I've moved to Wordpress

I've decided to move my blog to Wordpress. Please visit me at my new blog, ginnyv.wordpress.com and say hi!

OMG, Michael Jackson is dead.

I am so freaking sad. Michael Jackson just died. I can't even believe that my childhoold music hero is gone. I can hardly believe it. It can't be! RIP MJ, WE LOVE YOU!!!!!!!

http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Music/06/25/michael.jackson/index.html

Sorry for the long break...

I want to apologize for the long break since the last post. The last two years have been occupied by going to school full time, both during the regular school year and during the summer. Last semester almost killed me! (ok, not literally, but I was so busy!) I actually get a summer off, which I've been enjoying. I will start posting again, hopefully regularly, after my brother's visit with us is over. Until then, check out some of my links and I'll write soon!

Great article from Mother Earth News...

I wanted to post a link to a great article I read in the Oct/Nov 2008 issue of Mother Earth News. Lucky for us they also posted it online.

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Natural-Health/2008-10-01/Dietary-Fat-Health-Weight.aspx

Traditional Foods

What foods are good for you? What foods are bad? There's a lot of conflict over this issue; More than one would think. Is soy good or bad? Is fat good or bad? How about carbs? Artificial sweeteners? What's a mom, who wants the best for her family, to do? Well, I think I've found the best answer, for my own family. It's called traditional foods. Never heard of it? That's not surprising! I had never heard that term before, at least not in this context. Traditional foods are basically the foods that your great-great grandmother would most likely have eaten, things like grass-fed meats, eggs from free-range poultry, raw milk and cheese, kefir, lacto-fermented vegetables, etc. The list just goes on. What you wouldn't be eating is processed foods, pastuerized, homogenized milk and dairy, hormone-laden meats and eggs, high fructose corn syrup, and artificial colors or flavors.

Did you know that heart disease and obesity increased after the low-fat recommendations were announced and put into place? Why is that? Could it be that fat really isn't the culprit? Well, I believe that it is not the culprit. Studies have shown that an increase in fat, with a decrease in carbs can help you lose weight and keep it off. When you increase carbs, you gain weight. (Read Eat Fat, Lose Fat by Sally Fallon).

The occurrences of chronic diseases keep increasing, despite our medical advances. Diseases that used to be considered as elderly diseases are showing up in younger and younger children. These diseases include diabetes type II and obesity. And let's not forget autism and ADHD, which were hardly heard of when I was a child. Mothers know that the food that they feed their children with these problems can have an impact on that child. Artificial colors and flavors have been known to exasperate the problems, while a more whole foods approach can help immensely. Cutting out the "artificials" can have a changing effect.

But, I think it's more than that. It's not just what we're putting into our bodies, but what we're leaving out. Cultured and fermented foods contain valuable probiotics that help our digestive system to remain healthy. When was the last time you had kefir or lacto-fermented sauerkraut? How about kimchi? Raw dairy contains the "x-factor", which is essential to good bone structure and healthy teeth. Check out the Weston A. Price Foundation.

I invite you to check it out for yourself. I am definitely NOT the expert (yet!) on the subject, so don't just take my word for it. Here are some resources to get you started.

Two great books to get you started in eating traditional foods are The Maker's Diet by Jordin Ruben and Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon. Both books have a lot of valuable information. Another good place to look for information is www.cookingtf.com. KerryAnn is very knowledgable about traditional foods. I also visit the traditional foods forum on MDC (mothering.com). http://www.mothering.com/discussions/forumdisplay.php?f=365

I've just started our journey to eating traditional foods (TF) and will post more, as I go. If you have experience with a TF diet or want to take the journey with me, leave a comment or send me an email.

Update on my No Pooing...

Ok, it's been over a week since I posted my progress with this.

The last week, I started to mix in some honey (about 1/2 tsp) in with my baking soda. I've been having some flakes and thought that might help. It didn't help too much and my scalp was worse than ever! So, I'm going back to just the BS as my wash. I'm still using 1/2 cup ACV, 1 tbsp honey in a 20 oz jar and filling the rest with warm water. I've started adding a few drops of tea tree oil, in addition to the lavendar oil. My hair was starting to seem a bit dry, too. I figure I'm doing something a little off, probably the amounts of BS or ACV, so I'm going to have to adjust one of those.

I started reading about the incredible benefits of coconut oil. It is used to treat all skin conditions, including dandruff and psoriasis. It can be used for conditioner, facial lotion and a ton of other things. You can find out a ton of info if you Google 'topical coconut oil' or 'uses of coconut oil'. From all of the websites I've found, it's practically a miracle oil. So, anyway, I started putting some coconut oil on my scalp at least 30 minutes before I shower and wash it. I've even put it on before bed and let it set until the next day. So far I'm having great results with it, but just like the BS and ACV, it will take time to see if it works long term. I've also put it on my face as a lotion and I love it. It is non-greasy after a minute, because it soaks in immediately. And it works as a yummy tasting lip balm, too.

Be careful not to use too much coconut oil at a time, though. A little goes a very long way! If you want to buy it, I went to Whole Foods and they had a huge jar for $17.99 and a bigger jar for around $25!! That was way more than I was wanting to spend. I went over to their body care area, that has their supplements, shampoos, lotions, etc. They had much smaller jars (around 12 oz) for $6-$15. From what I've read, as long as you keep it under your sink in the bathroom, it should be fine for at least a year or more. It will not go rancid quickly, because it is a very stable oil. It has a very high melting point of 77 degrees, so until it reaches that, it is somewhat solid. IF you put it in the refrigerator, it will become extremely hard and not very usable, so I suggest keeping it at room temperature. Plus, you don't want it keep going between extreme temperatures.

Oh, I wanted to add that you should get Virgin Coconut Oil. Don't get hydrogenated coconut oil or even Extra Virgin Coconut Oil. The Extra virgin is just a waste of money and ANYTHING hydrogenated is really bad for you.

Let me know if any of you tries this! I'd love to hear your feedback!

Different uses of honey...

There are so many different uses for honey, you'd be amazed! September is National Honey Month, so this is a good time to check out The National Honey Board's website.

I thought I'd list some of my favorite ways to use honey.

Beauty
Face wash - You can make all sorts of face washes with honey. To wash your face with honey, just wet your face. Pour a small dab of honey onto your hand and smear all over your face. You can rinse right away with warm water or wait a couple of minutes. Either way, your face will be very smooth and soft. Put on a light moisturizer, like pure shea butter, and you'll never go back to your old way of cleaning your face again!

Face mask - There are a lot of different face masks you can make with honey. One is a handful of uncooked oats with a tsp of honey and a tsp of milk. Mix the honey and milk until the honey is dissolved, then add the oats. Smear on your face and leave for 10 minutes. Rinse off and follow with a light moisturizer.
Another mask is just honey and milk. One teaspoon of each, mixed together. Smear on your face and leave for around 10 minutes. Rinse and moisturize.

One warning. Honey will remove the toxins from your skin, which is a good thing. But, sometimes you may break out a bit for the first couple days. Nothing too bad, but maybe a pimple or two. I didn't, but I have heard that some people do.

Another thing you can do is if you do get an unexpected pimple is put a dab of honey on the pimple and cover with a bandaid. Do this right before you go to bed and you'll wake up and the pimple will be gone or greatly reduced!

Coffee
You can sweeten your coffee with a bit of honey, just like you would tea. It's a great alternative to sugar and gives it a really good flavor. My favorite is a honey latte. I make a plain latte in my espresso maker, then add in a tablespoon of honey, instead of a flavored syrup. It's my favorite way to have a latte!

First Aid
Honey has natural anti-bacterial properties, so it makes a great ointment for cuts and scrapes. It is also very good to put on a burn. Some women have been known to put it on c-section's and have great results with quick healing of the incision area. Remember, honey is sticky, so you're going to want to put some sort of bandage over the honey, so it doesn't get everything else sticky, too!

If you have a sore throat, take a tsp of honey every couple of hours. Not only does it sooth your sore throat, but the anti-bacterial properties will help it heal.

Allergies
Did you know that if you have seasonal allergies, honey can help? You have to get some local honey. Honey from another part of the country or world isn't going to help with this one. Take a teaspoon of honey every day and it will help reduce your allergy symptoms!

I'll update this post when I think of more great uses for honey. I know there are tons! Please let me know what you think of this and if you have any other great ways to use honey.

Updated Grandmother's Recipe

I've been updating Grandmother's Recipe and would love to know what you think. Feel free to visit the site and add your comments! Also, don't forget to go to the forum and add your own recipes!

School update

Gavin is having a great week at school. At his birthday party on Friday, one of our friends brought their nephew, who is also a kindergartener at Gavin's school. They have been playing with each other this week and have been having fun. It's so nice for Gavin to come home and say that he's excited to go to school the next day!

My semester started this week. My first classes were yesterday. It took me over 10 minutes to find a parking space and when I finally did, I got to my class and all the power was out throughout the entire campus! It finally came back on right before my second class. I think this semester is going to be fairly challenging, especially my Math class, but I think I'll do well.

I've been teaching Ripley how to write letters and count this week. She's really enjoying it. It didn't take her long to learn how to write a capitol A and learn the sounds. She's doing great! She's also been learning to trace her hand and color it in.

Ian's been a little parrot this week. He's copying everything that everyone is saying. My favorite is I wa vu. (I love you). He also wanted to sit on the potty today, so I put on the trainer seat and put him on. He absolutely did not want to get off! Well, that turned out to be a good thing because HE WENT PEE PEE's in the POTTY!! I couldn't believe it. He was so excited, he threw a temper tantrum when I told him it was time to get down from the toilet. :)

My baby started kindergarten!

Gavin started kindergarten last Monday. I can't believe he's growing up so damn fast! Of course, Brian had a harder time than me. We had to leave so that the other parents wouldn't see his tears! :D Too funny! Ok, my turn came on Wednesday, when Gavin was just so sad, because he said that he wasn't playing with anyone or talking to anyone at lunch. I was almost ready to pull him until next year. He's still so young (much younger than a lot of his classmates), so I thought that maybe he just wasn't ready, socially. Turns out that a lot of the other kids in his class were having the same problems. Brian dropped him off at school on Thursday and talked with a couple of the other parents. They all had the exact same concerns as we do. They can't get their kids to talk about school and their kids are also saying they aren't making friends or talking to anyone at lunch. (I found out that they are not allowed to talk during lunch for the first few minutes, in order to encourage eating). So, this first week was hard, but we got through it. Gavin came home from school on Friday and he was in a much better mood. They had show-n-tell, and I think that may have allowed the kids to get to know each other a little more.

5 down, only 195 more school days to go this year...