Seasonal dreams

Today I was thinking.  I was trying to come up something to write about just as a Facebook status. After writing a paragraph I looked up and realized I had so much to say about this topic. And here I am. 

Years ago a family was encouraged to grow their own Victory Garden and have 2 chickens per person. It wasn't a choice it was the way you lived.  You grew your food and cooked your meals around what you were able to harvest. Your tomatoes didn't do well then you didn't have tomatoes. Green beans thrived then you had green beans in every meal. What you couldn't use up you would preserve anyway you could. 

Now days you can go to the store and buy anything you want.  These things are often expensive to make up the cost of having to fly in these foods for you to enjoy.  The ecological footprint on these foods would blow your mind. Honestly it's just not for me. 

I look forward to spring because its buying seeds, starting seeds and getting my soil ready. I have dreams about all  the wonderful stuff I get to grow. Summer I look forward to eating green beans and peas while tending my garden.  Fall I look forward to eating a ton of corn and filling my home with pumpkin and squash.  Winter I look forward to soups and hot apple cider.  To me it just wouldn't taste the same if it wasn't eaten when it was harvested.  When I think of hot cider I think of chilly days sitting by the fire with my hot cider.  Who wants hot cider in the summer? Just doesn't seem right! 

Now lets talk about money.  Anytime you buy something not in season just be prepared to pay the cost.  Tomatoes are not in season till the end of summer here in Oregon.  If you want some tomatoes right now it will cost you about $3-$4 a pound.  If you just wait till they are in season you will pay only $1 per pound. Even less if you grow your own!  You want to know how to save money buying groceries? Cook your meals around whats in season. Simple isn't it? No more cooking in a rut.  No more kids getting tired of eating the same old food all the time. Not sure how to cook it? Buy it and make yourself cook with it.  Life is too short not to have fun even with cooking!

This is just something I have always tried to do. It's just a little dream of mine. Having my daughters get excited about what were growing and eating is my goal.  From buying new variety of seeds to trying new produce.  They even want to try each new item raw. Now that is crazy talk!  It just seems that now days parents are having a hard time getting their kids to eat any produce. It saddens me to see this. Too much processed foods and not enough fresh food is a bad path to take. I was lucky enough to grow up eating out of a garden.  Watching all the women in my family can and preserve.  Watching my whole family helping each other with one goal in mind. To grow as much food as possible to feed us all. 

And you know what? 

I'm sure as heck going to do the same for my children. 

Physical and Emotional Simple living

Simple-Adjective: Free from guile, vanity, ostentation or display.

Living-Adjective: Full of life and living.

As I sat watching a episode of Hoarders I started to realize something about myself. In the show they get to the root of their hoarding problem and most of the time its a personal experience that made them become hoarders.  Although I'm not a hoarder I do have attachments to things and tend to accumulate things from a certain era.  In my case its Fisher Price Toys from the 1960's & 1970's. 

You see I was raised by a single mother. My parents were never married and split when I was very young. Because of this I have no memories of them together. I do have memories of happy times which included putting Fisher Price school bus on my feet and trying to skate with them.  Setting up our Fisher Price home and making my people happy.  I have lovely memories of my Fisher Price toys. 

While watching hoarders my mind became clear and I realized my daughters have all the toys I had as a child.  Fisher Price school house, 2 houses, the barn, pull helicopter and even pull puppy. All from when I was a child.  Was I hanging onto memories of happier times? Was I hanging onto something I wanted but never had like happy married parents? Was this why I was attached to those toys? Am I holding onto negative memories or feeling towards my parents?  It's something I struggle with but I'm sure I'm not alone. 

We live a simple life, live in a simple home and have simple decor.  My brain works much better when I don't have clutter. That includes clutter in my personal life.  I don't handle stress well so when it enters my life I choose to let it go and move on.  I have lost some good friends and loving family members because of this. A hard thing to do but was needed.  But in order for me to live I have to let these toxic things go in my life.  I let go of countless brands, products and foods because of the stress they do to my body. So how is this any different? It's not.

From now on I choose life.  I choose living a simple life.  I choose happiness.  First thing to go is all those Fisher Price Toys that I'm attached to but my daughters are not.  I will instead fill my life with things that are important to me. My husband. My children.  My family. Last but not least mother earth. Because in the end she is who takes care of me and washes my stress away. 

So do you live a simple life? 

Have you taken the clutter out of your life physically and emotionally?

What did you let go even though you have attachments to them?

If your looking to declutter the physical, mental and emotional part of your life? Check my friend out at Liberated Spaces.  

Also my friend at Green Philly Blog has a great review of the book You Can Buy Happiness (& It's Cheap) written by Tammy Strobel.  A book on my list to read ASAP. 

Or get a little Feng Shui tips from Nature Moms Blog.

Jen and Joey Go Green took the 2011 challenge of getting rid of 2011 things in a year. What a cool challenge! Get inspired!

P.S.

This post is dedicated to my mom and dad. My mom is the hardest working, most selfless and inspiring person I know. You are who I have to thank for making me the person I am today.  And to my (step) dad may he rest in peace. You can into my heart when I needed it. Didn't even blink an eye.  So thankful to have known you and let me into your life. You are truly what the definition of dad means. I love you two both. 

Dairy Free Diary

My husband and I decided as a family to go dairy free.  He wanted to just for a healthier diet. I on the other hand wanted to see if it would help with our allergies.  My daughters and I suffer from many allergies from eczema to seasonal allergies.  There's nothing worst than watching your child break out in red spots and not knowing why. For the last 5 years we have been getting rid of all toxins in our life and honestly it has helped out tremendously.  But its not enough. 

I teetered with the idea a few times but never actually went through with it. Everything changed when we saw the 2010 documentary called "Fat sick & Nearly Dead. It's about two men whose bodies have been trashed by steroids, obesity and illness, document their rigorous healing path in a bid to regain their health.  Joe Cross was such a inspiration that even my husband wanted to give it a whirl.

It started off with buying a juicer. Then it turned into lets cut dairy out completely. My brain didn't comprehend this at all.  What? No sour cream? No cream cheese? WTF!!!!! Yes that is what my brain was telling me.  How will I survive this? 

I sat down with my daughters and explained to them that I will no longer be purchasing any dairy products but as they ran out I would replace them with a dairy alliterative if it was possible.  2 out of 4 girls were okay with this. So as time went by they started to go through all the dairy and I replaced them with healthy options. Cheese was the last to go because I had a bit in the freezer still.  So far so good.

Here is a run down of the pro's so far:

There are lots of dairy free options!

Most the time we don't even miss the dairy or look for the alternative. 

I feel very healthy mentally & physically.

I have lost 4 pounds.

My allergies are not so intense.

My energy has gone up. 

We eat healthier because I cook from scratch & don't eat processed foods.

Good Karma Flax vanilla mlk is our kids favorite.

So Delicious Coconut products rock!

Coconut milk creamer is the only option that taste like dairy creamer. Hands down! 

I'm able to find dairy free products at Grocery Outlet.

Cons:

We don't eat soy and soy is in just about every dairy free item. 

Old habits get in the way.

Dairy is in just about everything so read labels!

Sometimes you just have to stop eating your favorite food because there is no tasty alternative. 

I miss my sour cream.

I miss my cream cheese.

Did I mention I miss my sour cream?

So far I only had one set back. After one week my eczema on my hands went away completely. I was so stoked! Until I went to a baby shower and they had lots of food.  Lots of dairy ridden food. Three days later my hands were dry, rough and raw again. My gosh it was painful.  Only thing different I had was the dairy that prior weekend. Lesson learned! Its been 2 weeks and my hands are finally back to normal. Damn you dairy! 

Stay tuned for more dairy free diary and enjoy our journey to a dairy free lifestyle.

Good thing I'm not alone! There are others going dairy free and loving it.  The Healthful mama shares her journey as well here. 

I'm back!!!

Happy New Year! Happy Birthday to me!! Happy Valentines!!!  Did I miss anything? As you can tell I have been on a bit of a break.  My laptop decided to get an attitude and only work when it wanted to.  So I had to wait till we could afford a new one. Sorry it took so long. But hey....IM BACK!!!

After much thought and input from all of you I have decided to keep blogging and change nothing.  I contemplated changing the name of my blog or even starting a whole new blog.  That would of taken a ton of work and even more time away from writing. Not to mention how confusing it would be for all my readers and fans.  I just couldn't do that to all of you.

For the next few weeks I will be updating and trying new things. Here are a few things I want to work on.

-Update my blog look. I need a new photo and want to rewrite my personal info.

-Will focus on shortening my writing and not go on and on (I have a tendency to do that). Keeping my writing short and to the point. This way you can get in and out and on with your life with information.

-One new thing I will be doing is writing from on the go. From sharing photo of a sale at a store to just amazing inspiring things I find out on the road. I have the App so there's no excuse.

-More product reviews! I have 2 in the works one of which will be a giveaway.

-Share fellow bloggers with you.  I have a great community of green bloggers that I know you will all enjoy.  Each one I take what information I need and use it to better my life.  I may not agree with everyone or everything but we can always learn something new.  Because after all these are the people who opened my eyes to a much bigger world. I appreciate each and everyone of them.

-Keep being non-profit! Im not making a single penny off any of you, I don't get paid for any of my reviews and will not clutter my blog with advertisement.

-Last but not least I will be sharing myself more with you.  Things going through my mind, things Im trying to improve in myself and even take more photos of myself. The last one will be hard for me but I need to do it. I need more confidence and putting myself in the open is the best way to do it.

A big thank you to all of you who have hung in there waiting for my return.  And as always.......
I'm Green, Suck it!

Merry Christmas!

Green Review-Squooshi Reusable Pouches

Squooshi Reusable Food Pouches



Squooshi sent me this lovely pack of goodies.  Two 4.5 ounce pouches and two 2.5 ounce pouches.  Each with their own lid and comes in a cotton bag which allows for storage and pouches can get air circulation.  I have to note that the box was very small and had no plastic in it at all except for these pouches.

Here is a little info from their site:

Squooshi reusable food pouches are BPA-free, Phthalate-free, PVC-free, and Lead-free.

Squooshi reusable food pouches provide more flexible and healthy nutrition options: fill with your favorite grain, veggie, legume, dairy, and fruit combos!

Squooshi reusable food pouches reduce waste: no more throw away food pouches piling up in landfills and contributing to air pollution!

Squooshi reusable food pouches save you money on your food bills: pre-filled pouches cost between 1.50-2.25 each!

Squooshi reusable food pouches save energy: empty pouches require a lot less fuel for shipping and most pre-packaged food travels over 1,200 miles before it reaches your table!

Squooshi reusable food pouches are easy: in the car, at the park, in your kiddos's hands, less mess from broken jars, spoons, and trash!

Here you can see my arsenal of reusable items for my girls lunches.  From plain white linen napkins I use to wrap a sandwich, small Velcro fabric bags my good friend Theresa made my girls and a few fabric snack bags I have bought over the years. Anything we can use to hold food is put into this container.

My review:
At first I was thinking these would be perfect for my girls. I have two older girls which could use the larger ones and I have twins that are younger and could use the smaller pouches.  Well that didn't work out so well.  The small pouches are way too small and not enough for my 8 year old twins.  Good for a toddler but not for 8 year old. But that being said the larger size was perfect for all 4 of my girls.  When Monday came along I washed them in warm water (never ever heat plastic especially when food is in them because it will leach any plastic/harmful additive into the food) and let them completely air dry. 

I started with the small ones and found it was really hard to get applesauce into them without getting applesauce everywhere.  Just too small to pour from a container and was even hard to use a teaspoon to spoon applesauce into them. So far not liking this.

The larger two pouches were no problem to get food into. Easy peasy food in and zipped shut.  I sent my girls on their way to school and waited till they came home to give me some feedback.  They said they loved them and kids at school were asking where they got them.  I think the flashy colors, animals and had a "way cool" look to them. 

I then took them in the kitchen and rinsed them out completely and put in warm water with soap.  Thought I had cleaned them all up and let them air dry.  After a few hours I checked and nope not the case.  Applesauce is stuck in the zip style seal.  If I had small kids and a bottle brush this wouldn't be a issue but I don't have either of those.

Would I recommend these?
Yes and no.  If you buy pouches often from the store then you would save lots of money by using Squooshi pouches. If you have no issues with using plastic products then this would be great.  If you would love to have control over organic and healthy food then this would help you encourage your kids to eat healthy and organic food. 

BUT if your anything like me (a bit obsessed with green living almost borderline crazy) then you might not want these.  These are BPA free but who knows if they have any additives in them.  They are a little too expensive for me to buy online considering I would have to pay for them and shipping. If I could buy them local I might not hesitate to buy them. If I bought them new online I would be spending $19.99 for the pouches and then $4.50 for shipping. End result I would be spending $6.12 a piece for them.  But that being said my girls like them and want the in their lunches. On one hand I want to keep my kids healthy, live sustainably and avoid all plastics or harmful packaging. But on the other hand I have to remember my girls are kids and life is about learning and having fun.  These are fun and pretty darn cute. 

Jenny Bradford from Conscientious Confusion says "I am doing a Squooshi review tomorrow and I LOVE them. So much. I have been looking for an alternative to the "disposable" food pouches forever and they are perfect, as far as I can tell. I tried a silicone version about a year ago and it was TERRIBLE so these are a lifesaver."

She goes on to saying " I just use really hot water and a bottle brush. Since my kids are so young (2 and 3 yrs old) I still had a baby bottle brush and I just use that. However, I also do not let the food sit in the pouch very long. I try to rinse them out as soon as possible, although I've gone as long as 7 hours before washing them.  In my review, I am going to mention that although they are plastic, I am less concerned about chemical leaching because they have to be handwashed and therefore aren't exposed to the high temperatures in a dishwasher which typically facilitate chemical leaching. I know they're not perfect, but my readers are typically people who aren't even 100% convinced about "being green" at all, so this is still way better than the "disposable" option."
As soon as Jenny post her review I will add it here for you to read as well.

So check Squooshi out for yourself and who knows maybe this would even be a great gift for Christmas!

NOTE: Squooshi were gracious enough to send me these pouches free of charge and didn't pay me one cent to do this review. These are my honest opinions and Squooshi had no part in them.  My blog is non profit :)

UPDATE: 4/10/14
I have since stopped using these. After a few uses it was really hard to get the food out of the zip closures. Although they didn't mold I wasn't taking any chances.  I'm not recommending these any longer due to the short life of these products. Cute idea but not practical.  

Gathering Wood the Frugal and Free Way

Want to save a bundle of money each year? I knew that would get your attention.  Enjoy these helpful tips that I have learned over the years.  Hopefully you won't be spending so much money on firewood anymore. Better yet even FREE!

The first year we bought our house we had to have some firewood delivered. After spending $250 on a cord of wood we came out of the situation thinking we spent way too much money.  Happy to be warm but from that moment on we were on a mission to get wood for free or at least cheap.

What you see here is our wood shed.  My husband worked so hard on building it and couldn't wait to fill it up.  Soon after it was built a friend of ours needed some help working on his truck. Lucky for us he gave us some wood for free. Woot! But it was wet and needed to dry out for a while. This wood made the back row completely filled up.  In December of 2010 my grandmother passed away.  She lived in a large farm house that had only a wood stove for heat. Since we were the only family members with a fireplace we were able to keep most of the wood.  This wood filled our wood shed up completely. 

Earlier this year a friend of ours had cut a tree down on his property. He called my husband and said come and get it. Of course we did! The wood sat outside all summer until my husband split it and set it out to season.  This will be next years winter fire wood. We feel so lucky to have such amazing and kind friends.

We replaced our broken down back yard fence because it was falling down and unsafe for our children to play back there anymore. The fence was original to our 45 year old house and made from really good quality wood.  So section by section we tore down, replaced and took apart our old fence.  As he would take down the old fence, I would sit and took all the nails out of the wood boards.   Big boards were cut in half and broken boards were cut into pieces for kindling.  It was a long and boring process but in the end we had free fire wood.
Our neighbors next door also replaced a side fence.  Once he was done he let us have all their wood as well.  His fence was made of good quality wood but in much thinner boards.  They made perfect kindling.  Kudos to my neighbor Jim who is in his 90's and built his new fence in the summer heat.  Jim and his wife Hazel are hard working people who take stride in everything they do.  I just hope we can be like them one day. We love them very much!

Anytime we do house projects we stash away any wood on the side of the house in a dry place.  We use it for random house projects and also can use it for kindling.  My neighbor gave me this cool wood box. I just love it.

I am in a group on Facebook called "Haves and Needs"that's a free site to post things you need or want to get rid of.  Everything from clothing, food and even wood.  Someone had replaced their fence and wanted to give away this wood instead of putting it in the landfill.  I just picked it up and set it here till I can get the chance to take the nails out.  If you don't have a Facebook group like this maybe you should start one.  Our group is for just a few cities so that its not a far drive for anyone to get stuff for free. Plus you need to know someone to get into the group for safety reasons. It has helped so many people in my community.  A big thank you to all who is in this group!

I was going to take this gate apart but instead I'm keeping it to incorporate into my garden some how. How cool is this? I love old stuff!

We never pass down free wood.  Just last night as we were walking our girls around trick or treating we spotted this.  Earlier in the day I heard a chain saw for a few hours and this must have been why.  On the side of the street was all this wood with a "free wood" sign on it.  My husband quickly walked home and drove back to get the wood.  By the time I came home with our girls he had filled the truck up completely and came home with the free wood. Its filled with sap and not the best quality wood but hey its free.  This will be set outside to season and next year be in our wood shed. 

So here are a few things to take away from this post.

-Never pass down free wood.

-Sometimes it takes hard work but its worth it in the end. Never be afraid to get a hammer out and take nails out.

-Tell friends or family you would take any unpainted wood or trees they don't want. Just make sure to tell them to call you.

-Any left over wood from projects could be fire wood.

-Be willing to read the newspaper, online ads or even social sites. There is always free wood you just have to look for it and be willing to pick it up.

-Be willing to barter!

-Some places let you buy a pass that's good for a few weeks.  You can drive into the woods and take any fallen trees you want within the time limit. Not free but still WAY CHEAPER.  Just need at truck.

-Any tree in bad shape that needs to be cut down is another chance to get free wood. Just need to let sit and season for a year before you can burn it. 

Now have fun gathering wood and enjoy the savings!