bits of sunshine

good enough to eat :: lavender cyprus salt scrub

i have read about sugar scrubs in the past . . . then, yesterday, i was reading recipes that google brought up for me, and found this salt scrub.  i love lavender and had dried lavender flowers on hand, so i decided to mix this one up . . . with a small variation, of course.

i poured 1/2 cup of coarse sea salt into my jar.  then i added about 1/4 cup of fine salt.  i poured in 1/3 cup grapeseed oil and mixed well.  then i added dried lavender flowers.  about 1/4 cup.  i stirred again.  i didn't have lavender essential oil, so i used 16 drops cyprus essential oil and stirred again.

then, i headed to the shower, where i exfoliated my arms, legs, and torso with this wonderful scrub.  oh, the smell is divine.  and the way it left my skin feeling - so, so nice. 

i read recently that if you exfoliate your upper thighs and buttocks for 5-10 minutes most days, you break up any cellulite that might be formed or starting to form, and also that using a granular scrub is really great for stopping varicose veins (i have some on the backs of my knees) . . . i'm thinking that it can't hurt to try!

i also think that next time i take a bath, i will let some of this scrub dissolve into the tub as i run my hot water . . . the smell would be so relaxing . . .

if you make a scrub, let me know how it works out! 

good enough to eat

so, we've been thinking and reading and doing a lot about food here . . . for a really long time . . .

about 4 years ago, we cut out all high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated or partially-hydrogenated anything and MSG - this changed the way we ate quite drastically.   most processed foods have one, or more, of these in them.

then, last april, we cut out gluten.  i have learned so much about cooking and eating since then.  and in the process of learning about how food affects our insides and our mood and our skin - basically everything - i started wondering about what we put on our skin (so many lotions and makeups contain gluten!  not to mention so many other ingredients that are chemicals).  and while researching lotions and soaps, i ran across toothpaste . . . (go ahead, google problems with flouridated toothpaste) . . .

over the past two months, i have thrown out some of my makeup and replaced it with gluten-free alternatives.  i have also thrown out the toothpaste and the lotion and the soap we used to use.

we were gifted some really nice, handmade soaps, for christmas, with ingredients that i can pronounce! and know what they are and don't include gluten.  these have been wonderful!

i started making a toothscrub last month.

and today i made whipped body butter and body scrub. 

over the next few days, i'll share my recipes for the toothscrub, the body butter and the body scrub.

i have come to the conclusion that anything i put on my body should be good enough to eat.  i'm not totally there yet; i wouldn't eat my shampoo or my mascara . . . but i'm getting closer.

that blue sky on my last post reminded me of summer, and i'm sort of longing for summer right now

so, i decided to show you some pictures from our last swim of the summer; enjoy!

and that, my friends, is where i've been longing to be . . .

my life right now :: a change of direction

see that airplane?

see where it came from?

and then it dramatically changed direction.

and maddie and isaac were guessing where it came from and where it was going, and i was snapping a picture with my phone because i was thinking - that's it!  that's my life right now! 

we have had dreams and goals and we know what we really think is right for our family, and we just haven't been able to head that way . . .

there was a business partnership that needed to end.  and it has ended.  gracefully and graciously.

there were new jobs for ben to scope out and apply for, and he's done that.  so much leg-work.  and he's ready to go.  (official start date, april 7, 2013.  official title, range technician.  long story.  but we're here now.  and we have this.)  ben is also taking an EMT class - back to another old-made-new job.  he'll work intermittently for our local ambulance during the spring, summer and fall.  then during the winter, he can work full time. 

this means that i can cut back, way back, soon, on my hours at the nursing home.  i do work pm's now, instead of overnights, but wow.  does this take away from the time i am able to be wife and mom and teacher and homekeeper.

we're also in the process of reworking some of the things that caused me to have to go to work outside our home in the first place. 

this is just the tip of the iceberg, really. 

i just keep breathing deep breaths and reminding myself that God knows.  He has known.  He will always know.  and i can rest in that. 

and that bend in the airplane vapor?  it continues straight into the clear blue sky.

snowflakes :: snowdrifts :: and more snow

inside we've been reading about snowflakes and wilson bently.

outside we've been shoveling and making paths and tromping through and reveling in the beauty.

sunday night :: i guess i write when it snows

this morning the snow had started  . . . but no wind yet . . . the chick-a-dees were finding a few seeds in the snow covered feeder

ben and isaac were playing a civil war game

my girl is so silly when i try to take pics of her . . .

and i tried a new recipe this morning - it was supposed to be donuts . . . the batter tasted amazing, but after we fried the first few, we realized that they were just like sponges, soaking up gobs of oil . . . so, i plopped the batter in mini-muffin tins and baked them, and they turned out so yummy!  i didn't take a picture, but here's the (very simple) recipe::

1/2 c coconut flour + 1/2 tsp cinnamon + 1/2 tsp baking soda + 1/8 tsp salt  (mix these together)

in a small saucepan, melt 2 TBS coconut oil, remove from heat, then mix in 2 TBS honey + 2 eggs

stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients

add 1/2 c warm apple cider, mix well

drop into greased mini-muffin tins

bake at 350 for 13 - 15 minutes

we ate them plain as a side to our hard-boiled eggs and bacon - they were so tasty!  (and, if you're interested, they are gluten-free and paleo friendly.)

we spent the afternoon doing quiet things.  i helped ben study for his EMT quizzes, then he did some more studying.  the kids built lego robots.  i worked on a packet for the next pre-marital counseling clients that ben and i have lined up, and i bummed around the internet for a while.

after supper, ben and i braved the weather again, just to get some fresh air.  i think we are at about a foot of snow, but the wind is getting crazy and we have some 3 ft drifts.  we'll see what morning will bring!

as i was standing by ben, with my face to the wind, i remembered being young (maybe 13 years old), and turning my face into the cold wind when i was shoveling the driveway and thinking that i wanted the wind to put some color in my face.  i didn't like the way my skin got so white during the winter.  i remember thinking that ladies who have sun and wind-worn skin, and crow's feet by their eyes, were so beautiful.  here i am, almost 33 and i still think that!  i'm working on some crow's feet of my own.  and i let the cold wind blow snow flakes all over my face tonight.  i love wild weather!

and what a treat, to just be home with my family all day today.  none of us had anywhere to be but here.  that's one thing about my job, it makes me really appreciate and savour the days when we all get to just be together. 

and now, we'll see what we wake to in the morning!  i'll get some drift measurements for you when we go out to clear snow!

happy sunday night, my friends!