happy earth day, friends.

hey all ... just wanted to pop my head in and say happy earth day! and a great big Thank You for those of you reading and praising my new blog. I don't think too highly of it yet, as I've just started my dive into more simple living, but it's nice to be encouraged while I have one foot in the door. The blog, I'm sure, will get better and more detailed/introspective with time. It's a nice departure to have a separate blog from my LiveJournal, where i write about everything under the sun pertaining to my life. Here, I can just write about the sun. ; ) Really, though, because this is something i become more passionate about on a daily basis, it's good to separate this chunk of my life and really begin to develop it as i grow, both as a "consumer" of modern living, and as a philosopher of sorts.

I have been doing a lot of reading lately about plastics, and wanted to share both some disturbing articles about the proliferation of this popular food/drink storage trend, and some healthier alternatives. Please pay close attention especially from now on to the recycle symbol (three arrows in a triangle) on the bottom of your plastic containers. If the numbe inside that triangle is 3, 6, or 7, please please recycle it and find another alternative to your storage. I recently learned that my much-beloved Nalgene water bottles have probably been leaching plastic into my drink, and have resigned myself to discarding (i.e. recycling) them. Of course, though plastic numbers 1, 2, 4, and 5 are "safer," we should strive to store things in glass or ceramic whenever possible. For those with children, I've put some good glass/ceramic alternatives here (i.e. the sandwich wrapper). And I've also learned to get your cheeses or meats away from plastic wrap the second they've been purchased, wrapping them instead in biodegradable, unbleached wax paper.


So without further ado, here are the links:

In honor of Earth Day, which is today, I couldn't resist sending these links to everyone, if only for your own personal information. please feel free to forward them to friends.
enjoy the links below .... happy earth day!

Karen

http://www.shaklee.com/index.shtml (we use the cleaning products in our school ... i highly recommend them to you - they are super-concentrated so you use much much less, organic, and come in biodegradable packaging)

http://www.reusablebags.com/store/wrapnmat-p-2.html# (this link has a really cool, kid-friendly sandwich wrapper for only $7!! I prefer the red gingham myself).

http://www.kleankanteen.com/ (they have kid-sized bottles, too!)

http://www.newbornfree.com/ (good baby bottle link)

http://www.momblognetwork.com/content/bpa-free-plates-cups-and-utensils-kids

the last page of this article has some decent tips:

http://www.thegreenguide.com/doc/114/bpa

and here are some of my reasons for going yet more green:

http://www.deliciousorganics.com/Controversies/plastic.htm

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/15/AR2008041501753_pf.html (definitely read this one)


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bisphenol_A


http://www.thegreenguide.com/doc/114/nalgene

earthquake in kentucky

i was woken up this morning by my first-ever earthquake! i don't remember waking up, but all of a sudden i was sitting up in bed, it felt like i was on a train, and my dresser was rattling like it does when the cats jump off it. i thought it was just me, but then my friend from Indiana called, he felt it too, my roommate woke up and heard the dishes rattling, then we discovered it was all over the news. 5.4 magnitude centered in illinois. scary!!!

a good, mindful reminder.

Simplify

If we could abolish knowledge and wisdom

Then people would profit a hundredfold;

If we could abolish duty and justice

Then harmonious relationships would form;

If we could abolish artifice and profit

Then waste and theft would disappear.

Yet such remedies treat only symptoms

And so they are inadequate.

People need personal remedies:

Reveal your naked self and embrace your original nature;

Bind your self-interest and control your ambition;

Forget your habits and simplify your affairs.

recent nature

This weekend, Mary and I drove to Lexington to escape Louisville for a bit.

Here is some of what we saw at the University of Kentucky's arboretum.

Of course, it's still early in the year, so there wasn't much in flower.

They have an entire section for medicinal herbs, and one for cooking herbs! How neat.

In any case, though it was overcast and didn't rain. Afterwards, we went to a local coffeehouse for lunch and reading and, for me, nearly napping. what a comfy couch they had! enjoy the pictures and be inspired ...

(the castle wasn't actually part of the arboretum ... but it was a beautiful sight to behold on the Bluegrass Parkway driving home through horse country ...)

behold my favorite observation ... compost! one of about four piles I saw.

simplify.

here are some great simplicity quotes i've found and wanted to share:

Frugality is one of the most beautiful and joyful words in the English language, and yet one that we are culturally cut off from understanding and enjoying. The consumption society has made us feel that happiness lies in having things, and has failed to teach us the happiness of not having things. ~Elise Boulding

Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius - and a lot of courage - to move in the opposite direction. ~E.F. Schumacker

To find the universal elements enough; to find the air and the water exhilarating; to be refreshed by a morning walk or an evening saunter... to be thrilled by the stars at night; to be elated over a bird's nest or a wildflower in spring - these are some of the rewards of the simple life. ~John Burroughs

The best things in life are nearest: Breath in your nostrils, light in your eyes, flowers at your feet, duties at your hand, the path of right just before you. Then do not grasp at the stars, but do life's plain, common work as it comes, certain that daily duties and daily bread are the sweetest things in life. ~Robert Louis Stevenson

Maybe a person's time would be as well spent raising food as raising money to buy food. ~Frank A. Clark

Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful. ~William Morris

How many things are there which I do not want. ~Socrates

Be content with what you have, rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you. ~Lao Tzu

We can tell our values by looking at our checkbook stubs
Gloria Steinem

namaste.

clearing the brush from my path.

I've been somewhat ashamed to post here recently, due to choices I've been making because the "simple life" is not yet second nature. Which at face value is fairly ridiculous, because we're all making the slow transition -- it actually did take Rhonda, my favorite blogger, many many years before she got where she was going, fates bless her -- to a healthful, less-stressed

(for cash and time) life.

So here is my valiant effort, on official record, to begin again.

Today was a getting-back-to-basics day, in many ways: a great meeting on my progress at the school. I feel as if for the first time in my life, I am not afraid to stay planted somewhere for a while. Ironically, that's liberating. From what, I'm not sure. The pressure I put on myself to find the right thing? Who knows. Also, today I took a three-hour adventure, most of it walking. It wasn't to a very nice park, strewn with litter and flooded with water, and the road there had no sidewalk and i shared road space with semis and blowing horns, but i did get a nice lunch i'd packed of watermelon and a peanut butter sandwich with orange marmalade. yes, i picked some of that up at whole foods today. i've always wanted to try it. i find it fairly bitter and it doesn't match so well with PB ... hm next time, with cheese, maybe?

As much as I find myself wanting to rehash those silly, unecessary purchases of mine, I won't digress. I will only look forward. We all slip up ... after all, this is a lifetime we are trying to reverse! I only hope I can be as amazing as Rhonda and SouleMama when all is said and done. Creating a happy, simple life surrounded by color and the smell of freshly baked bread. After all, life is about simple pleasures. I'm glad I'm learning this so early, as they always say "youth is wasted on the young" and I believe they are right!

In the past week, I have made the acquaintance of someone wonderful who I believe has serious potential to provide quite a partnership for me, the likes of which I've never come across before. I'll leave it vague for now. We are meeting as friends and that's essential. But my soul is astir .... this could be ... well .... we'll see. : )

Tomorrow, I am going to visit the local zoo, and also bring a lunch to eat with me there. Should have today's perfect weather again, then rain the rest of the week. What is it with myself, vacations, and rain?!

things that have made me happy lately: elephants. new music. wind chimes. pottery. the company of friends. restorative yoga. walks. gorgeous weather. reorganizing my upstairs. saving $100 toward my Alaska trip.

be well, friends. namaste.

p.s. One thing I learned in yoga class this week was whenever you hear a bell tinkling (even if it's the bell in your car reminding you to wear your seatbelt), it's a good opportunity to bring yourself back to the present moment, and focus on just your breathing. a good, deep breath, even, in and out. be grateful for it, and for your life. what a great and simple way to slow down!

short post.

well, after a disastrous week of spending, i'm back here. I don't even want to rehash the details, but at least the purchases did include some very cheap indoor planting items : gnome, metal tin, and tiny shovel. i'm very upset with how i did this past week: but i know coming to the simple life takes longer than a few weeks to achieve entirely. it's hard when you are temporarily sharing a very tiny apartment with someone else and it feels like stuff is just piled on top of you, to not feel truly "home" and to want to get food, or coffee, elsewhere if just for the fresh air. or when you still just can't get it together for the mornings cause sometimes you are too tired at night from working two jobs you just want to unwind. especially when unwinding begins at freaking 11 p.m. argh. hopefully i won't need the waitressing job in the next school year. we'll see. that will also help in my quest to lead a simpler life. i won't have as much ready cash on hand to blow through ... and more time to enjoy quieter activities: crafting, walking, yoga, reading. making dinner at home. taking naps! ah, a few more months to go ...

i'm determined to take pictures soon of the beautiful trees blooming here: magnolias and cherries. magnificent! if only the rain and cold weather we're having would go away ...

getting there.

Hi, all ...

Just wanted to quickly update some numbers. Since my first post, this is what I have spent on "crap."

$3.50 at yard sales (we've already covered that one)
$2 on coffee after morning yoga
$8 on movie ticket AND popcorn last night (wow! a cheap seats theater! this was a GOOD outing)
$14 at our school's annual fund-raiser bought me: greens salad, pasta salad, and two slices of cheese pizza, a raffle ticket and a dollar of dimes for the baked goods wheel game. not bad, and the money is for a good cause, the school that i'm investing so much in!
$4 on bagel and coffee breakfast this morning. GAH!!!! i was too lazy to grind coffee. and was kind of in a rush. i need to stop with these lame excuses.

grand total for what, just over a week? of EXTRA SPENDING: $31.50. Not bad, but yes, could be better. For me, it's a grand start! But still ... that's just between $3/DAY. Yikes.

Today was awesome. I got up early for the Obama rally at just-opened headquarters in Louisville. I was one of the ribbon-cutters! Also bought a t-shirt (oh yeah another $20, whoops), and signed up to volunteer. And, at the "Festival of Fun" for our school, got another babysitting job offer. I'm just worried mainly about having the regularity of it all to quit waitressing .... I may stay on at the restaurant till the end of June, then quit just before school starts. I will survive somehow. But I do need to make a "certain" enough amount of cash to pay my July and August rent cause I'm not getting a school pay check in June and July. yikes. A BIG reason for saying "no" to much stuff now.

well, it's off to work tonight, to make money to pay another bill.

i'm aware that all this hard work will pay off on the horizon, which i am just beginning to see.

have a great weekend!

two mac n cheese recipes

haven't tried them yet ... but pilfered them off the internet. thought i'd share them here ..

Snow Family Mac 'n' Cheese
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups elbow macaroni
3 T organic butter
3 T flour
2 C organic milk
1/2 t saltdash pepper
2 C grated organic cheddar cheese
2-4 organic roma tomatoes—sliced
1 C bread crumbs
Instructions:Cook pasta until firm.Melt butter. Blend in flour. Wisk in milk.Cook at medium until thick.Add salt and pepper and 1 1/2 cups cheese.Stir to melt.Place cooked macaroni in greased baking dish.Pour sauce in. Top with sliced tomatoes. Sprinkle with cheese and bread crumbs.Brush 13x9x2-inch glass or ceramic baking dish with oil.Serve with mixed greens or salad.

Here's the second one ....
It makes a lot for just the 4 of us, so I often freeze the leftovers. I take the leftovers and mix it up with a can of organic diced tomatoes with basil and oregano to give it more moisture for reheating later.Famous Mac & Cheese- I have always been asked for this recipe and never before made it available in print to share.

12oz. box of Penne or Ziti pasta
2 Tab. butter
1 clove of garlic, minced
¼ C onion, diced
2 Tab. flour
½ tsp. dry mustard (can also use any prepared variety)
¼ tsp. hot pepper sauce
2 C milk
2-C shredded sharp cheddar Cheese
1-C swiss cheese, shredded (Gruyere is also great!)

Topping:¼ C seasoned dry breadcrumbs
¼ C freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Lightly grease a 2-½ qt casserole dish. Bring unsalted water to boil, add pasta. Cook to al dente (6-8 minutes). Drain, rinse and set aside.In a large saucepan, melt the butter over moderately high heat. Add the onion and sauté for 4 minutes until tender. Stir in the garlic, flour, mustard, & pepper sauce. Cook for 1 minute until bubbly; do not allow to burn. Gradually whisk in the milk and cook. Stir occasionally for 5 minutes until thickened.Add the cheeses and stir for another 5 minutes until the consistency is smooth and melted. Remove from heat, and add the pasta. Toss coating well.Spoon into casserole dish. Liberally sprinkle with topping mixture, pat with a touch of butter. Bake uncovered for 25 minutes, (until golden brown and bubbly). My Grandmother enjoyed using Paprika on top for extra color too.

a post about living simply.

oh, no, i forgot to mention this in my last post, and i definitely wanted to give it a plug!! My new lip balm from www.blabbermouthlips.com arrived today. Not only is it made my Hannah Wood (Elijah Wood's sister, how cool), it's entirely organic and can be used not only on the lips, but as an all-purpose healer and cream! Hannah and her friend make this out of their home, I believe. Support their cause if you feel like an impulse purchase (haha I did this before I truly committed to saving money, but this is a good splurge, you really need very little and I think it'll last me ages). Ok ... so yeah ... check it out.



And ... here is Rhonda's post I wanted you to read. Please credit her blog (she does an amazing job) if you want to pass it on. Her blog is here: http://www.down---to---earth.blogspot.com/

If one advances confidently in the direction of one's dreams, and endeavours to live the life which one has imagined, one will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.
Henry David Thoreau


I sent that quote to one of my sisters the other day when she was struggling with an important decision. It really speaks to me and reminds me that while our lifestyle may not be everyone's cup of tea, it suits us, it enriches us and we must remain confident in our decision to live as we do.Confidence: freedom from doubt; belief in yourself and your abilities.We humans are strange beings sometimes. We like uniformity, we distrust those who run outside the pack. We like to have our own decisions validated by the mass appeal of them, and when that doesn't happen, when someone runs against the grain, we are suspicious and sometimes resentful. I'm sure many readers here have friends or family members who question your way of life, who want you to come to your senses and go shopping for all sorts of flim flam or who resent and question your decision to stay home with the children and "for go" one wage.Staying home to raise healthy children is not an easy option. Living frugally to embrace a greener way of life is difficult. Making your home a place of regeneration and cosy safety will put you at odds with most of your contemporaries. So why do we do it? Is it because there is joy to be found in ordinary every day life? Is it because we know that unless we change the way we constantly trash our environment we are in big trouble? Is it that we're just fed up with what modern life has become - we find a feeling of belonging and contentment in a more simple way?No matter what your reason is in striving to live as you do, be confident in how you live and what you're trying to achieve. Keep moving towards your own independence, keep learning how to do all the things you want to do; reskilling yourself will help you live true to your values. Above all else know that if you are happily settled in your version of a simple life, or if you're just starting your journey, you will meet with a success unexpected in common hours, and you will find contentment and happiness along that track.