Okay, so I started posting some of these on my Facebook and realized there were just too many not to go ahead and make a full fledged blog post for them.  So here are some of the fun, unique, and unusual items that you could wrap up and put under someone's tree this season - if you dare! (and if you really must have them, each picture links to where you can purchase one)

Have you seen any crazy gift ideas this year while you've been doing your shopping?  Go ahead and send me the link - I'd love to see them!

Posted in: gifts on Monday, December 13, 2010 at at 8:21 PM 1 comments    

A little over a year ago, September of 2009 to be exact, I first began my challenge to go without shampoo and use only baking soda and water to clean my hair.  (followed by an apple cider vinegar rinse)  That experiment I deemed a success and today I am still shampoo free.  But that was not to be my only experiment with baking soda.  I had read of using baking soda in place of deoderants.  Now, if you look it up, (i.e. google) you will find all sorts of formulas and recipes for ways to create your own baking soda based deoderant.  But for me, I went for simple.  Straight baking soda.

What I do is keep a 3 oz squeeze bottle (the type you would think of putting hand cream in) filled with baking soda.  I just squeeze out a little in my hand and pat it under my arm.  Quick and easy.  I started doing this last winter, and found it to work great.  But I didn't want to post anything about it at that time because, heck, it was winter after all.  Not exactly the sweatiest time of year.  I wanted to go through a summer and see how it held out. 

I can tell you that we had a lovely hot summer here in Maryland.  Plus I was still doing Insanity workouts.  So there was sweat happening.  However, the baking soda worked like a champ.  No odor problems at all.  I even tried using my mom's deoderant one day just to see if I would prefer the old 'tried and true' to the 'new and up and coming.'  When I did sweat, I did not smell like sweat with the deoderant.  But I did smell like deoderant and I found it quite repulsive.  I much prefer no odor! 

Now, I have read that some people find straight baking soda to be slightly irritating.  So an alternative is to mix 1 part baking soda with 6 parts corn starch.  Corn starch is supposed to have a bit of an anti-perspirant effect, so it makes for a good combo.  Me... I'm sticking with simple: straight baking soda.  Plus then I can use the same container for my "shampoo" and "deoderant."  Makes for easy traveling or overnights.

Wonder what I will be trying next.  Hmmmmmmm.....

Posted in: baking soda on Sunday, December 12, 2010 at at 9:27 PM 0 comments    

... otherwise known as "Why I Haven't Posted in Four Months."

My girls and I moved in with their Grandma and Pop pop at the end of June.  So we went from our isolated country life in Iowa, to Bowie, Maryland - a suburb of Washington DC.  Bowie is where I grew up, so there was some sense of familiarity to it all.  However, it was a bit shocking to hit the capital beltway again after three years of back road, country driving.  I believe I saw more cars on the first trip down 270 and around the beltway than I had in the entire three years in Iowa!

Here is a quick recap of our summer:

The girls have been enjoying getting to know Alison and Melissa, their new best friends.  This is actually really cool for me because of the history involved.  My mom's best friend was Barbara and I grew up with Barbara's family being like second family to me.  She had a daughter Denise, and we have been friends since she was 7 and I was 10.  Alison and Melissa are her daughters.  It is really fun to see them all play together - like carrying on a legacy of sorts. :)  Here are a couple pictures from when I took them all to the Montgomery County fair.

Posted in: on Monday, November 22, 2010 at at 1:37 PM 2 comments    

Okay, grandparents, here are the girls dancing. :)  The girls are on the front row, on the left.  Don't forget to go pause the music player before trying to watch the videos.  If we had a better video camera, you could see the look on Angelina's face when the audience applauded.  You see her head pops up, and she was just beaming.  They weren't used to getting applause when they finished dancing!



The girls are on the back row, far right in this one.



David was taping this one as I promised the girls I would stay backstage and be there on the sides while they danced.  I should have told him to just tape the whole song, but he tried just taping the girls.  Anyway, the 2 year olds went out first, and for some reason, Trinity went out on stage during their part.  We got her to come off stage to us, but by the time she got around backstage, her group was already on stage.  Thus, there goes Trinity, coming in late and having to run all the way across the stage!  This time they are on the back row, far right again.



There was another bit they were in where everyone was on stage, but it is too hard to pick them out on the video, so I'm not uploading that one.

Posted in: dance, videos on Sunday, June 6, 2010 at at 7:39 AM 0 comments    

Thanks mom for treating the girls to dance lessons this year!  Here are pics from the recital.  Having trouble uploading the video, but that will be coming soon. :)

Posted in: dance, pictures on Saturday, June 5, 2010 at at 10:26 PM 0 comments    

If you have been reading my blog for awhile, you know a few things about me.  For instance, I am not afraid to do things a little differently than most people.  Examples: dumpster dive for food, using family wipes instead of toilet paper, using baking soda instead of shampoo, and using baking soda instead of deodorant. (did I mention that on my blog?? I don't think I did...)  So you might think you wouldn't be surprised by anything I post after all that.  But here's the latest experiment:

I'm burning my bras.

Ok, just kidding!  I'm not burning them, just not wearing them anymore... well, that's not entirely true either.  I am definitely not wearing them at home anymore and depending on my mood/weather/outfit may not wear them out either.

Now here's why.  It's something I have been thinking about for awhile as I have come across information on the topic.  I had read some information on Dr. Mercola's site about how underwire bras in particular are like wearing antenna to attract electromagnetic fields.  This can increase your risk of breast cancer.  You can eliminate this issue by pulling out your wire underwires and put in plastic ones.  Kind of a pain, but if it is going to protect your health, then surely worth the little bit of effort.

The other issue is the lymph system.  Wearing constricting clothing, which a bra typically is, restricts your lymph system from draining properly.  Again, this can contribute to breast cancer.  Your lymph system needs to drain off the toxins that are in your system.  Part of this can be eliminated by wearing the proper size bra.  Want to know if you are in the correct size?  Step into the Bra Fitting Room and get into the right size - it will make a huge difference in your comfort!  Most women will have swelling in their breasts during their period, so make sure you do your measuring at another time of the month to get your accurate size.

So I have this information kind of rattling around in my brain and then Renegade Health show does this video.  I love this couple, btw.  They have awesome information on health and nutrition on their show.  (and a FREE downloadable book on eating raw - excellent!)



So how great is the risk of cancer from wearing your bra?  Well, according to the book Dressed To Kill: The Link between Breast Cancer and Bras, here is how it goes:

Women who wear bras 24 hours a day have a 3 out of 4 chance of developing breast cancer.
Women who wear bras more than 12 hours a day, but not to bed, have a 1 out of 7 risk.
Women who wear bras less than 12 hours a day, have a 1 out of 52 risk.
Women who wear bras rarely or never, have a 1 out of 168 risk.

That's a big difference from 3 out of 4 chance to only 1 in 168 chance.

So I know what you are thinking.  Won't I sag more?  Won't it be uncomfortable?  Won't people stare if I go out braless?

Sag
According to everything I have read, how much you sag has everything to do with your genetics and nothing to do with your bra.  I have read comments where people say something like, "Yeah, but my grandmother never wore a bra and she sagged terribly.  No way I'm doing that!"  But the reality is "to sag or not to sag" will happen with or without wearing a bra.  That grandmother would have sagged just as much even if she wore a bra everyday.  Other people can never wear a bra and have less sag than those wearing one 24 hours a day.  In fact the very act of not wearing a bra may improve your sag.  The ligaments that hold up your breasts will get exercised, which they don't get in a bra, and will be more effective at their job.  Part of the problem is the unrealistic image that the media put out as to what a normal breast should look like.  Perky just isn't normal for a grown woman, and especially after having children.

Uncomfortable
Uncomfortable?  I guess that is a personal one.  I went from being a B cup pre-kids, to a D cup after kids.  I know when I was smaller, I could go without a bra - no problem.  But, I wasn't at all sure that it would be comfortable in my larger size.  But guess what.  I've been running around the house without one and have never felt so good!  I don't think we realize just how uncomfortable bras are - even when properly sized.  We are trained to wear them - literally, we have training bras for when we are girls!  And I think we just accept the pressure on our shoulders and the snugness around the torso as normal.

Staring
As for people staring, you can be discreet and braless.  It probably won't even be a concern in cold weather when you are layered up and wearing bulkier sweaters.  In the summer, you can wear a camisole under your shirt or even layer tank tops.  Nothing is going to stop the natural movement when you are braless, but that same movement is going to help the lymph system clean out toxins and strengthen your ligaments.  A fair trade in my opinion.  But if it really bothers you, there are also sports bras and exercise tops that will give you more support similar to a bra.  You just have to look at the design and be sure to pick something that isn't binding.  If it has tight elastic bands around your torso, you might as well be wearing a bra.

So give it a try.  Go ahead.  Just stop wearing bras at home and see how you feel after a few days.  :)

Posted in: bras, health on Friday, June 4, 2010 at at 5:00 AM 4 comments    

Okay, so just yesterday I posted my update on how I was going to see if eating all raw made any difference in my workouts this time through month one of Insanity.  I didn't expect to have anything to report so soon, but man, did I have a great workout this morning!  It was Cardio recovery, which means you get a break from the high intensity cardio, but you trade it for intense muscle work and stretching.  I was blown away at how much easier this workout was for me today than it was before.

I took a screen shot of this exercise, because I didn't think I could describe it and make any sense.  These are similar to your basic leg lifts where your leg is straight out behind you in your start position.  From there you lift your leg and lower back to start.  Shaun T's version you get on your hands and knees first, then you lift your knees off the ground, then you put your leg back and start doing lifts.  16 on each side.  Followed by....

...this exercise.  Same starting position, hands and knees, knees off the floor, leg back, but this time you bring your knee to your shoulder to work your obliques.  16 each leg of these.

Posted in: Insanity, raw, Raw_Vegan Lane on Thursday, June 3, 2010 at at 11:13 AM 1 comments    

I completed month one and started month two.  Here are some lessons I have learned along the way:

It is hard to do push-ups with two little girls laying their heads on the floor under your face and saying "hi mommy!" 
This is a basic lesson - trying to stick to any exercise regimen with little kids can be difficult.  Sometimes they want to do it with mommy, so then they completely get in the way.  Other times they are off entertaining themselves. (i.e. destroying something valuable or messing up the house)  You have to make up your mind that taking care of your health is more important than any challenge that comes up and just do it.

Kids can also be great motivators.
Insanity has the fit test so you can see your improvement along the way.  There is also the scale and taking measurements - all things that you can use to monitor how successful your health plan is at accomplishing your goals.  But for me, nothing is as motivating as hearing my daughter say, "Mom, your butt is getting smaller!"

Headbands and towels are not optional.
This is especially true if you are doing Insanity.  I have NEVER sweat as much during a workout in my life as I do with Insanity.  And it is only getting worse as the morning temperatures are getting warmer.  Trying to keep pushing it with Shaun T. while you have sweat running into your eyes is not a pretty picture.  Neither is trying to do moving push-ups through pools of sweat on a wood floor. (that picture on the Insanity dvd is NOT an exaggeration!)

Posted in: health, Insanity, Raw_Vegan Lane on Wednesday, June 2, 2010 at at 1:00 PM 0 comments    

"It is likely that there is further protective 

benefit from consuming more than five portions/

servings of non-starchy vegetables and fruits."

drink alcoholic drinks. Other evidence shows that modest 

amounts of alcoholic drinks are likely to reduce risk of coronary 

heart disease."  So, even though they are supposed to be reporting on how to reduce your risk of cancer, they don't come right out and say no alcohol even though by their own admission, the evidence justifies it.  I'm shaking my head over that one.  

In other words, if you prefer, you can keep drinking and know that you are likely to reduce your risk of coronary heart disease with that glass of wine or beer, but you are trading that risk for the opportunity to get cancer of the mouth, pharynx and larynx, oesophagus, or breast, or for men, colorectal cancer - all of which the evidence is convincing. (oh, and let's not forget it's a probable cause of liver and colorectal cancer in women)

Posted in: China study, health, Raw_Vegan Lane on Thursday, May 27, 2010 at at 7:39 PM 0 comments    

Well, we are seriously shopping for a new member to our family here on our little country acre.  We are going to get a milk cow.  Seems like a crazy idea for a family that doesn't even go through a gallon of milk a week.  But part of that is because I don't like giving pasteurized milk from factory farms to my children to drink, and here in Iowa it is illegal to sell raw milk.  I personally feel they are healthier without it.  But if I could give them fresh milk from our own pastured cow - now that's another story entirely.  I still think they are better off drinking water, and they now ask for it instead of juice all the time - hooray! (in fact they usually say it like this: "Mom, can I have some healthy water?")  But having some fresh milk, home-made butter and cheese, I'm totally up for that. :)

So I started researching milk cows.  The more I read up on them, the more I fell in love with the idea of a mini breed.  Mini breeds are ideal for someone in our situation where we just have one acre.  They eat and drink a lot less than their larger counterparts and are easier on the pasture.  Maintenance of fences and structure is easier too as they are not as destructive as full size cattle.  Some people don't even use a lot of fencing.  With a mini-cow you can put them on a lead tied to a tire and let them graze in your yard.  When you are ready to move them to another section you just roll the tire to another area.  Our lawn tractor may get a lot less use once we get a cow!

Dexters are the breed we are leaning towards.  I have absolutely fallen in love with a little Jersey, but her price tag is prohibitive - $1000!  I think I could probably talk them down some on the price, but we also are set to go look at a Dexter that is only $400.  Hard to justify the adorable, picture perfect Jersey when you can pick up a Dexter for that price.  Plus, the Dexter has been running with a mini bull and most likely already with calf.  That means that by July we could have a calf and all the fresh milk we can handle.  That pretty much seals the deal with the Dexter.


But aside from the great price, Dexters have quite a few qualities that make them a great choice for us:

Temperament - they are known for being docile and friendly, making them easy to handle and train.  They are really great for kids to work with.

Hardy - Dexters thrive in all climates, which is good since we can have hot, humid summers followed by sub-zero winters.  They also are easy calvers with little need for human intervention.

Thrifty - they are a good dual purpose cow, being good milkers and good beef.  They also are considered very efficient at turning feed into milk and beef.  They put out 1-2 gallons of milk a day that is 4% butterfat. (comparable to Jersey's)  They dress out at 55-60% and have a high quality, nicely marbled meat.

If you want more information on Dexters, there is a great article on Mother Earth News.
And here is a great little informational video about mini cows.

(scroll down and pause player at bottom of page to view video)

Posted in: country living, cows on Thursday, May 20, 2010 at at 9:56 AM 4 comments    

Today was the day.  Finally.  After waiting a year!
The annual end of school year field trip with HUGS, one of our homeschooling groups.  The girls had such a great time last year, that this was a much anticipated day.  I could have asked them to eat breakfast while standing on their heads and they would have done it so we could go.
Without any further ado, here are the pics from today.

That was a big drop for her, but she didn't bat an eyelash.  Just slid right off, then ran around and did it again!

Posted in: Homeschool Lane, Westfield farm on Tuesday, May 18, 2010 at at 11:37 PM 0 comments