Archive for the ‘Non-Toxic Alternatives’ Category

Happy September Everyone!

This is going to be a brief post. I just wanted to share a couple things with you all this morning before I go off to enjoy this beautiful sunshine.

Firstly ~
I found this REALLY awesome website. It’s at ChoreWars.com. This evening when the boys get home from school, I intend to help them create their own characters and we’re going to play this game!

What you do is….
You create your own character in this “role playing” type game and every time you complete a real life chore, you log in and add it to your character and your avatar then gains power. Your family sets up their own characters and you play against each other gaining points and power by DOING CHORES!!!

I thought, WOW…what an awesome idea! So, I’m in!

Secondly ~
This one’s only for the girls! I found some very interesting ideas for relieving PMS and cramps. I’m going to give them ALL a try this month and I will let you know if they work. They sound promising. Check back the week of September 13th and I should have something to say about them by then.

Just for the record, they are… 1) Sleeping only 4 hours the night before you expect PMS. Apparently it corrects out of whack body rhythms and works for 80% of women. – 2) A topical pain reliever of lotion, almond oil, and 1 drop each of lavender, sage and rose oil. Supposedly will cut cramps in half! – 3) Taking 4g of flaxseed oil everyday is said to ease cramps and PMS symptoms by stopping the triggering of sharp uterine contractions.

If anyone has heard of or tried these before, I’d love to hear from you :)

Finally ~
I have been hearing a LOT about swine flu recently. I got this article from Dr. Mercola this morning and I wanted to repost it. I’m against vaccinations in the first place. I wish I’d have known more about them sooner, but alas, only one of my children has not been immunized. Anyway, here’s the article link. I hope you’ll check it out. It’s worth the read.
Swine Flu Shot Linked to Killer Nerve Disease

I’ll be back later on with a post about my chakra of the day.

Have a lovely day!

Happy Spirit Day ~

Today I’ve got an array of interesting things to tell you. I’ve compiled a short list of tips and tricks that I want to share. I hope you find something useful.

Tip #1 ~

To keep cool in the summer, have a healthy, vitamin packed snack and get rid of fresh fruit before the fruit flies overtake your kitchen, try this quick trick.

Put fresh fruit in the freezer. My kids ADORE frozen banana slices. Use grapes, mango, bananas, melon… virtually any fruit. For an added treat, serve with whipped cream or peanut butter.

Tip #2 ~

Make a short list of things that need to be washed on an irregular basis such as throw rugs, comforters, dog beds, jackets, backpacks, and curtains. Then tape it to the top of your washer. Next time you don’t quite have a full load, check your list and pick something that needs to go through rotation.

Tip #3 ~

To keep bugs away, try a drop or two of catnip oil on your chair, towel or clothes.

Tip #4 ~

Check out http://stoneyfield.com/ AND http://horizonorganic.com/ for printable coupons on organic products!

Tip #5 ~

Need a place to store your broom? Affix a piece of magnet about midway down the handle and stand it up between your fridge and the wall. It will be handy when you need it and the magnet will keep it upright and within reach.

---

New This Week: (Visit my main page 8/9/09 – 8/16/09)

Video ~ Moon Cycles

Recipe ~ Pasta Pepperoni

---

I have an AWESOME non-toxic flea repellent for your dogs today!

I was doing some research online for my own darling Abby and found quite a wide variety of suggested home remedies for keeping fleas away.

The one I went with is garlic infused olive oil.

First let me say, she LOVES the flavor!
If I don’t mix it into her dry food, she’ll just lick it off the top. My friend Kris says that her dog sees her pick up the oil jar and starts getting all excited! Getting your dog to eat this will not be likely to be a problem.

Abby has been eating about 1 tsp a day for about 2 weeks now. The red marks on her lower belly where the fleas were biting her and she was digging are completely gone. She’s not excessively licking, biting, or itching anywhere anymore. Her fur has a beautifully healthy looking sheen to it now. She even had some dry skin on the top of her nose that seems to have gone away.

She’s a BIG belly rub lover so I check her under areas for fleas and ticks on a constant basis. She’s happy to roll onto her back and let her tongue loll out the side of her mouth while I rub her belly and look through her fur. After she ate the oil in her food for about 3 days, I completely stopped seeing any bugs on her.

I did, however, stop feeding her the oil for 2 days in a row and saw fleas again. It’s got to be the scent of her skin when she’s ingesting the oil regularly. If this is true, it might work to put the oil in places on the fur of the animal, but I believe she gets enough obvious benefit from eating it that it’s worth giving it to her.

Cats shouldn’t eat onions, garlic or related root vegetables. Onions contain N-propyl disulphide which destroys red blood cells in cats, causing a form of anemia called Heinz Body Anemia. Garlic contains a similar substance in a smaller amount. If it’s the scent that repels the fleas, you might be able to place the oil in a spot on the back of the neck where the cat couldn’t lick it.

It’s important that you cook the oil and garlic together. Garlic can have traces of Clostridium Botulinum, which causes botulism, because it comes out of the ground where the bacterium are often found.

Here’s how I make mine.

I add 1 cup of extra virgin olive oil to a small saute pan with a couple minced cloves of garlic. Then I cook it on medium heat for about 3-4 minutes. That’s 3-4 minutes total time. Be sure you don’t get the heat too high.

Burnt garlic is VERY yucky!!

After it cools, I store it in a small glass jelly jar. I don’t know for sure if it would require refrigeration but I keep mine there regardless.

Every morning, after our 3 mile bike ride/run, I give Abby a scoop of food and add 1 tsp of the garlic oil, drizzled over the top. Then I stir it in.

She loves it and now, I love it too :)

---

Related Resources

• 101 Dog Tricks
• Cesar’s Way: The Natural, Everyday Guide to Understanding and Correcting Common Dog Problems
• The Dog Whisperer: Beginning and Intermediate Dog Training
• Dr. Pitcairn’s New Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats

∞

---

Are you slowly poisoning yourself and your family?
I’m one of the “Greenest” people I know and it turns out, I am….
I have just finished reading “Super Natural Home – Improve your health, home, and planet – one room at a time” By Beth Greer.

This really was a fantastic book.
It was not only filled with information on what common toxins are found in our homes, food, water, body care products, soaps and shampoos, but also all the different names they go by and how to identify them.

There are suggestions for each and every room in your home on how you can breathe easier and greener in the place you spend most of your time.

Now, I’m a pretty green minded individual myself. And usually I pick things up about how to economize or save money or be greener and I’m always happy that they’re things I already know and implement. It’s like a pat on the back and lets me know I’m doing what I can. It is a bit of a bummer though. I’m always looking for MORE knowledge. What else can I do?! How else can I make a difference?! But they’re always things I already do!

Well, LET ME TELL YOU!!
I learned SO much from this book! I skimmed through it once. Then I read it. Then I skimmed through it again. I keep referring back to it constantly. This is truly a fantastic book for anyone trying to lead a more conscious and green life.

There’s even a list of cosmetics (PAY ATTENTION LADIES!) with toxins in them. But you’ll also find in this book the list of natural, toxin free cosmetics and the surprising list of suppliers.

After you read this book, the illnesses and mental issues that so many people have REALLY makes sense.
I’m SO glad I’ve added this book to my collection and I VERY highly recommend you add it to yours.

Are you feeding your family the most nutritious food available? Are you getting the best food for your buck?

During the summer months, produce is harvested fresh and sold locally at road side stands and farmers markets all over the country. During these months, I do my best to buy any produce I don’t already grow, from local farmers.

Buying local produce is not only better for your health, it’s better for the environment. They’re Green Greens!! HA!

People were originally intended to eat locally. Your body reaches a certain balance that thrives in your local area. You become immune to the viruses and bugs. Don’t believe me? Ever hear, “If you go to Mexico, don’t drink the water”?

Your body finds more nutritional value in your local produce because it comes from an area in which you reside, but also because it doesn’t lose it’s nutrient content while it’s traveling in questionable refrigeration across the country or even across oceans.

Being that the produce hits the stand usually a day after it’s harvested, it’s got peak nutritional value. Being that it doesn’t have to be packaged, shipped, driven, stocked and sold, you also will see a reduction in price.

So, it’s better for your body, your wallet, your local community, and your planet. How can you go wrong?!
Eat green greens!

Here are 2 VERY awesome links to help you and your family start eating better locally!

LocalHarvest.org is a site that will tell you what produce is available in your community. I was SHOCKED at what’s readily available in MY area. There’s so much more than I ever knew.

EatWild.com is a site that will tell you where there are farms in your local area where you can purchase beef, pork, and chicken that is raised locally, lives free range, is grass fed, is antibiotic and hormone free and is humainly killed.

Childhood obesity is being linked in part to the growth hormones injected into mass produced cattle. By buying locally, you’re supporting your local farmers AND you’re now one less family supporting the inhuman treatment and slaughter of animals. As long as it’s in demand, it will be mass produced.

Do yourself, your family, your community and your world a favor and buy locally raised food whenever you can!

The format of this site has changed slightly, but may still be of interest to most if not all of it’s current visitors.

My target audience is now stay-at-home moms, working moms, wives and girlfriends. There is a Spiritual overtone, so ANYONE interested in Spirituality, Law of  Attraction, conscious living, conscious and/or Spiritual parenting, loving the life you live, finding purpose in your life and/or just BEING HAPPY may find this site useful and is MORE than welcome to stick around!

This site is my life. This is what I do. Not the website, but the content therein.

I’m a 30 year old mother of 3 boys, 2 dogs and 2 cats. I’m married to the man of my dreams and we will celebrate 11 years this August!! These 4 people and 16 paws are my life! I’m a homemaker. A deeply spiritual homemaker who’s doing everything she can to create a loving, happy, Spiritual existence here in this life.

I’m doing my best to raise conscious, loving, thoughtful, Spiritually aware children. My boys are 7 (Kyle), 9 (Kevin) and 14 (Thomas). Thomas has lived with his father since he was 2 and I’ve had to learn how to build a loving relationship with a son I see only every other weekend. I’ve also had to learn how to build a relationship with my Ex and his wife which has been very relaxed and easy for most of these years.

I’m here to help and inspire and LEARN from YOU! I hope you can help, inspire and learn from me too :)

To the left you should see a list of the topics I intend to be blogging about. If there’s anything listed of interest to you, stick around!

Hello Friends!

I’ve been browsing all kinds of resources lately looking for ways to keep bugs off myself, my family and my food during this summer season! Keeping bugs away in a safe, green, chemical free manor is very important to me.

I’ve found a lot of the usual tips that I’m pretty sure everyone knows but I’ve also managed to find a few tips that were totally unique and WONDERFUL ideas. Below I’ve listed those tips and a simple recipe for an essential oil to keep your balmy summer nights as bug free as possible!

#1. Sit the legs of your picnic table in tin cans filled with water. Disposable pie tins or old frisbees work well for thicker legged tabled. Why go through all of this trouble? Ants can’t make it through water, so you’ll prevent a pathway for them to climb up your table.

#2. Keep insects away from your picnic by giving them one of their own. Several yards away from your eating area, fill a pie plate full of water and sugar. The bugs will be so busy with their meal that they won’t pay any attention to yours. Don’t forget to pick up the pie plates before you leave the area.

#3. Light a stick of incense scented with essential oil of lemon balm, thyme, eucalyptus, peppermint, or lavender.

#4. Burn candles scented with those essential oils.

---

Mosquito Repellent Oil

10 drops essential oil (basil, eucalyptus, cloves, geranium, peppermint, rosemary, lemon balm (citronella), onions, garlic, and feverfew)
2 tablespoons olive oil
Combine the ingredients in a glass jar; stir to blend. Dab a few drops on your skin or clothing.
Note: Pregnant women should consult with their doctor before using essential oils.

---

What Scent Oils Repels What?!

Ticks First Choice: Rose Geranium
Other: Palmerosa, bay, eucalyptus, European pennyroyal
lavender, tickweed (American pennyroyal)

Mosquitoes: Pennyroyal, lemon balm (citronella), thyme, lavender

Blackflies: Sassafras, lavender, eucalyptus, pennyroyal, cedar, lemon balm (citronella), peppermint

Head Lice: Tea tree, rosemary, lavender, eucalyptus, rose geranium

Fleas: Orange oil

A note about wasps and yellow jackets: Don’t wear perfume, hair spray, or scented
deodorant. Avoid wearing bright colored clothing.

---

Tips 1-2: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/328094/dont_bug_me_9_tricks_to_keep_bugs_away.html?cat=6

Tips 3-4 / Mosquito Repellent Oil: http://www.care2.com/