each decided on the fresh salad, but she got salmon & I got steak to go with it. The salmon portion was as big as my hand for only $6!  The salmon and steak were both perfectly cooked. Next time I will have the salmon again, if it's on the menu, because it was just so wonderful.

Then, dessert.  Luckily, they only had two options so that we didn't have to make a difficult choice. Creme brulee and peach crisp with fresh blueberry ice cream. Absolutely heaven. The creme brulee was creamy and decadent, the peach crisp was like summer in a bowl.  Absolutely no way to go wrong.

I have recently decided that I will not eat meat in restaurants unless it is ethically raised and hormone free. (It was almost impossible to eat at Hardee's, except that they added some Mexican items recently.) I am moving towards better meat at home & I eat vegetarian at least 3 days a week. I decided the next step was to just cut out the meat in restaurants and eat wild caught seafood or vegetarian dishes instead. I've only been doing this for 3 weeks and I did break my rule once, but it's all a process. Anyway, my point is that at this restaurant, any menu option is available to me again without breaking my new rule!!! And I have met the farmers who provided the food, which makes it more enjoyable.

I was exceptionally impressed by the entire evening. The bathrooms have real towels instead of paper towels (big green yay!!) and the view of the river from the dining room is stunning. Our entire table loved the food and we all agreed that this will be the place for our monthly ladies night from now on. I cannot wait to go back!! 10 stars!

Rainbow :)

2010-08-23T21:43:00.001-04:00

This is a post short on words. I walked out my door Saturday afternoon and received a beautiful gift. A full rainbow over our house, and it's the brightest one I've seen outside of Zambia. And we could even seen the reflection bow, although it didn't show up in my pictures. I thought I would share my gift with you.

If you look really close, you can see the reflection bow in the middle of this shot.

Thrifty Finds

2010-08-18T23:30:00.002-04:00

As I've said before, I adore thrift stores. When my husband & I travel around the US, we always stop in thrift stores along the way to see what goodies can be found. My Saturday routine mostly includes a stop at the farmer's market, a stop at Salvation Army or Goodwill (or both, depending on how much cash is left), and sometimes the grocery store, if I need anything else. A large portion of my wardrobe & most of my library are from thrifting. (Books are only $.25-1.50!!!)

Here are some of my most recent fabulous finds:

My King-sized Land's End 100% Supima Cotton duvet cover, with 4 matching pillows. Less than $10 for all. It is actually much prettier in person. Bright turquoise and blue and lime colors. Very happy & summery.

Not a great photo, but this is my new beautiful cobalt blue glass vase, with fresh flowers from the farmer's market. They brighten up my whole house for just $5 or less every week!

I adore blue glass and will cross the room directly to it if there's the slightest hit of it. These glasses were $.39 each. How could I resist? I also got 4 clear ones that day, too, but no photo.

Food storage canisters in a variety of colors. I have been looking for good storage containers to replace all the plastics around here. I have 9 now, for less than $20 for all of them, which is less than that green set sells for new. Only one needs a new gasket. The yellow one was pretty grimy when I got it- covered in grease, I think. I scrubbed it up with baking soda & it's good as new. :)

Loved these speckled cream canisters. Big enough for a 5 lb bag of sugar and covered in blue & green speckles. Great addition to the kitchen.

Our friend is about to have a baby, so I got her a bag full of adorable baby clothes. Those tiny socks are the cutest thing I've seen in ages. They actually say LOVE!!

A few more of my favorite pieces from the Shower gift. The best thing is that for $20, I literally filled the bag for her. And they were all clean, nearly new, and washed (by me) in non-toxic laundry soap with lavendar & vanilla oils for peaceful sleep.

These are just a few of my finds. I have literally 100's of books from thrift stores & soon I will post some of my new clothes. Plus, who knows what treasures await me on Saturday!!

This post is part of Simple Lives Thursday.

Why Buying Local is Special

2010-08-16T11:12:00.000-04:00

A quick story about why buying local is so different than buying from a big corporation. We get our eggs from our next door neighbor, who has recently started keeping chickens. They're so much brighter (shells are green & brown & blue and the yolks are sunshine yellow) and more nutritious and delicious. But she's also our neighbor & she cares about us and we enjoy being able to help support her initiative.

Photo is from Google Images, but this is eggs-actly what our eggs look like.

My best friend also gets her eggs from them and her daughter is autistic. At the beginning of the year, she decided to try the gluten-free, casein-free (gfcf) diet to see if it helped her daughter at all. During that time, they were using a lot more eggs (you can make bread without wheat, but it needs eggs to rise) and they told our neighbor about the special diet. After a few months, they decided that the gfcf diet wasn't helping and stopped it.

Last week, my neighbor saw my friend and asked about how the gfcf diet was going. My friend told her that they had decided to stop the gfcf diet. My neighbor said, "Oh, so now I can feed my chickens bread again?" My friend was stunned. Without anyone asking her to, my neighbor had changed her chicken's food to make sure that my friend's daughter wasn't getting any gluten through the eggs. That kind of personal care and attention is something you won't get from a corporation, but you will get it from knowing your neighbors and community. It still brings a tear to my eye just thinking of how special that is.

Bread Adventures continue

2010-08-16T10:58:00.001-04:00

So, now that I've had my bread machine for a few weeks, I'm already running low on flour. I've really enjoyed experimenting & making delicious breads. And, my husband is eating whole wheat bread!!! Before, he refused to eat my whole grain breads from the store, but he seems to like mine enough to eat them. That is hugely good news!

I tweaked the Whole Wheat recipe & we all agree that this one is much better, so here it is:

Whole Wheat Bread Take 2
• 1 ¼ cups lukewarm water
• 2 tbsp veg oil
• 3 ½ tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tbsp flaxseed
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 cup bread flour
• 1 ½ tsp salt
• 2 tsp rapid yeast

Load into your machine as is required for your machine. Mine is liquids first, yeast last. I actually used brown sugar because I had used all my regular sugar for pear butter, so I used brown instead. I don't know how the flavor will change with white sugar, but I'll be trying it in a few days, now that I have some, and will share my review.

I also had a major failure with my experiments this past week. I wanted to make a yummy spiced bread, with a kind-of gingerbread flavor. However, I didn't really read the instruction manual for the machine. I skimmed it & then started to experiment, cause that's what I do. Apparently cinnamon doesn't work in the bread machine so well. You need to wait to add it until the 2nd beep, not at the beginning, or it makes the bread not rise. (When you make the dough by hand, cinnamon bread works just fine, so I had no idea of this little gem of knowledge. But you've now been warned because of my error. Or maybe you already knew that cause you're one of those geniuses that reads the manual BEFORE.)

My bread smelled FABULOUS when cooking & it tasted pretty good, but it was only about 2 inches tall. No rising at all. Have no fear, though, because I will perfect the spiced bread and follow the rules this time & then I'll share the lovely recipe with everyone.

Kermit was wrong....

2010-08-13T12:00:00.002-04:00

I am a child of the Sesame Street generation, after all :)

Sometimes being “green” is easy!

Over the last year, I’ve made an effort to walk my talk & live a greener life. I’ve done a LOT of reading & research & I’ve learned that it is really simple and extremely satisfying to “green up your life”. It’s also “green” because it adds more green to your wallet by saving money most of the time.

Here are some simple tips:

1. ATM receipts- just say no! I had tons of these little slips everywhere, but I never did anything with them. So unless you’re really using them, select the No button & save the paper. Same thing anywhere you can decline the receipt, like at a gas pump. Unless you really need it, say no. Just write the amount in your checkbook right there & save a few trees while you’re at it.

2. Produce Bags- by now, most people have heard about reusable bags & a lot have switched. If you have, make sure you take it further. Find small bags to use for produce & remember to take the reusables to the mall, farmer’s market, thrift store, & department stores too. I keep mine in the car at all times & when I unpack them, they go next to the door to go out again. It takes a few weeks to make it a routine, but soon it becomes automatic. Soon I plan to add these adorable collapsible baskets to my reusable arsenal.

3. Dishwasher- the dishwasher is actually more water efficient than hand washing. But here is the key- don’t pre-rinse. You don’t really need to unless it’s something that was really dirty & had to soak first. To take it another step, you can make your own detergent, since those phosphates are deadly to our watersheds.

4. Paper Towels- if you absolutely must have them, then buy the ones with the smaller size selection so that you can only use what you need. You can also get recycled ones. And be selective of when to use them & when not to. I just don’t buy them. I have towels & rags that I cut from old sheets & clothes. For more info, check out this link.

5. Rethink your trash- while excavating landfills, crews have found bananas that never decomposed because they were surrounded by plastic. Those bananas were near papers from the 60’s, so they are probably that old. What that means is that even biodegradable items don’t always degrade in a landfill. If you have any option to sort food waste from your other trash (by composting or having a rot pile or some areas have biowaste bins separate), please use that option. If an item can be recycled, recycle it or reuse it. My husband made salsa last night & we put it in a jar that once had fruit jam in it. Because it’s going in the fridge, that storage is perfect & free, since we already bought & used the jam.

6. Buy local- I LOVE the farmer’s market. It’s about community- those who have goods to share, sell them to their neighbors. And those who have needs, buy them from their neighbors. Next time you go out to dinner, look for a locally owned business instead of a chain. When you support your local community, you are building a better & bigger community for yourself.

7. Buy used- I also LOVE thrift store shopping. I cannot afford the beautiful organic cotton clothing that I’ve seen online. But when I buy something from a thrift store, I’m increasing the life cycle of that item & reducing the production needed to make new things. I also find terrific deals & fun items there. I have a nearly new king-size duvet cover on my bed from Land’s End, made of 100% Supima cotton that I only paid $5.59 for. It was originally over $100. I also just found a food processor for only $20 that is normally $60.

Those are my tips for today. I’m not trying to preach environmentalism at all. I just know that these simple things work for me and they’ve made me enjoy life even more, because I know it’s good for me & the world.

What cool ideas do you have to share about greening your life?

(Please know that I will not earn any money from any of these links. The Amazon Associates program is not available in NC, I just like to shop there and often find good things to share.)

Pears, Pears, everywhere Pears, Pears

2010-08-10T22:13:00.000-04:00

My grandmother has had an old pear tree in her yard for as long as I can remember. Apparently its trunk has been hollow for many years as well, but I only learned this fact last week. I noticed that the pears were almost ready when I checked them on 2 weeks ago. I planned to pick them this past weekend & make some pear butter to put up. Last Thursday, I suddenly felt the urge to check on the tree when I got home from work. The tree was lying on the ground. The weight of the fruit finally broke that hollow trunk. It’s very sad to know that this old tree won’t be giving us any more fruit, but it is wonderful that she managed to give us a great crop for her final year.

My dad & I picked all the pears off the tree & the ground & took them to the house. It doesn't get more local & they were free except my time. On Saturday, Grandma put up 15 quarts of plain cooked pears. On Sunday, I made 8 quarts of pear butter. Just in case you don’t know, pear butter is just like apple butter, except with pears. If you still don’t know, it’s a really thickened version of apple (or pear) sauce, with spices and sugar. It’s delicious on toast or in oatmeal.

Here’s the recipe (please note- we are country-style intuitive cooks so the amounts are iffy):
Pear Butter

Pears
1.5 teaspoons nutmeg
1 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
3 cups of sugar
Water
8 pint jars, rings, lids

First, make pear sauce. (We have hard cooking pears, but if you have softer ones, you’ll need to adjust the recipe.) Cut up your pears, removing the seeds, but leaving the peels. In a big stewpot, cook the pears down in just enough water to cover them. I used about 10 quarts of pears in a 14 quart pot. I cooked it for 3 hours under they were falling apart. Drain them, but save the liquid for any other project that needs pear flavor.

In a blender or food processor, blend up the pears into the consistency of applesauce. Mix in 1.5 teaspoons nutmeg, 1 teaspoon cloves, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, and 3 cups of sugar. (Note- the recipe I used called for 6, but that was WAY too sweet in my opinion, so I cut it in half. It was still sweet. Use your judgment.) Grandma made some today with Truvia, so that’s an option as well, for those avoiding sugar.

Put in the crock pot to cook down & thicken. (The recipe said for 6-12 hours or overnight, but I’m impatient & I decided that I liked the thickness after 2 hours in the crock pot.) When it’s as thick as you want, or you give up on waiting, put it in jars.

For the canning part, I used a pot of water on the stove and heated each jar up before filling.

This is Grandma's batch- I wasn't able to take photos while I did it, but I did remember to photo her.

Then I filled the jar to the line, wiped the lip of the jar clean of spillover, heated the lid in the hot water, & screwed on the ring. I set them on the counter to seal & they did. (Another note- the recipe calls for a 10-minute water bath, but my Grandma said that you don’t need the water bath when the jar & the filling are both hot. I listened to her & it worked. If you’re scared it won’t seal, then do the water bath. I love having my Grandma around to ask these questions while I’m finally paying attention & learning these old skills that are second nature to her.)

Now I can’t wait to eat it on my oatmeal in the mornings. I’m also looking forward to getting some apples & trying it out with them as well.

Fresh Bread

2010-08-05T10:48:00.000-04:00

Last week, I received a terrific gift. I was searching our local yard sale websites (like Craigslist) for a bread machine. Bread is so simple to make and much more nutritious at home, without preservatives & high fructose corn syrup. But, I really don't have a good space for kneading & rising in my kitchen & not as much time as I'd like, so I wanted a machine to make life easier. I told my friend about it and she offered me hers, since she wasn't using it anymore. Freecycling is so wonderful and she bought it used, so we're all reducing our waste and consumption. :)

(This is not my photo, it's from Google images. I'm still not good at remembering to take pictures of

things for the blog. Looks like my machine, although I don't have all those goodies around it sadly.)

She gave it to me with a mix that she already had, which I used on Sunday, just to get used to the machine and how it works. It's been a long time since I'd used a bread machine & I had no idea it was so easy. It almost felt like cheating or making a TV dinner instead of real cooking.

After searching online, I combined this recipe from a couple:
Whole Wheat Bread
• 1 1/4 cups lukewarm water
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 1/4 cups bread flour
• 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
• 2 teaspoons rapid rise or instant yeast

In my machine, you put the liquids on bottom, then dry ingredients, with yeast on the top in a little dip in the flour. I simply measured my liquids together, mixed them, then poured them in. I used my water straight from the hot tap. Our water heater is on a low setting, so it was warm without being really hot. Then measured & mixed dry ingredients & poured on top & added the yeast last. My flours and yeast were straight out of the fridge (they keep longer in there) and I was worried about the temperature, but the bread rose perfectly, so that was fine. So simple. Push the whole wheat button & 4 hours later, bread!!

It is yummy and now we can make our own bread at home. I think next time I'll add just a bit more sugar, as I like the whole wheat to be balanced with sweet (probably from all these years of HFCS that I'm used to). Can't wait to try out more grains and variations and recipes!! (If you have a good recipe, please share.)

Update on the toothpaste & shampoo-free experiments:
After a week with it, I really like the second batch of toothpaste. It is not so salty tasting and my teeth feel fresh & clean long after I brush. It's a winner.

My hair is still feeling good without shampoo. I've used shampoo twice since I started, not because I felt the need to, but because I wanted to finish it up (no need to waste it). I started before my shampoo ran out, just in case it didn't work, but my hair felt the same with or without the shampoo, so I'm going to stick with the new method.

The Magic of Baking Soda

2010-07-29T15:37:00.000-04:00

For the last two weeks, I’ve been experimenting with homemade toothpaste. I found a recipe on instructables.com and decided to try it out. The original recipe was:

6 parts baking soda

1 part hydrogen peroxide

1 part vegetable glycerin

Flavoring (essential oils, or food extract, your choice)

Mix into a paste.

I found my vegetable glycerin at the local organic/health food store. You can find it online if you don’t have a store that carries it. It’s a thin syrupy-like consistency and tastes sweet. It’s used here to take a bit of the edge off the baking soda taste and to bind the paste together. I also saw recipes using coconut oil instead, but I can't speak for how that works.

I used teaspoons for measuring my first batch, just to try it out on a small amount. I used Lemon extract (about a tsp) for the flavoring, since I thought it’d be nice to have a new flavor than the usual mint. I was nervous about using essential oils; since so many things say don’t ingest them, so I just went with extract, since it’s made for food. The recipe seems to use essential oils, so that’s a personal choice and also depends on what you have available. For storage, I just used a small Tupperware-like container for storage and dipped my brush in to get some out.

Review: At first I hated it. Even though it smells deliciously lemony, it tastes like baking soda and there is no getting around that. I was surprised at how salty that is. But, it made my teeth feel really clean and baking soda is a natural whitener, so I stuck with it. By the end of the week, I was used to it and it wasn’t too bad.

Last night, I made a different batch, changing up the recipe a bit.
This time I used:
3 tbsp baking soda
1 tbsp hydrogen peroxide
1 tbsp vegetable glycerin
Peppermint extract (about 1 tsp)

It wasn’t quite pasty enough, so I added about 1 more tbsp baking soda while stirring it up to make it a bit thicker. Still tastes mostly like baking soda, but it works. I’m going to keep trying flavors and combos, so if I hit upon one that works better, I’ll certainly share it here. I plan to get one of the travel bottles with the flip-top squeeze lids for next time.

Shampoo-less
I’ve also gone without shampoo or conditioner all week. I wash my hair with a paste of baking soda and water (about 1 Tbsp to ¾ cup). Just dump it on and massage it in, then rinse with water. I rinse it with a mixture of Apple Cider Vinegar and water (about 1/3 ACV and 2/3 water) and one drop of rosemary oil in a spray bottle. Just spray it all around and then rinse. I’m still working out the exact amounts, but it seems ok. My hair is not overly oily, which it normally is after one day without washing or extremely dry, which I was worried it might be without conditioner. It feels pretty much normal. Not extra tangled or thick and dread-y.

So, baking soda has found 2 more uses in my household and three more corporate products have found their way out (I think). Soon I hope to try my hand at making deodorant & lotion, so I’ll be sure to share those tales as well.

**Please note- these are my personal experiments and I am not recommending that anyone else should try them without consulting a doctor or doing research first. I am merely sharing my experiences.**

Dancing in the Moonlight

2010-07-25T21:02:00.000-04:00

For almost 2 years, I lived in a village in Zambia as a Peace Corps volunteer. In that village, there is no electricity or running water. Having no electricity means that there is no light pollution and the night sky there is absolutely stunning. There are stars and galaxies that I’d never seen until I lived there. By far the most amazing site is the full moon. She seems so much larger and closer there. Full moon nights still make me miss those days in the village.

In the village, moving around at night is more dangerous, because of snakes and other harmful critters, like drunks on their way home or bikes without lights. Part of our Peace Corps training was all about the importance of staying inside at night. (Both of the snake bites that happened to volunteers were at night, so it is understandable that they were wary. They’d been lucky both times and they had survived, but there is always a moment when the luck runs out.)

When I first moved in, I’d get a bit anxious just before sunset because I didn’t like being shut up all night. I had accepted it into my routine and was normally finished with eating and bathing by 6pm so that I could be inside when it got dark. I’d use the pit latrine for the last time and if I absolutely HAD to go at night, I had a bucket (like a chamber pot but with a lid). After about 3 months there, I would go completely stir crazy just before sunset every day. There was a group of 20 kids that were always at my house throughout the day whenever they didn’t have school or other chores to do. Somehow, I realized that the kids weren’t freaking out about being home before dark, so I calmed down a bit and let some of the girls from next door hang out with me until their mom called them for dinner at 7pm.

That one evening changed my entire outlook on night in the village. I was more relaxed about the dark and a few nights later when I heard the drumming next door, I wondered over to see what was going on. I was lucky enough to have flashlights, so I could see things just fine and I carefully searched for snakes on the path. I came to realize that whenever there is a full moon, there is an impromptu party in the village. It’s like suddenly having street lights, so people can see well enough to move around and visit friends after dinner. Someone will always start drumming on empty water containers and there is dancing and story-telling around the fire and lots of laughing. I didn’t understand most of the stories or jokes, but I understood the sense of joy and camaraderie that went with them.

It became my full moon tradition to go to my next door neighbor’s house and hang out with the girls that lived there. Their mother laughed at my very child-like Bemba skills, but she was nice to me and she understood that her girls were my best friends and teachers. I would bring over some popcorn or they would boil some groundnuts to share. Most of the other kids and their parents would wonder through at some point and we always had so much fun. Full moon time was always my favorite time and I think of them every month when the moon is full. I hope you feel the joy tonight and dance! I know I’m going to.