Mustard, Mayo, Catch-up later...

Well I realized there's a lot of 'stuff' to catch up on so first...

the Patchouli project...

the cluster method definitely worked best and mama has come back in nicely

 the water method netted the 2nd best returns...all those offshoots are in planters at my mom's now...I'll get pictures next time I visit

The Breakfast nook is completed (except the pop-tab window sil)

The curtains are banners with different quotes about gentleness and love (mustard curtains wound up in the mud room) and the herb pots hold basil and oregano for the kitchen. You can't tell from this picture, but the pots are made of sliced corks that mirror the circles in my original inspiration art (Klimt).

Then there's the no 'poo project

this was before...flat and frizzy... (and blurry but hey)

and this is after one week...not sure you can tell but I can, not as flat, not as frizzy and shinier :)

okay...now you're caught up 

'poo free update

On Saturday, May 9th 2009 I stopped using commercial shampoo and conditioner

I donated the remainder of my stash (about 1/8 of a bottle each of s and c that I've had for about a year) to my lil one and switched to Baking Soda and Apple Cider Vinegar.

1 tbsp of BS to 1 cup of warm water

then

1 tbsp of ACV to 1 cup of warm water

That was Saturday morning and my hair STILL feels and looks great

I've rinsed twice since then, and will probably wash tomorrow but more so because I think I should not because my hair looks, feels or smells funky.

My hub even said something about it

he was surprised it didn't smell bad :)

okay so the cartoon is just for fun

I'm really happy with this process so far

I didn't really shampoo much to begin with

probably twice a week then mostly rinsed

once my hair care products are gone...I'm ditching those too

and not coloring (at least not until September)

so we'll go summer hair product free and see what happens...

Today I'm officially 'poo free

I've used up my shampoo and conditioner...the same set I've had for over a year now so I guess I didn't use it much to begin with...and in my attempt to reduce the amount of plastic bottles we use and chemicals we put back down into our own septic system I've gone to a baking soda and apple cider vinegar process on my hair.

It definitely feels very clean. Very very clean

Right now i think the thing I will miss the most is the product I used on my curls

But as I delve deeper into this journey of discovering my true self...maybe my true hair needs to be a part of the unfolding.

I've also decided no hair color

at least not until back from Sedona in September

love my grey in all it's glory

I've actually been quite intrigued by it in years past because it is more white than grey...so maybe I'll take on that look of a wise sage :)

I've always wanted to try kicking the hair color...and now I have a tangible (because we already bought our tickets AND reserved our lodging) time to shoot for.

Will I dye my hair as soon as I get home..or in Sedona even? who knows

more likely I think I will have come to a point where I have reasons for grey or no grey that will resonate more truly with my being so in the end it will not matter.

So as you can see if you've been reading my posts, baking soda is becoming quite a staple around here, clean the house, clean my teeth, clean my hair...and i think today we'll run some through the dishwasher and clothes washer to give them a nice cleaning too.

But for now I'm in a new white eyelet sundress and off to the hub's sister's house for a family get together...tons o family i've never met with lots of miracle whip and spam but their hearts are kind and the laughter is loud

needless to say...I'm packing a cooler :)

Happy Labyrinth Day!

http://www.labyrinthonline.com/flash/chartres.swf

I'm always walking towards something good

even when i feel it's so very far away, Peace could lie just beyond the next turn

sometimes I'm close enough to glimpse it and know it is close

others I feel as though it will be forever before it is attained

but I know I am always walking towards something good

I fold back over my steps

perhaps I missed something the first time

If I try to look or plan ahead

I miss what is happening right now

But I am always walking towards something good

The way seems short, it seems so close

but there are times I must take the long road

There is something there for me

There is always something in the journey

And I am always walking towards something good

I think I may go 'poo free

Friend of mine is in the midst of 30 days with no 'poo (shampoo and conditioner)

I've done some reading about it

I think I might try it...

I'm almost out of my current s/c so seems like a good time

1. Use an old shampoo bottle (well-rinsed) or a squeeze bottle of some variety  Mix 1 part aluminum-free baking soda to 3 parts Water. Each time you use this solution, shake well to mix.

2. Squeeze the baking soda solution onto your dry scalp, then massage your scalp for several seconds.

3. Leave in for 1-3 minutes, and rinse completely.

4. In an old shampoo bottle (well-rinsed) or a squeeze bottle, mix 1 part Organic White Vinegar to 4 parts Water. You can add essential oils or herbs if you like - or add 1 cinnamon stick (which lasts through several bottles of mixture) and 1/2 t vanilla. This masks the vinegar smell, and leaves your hair smelling spicy and lovely.

5. Leave on hair for several seconds, then rinse.

I Want You...

Actually, I want your bottle caps!

Inspired by an ubercool cottage's kitchen floor, we're going to "tile" the inside of our window (that's not a sil, what's it called?) with bottle caps!

You may recall the painter's tape issue from a previous post...well, this seemed like a GREAT solution and carries on our theme of recycling things we have!

So...if you have any superfluous bottlecaps, or you'd care to join the cause and start getting bottled drinks...send me your email in a comment and I'll send you my addy!

Crafty Kitchen

The hub hung my herb shelf/curtain rod last night so it was time to figure out curtains

The kids and I went back to the original inspiration (Gutsav's Klimpt)

and remembered the mustard designs I drew on lil b's curtains when she was a wee one (we still have those curtains...they've since been camo'd and are now in Reed's room).

So, while in the kids' bathroom this morning I noticed a single sheer panel I had from a previous window incarnation and noticed it had stitched square spirals, which I thought was a nice twist on the swirls. It started out a white panel, so I used this morning's coffee grounds and soaked the panel to a a nice shade then traced the stitched spirals with french's yellow mustard.

I'll cut the panel in half and add some brushed aluminum grommets and they'll be the perfect length for the remaining 2/3 of the window and the wash out from the mustard swirls will mimic the mottled look in the original painting :)

And have I mentioned the cool new ceiling fan? it matches the shapes in my funky backsplash tin.

Stay tuned!

Sunshine for Breakfast

We're 99.9% there

I hope to have 100% by the end of the week but there are still some final pieces to acquire so I'd settle for the end of the month...which really gives me an additional weekend

unfortunately...the lesson learned today is "not all painter's tape is created equal" ughhhhh... for now I'm being lame and letting the curtains cover it but when I finish the soffit above the cabinets, I'll touch it up. I think I may decide to do something funky inside the window...maybe bottle caps or milk jug caps.

It's okay to be scared

It's okay to be scared

which is a good thing

because I am officially scared

I'm also faithful and trusting

but human so the tears almost fell

then I saw this

popping out from under our non blooming azaleas

I just finished paying all of our bills for the month of April

downgrading our services with some of our service providers

and still have to finish our federal and property taxes...but I don't have to do that today so i'm taking a breath

It's a lot to handle

this one income family thing

I'm not scared but I am

I'm constantly praying and my constant prayer has been strength and trust

in fact, that's the mantra I fell asleep to the night before my hub lost his job

I thought it was in reference to the dog drama

turns out it's probably for something more

I do trust...and I guess we're feeling pretty strong

and you know...it is a blessing to have been able to pay for everything and have left over

definitely could have been worse

it's not worth fretting about future financial burden (taxes, dog, etc) since we truly only have today and today is good

so today, my Spirit is bigger than my flesh but my flesh sure is trying...

He is my strength and my salvation whom have I to fear?

And in His secret place I'll hide and pray that I might hear a simple word.

Oh how I would have despaired if You had not come found me there

I can lean against Your throne and find my peace

Find my peace.

And when my enemies draw near I pray that they might find

that I'm protected and secure all tempers He will bind 

with a mighty Word

Oh how I would have despaired if You had not come found me there

I can lean against Your throne and find my peace

I can lean against Your throne and find

Lean against Your throne and find

Lean against Your throne and find my peace

~lyrics by Jennifer Knapp

Profffoffop

That's my new Deaf name

I visited my dad today and told him the news...I'll be an adjunct teacher at the community college starting next semester. 

I told him he could start referring to me as Professor Popoff

and that (see above) is what he came up with

heh heh

I love it

J'aime lire les blogs français

Yes I do!

I just started clicking the "next blog" tab and realized there are many more foreign bloggers than their are english bloggers...well at least that was my luck in my blog roulette

Oh how I love pouring over the french blogs

I still remember quite a bit from my college classes...not enough to make sense of an intricate blog posting but enought to hear the words in my head...what a fabulous sound

I think I want Rosetta Stone for French

I miss it

sigh

lyrics to a country song

lost my dog

lost my car

AC quit runnin

and I'm headed to the bar

Truck just stalled

Ex wife just called

it won't quit rainin

and I feel black-balled

my hub COULD be singing these lyrics today

but he's not...he's excited about the new venture in his life

me too

Adversity isn't always adverse!

Singing Crystal

We went to mini b's Regional Pop Warner Scholar banquet tonight

good food...Baaaad presentations. I swear the Boomers that put these together forget that KIDS are there and it's for the KIDS. 

She rocked her new hair style

the boys looked very handsome although several people frowned at their jeans

but that pales in comparison to the looks I got for my tats

I felt rather "pin up-esque" in my sundress with my tats all out and my betty boop lips :)

so 3/4 of the way through someone at our table started trying to make their glass sing ...a la Sandra Bullock in Miss Congeniality

We got the other folks at our table to try, then decided to calm down

then...riiiiiiiiiiiing, the little girl at the table behind us tried it

then....ooooooooooooooo....the girls at the table next to us tried it

we really wanted to get everyone going but we still have another banquet to go to next month and don't need to piss anyone off before Bry gets her National scholar award.

We talked about how proud we were of her tonight...

I think the reason I'm the MOST proud is because she will be honored as an All American First Team Scholar. There are only 25 other 5th grade girls across the nation that will receive that same honor...but lil b didn't do anything special

She was just lil b

we didn't know this scholarship was an option

we just filled out the paper work...her grades, her participation, her projects...

and now she's in the top 1% of all 5th grade Pop Warner cheerleaders in America

just for being lil b

that's pretty damn cool!

pics later

:)

new hair 2.1

it was mini me's turn today
BEFORE

AFTER

WITH OUR AWESOME STYLIST AMY

Patchouli Propagation Numero Tres

This time I'm including a picture of a test area I didn't think would work (which is why it wasn't in any other post)

A non-draining, ceramic pot located in full sun. I didn't think ANYTHING would last there...but it seems as though I have two good shoots taking hold

Mama is doing GREAT, full of new growth again


As are the cluster group and 2 of the peat pot minis (one might think only 2 is not that great of a harvest but remember, I was going to be happy if only ONE of my plants took especially if they produced a plant as hearty as mama!)





**side note, several of us believe the little peat pot success stories are due to a little Nicha energy being left over in her toy that stands guard :)

life saving potential

We went to pay our citation today for last month's dog incident
I prayed before hand...that financial situations would not become a burden and that Bear will be able to come back to us.
$500 cash handed over to the clerk of court and we'll go to visit Bear today

Just in front of the car in the parking lot was this branch filled with Usnea

This caught my attention for several reasons
I've been meaning to harvest some to create a tincture since it helps EVERYONE in the house when we struggle with strep or allergy related symptoms but I won't let hub or the kids just go pull it off the trees (even though it is plentiful in our yard) because I want the harvest to be pure...for the tree to be done with the Usnea and the Usnea to no longer have need for the tree...that way the Usnea be harvested with all of it's potential. Usnea has life saving potential.
Of course those words...taken out of context mean a lot
but today I'm taking them fully in the context of the sentence.
Usnea has life saving potential
and this branch was placed in front of my car to let me know my prayers had been answered and the Universe has everything in order for Bear and for our family.

Keep on reaching for higher ground

Weeks ago we got rid of our microwave and you know...no one is any worse off. I thought for sure it'd be a huge mutiny but with this one small change in our kitchen, seems as though the fruit and sandwiches are getting eaten more often instead of the microwaveable burritos and pizza rolls...it's a good thing.

We've also switched to unhomogenized milk ... we may go raw if we can find a good source but it's only sold for pet consumption in our state so we'll see.

My most recent switch has been our cleaning products both for our bodies and our home. I've stopped buying myself body wash (even though I used great, animal friendly organic products) because one less plastic bottle is still one less plastic bottle...not to mention this great honeysuckle soap is only $0.75 a bar which is MUCH less than my old body soap!



So onto higher ground.
I've been a clorox wipes girl forever
the kids swish and swipe their bathroom daily (yes I dream but it does get done a few times a week), there's a tub in our bathroom, a tub in the kitchen and one under the sink for just in case uses...
I started thinking about how many of these things we throw away a day, and they're not labeled as biodegradable so my conscience started to get to me.
Then...voila! Greenworks biodegradable wipes
honestly, that only made me feel half good...because the company still makes non-earth friendly products so who cares that I use their earth friendly ones...it's just twice as much plastic on the earth.

Last night the hub and I watched a commercial for a new eco-conscience, biodegradable cleaner by another famous brand name company and I mentioned that we really just need to create an eco-bucket with some vinegar, salt, lemon juice, baking powder and good old fashioned elbow grease. His first comment, "that would be better for our septic too, let's do it."
Woo hoo!


ingredients:
- white vinegar
- lemon juice
- baking soda
- salt
- water


glass & window cleaner:
- 2 cups water
- 3 tablespoons white vinegar
- 6 tablespoons lemon juice


scouring powder:
- equal parts of vinegar, salt, baking soda and water * it should be pastey


toilet-bowl cleaner:
- 1 cup white vinegar and 6 tablespoons baking soda. let stand for 30 minutes and scrub clean.


additional cleaning supplies:
- Murphy's Oil for our wood floors. it is a vegetable oil base.
- earth friendly laundry and dishwashing detergent (we've been using Seventh Generation)

Man and just imagine all the money we're going to save...it's the non-food items in the grocery basket that kill our budget every week...a gallon of vinegar is less than $1.50 and our neighbors grow lemons!

I have some great "recipes" for other clean cleaning projects but I dunno how to post a pdf so if you're interested, let me know and I'll email them

gluten free from the sea

Yum!
Hub had a good day at sea today!

insert pic here

I get new hair today
:)

update...I got new hair today
nothing fancy schmancy...just shaped it up while it grows
it can be flippy a'la lisa rinna
or not...when I left the salon it was sorta early 70's mod
but after a full day at work and school this is what you get

Happy Gluten Free St Patty's Day!

Whole foods had yummy fresh pork bangers on sale...of course to celebrate the little leprechaun, that inspired me to amend a recipe for bangers and mash (the hubs favorite irish pub food) for dinner tonight all organic and all YUM (Aimee would be proud!)
Okay so the pic might not look THAT great...but I don't really think bangers and mash is very photogenic.
Even got some gluten free beer...and it's pretty tasty!

Back to Basics...Yoga Basics

Okay so it's time to consider how my physical ailments are tied to deeper mental or emotional issues


couldn't hurt...could only help
My hub made a great observation this morning
the soreness that has settled in from yesterday's practice is exactly where I want it to be (if I were to want soreness) my chest, my triceps, the tops of my shoulders my hamstrings and my outer quads (yay I'm ready for butterfly to go away!)
I'm ready for my practice again
I'm ready for it to be an integral part of my life again
I'm sad that I let it get away from me
but I'll let that sadness go with this morning's sun salutations

MMMMM Monday

Today has been glorious
Started with a yoga class at CPY...the entire studio is "power yoga" so even this yoga basics class kicked my butt (forget the fact that I haven't truly practiced in a year). My intention was some me time on my mat...and I got that, and some drops of sweat to boot.

Then off to Whole Foods to shop for groceries
I love shopping when there is no agenda and I can just walk around basking in the smells and colors around me. Unfortunately this WF is in a snooty part of town so some folks aren't as fellow-shopper conscientious as they could be, but I was in no hurry so I patiently waited and smiled at the butcher while he tried to apologize with his eyebrows.

I bought a new book on healing herbs...seems even the hub is ready to move away from pharmacology and into farmacology so I'm dusting off my literature and saving glass jars and bottles...we move into tinctures over the next few weeks...especially while the usnea is everywhere!

Took my time with this week's menu and got some great fish from the fish market...i think we'll do "breaded" cod and shrimp tonight. (I stumbled across some rice flower in the mom and pop mexican store down the street and tried it out on the family last week, they all LOVED it and it made for a delicious coating that wasn't too "heavy")
Tomorrow...St Patty's day, we'll have Bangers and Mash (I love that my blackberry gets great internet reception! Bangers were on sale today and I had a recipe on my screen in no time) I took my time in the beer aisle too...what is st patty's day without some beer... bought 2 different brands of gluten-free beer...the hub and I have decided we'd try some GF stuff together...that way if he likes it, we don't have to be doubling up on the groceries, save space AND money.

Last but not least I had a luscious lunch


These crackers are amazing (I bought the herb variety) and have definitely made me "brave" enough to try making my own on low heat in the oven (I don't have a food dehydrator) I topped them with a shmear of natural liverwurst and raw cheese and a touch of mustard for kick
then I just kicked back and let myself feel each chew
It's amazing how satisfied I am with the little things when the little things are whole.

I need more water...and to stretch a bit
this morning's class is gonna leave me sore!!!

CPY tmw 9

woo hoo
back to a regularly scheduled yoga class

The First Garden

http://www.eattheview.org/petition

Sign the White House Victory Garden Petition!

This Lawn is Your Lawn from roger doiron on Vimeo.

Pumello

Yum!

Our most recent farmer's market find

looks like a VERY LARGE (they can be up to 9lbs each) grapefruit

but tastes NOTHING like it...very sweet, not as citrus-y as an orange

YUM! 

and some local orange blossom raw honey...it's that time of year! Ahhhchooo!

I thought this was something we'd stick in the "collective unconscious" file...

patchouli part deux

so it's been a few days and I've checked on my plants

lots of the "older growth"

 in my cluster pot has wilted...but that was supposed to happen I guess to protect the new growth?

the stems seem REALLY hearty and the new growth is "perky" yeah, I said it.

the individual peat pots...I don't think they're doing so great but my patchouli mentor tells me not to fret they're doing fine and to remember the live to die ratio on these things isn't all that

one (out of the bunch) looks really good

and several of them seem to have somewhat "rooted" into their soil. Heck with the way mama grew, if I get one new plant out of each propagation

 I'll be happy...

Speaking of Mama...

she's sprouted a bunch of lil ones

so far so good...

and there are root trails forming in the water jar...but they're still too small to clearly catch with my camera so you'll just have to wait for those :)

changing my template

seems to be a recurring theme

changed the kitchen

changed the garden

changed the glasses

changed my wardrobe

seems only fitting to change my blog

Patchouli Propagation Project

Well, if you've followed my blog you know I've been nurturing a patchouli plant from a cutting for a while now. Pictures of our front door show how massive the plant has gotten...I just LOVE it and simply brushing by it in the morning puts a nice fresh scent (not heavy like commercial oils) into the air.

Well...

it's time to either move it into yet a larger pot, or put it in the ground

before I do either, I had to prune it back (poor thing looks like it got it's annual crew cut before going back to school) but it does have TONS of new growth so it should fill out nicely.

The woman who gave me the cutting at a local farmers' market told me they are quite hard to grow, but once they do they're very hardy...I got lucky...all of hers died save one.

So, since I had all these great cuttings after the "hair cut," I decided to try propagating my patchouli. I've tried several different scenarios hopefully some of them take!

We have the root hormone in water method

the cluster method

and individual cuttings in peat pots

even if none of these work, I still have my original plant

and with the leftover leaves...i'm going to make a smudge stick

mmmmm  can't wait for that to be ready!

one less

if you look closely at our kitchen re-do, you'll see there's no microwave

ours died about 2 weeks ago...around the same time i was doing some research on eating to help keep my EBV under control...one of the topics was throwing away your microwave

so the hub and i decided, no better time than the present

it could all be conspiracy theory

but then again, maybe not

Reveal Day!

I've decided to get technical...technically, the kitchen is done! The "breakfast nook" will need another day for the final coat of paint and the herb shelf in the window...

Kitchen re-do day 6

my first "doh!"

the screws for the new drawer pulls are too short

the screws from the OLD drawer pulls were attached to said pulls and sold at this morning's garage sale

DOH!

another trip to Lowes...

kitchen re-do day 5

hanging cabinet doors

not typically a one-person-job

but this one person did it!

kitchen re-do day 4

23 doors

8 drawers 

prime

wait 30 minutes

prime

wait 60 minutes

color

wait 4 hours

color

good thing i don't have to be up early tomorrow!

kitchen re-do day 3

inspiration

Kitchen re-do day 2

A quart of red

A container of blue

and a stick of butter

now if you get THAT reference, you'll have to let me know!

Kitchen re-do day 1

My FAVORITE piece of the new look!

Please Don't Divorce My Friends

"Fidelity": Don't Divorce... from Courage Campaign on Vimeo.

Ask and you shall receive

dang...

i'm a firm believer in asking for wisdom and guidance

but i'm also analytical and a stubborn problem solver

so for years i've been analyzing my body issues...without really asking for guidance

i've asked for relief to my suffering...but never really an ANSWER

well, not from the Spirit anyway...I've asked Doctors

I asked God for a doctor...and I was led to a GREAT D.O. who has been encouraging and thorough...but has only managed to eliminate possibilities (which is good, but not great...it's still frustrating NOT knowing what's wrong)

So I FINALLY asked (ask and you will receive)

and I heard "gluten"

so I asked again...because I'm stubborn

and again I heard "gluten"

I said "this can't be the answer that has to be another wild trip down self-diagnosis road"

Then...totally out of character I inhaled food with that mystery ingredient and BOY did my body respond (I'd been "fake carb" free for about a month and feeling phenomenal...but that also coincided with my AD prescription and Anti Viral for EBV so I attributed the improvement to better living through chemistry)

I was slammed so hard against the wall it felt like I NEVER began a course of treatment

visited my D.O. and mentioned my Spiritual prodding...and she agreed

we're going through the testing phase to confirm the suspicions

but something is settling right in my soul like I've never experienced with any other diagnosis

I think we've finally found it

ahhh

The Beatles meet the Mahna Mahnas

...or Cage Free meets the Popoffs

There's an emptiness in our space today... Aimee, Jeff, Nichola and Quinn completed their RV repairs and are no longer "fenced in" our yard.

I keep singing the Mahna Mahna song...mixed with the chorus from "All you need is Love"

so it's like...

All you need is love ... Mahna Mahna Mahna

anyway...now that I've firmly planted that earworm in your brain...enjoy some of the pics of the Crystalline Rainbow that are our kids :)

modern day tea leaves

"Inspiring others toward happiness brings you happiness"

This was the quote on the tab of my yogi tea bag this evening and it is so true.

Page 52

So one of my goals for 2009 is to have my work published in a major publication...I meant my writing

I guess I should've been a bit more specific when writing my list.

But...imagine my surprise when my tattoo artist tells me my pic is in some images from a convention the hub and I attended last year. He neglected to say the images were also published in the March '09 issue of Tattoo Magazine...but I figured that out, and of course bought a copy!

My "regular" cashier at the local bookstore said, "Wow, don't think I've ever seen you buy one of these!" To which I promptly replied..."Well this is the first one I've been in!"

So okay...my name isn't anywhere, can't even really see my art...

But more importantly, I told the universe I was going to be published this year and it listened...I need to use the power of my words more often!