Saturday, February 12, 2011

I think I have a problem

Ok time for a confession..... ready here it goes....

I am not perfect- shocker I know! I actually am feeling like a total slacker these days. Which is odd because the house is only a little messy- think lived in, with 3 kids. I have been tweaking our diet to include much more organic produce, and I have even gotten into raw milk. But I feel like I am hanging on by a thread.

I have made, eaten and survived 2 lacto- fermented foods....ie sauerkraut, and kombucha. And both were a ton of fun to make and tasted fantastic! With the raw milk I have learned how to make yogurt, and it too is fantastic. Even the kids like it! I have also tackled green smoothies, which I am currently looking for a support group for because I would live on them if I could.... which I think I could. Laundry detergent is green and 100% homemade, and hand soap well I have a gallon so it will last until at least mid-summer. And I figure mid-summer because gardening season will start eventually- so I've heard. But as I look outside I do not really believe this snow will ever go away!

So I have gotten those thing off my life to do list what now? Where do I go from here? This is the problem that I think I have. It is the middle of winter, and I don't know what to do. I can day dream about my garden, and how organic I want it to be. I can also sit with my cup of organic tea and think of the memories of the farmers market. Both of which depress me. I am out of inspiration....how do I green a family when all I see is white....as in snow...lots and lots of snow.

Ok I think I will make a list of things I can do...
1. There are ALWAYS diapers that need to be washed, seeing as cloth diapers are always getting dirty.
2. I can sew some more slings, seeing as I have a craft fair coming up and my Etsy store is kinda sparse.
3. I can get baking.
4. I can figure out how to garden by the square foot, and in raised beds.
5. I will start to plan out how to home school my children next year.
6. I will start to plan on how to become a doula.

Those are good places to start. What are your ideas? Do you have an adventure you are not brave enough to try and would like to see me be the guinea pig for?

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Super Bowl Sunday =?

Ok it is super bowl Sunday, and in our house that mean at best we are going to eat junk food, and possibly watch some of the commercials. I was blessed enough to marry a man that could care less about sports, so much so, that a week ago he couldn't have told you who was in the Super bowl.

That being said it is a quiet day here.... well as quiet as a house with 3 kids, 1 dog 2 cats and assorted other critters can be. So While hubby is outside unburing us form the snow and ice we got last night I am sitting in here hiding.

From what you ask? Well many things... one bing the umpteen loads of laundry that either need to be washed, dried or folded....or all of the above. I am hiding from the fact I have no clue what is going to be for dinner....we have a ham ready to go, but I am not really feeling it. But most of all I am hiding from bottling the first batch of Kombucha I made.

Yup I am skeered of it! First it means I have to go through the bags of bottles and cans I have to find enough to wash and fill with the kombucha. Then I have to find storage for said kombucha. And then I have to drink it all. And there is a lot... like a gallons worth. What if it blows up? What if it tastes bad? What if it tastes good but kills me?! OMG the possibilities. What I should do is go fish the mother out, see if she had babies and then go from there. Try a glass, and if it is worth keeping, bottle it up and have a bottle everyday or so. And I should start a new batch....because if it is good....well then it will be another 3 weeks till this next batch will be ready.

Oh how I wish I had been a drinker in my college years, at least then I would have a funnel to help make this bottling part easier. Ok going to snap some pictures of my stuff and the process of bottling it  up. And maybe get that laundry going just in case it is my last load ever.... you know in case the kombucha kills me. At least my kids will have clean undies for school this week!

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Don't know if this is a quickie or a nooner?

Either way I got you reading! I really only have a few precious moments left until my charges wake up from their morning naps...that are quickly turning into afternoon naps.

So I figured out that I never posted the recipe for the 12 gallons of hand soap I made ( ok it was more like 1 gallon). So here it is!

1 bar of soap of your choice- I had Ivory on hand for my detergents.
3-4 cups boiling water.
Essential oils (optional)
Honey (optional)

grated soap, careful not to add too much knuckles, and then pour the boiling water over the soap flakes and stir until mixed. At this time add EE oils or honey or what ever it is you like in your hand soap. For mine I added 2 Tbs honey and about 6 drops of sweet orange oil. I mixed and mixed and mixed some more. I added water until it got to the right thickness for me and then I let it sit out overnight and poof it was like jello. SO I re-heated it added more water and then let it cool. At that point I was good to go to bottle it up. I filled my pumps and then filled an entire empty Downy container to the top. I am still on my first pump bottle in the kitchen and it works great, other than lacking a lather. Besides who needs lather? It is just full of air anyway!

Ok so this turned out to be a nooner. Seeing as I am done and it is barely past noon!