As I learned more and more about nutrition in its broad scale, I determined in my 20’s that eating right is not “dieting,” it is actually just the way we were intended to feed our bodies. I’ve looked at and participated in different levels to both extremes: total fast food & packaged foods vs. complete natural (make your own honey, make your own bread, juice your own fruits, etc.). I hate to tell you this, but I agree with both!! So how can I lead you in one direction or the other?
Here’s the news: I don’t and I won’t suggest to anyone that either is exclusively the way to go. I have a whole section on eating right and not. In the hustle-bustle of our daily lives, it is hard to adhere to and to me is somewhat unreasonable to be constant in either mode. I have, for 38 years, managed my Diabetes (the balance of which is severely dependant on food intake) by just using my brain.
Doctors have deferred to me most of my life because they cannot argue with the fact that I am in good shape. I have a very severe case of Diabetes, accompanied by all the complications (kidney, eyes, nerve, and digestion and anything else that sporadically faults, such as heart, lungs, etc.) It is not a lie that Diabetes affects every organ and cell of our bodies because it contingent upon circulation (blood) levels.
When I was younger, one book labeled it as the “silent torture.” Truly, Diabetes is an extremely dangerous and comprehensive illness. And I have been through some scary times; however, Diabetics do not have to be isolated and absolutely do not have to suffer as much as some do.
Really, I use common sense and balance. And here’s the rub that goes against the grain of every nutritionalist in America: I still believe in counting calories instead of carbohydrates. Wow, you wouldn’t believe how much hostility that causes. Total and sheer frustrated hostility pours from the otherwise calm and respectable nutritional advisors. BUT - the doctors side with me because of the facts. Yeah me! The doctors tell them to leave me alone and let me do it my way because whatever I’ve done for 38 years is working better than all the dead people who did it differently.
This, in turn, makes the advisors even angrier and they refuse to work with me. So, I’ve been on my own in regards to nutrition for a lot of years. Fortunately, I enjoy the study of nutrition so I liked checking out the books and making spreadsheets and articles about nutrition. And for the last 10 years, the internet has made it increasingly easier to find what I need to know in a snap.
For many years, due to the stigma attached to Diabetics, I hid my condition from everyone. I knew people for 15 years and they never knew I had Diabetes. I’d go in and out of hospitals and just call in sick at work. I don’t look sick, so no one assumed I had any chronic illness. I don’t act sick, so nobody guessed. I made up my mind when I was a teenager that I didn’t want to be a decrepit frail person and that as long as I could keep going, I would keep going happily. I rarely discuss my condition unless it is informational and I do not use it as a crutch or for sympathy. I am so grateful to the Lord for getting me this far with such a debilitating condition, that I cannot justify being a complainer or using it in a manner to exploit others. That just seems ungrateful and WRONG.
Plus, whining is my pet peeve, so it doesn’t fit anywhere into my life or my surroundings. Here’s my take on eating: eat food that helps your body function properly and eat as much as you need to continue functioning.
No part of me agrees with the idea that a person can be on a continual diet for life. That is crazy and if you investigated all the people who wrote the fad diets and the miracle diets, you would discover that they don’t stick to that diet every day of their lives. They veer sometimes. Even the best of them do, so don’t be fooled.
The only problem with a Diabetic veering on his/her diet is that the insulin and/or exercise for that timeframe has to be adjusted. I’ll go into that balance later, but for now, let’s just look at the food part of the formula. Not just for Diabetics, but for everyone. Food is your energy and what you eat is the makeup of your chemistry, so eat the best you can.
I don’t have a rule that says “cake is not on my diet.” I don’t have a death clock that starts ticking when I eat red meat occasionally. No body parts fall off or even stop working when I eat lunchmeat or when I have carbonation in my beverages. And guess what? I’ve used sweet-n-low for 38 years. Is it a good idea to constantly eat junk and processed foods? Absolutely not. So, I don’t want to ever be quoted as encouraging poor eating habits.
There is a difference between a habit or routine and an exception. If you tell a Diabetic child that he/she can never have cake, ice cream, red meat, butter, jelly, etc., that kid is going to instantly begin building a wall to shut the whole dieting idea out of his/her life. Adults do the same thing. Every time you start a new diet, don’t you just crave everything that is NOT on the diet? Who in this world thinks that there is ONE diet that all people should follow forever and ever amen? Isn’t that somewhat nutty? Should we all drive the same car and live in the same house? Again, that is not reasonable.
Here’s the best diet: eat food that helps your body function properly and eat as much as you need to continue functioning. When this is your diet, you have now broken the harness and have some options that in turn, give you the ability to make choices. So, make good choices.
Sometimes I eat cake; sometimes I even (should I say it publicly?) eat a bar of CANDY! Yes, it’s true. Get a bag and breathe into it if you have to. I am not only admitting to you that as a regular smegular human being, I sometimes eat candy, but I am notifying you that I, an insulin-dependent Diabetic sometimes eat candy. Wow. Once you are able to stand upright and focus again from that news, let’s move on.
Sometimes I deliberately choose a taco over a tomato with cottage cheese. Yes. Sometimes I fry my eggs instead of scrambling them and SOMETIMES I even CHOOSE Captain Crunch cereal instead of Corn Flakes. And here I am, still alive. Shocking, isn’t it? I do want to repeat that I make the choices deliberately. Here’s the key: that word “sometimes.”
Do I eat fried foods and sugar from the time I roll out of bed until I drop in a panting heap at the end of each day? No. Do I eat fried foods and sugar every day of my life? No. On the other hand, do I completely deprive myself of all treats? No again. It’s not the candy and lunchmeat that kills people off and it’s not the natural cooking and fresh veggies that keep them alive.
It is that when you eat food that helps your body function properly and eat as much as you need to continue functioning and SOMETIMES allow yourself a sidetrack of indulgence, eating can be balanced even in someone with a serious medical condition.
If I tell you that you can’t have a cookie, you probably will immediately want a cookie. So that is really just a nuisance and doesn’t require indulgence. Really, we all are able to exhibit self-control and not drive 5 miles out of our way to get a cookie. If we decide recognize that cookies are delicious but do not add much to the helpful functioning of the body (even if it has oatmeal and raisins or peanut butter in it); but, that sometimes a cookie might be yummy, control is more manageable. If the cookie is a “possibility on a sometimes basis” rather than absolutely forbidden, it is easier to control our intake of the cookies.
Again, some type of self-control has to enter into the equation. People who are overweight more than likely have not dealt much in the area of self-control and that is not what I’m talking about. Absolutely, there are people who are completely out of control and eat junk constantly. That is not a dieting problem; that is a social, spiritual, or emotional problem and I don’t plan to address it.
I am talking about the reasonable life and the reasonable person, approaching a reasonable manner to maintain a reasonable eating pattern. If you want to lose a few pounds, cut back your calories. If you eat a piece of candy, look at how many calories you just took in and shave it off something else. Period.
Fruits and vegetables are good for you, but fruit packs a bunch of calories and some fruits are just as much of a hit to your blood sugar and your waistline as a piece of candy, so look at what you’re doing. If you ONLY eat vegetables, you starve yourself of other needed nutrients and have to take supplements to bridge the gap.
I am just here to notify anybody that cares to listen that any nutrition you can get from a pill is completely inferior to the nutrition you get from the food itself. I personally do not take vitamins because it just seems a little silly to me. That topic is not a battle I’ve chosen to fight in my life, so I just keep my mouth shut on the issue. Take vitamins if you think you should, but you still have to pay attention to what foods you put into your body. God designed our bodies and He also designed how to keep them functioning, so just be reasonable.
I see a lot of articles about guilt and “don’t beat yourself up if you fall off the wagon,” and that kind of stuff. I see the word “moderation” used a lot. I’ve always found those perspectives kind of odd. I just don’t see how one person can tell another person how to feel. Aren’t feelings based on what belief system you have established in your life? If I tell you not to feel sad because your dog died, but you loved your dog and your heart is breaking, how can you just stop feeling sad? If you feel guilty, you can’t stop feeling guilty just because someone else thinks what you did is okay.
You have to establish a reasonable system that allows for mistakes. With that, you operate in a reasonable fashion which means you can eat a piece of cake sometimes. When you make a mistake and eat a whole cake, you adjust accordingly, recover, and try not to do that again. Then, guilt is not even part of the picture. It doesn’t enter into the equation. If you find that you’re not reaching your goal, then you have to change your plan, but remain in the parameters of reasonable.
If your goal is to lose weight, and you’re not losing weight, adjust your plan and go forward, but don’t cut food out of your life for 3 days in order to get where you intended to be. Feeling guilty won’t change where you are; not feeling guilty won’t change where you are. Recognizing that you need to adjust your plan and then doing so will change where you will end up; but it will not change where you are. Giving yourself a lecture about doing a better job won’t change where you are. You are where you are.
All you can do is adjust your path to hit the goal. And if you just ate a whole cake, that is where you are. Regret doing it? Maybe. Hate yourself, punish yourself, be cranky and punish others for it? No. Adjust, recover, and move forward. You may just need to shave some calories off for eating too much cake and then again, you may need to reduce your entire daily calorie intake if your goal is not being met. But be reasonable. That’s a really important concept in our lives.
Shocking to many people, the Bible gives insights into how to take care of our bodies. Truly, who believes that God quickly created a doctor and medicines right after Adam and Eve, in case they ever got sick? I know, I know. Hard to believe.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Monday, April 12, 2010
Learn and Live
Some say “Live and Learn;” But I stand firmly on “Learn and Live.” This is the section that will draw the most criticism as well as the most support and I already know that. I’m a Christian woman and have been most of my life, but not all of my life.
The word “Christian” draws all kinds of opinions. Mostly, people have their own idea of what a Christian is and many times, that opinion has been formed by someone else and is inaccurate. I don’t know what to tell you about the things I will post in here. You’ll just have to look and see.
There is lots to say in here but I don’t want it to be just my opinion, so I will actually use references and examples from the Bible and insights learned thereof. Oooh, already I feel somebody getting stiff-necked. So, I’ll let you know that I am not a forceful person. I just have learned so many valuable lessons and have lots to say. Use what you can and discard the rest.
Just make sure you discard the part from me and not the part from God. Whatever you believe, wouldn’t you agree that it is a better idea to learn the lesson by knowing the precept instead of living the lesson?
I’m just sayin’….
Love,
Connie
The word “Christian” draws all kinds of opinions. Mostly, people have their own idea of what a Christian is and many times, that opinion has been formed by someone else and is inaccurate. I don’t know what to tell you about the things I will post in here. You’ll just have to look and see.
There is lots to say in here but I don’t want it to be just my opinion, so I will actually use references and examples from the Bible and insights learned thereof. Oooh, already I feel somebody getting stiff-necked. So, I’ll let you know that I am not a forceful person. I just have learned so many valuable lessons and have lots to say. Use what you can and discard the rest.
Just make sure you discard the part from me and not the part from God. Whatever you believe, wouldn’t you agree that it is a better idea to learn the lesson by knowing the precept instead of living the lesson?
I’m just sayin’….
Love,
Connie
Funny Stuff
I spend most of my life laughing at life. Even things that are “tough” to endure can later be funny. The Bible tells us that a “merry heart doeth good like a medicine.” I believe that is true. Not that you want to laugh at someone who is going through a difficult time, but I always try to take “the light road.”
I haven’t always been that way. I spent about 10 years in my late 20’s and early 30’s on the brink of sadness, wondering if I would ever get to be married. I also dealt with several health issues during that time, so I didn’t laugh so much.
I have learned that there is such a thing as spilt milk and there are options on what you can do with it.
I have learned that life throws curves and you have to learn how to be a good driver.
I have learned that if God is my co-pilot, I need to switch places.
I have a section on Spiritual Lessons Learned the Hard Way, so this one is just on the funny side of stuff.
Mostly we just want to dwell here for a giggle or two. You can be assured there will be posts about kids in here.
I haven’t always been that way. I spent about 10 years in my late 20’s and early 30’s on the brink of sadness, wondering if I would ever get to be married. I also dealt with several health issues during that time, so I didn’t laugh so much.
I have learned that there is such a thing as spilt milk and there are options on what you can do with it.
I have learned that life throws curves and you have to learn how to be a good driver.
I have learned that if God is my co-pilot, I need to switch places.
I have a section on Spiritual Lessons Learned the Hard Way, so this one is just on the funny side of stuff.
Mostly we just want to dwell here for a giggle or two. You can be assured there will be posts about kids in here.
Keep the Cash and Do it Yourself
Ah, the philosophy of my life. I like to save money and I like to make things, so these two work well together. I’ve mentioned our website, www.keep-the-cash.com on other posts. Be sure to go there. It is packed full of all kinds of stuff.
KTC is a website created by Shelley (sister-in-law) and me that focuses on that topic: ways to keep your money. We are writing a series of eBooks that cover different topics which enable you to save money. I’ll post things into here, as well, but the real "life" of this section will be in the website.
KTC is a website created by Shelley (sister-in-law) and me that focuses on that topic: ways to keep your money. We are writing a series of eBooks that cover different topics which enable you to save money. I’ll post things into here, as well, but the real "life" of this section will be in the website.
Bekah's Boutique
I need to put a post into this section so I can give it a label and make it into a real section for you to see and for future “actual” posts. So this is just a tag blurb so the label will apply.
This section will be “Bekah’s Boutique” which is the name I gave to my store, which was my little home business of sewing and crafts about 5 years ago. I’ll put some things in here for you to see. Sometimes people still contact me to make something and occasionally, I do, but not much. I like crafts and the idea of sewing, and once I sit down at the sewing machine, I go on for hours. But, getting me to focus and sit down at the sewing machine is the hardest part.
I actually just like designing the stuff more than sewing. But, the feeling of accomplishment gained from actually sewing or producing something from “scratch” is GREAT, so I still do it sometimes.
Bekah’s Boutique (named after my daughter, Rebekah), has custom clothes for girls, custom bedroom sets for infants and children and a few for adults (usually only by request). I also have embellished handbags, jewelry, and some dog things in there. Just a mix of fun things.
This section will be “Bekah’s Boutique” which is the name I gave to my store, which was my little home business of sewing and crafts about 5 years ago. I’ll put some things in here for you to see. Sometimes people still contact me to make something and occasionally, I do, but not much. I like crafts and the idea of sewing, and once I sit down at the sewing machine, I go on for hours. But, getting me to focus and sit down at the sewing machine is the hardest part.
I actually just like designing the stuff more than sewing. But, the feeling of accomplishment gained from actually sewing or producing something from “scratch” is GREAT, so I still do it sometimes.
Bekah’s Boutique (named after my daughter, Rebekah), has custom clothes for girls, custom bedroom sets for infants and children and a few for adults (usually only by request). I also have embellished handbags, jewelry, and some dog things in there. Just a mix of fun things.
French Bulldogs
I cannot imagine any person ever not loving French Bulldogs, once they have met one. My brother laughed and poked fun at them nonstop for years until I got some and now he thinks they are adorable (even though he would NEVER admit it). I talk to people all the time who are converts. At least twice a week and usually more often, I am in a conversation about French Bulldogs. I love these guys.
So when I first had to start going through a divorce 5 years ago, I didn’t want to go back into an executive job market and I didn’t feel strong enough to be a financial advisor right then, plus I didn’t want to put my baby into daycare. So, I opened a sewing boutique and bought four French Bulldogs and began raising champion Frenchies for the show ring.
Wow. I am an animal lover (confirmed and certified), so I think just about every animal is cute, period. And dogs are one of my favorites. I’ve always like flat-faced dogs: Shih-tzu, Pekingese, Pugs, but had never really met any bulldogs.
When I did finally meet a French Bulldog, I was hooked in about 11 minutes. These little guys are incredible. They are little clown dogs and forever loyal. They love to love and be loved and will put on a show for anyone who will give their attention. They are perfect pets and naturally clean dogs (I like that).
Of course, mine are spoiled rotten, but I do not claim responsibility for it. Someone breaks into my house every day and spoils them.
Rebekah is an animal lover, too, so she loves that I have the bulldogs. We have about 3 litters of champion-bred puppies per year and man, are they the most doted on and adored puppies EVER!! I rarely make money, but manage to break even now. I have bought a few automobiles for three veterinarians. My dogs have their own dedicated bedroom in our house and their own condominium (heated and air-conditioned) built off the garage accessed by doggie doors when they want to go outside.
Go on over to my website www.puppyprints.net and look at some of these little toots. It won’t take you long to fall in love. I have a lot of experience with dogs and nurturing, so I spend a lot of time talking with people about dogs. People (strangers) call me at least 3 times a week for help, mostly referred by people who have bought Frenchies from me. I love the dogs. No doubt about that.
So when I first had to start going through a divorce 5 years ago, I didn’t want to go back into an executive job market and I didn’t feel strong enough to be a financial advisor right then, plus I didn’t want to put my baby into daycare. So, I opened a sewing boutique and bought four French Bulldogs and began raising champion Frenchies for the show ring.
Wow. I am an animal lover (confirmed and certified), so I think just about every animal is cute, period. And dogs are one of my favorites. I’ve always like flat-faced dogs: Shih-tzu, Pekingese, Pugs, but had never really met any bulldogs.
When I did finally meet a French Bulldog, I was hooked in about 11 minutes. These little guys are incredible. They are little clown dogs and forever loyal. They love to love and be loved and will put on a show for anyone who will give their attention. They are perfect pets and naturally clean dogs (I like that).
Of course, mine are spoiled rotten, but I do not claim responsibility for it. Someone breaks into my house every day and spoils them.
Rebekah is an animal lover, too, so she loves that I have the bulldogs. We have about 3 litters of champion-bred puppies per year and man, are they the most doted on and adored puppies EVER!! I rarely make money, but manage to break even now. I have bought a few automobiles for three veterinarians. My dogs have their own dedicated bedroom in our house and their own condominium (heated and air-conditioned) built off the garage accessed by doggie doors when they want to go outside.
Go on over to my website www.puppyprints.net and look at some of these little toots. It won’t take you long to fall in love. I have a lot of experience with dogs and nurturing, so I spend a lot of time talking with people about dogs. People (strangers) call me at least 3 times a week for help, mostly referred by people who have bought Frenchies from me. I love the dogs. No doubt about that.
Food as Gifts
Recipes?
I sometimes laugh in the face of such. HA! But then sometimes you have to follow a recipe to the pinnest point so I don’t always laugh. Like Divinity. Did you know the type of pan you use will make or break this stuff?
I spent about 5 years learning how to make all the “hard to make” candies and I would devote every 3rd Christmas season to cooking and bundling up 15-20 different selections on decorated plates as gifts. It actually became a bigger deal than I realized and the first year I missed, I received complaints. Who knew?
I enjoy it, so I don’t mind continuing the routine. I have certain people who have particular requests, so I have those treats that I MUST do each time I make food gifts. Eventually, about 9 years ago, I had to add something besides candy, so now I have a wider selection each time I plan a food year.
Not everybody gets everything, as I’ve learned some people’s likes and dislikes but there is always someone new to add, so they get a larger variety. Loved ones always get the biggest batches (trays and/or platters of food instead of plates).
This year (2010) is a food year! Hooray. I am anxious to add a couple of new things this year, so I’ll post them into here, along with recipes and pictures of the past and ongoing favorites.
Check back soon!
Connie
I sometimes laugh in the face of such. HA! But then sometimes you have to follow a recipe to the pinnest point so I don’t always laugh. Like Divinity. Did you know the type of pan you use will make or break this stuff?
I spent about 5 years learning how to make all the “hard to make” candies and I would devote every 3rd Christmas season to cooking and bundling up 15-20 different selections on decorated plates as gifts. It actually became a bigger deal than I realized and the first year I missed, I received complaints. Who knew?
I enjoy it, so I don’t mind continuing the routine. I have certain people who have particular requests, so I have those treats that I MUST do each time I make food gifts. Eventually, about 9 years ago, I had to add something besides candy, so now I have a wider selection each time I plan a food year.
Not everybody gets everything, as I’ve learned some people’s likes and dislikes but there is always someone new to add, so they get a larger variety. Loved ones always get the biggest batches (trays and/or platters of food instead of plates).
This year (2010) is a food year! Hooray. I am anxious to add a couple of new things this year, so I’ll post them into here, along with recipes and pictures of the past and ongoing favorites.
Check back soon!
Connie
Monday, April 5, 2010
Homemade All Purpose Cleanser
I love to save money. I can spend $1,000 on something and never have remorse but be irked for a couple of hours over wasting 50 cents. It is all contingent on the value (monetary or perceived) value of the item obtained.
For instance, I consider accomplishments to be of value and can wrap what a particular item accomplishes into the value of it. In doing that, I might pay more (monetarily) for the item than usual.
People pay me to help them with their budget and finances, so I have to keep guidelines and a system, but when I budget for things, I consider more than the face value. That is not something that is readily transferred to application in someone else’s budget. So, I have a budget “principle” I use that allows the ability to be used in a real life and not just on paper.
Anyway, we’ll talk about finances and budget in another post, but this one is about saving money, getting deals, looking for a bargain, finding a way to spend less… that type of thing. I love all those phrases!
I’ve mentioned that Shelley (sister-in-law) and I have written an ebook and you should definitely check it out in my previous post. The book is devoted to one spending less concept, which is using coupons as a method of payment. We treat couponing as a viable part-time job. The money savings is sometimes not even believable and whatever you save, you earned.
Some women are finding by applying our extra spin on the couponing strategy that they make more by using the “Keep the Cash” method(s) than they have at their part-time job. Not to mention getting to stay home and take care of their own kids instead of paying for childcare.
Again, I encourage you to look at the info and the link in my earlier post and check into it.
Right now, I’d like to mention some other money-saving tips just for fun and just because I love that sort of thing.
Of course, Do it Yourself is the BOMB! Whoo-hoo, I love making my own stuff. Whether it is figuring out a recipe for some popular dish or doing my own taxes or figuring out my own medical symptoms, I love the DIY stuff.
I recently decided I didn’t like all the chemicals that swirl around us in our homes, so I checked into making some of my cleansers myself. Now I should tell you that I was a bleach person. I’m a natural blonde, but my hair was about the only thing I didn’t use bleach on. I didn’t think anything was truly clean unless bleach in some fashion had been applied to it.
I don’t like the smell of bleach, but I can tolerate it and eventually I guess maybe I couldn’t even smell it anymore because I had gotten used to it. I probably will not ever completely eliminate bleach from my entire life, but WOW! That is one dangerous chemical!
Although sure nothing could get cleaned otherwise, I forced myself to replace bleach with some other types of safer cleaners and was pleasantly surprised. I did not want to hop from one pure chemical (chlorine) to some mixture of equally toxic chemicals that we find in store-bought cleansers. That narrowed down my options considerably. Basically, after all the options, I was left with vinegar, lemon, and baking soda. It just didn’t seem like enough. I tried it and yes, things seemed to be clean but I just wasn’t convinced.
I wrote my friend who is a missionary in Mexico and lives an incredible ALL NATURAL life. I need to insert one comment here: I admire her strength but I probably will never be an “all natural” woman. She has her children in birthing tubs delivered by her husband. I am completely in awe of that strength and I admire and respect it, but won’t ever do it. She makes her own honey, when her husband goes out to their shed, where they have a family of honey bees constantly producing rich and succulent honey combs. Actually, the bees "make" the honey, but either way, I won’t ever do that.
She makes all her own clothes and the clothes for her 7 children. I won’t ever do that. I sew but usually for fun. She uses cloth diapers. Okay, I won’t EVER do that. She scrubs clothes on a washboard and hangs them out in fresh air to dry. Why? She likes the fresh air smell on their clothes. We don’t have fresh air in the states, so I won’t ever do that. Her husband bought a washing machine, but she doesn't always use it.
Okay, enough said. She is WAY fabulous and more “natural” than me. I admire her greatly; I just can’t and maybe won't ever even try to be that. Tammy has wonderful insights into cooking naturally and uses all natural cleansers. She makes her own cleansers and her own soap and her own laundry detergent. Are you ready for this? She makes her own vinegar.
So, I asked her for tips on cleaners. I told her about my vinegar mixture and that I thought things were “clean” but just still felt they could be more …. Something. She had the immediate answer: alcohol. I had not thought of that. She told me to add ½ cup of isopropyl (70%) to my mixture and that is what I did. When I started cleaning with it, I immediately knew what I had been missing: "disinfection." Is that a word?
Disinfected. I didn’t feel like everything had been disinfected and the addition of the alcohol somehow filled that need. Think about it: hospitals use alcohol to keep germs away from incisions into our bodies. I feel so much better about my cleaning mixture. She also told me to add just a drop or two of lavender oil. I’d heard that before and truthfully, I haven’t added that yet, but I may try it sometime.
So that’s my daily all-purpose cleanser. I mix it into empty spray bottles in the following increments; you can adjust up or down however you are comfortable. The alcohol also cuts through the vinegar smell. However, the smell of vinegar is an absorbent, so it doesn’t last long anyway.
In a spray bottle:
3 cups vinegar
1 cup alcohol
Lemon (fresh squeezed)
NOTICE I LEFT OUT THE BAKING SODA. I also increased the alcohol amount just because I wanted more disinfectant properties in my mixture. Most people are aware of this from Science experiments in school, but just in case you didn’t do those experiments:
Vinegar mixed with baking soda will make a HUGE bubbling and will scare you into almost a faint. In school, we built fake volcanoes and then added vinegar and a touch of baking soda to make them “erupt” with lava that we colored red with food color.
So, if you are going to add the baking soda (sometimes I do), make your mixture in a bucket and then when the lava stops bubbling, pour it into the bottle.
Sometimes I pour vinegar and baking soda into my kitchen sink with the intention of it bubbling its way down the drain and acting as a type of abrasive rinse.
So there’s a tip for today: New all purpose cleanser without harmful chemicals.
For instance, I consider accomplishments to be of value and can wrap what a particular item accomplishes into the value of it. In doing that, I might pay more (monetarily) for the item than usual.
People pay me to help them with their budget and finances, so I have to keep guidelines and a system, but when I budget for things, I consider more than the face value. That is not something that is readily transferred to application in someone else’s budget. So, I have a budget “principle” I use that allows the ability to be used in a real life and not just on paper.
Anyway, we’ll talk about finances and budget in another post, but this one is about saving money, getting deals, looking for a bargain, finding a way to spend less… that type of thing. I love all those phrases!
I’ve mentioned that Shelley (sister-in-law) and I have written an ebook and you should definitely check it out in my previous post. The book is devoted to one spending less concept, which is using coupons as a method of payment. We treat couponing as a viable part-time job. The money savings is sometimes not even believable and whatever you save, you earned.
Some women are finding by applying our extra spin on the couponing strategy that they make more by using the “Keep the Cash” method(s) than they have at their part-time job. Not to mention getting to stay home and take care of their own kids instead of paying for childcare.
Again, I encourage you to look at the info and the link in my earlier post and check into it.
Right now, I’d like to mention some other money-saving tips just for fun and just because I love that sort of thing.
Of course, Do it Yourself is the BOMB! Whoo-hoo, I love making my own stuff. Whether it is figuring out a recipe for some popular dish or doing my own taxes or figuring out my own medical symptoms, I love the DIY stuff.
I recently decided I didn’t like all the chemicals that swirl around us in our homes, so I checked into making some of my cleansers myself. Now I should tell you that I was a bleach person. I’m a natural blonde, but my hair was about the only thing I didn’t use bleach on. I didn’t think anything was truly clean unless bleach in some fashion had been applied to it.
I don’t like the smell of bleach, but I can tolerate it and eventually I guess maybe I couldn’t even smell it anymore because I had gotten used to it. I probably will not ever completely eliminate bleach from my entire life, but WOW! That is one dangerous chemical!
Although sure nothing could get cleaned otherwise, I forced myself to replace bleach with some other types of safer cleaners and was pleasantly surprised. I did not want to hop from one pure chemical (chlorine) to some mixture of equally toxic chemicals that we find in store-bought cleansers. That narrowed down my options considerably. Basically, after all the options, I was left with vinegar, lemon, and baking soda. It just didn’t seem like enough. I tried it and yes, things seemed to be clean but I just wasn’t convinced.
I wrote my friend who is a missionary in Mexico and lives an incredible ALL NATURAL life. I need to insert one comment here: I admire her strength but I probably will never be an “all natural” woman. She has her children in birthing tubs delivered by her husband. I am completely in awe of that strength and I admire and respect it, but won’t ever do it. She makes her own honey, when her husband goes out to their shed, where they have a family of honey bees constantly producing rich and succulent honey combs. Actually, the bees "make" the honey, but either way, I won’t ever do that.
She makes all her own clothes and the clothes for her 7 children. I won’t ever do that. I sew but usually for fun. She uses cloth diapers. Okay, I won’t EVER do that. She scrubs clothes on a washboard and hangs them out in fresh air to dry. Why? She likes the fresh air smell on their clothes. We don’t have fresh air in the states, so I won’t ever do that. Her husband bought a washing machine, but she doesn't always use it.
Okay, enough said. She is WAY fabulous and more “natural” than me. I admire her greatly; I just can’t and maybe won't ever even try to be that. Tammy has wonderful insights into cooking naturally and uses all natural cleansers. She makes her own cleansers and her own soap and her own laundry detergent. Are you ready for this? She makes her own vinegar.
So, I asked her for tips on cleaners. I told her about my vinegar mixture and that I thought things were “clean” but just still felt they could be more …. Something. She had the immediate answer: alcohol. I had not thought of that. She told me to add ½ cup of isopropyl (70%) to my mixture and that is what I did. When I started cleaning with it, I immediately knew what I had been missing: "disinfection." Is that a word?
Disinfected. I didn’t feel like everything had been disinfected and the addition of the alcohol somehow filled that need. Think about it: hospitals use alcohol to keep germs away from incisions into our bodies. I feel so much better about my cleaning mixture. She also told me to add just a drop or two of lavender oil. I’d heard that before and truthfully, I haven’t added that yet, but I may try it sometime.
So that’s my daily all-purpose cleanser. I mix it into empty spray bottles in the following increments; you can adjust up or down however you are comfortable. The alcohol also cuts through the vinegar smell. However, the smell of vinegar is an absorbent, so it doesn’t last long anyway.
In a spray bottle:
3 cups vinegar
1 cup alcohol
Lemon (fresh squeezed)
NOTICE I LEFT OUT THE BAKING SODA. I also increased the alcohol amount just because I wanted more disinfectant properties in my mixture. Most people are aware of this from Science experiments in school, but just in case you didn’t do those experiments:
Vinegar mixed with baking soda will make a HUGE bubbling and will scare you into almost a faint. In school, we built fake volcanoes and then added vinegar and a touch of baking soda to make them “erupt” with lava that we colored red with food color.
So, if you are going to add the baking soda (sometimes I do), make your mixture in a bucket and then when the lava stops bubbling, pour it into the bottle.
Sometimes I pour vinegar and baking soda into my kitchen sink with the intention of it bubbling its way down the drain and acting as a type of abrasive rinse.
So there’s a tip for today: New all purpose cleanser without harmful chemicals.
Itty-bitty Change to a Favorite Food
I’ve always been a “do it yourself” kinda gal. I just like to see things put together and love putting them together myself. I like to experiment with adjusting ideas, so I try things all the time and never write them down! I have been trying to stop that because there are times when someone will ask me how I made something (food, clothes, crafts) and I’ll have to recall the event to give the instructions.
So last week, I tried just a little bitty twist on something I eat all the time and loved it. I told some people and they want a recipe or at least measurements, of which I had none. It was just such a simple thing but MAN was it good. So here it is. Remember, this is just a simple (really simple) thing with a twist.
One avocado, smashed into chunks with a fork; add 2 tablespoons of salsa (I like my own homemade salsa but you could use store-bought brands) and celery salt. Yep. Celery. Don’t know how much, just a little. Add just a touch of pepper and spread this onto wheat thins. Munch them while working at your desk and the whole chore at hand brightens up and goes faster.
I’ve had avocado on every bread, rice cake, and cracker imaginable and sometimes just eat them straight from their jackets, but have never put avocado on wheat thins. I really like the blend and the celery salt added just enough change to make it seem brand new. My homemade salsa has tomato sauce, lemon, cilantro and onions (white) in it, so there are the other contributors to the flavor mix. Try it and let me know if you like it.
I love natural foods and eating well, but sweet things are also fabulous to me. I spent years reading every nutritional book in the library (before Al Gore invented internet) and actually know how to measure any mineral or vitamin content you would reasonably want to include in your cooking.
In addition, as I mentioned in an earlier post, I am 38 years insulin dependent Diabetic, so my life has been driven by what we used to call dieting. As I learned more and more about nutrition in its broad scale, I determined in my 20’s that eating right is not “dieting,” it is actually just the way we were intended to feed our bodies.
I’ve looked at and participated in different levels to both extremes: total fast food & packaged foods vs. complete natural (make your own honey, make your own bread, juice your own fruits, etc.). I hate to tell you this, but I agree with both!! So how can I lead you in one direction or the other? Here’s the news: I don’t and I won’t suggest to anyone that either is exclusively the way to go. I have a whole section on eating right and not. It is mostly centered around what I've learned from being an insulin-dependent Diabetic for 38 years and having been in the "nutrition" game for almost 4 decades. Be sure to check it out if you are facing a "diet."
So last week, I tried just a little bitty twist on something I eat all the time and loved it. I told some people and they want a recipe or at least measurements, of which I had none. It was just such a simple thing but MAN was it good. So here it is. Remember, this is just a simple (really simple) thing with a twist.
One avocado, smashed into chunks with a fork; add 2 tablespoons of salsa (I like my own homemade salsa but you could use store-bought brands) and celery salt. Yep. Celery. Don’t know how much, just a little. Add just a touch of pepper and spread this onto wheat thins. Munch them while working at your desk and the whole chore at hand brightens up and goes faster.
I’ve had avocado on every bread, rice cake, and cracker imaginable and sometimes just eat them straight from their jackets, but have never put avocado on wheat thins. I really like the blend and the celery salt added just enough change to make it seem brand new. My homemade salsa has tomato sauce, lemon, cilantro and onions (white) in it, so there are the other contributors to the flavor mix. Try it and let me know if you like it.
I love natural foods and eating well, but sweet things are also fabulous to me. I spent years reading every nutritional book in the library (before Al Gore invented internet) and actually know how to measure any mineral or vitamin content you would reasonably want to include in your cooking.
In addition, as I mentioned in an earlier post, I am 38 years insulin dependent Diabetic, so my life has been driven by what we used to call dieting. As I learned more and more about nutrition in its broad scale, I determined in my 20’s that eating right is not “dieting,” it is actually just the way we were intended to feed our bodies.
I’ve looked at and participated in different levels to both extremes: total fast food & packaged foods vs. complete natural (make your own honey, make your own bread, juice your own fruits, etc.). I hate to tell you this, but I agree with both!! So how can I lead you in one direction or the other? Here’s the news: I don’t and I won’t suggest to anyone that either is exclusively the way to go. I have a whole section on eating right and not. It is mostly centered around what I've learned from being an insulin-dependent Diabetic for 38 years and having been in the "nutrition" game for almost 4 decades. Be sure to check it out if you are facing a "diet."
Friday, April 2, 2010
Coupons and Saving LOTS of Money
I get a lot of my shopping done FREE. Yep, it's true. I was one of those women that thought it was a good idea and even had some fab experiences with random couponing but never really used the concept to the MAX. Well, I do now.
I'm what the stores label as a "super couponer." The clerks dread us because of all the coupons, but the store owners and manufacturers love us because of all the business we bring them. Stores get paid MORE than the coupon value by the manufacturer, so they actually make money when we use our coupons. So, the next time you get an annoyed clerk, remind her that you are valuable.
So I receive several RSS feeds from ladies across the USA who do the same thing I do, which is look for all the bargains before they even go into effect or at least within seconds of the promo time. I will be linking to some of their websites and blogs for you later. I love their feeds because it makes my job easier by looking at the HOT specials first. We call them HOT money-makers (when we make money by using the coupon) and SMOKIN' deals (when the item(s) are free or just cost us pennies after applying the coupon.)
We stack em, roll em, double em, and do all kinds of things these days. I've even co-written an eBook on the whole step-by-step process that gets even the beginners going. It covers everything from finding hidden coupons to speed cutting them, to stacking for free items and moneymakers. Woo Hoo!!
So, you should get onto the coupon wagon for sure. I've started teaching classes in my area (Dallas/Fort Worth) and already have a waiting list for ladies groups that want a class for their members. It's very exciting and fast-paced.
Let me know if you want to access the eBook or set up a class for your group or for yourself. I love it!
Connie
I'm what the stores label as a "super couponer." The clerks dread us because of all the coupons, but the store owners and manufacturers love us because of all the business we bring them. Stores get paid MORE than the coupon value by the manufacturer, so they actually make money when we use our coupons. So, the next time you get an annoyed clerk, remind her that you are valuable.
So I receive several RSS feeds from ladies across the USA who do the same thing I do, which is look for all the bargains before they even go into effect or at least within seconds of the promo time. I will be linking to some of their websites and blogs for you later. I love their feeds because it makes my job easier by looking at the HOT specials first. We call them HOT money-makers (when we make money by using the coupon) and SMOKIN' deals (when the item(s) are free or just cost us pennies after applying the coupon.)
We stack em, roll em, double em, and do all kinds of things these days. I've even co-written an eBook on the whole step-by-step process that gets even the beginners going. It covers everything from finding hidden coupons to speed cutting them, to stacking for free items and moneymakers. Woo Hoo!!
So, you should get onto the coupon wagon for sure. I've started teaching classes in my area (Dallas/Fort Worth) and already have a waiting list for ladies groups that want a class for their members. It's very exciting and fast-paced.
Let me know if you want to access the eBook or set up a class for your group or for yourself. I love it!
Connie
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