Why I refuse a trend diet...

When i hear the word "diet", i think of "the cabbage soup diet" or the "grapefruit diet" or the "coffee and peanut diet" or any other "diet" that gets you to drop some pounds and sets you up for failure. If you go back to eating a "well-balanced" diet you gain it alllllll back. Name one person who can "live" that way?
I think back to when our grandparents and earlier generations had to prepare meals from scratch... They were not afraid of fat in their food. BUT... they used different kinds of fat from the hydrogenated junk we see allot of today.... Chicken fat for instance... high in palmitoleic acid which is an immune booster hence why we eat chicken noodle soup when we are under the weather. No, not the crap out of a can, the real boiled bones and fat kind with home made noodles made with egg (A "super-food" by the way). It also contains oleic acid, which is good for cholesterol. Bird meats are low in polyunsaturated fatty acids, making them very stable fats at high heat, perfect for the naughty... fried chicken! Or Olive oil, or avocados or nuts or any number of "fats" that modern diets say are "bad". I figure if God made it that way. And intended for us to eat the animal or fruit or nut... their is something there that is worth consuming, but in moderation.
And sugar.... my word!... A friend recently posted on her facebook page a picture of a container that had as much sugar as you would find in one can of mountain dew. Insane i tell you! However!, I think i would rather put sugar in my body than the fake aspartame and saccharin and such. Honey or less sugar is always better.
I could go on and on... but i wont, because... Like many other Americans I don't have a problem with lack of information... Its a will power issue...

Gray

   always sad... not true to myself... care too much to make others sad... but, someone has to be... you... or me... at least I'm accustomed to the feeling...blue does not describe it... blue still has color... life left... I'm gray... muddled and dirty... not yet black... not yet dead inside...

Learning to know yourself...

Thinking about people... And life... And what we know.... And what we don't... What we listen to... What we ignore...
It dawns on me that my friends who have questioned... or are questioning... their sexuality seem to know themselves the best and can see others often better... I think this too of those who have been through tragedy... The spiritual journey seems to be like this as well...

The solution for me so far is...
To seek truth...
Not answers...
Answers are not always truths...

When I think of you... I can smell sweet pea.

Thinking of you today...

The smell of sweet pea at Wal-Mart…

The glow of the Walgreens sign on the way home…

The many hours spent there together…

Oh, the ER visits, never be board if your BFF is there…

The smell of pizza hut, always for lunch on a lazy day…

I look down at my favorite “around the house” shirt…

It used to be your’s.

I voiced my mind when I became used, and I was nothing more than a sitter and a pantry…

You moved closer and we grew further apart…

Just wanted you to know that if I had it to do over…

If I knew you would be taken so soon…

I would have stayed quiet forever…

Been, utterly your slave…

To spend more hours, with you.

I Love You So…

And Miss You Well!

My BFF Mary Beth.

The Month of February was made for you.

The Road to Frugal Luxury...

Back to Basics…

Going Green and Pinching Pennies…

 

     I have decided that I am tired of certain things in life. I want more for my family than what we have (quality, health and monetary wise). Thinking its time to get back to basics, and pinch some pennies…

     Does that mean that I follow the trend of going green? I’m not sure… It couldn’t hurt… but the whole point is to make the lives of my family better. I love the idea of going green and or organic but that can be expensive. Expensive is the opposite of what I am going for. *sigh*

     Is it possible to meet on some middle ground where green and basic meets frugal luxury? Guess I will find out…

Step 1... Get my pennies back!

     What I mean by this is trimming the cost of items we already use without sacrificing quality. I want our new choices to be green and or local if possible. First thing on my list is Laundry soap. It serves no other purpose than to get clothes clean… So, after much research I found that I can save lots of money making my own laundry soap and reviews say that it is more eco friendly and works better than most leading brands. *fingers crossed* 

     I purchased the needed materials and followed a recipe that had allot of good reviews on another site that I had found the link to on pinterest. (I love that site!) It was very simple to make. I spent less than $10 on the ingredients. I have already made a double batch (70 loads worth of detergent) and there are several more double batches left of each ingredient!!! Made it in the evening and left it over night. By morning it looked funky and was the consistency of badly made Jell-O. Used a mixer and agitated the mixture very well and it was perfect. Smells great and works very well. I am very pleased so far.

     I also looked at recipes for shampoo, hand soaps, body wash, etc. I am very intimidated by the shampoo recipes, they don’t last long and seem expensive to make most of them. I think that I will pass on that idea. However I was intrigued by the soaps. I used to make my own bar soaps. So I think I will make some when I run low. Might try making some body wash. Hope to save money this way but I am rather attached to the quality of the product I am currently using. Guess we will see if I can make something that my family and I will be satisfied with….

Step 2... Couponing aka you wont get my pennies to start with!

      I use coupons on a regular basis… at one point I got perdy good at finding some good deals. However, I haven't been able to match up the awesome deals that some people like my sister in law have managed to find. I am in no way an extreme couponer. Just getting better at getting what I need for less. I want to improve on this A LOT! Thankfully I have a wonderful sister that is willing to help me learn the ropes.

Step 3... Stop "giving away" my pennies…

      Pay all bills on time… no late fees. This is the stupidest waste of money… and I know better… sometimes it cant be helped but other times it is just absent mindedness…

Step 4... Make my pennies count.

      Find more ways to be healthy eaters but keep cost down. One thing I can do is go the farmers market. currently do a lot of my shopping at Sam’s club and buy in bulk. However I am really hopping to find some deals I cant pass up with coupons that let us eat well for cheap. I like sales on frozen vegetables and such. I am a relatively skilled cook. I know how to save money by using the whole chicken and such and am sure that I can perfect on that… Another good way is to grow your own food. I do not have a green thumb. So we will see...

My Tears

Life is lived one second at a time…

Life is lost one second at a time…

Life carries on, one second at a time…

When you are loosing someone, hours feel like seconds.

When you have lost them, seconds feel like hours.

And life goes on…

Memories are to be cherished...

Tears are to remind us of love shared...

And embraces are to never be forgotten.

love

"I love you" is only said to my family and closest friends, so consider yourself really lucky if I say it to you because.. when I say it, I mean it. Maybe I don’t say it enough? Maybe I say it too much. Not sure.


The words…


"I love you" are like cuss words... They imply deep emotion and emphasis to a situation or person... if you over use it or use it in the wrong context it looses its meaning.

So use it wisely and Honestly!