My Obsession with Containers and...

Keeping my pantry looking neat! So do you have pickle jars? Coffee creamer or Parm cheese containers? KEEP THEM! Here's why:

Okay not sure these are the best pics they are from my phone! Sorry! So here we have my pantry all spiffed up
I organize the dang thing a lot. 

The Rice, Black beans, Corn meal, and Dry milk are all containers I recycled and reused.

If you have read through the previous posts- this is an easy craft to do. You can use any paper you want and modge podge to secure labels onto the containers whether they be plastic or glass!!! Did I mention I have a thing for modge podge? It is my all time favorite craft supply ( besides paper  and yarn lol) This really isn't a tutorial just a CHALLENGE- Recycle and reuse some of your containers whatever they may be find a new purpose for that mayo jar.

Glass jars can be used for more than storing dry food goods! You can use them for homemade mayo and other condiments. You can make face creams, body wash and even shampoo- then place those in the jars!  They can hold crayons, pencils, small toys and even cotton balls  or Q-tips. 

Keep those containers and jars I tell you! If you garden keep any plastic containers especially from strawberries- fill with the potting soil and plant your seeds, water, and close the lid- a mini green house- stays nice and warm for the seedlings and moist! I grew my basil babies this way ( and I have like 40 little sproutlings! It is insane!)

Do you recycle and reuse?

Share your recycled creations in the comments below!

~Lexxy~

Cleaning in the Green

I am currently obsessed with finding ways to clean my house minus some of my "favorite" chemicals like Lysol or bleach I have to admit I have OCD with a sprinkle of germaphob as you can imagine I favor things that kill germs lol ( quick note- I believe it is quite alright to have Lysol and bleach in the house for special clean ups, especially after sick children or shower/ tub duty especially where I live it is very humid!) Last week I had a "bad episode" of endometriosis pain and said THIS is it! So along with changing my diet I am also going to change what I clean with on a daily basis.

So here we go! So far I am still using one of my favorites I always buy Mrs.Meyers ( it is all natural)- lemon verbena its scent is mild compared to others So I dig! Lately though I have started mixing vinegar, tea tree oil, and water into a spray bottle to clean with. It is GREAT!!!! I use about a tablespoon of tea tree oil, about 1/4 cup vinegar and then fill with water.

At first I wasn't keen on the idea of the tea tree oil because of my hyper-sense of smell and sensitive sinuses ( I often wear a mask when cleaning with certain products or if I am having a bad sinus-y day lol)... I read somewhere to mix like 1/4 cup of tea tree oil for creating a household cleaner and just about gagged so I decided that I would try a lot less and see how it would fair.

My mixture has worked perfectly! I kept some old Simple Green spray bottles and filled one with the tea tree cleaner. So far I have used it in the kitchen and the bathrooms- so far so good.

So you can mix more of the tea tree  oil and vinegar into the homemade cleaner, but I have a hyper sense of smell along with sensitive sinuses. So less is better in my case, that  and I opting out of wearing a mask while cleaning extensively.

Enjoy making your cleaner! Seriously TRY it!! I love it! Now off to make something with lavender oil- ( I like to place lavender oil in my mop water- hot steamy water and vinegar).

White distilled vinegar, tea tree oil and the cleaner I made =^.^=
If you want to cover an old cleaning bottle take card stock or scrapbook paper ( with letters), modge podge,a paint brush.
Cut the paper to fit the bottle- use modge podge to glue on the paper to the bottle- after you do this paint the modge podge generously over the paper and around the edges make sure there are not pockets- The modge podge will act as a sealant so the paper will not get wet and ruined when filling up the bottle. I ran out of E's so I just put tea tree on the bottle to identify. I place the letters on the wet M.P and then apply more MP over the top of the letters- let dry for a few hours or even a day.

Sensitive Skin? Forgo this Cleanser and Lotion!

Okay so I am reading and researching a lot about the chemicals they put into our "beauty" products, call it my latest obsession...So honestly this whole time I am thinking well sensitive skin products can't be THAT bad, so far I am not having any issues skin wise- hmm what the heck is this ingredient though??? Oh oh oh oh! Think AGAIN! I was an avid user of Cetaphil until....

Propylene Glycol

" A synthetic liquid."

" Is used as an antifreeze." 

" Used in chemical, food, and even pharmaceutical industries."

" Is used in the paint and plastic industries."

" It alters the skins structure- it allows chemicals to reach the blood stream."

( to  name a few things)

The Ingredients on the back of Cetaphil- NOT only does it have Propylene Glycol it 

also has Sodium lauryl Sulfates and Parabens! ( I will go into these later)

All I can say is what the heck! ANYTHING that used for paints, plastics and your car should not be going into our bodies or onto the skin! DO yourself a favor and read those ingredients. Find safer products. The FDA may say this crap is " generally safe" but I am doubting their intelligence ( and common sense) when it comes to things like this.

Dr.Bronners is on my list to buy- 18 YES 18 different uses! I need me a bottle or two of this good stuff! Dr.Bronner's is organic and part of the fair trade!  

Go here:DrBronner

And for more information in the nasty P.G go here:

http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/substances/toxsubstance.asp?toxid=240

http://thegoodhuman.com/2009/03/31/what-is-propylene-glycol-and-why-you-should-avoid-it/

~Lexxy~

Let the Diet/Life Tweaking Begin!

Okay so it says let the diet tweaking begin- and so it will( with some other things). I am trying to reduce or eliminate the pain I get during my menstrual cycle. In fact I am so sick of it. Even with eating primal I still have pain. Along with this I figured out my biggest trigger for my endometriosis pain- wheat. So I decided to do some research on the "Endo Diet" and see if I can't customize my diet to fit my needs. I love primal but there is a lot of meat involved - especially red meat- according to the endo diet you should eliminate red meat from your diet.

Okay so I can do this sort of- I have decided to eat read meat once a week. Cook gluten free foods ( it says to avoid all gluten containing foods), it also says no eggs unless cage free/ organic- which I eat so I will stick with my eggs- My meat eating for the week will be chicken, shrimp, pork, and fish. I will still limit my grain consumption. I noticed that while on primal and eating coconut  goods that my skin was broken out. Since introducing a few gluten free grains back into my diet my skin has cleared up- THIS I LIKE!!! I also notice better bowl movements- So I will stick with it.

Diet is so important to health! So glad I am tweaking some things to make it more enjoyable and hopefully heal the endo. I would like less pain. I will also drink less coffee and avoid any other foods that trigger my pain. I am definitely staying away from soy as well.

Along with my diet changes I will be switching cleaning  and personal hygiene products. No more harsh chemicals for cleaning this will sort of hard for me I already use Mrs. Meyers for regular clean ups but I love my bleach for the bathroom every few days. And of course no more weird chemicals for makeup, shampoo, body and face wash. I already use a natural deodorant and conditioner, just out searching, experimenting with natural personal products to see which ones my skin likes ( sensitive skin).

I will post my progress on all of this as it progresses. I am also doing a group challenge in my own health group on Facebook to get MOVIN MOVIN.

 The GROUP: www.facebook.com/groups/Lexxys.HW/

I am looking forward to the changes. I hope to post more on safer cleaning products, makeup, and personal hygiene products. If you have read through my posts you know I already use feminine cloth pads and absolutely love them. I have used organic/ natural cleaners, makeup,etc before- but it always comes down to budget... I am looking for budget friendly products and of course do-it-yourself projects.

I like to think that this prepares me for a life on the Vorpahl Homestead- ( our dream in the making). So far I am doing well I believe. I have made dish cloths, reusable Swiffer covers, fem pads, and stay tuned for my tea tree oil cleaner and insect repellent! ( and the mini veggie garden on balcony)

Now if the sewing machine and I can get along- more will get accomplished ( or maybe it is just jersey fabric- BANE of my existence!)

Lexxy 

Recycled Magazine Paper Flowers

This is a craft I love to do often- You can make bouquets of flowers for gifts to friends and family members- it is easy -relatively quick and unique. You will need old magazines in all sizes. The flowers I made are from my old Avon brochures. The stems are from my regular sized mags. You will need double sided sticky tape, a skewer, and a glue stick. I also like to use a paper cutter for cleaner edges.

Take a magazine page

fold it to create part of a triangle- you will have a rectangular piece that will be folded

fold rectangular piece to create a perfect triangle

fold all pieces- tuck small triangular piece into center

You should have a perfect triangle

Now fold it in half

You will place the two bottom ends of the triangle together like so

grab your tape

I use about this much 

I like to stick a small amount between pages to hold together

Tape it 

You should create a cone of sorts

the cones or petals look like this

You will need to fold five petals for a flower

Stick glue in between petals and stick together to form the shape of the flower

this is what it should start to look like

A finished flower

The flower and stem: when you finish making a stem place so double sided tape around the top and the place into the middle of the flowers you just made press the petals onto the stem and viola! You have made a flower.

=^.^=

For stems take a skewer and roll a large magazine page onto it- put glue or tape on the page as you roll so it stays

....

You can make small, medium, or large flowers- the ones pictured here are small and medium.
For small flowers I use the avon pages but I cut they in half and then fold into triangles- repeat process

And that is a craft you can do anytime of the day- great to do while watching television! Or on a rainy day! It is so easy! Hope this tutorial was great! Let me know if it helped you and post comments and links to your own creations!

Today is Memorial Day- I take a moment of silence in remembrance of those who have fought, died, and served. I take a moment of silence for those who still serve. I thank my husband for his service... thank you to all military personnel. You are remembered...

~Lexxy~

Loving Saturday...

I love Saturdays, I get to spend the day with the husband ( Jimmy) doing all sorts of things. Today we are baking homemade bagels and bread. We rearranged our living room and placed the desktop computer & desk against one of the walls so we could enjoy gaming together-LOL- I know, I know! Couple of nerds over here! But I must admit it is nice to be in the same room with your significant other when he spends Mon thru Fri practically living at work! 0500 ( 5 am) he leaves and somewhere between 6pm to 7pm-ish he comes home! You bet your rumps I will sacrifice some "style" in the living room just so we can both enjoy video games in the same room and hang out.

So anyway! Along with our baking of foodie goodies we will also make some shrimp tacos with semi homemade tortillas we will be cheating here a bit and using a tortilla mix..It should still be scrumptious! At the moment I have decided not to eat as primal as I usually do.Sadly the number it was doing on our pockets was leaving us almost completely food-less by the time pay day rolled around... I will buy some rice and some flour just to get us through the month! Don't get me wrong, I love eating  primal I will definitely still cook some of those meals but if I need to make some rice then so be it! And I have to admit - this is odd but I was pretty hardcore primal the last few weeks before switching over and I was breaking out on the face and back- not sure what the cause of it was- but just a bit of grains in the diet and my skin has cleared up ( weird?). So I will take it as a plus. I am eating one meal ( sometimes two) with a type of grain. I am trying to make sure I am preparing it in the best way possible.

So overall I am enjoying my diet. I still feel pretty good and I am currently still at the weight I was last week. I think I will continue to eat some grains- especially since I LOVE my Italian cuisine! No offense you cannot make a good Pizza Margherita or Crostata di ricotta( like a cheese cake) without some flour. What can I say? A total sucker for a good pizza! 


Along with our baking extravaganza- we are enjoying our little balcony oasis. So far we have a bunch of zucchini, roma tomatoes, and a green bell pepper growing! Along with this we have A LOT of little sproutlings- marigolds, zinnias, asters, alyssum, cilantro, and parsley. Along with this we have a lovely mint plant and our monster rosemary! We are waiting on the cucumbers! 

The Living Room BEFORE 

The Living Room AFTER- we still need to hang up the photos BUT I like the way it looks and feels.

Well that is it for the day! Have a good Saturday! Will be posting some tutorials here soon! Just working on the latest for feminine pads! Yes you will never hear the end of it! Ladies I tell you! Do yourself a favor and research them! I have never been happier- I also get to keep about 30 bucks in my pocket each month! ENJOY your weekend! =^.^= meow!

~Lexxy~