looking ahead

I am so full of ideas about what I want 2010 to be. I really want the way I use my time to reflect my values. I am trying to be realistic though too. I know if I bite off too much, I will give up by February. But I also know that making small changes gradually will get me where I want to be eventually. That is the balance to find.

Here are some of my goals for the new year in no particular order

--get back to more consistent menu planning and making use of the food we have on hand

--get back to making our bread, probably using more of the 5-minutes a day approach

--make our yogurt

--read the Bible in 90 days (our church is doing this and my Emma wants to do the kids' portion too)

--spend more time knitting or blogging or reading for information and less time playing silly games on the computer

--lose the 15 pounds that have crept on in the past 18 months

--do the Couch Potato to 5K program

--make breakfast for my kids

--incorporate more homeopathy into our family

--eat more fruit

--try to salvage my kefir grains and get back to using kefir for soaking oats and flour for pancakes

--figure out my sewing machine enough to do simple mending

--clean out closets and donate more of our excess


That's what I can think of right now. And like I said, I don't plan on jumping into all of that on January 1st. In fact, I have already decided that the exercise part will come after I've done the reading the Bible part. The Bible reading will take 30-45 minutes a day. That's a big chunk of time already. So I will walk when I can but not stress about it if it doesn't happen.

Do you have any ideas for 2010?

I finished my socks!

I finished my first pair of socks ever! I didn't think they were very difficult, just a matter of following directions. I used a baby yarn instead of a sock yarn, and now I can't wait to do some socks with real sock yarn!

Copping out on making Christmas Eve dinner. Frozen lasagna to the rescue! And I'm rethinking the roasted Brussels sprouts for Christmas dinner too. An easy spinach cheese pie that I can prep today is winning out. Not that roasting brussels sprouts is difficult, but I'm too tired to figure out how to roast them, the fingerling potatoes and rib roast all at the same time.

I'm sitting in the Target parking lot waiting for them to open. Hubby wants me to grab some of the little shoebox size totes. Those do making organizing sticking stuffers much simpler.

Then I'm home to make a double batch of 90 Minute Fruitcake. I made one yesterday and it absolutely disappeared! I also need to make more Carmel corn and my usual Christmas scones.

Oh yeah, then there's 4-5 hours at church later too! I need a day off...actually I'd settle for a night in my own bed. Working 40 hours a week this time of year is crazy!

OK, Target is open!

Merry Christmas!!!

Made Coal Cookies tonight! Even without the espresso powder they are yummy. My husband is volunteering to be on the naughty list for these treats. I have to hide them from the kids or we won't have any cookies for Santa.

for fun

Yarn Harlot makes me giggle!

And for the record, I am starting to knit hat for my brother for Christmas tonight at work. I can totally get it done by Friday, right?! I did choose a super bulky yarn...I'm not THAT crazy!!!

no 'poo update

Just checking in after another week of not sudsing up. Still liking this process. I'm still in the adjustment phase as far as my body figuring out that I need to produce less oil. I guess I am fortunate there since I normally have pretty dry skin. But I haven't cleaned my scalp/hair since Friday and my hair is looking just fine. Not greasy looking, not dirty looking, just looking like hair.

Nathalie asked if it smells. My hair smells like hair. The vinegar smell washes out in the shower. I do rinse for about a minute or so, but there is no residual smell. My 13 yo daughter took the plunge today. She has asked about adding some scent. I haven't read as much as bout this as my husband, but we've told her she could add some essential oils to either the vinegar rinse or add some to water and pour that over her hair when she's finished rinsing.

She is really vain about hair, too. But she has also learned that NOT wearing much makeup and keeping her hair away from her face (along with a Burt's Bee's herbal acne treatment) is clearing up her pimples far better than anything from the drugstore ever has. So she's hoping that letting her scalp regulate its natural oils will help her not need to wash her hair so often, too.

I think one of the best things about trying this whole no 'poo thing is that it is really low cost, or no cost even. Sometimes we want to try things that involve special equipment or ingredients that are hard to find or impractical. This is baking soda and apple cider vinegar, kitchen staples. To me, that's an even better reason to try it out.

I'll keep you posted on how week 3 goes.

heading to the fabric store

In an effort to be greener this Christmas, we have decided to wrap our gifts in fabric instead of paper. I'm heading out to buy some inexpensive festive fabric. We will cut it to use for gifts and then store the fabric until next year. No generating bags and bags of torn wrapping paper for trash this year. And our gifts will still be hidden and wrapped.

I'll post some pictures after we have wrapped some!

No 'poo?

Nope I'm not talking about my bathroom habits, I'm talking about no longer washing my hair with shampoo. I'd heard about this over a year ago, and while I liked the idea, I am also SUPER vain about my hair. SUPER SUPER vain, people!

I have blonde naturally curly hair and have always had tons of compliments on my hair. I learned how to smooth it out (ie straighten it) when Trey was a baby and so vary between curls and straight hair now.

My husband went no 'poo a few months ago. He rinses his hair every time he showers and it really doesn't get greasy or dirty at all. I've been down to only shampooing twice a week for quite a while now. Blonde curly hair can dry out quickly, so I try to let it get really dirty before I wash it.

But lately when I've washed it with my shampoo (Garnier Fructis), it just hasn't felt clean. So I decided to just go for it the other day and use D's baking soda in the shower. It was amazing! My hair felt so clean but yet not stripped like a harsh shampoo! So then I used the cider vinegar rinse too. I did use a little coconut oil on my wet hair to help smooth out the curls, too.

When D came home later, I asked him if my hair was OK. He said, "did you cut it? did you color it? it looks really good." And it did. It curled up like it hadn't in a really long time. And when I used my curling iron to smooth it out the next day, it was still looking really great. In fact, it had more body than usual.

So my first try was on Friday. It's now Monday. And while my hair isn't looking dirty or greasy yet, the waves along my scalp are starting to really show. So I either need to use my daughter's straightener or wet it and let it be curly again. But it doesn't look dirty....just needing to be styled somewhat.

So if you think I am totally crazy and on another weird hippie thing (MOM!), you can read more about no 'poo here or at NPR.