Fun With Photo Booth

Can you tell from the last picture that it's almost nap time? Thank God! This has been a very screamy, shouty day and my head is killing me. I still haven't missed a day of my new work out yet. Today I was not on top of my work out. Think my muscles are getting very fatigued. Taking a day off tomorrow. Besides today, I can't tell you the last time I felt this good. I sleep better too. Now I have to cut out all the crap in my diet once again. I am eating all kinds of good stuff. I'll have a huge heirloom garden grown tomato for a meal and am eating lots of garden fresh veggies too. I just made a double batch of vegetarian chili. Just all the little extras that I could live without like M&M's. They are just so hard for me to live without. Still on the all water kick. It finally rained today. My yard & plants look all pathetic, shriveled, & droopy. I know it's bad when the established plants are wilting. Oh, and I have some new friends . . . . . . fruit flies. Seems as though all the fresh produce in the house has brought these guys in. I have a glass with white vinegar, water and suds on top. That has caught many of the flies. Anybody have any natural homemade remedies for getting rid of these little buggers? I'm glad it's pretty much the end of summer. Sad too but I love fall and I think I just may attempt Thanksgiving again at my house this year. I had fun last year doing it. Probably won't be getting the turducken again even though it was good. Maybe I'll make a seafood feast or possibly filet's? I like tradition but I love to break it! Another Freecycler coming tonight. This woman is getting a bunch of my day lilies. They are beginning to take over near my shed. Need free city mulch, maybe we'll go get some tomorrow? All these thoughts and ideas. Wanting to take an exercise class too. Phew, starting to feel smoke coming out of my ears. Happy Thursday everybody!

Why Does Everything Have To be Scented?

I enjoy natural scents on some things, but I have no idea where they get the chemical concoctions that they sell at the stores from. Why would you want your laundry to come out of the dryer smelling like apples? Is this good for our skin to have these chemicals against it all the time? Nothing really smells like what the label says, it is so fake smelling. Our subdivision really stinks when a few houses do their laundry at the same time. Kinda like Cool-Aid, yuck! I could understand a light smell of flowers or herbs or nothing. How about nothing? The AAP recommends using dye and perfume free detergent on children's laundry. Not sure how the Dreft made it's way onto the market for babies. It too has fragrance. A fragrance that is what babies are supposed to smell like? If it's bad for sensitive little babies, what makes it OK for us adults? I went to the gym this morning and I was on a treadmill next to a woman about my age who had so much perfume on I could hardly stand it. Why? At the gym? I could see some extra deodorant but perfume? And on Sunday morning to boot! Come on. P.U.! I was relieved when she was done. Maybe she was fearful of smelling bad. Think I'd take a little B.O. over the 5-10 squirts of whatever she was wearing. Did you know that having all the artificial scents in your home/world cause headaches, allergies, sinus problems, asthma, ear infections, etc. ? Check Google on that for more info. Honestly, I have to go out of my way to buy just about everything unscented. Why is it that hard to find and why does it cost extra? It should cost extra for the scented. I know that there are a lot of people out there that like everything scented and love all the Vanilla Tide and Berry Burst Dawn. Why on earth are they still selling deodorized tampons? Can anyone possibly think that these are OK for you. Sticking chemicals where chemicals don't belong. Is anyone out there a scent free person like myself. Tell me what you think of the scent issue please. I'm interested. Sorry for my rant but I just don't get it. I do like some scented things. I like to get soap that has real lavender in it. I also like to have "a" candle that is burned occasionally (few times a year) that smells and is made from real cinnamon, vanilla, or herbs. I just think that all the artificial scents are too much. Come on my eco-blogger friends I know you got something to say. Oh, did I mention that these are just more chemicals in our environment? In our sewers, air, out our dryer vents, on our skin.

Wordy Thursday: For The Love Of Trees!

My Life Right Now

Gosh, it's just about the end of summer and I can hardly believe how the time has flown by. I just hacked my monstrous rose bushes yesterday when Little Buddy took a nice long pm nap. For the most part they were about 9 & 10 feet tall at the highest parts and taking over our back yard. You can see that there was once a nice little planted area with small rose bushes, wild grasses, peonies, and some really tall hedges that are now about 20 feet high in the middle. The roses are taking over and with a small child and a dog in the back yard all the time it's high time that the roses are tamed. I hacked and hacked and hacked . . . . . . . that was just the tip of the iceberg. It seemed to take forever but I finally got everything hacked down to less than 4 feet. Now I will be able to transplant my peonies in September and my husband can stain the fence without getting caught in all the thorny branches.

I have been going to my sisters house just a few towns away about once a week to visit her and sometimes my niece and nephew, but they are teenagers and often aren't around. We go for lunch or just go on long walks. Those are my favorite. Little Buddy does not sit for hours on end like last summer so we make several playground stops. She lives in the house that I grew up in and it's great to see my old neighborhood, hometown, house, yard, etc. I really hate where we live right now because nobody gives a rats ass about their house or their yards and there is garbage and crap everywhere. They tend to look down at me with a smirk every time I try to garden or hack rose bushes for example or clean my gutters or repair my Freecycled Adirondack chair. It gets so old. I love to go to my old hometown or the town where my in-laws live which is also the town where my husband is a police officer. Most people are working on their houses, cars, yards, etc. regularly. I love to walk around and see how people fix up their yards and get ideas and see all the plants and stone. That is what makes me VERY happy. Feels good. Like my therapy. Nature, beauty, peace, & order, plus I get lots of ideas. Now my sister is back at nursing school this week and her summer of long walks and talks with her sister and playing with her nephew is over.

I've also been going to my mother's apartment about once sometimes twice a week. I lived with her in that same apartment for close to 13 years. It's a building with 8 apartments in it. Old school with glitter laminate counter tops in the kitchen, elementary school tile throughout the entire building, old aluminum windows, no disposer, no dishwasher, single basin kitchen sinks, you get the idea. We had been frequenting Chipotle. We both would get the vegetarian bowl to go (but eat it there and save the rest for later), and then I'd get Little Buddy 1 or 2 containers of guacamole. He'd eat it straight. This was all before they stopped using fresh jalapeno and now their food is a little too salty and hot for Little Buddy. Still go to my moms and hang out though. Lately been going to the forest preserve and see my husbands old friends (yes he was a forest ranger before he became an officer of the law). I take Little Buddy with my mom and let him throw rocks in the lake. He LOVES it. We also walk around but not too much if he feels like lolly gagging and the bugs are out.

My husband is going to midnights most likely in September. Not a favorite shift of mine but I'll take it over days. Hardest part is trying to keep a boisterous & noisy toddler quiet in the dead of winter during the day so daddy can sleep. OY! I get great sleep when I have the bed to myself but feel a lot more vulnerable in the event that something bad should occur in the middle of the night.

BIG NEWS: I started working out at a gym. With a real gym membership and everything. I am not a gym person at all but once I had one child and am now 35 the weight likes to hang around. My weight loss was fabulous I took off 30, then put 8 back on and leveled off. I need an little mp3 player though. Keepin' my eyes out for a tiny little cheap dealy that holds like 20 songs (that's all I need).

We are constantly on the move. I never nap but am often tired. The inside of the house has been neglected because all my free time I'm in the yard. I still keep up with the dog, dishes, & laundry but everything else . . . . . . oh well. Want to move . . . . . .badly. Neighborhood is getting worse every week. I promised to post some pictures of the hood, which I will but hate to bring everybody down. Yuck!

Gotta go, my hubby just got home with Pizza Hut. What's new with you?

Too Funny!

Too bad I don't have a little girl. I'm thinking this is one of the cutest and funniest little costumes I've ever seen. That is unless one of you out there has a link to something better? Guess I'll be making Little Buddy's costume again this year. Anyone out there need a Dracula costume for 12-18 month size? I got one, E-mail me with your address. It's cute!

Wordless Wednesday (It Is Wednesday, Right?)

Who knew?

This is what Oxi clean is... did you know that???? 3% peroxide

This was written by Becky Ransey of Indiana
'I would like to tell you of the benefits of that plain little old bottle of 3% peroxide you can get for under $1.00 at any drug store. My husband has been in the medical field for over 36 years, and most doctors don't tell you about peroxide, or they would lose thousands of dollars.'

1. Take one capful (the little white cap that comes with the bottle) and hold in your mouth for 10 minutes daily, then spit it out. (I do it when I bathe)

No more canker sores and your teeth will be whiter without expensive pastes. Use it instead of mouthwash. (Small print says mouth wash and gargle right on the bottle)

2. Let your toothbrushes soak in a cup of 'Peroxide' to keep them free of germs.

3. Clean your counters, table tops with peroxide to kill germs and leave a fresh smell. Simply put a little on your dishrag when you wipe, or spray it on the counters.

4 After rinsing off your wooden cutting board, pour peroxide on it to kill salmonella and other bacteria.

5. I had fungus on my feet for years - until I sprayed a 50/50 mixture of peroxide and water on them (especially the toes) every night and let dry.

6. Soak any infections or cuts in 3% peroxide for five to ten minutes several times a day. My husband has seen gangrene that would not heal with any medicine, but was healed by soaking in peroxide.

7. Fill a spray bottle with a 50/50 mixture of peroxide and water and keep it in every bathroom to disinfect without harming your septic system like bleach or most other disinfectants will.

8. Tilt your head back and spray into nostrils with your 50/50 mixture whenever you have a cold, or plugged sinuses. It will bubble and help to kill the bacteria. Hold for a few minutes then blow your nose into a tissue.

9. If you have a terrible toothache and cannot get to a dentist right away, put a capful of 3% peroxide into your mouth and hold it for ten minutes severa l times a day.. The pain will lessen greatly.

10. And of course, if you like a natural look to your hair, spray the 50/50 solution on your wet hair after a shower and comb it through. You will not have the peroxide burnt blonde hair like the hair dye packages, but more natural highlights if your hair is a light brown, reddish, or dirty blonde. It also lightens gradually so it's not a drastic change.

11. Put half a bottle of peroxide in your bath to help rid boils, fungus, or other skin infections.

12. You can also add a cup of peroxide instead of bleach to a load of whites in your laundry to whiten them. If there is blood on clothing, pour directly on the soiled spot. Let it sit for a minute, then rub it and rinse with cold water. Repeat if necessary.

13. I use peroxide to clean my mirrors with, and there is no smearing which is why I love it so much for this.

I could go on and on. It is a little brown bottle no home should be without! With prices of most necessities rising, I'm glad there's a way to save tons of money in such a simple, healthy manner.