Saturday, July 31, 2010

Far, far away...

Prince Edward Island, I am in love...


I've heard people say that once you've gone, you always want to go back. Having been the person that has said that I will never visit the same place twice... ummm, correction, I will return... someday. And perhaps even for a very, very extended period of time... say, maybe, retirement???


When we arrived... we wondered what we were getting ourselves into... our driveway, and I use the term loosely, was nothing more than a grass pathway that wound between blossoming potato fields... but to our wide-eyed amazement, lead us to our little log cabin above the ocean...


perched upon a beautiful red cliff about 20-30 feet above the beach where the tide would come in and out everyday... the rickety stair descending to the red rock and sand just added to the quaint casualness that we would enjoy the rest of our stay...


from potato fields that stretched for miles, to clam-digging...


to taking in the beauty of historical homes and streets, to counting jellyfish, to drives down red dirt roads... we enjoyed... every. single. second.


with it's friendly faces, island festivities, and breathtaking views...



the allure was so much that we vowed to return to visit the shores that we had the misfortune of missing, and everything in between...


My three little monkeys were so wonderful on our loooooong journey; both there and back. My husband and I were so impressed that there were very few "are-we-there-yets"... I don't quite understand it... one of my boys has been known, on occasion (ah, several occasions... ok, maybe daily), to ask when we will be getting home before we've even had the chance to leave our driveway... I can only boil it down to them being so excited about visiting somewhere new, far-far away...


We created fantastic memories that we'll carry for a lifetime... we spent time laughing, exploring, hiking, swimming, digging, walking, discovering, searching... together...


I loved it...


and I love my family... so very much...


Have a fantastic day ;)

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

The ups and downs of life...

Happy, happy vacation filled with new discoveries and roads untraveled. Prince Edward Island will hold a special place in my heart always, and has become my new home away from home. I'll be sharing more about this fantastic place soon, but for now...

You just never know what will happen next. Life is like that. Unpredictability can be a wondrous thing... but, it can also be a completely dreadful thing. So, it is through tears and damaged hopes that I bring more bad news... my dear friend Becky has just recently found out that her cancer has spread to her lungs... and that her own Mother has found out that she too has breast cancer... and that her sister had a scare with this disease as well... What else can happen to this family??? How much more can one person take before all hope is lost???

Never give up. Never give up. Never give up.

There's so much to fight for, so many people to fight for... Never give up.

Becky, I am with you, at your side... let's kick cancer's cowardly ass... together... family, friends, strangers... we'll all do it... together.

Never give up.
Always hope.

xo ;)

Monday, July 12, 2010

3 more sleeps...

Three more sleeps 'til vacation!

Three more sleeps 'til we leave for our 2-1/2 day, 20 hour journey to our little island cottage paradise!

Three more sleeps 'til we load up the family bus and trailer with everything but the kitchen sink!

Three more sleeps 'til we're tv/computer/telephone-free (for the most part)!

Three more sleeps 'til we're clam-digging, crab-chasing and sea star-gazing!

Three more sleeps 'til 100% total family time!

Our house is bursting at the seams with excitement! Deep sea fishing, seal watching, general store shopping, and visiting places you read about when you were a little girl (ok... so I'm the only one excited about the visiting part)... A vacation that promises to be nothing short of amazing, educational, relaxing, or any other adjective you can think of... and I get to spend it with my beautiful husband and our three little monkeys... what could be more perfect?

Three more sleeps 'til we leave for Prince Edward Island... I'll see you when we get back... I'll take lots of pictures...


Have a fantastic two weeks... ;)

Monday, July 5, 2010

Back to basics...


So, recently, I have been reading up on stuff... lots of stuff... sunscreens vs. sunblocks... nasty chemicals that are housed in most of our beauty care products... better-for-the-planet household products... the list goes on and on and on...

What I've come away with is this: I need to get back to basics... a return to the age when mass-produced, chemically formulated, convenience products never really existed and what people used were products that were natural and pure and for the most part, homemade... That being said, it is widely known that many natural products, natural additives and natural preservatives do not have the research behind them supporting their safeness or effectiveness for human use or consumption... A catch 22 for certain...

Anyway, I personally like the idea of using products that have more naturally occurring ingredients than those that are synthetically engineered...

So here are a few things that my family has been using:

White Vinegar -
By mixing 1/2 cup vinegar and 2 cups water you'll have a very effective glass and hard surface cleaner, mix it in a trigger spray bottle and add 12-15 drops of essential oil of your choice to make it a little more pleasant smelling...

Due to its acetic nature, vinegar has been used by some as an effective green weed killer, it has been labelled as a green because it has been shown not to be absorbed into the roots of plants...

Vinegar can also be used as a rinse agent in your dishwasher or as a fabric softener in your washing machine...

Borax and Washing Soda -
I have been using borax for a very long time now and find it a very effective additive to my laundry detergent... more recently, I have been using washing soda as well, the two paired with my store bought detergent have increased my soaps effectiveness, I also find that I use much less soap... my next laundry project is making a batch of laundry detergent, I will update you soon about that one...

Borax mixed with jam left on a plate indoors or outdoors can be effective at killing ant colonies... be sure to keep out of reach of children...

Baking Soda -
Mix 1 part dish soap with 2 parts baking soda, add a little water if needed to make a paste consistency... use the paste as a low abrasive to clean sinks, taps, ovens, pots... whatever you would use an abrasive cleaner on... tip: if using to clean your oven or anything with thick baked on or greasy grimy surfaces, apply the paste and let it sit for 10-30 minutes to loosen grime better...

Baking soda added to a load of laundry with your detergent will act as a booster and also freshen your clothes...

Add ground cloves to baking soda and sprinkle on your carpets as a carpet deodorizer, let sit for a bit then vacuum, will also freshen your vacuum cleaner...

Baking soda in your bath will leave your skin soft and smooth...

Hydrogen Peroxide -
My friend Sherry sent me an e-mail not long ago about the uses of peroxide in the home... what I came away with was an inexpensive and extremely effective toilet cleaning solution... Once a month, I disassemble our toilet seats and put each of them and their hardware in a sink of hot water and about a 1/4 cup of peroxide, then let them soak while I clean the rest of the toilets with full concentrate peroxide and an old rag... The rest of the month I use my vinegar and water solution to do my daily bathroom cleaning... with two young boys, bathroom cleaning is a daily chore...

Natural Body Soap -
I have had many skin sensitivities my whole life, harsh perfumes and sun exposure often cause my skin to break out in rash and dermatitis... For years, I have used oil free face and body lotions and Dove bar soap for my face and body... body washes and my skin just do not get along... more recently, I gave up the Dove bar on my body, for a natural tea tree oil soap. It's for body and hair; my skin has been less itchy and any dermatitis that I had is drying out and disappearing. I've tried it on my hair with somewhat favourable results; however, I still prefer the shine that commercial shampoos and conditioners give...

Homemade body lotion -
My friend Lindsay makes a wonderful line of body lotions/butters... she has been making diaper cream for me since my youngest was born... I'm happy to report that my little girl baby has had fewer than five bouts with irritated bum skin, not even a full blown diaper rash to speak of :) I've also been using it on her whole body when she gets out of the bath ;)

I use her lotion on my hands every night before bed and love the way it makes my skin feel... I feel good in knowing that there are no harsh chemicals and no unnecessary fragrances... my hands quite often flake when I use perfumed hand lotions or soaps... I have not had this problem while using Lindsay's products...

Sunscreen and Sunblock -
I've found conflicting evidence about whether or not to use sunscreen or sunblock... PABA-free, paraben-free, vitamin A-free... another catch 22 - use sun protection products to protect you from getting skin cancer; however, be aware that some ingredients in these products have been linked to cancers but not proven to be the causal effects of these cancers.... what?! I know. What does all of this mean? Be sun savvy... limited exposure to sun and sun lotions and you'll be fine... or not :S ... In other words, use a broad spectrum sun protection lotion, this will ensure that the ingredients will protect against both UVA (skin aging and cancer causing), and UVB (burning and tanning) rays... but use them sparingly as they may contain ingredients that have been found in some cancerous tumors :S ... again, I know!

That being said... there are several sun protection products on the market that are paraben-free, it's just trying to find them and not having to pay an arm and a leg for them...

I guess what I'm trying to get at with all of my ramblings is this: maybe our fore-mothers... you know - Ma Ingalls... had it just right... elbow grease, salves and poultices as the clean-all, cure-all for their families... It seems that in those simpler days before industrialization and commercialization people lived a much healthier and happier life... Can you blame me for wanting a little part of that?

Here are some links for your consideration:
http://safemama.com/
http://www.armhammer.com/index.asp
http://www.using-hydrogen-peroxide.com/using-hydrogen-peroxide-for-cleaning.html
http://www.20muleteamlaundry.com/about
http://www.soapsgonebuy.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=AH1001&Show=ExtInfo
http://www.thenewhomemaker.com/vinegar

Have a great day... stay cool ;)