Monday, April 23, 2012

Finding the Green, Eliminating the Toxins

As many of you already know the last two years have been a personal challenge for me. In brief summary for my new followers; In March 2010 I unexpectedly had a stroke, March 2011 my sister was diagnosed with breast cancer, July 2011 my other sister was diagnosed with breast cancer and in August 2011 my Mom was diagnosed too.

Breast cancer has not previously been in our family. I know there are statistics which indicate something like 85% of new breast cancer diagnosis have no prior family members with the disease (I may not have the % exact but it is in the high 80's). But still...I think my family and I thought we might be safe from this fate. We have good genes, our grandparents all lived well into their 90's with our Papa living to be over 100! We didn't see the bad news coming and especially not in this lump sum. 

All of this has led my family to discuss where did this all come from? Of course there could many variables but one of the biggies in my mind is that our environment has too many toxins. I have been on a quest to eliminate toxins in my home and in my life.

My first step was to remove plastics from my home. No more eating or drinking from anything plastic. It is amazing how much plastic you manage to accumulate when your children are small. My children are older now and it certainly was time to move some of these items out. Once I started looking around I was amazed at how much plastic we were using and some of it was very old. OUT it all went. I have to admit that I find it hard when it comes to left overs to find enough glassware for storage. I still need to stock up on glassware in order to complete the plastic removal. But I have definitely eliminated A LOT of plastic.

I am a small step away from no longer going to the grocery store. I no longer buy canned food. I know I cannot eliminate it completely but I will only buy limited amounts of food items there. I realize that I am very lucky to live in an area where farms abound. There are veggie stands everywhere in season, in one direction I have a milk farm and in the other direction I have a "meat" farm. I'm not sure what to call them, a butcher farm? I lean toward being a vegetarian (I will eat chicken occassionally) so I don't love this place but my husband is a meat and potatoes kind of guy, so what can I do? And after that pink slime incident I WILL NOT buy any meat from a grocery store.
No vinegar will be used on this beauty.

There is so much toxic stuff in our immediate environment. Wen we stop to think about it can become overwhelming. I am trying to look at it just one step at a time. I am working on my husband and the choices he makes when it comes to lawn care. I believe we don't need to surround ourselves with that much chemicals. I have recently discovered that vinegar can be used to kill weeds, a great alternative instead of that other common chemical weed killer. 


The next two areas I have begun to tackle are the products I use on my body and the cleaning agents I use in the house. One of my sisters sent me this link today. I am considering changes to the hair products I use and I think this is a great place to start by making my own at home. I have curly hair and find that my hair is very sensitive to shampooing. This just might work for me! I'm working on the cleaning products. I have tried some "green" products but have felt they fall a bit short, especially in the bathroom. I would love to hear about the green solutions you have discovered. Please do share.

Saturday, April 21, 2012

It Happened in an Instant

It happened on a beautiful Spring Saturday, one of the first of the season. I was delighted to get outside and begin the clean up of my flower beds. By mid afternoon my back was telling me it was time to be done, yet there was so much more I wanted to do. I sat for moment on the stone wall and contemplated my next move. I was joined by youngest son, we sat and chatted a bit and my oldest son pulled in on his motorcycle.

My oldest is 21 yrs and finishing up his junior year of college. All three of us sat, marveled at the beauty of the day and chatted a bit more. As we disbanded is when it happened.

My oldest turned to walk away. The world fell silent, all I saw and heard was he walking away and me standing there watching. Almost like an out of body experience. I realized in that instant my baby is all grown up. He is a full blown strapping man! He is the next generation of men, the alpha male. He is ready to take on this world. He is a ready to lead. I realized he is ready!!! What an amazing feeling. The words slipped from my lips before I realized I was saying them out loud, "How did he get to be so grown up?"

Another voice pulled me out of the silent bubble. It was my youngest, "Hey look at me I'm going to be 13 in few months." A smile crossed my face, I grabbed him and gave him a big hug, "Yes. Yes you are." And to myself I said, 'but I know I have a good seven years left with you'. :)

I leave you today with a song. I hope I have taught you well my son. I love you.

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Featured Artist April 2012

I am the featured artist of the month for the Lampwork Glass Beads Team on EtsyI am completely honored to share this news with you. I would love for you to take a moment and stop by and read the interview.


I thank Janelle and Jason of Nomad Crafts Etc. They have some beautiful sculptural pieces in their shop. You won't be disappointed when you stop by and check out their Etsy store.






Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Bead Table Wednesday March 11, 2012

I haven't blogged in a while. I have been stretching my creativity in a variety of ways. I will be sharing more about that in future writings.

Today...I am showing you my bead table!

Oooy! Where is the bead table? I am cleaning the bead table today.
I can't believe I am sharing this mess with you. But hey life happens and I am finally learning to just roll with it. The day will always come and it will get done one way or the other.

Miyuki seed beads. I am considering working into a Kumihimo braided bracelet. I am not sure if I like the color combinations.

I have been taking some painting classes. This is a paper I painted for another purpose and I never used it. Yesterday I decided to Zentangle it.

I leave you with a photo I took on the ride home from picking my son up from college for Easter.


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