Thankful Thursday Week 2

Yesterday was a rest day, that is the polite way of saying that I did not get anything I had planned or hoped to accomplish done yesterday. I am Thankful that I have learned to embrace those days and accept them for what they are. I took the opportunity to reflect on 2015 and what it meant for me. Today my friends and classmates took a very important exam. The New York State Massage Therapy State Licensing Board Exam.  While I am a bit disappointed to not be taking the exam with them, my energy and efforts are better focused on the positive. That being, I did not study over the break from school 12/12/14 through the New Year. I enjoyed that time with my family. Then I studied a small amount before I received notice that I was ineligible for the exam. Sure the information is fresh in my brain (after all I spent the last 6 months trying to cram it all in), instead I am taking the next 7 months making sure that I do in fact know all the information that I need to pass my board exam. 

I am forever grateful for my long time friend Jennifer, because it does not matter what direction our lives take us, or how long we are apart. We simply need a telephone and twenty minutes.  This past weekend we had the opportunity for a long over due Girls Weekend.  We reconnected and shared over a bottle of wine, some SNL, Empire and Gone Girl.  

I am thankful that on Tuesday night when I was taking out the trash I listened when I was compelled to look up. The winter night sky was clear and crisp. The stars were bright and beautiful.  

I am thankful for the wonderful people who keep falling into my life, some for a brief period of time and others for longer. It seems (a friend confided in me) that I have the best luck and know all the right people. 

I am thankful for the friend who pointed me in the direction of a much needed opportunity.

I am thankful for the friend who shared with me books when I had run out of reading material. 

I am thankful for my new Oakworks bag for my table.

A Simpler Way to Organize/Declutter - Week 1

Last week I started on a journey to a simpler, cleaner and clutter free home. You can read about it here. This is my first weekly update. I had decided when I finished last week's post that I would start with my nightstand corner. I choose this spot for two reasons: 
1. It was small and therefore would only require an hour to accomplish
2. I am having difficulty sleeping and part of that is the clutter that surrounds me when I put my head down to rest

That being said I almost chickened out and started on a project in the kitchen. Lulu was working on this:

When she is finished with this project it will go in the kitchen, but I realized that it was pointless to clean the white cabinet that this is intended for until this is ready, otherwise I'll just be cleaning it again when she finishes.

So instead I moved on to my nightstand corner:

That is one very cluttered nightstand, plus a bag of Mad Hatter Tea Party Props, and a lawn mower box with fruit boxes and trash in it. 

These are the Mad Hatter Tea Party Props that I made from cardboard when Thia's school was doing Alice in Wonderland Junior. The Middle School kids painted the tea cups and tea pots. I have thought about doing some paper mache work on the interiors of the cups, and around the spouts and handles. Then I was thinking I would paint them vibrant colors and maybe sell them on a Craft page for another play or just for decor in someone's room. 

 This was part of the reason I shied away from this as my first project. This means I now have a deadline to finish this craft or recycle it (because it is cardboard).

This is everything that was on top of my night stand:

The black book is the School for Good and Evil, which as the last book Thia and I read together. I guess we need to find a new one.  Then there is the instruction book and CD for my camera, my journal with Lulu, a candle, adhesive spray, gifts from Thia and a plastic file box top with assorted home improvement supplies and items to recycle.

This is what was inside the nightstand:

Empty American Girl outfit boxes (broken down and recycled), Two Harry Potter Books (destined to be part of a Little Library), an old journal of Thia's (reviewed and recycled), blue scarf, black silk scarf, and a dried out pot with 3 dried out bulbs in a plastic bag.

 Empty and ready for a good cleaning. Before I cleaned the nightstand I broke down the lawn mower box (and stashed it for use in our raised garden beds this spring) and dusted the floor and lamp. I also rearranged the lamp and nightstand. I moved the nightstand and therefore my alarm clock further from my bed. There is no way for me to reach the alarm clock and hit snooze.  I know that snooze is ultimately really bad for me, but I just have been so exhausted and in such a funk that I hit snooze (sometimes for up to an hour of just lying in bed waiting for the alarm to go off again). Now I have to get out of bed in order to turn off the alarm or hit snooze.  Hopefully this will motivate me to get up when I wake up. 

Clean and rearranged.

This is the scarf that was inside the nightstand. I'll be listing it for sale, if in two weeks it doesn't sell it will be marked and packaged for my garage sale. 

This is the final result:

Want to check in with Victoria? Here is the link to her week one project.

How about you? Did you do something to simplify, organize or clean your home this week?

My To Do List Week Two

I previously posted a To Do List and I even thought that it might be interesting to post a daily to do list as the subject of a blog. A way for people to see what another person thinks are possible to accomplish in a single day.  However, that isn't what this blog is about. Rather I think it will be an interesting concept to post a weekly to do list. So here is my to do list for the week of January 26, 2015:

Daily:
Wash, dry and put away the dishes
Laundry: wash, dry, fold and put away (as needed)
Sweep First and Second Floors
Make my bed
1 hour massage study

By Week's End:
1 task from my Weekly Organization/Declutter List
Business Proposal - draft letter to organization
Start Valentines Crafts
Complete Financial Aid Packet for Girls' Schooling


Keep in mind that this week my schedule looks like this:
Monday: out of the house 7:45am-5:30pm
Tuesday: out of the house 7:45-5:30pm
Wednesday: home
Thursday: home
Friday: out of the house 7:45-5:30pm
Saturday: out of the house 8:30-1:00pm

So what is on your to do list today? this week?

Sunday Super - What Dinner Looks Like in My House

My recent post on Sunday Morning Pancakes featured a recipe from Brittany Angell's cookbook The Essential Gluten Free Baking Guide, Part 2, this dinner was inspired by what I had on hand (eggs, potatoes, scallions, tomatoes, peppers and cheese). 

I was originally thinking I would make frittata, which is my go to meal when I have eggs and some veggies and potatoes, then I realized I was really craving pizza. If I could find a grain free pizza crust I could make BREAKFAST PIZZA! 

In the picture above the dough actually looks pretty normal, but I remember thinking the dough looked kind of grey. I followed this recipe. One of the things I really love about Brittany Angell is that she has GREAT recipes on her website for free. I am also a Club Angell member and I HIGHLY recommend it. I followed the reader's comments to substitute a chia egg for the egg in the dough (because I only had enough eggs for the topping). I did not make this thick, it to me is normal pizza crust thickness. Not too thick, not too thin.  

First I par boiled the potatoes and then I oven baked them covered in Olive Oil, Fresh Garlic and Rosemary. I took the idea from Jamie Oliver and his Christmas recipe special. I found the recipe here.

I LOVE my cast iron pans and I don't know how I coked without them. They make the BEST potatoes and the BEST eggs and the BEST everything. 

I chopped up some of the potatoes and pan fried them like hashbrowns, then I scrambled some eggs and baked both upon the already par baked pizza dough. 

Since Lulu doesn't eat meat I cut her piece out before I added the bacon, and there is no cheese on Thia's section of the pizza because she doesn't eat cheese. Everyone topped their pizza how they wished: Lu used mustard and Karma Sauce as well as Scallions; Paul and I added peppers, cherry tomatoes and scallions along with Karma Sauce and Cajun Seasoning Blend; and Thia added scallions, mustard and Karma (she also ate the small amount of melon that was left over). 

My homemade Breakfast Pizza was far better than ANY I have ever had here in the ROC!

Shampoo Freedom

I have to confess that I do not wash my hair daily. I don't even wash it every other day. I wash it 1-2 times a week AND I don't use shampoo. I use a Baking Soda Wash and a Vinegar Rinse. This is super easy but still takes a little bit of time. Before I get into the specifics of the wash and rinse, let me back up. 

More than 5 years ago I started to shy away from traditional (aka commercial) shampoo. I searched the internet for shampoo free options. What I found scared me. The reviews for baking soda wash were mixed. Some people loved them, but other people were having serious problems with the baking soda wash. Some people noticed thinning patches or scalp issues. This was enough to keep me away from baking soda washing for a while. 

Instead I found a "natural" shampoo, one that did not contain SLS.  Without the SLS there would be little sudsing and I was prepared for that. I trudged ahead. The first wash my hair felt dirtier than before I washed it. It felt and looked like it was coated with a layer of grime. I repeated the wash with twice as much shampoo. I was able to make "natural" shampoo work, but I had to shampoo my hair twice using 3 times the normal amount of shampoo each time. But I wanted to be good to myself and the environment so I trudged on. I had read about a detoxification period so I incorrectly chalked this up to that. 

In the meantime I tried tea rinses (no good for me), a honey wash (no good for me) and even a beer wash (no good for me). Then I cut my hair super short (donated it to a charity event).  I was at a local craft show where there was a soap artisan who had bar shampoo. The bar shampoo worked like a dream. Even better I could get the bar shampoo at Abundance Co-op. What worked so well about the bar shampoo was that I was able to apply the lather to the underside, tops side and in the middle of my VERY thick hair. 

I loved the bar shampoo but at some point I just got lazy. I was tired of buying one shampoo for the hubs (traditional), natural shampoo for the girls and the shampoo bar for me. Then a miraculous thing happened....

I returned to the internet and found an article that explained why many people had experienced problems with their baking soda wash. The author explained why I had a layer of grime and why I have to wash my hair twice with "natural" shampoo. 

The culprit was hard water. Hard water + sebum = a layer of grease or grime.

So I ordered a water test strip through the internet. I honestly don't remember what company from, but I know it was a company that sold water softeners. You can get a free test strip here.  Given the results I had in the shower I was not the least bit surprised when the test showed moderately hard water. We do get some water spots on our glassware. We don't have cloudy glassware, but we also don't have a dishwasher. 

Moderately hard water meant that I could not use the typical baking soda method.  The typical baking soda method is to mix Baking Soda with water and just pour the solution over your head. You can google for more information on this or read this blog post about two women's experiences with going shampoo free for 31 days. 

Instead of the typical method I used the hard water method. I started with the full 2 Tbsp of Baking Soda, but eventually worked it back to less than 1 Tbsp.  However, I was supremely LAZY. Since you have to boil the water you also have to let the solution cool before you wash you hair. This means planning ahead, which I am not always good at. AND I did not regularly use the vinegar rinse. I don't mind the smell of vinegar, but it was one more thing to mix up when I showered and take with me to the bathroom. 

Eventually I returned to "natural" shampoo and when I lost my job I returned to commercial shampoo (because Suave is super cheap). Then Lu picked up the Baking Soda Wash method and even did her homework because she boiled her solution. She tried tea rinses and a few other methods that I hope she will chime in about. 

So in the New Year I was determined to return to the Baking Soda Wash and Vinegar Rinse Method. 

Some things to keep in mind. If you have a bottle of commercial or "natural" shampoo feel free to use it up. I know most people tell you to ditch the commercial and get away from the nasty ingredients.  If you are up for a rough 6 week transition then go for it. From what I read people who had the hardest transition periods were daily shampooers. When I first went shampoo free I was washing every other or third day. If you read reviews MANY people recommend getting to that point first.

I do not use the Baking Soda wash daily, I use it 1-2 times a week. Lu uses it more because of her MMA Fight Training and the need to get rid of the sweat and salt in her hairline.  I do use the Vinegar Rinse after every Baking Soda Wash. To my Vinegar I add 1 drop of Rosemary (supposedly really good for the hair) and 1 drop of Melaluca. I add the Melaluca for my dandruff. Even with commercial dandruff shampoo I still suffered from dandruff. My dandruff is actually very light. 

A few tips:

1. Comb or brush your hair before you wash it
2. Do NOT skip the vinegar (you need the acid to balance the scalp pH)
3. Try not to comb or brush wet hair (let it get to a damp or even dry state first)
4. Try not to touch your hair during the day, this increases the oil transfer from your hands to your hair. 

My routine:
I make my Baking Soda Wash the night before and let it cool overnight. Sometimes I reheat it on the floor vent in the morning before I shower. I pour the Wash over my dry hair making sure to saturate and then massage the scalp. I leave the wash on for a few minutes and then I rinse under running water.  After the rinse I use the Vinegar Rinse which I simply dump over my head and allow it to saturate all my hair. I do not rinse out the vinegar.

When I get out of the shower I towel dry my hair as best as I can and I put it up (in the summer when it is warmer out then I tend to just leave it down).

Before I Baking Soda Wash

Back Before I Baking Soda Wash

The Wash and the Rinse. I put the wash in a glass bottle because it is hot, I use a plastic bottle for the rinse because it is cold.

After - Nice and Clean (24 Hours Later)

After - Nice and Clean

48 Hours After

72 Hours Later - Still in Good Shape

A Close Up 

96 Hours Later - Time to Wash or put my hair up
No Flash

96 Hours Later - Wish Flash

I have a few recipes to try and help with the dandruff, but dandruff is essentially dry skin and it is a sign that something is missing from my diet.

Hello! This is Lu. Just chiming in with what I discovered on my no-poo journey.

I started no-poo because I was going through a period of complete detox (more to come in later posts.) Everything from my diet to my lotion was researched, switched, and eventually home-made. Everything except ... my shampoo.

I read so many articles about no-poo and the trials and tribulations those who tried it faced. I was so afraid of that dreaded transition period that I began to avoid the subject completely. All the while my poor, limp, dried out, hair called for an alternative.

First I tried shampoo bars ..and hated them. Something about using a soap bar and rubbing it on my head really bothered me, and I always managed to miss a spot. So yeah ... greasy patches ... yum.

Then I tried a series of rinses, everything from tea rinses to egg white and beer rinses. The rinses, while they work great as a hair conditioning treatment, did not clean my hair the way I wanted. 

Then I read something on a crunchy blog (right here) about a coconut milk and castile soap shampoo that suds-ed and worked like real shampoo. It probably worked for a lot of people, but it just left me with a greasy residue all over my hair. Damn you hard water!

So disappointed and with a greasy head I turned back to store bought shampoo. This was an organic all-natural shampoo, but I found myself facing the same issues my mother did with natural shampoo. 

Eventually a long break came along and I decided .... screw it. How bad can this really be? I did my research and found the hard water method and went to trying. I can't say I went through a really intense adjustment period, but I did need to do some experimenting. I had to mess with the frequency I washed my hair and how much baking soda and vinegar to use. 

If my hair was super dry, I decreased my baking soda and increased my vinegar. If it was oily I did the reverse. 

So what I do now is every two to three days I use a table spoon of baking soda dissolved in about two cups of water.
Then I take regular water and add about 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar to about two cups of regular (unboiled) water. I use this as a rinse after my baking soda. 

You can choose to leave the apple cider vinegar rinse in for awhile if you so choose, but the smell is STRONG. It's a great conditioner.

Are you looking to do No-Poo? If so leave any questions or experiences with it in the comments!

Thankful Thursdays

Remember when I declared that I was going to post for Thankful Thursdays? Well here we go. 

Thanksgiving is always the fourth Thursday in the month of November. More and more information is coming to light about the story of the First Thanksgiving. Some groups are devoted to getting to the roots of the tradition and preparing what would be a "traditional" meal. 

My mother traces her roots to the Iroquois tribe of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, and while I have always been drawn to the traditions of indigenous people I feel that my connection is more to the nature aspect of those traditions. I love that Iroquois and other Native People have a profound connection and reverence for nature and the spirits of those gone before us.

Personally, I don't care what, when or where the original Thanksgiving is or was. I LOVE the idea of Thanksgiving. I love any opportunity to get together with family and friends and be grateful and celebrate LIFE and the future. 

So my goal is to be Thankful every Thursday of my life and that will carry over to the rest of the days of my life. People have said to me that I am a generally happy individual, and I let those people know that I have my dark days, but my hope is that I do put out a hopeful and positive outlook. 

Today I am grateful for the time we had with Twizzle. On Tuesday evening after a long weekend and 3 visits to the Vet's office, Lu had to make the hard decision to put down Twizzle. I am grateful that we had the long weekend with him and that because of the steroids he was on he was eating and for a day and a half that he was himself; active and loving. I am grateful for the wonderful Vets and Vet Techs who were so caring, not just for our cat but for our family. Dr. Straka called Saturday Morning and Sunday Morning just to check in, when I called in on Tuesday late afternoon we were told to bring him right down. I am grateful that Lu was able to be part of his last moments to say her good-bye and gain that perspective and closure. I am grateful to the Vet who treated him on Tuesday who has offered to do a paw print for her to have as a token of her beloved pet. 

I am Thankful that I have a home to live in, that my family is generally healthy and that my fridge is full of healthy, whole foods. 

I am Thankful for the Women Entrepreneurs United (WEU) for being a wonderful supportive group of women who share their souls and vitality with all the members. 

There is so much more to be Thankful for, but I want to make sure that each week I am being Thankful for something new and different and not repeating the same things. 

How about you? How will your life change if you start looking for those things to be grateful for instead of dwelling on the small negatives in life?

Don't hold yourself back.

This will be my first post since my introduction. Well ... not really. I've done one post since then, but I deleted it soon after posting it. I was so nervous that it wasn't good enough, or it wasn't long enough. I checked the grammar a million and one times trying to make it perfect. I stressed over if it was engaging; if anyone would read it.
I let those worries eat at me to the point that I was paralyzed. Every time I tried to write a post I would feel this wave of anxiety rush over me. So I would back away from the keyboard and forget about blogging for a few days. Then something would make me think ... WOAH I should blog about this. 
And the cycle would start over again.
Recently I've had this push to .. just do it. Start writing, see where it takes me. If the post is boring or terrible people will probably just ignore it and move on with their day. But if I don't post at all I won't get any better. 
So here I am writing a blog, seeing where it'll take me. My goal is to try and post each week, whether the post is short, or boring. I'll write it, edit it, and post it. Then I'll move onto the next thing. I won't sit and dwell on my mistakes, or the possibility of someone not liking what I have to say. Because if I live in constant fear of someone disagreeing with me I may never speak again.

While I'm on the subject of just doing things, and not over thinking them; I may as well tell you where this sudden push is coming from. 
We recently had to put my cat down. The cat my mother recently posted about. He wasn't getting better, and his quality of life was compromised. The veterinarians did everything they could but they couldn't stabilize him. So last night we made the decision to put him down. 
I stayed with him the whole time, petting him and comforting him until he stopped breathing. I am going to miss him of course, but I'm not devastated in the way I thought I'd be. I've decided to take a lesson from him.
I'm going to live my life in the best way I can. No second guessing and giving my love every chance I get. I began applying this lesson last night, when I decided I needed to paint. (Something I tend to over plan) So I painted, I just did it, and I felt satisfied. I'm also completing a sewing project today, and reading a comic my dad gave me. I'm not going to over think a crazy detailed schedule for my day, as I am wont to do. I'm going to do what I feel I want to in the moment I'd like to do it. 
I'm doing this even now, as I write this blog.
I'm just going to do it, and I will be satisfied.