Dear Readers,
When I began this blog back in March of 2008 I was in the very early stages of "greening" my life. Now, some 32 months later there have been many changes made in that effort but I still feel I should be doing more.
If money, or the cost of things, did not get in the way; and I could design my life, my home, my property, everything possible about my life in what I felt was the most green way to live, THIS is how it would be...
The house would be completely self-sustained. It would be built from all natural, local materials. It would have it's own water purification system as well as utilize all water in the most efficient and eco-friendly manner. It would generate it own power supply utilizing sustainable resources like sun, wind, water, etc. It would have a ventilation system in place that would keep the indoor air as pure as possible. Everything used within it would be natural materials, sustainable materials, and as comfortable as possible. All the things using power would be totally energy efficient.
Whatever form of transportation used would be the most energy efficient as well. While it might vary depending on the distance needed to be traveled it would be something that as much as possible we could provide for the energy source needed on our own. In no way would it cause any sort of harm to the environment or to me or my loved ones.
As for the property - the land, however much it is, I want to use as much as possible for edible landscaping. I want to select plants that not only look beautiful but provide some source of nutrition or nourishment for good health, be it from the leaves, roots, blossoms, fruits, etc. It will look like a beautiful garden with ponds and waterfalls and places to sit comfortably and just enjoy the natural beauty. Possibly there will be areas set aside for animals and their needs as well - but that can be determined later.
I want my entire home to be completely self-sustainable. I want it to be completely independent of utility companies, or community services of any kind. WE, the global entity of mankind, have the ability to create such homesteads. But right now, such places are affordable to a very few. I'd estimate 90-99% of people do not have the financial means to build or own such a sustainable homestead.
Just imagine if anyone that wanted it could do it. Imagine what this world might be like if all the homes were places we could just choose to live in and all that we needed was contained within that homestead. No need to pay a utility company for energy. No need to pay a city for water and sewer usage and garbage collection. Imagine no need to pay the grocer for our foods. (Right about now I imagine most readers are saying to themselves, 'yeah, right, and no jobs left for anyone either... because nobody is buying anything from them anymore.')
To those people I'd say, "YOU'RE MISSING THE POINT! You're not seeing the BIG picture. You won't need jobs! You can spend your days free to do what you want for most of the day."
I know that may seem crazy. But do you know the Bible actually promises that the day WILL COME that this would be so? In the book of Isaiah we're told about a time to come that will allow every man to own his place and provide for himself without owing another anything. Check it out in Isaiah the 65th chapter!
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Friday, November 12, 2010
Back Again!
Sorry for the long absence... I got sick! :( Really sick!! :( :( Almost had to stay in the hospital kind of sick!!! :( :( :( But I'm better now and getting back to my "normal" routine (if you can call it that) so I plan on posting here much more frequently! :)
I've been digging out some of my old recipes for homemade cleaners and such. Should get around to posting some here soon.
Life is always changing things so one never really knows what will happen with any plans but I can promise to do all my earthly best to get this blog back on track... A.S.A.P.!!!
I've been digging out some of my old recipes for homemade cleaners and such. Should get around to posting some here soon.
Life is always changing things so one never really knows what will happen with any plans but I can promise to do all my earthly best to get this blog back on track... A.S.A.P.!!!
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Tenth Day of the Tenth Month
of the Tenth Year of this century! :-)
A triad of tens today has many people wondering if there is any special meaning to it!
A quick google of "10 - 10 - 10" brought me this result: HubPages: Welcome to 10/10/10! Now, I'll warn you, some of these thoughts or ideas are really way, way, way out there! But some are just plain humorous or insightful. Take what you want from it and please don't shoot the messenger! ;-)
There's even a website making use of the date - something like tenten2010 with a uk in there at the end or something - I know, vague, and why don't I just put the link here too. It's for a movie! Nothing in the movie title even suggests it's about the date of October 10th; the movie's title is something about being sold with a subtitle related to how much you are worth. Not my interest at all so I didn't go further. You are free to google it yourself. :)
But why do I mention this here - does it have anything to do with going green or doing my earthly best to live an eco-friendly life? Not really. At least not that I have discovered yet... but I like numbers and I love balance and I'm partial to triads and trios of anything, so today's date caught my attention and I'm curious about what others were considering.
Check out my other blogs for some related thoughts on this: Eco~Mom~Andee and SPARKnEarthlyBest.
A triad of tens today has many people wondering if there is any special meaning to it!
A quick google of "10 - 10 - 10" brought me this result: HubPages: Welcome to 10/10/10! Now, I'll warn you, some of these thoughts or ideas are really way, way, way out there! But some are just plain humorous or insightful. Take what you want from it and please don't shoot the messenger! ;-)
There's even a website making use of the date - something like tenten2010 with a uk in there at the end or something - I know, vague, and why don't I just put the link here too. It's for a movie! Nothing in the movie title even suggests it's about the date of October 10th; the movie's title is something about being sold with a subtitle related to how much you are worth. Not my interest at all so I didn't go further. You are free to google it yourself. :)
But why do I mention this here - does it have anything to do with going green or doing my earthly best to live an eco-friendly life? Not really. At least not that I have discovered yet... but I like numbers and I love balance and I'm partial to triads and trios of anything, so today's date caught my attention and I'm curious about what others were considering.
Check out my other blogs for some related thoughts on this: Eco~Mom~Andee and SPARKnEarthlyBest.
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Quick! Time's almost up!
Not much time just now, but really wanted to get a little note out here:
There are improvements in my 100# goal... check my SPARKnEarthlyBest blog for details! :)
There is news in my new business as well... read about it in my Eco~Mom~Andee blog!
And in things around here moving in an earthly best direction...
using cloth shopping bags more consistently;
making more foods & meals from scratch;
removed about 80% of the toxic products from our home;
steadily finding more ways to conserve, to reduce, to reuse, to recycle, to repurpose more and more things in our lives in an effort to live healthier and more purposeful lives to our earthly best!
There are improvements in my 100# goal... check my SPARKnEarthlyBest blog for details! :)
There is news in my new business as well... read about it in my Eco~Mom~Andee blog!
And in things around here moving in an earthly best direction...
using cloth shopping bags more consistently;
making more foods & meals from scratch;
removed about 80% of the toxic products from our home;
steadily finding more ways to conserve, to reduce, to reuse, to recycle, to repurpose more and more things in our lives in an effort to live healthier and more purposeful lives to our earthly best!
Saturday, September 25, 2010
It Takes Money:
So I just keep on keeping on, and hanging on, and going on!
There is so much I wish to do but this body of mine doesn't wish to cooperate so often. :( You know the saying, "It takes money to make money" ??? (Sure you do - everyone does) Well, it's true; but so is this! It takes money to regain health!
Why is it that the more you see a doctor, the more you need to see a doctor? And why is that when a doctor gives you a prescription for one ailment it causes a few others to develop for which you need a few more prescriptions for? Why aren't doctors really interested in helping people get healthy?
MONEY!
That's what it's all about! Money! See, if the doctors make you well then you don't need to see them so much so they don't make as much money. And if they don't give you a prescription when they see you then the pharmacy guys don't make as much money either. And somewhere in the picture are all the other entities that make a little money with every visit: the clinics, the hospitals, the labs, the insurance companies... there are so many people (jobs) with a vested interest in keeping you coming back time after time. You wouldn't come back if you were well!!!
HOW does it take money to regain health?
The basic recipe to regain health is to do what your body needs to be healthy.
1. You need to stop doing things that make it unhealthy.
2. You need to start doing things that help it be healthy.
3. It's best to both 1 & 2 at the same time until you regain full health.
Sounds so simple! So easy! Right?
Wrong!!!
Let's take #1 - what makes us unhealthy?
Pollution, chemical exposures, poor quality foods, a lack of nutrients in whatever we take in, lack of exercise. That's about it. "Garbage IN, Garbage OUT" is really all our unhealthy bodies are saying to us!
Let's stop it!
Pollution - just for us personally it's expensive to remove pollutants from our environment. Same with chemical exposures. Poor quality foods - we can buy higher quality at a higher price. So again we're back to money. Same thing for nutritional values of anything we eat or drink... takes more money to get more quality. Exercise is maybe the one thing that doesn't need to cost more for us - we just need to make it a higher priority in our lives and do it more often. But exercise alone generally won't make us completely healthy.
To regain health takes money!
Let's look at #2! Start buying better quality foods with higher nutritional values... those cost more, but aren't you worth it? Remove all the chemicals from your home - the cleaning stuff, the shampoos, toothpaste, body washes, soaps, cosmetics, air fresheners, etc. Watch for furnishings that contain chemicals that emit fumes into your home. And what about the foods and drinks you consume? Some are loaded with chemicals and carcinogens and other harmful stuff. Read all the labels carefully! Ask questions! Do your research!
But, to do a really top-notch job (there's a lot of stuff to replace!) with this it takes more money!
I mean, let's face it! Look around you! Who do you see with the most health problems? Those with the least money! I'd be willing to bet that if you could take away the money issue, make it so everyone has equal access to the best quality foods and the highest level of nutritional value for everything they ate and drank then you would find lots more healthier people. They would just keep on getting healthier too!
Right now I am so tired of always needing more money to keep doing what I'm already doing! It's making it harder and harder to save up for things I really need yet! I need to eat totally organic foods, and drink totally organic beverages. But the highly processed stuff is cheaper and fits my present budget better. :( I need to build up my own business more. But that means more printing stuff from my home computer (business cards, flyers, info sheets, invitations, etc.) or paying someone else to do it. I need to keep my bills (rent, utilities, phone, car, groceries, etc) paid up but that gets tricky when the cost for those things goes up and the income stays the same, or worse, goes down!
Bottom line... IT TAKES MONEY!!!
There is so much I wish to do but this body of mine doesn't wish to cooperate so often. :( You know the saying, "It takes money to make money" ??? (Sure you do - everyone does) Well, it's true; but so is this! It takes money to regain health!
Why is it that the more you see a doctor, the more you need to see a doctor? And why is that when a doctor gives you a prescription for one ailment it causes a few others to develop for which you need a few more prescriptions for? Why aren't doctors really interested in helping people get healthy?
MONEY!
That's what it's all about! Money! See, if the doctors make you well then you don't need to see them so much so they don't make as much money. And if they don't give you a prescription when they see you then the pharmacy guys don't make as much money either. And somewhere in the picture are all the other entities that make a little money with every visit: the clinics, the hospitals, the labs, the insurance companies... there are so many people (jobs) with a vested interest in keeping you coming back time after time. You wouldn't come back if you were well!!!
HOW does it take money to regain health?
The basic recipe to regain health is to do what your body needs to be healthy.
1. You need to stop doing things that make it unhealthy.
2. You need to start doing things that help it be healthy.
3. It's best to both 1 & 2 at the same time until you regain full health.
Sounds so simple! So easy! Right?
Wrong!!!
Let's take #1 - what makes us unhealthy?
Pollution, chemical exposures, poor quality foods, a lack of nutrients in whatever we take in, lack of exercise. That's about it. "Garbage IN, Garbage OUT" is really all our unhealthy bodies are saying to us!
Let's stop it!
Pollution - just for us personally it's expensive to remove pollutants from our environment. Same with chemical exposures. Poor quality foods - we can buy higher quality at a higher price. So again we're back to money. Same thing for nutritional values of anything we eat or drink... takes more money to get more quality. Exercise is maybe the one thing that doesn't need to cost more for us - we just need to make it a higher priority in our lives and do it more often. But exercise alone generally won't make us completely healthy.
To regain health takes money!
Let's look at #2! Start buying better quality foods with higher nutritional values... those cost more, but aren't you worth it? Remove all the chemicals from your home - the cleaning stuff, the shampoos, toothpaste, body washes, soaps, cosmetics, air fresheners, etc. Watch for furnishings that contain chemicals that emit fumes into your home. And what about the foods and drinks you consume? Some are loaded with chemicals and carcinogens and other harmful stuff. Read all the labels carefully! Ask questions! Do your research!
But, to do a really top-notch job (there's a lot of stuff to replace!) with this it takes more money!
I mean, let's face it! Look around you! Who do you see with the most health problems? Those with the least money! I'd be willing to bet that if you could take away the money issue, make it so everyone has equal access to the best quality foods and the highest level of nutritional value for everything they ate and drank then you would find lots more healthier people. They would just keep on getting healthier too!
Right now I am so tired of always needing more money to keep doing what I'm already doing! It's making it harder and harder to save up for things I really need yet! I need to eat totally organic foods, and drink totally organic beverages. But the highly processed stuff is cheaper and fits my present budget better. :( I need to build up my own business more. But that means more printing stuff from my home computer (business cards, flyers, info sheets, invitations, etc.) or paying someone else to do it. I need to keep my bills (rent, utilities, phone, car, groceries, etc) paid up but that gets tricky when the cost for those things goes up and the income stays the same, or worse, goes down!
Bottom line... IT TAKES MONEY!!!
Saturday, September 11, 2010
It's been awhile
Yes, it's certainly been a long time since my last post! :)
My list of links is growing - so I may just create a post soon that puts them all in one place and then more slowly I will add some info about them. Sorry, there won't be any with this post.
This is just a huge update of all sorts of things.
First - the new kittens (born June 17th) and their mama got really sick in July and finally in mid-August (just before they would be 10 weeks old) we lost them all. It's been a hard blow for all of us as we worked so hard and put so much into caring for them in efforts to save them all. :(
Second - in the ever-changing lives of my kids we have been having one crisis after another with different kids. Of course, they are all adults now - but four still live with me - and just because they are legally adults doesn't mean they aren't still my kids. lol Cars breaking down; jobs changing - cutting hours, laying off, or just being challenging in new ways; searching for jobs - first jobs, new jobs, different jobs; new health challenges developing; old health challenges getting worse; all in all, it's the same ol' - same ol' - never really changing status of needing more money than we have to care for all the things that come up. It's not unlike a dog chasing it's tail - totally futile to attempt; but having done so, IF one should catch up then suddenly you find yourself getting bitten!
Third - we're into a decluttering mode - more now than ever. It began when my sister moved out - and it's taking on a whole new meaning after attending our district convention at the end of July and then our circuit assembly at the beginning of September! Now, it's not just get rid of things we're not using or haven't used in over a year; it's become get rid of things we don't really need. In other words, let's take a close look at every single thing in every single room of the house, including closets, porches, deck, garage and yard and let's see if we REALLY & TRULY NEED IT for survival. :)
This has become a huge project. One we hope to finish by the end of September. :)
I'm still working on building my business - ecomomandee.blogspot.com and I'm still working on my weight loss goals - sparknearthlybest.blogspot.com/ and like always I'll keep working on all these. I'm not one to give up!
My list of links is growing - so I may just create a post soon that puts them all in one place and then more slowly I will add some info about them. Sorry, there won't be any with this post.
This is just a huge update of all sorts of things.
First - the new kittens (born June 17th) and their mama got really sick in July and finally in mid-August (just before they would be 10 weeks old) we lost them all. It's been a hard blow for all of us as we worked so hard and put so much into caring for them in efforts to save them all. :(
Second - in the ever-changing lives of my kids we have been having one crisis after another with different kids. Of course, they are all adults now - but four still live with me - and just because they are legally adults doesn't mean they aren't still my kids. lol Cars breaking down; jobs changing - cutting hours, laying off, or just being challenging in new ways; searching for jobs - first jobs, new jobs, different jobs; new health challenges developing; old health challenges getting worse; all in all, it's the same ol' - same ol' - never really changing status of needing more money than we have to care for all the things that come up. It's not unlike a dog chasing it's tail - totally futile to attempt; but having done so, IF one should catch up then suddenly you find yourself getting bitten!
Third - we're into a decluttering mode - more now than ever. It began when my sister moved out - and it's taking on a whole new meaning after attending our district convention at the end of July and then our circuit assembly at the beginning of September! Now, it's not just get rid of things we're not using or haven't used in over a year; it's become get rid of things we don't really need. In other words, let's take a close look at every single thing in every single room of the house, including closets, porches, deck, garage and yard and let's see if we REALLY & TRULY NEED IT for survival. :)
This has become a huge project. One we hope to finish by the end of September. :)
I'm still working on building my business - ecomomandee.blogspot.com and I'm still working on my weight loss goals - sparknearthlybest.blogspot.com/ and like always I'll keep working on all these. I'm not one to give up!
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Dog Days of Summer!
Well the "dog days" of summer are upon us!
It has been so hot and humid here lately that it's hard to get much done. Frequent breaks are essential. Drinking lots of fluids... non-carbonated types, and getting into cooler areas (indoors with A/C, or fans, under shady trees or covered patios, etc) are vital to surviving this type of heat without getting sick.
Even then, one may still become ill just from too much heat; as I did the other day. :(
I know I've missed several days posting here... in part due to illness - enough that I just wasn't able to write anything; in part due to being out of town; and in part due to the final countdown days to my triplets' graduation party!
Things should return to normal very soon and I hope to get back to daily posting by the middle of the month.
Our kittens have kept us very busy as well. At 7 weeks (tomorrow) they are growing fast and making excellent progress in weaning. They should all be ready for adoption to their own families in another week or two. It is my hope that by the end of August all 3 will have their lifetime homes to go to. After that the mama kitty will be scheduled for her spaying, get updated with shots, and be on her way to her new lifetime home with my niece (who used to live with me and moved out just before the kittens were born - we kept the new mama & babies here as we felt it best for them not to be moved and my niece's new residence only allows one cat). Come September we'll be back to being a one cat - a one tomcat - household. O'Riley will no doubt totally appreciate not needing to worry about what some crazy feline female will do next (to protect her babies)!
It has been so hot and humid here lately that it's hard to get much done. Frequent breaks are essential. Drinking lots of fluids... non-carbonated types, and getting into cooler areas (indoors with A/C, or fans, under shady trees or covered patios, etc) are vital to surviving this type of heat without getting sick.
Even then, one may still become ill just from too much heat; as I did the other day. :(
I know I've missed several days posting here... in part due to illness - enough that I just wasn't able to write anything; in part due to being out of town; and in part due to the final countdown days to my triplets' graduation party!
Things should return to normal very soon and I hope to get back to daily posting by the middle of the month.
Our kittens have kept us very busy as well. At 7 weeks (tomorrow) they are growing fast and making excellent progress in weaning. They should all be ready for adoption to their own families in another week or two. It is my hope that by the end of August all 3 will have their lifetime homes to go to. After that the mama kitty will be scheduled for her spaying, get updated with shots, and be on her way to her new lifetime home with my niece (who used to live with me and moved out just before the kittens were born - we kept the new mama & babies here as we felt it best for them not to be moved and my niece's new residence only allows one cat). Come September we'll be back to being a one cat - a one tomcat - household. O'Riley will no doubt totally appreciate not needing to worry about what some crazy feline female will do next (to protect her babies)!
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Green Planet
I have found another website to tell you about! This site helps kids (and their parents) learn all about being eco-friendly in lots of different ways. :)
It's called Green Planet 4 Kids or EcoFamilyOnline and even I'm learning some neat little tips to start using. :)
Take some time soon to visit and learn a little yourself!
It's called Green Planet 4 Kids or EcoFamilyOnline and even I'm learning some neat little tips to start using. :)
Take some time soon to visit and learn a little yourself!
Monday, July 19, 2010
A WEEK! 1 of 52
Well, I've made it through the first week of my 52-week challenge/goals! :)
It has been a rough week too, in so many ways. But I tried to stay focused as much as possible. I did at least manage some time every single day to consider my goals, to think on what I was able to do to meet them that day, and to give myself a little pep talk every day.
For the weight loss goal - the goal for one week was to lose 2 pounds, working toward a one year goal of losing 100 pounds. I DID IT! I lost those 2 pounds! But I did better than that, I exceeded my goal by 1.7 pounds, losing a total for the week of 3.7 pounds!!! WOO HOO!!!
For the business goal - the goal for one week was to enroll two new customers, shooting for 8 for the whole month. I did not meet that goal. :( I'm close, but at the end of Sunday night I still had no new customers for the week. :( Could I have done more to achieve that goal? Many times I think, "YES!" but when I really look back at this week in total honesty I have to say, "NO!" Given all the circumstances of the week I did all my earthly best to set appointments and to help those who, after seeing & hearing the great presentation, were wanting to be my customers get to the point of completing all the necessary steps. So, I will just keep the mini-goal for this coming week at 2 new customers again.
I hadn't really thought about this before now but my business goal and my weight loss goal have at least one similarity, besides being mine; the number 2! Two has been a favorite number of mine for a long, long time! I like things in twos - it's balanced, even, symmetrical! I was born at 2:22 pm on the 20th day of the month.
My weight loss goal is 100 pounds lost in a year which breaks down to average almost 2 pounds per week.
My business goal wasn't exactly stated like that, like 100 customers added in a year; but if I want to meet the goal of being a senior director in six months then the rate of 2 customers per week would be a good rate to be able to achieve that goal.
So that's how I'm going to see each week for the next 51 weeks - or until the goals are met! :)
2 pounds of weight to lose each week!
2 new customers in my business to gain each week!
It's going to be a great week!!!
It has been a rough week too, in so many ways. But I tried to stay focused as much as possible. I did at least manage some time every single day to consider my goals, to think on what I was able to do to meet them that day, and to give myself a little pep talk every day.
For the weight loss goal - the goal for one week was to lose 2 pounds, working toward a one year goal of losing 100 pounds. I DID IT! I lost those 2 pounds! But I did better than that, I exceeded my goal by 1.7 pounds, losing a total for the week of 3.7 pounds!!! WOO HOO!!!
For the business goal - the goal for one week was to enroll two new customers, shooting for 8 for the whole month. I did not meet that goal. :( I'm close, but at the end of Sunday night I still had no new customers for the week. :( Could I have done more to achieve that goal? Many times I think, "YES!" but when I really look back at this week in total honesty I have to say, "NO!" Given all the circumstances of the week I did all my earthly best to set appointments and to help those who, after seeing & hearing the great presentation, were wanting to be my customers get to the point of completing all the necessary steps. So, I will just keep the mini-goal for this coming week at 2 new customers again.
I hadn't really thought about this before now but my business goal and my weight loss goal have at least one similarity, besides being mine; the number 2! Two has been a favorite number of mine for a long, long time! I like things in twos - it's balanced, even, symmetrical! I was born at 2:22 pm on the 20th day of the month.
My weight loss goal is 100 pounds lost in a year which breaks down to average almost 2 pounds per week.
My business goal wasn't exactly stated like that, like 100 customers added in a year; but if I want to meet the goal of being a senior director in six months then the rate of 2 customers per week would be a good rate to be able to achieve that goal.
So that's how I'm going to see each week for the next 51 weeks - or until the goals are met! :)
2 pounds of weight to lose each week!
2 new customers in my business to gain each week!
It's going to be a great week!!!
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Best That I Can Do Now
When we say, "I'm doing my best!" what do we really mean? Today I asked someone if they were doing their best with something and in answer I got a blank stare like they weren't even sure what their best is.
"All My Earthly Best" is in my perspective what I want to do every single day. I want to know that whatever it is I've done or participated in was done, at least on my part, in the best possible way that I know of right now. As I am one to be concerned about the earth and how people in general care for it my efforts to do my best come from the deepest parts of me... deep down... at the core of my being... thus I see them as my "earthly" best.
For so many years of my life nothing was the best of anything! Quite the opposite was true! Now, those are the demons I battle, sometimes all day long and well into the night! For me now, losing one hundred pounds and building a successful home business are things that will help to reverse that standing... they are things that will make it so everything in my life is absolutely ALL MY EARTHLY BEST! It will so wonderful to see where we are in a year from now!
"All My Earthly Best" is in my perspective what I want to do every single day. I want to know that whatever it is I've done or participated in was done, at least on my part, in the best possible way that I know of right now. As I am one to be concerned about the earth and how people in general care for it my efforts to do my best come from the deepest parts of me... deep down... at the core of my being... thus I see them as my "earthly" best.
For so many years of my life nothing was the best of anything! Quite the opposite was true! Now, those are the demons I battle, sometimes all day long and well into the night! For me now, losing one hundred pounds and building a successful home business are things that will help to reverse that standing... they are things that will make it so everything in my life is absolutely ALL MY EARTHLY BEST! It will so wonderful to see where we are in a year from now!
Day 5 ~ Needs vs Wants
The phones were finally working - around 6pm tonight! :~/
Using only my cell for the last 36 or so hours really tested the battery power in it. I had to put it on the charger 3 times just to keep it going!
We've had numerous problems around here too... which kicked in my research tools. What do you do with a kid diagnosed with ADHD and ODD and possibly OCD (tho right now more docs are leaning to just the ODD getting worse) who is only 8 years old and is behaving in ways that alienate her peers as well as many others. She has no fear - no fear of falling off rooftops or cliffs, no fear of displeasing mom or other authorities, no fear of anything that could reasonably cause her harm or harm others. There are so many aspects to her "issues" that it's a challenge finding what will help!
Some of what I've found:
Kiddie QR and Life Matters for ways to deal with stress, especially in parenting!
Choose Your Way is another good site for dealing with stress.
The sad thing about this is that the things that seem to be most helpful are things we have to pay for out-of-pocket, which means we need money that we just don't have right now! :( I am so tired of struggling to not just makes ends meet (as that rarely happens) but just to make enough to handle everyone's needs! I'm not talking wants here! You may want an MP3 Player but you need a basic radio so you have something to keep current on the weather when the power's out. You may want Skechers Shape-Ups but you need a basic pair of running shoes. You may want top quality, organic, whole foods but you need basic, simple produce.
Seems like everything in my life is like that... just struggling to meet basic needs and never getting close to getting what I really want! I'm working at changing that, but something is still missing, something is still keeping me stuck at "basic" level.
Maybe someday!
Life Matters
Using only my cell for the last 36 or so hours really tested the battery power in it. I had to put it on the charger 3 times just to keep it going!
We've had numerous problems around here too... which kicked in my research tools. What do you do with a kid diagnosed with ADHD and ODD and possibly OCD (tho right now more docs are leaning to just the ODD getting worse) who is only 8 years old and is behaving in ways that alienate her peers as well as many others. She has no fear - no fear of falling off rooftops or cliffs, no fear of displeasing mom or other authorities, no fear of anything that could reasonably cause her harm or harm others. There are so many aspects to her "issues" that it's a challenge finding what will help!
Some of what I've found:
Kiddie QR and Life Matters for ways to deal with stress, especially in parenting!
Choose Your Way is another good site for dealing with stress.
The sad thing about this is that the things that seem to be most helpful are things we have to pay for out-of-pocket, which means we need money that we just don't have right now! :( I am so tired of struggling to not just makes ends meet (as that rarely happens) but just to make enough to handle everyone's needs! I'm not talking wants here! You may want an MP3 Player but you need a basic radio so you have something to keep current on the weather when the power's out. You may want Skechers Shape-Ups but you need a basic pair of running shoes. You may want top quality, organic, whole foods but you need basic, simple produce.
Seems like everything in my life is like that... just struggling to meet basic needs and never getting close to getting what I really want! I'm working at changing that, but something is still missing, something is still keeping me stuck at "basic" level.
Maybe someday!
Life Matters
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Day 4 - Candlelight Clue
Day 4 got off to a stormy start! A few tornadoes, several inches of rain, winds in every direction, some flooding, some power outages, lots of trees down, and assorted damages all around. Finally around 1:00 a.m. we could all sleep for a few hours!
The storms actually began in the middle of day 3 and continued in spells of a few hours at a time ~ wearing us all out!
One of the things we did to keep the kids' minds off of the fearsome show outside ~ after securing all our pets in various cages near us ~ was to play game after game of Clue by candlelight! Sure made for a lot of laughs as these old eyes missed seeing the board and the clues on it many times!
Today, with many errands and much clean-up to be done, yet we still managed to keep up with some of what was on the agenda. I didn't get as much done as my kids but I will have more time tomorrow. Maybe by then my phones will be working too! ;-) (Charter says they are aware of the problem and working on it - no estimate of when it will be fixed.)
The storms actually began in the middle of day 3 and continued in spells of a few hours at a time ~ wearing us all out!
One of the things we did to keep the kids' minds off of the fearsome show outside ~ after securing all our pets in various cages near us ~ was to play game after game of Clue by candlelight! Sure made for a lot of laughs as these old eyes missed seeing the board and the clues on it many times!
Today, with many errands and much clean-up to be done, yet we still managed to keep up with some of what was on the agenda. I didn't get as much done as my kids but I will have more time tomorrow. Maybe by then my phones will be working too! ;-) (Charter says they are aware of the problem and working on it - no estimate of when it will be fixed.)
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
The Summer of Oh! Riley!!!
(this is a "lost" post from last summer...)
So tiny! So helpless!
The first few days of this tiny feline's life were vital... we searched for his mama, for other kittens, even for a surrogate mama... but in the end we all took turns feeding him round the clock! For the first 3 or 4 days it was every hour; then we stretched it to 2 hours, then 3, and 4 and eventually he grew strong enough to begin lapping milk from a dish and eating solid foods.
We were blessed that regardless of the many mistakes we must have made in trying to care for this little one as his own mama would have he still managed to thrive!
This last pic he was 9 weeks old and clearly doing very well. He's come a long way from the tiny 3 ounces when we found him to close to 4 pounds at this age! And just look how much he's grown... from being dwarfed by a mini-beani baby white tiger to well overtaking the regular size beani baby pony!
I'll have to find more recent pics to post - but this was our summer in 2009!
The summer of "Oh! Riley" began on June 1st this year. We were wrapping up a busy and active school year. My triplets had returned to homeschooling with this school year... their junior year in high school! My niece had started the year homeschooling 1st grade and was finishing up 2nd grade... and still eager to learn!
Our backyard was finally not frozen or soggy and various plants, grasses and weeds were beginning to turn green again. The kids were beginning to make things ready for planting this summer's garden. I do have to admit that I was not so enthusiastic about this as last year's garden did not work out too well for us. Everyone else was definitely wanting to give it another go!
On the afternoon of June 1st one of my daughters came running inside frantic about something she'd seen or heard in the garden area and absolutely insistant that I come out there right away! Questions about what this was were answered with phrases like, "I don't know" or "a baby" or "a kitten" or "a rat" or "a bat" or "something tiny" or "something noisy" or "something that needs help" or "it's stuck" or "can't touch it" and leaving me with no choice but to go out there myself.
At first glance I'm not sure what I'm looking at - but my daughter is clearly pointing at something. Then I see movement. It's small! It's tiny! It's gray! Seems to have a long tail...
...or something wrapped around a tall weed.
It is clearly stuck - unable to free itself from this plant that is easily ten times it's size! I send my daughter after a knife, some scissors, some heavy towel - an old one, or some other thick cloth of some kind. At this point, I still don't know what IT is. As she is fetching things I'm gently going in for a closer look, while glancing around for any clues.
My daughter returns with all that I asked and more - we now have a crowd and other family members want to know what's going on. What did she find?
So tiny! So helpless!
We were blessed that regardless of the many mistakes we must have made in trying to care for this little one as his own mama would have he still managed to thrive!
I'll have to find more recent pics to post - but this was our summer in 2009!
Monday, July 12, 2010
Goals - 365 days - 173 days - 51 days - 20 days
Goals - 365 days - 173 days - 51 days - 20 days!
The interesting thing about goals is that anyone can set them - anyone can say they are going to have "this goal" to shoot for. But, does anyone meet that goal? (Maybe) Does everyone? (Not at all!) Of course, a few do actually meet their goals. These people set a goal, keep it in mind, stay focused on it, and meet it on time! I want to be one of these people! :)
Today begins DAY ONE for me. Some will say I'm nuts; some will say I'm trying to do too much; some will say it's not possible. One or two people I know will say, "Go for it!" and/or "You can do it!" Those people I want to keep close to help me when I feel like what all the others have said is true!
This blog has at this point a small bunch of followers (mostly lurking, not letting others know they are following) that actually know me personally, in real life, not just online. Some day there will be more I'm sure but for now, to those few who stop to read I invite you to share with me a journey that goes beyond going green and getting healthy as it has been seen so far since I started this blog.
I am posting some goals for myself and will welcome your support to keep me on track with them. :)
365 day goal: to be 100+ pounds lighter! Huge goal (pun intended) for me and one I've had for a long time. Things keep getting in the way. :( Well, now I want that to change. I know what to do to lose the weight. I know how to do it safely, and so it will stay off after losing it. But I keep letting other things pull me away from doing the tasks I need to do to meet this goal. So, from this point on I need to remember to not allow that (feel free to remind me)!
(I will also be doing this one on my SPARKnEarthlyBest blog.)
WHY do I want this? Aside from the obvious fact of getting to a "normal" weight, I hope that losing 100+ pounds will improve my health, improve my mobility, improve my stamina, and even improve my battle with depression!
173 day goal: to be a Senior Director in my business! This is big too! The company has a plan they call Pacesetter that sets up your business goals to become a Senior Director within a year. My team also has a plan; it ups the pace; follow that plan and you could become a Senior Director in 6 months! Now, to add to that the company has just added an incentive to become a Director V (5) within my own Pacesetter time frame and they will give a bonus of $5,000! I am in my first month for all of these potential goals! 173 days is what I have left to achieve them! If I go for the Senior in Six plan I'll make Director V about halfway there (about 86 days)!
(I will also be doing this one on my EcoMomAndee blog!)
WHY do I want this? One, for the money, of course, LOL But two, and more importantly; achieving this success will release me from feeling dependent on others for the means to even have just a minimally simple life!
51 day goal: to have enrolled 20+ customers in my business! That's what I do! It's fairly simple - call people to set appointments for an overview of a healthier, safer, better way to shop and after they understand how it works then I enroll them so they can do it too! Together we make a difference now in our homes, our lives, and our environments!
(I will also be doing this one on my EcoMomAndee blog!)
WHY do I want this? 20 customers by this point will have me on track to meet the 173 day goal.
20 day goal: to have enrolled 10+ customers in my business! Same as 51 day goal but it's set to end at the end of July. I already have 2 customers so I just need 8 more in the next 20 days. :)
(I will also be doing this one on my EcoMomAndee blog!)
WHY do I want this? 10 customers puts me well on track to meeting my goals! Getting 10 every month right on through December will pretty much guarantee that I'll get to Senior Director by then.
Wondering why I'm putting all this out here in a blog?
Accountability for one! LOL
But also tracking and/or journaling the process or progress, lol.
Maybe it will help others in some way or inspire them to do the same! :)
The interesting thing about goals is that anyone can set them - anyone can say they are going to have "this goal" to shoot for. But, does anyone meet that goal? (Maybe) Does everyone? (Not at all!) Of course, a few do actually meet their goals. These people set a goal, keep it in mind, stay focused on it, and meet it on time! I want to be one of these people! :)
Today begins DAY ONE for me. Some will say I'm nuts; some will say I'm trying to do too much; some will say it's not possible. One or two people I know will say, "Go for it!" and/or "You can do it!" Those people I want to keep close to help me when I feel like what all the others have said is true!
This blog has at this point a small bunch of followers (mostly lurking, not letting others know they are following) that actually know me personally, in real life, not just online. Some day there will be more I'm sure but for now, to those few who stop to read I invite you to share with me a journey that goes beyond going green and getting healthy as it has been seen so far since I started this blog.
I am posting some goals for myself and will welcome your support to keep me on track with them. :)
365 day goal: to be 100+ pounds lighter! Huge goal (pun intended) for me and one I've had for a long time. Things keep getting in the way. :( Well, now I want that to change. I know what to do to lose the weight. I know how to do it safely, and so it will stay off after losing it. But I keep letting other things pull me away from doing the tasks I need to do to meet this goal. So, from this point on I need to remember to not allow that (feel free to remind me)!
(I will also be doing this one on my SPARKnEarthlyBest blog.)
WHY do I want this? Aside from the obvious fact of getting to a "normal" weight, I hope that losing 100+ pounds will improve my health, improve my mobility, improve my stamina, and even improve my battle with depression!
173 day goal: to be a Senior Director in my business! This is big too! The company has a plan they call Pacesetter that sets up your business goals to become a Senior Director within a year. My team also has a plan; it ups the pace; follow that plan and you could become a Senior Director in 6 months! Now, to add to that the company has just added an incentive to become a Director V (5) within my own Pacesetter time frame and they will give a bonus of $5,000! I am in my first month for all of these potential goals! 173 days is what I have left to achieve them! If I go for the Senior in Six plan I'll make Director V about halfway there (about 86 days)!
(I will also be doing this one on my EcoMomAndee blog!)
WHY do I want this? One, for the money, of course, LOL But two, and more importantly; achieving this success will release me from feeling dependent on others for the means to even have just a minimally simple life!
51 day goal: to have enrolled 20+ customers in my business! That's what I do! It's fairly simple - call people to set appointments for an overview of a healthier, safer, better way to shop and after they understand how it works then I enroll them so they can do it too! Together we make a difference now in our homes, our lives, and our environments!
(I will also be doing this one on my EcoMomAndee blog!)
WHY do I want this? 20 customers by this point will have me on track to meet the 173 day goal.
20 day goal: to have enrolled 10+ customers in my business! Same as 51 day goal but it's set to end at the end of July. I already have 2 customers so I just need 8 more in the next 20 days. :)
(I will also be doing this one on my EcoMomAndee blog!)
WHY do I want this? 10 customers puts me well on track to meeting my goals! Getting 10 every month right on through December will pretty much guarantee that I'll get to Senior Director by then.
Wondering why I'm putting all this out here in a blog?
Accountability for one! LOL
But also tracking and/or journaling the process or progress, lol.
Maybe it will help others in some way or inspire them to do the same! :)
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
A New Direction!
Well, my dear friends and followers, this month marks a new direction for me. It will, I hope, be one that brings so much more to my life and the lives of others than anything has done so far.
We are still "going green" - that's not going to change!
We are still "going organic" - that too shall not change!
I am excited about this new direction! And I promise to tell you all more about it in due time! There is so much going on in my life that this is all I can share at this moment. But I will be back very soon with more to tell. :)
Make today a great day!
We are still "going green" - that's not going to change!
We are still "going organic" - that too shall not change!
I am excited about this new direction! And I promise to tell you all more about it in due time! There is so much going on in my life that this is all I can share at this moment. But I will be back very soon with more to tell. :)
Make today a great day!
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Winter & Health
WINTER IS HERE! As if you didn't know ~ LOL
They say somewhere between 2/3 and 3/4 of the country is literally FREEZING!!! It's so hard to picture icicles on oranges in Florida! We too are in the deep freeze way up north in Wisconsin! I'm not even sure when it was that we last were above freezing but that really doesn't matter when you're down below zero all day long!
Suffice it to say we've had several spells of "cabin fever" around here. Some rounds were spent baking up all sorts of goodies from roasts and turkeys and ham to biscuits and cookies and pies and other treats. Some rounds were spent playing games: Clue (three different versions), Monopoly (five different versions), Life (two different versions, Bubble Brain, Chess, Cards (Spoons, Go Fish, Match, Hearts, Spades, and more), and a few totally made up games just to keep the imagination alive. Some rounds included a run of movies on a theme or catching up with DVR'd shows and movies.
This winter has hardly begun and yet we've already seen enough of it to feel we've been living in it for the last year! LOL We still have a good three months to go - at least, on average up here where Spring doesn't spring until May for the most part and sometimes not until June! UGH!!!
So ~ how goes it with all the healthy life changes and such?
Well, we're still doing ok with using cloth bags for shopping thus avoiding the need for endless mounds of plastic bags and stacks of folded paper sacks building up around the house. In fact, I think soon we'll be making some of our own. We've found so many great uses for them! The other bags don't even come close ~ plastic ones usually get filled with trash or returned to stores that recycle them; paper ones usually go for book covers and a few art projects.
We are STILL using our first bottle of Basic-H2 ~ AMAZING!!! We will be trying the oven cleaner very soon. We've been using their water pitcher filter system and it's awesome how much bottled water that is saving us! Someday this is going to grow into a great family business. A couple of my kids are interested in joining up with me already. :)
Organic eating is increasing as well and we are all seeing benefits from that. Or maybe it's more that we're seeing what happens when we don't eat mostly organic and mostly unprocessed foods. Eating less from restaurants has eased up our budget some too... enough to balance the higher cost of organic foods as we increase it more and more. We bought a really nice juicer recently and were really enjoying lots of fresh fruit and vegetable juices... and then a tiny little piece broke off, a piece that is essential to the safety mechanism, a piece that is essential for it to be operational. (deep sigh)
We bought it online, using a 3-month payment plan and at the time it broke off we hadn't even been billed for the 2nd payment! I tried super-glue to hold the tiny piece in place, and that worked for a week or so. Then it broke again. We tried another glue. When that broke we gave it up and got online to order the replacement part. A few days later I received an email explaining that the part was on backorder but should be shipped in two to three weeks. A month later I'm still waiting so I telephoned their customer service department. At first I was told it was on an indefinite backorder - some sort of problem with the supplier and there was no date on when the part would be available. This was quite frustrating so I asked about speaking to someone else - anyone above him, including the owner of the company! I explained to him how I hadn't had it even a month when it broke and the 2nd payment hadn't even been billed and now all the payments have been made and we haven't been able to use it for nearly two months after just using it for a few weeks! This was no way to run a business!!! And this certainly was not holding up to the standards I'm sure were expected by the owner! So he asked me to hold. After several minutes I was beginning to think he was just trying to wait me out, thinking I'd hang up before he got back on the line or something. Finally he returned and offered me a different type of replacement. He said they'd be sending me a return label and I could return the juicer and they would send me out another one - brand new! I like this idea. He said the return label should arrive in 5-7 business days. It's been four and so far no sign of it. Guess hoping it might come early was too much to hope for. We'll see what happens. I miss the juices though! Everyone here misses the fresh juices! Absolutely nothing beats the taste of fresh juice!!!
They say somewhere between 2/3 and 3/4 of the country is literally FREEZING!!! It's so hard to picture icicles on oranges in Florida! We too are in the deep freeze way up north in Wisconsin! I'm not even sure when it was that we last were above freezing but that really doesn't matter when you're down below zero all day long!
Suffice it to say we've had several spells of "cabin fever" around here. Some rounds were spent baking up all sorts of goodies from roasts and turkeys and ham to biscuits and cookies and pies and other treats. Some rounds were spent playing games: Clue (three different versions), Monopoly (five different versions), Life (two different versions, Bubble Brain, Chess, Cards (Spoons, Go Fish, Match, Hearts, Spades, and more), and a few totally made up games just to keep the imagination alive. Some rounds included a run of movies on a theme or catching up with DVR'd shows and movies.
This winter has hardly begun and yet we've already seen enough of it to feel we've been living in it for the last year! LOL We still have a good three months to go - at least, on average up here where Spring doesn't spring until May for the most part and sometimes not until June! UGH!!!
So ~ how goes it with all the healthy life changes and such?
Well, we're still doing ok with using cloth bags for shopping thus avoiding the need for endless mounds of plastic bags and stacks of folded paper sacks building up around the house. In fact, I think soon we'll be making some of our own. We've found so many great uses for them! The other bags don't even come close ~ plastic ones usually get filled with trash or returned to stores that recycle them; paper ones usually go for book covers and a few art projects.
We are STILL using our first bottle of Basic-H2 ~ AMAZING!!! We will be trying the oven cleaner very soon. We've been using their water pitcher filter system and it's awesome how much bottled water that is saving us! Someday this is going to grow into a great family business. A couple of my kids are interested in joining up with me already. :)
Organic eating is increasing as well and we are all seeing benefits from that. Or maybe it's more that we're seeing what happens when we don't eat mostly organic and mostly unprocessed foods. Eating less from restaurants has eased up our budget some too... enough to balance the higher cost of organic foods as we increase it more and more. We bought a really nice juicer recently and were really enjoying lots of fresh fruit and vegetable juices... and then a tiny little piece broke off, a piece that is essential to the safety mechanism, a piece that is essential for it to be operational. (deep sigh)
We bought it online, using a 3-month payment plan and at the time it broke off we hadn't even been billed for the 2nd payment! I tried super-glue to hold the tiny piece in place, and that worked for a week or so. Then it broke again. We tried another glue. When that broke we gave it up and got online to order the replacement part. A few days later I received an email explaining that the part was on backorder but should be shipped in two to three weeks. A month later I'm still waiting so I telephoned their customer service department. At first I was told it was on an indefinite backorder - some sort of problem with the supplier and there was no date on when the part would be available. This was quite frustrating so I asked about speaking to someone else - anyone above him, including the owner of the company! I explained to him how I hadn't had it even a month when it broke and the 2nd payment hadn't even been billed and now all the payments have been made and we haven't been able to use it for nearly two months after just using it for a few weeks! This was no way to run a business!!! And this certainly was not holding up to the standards I'm sure were expected by the owner! So he asked me to hold. After several minutes I was beginning to think he was just trying to wait me out, thinking I'd hang up before he got back on the line or something. Finally he returned and offered me a different type of replacement. He said they'd be sending me a return label and I could return the juicer and they would send me out another one - brand new! I like this idea. He said the return label should arrive in 5-7 business days. It's been four and so far no sign of it. Guess hoping it might come early was too much to hope for. We'll see what happens. I miss the juices though! Everyone here misses the fresh juices! Absolutely nothing beats the taste of fresh juice!!!
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