Life and Loves

astile soap and vinegar. What!?

I mentioned earlier that I was gonna try the “no poo” method and stop shampooing my hair with such harsh chemicals. I ran out of regular shampoo and had a choice. I could use the castile or I could use Jason’s 2-in-1 Pert *gag*. I opted to use the castile. I purchased a mini size to try it out in Lavender. I don’t wash my hair very often, about once every 3 days or so, and I concentrate on cleaning my scalp the most. I have longer hair that gets tangled easily and did I mention I am really tender headed? I went ahead with it anyway.

Castile soap is mild and organic and way in the green for the Skin Deep test. Dr. Bronner’s is all I know of at this point. I have been using it for about two weeks now. My hair is certainly feeling different and kinda freakin’ out. I know it’s clean, but I can’t say I love it. Also, to help with the tangles I have been using apple cider vinegar, which really works, but smells like…err…vinegar. XoP I discovered that Giovanni is a brand that is in the green and at a level I can deal with, so I decided to use their conditioner. I also looked up a recipe for making my own shampoo and tweaked it a bit. It’s mostly water, baking soda and the lavender castile soap. I’m toning it down, knowing that the mixture will do the job. I’m thinking pure castile on my scalp is a little overboard and not to mention expensive, which is counterproductive.

Today, I also used it on my floors. I used vinegar and water with a few drops of castile and it worked beautifully. I feel so good about cleaning the house when I know it isn’t hurting us in any way. What I’m learning about myself through this whole learning process is that I care about my and my family’s body. I care about the earth and taking care of what little I have control over. It’s a hard process to not just go for the easy convenient products that also happen to be cheap, especially when you are on a budget, but I’m learning to make smart choices a little at a time. It helps to have a supportive, yet realistic husband and a friend in the same boat. I have to be able to stand firm in what I believe in to show my Hamburger Helper man that their are better choices we could be making for our bodies and our environment. I’m not too gung-ho just yet, though- baby steps.

It’s hard to start a little at a time because I’m a “go big or go home” kinda girl, but I’m learning that it doesn’t always have to be that way. Some would call me impulsive. ;o) I happen to like that about me. What I’m really into right now is veggies. I’m trying to find fresh local and hopefully organic vegetables without paying an arm and a leg. That’s difficult here in Florida, unless I want to live off of oranges and strawberries. I’ve discovered a farm up on the Northside and I’m trying to weigh which is more important, local or organic? I can get organic produce from Venezuela which was probably nutritious a week ago or produce from the same state with lots of nutrients (and taste), that has used pesticides. I can also grow my own, but I’m just not there yet. As far as meat is concerned, I’m gonna have to buy in bulk and not from the grocery store in order to go organic. For one, because it is too expensive at the grocery store and two because it’s the worst cuts of meat. That decision will come later. What I really need is a working oven! I’m threatening to stop cooking until Jason fixes it. Hey, I could eat Beef’s five nights a week. ;o)

eing home more often is great. It is also a little bit difficult. I get up, go to school, come home and pick up Noah from school. We are home from 3pm on. Now this may not seem like a big deal, but that’s three extra hours. I’m used to picking the kids up at 530pm making dinner and doing the bedtime routine. Now it’s just Noah and I left to our own devices.

Noah actually will entertain himself really well. He loves to explore the woods by our house and pester the chickens. He likes to draw and color and paint. The problem is the dreaded TV. He usually has a snack when he gets home and we’ll automatically turn on the TV for a few minutes. Luckily he goes straight for the history channel; he did not get that from me. One day last week that’s all he did. He watched TV while I was doing homework or blogging or something. ;o) I turned it off and he flipped. This is why we do not watch TV.

It’s not because I’m a crazy mom thinking that TV will rot your brain, it’s because it turns the kids (and myself) into brats. Sluggish, whiny brats. I believe that we are put on this earth to be productive. We should be using our brains to make things or learn things or to maintain our household. When the kids have watched TV, they go through immediate withdrawals. It’s not pretty and it’s very loud. Same with the Wii, which is why Noah only gets to play the Wii on the weekends and we are usually gone for most it. Boundaries. :o)

I struggle myself. I wouldn’t say I’m bored because I have lots to do, but the lure of TV is so strong! There’s all of these fabulous shows about landscaping and renovating! I even like that silly Mtv show 16 and pregnant! lol Today as I was eating lunch at 4pm, I turned it on and got sucked in and had to consciously turn it off. I walked away and started another load of laundry and vacuumed and cleaned the bathroom. I feel so much better. After watching TV, I feel like crap. Tonight I told the kids NO. No TV, no movies, find something else to do. They’ve heard this before, so they only whined a little. It’s the watching and then not watching that provokes them, but if they don’t watch anything, they are so content. Tonight they played outside with bubbles, they played play-doh and with art supplies. It was great.

These are the days I look back on and am glad that I get the opportunity to be home more.

Just realized that I never posted pics of the honeymoon! Will remedy that…now! Enjoy!

very semester is the same. I start out excited, ready to tackle my new classes, but by midway I am so ready for it to be over with. Then, when I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, I get motivated again and finish up the semester with good grades and a sigh of relief. That’s where I am now. I see the end. I am motivated (maybe even a little scared that I won’t get it all done) and ready for it to be over. I have about two weeks to go!

I will not be taking Summer classes this year. Hopefully I will be working and not bored out of my mind with the kids gone. I’m glad to see my classes end, but I love learning and know I will be excited to start the Fall semester and finish my degree.

Jason and I have been talking about when to start having babies. It’s a really big decision even though we already have Noah and Nora. The few people I have talked to (people with a lot of life experience) say that I shouldn’t wait for the “perfect” time to have kids. I can tell you that from my experience too. Life is out of our control and the perfect time could turn into the worst time within a month of being pregnant. There are things that I would like… I would like to be pregnant during the winter months. I would like to have the kids be close in age. I would like to be done having kids and finish my B.A. degree before starting my career. There is one major thing that I would also like… I would like for Jason’s business to be a little more established. Once we are pregnant, not only does life get way more expensive, but you can’t be as sacrificial as you once were. I don’t want our family to become a burden that breaks the cart if you know what I mean.

I think I may be a little traumatized from my last two pregnancies. I loved being pregnant, but Patrick and I lived with people, moved to Pennsylvania, lived with more people, couldn’t afford anything, lived with more people and even though I know that things will be more stable with Jason, I don’t want this next pregnancy to be a huge upheaval to our lives. I think that’s what I’m afraid of. As much as I talk about it being “no big thing”, deep down I know that babies are life changing; every time. It is supposed to be life changing in a good way though. We haven’t made any decisions yet, but I am excited to start this new chapter in our lives. Not so excited about pushing out a 10 pound baby, but I’ll think about that at another time. :o)

he bathroom is almost done. I see a lot of cleaning in my future. There is dirt and dust on everything, but the floors look nice! This afternoon Jason, Nora, Noah and I stopped at Lowe’s to pick out paint. We have decided to paint the kids bathroom yellow. I am excited because I have always wanted a yellow room! After bringing some paint samples home, I am leaning towards a color aptly named “butter”. I do love butter. :o) It’s funny bringing the swatches home. They look totally different under different lighting. I liked the color “butterfly bush” at the store, but once I brought it into the bathroom I realized it was too harsh. I got some good ideas for Noah’s room too. For our bathroom, I am thinking about a deep gray color. I picked up a color sample at HD and put it on one of the cabinets and I really like it. Slowly, but surely the room is coming together. Jason is almost done with the pipes and his dad and I got a bit of molding to go in front of the shower. All that’s left is to put the toilet back in place. Oh, and the cleanup. Sigh.

irst on the list is the bathroom. We need a whole new shower, new flooring and we wanted to enlarge our closet. Jason’s dad came down (yay!) from NC to do most of the work. He totally rocks.

Jason and I picked out the tub and walls along with a new fixture and as soon as Charley got here he started tearing out the old shower. Thankfully. we have a second bathroom which we have been sharing with the kids for a few days now. Little by little the bedroom is getting dirtier and dirtier while the bathroom is getting better and better. I can’t wait to use our new shower!

One of my favorite things to do is to peruse Lowe’s and HD. We have been there a few times over the past few days. I would love to someday refurbish a house. I know Jason wants to build, but I really enjoy improving things. Charley and I just got back from HD with the new flooring, which we had to go to the North side of town to get, and are almost ready to lay it down. Jason and I painted the bathroom about a year ago, but since we moved the closet it’s going to need to be painted again.

I also have plans to paint the kids bathroom. The walls have a beach theme (gag) and I recently found monster-themed accessories. I plan to paint a tree to complete Nora’s room, but I can’t decide yet what I’m gonna do for Noah. He doesn’t really love anything in particular and he isn’t a baby anymore. When I ask him what he would like to do he shows me about 5 different colors and asks for two or three different themes that do not go together at all. I also need to think about something that will be easy to paint over in case we sell this place. I’d love to do a neutral color and then put the peel and stick shapes, but what I have been able to find has been too girly or childish. I’m sure I will think of something.

Right now I am listening to planes fly over head every few minutes…oh Sun ‘n Fun.

We’ve run into a leaky pipe problem and Jason had to cut a big hole in a perfectly fine wall. Meanwhile I’ve decided to cook chili for dinner even though it is not even remotely cold outside. What I would love to do is take a nap or play some Mario. :o) What I need to do is Accounting homework. As they say, variety is the spice of life!

fter two days of continuously trying to register online, I finally got through today. I am set up for 14 credit hours this Fall which will complete my degree. Thank God.

In Business Communications we are learning about resumes and letters of application. The jobs selection for me is dismal. I will certainly obtain a summer job, but who knows after that because of my limited selection of classes. By the end of the year, I will have a general education degree in mass Communications and will most likely end up being a receptionist somewhere and wanting to claw my eyes out daily from boredom. I will continue on with my education and get my B.A. in Mass Comm, but will that be enough? I think not. Although I plan to raise some babies in the meantime, I think some intentional thought and writing will be needed in order to get a job in that field. Sigh. At this point I can only see the big picture and time will reveal the details of the specific area of Mass Comm I hope to work in and I feel like my “I just want to write” mantra will wear a bit thin come baby number four. Sorry for the pessimism…

I have been wondering about this economic downturn and the resulting job situation. It is obviously very difficult financially for business owners who have been in business awhile (even those household names like Starbucks and Gap who have closed a few stores already), but I wonder about those who are looking for a specific type of work and not finding it. How many of those individuals think to themselves, what if I started my own business? This crazy time of infinite possibilities for work schedules, with people working in different offices, cities, or countries all for the same business may give people deciding to start their own business infinite ways to do just that. I marvel at the fact that you don’t even have to own a physical piece of hardware anymore to have your own server. You don’t have to have a phone line to have a “landline” and you definitely don’t have to have an office to have your own business. While I don’t exactly enjoy this time of survival, I think that good things are coming and I’m not just talking about things turning around for the economy. A change in perception, a paradigm shift if you will, is happening in this country and I for one am learning to like it.

After the wedding seems to be a transition time of getting back to reality. The house, the kids and some school work was ignored those last few weeks during crunch time and now they are literally glaring at me. Jason and I are trying very hard to get back into a routine of keeping the house and yard at least maintained if not organized. The kids are remembering that we are the parents (not by choice). School is the same and I will hopefully be done in December. I will register for Fall in about a week and a half. Also, I am looking for a job. One that will give me flexibility because of the kids and school in the fall. A regular 8-5pm will be difficult.

I feel like those are the facts. They get you updated with where we are at as a family.

I am dealing with a few personal issues as well. I have a few bad habits I would like to change and a few changes to my lifestyle too. I have been doing a lot of research lately about the foods we eat and she products we use in our home. I usually take those things for granted (which I think is a lot easier to do), but I am now educating myself a little more. I have been reading a book entitled What to Eat by Marion Nestle. It goes step by step through each food and describes the process, politics and labeling of them. It is very neutral, neither for or against anything in particular which I enjoy. I don’t necessarily want to be convinced of anything.

I already use “free and clear” and Seventh Generation products. What brought them to my attention was Nora’s sensitivity to fragrances and additives when she was a baby. I have since then decided that I would rather clean with products that won’t kill my children if digested. I normally choose products like shampoo and conditioner that are “free and clear” or at least partially natural if not organic, without fragrances or other known harsh chemicals. It is difficult to pay double for something that most likely doesn’t work as well just because it is supposedly “better for you”. That’s why I am doing research. If I am going to choose to spend more, then there has to be a good solid reason for it that I can stand behind. If I want to spend less or make wise choices then I have to do even more research!

I wouldn’t consider myself an extremist, but I do admire certain people’s passion. I happen to be running out of shampoo and conditioner and am looking at my options and alternatives. There is a “no-poo” method and also a “make your own” method. Castile soap seems to be the main ingredient in everything for its many uses. I’m armed with both at the moment and we will see what happens. I have already stopped washing my hair as often, so hopefully it is an easy transition. Although I will be the first to say that I am first and foremost a happy consumer of all things convenient, I want to make some different choices. I’m trying to listen to myself in that way and not let outside influences decide for me. One thing that I noticed in New York was the madness. Everyone was everywhere all the time. Possibly in your apartment or hotel room you could find peace, but not once you walked out your front door. And sometimes the noise barged in there too. And they wore ugly shoes.

For those of you on FB the dj from our wedding posted a link to his blog and also a video on my profile page. If not, you can see it here:

Blog
Video

Here is one of my favorite pics that he captured:

We arrived late in the evening. An hour later than we were supposed to and it had been a long day. We had been planning our honeymoon trip for months, so to actually be there in the city was awe inspiring to say the least. Once we landed, we took a shuttle that got us a few blocks closer to our hotel.

At first, the city looked to me like Tampa. It was dark and dirty with large buildings in the distance. I would later figure out that we were in Queens. The closer to Manhattan we got the brighter the lights and more impressed I became! We got let out at Grand Central (a beautiful building) and trekked the few blocks to our hotel, with luggage rolling behind us. Our hotel turned out to be very nice and quite accidentally in the perfect location for our trip. The main Subway, the no. 6, was right near the doors to our hotel. We would get very acquainted with the No. 6.

We settled in and grabbed dinner at a known place, California Pizza Kitchen. We were starving and it was delicious!

The next morning we grabbed breakfast and planned our trip. We learned that it would be nasty weather for the next few days, but we didn’t care-we were in NYC!! We first checked out Grand Central Station and Times Square. I rather liked Times Square, I thought I wouldn’t, but it is so big with all kinds of shops which reminded me a little of Downtown Disney. The Naked Cowboy was nowhere to be seen. I assume it was a bit too chilly for him!

We then took a subway to the Museum of Natural History. This was located in a different part of the city which was very beautiful. At the museum, we got to see huge dinosaur bones and explore different cultures and beliefs. It was very interesting and very TIRING! Plus, it was the weekend and there were families everywhere. I got to hear a lot of different languages that day. We found a great little restaurant for dinner where I had the best Sangria ever. It was called Spring Sangria , special to the restaurant, that I wish I remembered! We sat by the windows and watched the people walk by. Our waitress reminded me of the friend on How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. I would have mentioned this to her, but I found that the servers in this town are all business!

The next day was our only day to go to the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) because it would be closed the next day and then we would be leaving. We got there and omg, there were blocks of people standing in line to get in and it was already crowded inside!! We decided to skip it (I was so sad!) and head to Soho instead. I read a neat blog and wanted to visit the yarn shop where all of the ideas come from. Soho is also very different from Times Square. It has a Portland feel to it that made me miss my friend. I got some beautiful yarn and asked for a good place to eat lunch. They pointed us across the street to a place called Local. It was so great. It had a variety of organically and locally grown produce and very interesting sandwiches. One of my favorite places so far and it was so tiny! I think it sat six at the most and the menu was written strategically on the wall in chalk. :o) Loved it! It rained all day, but that didn’t stop me from taking pictures.

On Tuesday, we had hoped that the rain would stop, but it turned out to be the worst day! It was raining hard for most of the day, so much that we had to break down and buy an umbrella! Our plan was to go see Lady Liberty, and we did, but only from afar. I had done something to my knee the previous day and could barely get up the Subway stairs! It was a yuck day. Had it been sunny or at least not raining we might have taken the ferry to liberty Island, but instead we took a few pics and headed back. I did some research and found that the Metropolitan Museum of Art was open and we decided to head over there and take a peek. It was our last day and we maybe had two hours to see everything. A lady stopped us once we got close to the museum to point us in the right direction. She also gave us some lovely advice about the pricing at the museum. It is a recommended price, which means you could give them a quarter if you’d like and they still have to let you in. We did see a few people who did this… The suggested price is $20 a person! We didn’t give them a quarter, but we didn’t give them $40 either. Like I said, we only had two hours until closing.

Wow. That’s all I can say really about the museum. I am glad we decided to go and I am also glad that we didn’t make it in to MoMA. The Met was beautiful and the exhibits incredible. There was so much to see that you could spend DAYS wandering. They had period scenes of living rooms and such in the 1870’s and earlier. The artwork was unbelievable and even though I didn’t get to see a Monet or Picasso, I was mesmerized. I enjoyed it very much even though the museum workers were so RUDE! Seriously!

We got up Wednesday morning and got ready to leave. I was exhausted and really missed the kids. Again we made our way down the streets and Subways to the shuttle that would take us to the airport. With only a few hiccups, we made it (with only 15 minutes to spare before takeoff). I can safely say that my husband and I thoroughly enjoyed our honeymoon. ;o)