Homemade Cleaning Recipies

Ok, so the first thing you need to buy, right now. go. is Dr. Bronners all in one magic soap. It's a pure castille soap (which means what?) all vegetable based. And it's certified fair trade and organic. I"m not lying when I say this is my favorite product of all time, so far. It does everything, as you are about to see in these recipies.

I'm seriouse people. I can't tell you how much I love this stuff. Besides all the uses below, there is nothing this soap can't do.  Put a drop on the carpet stain, takes out the stain and the smell; put a little in a bottle with water, put next to the sink = dish soap. And I "store" my tea tree flavor (I have a small obsession with tea tree) in the shower and put a nickel size drop on my loofah and wash my body with it. It leaves you feeling squeaky clean, but not dry, I didn't realize the buildup that was left on my skin from regular body wash until I used this. A-MAZ-ING. It's a concentrate, so you don't need to use much at all, it will last you for a very very long time.  There are 7 scents: Tea Tree (fav), Pepermint (2nd fav), Citrus (awesome in the kitchen), Almond, Rose, Lavender, Unscented (for babies, all is gentle enough for babies/kids, unless the essential oils bother them), Eucalyptus.  Most all come in a bar as well. I found all scents at Bi-Mart, and they had a coupon last time I was there for $2 off. But Freddys has a good selection as well, in the natural food section. You can get gallon sizes too.

Ok, now that you all know about the greatest soap on the earth....here are the recipies:



Laundry recipie:

1 bar Zote or Fels Naptha
2 cups borax
2 cups washing soda
*(all found in the laundry isle at Fredys)

 Chunk up the soap with a knife or fork (I have also found that chopping with a big butcher knife helps a lot after breaking the bar up and saves your processor or magic bullet), put a little (about 2-3 tbsp) at a time in a food processor or magic bullet with some (1/2 cup or so) of the powder (add oil of choice if wanted, I use tea tree because I am OBSESSEd with the smell and it has anit-bacterial properties)
Blend into small little baby chunks, dump out, add more chunks, powder, ect..repeat until all powdery. (I made more lastnight and doubled the batch because I bought a great cracker jar at Freddys that would hold more for $9.99. I used one bar Fels Naptha and one bar Dr. B tea tree. I have heard lots of people just use dove/dial/ect bars of soap, so I"m giving this a try)

1-2 tbsp per load, depending on the soil level (a single batch lasted us about 3 months, and we do a lot of laundry around here with MR. and MRS. Dirt, Mr. Peepee through my diaper at night and Mr. Work at a wherehouse)

A little bit of white distilled vinegar in softner compartment ( I just fill to max line, less than 1/4 cup) to make sure all soap is off clothes, I promise you don't smell it at all! Plus, vinegar helps set colors, bonus!

Oxy boost if you want ( I do)

I have an HE washer and dryer and it works great. I know it works in regular models too.ENJOY!


ALL PURPOSE SPRAY CLEANER
1 gallon (or whatever will fit in your spraybottle, but use a big one or lessen the other ingredients) hot water (to dissolve the baking soda)
1 tbsp baking soda
2 tsp Dr. Bronners liquid soap (miracle soap)

Spray away! And totally safe for the kiddos! Avery likes to help me wipe things down and i feel ok letting her use this! SERIOUSLY AWESOME. I will just spray the shower/tub with this once a week, let it sit for however long it takes until I take a shower later on, rinse it off, and helps keep it clean until I want to do a scrubbing.  Spray on toothpaste in the sink, let sit, wipes right off. Works on any surface.
 


TUB/TOILET SCRUB
1/8 cup Dr. B
1/4 cup borax

Brush on, let sit for 15 minutes, rinse off

Last night I was putting everything away above my utility sink. I noticed a rust stain (among many other paint, dirt, ect stains that I haven't been able to get out since we moved in, I mean it is a utility sink), so I sprinkled a little borax into the sink, added a couple drops of Dr. B, and rubbed it with my finger, rust totally came off. This made me excited, so I added some more Borax and soap, got my little scrubby brush and went to town. It ALL came off, the longer I let it sit on there, the easier everything came off! I was on a cleaning high lastnight! Plus, it smells so yummy!



ABRASIVE CLEANER
2 tbsp baking soda
2 tsp Dr. B

this is a small batch, obviously just up it if you have a bigger project. I just double it and keep a little tupperwear container under the sink.


scrub on, let sit 5-15, rinse/wipe off


ALL PURPOSE FLOOR CLEANER
1 gallon water
1/4 cup Dr. B
1/8 cup Distilled White Vinegar

mop on, mop off

I keep mine in an old Laundry degergent container, just splash it onto the floor, mop, rinse mop and rinse floor. I've been known to scrub the floor with a brush too, but our linoleum has deep groves in it =ing dirt catcher. gross.

Hand Soap
1 washed out Bath and Body Works or any other foaming (important, or spout can clog) hand wash container
1 tbsp ish of Dr. B (use Tea Tree flavor for some antimicrobial action)
fill with water
*optional: add food coloring (don't worry, doesn't stain sink or hands or towels because it's mixed with soap!)

Dish Soap
2-3 tbsp of Dr. B (depending on size of contanier)
fill with water

Notice all the repeats of ingredients! This is what I love the most!! Just a handful of ingredients gets your house clean in so many ways!

Price Breakdown (ish):
Vinegar: $2.99 ish
Borax: $2.99 ish
Washing Soda: $2.99 ish
Dr. Bronners: $ 10-12 ish (remember, this stuff will last you forever!)
Fels Naptha: $under 2 for a bar, however, I just saw that perhaps Ace Hardwear has a 24 pack for 35.00...checking it out.

The ish is for the possiblities of coupons, sales, ect.  Just buy when on sale and stock up! 

Whoops!

Look what I made on accident!!!

We can talk about where I've been, later.

I was cooking some fresh green beans in a little bit of oil, onion and garlic salt, Trader Joes South African Smoke seasoning blend and it smelled so yummy....I got to thinking....what else could I add to this to make it more of a meal? I saw some bulk quinoa in the cupboard. I sprinkled some on. Added some more. Added some water, covered and simmered. After the liquid was gone, I added some parm cheese and turned up the heat for a couple of minutes. Added more Parm in the bowl, and wowza! It was soooooooo yummy!

Peace Love and Beans!

Something's Gotta Give!

So this time, I have been seriously missing. 

M.I.A.


I don't even know where to start. I kind of feel like I"m at the place I was when I first started this whole thing (the " I need a change, I'm in a rut, something's gotta give!)  And I feel like blogging helped get me out of it last time, so perhaps this will help me again!

I have been a very faithful vegetarian (no problems, except when I smell bacon, and trust me, I can smell it for miles), the idea of eating dead, rotting carcas is still not appealing :)

Vegan....well...I started slipping about a month ago, maybe a little more.  I was never anal (oh how I hate that word, I can not for the life of me think of a better word right now!) about the Vegan thing, I tried as hard as I could for as long as I could, but in a small town, it's tough.  And making it tougher, a budget.  So, I wouldn't say I have fallen off the wagon, I would say I'm hanging over the edge desperatly hanging on for dear life and the road is littered with rocks and speed bumps and cheese, oh, I mean pot holes.  Don't give up on me yet, I desperatley want to continue this lifestyle, it makes a major difference in my mood, energy, and over all out look, it's just tough right now.

Making it tougher, me + a job.

That's right. For those of you that didn't know, I am working and have been for the past month and a half-ish. It's a temp job (for Regence, I happen to have a connection there), just doing computer input.  It acctually ended up working out really well for us, right now.  For the first couple of weeks, Mr. AP was still working his same hours (4:30 pm-3 am). So, he would get home from work and go to sleep, like normal, I would get up around 4:45am and head to work (luckily, I have flex hours, so I could pretty much make my schedule, so long as the work and the hours were there), he would then wake up with the children (getting about 4 hours of sleep) and I would get home around 3:30 in time for him to get ready for work.

Repeat.

Some of you know about his injured wrist he has been dealing with for the last couple of months. Well, he was on light duty and that ran out.  He is now on disability leave.  This is a blessing, only because I am working.  If I were not working, we would up that poopy creek without a boat.

So, where does this leave us?

I am working.

Mr. AP is a stay at home dad. (and doing a pretty amazing job, in fact, he's showing me up and it's starting to piss me off.) (I'm kidding, kind of) (no, really, he's kind of amazing)(jerk)(love)

So, for now, that's us. And it's working.  When my job ends and the end of this month, then who knows. We'll see when it happens.

Christmas was great. New Years was great.

Hopefully I can be back soon!

Peace Love and Jobs.

Warrior Dash!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm officially insane. 

Take me to the mental hospitol right now. 

I'll even check myself in. 

For some reason, I thought it was a good idea to sign up for this .  Do yourself a favor and go check out the website, otherwise you will not understand what I'm talking about.  For real.  Stop reading, click the link.

Go. Now.

Do you see this? Mud, fire, RUNNING?  Do you associate any of these words with my name?

Don't get me wrong, I think it looks like a freaking blast.  But it also looks super duper hard! 

I've decided I need to train.  Me and training equals running around the block (I did this yesterday) and going to the school to run stairs (I did this Saturday).  We will see if this "training" continues.  But I highly recomend continuing it self, if you don't want to fall over dead.

Mr. AP is doing it too.  There are prizes for the top 3 over all and the top 3 in different age groups.  He wants to be a top 3 of some kind.  I just don't want to be laped by the following start time.  I somehow convinced several of our friends to do it too (you guys are nuts!).  Us girls have decided to hang back and just have a good time.  A good time....but we still have to make it through 3 miles of trails and obstacles! Fire! Mud! Repelling off of a steep cliff!

Well, if I make it, I"ll be sure to post many muddy pictures.  Did I mention that you get beer, turkey legs (yay for me right?) and an awesome viking hat at the end? Plus live music.  It should be amazing.

Peace, Love and TRAINING!!

Juicing!

I have wanted a juicer for a while now (hello? Have you seen the Jack Lalane infomercial? Who wouldn't want to live to be 110?). Anyway, I asked for one for my birthday and to my surprise, I didn't get one. Come on people!

Well, now, I thank you for not granting my wish. After some research, I found that I don't want a Jack Lalane (something about it stealing the nutrients while it whirls the juice from the pulp). So, I figured if I'm going to do this, let's do this right! I went to the next step up ( cylindrical ?)

I ordered the juicer, a juice fasting bible (yep, we're talking fasting too) and a juice recipe book. (man I love/hate Amazon)

Stop. I started this post about 3 weeks ago. I would have gone on to say that the juicing was going great! I was doing it one to two times a day and it was really yummy and making me feel great! I hadn't gotten into a fast yet, but I was headed there. Again, stop.

Now, I have had a busy couple of weeks. Busy as in my cousin got married (hooray for the new Wads!), not just a day affair here people. We are talking a 5 day excursion to Washington. It was fabulous and fun and went off without a hitch. Needless to say, it was rather difficult to stay on track when I couldn't control my every meal. I was letting things slip. A little dairy here, a little pastry something there, before you know it, I am home and letting things continue to slip. This is bad news people.

For the record (the one you are all keeping on me about what I eat and don t eat), I have NOT eaten meat. And will not. I just don't want to or need to. However, I can't let things slip anymore. I have never claimed to be anal about this, but you put a little ranch in your salad and pretty soon there's cheese on there too. I wouldn't be too worried about this except it is really effecting the way that I feel. I have had horrible headaches, I've been super tired, and majorly lazy (ask Mr. AP, he will gladly tell you all about it). I am reverting to all the of the things I am trying to change!

This is serious people! I must get control and jump back on track. Tomorrow is a new day! Juice for breakfast! Bowels will move again! I will do the dishes!!

Peace Love and Juice

Con

Can I tell you what I love?

I love what I just did.  Want to know what I just did? Sure ya do!

I just pulled out an onion and some garlic, sauted it, pulled out a bunch of veggies from the fridge, chopped them up and threw them in the pan.  Whipped up a quick batch of couscous and threw it all together! Voila! A dinner you can feel good about. 

Ask me what I had for breakfast, go ahead, ask.  A donought.  Maybe even two.  I didn't count, I was to ashamed. 

I'm not consistent people. Consistent is not my middle name. I so wish it was.  Life would be easier, right? I wouldn't know, cause it's not.

Peace  Love and Consistency

Need. More. Vegetables.

I typically need to be in the mood to bust out one of these blogs. 


If I'm not, it will just suck and you will regret reading it. 


I have also found that after all of these hundreds and hundreds of people (ok, like 5) told me that they like reading my blog and I'm a good writer, I got stage fright.  Or blog fright.  What? People are acctually reading this?  Not just my mom and my best friends? (ok, they were counted in the 5) Real people, people.  I felt pressure to be good.  How silly is that.  Anybody remember Hee Haw Hayride? Yeah, that killed me everytime I had to be on stage.  Unless I'm a couple of drinks in, center stage is not my place. It's taking me a while to try to forget anyone ever said anything and just get back to writing for myself, thinking that no one is reading.  Kind of like dance like no one is watching, but writing and reading.  So, there you go, I think I'm off to a good start.

I have still been dragging with the whole eating thing.  Still not cheating on vegan (besides the pizza, but I told you, so it's not cheating right?), however, I have been cheating with sugar on all things good.  For instance, after Squish was born, we slept on the couch for about the first month because this was the only way he would sleep for any length of time (in my arms).  As we now know, this whole sleep thing wouldn't be resolved for some time.  Anyway, I'm digressing on my digression.  Every night after we put Ms. Moo down for bed, Mr.AP  and I would sit on the couch, I would feed Squish, he would fall asleep, and we would watch shows: Chuck, CSI, Numbers, Survivor, Biggest Loser, ect.  Chuck is the one that really stands out to me for some reason.  During this time, I would have made a batch of my favorite snack (or sometimes Mr. AP would): Cheerios, marshmallows and chocolate chips.  Yep, so good people.  Anyway, I've been making this for the last week or so (vegan chocolate chips of course).  And boy do I feel it.  I'm bloated, tired, headache, but I can't stop people!!! 

When I first started this whole thing, I was shocked and surprised at how I wasn't craving all the things I used to crave (mostly all things chocolate covered in sugar covered in chocolate).  I really truely didn't.  They could even be in the house and I was not tempted to eat them.  Now, after this whole stomach thing, I am craving all things naughty!  All the time.  I'm not sure why.  Therefore, I have not been eating as much good for me stuff as I should be, thus, I feel crappy.

I believe I need to get back into my books and try more things.  I know I promised an Alicia post about the Kind Diet, but I honestly haven't tried anything from it yet.  I 've read it, but it's a little bit more hard core than Skinny Bitch and requires ingredients that can not be found at Freddy's.  This is an excuse, isn't it.  Ok, ok, I'll try harder and be better.  I NEED to.  Everyone suffers from this sugar crazed lady, even you.  Yep, this post was written under the influence.  I'm sorry.  The first step is admitting you have a problem, right?  What's the next one....???

Peace, Love and sugar.  I mean vegetables!

No more worries people! I'm ok now!  I will still get an occasional cramp (usually after a lot of greens) but I learned from Dr. Oz that this is normal, thanks Dr. Oz.  I have been listening more to my body and what it wants to eat (it's kind of crazy how you can hear your body when you don't put all that junk in it).  It has been telling me more carbs, so I listened.  For instance, I'll have a piece of toast with my morning fruit smoothy or I'll grab a handful of crackers as a mini snack. 

However. I have slightly fallen off of the wagon (no, not the vegan wagon (no "I told you so's" yet!) unless you count that delicious artichoke heart, pepper and LIGHT cheese delight pizza from Papa Murphey's I had the other night), the "eating lots of veggies and making lots of meals" wagon.  This whole stomach cramping thing kind of threw me off for a while.  I had to eat what I could.  And then my "friend" that visited me on my birthday (not the one that brought me the awesome cookbook) brought me cravings for naughty things.  I tried not to give in too much, but I did do that DELICIOUS pizza, some mint chocolate swirl coconut icecream (so yum!), more toast that I would usually have, and less vegies.  I'm begining to get back on track now that both problems are gone. 

During this time, I did make a super yummy stir fry with udon noodles (and then soba) and a TON of vegetables.  So easy and yummy.  The noodles cook in 3-4 minutes.  And guess who loves it?  Mr. AP! He acctually asks me to make it! For anyone that knows him, this is huge.  He "hates" pasta and while he does add some meat to his portion, it's not a burger!! 

Lastnight I made a Kale and potatoe soup for my mom and I.  While it didn't exactly come out "soupy", it was still yummy.  The only time consuming thing about all of these meals is chopping the vegies, and I acctually enjoy doing it, wierd.  Mr. Squishy (or BamBam, another blog to come) tried this, but chose to smear it all over the table instead of consuming it. Baby steps.

Peace Love and noodles

It's my Party and I'll.....

So it's my birthday! Hooray! I really don't feel bad about getting older.  Perhaps it has to do with liking where I'm at in life.  It's pretty much where I saw myself, I think.  Of course things can always go up/be better/more wonderful, but I've got it pretty damn good right now.  "How so Rachel?" (you might ask) Well, let me tell you.

(Prepare for some bragging, but really it's just appreciation for what I'm surrounded with)

First, I am married to my Jacob (yep, that's a Twilight reference, get over it if you don't like the books, I read them in one week while I was 8 months pregnant with Jack, I was obsessed. Perhaps my emotions were SLIGHTLY hightened, but who's counting) (and I say Jacob because Edward love does not exist, that is a fairytale people, come on, get with the program), we go up and we go down, but in the end, we are doing it all together and getting closer by the second. (*tear* right? i know, I'm just too much!) And then there are my beautiful babies!  My mom said she knew I wanted to be a mom when I was two.  I believe it.  Super bonus plus, I get to stay home with them every day of every week of every month of every year.  Wouldn't have it any other way. (another tear, I know, I'm killing myself!)  My mom, she's pretty freakin fantastic. (she's here right now reading Ms. Moo a book before bed, love)  As far as families go, mine's crazy.  Who's isn't?  There awesome though.  So is my in-law fam.  I know what you're thinking: "Really Rach? You are just saying that because they read this." No, I swear!  They are great! And friends, wow, my friends are amazing.  This one friend, she just brought me a present (against my wishes) and it was the #1 vegan cook book on my list! Again with the love!  I am living in the neighboorhood I've always wanted to come back to in a house that I really like. 

Sure, there is always more that we want and more that we "need", but when it comes down to it, I've got everything and more.  Sometimes it's hard to take a step back and look at what we have and appreciate it all (good and bad), but if we do, we see that it's pretty amazing.  At least I do, I hope it for all of you too.




Ok ok..enough with the sappy stuff.  Let me tell you what Mother Nature brought me for my birthday: cramps, bloating, longing for icky foods...yep, you guessed it. (I won't say it for the men that read my blog, Dad.)  Wah.  Heating pad here I come!


Let me update you on what I did this weekend!  I planted a bag garden!  I'll take pictures soon so you can see what I mean.  I have all kinds of things planted from pumpkin to cantalope to pickeling cucumber! (shout out to Lindsay!!)  I'm really excited about it.  Oooo! I have strawberries too!  I made a stirfry tonight and used green onions from my garden! I can't wait for more to grow.


Oh, if anyone is wondering about the Gdiapers, I am still using them.  Usually just around the house and not for bed time.  The reason for just around the house is that the poops can kind of be a mess and hassle to clean up.  There is ALWAYS poop on the liner that has to be hosed off and then the liner needs to be soaked or it will stain.  So I still love them and use them, and if Jack has had his morning poop, I'll take him out in a g, I just don't want to have to deal with that somewhere in public.  The con.

My "lifestyle diet change" is still going good.  My stomach is loads better.  It acts up everyonce in a while, but for the most part, it's good.  I still try to take at least one acidophilis pill, but I've been doing pretty good.  I think my body is getting it, which is good because I was begining to wonder.

Time for some Idol folks, GO LEE!

Peace love and birthdays!

Update: Body Revolt!

I know I've been keeping you all in deep suspence, but I really don't have much to report. Unless you count that the past two weeks have kind of been a horrible rollercoaster. Some days I'm fine, some days I'm curled up in a ball in agonizing pain. I have found (thanks to my friend Lindsay and mama) that acidophilus pills help a little, when I remember to take them BEFORE I eat.




I went to the Downtown upstairs wine walk thingy in Albany this last Friday. All day I had been feeling the pain, so I wasn't even sure I was going to go, but I began to feel better as the time came near. I had no idea what would happen when I drank wine, but what's the worse that could happen? I feel bad and have to go home, no biggie. I felt totally fine all night long, fine enough to tie one on even. We ate at the Vault and I had the vegi yakisoba (very yummy).... Fine! Mo and I met up with our men and friend Jamil and went to Baileys where I scarffed down half an order of delicious fries.....fine! The next morning, I had no hangover and felt great, tired, but great.



All day Saturday went well too.



Sunday, mommy day, we went to brunch at SpringHill (the only reason to eat there is the bacon, I was so excited when everyone started discussing how amazing the bacon was, NOT) never the less, I ate some fruit, a muffin and some potatoes. Mom, Av and I headed to Woodburn afterwards and it began to go downhill there. I started sweating and cramping, not a good shopping feeling.  The rest of the day went ok, Mr. AP brought me a pill before we ate a Mother's Day BBQ, and there was mild cramping after that.


Then Monday night, Mr. AP's parents came over for dinner and I made yummo temph enchilada's and a salad with a glass of wine.  I forgot to take a pill because I'd been feeling so good all day.  I didn't even realize until the next day (when I started to curl up into a ball) that I felt totally fine with all the spicy, garlicy food....I had wine! I don't know what it is, but it seems when I drink wine, I'm ok.  What is in wine that would aid with digestion?  I'll google it and let you know what the web MD's have to say about it.

I realize that you are probably wondering why I haven't gotten my crazy ass to the Dr. yet....well, this is slightly personal, (but hey, isn't that what blogs are?) I don't have insurance.  My kids do, so don't worry about them, but I haven't had insurance (unless I was pregnant, thankyou all if you are tax payers) since 2004.  Bret has had it here and there when his employer was willing to catch the entire premium, but we just don't have wiggle room to add me.  I know, I know, what if something happens (kind of like it is right now, uhem) then we'll really be in trouble.  I don't have an answer.  It is what it is and times are tough for a lot of people right now and health insurance (in my honest opinion) is kind of a joke.  It's ridiculous that people are dying everyday because they can't afford to go to the hospitol because they can't afford health insurance.  The middle/lower class is completely forgotten.  You have to make a good amount of money to afford health insurance or be dirt poor (and I say dirt because we are grass poor and that's too much) to get assited health insurance.  It just blows my mind and hurts my heart (a lot of things hurt my heart, but this is good enough for one night).

Anyway, I got all serious on you and now you don't want to read my blogs anymore, do you.  Well, for what it's worth, I'm still convinced that it's my body saying "What the *&#$!" (fill it in as you see fit) and that it will get better when I'm adjusted. (at least that's what I'm hoping for) 

Peace Love and no balls of pain

Ps. Friend of mine Keri: There has been no more fainting, just the one time, so please do not worry over me my love!

Body Revolt! Plus awesome song

First things first.  Listen to this right now.  I"m obsessed with this song and this girl.  She is amazing.  Do yourself a favor and take a minute to relax and listen.





So I think my body is finally saying "what the hell are you doing?!!".  I know I said I've been feeling amazing and great and wonderful and full of energy, and it's true....except for the last couple of days.  Now before we panic and/or say "I told you  you were crazy!", let's analize why my body is rebelling. 

First, I'll tell you what's going on.  There were a couple of nights that I would wake up feeling like I should pass out.  You know that feeling you get right before you faint, the wave of heat followed by cold?  Well I kept getting that over and over and over to the point where I was laying on my bathroom floor praying I would pass out.  I wasn't really haveing any pains in my stomach or anything, it was odd.  Finally I did do the doo and then passed out in the hallway.  I"m not sure for how long, but I crawled back to bed and began having horrid pains in my stomach.  Perhaps not my stomach area, perhaps it was more intestinal, I've never had these kind of cramps (I've had the ones right before you poop that are way down low, but not this high).  Anyway, I finally fell asleep or passed out again, not sure which.  I did this for another two nights (no more passing out, just the feeling).  I do believe doing the doo helped ease the pain.  It's gotten better, but still, everytime I eat something I get intestinal cramping, even if it's slight.  (Then I exasberated the situation by having cheese pizza two nights ago, more on that later)

So, here's what I've come up with.  My body is finally fully detoxing.  Let's think about it:  For 20 years (giver or take a few) I ate as much chocolate, sugar, fried anything, milk, cheese, butter as I could.  I ate some vegetables, only dipped in ranch, only ate salad if it was drenched in ranch, covered in cheese, eggs and bacon.  It's a wonder I didn't weigh 300 pounds really.  My saving grace is that I couldn't eat very much at a time, I've always had an internal "barf if I eat one more bite" monitor that only allowed me to eat 1/4 of anything I ordered or made or put on my plate (unless it was chocolate, I could easily eat my weight in chocolate, not the 300 pound me, but the real me).  And I just shut that completely down one day.  No more processed sugar, no more milk, no more cheese, no more grease...my body was probably in shock and excited at first.  Now, it's like "What is happening? I don't know what to do with this food!"  So, I'm hoping this is the case.  I'll give it another week, and then I may have look further into what I'm eating and what's going on.





Cheese Pizza:  yep, I told you I wasn't going to be anal.  And I'm not.  I'm going to eat a piece of cake now and then.  I'll have some M&Ms here and there (how can I not? Every member of my family is obsessed with them and they are everywhere).  And I'm going to eat some pizza when  it sounds good, and it did.  Tasted sooooo good!  However, the consequences were almost immediate.  Stomach cramping followed by intestinal cramping all night long.  So, my indulgences will be few and far between because it's not worth it to me to be in pain for an entire night+.  (maybe next time, I"ll just have one piece instead of 4, that could help :)



Peace love and intestines

I can't spell for the life of me people! Give me a break!

I've been busy!


Stop yelling at me!



I know you guys hang on my every word and have a hard time getting along without me, but I've had things to do. It can't always be about you all the time...yeesh!





Anyway, I have been busy.  All this cooking and cleaning that I now have the energy to do is really taking it's toll on my blog time (and TV time, ahhh!).  Plus, my dear sweet cousin is getting married in July, so you know what that means....yes, lots of planning and smaming and tanning and canning...huh?


 what just happened, I got lost for a second, right then...Much to do!


Her bach party was last weekend and we went wine tasting! So fun! I know what you're thinking...."while being intoxicated for 14 hours (yes, you read that correctly) were you able to stay true to your new way of life, aka veganism?"

I'm so glad you asked!

I did really great! Ask anyone that went.  ("That seatbelt saved my life!") I ordered a veg salad with a vinagarette and ate with my hands over my eyes so that I could not see all the cheesy, white, pasta that I was surrounded by!  ("Why are we getting into white vans?" "Because we don't live here Amanda!") Back in the room, I may or may  not have had a chocolate covered caramel....come on, caramel? Anyway, I was proud of my drunk ass.

Moving on.  What else have I been eating? I know you are wondering, because what else could you possibly have been thinking about for the past week?  Well, let me tell you.  I knew I wasn't doing GREAT with my amount of veg intake, so I have been having a salad for lunch.  Half spinach, half baby romaine. They I just add whatever I have.  Beans (any beans, man I love beans). Peppers (any peppers, man I love peppers). Broc. Zuch. Mushrooms. Ect.  Then, I put this kick ass thousand island dressing, that I MADE (yep, read it right), on and shazam! Awesome yumminess!!

Also, I made these deliciouse enchiladas that I found at my new favorite place to live, http://www.thekindlife.com/. My cousin was coming over to get her hair done (not by me in my house, because that would be illegal..) and my aunt came to watch the kiddos (while I wasn't doing her hair in my house because that would be illegal).  Mo brought a salad and I made the enchiladas.  We even garnished with faux sourcream.  SOOOOO good!  Ask the none vegans! They liked 'em too! These will become a staple for sure.  Pretty simple too.

Tonight I made some chopped up tofu sauted in safflower oil, and Nearly Normal (in Corvallis) tofu seasoning and added it to some cous cous.  Yummo! And Jack ate it! HOORAY!

I'm still doing my smoothies for breakfast, exept, at my new favorite place to live, I got a tip to add spinach or kale to the fruit smoothie (I know, ewww, this was my thought too), they said you couldn't even tell.  So, I gave it a whirl, and it's true! Can't tell. Love it.

I am still in the midst of reading The Kind Diet (don't worry, there will be a monsterous post about this book too), I don't get a lot of time to concentrate on reading alone.  And I want to soak in every word!  I will say this, all of the things I am doing right now (veganism, kind diet reading (Alicia is a little more intense on everything), gDiapering, ect.) is taking me down a path I never really thought of myself going down.  I am really begining to care deeply about the footprint I make on this earth.  I mean, don't get me wrong, I always cared about the Earth and what we were doing to it, but I was always one of those "Well, how much difference can one person make?" and "It's just easy to not worry about how much water you're using and water bottles are so convienent." blah blah blah.  Excuses. 

I"ll be the first to say, my mom (bless her heart) has recycled since before recycling was cool. Like had to haul your stuff to the thing and seperate it into the things.  So, that's always been something I"ve done and cared about because I was raised that way (another topic about teaching our youngins and the impression it can make!).  So I'm totally there with recycling...I am being more conscious about doing a good job, but I'm also trying to take shorter showers, use less dishes, be aware of what I'm buying and where it came from (can't wait for Farmer's Market!) use less plastic (including no more water bottles (sorry Mr. AP!) and no more soda bottles), we've been switching lightbulbs for a while now and the more I learn, the more I want to do!  I want to start a garden! I am home, so why not? I have the space, so why not!?  We can change things, if every person that reads this starts recycling, that's huge! And then you tell your friend and she tells hers, ect.  I just think we underestimate our voice and ability. 

Oh bother, now I'm all amped up to write what I've learned in the Kind Diet, but I"m not done yet! I really think you'll be blown away by some of the statistics and findings, I know I was.

No



Not now!


Not finished!



Ok, Peace love and recycle (at least!)

Uh oh....and Yahoo!

I"m so excited.....again....





I found a new website.....





And it has so much to offer!!




I could spend hours.....




Because that's what I have in my day,




Hours to give!



But I must!



This is soooo awesome!




Ok, so remember how I said this whole thing was set off by seeing Alicia Silverstone on Oprah? (Well, I did.)  And I really want her cookbook and while looking up the name of it, I came across THIS!


AHHHH! Any spare minute I have in the next couple of days (which is not many, my cousin's bach party is this saturday, much to do!) I will be here at this site soaking up as much as I can.  It's a forum too! I can get asnwers!

And I love love love Alicia, always have (hello, Clueless, who doesn't love Clueless?) She is so natural and earthy and beautiful....she is my inspiration!


And it's also about home and style and health and just being nice to this earth we live on! So exciting! There will probably be much more to follow once I dive into this website...be prepared!




Peace love and Alicia!!!




PS. all the links are the same website....I hope you didn't touch them all, but if you did, haha and sorry.

BBQ SEASON!!!

I am really excited because we're coming on BBQ season! Who doesn't love BBQs?! But what dies a vegan eat at a BBQ?





Let me tell you!! You eat Gardenburger BlackBean Chipotle veggie burgers! These are sooooooooooooooooo delicious! I had Mr. AP throw a couple on the grill for me and Mr. Squish tonight. Turns out there are a little to spicy for the wee one. This worked out amazingly well for me because I ate both of them!

I went sans bun and mixed up some veganaise ( I'll say it again, tastes like regular!), yellow mustard, and a little bit of ketchup, voilà! So delicious! And good for you! There are only 3 grams of fat, plus 5 grams of fiber and 5 grams of protien per patty. Bonus!

So you have to take your own patties and perhaps dip (if you want to go that far), but at least you know that you're eating what you want to be eating! And you can always bring a salad to share too, then you'll have plenty to enjoy!

Conclusion: a must try! Even if you're not a vegan! (sidenote: potential to be dry if you don't use a dip/smear/dressing of some kind)

Peace love and Gardenburger BlackBean Chipotle veggie burgers!




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Caution and Loss

I have been waiting to write this blog post.  I wasn't even sure I was going to write it, it's not a need to know kind of thing, but we go through things in life so we can tell our story and potentially help or touch someone with it.  I'm more writing this as a "caution" and as an explanation.  You'll understand the caution part in a minute.  But I do believe this whole thing contributed to my "jump start my life, kick my ass into gear and live a better day" mentality. So, here we go...


Preface:  At my 6 week check-up after giving birth to Jack, I decided to go with an IUD for birth control.  I'd heard good things and we weren't sure when/where/if we wanted to have another baby (let's be honest, I did, but we were humouring Mr. AP), so it sounded like a good option. 

Additional preface: I breastfed Avery until she was 13 months old, and we were down to the just once in the middle of the night feeding for about the last month, but nonetheless, I didn't start my period (the real reason I breastfeed, screw healthy babies, I don't have to bleed for over two years! kidding, I kid) until about a week after I was done. 

Back to first preface:  I also breastfed Jack for about 13 months, possibly a bit more, I think we were around Thanksgiving when we stopped.  And it wasn't a choice of his, it was mine because he was still waking 2-3 times a night and that's just silly!  Anyway, I wasn't really sure what to expect as far as red rivers go because of the IUD.  I didn't give it a ton of thought (why? not sure, maybe it was the thrill of the holidays and who wants to think about their period at the most wonderful time of the year?).  Anyway, January comes around and I start to think about it.....

Story:

It's about the middle of January and I have a feeling I'm pregnant.  Well, that can't be, I have an IUD, don't I?  (if you don't know what an IUD is, it's a tiny little Y shapped piece of plastic inserted into the mouth of your uterus, and there are strings left hanging down)  Well, I checked for the strings.....no strings that I could find...uh oh.  So we bought a test.......

took it....

positive.

I'm kind of excited...I did want another baby.  Bret is not excited.  He did not want another baby.  I'm confused, happy, sad (because Mr. AP is not excited), worried (there could be all kinds of issues if the IUD is still in there), curiouse about what happened to the IUD....lots and lots of questions.
Since we moved, I call a clinic that includes midwives and DRs in Corvallis.  I tell them my situation and they want to see me right away.  First I must go get blood drawn (oh how I love needles). A day later....

In I go, anxious as hell.  I'm thinking there is a possibility that I'm a couple of months (remember when I stopped breastfeeding?).  We do the usual chit chat, but there is nothing to be done except an ultrasound (the internal kind).  Let's do this already.  So, in goes the wand...ok, there's my uterus and a.....blob.  Midwife says, well, that could be the beginings of a baby or a blod clot.  Alright.  There is no sign of the IUD.  They want be to head over to the hospitol for a full ultra sound to make sure it didn't migrate somewhere else. Alright.  Short story, it didn't, it must have fallen out somewhere, somehow, sometime. 

Here is the CAUTION part:  If you have an IUD or know someone that does, check it daily! If not daily, then at least before you do your deed.

Back to the story.  So, my blood levels said I was pregnant.  I was to come back in a week with another blood test and another wand ultrasound.  I came back.  This time there is a sack and another sack (I forget the names of the sacks, but the inner and outer).  These are definatly the beginings of baby.  Ok, so I'm pregnant.  And my blood levels have trippled. (No, it's not twins).  Ok, I'm pregnant.  Still no heartbeat or alien looking baby.  So, now it's safe for me to wait 2 weeks to come back.  They acctually joked, "What, did you feel your cells dividing?" because by the measurement of the sack, I was about 5 weeks, which means I took the test when I was 1 week pregnant, talk about finding out early.

Two weeks go by and I go back in.  This time, there is a heartbeat :)  Now I'm starting to get excited and it's a little more real.  It might also be that I'm going to Disneyland in a week, but excitement is in the air.  Mr. AP is begining to accept the idea of having a number 3, we start talking about where they will go, probably move the two youngest into Avery's room and split it down the middle, things like that.  I go to Disneyland with mom and Av and Aunt Joanie and Jamie, so fun.  I'm feeling better there than I have the whole time, I just think it's because it's the Happiest Place on Earth!  I have not told my mom yet.....

We get back from Disney and I tell her.  Turns out she had an idea and it's had time to settle and so she's ok with it, even excited.  My next Dr. appointment is a couple days after I get back from Disney.  My mom took the kids to the park while I went (much easier, and thank heaven she did this time).  I go in and do the usual, but now I'm 10 weeks and they try to get the hearbeat with a doppler, no luck, but not panicking because it could still be too early for that.  They bring in the wand ultrasound again.  She finds the baby (there are arms and legs) but is having a hard time finding the heart beat (my stomach sinks), she goes to find a Dr to see if there is something she is missing (apparently, my uterus is really deep down by my tailbone (no wonder I had back labor with both kids).  The Dr. confirms that she is not missing anything...there is no heartbeat.  I'm trying to hold it together.  I have to look away from the screen that is showing my little baby with arms and legs and no hearbeat.  Apon measuring the baby, it measures about a week and a half behind, so he (I was pretty sure it was a boy, I was sweating (and stinking) and having sex dreams like I did with Jack) had been gone for a while (probably why I felt so good in Disney).  They left me alone to get dressed and be by myself for a bit.  I lost it.  (I am now too writing this, it's really good for me though)  I don't like to cry in front of strangers, so I had it together by the time they came back.  They told me my options and suggested that since it was a Friday, I go home and think about it and call back on Monday if I decide to have surgery to take care of it.  That's what I choose to do.  (And luckily, I was going away with my wonderful friends to the beach, just what I needed.)

When I went into the waiting room, my mom was there with my two kiddos.  I didn't tell my mom until we got into the car.  I don't even like to cry in front of people I do know (not about real stuff, movies, commercials, tv shows, that's all fine, but when it comes to me things, no way)  So I didn't cry.  I didn't cry when I told Bret or my best friend or my dad.  I waited until Bret went to work, and then I cried.

I decided to have surgery.  I didn't want to wait around for my body to do what it might not even do.  I couldn't handle that.  I won't go into details about that, but it was my first surgery (besides wisdom teeth).  It went "well".  I am good.

I know this happens to a lot of women out there, way more than we know.  It has probably happened to you, even if you didin't know it.  I think it has happened to me before, but really early on.  Not like this.  I am still sad about it, like when I find a baby toy in Jack's room or a binky, or the newborn diaper still in his diaper drawer.  But I also feel ok about it.  I was feeling guilty for Jack when I was pregnant.  He is still such a baby in so many ways, much more so than Avery was at his age.  He still needs me, he still needs lots of squishy snuggles and loves and kisses.  And not that I couldn't have given that to him with a new baby, it just wouldn't be the same.  He wouldn't even have been two when the new baby came.  So for me, this is what makes it ok.  I know we'll go there again and probably here in a while.  It really wasn't the right time for us (even though we would make it work, because really, when is the "right" time), but I think it's brought everyone around to my way of thinking: ANOTHER BABY!!

Peace, Love and BABIES!

Go away please....

So a friend of mine stopped by yesterday...one I haven't seen in a really long time and one I don't like, at all.  You know who you are "friend".  Don't pretend you guys don't know who I"m talking about (sorry if there are any men reading this, including my father)......

This "friend" hasn't been here since January of 2008 (nice friend huh?).  This friend brings chocolate.  Lots and lots of chocolate.  Not fruit, not vegtables, not cous cous, not pollenta, not whole wheat pastry flour, she is evil.  She brought ice cream.  She made me eat a muffin before I had my fruit smoothie this morning.  She forced a couple of licks of Avery's icecream cone down my throat.  I'm pretty sure she is responsible for my cheating with the cheese too, she just sent it ahead.  I've been eating lots of Newman Os too.  Now this is all vegan that I'm eating (besides the icecream licks and cheesy pizza), but it's not what keeps my day going the way I have become used to.  Today, for the first time since the first week of giving up all those lovely vices I had, I got a headache.  I know it's from too much sugar/not enough good stuff. Go away "friend", you are not welcome here.

I will gladely bid her farewell when her "visit" is over.  I'm going to have to learn to say no to her when she comes around again!

On a good note, I've made some more things that I like! Both from SBITK.

First, I made a delicious whole wheat muffin that you can add any type of fruit to.  I tried dried blueberries from bulk the first time and the second I didn't have quite enough, so I added some vegan chocolate chips for a treat and it's nummy!  I could almost eat a whole bowl of just the batter (and it would be safe because there are no raw ingredients).

The other night, I invited my mom over and we had portabello mushrooms, zuchini and onions marinated in balsamic vinager, olive oil, honey, and spices; seared on a skillet and then chopped up and put over cous cous.  Loved it. So did mom.  I'll do it again.

In conclusion, my "friend" is making this difficult on me, but we all need to be challenged now and again...and I hope this headache goes away by tomorrow, I do NOT miss them at all.  I'm so unproductive. Yuck.

Peace, love and unwelcome "friends"

Cheater Cheater!!

I cheated. 




In a bad bad bad way.





It wasn't totally my fault!







My husband brought home an irresistable veggie delight pizza!!!




RUDE!!!



And so wonderful!!





I had 3 pieces.......................................






And immediatley wanted to chuck it back up, I felt horrid.  And I can still feel the effects...this was two days ago.  I've been clogged up, you know I'm talking poop again, and I've felt a little tired.  I also think I'm fighting the cold my kiddos had, but my body is doing a great job, way better than ever before!  I don't think it's the worst thing in the world that I cheated (melting cheese right in front of my face, are you kidding me?) This will happen, it will.  I will let it...I will eat milk chocolate sometimes, it will happen, I will let it.  I just won't let it interfere with what I'm doing.  I will keep on my path and live a better life.  (cue the music)

Ok, I'm just saying I'm not expecting perfection from myself, it is what it is and the results I've seen already are amazing.  The next step is to add in a workout routine (I'm coming for you Keri!).  I don't know how much wieght I've lost, but my pants fit better (or worse, depending on how you look at it, I have no ass to hold pants up in the first place) energy level wayyyyyy up, cooking waaaaaayyyyyyy up, skin looking soo much better ( I almost feel I could leave the house without makeup!).  They go on and on, but it's only been a couple of weeks, so I"m hopeing they just continue!

Peace love and a little bit of cheating is ok (as long as it's with cheese.....)

G pause

Two days ago I stopped using the g's.  Jack was getting a rash on his bum and I wanted to see if it was from the g's or something else.  I started using the 7th Gen dipes again and it still hasn't totally gone away.  So, perhaps it's not the g's.  However, then we ran out of the 7's and had some Huggies Pure and Natural left over....the second we put one on he starts scratching his butt.  So, I went to the store and got some 7's and some G's in a medium.  I still haven't called them to ask about the fit, but after looking at the sizing criteria again, I think the mediums might be the answer (ps. the dual pack of G covers has a $5 off coupon if anyone is interested in trying!)...update coming soon.

Shopping

I know I said my next post would be about my shopping trip to Fred Meyer...but do you really want to read about what I bought at the grocery store?  I didn't think so.  Too bad.  I won't go into super detail and write out my shopping list or reciept :)

Fred Meyer has a pretty decent "Natural" section.  The one in Corvallis carried the Gs so I figured it might have more choices than Albany (plus Corvallis is a little bit more..."Natural" anyway).  It was a bit bigger, so I found most of what was on my list.  (I still need to get up to a Whole Foods or something to get the last few things.)  I bought lots of the flours/dried fruit/pasta in the bulk section so it was a lot cheaper.  I spent a big chunck of change, but it won't be like that everytime.  I had to buy the basics all over again.  New flour (Whole wheat PASTRY flour), natural sugar, REAL vanilla extract, whole wheat pastas, cous cous, fake butter (tastes like butter!), veganaise, fake creamcheese (haven't tried it yet), ect.

Now, don't get me wrong, buying fruits and vegies (especially if you go the organic route, which I tried to on the things that wouldn't be peeled) is not cheap in anyway.  And they go bad if you don't use them.  You can't go to overboard or you'll be wasting lots.  For the majority of fruit, we get frozen because we do the smoothies.  But I"m asking for a juicer for my birthday (please please!) so I can combine the fruits and vegies and hopefully get the kids to drink them too.  I think it's worth the cost.  In SB, they make a good point, we spend all this money on cars, homes, clothes, toys, ect, why can't you spend the same about of money on your body, without which, you could not enjoy these other things.  While we are in no position to add extra money to any area in our life, we will make it work, because we are worth it and so are our kids.

I also bought some "sausage style" and "bacon style" sausage and bacon that's not sausage and bacon. I haven't tried it yet, but I'll let you know when I do.  I'm optimistic.

Peace love and shopping smart for your body so it's super healthy and you live a really long time to enjoy your house, clothes, cars, toys, kids, ect.

Word, G

Well, we've had plenty of poops, plenty of pees and so far, I'm loving them.  I feel great when I flush everything down the toilet!

I have noticed with the poos, that because of where the liner hits, poop never goes up the back! I wonder if this is true with newborns/younger babes too....?  The poop is very contained and because the liner goes around the leg in the same place as underwear, it doesn't go out the sides either! I find this to be an awesome perk! Sometimes one wipe takes care of all the poo.  And I have left the diaper on after a poop through some running/sittting/rolling, just to make sure it wouldn't squish out, it didn't! 

My only problem I'm having is a slight rub from the buttons that attach the liner to the cover.  I've been messing with the fit, but I might give them a call (because they say to!) and see if they have an suggestions before I run out and buy more covers and order the monthly shipment.

Peace love and poop free legs and backs!