The monster who lives in your cabinets

 waste-monster

Hands down where people find most of there contaminating plastic containers are in their kitchens and that was my first step. Here's what we've replaced over the past several years:

plastic Tupperware
plastic sippy cups and bottles
plastic drinking cups (from a game or restaurant)
plastic water bottles
plastic disposable bulk drinking straws (grocery store kind)
Ziploc bags
Saran wrap
plastic kids bowls
plastic kids silverware
plastic grocery bags
plastic organizers(silverware drawer organizer, pitchers, etc)
plastic box lunch and accessories
aluminum pans
plastic and aluminum baking pans

What we switched to:

For Children:
to-goware.com for the kids silverware we chose bamboo fork, spoon and knife sets. They love that they can now use a knife and we love that bamboo is the fastest regrowing tree to use for wood products.

to-goware.com for our take out meal box. In a blue moon when we all go out to a resturant we normally have leftover food. We use the three tier option so no one gets their meal mixed up. When we don't use it for this I use it for snacks on car rides.

Bamboo-7-pc-Salad-Set  we use wood salad bowl LIKE the link but I bought mine at a thrift store six for a $1 and some were given to me that were my great grandparents salad bowls. I wouldn't recommend buying new unless you have to. Yes you can use wood bowls with milk, for best results wash soon after using.

Duralex-Glass-Condiment-Bowl for cereal bowls and dessert bowls these are a great size. Very affordable at Target.

planetbox.com  & Etsy cloth lunch box set for lunch bags and snack bags! My son uses the stainless steel Planet Box and the cloth from OrganiLuxe, they work great for their individual needs.

kleankanteen.com hands down the best stainless steel water bottle with a sippy cup lid option. The best thing about this company is that they don't have a metal taste AND you and use them from sippy cup to adult just with a change of lid!

For the Kitchen:

Lodgecookware.com  going from nonstick 8 piece pots and pans set to three cast iron pans and one pot. The down side to cast iron, you cannot dishwash them. The upside, they will outlive you(my 9in is over 10 years old)if you "season" them correctly aka rub olive oil in them after each cleaning so the don't rust. Also cool fact, cooking with cast iron is the simplest way for you to get your daily iron and for a family with 3 ladies we need all the iron we can get. 

Target-Pyrex-set  for our food storage, measuring and bake ware. Target offers sets that we have and use all the time. Glass and stainless steel are safest for food storage with temperature changes. The chemicals you most here about such as BPA can leech estrogen-like chemicals into our foods with change of temperature in the container.

 acehardware-for-masonjars
what we use for our cups. Once arriving here I had planned on getting more of the 16 oz jars but a friend gave me six of them which along with our other three was a great set. You can get twelve jars for around $10, a great deal and these will not brake like the flimsy glasses in the dining section.

We now use my market basket and (cloth) re-usable bags because we found out that most of the plastic ones are painted with lead based paint in China. Lead was not on my grocery list! When I forget my bags, I look like a fool and juggle my groceries until I get to the car.  I hope this helps you cleaning out your home of plastics. Taking these pictures got me to organize my kitchen so thank you no one in particular who is reading this. Because of you I felt inspired to have "clean kitchen" pictures. Your power of influence continues to amaze me.

Don't judge a book by its cover

Most of us today know about the protesting going on all over the country. In New York City in particular, there are over 20,000 living in lower Manhattan for the concept of peacefully fighting to bring to surface inequality tax cuts. They have given themselves they name "The 99 percent" and rightfully so. They are representing the 99% of citizens having to abide by all laws which greatly effects taxes created by the 1% of the population. Here is a quote for one of the protest leaders.

"The main focus is the toxic and corrupting effect of unlimited money on the political situation, which would be called a Corporate-ocracy, not Democracy. "We need to get government back into the hands of the 99 percent, not the one percent," Csapo said. "Right now, the law is currently written for the one percent, and we are seeing an incredible amount of wealth being extracted." cbsnews

A big issue is how the protestors are being viewed as unqualified opinions, from being called "idiots", "potential uni-bombers", "socialists", and "people who probably haven't paid much taxes in their lives". One observer of Wall Street's guests writes "Suck it up you whiners. I am the 53 percent subsidizing you so you can hang out on Wall Street and complain," writes Erickson mediamatters

Eric Bolling hosted syndicated columnist Star Parker and said "They do seem like petulant little children ... how about going out and trying to find a job instead?" Fox News

Now I see how most of us "tax paying citizens who have qualified opinions"  do not relate to this guy...

 But in this guys defense not only is he in the "99 % group" he is also probably in the group of the " 9.1%" also known as the national unemployment rate-revised as of 9/9/11. Which might be why he has a lot of free time. So instead can you relate to this guy...

Former Deputy Inspector Anthony Bologna of Westerleigh. Earlier this month he decided he was fed up with the odd but peaceful protesting and sprayed several detained women and many of his fellow officers with cans of pepper spray in the face. www.silive.com Hence why his title is former deputy.

A new pole done by Time Magazine shows 54% of Americans view the protest favorably. 73% favor raising taxes on million dollar incomes.

As a full perspective citizen it is key for me to also be an independent voter. My vote is not about left or right, donkey or elephant, it is simply about more effective or less effective. In terms of the protesting I believe they are fighting the good fight for all of us who do still have jobs and therefore cannot physically protest. Yes, they can cut down on the costumes for a more effective argument on such a serious topic but I mean come on, they are probably bored as all get out. They're are kind of like the kid who already got kicked out of school and you have to hear about how they hang out all day until you get home. Basically we all are annoyed and perhaps a bit jealous. Both major parties have passion and strong views of how to improve our country's government. Please look into who you intend to vote for in the upcoming election and see what there view is of the 99%. Chances are what they say about them, they'll say about you.

If you like to learn more feel free to go to occupywallst.org or a great segment done on this topic at the-daily-show

Everybody smile... it's the weekend!

I don't have a lengthy post just some new pictures done by the lovely Corinne Gold with whatadayphotography . Of course some funny lines of the week brought to you by the kiddos.

 

Big Girl: "Hey Daddy, for my next Halloween I want to be Jesus. (minutes later) Actually I want to be Luigi!" (At age 2 she was Mario.)

                                            

  Boy: (Looking at the conditioner bottle at the no animal testing symbol, in the shower he yells) "Hey Mom, why does it say no bunnies allowed?"

Lee's to the rescue!

Here are some pictures from this week of the babes.

We played...

We snacked...

 

Then we made super hero costumes...

Until next time...

Our Big Girl's First Ho'ike

We are so happy to have Nursery Garden as a part of our families lives. Nursery Garden is founded and taught by "Aunty Jacque". She has ducks, chickens, a huge yard and uses mostly natural substance products in the classroom. Did I mention most of class is done outside? Jacque mainly focuses on art, science and nature with the children. Since moving here we knew she was needing some time with others her age. We were recommended several times about a wonderful small home preschool literally 2 roads down from us. We have met most of the other families (we see them two times a day two days a week) which has been great for the girls and I. She has been going for less than two months and she already adores her teacher and her teacher's family. We couldn't be happier!

                                                     All the students together on Friday

 

Making clay art with Aunty Erin

 

                                                           Inside her classroom

 

Outside classroom

 

Mahalo Aunty Jacque!

Heavy or Light

I try my best not to make this my diary or a whine fest but here I go breaking my own stupid rules.

Are you heavy or light when it comes to how much you share? Are you the type to share only a little or are you the type to over share. Both of these can be for safety or for insecurity reasons. A good test to see how "deep" you are is by how easy it is for you to relate to others.  We can do this by openly displaying our flaws with others. We all have them, we all think about them but that doesn't mean we need to scream them from the rooftops. It also doesn't mean we shove them under the rug.

Being able to relate to others and use that to bond is a huge relational glue. It is why we connect with people, call them when we are in need or when we want to go out. I can appreciate someone being honest with where they are in their current state rather than a glossy facade.

 Do you share heavy or do you share lightly, and why? What allows us to feel more comfortable with others, does it even begin with them? Or does it begin with us? Be honest, be real, be more than just a surface. Choose to except yourself at exactly where you are now. Do not allow anything to tell you to portray you are five steps ahead.

Be in the present.


"I long, as does every human being, to be at home wherever I find myself."
- Maya Angelou

A Mouth like a Sailor

For several years now I have worked on my potty mouth. When Richard and I were still dating I remember sitting in his car and ranting about something when he looked over and said " You sure have a mouth like a sailor sometimes." I have never been proud of my choice of words when I get upset nor has it ever been flattering on me. And to those of my swear-lovin friends out there you might be saying "What, you? No you don't swear at all!" But to those of you who have lips like angels you have probably heard those not so kind words stings your pretty ears.

And most of the time I categorize my words and medium level cussing.  Not a big deal, just the occasional "Dammit, pissed, what the hell"... like I said medium level stuff. Keep in mind in all the years I have been around Richard I can count the number of medium level words he's said on my hands and toes. I love and live with a very patient man. But on occasion if I'm feeling particularly intolerable I like to just make physical threats of what could do with my hulk like strength. For example:

 Me: " Okay, I've had enough of stepping on all these Lincoln Logs! Pick these up in 3, NO 2 minutes or I'm..."

Son: (In exasperation) " Or you'll throw them in a bag to give away right?"

Me: Shocked that he somehow knows what I was going to say "Oh..okay, yes! So, since you already know this PLEASE clean up then!"

(all of 15 seconds later)

Me: "Richard! Why does it only bother me that our hallway in not usable? Do you know see these Lincoln Logs all over? Or did you lose your eyes sight somewhere from the bathroom to where you are currently standing?"

I really don't know why I have such a problem toning down my Popeye-esc attitude. You might say it's because I was raised by somewhat of a tough guy who didn't mind cussing in front of his daughters or just because I am incredibly articulate and comfortable expressing my feelings. But what I do know is that hearing Our Son ask me last night at the dining room table, "If Dad doesn't hurry up, you're going to be pissed at him huh?" was mortifying.

I was given the opportunity to explain how me using bad words is not only lazy but also makes a person seem mean and dumb. When I explained pissed means you pee'd on something he could not stop laughing at why I would pee on his dad for taking a long time at the grocery store. I couldn't make sense of it either, I needed a sweet innocent six year old perspective to put me right in my place. I am humbled everyday by how many times God shows me how hard it is to be an awesome example of a parent is and how many times I get to try again. I'm going to go now so I can write Richard an apology note.

I was just told to be clear that he (Richard) is not Olive Oil just because I am Popeye in this post. So, just to be clear I am not married to a wimpy guy who needs my help, I simply have a cussing problem and he does not hence the reference to a well known sailor.