Category Archives: Earth LOVE

Thanks so much for following this new segment, Natural Living Tips which you’ll find here on Tuesday’s. My friend Rosemary Nickel (Motivating Other Moms) and I have paired up to bring you these weekly tips on living a more natural life. They will be fun, quirky and informative, just like us, ha. We hope you join us here weekly for a new Natural Living Tip! Enjoy!

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Finally, I made laundry detergent, yay! Part of my delay is that I wasn’t completely satisfied with the recipes I was finding on-line. Most of them called for either a bar of Fels-Naptha, or the use of Dawn dish detergent. These products do not sit well with me. Why?  I did, in my excitement to purchase all the products, purchase two bars of Fels-Naptha. I was in and out quickly without thought (this is bad), and I hadn’t even returned home when I could smell the overbearing perfumey odor in the car. UGH! Yep, the Fels-Naptha. It says it right on the label, Perfume. Nice. Well, I knew right away that wouldn’t work for me, my head was already swelling with the ickiness of the fake chemical scent. Since then I’ve also found out that the Dial Co. says it should not be used directly on the skin, it’s an irritant. It also contains some ingredients which are known to contaminate the oceans, lakes and to harm wildlife. Not my thing. You can read more here.

The other recipe I was seeing on-line was non-grate version which calls for Dawn dish soap. Nope, can’t do it. It comes in plastic, (you know I’m trying to eliminate plastic as best I can) and is loaded with cra*, like the sulfate sisters, and It’s owned by Procter & Gamble, a company that I don’t particularly approve of (trust me, I have enough trouble with arm & hammer, still test on animals, but can’t yet find an alternative), lol. So…. Anyway, many of you won’t be quite as picky as me, ha.

Armed with this information I knew I needed to slow down and get the right bar soap. I wanted something a bit more natural. I found this soap called Verve at Whole Foods. It’s vegetarian (no tallow or other animal ingredients), cruelty free, fragrance free, no BHT, comes in planet friendly packaging, perfect, and the price was right too, $3.99/3 pack.

*No Whole Foods nearby or don’t shop there? Many of these recipes I’ve seen use Ivory Soap as well or you can use a natural herb bar soap found at many farmer’s markets.*

So, natural bar soap it is! Here’s my recipe:

1 cup Washing Soda
1 cup Borax
1 bar natural soap (grated)
75 drops essential oil (I used 50 drops sweet orange, 25 lavender) You can have so much fun creating new natural fragrances here.  (I did find that I didn’t smell this upon drying, so I may eliminate the essential oil all together in future batches.

Mix together, viola!

Yields about 32oz. I placed the mix in empty  Charlies Soap (a wonderful alternative to home-made) containers, my previous laundry detergent.

Use 1-Tbsp per load or 2-Tbsp for heavily soiled laundry.

Note: I have a HE front loader. This recipe worked fine, it’s low suds and no problem. I’m also on a septic line, it’s fine for this too.

Peace!

This here is the Perfectly Flawed weekly round-up, so if you missed me on Pinterest & Facebook, this is where I’ll be sharing some of that LOVE on Fridays. Enjoy!

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Art, Blueberry Season & The Beatles.

Oooo, and it’s Friday the 13th!

Heading to Ft.Lauderdale today to spend the weekend with my best friend Dawn. Kids can’t wait to see her, she’s Aunt Dawn to them. Tonight we’re going to see the Beatles Tribute band, Across the Universe, in the park.

I was on Pinterest a bit this week, duh! Aren’t you??? Here’s what I’ve found! This amazing blog on Thai cuisine & culture. I made this last night. Well, I made all the components, packaged them in my many saved glass jars, packed it all up and the family head out to the beach for a picnic dinner. Yum!

Anyone else excited about blueberries coming into season? Me! Check out these pretty pictures of blue goodness! Here, here & here at Griottes, Palette Culinaire.

I’ve also fallen in love with a couple of artists this week, both found on Pinterest. Yep, you need to get on those boards people:-). They are Tracy Verdugo & Angelo Franco!

We’re on our thirdish week of using our home-made toothpaste mixture. It’s simply baking soda, coconut oil and peppermint essential oil, about 15 drops. We’re all adjusted, our teeth are whiter I swear, maybe it’s in my head, but I think so. I also use this mixture as my deodorant. I LOVE it! It gives your pits a cooling sensation and I don’t ever stink like I did with Tom’s of Maine. You can make your deodorant with a different essential oil, I just use the peppermint for ease. Take a look-see at more things you can do with Coconut Oil!

We also finally got our herbs and pineapple planted! Here’s a great tutorial video I found on growing pineapple! Enjoy!

Peace!

Today’s (Optional) Writing Prompt: What causes you anxiety? Not just stress but true anxiety. How does your body and mind generally deal with it? How do YOU deal with it?

Oh goodness, really? lol.  Ok, well it’s not news to those close to me that I’ve struggled with anxiety for years, like 20 or so of them.  I think it all started with my concern for the treatment of animals, the need/desire to want peace in the world, those kind of things.  I used to take a ton of Bach Flowers Rescue Remedy and other natural anxiety relievers.  It worked for a while. My symptoms were a severe struggle with breathing, heavy feeling on chest, I couldn’t swallow, breathe, felt like I’d choke, almost did a few times. I was brought to the emergency one night, checked for asthma, NOPE.  Then to rule out anything physical I was sent to have my esophagus checked with a Barium Swallow, nice. And no, nothing wrong. Yep, all in my head, great!  I caved about 5 years ago and began taking real drugs, I so didn’t want that to happen, but the panic attacks escalated to a level I could no longer control with breathing techniques. This is after over 10 years with alternative methods. I’ve since gone off and on twice and currently I’m off, have been for over a year and I’m ok.  Things that bring on anxiety now?  Well, I still want to save the world, lol, but really it’s stuff like past family issues that I’m still struggling with, learning to love & forgive, etc.  Also having a to do list several lifetimes long and just this short time to get to them all, stuff like that.

Peace!

Times Up!
This has been my Sunday 5 minute Stream of Consciousness.

Want to try it? Here are the rules…

* Set a timer and write for 5 minutes only.
* Write an intro to the post if you want but don’t edit the post. No proofreading or spellchecking. This is writing in the raw.
* Publish it somewhere. Anywhere. The back door to your blog if you want. But make it accessible.
* Add the Stream of Consciousness Sunday badge to your post.
* Link up your post at all.things.fadra.
* Visit your fellow bloggers and show some love.

This here is the Perfectly Flawed weekly round-up, so if you missed me on Pinterest & Facebook, this is where I’ll be sharing some of that LOVE on Fridays. Enjoy!

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Earth Day crafts, Chipotle, and More!

This week was the first week of Earth Month. This month for Natural Living Tips I’ll be covering how to green your clean. Yep, we’ll be making homemade cleaning products. Good for the planet and your loved ones!

The family is getting itchy, we need to travel:-). Though we’re taking a family trip to Key West in a few weeks, I can’t help but be thinking of the kids and I’s road trip this summer. I’m having visions of places like these:

After seeing this image on Pinterest, I now must read A Street Cat Named Bob. I’m thinking it may provoke tears in a way Dewey did.

Yesterday the kids and I stocked up on the veggies needed to make our own natural egg dyes. Beets, carrots, red cabbage, yellow onions and spinach. Take a look see here for more.

There is still time to get in on Hybrid Rasta Mama’s giveaway. A one-gallon bucket of Gold Label coconut oil and her e-book. You can enter through April 9th!

Until the 14th to purchase one of Chipotle’s upcycled/repurposed lunch bags, made out of old billboards. With your purchase you get a coupon for a free burrito on Earth Day, April 22nd.

Do you need some cool Earth Day craft ideas for kids? Here you go!

Leaving you with this picture of Addy getting ready to feed the Tarpons in the Florida Keys. She really did love it, can’t you tell:-)?

Peace!

Thanks so much for following this new segment, Natural Living Tips which you’ll find here on Tuesday’s. My friend Rosemary Nickel (Motivating Other Moms) and I have paired up to bring you these weekly tips on living a more natural life. They will be fun, quirky and informative, just like us, ha. We hope you join us here weekly for a new Natural Living Tip! Enjoy!

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Lemons - Italy, spring 2010.

I’m sure there is no more perfect a time to begin thinking about Greening your clean than this month of April. It’s Earth month, so let’s all begin using more earth friendly cleaning products! And remember, I support baby steps so don’t get overwhelmed, just pick one thing and move on from there.

Let’s begin with a list of items  you should have on hand to make your own cleaning products:

Baking Soda, a naturally abrasive product with mild alkaline properties, a natural deodorizer and stain remover, completely non-toxic. One of the most versatile cleaners on the planet!

Lemons, acidic and can provide some antibacterial and antiseptic properties for cleaning *Add a cup of lemon juice to the wash cycle to boost the whitening action of your laundry detergent.

Distilled White Vinegar, a great natural cleaning product, a disinfectant and deodorizer, an all-purpose cleaner.

Essential Oils, I like to have lemon, lavender, rosemary and tee tree on hand.

Liquid Castile Soap (Dr. Bronner’s) a vegetable based soap, not petroleum. It’s completely non-toxic and can be used on your body as well as in cleaning products.

Hydrogen Peroxide, non-toxic, safe for people, pets, plants, the environment. Many uses.

These next three weeks of April I’ll be sharing with you how to use these ingredients to make safe & effective home-made household cleaners. So stay tuned:-).
Peace!

This here is the Perfectly Flawed weekly round-up, so if you missed me on Pinterest & Facebook, this is where I’ll be sharing some of that LOVE on Fridays. Enjoy!

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Dinner, Produce Bags & Baby Steps!

Woo Hoo, got my cooking grove back this week! Love Pinterest, so many great recipes being shared. I’ve made Gingery Soba Noodle Soup, Shrimp in coconut sauce over rice, Roasted rep pepper & goat cheese alfredo and last night we made homemade chick pea veggie burgers with a side of Brussel sprout & Swiss chard salad!

Finally purchased our reusable produce and bulk items bags. I bought five of these from Flip & Tumble, I also got 6 of these from Kootsac on Etsy. I can’t wait to get these, another stride towards being plastic free!

I’ve been gathering information on making our own cleaning products. I already use alternative non-toxic products, but they come in plastic so…. Next Tuesday on Natural Living Tips I’m switching from Coconut Oil to Home-made cleaning products and I’ll be discussing them throughout April. It is time for Spring Cleaning after all!

Though I did manage to make home-made toothpaste this week, Gavin’s not thrilled, lol. He’ll get used to it.

Just a reminder to anyone trying to go green or make strides in that direction. The best way is baby steps. I’ve not arrived here quickly or without challenge and I’m still far from where I want to be. Here’s an article, from Almost the Truth,  I read this week about Baby steps and why it’s so important to celebrate every one of them. Please read it.

What Baby steps are you taking?
Peace!

Harry says "chill"!

Thanks so much for following this new segment, Natural Living Tips which you’ll find here on Tuesday’s. My friend Rosemary Nickel (Motivating Other Moms) and I have paired up to bring you these weekly tips on living a more natural life. They will be fun, quirky and informative, just like us, ha. We hope you join us here weekly for a new Natural Living Tip! Enjoy!

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Seems I’ve been a bit consumed with Coconut Oil lately, the differences, the benefits, the uses which are all plentiful & the information floating around on the web is endless. I’ve only scratched the very surface, but am excited to share with you what I’ve tried, what I’ve learned & also the the things that I plan on trying.

It was not my idea, BTW, to learn about coconut oil. The brain child for this adventure was Rosemary, my co-conspirator of Natural Living Tips, ha. However, I’m so glad we did this, I’m a transformed woman, I feel this research & trial period has really helped push me that much further into reducing unnecessary chemicals, preservatives & plastics, in my families life. How you ask? To begin with I’m making my own natural body butter, body moisturizer, salt/sugar scrubs, deodorant, make-up remover & coming soon, toothpaste. Yes, all from coconut oil. Think of how much poo is residing inside of those toiletries & most come packaged in plastic containers that I’m no longer purchasing, score!!

A few benefits that I’ve taken advantage of or intrigue me are:

Reducing the appearance of age spots.

Speeds up metabolism.

Apply directly to a bug bite, it can stop the itching & burning sensation & quicken the healing process.

Apply to burn immediately & continue applying until healed, it can reduce the chances of permanent scarring & aids in healing.

Affordable eye cream! apply under eyes to reduce puffiness, bags & wrinkles, use on lids in evening.

Wrinkle prevention/reducer!

Energy boost.

LOVE THIS: Use as an insect repellent! Mix coconut oil with peppermint oil extract and rub it all over exposed skin. Keeps insects off better than anything with DEET!
Tons safer too.

This is an itsy bitsy sampling of the benefits of coconut oil. One of the most extensive lists I’ve found is from Hybrid Rasta Mama. You’ll be amazed!
When cooking I’ve use coconut oil in place of all other oils and butter. If you don’t like the flavor of coconut but want the health benefits purchase a refined, expeller pressed coconut oil. If you love the flavor, look for unrefined or raw varieties, these retain the most nutritional value as well.

You can find coconut oil in most grocery stores these days, Spectrum Brand (refined) is found in most locations. Otherwise go to your local natural food store or Whole Foods and you’ll have a variety to choose from. Also found online at PantryParatus.com or TropicalTraditions.com, also a great place to learn everything you’d want to know about coconut oil & other coconut products.

I’m going to leave you with this video on how to make a exfoliating lip scrub, you guessed it, coconut oil!

Peace!

I’ll start by saying this is not a typical Stream of Consciousness. I’m breaking the rules by adding this video link, and many others, to something I came across yesterday. It’s called the Invisible Children, you may know it as Kony 2012 or you may not know it at all. If you haven’t seen it yet, you may want to watch the video first. Yes, it’s almost 30 minutes long, but I believe it’s well worth those minutes for several reasons.

Here a link to the video:

Ok, now that you’ve watched the video, maybe you’ve already heard of the campaign, have an opinion, maybe you’re saying “Yes, old news, this has been going on for years”? Maybe this is completely new to you and you’re currently bubbling up with frustration over what you just watched and asking “how can I help”? Either way I’m glad I was able to bring it to your attention because old news, new news, it needed to be seen again.

There is much criticism out there over this particular campaign and I’ve done my research and have my own opinions. You should do your own research too. I can help by providing you with some links:

Here’s Invisible Children’s rating and information on Charity Navigator. They currently hold a 3/4 overall, and here you can read the conversation on Reddit between Noelle at Invisible Children & members of the public with strong opinions. IC defends off concerns. I’ve read it all. More articles here, here and Africom is here. And please go to Invisible Children’s blog and read the director’s response to this article in the Washington Post and IC’s response to the criticism.

After all my reading, a lot of it, I’ve come to my own conclusions. Is this charity, Invisible Children, sensationalist? Yes, maybe, but that’s the goal here! This film was produced very well. They had to make it understandable to the masses to get a movement heading forward and quickly. The LRA and men like Joseph Kony, things like this have been going on for decades, longer even, this IS old news. I remember being fired up over these topics over 20 years ago. Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, Darfur, the list goes on both then and now.

I posted this campaign on Facebook yesterday, because though I know about things like this happening, I hadn’t seen THIS video yet, THIS campaign, Kony 2012. My husband works in the media and he hadn’t seen it either. Apparently over three million people have, but we hadn’t and it moved us to remember that this is going on. While we’ve been self-absorbed with our own lives, our own agendas here, this kind of thing is still happening in Africa. It was a harsh reminder and you know what, I don’t care what campaign reminded me of that, reminds us all, the important thing is that we were reminded. The important thing is the MOVEMENT! The movement to make things like this stop.

This campaign by Invisible Children, if this works, goes viral and this man is brought to justice, it’s a great thing whether you believe in Kony 2012 or not. It means that this new thing called social media worked in powerful, positive ways, it means I can have hope that people when joined together for a common cause can move mountains.

I like this quote from a poster on Reddit “I’m behind this organization for the simple fact that it empowers youth unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. Imagine what this will do to people if it becomes successful and makes millions feel like they did something to help”.

I support the Movement, I believe it’s never too late, you have to start somewhere!
Peace!

Times Up!
This has been my Sunday 5 minute Stream of Consciousness.  – Only today I made an exception!

Want to try it? Here are the normal rules…

* Set a timer and write for 5 minutes only.
* Write an intro to the post if you want but don’t edit the post. No proofreading or spellchecking. This is writing in the raw.
* Publish it somewhere. Anywhere. The back door to your blog if you want. But make it accessible.
* Add the Stream of Consciousness Sunday badge to your post.
* Link up your post at all.things.fadra.
* Visit your fellow bloggers and show some love.

Since moving here to East Bradenton, we have really been enjoying the many local farms and ranches. One we’ve been to several times is Hunsader Farm which is only 10 minutes away from our home. We’ve gone to pick strawberries and tomatoes a few times now, once the kids and I picked 22 pounds of strawberries for our housewarming party. We freeze them for smoothies, eat them whole, make sweet treats. I took great pleasure making home-made tomato sauce twice now, blanching, peeling, squooshing, cooking… So many dinners to eat up the fresh sauce. Love it!

Thought I’d share some of the love!

If you want to find local U-pick’s or Farmer’s markets in your area, just click HERE and HERE!

Common site with today's agribusiness. Image from propankitchen.com.

Factory-farm chickens.

I don’t even know where to begin.  The state of our food today so deeply saddens me, and concerns me. I worry about the future of food for our children, their children, so on. I believe that it’s our responsibility to make the world a better place for future generations and I’m afraid we’ve failed and are moving too slowly to recover our mistakes.  We are in such a deep whole, it’s going to be a difficult climb out.  I know there are movements that are working hard to make strides in the right direction, thank goodness.  Here at home we’re doing our best and constantly moving towards doing better, a little at time as to not get overwhelmed.

I’ve always been one to educate myself about the environment, where our food comes from, etc.  Years ago I read everything I could get my hands on about Factory Farming, how the animals are treated prior to getting to our table, how this industry effects our planet.  It’s appalling. One book I really took a lot away from was Mad Cowboy.  To read a story about a man, a fourth generation cattle rancher turn Vegan, was uplifting & inspiring. I believe everyone should be educated in the process of how our food comes to the table. I also believe that we shouldn’t have to be worried about what toxic chemicals or genetically modified crap is in our produce, it just shouldn’t be there. The Americans’ need for low food costs have COST us plenty more in quality of life and medical bills. We need to WAKE the heck up and start nourishing our bodies with food, good food, whole food. Can’t tell I recently watched Forks over Knives can you? Most of the information in this incredible documentary wasn’t new to me. Though the statistics were jaw dropping. I had myself convinced prior that as long as I looked for sustainable, grass fed, free-roaming, humanely slaughtered, wild, etc., animals than I could still eat them. I was a vegetarian years ago for ethical reasons and caved after my kids were born out of ease. I beat myself up a bit about this and would like to head back in that direction, though I find my will power has decreased since then. My husband and I are finally in a place that we’re ready to begin the big changes. Though compared to the typical American diet, we’ve done good, eating very little red meat, mostly poultry and fish, lot’s of veggies, etc. This isn’t enough. We know that.

As a people we need to seek out our local sources, grow what we can. We have to be in control of this, no one else is watching out for us. The government is supporting big industry, like Monsanto, unfortunately it’s all about big business. The small farmers are suffering. Go to your local farmers market on weekends, they’re spreading rapidly and can be found in most large and small communities now (Click HERE to find one near you). SUPPORT THEM! Join a CSA. Do whatever small part you can. I’m not one to throw in the towel because it seems hopeless, it IS hopeless if you do that. We the people must demand changes!

If you’re interested in learning more about your food, the future of food and what you can do about it, here are some links to articles, documentaries and groups that can help.

Food Inc.
Forks over Knives
Ingredients
Food Matters
The Future of Food

Slow Food, USA
Non-GMO Project
Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution (School Food – demand better)

Mad Cowboy (links to books & documentary)

Current Monsanto article – Washington Post

Tell Obama to Cease FDA Ties to Monsanto!
Watch This!

Anything written by Michael Pollen!

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