514

Photo: one of my baby sweaters

514 is the number of square feet of my rented la casa. When I first moved to the south in 2006, such little space didn't bother me given I didn't have much (only what could fit in a 4 door Pontiac Grand Am). I slept on an single air mattress (that I'd awake to laying flat on the floor because the air leaked out) for the first three months. I finally saved enough for a sofa sleeper and slept in my living room for about another three months until my awesomely-thoughtful sister purchased me a bed.

Slowly but surely my place started to fill up especially after family moved my dresser, cedar chest, jewelry case down from the midwest. Each time my lease is up I swear I am moving into a bigger place, yet I don't because I hate moving. I am not allowed to paint, and I do not wish to spend money on curtains since it is almost a guarantee that they won't fit in the next place. But I am happy to say after living here for 3.5 years I finally did something to decorate my bedroom. Before it had no theme/style but now it kinda feels more homey. What's best is that I spent less then 25 bucks for this upgrade! All is left now is to sand down & paint my dresser white then distress it, but I will wait until after the holidays.

I think my favorite part is that I finally figured out what to do with the little crochet butterfly doilies that were made by relatives in Norway. They are small doilies that are folded in half then tied in the middle with wire to make the antennas. Up until now, they have been stored in a zip lock baggie for the last 7+ years.

Butterflies have many symbolic meanings. For me, they are angels showing their presence to the living..........

I drove 2,018 miles by myself for a job in my career field. The car was so crammed that I prayed I wouldn't get pulled over as I knew I'd get ticketed for having 3 out of the 4 door windows blocked not to mention the entire back window. As I made my way through Missouri, I stopped for a bite to eat. I ordered a hamburger from a fast food joint then sat out on the grass near a creek. Feeling a bit down & alone, I glanced over my map making mental note of any big junctions coming up, when a single butterfly came down and landed on my map. I figured it was Branon letting me know he was right there with me. Like always, he was there when I needed him. What a lucky girl I am.

Have a great weekend everyone!!

TWELVE

Photo: who needs the expense of a Christmas tree? Go get your ladder from the garage and get creative! Photo/article can be found here but I first saw it from Little Suitcase's blog here

I got the idea for this blog while humming to the song: 12 Days Of Christmas as I cleaned out my closet (this time was a major overhaul as last times swoop only filled a grocery bag), and filled two trash bags of clothes for good will. It's been a rough year for a lot of people due to the shaky economy, but when the purse strings are tight, there are still many ways to make it a wonderful holiday this year. Here are my 12 ways to better everyone's Christmas for under 12 dollars:


1. PAY IT FORWARD: pay someone's expired parking meter or if you are standing behind someone who is a couple dollars short at the cashier line, sport them a buck or two.

2. RECYCLE/LOVE MOTHER EARTH: You haven't jumped on the recycling band wagon by now? Really? Are you are that lazy? If you don't have a local pick up service for recycling, go to http://earth911.com/ and find out where you can drop your recycling off.

3. BE NICE: it's free! Smile. Be polite. Give a compliment.

4. TIME: donate it. Call your local Habitat for Humanity and sign up for a day of helping out, offer to fix your neighbor's leaky facet, or babysit a friend's child so they can run a couple errands.

5. RAISE AWARENESS: American Behcet's Disease, stop child trafficking, stop blood diamonds ......pick a cause and spread the word! Bob Bowers aka One Tough Pirate is an AIDS activist, youth HIV/AIDS educator and long-term AIDS survivor. Visit his website to learn more about how you can help - http://www.onetoughpirate.com/

6. DONATE: go through your closet once a year and donate the items to good will including shoes, accessories, handbags, and clothes. Round up all your old DVDS that you no longer enjoy watching and donate them to a nursing home or veteran's hospital. Disinfect gently used toys that no longer interest your child and donate to a toy drive. Or go through your pantry and donate dry/canned goods to a local food cupboard.

7. SNAP A PHOTO: it costs a mere 19 cents to develop and you can find oodles of photo frames at thrift stores & consignment shops.

8. SEND LOVE: write a letter to a friend or loved one. Remember when getting something in the mail was exciting?

9. BE YOUR OWN DESIGNER: don't spend 50.00+ on a pair of weathered/distressed jeans for yourself or your teenager. Grab a pair out of your closet and make your own with the use of a pair of scissors and rough sandpaper or a dremel.

10. GET TOGETHER AND SPREAD SOME JOY: Instead of participating in a office gift exchange for the holidays, organize a charity fund raiser such as underroos for the homeless. Purchase a package of undies at your local discount retailer and donate all the packages to a homeless shelter in your area.

11. LOVE YOUR FAMILY'S HEALTH: replace your toxic cleaning products with ones that you make yourself. - http://www.eartheasy.com/live_nontoxic_solutions.htm

12. BUY HOMEMADE: Have you seen those adorable wrist warmers (knitted fingerless gloves) at the mall? Go to etsy.com and get ones that were made with love.

I challenge you to make a list of things you can do for your loved ones, strangers, and the earth without breaking the bank this holiday.

26 THANKS

Can you believe it's less then two weeks until Thanksgiving? Seemed like forever for Halloween to get here and then BAM! Thanksgiving. And you know what that means, the sound of Salvation Army bells until the 25th of December.

The red kettles and bell ringers started back in 1891 in California by a San Francisco Salvation Army Captain named Joseph McFee. He wanted to help the poor especially during the Christmas season, and recalled how in Liverpool, England they collected moneys for the poor and called it the Simpson's Pot. Captain McFee decided to place a pot near the Oakland Ferry Landing with a sign that read: Keep the Pot Boiling and by 1897 this became a national campaign. (The bell ringers, of coarse, were to attract the attention of passerbys.) According to TIME magazine 118 million dollars were raised in 2007 by the donations from the people of America. Impressive!

That ends the history lesson for today, and now I give you...........

26 things I am THANKFUL for this Thanksgiving season:

(in no particular order)

1. That my most recent cancer tests came back NEGATIVE! (4th year in a row!!!)
2. For the generous people who help me raise funds/donations for Nana's House
3. Not only 1 job but 2!
4. The smarts to know better
5. TODAY
6. family
7. Peace in my heart
8. A roof over my head
9. More time with gma
10. repaired friendships
11. The discovery of the new dark chocolate Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
12. my health
13. a vehicle that runs and is dependable
14. an amazingly talented mother who makes me amazingly cool stuff
15. being able to finally pay off all my student loans
16. food in my cupboards
17. the ability to get back up again and again
18. that I think I am finally rid of those damn ants!
19. my friend's and their support
20. stretch denim
21. AN's Shea Mango Body Butter for my dry legs ....smells sooooo good and lasts forever!
22. belly laughs
23. for another minute/day/year to try to get it right
24. a sister that sometimes drives me batty
25. people who are willing to share their knowledge and talent(s)
26. a guardian angel who busts his butt trying to keep up with me (and does a pretty good job!)

What are you thankful for this year?

Daylight Savings

Photo: who are we kidding? I ate the entire pizza!

Photo: one of Chris' recipes for his recipe box

I must admit this week kicked my hiney. You'd think with "gaining" an hour, one would have a bounce in their step, but not me. I awoke daily at 5am because my body thought it was 6am, the normal time I get up for work, and I was exhausted by 8:30pm but forced myself to stay awake until 10. I guess that is why when I got off work today I crashed and slept the afternoon away. Given that the swine flu is still running amuck in the general population, I will give myself a break and let my immune system get the rest it apparently needed by loosing 3 viable hours of daylight to get stuff done. Although I wish I was now all refreshed and ready to go, but alas I am a groggy mess. Guess I will hang out for a bit and finish up on Chris' recipe cards, eat some delicious Koshi Mediterranean pizza, and watch COPS. Hopefully I won't recognize anyone. Why do they keep spotlighting my county anyway!?!

Thursday Tips

It's time to make my monthly stash of homemade mouthwash. I make my own mouthwash because the crap on the shelves at the grocery store are full of toxic ingredients, and the homeopathic stuff at the health food store are far too pricey.

I found a recipe for tea tree mouthwash about a year ago when I was looking for something to help the pain I was getting from receding gums. Most have heard what receding gums are, but some do not know what causes them:

Dental braces (<~ me!) smoking clenching teeth brushing too hard (<~ me!) lack of dental hygiene/floss Between swooshing my mouth with tea tree mouthwash and switching to a Sonicare rechargeable toothbrush I have no more discomfort from my receding gums. Here is the actual recipe I found on the web (there are many different versions out there including with lemon oil): 1/4 cup of distilled water to 4 drops of tea tree oil & 3-4 drops of peppermint oil. Just like regular mouthwash, DO NOT SWALLOW. (if you usually don't use mouthwash you can purchase toothpaste with tea tree in it at health food stores.) I make a bigger batch so I don't have to make it as often. My recipe calls for approximately 10 drops of tea tree oil and 6-8 drops of peppermint oil to a full amber bottle of distilled water. (I use a old cold medicine measuring cup to sip out of.) It costs me pennies to make this mixture in two bottles that last me nearly a month. Happy brushing! LL One of my favorite "green" websites

20 Great Ways to Use Tea Tree Oil

Purse Dumpings

In the classic (yes I dare to say "classic") The Breakfast Club, Allison (Ally Sheedy) dumps her purse out on the couch. She has a extreme amount of odd things such as tube socks, comb, sheets of paper, pens, and a pair of undies, etc..... I can't help to think if some guys think of this scene when they think of what may be in our handbags? When I would ask my ex, for example, to get something out of my purse, he'd just bring me the entire bag. Are they afraid of what is in there or as curious as Andrew (Emilio) and Brian (Anthony Michael Hall) were in the "purse dumping scene"? Like they wanna know, yet not wanna know. Well here ya go guys, it's not real mysterious or exciting, but this is what is in my purse. Enjoy.

WELCOME NOVEMBER

Sunday, November 1st 2009
sunrise 6:33am
temperature 67 degrees + 97% humidity

Enjoy your day everyone!!