Two New Shoes

So here it is! My old shoes-

Okay, that's just the one, but imagine the hole on the other one is worse.

And here they are now-

Ha ha! No holes, just two adorable flowers and two very sore hands.  I'm very pleased with the outcome.  As far as my other project goes, i.e my blanket, it is crawling along because I returned to an almost complete shawl that I was working.  All of these half, quarter, almost done projects will eventually get finished as long as I refrain from purchasing more yarn.  A big part of minimizing is destashing.  Which is very challenging with 5 kids.  I'm realizing now, that I forgot to turn my photo, but oh well.  A bit of humor, I suppose.  Enjoy your Tuesday and catch a World Cup game if you can.

Monday, Monday...

At last, a post on the appropriate day.

Good Monday evening!  I have been fairly useless today and off and on since the World Cup began.  I had the delight of seeing two of my faves win today and that made my day.  Plus, I made homemade deodorant and I began assembling websites for homemade lip balm.  I also plan to attempt homemade bug repellent because I just happen to have some cedar wood oil and clove oil laying around.  I used the cedar wood oil in my deodorant as well because it is said to have a good effect on the skin.  Exciting.  So, I'm using my Monday mindfully, trying to minimize the toxic chemicals contacting my skin.  The truth is that as I am aging, I am noticing different things.  One things is, I started getting bumps under my arms, so I am hopeful that the natural deodorant will eliminate that.  I also break out before my cycle and would like a natural face scrub.  The next project I started today, I have no pics of but I will shortly..  This is more a Minimalist activity.  Here's the story behind it.

I bought a pair of Bongo's on sale and they are the most comfy things I have every placed on my feet.  Except Tom's but I can't afford them.  If anyone wants to toss me a sample, I'll review it, then I'll wear them until they fall apart.  But, until the money shows up, or the sample, I'll wear my cheap ones.  And cheap they were.  I have had them less than 6 months and already they are coming apart at the toe like a pair of cheap socks.  I wrestled with the idea of new shoes, even though I had just gotten rid of most of my shoes.  I can fit all of the shoes in my hanging shoes holder in my closet.  Slippers too.  So finally, I settled on a solution.  I would close up the hole with an embroidered flower.  I have finished the first one and I am pretty pleased with it.  Plus, I have peace with it because it doesn't have me purchasing more before the whole things is a wash.  I am just prettying up the worn areas.  That makes me feel like I am making strides in the right direction, because I could stand to be more eco-friendly.  Another big step I have made is, I have been saving all of my empty spaghetti sauce jars to reuse as storage jars.  I am going to paint the lids and order some labels online and start organizing.  The summer is going to be so wide open.  I plan to try more DIY health products, like toothpaste and a compost bin while trying to move forward with my kitchen and bathroom.  A little bit at a time and each day will have something productive for everyone and of course, I will share our projects.

Take some time this month, to enjoy the World Cup, have some cold, frosty treat and be a good steward of the world God gave us.  Reduce, reuse and recycle.

Foodtastic Food For Thought Friday

It is actually Saturday but I had to mention some yummy goodies.  So let me list in order all of my goodies.

1. Granola for 1

    1 1/2 TBSP coconut oil
    2 1/2 brown rice syrup or agave
    1 tsp cinnamon
    1/2 tsp vanilla extract
    In a separate bowl mix whatever granola grains you want. I
    typically mix oats, chopped almonds, chopped pecans, oat
    groats and pumpkin seeds. Sometimes buckwheat groats.
    For a while I was adding sesame seeds, but they are very
    overpowering, so I stopped.
    Mix your dry with your wet, spread on a cookie sheet and heat
    in 350 degree oven. Check it after 7-10 minutes. Stir it and
    continue to cook until browning around edges. It has been my
    impression that the brown rice syrup cooks faster than the
    agave.
    When finished, remove pan from oven and immediatrly
    scrape it with a spatula to keep it from sticking as it dries.
    It hardens when it dries so if you like it softer, place it in
    a sealed container while still just a bit warm.

2. Homemade crackers

    1/2 cup all purpose flour
    1/2 cup coconut flour
    1 tsp baking powder
    1/4 tsp baking soda
    1 tbsp nutritional yeast
    1/2 tsp garlic powder
    1/2 tsp black pepper
    1 tsp salt (or less)
    1/2 water, add 1-2 tbsps if needed

   Whisk dry ingredients, then add water. Work it until a dough
   forms.  It will be kind of wanting to crumble a little but moist
   Enough to hold together. Roll flat on a lightly floured surface
   Cut into pieces, however you feel they look best, just make sure
   they are 1/2 inch or less in thickness. Poke holes in each
   cracker with a fork. About two fork stabs per cracker. Bake
   at 400 degrees for 10 minutes, then check them every 5
   minutes until browned around the edges. Mine had some
   softness in the crackers that were in the middle but they were
   Still a hit.

3. Super Awesome Vegan Friendly, All Natural Salad Dressing

     We tried this at Whole Foods and were instantly sold. The 

     kids shoveled the spinach leaves into their mouths. This 

     Lemon Chesapeake flavor was the one we bought. The other

     flavors rocked too.

4. Donuts

Recipe here: http://www.thesugarhit.com/2013/10/vegan-sweet-potato-doughnuts-with-spiced-sugar.html

Something else I would recommend in the 30 day challenege at 

http://simplegreensmoothies.com/30-day-challenge

Delicious, easy to follow recipes with shopping lists.

Take some time to enjoy your food today.

Wisdom Wednesday

Well, it has been a week or so.  Our church family tragically lost a member to violence that also caused another church family to lose a member and for that reason, there has been contemplative silence.  I have struggled with my own New York raised view of guns versus everyone else's.  Correction, downstate NY raised.  My husband is from upstate where hunting is the norm.  But I find that providing food and protection isn't so bad.  But do we need high powered rifles and fully automatic weapons in a city setting?  Do we need weapons in the hands of a people who have become desensitized to violence?  We cling to wrong ideals.  We want to old ways for the wrong things.  We do not want to raise our children Biblically but we want to maintain every inch and iota of the second amendment.  We are not good people who do bad things.  That is not the Word of God.  We are wicked people who play into our natural behaviors all the time.  Children display cliche-ish behavior often without anyone teaching them.  I have known children to lie as young as 2 years old, possibly younger.  That is without being taught to lie.  We exhibit behaviors of self preservation and self exaltation all the time.  

"Even from birth the wicked go astray; from the womb they are wayward, spreading lies." Psalm 58:3 (NIV)

"Indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous, no one who does what is right and never sins." Ecclesiastes 7:20 (NIV)

"The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time." Genesis 6:5 (NIV)

That last one was just before the flood, but we all know that the flood did not wash away the evil intentions of man's heart.  Only Jesus Christ can do that with the blood He shed on Calvary's Cross.  We, as a nation founded on Christ have decided that He is not necessary and do not teach those very important principles.   We allow our children to find their own way when the Bible has taught us to train our children up in the way they should go.  As a Biblical people, we would set standards that would not allow the playing of violent video games or the viewing of lewd or violent programming.  We would understand that these things open our minds to the possibility of being violent or perverse when we are older.  We would not allow our children to walk through life thinking only of themselves.  We would attempt to teach them manners and thoughtfulness and the mind of Christ.  Christ never judged another human being based upon race or gender. He would never have taken a life because it would have broken God's commandment.  He would never have played with violence, He was a healer and a teacher and most importantly, God in the flesh.  We are a very sad society that would remove the very foundation that teachers compassion out of fear of offending others so that instead we may raise a generation that has no problem killing each other.  I would rather offend in the hopes that you may have life more abundantly than be indifferent towards others with an evil, menacing heart ultimately set on violence.

Minimalist Mindful Monday

Good evening to any who actually have been reading this! I'm thrilled to have you...

So, I am not inherently a minimalist, let alone neat and tidy.  I am in awe of those who are.  But I am diligently seeking this for my life and I can't think of one thing that I purchased for myself in the month of May that was not edible.  My goal was to not bring anything new into the house.  I think I met that goal.   My other goal was to not stand on the scale for the full month and to my June 1st delight, I had lost 2 lbs.  That's just icing on the cake.

One tip that comes to mind when trying to overcome clutter and mess is to put things away promptly.  About two weeks ago, we went strawberry picking.  It is a tradition for us.  This year we went organic!  But, strawberries in bulk are tasty and they go bad quick.  So, I already know that I need gallon sized freezer bags before we even set out to pick.  We need some to eat right away, but most will just be frozen for smoothies and pancake topping.

There were six baskets of strawberries.  It didn't take very long to snip the tops and bag them up.  This is a basic principal that could be applied to every aspect of life.  A place for everything and everything in its place is wisdom and "If any of you lack wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault and it will be given to you." James 1:5 (NIV) The fact is, we all need wisdom.  I need it to get to a place of order.  I am convinced that is why I as a mother of five am obsessed with tiny houses.  I need order and less stuff.  My earnest prayer is, "Let me get to a place where there is less stuff standing between me and God."  That is where we should all long to be.